A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 15th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 15, 1718, Englishman James Puckle patented his machine gun, the world’s first! On May 15, 1718, James Puckle of England patented the first machine gun. On May 15, 1718, Mr. Puckle patented what could be considered the first machine gun. On May 15, 1848, Serfdom was abolished in the Habsburg Austrian region of Galicia, ending the slavery of peasants in…
Browsing: May 15
A Brief History On May 15, 2001, a 47-car freight train in Walbridge, Ohio took off away from the train station sans engineer who had dismounted to set a switch. The train, which included tanker cars carrying hazardous flammable chemicals, traveled an incredible 66 miles before finally being stopped in Kenton, Ohio. Digging Deeper In the face of recent train derailments and disasters, this particular incident could have been much worse. In this case, no crash occurred, and nobody was killed, due to the quick thinking and courage of rail crews. The engineer did suffer minor injuries in his vain…
A Brief History On May 15, 2020, a “new” science fiction drama makes its debut, a film about the late 1950’s that is filmed to be in the retro style of that era. It works, and audiences might not get to see it in the theaters but will instead have access to the film via Amazon Studios. The movie, The Vast of Night, will be available on Prime Video on May 29, 2020. Digging Deeper The movie takes on the UFO craze of the 1950’s sci-fi era, and starts out with a Twilight Zone style opening, beginning in black and…
A Brief History Science fiction film fans, here is your chance to be among the first in Ohio to see The Vast of Night on Friday, May 15th or Saturday, May 16th, 2020 in Cleveland (Mayfield Road Drive-In Theatre) or Ravenna (Midway Drive-In Theater)! Showtimes are for a double feature as follows: Vast of Night at 9 PM and then Super 8 at 10:40 PM. For your chance to get a free pass, please send an email message to admin@historyandheadlines.com. Please include the following information in your message: your first and last name, your email address, which theater and showtime/date you would like…
A Brief History On May 15, 1848, Serfdom was abolished in the Habsburg Austrian region of Galicia, ending the slavery of peasants in an area now occupied by Poland and the Ukraine. The freedom of the Serfs came about as a result of the Revolutions of 1848, a widespread revolt across Feudal Europe, a so called “Bourgeois revolution” against the monarchies that controlled lands not native to the rulers. The upheaval was part of what Karl Marx was referring to when he predicted the people would rise up to overthrow the elites. Serfdom was a form of slavery practiced in…
