Discover fascinating historical events that happened on the 15th of May, including Johannes Kepler’s planetary laws, the first Mickey Mouse film, the world’s first machine gun patent, early flight attempts, the launch of Sputnik III, and much more—perfect for students and history enthusiasts.
Dear Students,
Are you enjoying this series on the history of the day? Well, I’m back again with another episode, and today we will talk about the historical events that occurred on the 15th of May.
A) Students, did you know that it was on the 15th of May in the year 1618 that the German astronomer Johannes Kepler discovered the third of his three planetary laws – the “Harmonic Law“? Now, what is the Harmonic Law? Let me explain.
Earlier, people believed that planets moved in perfect circles around the Sun. But a smart man named Johannes Kepler found out that this wasn’t exactly true. He made three important rules to explain how planets really move around the Sun:
- Planets move in oval paths, not circles
Imagine Epic School’s playground, which is converted into a race track during Sports Day – it’s shaped like an oval, isn’t it? That’s how planets move around the Sun – not in a perfect circle, but in a squished circle called an ellipse. - Planets move faster when they are closer to the Sun If a planet is near the Sun, it zooms faster. If it’s farther away, it moves more slowly. So, planets change speed depending on how far they are from the Sun.
- Planets that are farther from the Sun take longer to go around it Tiny planets close to the Sun, like Mercury, go around the Sun really quickly. Big planets farther away, like Neptune, take a long, long time to complete an orbit. That’s because the farther you are from the Sun, the longer your journey is.
By the way, the famous laws of motion by Isaac Newton were based on Kepler’s laws!
B) It was on the 15th of May, 1672, that John Usher, a bookseller, was granted exclusive printing privileges or copyright in the North American British colonies. This was the first-ever law of its kind. Though it became more formal much later, in the year 1710.
C) On the 15th of May, 1718, James Puckle, a London lawyer, received the patent for the world’s first machine gun.
D) Students, did you know that it was on this day in the year 1793 when Diego Marín Aguilera flew a glider for about 360 metres, at a height of 5–6 metres – one of the earliest attempted flights? Although the first successful powered flight came much later, in 1903 (which I shared with you earlier), this was still an impressive feat!
E) It was also on this day, in 1841, that the first wagon train set out from Missouri to California.
F) I’m sure most of you love cartoons, and you’ve seen Mickey Mouse! Did you know that on the 15th of May, 1928, the first Mickey Mouse film was screened? It was called Plane Crazy. See the video.
G) You must have seen air hostesses greet us when we board an airplane. It all started on this day, in 1930, when Ellen Church became the first female airline stewardess aboard a United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Cheyenne. Before this, all flight attendants were male.
H) Many of you must have heard of McDonald’s. It was on the 15th of May, 1940, that Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, California.
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I) Then again, on the 15th of May, 1941, English engineer Frank Whittle successfully tested his design for the first turbojet engine, aboard a Gloster E.28/39 flying from RAF Cranwell.
J) And lastly, on this day in 1958, the USSR launched Sputnik III, the heaviest satellite at that time.
That’s all for the day. Enjoy.
