Daily Almanac: May 16, 2023
Sunrise/Sunset:
RISE: 6:29 a.m.
SET: 8:58 p.m.
High/Low Temperatures:
HIGH: 69 °F
LOW: 55 °F
Today is…:
• Dinosaur Day
• Love a Tree Day
• National Mimosa Day
What Happened On This Day:
• 1975 Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to conquer Mount Everest. The ascent by the Japanese adventurer came 22 years after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first to reach the summit.
• 1966 In China, the Cultural Revolution begins. The publication of the May 16 notification marks the beginning of the political campaign, which was initiated by Mao Zedong and lasted ten years. Its objective was to strengthen communism by removing capitalist, traditional and cultural elements from Chinese society.
• 1960 Theodore Maiman fires the first functional laser. The American physicist’s invention, an advancement of earlier research by scientists in the U.S. and the Soviet Union, was patented in 1967.
Births On This Day:
• 1966 Janet Jackson
American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, actress
• 1953 Pierce Brosnan
Irish/American actor, singer, producer
Deaths On This Day:
• 1990 Jim Henson
American puppeteer, director, producer, founded The Company
• 1953 Django Reinhardt
Belgian guitarist, composer