This Week In History
May 16 - In 1991, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to address the United States Congress.
May 17 - In 1900, the children's novel, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," by L. Frank Baum, was first published, with an initial run of 10,000 copies.
May 18 - In 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano in the state of Washington exploded, leaving 57 people dead or missing.
May 19 - In 1780, an unusual darkening of the daytime sky was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada.
May 20 - In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act into law, opening 84 million acres of public land to settlers.
May 21 - In 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh landed his “Spirit of St. Louis” near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean.