May 13

Bob Wills died on May 13th in 1975. This did little to shorten his career, however, because as Waylon Jennings has pointed out, Bob Wills is still the king.

May 12

A girl medical professional! How cute can you get? Florence Nightingale was born on the 12th in 1872. Obviously, she made many lasting contributions to the nursing field and medicine in general. Perhaps more importantly, she was also the author of a report proving that people admitted to a hospital died at a rate of 90% while those who did not seek hospitalization died at a rate of only 60%. You should remember that the next time you are tossed into the back of an ambulance for yet another trip to the ICU of your friendly neighborhood hospital. I know that I do.

May 11

Have you ever considered the disadvantages that generally accompany your being far too aggressive in your chosen career? If not, consider the following. On the 11th in 1310 54 Knights Templar were burned at the stake in France.

May 10

On the 10th in 1872, the Equal Rights Party nominated Victoria Woodhull to be its candidate for the Presidency of the United States of America, making her the first woman to be nominated for that exalted position.

May 9

Even by the somewhat casual standards of the late 17th century, Thomas Blood was a brazen sort of guy. After having fought in the service of Oliver Cromwell, he had been awarded some very lucrative land grants in his native Ireland. When the monarchy was restored in 1660, Blood was stripped of these land grants. A boy has to do something to earn his daily bread and Blood decided to kidnap and hold for ransom James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, a minor noble. Blood wasn’t particularly good at that however, so he and a couple of friends attempted to steal the British Crown Jewels on the 9th in 1671. Well actually, to be accurate, he and his associates did steal the British Crown Jewels. However, he and his confederates were captured before they could successfully make their way out of the Tower of London, where the jewels were stored.

May 8

Come on, will somebody please give this guy a sandwich? On the 8th in 1933, Gandhi began a 21-day fast as a protest of the rather tacky behavior of a certain empire, on which the sun never sets, in India.

May 7

I think everyone will agree that it is entirely possible to have too much money for your own good. While I have not experienced that particular sensation there is a wealth of evidence illustrating that fact. As if Louis XIV didn’t have a boatload of self-esteem issues, I mean really, he called himself the Sun King for crying out loud. Providing further evidence of this 17th century monarch’s total lack of restraint, on the 7th in 1664, he opened the rather tacky Palace of Versailles.