HISTORY IN A NUTSHELL~MAY 16

 

     1770  Louis Marries Marie Antoinette

At Versailles, Louis, the French dauphin, marries Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Austrian Archduchess Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. France hoped their marriage would strengthen its alliance with Austria, its longtime enemy. In 1774, with the death of King Louis XV, Louis and Marie were crowned king and queen of France.

From the start, Louis was unsuited to deal with the severe financial problems he had inherited from his grandfather, King Louis XV. In addition, his queen fell under criticism for her extravagance, her devotion to the interests of Austria, and her opposition to reform of the monarchy. Marie exerted a growing influence over her husband, and under their reign the monarchy became dangerously alienated from the French people. In a legendary episode, Marie allegedly responded to the news that the impoverished French peasantry had no food to eat by declaring "Let them eat cake."

 

At the outbreak of the French Revolution, Marie and Louis resisted the advice of constitutional monarchists who sought to reform the monarchy in order to save it, and by 1791 opposition to the royal pair had become so fierce that the two were forced to attempt an escape to Austria.

 

In August 1792, the royal couple was arrested by the sansculottes and imprisoned.  The following January, Louis was convicted and condemned to death by a narrow majority. On January 21, he walked steadfastly to the guillotine and was executed. Nine months later, Marie Antoinette was convicted of treason by a tribunal, and on October 16 she followed her husband to the guillotine.

 

 

 

1849  New York City Establishes Hospital For Cholera Victims

 

On this day in 1849, the New York City Board of Health is finally able to establish a hospital to deal with a cholera epidemic that, before it ends, kills more than 5,000 people. The rapidly growing city was ripe for an epidemic of this kind because of poor health conditions and its status as a destination for immigrants from around the world.

 

 

 

1866  The U.S. Treasury Department added another coin to American currency by authorizing the minting of the nickel.  On its face was a shield, while on the  reverse was the number 5.

 

 

 

 

 

From 1883 until 1912, the head of Liberty was on the obverse while the Roman numeral 5 was on the reverse side.

 

 

 

 

In 1913, the U.S. Treasury minted nickels with Indian heads on one side and buffaloes on the other.

 

 

 

 

 

The current nickel is the Jefferson nickel, minted since 1938. The Jefferson nickel has a profile of none other than Thomas Jefferson on the face and a picture of his home, Monticello, on the flip side.

 

Today’s nickel is made of only 25 percent nickeland 75 percent copper. Its official name is the five-cent piece.

 

 

 

1929  First Academy Awards Ceremony

On this day in 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hands out its first awards, at a dinner party for around 250 people held in the Blossom Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California.

The brainchild of Louis B. Mayer, head of the powerful MGM film studio, the Academy was organized in May 1927 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement and improvement of the film industry. Its first president and the host of the May 1929 ceremony was the actor Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. Unlike today, the winners of the first Oscars--as the coveted gold-plated statuettes later became known--were announced before the awards ceremony itself.

 

1981  Bette Davis Eyes, by Kim Carnes, climbed to the top spot of the pop music chart and stayed there for five straight weeks, took a week off (replaced by Stars on 45 Medley by Stars on 45) and came back to number one for four more weeks!

It was, obviously, a gold record winner and was played over and over and over for 20 weeks before becoming an instant oldie but goodie. Bette Davis Eyes, incidentally, was written in part by Jackie DeShannon, who had two top ten hits in the 1960s: What the World Needs Now is Love in 1965 and the million-seller, Put a Little Love in Your Heart, in 1969.

 

1990  The entertainer who could do it all, Sammy Davis Jr., died of throat cancer at age 64, in Beverly Hills, California.

From vaudeville at age three (with his father and uncle) to the star of Broadway’s "Mr. Wonderful", from Las Vegas nightclubs to hit records, the actor, singer, dancer, impersonator, and musician performed his way into the hearts of young and old everywhere.