Mark The Day

In a letter written on May 23, 1785, Benjamin Franklin described an invention that would eventually become known as bifocal glasses. Frustrated by constantly switching between one pair of spectacles for reading and another for distance, Franklin developed a practical solution by combining both types of lenses into a single frame. His design placed the distance lens at the top and the reading lens at the bottom, allowing the wearer to simply move their eyes up or down as needed.

Franklin shared the idea with his friend George Whatley, explaining how useful the glasses had become during his time in France. As a diplomat, he appreciated being able to clearly see both the food on the table and the facial expressions of the people around him without changing glasses every few minutes. He even included a sketch of the design in his correspondence, describing the convenience of what he called “double spectacles.”

Like many of Franklin’s creations, including the lightning rod and swim fins, the bifocal design was developed to solve everyday problems rather than generate profit. He chose not to patent his inventions, believing practical ideas should be freely shared to benefit others. Today, Franklin is still widely recognized as the inventor of bifocal glasses.

William Harvey Carney received the Medal of Honor on May 23, 1900, for his extraordinary bravery during the Civil War. Although several Black American service members had already been presented with the award, Carney’s recognition honored actions that took place decades earlier, making him the first Black American to earn the distinction for wartime heroism. Born into slavery in Virginia in 1840, Carney later moved with his family to Massachusetts, where he eventually enlisted in the Union Army.

In 1863, Carney joined the famed 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Regiment, one of the first Black military units organized in the North. During the fierce assault on Fort Wagner in South Carolina, the regiment’s flag bearer was shot down in battle. Carney rushed forward to prevent the American flag from falling, carrying it despite suffering multiple gunshot wounds himself. He continued advancing while encouraging fellow soldiers forward and managed to keep the flag raised throughout the attack.

Severely injured, Carney survived the battle and was later honorably discharged from military service. Returning to Massachusetts, he built a quieter life working for the postal service and serving as a messenger at the Massachusetts State House. His courage at Fort Wagner became one of the most celebrated stories of the Civil War and secured his place in American military history.

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were killed by law enforcement officers on May 23, 1934, near Sailes, bringing an end to one of the most infamous crime sprees of the Great Depression era. The pair met in Texas when Bonnie was just 19 years old, and their relationship quickly became tied to Clyde’s growing criminal activity. After helping Clyde during one of his early prison sentences, Bonnie eventually joined him on the run, and together they launched a multi-state robbery spree that captured headlines across America.

Over the next two years, the so-called Barrow Gang robbed banks, stores, and gas stations throughout Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico, and Louisiana. The gang included several accomplices, among them Clyde’s brother Buck Barrow and longtime associate Raymond Hamilton. To police, Bonnie and Clyde were dangerous fugitives responsible for numerous killings, including the deaths of law enforcement officers. Yet during the hardships of the Depression, many members of the public viewed the glamorous young couple as rebellious folk heroes, helped in part by widely circulated photographs showing them posing playfully with guns and stolen cars.

Following several close calls and violent shootouts, retired Texas Ranger Frank Hamer was recruited to track the fugitives down. After months of investigation, Hamer and a team of Texas and Louisiana officers located the couple near the home of gang member Henry Methvin’s family in Louisiana. Before sunrise on May 23, officers concealed themselves along a rural road and opened fire when Bonnie and Clyde drove into the ambush. Their deaths ended the bloody career of the Barrow Gang, though the legend of the outlaw couple continued to grow for decades afterward, especially following the release of the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde starring Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty.

A massive earthquake measuring 9.5 in magnitude struck off the coast of Chile on May 22, 1960, triggering one of the most destructive tsunamis ever recorded. The powerful undersea quake caused a huge displacement of ocean water, sending waves racing across the Pacific Ocean at speeds exceeding 400 miles per hour. While the earthquake itself devastated Chile and claimed thousands of lives, the tsunami continued outward toward distant coastlines, including Hawaii and Japan.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning System successfully detected the approaching danger and issued alerts to Hawaii several hours before impact. Despite the warnings, some residents ignored evacuation advice, while others gathered near the shoreline to watch the incoming wave. When the tsunami reached the city of Hilo on May 23, enormous waves estimated at 35 feet high slammed into the bay, destroying buildings, sweeping vehicles out to sea, and tearing apart the waterfront. The disaster killed 61 people in Hilo alone and caused widespread destruction across the island.

After striking Hawaii, the tsunami continued westward across the Pacific. More than a day after the original earthquake, the waves reached Japan, where coastal communities on the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido suffered severe damage despite advance warnings. The tsunami killed approximately 180 people there, left tens of thousands homeless, and caused extensive property damage. The event remains one of the deadliest Pacific-wide tsunami disasters of the 20th century and reinforced the importance of international tsunami warning systems.

On May 24, 1844, American inventor Samuel F. B. Morse publicly demonstrated the power of the telegraph in front of members of Congress. From the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Morse sent a message to his assistant, Alfred Vail, who was waiting at a railroad station in Baltimore, Maryland. The famous message, “What Hath God Wrought?”, was quickly transmitted back to Washington. The phrase, taken from the Bible’s Book of Numbers, had been suggested by Annie Ellsworth, whose father served as the commissioner of patents.

Before becoming known for the telegraph, Morse had earned recognition as a talented painter. After hearing about early experiments with electrical communication in the 1830s, he devoted years to developing a practical telegraph system. During that time, he also helped create Morse code, the signal system that allowed words to be transmitted electronically. With financial support from Congress, a telegraph line linking Washington and Baltimore was finally completed, marking the beginning of a new era in communication.

The telegraph rapidly transformed life in the United States. Within ten years, tens of thousands of miles of telegraph wire stretched across the nation. Messages that once took days or weeks to deliver could suddenly arrive in moments, helping businesses grow, improving railroad safety, and connecting distant parts of an expanding country in ways that had never before been possible.

On May 24, 1935, Major League Baseball held its first official night game when the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 at Crosley Field. Newly installed stadium lights made the historic matchup possible, while thousands of fans packed the ballpark to witness something many baseball traditionalists once believed would never happen. President Franklin D. Roosevelt even participated from Washington, D.C., symbolically turning on the lights before the game began.

Night baseball had already proven successful in the minor leagues. The first professional night game had taken place in Iowa in 1930, attracting a crowd far larger than teams normally saw during the difficult years of the Great Depression. Minor league owners quickly realized evening games allowed working people to attend after work, helping struggling teams survive financially. Major League Baseball, however, was slower to embrace the idea, largely because many owners preferred to stick with tradition.

Once the Reds demonstrated how popular night baseball could be, the rest of the major leagues quickly took notice. Attendance in Cincinnati jumped dramatically, even though the team itself struggled on the field. Over the next several decades, stadiums across the country added lighting systems and night games became a regular part of the baseball schedule. Wrigley Field famously resisted the change longer than any other major league park, finally hosting its first official night game in 1988 when the Chicago Cubs defeated the New York Mets after an earlier rain-shortened attempt against the Phillies the night before.

On May 24, 1941, the German battleship Bismarck destroyed the British battlecruiser HMS Hood during a fierce naval battle in the North Atlantic near Iceland. The Bismarck, considered one of the most powerful warships of its time, was commanded by Admiral Günther Lütjens. The Hood, long regarded as the pride of the Royal Navy, had been one of Britain’s most famous warships since its launch after World War I. During the short but devastating encounter, the Hood suffered a catastrophic explosion and sank rapidly, taking more than 1,400 crew members with it. Only three sailors survived.

Although the battle was a major victory for Germany, the Bismarck did not escape unharmed. Damage to one of its fuel tanks limited its ability to continue operations, forcing Admiral Lütjens to head toward occupied France for repairs. British naval forces immediately launched an enormous pursuit across the Atlantic, determined to destroy the battleship before it could reach safety. The sinking of the Hood shocked Britain and fueled public demand for revenge.

Three days later, British aircraft and warships finally caught up with the Bismarck. After repeated torpedo attacks disabled the battleship’s steering, British naval forces surrounded and heavily bombarded the vessel until it sank on May 27, 1941. More than 2,000 German sailors, including Admiral Lütjens, lost their lives. The dramatic chase and destruction of the Bismarck became one of the most famous naval episodes of World War II.

On May 24, 2022, a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde became one of the deadliest school shootings in American history. An 18-year-old gunman entered the school armed with an AR-15-style rifle and opened fire inside two fourth-grade classrooms. Nineteen children and two teachers were killed, while many others were seriously injured during the attack.

Before arriving at the school, the shooter had reportedly shot and wounded his grandmother, who survived. He then drove to the elementary school, crashed his vehicle nearby, and entered the building through an unlocked door. Inside the classrooms, terrified students and teachers called 911 while law enforcement officers gathered outside the school. The response quickly became the focus of national outrage as heavily armed officers waited more than an hour before a tactical team finally entered the classrooms and killed the gunman.

The tragedy sparked widespread debate across the United States over school safety, police response procedures, and access to semi-automatic rifles. Investigations later criticized major failures in communication and decision-making during the emergency response. Families of the victims demanded accountability and called for stronger gun laws, while the shooting renewed painful comparisons to earlier tragedies such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The events in Uvalde left a lasting impact on the community and intensified the national conversation surrounding mass shootings in America.