Explorer Robert Edwin Peary Sr. was born on May 6, 1856, in Cresson, Pennsylvania. Peary claimed to have been one of the first people to reach the North Pole. Though his claim has been debated, historians generally agree he at least came very close.
On May 5, 1891, Carnegie Hall officially opened to the public with a concert conducted by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Carnegie Hall has become one of the world’s most highly acclaimed venues, hosting both classical and popular music acts as well as important speeches and gatherings.
Horace Mann was born on May 4, 1796, in Franklin, Massachusetts. Mann was a pioneering educational reformer who improved public education in his home state. Many of his ideas were quickly adopted by several other states.
On May 2, 1749, the House of Burgesses approved the creation of a town that would become Alexandria, Virginia. George Washington helped plan the town’s street systems and Alexandria was part of the US capital for several years.
Frederick Law Olmsted was born on April 26, 1822, in Hartford, Connecticut. He’s considered the father of American landscape architecture. Some of his most well-known projects include New York’s Central and Prospect Parks as well as the US Capitol building grounds.
Gospel singer Clara Mae Ward was born on April 21, 1924, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was a talented singer who helped push gospel out of churches into nightclubs, which earned her both praise and criticism.
Anne Sullivan Macy was born Johanna Mansfield Sullivan on April 14, 1866, in Agawam, Massachusetts. Sullivan is most well-known for teaching Helen Keller to communicate by spelling out words on her hand.
Celebrity Chef Edna Lewis was born on April 13, 1916, in Freetown, Virginia. Lewis is credited with reviving the long-lost style of simple Southern cooking. She was the co-owner and only chef at Café Nicholson and wrote four cookbooks that infused classic recipes with personal stories.
Biochemist Melvin Calvin was born on April 8, 1911, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He earned the 1961 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discover of the Calvin cycle – the conversion of carbon dioxide into organic molecules during photosynthesis.