What Happened on May 15?

May 15 is International Day of Families — and the day Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their San Bernardino restaurant in 1940. The same date launched America's first regular airmail service in 1918 and Gordon Cooper's Faith 7 capsule in 1963.

• 1252 — London Bridge accounts record toll income — among earliest bridge ledgers

  Medieval records from May 15, 1252, document tolls collected on London Bridge — showing how infrastructure was funded in the Middle Ages. Read the full story →

• 1918 — First scheduled U.S. airmail service begins

  Army pilots flew the first scheduled U.S. airmail route on May 15, 1918, from Washington, D.C., to New York via Philadelphia. Read the full story →

• 1940 — The McDonald brothers open their San Bernardino restaurant

  Richard and Maurice McDonald opened a streamlined drive-in on May 15, 1940, in San Bernardino, California — the seed of the global McDonald's chain. Read the full story →

• 1948 — Arab–Israeli War begins after Israel declares independence

  On May 15, 1948, Arab League states invaded Palestine hours after Israel's May 14 declaration — opening the first Arab–Israeli war. Read the full story →

• 1963 — Gordon Cooper launches aboard Faith 7 for the final Mercury mission

  Astronaut Gordon Cooper rode Faith 7 into orbit on May 15, 1963 — completing the longest and last flight of NASA's Mercury program. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Jasper Johns (1930) · Madeleine Albright (1937–2022) · Brian Eno (1948) · Andy Murray (1987)

Days & observances

International Day of Families · National Chocolate Chip Day · Peace Officers Memorial Day · National Nylon Stocking Day