We take a look at some of the events that occurred on May 14th.

Today In …

1796 - Edward Jenner tested the first smallpox vaccine.

1804 - The Lewis & Clark expedition began.

1948 - Israel became an independent state.

1973 - Skylab was launched.

Sharing A Birthday Today…

Ian Astbury the front man for the rock band The Cult was born in 1962.

Cate Blanchett the Oscar winning actress of “The Aviator” and star of “Elizabeth” and “Notes on a Scandal” was born in 1969.

Jack Bruce the bass player for the rock band Cream was born in 1943.

David Byrne the singer for The Talking Heads was born in 1952.

Sofia Coppola the person behind the camera of “Lost in Translation” and “Marie Antoinette” and appeared in front of the camera in “Godfather III” was born in 1971.

Heloise Cruse the author known for the syndicated “Hints from Heloise” was born in 1919.

Bobby Darin the renowned singer of “Dream Lover” was born in 1934.

C.C. DeVille guitarist for the rock band Poison and star of TV’s “The Surreal Live” was born in 1962.

George Lucas the writer/director of the “Star Wars” movies and writer/producer of the “Indiana Jones” films was born in 1944.

Fabrice Morvan one half of the infamous music duo Milli Vanilli was born in 1966.

Tony Perez the fame baseball player was born in 1942.

Captain Arthur H. Rostron captain of the RMS Carpathia which rescued Titanic survivors was born in 1869.

Tim Roth who starred in “Four Rooms”, “Planet of the Apes” and “Reservoir Dogs” was born in 1961.

Amber Tamblyn who starred on TV’s “Joan of Arcadia” and in the movie “The Grudge 2” was born in 1983.

Danny Wood who was a member of music’s New Kids on the Block was born in 1969.

Robert Zemeckis the man behind the camera of the “Back to the Future” movies, “Forrest Gump” and “Cast Away” was born in 1952.

We Said Goodbye To…

Lyle Alzado the famed football player passed away in 1992 at the age of 43.

Hugh Beaumont best remembered as Ward Cleaver on TV’s “Leave It to Beaver” passed away in 1982 at the age of 73.

Billie Burke who was immortalized as Glinda in the film “The Wizard of Oz” passed away in 1970 at the age of 85.

Hugh Griffith who starred in “Ben-Hur” passed away in 1980 at the age of 67.

Rita Hayworth the screen siren who starred in “Gilda” passed away in 1987 at the age of 68.

Henry J. Heinz the founder of the H.J. Heinz Ketchup Company passed away in 1916 at the age of 71.

Anna Lee who starred as Lila Quartermaine on daytime TV’s “General Hospital” passed away in 2004 at the age of 91.

Frank Sinatra the legendary actor who won an Oscar for his role in “From Here to Eternity” and singer of “My Way” passed away in 1998 at the age of 82.

Robert Stack who starred in “Airplane!” and hosted TV’s “Unsolved Mysteries” passed away in 2003 at the age of 84.

Top Of The Charts On This Day In…

1977 - On The Country Charts – “Some Broken Hearts Never Mend” by Don Williams
1988 - “Anything For You” by Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine

TV Moments In…

1973 - The final episode of the NBC variety show “Laugh-In” aired.

1989 - The last episode of ABC’s “Moonlighting” aired.

1998 - The final episode of NBC’s “Seinfeld” aired.

2007 - The final episode of the CBS sitcom “King of Queens” aired.

Memorable Sports Moments In…

1900 - The summer Olympics began in Paris.

1904 - The first U.S. Olympic games began today in St. Louis, Missouri.

In Print In…

1842 - “Poems” by Alfred Lord Tennyson was first published.

Don’t forget about the Today In History Newsletter!