Today in history:
On May 15, 1970, less than two weeks after the shooting at Kent State University, two Black students at Jackson State College in Mississippi were killed and 12 were injured when police opened fire during student demonstrations.
Also on this date:
In 1800, President John Adams ordered government offices to relocate from Philadelphia to the newly-constructed city of Washington, in the federal District of Columbia.
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act establishing the Department of Agriculture.
In 1928, the Walt Disney cartoon character Mickey Mouse appeared for the first time in front of a public audience in a test screening of the short “Plane Crazy.” (Mickey made his formal screen debut with the release of “Steamboat Willie” six months later.)
In 1940, brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald’s fast-food restaurant, in San Bernardino, California.
In 1967, the U.S. Supreme Court, in its In re Gault decision, ruled that juveniles accused of crimes were entitled to the same due process afforded adults.
In 1972, Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace was shot and left paralyzed while campaigning for president in Laurel, Maryland, by Arthur H. Bremer, who would serve 35 years in prison for the attempted murder.
In 2015, a jury sentenced Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to death for the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that killed three and left more than 260 wounded.
In 2020, President Donald Trump formally unveiled a coronavirus vaccine program called “Operation Warp Speed,” to speed development of COVID-19 vaccines and quickly distribute them around the country.
