May 19th

1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier set sail for North America.

1643 - Delegates from four New England colonies met in Boston to form a confederation.

1796 - The first U.S. game law was approved. The measure called for penalties for hunting or destroying game within Indian Territory.

1856 - U.S. Senator Charles Sumner spoke out against slavery.

1857 - The electric fire alarm system was patented by William F. Channing and Moses G. Farmer.

1864 - The Union and Confederate armies launched their last attacks against each other at Spotsylvania in Virginia.

1911 - The first American criminal conviction that was based on fingerprint evidence occurred in New York City.

1926 - Thomas Edison spoke on the radio for the first time.

1935 - The National Football League (NFL) adopted an annual college draft to begin in 1936.

1962 - Marilyn Monroe performed a sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday" for U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The event was a fund-raiser at New York's Madison Square Garden.

1992 - U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle criticized the CBS sitcom "Murphy Brown" for having its title character deciding to bear a child out of wedlock.

2000 - The bones of the most complete and best-preserved Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton went on display in Chicago.