May 9 Birthday
On May 9, 1960, the FDA approved Envoid, the first oral contraceptive. The pill separated sex from reproduction for the first time in human history. Its social consequences were immediate and far-reaching: women could control their fertility, delay marriage, pursue careers, and participate in the workforce on terms comparable to men. The pill was developed by Gregory Pincus, funded by Katharine McCormick, a suffragist and heiress who contributed $2 million. The early versions contained dangerously high doses of estrogen. The pill was initially prescribed only for married women in many states. By 1965, 6.5 million American women were taking it. By 1973, 10 million. The birth rate in the United States dropped by half between 1960 and 1975. Richard Byrd claimed to have flown over the North Pole on May 9, 1926, in a Fokker trimotor with pilot Floyd Bennett. The flight from Spitsbergen to the Pole and back took fifteen hours. Byrd was hailed as a hero. In 1996, a reanalysis of Byrd's flight diary found erased and altered calculations that suggested he had not actually reached the Pole — he may have turned back 150 miles short. If so, the first confirmed flight over the North Pole was made three days later by Roald Amundsen in the airship Norge. Byrd went on to explore Antarctica, where he spent five months alone in a weather station during the polar winter. J.M. Barrie, born this day in 1860, was five feet tall and looked like a boy. He created Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up. The character was inspired by Barrie's older brother David, who died in an ice-skating accident at thirteen. Their mother never recovered, and Barrie tried to take David's place. He gave the copyright for Peter Pan to Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. The hospital continues to receive royalties. Billy Joel, born this day in 1949, never learned to read music. "Piano Man" was his first hit — it was autobiographical, based on his time playing in a piano bar in Los Angeles. People born on May 9 fall under the zodiac sign of Taurus. The birthstone is Emerald and the birth flower is Lily of the Valley. Historical events on May 9 include 1926: Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett complete first flight over the North Pole, 1945: Hermann Göring captured by US forces in Bavaria, 1960: FDA approves first oral contraceptive pill (Envoid). Famous people born on May 9 include J.M. Barrie (1860), Glenda Jackson (1936), Billy Joel (1949).