15 Might 1859
Delivery in Paris of physicist Pierre Curie. In 1903 Curie, his spouse Marie Curie and Henri Becquerel can be collectively awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics for his or her work within the area of radiation.
15 Might 1911
The USA Supreme Courtroom declared the Customary Oil Firm to be an unreasonable monopoly and ordered that it must be divided into numerous competing companies.
15 Might 1940: The primary McDonald’s opens in San Bernardino
Californians get a style for quick meals on the go and two brothers make their fortune
North E Road in San Bernardino, California doesn’t appear to be a lot: a bland, sun-baked stretch of west coast suburbia, lined with strip malls and drive-ins. However if you get to No 1398, you see it – a hamburger restaurant. Or quite, the hamburger restaurant, the primary of 36,615 retailers of one of many world’s most well-known manufacturers.
The date was 15 Might 1940. Europe was in flames, however in California the engine of financial restoration was starting to roar after the ordeal of the Melancholy. In San Bernardino, a part of the nice sprawl stretching inland from Los Angeles, two brothers threw open the doorways of their new quick meals restaurant: McDonald’s Bar-B-Q.
Richard and Maurice McDonald had already opened a drive-in scorching canine stand in close by Arcadia. Now they opened up one other outlet, this time specialising in barbecue.
There was nowhere to sit down; you simply drove up, positioned your order from the easy 25-item menu on the counter, after which went off together with your meals. Pace was the entire level. This was the age of the auto. What was extra, this was southern California, the place all people – or virtually all people – had a automotive.
It was a powerful success. By 1948 the 2 brothers had streamlined the operation, reducing out a lot of the barbecue, altering the identify to McDonald’s and specialising in hamburgers.
5 years later, the pair started in search of franchise companions, with the primary new outlet opening in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1961 they cashed in, promoting their stake to Ray Kroc for $2.7m. They may have held out for extra. However, maybe sarcastically, they weren’t grasping. | Written by Dominic Sandbrook
15 Might 1957
Britain explodes its first H-Bomb above Christmas Island.
