Birthdays
John Wayne Ashmead
Turns 53 on this date
Alexander Robinson Boteler
Turns 44 on this date
Charles Mifflin Boyd
Turns 33 on this date
Martin Robinson Delany
Turns 47 on this date
William Henry Seward
Turns 58 on this date
Edmund Kirby Smith
Turns 35 on this date
Events
| Slavery/Abolition | A commercial convention focusing on the slave trade is meeting in Vicksburg, Mississippi |
05/10/1859 to 05/18/1859 |
| Crime/Disasters | Fire destroys a large part of Key West, Florida with 110 houses burned | 05/16/1859 |
| Lawmaking/Litigating | Governor Whiteaker convenes the legislature of the new state of Oregon for the first time | 05/16/1859 |
| Business/Industry | The Southern Commercial Convention is meeting in Vicksburg, Mississippi with slavery high on the agenda |
05/09/1859 to 05/19/1859 |
Documents
| Newspaper | New York Times, “Affray in Baltimore,” May 16, 1859 | 05/16/1859 |