Elizabeth Steffy-Heisler (born 1808)

In 1808, in the year that Elizabeth Steffy-Heisler was born, in late November or early December, the "mystery volcano" erupted. The eruption was so large that it affected air temperatures, the color of the sun, and cloud formations. It is believed the volcano was located in the western Pacific Ocean, somewhere between Indonesia and Tonga. Scientists are still trying to figure out the (exact) where, when, and how.

In 1854, on May 30th, the Kansas–Nebraska Act became law. The act created both the Kansas Territory and the Nebraska Territory, which would determine for themselves if they would be pro-slavery or free. Both territories allowed slavery but it caused contention within the territories.

In 1892, on January 1st, Ellis Island opened to process immigrants. 700 passed through on the first day - in the first year, 450,000 were processed. The processing center was originally a 3 story wooden building - with outbuildings - that burned down a few years later.

In 1908, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was established as the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States; it simultaneously served as the nation's prime federal law enforcement agency. Stanley Finch was the first Chief (now called Director).

In 1961, on May 5th, Navy Cmdr. Alan B. Shepard, Jr., made the first manned Project Mercury flight, MR-3, in a spacecraft he named Freedom 7. He was the second man to go into space, the first was Yuri Gagarin - a Soviet cosmonaut.