Ed Flanagan, a former Detroit Lions offensive lineman and four-
time Pro Bowl selection has died.  

Photo by A.J. Russell of the celebration following the driving
of the "Last Spike" at Promontory Summit, Utah.

On May 10, 1869, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central
Pacific railroads met in Promontory, Utah, and drive a ceremonial
last spike into a rail line that connects their railroads. This made transcontinental railroad travel possible for the first time in U.S.
history. No longer would western-bound travelers need to take
the long and dangerous journey by wagon train.

William (Billy) Martin Joel is a singer, pianist, and songwriter. He
has had a successful career as a solo artist since the 1970s.

His 1985 compilation album, Greatest Hits – Volume I & Volume II,
is one of the best-selling albums in the United States.

Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show opened in London on May 9, 1887
giving Queen Victoria and her subjects their first look at a
romanticized version of the American West.

A well-known scout for the army and a buffalo hunter for the
railroads (which earned him his nickname), Cody had gained
national prominence 15 years earlier thanks to a fanciful novel
written by Edward Zane Carroll Judson. Writing under the pen
name Ned Buntline, Judson made Cody the hero of his highly sensationalized dime novel The Scouts of the Plains; or, Red
Deviltry As It Is. In 1872, Judson also convinced Cody to travel
to Chicago to star in a stage version of the book. Cody broke
with Judson after a year, but he enjoyed the life of a performer
and stayed on the stage for 11 seasons.

William Frederick Cody “Buffalo Bill” 
(February 26, 1846 – January 10, 1917)

Edward Zane Carroll Judson Sr.
(March 20, 1821 – July 16, 1886)

On this day in history, May 9, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson
(above) issued a proclamation for Americans to show a public expression of reverence to mothers through the celebration of
Mother’s Day.

"Proclamation 1268 – Mother’s Day" stated, in part, "Whereas,
by a Joint Resolution approved May 8, 1914, designating the
second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day, and for other purposes,
the President is authorized and requested to issue a proclamation
calling upon the government officials to display the United
States flag on all government buildings," according to The
American Presidency Project of the University of California
Santa Barbara.

The proclamation continued, "And the people of the United
States [can] display the flag at their homes or other suitable
places on the second Sunday in May as a public expression
of our love and reverence for the mothers of our country."

Ann Maria Reeves Jarvis
(September 30, 1832 – May 9, 1905)

The first unofficial Mother’s Day observances
were organized by West Virginia resident Anna
Jarvis and held in Grafton, West Virginia, and
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on May 10, 1908,
according to the U.S. Census Bureau.