Today in Nashville History

May 7th
-The cornerstone of the McKendree church was laid on May 7th, 1877.
-Former Nashville Mayor, Richard Boone Cheatham died in Nashville on May 7, 1877.

May 8th
The Nashville Industrial Exposition opened on May 8th, 1871.

May 9th
In 1989, Keith Whitley died of alcohol poisoning in Goodlettsville. He was 33.

May 10th
-In 1960, following a speech made by Dr. Martin Luther King at Fisk University, Nashville became the 1st major city in the South to begin desegregating its public facilities.
-Maybelle Addington Carter is born on May 10, 1909.

May 11th
Gibson's Bluegrass Showcase was opened on May 11, 2000 making it the first ever-working factory inside a shopping mall.

May 12th
Colonel Luke Lea launched the first issue of the Tennessean on Sunday, May 12, 1907.

May 13th
June Carter Cash died on May 15, 2003 in Nashville, from complications following heart surgery. She was interred in Hendersonville Memory Gardens in Hendersonville, Tennessee Johnny Cash died four months later.

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