Here are five interesting facts about May 19 in the history of the District of Columbia:

1. In 1780, John Adams, the second President of the United States, traveled to Philadelphia to attend the Continental Congress on May 19. During his trip, Adams kept a diary that provides invaluable insights into the politics and daily life of Revolutionary-era America.

2. On May 19, 1802, Dr. Anthony Fothergill became the first person to receive a medical degree from the medical school at Georgetown University, which had been founded just two years earlier.

3. In 1856, the U.S. Congress passed the Homestead Act, which offered millions of acres of government land to settlers in the District of Columbia and other parts of the country. This law helped to fuel the westward expansion of the United States and allowed many Americans to achieve the dream of owning their own land.

4. On May 19, 1898, a Spanish fleet was defeated by the United States Navy in the Battle of San Juan in Cuba. The victory was a key moment in the Spanish-American War and helped to establish the United States as a world power.

5. In 1943, the United States War Department issued a memo that established the Army Air Forces School of Aviation Medicine at Randolph Field in Texas. The school played a crucial role in advancing aviation medicine during World War II and beyond.