MOMENTS IN TIME

• On May 14, 1796, English doctor Edward Jenner administers the world's first smallpox vaccinations by scratching cowpox fluid into the skin of an 8-year-old boy. Doctors across Europe soon adopted Jenner's technique, leading to a drastic decline in the spread of the disease.

• On May 15, 1970, at the White House, President Richard Nixon presents Sgt. John L. Levitow with the Medal of Honor for heroic action in South Vietnam. Levitow was the only enlisted airman to win the Medal of Honor in Vietnam.

• On May 16, 1929, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hands out its first awards. The Academy officially began using the nickname Oscar for its awards in 1939. The name of the award possibly arose when Academy executive director Margaret Herrick remarked that the statuette looked like her Uncle Oscar.

• On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, ruling that racial segregation in public educational facilities is unconstitutional.

• On May 18, 1861, newspaper reports recount a tale of how the wife of President Lincoln had taken it upon herself to appoint a stranger -- whom she had met on a train -- to any federal office he desired. The report also noted Mrs. Lincoln dancing with the same man many times at the Inauguration Ball in 1860, and suggested that she had apparently succumbed to his charm and flattery.

• On May 19, 1969, 6-year-old Jodie Foster makes her show-business debut, on the TV show "Mayberry R.F.D." Foster grew up to become one of Hollywood's most respected actresses, winning Oscars for her roles in "The Accused" (1988) and "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991).

• On May 20, 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis are given a patent to create work pants reinforced with metal rivets, marking the birth of one of the world's most famous garments: blue jeans, originally called "waist overalls."