On This Day..

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Events (May 7th)

* 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses. Justinian I immediately orders the dome rebuilt.
* 1274 - In France, the Second Council of Lyons opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
* 1429 - Joan of Arc ends the Siege of Orléans, pulling an arrow from her own shoulder and returning wounded to lead the final charge. The victory marks a turning point in the Hundred Years' War.
* 1697 - Stockholm's royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed in a huge fire (in the 18th century, it is replaced with the current Royal Palace).
* 1763 - Indian Wars: Pontiac's Rebellion begins - Chief Pontiac begins the "Conspiracy of Pontiac" by attacking British forces at Fort Detroit.
* 1824 - World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. Work was conducted by Michael Umlauf, under the deaf composer's supervision.
* 1832 - Greece is recognised independent by the Treaty of London. Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria is chosen King.
* 1840 - The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi, killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in U.S. history.
* 1847 - In Philadelphia, the American Medical Association (AMA) is founded.
* 1864 - American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
* 1895 - In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention - the first in the world radio receiver. In the former Soviet Union this day is celebrated as Day of Radio.
* 1896 - H. H. Holmes is hanged in Philadelphia.
* 1915 - World War I: a GermansubmarineU-20 sinks the RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people.
* 1920 - Polish-Bolshevik War: Polish-Ukrainian troops capture Kyiv during the Kiev Offensive.
* 1937 - Spanish Civil War: The GermanCondor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrive in Spain to assist Franco's forces.
* 1945 - World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany's participation in the war. The document will take effect the next day.
* 1946 - Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with about 20 employees.
* 1947 - Kraft Television Theater debuts, running for the next 11 years.
* 1948 - The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
* 1952 - The concept for the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey W.A. Dummer.
* 1954 - Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat (the battle began on March 13).
* 1960 - Cold War: U-2 Crisis - Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding AmericanU-2 pilot Gary Powers.
* 1964 - A Pacific Air LinesFair***** F-27 airliner crashes near San Ramon, California, killing all 44 aboard; the FBI later reports that a cockpit recorder tape indicates that the pilot and co-pilot had been shot by a suicidal passenger.
* 1974 - West German Chancellor Willy Brandt resigns.
* 1992 - Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.
* 1992 - Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its maiden voyage.
* 1992 - Three employees at a McDonald's Restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first fast-food murder in Canada.
* 1998 - Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
* 1999 - Pope John Paul II travels to Romania becoming the first pope that had visited a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.
* 1999 - A jury finds The Jenny Jones Show and Warner Bros. liable in the shooting death of Scott Amedure, after the show purposely deceived Jonathan Schmitz to appear on a secret same-sex crush episode. Schmitz later killed Amedure and the jury awarded Amedure's family US$25 million.
* 1999 - Kosovo War: In Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, three Chinese embassy workers are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft mistakenly bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
* 1999 - In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
* 2002 - A China Southern AirlinesMD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
* 2006 - Rolling Stone Magazine publishes its 1000th cover issue.
* 2006 - Arsenal F.C. play their last game at Highbury, or Arsenal Stadium. They have been playing there for 93 years.
Events (May 8th)

* 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
* 1541 - Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River and names it Río de Espíritu Santo.
* 1794 - Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror by revolutionists, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme Générale, was tried, convicted, and guillotined all on one day in Paris.
* 1846 - Mexican-American War: The Battle of Palo Alto – Zachary Taylor defeats a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war.
* 1861 - American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia, is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
* 1877 - At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens (ends May 11).
* 1886 - Pharmacist Dr. John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonatedCoca-Cola". beverage that would later be named "
* 1896 - Against Warwickshire, Yorkshire sets a still-standing County Championship record when they accumulate an innings total of 887.
* 1898 - The first games of the Italian Football League are played.
* 1899 - The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin opens.
* 1902 - In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of St. Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.
* 1914 - Paramount Pictures is formed.
* 1919 - Edward George Honey first proposed the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate The Armistice of World War I, which later resulted in the creation of Remembrance Day.
* 1933 - Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast in protest of British oppression in India.
* 1942 - World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end. This is the first time in the naval history where two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
* 1942 - World War II: On the night of 8/9 May 1942, gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islandsmutiny was crushed and three of them were executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War. rebelled. Their
* 1945 - World War II: VE Day. German forces agree to an unconditional surrender.
* 1945 - Thousands of Algerian civilians are killed by French ArmySetif massacre. soldiers in the
* 1967 - The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
* 1972 - Vietnam War – U.S. President Richard M. Nixon announces his order to place mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.
* 1973 - A 71-day standoff, between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.
* 1974 - The Canadian Government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is defeated in the House of Commons.
* 1984 - The Soviet Union announces that it will boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
* 1984 - Cpl. Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three and wounding 13. René Jalbert, sergeant-at-arms of the assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour.
* 1987 - The SAS ambushes and kills the Loughgall Martyrs.
* 1997 - A China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 crashes on approach into Shenzhen's Huangtian Airport, killing 35
* 1999 - Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel military college.
* 2005 - The new Canadian War Museum opens, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of V-E Day.

Events (May 9th)

* 328 - Athanasius is elected Patriarch bishop of Alexandria.
* 1092 - Lincoln Cathedral is consecrated.
* 1450 - 'Abd al-Latif Mirza (Timurid monarch) assassinated.
* 1502 - Christopher Columbus leaves Spain for his fourth and final journey to the "New World".
* 1671 - Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London. He is immediately caught because he is too drunk to run with the loot. He is later condemned to death and then mysteriously pardoned and exiled by King Charles II.
* 1726 - Five men arrested during a raid on Mother Clap's molly house in London are executed at Tyburn.
* 1868 - The city of Reno, Nevada, is founded.
* 1874 - The first horse-drawn omnibus made its début in the city of Mumbai, plying on two routes.
* 1887 - Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show opens in London.
* 1901 - Australia opens its first parliament in Melbourne.
* 1914 - J.T. Hearne becomes the first bowler to take 3000 first-class wickets.
* 1915 - World War I: Second Battle of Artois between German and French forces.
* 1920 - Polish-Soviet War: The Polish army under General Edward Rydz-Śmigły celebrated their capture of Kiev with a victory parade on Khreschatyk.
* 1926 - Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole (later discovery of his diary seems to indicate that this did not happen).
* 1927 - The Australian Parliament first convenes in Canberra.
* 1936 - Italy formally annexes Ethiopia after taking the capital Addis Ababa on May 5.
* 1940 - World War II: The German submarine U-9 sinks French coastal submarine Doris near Den Helder.
* 1941 - World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma cryptography machine which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.
* 1942 - World War II: Belgrade becomes the first Axis-conquered city to murder or eliminate its Jewish Population, largely with the help of Serbian collaborators.
* 1945 - World War II: The final German surrender to Marshal Georgy Zhukov at Berlin-Karlshorst is signed by Colonel-General Hans-Jürgen Stumpff as the representative of the Luftwaffe, Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel as the Chief of Staff of OKW, and Admiral Hans-Georg von Friedeburg as Commander-in-Chief of the Kriegsmarine.
* 1945 - World War II: Hermann Göring is captured by the United States Army.
* 1945 - World War II: Norway arrests Vidkun Quisling.
* 1945 - World War II: Red Army enters Prague (capitulation of Nazi occupation troops)
* 1945 - World War II: The Soviet Union marks Victory Day.
* 1945 - World War II: The Channel Islands are formally liberated by the British.
* 1946 - King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates and is succeeded by Humbert II.
* 1949 - Rainier III of Monaco becomes Prince of Monaco.
* 1950 - Robert Schuman presents his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the "Schuman declaration", is considered by some people to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
* 1950 - L. Ron Hubbard publishes his book on Dianetics, entitled "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.
* 1955 - Cold War: West Germany joins NATO.
* 1955 - Sam and Friends debuts on a local US television channel, marking the first television appearance of both Jim Henson and what would become Kermit the Frog and the Muppets.
* 1956 - First ascent of Manaslu, the world's eighth-highest mountain.
* 1960 - Reproductive rights: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves sale of the birth control pill.
* 1970 - Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 75,000 to 100,000 war protestors peacefully demonstrate behind a barricaded White House.
* 1974 - Watergate Scandal: The United States House of Representatives Judiciary Committee opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard M. Nixon.
* 1980 - In Florida, Liberian freighter SS Summit Venture hits the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay sending 35 people (most in a bus) to a watery death as a 1,400-foot section of the bridge collapses.
* 1980 - The first meeting of Pope John Paul II and the Archbishop of Canterbury takes place in Ghana.
* 1987 - A Polish LOT Ilyushin IŁ 62M "Tadeusz Kościuszko" (SP-LBG). crashes after takeoff in Warsaw, Poland, killing 183 people.
* 1987 - In Brussels, Belgium, Johnny Logan wins the thirty-second Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland singinA
* 1988 - Jerry Lawler wins the AWA heavyweight title from Curt Hennig in a retirement match at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, TN. This victory led to a later proclamation of a "Jerry Lawler" day from the mayor of Memphis.
* 1992 - In Malmö, Sweden, Linda Martin wins the thirty-seventh Eurovision Song Contest for Ireland singing "Why Me".
* 1992 - At 5:18 a.m. ADT The Westray Mine in Plymouth, Nova Scotia experiences a methane explosion killing all 26 miners who were working.
* 1994 - Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.
* 1998 - In Birmingham, United Kingdom, Dana International wins the forty-third Eurovision Song Contest for Israel singing "Diva".
* 2002 - The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem comes to an end when the Palestinians inside agree to have 13 suspected militants among them deported to several different countries.
* 2002 - In Kaspiysk, Russia, a remote-controlled bomb explodes during a holiday parade killing 43 and injuring at least 130.
* 2004 - Chechen president Akhmad Kadyrov is killed in a landmine bomb blast under a VIP stage during a World War II memorial victory parade in Grozny, Chechnya
* 2004 - The Canadian national team wins the World Ice Hockey Championship in Prague.
* 2006 - The Red Hot Chilli Peppers' album Stadium Arcadium is released.

Events (May 10th)

* 1291 - Scottish nobles recognize the authority of King Edward I of England.
* 1497 - Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World.
* 1503 - Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous sea turtles there.
* 1534 - Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland.
* 1768 - John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for the North Briton severely criticizing King George III. This action provokes rioting in London.
* 1774 - Louis XVI becomes King of France.
* 1775 - American Revolutionary War: Fort Ticonderoga is taken by a small force led by Colonel Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen.
* 1775 - American Revolutionary War: Representatives from the 13 colonies of the United States meet in Philadelphia and raise the Continental Army to defend the new republic. They place it under command of Cavalier George Washington of Virginia.
* 1796 - First Coalition: Napoleon I of France wins a decisive victory against Austrian forces at Lodi bridge over the River Adda in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.
* 1801 - First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States.
* 1824 - National Gallery in London opens to the public.
* 1837 - Panic of 1837: New York City banks fail, and unemployment reaches record levels.
* 1857 - Indian Mutiny: In India, the Sepoys revolt against the British Army.
* 1865 - American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is captured by Union troops near Irwinville, Georgia.
* 1865 - American Civil War: Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill in Kentucky, who lingers until his death on June 6.
* 1869 - The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah (not Promontory Point, Utah) with the golden spike.
* 1872 - Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.
* 1877 - Romania declares itself independent from Turkey, recognized on March 26, 1881 after the end of the Romanian independence war.
* 1908 - Mother's Day is observed for the first time (Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia, USA).
* 1922 - The USA annexes the Kingman Reef.
* 1924 - J. Edgar Hoover is appointed the Director of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, and remains so until his death in 1972.
* 1933 - Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.
* 1940 - World War II: The first German bombs of the war fall on England at Chilham and Petham, in Kent.
* 1940 - World War II: Germany invades Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg.
* 1940 - World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
* 1941 - World War II: The House of Commons in London is destroyed by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
* 1941 - World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland in order to try and negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany.
* 1954 - Bill Haley and the Comets release "Rock Around the Clock", the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the charts.
* 1960 - The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.
* 1969 - The first "Zip to Zap" rural outdoor rock concert at Zap, North Dakota, is ended prematurely as North Dakota National Guard is ordered to disperse the unruly crowd.
* 1970 - Bobby Orr flew through the air as he scored the game winning goal of a game in the Stanley Cup Final.
* 1979 - The Federated States of Micronesia becomes self-governing.
* 1981 - François Mitterrand takes office as the first Socialist President of France.
* 1988 - Michel Rocard becomes Prime Minister of France.
* 1993 - In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills 188 workers, mostly young women.
* 1994 - The U.S. state of Illinois executes serial killer John Wayne Gacy for the murder of 33 young men and boys.
* 1994 - An annular eclipse of the sun is visible across much of North America.
* 1996 - A "rogue storm" near the summit of Mount Everest kills eight climbers, making this the deadliest day in the mountain's history. Among the dead are experienced climbers Rob Hall and Scott Fischer, both of whom were leading paid expeditions to the summit.
* 1997 - An earthquake near Ardekul in northeastern Iran kills at least 2,400 people.
* 2001 - In Ghana, a stampede at a football game kills over 120 spectators.
* 2002 - FBI agent Robert Hanssen is given a life sentence without the possibility of parole for selling American secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
* 2002 - Lynda Lyon Block is executed in Yellow Mama, the electric chair of Alabama.
* 2003 - Record shattering tornado activity during the May 2003 Tornado Outbreak Sequence.
* 2005 - A hand grenade allegedly thrown by Vladimir Arutinian lands about 100 feet from United States President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but malfunctions and does not detonate.

Events (May 11th)

* 330 - Byzantium is renamed Nova Roma during a dedication ceremony, but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople.
* 1502 - Christopher Columbus leaves for his fourth and final voyage to the West Indies.
* 1745 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy – At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army.
* 1792 - Captain Robert Gray becomes the first documented Caucasian to visit the Columbia River.
* 1812 - Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons, London.
* 1818 - Charles XIV of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Sweden.
* 1857 - Indian Mutiny: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British.
* 1858 - Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd U.S. state.
* 1862 - American Civil War: The ironclad CSS Virginia is scuttled in the James River northwest of Norfolk, Virginia.
* 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Yellow Tavern – Confederate General JEB Stuart is mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern, Virginia.
* 1867 - Luxembourg gains its independence.
* 1894 - Pullman Strike: Three thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike in Illinois.
* 1910 - An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
* 1911 - The United States becomes a signatory to the Buenos Airescopyright treaty.
* 1927 - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded.
* 1928 - The first analog TV service is inaugurated by WGY, Schenectady, New York.
* 1934 - Dust Bowl: A strong two-day dust storm removes massive amounts of Great Plains topsoil in one of the worst dust storms of the Dust Bowl in North America.
* 1942 - William Faulkner's collections of short stories, Go Down, Moses, is published.
* 1943 - World War II: American troops invade Attu in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
* 1944 - World War II: The Allies start a major offensive against the Axis Powers on the Gustav Line.
* 1949 - Siam changes its name to Thailand.
* 1949 - Israel joins the United Nations.
* 1953 - The Waco Tornado: An F5 tornado hits downtown Waco, Texas, killing 114.
* 1960 - In Buenos Aires, Argentina, four Israeli Mossad agents capture fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann, living under the assumed name Ricardo Klement.
* 1960 - The first contraceptive pill is made available on the market.
* 1964 - Terence Conran opened the first Habitat store on London's Fulham Road.
* 1969 - Vietnam War: Operation Apache Snow – Near the Laos border, American and South Vietnamese forces fight North Vietnamese troops for Ap Bia Mountain (aka Hill 937 or "Hamburger Hill").
* 1970 - The Lubbock Tornado: An F5 tornado hits downtown Lubbock, Texas, killing 26.
* 1973 - Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has his charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times dismissed.
* 1984 - A transit of Earth from Mars takes place; no one is there to observe it.
* 1985 - 56 spectators die when a flash fire strikes a football ground during a match in Bradford, England.
* 1987 - Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
* 1987 - The first heart-lung transplant takes place (Baltimore, Maryland).
* 1992 - An election is held in the Philippines where General Fidel Ramos emerged as winner for President.
* 1995 - In New York City, more than 170 countries decide to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
* 1996 - After taking-off from Miami, a fire started by improperly handled oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades killing all 110 on board.
* 1997 - IBM's Deep Blue chess-playing supercomputer defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player.
* 1998 - An election is held in the Philippines where actor Joseph Estrada emerged as winner for President.
* 1998 - Nuclear testing: In the Rajasthan Desert, India conducts its first underground nuclear tests violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and inflaming its rival neighbor Pakistan (who already has nuclear weapons).
* 2000 - Last performance of the musical Cats (musical) in London's West End.
* 2004 - The Stockline Plastics factory explosion in Glasgow kills nine people.

Events (May 12th)

* 1191 - Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre.
* 1264 - The Battle of Lewes, between King Henry III of England and the rebel Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, begins.
* 1328 - Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome by the Bishop of Venice.
* 1364 - Jagiellonian University in Kraków, the oldest university in Poland, was founded in Kraków, Poland.
* 1551 - National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, was founded in Lima, Peru.
* 1588 - French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry of Guise enters the city.
* 1689 - King William's War: William III of England joins the League of Augsburg starting a war with France.
* 1780 - American Revolutionary War: Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces.
* 1797 - First Coalition: Napoleon I of France conquers Venice.
* 1862 - U.S federal troops occupy Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
* 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers die in "the Bloody Angle".
* 1870 - The Manitoba Act was given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15.
* 1873 - Oscar II of Sweden-Norway is crowned King of Sweden.
* 1881 - In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate.
* 1885 - North-West Rebellion: The four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.
* 1890 - The first-ever official County Championship match begins. Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets at Bristol. George Ulyett scores the first century in the competition.
* 1926 - UK General Strike 1926: In the United Kingdom, a nine-day general strike by trade unions ends.
* 1932 - Ten weeks after his abduction, the infant son of Charles Lindbergh is found dead in Hopewell, New Jersey just a few miles from the Lindbergh's home.
* 1937 - Coronation of King George VI of Britain at Westminster Abbey.
* 1942 - World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov – In the eastern Ukraine, the Soviet Army initiates a major offensive. During the battle the Soviets will capture the city of Kharkov from the German Army, only to be encircled and destroyed.
* 1942 - 1,500 Jews are sent to gas chambers in Auschwitz.
* 1949 - Cold War: The Soviet Union lifts its Blockade of Berlin.
* 1952 - Gaj Singh crowned Maharaja of Jodhpur.
* 1958 - A formal North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement is signed between the United States and Canada.
* 1962 - Douglas MacArthur delivers his famous "Duty, Honor, Country" valedictory speech at West Point.
* 1965 - The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon.
* 1966 - Busch Memorial Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball team, opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
* 1967 - At Queen Elizabeth Hall, England, Pink Floyd stages the first-ever quadraphonic rock concert.
* 1970 - Ernie Banks becomes the ninth member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Illinois.
* 1972 - The Rolling Stones release Exile On Main Street, often considered their best album.
* 1975 - Mayagüez incident: The Cambodian navy seizes the American merchant ship SS Mayaguez in international waters.
* 1978 - In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba. The government of Zaire asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
* 1989 - A Southern Pacific Railroad freight train derails on Duffy Street on the very steep Cajon Pass in San Bernardino, California.
* 1997 - In the 7th inning of a baseball game between the Anaheim Angels and the Chicago White Sox, the Angels score 13 runs.
* 1999 - David Steel becomes the first Presiding Officer (speaker) of the modern Scottish Parliament.
* 2000 - The Tate Modern art gallery opens in London.
* 2001 - In Copenhagen, Denmark, Tanel Padar & Dave Benton win the forty-sixth Eurovision Song Contest for Estonia singing "Everybody".
* 2002 - Former President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro becoming first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro's 1959 revolution.
* 2003 - The Riyadh compound bombings, carried out by Al Qaeda, kill 26.

Events (May 13th)

* 1497 - Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola.
* 1568 - Battle of Langside: the forces of Mary Queen of Scots are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother.
* 1619 - Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after having been accused of treason.
* 1648 - Construction of the Red Fort at Dehli was completed.
* 1779 - War of Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives the part of its territory that was taken from them (the Inn District).
* 1787 - Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England with eleven ships full of convicts (First Fleet) to establish a penal colony in Australia.
* 1830 - Ecuador gains its independence.
* 1846 - Mexican-American War: The United States declares war on Mexico.
* 1848 - First performance of Finland's national anthem.
* 1861 - American Civil War: Queen Victoria of Britain issues a "proclamation of neutrality" which recognizes the breakaway states as having belligerent rights.
* 1861 - Great Comet of 1861 discovered in Australia.
* 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Resaca – the battle begins with Union General Sherman fighting toward Atlanta.
* 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Palmito Ranch – In far south Texas, more than a month after Confederate General Lee's surrender, the last land battle of the Civil War ends with a Confederate victory.
* 1880 - In Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway.
* 1888 - With the passage of the Lei Áurea ("Golden Law"), Brazil abolishes slavery.
* 1909 - The first Giro d'Italia took place in Milan. Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna was the winner.
* 1912 - In the United Kingdom, the Royal Flying Corps (now the Royal Air Force) was established.
* 1913 - Igor Sikorsky becomes the first man to pilot a four-engine aircraft.
* 1917 - Three peasant *****ren report seeing the Blessed Virgin Mary near Fatima, Portugal.[1]
* 1917 - The Nuncio Eugenio Pacelli, the future Pope Pius XII, is consecrated Archbishop by Pope Benedict XV.
* 1940 - World War II: Germany's conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse River. Churchill makes his "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" speech to the House of Commons.
* 1940 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees the Nazi invasion in the Netherlands to Britain. Princess Juliana takes her *****ren to Canada for their safety.
* 1941 - World War II: Serbian royal officer Dragoljub Mihailovitchstarts fighting with German occupation troops, beginning the Serbian resistance.
* 1943 - World War II: German Afrika Korps and Italian troops in North Africa surrender to Allied forces.
* 1948 - 1948 Arab-Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre is committed by Arab irregulars, the day before the declaration of independence of the state of Israel on May 14.
* 1958 - During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard M. Nixon's car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
* 1958 - Pierre Pflimlin becomes Prime Minister of France.
* 1958 - Velcro's trade mark is registered.
* 1967 - Dr. Zakhir Hussain became 3rd President of India. He was the first Muslim President of Indian Union. He held this position till August 24, 1969.
* 1969 - Race riots in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, later known as the 13 May Incident.
* 1972 - Faulty electrical wiring ignites a fire underneath the Playtown Cabaret in Osaka. Blocked exits and nonfunctional elevators cause 118 fatalities, with many victims leaping to their deaths.
* 1981 - Mehmet Ali AÇca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in Rome.
* 1985 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania police storm MOVE headquarters to end a stand-off killing 11 MOVE members and destroying the homes of 250 city residents.
* 1996 - Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
* 1998 - Following India's second round of nuclear tests the United States and Japan impose economic sanctions.
* 1998 - India carries out two more nuclear tests at Pokharan in Rajasthan.
* 2000 - Lara Dutta (21), who said beauty pageants give women a platform to voice our choices and opinions is named Miss Universe 2000 in the Cyprus capital Nicosia.
* 2000 - In Enschede, the Netherlands, a fireworks factory explodes, killing 22 people, wounding 950, and resulting in approximately €450 million in damage.
* 2005 - The Andijan Massacre occurs in Uzbekistan.

Events (May 14th)

* 1264 - Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured in France making Simon de Montfort the de facto ruler of England.
* 1483 - Coronation of Charles VIII of France ("Charles l'Affable").
* 1509 - Battle of Agnadello: In northern Italy, French forces defeat the Venetians.
* 1607 - Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony.
* 1608 - Protestant Union founded in Auhausen.
* 1643 - Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.
* 1747 - A British fleet under AdmiralGeorge Anson defeats the French at first battle of Cape Finisterre.
* 1787 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates begin to meet to write a new Constitution for the United States.
* 1796 - Edward Jenner administers the first smallpoxvaccination.
* 1804 - The Lewis and Clark Expedition departs from Camp Dubois and begin their historic journey by traveling up the Missouri River.
* 1811 - Paraguay gains independence from Spain.
* 1861 - The Canellas meteorite, an 859-gramchondrite-type meteorite strikes the earth near Barcelona, Spain.
* 1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Jackson (MS).
* 1870 - The first game of rugby in New Zealand is played in Nelson between Nelson College and the Nelson Rugby Football Club.
* 1889 - The *****ren's charity the NSPCC is launched in London.
* 1900 - The 1900 Summer Olympics open in Paris.
* 1913 - New YorkGovernorWilliam Sulzer approves the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100 million donation from John D. Rockefeller.
* 1927 - Cap Arcona is launched at the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg.
* 1929 - Wilfred Rhodes takes his 4000th first-class wicket during a performance of 9 for 39 at Leyton.
* 1931 - Ådalen shootings, five people are killed in Ådalen, Sweden, as soldiers open fire on an unarmed trade union manifestation.
* 1935 - The Filipinos ratify an independence agreement.
* 1935 - NorthamptonshireCricket Club gains (over Somerset at Taunton by 48 runs) what proved to be their last victory for 99 matches, easily a record in the County Championship. Their next Championship win was not until 29 May, 1939.
* 1939 - Lina Medina becomes the world's youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.
* 1940 - World War II: Rotterdam is bombed by the GermanLuftwaffe.
* 1940 - World War II: The Netherlands surrender to Germany.
* 1948 - Israel declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel was attacked by the neighboring Arab state/
* 1955 - Cold War: Eight communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defence treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
* 1961 - American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders bus is fire-bombed near Anniston, Alabama, and the civil rights protestors are beaten by an angry mob.
* 1970 - The Red Army Faction is established in Germany.
* 1973 - Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched. It is the last launch of the Saturn V rocket.
* 1977 - In Milan, Italy, during a demonstration of the far-left, some hooded extremist shoot at the police, killing a policeman, Antonino Custrà. The scene is photographed and the picture of the hooded man shooting in the middle of the street will appear in many magazines around the world.
* 1978 - First round of the presidential elections in Upper Volta.
* 1981 - Concert in Caracas of El Trabuco Venezolano and Irakere (First day).
* 1986 - Formula One Italian driver Elio De Angelis has a terrible crash with his Brabham at the Paul Ricard circuit in France during a test session. He will die the day later at the Marseille hospital.
* 1995 - Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, proclaims six-year-old Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the eleventh reincarnation of the Panchen Lama.
* 1998 - The finale of Seinfeld airs on NBC, with 76 million viewers tuning in to watch Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer stand trial in the fictional Lathem, MassachusettsGood Samaritan Law.
* 2002 - Ten members of the Darwin-based Network Against Prohibition invade the Legislative Assembly of the Northern Territory of Australia.
* 2004 - The marriage of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark and Mary Donaldson takes place in Copenhagen.
* 2005 - Pope Benedict XVI observes his first beatification, elevating Blessed Marianne of Molokai on the road to canonization into sainthood

Events (May 15th)

* 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad exstirpanda, which authorizes the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition. Torture quickly gains widespread usage across Catholic Europe.
* 1514 - Jodocus Badius Ascensius publishes Christiern Pedersen's LatinSaxo’s Gesta Danorum, the oldest known version of that work. version of
* 1525 - The battle of Frankenhausen ends the Peasants' War.
* 1602 - Bartholomew Gosnold becomes the first European to see Cape Cod.
* 1618 - Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made).
* 1701 - The War of the Spanish Succession begins.
* 1718 - James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun.
* 1756 - The Seven Years' War begins when England declares war on France.
* 1776 - American Revolution: Virginia convention instructs its delegates to propose a declaration of independence from Great Britain.
* 1795 - First Coalition: Napoleon I of France enters Milan in triumph.
* 1811 - Paraguay declares independence from Spain.
* 1836 - Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse.
* 1849 - Troops of the Two Sicilies take Palermo and crush the republican government of Sicily.
* 1851 - Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand.
* 1858 - The third Royal Opera House officially opens in London.
* 1862 - President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture (later renamed USDA).
* 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Resaca, Georgia ends.
* 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia – Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the ConfederateUnion General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley. Army to force
* 1869 - Woman's suffrage: In New York, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association.
* 1897 - The Greek army retreats with heavy losses in Greco-Turkish War
* 1902 - In a field outside Grass Valley, California, Lyman Gilmoreairplane (a steam-powered glider). reportedly becomes the first person to fly a powered
* 1905 - Las Vegas, Nevada, is founded when 110 acres (0.4 km²), in what later would become downtown, are auctioned off.
* 1910 - The last time a major earthquake happened on the Lake Elsinore Fault.
* 1911 - The United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be dissolved.
* 1914 - Bolivia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyrighttreaty.
* 1918 - Finnish Civil War ends.
* 1918 - The US Post Office Department (later renamed the USPS) begins the first regular airmail service in the world (between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC).
* 1919 - The Winnipeg General Strike began. By 11:00, virtually the entire working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job.
* 1919 - Greek invasion of Izmir, resulting in the massacre of hundreds of Turks by the Greek army. Hasan Tahsin fired the first gun of the Turkish War of Independence.
* 1928 - Release of the animated short "Plane Crazy", featuring the first appearances of Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
* 1930 - Aboard a Boeing tri-motor, Ellen Church becomes the first airline stewardess, on a flight from Oakland, California to Chicago, Illinois.
* 1932 - The May 15 Incident. In an attempted coup the Prime MinisterJapan Inukai Tsuyoshi is killed. of
* 1934 - The United States Department of Justice offers a $25,000 reward for John Dillinger.
* 1934 - Kārlis Ulmanis establishes an authoritarian government in Latvia.
* 1940 - Nylon stockings go on sale for the first time in the United States.
* 1940 - World War II: German troops occupy Amsterdam and invade Northern France.
* 1941 - Baseball player Joe DiMaggio starts his record-breaking 56-game hitting streak.
* 1942 - World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.
* 1943 - Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
* 1945 - Last skirmish of the Second World War in Europe fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.
* 1948 - Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi ArabiaIsrael. attack
* 1951 - The Polish cultural attache in Paris, Czeslaw Milosz, asks the French government for political asylum.
* 1955 - Austrian Independence Treaty signed.
* 1955 - First ascent of Makalu, the world's fifth highest mountain.
* 1957 - Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.
* 1958 - The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3.
* 1960 - The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 4.
* 1963 - Mercury program: America launches the last mission of the program, Mercury 9 (on June 12 NASA Administrator James E. WebbCongress the program was complete). told
* 1964 - The Smothers Brothers give their first concert in Carnegie HallNew York City. in
* 1970 - The Beatles' last LP, Let It Be, is released in the United States.
* 1970 - President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army Generals.
* 1970 - Philip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green killed at Jackson State University by police during student protests.
* 1972 - The island of Okinawa, under US military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.
* 1972 - In Laurel, Maryland, Arthur Bremer shoots and paralyzes Alabama Governor George Wallace while Wallace is campaigning to be American President.
* 1978 - Lagumot Harris, having only been elected President less than a month before, is replaced as the leader of the republic of Nauru. He is succeeded by Hammer DeRoburt.
* 1981- Concert in Caracas of El Trabuco Venezolano and Irakere(Second day).
* 1988 - Soviet war in Afghanistan: After more than eight years of fighting, the Red Army begins its withdrawal from Afghanistan.
* 1990 - Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent van Gogh is sold for a record $82.5 million, the most expensive painting at the time.
* 1991 - Edith Cresson becomes France's first female prime minister.
* 1992 - The Genoa Expo '92 World's Fair opens in Genoa, Italy.
* 2004 - The largest known prime number at the time of its discovery, 224036583 − 1, is found by Josh Findley and the GIMPS collaborative effort.

Events (May 16th)

* 1204 - Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned first Emperor of the Latin Empire.
* 1527 - The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes a republic.
* 1532 - Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.
* 1568 - Mary Queen of Scots flees to England.
* 1605 - Paul V becomes Pope.
* 1770 - 14-year old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste who later becomes king of France.
* 1777 - Lachlan McIntosh and Button Gwinnett shoot each other during a duel near Savannah, Georgia. Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, dies three days later.
* 1836 - Edgar Allan Poe marries his 13-year-old cousin Virginia.
* 1843 - The first major wagon train heading for the Northwest sets out with one thousand pioneers from Elm Grove, Missouri on the Oregon Trail.
* 1866 - The U.S. Congress eliminates the half dime coin and replaces it with the five cent piece, or nickel.
* 1866 - Charles Elmer Hires invents root beer.
* 1868 - President Andrew Johnson is acquitted during his impeachment trial, by one vote in the United States Senate.
* 1874 - A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroyed much of four villages and killed 139 people .
* 1910 - The U.S. Congress authorizes the creation of the United States Bureau of Mines.
* 1918 - The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government a jailable offense.
* 1919 - US Navy Naval Curtiss aircraft NC-4 commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.
* 1920 - In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc as a saint.
* 1929 - In Hollywood, California, the first Academy Awards are handed out.
* 1938 - A fire at the Terminal Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia, kills 35 people.
* 1943 - Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.
* 1943 - World War II: The Dambuster Raids by No. 617 Squadron RAF on German dams.
* 1948 - Chaim Weizmann is elected as the first President of Israel.
* 1960 - Nikita Khrushchev demands an apology from US President Dwight D. Eisenhower for U-2 spy plane flights over the Soviet Union thus ending a Big Four summit in Paris.
* 1960 - Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser, at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
* 1965 - Campbell Soup Company introduces SpaghettiOs under its Franco-American brand.
* 1966 - The Communist Party of China issued the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
* 1969 - Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet spaceprobe, lands on Venus.
* 1972 - Decimal currency introduced in Malta. The Pound sterling is henceforth divided into 100 cents.
* 1975 - India annexes Sikkim after the mountain state held a referendum where popular vote was in favour of merging with India.
* 1975 - Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
* 1988 - A report by American Surgeon General C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
* 1992 - STS-49: Space Shuttle Endeavour lands safely after a successful maiden voyage.
* 2003 - In Casablanca, Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
* 2005 - Kuwait permits women's suffrage in a 35-23 National Assembly vote.
* 2006 - A large magnitude 7.4 earthquake occurs near New Zealand.

Events (May 17th)

* 1521 - Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, is executed for treason.
* 1590 - Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.
* 1642 - Paul Chomedey, sieur de Maisonneuve (1612–1676) founds the Ville Marie de Montréal.
* 1673 - Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.
* 1775 - American Revolutionary War: The Continental Congress bans trade with Canada.
* 1792 - The New York Stock Exchange is formed.
* 1809 - Napoleon I of France orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire.
* 1814 - Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian.
* 1814 - The Constitution of Norway is signed and the Danish Crown Prince Christian Frederik is elected King of Norway by the Constitutional assembly.
* 1846 - The saxophone is patented by Adolphe Sax.
* 1849 - A fire threatens to burn St. Louis, Missouri, to the ground.
* 1863 - Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, her first book in the Galician language.
* 1865 - The International Telegraph Union (the later International Telecommunication Union) is established.
* 1875 - Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby.
* 1900 - Second Boer War: British troops relieve Mafeking.
* 1902 - Archaeologist Spyridon Stais finds the Antikythera mechanism.
* 1915 - The last British Liberal Party government (Herbert Henry Asquith) falls.
* 1919 - Committee of One Thousand forms to oppose Winnipeg General Strike.
* 1933 - Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling — the national-socialist party of Norway.
* 1940 - World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.
* 1943 - The United States Army contracts with the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School to develop the ENIAC.
* 1954 - The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.
* 1967 - Six-Day War: President Abdul Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt.
* 1969 - Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.
* 1970 - Thor Heyerdahl sets sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat Ra II to sail the Atlantic Ocean.
* 1973 - Watergate scandal: Hearings begin in the United States Senate and are televised.
* 1974 - Police in Los Angeles, California, raid the Symbionese Liberation Army's headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.
* 1974 - Thirty-three people are killed by terrorist bombings in Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland.
* 1980 - General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.
* 1983 - Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
* 1984 - Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a "monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend," sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.
* 1987 - An Iraqi fighter jet fires two missiles into the U.S. warship USS Stark (FFG-31), killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew.
* 1992 - In Thailand, the so-called Black May begins. Thai police and protestors start attacking one another. By midnight, the current Thai government declares a state of emergency, and military troops, equipped with M-16 rifles, open fire.
* 1995 - After 18 years as the mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac takes office as President of France.
* 1999 - Ehud Barak is elected prime minister of Israel.
* 2004 - Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts.

Events (May 18th)

* 1152 - Henry II marries Eleanor of Aquitaine.
* 1268 - The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch; Baibars' destruction of the city of Antioch was so great as to permanently negate the city's importance.
* 1593 - Playwright Thomas Kyd's accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe.
* 1631 - In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.
* 1652 - Rhode Island passes the first law in North America making slavery illegal.
* 1765 - Fire destroys a large part of Montreal, Quebec.
* 1783 - First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada after leaving the United States.
* 1803 - Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.
* 1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of France by the French Senate.
* 1811 - Las Piedras Battle first great military triumph of the liberating revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay leaded by Jose Artigas.
* 1848 - Opening of the first German National AssemblyNationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany. (
* 1863 - American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg begins, ending on July 4.
* 1869 - Surrender and dissolution of the Ezo Republic to Japan.
* 1876 - Wyatt Earp starts work in Dodge City, Kansas under MarshalLarry Deger.
* 1896 - The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that separate but equal is constitutional.
* 1897 - Dracula, a novel by Irish author Bram Stoker is published.
* 1900 - The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.
* 1910 - The Earth passes through the tail of Comet Halley.
* 1917 - World War I: The Selective Service Act passes the U.S. Congress giving the President the power of conscription.
* 1926 - Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears while visiting a Venice, California, beach.
* 1927 - The Bath School Disaster: Forty-five people are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Michigan.
* 1933 - New Deal: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
* 1944 - World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino - Germans evacuate Monte Cassino and Allied forces take the stronghold after a struggle that claimed 20,000 lives.
* 1944 - Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Uniongovernment .
* 1944 - World War II: SS troops burn down six villages in the Brkini hills in south western Slovenia.
* 1948 - The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.
* 1953 - Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier (she flew in a F-86 Sabrejet at an average speed of 652.337 miles per hour (1049.835 km/h) at Rogers Dry Lake, California).
* 1958 - An F-104 Starfighter sets a world speed record of 1,404.19 mph (2,259.82 km/h).
* 1959 - Launching of the National Liberation Committee of Côte d'Ivoire in Conakry, Guinea.
* 1969 - Apollo program: Apollo 10 launches.
* 1974 - Nuclear test: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
* 1974 - Completion of the Warsaw radio mast, the tallest construction ever built at the time. It later collapses on August 8, 1991.
* 1980 - 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption: Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
* 1980 - Gwangju Massacre: Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations, calling for democratic reforms.
* 1980 - Peru: Terrorist group Shining Path attacked a voting poll in the town of Chuschi, Ayacucho starting their activities.
* 1983 - In Ireland, scene of remarkable pirate radio broadcasting during the decade, the Government launched a crackdown, with the leading Dublin pirate Radio Nova being put off the air.
* 1992 - The Archivist of the United States issues a proclamation to officially announce that the 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has been ratified, despite more than 200 years for completion of the ratification process by the state legislatures.
* 1995 - Alain Juppé becomes Prime Minister of France.
* 1998 - United States v. Microsoft: The United States Department of Justice and 20 U.S. states file an antitrust case against Microsoft.
* 2004 - Randy Johnson throws the 17th perfect game in Major League Baseball history and became the oldest pitcher to throw a perfect game.

Events (May 19th)

* 1535 - French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona's two sons (whom Cartier kidnapped during his first voyage).
* 1536 - Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for *****ery.
* 1568 - Queen Elizabeth I of England has Mary Queen of Scots arrested.
* 1604 - The town of Montreal is founded.
* 1643 - Thirty Years' War: French forces under the duc d'Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.
* 1649 - An Act declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years.
* 1749 - King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River.
* 1780 - Never-explained complete darkness falls on Eastern Canada and the New England area of the United States at 2 pm.
* 1802 - The Légion d'Honneur is founded by Napoleon Bonaparte.
* 1828 - U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States.
* 1848 - Mexican-American War: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo – Mexico ratifies the treaty thus ending the war and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of five other modern-day U.S. states to the USA for USD $15 million.
* 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Spotsylvania Court House ends.
* 1897 - Oscar Wilde is released from Reading Gaol.
* 1919 - In Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk moves to Samsun from Istanbul with a few followers, to oppose the Ottoman government, which eventually leads to the Turkish War of Independence.
* 1921 - The Emergency Quota Act passes the U.S. Congress establishing national quotas on immigration
* 1922 - Young Pioneer organization of the Soviet Union is established.
* 1943 - World War II: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt set Monday, May 1, 1944 as the date for the cross-English Channel landing (D-Day would later be delayed over a month due to bad weather).
* 1960 - Radio personality Alan Freed — aka The Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll — is arrested and charged with 26 counts of commercial bribery as part of the government’s payola investigation.
* 1961 - Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly-by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back data).
* 1962 - A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's infamous rendition of Happy Birthday. Thirty-four years later, John F. Kennedy, Jr. had actress Drew Barrymore pose as Monroe for the cover of George magazine with the heading "Happy Birthday, Mr. President" in honor of then-President Bill Clinton turning 50.
* 1971 - Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.
* 1985 - China national football team was eliminated from the preliminary round of FIFA World Cup after being defeated unexpectedly by Hong Kong national football team by 1:2 at Beijing, leading to a local riot by football fans.
* 2005 - Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is released into theaters worldwide, completing George Lucas' 28 year old saga which first appeared in 1977 and includes 6 episodes.

Events (May 20th)

* 325 - The First Council of Nicaea – the first Ecumenical Council of the Christian Church – is held.
* 526 - An earthquake kills about 300,000 people in Syria and Antiochia.
* 685 - The Battle of Dunnichen or Nechtansmere is fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated.
* 1217 - The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke.
* 1293 - King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Study of General Schools of Alcalá.
* 1497 - John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship The Mathew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a 2 May date).
* 1498 - Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut),India.
* 1521 - Battle of Pampeluna; Ignatius Loyola seriously wounded in the battle.
* 1570 - Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues the first modern atlas.
* 1631 - The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years' War.
* 1690 - England passes the Act of Grace, forgiving followers of Catholic James II.
* 1813 - Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.
* 1845 - HMS Erebus and HMS Terror with 134 men under John Franklin sail from the River Thames in England, beginning a disastrous expedition to find the Northwest Passage. All hands are lost.
* 1861 - American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state.
* 1861 - American Civil War: The state of North Carolina secedes from the Union, joining The Confederacy.
* 1862 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law.
* 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church - In the Virginia Bermuda Hundred Campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory.
* 1873 - Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a US patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
* 1882 - The Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy is formed.
* 1883 - The eruption of Krakatoa begins, leading ultimately to the volcano's destruction three months later.
* 1891 - History of cinema: First public display of Thomas Alva Edison's prototype kinetoscope (shown at Edison's Laboratory for a convention of the National Federation of Women's Clubs).
* 1896 - The six ton chandelier of the Palais Garnier falls on the crowd resulting in the death of one and the injury of many others.
* 1902 - Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the first President of Cuba.
* 1916 - The Saturday Evening Post publishes its first cover with a Norman Rockwell painting ("Boy with Baby Carriage").
* 1920 - The Weimarer Nationalversammlung, the national assembly of Germany's Weimar Republic, is permanently dissolved.
* 1920 - Montreal Quebec station XWA broadcasts the first regularly scheduled radio programming in North America.
* 1927 - By the Treaty of Jedda, the United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merged to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
* 1927 - At 07:52 Charles Lindbergh takes off from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York, on the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, touching down at Le Bourget Field in Paris at 22:22 the next day.
* 1932 - Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
* 1940 - Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
* 1941 - World War II: Battle of Crete – German paratroops invade Crete.
* 1949 - In the United States of America, the AFSA (the predecessor of the NSA) is established.
* 1954 - Chiang Kai-shek is selected for another term as President of the Republic of China by the National Assembly
* 1965 - A Pakistani Airlines Boeing 720-B crashes on landing at Cairo airport, killing 121 people.
* 1969 - The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.
* 1980 - In a Referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a 60% vote the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada.
* 1983 - First publications of the discovery of the virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier[1] and Robert Gallo[2] individually.
* 1985 - Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.
* 1989 - The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.
* 1990 - The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
* 1995 - In a second Referendum in Quebec, the population rejects by a slight majority the proposal from its government to move towards independence from Canada.
* 1996 - Gay rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of homosexuals.
* 2002 - East Timor becomes independent from Indonesian rule.
* 2006 - The Final of the 51st Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Athens,Greece