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May in History
May 1
-
Observed as May Day, a holiday and spring festival since ancient
times. It became a workers' day in the U.S. in the 1880s and is also
observed in Socialist countries as a workers' holiday or Labor Day.
May 1,
1707
- The Union of England and Scotland was proclaimed by an Act of the
English Parliament, and The Kingdom of Great Britain established: the
largest free-trade area in Europe at the time. To be correct, you must
refer to 'England' and 'Scotland', before this date, "Great Britain" after
this date. "The United Kingdom" came later with the incorporation of
Ireland in 1801.
May 1,
1898
- Just before 6:00am on the morning of 1 May 1898, Commodore George Dewey
commenced the Battle of Manila Bay, uttering the famous command: "You may
fire when ready, Gridley." Within six hours, Dewey's squadron of six
ships, including the flagship USS Olympia, had sunk every ship in the
Spanish fleet. There were few casualties and no loss of life on the
American side.
*
May 1,
1851 -
Queen
Victoria opened the great exhibition of the works of industry of all
nations ("Crystal Palace" exhibition) in Hyde Park in London.
May 1,
1960
- A U-2 spy plane flying at 60,000 feet was shot down over Sverdlovsk in
central USSR on the eve of a summit meeting between President Dwight D.
Eisenhower and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. The sensational incident
caused cancellation of the meeting and heightened Cold War tensions. The
pilot, CIA agent Francis Gary Powers, survived the crash, and was tried,
convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison by a Moscow court. Two years
later he was released to America in exchange for an imprisoned Soviet spy.
On return to the U.S., Powers encountered a hostile public which
apparently believed he should not have allowed himself to be captured
alive. He died in a helicopter crash in 1977.
May 1,
2004
- Eight former Communist nations and two Mediterranean countries joined
the European Union (EU) marking its largest-ever expansion. The new
members included Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia,
Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, along with the island of Malta and the Greek
portion of the island of Cyprus. They joined 15 countries already in the
EU, representing in all 450 million people.
May 2,
1670
- The Hudson Bay Company was incorporated by King Charles II.
May 3,
1808
- A duel was fought from two hot-air balloons over Paris, the first of its
kind.
May 4,
1494
- During his second journey of exploration in the New World, Christopher
Columbus discovered Jamaica.
May 4,
1626
- Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on present-day Manhattan Island.
May 4,
1776
- Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before the
Declaration of Independence was adopted.
* May 4,
1780
- First "Derby" horserace was run at Epsom racetrack.
May 4,
1886
- The Haymarket Square Riot occurred in Chicago after 180 police officers
advanced on 1,300 persons gathered in the square listening to speeches of
labor activists and anarchists. A bomb was thrown. Seven police were
killed and over 50 wounded. Four anarchists were then charged with
conspiracy to kill, convicted and hanged while another committed suicide
in jail. Three others were given lengthy jail terms.
May 4,
1970
- At Kent State University, four students were killed by National
Guardsmen who opened fire on a crowd of 1,000 students protesting
President Richard Nixon's decision to invade Cambodia. Eleven others were
wounded. The shootings set off tumultuous campus demonstrations across
America resulting in the temporary closing of over 450 colleges and
universities.
*
May 5
- Celebrated in Mexico as Cinco De Mayo, a national holiday in remembrance
of the Battle of Puebla in 1862, in which Mexican troops under General
Ignacio Zaragoza, outnumbered three to one, defeated the invading French
forces of Napoleon III.
May 5,
1821
- Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France and conqueror of much of Europe,
died a British prisoner on the island of St. Helena. According to one
accepted theory, Bonaparte died of a stomach ulcer. More recent theories
argue that he died of arsenic poisoning. In 1840, Bonaparte's remains were
transferred to Paris.
May 5,
1893
- The Wall Street Crash of 1893 began as stock prices fell dramatically.
By the end of the year, 600 banks closed and several big railroads were in
receivership. Another 15,000 businesses went bankrupt amid 20 percent
unemployment. It was the worst economic crisis in U.S. history up to that
time.
May 6,
1527
- The Renaissance ended with the Sack of Rome by German troops as part of
an ongoing conflict between the Hapsburg Empire and the French Monarchy.
German troops killed over 4,000 Romans, imprisoned the Pope, and looted
works of art and libraries. An entire year passed before order could be
restored in Rome.
May 6,
1626 -
Dutch
settler Peter Minuit bought the island of Manhattan from Native Americans
for goods worth about $25.
May 6,
1889 -
The
Paris Exposition formally opened, featuring the just-completed Eiffel
Tower.
* May
6, 1937
- The German airship Hindenburg burst into flames at 7:20 p.m. as it
neared the mooring mast at Lakehurst, New Jersey, following a
trans-Atlantic voyage. Thirty six of the 97 passengers and crew were
killed. The inferno was caught on film and also witnessed by a commentator
who broke down amid the emotional impact and exclaimed, "Oh, the
humanity!" The accident effectively ended commercial airship traffic.
*
May 7, 1915
- The British passenger ship Lusitania carrying 2,000 passengers
was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland, losing 1,198
of its 1,924 passengers, including 114 Americans. The attack hastened
neutral America's entry into World War I. Previous to the attack, the
German ambassador had issued a warning printed in New York newspapers that
it was unwise to travel on ships entering a war zone carrying cargoes
vital to the Allies.
May 7,
1945
- In a small red brick schoolhouse in Reims, Germany, Field Marshall
Alfred Jodl signed the unconditional surrender of all German fighting
forces thus ending World War II in Europe. Russian, American, British and
French ranking officers observed the signing of the document which became
effective at one minute past midnight on May 9, 1945. Jodl was then
ushered in to see Supreme Allied Commander, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who
curtly asked Jodl if he fully understood the document. Eisenhower then
informed Jodl that he would be held personally responsible for any
deviation from the terms of the surrender. Jodl was then ushered away.
May 7,
1954
- The French Indochina War ended with the fall of Dien Bien Phu, marking
Vietnam's victory over French colonial forces which were then forced to
withdraw from northern Vietnam. The country was later divided at the 17th
parallel, with South Vietnam created in 1955.
May 8
1794 -
French
chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier was guillotined in Paris for his former
role as tax collector. Lavoisier, often regarded as the founder of modern
chemistry, demonstrated the role of oxygen in chemical processes and made
key observations about respiration. He coined the word 'oxygen'.
May 8,
1942
- During World War II in the Pacific, the Battle of the Coral Sea began in
which Japan would suffer its first defeat of the war. The battle, fought
off New Guinea, marked the first time in history that two opposing carrier
forces fought only using aircraft without the opposing ships ever sighting
each other.
May 8,
1945
- After Soviet leader Joseph Stalin refused to recognize the German
surrender document signed at Reims, a second signing ceremony was held in
Berlin. During the elaborate ceremony, German General Wilhelm Keitel
signed the second surrender document which declared, as did the first,
that hostilities would end as of 12:01 a.m. on May 9.
May 9,
1754 -
The
first published political cartoons in the American colonies appeared in
The Pennsylvania Gazette, a newspaper founded by Benjamin Franklin. Many
of the early cartoons did not have the element of satire so common in
today's political cartoons.
May 9,
1502 -
Christopher Columbus left Cadiz, Spain, on his fourth and final trip to
the Western Hemisphere.
May 9
- Victory Day in Russia, a national holiday commemorating the defeat of
Nazi Germany in World War II and honoring 20 million Soviets who died in
the war.
May 9,
1862
- During the U.S. Civil War, Gen. David Hunter, Union commander of the
Department of the South, issued orders freeing the slaves in South
Carolina, Florida and Georgia. He did so without congressional or
presidential approval. The orders were countermanded by President Abraham
Lincoln ten days later.
May
10, 1869
- The newly constructed tracks of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific
railways were first linked at Promontory Point, Utah. A golden spike was
driven by Leland Stanford, president of the Central Pacific, to celebrate
the linkage. It is said that he missed the spike on his first swing which
brought roars of laughter from men who had driven many thousands of spikes
themselves.
May
10, 1889
- A riot erupted outside the Astor Place Opera House in New York as
British actor William Charles Macready performed inside. Angry crowds
revolted against dress requirements for admission and against Macready's
public statements on the vulgarity of American life. The mob then
shattered theater windows. Troops were called out and ordered to fire,
killing 22 and wounding 26.
May
10, 1994
- Former political prisoner Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of
South Africa. Mandela had won the first free election in South Africa
despite attempts by various political foes to deter the outcome.
May
11, 1709 -
The
first mass emigration of Germans from the Palatinate to North America
began.
May
11, 1775 -
The
Battle of Fort Ticonderoga NY called "The Gibraltar of America," Fort
Ticonderoga was the first clear-cut American victory of the war. The fort
was captured by Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold without a single shot
fired.
May
11, 1792 -
The
Columbia River was discovered by Captain Robert Gray.
*
May 11, 1862
- To prevent its capture by Union forces advancing in Virginia, the
Confederate Ironclad Merrimac was destroyed by the Confederate
Navy. In March, the Merrimac had fought the Union Ironclad
Monitor to a draw. Naval warfare was thus changed forever, making
wooden ships obsolete.
May
11, 1969
- During the Vietnam War, the Battle of "Hamburger Hill" began. While
attempting to seize the Dong Ap Bia Mountain, U.S. troops repeatedly
scaled the hill over a 10-day period and engaged in bloody hand-to-hand
combat with the North Vietnamese. After finally securing the objective,
American military staff decided to abandon the position, which the North
Vietnamese retook shortly thereafter. The battle highlighted the futility
of the American military strategy.
May
12, 1937
- George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey in London, following the
abdication of his brother, Edward VIII. King George reigned until his
death in 1952. He was succeeded by his daughter Elizabeth, the current
reigning monarch.
May
12, 1949
- The Soviet Union lifted its blockade of Berlin. The blockade began on
June 24, 1948 and resulted in the Berlin airlift. For 462 days - from June
26, 1948, until September 30, 1949, American and British planes flew about
278,000 flights, delivering 2.3 million tons of food, coal and medical
supplies to two million isolated West Berliners. A plane landed in Berlin
every minute from 11 Allied staging areas in West Germany. The planes were
nicknamed ''candy bombers'' after pilots began tossing sweets to children.
They also flew out millions of dollars worth of products manufactured in
West Berlin.
May
13, 1607 -
The
English colony at Jamestown VA was settled.
May
13, 1846
- At the request of President James K. Polk, Congress declared war on
Mexico. The controversial struggle eventually cost the lives of 11,300
U.S. soldiers and resulted in the annexation of lands that became parts of
Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah and Colorado. The
war ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
May
13, 1943
- During World War II in North Africa, over 250,000 Germans and Italians
surrendered in the last few days of the Tunis campaign. British Gen.
Harold Alexander then telegraphed news of the victory to Winston
Churchill, who was in Washington attending a war conference. The victory
re-opened Allied shipping lanes in the Mediterranean.
May
13, 1981
- Pope John Paul II was shot twice at close range while riding in an open
automobile in St. Peter's Square in Rome. Two other persons were also
wounded. An escaped terrorist, already under sentence of death for the
murder of a Turkish journalist, was immediately arrested and was later
convicted of attempted murder. The Pope recovered and later held a private
meeting with the would-be assassin and then publicly forgave him.
May
14, 1607 -
The
first permanent English settlement in what is now the US took place in
Jamestown, Virginia. Named after King James I by a group of royally
chartered Virginia Company settlers from Plymouth, England, the town had
an original population of 104 settlers.
May
14, 1796
- Smallpox vaccine was developed by Dr. Edward Jenner, a physician in
rural England. He coined the term vaccination for the new procedure of
injecting a milder form of the disease into a healthy persons resulting in
immunity. Within 18 months, 12,000 people in England had been vaccinated
and the number of smallpox deaths dropped by two-thirds.
*
May 14, 1804
- Meriwether Lewis and William Clark departed St. Louis on their
expedition to explore the Northwest. They arrived at the Pacific coast of
Oregon in November of 1805 and returned to St. Louis in September of 1806,
completing a journey of about 6,000 miles.
*
May 14, 1942
- During World War II, an Act of Congress allowed women to enlist for
noncombat duties in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC), the Women
Appointed for Voluntary Emergency Service (WAVES), Women's Auxiliary
Ferrying Squadron (WAFS), and Semper Paratus Always Ready Service (SPARS),
the Women's Reserve of the Marine Corp.
May
15, 1602 -
Cape
Cod was discovered by English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold.
May
15, 1972
- George Wallace was shot while campaigning for the U.S. presidency in
Laurel, Maryland. As a result, Wallace was permanently paralyzed from the
waist down.
May
16, 1804 -
Napoleon was declared Emperor.
May
16, 1862
- During the U.S. Civil War, Union Gen. Benjamin Butler, military governor
of New Orleans, issued his "Woman Order" stating that any southern woman
showing disrespect for Union soldiers or the U.S. would be regarded as a
woman of the town, or prostitute. This and other controversial acts by
Butler set the stage for his dismissal as military governor in December of
1862.
May
17, 1792 -
24 New
York brokers signed an agreement to trade with one another and charge a
uniform commission rate to their customers. The New York Stock Exchange
emerged from that agreement. According to legend, in good weather the
brokers met beneath a Buttonwood tree, and in bad weather they met at a
nearby coffeehouse.
*
May 17, 1875
- The first Kentucky Derby horse race took place at Churchill Downs in
Louisville.
May
17, 1954
- In Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled
that segregation of public schools "solely on the basis of race" denies
black children "equal educational opportunity" even though "physical
facilities and other 'tangible' factors may have been equal. Separate
educational facilities are inherently unequal." Thurgood Marshall had
argued the case before the Court. He went to become the first African
American appointed to the Supreme Court.
May
18, 1642 -
The
Canadian city of Montreal was founded.
May
18, 1764
- The British Parliament amended the Sugar Act from a commercial to a
fiscal measure, to tax American colonists.
May
18, 1804 -
French
military commander Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of France,
snatching the crown from the hands of Pope Pius VII during the actual
coronation ceremony, and then crowning himself, becoming Napoleon I.
Months later; Pope Pius VIII ratified Napoleon's title. He remained
emperor until 1815 when Louis XVIII replaced him.
*
May 18, 1980
- Mount St. Helens volcano erupted in southwestern Washington State
spewing steam and ash over 11 miles up into the sky. This was the first
major eruption since 1857.
May
18, 1998
- In one of the biggest antitrust lawsuits of the 20th century, American
software giant Microsoft Corporation was sued by the U.S. Federal
government and 20 state governments charging the company with using unfair
tactics to crush competition and restrict choice for consumers. The
lawsuits alleged Microsoft used illegal practices to deny personal
computer owners the benefits of a free and competitive market and also
alleged Microsoft extended its monopoly on operating systems to "develop a
chokehold" on the Internet browser software market.
*
May 19, 1536 -
Queen
Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England's King Henry VIII, was beheaded
after being convicted of adultery. In this case, the charge was well
founded.
"The
king has been very good to me. He promoted me from a simple maid to be a
marchioness. Then he raised me to be a queen. Now he will raise me to be a
martyr."
[Anne Boleyn, on her way to the scaffold.]
May
19, 1585 -
English shipping in Spanish ports was confiscated as a reprisal for
depredations of Spanish shipping. This served as a declaration of war on
England.
May
19, 1643 -
The
Confederation of New England was formed by Connecticut, New Haven,
Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colony, whose representatives met in
Boston.
May
19, 1930
- The 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, prohibiting
Congress from giving itself pay raises.
May
19, 1943
- Royal Air Force bombers successfully attacked dams in the German Ruhr
Valley using innovative ball-shaped bouncing bombs that skipped along the
water and exploded against the dams. The dams had provided drinking water
for 4 million people and supplied 75% of the electrical power for industry
in the area.
May
20, 325 A.D.
- The Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of Catholic Church
was called by Constantine I, first Christian Emperor of the Roman Empire.
With nearly 300 bishops in attendance at Nicaea in Asia Minor, the council
condemned Arianism which denied Christ's divinity, formulated the Nicene
Creed and fixed the date of Easter.
May
20, 1191 -
Richard I 'the Lion Heart' conquered Cyprus from its independent Greek
ruler and then joined the Crusaders at Acre in N W Israel.
May
20, 1506 -
Christopher Columbus died in poverty in Spain.
May
20, 1862
- President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act opening millions of
acres of government owned land in the West to "homesteaders" who could
acquire up to 160 acres by living on the land and cultivating it for five
years, paying just $1.25 per acre.
*
May 20, 1927
- Charles Lindbergh, a 25-year-old aviator, took off at 7:52 a.m. from
Roosevelt Field, Long Island, in the Spirit of St. Louis attempting
to win a $25,000 prize for the first solo nonstop flight between New York
City and Paris. Thirty three hours later, after a 3,600 mile journey, he
landed at Le Bourget, Paris, earning the nickname "Lucky Lindy" and
becoming an instant worldwide hero.
*
May 20, 1932
- Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.
She departed Newfoundland, Canada, at 7 p.m. and landed near Londonderry,
Ireland, completing a 2,026-mile flight in about 13 hours. Five years
later, along with her navigator Fred Noonan, she disappeared while trying
to fly her twin-engine plane around the equator.
May
21, 1542 -
Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto died while searching for gold along the
Mississippi River.
May
21, 1620 -
Present-day Martha's Vineyard was first sighted by Captain Bartholomew
Gosnold.
May
21, 1767 -
Townshend introduced taxes on imports of tea, glass, paper, and dyestuffs
in American colonies to provide revenue for colonial administration.
*
May
21, 1881
- The American Red Cross was founded by Clara Barton. The organization
today provides volunteer disaster relief in the U.S. and abroad. Community
services include collecting and distributing donated blood, and teaching
health and safety classes.
May
21, 1991
- Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in the midst
of a re-election campaign, killed by a bomb hidden in a bouquet of
flowers. He had served as prime minister from 1984 to 1989, succeeding his
mother, Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated in 1984.
May
22, 1972
- President Richard Nixon became the first American president to visit
Moscow. Four days later, Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev signed a
pact pledging to freeze nuclear arsenals at current levels.
May
22, 1947
- Congress approved the Truman Doctrine, assuring U.S. support for Greece
and Turkey to prevent the spread of Communism.
May
23, 1430 -
Burgundian troops captured Joan of Arc and delivered her to the English.
*
May 23, 1533 -
The
marriage of England's King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon was declared
null and void.
May
24, 1607 -
Captain Christopher Newport and 105 followers founded the colony of
Jamestown at the mouth of the James River on the coast of Virginia.
May
24, 1624 -
After
years of unprofitable operation, Virginia's charter was revoked and it
became a royal colony.
May
24, 1726 -
The
first Circulating Library was opened by Allan Ramsay in Edinburgh,
Scotland.
May
24, 1764 -
Boston
lawyer James Otis denounced "taxation without representation," calling for
the colonies to unite in opposition to Britain's new tax measures.
May
24, 1830
- The first passenger railroad in the United States began service between
Baltimore and Elliott's Mills, Maryland.
May
24, 1844
- Samuel FB Morse transmitted the message, "What hath God wrought!" from
the Capitol building in Washington to Baltimore as he formally opened
America's first telegraph line.
May
24, 1881
- A boating disaster occurred in Canada as Victoria, a small,
double-decked stern-wheeler carrying over 600 passengers on the Thames
River keeled over then sank, killing 182 persons.
May 25
- Memorial Day in the U.S., also called Decoration Day for the tradition
of decorating soldiers' graves with flowers. The observance dates from
Civil War years, with the first documented observance on May 5, 1865.
May
25, 1768
- James Cook sailed on his first voyage of discovery, on which he explored
the Society Islands and charted the coasts of New Zealand and West
Australia (through June 1771).
May
25, 1775 -
Reinforcements arrived in Boston, including General William Howe and
General John Burgoyne.
May
25, 1787
- The Constitutional Convention began in Philadelphia with delegates from
seven states forming a quorum.
May
25, 1994
- After 20 years in exile, Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn returned
to his homeland. He had been expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974 after
his three-volume work exposing the Soviet prison camp system, The Gulag
Archipelago, was published in the West.
May
26, 1940
- The Dunkirk evacuation began to save the British Expeditionary Force
trapped by advancing German armies on the northern coast of France. Boats
and vessels of all shapes and sizes ferried 200,000 British and 140,000
French and Belgian soldiers across the English Channel by June 2.
May
27, 1647
- The first recorded American execution of a "witch" took place in
Massachusetts.
May
27, 1679
- Habeas Corpus Act became law in England. It was later repealed from time
to time, but stands to this day.
May
27, 1719 -
Emperor Charles VI founded the Oriental Company in Vienna to compete with
Dutch trade in the Orient.
May
27, 1813 -
US
forces occupied Fort St George, and the British abandoned the entire
Niagara frontier.
*
May 27, 1937
- In San Francisco, 200,000 people celebrated the grand opening of the
Golden Gate Bridge by strolling across it.
May
28,
1863 -
The
first black regiment from the North left Boston to fight in the Civil War.
The regiment is celebrated in the magnificent Saint-Gaudens monument to
Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th regiment that stands on Beacon
Hill facing the State House. A lesser-known fact: so great was the
enrolment from the black community that the 55th Regiment was
also formed.
May
28, 1961
- Amnesty International was founded by London lawyer Peter Berenson. He
read about the arrest of a group of students in Portugal then launched a
one-year campaign to free them called Appeal for Amnesty. Today Amnesty
International has over a million members in 150 countries working to free
prisoners of conscience, stop torture and the death penalty, and guarantee
human rights for women.
May
29, 1787
- At the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia the Virginia Plan was
proposed calling for a new government consisting of a legislature with two
houses, an executive chosen by the legislature and a judicial branch.
May
29, 1865
- Following the U.S. Civil War, President Andrew Johnson issued a
proclamation granting general amnesty to Confederates. The amnesty
excluded high ranking Confederates and large property owners, who had to
apply individually to the President for a pardon. Following an oath of
allegiance, all former property rights, except slaves, were returned to
the former owners.
May
30, 1431 - Joan of Arc was burnt as a heretic at Rouen.
*
May 30, 1536
- English King Henry VIII married Jane Seymour, his third wife.
May
30, 1783
- The Pennsylvania Evening Post became the first daily newspaper published
in America.
May
30, 1922
- The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. was dedicated. The Memorial was
designed by architect Henry Bacon and features a compelling statue of
"Seated Lincoln" by sculptor Daniel Chester French.
May
30, 1943
- During World War II in the Pacific, the Aleutian Islands off the coast
of Alaska were retaken by the U.S. 7th Infantry Division. The battle began
on May 12 when an American force of 11,000 landed on Attu. In three weeks
of fighting U.S. casualties numbered 552 killed and 1,140 wounded.
Japanese killed numbered 2,352, with only 28 taken prisoner, as 500 chose
suicide rather than be captured.
May
31, 1889
- Over 2,300 persons were killed in the Johnstown flood in Pennsylvania.
Heavy rains throughout May caused the Connemaugh River Dam to burst
sending a wall of water 75 feet high pouring down upon the city.
May
31, 1902 - The Peace of Vereeniging ended the Boer War, in which
British casualties numbered 5,774 killed (and 16,000 Deaths from disease)
against 4,000 Boers killed in action.
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