Today in History
Important Events
- 1618 Second Defenestration of Prague: Two Catholic Lords Regent and their secretary are thrown out of a window and amazingly are not seriously injured by the 70 foot (21m) fall. Triggers the Thirty Years' War.
- 1785 Benjamin Franklin announces his invention of bifocals
- 1813 South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator")
- 1949 Federal Republic of [West] Germany created out of the American, British and French occupation zones
- 1958 Mao Zedong starts the "Great Leap Forward" movement in China
- 1998 The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with 75% voting yes.
Today in Film & TV
- 1980 Horror film "The Shining" released directed by Stanley Kubrick, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, based on book by Stephen King
Today in Music
Today in Sport
- 1873 1st Preakness Stakes: G. Barbee aboard Survivor wins in 2:43 at Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland
Did You Know?
Canada's North West Mounted Police Force forms (it didn't get the "Royal" until 1904)
On this day in 1873
King Philip I
Carolus Linnaeus
Ambrose Burnside
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
Queen Victoria
Bob DylanWould You Believe?
Baseball game between one-armed and one-legged players at Recreation Park, Philadelphia, Snorkeys defeat the Hoppers 33-17
On this day in 1883
Famous Weddings
- 1942 Comic book artist Jack Kirby (24) weds Roz Goldstein
- 1953 John F. Kennedy's sister Eunice Kennedy (31) weds activist and attorney Sargent Shriver at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City
- 1970 US Secretary of State John Kerry (26) weds heiress Julia Stimson Thorne (25)
Famous Divorces
- 1533 King Henry VIII of England & Catherine of Aragon's marriage declared null & void by authority English clergy not the Pope
- 1934 First wife Marguerite Van Kessel divorces NFL player Curly Lambeau (36) after 14 years of marriage
- 2016 Actress Amber Heard (30) files for divorce from fellow actor Johnny Depp (52)
Bonnie Parker
Clyde Barrow
Heinrich Himmler
Nicolaus Copernicus
William Lloyd Garrison
Duke EllingtonThis Month in History
![Memories of Elvis]()
Memories of Elvis
Only one actor has appeared on film with both the Beatles and Elvis Presley: the little-known Norman Rossington.
May 21, 1999![President Falls From Grace]()
President Falls From Grace
Paul Deschanel had the makings of a fine President of France – until a series of bizarre incidents culminated in him falling out the window of a moving train.
May 23, 1920![Westminster Bridge Defies a King and the Church]()
Westminster Bridge Defies a King and the Church
London's present Westminster Bridge was opened on this day, bringing to an end years of conflict which even involved the payment of a big bribe to the King.
May 24, 1862![Ali Floors The Bear in Just Two Minutes]()
Ali Floors The Bear in Just Two Minutes
It was the Muhammad Ali punch that few people saw, but on this day ex-champion Sonny Liston, known as The Bear, certainly felt it in a first-round sensation
May 25, 1965
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