- 1230 William de Braose, 10th Baron Abergavenny is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great
Historic Expedition
1497 John Cabot's expedition departs Bristol searching for new lands across the Atlantic
John Cabot
- 1526 German evangelical monarchy joins Schmalkaldic League
Execution of Anne Boleyn
1536 Anne Boleyn is arrested and taken to the Tower of London
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Event of Interest
1670 King Charles II gives royal charter to the Hudson's Bay Company
Charles II
- 1672 John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
- 1703 Portugal signs treaty with England to become a Great Covenant
- 1749 Empress Maria Theresa signs "Haugwitzschen State reform"
- 1750 Carlo Goldoni's "La Botega di Caffè" premieres in Mantua
- 1776 France & Spain agreed to give weapons to American rebels
Historic Discovery
1780 William Herschel discovers 1st binary star, Xi Ursae Majoris
William Herschel
Event of Interest
1783 Architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant is promoted by brevet to Major of Engineers in recognition of his service to American liberty
Pierre Charles L'Enfant
- 1808 Uprising against French occupation begins in Madrid
- 1824 Goethe visits Ettersberg (Buchenwald)
- 1829 After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia
- 1833 Russian Tsar Nicolas I bans public sale of serfs
- 1845 Argentinian Domingo Sarmiento publishes his anti-tyranny work "Facundo Civilización y Barbarie"
- 1853 Franconi's Hippodrome opens in New York City
- 1863 South defeats North in Battle of Chancellorsville, Virginia
Event of Interest
1863 Stonewall Jackson attacking Chancellorsville is wounded by his own men
Stonewall Jackson
Event of Interest
1865 US President Andrew Johnson offers $100,000 reward for capture of Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Andrew Johnson
- 1866 Peruvian defenders fight off Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao
- 1869 The Folies Trévise (later cabaret hall Folies Bergère) opens as an opera house in Paris, France
- 1876 Ross Barnes hit 1st home run in National League
- 1876 The April Uprising breaks out in Bulgaria
- 1878 US stops minting 20 cent coin
- 1885 "Good Housekeeping" magazine is 1st published
- 1885 Congo Free State formed by King Leopold II of Belgium
- 1887 Gioacchino Rossini's corpse transfered to Santa Croce, Florence
Historic Invention
1887 Hannibal Goodwin patents celluloid photographic film (used in Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope)
Thomas Edison
Treaty of Interest
1889 Abyssinian Emperor Menelik II and Italy sign Treaty of Wichale
Menelik II
- 1890 Territory of Oklahoma created
Event of Interest
1900 George Bernard Shaw's "You Never Can Tell" premieres in London
George Bernard Shaw
Historic Publication
1905 French newspapers publish lists of Jules Verne's unpublished work
Jules Verne
- 1906 32nd Kentucky Derby: Roscoe Troxler aboard Sir Huon wins in 2:08.8
Event of Interest
1906 Tsar Nicolas II of Russia dismisses his moderate Prime Minister Witte and appoints Ivan Goremykin, a conservative bureaucrat
Nicholas II
Baseball Record
1909 Honus Wagner steals his way around bases in 1st inning against Cubs
Honus Wagner
Event of Interest
1916 US President Woodrow Wilson signs Harrison Drug Act
Woodrow Wilson
- 1916 2nd Ave & Bronx Terrace renamed Bronx Blvd; Seward Pl renamed Sycamore Ave; Herald Ave renamed Dickinson Ave; Monroe & Selwyn Avenue named
- 1917 Cin Fred Tooney & Chic's Hippo Vaughn pitch duel no-hitter, Vaughn gives up 2 hits & a run in 10th, so Cin wins 1-0
- 1918 General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
- 1920 1st game of National Negro Baseball League played in Indianapolis
- 1921 Start of 3rd anti-German revolt in Upper Silesia
- 1922 WBAP-AM begins broadcasting from Fort Worth, Texas
Event of Interest
1923 Senator Walter Johnson pitches his 100th shutout, beats Yanks 3-0
Walter Johnson
- 1924 Netherlands refuses to recognize USSR
- 1925 Kezar Stadium opens in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park
- 1926 US military intervenes in Nicaragua
- 1927 International Economic Conference (52 countries including USSR) opens
- 1927 Pulitzer prize awarded to Louis Bromfield (Early Autumn)
- 1927 U.S. Supreme Court's "Buck v. Bell", permits forced sterilizations of various "unfits" by states' authorities where such surgeries are practiced for eugenic reasons
- 1928 KPQ-AM in Wenatchee WA begins radio transmissions
Event of Interest
1929 Billie Holiday (14) and her mother are arrested for prostitution following a raid of a brothel in Harlem
Billie Holiday
Event of Interest
1933 In Germany, Adolf Hitler bans trade unions
Adolf Hitler
Event of Interest
1936 Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie and family flee Abyssinia
Haile Selassie
Music Recording
1938 Ella Fitzgerald records "A-Tisket, A-Tasket"
Ella Fitzgerald
- 1938 Pulitzer prize awarded to Thornton Wilder for his play "Our Town"
Event of Interest
1939 Lou Gehrig ends 2,130 consecutive game streak, Yanks beat Tigers 22-2
Lou Gehrig
Event of Interest
1941 MLB player Ted Williams' lowest average (.308) in year he hit over .400
Ted Williams
- 1942 68th Kentucky Derby: Wayne D Wright aboard Shut Out wins in 2:04.4
- 1942 Japanese troops occupy Mandalay, Burma
- 1943 German troops vacate Jefna, Tunisia
- 1944 WABD (WNEW, now WNYW) TV channel 5 in NYC (DUM/MET/FOX) 1st broadcast
- 1945 Allies occupy Wismar, Northern Germany
- 1945 Dutch Queen Wilhelmina & Princess Juliana reach Gilze-Rijen
- 1945 More than 1,000,000 German soldiers officially surrender to the Western Allies in Italy and Austria
Raising a Flag over the Reichstag
1945 World War II: Battle of Berlin ends as Soviet army takes Berlin and General Weidling surrenders
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Film Release
1946 "The Postman Always Rings Twice" film based on the novel by James M. Cain, directed by Tay Garnett and starring Lana Turner and John Garfield is released
Lana Turner
- 1947 Eugene O'Neill's "Moon for the Misbegotten" premieres in NYC
Event of Interest
1949 Arthur Miller wins Pulitzer Prize for "Death of a Salesman"
Arthur Miller
- 1949 Bolivian state of siege proclaimed
- 1949 Don Newcombe, 1st start, shuts out Cincinnati on 5 hits to win 3-0
- 1950 Carlo Terron's "Giuditta" premieres in Milan
- 1950 Dutch 1st Chamber accept Laws on immigration
- 1950 Dutch PM Malan recognizes South-Africa but not People's Republic of China
- 1952 1st performance of John Cage's "Water Music"
- 1952 1st scheduled jet airliner passenger service began with a BOAC Comet
- 1952 Operations begin at United Suriname Workers of Netherlands which flew from London to Johannesburg carrying 36 passengers
- 1953 79th Kentucky Derby: Hank Moreno aboard Dark Star wins in 2:02
- 1953 Feisal II installed as King of Iraq
- 1953 Hussein I installed as King of Jordan
Baseball Record
1954 Stan Musial hits 5 HRs in a doubleheader
Stan Musial
- 1955 India proposal to discrimination against Dalits or "Untouchables" punishable
Event of Interest
1955 Pulitzer prize awarded Tennessee Williams for (Cat on Hot Tin Roof)
Tennessee Williams
Assassination Attempt
1957 Gangster Frank Costello escapes an assassination attempt made by rival mobsters
Frank Costello
- 1958 Yanks threaten to broadcast games nationwide if NL goes ahead with plans to broadcast, games into NYC
- 1959 85th Kentucky Derby: Bill Shoemaker aboard Tomy Lee wins in 2:02.2
- 1960 Harry Belafonte 2nd Carnegie Hall performance
- 1960 Pulitzer prize awarded to Al Drury (Advice & Consent)
- 1960 House investigating committee, looking into payola questions
- 1962 OAS strikes in Algeria
- 1962 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island
- 1962 WMHT TV channel 17 in Schenectady-Alby-Tro, NY (PBS) 1st broadcast
- 1962 European Cup Final, Amsterdam: Eusébio scores twice as defending champions Benfica beat Real Madrid, 5-3; Puskás, hits all 3 for Madrid
Event of Interest
1963 Children's crusade begins in Birmingham, Alabama. More than 600 African American school children arrested for marching against segregation, organised by James Bevel and the SCLC
James Bevel
- 1964 90th Kentucky Derby: Bill Hartack aboard Northern Dancer wins in 2:00
- 1964 Beatles' "Beatles' 2nd Album" goes #1 & stays #1 for 5 weeks
- 1964 Mad Dog Vachon beats Verne Gagne in Omaha, to become NWA champ
- 1964 First ascent of Shishapangma the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and lowest of the Eight-thousanders
- 1965 "New Faces of 1965" opens at Booth Theater NYC for 52 performances
- 1965 Early Bird satellite goes into commercial service
- 1966 Pulitzer prize awarded Arthur M Schlesinger Jr (Thousand Days)
Event of Interest
1967 Stanley Cup Final, Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, ON: Terry Sawchuk makes 40 saves as Toronto Maple Leafs beat Montreal Canadiens, 3-1 in Game 6 to take title, 4-2
Terry Sawchuk
- 1968 1st performance of Roger Sessions' 8th Symphony
- 1968 22nd NBA Championship: Boston Celtics beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 2
- 1968 Gold reaches then record high ($39.35 per ounce) in London
- 1968 Israeli television begins transmitting
- 1969 British liner Queen Elizabeth II leaves Southampton on maiden voyage to NY
- 1970 1st woman jockey at Kentucky Derby (Diane Crump)
- 1970 96th Kentucky Derby: Mike Manganello on Dust Commander wins 2:03.4
- 1970 KOAI (now KNAZ) TV channel 2 in Flagstaff, AZ (NBC) 1st broadcast
- 1972 126 killed in an electrical fire in Sunshine Silver mine, Kellogg, Idaho
- 1972 Lt General Vernon A Walters, USA, becomes deputy director of CIA
- 1972 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Event of Interest
1974 Former US Vice President Spiro Agnew disbarred
Spiro Agnew
- 1974 Six Catholic civilians killed and eighteen wounded when the UVF explode a bomb at Rose & Crown Bar on Ormeau Road, Belfast
- 1975 Apple records closes down
- 1977 "The King & I" opens at Uris Theater NYC for 719 performances
- 1978 NBA championship: Portland Trailblazers win in 4 games
- 1978 1978 NFL Draft: Earl Campbell from University of Texas first pick by Houston Oilers
- 1979 "Quadrophenia" premieres in London
- 1979 -May 10] Vivekananda (Sri Lanka) begins nonstop ride, cycling 187 hrs, 28 min, around Vihara Maha Devi Park, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Music Awards
1979 14th Academy of Country Music Awards: Kenny Rogers and Barbara Mandrell win
Kenny Rogers
- 1980 Joseph Doherty & 3 other IRA men arrested for murder
Event of Interest
1980 Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in Wall (Part II)" is banned in South Africa
David Gilmour
Roger Waters
- 1980 Pope John Paul II begins African tour
- 1980 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1981 107th Kentucky Derby: Jorge Velásquez on Pleasant Colony wins in 2:02
- 1981 Radio Shack re-releases Model III TRSDOS 1.3 with 2 fixes
- 1982 Falklands War: Argentine cruiser General Belgrano sunk by British submarine Conqueror, killing more than 350 men
- 1983 6.7 earthquake injures 487 in Coalinga, California
- 1984 "Sunday in the Park with George" opens at Booth NYC for 604 performances
- 1984 Indians' Andre Thornton ties record for most walks (6 in 16 inn)
- 1984 Mattingly's single breaks up Lamarr Hoyt's perfect game bid
- 1984 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1985 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1986 Transportation Expo 86 opens in Vancouver, BC
- 1987 113th Kentucky Derby: Chris McCarron aboard Alysheba wins in 2:03.4
- 1988 Baltimore Orioles sign a 15 year lease to remain in Baltimore and get a new park
- 1988 David Mamet's "Speed-the-Plow" premieres in NYC
Event of Interest
1988 Jackson Pollock's "Search" sold for $4,800,000
Jackson Pollock
Event of Interest
1991 Pope John Paul II's encyclical on Centesimus annus
John Paul II
- 1992 "High Rollers Social & Pleasure Club" opens at H Hayes NYC 14 performances
- 1992 118th Kentucky Derby: Pat Day aboard Lil E Tee wins in 2:03
- 1992 Yugoslav Army seizes Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic
- 1993 "5 Guys Named Moe" closes at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC after 445 performances
- 1993 "Candida" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 45 performances
- 1993 "Redwood Curtain" closes at Brooks Atkinson Theater NYC after 40 performances
- 1993 "Tango Passion" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 5 performances
- 1994 Bus crashes into a tree at Gdańsk Poland, 32 killed
- 1994 Dr Kervokian found innocent on assisting suicides
- 1994 Michael Bolton found to have plagurized Isley Bros "Love is Wonderful Thing"
- 1995 "Hamlet" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 121 performances
- 1995 Expos bat out of order against Mets in 6th inning
- 1995 Serbian missiles exploded in the heart of Zagreb, killing six
Event of Interest
1997 Donald Trump and Marla Maples announce they are separating
Donald Trump
- 1997 Mercury Mail announces its 1 millionth internet subscriber
Event of Interest
1997 Police arrest transsexual prostitute Atisone Seiuli with Eddie Murphy
Eddie Murphy
- 1997 Republic of Texas security chief Robert Scheidt surrenders
Film Release
1997 "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery", starring Mike Myers and Elizabeth Hurley, is released
Elizabeth Hurley
- 1998 124th Kentucky Derby: Kent Desormeaux aboard Real Quiet wins in 2:02.20
- 1998 Battle of Hogwarts: fictional battle that ended the Second Wizarding War with the death of Lord Voldemort at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
- 1999 Panamanian election, 1999: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama
Event of Interest
1999 John Elway announces his retirement from the NFL
John Elway
- 2000 Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands unveils the Man With Two Hats monument in Apeldoorn and the other in Ottawa on May 11, 2000. Symbolically linking both Netherlands and Canada for their assistance throughout World War II.
Event of Interest
2000 President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military
Bill Clinton
Film Release
2008 First film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe released "Iron Man" directed by Jon Favreau, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark
Robert Downey Jr
Stan Lee
