Today's Historical Events
Event of Interest
1538 Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city. Calvin lives in exile in Strasbourg for the next three years.
John Calvin
- 1596 England, France & Netherlands sign Drievoudig Covenant against Spain
- 1637 Mystic Massacre: in 1st battle of Pequot War in Connecticut about 500 Pequot Native Americans are killed by Colonial forces
- 1647 Massachusetts disallows priest access to colony
- 1647 Alse Young becomes the first person executed as a witch in the American colonies, when she is hanged in Hartford, Connecticut
- 1736 Battle of Ackia (Louisiana), British & Chickasaw Indians defeat French
- 1770 The Orlov Revolt, a first attempt to revolt against the Turks before the Greek War of Independence ends in disaster for the Greeks.
- 1781 Bank of North America incorporates in Philadelphia
- 1790 Territory South of River Ohio created by US Congress
- 1798 British kill about 500 Irish insurgents at the Battle of Tara
- 1805 Lewis & Clark first sight the Rocky Mountains
Napoléon Bonaparte
Event of Interest
1857 US slave Dred Scott and family freed by owner Henry Taylor Blow 3 months after US courts ruled against them.
Dred Scott
Event of Interest
1860 Giuseppe Garibaldi occupies Palermo, Italy
Giuseppe Garibaldi
- 1861 US Postmaster General Blair announces end of postal connection with South
- 1861 Union blockades towns of New Orleans and Mobile
- 1864 Battle of Dallas, begins near Paulding County, Georgia (Atlanta Campaign), Union victory (US Civil War)
- 1864 -30] Skirmish along the Totopotomoy Creek, Virginia
- 1864 Territory of Montana formed
- 1865 Battle of Galveston Texas, surrender of Edmund Kirby Smith
- 1868 US President Andrew Johnson avoids impeachment by 1 vote
- 1869 Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
- 1874 2nd Preakness: William Donohue aboard Culpepper wins in 2:56.5
- 1876 HMS Challenger returns from 128,000-km oceanographic exploration
- 1883 11th Preakness: G Barbee aboard Jacobus wins in 2:42.5
Event of Interest
1884 Fred Spofforth takes 7-34 & 7-3 v England XI in 4 hours
Fred Spofforth
Event of Interest
1896 Last Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II, crowned
Nicholas II
- 1896 James Dunham murders six people in Campbell, California
- 1898 32nd Belmont: F Littlefield aboard Bowling Brook wins in 2:32
- 1898 San Francisco approves City Charter, allows Municipal ownership of utilities
- 1900 British troops under Ian Hamilton attack the Vaal in South Africa
- 1903 Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Three Gables" (BG)
- 1904 In two days of bitter fighting, the Japanese Army soundly defeats the Russians at Kinchan and captures the forts at Nanshan
- 1905 A pogrom against Jews in Minsk, Belorussia
- 1906 Archaeological Institute of America forms
- 1906 Vauxhall Bridge is opened in London, England
- 1907 Chicago White Sox Ed Walsh no-hits NY Highlanders, 8-1 in 5 inning game
- 1908 At Masjed Soleyman (مسجد سليمان) in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made, rights acquired by the United Kingdom
- 1911 Germany passes legislation organizing Alsace and Lorraine as an autonomous state with a legislature
- 1913 US Actors' Equity Association forms (NYC)
- 1913 Emily Duncan becomes Great Britain's first woman magistrate
Election of Interest
1915 H. H. Asquith forms a coalition government in the United Kingdom
H. H. Asquith
- 1917 Walt Cruise hit 1st HR out of Braves Field
- 1918 Georgian Social Democratic Republic declares independence from Russia
- 1918 Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarapat
- 1919 The Supreme Council of Allies, meeting at Versailles, decides to recognize two White Russian leaders, Admiral Kolchak and General Denikin, and support them against the Bolsheviks
Event of Interest
1922 Vladimir Lenin suffers a stroke
Vladimir Lenin
Event of Interest
1924 US President Calvin Coolidge signs Immigration law restricting immigration
Calvin Coolidge
- 1926 Lebanon adopts constitution
Model T
1927 Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produce the last (and 15th million) Model T Ford / Tin Lizzie
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- 1928 A's commit 7 errors & lose to Yanks 7-4
- 1930 Joe Sewell, strikes out twice of his 3 times in 1930, by Pat Caraway
- 1930 Supreme Court rules buying liquor does not violate the Constitution
- 1932 Admiral Makoto Saito forms parliament in Tokyo
- 1933 2nd emergency Dutch government of Colijn forms
- 1933 Phillies Chuck Klein hits for cycle vs St Louis Cards
- 1934 Century of Progress Exposition reopens in Chicago
- 1936 1st government of Zealand in Belgium ends
- 1937 Dutch Rail NV at law forms
- 1938 US House of Representatives Committee on un-American Activities forms
Event of Interest
1940 1st successful helicopter flight in US: Vought-Sikorsky US-300 designed by Igor Sikorsky
Igor Sikorsky
Event of Interest
1941 American Flag House (Betsy Ross' Home) given to city of Philadelphia
Betsy Ross
- 1941 Aircraft from HMS Ark Royal sights German battleship Bismarck
- 1941 German occupiers begin youth labor
- 1942 Anglo-Soviet Treaty signed in London
- 1942 Belgium Jews are required by Nazis to wear a Jewish star
- 1942 Tank battle at Bir Hakeim: Afrika Korps vs British army
- 1943 Edwin Barclay of Liberia becomes first president of a black country to visit US
- 1943 Jews riot against Germany in Amsterdam
Event of Interest
1943 Prime Minister Winston Churchill & General Marshall fly from US to North Africa
Winston Churchill
- 1945 US drop fire bombs on Tokyo
- 1946 2-for-42 & hitting .048 for 1946, Mel Ott stops playing baseball
- 1946 Darius Milhauds 3rd Concert for piano/orchestra premieres in Prague
- 1946 Klement Gottwald becomes premier of Czechoslovakia
- 1946 Patent filed in US for H-Bomb
- 1948 Entire Hagana-arm forces sworn-in as Israeli soldiers
- 1948 South Africa elects a nationalist government under D. F. Malan with an apartheid policy
- 1951 Vaughan Williams' "Pilgrim's Progress" premieres in London
- 1953 Dutch Convair crashes at Schipholweg, 2 die
- 1955 "7th Heaven" opens at ANTA Theater NYC for 44 performances
Election of Interest
1955 Conservatives led by Anthony Eden win British parliamentary election
Anthony Eden
Event of Interest
1955 Khrushchev arrives in Belgrade
Nikita Khrushchev
- 1956 A fire on board the aircraft carrier USS Bennington in Narragansett Bay, off Rhode Island, kills 103 crew
- 1956 Reds' John Klippstein, Hershel Freemman & Joe Blacks no-hitter, broken up with 2 outs in 10th & lose to Braves in 11th, 2-1
- 1956 55th Men's French Championships: Lewis Hoad beats Sven Davidson (6-4, 8-6, 6-3)
- 1956 55th Women's French Championships: Althea Gibson beats Angela Mortimer (6-0, 12-10)
- 1957 Beverly Hanson wins LPGA Land of Sky Golf Open
- 1958 Ceylon emergency crisis proclaimed
- 1958 US performs nuclear test at Enwetak (atmospheric tests)
- 1958 Union Square, San Francisco becomes state historical landmark
- 1959 Harvey Haddix pitches 12 perfect innings, loses in 13th
- 1961 Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee establishes in Atlanta
- 1961 USAF bomber flies Atlantic in a record of just over 3 hours
- 1962 "All American" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 80 performances
Television Awards
1963 15th Emmy Awards: "The Dick Van Dyke Show", E G Marshall & Shirley Booth win
Shirley Booth
Carl Reiner
- 1963 Mickey Wright wins LPGA Dallas Civitan Golf Open
- 1963 Organization of African Unity forms
- 1963 Wes Stock becomes only Baltimore Oriole to win a doubleheader
Tennis Open
1963 62nd Men's French Championships: Roy Emerson beats Pierre Darmon (3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4)
Roy Emerson
- 1963 62nd Women's French Championships: Lesley Turner beats Ann Jones (2-6, 6-3, 7-5)
- 1964 "Fade Out-Fade In" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 199 performances
- 1965 Dutch Voting Rights Bill passes
- 1965 Revised International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea takes effect
- 1966 Buddhist sets himself on fire at US consulate in Hué, South Vietnam
- 1966 Guyana (formerly British Guiana) declares independence from UK
- 1967 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1967 EMI releases "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" a few days early in the UK; it would go to number one for 15 weeks in the US and 22 weeks in the UK
- 1968 Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Dallas Civitan Golf Open
- 1969 Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth
Event of Interest
1969 John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin their 2nd bed-in for peace (Queen Elizabeth Hotel, Montreal)
John Lennon
Yoko Ono
- 1970 The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2
Boxing Title Fight
1972 Joe Frazier TKOs Ron Stander in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
Joe Frazier
Event of Interest
1972 US President Richard Nixon and Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev sign SALT accord
Leonid Brezhnev
Richard Nixon
- 1972 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1972 The British state-owned travel firm Thomas Cook & Son is sold to a consortium of private businesses headed by the Midland Bank
- 1972 The Irish Republican Army (IRA) plant a bomb in Oxford Street, Belfast, killing a 64 year old woman
- 1972 In the Republic of Ireland, the Special Criminal Court is re-instituted to deal with crimes arising out of the Northern Ireland conflict; as part of the measures trial by jury is suspended
- 1973 Bahrain adopts its constitution
- 1973 Beatles' "Beatles 1967-1970" album goes #1
- 1973 Funky Worm by Ohio Players hits #15
- 1973 Super Fly Meets Shaft by John & Ernest hits #31
- 1973 Tippett's 3rd Piano sonata premieres
- 1974 During a David Cassidy concert in London a 14-year old is trampled
- 1974 Joanne Carner wins Hoosier LPGA Golf Classic
- 1974 Indianapolis 500: Johnny Rutherford wins in 3:09:10.094 (255.224 km/h)
- 1975 Tennis game in Surrey championships lasts 31 minutes
Music Single
1975 "Rhinestone Cowboy" single released by Glen Campbell (Billboard Song of the Year 1975)
Glen Campbell
- 1977 George Willig climbs NYC World Trade Center
- 1978 1st legal gambling casino opens in Atlantic City
- 1979 Dancin' Fool by Frank Zappa hits #45
- 1980 Dietmar Mogenburg of West Germany ties high jump record at 7'8"
- 1980 Phillie Steve Carlton is 1st NLer to record 6, 1-hitters
- 1980 Soyuz 36 carries 2 cosmonauts (1 Hungarian) to Salyut 6
- 1981 Marine jet crashes on flight deck of USS Nimitz, killing 14
- 1981 The Italian Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the pseudo-masonic lodge P2 (Propaganda Due)
- 1982 British ship Atlantic Conveyor carrying Chinook helicopters and destroyer HMS Coventry hit in Falkland war: 39 crew members die
- 1982 35th Cannes Film Festival: "Missing" directed by Costa Gavras and "Yol" directed by Serif Goren and Yilmaz Guney jointly awarded the Palme d'Or
- 1982 26th European Cup: Aston Villa beats Bayern Munich 1-0 at Rotterdam
- 1983 29th Walker Cup: US, 13½ - 10½
- 1983 Space Shuttle Challenger moves to launch pad for STS-7
- 1983 LA Lakers set NBA playoff game record of fewest free throws
- 1983 NASA launches Exosat
- 1983 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1984 Floods kill 14 in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Event of Interest
1984 US President Ronald Reagan rules out US military intervention in Iran-Iraq war
Ronald Reagan
- 1985 Indianapolis 500: Danny Sullivan wins by 24 seconds following a spin
- 1985 Explosions destroys 2 tankers off of Gibraltar, 30 die
- 1985 Patti Rizzo wins LPGA Corning Golf Classic
- 1987 Cecilia Bolocco, 22, of Chile, crowned 36th Miss Universe
- 1987 Great offensive against Tamil-rebellion in Jaffra Sri Lanka
- 1987 US Supreme Court ruled dangerous defendants could be held without bail
- 1987 William H. Webster replaces Robert M. Gates as 14th director of CIA
- 1988 Stanley Cup: Edmonton Oilers sweep Boston Bruins in 4 games
- 1989 American radio broadcasters go silent for 30 seconds at 7:42 am to honor the radio industry
- 1989 Danish parliament allows same-sex marriage
- 1989 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- 1990 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
Event of Interest
1990 Philadelphia Phillies retire Mike Schmidt's uniform #20
Mike Schmidt
- 1991 Betsy King wins LPGA Corning Golf Classic
- 1993 In Major League Baseball, Carlos Martinez famously hits a ball off Jose Canseco's head for a home run
- 1993 Emmy 20th Daytime Award presentation - Susan Lucci loses for 14th time
- 1993 1st UEFA Champions League Final: Marseille beats Milan 1-0 at Munich
- 1996 "Midsummer Night's Dream" closes at Lunt-Fontanne NYC after 66 performances
Event of Interest
1996 Laura Davies wins J C Penney/LPGA Skins Golf Game
Laura Davies
Baseball Record
1997 Sammy Sosa (Cubs) & Tony Womack (Pirates) hit inside the park HRs
Sammy Sosa
- 1997 NHL Western Conference Final: Detroit Red Wings beat Colorado Avalanche, 4 games to 2
Event of Interest
1998 Date for Paula Jones sex harassment trial vs President Clinton
Bill Clinton
- 1998 The United States Supreme Court rules that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York
- 1999 7th UEFA Champions League Final: Manchester United beats Bayern Munich 2-1 at Barcelona
- 2000 NHL Eastern Conference Final: New Jersey Devils beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 3
Knighthood
2000 Arthur C. Clarke is knighted "for services to literature" at a ceremony in Colombo, Sri Lanka
Arthur C. Clarke
- 2003 Only three days after a previous record, Sherpa Lakpa Gelu climbs Mount Everest in 10 hours 56 minutes. The tourism ministry of Nepal confirms this record in July that year.
- 2004 The New York Times publishes admission of journalistic failings, claims its flawed reporting and lack of skeptism during buildup to 2003 Iraq War helped promote belief that Iraq possessed large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
- 2004 The United States Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2004 39th Academy of Country Music Awards: Toby Keith & Martina McBride win
- 2004 12th UEFA Champions League Final: Porto beats AS Monaco 3-0 at Gelsenkirchen
- 2006 The May 2006 Java earthquake kills over 5,700 people, leaves 200,000 homeless.
- 2009 NHL Eastern Conference Final: Pittsburgh Penguins beat Carolina Hurricanes, 4 games to 0
- 2012 A gunman in the Finnish town of Hyvinkaa kills 2, wounds 7
Event of Interest
2012 Pope Benedict XVI's butler is arrested for allegedly leaking confidential documents
Benedict XVI
- 2012 57th Eurovision Song Contest: Loreen for Sweden wins singing "Euphoria" in Baku
- 2013 The Mumbai Indians defeat the Chennai Super Kings to win the Indian 20/20 Premier League
- 2013 Golfer Matteo Manassero wins the BMW PGA Championship
- 2013 Indianapolis 500: Tony Kanaan wins in 2:40:03.4181 (301.644 km/h)
- 2013 66th Cannes Film Festival: "Blue Is the Warmest Colour" directed by Abdellatif Kechiche wins the Palme d'Or. The two main actresses in the film, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux also awarded
Event of Interest
2014 Narendra Modi becomes the 15th Prime Minister of India
Narendra Modi
- 2014 World Health Organization confirms that Ebola has reached Sierra Leone
- 2014 Protests across Thailand in response to military coup; General Prayuth warns of a crackdown in demonstrations continue
- 2015 Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA Eastern Conference
- 2017 Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Ricky John Best killed, Micah David-Cole Fletcher injured defending Muslim teenager in Portland, Oregon
Articles on Events in May
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
Ship that Changed the Face of Britain
Britain was on its knees after the Second World War, its economy and infrastructure in tatters. For help the Mother Country turned to the Commonwealth.
May 27, 1948
A Modern Major-General of Light Entertainment
William Gilbert, celebrated as the unique lyricist behind the highly popular Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas, met his death in highly unexpected circumstances.
May 29, 1911
Voltaire: Writer, Wit, Philosopher and Rebel
They burned his books, sent him to the Bastille and into exile, but Voltaire, who died on this day, remained rich, successful – and defiant.
May 30, 1778