Events1291 -
Scottish nobles recognize the authority of
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
Ethan Allen and
Colonel Benedict Arnold. 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
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 first war of Independence begins.
Sepoys revolt against their commanding officers at
Meerut.
1864 -
American Civil War:
Colonel Emory Upton leads a 10-
regiment "Attack-in-depth" assault against the Confederate works at The
Battle of Spotsylvania, which, though ultimately unsuccessful, would provide the idea for the massive assault against the
Bloody Angle on
May 12. Upton was wounded slightly but immediately is promoted to
Brigadier general.
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, following the Senate adoption of
Mihail Kogălniceanu's Declaration of Independence. This act was recognized on
March 26,
1881 after the end of the
Romanian War of Independence.
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.1940 - World War II:
Invasion of Iceland by the
United Kingdom.
1941 - World War II: The
House of Commons in
London is damaged 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.
1942 - Thai Phayap Army invaded the
Shan States during the
Burma Campaign of World War II.
1954 -
Bill Haley & His 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 Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as
Hamburger Hill.
1970 - The
Boston Bruins win their first
Stanley Cup since
1941 when
Bobby Orr makes an overtime winning goal followed by a leap in the air that would become one of the most famous
photographs in
ice hockey ("The Goal").
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 -
Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as
South Africa's first black
president.
1996 -
Excel Communications, Inc. becomes the youngest company ever to join the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), trading under the symbol (ECI).
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
United States secrets to
Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and
diamonds.
2003 - Record shattering
tornado activity during the
May 2003 Tornado Outbreak Sequence.
2005 - A
hand grenade allegedly thrown by
Vladimir Arutinian lands about 65 feet(20 meters) 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.
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