Events589 -
Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo1429 - Joan of Arc raises siege of Orleans.
1450 -
Jack Cade's Rebellion:
Kentishmen revolt against King
Henry VI. 1541 -
Hernando de Soto reaches the
Mississippi River and names it Río de Espíritu Santo.
1794 - Branded a
traitor during the
Reign of Terror by
revolutionists,
French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a
tax collector with the
Ferme Générale, was tried, convicted, and
guillotined all on one day in
Paris.
1821 -
Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks in
Gravia.
1846 -
Mexican-American War: The
Battle of Palo Alto –
Zachary Taylor defeats a
Mexican force north of the
Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war.
1861 -
American Civil War:
Richmond, Virginia, is named the
capital of the
Confederate States of America.
1877 - At Gilmore's Gardens in
New York City, the first
Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens (ends
May 11).
1886 -
Pharmacist Dr. John Styth Pemberton invents a
carbonated beverage that would later be named "
Coca-Cola".
1898 - The first games of the
Italian Football League are played.
1899 - The
Irish Literary Theatre in
Dublin opens.
1902 - In
Martinique,
Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of
Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.
1914 -
Paramount Pictures is formed.
1919 -
Edward George Honey first proposed the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate
The Armistice of
World War I, which later resulted in the creation of
Remembrance Day.
1933 -
Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast in protest of
British oppression in
India.
1942 -
World War II: The
Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end. This is the first time in the naval history where two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.1942 -
World War II: Gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the
Cocos Islands rebelled in the
Cocos Islands Mutiny. Their
mutiny was crushed and three of them were executed, the only
British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for
mutiny during the
Second World War.
1945 - Hundreds of
Algerian civilians are killed by
French Army soldiers in the
Sétif massacre.1945 - Combat in Europe ends in
World War II:
VE Day.
German forces agree to an
unconditional surrender.1945 - End of the
Prague uprising, today still celebrated as national holiday in the
Czech Republic1946 - The
Estonian school girls
Aili Jõgi and
Ageeda Paavel blow up the
Soviet memorial that preceded the Bronze Soldier in
Tallinn.
1965 -
Theta Chi Fraternity was established at
California State University, Long Beach, Zeta Epsilon Chapter.
1967 - The
Philippine province of
Davao is split into three:
Davao del Norte,
Davao del Sur, and
Davao Oriental.
1970 - The
Hard Hat riot occurs in the
Wall Street area of
New York City as
blue-collar construction workers clash with anti-war demonstrators protesting the
Vietnam War.
1972 -
Vietnam War –
U.S. President Richard M. Nixon announces his order to place
mines in major
North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.
1973 - A 71-day standoff, between federal authorities and the
American Indian Movement members occupying the
Pine Ridge Reservation at
Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.
1982 -
Formula One pilot
Gilles Villeneuve dies in a crash during practice for the
1982 Belgian Grand Prix at
Zolder.
1984 - The
Soviet Union announces that it will
boycott the
1984 Summer Olympics in
Los Angeles, California.1984 -
Cpl. Denis Lortie enters the
Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three and wounding 13.
René Jalbert,
sergeant-at-arms of the
assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the
Cross of Valour.
1987 - The
SAS carries out the Loughgall ambush.
1996 - The Constitutional Assembly of
South Africa ratifies the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. Considered one of the most liberal Constitutions in the world regarding
Human Rights.
1997 - A
China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 crashes on approach into
Shenzhen's Huangtian Airport, killing 35 people.
1999 -
Nancy Mace becomes the first female
cadet to graduate from
The Citadel military college.
2005 - The new
Canadian War Museum opens, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of
V-E Day.
2007 - A new
Northern Ireland Executive is formed under the leadership of
Ian Paisley of the
Democratic Unionist Party as First Minister and
Martin McGuinness of
Sinn Féin as Deputy First Minister.
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