Events

• 1291 - 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 Adda River in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.
• 1801 - First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America.
• 1824 - The 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 Presiden<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Lupin/navpop.css&action=raw&ctype=text/css&dontcountme=s">t of the United States.
• 1877 - Romania declares itself independent from Turkey, following the Senate adoption of Mihail Kog?lniceanu's Declaration of Independence. This act is recognized on March 26, 1881 after the end of the Romanian War of Independence.
• 1893 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Nix v. Hedden that a tomato is a vegetable, not a fruit, under the Tariff Act of 1883.
• 1908 - Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.
• 1922 - The United States annexes the Kingman Reef.
• 1924 - J. Edgar Hoover is appointed the Director of the United States' 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 Germany.
• 1942 - World War II: The Thai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign.
• 1954 - Bill Haley & His Comets release "Rock Around the Clock", the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts.
• 1960 - The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.
• 1969 - Vietnam War: 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 hockey - ("The Goal").
• 1979 - The Federated States of Micronesia becomes self-governing.
• 1981 - François Mitterrand takes office as the first Socialist President of France.
• 1982 - WABC stopped playing music on May 10, 1982 a date known as "the day the music died". The main reason was due to FM Radio having better sound.
• 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 - Pope John Paul II visits Lebanon.
• 2001 - In Ghana, a stampede at a football game kills over 120 spectators.
• 2002 - F.B.I. 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 - The May 2003 tornado outbreak sequence takes place.
• 2005 - A hand grenade which was thrown by Vladimir Arutinian lands about 65 feet (20 metres) from U.S. President George W. Bush while he was giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.

Births

• 1265 - Emperor Fushimi of Japan (d. 1317)
• 1604 - Jean Mairet, French dramatist (d. 1686)
• 1641 - Dudley North, English economist (d. 1691)
• 1727 - Anne Robert Turgot, French statesman (d. 1781)
• 1746 - Gaspard Monge, French mathematician (d. 1818)
• 1760 - Johann Peter Hebel, German poet (d. 1826)
• 1760 - Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French composer (La Marseillaise) (d. 1836)
• 1770 - Louis Nicolas Davout, French marshal (d. 1823)
• 1775 - Antoine Charles Louis Lasalle, French cavalry general (d. 1809)
• 1788 - Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist (d. 1827)
• 1788 - Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, German queen (d. 1819)
• 1813 - Montgomery Blair, American politician (d. 1883)
• 1838 - John Wilkes Booth, American actor and assassin of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1865)
• 1840 - Hadzhi Dimitar, Bulgarian revolutionist (d. 1868)
• 1841 - James Gordon Bennett Jr., American publisher (d. 1918)
• 1843 - Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish novelist (d. 1920)
• 1847 - Wilhelm Killing, German mathematician (d. 1923)
• 1866 - Léon Bakst, Russian artist (d. 1924)
• 1868 - Ed Barrow, American baseball manager (d. 1953)
• 1872 - Marcel Mauss, French sociologist (d. 1950)
• 1874 - Moses Schorr, Polish rabbi, senator, historian and orientalist (d. 1941)
• 1876 - Ivan Cankar, Slovenian writer (d. 1918)
• 1878 - Gustav Stresemann, Chancellor of Germany, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1929)
• 1879 - Symon Petlura, Ukrainian statesman (d. 1926)
• 1886 - Karl Barth, Swiss Protestant theologian (d. 1968)
• 1886 - Olaf Stapledon, British author and philosopher (d. 1950)
• 1886 - Felix Manalo, Founder and 1st Executive Minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo (d. 1963)
• 1887 - Mir Ghotbeddin Mohammad Angha, 40th Sufi master of the Oveyssi order (d. 1962)
• 1888 - Max Steiner, Austrian composer (d. 1971)
• 1889 - Mae Murray, American actress (d. 1965)
• 1890 - Alfred Jodl, German general (d. 1946)
• 1897 - Einar Gerhardsen, Prime minister of Norway (d. 1987)
• 1898 - Ariel Durant, American historian (d. 1981)
• 1899 - Fred Astaire, American dancer and actor (d. 1987)
• 1899 - Dimitri Tiomkin, Ukrainian-born composer (d. 1979)
• 1902 - Anatole Litvak, Ukrainian-born film director (d. 1974)
• 1902 - David O. Selznick, American film producer (d. 1965)
• 1903 - Otto Bradfisch, Nazi leader (d. 1994)
• 1905 - Markos Vamvakaris, Greek rebetiko musician and songwriter (d. 1972)
• 1909 - Maybelle Carter, American musician (d. 1978)
• 1911 - Bel Kaufman, American author
• 1915 - Denis Thatcher, British businessman and husband of Margaret Thatcher (d. 2003)
• 1916 - Milton Babbitt, American composer
• 1918 - George Welch, American pilot (d. 1954)
• 1922 - Nancy Walker, American actress (d. 1992)
• 1923 - Heydar Aliyev, Ex-President and Leader of Azerbaijan Republic (d. 2003)
• 1926 - Hugo Banzer, Bolivian dictator (d. 2002)
• 1927 - Nayantara Sahgal, Indian author
• 1928 - Arnold Rüütel, Estonian president
• 1929 - Antonine Maillet, French Canadian novelist and playwright
• 1930 - Pat Summerall, American football player and broadcaster
• 1930 - Scott Muni, American radio DJ (d. 2004)
• 1931 - Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter
• 1933 - Barbara Taylor Bradford, English writer
• 1934 - Cliff Wilson, Welsh snooker player (d. 1994)
• 1934 - Jeanine Basinger, American film scholar
• 1935 - Larry Williams, American singer and songwriter (d. 1980)
• 1936 - Gary Owens, American actor and announcer
• 1937 - Tamara Press, Soviet athlete
• 1937 - Jim Hickman, American baseball player
• 1938 - Jean Becker, French director, screenwriter and actor
• 1938 - Marina Vlady, French actress
• 1940 - Wayne A. Downing, retired United States Army general
• 1942 - Youssouf Sambo Bâ, Burkinabé politician
• 1943 - David Clennon, American actor
• 1943 - Richard Darman, American economist
• 1944 - Jim Abrahams, American film director
• 1944 - Maureen Lipman, English actress
• 1944 - Marie-France Pisier, French actress
• 1946 - Donovan, Scottish musician
• 1946 - Graham Gouldman, British musician and songwriter (10cc)
• 1946 - Dave Mason, English musician (Traffic)
• 1947 - Caroline Cooney, American author
• 1947 - Jay Ferguson, American musician and composer
• 1947 - Thomas Tessier, American author
• 1952 - Kikki Danielsson, Swedish singer
• 1953 - John Diamond, English journalist (d. 2001)
• 1953 - Tito Santana, Mexican-American professional wrestler
• 1955 - Chris Berman, American sportscaster
• 1955 - Mark David Chapman, American assassin of John Lennon
• 1956 - Vladislav Listyev, Russian television anchor and journalist (d. 1995)
• 1957 - Sid Vicious, English bassist (The Sex Pistols) (d. 1979)
• 1958 - Rick Santorum, U.S. Senator
• 1958 - Yu Suzuki, Japanese creator of Virtua Fighter series
• 1958 - Gaétan Boucher, Canadian speed skater
• 1959 - Victoria Rowell, American actress
• 1959 - Danny Schayes, American basketball player
• 1960 - Bono, Irish singer (U2)
• 1961 - Danny Carey, American drummer (Tool, Pigmy Love Circus)
• 1961 - Johanna ter Steege, Dutch actress
• 1963 - Lisa Nowak, American astronaut
• 1965 - Linda Evangelista, Canadian supermodel
• 1966 - Jonathan Edwards, English athlete
• 1967 - Scott Brison, Canadian politician
• 1967 - Jon Ronson, British journalist and author
• 1967 - Nobuhiro Takeda, Japanese footballer and sportscaster
• 1967 - Young MC, American rapper
• 1968 - Erik Palladino, American actor
• 1968 - Ed Sanders, British actor and television personality
• 1968 - Al Murray, British comedian
• 1968 - Darren Matthews, English professional wrestler
• 1969 - Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch footballer
• 1969 - John Scalzi, American writer
• 1970 - Perry Blake, Irish singer/songwriter
• 1970 - Dallas Roberts, American actor
• 1970 - David Weir, Scottish footballer
• 1971 - Adriano Giannini, Italian actor
• 1971 - Ĺdne Sřndrĺl, Norwegian speed skater
• 1972 - Rados?aw Majdan, Polish footballer
• 1973 - Craig Mack, American rapper
• 1973 - Jerome Williams, American basketball player
• 1973 - Joshua Eagle, Australian tennis player
• 1973 - Aviv Geffen, Israeli singer/songwriter (Blackfield)
• 1974 - Sylvain Wiltord, French footballer
• 1975 - Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver
• 1975 - Adam Deadmarsh, American ice hockey player
• 1976 - Stuart Braithwaite, Scottish musician (Mogwai)
• 1976 - Rob Malda, American internet writer/editor (Slashdot)
• 1976 - Udo Mechels, Belgian singer
• 1976 - Aggeliki Tsiolakoudi, Greek javelin thrower
• 1977 - Henri Camara, Senegalese footballer
• 1977 - Nick Heidfeld, German Formula 1 driver
• 1977 - Denise Ho, Hong Kong singer
• 1977 - Chas Licciardello, Australian comedian, member of The Chaser
• 1978 - Kenan Thompson, American actor
• 1979 - Lee Hyori, South Korean singer
• 1981 - Humberto Suazo, Chilean footballer
• 1982 - Despina Caldis, Greek-Australian actress
• 1982 - Jeremy Gable, American playwright
• 1982 - Daniel Harris, Australian rules footballer
• 1983 - Gustav Fridolin, Swedish politician
• 1983 - Natalia Zabala, Miss Spain 2007
• 1984 - Edward Mujica. Venezuelan baseball player
• 1985 - Ryan Getzlaf, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1987 - Anej Lovre?i?, Slovenian football (soccer) player
• 1989 - Lindsey Shaw, American actress
• 1993 - Charice Pempengco, Filipino singer
• 1993 - Mirai Shida, Japanese actress
• 2000 - Shyann McClure, American actress and model
• 2004 - The Gosselin Sextuplets

Deaths

• 1034 - Mieszko II of Poland (b. 990)
• 1290 - Duke Rudolph II of Austria (b. 1271)
• 1424 - Go-Kameyama, Emperor of Japan
• 1482 - Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1397)
• 1493 - Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, Scottish politician
• 1521 - Sebastian Brant, Alsatian humanist (b. 1457)
• 1566 - Leonhart Fuchs, German botanist (b. 1501)
• 1641 - Johan Banér, Swedish soldier (b. 1596)
• 1657 - Gustaf Horn, Swedish soldier and politician (b. 1592)
• 1691 - Colonel John Birch, English soldier (b. 1615)
• 1696 - Jean de La Bruyčre, French writer (b. 1645)
• 1717 - John Hathorne, American magistrate (b. 1641)
• 1726 - Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier (b. 1670)
• 1733 - Barton Booth, English actor (b. 1681)
• 1737 - Nakamikado Emperor of Japan (b. 1702)
• 1774 - King Louis XV of France (b. 1710)
• 1787 - William Watson, English physician and scientist (b. 1715)
• 1792 - John Stevens, American delegate to the Continental Congress
• 1807 - Comte de Rochambeau, French soldier (b. 1725)
• 1818 - Paul Revere, American patriot (b. 1735)
• 1829 - Thomas Young, English physician and linguist (b. 1773)
• 1850 - Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, French chemist and physicist (b. 1778)
• 1863 - Stonewall Jackson, American Confederate general (b. 1824)
• 1868 - Henry Bennett, American politician (b. 1808)
• 1889 - Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian satirist (b. 1826)
• 1897 - Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino revolutionary leader (b. 1863)
• 1904 - Andrei Ryabushkin, Russian painter (b. 1861)
• 1937 - William Tedmarsh, silent movie actor (b. 1876)
• 1945 - Richard Glücks, German SS officer (b. 1889)
• 1950 - Belle da Costa Greene, librarian, bibliographer, archivist (b. 1883)
• 1955 - Tommy Burns, Canadian boxer (b. 1881)
• 1955 - John Radecki, Australian stained glass artist (b. 1865)
• 1960 - Yury Olesha, Russian novelist (b. 1899)
• 1963 - Gene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb, American football player (b. 1931)
• 1964 - Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter (b. 1881)
• 1967 - Lorenzo Bandini, Italian racing driver, (b. 1935)
• 1968 - Scotty Beckett, American child actor (b. 1929)
• 1976 - Elias Aslaksen, Leader of Smith's Friends (b. 1888)
• 1974 - Hal Mohr, Cinematographer, Husband of Evelyn Venable (b. 1894)
• 1977 - Joan Crawford, American actress (b. 1905)
• 1982 - Peter Weiss, German writer and artist (b. 1916)
• 1988 - Shen Congwen, Chinese writer (b. 1902)
• 1989 - Woody Shaw, American jazz musician (b. 1944)
• 1990 - Walker Percy, American author (b. 1916)
• 1990 - Susan Oliver, American actress (b. 1922)
• 1992 - Sylvia Syms, American jazz singer (b. 1917)
• 1994 - John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (executed) (b. 1942)
• 1997 - Joan Weston, Roller Derby Queen (b. 1935)
• 1999 - Shel Silverstein, American poet and composer (b. 1930)
• 2000 - Dédé Fortin, Quebec singer and songwriter (Les Colocs) (b. 1962)
• 2000 - Jules Deschęnes, Quebec superior court judge (b. 1923)
• 2001 - Deborah Walley, American actress (b. 1943)
• 2002 - Lynda Lyon Block, convicted murderer (b. 1948)
• 2002 - Yves Robert, French actor, screenwriter and director (b. 1920)
• 2003 - Milan Vukcevich, Yugoslavian chemist and chess problem composer (b. 1937)
• 2005 - David Wayne, American singer (Metal Church) (b. 1958)
• 2006 - Raizo Matsuno, Japanese politician (b. 1917)
• 2006 - A. M. Rosenthal, American newspaper editor (b. 1922)
• 2006 - Soraya, Colombian-American singer (b. 1969)
• 2006 - Val Guest, British film director (b. 1911)
• 2008 - Leyla Gencer, Turkish soprano (b. 1928)
• 2008 - Jessie Jacobs, Australian Actress (b. 1990)

Holidays and observances

• Confederate Memorial Day in North Carolina and South Carolina.
• Constitution Day in the Federated States of Micronesia.
• Mother's Day in much of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico.

Saints in the Roman Catholic Church:

• Saint Alphius
• Saint Calepodius
• Saint Cataldus
• Saint Comgall
• Blessed Father Damien of Molokai
• Saints Gordian and Epimachus
• Saint John of Avila
• Saint Solange

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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