Events
1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes.
1345 - The megas doux Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners.
1429 - Hundred Years' War: The start of the Battle of Jargeau.
1509 - Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.
1594 - Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paves way to the creation of the Principalía (i.e., elite ruling class of native nobility in Spanish Philippines).
1776 - The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.
1788 - Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska.
1805 - A fire consumes large portions of Detroit in the Michigan Territory.
1825 - The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City.
1837 - The Broad Street Riot occurrs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between Yankees and Irish
1866 - The Allahabad High Court (then Agra High Court) is established in India.
1892 - The Limelight Department, one of the world's first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia.
1898 - Spanish-American War: U.S. war ships set sail for Cuba.
1898 - The Hundred Days' Reform is started by Guangxu Emperor in hopes changing social, political and educational institutions in China, but is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days. The failed reform though led to the abolition of Imperial Examination in 1905.
1901 - New Zealand annexes the Cook Islands.
1907 - George Dennett, aided by Gilbert Jessop, dismisses Northamptonshire for 12 runs, the lowest total in first-class cricket.
1917 - King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father Constantine I abdicates under pressure by allied armies occupying Athens.
1919 - Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the Triple Crown.
1935 - Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States, at Alpine, New Jersey.
1936 - The International Surrealist Exhibition opens in London, England.
1937 - Great Purge: The Soviet Union executes eight army leaders under Joseph Stalin.
1938 - Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan starts.
1938 - Second Sino-Japanese War: The Nationalist government creates the 1938 Yellow River flood to halt Japanese forces. 500,000 to 900,000 civilians are killed.
1940 - World War II: British forces bomb Genoa and Turin in Italy.
1940 - World War II: First attack of the Italian Air force on the island of Malta.
1942 - World War II: The United States agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
1955 - Eighty-three are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
1956 - Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. The total number of deaths is reportedly 150.
1962 - Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
1963 - American Civil Rights Movement: Alabama Governor George Wallace stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students,Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.
1963 - Buddhist monk Thich Quang Duc burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.
1964 - World War II veteran Walter Seifert runs amok in an elementary school in Cologne, Germany, killing at least eight children and two teachers and seriously injuring several more with a home-made flamethrower and a lance.
1967 - Mexico becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
1970 - After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army Generals, becoming the first females to do so.
1972 - Eltham Well Hall rail crash, caused by an intoxicated train driver, kills six people and injures 126.
1978 - Altaf Hussain founds the students' political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (a.k.a APMSO) in Karachi University.
1981 - A Richter Scale 6.9 magnitude earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000.
1998 - Compaq Computer pays $9 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation in the largest high-tech acquisition.
2001 - Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
2002 - Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
2004 - Cassini-Huygens makes its closest flyby of Phoebe.
2004 - Ronald Reagan's funeral is held at Washington National Cathedral.
2008 - An EF3 tornado touch down at The Little Sioux Scout Ranch in Iowa killing four boy scouts Josh Fennen 13, Sam Thomsen 13, Ben Petrzilka 14, and Aaron Eilerts 14
Po polsku
Auf Deutsch
En Française
En Español
На Русском
在中國
