Events

• 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.

• 1276 – Magnus Ladulås is crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.

• 1487 – Lambert Simnel is crowned as "King Edward VI" at Dublin, Ireland.

• 1595 – Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.

• 1621 – The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.

• 1626 – Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.

• 1689 – The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration protecting Protestants. Roman Catholics are intentionally excluded.

• 1738 – John Wesley is converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day.

• 1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798 led by the United Irishmen against British rule begins.

• 1822 – Battle of Pichincha: Antonio José de Sucre secures the independence of the Presidency of Quito.

• 1830 – "Mary Had a Little Lamb" by Sarah Josepha Hale is published.

• 1830 – The first revenue trains in the United States begin service on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Baltimore, Maryland and Ellicott's Mills, Maryland.

• 1832 – The First Kingdom of Greece is declared in the London Conference.

• 1844 – Samuel F. B. Morse sends the message "What hath God wrought" (a Bible quotation, Numbers 23:23) from the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland.

• 1846 – Mexican-American War: General Zachary Taylor captures Monterrey.

• 1856 – John Brown and his men murder five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.

• 1861 – American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.

• 1881 – Turkey cedes Thessaly and Arta back to Greece.

• 1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.

• 1895 – Henry Irving becomes the first personage from the theatre to be knighted.

• 1900 – Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.

• 1901 – Seventy-eight miners die in the Caerphilly pit disaster in South Wales.

• 1915 – World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.

• 1921 – The trial of Sacco and Vanzetti opens.

• 1930 – Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight).

• 1935 – The first night game in Major League Baseball history is played in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 at Crosley Field.

• 1940 – Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.

• 1941 – World War II: In the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Battleship Bismarck sinks the then pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, killing all but three crewmen.

• 1943 – Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Auschwitz concentration camp.

• 1956 – Conclusion of the Sixth Buddhist Council on Vesak Day, marking the 2,500 year anniversary after the Lord Buddha's Parinibbāna.

• 1956 – The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland

• 1958 – United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.

• 1960 – Following the the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded eathquake, Cordón Caulle begins to erupt.

• 1961 – American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus.

• 1961 – Cyprus enters the Council of Europe.

• 1962 – Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.

• 1968 – FLQ separatists bomb the U.S. consulate in Quebec City.

• 1970 – The drilling of the Kola Superdeep Borehole begins in the Soviet Union.

• 1973 – Earl Jellicoe resigns as Lord Privy Seal and Leader of the Lords.

• 1976 – The London to Washington, D.C. Concorde service begins.

• 1980 – The International Court of Justice calls for the release of United States embassy hostages in Tehran, Iran. The hostages would not be freed until the following January.

• 1982 – Liberation of Khorramshahr, Iranians recapture of the port city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqis during the Iran–Iraq War.

• 1989 – Sonia Sutcliffe, wife of the Yorkshire Ripper, is awarded £600,000 in damages (later reduced to £60,000 on appeal) after winning a libel action against Private Eye.

• 1990 – A car carrying American Earth First! activists Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney explodes in Oakland, California, critically injuring both.

• 1991 – Eritrea gains its independence from Ethiopia.

• 1991 – Israel conducts Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel.

• 1992 – The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-democracy protests.

• 1994 – Four men convicted of bombing the World Trade Center in New York in 1993 are each sentenced to 240 years in prison.

• 2000 – Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.

• 2001 – Mountain climbing: 15-year-old Sherpa Temba Tsheri becomes the youngest person to climb to the top of Mount Everest.

• 2001 – The Versailles wedding hall disaster in Jerusalem, Israel, kills 23 and injures over 200 in Israel's worst-ever civil disaster.

• 2002 – Russia and the United States sign the Moscow Treaty.

• 2004 – Communications in North Korea: North Korea bans mobile phones.

Births

• 15 BC – Julius Caesar Germanicus, Roman commander (d. 19)

• 1494 – Pontormo, Italian painter (d. 1557)

• 1522 – John Jewel, English Bishop of Salisbury (d. 1571)

• 1544 – William Gilbert, English natural philosopher (d. 1603)

• 1616 – John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale (d. 1682)

• 1671 – Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1737)

• 1686 – Gabriel Fahrenheit, inventor and thermometer maker (d. 1736)

• 1689 – Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, English politician (d. 1769)

• 1743 – Jean-Paul Marat, French revolutionary (d. 1793)

• 1794 – William Whewell, English scientist and philosopher (d. 1866)

• 1803 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish zoologist (d. 1866)

• 1810 – Charles Clark, 24th Governor of Mississippi (d. 1877)

• 1810 – Abraham Geiger, German rabbi and scholar (d. 1874)

• 1816 – Emanuel Leutze, German-born painter (d. 1868)

• 1819 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1901)

• 1830 – Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter (d. 1897)

• 1836 – Joseph Rowntree, British social reformer (d. 1925)

• 1854 – John Riley Banister, American law officer and cowboy (d. 1918)

• 1855 – Arthur Wing Pinero, English playwright (d. 1934)

• 1863 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (d. 1938)

• 1868 – Charles E. Taylor, First aircraft maintenance professional (d. 1956)

• 1870 – Benjamin Cardozo, American jurist (d. 1938)

• 1870 – Jan Christiaan Smuts, Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1950)

• 1874 – Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1878)

• 1878 – Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American engineer (d. 1972)

• 1879 – H. B. Reese, American inventor of Reese's and founder (d. 1956)

• 1885 – Susan Sutherland Isaacs, English educational psychologist (d. 1948)

• 1886 – Paul Paray, French conductor and composer (d. 1979)

• 1887 – Edward "Mick" Mannock, Irish WWI flying ace (d. 1918)

• 1891 – William F. Albright, American archeologist and Biblical scholar (d. 1971)

• 1895 – Samuel Irving Newhouse, American publisher (d. 1979)

• 1899 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (d. 1938)

• 1899 – Henri Michaux, French poet (d. 1984)

• 1900 – Lionel Conacher, Canadian athlete and politician (d. 1954)

• 1900 – Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor and screenwriter (d. 1984)

• 1901 – José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1968)

• 1903 – Milo Burcham, American aviator (d. 1944)

• 1905 – Michail Aleksandrovich Sholokhov, Russian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)

• 1908 – Sam Giancana, American gangster (d. 1975)

• 1909 – Wilbur Mills, U.S. House of Representative from Arkansas (d. 1992)

• 1911 – Barbara West, English survivor of the Titanic sinking (d. 2007)

• 1914 – Lilli Palmer, German-born actress (d. 1986)

• 1914 – Giuseppe Valdengo, Italian baritone (d. 2007)

• 1916 – Roden Cutler, Australian diplomat (d. 2002)

• 1923 – Siobhán McKenna, Irish actress (d. 1986)

• 1925 – Mai Zetterling, Swedish-born entertainer (d. 1994)

• 1926 – Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor

• 1928 – William Trevor, Irish writer

• 1930 – Hans-Martin Linde, German conductor

• 1931 – Michael Lonsdale, French actor

• 1932 – Arnold Wesker, English dramatist

• 1933 – Aharon Lichtenstein, Orthodox Jewish rabbi

• 1934 – Jane Byrne, 50th Mayor of Chicago

• 1934 – Barry Rose, English choir-trainer and organist

• 1935 – Joan Micklin Silver, American director

• 1936 – Harold Budd, American musician

• 1937 – Archie Shepp, American musician

• 1938 – Tommy Chong, Canadian-born actor and comedian

• 1938 – David Viscott, American psychiatrist (d. 1996)

• 1940 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)

• 1941 – Bob Dylan, American singer and songwriter

• 1941 – George Lakoff, American linguist and political activist

• 1942 – Ali Bacher, South African cricketer and administrator

• 1943 – Gary Burghoff, American actor

• 1944 – Patti LaBelle, American singer

• 1945 – Priscilla Presley, American actress

• 1946 – Irena Kirszenstein-Szewinska, Russian-born Polish athlete

• 1947 – Martin Winterkorn, German automotive executive

• 1949 – Jim Broadbent, English actor

• 1949 – Tomaž Pisanski, Slovenian mathematician

• 1950 – Larry Seidlin, American judge

• 1953 – Alfred Molina, London-born Spanish-Italian actor

• 1953 – Nell Campbell, American actress, singer

• 1955 – Rosanne Cash, American singer

• 1955 – David Leonard, American musician

• 1956 – Michael Jackson, Northern Irish clergyman

• 1956 – Richard B. Bernstein, American constitutional and legal historian

• 1956 – Larry Blackmon, American singer (Cameo)

• 1959 – Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish hockey player (d. 1985)

• 1960 – Kristin Scott Thomas, English actress

• 1960 – Guy Fletcher, British keyboardist (Dire Straits)

• 1960 – Doug Jones, American actor

• 1962 – Gene Anthony Ray, American actor (d. 2003)

• 1962 – Héctor Camacho, Puerto Rican boxer

• 1963 – Ivan Capelli, Italian racing driver

• 1963 – Michael Chabon, American author

• 1963 – Joe Dumars, American basketball player

• 1963 – Kathy Leander, Swiss singer

• 1963 – Rich Rodriguez, American football coach

• 1964 – Adrian Moorhouse, British swimmer

• 1964 – Ray Stevenson, British actor

• 1964 – Pat Verbeek, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1965 – John C. Reilly, American actor

• 1965 – Shinichiro Watanabe, Japanese anime director

• 1966 – Eric Cantona, French footballer

• 1966 – Ricky Craven, American NASCAR driver

• 1966 – Russell Kun, Nauruan politician

• 1967 – Carlos Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player

• 1967 – Eric Close, American actor

• 1967 – Steve McDonald, American bassist (Redd Kross)

• 1967 – Bruno Putzulu, French actor

• 1968 – Mo Willems, American author and screenwriter

• 1969 – Rich Robinson, American musician (Black Crowes)

• 1970 – Tommy Page, American singer

• 1971 – Kris Draper, Canadian ice hockey player (Detroit Red Wings)

• 1972 – Greg Berlanti, American television writer and producer

• 1973 – Bartolo Colón, Dominican baseball player

• 1973 – Dermot O'Leary, English television presenter

• 1973 – Ruslana, Ukrainian singer

• 1973 – Vladimír Šmicer, Czech footballer

• 1974 – Will Sasso, Canadian actor and comedian

• 1974 – Masahide Kobayashi, Japanese baseball player

• 1974 – Sébastien Foucan, French actor and free-runner

• 1975 – Marc Gagnon, Canadian short track speed skater

• 1975 – Yannis Goumas, Greek footballer

• 1975 – Maria Lawson, British Singer

• 1976 – Alessandro Cortini, Italian musician

• 1976 – Catherine Cox, Australian netballer

• 1976 – Bob Maesen, Belgian flatwater canoer

• 1977 – Kym Valentine. Australian actress

• 1978 – Brian Ching, American footballer

• 1978 – Bryan Greenberg, American actor

• 1978 – Brad Penny, American baseball player

• 1978 – Johan Holmqvist, Swedish hockey player

• 1978 – Elijah Burke, American Professional Wrestler

• 1979 – Tracy McGrady, American basketball player

• 1979 – Frank Mir, American UFC fighter

• 1979 – Kareem McKenzie, American football player

• 1980 – Cecilia Cheung, Hong Kong actress and singer

• 1981 – Marketa Janska, Czech model and Playboy Playmate

• 1982 – Issah Ahmed, Ghana football player

• 1982 – DaMarcus Beasley, American footballer

• 1983 – Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw, Anglo-Australian videogame creator and critic

• 1983 – Woo Seung-yeon, South Korean model and actress (d. 2009)

• 1984 – Sarah Hagan, American actress

• 1984 – Brodney Pool, American football player

• 1984 – Ryan Wieber, American Visual Effects Compostior and Amateur Filmmaker

• 1985 – Tim Bridgman, British racing driver

• 1986 – Jordan Metcalfe, English actor

• 1986 – Mark Ballas, professional dancer

• 1987 – Guillaume Latendresse, French-Canadian hockey player

• 1988 – Monica Brown, American soldier

• 1988 – Billy Gilman, American singer

• 1989 – Tara Correa-McMullen, American actress (d. 2005)

• 1989 – Adel Taarabt, Moroccan Footballer

• 1989 – Argiris Karras, Canadian Actor

• 1990 – Joey Logano, American racecar driver

• 1991 – Erika Umeda, Japanese singer

• 1992 – Travis T. Flory, American actor

• 1993 – Oliver Davis, American actor

• 1994 – Cayden Boyd, American Actor

• 1995 – Prince Joseph Wenzel of Liechtenstein

Deaths

• 1153 – King David I of Scotland (b. 1084)

• 1351 – Abu al-Hasan 'Ali, Sultan of Morocco (b. c. 1297)

• 1408 – Taejo of Joseon, ruler of Korea (b. 1335)

• 1425 – Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, Scottish politician (b. 1362)

• 1456 – Ambroise de Loré, French military commander (b. 1396)

• 1543 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish astronomer (b. 1473)

• 1612 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English statesman (b. 1563)

• 1627 – Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet (b. 1561)

• 1632 – Robert Hues, English mathematician and geographer (b. 1553)

• 1725 – Jonathan Wild, English criminal (b. 1682)

• 1734 – Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)

• 1749 – Graf Valentin Potocki, Polish nobleman

• 1792 – George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, British naval officer (b. 1718)

• 1806 – John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, British field marshal (b. 1723)

• 1843 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician (b. 1765)

• 1861 – Elmer E. Ellsworth, American Civil War officer (b. 1837)

• 1872 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter (b. 1794)

• 1876 – Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1843)

• 1879 – William Lloyd Garrison, American abolitionist and publisher (b. 1805)

• 1881 – Samuel Palmer, English artist (b. 1805)

• 1883 – Abdel Kadir, Algerian leader (b. 1808)

• 1908 – Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (b. 1821)

• 1915 – Private John Condon, mistakenly believed to be the youngest Allied soldier killed in the First World War

• 1919 – Amado Nervo, Mexican poet (b. 1870)

• 1941 – Lancelot Holland, British admiral, died in sinking of the HMS Hood (b. 1887)

• 1945 – Robert Ritter von Greim, German field marshal (b. 1892)

• 1947 – C. F. Ramuz, Swiss writer (b. 1878)

• 1948 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian director and screenwriter (b. 1885)

• 1949 – Aleksey Shchusev, Russian architect (b. 1873)

• 1950 – Archibald Wavell, British general (b. 1883)

• 1959 – John Foster Dulles, 52nd United States Secretary of State and United States Senator from New York (b. 1888)

• 1963 – Elmore James, American musician (b. 1918)

• 1969 – Willy Ley, German-born rocket scientist (b. 1906)

• 1972 – Ismail Yasin, Egyptian comedian and actor (b. 1915)

• 1974 – Duke Ellington, American composer and musician (b. 1899)

• 1984 – Vincent J. McMahon, American pro wrestling promoter (b. 1914)

• 1991 – Gene Clark, American singer and songwriter (The Byrds) (b. 1944)

• 1991 – Miriam di San Servolo, Italian actress (b. 1912)

• 1992 – Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese racing driver (b. 1956)

• 1995 – Harold Wilson, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)

• 1996 – Joseph Mitchell, journalist and writer for The New Yorker (b. 1908)

• 1996 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (b. 1934)

• 1997 – Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (b. 1923)

• 2000 – Kurt Schork, American reporter (b. 1947)

• 2002 – Wallace Markfield, American writer (b. 1926)

• 2003 – Rachel Kempson, English actress (b. 1910)

• 2004 – Henry Ries, American photographer (b. 1917)

• 2004 – Milton Shulman, Canadian author and critic (b. 1913)

• 2004 – Edward Wagenknecht, American literary critic (b. 1900)

• 2005 – Carl Amery, German writer (b. 1922)

• 2005 – Arthur Haulot, Belgian journalist (b. 1913)

• 2005 – Vivian Liberto, first wife of Johnny Cash (b. 1934)

• 2006 – Henry Bumstead, American art director (b. 1915)

• 2006 – Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician (b. 1930)

• 2007 – Bill Johnston, Australian cricketer (b. 1922)

• 2008 – Dick Martin, American comedian (b. 1922)

• 2008 – Rob Knox, British actor (b. 1989)

• 2009 – Jay Bennett, American guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter (b. 1963)

Holidays and observances

• Canada: Victoria Day, on this date if it falls on a Monday or the Monday before it. In Quebec, it is known as National Patriotes Day (Journée nationale des patriotes).

• Eastern Orthodox Church: Saints Cyril and Methodius Day. In addition, the following secular observances are recognized, in the association with the works of Cyril and Methodius Day:

• *Bulgaria: Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature Day

• *Republic of Macedonia: Saints Cyril and Methodius, Slavonic Enlighteners' Day

• *Russia: Slavonic Literature and Culture Day

• Belize: Commonwealth Day

• Bermuda: Bermuda Day

• Buganda: Lubiri Memorial Day

• Ecuador: Battle of Pichincha Day

• Eritrea: Independence Day

• Methodism: Aldersgate Day

• Saint Sarah is celebrated in Camargue, France by the Romani people (or Gypsies).