Events
of the day
17
– Germanicus returns
to Rome as a conquering
hero; he celebrates
a triumph for his victories
over the Cherusci, Chatti
and other German tribes
west of the Elbe.
451 – Battle of Avarayr
between Armenian rebels
and the Sassanid Empire
takes place. The Empire
defeats the Armenians
militarily but guarantees
them freedom to openly
practice Christianity.
1135 – Alfonso VII of
León and Castile is
crowned in the Cathedral
of Leon as Imperator
totius Hispaniae, "Emperor
of all of Spain".
1293 – An earthquake
strikes Kamakura, Kanagawa,
Japan, killing about
30,000.
1328 – William of Ockham,
Franciscan Minister-General
Michael of Cesena and
two other Franciscan
leaders secretly leave
Avignon, fearing a death
sentence from Pope John
XXII.
1538 – Geneva expels
John Calvin and his
followers from the city.
Calvin lives in exile
in Strasbourg for the
next three years.
1637 – Pequot War: A
combined Protestant
and Mohegan force under
English Captain John
Mason attacks a Pequot
village in Connecticut,
massacring approximately
500 Native Americans.
1647 – Alse Young, hanged
in Hartford, Connecticut,
becomes the first person
executed as a witch
in the British American
colonies.
1736 – Battle of Ackia:
British and Chickasaw
soldiers repel a French
and Choctaw attack on
the Chickasaw village
of Ackia, near present-day
Tupelo, Mississippi.
The French, under Louisiana
governor Jean Baptiste
Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville,
had sought to link Louisiana
with Acadia and the
other northern colonies
of New France.
1770 – The Orlov Revolt,
an attempt to revolt
against the Ottoman
Empire before the Greek
War of Independence,
ends in disaster for
the Greeks.
1783 – A Great Jubilee
Day held at North Stratford,
Connecticut celebrated
end of fighting in American
Revolution.
1805 – Napoléon Bonaparte
assumes the title of
King of Italy and is
crowned with the Iron
Crown of Lombardy in
the Duomo di Milano,
the gothic cathedral
in Milan.
1822 – 116 people die
in the Grue Church fire,
the biggest fire disaster
in Norway's history.
1828 – Feral child Kaspar
Hauser is discovered
wandering the streets
of Nuremberg.
1830 – The Indian Removal
Act is passed by the
U.S. Congress; it is
signed into law by President
Andrew Jackson two days
later.
1857 – Dred Scott is
emancipated by the Blow
family, his original
owners.
1864 – Montana is organized
as a United States territory.
1865 – American Civil
War: Confederate General
Edmund Kirby Smith,
commander of the Confederate
Trans-Mississippi division,
is the last general
of the Confederate Army
to surrender, at Galveston,
Texas.
1868 – The impeachment
trial of U.S. President
Andrew Johnson ends
with Johnson being found
not guilty by one vote.
1869 – Boston University
is chartered by the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
1879 – Russia and the
United Kingdom sign
the Treaty of Gandamak
establishing an Afghan
state.
1896 – Nicholas II becomes
Tsar of Russia.
1896 – Charles Dow publishes
the first edition of
the Dow Jones Industrial
Average.
1897 – Dracula, a novel
by Irish author Bram
Stoker is published.
1906 – Vauxhall Bridge
is opened in London.
1908 – At Masjed Soleyman
(مسجد سليمان) in southwest
Persia, the first major
commercial oil strike
in the Middle East is
made. The rights to
the resource are quickly
acquired by the Anglo-Persian
Oil Company.
1917 – Several powerful
tornadoes rip through
Illinois, including
the city of Mattoon,
killing 101 people and
injuring 689.
1918 – The Democratic
Republic of Georgia
is established.
1936 – In the House
of Commons of Northern
Ireland, Tommy Henderson
begins speaking on the
Appropriation Bill.
By the time he sits
down in the early hours
of the following morning,
he had spoken for 10
hours.
1938 – In the United
States, the House Un-American
Activities Committee
begins its first session.
1940 – World War II:
Battle of Dunkirk –
In France, Allied forces
begin a massive evacuation
from Dunkirk, France.
1942 – World War II:
The Battle of Bir Hakeim
takes place.
1948 – The U.S. Congress
passes Public Law 557,
which permanently establishes
the Civil Air Patrol
as an auxiliary of the
United States Air Force.
1966 – British Guiana
gains independence,
becoming Guyana.
1969 – Apollo program:
Apollo 10 returns to
Earth after a successful
eight-day test of all
the components needed
for the forthcoming
first manned moon landing.
1970 – The Soviet Tupolev
Tu-144 becomes the first
commercial transport
to exceed Mach 2.
1972 – Willandra National
Park is established
in Australia.
1972 – The United States
and the Soviet Union
sign the Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty.
1977 – George Willig
climbs the South Tower
of New York City's World
Trade Center.
1981 – Prime Minister
of Italy Arnaldo Forlani
and his coalition cabinet
resign following a scandal
over membership of the
pseudo-masonic lodge
P2 (Propaganda Due).
1983 – A strong 7.7
magnitude earthquake
strikes Japan, triggering
a tsunami that kills
at least 104 people
and injures thousands.
Many people go missing
and thousands of buildings
are destroyed.
1986 – The European
Community adopts the
European flag.
1991 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia
becomes the first elected
President of the Republic
of Georgia in the post-Soviet
era.
1991 – Lauda Air Flight
004 crashes in rural
Thailand, killing 223.
1992 – The blockade
of Dubrovnik is broken.
Following this, the
siege of Dubrovnik ends
in the next months.
1998 – The Supreme Court
of the United States
rules that Ellis Island,
the historic gateway
for millions of immigrants,
is mainly in the state
of New Jersey, not New
York.
2004 – The United States
Army veteran Terry Nichols
is found guilty of 161
state murder charges
for helping carry out
the Oklahoma City bombing.
2008 – Severe flooding
begins in eastern and
southern China that
will ultimately cause
148 deaths and force
the evacuation of 1.3
million.
Holidays
and observances
Christian
Feast Day:
Augustine of Canterbury
(Anglican Communion
and Eastern Orthodox)
Lambert of Vence
Philip Neri
Quadratus of Athens
Zachary, Bishop of Vienne
May 26 (Eastern Orthodox
liturgics)
Crown Prince's Birthday
(Denmark)
Independence Day, commemorates
the day of the First
Republic in 1918. (Georgia)
Independence Day, celebrates
the independence of
Guyana from the United
Kingdom in 1966.
Mother's Day (Poland)
National Day of Healing
(Australia)
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