Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!
On this day in 1294, John II became the Duke of Brabant/Limburg. Count Hartmann II became the ruler of Vaduz (Liechtenstein) on this day in 1342. The Battle on Beverhoutsfield near Brugge was fought on this day in 1382. Jews fled Spain on this day in 1455. On this day in 1469, the Italian philosopher and writer Niccolo Machiavelli was born. In 1491 on this day, Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga was baptised by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João I. In 1515 on this day, the Portuguese fleet occupied Ormuz in the Persian Gulf: The Treaty of Loudun was signed on this day in 1615, and briefly put a temporary end to the conflict of rule of France between the Prince of Condé and Concino Concini, the Queen Mother Marie de Medici's favorite. Johannes Hevelius observes the third transit of Mercury ever to be seen on this day in 1661. Edmund Halley observed a total eclipse phenomenon "Baily's Beads" on this day in 1715. Pierre de Marivaux' "La Double Inconstance," premiered in Paris on this day in 1722. Washington, D.C. was incorporated as a city on this day in 1802. On this day in 1849, the May Uprising in Dresden began. It was- the last of the German revolutions of 1848. In 1861 on this day during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln asked for 42,000 Army Volunteers & another 18,000 seamen. British-controlled Egypt took control over the Sinai peninsula from the Ottoman Empire on this day in 1906.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
• On this day in 1294, John II became the Duke of Brabant/Limburg.
• Count Hartmann II became the ruler of Vaduz (Liechtenstein) on this day in 1342.
• The Battle on Beverhoutsfield near Brugge was fought on this day in 1382.
• Jews fled Spain on this day in 1455.
• In 1491 on this day, Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga was baptised by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João I.
Bust of Italian philosopher and writer, Prince Niccolo Machiavelli
• On this day in 1469, the Italian philosopher and writer Niccolo Machiavelli was born. A lifelong patriot and diehard proponent of a unified Italy, Machiavelli became one of the fathers of modern political theory. Machiavelli entered the political service of his native Florence by the time he was 29. As defense secretary, he distinguished himself by executing policies that strengthened Florence politically. He soon found himself assigned diplomatic missions for his principality, through which he met such luminaries as Louis XII of France, Pope Julius II, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, and perhaps most importantly for Machiavelli, a prince of the Papal States named Cesare Borgia. The shrewd and cunning Borgia later inspired the title character in Machiavelli's famous and influential political treatise The Prince (1532). Machiavelli's political life took a downward turn after 1512, when he fell out of favor with the powerful Medici family. He was accused of conspiracy, imprisoned, tortured and temporarily exiled. It was an attempt to regain a political post and the Medici family's good favor that Machiavelli penned The Prince, which was to become his most well-known work. Though released in book form posthumously in 1532, The Prince was first published as a pamphlet in 1513. In it, Machiavelli outlined his vision of an ideal leader: an amoral, calculating tyrant for whom the end justifies the means. The Prince not only failed to win the Medici family's favor, it also alienated him from the Florentine people. Machiavelli was never truly welcomed back into politics, and when the Florentine Republic was reestablished in 1527, Machiavelli was an object of great suspicion. He died later that year, embittered and shut out from the Florentine society to which he had devoted his life. Though Machiavelli has long been associated with the practice of diabolical expediency in the realm of politics that was made famous in The Prince, his actual views were not so extreme. In fact, in such longer and more detailed writings as Discourses on the First Ten Books of Livy (1517) and History of Florence (1525), he shows himself to be a more principled political moralist. Still, even today, the term "Machiavellian" is used to describe an action undertaken for gain without regard for right or wrong.
• In 1491 on this day, Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga was baptised by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João I.
1494 - Jamaica discovered by Columbus; he names it "St Iago"
1512 - Pope Julius II opens 5th Council of Lateran at St. John Lateran Basilica in Rome
• In 1515 on this day, the Portuguese fleet occupied Ormuz in the Persian Gulf:
1568 - French forces in Florida slaughtered hundreds of Spanish.
• The Treaty of Loudun was signed on this day in 1615, and briefly put a temporary end to the conflict of rule of France between the Prince of Condé and Concino Concini, the Queen Mother Marie de Medici's favorite.
1621 - Francis Bacon accused of bribery
1624 - Spanish silver fleet sails to Panama
1629 - French huguenot leader duke De Rohan signs accord with Spain
1640 - English Upper house accept Act of Attainder
1654 - Bridge at Rowley Mass begins charging tolls for animals
1660 - Sweden, Poland, Brandenburg & Austria sign Peace of Oliva
• Johannes Hevelius observes the third transit of Mercury ever to be seen on this day in 1661.
1662 - Royal charter granted Connecticut
1678 - French conquering fleet at Curacao, 1200 die
• Edmund Halley observed a total eclipse phenomenon "Baily's Beads" on this day in 1715.
• Pierre de Marivaux' "La Double Inconstance," premiered in Paris on this day in 1722.
1747 - Willem IV appointed viceroy of Holland/Utrecht
1765 - 1st US medical college opens in Philadelphia
1791 - The Constitution of May 3 (the first modern constitution in Europe) is proclaimed by the Sejm of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
• Washington, D.C. was incorporated as a city on this day in 1802.
1808 - Goya's "Executions of 3rd of May"
1808 - Finnish War: Sweden loses the fortress of Sveaborg to Russia.
1808 - Peninsular War: The Madrid rebels who rose up on May 2 are fired upon near Príncipe Pío hill.
1810 - Lord Byron swims Hellespont
1815 - Battle at Tolentino: Austria beats king Joachim of Naples
1822 - Society for Propagation of Faith starts (Lyon, France)
1830 - 1st regular steam train passenger service starts
1837 - The University of Athens is founded.
1845 - 1st black lawyer (Macon B Allen) admitted to bar (Mass)
1845 - Fire kills 1,600 in popular theater in Canton China
1846 - Mexican army surrounds fort in Texas
• On this day in 1849, the May Uprising in Dresden began. It was- the last of the German revolutions of 1848.
1851 - Most of SF destroyed by fire; 30 die
1855 - Antwerp-Rotterdam railway opens
1855 - Macon B. Allen became the first African American to be admitted to the Bar in Massachusetts.
1859 - France declared war on Austria.
1860 - Charles XV of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Sweden.
1861 - Gen Winfield Scott presents his Anaconda Plan for the North against the South in US Civil War
Lincoln Memorial Sculpture by Daniel French in Washington, D.C.
• In 1861 on this day during the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln asked for 42,000 Army Volunteers & another 18,000 seamen.
1863 - Battle of Fredricksburg, Virginia (Marye's Heights)
1863 - Battle of Salem Church, VA
1864 - Third day in Battle at Alexandria Louisiana: Confederate assault
1867 - The Hudson's Bay Company gives up all claims to Vancouver Island.
1886 - M A Maclean elected 1st mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia
Monuments to Thomas Edison at Menlo Park in Edison, NJ
• Thomas Edison organized the Edison Phonograph Works on this day in 1888.
1898 - Camp Merriman forms at Presidio (SF) (see 0517)
1900 - 26th Kentucky Derby: Jimmy Boland aboard Lieut Gibson wins in 2:06.25
1901 - Fire destroyed 1,700 buildings in Jacksonville, Florida
1902 - 28th Kentucky Derby: Jimmy Winkfield on Alan-a-Dale wins in 2:08.75
1903 - AVC Heracles (SC Heracles '74) soccer team forms in Almelo
• British-controlled Egypt took control over the Sinai peninsula from the Ottoman Empire on this day in 1906.
1909 - 35th Kentucky Derby: Vincent Powers on Wintergreen wins in 2:08.2
1916 - Irish nationalist leaders Padraic Pearse and two others were executed in Dublin by the British for their roles in the Easter Rising.
1917 - First performance of Ernest Bloch's symphony "Israel"
1919 - Afghanistan Emir Amanoellah begins war against Great Britain
1919 - America's first passenger flight (NY-Atlantic City)
1921 - West Virginia imposed the first state sales tax.
1922 - Mayor Hylan closes streets for building of Yankee Stadium
1922 - Salt layer find at Winterswijk
1923 - First nonstop transcontinental flight (NY-San Diego) completed
1924 - Aleph Zadik Aleph is formed in Omaha, Nebraska by Sam Beber.
1926 - The revival of Wilde's "The Importance of Being Earnest" opened in New York.
1926 - British trade unions began a general strike-3 million workers support miners
1926 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Sinclair Lewis (Arrowsmith)
1926 - US marines landed in Nicaragua (9-mo after leaving), and stayed until 1933
1927 - Francis E.J. Wilde of Meadowmere Park, NY, patented the electric sign flasher.
1928 - Japanese atrocities in Jinan, China.
1929 - Prussia bans anti-fascists
1932 - 24 tourists begin 1st air-charter holiday (London-Basle, Switz)
1933 - The U.S. Mint was under the direction of a woman for the first time when Nellie Ross took the position.
1936 - French People's Front wins elections
1936 - NY Yankee Joe DiMaggio makes his major-league debut, gets 3 hits
1937 - Margaret Mitchell won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for "Gone With the Wind"
1938 - Concentration camp at Flossenburg went into use
1938 - Lefty Grove defeats Tigers 4-3 for 1st of record 20 consecutive wins at his home field Fenway Park; he doesn't lose there until May 12 1941
1938 - Vatican recognizes Franco-Spain
1939 - The All India Forward Bloc is formed by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.
1941 - -4] German air raid on Liverpool
1941 - 67th Kentucky Derby: Eddie Arcaro aboard Whirlaway wins in 2:01.4
1942 - Japanese troop attack Tulagi, Gavutu & Tanambogo, Solomon Islands
1942 - Luftwaffe bombs Exeter
1942 - Nazi's execute 72 OD'ers in reprisial in Sachsenhausen, Netherlands
1942 - Nazi's require Dutch Jews to wear a Jewish star
1943 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Upton Sinclair (Dragon's Teeth)
1943 - Strike against obligatory labor camps ends, after 200 killed
1943 - US 1st armour division occupies Mateur Tunisia
1944 - "Meet Me in St Louis" opens on Broadway
1944 - Wartime rationing of most grades of meats ended in the United States.
1944 - Dr. Robert Woodward and Dr. William Doering produced the first synthetic quinine at Harvard University.
1945 - First Polish armour brigade occupies Wilhelmshafen
1945 - Allies arrests German nuclear physics Werner Heisenberg
1945 - Indian forces captured Rangoon, Burma, from the Japanese.
1945 - German ship "Cap Arcona" sinks in East Sea, 5,800 killed
1946 - International military tribunal in Tokyo begins
May 3, 1946: Japanese war crimes trial begins In Tokyo, Japan, the International Military Tribunals for the Far East begins hearing the case against 28 Japanese military and government officials accused of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity during World War II. On November 4, 1948, the trial ended with 25 of 28 Japanese defendants being found guilty. Of the three other defendants, two had died during the lengthy trial, and one was declared insane. On November 12, the war crimes tribunal passed death sentences on seven of the men, including General Hideki Tojo, who served as Japanese premier during the war, and other principals, such as Iwane Matsui, who organized the Rape of Nanking, and Heitaro Kimura, who brutalized Allied prisoners of war. Sixteen others were sentenced to life imprisonment, and two were sentenced to lesser terms in prison. On December 23, 1948, Tojo and the six others were executed in Tokyo. Unlike the Nuremberg trial of Nazi war criminals, where there were four chief prosecutors, to represent Great Britain, France, the United States, and the USSR, the Tokyo trial featured only one chief prosecutor--American Joseph B. Keenan, a former assistant to the U.S. attorney general. However, other nations, especially China, contributed to the proceedings, and Australian judge William Flood Webb presided. In addition to the central Tokyo trial, various tribunals sitting outside Japan judged some 5,000 Japanese guilty of war crimes, of whom more than 900 were executed. Some observers thought that Emperor Hirohito should have been tried for his tacit approval of Japanese policy during the war, but he was protected by U.S. authorities who saw him as a symbol of Japanese unity and conservatism, both favorable traits in the postwar U.S. view.
1947 - 73rd Kentucky Derby: Eric Guerin aboard Jet Pilot wins in 2:06.8
1947 - Japan formed a constitutional democracy
1947 - New post-war Japanese constitution goes into effect.
1948 - Pulitzer prize awarded to James Michener & Tennessee Williams
1948 - The US Supreme Court, in Shelley v. Kraemer, stated that it is unconstitutional for a court to enforce a restrictive covenant which prevents people of a certain race from owning or occupying property, and that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks and other minorities were legally unenforceable.
1949 - First firing of a US Viking rocket; reached 80 km
1951 - Gil McDougald ties major league record with 6 RBIs in 1 inning
1951 - NY Yankee Gil McDougald is 5th to get 6 RBIs in an inning (9th)
1951 - London's Royal Festival Hall opens.
1951 - The Festival of Britain opens.
1952 - "Call Me Madam" closes at Imperial Theater NYC after 644 performances
1952 - First landing by an airplane at geographic North Pole
1952 - 78th Kentucky Derby: Eddie Arcaro aboard Hill Gail wins in 2:01.6
1953 - WTVO TV channel 17 in Rockford, IL (NBC) begins broadcasting
1953 - Westchester conference of American Library Association proclaims "Freedom to Read"
1954 - KTEN TV channel 10 in Ada-Ardmore, OK (ABC) begins broadcasting
1954 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Charles A Lindbergh & John Patrick
1954 - WHA TV channel 21 in Madison, WI (PBS) begins broadcasting
1956 - "Most Happy Fella" opens at Imperial Theater NYC for 678 performances
1956 - A new range of mountains discovered in Antarctica (2 over 13,000')
1956 - Frank Loesser's musical "Most Happy Fella," premieres in NYC
1958 - 84th Kentucky Derby: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Tim Tam wins in 2:05
1958 - WINS suspends Alan Freed for causing a riot in Boston, he quits
1959 - The Detroit Tiger's Charlie Maxwell hits 4 consecutive HRs in a doubleheader
1960 - Harvey Schmidt/Tom Jones' musical "Fantasticks," premieres in NYC
1960 - The Anne Frank House opens in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
1961 - Warren Spahn pitches a 2 hitter after pitching a no hitter
1962 - Express train crashed into wreckage of a commuter train & a freight, killing 163, injuring 400 (Tokyo, Japan)
1965 - First use of satellite TV, Today Show on Early Bird Satellite
1965 - Third Mayor's Trophy Game, Mets beat Yanks 2-1 in 10
1965 - Cambodia drops diplomatic relations with the US
1965 - Don Steele, begins a 40+ year radio career at KRTH (LA California)
1965 - KTCI TV channel 17 in St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN (PBS) 1st broadcast
1965 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Irwin Unger (Greenback Era)
1966 - The game "Twister" was featured on the "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.
1966 - WDHO (now WNWO) TV channel 24 in Toledo, OH (ABC) begins broadcasting
1967 - Black students seize finance building at Northwestern University
1968 - After three days of battle, the U.S. Marines retook Dai Do complex in Vietnam. They found that the North Vietnamese had evacuated the area.
1968 - Holland Pirate Radio Station VRON becomes Radio Veronica Intl
1970 - 24th NBA Championship: NY Knicks beat LA Lakers, 4 games to 3
1970 - Sandra Haynie wins LPGA Shreveport Kiwanis Golf Invitational
1971 - National Public Radio broadcast for the first time. "All Things Considered" premieres on 112 National Public Radio stations
Flag of the German Democratic Republic (GDR), better known as East Germany
- Erich Honecker succeeds Walter Ulbricht as East German party leader
1971 - National Public Radio begins programming
1971 - Anti-war protesters began four days of demonstrations in Washington, DC.
1971 - Nixon administration arrests 13,000 anti-war protesters in 3 days
1971 - James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King's assassin, was caught in a jailbreak attempt.
1971 - Pulitzer prize awarded to John Toland (Rising Sun)
1973 - Chicago's Sears Tower, world's tallest building (443 m), topped out
1973 - KC Royals' George Brett gets his 1st major league hit
1975 - 101st Kentucky Derby: Jacinto Vasquez on Foolish Pleasure wins 2:02
1975 - Christa Vahlensieck runs female world record marathon (2:40:15.8)
1976 - Panama 747SP lands after record flight around world (46:26)
1976 - Pulitzer prize awarded to Saul Bellow (Humboldt's Gift) 1978 - "Sun Day" - solar energy events are held in US
1978 - Anderlecht wins 18th Europe Cup II 1978 - Last cricket test match appearance for Bobby Simpson, at Kingston
1978 - WI all set to lose cricket test v Aust at Kingston till riots end game
1978 - The first unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail (which would later become known as "spam") is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the United States.
1979 - Margaret Thatcher became the first woman elected prime minister of England.
1979 - Bobby Bonds hits his 300th HR (2nd to have 300 HRs & 300 stolen bases)
1979 - Martin Sherman's "Bent," premieres in London
1980 - 106th Kentucky Derby: Jacinto Vasquez on Genuine Risk wins in 2:02
1980 - Giants first baseman Willie McCovey hits his 521st & final HR
1980 - Texas Ranger Ferguson Jenkins becomes 4th to win 100 games in AL & NL
1981 - "Can-Can" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 5 performances
1981 - "Moony, Shapiro Songbook" opens & closes at Morosco Theater NYC
1981 - Sally Little wins LPGA CPC Women's Golf International
1982 - ABC's All Talk network begins on radio (2 west coast stations)
1982 - NY Times reports that military will get 25% of NASA's budget
1982 - Pres Reagan begins 5 minute weekly radio broadcasts
1983 - Bruins 3-Isles 8-Wales Conference Championship-Isles hold 3-1 lead
1983 - Soviet leader Andropov decreases nuclear weapons in Europe
1983 - US bishops condemn nuclear weapons
1985 - Date of $5 million check in "View to a Kill"
1986 - 112th Kentucky Derby - At the age of 54, legendary horse jockey Bill Shoemaker became the oldest person to win the Kentucky Derby, riding Ferdinand to victory in 2:02.8
1986 - In NASA's first post-Challenger launch, an unmanned Delta rocket lost power in its main engine shortly after liftoff. Safety officers destroyed it by remote control.
1986 - Air Lanka crashes, killing 22
1986 - Cubs 3rd baseman Ron Cey hits his 300th & 301st HR
1986 - NASA launches Goes-G, it failed to achieve orbit
1986 - NY Yankee Don Mattingly is 6th to hit 3 sacrifice flies in a game
1987 - "Mikado" closes at Virginia Theater NYC after 46 performances
1987 - Miami Herald reports a woman spent Friday & Saturday with Gary Hart
1988 - The White House acknowledged that first lady Nancy Reagan had used astrological advice to help schedule her husband's activities.
1988 - 4,200 kg Colombian cocaine in seized at Tarpon Springs Florida
1988 - Jasper Johns' "Diver" sold for $4,200,000
1991 - 356th & final episode of CBS 2nd longest running series Dallas, 2nd only to Gunsmoke
1991 - The Declaration of Windhoek is signed.
1992 - Five days of rioting and looting ended in Los Angeles, CA. The riots, that killed 53 people, began after the acquittal of police officers in the beating of Rodney King.
1992 - Baltimore's Gregg Olson, 25, is youngest to record 100 saves
1992 - NY Met Eddie Murray is 24th to hit 400 HRS
1992 - Ohio Glory wins first WLAF game (after 6 losses), beat Frankfurt 20-17
1993 - "Kiss of the Spider Woman" opens at Broadhurst NYC for 906 perfs
1994 - 29th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks wins
1994 - D66/Dutch Liberal Party win Dutch 2nd Parliamentary election
1994 - US space probe Clementine launched
1995 - "My Thing of Love" opens at Beck Theater NYC for 16 performances
1995 - Australia beat West Indies to regain the Frank Worrell Cricket Trophy
1995 - David Bell debuts for the Indians (3rd generation player, Gus & Buddy)
1996 - Martin Moxon & Michael Vaughan make 362 1st wkt Yorks v Glam
1997 - 123rd Kentucky Derby: Gary Stevens aboard Silver Charm wins in 2:02.3
1997 - ABC Bud Light Masters Bowling Tournament won by Jason Queen
1997 - Garry Kasparov begins chess match with IBM supercomputer Deep Blue
1997 - The "Republic of Texas" surrendered to authorities ending an armed standoff where two people were held hostage. The group asserts the independence of Texas from the U.S.
1998 - "The Sevres Road," by 18-century landscape painter Camille Corot, stolen from the Louvre in France.
1999 - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is slammed by an F5 tornado killing forty-two people, injuring 665, and causing $1 billion in damage. The tornado was one of 66 from the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. Kansas and Oklahoma were hit by an outbreak of more than 55 tornadoes, including one measured at F5 on the Fujita scale.
1999 - Mark Manes, at age 22, was arrested for supplying a gun to Eric Harris and Dylan Kleibold, who later killed 13 people at Columbine High School in Colorado.
1999 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 11,000 for the first time in its history at 11,014.70.
1999 - Hasbro released the first collection of toys for the Star Wars movie "Episode I: The Phantom Menace."
1999 - Stephen Hendry defeats Mark Williams 18-11 to win the World Snooker Championship for a record seventh time.
2000 - The sport of geocaching begins, with the first cache placed and the coordinates from a GPS posted on Usenet.
2000 - The trial of two Libyans accused of killing 270 people in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 (over Lockerbie) opened.
2001 - The United States, a member of the UN Human Rights Commission since its inception, lost its seat. It would be restored the following year. It has been a member since the commission was formed in 1947.
2002 - A military MiG-21 aircraft crashes into the Bank of Rajasthan in India, killing eight.
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