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!
Wow! What a dark day in European history, particularly in the 20th century! The first of many trenches of World War I were dug, which would become, effectively, the freshly dug up graves for too many men. Then, not too much later, the racial purity laws of Nuremberg were put into effect in Germany in 1935, which to my knowledge, were the first official policies implemented by the Nazi regime specifically targeting Jews. But this was also the date that the Mayflower departed England for the New World. The British took over Manhattan during the American Revolution on this date in 1776. The Cape Colony in South Africa surrendered to Britain. Five Central American nations gained their independence from Spain on this date. Capital punishment was abolished in the Netherlands in 1870, and the last German troops left France three years later. Nazis killed 800 Jews in Shkudvil, Lithuania, and two concentration camps opened on this date in 1943, (Vaivara in Estonia and Kauwen in Lithuania).
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
On this day in 608, St Boniface IV began his reign as Catholic Pope. In 668 on this day, Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II was assassinated in his bath at Syracuse, Italy. On this day in 921, Saint Ludmila was murdered at the command of her daughter-in-law at Tetin. Thomas Wolsey was appointed Archbishop of York on this day in 1514. On this day in 1556, Vlissingen ex-emperor Charles V returned to Spain. San Lorenzo del Escorial Palace in Madrid was completed on this day in 1584. Giambattista Catagna was elected as Pope Urban VII on this day in 1590. The Battle of Sekigahara was fought on this day in 1600. On this day in 1616, the first non-aristocratic, free public school in Europe was opened in Frascati, Italy. On this day in 1619, the troops of Prince Bethlen Gabors occupied Pozsony (Pressburg), Hungary. On this day in 1620, the Mayflower departed from Plymouth, England, with 102 pilgrims [OS May 8]. Swedish troops occupied Riga on this day in 1621. In 1644 on this day, Giambattista Pamfili replaced Pope Urban VII as Innocent X. England & France signed a peace treaty on this day in 1656. In 1683 on this day, Germantown, Pennsylvania, was founded by 13 immigrant families. Rákóczi II & Czar Peter the Great signed a social security agreement on this day in 1707.
1733 - King Frederik Willem I divides Prussia-Brandenburg in Cantons
1762 - Battle of Signal Hill.
1774 - Cossack Emilian Pugachev captured
1776 - British forces capture Kip's Bay Manhattan during Revolution
1787 - -16] Utrecht patriots flee to Amsterdam
1789 - Dept of Foreign Affairs, renamed Dept of State
1795 - Cape Colony surrenders to England
1812 - French army under Napoleon reaches Kremlin, Moscow
1820 - Constitutionalist revolution in Lisbon, Portugal; (see Portugal's crises of the Nineteenth Century.
1821 - Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua gain independence.
1830 - 1st National Negro Convention begins in Phila
1830 - 1st person to be run-over by a railroad train (William Huskisson, England)
1830 - Duke of Wellington opens Liverpool & Manchester Railway
1831 - The locomotive John Bull operates for the first time in New Jersey on the Camden and Amboy Railroad.
1835 - HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin reaches Galapagos Islands
1846 - Jung Bahadur Rana grabs power in Nepal
1851 - Saint Joseph's University is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1853 - 1st US woman ordained a minister, Antoinette Blackwell
Naturalist Charles DarwinNaturalist Charles Darwin 1857 - Timothy Alder patents typesetting machine
1862 - Confederates conquer Union-weapon arsenal at Harpers Ferry WV
1870 - Dutch 1st Chamber abolishes Capital punishment (20-18)
1873 - Last German troops leave France
1879 - Pim Mulier forms "Haarlem Football Club"
1882 - British general Wolseley occupies Cairo
1887 - Phila celebrates 100th anniversary of US Constitution
1894 - Japan defeats China in Battle of Ping Yang
1898 - National Afro-American Council forms in Rochester NY
1899 - 5th US Golf Open: Willie Smith shoots a 315 at Baltimore CC MD
1903 - Queen Wilhelmina calls railroad strikers "criminals"
1904 - Wilbur Wright makes his 1st airplane flight
1910 - Boers & Afrikaners win 1st general elections in Union of South-Africa
1912 - Red Sox pitcher Joe Wood ties then record of 16 straight wins
1912 - War between Turkey & Montenegro breaks out in Albania
1913 - 1st US milch goat show held, Rochester, NY
1914 - Battle of Aisne begins between Germans & French during WW I
1914 - US Marines march out of Vera Cruz, Mexico
1916 - 1st tank used in war, "Little Willies" at Battle of Flors, France
1916 - Britains 1st use of tanks (Battle of Somme)
1917 - Russia proclaimed a republic by Alexander Kerensky
1918 - CH Chubb gives Stonehenge to English state
1921 - Pope Benedictus XV publishes encyclical Alcohol Paraclitus
1921 - WBZ-AM in Boston MA begins radio transmissions
1922 - Catcher Butch Henline is 1st NLer to hit 3 HRs in a game since 1897
1923 - 43rd US Mens Tennis: William T Tilden beats W M Johnston (64 61 64)
1923 - Bill Tilden wins US Lawn Tennis Open
1923 - Gov Walton of Oklahoma declares state of siege because of KKK terror
Italian Dictator Benito MussoliniItalian Dictator Benito Mussolini 1926 - Failed attempt on Benito Mussolini
1928 - 400 kg Fournier-albums (forged postage stamps) burn in Geneva
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1928 - Cards set NL record of 18 men left on base beating Phillies 8-6
1928 - Stothard, Kalmar & Ruby's musical "Good Boy," premieres in NYC
1928 - Tich Freeman becomes the only bowler to take 300 wickets in an English cricket season.
1930 - First intl bridge match is held in London. US team defeats England
1931 - British naval fleet mutinies at Invergordon over pay cuts
1931 - Phila A's clinch pennant, beating Cleveland
1935 - Nuremberg Laws deprives German Jews of citizenship & makes swastika official symbol of Nazi Germany
1937 - WPA extends L-Taraval streetcar to SF Zoo (at Sloat Blvd)
1938 - British PM Chamberlain visits Hitler at Berchtesgarden
1938 - John Cobb sets world auto speed record at 350.2 MPH (lasts 1 day)
1938 - Only time brothers hit back-to-back HRs (Lloyd & Paul Waner, Pitts)
1940 - 3rd American Football League plays 1st game (Milw 14, Columbus 2)
Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1940 - Chicago Tribune sponsors Ted Lyons Day (White Sox pitcher)
1940 - Luftwaffe bombs Bristol Aeroplane Company
1940 - PM Winston Churchill visits #11 Fighter Group
1940 - Tide turns in Battle of Britain in WW II, RAF beats Luftwaffe
1941 - Nazis kill 800 Jewish women at Shkudvil Lithuania
1942 - US aircraft carrier Wasp torpedoed at Guadalcanal
1943 - Benito Mussolini forms a rival fascist government in Italy
1943 - Concentration Camp Vaivara in Estonia opens
1943 - Concentration Camp Kauwen in Lithuania opens
1944 - British bombers hit Tirpitz with Tallboy bombs
1944 - Russian troops free Sofia Bulgaria
1944 - US 1st Infantry division pushes through to Westwall
1944 - US 28th Infantry division occupies Hill 555 at Roscheid
1944 - US troops lands on Palau & Morotai
1945 - A hurricane in southern Florida and the Bahamas destroys 366 planes and 25 blimps at NAS Richmond.
Soldier, author, journalist, politician Winston ChurchillSoldier, author, journalist, politician Winston Churchill 1946 - Dodgers beat Cubs 2-0 in 5 inns, games called because of gnats
1947 - 1st 4 engine jet propelled fighter plane tested, Columbus, Oh
1947 - Yanks clinch pennant #15
1947 - RCA releases the 12AX7 vacuum tube.
1947 - Typhoon Kathleen hit Tone River, Saitama and Tokyo area, killing at least 1,930 and injuring 1,750..
1948 - "Small Wonder" opens at Coronet Theater NYC for 134 performances
1948 - F-86 Sabre sets world aircraft speech record of 1080 kph
1948 - WHN-AM in NY City changes call letters to WMGM
1949 - "Lone Ranger" premieres on ABC-TV
1949 - WJAC TV channel 6 in Johnstown, PA (NBC/ABC) begins broadcasting
1949 - WJXT TV channel 4 in Jacksonville, FL (CBS) begins broadcasting
1950 - During Korean conflict, UN forces land at Inchon in South Korea
1950 - East German premier Grotewohl pleads for German reunification
1950 - For a record 6th time, NY Yankee Johnny Mize hits 3 HRs in one game
1950 - Longest game in Phila's Shribe Park, Phils beat Reds 8-7 in 19
1950 - UN lands at Inchon to drive North Korean troops out of the south
1950 - US troop land on Wolmi-Do island off of Seoul
1951 - "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" closes at Ziegfeld NYC after 740 perfs
1951 - Emile Zatopek runs world record 20k (1:01:15.8)
1951 - Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Ingruentium Malorum
1952 - Braves last game in Boston's Braves Field before move to Milwaukee
1952 - European Parliament forms in Strasbourg
1952 - UN turns over Eritrea to Ethiopia
1953 - Boxing's NBA adopts 10-pt-must-scoring-system (10 pts to round winner)
1953 - KVOA TV channel 4 in Tucson, AZ (NBC) begins broadcasting
1953 - WVEC TV channel 13 in Hampton-Norfolk, VA (ABC) begins broadcasting
1955 - WCTV TV channel 6 in Tallahassee-Thomasville, FL (CBS) begins
1957 - "Bachelor Father" with John Forsythe premieres
1957 - Adenauers CDU wins parliamentary election in West Germany
1957 - SF Seals (Pacific Coast League) play their last game
1958 - 48 die in a train crash in Elizabethport NJ
1958 - Commuter train crashes through drawbridge, killing 48 (Newark NJ)
1959 - Soviet Premier Khrushchev arrives in US to begin a 13-day visit
1960 - France spends 9 billion guilders on atomic experiments
1961 - 61st US Golf Amateur Championship won by Jack Nicklaus
1961 - Hurricane Carla strikes Texas with winds of 175 mph
1962 - "Bravo, Giovanni" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 76 perfs
1962 - Australia's 1st entry in America's Cup yacht race (US wins)
1962 - KC A's Bill Fischer sets record of 69 1/3 innings without a walk
1962 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
1962 - WOKR TV channel 13 in Rochester, NY (ABC) begins broadcasting
1963 - Church bombed in Birmingham AL, kills 4 African-American girls
1963 - Alou brothers-Felipe, Matty, & Jesus-appear in SF outfield for 1 inn
1963 - Ben Bella elected 1st president of Algeria
1963 - Marilynn Smith wins LPGA Eugene Ladies' Golf Open
1963 - WNTV TV channel 29 in Greenville, SC (PBS) begins broadcasting
1964 - Beatles play at Public Auditorium in Cleveland
1964 - Final edition of socialist British newspaper "Daily Herald"
1965 - "Lost in Space" premieres
1966 - 1st British nuclear sub HMS Resolution launched
1966 - Dutch political party (D'66) forms
1966 - Gemini XI (Conrad/Gordon) returns to Earth
1966 - U.S. President Lyndon B Johnson, responding to a sniper attack at the University of Texas at Austin, writes a letter to the United States Congress urging the enactment of gun control legislation.
1967 - KPOB TV channel 15 in Poplar Bluff, MO (ABC) begins broadcasting
1968 - "Barbra Streisand: A Happening in Central Park" Show on CBS TV
1968 - Carol Mann wins LPGA Shirley Englehorn Golf Invitational
1968 - Launch of Zond 5, 1st lunar fly-around with Earth reentry
1968 - NY Zendo (Shoboji) was opened by S Nakagawa & D S Harada
1968 - WUAB TV channel 43 in Lorain-Cleveland, OH (IND) begins broadcasting
1968 - WXON TV channel 20 in Detroit, MI (IND) begins broadcasting
1968 - Probable Test flight for a manned fly-around (scooped by Apollo 8)
1969 - Cards Steve Carlton sets record by striking out 19 NY Mets in a game
1970 - Decca awards Bing Crosby a 2nd platinum disc for selling 300 million
1970 - PLO leader Arafat threatens to make a cemetery of Jordan
1970 - Rotterdam harbor strikes end
1971 - First broadcast of "Columbo" on NBC-TV
1972 - WMAO TV channel 23 in Greenwood, MS (PBS) begins broadcasting
Singer and Actor Bing CrosbySinger and Actor Bing Crosby 1972 - A magnitude 4.5 earthquake shakes Northern Illinois.
1972 - An SAS domestic flight from Gothenburg to Stockholm was hijacked and flown to Malmö-Bulltofta Airport.
1973 - Dutch Guilder devalued 5%
1973 - Ohio State's Archie Griffith begins record 31 cons 100 yd rushing
1973 - Secretariat wins Marlboro Cup in world record 1:45 2/5 for 1¼ miles
1974 - Market Square Arena in Indianapolis opens
1974 - Sandra Haynie wins LPGA Charity Golf Classic
1974 - Air Vietnam flight 727 is hijacked, then crashes while attempting to land with 75 on board.
1975 - Mike Vail extends hitting streak ton rookie-record 23 straight game
1975 - The French département of Corse (the entire island of Corsica) is divided into two: Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud.
1976 - Ntozake Shange's "For Colored Girls Who ...," premieres in NYC
1976 - Soyuz 22 carries 2 cosmonauts into Earth orbit for 8 days
1977 - "Man of La Mancha" opens at Palace Theater NYC for 124 performances
1977 - Orioles forfeit to Blue Jays when mgr Earl Weaver pulls team off field in 5th citing hazardous condition (small tarpaulin on bullpen mound)
1977 - President Carter meets with 15 record company execs
1977 - Rock Music Award
1977 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1978 - Dodgers become 1st major league team to draw 3 million fans
Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad AliHeavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali 1978 - Muhammad Ali beats Leon Spinks in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1978 - Yanks beat Boston 4-0, Guidry wins # 22, Yanks lead 2½ games
1979 - Red Sox Bob Watson is 1st to hit for cycle in AL & NL (Astros)
1979 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1980 - Paul McCartney releases "Temporary Secretary"
1981 - US Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approves Sandra Day O'Connor
1981 - Pope John Paul II publishes encyclical "Laborem exercens" against capitalism/marxism
1981 - The John Bull becomes the oldest operable steam locomotive in the world when the Smithsonian Institution operates it under its own power outside Washington, DC.
1981 - Vanuatu becomes a member of the United Nations.
1982 - First issue of "USA Today" published by Gannett Co Inc
1982 - Israeli forces began pouring into west Beirut
1982 - Pope John Paul II receives PLO leader Yasser Arafat
1983 - Cops beat to death Michael Stewart for graffiting NYC subway
1983 - Israel premier Begin resigns
1984 - Morocco Showcase opens
1984 - Sharlene Wells (Utah), 20, crowned 58th Miss America 1985
1984 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1985 - 26th Ryder Cup: Europe beat US, 16½-11½ at The Belfry, England
1985 - Joanne Carner wins LPGA SAFECO Golf Classic
1985 - Olof Palme forms Sweden minority government
1985 - Senate judiciary committee begins Robert Bork confirmation hearings
1985 - Willie Nelson's Farm Aid concert
1985 - Yanks trade Jim Deshaies to Astros for 40-year-old Joe Niekro
1986 - First broadcast of "LA Law" on NBC-TV
1986 - Bomb attack in Paris, 1 dead
1988 - "Les Miserables," opens at Raimund Theatre, Vienna
1988 - Lillehammer, Norway upsets Anchorage to host 1994 Winter olympics
1988 - Museum of Moving Image in London opens
1988 - Test Cricket debut of Ian Healy, vs Pakistan at Karachi
1989 - The U.S. Congress recognizes Terry Anderson's continued captivity in Beirut.
1990 - 42nd Emmy Awards - LA Law & Murphy Brown win
1990 - Chicago White Sox Bobby Thigpen is 1st to record 50 saves
1990 - Emmy Creative Arts Award presentation
1990 - Florida lottery goes over $100,000,000
1990 - France announce it will send 4,000 troops to Persian Gulf
1991 - "Party Machine with Nia Peeples" final show
1991 - SD State freshman Marshall Faulk sets NCAA rushing record of 386 yds
1991 - US women's gymnastics team win 1st World Championships medal (silver)
1992 - Ted Weiss, despite dying on 14th, wins congressional NYC seat
1993 - Liechtenstein prince Hans-Adam II disbands parliament
1994 - "Sound of Motown," premieres in Rotterdam
1994 - Dennis Richardson sworn in as head of St Maarten
1994 - Moslem fundamentalists kidnap and behead 16 citizens in Algeria
1995 - Cards shortstop Ozzie Smith sets record of 1,554 double plays
1996 - Bangladesh beat UAE by 104 runs to win the ACC Trophy Final
1996 - Karrie Webb wins LPGA SAFECO Golf Classic
1996 - Texas Rangers retire their 1st number, Nolan Ryan's #34
1997 - Edison Intl purchases Anaheim Stadium naming rights for $50M
Talk show host Oprah WinfreyTalk show host Oprah Winfrey 1997 - Oprah Winfrey announces she will continue her show through 2000
1998 - With the landmark merger of WorldCom and MCI Communications completed the day prior, the new MCI WorldCom opens its doors for business.
2000 - Opening ceremony of the XXVII Olympics in Sydney, Australia
2004 - NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announces a lockout of the players union and cessation of operations by the NHL head office.
2012 - Japan announces that it will phase out nuclear energy by the 2030s
1775 - An early and unofficial American flag was raised by Lieutenant Colonel Isaac Mott after the seizing of Fort Johnson from the British. The flag was dark blue with the white word "Liberty" spelled on it. 1776 - British forces occupied New York City during the American Revolution. 1789 - The U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs was renamed the Department of State. 1821 - Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador proclaimed independence. 1853 - Reverend Antoinette Brown Blackwell was ordained becoming first female minister in the United States. 1857 - Timothy Alder earned a patent for the typesetting machine. 1858 - The first mail service begins to the Pacific Coast of the U.S. under government contract. Coaches from the Butterfield Overland Mail Company took 12 days to make the journey between Tipton, MO and San Francisco, CA. 1883 - The University of Texas at Austin opened. 1909 - A New York judge rule that Ford Motor Company had infringed on George Seldon's patent for the "Road Engine." The ruling was later overturned. 1909 - Charles F. Kettering applied for a patent on his ignition system. His company Delco (Dayton Engineering Laboratories Company) later became a subsidiary of General Motors. 1916 - During the Battle of the Somme, in France, tanks were first used in warfare when the British rolled them onto the battlefields. 1917 - Alexander Kerensky proclaimed Russia to be a republic. 1923 - Oklahoma was placed under martial law by Gov. John Calloway Walton due to terrorist activity by the Ku Klux Klan. After this declaration national newspapers began to expose the Klan and its criminal activities. 1928 - Alexander Fleming discovered the antibiotic penicillin in the mold Penicillium notatum. 1935 - The Nuremberg Laws were enacted by Nazi Germany. The act stripped all German Jews of their civil rights and the swastika was made the official symbol of Nazi Germany. 1940 - The German Luftwaffe suffered the loss of 185 planes in the Battle of Britain. The change in tide forced Hitler to abandon his plans for invading Britain. 1949 - "The Lone Ranger" premiered on ABC. Clayton Moore was the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels was Tonto. 1950 - U.N. forces landed at Inchon, Korea in an attempt to relieve South Korean forces and recapture Seoul. 1953 - The National Boxing Association adopted the 10-point scoring system for all of its matches. 1955 - Betty Robbins became the first woman cantor. 1959 - Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev arrived in the U.S. to begin a 13-day visit. 1961 - The U.S. resumed underground testing of nuclear weapons. 1965 - "Lost in Space" premiered on CBS TV. 1965 - "Green Acres" premiered on CBS TV. 1971 - Greenpeace was founded. 1978 - Muhammad Ali defeated Leon Spinks to win his 3rd World Heavyweight Boxing title. 1982 - The first issue of "USA Today" was published. 1983 - The U.S. Senate joined the U.S. House of Representatives in their condemning of the Soviet Union for shooting down a Korean jet with 269 people onboard. 1990 - France announced that it would send an additional 4,000 soldiers to the Persian Gulf. They also expelled Iraqi military attaches in Paris. 1993 - The FBI announced a new national campaign concerning the crime of carjacking. 1994 - U.S. President Clinton told Haiti's military leaders "Your time is up. Leave now or we will force you from power." 1995 - The U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing. 1998 - Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the Iranian military to be on full alert and massed troops on its border with Afghanistan. 1998 - It was announced that 5.9 million people read The Starr Report on the Internet. 606,000 people read the White House defense of U.S. President Clinton. 1999 - The United Nations approved the deployment of a multinational peacekeeping force in East Timor. 2003 - In Independence, MO, the birthplace of Ginger Rogers was designated a local landmark. The move by the Independence City Council qualified the home for historic preservation.
1789 The U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs changed its name to the Department of State. 1821 Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador gained independence. 1835 Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle reached the Galapagos Islands. 1917 Alexander Kerensky proclaimed Russia a republic. 1935 The Nuremberg Laws deprived Jews of their citizenship and made the Swastika the official emblem of Nazi Germany. 1963 A church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, killed four young black girls. 1989 Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Penn Warren, the first poet laureate of the United States, died. 2004 The National Hockey League lockout began. The 2004-2005 season would ultimately be canceled.
The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:
