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- 1059 Henri I crowns his son compassionate King Philip I of France
- 1275 King Edward I of England orders cessation of persecution of French Jews
- 1420 Jews of Syria & Austria expelled
- 1430 Joan of Arc captured by Burgundians at Compiegne, who sell her to the British
- 1430 Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to relieve Compigne. (See Siege of Compigne.)
- 1493 King Charles VIII & Maximilian I of Austria signs Peace of Senlis
- 1498 Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake, in Florence, Italy, on the orders of Pope Alexander VI
- 1533 The marriage of England's King Henry VIII to Catharine of Aragin is declared null and void
- 1533 The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
- 1536 Pope Paul III installs Portugese inquisition
- 1544 German emperor Charles V recognizes king Christian III of Denmark
- 1555 Giampietro Caraffa elected Pope Paul IV
- 1568 Battle at Heiligerlee: Dutch rebels beat Spanish, 100s killed
- 1568 Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, brother of William I of Orange, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Aremberg and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years' War.
- 1568 Netherlands declared independence from Spain.
- 1576 Tycho Brahe given Hveen Island to build Uraniborg Observatory
- 1609 Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia takes place.
- 1611 Matthias von Habsburg chosen king of Bohemia
- 1618 2nd Defenestration of Prague; the beginning of the 30 Years War
- 1618 Imperial civil servants thrown out a window of Prague Castle
- 1618 The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years' War.
- 1644 Johan Mauritius van Nassau resigns as head of Civil rights activists
- 1647 Willem II sworn in as viceroy of Holland
- 1660 King Charles II returns from exile sails from Scheveningen to England
- 1667 King Afonso VI of Portugal flees
- 1701 After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.
- 1701 Captain Kidd hung in London after conviction of piracy & murder
- 1701 Captain William Kidd is hanged in Londo after being convicted of piracy and murder
- 1706 Battle of Ramillies - the John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough defeats a French army under Marshal Villeroi.
- 1706 Battle of Ramillies-Marlborough defeats French; 17,000 killed
- 1774 Chestertown tea party occurs (tea dumped into Chester River)
- 1785 Benjamin Franklin announces his invention of bifocals
- 1813 South American independence leader Simn Bolvar enters Mrida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator").
- 1844 Declaration of the Bb: Over the prior night the Persian Prophet the Bb announces his revelation, founding Bbsm. He announced to the world of the coming of "He whom God shall make manifest." He is considered the forerunner of Bah'u'llh, the founder of the Bah' Faith.
- 1848 Otto Lilienthal, pioneer aviator is born
- 1853 Buenos Aires gains independence from Argentina (reunited 1859)
- 1861 3 fleeing slaves enter Fort Monroe VA
- 1861 Virginia citizens vote 3 to 1 in favor of secession
- 1862 Battle at Front Royal VA
- 1862 Valley Campaign-Stonewall Jackson takes Front Royal VA
- 1863 Organization of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Battle Creek, Michigan.
- 1863 The Siege of Port Hudson starts.
- 1864 Battle of Dallas GA
- 1864 Battle of North Anna VA, first of 3 days of fighting
- 1865 Flag flown at full staff over White House, first time since Lincoln shot
- 1865 Grand Review begins in Washington DC
- 1865 Victory parade in Washington DC
- 1867 Jesse James-gang rob bank in Richmond MO (2 die, $4,000 taken)
- 1873 Canada establishes the North West Mounted Police force (the "Mounties")
- 1873 Postal cards sold in San Fransisco for first time
- 1878 Attorney John Henry Smyth named minister to Liberia
- 1882 6" of snow falls in eastern Iowa
- 1894 William Love hosts ground breaking ceremonies for Love Canal
- 1898 The first Philippine Expeditionary Troops sail from San Fransisco
- 1900 Associated Press News Service forms in New York
- 1901 US captures leader of Philippine rebels, Emilio Aguinaldo
- 1903 The first automobile trip across US from San Fransisco to New York
- 1903 The first direct primary election law in US adopted, by Wisconsin
- 1907 Unicameral Parliament of Finland gathered for its first plenary session.
- 1908 Dirigible explodes over San Fransisco Bay, 16 passengers fall, none die
- 1908 Part of the Great White Fleet arrives in Puget Sound WA
- 1911 Dedication ceremony for the New York Public Library.
- 1911 New York Public Library building at 5th Avenue dedicated by President Taft
- 1915 World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
- 1916 Heavy battles at Fort Douaumont Verdun
- 1917 Dutch 2nd Chamber okays 1908 conscription draft
- 1918 King Oil/Shell refinery on Curaçao officially opens
- 1918 SS Moldavia, lost off Littlehampton, Sussex. This P & O ship of 9,500 tons was requisitioned in 1915 and converted to an auxilliary cruiser and commissioned by the British Admiralty. Later she was used as a troopship after the USA joined the war and while carrying troops to France she was torpedoed. Most soldiers were rescued but 56 lost their lives.
- 1920 Pope Benedictus XV publishes encyclical Pacem Dei
- 1922 "Abie's Irish Rose" first of over 2,500 performances
- 1922 Harry Greb gives Gene Tunney his only professional boxing defeat
- 1922 Walt Disney incorporates his first film company Laugh-O-Gram Films
- 1923 Launch of Belgium's SABENA airline.
- 1923 The first flight of Sabena: Brussel-Lympne, Great Britain
- 1926 Lebanese constitution is established under French mandate
- 1928 Bomb attack on Italians embassy in Buenos Aires, 22 die
- 1929 Canada's first airborne wedding takes place in a bi-plane over Regina.
- 1929 First non-stop Winnipeg-to-Edmonton flight made in six hours and 48 minutes. (and it still takes about 6 hours for the trip)
- 1929 The first talking cartoon of Mickey Mouse, The Karnival Kid, was released.
- 1931 Whipsnade Zoo opens in Whipsnade Beds England
- 1933 Seabiscuit, legendary American racehorse, is born
- 1934 American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde were ambushed by police and killed in Black Lake, Louisiana.
- 1934 Bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow are shot to death in a police ambush in Louisiana
- 1934 The Auto-Lite Strike culminated in the "Battle of Toledo," a five-day melee between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
- 1934 Wallace Carothers manufactures first nylon (polymeer 66)
- 1937 John D Rockefeller dies in Ormond Beach, Florida
- 1939 British decoration, George Cross, first presented
- 1939 British parliament plans to make Palestine independent by 1949
- 1939 Dmitri Shostakovitch appointed professor at conservatory of Leningrad
- 1939 Hitler proclaims he wants to move into Poland
- 1939 Submarine Squalis sinks off Portsmouth NH, 26 die
- 1939 The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 26 sailors. The remaining 32 crewmen and one passenger are rescued the following day.
- 1940 The first great dogfight involving the British Spitfire
- 1941 Joe Louis beats Buddy Baer on DQ in 7 for heavyweight boxing title
- 1942 Kanga Force moved to Wau, Papua New Guinea
- 1943 826 Allied bombers attack Dortmund
- 1944 British/Canadian troops occupy Pontecorvo Italy
- 1944 Chinese counter offensive at Hunan front
- 1944 During World War II, Allied forces bogged down in Anzio begin a major breakout offensive
- 1944 Operation-Buffalo: Allied jailbreak out Anzio-bridgehead
- 1945 British military police arrest Admiral Karl Doenitz
- 1945 German island of Helgoland in North Sea surrenders to British
- 1945 Lord Haw-Haw arrested at Danish boundary
- 1945 Nazi official Heinrich Himmler commits suicide while imprisoned in Luneburgm Germany
- 1945 World War II: Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
- 1945 World War II: The Flensburg government under Reichsprsident Karl Dnitz was dissolved when its members were captured and arrested by British forces at Flensburg in Northern Germany.
- 1947 PC Hooft prize forms for literature
- 1948 Joe DiMaggio hits 3 consecutive homeruns
- 1948 Ramat Rahel gateway to Jerusalem is repossessed by Israel
- 1949 Federal Republic of [West] Germany proclaimed (Republic Day)
- 1953 Schools first use Cliff's Notes
- 1956 Presbyterian Church begins accepting women ministers
- 1956 World Trade Center dedicated in Ferry Building, San Fransisco
- 1958 Explorer I ceases transmission.
- 1958 Mao Tse Tung starts "Great leap forward" movement in China
- 1959 Visitor posting - May 23, 1959 Kevin T. Kelliher is born in Providence Rhode Island - USA [email protected]
- 1960 "Got A Girl" by The Four Preps hits #24
- 1960 Israel announced capture of Nazi Adolf Eichmann in Argentina
- 1962 OAS leader General Raoul Salan sentenced to life
- 1962 Scott Carpenter orbits Earth 3 times in US Aurora 7
- 1963 NBC purchases 1963 AFL championship game TV rights for $926,000
- 1963 Visitor posting - May 23 1963 David Bucton born
- 1964 Dale Greig runs female marathon world record (3:27:45)
- 1965 Franz Jonas elected president of Austria
- 1965 Pontoon ferry overturned on Shire River Malawi, kills 150
- 1966 The Beatles release "Paperback Writer"
- 1967 "GO Transit" is inaugurated by the Province of Ontario between Pickering, Toronto, Oakville and Hamilton under an operating agreement with Canadian National.
- 1967 Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran and blockades the port of Eilat at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping, laying the foundations for the Six Day War.
- 1968 AC Milan wins 8th Europe Cup II in Rotterdam
- 1968 Beatles open 2nd Apple Boutique at 161 New Kings Road, London
- 1968 South Island, New Zealand a 7.1 quake was the strongest in 8 years in the area, and resulted in three deaths, 14 injuries, and damage estimated at about $3 million.
- 1969 BBC orders 13 episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus
- 1969 Lauwerszee Dike in Holland closes
- 1969 The Who release the rock opera "Tommy"
- 1970 An outbreak of fire occurs in the Britannia Bridge over the Menai Straits in north Wales contributing to its partial destruction and amounting to approximately 1,000,000 worth of fire damage.
- 1970 Grateful Dead's first perfomance outside of the US (England)
- 1971 Rock group Iron Butterfly disbands
- 1974 Italian Red Brigade officer Mario Sossi freed
- 1977 Benin adopts its constitution
- 1977 Moluccan extremists hold 105 schoolchildren & 50 others hostage on a hijacked train in Netherlands, children released May 27, siege ends June 11
- 1977 Visitor posting - Craig Spurr of Castleford (West Yorkshire) was born - United Kingdom
- 1977 Supreme Court refuses to hear appeals of Watergate wrong doers H R Halderman, John Ehrlichman & John Mitchell
- 1977 Two terrorist actions unfold in The Netherlands: Several dozen hostages are taken onboard a train, and about 100 others (mostly children) are held at a Dutch school. The train siege lasts until June 11.
- 1977 Visitor posting - Vaz Juchima started at Danum Engineering - Australia
- 1978 General strike in Peru
- 1979 Rocker Tom Petty files chapter 11 bankruptcy
- 1979 West-Germany elects Karl Carstens president
- 1981 Barcelona fascists take 200 people hostage
- 1982 BBC warns Britain will bomb Argentina
- 1982 Colin Wilson rides a surfboard 294 miles
- 1983 Radio Moscow announcer Vladimir Danchev praises Afghánistán Muslims standing up to Russia; he is removed from the air
- 1984 Anderlecht wins 13th UEFA Cup at London
- 1985 U.S. engineer Thomas Patrick Cavanagh is sentenced to life in prison for attempting to sell stealth bomber secrets to the Soviet Union.
- 1985 Visitor posting - may 23, 1985 Lucy martinez was born in oakland, c.a at 2: 53am
- 1986 Visitor posting - May 23, 1986 Matthew Paul Anderson born in Nurnemburg Germany
- 1986 US & West Europeans veto heavier sanctions against South Africa
- 1988 Maryland stops sale of cheap pistols on Jan 1, 1990
- 1989 3rd American Comedy Award: Paula Poundstone
- 1989 An estimated one million people in Beijing (and tens of thousands in other Chinee cities) march to demand the resignation of Premier Li Peng
- 1989 Angela Visser, 22, of Holland, crowned 38th Miss Universe
- 1990 A C Milan wins 35th Europe Cup 1 at Vienna
- 1990 Visitor posting - Monique Renaud is born - USA
- 1990 Cost of rescuing savings & loan failures is put at up to $130 billion
- 1991 Last Cubans troops leave Angola
- 1991 US Supreme Court bars subsidized clinics from discussing abortion
- 1992 Visitor posting - May 23 1992 Rachel Freedman is born
- 1992 Visitor posting - Tara Marie Sidiq Gardner is born in Anchorage, Alaska, USA
- 1993 Visitor posting - Francesca Mowry was born - USA
- 1993 Visitor posting - Evan Michael Beale was born. - USA
- 1994 270 pilgrims dies in bustle round Mina Saudi-Arabia
- 1994 Funeral services are held at Arlington National Cemetary for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
- 1994 Pulp Fiction wins the award for best film at the 47th Cannes Film Festival
- 1994 Roman Herzog elected President of Germany
- 1994 Star Trek The Next Generation, finale airs this week in syndication
- 1996 Fred Norris of the Howard Stern show changes his name legally to Eric
- 1996 Visitor posting - John Talia was born
- 1997 Visitor posting - May 23, 1997 BRANDON MEADOWS is born. - USA
- 1997 Mel Karmazin replaces Peter Lund as CEO of CBS TV
- 1997 Visitor posting - Mohammed and Isra engagement - USA
- 1998 The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum, with a high margin of three-fourth 'yes' votes to Northern Ireland.
- 1999 Visitor posting - WWF wrestler Owen Hart died in an accident at the WWF Pay Per View 'Over The Edge'. - USA
- 2001 Visitor posting - Blake Benchoff was born!!!!!! - USA
- 2002 The "55 parties" clause of the Kyoto protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
- 2003 The euro exceeds its initial trading value as it hits $1.18 for the first time since its introduction in 1999.
- 2004 Part of Paris Charles De Gaulle International Airport Terminal 2E collapses, killing four people and injuring three others.
- 2005 Visitor posting - May 23 2005 Patrick John Bjorn McMahon is born
- 2007 Parliament of Finland celebrated its 100th anniversary plenary session, with President Tarja Halonen and veterans in attendance.
- 2008 Jewish Holiday - Lag B'Omer - Work permitted
- 2008 Visitor posting - Abbie Mika Brown was born
- 2009 Visitor posting - Litzy Yamilet Medina was born - USA
- 2009 Visitor posting - Death - Max G. Papazian - USA
- 2010 Mexican authorities suspend investigation into ex-presidential candidate who went missing. More than 22,700 people killed since Mexico declared war on the drug cartels in December 2006
- 2010 A work-from-home company claims more mothers are choosing to be phone sex operators. The earn $10 to $30 /hr - World
- 2010 A woman loses breast after she was bitten by a brown recluse spider. 11 days in coma. - Georgia USA
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