/year

May 12 in history

232 sourced entries recorded on May 12, from 20 BCE to 2024 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 20 BCEEmperor Augustus Caesar negotiates a peace with Parthia, making Armenia a buffer zone between the two major powers. The captured eagles of Marcus Licinius Crassus and Mark Antony are returned.source
  • 254Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I.source
  • 1082Battle of Mailberg: Duke Vratislaus II of Bohemia invades Austria with an army of 8,000 men (supported by mercenaries from Moravia and Bavaria). He defeats the forces under Margrave Leopold II ("the Fair") near Mailberg. The northern region of Lower Austria is devastated from pillage and famine.source
  • 1191Richard I marries the 19-year-old Berengaria of Navarre, daughter of King Sancho VI (the Wise), in the Chapel of St. George at Limassol. On the same day, she is crowned Queen of England, by John, bishop of Évreux in the presence of the archbishop of Bordeaux and many other clergy. After this, hearing that the daughter of Isaac Komnenos has taken refuge in Kyrenia Castle, Richard goes there with his army and receives her submission. On the orders of Richard, she is entrusted to the care of Joan and Berengaria. By the end of May, Richard, with his ships, sails around the island seizing all the Cypriot towns and ports on the coast.source
  • 1277Mehmet I of Karaman, Seljuk vizier, issues a firman (decree) ordering the Turkish language to be used, instead of Arabic or Persian in government offices.source
  • 1309Marinid Sultan Abu al-Rabi Sulayman launches an attack on Ceuta. He concludes an alliance with King James II of Castile, and concedes commercial benefits to Castilian merchants. Abu al-Rabi also sends 1,000 measures of wheat to Aragon. A few months later, Marinid forces, without Castilian support, occupy Ceuta and expel Saracen forces from Morocco.source
  • 1328Antipope Nicholas V is consecrated at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by the bishop of Venice.source
  • 1339University of Grenoble was established by Humbert II, Dauphin of the Viennois.source
  • 1364The Jagiellonian University is founded in Kraków.source
  • 1382Charles of Durazzo executes the cimprisoned Joanna I of Naples, and succeeds her as Charles III of Naples.source
  • 1420Naval and military forces of the Republic of Venice, led by Admiral Loredan, begin their assault on the territory of Dalamatia in order to control the Adriatic. By October, the area is under Venetian control.source
  • 1432The new English Parliament session is opened at Westminster by the regents for King Henry VI of England, and Sir John Russell is elected by his peers as Speaker of the House of Commons.source
  • 1433The Regency Council for King Henry VI summons the members of Parliament to assemble at Westminster on July 8.source
  • 1459In India, Rao Jodha, ruler of the Kingdom of Marwar (in the modern-day state of Rajasthan) selects the site of a new capital city, which will be named Jodhpur in his honor.source
  • 1471The siege of London is attempted by hundreds of supporters of England's House of Lancaster, who are attempting to free the former King Henry VI from imprisonment in the Tower of London. Led by Thomas Neville, the Lancastrians set cannons up on the south bank of the Thames and attempt to bombard London, but are unable to break the defense put up by Londoners led by Edward Woodville, Lord Scales, and the attack fails after three days.source
  • 1477Pope Sixtus IV grants a special dispensation for Richard of Shrewsbury, Duke of York, the three-year-old son of King Edward IV, is betrothed to 4-year-old Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk, in a waiver of canon law that sets a minimum age for marriage as 14 for boys and 12 for girls. The children's wedding will take place on January 15, 1478.source
  • 1488May 12/13 – Louis II de la Trémoille laid siege to Ancenis at night. The city falls to French artillery on May 19.source
  • 1497Pope Alexander VI excommunicates Girolamo Savonarola.source
  • 1510The Prince of Anhua rebellion begins when Zhu Zhifan, Prince of Anhua, kills all the officials invited to a banquet, and declares his intent on ousting the powerful Ming dynasty eunuch Liu Jin, during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor in China.source
  • 1512Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, leads an English expedition into France and burns the port city of Brest.source
  • 1543Laws in Wales Act 1542, second phase of the Consolidating Act of Welsh Union, is given royal assent, establishing counties and regularizing parliamentary representation in Wales.source
  • 1543King Henry VIII of England gives royal assent to numerous laws passed by parliament, including the Act for the Advancement of True Religion, restricting the reading of the Bible to clerics, noblemen, and upper class society. The Act will be repealed in 1547 during the reign of King Edward VI.source
  • 1551The National University of San Marcos is founded in Lima in the Viceroyalty of Peru, being the first officially established university in the Americas.source
  • 1553St Albans, in England, receives its first royal charter as a borough.source
  • 1575King Henry III of France, who had been selected in 1573 by the nobles of Poland and Lithuania to be King of Poland as Henryk Walezy, is stripped of his Polish and Lithuanian titles after failing to return to Kraków by the deadline imposed by the Polish nobility.source
  • 1588Day of the Barricades in Paris: Henry I, Duke of Guise seizes the city, forcing King Henry III to flee.source
  • 1588The Day of the Barricades in Parissource
  • 1593English dramatist Thomas Kyd is arrested over the "Dutch church libel". "Atheist" literature found in his home is claimed to be Marlowe's.source
  • 1601Proclamation regulating hunting in the County of Flanderssource
  • 1613Mikhail Romanov arrives in Moscow to begin his reign as Tsar of Russia, after having been elected on March 3.source
  • 1621The city of Tornio in Lapland is founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, becoming the northernmost city in the world at the time.source
  • 1641Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, former director of England's Council of the North, is publicly beheaded in London in front of a crowd of thousands of people.source
  • 1641Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, former President of the Council of the North, is publicly beheaded in London in front of a crowd of thousands.source
  • 1648Construction of the Kaunghmudaw Pagoda is completed in the Kingdom of Burma on the 6th waning of Kason, 1010, near the end of the reign of King Thalun. Hmannan Yazawinsource
  • 1651General Marcin Kalinowski of Poland wins the Battle of Kopychyntsi against Zaporozhian Cossacks forces under the command of Asand Demka during the Khmelnytsky Uprising in what is now Ukraine.source
  • 1651City of Antwerp prohibits the auctioning of paintings by those not registered to the Guild of St Lukesource
  • 1652Siege of Galway: Thomas Preston, the military governor of Galway, surrenders the city to English Parliamentarians commanded by Charles Coote. Galway is the last city held by Irish Catholic forces.source
  • 1656The Dutch capture the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, marking the start of Netherlands colonial rule of Dutch Ceylon.source
  • 1664The original version of Tartuffe, a comedy by French playwright and actor Molière, is given its first performance, staged at the Palace of Versaillessource
  • 1666In India, General Shivaji Bhonsale of the Maratha Empire arrives at the Agra Fort for a meeting with Emperor Aurangzeb of the Mughal Empire, as part of the terms of peace under the 1665 Treaty of Purandar. After taking offence at the disrespect shown to him, he gets angry and attempts to leave; he and his son Sambhaji are immediately placed under arrest and imprisoned at the fort.source
  • 1689Nine Years' War: With England and the Netherlands now both ruled by William III, they join the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), thus escalating the conflict, which continues until 1697. This is also the effective beginning of King William's War, the first of four North American Wars (until 1763) between English and French colonists, both sides allied to Native American tribes. The nature of the fighting is a series of raids on each other's settlements, across the Canadian and New England borders.source
  • 1689Nine Years' War: With England and the Netherlands both now ruled by William III, they join the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), thus escalating the conflict, which continues until 1697. This is also the effective beginning of King William's War, the first of four North American Wars until 1763 between English and French colonists, both sides allied to Native American tribes. The nature of the fighting is a series of raids on each other's settlements across the Canadian and New England borders.source
  • 1698Wedding between Hedvig Sophia of Sweden and Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp on Karlberg Palace.source
  • 1706A total eclipse of the Sun takes place and is visible in most of Europe, with a path crossing modern-day Spain, France, Germany, Poland and Russiasource
  • 1707May 12 (May 1 Old Style) – The new sovereign state of Great Britain comes into being, as a result of the Acts of Union, which combine the Kingdoms of Scotland and England into a single united Kingdom of Great Britain, and merge the Parliaments of England and Scotland, to form the Parliament of Great Britain.source
  • 170712 May (1 May Old Style) – The new sovereign state of Great Britain comes into being as a result of the Acts of Union which ratified the Treaty of Union: the kingdoms of England and Scotland are combined into a single, United Kingdom and merge the Parliaments of England and Scotland to form the Parliament of Great Britain. The Equivalent, a sum of £398,000, is paid to Scotland by the English government due to Scotland now taking on shared responsibility for England’s national debt.source
  • 1725The Black Watch is raised as a military company, as part of the pacification of the Scottish Highlands under General George Wade.source
  • 1725the Black Watch is raised as a military company as part of the pacification of the Highlands under General George Wade.source
  • 1725the Black Watch is raised as a military company as part of the pacification of the Scottish Highlands under General George Wade.source
  • 1727History of the Moravian Church: The 18th century renewal: The Brotherly Agreement is adopted by the Moravian Church community at Herrnhut, under the influence of Count Nicolaus Zinzendorf, beginning the Church's renewal.source
  • 1729Six English pirates, including Mary Critchett, seize control of the sloop John and Elizabeth while being transported to America to complete their criminal sentences. They overpower their captors but are later captured in Chesapeake Bay by HMS Shoreham and hanged in August.source
  • 1729six English pirates, including Mary Critchett, seize control of the sloop John and Elizabeth while being transported to America to complete their criminal sentences. They overpower their captors but are later taken in Chesapeake Bay by HMS Shoreham and hanged in August.source
  • 173212 May to 10 October - Carl Linnaeus performs the Expedition to Lapland.source
  • 1739John Wesley lays the foundation stone of the New Room, Bristol in England, the world's first Methodist meeting house.source
  • 1739John Wesley lays the foundation stone of the New Room, Bristol, the world's first Methodist meeting house.source
  • 1749Frederick V visits Roskilde on his grand tour of Denmark and Norway.source
  • 1778Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz is elevated to Prince of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. This year sees the first appearance of the modern-day national colors of Germany on a flag that closely resembles the modern flag of Germany, to occur anywhere within modern-day Germany.source
  • 1780American Revolutionary War: Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces after 44 days of siege.source
  • 1784The Treaty of Paris (signed on September 3 the previous year, officially ending the War of American Independence) comes into effect.source
  • 1789William Wilberforce makes his first major speech in the House of Commons on the abolition of the slave trade.source
  • 1789Stjärnorp Castle burns down.source
  • 1789Thomas Jones organises an eisteddfod at the New Inn (modern-day Owain Glyndwr Hotel) in Corwen, where for the first time the public are admitted.source
  • 1797War of the First Coalition: Napoleon Bonaparte conquers Venice, ending the city and Republic of Venice's 1,100 years of independence. The last doge of Venice, Ludovico Manin, steps down. The Venetian Ghetto is thrown open.source
  • 1809Peninsular War – Second Battle of Porto: The Anglo-Portuguese Army, commanded by Wellesley, drives the French army, commanded by Marshal Soult, out of Porto, and forces them to retreat from the country.source
  • 1814José Miguel Carrera and his brother Luis Carrera escape from prison.source
  • 1819Trial begins in Paris of Marie André Cantillon and Joseph Stanislas Marinet accused of involvement in the plot to assassinate the Duke of Wellington the previous February. Both men are ultimately acquitted.source
  • 1821Congress of Laibach finally ends having overseen the successful Austrian intervention in Italy. A planned Congress of Verona in 1822 is agreed as the next meeting.source
  • 1839Socialist activist Louis Auguste Blanqui and the Société des Saisons begin an uprising against the government of France. The insurrection is suppressed, but not before 50 people are killed and 190 wounded. Blanqui is imprisoned until 1848.source
  • 1853October 31 – The Great Industrial Exhibition is held in Dublin, Ireland.source
  • 1854May 5–15 – Hokkien–Teochew Riots in Singapore.source
  • 1865May 12–13 – American Civil War – Battle of Palmito Ranch: In far south Texas, more than a month after Confederate General Lee's surrender, the last land battle of the civil war with casualties, ends with a Confederate victory.source
  • 1865Electric equipment and mobile brand Nokia founded in Tampere, Finland.source
  • 1868May 10–14 – Boshin War – Battle of Utsunomiya Castle, Japan: Forces of the Emperor Meiji resist the retreating troops of the Tokugawa shogunate.source
  • 1870The Canadian Parliament's Manitoba Act receives royal assent. The act provides for the establishment of the province Manitoba when Rupert's Land is transferred to Canada.source
  • 1870The Canadian province of Manitoba is created, in response to Louis Riel's Red River Rebellion.source
  • 1870The Port Adelaide Football Club is founded.source
  • 1879English Catholic convert John Henry Newman is elevated to Cardinal.source
  • 1881In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate by the Treaty of Bardo.source
  • 1881The Romanian National Party is founded by the union of the National Party of Romanians in Transylvania (Partidul Național al Românilor din Transilvania) and the National Party of Romanians in Banat and Hungary (Partidul Național al Românilor din Banat și Ungaria).source
  • 1883A German merchant Adolf Lüderitz purchases and takes possession of land in South-West Africa, which subsequently forms the basis of the first German colony of German South-West Africa (Deutsch-Südwestafrika).source
  • 1885May 9–12 – North-West Rebellion: Battle of Batoche – Canadian government forces inflict a decisive defeat on Métis rebels, bringing an end to their part in the rebellion.source
  • 1886Angola is incorporated as a colony.source
  • 1888The North Borneo Chartered Company's territories (including Sabah) become the British protectorate of North Borneo.source
  • 1890The first ever official English County Championship cricket match begins in Bristol; Yorkshire beats Gloucestershire, by eight wickets.source
  • 1894Publication of an Anglo-Belgian Agreement leasing Bahr el Ghazal to the Congo Free State and a stretch of Congolese territory to the British. The exchange of territory was later rescinded under French and German pressure in the diplomatic build-up to the 1898 Fashoda Incident.source
  • 1897May 10 – 19 zinc miners die of carbon monoxide poisoning at Snaefell Mine on the Isle of Man.source
  • 1898Spanish–American War: The Puerto Rican Campaign begins with the Bombardment of San Juan.source
  • 1902The first telegram sent by wireless telegraphy is received in Copenhagen.source
  • 1905The first meeting of the Australian Council of Defence takes place between the Minister for Defence, the Treasurer, the Inspector-General Army, the Chief of Intelligence, and the Director of the Naval Forces.source
  • 1913May 11–12 – The Italian driver Felice Nazzaro wins the 1913 Targa Florio endurance automobile race on Sicily.source
  • 1916First patrol by the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade in the Sinai desert.source
  • 1917May 8–12 – 1917 Far Eastern Games held in Tokyo.source
  • 1918The HMT Olympic rams into the SM U-103, sinking it. resulting in the deaths of 9 peoplesource
  • 1919Supreme Council of the Paris Peace Conference accepts border proposals. Aside from the Austrian claims to Western Hungary, these roughly match the final borders to be defined by the Treaty of Trianonsource
  • 1920Hungary presents its border proposal to the French government: they ask for all Hungarian-populated areas along the Trianon borders, referendums in the Banat and Burgenland, Carpathean Ruthenia and Eastern Slovakia for "economic reasons". The proposal was unacceptable for the French party, leading to the end of the secret negotiations.source
  • 1921The police arrest the leaders of the Romanian Communist Party, initiating the Dealul Spirii Trial.source
  • 1922Fascist concentration in Ferrara of 40,000 militants led by Italo Balbo and backed by the agrarian associations. The "fascist strike" of the workers is proclaimed. The aim of the event is to press on the Government to launch a plan for the construction of public works in the province.source
  • 1925The Public Security Preservation Law is enacted.source
  • 1926May 12–14 – May Coup: Józef Piłsudski takes over in Poland.source
  • 1926The United Kingdom general strike is called off by the trade unions, although miners remain on strike.source
  • 1926May 11–14 – Roald Amundsen makes the first airship flight over the North Pole. The Norge leaves Spitsbergen and arrives in Teller, Alaska three days later.source
  • 1926Roald Amundsen and his crew fly over the North Pole, in the airship Norge.source
  • 1926The establishment of Taiwan Provincial Ilan School of Agriculture and Forestry in Taihoku Prefecture.source
  • 1927British police officers raid the office of the Soviet trade delegation in London.source
  • 1927During the Arcos Affair, British police officers raid the headquarters of ARCOS in London.source
  • 1937George VI and Elizabeth are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor and Empress of India at Westminster Abbey, London.source
  • 1937Kemal Atatürk dedicated his farms to the treasurysource
  • 1941Konrad Zuse presents the Z3, the world's first working programmable, fully automatic computer, in Berlin.source
  • 1942The Catholic University rugby team of the city of Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region, is founded.source
  • 1943The founding of the kibbutz Gvulot.source
  • 1945Argentinian labour leader José Peter declares the Meat Industry Workers Federation dissolved.source
  • 1945Rev. W. V. Awdry's children's book The Three Railway Engines, first of The Railway Series, is published in England.source
  • 1949Establishment of the Apostolic Prefecture of Hollandiasource
  • 1949Cold War: The Soviet Union lifts the Berlin Blockade.source
  • 1953Albert Goldmann is appointed to the Council of State.source
  • 1955The Hock Lee strikes escalated into a riot, resulting in 4 fatalities.source
  • 1958A formal North American Aerospace Defense Command agreement is signed between the United States and Canada.source
  • 1958Addressing the Planning Board Staff on the revamping of the Five Year Plan, the Prime Minister has stated that land reforms must not take place in West Pakistan where the power of the feudals must remain intact. "There has been a great deal of talk about such reforms," Noon said, "Most of the advocates of land reforms were city dwellers who had no knowledge of agriculture and not many of them knew what they were talking about."source
  • 1960Archaeologist Yigael Yadin announced the discovery of letters from the Bar Kokhba archive during an excavation in the Judean Desert.source
  • 1965The liner SS Michelangelo enters service.source
  • 1966Radio Peking claims that U.S. planes have shot down a Chinese plane over Yunnan (the U.S. denies the story the next day).source
  • 1971UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying: Albania ties with Poland 1-1 at Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tiranasource
  • 1971An earthquake in Turkey destroys most of the city of Burdur.source
  • 1976Islamic Conference opens.source
  • 1977Portugal and Israel establish diplomatic relations.source
  • 1978Shaba II: In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining centre of the province of Shaba. The Zairean government asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.source
  • 1982Spanish priest Juan María Fernández y Krohn tries to stab Pope John Paul II with a bayonet during the latter's pilgrimage to the shrine at Fátima.source
  • 1982Spanish priest Juan María Fernández y Krohn tries to stab Pope John Paul II with a bayonet during the latter's pilgrimage to the shrine at Fátima, Portugal.source
  • 1984The Louisiana World Exposition, also known as the 1984 World's Fair, opens.source
  • 1986The Council of Ministers of the USSR introduces the State Acceptance of Production (gospriyomka).source
  • 1986NBC unveils its current peacock logo at the finale of its 60th anniversary special.source
  • 1989May 12–25 – San Bernardino train disaster: Southern Pacific freight locomotive SP 7551 East derails in a residential area of San Bernardino, California, killing four and destroying seven houses. On May 25, as a direct result of the derailment, the Calnev Pipeline explodes, killing an additional two people and destroying eleven more houses and 21 cars.source
  • 1993SES launches its third satellite, Astra 1C.source
  • 1995Miss Universe 1995, the 44th Miss Universe pageant, was held at the Windhoek Country Club Resort in Windhoek.source
  • 1997An F1-rated tornado strikes downtown Miami, causing $525,000 in damages. Pictures and videos of this tornado made news headlines around the world.source
  • 1999David Steel becomes the first Presiding Officer (Speaker) of the modern Scottish Parliament.source
  • 2000United Nations Security Council resolution 1297 was adopted unanimously and demanded an immediate end to hostilities between the country and Ethiopia.source
  • 20032003 Znamenskoye suicide bombing: Chechen suicide bombers attack a government office in Znamenskoye, Russia, killing at least 59 people.source
  • 2004President George W. Bush welcomes President Jose Eduardo dos Santos of Angola to the Oval Office.source
  • 2004May 12–15 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2004 takes place in Istanbul, Turkey, and is won by Ukrainian entrant Ruslana with the song "Wild Dances".source
  • 2006A pipeline explosion on the outskirts of Lagos kills about 100 people. Vandals were tapping into the pipeline to steal oil when the blast erupted.source
  • 2007May 10–12 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 takes place in Helsinki, Finland, and is won by Serbian entrant Marija Šerifović with the song "Molitva".source
  • 2008The mummified body of Hedviga Golik is found in her apartment in Zagreb, Croatia 42 years after her death.source
  • 2008An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale strikes Sichuan, China, killing an estimated 87,000 people.source
  • 2009May 11–15 – Pope Benedict XVI visits the Palestinian territories and Israel. During his visit, the pope condemned Holocaust denials and called for cooperation between the Palestinians and Israelis.source
  • 2009May 11–24 – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched to refurbish the Hubble Space Telescope on May 11, landing at Edwards Air Force Base May 24.source
  • 2009May 12–16 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 takes place in Moscow, Russia, and is won by Norwegian entrant Alexander Rybak with the song "Fairytale".source
  • 2010Following the 6 May United Kingdom general election, the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties agree to form a coalition government, the UK's first since the Second World War.source
  • 2010Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashes at runway at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, killing 103 of the 104 people on board.source
  • 2011The International Criminal Court asks the United Nations Security Council to take action over Djibouti's failure to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who was indicted by the court on charges of war crimes.source
  • 2011May 10–14 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 takes place in Düsseldorf, Germany, and is won by Azeri entrants Ell & Nikki with the song "Running Scared".source
  • 2012August 12 – The 2012 World Expo takes place in Yeosu, South Korea.source
  • 2012May 9–13 - The first international bicycle tour was organized in memory of Heydar Aliyev.source
  • 2014The self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic declares its independence from Ukraine.source
  • 2015May 11–12 – Version O of Les Femmes d'Alger by Pablo Picasso sells for US$179.3 million at Christie's auction in New York, while the sculpture L'Homme au doigt by Alberto Giacometti sells for US$141.3 million, setting a new world record for a painting and for a sculpture, respectively.source
  • 2015A second major earthquake in Nepal, measuring 7.3 on the moment magnitude scale, results in 153 deaths in Nepal, 62 in India, 1 in China and 2 in Bangladesh, with a total of 218 deaths.source
  • 2016The Brazilian Senate votes (55-22) to begin the impeachment process against the President of Brazil Dilma Rousseff and suspend her from office while the trial takes place.source
  • 2016May 10–14 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2016 is held in Stockholm, Sweden, and is won by Ukrainian entrant Jamala with the song "1944".source
  • 2017WannaCry ransomware attack: Computers around the world are hit by a large-scale ransomware cyberattack, which goes on to affect at least 150 countries.source
  • 2017May 9–13 – The Eurovision Song Contest takes place in Kyiv, Ukraine, and is won by Portuguese entrant Salvador Sobral with the song "Amar Pelos Dois".source
  • 2018May 8–12 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2018 is held in Lisbon, Portugal, and is won by Israeli entrant Netta Barzilai with the song "Toy".source
  • 2019President Stevo Pendarovski is inaugurated.source
  • 2019May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident: Four commercial ships, including two Saudi Aramco oil tankers, are damaged near Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman. The UAE claims it as a "sabotage attack", while an early U.S. assessment blames Iran. The incident occurs after increased U.S.-Iran tensions provoked by the deployment of U.S. military to the Persian Gulf in response to an alleged plot by Iran to attack U.S. forces.source
  • 2020Gunmen storm a maternity hospital and kill 24 people, including two newborn babies, in Dashte Barchi, a majority-Shia neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan. In a separate incident in Kuz Kunar, 32 people are killed at a funeral by a suicide bomber.source
  • 2021COVID-19 pandemic in India: The country's death toll exceeds 250,000. Delhi cremation grounds were running out of places while hundreds of bodies were reported washed up on the banks of the Ganges.source
  • 2022The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration reveals its first image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.source
  • 2022Eleven people die and thirty-one others are rescued after a boat capsizes off the coast of Puerto Rico near Desecheo Island.source
  • 2022May 10–May 14 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2022 is held in Turin, Italy. The contest is won by Ukrainian folk-rap group Kalush Orchestra with their song "Stefania".source
  • 2023May 9–13 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is held in Liverpool, UK. Swedish contestant Loreen wins with the song "Tattoo".source
  • 2024A magnitude 6.4 earthquake strikes along the Guatemala–Mexico border, causing damage in Quetzaltenango and San Marcos Departments.source

Births

  • 1325Rupert II, German nobleman and count palatine (died 1398)source
  • 1401Emperor Shōkō of Japan (died 1428)source
  • 1479Pompeo Colonna, Italian Catholic cardinal (died 1532)source
  • 1496King Gustav Vasa of Sweden (died 1560)source
  • 1529Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach, German princess (died 1575)source
  • 1573Henri, Duke of Montpensier, French noble (died 1608)source
  • 1589François L’Anglois, French artist (died 1647)source
  • 1610Arent Berntsen, topographical-statistical author, businessman, banker, estate owner and councillor (died 1680).source
  • 1670King Frederick Augustus I of Poland (died 1733)source
  • 1700Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect (died 1773)source
  • 1725Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans, French soldier, writer (died 1785)source
  • 1754Franz Anton Hoffmeister.source
  • 1767Manuel Godoy, Spanish statesman (died 1851)source
  • 1803Justus von Liebig, German chemist (died 1873)source
  • 1803Justus von Liebig, chemist (died 1873)source
  • 1812Edward Lear, English artist, nonsense poet (died 1888)source
  • 1820Florence Nightingale, English nurse (died 1910)source
  • 1828Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet, painter (died 1882)source
  • 1845Gabriel Fauré, French composer (died 1924)source
  • 1850Henry Cabot Lodge, American statesman (died 1924)source
  • 1907Katharine Hepburn, American actress (died 2003)source

Deaths

  • 304May 12 (or 303?) – Saint Pancras of Rome (martyred by beheading) (born c. 289)source
  • 805Æthelhard, archbishop of Canterburysource
  • 940Eutychius, patriarch of Alexandria (born 877)source
  • 1003Sylvester II, pope of the Catholic Churchsource
  • 1003Pope Sylvester II dies after a 4-year pontificate. He is succeeded by John XVII as the 140th pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 1012Sergius IV, pope of the Catholic Church (born 970)source
  • 1012Pope Sergius IV dies after a 3-year pontificate at Rome. He is succeeded by Benedict VIII as the 143rd pope of the Catholic Church.source
  • 1060Matilda, duchess of Swabia (died 1048)source
  • 1090Liutold of Eppenstein, German noblemansource
  • 1109Dominic de la Calzada, Spanish priest (born 1019)source
  • 1161Fergus of Galloway, Scottish noblemansource
  • 1166Gunhilda of Dunbar, Scottish Noblewoman (born 1120)source
  • 1182King Valdemar I (the Great) dies after a 28-year reign in which he has gained independence from the Holy Roman Empire. He is succeeded by his 19-year-old son Canute VI, who becomes ruler of Denmark.source
  • 1182Valdemar I (the Great), king of Denmark (born 1131)source
  • 1310In France, 54 members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake for heresy at Paris, on orders of King Philip IV of France (Philip the Fair). Pope Clement V attempts to take control of the situation by issuing a papal bull, to assert the Church's authority over the matter and demands Philip turn over the Templars and their property to ecclesiastical officials, who will then try the Templars for charges themselves. (→ Trials of the Knights Templar)source
  • 1331Engelbert of Admont, abbot in Styriasource
  • 1348David de Barry, son of Lord de Barry.source
  • 1382Queen Joanna I of Naples (born 1327) (murdered)source
  • 1403William de Lode, English priorsource
  • 1465Thomas Palaiologos, claimant to Byzantine throne (born 1409)source
  • 1490Joanna, Portuguese Roman Catholic blessed and regent (born 1452)source
  • 1525Anna of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburgian royal (born 1485)source
  • 1529Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington (born c. 1460)source
  • 1599Sultan Murad Mirza, Mughal prince (born 1570)source
  • 1634George Chapman, English author (born c.1559)source
  • 1641Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English statesman (born 1593)source
  • 1684Edme Mariotte, French physicist and priest (born c. 1620)source
  • 1700John Dryden, English poet and dramatist (born 1631)source
  • 1710Battle of Sirhind: An army of 70,000 Sikh rebels, led by Banda Singh Bahadur defeat a force of 25,000 Mughal Empire troops commanded by General Wazir Khan, who is killed in the combat. The battle takes place near Sirhind in what is now the Indian state of Punjab.source
  • 1812Martha Ballard, American diarist and midwife (born 1734 or 1735)source
  • 1845August Wilhelm Schlegel, German poet, translator and critic (born 1767)source
  • 1860Sir Charles Barry, English architect (born 1795)source
  • 1864J. E. B. Stuart, Confederate general (in battle) (born 1833)source
  • 1884Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer (born 1824)source
  • 1902Brazilian aeronaut Augusto Severo de Albuquerque Maranhão and Georges Saché, his French mechanic, are killed when Severo's airship Pax catches fire and explodes a little over 1,000 ft above Paris. Severo and Saché are both killed upon impact with the ground.source
  • 1907Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author (born 1848)source
  • 1916May 3–12 - 15 Irish rebel leaders who took part in the Easter Rising in Dublin in April are executed. Among them were Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, Thomas Clarke and William Pearse, brother of Patrick Pearse who had served as a captain rather than a leader.source
  • 1916James Connolly, Irish socialist and political activist (executed) (born 1868)source
  • 1935Józef Piłsudski, Polish politician, 2-time Prime Minister of Poland (born 1867)source
  • 1978May 12–13 – A group of mercenaries, led by Bob Denard, oust Ali Soilih in the Comoros; ten local soldiers are killed. Denard forms a new government.source
  • 2001Perry Como, 88, American singer, actor and television personality, Alzheimer's disease.source