/year

May 22 in history

250 sourced entries recorded on May 22, from 192 CE to 2025 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 192Lü Bu assassinates warlord Dong Zhuo, who has controlled the central government of the Han Dynasty (since 189).source
  • 853A Byzantine fleet (85 ships and 5,000 men) sacks and destroys the port city of Damietta, located on the Nile Delta in Egypt. A large quantity of weapons and supplies intended for the Emirate of Crete are captured.source
  • 1096May 18–26 – The Worms massacre: Members of the People's Crusade under Emicho besiege Worms in the Rhineland before killing at least 800 Jews, despite the intervention of Bishop Adalbert II. He tries to hide some of them in the bishop's palace, others chose to remain outside its walls. One of the victims is Minna of Worms, an influential Jew among the Christian nobility.source
  • 1149Henry of Anjou is knighted at Carlisle by King David I. Henry acknowledges the Scottish king's right to Northumberland.source
  • 1175A group of Isma'ili Assassins gains access into Saladin's camp and attempts to kill him during the siege of Aleppo. But his bodyguard saves his life, the others are slain while trying to escape.source
  • 1200The Kings John of England and Philip II of France, sign a peace treaty at Le Goulet, an island in the middle of the Seine River, near Vernon in Normandy. The agreement recognizes John as overlord of most of the English owned lands in France, but John has to give Philip the lands of Norman Vexin and Évreux and a large sum of money (some 20,000 marks) – a "relief" payment for recognition of John's sovereignty of Brittany.source
  • 1246Henry Raspe is elected anti-king in Germany in opposition to Conrad IV of Germany and Conrad's father, the excommunicated emperor Frederick II.source
  • 1272King Hugh III of Cyprus ("the Great") signs a peace with Sultan Baibars, Mamluk ruler of Egypt, at Caesarea. The Kingdom of Jerusalem is guaranteed for 10 years the possession of its present lands, which consists mainly of the narrow coastal plain from Acre to Sidon, together with the right to use without hindrance the pilgrim-road to Nazareth. The County of Tripoli is safeguarded by the peace treaty.source
  • 1285Marinid forces under Abu Yusuf Yaqub ibn Abd al-Haqq prolong their siege at Jerez de la Frontera. He sends his son Abu Yaqub Yusuf an-Nasr with 5,000 regulars, 2,000 cavalry, some 13,000 infantry and 2,000 archers to raid Seville and its environs on June 1. During June and early July, the Marinids assault daily Jerez while raiding parties pillage the countryside at Carmona, Niebla, Écija, Seville and Sanlúcar de Barrameda.source
  • 1306Feast of the Swans: At Westminster Abbey King Edward I of England proclaims that all squires, who agree to march in an invasion of Scotland, will be knighted. After the feast, the King has two swans brought in and swears "before God and the swans" to avenge the murder of Lord John Comyn III of Badenoch, the desecration of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries by Robert Bruce, and to fight the infidels in the Holy Land. The King knights his son, Prince Edward of Caernarfon. The Prince knights 266 other men. King Edward then gives his "Raise the Dragon" orders, proclaiming that no mercy is to be granted to Scotland, and all Scots taken in arms are to be executed without trial. Among the persons knighted, the King appoints Aymer de Valance, lieutenant for Scotland. Valence will make his base at Perth, along with Henry Percy and Robert Clifford, to organize an army.source
  • 1317Pursuant to the papal order of April 27, the first of the Spiritual Franciscans (Fraticelli) appear before Pope John XXII to be confronted over their disobedience.source
  • 1324Louis IV, King of the Romans, comes to the defense of the Spiritual Franciscans, delivering a sharp criticism of Pope John XXII, whom Louis describes as a heretic.source
  • 1377Pope Gregory XI issues five papal bulls condemning the opinion of John Wycliffe, who has argued that Catholic priests should live in poverty, like the twelve disciples of Jesus.source
  • 1388Wihwado Retreat: In Korea, General Yi Song-gye disregards the orders of the Emperor U of Goryeo to attack China, leads his troops away from Wihwa Island, and leads an attack on the Korean capital, Kaesong.source
  • 1398The Assembly of Paris begins, as Catholic clergy and bishops discuss whether withdraw obedience from the rival popes, Boniface IX in Rome and the antipope Benedict XIII at Avignon withdrawing the right of either of the popes to bestow benefices to officials in France in return for past or future services.source
  • 1400Meeting in Frankfurt, three of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire (Rupert, elector of the Palatinate, Rudolf III, Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg, elector of Saxony, and Jobst of Moravia, elector of Brandenburg) meet in an attempt to replace the Emperor, Wenceslaus, King of the Romans because of his failure to stamp out civil unrest or to resolve the Western Schism. They select Frederick I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg as the replacement for Wenceslaus.source
  • 1404The Peace of Raciążek treaty is signed by the representatives of King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland, by the Grand Duke Vytautas of Lithuania, and by the Teutonic Knights.source
  • 1406In Germany, troops under the command of Johann von Paderborn, Bishop of Hildesheim, use cannons to destroy the walls of Gebhardshagen Castle in Salzgitter in what is now Lower Saxony.source
  • 1413During the confusion of the Cabochien revolt, King Charles VI of France signs into law the “Ordonnance cabochienne" that limits his power.source
  • 1423Byzantine–Ottoman Wars: After a two-day battle, Turakhan Beg, Ottoman governor of Thessaly, breaks through the Hexamilion wall, and ravages the Peloponnese Peninsula in Greece.source
  • 1444The Treaty of Tours, signed between England and France, secures a truce in the Hundred Years' War for five years.source
  • 1444Treaty of Tours signed between England and France who agree to a five-year truce in the Hundred Years Warsource
  • 1455The Wars of the Roses begin in England at the Battle of St Albans, as Richard, Duke of York, captures King Henry VI as a prisoner of war.source
  • 1455Richard, Duke of York defeats the army of Henry VI at the First Battle of St Albans. Henry is captured, marking the beginning of the Wars of the Roses.source
  • 1485In Spain, the Christian Crown of Castile seizes the city of Ronda from the Islamic Emirate of Granada.source
  • 1520The Massacre in the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan takes place in Mexico after the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II is allowed by the Deputy Governor of New Spain, Pedro de Alvarado, to host Aztec nobles at the Great Temple at Tenochtitlan to celebrate the Feat of Toxcatl in honor of the god Tezcatlipoca. Alvarado uses the opportunity to kill more than 600 Aztec warriors and commanders, but spares Moctezuma.source
  • 1520The Magellan expedition loses its first ship as the caravel Santiago is wrecked in a storm while sailing inland on Argentina's Santa Cruz Riversource
  • 1526Francis repudiates the Treaty of Madrid and forms the League of Cognac against Charles, including Pope Clement VII, Milan, Venice, and Florence.source
  • 1526King Francis I creates the League of Cognac to unite France with Florence, Venice, Milan and the Papacy against the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.source
  • 1554Date carved as "XXII MAY 1554" on the sill of an armorial panel of George Durie at Rossend Castle.source
  • 1562The burgh council of Edinburgh decides to have a ducking stool at the Nor Loch for punishing "fornicatouris" and adulterers.source
  • 1575Elizabeth I of England orders Essex to break off his enterprise of the plantation of Antrim. He will return to England at the end of the year.source
  • 1583Ernest of Bavaria is elected as Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cologne, in opposition to Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg. The opposition rapidly turns into armed struggle, the Cologne War within the Electorate of Cologne, beginning with the Destruction of the Oberstift.source
  • 1604English entrepreneur Charles Leigh and a crew of 46 arrive in South America at what is now the Oyapock River in French Guiana after traveling on the ship Olive Plant. The 35 men and boys who stay create a colonial settlement which they call Oliveleigh, and make a claim to all of the area.source
  • 1623After negotiations for the release of English women taken from Jamestown in the British North American colony of Virginia, conducted between Captain William Tucker of the English settlers and Chief Opchanacanough of the Powhatan Confederacy (Tsenacommacah), the English arrange a banquet with the Powhatan, and the drinking of wine. The wine is poisoned and many of the Powhatan Indians die, while 50 more are killed while ill. This follows the massacre of 347 English colonists of March 22, 1622, in the Powhatan uprising. Opchanacanough escapes, and the 20 women never return home.source
  • 1629Thirty Years' War: Christian IV of Denmark and Albrecht von Wallenstein sign the Treaty of Lübeck, ending Denmark's involvement in the Thirty Years' War.source
  • 1629Christian IV signs the Treaty of Lübeck, bringing an end to Denmark-Norway's intervention in the Thirty Years' War.source
  • 1629May 14–28 – Huguenot rebellions: After a 15-day siege, Louis XIII of France captures Privas.source
  • 1632States General of the United Provinces call upon southern provinces to rise against Spain, promising freedom of worship.source
  • 1633Samuel de Champlain, founder of the French colony of New France, returns to Quebec after being gone for four years, commissioned as Lieutenant General of the troops of New France, but not as governor.source
  • 1640The Reapers' War (Guerra dels Segadors or Catalan Revolt) breaks out in Catalonia.source
  • 1645May 20–30 - Yangzhou massacre, one of the most destructive massacres in historysource
  • 1649October – Robert Blake blockades Prince Rupert's fleet in Kinsale, Ireland.source
  • 1649October – Robert Blake blockades Prince Rupert's fleet in Kinsale, Ireland.source
  • 1649October – Robert Blake blockades Prince Rupert's fleet in Kinsale.source
  • 1693Heidelberg is taken by the invading French forces; on May 23 Heidelberg Castle is surrendered, after which the French blow up its towers using mines.source
  • 1704May 19–23 – Vigorous Strombolian activity from Mount Vesuvius, Italy is recorded.source
  • 1711Company of Blanket Weavers of Witney in Oxfordshire incorporated by royal charter to regulate the trade.source
  • 1712Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor is crowned King of Hungary.source
  • 1718Sailing the Queen Anne's Revenge English pirate Edward Teach, known as Blackbeard, leads 400 sailors in four ships, and blockades the port of Charleston, South Carolina for an entire week, plundering all arriving ships. After their departure, Queen Anne's Revenge and Adventure are both lost at Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina; a week later. Blackbeard allows Stede Bonnet to command the Revenge (which is renamed the Royal James) once again. Bonnet rescues 25 sailors abandoned by Blackbeard on a sandbar and continues his life of piracy.source
  • 1724a total solar eclipse crosses Ireland around 6:30 p.m.source
  • 1735George Hadley publishes the first explanation of the trade winds.source
  • 1735George Hadley publishes the first explanation of the trade winds.source
  • 1736King George II of Great Britain departs for Europe as part of his duties as Elector of Hanover; his wife, Caroline, Queen Consort rules on his behalf as the Regent for the last time until his return on January 14, 1736.source
  • 1738foundation stone of George Watson's College in Edinburgh is laid.source
  • 1744The Union of Germany is proclaimed in Frankfurt Frederick II of Prussia, as articles of union are signed between Prussia, Hesse-Kassel and the Rhineland Palatinate.source
  • 1753The Jewish Naturalisation Act 1753 passes the House of Commons and later receives royal assent from King George II.source
  • 1754In fiction, the village of Brigadoon disappears into the Highland mist (alternate sources say 1747).source
  • 1755The Province of Massachusetts Bay sends 2,000 troops to supplement other British Army and colonial forces in Acadia; the troops anchor at Chignecto Bay on June 1.source
  • 1762The Treaty of Hamburg takes Sweden out of the war against Prussia.source
  • 1762Treaty of Hamburg (1762). Peace between Sweden and Prussia with the mediation of the Queen of Sweden, Louisa Ulrika of Prussia. This was the end of the Seven Years War.source
  • 1776May 15–26 – American Revolution: Battle of the Cedars – British forces skirmish with the American Continental Army around Les Cèdres, Quebec.source
  • 1784English actress Sarah Siddons makes her Scottish debut in Edinburgh.source
  • 1785Robert Burns' first child, Elizabeth ("Dear-bought Bess"), is born to his mother's servant, Elizabeth Paton and his poems "To a Mouse" and "Halloween" are written.source
  • 1787In Britain, Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, with support from John Wesley, Josiah Wedgwood and others.source
  • 1787Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade with support from John Wesley, Josiah Wedgwood and others.source
  • 1807A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr for treason.source
  • 1807A grand jury indicts Aaron Burr for treason.source
  • 1807Du Pré Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon, is appointed Governor of the Cape.source
  • 1809Battle of Aspern-Essling: Austrian troops under Archduke Karl beat the French under Napoleon, in a hard-fought battle.source
  • 1810May 18–25 – May Revolution: Armed citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Viceroy and establish a provincial government for Argentina (the Primera Junta). Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros is removed.source
  • 1816Littleport and Ely riots break out as a result of economic distress in East Anglia.source
  • 1819The SS Savannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia, on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship arrives at Liverpool, England, nearly a month later, on June 20, although only a fraction of the trip is made under steam.source
  • 1819The SS Savannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. The ship arrives at Liverpool, England on June 20.source
  • 1819The city of Memphis, Tennessee, is founded.source
  • 1839Former British statesman Lord Durham, as President of the New Zealand Company, formally asks the British government for permission to colonize New Zealand, and to establish a colonial government under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.source
  • 1841The Georgian province of Guria revolts against the Russian Empire.source
  • 1843The first major wagon train headed for the American Northwest sets out with 1,000 pioneers from Elm Grove, Missouri, on the Oregon Trail.source
  • 1843The first major wagon train for the American Northwest sets out with one thousand pioneers from Elm Grove, Missouri on the Oregon Trail.source
  • 1846Rita Cetina Gutiérrez, teacher, poet and activist (died 1908)source
  • 1849Future President Abraham Lincoln receives a patent, for a device designed to lift boats over river obstructions.source
  • 1855In Australia, the province of Victoria (named for then reigning British monarch, Queen Victoria) to the southeast is separated administratively from the earlier larger province of New South Wales to the north.source
  • 1856Caning of Charles Sumner: United States Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made attacking pro-slavery Southerners, especially elderly South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler, a relative of Brooks. Sumner is unable to return to duty for three years while he recovers; Brooks becomes a hero across the South.source
  • 1856Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beats Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate, for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerners who sympathized with the pro-slavery violence in Kansas ("Bleeding Kansas"). Sumner is unable to return to duty for 3 years while he recovers; Brooks becomes a hero across the South.source
  • 1858The Adelaide to Melbourne telegraph line is open to the public.source
  • 1859Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies is succeeded by his 23-year-old son, Francis II of the Two Sicilies.source
  • 1867Maria Fedeorowna arrives to Copenhagen.source
  • 1869Sainsbury's first store, in Drury Lane, London, is opened.source
  • 1872Reconstruction: U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act of 1872 into law, restoring full civil rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.source
  • 1872Reconstruction: President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act of 1872 into law restoring full civil rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.source
  • 1872Georges Bizet's comic opera Djamileh is premièred at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, France.source
  • 1874Verdi's Requiem is first performed at San Marco in Milan, marking the first anniversary of Manzoni's death.source
  • 1881May 22 (May 10 Old Style) – Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen is crowned King of Romania.source
  • 1892The British conquest of Ijebu Ode marks a major extension of colonial power into the Nigerian interior.source
  • 1892Ananias Dekke, ships designer (born 1832).source
  • 1893The President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Giuseppe Zanardelli, urges King Umberto I not to accept the resignation of Giolitti. Giolitti agrees to reconstruct the government with Senator Gagliardo as Finance Minister.source
  • 1897The Blackwall Tunnel, at this time the longest underwater road tunnel in the world, is opened for traffic beneath the River Thames in the East End of London by the Prince of Wales.source
  • 1898Belgian general election, 1898source
  • 1898The German Federation football club SV Darmstadt 98 is formed.source
  • 1901The foundation stone for St John's Cathedral, Brisbane, is laid by The Duke of Cornwall and York (later George V). the church celebrated 100 years of construction in 2006 and is the only gothic-style stone building under construction anywhere in the world.source
  • 1902The White Star Liner SS Ionic is launched by Harland and Wolff in Belfast.source
  • 1902The White Star Liner SS Ionic was launched by Harland and Wolff in Belfast.source
  • 1902the White Star Liner SS Ionic is launched by Harland and Wolff in Belfast.source
  • 1905Abdul Hamid II, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire establishes the Ullah millet for the Aromanians of the empire. For this reason, the Aromanian National Day is sometimes celebrated on this day. The decision is publicly announced the next day, which is more commonly celebrated.source
  • 1910A general election results in the Liberal Party, under incumbent prime minister Canalejas, being returned to power.source
  • 1910Belgian general election, 1910source
  • 1915Quintinshill rail disaster in Scotland: The collision and fire kill 226, mostly troops, the largest number of fatalities in a rail accident in the United Kingdom.source
  • 1915Quintinshill rail disaster near Gretna Green in Scotland: collision and fire kill 226, mostly troops, the largest number of fatalities in a rail accident in the U.K.source
  • 1915Lassen Peak, one of the Cascade Volcanoes in California, erupts, sending an ash plume 30,000 feet in the air, and devastating the nearby area with pyroclastic flows and lahars. It is the only volcano to erupt in the contiguous United States this century, until the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.source
  • 1915Lassen Peak, one of the Cascade Volcanoes in Northern California, erupts, sending an ash plume 30,000 feet in the air and devastating the nearby area with pyroclastic flows and lahars. It is the only volcano to erupt in the contiguous United States between 1900 and the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.source
  • 1917The Commissioned Officer Corps of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey is established.source
  • 1917Ell Persons is lynched in Memphis, in connection with the rape and murder of 16-year-old Antoinette Rappal.source
  • 1918May 21–29 - The Ottoman World War I defeat at the Battle of Sardarabad is seen as saving the Armenian nation from destruction.source
  • 1918The small town of Codell, Kansas is hit for the fifth year in a row by a tornado. Coincidentally, all three tornadoes hit on the same date.source
  • 1921In the first golf international between the two countries, the United States beats the United Kingdom 9 rounds to 3.source
  • 1921The Estádio Antônio R. Guimarães is opened at Santa Bárbara d'Oeste.source
  • 1923Bonar Law resigns as Prime Minister due to ill health.source
  • 1923May 21–25 – 1923 Far Eastern Games held in Osaka.source
  • 1927The 7.6 Mw Gulang earthquake affects Gansu in northwest China with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), leaving over 40,000 dead.source
  • 19271927 Gulang earthquakesource
  • 1940WWII: The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1940, giving the government full control over all persons and property.source
  • 1942Mexico formally declared war on the Axis powers in support of the Allies.source
  • 1942American soldier Eddie Leonski is arrested and charged for the "Brownout Murders" of three women.source
  • 1947To fight the spread of Communism, President Harry S. Truman signs an Act of Congress that implements the Truman Doctrine. This Act grants $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece.source
  • 1950Celâl Bayar becomes the third president of Turkey and Adnan Menderes of the DP forms the new government of Turkey (19th government).source
  • 1950Recorded premiere of Four Last Songs (1948) by German composer Richard Strauss (died 1949) given by the composer's choice of soloist, Norwegian-born soprano Kirsten Flagstad, with the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler at the Royal Albert Hall in London, sponsored by Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, Sultan of Mysore.source
  • 1954The common Nordic Labour Market act is signed.source
  • 1954A Douglas DC-3 crashes near Paraparaumu Airport after its wing hits a house. Three people died.source
  • 1960The 9.5 Mw Valdivia earthquake affects Chile with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme). This megathrust earthquake ruptures from Arauco to Chiloé Archipelago, causing the most powerful earthquake on record and a destructive basin-wide tsunami.source
  • 1960The 1960 Valdivia earthquake occurs; with a magnitude of 9.5 MW, it is the largest recorded earthquake. Its epicenter was the city of Valdivia and mainly affected the area between Talca and Chiloé Archipelago. The earthquake was felt in different parts of the planet and produced a tidal wave which affected various locations throughout the Pacific Ocean such as Hawaii and Japan. It also caused the eruption of the Puyehue-Cordón Caulle, which covered the Puyehue Lake with ashes. Between 1,655 and 2,000 people died, and more than 2 million were affected by this disaster.source
  • 19611961 New South Wales earthquake.source
  • 1963A.C. Milan beats Benfica 2–1 at Wembley Stadium, London and wins the 1962–63 European Cup (football).source
  • 1966Taça de Portugal Finalsource
  • 1967The Innovation department store in the centre of Brussels, Belgium, burns down. It is the most devastating fire in Belgian history, resulting in 323 dead and missing and 150 injured.source
  • 1968The U.S. nuclear-powered submarine Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard, 400 miles southwest of the Azores.source
  • 1969Apollo program: Apollo 10's lunar module flies to within 15,400 m of the Moon's surface.source
  • 1972Ferit Melen forms the new (interim) government of Turkey (35th government)source
  • 1972The Dominion of Ceylon becomes the republic of Sri Lanka under prime minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, when its new constitution is ratified.source
  • 1975General Motors announces the closure of its assembly line in Bienne (BE) by the end of August. 450 people will lose their jobssource
  • 1976May 21–23 – Six terrorists hijack a Philippine Airlines plane, which lands later on the Zamboanga Airport; hostage crisis ends on May 23 as they explode a plane and a shootout followed, killing 3 of them as well as 10 passengers.source
  • 1976May 20–24 – Flooding in the wake of a typhoon kills 215 persons and left 60,000 homeless in Luzon Island.source
  • 1978Exiled leaders Ahmed Abdallah and Muhammad Ahmad return to the Comoros.source
  • 1980May 18–27 – Gwangju Uprising: Students in Gwangju, South Korea, begin demonstrations, calling for democratic reforms.source
  • 1980Namco's Pac-Man, the highest-earning arcade game of all time, is released in Japan.source
  • 1981The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation is formed.source
  • 1981Reimar Riefling, classical pianist, music teacher, and music critic (born 1898)source
  • 1981Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe is found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment on 13 counts of murder and 7 of attempted murder in England.source
  • 1981FC Utrecht play their final match at Galgenwaard Stadium. Supporters taking keepsakes would dismantle a substantial part of the structure.source
  • 1987The Hashimpura massacre occurs in Meerut, India.source
  • 1987The inaugural Rugby World Cup hosted by both New Zealand and Australia kicks off. In the opening match of the new tournament, New Zealand beat Italy in the pool stage.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
  • 1990Cold War: The leaders of the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen announce the unification of their countries as the Republic of Yemen.source
  • 1994Pope John Paul II issues the Apostolic Letter Ordinatio sacerdotalis from the Vatican, expounding the Catholic Church's position requiring "the reservation of priestly ordination to men alone".source
  • 200128978 Ixion, a large trans-Neptunian object and a possible dwarf planet, is discovered during the Deep Ecliptic Survey.source
  • 2001The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants is adopted by 127 countries to limit pollution internationally.source
  • 2002Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba asks King Gyanendra to dissolve the parliament amid escalation of the Nepalese Civil War.source
  • 2002The release of Tomorrow's original soundtrack.source
  • 2004Manmohan Singh, a Sikh, is sworn in as India's first non-Hindu prime minister.source
  • 2008Ghaleb Abdullah Moussa is appointed as the new Catholic Church Archbishop of Algiers by Pope Benedict XVI. El Khabar,source
  • 2008May 20–24 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 takes place in Belgrade, Serbia, and is won by Russian entrant Dima Bilan with the song "Believe".source
  • 2009Israel's El-Al Airlines Boeing 777 flying from Hong Kong to Tel Aviv made an emergency landing in Baku. The engine problem was fixed, and the plane continued its flight.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
  • 2010Inter Milan beats Bayern München 2–0 in the 2010 Champions League Final at the Santiago Bernabéu.source
  • 2010Air India Express Flight 812 overshoots the runway at Mangalore International Airport in India, killing 158 and leaving 8 survivors.source
  • 2011The 2011 Joplin tornado, an EF5 tornado, strikes Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people and injuring 1,150.source
  • 2012Tokyo Skytree, the tallest self-supporting tower in the world at 634 metres high, is opened to the public.source
  • 2012A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 24 km west of Bulgaria's capital Sofia, at a depth of 9.4 km. A citizen died from heart attack, several buildings were damaged.source
  • 2012May 22–26 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 takes place in Baku, Azerbaijan, and is won by Swedish entrant Loreen with the song "Euphoria".source
  • 2014The Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic declare the formation of Novorossiya, also referred to as the Union of People's Republics.source
  • 20142014 Thai coup d'état: The Royal Thai Army overthrows the caretaker government of Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan after a failure to resolve the political unrest in Thailand.source
  • 2014A terrorist attack in Ürümqi, China leaves 43 people dead and more than 90 injured.source
  • 2015May 19–23 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 is held in Vienna, Austria, and is won by Swedish entrant Måns Zelmerlöw with the song "Heroes".source
  • 2017An ISIL terrorist bombing attack at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, kills 22 people and injures more than 500 others.source
  • 2017Manchester Arena is attacked by a suicide bomber following a music concert by American singer Ariana Grande, resulting in multiple casualties. It is the most deadly attack in the UK since the 7 July 2005 London bombings and the first in the North of England since the IRA bombing of Manchester in June 1996.source
  • 2019Botswana lifts its ban on elephant hunting.source
  • 2020Flight PK8303, a Pakistan International Airlines passenger aircraft, crashes in a residential area near Karachi, in Pakistan, killing 97 of the 99 total people on board and injuring dozens on the ground.source
  • 2021May 18–May 22 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 is held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, after the cancellation of the 2020 contest due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The contest is won by Italian entrants Måneskin with the song "Zitti e buoni".source
  • 2022Oman announces that it will repeal all COVID-19 restrictions, including its mask mandate.source
  • 2025The transfer of the Chagos Islands from the United Kingdom to Mauritius is suspended after the UK's High Court of Justice grants "interim relief" to two Chagossian women who had brought a case against the UK Foreign Office. The transfer pushes through later in the day after the injunction is lifted by the court.source
  • 2025A magnitude 6.2 earthquake hits Crete, causing extensive damage in the Heraklion area.source

Births

  • 1009Su Xun, Chinese writer (died 1066)source
  • 1408Annamacharya, Indian mystic saint composer (died 1503)source
  • 1466Marino Sanuto the Younger, Italian historian (died 1536)source
  • 1539Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (died 1621)source
  • 1570Johann II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, German duke (died 1605)source
  • 1581Archduchess Gregoria Maximiliana of Austria, Austrian archduchess (died 1597)source
  • 1622Louis de Buade de Frontenac, Governor of New France (died 1698)source
  • 1744Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, naval officer, explorer, administrator (d.1794)source
  • 1762Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, British politician (died 1834)source
  • 1772Ram Mohan Roy, Hindu religious and social reformer (died 1833)source
  • 1788William Grant Broughton, first Anglican bishop in Australia (died 1853)source
  • 1808Gérard de Nerval, French writer (died 1855)source
  • 1813Richard Wagner, German composer (died 1883)source
  • 1813Richard Wagner, German composer (died 1883)source
  • 1844Mary Cassatt, American painter and printmaker (died 1926)source
  • 1846Rita Cetina Gutiérrez, Mexican teacher, poet and activist (died 1908)source
  • 1859Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Scottish writer (died 1930)source
  • 1875Nuno José Severo de Mendoça Rolim de Moura Barreto, 1st Duke of Loulé, politician (born 1804)source
  • 1887Jim Thorpe, American athlete (died 1953)source
  • 1907Hergé, Belgian cartoonist (died 1983)source
  • 1907Laurence Olivier, English stage, screen actor and director (died 1989)source
  • 1930Harvey Milk, American politician and gay rights activist (died 1978)source
  • 1942Ted Kaczynski, American domestic terrorist, mathematics professor, and anarchist author (died 2023)source
  • 1959Morrissey, British singersource
  • 1980Eddie Watson, Liberian-born Ghanaian actorsource
  • 1987Novak Djokovic, Serbian tennis playersource

Deaths

  • 192Dong Zhuo, Chinese general and warlord (born 134 AD)source
  • 337Constantine the Great, first Christian Roman emperor of the Western Empire (312–324), and of the Roman Empire (324–337), dies in Achyron, near Nicomedia, at age 65, after he is baptized by Eusebius of Nicomedia.source
  • 337Constantine the Great, emperor of the Roman Empire, Orthodox priest and saintsource
  • 748Genshō, empress of Japan (born 683)source
  • 1016Jovan Vladimir, Serbian prince (born 990)source
  • 1038Shibl al-Dawla Nasr, Mirdasid emir of Alepposource
  • 1067Constantine X, Byzantine emperor (born 1006)source
  • 1067Emperor Constantine X dies after a 7-year reign at Constantinople. His wife, Empress Eudocia Macrembolitissa, is crowned Augusta and becomes co-regent for her two sons (Michael VII and Konstantios) along with Constantine's brother John Doukas, who rules as Caesar of the Byzantine Empire.source
  • 1068Go-Reizei, emperor of Japan (born 1025)source
  • 1112Henry, Count of Portugal, dies from wounds received during a siege at Astorga. He is succeeded by his 3-year-old son Afonso I, but his mother Theresa desires to rule Portugal alone and becomes regent.source
  • 1153Atto of Pistoia, Portuguese bishop (born 1070)source
  • 1409Blanche of England, sister of King Henry V (born 1392)source
  • 1455Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, Lancastrian commander (born 1406) — killed at the First Battle of St Albanssource
  • 1455Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, Lancastrian commander (born 1393) — killed at the First Battle of St Albanssource
  • 1455Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford, Lancastrian commander (born 1414) — killed at the First Battle of St Albanssource
  • 1457Saint Rita of Cascia, Italian saint (born 1381)source
  • 1490Edmund Grey, 1st Earl of Kent (born 1416)source
  • 1520Jan Lubrański, Polish bishop (born 1456)source
  • 1538John Forest, English Franciscan friar (martyred) (born 1471)source
  • 1540Francesco Guicciardini, Italian statesman and historian (born 1483)source
  • 1545Sher Shah Suri, Indian ruler (born 1486)source
  • 1545Sher Shah Suri (born 1486)source
  • 1617Portuguese Christian Missionary João Baptista Machado de Távora is killed, becoming the first of the 205 Martyrs of Japan.source
  • 1667Pope Alexander VII (born 1599)source
  • 1699James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon, English nobleman (born 1653)source
  • 1725Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth, Irish politician (born 1656)source
  • 1745François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French military leader (born 1671)source
  • 1746Thomas Southerne, Irish playwright (born 1660)source
  • 1760Israel ben Eliezer aka Baal Shem Tov, Polish-born mystical rabbi, founder of Hasidic Judaism (born 1698)source
  • 1777Nicolaus Christian Friis, priest and writer (born 1714).source
  • 1802Martha Washington, first First Lady of the United States (born 1731)source
  • 1825Laskarina Bouboulina, Greek independence fighter, heroine (shot) (born 1771)source
  • 1849Maria Edgeworth, Irish novelist (born 1767)source
  • 1873Alessandro Manzoni, Italian poet and novelist (born 1785)source
  • 1885Victor Hugo, French author (born 1802)source
  • 1903Misao Fujimura, student and poet (born 1886)source
  • 1925John French, 1st Earl of Ypres, British World War I field marshal (born 1852)source
  • 1949After two months in Bethesda Naval Hospital, James Forrestal commits suicide under suspicious circumstances.source
  • 1949James Forrestal, U.S. Secretary of Navy and Defense (born 1892)source
  • 1971An earthquake lasting 20 seconds destroys most of Bingöl, Turkey; more than 1,000 are killed and 10,000 are made homeless.source
  • 1980May 18–27 - Gwangju massacre: Up to 165 people are killed when a popular uprising in the city of Gwangju is crushed by the South Korean army.source
  • 2010Martin Gardner, 95, American mathematics and science author.source
  • 2013Off-duty British Army soldier Fusilier Lee Rigby of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is murdered in Woolwich, southeast London, by Islamic terrorists Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale.source
  • 2017Nicky Hayden, 35, American motorcycle racer, world champion (2006), injuries from traffic collision.source