/year

May

fifth month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

125 dated entries naming May, drawn from 118 separate years between 15 CE and 1948 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

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1st century

  • 15May – As part of his campaign against the Germanic peoples, Germanicus captures Thusnelda, wife of Arminius.source

2nd century

  • 124May – Aulus Larcius Macedo, the former Governor of Galatia; and Publius Ducenius Verres take office for four month as the suffect consuls to succeed Bellicius and Glabrio, and serve until the end of August.source
  • 171May – June – Aelius Aristides, Greek orator, delivers a public speech in Smyrna, lamenting the damage recently inflicted to the sacred site of Eleusis.source

3rd century

  • 228c. February – May – Battle of Jieting: The Cao Wei Kingdom decisively defeats the Shu Han Kingdom.source
  • 229February – May – Battle of Jianwei: The state of Shu Han is victorious over the state of Cao Wei.source
  • 251May – The first Synod of Carthage, a pre-ecumenical council, is held under the presidency of Saint Cyprian.source

4th century

  • 378May – Battle of Argentovaria: Emperor Gratian is forced to recall the army he has sent East. The Lentienses are defeated by Mallobaudes near Colmar (France). Gratian gains the title Alemannicus Maximus.source

5th century

  • 430May - Flavius Felix, his wife and a deacon are accused of plotting against Aetius. They are arrested in Ravenna and executed. Aetius is granted the title of patricius (Roman nobility).source
  • 430May – Flavius Felix, Roman consulsource

6th century

  • 503May – Areobindus, Byzantine general (magister militum), is stationed as commander at Dara, with an army of 12,000 men to keep watch at the Persian stronghold of Nisibis (modern Turkey).source
  • 540May – Gothic War: Belisarius conquers Mediolanum (modern-day Milan) and the Gothic capital Ravenna. Vitiges and his wife Matasuntha are taken as captives to Constantinople.source

7th century

  • 624May – Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr, Arab sahabi (d. 692)source
  • 633May – Battle of Walaja: The Rashidun Caliphate army under Khalid defeats the Persians and their Arab Christian allies. The Persian army is at least three times the size.source
  • 641May – Constantine III, age 29, dies of tuberculosis after a four-month reign, leaving his half-brother Heraklonas sole emperor. Rumors spread that Constantine has been poisoned by Heraclius's second wife (and niece) Martina.source

8th century

  • 715May – Emperor Anastasios II is deposed in an army mutiny, and succeeded by Theodosius III, a tax-collector from the theme of Opsikion (modern Turkey). After a six-month siege, Theodosius and his troops take Constantinople; Anastasios is forced to abdicate the throne, and retires to a monastery in Thessaloniki (Macedonia).source
  • 719May – Chilperic II is raised on the shield after the death of Chlothar IV, and recognized by Charles Martel as king (roi fainéant) of the Franks. Charles, however, gains a monopoly on power and royal offices.source

9th century

  • 803May – Krum, ruler (khan) of the Bulgarian Empire, begins his territorial expansion and raids the Byzantine northern frontier. He leads his warriors — mostly Bulgars, Slavs, Thracians and Macedonians — across the Carpathian Mountains, over the Danube River, and throughout Transylvania, Thrace, and Macedonia.source
  • 824May – In Constantinople and throughout the Byzantine Empire, Michael II celebrates the festival of Triumph to mark his return to the capital after defeating the rebellion of Thomas the Slavsource
  • 826May – Euphemius, Byzantine admiral, organises an uprising in Sicily against Emperor Michael II. He proclaims himself Emperor (with the title of basileus) in Syracuse, independent from Constantinople. In turn, Euphemius is defeated by Byzantine troops (reinforcements from the East), and is driven out to North Africa.source
  • 871May – Battle of Wilton: Alfred the Great is defeated by the Danes at Wilton (along the southern side of the River Wylye), leaving him in retreat for several years.source
  • 878May – Battle of Edington: Supported by all the levies of Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire, Alfred the Great decisively defeats the main body of Danish Vikings, led by King Guthrum, at modern-day Edington, Wiltshire (near Bratton Castle).source
  • 892May – Ibrahim II, Aghlabid emir of Ifriqiya, sends a large army to Palermo, to impose Arab authority from Kairouan. After an uprising, the Sicilians make a bid for independence.source
  • 895May – Arnulf of Carinthia summons the Imperial Diet in his residence at Worms. Angered by the non-appearance of Charles the Simple, he again supports Odo's claim to the throne of the West Frankish Kingdom. In the same assembly, he crowns Zwentibold as king of Lotharingia.source

10th century

  • 959April - May – The Byzantines refuse to pay the yearly tribute. A Hungarian army, led by Apor, invades Macedonia and Thrace. He plunders its territories until reaching Constantinople. On his way back, Apor is defeated during a night attack by Byzantine forces.source
  • 966May – Pietro IV Candiano, doge of Venice, remarries to Waldrada of Tuscany, a daughter of Hubert, Duke of Spoleto, and a relative of Otto the Great. Waldrada brings him a large dowry, including the possessions of Ferrara, Friuli and Treviso (northern Italy).source
  • 977May – Boris II, dethroned emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria, and his brother Roman manage to escape from captivity in Constantinople. They reach the Bulgarian border, but Boris is killed by mistake by the border guards. Roman is crowned as new ruler, although leadership and the control of the army remain in the hands of General Samuel (a member of the Cometopuli Dynasty).source

11th century

  • 1025May – Ishoyahb IV, the unpopular Nicene Christian Patriarch of the Church of the East, dies in Baghdad after a five-year reign, leaving a vacancy that will not be filled until 1028.source
  • 1034May – King Mieszko II dies after a 6-year reign (probably killed as a result of a conspiracy) and is succeeded by his 17-year-old son Casimir I (the Restorer). A violent revolt spreads throughout Poland.source
  • 1037May – Conrad II, with Pavian assistance, lays siege to Milan at the Porta Romana side, but the city holds out. In Rome, Pope Benedict IX deposes Aribert as archbishop.source
  • 1081May – A Norman fleet of 150 ships (including 60 horse transports), led by Duke Robert Guiscard, sets off towards the Dalmatian coast. An army of 15,000 men (including about 1,300 Norman knights) sails to the city of Avalona (modern Albania); they are joined by several ships from Ragusa, a republic in the Balkans who are enemies of the Byzantines.source
  • 1084May – Sack of Rome: Duke Robert Guiscard leads a Norman army (36,000 men) north and enters Rome; the city is sacked, and Henry IV is forced to retreat.source
  • 1087May: The marriage of Caliph al-Muqtadi and Mah-i Mulk is consummated. This marriage strengthens the political relation of Malik-Shah I and the Caliph.source
  • 1094May – El Cid (Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar) completes his conquest of Valencia in Al-Andalus (modern Spain) and begins his rule (in the name of King Alfonso VI) there. The Almoravid campaign to regain the city fails.source
  • 1094May–June – Duncan, son of the late King Malcolm III of Scotland, gathers a substantial army, chiefly Anglo-Normans from England, and challenges his uncle Donald III ("the Fair") for the Kingdom of Scotland. Duncan is crowned king at Scone.source
  • 1096May – The Rhineland massacres: Members of the People's Crusade led by Count Emicho destroy most of the Jewish communities along the Rhine in a series of large pogroms in France and Germany. Thousands of Jews are massacred, driven to suicide, or forced to convert to Christianity. Estimates of the number of Jewish men, women and children murdered are 2,000 to 12,000.source
  • 1096May – The People's Crusade, under Peter the Hermit, arrives at Sopron. Coloman, King of Hungary ("the Learned") gives them permission to pass through Hungary, and to use the markets. Peter and his followers (some 20,000 men and women) travel from Budapest southwards supported by knights, while lumbering wagons carry stores and a chest of money that he has collected for the journey.source
  • 1099May – The Crusaders march past Tripoli, accompanied by guides provided by the emir who lead them safely through the towns of Batroun and Byblos. On May 19 they cross the Dog River north of Beirut into Fatimid territory. There local governors supply the Crusaders with tribute and food in return for no damage to the agricultural area. The Fatimids keep no large troops in the north, except for small garrisons.source
  • 1100May or June – Count Raymond IV of Toulouse (Saint-Gilles) sails to Constantinople to obtain the support of Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos in his attempt to seize Tripoli.source

12th century

  • 1110February–May – Crusaders under Baldwin I besiege Beirut. Genoese and Pisan ships blockade the harbour; Fatimid ships from Tyre and Sidon try in vain to break the blockade. The Fatimid governor flees by night through the Italian fleet to Cyprus. On May 13, Baldwin captures the city by assault and the Italians carry out a massacre among the inhabitants.source
  • 1123May – Baldwin II and Joscelin I are rescued by 50 Armenian soldiers (disguised as monks and merchants) at Kharput. They kill the guards, and infiltrate the castle where the prisoners are kept. Joscelin escapes to seek help. However, the castle is soon besieged by Turkish forces under Belek Ghazi – and is after some time recaptured. Baldwin and Waleran of Le Puiset are moved for greater safety to the castle of Harran.source
  • 1139May – Representatives of Polvese Island formally submit the island to the city of Perugia, pledging military support, fiscal obligations, and an annual tribute of tench.source
  • 1141May – Aubrey de Vere II, Lord Great Chamberlain of England (b. 1062)source
  • 1147May – July – A German expeditionary force (some 20,000 men) under King Conrad III leaves Regensburg and passes into Hungary. The German nobility is headed by Conrad's nephew and heir, Frederick I, duke of Swabia. On July 20, Conrad crosses into the Byzantine Empire, and reaches Sofia – where Michael Palaiologos (a nephew of Emperor Manuel I) gives Conrad an official welcome and provides the Crusaders with food.source
  • 1184May – Berber forces under Ali Banu Ghaniya seize the Almohad cities of Algiers, Béjaïa and Constantine by surprise. While he is away from his base in Mallorca, one of his brothers, Muhammad, takes control of the island and calls in the Almohads, who intend to capture Mallorca for themselves. Banu Ghaniya arrives just in time to defeat the Almohads and recapture the island.source
  • 1184May – A serious fire damages Glastonbury Abbey and destroys several buildings.source
  • 1188May – Saladin besieges the Hospitaller fortress of Krak des Chevaliers, in Syria. Seeing that the castle is too well defended, instead he decides to march on the Castle of Margat, which he also fails to capture.source
  • 1192Constance, Holy Roman Empress is released by Tancred, King of Sicily under the pressure of Pope Celestine III in May, and returns to Germany in June.source
  • 1193May – The Pisan colony at Tyre plots to seize the city, and hand it over to Guy of Lusignan – the ruler of Cyprus. King Henry I of Jerusalem arrests the ringleaders, and orders that the colony be reduced to only 30 people. The Pisans retaliate, by raiding the coastal villages between Tyre and Acre.source
  • 1194May – Richard I calls for a council in Nottingham to raise funds for an expedition to France. On May 12, he leaves for Normandy with a large fleet (some 300 ships), to reclaim lands lost to King Philip II of France ("Augustus").source

13th century

  • 1202April–May – The bulk of the Crusader army gathers at Venice, although with far smaller numbers than expected: about 12,000 men (4–5,000 knights and 8,000 soldiers) instead of 33,500 men. Several contingents decide to make their own way to the Holy Land by different routes. A Crusader fleet, sailing from Flanders, carrying supplies for the Counts Baldwin IX and his brother Henry of Flanders, winters in Marseille, but is slowed by adverse weather. Later it sails on to the Middle East, along with other contingents from southern France.source
  • 1203May – June – The Crusader fleet rounds Greece and stops at Negroponte (modern-day Halkis), where the local authorities submit to Alexios Angelos. Encouraged by this, the Crusader leaders send him and several ships to extend his authority over the neighboring island of Andros. Mid-June, the Crusader fleet sails from Greece to Abydos, where it enters the Dardanelles.source
  • 1209May – The First Parliament of Ravennika, convened by Emperor Henry of Flanders, is held in the town of Ravennika in Greece, in an attempt to resolve the rebellion of the Lombard nobles of the Kingdom of Thessalonica. Henry pardons Lord Amédée Pofey (or Buffois), and reinvests with his fief, while the other nobles persist in their rebellion and keep to their castles. After receiving imperial recognition, Geoffrey I of Villehardouin becomes Henry's vassal, thereby subordinating Achaea directly to Constantinople.source
  • 1210May – The Second Parliament of Ravennika, convened by Emperor Henry of Flanders, is held in the town of Ravennika (in modern Greece), in order to resolve the differences between the princes of Frankish Greece, and the Roman Catholic clergy of their domains. The assembled nobles and prelates conclude a concordat, which recognizes the independence and immunity of all Church property in Frankish Greece from any feudal duties.source
  • 1223Late May – The Mongol army under Subutai and Jebe establishes a defensive position on the Kalka River. Increasing disagreements amongst the Russian princes, about the wisdom of continuing to pursue the Mongols deeper into the steppes. By the end of May, the allied forces reach the banks of the Kalka River. The Polovtsian vanguard is way ahead of the rest of the Russian army, which gives them a triumphant feeling. Meanwhile, Subutai and Jebe set up a trap against the Russian forces.source
  • 1241May – Battle of Giglio: an Imperial fleet defeats a Genoan fleet in the Tyrrhenian Sea.source
  • 1251May – English governor Simon de Montfort suppresses a revolt in Gascony.source
  • 1255May – William of Rubruck from Constantinople returns to Cyprus from his missionary journey to convert the Mongols of central and eastern Asia; his efforts have been unsuccessful.source
  • 1260May – Marie of Brabant, Holy Roman Empress, wife of Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor (alternative date is June)source
  • 1296May – William de Valence, 1st Earl of Pembrokesource

14th century

  • 1318May – Having captured Berwick-upon-Tweed, Scottish forces under King Robert the Bruce raid Yorkshire and burn Northallerton, Boroughbridge and Knaresborough (where some 140 houses are destroyed). They also terrorize the citizens of Ripon, who are spared destruction, on payment of 1,000 marks.source
  • 1345May – The Turks, led by Umur Beg, sail from Asia Minor to the Balkan Peninsula, and raid Bulgarian territory.source
  • 1346May–June – An English invasion fleet assembles at Portsmouth.source
  • 1349May – The Black Death ceases in Ireland.source
  • 1355May – Guo Zixing, Chinese Red Turban rebel leadersource
  • 1355May – Red Turban Rebellions: Guo Zixing dies, leaving his forces to the command of his son-in-law, Zhu Yuanzhang. Guo's successors are later killed in battle while trying to capture Nanjing.source
  • 1369May – King Charles V of France renounces the Treaty of Brétigny, and war is declared between France and England.source
  • 1371May – Under the direction of Zhu Yuanzhang, the Emperor Hongwu, the Ming conquest of Xia begins as troops from China, led by Generals Fu Youde and Tang He invade what is now the Sichuan province from the north, while Admiral Liao Yongzhong leads an attack on Xia's east coast and along the Yangtze river.source
  • 1377May – Algirdas, Grand Prince of Lithuaniasource
  • 1384May – William Douglas, 1st Earl of Douglas, Scottish magnate (b.c. 1327)source

15th century

  • 1404April or May – Battle of Blackpool Sands: Local English forces defeat an attempted raid from Saint-Malo on the port of Dartmouth, Devon; the French commander, William du Chastel, is killed.source
  • 1421May – Balša III, ruler of Zetasource
  • 1426March / May – Thomas Hoccleve, English poet (b. c. 1368)source
  • 1449May – An English privateering fleet led by Robert Wennington challenges ships of the Hanseatic League.source
  • 1449May – Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, Lord of the Islessource
  • 1486May – Louis I, Count of Montpensier (b. 1405)source
  • 1491May – The Ottoman–Mamluk War (1485–1491) between the Ottoman Empire and the Egyptian Mamluks ends.source
  • 1493May – Pietro Antonio Solari, Italian architect (b. 1450)source
  • 1494May – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, recognises the pretender Perkin Warbeck as rightful King of England.source
  • 1497May – The Cornish Rebellion breaks out in England, incited by war taxes.source
  • 1498May – In "early May", the John Cabot expedition departs from Bristol on a second expedition westward to find a sea route between England and Japan.source

16th century

  • 1513May – Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares and his crew land on Lintin Island, in the Pearl River estuary, near Guangzhou, becoming the first Europeans to arrive in China by sea.source
  • 1521April or May – Battle of Tunmen in Tuen Mun (present-day Hong Kong): The Ming Dynasty navy defeats the Portuguese navy (arguably the first Sino-European battle in world history).source
  • 1523May – The Ningbo incident: Two rival trade delegations from Japan feud in the Chinese city of Ningbo, resulting in the pillage and plunder of the city.source
  • 1532May – Elizabeth Stafford, Countess of Sussexsource
  • 1568Álvaro I succeeds his stepfather Henrique I as ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo forming the Kwilu dynasty that rules the kingdom without interruption until May 1622.source
  • 1580May – The Lipizzan stud is established by Charles II, Archduke of Austria.source
  • 1596May – Janet Fockart, Scottish merchant and moneylendersource
  • 1598May – Tycho Brahe's star catalogue Astronomiæ instauratæ mechanica, listing the positions of 1,004 stars, is published.source

17th century

  • 1619May – John Overall, English bishop (b. 1559)source
  • 1622May – Huguenot rebellions: The Huguenot city of Royan is taken by royal forces, after a short siege.source
  • 1624May – The first Dutch settlers arrive in New Netherland; they disembark at Governors Island.source
  • 1637May – Chinese encyclopedist Song Yingxing publishes his Tiangong Kaiwu ("Exploitation of the Works of Nature"), considered one of the most valuable encyclopedias of classical China.source
  • 1662May – The last credible report of a sighting of the dodo bird, now extinct, is made by Volkert Evertsz, a survivor of the shipwreck of the Dutch ship Arnhem, which struck reefs on February 12. The survivors had made their way in a small boat to Ile d'Ambre, an island in the Indian Ocean 200 km northeast of Mauritius. When rescued by the English ship Truroe in May, Evertsz reports that he and his group had survived by eating the local wildlife, including the dodo.source
  • 1676February 10 – After the Nipmuc tribe attacks Lancaster, Massachusetts, colonist Mary Rowlandson is taken captive, and lives with the Indians until May.source
  • 1680May – The volcano Krakatoa erupts, probably on a relatively small scale.source
  • 1700May – In Rhode Island (American colony), Walter Clarke, three-term former Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, is elected deputy governor for the second time, serving under his brother-in-law Samuel Cranston.source

18th century

  • 1742May – In Peru, Juan Santos takes the name Atahualpa II, and begins an ill-fated rebellion against Spanish rule. Father Domingo Garcia sends the first report of the rebellion to his superiors on June 2.source
  • 1771May – Three battles of Sarbakusa: An alliance of three of the most powerful aristocrats of Ethiopia (Goshu of Amhara, Wand Bewossen and Fasil of Damot) defeats Ras Mikael Sehul and Emperor Tekle Haymanot II, taking control of Ethiopia.source
  • 1779Boulton and Watt's Smethwick Engine, now the oldest working engine in the world, is brought into service (May).source
  • 1787May – Orangist troops attack Vreeswijk, Harmelen and Maarssen; civil war starts in the Dutch Republic.source
  • 1788August 8 – King Louis XVI agrees to convene the Estates-General meeting in May 1789, the first time since 1614.source
  • 1795May–June – The Battle of Richmond Hill is fought in the colony of New South Wales, between the Darug people and British colonial forces.source

19th century

  • 1803May – First Consul of France, Citizen Bonaparte, begins making preparations to invade England.source
  • 1825May – History of Brisbane: The Australian city of Brisbane is founded.source
  • 1831May–June – Merthyr Rising: Coal miners and others riot in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, for improved working conditions.source
  • 1837May – W. F. Cooke and Charles Wheatstone patent an electrical telegraph system.source
  • 1841May – The Sino-Sikh War begins.source
  • 1845May – Frederick Douglass's autobiographical Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave is published by the Boston Anti-Slavery Society.source
  • 1846May – The Associated Press is founded in New York.source
  • 1847May – The Architectural Association School of Architecture is founded in London.source
  • 1851Mid-May to mid-July – Great Flood of 1851: Extensive flooding sweeps across the Midwestern United States. The town of Des Moines is virtually washed away, and many rainfall records hold for 160 years.source
  • 1858May–July – Mahtra War: Peasants in the Governorate of Estonia, Russian Empire revolt against ongoing serfdom, which was officially abolished in 1816.source
  • 1858May (unknown date) – Japanese trading company Itochu founded in Toyosato, Shiga Prefecture, Japan.source
  • 1869May – In elections in France, the opposition, consisting of republicans, monarchists and liberals, polls almost 45% of the vote.source
  • 1872May – Rangers F.C., founded in March as an Association football club in Glasgow (Scotland) by brothers Moses and Peter McNeil, Peter Campbell and William McBeath, play their first ever game on the public pitches of Glasgow Green, a 0 to 0 draw against Callander.source
  • 1873May – Henry Rose exhibits barbed wire at an Illinois county fair, which is taken up by Joseph Glidden and Jacob Haish, who invent a machine to mass-produce it.source
  • 1889May – The first case of the 1889–1890 pandemic of is reported in the city of Bukhara in the Central Asian part of the Russian Empire.source
  • 1891May – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad claims to be the Promised Messiah (the second coming of Jesus) and the Mahdi awaited in Islam.source
  • 1893May – The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland is formed.source
  • 1894May – Third plague pandemic: Bubonic plague breaks out in the Tai Ping Shan area of Hong Kong (by the end of the year, the death toll is 2,552 people); it also breaks out this year in Canton.source

20th century

  • 1902May – Harriet Abbott Lincoln Coolidge, American philanthropist, author and reformer (b. 1849)source
  • 1927May – Philo Farnsworth of the United States transmits his first experimental electronic television motion pictures, as opposed to the electromechanical TV systems that others have used before.source
  • 1942May – Operation Pluto: The plan to construct oil pipelines under the English Channel, between England and France, is tested in the River Medway.source
  • 1944May – Jean-Paul Sartre's existentialist drama No Exit (Huis Clos) premières in Nazi-occupied Paris.source
  • 1948May – The RAND Corporation is established, as an independent nonprofit policy research and analysis institution, in the United States.source

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