EVENTS
- 1065 – Westminster Abbey is consecrated.
- 1832 – John C. Calhoun becomes the first Vice President of the United States to resign.
- 1836 – South Australia becomes a British colony. The central southern state of Australia was first established as a province in 1834 by the British Parliament under the South Australia Act. The day was observed as Proclamation Day in the state, which was later turned into an extra holiday after Christmas Day.
- 1846 – Iowa becomes the 29th U.S. state.
- 1885 – Indian National Congress founded. The party is one of the two main political parties in India. Created by the members of the Theosophical Society, the party was a major player in India’s independence movement against the British. After Independence, the first Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru belonged to the INC.
- 1945 – The U.S. Congress officially recognizes the Pledge of Allegiance.
- 1947 – Victor Emmanuel III, the last King of Italy, died while in exile in Alexandria, Egypt. He had become king upon the assassination of his father in 1900. Following World War I, he named Benito Mussolini to form a cabinet and then failed to prevent Mussolini’s Fascists from seizing power. In 1946, he abdicated and went into exile.
- 1968 – Israel raid on Beirut Airport. The Israeli Defence Forces mounted a special operation, also known as Operation Gift, on Beirut Airport. The raid was in retaliation to the attack on El Al Flight 253, which was en route from Tel Aviv to New York. During its layover in Athens, Greece, two Palestinians fired at passengers and crew and killed 1 person. In retaliation, Israel destroyed several passenger and cargo planes parked at Beirut Airport. There were no fatalities during the raid.
- 1972 – Kim il Sung becomes first president of North Korea. Kim Il-sung became the first and only president of South Korea under an amended constitution. He was elected to the post by the members of the North Korean parliament, which is also known as the Supreme People’s Assembly. The post was abolished in 1998, and Kim II-sung was given the title of Eternal President of Korea.
- 2007 – Nepal abolishes monarchy. The amendment to the Nepalese constitution that declared the country a federal republic was passed by the parliament. The transition was completed on May 28, 2008 – Established in 1768 by Prithvi Narayan Shah, the Kingdom of Nepal lasted for over 200 years. Nepal is the world’s only country with Hinduism as the state religion.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1856 – Woodrow Wilson (28th President of the United States)
- 1903 – Earl Hines (American pianist)
- 1903 – John von Neumann (Hungarian/American mathematician)
- 1934 – Maggie Smith (English actress)
- 1954 – Denzel Washington (Actor)
- 1962 – Michel Petrucciani (French/American pianist)
- 1981 – Sienna Miller (Actress)
- 1982 – Cedric Benson (Football Player)
- 1990 – David Archuleta (Singer)
DEATHS
- 1937 – Maurice Ravel (French composer)
- 1959 – Ante Pavelić (Croatian politician)
- 1984 – Sam Peckinpah (American director, screenwriter)
- 2004 – Susan Sontag (American author)
- 2015 – Lemmy (English singer-songwriter, bass player, actor)