EVENTS
- 1431 – Joan of Arc is burned at the stake.
- 1539 – Hernando de Soto lands in Florida with the hope of finding gold.
- 1783 – The Pennsylvania Evening Post became the first daily newspaper published in America.
- 1868 – Memorial Day is observed in the United States for the first time.
- 1911 – The first Indianapolis 500 auto race.
- 1922 – In Washington, D.C., the Lincoln Memorial is dedicated.
Lincoln Memorial - 1943 – During World War II in the Pacific, the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska were retaken by the U.S. 7th Infantry Division. The battle began on May 12 when an American force of 11,000 landed on Attu. In three weeks of fighting U.S. casualties numbered 552 killed and 1,140 wounded. Japanese killed numbered 2,352, with only 28 taken prisoner, as 500 chose suicide rather than be captured.
- 1961 – The Dominican dictator, Rafael Trujillo, is assassinated. El Jefe had been the Dominican Republic’s President for 31 years. Despite the assassination, the intended removal of the dictatorship in the Caribbean country failed as the ruler’s son, Ramfis Trujillo, soon stepped into his father’s shoes.
- 1962 – Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem is premiered. The work was performed for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, which had been destroyed in World War II. It juxtaposes the traditional Latin Mass for the Dead with war poems by Wilfred Owen.
- 1967 – The Republic of Biafra is proclaimed. The short-lived state consisted of Nigeria’s Eastern Region. Its secession sparked the Nigerian Civil War, which lasted until 1970 and resulted in the region’s re-integration into Nigeria.
- 1967 – Daredevil Evel Knievel jumps his motorcycle over 16 cars lined-up in a row.
- 2011 – Germany abandons nuclear energy. The government’s decision followed the nuclear meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima power plant and years of hands-on protests and activism by Germany powerful anti-nuclear movement.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1672 – Founder of the Russian empire Peter the Great (1672-1725) was born near Moscow
Peter the Great - 1814 – Mikhail Bakunin (Russian philosopher, theorist)
- 1846 – Peter Carl Fabergé (Russian goldsmith, jeweler)
- 1908 – Mel Blanc (Voice Actor of Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny)
- 1918 – Bob Evans (Restaurant owner)
- 1943 – Gale Sayers (Football Player)
- 1949 – Bob Willis (English cricketer)
- 1972 – Manny Ramirez (Baseball Player)
- 1964 – Winonna Judd (Singer)
- 1980 – Steven Gerrard (Soccer player)
DEATHS
- 1431 – Joan of Arc
- 1640 – Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish painter)
- 1778 – Voltaire (French philosopher)
Voltaire - 1960 – Boris Pasternak (Russian author, poet, Nobel Prize laureate)
- 1993 – Sun Ra (American pianist, composer, bandleader, poet)
