| 1541 |
|
Hernando
de Soto discovers the Mississippi
River which he calls Rio de Espiritu
Santo. |
| 1559 |
|
An
act of supremacy defines Queen
Elizabeth I as the supreme governor
of the church of England. |
| 1794 |
|
The
United States Post Office is
established. |
| 1846 |
|
The
first major battle of the Mexican
War is fought at Palo Alto, Texas. |
| 1862 |
|
General
'Stonewall' Jackson repulses the
Federals at the Battle of McDowell,
in the Shenendoah Valley. |
| 1864 |
|
Union
troops arrive at Spotsylvania Court
House to find the Confederates
waiting for them. |
| 1886 |
|
Atlanta
pharmacist John Pemberton invents
Coca Cola. |
| 1895 |
|
China
cedes Taiwan to Japan under Treaty
of Shimonoseki. |
| 1904 |
|
U.S.
Marines land in Tangier, North
Africa, to protect the Belgian
legation. |
| 1919 |
|
The
first transatlantic flight by a navy
seaplane takes-off. |
| 1933 |
|
Hahatma
Gandhi begins a hunger strike to
protest British oppression in India. |
| 1940 |
|
German
commandos in Dutch uniforms cross
the Dutch border to hold bridges for
the advancing German army. |
| 1942 |
|
The
Battle of the Coral Sea between the
Japanese Navy and the U.S. Navy
ends. |
| 1945 |
|
The
final surrender of German forces is
celebrated as VE (Victory Europe)
day. |
| 1952 |
|
Allied
fighter-bombers stage the largest
raid of the war on North Korea. |
| 1958 |
|
President
Eisenhower orders the National Guard
out of Little Rock as Ernest Green
becomes the first black to graduate
from an Arkansas public school. |
| 1967 |
|
Boxer
Muhammad Ali is indicted for
refusing induction in U.S. Army. |
| 1984 |
|
The
Soviet Union announces it will not
participate in Summer Olympics
planned for Los Angeles. |
| 1995 |
|
Jacques
Chirac is elected president of
France. |
Born on May 8 |
| 1668 |
|
Alain
Rene Lesage, French writer (The
Adventures of Gil Blas, Turcaret). |
| 1753 |
|
Miguel
Hidalgo, Mexican nationalist. |
| 1828 |
|
Jean
Henri Dunant, Swiss philanthropist,
founder of the Red Cross and YMCA,
first recipient (jointly) of the
Nobel Peace Prize. |
| 1829 |
|
Louis
Moreau Gottschalk, American pianist. |
| 1884 |
|
Harry
S. Truman, 33rd President of the
United States (1945-1953). |
| 1895 |
|
Edmund
Wilson, American critic and
essayist. |
| 1906 |
|
Roberto
Rossellini, Italian film director. |
| 1910 |
|
Mary
Lou Williams, jazz pianist and
composer. |
| 1920 |
|
Sloan
Wilson, American author (The man
in the Gray Flannel Suit, A
Summer Place). |
| 1928 |
|
Theodore
Sorenson, advisor to John F.
Kennedy. |
| 1930 |
|
Gary
Snyder, beat poet. |
| 1937 |
|
Thomas
Pynchon, novelist (Gravity's
Rainbow). |
| 1940 |
|
Peter
Benchley, novelist (Jaws, The
Deep). |
| 1952 |
|
Beth
Henley, Pulitzer Prize-winning
playwright (Crimes of the Heart). |
