| 1602 |
|
English
navigator Bartholomew Gosnold
discovers Cape Cod. |
| 1614 |
|
An
aristocratic uprising in
France ends with treaty of St.
Menehould. |
| 1618 |
|
Johannes
Kepler discovers his harmonics
law. |
| 1702 |
|
The
War of Spanish Succession
begins. |
| 1730 |
|
Following
the resignation of Lord
Townshend, Robert Walpole
becomes the sole minister in
the English cabinet. |
| 1768 |
|
By
the Treaty of Versailles,
France purchases Corsica from
Genoa. |
| 1795 |
|
Napoleon
enters the Lombardian capital
of Milan in triumph. |
| 1820 |
|
The
U.S. Congress designates the
slave trade a form of piracy. |
| 1849 |
|
Neapolitan
troops enter Palermo, Sicily. |
| 1862 |
|
The
Union ironclad Monitor
and the gunboat Galena
fire on Confederate troops at
the Battle of Drewry's Bluff,
Virginia. |
| 1864 |
|
At
the Battle of New Market,
Virginia Military Institute
cadets repel a Union attack. |
| 1886 |
|
Emily
Dickinson dies in Amherst,
Mass., where she had lived in
seclusion for the previous 24
years. |
| 1916 |
|
U.S.
Marines land in Santo Domingo
to quell civil disorder. |
| 1918 |
|
Pfc.
Henry Johnson and Pfc. Needham
Roberts receive the Croix de
Guerre for their services in
World War I. They are the
first Americans to win
France's highest military
medal. |
| 1930 |
|
Ellen
Church becomes the first
airline stewardess. |
| 1942 |
|
The
United States begins rationing
gasoline. |
| 1958 |
|
Sputnik
III is launched by the
Soviet Union. |
| 1963 |
|
The
last Project Mercury space
flight, carrying Gordon
Cooper, is launched. |
| 1968 |
|
U.S.
Marines relieve army troops in
Nhi Ha, South Vietnam after a
fourteen-day battle. |
| 1972 |
|
George
Wallace is shot by Arthur
Bremer in Laurel, Maryland. |
| 1975 |
|
The
merchant ship Mayaguez
is recaptured from Cambodia's
Khmer Rouge. |
| 1988 |
|
Soviets
forces begin their withdrawal
from Afghanistan. |
Born on May 15 |
| 1773 |
|
Prince
Clemens Von Metternich,
Chancellor of Austria. |
| 1856 |
|
Lyman
Frank Baum, author (The
Wonderful Wizard of Oz). |
| 1858 |
|
Emily
Folger, Shakespeare scholar. |
| 1859 |
|
Pierre
Curie, physicist. |
| 1860 |
|
Ellen
Louise Axson Wilson, first
wife of President Woodrow
Wilson. |
| 1890 |
|
Katherine
Anne Porter, novelist (Ship
of Fools). |
| 1891 |
|
Mikhail
Bulgakov, Russian novelist (Notes
of a Dead Man, Heart of
a Dog). |
| 1902 |
|
Richard
Daley, mayor of Chicago
through the 1960s and early
1970's. |
| 1923 |
|
Richard
Avedon, photographer. |
| 1926 |
|
Anthony
Shaffer, English playwright (Sleuth),
twin brother of Peter Shaffer. |
| 1926 |
|
Peter
Shaffer, English playwright (Equus,
Amadeus), twin brother
of Anthony Shaffer. |
| 1930 |
|
Jasper
Johns, Jr., painter, leader of
the Pop Art movement. |
