Events 1153 - Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland 1487 - Imposter Lambert Simnel is crowned as "King Edward VI" at Dublin 1626 - Peter Minuit buys Manhattan 1689 - The Act of Toleration passes the English Parliament protecting Protestants (Roman Catholics are intentionally excluded). 1738 - The Methodist Church is established 1787 - The United States Constitutional Convention is convened after a quorum of delegates arrives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1798 - Irish nationalists rebel against British occupation forces believing that French troops were going to invade Ireland. 1810 - Argentina beings its revolt against Spain 1822 - Battle of Pichincha: Simón Bolívar secures the independence of Quito. 1844 - First electrical telegram sent by Samuel F. B. Morse from Baltimore, Maryland to Washington, D.C, saying "What hath God wrought?". 1846 - Mexican-American War: General Zachary Taylor captures Monterrey, Mexico 1861 - American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia 1883 - The Brooklyn Bridge is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction. 1895 - Henry Irving becomes the first personage from the theater to be knighted 1895 - Playright Oscar Wilde is convicted on a morals charge in London and is sentenced to prison 1899 - The first public parking garage in the United States is opened in Boston, Massachusetts 1900 - Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State 1915 - World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary 1930 - Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Australia becoming the first woman to fly from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight). 1935 - Babe Ruth, in a Boston Braves uniform, hits the 714th and final home run of his career 1939 - The Cocoanuts, the first film to star the Marx Brothers, opens 1940 - Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight. 1941 - World War II: In the North Atlantic, the German battleship Bismarck sinks the HMS Hood killing all but three crewman on what was the pride of the Royal Navy. 1943 - Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer in Auschwitz concentration camp. 1956 - In Lugano, Switzerland the first Eurovision Song Contest is held. 1958 - United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service 1961 - American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus. 1962 - Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule. 1968 - Students set fire to the Paris bourse 1968 - The Gateway Arch, in St. Louis, Missouri, is dedicated 1974 - After a nine year run, the Dean Martin Show airs for the last time. 1976 - Washington, DC Concorde service begins. 1980 - The International Court of Justice calls for the release of United States embassy hostages in Tehran. 1988 - Section 28 is passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom. 1993 - Eritrea gains its independence from Ethiopia. 1993 - Microsoft unveils Windows NT 2001 - Mountain climbing: 15-year-old Sherpa Temba Tsheri becomes the youngest person to climb to the top of Mount Everest. Births 1544 - William Gilbert (+ 1603) 1616 - John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale, (+ 1682) 1619 - Philips Wouwerman, painter (+ 1668) 1650 - John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough 1743 - Jean-Paul Marat, writer (+ 1793) 1794 - William Whewell, philosopher (+ 1866) 1810 - Abraham Geiger, rabbi and scholar (+ 1874) 1811 - Charles Clark, Governor of Mississippi 1816 - Emanuel Leutze, painter of Washington Crossing the Delaware (+ 1868) 1819 - Queen Victoria (+ 1901) 1831 - Richard Hoffman, pianist 1855 - Arthur Wing Pinero, painter (+ 1934) 1858 - Johan C Braakensiek, political cartoonist 1863 - George Grey Barnard, American sculptor 1866 - Armando Frid (+ 1990) 1870 - Jan Christian Smuts (+ 1950) 1878 - Lillian Moller Gilbreth, mother of modern management (+ 1972) 1886 - Paul Paray, conductor, composer (+ 1979) 1889 - Igor Sikorsky, inventor, flight pioneer (+ 1972) 1891 - William F. Albright, American archeologist and Biblical scholar 1893 - Walter Baade, astronomer 1899 - Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player 1905 - Zdenek Blazek, composer (+ 1988) 1909 - Wilbur Mills, United States politician 1910 - Nils-Eric Fougstedt (+ 1961) 1912 - Joan Hammond, soprano 1913 - Willi Daume, Olympic organizer (+ 1996) 1914 - Lilli Palmer, actress (+ 1986) 1917 - John Robert Russell, Duke of Bedford (+ 2002) 1922 or 1923 - Siobhan McKenna, actress (+ 1986) 1925 - Mai Zetterling, entertainer (+ 1994) 1928 - Stanley Baxter, actor 1928 - William Trevor, writer 1930 - Hans-Martin Linde, conductor 1934 - Jane Byrne, former mayor of Chicago, Illinois 1935 - Joan Micklin Silver, director, writer 1936 - Harold Budd, musician 1938 - Tommy Chong, actor, comedian 1940 - Joseph Brodsky, poet 1941 - Bob Dylan (aka Robert Allen Zimmerman) 1942 - Derek Quinn, musician 1943 - Gary Burghoff, actor 1944 - Arthur Brown, musician 1944 - Patti LaBelle, singer 1944 - Frank Oz, puppeteer, writer, producer, actor, director 1945 - Priscilla Presley, actress 1946 - Irena Kirszenstein-Szewinska, Polish athlete 1949 - Jim Broadbent, actor 1953 - Alfred Molina, actor 1955 - Rosanne Cash, singer 1960 - Kristin Scott Thomas, actress 1962 - Bev Lidyoff, volleyball player 1965 - John C. Reilly, actor 1966 - Eric Cantona, French footballerer 1967 - Heavy D, rap musician, actor 1979 - Tracy McGrady, basketball player 1988 - Billy Gilman, singer Deaths (not all cross-checked) 1153 - King David I of Scotland 1543 - Nicolas Copernicus, astronomer 1612 - Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, 1st Viscount Cranborne 1848 - Annette von Droste-Hülshoff 1879 - William Lloyd Garrison, ist, writer, publisher 1883 - Abdel Kadir, Algerian leader 1903 - Marcel Renault, automobile racer 1924 - Victor Herbert, operetta composer 1950 - Archibald Wavell, general 1959 - John Foster Dulles, United States Secretary of State 1963 - Elmore James, writer 1969 - Willy Ley, rocket scientist 1974 - Duke Ellington, composer, musician 1981 - George Jessel, vaudevillian 1995 - Harold Wilson, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1997 - Edward Mulhare, actor 2003 - Lady Rachel Kempson, actress Holidays and Observances See Also: May 23 - May 25 - April 24 - June 24 -- listing of all days January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
May 23 - May 25 - April 24 - June 24 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December