On This Day In History
Did You Know?
Canada’s North West Mounted Police Force forms (it didn’t get the “Royal” until 1904)
Today in History in 1873
Would You Believe?
Chinese archaeologists announce findings of earliest use of barley in China to make beer, Shaanxi province 3400-2900 BC
Today in History in 2016
May 24th
1595 Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library
1738 John Wesley is converted, launching the Methodist movement; celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day
1844 Samuel Morse taps out “What hath God wrought” in the world’s first telegraph message
1941 German battleship Bismarck sinks the British battle cruiser HMS Hood; 1,416 die, 3 survive
1988 Section 28 passed as law by Parliament in the United Kingdom prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality. Repealed 2001/2004
Did You Know?
American management consultant Marilyn Loden first coins the term “glass ceiling” to describe invisible career barriers for women
Today in History in 1978
Would You Believe?
In the Judgment of Paris, wine testers rate wines from California higher than their French counterparts, challenging the notion of France being the foremost producer of the world’s best wines
Today in History in 1976
May 25th
1720 The Ship “Le Grand St Antoine” reaches Marseille, bringing Europe’s last major plague outbreak. Kills around 100,000.
1810 In the May Revolution, citizens of Buenos Aires expel the Spanish Viceroy Cisneros during Semana de Mayo
1914 British House of Commons passes the Irish Home Rule Bill
1961 JFK announces US goal of putting a man on the Moon before the end of decade
2020 Video of African American George Floyd‘s arrest and murder while restrained in Minneapolis police custody shows he was pinned to the ground by police officer Derek Chauvin’s knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, ignites widespread condemnation and nationwide protests
2021 US CDC says half of all US adults are now fully vaccinated, with 61% having had their first shot
Did You Know?
Hands Across America – 6.5 million people hold hands from California to NY
Today in History in 1986
Would You Believe?
32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer, of Boulder, Colorado, becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest
Today in History in 2001
May 26th
1896 Dow Jones index begins with an average of 12 industrial stocks (closing is 40.94)
1908 At Masjed Soleyman (مسجد سليمان) in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made, rights acquired by the United Kingdom
1927 Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company produce the last (and 15th million) Model T Ford / Tin Lizzie
1948 South Africa elects a nationalist government under D. F. Malan with an apartheid policy
2004 The United States Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.
Did You Know?
“Dracula” by Irish author Bram Stoker is published by Archibald Constable and Company in London
Today in History in 1897
Would You Believe?
George Willig climbs the South Tower of NYC’s World Trade Center, famously fined 1 cent for each of 110 stories he climbed
Today in History in 1977
May 27th
1679 Habeas Corpus Act passes in England, strengthening a person’s right to challenge unlawful arrest and imprisonment
1703 Saint Petersburg (Leningrad) founded by Russian Tsar Peter the Great
1873 Heinrich Schliemann discovers “Priam’s Treasure” a cache of gold and other objects in Hisarlik (Troy) in Anatolia
1905 Japanese fleet destroys the Russian East Sea fleet in the Battle of Tsushima, the only decisive clash between modern steel battleships in history
1940 British and Allied forces begin the evacuation of Dunkirk (Operation Dynamo) during WWII
1963 Jomo Kenyatta elected 1st Prime Minister of Kenya
1999 The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo
2006 Earthquake strikes Java, Indonesia at 5:53:58 AM local time (22:53:58 UTC May 26) devastating Bantul and the city of Yogyakarta, killing over 6,600 people
Did You Know?
The 1,046-foot (319-meter) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public
Today in History in 1930
Would You Believe?
English playwright William Shakespeare reported to have died after receiving COVID-19 vaccine by Argentine news channel Chanal 26 (case of mistaken identity, the Bard died in 1616)
Today in History in 2021
May 28th
585 BC Solar eclipse, as predicted by Greek philosopher Thales, while Lydians at war with the Medes leads to a truce. One of the cardinal dates from which other dates calculated.
1431 Joan of Arc is accused of relapsing into heresy by donning male clothing again, providing justification for her execution
1588 Spanish Armada under the Duke of Medina-Sidonia departs Lisbon to invade England
1830 US President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, a key law leading to the forced removal of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole tribes out of Georgia and surrounding states, setting the stage for the Cherokee Trail of Tears
1936 Alan Turing submits “On Computable Numbers” for publication, in which he set out the theoretical basis for modern computers.
1972 White House “plumbers” first break in at the Democratic National Headquarters and install listening devices at Watergate Complex in Washington, D.C.
Did You Know?
Near Callander, Ontario, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Olivia and Elzire Dionne, later becoming the first quintuplets to survive infancy
Today in History in 1934
Would You Believe?
Monkeys Able & Baker zoom 300 miles (500 km) into space on Jupiter missile, become 1st animals retrieved from a space mission
Today in History in 1959
May 29th
1453 Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire falls to the Turks under Mehmed II; ends the Byzantine Empire
1592 Battle of Sacheon: Korean navy led by Admiral Yi Sun Shin repels a Japanese fleet – first use of Korean Turtle ship
1660 On his 30th birthday Charles II returns to London from exile in the Netherlands to claim the English throne after the Puritan Commonwealth comes to an end
1851 Sojourner Truth addresses 1st Black Women’s Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio
1953 Edmund Hillary (NZ) and Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) are first to reach the summit of Mount Everest as part of a British Expedition
Did You Know?
American chemist John Pemberton begins to advertise Coca-Cola
Today in History in 1886
Would You Believe?
15 young women are fired by Curtis Publishing in Philadelphia for dancing the “Turkey Trot” during their lunch break
Today in History in 1912