Today in History

Month

May 14

State of Israel is proclaimed

On May 14, 1948, according to the current-era calendar, the independent state of Israel was proclaimed in Tel Aviv by David Ben-Gurion, who became its first prime minister; U.S. President Harry S. Truman immediately recognized the new nation.

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May 13

Pope John Paul II shot and wounded

On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter’s Square by Turkish assailant Mehmet Ali Agca (MEH’-met AH’-lee AH’-juh).

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A Chinese earthquake survivor walks through the ruins of his neighborhood near the town of Hongbai of Shifang county, in China's southwest Sichuan province Friday, May 23, 2008. The May 12 quake killed more than 55,000, and more than 5 million people in Sichuan province remain homeless. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)

May 12

More than 87,000 dead or missing in China earthquake

On May 12, 2008, a devastating 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China’s Sichuan province left more than 87,000 people dead or missing.

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Jamaican Reggae singer Bob Marley performs on stage during a concert in Bourget, Paris, on July 3, 1980. (AP Photo/Jacques Langevin)

May 11

Bob Marley dies at 36

On May 11, 1981, legendary reggae artist Bob Marley died in a Miami hospital at age 36 of acral lentiginous melanoma, a skin cancer that is rare but the most common type found among people of color.

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May 10

Nazis invade Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France

On May 10, 1940, during World War II, German forces began invading the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium and France. The same day, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain resigned, and Winston Churchill formed a new government.

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A smiling Nelson Mandela, South Africa's President-elect, waves to the large crowd gathered on the Grand Parade in Central Cape Town Monday May 9, 1994. Mr. Mandela, who is to be formally inaugurated on Tuesday, earlier pledged his allegiance in parliament. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

May 09

Nelson Mandela chosen to lead South Africa

On May 9, 1994, South Africa’s newly elected parliament chose Nelson Mandela to be the country’s first Black president.

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A praise-singer leads the way as Cyril Ramaphosa, center left, head of the Constitutional Assembly, his deputy Leon Wessels, center, right, and President Nelson Mandela, behind, arrive at the Constitutional Assembly in Cape Town Wednesday May 8, 1996. South Africa adopted a new constitution that guarantees equal rights and majority rule and completes the transformation from the injustice of apartheid to a liberal democracy.(AP Photo/Anna Zieminski/POOL)

May 08

South Africa adopts constitution guaranteeing equal rights

On May 8, 1996, South Africa took another step from apartheid to democracy by adopting a constitution that guaranteed equal rights for Blacks and whites.

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British civilians and Allied service men and women gather, as part of a huge crowd, outside Rainbow Corner, the American Red Cross club, near Piccadilly Circus, London, May 7, 1945, to hear the final announcement of Germany's total surrender. (AP Photo)

May 07

Nazi Germany surrenders

On May 7, 1945, Nazi Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Rheims (rams), France, ending its role in World War II.

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FILE - In this May 6, 1937 file photo, the German dirigible Hindenburg crashes to earth in flames after exploding at the U.S. Naval Station in Lakehurst, N.J. (AP Photo/Murray Becker, File)

May 06

The Hindenburg crashes in flames in New Jersey, killing 36

On May 6, 1937, the hydrogen-filled German airship Hindenburg caught fire and crashed while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey; 35 of the 97 people on board were killed along with a crewman on the ground.

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Astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr., the first American to journey into space, peers into his Freedom 7 space capsule after it is recovered from the Atlantic Ocean and taken aboard the aircraft carrier USS Lake Champlain, May 5, 1961. The Freedom 7 (MR-7) spacecraft was launched by a Redstone vehicle at 9:34 a.m. EST. Shepard's flight, return from space, the splashdown at sea and recovery were seen on television by millions of viewers around the world. (AP Photo)

May 05

Alan Shepard becomes first American in space

On May 5, 1961, astronaut Alan B. Shepard Jr. became America’s first space traveler as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard Mercury capsule Freedom 7.

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Ohio National Guardsmen throw tear gas at students across the campus lawn at Kent State University during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration at the university on May 4, 1970. The Guard killed four students and wounded nine. (AP Photo)

May 04

Four killed during anti-war protest at Kent State University

On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.

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Mrs. Margaret Thatcher shown with her son, Mark, as she gives a jubilation wave at her party HQ on May 4, 1979 in London. (AP Photo/Dear)

May 03

Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain’s first female prime minister

On May 3, 1979, Conservative Party leader Margaret Thatcher was chosen to become Britain’s first female prime minister as the Tories ousted the incumbent Labour government in parliamentary elections.

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Nelson Mandela, African National Congress leader, and Coretta Scott King, widow of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., sing and dance at a victory celebration for Mandela in Johannesburg, May 2, 1994, after Mandela and the ANC appeared to take the majority of the votes in the country's first integrated elections. (AP Photo/David Brauchli)

May 02

Nelson Mandela claims victory in first democratic South Africa elections

On May 2, 1994, Nelson Mandela claimed victory in the wake of South Africa’s first democratic elections; President F.W. de Klerk acknowledged defeat.

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President Barack Obama reads his statement to photographers after making a televised statement on the death of Osama bin Laden from the East Room of the White House in Washington, Sunday, May 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

May 01

Obama announces killing of Osama bin Laden

On May 1, 2011, President Barack Obama announced the death of Osama bin Laden during a U.S. commando operation. (Because of the time difference, it was early May 2 in Pakistan, where the al-Qaida leader met his end.)

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April 30

Vietnam War ends with fall of Saigon

On April 30, 1975, the Vietnam War ended as the South Vietnamese capital of Saigon fell to Communist forces.

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Joan of Arc, a national heroine of France, is shown wearing armor. Joan of Arc, a Roman Catholic Church saint, had visions from God telling her to reclaim her homeland from English rule during the Hundred Years' War. (AP Photo)

April 29

Joan of Arc leads French in battle at Orleans

On April 29, 1429, Joan of Arc entered the besieged city of Orleans to lead a French victory over the English.

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FILE - In this March 17, 1966 file photo, heavyweight boxing champ Muhammad Ali greets a friend as he arrives at a veterans administration office in Louisville, Ky., to appeal his 1A draft classification. Citing his religious convictions, Ali refused to be drafted in the U.S. Army. He was stripped of his heavyweight title and didnt box for more than three years. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned his conviction on draft evasion charges. (AP Photo)

April 28

Muhammad Ali stripped of heavyweight title

On April 28, 1967, heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali was stripped of his title after he refused to be inducted into the armed forces.

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The Statue of the Sentinel of Freedom, or the Lapu Lapu Monument, stands in Manila, Philippines, Monday, Dec. 14, 2020. In 2018, President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines designated April 27 as a national holiday to honor Lapu-Lapu, the chief whose men killed Portuguese mariner Ferdinand Magellan. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

April 27

Magellan killed in the Philippines

On April 27, 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by natives in the Philippines.

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FILE - A 1986 file photo of an aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear plant in Chernobyl, Ukraine showing damage from an explosion and fire in reactor four on April 26, 1986 that sent large amounts of radioactive material into the atmosphere. Telling the story of Chernobyl in numbers 30 years later involves dauntingly large figures and others that are even more vexing because they're still unknown. (AP Photo/Volodymyr Repik, File)

April 26

Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster

On April 26, 1986, an explosion and fire at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine caused radioactive fallout to begin spewing into the atmosphere. (Dozens of people were killed in the immediate aftermath of the disaster while the long-term death toll from radiation poisoning is believed to number in the thousands.)

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A man takes a picture next the ancient Parthenon temple at the Acropolis hill of Athens, on Monday, May 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

April 25

Athens surrenders to Sparta

On April 25, 404 B.C., the Peloponnesian War ended as Athens surrendered to Sparta.

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FILE - Theodore "Ted" Kaczynski is flanked by federal agents as he is led to a car from the federal courthouse in Helena, Mont., April 4, 1996. (AP Photo/John Youngbear, File)

April 24

Final Unabomber-linked killing

On April 24, 1995, the final bomb linked to the Unabomber exploded inside the Sacramento, California, offices of a lobbying group for the wood products industry, killing chief lobbyist Gilbert B. Murray. (Theodore Kaczynski was later sentenced to four lifetimes in prison for a series of bombings that killed three people and injured 29 others.)

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FILE - In this March 29, 2006 file photo, YouTube cofounders Chad Hurley, 29, left, and Steven Chen, 27, pose for a photo with their laptops at their office loft in a San Mateo, Calif. Co-founders Hurley, Chen and Jawed Karim started YouTube in February 2005 shortly after realizing there wasnt an easy way for people to share their videos on the Internet. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)

April 23

First YouTube clip is uploaded

On April 23, 2005, the recently created video-sharing website YouTube uploaded its first clip, “Me at the Zoo,” which showed YouTube co-founder Jawed Karim standing in front of an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo.

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Elian Gonzalez arrives to Havana's Jose Marti international airport carried by his father Juan Miguel Gonzalez, Wednesday, June 28, 2000. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

April 22

6-year-old Elian Gonzalez seized in Miami, returned to Cuban father

On April 22, 2000, in a dramatic pre-dawn raid, armed immigration agents seized 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boy at the center of a custody dispute, from his relatives’ home in Miami; Elian was reunited with his father at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington.

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Rock singer Prince performs at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., during his opening show, Feb. 18, 1985. (AP Photo/Liu Heung Shing)

April 21

Prince dies at age 57

On April 21, 2016, Prince, one of the most inventive and influential musicians of modern times, was found dead at his home in suburban Minneapolis; he was 57.

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A rose adorns a plaque for the teacher and 12 students who died during the Columbine High School massacre, at Chapel Memorial Gardens near Littleton, Colo., on Saturday, April 19, 2003. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

April 20

2 students kill 12 at Columbine High School

On April 20, 1999, the Columbine High School massacre took place in Colorado as two students shot and killed 12 classmates and one teacher before taking their own lives.

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Flames are seen in building to right of tower and smoke billows into sky as the fire first becomes visible at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas on Monday, April 19, 1993. The compound burned to the ground and the Justice Department said cult members set the fire. (AP Photo/Roberto Borea)

April 19

80 killed in Waco Siege, 168 killed in Oklahoma City bombing

On April 19, 1993, the 51-day siege at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, ended as fire destroyed the structure after federal agents began smashing their way in; about 80 people, including two dozen children and sect leader David Koresh, were killed. Then on the same date in 1995, Timothy McVeigh, seeking to strike at the government he blamed for the Waco deaths, destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people. (McVeigh was convicted of federal murder charges and executed in 2001.)

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April 18

San Francisco’s great earthquake sets off fires, thousands die

On April 18, 1906, a devastating earthquake struck San Francisco, followed by raging fires; estimates of the final death toll range between 3,000 and 6,000.

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April 17

US launches Bay of Pigs invasion to topple Fidel Castro in Cuba

On April 17, 1961, some 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in an attempt to topple Fidel Castro, whose forces crushed the incursion by the third day.

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In this file photo taken April 12, 1963 Rev. Ralph Abernathy, left, and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. lead a column of demonstrators as they attempt to march on Birmingham, Ala., City Hall. Arrested for leading a march against racial segregation in 1963, King Jr. spent days in solitary confinement writing his “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” which was smuggled out and stirred the world by explaining why Black people couldn't keep waiting for fair treatment. (AP Photo/Horace Cort)

April 16

Martin Luther King Jr. writes ‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’

On April 16, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in which the civil rights activist responded to a group of local clergymen who had criticized him for leading street protests; King defended his tactics, writing, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

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Survivors of the Titanic, from left, Reginald Burgess, 64, from Southampton, Edith L. Russell, from Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, and Edward Ryan, from Hull, Yorkshire, are shown in this undated photo at the Odeon Theatre, Leicester Square, London, England. The trio and eleven other survivors are attending a reception in connection with the film, "A Night to Remember" that is to be filmed by the Rank Organization. Russell, a fashion journalist and a first-class passenger on the Titanic, is holding the "lucky pig" that she had taken with her on the ill-fated voyage. Burgess was a chef's assistant and Ryan a passenger on the ocean liner that sank April 15, 1912. (AP Photo)

April 15

The Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic, more than 1,500 die

On April 15, 1912, the British luxury liner RMS Titanic foundered in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland more than 2 1/2 hours after hitting an iceberg; 1,514 people died, while less than half as many survived.

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This is the Deringer pistol that was recovered from the state box at the Ford Theater and used by John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. (AP Photo/FBI)

April 14

Abraham Lincoln is fatally shot at Ford’s Theatre

On April 14, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth during a performance of “Our American Cousin” at Ford’s Theatre in Washington.

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