May 14
is the 134th day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar (135th in
leap years). There are 231 days remaining.
*
1264 -
Battle of Lewes:
Henry III of England is captured in
France making
Simon de Montfort the
de facto ruler of
England.
*
1483 - Coronation of
Charles VIII of France ("
Charles l'Affable").
*
1509 -
Battle of Agnadello: In
northern Italy,
French forces defeat the
Venetians.
*
1607 -
Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an
English colony.
*
1608 -
Protestant Union founded in
Auhausen.
*
1643 - Four-year-old
Louis XIV becomes King of
France upon the death of his father,
Louis XIII.
*
1747 - A
British fleet under
Admiral George Anson defeats the
French at
first battle of Cape Finisterre.
*
1787 - In
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates begin to meet to write a new
Constitution for the
United States.
*
1796 -
Edward Jenner administers the first
smallpox vaccination.
*
1804 - The
Lewis and Clark Expedition departs from
Camp Dubois and begin their historic journey by traveling up the
Missouri River.
*
1811 -
Paraguay gains independence from
Spain.
*
1861 - The
Canellas meteorite, an 859-
gram chondrite-type
meteorite strikes the earth near
Barcelona, Spain.
*
1863 -
American Civil War:
Battle of Jackson (MS).
*
1870 - The first game of
rugby in
New Zealand is played in
Nelson between
Nelson College and the
Nelson Rugby Football Club.
*
1889 - The children's charity the
NSPCC is launched in
London.
*
1900 - The
1900 Summer Olympics open in
Paris.
*
1913 -
New York Governor William Sulzer approves the charter for the
Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100 million donation from
John D. Rockefeller.
*
1927 -
Cap Arcona is launched at the
Blohm + Voss shipyard in
Hamburg.
*
1929 -
Wilfred Rhodes takes his 4000th
first-class wicket during a performance of 9 for 39 at
Leyton.
*
1931 -
Ã…dalen shootings, five people are killed in
Ã…dalen,
Sweden, as soldiers open fire on an unarmed
trade union manifestation.
*
1935 - The
Filipinos ratify an independence agreement.
*1935 -
Northamptonshire Cricket Club gains (over
Somerset at
Taunton by 48 runs) what proved to be their last victory for 99 matches, easily a record in the
County Championship. Their next
Championship win was not until
29 May, 1939.
*
1939 -
Lina Medina becomes the world's youngest confirmed
mother in medical history at the age of five.
*
1940 -
World War II:
Rotterdam is bombed by the
German Luftwaffe.
*1940 -
World War II: The
Netherlands surrender to
Germany. \
*
1943 - Sinking of the
Australian Hospital Ship Centaur off the coast of
Queensland, by a Japanese submarine.
*
1948 -
Israel declared to be an independent state and a
provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel was attacked by the neighboring Arab state.
*
1955 -
Cold War: Eight
communist bloc countries, including the
Soviet Union, sign a mutual defence
treaty called the
Warsaw Pact.
*
1961 -
American civil rights movement:
Freedom Riders bus is fire-bombed near
Anniston, Alabama, and the
civil rights protestors are beaten by an angry mob.
*
1970 - The
Red Army Faction is established in
Germany.
*
1973 -
Skylab, the
United States' first
space station, is launched. It is the last launch of the
Saturn V rocket.
*
1977 - In
Milan,
Italy, during a demonstration of the far-left, some hooded extremist shoot at the police, killing a policeman,
Antonino Custrà . The scene is photographed and the picture of the hooded man shooting in the middle of the street will appear in many magazines around the world.
*
1978 - First round of the
presidential elections in
Upper Volta.
*
1981 - Concert in
Caracas of
El Trabuco Venezolano and
Irakere (First day).
*
1986 - Formula One Italian driver
Elio De Angelis has a terrible crash with his Brabham at the
Paul Ricard circuit in
France during a test session. He will die the day later at the
Marseille hospital.
*
1988 -
Carrollton bus disaster - A
drunk driver going the wrong way on a
Kentucky highway hits a bus carrying a church youth group, causing the deaths of 27 people in the resulting fire.
*
1995 -
Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th
Dalai Lama, proclaims six-year-old
Gedhun Choekyi Nyima as the eleventh
reincarnation of the
Panchen Lama.
*
1998 - The finale of
Seinfeld airs on
NBC, with 76 million viewers tuning in to watch
Jerry Seinfeld,
George Costanza,
Elaine Benes, and
Cosmo Kramer stand trial in the fictional Lathem,
Massachusetts for breaking the
Good Samaritan Law.
*
2002 - Ten members of the
Darwin-based
Network Against Prohibition invade the
Legislative Assembly of the
Northern Territory of
Australia.
*
2004 - The
Constitutional Court of South Korea overturns the impeachment of
President Roh Moo-hyun.
*
2004 - The marriage of
Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark and
Mary Donaldson takes place in
Copenhagen.
*
2005 -
Pope Benedict XVI observes his first beatification, elevating
Blessed Marianne of Molokai on the road to
canonization into
sainthood.
*
2006 -
Massachusetts and
New Hampshire (U.S.) declared a
state of emergency on May 14,
2006 as a result of massive flooding from the strongest rains to hit the region in a decade
*
1316 -
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d.
1378)
*
1553 -
Margaret of Valois, wife of
Henry IV of France (d.
1615)
*
1666 -
Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (d.
1732)
*
1699 -
Hans Joachim von Zieten, Prussian field marshal (d.
1786)
*
1701 -
William Emerson, English mathematician (d.
1782)
*
1703 -
David Brearly, delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention (d.
1785)
*
1710 - King
Adolf Frederick of Sweden (d.
1771)
*
1727 -
Thomas Gainsborough, English artist (d.
1788)
*
1771 -
Robert Owen, Welsh social reformer (d.
1858)
*
1832 -
Rudolf Lipschitz, German mathematician (d.
1903)
*
1867 -
Kurt Eisner, German politician and publicist (d.
1919)
*
1880 -
Wilhelm List, German field marshal (d.
1971)
*
1885 -
Otto Klemperer, German-born conductor (d.
1973)
*
1897 -
Sidney Bechet, American musician (d.
1959)
*
1899 -
Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (d.
1993)
*
1904 -
Hans Albert Einstein, American professor (d.
1973)
*1904 -
Marcel Junod, Swiss physician (d.
1961)
*
1907 -
Ayub Khan,
President of Pakistan (d.
1974)
*
1917 -
Lou Harrison, American composer (d.
2003)
*
1921 -
Richard Deacon, American actor (d.
1984)
*
1922 -
Franjo Tuđman,
President of Croatia (d.
1999)
*
1926 -
Eric Morecambe, British comedian (d.
1984)
*
1929 -
Gump Worsley, Canadian hockey player
*
1931 -
Alvin Lucier, American composer
*
1934 -
Siân Phillips, Welsh actress
*
1936 -
Bobby Darin, American singer (d.
1973)
* 1936 -
Charlie Gracie, American singer
*
1940 -
Troy Shondell, American singer
*
1942 -
Byron Dorgan, U.S. Senator
* 1942 -
Tony Pérez,
Major League baseball player
* 1942 -
Valeriy Brumel,
Soviet athlete (d.
2003)
*
1943 -
Ã"lafur Ragnar GrÃmsson,
President of Iceland* 1943 -
Jack Bruce, bassist (
Cream)
* 1943 -
Derek Leckenby, Lead
guitar (
Herman's Hermits) (d.
1994)
*
1944 -
George Lucas, American film director
*
1946 -
Eric Peterson, Canadian actor
*
1948 -
Bob Woolmer, Indian-born cricket coach
*
1952 -
David Byrne, American musician (
Talking Heads)
* 1952 -
Robert Zemeckis, American film director
* 1952 -
Scott Irwin, wrestler
*
1953 -
Norodom Sihamoni,
King of Cambodia* 1953 -
Tom Cochrane, Canadian musician(
Red Rider)
*
1955 -
Dennis Martinez,
Major League baseball player
*
1957 -
Leon White, professional wrestler
*
1959 -
Patrick Bruel, French singer
* 1959 -
Steve Hogarth, British singer (
Marillion)
* 1959 -
Rick Vaive, Canadian ice hockey player
*
1960 -
Steve Williams, American wrestler
*
1961 -
Tim Roth, English actor
*
1962 -
Ian Astbury, English singer (
The Cult)
*
1963 -
Pat Borders, Baseball player
*
1965 -
Eoin Colfer, Irish writer
*
1966 -
Raphael Saadiq, American music artist
*
1967 -
Tony Siragusa, American football player
*
1969 -
Cate Blanchett, Australian actress
*
1971 -
Sofia Coppola, American director
*
1976 -
Martine McCutcheon, British actress
* 1976 -
Hunter Burgan, AFI Bassist
* 1976 -
Brian Lawrence, Baseball player
*
1977 -
Ada Nicodemou, Australian actress
*
1978 -
Andre Macanga, Angolan footballer
*
1979 -
Clinton Morrison, England-born Irish footballer
*1979 -
Carlos Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer
*
1981 -
Sarbel, Greek-born singer
*
1983 -
Amber Tamblyn, American actress
*1983 -
Tom Welham, British guitarist (
Thirteen Senses)
*
1993 -
Miranda Cosgrove, American actress
*
964 -
Pope John XII*
1470 - King
Charles VIII of Sweden (b.
1409*
1608 -
Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (b.
1543)
*
1610 - King
Henry IV of France (assassinated) (b.
1553)
*
1643 - King
Louis XIII of France (b.
1601)
*
1649 -
Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian (b.
1600)
*
1669 -
Georges de Scudéry, French writer (b.
1601)
*
1688 -
Antoine Furetière, French writer (b.
1619)
*
1754 -
Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French writer (b.
1692)
*
1761 -
Thomas Simpson, British mathematician (b.
1710)
*
1818 -
Matthew Lewis, English novelist (b.
1775)
*
1847 -
Fanny Mendelssohn, German composer and pianist (b.
1805)
*
1860 -
Ludwig Bechstein, German writer (b.
1801)
*
1873 -
Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician and writer (b.
1797)
*
1887 -
Lysander Spooner, American philosopher (b.
1808)
*
1889 -
Volney E. Howard, American politician (b.
1809)
*
1906 -
Carl Schurz, German revolutionary and American statesman (b.
1829)
*
1912 - King
Frederick VIII of Denmark (b.
1843)
* 1912 -
August Strindberg, Swedish author (b.
1849)
*
1919 -
Henry John Heinz, founder of the
H. J. Heinz Company (b.
1844)
*
1923 -
Charles de Freycinet, French prime minister (b.
1828)
*
1925 -
H. Rider Haggard, English author (b.
1856)
*
1931 -
David Belasco, American theatrical producer and playwright (b.
1853)
*
1934 -
Lou Criger, baseball player (b.
1872)
*
1936 -
Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, British general (b.
1861)
*
1940 -
Emma Goldman, Lithuanian-born anarchist and feminist (b.
1869)
*
1943 -
Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer and activist, recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize (b.
1854)
*
1945 -
Heber J. Grant, president of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b.
1856)
*
1954 -
Heinz Guderian, German General (b.
1888)
*
1957 -
Marie Vassilieff, Russian artist (b.
1884)
*
1959 -
Sidney Bechet, American musician (b.
1897)
*
1968 -
Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (b.
1882)
*
1969 -
Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (b.
1888)
*
1970 -
Billie Burke, American actress (b.
1884)
*
1973 -
Jean Gebser, German-born author, linguist, and poet (b.
1905)
*
1976 -
Keith Relf, British singer and musician (
The Yardbirds) (b.
1943)
*
1978 -
Robert Menzies, twelfth
Prime Minister of Australia (b.
1894)
*
1982 -
Hugh Beaumont, American actor (b.
1909)
*
1983 -
Roger J. Traynor, American judge (b.
1900)
*
1987 -
Rita Hayworth, American actress (b.
1918)
*
1988 -
Willem Drees,
Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b.
1886)
*
1991 -
Jiang Qing, Madame Mao (b.
1914)
*
1992 -
Nie Rongzhen, Chinese Communist military leader (b.
1899)
*
1993 -
William Randolph Hearst Jr., American newspaper magnate (b.
1908)
*
1995 -
Christian B. Anfinsen, American chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1916)
*
1997 -
Harry Blackstone Jr., American magician (b.
1934)
*
1998 -
Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (b.
1915)
* 1998 -
Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American conservationist and writer (b.
1890)
*
2000 -
Obuchi Keizo,
Prime Minister of Japan (b.
1937)
*
2003 -
Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player (b.
1940)
* 2003 - Dame
Wendy Hiller, British actress (b.
1912)
* 2003 -
Robert Stack, American actor (b.
1919)
*
2004 -
Anna Lee, British actress (b.
1913)
*
2006 -
Lew Anderson, American actor and bandleader (b.
1922)
* 2006 -
Stanley Kunitz, American poet (b.
1905)
*
Feast day of the following
saints in the
Roman Catholic Church:
**
St. Matthias (Apostle)**
St. Michael Garicoits **
St. Boniface of Tarsus **
St. Victor and Corona **
St. Vincent of Lerins **
St. Carthach the Younger **
St. Engelmer **
St. Engelmund **
St. Just **
St. Maria Dominic Mazzarello*
Paraguay -
Flag Day.
*
Israel -
Yom Ha'atzma'ut, or
Israeli Independence Day. The observed date of this
national holiday is determined by the
Jewish Calendar.
*
Mother's Day in various countries (second
Sunday of
May in
2006).
*
DubsDay in
Dublin Ireland (14th of
May in
2006).
*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This Day*
On This Day in CanadaMay 13 -
May 15 -
April 14 -
June 14 –
listing of all days
