Events
1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
1223 - Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River - Mongol armies of Genghis Khan lead by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus and Cumans.
1578 - Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada, eventually to mine fool's gold, used to pave streets in London.
1669 - Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.
1678 - The Godiva procession through Coventry begins.
1759 - The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theater productions.
1775 - American Revolutionary War: The Mecklenburg Resolutions adopted urging the American Colonies to declare independence from Great Britain.
1790 - Alferez Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
1790 - The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.
1813 - In Australia, Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth, reached Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains.
1862 - American Civil War Peninsula Campaign: Battle of Seven Pines or (Battle of Fair Oaks) - Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston & G. W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia.
1864 - American Civil War Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor - The Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee engages the Army of the Potomac under Ulysses S. Grant & George G. Meade.
1866 - In the Fenian Invasion of Canada, John O'Neill leads 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario, as part of an effort to free Ireland from the English. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenian's 19 dead and about 17 wounded.
1889 - Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam break sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
1902 - Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.
1910 - Creation of the Union of South Africa.
1911 - R.M.S. Titanic launched.
1916 - World War I: Battle of Jutland - The British Grand Fleet under the command of Sir John Jellicoe & Sir David Beatty engage the Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Reinhard Scheer & Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.
1921 - Tulsa Race Riot: A civil unrest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, the official death toll is 39, but recent investigations suggest the actual toll may be much higher.
1924 - The Soviet Union signs an agreement with the Peking government, referring to Outer Mongolia as an "integral part of the Republic of China", whose "sovereignty" therein the Soviet Union promises to respect.
1927 - The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
1931 - 7.1 magnitude Earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan: 40,000 dead.
1942 - World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.
1961 - Republic of South Africa created.
1962 - The West Indies Federation dissolves.
1970 - The Ancash earthquake causes a landslide that buries the town of Yungay, Peru; more than 47,000 people are killed.
1971 - In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.
1973 - The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War.
1977 - The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System completed.
1985 - United States-Canadian Outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
1985 - Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) became a Schedule I drug in the United States.
1987 - Athena 98.4 FM, the first legal private radio station starts broadcasting in Greece.
1997 - The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick.
Births
1946 - Steve Bucknor, West Indian Cricket Umpire
1948 - John Bonham, British musician (Led Zeppelin) (d. 1980)
1948 - Duncan Hunter, American politician, 2008 presidential candidate
1949 - Tom Berenger, American actor
1949 - Nancy Shade, American soprano
1950 - Gregory Harrison, American actor
1952 - Karl Bartos, German musician (Kraftwerk, Electronic)
1953 - Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor
1954 - Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (d. 2000)
1954 - Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
1956 - Fritz Hilpert, German musician and sound engineer (Kraftwerk)
1955 - Tommy Emmanuel, Australian Guitarist CGP
1957 - Jim Craig, American hockey player
1959 - Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver
1960 - Greg C. Adams, Canadian ice hockey player
1960 - Chris Elliott, American comedian
1961 - Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 - Lea Thompson, American actress
1962 - Corey Hart, Canadian musician
1962 - Sebastian Koch, German actor
1963 - Teresa Cheung, Hong Kong socialite
1963 - Hugh Dillon, Canadian musician and actor
1963 - Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician
1963 - Wesley Willis, American musician (d. 2003)
1964 - Leonard Asper, Canadian businessman
1964 - Scotti Hill, American rock guitarist
1964 - Darryl McDaniels, American musician (Run-D.M.C.)
1965 - Brooke Shields, American model
1966 - Jeremy Hotz, Canadian stand-up comedian
1966 - Nick Scotti, American actor and singer
1967 - Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress
1967 - Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television personality
1967 - Kenny Lofton, American baseball player
1967 - Vampiro, Canadian professional wrestler
1972 - Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier
1972 - Sarah Murdoch, English model
1972 - Karl Geary, Irish actor
1972 - Dave Roberts, American baseball player
1974 - Chad Campbell, American golfer
1974 - Zsolt Erdei, Hungarian light heavyweight boxer
1974 - Adrian Tomine, American cartoonist
1975 - Sienna Guillory, English actress
1976 - Colin Farrell, Irish actor
1976 - Matt Harpring, American basketball player
1977 - Eric Christian Olsen, American actor
1977 - Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-born Greek volleyball player
1977 - Debbie King, English TV presenter
1977 - Scott Klopfenstein, American musician (Reel Big Fish)
1980 - Andy Hurley, American musician (Fall Out Boy)
1981 - Jake Peavy, American baseball player
1983 - David Hernandez, American singer
1983 - Dustin Wells, New Zealand footballer
1983 - Reggie Yates, English television presenter
1984 - Nate Robinson, American basketball player
1984 - Jason Smith, Australian actor
1985 - Ian Vouyoukas, Greek basketball player
1986 - Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist
1986 - Sopho Khalvashi, Georgian musical artist
1986 - Melissa McIntyre, Canadian actress
1988 - Hope Partlow, American Singer
Deaths
1970 - Terry Sawchuk, hockey player (b. 1929)
1972 - Walter Freeman, American physician (b. 1895)
1976 - Jacques Monod, French biologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)
1977 - William Castle, American film director (b. 1914)
1978 - József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)
1983 - Jack Dempsey, American boxer (b. 1895)
1986 - Jane Frank (Jane Schenthal Frank), American artist (b. 1918)
1986 - James Rainwater, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1917)
1987 - John Abraham (director), Indian film director
1993 - Spuds Mackenzie, American advertisement dog
1994 - Herva Nelli, Italian-born soprano (b. 1909)
1996 - Timothy Leary, American professor and LSD advocate (b. 1920)
1997 - James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (b. 1905)
1998 - Charles Van Acker, Belgian racing driver (b. 1912)
2000 - Tito Puente, American musician (b. 1923)
2000 - Johnnie Taylor, American singer (b. 1938)
2001 - Arlene Francis, American television personality (d. 1907)
2004 - Robert Quine, American guitarist (b. 1941)
2004 - Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (b. 1941)
2006 - Ryan Bennett, broadcast commentator (b. 1970)
2006 - Miguel Berrocal, sculptor (b. 1933)
2006 - Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
2006 - Lula Mae Hardaway, American songwriter, mother of singer Stevie Wonder (b. 1930)
1279 BC - Rameses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.
1223 - Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River - Mongol armies of Genghis Khan lead by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus and Cumans.
1578 - Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada, eventually to mine fool's gold, used to pave streets in London.
1669 - Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.
1678 - The Godiva procession through Coventry begins.
1759 - The Province of Pennsylvania bans all theater productions.
1775 - American Revolutionary War: The Mecklenburg Resolutions adopted urging the American Colonies to declare independence from Great Britain.
1790 - Alferez Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
1790 - The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.
1813 - In Australia, Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth, reached Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains.
1862 - American Civil War Peninsula Campaign: Battle of Seven Pines or (Battle of Fair Oaks) - Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston & G. W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia.
1864 - American Civil War Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor - The Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee engages the Army of the Potomac under Ulysses S. Grant & George G. Meade.
1866 - In the Fenian Invasion of Canada, John O'Neill leads 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario, as part of an effort to free Ireland from the English. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenian's 19 dead and about 17 wounded.
1889 - Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam break sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
1902 - Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.
1910 - Creation of the Union of South Africa.
1911 - R.M.S. Titanic launched.
1916 - World War I: Battle of Jutland - The British Grand Fleet under the command of Sir John Jellicoe & Sir David Beatty engage the Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Reinhard Scheer & Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.
1921 - Tulsa Race Riot: A civil unrest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, the official death toll is 39, but recent investigations suggest the actual toll may be much higher.
1924 - The Soviet Union signs an agreement with the Peking government, referring to Outer Mongolia as an "integral part of the Republic of China", whose "sovereignty" therein the Soviet Union promises to respect.
1927 - The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
1931 - 7.1 magnitude Earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan: 40,000 dead.
1942 - World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.
1961 - Republic of South Africa created.
1962 - The West Indies Federation dissolves.
1970 - The Ancash earthquake causes a landslide that buries the town of Yungay, Peru; more than 47,000 people are killed.
1971 - In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.
1973 - The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War.
1977 - The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System completed.
1985 - United States-Canadian Outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
1985 - Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) became a Schedule I drug in the United States.
1987 - Athena 98.4 FM, the first legal private radio station starts broadcasting in Greece.
1997 - The Confederation Bridge opens, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick.
Births
1946 - Steve Bucknor, West Indian Cricket Umpire
1948 - John Bonham, British musician (Led Zeppelin) (d. 1980)
1948 - Duncan Hunter, American politician, 2008 presidential candidate
1949 - Tom Berenger, American actor
1949 - Nancy Shade, American soprano
1950 - Gregory Harrison, American actor
1952 - Karl Bartos, German musician (Kraftwerk, Electronic)
1953 - Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor
1954 - Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (d. 2000)
1954 - Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
1956 - Fritz Hilpert, German musician and sound engineer (Kraftwerk)
1955 - Tommy Emmanuel, Australian Guitarist CGP
1957 - Jim Craig, American hockey player
1959 - Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver
1960 - Greg C. Adams, Canadian ice hockey player
1960 - Chris Elliott, American comedian
1961 - Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 - Lea Thompson, American actress
1962 - Corey Hart, Canadian musician
1962 - Sebastian Koch, German actor
1963 - Teresa Cheung, Hong Kong socialite
1963 - Hugh Dillon, Canadian musician and actor
1963 - Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician
1963 - Wesley Willis, American musician (d. 2003)
1964 - Leonard Asper, Canadian businessman
1964 - Scotti Hill, American rock guitarist
1964 - Darryl McDaniels, American musician (Run-D.M.C.)
1965 - Brooke Shields, American model
1966 - Jeremy Hotz, Canadian stand-up comedian
1966 - Nick Scotti, American actor and singer
1967 - Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress
1967 - Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television personality
1967 - Kenny Lofton, American baseball player
1967 - Vampiro, Canadian professional wrestler
1972 - Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier
1972 - Sarah Murdoch, English model
1972 - Karl Geary, Irish actor
1972 - Dave Roberts, American baseball player
1974 - Chad Campbell, American golfer
1974 - Zsolt Erdei, Hungarian light heavyweight boxer
1974 - Adrian Tomine, American cartoonist
1975 - Sienna Guillory, English actress
1976 - Colin Farrell, Irish actor
1976 - Matt Harpring, American basketball player
1977 - Eric Christian Olsen, American actor
1977 - Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-born Greek volleyball player
1977 - Debbie King, English TV presenter
1977 - Scott Klopfenstein, American musician (Reel Big Fish)
1980 - Andy Hurley, American musician (Fall Out Boy)
1981 - Jake Peavy, American baseball player
1983 - David Hernandez, American singer
1983 - Dustin Wells, New Zealand footballer
1983 - Reggie Yates, English television presenter
1984 - Nate Robinson, American basketball player
1984 - Jason Smith, Australian actor
1985 - Ian Vouyoukas, Greek basketball player
1986 - Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist
1986 - Sopho Khalvashi, Georgian musical artist
1986 - Melissa McIntyre, Canadian actress
1988 - Hope Partlow, American Singer
Deaths
1970 - Terry Sawchuk, hockey player (b. 1929)
1972 - Walter Freeman, American physician (b. 1895)
1976 - Jacques Monod, French biologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)
1977 - William Castle, American film director (b. 1914)
1978 - József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)
1983 - Jack Dempsey, American boxer (b. 1895)
1986 - Jane Frank (Jane Schenthal Frank), American artist (b. 1918)
1986 - James Rainwater, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1917)
1987 - John Abraham (director), Indian film director
1993 - Spuds Mackenzie, American advertisement dog
1994 - Herva Nelli, Italian-born soprano (b. 1909)
1996 - Timothy Leary, American professor and LSD advocate (b. 1920)
1997 - James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (b. 1905)
1998 - Charles Van Acker, Belgian racing driver (b. 1912)
2000 - Tito Puente, American musician (b. 1923)
2000 - Johnnie Taylor, American singer (b. 1938)
2001 - Arlene Francis, American television personality (d. 1907)
2004 - Robert Quine, American guitarist (b. 1941)
2004 - Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (b. 1941)
2006 - Ryan Bennett, broadcast commentator (b. 1970)
2006 - Miguel Berrocal, sculptor (b. 1933)
2006 - Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
2006 - Lula Mae Hardaway, American songwriter, mother of singer Stevie Wonder (b. 1930)
