Events

• 1501 – Amerigo Vespucci, this time under Portuguese flag, set sail for western lands.
• 1568 – Mary Queen of Scots is defeated at Battle of Langside, part of Civil war between Queen Mary and Regent Moray.
• 1612 – Famous sword duel between Miyamoto Musashi and Sasaki Kojiro on the shores of Ganryū Island. Kojiro dies at the end.
• 1619 – Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after being convicted of treason.
• 1654 – Venetian fleet under Admiral Cort Adeler beats Turkish.
• 1779 – War of the Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war.
  • In the agreement Austria receives the part of its territory that was taken from it (the Innviertel).
• 1804 – Forces sent by Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli to retake Derna from the Americans attack the city.
• 1830 – Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia.
• 1846 – Mexican-American War: The United States declares war on the Federal Republic of Mexico following a dispute over the American annexation of the Republic of Texas and a Mexican military incursion.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a “proclamation of neutrality” which recognises the Confederacy as having belligerent rights.
• 1862 – The USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, steals through Confederate lines and is passed to the Union, by a southern slave, Robert Smalls, who later was officially appointed as captain, becoming the first black man to command a United States ship.
• 1912 – The Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom.
• 1940 – World War II: Germany’s conquest of France begins, as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his “blood, toil, tears, and sweat” speech to the House of Commons.
• 1941 – World War II: Yugoslav royal colonel Dragoljub Mihailović starts fighting against German occupation troops, beginning the Serbian resistance.
• 1943 – World War II: Operations Vulcan and Strike force the surrender of the last Axis troops in Tunisia.
• 1948 – Arab-Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre occurs, a day prior to the Israeli Declaration of Independence.
• 1958 – May 1958 crisis: A group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria.
• 1971 – Over 900 unarmed Bengali Hindus are murdered in the Demra massacre by the occupying Pakistan Army, aided by local collaborators.
• 1972 – The Troubles: A car bombing outside a crowded pub in Belfast sparks a two-day gun battle involving the Provisional IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force and British Army.
  • Seven people are killed and over 66 injured.
• 1998 – India carries out two nuclear weapon tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on 11 May.
  • The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
• 2005 – Andijan uprising, Uzbekistan; Troops open fire on crowds of protestors after a prison break; at least 187 people were killed according to official estimates.

People (Births)

• 1753 – Lazare Carnot, French general, mathematician, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1823).
• 1830 – Zebulon Baird Vance, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of North Carolina (d. 1894).
• 1881 – Joe Forshaw, American runner (d. 1964).
• 1912 – Judah Nadich, American colonel and rabbi (d. 2007).
• 1929 – John Galvin, American general (d. 2015).
• 1939 – Peter Frenkel, German race walker and coach.
• 1940 – Kōkichi Tsuburaya, Japanese runner (d. 1968).
• 1949 – Dale Snodgrass, United States Naval Aviator and air show performer (d. 2021).
• 1970 – Robert Maćkowiak, Polish sprinter.
• 1972 – Stefaan Maene, Belgian swimmer.
• 1972 – Pieta van Dishoeck, Dutch rower.
• 1983 – Johnny Hoogerland, Dutch cyclist.
• 1984 – Dawn Harper, American hurdler.
• 1984 – Caroline Rotich, Kenyan runner.
• 1986 – Nino Schurter, Swiss cyclist.
• 1987 – Marianne Vos, Dutch cyclist.

People (Deaths)

• 1573 – Takeda Shingen, Japanese daimyō (b. 1521).
• 1612 – Sasaki Kojirō, Japanese master swordsman (b. 1575).
• 1929 – Arthur Scherbius, German electrical engineer, invented the Enigma machine (b. 1878).
• 1974 – Arthur J. Burks, American colonel and author (b. 1898).
• 2014 – J.F. Coleman, American soldier and pilot (b. 1918).
• 2015 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (b. 1928).