Events

• 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce.
  • This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.
• 621 – Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin, the son of the Chinese emperor Gaozu, defeats the numerically superior forces of Dou Jiande near the Hulao Pass (Henan).
  • This victory decides the outcome of the civil war that followed the Sui dynasty’s collapse in favour of the Tang dynasty.
• 1588 – The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, heading for the English Channel.
  • It will take until 30 May for all ships to leave port.
• 1644 – English Civil War: Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby.
• 1754 – French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.
• 1802 – In Guadeloupe, 400 rebellious slaves, led by Louis Delgrès, blow themselves up rather than submit to Napoleon’s troops.
• 1830 – US President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which denies Native Americans their land rights and forcibly relocates them.
• 1871 – The Paris Commune falls after two months.
• 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and the Imperial Japanese Navy.
• 1918 – The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence.
  • TDFR Republic Day.
• 1926 – The 28 May 1926 coup d’état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic.
• 1940 – World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.
• 1940 – World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway.
  • This is the first Allied infantry victory of the War.
• 1958 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.
• 1964 – The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) is founded, with Yasser Arafat elected as its first leader.
• 1974 – Northern Ireland’s power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists (refer to The Troubles).
• 1975 – Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States.
• 1987 – A 18-year-old West German pilot, Mathias Rust, evades Soviet Union air defences and lands a private plane in Red Square in Moscow, Russia.
• 1991 – The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War.
• 1998 – Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own codenamed Chagai-I, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions.
  • Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbir annually.
• 2008 – The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty.
• Armed Forces Day (Croatia).

People (Births)

• 1140 – Xin Qiji, Chinese poet, general, and politician (d. 1207).
• 1818 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (d. 1893).
• 1914 – W.G.G. Duncan Smith, English captain and pilot (d. 1996).
• 1921 – Tom Uren, Australian soldier, boxer, and politician (d. 2015).
• 1922 – Tuomas Gerdt, Finnish soldier (d. 2020).
• 1924 – Edward du Cann, English naval officer and politician (d. 2017).
• 1945 – John N. Bambacus, American military veteran (USMC) and politician.
• 1956 – Peter Wilkinson, English admiral.
• 1960 – Mark Sanford, American military veteran (USAF) and politician, 115th Governor of South Carolina.
• 1972 – Michael Boogerd, Dutch cyclist and manager.
• 1986 – Ingmar Vos, Dutch decathlete.

People (Deaths)

• 1556 – Saitō Dōsan, Japanese samurai (b. 1494).
• 1811 – Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1742).
• 1831 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish-English admiral (b. 1756).
• 1968 – Fyodor Okhlopkov, Russian sergeant and sniper (b. 1908).
• 1971 – Audie Murphy, American soldier and actor, Medal of Honour recipient (b. 1925).
• 1982 – H. Jones, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1940).
• 1983 – Erastus Corning 2nd, American soldier and politician, 72nd Mayor of Albany (b. 1909).
• 1999 – Michael Barkai, Israeli commander (b. 1935).
• 2013 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian commander (b. 1921).
• 2013 – Gerd Schmückle, German general (b. 1917).