This day in .....

30 April 1871 – The Camp Grant Massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.

Camp Grant Massacre

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• Camp Grant massacre

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1 May 1994 – Three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.

Death of Ayrton Senna

Death of the Brazilian race car driver

On 1 May 1994, Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna was killed after his car crashed into a concrete barrier while he was leading the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix at the Imola Circuit in Italy. The previous day, Austrian driver Roland Ratzenberger had died when his car crashed during qualification for the race. Several other collisions took place that weekend, including a serious one involving Rubens Barrichello. Ratzenberger and Senna's crashes were the first fatal accidents to occur during a Formula One race meeting since that of Riccardo Paletti at the 1982 Canadian Grand Prix, and were also the last until that of Jules Bianchi at the 2014 Japanese Grand Prix. This became a turning point in the safety of Formula One, prompting the implementation of new safety measures in both Formula One and the circuit, as well as the Grand Prix Drivers' Association to be reestablished. The Supreme Court of Cassation of Italy ruled that mechanical failure was the cause of the crash.

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2 May 2004 – Yelwa massacre of more than 630 nomad Muslims by Christians in Nigeria.

Yelwa massacre

2004 religious violence between Muslims and Christians in Yelwa, Nigeria

The Yelwa massacre was a series of related incidents of religious violence between Muslims and Christians which took place in Yelwa, Nigeria between February and May 2004. These incidents killed over 700 people.^[1] The first occurred on 4 February 2004 when armed Muslims attacked the Christians of Yelwa, killing more than 78 Christians, including at least 48 who were worshipping inside a church compound.^[1] According to some sources, the signal for the attack was a call for Jihad from the local mosque.^[2]

The February killings inflamed tensions between the communities which had been growing since the 2001 Jos riots when conflict between Muslims and Christians resulted in 1,000 dead. On 2 May 2004 local Christians responded to the February incident by attacking Muslims in Yelwa, resulting in roughly 630 dead.^[1] According to some sources, Muslim girls were forced to eat pork and other foods forbidden to Muslims and some were even raped.^[2]

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Revenge in the Name of Religion", Human Rights Watch, 26 May 2005.
2. ^ ^{a b} "God's Country", The Atlantic March 2008.

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3 May 1901 – The Great Fire of 1901 begins in Jacksonville, Florida.

Great Fire of 1901

Fire which destroyed downtown Jacksonville, Florida

The Great Fire of 1901 was a conflagration that occurred in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 3, 1901. It was one of the worst disasters in Florida history and the third largest urban fire in the U.S., next to the Great Chicago Fire, and the 1906 San Francisco fire.^[1]

1. ^ Davis, Ennis (October 20, 2009). "The Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901". Metro Jacksonville. Retrieved May 1, 2018.

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3 May 1901 – The Great Fire of 1901 begins in Jacksonville, Florida.

Great Fire of 1901

Fire which destroyed downtown Jacksonville, Florida

The Great Fire of 1901 was a conflagration that occurred in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 3, 1901. It was one of the worst disasters in Florida history and the third largest urban fire in the U.S., next to the Great Chicago Fire, and the 1906 San Francisco fire.^[1]

1. ^ Davis, Ennis (October 20, 2009). "The Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901". Metro Jacksonville. Retrieved May 1, 2018.

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3 May 1901 – The Great Fire of 1901 begins in Jacksonville, Florida.

Great Fire of 1901

Fire which destroyed downtown Jacksonville, Florida

The Great Fire of 1901 was a conflagration that occurred in Jacksonville, Florida, on May 3, 1901. It was one of the worst disasters in Florida history and the third largest urban fire in the U.S., next to the Great Chicago Fire, and the 1906 San Francisco fire.^[1]

1. ^ Davis, Ennis (October 20, 2009). "The Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901". Metro Jacksonville. Retrieved May 1, 2018.

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4 May 1988 – The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.

PEPCON disaster

1988 explosions and fire in Henderson, Nevada

On May 4, 1988, a fire followed by several explosions occurred at the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) chemical plant in Henderson, Nevada. The disaster caused two fatalities, 372 injuries, and an estimated $100 million of damage. A large portion of the Las Vegas Valley within a 10-mile (16 km) radius of the plant was affected, and several agencies activated disaster plans.^[2]

1. ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
2. ^ Reed, Jack W. (November 1988). Analysis of the Accidental Explosion at Pepcon, Henderson, Nevada, May 4, 1988 (PDF) (Report). Sandia National Laboratories. Archived from the original (PDF-2.91 Mb) on October 8, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2015.

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5 May 1980 – Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege.

Operation Nimrod

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• Iranian Embassy siege

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6 May 1937 – Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed.

Hindenburg disaster

1937 airship fire

The Hindenburg disaster was an airship accident that occurred on May 6, 1937, in Manchester Township, New Jersey, U.S. The LZ 129 Hindenburg (Luftschiff Zeppelin #129; Registration: D-LZ 129) was a German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume.^[1] It was designed and built by the Zeppelin Company (Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH) and was operated by the German Zeppelin Airline Company (Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei). It was named after Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, who was president of Germany from 1925 until his death in 1934. Filled with hydrogen, it caught fire and was destroyed during its attempt to dock with its mooring mast at Naval Air Station Lakehurst. The accident caused 35 fatalities (13 passengers and 22 crewmen) from the 97 people on board (36 passengers and 61 crewmen), and an additional fatality on the ground.

The disaster was the subject of newsreel coverage, photographs and Herbert Morrison's recorded radio eyewitness reports from the landing field, which were broadcast the next day.^[2] A variety of theories have been put forward for both the cause of ignition and the initial fuel for the ensuing fire. The publicity shattered public confidence in the giant, passenger-carrying rigid airship and marked the abrupt end of the airship era.^[3]

1. ^ "Hindenburg Statistics." Archived December 2, 2017, at the Wayback Machine airships.net, 2009. Retrieved: July 22, 2017.
2. ^ WLS Broadcast Of the Hindenburg Disaster 1937. Chicagoland Radio and Media Archived February 19, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
3. ^ Craats 2009, p. 36.

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7 May 1824 – World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer's supervision.

Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)

Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, is a choral symphony, the final complete symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, composed between 1822 and 1824. It was first performed in Vienna on 7 May 1824. The symphony is regarded by many critics and musicologists as a masterpiece of Western classical music and one of the supreme achievements in the history of music.^[1][2] One of the best-known works in common practice music,^[1] it stands as one of the most frequently performed symphonies in the world.^[3][4]

The Ninth was the first example of a major composer scoring vocal parts in a symphony.^[5] The final (4th) movement of the symphony, commonly known as the Ode to Joy, features four vocal soloists and a chorus in the parallel modulated key of D major. The text was adapted from the "An die Freude (Ode to Joy)", a poem written by Friedrich Schiller in 1785 and revised in 1803, with additional text written by Beethoven. In the 20th century, an instrumental arrangement of the chorus was adopted by the Council of Europe, and later the European Union, as the Anthem of Europe.^[6]

In 2001, Beethoven's original, hand-written manuscript of the score, held by the Berlin State Library, was added to the Memory of the World Programme Heritage list established by the United Nations, becoming the first musical score so designated.^[7]

1. ^ ^{a b} Cook 1993, Product description (blurb). "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is acknowledged as one of the supreme masterpieces of the Western tradition. More than any other musical work it has become an international symbol of unity and affirmation."
2. ^ Service, Tom (9 September 2014). "Symphony guide: Beethoven's Ninth ('Choral')". The Guardian. the central artwork of Western music, the symphony to end all symphonies
3. ^ "Lansing Symphony Orchestra to perform joyful Beethoven's 9th" by Ken Glickman, Lansing State Journal, 2 November 2016
4. ^ "Beethoven's Ninth: 'Ode to Joy'" Archived 1 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Great Falls Symphony, 2017/18 announcement
5. ^ Bonds, Mark Evan, "Symphony: II. The 19th century", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Second Edition (London: Macmillan, 2001), 29 vols. ISBN 0-333-60800-3, 24:837.
6. ^ "European Anthem". Europa. Archived from the original on 15 August 2010. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
7. ^ "Memory of the World (2001) – Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No 9, D minor, Op. 125".

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8 May 1886 – Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named "Coca-Cola" as a patent medicine.

John Styth Pemberton

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• John Stith Pemberton

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9 May 1915 – World War I: Second Battle of Artois between German and French forces.

Second Battle of Artois

1915 Allied offensive, World War I

See also: Battle of Aubers, Battle of Festubert, and Second Battle of Ypres

The Second Battle of Artois (French: Deuxième bataille de l'Artois, German: Lorettoschlacht) from 9 May to 18 June 1915, took place on the Western Front during the First World War.^[a] A German-held salient from Reims to Amiens had been formed in 1914 which menaced communications between Paris and the unoccupied parts of northern France. A reciprocal French advance eastwards in Artois could cut the rail lines supplying the German armies between Arras and Reims. French operations in Artois, Champagne and Alsace from November–December 1914, led General Joseph Joffre, Generalissimo (Commander in Chief) and head of Grand Quartier Général (GQG), to continue the offensive in Champagne against the German southern rail supply route and to plan an offensive in Artois against the lines from Germany supplying the German armies in the north.

Field Marshal Sir John French, commander of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), co-operated with the French strategy to capture Vimy Ridge by planning British attacks against Aubers Ridge. The attacks would confront the German 6th Army with a joint offensive, on a 70 mi (110 km) front, eastwards into the Douai plain, where an advance of 10–15 mi (16–24 km) would cut the railways supplying the German armies as far south as Reims. The French attacked Vimy Ridge and the British attacked further north in the Battle of Aubers Ridge (9 May) and the Battle of Festubert (15–25 May).

The battle was fought during the German offensive of the Second Battle of Ypres (21 April – 25 May), which the Germans ended to reinforce the Artois front. The initial French attack broke through and captured Vimy Ridge, to the surprise of both sides. German counter-attacks forced them back about half-way to their jumping-off points before French reserves could reach the battlefield. The British attack at Aubers Ridge was a costly failure and two German divisions in reserve were diverted south against the Tenth Army. The British offensive was suspended until 15 May, when the Battle of Festubert began and French attacks from 15 May to 15 June were concentrated on the flanks to create jumping-off points for a second general offensive, which began on 16 June.

The British attacks at Festubert forced the Germans back 1.9 mi (3 km) and diverted reserves from the French but the Tenth Army gained little more ground, despite firing double the amount of artillery ammunition and many more casualties on both sides. On 18 June, the main offensive was stopped and local French attacks were ended on 25 June. The French had regained 6.2 sq mi (16 km²) of territory but their failure to capture Vimy Ridge, despite the expenditure of 2,155,862 shells and the suffering of 102,500 casualties, led to recriminations against Joffre. The defence of the ridge cost the German 6th Army 73,072 casualties. A lull in the area followed until the Third Battle of Artois in September.

1. ^ Edmonds & Wynne 1995, p. 68.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

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10 May 1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.

Nelson Mandela

President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999

"Mandela" redirects here. Not to be confused with Mandala. For other uses, see Mandela (disambiguation) and Nelson Mandela (disambiguation).

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (/mænˈdɛlə/ man-DEH-lə;^[1] Xhosa: [xolíɬaɬa mandɛ̂ːla]; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, politician, and statesman who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by fostering racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as the president of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.

A Xhosa, Mandela was born into the Thembu royal family in Mvezo, South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg. There he became involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics, joining the ANC in 1943 and co-founding its Youth League in 1944. After the National Party's white-only government established apartheid, a system of racial segregation that privileged whites, Mandela and the ANC committed themselves to its overthrow. He was appointed president of the ANC's Transvaal branch, rising to prominence for his involvement in the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People. He was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the 1956 Treason Trial. Influenced by Marxism, he secretly joined the banned South African Communist Party (SACP). Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the SACP he co-founded the militant uMkhonto we Sizwe in 1961 and led a sabotage campaign against the government. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1962, and, following the Rivonia Trial, was sentenced to life imprisonment for conspiring to overthrow the state.

Mandela served 27 years in prison, split between Robben Island, Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. Amid growing domestic and international pressure and fears of racial civil war, President F. W. de Klerk released him in 1990. Mandela and de Klerk led efforts to negotiate an end to apartheid, which resulted in the 1994 multiracial general election in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became president. Leading a broad coalition government which promulgated a new constitution, Mandela emphasised reconciliation between the country's racial groups and created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. Economically, his administration retained its predecessor's liberal framework despite his own socialist beliefs, also introducing measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty and expand healthcare services. Internationally, Mandela acted as mediator in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial and served as secretary-general of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999. He declined a second presidential term and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela became an elder statesman and focused on combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the charitable Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Mandela was a controversial figure for much of his life. Although critics on the right denounced him as a communist terrorist and those on the far left deemed him too eager to negotiate and reconcile with apartheid's supporters, he gained international acclaim for his activism. Globally regarded as an icon of democracy and social justice, he received more than 250 honours, including the Nobel Peace Prize. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Thembu clan name, Madiba, and described as the "Father of the Nation".

1. ^ "Mandela". Collins English Dictionary. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2013.

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11 May 1997 – Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.

Deep Blue (chess computer)

Chess-playing computer made by IBM

Deep Blue was a chess-playing expert system run on a unique purpose-built IBM supercomputer. It was the first computer to win a game, and the first to win a match, against a reigning world champion under regular time controls. Development began in 1985 at Carnegie Mellon University under the name ChipTest. It then moved to IBM, where it was first renamed Deep Thought, then again in 1989 to Deep Blue. It first played world champion Garry Kasparov in a six-game match in 1996, where it lost four games to two. It was upgraded in 1997 and in a six-game re-match, it defeated Kasparov by winning two games and drawing three. Deep Blue's victory is considered a milestone in the history of artificial intelligence and has been the subject of several books and films.

1. ^ "Deep Thought (Chess)". ICGA Tournaments. Archived from the original on 6 November 2020. Retrieved 11 January 2022.

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13 May 1515 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk are officially married at Greenwich.

Mary Tudor, Queen of France

Queen of France from 1514 to 1515

For other people named Mary Tudor, see Mary Tudor.

Mary Tudor (/ˈtjuːdər/; 18 March 1496 – 25 June 1533) was an English princess who was briefly Queen of France as the third wife of King Louis XII. Louis was more than 30 years her senior. Mary was the fifth child of Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York, and the youngest to survive infancy.

Following Louis's death, Mary married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. Performed secretly in France, the marriage occurred without the consent of Mary's brother Henry VIII. The marriage necessitated the intervention of Thomas Wolsey; Henry eventually pardoned the couple after they paid a large fine. Mary had four children with Suffolk. Through her older daughter, Frances, she was the maternal grandmother of Lady Jane Grey, the de facto queen of England for nine days in July 1553.

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14 May 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Jackson takes place.

Battle of Jackson (MS)

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• Battle of Jackson, Mississippi

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15 May 1928 – Mickey Mouse premiered in his first cartoon, Plane Crazy

Mickey Mouse

Disney cartoon character and mascot

For other uses, see Mickey Mouse (disambiguation).

Fictional character

Mickey Mouse is an American cartoon character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime icon and mascot of the Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red shorts, large shoes, and white gloves.

Mickey was created as a replacement for a prior Disney character, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. The character was originally to be named "Mortimer Mouse", until Walt Disney's wife, Lillian, suggested "Mickey". Mickey first appeared in two 1928 shorts Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho (which were not picked up for distribution) before his public debut in Steamboat Willie (1928). The character went on to appear in over 130 films, mostly shorts (also featuring characters such as his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, his pet dog Pluto, and friends Donald Duck and Goofy), as well as features such as Fantasia (1940). Since 1930, Mickey has been featured extensively in comic strips (including the Mickey Mouse comic strip, which ran for 45 years) and comic books (such as Mickey Mouse). The character has also been featured in television series such as The Mickey Mouse Club (1955–1996).

Inspired by such silent film personalities as Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks, Mickey is traditionally characterized as a sympathetic underdog who gets by on pluck and ingenuity in the face of challenges bigger than himself. The character's depiction as a small mouse is personified through his diminutive stature and falsetto voice, the latter of which was originally provided by Walt Disney. Though originally characterized as a cheeky lovable rogue, Mickey was rebranded over time as a nice guy, usually seen as a spirited, yet impulsive hero.

Mickey also appears in media such as video games as well as merchandising and is a meetable character at the Disney parks. He is one of the world's most recognizable and universally acclaimed fictional characters. Ten of Mickey's cartoons were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, one of which, Lend a Paw, won the award in 1941. In 1978, Mickey became the first cartoon character to have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

1. ^ "Voice of Mickey Mouse dies – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. May 21, 2009. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved April 8, 2012.

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16 May 1943 – Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.

Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

For the subsequent general uprising of 1944, see Warsaw Uprising.

Jewish insurgency against Nazi Germany in German-occupied Poland during World War II

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (Yiddish: אױפֿשטאַנד אין װאַרשעװער געטאָ, romanized: Ufshtand in Varshever Geto; Polish: powstanie w getcie warszawskim; German: Aufstand im Warschauer Ghetto) was the 1943 act of Jewish resistance in the Warsaw Ghetto in German-occupied Poland during World War II to oppose Nazi Germany's final effort to transport the remaining ghetto population to the gas chambers of the Majdanek and Treblinka extermination camps.

After the Grossaktion Warsaw of summer 1942, in which more than a quarter of a million Jews were deported from the ghetto to Treblinka and murdered, the remaining Jews began to build bunkers and smuggle weapons and explosives into the ghetto. The left-wing Jewish Combat Organization (ŻOB) and right-wing Jewish Military Union (ŻZW) formed and began to train. A small resistance effort to another roundup in January 1943 was partially successful and spurred Polish resistance groups to support the Jews in earnest.

The uprising started on 19 April when the ghetto refused to surrender to the police commander SS-Brigadeführer Jürgen Stroop, who ordered the destruction of the ghetto, block by block, ending on 16 May. A total of 13,000 Jews were killed, about half of them burnt alive or suffocated. Stroop reported 110 German casualties, including 17 killed.^[4]

The uprising was the largest single revolt by Jews during World War II. The Jews knew that victory was impossible and survival unlikely. Marek Edelman, the last surviving ŻOB commander who died in 2009, said their inspiration to fight was "not to allow the Germans alone to pick the time and place of our deaths". According to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the uprising was "one of the most significant occurrences in the history of the Jewish people".^[6]

1. ^ Marian Apfelbaum (2007). Two Flags: Return to the Warsaw Ghetto. Gefen Publishing House Ltd. p. 15. ISBN 978-965-229-356-5.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Guttman 2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
3. ^ Maciej Kledzik (18 April 2008). "Zapomniani żołnierze ŻZW". Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). Archived from the original on 28 April 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
4. ^ ^{a b} Stroop (2009), pp. 25–30.
5. ^ McDonough, Frank: The Hitler Years, Volume 2: Disaster 1940–1945, p. 396
6. ^ Freilich, Miri; Dean, Martin (2012). "Warsaw". In Geoffrey P., Megargee; Dean, Martin; Hecker, Mel (eds.). Ghettos in German-Occupied Eastern Europe. Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945. Vol. 2. Translated by Fishman, Samuel. Bloomington: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. p. 459. ISBN 978-0-253-00202-0.

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17 May 1974 – Dublin and Monaghan bombings: Thirty-three civilians are killed when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) explodes car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Republic of Ireland.

Dublin and Monaghan bombings

1974 terrorist bombings in Ireland

Talbot St

Parnell St

Leinster St S

class=notpageimage|

Map of central Dublin showing the three bomb sites

The Dublin and Monaghan bombings of 17 May 1974 were a series of co-ordinated bombings in counties Dublin and Monaghan, Ireland, carried out by the Ulster Volunteer Force. Three bombs exploded in Dublin during the evening rush hour and a fourth exploded in Monaghan almost ninety minutes later. They killed 33 civilians and injured almost 300. The bombings were among the deadliest attack of the conflict known as the Troubles,^[2] and the deadliest attack in the Republic's history.^[3] Most of the victims were young women, although the ages of the dead ranged from 19 up to 80 years.

The Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a loyalist paramilitary group from Northern Ireland, claimed responsibility for the bombings in 1993. It had launched a number of attacks in the Republic since 1969. The month before the bombings, the British government had lifted the UVF's status as a proscribed organisation.

The bombings happened during the Ulster Workers' Council strike. This was a general strike called by loyalists and unionists in Northern Ireland who opposed the Sunningdale Agreement. Specifically, they opposed the sharing of political power with Irish nationalists, and the proposed role of the Republic in the governance of Northern Ireland. The Republic's government had helped bring about the Agreement. The strike brought down the Agreement and the Northern Ireland Assembly on 28 May.

No one has ever been charged with the bombings. A campaign by the victims' families led to an Irish government inquiry under Mr. Justice Henry Barron. His 2003 report criticised the Garda Síochána's investigation and said the investigators stopped their work prematurely.^[4] It also criticised the Fine Gael/Labour government of the time for its inaction and lack of interest in the bombings.^[4] The report said it was likely that British security force personnel or MI5 intelligence was involved but had insufficient evidence of higher-level involvement. However, the inquiry was hindered by the British government's refusal to release key documents.^[5] The victims' families and others are continuing to campaign to this day for the British government to release these documents.^[6]

1. ^ "Call for probe of British link to 1974 bombs". RTÉ News. 17 May 2008.
2. ^ "UK urged to Release Dublin and Monaghan Bombing Files". The Irish Times. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
3. ^ Oireachtas Sub-Committee report on the Barron Report (2004), p.25
4. ^ ^{a b} Barron Report (2003), pp.275–279
5. ^ Oireachtas Sub-Committee report on the Barron Report (2004), p.21
6. ^ Crowe, Seán. "Dublin/Monaghan bombings: 'We need to know extent of British state involvement with this loyalist gang'". TheJournal.ie.

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18 May 1927 – The Bath School Disaster: forty-five people are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Michigan.

Bath School Disaster

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• Bath School disaster

• From other capitalisation: This is a redirect from a title with another method of capitalisation. It leads to the title in accordance with the Wikipedia naming conventions for capitalisation, or it leads to a title that is associated in some way with the conventional capitalisation of this redirect title. This may help writing, searching and international language issues.
  • If this redirect is an incorrect capitalisation, then {{R from miscapitalisation}} should be used instead, and pages that use this link should be updated to link directly to the target. Miscapitalisations can be tagged in any namespace.
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19 May 1962 – A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's rendition of "Happy Birthday".

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Song sung by Marilyn Monroe in 1962

"Happy Birthday, Mr. President"

Marilyn Monroe's original performance of the song

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Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Happy Birthday, Mr. President" is a song sung by actress and singer Marilyn Monroe on May 19, 1962, for President John F. Kennedy at a gala held at Madison Square Garden for his 45th birthday, 10 days before the actual date (May 29). The event was co-hosted by Arthur B. Krim and Anna M. Rosenberg, who sat next to the President during the star-studded event.^[1]

Monroe sang the traditional "Happy Birthday to You" lyrics in a sultry, intimate voice, with "Mr. President" inserted as Kennedy's name. She continued the song with a snippet from the classic 1938 song, "Thanks for the Memory", for which she had written new lyrics specifically aimed at Kennedy.

Thanks, Mr. President
For all the things you've done
The battles that you've won
The way you deal with U.S. Steel
And our problems by the ton
We thank you so much

Afterwards, as a large birthday cake was presented to him, President Kennedy came on stage and joked about Monroe's version of the song, saying, "I can now retire from politics after having had Happy Birthday sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way," alluding to Monroe's delivery, skintight dress, and image as a sex symbol.^[2]

The performance was one of Monroe's last major public appearances before her death less than three months later on August 4, 1962. First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who rarely attended Democratic Party events, instead spent the day at the Loudon Hunt Horse Show with her children, John and Caroline. Monroe was accompanied by jazz pianist Hank Jones.

1. ^ Gorham, Christopher C. (2023). The Confidante: The Untold Story of the Woman Who Helped Win WWII and Shape Modern America (1st ed.). New York: Citadel Press/Kensington Publishing Corp. pp. 286–289. ISBN 978-0806542003.
2. ^ Marilyn Monroe Forever in Our Hearts (May 19, 2014). President Kennedy, JFK Comments on Marilyn Monroe's Happy Birthday. YouTube. Archived from the original on April 28, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2016.

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20 May 1813 – Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.

Battle of Bautzen

Battle of Bautzen may refer to:

• Battle of Bautzen (1813), battle between a combined Russian–Prussian army and Napoleon I of France
• Battle of Bautzen (1945), battle of the Eastern Front during World War II

Topics referred to by the same term

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Battle of Bautzen.
If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

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21 May 1991 – Former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a female suicide bomber near Madras.

Rajiv Gandhi

Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989

This article is about the politician. For other uses, see Rajiv Gandhi (disambiguation).

Rajiv Gandhi^[1] (Hindi pronunciation: [raːdʒiːʋ ɡaːndʱiː] ^ⓘ; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991)^[2][3] was an Indian politician who served as the 6th Prime Minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the assassination of his mother, then–prime minister Indira Gandhi, to become at the age of 40 the youngest Indian prime minister. He served until his defeat at the 1989 election, and then became Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha, resigning in December 1990, six months before his own assassination.

Gandhi was not related to the world-famous Mahatma Gandhi. Instead, he was from the politically powerful Nehru–Gandhi family, which had been associated with the Indian National Congress party. For much of his childhood, his maternal grandfather Jawaharlal Nehru was prime minister. Gandhi attended The Doon School, an elite boarding institution, and the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He returned to India in 1966 and became a professional pilot for the state-owned Indian Airlines. In 1968, he married Sonia Maino; the couple settled in Delhi for a domestic life with their children Rahul and Priyanka. For much of the 1970s, his mother was prime minister and his younger brother Sanjay an MP; despite this, Gandhi remained apolitical.

After Sanjay died in a plane crash in 1980, Gandhi reluctantly entered politics at the behest of his mother. The following year he won his brother's Parliamentary seat of Amethi and became a member of the Lok Sabha—the lower house of India's Parliament. As part of his political grooming, Rajiv was made general secretary of the Congress party and given significant responsibility in organising the 1982 Asian Games.

On the morning of 31 October 1984, his mother (the then prime minister) was assassinated by her two Sikh bodyguards^[4][5][6][7] Satwant Singh and Beant Singh in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star, an Indian military action to remove Sikh separatist activists from the Golden Temple of the Harmandir Sahib. Later that day, Gandhi was appointed prime minister. His leadership was tested over the next few days as organised mobs of Congress supporters rioted against the Sikh community, resulting in anti-Sikh massacres in Delhi. Sources estimate the number of Sikh deaths at about 8,000–17,000.^[8] That December, the Congress party won the largest Lok Sabha majority to date, 411 seats out of 542. Gandhi's period in office was mired in controversies; perhaps the greatest crises were the Bhopal disaster, Bofors scandal and Mohd. Ahmed Khan v. Shah Bano Begum. Soon after the installation of Gul Shah as chief minister in Jammu and Kashmir, the 1986 Kashmir riots erupted.^[9] In 1988, he reversed the coup in Maldives, antagonising militant Tamil groups such as PLOTE, intervening and then sending peacekeeping troops to Sri Lanka in 1987, leading to open conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). In mid-1987, the Bofors scandal damaged his corruption-free image and resulted in a major defeat for his party in the 1989 election.

Gandhi remained Congress president until the elections in 1991. While campaigning for the elections, he was assassinated by a suicide bomber from the LTTE. His widow Sonia became the president of the Congress party in 1998 and led the party to victory in the 2004 and 2009 parliamentary elections. His son Rahul was a Member of Parliament from 2004 and was the President of the Indian National Congress until 2019 and his daughter Priyanka Vadra was a general secretary of the INC. In 1991, the Indian government posthumously awarded Gandhi the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award. At the India Leadership Conclave in 2009, the Revolutionary Leader of Modern India award was conferred posthumously on Gandhi.^[10]

1. ^ "Shri Rajiv Gandhi". Prime Ministers of India. Archived from the original on 19 May 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
2. ^ "Rajiv Gandhi | prime minister of India". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
3. ^ Patel, Dhirubhai (17 February 2017). Rajiv Gandhi: Youngest Indian Prime Minister. Independently published. ISBN 978-1-5206-2973-5.
4. ^ Kaur, Jaskaran; Crossette, Barbara (2006). Twenty years of impunity: the November 1984 pogroms of Sikhs in India (PDF) (2nd ed.). Portland, OR: Ensaaf. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-9787073-0-9. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
5. ^ "1984: Assassination and revenge". BBC News. 31 October 1984. Archived from the original on 15 February 2009. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
6. ^ Shaw, Jeffrey M.; Demy, Timothy J. (2017). War and Religion: An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict. ABC-CLIO. p. 129. ISBN 978-1610695176.
7. ^ Brass, Paul R. (October 1996). Riots and Pogroms. NYU Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-0814712825.
8. ^ Joseph, Paul (11 October 2016). The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives. SAGE. p. 433. ISBN 978-1483359885. "around 17,000 Sikhs were burned alive or killed"
9. ^ Aiyar, pp. 148–
10. ^ "Special award bestowed on Rajiv Gandhi". The Hindu. 27 September 2009. Retrieved 28 February 2021.

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22 May 1990 – Microsoft releases the Windows 3.0 operating system.

Windows 3.0

Third major release of Microsoft Windows

"Multimedia Extensions" redirects here. For the instruction set, see MMX (instruction set).

Windows 3.0 is the third major release of Microsoft Windows, launched in 1990. Its new graphical user interface (GUI) represents applications as clickable icons, instead of the list of file names in its predecessors. Later updates expand capabilities, such as multimedia support for sound recording and playback, and support for CD-ROMs.

Windows 3.0 is the first version of Windows to perform well both critically and commercially. Its GUI was considered a challenger to those of Apple Macintosh and Unix. Other praised features are the improved multitasking, customizability, and especially the utilitarian memory management that troubled the users of Windows 3.0's predecessors. Microsoft was criticized by third-party developers for bundling its separate software with the operating environment, which they viewed as an anticompetitive practice. Windows 3.0 had 10 million sales and was succeeded by Windows 3.1 in 1992.

On December 31, 2001, Microsoft declared Windows 3.0 obsolete and stopped support and updates.

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23 May 1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, the head of the SS, commits suicide while in Allied custody.

Heinrich Himmler

Fourth German Nazi leader of the SS (1900–1945)

"Himmler" redirects here. For the surname, see Himmler (surname).

Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (German: [ˈhaɪnʁɪç ˈluːɪtpɔlt ˈhɪmlɐ] ^ⓘ; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German politician who was the 4th Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party of Germany, and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, primarily known for being a main architect of the Holocaust.

As a member of a reserve battalion during the First World War, Himmler did not see active service or combat. He joined the Nazi Party in 1923 and the SS in 1925, and in 1929 Adolf Hitler appointed him Reichsführer-SS. Over the next sixteen years, Himmler developed the SS from a 290-man battalion into a million-strong paramilitary group. He was known for good organisational skills and for selecting highly competent subordinates, such as Reinhard Heydrich in 1931. From 1943 onwards, he was both Chief of the Kriminalpolizei (Criminal Police) and Minister of the Interior, overseeing all internal and external police and security forces, including the Gestapo (Secret State Police). He also controlled the Waffen-SS, the military branch of the SS.

Himmler's interest in occultism and Völkisch topics influenced the development of the racial policy of Nazi Germany, and he also incorporated esoteric symbolism and rituals into the SS. He was the principal overseer of Nazi Germany's genocidal programs, forming the Einsatzgruppen and administering extermination camps. In this capacity, Himmler directed the killing of some six million Jews, between 200,000 and 500,000 Romani people, and other victims. A day before the launch of Operation Barbarossa, Himmler commissioned the drafting of Generalplan Ost, which was approved by Hitler in May 1942 and implemented by the Nazi regime, killing approximately 14 million people, mostly Polish and Soviet citizens.

Late in the Second World War, Hitler briefly appointed Himmler as military commander and later Commander of the Replacement (Home) Army and General Plenipotentiary for the administration of the entire Third Reich (Generalbevollmächtigter für die Verwaltung). Specifically, he was given command of the Army Group Upper Rhine and the Army Group Vistula. After Himmler failed to achieve his assigned objectives, Hitler replaced him in these posts. Realising the war was lost, Himmler attempted to open peace talks with the western Allies without Hitler's knowledge, shortly before the end of the war. Hitler learned of this, dismissed him from all his posts in April 1945, and ordered his arrest. Himmler attempted to go into hiding but was detained and arrested by British forces and died by suicide in British custody on 23 May 1945.

1. ^ Manvell & Fraenkel 2007, p. 13.

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24 May 1830 – Mary Had a Little Lamb by Sarah Josepha Hale is published.

Mary_Had_a_Little_Lamb[wiki]

 

25 May 2011 – Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her twenty five year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show.

The Oprah Winfrey Show

1986–2011 American syndicated talk show

This article is about the television talk show. For its host, see Oprah Winfrey.

The Oprah Winfrey Show, often referred to as The Oprah Show or simply Oprah, is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, from Chicago, Illinois. Produced and hosted by Oprah Winfrey, it remains the highest-rated daytime talk show in American television history.^[2]

The show was highly influential to many young stars, and many of its themes have penetrated into the American pop-cultural consciousness. Winfrey used the show as an educational platform, featuring book clubs, interviews, self-improvement segments, and philanthropic forays into world events. The show did not attempt to profit off the products it endorsed; it had no licensing agreement with retailers when products were promoted, nor did the show make any money from endorsing books for its book club.^[3]

Oprah was one of the longest-running daytime television talk shows in history. The show received 47 Daytime Emmy Awards before Winfrey chose to stop submitting it for consideration in 2000.^[4] In 2002, TV Guide ranked it at No. 49 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.^[5] In 2013, they ranked it as the 19th greatest TV show of all time.^[6] In 2023, Variety ranked The Oprah Winfrey Show #17 on its list of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time.^[7]

In November 2009, Winfrey announced that the show would conclude in 2011 following its 25th and final season. The series finale aired on May 25, 2011.

1. ^ Hollingshead, Iain (May 20, 2011). "Oprah Winfrey retires: Those in the spotlight can't bear the final curtain". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
2. ^ Rose, Lacey (January 29, 2009). "America's Top-Earning Black Stars". Forbes. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
3. ^ Carr, David (November 22, 2009). "The Media Equation – Oprah Winfrey's Success Owes to Decisions That Avoided Common Traps". The New York Times. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
4. ^ "'The Oprah Winfrey Show': Trivia". Web. Oprah.com. January 1, 2006. Retrieved June 26, 2012.
5. ^ "TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows". CBS News. April 26, 2002.
6. ^ Fretts, Bruce; Roush, Matt. "The Greatest Shows on Earth". TV Guide Magazine. 61 (3194–3195): 16–19.
7. ^ "The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time". Variety. December 20, 2023.

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26 May 1828 – Feral child Kaspar Hauser is discovered wandering the streets of Nuremberg.

Kaspar Hauser

German youth kept in total isolation

Kaspar Hauser (30 April 1812 – 17 December 1833) was a German youth who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell. Hauser's claims, and his subsequent death from a stab wound, sparked much debate and controversy. Theories propounded at the time identified him as a member of the grand ducal House of Baden, hidden away because of royal intrigue. These opinions may or may not have been documented by later investigations.^[1] Other theories proposed that Hauser had been a fraud.

1. ^ d Heydenreuter: König Ludwig I. und der Fall Kaspar Hauser, in: Staat und Verwaltung in Bayern. Festschrift für Wilhelm Volkert zum 75. Geburtstag. Ed. by Konrad Ackermann and Alois Schmid, Munich 2003, pp. 465–476, here p. 465.

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27 May 2005 – Australian Schapelle Corby is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in Kerobokan Prison for drug smuggling by a court in Indonesia.

Schapelle Corby

Australian convicted drug smuggler (born 1977)

Schapelle Leigh Corby (born 10 July 1977) is an Australian woman who was convicted of smuggling cannabis into Indonesia. She spent nine years imprisoned on the Indonesian island of Bali in Kerobokan Prison. Since her arrest Corby has publicly maintained that the drugs were planted in her bodyboard bag and that she did not know about them.^[1] Her trial and conviction were a major focus of attention for the Australian media.^[2]

Corby was convicted on 27 May 2005 for the importation of 4.2 kg (9.3 lb) of cannabis into Bali. She was sentenced to 20 years by the Denpasar District Court and imprisoned in Kerobokan Prison. On appeal her conviction and sentence were confirmed with finality by the Indonesian Supreme Court. In March 2010, Corby petitioned the President of Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, for clemency on the grounds of mental illness. In May 2012, she was granted a five-year sentence reduction.^[3] Corby was released on parole on 10 February 2014 after serving nine years in prison.^[4] According to her parole conditions, Corby was to leave Bali on 27 May 2017. She was deported on that date and returned to Australia.^[5]

1. ^ Cornford, Philip (27 December 2004). "Little cheer for Bali drug suspect". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
2. ^ Feneley, Rick (8 February 2014). "How a convicted drug smuggler obsessed a nation". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
3. ^ Adamrah, Mustaqim; BT Saragih, Bagus (22 May 2012). "Corby gets 5-year sentence cut". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
4. ^ Bachelard, Michael (8 February 2014). "Schapelle Corby granted parole". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
5. ^ Back, Alexandra (7 February 2014). "Schapelle Corby parole verdict handed down". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 7 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.

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28 May 1987 – 19-year-old West German pilot Mathias Rust evades Soviet Union air defenses and lands a private plane in the Red Square in Moscow. He is immediately detained and will not be released until August 3, 1988.

Mathias Rust

German activist, landed a plane near Red Square in Moscow in 1987

Mathias Rust (born 1 June 1968)^[1] is a German aviator known for his flight that ended with a landing near Red Square in Moscow on 28 May 1987. A teenage amateur pilot, he flew from Helsinki, Finland, to Moscow, without authorization. According to Russian claims^[2][3] he was tracked several times by Soviet Air Defence Forces and civilian air traffic controllers, as well as Soviet Air Force interceptor aircraft. The Soviet fighters did not receive permission to shoot him down, and his aeroplane was mistaken for a friendly aircraft several times. Also, 28 May 1987 was Border Guards Day, leaving many guards distracted.^[4] He landed on Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, next to Red Square near the Kremlin in the capital of the USSR.

Rust said he wanted to create an "imaginary bridge" to the East, and that his flight was intended to reduce tension and suspicion between the two Cold War sides.^[5][6] Rust was sentenced to four years in a general-regime labour camp for violation of border crossing and air traffic regulations, and for provoking an emergency situation upon his landing. After 14 months in prison, he was pardoned by Andrei Gromyko, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, and released.^[5][6]

Rust's flight through a supposedly impenetrable air defence system had a great effect on the Soviet military and resulted in the dismissal of many senior officers, including Minister of Defence Marshal of the USSR Sergei Sokolov and the Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Air Defence Forces, former World War II fighter pilot ace Chief Marshal Alexander Koldunov. The incident aided Mikhail Gorbachev in the implementation of his reforms, by allowing him to dismiss numerous military officials opposed to his policies.

1. ^ "Deutsches Rundfunkarchiv: Eine Cessna auf dem Roten Platz – Mathias Rust in Moskau". www.dra.de (in German). Retrieved 18 March 2022.
2. ^ "The Notorious Flight of Mathias Rust".
3. ^ https://www.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/604381/a-cessna-sized-hole-in-the-iron-curtain-revisited/
4. ^ Cite error: The named reference guardianmay14 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
5. ^ ^{a b} LeCompte, Tom (July 2005). "The Notorious Flight of Mathias Rust". Air & Space/Smithsonian. Washington, D.C. Retrieved 4 April 2009.
6. ^ ^{a b} Hadjimatheou, Chloe (7 December 2012). "Mathias Rust: German teenager who flew to Red Square". BBC World Service. Retrieved 17 March 2014.

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29 May 1953 – Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay's (adopted) 39th birthday.

Edmund Hillary

New Zealand mountaineer (1919–2008)

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary KG ONZ KBE (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist. On 29 May 1953, Hillary and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. They were part of the ninth British expedition to Everest, led by John Hunt. From 1985 to 1988 he served as New Zealand's High Commissioner to India and Bangladesh and concurrently as Ambassador to Nepal.

Hillary became interested in mountaineering while in secondary school. He made his first major climb in 1939, reaching the summit of Mount Ollivier.^[2] He served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force as a navigator during World War II and was wounded in an accident. Prior to the Everest expedition, Hillary had been part of the British reconnaissance expedition to the mountain in 1951 as well as an unsuccessful attempt to climb Cho Oyu in 1952.

As part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition he reached the South Pole overland in 1958. He subsequently reached the North Pole, making him the first person to reach both poles and summit Everest. Time named him one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century.^[3]

Beginning in 1960, Hillary devoted himself to assisting the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust, which he established. His efforts are credited with the construction of many schools and hospitals in Nepal. Hillary had numerous honours conferred upon him, including the Order of the Garter in 1995. Upon his death in 2008, he was given a state funeral in New Zealand.

1. ^ "Edmund Percival Hillary". Online Cenotaph. Auckland War Memorial Museum. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
2. ^ "Sir Edmund Hillary Biography and Interview". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
3. ^ "Time 100 Persons of the Century". Time. 6 June 1999. Retrieved 31 May 2017.

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30 May 1959 – The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Lord Cobham.

Auckland Harbour Bridge

Road bridge in Auckland, New Zealand

The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane motorway bridge over the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand. It joins St Marys Bay on the Auckland city side with Northcote on the North Shore side. It is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway. The bridge is operated by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA).^[4] It is the second-longest road bridge in New Zealand, and the longest in the North Island.^[5]

The original inner four lanes, opened in 1959, are of box truss construction. Two lanes were added to each side in 1968–1969 are of orthotropic box structure construction^[6] are cantilevered off the original piers. The bridge is 1,020 m (3,348 ft) long, with a main span of 243.8 metres (800 feet) rising 43.27 metres (142 feet) above high water,^[7] allowing ships access to the deepwater wharf at the Chelsea Sugar Refinery, one of the few such wharves west of the bridge.

While often considered an Auckland icon, many see the construction of the bridge without walking, cycling, and rail facilities as a big oversight. In 2016, an add-on structure providing a walk-and-cycleway called SkyPath received Council funding approval and planning consent, but was not built.^[8][9] In 2021, a stand-alone walking and cycling bridge called the Northern Pathway was announced by the New Zealand Government, but also was not built.^[10]

About 170,000 vehicles cross the bridge each day (as of 2019), including more than 1,000 buses, which carry 38% of all people crossing during the morning peak.^[11]

1. ^ "General operating requirements that apply to all overdimension vehicles – Factsheet 53: Overdimension vehicles and loads – New Zealand Transport Agency". July 2005. Retrieved 2 June 2009.
2. ^ Engineering to 1990, IPENZ, Engineering Publications Co Ltd, Page 11
3. ^ Opening day and ceremonies New Zealand Government. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
4. ^ "Auckland Harbour Bridge". NZ Transport Agency. Archived from the original on 15 March 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
5. ^ What is the longest bridge in New Zealand? Archived 19 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine (from the Transit New Zealand FAQ webpage. Retrieved 9 June 2008.)
6. ^ "Auckland Harbour Bridge". Engineering New Zealand. 2019. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2019.
7. ^ 1951–1961 The Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority Archived 7 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine (Auckland Harbour Board publication, 1960s)
8. ^ "Auckland Council vote 'yes' on SkyPath". 21 July 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
9. ^ "SkyPath over Auckland Harbour Bridge gets green light". Radio New Zealand. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2016.
10. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
11. ^ "The next harbour crossing: road and rail, or just rail". The New Zealand Herald. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.

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31 May 1927 – The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.

Ford Model T

American car (1908–1927)

"T Model" and "Model T" redirect here. For the financial formula, see T-model.

Not to be confused with Ford T platform.

Motor vehicle

The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by the Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927.^[16] It is generally regarded as the first mass-affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans.^[17] The relatively low price was partly the result of Ford's efficient fabrication, including assembly line production instead of individual handcrafting.^[18] The savings from mass production allowed the price to decline from $780 in 1910 to $290 in 1924 ($5,156 in 2023 dollars^[19]).^[20] It was mainly designed by three engineers, Joseph A. Galamb (the main engineer),^[21][22] Eugene Farkas, and Childe Harold Wills. The Model T was colloquially known as the "Tin Lizzie".^[23]

The Ford Model T was named the most influential car of the 20th century in the 1999 Car of the Century competition, ahead of the BMC Mini, Citroën DS, and Volkswagen Beetle.^[24] Ford's Model T was successful not only because it provided inexpensive transportation on a massive scale, but also because the car signified innovation for the rising middle class and became a powerful symbol of the United States' age of modernization.^[25] With over 15 million sold,^[26] it was the most sold car in history before being surpassed by the Volkswagen Beetle in 1972.^[27]

1. ^ ^{a b c} Strohl, Daniel. "The houses that T built (and that built the T): Tracking down the assembly plants of Ford's first distributed production effort". American City Business Journals. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
2. ^ "Q. Do you have a timeline of Ford Motor Company Assembly Plants?". Archives & Library Staff @The Henry Ford. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
3. ^ "Ford Assembly Denver Colorado". Hemmings Motor News. American City Business Journals. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
4. ^ Boyer, Mike (May 10, 1998). "Ford motored into Cincinnati long ago". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
5. ^ "Ford Model T Plant". Cleveland Historical. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
6. ^ Darbee, Jeff (July 2014). "City Quotient: I often smell something like vanilla cookies or cake when walking Downtown. Am I just hungry, or is that for real?". Columbus Monthly. Archived from the original on August 20, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
7. ^ Rutledge, Mile. "Did you know: A Henry Ford manufacturing plant helped grow Hamilton". Journal-News. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
8. ^ "Ford Model T Assembly Building". MotorTexas. Retrieved August 4, 2015.
9. ^ "Jacksonville, Florida's, Ford plant: A wistful monument of the Great Depression". American City Business Journals. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
10. ^ Strohl, Daniel. "Ford's New Orleans assembly plant added to National Register of Historic Places". American City Business Journals. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
11. ^ Cherney, Bruce (March 14, 2013). "Ford of Canada plant — railway cars brought the parts that were assembled into complete vehicles". Winnipeg Real Estate News. Archived from the original on December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
12. ^ "Ford's System of Branch Assembly Plants". Retrieved September 15, 2015.
13. ^ García, Gerardo (June 24, 2020). "29 fotos históricas para recordar a la primera fábrica de autos en México: producía 25 Ford Model T al día en 1925" [29 historical photos to remember the first car factory in Mexico: it produced 25 Ford Model T per day in 1925]. Motorpasión (in Spanish). Mexico. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
14. ^ Brooke, Lindsay (September 25, 2008). "Top 10 Ford Model T Tech Innovations That Matter 100 Years Later". Popular Mechanics. US. Retrieved February 12, 2021.
15. ^ ^{a b} "Ford Model T 1908–1927". Carsized. Switzerland. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
16. ^ Gordon, John Steele. "10 Moments That Made American Business". American Heritage. No. February/March 2007. Archived from the original on April 20, 2008. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
17. ^ "1926 Ford Model T Sports Touring Car". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
18. ^ Price, R. G. (January 29, 2004). "Division of Labor, Assembly Line Thought – The Paradox of Democratic Capitalism". RationalRevolution.net. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
19. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
20. ^ Beaudreau, Bernard C. (1996). Mass Production, the Stock Market Crash and the Great Depression. New York, Lincoln, Shanghi: Authors Choice Press.
21. ^ Conwill, David (September 23, 2018). "József Galamb". US: Hemmings. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
22. ^ Negyesi, Pal (October 24, 2018). "The 110-year-old Ford Model T and the Hungarians who made it a success". CE Auto Classic. Austria. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
23. ^ Rosenberg, Jennifer (January 3, 2019). "Why the Model T Is Called the Tin Lizzie". Retrieved March 14, 2022.
24. ^ Cobb, James G. (December 24, 1999). "This Just In: Model T Gets Award". The New York Times. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
25. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
26. ^ "The Model T". Ford Motor Company. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
27. ^ "Beetle overtakes Model T as world's best-selling car". HISTORY. Retrieved March 19, 2020.

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1 June 2001 – Nepalese royal massacre: Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal shoots and kills several members of his family including his father and mother, King Birendra of Nepal and Queen Aiswarya

Nepalese royal massacre

2001 mass shooting in Kathmandu

The Nepali royal massacre occurred on 1 June 2001 at the Narayanhiti Palace, the then-residence of the Nepali monarchy. Nine members of the royal family, including King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya, were killed in a mass shooting during a gathering of the royal family at the palace.^[3] A government-appointed inquiry team named Crown Prince Dipendra as perpetrator of the massacre but the actual incident still remains a mystery with questions being raised on the fictitious modus operandi of Late King Dipendra.^[4] Dipendra slipped into a coma after shooting himself in the head.^[5]

Dipendra was declared King of Nepal while comatose after the death of King Birendra. He died in hospital three days after the massacre without regaining consciousness. Birendra's brother Gyanendra then became king.^[6]

1. ^ "Wrap royal shootings inquiry complete + Dipendra ceremony". YouTube (YouTube video). Associated Press. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
2. ^ Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev at the Encyclopædia Britannica.
3. ^ "Death, Love and Conspiracy: The Nepalese Royal Massacre of 2001 (Durbar Hatyakanda)". Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
4. ^ "Bodyguards fired over Nepal royal massacre". The Irish Times. 3 July 2001. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Massacre was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
6. ^ "Dipendra was innocent: witness". The Indian Express. 24 July 2008. Archived from the original on 30 September 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2012.

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2 June 1855 – The Portland Rum Riot occurs in Portland, Maine.

Portland Rum Riot

The Portland Rum Riot, also called the Maine Law Riot, and the June Riot by Neal Dow, was a brief but violent period of civil unrest that occurred in Portland, Maine on June 2, 1855, in response to the Maine law which prohibited the sale and manufacture of alcohol in the state from 1851.^[1]

1. ^ Danver, Steven L. (2011). Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History: An Encyclopedia [3 volumes]: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. pp. 365–367. ISBN 978-1-59884-222-7.

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3 June 1940 – World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk ends with a German victory and with Allied forces in full retreat.

Battle of Dunkirk

1940 battle between the Allies and Germany in France

This article is about the Second World War battle in 1940. For details about the major evacuation of Allied troops from Dunkirk, see Dunkirk evacuation. For the other battles of the name, see Battle of Dunkirk (disambiguation).

The Battle of Dunkirk (French: Bataille de Dunkerque) was fought around the French port of Dunkirk (Dunkerque) during the Second World War, between the Allies and Nazi Germany. As the Allies were losing the Battle of France on the Western Front, the Battle of Dunkirk was the defence and evacuation of British and other Allied forces to Britain from 26 May to 4 June 1940.

After the Phoney War, the Battle of France began in earnest on 10 May 1940. To the east, the German Army Group B invaded the Netherlands and advanced westward. In response, the Supreme Allied Commander, French General Maurice Gamelin, initiated "Plan D" and British and French troops entered Belgium to engage the Germans in the Netherlands. French planning for war relied on the Maginot Line fortifications along the German–French border protecting the region of Lorraine but the line did not cover the Belgian border. German forces had already crossed most of the Netherlands before the French forces had arrived. Gamelin instead committed the forces under his command – three mechanised forces, the French First and Seventh Armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) – to the River Dyle. On 14 May, German Army Group A burst through the Ardennes and advanced rapidly westward toward Sedan, turning northward to the English Channel, using Generalfeldmarschall Erich von Manstein's plan Sichelschnitt (under the German strategy Fall Gelb), effectively flanking the Allied forces.^[7]

A series of Allied counter-attacks, including the Battle of Arras, failed to sever the German spearhead, which reached the coast on 20 May, separating the BEF near Armentières, the French First Army, and the Belgian Army further to the north from the majority of French troops south of the German penetration. After reaching the Channel, the German forces swung north along the coast, threatening to capture the ports and trap the British and French forces.

In one of the most debated decisions of the war, the Germans halted their advance on Dunkirk. What became known as the "Halt Order" did not originate with Adolf Hitler. Generaloberste (Colonel-Generals) Gerd von Rundstedt and Günther von Kluge suggested that the German forces around the Dunkirk pocket should cease their advance on the port and consolidate to avoid an Allied breakout. Hitler sanctioned the order on 24 May with the support of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (German high command). The army was to halt for three days, which gave the Allies sufficient time to organise the Dunkirk evacuation and build a defensive line. While more than 330,000 Allied troops were rescued,^[8] the British and French sustained heavy casualties and were forced to abandon nearly all their equipment; around 16,000 French and 1,000 British soldiers died during the evacuation. The British Expeditionary Force alone lost some 68,000 soldiers during the French campaign.

1. ^ Shirer 1959, p. 736 Footnote
2. ^ Ellis, Major L F. "The War in France and Flanders 1939–1940 (Chapter XII: Dunkirk Bethune and Ypres)". History of the Second World War. Archived from the original on 30 May 2007 – via Hyperwar Foundation.
3. ^ ^{a b} Hooton 2010, p. 71.
4. ^ ^{a b} Murray 2002, p. 42 (1985 ed.)
5. ^ Franks 2008, pp. 33–39.
6. ^ Franks 2008, p. 160.
7. ^ MacDonald 1986, p. 8.
8. ^ Frieser 2005, pp. 291–292.

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4 June 1989 – Ufa train disaster: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, kills 575 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.

Ufa train disaster

1989 railway accident in Iglinksy District, Bashkir SSR, Soviet Union

The Ufa train disaster was a railway accident that occurred on 4 June 1989, in Iglinsky District, Bashkir ASSR, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, when an explosion killed 575 people and injured 800 more.^[1] It is the deadliest rail disaster during peacetime in Soviet/Russian history^{[citation needed]} and the second-deadliest overall after the Vereshchyovka train disaster.

The accident was named after Ufa, the largest city in the Bashkir ASSR, although it occurred about 75 kilometres (47 miles) east of the city. An annual commemoration is usually held at the Ulu-Telyak station [ru], near the disaster site;^[2] there is a memorial at the site.^{[citation needed]}

1. ^ "Toll up to 645 in Soviet train blast". Chicago Sun-Times. AFP. July 26, 1989.
2. ^ Cite error: The named reference BBC was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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5 June 1947 – Marshall Plan: In a speech at Harvard University, United States Secretary of State George Marshall calls for economic aid to war-torn Europe.

Marshall Plan

American initiative for foreign aid to Western Europe following World War II

For the computer program, see Marshall Plan (software).

"European Recovery Program" redirects here. Not to be confused with 2008 European Union stimulus plan.

The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $173 billion in 2023) in economic recovery programs to Western European economies after the end of World War II. Replacing an earlier proposal for a Morgenthau Plan, it operated for four years beginning on April 3, 1948,^[1] though in 1951, the Marshall Plan was largely replaced by the Mutual Security Act. The goals of the United States were to rebuild war-torn regions, remove trade barriers, modernize industry, improve European prosperity and prevent the spread of communism.^[2] The Marshall Plan proposed the reduction of interstate barriers and the economic integration of the European Continent while also encouraging an increase in productivity as well as the adoption of modern business procedures.^[3]

The Marshall Plan aid was divided among the participant states roughly on a per capita basis. A larger amount was given to the major industrial powers, as the prevailing opinion was that their resuscitation was essential for the general European revival. Somewhat more aid per capita was also directed toward the Allied nations, with less for those that had been part of the Axis or remained neutral. The largest recipient of Marshall Plan money was the United Kingdom (receiving about 26% of the total). The next highest contributions went to France (18%) and West Germany (11%). Some eighteen European countries received Plan benefits.^[4] Although offered participation, the Soviet Union refused Plan benefits and also blocked benefits to Eastern Bloc countries, such as Romania and Poland.^[5] The United States provided similar aid programs in Asia, but they were not part of the Marshall Plan.^[A]

Its role in rapid recovery has been debated. The Marshall Plan's accounting reflects that aid accounted for about 3% of the combined national income of the recipient countries between 1948 and 1951,^[6] which means an increase in GDP growth of less than half a percent.^[7]

Graham T. Allison states that "the Marshall Plan has become a favorite analogy for policy-makers. Yet few know much about it."^[8] Some new studies highlight not only the role of economic cooperation but approach the Marshall Plan as a case concerning strategic thinking to face some typical challenges in policy, as problem definition, risk analysis, decision support to policy formulation, and program implementation.^[9]

In 1947, two years after the end of the war, industrialist Lewis H. Brown wrote, at the request of General Lucius D. Clay, A Report on Germany, which served as a detailed recommendation for the reconstruction of post-war Germany and served as a basis for the Marshall Plan. The initiative was named after United States Secretary of State George C. Marshall. The plan had bipartisan support in Washington, where the Republicans controlled Congress and the Democrats controlled the White House with Harry S. Truman as president. Some businessmen feared the Marshall Plan, unsure whether reconstructing European economies and encouraging foreign competition was in the US' best interests.^[10] The plan was largely the creation of State Department officials, especially William L. Clayton and George F. Kennan, with help from the Brookings Institution, as requested by Senator Arthur Vandenberg, chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.^[11] Marshall spoke of an urgent need to help the European recovery in his address at Harvard University in June 1947.^[12] The purpose of the Marshall Plan was to aid in the economic recovery of nations after World War II and secure US geopolitical influence over Western Europe.^[13] To combat the effects of the Marshall Plan, the USSR developed its own economic recovery program, known as the Molotov Plan. However, the plan was said to have not worked as well due to the USSR particularly having been hit hard by the effects of World War II.^[14]

The phrase "equivalent of the Marshall Plan" is often used to describe a proposed large-scale economic rescue program.^[15]

1. ^ Marshall Plan 2020.
2. ^ Hogan 1987, p. 27.
3. ^ Carew 1987.
4. ^ Schain 2001.
5. ^ Sobell 1987.
6. ^ DeLong & Eichengreen 1993, p. 189-230.
7. ^ Crafts 2011, p. 6.
8. ^ The Marshall Plan.
9. ^ Lassance, Antonio (2022). The making of a public policy in large-scale: strategy, planning and decision support of the Marshall Plan (PDF) (in Portuguese). Brasília-DF, Brazil: Brazilian Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea).
10. ^ Weissman, Alexander (November 2013). "Pivotal Politics – The Marshal Plan: A Turning Point in Foreign Aid and the Struggle for Democray". The History Teacher. 47 (1): 113.
11. ^ Brookings Institution.
12. ^ Hogan 1987, p. 43.
13. ^ Lassance 2021, pp. 61.
14. ^ "Research Starters: Worldwide Deaths in World War II". The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
15. ^ Roberts 1990, p. 97.

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