May 14Birthdays & History

On this day: May 14 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 1027Robert II of France names his son Henry I as junior King of the Franks.Europe
2. 1097The Siege of Nicaea begins during the First Crusade.Middle EastEurope
3. 1264Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the effective ruler of England.Europe
4. 1450A large Ottoman force begins the siege of Albanian rebel forces in Krujë, that ultimately will fail.Middle EastEurope
5. 1465During the 1465 Moroccan revolution which overthrows the Marinid dynasty, the Jewish mellah is attacked by the population of Fez, though the extent of the massacre is debated.Africa
6. 1509Battle of Agnadello: In northern Italy, French forces defeat the Republic of Venice.Europe
7. 1607English colonists establish "James Fort", which would become Jamestown, Virginia, the earliest permanent English settlement in the Americas.EuropeNorth America
8. 1608The Protestant Union, a coalition of Protestant German states, is founded to defend the rights, land and safety of each member against the Catholic Church and Catholic German states.Europe
9. 1610Henry IV of France is assassinated by Catholic zealot François Ravaillac, and Louis XIII ascends the throne.Europe
10. 1747War of the Austrian Succession: A British fleet under Admiral George Anson defeats the French at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre.Europe
11. 1796Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox inoculation.Europe
12. 1800The 6th United States Congress recesses, and the process of moving the Federal government of the United States from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., begins the following day.North America
13. 1804William Clark and 42 men depart from Camp Dubois to join Meriwether Lewis at St Charles, Missouri, marking the beginning of the Lewis and Clark Expedition's historic journey up the Missouri River.North America
14. 1811Paraguay: Pedro Juan Caballero, Fulgencio Yegros and José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia start actions to depose the Spanish governor.Latin AmericaEurope
15. 1832The Battle of Stillman's Run, the first battle of the Black Hawk War, is fought.North America
16. 1836The Treaties of Velasco are signed in Velasco, Texas.North America
17. 1842The first edition of The Illustrated London News, the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine, is published.Europe
18. 1857Mindon Min is crowned as King of Burma in Mandalay, Burma.Asia
19. 1863American Civil War: During the Vicksburg campaign, Union forces drive Confederates under Joseph E. Johnston out of Jackson, Mississippi in the Battle of Jackson.North America
20. 1868Boshin War: The Battle of Utsunomiya Castle ends as former Tokugawa shogunate forces withdraw northward.Asia
21. 1870The first game of rugby in New Zealand is played in Nelson between Nelson College and the Nelson Rugby Football Club.Oceania
22. 1878The last witchcraft trial held in the United States begins in Salem, Massachusetts, after Lucretia Brown, an adherent of Christian Science, accused Daniel Spofford of attempting to harm her through his mental powers.North America
23. 1879The first group of 463 Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.AsiaOceania
24. 1900Opening of World Amateur championship at the Paris Exposition Universelle, also known as Olympic Games.Europe
25. 1913Governor of New York William Sulzer approves the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100 million donation from John D. Rockefeller.North America
26. 1915The May 14 Revolt takes place in Lisbon, Portugal.Europe
27. 1918Cape Town Mayor, Sir Harry Hands, inaugurates the two-minute silence.Africa
28. 1925Mrs Dalloway, one of Virginia Woolf's earliest and best-known novels, is published.North America
29. 1931Five unarmed civilians are killed in the Ådalen shootings, as the Swedish military is called in to deal with protesting workers.Europe
30. 1935The Constitution of the Philippines is ratified by a popular vote.Asia
31. 1939Lina Medina becomes the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.Middle East
32. 1940World War II: Rotterdam, Netherlands, is bombed by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany despite a ceasefire, killing about 900 people and destroying the historic city center.Europe
33. 1943World War II: A Japanese submarine sinks AHS Centaur off the coast of Queensland.Asia
34. 1948Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.Middle East
35. 1951Trains run on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since preservation, making it the first railway in the world to be operated by volunteers.Europe
36. 1953Approximately 7,100 brewery workers in Milwaukee perform a walkout, marking the start of the 1953 Milwaukee brewery strike.North America
37. 1955Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.Europe
38. 1961Civil rights movement: A white mob twice attacks a Freedom Riders bus near Anniston, Alabama, before fire-bombing the bus and attacking the civil rights protesters who flee the burning vehicle.North America
39. 1970Andreas Baader is freed from custody by Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun Ensslin and others, a pivotal moment in the formation of the Red Army Faction.Europe
40. 1973Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched.North America
41. 1977A Dan-Air Boeing 707 leased to IAS Cargo Airlines crashes on approach to Lusaka International Airport in Lusaka, Zambia, killing six people.Africa
42. 1980Salvadoran Civil War: The Sumpul River massacre occurs in Chalatenango, El Salvador.Latin America
43. 1987Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant colonel Sitiveni Rabuka.Oceania
44. 1988Carrollton bus collision: A drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky, hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. Twenty-seven die in the crash and ensuing fire.North America
45. 2004Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Mary Donaldson are married at Copenhagen Cathedral.Europe
46. 2004The Constitutional Court of South Korea overturns the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.Asia
47. 2004Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4815 crashes into the Amazon rainforest during approach to Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil, killing 33 people.Latin America
48. 2008Battle of Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre between Zenit supporters and Rangers supporters and the Greater Manchester Police; 39 policemen injured, one police dog injured and 39 arrested.Europe
49. 2010Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on the STS-132 mission to deliver the first shuttle-launched Russian ISS component — Rassvet. This was originally slated to be the final launch of Atlantis, before Congress approved STS-135.EuropeNorth America
50. 2012Agni Air Flight CHT crashes in Nepal after a failed go-around, killing 15 people.Asia
51. 2021China successfully lands Zhurong, the country's first Mars rover.Asia
52. 2022Ten people are killed in a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.North America

Source: Wikipedia "May 14" / CC BY-SA 4.0