1611 – Matthias von Habsburg chosen as King of Bohemia
1644 – Johan Mauritius van Nassau resigns as head of Civil rights activists
1873 – 1st Preakness Stakes: G. Barbee aboard Survivor wins in 2:43 at Pimlico Race Course, Baltimore, Maryland
1907 – The single chamber Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.
1943 – -24] 826 Allied bombers attack Dortmund
1974 – Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1981 – Barcelona fascists take 200 people hostage
1990 – Cost of rescuing savings and loan failures is put at up to $130 billion
1994 – 47th Cannes Film Festival: “Pulp Fiction” directed by Quentin Tarantino wins the Palme d’Or
2010 – 63rd Cannes Film Festival: “Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives” directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul wins the Palme d’Or
Author: gil7
Today in History for 23rd May 2025
Historical Events
1932 – Australian cyclist Hubert Opperman sets paced world records 1,384km in 24 hours, and 1,609km (1,000 miles) in 28 hours, 55 minutes, 39 seconds at Melbourne Motordrome
1969 – 22nd Cannes Film Festival: “If…” directed by Lindsay Anderson wins the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film
1983 – Radio Moscow announcer Vladimir Danchev praises Afghanistan Muslims standing up to Russia; he is removed from the air
1990 – Cost of rescuing savings and loan failures is put at up to $130 billion
2001 – 9th UEFA Champions League Final: Bayern Munich beats Valencia (1-1, 5-4 on penalties) at Milan
Famous Birthdays
1820 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer and inventor (Eads Bridge-St Louis), born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana (d. 1887)
1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Spanish pianist (Orquesta Sinfonica), born in Barcelona, Spain (d. 2009)
1942 – Zalman King, American actor and director (Wild Orchid), born in Trenton, New Jersey (d. 2012)
1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Real Madrid footballer
1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver
Famous Deaths
1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer who improved measuring instruments (moon crater “Auzout”), dies at 69
1838 – Jan Willem Janssens, Dutch nobleman, military officer, and Governor-General of Cape colony and Dutch-Indies, dies at 75
1841 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologist, dies at 76
1934 – Clyde Barrow, American bank robber and outlaw (Bonnie and Clyde), killed in police ambush in Louisiana at 25
2021 – Max Mosley, British auto racer and lawyer (President Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile [FIA] 1993-2009), dies from cancer at 81
Famous Deaths for 22nd May 2025
1666 – Gaspar Schott, German scientist (b. 1608)
1819 – Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, Dutch naval officer and founder of Dutch Marines Corp, dies at 84
1884 – William T. Wofford, Brigadier General (Confederate Army-American Civil War), dies at 59
1943 – Helen Herron Taft, American First lady (1909-13) wife of President William Howard Taft, planted Washington’s cherry trees, dies at 81
1975 – Robert “Lefty” Grove, American Baseball HOF pitcher (6 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1929, 30; AL MVP 1931; Triple Crown 1930, 31; Philadelphia A’s, Boston Red Sox), dies from a heart attack at 75
1998 – John Derek, American actor, director and photographer (Knock on Any Door, All the King’s Men, Rogues of Sherwood Forest), dies at 71
2001 – Jack Watling, British actor (Nanny, Adventure for 2, Naked Heart), dies at 78
2005 – Julia Randall, American poet (b. 1924)
2012 – Wesley Brown, 1st African American US Naval Academy graduate, dies at 85
2017 – Nicky Hayden, American motorcycle racer (MotoGP Champion 2006), dies after being hit by a car at 35
Historical Events for 22nd May 2025
1799 – Napoleon makes statement in support of re-establishing Jerusalem for Jews
1894 – American inventor Augustine Sackett is granted a patent for Sackett Board, the prototype for drywall (U.S. Patent No. 520,123)
1915 – Local train collides with troop train killing 226 in Gretna, Scotland
1933 – First modern sighting of the Loch Ness Monster by Aldie and John Mackay saw “something resembling a whale”
1947 – “Truman Doctrine” goes into effect, aiding Turkey and Greece
1988 – LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, Jack Nicklaus GC: Sherri Turner birdies final 2 holes to win her only major title, 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Amy Alcott
1996 – “Tartuffe: Born Again” opens at Circle in the Square Theater, NYC; runs for 29 performances
2002 – American civil rights movement: a jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murders of four girls in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church
2006 – Results from the Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006 are announced. 55.4% of voters vote to become independent from the Serbia and Montenegro Union.
2019 – UN General Assembly votes for a motion condemning UK occupation of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean and for them to reunite with nearby Mauritius
Today in History for 22nd May 2025
Historical Events
1840 – The transporting of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished
1966 – 18th Emmy Awards: “The Fugitive”, Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore win
1967 – Egyptian President Nasser closes the Straits of Tiran to Israel
2001 – Laureus World Sports Awards, Grimaldi Forum, Monaco: Sportsman: Tiger Woods; Sportswoman: Cathy Freeman; Team: French Men’s National Football team
2018 – Stacey Abrams is the first black woman to be nominated as US state governor – for Georgia
Famous Birthdays
1660 – Andreas Schlüter, German sculptor, baptized in Free Imperial City of Hamburg (d. 1714)
1671 – Abraham Patras, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1735-37), born in Grenoble, France (d. 1737)
1930 – Harvey Milk, American politician, gay activist and first openly gay person elected to public office, born in Woodmere, New York (d. 1978)
1936 – M. Scott Peck, American psychiatrist and writer (The Road Less Traveled), born in New York City (d. 2005)
2001 – Emma Chamberlain, American influencer (YouTube), born in San Mateo, California
Famous Deaths
1667 – Alexander VII [Fabio Chigi], Italian Pope (1655-67), dies at 68
1958 – Julien de Valckenaere, Belgian poet, dies at 60
1991 – Catalino “Lino” Brocka, Filipino film director (Macho Dancer, Jaguar), dies in car crash at 51
2022 – Dervla Murphy, Irish bicyclist and travel author (Full Tilt: Ireland to India with a Bicycle; In Ethiopia with a Mule), dies at 90
2024 – Petri Sulonen, Finnish soccer defender (10 caps; TPS 319 games), dies from ALS at 60
Famous Deaths for 21st May 2025
1647 – Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch historian, poet and playwright (Grandida; Nederduytsche Historiën / History of the Netherlands), dies at 66
1968 – Doris Lloyd, English American actress (Oliver Twist), dies of heart strain at 71
1975 – Boris Klyuzner, Russian Soviet composer, dies at 65
1980 – Ida Kamińska, Polish stage and screen actress, director, and writer (The Shop on Main Street; Mother Courage and Her Children), dies at 80
1983 – Kenneth Clark, English art historian (Civilisation), dies at 79
1984 – Ann Little, actress (Roaring Road), dies at 93
1988 – Harry Babasin, American jazz bassist and cellist (Dodo Marmarosa Trio), and archivist (Los Angeles Theaseum), dies of emphysema at 67
1991 – Jean Van Joutte, Prime Minister of Belgium (1952-54), dies
1998 – Douglas Fowley, American actor (Singin’ in the Rain, Pistols ‘n’ Petticoats), dies at 86
1999 – Karnail “Bugz” Pitts, American rapper (D12), killed in a picnic dispute at 21
Historical Events for 21st May 2025
1886 – 14th Preakness: S Fisher aboard Bard wins in 2:45
1918 – US House of Representatives passes amendment allowing women to vote
1945 – Nazi SS-Reichsfuehrer Heinrich Himmler captured
1966 – A “loyalist” group calling itself the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) issued a statement declaring war on the Irish Republican Army (IRA)
1969 – Civil unrest in Rosario, Argentina, aka Rosariazo, following the death of a 15-year-old student.
1988 – “Da’Butt” by EU hits #35
2006 – The Swedish ice hockey team Tre Kronor takes gold in the World Championship, becoming the first nation to hold both the World and Olympic titles separately in the same year.
2013 – American singer-songwriter Carole King receives Library of Congress Gershwin Prize at the White House in Washington, D.C.
2018 – Former US president Barack Obama and Michelle Obama sign deal with Netflix to produce films and series
2023 – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy makes a surprise appearance at G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan, with world leaders also making a statement to condemn Chinese acts of “economic coercion”
Today in History for 21st May 2025
Historical Events
1966 – Louie Louie by The Kingsmen reentered the chart and hits #97
1969 – Slovan Bratislava of Czechoslovakia win 9th European Cup Winner’s Cup against FC Barcelona of Spain 3-2 in Basel
1972 – “Heathen!” opens and closes at Billy Rose Theater NYC for 1 performance
1997 – Blue Jays pitcher Roger Clemens beats the Yankees for his 200th win
2018 – US Justice Department says it is expanding its internal investigation into whether FBI infiltrated Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign
Famous Birthdays
1923 – Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician known for his work on algebraic topology and Lie groups, born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland (d. 2003)
1940 – Tony Sheridan, British singer-songwriter and guitarist who collaborated with the pre-fame Beatles (“My Bonnie”), born in Norwich, England (d. 2013)
1976 – Christopher Tin, American film, television, and video game score composer (Baba Yetu), born in Redwood City, California
1979 – Fayçal Salhi, French-Algerian jazz guitarist and oud player, born in Khenchela, Algeria
1996 – Josh Allen, American football quarterback (Buffalo Bills), born in Firebaugh, California
Famous Deaths
1650 – James Graham, Marquis of Montrose “the Great Montrose”, Scottish general, hanged at 37
1742 – Lars Roberg, Swedish physician, natural science researcher, and educator, dies at 78
1973 – Vaughn Monroe, American singer and orchestra leader (Vaughn Monroe Show), dies at 61
1974 – Lili Kronberger, Hungarian figure skater (World C’ship gold Ladies singles 1908, 09, 10, 11), dies at 83
1992 – Elizabeth David, British cookbook writer (English Bread and Yeast Cookery), dies after a series of strokes at 72
Famous Deaths for 20th May 2025
1717 – John Trevor, British statesman (b. 1637)
1782 – William Emerson, British mathematician known for his work on fluxions, dies at 81
1910 – Jean-Baptiste Theodore Weckerlin, French composer, dies at 88
1935 – Ivans [Jacob van Schevichaven], Dutch lawyer and detective writer, dies at 68
1960 – Audrey Wurdemann, American poet, 1935 Pulitzer Prize for “Bright Ambush”, dies at 49
1961 – Nannie Helen Burroughs, American educator and civil rights activist (founded National Training School for Women and Girls), dies at 82
1994 – Dallas Pratt, American collector (The American Museum in Britain), dies at 79
2005 – William Seawell, American Army Brigadier General and CEO of Pan Am, dies at 87
2012 – Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, convicted Lockerbie bomber (Pan Am 103), dies from prostate cancer at 60
2019 – Andrew Hall, English actor (Butterflies – “Russell”), and theater director, dies of cancer at 65
Historical Events for 20th May 2025
1736 – Royal Approval is given by King George II to construct the original Westminster Bridge across the River Thames in London
1840 – York Minster badly damaged by fire
1891 – 1st public display of Thomas Edison’s prototype kinetoscope to members of the National Federation of Women’s Club
1899 – First speeding infraction by a New York cabbie driving an electric car – 12mph down Lexington Street
1913 – 38th Preakness: James Butwell aboard Buskin wins in 1:53.4
1978 – 3 PFLP members kill a police officer near El Al airlines in Orly Airport, Paris
1985 – Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 1,300 for 1st time
1992 – At height of “Black May’ political crisis in Thailand TV interview broadcast of King Bhumibol Adulyadej demanding Generals Suchinda and Chamlong work together
2009 – Quentin Tarantino film “Inglourious Basterds” premieres at the Cannes Film Festival with an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender and Diane Kruger
2018 – President Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela wins a second term in an election marked by boycotts and accusations of vote rigging