1793 – Netherlands captures French island of St Maarten (held until 1795)
1992 – Amy Fisher shoots Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the face in an altercation over an affair with her husband, in Massapequa, New York
1993 – Boeing 727 crashes into mountain at Medellín, Colombia, kills 132
1993 – Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,500 for 1st time (3,500.03)
1995 – World’s youngest doctor, Balamurali Ambati, 17, graduates from Mount Sinai
2012 – UEFA Champions League Final, Munich: Chelsea beats Bayern Munich, 4-3 on penalties after a 1–1 draw at the end of extra time; Blues’ first title
2013 – Sweden defeats Switzerland to win the 2013 World Ice Hockey Championship
2021 – New York City begins re-opening after 423 days (March 2020) with the COVID-19 death toll at 33,000
Author: gil7
Today in History for 19th May 2026
Historical Events
1941 – New Nazi battleship Bismarck leaves Gdynia, Poland
1962 – Indonesian paratroopers land in New Guinea
1974 – Valéry Giscard d’Estaing wins French presidential election
1995 – Emmy 22nd Daytime Award presentation – Susan Lucci loses for 15th time
2018 – Queen Elizabeth II grants the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle upon their marriage
Famous Birthdays
1795 – Johns Hopkins, American financier and philanthropist (founded Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins University), born in Gambrills, Maryland (d. 1873)
1812 – Felix Zollicoffer, American journalist and Confederate Brigadier General who was killed in the Battle of Mill Springs, born in Maury County, Tennessee (d. 1862)
1864 – Carl Akeley, American taxidermist and naturalist who developed the animal mount process and other techniques for museums, born in Clarendon, New York (d. 1926)
1926 – Paul Cooper, American classical music composer, and educator, born in Victoria, Illinois (d. 1996)
1934 – Ruskin Bond, Indian novelist (Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra), born in Kasauli, British India
Famous Deaths
1928 – Max Scheler, German philosopher, dies at 53
1994 – Henry Morgan, American comedian and TV panelist (I’ve Got a Secret; Arena), dies of lung cancer at 79
2001 – Susannah McCorkle, American singer (b. 1946)
2021 – Lee Evans, American athlete (Olympic gold men’s 400m, 4x400m relay 1968), dies from stroke complications at 74
2025 – Alice Notley, American poet (Mysteries of Small Houses, Disobedience), dies of a cerebral haemorrhage at 79
Famous Deaths for 18th May 2026
1160 – Erik IX Helgi, King of Sweden, dies at ~40
1848 – William Leidesdorff, Mixed-race early Californian businessman, dies at 37
1952 – Rossetter Gleason Cole, American composer (Heroes of Freedom), dies at 86
1955 – Edwin Scharff, German sculptor, and educator, deemed “entartete” (degenerate) by Nazi regime, dies at 68
1959 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, British Antarctic explorer and survivor of the Terra Nova Expedition (The Worst Journey in the World), dies at 73
1961 – Henry O’Neill, American actor (“Lady Killer”; “Nothing But Trouble”), dies at 69
1974 – Tyree Glenn, American jazz and session trombonist and vibraphone player (Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong), dies of cancer at 61
2011 – Leonard Kastle, opera composer, librettist, director (The Passion of Mother Ann), and film maker (The Honeymoon Killers), dies at 82
2013 – Steve Forrest, American actor (SWAT), dies at 87
2013 – Colin Webb, British Fleet Street editor and journalist (Press Association), dies at 74
Historical Events for 18th May 2026
1866 – Netherlands government of Isaäc Dignus Fransen De Putte resigns
1887 – Emmanuel Chabrier’s opera “Le roi malgré lui” (King, in spite of himself) premieres at the Opéra-Comique in Paris; after 3 performances the theatre burns down
1918 – TNT explosion in chemical factory in Oakdale, Pennsylvania, kills 200 people
1929 – MLB record 50 runs for a doubleheader: Brooklyn Robins beat Philadelphia Phillies, 20-16 in first game, Phillies win 8-6 in nightcap, at the Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
1965 – Gene Roddenberry suggests 16 names for Star Trek Captain; they include Kirk
1971 – US President Richard Nixon rejects 60 demands of Congressional Black Caucus
1990 – TV movie “Return To Green Acres” airs
2024 – Bayer Leverkusen become the first Bundesliga team in history to finish a German league season unbeaten after a 2-1 win at home against Augsburg
Today in History for 18th May 2026
Historical Events
1268 – The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Battle of Antioch
1291 – After 100 years of Crusader control, the last Crusader stronghold of Acre is reconquered and destroyed by the Mamluks under Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil
1889 – Jules Massenet’s opera “Esclarmonde” premieres in Paris
1896 – Khodynka Tragedy: A stampeding crowd on Khodynka Field, Moscow, during the coronation festivities for Russian Tsar Nicholas II, causes the deaths of an estimated 1,300 people
1899 – World Goodwill Day: 26 nations meet at the First Hague Peace Conference
Famous Birthdays
1921 – Anthony Epstein, English pathologist and virologist (co-discover of the Epstein–Barr virus), born in London, England (d. 2024)
1934 – Dwayne Hickman, American actor (The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis; How to Stuff a Wild Bikini), and network executive, born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2022)
1958 – Ray Donaldson, NFL center (Dallas Cowboys), born in Rome, Georgia
1970 – Vicky Sunohara, Canadian ice hockey forward (Olympic gold 2002 and 2006) and coach, born in Scarborough, Ontario
1988 – Taeyang [Dong Young-bae], Korean singer (Big Bang), born in Uijeongbu, South Korea
Famous Deaths
1812 – John Bellingham, English merchant who assassinated British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval, executed by hanging at 42 or 43
1995 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (Bewitched – “Samantha* and “Serena”), dies of cancer at 62
2004 – Lincoln Kilpatrick, American actor (BJ-Leslie Uggams Show), dies at 72
2007 – Roy De Forest, American Funk and Nut Art movement painter, dies at 77
2018 – Philip Tabane, South African jazz guitarist, vocalist, and band leader (Malombo), dies at 84
Famous Deaths for 17th May 2026
1050 – Guido of Arezzo, Italian music theorist and Benedictine monk, dies at about 59 [dates sketchy]
1464 – Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros of Helmsley, English politician, executed at 36
1807 – John Gunby, American Soldier in the American Revolutionary War, dies at 62
1978 – Selwyn Lloyd, British politician (Foreign Secretary, 1955-60; Exchequers, 1960-62; Leader of the House of Commons, 1963–64; Speaker of the House of Commons, 1971-76), dies of a brain tumor at 73
1981 – Jeannette Ridlon Piccard, 1st US woman free balloon pilot, dies
1995 – Toe Blake, Canadian Hockey HOF left wing (Stanley Cup 1935 Montreal Maroons; 1944, 46 Montreal Canadiens) and coach (Stanley Cup 1956-60, 1965-66, 68 Montreal Canadiens), dies at 82
1996 – Scott Brayton, American auto racer (4 x top 10 finishes Indianapolis 500; 2 x pole), dies in a practice accident at 37
2002 – László Kubala, Hungarian soccer striker (3 caps Hungary, 6 Czechoslovakia, 19 Spain, 4 Catalonia; FC Barcelona 186 games) and manager (Spain 1969–80), dies at 74
2009 – Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet, dies from respiratory and intestinal problems at 88
2023 – “Superstar” Billy Graham [Eldridge Coleman], American pro wrestler (WWWF Heavyweight Champion 1977-78), dies of kidney, heart, and lung problems at 79
Historical Events for 17th May 2026
1620 – First merry-go-round is seen at a fair in Philippopolis in the Ottoman Empire
1689 – English King William III declares war on France in support of the Dutch Republic (Nine Years’ War)
1750 – -18] Tax revolt in Gorinchem
1900 – “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is first published by L. Frank Baum with illustrations by William Wallace Denslow in Chicago
1953 – Yanks and Browns use record 41 players in a game
1955 – Dutch government of Willem Drees resigns
1958 – 83rd Preakness: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Tim Tam wins in 1:57.2
2014 – Atlético Madrid win the 2013–14 La Liga
Today in History for 17th May 2026
Historical Events
1787 – English slave ship Sisters, en route from Africa to Cuba, capsizes killing hundreds
1921 – US President Warren G. Harding opens (via telephone) the 1st Valencia Orange Show in Anaheim, California
1949 – British government recognises Republic of Ireland (previously Irish Free State)
1979 – Emmy 6th Daytime Award presentation, “Ryan’s Hope” wins Outstanding Daytime Drama Series
2023 – Scientists discover comb jellies (ctenophores) are the closest relative to the very first animals that evolved half a billion years ago, by focusing on groups of genes on chromosomes
Famous Birthdays
1908 – Sigismund Toduţă, Romanian composer, born in Simeria, Romania (d. 1991)
1934 – Earl Morrall, American NFL quarterback (Super Bowl 1970, 72, 73; Pro Bowl 1957, 68; First-team All-Pro 1968, 72; NFL MVP 1968; Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins), born in Muskegon, Michigan (d. 2014)
1936 – Lars Gustafsson, Swedish poet and novelist (The Death of a Beekeeper, The Cracks in the Wall), born in Västerås, Sweden (d. 2016)
1960 – Lou DiBella, American boxing promoter
1977 – Jere Michael, American figure skater (1994 National Jr champ), born in Aspen, Colorado
Famous Deaths
1695 – Cornelis de Heem, Dutch painter, dies
1888 – Giacomo Zanella, Italian poet (b. 1820)
1986 – Lyudmila Pakhomova, Russian ice dancer (World C’ship gold x 6; Olympic gold USSR 1976; with Alexandr Gorshkov), dies from leukemia at 39
2002 – Joe Black, American baseball pitcher (NgL All-Star 1947, 48, 50 Baltimore Elite Giants; first black pitcher to win World Series game 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers), dies of prostate cancer at 78
2024 – Sid Going, New Zealand rugby union halfback (29 Tests; Northland RU), dies at 80
Famous Deaths for 16th May 2026
1703 – Charles Perrault, French author and fairy tale writer (Tales of Mother Goose), dies at 75
1904 – N I Bobrikov, Russian governor-general in Finland, dies
1932 – William Pember Reeves, politician/poet, dies
1944 – George Ade, American playwright, writer and humorist (Counsel Widow, Fables in Slang), dies at 78
1978 – William Steinberg, German-American conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony, 1952-76; Boston Symphony, 1969-71), dies at 78
1981 – Ernie Freeman, American RandB and pop musician (“Raunchy”), session pianist, arranger, and music director (Reprise Records; Liberty Records), dies of a heart attack at 58
2003 – Mark McCormack, American businessman (b. 1930)
2009 – Ashley Massaro, American model, professional wrestler and winner of WWE Diva Search (2005), commits suicide at 39
2015 – Dean Potter, American free climber and BASE jumper, dies in a wingsuit flying accident at Yosemite National Park, aged 43
2025 – Brian Glanville, British journalist and football writer (The Sunday Times, 1958–92; World Soccer magazine), dies at 93
Historical Events for 16th May 2026
1891 – George A. Hormel establishes George A. Hormel and Company (Hormel Foods Corporation) in Austin, Minnesota
1920 – French heroine Joan of Arc is canonized as a saint by Pope Benedict XV
1920 – Spanish matador Joselito (José Gómez Ortega) is fatally gored in his last bullfight, by “Bailador” the bull, in Talavera de la Reina, Spain
1941 – Italian army under Aosta surrenders to Britain at Amba Alagi, Ethiopia
1957 – Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Invicti Athletae
1981 – “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes hits #1 for next 9 weeks
1993 – Judd Nelson pleads no contest to kicking Kim Evans in the head
1998 – 123rd Preakness: Kent Desormeaux aboard Real Quiet wins in 1:54.80