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
Category: Historical Events
Historical Events for 15th May 2026
1908 – Reich Association Law comes into force
1914 – Henri Rabaud’s opera “Mârouf, savetier du Caire” (Marouf, the Cairo Cobbler) premieres in Paris
1916 – Asiago, Italy, falls when Austrian troops attack the Italian front
1923 – Cooperation of Dutch Molen forms
1940 – Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, California
1941 – 1st British turbojet flies
1957 – Evangelist Billy Graham launches his “crusade” in front of 18,000 people at Madison Square Garden in NYC
2010 – 135th Preakness: Martin Garcia aboard Lookin At Lucky wins in 1:55.47
Historical Events for 14th May 2026
1920 – Washington Senator Walter Johnson wins his 300th game vs Detroit
1935 – Plebiscite in the Philippines ratifies independence agreement
1942 – US Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) forms
1944 – General Rommel, Speidel and von Stulpnagel attempt to assassinate Hitler
1988 – Carrollton bus collision: a drunk driver going the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky, United States hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. The crash and ensuing fire kill 27.
1991 – Winnie Mandela is sentenced to six years and is freed pending appeal for complicity in the kidnapping and beating of four youths, one of whom dies
1993 – The 1,000th episode of “The Arsenio Hall Show” airs, featuring a retrospective
2023 – Cyclone Mocha makes landfall on Rakhine coast, Myanmar, near southern border of Bangladesh with at least 400 killed. Second strongest storm on record in the North Indian Ocean.
Historical Events for 13th May 2026
1654 – Venetian fleet under Norwegian Admiral Cort Adeler beats Turkish fleet the near the Dardanelles, sinking 15 Turkish galleys
1861 – Queen Victoria announces Britain’s position of neutrality during the US Civil War
1927 – VVOG soccer team forms in Harderwijk
1940 – Aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky pilots first untethered test flight of his VS-300 helicopter in Stratford, Connecticut
1941 – Willy Lewis’ US jazz band performs in Switzerland
1954 – Chinese Middle School students in Singapore take part in anti-National Service riots
1955 – Mickey Mantle hits 3 consecutive HRs of at least 463′
1993 – CBS’ soap opera “Knots Landing” ends 14 year-run with 334th show in Netherlands and US
Historical Events for 12th May 2026
1865 – Last land action of Civil war at Palmito Ranch, Texas
1908 – Wireless Radio Broadcasting is patented by Nathan B. Stubblefield
1925 – Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan become autonomous Soviet republics
1968 – “March of the Poor” under Rev Ralph Abernathy reaches Washington, D.C.
1968 – WSKG TV channel 46 (PBS) in Binghamton, NY, begins broadcasting
1994 – WIBC Bowling Queens won by Anne Marie Duggan
1999 – David Steel becomes the first Presiding Officer (speaker) of the modern Scottish Parliament
2024 – Flash flood kills at least 300 people in northern Afghanistan and destroys nearly 2000 homes
Historical Events for 11th May 2026
1674 – Netherlands and Cologne sign peace treaty
1812 – British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons, London. Ironically, descendants of both later stand for the same seat in Parliament at the same time, but neither wins
1865 – Confederate Brigadier General Meriwether Jeff Thompson surrenders at Jacksonport, Arkansas
1928 – 63rd British Open Men’s Golf Championship, Royal St George’s GC: Walter Hagen wins 3rd of his 4 Open Championship titles, 2 strokes ahead of fellow American Gene Sarazen
1940 – 65th Preakness: Fred A Smith aboard Bimelech wins in 1:58.6
1963 – “Puff (The Magic Dragon)” single by Peter, Paul and Mary hits #2; Peter Yarrow adapted a poem that college classmate Lenny Lipton had left behind after borrowing Yarrow’s typewriter
1969 – British comedy troupe Monty Python forms, made up of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin
1989 – NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: Montreal Canadians beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 2
Historical Events for 10th May 2026
1774 – Louis XVI ascends to the throne of France
1902 – Portugal goes bankrupt, but its parliament passes a bill converting its external debt. Contributing to Portugal’s troubles is a recent revolt in its colony of Angola, put down on September 6
1969 – US troops begin attack on Hill 937 (“Hamburger Hill”), Vietnam
1973 – Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Yvan Cournoyer has a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Chicago Blackhawks, 6-4 to take title, 4 games to 2
1983 – TV sitcom “Laverne and Shirley” last airs on ABC-TV
1989 – NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Calgary Flames beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 1
2018 – New record auction price for a Latin American artwork of $9.76 million for Diego Rivera’s “The Rivals”
2023 – Heaviest fighting in months between Israel and Palestinian militants as both sides launch air attacks, leaving over 20 dead in Gaza
Historical Events for 9th May 2026
1738 – Britain sends a fleet to the Mediterranean Sea and the West Indies
1846 – Battle of Resaca de la Palma-US sends Mexico back to Rio Grande
1962 – The Beatles sign their first contract with EMI Parlophone
1987 – 183 die aboard a Polish jetliner that crashes in Warsaw
1989 – VP Quayle says in United Negro College Fund speech: “What a waste it is to lose one’s mind” instead of “a mind is terrible thing to waste”
2012 – United States President Barack Obama officially states his support for same-sex marriage
2017 – Jakarta’s Christian governor Ahok jailed for 2 years for blasphemy
2022 – Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa submits his resignation to his brother President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, amid continuing violent protests causing four deaths
Historical Events for 8th May 2026
1450 – Jack Cade’s Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt begins against King Henry VI and they march towards London
1639 – William Coddington founds Newport, Rhode Island
1905 – Union of Unions organizes In Russia under the chairmanship of Paul Miliukov and joins liberal groups demanding parliamentary government and universal suffrage
1906 – Philadelphia A’s pitcher Albert Bender is deployed to left field in 6th inning and responds with 2 HRs in A’s 11-4 win over Boston Americans at Huntington Avenue Grounds, Boston
1960 – USSR and Cuba resume diplomatic relations
1974 – FC Magdenburg of East Germany win 14th European Cup Winner’s Cup against AC Milan of Italy 2-0 in Rotterdam
1994 – All-female pro baseball team Colorado Silver Bullets play their first game
2019 – Pakistani Christian woman Asia Bibi who spent eight years in prison on death row for blasphemy arrives in Canada
Historical Events for 7th May 2026
1355 – 1,200 Jews of Toledo, Spain killed by Count Henry of Trastamara
1800 – Indiana Territory organized
1856 – Argentina and Brazil sign a navigation pact
1938 – Dutch Minister of Justice Goseling calls fugitives of Nazi-Germany “undesired strangers”
1955 – USSR signs peace treaty with France and Great Britain
1982 – “Is There Life after High School?” opens at Barrymore Theatre, NYC; runs for 12 performances
2011 – 137th Kentucky Derby: John Velazquez aboard Animal Kingdom wins in 2:02.04
2024 – Stormy Daniels testifies in court to a 2006 sexual encounter with Donald Trump as part of a hush money trial against Trump