Discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation by Robert Woodrow Wilson and Arno Penzias. Cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB radiation) is the faint electromagnetic radiation…
19 May 1802
Napoleon Bonaparte founds the Legion of Honour. The Legion of Honour, officially known as the *Légion d’honneur*, is the highest French order of merit for…
18 May 1096
First Crusade: Around 800 Jews are massacred in Worms, Germany. In 1096, during the early stages of the First Crusade, one of the darkest attacks…
17 May 1792
The New York Stock Exchange is formed under the Buttonwood Agreement. The Buttonwood Agreement was a foundational event in American financial history that led to…
16 May 1568
Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England. Mary, Queen of Scots fled to England in 1568 after being forced to give up the Scottish throne….
15 May 1849
The Sicilian revolution of 1848 ends. The Sicilian Revolution of 1848 was part of the wider wave of European revolutions that spread across the continent…
14 May 1796
Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox inoculation. Edward Jenner was an English doctor who became famous for developing the first successful vaccine against smallpox, one…
13 May 1909
The first edition of the Giro d’Italia, a long-distance multiple-stage bicycle race, began in Milan; the Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna was the eventual winner The…
12 May 1965
The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon. The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 was part of the Soviet Union’s ambitious Luna program, which aimed…
11 May 1857
Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British. The Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny or the First War of Indian Independence,…