The city of Las Vegas is founded in Nevada, United States.

Las Vegas, known for its vibrant nightlife and sprawling casinos, has a rich and colorful history that shaped it into the entertainment capital of the world.

Las Vegas, which means “The Meadows” in Spanish, was named by Rafael Rivera in 1829. This area was a lush oasis with abundant water, which made it a vital stopover on the old Spanish trail to California. The land was part of Mexico until it became part of the United States in 1848 after the Mexican-American War.

In 1905, Las Vegas was officially founded as a city when 110 acres of what would later become downtown were auctioned off. The arrival of the railroad connected Las Vegas with major cities in the Pacific and the rest of the country, boosting the economy and population growth.

The legalization of gambling in 1931 was a turning point for Las Vegas. This coincided with the construction of the Hoover Dam, which brought an influx of workers to the area. The first casino on what would become the Las Vegas Strip, the El Rancho Vegas, opened in 1941. It was soon followed by other casinos and hotels, fueled by the investment from figures such as Bugsy Siegel who opened the Flamingo in 1946.

The post-World War II era marked a boom in construction and the arrival of organized crime figures, which shaped the Las Vegas image as a city run by mobsters. During the 1950s and 1960s, iconic casinos like the Sands, the Sahara, and the Tropicana were built. Entertainment became as much of a draw as the gambling, with top performers like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and the Rat Pack gracing the stages.

The 1980s and 1990s saw a shift from mob control to more corporate management of casinos, heralded by figures like Steve Wynn. This period featured the development of mega-resorts like The Mirage (1989), Bellagio, and The Venetian, transforming the landscape and economy of Las Vegas once again.

In the 21st century, Las Vegas continues to evolve, with a focus on expanding the entertainment offerings beyond gambling. This includes world-class dining, shopping, and entertainment options. The city has also become a hub for business conventions and a popular destination for global tourism.

Las Vegas’ history reflects its status as a city that constantly reinvents itself, making it a unique and dynamic destination with a legacy of continual transformation.

Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.

Liu Bei was a prominent warlord and political figure during the late Eastern Han Dynasty in ancient China. He is best known for his role in the historical novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” which romanticized the events of the era. Liu Bei’s story is a mix of historical facts and fictional embellishments, making it challenging to distinguish between the two.

Liu Bei was born in 161 AD in Zhuo County, Zhuo Commandery (present-day Zhuozhou, Hebei Province). He came from a humble background and claimed descent from the imperial family of the Western Han Dynasty. Liu Bei initially served as a minor official in his local area before rising to prominence during the Yellow Turban Rebellion, a peasant uprising that plagued China at the time.

During this period, Liu Bei formed alliances with other notable figures, such as Zhang Fei and Guan Yu, who became his sworn brothers. Together, they swore an oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden, which has become a legendary symbol of loyalty and camaraderie.

After the rebellion’s suppression, Liu Bei established a base of power in the Jing Province, where he governed as a regional warlord. However, his territory was frequently contested by other warlords, including Cao Cao and Sun Quan. Liu Bei sought to restore the Han Dynasty’s legitimacy and establish a unified China, often proclaiming himself as the rightful heir to the imperial throne.

In “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” Liu Bei is depicted as an idealistic and benevolent leader, known for his compassion towards the common people. He is often associated with Confucian virtues and is portrayed as a paragon of virtue and righteousness. Liu Bei’s story in the novel focuses on his rise to power, his struggles against rival warlords, and his eventual establishment of the Shu Han Kingdom.

Historically, Liu Bei’s attempts to unify China faced many challenges. Despite his efforts, he was never able to fulfill his goal of restoring the Han Dynasty. Liu Bei’s forces were ultimately defeated by the Kingdom of Wu, led by Sun Quan, at the Battle of Xiaoting in 221 AD. He died a year later in Baidicheng (present-day Chongqing) at the age of 62.

Liu Bei’s legacy is significant. His story, as portrayed in “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” has captivated generations of readers and has become a fundamental part of Chinese culture and literature. Liu Bei is often celebrated as a symbol of loyalty, righteousness, and the pursuit of justice. His character continues to be revered and referenced in various forms of media, including movies, television dramas, and video games.

Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.

The Sicilian revolution of 1848 is finally extinguished.

The Treaty of Westphalia is signed.

The Peace of Westphalia refers to the pair of treaties signed in October and May 1648 which ended both the Thirty Years’ War and the Eighty Years’ War. The treaties were signed on October 24 and May 15, 1648 and involved the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III, the other German princes, Spain, France, Sweden and representatives from the Dutch republic. The Treaty of the Pyrenees, signed in 1659, ending the war between France and Spain, is also often considered part of the treaty.

The peace as a whole is often used by historians to mark the beginning of the modern era. Each ruler would have the right to determine their state’s religion—thus, in law, Protestantism and Catholicism were equal. The texts of the two treaties are largely identical and deal with the internal affairs of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Peace of Westphalia continues to be of importance today, with many academics asserting that the international system that exists today began at Westphalia. Both the basis and the result of this view have been attacked by revisionist academics and politicians alike, with revisionists questioning the significance of the Peace, and commentators and politicians attacking the “Westphalian System” of sovereign nation-states. The concept of each nation-state, regardless of size, as of equal legal value informed the founding of the United Nations, where all member states have one vote in the General Assembly. In the second half of the twentieth century, the democratic nation state as the pinnacle of political evolution saw membership of the UN rise from 50 when it was founded to 192 at the start of the twenty-first century. However, many new nations were artificial creations from the colonial division of the world, reflecting the economic interests of the colonizers rather than local cultural, ethnic, religious or other significant boundaries which serve as the foundation of cohesive societies.

Peace negotiations between France and the Habsburgs began in Cologne in 1641. These negotiations were initially blocked by Cardinal Richelieu of France, who insisted on the inclusion of all his allies, whether fully sovereign countries or states within the Holy Roman Empire. In Hamburg and Lübeck, Sweden and the Holy Roman Empire negotiated the Treaty of Hamburg with the intervention of Richelieu. The Holy Roman Empire and Sweden declared the preparations of Cologne and the Treaty of Hamburg to be preliminaries of an overall peace agreement.

Dutch envoy Adriaan Pauw enters Münster around 1646 for the peace negotiations
The main peace negotiations took place in Westphalia, in the neighboring cities of Münster and Osnabrück. Both cities were maintained as neutral and demilitarized zones for the negotiations.

In Münster, negotiations took place between the Holy Roman Empire and France, as well as between the Dutch Republic and Spain. Münster had been, since its re-Catholicisation in 1535, a strictly mono-denominational community. It housed the Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Münster. Only Roman Catholic worship was permitted, while Calvinism and Lutheranism were prohibited.

Sweden preferred to negotiate with the Holy Roman Empire in Osnabrück, controlled by the Protestant forces. Osnabrück was a bidenominational Lutheran and Catholic city, with two Lutheran churches and two Catholic churches. The city council was exclusively Lutheran, and the burghers mostly so, but the city also housed the Catholic Chapter of the Prince-Bishopric of Osnabrück and had many other Catholic inhabitants. Osnabrück had been subjugated by troops of the Catholic League from 1628 to 1633 and then taken by Lutheran Sweden.

A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123 people.

The Cleveland Clinic fire was a major structure fire at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio on May 15, 1929. It started in the basement of the hospital and it was caused by nitrocellulose x-ray film that ignited when an exposed light bulb was too close to the film. The fire generated poisonous gas and two separate explosions. The fire claimed 123 lives, including that of one of the clinic’s founders, Dr. John Phillips. Policeman Ernest Staab was killed by the gas while rescuing 21 victims.

The Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit Ohio corporation, founded in 1921 by four physicians. Late in the morning of May 15, 1929, an exposed light bulb too close to some nitrocellulose x-ray film ignited the film. The burning nitrocellulose film quickly produced a significant amount of poisonous gas, causing victims to suffocate, the faces of the victims turning yellowish brown within minutes. Further complicating fire-fighting, nitrocellulose continues to burn even while immersed in water, and fighting the film-fueled fire simply caused more poisonous smoke to accumulate, raising the death toll.

A first explosion came at a few seconds past 11:30 am; a clock on the third floor balcony stopped at that time. After the hollow center of the building was filled with poisonous gas, a second explosion shattered the skylight and sent the vapors into every corner of the clinic. Many of the building occupants succumbed to the poisons.

Despite the heavy loss of life, firemen estimated the property damage at only $50,000.

According to investigators, the clinic was not at fault for the fire. Nonetheless, the disaster was responsible for influencing significant changes to fire-fighting techniques. The city of Cleveland issued gas masks to its fire departments and proposed a city ambulance service. Nationally, the disaster prompted medical facilities to establish standards for the storage of nitrocellulose film and other hazardous materials.

Some historians have argued that the Cleveland Clinic fire was also a catalyst for the development of non-flammable, non-toxic chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants. Nevertheless, most of the deaths were from breathing highly toxic carbon monoxide and nitric oxide rather than methyl chloride itself, and even at the time of the disaster chemical companies were aware of the hazards of existing refrigerants.

The Anti-austerity movement in Spain begins protests in 58 Spanish cities.

The Moscow Metro is opened to the public for the first time.