May 14 — On This Day
140 entries
Events
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1264
Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the de facto ruler of England.
Battle of Lewes · Henry III of England · Mise of Lewes · Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester · De facto
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1509
Battle of Agnadello: In northern Italy, French forces defeat the Venetians.
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1607
Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony.
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1608
The Protestant Union is founded in Auhausen.
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1610
Henry IV of France is assassinated, bringing Louis XIII to the throne.
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1643
Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.
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1747
War of the Austrian Succession: A British fleet under Admiral George Anson defeats the French at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre.
War of the Austrian Succession · Admiral (Royal Navy) · George Anson, 1st Baron Anson · First Battle of Cape Finisterre (1747)
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1787
In Philadelphia, delegates convene a Constitutional Convention to write a new Constitution for the United States; George Washington presides.
Philadelphia · Constitutional Convention (United States) · United States Constitution · George Washington
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1796
Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox inoculation.
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1800
The process of the U.S. Government moving the United States capital city from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C. begins.
U.S. Government · United States · Philadelphia · Washington, D.C.
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1804
The Lewis and Clark Expedition departs from Camp Dubois and begins its historic journey by traveling up the Missouri River.
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1811
Paraguay: Pedro Juan Caballero, Fulgencio Yegros and José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia start actions to depose the Spanish governor
Paraguay · Pedro Juan Caballero (politician) · Fulgencio Yegros · José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia
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1836
The Treaties of Velasco are signed in Velasco, Texas.
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1863
American Civil War: The Battle of Jackson takes place.
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1868
Boshin War: The Battle of Utsunomiya Castle ends as former Tokugawa shogunate forces withdraw northward to Aizu by way of Nikkō.
Boshin War · Battle of Utsunomiya Castle · Tokugawa shogunate · Aizu · Nikkō
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1870
The first game of rugby in New Zealand is played in Nelson between Nelson College and the Nelson Rugby Football Club.
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1878
The last witchcraft trial held in the United States begins in Salem, Massachusetts, after Lucretia Brown, an adherent of Christian Science, accused Daniel Spofford of attempting to harm her through his mental powers.
Salem witchcraft trial (1878) · Salem, Massachusetts · Christian Science
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1879
The first group of 463 Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.
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1913
Governor of New York William Sulzer approves the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100 million donation from John D. Rockefeller.
Governor of New York · William Sulzer · Rockefeller Foundation · John D. Rockefeller
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1925
Virginia Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway is published.
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1931
Five unarmed civilians are killed in the Ådalen shootings, as the Swedish military is called in to deal with protesting workers.
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1935
The Philippines ratifies an independence agreement.
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1939
Lina Medina becomes the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.
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1940
World War II: Rotterdam is bombed by the German Luftwaffe.
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1940
World War II: The Battle of the Netherlands ends with the Netherlands surrendering to Germany.
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1943
World War II: A Japanese submarine sinks AHS Centaur off the coast of Queensland.
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1948
Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
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1951
Trains run on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since preservation, making it the first railway in the world to be operated by volunteers.
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1955
Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
Cold War · Communism · Soviet Union · Treaty · Warsaw Pact
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1961
Civil Rights Movement: The Freedom Riders bus is fire-bombed near Anniston, Alabama, and the civil rights protesters are beaten by an angry mob.
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1970
Andreas Baader is freed from custody by Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun Ensslin and others, a pivotal moment in the formation of The Red Army Faction.
Andreas Baader · Ulrike Meinhof · Gudrun Ensslin · Red Army Faction
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1973
Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched.
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1988
Carrollton bus collision: A drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky, United States hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. Twenty-seven die in the crash and ensuing fire.
Carrollton bus collision · Drunk driving · Interstate 71 · Carrollton, Kentucky · School bus
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2004
The Constitutional Court of South Korea overturns the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.
Constitutional Court of South Korea · President of South Korea · Roh Moo-hyun
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2012
Agni Air Flight CHT crashes near Jomsom Airport in Jomsom, Nepal, after a failed go-around, killing 15 people.
Agni Air Flight CHT · Jomsom Airport · Jomsom · Nepal · Go-around
Famous Births
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1316
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1378)
Famous Deaths
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649
Pope Theodore I
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934
Zhu Hongzhao, Chinese general and governor
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964
Pope John XII (b. 927)
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1080
William Walcher, Bishop of Durham
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1219
William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, English soldier and politician (b. 1147)
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1470
Charles VIII of Sweden (b. 1409)
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1576
Tahmasp I, Shah of Persia (b. 1514)
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1603
Magnus II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1543)
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1608
Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1543)
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1610
Henry IV of France (b. 1553)
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1643
Louis XIII of France (b. 1601)
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1649
Friedrich Spanheim, Swiss theologian and academic (b. 1600)
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1667
Georges de Scudéry, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1601)
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1688
Antoine Furetière, French scholar, lexicographer, and author (b. 1619)
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1754
Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French playwright and producer (b. 1692)
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1761
Thomas Simpson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1710)
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1847
Fanny Mendelssohn, German pianist and composer (b. 1805)
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1860
Ludwig Bechstein, German author (b. 1801)
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1873
Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician and author (b. 1797)
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1878
Ōkubo Toshimichi, Japanese samurai and politician (b. 1830)
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1881
Mary Seacole, Jamaican-English nurse and author (b. 1805)
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1889
Volney Howard, American lawyer, jurist, and politician (b. 1809)
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1893
Ernst Kummer, German mathematician and academic (b. 1810)
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1906
Carl Schurz, German-American general, journalist, and politician, 13th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1829)
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1912
Frederick VIII of Denmark (b. 1843)
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1912
August Strindberg, Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist (b. 1849)
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1918
James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American journalist and publisher (b. 1841)
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1919
Henry J. Heinz, American businessman, founded the H. J. Heinz Company (b. 1844)
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1923
N. G. Chandavarkar, Indian jurist and politician (b. 1855)
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1923
Charles de Freycinet, French engineer and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of France (b. 1828)
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1931
David Belasco, American director, producer, and playwright (b. 1853)
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1934
Lou Criger, American baseball player and manager (b. 1872)
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1935
Magnus Hirschfeld, German physician and sexologist (b. 1868)
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1936
Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, English field marshal and diplomat, British High Commissioner in Egypt (b. 1861)
Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby · List of diplomats of the United Kingdom to Egypt
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1940
Emma Goldman, Lithuanian author and activist (b. 1869)
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1940
Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (b. 1902)
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1943
Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)
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1945
Heber J. Grant, American religious leader, 7th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1856)
Heber J. Grant · President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
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1945
Wolfgang Lüth, Latvian-German captain (b. 1913)
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1945
Isis Pogson, English astronomer and meteorologist (b. 1852)
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1953
Yasuo Kuniyoshi, American painter and photographer (b. 1893)
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1954
Heinz Guderian, Polish-German general (b. 1888)
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1956
Joan Malleson, English physician (b. 1889)
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1957
Marie Vassilieff, Russian-French painter (b. 1884)
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1959
Sidney Bechet, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (b. 1897)
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1959
Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal (b. 1862)
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1960
Lucrezia Bori, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1887)
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1962
Florence Auer, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1880)
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1968
Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (b. 1882)
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1969
Enid Bennett, Australian-American actress (b. 1893)
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1969
Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (b. 1888)
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1970
Billie Burke, American actress and singer (b. 1884)
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1973
Jean Gebser, German linguist, philosopher, and poet (b. 1905)
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1976
Keith Relf, English singer-songwriter, harmonica player, and producer (b. 1943)
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1979
Jean Rhys, Dominican-English novelist (b. 1890)
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1980
Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (b. 1912)
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1982
Hugh Beaumont, American actor (b. 1909)
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1983
Roger J. Traynor, American academic and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of California (b. 1900)
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1983
Miguel Alemán Valdés, Mexican politician, 46th President of Mexico (b. 1900)
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1984
Ted Hicks, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand (b. 1910)
Ted Hicks · List of Australian High Commissioners to New Zealand
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1984
Walter Rauff, German SS officer (b. 1906)
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1987
Rita Hayworth, American actress and dancer (b. 1918)
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1987
Vitomil Zupan, Slovenian poet and playwright (b. 1914)
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1988
Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948-1958) (b. 1886)
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1992
Nie Rongzhen, Chinese general and politician, Mayor of Beijing (b. 1899)
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1993
William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (b. 1908)
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1994
Cihat Arman, Turkish footballer and manager (b. 1915)
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1994
W. Graham Claytor Jr., American businessman, lieutenant, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1914)
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1995
Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
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1997
Harry Blackstone Jr., American magician and author (b. 1934)
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1997
Boris Parsadanian, Armenian-Estonian violinist and composer (b. 1925)
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1998
Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and environmentalist (b. 1890)
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1998
Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (b. 1915)
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2000
Keizō Obuchi, Japanese politician, 84th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1937)
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2001
Paul Bénichou, French writer, intellectual, critic, and literary historian (b. 1908)
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2001
Gil Langley, Australian cricketer, footballer, and politician (b. 1919)
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2003
Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player and coach (b. 1940)
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2003
Wendy Hiller, English actress (b. 1912)
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2003
Robert Stack, American actor and producer (b. 1919)
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2004
Anna Lee, English-American actress (b. 1913)
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2006
Lew Anderson, American actor and saxophonist (b. 1922)
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2006
Stanley Kunitz, American poet and translator (b. 1905)
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2006
Eva Norvind, Mexican actress, director, and producer (b. 1944)
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2007
Mary Scheier, American sculptor and educator (b. 1908)
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2007
Ülo Jõgi, Estonian historian and author (b. 1921)
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2008
Will Elder, American illustrator (b. 1921)
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2010
Frank J. Dodd, American businessman and politician, president of the New Jersey Senate (b. 1938)
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2010
Norman Hand, American football player (b. 1972)
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2010
Goh Keng Swee, Singaporean soldier and politician, 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1918)
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2012
Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
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2012
Mario Trejo, Argentinian poet, playwright, and journalist (b. 1926)
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2013
Wayne Brown, American accountant and politician, 14th Mayor of Mesa (b. 1936)
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2013
Arsen Chilingaryan, Armenian footballer and manager (b. 1962)
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2013
Asghar Ali Engineer, Indian author and activist (b. 1939)
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2013
Ray Guy, Canadian journalist (b. 1939)
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2014
Jeffrey Kruger, English-American businessman (b. 1931)
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2014
Emanuel Raymond Lewis, American librarian and author (b. 1928)
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2014
Morvin Simon, New Zealand historian, composer, and conductor (b. 1944)
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2015
B.B. King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1925)
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2015
Micheál O'Brien, Irish footballer and hurler (b. 1923)
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2015
Stanton J. Peale, American astrophysicist and academic (b. 1937)
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2015
Franz Wright, Austrian-American poet and translator (b. 1953)
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2016
Darwyn Cooke, American comic book writer and artist (b. 1962)
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2017
Powers Boothe, American actor (b. 1948)