Category Archives: History

History

On this day May 17

Today in History

  • 1999 Ehud Barak becomes Prime Minister of Israel

    During his tenure, Barak attempted to revive the peace negotiations with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). However, his efforts were unsuccessful.

  • 1990 The WHO deletes homosexuality from its list of mental diseases

    Precisely 14 years later, the first same-sex marriages in the United States were performed as Massachusetts became the first state to legalize them.

  • 1972 Germany ratifies the Treaty of Warsaw

    Chancellor Willy Brandt signed the treaty, by which Germany gives up any territorial claims and guarantees the Oder-Neisse line as the valid border to Poland.

  • 1954 The U.S. Supreme Court declares racially segregated public schools unconstitutional

    Despite this landmark decision, de facto racial segregation was upheld for years in some areas of the United States.

  • 1943 The Royal Air Force dambusters wreck three German dams

    The RAF squadron used revolutionary bouncing bombs to avoid the torpedo nets protecting the dams. The audacious air raid was depicted in a 1954 war film.

History

On this day May 16

Today in History

  • 1975 Junko Tabei becomes the first woman to conquer Mount Everest

    The ascent by the Japanese adventurer came 22 years after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first to reach the summit.

  • 1966 In China, the Cultural Revolution begins

    The publication of the May 16 notification marks the beginning of the political campaign, which was initiated by Mao Zedong and lasted ten years. Its objective was to strengthen communism by removing capitalist, traditional and cultural elements from Chinese society.

  • 1960 Theodore Maiman fires the first functional laser

    The American physicist’s invention, an advancement of earlier research by scientists in the U.S. and the Soviet Union, was patented in 1967.

  • 1929 The Oscars are awarded for the first time

    The first Academy Awards were presented at a private dinner with about 270 attendees. Today, it is the world’s most important entertainment awards ceremony.

  • 1919 Albert Cushing Read takes off on the first transatlantic flight in history

    The crossing from New York State, USA to Lisbon, Portugal on a Curtiss NC-4 flying boat took 19 days.

History

On this day May 14

 On This Day – May 14

  • 1973 Skylab blasts off into orbit

    The United States’ first space station crashed back to Earth on July 11, 1979, four years ahead of schedule. In its six years of service, the laboratory was used for many biomedical and technological experiments.

  • 1970 The Red Army Faction (RAF) begins operations

    The German left-wing activist group grew out of the peace and anti-imperialist movement of the 1960s. In reaction to the violent oppression by the German state, they later began operating as a terrorist cell and are responsible for several murders.

  • 1955 The Warsaw Pact is established

    Eight communist bloc countries signed the mutual defense treaty, which played an important role during the Cold War as an antagonist of NATO.

  • 1948 Israel becomes an independent state

    The announcement by Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, triggered a 10-month armed conflict known as the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. It started the day after the proclamation as troops of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan and Iraq invaded the young nation.

  • 1796 The first smallpox vaccination is administered

    The British physician, Edward Jenner, successfully inoculated an 8-year-old smallpox patient using material from a cowpox lesion. The word “vaccine” is derived from the Latin word for cow (vacca).

History

On this day May 13

Today in History

  • 1989 Thousands of students begin a hunger strike on Tiananmen Square in Beijing

    The non-violent occupation of the square was part of anti-corruption and pro-democracy demonstrations. Some 3000 unarmed civilians were killed when the army cracked down on the protesters on June 3-4, 1989.

  • 1981 Pope John Paul II survives an assassination attempt

    Turkish right-wing extremist Mehmet Ali Ağca fired two shots at John Paul II on St. Peter’s Square. The Pope was seriously wounded but survived thanks to a 5-hour operation and went on to visit his attacker in prison.

  • 1950 The first Formula One World Championship season kicks off

    Giuseppe Farina won the first FIA World Championship of Drivers for the Alfa Romeo team.

  • 1940 Igor Sikorsky pilots his VS-300 helicopter’s maiden flight

    The helicopter was the first successful model to use the single vertical tail rotor that most helicopters feature today.

  • 1909 The Giro d’Italia cycle race is held for the first time

    The Giro is considered one of the world’s most important cycle races. Luigi Ganna won the first edition, which went from Milan to Naples and back.