Famous Events For May 14 – Today In History

May 14: Today in History – Historical Events

Early Centuries – May 14 Historic Events – Before the 1700s

1. 14th May 1643: In France, 4-year-old Louis XIV became the king of France.

18th Century – What Happened on May 14 – The 1700s

2. 14th May 1702: A war was declared on this day by England and Netherlands on France and Spain.
3. 14th May 1702: Warsaw was occupied by the Swedish troops led by King Charles XII.
4. 14th May 1747: The French were defeated at the first battle of Cape Finisterre by a British fleet led by Admiral George Anson.

5. 14th May 1767: American import duty on tea was today disbanded by the British government.
6. 14th May 1787: On this day in Philadelphia, delegates gathered to draw up the US Constitution.
7. 14th May 1796: The first inoculation against smallpox, using cowpox pus, was today administered by an English county doctor Edward Jenner in Berkeley, Gloucestershire.

19th Century – May 14 This Day That Year – The 1800s

8. 14th May 1804: This day marks the start of the Lewis and Clark Expedition from Camp Dubois located near Hartford in Illinois. After reaching the Pacific Ocean on 20th Nov 1805, it was back at St. Louis in Missouri on 23rd Sept 1806.
9. 14th May 1811: Paraguay today gained its independence from Spain.
10. 14th May 1842: The first ever illustrated weekly newspaper in the world “Illustrated London News” started its publication today.
11. 14th May 1845: This day marks the opening of Utrecht-Arnhem Railway.
12. 14th May 1853: The process of condensed milk was today patented by Gail Borden, an inventor, newspaper publisher, and land surveyor.

13. 14th May 1862: The chronograph was today patented by Adolphe Nicole of Switzerland.
14. 14th May 1863: The battle of Jackson takes place during the American Civil War.
15. 14th May 1878: American patent was today granted to Vaseline.
16. 14th May 1884: In the United States, an anti-monopoly party was formed today.
17. 14th May 1889: In London, the National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) was formed today.
18. 14th May 1890: David Betty, a British sailor was today promoted as Sub-Lieutenant. He went on to become the British Admiral of the Fleet.
19. 14th May 1894: The Boston Bleachers fire spreads over to about 170 adjoining buildings.
20. 14th May 1896: Climax in Colorado touched -23°C, which was the lowest temperature recorded in the United States so far.
21. 14th May 1897: A treaty was today signed between Great Britain and Emperor Menelik II of Abyssinia.

20th Century – Important Events On This Day May 14th – The 1900s

22. 14th May 1903: US President Theodore Roosevelt today visited San Francisco.
23. 14th May 1905: Netherlands today beat Belgium 4-0 in the second international soccer match.
24. 14th May 1906: During the pennant-raising at the White Sox ballpark, the flagpole broke.
25. 14th May 1907: Universal suffrage for the lower house and a proportional representation for both houses was adopted by Sweden today.
26. 14th May 1908: The first passenger air service by airplane was operated today.
27. 14th May 1910: The issuing of silver dollars was today authorized by Canada.
28. 14th May 1913: In Harlem in the Netherlands, the Frans Hals museum was opened today.
29. 14th May 1918: In Washington DC, Sunday baseball was made legal.
30. 14th May 1919: Pope Benedictus XV, today, published an encyclical on hac tanta.
31. 14th May 1920: Walter Johnson, the Wash Senator won his 300th gave Vs Detroit today.
32. 14th May 1920: This year marks growth in airmail service. It grew to carry 500 lbs of mail daily from Chicago to Omaha except on Sundays and holidays. The service took about 5½ hours.

33. 14th May 1921: Florence Allen sentenced a man to death in Ohio. She was the first woman judge to hand over a death sentence.
34. 14th May 1921: The Fascists led by dictator Benito Mussolini won 29 parliamentary seats in the Italian elections.
35. 14th May 1925: The novel “Mrs Dalloway” written by author Virginia Woolf was today published by Hogarth Press.
36. 14th May 1927: “Phi Sigma”, a local collegiate organization of the University of Chicago was organized on this day.
37. 14th May 1927: At the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Cap Arcona was launched on this day.
38. 14th May 1928: John McGraw was today knocked down by a taxicab. His leg was broken in the accident.
39. 14th May 1931: During a trade union demonstration in Sweden, police opened fire on unarmed demonstrators in Adalen killing five people.

40. 14th May 1931: The leader of the Indian Nationalist movement, Mahatma Gandhi, today agreed to talks with the British in London to discuss independence from Britain. This was in return for stopping the boycott of foreign goods in India.
41. 14th May 1932: Today there was a “We want beer” parade in New York.
42. 14th May 1935: in the Philippines today independence agreement was ratified by plebiscite.
43. 14th May 1938: The Nazi Germany team was today beaten by the England Soccer team.
44. 14th May 1938: The movie “Adventures of Robin Hood” starring Olivia de Havilland was released today. It was directed by Michael Curtiz.
45. 14th May 1939: Five-year-old Lina Medina today became the world’s youngest confirmed mother in medical history.
46. 14th May 1940: Royal Dutch Navy’s Admiral Johannes Furstner departed for England today.
47. 14th May 1940: The creation of Local Defence Volunteers (LDV), which later became Home Guards was today announced by the British Secretary of State for War, Antony Eden.

48. 14th May 1940: Today Britain appointed Lord Beaverbrook was appointed British Minister of Aircraft Production.
49. 14th May 1940: Between 600 to 900 people died when the Nazis bombed Rotterdam today. The Netherlands surrendered to Germany.
50. 14th May 1941: Today 3,600 Persian Jews were arrested.
51. 14th May 1942: US President Roosevelt announced that to help in the war effort all domestic air travel would be placed on a full wartime basis and the fleet of over 500 transport planes would be controlled by the Army.
52. 14th May 1942: The creation of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Force in the United States was today announced by the US Congress.
53. 14th May 1943: The Japanese today sank an Australian Hospital Ship off the coast of Queensland.
54. 14th May 1944: Kohima was occupied by the British troops today.
55. 14th May 1944: There was an attempt by General Rommel, Speidel, and von Stulpnagel to assassinate Hitler

56. 14th May 1944: Bristol was today harassed by 91 German bombers.
57. 14th May 1945: Albert Stevens, a wrongly diagnosed cancer patient was injected 131 kBq of plutonium by physician Gilbert Hamilton, without his knowledge. Stevens survived the highest known accumulated radiation in any human and lived on for 20 years.
58. 14th May 1945: The US today launched an offensive on Okinawa and conquered Sugar Loaf.
59. 14th May 1945: The US aircraft carrier Enterprise was today struck by Kamikaze Zero.
60. 14th May 1948: Israel proclaimed its independence today as British rule of Palestine came to an end.
61. 14th May 1948: US today granted de facto recognition to Israel.
62. 14th May 1948: The Israeli Radio Station Kol Yisrael made its first broadcast today.
63. 14th May 1948: The US today performed its atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak.
64. 14th May 1949: A bill establishing a rocket testing range at Cape Canaveral was today signed by US President Henry Truman.
65. 14th May 1954: In Belgium, military conscription was today reduced from 20 months to 18 months.
66. 14th May 1955: the Warsaw Pact, providing close integration of military, economic, and cultural policy between the eight communist nations was signed today after a three-day conference.

67. 14th May 1955: The US today performed a nuclear test in the Pacific Ocean.
68. 14th May 1957: Petrol rationing which was introduced in Britain and France because of the Suez Canal crisis was today lifted following the resolution of the crisis. However, a four-day work week and a surcharge on petrol would remain till supplies are normalized.
69. 14th May 1959: Federal agents in the USA today raided illegal lotteries and gambling, which were mostly run or controlled by mobsters. The raids were conducted on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service for tax dodging.
70. 14th May 1960: The first unmanned space capsule was launched today by the USSR.
71. 14th May 1961: In Alabama, a bus carrying the first batch of Freedom Riders was bombed and burnt today.
72. 14th May 1962: Yugoslav communist politician and a key figure in the partisan movement during World War II, Milovan Djilas was senesced for 5 years.
73. 14th May 1962: The US today performed an atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island.
74. 14th May 1962: In India, S. Radhakrishnan was elected as the second president of the nation.
75. 14th May 1963: Kuwait was today admitted to the United Nations and became the 111th member.
76. 14th May 1964: The Underground America Day was first observed today.
77. 14th May 1964: The River Nail was today into a manmade canal that will allow the construction of the Aswan Dam. The dam was financed and built with Russian help after the US refused to finance the project.

78. 14th May 1965: The second Chinese atom bomb exploded today.
79. 14th May 1965: The US today conducted a nuclear test at its Nevada test site.
80. 14th May 1968: In West Berlin RAF leader Andreas Baader was sentenced to 3 years.
81. 14th May 1968: Under Alexander Dubcek, liberalizing reforms were announced by the Czech government today.
82. 14th May 1969: In Canada, as part of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1968-69, the Drink Driving Law was introduced. It is a criminal offense in Canada to drive with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 80mg per 100 ml of blood.
83. 14th May 1969: Canada today legalized abortion and contraception.
84. 14th May 1970: In a case of racial discrimination in Mississippi, cops today killed two students.
85. 14th May 1972: After one week of anti-war demonstrations were held in the United States of America, protesting against the war in Vietnam. One minute of silence was held in schools and colleges to protest against the war. Several people were killed and thousands were arrested.
86. 14th May 1973: A US space station “Skylab”, weighing 77 tons and 118 ft tall was launched into the earth’s orbit today.
87. 14th May 1973: Equal rights for females in the military, were approved by the US Supreme Court.
88. 14th May 1975: A massive deportation from Cambodia was reported by the French press.
89. 14th May 1975: The Cambodian island of Koh Tang was today raided by the US forces to free the ship Mayaguez.
90. 14th May 1975: The US today performed a nuclear test at its Nevada test site.
91. 14th May 1986: 17 days after the Chernobyl accident Russian President Gorbachev announced on Russian TV today that 9 people lost their lives and 299 people have been hospitalized for radiation poisoning in the Chernobyl accident.

92. 14th May 1991: In Japan, there was a head-on collision of two trains in Shigaraki, killing 40 and injuring 400 people.
93. 14th May 1991: Nelson Mandela’s wife Winnie Mandela was today sentenced to six years in prison for her part in kidnapping four youths suspected of being police informers.
94. 14th May 1996: A tornado with wind speeds of 125 MPH struck Bangladesh killing more than 400 people. More than 32,000 people were injured.

21st Century – May 14 This Day In History – The 2000s

95. 14th May 2005: An earthquake of 6.9 magnitudes with its epicenter in the Indian Ocean struck near Indonesia causing panic among people. Residents of Sumatra and other islands nearby fled their homes thinking that it was Tsunami.
96. 14th May 2007: China today launched a satellite for Nigeria. It was a Chinese-made satellite bought by Ni Geria and was launched to expand its internet and communication facility.
97. 14th May 2008: Several police officers in Mexico lost their lives as violence between drug cartels increased, prompting President Felipe Calderon of Mexico to deploy thousands of additional troops to combat the drug cartels.
98. 14th May 2009: In Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi, the pro-democracy leader of Burma was charged with violating conditions of house arrest and was imprisoned.
99. 14th May 2012: Fifteen people died when a small plane carrying twenty-one people from Pokhara to Jomsom in Nepal crashed. The ill-fated plane had reported strong winds and was returning to Pokhara.
100. 14th May 2013: Officials in Belize stated that one of the country’s biggest Mayan temples, believed by the archaeologists to be 2300 years old was destroyed by a construction company looking for gravel for use as road filler.

See Also:

Sun Signs Everything Under The Sun!