Author: History and Headlines contributors

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 15th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 15, 1718, Englishman James Puckle patented his machine gun, the world’s first! On May 15, 1718, James Puckle of England patented the first machine gun. On May 15, 1718, Mr. Puckle patented what could be considered the first machine gun. On May 15, 1848, Serfdom was abolished in the Habsburg Austrian region of Galicia, ending the slavery of peasants in…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 14th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 14, 1796, English scientist Edward Jenner used pus scraped from a cowpox pustule to inoculate his gardener’s son, the first ever vaccine used. On May 14, 1816, romantically linked English authors Mary Godwin and Percy Shelley arrived at Geneva, Switzerland. On May 14, 1878, the town of Salem, Massachusetts, was fittingly (in a way) the scene of the last known…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 13th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 13, 1862, a black African-American slave, Robert Smalls, serving as a ship’s pilot on the CSS Planter, a Confederate armed steamship, managed to steal the ship and turn it over to US Navy forces outside Charleston, South Carolina. On May 13, 1950, the first Formula One World Championship race was held in England. On May 13, 1958, George de Mestral of Switzerland…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 12th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 12, 1593, History shows us a good example of the problems that develop when Church and State are not separate. On May 12, 1864, as part of the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse (Virginia) Union and Confederate forces fought in the “Bloody Angle” resulting in thousands of casualties on both sides, just part of what was by far the bloodiest and…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on May 11th.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On May 11, 1713, Finnish residents of Helsinki burned their own capital city to the ground rather than allow the Russian invaders to possess their city during the Great Northern War. On May 11, 1812, the lobby of the British House of Commons was the scene of an unprecedented and as yet not repeated historical event, the assassination of a British Prime Minister. On May…