10-05-2012, 14:42
1503 – Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.
1773 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
1824 - The National Gallery in London opened to the public.
1869 - A golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
1908 – Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States.
1916 - Explorer Ernest Shackleton and companions reached the Falkland island of South Georgia after sailing 800 miles in 16 days in an open boat. They were looking for help for the remaining members of their party marooned on Elephant island, Antarctica.
1924 – J. Edgar Hoover is appointed the Director of the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation, and remains so until his death in 1972.
1940 – World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1941 - World War II - The worst night of the Blitz in Britain. 550 German bombers dropped 100,000 bombs on London. More than 1500 people were killed and many thousands more were injured.
1954 – Bill Haley & His Comets release "Rock Around the Clock", the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts.
1960 – The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes Operation Sandblast, the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.
1981 – Francois Mitterrand wins the presidential election and becomes the first Socialist President of France in the French Fifth Republic.
1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.
1773 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
1824 - The National Gallery in London opened to the public.
1869 - A golden spike was driven at Promontory, Utah, marking the completion of the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.
1908 – Mother's Day is observed for the first time in the United States.
1916 - Explorer Ernest Shackleton and companions reached the Falkland island of South Georgia after sailing 800 miles in 16 days in an open boat. They were looking for help for the remaining members of their party marooned on Elephant island, Antarctica.
1924 – J. Edgar Hoover is appointed the Director of the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation, and remains so until his death in 1972.
1940 – World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1941 - World War II - The worst night of the Blitz in Britain. 550 German bombers dropped 100,000 bombs on London. More than 1500 people were killed and many thousands more were injured.
1954 – Bill Haley & His Comets release "Rock Around the Clock", the first rock and roll record to reach number one on the Billboard charts.
1960 – The nuclear submarine USS Triton completes Operation Sandblast, the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.
1981 – Francois Mitterrand wins the presidential election and becomes the first Socialist President of France in the French Fifth Republic.
1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa's first black president.