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What Happened On This Day? Browse Today in History: May 14th

Explore landmark events and cultural milestones from this day in history — organized by year. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.

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1607 CE, May 14

The first permanent English settlement in America was established at Jamestown, Virginia. More

1610 CE, May 14

French King Henry IV is assassinated by François Ravaillac in Paris.

1692 CE, May 14

The witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts begin with the arrest of Sarah Osborne, Sarah Good, and Tituba.

1796 CE, May 14

British Dr. Edward Jenner successfully demonstrates that inoculation with cowpox matter provides immunity against smallpox, marking the beginning of modern vaccination. He famously vaccinated James Phipps, a boy of age 8, with cowpox, and, then later tested his immunity by exposing him to smallpox. James Phipps did not contract smallpox, proving Jenner's discovery. More

Painting by Ernest Board (1877–1934). Image in the Public domain via Wikimedia

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1804 CE, May 14

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, set out from St. Louis, Missouri traveling up the Missouri River on a mission to explore and map the newly acquired western territory of the United States. The group consisted of around 30 members, including soldiers, interpreters, scouts, and others. They faced numerous challenges, including harsh weather, treacherous terrain, encounters with Native American tribes, and logistical difficulties. The Lewis and Clark Expedition made significant contributions to American knowledge of the West. and it continues to be celebrated as a remarkable feat of discovery and an enduring symbol of the nation's westward expansion. More

1904 CE, May 14

The 1904 Summer Olympics are held in St. Louis, Missouri. The first Olympics hosted in the United States and the first at which gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded. The event was originally awarded to the city of Chicago but was changed to St. Louis, where the World’s Fair called the Louisiana Purchase Exposition was to be taking place, in order to avoid the possibility of conflicting athletic competitions.
Due to the cost and difficulty in traveling, only 12 countries participated across the 95 events with over half of the events being contested only by U.S. athletes which accounted for 523 of the 630 total athletes. More

1948 CE, May 14

Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaims the State of Israel, at midnight May 14. just before the expiration of the British mandate in Palestine—precipitating the first Arab-Israeli war. The UN General Assembly had adopted the resolution to partition Palestine on 29 November 1947 and Britain had announced the termination of its Mandate for Palestine, effective on 15 May 1948. Ben-Gurion became Israel’s first premier. More

1955 CE, May 14

The Warsaw Treaty Organization (also known as the Warsaw Pact), a political and military alliance between the Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries. The Soviet Union formed this alliance as a counterbalance to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a collective security alliance concluded between the United States, Canada and Western European nations in 1949. More

1973 CE, May 14

Skylab, America’s first space station and the first crewed research laboratory in space, lifts off on the last Saturn V rocket. Although the Soviet Union orbited the first experimental space station called Salyut in 1971, the larger and more complex Skylab enabled research in several areas. More

1973 CE, May 14

Skylab, America’s first space station, Skylab, is launched. Three, three-man crews occupied the Skylab workshop for a total of 171 days and 13 hours. It was the site of nearly 300 scientific and technical experiments, including medical experiments on humans’ adaptability to zero gravity, solar observations and detailed Earth resources experiments. Skylab is no longer in space. After completing its missions, Skylab re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and broke apart, with debris falling in Western Australia in 1979. More