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These are some of the many widely recognized historic events that occurred during the month of June, listed by year.  Dates provided for events that occurred before the Common Era (BCE) may be approximate.

323 BCE, June 10 - Death of Alexander the Great: The renowned military leader and conqueror, Alexander the Great, dies in Babylon at the age of 32. More

632 CE, June 8 - Death of Prophet Muhammad: The founder of Islam, Prophet Muhammad, passes away in Medina, Saudi Arabia, marking a significant event in the history of the Islamic faith.

793 CE, June 8 - Viking Raid on Lindisfarne: Vikings from Scandinavia launch a raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne in Northumbria, England, marking the beginning of the Viking Age.

987 CE, June 1 - Coronation of Hugh Capet: Hugh Capet is crowned as the King of the Franks, marking the beginning of the Capetian dynasty and the consolidation of power in France.

1005, June 29 - The Battle of Lechfeld takes place between the East Frankish (German) forces under Henry II and the invading Hungarian armies, resulting in a decisive victory for the East Frankish forces.

1014, June 23 - The Battle of Clontarf occurs in Ireland, where the forces of Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland, defeat the Viking invaders.

1065, June 28 - Westminster Abbey is consecrated in London, England, becoming the site of coronations and burials for English monarchs.

1071, June 29 - The Battle of Manzikert takes place, where the Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Empire, leading to the gradual decline of Byzantine power in Anatolia.

1099, June 7 - The Crusaders begin the Siege of Jerusalem, a pivotal event during the First Crusade that eventually leads to the capture of the city. On June 15, the Crusaders enter Jerusalem and establish the Kingdom of Jerusalem, marking the culmination of the First Crusade.

1108, June 1 - Louis VI is crowned as the King of France.

1119, June 24 - The Order of the Knights Templar is founded in Jerusalem.

1139, June 24 - The Battle of Ourique takes place, where Afonso Henriques defeats the Almoravids and establishes the Kingdom of Portugal.

1153, June 6 - The Treaty of Wallingford is signed, ending the civil war in England between King Stephen and Empress Matilda, and establishing Henry II as the undisputed king.

1162, June 18 - Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, is formally canonized as a saint by Pope Alexander III.

1178, June 18 - Five monks in Canterbury, England, observe an unusual phenomenon on the moon; a meteor event,now known as the "Canterbury Tales"
 
1184, June 16 - The Battle of Fimreite takes place in Norway, where King Sverre Sigurdsson defeats the forces of Magnus Erlingsson, securing his rule.

1191, June 8 - Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) arrives in Acre, beginning his involvement in the Third Crusade.

1215, June 15 - King John of England signs the Magna Carta.

1381, June 14 - Peasants' Revolt begins in England.

1494, June 7 - Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas, dividing the New World between them.

1523, June 6 - Sweden National Day. Celebrates the election of King Gustav Vasa and the new constitutions of  1809 and 1974. The election of King Gustav Vasa was the de facto end of the Kalmar Union and has been seen as a formal declaration of independence.

1665, June 7 - The first recorded victims of the Great Plague of London die - 

1775, June 17 - The Battle of Bunker Hill takes place near Boston, Mass, in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War.

1777, June 14 - The Second Continental Congress issues a resolution adopting the Flag of the United States. It wasn't until 1949, that Congress approved the national observance, and President Harry Truman signed it into law. There have been twenty-seven official versions of the flag to date. The current version of the flag dates to August 21, 1959, after Hawaii became the fiftieth state. More

1783, June 5 - The first sustained flight occurred as a hot-air balloon was launched at Annonay, France, by brothers Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier, reaching an altitude of about 6,000 feet.

1788, June 21 -  New Hampshire ratifies the U.S. Constitution and becomes the 9th State and last necessary state of the original 13 colonies to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

1788, June 25 - Virginia ratifies the U.S Constitution and becomes the 10th State.

1792, June 1 - Kentucky was admitted to the U.S and becomes the 15th State.

1796, June 1 - Tennessee was admitted to the U.S and becomes the 16th State.

1815, June 18 - Napoleon Bonaparte is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo takes place, resulting in the  end of the Napoleonic Wars.

1836, June 15 - Arkansas was admitted to the U.S and becomes the 25th State.

1837, June 20 - Queen Victoria ascends to the British throne - 

1846, June 15 - The Oregon Treaty is signed, establishing the U.S.-Canadian border at the 49th parallel.

1863, June 20 - West Virginia was admitted to the U.S and becomes the 35th State.

1865, June 19 - Union General Gordon Granger announces in Galveston, Texas, that all slaves in Texas are free, an event, now celebrated as "Juneteenth".

1872, June 6 -  Pioneering feminist, Susan B. Anthony, was fined for voting in a presidential election at Rochester, New York. More

1893, June 7 - Gandhi 's first act of civil disobedience took place in South Africa when he went there to work  for an Indian company after studying to become a lawyer in England. When railroad officials made Gandhi sit in a third-class coach even though he had purchased a first-class ticket, Gandhi refused and police forced him off the train. This event changed his life. More

1896, June 4 - Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company takes his first car for a spin on the city of Detroit. More

1898, June 12 - The Philippines declared their independence from Spain. Later that year, the Treaty of Paris ended the Spanish-American War and Spain ceded the Philippines to the US, the islands were occupied by U.S. forces. and became an American colony until after World War II.

1900, June 1 - The Boxer Rebellion begins in China.

1905, June 7 - Norway Union Dissolution and Independence Day from Sweden. (National Day, commemorating the Independence from Denmark and the Constitution of Norway is celebrated  on17 May 17, 1814).

1914,  June 28 - Archduke Francis Ferdinand, Crown Prince of Austria and his wife were assassinated at Sarajevo, touching off a conflict between the Austro-Hungarian government and Serbia that escalated into World War I.

1916, June 3 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs the National Defense Act which authorized an expanded Army of 175,000, and an enlarged National Guard of 450,000 and brought the states’ militias more under federal control and gave the president authority, in case of war or national emergency, to mobilize the National Guard for the duration of the emergency.

1919, June 4 - The 19th amendment granting women the right to vote is passed by Congress. The amendment passed its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920.  U.S. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certifies the 19th Amendment on August 26, 1920, giving women the Constitutional right to vote. It had been first proposed in Congress, forty two years earlier in1878, More

1919, June 28 - The signing of the Treaty of Versailles formally ended World War I. According to the terms, Germany was assessed sole blame for the war, it had to pay reparations of $15 Billion. It was also forced to give up Alsace-Lorraine and all overseas colonies. The treaty also prohibited German rearmament.

1922, June 14 - Warren G. Harding became the first U.S. President to broadcast a message over the radio. 

1924, June 2 - The government of the United States confers citizenship on all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the country. The right to vote, however, was governed by state law; until 1957, some states barred Native Americans from voting. More

1938, June 25 - Fair Labor Standards Act is passed, setting the first minimum wage in the U.S. at 25 cents per hour.

1941, June 22 -  Nazi Germany Invades the Soviet Union during the Second World War . The Invasion, named Barbarossa, was the largest land offensive in human history, with over 10 million combatants taking part.

1942, The battle of Midway -  Early on the morning of June 4, aircraft from four Japanese aircraft carriers attacked and severely damaged the US base on Midway. Unbeknownst to the Japanese, the US carrier forces were just to the east of the island and ready for battle. More

1944, June 4 - Rome was liberated by the U.S. 5th Army, led by General Mark Clark.

1944: June 6 - Allied forces launch the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, during World War II - Over 160,000 Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called the operation a crusade in which, “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” By day’s end, the Allies gained a foot-hold in Continental Europe. The cost in lives on D-Day was high; more than 9,000 Allied Soldiers were killed or wounded. More

1944, June 17 - Iceland National Day. Effective date of the dissolution of the Danish–Icelandic Act of Union following the 1944 Icelandic constitutional referendum.

1945, June 26 - The United Nations Charter was signed by 50 nations in San Francisco. The United Nations Charter was ratified on October 24, 1945.

1948, June 24 - Soviets begin blockade of Berlin in the first major crisis of the cold war.

1948, June 26 - In response to the Soviet blockade, the  U.S. and Great Britain begin an emergency airlift of food and fuel to West Berlin to relieve two million isolated West Berliners. The Russians blockade of Berlin ended on May 12, 1949.

1950, June 25 - North Korea invades South Korea following clashes along the border' North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union The fighting ended with an armistice on 27 July 1953 formally dividing the country at the 38th parallel into North and South Korea.

1953, June 19 - Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed by electrocution at Sing Sing Prison in New York. They had been found guilty of providing vital information on the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union.

160, June 26 - Madagascar Independence Day frm France.

1960, June 30 - Democratic Republic of the Congo Independence Day

1962, June 1 - Samoa Independence Day. While independence was achieved at the beginning of January, Samoa celebrates June 1, as its independence day.

1965, June 3 - Major Edward H. White II steps out of the Gemini capsule, becoming the first American astronaut to walk in space. On March 18, 1965, Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei A. Leonov was the first man ever to walk in space. 

1965, June 7 - The U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Connecticut law banning contraception. With tis decision, the Supreme Court guaranteed the right to privacy, including freedom from government intrusion into matters of birth control.

1967, June 5-10 - The Six-Day War takes place between Israel and Arab neighbors Egypt, Jordan, and Syria.

1967, June 8 - The USS Liberty is attacked, during the Six-Day War, by Israeli Air Force jet fighter aircraft and Israeli Navy motor torpedo boats, the USS Liberty was in international waters north of the Sinai Peninsula. The intelligence ship, was well-marked as an American vessel and only lightly armed. The Israeli attack killed 34 US sailors, and wounded 171 in the two-hour attack. More:  USS Liberty Veterans Association  CIA Statement  History 

1968, June 5 - Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy is assassinated in Los Angeles, California.

1971, June, 13 - The New York Times began publication of the Pentagon Papers, a collection of top secret documents exposing U.S. strategy in the Vietnam War.

1972, June 17 - Five men are arrested for breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., leading to the Watergate scandal.

1972, June 29 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment was a violation of the Eighth Amendment prohibiting "cruel and unusual punishment." The decision spared the lives of 600 individuals then sitting on death row. Four years later, in another ruling, the Court reversed itself and determined the death penalty was not cruel and unusual punishment. On October 4, 1976, the ban was lifted on the death penalty in cases involving murder.

1975, June 25 - Mozambique Independence Day from Portugal

1976, June 29 - Seychelles Independence Day.

1977, June 27 - Djibouti Independence Day from France

1982, June 30 - Deadline for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution passes without the necessary
votes.

1986, June 4 - Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top-secret U.S. military intelligence information to Israel.  More

1987, June 12 - In a speech in Berlin, President Reagan challenges Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to ―tear down this wall‖ and open Eastern Europe to political and economic reform.

1989, June 4 - Chinese military cracks down on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square, Beijing. More

1990, June 1 - George H.W. Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sign a bilateral agreement on Destruction and Non-production of Chemical Weapons and on Measures to Facilitate the Multilateral Convention on Banning Chemical Weapons"  The agreement was signed during a summit meeting in Washington D.C

1990, June 25 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that it was unconstitutional for any state to require, without providing other options, for a minor to notify both parents before obtaining an abortion.

1991, June 12 - Boris Yeltsin is elected the first democratically elected President of Russia.

1991, June 25 -  The Republics of Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence from Yugoslavia. Ethnic rivalries between Serbians and Croatians quickly erupted. About 200,000 were missing and presumed dead and over two million people became refugees.

1991, June, last Saturday - Day of Hungarian Freedom. Celebrates the restoration of Hungary's sovereignty after the withdrawal of Soviet troops in June 1991

1992, June 12 - Russia Day. The day commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet. It has been celebrated annually on 12 June since 1992. 

1993, June 26 - President Clinton orders missile attack against Iraq in retaliation for alleged plot to assassinate former President Bush.

1994, June 11 - After 49 years, the Soviet military occupation of East Germany ended. At one time there had been 337,800 Soviet troops stationed in Germany. Over 300,000 Russians died during World War II in the Battle for Berlin.

1997, June 30 - In Hong Kong, the flag of the British Crown Colony was officially lowered at midnight and replaced by a new flag representing China's sovereignty and the official transfer of power.

2001, June 11 - Timothy McVeigh, responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, is executed by lethal injection.

2004, June 28 - The U.S. returns sovereignty to an interim government in Iraq, but maintains roughly 135,000 troops in the country to fight a growing insurgency.

2013, June 6 - Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee, reveals thousands of classified NSA documents to journalists Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras, Barton Gellman, and Ewen MacAskill. Snowden came to international attention after stories based on the material appeared in The Guardian, The Washington Post, and other publications. Later in June, Edward Snowden, comes forward and admits that he is the source of the recent NSA leaks. On September 2, 2020, a U.S. federal court ruled in United States v. Moalin that the U.S. intelligence's mass surveillance program exposed by Snowden was illegal and possibly unconstitutional. More at Business Insider and NPR

2015, June 26 - The U.S. Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage nationwide.

Other Online History Resources

These are some of the many widely recognized historic events that occurred during the month of May, listed by year. Dates provided for events that occurred before the Common Era (BCE) may be approximate.

753 BCE, May 1 - According to legend, the city of Rome is founded by Romulus.

585 BCE, May 28 - A solar eclipse occurred during a battle between the Lydians and the Medes in what is now Turkey. It is one of the earliest recorded events in history.

431 BCE, May 7 - The Peloponnesian War begins between Athens and Sparta, marking the start of a decades-long conflict in Ancient Greece.

333 BCE, May 1 - The Battle of Issus takes place between Alexander the Great of Macedonia and Darius III of Persia, resulting in a decisive victory for Alexander.

218 BCE, May 4 - Hannibal of Carthage wins the Battle of the Trebia against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. More

325 , May 20 - First Council of Nicaea - the first ecumenical council of Christian bishops at Nicaea, Asia Minor. 

330, May 11 - Byzantium was renamed Constantinople after Emperor Constantine.

1337, May 24 - Beginning of the Hundred Years' War - King Edward III of England formally declares war against King Philip VI of France, marking the start of a long-lasting conflict between the two kingdoms which is referred to as the Hundred Years' War which was eventually won by the French at the Battle of Castillon in 1453. This was largely due to the French use of guns against the English.

1348, May 10 - Siege of Calais begins: King Edward III of England surrounds the city of Calais during the Hundred Years' War, leading to a prolonged siege lasting over a year.

1360, May 8 - The Treaty of Brétigny is signed between England and France, marking a temporary end to the first phase of the Hundred Years' War and granting substantial territorial concessions to England.

1381, May 30 - Peasants' Revolt in England: The Peasants' Revolt, a major uprising against high taxes and social injustice, culminates in a confrontation between rebel forces and King Richard II at Smithfield in London.

1431, May 30 - Joan of Arc was burned at the stake for heresy by an English-dominated tribunal in Rouen. More

1498, May 20 - Italian explorer Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad during his third voyage to the Americas.

1498, May 20 -  Portuguese explorer Vasco de Gama becomes the first European to reach India via the Atlantic Ocean. Arriving in Calicut, where he erected a padrão (stone pillar) to prove he had reached India.  More

1502, May 20 - Christopher Columbus sets sail on his fourth and final voyage to the New World.1536, May 19: Anne Boleyn was beheaded at the Tower of London after being found guilty of adultery and treason against King Henry VIII.

1506, May 2 - The cornerstone of the current St. Peter's Basilica in Rome is laid by Pope Julius II.

1527, May 6 - The Sack of Rome takes place, as troops of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, led by Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, pillage and destroy the city.

1536, May 19 - Anne Boleyn, the second wife of King Henry VIII of England, is executed on charges of adultery and treason.

1541, May 8 - Spanish conquistador and explorer Hernando De Soto reaches the Mississippi River at a point below Natchez. De Soto was the first European documented to have seen the river.

1543, May 24 - Nicolaus Copernicus publishes his book "On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres" which formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at its center. In all likelihood, Copernicus developed his model independently of Aristarchus of Samos, an ancient Greek astronomer who had formulated such a model some eighteen centuries earlier.

1559, May 2 - The Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis is signed, ending the Italian Wars and establishing peace between France and Spain.

1568, May 23 - The Eighty Years' War begins as the Dutch rebels, led by Louis of Nassau, defeat a Spanish force at the Battle of Heiligerlee.

1570, May 20 - The Siege of Famagusta begins during the Ottoman-Venetian War, with the city of Famagusta in Cyprus being besieged by the Ottoman Empire.

1588, May 29 - The Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, with the aim of invading England during the Anglo-Spanish War.

1593, May 7- Playwright Christopher Marlowe is killed in a dispute, possibly over a bill, at a tavern in Deptford, London.

1607, May 14 - The first permanent English settlement in America was established at Jamestown, Virginia. 

1610, May 14 - French King Henry IV is assassinated by François Ravaillac in Paris.

1611, May 2 - The Authorized Version of the Bible (King James Version) was first published, and became the standard English language Bible.

1626, May 4 - Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present-day Manhattan) and establishes the colony of New Amsterdam.

1639, May 4 - The Fundamental Orders, often considered the first written constitution in North America, are adopted by the Connecticut Colony.

1642, May 29 - The city of Montreal is founded by French colonists under the direction of Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve.

1652, May 18 - The Battle of Dover takes place during the First Anglo-Dutch War, with the Dutch Republic gaining a decisive victory over England.

1660, May 29 - King Charles II of England is restored to the throne after the period of Commonwealth following the English Civil War.

1670, May 2 - The Hudson's Bay Company is chartered by King Charles II, granting it a monopoly over the fur trade in the region of Hudson Bay in North America.

1689, May 1 -  The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration, granting freedom of worship to Protestant nonconformists.

1692, May 14 - The witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts begin with the arrest of Sarah Osborne, Sarah Good, and Tituba.

1707, May 1 - The Union between England and Scotland is proclaimed. Whales had already been part of England since the 1500's.

1765, May 22 - The British Parliament passed the Quartering Act, which required American colonies to provide lodging and supplies to British troops.1841, May 3: New Zealand was declared a British colony.

1787, May 25 - The Constitutional Convention, which would draft the United States Constitution, began in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1788, May 23 - South Carolina becomes the 8th State to Ratify the U.S. Constitution

1790, May 29 - Rhode Island becomes the 13th State to Ratify the U.S. Constitution

1792, May 17 - The NY Stock Exchange is born with the signing of the Buttonwood Agreement by 24 stockbrokers defining how stocks could be traded and establishing set commissions.

1804, 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

1812, May 30 - The United States declared war on Great Britain, beginning the War of 1812.

1844, May 24 - Samuel Morse, inventor of the Telegraph  sent the first official telegraph message, "What hath God wrought?" from  Washington, D.C., to Baltimore.

1846, May 12 - The United States declares war on Mexico, beginning the Mexican-American War. More

1848, May 29 - Wisconsin was admitted to the Union of States and becomes the 30th State

1856, May 21 - Pro-slavery forces attacked and burned the free-state town of Lawrence, Kansas, in what became known as the "Sacking of Lawrence."

1858, May 11 - Minnesota was admitted to the Union of States and becomes the 32nd State 

1861, May 20 - North Carolina became the last of the Confederate states to secede rom the United States, triggering the start of the American Civil War.

1862, May 5 - The Mexican army defeated French forces at the Battle of Puebla

1862, May 20 - President Abraham Lincoln signed the Homestead Act making millions of government owned acres in the west available to "homesteaders". 

1863, May 3 - The Territory of Arizona is created by Congress with Prescott as capital.

1865, May 10 - 1865: Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured by Union forces in Irwinville, Georgia. General, Robert E. Lee, had surrendered on April 9 at Appomattox in Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant.

1869, May 10 - The first transcontinental railroad in the United States was completed, linking the East Coast and West Coast by rail.

1871, May 10 - The Treaty of Frankfurt am Main is signed, ending the Franco-Prussian War and leaving a stronger unified German state to influence European power politics and compete with England and France.

1873, May 20 - Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis obtained a U.S. patent on the process of putting rivets in men’s work pants for the very first time creating what we now call jeans.. More

1881, May 21 - The American Red Cross is founded in Washington, D.C. by Clara Barton and a circle of her acquaintances.  Barton led the Red Cross for 23 years. More

1902, May 8 - Martinique's Mount Pelée erupts and destroys the town of Saint-Pierre, killing approximately 30,000 people, 15 percent of the island’s population. in the space of a few minutes. This is considered the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century. Mount Pelée is still classified as an active volcano.

1915, May 7 - The passenger liner RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine during World War I, killing 1,198 people.

1915, May 23 - Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary.

1916, May 31 - June 1: Battle of Jutland - World War I’s biggest naval conflict off the coast of Denmark marks the first and only showdown between German and British naval forces during World War I.

1917, May 17 - First regular airmail service begins, with one round trip a day between Washington, DC, and New York.

1917, May 18 - Congress passed the Selective Service Act, which authorized the Federal Government to temporarily expand the military through conscription. The act eventually required all men between the ages of 21 to 45 to register for military service. More

1918, May 18 - Day of the proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia from the Russian Empire.

1921, May 31 - The Tulsa race massacre began. A two-day-long riot when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deputies and armed by city government officials, attacked black residents and destroyed homes and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event is considered one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history.  More

1927, May 20-21 - Charles Lindbergh becomes the first man to fly solo completed the first solo across the Atlantic Ocean, flying 3,610 miles from New York to Paris in his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis in 33 1/2 hours. More

1929, May 16: -The first Academy Awards ceremony was held in Hollywood.

1932, May 12 - The body of Charles Lindbergh Jr. son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was found in Hopewell Township, New Jersey.

1932, May 21 -  Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. (May 20 - May 2021)

1934, May 11 - An enormous dust storm, 1,500 miles long and 600 miles wide, that originated on the west coast, moved eastward across the Great Plains. A total of 300 million tons of topsoil, parched to dust by drought were blown out of the Great Plains. More

1934, May 23 - Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary. When World War I began in July 1914, Italy was a partner in the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, but decided to remain neutral. However, a strong sentiment existed within the general population and political factions to go to war against Austria-Hungary, Italy’s historical enemy.

1937, May 6 - The Hindenburg disaster occurs in Manchester Township, New Jersey, United States.

1937, May 12 -  King George VI was crowned at Westminster Abbey,  following the abdication of his older brother Edward who abdicated so he could marry American socialite Wallis Simpson.

1937, May 27 - In San Francisco, 200,000 people celebrated the grand opening of the Golden Gate Bridge by strolling across it.

1940, May 10 - Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He lead the U.K  through the tumultuous years of World War II.

1941, May 24 - The German Battleship Bismarck sinks the battlecruiser HMS Hood during a naval engagement in the Second World War, resulting in the death of all but 3 of her crew of 1,418. During the engagement, the Bismarck‘s fuel tank was damaged and headed for occupied France to effect repairs. Two days later the Bismarck was attacked by torpedo bombers from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal; rendering the battleship's steering gear inoperable. In her final battle the following morning, the already-crippled Bismarck was engaged by two British battleships and two heavy cruisers, and sustained incapacitating damage and heavy loss of life. The ship was scuttled to prevent her being boarded by the British, and to limit further casualties. There were 2,300 German casualties.

1942, May 6 - U.S. Lt. General Jonathan Wainwright surrenders all U.S. troops in the Philippines unconditionally to the Japanese. All surviving troops; 12,000 Americans and 66,000 Filipinos, were taken to a prison stockade in Manila. This was the largest contingent of U.S. soldiers ever to surrender.

1945, May 7 - Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allied forces, bringing an end to World War II in Europe.

1946, May 25 - Jordan's Independence Day marking its independence from The United Kingdom.

1948, May 14 - Israel declared its independence from British rule.

1949, May 12 - Soviets end blockade of Berlin.

1949, May 23 - The Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is established with the consolidation of the western sectors, controlled by France, the United Kingdom and the United States. On 7 October 1949, the Soviet Zone became the German Democratic Republic (GDR)  When West and East Germany were reunited in 1990, West Germany’s constitution and official name (Federal Republic of Germany) were adopted by the former East German state.

1953, May 29 - Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay completed the first confirmed ascent of Mount Everest on May 29, 1953. More

1954, May 7 - French defeated at Dien Bien Phu bringing an end to French colonial efforts in Indochina.  Vietnam was partitioned by the Geneva Accords of 1954 into Communist North Vietnam and non-Communist South Vietnam. President Eisenhower sent some 700 military personnel as well as military and economic aid to the government of South Vietnam. In 1961, JFK authorized sending additional Special Forces troops and military advisors to South Vietnam. By the end of 1962, there were approximately 11,000 military personnel in South Vietnam and 16,000 by the end of 1963.

1954, May 17 - The Supreme Court of the United States hands down its decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

1955, May 6 - The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) Joins NATO.

1955, 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

1958, May 13 - Vice President Nixon’s motorcade was attacked in Caracas by angry Venezuelans during his goodwill trip through Latin America. The trip was characterized by Latin American anger over the U.S. Cold War policies. Earlier on the trip Nixon had engaged in loud and bitter debates with student groups during his travels through Peru and Uruguay.

1960, May 1 - An American U-2 spy plane flying at 60,000 feet was shot down over Sverdlovsk in central Russia. The pilot, CIA agent Francis Gary Powers, survived the crash, and was tried, convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

1960, May 20 - Cameroon National Day. Cameroon gained independence on 1 January 1960, but does not celebrate that date. Instead, it celebrates the National Day on 20 May commemorating the 1972 Cameroonian constitutional referendum.

1960, May 22 -  A magnitude 9.5 earthquake,  The largest earthquake ever measured,  - occurred along the coast of Chile causing a tsunami which radiated outward from a subduction zone along the coast. Its waves reached Hawaii in 15 hours and Japan in 22 hours. In Chile, the earthquake and the tsunami that followed took more than 2,000 lives and caused property damage estimated at $550 million (1960 dollars).The tsunami killed 61 people in Hawaii and 122 in Japan.

1961, May 5 - Alan Shepard became the first American in space. He piloted the spacecraft Freedom 7 during a 15-minute 28-second suborbital flight that reached an altitude of 116 miles (186 kilometers) above the earth.

1961, May 25 - United States President. John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of Congress the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending an American safely to the Moon before the end of the decade.

1966, May 26 - Guyana gains Independence from the United Kingdom.

1970, May 4 - Four students were killed and nine others were injured when National Guardsmen opened fire on a peaceful protest against the Vietnam War at Kent State University in Ohio, United States.

1972, May 26 - U.S. and Soviet Union sign strategic arms control agreement known as SALT I 

1980, May 18 - Mount St. Helens erupted in Washington state, killing 57 people. Hundreds of square miles of wilderness were reduced to wasteland,

1981, May 13 - Pope John Paul II was shot four times by Mehmet Ali Agca in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican.

1989, May 10 - Tens of thousands of Chinese students and civilians gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing to protest for democracy and government accountability, leading to a violent crackdown by the Chinese government. 

1990, May 4 - Day of the Restoration of Latvian Independence after the end of occupation by the Soviet Union. The Supreme Council adopted the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia, and the Latvian SSR was renamed Republic of Latvia.

1991, May 19 - Somaliland Independence day. Officially the Republic of Somaliland,is an unrecognized de facto sovereign state in the Horn of Africa. Its claimed territory has an area of 68,000 square miles with approximately 5.7 million residents

1991, May 24 - Eritrea Independence day from Ethiopia.

1994, May 6 - The Tunnel, or “Chunnel,” built under the English Channel is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II and French president, François Mitterrand. The Chunnel is 31 miles long, 23 of them underwater at an average depth of 150 feet below the sea bed, making it the world’s longest undersea tunnel. The Chunnel cuts travel time between England and France to 35 minutes.

1994, May 10 - Nelson Mandela becomes the first African president of democratic South Africa. .. More

2003, May 1 - United States President George W. Bush declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq, marking the conclusion of the invasion of Iraq by coalition forces.

2004, May 1 -  Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, along with the island of Malta and the Greek portion of the island of Cyprus joined the EU,

2011, May 2 - Osama bin Laden is killed by US forces in Pakistan.

Other Online History Resources

For centuries, historians believed that any physical evidence of the pivotal Battle of the Aegates was long gone. Then came a chance discovery – which led to dozens of shipwrecks. .... Read more

Carthaginian Naval Ram image credit: Sicily's Soprintendenza del Mare - Department for Cultural Heritage and Identity.

John Herschel Glenn (1921 - 2016)) United States Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. third American in space and fifth person in history to be in space. He received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1962, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978, was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012..... Read more

Our beautiful Camano Island has a rich history and has been given many names over the years. "Kal-lut-chin", Macdonough Island, Caamaño, Perry, Crow Island and then Camano.Today, Camano island with two State Parks, roads, much development and thousands of residents is still a beautiful place to visit or to call home.

A bit of history:

The earliest inhabitants of Camano Island were the Kikalos and Snohomish Indians, who used the island for a summer dwelling while gathering seafood and berries. They called it "Kal-lut-chin," which in the language of the indigenous Snohomish tribe means "land jutting into a bay." They used the island as a base during the fishing and shellfish gathering expeditions.

In 1790, The Spanish expedition led by Manuel Quimper Benítez del Pino, a Spanish Peruvian explorer, cartographer, naval officer, and colonial official born in Lima, brought the first Europeans to map the area. It was Quimper's pilot, Juan Carrasco, who sighted the current Admiralty inlet on the west coast of Whidbey Island and thinking it was a bay he named it Ensenada de Caamaño, after the Spanish naval officer Jacinto Caamaño, Captain of the Aranzazu, (Nuestra Senora de Aranzazu) of the Spanish Navy, who explored western waters working out of Spain’s naval base in San Blas, Mexico during the 1700’s, and was the leader of the last great Spanish exploration of Alaska and the Coast of British Columbia but had not come into what was later known as Puget Sound. This was the first time the Caamaño's name had been used to name any o the local geographical points. Two years later, George Vancouver renamed it Admiralty Inlet, after his ultimate Naval commanders, the Board of Admiralty.

In 1838, Lieutenant Charles Wilkes of the United States Navy was given command of a United States exploration to chart western waters, including Puget Sound and the Oregon country. This United States Exploring Expedition marks America's first formal entry into Puget Sound water. It was also to name the areas not previously titled. Lieutenant Wilkes’ selection for this small island, nestled between Whidbey Island to the west and the mainland to the east, was to name it name it Macdonough Island – to honor Master Commandant Thomas Macdonough, captain of the Saratoga during the War of 1812 and his victory of the battle of Lake Champlain. Following that theme, Wilkes named the waters between Macdonough and Whidbey Island, Saratoga Passage after Macdonough’s flagship the “Saratoga”.

In 1847, British navy Captain Kellett of the surveying vessel Herald, reorganized the official British Admiralty charts and dropped the name Macdonough for the island in his effort to restore Spanish names to the area. He renamed the island giving it its present name of Camano Island to honor Lieutenant Don Jacinto Caamaño. who had started his expedition in San Blas, Mexico and explored much of the Pacific Northwest going as far north as what is now Alaska for the Spanish. 

As a note of interest, the Caamaño Sound and Caamaño passage in British Columbia were also named in honor of Don Jacinto Caamaño and still maintain the name. 

In 1855, in the treaty with local Indians, the first Governor of the Washington Territory, Governor Isaac Stevens, referred to the island as Perry Island. The first Euro-American settlers on the island arrived at the time of the signing of the treaty and began extensive logging operations. Farmers came later and developed the area agriculturally. During the logging era the island was called Crow Island, a name that is sometimes still used by local residents.

Sources:
Camano Chamber of Commerce
British Columbia HISTORICAL NEWS -Journal of the British Columbia Historical Federation
US government resources.https://www.biografiasyvidas.comwww.simply-san-juan.comhttps://wikivisually.com
Other Individual research

The earliest transportation to Camano Island was by water. The ferry connected Camano to the mainland and was located east of the Mark Clark Bridge which was opened in 1909
Stanwood Area Historical Society