What Happened in May?

The FDA announces approval of Enovid for birth control. The approval limited its use to no more than two years. Nine years later, in 1969 Barbara Seaman’s book, “The Doctor’s Case Against the Pill,” show testimony and research showing that the high doses of estrogen in the early Pill put women at risk of blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, and cancer. History of Birth Control in the U.S.

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.

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. More

A tsunami resulting from the massive 9.5-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Chile which killed thousands the prior day travels across the Pacific Ocean and kills 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii, and 122 in Japan and causing much other property and structural damage.

Alan Shepard, one of the Mercury Astronauts, 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. Expand +

United States President John F. Kennedy, announces before a special joint session of Congress the dramatic and ambitious goal for the nation, of sending an American safely to the Moon and back, before the end of the decade. More

The government of South Africa proclaims the Republic of South Africa and withdraws from the CON and Governor-General Charles Robert Swart formally takes office as State President. More

More than 300 soccer fans were killed and another 500 people were injured at the National Stadium in Lima, Peru, during a riot that erupted after a referee’s call in a soccer match between Peru and Argentina, disallowed an apparent goal for Peru. The stadium went wild as outraged Peruvian fans invaded the field and police fired tear gas into the crowed causing stampedes in which people were crushed and killed.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded by the Arab League. The PLO was created as an umbrella organization representing various Palestinian organizations and movements, with the stated goal of liberation of Palestine. The founding convention was held in Jerusalem on May 28, 1964, and the PLO was formally established on June 2, 1964. Since 1974, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) has a presence within the United Nations, not as a full member state but as observer status and is invited to participate in UN activities. Since 2012, the PLO operates under the name "Palestine" as a non-member observer state, allowing it to participate in UN sessions and conferences, maintain a permanent observer mission, and sign UN treaties More

Guyana gains Independence from the United Kingdom after a 170-year history as a British colony and before that a colony of the Dutch. More

The Soviet Union ratifies the Outer Space Treaty. The treaty bans the placement of nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction in orbit around the Earth, on the Moon, or in outer space, and limits the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes. The treaty entered into force on October 10, 1967. As of March 2024, 115 countries are parties to the treaty, while another 22 have signed the treaty but have not completed ratification. More

William M. Beecher, New York Times military correspondent publishes a one-page dispatch from Washington, ‘Raids in Cambodia by US Unprotested,’ describing the first of recent B-52 raids in Cambodia and exposing President Richard M. Nixon's secret bombing campaign over Cambodia.  Within hours, Henry Kissinger, presidential assistant for national security affairs, contacts J. Edgar hoover, the director of the FBI, asking him to find the government sources of Beecher’s article. During the next two years, Alexander Haig, a key Kissinger assistant, transmitted the names of national Security Council staff members and reporters who were to have their telephones wiretapped by the FBI. More

Abraham Fortas, becomes the first member of the U.S. Supreme Court to resign under threat of impeachment. Fortas faced serious accusations of impropriety after revelations about his financial dealings with financier Louis Wolfson and the existence of a contract in which Fortas was to receive $20,000 annually from Wolfson, ostensibly for consultancy services during a time when Wolfson was under federal investigation for stock manipulation. The Justice Department investigated Fortas at the behest of President Richard Nixon. Attorney General John N. Mitchell pressured Fortas into resigning. More

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. More

A 7.75 on the Richter scale earthquake off the coast of Peru causes much destruction and triggers the world's deadliest avalanche in the Peruvian town of Yungay, Ancash, totally destroying the town and ten nearby villages; killing between 66,000-70,000 people. More

The US space probe Mariner 9 is launched toward Mars, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit another planet. More

Cameroon National Day, commemorating the 1972 Cameroonian constitutional referendum. French Cameroon achieved independence from France on January 1, 1960 becoming the Republic of Cameroon. This marked the start of the decolonization process. The nation was later unified with the former British Cameroons to form the Federal Republic of Cameroon on October 1, 1961.

U.S. and Soviet Union sign strategic arms control agreement known as SALT I.

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

The US Senate Watergate Committee begins to investigate the burglary at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., which was a major event in the 1972 Presidential campaign. The hearings, chaired by Senators Sam Ervin and Howard Baker, were a key part of the investigation into the Watergate scandal. The investigations led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. More