Browse Historical Events by Month:
Battles, revolts, and explorations. Learn about the noteworthy events in May that have taken place throughout the ages. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
Note: Sources for the historical content shown, include research and reviews of relevant Online History Resources or printed material. When possible, we show a link to a source which provides additional or unique perspective about the event.
We do our best to provide accurate information but would appreciate being notified if any incorrect information is found. You may do so by using our Feedback link.
German astronomer Johannes Kepler discovers the third of his three laws of planetary motion, often referred to as the "harmonic law". This law establishes a relationship between a planet's orbital period and its average distance from the Sun, specifically that the square of the orbital period is proportional to the cube of the average distance. Kepler's Third Law implies that the period for a planet to orbit the Sun increases rapidly with the radius of its orbit. More
The Thirty Years' War is ignited in Prague when a confrontation between Bohemian Protestant Nobels and representatives of the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor resulted in the representatives being thrown out a castle window (The Defenestration of Prague) on ay 23, 1618.
The event was a result of escalating religious and political tensions between Protestant and Catholic factions, triggering a rebellion and a devastating 30 year European war which ended with the treaty of Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. The war is considered one of the most destructive conflicts in history before the 20th century, causing a major change of the political map of Europe.
Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present-day Manhattan) and establishes the colony of New Amsterdam.
The Fundamental Orders, often considered the first written constitution in North America, are adopted by the Connecticut Colony.
The city of Montreal is founded by French colonists under the direction of Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve.
The Battle of Dover (also known as the Battle of Goodwin Sands) takes place during the First Anglo-Dutch War between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. It proved to be an indecisive battle although opinions about the outcome of that battle vary among historians of that period. The flagships were commanded by Admirals Robert Blake and Maarten Tromp.
Note: The battle is sometimes listed as May 19, 1652 based in the Julian calendar which was still in use in England at the time. The Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1582, corrected the Julian calendar which had accumulated a 10-day error over time.
The Treaty of Copenhagen is signed, ending the Second Northern War between Denmark and Sweden and establishing the modern borders between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. More
King Charles II of England is restored to the throne after the period of Commonwealth following the English Civil War. More
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.
King Charles II of England grants a permanent royal charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company, made up of a group of French explorers, giving it the right of "sole trade and commerce" control of today's Canada entire Hudson Bay drainage basin and naming the territory Rupert's Land, after his cousin Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the company's first governor. The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), is the oldest continually operating company in the world. More
Rupert's Land © 2004 Matthew Trump, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
King Charles II assents the Habeas Corpus Act passed by the Parliament of England. The Act, significantly strengthening a person's right to challenge unlawful arrest and imprisonment. This landmark legislation ensured that individuals detained could be brought before a judge to determine the legality of their detention. It's considered one of the four pillars of English liberty, alongside Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, and the Bill of Rights. The act is often wrongly described as the origin of the writ of habeas corpus in England although the writ of habeas corpus had existed before in various forms for at least five centuries before and has been amended several times since then, it remains on the statute book to this day.
The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, the world's first university museum, opens to the public.
The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration, granting freedom of worship to Protestant nonconformists.
The witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts begin with the arrest of Sarah Osborne, Sarah Good, and Tituba. Over the next year, over 200 people were accused of witchcraft, and 20 were executed, with 19 being hanged and one being pressed to death. The trials eventually came to an end in early 1693, with the governor eventually pardoning those who had been convicted. More
The trials eventually came to an end in early 1693, with the governor eventually pardoning those who had been convicted. After the hysteria was over, Massachusetts recognized the witch trials for what they were and began a centuries-long process of atonement. Judges, juries, and accusers publicly apologized, but the apologies were of little comfort to affected families. By 1711 the state had exonerated the accused from all wrongdoing and offered monetary compensations to surviving family members. In 2002 the Massachusetts state legislature officially cleared the names of the last of the accused witches".
Above is an excerpt from https://firstamendment.mtsu.ed...
%2030.jpg?auto=format,compress&fit=clip&max-w=1600)
The Russian city of St. Petersburg, named after the apostle Saint Peter is founded by Tsar Peter the Great on the site of a captured Swedish fortress. St. Petersburg is a Russian port city on the Baltic Sea and it was the imperial capital for 2 centuries.
It remains Russia's cultural center. Among its many beautiful sites, architecture and art is the Bronze Horseman, an equestrian statue of Peter the Great in the Senate Square opened to the public in 1782. The statue influenced an 1833 poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin.
Andrew Shiva, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
The Battle of Ramillies is fought ending in victory for the Allied (Anglo-Dutch) forces led by the Duke of Marlborough against the French. This battle significantly impacted the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), a major European conflict stemming from the death of the Spanish King Charles II, the last Spanish Habsburg without an heir. The war had a significant impact on the balance of power in Europe and the rise of Great Britain as a major global power. More
Yale Center for British Art. By anonymous
The Act of Union, uniting the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland into a single political state, becomes effective on May 1, 1707 and Scotland and England formally became the single Kingdom of Great Britain. Whales had already been part of England since the 1500's.
The city of New Orleans is founded by French colonists under the direction of French Louisiana governor Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. The site was the slightly elevated banks of the Mississippi River approximately 95 miles above its mouth, an area now called the French Quarter, More
The ship "Le Grand St Antoine" arrives in Marseille, France, carrying the last major plague outbreak to affect Europe. The bubonic plague is estimated to have killed around 100,000 people. This event is often referred to as the Great Plague of Marseille.
Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital, is founded by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond.
Photograph by Chandra Lampreich.
.jpg){kind=link}