21st May 1927 and 1932: Charles Lindbergh makes the first solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic, followed five years later by Emilia Earhart as the first woman
The very first non-stop transatlantic flight had occurred in 1919 when John Alcock and Arthur Whiten Brown flew a modified Vickers Vimy bomber aircraft from Newfoundland to Ireland in just under 16 ...
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20th May 1882: Establishment of the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy
Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy formed the Triple ...
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19th May 1922: Young Pioneer organisation formally established in the USSR
Officially known as the Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organisation in honour of the recently deceased Bolshevik leader, the Young Pioneers were modelled in part on scouting organisations, but with a strong political and ideological framework aligned with the principles of the Communist ...
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18th May 1848: The Frankfurt Parliament opens at St. Paul’s Church as the first freely elected parliament for all of Germany
The Parliament sought to draft a constitution to unify the independent German states into a single nation governed by liberal principles, but faced significant challenges from the outset and was dissolved by force in June ...
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17th May 1756: The Seven Years’ War begins, when Great Britain formally declares war on France
The Seven Years’ War is widely regarded as the first truly global conflict as the declaration of war marked the start of full-scale hostilities between the major European powers and their colonies across the ...
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16th May 1960: The first laser was successfully operated by Theodore Maiman at the Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California
The device constructed by Maiman used a small rod of synthetic ruby crystal, surrounded by a helical flash lamp that provided the necessary energy to excite the atoms within the ruby, and is often seen as the start of the 'laser ...
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15th May 1940: The first McDonald’s restaurant opened in San Bernadino, California
Richard and Maurice McDonald opened the first McDonald’s restaurant in San Bernardino, ...
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14th May 1878: The last witchcraft trial in the United States was held in Salem, Massachusetts
Lucretia Brown was a member of the Christian Science religion and alleged that a man named Daniel Spofford had used his "mesmeric" mental powers to harm her, asking the court to prevent Spofford from exercising control over her through his mental ...
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