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 ...
17 Touko 0s
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 ...
16 Touko 0s
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, ...
15 Touko 0s
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 ...
14 Touko 0s
13th May 1861: Queen Victoria issues a “Proclamation of Neutrality” concerning the American Civil War
Britain's declaration of neutrality recognised the Union and the Confederacy as belligerents, allowing the Confederacy to contract for supplies and commission warships, but it fell short of recognising the Confederacy as a sovereign nation. This protected British interests by avoiding entanglement in the conflict while maintaining the country’s right to trade with both the Union and the ...
13 Touko 0s
12th May 1846: The Donner Party begin their ill-fated journey to California
The Donner Party departed Independence, Missouri on their ill-fated journey to ...
12 Touko 0s
11th May 1997: IBM’s chess computer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov to become the first computer to defeat a reigning world chess champion under tournament conditions
Ranked as the 259th most powerful computer in the world, Deep Blue was able to evaluate 200 million separate chess positions per ...
11 Touko 0s
10th May 1869: The ‘Golden Spike’ completes the first transcontinental railroad in the United States at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory
The ‘Golden Spike’ symbolised the joining of the Central Pacific Railroad, which had built eastward from California, and the Union Pacific Railroad, which had built westward from Nebraska to form a continuous rail link between the east and west coasts of the ...
10 Touko 0s
