On May 11, 973, a landmark event in English history unfolded at Bath Abbey: the formal coronation of King Edgar, known to posterity as Edgar the Peaceful. Though he had already ruled England since 959, this ceremony was not simply a public confirmation of…
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On May 10, 1869, in the arid expanse of Utah Territory at a place called Promontory Summit, two locomotives faced each other across a polished laurel tie as dignitaries and railroad workers looked on. Then, with the ceremonial tapping of a golden spike into…
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On the morning of May 9, 1671, the Tower of London played host to one of the most improbable crimes in British history—a heist so brazen, so theatrical, it defied the line between treason and performance. Colonel Thomas Blood, an Irishman of Protestant birth…
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It didn’t start as a soft drink. On May 8, 1886, in the heart of Atlanta, a morphine-addicted Confederate veteran turned pharmacist poured the first glass of what he claimed could cure headaches, exhaustion, indigestion—even impotence. His name was Dr. John Stith Pemberton, and…
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In the blood-soaked spring of 1794, as guillotines claimed heads by the dozen and the French Revolution threatened to devour itself, Maximilien Robespierre unveiled his most audacious experiment yet—not in law or terror, but in theology. On May 7, standing before the National Convention,…
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In the uneasy spring of 1659, the republican experiment that had governed England since the execution of Charles I teetered on the edge of collapse. At its helm stood Richard Cromwell, son of the late Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell—an unlikely successor and, to many,…
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On May 5, 1866, the small village of Waterloo, New York, held what is widely recognized as the first formal observance of Memorial Day in the United States. Known at the time as Decoration Day, the event was a community-wide tribute to honor the…
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The Battle of Puebla, fought on May 5, 1862, holds a significant place in Mexican history, particularly as the origin of the Cinco de Mayo holiday. At the center of this historic event stands Ignacio Zaragoza, a Mexican general whose strategic brilliance halted a…
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On May 4, 1886, the Haymarket Affair, a watershed event marked by ideological conflict and explosive violence, unfolded in Chicago, profoundly shaping America’s political and labor landscape. Occurring amid escalating nationwide tensions driven by a determined campaign for an eight-hour workday, this incident encapsulated…
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On May 3, 1802, the City of Washington—the urban core of the newly established District of Columbia—was formally incorporated by act of Congress, inaugurating a mayor-council form of government and dissolving the three-man Board of Commissioners that had governed the district since its inception.…
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