May 14: What Happened on This Day in History (High_school Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 1607 - Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony.
2. 1643 - Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.
3. 1787 - In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, delegates convene a Constitutional Convention to write a new Constitution for the United States; George Washington presides.
4. 1796 - Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox vaccination.
5. 1804 - The Lewis and Clark Expedition departs from Camp Dubois and begins its historic journey by traveling up the Missouri River.
6. 1913 - New York Governor William Sulzer approves the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100 million donation from John D. Rockefeller.
7. 1948 - Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
8. 1955 - Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
9. 1961 - American civil rights movement: The Freedom Riders bus is fire-bombed near Anniston, Alabama, and the civil rights protesters are beaten by an angry mob.
10. 1973 - Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched.
11. Famous Birthdays: William Emerson (English mathematician), Rudolf Lipschitz (German mathematician and educator), Ed Ricketts (American biologist and ecologist), Betty Jeffrey (Australian nurse), Frederik H. Kreuger (Dutch scientist, author, and educator)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: May 13

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: May 15

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.