Category: Today

On May 12, 1943, during World War II, Axis forces in North Africa surrendered.

On May 11, 1858, Minnesota was admitted as the 32nd U.S. State. Other May 11th events include Luxembourg’s gaining independence in 1867, and Klaus Barbie going on trial in Lyon, 120 years later, for war crimes committed during World War II.

On May 9, 1800, abolitionist revolutionary (and, technically, terrorist) John Brown was born. In 1883 on this date Spanish philosopher José Ortega y Gasset was born.

On May 8, 1899, Austrian-English economist and philosopher Friedrich August von Hayek was born. He signed the bulk of his books written in the English language as “F.A. Hayek,” and is best known for “The Road to Serfdom,” “The Constitution of Liberty,” “The Fatal Conceit,” and many essays, several of them which are widely cited, including “Individualism, True and False” and “The Use of Knowledge in Society.”

Years earlier, on the same date in 1873, English philosopher and economist John Stuart Mill died. Now best known for “On Liberty” and “Utilitarianism,” Mill’s letters were edited into book form by Hayek.

On May 8, 1946, two Estonian school girls (Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel) blew up the Soviet memorial which stood in front of the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn.

On May 7, 1992, Michigan ratified a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. The amendment had been written by James Madison and was part of the original twelve amendments that became the ten amendments making up the Bill of Rights. It bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a pay raise until after the next election, so that voters have a chance to decide whether those voting for the raise will be in Congress to receive it.

On May 7, 1945, German officials signed an unconditional surrender to the Allies at Reims, France.

On May 6, 1862, American author, philosopher and abolitionist Henry David Thoreau was born.

On May 5, 1215, rebel barons renounced their allegiance to King John of England, which eventually led to the signing of the Magna Carta.

In 1862, troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza stopped a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla in Mexico — an event leading to the popular “Cinco de Mayo” celebration.

On May 4, 1796, American historian William H. Prescott was born. Prescott’s “History of the Conquest of Mexico” and his “Conquest of Peru” remain classic works of well-researched, “scientific history.”

In 1791, the Constitution of May 3, the first modern constitution in Europe, was proclaimed by the Sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

On May 3 in 1915, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae composed the poem “In Flanders Fields.”

On May 2, 1989, Hungary began dismantling its border fence with Austria, allowing a number of East Germans to defect.