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1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad exstirpanda, which authorizes the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition. Torture quickly gains widespread usage across Catholic Europe.

1514 - Jodocus Badius Ascensius publishes Christiern Pedersen's Latin version of Saxo’s Gesta Danorum, the oldest known version of that work.

1525 - The battle of Frankenhausen ends the Peasants' War.

1602 - Bartholomew Gosnold becomes the first European to see Cape Cod.

1618 - Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made).

1701 - The War of the Spanish Succession begins.

1718 - James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun.

1756 - The Seven Years' War begins when England declares war on France.

1776 - American Revolution: Virginia convention instructs its delegates to propose a declaration of independence from Great Britain.

1795 - First Coalition: Napoleon I of France enters Milan in triumph.

1811 - Paraguay declares independence from Spain.

1829 - According to LDS teaching, John the Baptist confers the Aaronic Priesthood onto Joseph Smith Jr. and Oliver Cowdery.

1836 - Francis Baily observes "Baily's beads" during an annular eclipse.

1849 - Troops of the Two Sicilies take Palermo and crush the republican government of Sicily.

1851 - Rama IV is crowned King of Thailand.

1858 - The third Royal Opera House officially opens in London.

1862 - President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture (later renamed USDA).

1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Resaca, Georgia ends.

1864 - American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia – Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the Confederate Army to force Union General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley.

1869 - Woman's suffrage: In New York, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association.

1897 - The Greek army retreats with heavy losses in Greco-Turkish War

1902 - In a field outside Grass Valley, California, Lyman Gilmore reportedly becomes the first person to fly a powered airplane (a steam-powered glider).

1905 - Las Vegas, Nevada, is founded when 110 acres (0.4 km²), in what later would become downtown, are auctioned off.

1910 - The last time a major earthquake happened on the Lake Elsinore Fault.

1911 - The United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an "unreasonable" monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be dissolved.

1914 - Bolivia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.

1918 - Finnish Civil War ends.

1918 - The US Post Office Department (later renamed the USPS) begins the first regular airmail service in the world (between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC).

1919 - The Winnipeg General Strike began. By 11:00, virtually the entire working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job.

1919 - Greek invasion of Izmir, resulting in the massacre of hundreds of Turks by the Greek army. Hasan Tahsin fired the first gun of the Turkish War of Independence.

1928 - Release of the animated short "Plane Crazy", featuring the first appearances of Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

1929 - A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.

1930 - Aboard a Boeing tri-motor, Ellen Church becomes the first airline stewardess, on a flight from Oakland, California to Chicago.

1932 - The May 15 Incident. In an attempted coup the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is killed.

1934 - The United States Department of Justice offers a $25,000 reward for John Dillinger.

1934 - Kārlis Ulmanis establishes an authoritarian government in Latvia.

1940 - Nylon stockings go on sale for the first time in the United States.

1940 - World War II: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops have to surrender to Nazi Germany, marking the beginning of 5 years of occupation.

1941 - Baseball player Joe DiMaggio starts his record-breaking 56-game hitting streak.

1940 - McDonald's is founded.

1942 - World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.

1943 - Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).

1945 - Last skirmish of the Second World War in Europe fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.

1948 - Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia attack Israel.

1951 - The Polish cultural attache in Paris, Czesław Miłosz, asks the French government for political asylum.

1951 - The cartoon Rabbit Fire is released

1955 - Austrian Independence Treaty signed.

1955 - First ascent of Makalu, the world's fifth highest mountain.

1957 - Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.

1958 - The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3.

1960 - The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 4.

1963 - Mercury program: America launches the last mission of the program, Mercury 9 (on June 12 NASA Administrator James E. Webb told Congress the program was complete).

1964 - The Smothers Brothers give their first concert in Carnegie Hall in New York City.

1970 - The Beatles' last LP, Let It Be, is released in the United States.

1970 - President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army Generals.

1970 - Philip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green killed at Jackson State University by police during student protests.

1972 - The island of Okinawa, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.

1972 - In Laurel, Maryland, Arthur Bremer shoots and paralyzes Alabama Governor George Wallace while Wallace is campaigning to be American President.

1978 - Lagumot Harris, having only been elected President less than a month before, is replaced as the leader of the republic of Nauru. He is succeeded by Hammer DeRoburt.

1987 - Soviet Union launches the Polyus prototype orbital weapons platform, which failed to reach orbit.

1988 - Soviet war in Afghanistan: After more than eight years of fighting, the Red Army begins its withdrawal from Afghanistan.

1990 - Portrait of Doctor Gachet by Vincent van Gogh is sold for a record $82.5 million, the most expensive painting at the time.

1991 - Edith Cresson becomes France's first female prime minister.

2004 - The largest known prime number at the time of its discovery, 2^24036583 − 1, is found by Josh Findley and the GIMPS collaborative effort.

2004 - Arsenal complete a whole English Premiership season, 38 games, unbeaten.

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1567 - (baptism) Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer (d. 1643)

1720 - Maximilian Hell, Slovakian astronomer (d. 1792)

1773 - Prince Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, Austrian statesman (d. 1859)

1786 - General Dimitris Plapoutas, a Revolutionary during the Greek War of Independence (d. 1864)

1817 - Debendranath Tagore, Indian religious reformer (d. 1905)

1848 - Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter (d. 1926)

1856 - L. Frank Baum, American author (d. 1919)

1857 - Williamina Fleming, Scottish-born astronomer (d. 1911)

1859 - Pierre Curie, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)

1862 - Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian dramatist and narrator (d. 1931)

1890 - Katherine Anne Porter, American author (d. 1980)

1891 - Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian writer (d. 1940)

1891 - Fritz Feigl, Austria-born chemist (d. 1971)

1892 - Jimmy Wilde, boxer (d. 1969)

1895 - William D. Byron, U.S. Congressman (d. 1941)

1898 - Arletty, French model and actress (d. 1992)

1899 - Jean-Etienne Valluy, French general (d. 1970)

1902 - Richard J. Daley, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1976)

1905 - Joseph Cotten, American actor (d. 1994)

1909 - James Mason, English actor (d. 1984)

1910 - Constance Cummings, British actress (d. 2005)

1911 - Max Frisch, Swiss author (d. 1991)

1911 - Herta Oberheuser, Nazi doctor (d. 1978)

1914 - Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese Sherpa (d. 1986)

1914 - Turk Broda, Ice hockey goaltender

1915 - Hilda Bernstein, English-born South African author, artist, and activist (d. 2006)

1915 - Paul Samuelson, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate

1915 - Gus Viseur, French button accordionist (d. 1974)

1918 - Eddy Arnold, American singer

1922 - Jakucho Setouchi, Japanese writer and Buddhist nun

1923 - Richard Avedon, American photographer (d. 2004)

1923 - John Lanchbery, English composer (d. 2003)

1924 - Maria Koepcke, ornithologist (d. 1971)

1926 - Anthony Shaffer, English playwright (d. 2001)

1926 - Peter Shaffer, English playwright

1930 - Jasper Johns, American painter

1931 - Ken Venturi, American golfer

1936 - Anna Maria Alberghetti, Italian-born actress

1936 - Hugh Romney, American clown and activist

1936 - Ralph Steadman, British cartoonist

1936 - Paul Zindel, American writer (d. 2003)

1937 - Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary of State

1937 - Trini López, American musician

1940 - Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer

1940 - Don Nelson, NBA Coach

1941 - K.T. Oslin, American musician

1944 - Ulrich Beck, German sociologist

1945 - Duarte Pio, Duke of Braganza

1945 - Lasse Berghagen, Swedish singer

1948 - Brian Eno, English musician and record producer

1951 - Chazz Palminteri, American actor, writer and director

1951 - Jonathan Richman, American musician

1951 - Frank Wilczek, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

1953 - George Brett, baseball player

1953 - Mike Oldfield, English composer

1955 - Melinda Culea, American actress

1956 - Dan Patrick, American sportscaster

1958 - Ron Simmons, American professional wrestler

1959 - Andrew Eldritch, English singer and songwriter (The Sisters of Mercy)

1959 - Kaokor Galaxy, Thai boxer

1961 - Katrin Cartlidge, British actress (d. 2002)

1962 - Melle Mel, American musician

1965 - Raí, Brazilian footballer

1967 - John Smoltz, baseball player

1969 - Emmitt Smith, American football player

1970 - Desmond Howard, American football player

1970 - Rod Smith, American football player

1970 - Frank de Boer, Dutch football player

1970 - Ronald de Boer, Dutch football player

1972 - David Charvet, French actor

1974 - Andrew Johns, Australian rugby player

1974 - Ahmet Zappa, American musician

1975 - Ray Lewis, American football player

1976 - Torraye Braggs, American basketball player

1976 - Tyler Walker, baseball player

1976 - Jacek Krzynówek, Polish footballer

1976 - Ryan Leaf, former NFL quarterback

1978 - Amy Chow, American gymnast

1978 - Caroline Dhavernas, Canadian actress

1978 - David Krumholtz, American Actor (NUMB3RS)

1978 - Edu, Brazilian footballer

1980 - Josh Beckett, baseball player

1981 - Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress

1982 - Veronica Campbell, Jamaican athlete

1982 - Jessica Sutta, American dancer, singer and actress (The Pussycat Dolls)

1982 - Segundo Castillo, Ecuadorian footballer

1982 - Alex Breckenridge, American actress

1983 - Devin Bronson, American guitarist (Avril Lavigne)

1987 - Jennylyn Mercado, Filipino actress and singer

1990 - Gerald Santos, Filipino actor and singer

1982 - Alex Breckenridge, American actress

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1036 - Emperor Go-Ichijō of Japan (b. 1008)

1157 - Yury Dolgoruky, Russian prince

1174 - Nur ad-Din, ruler of Syria (b. 1118)

1381 - Eppelein von Gailingen, German robber baron

1470 - Charles VIII of Sweden (b. 1409)

1585 - Niwa Nagahide, Japanese warlord (b. 1535)

1591 - Dmitry Ivanovich, Tsarevich (b. 1582)

1609 - Giovanni Croce, Italian composer (b. 1557)

1634 - Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (b. 1585)

1698 - Marie Champmeslé, French actress (b. 1642)

1699 - Edward Petre, English Jesuit and privy councilor (b. 1631)

1714 - Roger Elliott, British general and Governor of Gibraltar

1740 - Ephraim Chambers, English encyclopaedist (b. 1680)

1760 - Alaungpaya, King of Burma (b. 1711)

1773 - Alban Butler, English Catholic priest and writer (b. 1710)

1782 - Marquis of Pombal, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1699)

1886 - Emily Dickinson, American poet (b. 1830)

1924 - Paul-Henri-Benjamin d'Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1852)

1935 - Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian artist (b. 1878)

1937 - Phillip Snowden, British politician (b. 1864)

1940 - Menno ter Braak , Dutch author and polemicist (b. 1902 )

1948 - Father Edward Flanagan, American priest and founder of Boys Town (b. 1886)

1956 - Austin Osman Spare, English magician (b. 1886)

1967 - Edward Hopper, American painter (b. 1882)

1971 - Sir Tyrone Guthrie, English director, producer, and writer (b. 1900)

1982 - Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (b. 1946)

1984 - Francis Schaeffer, American Evangelical theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor

1986 - Theodore White, American writer (b. 1915)

1989 - Johnny Green, American songwriter (b. 1908)

1991 - Andreas Floer, German mathematician (b. 1956)

1994 - Gilbert Roland, Mexican actor (b. 1904)

1995 - Eric Porter, British actor (b. 1928)

1996 - Charles B. Fulton, American jurist (b. 1910)

1998 - Earl Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)

2003 - June Carter Cash, American musician and singer (b. 1929)

2003 - George Francis, British gangster (b. 1940)

2003 - Rik Van Steenbergen, Belgian cyclist (b. 1924)

2005 - Les Bartley, lacrosse coach (b. 1954)

2005 - Alan B. Gold, Chief justice of the Quebec Superior Court (b. 1917)

2006 - Joyce Ballantyne Brand, artist (b. 1918)

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Paraguay - Independence Day. Celebrations for the anniversary of the independence begin on Flag Day, 14 May.

Roman Empire - Mercuralia in honor of Mercury held.

International day of families.

International day of climate changes.

International conscientious objectors' day.

Buddha's Birthday in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau and South Korea (2005).

United States - Peace Officers Memorial Day.

Slovenia - Day of Slovenian armed forces.

Teacher's Day in Mexico (Día del Maestro) and South Korea (스승의 날).

Nakba Day in Palestinian communities.

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Liturgical Feast days
in the Roman Catholic Church:

Saint Achillius
Saint Gerebern
Saint Isidore the Labourer
Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle
Saint Reticius
Saint Denise
Saint Dymphna