On This Day: 14 May

14 May in Indian history

• 1879The first group of 463 Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.India

14 May in world history

• 2010Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on the STS-132 mission to deliver the first shuttle-launched Russian ISS component — Rassvet. This was originally slated to be the final launch of Atlantis, before Congress approved STS-135.
• 2008Battle of Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre between Zenit supporters and Rangers supporters and the Greater Manchester Police; 39 policemen injured, one police dog injured and 39 arrested.
• 1980Salvadoran Civil War: Refugees trying to flee El Salvador across the Sumpul River to Honduras were attacked by both Salvadoran and Honduran forces, resulting in at least 300 deaths.
• 1977A Dan-Air Boeing 707 leased to IAS Cargo Airlines crashes on approach to Lusaka International Airport in Lusaka, Zambia, killing six people.
• 1961Civil rights movement: A white mob twice attacks a Freedom Riders bus near Anniston, Alabama, before fire-bombing the bus and attacking the civil rights protesters who flee the burning vehicle.
• 1955Cold War: Eight Eastern Bloc countries signed a mutual defense treaty to establish the Warsaw Pact.
• 1943Second World War: Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was attacked and sunk by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, killing 268 people aboard.
• 1940World War II: The bulk of Dutch forces surrendered to the German Wehrmacht, ending the Battle of the Netherlands.
• 1863American Civil War: Union troops captured Jackson, the capital of Mississippi.
• 1857Mindon Min is crowned as King of Burma in Mandalay, Burma.
• 1832The Battle of Stillman's Run, the first battle of the Black Hawk War, is fought.
• 1811Paraguay: Pedro Juan Caballero, Fulgencio Yegros and José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia start actions to depose the Spanish governor.
• 1804Led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the Corps of Discovery left Camp Dubois near present-day Hartford, Illinois, to begin the first overland expedition to the West Coast of the United States and back.
• 1800The 6th United States Congress recesses, and the process of moving the Federal government of the United States from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., begins the following day.
• 1610Henry IV of France is assassinated by Catholic zealot François Ravaillac, and Louis XIII ascends the throne.
• 1509War of the League of Cambrai: French forces defeated the Venetians at the Battle of Agnadello in present-day Northern Italy.
• 1264Second Barons' War: King Henry III was defeated at the Battle of Lewes and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the de facto ruler of England.

Born on 14 May

• 1983Amber Tamblyn, American actress, author, model, director
• 1981Pranav Mistry, Indian computer scientist, invented SixthSenseIndia
• 1975Gulmurod Khalimov, Tajikistani police commander turned Islamic State mercenary outlaw
• 1948Bob Woolmer, Indian-English cricketer and coach (died 2007)India
• 1923Mrinal Sen, Bangladeshi-Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2018)India
• 1904Marcel Junod, Swiss physician and anesthesiologist (died 1961)

Died on 14 May

• 2013Asghar Ali Engineer, Indian author and activist (born 1939)India
• 1998Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and environmentalist (born 1890)
• 1923N. G. Chandavarkar, Indian jurist and politician (born 1855)India
• 1912August Strindberg, Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist (born 1849)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 14 May in history?

2010: Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on the STS-132 mission to deliver the first shuttle-launched Russian ISS component — Rassvet. This was originally slated to be the final launch of Atlantis, before Congress approved STS-135. 2008: Battle of Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre between Zenit supporters and Rangers supporters and the Greater Manchester Police; 39 policemen injured, one police dog injured and 39 arrested. 1980: Salvadoran Civil War: Refugees trying to flee El Salvador across the Sumpul River to Honduras were attacked by both Salvadoran and Honduran forces, resulting in at least 300 deaths. 1977: A Dan-Air Boeing 707 leased to IAS Cargo Airlines crashes on approach to Lusaka International Airport in Lusaka, Zambia, killing six people.

What happened on 14 May in Indian history?

1879: The first group of 463 Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.

Which famous people were born on 14 May?

Amber Tamblyn, American actress, author, model, director (1983); Pranav Mistry, Indian computer scientist, invented SixthSense (1981); Gulmurod Khalimov, Tajikistani police commander turned Islamic State mercenary outlaw (1975); Bob Woolmer, Indian-English cricketer and coach (died 2007) (1948).

Which day is observed on 14 May?

Independence Day (Paraguay); Hastings Banda's Birthday (Malawi); National Unification Day (Liberia); The first day of Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival. (Izumo-taisha).