17 Germanicus of Rome celebrates his victory over the Germans.
1328 William of Ockham is forced to flee from Avignon by Pope John XXII.
1647 A new law bans Catholic priests from the colony of Massachusetts. The penalty is banishment or death for a second offense.
1670 Charles II and Louis XIV sign a secret treaty in Dover, England, ending hostilities between England and France.
1691 Jacob Leisler, leader of the popular uprising in support of William and Mary’s succession to the throne, is executed for treason.
1736 British and Chickasaw forces defeat the French at the Battle of Ackia.
1831 The Russians defeat the Poles at the Battle of Ostroleka.
1835 A resolution is passed in the U.S. Congress stating that Congress has no authority over state slavery laws.
1864 The territory of Montana is organized.
1865 The last Confederate army surrenders in Shreveport, Louisiana.
1868 President Andrew Johnson is acquitted of all charges of impeachment.
1896 The last czar of Russia, Nicholas II, is crowned.
1938 The House Committee on Un-American Activities begins its work of searching for subversives in the United States.
1940 The evacuation of Allied forces from Dunkirk begins.
1946 A patent is filed in the United States for the H-bomb.
1958 Union Square, San Francisco, becomes a state historical landmark.
1961 The civil rights activist group, Freedom Ride Coordinating Committee, is established in Atlanta.
1961 A U.S. Air Force bomber flies across the Atlantic in a record of just over three hours.
1969 Apollo 10 returns to Earth.
1977 The movie Star Wars debuts.
Born on May 26
1667 Abraham De Moivre, mathematician.
1835 Edward Porter Alexander, artillery general during the American Civil War.
1883 Mamie Smith, blues singer.
1886 Al Jolson, jazz singer and film actor.
1895 Dorothea Lange, documentary photographer.
1903 Estes Kefauver, Tennessee senator.
1907 John Wayne [Marion Michael Morrison], American actor and film icon.
1919 Jay Silverheels, actor (The Lone Ranger).
1920 Peggy Lee, jazz singer.
1923 James Arness, actor (Gunsmoke).
1951 Sally Ride, astronaut, the first American woman in space.