20th May 325: First Council of Nicaea brings together bishops from across the early Christian world
20/05/2026
Several hundred bishops came from regions including Asia Minor, the eastern Mediterranean, and parts of the Latin West where they formulated the Nicene Creed, which affirmed that the Son was “of the same substance” as the ...
19th May 1536: The execution of Anne Boleyn, Henry VIII’s second wife and mother of the future Elizabeth I
19/05/2026
Although found unanimously guilty by a jury of 27 peers, the evidence against Anne was questionable. Only the Flemish musician Mark Smeaton admitted to having an affair with her, and this confession is reputed to have been extracted under ...
18th May 1291: The Siege of Acre saw the Muslim forces of the Mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Khalil seize control of the Crusader-controlled city
18/05/2026
The Siege of Acre, sometimes known in Christendom as the Fall of Acre, marked the last attempt to exert Crusader influence in the Holy ...
17th May 1954: U.S. Supreme Court rules in Brown v. Board of Education that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional
17/05/2026
The unanimous opinion of the Court said that segregated public schools were inherently unequal and therefore ...
16th May 1966: Start of the Cultural Revolution in China when Mao releases the ‘May 16th Notification’
16/05/2026
By the time the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976 an estimated minimum of 400,000 people had died through torture, execution, or ...
The 'on this day in history' podcast, with a new episode every single day. Featuring historical events that range from the Roman Empire to the World Wide Web, HistoryPod proves that there is always something to be remembered 'on this day'. Written and presented by Scott Allsop, creator of the award-winning www.mrallsophistory.com
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