218 - 7th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

1620 - 1st merry-go-round seen at a fair (Philippapolis, Turkey)

1630 - Italian Jesuit Niccolo Zucchi, 1st to see 2 belts on Jupiter surface

1969 - Russian probe Venera 6 landed on Venus

May 17
 

1940 - Germany occupied Brussels, Belgium and began the invasion of France.

1973 - The US Senate Watergate Committee began its hearings.

2006 - The U.S. aircraft carrier Oriskany was sunk about 24 miles off Pensacola Beach. It was the first vessel sunk under a Navy program to dispose of old warships by turning them into diving attractions. It was the largest man-made reef at the time of the sinking

Indeed, there is a pretty cool video of her contained in the link below:

http://www.floridapanhandledivetrail.com/oriskany.html

The Memphis Belle: American Icon!
 

1943: The Memphis Belle is the first American bomber to complete 25 missions over Europe!

1619 - Hugo the Great sentenced to life in prison

1804 - Napoleon Bonaparte proclaimed Emperor of France

1860 - Republican Party nominates Abraham Lincoln for president

1970 - Beatles' last released LP, "Let It Be" released in US

May 18
 

1942 - New York ended night baseball games for the duration of World War II.

1944 - Monte Cassino, Europe's oldest Monastic house, was finally captured by the Allies in Italy.

I once knew a guy who led a section of the Poles on the second and final Polish assault...he became a dentist in my area after the war :salute:

Rebuilt again and looking good!
 

May 19
 

1643 - The French army defeated a Spanish army at Rocroi, France.

1856 - US Senator Charles Sumner spoke out against slavery.

1926 - Benito Mussolini announced that democracy was deceased. Rome became a fascist state.

1943 - Winston Churchill told the US Congress that his country was pledging their full support in the war against Japan.

2005 - "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" brought in 50.0 million in its opening day.

Numero uno: not always the last man standing!
 

1506 - Columbus selects his son Diego as sole heir

1568 - English Queen Elizabeth I arrests Scottish queen Mary

1865 - President Jefferson Davis is captured by Union Cavalry in Georgia

1967 - USSR ratifies treaty with Britain & US banning nuclear weapons in space

May 20
 

1690 - England passed the Act of Grace, forgiving followers of James II.

1830 - The fountain pen was patented by H.D. Hyde.

1941 - Germany invaded Crete by air.

1942 - Japan completed the conquest of Burma.

1993 - The final episode of "Cheers" was aired on NBC-TV.

1293 - Earthquake strikes Kamakura Japan, 30,000 killed

1498 - Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calcutta, India

1927 - Saudi Arabia becomes independent of Great Britain (Treaty of Jedda)

1990 - Hubble Space Telescope sends 1st photograph's from space

One of her better days
 

Be it ever so Hubble, I'm awed!
 

May 21
 

1840 - New Zealand was declared a British colony.

1927 - Charles A. Lindberg completed the first solo non-stop air plane flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The trip began May 20.

1968 - The nuclear-powered US submarine Scorpion, with 99 men aboard, was last heard from. The remains of the sub were later found on the ocean floor 400 miles southwest of the Azores.

1982 - The British landed in the Falkland Islands and fighting began.

Also today 21 of May
 

1799 - Mary Anning was born!

685 - Battle of Nechtansmere/Dun Nechtain: Picts beat Northumbrians

A British Lancaster falls
 

May 22
 

1892 - Dr. Washington Sheffield invented the toothpaste tube.

1939 - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini signed a military alliance between Germany and Italy known as the "Pact of Steel."

1986 - Sylvester Stallone agreed to a 10-picture, six-year deal with United Artists. He signed for a reported $15 million for each film.

1990 - Microsoft released Windows 3.0.