A Swedish man was arrested after neighbors discovered his apartment filled with 146 live rats
The unnamed Stockholm resident claimed he was conducting a private breeding program to create "the perfect rat." Local authorities condemned the apart...
May 14 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2008
2004
Mark Zuckerberg moved Facebook's operations into a house in Palo Alto, California
The college dorm project relocated to Silicon Valley after the spring semester ended, with Zuckerberg and his cofounders renting a suburban house that...
1998
The final episode of Seinfeld aired, drawing 76 million viewers
After nine seasons, the sitcom about nothing came to an end with a controversial finale that saw the main characters sentenced to jail. The episode re...
1987
The Simpsons made their first appearance as a series of animated shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show
Matt Groening's crudely-drawn family debuted in the short "Good Night," featuring Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. The characters looked signific...
1984
Mark Zuckerberg was born in White Plains, New York
The future Facebook founder was born to a dentist father and psychiatrist mother. He would begin programming computers at age 12 and later drop out of...
1973
Skylab, America's first space station, was launched into orbit
MajorNASA successfully launched Skylab from Kennedy Space Center, though the station was damaged during ascent when its micrometeoroid shield tore off. The...
1955
The Warsaw Pact was established as the Soviet Union's answer to NATO
Eight communist states in Eastern Europe signed a mutual defense treaty in Warsaw, Poland, creating a military alliance to counter the Western powers....
1948
Israel declared independence as a nation, creating the first Jewish state in nearly 2,000 years
MajorDavid Ben-Gurion proclaimed the establishment of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv, ending the British Mandate for Palestine. The declaration was made j...
1939
Lina Medina became the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at age 5
In Lima, Peru, Lina gave birth to a healthy baby boy via cesarean section. She had begun menstruating at age 8 months due to precocious puberty, an ex...
1804
The Lewis and Clark Expedition officially began its journey to explore the western United States
MajorMeriwether Lewis and William Clark departed from Camp Dubois near present-day Hartford, Illinois, with their Corps of Discovery. The expedition would...
1796
Edward Jenner administered the first successful smallpox vaccination to an 8-year-old boy
MajorBritish physician Edward Jenner injected James Phipps with cowpox material taken from the hand of milkmaid Sarah Nelmes, who had caught it from a cow...
1686
An English village held the first recorded auction of tea in England
The East India Company held a public sale of tea at Garraway's Coffee House in London, marking tea's introduction to the English mass market. At the t...
1264
English barons defeated King Henry III at the Battle of Lewes and took him prisoner
Led by Simon de Montfort, the rebel barons captured not only the king but also his son, the future Edward I. This victory led to the establishment of...