By Day: Historical Events on May 14th

The first permanent English settlement in America was established at Jamestown, Virginia. More

French King Henry IV is assassinated by François Ravaillac in Paris.

The witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts begin with the arrest of Sarah Osborne, Sarah Good, and Tituba.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, set out from St. Louis, Missouri traveling up the Missouri River on a mission to explore and map the newly acquired western territory of the United States. The group consisted of around 30 members, including soldiers, interpreters, scouts, and others. They faced numerous challenges, including harsh weather, treacherous terrain, encounters with Native American tribes, and logistical difficulties. The Lewis and Clark Expedition made significant contributions to American knowledge of the West. and it continues to be celebrated as a remarkable feat of discovery and an enduring symbol of the nation's westward expansion. More

Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaims the State of Israel, at midnight May 14. The UN General Assembly had adopted the resolution to partition Palestine on 29 November 1947 and Britain had announced the termination of its Mandate for Palestine, effective on 15 May 1948. Ben-Gurion became Israel’s first premier. More

The Warsaw Treaty Organization (also known as the Warsaw Pact), a political and military alliance between the Soviet Union and several Eastern European countries. The Soviet Union formed this alliance as a counterbalance to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a collective security alliance concluded between the United States, Canada and Western European nations in 1949. More

Skylab, America’s first space station and the first crewed research laboratory in space, lifts off on the last Saturn V rocket. Although the Soviet Union orbited the first experimental space station called Salyut in 1971, the larger and more complex Skylab enabled research in several areas. More