13th May 1861: Queen Victoria issues a “Proclamation of Neutrality” concerning the American Civil War
Britain's declaration of neutrality recognised the Union and the Confederacy as belligerents, allowing the Confederacy to contract for supplies and commission warships, but it fell short of recognising the Confederacy as a sovereign nation. This protected British interests by avoiding entanglement in the conflict while maintaining the country’s right to trade with both the Union and the ...
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12th May 1846: The Donner Party begin their ill-fated journey to California
The Donner Party departed Independence, Missouri on their ill-fated journey to ...
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11th May 1997: IBM’s chess computer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov to become the first computer to defeat a reigning world chess champion under tournament conditions
Ranked as the 259th most powerful computer in the world, Deep Blue was able to evaluate 200 million separate chess positions per ...
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10th May 1869: The ‘Golden Spike’ completes the first transcontinental railroad in the United States at Promontory Summit, Utah Territory
The ‘Golden Spike’ symbolised the joining of the Central Pacific Railroad, which had built eastward from California, and the Union Pacific Railroad, which had built westward from Nebraska to form a continuous rail link between the east and west coasts of the ...
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9th May 1671: Colonel Thomas Blood attempts to steal the Crown Jewels
Colonel Thomas Blood attempted to steal the Crown Jewels from the Tower of ...
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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