On This Day

<<

What Happened in May 1789

>>

Historical Events

Estates General

May 5 French Estates General meets for the first time since 1614 at Versailles, summoned by King Louis XVI

King of France Louis XVI

1st Presidential Ball

May 7 First US Presidential inaugural ball (for George Washington in NYC)

First US President George Washington
  • May 12 Society of St Tammany is formed by Revolutionary War soldiers. It later becomes an infamous group of NYC political bosses

Wilberforce's 1st Abolition Speech

May 12 William Wilberforce makes his first major speech on abolition in the UK House of Commons, reasoning the slave trade morally reprehensible and an issue of natural justice

'Am I Not a Man and a Brother?' emblem used by some abolitionists determined to end the slave trade in the British Empire

Events in 1789

Famous Birthdays

  • May 25 Simon Paap, Dutch dwarf (71 cm/28 inches tall) cabaret artist, born in Zandvoort, Holland (d. 1828)
  • May 28 Bernhard Severin Ingemann, Danish author (Tomorrow- og Aftensange), born in Torkilstrup, Denmark (d. 1862)
Born in 1789

Famous Deaths

  • May 10 Guillaume-Gommaire Kennis, Belgian violinist and composer, dies at 72
  • May 21 John Hawkins, English writer (A General History of the Science and Practice of Music; Life of Samuel Johnson), dies at 70
  • May 25 Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist (b. 1751)


What Happened in 1789

Search the largest and most accurate independent site for today in history.