Search A Day Of The Year In History

Born on this day Tuesday, May 1, 1934. :   Australian actor, John Meillon, is born. John Meillon was born in Mosman, Sydney, Australia, on 1 May 1934. He began...

Australian History Saturday, May 2, 1829. :   The city of Fremantle, Western Australia, is founded as Captain Fremantle hoists the Union Jack. The city of Fremantle lies just south...

Australian History Thursday, May 3, 1804. :   The war between white settlers and Tasmanian Aborigines begins with the “Battle of Risdon”. For many years, Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania)...

Australian History Wednesday, May 4, 1842. :   The colony of the Moreton Bay District is declared a free settlement. The colony of the Moreton Bay District was founded in...

Australian History Friday, May 5, 1865. :   Australian bushranger Ben Hall is shot dead by police. Ben Hall was born on 29 April or 9 May 1837 in Maitland,...

World History Thursday, May 6, 1937. :   The airship Hindenburg catches fire as it attempts to dock in New Jersey, USA, killing 36. The rigid airship, also known as...

Born on this day Thursday, May 7, 1840. :   Composer Tchaikovsky is born. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, also Anglicised as Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, was born in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Russia, on 7...

Australian Explorers Tuesday, May 8, 1838. :   Eyre’s first overlanding venture is threatened as he discovers the Loddon River is almost dry. Edward John Eyre was born on 5...

Australian History Thursday, May 9, 1901. :   The Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V, opens the first Commonwealth Parliament in Australia. Prior to 1901, Australia was...

Born on this day Wednesday, May 10, 1899. :   Singer, dancer and actor Fred Astaire is born. Fred Astaire was born Frederick Austerlitz in Nebraska on 10 May 1899....

Born on this day Tuesday, May 11, 1926. :   Australian actor Frank Thring, famous for his role as Pontius Pilate in the epic movie Ben Hur, is born. Actor,...

Born on this day Monday, May 12, 1924. :   British comedian Tony Hancock is born. Anthony John Hancock was born on 12 May 1924 in Birmingham, England. He was...

Australian History Sunday, May 13, 1787. :   The First Fleet of convicts departs Portsmouth, England, bound for Botany Bay. Conditions in England in the 18th century were tough: the...

Australian History Monday, May 14, 1855. :   Australia’s first branch of the Royal Mint (London) commences operations in Sydney. Australia relied on currency sent from England during the first...

Australian History Tuesday, May 15, 1900. :   Women in Western Australia win the right to vote. Australia was one of the world’s leading countries in regard to women’s rights....

Australian History Saturday, May 16, 1891. :   Henry Lawson’s iconic poem, “Freedom On the Wallaby”, is published for the first time. The phrase “on the wallaby track” is an...

Born on this day Monday, May 17, 1909. :   Professor Julius Sumner Miller is born. Julius Sumner Miller, the man who popularised science with children, was born on 17...

Australian Explorers Tuesday, May 18, 1841. :   Eyre’s sole surviving companion, Wylie the Aborigine, gorges himself on a penguin and most of a kangaroo. Edward John Eyre was the...

Born on this day Sunday, May 19, 1861. :   Dame Nellie Melba, Australian operatic singer, is born. Dame Nellie Melba was born Helen Porter Mitchell on 19 May 1861...

Australian History Monday, May 20, 1867. :   Copper is discovered in Queensland, sparking the founding of the town of Cloncurry. Copper is a highly valued metal, known to have...

Australian Explorers Sunday, May 21, 1848. :   Kennedy lands at Rockingham Bay, to commence his fateful expedition. Edmund Kennedy was born in 1818 on Guernsey, one of the Channel...

Born on this day Tuesday, May 22, 1888. :   Australian illustrator Hal Gye is born. Hal Gye, pronounced Jye, was born Harold Frederick Neville on 22 May 1888 at...

Australian History Tuesday, May 23, 1837. :   Streets and squares in Adelaide, capital of South Australia, are first named. Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia, the only...

Born on this day Friday, May 24, 1686. :   Gabriel Fahrenheit, after whom the Fahrenheit scale of temperature is named, is born. Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit was born on 24...

Australian Explorers Tuesday, May 25, 1830. :   After tracing the Murray River for thousands of kilometres, Sturt’s party finally arrives back in Sydney. Captain Charles Sturt was born in...

Born on this day Sunday, May 26, 1907. :   American film actor John Wayne, who became popular for his roles in Westerns, is born. John Wayne was born Marion...

Born on this day Saturday, May 27, 1815. :   Australian politician and the ‘Father of Federation’, Sir Henry Parkes, is born. Henry Parkes was born in Warwickshire, England, on...

Born on this day Thursday, May 28, 1908. :   Ian Fleming, author of the ‘James Bond’ spy novels, is born. Ian Lancaster Fleming was born on 28 May 1908...

Born on this day Tuesday, May 29, 1917. :   US President, John F Kennedy, is born. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on 29 May 1917. After...

Australian Explorers Thursday, May 30, 1861. :   Ill-fated explorer Wills returns to the Dig tree to see whether a rescue party has arrived. Burke and Wills, with a huge...

Australian Explorers Monday, May 31, 1813. :   Explorers Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth view the rich Bathurst Plains for the first time. When the First Fleet arrived in New South...