1885 – North-West Rebellion: The four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel French Canadians against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.
1890 – The first-ever official County Championship match begins. Yorkshire beat Gloucestershire by eight wickets at Bristol. George Ulyett scores the first century in the competition.
1932 – Ten weeks after his abduction, the infant son of Charles Lindbergh is found dead in Hopewell, New Jersey just a few miles from the Lindbergh's home.
1942 – World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov – In the eastern Ukraine, the Soviet Army initiates a major offensive. During the battle, the Soviets capture the city of Kharkov from the German Army, only to be encircled and destroyed.
1943 – In Hunan, China, Japanese Imperial Army officers commit the massacre of Chiangjiang, killing 30,000 civilians.
1978 – In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba. The government of Zaire asks the U.S., France and Belgium to restore order.
1989 - A Southern Pacific Railroad freight train derails on Duffy Street on the very steep Cajon Pass in San Bernardino, California.
1990 - As the previous claim of Shigechiyo Izumi is no longer considered, Jeanne Calment is already considered to have become the oldest-recorded human ever on this date, more than five years earlier than previously thought.
1998 - Four students are shot at Trisakti University in Indonesia, leading to widespread riots and the resignation, on May 21, of President Suharto, who had ruled the country for over 30 years.
2015 - A magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits Nepal, two weeks after one of slightly higher magnitude had killed over 8,000 people. Casualties are reported in Nepal, India, China and Bangladesh.