Summary of the Day ✨ 14 May (14/05)
China celebrated a historic milestone with the successful landing of its first Mars rover, Zhurong, while tragedy struck multiple locations as ten people were killed in a Buffalo mass shooting, fifteen died in a plane crash in Nepal, and violent clashes between football fans and police injured dozens in Manchester. The day also marked progress in space exploration as the Space Shuttle Atlantis launched on a mission to deliver a Russian component to the International Space Station.
Historical Events 📜
- 2022: Ten people are killed in a mass shooting in Buffalo, New York.
- 2021: China successfully lands Zhurong, the country’s first Mars rover.
- 2012: Agni Air Flight CHT crashes in Nepal after a failed go-around, killing 15 people.
- 2010: Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on the STS-132 mission to deliver the first shuttle-launched Russian ISS component — Rassvet. This was originally slated to be the final launch of Atlantis, before Congress approved STS-135.
- 2008: Battle of Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester city centre between Zenit supporters and Rangers supporters and the Greater Manchester Police, 39 policemen injured, one police-dog injured and 39 arrested.
- 2004: The Constitutional Court of South Korea overturns the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.
- 2004: Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Mary Donaldson are married at Copenhagen Cathedral.
- 2004: Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4815 crashes into the Amazon rainforest during approach to Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil, killing 33 people.
- 1988: Carrollton bus collision: A drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. Twenty-seven die in the crash and ensuing fire.
- 1987: Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra is ousted from power in a coup d’état led by Lieutenant colonel Sitiveni Rabuka.
- 1980: Salvadoran Civil War: the Sumpul River massacre occurs in Chalatenango, El Salvador.
- 1977: A Dan-Air Boeing 707 leased to IAS Cargo Airlines crashes on approach to Lusaka International Airport in Lusaka, Zambia, killing six people.
- 1973: Skylab, the United States’ first space station, is launched.
- 1970: Andreas Baader is freed from custody by Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun Ensslin and others, a pivotal moment in the formation of the Red Army Faction.
- 1961: Civil rights movement: A white mob twice attacks a Freedom Riders bus near Anniston, Alabama, before fire-bombing the bus and attacking the civil rights protesters who flee the burning vehicle.
Famous Births 👶
- 2002: Zach Edey, Canadian basketball player
- 2001: Jack Hughes, American hockey player
- 1997: Rúben Dias, Portuguese footballer
- 1996: Blake Brockington, American trans man and activist (died 2015)
- 1996: Martin Garrix, Dutch DJ
- 1996: Pokimane, Moroccan-Canadian internet personality
- 1995: Rose Lavelle, American soccer player
- 1994: Marquinhos, Brazilian footballer
- 1994: Pernille Blume, Danish swimmer
- 1994: Bronte Campbell, Malawian-Australian swimmer
- 1993: Miranda Cosgrove, American actress and singer
- 1993: Kyle Freeland, American baseball player
- 1993: Kristina Mladenovic, French tennis player
- 1989: Rob Gronkowski, American football player
- 1987: François Steyn, South African rugby player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Don Perlin, American comic book artist, writer, and editor (born 1929)
- 2024: Netiporn Sanesangkhom, Thai political activist (born 1995)
- 2023: Doyle Brunson, American poker player (born 1933)
- 2019: Tim Conway, American actor, writer, and comedian (born 1933)
- 2019: Grumpy Cat, American cat and internet meme celebrity (born 2012)
- 2018: Tom Wolfe, American author (born 1931)
- 2017: Powers Boothe, American actor (born 1948)
- 2016: Darwyn Cooke, American comic book writer and artist (born 1962)
- 2015: B.B. King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1925)
- 2015: Micheál O’Brien, Irish footballer and hurler (born 1923)
- 2015: Stanton J. Peale, American astrophysicist and academic (born 1937)
- 2015: Franz Wright, Austrian-American poet and translator (born 1953)
- 2014: Jeffrey Kruger, English-American businessman (born 1931)
- 2014: Emanuel Raymond Lewis, American librarian and author (born 1928)
- 2014: Morvin Simon, New Zealand historian, composer, and conductor (born 1944)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Boniface of Tarsus - Christian feast day:
Engelmund of Velsen - Christian feast day:
Matthias the Apostle (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) - Christian feast day:
Michael Garicoïts - Christian feast day:
Mo Chutu of Lismore (Roman Catholic Church) - Christian feast day:
Victor and Corona - Christian feast day:
May 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Independence Day (Paraguay)
- Hastings Banda’s Birthday (Malawi)
- National Unification Day (Liberia)
- The first day of Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival. (Izumo-taisha)