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Historical Event(s)
– Boshin War: The Battle of Toba-Fushimi between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and pro-Imperial factions begins, which will end in defeat for the shogunate, and is a pivotal point in the Meiji Restoration.
– Sakai incident: Japanese samurai kill 11 French sailors in the port of Sakai near Osaka.
– Thomas D'Arcy McGee, one of the Canadian Fathers of Confederation is assassinated by the Irish, in one of the few Canadian political assassinations, and the only one of a federal politician.
– Former Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders Edo Castle to Imperial forces, marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.
– Boshin War: The Battle of Utsunomiya Castle ends former Tokugawa shogunate forces withdraw northward to Aizu by way of Nikkō.
– Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern “Memorial Day”) is observed in the United States for the first time (By “Commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic” John A. Logan’s proclamation on May 5).
– A massive earthquake near Arica, Peru, causes an estimated 25,000 casualties, and the subsequent tsunami causes considerable damage as far away as Hawaii and New Zealand.
– Grito de Lares (“Lares Revolt”) occurs in Puerto Rico against Spanish rule.
– Cornell University holds opening day ceremonies; initial student enrollment is 412, the highest at any American university to that date.
– Time zone: New Zealand officially adopts a standard time to be observed nationally
Who Were Born On ?
– Juventino Rosas, Mexican composer (d. 1894)
– Theodore William Richards, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1928)
– Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria (d. 1924)
– John Bevins Moisant, American aviator (d. 1910)
– Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist, writer, spy and administrator (d. 1926)
– Miron Cristea, 1st Patriarch of All Romania (d. 1939)
– Oskar Merikanto, Finnish composer (d. 1924)
– Marcelo T. de Alvear, Argentine politician (d. 1942)
– Ernst Didring, Swedish author (d. 1931)
– Fritz Haber, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1934)