TODAY in HISTORY

Today is Sunday, May 28, the 148th day of 2017. There are 217 days left in the year.

585BC A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce. 1644 Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby. 1802 In Guadeloupe, 400 rebellious slaves, led by Louis Delgrès, blow themselves up rather than submit to Napoleon's troops. 1830 US President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which relocates Native Americans. 1871 Fall of the Paris Commune. 1918 The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence. 1932 In the Netherlands, construction of the Afsluitdijk is completed and the Zuiderzee bay is converted to the freshwater IJsselmeer. 1934 Near Callander, Ontario, Canada, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne; they will be the first quintuplets to survive infancy. 1936 Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication. 1937 Volkswagen (VW), the German automobile manufacturer is founded. 1940 World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.

1948 Daniel François Malan is elected as Prime Minister of South Africa. He later goes on to implement Apartheid. 1951 The British radio comedy program The Goon Show is broadcast on the BBC for the first time. 1961 Peter Benenson's article The Forgotten

Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International. 1964 Palestine Liberation Organisation is formed. 1975 Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States. 1991 The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War. 1993 Eritrea and Monaco join United Nations. 1999 In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display. 2003 Peter Hollingworth becomes the first Governor-General of Australia to resign his office as a result of criticism of his conduct. 2004 Ayad Allawi is chosen as the Prime Minister of Iraq's interim government.