on this day

1760:

• The first hanging took place at Tyburn in London. Earl Ferrers was executed for murdering his valet.

1818:

• Father of Communism Karl Heinrich Marx was born in Trier, Germany, the son of a Jewish lawyer.

1821:

• Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on the island of St Helena.

1930:

• Amy Johnson left Croydon in Gypsy Moth “Jason” to become the first female to fly solo to Australia, arriving on May 24.

1941:

• Emperor Haile Selaisse returned to Ethiopia from exile in England.

1961:

• Commander Alan Shepard returned to Earth after becoming the first American in space.

1980:

• The SAS stormed the Iranian Embassy in London, killing four terrorist gunmen and rescuing 19 hostages.