Today in History

1453 Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (İstanbul), which falls May 29
1513 Explorer Juan Ponce de León claims Florida for Spain as the first known European to reach Florida
1792 The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint and authorizing the $10 Eagle, $5 half-Eagle & 2.50 quarter-Eagle gold coins & silver dollar, ½ dollar, quarter, dime & half-dime
1801 Napoleonic Wars: The British led by Horatio Nelson destroy the Danish fleet in the naval Battle of Copenhagen
1917 US President Woodrow Wilson asks Congress to declare war against Germany
1930 Ras Tafari Makonnen becomes Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia (Ethiopia)
1982 Several thousand Argentine troops seize the Falkland (Malvinas) Islands from Great Britain

Today in Movies

1968 “2001 A Space Odyssey” directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood, premieres at the Uptown Theater in Washington, D.C.