This Day In History, May 15th.
Five Historical Events That Happened on May 15th.
1252: Pope Innocent IV issued the papal bull "Ad exstirpanda," which allows the Inquisition to employ torture to collect confessions from heretics.
English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold is the first European to sight Cape Cod, Massachusetts, in 1602.
James Puckle, a London barrister, patents the Puckle gun, the world's first machine gun, in 1718.
Following the end of the British Mandate in Palestine, Israel declares its independence in 1948.
While campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in Laurel, Maryland, Alabama Governor George Wallace is shot and crippled by Arthur Bremer.
May 15th, 1252: Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull "Ad exstirpanda," which authorized the use of torture by the Inquisition to extract confessions from heretics.
On May 15th, 1252, Pope Innocent IV issued the papal bull "Ad exstirpanda," which legalized the use of torture by the Inquisition to collect confessions from heretics. The bull was created in reaction to the spread of heresy throughout Europe, and it explained how to conduct inquisitorial processes, including the use of torture. The papal bull was seen as a watershed moment in the history of the Inquisition, since it established torture as an acceptable means of eliciting information and confessions from suspects. Torture was practiced by the Inquisition for generations, and it was only formally banned by the Catholic Church in the late 18th century.
English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold becomes the first European to see Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
On May 15, 1602, an English navigator named Bartholomew Gosnold is said to have been the first European to glimpse Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Gosnold was traveling the North American coast in quest of a suitable spot for a colony. He dubbed the place "Cape Cod" because the abundance of cod fish discovered in the seas surrounding the peninsula. Before returning to England, Gosnold established a brief community on Cuttyhunk Island, off the coast of present-day Massachusetts. Gosnold's discovery of the New England coast paved the way for future English colonization of the region in the decades that followed.
1718: James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun, the Puckle gun.
On May 15, 1718, James Puckle, a London barrister, patented the Puckle gun, the world's first machine gun. The Puckle gun was a manually controlled weapon with a spinning cylinder that could fire up to nine rounds per minute. It was intended to be used against enemy ships, and Puckle believed that the British military would accept it. However, the Puckle gun was never widely used, and only a handful were ever manufactured. Nonetheless, the Puckle gun is regarded as a watershed moment in the evolution of weapons technology since it laid the path for the creation of succeeding machine guns.
1948: The independent state of Israel is declared, following the end of the British Mandate in Palestine.
Following the end of the British Mandate in Palestine, David Ben-Gurion, the chairman of the Jewish Agency, announced the foundation of the State of Israel on May 15th, 1948. The proclamation went into force at midnight, and Ben-Gurion read it out in front of a gathering of dignitaries and media at the Tel Aviv Museum. The statement declared the formation of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel, as well as the return of exiles and the construction of a democratic society founded on the ideals of freedom, justice, and peace. The formation of Israel was welcomed with both joy and dismay, and it constituted a watershed moment in the history of the Jewish people and the Middle East.
1972: Alabama Governor George Wallace is shot and paralyzed by Arthur Bremer while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in Laurel, Maryland.
On May 15, 1972, while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in Laurel, Maryland, Alabama Governor George Wallace was shot and paralyzed by Arthur Bremer. Wallace was a divisive figure in American politics, renowned for his outspoken opposition to integration and support for states' rights. Bremer, a disgruntled young man with a history of mental illness, shot Wallace multiple at close range, paralyzing him from the waist down. The shooting had a profound influence on American politics since it signaled the end of the populist movement and the advent of the more ideologically oriented conservative movement. Wallace was a powerful influence in Alabama politics until his death in 1998.