Today in History, May 14th
On May 14, 1948, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel in Tel Aviv. Plus Jenner's first smallpox vaccination and Lewis and Clark set out.
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May 14 is best known for 1948, when David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel in Tel Aviv as the British Mandate over Palestine came to an end. The date also saw Edward Jenner give the first smallpox vaccination in 1796 and Lewis and Clark set off on their expedition in 1804.
The big story: The State of Israel is proclaimed (1948)
Britain had governed Palestine since the League of Nations authorized its mandate in 1922. In November 1947 the United Nations voted to split the territory, with Jews receiving more than half the land even though they made up less than half the population. As the British pulled out on May 14, 1948, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion read a declaration in Tel Aviv proclaiming the State of Israel, which would formally exist from midnight, when the mandate expired. Ben-Gurion became the new state’s first premier. News that the U.S. had recognized Israel arrived the same day and added to the celebrations. The peace lasted only hours. Egypt launched air attacks that evening, and the next day forces from Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq invaded.
More events on May 14
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1607 | English colonists landed on the James River to found Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America (Old Style). |
| 1787 | Delegates began gathering in Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention. |
| 1796 | Edward Jenner gave what became the first smallpox vaccination. |
| 1804 | Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out to explore the Northwest. |
| 1856 | The first dromedaries for the U.S. Camel Corps arrived in Texas. |
| 1955 | The Soviet Union and seven European satellite states signed the Warsaw Pact, a mutual defense treaty. |
| 1973 | The U.S. launched Skylab, its first space station. |
| 1998 | Frank Sinatra died of a heart attack in Los Angeles at 82. |
| 1999 | President Bill Clinton phoned Chinese President Jiang Zemin to apologize for NATO’s accidental bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. |
| 2015 | Blues guitarist B.B. King died in Las Vegas. |
Born on May 14
- 1771: Robert Owen, manufacturer turned social reformer and early utopian socialist, born in Newtown, Wales.
- 1944: George Lucas, American filmmaker, born in Modesto, California.
- 1969: Cate Blanchett, Australian actress, born in Melbourne.
Sources
- State of Israel proclaimed, History.com
- This Day in History: May 14, History.com
- On This Day: May 14, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- B.B. King, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Robert Owen, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- George Lucas, Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Cate Blanchett, Encyclopaedia Britannica
