According to legend, Julius Caesar had a rough time on the 15th of March, but throughout history, the 15th of May hasn't been a red-letter day for humanity at large.
Just look at these nasty bits of history that all happened on this day....
In 1252, Pope Innocent IV authorized the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.
German mercenaries killed 232 residents of Alkmaar, Netherlands, as part of the Cheese and Bread Rebellion of 1492.
In 1718, a London lawyer named James Puckle patented the world's first machine gun (making us wonder why they call it a tommy gun and not a jimmy gun).
May Laws-Tsar Alexander III banned Jews from living in Romania on May 15, 1882.
In 1886, Emily Dickinson died at the age of 55.
Seventy-eight people were killed by a Texas tornado in 1896.
In 1934, Karlis Ulmanis names himself fascist dictator of Latvia.
General Winkelman surrendered to German troops in Amsterdam AND McDonald's opened their first restaurant in San Bernadino, California, in 1940.
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All of this would be bad enough, but beyond them all - in terms of the overall negative effect on society - was this date in 2005, when Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith opened at the Cannes Film Festival.
Oh! The humanity!
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