May 16, 1943: SS General Jürgen Stroop orders the burning of the Warsaw Ghetto, ending a month of Jewish resistance. 13,000 Jews have died, about half burnt alive or suffocated, German casualties less than 300.
May 17, 1944: General Eisenhower sets D-Day for June 5th.
May 18, 1980: Mount St Helens erupts in Washington state, causing the largest landslide in history, killing 57 people and costing $1 billion in damage.
May 19, 1749: King George II grants charter to Ohio Company to settle Ohio Valley.
May 20, 1862: US President Abraham Lincoln signs into law the Homestead Act to provide cheap land for the settlement of the American West (80 million acres by 1900).
May 21, 1881: American Red Cross founded by Clara Barton.
May 22, 1916: Battle of Verdun: French troops assault Fort Douaumont but fail to recapture it after hours of dogged fighting.
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