May 1919

Sunday 04:

May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.

Thursday 15:

The Winnipeg General Strike began. By 11:00, virtually the entire working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job.

Friday 16:

US Navy Naval Curtiss aircraft NC-4 commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.

Saturday 17:

Committee of One Thousand forms to oppose Winnipeg General Strike.

Monday 19:

In Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk moves to Samsun from Istanbul with a few followers, to oppose the Ottoman government, which eventually leads to the Turkish War of Independence.

Tuesday 27:

The NC-4 aircraft arrives in Lisbon after completing the first transatlantic flight.

Thursday 29:

Observation of shifted star positions during a solar eclipse confirm Albert Einstein's theory of relativity (see Arthur Eddington).