On May 14, 1643, Louis XIV became king of France at age 4.
In 1796 English physician Edward Jenner administered the first vaccination against smallpox, to an 8-year-old boy.
In 1804 the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory left St. Louis.
In 1904 the first Olympic Games to be held in the United States opened in St. Louis.
In 1944 movie producer George Lucas was born in Modesto, Calif.
In 1948 the independent state of Israel was proclaimed.
In 1952 rock musician David Byrne, co-founder of the Talking Heads, was born in Dumbarton, Scotland.
In 1964 Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev joined United Arab Republic President Gamal Abdel Nasser in setting off charges, diverting the Nile River from the site of the Aswan High Dam project.
In 1973 the United States launched Skylab 1, its first manned space station.
In 1975 U.S. forces raided the Cambodian island of Koh Tang and recaptured the American merchant ship Mayaguez; all 40 crewmen were released safely by Cambodia, but about 40 U.S. military personnel were killed in the military operation.
In 1987 actress Rita Hayworth died in New York at 68.
In 1992 former football player Lyle Alzado died at 43 in Portland, Ore.
In 1998 “Seinfeld” ended its nine-year run on NBC.
In 2001 the Supreme Court ruled there is no exception in federal law for people to use marijuana to ease pain from cancer, AIDS or other illnesses.
In 2003, smugglers abandoned more than 100 illegal immigrants in a locked trailer at a Texas truck stop; 19 people died. Also actor Robert Stack died at 84 in Beverly Hills, Calif. And basketball’s Dave DeBusschere died in New York at 62.
In 2004 Britain’s Daily Mirror newspaper apologized after photos purportedly showing British forces abusing Iraqi prisoners were proved fake. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block same-sex marriages in Massachusetts.
In 2006 former U.S. poet laureate Stanley Kunitz died in New York at 100.
