May 15th

1718: James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun. To date it remains the least destructive thing ever done by a lawyer.


1800: George III survives two assassination attempts in one day... and those were just the attempts made by his family members.


1919: The Winnipeg General Strike begins. By 11:00 a.m., almost the whole working population of Winnipeg, except for the most essential people in charge of safe beer storage, had walked off the job.