May 19. 1622: Sultan of Turkey strangled by his own troops in insurrection. 1934: Ten thousand participate in a "No More War" march in New York City.

May 20. 1776: Mohawks defeat Americans at the Battle of the Cedars. 1996: US Supreme Court rules 6-3 against a Colorado state law prohibiting legislation protecting gays and lesbians from discrimination.

May 21. 1968: At a protest demonstration in Beijing, China, the group Xeng Wu Lian calls for the people to govern themselves directly, as in the Paris Commune. The Red Guards accuse them of being anarchists.

May 22. 1978: Four thousand protesters occupy Trident nuclear submarine base site, Bangor, WA.

May 23. 1832: Jamaican national hero Samuel Sharpe hanged. Instigator of the 1831 Slave Rebellion which began on the Kensington Estate in Saint James and was largely instrumental in bringing about the abolition of Jamaican slavery.

May 24. 1943: March against anti-Semitism leads to stop in Jewish deportations, Bulgaria.

May 25. 350 BC: After disguising herself as a man and studying with the famous physician Herophilos, Agnodice becomes the first woman professional gynecologist. But rival doctors denounce her as "one that does corrupt men's wives." Agnodice reveals her sex to clear herself of rape charges. Rushing to her defense, female patients declare that if Agnodice is executed for practicing medicine, "they will all die with her." Not only is Agnodice acquitted, but is allowed to continue her medical work and wear men's clothing. A change in Athenian law also allows women to study medicine.

May 26. 1824: Men and women weavers in Pawtucket, RI, go on first "co-ed" strike in US. 1977: George Willig climbs World Trade Center, New York City. It takes him 3-1/2 hours to climb, costs him $1.10 in fines (a penny per floor), and leaves him with a feat that will never be repeated.

May 27. 1968: Grand jury indicts the "LA 13" for conspiracy to disturb the peace during school walkouts. Those indicted are Sal Castro, Eliezar Risco, Patricio Sanchez, Moctezuma Esparza, David Sanchez, Carlos Montes, Ralph Ramirez, Fred Lopes, Richard Vigil, Gilberto Olmeda, Joe Razo, Henry Gomez, and Carlos Munoz, Jr.

May 28. 1830: Pres. Andrew Jackson's recommendation to move all Indians west of Mississippi River--a relocation plan later used as a model by South Africa's apartheid leaders--becomes law.

May 29. 1854: Lydia Flood Jackson, civil rights activist, starts first school for black children in Sacramento, CA.

May 30. 1969: Twenty thousand rally in a peaceful protest in Berkeley, CA, to oppose state suppression of People's Park.

May 31. 1955: US Supreme Court, a year after Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, orders school integration "with all deliberate speed."

June 1. 1997: Eleven activists protesting the removal of trees for a development in downtown Eugene, OR, are assaulted by local police with dozens of cans of OC (pepper) spray and tear gas, marking one of the first times pepper spray was used on non-resisting demonstrators in the US. Remarkably, it was controversial at the time; within three years, it had become standard practice for law enforcement officers across the country.