May 26th

1647 - A new law banned Catholic priests from the colony of Massachusetts. The penalty was banishment or death for a second offense.

1836 - The U.S. House of Representatives adopted what has been called the Gag Rule.

1864 - The Territory of Montana was organized.

1865 - Arrangements were made in New Orleans for the surrender of Confederate forces west of the Mississippi.

1868 – U.S. President Andrew Johnson was acquitted, by one vote, of all charges in his impeachment trial.

1896 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average appeared for the first time in the "Wall Street Journal."

1908 - In Persia, the first oil strike was made in the Middle East.

1946 - A patent was filed in the United States for an H-bomb.

1956 - The first trailer bank opened for business in Locust Grove, Long Island, NY. The 46-foot-long trailer took in $100,000 in deposits its first day.

1959 - The word "Frisbee" became a registered trademark of Wham-O.

1969 - The Apollo 10 astronauts returned to Earth after a successful eight-day dress rehearsal for the first manned moon landing.

1975 - American stuntman Evel Knievel suffered severe spinal injuries in Britain when he crashed while attempting to jump 13 buses in his car.

1978 - The first legal casino in the Eastern U.S. opened in Atlantic City, NJ.

1998 – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police officers in high-speed chases are liable for bystander injuries only if their "actions shock the conscience."

1998 - The Grand Princess cruise ship made its inaugural cruise. The ship measured 109,000 tons and cost approximately $450 million, making it the largest and most expensive cruise ship ever built.