History events
-1313 — (1 Iyar 2448) According to tradition, this was the date of the first population survey of the Israelite people taken by Moses
124 — (5th of Iyar, 3884) A Roman centurion named Valens stationed in the military camp which bordered the date palm groves in En Gedi by the Dead Sea made an emergency short-term loan to a Jew named Judah at an interest rate of twelve per cent per annum
1649 — (5th of Sivan, 5598) The Massachusetts General Court ruled today that Solomon Franco was to be expelled from the colony, and granted him «six shillings per week out of the Treasury for ten weeks, for sustenance, till he can get his passage to Holland. Franco, a Sephard, is “the second Jew known to have lived in North America. He settle in Boston where he was an “agent for Immanuel Perada, a Dutch merchant.” After Franco had delivered supplies from Perada “to Edward Gibbons, a major general in the Massachusetts militia” a dispute arose over who should pay the Jew for the merchandize – Gibbons or Parada. The solution of the court was to expel Franco
1947 — (16th of Iyar, 5707) David Ben-Gurion completes a five week round of meeting with dozens of Jewish military commanders which will later be described as a “systematic investigation” of the Yishuv’s ability to withstand the military onslaught it could expect from the surrounding Arab nations if the British decided to leave; David Ben Gurion meets with Professor Yochana Ratner of the Technion in an attempt to further evaluate the readiness of the Haganah and the Palmach to fight a conventional war against invading Arab armies
1948 — (27th of Nisan, 5708) An emergency meeting was convened to deal with reports of a typhoid epidemic in Acre; The 12th Battalion of the Golani Brigade captured the village of Shajara; The main Palmach assault to secure the town of Safed began
1953 — (21th of Iyar, 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported that the Treasury introduced a new system of granting eighty per cent export premiums for some industries; Israel and Argentina had raised their missions to the rank of Embassies and exchanged Ambassadors
People
1747 — (5th of Sivan, 5507) Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato (RAMCHA»L), Kabbalist, poet, and author of Mesilat Yesharim passed away
1786 — (5th of Iyar, 5546) Ludwig Börne, German, writer, born
1830 — (13th of Iyar, 5590) Birthdate of Abraham Jacobi “a pioneer of pediatrics” who opened the first children’s clinic in the United States
1838 — (11th of Iyar, 5598) Rabbi Samuel Judah Leib ben David Kauder, author of Olat Shmuel passed away today in Prague
1856 — (1th of Iyar, 5616) Birthdate of Dr. Sigmund Freud, father of psycho-analysis
1884 — (11th of Iyar, 5644) Judah P. Benjamin, statesman and lawyer, died
1930 — (8th of Iyar, 5690) Birthdate of Mordechai «Motta» Gur the Jerusalem native who rose to the rank of Lt. General in the IDF and became the 10th Chief of Staff of the IDF