Reuters historical calendar - May 14

London, May 13 (Reuters) Following are some of the major events to have occurred on May 14 in history: 1900 - The second Modern Olympic Games opened in Paris, with women being allowed to take part for the first time.

1921 - In the United States, Florence Allen became the first woman judge to sentence a man to death. Frank Motto was tried on a murder charge and executed on August 20.

1940 - Two-thirds of the Dutch city of Rotterdam was destroyed by German bombing, killing almost 1,000 people and making at least 80,000 homeless.

1948 - The state of Israel was proclaimed by David Ben-Gurion, eight hours before the British mandate in Palestine was to end.

1955 - The Warsaw Pact was signed by the Soviet Union, Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

1987 - Rita Hayworth, American film actress and dancer, died. Best known for her roles in ''Blood and Sand'' and ''Gilda''.

1989 - Tens of thousands demonstrated for democratic reforms in Peking's Tiananmen square on the eve of a visit to the country by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.

1991 - Jiang Qing, widow of Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong and leader of the ''Gang of Four'', committed suicide.

1993 - U S newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst Jr.

died after a heart attack aged 85.

1998 - Frank Sinatra, one of the world's greatest popular entertainers, died. An acclaimed singer, he also appeared in a number of films including ''From Here to Eternity''.

2001 - In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi won the May 13 general election at the head of a centre-right alliance which formed the 59th government since 1945.

2002 - Foreign ministers of NATO and Russia endorsed a landmark agreement forming the NATO-Russia Council to cooperate on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

2003 - Algerian armed forces free 17 European tourists kidnapped by outlawed Islamist militants and held for two months in the Sahara desert.

2003 - After nearly four decades of planning and debate, work finally began on underwater barriers designed to protect Venice from flooding.

2004 - The South Korean Constitutional Court reinstated President Roh Moo-hyun by overturning parliament's unprecedented vote to impeach him.

**2005 - Former European Union trade chief Pascal Lamy was proclaimed the next head of the World Trade Organisation after his only remaining rival pulled out.

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