28 May, 1998 – Pakistan detonates five atom bombs

The nuclear tests came as a response to India's tests just days earlier. Fearing a devastating conflict between the two nuclear powers, a number of countries imposed economic sanctions.

29 May, 1953 – Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay conquer Mount Everest

The first successful ascent of the world's highest mountain came after Tom Bourdillon and Charles Evans had come within 100 metres of the summit just three days previously.

30 May, 1962 – Benjamin Britten's War Requiem is premiered

The work was performed for the consecration of the new Cathedral, which had been destroyed in World War II. It juxtaposes the traditional Latin Mass for the Dead with war poems by Wilfred Owen.

31 May, 1859 – The Great Clock housing Big Ben starts keeping time

The clock at the top of Elizabeth Tower at the north end of the British Houses of Parliament is one of the world's best-known timekeepers.

01 June, 1831 – The British explorer James Clark Ross discovers the North Magnetic Pole

It is the location where the Earth's magnetic field points directly downwards. It lies in the vicinity of the Geographic North Pole.

02 June, 1953 – Queen Elizabeth II is crowned

The coronation in London's Westminster Abbey was the first televised major international event in history. Elizabeth's accession to the throne followed the death of her father, King George VI.

03 June, 1973 – The world's first supersonic airliner crashes

The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144, sometimes referred to as Concordski, disintegrated in mid-air during the 1973 Paris Air Show in which reportedly, 14 people died.