1879, May 22 - Symon Petliura, journalist, literary and theater critic, head of the Directory, Chief Ataman of the UPR troops and fleet, was born in Poltava.
During the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-1921, he was the head of the Ukrainian General Military Committee, Secretary General of Military Affairs, the founder of the Haidamak Kosh of Sloboda Ukraine, the head of the Directorate of the Ukrainian People's Republic, and the Chief Ataman of the UPR's troops and fleet. After the revolution, in exile, he headed the State Center of the UPR in exile: he opposed the Bolsheviks in the international arena, tried to preserve Ukrainian state institutions and the army, unite the Ukrainian emigration around the continuation of the struggle, and enlist the support of Western governments. He was assassinated on May 25, 1926, by Soviet agent Samuel Schwartzbard in Paris.
Despite a large-scale campaign to discredit Symon Petliura, his name remains a symbol of rebellion and the struggle for Ukraine's independence for many Ukrainians.