May 11 is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 234 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 330 - Byzantium is renamed Nova Roma during a dedication ceremony, but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople.
- 1310 - Fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake in France for being heretics.
- 1502 - Christopher Columbus leaves for his fourth and final voyage to the West Indies.
- 1745 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy – At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army.
- 1792 - Captain Robert Gray becomes the first documented white person to sail into the Columbia River.
- 1812 - Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons, London.
- 1813 - In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth, lead an expedition westwards from Sydney. Their route opens up inland Australia for continued expansion throughout the 19th century.
- 1820 - Launch of HMS Beagle the ship that took young Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage.
- 1857 - Indian Mutiny: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British.
- 1858 - Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd U.S. state.
- 1862 - American Civil War: The ironclad CSS Virginia is scuttled in the James River northwest of Norfolk, Virginia.
- 1867 - Luxembourg gains its independence.
- 1891 - The Otsu Scandal takes place.
- 1894 - Pullman Strike: Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike in Illinois.
- 1907 - A derailment outside Lompoc, California kills 32 Shriners when their chartered train jumps off the tracks at a switch near Surf Depot.
- 1910 - An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
- 1911 - The United States becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1918 - The Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus is officially established.
- 1924 - Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging the two companies.
- 1927 - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded.
- 1942 - William Faulkner's collections of short stories, Go Down, Moses, is published.
- 1943 - World War II: American troops invade Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
- 1944 - World War II: The Allies start a major offensive against the Axis Powers on the Gustav Line.
- 1946 - UMNO is created.
- 1949 - Siam officially changes its name to Thailand, a name in use since 1939.
- 1949 - Israel joins the United Nations.
- 1953 - The 1953 Waco tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado hits downtown Waco, Texas, killing 114.
- 1960 - In Buenos Aires, Argentina, four Israeli Mossad agents capture fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann, living under the assumed name Ricardo Klement.
- 1960 - The first contraceptive pill is made available on the market.
- 1967 - Andreas Papandreou, Greek economist and socialist politician, is imprisoned in Athens by the Greek military junta.
- 1968 - The Toronto Transit Commission opens the largest expansion of its Bloor-Danforth Line, going to Scarborough in the east, and Etobicoke in the west.
- 1973 - Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has his charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times dismissed.
- 1984 - A transit of Earth from Mars takes place.
- 1985 - Fifty-six spectators die when a flash fire strikes a football ground during a match in Bradford, England.
- 1987 - Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
- 1987 - In Baltimore, Maryland, The first heart-lung transplant takes place. The surgery is performed by Dr. Bruce Reitz, of Stanford University School of Medicine.
- 1995 - In New York City, more than 170 countries decide to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
- 1996 - After taking-off from Miami, Florida, a fire started by improperly handled oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades killing all 110 on board.
- 1997 - IBM Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.
- 1998 - India conducts three underground nuclear tests in Pokhran, including a thermonuclear device.
- 2007 - Pope Benedict XVI canonizes the first Brazilian-born saint, Frei Galvão.
Births
- 1571 - Niwa Nagashige, Japanese warlord (d. 1637)
- 1720 - Karl Friedrich Hieronymus Freiherr von Münchhausen, German adventurer (d. 1797)
- 1722 - Petrus Camper, Dutch anatomist (d. 1789)
- 1733 - Victoire of France, daughter of king Louis XV (d. 1799)
- 1752 - Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German anthropologist (d. 1840)
- 1763 - János Batsányi, Hungarian poet (d. 1845)
- 1799 - John Lowell, American philanthropist (d. 1836)
- 1801 - Henri Labrouste, French architect (d. 1875)
- 1811 - Chang and Eng Bunker, famous conjoined twins (d. 1874)
- 1811 - Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1893)
- 1817 - Fanny Cerrito, Italian ballet dancer (d. 1909)
- 1824 - Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (d. 1904)
- 1827 - Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, French sculptor and painter (d. 1875)
- 1835 - Kārlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (d. 1905)
- 1838 - Walter Goodman, British painter, illustrator and author (d. 1912)
- 1852 - Charles W. Fairbanks, United States Vice President (d. 1918)
- 1854 - Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (d. 1932)
- 1861 - Frederick Russell Burnham, father of the international scouting movement (d. 1947)
- 1871 - Stjepan Radic, Croatian politician (d. 1928)
- 1871 - Frank Schlesinger, American astronomer (d. 1943)
- 1875 - Harriet Quimby, American aviator (d. 1912)
- 1881 - Al Cabrera, Spanish-born Cuban baseball player (d. 1964)
- 1881 - Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian physicist (d. 1963)
- 1888 - Irving Berlin, American composer (d. 1989)
- 1888 - Willis A. Lee, World War II U.S. naval admiral (d. 1945)
- 1890 - Woodall Rodgers, mayor of Dallas, Texas (d. 1961)
- 1892 - Margaret Rutherford, English actress (d. 1972)
- 1894 - Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1991)
- 1895 - Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (d. 1986)
- 1896 - Josip Štolcer-Slavenski Croatian composer (d. 1955)
- 1897 - Kurt Gerron, German director (d. 1944)
- 1897 - Robert E. Gross, American businessman (d. 1961)
- 1899 - Paulino Masip, Spanish playwright (d. 1963)
- 1903 - Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- 1904 - Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter (d. 1989)
- 1907 - Rose Ausländer, German poet (d. 1988)
- 1907 - Rip Sewell, American baseball player (d. 1989)
- 1909 - Ellis R Dungan, American born Indian film director (d. 2001)
- 1909 - Herbert Murrill, English composer (d. 1952)
- 1911 - Mitchell Sharp, Canadian politician (d. 2004)
- 1911 - Phil Silvers, American actor and comedian (d. 1985)
- 1912 - Foster Brooks, American actor and comedian (d. 2001)
- 1913 - Robert Jungk, Austrian publicist (d. 1994)
- 1914 - Haroun Tazieff, French volcanologist (d. 1998)
- 1916 - Camilo José Cela, Spanish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 2002)
- 1918 - Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1988)
- 1921 - Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, German politician
- 1922 - Nestor Chylak, American baseball umpire (d. 1992)
- 1922 - Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
- 1924 - Eugene Dynkin, Russian mathematician
- 1924 - Antony Hewish, English radio astronomer, Nobel laureate
- 1925 - Edward J. King, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2006)
- 1927 - Mort Sahl, Canadian comedian and political commentator
- 1927 - Gene Savoy, American author, explorer, scholar and cleric (d. 2007)
- 1928 - Yaacov Agam, Israeli sculptor
- 1928 - Brother Andrew, Dutch missionary
- 1928 - Marco Ferreri, Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 1997)
- 1930 - Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (d. 2002)
- 1930 - Bud Ekins, American stuntman (d. 2007)
- 1933 - Louis Farrakhan, American Black Muslim leader
- 1934 - Jim Jeffords, former American politician
- 1935 - Doug McClure, American actor (d. 1995)
- 1935 - Francisco Umbral, Spanish novelist (d. 2007)
- 1936 - Carla Bley, American musician and composer
- 1939 - Carlos Lyra, Brazilian musician
- 1939 - Dante Tinga, Filipino Supreme Court jurist
- 1940 - Juan Downey, Chilean video artist (d. 1993)
- 1941 - Eric Burdon, British singer (The Animals)
- 1941 - Graham Miles, English snooker player
- 1942 - Rachel Billington, British author
- 1943 - Nancy Greene, Canadian alpine skier
- 1943 - Juliet Harmer, English actress
- 1946 - Robert Jarvik, American physician and inventor
- 1946 - Plume Latraverse, Quebec singer and musician
- 1947 - Butch Trucks, American drummer (The Allman Brothers Band)
- 1948 - Nirj Deva, Sri Lankan-British politician
- 1948 - Shigeru Izumiya, Japanese folk musician
- 1950 - Dane Iorg, American baseball player
- 1950 - Jeremy Paxman, British journalist and author
- 1952 - Shohreh Aghdashloo, Iranian actress
- 1952 - Frances Fisher, English-born actress
- 1952 - Mike Lupica, American sports journalist
- 1952 - Renaud Séchan, French composer
- 1952 - Warren Littlefield, American television executive
- 1953 - David Gest, American television producer
- 1953 - Céline Lomez, Quebec singer and actress
- 1954 - John Gregory, English football manager
- 1954 - Lubomir Stoykov, Bulgarian journalist and broadcaster
- 1955 - John DeStefano, Jr., American politician
- 1956 - Theresa Burke, Canadian journalist
- 1956 - Alex Lester, British broadcaster
- 1957 - Peter North, Canadian porn star
- 1958 - Christian Brando, American actor; son of Marlon Brando (d. 2008)
- 1958 - Phil Smyth, Australian basketball player
- 1958 - Walt Terrell, American baseball player
- 1959 - Martha Quinn, American television personality
- 1963 - Gunilla Carlsson, Swedish politician
- 1963 - Masatoshi Hamada, Japanese comedian
- 1963 - Natasha Richardson, English-born actress
- 1963 - Roark Critchlow, actor
- 1964 - John Parrott, English snooker player
- 1964 - Katie Wagner, American television reporter
- 1964 - Floyd Youmans, American baseball player
- 1965 - Greg Dulli, American musician
- 1965 - Monsour del Rosario, Filipino martial artist and actor
- 1966 - Christoph Schneider, German drummer (Rammstein)
- 1968 - Jeffrey Donovan, American actor
- 1970 - Nicky Katt, American actor
- 1970 - Glenn Hugill, British television presenter and producer
- 1972 - Anita Hegh, Australian actress
- 1973 - James Haven, American actor
- 1974 - Kevin Brown, English-born Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 - Stanley Gene, Papua New Guinean rugby league footballer
- 1974 - Billy Kidman, American professional wrestler
- 1974 - Benoît Magimel, French actor
- 1974 - Darren Ward, Welsh footballer
- 1975 - Francisco Cordero, Dominican baseball player
- 1977 - Janne Ahonen, Finnish ski jumper
- 1977 - Gonzalo Colsa, Spanish footballer
- 1977 - Pablo García, Uruguayan footballer
- 1977 - Victor Matfield, South African rugby union footballer
- 1977 - Matthew Newton, Australian actor
- 1978 - Laetitia Casta, French supermodel and actress
- 1978 - Perttu Kivilaakso, Finnish Cellist from the band Apocalyptica
- 1979 - Erin Lang, Canadian musician
- 1981 - Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player
- 1981 - Daniel Ortmeier, American baseball player
- 1981 - Austin O'Brien, American actor
- 1982 - Jonathan Jackson, American actor
- 1982 - Andrew Walter, American football player
- 1983 - Matt Leinart, American football player
- 1983 - Holly Valance, Australian-born actress and singer
- 1983 - Frédéric Xhonneux, Belgian decathlete
- 1984 - Andres Iniesta, Spanish football player
- 1985 - sifow, Japanese pop star and business woman
- 1986 - Abou Diaby, French footballer
- 1986 - Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer
- 1986 - Ronny, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 - Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen, Dutch Professional Gamer
- 1987 - Justin King, American football player
- 1987 - Louis Murphy, American college football player
- 1987 - Monica Roşu, Romanian gymnast
- 1989 - Giovani dos Santos, Mexican footballer
- 1989 - Ace Hood, American rapper
Deaths
- 912 - Leo VI, Byzantine Emperor (b. 866)
- 1304 - Mahmud Ghazan, Mongol ruler (b. 1271)
- 1610 - Matteo Ricci, Italian Jesuit missionary (b. 1552)
- 1672 - Charles Seton, 2nd Earl of Dunfermline, English royalist (b. 1615)
- 1708 - Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect (b. 1646)
- 1723 - Jean Galbert de Campistron, French dramatist (b. 1656)
- 1777 - George Pigot, Baron Pigot, British governor of Madras (b. 1719)
- 1778 - William Pitt, the Elder, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1708)
- 1812 - Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (assassinated) (b. 1762)
- 1848 - Tom Cribb, English boxer (b. 1781)
- 1849 - Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Récamier, French socialite (b. 1777)
- 1871 - John Herschel, British mathematician and astronomer (b. 1792)
- 1887 - Jean Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist (b. 1802)
- 1891 - A. E. Becquerel, French physicist (b. 1820)
- 1916 - Max Reger, German composer (b. 1873)
- 1916 - Karl Schwarzschild, German astronomer and physicist (b. 1873)
- 1920 - William Dean Howells, American writer (b. 1837)
- 1929 - Jozef Murgaš, Slovak inventor (b. 1864)
- 1934 - Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist (b. 1852)
- 1939 - Evgenii Miller, Russian counter-revolutionary (b. 1867)
- 1955 - Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (b. 1874)
- 1960 - John D. Rockefeller, Jr., American philanthropist (b. 1874)
- 1963 - Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1888)
- 1970 - Johnny Hodges, American musician (b. 1906)
- 1973 - Lex Barker, American actor (b. 1919)
- 1976 - Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (b. 1898)
- 1979 - Lester Flatt, American bluegrass musician (b. 1914)
- 1981 - Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1897)
- 1981 - Bob Marley, Jamaican singer and musician (b. 1945)
- 1985 - Chester Gould, American cartoonist (b. 1900)
- 1986 - Henry P. McIlhenny, American philanthropist (b. 1910)
- 1986 - Fritz Pollard, American football player (b. 1894)
- 1988 - Kim Philby, British spy (b. 1912)
- 1994 - Timothy Carey, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1996 - Ademir Marques de Menezes, Brazilian footballer (b. 1922)
- 1996 - Nnamdi Azikiwe, President of Nigeria (b. 1904)
- 2000 - Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (b. 1907)
- 2001 - Douglas Adams, English author (b. 1952)
- 2002 - Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster (b. 1905)
- 2002 - Renaude Lapointe, French Canadian journalist and senator (b. 1912)
- 2003 - Noel Redding, English bassist (The Jimi Hendrix Experience) (b. 1945)
- 2004 - Mick Doyle, Irish rugby union footballer and coach
- 2004 - John Whitehead, American singer (McFadden & Whitehead) (b. 1949)
- 2005 - Michalis Genitsaris, Greek rebetiko singer and composer (b. 1917)
- 2006 - Floyd Patterson, American boxer (b. 1935)
- 2006 - Frankie Thomas, American actor (b. 1921)
- 2006 - Yossi Banai, Israeli singer (b. 1932)
- 2007 - Malietoa Tanumafili II, Sovereign Ruler of Samoa (b. 1913)
- 2007 - Bernard Gordon, blacklisted American author (b. 1918)
- 2008 - Dottie Rambo, American gospel singer (b. 1934)
- 2008 - John Rutsey, Canadian drummer, formerly for Canadian progressive rock band Rush (b.1953)
- 2008 - Bruno Neves, Portuguese cyclist (b.1981)
Holidays and observances
External links
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