May 7

May 7 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Sunday)

2022 (Saturday)

2021 (Friday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Tuesday)

2018 (Monday)

2017 (Sunday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Thursday)

May 7 is the 127th day of the year (128th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 238 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 351 – The Jewish revolt against Gallus breaks out. After his arrival at Antioch, the Jews begin a rebellion in Palestine.
• 558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt.
• 1274 – In France, the Second Council of Lyons opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
• 1348 – Charles University in Prague (Universitas Carolina/Univerzita Karlova) is established as the first university in Central Europe.
• 1429 – Joan of Arc ends the Siege of Orléans, pulling an arrow from her own shoulder and returning, wounded, to lead the final charge. The victory marks a turning point in the Hundred Years' War.
• 1664 – Louis XIV of France inaugurates the Palace of Versailles.
• 1697 – Stockholm's royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed by fire. It is replaced by the current Royal Palace in the eighteenth century.
• 1718 – The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.
• 1763 – Indian Wars: Pontiac's Rebellion begins – Chief Pontiac begins the "Conspiracy of Pontiac" by attacking British forces at Fort Detroit.
• 1794 – French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic.
• 1824 – World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer's supervision.
• 1832 – The independence of Greece is recognized by the Treaty of London. Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria is chosen King.
• 1840 – The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.
• 1846 – The Cambridge Chronicle, America's oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts
• 1847 – The American Medical Association is founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1864 – American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
• 1895 – In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector — a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
• 1915 – World War I: German submarine SM U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many formerly pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.
• 1920 – Kiev Offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kiev only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
• 1920 – Treaty of Moscow: Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
• 1920 – The Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto, opens the first exhibition by the Group of Seven.
• 1937 – Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco's forces.
• 1940 – The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.
• 1942 – During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Japanese Imperial Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō. The battle marks the first time in the naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
• 1945 – World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany's participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day.
• 1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with around 20 employees.
• 1948 – The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
• 1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey W.A. Dummer.
• 1954 – Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Vietnamese victory (the battle began on March 13).
• 1960 – Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960 – Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.
• 1964 – Pacific Air Lines Flight 773, a Fairchild F-27 airliner, crashes near San Ramon, California, killing all 44 aboard; the FBI later reports that a cockpit recorder tape indicates that the pilot and co-pilot had been shot by a suicidal passenger.
• 1974 – West German Chancellor Willy Brandt resigns.
• 1986 – Canadian Patrick Morrow became the first person to climb each of the Seven Summits.
• 1992 – Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.
• 1992 – The Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its first mission (STS-49).
• 1992 – Three employees at a McDonald's Restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first "fast-food murder" in Canada.
• 1994 – Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after having been stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.
• 1998 – Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for $40 billion USD and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
• 1999 – Pope John Paul II travels to Romania becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.
• 1999 – Kosovo War: In Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
• 1999 – In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
• 2000 – Vladimir Putin is inaugurated president of Russia
• 2002 – A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
• 2004 – American businessman Nick Berg is beheaded by Islamic militants. The act is recorded on videotape and released on the Internet.
• 2007 – Israeli archaeologists discover the tomb of Herod the Great south of Jerusalem.
• 2009 – Over 100 New Zealand Police officers begin a 40-hour siege of a lone gunman in Napier, New Zealand.

Births

• 1328 – Louis VI the Roman, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1365)
• 1397 – Sejong the Great, was the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea (d. 1450)
• 1530 – Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, French Huguenot general (d. 1569)
• 1605 – Patriarch Nikon, 7th patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church (d. 1681)
• 1643 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician (d. 1700)
• 1700 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-born physician (d. 1772)
• 1704 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German composer and tenor singer (d. 1759)
• 1711 – David Hume, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1776)
• 1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, Austrian general (d. 1797)
• 1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian general (d. 1814)
• 1745 – Carl Stamitz, German composer (d. 1801)
• 1748 – Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and feminist revolutionary (d. 1793)
• 1756 – Thomas Linley the younger, English composer (d. 1778)
• 1763 – Józef Antoni Poniatowski, Polish prince (d. 1813)
• 1767 – Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of York and Albany (d. 1820)
• 1774 – William Bainbridge, American Commodore (d. 1833)
• 1787 – Jacques Viger, Canadian politician, first mayor of Montreal (d. 1858)
• 1812 – Robert Browning, English poet (d. 1889)
• 1826 – Varina Davis, First Lady of the Confederate States of America (d. 1906)
• 1833 – Johannes Brahms, German composer (d. 1897)
• 1836 – Joseph Gurney Cannon, American politician (d. 1926)
• 1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (d. 1893)
• 1847 – Archibald Primrose, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1929)
• 1857 – William A. MacCorkle, American politician (d. 1930)
• 1860 – Tom Norman, English freak showman (d. 1930)
• 1861 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1941)
• 1867 – Władysław Reymont, Polish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1925)
• 1882 – Willem Elsschot, Flemish writer (d. 1960)
• 1885 – George 'Gabby' Hayes, American actor (d. 1969)
• 1891 – Harry McShane, Scottish socialist (d. 1988)
• 1892 – Archibald MacLeish, American Librarian of Congress (d. 1982)
• 1892 – Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980)
• 1893 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey manager (d. 1985)
• 1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor (d. 1961)
• 1909 – Edwin H. Land, American inventor (d. 1991)
• 1911 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese film director (d. 1993)
• 1912 – Pannalal Patel, Gujarati author (d. 1989)
• 1914 – Sir Arthur Snelling, British Ambassador (d. 1996)
• 1916 – Huw Wheldon, British broadcaster (d. 1986)
• 1917 – David Tomlinson, English film actor (d. 2000)
• 1919 – La Esterella, Flemish singer (d. 2011)
• 1919 – Eva Perón, Argentine first lady (d. 1952)
• 1921 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer (d. 1985)
• 1922 – Lew Anderson, American actor and bandleader (d. 2006)
• 1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor (d. 2006)
• 1922 – Joe O'Donnell, American documentary photographer and photojournalist (d. 2007)
• 1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
• 1924 – Albert Band, American film director (d. 2002)
• 1926 – Val Bisoglio, Italian-American actor
• 1927 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German screenwriter
• 1927 – Jim Lowe, American singer
• 1928 – John Ingle, American actor
• 1929 – Babe Parilli, American football player
• 1929 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, manager and coach (d. 2011)
• 1930 – Totie Fields, American comedienne (d. 1978)
• 1931 – Teresa Brewer, American pop and jazz singer (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Gene Wolfe, American science fiction author
• 1932 – Jordi Bonet, Catalan-born Canadian painter, muralist and sculptor (d. 1979)
• 1932 – Pete Domenici, American politician
• 1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player (d. 2002)
• 1933 – Nexhmije Pagarusha, Albanian singer
• 1935 – Isobel Warren, Canadian author
• 1936 – Bobby Joe Green, American football player (d. 1993)
• 1937 – Claude Raymond, Canadian baseball player
• 1939 – Sidney Altman, Canadian molecular biologist, Nobel laureate
• 1939 – Ruud Lubbers, Former Prime Minister of the Netherlands
• 1939 – Johnny Maestro, American pop singer (d. 2010)
• 1939 – Jimmy Ruffin, American singer
• 1939 – Ruggero Deodato, Italian film director, actor and screen writer
• 1940 – Angela Carter, English novelist and journalist (d. 1992)
• 1940 – Dave Chambers, Canadian ice hockey coach
• 1940 – Jim Connors, American radio personality (d. 1987)
• 1940 – Vasilis N. Triantafillidis, Greek comedian and actor
• 1941 – Catherine P. Saxton, British-born American public relations executive
• 1943 – Terry Allen, American country music singer
• 1943 – Harvey Andrews, English singer and songwriter
• 1943 – Peter Carey, Australian author
• 1944 – Eva Norvind, Mexican actress (d. 2006)
• 1944 – Richard O'Sullivan, British actor
• 1945 – Christy Moore, Irish folk artist
• 1945 – Robin Strasser, American TV soap opera actress
• 1946 – Jerry Nolan, American musician (The New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers) (d. 1992)
• 1946 – Thelma Houston, American singer
• 1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer (Grateful Dead)
• 1946 – Brian Turner, English chef
• 1946 – Michael Rosen, English children's poet
• 1946 – Marv Hubbard, American football player
• 1948 – Susan Atkins, American murderer (d. 2009)
• 1949 – Kathy Ahern, American golfer (d. 1996)
• 1949 – Marilyn Cole, English model
• 1950 – Randall 'Tex' Cobb, American boxer and actor
• 1950 – Tim Russert, American television host (d. 2008)
• 1951 – Robert Hegyes, American actor (d. 2012)
• 1951 – Bernie Marsden, English musician
• 1953 – Pat McInally, American football player
• 1953 – Ian McKay, British soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
• 1954 – Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
• 1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director
• 1955 – Clément Gignac, Canadian politician
• 1955 – Ben Poquette, American basketball player
• 1955 – Peter Reckell, American actor
• 1955 – Kevin Reed, American theologian
• 1956 – Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
• 1956 – Anne Dudley, British composer
• 1956 – Jean Lapierre, Canadian politician and television host
• 1957 – Ray Fernandez, American wrestler (d. 2004)
• 1957 – Ned Bellamy, American actor
• 1958 – Mark G. Kuzyk, American physicist
• 1959 – Barbara Yung Mei-ling, Hong Kong actress (d. 1985)
• 1959 – Michael E. Knight, American actor
• 1960 – Adam Bernstein, American music video/television director
• 1960 – Almudena Grandes, Spanish novelist
• 1961 – Hans-Peter Bartels, German politician
• 1961 – Phil Campbell, British musician (Motörhead)
• 1962 – Tony Campbell, American basketball player
• 1962 – Dominik Moll, German-born French film director and screenwriter
• 1963 – Johnny Lee Middleton, American musician (Savatage, Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
• 1964 – Doug Benson, American comedian
• 1964 – Ronnie Harmon, American football player
• 1964 – Leslie O'Neal, American football player
• 1965 – Owen Hart, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 1999)
• 1965 – Norman Whiteside, Northern Irish footballer
• 1965 – Reuben Davis, American football player
• 1967 – Martin Bryant, Australian mass murderer
• 1967 – Joe Rice, American politician
• 1968 – Traci Lords, American actress
• 1968 – Lisa Raitt, Canadian politician
• 1969 – Eagle-Eye Cherry, Swedish musician
• 1969 – Jun Falkenstein, American film director
• 1969 – Katerina Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player
• 1969 – Rick Porras, American film producer
• 1970 – Kim Su-ro, South Korean actor
• 1971 – Horgh, Norwegian drummer (Immortal, Hypocrisy)
• 1971 – Dave Karpa, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1972 – Peter Dubovský, Slovak footballer (d. 2000)
• 1972 – Frank Trigg, American mixed martial artist
• 1973 – Kristian Lundin, Swedish songwriter
• 1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
• 1974 – Breckin Meyer, American actor
• 1974 – Ian Pearce, English footballer
• 1975 – Jason Tunks, Canadian discus thrower
• 1975 – Zee, American hip hop artist
• 1976 – Calvin Booth, American basketball player
• 1976 – Andrea Lo Cicero, Italian rugby player
• 1977 – Lisa Kelly, Irish singer
• 1978 – Stian Arnesen, Norwegian musician
• 1978 – Brian Clevinger, American author
• 1978 – Shawn Marion, American basketball player
• 1978 – Stephanie Pohl, German beach volleyball player
• 1979 – Katie Douglas, American basketball player
• 1980 – Johan Kenkhuis, Dutch swimmer
• 1980 – Kate Lawler, English reality television personality
• 1981 – Tim Connolly, American ice hockey player
• 1982 – Ákos Buzsáky, Hungarian footballer
• 1983 – DJ Row, Greek American dance DJ
• 1984 – James Loney, American baseball player
• 1984 – Alex Smith, American football player
• 1984 – Drew Stanton, American football player
• 1984 – May7ven, Nigerian-born British singer-songwriter and dancer
• 1985 – Drew Neitzel, American basketball player
• 1985 – Dan Sweetman, Australian television host
• 1986 – Mark Furze, Australian actor
• 1986 – Matt Helders, English drummer (Arctic Monkeys)
• 1987 – Michael Maidens, English footballer (d. 2007)
• 1987 – Jérémy Ménez, French footballer
• 1987 – Serge Gakpé, Togolese footballer
• 1988 – Natalie Mejia, American dancer and singer (Girlicious)
• 1989 – Master Shortie, British hip-hop and R&B singer-songwriter and rapper
• 1990 – Yoon Bit-Garam, South Korean footballer
• 1992 – Alexander Ludwig, Canadian actor
• 1992 – Brian Swalley, The most awesomest person in the world!
• 1999 – Masaki Sato, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
• 2000 – Maxwell Perry Cotton, American actor

Deaths

• 973 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 912)
• 1092 – Remigius de Fécamp, first bishop of Lincoln (b. unknown)
• 1427 – Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English churchman
• 1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German soldier (b. 1481)
• 1539 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (b. 1466)
• 1615 – Sanada Yukimura, Japanese samurai (b. 1567)
• 1617 – David Fabricius, German astronomer (b. 1564)
• 1667 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German composer (b. 1616)
• 1682 – Tsar Feodor III of Russia (b. 1661)
• 1718 – Mary of Modena, wife of James II of England (b. 1658)
• 1793 – Pietro Nardini, Italian composer (b. 1722)
• 1800 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (b. 1728)
• 1805 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1737)
• 1825 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer (b. 1750)
• 1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter (b. 1774)
• 1868 – Henry Peter Brougham, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1778)
• 1876 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman and author (b. 1795)
• 1887 – C. F. W. Walther, American Lutheran theologian (b. 1811)
• 1896 – H. H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett), American serial killer (b. 1860)
• 1922 – Max Wagenknecht, German composer (b. 1857)
• 1925 – William Hesketh Lever, First Viscount Leverhulme (b. 1851)
• 1940 – George Lansbury, British Labour Party leader (b. 1859)
• 1941 – Sir James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist (b. 1854)
• 1942 – Felix Weingartner, Yugoslavian conductor (b. 1863)
• 1951 – Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)
• 1986 – Jeffrey Mylett, American actor (b. 1949)
• 1987 – Colin Blakely, British actor (b. 1930)
• 1989 – Guy Williams, American actor (b. 1924)
• 1993 – Mary Philbin, American actress (b. 1903)
• 1995 – Ray McKinley, American jazz drummer, singer and bandleader (b. 1910)
• 1998 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South African physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1924)
• 1998 – Eddie Rabbitt, American musician (b. 1941)
• 2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American actor (b. 1909)
• 2001 – Jacques de Bourbon Busset, French novelist, essayist and politician (b. 1912)
• 2002 – Seattle Slew, American racehorse (b. 1974)
• 2002 – Kevyn Aucoin, American makeup artist and photographer (b. 1962)
• 2004 – Waldemar Milewicz, Polish reporter (b. 1956)
• 2005 – Tristan Egolf, American writer (b. 1971)
• 2005 – Peter W. Rodino, American politician (b. 1909)
• 2005 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1980)
• 2006 – Richard Carleton, Australian news reporter (b. 1943)
• 2006 – Joan C. Edwards, American philanthropist (b. 1918)
• 2006 – Machiko Soga, Japanese actress (b. 1943)
• 2007 – Diego Corrales, American boxer (b. 1977)
• 2007 – Octavian Paler, Romanian writer and journalist (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Yahweh ben Yahweh, American cult leader (b. 1935)
• 2009 – David Mellor, English cutlery designer (b. 1930)
• 2009 – Danny Ozark, American baseball coach and manager (b. 1923)
• 2011 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer (b. 1957)
• 2011 – Willard Boyle, Canadian physicist (b. 1924)
• 2011 – Allyson Hennessy, Trindadian television presenter (b. 1948)
• 2011 – Big George, British broadcaster, composer, bandleader and musician (b. 1957)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Acacius of Byzantium
  • Flavia Domitilla
  • John of Beverley
  • Stanislaus (Roman martyrology)
  • May 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• National Masturbation Day
• Radio Day, commemorating the work of Alexander Popov (Russia, Bulgaria)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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