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. [edit] Events - 330 – Byzantium is renamed Nova Roma during a dedication ceremony, but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople.
- 1310 – In France, fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake as 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 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 derails at a switch near Surf Depot.
- 1910 – An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
- 1918 – The Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus is officially established.
- 1924 – Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their 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 for the second time; the name had been in use since 1939, but was reverted 1945.
- 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.
- 1970 – The Lubbock Tornado a F5 tornado hits Lubbock, Texas, killing 26 and causing $250 million in damage.
- 1973 – Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has 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.
- 1996 – The 1996 Everest disaster: on a single day eight people die on Mount Everest during summit attempts.
- 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.
- 2000 – Effective date of Canada's first modern-day treaty - The Nisga'a Final Agreement.
[edit] 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, Thai/American 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, 26th 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 Radić, 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)
- 1881 – Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1944)
- 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)
- 1932 – Valentino Garavani, Italian Designer
- 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 – Dan Ireland, American film director
- 1958 – Phil Smyth, Australian basketball player
- 1958 – Walt Terrell, American baseball player
- 1959 – Martha Quinn, American television personality
- 1961 – Luis Felipe, former leader of the Latin Kings
- 1963 – Gunilla Carlsson, Swedish politician
- 1963 – Masatoshi Hamada, Japanese comedian
- 1963 – Natasha Richardson, English-born actress (d. 2009)
- 1963 – Roark Critchlow, actor
- 1964 – Tim Blake Nelson, American 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
- 1972 – Daniel Ornellas, Zimbabwean musician
- 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 – Coby Bell, American actor
- 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 (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
- 1982 – Cory Monteith, Canadian actor
- 1982 – Guji Lorenzana, Filipino singer and actor
- 1983 – Matt Leinart, American football player
- 1983 – Holly Valance, Australian-born actress and singer
- 1983 – Hanna Verboom, Dutch actress
- 1983 – Frédéric Xhonneux, Belgian decathlete
- 1984 – Gerald Clayton, Dutch/American jazz pianist
- 1984 – Andrés Iniesta, Spanish football player
- 1985 – Matt Giraud, American singer
- 1985 – sifow, Japanese singer and business woman
- 1986 – Abou Diaby, French footballer
- 1986 – Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Manuel Schenkhuizen, Dutch gamer
- 1986 – Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer
- 1987 – Justin King, American football player
- 1987 – Louis Murphy, American football player
- 1987 – Monica Roşu, Romanian gymnast
- 1989 – Giovani dos Santos, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Ace Hood, American rapper
[edit] 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)
- 1779 – John Hart, Delegate from New Jersey to the Continental Congress and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence (b. 1711)
- 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)
- 1927 – Juan Gris, Spanish cubist artist (b. 1887)
- 1929 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak inventor (b. 1864)
- 1934 – Blaise Diagne, Sengalese politician (b. 1872)
- 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)
- 1966 – Alfred Wintle, British WW1 & WW2 soldier; author of "The Last Englishman" (b. 1897)
- 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)
- 1994 – John Smith (Labour Party leader), Scotish Labour MP
- 1996 – Ademir Marques de Menezes, Brazilian footballer (b. 1922)
- 1996 – Nnamdi Azikiwe, President of Nigeria (b. 1904)
- 1998 – Oreste Kirkop, Maltese tenor and actor (b. 1923)
- 2000 – René Muñoz, Cuban actor, screenwriter of telenovelas and the cinema of Mexico (b. 1938)
- 2000 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (b. 1907)
- 2001 – Douglas Adams, English author (b. 1952)
- 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 (b. 1941)
- 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)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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