Today May 7th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses. Justinian I immediately orders the dome rebuilt.
1274 – In France, the Second Council of Lyons opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
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 (in the 18th century, it is replaced by the current Royal Palace).
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.
1824 – World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven s Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the deaf composer s supervision.
1832 – The independence of Greece is recognized by the Treaty of London. Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria is chosen King.
1836 – The settlement of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico is elevated to the royal status of villa by the government of Spain.
1840 – The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.
1847 – The American Medical Association (AMA) 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 world s first radio receiver. In the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
1915 – World War I: German submarine 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 (1920): Polish troops led by Józef Pilsudski and Edward Rydz-Smigly 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 (1920): Soviet Russia recognizes independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
1927 – Angelos Sikelianos organizes the first Delphic Festival in Delphi to celebrate the ancient Greek Delphic ideal.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco s forces.
1942 – During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Japanese Imperial Navy light aircraft carrier Shoho. 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 (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.
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 – Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its maiden voyage (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.
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 – A jury finds The Jenny Jones Show and Warner Bros. liable in the shooting death of Scott Amedure, after the show purposely deceived Jonathan Schmitz to appear on a secret same-sex crush episode. Schmitz later killed Amedure and the jury awarded Amedure s family $25 million USD.
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.
2002 – A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
2007 – The tomb of Herod the Great is discovered.
Births
1328 – Louis VI the Roman, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1365)
1530 – Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, French Huguenot general (d. 1569)
1643 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician (d. 1700)
1700 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-born physician (d. 1772)
1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, Austrian general (d. 1797)
1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian general (d. 1814)
1748 – Olympe de Gouges, playwright and feminist revolutionary (d. 1793)
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, French Canadian politician, first mayor of Montreal (d. 1858)
1812 – Robert Browning, English poet (d. 1889)
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)
1861 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1941)
1867 – Wladyslaw 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)
1896 – Pavel Sergeevich Alexandrov, Russian mathematician (d. 1982)
1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor (d. 1961)
1909 – Edwin H. Land, American inventor (d. 1991)
1911 – Ishiro 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 – Eva Peron, Argentine first lady (d. 1952)
1922 – Lew Anderson, American actor and bandleader (d. 2006)
1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor (d. 2006)
1922 – Joe O Donnell, American documentary photographer, photojournalist (d. 2007)
1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
1924 – Albert Band, American film director (d. 2002)
1927 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German screenwriter
1927 – Jim Lowe, American singer
1929 – Babe Parilli, American football player
1929 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, manager and coach
1930 – Totie Fields, American comedienne (d. 1978)
1931 – Teresa Brewer, American pop and jazz singer (d. 2007)
1932 – Pete Domenici, Republican senator from New Mexico
1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player (d. 2002)
1933 – Nexhmije Pagarusha, Albanian singer
1935 – Isobel Warren, Canadian author
1937 – Claude Raymond, Quebec baseball player
1939 – Sidney Altman, Canadian molecular biologist, Nobel laureate
1939 – Ruud Lubbers, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
1939 – Johnny Maestro, American pop singer
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 – Jim Connors, American Radio personality (d. 1987)
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 – Thelma Houston, American singer
1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer (Grateful Dead)
1946 – Brian Turner, English celebrity chef
1949 – Andrew Clements, American author
1950 – Randall Tex Cobb, American boxer and actor
1950 – Tim Russert, American television host (d. 2008)
1951 – Robert Hegyes, American actor
1953 – Pat McInally, American National Football League player
1953 – Ian McKay, British soldier (VC recipient) (d. 1982)
1954 – Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director
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)
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 – Phil Campbell, British musician (Motörhead)
1963 – Johnny Lee Middleton, American musician (Savatage & Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
1964 – Doug Benson, American comedian
1965 – Owen Hart, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 1999)
1965 – Norman Whiteside, Northern Irish Footballer
1967 – Joe Rice, legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado
1968 – Traci Lords, American actress
1969 – Eagle Eye Cherry, Swedish musician
1969 – Rick Porras, American co-producer
1970 – Kim Su-ro, South Korean actor
1971 – Horgh, (Reidar Horghagen) Norwegian drummer (Immortal/Hypocrisy)
1972 – Felix Da Housecat, American House music DJ and record producer
1972 – Frank Trigg, American Mixed Martial Arts Fighter
1973 – Kristian Lundin, Swedish songwriter
1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
1974 – Breckin Meyer, American actor
1974 – Ian Pearce, English footballer
1975 – Jason Tunks, Canadian track & field athlete
1975 – Nicole Sheridan, American porn star
1975 – Zee, American hip hop artist
1977 – Lisa Kelly, Irish singer
1977 – Patrick Johnson, American broadcaster
1978 – Brian Clevinger, American author
1978 – Stian Arnesen (Nagash/Lex Icon), Norwegian Black Metal musician
1978 – Shawn Marion, American basketball player
1979 – Katie Douglas, American basketball player
1980 – Johan Kenkhuis, Dutch swimmer
1980 – Kate Lawler, English reality television personality and disc jockey
1982 – Akos Buzsaky, Hungarian Football player
1984 – Alex Smith, American football player
1984 – Drew Stanton, American football player
1984 – James Loney, American baseball player
1985 – Drew Neitzel, American college basketball player
1986 – Mark Furze, Australian actor
1986 – Matt Helders, English musician, drummer for Arctic Monkeys
1987 – Michael Maidens, English footballer (d. 2007)
1988 – Natalie Mejia, member of the American R&B/Pop group Girlicious
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 – Guru Nanak Dev, Founder of Sikhism (b. 1469)
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 – Niccola 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, 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)
1967 – Lorenzo Bandini, Italian Formula One driver (b. 1935)
1986 – Jeffrey Mylett, American actor (b. 1949)
1987 – Colin Blakely, British actor (b. 1930)
1989 – Guy Williams, American actor (b. 1924)
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)
2002 – Seattle Slew, American racehorse (b. 1974)
2002 – Kevyn Aucoin, 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)
Holidays and observances
Russia – Radio Day (commemorating the work of Alexander Popov)
Acacius of Byzantium
Saint Flavia Domitilla
John of Beverley
