May 7

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

Events

• 351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius 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 Lyon 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.
• 1487 – The Siege of Málaga commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
• 1664 – Louis XIV of France begins construction of 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, Sieur de Bienville.
• 1763 – Pontiac's War begins with Pontiac's attempt to seize Fort Detroit from the British.
• 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.
• 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.
• 1864 – The world's oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide is launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
• 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 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
• 1915 – Japanese 21 Demands Ultimatum to China (Commemorated as National Day of Humiliation)
• 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 Imperial Japanese 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 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 becomes 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 being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.
• 1998 – Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$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 as 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.
• 2013 – Twenty-seven people are killed and more than 30 injured, when a tanker truck crashes and explodes outside Mexico City.

Births

• 1328 – Louis II, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1365)
• 1530 – Louis, Prince of Condé (d. 1569)
• 1605 – Patriarch Nikon of Moscow (d. 1681)
• 1643 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician, 10th Mayor of New York City (d. 1700)
• 1700 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-American physician (d. 1772)
• 1704 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor and composer (d. 1759)
• 1711 – David Hume, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1776)
• 1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, French-Austrian field marshal (d. 1797)
• 1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian police officer and general (d. 1814)
• 1748 – Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and philosopher (d. 1793)
• 1763 – Józef Poniatowski, Polish general (d. 1813)
• 1767 – Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (d. 1820)
• 1774 – William Bainbridge, American commodore (d. 1833)
• 1787 – Jacques Viger, Canadian archaeologist and politician, 1st mayor of Montreal (d. 1858)
• 1812 – Robert Browning, English poet and playwright (d. 1889)
• 1826 – Varina Davis, American wife of Jefferson Davis (d. 1906)
• 1833 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (d. 1897)
• 1836 – Joseph Gurney Cannon, American lawyer and politician, 40th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1926)
• 1837 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (d. 1875)
• 1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and educator (d. 1893)
• 1847 – Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1929)
• 1857 – William A. MacCorkle, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1930)
• 1860 – Tom Norman, English businessman (d. 1930)
• 1861 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
• 1867 – Władysław Reymont, Polish novelist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
• 1875 – Bill Hoyt, American pole vaulter (d. 1951)
• 1880 – Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (d. 1972)
• 1881 – George E. Wiley, American cyclist (d. 1954)
• 1882 – Willem Elsschot, Belgian author and poet (d. 1960)
• 1885 – George "Gabby" Hayes, American actor and singer (d. 1969)
• 1889 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (d. 1943)
• 1891 – Harry McShane, Scottish engineer and activist (d. 1988)
• 1892 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (d. 1982)
• 1892 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980)
• 1893 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey coach and manager (d. 1985)
• 1899 – Alfred Gerrard, English sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
• 1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor and singer (d. 1961)
• 1903 – Jimmy Ball, Canadian sprinter (d. 1988)
• 1904 – Kurt Weitzmann, German-American historian and author (d. 1993)
• 1906 – Eric Krenz, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1931)
• 1909 – Edwin H. Land, American scientist and inventor, co-founded the Polaroid Corporation (d. 1991)
• 1911 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
• 1911 – Rıfat Ilgaz, Turkish author, poet, and educator (d. 1993)
• 1912 – Pannalal Patel, Indian author (d. 1989)
• 1913 – John Spencer Hardy, American general (d. 2012)
• 1913 – Simon Ramo, American physicist and engineer
• 1914 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat. British Ambassador to South Africa (d. 1996)
• 1916 – Huw Wheldon, Welsh-English broadcaster (d. 1986)
• 1916 – W. B. Young, Scottish rugby player and physician (d. 2013)
• 1917 – Domenico Bartolucci, Italian cardinal and composer (d. 2013)
• 1917 – Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant
• 1917 – David Tomlinson, English actor and singer (d. 2000)
• 1919 – La Esterella, Belgian singer (d. 2011)
• 1919 – Eva Perón, Argentinian actress, 25th First Lady of Argentina (d. 1952)
• 1921 – Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs, English historian and academic
• 1921 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (d. 1985)
• 1922 – Lew Anderson, American actor and singer (d. 2006)
• 1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor and director (d. 2006)
• 1922 – Joe O'Donnell, American photographer and journalist (d. 2007)
• 1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress and singer (d. 1985)
• 1923 – Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Ministers of Turkey (d. 2015)
• 1924 – Albert Band, French-American director and producer (d. 2002)
• 1925 – Lauri Vaska, Estonian-American chemist and academic (d. 2015)
• 1926 – Val Bisoglio, American actor
• 1927 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1927 – Jim Lowe, American singer-songwriter
• 1928 – John Ingle, American actor and singer (d. 2012)
• 1929 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
• 1930 – Totie Fields, American actress and author (d. 1978)
• 1930 – Babe Parilli, American football player and coach
• 1930 – John Smith, Baron Kirkhill, English politician
• 1931 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Gene Wolfe, American author
• 1932 – Jordi Bonet, Spanish-Canadian painter and sculptor (d. 1979)
• 1932 – Alan Cuthbert, English pharmacologist and academic
• 1932 – Pete Domenici, American lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Albuquerque
• 1933 – Nexhmije Pagarusha, Kosovar singer and actress
• 1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
• 1935 – Avraham Heffner, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Michael Hopkins, English architect
• 1936 – Bobby Joe Green, American football player and coach (d. 1993)
• 1936 – Robin Hanbury-Tenison, English explorer and author
• 1936 – Tony O'Reilly, Irish rugby player and businessman
• 1936 – Jimmy Ruffin, American singer (d. 2014)
• 1937 – Claude Raymond, Canadian baseball player and coach
• 1939 – Sidney Altman, Canadian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1939 – Ruggero Deodato, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1939 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
• 1939 – Clive Soley, Baron Soley, English politician
• 1939 – Marco St. John, American actor and producer
• 1940 – Angela Carter, English author and journalist (d. 1992)
• 1940 – Dave Chambers, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1940 – Jim Connors, American radio host (d. 1987)
• 1941 – Lawrence Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury, English lawyer and judge
• 1943 – Terry Allen, American singer and painter
• 1943 – Harvey Andrews, English singer-songwriter and poet
• 1943 – John Bannon, Australian academic and politician, 39th Premier of South Australia (d. 2015)
• 1943 – Peter Carey, Australian author and educator
• 1944 – Eva Norvind, Norwegian-Mexican actress, director, and producer (d. 2006)
• 1944 – Richard O'Sullivan, English actor and singer
• 1945 – Christy Moore, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Planxty and Moving Hearts)
• 1945 – Robin Strasser, American actress
• 1946 – Thelma Houston, American singer-songwriter and actress (Sisters of Glory)
• 1946 – Marv Hubbard, American football player (d. 2015)
• 1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer (Grateful Dead, The Other Ones, The Dead, 7 Walkers, Rhythm Devils, and BK3)
• 1946 – Jerry Nolan, American drummer (New York Dolls, The Heartbreakers, and The Pleasure Seekers/Cradle) (d. 1992)
• 1946 – Michael Rosen, English author and poet
• 1946 – Brian Turner, English chef and television host
• 1948 – Susan Atkins, American murderer (d. 2009)
• 1949 – Kathy Ahern, American golfer (d. 1996)
• 1949 – Deborah Butterfield, American sculptor
• 1949 – Marilyn Cole, English model and journalist
• 1950 – Randall "Tex" Cobb, American boxer and actor
• 1950 – Tim Russert, American journalist and lawyer (d. 2008)
• 1951 – Robert Hegyes, American actor and director (d. 2012)
• 1951 – Bernie Marsden, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Whitesnake, Paice Ashton Lord, Babe Ruth, and The Snakes)
• 1951 – Raia Prokhovnik, English political scientist and academic
• 1952 – Stanley Dickens, Swedish race car driver
• 1953 – Müslüm Gürses, Turkish singer and actor (d. 2013)
• 1953 – Pat McInally, American football player and coach
• 1953 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
• 1953 – Frank Michael, Italian-Belgian singer
• 1954 – Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
• 1954 – Joanna Haigh, English meteorologist and physicist
• 1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1955 – Florența Crăciunescu, Romanian discus thrower (d. 2008)
• 1955 – Clément Gignac, Canadian politician
• 1955 – Ben Poquette, American basketball player
• 1955 – Peter Reckell, American actor
• 1955 – Axel Zwingenberger, German pianist and songwriter
• 1956 – Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch jurist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
• 1956 – Anne Dudley, English pianist and composer (Art of Noise)
• 1956 – Nicholas Hytner, English director and producer
• 1956 – Jean Lapierre, Canadian talk show host and politician
• 1956 – Calum MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician
• 1957 – Hercules, American wrestler (d. 2004)
• 1957 – Ned Bellamy, American actor
• 1958 – Mikhail Biryukov, Russian footballer and manager
• 1958 – Mark G. Kuzyk, American physicist and academic
• 1958 – Anne Marie Rafferty, English nurse and academic
• 1959 – Michael E. Knight, American actor
• 1959 – Georgiy Kolnootchenko, Belarusian discus thrower
• 1959 – Heiki Valk, Estonian archeologist and academic
• 1959 – Barbara Yung, Hong Kong actress (d. 1985)
• 1960 – Adam Bernstein, American director and screenwriter
• 1960 – Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham, Iraqi-English surgeon and academic
• 1960 – Almudena Grandes, Spanish author
• 1961 – Hans-Peter Bartels, German politician
• 1961 – Sue Black, Scottish anthropologist and academic
• 1961 – Phil Campbell, Welsh guitarist and songwriter (Motörhead and Persian Risk)
• 1961 – Ivar Must, Estonian composer and producer
• 1962 – Tony Campbell, American basketball player and coach
• 1962 – Judith Donath, American computer scientist and academic
• 1962 – Dominik Moll, German-French director and screenwriter
• 1963 – Johnny Lee Middleton, American bass player and songwriter (Savatage and Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
• 1964 – Ronnie Harmon, American football player
• 1964 – Denis Mandarino, Brazilian guitarist, composer, and painter
• 1964 – Leslie O'Neal, American football player
• 1965 – Reuben Davis, American football player
• 1965 – Owen Hart, Canadian-American wrestler (d. 1999)
• 1965 – Takaya Kamikawa, Japanese actor
• 1965 – Norman Whiteside, Irish footballer and manager
• 1965 – Huang Zhihong, Chinese shot putter
• 1967 – Martin Bryant, Australian spree killer
• 1967 – Adam Price, Danish chef and screenwriter
• 1967 – Joe Rice, American colonel and politician
• 1968 – Traci Lords, American actress, singer, director, and producer
• 1968 – Lisa Raitt, Canadian lawyer and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Transport
• 1968 – Florian Schwarthoff, German hurdler
• 1969 – Eagle-Eye Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
• 1969 – Jun Falkenstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Katerina Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player
• 1969 – Rick Porras, American director and producer
• 1970 – Kim Su-ro, South Korean actor
• 1971 – Reidar Horghagen, Norwegian drummer (Immortal, Hypocrisy, and Grimfist)
• 1971 – Dave Karpa, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1971 – Thomas Piketty, French economist
• 1971 – Ivan Sergei, American actor
• 1972 – Peter Dubovský, Czech-Slovak footballer (d. 2000)
• 1972 – Jennifer Yuh Nelson, South Korean-American animator and director
• 1972 – Frank Trigg, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
• 1973 – Kristian Lundin, Swedish songwriter and producer
• 1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
• 1974 – Lawrence Johnson, American pole vaulter
• 1974 – Breckin Meyer, American actor and screenwriter
• 1974 – Ian Pearce, English footballer and manager
• 1975 – Ashley Cowan, English cricketer
• 1975 – Nicole Sheridan, American porn actress and director
• 1975 – Martina Topley-Bird, English singer-songwriter
• 1975 – Jason Tunks, Canadian discus thrower
• 1976 – Calvin Booth, American basketball player
• 1976 – Berke Hatipoğlu, Turkish guitarist and songwriter (Redd)
• 1976 – Andrea Lo Cicero, Italian rugby player
• 1976 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2005)
• 1977 – Lisa Kelly, Irish singer (Celtic Woman)
• 1978 – Stian Arnesen, Norwegian guitarist, drummer, and songwriter (The Kovenant, Dimmu Borgir, and Carpe Tenebrum)
• 1978 – James Carter, American hurdler
• 1978 – Brian Clevinger, American author
• 1978 – Shawn Marion, American basketball player
• 1978 – Stephanie Pohl, German volleyball player
• 1979 – Katie Douglas, American basketball player
• 1979 – Nikki Hayes, Irish radio host
• 1980 – Johan Kenkhuis, Dutch swimmer
• 1980 – Kate Lawler, English model and radio host
• 1981 – Tim Connolly, American ice hockey player
• 1981 – Rae Edwards, American sprinter
• 1982 – Ákos Buzsáky, Hungarian footballer
• 1983 – DJ Row, Greek-American DJ and producer
• 1984 – May7ven, Nigerian-English singer-songwriter and producer
• 1984 – James Loney, American baseball player
• 1984 – Alex Smith, American football player
• 1984 – Drew Stanton, American football player
• 1984 – Kevin Steen, Canadian wrestler
• 1985 – Drew Neitzel, American basketball player
• 1985 – Dan Sweetman, Australian television host
• 1986 – Mark Furze, Australian actor and singer
• 1986 – Matt Helders, English drummer (Arctic Monkeys and Mongrel)
• 1986 – Anton Khudobin, Kazak Ice Hockey player
• 1987 – Aidy Bryant, American actress
• 1987 – Serge Gakpé, Togolese footballer
• 1987 – Michael Hinz, German footballer
• 1987 – Anissa Kate, French porn actress and director
• 1987 – Asami Konno, Japanese singer (Morning Musume, Ongaku Gatas, Tanpopo, and Country Musume)
• 1987 – Michael Maidens, English footballer (d. 2007)
• 1987 – Jérémy Ménez, French footballer
• 1987 – Mark Reynolds Scottish footballer
• 1988 – Eino Puri, Estonian footballer
• 1988 – Sander Puri, Estonian footballer
• 1989 – Raina, South Korean singer, dancer, model and rapper (After School and Orange Caramel)
• 1989 – Master Shortie, English rapper and producer
• 1990 – Kimito Totani, Japanese actor
• 1990 – Yoon Bit-garam, South Korean footballer
• 1991 – Anais Pouliot, Canadian model
• 1992 – Alexander Ludwig, Canadian actor
• 1995 – Seko Fofana, French footballer
• 1997 – Darya Kasatkina, Russian tennis player
• 1998 – Jesse Puljujärvi, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1999 – Masaki Sato, Japanese singer and actress (Morning Musume)
• 2000 – Maxwell Perry Cotton, American actor

Deaths

• 685 – Marwan I, Umayyah general and caliph (b. 623)
• 973 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 912)
• 1092 – Remigius de Fécamp, English monk and bishop
• 1427 – Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English priest (b. 1352)
• 1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (b. 1481)
• 1539 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (b. 1466)
• 1617 – David Fabricius, German astronomer and theologian (b. 1564)
• 1667 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (b. 1616)
• 1682 – Feodor III of Russia (b. 1661)
• 1718 – Mary of Modena (b. 1658)
• 1793 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1722)
• 1800 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (b. 1728)
• 1805 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English general and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1737)
• 1815 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1739)
• 1825 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1750)
• 1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter and educator (b. 1774)
• 1868 – Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1778)
• 1872 – Alexander Loyd, American carpenter and politician, 4th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
• 1876 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman, historian, and author (b. 1795)
• 1887 – C. F. W. Walther, German-American religious leader and theologian (b. 1811)
• 1896 – H. H. Holmes, American serial killer (b. 1860)
• 1902 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (b. 1818)
• 1917 – Albert Ball, English fighter pilot (b. 1896)
• 1922 – Max Wagenknecht, German pianist and composer (b. 1857)
• 1924 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (b. 1897)
• 1925 – William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, English businessman and politician (b. 1851)
• 1937 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and author (b. 1886)
• 1940 – George Lansbury, English journalist and politician (b. 1859)
• 1941 – James George Frazer, Scottish-English anthropologist and academic (b. 1854)
• 1942 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
• 1943 – Fethi Okyar, Turkish colonel and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1880)
• 1946 – Herbert Macaulay, Nigerian journalist and politician (b. 1864)
• 1951 – Warner Baxter, American actor and singer (b. 1889)
• 1955 – Alberto Collo, Italian actor (b. 1883)
• 1958 – Mihkel Lüdig, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1880)
• 1978 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
• 1986 – Jeffrey Mylett, American actor (b. 1949)
• 1986 – Haldun Taner, Turkish playwright and author (b. 1915)
• 1987 – Colin Blakely, Irish-English actor (b. 1930)
• 1987 – Paul Popham, American soldier and activist, co-founded Gay Men's Health Crisis (b. 1941)
• 1989 – Guy Williams, American actor (b. 1924)
• 1990 – Sam Tambimuttu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
• 1993 – Duane Carter, American racing driver (b. 1913)
• 1993 – Mary Philbin, American actress (b. 1903)
• 1995 – Ray McKinley, American drummer, singer, and bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra) (b. 1910)
• 1998 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South African-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
• 1998 – Eddie Rabbitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
• 2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American captain, actor, and producer (b. 1909)
• 2001 – Jacques de Bourbon-Busset, French author and politician (b. 1912)
• 2002 – Kevyn Aucoin, American makeup artist and photographer (b. 1962)
• 2002 – Robert Kanigher, American author (b. 1915)
• 2002 – Seattle Slew, American race horse (b. 1974)
• 2004 – Waldemar Milewicz, Polish journalist (b. 1956)
• 2005 – Tristan Egolf, American author and activist (b. 1971)
• 2005 – Peter W. Rodino, American captain and politician (b. 1909)
• 2005 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1980)
• 2006 – Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (b. 1943)
• 2006 – Joan C. Edwards, American singer and philanthropist (b. 1918)
• 2006 – Machiko Soga, Japanese actress (b. 1943)
• 2007 – Isabella Blow, English magazine editor (b. 1958)
• 2007 – Diego Corrales, American boxer (b. 1977)
• 2007 – Octavian Paler, Romanian journalist and politician (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Yahweh ben Yahweh, American cult leader, founded the Nation of Yahweh (b. 1935)
• 2007 – Nicholas Worth, American actor (b. 1937)
• 2009 – Mickey Carroll, American actor (b. 1919)
• 2009 – David Mellor, English designer (b. 1930)
• 2009 – Danny Ozark, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1923)
• 2011 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer (b. 1957)
• 2011 – Willard Boyle, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
• 2011 – Big George, English songwriter, producer, and radio host (b. 1957)
• 2011 – Allyson Hennessy, Trinidadian journalist (b. 1948)
• 2012 – Sammy Barr, Scottish union leader (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Ferenc Bartha, Hungarian economist and politician (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Jules Bocandé, Senegalese footballer and manager (b. 1958)
• 2012 – Andrea Crisanti, Italian production designer and art director (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Dennis E. Fitch, American captain and pilot (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Romanthony, American singer and producer (b. 1967)
• 2013 – Ray Harryhausen, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Ferruccio Mazzola, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1948)
• 2013 – Teri Moïse, American singer (b. 1970)
• 2013 – Peter Rauhofer, Austrian DJ and producer (b. 1965)
• 2013 – George Sauer, Jr., American football player (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Aubrey Woods, English actor and singer (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Nazim Al-Haqqani, Cypriot Sufi leader (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Neville McNamara, Australian air marshal (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Colin Pillinger, English astronomer, chemist, and academic (b. 1943)
• 2014 – David Prentice, English painter and educator (b. 1936)
• 2014 – Wilbur Rakestraw, American race car driver (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Dick Welteroth, American baseball player (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Frank DiPascali, American businessman (b. 1956)
• 2015 – John Dixon, Australian-American author and illustrator (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Maurice Flanagan, English businessman (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Acacius of Byzantium
  • Agostino Roscelli
  • Flavia Domitilla
  • Gisela of Hungary
  • Harriet Starr Cannon (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • John of Beverley
  • Rose Venerini
  • Stanislaus (Roman martyrology)
  • May 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Defender of the Fatherland Day (Kazakhstan)
• Dien Bien Phu Victory Day (Vietnam)
• 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