1559 – Exhumed corpse of heretic David Jorisz burned in Basel
1638 – Construction of the Red Fort begins at Shahjahanabad, Mughal Empire (now Dehli, India)
1884 – Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) forms in New York
1916 – Lafayette Escadrille, an American air force unit under French command comprised of volunteers to fight for France, see first combat at the Battle of Verdun
1923 – Pulitzer Prize awarded to Willa Cather for her World War I-based novel “One of Ours”
1989 – Minnesota Twin Kirby Puckett becomes 35th to hit 4 doubles in a game
1992 – Three astronauts simultaneously walk in space for the first time
1995 – Team New Zealand beats Team Dennis Conner 5-0 to win the America’s Cup for the first time
1998 – Chelsea of England win 38th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Stuttgart of Germany 1-0 in Stockholm
2001 – 47th British Academy Television Awards: “Da Ali G Show” Best Comedy, “Clocking Off” Best Drama
Author: gil7
Today in History for 13th May 2025
Historical Events
1588 – King Henri III flees Paris
1777 – University library at Vienna opens
1960 – Phillies lose 3rd consecutive 1-0 game
1960 – WOLE TV channel 12 in Aguadillo, PR
2012 – Manchester City win the English Premier League for the first time
Famous Birthdays
1903 – Jim Sims, English cricket spin bowler (4 Tests, 11 wickets; Middlesex), born in Leyton, England (d. 1973)
1944 – Armistead Maupin, American author (Tales of the City series), born in Washington D.C.
1967 – Melanie Thornton, American pop-dance singer (La Bouche – “Be My Lover”), born in Charleston, South Carolina (d. 2001)
1978 – Barry Zito, American baseball player (Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants), born in Las Vegas, Nevada
1980 – Waka Inoue, Japanese gravure idol, TV personality, and actress, born in Tokyo, Japan
Famous Deaths
1839 – Joseph Fesch, French cardinal (Archbishop of Lyon, 1802-39), diplomat, art collector (Musée Fesch), and uncle of Napoleon, dies at 76
1901 – Leopoldo Alas, Spanish novelist (La Regenta), dies at 49
1967 – Frank McGrath, American actor (The Reluctant Astronaut, Wagon Train), dies from a heart attack at 64
1999 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer (7 x major titles including Career Grand Slam; 38 PGA Tour event wins), dies of pneumonia at 97
1999 – Meg Greenfield, American Pulitzer Prize winning editorial writer (Washington Post; Newsweek), dies of cancer at 68
Famous Deaths for 12th May 2025
1182 – Valdemar I of Denmark, King of Denmark (1146–82), dies at 51
1876 – Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian revolutionary, brutally killed by the Turks (b. 1843)
1908 – Melesio Morales, Mexican composer (Ildegonda; Anita; Sinfonía Vapor), conductor, and teacher, dies at 69
1971 – Johnny Taylor, Australian cricket batsman (20 Tests; 1 x 100, 8 x 50) and rugby union fly-half (2 caps), dies at 75
1981 – Benjamin Sheares, President of Singapore (1971-81), dies at 73
1986 – Elisabeth Bergner, Austrian British stage actress, dies at 85
1996 – Homer Keller, American contemporary classical composer (Quiet Music for a Tree), and educator (University of Oregon, 1958-76), dies at 81
1998 – Hermann Lenz, German writer (Swabian Chronicles), dies at 75
2004 – John LaPorta, American jazz clarinetist and composer, dies at 84
2015 – Ruth Mompati, South African politician and Secretary of Nelson Mandela, dies at 89
Historical Events for 12th May 2025
1215 – English barons serve an ultimatum on King John which eventually leads to the creation and signing of the Magna Carta
1891 – Riot against tax increase in Paramaribo, Suriname
1908 – George Bernard Shaw’s play “Getting Married” premieres in London
1948 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates due to ill health
1956 – Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Carl Erskine’s throws 2nd career no-hitter, beats NY Giants, 3-0, at Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn, NYC
1965 – Israel and West Germany establish diplomatic relations with an exchange of letters
1989 – Retired British pilot Jack Mann is kidnapped by Islamic fundamentalists
1997 – Russia and Chechnya sign peace deal after 400 years of conflict
2001 – 46th Eurovision Song Contest: Tanel Padar, Dave Benton and 2XL for Estonia wins singing “Everybody” in Copenhagen
2008 – Wenchuan earthquake, measuring 7.8 in magnitude occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 87,000, injuring 374,643 and leaving homeless between 4.8 million and 11 million people
Today in History for 12th May 2025
Historical Events
1784 – Ratified copies of the Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War exchanged between US and Great Britain, in Paris
1888 – Crouching start first used in track and field by Charles Sherrill of Yale
1972 – Paul McCartney and Wings release single “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
2010 – An Afriqiyah Airways Flight crashes and kills everyone but one person on board
2017 – Former One Direction singer Harry Styles releases his self-titled debut solo album
Famous Birthdays
1850 – Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. statesman, born in Beverly, Massachusetts (d. 1924)
1900 – Helene Weigel, Austrian-German actress (Metropolis, Mutter Courage), born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1971)
1926 – Earl Hutto, American politician (Rep-D-Florida, 1979-95), born in Panama City, Florida (d. 2020)
1931 – Johan Fleerackers, Flemish civil servant and cultural attaché (Minister of Cutlure, 1965-77), born in Mortsel, Belgium (d. 1989)
1971 – Doug Basham, American professional wrestler, born in Louisville, Kentucky
Famous Deaths
1641 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of Strafford and Viceroy of Ireland, beheaded at 48
1737 – Cornelis van Alkemade, Dutch historian, collector of antiquities and author (Coinage of the Counts of Holland), dies at 83
1852 – John Richardson, Canadian writer (War of 1812), dies at 55
1856 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist and astronomer, dies at 70
2008 – Irena Sendler [née Krzyżanowska], Polish nurse, social worker, and WWII heroine who helped smuggle Jewish ghetto children to safety, dies at 98
Famous Deaths for 11th May 2025
1708 – Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect, dies at 62
1891 – Edmond Becquerel, French physicist who studied the solar spectrum, magnetism, electricity and optics (photovoltaic effect), dies at 71
1927 – Juan Gris, Spanish cubist painter (Still Life Before an Open Window), dies at 40
1934 – Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist and honorary member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences (1920), dies at 81
1935 – Edward Herbert Thompson, American archaeologist (Mayan civilization), dies at 78
1976 – Camille Schmit, Belgian composer, dies at 68
1995 – David Avidan, Israeli poet, dies at 62
2006 – Frankie Thomas, American actor and author (Tom Corbett Space Cadet), dies of a stroke at 85
2017 – Jur Mellema, Dutch politician (CHU), dies at 93
2018 – Scott Hutchinson, Scottish musician (Frightened Rabbit), found dead after a suffering from mental illness at 36
Historical Events for 11th May 2025
1752 – 1st US fire insurance policy issued, in Philadelphia
1864 – Battle of Yellow Tavern, Virginia (Sheridan’s Raid, South Anna Bridge)
1881 – Bedřich Smetana’s opera “Libuše” premieres at the National Theate, in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia
1918 – 44th Kentucky Derby: William Knapp on Exterminator wins in 2:10.8
1919 – Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hod Eller no-hits St Louis Cardinals, 6-0 at Redland Field, Cincinnati
1928 – 63rd British Open Men’s Golf Championship, Royal St George’s GC: Walter Hagen wins 3rd of his 4 Open Championship titles, 2 strokes ahead of fellow American Gene Sarazen
1959 – Mary Rodgers and Marshall Barer’s musical “Once Upon A Mattress”, starring Carol Burnett and directed by George Abbott, opens at Phoenix Theatre, NYC, later transferring to the Alvin Theater; runs for 244 performances
1968 – Toronto Transit Commission opens the largest expansion of its Bloor-Danforth Line, going to Scarborough in the east, Etobicoke in the west
1985 – Dave Concepcion becomes 4th Cincinnati Red teammate to get 2,000 hits, others include Pete Rose, Tony Perez and César Cedeño
2009 – An American soldier in Iraq opened fire on a counseling center at Camp Liberty in Bagdhad, leaving 5 other US soldiers dead and 3 soldiers wounded
Today in History for 11th May 2025
Historical Events
1862 – Confederates scuttle CSS Virginia off Norfolk, Virginia
1958 – US performs its second atmospheric nuclear test of the day, this one at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands
1972 – Stanley Cup Final, Madison Square Garden, NYC: Wayne Cashman scores twice as Boston Bruins beat NY Rangers, 3-0 to take title, 4-2
1977 – Ted Turner manages an Atlanta Braves game
2014 – Thousands protest against the construction of a waste incineration plant in Hangzhou, China
Famous Birthdays
1827 – Septimus Winner, American songwriter (Listen To The Mockingbird), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1902)
1917 – Montague Woodhouse, British military officer and politician (organized the resistance forces in Crete WWII, MI6 agent), born in England (d. 2001)
1925 – Edward J. King, American politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (1979-83), born in Chelsea, Massachusetts (d. 2006)
1971 – Corey Fuller, NFL cornerback (Minnesota Vikings)
1977 – Victor Matfield, South African rugby union footballer
Famous Deaths
1923 – Henry Martyn Robert, American soldier and parliamentarian (Robert’s Rules of Order), dies at 86
1935 – Edward Herbert Thompson, American archaeologist (Mayan civilization), dies at 78
1976 – Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (Finlandia House) and designer, dies at 78
1981 – Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae musician (“Exodus”; “One Love”; “No Woman No Cry”; “Three Little Birds”), dies of brain and lung cancer at 36
2022 – Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian-American journalist (Al Jazeera), shot and killed by Israeli forces at 51
Famous Deaths for 10th May 2025
1641 – Johan Banér, Swedish Field Marshal, led Swedish armies during Thirty Years’ War, dies at 44
1826 – Giuseppe Sigismondo, Italian historian and composer, dies at 86
1849 – Katsushika Hokusai, Japanese painter and printmaker (The Great Wave off Kanagawa), dies at 89
1868 – Henry Bennett, American politician (b. 1808)
1967 – Lorenzo Bandini, Italian auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1963; 24 Hours of Daytona 1967), dies after a race accident in Monaco F1 GP at 31
1971 – Shukichi Mitsukuri, Japanese composer (10 Haikai de Basho), dies at 75
2006 – Val Guest, British film director (b. 1911)
2015 – Rein van den Broek, Dutch trumpet player (Ekseption), dies at 69
2020 – John Teerlinck, American NFL defensive end (SD Chargers) and coach (annual award for NFL best defensive line coach named after him), dies at 69
2022 – Mike Davis, English rugby union lock (16 caps; Sherborne RFC) and coach (England 20 Tests 1979-83), dies at 80
Historical Events for 10th May 2025
1796 – Riot after disagreement of patriotic demand in Amsterdam
1870 – Jem Mace defends his heavyweight crown against Irish champ Joe Coburn; the match lasts 1 hour and 17 minutes, and neither is struck by a punch
1894 – Hong Kong government declares port is infected with the plague. The outbreak will go on to kill 20,489 over 29 years.
1929 – 54th Preakness: Louis Schaefer aboard Dr Freeland wins in 2:01.6
1932 – Government declares “Wilhelmus” as the Netherlands’ national anthem
1948 – 1st attack by Egyptian irregular forces at Kfar Darom Israel
1973 – Establishment of Frente Polisario in Mauritania
1992 – “Hamlet” closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 45 performances
1994 – Musical sequel “The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public” opens at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, NYC; runs for 16 performances
1994 – Nelson Mandela is sworn in as South Africa’s first Black president