Today in History for 13th May 2026

Historical Events

1652 – Ingen Ryuki is invited to become abbot of Sofukuji Temple in Nagasaki
1864 – -16] Atlanta Campaign: Battle of Resaca, Georgia
1943 – German and Italian forces in Africa surrender
1991 – Apple releases Macintosh operating System 7, codenamed the “Big Bang”
1995 – Chelsi Smith, 21, of USA, crowned 44th Miss Universe Shanna Lynn Moakler, (19-NY), replaces Chelsi Smith as Miss USA

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Famous Birthdays

1883 – Henk Sneevliet, Dutch Communist, editor (Spartacus) and WWII resistance fighter, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1942)
1903 – Alfred Pugsley, English civil engineer (R101 airship), born in London, England (d. 1998)
1912 – Helen Craig, American actress (Snake Pit, They Live by Night), born in San Antonio, Texas (d. 1986)
1927 – Clive Barnes, British-American drama critic (NY Times, 1978-2008; NY Post, 1965-77), born in London, England (d. 2008)
1944 – Son Sook, South Korean screen and theatre actress (Volcano, Guest, Mother), radio host, and politician, born in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea

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Famous Deaths

1831 – Christian Gottfried Körner, German lawyer, dies at 74
1921 – Jean Aicard, French poet and novelist (Jeune Croyances), dies at 73
1972 – Dan Blocker, American actor (Cimarron City – “Tiny”; Bonanza – “Hoss”), dies of a pulmonary embolism at 43
1974 – Denny Shute, American golfer (British Open 1933, PGA C’ship 1936-37), dies at 69
2001 – R.K. Narayan, Indian novelist (Malguidi Days), dies at 94

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Famous Deaths for 12th May 2026

1792 – Charles Simon Favart, French dramatist, dies at 81
1897 – Willem Roelofs, Dutch Revival painter and lithographer, dies at 75
1907 – Joris-Karl Huysmans, French writer (Against the Grain), dies at 59
1989 – Marcelle de Manziarly, French pianist and composer, dies at 89
1992 – Lenny Montana [Leonardo Passafaro], American professional wrestler (NWA Georgia), and actor (The Godfather), dies of a heart attack at 66
1996 – Homer Keller, American contemporary classical composer (Quiet Music for a Tree), and educator (University of Oregon, 1958-76), dies at 81
2021 – Higinio Vélez, Cuban baseball manager (Olympic gold 2004; Santiago de Cuba, Cuban National Series 1999–2001), dies from COVID-19 at 73
2023 – Bruce Robertson, New Zealand rugby union centre (34 Tests, 22 tries; Counties Manukau RFU), dies at 71
2024 – Ron Lynch, Australian rugby league forward (12 Tests; NSW 17 games, Parramatta 194 games), dies at 84
2025 – Yasunao Tone, Japanese-American avant-garde composer and multi-media artist (Fluxus), dies at 90

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Historical Events for 12th May 2026

1865 – Last land action of Civil war at Palmito Ranch, Texas
1908 – Wireless Radio Broadcasting is patented by Nathan B. Stubblefield
1925 – Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan become autonomous Soviet republics
1968 – “March of the Poor” under Rev Ralph Abernathy reaches Washington, D.C.
1968 – WSKG TV channel 46 (PBS) in Binghamton, NY, begins broadcasting
1994 – WIBC Bowling Queens won by Anne Marie Duggan
1999 – David Steel becomes the first Presiding Officer (speaker) of the modern Scottish Parliament
2024 – Flash flood kills at least 300 people in northern Afghanistan and destroys nearly 2000 homes

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Today in History for 12th May 2026

Historical Events

1898 – Louisiana adopts new constitution with “grandfather clause” designed to eliminate black voters
1915 – Franklin K. Mathiews first presents idea of “Book Week”
1961 – Russian Mikhail Botvinnik wins World Chess Championship for his third time
1978 – US Commerce Department says hurricane names will no longer be only female
2014 – Voters in Eastern Ukraine vote for self-rule in referendum

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Famous Birthdays

1700 – Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect (Palace of Caserta), born in Naples, Kingdom of Naples (now Italy) (d. 1773)
1910 – Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, British biochemist who developed protein crystallography to study molecular structure, including that of vitamin B12 (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1964), born in Cairo, Egypt (d. 1994)
1956 – Homer Simpson, American fictional patriarchal character, and donut aficionado from the long running animated television show “The Simpsons”, born in Springfield
1959 – Ving Rhames [Irving Rameses Rhames], American actor (Mission Impossible), born in New York City
1981 – Lorena Bernal, Argentine Spanish model and actress (Miss Spain 1999), born in San Miguel de Tucumán, Argentina

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Famous Deaths

1918 – Abel Hoadley, Australian confectioner (Violet Crumble), dies at 73
1943 – Albert Stoessel, American violinist, conductor, composer, and educator, dies of a heart attack on the podium at 48
1957 – Alfonso de Portago, Spanish bobsledder and race car driver (b. 1928)
2007 – Mullah Dadullah Akhund, Taliban military leader (b. 1966?)
2020 – Astrid Kirchherr, German photographer, helped establish The Beatles image, dies at 81

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Famous Deaths for 11th May 2026

912 – Leo VI (the Wise), Byzantine Emperor (886-912) and writer (Problematica), dies at 45
1849 – Otto Nicolai, German composer and conductor, dies at 38 of a stroke
1881 – Henri-Frédéric Amiel, Swiss writer (Journal Intime), dies at 59
1917 – Otto Klauwell, German composer, dies at 66
1988 – Kim Philby, British spy and Soviet mole who was a member of the “Cambridge Five”, dies at 76
1989 – Jitka Snížková, Czech composer, music educator and musicologist, dies at 64
2001 – Henry Katzman, American pianist, songwriter (founding member of BMI), and landscape painter, dies at 89
2014 – Reg Gasnier, Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame centre and captain (36 Tests; 3 World Cups; St. George RLFC), dies at 74
2018 – Scott Hutchinson, Scottish musician (Frightened Rabbit), found dead after a suffering from mental illness at 36
2022 – Shireen Abu Akleh, Palestinian-American journalist (Al Jazeera), shot and killed by Israeli forces at 51

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Historical Events for 11th May 2026

1674 – Netherlands and Cologne sign peace treaty
1812 – British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons, London. Ironically, descendants of both later stand for the same seat in Parliament at the same time, but neither wins
1865 – Confederate Brigadier General Meriwether Jeff Thompson surrenders at Jacksonport, Arkansas
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
1940 – 65th Preakness: Fred A Smith aboard Bimelech wins in 1:58.6
1963 – “Puff (The Magic Dragon)” single by Peter, Paul and Mary hits #2; Peter Yarrow adapted a poem that college classmate Lenny Lipton had left behind after borrowing Yarrow’s typewriter
1969 – British comedy troupe Monty Python forms, made up of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin
1989 – NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: Montreal Canadians beat Philadelphia Flyers, 4 games to 2

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Today in History for 11th May 2026

Historical Events

1625 – Peasants besiege Frankenburg estate in Upper Austria
1919 – Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hod Eller no-hits St Louis Cardinals, 6-0 at Redland Field, Cincinnati
1969 – British comedy troupe Monty Python forms, made up of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin
1972 – US conducts a nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site
2020 – Colombian airline Avianca, and world’s 2nd oldest, becomes 1st major airline to file for bankruptcy due to COVID-19

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Famous Birthdays

1840 – Filippo Capocci, Italian organ virtuoso and composer, born in Rome, Papal States (d. 1911)
1895 – Jan Parandowski, Polish writer and translator, born in Lwów, Austria-Hungary (now Lviv, Ukraine) (d. 1978)
1927 – Zilpha Keatly Snyder, American Newbury Award-winning children’s literature author (Headless Cupid; The Egypt Game), born in Lemoore, California (d. 2014)
1970 – Dean Capobianco, Australian 200m/400m (Olympics 1992, 96)
1988 – Marek Pospieszalski, Polish avant-garde jazz saxophonist and composer, born in Częstochowa, Poland

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Famous Deaths

1743 – Francesco Stradivari, Italian violin maker and son of Antonius, dies at 70
2016 – Jim Pothecary, South African cricket medium pace bowler (3 Tests, 9 wickets; Western Province), dies at 82
2021 – Janine Brookner [née Okun], American CIA officer and lawyer who spoke out against sexual discrimination in the CIA, dies of complications of kidney disease and cancer at 80
2023 – Hodding Carter III, American White House press secretary under Jimmy Carter (1977-80), dies after a series of strokes at 88
2024 – Mary Wells Lawrence, American businesswoman and the first woman to own a major US national advertising agency (Wells Rich Greene), dies at 95

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Famous Deaths for 10th May 2026

1859 – John Archduke of Austria, dies
1891 – Karl Wilhelm von Nägeli, Swiss botanist (famous for his work on plant cells), dies at 74
1914 – Sir William Alexander Smith, Scottish founder of the Boys’ Brigade, dies at 59
1943 – Arnaud/Armand Fraiteur, Belgian resistance fighter, hanged
1965 – Hubertus van Mook, Dutch colonial administrator (Acting Governor General of the Dutch East Indies 1942-48), dies at 70
1995 – Harold Berens, comedian, dies at 92
2000 – (André) “Dédé” Fortin, Canadian rock and ska singer-songwriter (Les Colocs), dies by suicide at 37
2004 – Alf Valentine, Jamaican cricketer (great West Indian lefty spinner), dies at 74
2006 – Soraya [Lamilla], Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, arranger and record producer (“Amor En Tus Ojos / Love In Your Eyes”‘; “Casi”), dies of breast cancer at 37
2021 – Néstor Montelongo, Uruguayan soccer utility (36 caps; Montevideo Wanderers, Peñarol, Nacional, Racing), dies at 66

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Historical Events for 10th May 2026

1774 – Louis XVI ascends to the throne of France
1902 – Portugal goes bankrupt, but its parliament passes a bill converting its external debt. Contributing to Portugal’s troubles is a recent revolt in its colony of Angola, put down on September 6
1969 – US troops begin attack on Hill 937 (“Hamburger Hill”), Vietnam
1973 – Stanley Cup Final, Chicago Stadium, Chicago, IL: Yvan Cournoyer has a goal and 2 assists as Montreal Canadiens beat Chicago Blackhawks, 6-4 to take title, 4 games to 2
1983 – TV sitcom “Laverne and Shirley” last airs on ABC-TV
1989 – NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Calgary Flames beat Chicago Blackhawks, 4 games to 1
2018 – New record auction price for a Latin American artwork of $9.76 million for Diego Rivera’s “The Rivals”
2023 – Heaviest fighting in months between Israel and Palestinian militants as both sides launch air attacks, leaving over 20 dead in Gaza

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Today in History for 10th May 2026

Historical Events

1534 – French navigator Jacques Cartier reaches Newfoundland
1933 – Deutsche Arbeitsfront (DAF) forms
1945 – Soviet troops occupied Prague
1992 – Revival of William Shakespeare’s stage drama “Hamlet” closes at the Criterion Theater, NYC, after 45 performances
1994 – Nelson Mandela is sworn in as South Africa’s first Black president

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Famous Birthdays

1830 – François-Marie Raoult, French physicist and chemist (law of Raoult), born in Fournes, France (d. 1901)
1877 – Roderich Mojsisovics-Mojsvar, Austrian music educator and composer, born in Graz, Austria (d. 1954)
1920 – Basil Kelly, Irish barrister, politician and judge (Lord Chief Justice), born in County Monaghan, Ireland (d. 2008)
1928 – Arnold Rüütel, Estonian agronomist and politician (President of Estonia, 2001-06), born in Pahavalla, Estonia (d. 2024)
1970 – Perry Blake, Irish singer-songwriter (The Hunchback of San Francisco), born in Sligo, Ireland

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Famous Deaths

1954 – George Hirst, English cricketer (36,323 1st-class runs, 2739 wickets), dies at 82
1968 – Scotty Beckett, American actor (Our Gang, Listen Darling, Battleground), dies from either an overdose, or as a result from a beating at 38
1972 – Rhys Gemmell, Australian tennis player (Australasian C’ships singles and doubles 1921), dies at 76
2001 – Deborah Walley, American actress (b. 1943)
2022 – Bob Lanier, American Basketball HOF center (8 x NBA All-Star; NBA All-Star Game MVP 1974; Detroit Pistons, Milwaukee Bucks), dies at 73

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