1727 – Catharine I of Russia [Marta Samuilovna], wife of Peter the Great, dies at about 42
1891 – Thomas Hare, English barrister and political reformer, dies at 85
1949 – Arthur L Ochse, South African cricket fast bowler (3 Tests, 10 wickets, BB 4–79; Eastern Province), dies at 49
1972 – Deniz Gezmiş, Turkish Left-wing Political Activist (b. 1947)
1987 – William J. Casey, American head of the CIA during the Iran-contra scandal (1981-87), dies of aspiration pneumonia at 73
2007 – Enéas Carneiro, Brazilian politician (b. 1938)
2015 – Jim [James] Wright, American politician (D-Texas) (Speaker of the House 1987-1989), dies at 92
2018 – Brad Steiger, American author and paranormal researcher, dies at 82
2021 – Kentaro Miura, Japanese manga author (Berserk), dies at 54
2021 – Carlos Timoteo Griguol, Argentine soccer midfielder (Atlanta, Rosario Central) and manager (Ferro Carril Oeste, Real Betis, River Plate), dies from COVID-19 at 84
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 6th May 2023
1626 – Dutch colonist Peter Minuit organizes the purchase of Manhattan Island from Native Americans for 60 guilders worth of goods, believed to have been Canarsee Indians of the Lenape
1853 – 1st major US rail disaster kills 46 (Norwalk, Connecticut)
1913 – King Nikita I of Montenegro vacates Skoetari, northern Albania
1921 – Teams from the National Association Football League and the Southern New England Soccer League merge to form the American Soccer League (ASL); collapses 1933
1937 – German airship Hindenburg explodes in flames at Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 35 of the 97 on board and 1 on the ground
1953 – MLB St. Louis Browns Alva “Bobo” Holloman, in his first start game as starting pitcher, no-hits visiting Philadelphia A’s, 6-0
1956 – WRCB TV channel 3 in Chattanooga, TN (NBC) begins broadcasting
2002 – Entrepreneur Elon Musk founds SpaceX
2006 – 132nd Kentucky Derby: Edgar Prado aboard Barbaro wins in front of 157,532 fans
2019 – World Snooker Championship, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield: Englishman Judd Trump wins his first world crown beating John Higgins of Scotland, 18-9
Today in History for 6th May 2023
Historical Events
1889 – Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair) in Paris opens with the recently completed Eiffel Tower serving as the entrance arch
1941 – Joseph Stalin becomes Premier of the Soviet Union, replacing his foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov
1943 – British 1st army opens assault on Tunis
1968 – Giants reliever Lindy McDaniel sets NL record of 225th consecutive errorless game (108 chances consecutively since June 16, 1964)
2001 – During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque
2007 – “Shrek the Third” directed by Chris Miller and Raman Hui with voices by Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy premieres in Westwood Ca.
Famous Birthdays
1800 – Ferdinand Marcucci, Italian harpist and composer, born in Florence (d. 1871)
1871 – Victor Grignard, French chemist (Nobel 1912 – development of the Grignard reaction), born in Cherbourg, France (d. 1935)
1918 – Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, 1st President of the United Arab Emirates, born in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, birth date disputed (d. 2004)
1944 – Anton Furst, American production designer (Batman), born in London (d. 1991)
1960 – Bart de Boer, Dutch guitarist (Ivy Green)
1969 – Mark Thomas, NFL defensive end (Carolina Panthers, Packers, Bears)
Famous Deaths
1642 – Frans Francken the Younger, Flemish painter, dies on 61st birthday
1708 – François de Laval, French clergyman, 1st Roman Catholic bishop of Québec, and saint, dies at 85
1963 – Ted Weems [Wemyes], American jazz trombonist, violin player and big band leader (Somebody Stole My Girl; Heartache), dies of emphysema at 61
2014 – Farley Mowat, Canadian author, dies at 92
2015 – Errol Brown, British-Jamaican singer-songwriter (Hot Chocolate – “You Sexy Thing”), dies at 71
2022 – George Pérez, American comic book artist (The Avenger; Teen Titans), dies of pancreatic cancer at 67
Famous Deaths for 5th May 2023
311 – Galerius, Emperor of Rome (305-311) ended persecution of Christianity in the East, dies of disease
1219 – King Leo II of Armenia (b. 1150)
1309 – Charles II, the Lame, King of Naples (1285-1309), dies
1971 – Violet Jessop, Titanic survivor (b. 1887)
1985 – Sir Donald Bailey, British civil engineer (b. 1901)
1993 – Lenore Kingston Jenson, dies of cancer at 79
2003 – Walter Sisulu, South African activist (b. 1912)
2018 – Rosemarie Schruder, German writer, dies at 89
2018 – Ermanno Olmi, Italian film director (The Tree of Wooden Clogs), dies at 86
2020 – Hillard “Sweet Pea” Atkinson, American RandB singer (Was (Not Was)), dies of a heart attack at 74
Historical Events for 5th May 2023
1874 – Dutch 2nd Chamber passes child labor law
1915 – German U-20 captures and sinks Britsih schooner Earl of Lathom
1948 – 1st squadron of jet aircraft aboard a carrier
1952 – Pulitzer prize awarded to Herman Wouk for this novel “The Caine Mutiny”
1955 – West Germany is granted full sovereignty by its three occupying powers
1964 – Separatists riot in Quebec
1987 – France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
2008 – American/Columbia Records releases “Home Before Dark”, the twenty-seventh studio album by Neil Diamond; tops charts in US, UK and NZ
2018 – Electric cigarette explodes killing a man in St. Petersburg, Florida, first death from a vaping product
2022 – WHO study of excess deaths worldwide says 15 million more people have died than normal, far above the official COVID-19 death toll of 6 million
Today in History for 5th May 2023
Historical Events
1905 – Robert S Abbott published 1st issue of newspaper “Chicago Defender”
1924 – Unions terminate Twentse textile strike
1925 – Yankee Everett Scott is benched, ending his 1,307-game playing streak
1951 – “Out of This World” closes at New Century Theater NYC after 157 performances
1966 – Stanley Cup Final, Olympia Stadium, Detroit, MI: Montreal Canadiens earn back-to-back titles; beat Detroit Red Wings, 3-2 in OT for a 4-2 series victory
1984 – 29th Eurovision Song Contest: Herreys for Sweden wins singing “Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley” in Luxembourg
Famous Birthdays
1906 – Ursula Jeans, British actress (Cavalcade, Over the Moon, I Lived With You), born in Simla, British India (d. 1973)
1914 – Frank Carlson, American jazz and session drummer (Woody Herman, 1937-42 – “The Golden Wedding”), born in New York City (d. 1996)
1923 – Richard Wollheim, British philosopher (deeply engaged with issues that were central to the visual arts), born in London (d. 2003)
1940 – Lucy Simon, American folk singer-songwriter (Simon Sisters), Grammy Award-winning record producer (In Harmony) and theater composer (The Secret Garden; Doctor Zhivago), born in New York City (d. 2022)
1952 – Campbell McComas, Australian impersonator and broadcaster, born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2005)
1978 – Santiago Cabrera, Venezuelan-Chilean-British actor (Isaac Mendez – Heroes), born in Caracas, Venezuela
Famous Deaths
984 – Gerberga of Saxony, Queen of Western Francia
1964 – Howard Zahniser, American environmental activist (father of Wilderness Act), dies of heart failure at 58
1979 – Shirley O’Hara, actress (Wild Party), dies at 68
1983 – John Williams, British actor (Family Affair, Dial M for Murder), dies at 80
1995 – Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian influential World Chess Champion, dies at 83
2011 – Yosef Merimovich, Israeli football player, 1948-58, and manager, 1958-89, dies at 86
Famous Deaths for 4th May 2023
1684 – John Nevison, English highwayman (b. 1639)
1824 – Joseph Joubert, French essayist and moralist (b. 1754)
1855 – Camille Pleyel, Austrian piano builder, and composer, dies at 66
1919 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak politician, French general and astronomer (b. 1880)
1945 – Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (commander in the German occupation of Austria, invasions of Poland, France, and Russia during WWII), dies at 64
1953 – T. Tertius Noble, English composer, dies at 85
1981 – Paul Green, American novelist and playwright (In Abraham’s Bosom), dies at 87
2009 – Jane Randolph, American actress (Cat People, Railroaded!), dies of complications after hip surgery at 93
2018 – Renate Dorrelstein, Dutch writer and journalist, dies of cancer at 64
2022 – Harm Ottenbros, Dutch bicycle racer (World C’ships gold men’s road race 1969), dies at 78
Historical Events for 4th May 2023
1799 – Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam ends the Siege of Seringapatam when the city is assaulted and the Sultan of Mysore Tipu Sultan is killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris
1917 – A flotilla of US destroyer ships arrive in Queenstown, Ireland, to aid in convoying ships to England
1942 – Battle of Coral Sea begins (1st naval battle fought solely in air) between Japanese, US and Australian navies and air forces
1963 – Pitcher Bob Shaw sets record of 5 balks in a game
1973 – 1st TV network female nudity-Steambath (PBS)-Valerie Perrine
1982 – British destroyer HMS Sheffield hit by Exocet rocket off Falkland Islands: 20 of her crew died.
1986 – President Babrak Karmal resigns as party leader of Afghanistan
1990 – Latvia’s parliament votes 138-0 (1 abstention) for Independence
2013 – Floyd Mayweather Jr. defeats Robert Guerrero to retain his WBC Welterweight title
2013 – Juventus F.C. win their 29th Serie A football title
Today in History for 4th May 2023
Historical Events
1899 – 25th Kentucky Derby: Fred Taral aboard Manuel wins in 2:12
1910 – Canadian Currency Act, 1910, receives Royal Assent
1923 – New York state revokes its Mullan-Gage Act Prohibition law; federal Volstead Act still in place
1927 – 1st balloon flight over 40,000 feet (Scott Field, Illinois)
1968 – 94th Kentucky Derby: Ismael Valenzuela aboard Forward Pass wins
1973 – Longest baseball game in Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium, Phillies beat Braves 5-4 in 20 innings
Famous Birthdays
1807 – Thomas Duncan, Scottish painter, born in Kinclaven, Perthshire, Scotland (d. 1845)
1882 – Wilhelm Lehmann, German writer, born in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela (d. 1968)
1902 – Cvjetko Rihtman, Bosnian composer, born in Rijeka, Croatia (d. 1989)
1909 – Howard Da Silva [Silverblatt], American actor (1776, The Lost Weekend, The Blue Dahlia), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1986)
1954 – Julie Budd, American singer (“Child of Plenty”), born in Brooklyn, New York
1976 – Ben Grieve, American baseball player, born in Arlington, Texas
Famous Deaths
1506 – Husayn Bayqarah, ruler of Herat (b. 1438)
1992 – Gregor Mackenzie, Labour Party (UK) politician (b. 1927)
2001 – Bonnie Lee Bakley, American second wife of actor Robert Blake murdered in her car outside a Studio City, California restaurant at 44
2013 – Morgan Morgan-Giles, British Naval officer and politician, dies at 98
2018 – Paul Bloodgood, American artist, dies at 58 of Alzheimer’s disease
2018 – Luyanda Ntshangase, South African footballer (Maritzburg United), is struck by lightning and dies at 21
Famous Deaths for 3rd May 2023
1654 – François de Kinschot, Dutch jurist and chancellor of Brabant, dies at 77
1679 – James Sharp, English archbishop (assassinated) (b. 1613)
1942 – Thorvald Stauning, Prime Minister of Denmark (1924-26, 1929-42), dies at 68
1994 – Haty Tegelaar-Boonacker, Dutch politician and 2nd chamber member (CDA), dies at 63
1999 – Steve Chiasson, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1967)
2000 – Yoshinao Nakada, Japanese composer, dies at 76
2002 – Barbara Castle, British politician (b. 1910)
2016 – Thomas W. Libous, American politician (Senate-R-New York 1989-2015) brought down by scandal, dies of cancer at 63
2018 – Dan Grimm, American football player (Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons), dies of Parkinson’s disease and dementia at 77
2018 – David Pines, American physicist, dies at 93