1699 – Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (b. 1626)
1916 – James Connolly, Irish socialist (founder of the Irish Socialist Republican Party), dies at 47
1921 – Emilia Pardo Bazán, Spanish countess and writer (Pascual López: Autobiography of a Medical Student), dies at 68
1930 – Pieter Jelles Troelstra, Dutch politician (SDAP), dies at 70
1956 – Hendrik P. Marchant, Dutch minister of Education, dies at 87
1971 – Johnny Taylor, Australian cricket batsman (20 Tests; 1 x 100, 8 x 50) and rugby union fly-half (2 caps), dies at 75
1975 – Joe Mooney, American jazz and pop accordionist, organist, and vocalist, dies at 64
1977 – Luc van Brabant, Flemish writer and erotic poet, dies at 67
1980 – Lillian Roth [Rutstein], American singer and actress (Animal Crackers, Alice Sweet Alice), dies at 69
1996 – Rob Hall, New Zealand mountaineer, dies on Mt Everest at 35
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 12th May 2021
1525 – Battle at Biblingen: Zwabische Union beats rebel Wurttemberg farmers
1640 – Uprising against Spanish king Philip IV
1909 – 34th Preakness: Willie Doyle aboard Effendi wins in 1:39.8
1934 – 59th Preakness: Robert Jones aboard High Quest wins in 1:58.2
1943 – German troops in Tunisia, North Africa, surrender
1970 – Harry A Blackmun is confirmed as a justice on Supreme Court
1979 – Chris Evert’s 125-match winning streak on clay comes to an end
1996 – LPGA Championship Women’s Golf, DuPont CC: England’s Laura Davies wins by 1 stroke ahead of runner-up Julie Piers
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
Today in History for 12th May 2021
Historical Events
1784 – Ratified copies of the Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War exchanged between US and Great Britain, in Paris
1897 – Battle at Thessalie: Turkish army beats Greece
1910 – Second NAACP conference in NYC
1950 – Darius Milhaud’s opera “Bolivar” premieres in Paris
1979 – Chris Evert’s 125-match winning streak on clay comes to an end
2019 – Manchester City beats Brighton, 4-1 to claim back-to-back English Premier League titles with 98 points, 1 ahead of runners-up, Liverpool
Famous Birthdays
1921 – Giovanni Benelli, Italian archbishop (Florence) and Papal candidate
1929 – Sam Nujoma, Namibian revolutionary and politician, first President of Namibia (1990-2005), born in Ongandjera, Soutwest Africa
1936 – Klaus Doldinger, German jazz saxophonist (Passport) and composer for film, born in Berlin, Germany
1977 – Graeme Dott, Scottish snooker player, born in Larkhall, Scotland
1977 – Monique de Bruin, American fencer-foil (Olympics 1996), born in Portland, Oregon
1978 – Josh Phelps, American baseball player, born in Anchorage, Alaska
Famous Deaths
1382 – Johanna I, Queen of Naples/Provence, dies
1967 – Julius Kalas, Czech composer, dies at 64
1980 – Lillian Roth [Rutstein], American singer and actress (Animal Crackers, Alice Sweet Alice), dies at 69
1999 – Penny Santon [Pierina Burlando], American actress (Fletch, Roll Out, Matt Houston), dies at 82
2016 – Julius La Rosa, American singer (fired by Arthur Godfrey on the air), dies at 86
2017 – Mauno Koivisto, President of Finland (1982-94), dies at 93
Famous Deaths for 11th May 2021
1708 – Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect, dies at 62
1907 – John Albert Delany, Australian composer, dies at 54
1976 – Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (Finlandia House), dies at 78
1982 – Piet van Egmond, Dutch organist and conductor (Neth Chamber Orchestra), dies at 70
1983 – Zenna Henderson, American sci-fi author (Anything Box), dies at 65
1995 – David Avidan, Israeli poet, dies at 62
2001 – Klaus Schlesinger, German writer, dies at 64
2008 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (Rush), dies at 55
2008 – Dottie Rambo, American gospel singer, dies at 74
2013 – Oliver “Ollie” Mitchell, American musician and bandleader (The Wrecking Crew), dies of cancer at 86
Historical Events for 11th May 2021
1745 – Battle of Fontenoy (Doornik): Austrian Succession war
1800 – French naturalist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck give a lecture first outlining his theories of evolution at the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle in Paris, France
1820 – Launch of HMS Beagle, the ship that would later take a young Charles Darwin on his famous scientific voyage
1888 – 16th Preakness: F Littlefield aboard Refund wins in 2:49
1931 – “M” Fritz Lang’s first sound film starring Peter Lorre premieres in Berlin
1960 – Israeli soldiers capture Adolf Eichmann in Buenos Aires
1962 – US sends troops to Thailand
1963 – “Puff (The Magic Dragon)” by Peter, Paul and Mary hits #2
1995 – More than 170 countries agree to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons
2013 – 43 people are killed in two car bombings in Reyhanlı, Turkey
Today in History for 11th May 2021
Historical Events
1310 – Fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake in France for being heretics
1925 – Communist Party of Holland splits
1942 – Japanese troops conquer Kalewa
1965 – West Indies becomes 1st holders of the Frank Worrell Cricket Trophy
1976 – Last broadcast of “Marcus Welby, MD” on ABC-TV
1983 – Aberdeen of Scotland win 23rd European Cup Winner’s Cup against Real Madrid of Spain 2-1 in Gothenburg
Famous Birthdays
1733 – Victoire of France, daughter of king Louis XV (d. 1799)
1858 – Carl Hauptmann, German writer, born in Obersalzbrunn (d. 1921)
1905 – Marjorie Sykes, peace campaigner
1940 – Juan Downey, Chilean video artist (d. 1993)
1954 – John Gregory, English football manager
1973 – Dean Pullar, Cobram Victoria Australia, diver (Olympics 1996)
Famous Deaths
1779 – John Heart, American farmer (signed US Declaration of Independence), dies at about 68
1924 – Moses Walker, American baseball catcher (first African-American open about his heritage to play MLB; Toledo Blue Stockings), dies at 66
1935 – Edward Herbert Thompson, American archaeologist (Mayan civilization), dies at 78
1960 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American financier and philanthropist, dies of pneumonia at 86
1981 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist (Nobel 1969 – the study of the three-dimensional geometric structure of molecules), dies at 83
1986 – Fritz Pollard, American football player, dies at 92
Famous Deaths for 10th May 2021
1566 – Leonhard Fuchs, German physician and botanist (Notable Commentaries on the History of Plants) for which the flowering plants and color Fuchsia is named after, dies at 65
1641 – Johan Banér, Swedish soldier (b. 1596)
1764 – Picander [Christian Henrici], German writer (Die Weiberprobe), dies
1798 – George Vancouver, British explorer, (Voyage of Discovery), dies at 40
1807 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French military leader (commander of the French Expeditionary Force that assisted the Thirteen Colonies), dies at 81
1826 – Giuseppe Sigismondo, Italian historian and composer, dies at 86
1897 – Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino revolutionary leader of 1896 Philippine revolt against Spain, dies at 33
1915 – Albert Weisgerber, German painter and graphic artist, dies in battle at 37
2006 – Raizo Matsuno, Japanese politician (b. 1917)
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
Historical Events for 10th May 2021
1534 – French navigator Jacques Cartier reaches Newfoundland
1862 – Battle of Plum Run Bend, Tennessee
1941 – 66th Preakness: Eddie Arcaro wins aboard Whirlaway, 2nd leg of successful Triple Crown
1945 – Allies capture Rangoon from the Japanese
1950 – 1st Netherlands-US telex sent
1956 – French government sends 50,000 reservists to Algeria
1970 – Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Bobby Orr scores famous OT winner as Boston beats St. Louis Blues, 4-3 for 4-0 series sweep; Bruins its first title since 1941
1972 – An Irish Republican Army bomb starts a fire that destroys the Belfast Co-operative store
1985 – Challenger transports back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB
1986 – “Rock Me Amadeus” by Falco hits #1 on UK pop chart
Today in History for 10th May 2021
Historical Events
1768 – John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for “The North Briton” severely criticizing King George III. This action provokes rioting in London.
1967 – Rolling Stones Keith Richards, Brian Jones and Mick Jagger arrested on drug charges
1973 – Establishment of Frente Polisario in Mauritania
1985 – Challenger transports back to Kennedy Space Center via Kelly AFB
1993 – Premier Lubbers opens Terminal West on Schiphol
2018 – New record auction price for a Latin American artwork of $9.76 million for Diego Rivera’s “The Rivals”
Famous Birthdays
1931 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (A Special Day), born in Trevico, Campania (d. 2016)
1938 – Merritt Ranew, baseball player
1965 – Rony Seikaly, NBA center (Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors)
1970 – Gabriela Montero, Venezuelan-American pianist, born in Caracas
1977 – Henri Camara, Senegalese footballer
1993 – Charice Pempengco, Filipino singer
Famous Deaths
995 – Boudouin, bishop of Utrecht
1864 – James Clay Rice, lawyer/Union brigadier general, dies in battle at 34
1864 – Thomas Greeley Stevenson, Union brigadier general, dies at about 27
1982 – Jean C M Picart le Doux, French designer, dies
1992 – Sylvia Syms [Blagman], American jazz singer (Hello Dolly, Flower Drum Song), dies of a heart attack at 74
1995 – Harold Berens, comedian, dies at 92
Famous Deaths for 9th May 2021
1443 – Niccolo d’Albergati, Italian cardinal, dies at 70
1884 – Hermanus Willem Witteveen, Dutch theologist, dies at 69
1977 – James Jones, American novelist (Bad Blood, From Here to Eternity), dies at 55
1986 – Dirk de Vroome, Dutch campaigner and Limbourg activist, dies at 60
2001 – William T. Stearn, British botanist, dies at 90
2001 – James E. Myers, American songwriter (Rock Around the Clock) and producer, dies at 81
2007 – Dwight Wilson, second-to-last Canadian WWI veteran, dies at 106
2008 – Nuala O’Faolain, Irish journalist, dies at 68
2015 – Christopher Wood, English screenwriter and novelist (Confessions), dies at 79
2018 – Omar Daoud, Libyan footballer, dies in a traffic collision at 35