1274 – 2nd Council of Lyons (14th ecumenical council) opens, convened by Pope Gregory X
1917 – Red Sox Babe Ruth beats Washington Senator Walter Johnson, 1-0
1919 – A draft of the Versailles Treaty is shown to Germans
1927 – Angelos Sikelianos organizes the first Delphic Festival in Delphi to celebrate the ancient Greek Delphic ideal.
1970 – “Long and Winding Road” becomes Beatles’ last American release
1982 – IBM releases PC-DOS version 1.1
1992 – Constitutional amendment barring mid-term congressional raises passes
1999 – In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
2002 – A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
2013 – The Dow Jones Industrial average and SandP 500 set record highs
Author: gil7
Today in History for 7th May 2020
Historical Events
1727 – Jews are expelled from Ukraine by Empress Catherine I of Russia
1862 – Much of Enschede, Netherlands, destroyed by fire
1914 – US Congress establishes Mother’s Day
1938 – Dutch Minister of Justice Goseling calls fugitives of Nazi-Germany “undesired strangers”
1956 – NY Giant Bill White, homers in his 1st at bat
1997 – Galileo, 4th Ganymede Flyby (Orbit 8)
Famous Birthdays
1328 – Louis VI the Roman, Duke of Bavaria and Elector of Brandenburg, born in Rome (d. 1365)
1803 – Johan Peter Cronhamm, Swedish composer, born in Östra Karup, Skåne, Sweden (d. 1875)
1892 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and leader of Yugoslavia (1943-80), born in Kumrovec, Hrvatsko Zagorje, Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (d. 1980)
1901 – Lowell T. Coggeshall, American medical scientist and US Secretary of HEW (1956-58), born in Saratoga, Indiana (d. 1987)
1959 – Michael E. Knight, America actor (All My Children), born in Princeton, New Jersey
1973 – Dameian Jeffries, NFL defensive end (New Orleans Saints)
Famous Deaths
1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight/protect of poor, dies of wounds at 42
1958 – Nyogen Senzaki, 1st Zen teacher to reside in USA, dies at 81
2002 – Seattle Slew, American racehorse (b. 1974)
2006 – Joan C. Edwards, American philanthropist (b. 1918)
2010 – Adele Mara [Adelaida Delgado], American actress, singer and dancer (Cool Million, Wheels), dies at 87
2018 – Jeremy D. Safran, Canadian-born American clinical psychologist, is killed during a burglary
Famous Deaths for 6th May 2020
1540 – Jean Luis Vives, Spanish theory/humanist/reformer, dies at 48
1631 – Robert Bruce Cotton, English politician and antiquarian (his library formed basis of British Museum manuscript collection), dies at 60
1739 – Bernardus Smijtegelt, Dutch vicar (Gekrookte Reed), dies at 63
1891 – Thomas Hare, English barrister and political reformer, dies at 85
1961 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian philosopher and poet (Transcendental censor), dies at 65
1987 – William J. Casey, American head of the CIA during the Iran-contra scandal (1981-87), dies of aspiration pneumonia at 73
1994 – Fred Sadoff, actor (Quiet American), dies of AIDS at 67
2000 – Leonard Lopes-Salzedo, British composer
2006 – Lillian Asplund, last American RMS Titanic survivor (b. 1906)
2009 – Valentin Varennikov, Soviet-Russian general and statesman, dies at 85
Historical Events for 6th May 2020
1529 – Battle at Gogra: Mughal Emperor Babur beats Afghans and Bengals
1882 – Chinese Exclusion Act: US Congress ceases Chinese immigration
1904 – American Lung Association holds its 1st meeting
1944 – KJR-AM in Seattle Washington swaps calls with KOMO
1974 – West German Chancellor Willy Brandt resigns amidst controversy over his aide Günter Guillaume’s ties with the Stasi (East German secret service)
1982 – NHL Clarence Campbell Conference Final: Vancouver Canucks beat Chicago Black Hawks, 4 games to 1
1984 – Jose Napoleon Duarte wins El Salvador presidential election
1987 – USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1995 – 121st Kentucky Derby: Gary Stevens on Thunder Gulch wins in 2:01.2
2014 – Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, releases a 57 minute video boasting about abducting schoolgirls in Nigeria
Today in History for 6th May 2020
Historical Events
1672 – Brandenburg monarch Frederik Willem signs treaty with Netherlands
1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi’s Mille sets sail from Genoa to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
1937 – German airship Hindenburg explodes in flames at Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 35 of the 97 on board and 1 on the ground
1964 – Joe Orton’s play “Entertaining Mr Sloan” premieres in London
1979 – Louis LaRusso II’s “Knockout” premieres in NYC
2014 – Boko Haram’s leader, Abubakar Shekau, releases a 57 minute video boasting about abducting schoolgirls in Nigeria
Famous Birthdays
1861 – Motilal Nehru, Indian lawyer and freedom fighter, born in Agra, British India (d. 1931)
1879 – Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist (development of Hittitology), born in Lysá nad Labem, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1952)
1883 – José Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher and author (The Revolt of the Masses), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1955)
1921 – Freddy Randall, English jazz trumpeter, born in London (d. 1999)
1973 – Clay Williams, OL (Indianapolis Colts)
2019 – Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, British son of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, born in London, England
Famous Deaths
1739 – Bernardus Smijtegelt, Dutch vicar (Gekrookte Reed), dies at 63
1978 – Ko van Dijk Jr, Dutch actor (Zaak M P), dies at 61
1996 – Leo Joseph Suenens, Belgian prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, dies at 91
2002 – Saleh Selim, Egyptian football player and 10th president of the Egyptian Al-Ahly Sporting Club, dies at 71
2002 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician (b. 1948)
2018 – George G. Hall, Northern Irish applied mathematician, dies at 93
Famous Deaths for 5th May 2020
1811 – Robert Mylne, Scottish architect (b. 1734)
1859 – Peter G L Dirichlet, German mathematician, dies at 53
1864 – Alexander Hays, US Union-general-major, dies in battle at 44
1951 – Leo Diegel, American golfer (PGA C’ship 1928-29), dies of throat and lung cancer at 52
1971 – Harry Moorman, Dutch vice-admiral (KVP), dies at 71
1991 – William De Acutis, American actor (9½ Weeks, Other People’s Money), dies from a brain lymphoma at 33
1995 – Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian influential world chess champion, dies at 83
1995 – Lionel Alexander Bethune [Alastair] Pilkington, British engineer (float glass), dies at 75
2004 – Ritsuko Okazaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (Kanashii Jiyū / Koi ga, Kiete Yuku), dies at 44
2008 – Irv Robbins, Canadian-American entrepreneur (co-founded the Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor chain), dies at 90
Historical Events for 5th May 2020
1855 – New York City regains Castle Clinton, to be used for immigration
1912 – Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda begins publishing (4/22 OS)
1927 – Dmitri Shostakovich’s 1st Symphony premieres in Berlin
1941 – First modern perfume Chanel No. 5 released by fashion designer Coco Chanel
1966 – Borussia Dortmund of West Germany win 6th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Liverpool of England 2-1 in Glasgow
1972 – Alitalia DC-8 crashes west of Palermo Sicily; killing 115
1979 – Masterpiece Radio Theater begins broadcasting
1984 – 29th Eurovision Song Contest: Herreys for Sweden wins singing “Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley” in Luxembourg
1994 – Labour beats Conservatives in British local elections
2000 – Conjunction of Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Moon
Today in History for 5th May 2020
Historical Events
1789 – French Estates-General meets for the first time since 1614 at Versailles, summoned King Louis XVI
1925 – Afrikaans is established as an official language in South Africa.
1941 – First modern perfume Chanel No. 5 released by fashion designer Coco Chanel
1956 – World championships of judo are 1st held in Tokyo
1957 – Adolf Scharf elected president of Austria
1984 – NHL Prince of Wales Conference Final: New York Islanders beat Montreal Canadians, 4 games to 2
Famous Birthdays
1945 – Kurtis “Kurt” Loder, American film critic, TV personality and columnist (Rolling Stone, New York, Time), born in Ocean City, New Jersey
1957 – Lisa Eilbacher, Saudi-American actress (Beverly Hills Cop), born in Dharan, Saudi Arabia
1962 – Jenifer McKitrick, American songwriter (Mine, Mine, Mine), born in Defiance, Ohio
1981 – Marcelle Bittar, Brazilian-Lebanese supermodel, born in Guarapuava, Paraná, Brazil
1988 – Adele [Adele Laurie Blue Adkins], English singer (Rolling in the Deep, Someone Like You), born in Tottenham, London
1988 – Jessica Dubroff, American aviator (attempting to become the youngest person to fly a light utility aircraft across the United States), born in Falmouth, Massachusetts (d. 1996)
Famous Deaths
1316 – Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, youngest daughter of King Edward I and Queen Eleanor of Castile, dies at 33
1705 – Leopold I von Hapsburg, Emperor of Holy Roman Empire, dies at 64
1811 – Robert Mylne, Scottish architect (b. 1734)
1972 – [Reverend] Gary Davis, American blues and folk guitarist (A Little More Faith), dies of a heart attack at 76
1976 – Thomas Burnett Swann, American sci-fi author (Day of Minotaur), dies at 47
1994 – Hein Salomonson, architect, dies at about 83
Famous Deaths for 4th May 2020
1604 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer, dies at 71
1684 – John Nevison, English highwayman (b. 1639)
1790 – Matthew Tilghman, American delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1718)
1885 – Alexander Karađorđević, Prince of Serbia (1842-58), dies at 78
1891 – Sherlock Holmes, “dies” at Reichenbach Falls
1893 – George Washington Hewitt, composer, dies at 82
1928 – Barry Pain, English writer (Punch), dies at 63
1980 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and leader of Yugoslavia (1943-80), dies at 87
2012 – MCA [Adam Yauch], Beastie Boys vocalist, dies from cancer at 47
2018 – Paul Bloodgood, American artist, dies at 58 of Alzheimer’s disease
Historical Events for 4th May 2020
1535 – Five Carthusian monks from London Charterhouse monastery hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, London, for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as head of the Church of England
1897 – Fire in Paris bazaar at Rue Jean Goujon kills 200
1898 – 24th Kentucky Derby: Willie Simms aboard Plaudit wins in 2:09
1927 – 1st balloon flight over 40,000 feet (Scott Field, Illinois)
1942 – Battle of Coral Sea begins (1st naval battle fought solely in air) between Japanese, US and Australian navies and air forces
1961 – Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather reach 34,668 m (record) in balloon
1973 – Longest baseball game in Veterans’ Stadium, Phillies beat Braves 5-4 in 20 innings
1994 – Arsenal of England win 34th European Cup Winner’s Cup against Parma of Italy 1-0 in Copenhagen
1996 – Greg Pavlik one-hits Tigers making the Rangers 1st AL team to pitch back-to-back one-hitters since the Washington Senators in 1917
2001 – The Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the public.