From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
May 11 is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 234 days remain until the end of the year.
- 330 – Constantine the Great dedicates the much-expanded and rebuilt city of Byzantium, changing its name to New Rome and declaring it the new capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.[1]
- 868 – A copy of the Diamond Sūtra is published,[2] the earliest dated and printed book known.[3]
- 973 – In the first coronation ceremony ever held for an English monarch, Edgar the Peaceful is crowned King of England, having ruled since 959 AD.[4] His wife, Ælfthryth, is crowned queen, the first recorded coronation for a Queen of England.[5]
- 1068 – Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, is crowned Queen of England.[6]
- 1258 – Louis IX of France and James I of Aragon sign the Treaty of Corbeil, renouncing claims of feudal overlordship in one another's territories and separating the House of Barcelona from the politics of France.[7]
- 1560 – The Ottoman naval forces inflict a defeat on a Spanish fleet in the battle of Djerba. This marks the highpoint of Ottoman naval dominance in the Mediterranean, which starts declining five years later after the failed siege of Malta.[8]
- 1919 – Uruguay becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.[17]
- 1970 – The 1970 Lubbock tornado kills 26 and causes $250 million in damage.[18]
- 1973 – Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg's charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times are dismissed.[19]
- 1973 – Aeroflot Flight 6551 crashes in Semey, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (now Kazakhstan), killing all 63 aboard.[20]
- 1985 – Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in the Bradford City stadium fire.[21]
- 1987 – Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.[22]
- 1996 – After the aircraft's departure from Miami, a fire started by improperly handled chemical oxygen generators in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 on board.[23]
- 1997 – Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.[24]
- 1998 – India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran.[25]
- 2000 – Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia.[26]
- 2009 – An American soldier in Iraq opens fire on a counseling center at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, killing five other US soldiers and wounding three.[27]
- 2009 – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.[28]
- 2010 – David Cameron takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats form the country's first coalition government since the Second World War.[29]
- 2011 – An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hits Lorca, Spain.[30]
- 2011 – The Istanbul Convention is signed in Istanbul, Turkey.[31]
- 2013 – Fifty-two people are killed in a bombing in Reyhanlı, Turkey.[32]
- 2014 – Fifteen people are killed and 46 injured in Kinshasa, DRC, in a stampede caused by tear gas being thrown into soccer stands by police officers.[33]
- 2016 – One hundred and ten people are killed in an ISIL bombing in Baghdad.[34]
- 2022 – The Burmese military executes at least 37 villagers during the Mon Taing Pin massacre in Sagaing, Myanmar.[35]
- 2022 – Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is killed while covering a raid in Jenin. Israel eventually admitted and apologized for the murder, after initial denials.[36]
- 2024 – Start/Middle of the May 2024 Solar Storms, the most powerful set of geomagnetic storms since the 2003 Halloween solar storms.[37]
- 2024 – The 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is held in Malmö, Sweden. Nemo from Switzerland wins with their song "The Code", making them the contest's first non-binary winner.[38]
- 1715 – Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach, German organist (died 1739)[41]
- 1752 – Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German physician, physiologist, and anthropologist (died 1840)[42]: 94
- 1797 – José Mariano Salas, Mexican general and politician (died 1867)[43]
- 1811 – Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, Swiss politician (died 1893)[44]
- 1811 – Chang and Eng Bunker, Siamese-American showmen, the original conjoined twins (died 1874)[45]
- 1852 – Charles W. Fairbanks, American journalist and politician, 26th United States Vice President (died 1918)[46]
- 1854 – Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (died 1932)[47]
- 1869 – Archibald Warden, English tennis player (died 1943)[48]
- 1871 – Frank Schlesinger, American astronomer and author (died 1943)[49]
- 1875 – Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (died 1912)[50]
- 1881 – Al Cabrera, Spanish-Cuban baseball player and manager (died 1964)[51]
- 1881 – Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer and conductor (died 1944)[52]
- 1881 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (died 1963)[53]
- 1888 – Irving Berlin, Belarusian-American pianist and composer (died 1989)[54]
- 1888 – Willis Augustus Lee, American admiral (died 1945)[55]
- 1889 – Paul Nash, British painter (died 1946)[56]
- 1890 – Willie Applegarth, English-American sprinter (died 1958)[57]
- 1890 – Helge Løvland, Norwegian decathlete (died 1984)[58]
- 1894 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (died 1991)[59]
- 1895 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (died 1978)[60]
- 1895 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher and speaker (died 1986)[61]
- 1895 – William Grant Still, American composer and conductor (died 1978)[62]
- 1896 – Josip Štolcer-Slavenski, Croatian composer and academic (died 1955)[63]
- 1897 – Robert E. Gross, American businessman (died 1961)[64]
- 1901 – Rose Ausländer, poet and author (died 1988)[65]
- 1901 – Gladys Rockmore Davis, American painter (died 1967)[66]
- 1903 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (died 1993)[67]
- 1904 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish artist (died 1989)[68]
- 1905 – Lise de Baissac, Mauritian SOE agent, war hero (died 2004)[69]
- 1905 – Catherine Bauer Wurster, American architect and public housing advocate (died 1964)[70]
- 1907 – Rip Sewell, American baseball player and coach (died 1989)[71]
- 1911 – Phil Silvers, American actor and comedian (died 1985)[72]
- 1912 – Saadat Hasan Manto, Pakistani author and screenwriter (died 1955)[73]
- 1916 – Camilo José Cela, Spanish author and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2002)[74]
- 1918 – Richard Feynman, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1988)[75]
- 1924 – Antony Hewish, English astronomer and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2021)[76]
- 1925 – Edward J. King, American politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (died 2006)[77]
- 1927 – Bernard Fox, British actor (died 2016)[78]
- 1927 – Gene Savoy, American explorer, author, and scholar (died 2007)[79]
- 1928 – Arthur Foulkes, 9th governor-general of the Bahamas[80]
- 1929 – Gerhard Klingenberg, Austrian actor (died 2024)[81][82][83][84]
- 1930 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist and academic (died 2002)[85]
- 1930 – Basil H. Losten, American Ukrainian Greek Catholic hierarch (died 2024)[86]
- 1932 – Valentino Garavani, Italian fashion designer (died 2026)[87]
- 1933 – Louis Farrakhan, American religious leader[88]
- 1934 – Jim Jeffords, American lawyer and politician (died 2014)[89]
- 1934 – Jack Twyman, American basketball player (died 2012)[90]
- 1937 – Ildikó Újlaky-Rejtő, Hungarian Olympic and world champion foil fencer[91]
- 1941 – Eric Burdon, English musician[92]
- 1941 – Ian Redpath, Australian cricketer and coach (died 2024)[93]
- 1943 – Nancy Greene, Canadian skier and politician[94]
- 1945 – Hilda Pérez Carvajal, Venezuelan biologist[95]
- 1947 – Butch Trucks, American drummer (died 2017)[96]
- 1948 – Nirj Deva, British politician[97]
- 1948 – Pam Ferris, Welsh actress[98]
- 1950 – Jeremy Paxman, English journalist and author[99]
- 1950 – Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Indian actor (died 2014)[100]
- 1951 – Ed Stelmach, Canadian farmer and politician, 13th Premier of Alberta[101]
- 1954 – John Gregory, English footballer and manager[102]
- 1955 – James L. Dolan, American businessman[103]
- 1957 – Mike Nesbitt, Northern Irish journalist and politician[104]
- 1958 – Sayuri Kume, Japanese singer-songwriter[105]
- 1963 – Natasha Richardson, English actress (died 2009)[106]
- 1964 – Tim Blake Nelson, American actor[107]
- 1964 – Bobby Witt, American baseball player[108]
- 1967 – Alberto García Aspe, Mexican footballer and manager[109]
- 1969 – Mitch Healey, Australian rugby league player and coach[110]
- 1969 – Simon Vroemen, Dutch runner[111]
- 1970 – Harold Ford Jr., American lawyer and politician[112]
- 1974 – Stanley Gene, Papua New Guinean rugby league player[113]
- 1975 – Francisco Cordero, Dominican baseball player[114]
- 1975 – Ziad Jarrah, Lebanese terrorist, September 11 attacks (died 2001)[citation needed]
- 1976 – Kardinal Offishall, Canadian rapper and record producer/executive[115]
- 1977 – Pablo Gabriel García, Uruguayan footballer[116]
- 1977 – Victor Matfield, South African rugby player, coach, and sportscaster[117]
- 1977 – Bobby Roode, Canadian professional wrestler[118]
- 1978 – Laetitia Casta, French model and actress[119]
- 1978 – Judy Ann Santos, Filipino actress[120]
- 1981 – Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player[121]
- 1981 – JP Karliak, American actor, voice actor and comedian[122]
- 1982 – Cory Monteith, Canadian actor and singer (died 2013)[123]
- 1983 – Matt Leinart, American football player[124]
- 1983 – Steven Sotloff, American-Israeli journalist (died 2014)[125]
- 1983 – Holly Valance, Australian actress, singer and model[126]
- 1984 – Andrés Iniesta, Spanish footballer[127]
- 1985 – Beau Ryan, Australian rugby league player and television host[128]
- 1986 – Abou Diaby, French footballer[129]
- 1986 – Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer[130]
- 1987 – Lim Seul-ong, South Korean singer and actor[131]
- 1988 – Jeremy Maclin, American football player[132]
- 1988 – Brad Marchand, Canadian ice hockey player[133]
- 1989 – Giovani dos Santos, Mexican footballer[134]
- 1989 – Cam Newton, American football player[135]
- 1992 – Thibaut Courtois, Belgian footballer[136]
- 1992 – Pablo Sarabia, Spanish footballer[137]
- 1992 – Bobi, Portuguese Rafeiro do Alentejo, oldest recorded dog (died 2023)[138][139]
- 1993 – Maurice Harkless, American-Puerto Rican basketball player[140]
- 1993 – Miguel Sanó, Dominican baseball player[141]
- 1994 – Hagos Gebrhiwet, Ethiopian runner[142]
- 1994 – Nene Macdonald, Papua New Guinean rugby league player[143]
- 1995 – Gelson Martins, Portuguese footballer[144]
- 1995 – Sachia Vickery, American tennis player[145]
- 1995 – Shira Haas, Israeli actress[146]
- 1996 – Adin Hill, Canadian ice hockey player[147]
- 1997 – Coi Leray, American rapper and singer[148]
- 1997 – Lana Condor, American actress[149]
- 1998 – Viktória Kužmová, Slovak tennis player[150]
- 1999 – Sabrina Carpenter, American singer and actress[151]
- 2000 – Yūki Tsunoda, Japanese racing driver[152]
- 2000 – Wang Chuqin, Chinese table tennis player[153]
- 2003 – Fermín López, Spanish footballer[154]
- 2006 – Konsta Helenius, Finnish ice hockey player[155]
- 1610 – Matteo Ricci, Italian priest and mathematician (born 1552)[157]
- 1778 – William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (born 1708)[158]
- 1779 – John Hart, American lawyer and politician (born 1711)[159]
- 1812 – Spencer Perceval, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1762)[160]
- 1848 – Tom Cribb, English boxer (born 1781)[161]
- 1849 – Juliette Récamier, French businesswoman (born 1777)[162]
- 1882 – Frederick Innes, Scottish-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Tasmania (born 1816)[163]
- 1889 – John Cadbury, English businessman and philanthropist, founded the Cadbury Company (born 1801)[164]
- 1908 – Charles Kingston, Australian politician, 20th Premier of South Australia (born 1850)[165]
- 1916 – Karl Schwarzschild, German astronomer and physicist (born 1873)[166]: xix
- 1918 – George Elmslie, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Victoria (born 1861)[167]
- 1920 – James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (born 1878)[168]
- 1920 – William Dean Howells, American novelist, literary critic, and playwright (born 1837)[169]
- 1927 – Juan Gris, Spanish painter and sculptor (born 1887)[170]
- 1929 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak-American priest, architect, botanist, and painter (born 1864)[171]
- 1938 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (born 1858)[171]
- 1946 – Seán McCaughey, Irish Republican, died on hunger strike (born 1915)[172]
- 1955 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (born 1874)[173]
- 1960 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (born 1874)[174]
- 1963 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1888)[175]: 169
- 1964 – Janne Mustonen, Finnish politician (born 1901)[176]
- 1967 – James E. Brewton, American painter (born 1930)[177]
- 1979 – Lester Flatt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1914)[178]
- 1980 – Dyre Vaa, Norwegian sculptor and painter (born 1903)[179]
- 1981 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1897)[180]
- 1981 – Bob Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1945)[181]
- 1983 – Zenna Henderson, American writer (born 1917)[182]
- 1985 – Chester Gould, American cartoonist, created Dick Tracy (born 1900)[183]
- 1986 – Fritz Pollard, American football player and coach (born 1894)[184]
- 1987 – James Jesus Angleton, CIA counterintelligence leader (born 1917)[185]
- 1988 – Kim Philby, British-Soviet double agent (born 1912)[186]
- 1990 – Stratos Dionysiou, Greek Singer, composer and lyricist (born 1935)[187]
- 1991 – Ulyana Barkova, Russian farm worker (born 1906)[188]
- 1994 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, and producer (born 1928)[189]
- 2001 – Douglas Adams, English novelist and screenwriter (born 1952)[190]
- 2002 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (born 1912)[191]
- 2002 – Bill Peet, American animator and screenwriter (born 1915)[192]
- 2003 – Noel Redding, English bass player (born 1945)[193]
- 2005 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (born 1908)[194]
- 2005 – Horton Davies, Welsh minister and historian (born 1916)[195]
- 2006 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer and actor (born 1935)[196]
- 2007 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (born 1913)[197]
- 2008 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (born 1953)[198]
- 2009 – Abel Goumba, Central African physician and politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (born 1926)[199]
- 2009 – Claudio Huepe, Chilean economist and politician, Chilean Minister Secretary-General of Government (born 1939)[200]
- 2009 – Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda, Indian admiral (born 1915)[201]
- 2010 – Doris Eaton Travis, American dancer and vaudevillian (born 1904)[202]
- 2011 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (born 1977)[203]
- 2019 – Peggy Lipton, American actress, model, and singer (born 1946)[204]
- 2019 – Thomas Silverstein, American murderer (born 1952)[205]
- 2020 – Jerry Stiller, American comedian, actor (born 1927)[206]
- 2021 – Colt Brennan, American quarterback[207] (born 1983)
- 2021 – Norman Lloyd, American actor, producer and director (born 1914)[208]
- 2024 – Susan Backlinie, American actress and stuntwoman (born 1946)[209]
Holidays and observances
[edit]
