May 11 in recent years
2009 (Monday)
2008 (Sunday)
2007 (Friday)
2006 (Thursday)
2005 (Wednesday)
2004 (Tuesday)
2003 (Sunday)
2002 (Saturday)
2001 (Friday)
2000 (Thursday)
May 11 leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 233 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events [ ] 330 - Byzantium is renamed Nova Roma Constantinople .1310 - 54 members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake in France for being heretics.1502 - Christopher Columbus leaves for his fourth and final voyage to the West Indies .1745 - War of Austrian Succession : Battle of Fontenoy – At Fontenoy , French forces defeat an Anglo -Dutch -Hanoverian army.1792 - Captain Robert Gray becomes the first documented white person to sail into the Columbia River .1812 - Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons , London .1813 - In Australia , Lawson , Blaxland and Wentworth , lead an expedition westwards from Sydney . Their route opens up inland Australia for continued expansion throughout the 19th century.1818 - Charles XIV of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Sweden .1820 - Launch of HMS Beagle the ship that took young Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage.1841 - Lt. Charles Wilkes lands at Fort Nisqually in Puget Sound .1857 - Indian Mutiny : Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British .1858 - Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd U.S. state .1862 - American Civil War : The ironclad CSS Virginia is scuttled in the James River northwest of Norfolk .1864 - American Civil War : Battle of Yellow Tavern – Confederate General JEB Stuart is mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern .1867 - Luxembourg gains its independence .1891 - Otsu Scandal .1894 - Pullman Strike : Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike in Illinois .1907 - A derailment outside Lompoc kills 32 Shriners when their chartered train jumps off the tracks at a switch near Surf Depot.1910 - An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana .1911 - The United States becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty .1918 - The Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus was officially established.1924 - Mercedes-Benz formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging the two companies.1927 - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded.1934 - Dust Bowl : A strong two-day dust storm removes massive amounts of Great Plains topsoil in one of the worst dust storms of the Dust Bowl in North America .1942 - William Faulkner 's collections of short stories, Go Down 1943 - World War II : American troops invade Attu in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.1944 - World War II : The Allies start a major offensive against the Axis Powers on the Gustav Line .1946 - UMNO is created.1949 - Siam officially changes its name to Thailand , a name in use since 1939.1949 - Israel joins the United Nations .
1953 - The Waco Tornado : An F5 tornado hits downtown Waco , killing 114.1960 - In Buenos Aires , Argentina , four Israeli Mossad agents capture fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann , living under the assumed name Ricardo Klement .1960 - The first contraceptive pill is made available on the market.
1964 - Terence Conran opened the first Habitat store on London 's Fulham Road .1966 - Henry "Dickie" Marrow is murdered in a violent racially-motivated crime in Oxford, N.C. .1967 - Andreas Papandreou is imprisoned in Athens by the Greek military junta.1969 - Vietnam War : Operation Apache Snow – Near the Laos border, American and South Vietnamese forces fight North Vietnamese troops for Ap Bia Mountain (aka Hill 937 or "Hamburger Hill ").1970 - The Lubbock Tornado : An F5 tornado hits downtown Lubbock , killing 26.1970 - The Beatles song "The Long and Winding Road" is released as a single in the United States. It becomes the group's last number one single in that country.
1973 - Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has his charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times 1984 - A transit of Earth from Mars takes place.1985 - 56 spectators die when a flash fire strikes a football ground during a match in Bradford .1987 - Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II .1987 - The first heart -lung transplant takes place (Baltimore ). The surgery is performed by Dr. Bruce Reitz , of Stanford University School of Medicine .
1995 - In New York City , more than 170 countries decide to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.1996 - After taking-off from Miami , a fire started by improperly handled oxygen canisters in the cargo hold of Atlanta -bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades killing all 110 on board.1997 - IBM 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 .1998 - India conducts three underground nuclear tests in Pokhran , including a thermonuclear device.1998 - An election is held in the Philippines where actor Joseph Estrada emerged as winner for President .
2000 - Last performance of the musical Cats in London 's West End .2002 - Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet of the Netherlands unveiled the Man With Two Hats monument in Ottawa (May 11, 2002) and Apeldoorn (May 2 ), 2000 , symbolically linking both Netherlands and Canada for their assistance throughout the Second World War .2004 - The Stockline Plastics factory explosion in Glasgow kills nine people.2007 - Pope Benedict XVI canonizes the first Brazilian -born saint , Frei Galvão .Births [ ] 1571 - Niwa Nagashige , Japanese warlord (d. 1637 )1720 - Karl Friedrich Hieronymus Freiherr von Münchhausen , German adventurer (d. 1797 )1722 - Petrus Camper , Dutch anatomist (d. 1789 )1733 - Victoire of France , daughter of king Louis XV (d. 1799 )1752 - Johann Friedrich Blumenbach , German anthropologist (d. 1840 )1763 - János Batsányi , Hungarian poet (d. 1845 )1799 - John Lowell , American philanthropist (d. 1836 )1801 - Henri Labrouste , French architect (d. 1875 )1811 - Chang and Eng Bunker , famous conjoined twins (d. 1874 )1811 - Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel , member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1893 )
1817 - Fanny Cerrito , Italian ballet dancer (d. 1909 )1824 - Jean-Léon Gérôme , French painter and sculptor (d. 1904 )1827 - Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux , French sculptor and painter (d. 1875 )1835 - Kārlis Baumanis , Latvian composer (d. 1905 )1838 - Walter Goodman , British painter, illustrator and author (d. 1912 )1852 - Charles W. Fairbanks , United States Vice President (d. 1918 )1854 - Jack Blackham , Australian cricketer (d. 1932 )1861 - Frederick Russell Burnham , father of the international scouting movement (d. 1947 )1871 - Stjepan Radic , Croatian politician (d. 1928 )1871 - Frank Schlesinger , American astronomer (d. 1943 )
1875 - Harriet Quimby , American aviator (d. 1912 )1881 - Theodore von Kármán , Hungarian physicist (d. 1963 )1881 - Al Cabrera , Spanish-born Cuban baseball player (d. 1964 )
1887 - Paul Wittgenstein , Austrian-born pianist (d. 1961 )1888 - Irving Berlin , American composer (d. 1989 )1888 - Willis A. Lee , World War II U.S. naval admiral (d. 1945 )
1890 - Woodall Rodgers , mayor of Dallas (d. 1961 )1892 - Margaret Rutherford , English actress (d. 1972 )1894 - Martha Graham , American dancer and choreographer (d. 1991 )1895 - Jiddu Krishnamurti , Indian philosopher (d. 1986 )1896 - Josip Štolcer-Slavenski Croatian composer (d. 1955 )1897 - Kurt Gerron , German director (d. 1944 )1897 - Robert E. Gross , American businessman (d. 1961 )
1899 - Paulino Masip , Spanish playwright (d. 1963 )1903 - Charlie Gehringer , American baseball player (d. 1993 )1904 - Salvador Dalí , Spanish painter (d. 1989 )1907 - Rose Ausländer , German poet (d. 1988 )1907 - Rip Sewell , American baseball player (d. 1989 )
1909 - Ellis R Dungan , American born Indian film director (d. 2001 )1909 - Herbert Murrill , English composer (d. 1952 )
1911 - Phil Silvers , American actor and comedian (d. 1985 )1911 - Mitchell Sharp , Canadian politician (d. 2004 )
1912 - Foster Brooks , American actor and comedian (d. 2001 )1913 - Robert Jungk , Austrian publicist (d. 1994 )1914 - Haroun Tazieff , French volcanologist (d. 1998 )1916 - Camilo José Cela , Spanish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 2002 )1918 - Richard Feynman , American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1988 )1921 - Hildegard Hamm-Brücher , German politician1922 - Nestor Chylak , American baseball umpire (d. 1992 )1924 - Antony Hewish , English radio astronomer, Nobel laureate 1924 - Eugene Dynkin , Russian mathematician
1927 - Mort Sahl , Canadian comedian and political commentator1927 - Gene Savoy , American author, explorer, scholar and cleric (d. 2007 )
1928 - Yaacov Agam , Israeli sculptor1928 - Brother Andrew , Dutch missionary1928 - Marco Ferreri , Italian film director and screenwriter (d. 1997 )
1930 - Edsger Dijkstra , Dutch computer scientist (d. 2002 )1930 - Bud Ekins , American stuntman (d. 2007 )
1933 - Louis Farrakhan , American Black Muslim leader1935 - Doug McClure , American actor (d. 1995 )1935 - Francisco Umbral , Spanish novelist (d. 2007 )
1936 - Carla Bley , American musician and composer1939 - Carlos Lyra , Brazilian musician1940 - Juan Downey , Chilean video artist (d. 1993 )1941 - Eric Burdon , British singer (The Animals )1941 - Graham Miles , English snooker player
1942 - Rachel Billington , British author1943 - Juliet Harmer , English actress1943 - Nancy Greene , Canadian alpine skier
1946 - Robert Jarvik , American physician and inventor1946 - Plume Latraverse , Quebec singer and musician
1947 - Butch Trucks , American drummer (The Allman Brothers Band )1948 - Shigeru Izumiya , Japanese folk musician1948 - Nirj Deva , Sri Lankan-British politician
1950 - Jeremy Paxman , British journalist and author1950 - Dane Iorg , American baseball player
1952 - Renaud Séchan , French composer1952 - Mike Lupica , American sports journalist
1952 - Shohreh Aghdashloo , Iranian actress
1952 - Frances Fisher , English-born actress
1953 - David Gest , American television producer1953 - Céline Lomez , Quebec singer and actress
1954 - Lubomir Stoykov , Bulgarian journalist and broadcaster1954 - John Gregory , English football manager
1955 - John DeStefano , American politician1956 - Theresa Burke , Canadian journalist1956 - Alex Lester , British broadcaster
1957 - Peter North , Canadian porn star1958 - Walt Terrell , American baseball player1958 - Phil Smyth , Australian basketball player
1959 - Martha Quinn , American television personality1963 - Natasha Richardson , English-born actress1963 - Gunilla Carlsson , Swedish politician
1964 - John Parrott , English snooker player1964 - Katie Wagner , American television reporter
1964 - Floyd Youmans , American professional baseball player
1965 - Greg Dulli , American musician1966 - Christoph Schneider , German drummer (Rammstein )1970 - Nicky Katt , American actor1972 - Anita Hegh , Australian actress1973 - James Haven , American actor1974 - Kevin Brown , English-born Canadian ice hockey player1974 - Billy Kidman , American professional wrestler
1974 - Benoît Magimel , French actor
1974 - Darren Ward , Welsh footballer
1975 - Francisco Cordero , American baseball player1977 - Janne Ahonen , Finnish ski jumper1977 - Gonzalo Colsa , Spanish footballer
1977 - Pablo García , Uruguayan footballer
1977 - Victor Matfield , South African rugby player
1977 - Matthew Newton , Australian actor
1978 - Laetitia Casta , French supermodel and actress1979 - Erin Lang , Canadian musician1981 - Lauren Jackson , Australian basketball player1981 - Dan Ortmeier , American baseball player
1982 - Jonathan Jackson , American actor1982 - Andrew Walter , American football player
1983 - Matt Leinart , American football player1983 - Holly Valance , Australian-born actress and singer
1984 - Andres Iniesta , Spanish football player1985 - sifow , Japanese pop star and business woman1986 - Abou Diaby , French footballer1986 - Ronny , Brazilian footballer
1987 - Justin King , American football player1987 - Monica Roşu , Romanian gymnast
1989 - Giovanni dos Santos , Mexican footballerDeaths [ ] 912 - Leo VI , Byzantine Emperor (b. 866 )1304 - Mahmud Ghazan , Mongol ruler (b. 1271 )1610 - Matteo Ricci , Italian Jesuit missionary (b. 1552 )1672 - Charles Seton , English royalist (b. 1615 )1708 - Jules Hardouin Mansart , French architect (b. 1646 )1723 - Jean Galbert de Campistron , French dramatist (b. 1656 )1777 - George Pigot , British governor of Madras (b. 1719 )1778 - William Pitt, the Elder , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1708 )1812 - Spencer Perceval , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (assassinated) (b. 1762 )1848 - Tom Cribb , English boxer (b. 1781 )1849 - Jeanne Françoise Julie Adélaïde Récamier , French socialite (b. 1777 )1871 - John Herschel , British mathematician and astronomer (b. 1792 )1887 - Jean Baptiste Boussingault , French chemist (b. 1802 )1891 - A. E. Becquerel , French physicist (b. 1820 )1916 - Max Reger , German composer (b. 1873 )1916 - Karl Schwarzschild , German astronomer and physicist (b. 1873 )
1920 - William Dean Howells , American writer (b. 1837 )1929 - Jozef Murgaš , Slovak inventor (b. 1864 )1934 - Orest Khvolson , Russian physicist (b. 1852 )1938 - Evgenii Miller , Russian counter-revolutionary (b. 1867 )1955 - Gilbert Jessop , English cricketer (b. 1874 )1960 - John D. Rockefeller , American philanthropist (b. 1874 )1963 - Herbert Spencer Gasser , American physiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1888 )1970 - Johnny Hodges , American musician (b. 1907 )1973 - Lex Barker , American actor (b. 1919 )1976 - Alvar Aalto , Finnish architect (b. 1898 )1979 - Lester Flatt , American bluegrass musician (b. 1914 )1981 - Odd Hassel , Norwegian chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1897 )1981 - Bob Marley , Jamaican singer and musician (b. 1945 )
1985 - Chester Gould , American cartoonist (b. 1900 )1986 - Henry P. McIlhenny , American philanthropist (b. 1910 )1986 -Fritz Pollard , American football player (b. 1894 )
1988 - Kim Philby , British spy (b. 1912 )1996 - Ademir Marques de Menezes , Brazilian footballer (b. 1922 )2000 - Paula Wessely , Austrian actress (b. 1907 )2001 - Douglas Adams , English author (b. 1952 )2002 - Joseph Bonanno , Italian-born gangster (b. 1905 )2002 - Renaude Lapointe , French Canadian journalist and senator (b. 1912 )
2003 - Noel Redding , English bassist (The Jimi Hendrix Experience ) (b. 1945 )2004 - Mick Doyle , Irish international rugby player and coach2004 - John Whitehead , American singer (McFadden & Whitehead ) (b. 1949 )
2005 - Michalis Genitsaris , Greek rebetiko singer and composer (b. 1917 )2006 - Floyd Patterson , American boxer (b. 1935 )2006 - Frankie Thomas , American actor (b. 1921 )
2006 - Yossi Banai , Israeli singer (b. 1932 )
2007 - Malietoa Tanumafili II , Sovereign Ruler of Samoa (b. 1913 )2007 - Bernard Gordon , blacklisted American author . (b. 1918 ) Holidays and observances [ ] Religious Observances [ ] References [ ]
^ Holweck, F. G. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints . St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924.
External links [ ]
143 Familypedia people were born on May 11
138 Familypedia people died on May 11
111 Familypedia people were first married on May 11