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Human Rights Day (Vietnam), National Technology Day (India), Statehood Day (Minnesota) Pakistani general election, 2013 Salvador Dali, Cam Newton, Sabrina Carpenter, Andrés Iniesta, James Reid |
May 11 is the 131st day of the year (132nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 234 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday (58 in 400 years each) than on Saturday or Sunday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Thursday (56).
330 – Byzantium is renamed Nova Roma during a dedication ceremony, but it is more popularly referred to as Constantinople.
868 – A copy of the Diamond Sutra is printed in China, making it the oldest known dated printed book.
912 – Alexander becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
1310 – In France, fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake as heretics.
1502 – Christopher Columbus departs Cádiz on his fourth and final voyage to the Americas.
1647 – Peter Stuyvesant arrives in New Amsterdam to replace Willem Kieft as Director-General of New Netherland, the Dutch colonial settlement in present-day New York City.
1672 – Franco-Dutch War: Louis XIV of France invades the Netherlands.
1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: Battle of 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, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth lead an expedition to cross the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Their route opens up inland Australia for continued expansion throughout the 19th century.
1820 – HMS Beagle, the ship that will take Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage, is launched.
1833 – The Aberdeen-built brig Lady of the Lake struck an iceberg and sank off the coast of Newfoundland with the loss of up to 265 passengers and crew.
1846 – President James K. Polk asked for and received a Declaration of War against Mexico, starting the Mexican–American War
1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: 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, Virginia.
1867 – Luxembourg gains its independence.
1880 – Seven people are killed in the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a gun battle in California.
1889 – An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort results in the theft of over $28,000 and the award of two Medals of Honor.
1891 – The Ōtsu incident: Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Imperial Russia (later Nicholas II) suffers a critical head injury during a sword attack by Japanese policeman Tsuda Sanzō. He is rescued by Prince George of Greece and Denmark.
1894 – Pullman Strike: Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike in Illinois.
1907 – Thirty-two Shriners are killed when their chartered train derails at a switch near Surf Depot in Lompoc, California.
1910 – An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
1918 – The Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus is officially established.
1927 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded.
1942 – William Faulkner's collections of short stories, Go Down, Moses, is published.
1943 – World War II: American troops invade Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
1944 – World War II: The Allies begin a major offensive against the Axis powers on the Gustav Line.
1945 – World War II: Off the coast of Okinawa, the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill is hit by two kamikazes, killing 346 of its crew. Although badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the U.S. under its own power.
1946 – The United Malays National Organisation is created.
1949 – Siam officially changes its name to Thailand for the second time. The name had been in use since 1939 but was reverted in 1945.
1949 – Israel joins the United Nations.
1953 – The 1953 Waco tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado hits downtown Waco, Texas, killing 114.
1960 – In Buenos Aires, Argentina, four Israeli Mossad agents capture fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann who is living under the alias of Ricardo Klement.
1963 – Racist bombings in Birmingham, Alabama disrupt nonviolence in the Birmingham campaign and precipitate a crisis involving federal troops.
1970 – The Lubbock tornado, a F5 tornado, hits Lubbock, Texas, killing 26 and causing $250 million in damage.
1972 – The United States performs a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site, which was part of the series Operation Grommet and Operation Toggle.
1973 – Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg's charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times are dismissed.
1985 – Bradford City stadium fire: Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in a flash fire at Valley Parade football ground during a match against Lincoln City in Bradford, England.
1987 – Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
1995 – More than 170 countries extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
1995 - North American Release of Sega Saturn console system
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 Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades killing all 110 on board.
1996 – The 1996 Mount Everest disaster: on a single day eight people die during summit attempts on Mount Everest.
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.
1998 – India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran to include a thermonuclear device.
2000 – Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia.
2010 – David Cameron becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following talks between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to form the UK's first coalition government since World War II after elections produced a hung parliament.
2013 – Fifty-two people are killed in a bombing in Reyhanlı, Turkey.
2014 – Fifteen people are killed and 46 injured in Kinshasa in a stampede caused by tear gas being thrown into soccer stands by police officers attempting to defuse a hostile incident.
1014 – Anawrahta, founder of the Pagan Empire (d. 1077)
1366 – Anne of Bohemia (d. 1394)
1571 – Niwa Nagashige, Japanese daimyo (d. 1637)
1715 – Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach, German organist (d. 1739)
1715 – Ignazio Fiorillo, Italian composer and educator (d. 1787)
1720 – Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Münchhausen, the historical Baron Munchausen
1722 – Petrus Camper, Dutch physician, anatomist, and physiologist (d. 1789)
1733 – Princess Victoire of France (d. 1799)
1752 – Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German physician, physiologist, and anthropologist (d. 1840)
1771 – Laskarina Bouboulina, Greek commander (d. 1825)
1799 – John Lowell, Jr., American businessman and philanthropist, founded Lowell Institute (d. 1836)
1801 – Henri Labrouste, French architect and academic, designed the Sainte-Geneviève Library (d. 1875)
1811 – Chang and Eng Bunker, Thai-American conjoined twins (d. 1874)
1811 – Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, Swiss politician (d. 1893)
1817 – Fanny Cerrito, Italian ballerina and choreographer (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 – Isabelle Bogelot, French philanthropist (d. 1923)
1838 – Walter Goodman, English painter, illustrator, and author (d. 1912)
1852 – Charles W. Fairbanks, American journalist and politician, 26th United States Vice President (d. 1918)
1854 – Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (d. 1932)
1861 – Frederick Russell Burnham, American soldier and adventurer (d. 1947)
1869 – Archibald Warden, English tennis player (d. 1943)
1870 – Otto von Friesen, Swedish linguist and academic (d. 1942)
1871 – Frank Schlesinger, American astronomer and author (d. 1943)
1875 – Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (d. 1912)
1881 – Al Cabrera, Spanish-Cuban baseball player and manager (d. 1964)
1881 – Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1944)
1881 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (d. 1963)
1882 – Joseph Marx, Austrian composer, educator, and critic (d. 1964)
1888 – Irving Berlin, Belarusian-American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
1888 – Willis Augustus Lee, American admiral (d. 1945)
1889 – Paul Nash, British painter (d. 1946)
1890 – Willie Applegarth, English-American sprinter (d. 1958)
1890 – Helge Løvland, Norwegian decathlete (d. 1984)
1892 – Margaret Rutherford, English actress (d. 1972)
1894 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1991)
1895 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (d. 1978)
1895 – William Grant Still, American composer and conductor (d. 1978)
1896 – Josip Štolcer-Slavenski Croatian composer and academic (d. 1955)
1897 – Kurt Gerron, German actor and director (d. 1944)
1897 – Robert E. Gross, American businessman (d. 1961)
1899 – Paulino Masip, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1963)
1901 – Gladys Rockmore Davis, American painter (d. 1967)
1902 – Karl Pärsimägi, Estonian painter (d. 1942)
1903 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (d. 1993)
1904 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter and illustrator (d. 1989)
1907 – Rose Ausländer, Ukrainian-English poet and author (d. 1988)
1907 – Rip Sewell, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989)
1909 – Ellis R. Dungan, American director and producer (d. 2001)
1911 – Mitchell Sharp, Canadian economist and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Finance (d. 2004)
1911 – Phil Silvers, American actor and comedian (d. 1985)
1912 – Foster Brooks, American actor and comedian (d. 2001)
1912 – Saadat Hasan Manto, Indian-Pakistani author and screenwriter (d. 1955)
1913 – Robert Jungk, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1994)
1914 – Haroun Tazieff, French volcanologist and geologist (d. 1998)
1916 – Camilo José Cela, Spanish author and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
1918 – Richard Feynman, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
1920 – Denver Pyle, American actor and director (d. 1997)
1921 – Robin Barbour, Scottish minister and author (d. 2014)
1921 – Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, German politician (d. 2016)
1922 – Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera, Filipino lawyer and jurist
1924 – Eugene Dynkin, Russian-American mathematician and theorist (d. 2014)
1924 – Antony Hewish, English astronomer and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1925 – Edward J. King, American football player and politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2006)
1927 – Bernard Fox, British actor (d. 2016)
1927 – Mort Sahl, Canadian-American comedian and actor
1927 – Gene Savoy, American explorer, author, and scholar (d. 2007)
1928 – Yaacov Agam, Israeli sculptor
1928 – Andrew van der Bijl, Dutch missionary and author
1930 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist and academic, co-developed THE multiprogramming system (d. 2002)
1930 – Stanley Elkin, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1995)
1932 – Valentino Garavani, Italian fashion designer, founded Valentino SpA
1933 – Louis Farrakhan, American religious leader
1933 – Narendra Patel, Baron Patel, Tanzanian-English obstetrician, academic, and politician
1934 – Jim Jeffords, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 2014)
1934 – Arthur Labatt, Canadian businessman and academic
1935 – Francisco Umbral, Spanish journalist and author (d. 2007)
1936 – Carla Bley, American pianist, composer, and bandleader
1937 – Cheng Yen, Taiwanese Buddhist nun and philanthropist
1939 – Dante Tiñga, Filipino jurist and politician
1940 – Herbert Müller, Swiss race car driver (d. 1981)
1941 – Eric Burdon, English singer-songwriter, actor, and painter
1941 – Ian Redpath, Australian cricketer and coach
1943 – Nancy Greene, Canadian skier and politician
1944 – John Benaud, Australian cricketer
1945 – Floyd Adams Jr., American publisher and politician, 63rd Mayor of Savannah, Georgia (d. 2014)
1946 – Robert Jarvik, American cardiologist, developed the Artificial heart
1947 – Butch Trucks, American drummer
1948 – Jack Cantoni, French rugby player (d. 2013)
1948 – Nirj Deva, Sri Lankan-English politician
1950 – Jeremy Paxman, English journalist and author
1951 – Mike Slemen, English rugby player and educator
1951 – Ed Stelmach, Canadian farmer and politician, 13th Premier of Alberta
1952 – Shohreh Aghdashloo, Iranian-American actress
1952 – Frances Fisher, English-American actress
1952 – Warren Littlefield, American businessman
1952 – Mike Lupica, American journalist and author
1953 – David Gest, American concert promoter (d. 2016)
1954 – John Clayton, American journalist
1954 – John Gregory, English footballer and manager
1954 – Judith Weir, English composer and educator
1955 – John DeStefano, Jr., American politician, 49th Mayor of New Haven
1956 – Theresa Burke, Canadian journalist and producer
1956 – Alex Lester, English radio host
1957 – Mike Nesbitt, Northern Irish journalist and politician
1958 – Dan Ireland, American director and producer (d. 2016)
1958 – Nalliah Kumaraguruparan, Sri Lankan accountant and politician
1958 – Phil Smyth, Australian basketball player and coach
1958 – Walt Terrell, American baseball player
1959 – Martha Quinn, American radio and television host
1961 – Luis Felipe, Cuban gang leader, founded the Latin Kings
1961 – Cecile Licad, Filipino classical pianist
1962 – Steve Bono, American football player
1963 – Gunilla Carlsson, Swedish politician, 10th Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation
1963 – Roark Critchlow, Canadian-American actor
1963 – Masatoshi Hamada, Japanese comedian and actor
1963 – Natasha Richardson, English-American actress (d. 2009)
1964 – Tim Blake Nelson, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1964 – John Parrott, English snooker player and sportscaster
1964 – Bobby Witt, American baseball player
1964 – Floyd Youmans, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1965 – Greg Dulli, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1966 – Christoph Schneider, German drummer
1967 – Alberto García Aspe, Mexican footballer and manager
1968 – Wenn V. Deramas, Filipino director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1968 – Jeffrey Donovan, American actor
1969 – Mitch Healey, Australian rugby league player and coach
1969 – Simon Vroemen, Dutch runner
1970 – Harold Ford, Jr., American lawyer and politician
1970 – Jason Queally, English cyclist
1972 – Tomáš Dvořák, Czech decathlete and coach
1972 – Daniel Ornellas, South African bass player
1973 – Tsuyoshi Ogata, Japanese runner
1974 – Kevin Brown, English-Canadian ice hockey player
1974 – Stanley Gene, Papua New Guinean rugby league player and coach
1974 – Benoît Magimel, French actor
1974 – Darren Ward, English-Welsh footballer and coach
1975 – Francisco Cordero, Dominican-American baseball player
1977 – Janne Ahonen, Finnish ski jumper and race car driver
1977 – Gonzalo Colsa, Spanish footballer
1977 – Pablo Gabriel García, Uruguayan footballer
1977 – Victor Matfield, South African rugby player, coach, and sportscaster
1978 – Laetitia Casta, French model and actress
1978 – Perttu Kivilaakso, Finnish cellist and composer
1979 – Erin Lang, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1980 – Ernest Vardanean, Armenian-Moldovan political scientist and journalist
1980 – Kulap Vilaysack, American actress, comedian, and writer
1981 – Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player
1981 – Dusán Mukics, Slovene journalist, poet, and translator
1982 – Cory Monteith, Canadian actor and singer (d. 2013)
1983 – Matt Leinart, American football player
1983 – Steven Sotloff, American-Israeli journalist (d. 2014)
1984 – Andrés Iniesta, Spanish footballer
1985 – Sifow, Japanese singer
1986 – Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo, Brazilian footballer
1986 – Abou Diaby, French footballer
1986 – Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer
1987 – Albulena Haxhiu, Kosovo jurist and politician
1987 – Monica Roșu, Romanian gymnast
1988 – Jeremy Maclin American football player
1988 – Brad Marchand, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Ami Nakashima, Japanese singer and dancer
1989 – Giovani dos Santos, Mexican footballer
1989 – Cam Newton, American football player
1992 – Thibaut Courtois, Belgian footballer
1992 – DJ Sennett, American YouTube personality
1993 – Jirapong Meenapra, Thai sprinter
1993 – Maurice Harkless, American-Puerto Rican basketball player
1994 – Hagos Gebrhiwet, Ethiopian runner
1995 – Gelson Martins, Portuguese footballer
1999 – Sabrina Carpenter, American actress
912 – Leo VI the Wise, Byzantine emperor (b. 866)
1138 – William de Warenne, 2nd Earl of Surrey
1304 – Ghazan, Mongolian ruler (b. 1271)
1313 – Robert Winchelsey, archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1245)
1474 – John Stanberry, Bishop of Hereford
1610 – Matteo Ricci, Italian priest and mathematician (b. 1552)
1672 – Charles Seton, 2nd Earl of Dunfermline, Scottish politician (b. 1615)
1686 – Otto von Guericke, German physicist and politician (b. 1602)
1696 – Jean de La Bruyère, French philosopher and author (b. 1645)
1708 – Jules Hardouin-Mansart, French architect, designed the Château de Dampierre and Grand Trianon (b. 1646)
1723 – Jean Galbert de Campistron, French playwright and author (b. 1656)
1760 – Alaungpaya, Burmese king (b. 1714)
1777 – George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot, English politician (b. 1719)
1778 – William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1708)
1779 – John Hart, American lawyer and politician (b. 1711)
1812 – Spencer Perceval, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1762)
1848 – Tom Cribb, English boxer (b. 1781)
1849 – Juliette Récamier, French businesswoman (b. 1777)
1871 – John Herschel, English mathematician, astronomer, and chemist (b. 1792)
1878 – Henry Norris, English civil engineer (b. 1816)
1887 – Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist and academic (b. 1802)
1889 – John Cadbury, English businessman and philanthropist, founded the Cadbury Company (b. 1801)
1891 – Edmond Becquerel, French physicist and academic (b. 1820)
1916 – Max Reger, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1873)
1916 – Karl Schwarzschild, German astronomer and physicist (b. 1873)
1920 – James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1878)
1920 – William Dean Howells, American novelist, literary critic, and playwright (b. 1837)
1927 – Juan Gris, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1887)
1929 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak-American priest, architect, botanist, and painter (b. 1864)
1934 – Blaise Diagne, Senegalese-French soldier and politician (b. 1872)
1934 – Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1852)
1938 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (b. 1858)
1939 – Yevgeny Miller, Latvian-Russian general and politician (b. 1867)
1940 – Chujiro Hayashi, Japanese physician (b. 1880)
1954 – Sait Faik Abasıyanık, Turkish author and poet (b. 1906)
1955 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (b. 1874)
1960 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1874)
1963 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
1966 – Alfred Wintle, English lieutenant and author (b. 1897)
1967 – James E. Brewton, American painter (b. 1930)
1976 – Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect, designed Finlandia Hall and Paimio Sanatorium (b. 1898)
1979 – Lester Flatt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1914)
1981 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
1981 – Bob Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (Bob Marley and the Wailers) (b. 1945)
1985 – Chester Gould, American cartoonist, created Dick Tracy (b. 1900)
1986 – Fritz Pollard, American football player and coach (b. 1894)
1988 – Kim Philby, British-Soviet double agent (b. 1912)
1994 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1928)
1996 – Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigerian journalist and politician, 1st President of Nigeria (b. 1904)
1996 – Ademir Marques de Menezes, Brazilian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1922)
2000 – René Muñoz, Cuban-Mexican actor and screenwriter (b. 1938)
2001 – Douglas Adams, English novelist and screenwriter (b. 1952)
2002 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1905)
2002 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1912)
2002 – Bill Peet, American animator and screenwriter (b. 1915)
2003 – Noel Redding, English bass player (b. 1945)
2005 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (b. 1908)
2005 – Michalis Genitsaris, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1917)
2006 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer and actor (b. 1935)
2007 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (b. 1913)
2008 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (b. 1953)
2009 – Abel Goumba, Central African physician and politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1926)
2009 – Claudio Huepe, Chilean economist and politician, Chilean Minister Secretary-General of Government (b. 1939)
2009 – Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda, Indian admiral (b. 1915)
2010 – Doris Eaton Travis, American dancer and vaudevillian (b. 1904)
2010 – Emmanuel Ngobese, South African footballer (b. 1980)
2011 – Maurice Goldhaber, Ukrainian-American physicist and academic (b. 1911)
2011 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (b. 1977)
2012 – Jack Benaroya, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1921)
2012 – Tony DeZuniga, Filipino author and illustrator (b. 1932)
2014 – Reg Gasnier, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1939)
2014 – Martin Špegelj, Croatian general and politician, 2nd Croatian Minister of Defence (b. 1927)
2015 – Jef Geeraerts, Belgian author and playwright (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances
Christian feast day:
Abgar V of Edessa (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Anthimus of Rome
Anthony de Sant'Ana Galvão
Cyril and Methodius (Eastern Orthodox Church; commemoration, Anglican Communion)
Estelle of Saintes
Francis de Geronimo
Gangulphus of Burgundy
Majolus of Cluny
Mamertus, the first of the Ice Saints
Odilo of Cluny
May 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Whit Monday can fall, while June 14 is the latest; celebrated on the day after Pentecost (Christianity), and its related observances:
Azores Day (Azores)
Nisga'a Day, celebration of the effective date of the Nisga'a Final Agreement. (Nisga'a Nation)
National Technology Day (India)
Statehood Day (Minnesota)
Vietnam Human Rights Day (Vietnam)
May 11 Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
