May 11

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.

Events

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 – UMNO 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.
• 1967 – Andreas Papandreou, Greek economist and socialist politician, is imprisoned in Athens by the Greek military junta.
• 1968 – The Toronto Transit Commission opens the largest expansion of its Bloor–Danforth line, going to Scarborough in the East, and Etobicoke in the West.
• 1970 – The Lubbock Tornado, a F5 tornado, hits Lubbock, Texas, killing 26 and causing $250 million in damage.
• 1973 – Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times 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.
• 1987 – In Baltimore, Maryland, the first heart–lung transplant takes place. The surgery is performed by Dr. Bruce Reitz of the Stanford University School of Medicine.
• 1995 – More than 170 countries extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
• 1996 – After the aircraft's departure from Miami, Florida, 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 – At least 46 people are killed in a bombing in Reyhanlı, Turkey.
• 2014 – 15 people are killed and 46 injured in Kinshasa in a stampede caused by tear gas being thrown into the stand by police officers attempting to defuse a hostile incident.

Births

• 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 (d. 1787)
• 1720 – Baron Münchhausen, German captain (d. 1797)
• 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, 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 – Walter Goodman, English painter, illustrator, and author (d. 1912)
• 1852 – Charles W. Fairbanks, American 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 educator (d. 1942)
• 1871 – Frank Schlesinger, American astronomer (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 composer (d. 1989)
• 1888 – Willis Augustus Lee, American admiral (d. 1945)
• 1890 – Willie Applegarth, English sprinter (d. 1958)
• 1890 – Helge Løvland, Norwegian decathlete (d. 1984)
• 1890 – Woodall Rodgers, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of Dallas (d. 1961)
• 1892 – Margaret Rutherford, English actress (d. 1972)
• 1894 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1991)
• 1895 – William Grant Still, American composer and conductor (d. 1978)
• 1896 – Josip Štolcer-Slavenski Croatian composer (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)
• 1903 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (d. 1993)
• 1904 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter (d. 1989)
• 1907 – Rose Ausländer, German-English poet (d. 1988)
• 1907 – Rip Sewell, American baseball player (d. 1989)
• 1909 – Ellis R. Dungan, American director and producer (d. 2001)
• 1909 – Kurt Großkurth, German actor and singer (d. 1975)
• 1909 – Herbert Murrill, English organist and composer (d. 1952)
• 1911 – Mitchell Sharp, Canadian politician (d. 2004)
• 1911 – Phil Silvers, American actor (d. 1985)
• 1912 – Foster Brooks, American actor (d. 2001)
• 1912 – Saadat Hasan Manto, Indian-Pakistani author (d. 1955)
• 1913 – Robert Jungk, Austrian journalist (d. 1994)
• 1914 – Haroun Tazieff, French volcanologist and geologist (d. 1998)
• 1916 – Camilo José Cela, Spanish author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
• 1918 – Sheila Burnford, Scottish author (d. 1984)
• 1918 – Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
• 1918 – Desmond MacNamara, Irish painter, sculptor, and author (d. 2008)
• 1918 – Phil Rasmussen, American lieutenant (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Denver Pyle, American actor and director (d. 1997)
• 1921 – Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, German politician
• 1922 – Nestor Chylak, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1992)
• 1922 – Thelma Eisen, American baseball player and manager (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Ameurfina Melencio-Herrera, Filipino lawyer and jurist
• 1923 – Joan Moriarty, English nurse
• 1924 – Eugene Dynkin, Russian-American mathematician and theorist (d. 2014)
• 1924 – Helen Filarski, American baseball player (d. 2014)
• 1924 – Antony Hewish, English astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1924 – Ninfa Laurenzo, American businessman, founded Ninfa's (d. 2001)
• 1925 – Rhodes Boyson, English educator and politician (d. 2012)
• 1925 – William Glasser, American psychiatrist (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Edward J. King, American football player and politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2006)
• 1926 – Caesar Trunzo, American soldier and politician (d. 2013)
• 1927 – Bernard Fox, Welsh-American actor and singer
• 1927 – Mort Sahl, Canadian-American comedian and actor
• 1927 – Gene Savoy, American explorer, author, and scholar (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Yaacov Agam, Israeli sculptor
• 1928 – Marco Ferreri, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
• 1928 – Vern Rapp, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1928 – Andrew van der Bijl, Dutch missionary and author
• 1929 – Stan Kane, Scottish-Canadian actor and singer
• 1929 – Fernand Lindsay, Canadian organist and educator (d. 2009)
• 1930 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist, co-developed THE multiprogramming system (d. 2002)
• 1930 – Bud Ekins, American actor and stuntman (d. 2007)
• 1930 – William Honan, American journalist and author (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Valentino Garavani, Italian fashion designer, founded Valentino SpA
• 1932 – John Vasconcellos, American politician (d. 2014)
• 1933 – Louis Farrakhan, American religious leader
• 1933 – Narendra Patel, Baron Patel, Tanzanian-English obstetrician, academic, and politician
• 1933 – Zoran Radmilović, Serbian actor (d. 1985)
• 1934 – Jim Jeffords, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 2014)
• 1934 – Arthur Labatt, Canadian businessman and academic
• 1935 – Kit Lambert, English record producer and manager (d. 1981)
• 1935 – Doug McClure, American actor (d. 1995)
• 1935 – Chris Perrins, English biologist, ornithologist, and academic
• 1935 – Francisco Umbral, Spanish journalist an author (d. 2007)
• 1936 – Carla Bley, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (Jazz Composer's Orchestra)
• 1937 – Cheng Yen, Taiwanese Buddhist nun and philanthropist
• 1939 – Carlos Lyra, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1939 – Dante Tiñga, Filipino jurist and politician
• 1940 – Juan Downey, Chilean-American director and producer (d. 1993)
• 1941 – Eric Burdon, English singer-songwriter, actor, and painter (The Animals and War)
• 1941 – Graham Miles, English snooker player (d. 2014)
• 1941 – Ian Redpath, Australian cricketer
• 1942 – Rachel Billington, English author
• 1943 – Les Chadwick, English bass player (Gerry and the Pacemakers)
• 1943 – Clarence Ellis, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2014)
• 1943 – Nancy Greene, Canadian skier and politician
• 1943 – Matthew Lesko, American author
• 1945 – Floyd Adams, Jr., American publisher and politician, 63rd Mayor of Savannah, Georgia (d. 2014)
• 1946 – Valerie Grove, English journalist and author
• 1946 – Robert Jarvik, American cardiologist, developed the Artificial heart
• 1946 – Plume Latraverse, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1946 – David Varney, English civil servant
• 1947 – Butch Trucks, American drummer (The Allman Brothers Band, The 31st of February, and The Vikings)
• 1948 – Jack Cantoni, French rugby player (d. 2013)
• 1948 – Nirj Deva, Sri Lankan-English politician
• 1948 – Shigeru Izumiya, Japanese singer, actor, and poet
• 1950 – Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Indian actor and singer (d. 2014)
• 1950 – Dane Iorg, American baseball player
• 1950 – Jeremy Paxman, English journalist and author
• 1951 – Mike Slemen, English rugby player
• 1951 – Ed Stelmach, Canadian politician, 13th Premier of Alberta
• 1952 – Renaud, French singer-songwriter and actor
• 1952 – Shohreh Aghdashloo, Iranian-American actress
• 1952 – Frances Fisher, English-American actress
• 1952 – Mike Lupica, American journalist
• 1952 – Warren Littlefield, American businessman
• 1953 – David Gest, American concert promoter
• 1953 – Celine Lomez, Canadian actress and singer
• 1954 – John Clayton, American journalist
• 1954 – John Gregory, English footballer and manager
• 1954 – Lubomir Stoykov, Bulgarian journalist
• 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, Irish journalist and politician
• 1957 – Peter North, Canadian-American porn actor, director, and producer
• 1958 – Christian Brando, American actor (d. 2008)
• 1958 – Dan Ireland, American director and producer
• 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
• 1960 – Gildor Roy, Canadian actor
• 1960 – Jürgen Schult, German discus thrower
• 1961 – Luis Felipe, Cuban gang leader, founded the Latin Kings
• 1961 – Kimberly McCarthy, American murderer (d. 2013)
• 1963 – Gunilla Carlsson, Swedish politician
• 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
• 1964 – Katie Wagner, American journalist
• 1964 – Bobby Witt, American baseball player
• 1964 – Floyd Youmans, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1965 – Monsour del Rosario, Filipino martial artist and actor
• 1965 – Stefano Domenicali, Italian race car driver and manager
• 1965 – Greg Dulli, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Twilight Singers, The Afghan Whigs, and The Gutter Twins)
• 1966 – Julian Joseph, English pianist and composer
• 1966 – Christoph Schneider, German drummer (Rammstein and Feeling B)
• 1967 – Alberto García Aspe, Mexican footballer and manager
• 1968 – Jeffrey Donovan, American actor, director, and producer
• 1969 – Simon Vroemen, Dutch runner
• 1970 – Harold Ford, Jr., American politician
• 1970 – Nicky Katt, American actor
• 1970 – Jason Queally, English cyclist
• 1972 – Tomáš Dvořák, Czech decathlete
• 1972 – Amanda Freitag, American chef
• 1972 – Anita Hegh, Australian actress
• 1972 – Daniel Ornellas, South African bass player (Tree63)
• 1973 – Tsuyoshi Ogata, Japanese runner
• 1974 – Kevin Brown, English-Canadian ice hockey player
• 1974 – Stanley Gene, Papua New Guinean rugby player and coach
• 1974 – Billy Kidman, American wrestler, trainer, and producer
• 1974 – Benoît Magimel, French actor
• 1974 – Darren Ward, English-Welsh footballer and coach
• 1975 – Coby Bell, American actor and producer
• 1975 – Francisco Cordero, Dominican-American baseball player
• 1975 – Ziad Jarrah, Lebanese terrorist, hijacker of United Airlines Flight 93 (d. 2001)
• 1976 – Sahlene, Swedish singer
• 1977 – Janne Ahonen, Finnish ski jumper
• 1977 – Gonzalo Colsa, Spanish footballer
• 1977 – Pablo Gabriel García, Uruguayan footballer
• 1977 – Victor Matfield, South African rugby player
• 1978 – Laetitia Casta, French model and actress
• 1978 – Perttu Kivilaakso, Finnish cellist and composer (Apocalyptica)
• 1979 – Erin Lang, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1979 – Vytautas Žiūra, Lithuanian-Austrian handball player
• 1980 – Guji Lorenzana, American-Filipino actor and singer
• 1980 – Ernest Vardanean, Armenian-Moldovan journalist
• 1981 – Lauren Jackson, Australian basketball player
• 1981 – Dusán Mukics, Slovene journalist
• 1981 – Austin O'Brien, American actor
• 1981 – Daniel Ortmeier, American baseball player
• 1982 – Jonathan Jackson, American actor, singer, and guitarist (Enation)
• 1982 – Cory Monteith, Canadian actor and singer (d. 2013)
• 1982 – Andrew Walter, American football player
• 1983 – Matt Leinart, American football player
• 1983 – Daizee Haze, American wrestler
• 1983 – Steven Sotloff, American-Israeli journalist (d. 2014)
• 1983 – Holly Valance, Australian actress and singer
• 1983 – Hanna Verboom, Belgian-Dutch actress
• 1983 – Frédéric Xhonneux, Belgian decathlete
• 1984 – John Bowie, American football player
• 1984 – Gerald Clayton, Dutch-American pianist and composer (The Clayton Brothers)
• 1984 – Andrés Iniesta, Spanish footballer
• 1984 – Marvin Wijks, Dutch footballer
• 1985 – Sifow, Japanese singer
• 1985 – Matt Giraud, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1985 – Beau Ryan, Australian rugby player
• 1986 – Abou Diaby, French footballer
• 1986 – Ronny Heberson Furtado de Araújo, Brazilian footballer
• 1986 – Manuel Schenkhuizen, Dutch gamer
• 1986 – Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer
• 1987 – Albulena Haxhiu, Kosovo Albanian politician
• 1987 – Justin King, American football player
• 1987 – Louis Murphy, American football player
• 1987 – Monica Roşu, Romanian gymnast
• 1988 – Ace Hood, American rapper
• 1988 – Marcel Kittel, German cyclist
• 1988 – Jeremy Maclin, American football player
• 1988 – Brad Marchand, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1989 – Gianluigi Bianco, Italian footballer
• 1989 – Giovani dos Santos, Mexican footballer
• 1989 – Emma Helistén, Finnish tennis player
• 1989 – Cam Newton, American football player
• 1991 – Alex Nimely, Liberian-English footballer
• 1992 – Pierre-Ambroise Bosse, French runner
• 1992 – Thibaut Courtois, Belgian footballer
• 1993 – Jirapong Meenapra, Thai sprinter
• 1994 – Hagos Gebrhiwet, Ethiopian runner
• 1996 – Valeria Patiuk, Israeli tennis player
• 1999 – Sabrina Carpenter, American actress and singer

Deaths

• 912 – Leo VI the Wise, Byzantine emperor (b. 866)
• 1304 – Ghazan, Mongolian ruler (b. 1271)
• 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 (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 (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 politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1708)
• 1779 – John Hart, American politician (b. 1711)
• 1812 – Spencer Perceval, English 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)
• 1887 – Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist (b. 1802)
• 1889 – John Cadbury, English businessman and philanthropist, founded the Cadbury Company (b. 1801)
• 1891 – A. E. Becquerel, French physicist (b. 1820)
• 1915 – Arthur Hussey, American golfer (b. 1882)
• 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 author and critic (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 politician (b. 1872)
• 1934 – Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist (b. 1852)
• 1938 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer (b. 1858)
• 1939 – Yevgeny Miller, Latvian-Russian general (b. 1867)
• 1940 – Chujiro Hayashi, Japanese physician (b. 1880)
• 1955 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (b. 1874)
• 1960 – John D. Rockefeller, Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1874)
• 1963 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
• 1966 – Alfred Wintle, English lieutenant and author (b. 1897)
• 1967 – James E. Brewton, American painter (b. 1930)
• 1970 – Johnny Hodges, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1906)
• 1972 – Michael Blassie, American lieutenant (b. 1948)
• 1973 – Lex Barker, American actor (b. 1919)
• 1976 – Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect, designed Finlandia Hall and Paimio Sanatorium (b. 1898)
• 1979 – Lester Flatt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Foggy Mountain Boys and Nashville Grass) (b. 1914)
• 1981 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist, 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 – Alexander Akimov, Ukrainian Chernobyl worker (b. 1953)
• 1986 – Henry Plumer McIlhenny, American philanthropist (b. 1910)
• 1986 – Fritz Pollard, American football player and coach (b. 1894)
• 1988 – Kim Philby, Indian-English spy (b. 1912)
• 1990 – Stratos Dionysiou, Greek singer (b. 1935)
• 1994 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1928)
• 1996 – Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigerian journalist and politician, 1st President of Nigeria (b. 1904)
• 1996 – Rodney Culver, American football player (b. 1969)
• 1996 – Rob Hall, New Zealand mountaineer (b. 1961)
• 1996 – Walter Hyatt, American singer-songwriter (Uncle Walt's Band) (b. 1949)
• 1996 – Candi Kubeck, American captain and pilot (b. 1961)
• 1996 – Ademir Marques de Menezes, Brazilian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1922)
• 1996 – Yasuko Namba, Japanese mountaineer (b. 1949)
• 1996 – Sam Ragan, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
• 1997 – Ernie Fields, American trombonist, pianist, and bandleader (b. 1905)
• 1999 – Giorgos Kappis, Greek actor (b. 1929)
• 2000 – René Muñoz, Cuban-Mexican actor and screenwriter (b. 1938)
• 2000 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (b. 1907)
• 2001 – Douglas Adams, English author 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 (The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Road, Fat Mattress, and The Noel Redding Band) (b. 1945)
• 2004 – Mick Doyle, Irish rugby player and coach (b. 1941)
• 2004 – John Whitehead, American singer-songwriter and producer (McFadden & Whitehead) (b. 1949)
• 2005 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian politician (b. 1908)
• 2005 – Michalis Genitsaris, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1917)
• 2006 – Yossi Banai, Israeli singer and actor (b. 1932)
• 2006 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer (b. 1935)
• 2006 – Frankie Thomas, American actor (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Bernard Gordon, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (b. 1913)
• 2008 – Bruno Neves, Portuguese cyclist (b. 1981)
• 2008 – Dottie Rambo, American singer-songwriter (The Rambos) (b. 1934)
• 2008 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (Rush) (b. 1953)
• 2009 – Pat Booth, English model, photographer, and author (b. 1943)
• 2009 – Lude Check, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1917)
• 2009 – Abel Goumba, Central African politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1926)
• 2009 – Claudio Huepe, Chilean economist and politician (b. 1939)
• 2009 – Bill Kelso, American baseball player (b. 1940)
• 2009 – Mark Landon, American actor (b. 1948)
• 2009 – Shanthi Lekha, Sri Lankan actress (b. 1929)
• 2009 – Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda, Indian admiral (b. 1915)
• 2009 – Leonard Shlain, American surgeon and author (b. 1937)
• 2010 – Robert H. Burris, American biochemist and educator (b. 1914)
• 2010 – Doris Eaton Travis, American actress and dancer (b. 1904)
• 2010 – John Fugh, Chinese-American general (b. 1934)
• 2010 – Brian Gibson, English footballer (b. 1928)
• 2010 – Timothy Grubb, English horse rider (b. 1954)
• 2010 – Maciej Kozłowski, Polish actor (b. 1957)
• 2010 – Richard LaMotta, American chef and businessman, created the Chipwich (b. 1942)
• 2010 – Bud Mahurin, American colonel and pilot (b. 1918)
• 2010 – Emmanuel Ngobese, South African footballer (b. 1980)
• 2010 – Jeff Shaw, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 49th Attorney General of New South Wales (b. 1949)
• 2011 – Maurice Goldhaber, Ukrainian-American physicist (b. 1911)
• 2011 – Leo Kahn, American businessman, co-founded Staples Inc. (b. 1916)
• 2011 – Reach Sambath, Cambodian journalist (b. 1964)
• 2011 – Elisabeth Svendsen, English activist, founded The Donkey Sanctuary (b. 1930)
• 2011 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (b. 1977)
• 2011 – Glyn Williams, Welsh footballer (b. 1918)
• 2011 – Snooky Young, American trumpet player (The Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and Count Basie Orchestra) (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Alma Bella, Filipino actress (b. 1910)
• 2012 – Jack Benaroya, American real estate developer and philanthropist (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Patrick Bosch, Dutch footballer (b. 1964)
• 2012 – Tony DeZuniga, Filipino illustrator (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Frank Wills, American baseball player (b. 1958)
• 2013 – Johnny Bos, American boxer and author (b. 1952)
• 2013 – Jack Butler, American football player (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Mike Davison, American baseball player (b. 1945)
• 2013 – Joe Farman, English physicist (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Ollie Mitchell, American trumpet player (The Wrecking Crew) (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Lenny Yochim, American baseball player (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Arnold Peters, English actor (b. 1925)
• 2014 – Thelma Eisen, American baseball player and manager (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Ed Gagliardi, American bass player (Foreigner) (b. 1952)
• 2014 – Reg Gasnier, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Barbara Knudson, American actress (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Jeb Stuart Magruder, American minister and civil servant (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Martin Špegelj, Croatian general and politician, 2nd Minister of Defence of Croatia (b. 1927)
• 2014 – Harry Stopes-Roe, English philosopher (b. 1924)

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)
  • Francis of Girolama
  • 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)
• Nisga'a Day, celebration of the effective date of the Nisga'a Final Agreement. (Nisga'a Nation)
• One of the three days of the Feast of the Lemures. (Roman Empire)
• National Technology Day (India)
• Statehood Day (Minnesota)
• Vietnam Human Rights Day (Vietnam)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada