May 7 in History

Historical Events on May 7

351

The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out. After his arrival at Antioch, the Jews begin a rebellion in Palestine.
558

In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt.
1274

In France, the Second Council of Lyon opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
1487

The Siege of Málaga commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
1664

Louis XIV of France begins construction of the Palace of Versailles.
1685

Battle of Vrtijeljka between rebels and Ottoman forces.
1697

Stockholm's royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed by fire. It is replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.
1718

The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
1763

Pontiac's War begins with Pontiac's attempt to seize Fort Detroit from the British.
1794

French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic.
1824

World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer's supervision.
1832

Greece's independence is recognized by the Treaty of London.
1840

The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.
1846

The Cambridge Chronicle, America's oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts
1864

American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
1864

The world's oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide is launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
1895

In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector — a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
1915

World War I: German submarine U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many formerly pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire
1915

Japanese 21 Demands Ultimatum to China (Commemorated as National Day of Humiliation)
1920

Kiev Offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kiev only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
1920

Treaty of Moscow: Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
1920

The Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto, opens the first exhibition by the Group of Seven.
1928

The Jinan incident begins with Japanese forces killing the Chinese negotiating team in Jinan, China, and going on to kill over 2,000 Chinese civilians in the following days.
1930

The 7.1 Mw Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to three-thousand people were killed.
1937

Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco's forces.
1940

The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.
1942

During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō; the battle marks the first time in the naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
1945

World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany's participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day.
1946

Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with around 20 employees.
1948

The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
1952

The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
1954

Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Vietnamese victory (the battle began on March 13).
1960

Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.
1976

Honda Accord officially launched.
1986

Canadian Patrick Morrow becomes the first person to climb each of the Seven Summits.
1992

Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.
1992

The Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its first mission, STS-49.
1992

Three employees at a McDonald's Restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first "fast-food murder" in Canada.
1994

Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.
1998

Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion USD and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
1999

Kosovo War: Three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft apparently inadvertently bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.
1999

In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
2000

Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia.
2002

A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
2004

American businessman Nick Berg, is beheaded by Islamic militants. The act is recorded on videotape and released on the Internet.
2007

Israeli archaeologists discover the tomb of Herod the Great south of Jerusalem.

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