May 7 in History

Historical Events on May 7

1718 The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.

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.

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

1937 Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco's forces.

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.

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

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

2000 Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia.

2007 Israeli archaeologists discover the tomb of Herod the Great south of Jerusalem.

All Events

Famous Birthdays on May 7

1711 David Hume

1892 Josip Broz Tito

1901 Gary Cooper

1984 Kevin Owens

All Births

Famous Deaths on May 7

973 Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor

1940 George Lansbury

2011 Seve Ballesteros

2012 Dennis E. Fitch

All Deaths

Choose Another Date