Today in history...
May 7 1915
The ocean liner Lusitania is torpedoed by German submarine U-20 off the coast of Ireland. The ship goes under in just 18 minutes. In their panic, the crew only manages to launch 6 of the 48 lifeboats. As a result 1,201 are killed. Contrary to published reports of the time, the passenger ship was smuggling 3,863 boxes of ammunition and 323 bundles of guncotton into Britain.
May 7 1945
German admiral Carl Doenitz unconditionally surrenders to Allied forces at Reims, France, thus ending the war in Europe.
May 7 1959
Small-time boxing promoter Don King is arrested in Cleveland on suspicion of drug dealing. His criminal record includes a 1955 arrest for arson, a 1954 arrest for murder, and others.
May 7 2001
Ronnie Biggs, England's escaped "Great Train Robber," returns to face the music after 35 years as a fugitive. After serving just fifteen months of a 30-year sentence, Biggs escaped from prison and fled to Brazil, where he avoided extradition by fathering the baby of a 19-year-old stripper. Partially paralyzed by a couple of strokes, Biggs returns to England for one last pint of beer before he dies. Instead he is taken into custody at Heathrow airport and promptly sent to Belmarsh prison to serve out the remainder of his sentence.
Birthdays today...
* 1328 – Louis VI the Roman, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1365)
* 1530 – Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, French Huguenot general (d. 1569)
* 1643 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician (d. 1700)
* 1700 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-born physician (d. 1772)
* 1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, Austrian general (d. 1797)
* 1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian general (d. 1814)
* 1748 – Olympe de Gouges, playwright and feminist revolutionary (d. 1793)
* 1763 – Józef Antoni Poniatowski, Polish prince (d. 1813)
* 1767 – Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia, Duchess of York and Albany (d. 1820)
* 1774 – William Bainbridge, American Commodore (d. 1833)
* 1787 – Jacques Viger, French Canadian politician, first mayor of Montreal (d. 1858)
* 1812 – Robert Browning, English poet (d. 1889)
* 1833 – Johannes Brahms, German composer (d. 1897)
* 1836 – Joseph Gurney Cannon, American politician (d. 1926)
* 1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (d. 1893)
* 1847 – Archibald Primrose, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1929)
* 1857 – William A. MacCorkle, American politician (d. 1930)
* 1861 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1941)
* 1867 – Władysław Reymont, Polish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1925)
* 1882 – Willem Elsschot, Flemish writer (d. 1960)
* 1885 – George 'Gabby' Hayes, American actor (d. 1969)
* 1891 – Harry McShane, Scottish socialist (d. 1988)
* 1892 – Archibald MacLeish, American Librarian of Congress (d. 1982)
* 1892 – Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980)
* 1893 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey manager (d. 1985)
* 1896 – Pavel Sergeevich Alexandrov, Russian mathematician (d. 1982)
* 1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor (d. 1961)
* 1909 – Edwin H. Land, American inventor (d. 1991)
* 1911 – Ishiro Honda, Japanese film director (d. 1993)
* 1912 – Pannalal Patel, Gujarati author (d. 1989)
* 1914 – Sir Arthur Snelling, British Ambassador (d. 1996)
* 1916 – Huw Wheldon, British broadcaster (d. 1986)
* 1917 – David Tomlinson, English film actor (d. 2000)
* 1919 – Eva Peron, Argentine first lady (d. 1952)
* 1922 – Lew Anderson, American actor and bandleader (d. 2006)
* 1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor (d. 2006)
* 1922 – Joe O'Donnell, American documentary photographer, photojournalist (d. 2007)
* 1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
* 1924 – Albert Band, American film director (d. 2002)
* 1927 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German screenwriter
* 1927 – Jim Lowe, American singer
* 1929 – Babe Parilli, American football player
* 1929 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, manager and coach
* 1930 – Totie Fields, American comedienne (d. 1978)
* 1931 – Teresa Brewer, American pop and jazz singer (d. 2007)
* 1932 – Pete Domenici, Republican senator from New Mexico
* 1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player (d. 2002)
* 1933 – Nexhmije Pagarusha, Albanian singer
* 1935 – Isobel Warren, Canadian author
* 1937 – Claude Raymond, Quebec baseball player
* 1939 – Sidney Altman, Canadian molecular biologist, Nobel laureate
* 1939 – Ruud Lubbers, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
* 1939 – Johnny Maestro, American pop singer
* 1939 – Jimmy Ruffin, American singer
* 1939 – Ruggero Deodato, Italian film director, actor and screen writer
* 1940 – Angela Carter, English novelist and journalist (d. 1992)
* 1940 – Jim Connors, American Radio personality (d. 1987)
* 1941 – Catherine P. Saxton, British-born American public relations executive
* 1943 – Terry Allen, American country music singer
* 1943 – Harvey Andrews, English singer and songwriter
* 1943 – Peter Carey, Australian author
* 1944 – Eva Norvind, Mexican actress (d. 2006)
* 1944 – Richard O'Sullivan, British actor
* 1945 – Christy Moore, Irish folk artist
* 1945 – Robin Strasser, American TV soap opera actress
* 1946 – Thelma Houston, American singer
* 1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer (Grateful Dead)
* 1946 – Brian Turner, English celebrity chef
* 1949 – Andrew Clements, American author
* 1950 – Randall 'Tex' Cobb, American boxer and actor
* 1950 – Tim Russert, American television host (d. 2008)
* 1951 – Robert Hegyes, American actor
* 1953 – Pat McInally, American National Football League player
* 1953 – Ian McKay, British soldier (VC recipient) (d. 1982)
* 1954 – Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
* 1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director
* 1955 – Ben Poquette, American basketball player
* 1955 – Peter Reckell, American actor
* 1955 – Kevin Reed, American theologian
* 1956 – Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
* 1956 – Anne Dudley, British composer
* 1956 – Jean Lapierre, Canadian politician and television host
* 1957 – Ray Fernandez, American wrestler (d. 2004)
* 1958 – Mark G. Kuzyk, American physicist
* 1959 – Barbara Yung Mei-ling, Hong Kong actress (d. 1985)
* 1959 – Michael E. Knight, American actor
* 1960 – Adam Bernstein, American music video/television director
* 1960 – Almudena Grandes, Spanish novelist
* 1961 – Phil Campbell, British musician (Motörhead)
* 1963 – Johnny Lee Middleton, American musician (Savatage & Trans-Siberian Orchestra)
* 1964 – Doug Benson, American comedian
* 1965 – Owen Hart, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 1999)
* 1965 – Norman Whiteside, Northern Irish Footballer
* 1967 – Joe Rice, legislator in the U.S. state of Colorado
* 1968 – Traci Lords, American actress
* 1969 – Eagle Eye Cherry, Swedish musician
* 1969 – Rick Porras, American co-producer
* 1970 – Kim Su-ro, South Korean actor
* 1971 – Horgh, (Reidar Horghagen) Norwegian drummer (Immortal/Hypocrisy)
* 1972 – Felix Da Housecat, American House music DJ and record producer
* 1972 – Frank Trigg, American Mixed Martial Arts Fighter
* 1973 – Kristian Lundin, Swedish songwriter
* 1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
* 1974 – Breckin Meyer, American actor
* 1974 – Ian Pearce, English footballer
* 1975 – Jason Tunks, Canadian track & field athlete
* 1975 – Nicole Sheridan, American porn star
* 1975 – Zee, American hip hop artist
* 1977 – Lisa Kelly, Irish singer
* 1977 – Patrick Johnson, American broadcaster
* 1978 – Brian Clevinger, American author
* 1978 – Stian Arnesen (Nagash/Lex Icon), Norwegian Black Metal musician
* 1978 – Shawn Marion, American basketball player
* 1979 – Katie Douglas, American basketball player
* 1980 – Muhammad Usman, Pakistani Software Engineer
* 1980 – Johan Kenkhuis, Dutch swimmer
* 1980 – Kate Lawler, English reality television personality and disc jockey
* 1982 – Akos Buzsaky, Hungarian Football player
* 1984 – Alex Smith, American football player
* 1984 – Drew Stanton, American football player
* 1984 – James Loney, American baseball player
* 1985 – Drew Neitzel, American college basketball player
* 1985 – Dan Sweetman, Australian Children's Television Host
* 1986 – Mark Furze, Australian actor
* 1986 – Matt Helders, English musician, drummer for Arctic Monkeys
* 1987 – Michael Maidens, English footballer (d. 2007)
* 1988 – Natalie Mejia, member of the American R&B/Pop group Girlicious
Famous deaths...
* 973 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 912)
* 1092 – Remigius de Fécamp, first bishop of Lincoln (b. unknown)
* 1427 – Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English churchman
* 1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German soldier (b. 1481)
* 1539 – Guru Nanak Dev, Founder of Sikhism (b. 1469)
* 1539 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (b. 1466)
* 1615 – Sanada Yukimura, Japanese samurai (b. 1567)
* 1617 – David Fabricius, German astronomer (b. 1564)
* 1667 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German composer (b. 1616)
* 1682 – Tsar Feodor III of Russia (b. 1661)
* 1718 – Mary of Modena, wife of James II of England (b. 1658)
* 1793 – Pietro Nardini, Italian composer (b. 1722)
* 1800 – Niccolo Piccinni, Italian composer (b. 1728)
* 1805 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1737)
* 1825 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer (b. 1750)
* 1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter (b. 1774)
* 1868 – Henry Peter Brougham, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1778)
* 1876 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman and author (b. 1795)
* 1887 – C. F. W. Walther, American Lutheran theologian (b. 1811)
* 1896 – H. H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett) , American serial killer (b. 1860)
* 1922 – Max Wagenknecht, German composer (b. 1857)
* 1925 – William Hesketh Lever, First Viscount Leverhulme (b. 1851)
* 1940 – George Lansbury, Labour Party Leader (b. 1859)
* 1941 – Sir James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist (b. 1854)
* 1942 – Felix Weingartner, Yugoslavian conductor (b. 1863)
* 1951 – Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)
* 1967 – Lorenzo Bandini, Italian Formula One driver (b. 1935)
* 1986 – Jeffrey Mylett, American actor (b. 1949)
* 1987 – Colin Blakely, British actor (b. 1930)
* 1989 – Guy Williams, American actor (b. 1924)
* 1995 – Ray McKinley, American jazz drummer, singer and bandleader (b. 1910)
* 1998 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South African physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1924)
* 1998 – Eddie Rabbitt, American musician (b. 1941)
* 2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American actor (b. 1909)
* 2002 – Seattle Slew, American racehorse (b. 1974)
* 2002 – Kevyn Aucoin, Makeup Artist and Photographer (b. 1962)
* 2004 – Waldemar Milewicz, Polish reporter (b. 1956)
* 2005 – Tristan Egolf, American writer (b. 1971)
* 2005 – Peter W. Rodino, American politician (b. 1909)
* 2005 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1980)
* 2006 – Richard Carleton, Australian news reporter (b. 1943)
* 2006 – Joan C. Edwards, American philanthropist (b. 1918)
* 2006 – Machiko Soga, Japanese actress (b. 1943)
* 2007 – Diego Corrales, American boxer (b. 1977)
* 2007 – Octavian Paler, Romanian writer and journalist (b. 1926)
* 2007 – Yahweh ben Yahweh, American cult leader (b. 1935)
* 2009 – Leonard Snee, a New Zealand police officer killed in the line of duty
Holidays and observances...
* Pahang (Malaysia): Hari Hol
* Russia: Radio Day (commemorating the work of Alexander Popov)
* Acacius of Byzantium
* Saint Flavia Domitilla
* John of Beverley
* United States of America: National Day of Prayer (2009)
Have a great Thursday.
~Brian
