Today in History - May 11

• 0330 - Byzantium is renamed renamed Nova Roma during a dedication ceremony, but is more popularly referred to as Constantinople.
• 0912 - Emperor Leo VI of the Byzantine Empire, dies (b. 0866).
• 1502 - Christopher Columbus leaves for his fourth and final voyage to the West Indies with 150 men in 4 caravels. He reached the coast of Honduras after 8 months and passed south to Panama (1503). He returned to Spain Nov 7, 1504, after suffering a shipwreck at Jamaica.
• 1571 - Niwa Nagashige, was born (d. 1637). Japanese daimyo and retainer.
• 1596 - Muere el escritor y moralista Jean de la Bruyère.
• 1610 - Matteo Ricci, dies (b. 1552). Italian Jesuit missionary .
• 1720 - Karl Friedrich Hieronymus Freiherr von Münchhausen, was born (d. 1797). Officer and adventurer.
• 1742 - Francesco Stradivari (70), Italian violin maker, son of Antonius, died.
• 1745 - War of Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy - At Fontenoy, French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army.
• 1751 - The 1st US hospital was founded in Pennsylvania.
• 1752 - Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, was born (d. 1840). German anthropologist.
• 1763 - János Bacsanyi, was born (d. 1845). Hungarian poet.
• 1778 - William Pitt, the Elder, dies (b. 1708). British Prime Minister (1756-61, 66-68).
• 1792 - Captain Robert Gray becomes the first white man to discover the Columbia River.
• 1801 - Henri Labrouste, was born (d. 24 Jun 1875). French architect.
• 1812 - Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons, London.
• 1812 - Spencer Perceval, dies assassinated (b. 1762). British Prime Minister.
• 1814 - España: Fernando VII anula la Constitución de Cádiz y la legislación de las Cortes de Cádiz.
• 1818 - Charles XIV of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Sweden.
• 1824 - Los británicos se apoderan de Birmania.
• 1848 - Tom Cribb, dies (b. 1781). Bare-knuckle boxer.
• 1857 - Indian Mutiny: 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.
• 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Yellow Tavern - Confederate General JEB Stuart is mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern, Virginia.
• 1867 - Luxembourg gains its independence.
• 1868 - Em França, foi decretada a Liberdade de Imprensa.
• 1871 - John Herschel, dies (b. 1792). British mathematician and astronomer.
• 1871 - Stjepan Radic, was born (d. 1928). Croatian politician.
• 1873- Morte do revolucionário cubano Ignacio Agramonte y Loynaz
• 1885 - "King" Joseph Oliver, jazz cornetist and bandleader, was born.
• 1887 - Paul Wittgenstein, was born (d. 1961). Austrian-born pianist.
• 1888 - Irving Berlin, was born (d. 1989). American composer.
• 1892 - Margaret Rutherford, was born (d. 1972). English actress.
• 1894 - Martha Graham, was born (d. 1991). American dancer and choreographer.
• 1894 - Pullman Strike: Three thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike in Illinois.
• 1895 - Jiddu Krishnamurti, was born (d. 1986). Indian philosopher.
• 1896 - Josip Štolcer-Slavenski was born (d. 1955). Croatian composer.
• 1897 - Kurt Gerron was born (d. 1944). German director.
• 1902 - Nascimento no Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, de Bidu Sayão (Balduína de Moreira), considerada por muitos como a melhor cantora lírica de todos os tempos.
• 1903 - Charlie Gehringer, was born (d. 1993). Baseball Hall of Famer.
• 1904 - Salvador Dalí, was born in Figueres, Spain (d. 1989). Surrealist painter.
• 1905 - Nascimento, no Rio de Janeiro, de Augusto Rademaker (Almirante Augusto Hamann Rademaker Grünewald), 38º Presidente do Brasil. Membro da Junta Militar do Governo Provisório do Brasil - 31/08/1969 a 30/10/1969).
• 1907 - Nascia Argemiro de Assis Brasil, militar brasileiro (m. 1982).
• 1907 - Rose Ausänder, was born (d. 1988). Poet.
• 1907 - Nascimento de Juan Oscar Ponferrada. Escritor argentino.
• 1910 - An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
• 1911- The United States becomes a member of the Buenos Aires Convention, a copyright treaty.
• 1911 - Phil Silvers, was born (d. 1985). American actor and comedian.
• 1911 - Os Estados Unidos reconhecem a República de Portugal.
• 1912 - Foster Brooks, was born (d. 2001). American actor and comedian.
• 1913 - Robert Jungk, was born (d. 1994). Austrian publicist.
• 1913 - Nascia Edgar Cardoso, engenheiro de pontes português (m. 2000).
• 1916 - Einstein's Theory of General Relativity was presented.
• 1916 - Camilo José Cela, was born (d. 2002). Spanish writer. Winnner Premio del Príncipe Asturias de las Letras (1987), Nobel Prize in Literature -1989, Premio Cervantes -1995.
• 1916 - Max Reger, dies (b. 1873). Composer.
• 1918 - Richard Feynman, was born (d. 15 Feb 1988). American theoretical physicist. His classic lectures were published in 1995 in the book “Six Easy Pieces: Essentials of Physics Explained by its most Brilliant Teacher” by Addison -Wesley in 1995. In 1996 Feynman’s “Lost Lecture” was written by David L. and Judith R. Goodstein. In 1965, he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics for work in quantum electrodynamics.
• 1920 - William Dean Howells, dies (b. 1837). Writer.
• 1921 - Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, was born. Politician.
• 1924 - Pulitzer Prize awarded to Robert Frost (New Hampshire) .
• 1924 - Antony Hewish was born. British astrophysicist who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1974 for his discovery of pulsars (cosmic objects that emit extremely regular pulses of radio waves).
• 1927 - Louis B. Mayer formed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the "Academy" in "Academy Awards,"
• 1927 - Fallece el pintor Juan Gris.
• 1928 - Mort Sahl, was born. Canadian comedian and political commentator.
• 1928 - The first analog TV service is inaugurated by WGY, Schenectady, New York.
• 1930 - Edsger Dijkstra, was born (d. 2002). Dutch computer scientist.
• 1930 - Muere el pintor Julio Romero de Torres.
• 1933 - Louis Farrakhan, was born. American Black Muslim leader.
• 1933 - Criação da Academia Chilena de la Historia
• 1934 - Dust Bowl: A strong two-day dust storm removes massive amounts of Great Plains topsoil in one of the worst dust storms of the Dust Bowl in North America.
• 1936 - Portugal : Salazar assume a pasta da Guerra, cargo que só deixará em 1944. Para além de Presidente do Conselho (de 1932 a 1968), também é Ministro das Finanças (de 1928 a 1940).
• 1938 - Carla Bley, was born. American musician and composer.
• 1940 - Juan Downey, was born (d. 1993). Chilean video artist.
• 1941 - Graham Miles, was born. English snooker player.
• 1941 - Eric Burdon, was born. British singer (The Animals).
• 1942 - William Faulkner's collections of short stories, Go Down, Moses, is published.
• 1943 - World War II: American troops invade Attu in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
• 1944 - World War II: The Allies start a major offensive against the Axis Powers on the Gustav Line.
• 1946 - Robert Jarvik, was born. American physicist and inventor.
• 1949 - Nascimento em São Paulo- SP, de Beth Mendes (Elizabeth Mendes de Oliveira), actriz brasileira.
• 1949 - Nascia em Lamego, João Botelho. Realizador de cinema português [Conversa Acabada (1982) Um Adeus Português (1985)Tráfico (1998) Quem És Tu? (2000)... ].
• 1949 - Siam changes its name to Thailand.
• 1949 - Israel joins the United Nations.
• 1950 - Jeremy Paxman, was born. British journalist and author.
• 1952 - Renaud Séchan, was born. French composer.
• 1952 - Nascimento no Rio de Janeiro de Sandra Brea (Sandra Bréa Brito), actriz brasileira.
• 1952 - Mike Lupica, was born. sports journalist.
• 1952 - Shohreh Aghdashloo, was born. Actress.
• 1952 - Frances Fisher, was born. Actress.
• 1953 - Boyd Gaines, was born. Actor.
• 1953 - The Waco Tornado: An F5 tornado hits downtown Waco, Texas, killing 114.
• 1955 - Gilbert Jessop, dies (b. 1874). English cricketer, known as fastest-scoring batsman of all time.
• 1956 - Theresa Burke, was born. Canadian journalist.
• 1956 - Alex Lester, was born. British broadcaster.
• 1959 - Martha Quinn, was born. American television personality.
• 1960 - John D. Rockefeller, Jr., dies (b. 1874). Philanthropist.
• 1960 - In Buenos Aires, Argentina, four Israeli Mossad agents abduct fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann, living under the assumed name Ricardo Klement.
• 1960 - The first contraceptive pill is approved by FDA [Searle's contraceptive pill, Enovid]
• 1963 - Natasha Richardson, was born. Actress.
• 1963 - Herbert Spencer Gasser dies (b. 5 Jul 1888). American physiologist, corecipient (with Joseph Erlanger) of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1944 for fundamental discoveries concerning the functions of different kinds of nerve fibres.
• 1964 - John Parrott, was born. English snooker player.
• 1966 - Christoph Schneider, was born. Drummer (Rammstein).
• 1966 - Nancy Hower, was born. American actress, sceenwriter, director, and producer.
• 1969 - Vietnam War: Operation Apache Snow - Near the Laos border, American and South Vietnamese forces fight North Vietnamese troops for Ap Bia Mountain (aka Hill 937 or "Hamburger Hill").
• 1970 - Johnny Hodges, dies (b. 1906). Musician.
• 1971 - Morte de Sean Francis Lemass. Primeiro-ministro da Irlanda (1959-1966).
• 1973 - Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has his charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times dismissed.
• 1973 - Lex Barker, dies (b. 1919). Actor.
• 1976 - Alvar Aalto, dies (b. 1898). Finish architect.
• 1976 - The last episode of the TV medical drama Marcus Welby, M.D. is aired.
• 1978 - Laetitia Casta was born in Pont-Audemer, France. Supermodel. Actress.
• 1981 - Lauren Jackson, was born. Australian basketball player.
• 1981 - The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Cats," based on TS Eliot poems, premiered in London.
• 1981 - Bob Marley, dies (b. 1945). Jamaican roots rock reggae singer and musician.
• 1982 - Jonathan Jackson, was born. Actor.
• 1983 - Matt Leinart, was born. American football player.
• 1983 - Holly Valance, was born. Actress and singer.
• 1984 - A transit of Earth from Mars takes place; no one is there to observe it.
• 1984 - Chile: el pueblo chileno sale a la calle para manifestarse contra la dictadura de Pinochet.
• 1985 - Chester Gould, dies (b. 1900). Cartoonist (Dick Tracy).
• 1985 - 56 spectators die when a flash fire strikes a football ground during a match in Bradford, England.
• 1987 - Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
• 1987 - The first heart-lung transplant takes place (Baltimore, Maryland).
• 1987 - Corazon Aquino was elected president in the Philippines.
• 1988 - Kim Philby, dies (b. 1912). Spy.
• 1992 - Carlos Herrera (90), drink inventor (Margarita), died.
• 1990 - Se crea el Instituto Cervantes.
• 1991 - Em Angola, foi instituído o sistema político multipartidário.
• 1993 - 28th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks wins
• 1994 - Inter Milan wins 23rd UEFA Cup.
• 1995 - In New York City, more than 170 countries decide to extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
• 1995 - Scientists confirmed that Ebola, one of the world's deadliest viruses, had broken out in Zaire. The outbreak, in the city of Kikwit, killed about 50, including three Italian nuns who had cared for victims.
• 1996 - After taking-off from Miami, a fire started by improperly handled oxygen canisters 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.
• 1997 - IBM's Deep Blue chess-playing supercomputer defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player.
• 1998 - Nuclear testing: In the Rajasthan Desert, India conducts its first underground nuclear tests violating the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and inflaming its rival neighbor Pakistan (who already has nuclear weapons).
• 1998 - ZDTV-The official Technology Television network starts broadcasting. It lasted six years until the G4techTV Merger and it turned into a gaming channel.
• 1998 - A French mint produced the first coins of Europe's single currency, the euro.
• 1999 - O grupo chileno Enersis adquire 30% da companhia de geração de energia Endesa
• 2001 - Denise Quinones August of Puerto Rico won the Miss Universe contest held in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.
• 2001 - Douglas Adams, dies (b. 1952). Science fiction author.
• 2002 - Joseph Bonanno, dies (b. 1905). Mafioso (aka Joey Bananas) .2002 May 11, Joseph Bonanno (97), former Mafia boss known as "Joe Bananas," died in Tuscon, Az. His autobiography was titled “A Man of Honor.”
• 2003 - Noel Redding, dies. Bassist for The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
• 2004 - The Bush administration ordered economic sanctions against Syria for supporting terrorism. Food and medicine were excepted.
• 2004 - The Stockline Plastics factory explosion in Glasgow kills nine people.
• 2005 - The eleventh edition of the International Trade Fair KOSOVA opens in Gjakova, Kosova.
• Yom Hazikaron (Fallen Soldiers Remembrance Day) in Isreal (2005) .
• Roman Empire - Feast of the Lemures (See Larvae).