May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the
Gregorian calendar (128th in
leap years). There are 238 days remaining.
- 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of St. Sophia Basilica collapses. Justinian immediately orders the dome rebuilt.
- 1274 - In France the Second Council of Lyons[?] opens to regulate the election of the pope.
- 1763 - Chief Pontiac begins the "Conspiracy of Pontiac" by attacking British forces at Fort Detroit.
- 1832 - Greece becomes independent. Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria is chosen King.
- 1847 - In Philadelphia, the American Medical Association[?] (AMA) is founded.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.
- 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: The RMS Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat killing 1,198.
- 1920 - Russian-Polish War[?]: Polish troops occupy Kiev.
- 1937 - Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion Fighter Group[?], equipped with Heinkel He-51[?] biplanes arrive in Spain to assist Francisco Francos forces.
- 1945 - World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany's participation in the war. The document will take effect the next day.
- 1946 - Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with about 20 employees.
- 1952 - The concept for the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey W.A. Dummer[?].
- 1954 - Vietnam War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat (the battle began on March 13).
- 1992 - Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the United States Congress from giving itself a midterm pay raise.
- 1992 - space shuttle Endeavour launches on its maden voyage
- 1998 - Apple Computer unveils the iMac.
- 1998 - Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
- 1999 - A jury finds The Jenny Jones Show[?] and Warner Bros[?] liable in the shooting death of Scott Amedure[?] after the show purposely deceived Jonathan Schmitz to appear on a secret same-sex crush episode. Shmitz later killed Amedure and the jury awarded Amedure's family US$25 million.
- 1999 - Kosovo War: In Yugoslavia, three Chinese embassy workers are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft mistakenly bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
- 1999 - In Guinea-Bissau, President Joćo Bernardo Vieira[?] is ousted in a military coup.
- 1812 - Robert Browning, poet and husband to Elizabeth Barrett Browning (+ 1889)
- 1833 - Johannes Brahms, composer (+ 1897)
- 1840 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, composer (+ 1893)
- 1885 - George 'Gabby' Hayes[?], actor (+ 1969)
- 1892 - Archibald MacLeish[?], poet, Pulitzer Prize winner (+ 1982)
- 1901 - Gary Cooper, actor (+ 1961)
- 1908 - Max Grundig[?], industrialist (+ 1989)
- 1909 - Edwin H. Land, inventor and founder of Polaroid
- 1919 - Eva Peron, wife of Argentina's President Juan Peron (+ 1952)
- 1922 - Darren McGavin[?], actor
- 1923 - Anne Baxter, actress (+ 1985)
- 1931 - Teresa Brewer[?], singer
- 1933 - Johnny Unitas, American football star (+ 2002)
- 1939 - Ruud Lubbers, politician and Prime Minister of the Netherlands[?]
- 1939 - Jimmy Ruffin[?], singer
- 1942 - Gerhard Polt[?], cabaretist
- 1946 - Thelma Houston[?], singer
- 1950 - Randall 'Tex' Cobb[?], boxer, actor
- 1954 - Amy Heckerling[?], director
- 1956 - Anne Dudley, musician
- 1957 - Sinjin Smith[?], volleyball player
- 1968 - Traci Lords, actress
- 1969 - Eagle Eye Cherry[?], musician
See Also:
May 6 - May 8 - April 7 - June 7 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July,
August, September, October, November, December