/year

May 7 in history

214 sourced entries recorded on May 7, from 7 BCE to 2025 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 7 BCEEmperor Ai becomes the emperor of Han China.source
  • 351The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out. After his arrival at Antioch, the Jews begin a rebellion in Palestine. The Roman garrison in the town of Diocesarea is wiped out.source
  • 558In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses due to an earthquake. Emperor Justinian I orders the dome to be rebuilt.source
  • 1104Battle of Harran: The Crusaders under Baldwin II are defeated by the Seljuk Turks. Baldwin and Joscelin of Courtenay are taken prisoner. Tancred (nephew of Bohemond I) becomes regent of Edessa. The defeat at Harran marks a key turning point of Crusader expansion.source
  • 1223Henry I, Count of Schwerin, kidnaps the King of Denmark, Valdemar II and the king's 14-year-old son, Valdemar the Young, after landing with a group of soldiers on the island of Lyø, where King Valdemar had been hunting. King Valdemar will be held captive for three years until Easter Sunday of 1226, and released after payment of 44,000 silver marks and the surrendering of lands taken 20 years earlier in Holstein.source
  • 1274Second Council of Lyon: Pope Gregory X convenes a council at Lyon, after Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos gives assurances that the Orthodox Church is prepared to reunite with Rome. The council agrees to a settlement between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church over several key issues – Orthodox acceptance of papal primacy and the acceptance of the Nicene Creed with the Filioque clause. Gregory approves a tithe to support efforts to liberate the Holy Land from Muslims, and reaches apparent resolution of the schism, which ultimately proves unsuccessful. All but four mendicant orders of friars are suppressed. Catholic teaching on Purgatory is defined for the first time.source
  • 12747 May to 17 July - The Second Council of Lyon was held.source
  • 1318At the marketplace in the French city of Marseille, four of the most defiant members of the Fraticelli (or Spiritual Franciscans) are found guilty of heresy and burned at the stake.source
  • 1342Pope Clement VI succeeds Pope Benedict XII, as the 198th Pope.source
  • 1369Košice, in Slovakia, becomes the first town in Europe to be granted its own coat of arms as King Louis of Hungary grants the right in a charter in recognition of the city's assistance in the Battle of Rozhanovice.source
  • 1373The troops of the Papal States and of the county of Savoy and the French mercenary Enguerrand VII de Coucy, defeat the Visconti, rulers of the Lordship of Milan in the Battle of Montichiari and stop Milan's attempts to expand its empire within Italy.source
  • 1379The Battle of Pola is fought in the Adriatic Sea between the navies of the Republic of Genoa and the Republic of Venice. The Venetian fleet, commanded by Admiral Vettor Pisani loses 19 of its 25 galleys in the battle, but Genoese Admiral Luciano Doria is killed in the battle. One of Doria's lieutenants conceals the admiral's death from the rest of the sailors by donning the admiral's clothes. Admiral Pisani is put in prison upon his return to Venice, but later released when Genoa invades in the Battle of Chioggia.source
  • 1402Jingnan campaign: The Yan Army continues its march, capturing Sixian and reaching the north bank of the Huai River.source
  • 1412In Cairo, Abu’l-Faḍl Abbas Al-Musta'in, the Caliph of Cairo, is installed by rebels as the new Sultan of Egypt as a temporary replacement for his father, the Sultan An-Nasir Faraj. Al-Musta'in serves as the puppet ruler for six months before he returns to full time duty as the Caliph.source
  • 1429The Tourelles, the last English siege fortification at Orléans, falls. Joan of Arc becomes the hero of the battle by returning, wounded, to lead the final charge.source
  • 1429The Tourelles, the last English siege fortification at Orléans, falls. Joan of Arc becomes the hero of the battle by returning, wounded, to lead the final charge.source
  • 1473Pope Sixtus IV appoints eight clerics to the College of Cardinals, the most in his career, the most since December 18, 1439 when 17 were appointed by Pope Eugene IV.source
  • 1487After failed attempts by King Ferdinand of Aragon to negotiate Granada's surrender of the city of Malaqa, the siege of Málaga begins, with the Granadan General Hamet el Zegri defending against a larger contingent of Aragonese and Castilian troops. At the same time, the Spanish fleet blocks the harbor and all access to Malaga from the sea. The city surrenders after three months.source
  • 1487The Kingdom of Portugal dispatches Pêro da Covilhã and Afonso de Paiva across Europe and Africa to inquire about a sea route to India, as well as to inquire about the enigmatic Prester John. Covilha reaches Ethiopia but is not allowed to leave, while de Paiva is never heard from again.source
  • 1494The infant Amda Seyon II succeeds his father Eskender as Emperor of Ethiopia.source
  • 1520The semi-independent Duchy of Mecklenburg, in what is now Germany, is partitioned into two duchies, Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz.source
  • 1544Burning of Edinburgh, the first action of the Rough Wooing.source
  • 1544Edward Seymour, Lord Hertford, carries out the burning of Edinburgh, capital of the Kingdom of Scotland, by the English Navy, then proceeds to destroy neighboring areas.source
  • 1560English troops at the siege of Leith attempting to storm the fortified town held by French troops suffer a heavy defeat.source
  • 1581The wedding of Princess Elizabeth of Sweden and Christopher, Duke of Mecklenburg took place. This union was a significant event in the year, fortifying the alliance between Sweden and Mecklenburg. The marriage was celebrated with grandeur, reflecting the political significance of the event.source
  • 1590King Henry of Navarre, claimant to the throne of France, begins an unsuccessful attempt to besiege Paris, at the time controlled by the Catholic League. By August 30, Henry is forced to raise the siege, when Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma comes to its rescue with a Spanish army.source
  • 1592Battle of Okpo: The Korean navy is victorious over Japan.source
  • 1592The Malta plague epidemic begins when galleys from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany arrive on the island with 100 prisoners of war from Egypt, and 20 ill crewmembers; over the next 18 months, 3,000 people on Malta die of the bubonic plague.source
  • 1611surrender and regrant in Counties Carlow, Wexford and Wicklow is authorised.source
  • 1634William Prynne is sentenced by the Star Chamber to a £5,000 fine, life imprisonment, pillorying and the loss of part of his ears when his Histriomastix is viewed as an attack on King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Mariasource
  • 1641England's House of Lords votes, 51 to 9, in favor of the execution of the Earl of Strafford for treason. In fear for his own safety, King Charles I signs Strafford's death warrant on May 10.source
  • 1656Nine days after the wreck of the Vergulde Draeck, a steersman and six crew members are dispatched to Batavia to get help. The other 68 survivors remain at Ledge Point and await rescue but are not seen again.source
  • 1659Rump Parliament reassembles at the invitation of the Council of Officers and appoints a Committee of Safety to form the executive until a new Council of State is appointed on 19 May.source
  • 1663The King's Theatre, now called "Drury Lane", opens in London.source
  • 1663opening of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.source
  • 1668Queen Catherine miscarries.source
  • 1682May 7 (April 27 O.S.) – Upon the death of the Tsar Feodor III of Russia, Feodor's younger brother, 15-year-old Ivan is passed over in favor of a half-brother, 10-year-old Peter.source
  • 1685Morean War – Battle on Vrtijeljka: Advancing Ottoman forces prevail over defending Venetian irregulars, on a hill in the Montenegro Vilayet.source
  • 16897 May–20 July – first and only session of the Patriot Parliament, the Parliament of Ireland called by James II in Dublin, with Richard Nagle as Speaker. This declares that James remains King, passes The Great Act of Attainder against those who have rebelled against him and repeals the Act of Settlement (1662) while, at James's urging, also passing an Act for Liberty of Conscience.source
  • 1697The royal residence in the capital, Tre Kronor (castle), burns down.source
  • 17051705 English general election: Voting begins for 110 constituencies of the 513-member House of Commons of England (including Wales)source
  • 1718New Orleans is founded.source
  • 1718The settlement of New Orleans is founded in New France.source
  • 1722Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway construction begins.source
  • 1722Construction begins for the Tranent to Cockenzie Waggonway, Scotland's first railway.source
  • 1723The town of Arendal was given market town privileges.source
  • 1723Lewis Morris arrives in London from Anglesey.source
  • 1724coronation of Catherine as empress of Russia.source
  • 1763Chief Pontiac begins "Pontiac's War" by attacking the British garrison at Fort Detroit, but the surprise attack is given away by a young native girl who informs the British of the plan. Two days later he begins the Siege of Fort Detroit.source
  • 1763Outraged by the British success in taking control of land in North America formerly occupied by the French, Pontiac, chief of the Odawa people, begins "Pontiac's War" by attacking the British garrison at Fort Detroit. Although he fails to succeed by surprise on this occasion, two days later he begins the Siege of Fort Detroit.source
  • 1765HMS Victory is launched at Chatham Dockyard; at the beginning of the 21st century it remains the oldest naval ship still in commission.source
  • 1787The New Church (Swedenborgian) is founded in England.source
  • 1791April 29–May 8 – The first American ships reach Japan, brigantine Lady Washington captained by John Kendrick of Boston, and the brig Grace.source
  • 1792Lower Canada is divided into 21 counties.source
  • 1794Maximilien Robespierre establishes the Cult of the Supreme Being as the new state religion of the French First Republic.source
  • 1794French Revolution: Robespierre establishes the Cult of the Supreme Being as the new state religion of the French First Republic.source
  • 1798French Revolutionary Wars: A French force attempting to dislodge a small British garrison on the Îles Saint-Marcouf is repulsed with heavy losses.source
  • 1813May 1–9 – War of 1812: Fort Meigs is first besieged, by British allied forces under General Henry Proctor and Chief Tecumseh.source
  • 1813May 1–9 – War of 1812: First Siege of Fort Meigs: British allied forces, under General Henry Proctor and Chief Tecumseh, lay siege to the fort but do not capture it.source
  • 1821Bank of England returns to the gold standard.source
  • 1823Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov is appointed as Governor-General of Novorossiya (New Russia), the portion of Russian Empire bordering the Black Sea (in modern days it constitutes southern regions of Ukraine).source
  • 1823John Kent arrives in Foveaux Strait to investigate the possibility of setting up a flax trade.source
  • 1824Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (the "Choral") premieres at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna. The deaf composer has to be turned around on the stage to witness the enthusiastic audience reaction.source
  • 1824Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (the "Choral") premieres at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna. The deaf composer has to be turned around on the stage, to witness the enthusiastic audience reaction.source
  • 1832The Treaty of London creates an independent Kingdom of Greece. Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria, is chosen King; thus begins the history of modern Greece.source
  • 1836The settlement of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico is elevated to the royal status of villa, by the government of Spain.source
  • 1839May 7–11 – The Bedchamber Crisis in the United Kingdom: Following the announcement by Prime Minister Lord Melbourne that he intends to resign, Robert Peel asks (for political reasons) that Queen Victoria dismiss some of her personal attendants, Ladies of the Bedchamber, as a condition for his forming a government. Victoria refuses to accept the condition and Melbourne is persuaded to stay on as Prime Minister.source
  • 1840Great Natchez Tornado: A massive tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi during the early afternoon. Before it is over, 317 people are killed and 109 injured (the second deadliest tornado in U.S. history).source
  • 1840The Great Natchez Tornado: A massive tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi during the early afternoon hours. Before it is over, 317 people are killed and 109 injured. It is the second deadliest tornado in U.S. history.source
  • 1842May 5–8 – The Great fire of Hamburg in Germany destroys around one-third of the city centre and kills 51.source
  • 1843Nakahama Manjirō lands in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the first known Japanese in the United States.source
  • 1846Little Waihi landslide kills around 60 Maori, including Mananui Te Heuheu Tukino II.source
  • 1847In Philadelphia, the American Medical Association (AMA) is founded.source
  • 1848establishment of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Porto Alegre as the Diocese of São Pedro do Rio Grande.source
  • 1850A single currency, the Swiss franc, is imposed to replace cantonal currencies in the first Federal Coinage Actsource
  • 1850The brigantine USS Advance is loaned to the United States Navy.source
  • 1852The Den Borgerlige Velgørenheds Stiftelse is founded.source
  • 1854May 5–15 – Hokkien–Teochew Riots in Singapore.source
  • 1856The Swedish Evangelical Mission is established.,source
  • 1861Tennessee secedes from the Union.source
  • 1861Liberian constitutional referendum, 1861source
  • 1864American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.source
  • 1864The clipper ship City of Adelaide is launched in Sunderland, England. By the 21st century, she will be the world's oldest surviving clipper of only two (Cutty Sark being the other).source
  • 1866Student Ferdinand Cohen-Blind makes a failed attempt to assassinate Otto von Bismarck in Unter den Linden in Berlin.source
  • 1867Alfred Nobel patents dynamite in the United Kingdom.source
  • 1869May 4–10 – Naval Battle of Hakodate: The Imperial Japanese Navy defeats adherents of the Tokugawa shogunate.source
  • 1875The Treaty of Saint Petersburg is signed between Japan and Russia.source
  • 1875German liner SS Schiller wrecks on the rocks off the Isles of Scilly, with the loss of 335 lives.source
  • 1875German liner SS Schiller is wrecked on rocks off the Isles of Scilly with the loss of 311 lives.source
  • 1879The current constitution of the State of California in the United States is ratified.source
  • 1888The bill to abolish slavery is presented in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies.source
  • 1891Itata Incident: The Itata leaves San Diego for Chilesource
  • 1900The first line of electric trams in São Paulo starts operating.source
  • 1902La Soufrière volcano on the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent erupts, devastating the northern portion of the island and killing 2,000 peoplesource
  • 1907Liberian constitutional referendum, 1907source
  • 1910João do Rio is elected to chair # 26 of the Brazilian Academy of Letters.source
  • 1915Sinking of the Lusitania: British ocean liner RMS Lusitania was sunk by Imperial German Navy U-boat U-20 about 11 mi off Old Head of Kinsale, County Cork, killing 1,198 civilians en route from New York to Liverpool, among them the Irish-born art dealer and benefactor Sir Hugh Lane and Irish composer and conductor Thomas O'Brien Butler.source
  • 1915When RMS Lusitania is sunk by a German torpedo, notable survivors include David Alfred Thomas, Viscount Rhondda and tenor Gwynn Parry Jones.source
  • 1916The Government of Canada authorizes the creation of an all black battalion that became No. 2 Construction Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force.source
  • 1917The Graneros Unido football club is established.source
  • 1918The Treaty of Bucharest is signed with the Central Powers following the stalemate reached after the campaign of 1917.source
  • 1920Polish–Soviet War: Polish troops occupy Kyiv. The government of the Ukrainian People's Republic returns to the city.source
  • 1920Mexican Revolution: Venustiano Carranza leaves Mexico City in a large train.source
  • 1921May 1–7 – Jaffa riots: Riots at Jaffa, Mandatory Palestine result in 47 Jewish and 48 Arab deaths.source
  • 1927General Allenby lays the foundation stone of St Andrew's Church, Jerusalemsource
  • 1928Passage of the Representation of the People Act in the United Kingdom lowers the voting age for women from 30 to 21, giving them equal suffrage with men from July 2.source
  • 1928The St. Roch is launched. It would become the first ship to sail the Northwest Passage from west to east and to circumnavigate North America.source
  • 1930The 7.1 Mw Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to 3000 people were killed.source
  • 1930The 7.1 Mw Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Up to three-thousand people were killed.source
  • 1935Liberian constitutional referendum, 1935source
  • 1935David Dunlap Observatory openssource
  • 1937Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion Fighter Group, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco's forces.source
  • 1937One of the leaders of the communist revolution, Luis Carlos Prestes, is sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison.source
  • 1945May 6–7 – The government of the Independent State of Croatia, the Nazi-affiliated fascist puppet state established in occupied Yugoslavia, flees Zagreb for a location near Klagenfurt in Austria, but is captured in the Bleiburg repatriations, leading to mass executions.source
  • 1945Knut Hamsun released his obituary of Adolf Hitler.source
  • 1946Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded, with about 20 employees.source
  • 1949A Philippine Airlines C-47 with Daet–Manila flight route explodes in mid-air; all 13 persons on board are reported killed, with only a body later recovered, along with the plane's debris at Alabat Island. The explosion is later revealed being caused by a time bomb which has been planted by a couple. At least four suspects are arrested.source
  • 1954First Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat (the battle began on March 13).source
  • 1955Newcastle United F.C. beat Manchester City F.C. 3–1 to win the 1955 FA Cup final in English Association football.source
  • 1958Joseph Cordeiro was appointed the first Pakistani Archbishop of Karachi.source
  • 1964Pacific Air Lines Flight 773 crashes near San Ramon, California, killing all 44 aboard; the FBI later reports that a cockpit recorder tape indicates that the pilot and co-pilot had been shot by a suicidal passenger.source
  • 1966Irish bank workers go on strike.source
  • 19691969 Balkans Cup: Albania defeats Romania 2-0 at Selman Stërmasi Stadium, Tiranasource
  • 1972General elections are held in Italy.source
  • 1974West German chancellor Willy Brandt, resigns after four years in office.source
  • 1977Representing Luxembourg, Anne-Marie Besse finishes sixteenth in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977 with the song Frère Jacques.source
  • 1980Paul Geidel, convicted of second-degree murder in 1911, is released from prison in Beacon, New York, after 68 years and 245 days (the longest-ever time served by an inmate).source
  • 1983The Perusahan Otomobil Nasional Berhad (PROTON) was established.source
  • 1991The Bright Sparklers Fireworks Factory at Sungai Buloh, Selangor caught fire and caused a huge explosion that killed 29 and injured 83 people. It was Malaysia's worst industrial disaster to date.source
  • 1992STS-49: Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its maiden flight, as a replacement for Space Shuttle Challenger.source
  • 1995Jacques Chirac is elected president of France.source
  • 1999In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.source
  • 2001In Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, an attempt is made to reconstruct the historic 16th-century Ferhadija Mosque. Serbian nationalists respond with riots and mass violence against Bosnian Muslims.source
  • 2004Vladimir Putin is sworn in for a second term as Russia's president.source
  • 2004The discovery of the post-perovskite form of magnesium silicate is reported.source
  • 2004Waldemar Milewicz, 48, Polish journalist, and Mounyra Beouamrane, killed in Iraqsource
  • 2010Chile becomes the 31st member of the OECD.source
  • 2010Scientists conducting the Neanderthal genome project announce that they have sequenced enough of the Neanderthal genome to suggest that Neanderthals and humans may have interbred.source
  • 2011The establishment of Taiwan Halal Integrity Development Association in Zhongzheng District, Taipei City.source
  • 2011Milan Mišík, geologist (born 1928)source
  • 2014May 6–10 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark, and is won by Austrian entrant Conchita Wurst with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix".source
  • 2015The 2015 UK General Election results in the first Conservative majority government in 18 years.source
  • 2016Nusantara Qur'an Reading was held throughout the nation.source
  • 20172017 French presidential election: Emmanuel Macron of En Marche! wins the second round of the French presidential election decisively, defeating Marine Le Pen of the National Front (FN).source
  • 2024May 7–11 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is held in Malmö, Sweden. Swiss contestant Nemo wins with the song "The Code".source
  • 20252025 India–Pakistan conflict: India launches several missiles into Pakistani territory in response to the 2025 Pahalgam attack two weeks prior.source
  • 2025May 7–8 – 2025 conclave: 133 cardinal electors select Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Francis's successor, on the fourth ballot. He takes the name Leo XIV, and becomes the first pope from North America, the first with Peruvian or U.S. citizenship, and the first from the Order of Saint Augustine.source

Births

  • 1328Louis VI the Roman, Duke of Bavaria and Elector of Brandenburg (died 1365)source
  • 1488John III of the Palatinate, Administrator of the Bishopric of Regensburg (died 1538)source
  • 1530Louis I, Prince of Condé, French Protestant general (died 1569)source
  • 1553Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (died 1618)source
  • 1605Patriarch Nikon of Moscow, Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church (died 1681)source
  • 1643Stephanus Van Cortlandt, first native-born mayor of New York City (died 1700)source
  • 1700Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-born physician (died 1772)source
  • 1711David Hume, philosopher (died 1776)source
  • 1724Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, Alsatian-born Austrian general (died 1797)source
  • 1747Judith van Dorth, aristocrat (executed 1799)source
  • 1748Olympe de Gouges, French playwright (died 1793)source
  • 1751Stephen Badlam, American artisan and military officer (died 1815)source
  • 1763Józef Antoni Poniatowski, Polish prince, Marshal of France (died 1813)source
  • 1812Robert Browning, English poet (died 1889)source
  • 1826Varina Davis, First Lady of the Confederate States of America (died 1906)source
  • 1833Johannes Brahms, German composer (died 1897)source
  • 1833Johannes Brahms, German composer (died 1897)source
  • 1840Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (died 1893)source
  • 1847Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1929)source
  • 1861Rabindranath Tagore, Poet, novelist, dramatist, essayist, story-writer, composer, painter, philosopher, social reformer, educationist, linguist, grammarian, and Nobel Prize in Literature laureate for the collection of poems Gitanjali. (died 1941)source
  • 1892Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (died 1980)source
  • 1901Gary Cooper, American actor (died 1961)source
  • 1919Eva Perón, wife of Argentine President Juan Perón (died 1952)source
  • 1998Maryna Piddubna, Paralympic swimmersource

Deaths

  • 685Caliph Marwan I dies at Damascus, and is succeeded by his son Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan.source
  • 721John of Beverley, bishop of Yorksource
  • 833Ibn Hisham, Muslim historiansource
  • 973Emperor Otto I (the Great) dies at Memleben in Thuringia (modern Germany) after a 37-year reign. He is succeeded by his 18-year-old son Otto II (the Red), who becomes absolute ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. His mother Adelaide will exert great influence on Otto, although her lavish philanthropies will be a source of contention. Otto's succession leads to conflicts in the south German duchies and in Lotharingia.source
  • 973Otto I, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (born 912)source
  • 1014Bagrat III, king of Abkhazia (Georgia)source
  • 1092Remigius de Fécamp, bishop of Lincolnsource
  • 1166William I ("the wicked"), king of Sicily (born 1120)source
  • 1166King William I ("the Wicked") of Sicily dies at Palermo after a 12-year reign. He is succeeded by his 12-year-old son William II ("the Good"), whose mother, Margaret of Navarre, will be regent until he comes of age.source
  • 1202Hamelin de Warenne, Norman nobleman (born 1130)source
  • 1205Ladislaus III, king of Hungary and Croatia (born 1200)source
  • 1207Abdul Razzaq Gilani, Persian jurist (born 1134)source
  • 1234Otto I, Duke of Merania, German nobleman and knight (born 1180)source
  • 1236Agnellus of Pisa, Italian Franciscan friar (born 1195)source
  • 1243Hugh d'Aubigny, English nobleman and knightsource
  • 1266Fariduddin Ganjshakar, Ghurid preacher (born 1179)source
  • 1279Alberto da Bergamo, Italian Dominican friar (born 1214)source
  • 1301Hōjō Akitoki, Japanese military leader and poet (born 1248)source
  • 1427Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English churchmansource
  • 1494Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (born 1471)source
  • 1501Giovanni Battista Zeno, Italian Catholic cardinalsource
  • 1523Franz von Sickingen, German knight (born 1481)source
  • 1539Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (born 1466)source
  • 1539May 7 or September 22 – Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism (born 1469)source
  • 1667Johann Jakob Froberger, German composer (born 1616)source
  • 1718Mary of Modena, queen of James II of England (born 1658)source
  • 1728Rose Venerini, Italian saint, educational pioneer (born 1656)source
  • 1805William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Prime Minister of Great Britain (born 1737)source
  • 1825Antonio Salieri, Italian composer (born 1750)source
  • 1840Caspar David Friedrich, German artist (born 1774)source
  • 1846Mananui Te Heuheu Tukino II, tribal leadersource
  • 1863Earl Van Dorn, American Confederate general (murdered) (born 1820)source
  • 1868Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (born 1778)source
  • 1873Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the United States (born 1808)source
  • 1873John Stuart Mill, British philosopher (born 1806)source
  • 1896H. H. Holmes, American serial killer (executed) (born 1861)source
  • 1898May 7–9 – Bava Beccaris massacre: Hundreds of demonstrators are killed, when General Fiorenzo Bava Beccaris orders troops to fire on a rally in Milan, Italy.source
  • 1916May 3–12 - 15 Irish rebel leaders who took part in the Easter Rising in Dublin in April are executed. Among them were Patrick Pearse, James Connolly, Thomas Clarke and William Pearse, brother of Patrick Pearse who had served as a captain rather than a leader.source
  • 1917Albert Ball, British World War I fighter ace, posthumous Victoria Cross recipient (killed in action) (born 1896)source
  • 1940George Lansbury, British Labour politician (born 1859)source
  • 1943Fethi Okyar, former prime minister (3rd government of Turkey)source
  • 1977Prince Xavier of Bourbon-Parma, Spanish Carlist pretender (born 1889)source
  • 1999Kosovo War: in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, three Chinese embassy workers are killed and 20 others wounded when a NATO B-2 aircraft bombs the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade.source