May 11 in History

Historical Events on May 11

330

Byzantium is renamed Nova Roma during a dedication ceremony, but it is more popularly referred to as Constantinople.
868

A copy of the Diamond Sutra is printed in China, making it the oldest known dated printed book.
912

Alexander becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
1310

In France, fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake as heretics.
1502

Christopher Columbus departs Cádiz on his fourth and final voyage to the Americas.
1647

Peter Stuyvesant arrives in New Amsterdam to replace Willem Kieft as Director-General of New Netherland, the Dutch colonial settlement in present-day New York City.
1672

Franco-Dutch War: Louis XIV of France invades the Netherlands.
1745

War of the Austrian Succession: Battle of Fontenoy: French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch-Hanoverian army.
1792

Captain Robert Gray becomes the first documented white person to sail into the Columbia River.
1812

Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons, London.
1813

In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth lead an expedition to cross the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Their route opens up inland Australia for continued expansion throughout the 19th century.
1833

The Aberdeen-built brig Lady of the Lake struck an iceberg and sank off the coast of Newfoundland with the loss of up to 265 passengers and crew.
1846

President James K. Polk asked for a Declaration of War against Mexico, starting the Mexican-American War. It is approved on May 13.
1857

Indian Rebellion of 1857: 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.
1867

Luxembourg gains its independence.
1880

Seven people are killed in the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a gun battle in California.
1889

An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort results in the theft of over $28,000 and the award of two Medals of Honor.
1891

The Ōtsu incident: Tsarevich Nicholas Alexandrovich of Imperial Russia (later Nicholas II) suffers a critical head injury during a sword attack by Japanese policeman Tsuda Sanzō. He is rescued by Prince George of Greece and Denmark.
1894

Pullman Strike: Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike in Illinois.
1910

An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
1918

The Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus is officially established.
1927

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded.
1942

William Faulkner's collections of short stories, Go Down, Moses, is published.
1943

World War II: American troops invade Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
1944

World War II: The Allies begin a major offensive against the Axis powers on the Gustav Line.
1945

World War II: Off the coast of Okinawa, the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill is hit by two kamikazes, killing 346 of its crew. Although badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the U.S. under its own power.
1949

Siam officially changes its name to Thailand for the second time. The name had been in use since 1939 but was reverted in 1945.
1953

The 1953 Waco tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado hits downtown Waco, Texas, killing 114.
1960

In Buenos Aires, Argentina, four Israeli Mossad agents capture fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann who is living under the alias of Ricardo Klement.
1963

Racist bombings in Birmingham, Alabama disrupt nonviolence in the Birmingham campaign and precipitate a crisis involving federal troops.
1970

The Lubbock tornado, a F5 tornado, hits Lubbock, Texas, killing 26 and causing $250 million in damage.
1972

The United States performs a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site, which was part of the series Operation Grommet and Operation Toggle.
1973

Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg's charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times are dismissed.
1985

Bradford City stadium fire: Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in a flash fire at Valley Parade football ground during a match against Lincoln City in Bradford, England.
1987

Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
1995

More than 170 countries extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
1996

After the aircraft's departure from Miami, a fire started by improperly handled chemical oxygen generators 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.
1996

The 1996 Mount Everest disaster: on a single day eight people die during summit attempts on Mount Everest.
1997

Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.
1998

India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran.
2000

Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia.
2011

Earthquake of magnitude 5.1 attacks in Lorca, Spain.
2013

Fifty-two people are killed in a bombing in Reyhanlı, Turkey.
2014

Fifteen people are killed and 46 injured in Kinshasa in a stampede caused by tear gas being thrown into soccer stands by police officers attempting to defuse a hostile incident.
2016

More than 110 people are killed in an ISIL bombing in Baghdad.

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