On this day: May 7

Events on May 7

• 351 Jews in the Roman province of Syria Palaestina rebelled against the rule of Constantius Gallus, caesar of the Eastern Roman Empire. Wikipedia
• 1274 In France, the Second Council of Lyon opens; it ratified a decree to regulate the election of the Pope. Wikipedia
• 1342 In Avignon, France, Cardinal Pierre Roger is elected Pope and takes the name Clement VI. Wikipedia
• 1487 Granada War: Forces of Aragon and Castile began a siege of Málaga, a Muslim city in the south of the Iberian Peninsula. Wikipedia
• 1664 Inaugural celebrations begin at Louis XIV's new Palace of Versailles. Wikipedia
• 1697 Stockholm's medieval castle Tre Kronor is destroyed by fire. It is replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace. Wikipedia
• 1718 The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville. Wikipedia
• 1775 The Ottoman Empire cedes Bukovina to the Habsburg monarchy. Wikipedia
• 1794 French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre established the Cult of the Supreme Being as the new state religion of the French First Republic. Wikipedia
• 1794 French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic. Wikipedia
• 1824 World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer's supervision. Wikipedia
• 1840 The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history. Wikipedia
• 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. Wikipedia
• 1895 In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector—a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day. Wikipedia
• 1915 World War I: German submarine U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,199 people, including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many former pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire. Wikipedia
• 1920 Polish–Soviet War: Kyiv offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kyiv only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later. Wikipedia
• 1931 The stand-off between criminal Francis Crowley and 300 members of the New York Police Department takes place in his fifth-floor apartment on West 91st Street, New York City. Wikipedia
• 1940 World War II: The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later. Wikipedia
• 1940 A three-day debate began in the House of Commons that resulted in British prime minister Neville Chamberlain being replaced by Winston Churchill. Wikipedia
• 1960 Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers. Wikipedia
• 1992 Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise. Wikipedia
• 1999 Pope John Paul II travels to Romania, becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054. Wikipedia
• 1999 In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup. Wikipedia
• 1999 Kosovo War: Three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft inadvertently bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. Wikipedia
• 2000 Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia. Wikipedia
• 2025 The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force conduct surgical strikes code-named Operation SINDOOR on terrorist hideouts in Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam Attack that killed 26 people. Wikipedia

Born on May 7

• 1711 David Hume, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (died 1776) Wikipedia
• 1748 Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and philosopher (died 1793) Wikipedia
• 1812 Robert Browning, English poet and playwright (died 1889) Wikipedia
• 1833 Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (died 1897) Wikipedia
• 1840 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and educator (died 1893) Wikipedia
• 1847 Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1929) Wikipedia
• 1861 Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1941) Wikipedia
• 1867 Władysław Reymont, Polish novelist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1925) Wikipedia
• 1880 Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (died 1972) Wikipedia
• 1892 Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (died 1980) Wikipedia
• 1901 Gary Cooper, American actor (died 1961) Wikipedia
• 1919 Eva Perón, Argentinian actress, 25th First Lady of Argentina (died 1952) Wikipedia
• 1923 Anne Baxter, American actress (died 1985) Wikipedia
• 1939 Sidney Altman, Canadian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2022) Wikipedia
• 1956 Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch jurist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Wikipedia
• 1971 Thomas Piketty, French economist Wikipedia
• 1976 Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (died 2005) Wikipedia
• 1996 Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok, South Korean League of Legends pro gamer Wikipedia
• 1997 Youri Tielemans, Belgian footballer Wikipedia
• 1998 MrBeast, American YouTuber Wikipedia
• 1998 Dani Olmo, Spanish footballer Wikipedia
• 1999 Cody Gakpo, Dutch footballer Wikipedia

Died on May 7

• 973 Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (born 912) Wikipedia
• 1014 Bagrat III, 1st King of Georgia (born 960) Wikipedia
• 1166 William I of Sicily Wikipedia
• 1205 Ladislaus III of Hungary (born 1201) Wikipedia
• 1682 Feodor III of Russia (born 1661) Wikipedia
• 1718 Mary of Modena, Queen Consort of England, Scotland and Ireland (born 1658) Wikipedia
• 1805 William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (born 1737) Wikipedia
• 1825 Antonio Salieri, Italian composer and conductor (born 1750) Wikipedia
• 1840 Caspar David Friedrich, German painter and educator (born 1774) Wikipedia
• 1941 James George Frazer, Scottish-English anthropologist and academic (born 1854) Wikipedia
• 1951 Warner Baxter, American actor (born 1889) Wikipedia
• 1998 Allan McLeod Cormack, South African-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1924) Wikipedia
• 2000 Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American captain, actor, and producer (born 1909) Wikipedia
• 2011 Willard Boyle, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1924) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Agathius of Byzantium Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Agostino Roscelli Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Anthony of Kiev Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Pope Benedict II Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Flavia Domitilla Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Gisela of Hungary Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Harriet Starr Cannon (Episcopal Church (USA)) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: John of Beverley Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Rose Venerini Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: May 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Defender of the Fatherland Day (Kazakhstan) Wikipedia
• Dien Bien Phu Victory Day (Vietnam) Wikipedia
• Radio Day, commemorating the work of Alexander Popov (Russia, Bulgaria) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “May 7” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.