more events on May 7
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1960
Leonid Brezhnev becomes president of the Soviet Union.
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1958
Howard Johnson sets an aircraft altitude record in F-104.
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1954
French troops surrender to the Vietminh at Dien Bien Phu.
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1952
In Korea, Communist POWs at Koje-do riot against their American captors.
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1945
Germany signs an unconditional surrender, effectively ending World War II in Europe.
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1943
Peter Carey, Australian writer (Illywhacker, Oscar and Lucinda).
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The last major German strongholds in North Africa–Tunis and Bizerte–fall to Allied forces.
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1942
In the Battle of the Coral Sea, Japanese and American navies attack each other with carrier-launched warplanes. It is the first time in the history of naval warfare where two fleets fought without seeing each other.Two crucial battles in 1942 marked the turning point of the war in the Pacific.
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1937
The German Condor Legion arrives in Spain to assist Fransico Franco’s forces.
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1932
Jenny Joseph, English poet and novelist (The Thinking Heart, The Inland Sea).
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1919
Eva (Evita) Perón, first lady of Argentina.
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1915
The German submarine U-20 torpedoes the passenger ship Lusitiania, sinking her in 21 minutes with 1,978 people on board.
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1909
Edwin Herbert Land, inventor of the Polaroid Land Camera.
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1901
Gary Cooper, film actor (High Noon, Friendly Persuasion).
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1892
Archibald MacLeish, American poet and statesman.
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Josip Broz [Tito], leader of Yugoslavia during after World War II.
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1877
Indian chief Sitting Bull enters Canada with a trail of Indians after the Battle of Little Bighorn.
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1870
Marcus Loew, film executive, consolidated studios to create MGM.
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1864
The Battle of the Wilderness ends with heavy losses to both sides.
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1862
Confederate troops strike Union troops at the Battle of Eltham’s Landing in Virginia.
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1847
The American Medical Association is formed in Philadelphia.
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1840
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer.
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1833
Johannes Brahms, German composer.
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1824
Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” premieres in Vienna.
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1812
Robert Browning, English poet.
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1800
Congress divides the Northwest Territory into two parts. The western part will becomes the Indiana Territory and the eastern section remains the Northwest Territory.
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1763
Indian chief Pontiac begins his attack on a British fort in present-day Detroit, Michigan.
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1525
The German peasants’ revolt is crushed by the ruling class and church.
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1429
Joan of Arc breaks the English siege of Orleans.
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1274
The Second Council of Lyons opens in France to regulate the election of the pope.
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558
The dome of the church of St. Sophia in Constantinople collapses. Its immediate rebuilding is ordered by Justinian.