Special Days in History - May 7th Anniversaries

Find Out What Happened Today - 7th May - Over the Centuries

© Christine Fadhley

May 6, 2009

Wedding, birthday or anniversary today? Here are some more momentous happenings on May 7th throughout history.

Famous May 7th Births

Those born on May 7th share this anniversary with the following famous personalities:

• Robert Browning, English poet, famous for writing such classics as The Pied Piper of Hamelin and How they Brought the Good News from Ghent to Aix was born in 1812
• Johannes Brahms, born in Hamburg Germany in 1833 had such an enormous influence on classical music that he is ranked along side Beethoven and Bach. He spent most of his working life at the Austrian court in Vienna.
• In 1840 another musical heavyweight, Pyotr Illych Tchaikovski was born to a middle class family who were set on him becoming a lawyer. Thankfully he changed mid-stream and went to study music at the St Petersburg Conservatory. His best known work is music he wrote for the ballet and includes such classics as The Nutcracker Suite and Swan Lake.
• In 1861 Rabindranath Tagore, Indian polymath and Nobel Laureate was born in Bengal. He was multi-talented, but is probably best known for his devotional poetry as published in his book Gitanjali.
• The world would have been a duller place without film actor Gary Cooper, born in 1901 in America of British immigrant parents. Two of his classic roles are his appearances in Seargant York and High Noon.
• Jimmy Ruffin, popular American singer was born in 1939. His best known hit is probably "What becomes of the Broken Hearted".
• Richard O'Sullivan, British Actor was born in 1944
• Christie Moore, Irish folk artist was born in 1945

Historical Events that Occurred on May 7th Throughout History

• In the year 558 the original dome of the Hagia Sophia church collapsed. Pope Justinian 1st ordered it to be rebuilt. It is now a mosque subsequent upon the capture of Constantinople as it was - Istambul as it now is - by Muslim forces.
• In 1429 Joan of Arc led the final assault on Orleans in France. This victory ended the siege and marked a turning point - in France's favor, in the Hundred Years War. She was wounded in the shoulder by an English arrow which she removed herself.
• Ludvig Van Beethoven premiered his 9th Symphony in Vienna in 1824. By this time he was completely deaf, but still insisted in co-conducting the performance. He received a standing ovation.
• 1946 was the founding year of Sony, the giant electronics corporation. It was first known as Tokyo Telecommunications & Engineering
• In 1952 scientist Geoffrey W. A. Dummer published the concept of the integrated circuit which went on to be the basis for all computers.
• The tomb of Herod the Great discovered in 2007. Herod the Great is believed to be the Biblical Herod who had the Jewish babies slaughtered in an attempt to kill the infant Jesus. Often confused with his son Herod Antipas (the Herod who executed John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth), he founded the Herodian dynasty.

Famous May 7th Deaths

• Guru Nanak Dev, founder of Sikhism died in 1539
• Niccola Puccini, Italian composer died in 1800
• Antonio Salieri, Italian composer died in 1825. Remember him - he was the one in the Mozart movie?
• Seattle Slew, famous American racehorse, died in 2002

National Days and Saints Days

In Russia May 7th is Russia Radio Day celebrating Alexander Popov's life. In the USA it is National Day of Prayer.

Saints days include Acacius of Byzantium (a Roman centurion who would not give up his Christan faith and so was tortured and killed) and John of Beverley Bishop of Hexam and York who founded the town of Beverley by building a monastery there.

References:

New York Times

New York Times

Tchaikovski Portrait

Gary Cooper

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