This Day in History

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May 7, 1718

The city of New Orleans is founded.

1763

Odawa war chief Pontiac attempts to seize Fort Detroit from the British, leading to Pontiac's War.

1824

World premiere of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in Vienna.

1840

The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.

1915

The RMS Lusitania is sunk by the German sub U-20, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans.

1942

During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō. The battle marks the first time in the naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between the warring ships.

1974

Willy Brandt resigns as West German Chancellor.

1976

The Honda Accord is officially launched.

1998

Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion USD and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.

2000

Russia inaugurates Vladimir Putin as President.

2004

American businessman Nick Berg, is beheaded by Islamic militants.

2007

The tomb of Herod the Great south of Jerusalem.

Births

1812 – Robert Browning; 1833 – Johannes Brahms; 1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; 1885 – George "Gabby" Hayes; 1892 – Archibald MacLeish; 1892 – Josip Broz Tito; 1901 – Gary Cooper; 1909 – Edwin H. Land (co-founded Polaroid Corp.); 1919 – Eva Perón; 1922 – Darren McGavin (Kolchak: The Night Stalker); 1923 – Anne Baxter; 1930 – Totie Fields; 1933 – Johnny Unitas; 1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, Jerry Nolan; 1948 – Susan Atkins (follower of Charles Manson); 1950 – Randall "Tex" Cobb (boxer), Tim Russert; 1951 – Bernie Marsden; 1961 – Phil Campbell (Motorhead); 1965 – Owen Hart (wrestler); 1968 – Traci Lords; 1969 – Eagle-Eye Cherry

Deaths

1896 – H. H. Holmes (serial killer); 1998 – Eddie Rabbitt; 2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.; 2007 – Yahweh ben Yahweh; 2011 – Seve Ballesteros; 2013 – Ray Harryhausen