May 11Birthdays & History

On this day: May 11 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 330Constantine the Great dedicates the much-expanded and rebuilt city of Byzantium, changing its name to New Rome and declaring it the new capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.Europe
2. 868A copy of the Diamond Sūtra is published, the earliest dated and printed book known.Asia
3. 973In the first coronation ceremony ever held for an English monarch, Edgar the Peaceful is crowned King of England, having ruled since 959 AD. His wife, Ælfthryth, is crowned queen, the first recorded coronation for a Queen of England.Europe
4. 1068Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, is crowned Queen of England.Europe
5. 1258Louis IX of France and James I of Aragon sign the Treaty of Corbeil, renouncing claims of feudal overlordship in one another's territories and separating the House of Barcelona from the politics of France.Europe
6. 1560The Ottoman naval forces inflict a defeat on a Spanish fleet in the battle of Djerba. This marks the highpoint of Ottoman naval dominance in the Mediterranean, which starts declining five years later after the failed siege of Malta.Middle EastEurope
7. 1713Great Northern War: After losing the Battle of Helsinki to the Russians, the Swedish and Finnish troops burn the entire city, so that it would not remain intact in the hands of the Russians.Europe
8. 1812Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons.Europe
9. 1813William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth discover a route across the Blue Mountains, opening up inland Australia to settlement.Oceania
10. 1857Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British.AsiaEurope
11. 1858Minnesota becomes the 32nd U.S. state.North America
12. 1878Hödel assassination attempt by anarchist Max Hödel targeting the German Kaiser, Wilhelm I.Europe
13. 1880Seven people are killed in the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a gun battle in California.North America
14. 1889An 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.North America
15. 1894Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike.North America
16. 1919Uruguay becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.Latin America
17. 1953In the deadliest of a series of tornadoes, an F5 tornado kills 114 in Waco, Texas.North America
18. 1970The 1970 Lubbock tornado kills 26 and causes $250 million in damage.North America
19. 1973Aeroflot Flight 6551 crashes in Semey, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (now Kazakhstan), killing all 63 aboard.AsiaEurope
20. 1973Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg's charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times are dismissed.North America
21. 1985Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in the Bradford City stadium fire.Europe
22. 1987Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.Europe
23. 1996After the aircraft's departure from Miami, a fire started by improperly handled chemical oxygen generators in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 on board.North America
24. 1997Deep 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.North America
25. 1998India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran.Asia
26. 2000Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia.Europe
27. 2009Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.North America
28. 2009An American soldier in Iraq opens fire on a counseling center at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, killing five other US soldiers and wounding three.North AmericaMiddle East
29. 2010David Cameron takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats form the country's first coalition government since the Second World War.Europe
30. 2011The Istanbul Convention is signed in Istanbul, Turkey.Middle East
31. 2011An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hits Lorca, Spain.Europe
32. 2013Fifty-two people are killed in a bombing in Reyhanlı, Turkey.Middle East
33. 2014Fifteen people are killed and 46 injured in Kinshasa, DRC, in a stampede caused by tear gas being thrown into soccer stands by police officers.Africa
34. 2016One hundred and ten people are killed in an ISIL bombing in Baghdad.Middle East
35. 2022Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh is killed while covering a raid in Jenin. Israel eventually admitted and apologized for the murder, after initial denials.Middle EastNorth America
36. 2022The Burmese military executes at least 37 villagers during the Mon Taing Pin massacre in Sagaing, Myanmar.Asia
37. 2024The 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest is held in Malmö, Sweden. Nemo from Switzerland win with their song "The Code", making them the contest's first non-binary winner.Europe
38. 2024Start/Middle of the May 2024 Solar Storms, the most powerful set of geomagnetic storms since the 2003 Halloween solar storms.World

Source: Wikipedia "May 11" / CC BY-SA 4.0