May 7

558 Two earthquakes in 553 and 557 caused cracks in the main dome and eastern half-dome of the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) in Constantinople. The main dome collapsed completely during a subsequent earthquake on May 7, 558. Justinian I, the Byzantine (East Roman) emperor ordered an immediate restoration. It reopened in December 562. The restored Hagia Sophia was the world's largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years, until Seville Cathedral was completed in 1520.

1664 King Louis XIV of France conceived the plan for a magnificent new palace at Versailles just outside of Paris, which would replace the château there. He inaugurated the building project on May 7, 1664. The Palace of Versailles was the principal residence of the French royal family from 1682, under Louis XIV, until the start of the French Revolution in 1789, under Louis XVI.

1718 The city of New Orleans was founded by the governor of French Louisiana, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville on May 7, 1718. New Orleans was believed to be safe from hurricanes and it was initially built in a rectangle block (now known as the French Quarter). It was named for Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, who was Regent of the Kingdom of France at the time. His title came from the French city of Orléans.

1726 view of the young city of New Orleans from across the Mississippi  River

1794 The French Revolution leader, Maximilien Robespierre, realized that without belief in some powerful being like the Judeo-Christian God, morals would collapse. On May 7, 1794, Robespierre introduced the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic. This was not the God of the Bible, who enters into personal relationships with men, but a Deist god, who could be discovered through natural law and inspired moral behavior.

1800 In 1800, Congress separated Ohio from the Northwest Territory, designating the rest of the land as the Indiana Territory. President John Adams signed into law a congressional act on May 7, 1800, to form the Indiana Territory. The creation of the Indiana Territory provided a framework for the territorial administration and eventual statehood for the area that is now the state of Indiana.

1812 The English poet Robert Browning was born on May 7, 1812 at Southampton Way, Camberwell, London, England. Robert's father Robert Browning, a man of fine intellect and character, was a well-off clerk for the Bank of England. Robert was an extremely bright child and voracious reader and his father encouraged his interest in literature and the arts. By the age of twelve, Browning had written a book of poetry which he later destroyed when no publisher could be found.

1824 Ludwig van Beethoven's last complete symphony was the Symphony No. 9 in D minor. The symphony incorporates part of German writer Friedrich Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy" in its fourth movement sung by four vocal soloists and a chorus.  The Ninth Symphony was premiered on May 7, 1824 in the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. There had been only two full rehearsals and the performance was rather scrappy. Despite this, the premiere was deemed a great success.

A page from Beethoven's manuscript of the 9th Symphony

1832 The independence of Greece was recognized by the Treaty of London on May 7, 1832. This treaty, signed by the Great Powers of the time, including the United Kingdom, Russia, France, and Bavaria, acknowledged Greece as an independent and sovereign state. As part of the treaty, Greece was established as a monarchy under the leadership of the Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty. Otto of Wittelsbach, Prince of Bavaria was chosen as the first monarch.

1833 The German composer Johannes Brahms was born in Hamburg, Germany on May 7, 1833. Johannes came from a humble but happy background. His father, Johann Jakob Brahms, was a poor (financially) musician who played the double bass in the orchestra of the Stadtheatre at Hamburg. His mother, Henrika Christiane Nissen, was a seamstress never previously married, who was seventeen years older than he was.

1837 Charles Dickens was very fond of his sister in law, Mary Hogarth and was shocked when she died suddenly in her sleep on May 7, 1837. The novelist took a ring from her hand and wore it on his own little finger for the rest of his life and didn't write for two months after the tragedy. Mary Hogarth was the inspiration for a number of characters in Dickens novels, including Rose in Oliver Twist and Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop.

Portrait of Mary Scott Hogarth, sister-in-law of Charles Dickens

1840 Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840 in Votkinsk, a grim industrial town halfway between Moscow and the Ural mountains. His father, Ilya Petrovich Tchaikovsky was a Ukrainian mining engineer who managed the Kamsko-Votkinsk Ironworks.
Pyotr was a withdrawn child, who was affected by abnormal insensitivity. He sought refuge in music from an early age and began piano lessons at the age of five showing remarkable gifts.

1846 The Cambridge Chronicle, America's oldest surviving weekly newspaper was published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts on May 7, 1846. The first editions were produced by hand press above the Holmes Grocery Store, on the corner of Magazine and Main Streets in Central Square.

Frontpage of the first edition, May 7, 1846

1895 Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrated to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society in St Petersburg on May 7, 1895 his radio based lightning detector — a primitive radio receiver. In Russia and Bulgaria the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.

1896 H. H. Holmes, the first recognized serial killer in United States history, was hanged at Moyamensing Prison in Philadelphia on May 7, 1896. Holmes sold the skeletons of his victims to medical science and while he confessed to 27 murders, only nine could be plausibly confirmed.

1901 The actor Gary Cooper was born Frank James Cooper on May 7, 1901, at 730 Eleventh Avenue in Helena, Montana. Cooper began as an extra in the film industry, usually being cast as a cowboy Knowing that other actors were using the name "Frank Cooper", the young actor decided to adopt the performing name of "Gary" after his agent's hometown of Gary, Indiana. He changed his name legally to "Gary Cooper" in August 1933.

1902 Martinique's Mount Pelée began the deadliest volcanic eruption of the 20th century on May 7, 1902. It completely destroyed St. Pierre, killing 30,000 people, wiping the city off the map. Ludger Sylbaris, a man thrown into solitary confinement after a bar brawl, survived the Mount Pelée eruption because his cell was bombproof and poorly ventilated. He became one of only three known survivors of the event, and his prison cell still stands today.

1902 eruption

1915 On May 7, 1915, a U-boat torpedoed and sank the ocean liner Lusitania off the West of Ireland. Almost 1,200 died including 120 Americans. The sinking of the Lusitania was a significant event that contributed to the United States eventually entering World War I on the side of the Allies. The loss of American lives and the outrage it generated played a role in shaping public opinion and shifting sentiment in the United States toward involvement in the war, which eventually occurred in 1917.

1929 Al Capone was primarily known for ordering other men to do his dirty work for him. However, when the mob leader discovered that three of his men were conspiring against him, he threw a dinner for them at Chicago's Hawthorne Inn on May 7, 1929. After a night of drinking, Capone beat the men with a baseball bat and then ordered his bodyguards to shoot them, a scene that was included in the 1987 movie The Untouchables.

1934 The Pearl of Lao Tzu weighing 14lb was discovered by a Filipino diver in the Philippines on May 7, 1934 and is about the size of a basketball. For many decades it was the world’s largest pearl. The Pearl of of Lao Tzu was owned by Wilburn Dowell Cobb, an American who brought the pearl from the Philippines in 1939. After Cobb's death in 1979, Peter Hoffman and Victor Barbish bought the pearl from his estate for $200,000. Its most recent valuation is $75 million (£51 million).

1988 On May 7, 1988, the U.S. city of Boston held the world's first convention for people who said they had been abducted by aliens. The convention was held at the Sheraton Commander Hotel in Boston. It was organized by Budd Hopkins, a New York City psychotherapist who had written a book about alien abductions called Missing Time. It attracted about 100 people, who shared their stories of being abducted by aliens and discussed the phenomenon.

1998 A $36 billion merger of the Chrysler Corporation by Daimler-Benz A.G.  forming DaimlerChrysler was announced on May 7, 1998. It was the biggest industrial takeover and the biggest acquisition of any American company by a foreign buyer at the time. The merger came at a time when the global automotive industry was in decline, and DaimlerChrysler was unable to compete effectively with its rivals. The company eventually split up in 2007.

2000 Vladimir Putin was sworn in as president of Russia, on May 7, 2000. He served as Russian president from 2000-2008 and again from 2012 to the present day.. During Putin's first period as president, the Russian economy grew for eight straight years, and GDP measured in purchasing power increased by 72%. After serving as prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev from 2008 to 2012, Putin announced he would seek a third term as president and won the March 2012 election with 64% of the vote.

2010 Prince Harry attended the Defence Helicopter Flying School at RAF Shawbury, in Shropshire, England, where he joined brother William. On May 7, 2010, Prince Harry was presented with his flying brevet, also known as wings, at a ceremony held at the Army Air Corps Base (AAC) in Middle Wallop, Hampshire, England. His father, Prince Charles, presented him with the wings to mark his completion of the helicopter pilot training.