May 7th
1718
The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville.
1789
The first inaugural ball was held in New York in honor of President George Washington and his wife, Martha.
1824
Beethoven's 9th Symphony premiered in Vienna.
1847
The American Medical Association was organized in Philadelphia, Pa.
1915
The British ocean liner Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine in World War I off the coast of Ireland killing nearly 1,200 people.
1939
Germany and Italy announced a military and political alliance known as the Rome-Berlin Axis.
1945
Germany unconditionally surrendered to the allies in Rheims, France.
1946
Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded with around 20 employees.
1977
Seattle Slew won the Kentucky Derby, on his way to horse racing's Triple Crown.
1987
Shelly Long, as Diane Chambers, made her last appearance as a regular on the TV show "Cheers."
1995
The final episode of "Matlock" aired on NBC.
Birthdays
80 Dick Williams Baseball Hall of Famer
70 Johnny Maestro Singer
70 Jimmy Ruffin R&B singer
64 Robin Strasser Actress
63 Bill Danoff Singer, songwriter (The Starland Vocal Band)
63 Bill Kreutzmann Rock musician (Grateful Dead)
59 Prairie Prince Rock musician
59 Randall "Tex" Cobb Former boxer, actor
58 Robert Hegyes Actor ("Welcome Back, Kotter")
55 Amy Heckerling Writer, director ("Clueless," "Fast Times at Ridgemont High")
50 Michael E. Knight Actor ("All My Children")
48 Phil Campbell Rock singer, musician (Motorhead)
40 Traci Lords Actress
35 Breckin Meyer Actor
30
pnoon Cigar Asylum Inmate
18 Taylor Abrahamse Actor
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CaRyan Cigar Asylum Inmate
77 Robert Browning 5/7/1812 - 12/12/1889 English poet and writer
63 Johannes Brahms 5/7/1833 - 4/3/1897 German composer
53 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 5/7/1840 - 11/6/1893 Russian composer
60 Gary Cooper 5/7/1901 - 5/13/1961 American motion-picture actor
83 Darren McGavin 5/7/1922 - 2/25/2006 American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker, and also his portrayal in the movie A Christmas Story of the grumpy father
69 Johnny Unitas 5/7/1933 - 9/11/2002 Football Hall of Famer
58 Tim Russert 5/7/1950 - 6/13/2008 American television journalist and lawyer who appeared for more than 16 years as the longest-serving moderator of NBC's Meet the Press
34 Owen Hart 5/7/1965 - 5/23/1999 Professional wrestler