Vintage News · Odd history for May 11

What Happened On May 11

Q: What happened on May 11?

973: In 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. 1997: Deep 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. 1813: William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth departed westward from Sydney on an expedition to become the first confirmed Europeans to cross the Blue Mountains. 1560: The 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. 2013: Two car bombs by unknown perpetrators exploded in Reyhanlı, Turkey, resulting in 52 killed and 140 injured. 2010: David Cameron took office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats formed the country's first coalition government since the Second World War. 1998: India began the Pokhran-II nuclear-weapons test, its first since the Smiling Buddha test 24 years earlier. 1997: Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in six games to become the first chess computer to win a match against a world champion. 1981: Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats (performers pictured), opened at the New London Theatre. 2024: The 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.

38 events and 115 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 11 May →

May 10 May 12

10 odd things that happened on May 11

973 First ever
In 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.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1997 First ever
Deep 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.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1813 First ever
William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth departed westward from Sydney on an expedition to become the first confirmed Europeans to cross the Blue Mountains.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1560 Oddly true
The 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.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2013 Oddly true
Two car bombs by unknown perpetrators exploded in Reyhanlı, Turkey, resulting in 52 killed and 140 injured.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2010 First ever
David Cameron took office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats formed the country's first coalition government since the Second World War.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1998 First ever
India began the Pokhran-II nuclear-weapons test, its first since the Smiling Buddha test 24 years earlier.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1997 First ever
Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in six games to become the first chess computer to win a match against a world champion.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1981 Oddly true
Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats (performers pictured), opened at the New London Theatre.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
2024 First ever
The 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.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2024Start/Middle of the May 2024 Solar Storms, the most powerful set of geomagnetic storms since the 2003 Halloween solar storms. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →
2022The Burmese military executes at least 37 villagers during the Mon Taing Pin massacre in Sagaing, Myanmar. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →
2016One hundred and ten people are killed in an ISIL bombing in Baghdad. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →
2013Fifty-two people are killed in a bombing in Reyhanlı, Turkey. Wikipedia →
2011An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hits Lorca, Spain. Wikipedia →
2011The Istanbul Convention is signed in Istanbul, Turkey. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →
2009An American soldier in Iraq opens fire on a counseling center at Camp Liberty in Baghdad, killing five other US soldiers and wounding three. Wikipedia →
2009Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on the final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Wikipedia →
2000Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia. Wikipedia →
1998India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →
1987Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II. Wikipedia →
1985Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in the Bradford City stadium fire. Wikipedia →
1973Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg's charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times are dismissed. Wikipedia →
1973Aeroflot Flight 6551 crashes in Semey, Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (now Kazakhstan), killing all 63 aboard. Wikipedia →
1970The 1970 Lubbock tornado kills 26 and causes $250 million in damage. Wikipedia →
1953In the deadliest of a series of tornadoes, an F5 tornado kills 114 in Waco, Texas. Wikipedia →
1919Uruguay becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty. Wikipedia →
1894Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →
1880Seven people are killed in the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a gun battle in California. Wikipedia →
1878Hödel assassination attempt by anarchist Max Hödel targeting the German Kaiser, Wilhelm I. Wikipedia →
1858Minnesota becomes the 32nd U.S. state. Wikipedia →
1857Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British. Wikipedia →
1813William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth discover a route across the Blue Mountains, opening up inland Australia to settlement. Wikipedia →
1812Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →
1068Matilda of Flanders, wife of William the Conqueror, is crowned Queen of England. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →
868A copy of the Diamond Sūtra is published, the earliest dated and printed book known. Wikipedia →
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. Wikipedia →

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.