868: The earliest surviving dated printed book is produced in China
The “Diamond Sutra” is one of the most important texts in Mahayana Buddhism. The British Library in London presently houses the copy.
1685: The death of 18-year-old Margaret Wilson, executed by drowning for refusing to swear an oath declaring James VII (James II of England) as head of the church. She died along with Margaret McLachlan. Known as the Wigtown Martyrs they are buried in Wigtown Churchyard (see ©BB picture) alongside the three men hanged at Wigtown.
1812: British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval was assassinated. In London, Spencer Perceval, prime minister of Britain since 1809, is shot to death by deranged businessman John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons. Bellingham, who was inflamed by his failure to obtain government compensation for war debts incurred in Russia, gave himself up immediately.
You will also like...
1960: South African singer and anti-apartheid activist Miriam Makeba’s first album, Miriam Makeba, is released. Recorded in New York, the LP features songs sung in SiZulu, isiXhosa, English, and Indonesian.
1960: Adolf Eichmann listening to an Israeli court’s verdict. Some 14 years after escaping from a prison camp, former Nazi official Adolf Eichmann was captured by Israeli intelligence agents near Buenos Aires; he was later taken to Israel, where he was tried, convicted, and executed.
1981: Reggae star Bob Marley dies at 36. In what would prove to be the next to the last concert of his tragically short life, Bob Marley shared the bill at Madison Square Garden with the hugely popular American funk band The Commodores. With no costumes, no choreography, and no set design to speak of, “The reggae star had the majority of his listeners on their feet and in the palm of his hand,” according to New York Times critic Robert Palmer. “After this show of strength, and Mr. Marley’s intense singing and electric stage presence, the Commodores were a letdown.”
Only days after his triumphant shows in New York City, Bob Marley collapsed while jogging in Central Park and later received a grim diagnosis: a cancerous growth on an old soccer injury on his big toe had metastasized and spread to Marley’s brain, liver, and lungs. Less than eight months later, on May 11, 1981, Bob Marley, the soul and international face of reggae music, died in a Miami, Florida, hospital. He was 36 years old.
1981: The musical Cats is premiered
The piece sparked a musical craze around the world and catapulted the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber to stardom
1985: Fifty-six spectators died and more than 200 were injured in a flash fire at Bradford City stadium (Valley Parade football ground) during a match against Lincoln City. The inquiry into the disaster led to the introduction of new legislation to improve safety at the UK’s football grounds. One of the main outcomes of the inquiry was prohibiting the construction of new wooden grandstands at all UK sports grounds. A burning cigarette thrown into a waste bin has been determined as the probable cause of the disaster.
1996: Nnamdi Azikiwe, nationalist and former President of Nigeria, died. Nnamdi Benjamin Azikiwe GCFR PC, usually referred to as Zik, was a Nigerian politician, statesman, and revolutionary leader who served as the 3rd and first black governor-general of Nigeria from 1960 to 1963 and the first president of Nigeria during the First Nigerian Republic. He was 91 years.
1998: India executes a series of nuclear weapons tests. The detonations raised fears of a nuclear conflict in the area and sparked international protests. On May 13, 1998, India officially declared itself a nuclear power.
.
2000: India’s population officially reaches 1 billion – Astha Arora named India’s billionth baby.
BIRTHS ON THIS DAY: May 10
Ade Orogbemi, 46 years
Ade Orogbemi is a Nigerian-born British wheelchair basketball player, born on 11 May 1978. He was selected to play for Team GB in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
Kamaru Usman, 37 years
Nigerian kick-box champion, 11 May 1987 in Auchi, Nigeria. Known as “The Nigerian Nightmare” in the ring, the mixed martial artist is also a freestyle and folkstyle wrester. Although competing as a welterweight, he was ranked #1 in the United Fighting Championship (UFC) 2021 pound for pound rankings. From his first UFC fight against Leon Edwards in 2015, he went undefeated until 2022 when he had his first professional loss, to Edwards.
Holly Valance 41 years
Holly Rachel Candy, known professionally as Holly Valance, is an Australian model, actress and singer born on ay 11 1983. She is best known for her roles as Felicity Scully on the Australian soap opera Neighbours and Nika Volek in Prison Break. Her film roles include, DOA: Dead or Alive, Pledge This!, Taken, and Kambakkht Ishq.
Richard Feynman (11 May 1918 – 15 February 1988)
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as his work in particle physics for which he proposed the parton model. He died at the age of 69.
Kindly like, comment, follow, and share.
