What Happened on May 11

Historical Events

1888 – 16th Preakness: F Littlefield aboard Refund wins in 2:49
1926 – Airship Norge leaves Spitsbergen for 1st air crossing of Arctic Ocean
1950 – Belgium mine disaster at Borinage, 39 die
1972 – Giants trade Willie Mays to Mets for pitcher Charlie Williams and cash
1998 – India conducts three underground nuclear tests in Pokhran, including a thermonuclear device
2019 – South African parliamentary elections return ruling Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC party to power with reduced majority (58%)

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Famous Birthdays

1654 – Cornelis van Alkemade, Dutch historian, author and collector of antiquities, (d. 1737)
1927 – Mort Sahl, American stand-up comedian, political satirist, writer, and TV personality (The Big Party), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2021)
1930 – Edward Kamau Brathwaite, Caribbean poet (Born to Slow Horses) and academic, born in Bridgetown, Barbados (d. 2020)
1938 – Carla Bley [Carla Borg], American musician (Escalator Over the Hill), born in Oakland, California
1963 – Nina Stemme [Thöldte], Swedish dramatic soprano opera singer, born in Stockholm, Sweden
1989 – Cam Newton, American football quarterback (Heisman Trophy 2010, Auburn; NFL MVP 2015; Pro Bowl 2011, 13, 15; Carolina Panthers), born in Atlanta, Georgia

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Famous Deaths

1916 – Max Reger, German composer, pianist and professor (Leipzig Univ), dies at 43
1920 – William Dean Howells, American novelist, critic and editor (A Woman’s Reason), dies at 83
1955 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricket batsman (18 Tests; Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1898), dies at 80
1994 – Alfred James Broomhall, British Protestant Christian medical missionary to China, dies at 82
1996 – Nnamdi Azikiwe, 1st President of Nigeria (1963-66), dies at 91
2017 – Jur Mellema, Dutch politician (CHU), dies at 93

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