On This Day: May 11

Updated May 10, 2012, 2:28 pm

On May 11, 1973, charges against Daniel Ellsberg for his role in the Pentagon Papers case were dismissed by Judge William M. Byrne, who cited government misconduct.
Go to article »

On May 11, 1894, Martha Graham, the American dancer and choreographer who was a pioneer of modern dance, was born. Following her death on April 1, 1991, her obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1858 Minnesota became the 32nd state.

1894 Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Co. in Illinois went on strike. (The job action spread and crippled railroad service nationwide before the federal government intervened to end the strike in July.)

1904 Artist Salvador Dali was born in Figueras, Spain.

1910 Glacier National Park in Montana was established.

1947 The B.F. Goodrich Co. of Akron, Ohio, announced the development of a tubeless tire.

1949 Israel was admitted to the United Nations.

1949 Siam changed its named to Thailand.

1981 Reggae musician Bob Marley died of cancer at age 36.

1996 A ValuJet DC-9 caught fire shortly after takeoff from Miami and crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board

1997 The Deep Blue IBM computer defeated Garry Kasparov to win a six-game chess match between man and machine in New York.

1998 India set off three underground atomic blasts, its first nuclear tests in 24 years.

1998 A French mint produced the first coins of Europe’s single currency, the euro.

2010 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown resigned, ending 13 years of the Labour Party government. (He was succeeded by Conservative David Cameron.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actor Jeffrey Donovan (“Burn Notice”) turns 44 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Actor Cory Monteith (“Glee”) turns 30 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

1927 Mort Sahl, Comedian, turns 85

1934 James Jeffords, Former U.S. senator, I-Vt., turns 78

1941 Eric Burdon, Rock singer (The Animals), turns 71

1952 Shohreh Aghdashloo, Actress, turns 60

1952 Frances Fisher, Actress, turns 60

1953 Boyd Gaines, Actor, turns 59

1959 Martha Quinn, Former MTV VJ, turns 53

Historic Birthdays

Martha Graham 5/11/1894 – 4/1/1991 American dancer, teacher and choreographer.Go to obituary »

76 Baron Munchhausen 5/11/1720 – 2/22/1797
German story-teller; his tales became “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen”

91 Fanny Cerrito 5/11/1817 – 5/6/1909
Russian-born American composer for stage and screen musicals

66 Charles Warren Fairbanks 5/11/1852 – 6/4/1918
American politician; vice-president under Theodore Roosevelt (1905-09)

72 Frank Schlesinger 5/11/1871 – 7/10/1943
American astronomer

101 Irving Berlin 5/11/1888 – 9/22/1989
Russian-born American composer for stage and screen musicals

75 Henry Morgenthau, Jr. 5/11/1891 – 2/6/1967
American secretary of the treasury (1934-45)

80 Dame Margaret Rutherford 5/11/1892 – 5/22/1972
English stage and screen actress

83 William Grant Still 5/11/1895 – 12/3/1978
American composer and conductor

84 Salvador Dali 5/11/1904 – 1/23/1989
Spanish Surrealist painter and printmaker

78 Herbert Philbrick 5/11/1915 – 8/16/1993
American counterintelligence agent for the F.B.I.

1858	Minnesota became the 32nd state.
1894	Workers at the Pullman Palace Car Co. in Illinois went on strike. (The job action spread and crippled railroad service nationwide before the federal government intervened to end the strike in July.)
1904	Artist Salvador Dali was born in Figueras, Spain.
1910	Glacier National Park in Montana was established.
1947	The B.F. Goodrich Co. of Akron, Ohio, announced the development of a tubeless tire.
1949	Israel was admitted to the United Nations.
1949	Siam changed its named to Thailand.
1981	Reggae musician Bob Marley died of cancer at age 36.
1996	A ValuJet DC-9 caught fire shortly after takeoff from Miami and crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board
1997	The Deep Blue IBM computer defeated Garry Kasparov to win a six-game chess match between man and machine in New York.
1998	India set off three underground atomic blasts, its first nuclear tests in 24 years.
1998	A French mint produced the first coins of Europe’s single currency, the euro.
2010	British Prime Minister Gordon Brown resigned, ending 13 years of the Labour Party government. (He was succeeded by Conservative David Cameron.

1927	Mort Sahl, Comedian, turns 85
1934	James Jeffords, Former U.S. senator, I-Vt., turns 78
1941	Eric Burdon, Rock singer (The Animals), turns 71
1952	Shohreh Aghdashloo, Actress, turns 60
1952	Frances Fisher, Actress, turns 60
1953	Boyd Gaines, Actor, turns 59
1959	Martha Quinn, Former MTV VJ, turns 53

76	Baron Munchhausen 5/11/1720 – 2/22/1797 German story-teller; his tales became “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen”
91	Fanny Cerrito 5/11/1817 – 5/6/1909 Russian-born American composer for stage and screen musicals
66	Charles Warren Fairbanks 5/11/1852 – 6/4/1918 American politician; vice-president under Theodore Roosevelt (1905-09)
72	Frank Schlesinger 5/11/1871 – 7/10/1943 American astronomer
101	Irving Berlin 5/11/1888 – 9/22/1989 Russian-born American composer for stage and screen musicals
75	Henry Morgenthau, Jr. 5/11/1891 – 2/6/1967 American secretary of the treasury (1934-45)
80	Dame Margaret Rutherford 5/11/1892 – 5/22/1972 English stage and screen actress
83	William Grant Still 5/11/1895 – 12/3/1978 American composer and conductor
84	Salvador Dali 5/11/1904 – 1/23/1989 Spanish Surrealist painter and printmaker
78	Herbert Philbrick 5/11/1915 – 8/16/1993 American counterintelligence agent for the F.B.I.