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HISTORY & TIMELINE
11 May

A journey through
11 May in history

The story of 11 May runs from the dedication of Constantinople in 330 and a Buddhist scroll printed in 868 to a French victory at Fontenoy, a strike that shook America’s railways and Israel’s entry to the United Nations. It closes with Aberdeen’s rain-soaked European triumph in 1983 and Deep Blue’s win over Garry Kasparov in 1997.

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JUMP THROUGH TIME
I
EARLIEST RECORDS

Ancient & Early History

The earliest worthwhile records and events connected with this date.

330
Arches in the outer ring of the Theodosian Walls of ConstantinopleArches in the outer ring of the Theodosian Walls of ConstantinopleImage: Apaleutos25 · CC BY-SA 4.0
politics · Europe

Constantine dedicates his New Rome

On 11 May 330 the emperor Constantine the Great formally dedicated the city he had rebuilt on the site of ancient Byzantium, on the strait that joins Europe and Asia. He had chosen the spot six years earlier, and in that time the old Greek town had been greatly enlarged with new walls, forums, palaces and a vast hippodrome for chariot racing. Constantine called it New Rome, but people soon knew it as Constantinople, the city of Constantine. It became the capital of the Roman Empire in the east and remained the seat of Byzantine emperors for more than 1,100 years, until the Ottoman conquest of 1453. Today the city is Istanbul, still one of the great crossroads of the world.

Source: Britannica: Constantine I ↗
II
THE MIDDLE AGES

Medieval History

Kingdoms, conflict, faith, power and the changing medieval world.

868
The frontispiece and opening text of the printed Diamond Sutra scroll from DunhuangThe frontispiece and opening text of the printed Diamond Sutra scroll from DunhuangImage: Printed for Wang Jie in 868 (British Library) · Public domain
culture · Asia

The world’s oldest dated printed book

A note at the end of a Chinese copy of the Diamond Sutra, a Buddhist scripture, records that it was made by a man named Wang Jie on behalf of his two parents, for free distribution. The date it gives matches 11 May 868, which makes the scroll the earliest complete printed book known to carry a date. The book was printed from carved wooden blocks onto seven strips of paper, pasted together into a scroll more than five metres long, with a finely cut picture of the Buddha at the start. It lay for centuries in a sealed cave library near Dunhuang in north-west China, was acquired by the explorer Aurel Stein in 1907 and is now in the British Library.

Source: British Library, International Dunhuang Programme: The Diamond Sutra ↗
III
A CHANGING WORLD

Early Modern Era

Exploration, political change, scientific development and expanding global connections.

1745
Philippoteaux's painting of French and British officers facing each other at FontenoyPhilippoteaux’s painting of French and British officers facing each other at FontenoyImage: Henri Félix Emmanuel Philippoteaux · Public domain
world · Europe

France wins at Fontenoy

On 11 May 1745, near Tournai in what is now Belgium, a French army under Marshal Maurice de Saxe defeated an allied British, Hanoverian, Dutch and Austrian force led by the young Duke of Cumberland. The British infantry broke into the French lines but were driven back by counter-attacks, including a charge by the Irish Brigade in French service. Saxe, too ill to ride, directed the battle from a wicker carriage and went on to take most of Flanders.

Source: Britannica: Battle of Fontenoy ↗
IV
THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

The 1800s

Industry, empire, invention, reform and a century of enormous transformation.

1812
Spencer Perceval, prime minister from 1809, in an engraved portrait.Spencer Perceval, prime minister from 1809, in an engraved portrait.Image: Unknown author · Public domain
politics · Europe

A prime minister is shot in Parliament

Early on the evening of 11 May 1812, Prime Minister Spencer Perceval walked into the lobby of the House of Commons on his way to a debate. John Bellingham, a Liverpool merchant who blamed the government for failing to help him after years of imprisonment in Russia, stepped forward and shot him in the chest. Perceval died within minutes. Bellingham made no attempt to escape. He was tried at the Old Bailey four days later, found guilty and hanged a week after the shooting. Perceval, who had led the government since 1809, remains the only British prime minister to have been assassinated, and a memorial to him stands in Westminster Abbey.

Source: UK Parliament: The Assassination of Spencer Perceval ↗
1820
HMS Beagle, the survey ship that carried Charles DarwinHMS Beagle, the survey ship that carried Charles DarwinImage: R. T. Pritchett · Public domain
science · Europe

HMS Beagle is launched

On 11 May 1820 a small ten-gun brig named HMS Beagle slid into the Thames at Woolwich Dockyard. Built for the Royal Navy at a time of peace, she had little work at first and was later refitted as a survey ship. Under Captain Robert FitzRoy she would carry the young naturalist Charles Darwin around the world from 1831, a voyage whose observations fed his theory of evolution.

Source: Royal Museums Greenwich: HMS Beagle ↗
1857
The Naubat Khana (drum house) inside the Red Fort, DelhiThe Naubat Khana (drum house) inside the Red Fort, DelhiImage: Jakub Hałun · CC BY-SA 4.0
world · Asia

Rebel soldiers take Delhi

A day after Indian soldiers of the East India Company’s army rose against their officers at Meerut, they rode the roughly 40 miles to Delhi. On 11 May 1857 they entered the city, where the local regiments joined them, and many Europeans and Indian Christians in Delhi were killed as the Company lost control of the city. The rebels went to the Red Fort and asked the elderly Mughal emperor, Bahadur Shah II, to lead them. He agreed, reluctantly, and his name gave the uprising a figurehead across northern India. British forces besieged Delhi through the summer and retook it in September, and the rebellion eventually ended Company rule in India.

Source: Britannica: Bahadur Shah II ↗
1858
The Minnesota State Capitol in Saint PaulThe Minnesota State Capitol in Saint PaulImage: Myotus · CC BY 4.0
politics · Americas

Minnesota becomes the 32nd state

On 11 May 1858 President James Buchanan approved the act of Congress admitting Minnesota to the Union, making it the 32nd state of the United States. The land of lakes and forests had been organised as Minnesota Territory in 1849, and its settlers had already drafted a state constitution the year before. News travelled slowly to the new state. The message went by telegraph as far as Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin and then up the Mississippi by steamboat, so the people of Saint Paul learned some days later that their town was now a state capital. The name comes from a Dakota word describing the water of the Minnesota River.

Source: Minnesota Secretary of State: Admission of Minnesota into the Union 1858 ↗
1867
Article VII and the signatures of the 1867 Treaty of London, held by the National Archives of LuxembourgArticle VII and the signatures of the 1867 Treaty of London, held by the National Archives of LuxembourgImage: Archives nationales du Luxembourg · Public domain
politics · Europe

Luxembourg is declared neutral

On 11 May 1867 the great powers of Europe signed a treaty in London to settle a crisis over Luxembourg, after Napoleon III of France had tried to buy the grand duchy and Prussia objected. Prussia agreed to withdraw its garrison, the huge fortress of Luxembourg City was to be dismantled, and the country was declared permanently neutral under the powers’ guarantee. Demolishing the fortifications took 16 years.

Source: Britannica: Treaties of London ↗
1894
Pullman strikers gathered outside the Arcade Building in Pullman, Illinois, 1894Pullman strikers gathered outside the Arcade Building in Pullman, Illinois, 1894Image: Pullman Company (unknown photographer) · Public domain
politics · Americas

The Pullman strike begins

On 11 May 1894 workers at the Pullman Palace Car Company near Chicago walked out after the company cut wages by about a quarter without lowering rents in its company town. The American Railway Union, led by Eugene V. Debs, backed them with a boycott of Pullman cars that spread across much of the country. Federal troops and a court injunction broke the strike that summer.

Source: Britannica: Pullman Strike ↗
V
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

The 1900s

War and peace, technological leaps, social change, politics, sport and popular culture.

1949
The flag of Israel flying against the skyThe flag of Israel flying against the skyImage: Dr. Zachi Evenor · CC BY 2.0
world · Middle East

Israel joins the United Nations

On 11 May 1949 the United Nations General Assembly voted to admit Israel as a member, a year after the state’s founding. Resolution 273 passed by 37 votes to 12, with 9 abstentions, following a recommendation from the Security Council in March. Israel became the organisation’s 59th member, and its admission remains a subject of debate in the region.

Source: UN Digital Library: Admission of Israel to membership in the United Nations ↗
1949
The flag of Thailand.The flag of Thailand.Image: Zscout370 · Public domain
politics · Asia

Siam becomes Thailand for good

The country first took the name Thailand in 1939 under the military leader Plaek Phibunsongkhram, but after the Second World War a civilian government restored the old name, Siam. When Phibun returned to power after a coup, his government brought back Thailand as the official name on 11 May 1949. It has been used ever since, and the word is usually explained as meaning land of the free.

Source: EBSCO Research Starters: Siam Changes Its Name to Thailand ↗
1983
The Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg, SwedenThe Ullevi stadium in Gothenburg, SwedenImage: Andreas Palmnäs · CC BY 3.0
sport · Europe

Aberdeen beat Real Madrid in the rain

On a wet night in Gothenburg on 11 May 1983, Aberdeen met Real Madrid in the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup. Eric Black gave the Scottish side an early lead, Juanito levelled for Madrid, and the match went to extra time with the pitch at the Ullevi stadium soaked by heavy rain. With nine minutes of extra time left, substitute John Hewitt headed in Mark McGhee’s cross to win the game 2 to 1. The club, managed by a young Alex Ferguson, became only the third Scottish team to win a European trophy, and later that year added the European Super Cup by beating Hamburg.

Source: UEFA: 1982/83 Aberdeen sing in the rain ↗
1997
One of Deep Blue's processor boards on display in a museum case.One of Deep Blue’s processor boards on display in a museum case.Image: Erik Pitti from San Diego, CA, USA · CC BY 2.0
science · Americas

A computer beats the world chess champion in a match

On 11 May 1997, in a rematch held in New York, IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer won the sixth and final game against world champion Garry Kasparov in just 19 moves. That gave the machine the match by 3.5 points to 2.5, with two wins, one loss and three draws. A year earlier Kasparov had beaten an earlier version of Deep Blue 4 to 2 in Philadelphia. The upgraded machine could examine around 200 million chess positions a second. Its win was the first time a computer had defeated a reigning world champion in a full match under standard tournament conditions, a landmark for artificial intelligence.

Source: IBM: Deep Blue ↗
RESEARCH

Sources & Further Reading

Selected authoritative references supporting the events on this page.

WHY THESE MOMENTS?

Significance before volume

This page is not the longest possible list of events. It is a chronological journey through 11 May, where each entry is chosen for historical significance, human interest and reliability.

Facts are checked against authoritative museums, archives, universities and reference works. Where sources disagree, the page says so.

EXPLORED THE DEEPER STORY?

Return to the highlights of 11 May

Discover the lighter side of the date with famous birthdays, culture, firsts and lives remembered.

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