US bombs the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade
US aircraft bomb the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade killing three Chinese citizens and injuring another 20 during the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia on 7 May, 1999. The incident sparked a major diplomatic row between China and the US. Major public demonstrations were held in Beijing against the airstrike, forcing the US embassy staff members to stay indoors.
The Chinese government called it a “barbaric attack and a gross violation of Chinese sovereignty”.
US officials however blamed human error and faulty intelligence for the incident but the explanation failed to assuage Chinese officials, who believed the strike to have been deliberate.
The protestors in China were only asked to disperse after US President Bill Clinton offered a public apology to China over the incident.
Vladimir Putin becomes President of Russia
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin becomes the President of Russia on 7 May, 2000. Putin maintained his control on power until 2008 when the Russian constitution prevented him from being re-elected as president. He served as the Prime Minister of Russia between then and 2012 only to be re-elected as president again in 2012 and 2018. Putin has enjoyed widespread public support over the course of his stay in power and has sought to re-establish Russia as a major geopolitical power.
Ibn Hisham passes away
Author of what is now considered as a classic work on the Life of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Ibn Hisham passes away on 7 May, 833.
“As-Sirah an-Nabawiyyah” as it is known was an edited version of Ibn Ishaq’s original work and has been widely published and read throughout the Islamic world ever since.
Sony is founded
Masaru Ibuka starts a small electronic shop in Tokyo with eight employees on 7 May, 1946. Changing its name to ‘Sony’ in 1958, the company went on to become a global electronics giant with revenues running into billions of dollars and developing innovative, ground-breaking products that became an integral part of popular culture, revolutionising the entertainment and technology industries in the process.
Rabindranath Tagore is born
Rabindranath Tagore is born on 7 May, 1861 in Calcutta, India. The Bengali polymath is considered among the most important writers of the twentieth century and the single-most influential writer of the Indian subcontinent in the century. Author of a number of short stories, poetry and novels, he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913, the first non-European to do so. The author of Gitanjali also composed the Indian and Bengali national anthems.
David Hume is born
David Hume is born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 7 May, 1711. The Scottish Philosopher, Historian and Economist wrote on a range of issues over the course of his life and is regarded as a highly influential figure in Western Philosophy. His most famous works include An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding” and “Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion”.
“Reason is and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them.”
The premiere of Beethoven’s Symphony No 9
Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No 9 premieres on 7 May,1824 in Vienna. Considered one of Beethoven’s greatest works, the symphony incorporates Friedrich von Schiller’s “Ode to Joy” and is one of the most widely performed symphonies in the world.
Would you like to know what happened on the 6th May?
How about 8th May?
Share, like and comment!
