Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on May 7th?

The Peloponnesian War begins between Athens and Sparta, marking the start of a decades-long conflict in Ancient Greece.

Playwright Christopher Marlowe is killed in a dispute, possibly over a bill, at a tavern in Deptford, London.

The passenger liner RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine during World War I, killing 1,198 people. More

Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allied forces, bringing an end to World War II in Europe. More

French defeated at Dien Bien Phu bringing an end to French colonial efforts in Indochina. Vietnam was partitioned by the Geneva Accords of 1954 into Communist North Vietnam and non-Communist South Vietnam. President Eisenhower sent some 700 military personnel as well as military and economic aid to the government of South Vietnam. In 1961, JFK authorized sending additional Special Forces troops and military advisors to South Vietnam. By the end of 1962, there were approximately 11,000 military personnel in South Vietnam and 16,000 by the end of 1963.