Today in history: May 7, the surrender of Germany National

Today’s moment of history:

On May 7, 1945, Germany signed an unconditional surrender at Allied headquarters in Reims (France), ending its role in World War II.

In 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore opened its doors.

In 1915, a German submarine torpedoed and sank the British liner RMS Lusitania off the south coast of Ireland, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans, with nearly 2,000 on board.

In 1928, the minimum voting age for British women was lowered from 30 to 21, the same age as men.

In 1939, Germany and Italy declared a military-political alliance known as Rome-Berlin.

In 1941, Glen Miller and his orchestra recorded “Chattanooga Choo Choo” for RCA Victor.

In 1954, the 55-day battle of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam ended with Vietnamese rebels defeating French forces.

In 1963, the United States launched the Telstar 2 communications satellite.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford officially announced the end of the “Vietnam Era”. In Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, the Viet Cong celebrated its capture.

In 1977, Seattle Glory won the Kentucky Derby, the first of its victories in the Triple Crown.

In 2010, a chartered BP vessel dropped a 100-ton concrete-steel storage facility on a broken Deepwater Horizon well in an unprecedented and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to stop much of the gushing oil polluting the sea.

In 2019, two students opened fire at a charter school in the Denver suburbs near Columbine High School, killing a classmate, 18-year-old Kendrick Castillo, who authorities said rushed to the shooters to protect classmates. (Both attackers will be sentenced to life imprisonment; anyone who was 16 at the time of the shooting may be eligible for parole in about 20 years.)

In 2020, Georgian authorities arrested a white father and son and accused them of killing Ahmaud Arberi, a black man they chased in a truck, who was shot dead in February after being spotted fleeing near the port city of Brunswick. (Two men and a third white man will be convicted of murder in state court and hate crimes in federal court.)

Ten years ago: Vladimir Putin was sworn in as president of Russia for the next six years at a brief but tsarist ceremony in the Kremlin. Education Minister Arne Duncan broke with the White House, declaring his unequivocal support for same-sex marriage the day after Vice President Joe Biden told NBC that he was “absolutely comfortable” with gay marriage. (Two days later, President Barack Obama declared his support for same-sex marriage, a position he had not previously taken.)

Five years ago, French voters elected 39-year-old independent centrist Emanuel Macron the country’s youngest president, a resounding victory for the pro-European former investment banker and shattering the dream of far-right rival Marine Le Pen.

A year ago, a federal grand jury charged four former Minneapolis police officers involved in the arrest and death of George Floyd, accusing them of intentionally violating Black Man’s constitutional rights when he was pressed face down on the tarmac, gasping for air. (Derek Shavin, who was found guilty of murder in a state court, pleaded guilty in a federal case; three others were convicted in February 2022 and are also awaiting sentencing.) Palestinian worshipers clashed with Israeli police at the famous Al-Aqsa Mosque in Old Jerusalem. A city where weeks of tension between Israel and the Palestinians have risen; 53 people were injured in the violence. Government officials have announced that California’s population has shrunk in 2020 for the first time since they began measuring it. Tony Chinaen, who appeared in rock music videos during the heyday of MTV and co-starred with Tom Hanks in the 1984 comedy The Bachelorette Party, has died at his home in California at the age of 59.

Today’s birthday: R&B singer Thelma Houston – 79. Actor Robin Strasser – 77. Singer and songwriter Bill Danaf – 76. Rock musician Bill Kreutzman (Grateful Dead) – 76. Former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert – 75. Rock music by Prairie72. Director and screenwriter Amy Hackerling – 70. Actor Michael I. Knight – 63. Rock musician Phil Campbell (Motorhead) – 61 years. Rock singer and musician Chris O’Connor (Primitive Radio Gods) – 57. Actor Tracy Lords – 54 years. Moroccan actor Omar – 52. Eagle-Eye Cherry singer – 51 years old. Actor Brekin Meyer – 48. Rock musician Matt Helders (Arctic Monkeys) – 36. Comedian Adi Bryant – 35. Actor Taylor Abrahams – 31 years old. Actor Alexander Ludwi. Actor Dylan Gelula is 28 years old.