Today in History – May 6: Music superstar turned lady of the manor wages war on hikers – 9News.com.au

Planning chiefs in England on May 6, 2004 began a hearing by pop superstar Madonna and her then-film director husband Guy Ritchie who wanted to kick hikers off their $20 million country estate.
The celebrity couple were worried a new right-to-roam law would allow walkers access to parts of their vast country retreat, Ashcombe, near Tollard Royal, in the county of Wiltshire.
Four weeks later, the inquiry found walkers, or ramblers as they're known n the UK, had a right to trek through part of the music star's estate.
But late in 2004 after a lengthy legal battle, Madonna and Ritchie won a partial victory when walkers were banned for six months from the grounds due to the game shooting season.
World War II ended in Europe on May 7, 1945 when top Nazi General Alfred Jodl signed unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany's participation in the war.
The document took effect the next day, closing six years of war that claimed millions of lives.
On May 7, 1977, the Eagles topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with their signature song Hotel California.
Despite being more than six minutes long, the American band refused to shorten the song for radio airplay.
Described by the Eagles as an "interpretation of the high life in Los Angeles," it became a global success.
One of the world's first publicly acknowledged serial killers, HH Holmes, was executed in the US city of Philadelphia on November 17, 1894.
While he confessed to killing 27 victims by luring them to his home, some criminologists estimate he murdered up to 200 people.
On May 7, 2001, British authorities made the painful decision to kill more than 1000 healthy cattle amid the national foot and mouth epidemic.
The animals from two farms in Exmoor, south-west England, were slaughtered after fears that a farm worker had come into contact with the highly infectious disease.
Norway's most famous painting, The Scream by Edvard Munch, was recovered on May 7, 1994, three months after it was stolen from an Oslo museum.
The legendary and arresting painting was stolen by two thieves in just 50 seconds. The pair even left a note, saying "Thousand thanks for the bad security!".
British marine biologist Richard Thompson coined the term "microplastics", describing tiny plastic fragments that harm ocean life, on May 7, 2004.
They are often found in cosmetic or clothing products and can wash off into the seas, putting the wellbeing of marine creatures at risk.

source