February 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
  • 356 – Emperor Constantius II issues a decree closing all pagan temples in the Roman Empire.
  • 1594 – Having already been elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, having succeeded his father John III of Sweden in 1592.
  • 1600 – The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.
  • 1649 – The Second Battle of Guararapes takes place, effectively ending Dutch colonization efforts in Brazil.
  • 1674 – England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England, and it is renamed New York.
  • 1726 – The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.
  • 1807 – Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama and confined to Fort Stoddert.
  • 1819 – British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands and claims them in the name of King George III.
  • 1836 – King William IV signs Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia.
  • 1846 – In Austin, Texas the newly formed Texas state government is officially installed. The Republic of Texas government officially transfers power to the State of Texas government following the annexation of Texas by the United States.
  • 1847 – The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.
  • 1859 – Daniel E. Sickles, a New York Congressman, is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity.
  • 1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.
  • 1884 – More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.
  • 1913 – Pedro Lascuráin becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.
  • 1915 – World War I: The first naval attack on the Dardanelles begins when a strong Anglo-French task force bombards Ottoman artillery along the coast of Gallipoli.
  • 1937 – Yekatit 12: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Ethiopian nationalists of Eritrean origin attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades.
  • 1942 – World War II: Nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin, killing 243 people.
  • 1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese Americans to internment camps.
  • 1943 – World War II: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.
  • 1945 – World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima: About 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima.
  • 1948 – The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta.
  • 1949 – Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.
  • 1953 – Book censorship in the United States: The Georgia Literature Commission is established.
  • 1954 – Transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
  • 1959 – The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
  • 1960 – China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket.
  • 1963 – The publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique reawakens the feminist movement in the United States as women’s organizations and consciousness raising groups spread.
  • 1965 – Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and a communist spy of the North Vietnamese Viet Minh, along with Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Trần Thiện Khiêm, all Catholics, attempt a coup against the military junta of the Buddhist Nguyễn Khánh.
  • 1976 – Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford’s Proclamation 4417.
  • 1978 – Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat.
  • 1985 – William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital.
  • 1985 – Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148.
  • 1986 – Akkaraipattu massacre: the Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers in eastern Sri Lanka.
  • 1989 – Flying Tiger Line flight 66 crashes into a hill near Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Malaysia, killing four.
  • 2002 – NASA’s Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
  • 2003 – An Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft crashes near Kerman, Iran, killing 275.
  • 2006 – A methane explosion in a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, Mexico, kills 65 miners.
  • 2011 – The debut exhibition of the Belitung shipwreck, containing the largest collection of Tang dynasty artifacts found in one location, begins in Singapore.
  • 2012 – Forty-four people are killed in a prison brawl in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico.

Births on February 19

  • 1461 – Domenico Grimani, Italian cardinal (d. 1523)
  • 1473 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (d. 1543)
  • 1497 – Matthäus Schwarz, German fashion writer (d. 1574)
  • 1519 – Froben Christoph of Zimmern, German author of the Zimmern Chronicle (d. 1566)
  • 1526 – Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist and academic (d. 1609)
  • 1532 – Jean-Antoine de Baïf, French poet (d. 1589)
  • 1552 – Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal (d. 1630)
  • 1594 – Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (d. 1612)
  • 1611 – Andries de Graeff, Dutch politician (d. 1678)
  • 1630 – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Indian warrior king and the founder of Maratha Empire
  • 1660 – Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (d. 1742)
  • 1717 – David Garrick, English actor, playwright, and producer (d. 1779)
  • 1743 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1805)
  • 1798 – Allan MacNab, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Premier of Canada West (d. 1862)
  • 1800 – Émilie Gamelin, Canadian nun and social worker, founded the Sisters of Providence (d. 1851)
  • 1804 – Carl von Rokitansky, German physician, pathologist, and philosopher (d. 1878)
  • 1821 – August Schleicher, German linguist and academic (d. 1868)
  • 1833 – Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
  • 1838 – Lydia Thompson, British burlesque performer (d. 1908)
  • 1841 – Elfrida Andrée, Swedish organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1929)
  • 1855 – Nishinoumi Kajirō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 16th Yokozuna (d. 1908)
  • 1859 – Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1927)
  • 1865 – Sven Hedin, Swedish geographer and explorer (d. 1952)
  • 1869 – Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian-Russian poet and author (d. 1923)
  • 1872 – Johan Pitka, Estonian admiral (d. 1944)
  • 1876 – Constantin Brâncuși, Romanian-French sculptor, painter, and photographer (d. 1957)
  • 1877 – Gabriele Münter, German painter (d. 1962)
  • 1878 – Harriet Bosse, Swedish–Norwegian actress (d. 1961)
  • 1880 – Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and politician, 39th President of Mexico (d. 1928)
  • 1886 – José Abad Santos, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (d. 1942)
  • 1888 – José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian lawyer and poet (d. 1928)
  • 1893 – Cedric Hardwicke, English actor and director (d. 1964)
  • 1895 – Louis Calhern, American actor (d. 1956)
  • 1896 – André Breton, French poet and author (d. 1966)
  • 1897 – Alma Rubens, American actress (d. 1931)
  • 1899 – Lucio Fontana, Argentinian-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
  • 1902 – Kay Boyle, American novelist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1992)
  • 1904 – Havank, Dutch journalist and author (d. 1964)
  • 1904 – Elisabeth Welch, American-English singer and actress (d. 2003)
  • 1911 – Merle Oberon, Indian-American actress (d. 1979)
  • 1912 – Dorothy Janis, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1912 – Saul Chaplin, American composer (d. 1997)
  • 1913 – Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza (d. 2007)
  • 1913 – Frank Tashlin, American animator and screenwriter (d. 1972)
  • 1914 – Thelma Kench, New Zealand Olympic sprinter (d. 1985)
  • 1915 – John Freeman, English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (d. 2014)
  • 1916 – Eddie Arcaro, American jockey and sportscaster (d. 1997)
  • 1917 – Carson McCullers, American novelist, short story writer, playwright, and essayist (d. 1967)
  • 1918 – Fay McKenzie, American actress (d. 2019)
  • 1920 – C. Z. Guest, American actress, fashion designer, and author (d. 2003)
  • 1920 – Jaan Kross, Estonian author and poet (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – George Rose, English actor and singer (d. 1988)
  • 1922 – Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – David Bronstein, Ukrainian chess player and theoretician (d. 2006)
  • 1924 – Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987)
  • 1926 – György Kurtág, Hungarian composer and academic
  • 1927 – Philippe Boiry, French journalist (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Jacques Deray, French director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1930 – John Frankenheimer, American director and producer (d. 2002)
  • 1930 – Kasinathuni Viswanath, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1932 – Joseph P. Kerwin, American captain, physician, and astronaut
  • 1935 – Dave Niehaus, American sportscaster (d. 2010)
  • 1935 – Russ Nixon, American MLB catcher and coach (d. 2016)
  • 1936 – Sam Myers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1936 – Frederick Seidel, American poet
  • 1937 – Terry Carr, American author and educator (d. 1987)
  • 1937 – Norm O’Neill, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (d. 1989)
  • 1939 – Erin Pizzey, English activist and author, founded Refuge
  • 1940 – Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (d. 2006)
  • 1940 – Smokey Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1940 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1941 – David Gross, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge, English politician
  • 1942 – Cyrus Chothia, English biochemist and emeritus scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (d. 2019)
  • 1942 – Paul Krause, American football player and politician
  • 1942 – Howard Stringer, Welsh businessman
  • 1942 – Will Provine, American biologist, historian, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1943 – Lou Christie, American singer-songwriter
  • 1943 – Homer Hickam, American author and engineer
  • 1943 – Tim Hunt, English biochemist and academic, Nobel laureate
  • 1944 – Les Hinton, English-American journalist and businessman
  • 1945 – Yuri Antonov, Uzbek-Russian singer-songwriter
  • 1946 – Paul Dean, Canadian guitarist
  • 1946 – Peter Hudson, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1946 – Karen Silkwood, American technician and activist (d. 1974)
  • 1947 – Jackie Curtis, American actress and playwright (d. 1985)
  • 1947 – Tim Shadbolt, New Zealand businessman and politician, 42nd Mayor of Invercargill
  • 1948 – Mark Andes, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1948 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (d. 2002)
  • 1948 – Tony Iommi, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1949 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (d. 1998)
  • 1949 – Eddie Hardin, English singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2015)
  • 1949 – Barry Lloyd, English footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1949 – William Messner-Loebs, American author and illustrator
  • 1950 – Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1950 – Andy Powell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani scholar and politician, founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran
  • 1952 – Ryū Murakami, Japanese novelist and filmmaker
  • 1952 – Rodolfo Neri Vela, Mexican engineer and astronaut
  • 1952 – Gary Seear, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2018)
  • 1952 – Dave Cheadle, American baseball player (d. 2012)
  • 1952 – Amy Tan, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
  • 1952 – Danilo Türk, Slovene academic and politician, 3rd President of Slovenia
  • 1953 – Corrado Barazzutti, Italian tennis player
  • 1953 – Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentine lawyer and politician, former President of Argentina and current Vice President of Argentina
  • 1953 – Massimo Troisi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
  • 1954 – Sócrates, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1954 – Francis Buchholz, German bass player
  • 1954 – Michael Gira, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1955 – Jeff Daniels, American actor and playwright
  • 1956 – Kathleen Beller, American actress
  • 1956 – Peter Holsapple, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1956 – Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1956 – Dave Wakeling, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1957 – Falco, Austrian singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician (d. 1998)
  • 1957 – Dave Stewart, American baseball player and coach
  • 1957 – Ray Winstone, English actor
  • 1958 – Tommy Cairo, American wrestler
  • 1958 – Helen Fielding, English author and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Steve Nieve, English keyboard player and composer
  • 1959 – Roger Goodell, American businessman
  • 1960 – Prince Andrew, Duke of York
  • 1960 – John Paul Jr., American race car driver
  • 1961 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (d. 1998)
  • 1961 – Ernie Gonzalez, American golfer
  • 1962 – Hana Mandlíková, Czech-Australian tennis player and coach
  • 1963 – Seal, English singer-songwriter
  • 1963 – Jessica Tuck, American actress
  • 1964 – Doug Aldrich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1964 – Jonathan Lethem, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
  • 1965 – Jon Fishman, American drummer
  • 1965 – Clark Hunt, American businessman
  • 1965 – Leroy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1966 – Justine Bateman, American actress and producer
  • 1966 – Paul Haarhuis, Dutch tennis player and coach
  • 1966 – Eduardo Xol, American designer and author
  • 1967 – Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican-American actor, director, and producer
  • 1968 – Frank Watkins, American bass player (d. 2015)
  • 1968 – Prince Markie Dee, American rapper and actor
  • 1969 – Burton C. Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1969 – Helena Guergis, Canadian businesswoman and politician
  • 1970 – Joacim Cans, Swedish singer-songwriter
  • 1971 – Miguel Batista, Dominican baseball player and poet
  • 1971 – Richard Green, Australian golfer
  • 1971 – Jeff Kinney, American author and illustrator
  • 1972 – Francine Fournier, American wrestler and manager
  • 1972 – Sunset Thomas, American pornographic actress
  • 1975 – Daniel Adair, Canadian drummer and producer
  • 1975 – Daewon Song, South Korean-American skateboarder, co-founded Almost Skateboards
  • 1977 – Ola Salo, Swedish singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1977 – Andrew Ross Sorkin, American journalist and author
  • 1977 – Gianluca Zambrotta, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1978 – Ben Gummer, English scholar and politician
  • 1978 – Immortal Technique, Peruvian-American rapper
  • 1979 – Steve Cherundolo, American soccer player and manager
  • 1980 – Dwight Freeney, American football player
  • 1980 – Ma Lin, Chinese table tennis player
  • 1980 – Mike Miller, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Beth Ditto, American singer
  • 1983 – Kotoōshū Katsunori, Bulgarian sumo wrestler
  • 1983 – Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
  • 1983 – Ryan Whitney, American ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Chris Richardson, American singer-songwriter
  • 1985 – Haylie Duff, American actress and singer
  • 1986 – Kyle Chipchura, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Marta, Brazilian footballer
  • 1986 – Maria Mena, Norwegian singer-songwriter
  • 1986 – Michael Schwimer, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Anna Cappellini, Italian ice dancer
  • 1988 – Shawn Matthias, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Seth Morrison, American guitarist
  • 1989 – Sone Aluko, Anglo-Nigerian international footballer, forward/winger
  • 1991 – Christoph Kramer, German national footballer
  • 1991 – Trevor Bayne, American race car driver
  • 1992 – Camille Kostek, American model
  • 1993 – Mauro Icardi, Argentinian footballer
  • 1993 – Victoria Justice, American actress and singer
  • 1994 – Sam Lisone, New Zealand-Samoan rugby league player
  • 1994 – Tiina Trutsi, Estonian footballer
  • 1995 – Nikola Jokić, Serbian basketball player
  • 1998 – Katharina Gerlach, German tennis player
  • 2001 – David Mazouz, American actor
  • 2004 – Millie Bobby Brown, English actress

Deaths on February 19

  • 197 – Clodius Albinus, Roman usurper (b. 150)
  • 446 – Leontius of Trier, Bishop of Trier
  • 1133 – Irene Doukaina, Byzantine wife of Alexios I Komnenos (b. 1066)
  • 1275 – Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sufi philosopher and poet (b. 1177)
  • 1300 – Munio of Zamora, General of the Dominican Order
  • 1408 – Thomas Bardolf, 5th Baron Bardolf, English rebel
  • 1414 – Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1353)
  • 1445 – Leonor of Aragon, queen of Portugal (b. 1402)
  • 1491 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (b. 1460)
  • 1553 – Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1511)
  • 1602 – Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur (b. 1558)
  • 1605 – Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (b. 1550)
  • 1622 – Henry Savile, English scholar and politician (b. 1549)
  • 1672 – Charles Chauncy, English-American minister, theologian, and academic (b. 1592)
  • 1709 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shōgun (b. 1646)
  • 1716 – Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Norwegian author and poet (b. 1634)
  • 1785 – Mary, Countess of Harold, English aristocrat and philanthropist (b. 1701)
  • 1789 – Nicholas Van Dyke, American lawyer and politician, 7th Governor of Delaware (b. 1738)
  • 1799 – Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (b. 1733)
  • 1806 – Elizabeth Carter, English poet and translator (b. 1717)
  • 1837 – Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (b. 1813)
  • 1837 – Thomas Burgess, English bishop and philosopher (b. 1756)
  • 1887 – Multatuli, Dutch-German author and civil servant (b. 1820)
  • 1897 – Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician and academic (b. 1815)
  • 1915 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian philosopher and politician (b. 1866)
  • 1916 – Ernst Mach, Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher (b. 1838)
  • 1927 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (b. 1847)
  • 1928 – George Howard Earle Jr., American lawyer and businessman (b. 1856)
  • 1936 – Billy Mitchell, American general and pilot (b. 1879)
  • 1945 – John Basilone, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1916)
  • 1951 – André Gide, French novelist, essayist, and dramatist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
  • 1952 – Knut Hamsun, Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
  • 1953 – Richard Rushall, British businessman (b. 1864)
  • 1957 – Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (b. 1871)
  • 1959 – Willard Miller, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1877)
  • 1962 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the Pap smear (b. 1883)
  • 1969 – Madge Blake, American actress (b. 1899)
  • 1970 – Ralph Edward Flanders, (b. 1890) US Senator from Vermont.
  • 1972 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (b. 1898)
  • 1972 – Lee Morgan, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1938)
  • 1973 – Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (b. 1892)
  • 1977 – Anthony Crosland, English captain and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (b. 1918)
  • 1977 – Mike González, Cuban baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1890)
  • 1980 – Bon Scott, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
  • 1983 – Alice White, American actress (b. 1904)
  • 1988 – André Frédéric Cournand, French-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
  • 1992 – Tojo Yamamoto, American wrestler and manager (b. 1927)
  • 1994 – Derek Jarman, English director and set designer (b. 1942)
  • 1996 – Charlie Finley, American businessman (b. 1918)
  • 1997 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (b. 1908)
  • 1997 – Deng Xiaoping, Chinese politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1904)
  • 1998 – Grandpa Jones, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1913)
  • 1999 – Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric (b. 1943)
  • 2000 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-New Zealand painter and illustrator (b. 1928)
  • 2001 – Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (b. 1913)
  • 2001 – Charles Trenet, French singer-songwriter (b. 1913)
  • 2002 – Sylvia Rivera, American transgender LGBT activist (b. 1951)
  • 2003 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1938)
  • 2007 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
  • 2007 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian dancer and director, founded the National Ballet of Canada (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Yegor Letov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1964)
  • 2008 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress and singer (b. 1945)
  • 2009 – Kelly Groucutt, English singer and bass player (b. 1945)
  • 2011 – Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Ruth Barcan Marcus, American philosopher and logician (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Jaroslav Velinský, Czech author and songwriter (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Vitaly Vorotnikov, Russian politician, 27th Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2013 – Park Chul-soo, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1948)
  • 2013 – Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1937)
  • 2013 – Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Eugene Whelan, Canadian farmer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Kresten Bjerre, Danish footballer and manager (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Dale Gardner, American captain and astronaut (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Harold Johnson, American boxer (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Nirad Mohapatra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Harris Wittels, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1984)
  • 2016 – Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (b. 1932)
  • 2016 – Harper Lee, American author (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Chiaki Morosawa, Japanese anime screenwriter (b. 1959)
  • 2016 – Samuel Willenberg, Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (b. 1923)
  • 2017 – Larry Coryell, American jazz guitarist (b. 1943)
  • 2019 – Clark Dimond, American musician and author (b. 1941)
  • 2019 – Karl Lagerfeld, German fashion designer (b. 1933)
  • 2020 – José Mojica Marins, Brazilian filmmaker, actor, composer, screenwriter, and television horror host Coffin Joe. (b. 1936)
  • 2020 – Pop Smoke, American rapper (b. 1999)

Holidays and observances on February 19

  • Armed Forces Day (Mexico)
  • Brâncuși Day (Romania)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Barbatus of Benevento
    • Boniface of Brussels
    • Conrad of Piacenza
    • Lucy Yi Zhenmei (one of Martyrs of Guizhou)
    • February 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Commemoration of Vasil Levski (Bulgaria)
  • Flag Day (Turkmenistan)
  • Shivaji Jayanti (Maharashtra, India)9

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  • March 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 598 – Balkan Campaign: The Avars lift the siege at the Byzantine stronghold of Tomis. Their leader Bayan I retreats north of the Danube River after the Avaro-Slavic hordes are decimated by the plague.
    • 1282 – The people of Sicily rebel against the Angevin king Charles I, in what becomes known as the Sicilian Vespers.
    • 1296 – Edward I sacks Berwick-upon-Tweed, during armed conflict between Scotland and England.
    • 1699 – Guru Gobind Singh establishes the Khalsa in Anandpur Sahib, Punjab.
    • 1815 – Joachim Murat issues the Rimini Proclamation which would later inspire Italian unification.
    • 1818 – Physicist Augustin Fresnel reads a memoir on optical rotation to the French Academy of Sciences, reporting that when polarized light is “depolarized” by a Fresnel rhomb, its properties are preserved in any subsequent passage through an optically-rotating crystal or liquid.
    • 1822 – The Florida Territory is created in the United States.
    • 1841 – The National Bank of Greece is founded in Athens.
    • 1842 – Ether anesthesia is used for the first time, in an operation by the American surgeon Dr. Crawford Long.
    • 1844 – One of the most important battles of the Dominican War of Independence from Haiti takes place near the city of Santiago de los Caballeros.
    • 1855 – Origins of the American Civil War: “Border Ruffians” from Missouri invade Kansas and force election of a pro-slavery legislature.
    • 1856 – The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Crimean War.
    • 1861 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Sir William Crookes announces his discovery of thallium.
    • 1863 – Danish prince Wilhelm Georg is chosen as King George of Greece.
    • 1867 – Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about 2-cent/acre ($4.19/km²), by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.
    • 1870 – Texas is readmitted to the United States Congress following Reconstruction.
    • 1885 – The Battle for Kushka triggers the Panjdeh Incident which nearly gives rise to war between the Russian and British Empire.
    • 1899 – German Society of Chemistry issues an invitation to other national scientific organizations to appoint delegates to the International Committee on Atomic Weights.
    • 1912 – Sultan Abd al-Hafid signs the Treaty of Fez, making Morocco a French protectorate.
    • 1918 – Outburst of bloody March Events in Baku and other locations of Baku Governorate.
    • 1939 – The Heinkel He 100 fighter sets a world airspeed record of 463 mph (745 km/h).
    • 1940 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Japan declares Nanking capital of a new Chinese puppet government, nominally controlled by Wang Jingwei.
    • 1944 – World War II: Allied bombers conduct their most severe bombing run on Sofia, Bulgaria.
    • 1944 – Out of 795 Lancasters, Halifaxes and Mosquitos sent to attack Nuremberg, 95 bombers do not return, making it the largest RAF Bomber Command loss of the war.
    • 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces invade Austria and capture Vienna; Polish and Soviet forces liberate Danzig.
    • 1949 – Cold War: A riot breaks out in Austurvöllur square in Reykjavík, when Iceland joins NATO.
    • 1959 – Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, flees Tibet for India.
    • 1961 – The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs is signed in New York City.
    • 1965 – Vietnam War: A car bomb explodes in front of the United States Embassy, Saigon, killing 22 and wounding 183 others.
    • 1972 – Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive begins after North Vietnamese forces cross into the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) of South Vietnam.
    • 1976 – Israeli-Palestinian conflict: in the first organized response against Israeli policies by a Palestinian collective since 1948, Palestinians create the first Land Day.
    • 1979 – Airey Neave, a British Member of Parliament, is killed by a car bomb as he exits the Palace of Westminster. The Irish National Liberation Army claims responsibility.
    • 1981 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley, Jr.; three others are wounded in the same incident.
    • 1982 – Space Shuttle program: STS-3 mission is completed with the landing of Columbia at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
    • 2002 – 2002 Lyon car attack takes place.
    • 2009 – Twelve gunmen attack the Manawan Police Academy in Lahore, Pakistan.
    • 2017 – SpaceX conducts the world’s first reflight of an orbital class rocket.

    Births on March 30

    • 892 – Shi Jingtang, founder of the Later Jin Dynasty (d. 942)
    • 1135 – Maimonides, Spanish rabbi and philosopher (April 6 also proposed, d. 1204)
    • 1326 – Ivan II of Moscow (d. 1359)
    • 1432 – Mehmed the Conqueror, Ottoman sultan (d. 1481)
    • 1510 – Antonio de Cabezón, Spanish composer and organist (d. 1566)
    • 1551 – Salomon Schweigger, German theologian (d. 1622)
    • 1606 – Vincentio Reinieri, Italian mathematician and astronomer (d. 1647)
    • 1632 – John Proctor, farmer hanged for witchcraft in the Salem witch trials (d. 1692)
    • 1640 – John Trenchard, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1695)
    • 1727 – Tommaso Traetta, Italian composer and educator (d. 1779)
    • 1746 – Francisco Goya, Spanish-French painter and sculptor (d. 1828)
    • 1750 – John Stafford Smith, English organist and composer (d. 1836)
    • 1793 – Juan Manuel de Rosas, Argentinian soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (d. 1877)
    • 1805 – Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann, German-Swedish linguist and botanist (d. 1887)
    • 1811 – Robert Bunsen, German chemist and academic (d. 1899)
    • 1820 – Anna Sewell, English author (d. 1878)
    • 1820 – James Whyte, Scottish-Australian politician, 6th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1882)
    • 1844 – Paul Verlaine, French poet (d. 1896)
    • 1853 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch-French painter and illustrator (d. 1890)
    • 1853 – Arnoldo Sartorio, German composer, pianist, and teacher (d. 1936)
    • 1857 – Léon Charles Thévenin, French engineer (d. 1926)
    • 1858 – Siegfried Alkan, German composer (d. 1941)
    • 1863 – Mary Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (d. 1930)
    • 1864 – Franz Oppenheimer, German-American sociologist and economist (d. 1943)
    • 1874 – Charles Lightoller, English 2nd officer on the RMS Titanic (d. 1952)
    • 1874 – Josiah McCracken, American hammer thrower, shot putter, and football player (d. 1962)
    • 1874 – Nicolae Rădescu, Romanian general and politician, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1953)
    • 1875 – Thomas Xenakis, Greek-American gymnast (d. 1942)
    • 1879 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (d. 1954)
    • 1880 – Seán O’Casey, Irish dramatist, playwright, and memoirist (d. 1964)
    • 1882 – Melanie Klein, Jewish Austrian-English psychologist and author (d. 1960)
    • 1888 – J. R. Williams, Canadian-born cartoonist (d. 1957)
    • 1891 – Chunseong, Korean monk, writer and philosopher (d. 1977)
    • 1892 – Stefan Banach, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1945)
    • 1892 – Fortunato Depero, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1960)
    • 1892 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (d. 1972)
    • 1892 – Johannes Pääsuke, Estonian photographer and director (d. 1918)
    • 1892 – Erwin Panofsky, German historian and academic (d. 1968)
    • 1894 – Tommy Green, English race walker (d. 1975)
    • 1894 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer, founded Ilyushin Aircraft Company (d. 1977)
    • 1895 – Jean Giono, French author and poet (d. 1970)
    • 1895 – Carl Lutz, Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews (d. 1975)
    • 1895 – Charlie Wilson, English footballer (d. 1971)
    • 1899 – Sharadindu Bandyopadhyay, Indian author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1970)
    • 1902 – Brooke Astor, American socialite and philanthropist (d. 2007)
    • 1902 – Ted Heath, English trombonist and composer (d. 1969)
    • 1903 – Joy Ridderhof, American missionary (d. 1984)
    • 1904 – Ripper Collins, American baseball player and coach (d. 1970)
    • 1905 – Archie Birkin, English motorcycle racer (d. 1927)
    • 1905 – Mikio Oda, Japanese triple jumper and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1905 – Albert Pierrepoint, English hangman (d. 1992)
    • 1907 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German general (d. 1994)
    • 1910 – Józef Marcinkiewicz, Polish soldier, mathematician, and academic (d. 1940)
    • 1911 – Ekrem Akurgal, Turkish archaeologist and academic (d. 2002)
    • 1912 – Jack Cowie, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1994)
    • 1912 – Alvin Hamilton, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Agriculture (d. 2004)
    • 1913 – Marc Davis, American animator (d. 2000)
    • 1913 – Richard Helms, American soldier and diplomat, 8th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 2002)
    • 1913 – Frankie Laine, American singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1913 – Ċensu Tabone, Maltese general, physician, and politician, 4th President of Malta (d. 2012)
    • 1914 – Sonny Boy Williamson I, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 1948)
    • 1915 – Pietro Ingrao, Italian journalist and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1917 – Els Aarne, Ukrainian-Estonian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1995)
    • 1919 – McGeorge Bundy, American intelligence officer and diplomat, 6th United States National Security Advisor (d. 1996)
    • 1919 – Robin M. Williams, New Zealand mathematician and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – André Fontaine, French historian and journalist (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Turhan Bey, American actor (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Arthur Wightman, American physicist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Milton Acorn, Canadian poet and playwright (d. 1986)
    • 1926 – Ingvar Kamprad, Swedish businessman, founded IKEA (d. 2018)
    • 1927 – Wally Grout, Australian cricketer (d. 1968)
    • 1928 – Robert Badinter, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of Justice
    • 1928 – Colin Egar, Australian cricket umpire (d. 2008)
    • 1928 – Tom Sharpe, English-Spanish author and educator (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Richard Dysart, American actor (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Ray Musto, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – István Rózsavölgyi, Hungarian runner (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – John Astin, American actor
    • 1930 – Rolf Harris, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1933 – Jean-Claude Brialy, French actor and director (d. 2007)
    • 1934 – Paul Crouch, American broadcaster, co-founded the Trinity Broadcasting Network (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Hans Hollein, Austrian architect and academic, designed Haas House (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Karl Berger, German pianist and composer
    • 1935 – Willie Galimore, American football player (d. 1964)
    • 1935 – Gordon Mumma, American composer
    • 1937 – Warren Beatty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1937 – Ian MacLaurin, Baron MacLaurin of Knebworth, English businessman
    • 1938 – John Barnhill, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1938 – Klaus Schwab, German economist and engineer, founded the World Economic Forum
    • 1940 – Norman Gifford, English cricketer
    • 1940 – Jerry Lucas, American basketball player and educator
    • 1940 – Hans Ragnemalm, Swedish lawyer and judge (d. 2016)
    • 1941 – Graeme Edge, English singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1941 – Ron Johnston, English geographer and academic
    • 1941 – Wasim Sajjad, Pakistani lawyer and politician, President of Pakistan
    • 1941 – Bob Smith, American soldier and politician
    • 1942 – Ruben Kun, Nauruan lawyer and politician, 14th President of Nauru (d. 2014)
    • 1942 – Tane Norton, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1942 – Kenneth Welsh, Canadian actor
    • 1943 – Jay Traynor, American pop and doo-wop singer (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Mark Wylea Erwin, American businessman and diplomat
    • 1944 – Brian Wilshire, Australian radio host
    • 1945 – Eric Clapton, English guitarist and singer-songwriter
    • 1947 – Dick Roche, Irish politician, Minister of State for European Affairs
    • 1947 – Terje Venaas, Norwegian bassist
    • 1948 – Nigel Jones, Baron Jones of Cheltenham, English computer programmer and politician
    • 1948 – Eddie Jordan, Irish racing driver and team owner, founded Jordan Grand Prix
    • 1948 – Mervyn King, English economist and academic
    • 1948 – Jim “Dandy” Mangrum, American rock singer
    • 1949 – Liza Frulla, Canadian talk show host and politician, 3rd Minister of Canadian Heritage
    • 1949 – Dana Gillespie, English singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1949 – Naomi Sims, American model and author (d. 2009)
    • 1950 – Janet Browne, English-American historian and academic
    • 1950 – Robbie Coltrane, Scottish actor
    • 1950 – Grady Little, American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1950 – Warren Snowdon, Australian educator and politician, 39th Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
    • 1951 – Paul Da Vinci, English singer-songwriter
    • 1952 – Stuart Dryburgh, English-New Zealand cinematographer
    • 1952 – Peter Knights, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1955 – Randy VanWarmer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2004)
    • 1956 – Bill Butler, Scottish educator and politician
    • 1956 – Juanito Oiarzabal, Spanish mountaineer
    • 1956 – Shahla Sherkat, Iranian journalist and author
    • 1957 – Marie-Christine Koundja, Chadian author and diplomat
    • 1957 – Paul Reiser, American actor and comedian
    • 1958 – Maurice LaMarche, Canadian voice actor and stand-up comedian
    • 1958 – Joey Sindelar, American golfer
    • 1959 – Martina Cole, English television host and author
    • 1960 – Laurie Graham, Canadian skier
    • 1960 – Bill Johnson, American skier (d. 2016)
    • 1961 – Mike Thackwell, New Zealand racing driver
    • 1961 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 1999)
    • 1962 – Mark Begich, American politician
    • 1962 – MC Hammer, American rapper and actor
    • 1962 – Gary Stevens, English international footballer, defender and manager
    • 1963 – Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, Mongolian journalist and politician, 4th President of Mongolia
    • 1963 – Eli-Eri Moura, Brazilian composer and conductor
    • 1963 – Panagiotis Tsalouchidis, Greek footballer
    • 1964 – Vlado Bozinovski, Macedonian-Australian footballer and manager
    • 1964 – Tracy Chapman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1965 – Piers Morgan, English journalist and talk show host
    • 1966 – Efstratios Grivas, Greek chess player and author
    • 1966 – Dmitry Volkov, Russian swimmer
    • 1966 – Leonid Voloshin, Russian triple jumper
    • 1967 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater and coach (d. 2008)
    • 1967 – Richard Hutten, Dutch furniture designer
    • 1967 – Julie Richardson, New Zealand tennis player
    • 1968 – Celine Dion, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1969 – Troy Bayliss, Australian motorcycle racer
    • 1970 – Tobias Hill, English poet and author
    • 1970 – Sylvain Charlebois, Canadian food/agriculture researcher and author
    • 1971 – Mari Holden, American cyclist
    • 1971 – Mark Consuelos, American actor and television personality
    • 1972 – Mili Avital, Israeli-American actress
    • 1972 – Emerson Thome, Brazilian footballer and scout
    • 1972 – Karel Poborský, Czech footballer
    • 1973 – Adam Goldstein, American keyboard player, DJ, and producer (d. 2009)
    • 1973 – Jan Koller, Czech footballer
    • 1973 – Kareem Streete-Thompson, Caymanian-American long jumper
    • 1974 – Martin Love, Australian cricketer
    • 1975 – Paul Griffen, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
    • 1976 – Ty Conklin, American ice hockey player
    • 1976 – Obadele Thompson, Barbadian sprinter
    • 1976 – Troels Lund Poulsen, Danish politician, Minister for Education of Denmark
    • 1977 – Abhishek Chaubey, Indian director and screenwriter
    • 1978 – Paweł Czapiewski, Polish runner
    • 1978 – Chris Paterson, Scottish rugby player and coach
    • 1978 – Bok van Blerk, South African singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1979 – Norah Jones, American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1979 – Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1980 – Ricardo Osorio, Mexican footballer
    • 1981 – Jammal Brown, American football player
    • 1981 – Andrea Masi, Italian rugby player
    • 1982 – Mark Hudson, English footballer
    • 1982 – Philippe Mexès, French footballer
    • 1982 – Javier Portillo, Spanish footballer
    • 1982 – Jason Dohring, American actor
    • 1983 – Jérémie Aliadière, French footballer
    • 1984 – Mario Ančić, Croatian tennis player
    • 1984 – Samantha Stosur, Australian tennis player
    • 1985 – Giacomo Ricci, Italian racing driver
    • 1986 – Sergio Ramos, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Trent Barreta, American wrestler
    • 1987 – Calum Elliot, Scottish footballer
    • 1987 – Kwok Kin Pong, Hong Kong footballer
    • 1987 – Marc-Édouard Vlasic, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Will Matthews, Australian rugby league player
    • 1988 – Thanasis Papazoglou, Greek footballer
    • 1988 – Richard Sherman, American football player
    • 1988 – Larisa Yurkiw, Canadian alpine skier
    • 1989 – Chris Sale, American baseball player
    • 1989 – João Sousa, Portuguese tennis player
    • 1990 – Thomas Rhett, American country music singer and songwriter
    • 1990 – Michal Březina, Czech figure skater
    • 1992 – Palak Muchhal, Indian playback singer
    • 1993 – Anitta, Brazilian singer and entertainer
    • 1994 – Jetro Willems, Dutch footballer
    • 1997 – Cha Eun-woo, South Korean singer and actor, A member of the South Korean boy band, Astro
    • 1998 – Kalyn Ponga, Australian rugby league player
    • 2000 – Colton Herta, American race car driver

    Deaths on March 30

    • 116 – Quirinus of Neuss, Roman martyr and saint
    • 365 – Ai of Jin, emperor of the Jin Dynasty (b. 341)
    • 943 – Li Bian, emperor of Southern Tang (b. 889)
    • 987 – Arnulf II, Count of Flanders (b. 960)
    • 1180 – Al-Mustadi, Caliph (b. 1142)
    • 1202 – Joachim of Fiore, Italian mystic and theologian (b. 1135)
    • 1465 – Isabella of Clermont, queen consort of Naples (b. c. 1424)
    • 1472 – Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy (b. 1435)
    • 1486 – Thomas Bourchier, English cardinal (b. 1404)
    • 1526 – Konrad Mutian, German humanist (b. 1471)
    • 1540 – Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, German cardinal (b. 1469)
    • 1559 – Adam Ries, German mathematician and academic (b. 1492)
    • 1587 – Ralph Sadler, English politician, Secretary of State for England (b. 1507)
    • 1662 – François le Métel de Boisrobert, French poet and playwright (b. 1592)
    • 1689 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, Polish atheist and philosopher (b. 1634)
    • 1707 – Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, French general and engineer (b. 1633)
    • 1764 – Pietro Locatelli, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1695)
    • 1783 – William Hunter, Scottish anatomist and physician (b. 1718)
    • 1804 – Victor-François, 2nd duc de Broglie, French general and politician, French Secretary of State for War (b. 1718)
    • 1806 – Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (b. 1757)
    • 1830 – Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden (b. 1763)
    • 1840 – Beau Brummell, English-French fashion designer (b. 1778)
    • 1842 – Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter (b. 1755)
    • 1864 – Louis Schindelmeisser, German clarinet player, composer, and conductor (b. 1811)
    • 1873 – Bénédict Morel, Austrian-French psychiatrist and physician (b. 1809)
    • 1879 – Thomas Couture, French painter and educator (b. 1815)
    • 1886 – Joseph-Alfred Mousseau, Canadian judge and politician, 6th Premier of Quebec (b. 1838)
    • 1896 – Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek politician, 55th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1832)
    • 1912 – Karl May, German author (b. 1842)
    • 1925 – Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher and author (b. 1861)
    • 1935 – Romanos Melikian, Armenian composer (b. 1883)
    • 1936 – Conchita Supervía, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1895)
    • 1940 – Sir John Gilmour, 2nd Baronet Scottish soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (b. 1876)
    • 1943 – Jan Bytnar, Polish lieutenant; WWII resistance fighter (b. 1921)
    • 1943 – Maciej Aleksy Dawidowski, Polish sergeant; WWII resistance fighter (b. 1920)
    • 1945 – Béla Balogh, Hungarian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
    • 1949 – Friedrich Bergius, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
    • 1949 – Dattaram Hindlekar, Indian cricketer (b. 1909)
    • 1950 – Léon Blum, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1872)
    • 1952 – Jigme Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (b. 1905)
    • 1955 – Harl McDonald, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1899)
    • 1956 – Edmund Clerihew Bentley, English author and poet (b. 1875)
    • 1959 – Daniil Andreyev, Russian mystic and poet (b. 1906)
    • 1959 – John Auden, English solicitor, deputy coroner and a territorial soldier (b. 1894)
    • 1959 – Riccardo Zanella, Italian politician (b. 1875)
    • 1960 – Joseph Haas, German composer and educator (b. 1879)
    • 1961 – Philibert Jacques Melotte, English astronomer (b. 1880)
    • 1963 – Aleksandr Gauk, Russian conductor and composer (b. 1893)
    • 1964 – Nella Larsen, American nurse and author (b. 1891)
    • 1965 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1896)
    • 1966 – Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (b. 1902)
    • 1966 – Maxfield Parrish, American painter and illustrator (b. 1870)
    • 1966 – Erwin Piscator, German director and producer (b. 1893)
    • 1967 – Frank Thorpe, Australian public servant (b. 1885)
    • 1967 – Jean Toomer, American poet and novelist (b. 1894)
    • 1969 – Lucien Bianchi, Belgian racing driver (b. 1934)
    • 1970 – Heinrich Brüning, German economist and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1885)
    • 1972 – Mahir Çayan, Turkish politician (b. 1946)
    • 1972 – Gabriel Heatter, American radio commentator (b. 1890)
    • 1973 – Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish pilot and politician (b. 1903)
    • 1973 – Yves Giraud-Cabantous, French racing driver (b. 1904)
    • 1975 – Peter Bamm, German journalist and author (b. 1897)
    • 1977 – Levko Revutsky, Ukrainian composer and educator (b. 1889)
    • 1978 – George Paine, English cricketer and coach (b. 1908)
    • 1978 – Memduh Tağmaç, Turkish general (b. 1904)
    • 1979 – Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (b. 1916)
    • 1979 – Ray Ventura, French pianist and bandleader (b. 1908)
    • 1981 – DeWitt Wallace, American publisher, co-founded Reader’s Digest (b. 1889)
    • 1984 – Karl Rahner, German-Austrian priest and theologian (b. 1904)
    • 1985 – Harold Peary, American actor and singer (b. 1908)
    • 1986 – James Cagney, American actor and dancer (b. 1899)
    • 1986 – John Ciardi, American poet and etymologist (b. 1916)
    • 1988 – Edgar Faure, French historian and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1908)
    • 1990 – Harry Bridges, Australian-born American activist and trade union leader (b. 1901)
    • 1992 – Manolis Andronikos, Greek archaeologist and academic (b. 1919)
    • 1993 – S. M. Pandit, Indian painter (b. 1916)
    • 1993 – Richard Diebenkorn, American painter (b. 1922)
    • 1995 – Rozelle Claxton, American pianist (b. 1913)
    • 1995 – Tony Lock, English-Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1929)
    • 1995 – Paul A. Rothchild, American record producer (b. 1935)
    • 1996 – Hugh Falkus, English pilot and author (b. 1917)
    • 1996 – Ryoei Saito, Japanese businessman (b. 1916)
    • 2000 – Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian judge and politician, 8th President of Austria (b. 1915)
    • 2002 – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother of the United Kingdom (b. 1900)
    • 2002 – Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and lyricist (b. 1930)
    • 2003 – Michael Jeter, American actor (b. 1952)
    • 2003 – Valentin Pavlov, Russian banker and politician, 11th Prime Minister of the Soviet Union (b. 1937)
    • 2004 – Alistair Cooke, English-American journalist and author (b. 1908)
    • 2004 – Hubert Gregg, English actor and director (b. 1914)
    • 2004 – Michael King, New Zealand historian and author (b. 1945)
    • 2004 – Timi Yuro, American singer and songwriter (b. 1940)
    • 2005 – Robert Creeley, American novelist, essayist, and poet (b. 1926)
    • 2005 – Milton Green, American hurdler and soldier (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – Fred Korematsu, American political activist (b. 1919)
    • 2005 – O. V. Vijayan, Indian author and illustrator (b. 1930)
    • 2005 – Mitch Hedberg, American stand-up comedian (b. 1968)
    • 2006 – Red Hickey, American football player and coach (b. 1917)
    • 2006 – John McGahern, Irish author and educator (b. 1934)
    • 2007 – John Roberts, Canadian political scientist, academic, and politician, 46th Secretary of State for Canada (b. 1933)
    • 2008 – Roland Fraïssé, French mathematical logician (b. 1920)
    • 2008 – David Leslie, Scottish racing driver (b. 1953)
    • 2008 – Richard Lloyd, English racing driver (b. 1945)
    • 2008 – Dith Pran, Cambodian-American photographer and journalist (b. 1942)
    • 2010 – Jaime Escalante, Bolivian-American educator (b. 1930)
    • 2010 – Morris R. Jeppson, American lieutenant and physicist (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Martin Sandberger, German SS officer (b. 1911)
    • 2012 – Janet Anderson Perkin, Canadian baseball player and curler (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Aquila Berlas Kiani, Indian-Canadian sociologist and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Francesco Mancini, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1968)
    • 2012 – Granville Semmes, American businessman, founded 1-800-Flowers (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Leonid Shebarshin, Russian KGB officer (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Daniel Hoffman, American poet and academic (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Bobby Parks, American basketball player and coach (b. 1962)
    • 2013 – Phil Ramone, South African-American songwriter and producer, co-founded A & R Recording (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Edith Schaeffer, Chinese-Swiss religious leader and author, co-founded L’Abri (b. 1914)
    • 2013 – Bob Turley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Ray Hutchison, American lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Kate O’Mara, English actress (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Helmut Dietl, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
    • 2015 – Roger Slifer, American author, illustrator, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1954)
    • 2015 – Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Dutch astronomer and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2018 – Bill Maynard, English actor (b. 1928)
    • 2020 – Bill Withers, American musician (b. 1938)

    Holidays and observances on March 30

    • Christian feast day:
      • Blessed Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy
      • Blessed Maria Restituta Kafka
      • John Climacus
      • Mamertinus of Auxerre
      • Quirinus of Neuss
      • Thomas Son Chasuhn, Marie-Nicolas-Antoine Daveluy (part of The Korean Martyrs)
      • Tola of Clonard
      • March 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which the first day of Hocktide can fall, while April 3 is the latest; observed on the second Monday after Easter. (Hungerford, England; popular in medieval England)
    • Land Day (Palestine)
    • National Doctors’ Day (United States)
    • Spiritual Baptist/Shouter Liberation Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
    • School Day of Non-violence and Peace (Spain)