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July 5 in History
- 328 – The official opening of Constantine’s Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius.
- 1316 – The Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea meet in the Battle of Manolada.
- 1594 – Portuguese forces under the command of Pedro Lopes de Sousa begin an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Kandy during the Campaign of Danture in Sri Lanka.
- 1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
- 1687 – Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
- 1770 – The Battle of Chesma between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire begins.
- 1775 – The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
- 1803 – The Convention of Artlenburg is signed, leading to the French occupation of the Electorate of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
- 1807 – In Buenos Aires the local militias repel the British soldiers within the Second English Invasion.
- 1809 – The largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Wagram is fought between the French and Austrian Empires.
- 1811 – The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence is adopted by a congress of the provinces.
- 1813 – War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York commence.
- 1814 – War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa: American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
- 1833 – Lê Văn Khôi along with 27 soldiers stage a mutiny taking over the Phiên An citadel, developing into the Lê Văn Khôi revolt against Emperor Minh Mạng.
- 1833 – Admiral Charles Napier vanquishes the navy of the Portuguese usurper Dom Miguel at the third Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
- 1841 – Thomas Cook organises the first package excursion, from Leicester to Loughborough.
- 1884 – Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
- 1915 – The Liberty Bell leaves Philadelphia by special train on its way to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. This is the last trip outside Philadelphia that the custodians of the bell intend to permit.
- 1934 – “Bloody Thursday”: Police open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco.
- 1935 – The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1937 – Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
- 1940 – World War II: Foreign relations of Vichy France are severed with the United Kingdom.
- 1941 – World War II: Operation Barbarossa: German troops reach the Dnieper river.
- 1943 – World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).
- 1943 – World War II: German forces begin a massive offensive against the Soviet Union at the Battle of Kursk, also known as Operation Citadel.
- 1946 – Micheline Bernardini models the first modern bikini at a swimming pool in Paris.
- 1948 – National Health Service Acts create the national public health system in the United Kingdom.
- 1950 – Korean War: Task Force Smith: American and North Korean forces first clash, in the Battle of Osan.
- 1950 – Zionism: The Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
- 1954 – The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
- 1954 – Elvis Presley records his first single, “That’s All Right”, at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
- 1962 – The official independence of Algeria is proclaimed after an 8-year-long war with France.
- 1971 – The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, is formally certified by President Richard Nixon.
- 1973 – A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills eleven firefighters.
- 1975 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
- 1975 – Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
- 1977 – Military coup in Pakistan: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, is overthrown.
- 1980 – Swedish tennis player Björn Borg wins his fifth Wimbledon final and becomes the first male tennis player to win the championships five times in a row (1976–1980).
- 1987 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE uses suicide attacks on the Sri Lankan Army for the first time. The Black Tigers are born and, in the following years, will continue to kill with the tactic.
- 1989 – Iran–Contra affair: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. His convictions are later overturned.
- 1995 – Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after its independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1996 – Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
- 1997 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP A. Thangathurai is shot dead at Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College in Trincomalee.
- 1999 – U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
- 2004 – The first direct Indonesian presidential election is held.
- 2006 – North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
- 2009 – A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
- 2009 – The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in England, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
- 2012 – The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).
- 2016 – The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.
Births on July 5
- 465 – Ahkal Mo’ Naab’ I, Mayan ruler (d. 524)
- 980 – Mokjong of Goryeo, Korean king (d. 1009)
- 1029 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Fatimid caliph (d. 1094)
- 1057 – Al-Ghazali, Iranian jurist, philosopher, and mystic (d. 1111)
- 1321 – Joan of the Tower, English consort of David II of Scotland (d. 1362)
- 1466 – Giovanni Sforza, Italian nobleman (d. 1510)
- 1547 – Garzia de’ Medici, Tuscan son of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1562)
- 1549 – Francesco Maria del Monte, Italian cardinal and art collector (d. 1627)
- 1554 – Elisabeth of Austria, French queen (d. 1592)
- 1580 – Carlo Contarini, doge of Venice (d. 1656)
- 1586 – Thomas Hooker, English-born founder of the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1647)
- 1593 – Achille d’Étampes de Valençay, French military leader (d. 1646)
- 1653 – Thomas Pitt, English businessman and politician (d. 1726)
- 1670 – Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, countess palatine (d. 1748)
- 1675 – Mary Walcott, American accuser and witness at the Salem witch trials (d. 1719)
- 1709 – Étienne de Silhouette, French translator and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1767)
- 1717 – Peter III, Portuguese king (d. 1786)
- 1718 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1794)
- 1745 – Carl Arnold Kortum, German physician and poet (d. 1824)
- 1755 – Sarah Siddons, English actress (d. 1831)
- 1780 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician (d. 1838)
- 1793 – Pavel Pestel, Russian officer (d. 1826)
- 1794 – Sylvester Graham, American minister and activist (d. 1851)
- 1801 – David Farragut, American admiral (d. 1870)
- 1802 – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (d. 1855)
- 1803 – George Borrow, British writer (d. 1881)
- 1805 – Robert FitzRoy, English captain, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (d. 1865)
- 1810 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1891)
- 1820 – William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physicist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1872)
- 1829 – Ignacio Mariscal, Mexican politician and diplomat, Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Mexico (d. 1910)
- 1832 – Pavel Chistyakov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1919)
- 1841 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1904)
- 1849 – William Thomas Stead, English journalist (d. 1912)
- 1853 – Cecil Rhodes, English-South African businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (d. 1902)
- 1857 – Clara Zetkin, German theorist and activist (d. 1933)
- 1857 – Julien Tiersot, French musicologist and composer (d. 1936)
- 1860 – Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (d. 1919)
- 1860 – Mathieu Jaboulay, French surgeon (d. 1913)
- 1862 – George Nuttall, American-British bacteriologist (d. 1937)
- 1862 – Horatio Caro, English chess master (d. 1920)
- 1864 – Stephan Krehl, German composer (d. 1924)
- 1867 – A. E. Douglass, American astronomer (d. 1962)
- 1872 – Édouard Herriot, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1957)
- 1874 – Eugen Fischer, German physician and academic (d. 1967)
- 1879 – Dwight F. Davis, American tennis player and politician, 49th United States Secretary of War (d. 1945)
- 1879 – Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichord player and educator (d. 1959)
- 1880 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1940)
- 1880 – Constantin Tănase, Romanian actor and playwright (d. 1945)
- 1882 – Inayat Khan, Indian mystic and educator (d. 1927)
- 1883 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian, author, and academic (d. 1975)
- 1884 – Enrico Dante, Italian cardinal (d. 1967)
- 1885 – Blas Infante, Spanish historian and politician (d. 1936)
- 1885 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (d. 1962)
- 1886 – Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) (d. 1988)
- 1886 – Prince John Konstantinovich of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1888 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1963)
- 1888 – Louise Freeland Jenkins, American astronomer and academic (d. 1970)
- 1889 – Jean Cocteau, French novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
- 1890 – Frederick Lewis Allen, American historian and journalist (d. 1954)
- 1891 – John Howard Northrop, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1891 – Tin Ujević, Croatian poet and translator (d. 1955)
- 1893 – Anthony Berkeley Cox, English writer (d. 1971)
- 1893 – Giuseppe Caselli, Italian painter (d. 1976)
- 1894 – Ants Lauter, Estonian actor and director (d. 1973)
- 1896 – Thomas Playford IV, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1981)
- 1898 – Georgios Grivas, Greek general (d. 1974)
- 1899 – Marcel Achard, French playwright, screenwriter, and author (d. 1974)
- 1900 – Yoshimaro Yamashina, Japanese ornithologist, founded the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology (d. 1989)
- 1900 – Bernardus Johannes Alfrink, Dutch cardinal (d. 1987)
- 1901 – Julio Libonatti, Italian-Argentinian footballer (d. 1981)
- 1902 – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American colonel and politician, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1985)
- 1904 – Harold Acton, English scholar and author (d. 1994)
- 1904 – Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist and ornithologist (d. 2005)
- 1904 – Milburn Stone, American actor (d. 1980)
- 1905 – Madeleine Sylvain-Bouchereau, Haitian sociologist and educator (d. 1970)
- 1908 – Henri of Orléans, (d. 1999)
- 1908 – Lyman S. Ayres II, American businessman (d. 1996)
- 1910 – Georges Vedel, French lawyer and academic (d. 2002)
- 1911 – Endel Aruja, Estonian-Canadian physicist and academic (d. 2008)
- 1911 – Haydn Bunton, Sr., Australian footballer and coach (d. 1955)
- 1911 – Giorgio Borġ Olivier, Maltese lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1980)
- 1911 – Georges Pompidou, French banker and politician, 19th President of France (d. 1974)
- 1913 – George Costakis, Russian art collector (d. 1990)
- 1913 – Smiley Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)
- 1914 – John Thomas Dunlop, American administrator and labor scholar (d. 2003)
- 1914 – Annie Fischer, Hungarian pianist and composer (d. 1995)
- 1915 – Babe Paley, American socialite (d. 1978)
- 1915 – John Woodruff, American runner and commander (d. 2007)
- 1915 – Al Timothy, Trinidadian musician and songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1916 – Lívia Rév, Hungarian classical pianist (d. 2018)
- 1916 – Ivor Powell, Welsh footballer (d. 2012)
- 1918 – K. Karunakaran, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Kerala (d. 2010)
- 1918 – Brian James, Australian actor (d. 2009)
- 1918 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian general and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2012)
- 1918 – George Rochberg, American composer and educator (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian marshal (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Nanos Valaoritis, Greek author, poet, and playwright (d. 2019)
- 1923 – George Moore, Australian jockey (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Mitsuye Yamada, Japanese American activist
- 1924 – János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist and educator (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Edward Cassidy, Australian Roman Catholic cardinal priest
- 1925 – Fernando de Szyszlo, Peruvian painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Jean Raspail, French author and explorer (d. 2020)
- 1926 – Diana Lynn, American actress (d. 1971)
- 1928 – Pierre Mauroy, French educator and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Warren Oates, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1929 – Jimmy Carruthers, Australian boxer (d. 1990)
- 1929 – Katherine Helmond, American actress and director (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Tony Lock, English cricketer (d. 1995)
- 1929 – Jovan Rašković, Serbian psychiatrist, academic, and politician (d. 1992)
- 1929 – Jiří Reynek, Czech poet and graphic artist (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Chikao Ohtsuka, Japanese voice actor (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Ismail Mahomed, South African lawyer and politician, 17th Chief Justice of South Africa (d. 2000)
- 1932 – Gyula Horn, Hungarian politician, 37th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critic and physicist (d. 1986)
- 1936 – Shirley Knight, American actress (d. 2020)
- 1936 – James Mirrlees, Scottish economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
- 1938 – Ronnie Self, American singer-songwriter (d. 1981)
- 1940 – Chuck Close, American painter and photographer
- 1941 – Terry Cashman, American singer-songwriter and record producer
- 1941 – Epeli Nailatikau, Fijian chief, President of Fiji
- 1942 – Matthias Bamert, Swiss composer and conductor
- 1942 – Hannes Löhr, German footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2016)
- 1943 – Curt Blefary, American baseball player and coach (d. 2001)
- 1943 – Mark Cox, English tennis player, coach and sportscaster
- 1943 – Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
- 1943 – Pierre Villepreux, French rugby player and coach
- 1944 – Leni Björklund, Swedish politician, 28th Swedish Minister of Defence for Sweden
- 1945 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Humberto Benítez Treviño, Mexican lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Mexico
- 1946 – Pierre-Marc Johnson, Canadian lawyer, physician, and politician, 24th Premier of Quebec
- 1946 – Paul Smith, English fashion designer
- 1946 – Gerard ‘t Hooft, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1946 – Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 2013)
- 1947 – Todd Akin, American politician
- 1949 – Ludwig G. Strauss, German physician and academic (d. 2013)
- 1950 – Carlos Caszely, Chilean footballer
- 1950 – Huey Lewis, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1950 – Michael Monarch, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1951 – Goose Gossage, American baseball player
- 1951 – Roger Wicker, American colonel, lawyer, and politician
- 1953 – Caryn Navy, American mathematician and computer scientist
- 1954 – Jimmy Crespo, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1954 – John Wright, New Zealand cricketer and coach
- 1955 – Tony Hadley, English footballer
- 1955 – Peter McNamara, Australian tennis player and coach (d. 2019)
- 1956 – Horacio Cartes, Paraguayan businessman and politician, President of Paraguay
- 1956 – James Lofton, American football player and coach
- 1957 – Carlo Thränhardt, German high jumper
- 1957 – Doug Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
- 1958 – Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (d. 1996)
- 1958 – Bill Watterson, American author and illustrator
- 1959 – Marc Cohn, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1960 – Pruitt Taylor Vince, American actor and director
- 1962 – Sarina Hülsenbeck, German swimmer
- 1963 – Edie Falco, American actress
- 1964 – Ronald D. Moore, American screenwriter and producer
- 1965 – Kathryn Erbe, American actress
- 1965 – Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Israeli-American pianist and educator
- 1966 – Susannah Doyle, English actress, director, and playwright
- 1966 – Gianfranco Zola, Italian footballer and coach
- 1968 – Ken Akamatsu, Japanese illustrator
- 1968 – Kenji Ito, Japanese pianist and composer
- 1968 – Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1968 – Hedi Slimane, French fashion designer and photographer
- 1968 – Alex Zülle, Swiss cyclist
- 1968 – Susan Wojcicki, Polish-American technology executive, CEO of YouTube
- 1969 – Jenji Kohan, American screenwriter and producer
- 1969 – Armin Kõomägi, Estonian author and screenwriter
- 1969 – John LeClair, American ice hockey player
- 1969 – RZA, American rapper, producer, actor, and director
- 1970 – Mac Dre, American rapper and producer, founded Thizz Entertainment (d. 2004)
- 1970 – Valentí Massana, Spanish race walker
- 1971 – Derek McInnes, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1972 – Matthew Birir, Kenyan runner
- 1972 – Robert Esmie, Canadian sprinter
- 1972 – Gary Shteyngart, American writer
- 1973 – Marcus Allbäck, Swedish footballer and coach
- 1973 – Bengt Lagerberg, Swedish drummer
- 1973 – Róisín Murphy, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1974 – Márcio Amoroso, Brazilian footballer
- 1975 – Hernán Crespo, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1975 – Ai Sugiyama, Japanese tennis player
- 1976 – Bizarre, American rapper
- 1976 – Nuno Gomes, Portuguese footballer
- 1977 – Nicolas Kiefer, German tennis player
- 1977 – Steven Sharp Nelson, American cellist
- 1978 – Britta Oppelt, German rower
- 1978 – Allan Simonsen, Danish race car driver (d. 2013)
- 1978 – İsmail YK, German-Turkish singer-songwriter
- 1979 – Shane Filan, Irish singer-songwriter
- 1979 – Amélie Mauresmo, French-Swiss tennis player
- 1979 – Stiliyan Petrov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
- 1980 – David Rozehnal, Czech footballer
- 1980 – Mads Tolling, Danish-American violinist and composer
- 1980 – Jason Wade, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1982 – Fabrício de Souza, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Alexander Dimitrenko, Ukrainian-German boxer
- 1982 – Alberto Gilardino, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Philippe Gilbert, Belgian cyclist
- 1982 – Kate Gynther, Australian water polo player
- 1982 – Dave Haywood, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1982 – Paíto, Mozambican footballer
- 1982 – Javier Paredes, Spanish footballer
- 1982 – Szabolcs Perenyi, Romanian-Hungarian footballer
- 1982 – Beno Udrih, Slovenian basketball player
- 1983 – Marco Estrada, Mexican baseball player
- 1983 – Jonás Gutiérrez, Argentinian footballer
- 1983 – Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis player
- 1983 – Taavi Peetre, Estonian shot putter (d. 2010)
- 1984 – Danay Garcia, Cuban actress
- 1984 – Zack Miller, American golfer
- 1985 – Alexandre R. Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Megan Rapinoe, American soccer player
- 1986 – Iurii Cheban, Ukrainian canoe sprinter
- 1986 – Piermario Morosini, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
- 1986 – Alexander Radulov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Owl City, American singer, songwriter and composer
- 1987 – Ji Chang-wook, South Korean actor
- 1987 – Mohd Safiq Rahim, Malaysian footballer
- 1987 – Andrija Kaluđerović, Serbian footballer
- 1987 – Alexander Kristoff, Norwegian cyclist
- 1988 – Martin Liivamägi, Estonian swimmer
- 1988 – Samir Ujkani, Albanian footballer
- 1989 – Charlie Austin, English footballer
- 1989 – Georgios Efrem, Cypriot footballer
- 1989 – Dwight King, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Abeba Aregawi, Ethiopian-Swedish runner
- 1992 – Alberto Moreno, Spanish footballer
- 1992 – Chiara Scholl, American tennis player
- 1993 – Yaroslav Kosov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1994 – Diana Harkusha, Ukrainian lawyer, dancer, model and beauty queen
- 1994 – Shohei Ohtani, Japanese baseball player
Deaths on July 5
- 905 – Cui Yuan, Chinese chancellor
- 905 – Dugu Sun, Chinese chancellor
- 905 – Lu Yi, Chinese chancellor (b. 847)
- 905 – Pei Shu, Chinese chancellor (b. 841)
- 905 – Wang Pu, Chinese chancellor
- 936 – Xu Ji, Chinese official and chancellor
- 967 – Murakami, Japanese emperor (b. 926)
- 1080 – Ísleifur Gissurarson, Icelandic bishop (b. 1006)
- 1091 – William of Hirsau, German abbot
- 1316 – Ferdinand, prince of Majorca (b. 1278)
- 1375 – Charles III, French nobleman (b. 1337)
- 1413 – Musa Çelebi, Ottoman prince and co-ruler
- 1507 – Crinitus, Italian scholar and academic (b. 1475)
- 1539 – Anthony Maria Zaccaria, Italian saint (b. 1502)
- 1661 – Sir Hugh Speke, 1st Baronet
- 1666 – Albert VI, German nobleman (b. 1584)
- 1676 – Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish field marshal and politician (b. 1613)
- 1715 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (b. 1659)
- 1719 – Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, German-English general (b. 1641)
- 1773 – Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian and philologist (b. 1719)
- 1819 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (b.1744)
- 1826 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (b. 1782)
- 1833 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor, created the first known photograph (b. 1765)
- 1859 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist and engineer (b. 1777)
- 1862 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1800)
- 1863 – Lewis Armistead, American general (b. 1817)
- 1884 – Victor Massé, French composer (b. 1822)
- 1908 – Jonas Lie, Norwegian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1833)
- 1920 – Max Klinger, German painter and sculptor (b. 1857)
- 1927 – Albrecht Kossel, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
- 1929 – Henry Johnson, American sergeant (b. 1897)
- 1932 – Sasha Chorny, Russian poet and author (b. 1880)
- 1935 – Bernard de Pourtalès, Swiss captain and sailor (b. 1870)
- 1937 – Daniel Sawyer, American golfer (b. 1884)
- 1943 – Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski, Polish actor (b. 1880)
- 1943 – Karin Swanström, Swedish actress, director, and producer (b. 1873)
- 1945 – John Curtin, Australian journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)
- 1948 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (b. 1888)
- 1948 – Carole Landis, American actress (b. 1919)
- 1948 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician (b. 1871)
- 1957 – Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1887)
- 1965 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican race car driver, polo player, and diplomat (b. 1909)
- 1966 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
- 1969 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator (b. 1884)
- 1969 – Walter Gropius, German architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building and Werkbund Exhibition (b. 1883)
- 1969 – Tom Mboya, Kenyan politician, 1st Kenyan Minister of Justice (b. 1930)
- 1969 – Leo McCarey, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1898)
- 1975 – Gilda dalla Rizza, Italian soprano and actress (b. 1892)
- 1983 – Harry James, American trumpet player and actor (b. 1916)
- 1984 – Chic Murray, Canadian politician, 2nd Mayor of Mississauga (b. 1914)
- 1991 – Howard Nemerov, American poet and essayist (b. 1920)
- 1995 – Jüri Järvet, Estonian actor and screenwriter (b. 1919)
- 1997 – A. Thangathurai, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (b. 1936)
- 1998 – Sid Luckman, American football player (b. 1916)
- 2002 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (b. 1924)
- 2002 – Ted Williams, American baseball player and manager (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1923)
- 2004 – Rodger Ward, American race car driver and sportscaster (b. 1921)
- 2005 – James Stockdale, American admiral (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Gert Fredriksson, Swedish canoe racer (b. 1919)
- 2006 – Thirunalloor Karunakaran, Indian poet and scholar (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (b. 1942)
- 2006 – Amzie Strickland, American actress (b. 1919)
- 2007 – Régine Crespin, French soprano (b. 1927)
- 2007 – George Melly, English singer-songwriter and critic (b. 1926)
- 2008 – Hasan Doğan, Turkish businessman (b. 1956)
- 2010 – Bob Probert, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host (b. 1965)
- 2011 – Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter, sculptor, and photographer (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Rob Goris, Belgian cyclist (b. 1982)
- 2012 – Gerrit Komrij, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Colin Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge, English businessman and politician (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Ruud van Hemert, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
- 2013 – Bud Asher, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
- 2013 – David Cargo, American politician, 22nd Governor of New Mexico (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Lambert Jackson Woodburne, South African admiral (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Volodymyr Sabodan, Ukrainian metropolitan (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Hans-Ulrich Wehler, German historian and academic (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Brett Wiesner, American soccer player (b. 1983)
- 2015 – Archduchess Dorothea of Austria (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Uffe Haagerup, Danish mathematician and academic (b. 1949)
- 2015 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)
Holidays and observances on July 5
- Bloody Thursday (International Longshore and Warehouse Union)
- Christian feast day:
- Anthony Maria Zaccaria, priest (d. 1539)
- Cyril and Methodius (a public holiday in Czech Republic and Slovakia)
- Zoe of Rome (Roman Catholic Church)
- July 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Armenia)
- Independence Day (Algeria), celebrating the independence of Algeria from France in 1962.
- Independence Day (Cape Verde), celebrating the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal in 1975.
- Independence Day (Venezuela), celebrating the independence of Venezuela from Spain in 1811; also National Armed Forces Day.
- Tynwald Day, if July 5 is on a weekend, the holiday is the following Monday. (Isle of Man)
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May 22 in History
- 192 – Dong Zhuo is assassinated by his adopted son Lü Bu.
- 760 – Fourteenth recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet.
- 853 – A Byzantine fleet sacks and destroys undefended Damietta in Egypt.
- 1176 – The Hashshashin (Assassins) attempt to assassinate Saladin near Aleppo.
- 1200 – King John of England and King Philip II of France sign the Treaty of Le Goulet.
- 1246 – Henry Raspe is elected anti-king of the Kingdom of Germany in opposition to Conrad IV.
- 1254 – Serbian King Stefan Uroš I and the Republic of Venice sign a peace treaty.
- 1370 – Brussels massacre: Hundreds of Jews are murdered and the rest of the Jewish community is banished from Brussels, Belgium, for allegedly desecrating consecrated Host.
- 1377 – Pope Gregory XI issues five papal bulls to denounce the doctrines of English theologian John Wycliffe.
- 1455 – Start of the Wars of the Roses: At the First Battle of St Albans, Richard, Duke of York, defeats and captures King Henry VI of England.
- 1520 – The massacre at the festival of Tóxcatl takes place during the Fall of Tenochtitlan, resulting in turning the Aztecs against the Spanish.
- 1629 – Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and Danish King Christian IV sign the Treaty of Lübeck ending Danish intervention in the Thirty Years’ War.
- 1762 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Hamburg.
- 1762 – Trevi Fountain is officially completed and inaugurated in Rome.
- 1766 – A large earthquake causes heavy damage and loss of life in Istanbul and the Marmara region.
- 1804 – The Lewis and Clark Expedition officially begins as the Corps of Discovery departs from St. Charles, Missouri.
- 1807 – A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr on a charge of treason.
- 1809 – On the second and last day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling (near Vienna, Austria), Napoleon I is repelled by an enemy army for the first time.
- 1816 – A mob in Littleport, Cambridgeshire, England, riots over high unemployment and rising grain costs, and the riots spread to Ely the next day.
- 1819 – SS Savannah leaves port at Savannah, Georgia, United States, on a voyage to become the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
- 1826 – HMS Beagle departs on its first voyage.
- 1840 – The penal transportation of British convicts to the New South Wales colony is abolished.
- 1848 – Slavery is abolished in Martinique.
- 1849 – Future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is issued a patent for an invention to lift boats, making him the only U.S. president to ever hold a patent.
- 1856 – Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina severely beats Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made regarding Southerners and slavery.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Union forces begin the Siege of Port Hudson which lasts 48 days, the longest siege in U.S. military history.
- 1864 – American Civil War: After ten weeks, the Union Army’s Red River Campaign ends in failure.
- 1872 – Reconstruction Era: President Ulysses S. Grant signs the Amnesty Act into law, restoring full civil and political rights to all but about 500 Confederate sympathizers.
- 1900 – The Associated Press is formed in New York City as a non-profit news cooperative.
- 1906 – The Wright brothers are granted U.S. patent number 821,393 for their “Flying-Machine”.
- 1915 – Lassen Peak erupts with a powerful force, the only volcano besides Mount St. Helens to erupt in the contiguous U.S. during the 20th century.
- 1915 – Three trains collide in the Quintinshill rail disaster near Gretna Green, Scotland, killing 227 people and injuring 246.
- 1926 – Chiang Kai-shek replaces the communists in Kuomintang China.
- 1927 – Near Xining, China, an 8.3 magnitude earthquake causes 200,000 deaths in one of the world’s most destructive earthquakes.
- 1939 – World War II: Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel.
- 1941 – During the Anglo-Iraqi War, British troops take Fallujah.
- 1942 – Mexico enters the Second World War on the side of the Allies.
- 1943 – Joseph Stalin disbands the Comintern.
- 1947 – Cold War: The Truman Doctrine goes into effect, aiding Turkey and Greece.
- 1957 – South Africa’s government approves of racial separation in universities.
- 1958 – The 1958 riots in Ceylon become a watershed in the race relations of various ethnic communities of Sri Lanka. The total deaths is estimated at 300, mostly Tamils.
- 1960 – The Great Chilean earthquake, measuring 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, hits southern Chile, becoming the most powerful earthquake ever recorded.
- 1962 – Continental Airlines Flight 11 crashes after bombs explode on board.
- 1963 – Greek left-wing politician Grigoris Lambrakis is shot in an assassination attempt, and dies five days later.
- 1964 – Lyndon B. Johnson launches the Great Society.
- 1967 – Egypt closes the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping.
- 1967 – L’Innovation department store in Brussels, Belgium, burns down, resulting in 323 dead or missing and 150 injured, the most devastating fire in Belgian history.
- 1968 – The nuclear-powered submarine USS Scorpion sinks with 99 men aboard, 400 miles southwest of the Azores.
- 1969 – Apollo 10’s lunar module flies within 8.4 nautical miles (16 km) of the moon’s surface.
- 1972 – Ceylon adopts a new constitution, becoming a republic and changing its name to Sri Lanka, and joins the Commonwealth of Nations.
- 1972 – Over 400 women in Derry, Northern Ireland attack the offices of Sinn Féin following the shooting by the Irish Republican Army of a young British soldier on leave.
- 1987 – Hashimpura massacre occurs in Meerut, India.
- 1987 – First ever Rugby World Cup kicks off with New Zealand playing Italy at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand.
- 1990 – North and South Yemen are unified to create the Republic of Yemen.
- 1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia join the United Nations.
- 1994 – A worldwide trade embargo against Haiti goes into effect to punish its military rulers for not reinstating the country’s ousted elected leader, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
- 1996 – The Burmese military regime jails 71 supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi in a bid to block a pro-democracy meeting.
- 1998 – A U.S. federal judge rules that U.S. Secret Service agents can be compelled to testify before a grand jury concerning the Lewinsky scandal involving President Bill Clinton.
- 2000 – In Sri Lanka, over 150 Tamil rebels are killed over two days of fighting for control in Jaffna.
- 2002 – Civil rights movement: A jury in Birmingham, Alabama, convicts former Ku Klux Klan member Bobby Frank Cherry of the 1963 murder of four girls in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
- 2010 – Air India Express Boeing 737 crashes over a cliff upon landing at Mangalore, India, killing 158 of 166 people on board, becoming the deadliest crash involving a Boeing 737.
- 2010 – Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich 2–0 in the Uefa Champions League final in Madrid, Spain to become the first, and so far only, Italian team to win the historic treble (Serie A, Coppa Italia, Champions League).
- 2011 – An EF5 tornado strikes Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people and wreaking $2.8 billion in damages, the costliest and seventh-deadliest single tornado in U.S. history.
- 2012 – Tokyo Skytree opens to the public. It is the tallest tower in the world (634 m), and the second tallest man-made structure on Earth after Burj Khalifa (829.8 m).
- 2014 – General Prayut Chan-o-cha becomes interim leader of Thailand in a military coup d’état, following six months of political turmoil.
- 2014 – An explosion occurs in Ürümqi, capital of China’s far-western Xinjiang region, resulting in at least 43 deaths and 91 injuries.
- 2015 – The Republic of Ireland becomes the first nation in the world to legalize gay marriage in a public referendum.
- 2017 – Twenty-two people are killed at an Ariana Grande concert in the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.
- 2017 – United States President Donald Trump visits the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and becomes the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Western Wall.
Births on May 22
- 626 – Itzam K’an Ahk I, Mayan king (d. 686)
- 1009 – Su Xun, Chinese writer (d. 1066)
- 1408 – Annamacharya, Hindu saint (d. 1503)
- 1539 – Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (d. 1621)
- 1622 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, French soldier and governor (d. 1698)
- 1644 – Gabriël Grupello, Flemish Baroque sculptor (d. 1730)
- 1650 – Richard Brakenburgh, Dutch Golden Age painter (d. 1702)
- 1694 – Daniel Gran, Austrian painter (d. 1757)
- 1715 – François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis, French cardinal and diplomat (d. 1794)
- 1733 – Hubert Robert, French painter (d. 1808)
- 1752 – Louis Legendre, French butcher and politician (d. 1797)
- 1762 – Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, English politician (d. 1834)
- 1770 – Princess Elizabeth of the United Kingdom (d. 1840)
- 1772 – Ram Mohan Roy, Indian philosopher and reformer (d. 1833)
- 1782 – Hirose Tansō, Japanese neo-Confucian scholar, teacher, writer (d. 1856)
- 1783 – William Sturgeon, English physicist and inventor, invented the electromagnet and electric motor (d. 1850)
- 1808 – Gérard de Nerval, French poet and translator (d. 1855)
- 1811 – Giulia Grisi, Italian soprano (d. 1869)
- 1811 – Henry Pelham-Clinton, 5th Duke of Newcastle, English politician (d. 1864)
- 1813 – Richard Wagner, German composer (d. 1883)
- 1814 – Amalia Lindegren, Swedish painter (d. 1891)
- 1820 – Worthington Whittredge, American painter (d. 1910)
- 1828 – Albrecht von Graefe, German ophthalmologist and academic (d. 1870)
- 1831 – Henry Vandyke Carter, English anatomist and surgeon (d. 1897)
- 1833 – Félix Bracquemond, French painter and etcher (d. 1914)
- 1833 – Manuel Ruiz Zorrilla, Spanish politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1895)
- 1841 – Catulle Mendès, French poet, author, and playwright (d. 1909)
- 1844 – Mary Cassatt, American painter and educator (d. 1926)
- 1846 – Rita Cetina Gutiérrez, Mexican poet, educator, and activist (d. 1908)
- 1848 – Fritz von Uhde, German painter and educator (d. 1911)
- 1849 – Aston Webb, English architect and academic (d. 1930)
- 1858 – Belmiro de Almeida, Brazilian painter, illustrator, sculptor (d. 1935)
- 1859 – Arthur Conan Doyle, British writer (d. 1930)
- 1859 – Tsubouchi Shōyō, Japanese author, playwright, and educator (d. 1935)
- 1864 – Willy Stöwer, German author and illustrator (d. 1931)
- 1868 – Augusto Pestana, Brazilian engineer and politician (d. 1934)
- 1874 – Daniel François Malan, South African clergyman and politician, 5th Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1959)
- 1876 – Julius Klinger, Austrian painter and illustrator (d. 1942)
- 1879 – Warwick Armstrong, Australian cricketer and journalist (d. 1947)
- 1879 – Jean Cras, French admiral and composer (d. 1932)
- 1879 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian statesman and independence leader (d. 1926)
- 1880 – Francis de Miomandre, French author and translator (d. 1959)
- 1885 – Giacomo Matteotti, Italian lawyer and politician (d. 1924)
- 1885 – Soemu Toyoda, Japanese admiral (d. 1957)
- 1887 – A. W. Sandberg, Danish film director and screenwriter (d. 1938)
- 1891 – Johannes R. Becher, German politician, novelist, and poet (d. 1958)
- 1894 – Friedrich Pollock, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1970)
- 1897 – Robert Neumann, German and English-speaking author (d. 1975)
- 1900 – Juan Arvizu, Mexican lyric opera tenor and bolero vocalist (d.1985)
- 1901 – Maurice J. Tobin, American politician, 6th United States Secretary of Labor (d. 1953)
- 1902 – Jack Lambert, English footballer and manager (d. 1940)
- 1902 – Al Simmons, American baseball player and coach (d. 1956)
- 1904 – Uno Lamm, Swedish electrical engineer and inventor (d. 1989)
- 1905 – Bodo von Borries, German physicist and academic, co-invented the electron microscope (d. 1956)
- 1905 – Tom Driberg, British politician (d. 1976)
- 1907 – Hergé, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1983)
- 1907 – Laurence Olivier, English actor, director, and producer (d. 1989)
- 1908 – Horton Smith, American golfer and captain (d. 1963)
- 1909 – Margaret Mee, English illustrator and educator (d. 1988)
- 1912 – Herbert C. Brown, English-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1913 – Rafael Gil, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
- 1913 – Dominique Rolin, Belgian author (d. 2012)
- 1914 – Max Kohnstamm, Dutch historian and diplomat (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Sun Ra, American pianist, composer, bandleader, poet (d. 1993)
- 1917 – George Aratani, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Jean-Louis Curtis, French author (d. 1995)
- 1919 – Paul Vanden Boeynants, Belgian businessman and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2001)
- 1920 – Thomas Gold, Austrian-American astrophysicist and academic (d. 2004)
- 1921 – George S. Hammond, American scientist (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Quinn Martin, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1987)
- 1924 – Charles Aznavour, French-Armenian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Jean Tinguely, Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1991)
- 1927 – Michael Constantine, American actor
- 1927 – Peter Matthiessen, American novelist, short story writer, editor, co-founded The Paris Review (d. 2014)
- 1927 – George Andrew Olah, Hungarian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
- 1928 – Serge Doubrovsky, French theorist and author (d. 2017)
- 1928 – John Mackenzie, Scottish director and producer (d. 2011)
- 1928 – T. Boone Pickens, American businessman (d. 2019)
- 1928 – Hiroshi Sano, Japanese novelist (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Ahmed Fouad Negm, Egyptian poet (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Kenny Ball, English jazz trumpet player, vocalist, and bandleader (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Marisol Escobar, French-American sculptor (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Harvey Milk, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1978)
- 1932 – Robert Spitzer, American psychiatrist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Chen Jingrun, Chinese mathematician and academic (d. 1996)
- 1934 – Peter Nero, American pianist and conductor
- 1936 – George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (d. 2014)
- 1937 – Facundo Cabral, Argentinian singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
- 1938 – Richard Benjamin, American actor and director
- 1938 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1939 – Paul Winfield, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1940 – Kieth Merrill, American filmmaker
- 1940 – Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor (d. 2011)
- 1940 – Bernard Shaw, American journalist
- 1940 – Mick Tingelhoff, American Pro Football Hall of Famer
- 1941 – Menzies Campbell, Scottish sprinter and politician
- 1942 – Roger Brown, American basketball player (d. 1997)
- 1942 – Ted Kaczynski, American academic and mathematician turned anarchist and serial murderer (Unabomber)
- 1942 – Barbara Parkins, Canadian actress
- 1942 – Richard Oakes, Native American civil rights activist (d. 1972)
- 1943 – Betty Williams, Northern Irish peace activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2020)
- 1943 – Tommy John, American baseball player
- 1944 – John Flanagan, Australian fantasy author
- 1945 – Bob Katter, Australian politician
- 1946 – George Best, Northern Irish footballer and manager (d. 2005)
- 1946 – Michael Green, English physicist and academic
- 1946 – Howard Kendall, English footballer and manager (d. 2015)
- 1946 – Andrei Marga, Romanian philosopher, political scientist, politician
- 1946 – Lyudmila Zhuravleva, Russian-Ukrainian astronomer
- 1948 – Tomás Sánchez, Cuban painter and engraver
- 1948 – Nedumudi Venu, Indian actor and screenwriter
- 1949 – Cheryl Campbell, English actress
- 1949 – Valentin Inzko, Austrian diplomat
- 1950 – Bernie Taupin, English singer-songwriter and poet
- 1953 – François Bon, French writer
- 1953 – Cha Bum-kun, South Korean footballer and manager
- 1953 – Paul Mariner, English footballer, coach, and manager
- 1954 – Barbara May Cameron, Native American human rights activist (d. 2002)
- 1954 – Shuji Nakamura, Japanese-American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1956 – Lucie Brock-Broido, American poet (d. 2018)
- 1957 – Lisa Murkowski, American lawyer and politician
- 1959 – David Blatt, Israeli-American basketball player and coach
- 1959 – Morrissey, English singer-songwriter and performer
- 1959 – Kwak Jae-yong, South Korean director and screenwriter
- 1959 – Mehbooba Mufti, Indian politician
- 1960 – Hideaki Anno, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter
- 1962 – Brian Pillman, American football player and wrestler (d. 1997)
- 1963 – Claude Closky, French contemporary artist
- 1965 – Jay Carney, American journalist, 29th White House Press Secretary
- 1966 – Johnny Gill, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1966 – Wang Xiaoshuai, Chinese director and screenwriter
- 1968 – Graham Linehan, Irish comedian, actor, and author
- 1969 – Cathy McMorris Rodgers, American lawyer and politician
- 1970 – Naomi Campbell, English model
- 1970 – Brody Stevens, American comedian and actor (d. 2019)
- 1972 – Max Brooks, American author and screenwriter
- 1973 – Nikolaj Lie Kaas, Danish actor
- 1974 – Garba Lawal, Nigerian footballer
- 1974 – Henrietta Ónodi, Hungarian Olympic gymnast
- 1974 – Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukrainian politician
- 1975 – Salva Ballesta, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1976 – Christian Vande Velde, American cyclist
- 1978 – Ginnifer Goodwin, American actress
- 1978 – Katie Price, English television personality and glamour model
- 1979 – Maggie Q, American actress
- 1979 – Nazanin Boniadi, Iranian-American actress
- 1980 – Sharice Davids, American politician
- 1980 – Lucy Gordon, British actress and model (d. 2009)
- 1981 – Daniel Bryan, American wrestler
- 1981 – Bassel Khartabil, Syrian computer programmer and engineer (d. 2015)
- 1981 – Jürgen Melzer, Austrian tennis player
- 1982 – Erin McNaught, Australian model and actress
- 1982 – Apolo Ohno, American speed skater
- 1982 – Hong Yong-jo, North Korean footballer
- 1983 – Natasha Kai, American soccer player and Olympic medalist
- 1984 – Karoline Herfurth, German actress
- 1984 – Didier Ya Konan, Ivorian footballer
- 1984 – Dustin Moskovitz, American entrepreneur, co-founder of Facebook
- 1985 – Tranquillo Barnetta, Swiss footballer
- 1985 – Tao Okamoto, Japanese model and actress
- 1986 – Julian Edelman, American football player
- 1986 – Matt Jarvis, English footballer
- 1986 – Tatiana Volosozhar, Russian figure skater
- 1987 – Novak Djokovic, Serbian tennis player
- 1987 – Arturo Vidal, Chilean footballer
- 1988 – Heida Reed, Icelandic-British actress
- 1989 – Corey Dickerson, American baseball player
- 1990 – Wyatt Roy, Australian politician
- 1991 – Joel Obi, Nigerian footballer
- 1991 – Suho, South Korean singer and actor
- 1992 – Anna Baryshnikov, American actress
- 1994 – Florian Luger, Austrian male model
- 1998 – Samile Bermannelli, Brazilian fashion model
- 1999 – Camren Bicondova, American actress
- 1999 – Femke Huijzer, Dutch model
Deaths on May 22
- 192 – Dong Zhuo, Chinese warlord and politician (b. 138)
- 337 – Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (b. 272)
- 748 – Empress Genshō of Japan (b. 683)
- 1067 – Constantine X, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1006)
- 1068 – Emperor Go-Reizei of Japan (b. 1025)
- 1310 – Saint Humility, founder of the Vallumbrosan religious order of nuns (b. c.1226)
- 1409 – Blanche of England, sister of King Henry V (b. 1392)
- 1455 – Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1406)
- 1455 – Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford, Lancastrian commander (b. 1414)
- 1455 – Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, English commander (b. 1393)
- 1457 – Rita of Cascia, Italian nun and saint (b. 1381)
- 1490 – Edmund Grey, 1st Earl of Kent, English administrator, nobleman and magnate (b. 1416)
- 1538 – John Forest, English friar and martyr (b. 1471)
- 1540 – Francesco Guicciardini, Italian historian and politician (b. 1483)
- 1545 – Sher Shah Suri, Indian ruler (b. 1486)
- 1553 – Giovanni Bernardi, Italian sculptor and engraver (b. 1495)
- 1602 – Renata of Lorraine (b. 1544)
- 1609 – Pieter Willemsz. Verhoeff, Dutch captain (b. 1573)
- 1666 – Gaspar Schott, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1608)
- 1667 – Pope Alexander VII (b. 1599)
- 1745 – François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French general (b. 1671)
- 1760 – Baal Shem Tov, Polish rabbi and author (b. 1700)
- 1772 – Durastante Natalucci, Italian historian and academic (b. 1687)
- 1795 – Ewald Friedrich von Hertzberg, Prussian politician, Foreign Minister of Prussia (b. 1725)
- 1802 – Martha Washington, First, First Lady of the United States (b. 1731)
- 1851 – Mordecai Manuel Noah, American journalist and diplomat (b. 1755)
- 1859 – Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (b. 1810)
- 1861 – Thornsbury Bailey Brown, American soldier (b. 1829)
- 1868 – Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1801)
- 1885 – Victor Hugo, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1802)
- 1901 – Gaetano Bresci, Italian-American anarchist, assassin of Umberto I of Italy (b. 1869)
- 1910 – Jules Renard, French author and playwright (b. 1864)
- 1932 – Augusta, Lady Gregory, Anglo-Irish activist, landlord, and playwright, co-founded the Abbey Theatre (b. 1852)
- 1933 – Tsengeltiin Jigjidjav, Mongolian politician, 10th Prime Minister of Mongolia (b. 1894)
- 1938 – William Glackens, American painter and illustrator (b. 1870)
- 1939 – Ernst Toller, German playwright and author (b. 1893)
- 1939 – Jiří Mahen, Czech author and playwright (b. 1882)
- 1954 – Chief Bender, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1884)
- 1965 – Christopher Stone, English radio host (b. 1882)
- 1966 – Tom Goddard, English cricketer (b. 1900)
- 1967 – Langston Hughes, American poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright (b. 1902)
- 1967 – Charlotte Serber, American Librarian of the Manhattan Project’s Los Alamos site (b. 1911)
- 1972 – Cecil Day-Lewis, Anglo-Irish poet and author (b. 1904)
- 1972 – Margaret Rutherford, English actress (b. 1892)
- 1974 – Irmgard Flügge-Lotz, German-American mathematician and aerospace engineer (b. 1903)
- 1975 – Lefty Grove, American baseball player (b. 1900)
- 1982 – Cevdet Sunay, Turkish general and politician, 5th President of Turkey (b. 1899)
- 1983 – Albert Claude, Belgian biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- 1985 – Wolfgang Reitherman, German-American animator, director, and producer (b. 1909)
- 1988 – Giorgio Almirante, Italian journalist and politician (b. 1914)
- 1989 – Steven De Groote, South African pianist and educator (b. 1953)
- 1990 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer (b. 1922)
- 1991 – Shripad Amrit Dange, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1899)
- 1991 – Stan Mortensen, English footballer and manager (b. 1921)
- 1992 – Zellig Harris, American linguist and academic (b. 1909)
- 1993 – Mieczysław Horszowski, Polish-American pianist and composer (b. 1892)
- 1997 – Alziro Bergonzo, Italian architect and painter (b. 1906)
- 1997 – Alfred Hershey, American biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
- 1998 – John Derek, American actor, director, and photographer (b. 1926)
- 1998 – José Enrique Moyal, Israeli physicist and engineer (b. 1910)
- 2000 – Davie Fulton, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Richard Biggs, American actor (b. 1960)
- 2004 – Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast (b. 1945)
- 2005 – Charilaos Florakis, Greek politician (b. 1914)
- 2005 – Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor and singer (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Lee Jong-wook, South Korean physician and diplomat (b. 1945)
- 2007 – Pemba Doma Sherpa, Nepalese mountaineer (b. 1970)
- 2008 – Robert Asprin, American soldier and author (b. 1946)
- 2010 – Martin Gardner, American mathematician, cryptographer, and author (b. 1914)
- 2011 – Joseph Brooks, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Muzafar Bhutto, Pakistani politician (b. 1970)
- 2012 – Wesley A. Brown, American lieutenant and engineer (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt, Russian historian and ethnographer (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Marques Haynes, American basketball player and coach (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Vladimir Katriuk, Ukrainian-Canadian SS officer (b. 1921)
- 2016 – Velimir “Bata” Živojinović, Serbian actor and politician (b. 1933)
- 2017 – Nicky Hayden, American motorcycle racer (b. 1981)
- 2019 – Judith Kerr, German-born British writer and illustrator (b. 1923)
- 2020 – Denise Cronenberg, Canadian costume designer (b. 1938)
Holidays and observances on May 22
- Abolition Day (Martinique)
- Christian feast day:
- Castus and Emilius
- Fulk
- Humilita
- Michael Hồ Đình Hy (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
- Quiteria
- Rita of Cascia
- Romanus of Subiaco
- May 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Harvey Milk Day (California)
- International Day for Biological Diversity (International)
- United States National Maritime Day
- National Sovereignty Day (Haiti)
- Republic Day (Sri Lanka)
- Translation of the Relics of Saint Nicholas from Myra to Bari (Ukraine)
- Unity Day (Yemen), celebrates the unification of North and South Yemen into the Republic of Yemen in 1990.
- World Goth Day
-
May 4 in History
- 1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae.
- 1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.
- 1436 – Assassination of the Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
- 1471 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury: Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales.
- 1493 – Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.
- 1626 – Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.
- 1686 – The Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.
- 1776 – Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.
- 1799 – Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam: The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is invaded and Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris.
- 1814 – Emperor Napoleon arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.
- 1814 – King Ferdinand VII abolishes the Spanish Constitution of 1812, returning Spain to absolutism.
- 1836 – Formation of Ancient Order of Hibernians
- 1859 – The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking Devon and Cornwall in England.
- 1869 – The Naval Battle of Hakodate is fought in Japan.
- 1871 – The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- 1886 – Haymarket affair: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
- 1904 – The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal.
- 1910 – The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
- 1912 – Italy occupies the Greek island of Rhodes.
- 1919 – May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.
- 1926 – The United Kingdom general strike begins.
- 1927 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is incorporated.
- 1932 – In Atlanta, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.
- 1945 – World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army.
- 1945 – World War II: The German surrender at Lüneburg Heath is signed, coming into effect the following day. It encompasses all Wehrmacht units in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany.
- 1946 – In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Five people are killed in the riot.
- 1949 – The entire Torino football team (except for two players who did not take the trip: Sauro Tomà, due to an injury and Renato Gandolfi, because of coach request) is killed in a plane crash.
- 1953 – Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
- 1959 – The 1st Annual Grammy Awards are held.
- 1961 – American civil rights movement: The “Freedom Riders” begin a bus trip through the South.
- 1961 – Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather attain a new altitude record for manned balloon flight ascending in the Strato-Lab V open gondola to 113,740 feet (34.67 km).
- 1970 – Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: The Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opens fire killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the Cambodian Campaign of the United States and South Vietnam.
- 1972 – The Don’t Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to “Greenpeace Foundation”.
- 1978 – The South African Defence Force attacks a SWAPO base at Cassinga in southern Angola, killing about 600 people.
- 1979 – Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1982 – Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
- 1988 – The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of Space Shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.
- 1989 – Iran–Contra affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges; the convictions are later overturned on appeal.
- 1990 – Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.
- 1994 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord, granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
- 1998 – A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
- 2000 – Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London (an office separate from that of the Lord Mayor of London).
- 2007 – Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7-mile wide EF5 tornado. It was the first-ever tornado to be rated as such with the new Enhanced Fujita scale.
- 2014 – Three people are killed and 62 injured in a pair of bombings on buses in Nairobi, Kenya.
Births on May 4
- 1006 – Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, Persian mystic and poet (d. 1088)
- 1008 – Henry I, king of France (d. 1060)
- 1559 – Alice Spencer, English noblewoman (d. 1637)
- 1634 – Katherine Ferrers, English aristocrat and heiress (d. 1660)
- 1649 – Chhatrasal, Indian ruler (d. 1731)
- 1654 – Kangxi Emperor, Emperor of the Qing Dynasty
- 1655 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the piano (d. 1731)
- 1677 – Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, French noblewoman (d.1749)
- 1715 – Richard Graves, English minister and author (d. 1804)
- 1733 – Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (d. 1799)
- 1752 – John Brooks, American soldier and politician, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
- 1757 – Manuel Tolsá, Spanish sculptor and first director of the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City (d. 1816)
- 1767 – Tyagaraja, Indian composer (d. 1847)
- 1770 – François Gérard, French painter (d. 1837)
- 1772 – Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (d. 1823)
- 1796 – Horace Mann, American educator and politician (d. 1859)
- 1796 – William Pennington, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of New Jersey, 23rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1862)
- 1796 – William H. Prescott, American historian and scholar (d. 1859)
- 1820 – Julia Gardiner Tyler, American wife of John Tyler, 11th First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)
- 1820 – John Whiteaker, American soldier, judge, and politician, 1st Governor of Oregon (d. 1902)
- 1822 – Charles Boucher de Boucherville, Canadian physician and politician, 3rd Premier of Quebec (d. 1915)
- 1825 – Thomas Henry Huxley, English biologist, anatomist, and academic (d. 1895)
- 1825 – Augustus Le Plongeon, English-American historian, photographer, and academic (d. 1908)
- 1826 – Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (d. 1900)
- 1827 – John Hanning Speke, English soldier and explorer (d. 1864)
- 1851 – Thomas Dewing, American painter (d. 1938)
- 1852 – Alice Liddell, English model (d. 1934)
- 1855 – Greyfriars Bobby, faithful dog (d. 1872)
- 1883 – Wang Jingwei, Chinese politician (d. 1944)
- 1884 – Richard Baggallay, English army officer and cricketer (d. 1975)
- 1887 – Andrew Dasburg, French-American painter (d. 1979)
- 1889 – Francis Spellman, American cardinal (d. 1967)
- 1890 – Franklin Carmichael, Canadian painter (d. 1945)
- 1902 – Ronnie Aird, English cricketer and administrator (d. 1986)
- 1902 – Cola Debrot, Dutch physician, lawyer, and politician (d. 1981)
- 1903 – Luther Adler, American actor (d. 1984)
- 1903 – Paul Demel, Czech actor (d. 1951)
- 1905 – Al Dexter, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
- 1906 – Gustav Bergmann, Austrian-American philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1987)
- 1907 – Lincoln Kirstein, American soldier and playwright, co-founded the New York City Ballet (d. 1996)
- 1907 – Walter Walsh, American target shooter and FBI agent (d. 2014)
- 1908 – Wolrad Eberle, German decathlete (d. 1949)
- 1911 – Evald Seepere, Estonian boxer (d. 1990)
- 1913 – John Broome, American author (d. 1999)
- 1913 – Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (d. 2007)
- 1914 – Maedayama Eigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 39th Yokozuna (d. 1971)
- 1916 – Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
- 1916 – Richard Proenneke, American soldier, carpenter, and meteorologist (d. 2003)
- 1917 – Edward T. Cone, American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Nick Joaquin, Filipino writer, journalist and historian (d. 2004)
- 1918 – Tom Mead, Australian journalist and politician (d. 2004)
- 1918 – Kakuei Tanaka, Japanese soldier and politician, 64th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1993)
- 1919 – Dory Funk, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1973)
- 1919 – Basil Yamey, South African-English economist and academic
- 1921 – Patsy Garrett, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
- 1921 – John van Kesteren, Dutch-American tenor and actor (d. 2008)
- 1921 – Edo Murtić, Croatian painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Paul-Émile Charbonneau, Canadian archbishop (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Eugenie Clark, American biologist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1923 – Stanley Biber, American soldier and physician (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Ed Cassidy, American jazz and rock drummer (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Assi Rahbani, Lebanese composer and producer (d. 1986)
- 1923 – Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian (d. 2012)
- 1923 – John Toner, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Jenő Buzánszky, Hungarian footballer and coach (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Maurice R. Greenberg, American businessman and philanthropist
- 1926 – David Stoddart, Baron Stoddart of Swindon, English politician
- 1928 – Maynard Ferguson, Canadian trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2006)
- 1928 – Thomas Kinsella, Irish poet, translator, and publisher
- 1928 – Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian air marshal and politician, 4th President of Egypt (d. 2020)
- 1928 – Betsy Rawls, American golfer
- 1928 – Wolfgang von Trips, German race car driver (d. 1961)
- 1929 – Manuel Contreras, Chilean general (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Audrey Hepburn, Belgian-British actress and humanitarian (d. 1993)
- 1930 – Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the Jackson family
- 1930 – Roberta Peters, American soprano (d. 2017)
- 1931 – Jan Pesman, Dutch speed skater (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor and educator (d. 2018)
- 1931 – Thomas Stuttaford, English physician, journalist, and politician (d. 2018)
- 1932 – Harlon Hill, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Alexander MacAra, Scottish epidemiologist and academic (d. 2012)
- 1933 – J. Fred Duckett, American journalist and educator (d. 2007)
- 1936 – El Cordobés, Spanish bullfighter
- 1936 – Med Hondo, Mauritanian filmmaker and actor (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Ron Carter, American bassist and educator
- 1937 – Dick Dale, American surf-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Wim Verstappen, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1938 – Tyrone Davis, American blues and soul singer (d. 2005)
- 1938 – Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican journalist, author, and critic (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Gillian Tindall, English historian and author
- 1939 – Neil Fox, English rugby league player and coach
- 1939 – Amos Oz, Israeli journalist and author (d. 2018)
- 1939 – Leon Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1940 – Robin Cook, American physician and author
- 1940 – Peter Gregg, American race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)
- 1941 – George Will, American journalist and author
- 1942 – Nickolas Ashford, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 2011)
- 1943 – Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer (d. 1971)
- 1943 – Mihail Chemiakin, Russian painter and sculptor
- 1943 – Prasanta Pattanaik, Indian economist and academic
- 1944 – Steve Liebmann, Australian radio and television host
- 1944 – Russi Taylor, American voice actress (d. 2019)
- 1945 – Jan Mulder, Dutch footballer and journalist
- 1946 – John Barnard, English car designer
- 1946 – Gary Bauer, American political activist
- 1946 – John Watson, British race car driver
- 1947 – John Bosley, Canadian businessman and politician, 31st Canadian Speaker of the House of Commons
- 1947 – Ronald Sørensen, Dutch historian and politician
- 1947 – Trivimi Velliste, Estonian politician, 17th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1948 – Alison Britton, English sculptor and educator
- 1948 – Hurley Haywood, American race car driver
- 1948 – King George Tupou V of Tonga, (d. 2012)
- 1949 – Graham Swift, English novelist and short story writer
- 1950 – Darryl Hunt, English bass player
- 1951 – Colin Bass, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1951 – Colleen Hanabusa, American lawyer and politician
- 1951 – Jackie Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1952 – Belinda Green, Australian beauty queen and 1972 Miss World
- 1953 – Pia Zadora, American actress and singer
- 1954 – Ryan Cayabyab, Filipino pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1956 – Michael L. Gernhardt, American astronaut and engineer
- 1956 – David Guterson, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist
- 1956 – Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player and coach
- 1957 – Jaak Huimerind, Estonian architect
- 1957 – Kathy Kreiner, Canadian skier
- 1957 – Peter Sleep, Australian cricketer
- 1957 – Marijke Vos, Dutch educator and politician
- 1958 – Delbert Fowler, American football player
- 1958 – Keith Haring, American painter (d. 1990)
- 1958 – Jane Kennedy, English politician
- 1958 – Caroline Spelman, English politician, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- 1959 – Valdemaras Chomičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
- 1959 – Randy Travis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1959 – Bob Tway, American golfer
- 1960 – Werner Faymann, Austrian politician, 28th Chancellor of Austria
- 1961 – Jay Aston, English singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1964 – Silvia Costa, Cuban high jumper
- 1966 – Gary Elkins, English footballer and manager
- 1966 – Jane McGrath, English-Australian activist, co-founded the McGrath Foundation (d. 2008)
- 1967 – Kate Garraway, English journalist
- 1967 – Ana Gasteyer, American actress and singer
- 1969 – Micah Aivazoff, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1969 – Franz Resch, Austrian footballer and manager
- 1970 – Gregg Alexander, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1970 – Will Arnett, Canadian actor and producer
- 1970 – Giovanni Mirabassi, Italian jazz musician
- 1970 – Dawn Staley, American basketball player
- 1970 – Paul Wiseman, New Zealand cricketer and coach
- 1971 – Joe Borowski, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Miles Stewart, Australian triathlete
- 1972 – Manny Aybar, Dominican baseball player
- 1972 – Mike Dirnt, American bass player and songwriter
- 1973 – Matthew Barnaby, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1973 – Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1973 – John Madden, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1974 – Miguel Cairo, Venezuelan baseball player and coach
- 1974 – Tony McCoy, Northern Irish jockey and sportscaster
- 1976 – Ben Grieve, American baseball player
- 1976 – Rory Hamill, Northern Irish international footballer
- 1976 – Jason Michaels, American baseball player
- 1976 – Indrek Visnapuu, Estonian basketball player and coach
- 1977 – John Tripp, Canadian-German ice hockey player
- 1978 – Erin Andrews, American sportscaster and journalist
- 1978 – Igor Biscan, Croatian footballer
- 1978 – Brett Burton, Australian footballer
- 1978 – Vladimíra Uhlířová, Czech tennis player
- 1979 – Lance Bass, American singer, dancer, and producer
- 1979 – Kristin Harmel, American journalist and author
- 1979 – Marie Poissonnier, French pole vaulter
- 1979 – Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan rugby player
- 1980 – Andrew Raycroft, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer
- 1981 – Dallon Weekes, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1982 – Kleopas Giannou, Greek footballer
- 1982 – Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
- 1982 – Giorgos Tsiaras, Greek basketball player
- 1983 – Dan Christian, Australian cricketer
- 1983 – Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Robert Zwinkels, Dutch footballer
- 1984 – Manjural Islam Rana, Bangladeshi cricketer (d. 2007)
- 1984 – Brad Maddox, American wrestler and referee
- 1984 – Sarah Meier, Swiss figure skater
- 1984 – Montell Owens, American football player
- 1984 – Kevin Slowey, American baseball player
- 1985 – Ravi Bopara, English cricketer
- 1985 – Anthony Fedorov, Ukrainian-born American singer and actor
- 1985 – Fernandinho, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Lester “Bo” McCalebb, American-Macedonian professional basketball player
- 1985 – Jamie Adenuga, English MC and rapper
- 1986 – Devan Dubnyk, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – George Hill, American basketball player
- 1987 – Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
- 1988 – Radja Nainggolan, Belgian footballer
- 1989 – Dániel Gyurta, Hungarian swimmer
- 1989 – Henna Lindholm, Finnish figure skater
- 1989 – Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer
- 1989 – Aris Tatarounis, Greek basketball player
- 1989 – James van Riemsdyk, American ice hockey player
- 1990 – Irina Falconi, American tennis player
- 1990 – Ryan Morgan, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Duvashen Padayachee, Australian race car driver
- 1990 – Andrea Torres, Filipino actress and model
- 1991 – Brianne Jenner, Canadian women’s ice hockey player
- 1992 – Victor Oladipo, American basketball player
- 1993 – Jānis Bērziņš, Latvian basketball player
- 1994 – Abi Masatora, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1994 – Joseph Tapine, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1996 – Pelayo Roza, Spanish sprint canoeist
Deaths on May 4
- 408 – Venerius, archbishop of Milan
- 784 – Arbeo, bishop of Freising
- 1003 – Herman II, duke of Swabia
- 1038 – Gotthard of Hildesheim, German bishop (b. 960)
- 1406 – Coluccio Salutati, chancellor of Florence (b. 1331)
- 1436 – Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish rebel leader
- 1471 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, son and heir of Henry VI of England (b. 1453)
- 1471 – Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset (b. 1438)
- 1483 – George Neville, Duke of Bedford (b. 1457)
- 1506 – Husayn Mirza Bayqara, Timurid ruler of Herat (b. 1438)
- 1519 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, duke of Urbino (b. 1492)
- 1535 – John Houghton, Carthusian monk and saint
- 1562 – Lelio Sozzini, Italian Protestant theologian (b. 1525)
- 1566 – Luca Ghini, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1490)
- 1571 – Pierre Viret, Swiss theologian and reformer (b. 1511)
- 1604 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (b. 1533)
- 1605 – Ulisse Aldrovandi, Italian naturalist (b. 1522)
- 1615 – Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish priest and mathematician (b. 1561)
- 1626 – Arthur Lake, English bishop and scholar (b. 1569)
- 1677 – Isaac Barrow, English mathematician and theologian (b. 1630)
- 1684 – John Nevison, English criminal (b. 1639)
- 1729 – Louis Antoine de Noailles, French cardinal (b. 1651)
- 1734 – James Thornhill, English painter and politician (b. 1675)
- 1737 – Eustace Budgell, English journalist and politician (b. 1686)
- 1774 – Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick, Prussian nobleman (b. 1714)
- 1776 – Jacques Saly, French painter and sculptor (b. 1717)
- 1790 – Matthew Tilghman, American politician (b. 1718)
- 1799 – Tipu, ruler of Mysore (b. 1750)
- 1811 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (b. 1776)
- 1816 – Samuel Dexter, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of War, 3rd United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1761)
- 1824 – Joseph Joubert, French author (b. 1754)
- 1826 – Sebastián Kindelán y O’Regan, colonial governor of East Florida, Santo Domingo and Cuba (b. 1757)
- 1839 – Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (b. 1784)
- 1858 – Aimé Bonpland, French botanist and explorer (b. 1773)
- 1859 – Joseph Diaz Gergonne, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1771)
- 1880 – Edward Clark, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
- 1901 – John Jones Ross, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Premier of Quebec (b. 1831)
- 1903 – Gotse Delchev, Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary IMRO (b. 1872)
- 1912 – Nettie Stevens, American geneticist credited with discovering sex chromosomes (b. 1861)
- 1916 – Ned Daly, Irish rebel commander (Easter Rising) (b. 1891)
- 1916 – John Murray, Australian politician, 23rd Premier of Victoria (b. 1851)
- 1916 – Joseph Plunkett, Irish rebel and writer (b. 1887)
- 1916 – Willie Pearse, Irish rebel (b. 1891)
- 1919 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak general and politician (b. 1880)
- 1922 – Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian politician (b. 1888)
- 1923 – Ralph McKittrick, American golfer and tennis player (b. 1877)
- 1924 – E. Nesbit, English author and poet (b. 1858)
- 1938 – Kanō Jigorō, Japanese founder of judo (b. 1860)
- 1938 – Carl von Ossietzky, German journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
- 1941 – Chris McKivat, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1880)
- 1945 – Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (b. 1880)
- 1953 – Alexandre Pharamond, French rugby player (b. 1876)
- 1955 – George Enescu, Romanian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1881)
- 1964 – Karl Robert Pusta, Estonian politician, 4th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
- 1969 – Osbert Sitwell, English-Italian author and poet (b. 1892)
- 1972 – Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
- 1973 – Jane Bowles, American author and playwright (b. 1917)
- 1975 – Moe Howard, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1897)
- 1976 – Frank Strahan, Australian public servant (b. 1886)
- 1980 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
- 1981 – C. Loganathan, Sri Lankan banker (b. 1913)
- 1983 – Nino Sanzogno, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1911)
- 1984 – Diana Dors, English actress (b. 1931)
- 1985 – Fikri Sönmez, Turkish tailor and politician (b. 1938)
- 1985 – Clarence Wiseman, English-Canadian 10th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1907)
- 1987 – Paul Butterfield, American singer and harmonica player (b. 1942)
- 1987 – Cathryn Damon, American actress (b. 1930)
- 1988 – Lillian Estelle Fisher, American historian of Spanish America (b. 1891)
- 1990 – Emily Remler, American guitarist (b. 1957)
- 1991 – Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egyptian singer-songwriter and mandolin player (b. 1902)
- 1992 – Gregor Mackenzie, Scottish politician (b. 1927)
- 1993 – France Štiglic, Slovenian film director and screenwriter (b. 1919)
- 1995 – Connie Wisniewski, American baseball player (b. 1922)
- 2000 – Hendrik Casimir, Dutch physicist and academic (b. 1909)
- 2001 – Bonnie Lee Bakley, American model, wife of Robert Blake (b. 1956)
- 2004 – David Reimer, Canadian victim of a botched circumcision and transgender reassignment surgery (b. 1965)
- 2005 – David Hackworth, American colonel and journalist (b. 1930)
- 2008 – Fred Baur, American chemist and founder of Pringles (b. 1918)
- 2009 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Sammy McCrory, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Mort Lindsey, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Bob Stewart, American television producer, founded Stewart Tele Enterprises (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Adam Yauch, American rapper and director (b. 1964)
- 2012 – Rashidi Yekini, Nigerian footballer (b. 1963)
- 2013 – Otis R. Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Christian de Duve, English-Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Javier Diez Canseco, Peruvian sociologist and politician (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Mario Machado, Chinese-American journalist and actor (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Morgan Morgan-Giles, English admiral and politician (b. 1914)
- 2013 – César Portillo de la Luz, Cuban guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Dick Ayers, American author and illustrator (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Elena Baltacha, Ukrainian-Scottish tennis player (b. 1983)
- 2014 – Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Helga Königsdorf, German physicist and author (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Ross Lonsberry, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1947)
- 2014 – Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, Central African politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1948)
- 2015 – William Bast, American screenwriter and author (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Ellen Albertini Dow, American actress (b. 1913)
- 2015 – Marv Hubbard, American football player (b. 1946)
- 2016 – Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, Burundian politician (b. 1946)
- 2020 – Don Shula, American football player and coach (b. 1930)
- 2020 – Greg Zanis, American carpenter and activist (b. 1950)
Holidays and observances on May 4
- Anti-Bullying Day (United Nations)
- Bird Day (United States)
- Cassinga Day (Namibia)
- Christian feast day:
- Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla
- Blessed Michal Giedroyc
- English Saints and Martyrs of the Reformation Era (Church of England)
- F. C. D. Wyneken (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod)
- Florian
- Gotthard of Hildesheim
- José María Rubio
- Judas Cyriacus
- Monica of Hippo (1960 Roman Catholic Calendar)
- Sacerdos of Limoges
- Venerius of Milan
- May 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Dave Brubeck Day
- Death of Milan Rastislav Štefánik Day (Slovakia)
- Greenery Day (Japan)
- International Firefighters’ Day
- May Fourth Movement commemorations:
- Literary Day (Republic of China)
- Youth Day (China)
- Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled (Afghanistan)
- Remembrance of the Dead (Netherlands)
- Restoration of Independence day (Latvia)
- Star Wars Day (International observance)
- World Give Day
- World Naked Gardening Day
- Youth Day (Fiji)