Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by whitelisting our website.

1030

July 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 587 BC – The Neo-Babylonian Empire sacks Jerusalem and destroys the First Temple.
  • 238 – The Praetorian Guard storm the palace and capture Pupienus and Balbinus. They are dragged through the streets of Rome and executed. On the same day, Gordian III, age 13, is proclaimed emperor.
  • 615 – Pakal ascends the throne of Palenque at the age of 12.
  • 904 – Sack of Thessalonica: Saracen raiders under Leo of Tripoli sack Thessaloniki, the Byzantine Empire’s second-largest city, after a short siege, and plunder it for a week.
  • 923 – Battle of Firenzuola: Lombard forces under King Rudolph II and Adalbert I, margrave of Ivrea, defeat the dethroned Emperor Berengar I of Italy at Firenzuola (Tuscany).
  • 1014 – Byzantine–Bulgarian wars: Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, and his subsequent treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of a heart attack less than three months later, on October 6.
  • 1018 – Count Dirk III defeats an army sent by Emperor Henry II in the Battle of Vlaardingen.
  • 1030 – Ladejarl-Fairhair succession wars: Battle of Stiklestad: King Olaf II fights and dies trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.
  • 1148 – The Siege of Damascus ends in a decisive crusader defeat and leads to the disintegration of the Second Crusade.
  • 1565 – The widowed Mary, Queen of Scots marries Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, Duke of Albany, at Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • 1567 – James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.
  • 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: English naval forces under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake defeat the Spanish Armada off the coast of Gravelines, France.
  • 1693 – War of the Grand Alliance: Battle of Landen: France wins a Pyrrhic victory over Allied forces in the Netherlands.
  • 1775 – Founding of the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps: General George Washington appoints William Tudor as Judge Advocate of the Continental Army.
  • 1818 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel submits his prizewinning “Memoir on the Diffraction of Light”, precisely accounting for the limited extent to which light spreads into shadows, and thereby demolishing the oldest objection to the wave theory of light.
  • 1836 – Inauguration of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France.
  • 1848 – Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt: In County Tipperary, Ireland, then in the United Kingdom, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.
  • 1851 – Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.
  • 1858 – United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
  • 1871 – The Connecticut Valley Railroad opens between Old Saybrook, Connecticut and Hartford, Connecticut in the United States.
  • 1899 – The First Hague Convention is signed.
  • 1900 – In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by the anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
  • 1907 – Sir Robert Baden-Powell sets up the Brownsea Island Scout camp in Poole Harbour on the south coast of England. The camp runs from August 1 to August 9, 1907, and is regarded as the foundation of the Scouting movement.
  • 1914 – The Cape Cod Canal opened.
  • 1920 – Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
  • 1921 – Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party.
  • 1932 – Great Depression: In Washington, D.C., troops disperse the last of the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans.
  • 1937 – Tōngzhōu Incident: In Tōngzhōu, China, the East Hopei Army attacks Japanese troops and civilians.
  • 1945 – The BBC Light Programme radio station is launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.
  • 1948 – Olympic Games: The Games of the XIV Olympiad: After a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics to be held since the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, open in London.
  • 1950 – Korean War: After four days, the No Gun Ri Massacre ends when the US Army 7th Cavalry Regiment is withdrawn.
  • 1957 – The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.
  • 1958 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs into law the National Aeronautics and Space Act, which creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
  • 1959 – First United States Congress elections in Hawaii as a state of the Union.
  • 1965 – Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.
  • 1967 – Vietnam War: Off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst U.S. naval disaster since World War II, killing 134.
  • 1967 – During the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela is shaken by an earthquake, leaving approximately 500 dead.
  • 1973 – Greeks vote to abolish the monarchy, beginning the first period of the Metapolitefsi.
  • 1973 – During the Dutch Grand Prix driver Roger Williamson was killed in the race, after a suspected tire failure caused the car to pitch into the barriers at high speed.
  • 1976 – In New York City, David Berkowitz (a.k.a. the “Son of Sam”) kills one person and seriously wounds another in the first of a series of attacks.
  • 1980 – Iran adopts a new “holy” flag after the Islamic Revolution.
  • 1981 – A worldwide television audience of over 700 million people watch the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.
  • 1981 – After impeachment on June 21, Abolhassan Banisadr flees with Massoud Rajavi to Paris, in an Iranian Air Force Boeing 707, piloted by Colonel Behzad Moezzi, to form the National Council of Resistance of Iran.
  • 1987 – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President of France François Mitterrand sign the agreement to build a tunnel under the English Channel (Eurotunnel).
  • 1987 – Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi and President of Sri Lanka J. R. Jayewardene sign the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord on ethnic issues.
  • 1993 – The Supreme Court of Israel acquits alleged Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free.
  • 1996 – The child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act is struck down by a U.S. federal court as too broad.
  • 2005 – Astronomers announce their discovery of the dwarf planet Eris.
  • 2010 – An overloaded passenger ferry capsizes on the Kasai River in Bandundu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in at least 80 deaths.
  • 2013 – Two passenger trains collide in the Swiss municipality of Granges-près-Marnand near Lausanne injuring 25 people.
  • 2019 – Prison riot between rival gangs broke out in Brazil, at least 57 people have been killed.

Births on July 29 

  • 869 – Muhammad al-Mahdi, Iraqi 12th Imam (d. 941)
  • 996 – Fujiwara no Norimichi, Japanese nobleman (d. 1075)
  • 1166 – Henry II, French nobleman and king of Jerusalem (d. 1197)
  • 1356 – Martin the Elder, king of Aragon, Valencia and Majorca (d. 1410)
  • 1537 – Pedro Téllez-Girón, Spanish nobleman (d. 1590)
  • 1573 – Philip II, duke of Pomerania-Stettin (d. 1618)
  • 1580 – Francesco Mochi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
  • 1605 – Simon Dach, German poet and hymn-writer (d. 1659)
  • 1646 – Johann Theile, German organist and composer (d. 1724)
  • 1744 – Giulio Maria della Somaglia, Italian cardinal (d. 1830)
  • 1763 – Philip Charles Durham, Scottish admiral and politician (d. 1845)
  • 1797 – Daniel Drew, American businessman and financier (d. 1879)
  • 1801 – George Bradshaw, English cartographer and publisher (d. 1853)
  • 1805 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and philosopher (d. 1859)
  • 1806 – Horace Abbott, American businessman and banker (d. 1887)
  • 1817 – Ivan Aivazovsky, Armenian-Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1900)
  • 1817 – Martin Körber, Baltic German pastor, composer, and conductor (d. 1893)
  • 1841 – Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian physician (d. 1912)
  • 1843 – Johannes Schmidt, German linguist and academic (d. 1901)
  • 1846 – Sophie Menter, German pianist and composer (d. 1918)
  • 1846 – Isabel, Brazilian princess (d. 1921)
  • 1849 – Max Nordau, Hungarian physician, author, and critic, co-founded the World Zionist Organization (d. 1923)
  • 1860 – Charles Cochrane-Baillie, 2nd Baron Lamington, English politician, 8th Governor of Queensland (d. 1940)
  • 1867 – Berthold Oppenheim, Moravian rabbi (d. 1942)
  • 1869 – Booth Tarkington, American novelist and dramatist (d. 1946)
  • 1871 – Jakob Mändmets, Estonian writer and journalist (d. 1930)
  • 1872 – Eric Alfred Knudsen, American author, lawyer, and politician (d. 1957)
  • 1874 – J. S. Woodsworth, Canadian minister and politician (d. 1942)
  • 1876 – Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian-American actress and acting teacher (d. 1949)
  • 1878 – Don Marquis, American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
  • 1883 – Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian poet and author (d. 1942)
  • 1883 – Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist revolutionary and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1945)
  • 1884 – Ralph Austin Bard, American financier and politician, 2nd Under Secretary of the Navy (d. 1975)
  • 1885 – Theda Bara, American actress (d. 1955)
  • 1887 – Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-American pianist and composer (d. 1951)
  • 1888 – Vladimir K. Zworykin, Russian-American engineer, invented the Iconoscope (d. 1982)
  • 1891 – Bernhard Zondek, German-Israeli gynecologist and academic (d. 1966)
  • 1892 – William Powell, American actor and singer (d. 1984)
  • 1896 – Maria L. de Hernández, Mexican-American rights activist (d. 1986)
  • 1897 – Neil Ritchie, Guyanese-English general (d. 1983)
  • 1898 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1988)
  • 1899 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (d. 1959)
  • 1900 – Mary V. Austin, Australian community worker and political activist (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Eyvind Johnson, Swedish novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Teresa Noce, Italian labor leader, activist, and journalist (d. 1980)
  • 1900 – Don Redman, American composer, and bandleader (d. 1964)
  • 1904 – Mahasi Sayadaw, Burmese monk and philosopher (d. 1982)
  • 1904 – J. R. D. Tata, French-Indian pilot and businessman, founded Tata Motors and Tata Global Beverages (d. 1993)
  • 1905 – Clara Bow, American actress (d. 1965)
  • 1905 – Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish economist and diplomat, 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1961)
  • 1905 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet and translator (d. 2006)
  • 1906 – Thelma Todd, American actress and singer (d. 1935)
  • 1907 – Melvin Belli, American lawyer (d. 1996)
  • 1909 – Samm Sinclair Baker, American author (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – Chester Himes, American-Spanish author (d. 1984)
  • 1910 – Gale Page, American actress (d. 1983)
  • 1911 – Foster Furcolo, American lawyer and politician, 60th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1995)
  • 1911 – Archbishop Iakovos of America (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Erich Priebke, German war criminal, leader of the 1944 Ardeatine massacre (d. 2013)
  • 1914 – Irwin Corey, American actor and activist (d. 2017)
  • 1915 – Bruce R. McConkie, American colonel and religious leader (d. 1985)
  • 1915 – Francis W. Sargent, American soldier and politician, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – Budd Boetticher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1916 – Charlie Christian, American guitarist (d. 1942)
  • 1916 – Rupert Hamer, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Victoria (d. 2004)
  • 1917 – Rochus Misch, German SS officer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Don Ingalls, American writer and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Edwin O’Connor, American journalist and author (d. 1968)
  • 1918 – Mary Lee Settle, American novelist, essayist, and memoirist (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Neville Jeffress, Australian businessman (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – Richard Egan, American actor (d. 1987)
  • 1921 – Chris Marker, French photographer and journalist (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Gordon Mitchell, American bodybuilder and actor (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Lloyd Bochner, Canadian-American actor (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Robert Horton, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Harold W. Kuhn, American mathematician and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Ted Lindsay, Canadian ice hockey player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer
  • 1926 – Robert Kilpatrick, Baron Kilpatrick of Kincraig, Scottish physician, academic, and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Harry Mulisch, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Paul Taylor, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Kjell Karlsen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2020)
  • 1932 – Leslie Fielding, English diplomat
  • 1932 – Nancy Kassebaum, American businesswoman and politician
  • 1933 – Lou Albano, Italian-American wrestler, manager, and actor (d. 2009)
  • 1933 – Colin Davis, English race car driver (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Robert Fuller, American actor and rancher
  • 1933 – Randy Sparks, American folk singer-songwriter and musician (The New Christy Minstrels)
  • 1935 – Peter Schreier, German tenor and conductor (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – Elizabeth Dole, American lawyer and politician, 20th United States Secretary of Labor
  • 1937 – Daniel McFadden, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate
  • 1938 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-American journalist and author (d. 2005)
  • 1938 – Jean Rochon, Canadian physician and politician
  • 1940 – Betty Harris, American chemist
  • 1940 – Winnie Monsod, Filipina economist and political commentator
  • 1941 – Jennifer Dunn, American engineer and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1941 – Goenawan Mohamad, Indonesian poet and playwright
  • 1941 – David Warner, English actor
  • 1942 – Doug Ashdown, Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1943 – David Taylor, English snooker player and sportscaster
  • 1944 – Jim Bridwell, American rock climber and mountaineer
  • 1945 – Sharon Creech, American author and educator
  • 1945 – Mircea Lucescu, Romanian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1946 – Ximena Armas, Chilean painter
  • 1946 – Stig Blomqvist, Swedish race car driver
  • 1946 – Neal Doughty, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1946 – Alessandro Gogna, Italian mountaineer and adventurer
  • 1946 – Diane Keen, English actress
  • 1946 – Aleksei Tammiste, Estonian basketball player
  • 1947 – Dick Harmon, American golfer and coach (d. 2006)
  • 1948 – John Clarke, New Zealand-Australian comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1949 – Leslie Easterbrook, American actress
  • 1949 – Jamil Mahuad, Ecuadorian lawyer and politician, 51st President of Ecuador
  • 1950 – Jenny Holzer, American painter, author, and dancer
  • 1951 – Susan Blackmore, English psychologist and theorist
  • 1951 – Dan Driessen, American baseball player and coach
  • 1951 – Dean Pitchford, American actor, director, screenwriter, and composer
  • 1952 – Norman Blackwell, Baron Blackwell, English businessman and politician
  • 1952 – Joe Johnson, English snooker player and sportscaster
  • 1952 – Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, Greek politician
  • 1953 – Ken Burns, American director and producer
  • 1953 – Geddy Lee, Canadian musician
  • 1953 – Frank McGuinness, Irish poet and playwright
  • 1953 – Tim Gunn, American television host and actor
  • 1954 – Patti Scialfa, American musician
  • 1955 – Jean-Hugues Anglade, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Dave Stevens, American illustrator (d. 2008)
  • 1955 – Stephen Timms, English politician, Minister of State for Competitiveness
  • 1956 – Teddy Atlas, American boxer, trainer, and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Ronnie Musgrove, American lawyer and politician, 62nd Governor of Mississippi
  • 1956 – Faustino Rupérez, Spanish cyclist
  • 1957 – Liam Davison, Australian author and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1957 – Viktor Gavrikov, Lithuanian-Swiss chess player (d. 2016)
  • 1957 – Nellie Kim, Russian gymnast and coach
  • 1958 – Gail Dines, English-American author, activist, and academic
  • 1958 – Simon Nye, English screenwriter and producer
  • 1958 – Cynthia Rowley, American fashion designer
  • 1959 – Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor, singer, and producer
  • 1959 – Ruud Janssen, Dutch blogger and illustrator
  • 1959 – Dave LaPoint, American baseball player and manager
  • 1959 – John Sykes, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Didier Van Cauwelaert, French author
  • 1962 – Carl Cox, English DJ and producer
  • 1962 – Frank Neubarth, German footballer and manager
  • 1962 – Scott Steiner, American wrestler
  • 1962 – Vincent Rousseau, Belgian runner
  • 1963 – Hans-Holger Albrecht, Belgian-German businessman
  • 1963 – Jim Beglin, Irish footballer and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Julie Elliott, English politician
  • 1963 – Azeem Hafeez, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1963 – Alexandra Paul, American actress and producer
  • 1963 – Graham Poll, English footballer, referee, and journalist
  • 1964 – Jaanus Veensalu, Estonian footballer
  • 1965 – Luis Alicea, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
  • 1965 – Dean Haglund, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Adam Holloway, English captain and politician
  • 1965 – Stan Koziol, American soccer player (d. 2014)
  • 1965 – Chang-Rae Lee, South Korean-American author and academic
  • 1965 – Xavier Waterkeyn, Australian author
  • 1965 – Woody Weatherman, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1966 – Sally Gunnell, English hurdler and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Stuart Lampitt, English cricketer
  • 1966 – Martina McBride, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1968 – Gideon Henderson, English geologist and academic
  • 1968 – Paavo Lötjönen, Finnish cellist and educator
  • 1970 – Adele Griffin, American author
  • 1970 – Andi Peters, English journalist, actor, and producer
  • 1970 – John Rennie, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1971 – Andrea Philipp, German sprinter
  • 1972 – Wil Wheaton, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Stephen Dorff, American actor and producer
  • 1973 – Denis Urubko, Kazakh mountaineer
  • 1975 – Yoshihiro Akiyama, Japanese mixed martial artist
  • 1975 – Lanka de Silva, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1975 – Corrado Grabbi, Italian footballer
  • 1975 – Jaanus Sirel, Estonian footballer
  • 1978 – Mike Adams, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Marina Lazarovska, Macedonian tennis player
  • 1979 – Karim Essediri, Tunisian footballer
  • 1979 – Ronald Murray, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Juris Umbraško, Latvian basketball player
  • 1980 – Ryan Braun, Canadian-American baseball player
  • 1980 – Fernando González, Chilean tennis player
  • 1980 – Ben Koller, American drummer
  • 1980 – John Morris, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Fernando Alonso, Spanish race car driver
  • 1981 – Andrés Madrid, Argentinian footballer
  • 1981 – Troy Perkins, American soccer player
  • 1982 – Janez Aljančič, Slovenian footballer
  • 1982 – Jônatas Domingos, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Allison Mack, American actress and criminal
  • 1983 – Jason Belmonte, Australian bowler
  • 1983 – Inés Gómez Mont, Mexican journalist and actress
  • 1983 – Alexei Kaigorodov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Jerious Norwood, American football player
  • 1983 – Elise Testone, American singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Oh Beom-seok, South Korean footballer
  • 1984 – Chad Billingsley, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Wilson Palacios, Honduran footballer
  • 1985 – Besart Berisha, Albanian footballer
  • 1985 – Okinoumi Ayumi, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1985 – Simon Santoso, Indonesian badminton player
  • 1988 – Tarjei Bø, Norwegian biathlete
  • 1989 – Grit Šadeiko, Estonian heptathlete
  • 1991 – Dale Copley, Australian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Irakli Logua, Russian footballer
  • 1992 – Karen Torrez, Bolivian swimmer
  • 1993 – Nicole Melichar, American tennis player
  • 1994 – Liam O’Brien, Canadian ice hockey player

Deaths on July 29

  • 238 – Balbinus, Roman emperor (b. 165)
  • 238 – Pupienus, Roman emperor (b. 178)
  • 451 – Tuoba Huang, prince of Northern Wei (b. 428)
  • 796 – Offa of Mercia (b. 730)
  • 846 – Li Shen, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
  • 1030 – Olaf II of Norway (b. 995)
  • 1095 – Ladislaus I of Hungary (b. 1040)
  • 1099 – Pope Urban II (b. 1042)
  • 1108 – Philip I of France (b. 1052)
  • 1236 – Ingeborg of Denmark, Queen of France (b. 1175)
  • 1326 – Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster (b. 1259)
  • 1504 – Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby (b. 1435)
  • 1507 – Martin Behaim, German-Bohemian geographer and astronomer (b. 1459)
  • 1573 – John Caius, English physician and academic (b. 1510)
  • 1612 – Jacques Bongars, French scholar and diplomat (b. 1554)
  • 1644 – Pope Urban VIII (b. 1568)
  • 1752 – Peter Warren, Irish admiral and politician (b. 1703)
  • 1781 – Johann Kies, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1713)
  • 1792 – René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, French lawyer and politician, Chancellor of France (b. 1714)
  • 1813 – Jean-Andoche Junot, French general (b. 1771)
  • 1833 – William Wilberforce, English philanthropist and politician (b. 1759)
  • 1839 – Gaspard de Prony, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1755)
  • 1844 – Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1791)
  • 1856 – Robert Schumann, German composer and critic (b. 1810)
  • 1857 – Thomas Dick, Scottish minister, astronomer, and author (b. 1774)
  • 1887 – Agostino Depretis, Italian politician, 9th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1813)
  • 1890 – Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1853)
  • 1895 – Floriano Peixoto, Brazilian general and politician, 2nd President of Brazil (b. 1839)
  • 1900 – Umberto I of Italy (b. 1844)
  • 1908 – Marie Adam-Doerrer (b. 1838)
  • 1913 – Tobias Asser, Dutch lawyer and jurist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1838)
  • 1918 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian-American painter (b. 1863)
  • 1924 – Sotirios Krokidas, Greek educator and politician, 110th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1852)
  • 1934 – Didier Pitre, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1883)
  • 1938 – Nikolai Krylenko, Russian lawyer, jurist, and politician, Prosecutor General of the Russian SFSR (b. 1885)
  • 1950 – Joe Fry, English race car driver (b. 1915)
  • 1951 – Ali Sami Yen, Turkish footballer and manager, founded Galatasaray S.K. (b. 1886)
  • 1954 – Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (b. 1879)
  • 1960 – Hasan Saka, Turkish politician, 7th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1885)
  • 1962 – Ronald Fisher, English biologist and statistician (b. 1890)
  • 1962 – Leonardo De Lorenzo, Italian-American flute player and educator (b. 1875)
  • 1964 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (b. 1885)
  • 1966 – Johnson Aguiyi-Ironsi, Nigerian general and politician, 2nd Head of State of Nigeria (b. 1924)
  • 1966 – Adekunle Fajuyi, Nigerian colonel (b. 1926)
  • 1970 – John Barbirolli, English cellist and conductor (b. 1899)
  • 1973 – Norm Smith, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1915)
  • 1973 – Roger Williamson, English race car driver (b. 1948)
  • 1974 – Cass Elliot, American singer (b. 1941)
  • 1974 – Erich Kästner, German author and poet (b. 1899)
  • 1976 – Mickey Cohen, American gangster (b. 1913)
  • 1978 – Andrzej Bogucki, Polish actor, operetta singer, and songwriter (b. 1904)
  • 1979 – Herbert Marcuse, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1898)
  • 1979 – Bill Todman, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1916)
  • 1981 – Robert Moses, American urban planner, designed the Northern State Parkway and Southern State Parkway (b. 1888)
  • 1982 – Harold Sakata, American wrestler and actor (b. 1920)
  • 1982 – Vladimir K. Zworykin, Russian-American engineer, invented the Iconoscope (b. 1889)
  • 1983 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
  • 1983 – Raymond Massey, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1896)
  • 1983 – David Niven, English military officer and actor (b. 1910)
  • 1984 – Fred Waring, American television host and bandleader (b. 1900)
  • 1987 – Bibhutibhushan Mukhopadhyay, Indian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1894)
  • 1990 – Bruno Kreisky, Austrian academic and politician, 22nd Chancellor of Austria (b. 1911)
  • 1992 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1952)
  • 1994 – John Britton, American physician (b. 1925)
  • 1994 – Dorothy Hodgkin, Egyptian-English biochemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
  • 1995 – Les Elgart, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1917)
  • 1996 – Ric Nordman, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1919)
  • 1996 – Marcel-Paul Schützenberger, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1920)
  • 1996 – Jason Thirsk, American singer and bass player (b. 1967)
  • 1998 – Jerome Robbins, American director, producer, and choreographer (b. 1918)
  • 2001 – Edward Gierek, Polish soldier and politician (b. 1913)
  • 2001 – Wau Holland, German computer scientist, co-founded Chaos Computer Club (b. 1951)
  • 2003 – Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean soldier, founded the Revolutionary United Front (b. 1937)
  • 2004 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress and singer (b. 1923)
  • 2007 – Mike Reid, English comedian, actor, and author (b. 1940)
  • 2007 – Michel Serrault, French actor (b. 1928)
  • 2007 – Tom Snyder, American journalist and talk show host (b. 1936)
  • 2007 – Marvin Zindler, American journalist (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Bruce Edward Ivins, American scientist and bio-defense researcher (b. 1946)
  • 2010 – Charles E. Wicks, American chemist and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Tatiana Egorova, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1970)
  • 2012 – August Kowalczyk, Polish actor and director (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Chris Marker, French photographer and journalist (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – James Mellaart, English archaeologist and author (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – John Stampe, Danish footballer and coach (b. 1957)
  • 2013 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1986)
  • 2013 – Peter Flanigan, American banker and civil servant (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Tony Gaze, Australian soldier, pilot, and race car driver (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Munir Hussain, Indian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – M. Caldwell Butler, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Jon R. Cavaiani, English-American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Giorgio Gaslini, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – María Antonia Iglesias, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – Péter Kiss, Hungarian engineer and politician (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – Idris Muhammad, American drummer and composer (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Thomas R. St. George, American soldier and author (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Antony Holland, English-Canadian actor, director, and playwright (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Peter O’Sullevan, Anglo-Irish sportscaster (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Mike Pyle, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Franklin H. Westervelt, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic (b. 1930)
  • 2018 – Oliver Dragojević, a Croatian recording artist (b. 1947)
  • 2018 – Josip Peruzovic, Yugoslav-born American professional wrestler (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances on July 29

  • Christian feast day:
    • Lupus of Troyes
    • Martha of Bethany (Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran Church)
    • Mary of Bethany
    • Olaf II of Norway
    • Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrix
    • July 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Somer’s Day can fall, while August 4 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before the first Monday in August. (Bermuda)
  • International Tiger Day
  • Mohun Bagan Day (India)
  • National Anthem Day (Romania)
  • National Thai Language Day (Thailand)
  • Ólavsøka or Olsok, opening of the Løgting session. (Faroe Islands and the Nordic countries)

July 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

“Mordad 5th”—day 129th in the Iranian official calendar (236 days – 237 days in leap years – till the end of the year)

July 26 in History

  • 657 – First Fitna: In the Battle of Siffin, troops led by Ali ibn Abu Talib clash with those led by Muawiyah I.
  • 811 – Battle of Pliska: Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I is killed and his heir Staurakios is seriously wounded.
  • 920 – Rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon against the Muslims at the Battle of Valdejunquera.
  • 1309 – Henry VII is recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V.
  • 1469 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Edgecote Moor, pitting the forces of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick against those of Edward IV of England, takes place.
  • 1509 – The Emperor Krishnadevaraya ascends to the throne, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire.
  • 1529 – Francisco Pizarro González, Spanish conquistador, is appointed governor of Peru.
  • 1581 – Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (Act of Abjuration): The northern Low Countries declare their independence from the Spanish king, Philip II.
  • 1703 – During the Bavarian Rummel the rural population of Tyrol drove the Bavarian Prince-Elector Maximilian II Emanuel out of North Tyrol with a victory at the Pontlatzer Bridge and thus prevented the Bavarian Army, which was allied with France, from marching as planned on Vienna during the War of the Spanish Succession.
  • 1745 – The first recorded women’s cricket match takes place near Guildford, England.
  • 1758 – French and Indian War: The Siege of Louisbourg ends with British forces defeating the French and taking control of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
  • 1775 – The office that would later become the United States Post Office Department is established by the Second Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania takes office as Postmaster General.
  • 1788 – New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States.
  • 1803 – The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world’s first public railway, opens in south London, United Kingdom.
  • 1814 – The Swedish–Norwegian War begins.
  • 1822 – José de San Martín arrives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to meet with Simón Bolívar.
  • 1822 – First day of the three-day Battle of Dervenakia, between the Ottoman Empire force led by Mahmud Dramali Pasha and the Greek Revolutionary force led by Theodoros Kolokotronis.
  • 1847 – Liberia declares its independence.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: George B. McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan’s Raid ends; At Salineville, Ohio, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 360 of his volunteers are captured by Union forces.
  • 1882 – Premiere of Richard Wagner’s opera Parsifal at Bayreuth.
  • 1882 – The Republic of Stellaland is founded in Southern Africa.
  • 1887 – Publication of the Unua Libro, founding the Esperanto movement.
  • 1890 – In Buenos Aires, Argentina the Revolución del Parque takes place, forcing President Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman’s resignation.
  • 1891 – France annexes Tahiti.
  • 1892 – Dadabhai Naoroji is elected as the first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain.
  • 1897 – Anglo-Afghan War: The Pashtun fakir Saidullah leads an army of more than 10,000 to begin a siege of the British garrison in the Malakand Agency of the North West Frontier Province of India.
  • 1899 – Ulises Heureaux, the 27th President of the Dominican Republic, is assassinated.
  • 1908 – United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation).
  • 1918 – Emmy Noether’s paper, which became known as Noether’s theorem was presented at Göttingen, Germany, from which conservation laws are deduced for symmetries of angular momentum, linear momentum, and energy.
  • 1936 – Spanish Civil War: Germany and Italy decide to intervene in the war in support for Francisco Franco and the Nationalist faction.
  • 1936 – King Edward VIII, in one of his few official duties before he abdicates the throne, officially unveils the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
  • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: End of the Battle of Brunete with the Nationalist victory.
  • 1941 – World War II: In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands freeze all Japanese assets and cut off oil shipments.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Red Army enters Lviv, a major city in western Ukraine, capturing it from the Nazis. Only 300 Jews survive out of 160,000 living in Lviv prior to occupation.
  • 1945 – The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide, removing Winston Churchill from power.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Potsdam Declaration is signed in Potsdam, Germany.
  • 1945 – World War II: HMS Vestal is the last British Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the war.
  • 1945 – World War II: The USS Indianapolis arrives at Tinian with components and enriched uranium for the Little Boy nuclear bomb.
  • 1946 – Aloha Airlines begins service from Honolulu International Airport.
  • 1947 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the United States National Security Council.
  • 1948 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the military of the United States.
  • 1951 – Walt Disney’s 13th animated film, Alice in Wonderland, premieres in London, England, United Kingdom.
  • 1952 – King Farouk of Egypt abdicates in favor of his son Fuad.
  • 1953 – Cold War: Fidel Castro leads an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks, thus beginning the Cuban Revolution. The movement took the name of the date: 26th of July Movement
  • 1953 – Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle orders an anti-polygamy law enforcement crackdown on residents of Short Creek, Arizona, which becomes known as the Short Creek raid.
  • 1953 – Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment repel a number of Chinese assaults against a key position known as The Hook during the Battle of the Samichon River, just hours before the Armistice Agreement is signed, ending the Korean War.
  • 1956 – Following the World Bank’s refusal to fund building the Aswan Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, sparking international condemnation.
  • 1957 – Carlos Castillo Armas, dictator of Guatemala, is assassinated.
  • 1958 – Explorer program: Explorer 4 is launched.
  • 1963 – Syncom 2, the world’s first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster.
  • 1963 – An earthquake in Skopje, Yugoslavia (present-day North Macedonia) leaves 1,100 dead.
  • 1963 – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development votes to admit Japan.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leader Trương Đình Dzu is sentenced to five years hard labor for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war.
  • 1971 – Apollo program: Launch of Apollo 15 on the first Apollo “J-Mission”, and first use of a Lunar Roving Vehicle.
  • 1974 – Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis forms the country’s first civil government after seven years of military rule.
  • 1977 – The National Assembly of Quebec imposes the use of French as the official language of the provincial government.
  • 1979 (1358 SH) – Holding the first Friday Prayer in Iran led by Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani
  • 1986 (1365 SH) – Aerial bombardment of citizens of Arak by Ba’athist Iraq regime at 9:13 a.m. (local time):
  • 1988 (1367 SH) – Mersad Operation part of Iran-Iraq war
  • 1989 – A federal grand jury indicts Cornell University student Robert T. Morris, Jr. for releasing the Morris worm, thus becoming the first person to be prosecuted under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
  • 1990 – The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.
  • 1993 – Asiana Airlines Flight 733 crashes into a ridge on Mt. Ungeo on its third attempt to land at Mokpo Airport, South Korea. Sixty-eight of the 116 people onboard are killed.
  • 1999 – Celebrated as Kargil Vijay Diwas. Kargil conflict officially comes to an end. The Indian Army announces the complete eviction of Pakistani intruders.
  • 2005 – Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission: Launch of Discovery, NASA’s first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003.
  • 2005 – Mumbai, India receives 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, resulting in floods killing over 5,000 people.
  • 2008 – Fifty-six people are killed and over 200 people are injured, in the Ahmedabad bombings in India.
  • 2009 – The militant Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram attacks a police station in Bauchi, leading to reprisals by the Nigeria Police Force and four days of violence across multiple cities.
  • 2016 – The Sagamihara stabbings occur in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. Nineteen people are killed.
  • 2016 – Hillary Clinton becomes the first female nominee for President of the United States by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
  • 2016 – Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.

Births on July 26

  • 1030 – Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Polish bishop and saint (d. 1079)
  • 1400 – Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester, English noble (d. 1439)
  • 1502 – Christian Egenolff, German printer (d. 1555)
  • 1612 – Murad IV, Ottoman sultan (d. 1640)
  • 1678 – Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1711)
  • 1711 – Lorenz Christoph Mizler, German physician, mathematician, and historian (d. 1778)
  • 1739 – George Clinton, American general and politician, 4th Vice President of the United States (d. 1812)
  • 1782 – John Field, Irish pianist and composer (d. 1837)
  • 1791 – Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1844)
  • 1796 – George Catlin, American painter, author, and traveler (d. 1872)
  • 1802 – Mariano Arista, Mexican general and politician, 42nd President of Mexico (d. 1855)
  • 1819 – Justin Holland, American guitarist and educator (d. 1887)
  • 1829 – Auguste Beernaert, Belgian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Belgium, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1912)
  • 1841 – Carl Robert Jakobson, Estonian journalist and politician (d. 1882)
  • 1842 – Alfred Marshall, English economist and academic (d. 1924)
  • 1844 – Stefan Drzewiecki, Ukrainian-Polish engineer and journalist (d. 1938)
  • 1854 – Philippe Gaucher, French dermatologist and academic (d. 1918)
  • 1855 – Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1936)
  • 1856 – George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
  • 1858 – Tom Garrett, Australian cricketer and lawyer (d. 1943)
  • 1863 – Jāzeps Vītols, Latvian composer (d. 1948)
  • 1865 – Philipp Scheidemann, German journalist and politician, 10th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1939)
  • 1865 – Rajanikanta Sen, Indian poet and composer (d. 1910)
  • 1874 – Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American bassist, composer, and conductor (d. 1951)
  • 1875 – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist (d. 1961)
  • 1875 – Antonio Machado, Spanish poet and academic (d. 1939)
  • 1877 – Jesse Lauriston Livermore, American investor and security analyst, “Great Bear of Wall Street” (d. 1940)
  • 1878 – Ernst Hoppenberg, German swimmer and water polo player (d. 1937)
  • 1879 – Shunroku Hata, Japanese field marshal and politician, 48th Japanese Minister of War (d. 1962)
  • 1880 – Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Ukrainian playwright and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Ukrainian People’s Republic (d. 1951)
  • 1882 – Albert Dunstan, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of Victoria (d. 1950)
  • 1885 – Roy Castleton, Major League Baseball player (d.1967)
  • 1885 – André Maurois, French soldier and author (d. 1967)
  • 1886 – Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (d. 1965)
  • 1888 – Reginald Hands, South African cricketer and rugby player (d. 1918)
  • 1890 – Daniel J. Callaghan, American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1942)
  • 1892 – Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player and manager (d. 1966)
  • 1893 – George Grosz, German painter and illustrator (d. 1959)
  • 1894 – Aldous Huxley, English novelist and philosopher (d. 1963)
  • 1895 – Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (d. 1964)
  • 1896 – Tim Birkin, English soldier and race car driver (d. 1933)
  • 1897 – Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
  • 1897 – Paul Gallico, American journalist and author (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Sarah Kafrit, Israeli politician and teacher (d. 1983)
  • 1903 – Estes Kefauver, American lawyer and politician (d. 1963)
  • 1904 – Edwin Albert Link, American industrialist and entrepreneur, invented the flight simulator (d. 1981)
  • 1906 – Irena Iłłakowicz, German-Polish lieutenant (d. 1943)
  • 1908 – Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourger sculptor (d. 2002)
  • 1909 – Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1994)
  • 1909 – Vivian Vance, American actress and singer (d. 1979)
  • 1913 – Kan Yuet-keung, Hong Kong banker, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1914 – C. Farris Bryant, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Governor of Florida (d. 2002)
  • 1914 – Erskine Hawkins, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 1993)
  • 1914 – Ellis Kinder, American baseball player (d. 1968)
  • 1916 – Dean Brooks, American physician and actor (d. 2013)
  • 1916 – Jaime Luiz Coelho, Brazilian archbishop (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Marjorie Lord, American actress (d. 2015)
  • 1919 – Virginia Gilmore, American actress (d. 1986)
  • 1919 – James Lovelock, English biologist and chemist
  • 1920 – Bob Waterfield, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
  • 1921 – Tom Saffell, American baseball player and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Jean Shepherd, American radio host, actor, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Blake Edwards, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – Jim Foglesong, American record producer (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Jason Robards, American actor (d. 2000)
  • 1923 – Jan Berenstain, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Hoyt Wilhelm, American baseball player and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1925 – Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish physician and politician (d. 2000)
  • 1925 – Joseph Engelberger, American physicist and engineer (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Gene Gutowski, Polish-American producer (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – James Best, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1926 (1305 SH) – Sadeq Khalkhali, Shia cleric and a religious ruler in the Islamic Republic of Iran (d. 2003)
  • 1926 – Dorothy E. Smith, Canadian sociologist
  • 1927 – Gulabrai Ramchand, Indian cricketer (d. 2003)
  • 1928 – Don Beauman, English race car driver (d. 1955)
  • 1928 – Francesco Cossiga, Italian academic and politician, 8th President of Italy (d. 2010)
  • 1928 – Elliott Erwitt, French-American photographer and director
  • 1928 – Ibn-e-Safi, Indian-Pakistani author and poet (d. 1980)
  • 1928 – Joe Jackson, American talent manager, father of Michael Jackson (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Stanley Kubrick, American director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer (d. 1999)
  • 1928 – Peter Lougheed, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Premier of Alberta (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Sally Oppenheim-Barnes, Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, Irish-born English politician
  • 1928 – Bernice Rubens, Welsh author (d. 2004)
  • 1929 – Marc Lalonde, Canadian lawyer and politician, 34th Canadian Minister of Justice
  • 1929 – Alexis Weissenberg, Bulgarian-French pianist and educator (d. 2012)
  • 1930 – Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, Brazilian lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Barbara Jefford, English actress
  • 1931 – Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2006)
  • 1934 – Tommy McDonald, American football player (d. 2018)
  • 1936 – Tsutomu Koyama, Japanese volleyball player and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1936 – Lawrie McMenemy, English footballer and manager
  • 1938 – Bobby Hebb, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Keith Peters, Welsh physician and academic
  • 1939 – Jun Henmi, Japanese author and poet (d. 2011)
  • 1939 – John Howard, Australian lawyer and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Australia
  • 1939 – Bob Lilly, American football player and photographer
  • 1939 – Richard Marlow, English organist and conductor (d. 2013)
  • 1940 – Dobie Gray, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1940 – Brian Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney, Northern Irish-British academic and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
  • 1940 – Bobby Rousseau, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1941 – Jean Baubérot, French historian and sociologist
  • 1941 – Darlene Love, American singer and actress
  • 1941 – Brenton Wood, American R&B singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1942 – Vladimír Mečiar, Slovak politician, 1st Prime Minister of Slovakia
  • 1942 (1321 SH) – Bahman Mofid, Iranian actor
  • 1942 – Teddy Pilette, Belgian race car driver
  • 1943 – Peter Hyams, American director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
  • 1943 – Mick Jagger, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1944 (1323 SH) – Dariush Arjmand, Iranian actor
  • 1945 – Betty Davis, American singer-songwriter
  • 1945 – Helen Mirren, English actress
  • 1946 – Emilio de Villota, Spanish race car driver
  • 1948 – Luboš Andršt, Czech guitarist and songwriter
  • 1948 – Herbert Wiesinger, German figure skater
  • 1949 – Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai businessman and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Thailand
  • 1949 – Roger Taylor, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
  • 1950 – Nelinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
  • 1950 – Nicholas Evans, English journalist, screenwriter, and producer
  • 1950 – Susan George, English actress and producer
  • 1950 – Anne Rafferty, English lawyer and judge
  • 1950 – Rich Vogler, American race car driver (d. 1990)
  • 1951 – Rick Martin, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2011)
  • 1952 – Glynis Breakwell, English psychologist and academic
  • 1953 – Felix Magath, German footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Robert Phillips, American guitarist
  • 1953 – Henk Bleker, Dutch politician
  • 1953 – Earl Tatum, American professional basketball player
  • 1954 – Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player and coach (d. 1994)
  • 1955 – Aleksandrs Starkovs, Latvian footballer and coach
  • 1955 – Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani businessman and politician, 11th President of Pakistan
  • 1956 – Peter Fincham, English screenwriter and producer
  • 1956 – Dorothy Hamill, American figure skater
  • 1956 – Tommy Rich, American wrestler
  • 1956 – Tim Tremlett, English cricketer and coach
  • 1957 – Norman Baker, Scottish politician
  • 1957 – Nana Visitor, American actress
  • 1958 – Monti Davis, American basketball player (d. 2013)
  • 1958 – Angela Hewitt, Canadian-English pianist
  • 1959 – Rick Bragg, American author and journalist
  • 1959 – Kevin Spacey, American actor and director
  • 1960 (1339 SH) – Mohsen Vezvaei, Iranian commander killed in Iran-Iraq war
  • 1961 – Gary Cherone, American singer-songwriter
  • 1961 – Andy Connell, English keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1961 – Felix Dexter, Caribbean-English comedian and actor (d. 2013)
  • 1963 – Jeff Stoughton, Canadian curler
  • 1964 – Sandra Bullock, American actress and producer
  • 1964 – Ralf Metzenmacher, German painter and designer
  • 1964 – Anne Provoost, Belgian author
  • 1965 – Jeremy Piven, American actor and producer
  • 1965 – Jim Lindberg, American singer and guitarist
  • 1966 – Angelo di Livio, Italian footballer
  • 1967 – Martin Baker, English organist and conductor
  • 1967 – Tim Schafer, American video game designer, founded Double Fine Productions
  • 1967 – Jason Statham, English actor
  • 1968 – Frédéric Diefenthal, French actor and director
  • 1968 – Jim Naismith, Scottish biologist and academic
  • 1968 – Olivia Williams, English actress
  • 1969 – Greg Colbrunn, American baseball player and coach
  • 1969 – Tanni Grey-Thompson, Welsh baroness and wheelchair racer
  • 1971 – Khaled Mahmud, Bangladeshi cricketer and coach
  • 1971 – Chris Harrison, America television personality
  • 1972 – Nathan Buckley, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1973 – Kate Beckinsale, English actress
  • 1973 – Mariano Raffo, Argentinian director and producer
  • 1974 – Iron & Wine, American singer-songwriter
  • 1974 – Kees Meeuws, New Zealand rugby player and coach
  • 1974 – Dean Sturridge, English footballer and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Ingo Schultz, German sprinter
  • 1975 – Joe Smith, American basketball player
  • 1975 – Elizabeth Truss, English accountant and politician, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  • 1976 – Elena Kustarova, Russian ice dancer and coach
  • 1976 – Darius Labanauskas, Lithuanian darts player
  • 1977 – Joaquín Benoit, Dominican baseball player
  • 1977 – Martin Laursen, Danish footballer and manager
  • 1977 – Tanja Szewczenko, German figure skater
  • 1979 – Friedrich Michau, German rugby player
  • 1979 – Derek Paravicini, English pianist
  • 1979 – Peter Sarno, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Erik Westrum, American ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Juliet Rylance, English actress
  • 1980 – Jacinda Ardern, 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand
  • 1980 – Dave Baksh, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1980 – Robert Gallery, American football player
  • 1981 – Abe Forsythe, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1981 (1360 SH) Mehdi Seyed-Salehi, Iranian soccer player
  • 1981 – Maicon Sisenando, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Gilad Hochman, Israeli composer
  • 1982 – Christopher Kane, Scottish fashion designer
  • 1983 – Kelly Clark, American snowboarder
  • 1983 – Stephen Makinwa, Nigerian footballer
  • 1983 – Roderick Strong, American wrestler
  • 1983 – Naomi van As, Dutch field hockey player
  • 1983 – Ken Wallace, Australian kayaker
  • 1983 – Delonte West, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Kyriakos Ioannou, Cypriot high jumper
  • 1984 – Benjamin Kayser, French rugby player
  • 1984 – Sabri Sarıoğlu, Turkish footballer
  • 1985 – Marcus Benard, American football player
  • 1985 – Gaël Clichy, French footballer
  • 1985 – Audrey De Montigny, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1985 – Mat Gamel, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Leonardo Ulloa, Argentinian footballer
  • 1986 – John White, English footballer
  • 1987 – Panagiotis Kone, Greek footballer
  • 1987 – Jordie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Fredy Montero, Colombian footballer
  • 1988 – Yurie Omi, Japanese female announcer
  • 1988 – Sayaka Akimoto, Filipino–Japanese actress and singer
  • 1991 – Tyson Barrie, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Marika Koroibete, Fijian rugby player
  • 1993 – Raymond Faitala-Mariner, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1994 – Ella Leivo, Finnish tennis player
  • 1996 – Olivia Breen, British sprinter

Deaths on July 26

  • 342 – Cheng of Jin, emperor of the Jin Dynasty (b. 321)
  • 432 – Celestine I, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 811 – Nikephoros I, Byzantine emperor
  • 899 – Li Hanzhi, Chinese warlord (b. 842)
  • 943 – Motoyoshi, Japanese nobleman and poet (b. 890)
  • 990 – Fujiwara no Kaneie, Japanese statesman (b. 929)
  • 1380 – Kōmyō, emperor of Japan (b. 1322)
  • 1450 – Cecily Neville, duchess of Warwick (b. 1424)
  • 1471 – Paul II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1417)
  • 1533 – Atahualpa, Inca emperor abducted and murdered by Francisco Pizarro (b. ca. 1500)
  • 1592 – Armand de Gontant, French marshal (b. 1524)
  • 1605 – Miguel de Benavides, Spanish archbishop and sinologist (b. 1552)
  • 1611 – Horio Yoshiharu, Japanese daimyō (b. 1542)
  • 1630 – Charles Emmanual I, duke of Savoy (b. 1562)
  • 1659 – Mary Frith, English female criminal (b. 1584)
  • 1680 – John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet and courtier (b. 1647)
  • 1684 – Elena Cornaro Piscopia, Italian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1646)
  • 1693 – Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, queen of Sweden (b. 1656)
  • 1712 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1631)
  • 1723 – Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1660)
  • 1801 – Maximilian Francis, archduke of Austria (b. 1756)
  • 1863 – Sam Houston, American general and politician, 7th Governor of Texas (b. 1793)
  • 1867 – Otto, king of Greece (b. 1815)
  • 1899 – Ulises Heureaux, 22nd, 26th, and 27th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1845)
  • 1915 – James Murray, Scottish lexicographer and philologist (b. 1837)
  • 1919 – Edward Poynter, English painter and illustrator (b. 1836)
  • 1921 – Howard Vernon, Australian actor (b. 1848)
  • 1925 – Antonio Ascari, Italian race car driver (b. 1888)
  • 1925 – Gottlob Frege, German mathematician and philosopher (b. 1848)
  • 1925 – William Jennings Bryan, American lawyer and politician, 41st United States Secretary of State (b. 1860)
  • 1926 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War, son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1843)
  • 1930 – Pavlos Karolidis, Greek historian and academic (b. 1849)
  • 1932 – Fred Duesenberg, German-American businessman, co-founded the Duesenberg Company (b. 1876)
  • 1934 – Winsor McCay, American cartoonist, animator, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1871)
  • 1941 – Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician and academic (b. 1875)
  • 1942 – Roberto Arlt, Argentinian author and playwright (b. 1900)
  • 1951 – James Mitchell, Australian politician, 13th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1866)
  • 1952 – Eva Perón, Argentinian politician, 25th First Lady of Argentina (b. 1919)
  • 1953 – Nikolaos Plastiras, Greek general and politician, 135th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1883)
  • 1957 – Carlos Castillo Armas, Authoritarian ruler of Guatemala (1954-1957)
  • 1960 – Cedric Gibbons, British art director and production designer (b. 1893)
  • 1964 – Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English race car driver and politician (b. 1884)
  • 1968 – Cemal Tollu, Turkish lieutenant and painter (b. 1899)
  • 1970 – Robert Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 11th Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1896)
  • 1971 – Diane Arbus, American photographer and academic (b. 1923)
  • 1980 (1359 SH) – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the second shah (king) of Pahlavi dynasty
  • 1984 – George Gallup, American mathematician and statistician, founded the Gallup Company (b. 1901)
  • 1984 – Ed Gein, American serial killer (b. 1906)
  • 1986 – W. Averell Harriman, American politician and diplomat, 11th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1891)
  • 1988 – Fazlur Rahman Malik, Pakistani philosopher, scholar, and academic (b. 1919)
  • 1992 – Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
  • 1993 – Matthew Ridgway, American general (b. 1895)
  • 1994 – James Luther Adams, American theologian and academic (b. 1901)
  • 1995 – Laurindo Almeida, Brazilian-American guitarist and composer (b. 1917)
  • 1995 – Raymond Mailloux, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1918)
  • 1995 – George W. Romney, American businessman and politician, 43rd Governor of Michigan (b. 1907)
  • 1996 – Max Winter, American businessman and sports executive (b. 1903)
  • 1999 – Walter Jackson Bate, American author and critic (b. 1918)
  • 1999 – Phaedon Gizikis, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (b. 1917)
  • 2000 – John Tukey, American mathematician and academic (b. 1915)
  • 2001 – Rex T. Barber, American colonel and pilot (b. 1917)
  • 2001 – Peter von Zahn, German journalist and author (b. 1913)
  • 2004 – William A. Mitchell, American chemist, created Pop Rocks and Cool Whip (b. 1911)
  • 2005 – Alexander Golitzen, Russian-born American production designer and art director (b. 1908)
  • 2005 – Jack Hirshleifer, American economist and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – Gilles Marotte, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1945)
  • 2007 – Lars Forssell, Swedish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1928)
  • 2007 – Skip Prosser, American basketball player and coach (b. 1950)
  • 2009 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1919)
  • 2010 – Sivakant Tiwari, Indian-Singaporean politician (b. 1945)
  • 2011 – Joe Arroyo, Colombian singer-songwriter and composer (b. 1955)
  • 2011 – Richard Harris, American-Canadian football player and coach (b. 1948)
  • 2011 – Sakyo Komatsu, Japanese author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Margaret Olley, Australian painter and philanthropist (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Don Bagley, American bassist and composer (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Karl Benjamin, American painter and educator (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Miriam Ben-Porat, Russian-Israeli lawyer and jurist (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – James D. Watkins, American admiral and politician, 6th United States Secretary of Energy (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Luther F. Cole, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Harley Flanders, American mathematician and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Sung Jae-gi, South Korean philosopher and activist (b. 1967)
  • 2013 – George P. Mitchell, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Oleh Babayev, Ukrainian businessman and politician (b. 1965)
  • 2014 – Charles R. Larson, American admiral (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Richard MacCormac, English architect, founded MJP Architects (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Sergei O. Prokofieff, Russian anthropologist and author (b. 1954)
  • 2014 – Roland Verhavert, Belgian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Bijoy Krishna Handique, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Mines (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Flora MacDonald, Canadian banker and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Communications (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Leo Reise, Jr., Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Ann Rule, American police officer and author (b. 1931)
  • 2017 – June Foray, American voice actress (b. 1917)
  • 2017 – Patti Deutsch, American voice artist and comedic actress (b. 1943)
  • 2017 – Ronald Phillips, American criminal (b. 1973)
  • 2018 – Adem Demaci, Kosovo Albanian politician and writer (b. 1936)
  • 2018 – John Kline, American basketball player (b. 1931)

Holidays and observances on July 26

  • Christian feast day:
    • Andrew of Phú Yên
    • Anne (Western Christianity)
    • Bartolomea Capitanio
    • Blessed Maria Pierina
    • Joachim (Western Christianity)
    • Paraskevi of Rome (Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • Venera
    • July 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of National Significance (Barbados)
  • Day of the National Rebellion (Cuba)
  • Esperanto Day
  • Independence Day (Liberia), celebrates the independence of Liberia from the American Colonization Society in 1847.
  • Independence Day (Maldives), celebrates the independence of Maldives from the United Kingdom in 1965.
  • Kargil Victory Day or Kargil Vijay Diwas (India)

July 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 21- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 356 BC – The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
  • 230 – Pope Pontian succeeds Urban I as the eighteenth pope.
  • 285 – Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar and co-ruler.
  • 365 – The 365 Crete earthquake affects the Greek island of Crete with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), causing a destructive tsunami that affects the coasts of Libya and Egypt, especially Alexandria. Many thousands were killed.
  • 905 – King Berengar I of Italy and a hired Hungarian army defeats the Frankish forces at Verona. King Louis III is captured and blinded for breaking his oath (see 902).
  • 1242 – Battle of Taillebourg: Louis IX of France puts an end to the revolt of his vassals Henry III of England and Hugh X of Lusignan.
  • 1403 – Battle of Shrewsbury: King Henry IV of England defeats rebels to the north of the county town of Shropshire, England.
  • 1545 – The first landing of French troops on the coast of the Isle of Wight during the French invasion of the Isle of Wight.
  • 1568 – Eighty Years’ War: Battle of Jemmingen: Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alva defeats Louis of Nassau.
  • 1645 – Qing dynasty regent Dorgon issues an edict ordering all Han Chinese men to shave their forehead and braid the rest of their hair into a queue identical to those of the Manchus.
  • 1656 – The Raid on Málaga takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
  • 1718 – The Treaty of Passarowitz between the Ottoman Empire, Austria and the Republic of Venice is signed.
  • 1774 – Russo-Turkish War (1768–74): Russia and the Ottoman Empire sign the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ending the war.
  • 1798 – French campaign in Egypt and Syria: Napoleon’s forces defeat an Ottoman-Mamluk army near Cairo in the Battle of the Pyramids.
  • 1831 – Inauguration of Leopold I of Belgium, first king of the Belgians.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: First Battle of Bull Run: At Manassas Junction, Virginia, the first major battle of the war begins and ends in a victory for the Confederate army.
  • 1865 – In the market square of Springfield, Missouri, Wild Bill Hickok shoots and kills Davis Tutt in what is regarded as the first western showdown.
  • 1873 – At Adair, Iowa, Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.
  • 1877 – After rioting by Baltimore and Ohio Railroad workers and the deaths of nine rail workers at the hands of the Maryland militia, workers in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, stage a sympathy strike that is met with an assault by the state militia.
  • 1904 – Louis Rigolly, a Frenchman, becomes the first man to break the 100 mph (161 km/h) barrier on land. He drove a 15-liter Gobron-Brillié in Ostend, Belgium.
  • 1907 – The passenger steamer SS Columbia sinks after colliding with the steam schooner San Pedro off Shelter Cove, California, killing 88 people.
  • 1919 – The dirigible Wingfoot Air Express crashes into the Illinois Trust and Savings Building in Chicago, killing 12 people.
  • 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, high school biology teacher John T. Scopes is found guilty of teaching evolution in class and fined $100.
  • 1925 – Malcolm Campbell becomes the first man to exceed 150 mph (241 km/h) on land. At Pendine Sands in Wales, he drives Sunbeam 350HP built by Sunbeam at a two-way average speed of 150.33 mph (242 km/h).
  • 1944 – World War II: Battle of Guam: American troops land on Guam, starting a battle that will end on August 10.
  • 1944 – World War II: Claus von Stauffenberg and fellow conspirators are tortured and executed in Berlin, Germany, for the July 20 plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
  • 1949 – The United States Senate ratifies the North Atlantic Treaty.
  • 1952 – The 7.3 Mw  Kern County earthquake strikes Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 12 and injuring hundreds.
  • 1954 – First Indochina War: The Geneva Conference partitions Vietnam into North Vietnam and South Vietnam.
  • 1959 – NS Savannah, the first nuclear-powered cargo-passenger ship, is launched as a showcase for Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” initiative.
  • 1959 – Elijah Jerry “Pumpsie” Green becomes the first African-American to play for the Boston Red Sox, the last team to integrate. He came in as a pinch runner for Vic Wertz and stayed in as shortstop in a 2–1 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
  • 1960 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike is elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, becoming the world’s first female head of government
  • 1961 – Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 4 Mission: Gus Grissom piloting Liberty Bell 7 becomes the second American to go into space (in a suborbital mission).
  • 1969 – Apollo program: At 02:56 UTC, astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to walk on the Moon.
  • 1970 – After 11 years of construction, the Aswan High Dam in Egypt is completed.
  • 1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Friday: The Provisional IRA detonate 22 bombs in central Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom in the space of 80 minutes, killing nine and injuring 130.
  • 1973 – In Lillehammer, Norway, Mossad agents kill a waiter whom they mistakenly thought was involved in the 1972 Munich Olympics Massacre.
  • 1976 – Christopher Ewart-Biggs, the British ambassador to the Republic of Ireland, is assassinated by the Provisional IRA.
  • 1977 – The start of the four-day-long Libyan–Egyptian War.
  • 1979 – Jay Silverheels, a Mohawk actor, becomes the first Native American to have a star commemorated in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
  • 1983 – The world’s lowest temperature in an inhabited location is recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica at −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F).
  • 1990 – Taiwan’s military police forces mainland Chinese illegal immigrants into sealed holds of a fishing boat Min Ping Yu No. 5540 for repatriation to Fujian, causing 25 people to die from suffocation.
  • 1995 – Third Taiwan Strait Crisis: The People’s Liberation Army begins firing missiles into the waters north of Taiwan.
  • 2001 – At the conclusion of a fireworks display on Okura Beach in Akashi, Hyōgo, Japan, 11 people are killed and more than 120 are injured when a pedestrian footbridge connecting the beach to JR Asagiri Station becomes overcrowded and people leaving the event fall down in a domino effect.
  • 2005 – July 2005 London bombings occur.
  • 2008 – Ram Baran Yadav is declared the first president of Nepal.
  • 2011 – NASA’s Space Shuttle program ends with the landing of Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-135 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
  • 2012 – Erden Eruç completes the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.

Births on July 21

  • 541 – Emperor Wen of Sui, emperor of the Sui Dynasty (d. 604)
  • 1030 – Kyansittha, King of Burma (d. 1112)
  • 1414 – Pope Sixtus IV (d. 1484)
  • 1462 – Queen Jeonghyeon, Korean royal consort (d. 1530)
  • 1476 – Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara (d. 1534)
  • 1476 – Anna Sforza, Italian noble (d. 1497)
  • 1515 – Philip Neri, Italian Roman Catholic saint (d. 1595)
  • 1535 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete, Royal Governor of Chile (d. 1609)
  • 1616 – Anna de’ Medici, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1676)
  • 1620 – Jean Picard, French astronomer (d. 1682)
  • 1648 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (d. 1689)
  • 1654 – Pedro Calungsod, Filipino catechist and sacristan; later canonized (d. 1672)
  • 1664 – Matthew Prior, English poet and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (d. 1721)
  • 1693 – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1768)
  • 1710 – Paul Möhring, German physician, botanist, and zoologist (d. 1792)
  • 1783 – Charles Tristan, marquis de Montholon, French general (d. 1853)
  • 1808 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian, academic, and politician (d. 1864)
  • 1810 – Henri Victor Regnault, French chemist and physicist (d. 1878)
  • 1811 – Robert Mackenzie, Scottish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Queensland (d. 1873)
  • 1816 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist, founded Reuters (d. 1899)
  • 1858 – Maria Christina of Austria (d. 1929)
  • 1858 – Lovis Corinth, German painter (d. 1925)
  • 1858 – Alfred Henry O’Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (d. 1941)
  • 1863 – C. Aubrey Smith, English-American cricketer and actor (d. 1948)
  • 1866 – Carlos Schwabe, Swiss Symbolist painter and printmaker (d. 1926)
  • 1870 – Emil Orlík, Czech painter, etcher, and lithographer (d. 1932)
  • 1875 – Charles Gondouin, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1947)
  • 1880 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak astronomer, general, and politician (d. 1919)
  • 1882 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (d. 1967)
  • 1885 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1948)
  • 1891 – Julius Saaristo, Finnish javelin thrower and soldier (d. 1969)
  • 1893 – Hans Fallada, German author (d. 1947)
  • 1896 – Sophie Bledsoe Aberle, Native American anthropologist, physician and nutritionist (d. 1996)
  • 1898 – Sara Carter, American singer-songwriter (d. 1979)
  • 1899 – Hart Crane, American poet (d. 1932)
  • 1899 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
  • 1900 – Isadora Bennett, American theatre manager and modern dance publicity agent (d. 1980)
  • 1903 – Russell Lee, American photographer and journalist (d. 1986)
  • 1903 – Roy Neuberger, American businessman and financier, co-founded Neuberger Berman (d. 2010)
  • 1908 – Jug McSpaden, American golfer and architect (d. 1996)
  • 1911 – Marshall McLuhan, Canadian author and theorist (d. 1980)
  • 1911 – Umashankar Joshi, Indian author, poet, and scholar (d. 1988)
  • 1914 – Aleksander Kreek, Estonian shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1977)
  • 1917 – Alan B. Gold, Canadian lawyer and jurist (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Isaac Stern, Polish violinist and conductor (d. 2001)
  • 1920 – Jean Daniel, Algerian-French-Jewish journalist and author (d. 2020)
  • 1921 – James Cooke Brown, American sociologist and author (d. 2000)
  • 1921 – John Horsley, English actor (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa, Zulu sangoma (d. 2020)
  • 1922 – Kay Starr, American singer (d. 2016)
  • 1922 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (d. 2009)
  • 1923 – Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1923 – Queenie Watts, English actress and singer (d. 1980)
  • 1924 – Rahimuddin Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 7th Governor of Balochistan
  • 1924 – Don Knotts, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1926 – Paul Burke, American actor (d. 2009)
  • 1925 – Johnny Peirson, Canadian hockey player
  • 1926 – Norman Jewison, Canadian actor, director, and producer
  • 1926 – Bill Pertwee, English actor (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Karel Reisz, Czech-English director and producer (d. 2002)
  • 1928 – Sky Low Low, Canadian wrestler (d. 1998)
  • 1929 – Bob Orton, American wrestler (d. 2006)
  • 1930 – Anand Bakshi, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1930 – Helen Merrill, American singer
  • 1931 – Sonny Clark, American pianist and composer (d. 1963)
  • 1931 – Plas Johnson, American saxophonist
  • 1931 – Leon Schidlowsky, Chilean-Israeli painter and composer
  • 1932 – Kaye Stevens, American singer and actress (d. 2011)
  • 1933 – John Gardner, American novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1982)
  • 1934 – Chandu Borde, Indian cricketer and manager
  • 1934 – Jonathan Miller, English actor, director, and author (d. 2019)
  • 1935 – Norbert Blüm, German businessman and politician
  • 1935 – Moe Drabowsky, Polish-American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
  • 1937 – Eduard Streltsov, Soviet footballer (d. 1990)
  • 1938 – Les Aspin, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1995)
  • 1938 – Anton Kuerti, Austrian-Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
  • 1938 – Janet Reno, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General (d. 2016)
  • 1939 – Jamey Aebersold, American saxophonist and educator
  • 1939 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (d. 2015)
  • 1939 – John Negroponte, English-American diplomat, 23rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations
  • 1943 – Fritz Glatz, Austrian race car driver (d. 2002)
  • 1943 – Edward Herrmann, American actor (d. 2014)
  • 1943 – Henry McCullough, Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1944 – John Atta Mills, Ghanaian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Ghana (d. 2012)
  • 1944 – Buchi Emecheta, Nigerian author and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1944 – Paul Wellstone, American academic and politician (d. 2002)
  • 1945 – Wendy Cope, English poet, critic, and educator
  • 1945 – Geoff Dymock, Australian cricketer
  • 1945 – Barry Richards, South African cricketer
  • 1946 – Ken Starr, American lawyer and judge, 39th Solicitor General of the United States
  • 1946 – Timothy Harris, American author, screenwriter and producer
  • 1947 – Chetan Chauhan, Indian cricketer and politician
  • 1948 – Art Hindle, Canadian actor and director
  • 1948 – Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1948 – Garry Trudeau, American cartoonist
  • 1949 – Christina Hart, American playwright and actress
  • 1949 – Hirini Melbourne, New Zealand singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2003)
  • 1950 – Ubaldo Fillol, Argentinian footballer and coach
  • 1950 – Susan Kramer, Baroness Kramer, English politician, Minister of State for Transport
  • 1951 – Richard Gozney, English politician and diplomat, 30th Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, 139th Governor of Bermuda
  • 1951 – Robin Williams, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1952 – John Barrasso, American physician and politician
  • 1952 – Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah, Malaysian economist
  • 1953 – Eric Bazilian, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer (The Hooters)
  • 1953 – Jeff Fatt, Australian keyboard player and actor
  • 1953 – Bernie Fraser, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1953 – Brian Talbot, English footballer and manager
  • 1955 – Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 2003)
  • 1955 – Dannel Malloy, American lawyer and politician, 88th Governor of Connecticut
  • 1955 – Henry Priestman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1955 – Taco, Indonesian-born Dutch singer and entertainer
  • 1955 – Béla Tarr, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1956 – Michael Connelly, American author
  • 1957 – Stefan Löfven, Swedish trade union leader and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Sweden
  • 1957 – Jon Lovitz, American comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1958 – Dave Henderson, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
  • 1959 – Gene Miles, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
  • 1959 – Reha Muhtar, Turkish journalist
  • 1959 – Paul Vautin, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Amar Singh Chamkila, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
  • 1960 – Veselin Matić, Serbian basketball player and coach
  • 1960 – Fritz Walter, German footballer
  • 1961 – Morris Iemma, Australian politician, 40th Premier of New South Wales
  • 1961 – Jim Martin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Victor Adebowale, Baron Adebowale, English businessman
  • 1963 – Kevin Poole, English footballer and manager
  • 1963 – Giant Silva, Brazilian basketball player, mixed martial artist, and wrestler
  • 1964 – Steve Collins, Irish boxer and actor
  • 1964 – Ross Kemp, English actor and producer
  • 1964 – Jens Weißflog, German ski jumper and journalist
  • 1965 – Guðni Bergsson, Icelandic footballer and lawyer
  • 1965 – Mike Bordick, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Arija Bareikis, American actress
  • 1966 – Sarah Waters, Welsh author and academic
  • 1968 – Brandi Chastain, American soccer player and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Aditya Srivastava, Indian actor
  • 1968 – Lyle Odelein, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1969 – Godfrey, American comedian and actor
  • 1969 – Klaus Graf, German race car driver
  • 1969 – Emerson Hart, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1969 – Isabell Werth, German equestrian
  • 1970 – Michael Fitzpatrick, American singer-songwriter
  • 1971 – Emmanuel Bangué, French long jumper
  • 1971 – Charlotte Gainsbourg, English-French actress and singer
  • 1971 – Nitzan Shirazi, Israeli footballer and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1972 – Korey Cooper, American singer and guitarist
  • 1972 – Catherine Ndereba, Kenyan marathon runner
  • 1974 – Geoff Jenkins, American baseball player and coach
  • 1974 – René Reinumägi, Estonian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1975 – Christopher Barzak, American author and educator
  • 1975 – Cara Dillon, Irish singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Ravindra Pushpakumara, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1975 – Mike Sellers, American football player
  • 1976 – Jaime Murray, English actress
  • 1977 – Paul Casey, English golfer
  • 1978 – Justin Bartha, American actor
  • 1978 – Anderson da Silva Gibin, Brazilian footballer
  • 1978 – Josh Hartnett, American actor
  • 1978 – Julian Huppert, English academic and politician
  • 1978 – Damian Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1978 – Gary Teale, Scottish footballer
  • 1979 – David Carr, American football player
  • 1979 – Tamika Catchings, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Luis Ernesto Michel, Mexican footballer
  • 1979 – Andriy Voronin, Ukrainian footballer
  • 1980 – Justin Griffith, American football player
  • 1980 – Sandra Laoura, French skier
  • 1980 – CC Sabathia, American baseball player
  • 1980 – Yvonne Sampson, Australian journalist and sportscaster
  • 1981 – Paloma Faith, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1981 – Anabelle Langlois, Canadian figure skater
  • 1981 – Joaquín, Spanish footballer
  • 1981 – Romeo Santos, American singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Stefan Schumacher, German cyclist
  • 1982 – Jason Cram, Australian swimmer
  • 1982 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese newscaster and actress (d. 2017)
  • 1984 – Jurrick Juliana, Dutch footballer
  • 1984 – Liam Ridgewell, English footballer
  • 1985 – Mati Lember, Estonian footballer
  • 1985 – Von Wafer, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Anthony Annan, Ghanaian footballer
  • 1986 – Rebecca Ferguson, American-English singer-songwriter
  • 1986 – Jason Thompson, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Bilel Mohsni, French footballer
  • 1987 – Jesús Zavala, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 – KB, American rapper
  • 1988 – DeAndre Jordan, American basketball player
  • 1988 – Chris Mitchell, Scottish footballer (d. 2016)
  • 1989 – Marco Fabián, Mexican footballer
  • 1989 – Juno Temple, English actress
  • 1990 – Chris Martin, English footballer
  • 1990 – Jason Roy, English cricketer
  • 1990 – Erislandy Savón, Cuban amateur heavyweight boxer
  • 1990 – Franck Elemba, Congolese athlete
  • 1991 – Sara Sampaio, Portuguese model
  • 1992 – Rachael Flatt, American figure skater
  • 1996 – Mikael Ingebrigtsen, Norwegian footballer
  • 1998 – Thomas Preining, Austrian racing driver

Deaths on July 21

  • 658 – K’an II, Mayan ruler (b. 588)
  • 710 – Li Guo’er, princess of the Tang dynasty
  • 710 – Wei, empress of the Tang Dynasty
  • 710 – Shangguan Wan’er, Chinese poet (b. 664)
  • 987 – Geoffrey I, Count of Anjou
  • 1259 – Gojong of Goryeo
  • 1403 – Henry Percy, English soldier (b. 1364)
  • 1403 – Sir Walter Blount, English soldier, standard-bearer of Henry IV
  • 1403 – Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford, English soldier
  • 1425 – Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1350)
  • 1552 – Antonio de Mendoza, Spanish politician, 1st Viceroy of New Spain (b. 1495)
  • 1688 – James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1610)
  • 1793 – Antoine Bruni d’Entrecasteaux, French admiral, explorer, and politician (b. 1739)
  • 1796 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet and songwriter (b. 1759)
  • 1798 – François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (b. 1733)
  • 1798 – Anthony Perry, Irish rebel leader (b. ca. 1760)
  • 1868 – William Bland, Australian surgeon and politician (b. 1789)
  • 1878 – Sam Bass, American outlaw (b. 1851)
  • 1880 – Hiram Walden, American general and politician (b. 1800)
  • 1889 – Nelson Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1813)
  • 1899 – Robert G. Ingersoll, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1833)
  • 1920 – Fiammetta Wilson, English astronomer and educator (b. 1864)
  • 1932 – Bill Gleason, American baseball player (b. 1858)
  • 1934 – Hubert Lyautey, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (b. 1854)
  • 1938 – Owen Wister, American lawyer and author (b. 1860)
  • 1941 – Bohdan Lepky, Ukrainian poet and scholar (b. 1872)
  • 1943 – Charley Paddock, American runner and actor (b. 1900)
  • 1943 – Louis Vauxcelles, French Jewish art critic (b. 1870)
  • 1944 – Claus von Stauffenberg, German soldier (b. 1907)
  • 1946 – Gualberto Villarroel, Bolivian soldier and politician, 45th President of Bolivia (b. 1908)
  • 1948 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (b. 1904)
  • 1952 – Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician, president for 45 minutes on February 13, 1913. (b. 1856)
  • 1966 – Philipp Frank, Austrian-American physicist, mathematician, and philosopher, Vienna Circle member (b. 1884)
  • 1967 – Jimmie Foxx, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1907)
  • 1967 – Albert Lutuli, South African academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
  • 1967 – Basil Rathbone, South African-American actor and singer (b. 1892)
  • 1968 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1878)
  • 1970 – Mikhail Mikhaylovich Gerasimov, Russian anthropologist and sculptor (b. 1907)
  • 1970 – Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (b. 1945)
  • 1972 – Ralph Craig, American sprinter and sailor (b. 1889)
  • 1972 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutanese king (b. 1928)
  • 1977 – Lee Miller, American model and photographer (b. 1907)
  • 1982 – Dave Garroway, American journalist and actor (b. 1913)
  • 1991 – Paul Warwick, English race car driver (b. 1969)
  • 1994 – Marijac, French author and illustrator (b. 1908)
  • 1997 – Olaf Kopvillem, Estonian-Canadian conductor and composer (b. 1926)
  • 1998 – Alan Shepard, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1923)
  • 1998 – Robert Young, American actor and singer (b. 1907)
  • 2000 – Marc Reisner, American environmentalist and author (b. 1948)
  • 2002 – Esphyr Slobodkina, Russian-American author and illustrator (b. 1908)
  • 2003 – John Davies, English-New Zealand runner and coach (b. 1938)
  • 2004 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (b. 1929)
  • 2004 – Edward B. Lewis, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
  • 2005 – Long John Baldry, English-Canadian singer and actor (b. 1941)
  • 2005 – Lord Alfred Hayes, English-American wrestler and manager (b. 1928)
  • 2006 – Mako Iwamatsu, Japanese-American actor and singer (b. 1933)
  • 2006 – Ta Mok, Cambodian soldier and monk (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Dubravko Škiljan, Croatian linguist and academic (b. 1949)
  • 2008 – Donald Stokes, English businessman (b. 1914)
  • 2010 – Luis Corvalán, Chilean educator and politician (b. 1916)
  • 2010 – Ralph Houk, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1919)
  • 2010 – John E. Irving, Canadian businessman (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Alexander Cockburn, Scottish-American journalist and author (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Marie Kruckel, American baseball player (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Ali Podrimja, Albanian poet and author (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – James D. Ramage, American admiral and pilot (b. 1916)
  • 2012 – Angharad Rees, English-born Welsh actress (b. 1944)
  • 2012 – Don Wilson, English cricketer and coach (b. 1937)
  • 2013 – Andrea Antonelli, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1988)
  • 2013 – Lourembam Brojeshori Devi, Indian martial artist (b. 1981)
  • 2013 – Det de Beus, Dutch field hockey player (b. 1958)
  • 2013 – Luis Fernando Rizo-Salom, Colombian-French composer and educator (b. 1971)
  • 2013 – Fred Taylor, American football player and coach (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Louise Abeita, Isleta Pueblo (Native American) writer, poet, and educator (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Dan Borislow, American businessman, invented the magicJack (b. 1961)
  • 2014 – Lettice Curtis, English engineer and pilot (b. 1915)
  • 2014 – Hans-Peter Kaul, German lawyer and judge (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Rilwanu Lukman, Nigerian engineer and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Kevin Skinner, New Zealand rugby player and boxer (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Robert Broberg, Swedish singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – E. L. Doctorow, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American physician (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Czesław Marchaj, Polish-English sailor and academic (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Dick Nanninga, Dutch footballer (b. 1949)
  • 2016 – Dennis Green, American football player and coach (b. 1949)
  • 2017 – John Heard, American film and television actor (b. 1946)
  • 2018 – Alene Duerk, U.S. Navy first female admiral (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances on July 21

  • Christian feast day:
    • Albert John Luthuli (Episcopal Church)
    • Arbogast
    • Barhadbesciabas
    • Carlos of Brazil (Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church)
    • Daniel (Catholic Church)
    • Lawrence of Brindisi
    • Praxedes
    • Victor of Marseilles
    • July 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Liberation Day in 1944 (Guam)
  • Belgian National Day (Belgium)
  • Racial Harmony Day (Singapore)
  • Summer Kazanskaya (Russia)

July 21- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • AD 64 – The Great Fire of Rome causes widespread devastation and rages on for six days, destroying half of the city.
  • 484 – Leontius, Roman usurper, is crowned Eastern emperor at Tarsus (modern Turkey). He is recognized in Antioch and makes it his capital.
  • 711 – Umayyad conquest of Hispania: Battle of Guadalete: Umayyad forces under Tariq ibn Ziyad defeat the Visigoths led by King Roderic.
  • 939 – Battle of Simancas: King Ramiro II of León defeats the Moorish army under Caliph Abd-al-Rahman III near the city of Simancas.
  • 998 – Arab–Byzantine wars: Battle of Apamea: Fatimids defeat a Byzantine army near Apamea.
  • 1333 – Wars of Scottish Independence: Battle of Halidon Hill: The English win a decisive victory over the Scots.
  • 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: The first Siege of Boulogne begins.
  • 1545 – The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth; in 1982 the wreck is salvaged in one of the most complex and expensive projects in the history of maritime archaeology.
  • 1553 – Lady Jane Grey is replaced by Mary I of England as Queen of England after only nine days on the throne.
  • 1588 – Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is sighted in the English Channel.
  • 1701 – Representatives of the Iroquois Confederacy sign the Nanfan Treaty, ceding a large territory north of the Ohio River to England.
  • 1702 – Great Northern War: A numerically superior Polish-Saxon army of Augustus II the Strong, operating from an advantageous defensive position, is defeated by a Swedish army half its size under the command of King Charles XII in the Battle of Klissow.
  • 1817 – Unsuccessful in his attempt to conquer the Kingdom of Hawaii for the Russian-American Company, Georg Anton Schäffer is forced to admit defeat and leave Kauai.
  • 1821 – Coronation of George IV of the United Kingdom.
  • 1832 – The British Medical Association is founded as the Provincial Medical and Surgical Association by Sir Charles Hastings at a meeting in the Board Room of the Worcester Infirmary.
  • 1843 – Brunel’s steamship the SS Great Britain is launched, becoming the first ocean-going craft with an iron hull and screw propeller, becoming the largest vessel afloat in the world.
  • 1845 – Great New York City Fire of 1845: The last great fire to affect Manhattan began early in the morning and was subdued that afternoon. The fire killed four firefighters, 26 civilians, and destroyed 345 buildings.
  • 1848 – Women’s rights: A two-day Women’s Rights Convention opens in Seneca Falls, New York.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan’s Raid: At Buffington Island in Ohio, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan’s raid into the north is mostly thwarted when a large group of his men are captured while trying to escape across the Ohio River.
  • 1864 – Taiping Rebellion: Third Battle of Nanking: The Qing dynasty finally defeats the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
  • 1870 – Franco-Prussian War: France declares war on Prussia.
  • 1900 – The first line of the Paris Métro opens for operation.
  • 1903 – Maurice Garin wins the first Tour de France.
  • 1916 – World War I: Battle of Fromelles: British and Australian troops attack German trenches as part of the Battle of the Somme.
  • 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The CNT and UGT call a general strike in Spain – mobilizing workers’ militias against the Nationalist forces.
  • 1940 – World War II: Battle of Cape Spada: The Royal Navy and the Regia Marina clash; the Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni sinks, with 121 casualties.
  • 1940 – Field Marshal Ceremony: First occasion in World War II, that Hitler appointed field marshals due to military achievements.
  • 1940 – World War II: Army order 112 forms the Intelligence Corps of the British Army.
  • 1942 – World War II: The Second Happy Time of Hitler’s submarines comes to an end, as the increasingly effective American convoy system compels them to return to the central Atlantic.
  • 1943 – World War II: Rome is heavily bombed by more than 500 Allied aircraft, inflicting thousands of casualties.
  • 1947 – Prime Minister of the shadow Burmese government, Bogyoke Aung San and eight others are assassinated.
  • 1947 – Korean politician Lyuh Woon-hyung is assassinated.
  • 1952 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.
  • 1961 – Tunisia imposes a blockade on the French naval base at Bizerte; the French would capture the entire town four days later.
  • 1963 – Joe Walker flies a North American X-15 to a record altitude of 106,010 meters (347,800 feet) on X-15 Flight 90. Exceeding an altitude of 100 km, this flight qualifies as a human spaceflight under international convention.
  • 1964 – Vietnam War: At a rally in Saigon, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Khánh calls for expanding the war into North Vietnam.
  • 1969 – Chappaquiddick incident: U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy crashes his car into a tidal pond at Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, killing his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne.
  • 1972 – Dhofar Rebellion: British SAS units help the Omani government against Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman rebels in the Battle of Mirbat.
  • 1976 – Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal is created.
  • 1977 – The world’s first Global Positioning System (GPS) signal was transmitted from Navigation Technology Satellite 2 (NTS-2) and received at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, at 12:41 a.m. Eastern time (ET).
  • 1979 – The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.
  • 1979 – The oil tanker SS Atlantic Empress collides with another oil tanker, causing the largest ever ship-borne oil spill.
  • 1980 – Opening of the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
  • 1981 – In a private meeting with U.S. President Ronald Reagan, French President François Mitterrand reveals the existence of the Farewell Dossier, a collection of documents showing the Soviet Union had been stealing American technological research and development.
  • 1982 – In one of the first militant attacks by Hezbollah, David S. Dodge, president of the American University of Beirut, is kidnapped.
  • 1983 – The first three-dimensional reconstruction of a human head in a CT is published.
  • 1985 – The Val di Stava dam collapses killing 268 people in Val di Stava, Italy.
  • 1989 – United Airlines Flight 232 crashes in Sioux City, Iowa killing 111.
  • 1992 – A car bomb kills Judge Paolo Borsellino and five members of his escort.
  • 1997 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army resumes a ceasefire to end their 25-year paramilitary campaign to end British rule in Northern Ireland.
  • 2014 – Gunmen in Egypt’s western desert province of New Valley Governorate attack a military checkpoint, killing at least 21 soldiers. Egypt reportedly declares a state of emergency on its border with Sudan.

Births on July 19

  • 810 – Muhammad al-Bukhari, Persian scholar (d. 870)
  • 1223 – Baibars, sultan of Egypt (d. 1277)
  • 1420 – William VIII, Marquess of Montferrat (d. 1483)
  • 1569 – Conrad Vorstius, Dutch theologian (d. 1622)
  • 1670 – Richard Leveridge, English singer-songwriter (d. 1758)
  • 1688 – Giuseppe Castiglione, Italian missionary and painter (d. 1766)
  • 1744 – Heinrich Christian Boie, German author and poet (d. 1806)
  • 1759 – Marianna Auenbrugger, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1782)
  • 1759 – Seraphim of Sarov, Russian monk and saint (d. 1833)
  • 1771 – Thomas Talbot, Irish-Canadian colonel and politician (d. 1853)
  • 1794 – José Justo Corro, Mexican politician and president, (1836-1837) (d. 1864)
  • 1789 – John Martin, English painter, engraver, and illustrator (d. 1854)
  • 1800 – Juan José Flores, Venezuelan general and politician, 1st President of Ecuador (d. 1864)
  • 1814 – Samuel Colt, American businessman, founded the Colt’s Manufacturing Company (d. 1862)
  • 1819 – Gottfried Keller, Swiss author, poet, and playwright (d. 1890)
  • 1822 – Princess Augusta of Cambridge (d. 1916)
  • 1827 – Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier (d. 1857)
  • 1834 – Edgar Degas, French painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1917)
  • 1835 – Justo Rufino Barrios, Guatemalan president (d. 1885)
  • 1842 – Frederic T. Greenhalge, English-American lawyer and politician, 38th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
  • 1846 – Edward Charles Pickering, American astronomer and physicist (d. 1919)
  • 1849 – Ferdinand Brunetière, French scholar and critic (d. 1906)
  • 1865 – Georges Friedel, French mineralogist and crystallographer (d. 1933)
  • 1865 – Charles Horace Mayo, American surgeon, founded the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939)
  • 1860 – Lizzie Borden, American woman, tried and acquitted for the murders of her parents in 1892 (d. 1927)
  • 1868 – Florence Foster Jenkins, American soprano and educator (d. 1944)
  • 1869 – Xenophon Stratigos, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister of Transport (d. 1927)
  • 1875 – Alice Dunbar Nelson, African-American poet and activist (d. 1935)
  • 1876 – Joseph Fielding Smith, American religious leader, 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1972)
  • 1877 – Arthur Fielder, English cricketer (d. 1949)
  • 1881 – Friedrich Dessauer, German physicist and philosopher (d. 1963)
  • 1883 – Max Fleischer, Austrian-American animator and producer (d. 1972)
  • 1886 – Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (d. 1957)
  • 1888 – Enno Lolling, German physician (d. 1945)
  • 1890 – George II of Greece (d. 1947)
  • 1892 – Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1957)
  • 1893 – Vladimir Mayakovsky, Russian actor, playwright, and poet (d. 1930)
  • 1894 – Aleksandr Khinchin, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1959)
  • 1894 – Khawaja Nazimuddin, Bangladeshi-Pakistani politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 1965)
  • 1894 – Percy Spencer, American physicist and inventor of the microwave oven (d. 1969)
  • 1895 – Xu Beihong, Chinese painter and academic (d. 1953)
  • 1896 – Reginald Baker, English film producer (d. 1985)
  • 1896 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish physician and novelist (d. 1981)
  • 1896 – Bob Meusel, American baseball player and sailor (d. 1977)
  • 1898 – Herbert Marcuse, German-American sociologist and philosopher (d. 1979)
  • 1899 – Balai Chand Mukhopadhyay, Indian physician, author, poet, and playwright (d. 1979)
  • 1902 – Samudrala Raghavacharya, Indian singer, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1904 – Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, American lawyer and farmer (d. 1985)
  • 1907 – Isabel Jewell, American actress (d. 1972)
  • 1908 – Daniel Fry, American contactee (d. 1992)
  • 1909 – Balamani Amma, Indian poet and author (d. 2004)
  • 1912 – Peter Leo Gerety, American prelate (d. 2016)
  • 1914 – Marius Russo, American baseball player (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Åke Hellman, Finnish painter (d. 2017)
  • 1916 – Phil Cavarretta, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
  • 1917 – William Scranton, American captain and politician, 13th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Patricia Medina, English-American actress (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Miltos Sachtouris, Greek poet and author (d. 2005)
  • 1919 – Ron Searle, English-Canadian soldier, publisher, and politician, 4th Mayor of Mississauga (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Robert Mann, American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 2018)
  • 1920 – Richard Oriani, Salvadoran-American metallurgist and engineer (d. 2015)
  • 1921 – Harold Camping, American evangelist, author, radio host (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – André Moynet, French soldier, race car driver, and politician (d. 1993)
  • 1921 – Elizabeth Spencer, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – George McGovern, American lieutenant, historian, and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Rachel Robinson, American professor, registered nurse, and the widow of baseball player Jackie Robinson
  • 1923 – Theo Barker, English historian (d. 2001)
  • 1923 – Alex Hannum, American basketball player and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Joseph Hansen, American author and poet (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – William A. Rusher, American lawyer and journalist (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Lon Simmons, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Stanley K. Hathaway, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 40th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Pat Hingle, American actor and producer (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Arthur Rankin Jr., American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Sue Thompson, American singer
  • 1926 – Helen Gallagher, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1928 – Samuel John Hazo, American author
  • 1928 – Choi Yun-chil, South Korean long-distance runner and a two-time national champion in the marathon.
  • 1929 – Gaston Glock, Austrian engineer and businessman, co-founded Glock Ges.m.b.H.
  • 1929 – Orville Turnquest, Bahamian politician
  • 1932 – Buster Benton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
  • 1932 – Jan Lindblad, Swedish biologist and photographer (d. 1987)
  • 1934 – Francisco de Sá Carneiro, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1980)
  • 1935 – Nick Koback, American baseball player and golfer (d. 2015)
  • 1936 – David Colquhoun, English pharmacologist and academic
  • 1937 – George Hamilton IV, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
  • 1938 – Richard Jordan, American actor (d. 1993)
  • 1938 – Jayant Narlikar, Indian astrophysicist and astronomer
  • 1938 – Tom Raworth, English poet and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1941 – Vikki Carr, American singer and actress
  • 1941 – Neelie Kroes, Dutch politician and diplomat, European Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society
  • 1943 – Han Sai Por, Singaporean sculptor and academic
  • 1944 – Tim McIntire, American actor and singer (d. 1986)
  • 1944 – Andres Vooremaa, Estonian chess player
  • 1945 – Paule Baillargeon, Canadian actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1946 – Alan Gorrie, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician (Average White Band)
  • 1946 – Ilie Năstase, Romanian tennis player and politician
  • 1947 – André Forcier, Canadian director and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Hans-Jürgen Kreische, German footballer and manager
  • 1947 – Bernie Leadon, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1947 – Brian May, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and astrophysicist
  • 1948 – Keith Godchaux, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 1980)
  • 1949 – Kgalema Motlanthe, South African politician, 3rd President of South Africa
  • 1950 – Per-Kristian Foss, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Finance
  • 1950 – Freddy Moore, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Adrian Noble, English director and screenwriter
  • 1951 – Abel Ferrara, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1952 – Jayne Anne Phillips American novelist and short story writer
  • 1954 – Mark O’Donnell, American playwright (d. 2012)
  • 1954 – Steve O’Donnell, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1954 – Srđa Trifković, Serbian-American journalist and historian
  • 1955 – Roger Binny, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1955 – Dalton McGuinty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 24th Premier of Ontario
  • 1956 – Mark Crispin, American computer scientist, designed the IMAP (d. 2012)
  • 1958 – Brad Drewett, Australian tennis player and sportscaster (d. 2013)
  • 1958 – Robert Gibson, American wrestler
  • 1958 – David Robertson, American conductor
  • 1959 – Juan J. Campanella, Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Atom Egoyan, Egyptian-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Kevin Haskins, English drummer and songwriter
  • 1961 – Harsha Bhogle, Indian journalist and author
  • 1961 – Maria Filatova, Russian gymnast
  • 1961 – Lisa Lampanelli, American comedian, actress, and author
  • 1961 – Benoît Mariage, Belgian director and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Hideo Nakata, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Campbell Scott, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1962 – Anthony Edwards, American actor and director
  • 1963 – Thomas Gabriel Fischer, Swiss musician
  • 1963 – Garth Nix, Australian author
  • 1964 – Teresa Edwards, American basketball player
  • 1964 – Masahiko Kondō, Japanese singer-songwriter and race car driver
  • 1965 – Evelyn Glennie, Scottish musician
  • 1965 – Claus-Dieter Wollitz, German footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Yael Abecassis, Israeli model and actress
  • 1967 – Jean-François Mercier, Canadian comedian, screenwriter, and television host
  • 1968 – Robb Flynn, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1968 – Pavel Kuka, Czech footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Jim Norton, American comedian, actor, and author
  • 1969 – Matthew Libatique, American cinematographer
  • 1970 – Bill Chen, American poker player and software designer
  • 1970 – Nicola Sturgeon, Scottish lawyer and politician, First Minister of Scotland
  • 1971 – Rene Busch, Estonian tennis player and coach
  • 1971 – Vitali Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer and politician, Mayor of Kiev
  • 1971 – Michael Modest, American wrestler
  • 1971 – Catriona Rowntree, Australian television host
  • 1971 – Lesroy Weekes, Montserratian cricketer
  • 1972 – Ebbe Sand, Danish footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Martin Powell, English keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1973 – Scott Walker, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1974 – Rey Bucanero, Mexican wrestler
  • 1974 – Francisco Copado, German footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Josée Piché, Canadian ice dancer
  • 1974 – Vince Spadea, American tennis player
  • 1974 – Preston Wilson, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Luca Castellazzi, Italian footballer
  • 1976 – Benedict Cumberbatch, English actor
  • 1976 – Gonzalo de los Santos, Uruguayan footballer and manager
  • 1977 – Jean-Sébastien Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Tony Mamaluke, American wrestler and manager
  • 1977 – Ed Smith, English cricketer and journalist
  • 1979 – Rick Ankiel, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Josué Anunciado de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
  • 1979 – Dilhara Fernando, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1979 – Luke Young, English footballer
  • 1980 – Xavier Malisse, Belgian tennis player
  • 1980 – Giorgio Mondini, Italian race car driver
  • 1981 – Nenê, Brazilian footballer
  • 1981 – David Bernard, Jamaican cricketer
  • 1981 – Mark Gasnier, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1981 – Jimmy Gobble, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Grégory Vignal, French footballer
  • 1982 – Christopher Bear, American drummer
  • 1982 – Phil Coke, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Jared Padalecki, American actor
  • 1982 – Jess Vanstrattan, Australian footballer
  • 1983 – Helen Skelton, English television host and actress
  • 1983 – Fedor Tyutin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Andrea Libman, Canadian voice actress
  • 1984 – Adam Morrison, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Ryan O’Byrne, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – Lewis Price, Welsh footballer
  • 1985 – LaMarcus Aldridge, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Zhou Haibin, Chinese footballer
  • 1985 – Marina Kuzina, Russian basketball player
  • 1985 – Hadi Norouzi, Iranian footballer (d. 2015)
  • 1986 – Leandro Greco, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Jon Jones, American mixed martial artist
  • 1987 – Marc Murphy, Australian footballer
  • 1988 – Shane Dawson, American comedian and actor
  • 1988 – Kevin Großkreutz, German footballer
  • 1988 – Jakub Kovář, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Sam McKendry, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1991 – Eray İşcan, Turkish footballer
  • 1992 – Jake Nicholson, English footballer
  • 1994 – Christian Welch, Australian rugby league player
  • 1998 – Erin Cuthbert, footballer
  • 1998 – Ronaldo Vieira, Bissau-Guinean footballer

Deaths on July 19

  • 514 – Symmachus, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 806 – Li Shigu, Chinese general (b. 778)
  • 973 – Kyunyeo, Korean monk and poet (b. 917)
  • 998 – Damian Dalassenos, Byzantine general (b. 940)
  • 1030 – Adalberon, French bishop
  • 1234 – Floris IV, Dutch nobleman (b. 1210)
  • 1249 – Jacopo Tiepolo, doge of Venice
  • 1333 – John Campbell, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Alexander Bruce, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Sir Archibald Douglas, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Maol Choluim II, Scottish nobleman
  • 1333 – Kenneth de Moravia, 4th Earl of Sutherland
  • 1374 – Petrarch, Italian poet and scholar (b. 1304)
  • 1415 – Philippa of Lancaster, Portuguese queen (b. 1360)
  • 1543 – Mary Boleyn, English daughter of Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire (b. 1499)
  • 1631 – Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher and academic (b. 1550)
  • 1742 – William Somervile, English poet and author (b. 1675)
  • 1810 – Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Prussian queen (b. 1776)
  • 1814 – Matthew Flinders, English navigator and cartographer (b. 1774)
  • 1824 – Agustín de Iturbide, Mexican general and emperor (b. 1783)
  • 1838 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist and chemist (b. 1785)
  • 1850 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (b. 1810)
  • 1855 – Konstantin Batyushkov, Russian poet and translator (b. 1787)
  • 1857 – Stefano Franscini, Swiss statistician and politician (b. 1796)
  • 1878 – Yegor Ivanovich Zolotarev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1847)
  • 1896 – Abraham H. Cannon, American publisher and religious leader (b. 1859)
  • 1913 – Clímaco Calderón, Colombian lawyer and politician, 15th President of Colombia (b. 1852)
  • 1925 – John Indermaur, British lawyer (b. 1851)
  • 1930 – Robert Stout, Scottish-New Zealand politician, 13th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1844)
  • 1933 – Kaarle Krohn, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1863)
  • 1939 – Rose Hartwick Thorpe, American poet and author (b. 1850)
  • 1943 – Yekaterina Budanova, Russian captain and pilot (b. 1916)
  • 1947 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (b. 1898)
  • 1947 – Aung San, Burmese general and politician (b. 1915)
  • 1947 – Lyuh Woon-hyung, South Korean politician (b. 1886)
  • 1963 – William Andrew, English priest (b. 1884)
  • 1965 – Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea (b. 1875)
  • 1967 – Odell Shepard, American poet and politician, 66th Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut (b. 1884)
  • 1969 – Stratis Myrivilis, Greek soldier and author (b. 1890)
  • 1974 – Ernő Schwarz, Hungarian-American soccer player and coach (b. 1904)
  • 1975 – Lefty Frizzell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
  • 1977 – Karl Ristikivi, Estonian geographer, author, and poet (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Margaret Craven, American journalist and author (b. 1901)
  • 1980 – Nihat Erim, Turkish jurist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1904)
  • 1981 – Roger Doucet, Canadian tenor (b. 1919)
  • 1982 – Hugh Everett III, American physicist and mathematician (b. 1930)
  • 1984 – Faina Ranevskaya, Russian actress (b. 1896)
  • 1984 – Aziz Sami, Iraqi writer and translator (b. 1895)
  • 1985 – Janusz Zajdel, Polish author (b. 1938)
  • 1989 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish businessman and politician, President of the Republic of Poland (b. 1913)
  • 1990 – Eddie Quillan, American actor (b. 1907)
  • 1992 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian lawyer and judge (b. 1940)
  • 1994 – Victor Barbeau, Canadian author and academic (b. 1896)
  • 1998 – Elmer Valo, Polish-American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1921)
  • 2002 – Dave Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
  • 2002 – Alan Lomax, American historian, scholar, and activist (b. 1915)
  • 2003 – Bill Bright, American evangelist and author, founded the Campus Crusade for Christ (b. 1921)
  • 2003 – Pierre Graber, Swiss politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1908)
  • 2004 – Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (b. 1902)
  • 2004 – J. Gordon Edwards, American entomologist, mountaineer, and DDT advocate (b. 1919)
  • 2004 – Francis A. Marzen, American priest, and journalist (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – Zenkō Suzuki, Japanese politician, 70th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1911)
  • 2005 – Edward Bunker, American author and screenwriter (b. 1933)
  • 2006 – Jack Warden, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – A. K. Faezul Huq, Bangladeshi journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1945)
  • 2007 – Roberto Fontanarrosa, Argentinian cartoonist (b. 1944)
  • 2008 – Dercy Gonçalves, Brazilian comedian and actress (b. 1907)
  • 2009 – Frank McCourt, American author and educator (b. 1930)
  • 2009 – Henry Surtees, English race car driver (b. 1991)
  • 2010 – Cécile Aubry, French actress, author, television screenwriter and director (b. 1928)
  • 2010 – Jon Cleary, Australian author and playwright (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Humayun Ahmed, Bangladeshi director and playwright (b. 1948)
  • 2012 – Tom Davis, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2012 – Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Iranian meteorologist and academic (b. 1912)
  • 2012 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general, and politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – Sylvia Woods, American businesswoman, co-founded Sylvia’s Restaurant of Harlem (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Valiulla Yakupov, Islamic cleric (b. 1963)
  • 2013 – Mikhail Gorsheniov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1973)
  • 2013 – Geeto Mongol, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Mel Smith, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Bert Trautmann, German footballer and manager (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Phil Woosnam, Welsh-American soccer player and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Peter Ziegler, Swiss geologist and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Leyla Erbil, Turkish author (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Rubem Alves, Brazilian theologian (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – David Easton, Canadian-American political scientist and academic (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Paul M. Fleiss, American pediatrician and author (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – James Garner, American actor (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Jerzy Jurka, Polish biologist (b. 1950)
  • 2014 – Ray King, English footballer and manager (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Ingemar Odlander, Swedish journalist (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Harry Pougher, English cricketer (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Leen Vleggeert, Dutch politician (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – John Winkin, American baseball player, coach, and journalist (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Van Alexander, American composer and conductor (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Galina Prozumenshchikova, Ukrainian-Russian swimmer and journalist (b. 1948)
  • 2015 – Carmino Ravosa, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Gennadiy Seleznyov, Russian journalist and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Duma (b. 1947)
  • 2016 – Garry Marshall, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1934)
  • 2018 – Jon Schnepp, American producer, director, voice actor, editor, writer, cartoonist, animator, and cinematographer (b. 1967)
  • 2018 – Denis Ten, Kazakhstani figure skater (b. 1993)
  • 2019 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances on July 19

  • Christian feast day:
    • Arsenius (Catholic Church)
    • Bernold, Bishop of Utrecht
    • Justa and Rufina
    • Kirdjun (or Abakerazum)
    • Macrina the Younger, Sister of St. Basil the Great
    • Symmachus
    • July 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Martyrs’ Day (Myanmar)
  • Sandinista Day or Liberation Day (Nicaragua)

July 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 180 – Twelve inhabitants of Scillium (near Kasserine, modern-day Tunisia) in North Africa are executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world.
  • 1048 – Damasus II is elected pope.
  • 1203 – The Fourth Crusade captures Constantinople by assault. The Byzantine emperor Alexios III Angelos flees from his capital into exile.
  • 1402 – Zhu Di, better known by his era name as the Yongle Emperor, assumes the throne over the Ming dynasty of China.
  • 1429 – Hundred Years’ War: Charles VII of France is crowned the King of France in the Reims Cathedral after a successful campaign by Joan of Arc.
  • 1453 – Battle of Castillon: The last battle of Hundred Years’ War, the French under Jean Bureau defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed in the battle in Gascony.
  • 1717 – King George I of Great Britain sails down the River Thames with a barge of 50 musicians, where George Frideric Handel’s Water Music is premiered.
  • 1762 – Catherine II becomes tsar of Russia upon the murder of Peter III of Russia.
  • 1771 – Bloody Falls massacre: Chipewyan chief Matonabbee, traveling as the guide to Samuel Hearne on his Arctic overland journey, massacres a group of unsuspecting Inuit.
  • 1791 – Members of the French National Guard under the command of General Lafayette open fire on a crowd of radical Jacobins at the Champ de Mars, Paris, during the French Revolution, killing scores of people.
  • 1794 – The 16 Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne are executed ten days prior to the end of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror.
  • 1867 – Harvard School of Dental Medicine is established in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the first dental school in the U.S. that is affiliated with a university.
  • 1821: The Kingdom of Spain cedes the territory of Florida to the United States.
  • 1899 – NEC Corporation is organized as the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.
  • 1902 – Willis Carrier creates the first air conditioner in Buffalo, New York.
  • 1917 – King George V issues a Proclamation stating that the male line descendants of the British Royal Family will bear the surname Windsor.
  • 1918 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his immediate family and retainers are executed by Bolshevik Chekists at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
  • 1918 – The RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued the 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic, is sunk off Ireland by the German SM U-55; five lives are lost.
  • 1932 – Altona Bloody Sunday: A riot between the Nazi Party paramilitary forces, the SS and SA, and the German Communist Party ensues.
  • 1936 – Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the civil war.
  • 1938 – Douglas Corrigan takes off from Brooklyn to fly the “wrong way” to Ireland and becomes known as “Wrong Way” Corrigan.
  • 1944 – Port Chicago disaster: Near the San Francisco Bay, two ships laden with ammunition for the war explode in Port Chicago, California, killing 320.
  • 1944 – World War II: At Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery. in Normandy Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was strafed by allied aircraft while returning to his headquarters.
  • 1945 – World War II: The main three leaders of the Allied nations, Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin, meet in the German city of Potsdam to decide the future of a defeated Germany.
  • 1953 – The largest number of United States midshipman casualties in a single event results from an aircraft crash in Florida, killing 44.
  • 1955 – Disneyland is dedicated and opened by Walt Disney in Anaheim, California.
  • 1962 – Nuclear weapons testing: The “Small Boy” test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada National Security Site.
  • 1968 – Abdul Rahman Arif is overthrown and the Ba’ath Party is installed as the governing power in Iraq with Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as the new Iraqi President.
  • 1973 – King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan, while having surgery in Italy, is deposed by his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan.
  • 1975 – Apollo–Soyuz Test Project: An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations.
  • 1976 – East Timor is annexed, and becomes the 27th province of Indonesia.
  • 1976 – The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the games because of New Zealand’s participation. Contrary to rulings by other international sports organizations, the IOC had declined to exclude New Zealand because of their participation in South African sporting events during apartheid.
  • 1979 – Nicaraguan dictator General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami, Florida, United States.
  • 1981 – A structural failure leads to the collapse of a walkway at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri, killing 114 people and injuring more than 200.
  • 1984 – The national drinking age in the United States was changed from 18 to 21.
  • 1985 – Founding of the EUREKA Network by former head of states François Mitterrand (France) and Helmut Kohl (Germany).
  • 1989 – First flight of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber.
  • 1989 – Holy See–Poland relations are restored.
  • 1996 – TWA Flight 800: Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound TWA Boeing 747 explodes, killing all 230 on board.
  • 1998 – The 7.0 Mw  Papua New Guinea earthquake triggers a tsunami that destroys ten villages in Papua New Guinea, killing up to 2,700 people, and leaving several thousand injured.
  • 1998 – A diplomatic conference adopts the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, establishing a permanent international court to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
  • 2000 – During approach to Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, Alliance Air Flight 7412 suddenly crashes into a residential neighborhood in Patna, killing 60 people.
  • 2001 – Concorde is brought back into service nearly a year after the July 2000 crash.
  • 2006 – The 7.7 Mw  Pangandaran tsunami earthquake severely affects the Indonesian island of Java, killing 668 people, and leaving more than 9,000 injured.
  • 2007 – TAM Airlines Flight 3054, an Airbus A320, crashes into a warehouse after landing too fast and missing the end of the São Paulo–Congonhas Airport runway, killing 199 people.
  • 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777, crashes near the border of Ukraine and Russia after being shot down. All 298 people on board are killed.
  • 2014 – A French regional train on the Pau-Bayonne line crashes into a high-speed train near the town of Denguin, resulting in at least 25 injuries.
  • 2015 – At least 120 people are killed and 130 injured by a suicide bombing in Diyala Governorate, Iraq.
  • 2018 – 12 new moons are discovered orbiting. Jupiter

Births on July 17

  • 1487 – Ismail I of Iran (d. 1524)
  • 1499 – Maria Salviati, Italian noblewoman (d. 1543)
  • 1531 – Antoine de Créqui Canaples, Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1574)
  • 1674 – Isaac Watts, English hymnwriter and theologian (d. 1748)
  • 1695 – Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Falkenburg-Heidesheim (d. 1766)
  • 1698 – Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1759)
  • 1708 – Frederick Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (d. 1769)
  • 1714 – Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher and academic (d. 1762)
  • 1744 – Elbridge Gerry, American merchant and politician, 5th Vice President of the United States (d. 1814)
  • 1763 – John Jacob Astor, German-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1848)
  • 1774 – John Wilbur, American minister and theologian (d. 1856)
  • 1797 – Paul Delaroche, French painter and academic (d. 1856)
  • 1823 – Leander Clark, American businessman, judge, and politician (d. 1910)
  • 1831 – Xianfeng Emperor of China (d. 1861)
  • 1837 – Joseph-Alfred Mousseau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 7th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1886)
  • 1839 – Ephraim Shay, American engineer, invented the Shay locomotive (d. 1916)
  • 1853 – Alexius Meinong, Ukrainian-Austrian philosopher and academic (d. 1920)
  • 1868 – Henri Nathansen, Danish director and playwright (d. 1944)
  • 1870 – Charles Davidson Dunbar, Scottish soldier and bagpipe player (d. 1939)
  • 1871 – Lyonel Feininger, German-American painter and illustrator (d. 1956)
  • 1879 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 1960)
  • 1882 – James Somerville, English admiral and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset (d. 1949)
  • 1888 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Ukrainian-Israeli novelist, short story writer, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
  • 1889 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (d. 1970)
  • 1894 – Georges Lemaître, Belgian priest, astronomer, and cosmologist (d. 1966)
  • 1896 – Rupert Atkinson, English RAF officer (d. 1919)
  • 1898 – Berenice Abbott, American photographer (d. 1991)
  • 1898 – Osmond Borradaile, Canadian soldier and cinematographer (d. 1999)
  • 1899 – James Cagney, American actor and dancer (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Marcel Dalio, French actor (d. 1983)
  • 1901 – Luigi Chinetti, Italian-American race car driver (d. 1994)
  • 1901 – Bruno Jasieński, Polish poet and author (d. 1938)
  • 1901 – Patrick Smith, Irish farmer and politician, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (d. 1982)
  • 1902 – Christina Stead, Australian author and academic (d. 1983)
  • 1905 – William Gargan, American actor (d. 1979)
  • 1910 – James Coyne, Canadian lawyer and banker, 2nd Governor of the Bank of Canada (d. 2012)
  • 1910 – Frank Olson, American chemist and microbiologist (d. 1953)
  • 1911 – Lionel Ferbos, American trumpet player (d. 2014)
  • 1911 – Heinz Lehmann, German-Canadian psychiatrist and academic (d. 1999)
  • 1912 – Erwin Bauer, German race car driver (d. 1958)
  • 1912 – Art Linkletter, Canadian-American radio and television host (d. 2010)
  • 1913 – Bertrand Goldberg, American architect, designed the Marina City Building (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Eleanor Steber, American soprano and educator (d. 1990)
  • 1915 – Bijon Bhattacharya, Indian actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1978)
  • 1915 – Arthur Rothstein, American photographer and educator (d. 1985)
  • 1917 – Lou Boudreau, American baseball player and manager (d. 2001)
  • 1917 – Phyllis Diller, American actress, comedian, and voice artist (d. 2012)
  • 1917 – Kenan Evren, Turkish general and politician, 7th President of Turkey (d. 2015)
  • 1917 – Christiane Rochefort, French author (d. 1998)
  • 1918 – Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, Guatemalan soldier and politician, President of Guatemala (d. 2003)
  • 1918 – Red Sovine, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1980)
  • 1920 – Gordon Gould, American physicist and academic, invented the laser (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish businessman, 7th President of the International Olympic Committee (d. 2010)
  • 1921 – George Barnes, American guitarist, producer, and songwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1921 – Louis Lachenal, French mountaineer (d. 1955)
  • 1921 – Mary Osborne, American guitarist (d. 1992)
  • 1921 – Toni Stone, American baseball player (d. 1996)
  • 1921 – František Zvarík, Slovak actor (d. 2008)
  • 1923 – Jeanne Block, American psychologist (d. 1981)
  • 1923 – John Cooper, English car designer, co-founded the Cooper Car Company (d. 2000)
  • 1924 – Garde Gardom, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Jimmy Scott, American singer and actor (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Mohammad Hasan Sharq, Afghan politician
  • 1926 – Édouard Carpentier, French-Canadian wrestler (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Willis Carto, American activist and theorist (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Vince Guaraldi, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1976)
  • 1929 – Sergei K. Godunov, Russian mathematician and academic
  • 1932 – Niccolò Castiglioni, Italian composer (d. 1996)
  • 1932 – Red Kerr, American basketball player and coach (d. 2009)
  • 1932 – Wojciech Kilar, Polish pianist and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1932 – Karla Kuskin, American author and illustrator (d. 2009)
  • 1932 – Slick Leonard, American basketball player and coach
  • 1932 – Quino, Spanish-Argentinian cartoonist
  • 1932 – Hal Riney, American businessman, founded Publicis & Hal Riney (d. 2008)
  • 1933 – Keiko Awaji, Japanese actress (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, Maltese politician, 9th Prime Minister of Malta
  • 1933 – Tony Pithey, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (d. 2006)
  • 1934 – Lucio Tan, Chinese-Filipino billionaire businessman and educator
  • 1935 – Diahann Carroll, American actress and singer (d. 2019)
  • 1935 – Peter Schickele, American composer and educator
  • 1935 – Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor and producer
  • 1938 – Hermann Huppen, Belgian author and illustrator
  • 1939 – Andrée Champagne, Canadian actress and politician
  • 1939 – Spencer Davis, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1939 – Ali Khamenei, Iranian cleric and politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of Iran
  • 1940 – Tim Brooke-Taylor, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2020)
  • 1941 – Daryle Lamonica, American football player
  • 1941 – Bob Taylor, English cricketer
  • 1941 – Achim Warmbold, German race car driver and manager
  • 1942 – Don Kessinger, American baseball player and manager
  • 1942 – Gale Garnett, New Zealand–born Canadian singer
  • 1942 – Connie Hawkins, American basketball player (d. 2017)
  • 1942 – Zoot Money, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1943 – LaVyrle Spencer, American author and educator
  • 1944 – Mark Burgess, New Zealand cricketer and footballer
  • 1944 – Catherine Schell, Hungarian-English actress
  • 1944 – Carlos Alberto Torres, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2016)
  • 1945 – Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
  • 1945 – John Patten, Baron Patten, English politician, Secretary of State for Education
  • 1946 – Chris Crutcher, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1946 – Ted Sampley, American POW/MIA activist (d. 2009)
  • 1947 – Joyce Anelay, Baroness Anelay of St John’s, English educator and politician
  • 1947 – Robert Begerau, German footballer and manager
  • 1947 – Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
  • 1947 – Wolfgang Flür, German musician (Kraftwerk)
  • 1947 – Mick Tucker, English rock drummer (Sweet) (d. 2002)
  • 1948 – Ron Asheton, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1948 – Luc Bondy, Swiss director and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1949 – Geezer Butler, English bass player and songwriter
  • 1949 – Charley Steiner, American journalist and sportscaster
  • 1950 – Phoebe Snow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
  • 1950 – Tengku Sulaiman Shah, Malaysian corporate figure
  • 1950 – Sadhan Chandra Majumder, Bangladeshi politician
  • 1951 – Lucie Arnaz, American actress and singer
  • 1951 – Mark Bowden, American journalist and author
  • 1951 – Andrew Robathan, English soldier and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
  • 1952 – David Hasselhoff, American actor, singer, and producer
  • 1952 – Nicolette Larson, American singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1952 – Thé Lau, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2015)
  • 1952 – Robert R. McCammon, American author
  • 1954 – António Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal
  • 1954 – Angela Merkel, German chemist and politician, 8th Chancellor of Germany
  • 1954 – Edward Natapei, Vanuatuan politician, 6th Prime Minister of Vanuatu (d. 2015)
  • 1954 – J. Michael Straczynski, American author, screenwriter, and producer
  • 1955 – Sylvie Léonard, Canadian actress and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Paul Stamets, American mycologist and author
  • 1956 – Julie Bishop, Australian lawyer and politician, 38th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs
  • 1956 – Bryan Trottier, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1957 – Bruce Crump, American drummer and songwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1957 – Wendy Freedman, Canadian-American cosmologist and astronomer
  • 1958 – Wong Kar-wai, Chinese director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Suzanne Moore, English journalist
  • 1958 – Susan Silver, American music manager
  • 1958 – Thérèse Rein, Australian businesswoman, founded Ingeus
  • 1959 – Pola Uddin, Baroness Uddin, Bangladeshi-English politician
  • 1960 – Kim Barnett, English cricketer and coach
  • 1960 – Mark Burnett, English-American screenwriter and producer
  • 1960 – Nancy Giles, American journalist and actress
  • 1960 – Robin Shou, Hong Kong martial artist and actor
  • 1960 – Dawn Upshaw, American soprano
  • 1960 – Jan Wouters, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1961 – António Costa, Portuguese politician, 119th Prime Minister of Portugal
  • 1961 – Jeremy Hardy, English comedian and actor (d. 2019)
  • 1963 – Regina Belle, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1963 – Letsie III of Lesotho
  • 1963 – Matti Nykänen, Finnish ski jumper and singer (d. 2019)
  • 1965 – Craig Morgan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Alex Winter, English-American actor, film director and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Lou Barlow, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1966 – Sten Tolgfors, Swedish lawyer and politician, 30th Swedish Minister of Defence
  • 1969 – Scott Johnson, American cartoonist
  • 1969 – Jaan Kirsipuu, Estonian cyclist
  • 1971 – Calbert Cheaney, American basketball player and coach
  • 1971 – Cory Doctorow, Canadian author and activist
  • 1971 – Nico Mattan, Belgian cyclist
  • 1972 – Elizabeth Cook, American singer and guitarist
  • 1972 – Donny Marshall, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Jason Rullo, American drummer
  • 1972 – Jaap Stam, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Eric Williams, American basketball player
  • 1973 – Eric Moulds, American football player
  • 1974 – Claudio López, Argentine footballer
  • 1975 – Andre Adams, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1975 – Elena Anaya, Spanish actress
  • 1975 – Darude, Finnish DJ and producer
  • 1975 – Harlette, Australian-English fashion designer
  • 1975 – Loretta Harrop, Australian triathlete
  • 1976 – Luke Bryan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Gino D’Acampo, Italian chef and author
  • 1976 – Dagmara Domińczyk, Polish-American actress
  • 1976 – Marcos Senna, Brazilian-Spanish footballer
  • 1976 – Anders Svensson, Swedish footballer and sportscaster
  • 1977 – Andrew Downton, Australian cricketer
  • 1977 – Leif Hoste, Belgian cyclist
  • 1977 – Marc Savard, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Ricardo Arona, Brazilian mixed martial artist
  • 1978 – Panda Bear, American musician and songwriter
  • 1978 – Jason Jennings, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Mike Vogel, American actor
  • 1980 – Javier Camuñas, Spanish footballer
  • 1980 – Ryan Miller, American ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Hely Ollarves, Venezuelan runner
  • 1982 – Omari Banks, Anguillan cricketer
  • 1982 – Natasha Hamilton, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
  • 1983 – Ryan Guettler, Australian motocross racer
  • 1983 – Adam Lind, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Loui Eriksson, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Tom Fletcher, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1985 – Neil McGregor, Scottish footballer
  • 1986 – DeAngelo Smith, American football player
  • 1986 – Lacey Von Erich, American wrestler
  • 1987 – Darius Boyd, Australian rugby league player
  • 1987 – Jan Charouz, Czech race car driver
  • 1987 – Jeremih, American singer, songwriter, and record producer
  • 1994 – Benjamin Mendy, French footballer
  • 1994 – Kali Uchis, American singer-songwriter
  • 1998 – Rosana Serrano, Cuban rower

Deaths on July 17

  • 521 – Magnus Felix Ennodius, Gallo-Roman bishop
  • 855 – Leo IV, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 790)
  • 924 – Edward the Elder, English king (b. 877)
  • 952 – Wu Hanyue, Chinese noblewoman (b. 913)
  • 961 – Du, empress dowager of the Song Dynasty
  • 1070 – Baldwin VI, count of Flanders (b. 1030)
  • 1085 – Robert Guiscard, Norman adventurer
  • 1119 – Baldwin VII, count of Flanders (b. 1093)
  • 1210 – Sverker II, king of Sweden (b. 1210)
  • 1304 – Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Mortimer (b. 1251)
  • 1399 – Jadwiga, queen of Poland (b. 1374)
  • 1453 – Dmitry Shemyaka, Grand Prince of Moscow
  • 1453 – John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, English commander and politician (b. 1387)
  • 1531 – Hosokawa Takakuni, Japanese commander (b. 1484)
  • 1571 – Georg Fabricius, German poet and historian (b. 1516)
  • 1588 – Mimar Sinan, Ottoman architect and engineer, designed the Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque and Süleymaniye Mosque (b. 1489)
  • 1603 – Mózes Székely, Hungarian noble (b. 1553)
  • 1645 – Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, English-Scottish politician, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom (b. 1587)
  • 1704 – Pierre-Charles Le Sueur, French fur trader and explorer (b. 1657)
  • 1709 – Robert Bolling, English planter and merchant (b. 1646)
  • 1725 – Thomas King, English and British soldier, MP for Queenborough, lieutenant-governor of Sheerness (b. before 1660?).
  • 1762 – Peter III of Russia (b. 1728)
  • 1790 – Adam Smith, Scottish economist and philosopher (b. 1723)
  • 1791 – Martin Dobrizhoffer, Austrian missionary and author (b. 1717)
  • 1793 – Charlotte Corday, French murderer (b. 1768)
  • 1794 – John Roebuck, English chemist and businessman (b. 1718)
  • 1845 – Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1764)
  • 1871 – Karl Tausig, Polish virtuoso pianist, arranger and composer (b. 1841)
  • 1878 – Aleardo Aleardi, Italian poet and politician (b. 1812)
  • 1879 – Maurycy Gottlieb, Ukrainian-Polish painter (b. 1856)
  • 1881 – Jim Bridger, American scout and explorer (b. 1804)
  • 1883 – Tự Đức, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1829)
  • 1885 – Jean-Charles Chapais, Canadian farmer and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1811)
  • 1887 – Dorothea Dix, American nurse and activist (b. 1802)
  • 1893 – Frederick A. Johnson, American banker and politician (b. 1833)
  • 1894 – Leconte de Lisle, French poet and translator (b. 1818)
  • 1894 – Josef Hyrtl, Austrian anatomist and biologist (b. 1810)
  • 1900 – Thomas McIlwraith, Scottish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Queensland (b. 1835)
  • 1907 – Hector Malot, French author and critic (b. 1830)
  • 1912 – Henri Poincaré, French mathematician, physicist, and engineer (b. 1854)
  • 1918 – Victims of the Shooting of the Romanov family
    • Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1901)
    • Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1899)
    • Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1895)
    • Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1897)
    • Alexandra Fyodorovna of Russia (b. 1872)
    • Aleksei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia (b. 1904)
    • Nikolai II of Russia (b. 1868)
    • Anna Demidova (b. 1878)
    • Ivan Kharitonov (b. 1872)
    • Alexei Trupp (b. 1858)
    • Yevgeny Botkin (b. 1865)
  • 1925 – Lovis Corinth, German painter (b. 1858)
  • 1928 – Giovanni Giolitti, Italian politician, 13th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1842)
  • 1928 – Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and politician, 39th President of Mexico (b. 1880)
  • 1932 – Rasmus Rasmussen, Norwegian actor, singer, and director (b. 1862)
  • 1935 – George William Russell, Irish poet and painter (b. 1867)
  • 1942 – Robina Nicol, New Zealand photographer and suffragist (b. 1861)
  • 1944 – William James Sidis, American mathematician and anthropologist (b. 1898)
  • 1945 – Ernst Busch, German field marshal (b. 1885)
  • 1946 – Florence Fuller, South African-born Australian artist (b. 1867)
  • 1946 – Draža Mihailović, Serbian general (b. 1893)
  • 1950 – Evangeline Booth, English 4th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1865)
  • 1950 – Antonie Nedošinská, Czech actress (b. 1885)
  • 1959 – Billie Holiday, American singer (b. 1915)
  • 1959 – Eugene Meyer, American businessman and publisher (b. 1875)
  • 1960 – Maud Menten, Canadian physician and biochemist (b. 1879)
  • 1961 – Ty Cobb, American baseball player and manager (b. 1886)
  • 1961 – Emin Halid Onat, Turkish architect and academic (b. 1908)
  • 1967 – John Coltrane, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1926)
  • 1974 – Dizzy Dean, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1910)
  • 1975 – Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Georgian author (b. 1893)
  • 1980 – Don “Red” Barry, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Boris Delaunay, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1890)
  • 1988 – Bruiser Brody, American football player and wrestler (b. 1946)
  • 1989 – Itubwa Amram, Nauruan pastor and politician (b. 1922)
  • 1991 – John Patrick Spiegel, American psychiatrist and academic (b. 1911)
  • 1994 – Jean Borotra, French tennis player (b. 1898)
  • 1995 – Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1911)
  • 1996 – Victims of TWA Flight 800
    • Michel Breistroff, French ice hockey player (b. 1971)
    • Marcel Dadi, Tunisian-French guitarist (b. 1951)
    • David Hogan, American composer (b. 1949)
    • Jed Johnson, American interior designer and director (b. 1948)
  • 1996 – Chas Chandler, American bass player and producer (b. 1938)
  • 1998 – Lillian Hoban, American author and illustrator (b. 1925)
  • 2001 – Katharine Graham, American publisher (b. 1917)
  • 2002 – Joseph Luns, Dutch politician and Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1911)
  • 2003 – David Kelly, Welsh weapons inspector (b. 1944)
  • 2003 – Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichord player (b. 1914)
  • 2003 – Walter Zapp, Latvian-Swiss inventor, invented the Minox (b. 1905)
  • 2005 – Geraldine Fitzgerald, Irish-American actress (b. 1913)
  • 2005 – Edward Heath, English colonel and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
  • 2005 – Joe Vialls, Australian journalist and theorist (b. 1944)
  • 2006 – Sam Myers, American singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
  • 2006 – Mickey Spillane, American crime novelist (b. 1918)
  • 2007 – Grant Forsberg, American actor and businessman (b. 1959)
  • 2007 – Júlio Redecker, Brazilian politician (b. 1956)
  • 2007 – Paulo Rogério Amoretty Souza, Brazilian lawyer and businessman (b. 1945)
  • 2009 – Walter Cronkite, American journalist and actor (b. 1916)
  • 2009 – Leszek Kołakowski, Polish historian and philosopher (b. 1927)
  • 2010 – Larry Keith, American actor (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – David Ngoombujarra, Australian actor (b. 1967)
  • 2012 – Richard Evatt, English boxer (b. 1973)
  • 2012 – Forrest S. McCartney, American general (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – İlhan Mimaroğlu, Turkish-American composer and producer (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – William Raspberry, American journalist and academic (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – Marsha Singh, Indian-English politician (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – Henri Alleg, English-French journalist and author (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Peter Appleyard, English-Canadian vibraphone player and composer (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Vincenzo Cerami, Italian screenwriter and producer (b. 1940)
  • 2013 – Don Flye, American tennis player (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Ian Gourlay, English general (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – David White, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1933)[18]
  • 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 victims:
    • Liam Davison, Australian author and critic (b. 1957)
    • Shuba Jay, Malaysian actress (b. 1976)
    • Joep Lange, Dutch physician and academic (b. 1954)
    • Willem Witteveen, Dutch scholar and politician (b. 1952)
  • 2014 – Henry Hartsfield, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Otto Piene, German sculptor and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Bill Arnsparger, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Jules Bianchi, French race car driver (b. 1989)
  • 2015 – Owen Chadwick, English rugby player, historian, and academic (b. 1916)
  • 2015 – Van Miller, American sportscaster (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – John Taylor, English pianist and educator (b. 1942)

Holidays and observances on July 17

  • Christian feast day:
    • Alexius of Rome (Western Church)
    • Andrew Zorard
    • Cynehelm
    • Cynllo
    • Inácio de Azevedo
    • Jadwiga of Poland
    • Magnus Felix Ennodius
    • Marcellina
    • Martyrs of Compiègne
    • Blessed Pavel Peter Gojdič (Greek Catholic Church)
    • Pope Leo IV
    • Romanov sainthood (Russian Orthodox Church)
    • Speratus and companions
    • William White (Episcopal Church))
    • July 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (South Korea)
  • Gion Matsuri (Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto)
  • Independence Day (Slovakia)
  • International Firgun Day (international)
  • King’s Birthday (Lesotho)
  • U Tirot Sing Day (Meghalaya, India)
  • World Day for International Justice (International)
  • World Emoji Day (International)

July 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 311 – The Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire ends.
  • 313 – Battle of Tzirallum: Emperor Licinius defeats Maximinus II and unifies the Eastern Roman Empire.
  • 642 – Chindasuinth is proclaimed king by the Visigothic nobility and bishops.
  • 1315 – Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged at the instigation of Charles, Count of Valois.
  • 1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.
  • 1513 – Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is executed on the orders of Henry VIII.
  • 1557 – Mapuche leader Lautaro is killed by Spanish forces at the Battle of Mataquito in Chile.
  • 1598 – Juan de Oñate begins the conquest of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
  • 1598 – Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots.
  • 1636 – Eighty Years’ War: Dutch Republic forces recapture a strategically important fort from Spain after a nine-month siege.
  • 1671 – Petar Zrinski, the Croatian Ban from the Zrinski family, is executed.
  • 1789 – On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
  • 1803 – Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation.
  • 1812 – The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.
  • 1838 – Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation.
  • 1863 – A 65-man French Foreign Legion infantry patrol fights a force of nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers to nearly the last man in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.
  • 1871 – The Camp Grant massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.
  • 1885 – Governor of New York David B. Hill signs legislation creating the Niagara Reservation, New York’s first state park, ensuring that Niagara Falls will not be devoted solely to industrial and commercial use.
  • 1897 – J. J. Thomson of the Cavendish Laboratory announces his discovery of the electron as a subatomic particle, over 1,800 times smaller than a proton (in the atomic nucleus), at a lecture at the Royal Institution in London.
  • 1900 – Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
  • 1904 – The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
  • 1905 – Albert Einstein completes his doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich.
  • 1925 – Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Co. for US$146 million plus $50 million for charity.
  • 1927 – The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women’s federal prison in the United States.
  • 1927 – Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
  • 1937 – The Commonwealth of the Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative.
  • 1938 – The animated cartoon short Porky’s Hare Hunt debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit, an early version of Bugs Bunny.
  • 1939 – The 1939–40 New York World’s Fair opens.
  • 1939 – NBC inaugurates its regularly scheduled television service in New York City, broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s N.Y. World’s Fair opening day ceremonial address.
  • 1943 – World War II: The British submarine HMS Seraph surfaces near Huelva to cast adrift a dead man dressed as a courier and carrying false invasion plans.
  • 1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for less than 40 hours. Soviet soldiers raise the Victory Banner over the Reichstag building.
  • 1945 – World War II: Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp near Barth, Germany is liberated by Soviet soldiers, freeing nearly 9000 American and British airmen.
  • 1947 – In Nevada, Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam.
  • 1948 – In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.
  • 1956 – Former Vice President and Democratic Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia.
  • 1957 – Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery entered into force.
  • 1961 – K-19, the first Soviet nuclear submarine equipped with nuclear missiles, is commissioned.
  • 1963 – The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company’s refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
  • 1966 – The Church of Satan is formed in The Black House, San Francisco.
  • 1973 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that White House Counsel John Dean has been fired and that other top aides, most notably H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, have resigned.
  • 1975 – Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Dương Văn Minh.
  • 1980 – Beatrix is inaugurated as Queen of the Netherlands following the abdication of Juliana.
  • 1980 – The Iranian Embassy siege begins in London.
  • 1982 – The Bijon Setu massacre occurs in Calcutta, India.
  • 1993 – CERN announces World Wide Web protocols will be free.
  • 1994 – Formula One racing driver Roland Ratzenberger is killed in a crash during the qualifying session of the San Marino Grand Prix run at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari outside Imola, Italy.
  • 2000 – Canonization of Faustina Kowalska in the presence of 200,000 people and the first Divine Mercy Sunday celebrated worldwide.
  • 2004 – U.S. media release graphic photos of American soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
  • 2008 – Two skeletal remains found near Yekaterinburg, Russia are confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei and Anastasia, two of the children of the last Tsar of Russia, whose entire family was executed at Yekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks.
  • 2009 – Chrysler files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
  • 2009 – Seven civilians and the perpetrator are killed and another ten injured at a Queen’s Day parade in Apeldoorn, Netherlands in an attempted assassination on Queen Beatrix.
  • 2012 – An overloaded ferry capsizes on the Brahmaputra River in India killing at least 103 people.
  • 2013 – Willem-Alexander is inaugurated as King of the Netherlands following the abdication of Beatrix.
  • 2014 – A bomb blast in Ürümqi, China kills three people and injures 79 others.

Births on April 30

  • 1245 – Philip III of France (d. 1285)
  • 1310 – King Casimir III of Poland (d. 1368)
  • 1331 – Gaston III, Count of Foix (d. 1391)
  • 1383 – Anne of Gloucester, English countess, granddaughter of King Edward III of England (d. 1438)
  • 1425 – William III, Landgrave of Thuringia (d. 1482)
  • 1504 – Francesco Primaticcio, Italian painter (d. 1570)
  • 1553 – Louise of Lorraine (d. 1601)
  • 1623 – François de Laval, French-Canadian bishop and saint (d. 1708)
  • 1651 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, French priest and saint (d. 1719)
  • 1662 – Mary II of England (d. 1694)
  • 1664 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (d. 1709)
  • 1710 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795)
  • 1723 – Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French zoologist and philosopher (d. 1806)
  • 1758 – Emmanuel Vitale, Maltese commander and politician (d. 1802)
  • 1770 – David Thompson, English-Canadian cartographer and explorer (d. 1857)
  • 1777 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1855)
  • 1803 – Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and politician, 10th Minister President of Prussia (d. 1879)
  • 1829 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist and academic (d. 1884)
  • 1857 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist and eugenicist (d. 1940)
  • 1857 – Walter Simon, German banker and philanthropist (d. 1920)
  • 1865 – Max Nettlau, German historian and academic (d. 1944)
  • 1866 – Mary Haviland Stilwell Kuesel, American pioneer dentist (d. 1936)
  • 1869 – Hans Poelzig, German architect, designed the IG Farben Building and Großes Schauspielhaus (d. 1936)
  • 1870 – Franz Lehár, Hungarian composer (d. 1948)
  • 1870 – Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1944)
  • 1874 – Cyriel Verschaeve, Flemish priest and author (d. 1949)
  • 1876 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (d. 1937)
  • 1877 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist (d. 1917)
  • 1877 – Alice B. Toklas, American memoirist (d. 1967)
  • 1878 – Władysław Witwicki, Polish psychologist, philosopher, translator, historian (of philosophy and art) and artist (d. 1948)
  • 1880 – Charles Exeter Devereux Crombie, Scottish cartoonist (d. 1967)
  • 1883 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech soldier and author (d. 1923)
  • 1883 – Luigi Russolo, Italian painter and composer (d. 1947)
  • 1884 – Olof Sandborg, Swedish actor (d. 1965)
  • 1888 – John Crowe Ransom, American poet, critic, and academic (d. 1974)
  • 1893 – Harold Breen, Australian public servant (d. 1966)
  • 1893 – Joachim von Ribbentrop, German soldier and politician, 14th German Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1946)
  • 1895 – Philippe Panneton, Canadian physician, academic, and diplomat (d. 1960)
  • 1896 – Reverend Gary Davis, American singer and guitarist (d. 1972)
  • 1896 – Hans List, Austrian scientist and businessman, founded the AVL Engineering Company (d. 1996)
  • 1897 – Humberto Mauro, Brazilian director and screenwriter (d. 1983)
  • 1900 – Erni Krusten, Estonian author and poet (d. 1984)
  • 1901 – Simon Kuznets, Belarusian-American economist, statistician, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
  • 1902 – Theodore Schultz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
  • 1905 – Sergey Nikolsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1908 – Eve Arden, American actress (d. 1990)
  • 1908 – Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic professor of law and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1970)
  • 1908 – Frank Robert Miller, Canadian air marshal and politician (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor and educator (d. 1992)
  • 1909 – Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)
  • 1910 – Levi Celerio, Filipino pianist, violinist, and composer (d. 2002)
  • 1914 – Charles Beetham, American middle-distance runner (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer-songwriter, actor, and painter (d. 2008)
  • 1916 – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (d. 2003)
  • 1916 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician and engineer (d. 2001)
  • 1916 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)
  • 1917 – Bea Wain, American singer (d. 2017)
  • 1920 – Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver and pilot (d. 1994)
  • 1920 – Tom Moore, British army officer and fundraiser
  • 1921 – Roger L. Easton, American scientist, co-invented the GPS (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Anton Murray, South African cricketer (d. 1995)
  • 1923 – Percy Heath, American bassist (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 42nd Yokozuna (d. 2004)
  • 1924 – Uno Laht, Estonian KGB officer and author (d. 2008)
  • 1925 – Corinne Calvet, French actress (d. 2001)
  • 1925 – Johnny Horton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1960)
  • 1926 – Shrinivas Khale, Indian composer (d. 2011)
  • 1926 – Cloris Leachman, American actress and comedian
  • 1928 – Hugh Hood, Canadian author and academic (d. 2000)
  • 1928 – Orlando Sirola, Italian tennis player (d. 1995)
  • 1930 – Félix Guattari, French psychotherapist and philosopher (d. 1992)
  • 1933 – Charles Sanderson, Baron Sanderson of Bowden, English politician
  • 1934 – Jerry Lordan, English singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
  • 1934 – Don McKenney, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1937 – Tony Harrison, English poet and playwright
  • 1938 – Gary Collins, American actor and talk show host (d. 2012)
  • 1938 – Juraj Jakubisko, Slovak director and screenwriter
  • 1938 – Larry Niven, American author and screenwriter
  • 1940 – Jeroen Brouwers, Dutch journalist and writer
  • 1940 – Michael Cleary, Australian rugby player and politician
  • 1941 – Stavros Dimas, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1941 – Max Merritt, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1942 – Sallehuddin of Kedah, Sultan of Kedah
  • 1943 – Frederick Chiluba, Zambian politician, 2nd President of Zambia (d. 2011)
  • 1943 – Bobby Vee, American pop singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1944 – Jon Bing, Norwegian author, scholar, and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1944 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1945 – J. Michael Brady, British radiologist
  • 1945 – Annie Dillard, American novelist, essayist, and poet
  • 1945 – Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist (d. 2001)
  • 1945 – Michael J. Smith, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1986)
  • 1946 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
  • 1946 – Bill Plympton, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1946 – Don Schollander, American swimmer
  • 1947 – Paul Fiddes, English theologian and academic
  • 1947 – Finn Kalvik, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Tom Køhlert, Danish footballer and manager
  • 1947 – Mats Odell, Swedish economist and politician, Swedish Minister for Financial Markets
  • 1948 – Wayne Kramer, American guitarist and singer-songwriter
  • 1948 – Pierre Pagé, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1948 – Margit Papp, Hungarian athlete
  • 1949 – Phil Garner, American baseball player and manager
  • 1949 – António Guterres, Portuguese academic and politician, 114th Prime Minister of Portugal and 9th Secretary-General of the United Nations
  • 1949 – Karl Meiler, German tennis player (d. 2014)
  • 1952 – Jacques Audiard, French director and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Jack Middelburg, Dutch motorcycle racer (d. 1984)
  • 1953 – Merrill Osmond, American singer and bass player
  • 1954 – Jane Campion, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1954 – Kim Darroch, English diplomat, UK Permanent Representative to the European Union
  • 1954 – Frank-Michael Marczewski, German footballer
  • 1955 – Nicolas Hulot, French journalist and environmentalist
  • 1955 – David Kitchin, English lawyer and judge
  • 1955 – Zlatko Topčić, Bosnian writer and screenwriter
  • 1956 – Lars von Trier, Danish director and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Wonder Mike, American rapper and songwriter
  • 1958 – Charles Berling, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1959 – Stephen Harper, Canadian economist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Canada
  • 1960 – Geoffrey Cox, English lawyer and politician
  • 1960 – Kerry Healey, American academic and politician, 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
  • 1961 – Arnór Guðjohnsen, Icelandic footballer
  • 1961 – Isiah Thomas, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Andrew Carwood, English tenor and conductor
  • 1963 – Michael Waltrip, American race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Tony Fernandes, Malaysian-Indian businessman, co-founded Tune Group
  • 1964 – Ian Healy, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Lorenzo Staelens, Belgian footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Abhishek Chatterjee, Indian actor
  • 1965 – Daniela Costian, Romanian-Australian discus thrower
  • 1965 – Adrian Pasdar, American actor
  • 1966 – Jeff Brown, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1966 – Dave Meggett, American football player and coach
  • 1967 – Phil Chang, Taiwanese singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1969 – Warren Defever, American bass player and producer
  • 1969 – Justine Greening, English accountant and politician, Secretary of State for International Development
  • 1969 – Paulo Jr., Brazilian bass player
  • 1972 – Takako Tokiwa, Japanese actress
  • 1973 – Leigh Francis, English comedian and actor
  • 1974 – Christian Tamminga, Dutch athlete
  • 1975 – Johnny Galecki, American actor
  • 1976 – Davian Clarke, Jamaican sprinter
  • 1976 – Amanda Palmer, American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1976 – Daniel Wagon, Australian rugby league player
  • 1977 – Jeannie Haddaway, American politician
  • 1977 – Meredith L. Patterson, American technologist, journalist, and author
  • 1978 – Liljay, Taiwanese singer
  • 1979 – Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer
  • 1980 – Luis Scola, Argentinian basketball player
  • 1980 – Jeroen Verhoeven, Dutch footballer
  • 1981 – Nicole Kaczmarski, American basketball player
  • 1981 – John O’Shea, Irish footballer
  • 1981 – Kunal Nayyar, British-Indian actor
  • 1981 – Justin Vernon, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer
  • 1982 – Kirsten Dunst, American actress
  • 1982 – Drew Seeley, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
  • 1983 – Chris Carr, American football player
  • 1983 – Tatjana Hüfner, German luger
  • 1983 – Marina Tomić, Slovenian hurdler
  • 1983 – Troy Williamson, American football player
  • 1984 – Seimone Augustus, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Shawn Daivari, American wrestler and manager
  • 1984 – Risto Mätas, Estonian javelin thrower
  • 1984 – Lee Roache, English footballer
  • 1985 – Brandon Bass, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Gal Gadot, Israeli actress and model
  • 1985 – Ashley Alexandra Dupré, American journalist, singer, and prostitute
  • 1986 – Dianna Agron, American actress and singer
  • 1986 – Martten Kaldvee, Estonian biathlete
  • 1987 – Alipate Carlile, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Chris Morris, South African cricketer
  • 1987 – Rohit Sharma, Indian cricketer
  • 1988 – Andy Allen, Australian chef
  • 1988 – Sander Baart, Dutch field hockey player
  • 1988 – Liu Xijun, Chinese singer
  • 1988 – Oh Hye-ri, South Korean taekwondo athlete
  • 1989 – Jang Wooyoung, South Korean singer and actor
  • 1990 – Jonny Brownlee, English triathlete
  • 1990 – Mac DeMarco, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1990 – Kaarel Kiidron, Estonian footballer
  • 1991 – Chris Kreider, American ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Travis Scott, American rapper and producer
  • 1992 – Marc-André ter Stegen, German footballer
  • 1993 – Dion Dreesens, Dutch swimmer
  • 1993 – Martin Fuksa, Czech canoeist
  • 1994 – Chae Seo-jin, South Korean actress
  • 1994 – Wang Yafan, Chinese tennis player
  • 1996 – Luke Friend, English singer
  • 1997 – Adam Ryczkowski, Polish footballer
  • 1999 – Jorden van Foreest, Dutch chess grandmaster
  • 2000 – Yui Hiwatashi, Japanese singer
  • 2003 – Jung Yun-Seok, South Korean actor

Deaths on April 30

  • AD 65 – Lucan, Roman poet (b. 39)
  • 125 – An, Chinese emperor (b. 94)
  • 535 – Amalasuntha, Ostrogothic queen and regent
  • 783 – Hildegard of the Vinzgau, Frankish queen
  • 1002 – Eckard I, German nobleman
  • 1030 – Mahmud of Ghazni, Ghaznavid emir (b. 971)
  • 1063 – Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1010)
  • 1131 – Adjutor, French knight and saint
  • 1305 – Roger de Flor, Italian military adventurer (b. 1267)
  • 1341 – John III, duke of Brittany (b. 1286)
  • 1439 – Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, English commander (b. 1382)
  • 1524 – Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, French soldier (b. 1473)
  • 1544 – Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1488)
  • 1550 – Tabinshwehti, Burmese king (b. 1516)
  • 1632 – Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, Bavarian general (b. 1559)
  • 1632 – Sigismund III Vasa, Swedish-Polish son of John III of Sweden (b. 1566)
  • 1637 – Niwa Nagashige, Japanese daimyō (b. 1571)
  • 1655 – Eustache Le Sueur, French painter (b. 1617)
  • 1660 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch historian and scholar (b. 1576)
  • 1672 – Marie of the Incarnation, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Ursulines of Quebec (b. 1599)
  • 1696 – Robert Plot, English chemist and academic (b. 1640)
  • 1712 – Philipp van Limborch, Dutch theologian and author (b. 1633)
  • 1736 – Johann Albert Fabricius, German scholar and author (b. 1668)
  • 1758 – François d’Agincourt, French organist and composer (b. 1684)
  • 1792 – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1718)
  • 1795 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and author (b. 1716)
  • 1806 – Onogawa Kisaburō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 5th Yokozuna (b. 1758)
  • 1841 – Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish philologist and author (b. 1758)
  • 1847 – Charles, Austrian commander and duke of Teschen (b. 1771)
  • 1863 – Jean Danjou, French captain (b. 1828)
  • 1865 – Robert FitzRoy, English admiral, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (b. 1805)
  • 1870 – Thomas Cooke, Canadian bishop and missionary (b. 1792)
  • 1875 – Jean-Frédéric Waldeck, French explorer, lithographer, and cartographer (b. 1766)
  • 1879 – Emma Smith, American religious leader (b. 1804)
  • 1883 – Édouard Manet, French painter (b. 1832)
  • 1891 – Joseph Leidy, American paleontologist and author (b. 1823)
  • 1900 – Casey Jones, American engineer (b. 1863)
  • 1903 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and activist (b. 1831)
  • 1910 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic (b. 1856)
  • 1936 – A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar (b. 1859)
  • 1939 – Frank Haller, American boxer (b. 1883)
  • 1943 – Otto Jespersen, Danish linguist and academic (b. 1860)
  • 1943 – Beatrice Webb, English sociologist and economist (b. 1858)
  • 1953 – Jacob Linzbach, Estonian linguist and author (b. 1874)
  • 1956 – Alben W. Barkley, American lawyer and politician, 35th Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)
  • 1970 – Jacques Presser, Dutch historian, writer and poet (b. 1899)
  • 1970 – Inger Stevens, Swedish-American actress (b. 1934)
  • 1972 – Gia Scala, English-American model and actress (b. 1934)
  • 1973 – Václav Renč, Czech poet and playwright (b. 1911)
  • 1974 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (b. 1900)
  • 1980 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican journalist and politician, 1st Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1898)
  • 1982 – Lester Bangs, American journalist and author (b. 1949)
  • 1983 – George Balanchine, Russian dancer and choreographer (b. 1904)
  • 1983 – Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader (b. 1913)
  • 1983 – Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Swiss physician and mountaineer (b. 1897)
  • 1986 – Robert Stevenson, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905)
  • 1989 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
  • 1993 – Tommy Caton, English footballer (b. 1962)
  • 1994 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (b. 1960)
  • 1994 – Richard Scarry, American author and illustrator (b. 1919)
  • 1995 – Maung Maung Kha, Burmese colonel and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1920)
  • 1998 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian-English poet, publisher, and diplomat (b. 1926)
  • 2000 – Poul Hartling, Danish politician, 36th Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, German philanthropist, founded the Gründerzeit Museum (b. 1928)
  • 2003 – Mark Berger, American economist and academic (b. 1955)
  • 2003 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1956)
  • 2005 – Phil Rasmussen, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1918)
  • 2006 – Jean-François Revel, French philosopher (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesian author and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2007 – Kevin Mitchell, American football player (b. 1971)
  • 2007 – Tom Poston, American actor, comedian, and game show panelist (b. 1921)
  • 2007 – Gordon Scott, American film and television actor (b. 1926)
  • 2008 – John Cargher, English-Australian journalist and author (b. 1919)
  • 2008 – Juancho Evertsz, Dutch Antillean politician (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Henk Nijdam, Dutch cyclist (b. 1935)
  • 2011 – Dorjee Khandu, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh (b. 1955)
  • 2011 – Evald Okas, Estonian painter (b. 1915)
  • 2011 – Ernesto Sabato, Argentinian physicist, author, and painter (b. 1911)
  • 2012 – Tomás Borge, Nicaraguan poet and politician, co-founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer (b. 1985)
  • 2012 – Giannis Gravanis, Greek footballer (b. 1958)
  • 2012 – Benzion Netanyahu, Russian-Israeli historian and academic (b. 1910)
  • 2012 – Sicelo Shiceka, South African politician (b. 1966)
  • 2013 – Roberto Chabet, Filipino painter and sculptor (b. 1937)
  • 2013 – Shirley Firth, Canadian skier (b. 1953)
  • 2013 – Viviane Forrester, French author and critic (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Mike Gray, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Khaled Choudhury, Indian painter and set designer (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Julian Lewis, English biologist and academic (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – Carl E. Moses, American businessman and politician (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Ian Ross, Australian journalist (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – Lennart Bodström, Swedish politician (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Steven Goldmann, Canadian director and producer (b. 1961)
  • 2016 – Daniel Berrigan, American priest and activist (b. 1921)
  • 2016 – Harry Kroto, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1939)
  • 2019 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor (b. 1944)
  • 2020 – Tony Allen, Nigerian drummer and composer (b. 1940)

Holidays and observances on April 30

  • Armed Forces Day (Georgia)
  • Birthday of the King Carl XVI Gustaf, one of the official flag days of Sweden.
  • Camarón Day (French Foreign Legion)
  • Children’s Day (Mexico)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Adjutor
    • Aimo
    • Amator, Peter and Louis
    • Donatus of Evorea
    • Eutropius of Saintes
    • Marie Guyart (Anglican Church of Canada)
    • Marie of the Incarnation (Ursuline)
    • Maximus of Rome
    • Blessed Miles Gerard
    • Pomponius of Naples
    • Pope Pius V
    • Quirinus of Neuss
    • Sarah Josepha Hale (Episcopal Church)
    • Suitbert the Younger
    • April 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Consumer Protection Day (Thailand)
  • Earliest day on which Ascension Day can fall, while June 3 is the latest; celebrated 40 days after Easter (Christianity), and its related observances:
    • Festa della Sensa (Venice)
    • Global Day of Prayer (Western Christianity)
    • Sheep Festival (Cameroon)
  • Honesty Day (United States)
  • International Jazz Day (UNESCO)
  • Martyrs’ Day (Pakistan)
  • May Eve, the eve of the first day of summer in the Northern hemisphere (see May 1):
    • Beltane begins at sunset in the Northern hemisphere, Samhain begins at sunset in the Southern hemisphere. (Neo-Druidic Wheel of the Year)
    • Carodejnice (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
    • Walpurgis Night (Central and Northern Europe)
  • National Persian Gulf Day (Iran)
  • Reunification Day (Vietnam)
  • Russian State Fire Service Day (Russia)
  • Teachers’ Day (Paraguay)

April 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 43 BC – Battle of Forum Gallorum: Mark Antony, besieging Caesar’s assassin Decimus Brutus in Mutina, defeats the forces of the consul Pansa, but is then immediately defeated by the army of the other consul, Aulus Hirtius.
  • AD 69 – Vitellius, commander of the Rhine armies, defeats Emperor Otho in the Battle of Bedriacum to take power over Rome.
  • AD 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, surrounds the Jewish capital with four Roman legions.
  • 193 – Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans).
  • 966 – After his marriage to the Christian Doubravka of Bohemia, the pagan ruler of the Polans, Mieszko I, converts to Christianity, an event considered to be the founding of the Polish state.
  • 972 – Co-Emperor Otto II, a son of Otto I (the Great), marries the Byzantine princess Theophanu. She is crowned empress by Pope John XIII at Rome.
  • 1028 – Henry III, son of Conrad, is elected King of Germany.
  • 1205 – Battle of Adrianople between Bulgarians and Crusaders.
  • 1294 – Temür, grandson of Kublai, is elected Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan dynasty with the reigning titles Oljeitu and Chengzong.
  • 1341 – Sack of Saluzzo (Italy) by Italian-Angevine troops under Manfred V, Marquess of Saluzzo.
  • 1434 – The foundation stone of Nantes Cathedral, France is laid.
  • 1471 – In England, the Yorkists under Edward IV defeat the Lancastrians under the Earl of Warwick at the Battle of Barnet; the Earl is killed and Edward IV resumes the throne.
  • 1561 – A celestial phenomenon is reported over Nuremberg, described as an aerial battle.
  • 1639 – Imperial forces are defeated by the Swedes at the Battle of Chemnitz. The Swedish victory prolongs the Thirty Years’ War and allows them to advance into Bohemia.
  • 1699 – Khalsa: The Sikh religion was formalised as the Khalsa – the brotherhood of Warrior-Saints – by Guru Gobind Singh in northern India, in accordance with the Nanakshahi calendar.
  • 1775 – The first abolition society in North America is established. The Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage is organized in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush.
  • 1816 – Bussa, a slave in British-ruled Barbados, leads a slave rebellion and is killed. For this, he is remembered as the first national hero of Barbados.
  • 1828 – Noah Webster copyrights the first edition of his dictionary.
  • 1849 – Hungary declares itself independent of Austria with Lajos Kossuth as its leader.
  • 1865 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth; Lincoln died the next day.
  • 1865 – U.S. Secretary of State William H. Seward and his family are attacked at home by Lewis Powell.
  • 1881 – The Four Dead in Five Seconds Gunfight is fought in El Paso, Texas.
  • 1890 – The Pan-American Union is founded by the First International Conference of American States in Washington, D.C.
  • 1894 – The first ever commercial motion picture house opened in New York City using ten Kinetoscopes, a device for peep-show viewing of films.
  • 1900 – The Exposition Universelle begins.
  • 1902 – James Cash Penney opens his first store in Kemmerer, Wyoming.
  • 1906 – The Azusa Street Revival opens and will launch Pentecostalism as a worldwide movement.
  • 1908 – Hauser Dam, a steel dam on the Missouri River in Montana, U.S., fails, sending a surge of water 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 9.1 m) high downstream.
  • 1909 – A massacre is organized by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenian population of Cilicia.
  • 1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 23:40 (sinks morning of April 15th).
  • 1927 – The first Volvo car premieres in Gothenburg, Sweden.
  • 1928 – The Bremen, a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, reaches Greenly Island, Canada – the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.
  • 1931 – The Spanish Cortes deposes King Alfonso XIII and proclaims the Second Spanish Republic.
  • 1935 – The Black Sunday dust storm, considered one of the worst storms of the Dust Bowl, swept across the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and neighboring areas.
  • 1939 – The Grapes of Wrath, by American author John Steinbeck is first published by the Viking Press.
  • 1940 – World War II: Royal Marines land in Namsos, Norway in preparation for a larger force to arrive two days later.
  • 1941 – World War II: German general Erwin Rommel attacks Tobruk.
  • 1944 – Bombay explosion: A massive explosion in Bombay harbor kills 300 and causes economic damage valued then at 20 million pounds.
  • 1945 – Razing of Friesoythe: The 4th Canadian (Armoured) Division deliberately destroyed the German town of Friesoythe on the orders of Major General Christopher Vokes.
  • 1958 – The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit after a mission duration of 162 days. This was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a female dog named Laika, who likely lived only a few hours.
  • 1967 – Gnassingbé Eyadéma overthrows President of Togo Nicolas Grunitzky and installs himself as the new president, a title he would hold for the next 38 years.
  • 1978 – Tbilisi Demonstrations: Thousands of Georgians demonstrate against Soviet attempts to change the constitutional status of the Georgian language.
  • 1981 – STS-1: The first operational Space Shuttle, Columbia completes its first test flight.
  • 1986 – The heaviest hailstones ever recorded (1 kilogram (2.2 lb)) fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92.
  • 1988 – The USS Samuel B. Roberts strikes a mine in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will.
  • 1988 – In a United Nations ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland, the Soviet Union signs an agreement pledging to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan.
  • 1991 – The Republic of Georgia introduces the post of President after its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.
  • 1994 – In a U.S. friendly fire incident during Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq, two United States Air Force aircraft mistakenly shoot-down two United States Army helicopters, killing 26 people.
  • 1999 – NATO mistakenly bombs a convoy of ethnic Albanian refugees. Yugoslav officials say 75 people were killed.
  • 1999 – A severe hailstorm strikes Sydney, Australia causing A$2.3 billion in insured damages, the most costly natural disaster in Australian history.
  • 2002 – Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez returns to office two days after being ousted and arrested by the country’s military.
  • 2003 – The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.
  • 2003 – U.S. troops in Baghdad capture Abu Abbas, leader of the Palestinian group that killed an American on the hijacked cruise liner the MS Achille Lauro in 1985.
  • 2005 – The Oregon Supreme Court nullifies marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples a year earlier by Multnomah County.
  • 2006 – Twin blasts triggered by crude bombs during Asr prayer in Jama Masjid, Delhi injure 13 people.
  • 2010 – Nearly 2,700 are killed in a magnitude 6.9 earthquake in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture.
  • 2014 – Twin bomb blasts in Abuja, Nigeria, kill at least 75 people and injures 141 others.
  • 2014 – Two hundred seventy-six schoolgirls are abducted by Boko Haram in Chibok, Nigeria.
  • 2016 – In Japan, the foreshock of Kumamoto earthquakes occurs.

Births on April 14

  • 1126 – Averroes, Spanish physician and philosopher (d. 1198)
  • 1204 – Henry I, king of Castile (d. 1217)
  • 1331 – Jeanne-Marie de Maille, French Roman Catholic saint (d. 1414)
  • 1527 – Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and geographer (d. 1598)
  • 1572 – Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician, philosopher, and academic (d. 1632)
  • 1578 – Philip III of Spain (d. 1621)
  • 1629 – Christiaan Huygens, Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (d. 1695)
  • 1668 – Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish general and politician (d. 1741)
  • 1678 – Abraham Darby I, English iron master (d. 1717)
  • 1709 – Charles Collé, French playwright and songwriter (d. 1783)
  • 1714 – Adam Gib, Scottish minister and author (d. 1788)
  • 1738 – William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1809)
  • 1741 – Emperor Momozono of Japan (d. 1762)
  • 1769 – Barthélemy Catherine Joubert, French general (d. 1799)
  • 1773 – Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, French politician, 6th Prime Minister of France (d. 1854)
  • 1788 – David G. Burnet, American politician, 2nd Vice-President of Texas (d. 1870)
  • 1800 – John Appold, English engineer (d. 1865)
  • 1812 – George Grey, Portuguese-New Zealand soldier, explorer, and politician, 11th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1898)
  • 1814 – Dimitri Kipiani, Georgian publicist and author (d. 1887)
  • 1819 – Harriett Ellen Grannis Arey, American educator, author, editor, and publisher (d. 1901)
  • 1827 – Augustus Pitt Rivers, English general, ethnologist, and archaeologist (d. 1900)
  • 1852 – Alexander Greenlaw Hamilton, Australian biologist (d. 1941)
  • 1854 – Martin Lipp, Estonian pastor and poet (d. 1923)
  • 1857 – Princess Beatrice of the United Kingdom (d. 1944)
  • 1865 – Alfred Hoare Powell, English architect, and designer and painter of pottery (d. 1960)
  • 1866 – Anne Sullivan, American educator (d. 1936)
  • 1868 – Peter Behrens, German architect, designed the AEG turbine factory (d. 1940)
  • 1870 – Victor Borisov-Musatov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1905)
  • 1870 – Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 1929)
  • 1872 – Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Indian-English scholar and translator (d. 1953)
  • 1876 – Cecil Chubb, English barrister and one time owner of Stonehenge (d. 1934)
  • 1881 – Husain Salaahuddin, Maldivian poet and scholar (d. 1948)
  • 1882 – Moritz Schlick, German-Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1936)
  • 1886 – Ernst Robert Curtius, German philologist and scholar (d. 1956)
  • 1886 – Árpád Tóth, Hungarian poet and translator (d. 1928)
  • 1889 – Arnold J. Toynbee, English historian and academic (d. 1975)
  • 1891 – B. R. Ambedkar, Indian economist, jurist, and politician, 1st Indian Minister of Law and Justice (d. 1956)
  • 1891 – Otto Lasanen, Finnish wrestler (d. 1958)
  • 1892 – Juan Belmonte, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1962)
  • 1892 – V. Gordon Childe, Australian archaeologist and philologist (d. 1957)
  • 1892 – Claire Windsor, American actress (d. 1972)
  • 1902 – Sylvio Mantha, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and referee (d. 1974)
  • 1903 – Henry Corbin, French philosopher and academic (d. 1978)
  • 1903 – Ruth Svedberg, Swedish discus thrower and triathlete (d. 2002)
  • 1904 – John Gielgud, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2000)
  • 1905 – Elizabeth Huckaby, American author and educator (d. 1999)
  • 1905 – Georg Lammers, German sprinter (d. 1987)
  • 1905 – Jean Pierre-Bloch, French author and activist (d. 1999)
  • 1906 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian king (d. 1975)
  • 1907 – François Duvalier, Haitian physician and politician, 40th President of Haiti (d. 1971)
  • 1912 – Robert Doisneau, French photographer and journalist (d. 1994)
  • 1912 – Georg Siimenson, Estonian footballer (d. 1978)
  • 1913 – Jean Fournet, French conductor (d. 2008)
  • 1916 – Don Willesee, Australian telegraphist and politician, 29th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 2003)
  • 1917 – Valerie Hobson, English actress (d. 1998)
  • 1917 – Marvin Miller, American baseball executive (d. 2012)
  • 1918 – Mary Healy, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
  • 1919 – Shamshad Begum, Pakistani-Indian singer (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – K. Saraswathi Amma, Indian author and playwright (d. 1975)
  • 1920 – Ivor Forbes Guest, English lawyer, historian, and author (d. 2018)
  • 1921 – Thomas Schelling, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
  • 1922 – Audrey Long, American actress (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Roberto De Vicenzo, Argentinian golfer (d. 2017)
  • 1924 – Shorty Rogers, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1994)
  • 1924 – Joseph Ruskin, American actor and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Mary Warnock, Baroness Warnock, English philosopher, and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Abel Muzorewa, Zimbabwean minister and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Rhodesia (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Rod Steiger, American soldier and actor (d. 2002)
  • 1926 – Barbara Anderson, New Zealand author (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Frank Daniel, Czech director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1996)
  • 1926 – Gloria Jean, American actress and singer (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – Liz Renay, American actress and author (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Alan MacDiarmid, New Zealand chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Dany Robin, French actress and singer (d. 1995)
  • 1929 – Gerry Anderson, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1929 – Inez Andrews, African-American singer-songwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1930 – Martin Adolf Bormann, German priest and theologian (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Arnold Burns, American lawyer and politician, 21st United States Deputy Attorney General (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – René Desmaison, French mountaineer (d. 2007)
  • 1930 – Bradford Dillman, American actor and author (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Geoffrey Dalton, English admiral
  • 1931 – Paul Masnick, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1932 – Bill Bennett, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Premier of British Columbia (d. 2015)
  • 1932 – Atef Ebeid, Egyptian academic and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Loretta Lynn, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1932 – Cameron Parker, Scottish businessman and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Renfrewshire
  • 1933 – Paddy Hopkirk, Northern Irish racing driver
  • 1933 – Boris Strugatsky, Russian author (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Yuri Oganessian, Armenian-Russian nuclear physicist
  • 1934 – Fredric Jameson, American philosopher and theorist
  • 1935 – Susan Cunliffe-Lister, Baroness Masham of Ilton, English table tennis player, swimmer, and politician
  • 1935 – John Oliver, English bishop
  • 1935 – Erich von Däniken, Swiss historian and author
  • 1936 – Arlene Martel, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
  • 1936 – Bobby Nichols, American golfer
  • 1936 – Frank Serpico, American-Italian soldier, police officer and lecturer
  • 1937 – Efi Arazi, Israeli businessman, founded the Scailex Corporation (d. 2013)
  • 1937 – Sepp Mayerl, Austrian mountaineer (d. 2012)
  • 1938 – Mahmud Esad Coşan, Turkish author and academic (d. 2001)
  • 1940 – Julie Christie, English actress and activist
  • 1940 – David Hope, Baron Hope of Thornes, English archbishop and academic
  • 1940 – Richard Thompson, English physician and academic
  • 1941 – Pete Rose, American baseball player and manager
  • 1942 – Valeriy Brumel, Soviet high jumper (d. 2003)
  • 1942 – Valentin Lebedev, Russian engineer and astronaut
  • 1942 – Björn Rosengren, Swedish politician, Swedish Minister of Enterprise and Innovation
  • 1944 – John Sergeant, English journalist
  • 1945 – Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi, Samoan economist and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Samoa
  • 1945 – Ritchie Blackmore, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1945 – Roger Frappier, Canadian producer, director and screenwriter
  • 1946 – Mireille Guiliano, French-American author
  • 1946 – Michael Sarris, Cypriot economist and politician, Cypriot Minister of Finance
  • 1946 – Knut Kristiansen, Norwegian pianist and orchestra leader
  • 1947 – Dominique Baudis, French journalist and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1947 – Bob Massie, Australian cricketer
  • 1948 – Berry Berenson, American model, actress, and photographer (d. 2001)
  • 1948 – Anastasios Papaligouras, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Justice
  • 1949 – Dave Gibbons, English author and illustrator
  • 1949 – DeAnne Julius, American-British economist and academic
  • 1949 – Chris Langham, English actor and screenwriter
  • 1949 – Chas Mortimer, English motorcycle racer
  • 1949 – John Shea, American actor and director
  • 1950 – Francis Collins, American physician and geneticist
  • 1950 – Péter Esterházy, Hungarian author (d. 2016)
  • 1951 – Milija Aleksic, English footballer (d. 2012)
  • 1951 – José Eduardo González Navas, Spanish politician
  • 1951 – Julian Lloyd Webber, English cellist, conductor, and educator
  • 1951 – Elizabeth Symons, Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean, English politician
  • 1952 – Kenny Aaronson, American bass player
  • 1952 – Mickey O’Sullivan, Irish footballer and manager
  • 1952 – David Urquhart, Scottish bishop
  • 1954 – Sue Hill, English pathologist and civil servant
  • 1954 – Katsuhiro Otomo, Japanese director, screenwriter, and illustrator
  • 1956 – Boris Šprem, Croatian lawyer and politician, 8th President of Croatian Parliament (d. 2012)
  • 1957 – Lothaire Bluteau, Canadian actor
  • 1957 – Mikhail Pletnev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor
  • 1958 – Peter Capaldi, Scottish actor
  • 1959 – Steve Byrnes, American sportscaster and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1959 – Marie-Thérèse Fortin, Canadian actress
  • 1960 – Brad Garrett, American actor and comedian
  • 1960 – Myoma Myint Kywe, Burmese historian and journalist
  • 1960 – Osamu Sato, Japanese graphic artist, programmer, and composer
  • 1960 – Tina Rosenberg, American journalist and author
  • 1960 – Pat Symcox, South African cricketer
  • 1961 – Robert Carlyle, Scottish actor and director
  • 1961 – Daniel Clowes, American cartoonist and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Guillaume Leblanc, Canadian athlete
  • 1964 – Brian Adams, American wrestler (d. 2007)
  • 1964 – Jeff Andretti, American race car driver
  • 1964 – Greg Battle, American-Canadian football player
  • 1964 – Stuart Duncan, American bluegrass musician
  • 1964 – Jeff Hopkins, Welsh international footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Gina McKee, English actress
  • 1965 – Tom Dey, American director and producer
  • 1965 – Alexandre Jardin, French author
  • 1965 – Craig McDermott, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1966 – André Boisclair, Canadian lawyer and politician
  • 1966 – Jan Boklöv, Swedish ski jumper
  • 1966 – David Justice, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Greg Maddux, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1967 – Nicola Berti, Italian international footballer
  • 1967 – Steve Chiasson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1999)
  • 1967 – Alain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1967 – Barrett Martin, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
  • 1967 – Julia Zemiro, French-Australian actress, comedian, singer and writer
  • 1968 – Anthony Michael Hall, American actor
  • 1969 – Brad Ausmus, American baseball player and manager
  • 1969 – Martyn LeNoble, Dutch-American bass player
  • 1969 – Vebjørn Selbekk, Norwegian journalist
  • 1970 – Steve Avery, American baseball player
  • 1970 – Shizuka Kudō, Japanese singer and actress
  • 1971 – Miguel Calero, Colombian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1971 – Carlos Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1971 – Gregg Zaun, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Paul Devlin, English-Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Roberto Mejía, Dominican baseball player
  • 1972 – Dean Potter, American rock climber and BASE jumper (d. 2015)
  • 1973 – Roberto Ayala, Argentinian footballer
  • 1973 – Adrien Brody, American actor
  • 1973 – Hidetaka Suehiro, Japanese video game director and writer
  • 1973 – David Miller, American tenor
  • 1974 – Da Brat, American rapper
  • 1975 – Lita, American wrestler
  • 1975 – Luciano Almeida, Brazilian footballer
  • 1975 – Avner Dorman, Israeli-American composer and academic
  • 1975 – Anderson Silva, Brazilian mixed martial artist and boxer
  • 1976 – Christian Älvestam, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Georgina Chapman, English model, actress, and fashion designer, co-founded Marchesa
  • 1976 – Anna DeForge, American basketball player
  • 1976 – Kyle Farnsworth, American baseball player
  • 1976 – Nadine Faustin-Parker, Hatian hurdler
  • 1976 – Jason Wiemer, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Nate Fox, American basketball player (d. 2014)
  • 1977 – Martin Kaalma, Estonian footballer
  • 1977 – Sarah Michelle Gellar, American actress and producer
  • 1977 – Rob McElhenney, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1978 – Roland Lessing, Estonian biathlete
  • 1979 – Iain Balshaw, English rugby player
  • 1979 – Rebecca DiPietro, American wrestler and model
  • 1979 – Marios Elia, Cypriot footballer
  • 1979 – Ross Filipo, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1979 – Noé Pamarot, French footballer
  • 1979 – Patrick Somerville, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1979 – Kerem Tunçeri, Turkish basketball player
  • 1980 – Win Butler, American-Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1980 – Jeremy Smith, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1981 – Mustafa Güngör, German rugby player
  • 1981 – Amy Leach, English director and producer
  • 1982 – Uğur Boral, Turkish footballer
  • 1982 – Larissa França, Brazilian volleyball player
  • 1983 – Simona La Mantia, Italian triple jumper
  • 1983 – James McFadden, Scottish footballer
  • 1983 – William Obeng, Ghanaian-American football player
  • 1983 – Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Georgian basketball player
  • 1984 – Blake Costanzo, American football player
  • 1984 – Charles Hamelin, Canadian speed skater
  • 1984 – Harumafuji Kōhei, Mongolian sumo wrestler, the 70th Yokozuna
  • 1984 – Adán Sánchez, American-Mexican musician (d. 2004)
  • 1984 – Tyler Thigpen, American football player
  • 1985 – Grant Clitsome, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Matt Derbyshire, English footballer
  • 1986 – Goran Gogić, Serbian footballer (d. 2015)
  • 1987 – Michael Baze, American jockey (d. 2011)
  • 1987 – Erwin Hoffer, Austrian footballer
  • 1987 – Wilson Kiprop, Kenyan runner
  • 1987 – Korina Perkovic, German tennis player
  • 1988 – Roberto Bautista Agut, Spanish tennis player
  • 1988 – Eric Gryba, Canadian ice hockey defenseman
  • 1988 – Eliška Klučinová, Czech heptathlete
  • 1988 – Vasileios Pliatsikas, Greek footballer
  • 1988 – Brad Sinopoli, Canadian football player
  • 1989 – Joe Haden, American football player
  • 1990 – Markus Smarzoch, German footballer
  • 1992 – Frederik Sørensen, Danish footballer
  • 1996 – Abigail Breslin, American actress

Deaths on April 14

  • 911 – Pope Sergius III, pope of the Roman Catholic Church
  • 1070 – Gerard, Duke of Lorraine (b. c. 1030)
  • 1099 – Conrad, Bishop of Utrecht (b. before 1040)
  • 1132 – Mstislav I of Kiev (b. 1076)
  • 1279 – Bolesław the Pious, Duke of Greater Poland (b. 1224)
  • 1322 – Bartholomew de Badlesmere, 1st Baron Badlesmere, English soldier and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1275)
  • 1345 – Richard de Bury, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of The United Kingdom (b. 1287)
  • 1424 – Lucia Visconti, English countess (b. 1372)
  • 1433 – Lidwina, Dutch saint (b. 1380)
  • 1471 – Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, English commander and politician (b. 1428)
  • 1471 – John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu (b. 1431)
  • 1480 – Thomas de Spens, Scottish statesman and prelate (b. c. 1415)
  • 1488 – Girolamo Riario, Lord of Imola and Forli (b. 1443)
  • 1574 – Louis of Nassau (b. 1538)
  • 1578 – James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, English husband of Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1534)
  • 1587 – Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland (b. 1548)
  • 1599 – Henry Wallop, English politician (b. 1540)
  • 1609 – Gasparo da Salò, Italian violin maker (b. 1540)
  • 1662 – William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, English politician (b. 1582)
  • 1682 – Avvakum, Russian priest and saint (b. 1620)
  • 1721 – Michel Chamillart, French politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1652)
  • 1740 – Lady Catherine Jones, English philanthropist (b.1672)
  • 1759 – George Frideric Handel, German-English organist and composer (b. 1685)
  • 1785 – William Whitehead, English poet and playwright (b. 1715)
  • 1792 – Maximilian Hell, Slovak-Hungarian astronomer and priest (b. 1720)
  • 1843 – Joseph Lanner, Austrian violinist and composer (b. 1801)
  • 1864 – Charles Lot Church, American-Canadian politician (b. 1777)
  • 1888 – Emil Czyrniański, Polish chemist (b. 1824)
  • 1910 – Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1856)
  • 1911 – Addie Joss, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1880)
  • 1911 – Henri Elzéar Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 4th Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1836)
  • 1912 – Henri Brisson, French politician, 50th Prime Minister of France (b. 1835)
  • 1914 – Hubert Bland, English activist, co-founded the Fabian Society (b. 1855)
  • 1916 – Gina Krog, Norwegian suffragist and women’s rights activist (b. 1847)
  • 1917 – L. L. Zamenhof, Polish physician and linguist, created Esperanto (b. 1859)
  • 1919 – Auguste-Réal Angers, Canadian judge and politician, 6th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1837)
  • 1925 – John Singer Sargent, American painter (b. 1856)
  • 1930 – Vladimir Mayakovsky, Georgian-Russian actor, playwright, and poet (b. 1893)
  • 1931 – Richard Armstedt, German philologist, historian, and educator (b. 1851)
  • 1935 – Emmy Noether, German-American mathematician and academic (b. 1882)
  • 1938 – Gillis Grafström, Swedish figure skater and architect (b. 1893)
  • 1943 – Yakov Dzhugashvili, Georgian-Russian lieutenant (b. 1907)
  • 1950 – Ramana Maharshi, Indian guru and philosopher (b. 1879)
  • 1951 – Al Christie, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1881)
  • 1962 – M. Visvesvaraya, Indian engineer and scholar (b. 1860)
  • 1963 – Rahul Sankrityayan, Indian monk and historian (b. 1893)
  • 1964 – Tatyana Afanasyeva, Russian-Dutch mathematician and theorist (b. 1876)
  • 1964 – Rachel Carson, American biologist and author (b. 1907)
  • 1968 – Al Benton, American baseball player (b. 1911)
  • 1969 – Matilde Muñoz Sampedro, Spanish actress (b. 1900)
  • 1975 – Günter Dyhrenfurth, German-Swiss mountaineer, geologist, and explorer (b. 1886)
  • 1975 – Fredric March, American actor (b. 1897)
  • 1976 – José Revueltas, Mexican author and activist (b. 1914)
  • 1978 – Joe Gordon, American baseball player and manager (b. 1915)
  • 1978 – F. R. Leavis, English educator and critic (b. 1895)
  • 1983 – Pete Farndon, English bassist (The Pretenders) (b. 1952)
  • 1983 – Gianni Rodari, Italian journalist and author (b. 1920)
  • 1986 – Simone de Beauvoir, French novelist and philosopher (b. 1908)
  • 1990 – Thurston Harris, American singer (b. 1931)
  • 1990 – Olabisi Onabanjo, Nigerian politician, 3rd Governor of Ogun State (b. 1927)
  • 1992 – Irene Greenwood, Australian radio broadcaster and feminist and peace activist (b. 1898)
  • 1994 – Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, Pakistani chemist and scholar (b. 1897)
  • 1995 – Burl Ives, American actor, folk singer, and writer (b. 1909)
  • 1999 – Ellen Corby, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1911)
  • 1999 – Anthony Newley, English singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1931)
  • 1999 – Bill Wendell, American television announcer (b. 1924)
  • 2000 – Phil Katz, American computer programmer, co-created the zip file format (b. 1962)
  • 2000 – August R. Lindt, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
  • 2000 – Wilf Mannion, English footballer (b. 1918)
  • 2001 – Jim Baxter, Scottish footballer (b. 1939)
  • 2001 – Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
  • 2003 – Jyrki Otila, Finnish politician (b. 1941)
  • 2004 – Micheline Charest, English-Canadian television producer, co-founded the Cookie Jar Group (b. 1953)
  • 2006 – Mahmut Bakalli, Kosovo politician (b. 1936)
  • 2007 – June Callwood, Canadian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1924)
  • 2007 – Don Ho, American singer and ukulele player (b. 1930)
  • 2007 – René Rémond, French historian and economist (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – Tommy Holmes, American baseball player and manager (b. 1917)
  • 2008 – Ollie Johnston, American animator and voice actor (b. 1912)
  • 2009 – Maurice Druon, French author (b. 1918)
  • 2010 – Israr Ahmed, Pakistani theologian and scholar (b. 1932)
  • 2010 – Alice Miller, Polish-French psychologist and author (b. 1923)
  • 2010 – Peter Steele, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1962)
  • 2011 – Jean Gratton, Canadian Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Émile Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Jonathan Frid, Canadian actor (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Piermario Morosini, Italian footballer (b. 1986)
  • 2013 – Efi Arazi, Israeli businessman, founded the Scailex Corporation (b. 1937)
  • 2013 – Colin Davis, English conductor and educator (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – R. P. Goenka, Indian businessman, founded RPG Group (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – George Jackson, American singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
  • 2013 – Armando Villanueva, Peruvian politician, 121st Prime Minister of Peru (b. 1915)
  • 2013 – Charlie Wilson, American politician (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Nina Cassian, Romanian poet and critic (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Crad Kilodney, American-Canadian author (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Wally Olins, English businessman and academic (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Mick Staton, American soldier and politician (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – Klaus Bednarz, German journalist and author (b. 1942)
  • 2015 – Mark Reeds, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1960)
  • 2015 – Percy Sledge, American singer (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – Roberto Tucci, Italian cardinal and theologian (b. 1921)
  • 2019 – Bibi Andersson, Swedish actress (b.1935)

Holidays and observances on April 14

  • Ambedkar Jayanti (India)
  • Black Day (South Korea)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Anthony, John, and Eustathius
    • Bénézet
    • Henry Beard Delany (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Domnina of Terni
    • Lidwina
    • Peter González
    • Tiburtius, Valerian, and Maximus
    • April 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Commemoration of Anfal Genocide Against the Kurds (Iraqi Kurdistan)
  • Day of Mologa (Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia)
  • Day of the Georgian language (Georgia)
  • Dhivehi Language Day (Maldives)
  • N’Ko Alphabet Day (Mande speakers)
  • Pan American Day (several countries in The Americas)
  • South and Southeast Asian New Year, celebrated on the sidereal vernal equinox. (see April 13):
    • Assamese New Year, or Bohag Bihu (India’s Assam Valley)
    • Bengali New Year, or Pohela Boishakh (Bangladesh and India’s West Bengal state)
    • Burmese New Year, or Thingyan (Myanmar)
    • Hindu and Sikh New Year, or Vaisakhi (Punjab region)
    • Khmer New Year, or Chol Chnam Thmey (Cambodia)
    • Lao New Year, or Pi Mai Lao (Laos)
    • Mahl New Year, or Alathu Aharudhuvas (Maldives and India’s Lakshadweep and Kerala state)
    • Maithili New Year, or Jude Sheetal (Mithila region)
    • Malayali New Year, or Vishu (India’s Kerala state)
    • Nepali New Year, or Navabarsha / Vaishak Ek (Nepal)
    • Oriya/Odia New Year, or Pana Sankranti (India’s Odisha state)
    • Sinhalese New Year, or Aluth Avurudhu (Sri Lanka)
    • Tamil New Year, or Puthandu (India’s Tamil Nadu state)
    • Thai New Year, or Songkran, celebrated from 13 to 15 April (Thailand)
    • Tuluva New Year, or Bisu (India’s Karnataka state)
  • The first day of Takayama Spring Festival (Takayama, Gifu, Japan)
  • Youth Day (Angola)

April 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1111 – Henry V is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1612 – Miyamoto Musashi defeats Sasaki Kojirō at Funajima island.
  • 1613 – Samuel Argall, having captured Native American princess Pocahontas in Passapatanzy, Virginia, sets off with her to Jamestown with the intention of exchanging her for English prisoners held by her father.
  • 1742 – George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland.
  • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces are ambushed and defeated in the Battle of Bound Brook, New Jersey.
  • 1829 – The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 gives Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom the right to vote and to sit in Parliament.
  • 1849 – Lajos Kossuth presents the Hungarian Declaration of Independence in a closed session of the National Assembly.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Raleigh, North Carolina is occupied by Union Forces.
  • 1870 – The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded.
  • 1873 – The Colfax massacre, in which more than 60 black men are murdered, takes place.
  • 1909 – The military of the Ottoman Empire reverses the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 to force the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
  • 1919 – Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British Indian Army troops lead by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer killed approx 379-1000 unarmed demonstrators including men and women in Amritsar, India; and approximately 1,500 injured.
  • 1941 – A pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed.
  • 1943 – World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre is announced, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility.
  • 1943 – The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson’s birth.
  • 1944 – Relations between New Zealand and the Soviet Union are established.
  • 1945 – World War II: German troops kill more than 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen, Germany.
  • 1945 – World War II: Soviet and Bulgarian forces capture Vienna.
  • 1948 – In an ambush, 78 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital, and a British soldier, are massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarrah. This event came to be known as the Hadassah medical convoy massacre.
  • 1953 – CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra.
  • 1958 – American pianist Van Cliburn is awarded first prize at the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
  • 1960 – The United States launches Transit 1-B, the world’s first satellite navigation system.
  • 1964 – At the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.
  • 1970 – An oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module (codenamed “Odyssey“) while en route to the Moon.
  • 1972 – The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.
  • 1972 – Vietnam War: The Battle of An Lộc begins.
  • 1975 – An attack by the Phalangist resistance kills 26 militia members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, marking the start of the 15-year Lebanese Civil War.
  • 1976 – The United States Treasury Department reintroduces the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson’s 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration.
  • 1976 – Forty workers die in an explosion at the Lapua ammunition factory, the deadliest accidental disaster in modern history in Finland.
  • 1992 – Basements throughout the Chicago Loop are flooded, forcing the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to close.
  • 1997 – Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.
  • 2003 – A bus near the Vale of Tempe, Greece was involved in a major vehicle accident with a truck and multiple cars, leaving 21 students in the tenth grade of Makrochori, Imathia High School dead and nine injured during their return to their homes from a trip to Athens.
  • 2017 – The US drops the largest ever non-nuclear weapon on Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.

Births on April 13

  • 1229 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1294)
  • 1350 – Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (d. 1405)
  • 1506 – Peter Faber, French priest and theologian, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1546)
  • 1519 – Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-French wife of Henry II of France (d. 1589)
  • 1570 – Guy Fawkes, English soldier, planned the Gunpowder Plot (probable; d. 1606)
  • 1573 – Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1625)
  • 1593 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1641)
  • 1618 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French author (d. 1693)
  • 1636 – Hendrik van Rheede, Dutch botanist (d. 1691)
  • 1648 – Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, French mystic (d. 1717)
  • 1713 – Pierre Jélyotte, French tenor (d. 1797)
  • 1729 – Thomas Percy, Irish bishop and poet (d. 1811)
  • 1732 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
  • 1735 – Isaac Low, American merchant and politician, founded the New York Chamber of Commerce (d. 1791)
  • 1743 – Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States (d. 1826)
  • 1747 – Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (d. 1793)
  • 1764 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1830)
  • 1769 – Thomas Lawrence, English painter and educator (d. 1830)
  • 1771 – Richard Trevithick, Cornish-English engineer and explorer (d. 1833)
  • 1780 – Alexander Mitchell, Irish engineer, invented the Screw-pile lighthouse (d. 1868)
  • 1784 – Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1877)
  • 1787 – John Robertson, American lawyer and politician (d. 1873)
  • 1794 – Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist and academic (d. 1867)
  • 1802 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist and herpetologist (d. 1884)
  • 1808 – Antonio Meucci, Italian-American engineer (d. 1889)
  • 1810 – Félicien David, French composer (d. 1876)
  • 1824 – William Alexander, Irish archbishop, poet, and theologian (d. 1911)
  • 1825 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1868)
  • 1828 – Josephine Butler, English feminist and social reformer (d. 1906)
  • 1828 – Joseph Lightfoot, English bishop and theologian (d. 1889)
  • 1832 – Juan Montalvo, Ecuadorian author and diplomat (d. 1889)
  • 1841 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (d. 1905)
  • 1850 – Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, Irish astronomer (d. 1917)
  • 1851 – Robert Abbe, American surgeon and radiologist (d. 1928)
  • 1851 – William Quan Judge, Irish occultist and theosophist (d. 1896)
  • 1852 – Frank Winfield Woolworth, American businessman, founded the F. W. Woolworth Company (d. 1919)
  • 1854 – Lucy Craft Laney, Founder of the Haines Normal and Industrial School, Augusta, Georgia (d. 1933)
  • 1860 – James Ensor, English-Belgian painter (d. 1949)
  • 1866 – Butch Cassidy, American criminal (d. 1908)
  • 1872 – John Cameron, Scottish international footballer and manager (d. 1935)
  • 1872 – Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian-Croatian journalist and author (d. 1945)
  • 1873 – John W. Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Solicitor General (d. 1955)
  • 1875 – Ray Lyman Wilbur, American physician, academic, and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1949)
  • 1879 – Edward Bruce, American lawyer and painter (d. 1943)
  • 1879 – Oswald Bruce Cooper, American type designer, lettering artist, graphic designer, and educator (d. 1940)
  • 1880 – Charles Christie, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded the Christie Film Company (d. 1955)
  • 1885 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (d. 1964)
  • 1885 – Juhan Kukk, Estonian politician, Head of State of Estonia (d. 1942)
  • 1885 – György Lukács, Hungarian philosopher and critic (d. 1971)
  • 1885 – Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy, Dutch politician (d. 1961)
  • 1887 – Gordon S. Fahrni, Canadian physician and golfer (d. 1995)
  • 1889 – Herbert Yardley, American cryptologist and author (d. 1958)
  • 1890 – Frank Murphy, American jurist and politician, 56th United States Attorney General (d. 1949)
  • 1890 – Dadasaheb Torne, Indian director and producer (d. 1960)
  • 1891 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1921)
  • 1891 – Nella Larsen, Danish/African-American nurse, librarian, and author (d. 1964)
  • 1891 – Robert Scholl, German accountant and politician (d. 1973)
  • 1892 – Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet, English air marshal (d. 1984)
  • 1892 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented Radar (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – Joie Ray, American runner (d. 1978)
  • 1896 – Fred Barnett, English footballer (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Werner Voss, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1917)
  • 1899 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and game designer, created Scrabble (d. 1993)
  • 1899 – Harold Osborn, American high jumper and decathlete (d. 1975)
  • 1900 – Sorcha Boru, American potter and ceramic sculptor (d. 2006)
  • 1900 – Pierre Molinier, French painter and photographer (d. 1976)
  • 1901 – Jacques Lacan, French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (d. 1981)
  • 1901 – Alan Watt, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian Ambassador to Japan (d. 1988)
  • 1902 – Philippe de Rothschild, French Grand Prix driver, playwright, and producer (d. 1988)
  • 1902 – Marguerite Henry, American author (d. 1997)
  • 1904 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1987)
  • 1905 – Rae Johnstone, Australian jockey (d. 1964)
  • 1906 – Samuel Beckett, Irish novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
  • 1906 – Bud Freeman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1991)
  • 1907 – Harold Stassen, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (d. 2001)
  • 1909 – Eudora Welty, American short story writer and novelist (d. 2001)
  • 1911 – Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer and manager (d. 1946)
  • 1911 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1994)
  • 1911 – Nino Sanzogno, Italian conductor and composer (d. 1983)
  • 1913 – Dave Albritton, American high jumper and coach (d. 1994)
  • 1913 – Kermit Tyler, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Orhan Veli Kanık, Turkish poet and author (d. 1950)
  • 1916 – Phyllis Fraser, Welsh-American actress, journalist, and publisher, co-founded Beginner Books (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Robert Orville Anderson, American businessman, founded Atlantic Richfield Oil Co. (d. 2007)
  • 1917 – Bill Clements, American soldier, engineer, and politician, 15th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (d. 2011)
  • 1919 – Roland Gaucher, French journalist and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Howard Keel, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
  • 1919 – Madalyn Murray O’Hair, American activist, founded American Atheists (d. 1995)
  • 1920 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (d. 1982)
  • 1920 – Claude Cheysson, French lieutenant and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Liam Cosgrave, Irish lawyer and politician, 6th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2017)
  • 1920 – Theodore L. Thomas, American chemical engineer, Patent attorney and writer (d. 2005)
  • 1922 – Heinz Baas, German footballer and manager (d. 1994)
  • 1922 – John Braine, English librarian and author (d. 1986)
  • 1922 – Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician and teacher, 1st President of Tanzania (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Valve Pormeister, Estonian architect (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Don Adams, American actor and director (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – A. H. Halsey, English sociologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Stanley Tanger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (d. 2010)
  • 1924 – John T. Biggers, American painter (d. 2001)
  • 1924 – Jack T. Chick, American author, illustrator, and publisher (d. 2016)
  • 1924 – Stanley Donen, American film director and choreographer (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Ellie Lambeti, Greek actress (d. 1983)
  • 1926 – John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, English businessman (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Rosemary Haughton, English philosopher, theologian, and author
  • 1927 – Antonino Rocca, Italian-American wrestler (d. 1977)
  • 1927 – Maurice Ronet, French actor and director (d. 1983)
  • 1928 – Alan Clark, English historian and politician, Minister of State for Trade (d. 1999)
  • 1928 – Gianni Marzotto, Italian racing driver and businessman (d. 2012)
  • 1929 – Marilynn Smith, American golfer (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Anita Cerquetti, Italian soprano (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Robert Enrico, French director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1931 – Dan Gurney, American race car driver and engineer (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Jon Stone, American composer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1932 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean-American economist and politician, Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1976)
  • 1933 – Ben Nighthorse Campbell, American soldier and politician
  • 1934 – John Muckler, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1936 – Pierre Rosenberg, French historian and academic
  • 1937 – Col Joye, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1937 – Edward Fox, English actor
  • 1937 – Lanford Wilson, American playwright, co-founded the Circle Repertory Company (d. 2011)
  • 1938 – Klaus Lehnertz, German pole vaulter
  • 1938 – John Weston, English poet and diplomat
  • 1939 – Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Paul Sorvino, American actor and singer
  • 1940 – Mike Beuttler, Egyptian-English racing driver (d. 1988)
  • 1940 – Lester Chambers, American singer and musician
  • 1940 – J. M. G. Le Clézio, Breton French-Mauritian author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1940 – Vladimir Cosma, French composer, conductor and violinist
  • 1940 – Jim McNab, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
  • 1940 – Max Mosley, English racing driver and engineer, co-founded March Engineering, former president of the FIA
  • 1940 – Ruby Puryear Hearn, African-American biophysicist
  • 1941 – Michael Stuart Brown, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Jean-Marc Reiser, French author and illustrator (d. 1983)
  • 1942 – Bill Conti, American composer and conductor
  • 1943 – Alan Jones, Australian rugby coach, radio host, and educator
  • 1943 – Billy Kidd, American skier
  • 1943 – Tim Krabbé, Dutch journalist and author
  • 1943 – Philip Norman, English journalist, author, and playwright
  • 1944 – Franco Arese, Italian runner
  • 1944 – Charles Burnett, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Jack Casady, American bass guitarist
  • 1944 – Susan Davis, Russian-American social worker and politician
  • 1945 – Ed Caruthers, American high jumper
  • 1945 – Tony Dow, American actor
  • 1945 – Lowell George, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1979)
  • 1945 – Bob Kalsu, American football player and lieutenant (d. 1970)
  • 1945 – Judy Nunn, Australian actress and author
  • 1946 – Al Green, American singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor
  • 1947 – Rae Armantrout, American poet and academic
  • 1947 – Mike Chapman, Australian-English songwriter and producer
  • 1947 – Jean-Jacques Laffont, French economist and academic (d. 2004)
  • 1947 – Yves Landry, Canadian cyclist
  • 1948 – Nam Hae-il, South Korean admiral
  • 1948 – Drago Jančar, Slovenian author and playwright
  • 1948 – Mikhail Shufutinsky, Soviet and Russian singer, actor, TV presenter
  • 1949 – Len Cook, New Zealand-English mathematician and statistician
  • 1949 – Frank Doran, Scottish lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1949 – Christopher Hitchens, English-American essayist, literary critic, and journalist (d. 2011)
  • 1949 – Ricardo Zunino, Argentinian racing driver
  • 1950 – Ron Perlman, American actor
  • 1950 – Tommy Raudonikis, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1951 – Leszek Borysiewicz, Welsh immunologist and academic
  • 1951 – Peabo Bryson, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1951 – Peter Davison, English actor
  • 1951 – Joachim Streich, German footballer and manager
  • 1951 – Max Weinberg, American drummer
  • 1952 – Sam Bush, American mandolin player
  • 1952 – David Drew, English lawyer and politician
  • 1952 – Gabrielle Gourdeau, Canadian writer (d. 2006)
  • 1952 – Jonjo O’Neill, Irish jockey and trainer
  • 1953 – Stephen Byers, English politician
  • 1953 – Dany Laferrière, Haitian-Canadian journalist and author
  • 1954 – Jimmy Destri, American keyboard player and songwriter
  • 1954 – Niels Olsen, Danish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1954 – Barbara Roche, English lawyer and politician
  • 1955 – Steve Camp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1955 – Muwenda Mutebi II, current King of Buganda Kingdom
  • 1955 – Louis Johnson, American bass player and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1955 – Lupe Pintor, Mexican boxer
  • 1955 – Ole von Beust, German lawyer and politician, 1st Mayor of Hamburg
  • 1956 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand racing driver (d. 2003)
  • 1956 – Alan Devonshire, English footballer and manager
  • 1956 – Edward Forbes Smiley III, American art thief and map dealer
  • 1957 – Amy Goodman, American journalist and author
  • 1957 – Saundra Santiago, American actress
  • 1960 – Lyn Brown, English social worker and politician
  • 1960 – Bob Casey, Jr., American lawyer and politician, senior senator of Pennsylvania
  • 1960 – Olaf Ludwig, German cyclist and manager
  • 1960 – Rudi Völler, German footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Hiro Yamamoto, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1962 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist (d. 1988)
  • 1963 – Garry Kasparov, Russian chess player and author
  • 1964 – Davis Love III, American golfer and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Caroline Rhea, Canadian actress and comedian
  • 1964 – John Swinney, Scottish businessman and politician, Deputy First Minister of Scotland
  • 1965 – Patricio Pouchulu, Argentinian architect and educator
  • 1966 – Ali Boumnijel, Tunisian footballer
  • 1966 – Marc Ford, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1967 – Dana Barros, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Michael Eisen, American biologist and academic
  • 1967 – Olga Tañón, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
  • 1968 – Ted Washington, American football player
  • 1969 – Dirk Muschiol, German footballer
  • 1970 – Monty Brown, American football player and wrestler
  • 1970 – Gerry Creaney, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Nick Garrett, English singer
  • 1970 – Szilveszter Csollány, Hungarian gymnast
  • 1970 – Ricardo Rincón, Mexican-American baseball player
  • 1970 – Ricky Schroder, American actor
  • 1971 – Franck Esposito, French swimmer
  • 1971 – Danie Mellor, Australian painter and sculptor
  • 1971 – Bo Outlaw, American basketball player
  • 1971 – Valensia, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1972 – Mariusz Czerkawski, Polish ice hockey player and golfer
  • 1972 – Aaron Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Valentina Cervi, Italian actress
  • 1974 – Sergei Gonchar, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1974 – Darren Turner, English racing driver
  • 1974 – David Zdrilic, Australian footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Jasey-Jay Anderson, Canadian snowboarder
  • 1975 – Lou Bega, German singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Bruce Dyer, English footballer
  • 1975 – Tatiana Navka, Russian ice dancer
  • 1976 – Jonathan Brandis, American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1976 – Patrik Eliáš, Czech-American ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Glenn Howerton, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Margus Tsahkna, Estonian lawyer and politician
  • 1978 – Arron Asham, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Carles Puyol, Spanish footballer
  • 1978 – Raemon Sluiter, Dutch tennis player
  • 1978 – Keydrick Vincent, American football player
  • 1979 – Gréta Arn, Hungarian tennis player
  • 1979 – Baron Davis, American basketball player
  • 1979 – Tony Lundon, Irish singer-songwriter, producer, and dancer
  • 1979 – Meghann Shaughnessy, American tennis player
  • 1980 – Colleen Clinkenbeard, American voice actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Jason Maguire, Irish jockey
  • 1980 – Alan Melikdjanian, American independent filmmaker and YouTuber
  • 1980 – Quentin Richardson, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Nat Borchers, American soccer player
  • 1981 – Gemma Doyle, Scottish politician
  • 1982 – Nellie McKay, British-American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress
  • 1983 – Claudio Bravo, Chilean footballer
  • 1983 – Schalk Burger, South African rugby player
  • 1983 – Nicole Cooke, Welsh cyclist
  • 1983 – Hunter Pence, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Jarmo Ahjupera, Estonian footballer
  • 1984 – Anders Lindegaard, Danish footballer
  • 1985 – Anna Jennings-Edquist, Australian actress, director, and playwright
  • 1985 – Algo Kärp, Estonian skier
  • 1985 – Cody Nickson, American reality television personality
  • 1986 – Michael Bingham, American-English sprinter
  • 1986 – Lorenzo Cain, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Brandon Hardesty, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1987 – Massimiliano Pesenti, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Allison Weiss, American singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Anderson, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Petteri Koponen, Finnish basketball player
  • 1988 – Allison Williams, American actress and singer
  • 1989 – Ryan Bailey, American sprinter
  • 1989 – Dong Dong, Chinese trampolinist
  • 1989 – Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova, Belarusian long jumper
  • 1989 – Josh Reynolds, Australian rugby league player
  • 1989 – Vladislav Yegin, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Anastasija Sevastova, a professional tennis player from Latvia
  • 1991 – Akeem Adams, Trinidadian footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1991 – Ulises Dávila, Mexican footballer
  • 1991 – Josh Gordon, American football player
  • 1992 – Denis Kudryavtsev, Russian hurdler
  • 1992 – Jordan Silk, Australian cricketer
  • 1993 – Tony Wroten, American basketball player
  • 1994 – Ángelo Henríquez, Chilean footballer
  • 1994 – Elvis Merzļikins, Latvian ice hockey player
  • 1997 – Kyle Walker-Peters, English footballer

Deaths on April 13

  • 548 – Lý Nam Đế, Vietnamese emperor (b. 503)
  • 585 – Hermenegild, Visigothic prince and saint
  • 799 – Paul the Deacon, Italian monk and historian (b. 720)
  • 814 – Krum, khan of the Bulgarian Khanate
  • 862 – Donald I, king of the Picts (b. 812)
  • 989 – Bardas Phokas, Byzantine general
  • 1035 – Herbert I, Count of Maine
  • 1093 – Vsevolod I of Kiev (b. 1030)
  • 1113 – Ida of Lorraine, saint and noblewoman (b. c. 1040)
  • 1138 – Simon I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1076)
  • 1213 – Guy of Thouars, regent of Brittany
  • 1275 – Eleanor of England (b. 1215)
  • 1367 – John Tiptoft, 2nd Baron Tibetot (b. 1313)
  • 1592 – Bartolomeo Ammannati, Italian architect and sculptor (b. 1511)
  • 1605 – Boris Godunov, Tsar of Russia (b. 1551)
  • 1612 – Sasaki Kojirō, Japanese samurai (b. 1585)
  • 1635 – Fakhr-al-Din II, Ottoman prince (b. 1572)
  • 1638 – Henri, Duke of Rohan (b. 1579)
  • 1641 – Richard Montagu, English bishop (b. 1577)
  • 1695 – Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet (b. 1621)
  • 1716 – Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, English admiral and politician (b. 1648)
  • 1722 – Charles Leslie, Irish priest and theologian (b. 1650)
  • 1793 – Pierre Gaspard Chaumette, French botanist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1763)
  • 1794 – Nicolas Chamfort, French playwright and poet (b. 1741)
  • 1826 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer, and conductor (b. 1763)
  • 1853 – Leopold Gmelin, German chemist and academic (b. 1788)
  • 1853 – James Iredell, Jr., American lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of North Carolina (b. 1788)
  • 1855 – Henry De la Beche, English geologist and palaeontologist (b. 1796)
  • 1868 – Tewodros II of Ethiopia (b. 1818)
  • 1880 – Robert Fortune, Scottish botanist and author (b. 1813)
  • 1882 – Bruno Bauer, German historian and philosopher (b. 1809)
  • 1886 – John Humphrey Noyes, American religious leader, founded the Oneida Community (b. 1811)
  • 1890 – Samuel J. Randall, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 33rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1828)
  • 1899 – James Service, Scottish-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Victoria (b. 1823)
  • 1909 – Whitley Stokes, Anglo-Irish lawyer and scholar (b. 1830)
  • 1910 – William Quiller Orchardson, Scottish-English painter and educator (b. 1835)
  • 1911 – John McLane, Scottish-American politician, 50th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1852)
  • 1911 – George Washington Glick, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of Kansas (b. 1827)
  • 1912 – Takuboku Ishikawa, Japanese poet and author (b. 1886)
  • 1917 – Diamond Jim Brady, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1856)
  • 1918 – Lavr Kornilov, Russian general (b. 1870)
  • 1927 – Georg Voigt, German politician, Mayor of Frankfurt (b. 1866)
  • 1936 – Konstantinos Demertzis, Greek politician 129th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1876)
  • 1938 – Grey Owl, English-Canadian environmentalist and author (b. 1888)
  • 1941 – Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer and academic (b. 1863)
  • 1941 – William Twaits, Canadian soccer player (b. 1879)
  • 1942 – Henk Sneevliet, Dutch politician (b. 1883)
  • 1942 – Anton Uesson, Estonian engineer and politician, 17th Mayor of Tallinn (b. 1879)
  • 1944 – Cécile Chaminade, French pianist and composer (b. 1857)
  • 1945 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (b. 1874)
  • 1954 – Samuel Jones, American high jumper (b. 1880)
  • 1954 – Angus Lewis Macdonald, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1890)
  • 1956 – Emil Nolde, Danish-German painter and educator (b. 1867)
  • 1959 – Eduard van Beinum, Dutch pianist, violinist, and conductor (b. 1901)
  • 1961 – John A. Bennett, American soldier (b. 1935)
  • 1962 – Culbert Olson, American lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of California (b. 1876)
  • 1966 – Abdul Salam Arif, Iraqi colonel and politician, 2nd President of Iraq (b. 1921)
  • 1966 – Carlo Carrà, Italian painter (b. 1881)
  • 1966 – Georges Duhamel, French soldier and author (b. 1884)
  • 1967 – Nicole Berger, French actress (b. 1934)
  • 1969 – Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (b. 1901)
  • 1971 – Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
  • 1971 – Juhan Smuul, Estonian author, poet, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 1975 – Larry Parks, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
  • 1975 – François Tombalbaye, Chadian soldier, academic, and politician, 1st President of Chad (b. 1918)
  • 1978 – Jack Chambers, Canadian painter and director (b. 1931)
  • 1978 – Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Nigerian educator and women’s rights activist (b. 1900)
  • 1980 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (b. 1956)
  • 1983 – Gerry Hitchens, English footballer (b. 1934)
  • 1983 – Theodore Stephanides, Greek physician, author, and poet (b. 1896)
  • 1984 – Ralph Kirkpatrick, American harp player and musicologist (b. 1911)
  • 1988 – Jean Gascon, Canadian actor and director (b. 1920)
  • 1992 – Maurice Sauvé, Canadian economist and politician (b. 1923)
  • 1992 – Feza Gürsey, Turkish mathematician and physicist (b. 1921)
  • 1992 – Daniel Pollock, Australian actor (b. 1968)
  • 1993 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1909)
  • 1996 – Leila Mackinlay, English author and educator (b. 1910)
  • 1997 – Bryant Bowles, American soldier and activist, founded the National Association for the Advancement of White People (b. 1920)
  • 1997 – Alan Cooley, Australian public servant (b. 1920)
  • 1997 – Dorothy Frooks, American author and actress (b. 1896)
  • 1997 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (b. 1903)
  • 1998 – Patrick de Gayardon, French skydiver and base jumper (b. 1960)
  • 1999 – Ortvin Sarapu, Estonian-New Zealand chess player and author (b. 1924)
  • 1999 – Willi Stoph, German engineer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of East Germany (b. 1914)
  • 2000 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (b. 1916)
  • 2000 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (b. 1910)
  • 2004 – Caron Keating, Northern Irish television host (b. 1962)
  • 2005 – Don Blasingame, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
  • 2005 – Johnnie Johnson, American pianist and songwriter (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Phillip Pavia, American painter and sculptor (b. 1912)
  • 2005 – Philippe Volter, Belgian actor and director (b. 1959)
  • 2006 – Bill Baker, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (b. 1911)
  • 2006 – Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – John Archibald Wheeler, American physicist and academic (b. 1911)
  • 2009 – Mark Fidrych, American baseball player (b. 1954)
  • 2009 – Bruce Snyder, American football player and coach (b. 1940)
  • 2009 – George Feigley, American sex cult leader, convicted rapist and two-time prison escapee (b. 1940)
  • 2012 – William B. Buffum, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Lebanon (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Cecil Chaudhry, Pakistani pilot, academic, and activist (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Shūichi Higurashi, Japanese illustrator (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – David S. Smith, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Sweden (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Robert Wigmore, Cook Islander politician, 14th Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Chi Cheng, American bass player (b. 1970)
  • 2013 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Dean Drummond, American composer and conductor (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Lin Yang-kang, Taiwanese politician, 29th Vice Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Fred Enke, American football player (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Ernesto Laclau, Argentinian-Spanish philosopher and theorist (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Michael Ruppert, American journalist and author (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Rafał Sznajder, Polish fencer (b. 1972)
  • 2015 – Gerald Calabrese, American basketball player and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Ronnie Carroll, Irish singer and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Thelma Coyne Long, Australian tennis player and captain (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan journalist and author (b. 1940)
  • 2015 – Günter Grass, German novelist, poet, playwright, and illustrator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Herb Trimpe, American author and illustrator (b. 1939)
  • 2016 – Nera White, American basketball player (b. 1935)
  • 2017 – Dan Rooney, American football executive and former United States Ambassador to Ireland (b. 1932)
  • 2018 – Art Bell, American broadcaster and author (b. 1945)
  • 2019 – Neus Català, Anti-fascist activist (b. 1915)
  • 2019 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand athlete (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on April 13

  • Christian feast day:
    • Hermenegild
    • Blessed Ida of Louvain
    • Pope Martin I
    • April 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Jefferson’s Birthday (United States)
  • Katyn Memorial Day (Poland)
  • South and Southeast Asian New Year. (see April 14)
  • Teacher’s Day (Ecuador)
  • Unfairly Prosecuted Persons Day (Slovakia)

April 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 491 – Flavius Anastasius becomes Byzantine emperor, with the name of Anastasius I.
  • 1241 – Batu Khan defeats Béla IV of Hungary at the Battle of Mohi.
  • 1512 – War of the League of Cambrai: French forces led by Gaston de Foix win the Battle of Ravenna.
  • 1544 – Italian War of 1542–46: A French army defeats Habsburg forces at the Battle of Ceresole, but fails to exploit its victory.
  • 1689 – William III and Mary II are crowned as joint sovereigns of Great Britain.
  • 1713 – War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne’s War): Treaty of Utrecht.
  • 1727 – Premiere of Johann Sebastian Bach’s St Matthew Passion BWV 244b at the St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
  • 1809 – An incomplete British victory over the French fleet at the Battle of the Basque Roads results in the court-martial of James, Lord Gambier.
  • 1814 – The Treaty of Fontainebleau ends the War of the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon Bonaparte, and forces him to abdicate unconditionally for the first time.
  • 1856 – Second Battle of Rivas: Juan Santamaría burns down the hostel where William Walker’s filibusters are holed up.
  • 1868 – Former shōgun Tokugawa Yoshinobu surrenders Edo Castle to Imperial forces, marking the end of the Tokugawa shogunate.
  • 1876 – The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is organized.
  • 1881 – Spelman College is founded in Atlanta, Georgia as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, an institute of higher education for African-American women.
  • 1908 – SMS Blücher, the last armored cruiser to be built by the Imperial German Navy, is launched.
  • 1909 – The city of Tel Aviv is founded.
  • 1921 – Emir Abdullah establishes the first centralised government in the newly created British protectorate of Transjordan.
  • 1945 – World War II: American forces liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp.
  • 1951 – Korean War: President Harry Truman relieves General of the Army Douglas MacArthur of overall command in Korea.
  • 1951 – The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.
  • 1955 – The Air India Kashmir Princess is bombed and crashes in a failed assassination attempt on Zhou Enlai by the Kuomintang.
  • 1957 – United Kingdom agrees to Singaporean self-rule.
  • 1961 – The trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem.
  • 1963 – Pope John XXIII issues Pacem in terris, the first encyclical addressed to all Christians instead of only Catholics, and which described the conditions for world peace in human terms.
  • 1964 – Brazilian Marshal Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco is elected President by the National Congress.
  • 1965 – The Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1965: Fifty-one tornadoes hit in six Midwestern states, killing 256 people.
  • 1968 – President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968, prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing.
  • 1968 – Assassination attempt on Rudi Dutschke, leader of the German student movement.
  • 1970 – Apollo 13 is launched.
  • 1976 – The Apple I is created.
  • 1977 – London Transport’s Silver Jubilee AEC Routemaster buses are launched.
  • 1979 – Ugandan dictator Idi Amin is deposed.
  • 1981 – A massive riot in Brixton, south London results in almost 300 police injuries and 65 serious civilian injuries.
  • 1986 – FBI Miami Shootout: A gun battle in broad daylight in Dade County, Florida between two bank/armored car robbers and pursuing FBI agents. During the firefight, FBI agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed, while five other agents were wounded. As a result, the popular .40 S&W cartridge was developed.
  • 1987 – The London Agreement is secretly signed between Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Shimon Peres and King Hussein of Jordan.
  • 1990 – Customs officers in Middlesbrough, England, seize what they believe to be the barrel of a massive gun on a ship bound for Iraq.
  • 1993 – Four hundred fifty prisoners rioted at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville, Ohio, and continued to do so for ten days, citing grievances related to prison conditions, as well as the forced vaccination of Nation of Islam prisoners (for tuberculosis) against their religious beliefs.
  • 2001 – The detained crew of a United States EP-3E aircraft that landed in Hainan, China after a collision with a J-8 fighter, is released.
  • 2002 – The Ghriba synagogue bombing by al-Qaeda kills 21 in Tunisia.
  • 2002 – Over two hundred thousand people march in Caracas towards the Presidential palace to demand the resignation of President Hugo Chávez. Nineteen protesters are killed.
  • 2006 – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces Iran’s claim to have successfully enriched uranium.
  • 2007 – Algiers bombings: Two bombings in Algiers kill 33 people and wound a further 222 others.
  • 2011 – An explosion in the Minsk Metro, Belarus kills 15 people and injures 204 others.
  • 2012 – A pair of great earthquakes occur in the Wharton Basin west of Sumatra in Indonesia. The maximum Mercalli intensity of this strike-slip doublet earthquake was VII (Very strong). Ten were killed, twelve were injured, and a non-destructive tsunami was observed on the island of Nias.
  • 2018 – An Ilyushin Il-76 which was owned and operated by the Algerian Air Force crashes near Boufarik, Algeria, killing 257.

Births on April 11

  • 145 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (probable; d. 211)
  • 1184 – William of Winchester, Lord of Lüneburg (d. 1213)
  • 1348 – Andronikos IV Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1385)
  • 1357 – John I of Portugal (d. 1433)
  • 1370 – Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1428)
  • 1374 – Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, heir to the throne of England (d. 1398)
  • 1493 – George I, Duke of Pomerania (d. 1531)
  • 1591 – Bartholomeus Strobel, Silezian painter (d. 1650)
  • 1592 – John Eliot, English lawyer and politician (d. 1632)
  • 1644 – Marie Jeanne Baptiste of Savoy-Nemours, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1724)
  • 1658 – James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish peer (d. 1712)
  • 1683 – Jean-Joseph Mouret, French composer and conductor (d. 1738)
  • 1715 – John Alcock, English organist and composer (d. 1806)
  • 1721 – David Zeisberger, Czech-American clergyman and missionary (d. 1808)
  • 1722 – Christopher Smart, English actor, playwright, and poet (d. 1771)
  • 1749 – Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, French miniaturist and portrait painter (d. 1803)
  • 1755 – James Parkinson, English surgeon, geologist, and paleontologist (d. 1824)
  • 1770 – George Canning, Irish-English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1827)
  • 1794 – Edward Everett, English-American educator and politician, 15th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1865)
  • 1798 – Macedonio Melloni, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1854)
  • 1819 – Charles Hallé, German-English pianist and conductor (d. 1895)
  • 1825 – Ferdinand Lassalle, German philosopher and jurist (d. 1864)
  • 1827 – Jyotirao Phule, Indian scholar, philosopher, and activist (d. 1890)
  • 1854 – Hugh Massie, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
  • 1856 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1903)
  • 1859 – Stefanos Thomopoulos, Greek historian and author (d. 1939)
  • 1862 – William Wallace Campbell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1938)
  • 1862 – Charles Evans Hughes, American lawyer and politician, 44th United States Secretary of State (d. 1948)
  • 1864 – Johanna Elberskirchen, German author and activist (d. 1943)
  • 1866 – Bernard O’Dowd, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1953)
  • 1867 – Mark Keppel, American educator (d. 1928)
  • 1869 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor, designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal (d. 1943)
  • 1871 – Gyula Kellner, Hungarian runner (d. 1940)
  • 1873 – Edward Lawson, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1955)
  • 1876 – Paul Henry, Irish painter (d. 1958)
  • 1876 – Ivane Javakhishvili, Georgian historian and academic (d. 1940)
  • 1879 – Bernhard Schmidt, Estonian-German astronomer and optician (d. 1935)
  • 1887 – Jamini Roy, Indian painter (d. 1972)
  • 1893 – Dean Acheson, American lawyer and politician, 51st United States Secretary of State (d. 1971)
  • 1896 – Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1967)
  • 1899 – Percy Lavon Julian, African-American chemist and academic (d. 1975)
  • 1900 – Sándor Márai, Hungarian journalist and author (d. 1989)
  • 1903 – Misuzu Kaneko, Japanese poet (d. 1930)
  • 1904 – K. L. Saigal, Indian singer and actor (d. 1947)
  • 1905 – Attila József, Hungarian poet and educator (d. 1937)
  • 1906 – Dale Messick, American author and illustrator (d. 2005)
  • 1907 – Paul Douglas, American actor (d. 1959)
  • 1908 – Jane Bolin, American lawyer and judge (d. 2007)
  • 1908 – Masaru Ibuka, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (d. 1997)
  • 1908 – Dan Maskell, English tennis player and sportscaster (d. 1992)
  • 1908 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (d. 1997)
  • 1910 – António de Spínola, Portuguese general and politician, 14th President of Portugal (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – John Levy, American bassist and businessman (d. 2012)
  • 1913 – Oleg Cassini, French-American fashion designer (d. 2006)
  • 1914 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator, director, and producer (d. 1987)
  • 1914 – Robert Stanfield, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician, 17th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2003)
  • 1914 – Dorothy Lewis Bernstein, American mathematician (d. 1988)
  • 1916 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian-Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1983)
  • 1916 – Howard W. Koch, American director and producer (d. 2001)
  • 1917 – David Westheimer, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 2005)
  • 1918 – Richard Wainwright, English soldier and politician (d. 2003)
  • 1919 – Raymond Carr, English historian and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Emilio Colombo, Italian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – William Royer, American soldier and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Jim Hearn, American baseball player (d. 1998)
  • 1921 – Jack Rayner, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2008)
  • 1922 – Arved Viirlaid, Estonian-Canadian soldier and author (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – George J. Maloof, Sr., American businessman (d. 1980)
  • 1924 – Mohammad Naseem, Pakistani-English activist and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Yuriy Lituyev, Russian hurdler and commander (d. 2000)
  • 1925 – Viola Liuzzo, American civil rights activist (d. 1965)
  • 1925 – Viktor Masing, Estonian botanist and ecologist (d. 2001)
  • 1925 – Pierre Péladeau, Canadian businessman, founded Quebecor (d. 1997)
  • 1926 – David Manker Abshire, American commander and diplomat, United States Permanent Representative to NATO (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Victor Bouchard, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 2011)
  • 1926 – Karl Rebane, Estonian physicist and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Lokesh Chandra, Indian historian
  • 1928 – Ethel Kennedy, American philanthropist
  • 1928 – Edwin Pope, American journalist and author (d. 2017)
  • 1928 – Tommy Tycho, Hungarian-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Nicholas F. Brady, American businessman and politician, 68th United States Secretary of the Treasury
  • 1930 – Walter Krüger, German javelin thrower (d. 2018)
  • 1930 – Anton LaVey, American occultist, founded the Church of Satan (d. 1997)
  • 1931 – Lewis Jones, Welsh rugby player and coach
  • 1932 – Joel Grey, American actor, singer, and dancer
  • 1933 – Tony Brown, American journalist and academic
  • 1934 – Mark Strand, Canadian-born American poet, essayist, and translator (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Ron Pember, English actor, director and playwright
  • 1935 – Richard Berry, American singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1936 – Brian Noble, English bishop (d. 2019)
  • 1937 – Jill Gascoine, English actress and author
  • 1938 – Gerry Baker, American soccer player and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1938 – Michael Deaver, American politician, Deputy White House Chief of Staff (d. 2007)
  • 1938 – Reatha King, American chemist and businesswoman
  • 1939 – Luther Johnson, American singer and guitarist
  • 1939 – Louise Lasser, American actress
  • 1940 – Col Firmin, Australian politician (d. 2013)
  • 1940 – Thomas Harris, American author and screenwriter
  • 1940 – Władysław Komar, Polish shot putter and actor (d. 1998)
  • 1941 – Ellen Goodman, American journalist and author
  • 1941 – Shirley Stelfox, English actress (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Anatoly Berezovoy, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2014)
  • 1942 – Hattie Gossett, American writer
  • 1942 – James Underwood, English pathologist and academic
  • 1943 – John Montagu, 11th Earl of Sandwich, English businessman and politician
  • 1943 – Harley Race, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2019)
  • 1944 – Peter Barfuß, German footballer
  • 1944 – John Milius, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1945 – John Krebs, Baron Krebs, English zoologist and academic
  • 1946 – Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1946 – Bob Harris, English journalist and radio host
  • 1947 – Lev Bulat, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1947 – Uli Edel, German director and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Frank Mantooth, American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
  • 1947 – Peter Riegert, American actor, screenwriter and film director
  • 1947 – Michael T. Wright, English engineer and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1949 – Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1950 – Bill Irwin, American actor and clown
  • 1951 – Paul Fox, English singer and guitarist (d. 2007)
  • 1952 – Nancy Honeytree, American singer and guitarist
  • 1952 – Indira Samarasekera, Sri Lankan engineer and academic
  • 1952 – Peter Windsor, English-Australian journalist and sportscaster
  • 1953 – Guy Verhofstadt, Belgian politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium
  • 1953 – Andrew Wiles, English mathematician and academic
  • 1954 – Abdullah Atalar, Turkish engineer and academic
  • 1954 – Aleksandr Averin, Azerbaijani cyclist and coach
  • 1954 – Francis Lickerish, English guitarist and composer
  • 1954 – David Perrett, Scottish psychologist and academic
  • 1954 – Ian Redmond, English biologist and conservationist
  • 1954 – Willie Royster, American baseball player (d. 2015)
  • 1955 – Kevin Brady, American lawyer and politician
  • 1955 – Michael Callen, American singer-songwriter and AIDS activist (d. 1993)
  • 1955 – Micheal Ray Richardson, American basketball player and coach
  • 1958 – Stuart Adamson, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
  • 1958 – Lyudmila Kondratyeva, Russian sprinter
  • 1959 – Pierre Lacroix, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1959 – Ana María Polo, Cuban-American lawyer and judge
  • 1959 – Zahid Maleque, Bangladeshi politician
  • 1960 – Jeremy Clarkson, English journalist and television presenter
  • 1961 – Vincent Gallo, American actor, director, producer, and musician
  • 1961 – Doug Hopkins, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1961 – Nobuaki Kakuda, Japanese martial artist
  • 1962 – Franck Ducheix, French fencer
  • 1962 – Mark Lawson, English journalist and author
  • 1963 – Billy Bowden, New Zealand cricketer and umpire
  • 1963 – Waldemar Fornalik, Polish footballer and manager
  • 1963 – Elizabeth Smylie, Australian tennis player
  • 1964 – Steve Azar, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1964 – John Cryer, English journalist and politician
  • 1964 – Johann Sebastian Paetsch, American cellist
  • 1964 – Bret Saberhagen, American baseball player and coach
  • 1964 – Patrick Sang, Kenyan runner
  • 1966 – Steve Scarsone, American baseball player and manager
  • 1966 – Shin Seung-hun, South Korean singer-songwriter
  • 1966 – Lisa Stansfield, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1968 – Sergei Lukyanenko, Kazakh-Russian journalist and author
  • 1969 – Cerys Matthews, Welsh singer-songwriter
  • 1969 – Michael von Grünigen, Swiss skier
  • 1970 – Trevor Linden, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1970 – Delroy Pearson, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1971 – John Leech, English politician
  • 1971 – Oliver Riedel, German bass player
  • 1972 – Balls Mahoney, American wrestler (d. 2016)
  • 1972 – Allan Théo, French singer
  • 1972 – Jason Varitek, American baseball player and manager
  • 1973 – Jennifer Esposito, American actress
  • 1973 – Olivier Magne, French rugby player
  • 1974 – Àlex Corretja, Spanish tennis player and coach
  • 1974 – Ashot Danielyan, Armenian weightlifter
  • 1974 – David Jassy, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1974 – Zöe Lucker, English actress
  • 1974 – Tom Thacker, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1974 – Trot Nixon, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Olga Hostáková, Czech tennis player
  • 1975 – Walid Soliman, Tunisian author and translator
  • 1976 – Kelvim Escobar, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1977 – Ivonne Teichmann, German runner
  • 1978 – Josh Hancock, American baseball player (d. 2007)
  • 1979 – Malcolm Christie, English footballer
  • 1979 – Sebastien Grainger, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – Michel Riesen, Swiss ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Josh Server, American actor
  • 1980 – Keiji Tamada, Japanese footballer
  • 1980 – Mark Teixeira, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Alessandra Ambrosio, Brazilian model
  • 1981 – Alexandre Burrows, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Veronica Pyke, Australian cricketer
  • 1982 – Ian Bell, English cricketer
  • 1982 – Peeter Kümmel, Estonian skier
  • 1983 – Jennifer Heil, Canadian skier
  • 1983 – Rubén Palazuelos, Spanish footballer
  • 1983 – Nicky Pastorelli, Dutch race car driver
  • 1984 – Kelli Garner, American actress
  • 1984 – Nikola Karabatić, French handball player
  • 1985 – Pablo Hernández Domínguez, Spanish footballer
  • 1985 – Will Minson, Australian footballer
  • 1986 – Sarodj Bertin, Haitian model and human rights lawyer
  • 1986 – Dai Greene, Welsh hurdler
  • 1986 – Lena Schöneborn, German pentathlete
  • 1987 – Joss Stone, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1987 – Lights, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Leland Irving, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Torrin Lawrence, American sprinter (d. 2014)
  • 1989 – Zola Jesus, American singer
  • 1990 – Dimitrios Anastasopoulos, Greek footballer
  • 1990 – Thulani Serero, South African footballer
  • 1991 – Thiago Alcântara, Spanish footballer
  • 1991 – Brennan Poole, American racing driver
  • 1996 – Dele Alli, English international footballer
  • 1997 – Georgia Bohl, Australian swimmer
  • 1997 – Miriam Kolodziejová, a Czech tennis player

Deaths on April 11

  • 618 – Yang Guang, Chinese emperor of the Sui Dynasty (b. 569)
  • 678 – Donus, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 610)
  • 924 – Herman I, chancellor and archbishop of Cologne
  • 1034 – Romanos III Argyros, Byzantine emperor (b. 968)
  • 1077 – Anawrahta, king of Burma and founder of the Pagan Empire (b. 1014)
  • 1079 – Stanislaus of Szczepanów, bishop of Kraków (b. 1030)
  • 1165 – Stephen IV, king of Hungary and Croatia
  • 1240 – Llywelyn the Great, Welsh prince (b. 1172)
  • 1447 – Henry Beaufort, Cardinal, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1377)
  • 1512 – Gaston de Foix, French military commander (b. 1489)
  • 1554 – Thomas Wyatt the Younger, English rebel leader (b. 1521)
  • 1587 – Thomas Bromley, English lord chancellor (b. 1530)
  • 1609 – John Lumley, 1st Baron Lumley, English noble (b. 1533)
  • 1612 – Emanuel van Meteren, Flemish historian and author (b. 1535)
  • 1612 – Edward Wightman, English minister and martyr (b. 1566)
  • 1626 – Marino Ghetaldi, Ragusan mathematician and physicist (b. 1568)
  • 1712 – Richard Simon, French priest and critic (b. 1638)
  • 1723 – John Robinson, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1650)
  • 1783 – Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Polish-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1718)
  • 1798 – Karl Wilhelm Ramler, German poet and academic (b. 1725)
  • 1856 – Juan Santamaría, Costa Rican soldier (b. 1831)
  • 1861 – Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet and composer (b. 1824)
  • 1873 – Edward Canby, American general (b. 1817)
  • 1890 – David de Jahacob Lopez Cardozo, Dutch Talmudist (b. 1808)
  • 1890 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities (b. 1862)
  • 1894 – Constantin Lipsius, German architect and theorist (b. 1832)
  • 1895 – Julius Lothar Meyer, German chemist (b. 1830)
  • 1902 – Wade Hampton III, American general and politician, 77th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1818)
  • 1903 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (b. 1878)
  • 1906 – James Anthony Bailey, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1847)
  • 1906 – Francis Pharcellus Church, American journalist and publisher, co-founded Armed Forces Journal and The Galaxy Magazine (b. 1839)
  • 1908 – Henry Bird, English chess player and author (b. 1829)
  • 1916 – Richard Harding Davis, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
  • 1918 – Otto Wagner, Austrian architect and urban planner (b. 1841)
  • 1926 – Luther Burbank, American botanist and academic (b. 1849)
  • 1939 – Kurtdereli Mehmet, Turkish wrestler (b. 1864)
  • 1953 – Kid Nichols, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
  • 1954 – Paul Specht, American violinist and bandleader (b. 1895)
  • 1958 – Konstantin Yuon, Russian painter and educator (b. 1875)
  • 1960 – Rosa Grünberg, Swedish actress (b. 1878)
  • 1962 – Ukichiro Nakaya, Japanese physicist and academic (b. 1900)
  • 1962 – George Poage, American hurdler and educator (b. 1880)
  • 1967 – Thomas Farrell, American general (b. 1891)
  • 1967 – Donald Sangster, Jamaican lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1911)
  • 1970 – Cathy O’Donnell, American actress (b. 1923)
  • 1970 – John O’Hara, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1905)
  • 1974 – Ernst Ziegler, German actor (b. 1894)
  • 1977 – Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (b. 1900)
  • 1977 – Phanishwar Nath ‘Renu’, Indian author and activist (b. 1921)
  • 1980 – Ümit Kaftancıoğlu, Turkish journalist and producer (b. 1935)
  • 1981 – Caroline Gordon, American author and critic (b. 1895)
  • 1983 – Dolores del Río, Mexican actress (b. 1904)
  • 1984 – Edgar V. Saks, Estonian historian and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1910)
  • 1985 – Bunny Ahearne, Irish-born English businessman (b. 1900)
  • 1985 – John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (b. 1898)
  • 1985 – Enver Hoxha, Albanian educator and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1908)
  • 1987 – Erskine Caldwell, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1903)
  • 1987 – Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (b. 1919)
  • 1990 – Harold Ballard, Canadian businessman (b. 1903)
  • 1991 – Walker Cooper, American baseball player and manager (b. 1915)
  • 1991 – Bruno Hoffmann. German glass harp player (b. 1913)
  • 1992 – James Brown, American actor and singer (b. 1920)
  • 1992 – Eve Merriam, American author and poet (b. 1916)
  • 1992 – Alejandro Obregón, Colombian painter, sculptor, and engraver (b. 1920)
  • 1996 – Jessica Dubroff, American pilot (b. 1988)
  • 1997 – Muriel McQueen Fergusson, Canadian lawyer and politician, Canadian Speaker of the Senate (b. 1899)
  • 1997 – Wang Xiaobo, contemporary Chinese novelist and essayist (b. 1952)
  • 1999 – William H. Armstrong, American author and educator (b. 1911)
  • 2000 – Diana Darvey, English actress, singer and dancer (b. 1945)
  • 2001 – Harry Secombe, Welsh-English actor (b. 1921)
  • 2003 – Cecil Howard Green, English-American geophysicist and businessman, founded Texas Instruments (b. 1900)
  • 2005 – André François, Romanian-French cartoonist, painter, and sculptor (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer and coach (b. 1907)
  • 2006 – June Pointer, American singer (b. 1953)
  • 2006 – DeShaun Holton, American rapper and actor (b. 1973)
  • 2007 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (b. 1922)
  • 2007 – Loïc Leferme, French diver (b. 1970)
  • 2007 – Janet McDonald, American lawyer and author (b. 1954)
  • 2007 – Ronald Speirs, Scottish-American colonel (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – Kurt Vonnegut, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1922)
  • 2008 – Merlin German, American sergeant (b. 1985)
  • 2009 – Gerda Gilboe, Danish actress and singer (b. 1914)
  • 2009 – Vishnu Prabhakar, Indian author and playwright (b. 1912)
  • 2009 – Corín Tellado, Spanish author (b. 1927)
  • 2010 – Julia Tsenova, Bulgarian pianist and composer (b. 1948)
  • 2011 – Larry Sweeney, American wrestler and manager (b. 1981)
  • 2012 – Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian soldier and politician, 1st President of Algeria (b. 1916)
  • 2012 – Roger Caron, Canadian criminal and author (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – Tippy Dye, American basketball player and coach (b. 1915)
  • 2012 – Hal McKusick, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and flute player (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Agustin Roman, American bishop (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Don Blackman, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1953)
  • 2013 – Grady Hatton, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Thomas Hemsley, English actor and singer (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Hilary Koprowski, Polish-American virologist and immunologist (b. 1916)
  • 2013 – Gilles Marchal, French singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
  • 2013 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Clorindo Testa, Italian-Argentinian architect (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Jonathan Winters, American comedian, actor and screenwriter (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Rolf Brem, Swiss sculptor and illustrator (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Edna Doré, English actress (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Bill Henry, American baseball player (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Lou Hudson, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1944)
  • 2014 – Myer S. Kripke, American rabbi and scholar (b. 1914)
  • 2014 – Sergey Nepobedimy, Russian engineer (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Jesse Winchester, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
  • 2015 – Jimmy Gunn, American football player (b. 1948)
  • 2015 – Muhammad Kamaruzzaman, Bangladeshi journalist and politician (b. 1952)
  • 2015 – François Maspero, French journalist and author (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Hanut Singh, Indian general (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Tekena Tamuno, Nigerian historian and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2017 – J. Geils, American singer and guitarist (b. 1946)
  • 2017 – Mark Wainberg, Canadian researcher and HIV/AIDS activist (b. 1945)
  • 2020 – John Horton Conway, English mathematician (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances on April 11

  • Christian feast day:
    • Antipas of Pergamum (Greek Orthodox Church)
    • Gemma Galgani
    • Godeberta
    • Guthlac of Crowland
    • George Selwyn (Anglicanism)
    • Stanislaus of Szczepanów
    • April 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Juan Santamaría Day, anniversary of his death in the Second Battle of Rivas. (Costa Rica)
  • International Louie Louie Day
  • World Parkinson’s Day

April 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 4- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
  • 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
  • 852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
  • 938 – Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.
  • 1152 – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of Germany.
  • 1238 – The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus’.
  • 1351 – Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.
  • 1386 – Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) is crowned King of Poland.
  • 1461 – Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his House of York cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.
  • 1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what are now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
  • 1519 – Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.
  • 1628 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.
  • 1665 – English King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands marking the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
  • 1675 – John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.
  • 1681 – Charles II grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
  • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon, leading the British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston.
  • 1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect. The United States Bill of Rights is written and proposed to Congress.
  • 1790 – France is divided into 83 départements, cutting across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.
  • 1791 – The Constitutional Act of 1791 is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).
  • 1791 – Vermont is admitted to the United States as the fourteenth state.
  • 1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.
  • 1797 – John Adams is inaugurated as the 2nd President of the United States of America, becoming the first President to begin his presidency on March 4.
  • 1804 – Castle Hill Rebellion: Irish convicts rebel against British colonial authority in the Colony of New South Wales.
  • 1813 – Cyril VI of Constantinople is elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
  • 1814 – Americans defeat British forces at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
  • 1837 – The city of Chicago is incorporated.
  • 1848 – Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d’Italia.
  • 1849 – President-Elect Zachary Taylor and Vice President-Elect Millard Fillmore did not take their respective oaths of office (they did so the following day), leading to the erroneous theory that outgoing President pro tempore of the United States Senate David Rice Atchison had assumed the role of acting president for one day.
  • 1861 – The first national flag of the Confederate States of America (the “Stars and Bars”) is adopted.
  • 1865 – The third and final national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted by the Confederate Congress.
  • 1882 – Britain’s first electric trams run in east London.
  • 1890 – The longest bridge in Great Britain, the Forth Bridge in Scotland, measuring 1,710 feet (520 m) long, is opened by the Duke of Rothesay, later King Edward VII.
  • 1899 – Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 metres (39 ft) wave that reaches up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland, killing over 300.
  • 1908 – The Collinwood school fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.
  • 1909 – U.S. President William Taft used what became known as a Saxbe fix, a mechanism to avoid the restriction of the U.S. Constitution’s Ineligibility Clause, to appoint Philander C. Knox as U.S. Secretary of State.
  • 1913 – First Balkan War: The Greek army engages the Turks at Bizani, resulting in victory two days later.
  • 1913 – The United States Department of Labor is formed.
  • 1917 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
  • 1933 – Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States.
  • 1933 – Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet.
  • 1933 – The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure – Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates an authoritarian rule by decree.
  • 1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands; the first large scale British Commando raid.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea in the south-west Pacific comes to an end.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Fardykambos, one of the first major battles between the Greek Resistance and the occupying Royal Italian Army, begins. It ends on 6 March with the surrender of an entire Italian battalion and the liberation of the town of Grevena.
  • 1944 – World War II: After the success of Big Week, the USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.
  • 1957 – The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.
  • 1960 – The French freighter La Coubre explodes in Havana, Cuba, killing 100.
  • 1962 – A Caledonian Airways Douglas DC-7 crashes shortly after takeoff from Cameroon, killing 111 – the worst crash of a DC-7.
  • 1966 – A Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.
  • 1966 – In an interview in the London Evening Standard, The Beatles’ John Lennon declares that the band is “more popular than Jesus now”.
  • 1970 – French submarine Eurydice explodes underwater, resulting in the loss of the entire 57-man crew.
  • 1974 – People magazine is published for the first time in the United States as People Weekly.
  • 1976 – The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London by the British parliament.
  • 1977 – The 1977 Vrancea earthquake in eastern and southern Europe kills more than 1,500, mostly in Bucharest, Romania.
  • 1980 – Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe’s first black prime minister.
  • 1985 – The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.
  • 1986 – The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Halley’s Comet and the first images of its nucleus.
  • 1990 – American basketball player Hank Gathers dies after collapsing during the semifinals of a West Coast Conference Tournament game.
  • 1996 – A derailed train in Weyauwega, Wisconsin (USA) causes the emergency evacuation of 2,300 people for 16 days.
  • 1998 – Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
  • 2001 – BBC bombing: A massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring one person; the attack was attributed to the Real IRA.
  • 2002 – Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers and 200 Al-Qaeda Fighters are killed as American forces attempt to infiltrate the Shah-i-Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
  • 2009 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.
  • 2012 – A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, killing at least 250 people.
  • 2015 – At least 34 miners die in a suspected gas explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in the rebel-held Donetsk region of Ukraine.
  • 2018 – Former MI6 spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England, causing a diplomatic uproar that results in mass-expulsions of diplomats from all countries involved.
  • 2019 – The Indian Attack submarine was spotted by the Pakistan Navy.
  • 2020 – Former Daredevil Nik Wallenda is the first person to walk over the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.

Births on March 4

  • 895 – Liu Zhiyuan, founder of the Later Han Dynasty (d. 948)
  • 977 – Al-Musabbihi, Fatimid historian and official (d. 1030)
  • 1188 – Blanche of Castile, French queen consort (d. 1252)
  • 1394 – Henry the Navigator, Portuguese explorer (d. 1460)
  • 1484 – George, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1543)
  • 1492 – Francesco de Layolle, Italian organist and composer (d. 1540)
  • 1502 – Elisabeth of Hesse, princess of Saxony (d. 1557)
  • 1519 – Hindal Mirza, Mughal emperor (d. 1551)
  • 1526 – Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (d. 1596)
  • 1602 – Kanō Tan’yū, Japanese painter (d. 1674)
  • 1634 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, Polish philosopher (d. 1689)
  • 1651 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English lawyer, jurist, and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1716)
  • 1655 – Fra Galgario, Italian painter (d. 1743)
  • 1665 – Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish soldier (d. 1694)
  • 1678 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1741)
  • 1702 – Jack Sheppard, English criminal (d. 1724)
  • 1706 – Lauritz de Thurah, Danish architect, designed the Hermitage Hunting Lodge and Gammel Holtegård (d. 1759)
  • 1715 – James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, English historian and politician (d. 1763)
  • 1719 – George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot, English politician (d. 1777)
  • 1729 – Anne d’Arpajon, French wife of Philippe de Noailles (d. 1794)
  • 1745 – Charles Dibdin, English actor, playwright, and composer (d. 1814)
  • 1745 – Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American general (d. 1779)
  • 1756 – Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter and educator (d. 1823)
  • 1760 – William Payne, English painter (d. 1830)
  • 1760 – Hugh Ronalds, British nurseryman who cultivated and documented 300 varieties of apples (d. 1833)
  • 1769 – Muhammad Ali, Ottoman military leader and pasha (d. 1849)
  • 1770 – Joseph Jacotot, French philosopher and academic (d. 1840)
  • 1778 – Robert Emmet, Irish commander (d. 1803)
  • 1781 – Rebecca Gratz, American educator and philanthropist (d. 1869)
  • 1782 – Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss philosopher, author, and academic (d. 1830)
  • 1792 – Isaac Lea, American conchologist, geologist, and publisher (d. 1886)
  • 1793 – Karl Lachmann, German philologist and critic (d. 1851)
  • 1814 – Napoleon Collins, Rear Admiral of the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War (d. 1875)
  • 1817 – Edwards Pierrepont, American lawyer and politician, 34th United States Attorney General (d. 1892)
  • 1820 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian rebel leader (d. 1856)
  • 1822 – Jules Antoine Lissajous, French mathematician and academic (d. 1880)
  • 1823 – George Caron, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1902)
  • 1826 – August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German linguist, ethnographer, and theologian (d. 1907)
  • 1826 – John Buford, American general (d. 1863)
  • 1826 – Elme Marie Caro, French philosopher and academic (d. 1887)
  • 1826 – Theodore Judah, American engineer, founded the Central Pacific Railroad (d. 1863)
  • 1828 – Owen Wynne Jones, Welsh clergyman and poet (d. 1870)
  • 1838 – Paul Lacôme, French pianist, cellist, and composer (d. 1920)
  • 1847 – Carl Josef Bayer, Austrian chemist and academic (d. 1904)
  • 1851 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (d. 1911)
  • 1854 – Napier Shaw, English meteorologist and academic (d. 1945)
  • 1856 – Alfred William Rich, English painter, author, and educator (d. 1921)
  • 1861 – Arthur Cushman McGiffert, American theologian and author (d. 1933)
  • 1862 – Jacob Robert Emden, Swiss astrophysicist and meteorologist (d. 1940)
  • 1863 – R. I. Pocock, English zoologist and archaeologist (d. 1947)
  • 1863 – John Henry Wigmore, American academic and jurist (d. 1943)
  • 1864 – David W. Taylor, American admiral, architect, and engineer (d. 1940)
  • 1866 – Eugène Cosserat, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1931)
  • 1867 – Jacob L. Beilhart, American activist, founded the Spirit Fruit Society (d. 1908)
  • 1867 – Charles Pelot Summerall, senior United States Army officer (d. 1955)
  • 1870 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author and poet (d. 1944)
  • 1871 – Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)
  • 1873 – Guy Wetmore Carryl, American journalist and poet (d. 1904)
  • 1873 – John H. Trumbull, American colonel and politician, 70th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1961)
  • 1875 – Mihály Károlyi, Hungarian politician, President of the Hungary (d. 1955)
  • 1875 – Enrique Larreta, Argentinian historian and author (d. 1961)
  • 1876 – Léon-Paul Fargue, French poet and author (d. 1947)
  • 1876 – Theodore Hardeen, Hungarian-American magician (d. 1945)
  • 1877 – Alexander Goedicke, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1957)
  • 1877 – Fritz Graebner, German geographer and ethnologist (d. 1934)
  • 1877 – Garrett Morgan, African-American inventor (d. 1963)
  • 1878 – Takeo Arishima, Japanese author and critic (d. 1923)
  • 1878 – Egbert Van Alstyne, American pianist and songwriter (d. 1951)
  • 1879 – Bernhard Kellermann, German author and poet (d. 1951)
  • 1880 – Channing Pollock, American playwright and critic (d. 1946)
  • 1881 – Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian educator and activist (d. 1924)
  • 1881 – Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American lawyer and author (d. 1965)
  • 1881 – Richard C. Tolman, American physicist and chemist (d. 1948)
  • 1882 – Nicolae Titulescu, Romanian academic and politician, 61st Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1941)
  • 1883 – Maude Fealy, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1971)
  • 1883 – Robert Emmett Keane, American actor (d. 1981)
  • 1883 – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (d. 1956)
  • 1884 – Red Murray, American baseball player (d. 1958)
  • 1884 – Lee Shumway, American actor (d. 1959)
  • 1886 – Paul Bazelaire, French cellist and composer (d. 1958)
  • 1888 – Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-American actress (d. 1942)
  • 1888 – Jeff Pfeffer, American baseball player (d. 1972)
  • 1888 – Emma Richter, German paleontologist (d. 1956)
  • 1888 – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
  • 1889 – Oscar Chisini, Italian mathematician and statistician (d. 1967)
  • 1889 – Oren E. Long, American soldier and politician, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawaii (d. 1965)
  • 1889 – Pearl White, American actress (d. 1938)
  • 1889 – Robert William Wood, English-American painter (d. 1979)
  • 1890 – Norman Bethune, Canadian soldier and physician (d. 1939)
  • 1891 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (d. 1961)
  • 1893 – Charles Herbert Colvin, American engineer, co-founded the Pioneer Instrument Company (d. 1985)
  • 1893 – Adolph Lowe, German sociologist and economist (d. 1995)
  • 1894 – Charles Corm, Lebanese businessman and philanthropist (d. 1963)
  • 1895 – Milt Gross, American animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1953)
  • 1896 – Kai Holm, Danish actor and director (d. 1985)
  • 1897 – Lefty O’Doul, American baseball player and manager (d. 1969)
  • 1898 – Georges Dumézil, French philologist and academic (d. 1986)
  • 1898 – Hans Krebs, German general (d. 1945)
  • 1899 – Peter Illing, Austrian born, British film and television actor (d. 1966)
  • 1899 – Emilio Prados, Spanish poet and author (d. 1962)
  • 1900 – Herbert Biberman, American director and screenwriter (d. 1971)
  • 1901 – Wilbur R. Franks, Canadian scientist, invented the g-suit (d. 1986)
  • 1901 – Charles Goren, American bridge player and author (d. 1991)
  • 1901 – Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, Malagasy-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
  • 1902 – Rachel Messerer, Lithuanian-Russian actress (d. 1993)
  • 1902 – Russell Reeder, American soldier and author (d. 1998)
  • 1903 – William C. Boyd, American immunologist and chemist (d. 1983)
  • 1903 – Malcolm Dole, American chemist and academic (d. 1990)
  • 1903 – Dorothy Mackaill, English-American actress and singer (d. 1990)
  • 1903 – John Scarne, American magician and author (d. 1985)
  • 1904 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish admiral and politician, 69th President of the Government of Spain (d. 1973)
  • 1904 – George Gamow, Ukrainian-American physicist and cosmologist (d. 1968)
  • 1904 – Joseph Schmidt, Austrian-Hungarian tenor and actor (d. 1942)
  • 1906 – Meindert DeJong, Dutch-American soldier and author (d. 1991)
  • 1906 – Avery Fisher, American violinist and engineer, founded Fisher Electronics (d. 1994)
  • 1906 – Georges Ronsse, Belgian cyclist and manager (d. 1969)
  • 1907 – Edgar Barrier, American actor (d. 1964)
  • 1908 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (d. 1976)
  • 1908 – Thomas Shaw, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)
  • 1909 – Harry Helmsley, American businessman (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – George Edward Holbrook, American chemist and engineer (d. 1987)
  • 1910 – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (d. 1985)
  • 1911 – Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, English actor (d. 1984)
  • 1912 – Afro Basaldella, Italian painter and academic (d. 1976)
  • 1912 – Ferdinand Leitner, German conductor and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – Carl Marzani, Italian-American activist and publisher (d. 1994)
  • 1913 – Taos Amrouche, Algerian singer and author (d. 1976)
  • 1913 – John Garfield, American actor and singer (d. 1952)
  • 1914 – Barbara Newhall Follett, American author (d. 1939)
  • 1914 – Ward Kimball, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1914 – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist, sculptor, and architect (d. 2000)
  • 1915 – László Csatáry, Hungarian art dealer (d. 2013)
  • 1915 – Frank Sleeman, Australian lieutenant and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2000)
  • 1915 – Carlos Surinach, Spanish-Catalan composer and conductor (d. 1997)
  • 1916 – William Alland, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1997)
  • 1916 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (d. 2000)
  • 1916 – Hans Eysenck, German-English psychologist and theorist (d. 1997)
  • 1917 – Clyde McCullough, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1982)
  • 1918 – Kurt Dahlmann, German pilot, lawyer, and journalist (d. 2017)
  • 1918 – Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Buck Baker, American race car driver (d. 2002)
  • 1919 – Tan Chee Khoon, Malaysian physician and politician (d. 1996)
  • 1920 – Jean Lecanuet, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 1993)
  • 1920 – Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish-English actor (d. 2002)
  • 1921 – Halim El-Dabh, Egyptian-American composer and educator (d. 2017)
  • 1921 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (d. 1987)
  • 1921 – Dinny Pails, English-Australian tennis player (d. 1986)
  • 1922 – Richard E. Cunha, American director and cinematographer (d. 2005)
  • 1922 – Dina Pathak, Indian actor and director (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Russell Freeburg, American journalist and author
  • 1923 – Francis King, English author and poet (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Patrick Moore, English astronomer and television host (d. 2012)
  • 1924 – Kenneth O’Donnell, American soldier and politician (d. 1977)
  • 1925 – Alan R. Battersby, English chemist and academic (d. 2018)
  • 1925 – Paul Mauriat, French conductor and composer (d. 2006)
  • 1926 – Henri de Contenson, French archaeologist and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1926 – Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma, French businessman, soldier and race car driver (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – Richard DeVos, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Amway (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – Pascual Pérez, Argentinian boxer (d. 1977)
  • 1926 – Don Rendell, English saxophonist and flute player (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Phil Batt, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Idaho
  • 1927 – Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978)
  • 1927 – Jacques Dupin, French poet and critic (d. 2012)
  • 1927 – Robert Orben, American magician and author
  • 1927 – Dick Savitt, American tennis player and businessman
  • 1928 – Samuel Adler, German-American composer and conductor
  • 1928 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (d. 2010)
  • 1929 – Bernard Haitink, Dutch violinist and conductor
  • 1929 – Peter Swerling, American theoretician and engineer (d. 2000)
  • 1931 – Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (d. 1997)
  • 1931 – Bob Johnson, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1991)
  • 1931 – William Henry Keeler, American cardinal (d. 2017)
  • 1931 – Alice Rivlin, American economist and politician (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Sigurd Jansen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and conductor
  • 1932 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist, photographer, and poet (d. 2007)
  • 1932 – Miriam Makeba, South African singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2008)
  • 1932 – Ed Roth, American illustrator (d. 2001)
  • 1932 – Frank Wells, American businessman (d. 1994)
  • 1933 – Nino Vaccarella, Italian race car driver
  • 1934 – Mario Davidovsky, Argentinian-American composer and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1934 – John Duffey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
  • 1934 – Anne Haney, American actress (d. 2001)
  • 1934 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Sandra Reynolds, South African tennis player
  • 1934 – Janez Strnad, Slovenian physicist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Edward Dębicki, Ukrainian-Polish poet and composer
  • 1935 – Bent Larsen, Danish chess player and author (d. 2010)
  • 1936 – Eric Allandale, Dominican trombonist and songwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1936 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (d. 1968)
  • 1936 – Aribert Reimann, German pianist and composer
  • 1937 – José Araquistáin, Spanish footballer
  • 1937 – William Deverell, Canadian lawyer, author, and activist
  • 1937 – Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1937 – Leslie H. Gelb, American journalist and author (d. 2019)
  • 1937 – Yuri Senkevich, Russian physician and explorer (d. 2003)
  • 1937 – Barney Wilen, French saxophonist and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1937 – Richard B. Wright, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2017)
  • 1938 – Anton Balasingham, Sri Lankan-English negotiator (d. 2006)
  • 1938 – Alpha Condé, Guinean politician, President of Guinea
  • 1938 – Allan Kornblum, American police officer and judge (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Angus MacLise, American drummer and composer (d. 1979)
  • 1938 – Don Perkins, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1938 – Paula Prentiss, American actress
  • 1938 – Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1939 – Jack Fisher, American baseball player
  • 1939 – Robert Shaye, American film producer
  • 1940 – Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, German scholar and judge
  • 1940 – David Plante, American novelist
  • 1941 – John Hancock, American film and television actor (d. 1992)
  • 1941 – Adrian Lyne, English director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1941 – James Zagel, American lawyer and judge
  • 1942 – Gloria Gaither, American singer-songwriter
  • 1942 – Charles C. Krulak, American general
  • 1942 – David Matthews, American keyboard player and composer
  • 1942 – Lynn Sherr, American journalist and author
  • 1942 – James Gustave Speth, American lawyer and politician
  • 1942 – Zorán Sztevanovity, Serbian-Hungarian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Lucio Dalla, Italian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2012)
  • 1943 – Aldo Rico, Argentinian commander and politician
  • 1944 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (d. 1999)
  • 1944 – Anthony Ichiro Sanda, Japanese-American physicist and academic
  • 1944 – Len Walker, English footballer and manager
  • 1944 – Bobby Womack, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1945 – Tommy Svensson, Swedish footballer and manager
  • 1945 – Gary Williams, American basketball player and coach
  • 1946 – Michael Ashcroft, English businessman and politician
  • 1946 – Danny Frisella, American baseball player (d. 1977)
  • 1946 – Haile Gerima, Ethiopian born US filmmaker
  • 1946 – Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, American journalist and author
  • 1947 – David Franzoni, American screenwriter and film producer
  • 1947 – Jan Garbarek, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
  • 1947 – Bob Lewis, American guitarist
  • 1947 – Pēteris Plakidis, Latvian pianist and composer (d. 2017)
  • 1948 – Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, New Zealand-Australian author
  • 1948 – James Ellroy, American writer
  • 1948 – Tom Grieve, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1948 – Mike Moran, English musician, songwriter and record producer
  • 1948 – Jean O’Leary, American nun and activist (d. 2005)
  • 1948 – Chris Squire, English singer-songwriter and bass guitarist (d. 2015)
  • 1948 – Shakin’ Stevens, British singer-songwriter
  • 1949 – Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian politician, 2nd President of Abkhazia (d. 2011)
  • 1949 – Carroll Baker, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1950 – Ofelia Medina, Mexican actress and screenwriter
  • 1950 – Rick Perry, American captain and politician, 47th Governor of Texas
  • 1950 – Safet Plakalo, Bosnian author and playwright (d. 2015)
  • 1951 – Edelgard Bulmahn, German educator and politician, German Federal Minister of Education and Research
  • 1951 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, South Korean-American author, director, and producer (d. 1982)
  • 1951 – Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1951 – Pete Haycock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
  • 1951 – Peter O’Sullivan, Welsh international footballer, winger
  • 1951 – Sam Perlozzo, American baseball player and manager
  • 1951 – Chris Rea, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – Glenis Willmott, English scientist and politician
  • 1951 – Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
  • 1952 – Peter Kuhfeld, English painter
  • 1952 – Ronn Moss, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1952 – Svend Robinson, American-Canadian lawyer and politician
  • 1952 – Umberto Tozzi, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1953 – John Edwards, Australian director and producer
  • 1953 – Emilio Estefan, Cuban-American drummer and producer
  • 1953 – Paweł Janas, Polish footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Ray Price, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1953 – Reinhold Roth, German motorcycle racer
  • 1953 – Chris Smith, American lawyer and politician
  • 1953 – Agustí Villaronga, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1953 – Daniel Woodrell, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1954 – Timur Apakidze, Russian general and pilot (d. 2001)
  • 1954 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Korean American author (d. 1982)
  • 1954 – François Fillon, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France
  • 1954 – Peter Jacobsen, American golfer and sportscaster
  • 1954 – Catherine O’Hara, Canadian-American actress and comedian
  • 1954 – Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian poet and author (d. 2017)
  • 1955 – Tim Costello, Australian minister and politician
  • 1955 – Joey Jones, Welsh footballer and manager
  • 1957 – Nicholas Coleridge, English journalist and businessman
  • 1957 – Ron Fassler, American film and television actor and author
  • 1957 – Mykelti Williamson, American actor and director
  • 1958 – Patricia Heaton, American actress
  • 1958 – Massimo Mascioletti, Italian rugby player and coach
  • 1958 – Tina Smith, American politician, junior senator of Minnesota
  • 1959 – Rick Ardon, Australian journalist
  • 1959 – Plamen Getov, Bulgarian footballer
  • 1960 – Chonda Pierce, American comedian
  • 1961 – Ray Mancini, American boxer
  • 1961 – Steven Weber, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Roger Wessels, South African golfer and educator
  • 1962 – Simon Bisley, English author and illustrator
  • 1962 – Paul Canoville, English footballer
  • 1962 – Stephan Reimertz, German historian and author
  • 1963 – Jason Newsted, American heavy metal singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1964 – Dave Colclough, Welsh computer programmer and poker player (d. 2016)
  • 1964 – Brian Crowley, Irish lawyer and politician
  • 1964 – Tom Lampkin, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Paolo Virzì, Italian director and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Greg Alexander, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
  • 1965 – Paul W. S. Anderson, English director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Andrew Collins, English journalist and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Khaled Hosseini, Afghan-born American novelist
  • 1965 – Yury Lonchakov, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1965 – John Murphy British film composer
  • 1966 – Emese Hunyady, Hungarian speed skater
  • 1966 – Kevin Johnson, American basketball player and politician, 55th Mayor of Sacramento
  • 1966 – Fiona Ma, American accountant and politician
  • 1966 – Helmut Mayer, Austrian skier
  • 1966 – Glen Nissen, Australian rugby league player
  • 1966 – Dav Pilkey, American author and illustrator
  • 1966 – Grand Puba, American rapper
  • 1966 – Mike Small, American golfer and coach
  • 1967 – Daryll Cullinan, South African cricketer and coach
  • 1967 – Evan Dando, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1967 – Ivan Lewis, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
  • 1967 – Terry Matterson, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1967 – Dave Rayner, English cyclist (d. 1994)
  • 1967 – Sam Taylor-Johnson, English filmmaker and photographer
  • 1967 – Kubilay Türkyilmaz, Swiss footballer
  • 1967 – Tim Vine, English comedian, actor, and author
  • 1968 – Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1968 – Jorge Celedón, Colombian singer
  • 1968 – Patsy Kensit, English model and actress
  • 1968 – Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek banker and politician, Prime Minister of Greece
  • 1968 – Graham Westley, English footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Wayne Collins, English footballer, midfielder
  • 1969 – Annie Yi, Taiwanese singer, actress, and writer
  • 1970 – Àlex Crivillé, Spanish motorcycle racer
  • 1970 – Will Keen, English actor
  • 1970 – Caroline Vis, Dutch tennis player
  • 1971 – Iain Baird, Canadian soccer player and manager
  • 1971 – Claire Baker, Scottish politician
  • 1971 – Emily Bazelon, American journalist
  • 1971 – Jason Croot, English actor and director
  • 1971 – Anders Kjølholm, Danish bass player
  • 1971 – Satoshi Motoyama, Japanese race car driver
  • 1971 – Geraldine O’Rawe, Northern Irish actress
  • 1972 – Katherine Center, American journalist and author
  • 1972 – Nocturno Culto, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1972 – Robert Smith, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Ivy Queen, Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, rapper, actress and record producer
  • 1972 – Jos Verstappen, Dutch race car driver
  • 1972 – Alison Wheeler, English singer-songwriter
  • 1973 – Massimo Brambilla, Italian footballer and coach
  • 1973 – Phillip Daniels, American football player and coach
  • 1973 – Valery Kobelev, Russian ski jumper
  • 1973 – Penny Mordaunt, English lieutenant and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
  • 1973 – Linus of Hollywood, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1973 – Len Wiseman, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, Indian director and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Crowbar, American wrestler
  • 1974 – Mladen Krstajić, Serbian footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Karol Kučera, Slovak tennis player
  • 1974 – Ariel Ortega, Argentinian footballer
  • 1974 – Tommy Phelps, South Korean-American baseball player and coach
  • 1974 – ICS Vortex, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – David Wagner, American tennis player and educator
  • 1974 – Bill Young, Australian rugby player
  • 1975 – Mats Eilertsen, Norwegian bassist and composer
  • 1975 – Patrick Femerling, German basketball player
  • 1975 – Antti Aalto, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Kristi Harrower, Australian basketball player
  • 1975 – Hawksley Workman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Robbie Blake, English footballer
  • 1976 – Tommy Jönsson, Swedish footballer
  • 1977 – Nacho Figueras, Argentinian polo player and model
  • 1977 – Traver Rains, American fashion designer and photographer
  • 1978 – Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Denis Dallan, Italian rugby player and singer
  • 1978 – Jean-Marc Pelletier, American ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Sarah Stock, Canadian wrestler and trainer
  • 1980 – Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis player
  • 1980 – Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
  • 1980 – Suzanna Choffel, American singer-songwriter
  • 1980 – Giedrius Gustas, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1980 – Scott Hamilton, New Zealand rugby player and coach
  • 1980 – Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
  • 1980 – Michael Henrich, American ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Phil McGuire, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1980 – Aja Volkman, American singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Ariza Makukula, Portuguese footballer
  • 1981 – Helen Wyman, English cyclist
  • 1982 – Landon Donovan, American soccer player and coach
  • 1982 – Cate Edwards, American lawyer and author
  • 1982 – Ludmila Ezhova, Russian gymnast
  • 1982 – Yasemin Mori, Turkish singer
  • 1983 – Samuel Contesti, French-Italian figure skater
  • 1983 – Adam Deacon, English film actor, rapper, writer and director
  • 1983 – Jaque Fourie, South African rugby player
  • 1983 – Drew Houston, American billionaire and Internet entrepreneur
  • 1984 – Josh Bowman, English actor
  • 1984 – Tamir Cohen, Israeli footballer
  • 1984 – Anders Grøndal, Norwegian race car driver
  • 1984 – Spencer Larsen, American football player
  • 1984 – Jeremy Loops, South African singer-songwriter and record producer
  • 1984 – Raven Quinn, American singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Zak Whitbread, American-English footballer
  • 1985 – Jake Buxton, English footballer
  • 1985 – Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player
  • 1985 – Whitney Port, American fashion designer and author
  • 1986 – Steven Burke, English road and track cyclist
  • 1986 – Tom De Mul, Belgian footballer
  • 1986 – Mike Krieger, Brazilian-American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram
  • 1986 – Siim Roops, Estonian footballer
  • 1986 – Bohdan Shust, Ukrainian footballer
  • 1986 – Manu Vatuvei, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1986 – Margo Harshman, American actress
  • 1987 – Ben McKinley, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Cameron Wood, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Tamzin Merchant, English actress
  • 1988 – Gal Mekel, Israeli basketball player
  • 1988 – Laura Siegemund, German tennis player
  • 1988 – Adam Watts, English footballer
  • 1989 – Benjamin Kiplagat, Ugandan long-distance runner
  • 1990 – Andrea Bowen, American actress
  • 1990 – Draymond Green, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Paddy Madden, Irish footballer
  • 1990 – Fran Mérida, Spanish footballer
  • 1992 – Nick Castellanos, American baseball player
  • 1992 – Erik Lamela, Argentinian international footballer, midfielder
  • 1992 – Bernd Leno, German footballer
  • 1992 – Karl Mööl, Estonian footballer
  • 1993 – Bobbi Kristina Brown, American singer and actress (d. 2015)
  • 1993 – Richard Peniket, English footballer
  • 1994 – Callum Harriott, English footballer
  • 1994 – AJ Tracey, British hip-hop artist and record producer
  • 1995 – Chlöe Howl, British singer-songwriter
  • 1995 – Bill Milner, English actor
  • 1996 – Lukas Webb, Australian rules footballer
  • 2002 – Jacob Hopkins, American actor

Deaths on March 4

  • 306 – Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia, Christian martyrs
  • 480 – Landry of Sées, French bishop and saint
  • 561 – Pelagius I, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 934 – Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, Fatimid caliph (b. 873)
  • 1172 – Stephen III, king of Hungary (b. 1147)
  • 1193 – Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid Sultanate (b. 1137)
  • 1238 – Joan of England, queen of Scotland (b. 1210)
  • 1238 – Yuri II, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1189)
  • 1303 – Daniel of Moscow, Russian Grand Duke (b. 1261)
  • 1314 – Jakub Świnka, Polish priest and archbishop
  • 1371 – Jeanne d’Évreux, queen consort of France (b. 1310)
  • 1388 – Thomas Usk, English author
  • 1484 – Saint Casimir, Polish prince (b. 1458)
  • 1496 – Sigismund, archduke of Austria (b. 1427)
  • 1583 – Bernard Gilpin, English priest and theologian (b. 1517)
  • 1604 – Fausto Sozzini, Italian theologian and educator (b. 1539)
  • 1615 – Hans von Aachen, German painter and educator (b. 1552)
  • 1710 – Louis III, duke of Bourbon (b. 1668)
  • 1733 – Claude de Forbin, French admiral and politician (b. 1656)
  • 1744 – John Anstis, English historian and politician (b. 1669)
  • 1762 – Johannes Zick, German painter (b. 1702)
  • 1793 – Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre (b. 1725)
  • 1795 – John Collins, American politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1717)
  • 1805 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (b. 1725)
  • 1807 – Abraham Baldwin, American minister, lawyer, and politician (b. 1754)
  • 1811 – Mariano Moreno, Argentinian journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1778)
  • 1832 – Jean-François Champollion, French philologist and scholar (b. 1790)
  • 1851 – James Richardson, English explorer (b. 1809)
  • 1852 – Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, novelist, and playwright (b. 1809)
  • 1853 – Thomas Bladen Capel, English admiral (b. 1776)
  • 1853 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1774)
  • 1858 – Matthew C. Perry, American naval commander (b. 1794)
  • 1864 – Thomas Starr King, American minister and politician (b. 1824)
  • 1866 – Alexander Campbell, Irish-American minister and theologian (b. 1788)
  • 1872 – Carsten Hauch, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1790)
  • 1883 – Alexander H. Stephens, American lawyer and politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1812)
  • 1888 – Amos Bronson Alcott, American philosopher and educator (b. 1799)
  • 1903 – Joseph Henry Shorthouse, English author (b. 1834)
  • 1906 – John Schofield, American general and politician, 28th United States Secretary of War (b. 1831)
  • 1915 – William Willett, English inventor, founded British Summer Time (b. 1856)
  • 1916 – Franz Marc, German painter (b. 1880)
  • 1925 – Moritz Moszkowski, Polish-German pianist and composer (b. 1854)
  • 1925 – James Ward, English psychologist and philosopher (b. 1843)
  • 1925 – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player and manager (b. 1860)
  • 1927 – Ira Remsen, American chemist and academic (b. 1846)
  • 1938 – George Foster Peabody, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1852)
  • 1938 – Jack Taylor, American baseball player (b. 1874)
  • 1940 – Hamlin Garland, American novelist, poet, essayist, and short story writer (b. 1860)
  • 1941 – Ludwig Quidde, German activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
  • 1944 – Fannie Barrier Williams, American educator and activist (b. 1855)
  • 1944 – Louis Buchalter, American mob boss (b. 1897)
  • 1944 – Louis Capone, Italian-American gangster (b. 1896)
  • 1944 – René Lefebvre, French businessman (b. 1879)
  • 1945 – Lucille La Verne, American actress (b. 1872)
  • 1945 – Mark Sandrich, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
  • 1948 – Antonin Artaud, French actor and director (b. 1896)
  • 1949 – Clarence Kingsbury, English cyclist (b. 1882)
  • 1952 – Charles Scott Sherrington, English neurophysiologist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
  • 1954 – Noel Gay, English composer and songwriter (b. 1898)
  • 1960 – Herbert O’Conor, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 51st Governor of Maryland (b. 1896)
  • 1963 – William Carlos Williams, American poet, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1883)
  • 1969 – Nicholas Schenck, Russian-American businessman (b. 1881)
  • 1972 – Harold Barrowclough, New Zealand general, lawyer, and politician, 8th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1894)
  • 1972 – Charles Biro, American author and illustrator (b. 1911)
  • 1974 – Adolph Gottlieb, American painter and sculptor (b. 1903)
  • 1976 – John Marvin Jones, American judge and politician (b. 1882)
  • 1976 – Walter H. Schottky, Swiss-German physicist and engineer (b. 1886)
  • 1977 – Anatol E. Baconsky, Romanian poet, author, and critic (b. 1925)
  • 1977 – Nancy Tyson Burbidge, Australian botanist and curator (b. 1912)
  • 1977 – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1951)
  • 1977 – William Paul, American lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
  • 1977 – Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, German jurist and politician, German Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1887)
  • 1978 – Wesley Bolin, American businessman and politician, 15th Governor of Arizona (b. 1909)
  • 1978 – Joe Marsala, American clarinet player and songwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1979 – Willi Unsoeld, American mountaineer and educator (b. 1926)
  • 1980 – Alan Hardaker, English lieutenant and businessman (b. 1912)
  • 1981 – Torin Thatcher, American actor (b. 1905)
  • 1981 – Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer, German admiral (b. 1900)
  • 1986 – Albert L. Lehninger, American biochemist and academic (b. 1917)
  • 1986 – Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1943)
  • 1986 – Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and author (b. 1913)
  • 1987 – Seibo Kitamura, Japanese sculptor (b. 1884)
  • 1988 – Beatriz Guido, Argentine author and screenwriter (b. 1924)
  • 1989 – Tiny Grimes, American guitarist (b. 1916)
  • 1990 – Hank Gathers, American basketball player (b. 1967)
  • 1991 – Godfrey Bryan, English cricketer (b. 1902)
  • 1992 – Art Babbitt, American animator and director (b. 1907)
  • 1992 – Pare Lorentz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905)
  • 1993 – Art Hodes, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (b. 1904)
  • 1993 – Tomislav Ivčić, Croatian singer-songwriter and politician (b. 1953)
  • 1993 – Izaak Kolthoff, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1894)
  • 1993 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Environment (b. 1929)
  • 1994 – John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (b. 1950)
  • 1994 – George Edward Hughes, Irish-Scottish philosopher and author (b. 1918)
  • 1995 – Matt Urban, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
  • 1996 – Minnie Pearl, American entertainer (b. 1912)
  • 1996 – John Sauer, American football player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1925)
  • 1997 – Joe Baker-Cresswell, English captain (b. 1901)
  • 1997 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (b. 1916)
  • 1998 – Ivan Dougherty, Australian general (b. 1907)
  • 1999 – Harry Blackmun, American lawyer and judge (b. 1908)
  • 1999 – Del Close, American actor and educator (b. 1934)
  • 1999 – Miłosz Magin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1929)
  • 2000 – Hermann Brück, German-Scottish physicist and astronomer (b. 1905)
  • 2000 – Michael Noonan, New Zealand-Australian author and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2000 – Ta-You Wu, Chinese physicist and academic (b. 1907)
  • 2001 – Gerardo Barbero, Argentinian chess player (b. 1961)
  • 2001 – Jean René Bazaine, French painter and author (b. 1904)
  • 2001 – Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916)
  • 2001 – Jim Rhodes, American businessman and politician, 61st Governor of Ohio (b. 1909)
  • 2001 – Harold Stassen, American educator and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1907)
  • 2002 – Ugnė Karvelis, Lithuanian author and translator (b. 1935)
  • 2002 – Elyne Mitchell, Australian skier and author (b. 1913)
  • 2002 – Velibor Vasović, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
  • 2003 – Jaba Ioseliani, Georgian playwright, academic, and politician (b. 1926)
  • 2003 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, screenwriter, and director (b. 1931)
  • 2004 – Claude Nougaro, French singer-songwriter (b. 1929)
  • 2005 – Nicola Calipari, Italian general (b. 1953)
  • 2005 – Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukrainian police officer and politician (b. 1951)
  • 2005 – Carlos Sherman, Uruguayan-Belarusian author and activist (b. 1934)
  • 2006 – John Reynolds Gardiner, American author and engineer (b. 1944)
  • 2006 – Edgar Valter, Estonian author and illustrator (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Thomas Eagleton, American lawyer and politician, 38th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Tadeusz Nalepa, Polish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
  • 2007 – Ian Wooldridge, English journalist (b. 1932)
  • 2008 – Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1938)
  • 2008 – Leonard Rosenman, American composer and conductor (b. 1924)
  • 2009 – Yvon Cormier, Canadian wrestler (b. 1938)
  • 2009 – Horton Foote, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1916)
  • 2009 – George McAfee, American football player (b. 1918)
  • 2010 – Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect and educator, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – Johnny Alf, Brazilian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
  • 2010 – Vladislav Ardzinba, Abkhazian historian and politician, 1st President of Abkhazia (b. 1945)
  • 2010 – Fred Wedlock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
  • 2011 – Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Nepalese journalist and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
  • 2011 – Vivienne Harris, English journalist and publisher, co-founded the Jewish Telegraph (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Ed Manning, American basketball player and coach (b. 1943)
  • 2011 – Arjun Singh, Indian politician (b. 1930)
  • 2011 – Alenush Terian, Iranian astronomer and physicist (b. 1920)
  • 2011 – Simon van der Meer, Dutch-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Paul McBride, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1965)
  • 2012 – Don Mincher, American baseball player (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Lillian Cahn, Hungarian-American businesswoman, co-founded Coach, Inc. (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Mickey Moore, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914)
  • 2013 – Toren Smith, Canadian businessman, founded Studio Proteus (b. 1960)
  • 2014 – Mark Freidkin, Russian author and poet (b. 1953)
  • 2014 – Elaine Kellett-Bowman, English lawyer and politician (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Jack Kinzler, American engineer (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Wu Tianming, Chinese director and producer (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Dušan Bilandžić, Croatian historian and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Ray Hatton, English-American runner, author, and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2016 – Bud Collins, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1929)
  • 2016 – Pat Conroy, American author (b. 1945)
  • 2016 – P. A. Sangma, Indian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1947)
  • 2016 – Zhou Xiaoyan, Chinese soprano and educator (b. 1917)
  • 2017 – Clayton Yeutter, American politician (b. 1930)
  • 2018 – Davide Astori, Italian soccer player (b. 1987)
  • 2019 – Keith Flint, English singer (The Prodigy) (b. 1969)
  • 2019 – Luke Perry, American actor (b. 1966)
  • 2020 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian politician and diplomat

Holidays and observances on March 4

  • Christian feast day:
    • Adrian of Nicomedia
    • Casimir
    • Felix of Rhuys
    • Giovanni Antonio Farina (Catholic Church)
    • Blessed Humbert III, Count of Savoy (Roman Catholic Church)
    • Paul Cuffee (Episcopal Church)
    • Peter of Pappacarbone
    • Blessed Zoltán Meszlényi
    • March 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • St Casimir’s Day (Poland and Lithuania)

March 4- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day