1054

  • July 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1054 – Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland somewhere north of the Firth of Forth.
    • 1189 – Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Stefan Nemanja, during the Third Crusade.
    • 1202 – Georgian–Seljuk wars: At the Battle of Basian the Kingdom of Georgia defeats the Sultanate of Rum.
    • 1214 – Battle of Bouvines: Philip II of France decisively defeats Imperial, English and Flemish armies, effectively ending John of England’s Angevin Empire.
    • 1299 – According to Edward Gibbon, Osman I invades the territory of Nicomedia for the first time, usually considered to be the founding day of the Ottoman state.
    • 1302 – Battle of Bapheus: Decisive Ottoman victory over the Byzantines opening up Bithynia for Turkish conquest.
    • 1549 – The Jesuit priest Francis Xavier’s ship reaches Japan.
    • 1663 – The English Parliament passes the second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English ports. After the Acts of Union 1707, Scotland would be included in the Act.
    • 1689 – Glorious Revolution: The Battle of Killiecrankie is a victory for the Jacobites.
    • 1694 – A Royal charter is granted to the Bank of England.
    • 1775 – Founding of the U.S. Army Medical Department: The Second Continental Congress passes legislation establishing “an hospital for an army consisting of 20,000 men.”
    • 1778 – American Revolution: First Battle of Ushant: British and French fleets fight to a standoff.
    • 1789 – The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, is established (it will be later renamed Department of State).
    • 1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre is arrested after encouraging the execution of more than 17,000 “enemies of the Revolution”.
    • 1816 – Battle of Negro Fort: The battle ends when a hot shot cannonball fired by US Navy Gunboat No. 154 explodes the Fort’s Powder Magazine, killing approximately 275. It is considered the deadliest single cannon shot in US history.
    • 1857 – Siege of Arrah begins: Sixty-eight men hold out for eight days against a force of 2,500 to 3,000 mutinying sepoys and 8,000 irregular forces.
    • 1865 – Welsh settlers arrive at Chubut in Argentina.
    • 1866 – The first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.
    • 1880 – Second Anglo-Afghan War: Battle of Maiwand: Afghan forces led by Mohammad Ayub Khan defeat the British Army in battle near Maiwand, Afghanistan.
    • 1890 – Vincent van Gogh shoots himself and dies two days later.
    • 1900 – Kaiser Wilhelm II makes a speech comparing Germans to Huns; for years afterwards, “Hun” would be a disparaging name for Germans.
    • 1917 – World War I: The Allies reach the Yser Canal at the Battle of Passchendaele.
    • 1919 – The Chicago Race Riot erupts after a racial incident occurred on a South Side beach, leading to 38 fatalities and 537 injuries over a five-day period.
    • 1921 – Researchers at the University of Toronto, led by biochemist Frederick Banting, prove that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar.
    • 1929 – The Geneva Convention of 1929, dealing with treatment of prisoners-of-war, is signed by 53 nations.
    • 1940 – The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.
    • 1942 – World War II: Allied forces successfully halt the final Axis advance into Egypt.
    • 1949 – Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.
    • 1953 – Cessation of hostilities is achieved in the Korean War when the United States, China, and North Korea sign an armistice agreement. Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea, refuses to sign but pledges to observe the armistice.
    • 1955 – The Austrian State Treaty restores Austrian sovereignty.
    • 1955 – El Al Flight 402 is shot down by two fighter jets after straying into Bulgarian air space. All 58 people onboard are killed.
    • 1959 – The Continental League is announced as baseball’s “3rd major league” in the United States.
    • 1964 – Vietnam War: Five thousand more American military advisers are sent to South Vietnam bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000.
    • 1974 – Watergate scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon.
    • 1975 – Mayor of Jaffna and former MP Alfred Duraiappah is shot dead.
    • 1976 – Former Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka is arrested on suspicion of violating foreign exchange and foreign trade laws in connection with the Lockheed bribery scandals.
    • 1981 – While landing at Chihuahua International Airport, Aeromexico Flight 230 overshoots the runway. Thirty-two of the 66 passengers and crew on board the DC-9 are killed.[2]
    • 1983 – Black July: Eighteen Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by Sinhalese prisoners, the second such massacre in two days.
    • 1987 – RMS Titanic Inc. begins the first expedited salvage of wreckage of the RMS Titanic.
    • 1989 – While attempting to land at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, Korean Air Flight 803 crashes just short of the runway. Seventy-five of the 199 passengers and crew and four people on the ground are killed, in the second accident involving a DC-10 in less than two weeks, the first being United Airlines Flight 232.
    • 1990 – The Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian Soviet Republic declares independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union. Until 1996 the day is celebrated as the Independence Day of Belarus; after a referendum held that year the celebration of independence is moved to June 3.
    • 1990 – The Jamaat al Muslimeen attempt a coup d’état in Trinidad and Tobago.
    • 1995 – The Korean War Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
    • 1996 – In Atlanta, United States, a pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics.
    • 1997 – About 50 people are killed in the Si Zerrouk massacre in Algeria.
    • 2002 – Ukraine airshow disaster: A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes during an air show at Lviv, Ukraine killing 77 and injuring more than 500 others, making it the deadliest air show disaster in history.
    • 2005 – After an incident during STS-114, NASA grounds the Space Shuttle, pending an investigation of the continuing problem with the shedding of foam insulation from the external fuel tank.
    • 2015 – At least seven people are killed and many injured after gunmen attack an Indian police station in Punjab.
    • 2016 – At a news conference in Florida, U.S. Presidential Candidate Donald Trump publicly appealed to Russia to find and release private emails from Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton; a Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019) later alleged that Russian operatives began hacking into servers at the Democratic National Committee on that same day, leading to the July 13, 2018 indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers.[3]

    Births on July 27

    • 1452 – Ludovico Sforza, Italian son of Francesco I Sforza (d. 1508)
    • 1452 – Lucrezia Crivelli, mistress of Ludovico Sforza (d. 1508)
    • 1502 – Francesco Corteccia, Italian composer (d. 1571)
    • 1578 – Frances Howard, Duchess of Richmond (d. 1639)
    • 1612 – Murad IV, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1640)
    • 1625 – Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich (d. 1672)
    • 1667 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (d. 1748)
    • 1733 – Jeremiah Dixon, English surveyor and astronomer (d. 1779)
    • 1740 – Jeanne Baré, French explorer (d. 1803)
    • 1741 – François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, French-English violinist and composer (d. 1808)
    • 1752 – Samuel Smith, American general and politician (d. 1839)
    • 1768 – Charlotte Corday, French assassin of Jean-Paul Marat (d. 1793)
    • 1768 – Joseph Anton Koch, Austrian painter (d. 1839)
    • 1773 – Jacob Aall, Norwegian economist and politician (d. 1844)
    • 1777 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish-French poet and academic (d. 1844)
    • 1777 – Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, English general (d. 1853)
    • 1781 – Mauro Giuliani, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1828)
    • 1784 – Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (d. 1839)
    • 1812 – Thomas Lanier Clingman, American general and politician (d. 1897)
    • 1818 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (d. 1902)
    • 1824 – Alexandre Dumas, fils, French novelist and playwright (d. 1895)
    • 1833 – Thomas George Bonney, English geologist, mountaineer, and academic (d. 1923)
    • 1834 – Miguel Grau Seminario, Peruvian admiral (d. 1879)
    • 1835 – Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
    • 1848 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist and politician, Minister of Education of Hungary (d. 1919)
    • 1848 – Friedrich Ernst Dorn, German physicist (d.1916)
    • 1853 – Vladimir Korolenko, Ukrainian journalist, author, and activist (d. 1921)
    • 1853 – Elizabeth Plankinton, American philanthropist (d. 1923)
    • 1854 – Takahashi Korekiyo, Japanese accountant and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1936)
    • 1857 – José Celso Barbosa, Puerto Rican physician, sociologist, and politician (d. 1921)
    • 1857 – Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge, English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist (d.1934)
    • 1858 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (d. 1938)
    • 1866 – António José de Almeida, Portuguese physician and politician, 6th President of Portugal (d. 1929)
    • 1867 – Enrique Granados, Spanish pianist and composer (d. 1916)
    • 1870 – Hilaire Belloc, French-born British writer and historian (d. 1953)
    • 1872 – Stanislav Binički, Serbian composer, conductor, and pedagogue. (d. 1942)
    • 1879 – Francesco Gaeta, Italian poet (d. 1927)
    • 1877 – Ernő Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1960)
    • 1881 – Hans Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1945)
    • 1882 – Geoffrey de Havilland, English pilot and engineer, founded the de Havilland Aircraft Company (d. 1965)
    • 1886 – Ernst May, German architect and urban planner (d. 1970)
    • 1889 – Vera Karalli, Russian ballerina, choreographer, and actress (d. 1972)
    • 1890 – Benjamin Miessner, American radio engineer and inventor (d. 1976)
    • 1890 – Armas Taipale, Finnish discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1976)
    • 1891 – Jacob van der Hoeden, Dutch-Israeli veterinarian and academic (d. 1968)
    • 1893 – Ugo Agostoni, Italian cyclist (d. 1941)
    • 1894 – Mientje Kling, Dutch actress (d. 1966)
    • 1896 – Robert George, Scottish air marshal and politician, 24th Governor of South Australia (d. 1967)
    • 1896 – Henri Longchambon, French lawyer and politician (d. 1969)
    • 1899 – Percy Hornibrook, Australian cricketer (d. 1976)
    • 1902 – Yaroslav Halan, Ukrainian playwright and publicist (d. 1949)
    • 1903 – Nikolay Cherkasov, Russian actor (d. 1966)
    • 1903 – Michail Stasinopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, President of Greece (d. 2002)
    • 1903 – Mārtiņš Zīverts, Latvian playwright (d. 1990)
    • 1904 – Lyudmila Rudenko, Soviet chess player (d. 1986)
    • 1905 – Leo Durocher, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Jerzy Giedroyc, Polish author and activist (d. 2000)
    • 1906 – Herbert Jasper, Canadian psychologist and neurologist (d. 1999)
    • 1907 – Ross Alexander, American stage and film actor (d. 1937)
    • 1907 – Carl McClellan Hill, African American educator and academic administrator (d. 1995)
    • 1907 – Irene Fischer, Austrian-American geodesist and mathematician (d. 2009)
    • 1908 – Joseph Mitchell, American journalist and author (d. 1996)
    • 1910 – Julien Gracq, French author and critic (d. 2007)
    • 1910 – Lupita Tovar, Mexican-American actress (d. 2016)
    • 1911 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (d. 1981)
    • 1912 – Vernon Elliott, English bassoon player, composer, and conductor (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – George L. Street III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2000)
    • 1914 – August Sang, Estonian poet and translator (d. 1969)
    • 1915 – Mario Del Monaco, Italian tenor (d. 1982)
    • 1915 – Josef Priller, German colonel and pilot (d. 1961)
    • 1916 – Elizabeth Hardwick, American literary critic, novelist, and short story writer (d. 2007)
    • 1916 – Skippy Williams, American saxophonist and arranger (d. 1994)
    • 1916 – Keenan Wynn, American actor (d. 1986)
    • 1918 – Leonard Rose, American cellist and educator (d. 1984)
    • 1920 – Henry D. “Homer” Haynes, American comedian and musician (Homer and Jethro) (d. 1971)
    • 1921 – Garry Davis, American pilot and activist, created the World Passport (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Émile Genest, Canadian-American actor (d. 2003)
    • 1922 – Adolfo Celi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1986)
    • 1922 – Norman Lear, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1923 – Mas Oyama, South Korean-Japanese martial artist (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – Vincent Canby, American historian and critic (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Otar Taktakishvili, Georgian composer and conductor (d. 1989)
    • 1927 – Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Pierre Granier-Deferre, French director and screenwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1927 – Will Jordan, American comedian and actor (d. 2018)
    • 1927 – C. Rajadurai, Sri Lankan journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Batticaloa
    • 1927 – John Seigenthaler, American journalist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Joseph Kittinger, American colonel and pilot
    • 1929 – Jean Baudrillard, French sociologist and philosopher (d. 2007)
    • 1929 – Harvey Fuqua, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Jack Higgins, English author and academic
    • 1929 – Marc Wilkinson, French-Australian composer and conductor
    • 1930 – Joy Whitby, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1930 – Shirley Williams, English academic and politician, Secretary of State for Education
    • 1931 – Khieu Samphan, Cambodian academic and politician, 28th Prime Minister of Cambodia
    • 1931 – Jerry Van Dyke, American actor (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Forest Able, American basketball player
    • 1932 – Diane Webber, American model, dancer and actress
    • 1933 – Nick Reynolds, American singer and bongo player (d. 2008)
    • 1933 – Ted Whitten, Australian footballer and journalist (d. 1995)
    • 1935 – Hillar Kärner, Estonian chess player
    • 1935 – Billy McCullough, Northern Irish footballer
    • 1936 – J. Robert Hooper, American businessman and politician (d. 2008)
    • 1937 – Anna Dawson, English actress and singer
    • 1937 – Don Galloway, American actor (d. 2009)
    • 1937 – Robert Holmes à Court, South African-Australian businessman and lawyer (d. 1990)
    • 1938 – Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (d. 2008)
    • 1939 – William Eggleston, American photographer and academic
    • 1939 – Michael Longley, Northern Irish poet and academic
    • 1939 – Paulo Silvino, Brazilian comedian, composer and actor (d. 2017)
    • 1940 – Pina Bausch, German dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
    • 1941 – Christian Boesch, Austrian opera singer
    • 1941 – Johannes Fritsch, German viola player and composer (d. 2010)
    • 1942 – Édith Butler, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1942 – John Pleshette, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1942 – Dennis Ralston, American tennis player
    • 1943 – Jeremy Greenstock, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations
    • 1944 – Bobbie Gentry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1944 – Jean-Marie Leblanc, French cyclist and journalist
    • 1944 – Barbara Thomson, English saxophonist and composer
    • 1945 – Edmund M. Clarke, American computer scientist
    • 1946 – Peter Reading, English poet and author (d. 2011)
    • 1947 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese businessman (d. 2008)
    • 1947 – Betty Thomas, American actress, director, and producer
    • 1948 – Peggy Fleming, American figure skater and sportscaster
    • 1948 – James Munby, English lawyer and judge
    • 1948 – Henny Vrienten, Dutch singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1949 – Maury Chaykin, American-Canadian actor (d. 2010)
    • 1949 – André Dupont, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1949 – Rory MacDonald, Scottish singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1949 – Maureen McGovern, American singer and actress
    • 1949 – Robert Rankin, English author and illustrator
    • 1950 – Simon Jones, English actor
    • 1951 – Roseanna Cunningham, Scottish lawyer and politician, Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs
    • 1951 – Bob Diamond, American-English banker and businessman
    • 1951 – Rolf Thung, Dutch tennis player
    • 1952 – Marvin Barnes, American basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1952 – Roxanne Hart, American actress
    • 1953 – Chung Dong-young, South Korean journalist and politician, 31st South Korean Minister of Unification
    • 1953 – Yahoo Serious, Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Philippe Alliot, French race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1954 – G. S. Bali, Indian lawyer and politician
    • 1954 – Ricardo Uceda, Peruvian journalist and author
    • 1954 – Mark Stanway, English keyboard player Magnum
    • 1955 – Cat Bauer, American journalist, author, and playwright
    • 1955 – Allan Border, Australian cricketer and coach
    • 1955 – John Howell, English journalist and politician
    • 1955 – Bobby Rondinelli, American drummer
    • 1956 – Carol Leifer, American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer
    • 1957 – Bill Engvall, American comedian, actor, and producer
    • 1958 – Christopher Dean, English figure skater and choreographer
    • 1958 – Kimmo Hakola, Finnish composer
    • 1959 – Joe DeSa, American baseball player (d. 1986)
    • 1959 – Hugh Green, American football player
    • 1959 – Yiannos Papantoniou, French-Greek economist and politician, Greek Minister of National Defence
    • 1960 – Jo Durie, English tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Conway Savage, Australian singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2018)
    • 1960 – Emily Thornberry, English lawyer and politician
    • 1961 – Ed Orgeron, American football coach[4]
    • 1962 – Neil Brooks, Australian swimmer
    • 1962 – Karl Mueller, American bass player (d. 2005)
    • 1963 – Donnie Yen, Chinese-Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and martial artist
    • 1964 – Rex Brown, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1965 – José Luis Chilavert, Paraguayan footballer
    • 1966 – Steve Tilson, English footballer and manager
    • 1967 – Rahul Bose, Indian journalist, actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Juliana Hatfield, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1967 – Hans Mathisen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
    • 1967 – Neil Smith, English cricketer
    • 1967 – Craig Wolanin, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1968 – Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Italian actress and producer
    • 1968 – Tom Goodwin, American baseball player and coach
    • 1968 – Sabina Jeschke, Swedish-German engineer and academic
    • 1968 – Julian McMahon, Australian actor and producer
    • 1968 – Ricardo Rosset, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1969 – Triple H, American wrestler and actor
    • 1969 – Jonty Rhodes, South African cricketer and coach
    • 1970 – Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Danish actor and producer
    • 1970 – David Davies, English-Welsh politician
    • 1971 – Matthew Johns, Australian rugby league player, sportscaster and television host
    • 1972 – Clint Robinson, Australian kayaker[5]
    • 1972 – Maya Rudolph, American actress
    • 1972 – Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysian surgeon and astronaut
    • 1973 – Cassandra Clare, American journalist and author
    • 1973 – Erik Nys, Belgian long jumper
    • 1973 – Gorden Tallis, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1974 – Eason Chan, Hong Kong singer, actor, and producer
    • 1974 – Pete Yorn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1975 – Serkan Çeliköz, Turkish keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1975 – Shea Hillenbrand, American baseball player
    • 1975 – Fred Mascherino, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1975 – Alessandro Pistone, Italian footballer
    • 1975 – Alex Rodriguez, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Demis Hassabis, English computer scientist and academic
    • 1976 – Scott Mason, Australian cricketer (d. 2005)
    • 1977 – Foo Swee Chin, Singaporean illustrator
    • 1977 – Björn Dreyer, German footballer
    • 1977 – Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Irish actor
    • 1978 – Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Irish hurler and manager
    • 1979 – Marielle Franco, Brazilian politician, feminist, and human rights activist (d. 2018)
    • 1979 – Jorge Arce, Mexican boxer
    • 1979 – Sidney Govou, French footballer
    • 1979 – Shannon Moore, American wrestler and singer
    • 1980 – Allan Davis, Australian cyclist
    • 1980 – Wesley Gonzales, Filipino basketball player
    • 1981 – Susan King Borchardt, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Collins Obuya, Kenyan cricketer
    • 1981 – Dash Snow, American painter and photographer (d. 2009)
    • 1981 – Christopher Weselek, German rugby player
    • 1982 – Neil Harbisson, English-Catalan painter, composer, and activist
    • 1983 – Lorik Cana, Albanian footballer
    • 1983 – Martijn Maaskant, Dutch cyclist
    • 1983 – Goran Pandev, Macedonian footballer
    • 1983 – Soccor Velho, Indian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1984 – Antoine Bethea, American football player
    • 1984 – Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Japanese baseball player
    • 1984 – Max Scherzer, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Taylor Schilling, American actress
    • 1984 – Kenny Wormald, American actor, dancer, and choreographer
    • 1985 – Husain Abdullah, American football player
    • 1985 – Matteo Pratichetti, Italian rugby player
    • 1985 – Ajmal Shahzad, English cricketer
    • 1986 – DeMarre Carroll, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Ryan Flaherty, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Ryan Griffen, Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Jacoby Ford, American football player
    • 1987 – Marek Hamšík, Slovak footballer
    • 1987 – Jordan Hill, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Sarah Parsons, American ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Adam Biddle, Australian footballer
    • 1988 – Yoervis Medina, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1988 – Ryan Tannehill, American football player
    • 1989 – Maya Ali, Pakistani actress
    • 1990 – Nick Hogan, American race car driver and actor
    • 1990 – Paolo Hurtado, Peruvian footballer
    • 1990 – Cheyenne Kimball, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1990 – Stephen Li-Chung Kuo, Taiwanese-American figure skater
    • 1990 – Kriti Sanon, Indian actress
    • 1991 – Rena Matsui, Japanese actress and singer
    • 1993 – Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Australian rugby league player
    • 1993 – Max Power, English footballer
    • 1993 – Jordan Spieth, American golfer
    • 2001 – Shin Ki-joon, South Korean actor

    Deaths on July 27

    • 903 – Abdallah II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid emir
    • 959 – Chai Rong, emperor of Later Zhou
    • 1144 – Salomea of Berg, High Duchess consort of Poland[6]
    • 1061 – Nicholas II, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 1101 – Conrad II, king of Italy (b. 1074)
    • 1101 – Hugh d’Avranches, Earl of Chester (b. c. 1047)
    • 1158 – Geoffrey VI, Count of Anjou (b. 1134)
    • 1276 – James I of Aragon (b. 1208)
    • 1365 – Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (b. 1339)
    • 1382 – Joanna I of Naples (b. 1326)
    • 1510 – Giovanni Sforza, Italian condottiere (b. 1466)
    • 1469 – William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (b. 1423)
    • 1656 – Salomo Glassius, German theologian and critic (b. 1593)
    • 1675 – Henri de la Tour d’Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, French general (b. 1611)
    • 1689 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (b. c. 1648)[7]
    • 1759 – Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1698)
    • 1770 – Robert Dinwiddie, Scottish merchant and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1693)
    • 1841 – Mikhail Lermontov, Russian poet and painter (b. 1814)
    • 1844 – John Dalton, English physicist, meteorologist, and chemist (b. 1776)
    • 1863 – William Lowndes Yancey, American journalist and politician (b. 1813)
    • 1865 – Jean-Joseph Dassy, French painter and lithographer (b. 1791)
    • 1875 – Aleksander Kunileid, Estonian composer and educator (b. 1845)
    • 1876 – Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-born American minister and author (b. 1811)
    • 1883 – Montgomery Blair, American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (b. 1813)
    • 1916 – Charles Fryatt, English captain (b. 1872)
    • 1916 – William Jonas, English footballer (d. 1890)
    • 1917 – Emil Theodor Kocher, Swiss physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1841)
    • 1921 – Myrddin Fardd, Welsh writer and antiquarian scholar (b. 1836)
    • 1924 – Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1866)
    • 1931 – Auguste Forel, Swiss neuroanatomist and psychiatrist (b. 1848)
    • 1938 – Tom Crean, Irish seaman and explorer (b. 1877)
    • 1941 – Alfred Henry O’Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (b. 1858)
    • 1942 – Karl Pärsimägi, Estonian painter (b. 1902)
    • 1946 – Gertrude Stein, American novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1874)
    • 1948 – Woolf Barnato, English race car driver and businessman (b. 1898)
    • 1948 – Joe Tinker, American baseball player and manager (b. 1880)
    • 1948 – Dorothea Bleek, South African anthropologist and philologist (b. 1873)
    • 1951 – Paul Kogerman, Estonian chemist and politician, 22nd Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1891)
    • 1958 – Claire Lee Chennault, American general and pilot (b. 1893)
    • 1960 – Julie Vinter Hansen, Danish-Swiss astronomer and academic (b. 1890)
    • 1962 – Richard Aldington, English poet and author (b. 1892)
    • 1962 – James H. Kindelberger, American pilot and businessman (b. 1895)
    • 1963 – Hooks Dauss, American baseball player (b. 1889)
    • 1963 – Garrett Morgan, African-American inventor (b. 1877)
    • 1964 – Winifred Lenihan, American actress, writer, and director (b. 1898)
    • 1965 – Daniel-Rops, French historian and author (b. 1901)
    • 1968 – Babe Adams, American baseball player and manager (b. 1882)
    • 1970 – António de Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese economist and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1889)
    • 1971 – Charlie Tully, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1924)
    • 1975 – Alfred Duraiappah, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (d. 1926)
    • 1978 – Bob Heffron, New Zealand-Australian miner and politician, 30th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1890)
    • 1978 – Willem van Otterloo, Dutch cellist, composer, and conductor (b. 1907)
    • 1980 – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iranian king (b. 1919)
    • 1981 – William Wyler, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1902)
    • 1984 – James Mason, English actor (b. 1909)
    • 1985 – Smoky Joe Wood, American baseball player and coach (b. 1889)
    • 1987 – Travis Jackson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1903)
    • 1988 – Frank Zamboni, American inventor and businessman, founded the Zamboni Company (b. 1901)
    • 1990 – Bobby Day, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1928)
    • 1990 – René Toribio, Guadeloupean politician (b. 1912)
    • 1991 – John Friedrich, German-Australian engineer and conman (b. 1950)
    • 1992 – Max Dupain, Australian photographer and educator (b. 1911)
    • 1992 – Tzeni Karezi, Greek actress and screenwriter
    • 1993 – Reggie Lewis, American basketball player (b. 1965)
    • 1994 – Kevin Carter, South African photographer and journalist (b. 1960)
    • 1995 – Melih Esenbel, Turkish politician and diplomat, 20th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1915)
    • 1995 – Rick Ferrell, American baseball player and coach (b. 1905)
    • 1995 – Miklós Rózsa, Hungarian-American composer and conductor (b. 1907)
    • 1998 – Binnie Barnes, English-American actress (b. 1903)
    • 1999 – Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov, Russian mathematician, physicist, and mountaineer (b. 1912)
    • 1999 – Harry Edison, American trumpet player (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Gordon Solie, American sportscaster (b. 1929)
    • 2001 – Rhonda Sing, Canadian wrestler (b. 1961)
    • 2001 – Leon Wilkeson, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1952)
    • 2003 – Vance Hartke, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2003 – Bob Hope, English-American actor, comedian, television personality, and businessman (b. 1903)
    • 2005 – Al Held, American painter and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2005 – Marten Toonder, Dutch author and illustrator (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Maryann Mahaffey, American academic and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – James Oyebola, Nigerian-English boxer (b. 1961)
    • 2008 – Youssef Chahine, Egyptian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2008 – Horst Stein, German-born Swiss conductor (b. 1928)
    • 2008 – Isaac Saba Raffoul, Mexican businessman (b. 1923)
    • 2010 – Maury Chaykin, American-Canadian actor (b. 1949)
    • 2010 – Jack Tatum, American football player (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Norman Alden, American actor (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Darryl Cotton, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1949)
    • 2012 – Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (b. 1944)
    • 2012 – Tony Martin, American actor and singer (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Jack Taylor, English footballer and referee (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Fernando Alonso, Cuban dancer, co-founded the Cuban National Ballet (b. 1914)
    • 2013 – Lindy Boggs, American politician and diplomat, 5th United States Ambassador to the Holy See (b. 1916)
    • 2013 – Bud Day, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Kidd Kraddick, American radio host (b. 1959)
    • 2013 – Ilya Segalovich, Russian businessman, co-founded Yandex (b. 1964)
    • 2014 – Richard Bolt, New Zealand air marshal and pilot (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – George Freese, American baseball player and coach (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Wallace Jones, American basketball player and coach (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Paul Schell, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Seattle (b. 1937)
    • 2015 – Rickey Grundy, American singer-songwriter (b. 1959)
    • 2015 – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Indian engineer, academic, and politician, 11th President of India (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Samuel Pisar, Polish-born American lawyer and author (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Anthony Shaw, English general (b. 1930)
    • 2016 – Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer (b.1928)[8]
    • 2016 – James Alan McPherson, American short story writer and essayist (b. 1943)[9]
    • 2016 – Jerry Doyle, American actor and talk show host (b. 1956)[10]
    • 2016 – Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Minister of Defence (1963–67), Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1967–71) (b. 1915)[11]
    • 2017 – Sam Shepard, American playwright, actor, author, screenwriter, and director (b.1943)[12]
    • 2018 – Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian literature critic, television host and sexologist[13]
    • 2018 – Rahim Uddin Bharosha, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1934)

    Holidays and observances on July 27

    • Christian feast day:
      • Arethas (Western Christianity)
      • Aurelius and Natalia and companions of the Martyrs of Córdoba.
      • Maurus, Pantalemon, and Sergius
      • Pantaleon
      • Seven Sleepers of Ephesus (Roman Martyrology)
        • National Sleepy Head Day (Finland)
      • Theobald of Marly
      • Blessed Titus Brandsma, O.Carm.
      • July 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War (North Korea)
    • Iglesia ni Cristo Day (the Philippines)
    • José Celso Barbosa Day (Puerto Rico)
    • Martyrs and Wounded Soldiers Day (Vietnam)
    • National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day (United States)

  • July 16 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 622 – The beginning of the Islamic calendar.
    • 997 – Battle of Spercheios: Bulgarian forces of Tsar Samuel are defeated by a Byzantine army under general Nikephoros Ouranos at the Spercheios River in Greece.
    • 1054 – Three Roman legates break relations between Western and Eastern Christian Churches through the act of placing an invalidly-issued Papal bull of Excommunication on the altar of Hagia Sophia during Saturday afternoon divine liturgy. Historians frequently describe the event as the start of the East–West Schism.
    • 1212 – Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa: After Pope Innocent III calls European knights to a crusade, forces of Kings Alfonso VIII of Castile, Sancho VII of Navarre, Peter II of Aragon and Afonso II of Portugal defeat those of the Berber Muslim leader Almohad, thus marking a significant turning point in the Reconquista and in the medieval history of Spain.
    • 1232 – The Spanish town of Arjona declares independence and names its native Muhammad ibn Yusuf as ruler. This marks Muhammad’s first rise to prominence; he would later establish the Nasrid Emirate of Granada, the last independent Muslim state in Spain.
    • 1251 – Celebrated by the Carmelite Order – but doubted by modern historians – as the day when Saint Simon Stock had a vision of the Virgin Mary
    • 1377 – King Richard II of England is crowned.
    • 1661 – The first banknotes in Europe are issued by the Swedish bank Stockholms Banco.
    • 1683 – Manchu Qing dynasty naval forces under traitorous commander Shi Lang defeat the Kingdom of Tungning in the Battle of Penghu near the Pescadores Islands.
    • 1769 – Father Junípero Serra founds California’s first mission, Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Over the following decades, it evolves into the city of San Diego, California.
    • 1779 – American Revolutionary War: Light infantry of the Continental Army seize a fortified British Army position in a midnight bayonet attack at the Battle of Stony Point.
    • 1790 – The District of Columbia is established as the capital of the United States after signature of the Residence Act.
    • 1809 – The city of La Paz, in what is today Bolivia, declares its independence from the Spanish Crown during the La Paz revolution and forms the Junta Tuitiva, the first independent government in Spanish America, led by Pedro Domingo Murillo.
    • 1849 – Antonio María Claret y Clará founds the Congregation of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, popularly known as the Claretians in Vic, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: At the order of President Abraham Lincoln, Union troops begin a 25-mile march into Virginia for what will become the First Battle of Bull Run, the first major land battle of the war.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: David Farragut is promoted to rear admiral, becoming the first officer in United States Navy to hold an admiral rank.
    • 1909 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar is forced out as Shah of Persia and is replaced by his son Ahmad Shah Qajar.
    • 1910 – John Robertson Duigan makes the first flight of the Duigan pusher biplane, the first aircraft built in Australia.
    • 1915 – Henry James becomes a British citizen to highlight his commitment to Britain during the first World War.
    • 1915 – At Treasure Island on the Delaware River in the United States, the First Order of the Arrow ceremony takes place and the Order of the Arrow is founded to honor American Boy Scouts who best exemplify the Scout Oath and Law.
    • 1927 – Augusto César Sandino leads a raid on U.S. Marines and Nicaraguan Guardia Nacional that had been sent to apprehend him in the village of Ocotal, but is repulsed by one of the first dive-bombing attacks in history.
    • 1931 – Emperor Haile Selassie signs the first constitution of Ethiopia.
    • 1935 – The world’s first parking meter is installed in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
    • 1941 – Joe DiMaggio hits safely for the 56th consecutive game, a streak that still stands as an MLB record.
    • 1942 – Holocaust: Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup (Rafle du Vel’ d’Hiv): The government of Vichy France orders the mass arrest of 13,152 Jews who are held at the Vélodrome d’Hiver in Paris before deportation to Auschwitz.
    • 1945 – World War II: The heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis leaves San Francisco with parts for the atomic bomb “Little Boy” bound for Tinian Island.
    • 1945 – Manhattan Project: The Atomic Age begins when the United States successfully detonates a plutonium-based test nuclear weapon near Alamogordo, New Mexico.
    • 1948 – Following token resistance, the city of Nazareth, revered by Christians as the hometown of Jesus, capitulates to Israeli troops during Operation Dekel in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
    • 1948 – The storming of the cockpit of the Miss Macao passenger seaplane, operated by a subsidiary of the Cathay Pacific Airways, marks the first aircraft hijacking of a commercial plane.
    • 1950 – Chaplain–Medic massacre: American POWs are massacred by North Korean Army.
    • 1951 – King Leopold III of Belgium abdicates in favor of his son, Baudouin I of Belgium.
    • 1956 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus closes its last “Big Tent” show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; due to changing economics, all subsequent circus shows will be held in arenas.
    • 1965 – The Mont Blanc Tunnel linking France and Italy opens.
    • 1965 – South Vietnamese Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo, a formerly undetected communist spy and double agent, is hunted down and killed by unknown individuals after being sentenced to death in absentia for a February 1965 coup attempt against Nguyễn Khánh.
    • 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 11, the first mission to land astronauts on the Moon, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Kennedy, Florida.
    • 1979 – Iraqi President Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr resigns and is replaced by Saddam Hussein.
    • 1983 – Sikorsky S-61 disaster: A helicopter crashes off the Isles of Scilly, causing 20 fatalities.
    • 1990 – The Luzon earthquake strikes the Philippines with an intensity of 7.7, affecting Benguet, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, La Union, Aurora, Bataan, Zambales and Tarlac.
    • 1990 – The Parliament of the Ukrainian SSR declares state sovereignty over the territory of the Ukrainian SSR.
    • 1999 – John F. Kennedy Jr., his wife, Carolyn, and her sister, Lauren Bessette, died when the Piper Saratoga PA-32R aircraft he was piloting crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.
    • 2004 – Millennium Park, considered Chicago’s first and most ambitious early 21st-century architectural project, is opened to the public by Mayor Richard M. Daley.
    • 2007 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.8 and 6.6 aftershock occurs off the Niigata coast of Japan killing eight people, injuring at least 800 and damaging a nuclear power plant.
    • 2013 – As many as 27 children die and 25 others are hospitalized after eating lunch served at their school in eastern India.
    • 2015 – Four U.S. Marines and one gunman die in a shooting spree targeting military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
    • 2019 – 100 years old building in Mumbai, India, collapsed, killing at least 10 people and many remaining trapped.

    Births on July 16

    • 1194 – Clare of Assisi, an Italian nun and saint (d. 1253)
    • 1486 – Andrea del Sarto, Italian painter (d. 1530)
    • 1517 – Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk, English duchess (d. 1559)
    • 1529 – Petrus Peckius the Elder, Dutch jurist, writer on international maritime law (d. 1589)
    • 1611 – Cecilia Renata of Austria (d. 1644)
    • 1661 – Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, Canadian captain, explorer, and politician (d. 1706)
    • 1714 – Marc René, marquis de Montalembert, French engineer and author (d. 1800)
    • 1722 – Joseph Wilton, English sculptor and academic (d. 1803)
    • 1723 – Joshua Reynolds, English painter and academic (d. 1792)
    • 1731 – Samuel Huntington, American jurist and politician, 18th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1796)
    • 1749 – Cyrus Griffin, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 16th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1810)
    • 1796 – Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French painter and etcher (d. 1875)
    • 1821 – Mary Baker Eddy, American religious leader and author, founded Christian Science (d. 1910)
    • 1841 – Nikolai von Glehn, Estonian-German architect and activist (d. 1923)
    • 1858 – Eugène Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1931)
    • 1862 – Ida B. Wells, American journalist and activist (d. 1931)
    • 1863 – Anderson Dawson, Australian politician, 14th Premier of Queensland (d. 1910)
    • 1870 – Lambert McKenna, Irish priest, lexicographer, and scholar (d. 1956)
    • 1871 – John Maxwell, American golfer (d. 1906)
    • 1872 – Roald Amundsen, Norwegian pilot and explorer (d. 1928)
    • 1872 – Frank Cooper, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Queensland (d. 1949)
    • 1880 – Kathleen Norris, American journalist and author (d. 1966)
    • 1882 – Violette Neatley Anderson, American judge (d. 1937)
    • 1883 – Charles Sheeler, American photographer and painter (d. 1965)
    • 1884 – Anna Vyrubova, Russian author (d. 1964)
    • 1887 – Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player and manager (d. 1951)
    • 1888 – Percy Kilbride, American actor (d. 1964)
    • 1888 – Frits Zernike, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
    • 1889 – Arthur Bowie Chrisman, American author (d. 1953)
    • 1895 – Wilfrid Hamel, Canadian businessman and politician, 35th Mayor of Quebec City (d. 1968)
    • 1896 – Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German biologist and eugenicist (d. 1969)
    • 1896 – Trygve Lie, Norwegian trade union leader and politician, 1st Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 1968)
    • 1902 – Alexander Luria, Russian psychologist and physician (d. 1977)
    • 1902 – Mary Philbin, American actress (d. 1993)
    • 1903 – Fritz Bauer, German lawyer and judge (d. 1968)
    • 1903 – Carmen Lombardo, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1971)
    • 1903 – Irmgard Flügge-Lotz, German mathematician and engineer (d. 1974)
    • 1904 – Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer and conductor (d. 2003)
    • 1906 – Vincent Sherman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1907 – Frances Horwich, American educator and television host (d. 2001)
    • 1907 – Orville Redenbacher, American farmer and businessman, founded Orville Redenbacher’s (d. 1995)
    • 1907 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (d. 1990)
    • 1910 – Stan McCabe, Australian cricketer (d. 1968)
    • 1910 – Gordon Prange, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1980)
    • 1911 – Ginger Rogers, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1995)
    • 1911 – Sonny Tufts, American actor (d. 1970)
    • 1912 – Milt Bocek, American baseball player (d. 2007)
    • 1912 – Amy Patterson, Argentine composer, singer, poet, and teacher (d. 2019)
    • 1915 – Barnard Hughes, American actor (d. 2006)
    • 1915 – Elaine Barrie, American actress (d. 2003)
    • 1918 – Denis Edward Arnold, English soldier (d. 2015)
    • 1918 – Paul Farnes, famed World War II Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter pilot and one of “The Few” surviving pilots of the Battle of Britain (d. 2020)
    • 1918 – Samuel Victor Perry, English biochemist and rugby player (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Hermine Braunsteiner, Austrian SS officer (d. 1999)
    • 1919 – Choi Kyu-hah, South Korean politician, 4th President of South Korea (d. 2006)
    • 1920 – Anatole Broyard, American critic and editor (d. 1990)
    • 1923 – Chris Argyris, American psychologist, theorist, and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Bola Sete, Brazilian guitarist (d. 1987)
    • 1924 – James L. Greenfield, American journalist and politician
    • 1924 – Bess Myerson, American model, actress, game show panelist, and politician, Miss America 1945 (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Rupert Deese, Northern Mariana Islander ceramic artist (d. 2010)
    • 1925 – Frank Jobe, American sergeant and surgeon (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Rosita Quintana, Argentine actress
    • 1925 – Cal Tjader, American jazz musician (d. 1982)
    • 1926 – Ivica Horvat, Croatian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1926 – Irwin Rose, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Pierre F. Côté, Canadian lawyer and civil servant (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Shirley Hughes, English author and illustrator
    • 1927 – Derek Hawksworth, English footballer
    • 1928 – Anita Brookner, English novelist and art historian (d. 2016)
    • 1928 – Bella Davidovich, Soviet-American pianist
    • 1928 – Robert Sheckley, American author and screenwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1928 – Jim Rathmann, American race car driver (d. 2011)
    • 1928 – Dave Treen, American lawyer and politician, 51st Governor of Louisiana (d. 2009)
    • 1928 – Andrzej Zawada, Polish mountaineer and author (d. 2000)
    • 1929 – Charles Ray Hatcher, American serial killer (d. 1984)
    • 1929 – Sheri S. Tepper, American author and poet (d. 2016)
    • 1929 – Gaby Tanguy, French swimmer
    • 1930 – Guy Béart, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Michael Bilirakis, American lawyer and politician
    • 1930 – Bert Rechichar, American football defensive back and kicker (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Fergus Gordon Kerr, Scottish Roman Catholic priest of the English Dominican Province
    • 1931 – Norm Sherry, American former catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball
    • 1932 – John Chilton, English trumpet player and composer (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Max McGee, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Dick Thornburgh, American lawyer and politician, 76th United States Attorney General
    • 1933 – Julian A. Brodsky, American businessman
    • 1934 – Tomás Eloy Martínez, Argentine journalist (d. 2010)
    • 1934 – Katherine D. Ortega, 38th Treasurer of the United States
    • 1934 – Donald M. Payne, American educator and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Carl Epting Mundy Jr., American general (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Lynn Wyatt, American socialite and philanthropist
    • 1936 – Yasuo Fukuda, Japanese politician, 91st Prime Minister of Japan
    • 1936 – Buddy Merrill, American guitarist
    • 1936 – Jerry Norman, American sinologist and linguist (d. 2012)
    • 1936 – Venkataraman Subramanya, Indian-Australian cricketer
    • 1937 – Richard Bryan, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Nevada
    • 1937 – John Daly, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
    • 1938 – Cynthia Enloe, American author and academic
    • 1938 – Tony Jackson, English singer and bass player (d. 2003)
    • 1939 – William Bell, American singer-songwriter
    • 1939 – Lido Vieri, Italian football manager and football player
    • 1939 – Denise LaSalle, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2018)
    • 1939 – Ruth Perry, president of Liberia (d. 2017)
    • 1939 – Shringar Nagaraj, Indian actor and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Corin Redgrave, English actor and activist (d. 2010)
    • 1939 – Mariele Ventre, Italian singer and conductor (d. 1995)
    • 1941 – Desmond Dekker, Jamaican singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1941 – Dag Solstad, Norwegian author and playwright
    • 1941 – Hans Wiegel, Dutch journalist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
    • 1941 – Sir George Young, 6th Baronet, English banker and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
    • 1942 – Margaret Court, Australian tennis player and minister
    • 1943 – Reinaldo Arenas, Cuban-American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1990)
    • 1943 – Vernon Bogdanor, English political scientist and academic
    • 1943 – Jimmy Johnson, American football player and coach
    • 1944 – Angharad Rees, English-Welsh actress and jewellery designer (d. 2012)
    • 1946 – Louise Fréchette, Canadian civil servant and diplomat, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
    • 1946 – Barbara Lee, American politician
    • 1946 – Ron Yary, American football player
    • 1947 – Don Burke, Australian television host and producer
    • 1947 – Alexis Herman, American businesswoman and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of Labor
    • 1947 – Assata Shakur, American-Cuban criminal and activist
    • 1948 – Rubén Blades, Panamanian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1948 – Lars Lagerbäck, Swedish footballer and manager
    • 1948 – Kevin McKenzie, South African cricketer
    • 1948 – Pinchas Zukerman, Israeli violinist and conductor
    • 1949 – Alan Fitzgerald, American guitarist and keyboardist
    • 1950 – Pierre Paradis, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1950 – Dennis Priestley, English darts player
    • 1950 – Frances Spalding, English historian and academic
    • 1950 – Tom Terrell, American journalist and photographer (d. 2007)
    • 1951 – Jean-Luc Mongrain, Canadian journalist
    • 1951 – Che Rosli, Malaysian politician
    • 1952 – Stewart Copeland, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1952 – Richard Egielski, American author and illustrator
    • 1952 – Marc Esposito, French director and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Ken McEwan, South African cricketer
    • 1953 – Douglas J. Feith, American lawyer and politician, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
    • 1954 – Jeanette Mott Oxford, American politician
    • 1955 – Susan Wheeler, American poet and academic
    • 1955 – Saw Swee Leong, Malaysian badminton player
    • 1956 – Tony Kushner, American playwright and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Faye Grant, American actress
    • 1957 – Alexandra Marinina, Ukrainian-Russian colonel and author
    • 1958 – Mick Cornett, American politician, and former mayor of Oklahoma City.
    • 1958 – Michael Flatley, American-Irish dancer and choreographer
    • 1958 – Mike Rogers, American politician
    • 1959 – Gary Anderson, South African-American football player
    • 1959 – James MacMillan, Scottish composer and conductor
    • 1959 – Zoran Jolevski, Macedonian economist, politician, and diplomat, Macedonian Ambassador to the United States
    • 1959 – Jürgen Ligi, Estonian economist and politician, 25th Estonian Minister of Defence
    • 1960 – Terry Pendleton, American baseball player and coach
    • 1962 – Grigory Leps, Russian singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Phoebe Cates, American actress
    • 1963 – Srečko Katanec, Slovenian footballer and coach
    • 1963 – Mikael Pernfors, Swedish tennis player
    • 1964 – Phil Hellmuth, American poker player
    • 1964 – Miguel Induráin, Spanish cyclist
    • 1965 – Michel Desjoyeaux, French sailor
    • 1965 – Claude Lemieux, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1965 – Sherri Stoner, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Jyrki Lumme, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1967 – Will Ferrell, American actor, comedian, and producer
    • 1968 – Dhanraj Pillay, Indian field hockey player and manager
    • 1968 – Barry Sanders, American football player
    • 1968 – Larry Sanger, American philosopher and businessman, co-founded Wikipedia and Citizendium
    • 1968 – Michael Searle, Australian rugby league player and businessman
    • 1968 – Robert Sherman, American songwriter and businessman
    • 1968 – Olga Souza, Brazilian singer and dancer
    • 1969 – Jules De Martino, English singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1969 – Kathryn Harby-Williams, Australian netball player and sportscaster
    • 1970 – Raimonds Miglinieks, Latvian basketball player and coach
    • 1970 – Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thai director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Corey Feldman, American actor
    • 1971 – Ed Kowalczyk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Live)
    • 1972 – Ben Cahoon, American-Canadian football player and coach
    • 1972 – François Drolet, Canadian speed skater
    • 1973 – Shaun Pollock, South African cricketer
    • 1973 – Graham Robertson, American director and producer
    • 1973 – Tim Ryan, American politician
    • 1974 – Jeremy Enigk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1974 – Maret Maripuu, Estonian politician, Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
    • 1974 – Ryan McCombs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1974 – Wendell Sailor, Australian rugby player
    • 1975 – Bas Leinders, Belgian race car driver
    • 1976 – Tomasz Kuchar, Polish race car driver
    • 1976 – Carlos Humberto Paredes, Paraguayan footballer
    • 1976 – Anna Smashnova, Belarusian-Israeli tennis player
    • 1977 – Bryan Budd, Northern Ireland-born English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2006)
    • 1979 – Chris Mihm, American basketball player
    • 1979 – Mai Nakamura, Japanese swimmer
    • 1979 – Kim Rhode, American sport shooter
    • 1979 – Nathan Rogers, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Konstantin Skrylnikov, Russian footballer
    • 1980 – Adam Scott, Australian golfer
    • 1981 – Giuseppe Di Masi, Italian footballer
    • 1981 – Robert Kranjec, Slovenian ski jumper
    • 1981 – Zach Randolph, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Vicente Rodríguez, Spanish footballer
    • 1982 – André Greipel, German cyclist
    • 1982 – Carli Lloyd, American soccer player
    • 1982 – Michael Umaña, Costa Rican footballer
    • 1983 – Duncan Keith, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Hayanari Shimoda, Japanese race car driver
    • 1984 – Attila Szabó, Hungarian decathlete
    • 1985 – Mārtiņš Kravčenko, Latvian basketball player
    • 1986 – Dustin Boyd, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Misako Uno, Japanese actress, singer, and fashion designer
    • 1987 – Mousa Dembélé, Belgian footballer
    • 1987 – AnnaLynne McCord, American actress and producer
    • 1987 – Knowshon Moreno, American football player
    • 1988 – Sergio Busquets, Spanish footballer
    • 1989 – Gareth Bale, Welsh footballer
    • 1990 – Bureta Faraimo, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1990 – Wizkid, Nigerian singer and songwriter
    • 1990 – Johann Zarco, French motorcycle racer
    • 1991 – Nate Schmidt, American ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Andros Townsend, English footballer
    • 1996 – Daniel Pearson, English actor and presenter

    Deaths on July 16

    • 784 – Fulrad, Frankish diplomat and saint (b. 710)
    • 866 – Irmgard, Frankish abbess
    • 1212 – William de Brus, 3rd Lord of Annandale
    • 1216 – Pope Innocent III (b. 1160)
    • 1324 – Emperor Go-Uda of Japan (b. 1267)
    • 1342 – Charles I of Hungary (b. 1288)
    • 1344 – An-Nasir Ahmad, Sultan of Egypt (b. 1316)
    • 1509 – João da Nova, Portuguese explorer (b. 1460)
    • 1546 – Anne Askew, English author and poet (b. 1520)
    • 1557 – Anne of Cleves (b. 1515)
    • 1576 – Isabella de’ Medici, Italian noble (b. 1542)
    • 1647 – Masaniello, Italian rebel (b. 1622)
    • 1664 – Andreas Gryphius, German poet and playwright (b. 1616)
    • 1686 – John Pearson, English bishop and scholar (b. 1612)
    • 1691 – François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French politician, French Secretary of State for War (b. 1641)
    • 1729 – Johann David Heinichen, German composer and theorist (b. 1683)
    • 1747 – Giuseppe Crespi, Italian painter (b. 1665)
    • 1770 – Francis Cotes, English painter and academic (b. 1726)
    • 1796 – George Howard, English field marshal and politician (b. 1718)
    • 1831 – Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, French-Russian general (b. 1763)
    • 1849 – Sarah Allen, African-American missionary for the African Methodist Episcopal Church (b. 1764)
    • 1868 – Dmitry Pisarev, Russian author and critic (b. 1840)
    • 1879 – Edward Deas Thomson, Scottish-Australian politician, 3rd Chief Secretary of New South Wales (b. 1800)
    • 1882 – Mary Todd Lincoln, First Lady of the United States 1861-1865 (b. 1818)
    • 1886 – Ned Buntline, American journalist and author (b. 1823)
    • 1896 – Edmond de Goncourt, French critic and publisher, founded Académie Goncourt (b. 1822)
    • 1915 – Ellen G. White, American theologian and author (b. 1827)
    • 1917 – Philipp Scharwenka, German composer and educator (b. 1847)
    • 1939 – Bartholomeus Roodenburch, Dutch swimmer (b. 1866)
    • 1949 – Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1866)
    • 1953 – Hilaire Belloc, French-born British writer and historian (b. 1870)
    • 1954 – Herms Niel, German soldier, trombonist, and composer (b. 1888)
    • 1960 – Albert Kesselring, German field marshal (b. 1881)
    • 1960 – John P. Marquand, American author (b. 1893)
    • 1964 – Rauf Orbay, Turkish colonel and politician, Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1881)
    • 1965 – Boris Artzybasheff, Ukrainian-American illustrator (b.1899)
    • 1969 – James Scott Douglas, English-born Scottish race car driver and 6th Baronet Douglas (b. 1930)
    • 1981 – Harry Chapin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
    • 1982 – Charles Robberts Swart, South African lawyer and politician, 1st State President of South Africa (b. 1894)
    • 1985 – Heinrich Böll, German novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
    • 1985 – Wayne King, American saxophonist, songwriter, and bandleader (b. 1901)
    • 1989 – Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor and manager (b. 1908)
    • 1990 – Robert Blackburn, Irish educator (b. 1927)
    • 1990 – Miguel Muñoz, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1922)
    • 1991 – Meindert DeJong, Dutch-American soldier and author (b. 1906)
    • 1991 – Robert Motherwell, American painter and academic (b. 1915)
    • 1991 – Frank Rizzo, American police officer and politician, 93rd Mayor of Philadelphia (b. 1920)
    • 1992 – Buck Buchanan, American football player and coach (b. 1940)
    • 1994 – Julian Schwinger, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
    • 1995 – May Sarton, American playwright and novelist (b. 1912)
    • 1995 – Stephen Spender, English author and poet (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Adolf von Thadden, German lieutenant and politician (b. 1921)
    • 1998 – John Henrik Clarke, American historian and scholar (b. 1915)
    • 1999 – John F. Kennedy Jr., American lawyer and publisher (b. 1960)
    • 1999 – Alan Macnaughton, Canadian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons (b. 1903)
    • 2001 – Morris, Belgian cartoonist (b. 1923)
    • 2002 – John Cocke, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1925)
    • 2003 – Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer and actress (b. 1925)
    • 2003 – Carol Shields, American-Canadian novelist and short story writer (b. 1935)
    • 2004 – George Busbee, American lawyer and politician, 77th Governor of Georgia (b. 1927)
    • 2004 – Charles Sweeney, American general and pilot (b. 1919)
    • 2005 – Pietro Consagra, Italian sculptor (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Camillo Felgen, Luxembourgian singer-songwriter and radio host (b. 1920)
    • 2006 – Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, American businessman and politician, 13th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas (b. 1948)
    • 2007 – Caterina Bueno, Italian singer and historian (b. 1943)
    • 2008 – Jo Stafford, American singer (b. 1917)
    • 2008 – Lindsay Thompson, Australian politician, 40th Premier of Victoria (b. 1923)
    • 2011 – Forrest Blue, American football player (b. 1944)
    • 2012 – William Asher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Stephen Covey, American businessman and author (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Gilbert Esau, American businessman and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Ed Lincoln, Brazilian bassist, pianist, and composer (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Masaharu Matsushita, Japanese businessman (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Kitty Wells, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1919)
    • 2013 – Alex Colville, Canadian painter and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Marv Rotblatt, American baseball player (1927)
    • 2014 – Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (b. 1920)
    • 2014 – Mary Ellen Otremba, American educator and politician (b. 1950)
    • 2014 – Johnny Winter, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
    • 2014 – Heinz Zemanek, Austrian computer scientist and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Denis Avey, English soldier, engineer, and author (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – Evelyn Ebsworth, English chemist and academic (b. 1933)
    • 2015 – Alcides Ghiggia, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Jack Goody, English anthropologist, author, and academic (b. 1919)
    • 2017 – George Romero, American filmmaker (b. 1940)

    Holidays and observances on July 16

    • Christian feast day:
      • Gondulphus of Tongeren
      • Helier
      • Our Lady of Mount Carmel
        • Fiesta de La Tirana (Tarapacá Region, Chile)
      • Reineldis
      • July 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Engineer’s Day (Honduras)
    • Holocaust Memorial Day (France)

  • July 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    The Aphelion, the point in the year when the Earth is farthest from the Sun, occurs around this date.

    July 4 in History

    • 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
    • 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.
    • 836 – Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed.
    • 993 – Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint.
    • 1054 – A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.
    • 1120 – Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew’s death.
    • 1187 – The Crusades: Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem.
    • 1253 – Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.
    • 1359 – Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
    • 1456 – Ottoman–Hungarian wars: The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins.
    • 1534 – Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye.
    • 1584 – Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island
    • 1610 – The Battle of Klushino is fought between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia during the Polish–Muscovite War.
    • 1634 – The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (now Quebec, Canada).
    • 1744 – The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cede lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
    • 1774 – Orangetown Resolutions are adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament’s Coercive Acts.
    • 1776 – American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress.
    • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: U.S. forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.
    • 1802 – At West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy opens.
    • 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
    • 1817 – In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
    • 1826 – John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, respectively the second and third presidents of the United States, die the same day, on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives.”
    • 1827 – Slavery is abolished in the State of New York.
    • 1831 – Samuel Francis Smith writes “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” for the Boston, Massachusetts July 4 festivities.
    • 1837 – Grand Junction Railway, the world’s first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.
    • 1838 – The Iowa Territory is organized.
    • 1845 – Henry David Thoreau moves into a small cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau’s account of his two years there, Walden, will become a touchstone of the environmental movement.
    • 1855 – The first edition of Walt Whitman’s book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published In Brooklyn.
    • 1862 – Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg: Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to U.S. forces under Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege. One hundred fifty miles up the Mississippi River, a Confederate army is repulsed at the Battle of Helena, Arkansas.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia withdraws from the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg, signalling an end to the Confederate invasion of U.S. territory.
    • 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: The Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burned to the ground, ending the war and forcing King Cetshwayo to flee.
    • 1881 – In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
    • 1886 – The Canadian Pacific Railway’s first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel.
    • 1887 – The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joins Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.
    • 1892 – Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, causing Monday (July 4) to occur twice, resulting in a year with 367 days.
    • 1894 – The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
    • 1898 – En route from New York to Le Havre, the SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks off the coast of Sable Island, with the loss of 549 lives.
    • 1901 – William Howard Taft becomes American governor of the Philippines.
    • 1903 – The Philippine–American War is officially concluded.
    • 1910 – The Johnson–Jeffries riots occur after African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in the 15th round. Between 11 and 26 people are killed and hundreds more injured.
    • 1911 – A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.
    • 1913 – President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913.
    • 1914 – The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie takes place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo.
    • 1918 – Mehmed V died at the age of 73 and Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.
    • 1918 – World War I: The Battle of Hamel, a successful attack by the Australian Corps against German positions near the town of Le Hamel on the Western Front.
    • 1918 – Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
    • 1927 – First flight of the Lockheed Vega.
    • 1939 – Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself “The luckiest man on the face of the earth”, then announces his retirement from major league baseball.
    • 1941 – Nazi crimes against the Polish nation: Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Burning of the Riga synagogues: The Great Choral Synagogue in German occupied Riga is burnt with 300 Jews locked in the basement.
    • 1942 – World War II: The 250-day Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea ends when the city falls to Axis forces.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world’s largest tank battle, begins in the village of Prokhorovka.
    • 1943 – World War II: In Gibraltar, a Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into the sea in an apparent accident moments after takeoff, killing sixteen passengers on board, including general Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile; only the pilot survives.
    • 1946 – The Kielce pogrom against Jewish Holocaust survivors in Poland.
    • 1946 – After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.
    • 1947 – The “Indian Independence Bill” is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan.
    • 1950 – Cold War: Radio Free Europe first broadcasts.
    • 1951 – Cold War: A court in Czechoslovakia sentences American journalist William N. Oatis to ten years in prison on charges of espionage.
    • 1951 – William Shockley announces the invention of the junction transistor.
    • 1954 – Rationing ends in the United Kingdom.
    • 1960 – Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Acts (United States)).
    • 1961 – On its maiden voyage, the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-19 suffers a complete loss of coolant to its reactor. The crew are able to effect repairs, but 22 of them die of radiation poisoning over the following two years.
    • 1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year.
    • 1976 – Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.
    • 1976 – The U.S. celebrates its Bicentennial.
    • 1977 – The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit.
    • 1982 – Three Iranian diplomats and a journalist are kidnapped in Lebanon by Phalange forces, and their fate remains unknown.
    • 1987 – In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (a.k.a. the “Butcher of Lyon”) is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.
    • 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city.
    • 1997 – NASA’s Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
    • 1998 – Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.
    • 2001 – Vladivostock Air Flight 352 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Airport killing all 145 people on board.
    • 2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City.
    • 2004 – Greece beats Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final and becomes European Champion for first time in its history.
    • 2005 – The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
    • 2006 – Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station. The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program’s history to occur on the United States’ Independence Day.
    • 2009 – The Statue of Liberty’s crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
    • 2009 – The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao.
    • 2012 – The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.
    • 2015 – Chile claims its first title in international soccer by defeating Argentina in the 2015 Copa América Final.

    Births on July 4

    • AD 68 – Salonina Matidia, Roman daughter of Ulpia Marciana (d. 119)
    • 1095 – Usama ibn Munqidh, Muslim poet, author and faris (Knight) (d. 1188)
    • 1330 – Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shōgun (d. 1367)
    • 1477 – Johannes Aventinus, Bavarian historian and philologist (d. 1534)
    • 1546 – Murad III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1595)
    • 1656 – John Leake, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1720)
    • 1694 – Louis-Claude Daquin, French organist and composer (d. 1772)
    • 1715 – Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet and academic (d. 1769)
    • 1719 – Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright (d. 1797)
    • 1729 – George Leonard, American lawyer, jurist and politician (d. 1819)
    • 1753 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard, French inventor, best known as a pioneer in balloon flight (d. 1809)
    • 1790 – George Everest, Welsh geographer and surveyor (d. 1866)
    • 1799 – Oscar I of Sweden (d. 1859)
    • 1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1864)
    • 1807 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian general and politician (d. 1882)
    • 1816 – Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club whisky (d. 1899)
    • 1826 – Stephen Foster, American songwriter and composer (d. 1864)
    • 1842 – Hermann Cohen, German philosopher (d. 1918)
    • 1845 – Thomas John Barnardo, Irish philanthropist and humanitarian (d. 1905)
    • 1847 – James Anthony Bailey, American circus ringmaster, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1906)
    • 1854 – Victor Babeș, Romanian physician and biologist (d. 1926)
    • 1868 – Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer and academic (d. 1921)
    • 1871 – Hubert Cecil Booth, English engineer (d. 1955)
    • 1872 – Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (d. 1933)
    • 1874 – John McPhee, Australian journalist and politician, 27th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1952)
    • 1880 – Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1975)
    • 1881 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American general (d. 1968)
    • 1883 – Rube Goldberg, American sculptor, cartoonist, and engineer (d. 1970)
    • 1887 – Pio Pion, Italian engineer and businessman (d. 1965)
    • 1888 – Henry Armetta, Italian-American actor and singer (d. 1945)
    • 1895 – Irving Caesar, American songwriter and composer (d. 1996)
    • 1896 – Mao Dun, Chinese journalist, author, and critic (d. 1981)
    • 1897 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (d. 1924)
    • 1898 – Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican-American historian and activist (d. 1997)
    • 1898 – Gertrude Lawrence, British actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1952)
    • 1898 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian politician (d. 1998)
    • 1898 – Gertrude Weaver, American supercentenarian (d. 2015)
    • 1900 – Belinda Dann, Indigenous Australian who was one of the Stolen Generation, reunited with family aged 107 (d. 2007)
    • 1900 – Nellie Mae Rowe, American folk artist (d. 1982)
    • 1902 – Meyer Lansky, American gangster (d. 1983)
    • 1902 – George Murphy, American actor and politician (d. 1992)
    • 1903 – Flor Peeters, Belgian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1986)
    • 1904 – Angela Baddeley, English actress (d. 1976)
    • 1905 – Irving Johnson, American sailor and author (d. 1991)
    • 1905 – Robert Hankey, 2nd Baron Hankey, British diplomat and public servant (d. 1996)
    • 1905 – Lionel Trilling, American critic, essayist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1975)
    • 1906 – Vincent Schaefer, American chemist and meteorologist (d. 1993)
    • 1907 – John Anderson, American discus thrower (d. 1948)
    • 1907 – Howard Taubman, American author and critic (d. 1996)
    • 1909 – Alec Templeton, Welsh composer, pianist and satirist (d. 1963)
    • 1910 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and scholar (d. 2003)
    • 1910 – Gloria Stuart, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1911 – Bruce Hamilton, Australian public servant (d. 1989)
    • 1911 – Mitch Miller, American singer and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1914 – Nuccio Bertone, Italian automobile designer (d. 1997)
    • 1915 – Timmie Rogers, American actor and singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Iva Toguri D’Aquino, American typist and broadcaster (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – Eppie Lederer, American journalist and radio host (d. 2002)
    • 1918 – Johnnie Parsons, American race car driver (d. 1984)
    • 1918 – King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV of Tonga, (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – Alec Bedser, English cricketer (d. 2010)
    • 1918 – Eric Bedser, English cricketer (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Norm Drucker, American basketball player and referee (d. 2015)
    • 1920 – Leona Helmsley, American businesswoman (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – Fritz Wilde, German footballer and manager (d. 1977)
    • 1920 – Paul Bannai, American politician (d. 2019)
    • 1921 – Gérard Debreu, French economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
    • 1921 – Nasser Sharifi, Iranian sports shooter
    • 1921 – Metropolitan Mikhail of Asyut (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Philip Rose, American actor, playwright, and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1921 – Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and conductor (d. 2003)
    • 1922 – R. James Harvey, American politician (d. 2019)
    • 1923 – Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Eva Marie Saint, American actress
    • 1924 – Delia Fiallo, Cuban author and screenwriter
    • 1925 – Ciril Zlobec, Slovene poet, writer, translator, journalist and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1925 – Dorothy Head Knode, American tennis player (d. 2015)
    • 1926 – Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentinian-Spanish footballer and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Lake Underwood, American race car driver and businessman (d. 2008)
    • 1927 – Gina Lollobrigida, Italian actress and photographer
    • 1927 – Neil Simon, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1928 – Giampiero Boniperti, Italian footballer and politician
    • 1928 – Teofisto Guingona Jr., Filipino politician; 11th Vice President of the Philippines
    • 1928 – Jassem Alwan, Syrian Army Officer (d. 2018)
    • 1928 – Shan Ratnam, Sri Lankan physician and academic (d. 2001)
    • 1928 – Chuck Tanner, American baseball player and manager (d. 2011)
    • 1929 – Ron Casey, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2018)
    • 1929 – Al Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
    • 1929 – Bill Tuttle, American baseball player (d. 1998)
    • 1930 – George Steinbrenner, American businessman (d. 2010)
    • 1931 – Stephen Boyd, Northern Ireland-born American actor (d. 1977)
    • 1931 – Rick Casares, American football player and soldier (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1931 – Peter Richardson, English cricketer (d. 2017)
    • 1932 – Aurèle Vandendriessche, Belgian runner
    • 1934 – Yvonne B. Miller, American academic and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1934 – Colin Welland, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1935 – Paul Scoon, Grenadian politician, 2nd Governor-General of Grenada (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Zdzisława Donat, Polish soprano and actress
    • 1937 – Thomas Nagel, American philosopher and academic
    • 1937 – Queen Sonja of Norway
    • 1937 – Richard Rhodes, American journalist and historian
    • 1937 – Eric Walters, Australian journalist (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Steven Rose, English biologist and academic
    • 1938 – Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2020)
    • 1940 – Pat Stapleton, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2020)
    • 1941 – Sam Farr, American politician
    • 1941 – Tomaž Šalamun, Croatian-Slovenian poet and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1941 – Pavel Sedláček, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1941 – Brian Willson, American soldier, lawyer, and activist
    • 1942 – Hal Lanier, American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1942 – Floyd Little, American football player and coach
    • 1942 – Stefan Meller, French-Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2008)
    • 1942 – Prince Michael of Kent
    • 1942 – Peter Rowan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Conny Bauer, German trombonist
    • 1943 – Emerson Boozer, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1943 – Adam Hart-Davis, English historian, author, and photographer
    • 1943 – Geraldo Rivera, American lawyer, journalist, and author
    • 1943 – Fred Wesley, American jazz and funk trombonist
    • 1943 – Alan Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1970)
    • 1945 – Andre Spitzer, Romanian-Israeli fencer and coach (d. 1972)
    • 1946 – Ron Kovic, American author and activist
    • 1946 – Michael Milken, American businessman and philanthropist
    • 1947 – Lembit Ulfsak, Estonian actor and director (d. 2017)
    • 1948 – René Arnoux, French race car driver
    • 1948 – Tommy Körberg, Swedish singer and actor
    • 1948 – Jeremy Spencer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1950 – Philip Craven, English basketball player and swimmer
    • 1950 – David Jensen, Canadian-English radio and television host
    • 1951 – John Alexander, Australian tennis player and politician
    • 1951 – Ralph Johnson, American R&B drummer and percussionist
    • 1951 – Vladimir Tismăneanu, Romanian-American political scientist, sociologist, and academic
    • 1951 – Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American lawyer and politician, 6th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
    • 1952 – Álvaro Uribe, Colombian lawyer and politician, 39th President of Colombia
    • 1952 – Carol MacReady, English actress
    • 1952 – John Waite, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1952 – Paul Rogat Loeb, American author and activist
    • 1953 – Francis Maude, English lawyer and politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office
    • 1954 – Jim Beattie, American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1954 – Morganna, American model, actress, and dancer
    • 1954 – Devendra Kumar Joshi, 21st Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy
    • 1955 – Kevin Nichols, Australian cyclist
    • 1956 – Robert Sinclair MacKay, British academic and educator
    • 1957 – Rein Lang, Estonian politician and diplomat, 25th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1958 – Vera Leth, Greenlandic Ombudsman
    • 1958 – Kirk Pengilly, Australian guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
    • 1958 – Carl Valentine, English-Canadian footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1959 – Victoria Abril, Spanish actress and singer
    • 1960 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (d. 1994)
    • 1961 – Richard Garriott, English-American video game designer, created the Ultima series
    • 1962 – Pam Shriver, American tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Henri Leconte, French tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Laureano Márquez, Spanish-Venezuelan political scientist and journalist
    • 1963 – José Oquendo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
    • 1963 – Sonia Pierre, Hatian-Dominican human rights activist (d. 2011)
    • 1964 – Cle Kooiman, American soccer player and manager
    • 1964 – Elie Saab, Lebanese fashion designer
    • 1964 – Edi Rama, Albanian politician
    • 1964 – Mark Slaughter, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1964 – Mark Whiting, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Harvey Grant, American basketball player and coach
    • 1965 – Horace Grant, American basketball player and coach
    • 1965 – Kiriakos Karataidis, Greek footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Gérard Watkins, English actor and playwright
    • 1966 – Ronni Ancona, Scottish actress and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Minas Hantzidis, German-Greek footballer
    • 1966 – Lee Reherman, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1967 – Vinny Castilla, Mexican baseball player and manager
    • 1967 – Sébastien Deleigne, French athlete
    • 1969 – Al Golden, American football player and coach
    • 1969 – Todd Marinovich, American football player and coach
    • 1969 – Wilfred Mugeyi, Zimbabwean footballer and coach
    • 1972 – Stephen Giles, Canadian canoe racer and engineer
    • 1972 – Mike Knuble, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1973 – Keiko Ihara, Japanese race car driver
    • 1973 – Gackt, Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor
    • 1973 – Michael Johnson, English-Jamaican footballer and manager
    • 1973 – Anjelika Krylova, Russian ice dancer and coach
    • 1973 – Jan Magnussen, Danish race car driver
    • 1973 – Tony Popovic, Australian footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Jill Craybas, American tennis player
    • 1974 – La’Roi Glover, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Adrian Griffin, American basketball player and coach
    • 1976 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (d. 2003)
    • 1976 – Yevgeniya Medvedeva, Russian skier
    • 1978 – Marcos Daniel, Brazilian tennis player
    • 1978 – Émile Mpenza, Belgian footballer
    • 1979 – Siim Kabrits, Estonian politician
    • 1979 – Josh McCown, American football player
    • 1979 – Renny Vega, Venezuelan footballer
    • 1980 – Kwame Steede, Bermudan footballer
    • 1981 – Dedé, Angolan footballer
    • 1981 – Brock Berlin, American football player
    • 1981 – Christoph Preuß, German footballer
    • 1981 – Francisco Cruceta, Dominican baseball player
    • 1981 – Will Smith, American football player (d. 2016)
    • 1982 – Vladimir Boisa, Georgian basketball player
    • 1982 – Vladimir Gusev, Russian cyclist
    • 1982 – Jeff Lima, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1982 – Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, American model, author and television personality
    • 1983 – Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Amantle Montsho, Botswanan sprinter
    • 1983 – Miguel Pinto, Chilean footballer
    • 1983 – Amol Rajan, Indian-English journalist
    • 1983 – Mattia Serafini, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – Jin Akanishi, Japanese singer-songwriter
    • 1984 – Miguel Santos Soares, Timorese footballer
    • 1985 – Kane Tenace, Australian footballer
    • 1985 – Dimitrios Mavroeidis, Greek basketball player
    • 1985 – Wason Rentería, Colombian footballer
    • 1986 – Ömer Aşık, Turkish basketball player
    • 1986 – Nguyen Ngoc Duy, Vietnamese footballer
    • 1986 – Rafael Arévalo, Salvadoran tennis player
    • 1986 – Willem Janssen, Dutch footballer
    • 1986 – Terrance Knighton, American football player
    • 1986 – Marte Elden, Norwegian skier
    • 1987 – Wude Ayalew, Ethiopian runner
    • 1987 – Guram Kashia, Georgian footballer
    • 1988 – Angelique Boyer, French-Mexican actress
    • 1989 – Benjamin Büchel, Liechtensteiner footballer
    • 1990 – Jake Gardiner, American ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Richard Mpong, Ghanaian footballer
    • 1990 – Naoki Yamada, Japanese footballer
    • 1990 – Ihar Yasinski, Belarusian footballer
    • 1992 – Ángel Romero, Paraguayan footballer
    • 1992 – Óscar Romero, Paraguayan footballer
    • 1993 – Tom Barkhuizen, English footballer
    • 1995 – Post Malone, American singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer
    • 1999 – Moa Kikuchi, Japanese musician
    • 2003 – Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer

    Deaths on July 4

    • 673 – Ecgberht, king of Kent
    • 907 – Luitpold, margrave of Bavaria
    • 907 – Dietmar I, archbishop of Salzburg
    • 910 – Luo Shaowei, Chinese warlord (b. 877)
    • 940 – Wang Jianli, Chinese general (b. 871)
    • 943 – Taejo of Goryeo, Korean king (b. 877)
    • 945 – Zhuo Yanming, Chinese Buddhist monk and emperor
    • 965 – Benedict V, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 973 – Ulrich of Augsburg, German bishop and saint (b. 890)
    • 975 – Gwangjong of Goryeo, Korean king (b. 925)
    • 1187 – Raynald of Châtillon, French knight (b. 1125)
    • 1307 – Rudolf I of Bohemia (b. 1281)
    • 1336 – Saint Elizabeth of Portugal (b. 1271)
    • 1429 – Carlo I Tocco, ruler of Epirus (b. 1372)
    • 1533 – John Frith, English priest, writer, and martyr (b. 1503)
    • 1541 – Pedro de Alvarado, Spanish general and explorer (b. 1495)
    • 1546 – Hayreddin Barbarossa, Ottoman admiral (b. 1478)
    • 1551 – Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell, English politician (b. 1514)
    • 1603 – Philippe de Monte, Flemish composer and educator (b. 1521)
    • 1623 – William Byrd, English composer (b. c. 1540)
    • 1644 – Brian Twyne, English academic, antiquarian and archivist (b. 1581)
    • 1648 – Antoine Daniel, French missionary and saint, one of the eight Canadian Martyrs (b. 1601)
    • 1742 – Luigi Guido Grandi, Italian monk, mathematician, and engineer (b. 1671)
    • 1754 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French playwright and author (b. 1680)
    • 1761 – Samuel Richardson, English author and painter (b. 1689)
    • 1780 – Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (b. 1712)
    • 1787 – Charles, Prince of Soubise, Marshal of France (b. 1715)
    • 1821 – Richard Cosway, English painter and academic (b. 1742)
    • 1826 – John Adams, American lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the United States (b. 1735)
    • 1826 – Thomas Jefferson, American architect, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of the United States (b. 1743)
    • 1831 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (b. 1758)
    • 1848 – François-René de Chateaubriand, French historian and politician (b. 1768)
    • 1850 – William Kirby, English entomologist and author (b. 1759)
    • 1854 – Karl Friedrich Eichhorn, German academic and jurist (b. 1781)
    • 1857 – William L. Marcy, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 21st United States Secretary of State (b. 1786)
    • 1881 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish philosopher and politician (b. 1806)
    • 1882 – Joseph Brackett, American composer and author (b. 1797)
    • 1886 – Poundmaker, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1797)
    • 1891 – Hannibal Hamlin, American lawyer and politician, 15th Vice President of the United States (b. 1809)
    • 1901 – Johannes Schmidt, German linguist and academic (b. 1843)
    • 1902 – Vivekananda, Indian monk and saint (b. 1863)
    • 1905 – Élisée Reclus, French geographer and author (b. 1830)
    • 1910 – Melville Fuller, American lawyer and jurist, Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1833)
    • 1910 – Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer and historian (b. 1835)
    • 1916 – Alan Seeger, American soldier and poet (b. 1888)
    • 1922 – Lothar von Richthofen, German lieutenant and pilot (b. 1894)
    • 1926 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian activist and saint (b. 1901)
    • 1934 – Marie Curie, French-Polish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
    • 1938 – Otto Bauer, Austrian philosopher and politician, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1881)
    • 1938 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (b. 1899)
    • 1941 – Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician and academic (b. 1881)
    • 1943 – Władysław Sikorski, Polish general and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Poland (b. 1881)
    • 1946 – Taffy O’Callaghan, Welsh footballer and coach (b. 1906)
    • 1948 – Monteiro Lobato, Brazilian journalist and author (b. 1882)
    • 1949 – François Brandt, Dutch rower and engineer (b. 1874)
    • 1963 – Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, New Zealand general and politician, 7th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1889)
    • 1963 – Clyde Kennard, American activist and martyr (b. 1927)
    • 1963 – Pingali Venkayya, Indian activist, designed the Flag of India (b. 1876)
    • 1964 – Gaby Morlay, French actress and singer (b. 1893)
    • 1969 – Henri Decoin, French director and screenwriter (b. 1890)
    • 1970 – Barnett Newman, American painter and illustrator (b. 1905)
    • 1970 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American sailor and businessman (b. 1884)
    • 1971 – August Derleth, American anthologist and author (b. 1909)
    • 1971 – Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (b. 1877)
    • 1974 – Georgette Heyer, English author (b. 1902)
    • 1974 – André Randall, French actor (b. 1892)
    • 1976 – Yonatan Netanyahu, Israeli colonel (b. 1946)
    • 1976 – Antoni Słonimski, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1895)
    • 1977 – Gersh Budker, Ukrainian physicist and academic (b. 1918)
    • 1979 – Lee Wai Tong, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1905)
    • 1980 – Maurice Grevisse, Belgian linguist and author (b. 1895)
    • 1984 – Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
    • 1986 – Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critique musical and physicist (b. 1933)
    • 1986 – Flor Peeters, Belgian organist and composer (b. 1903)
    • 1986 – Oscar Zariski, Belarusian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1899)
    • 1988 – Adrian Adonis, American wrestler (b. 1954)
    • 1990 – Olive Ann Burns, American journalist and author (b. 1924)
    • 1991 – Victor Chang, Chinese-Australian surgeon and physician (b. 1936)
    • 1991 – Art Sansom, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
    • 1992 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentinian bandoneon player and composer (b. 1921)
    • 1993 – Bona Arsenault, Canadian historian, genealogist, and politician (b. 1903)
    • 1994 – Joey Marella, American wrestling referee (b. 1964)
    • 1995 – Eva Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and singer (b. 1919)
    • 1995 – Bob Ross, American painter and television host (b. 1942)
    • 1997 – Charles Kuralt, American journalist (b. 1934)
    • 1997 – John Zachary Young, English zoologist and neurophysiologist (b. 1907)
    • 1999 – Leo Garel, American illustrator and educator (b. 1917)
    • 2000 – Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1919)
    • 2002 – Gerald Bales, Canadian organist and composer (b. 1919)
    • 2002 – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American general (b. 1912)
    • 2003 – Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (b. 1939)
    • 2003 – André Claveau, French singer (b. 1915)
    • 2003 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1944)
    • 2004 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Cliff Goupille, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Hank Stram, American football player and coach (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Bill Pinkney, American singer (b. 1925)
    • 2008 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (b. 1940)
    • 2008 – Jesse Helms, American politician (b. 1921)
    • 2008 – Evelyn Keyes, American actress (b. 1916)
    • 2008 – Terrence Kiel, American football player (b. 1980)
    • 2008 – Charles Wheeler, German-English soldier and journalist (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Brenda Joyce, American actress (b. 1917)
    • 2009 – Allen Klein, American businessman and talent agent, founded ABKCO Records (b. 1931)
    • 2009 – Drake Levin, American guitarist (b. 1946)
    • 2009 – Steve McNair, American football player (b. 1973)
    • 2009 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author and actor (b. 1935)
    • 2009 – Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, Congolese poet and politician (b. 1938)
    • 2010 – Robert Neil Butler, American physician and author (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Hiren Bhattacharyya, Indian poet and author (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Jimmy Bivins, American boxer (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Jeong Min-hyeong, South Korean footballer (b. 1987)
    • 2012 – Eric Sykes, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Onllwyn Brace, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Jack Crompton, English footballer and manager (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – James Fulton, American dermatologist and academic (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – Charles A. Hines, American general (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer (b. 1960)
    • 2014 – Giorgio Faletti, Italian author, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1950)
    • 2014 – C. J. Henderson, American author and critic (b. 1951)
    • 2014 – Earl Robinson, American baseball player (b. 1936)
    • 2014 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Nedelcho Beronov, Bulgarian judge and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – William Conrad Gibbons, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – John Blackwell, American R&B, funk, and jazz drummer (b. 1973)
    • 2017 – Daniil Granin, Soviet and Russian author (b. 1919)
    • 2018 – Henri Dirickx, Belgian footballer (b. 1927)
    • 2018 – Robby Müller, Dutch cinematographer (b. 1940)

    Holidays and observances on July 4

    • Christian feast day:
      • Andrew of Crete
      • Bertha of Artois
      • Blessed Catherine Jarrige
      • Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
      • Elizabeth of Aragon (or of Portugal)
      • Oda of Canterbury
      • Ulrich of Augsburg
      • July 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Birthday of Queen Sonja (Norway)
    • The first evening of Dree Festival, celebrated until July 7 (Apatani people, Arunachal Pradesh, India)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the Declaration of Independence of the United States from Great Britain in 1776. (United States and its dependencies)
    • Liberation Day (Northern Mariana Islands)
    • Liberation Day (Rwanda)
    • Republic Day (Philippines)

  • June 21 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    This day usually marks the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, which is the day of the year with the most hours of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere and the fewest hours of daylight in the Southern Hemisphere.

    June 21 in History

    • 533 – A Byzantine expeditionary fleet under Belisarius sails from Constantinople to attack the Vandals in Africa, via Greece and Sicily (approximate date).
    • 1307 – Külüg Khan is enthroned as Khagan of the Mongols and Wuzong of the Yuan.
    • 1529 – French forces are driven out of northern Italy by Spain at the Battle of Landriano during the War of the League of Cognac.
    • 1582 – Sengoku period: Oda Nobunaga, the most powerful of the Japanese daimyōs, is forced to commit suicide by his own general Akechi Mitsuhide.
    • 1621 – Execution of 27 Czech noblemen on the Old Town Square in Prague as a consequence of the Battle of White Mountain.
    • 1734 – In Montreal in New France, a slave known by the French name of Marie-Joseph Angélique is put to death, having been convicted of setting the fire that destroyed much of the city.
    • 1749 – Halifax, Nova Scotia, is founded.
    • 1768 – James Otis Jr. offends the King and Parliament in a speech to the Massachusetts General Court.
    • 1788 – New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify the Constitution of the United States.
    • 1791 – King Louis XVI of France and his immediate family begin the Flight to Varennes during the French Revolution.
    • 1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798: The British Army defeats Irish rebels at the Battle of Vinegar Hill.
    • 1813 – Peninsular War: Wellington defeats Joseph Bonaparte at the Battle of Vitoria.
    • 1824 – Greek War of Independence: Egyptian forces capture Psara in the Aegean Sea.
    • 1826 – Maniots defeat Egyptians under Ibrahim Pasha in the Battle of Vergas.
    • 1848 – In the Wallachian Revolution, Ion Heliade Rădulescu and Christian Tell issue the Proclamation of Islaz and create a new republican government.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Jerusalem Plank Road begins.
    • 1898 – The United States captures Guam from Spain. The few warning shots fired by the U.S. naval vessels are misinterpreted as salutes by the Spanish garrison, which was unaware that the two nations were at war.
    • 1900 – Boxer Rebellion. China formally declares war on the United States, Britain, Germany, France and Japan, as an edict issued from the Empress Dowager Cixi.
    • 1915 – The U.S. Supreme Court hands down its decision in Guinn v. United States 238 US 347 1915, striking down Oklahoma grandfather clause legislation which had the effect of denying the right to vote to blacks.
    • 1919 – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police fire a volley into a crowd of unemployed war veterans, killing two, during the Winnipeg general strike.
    • 1919 – Admiral Ludwig von Reuter scuttles the German fleet at Scapa Flow, Orkney. The nine sailors killed are the last casualties of World War I.
    • 1929 – An agreement brokered by U.S. Ambassador Dwight Whitney Morrow ends the Cristero War in Mexico.
    • 1930 – One-year conscription comes into force in France.
    • 1940 – World War II: Italy begins an unsuccessful invasion of France.
    • 1942 – World War II: Tobruk falls to Italian and German forces.
    • 1942 – World War II: A Japanese submarine surfaces near the Columbia River in Oregon, firing 17 shells at Fort Stevens in one of only a handful of attacks by Japan against the United States mainland.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Okinawa ends when the organized resistance of Imperial Japanese Army forces collapses in the Mabuni area on the southern tip of the main island.
    • 1952 – The Philippine School of Commerce, through a republic act, is converted to Philippine College of Commerce, later to be the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
    • 1957 – Ellen Fairclough is sworn in as Canada’s first female Cabinet Minister.
    • 1963 – Cardinal Giovanni Battista Montini is elected as Pope Paul VI.
    • 1964 – Three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner, are murdered in Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States, by members of the Ku Klux Klan.
    • 1970 – Penn Central declares Section 77 bankruptcy in what was the largest U.S. corporate bankruptcy to date.
    • 1973 – In its decision in Miller v. California, 413 U.S. 15, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the Miller test for determining whether something is obscene and not protected speech under the U.S. constitution.
    • 1978 – The original production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, Evita, based on the life of Eva Perón, opens at the Prince Edward Theatre, London.
    • 1982 – John Hinckley is found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
    • 1989 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Texas v. Johnson, 491 U.S. 397, that American flag-burning is a form of political protest protected by the First Amendment.
    • 2000 – Section 28 (of the Local Government Act 1988), outlawing the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in the United Kingdom, is repealed in Scotland with a 99 to 17 vote.
    • 2001 – A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia, indicts 13 Saudis and a Lebanese in the 1996 bombing of the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia that killed 19 American servicemen.
    • 2004 – SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.
    • 2005 – Edgar Ray Killen, who had previously been unsuccessfully tried for the murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Mickey Schwerner, is convicted of manslaughter 41 years afterwards (the case had been reopened in 2004).
    • 2006 – Pluto’s newly discovered moons are officially named Nix and Hydra.
    • 2009 – Greenland assumes self-rule.
    • 2012 – A boat carrying more than 200 migrants capsizes in the Indian Ocean between the Indonesian island of Java and Christmas Island, killing 17 people and leaving 70 others missing.

    Births on June 21

    • 598 – Pope Martin I (d. 656)
    • 906 – Abu Ja’far Ahmad ibn Muhammad, Saffarid emir (d. 963)
    • 1002 – Pope Leo IX (d. 1054)
    • 1226 – Bolesław V the Chaste of Poland (d. 1279)
    • 1521 – John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Haderslev (d. 1580)
    • 1528 – Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress (d. 1603)
    • 1535 – Leonhard Rauwolf, German physician and botanist (d. 1596)
    • 1630 – Samuel Oppenheimer, German Jewish banker and diplomat (d. 1703)
    • 1636 – Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d’Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon, French noble (d. 1721)
    • 1639 – Increase Mather, American minister and author (d. 1723)
    • 1676 – Anthony Collins, English philosopher and author (d. 1729)
    • 1706 – John Dollond, English optician and astronomer (d. 1761)
    • 1710 – James Short, Scottish-English mathematician and optician (d. 1768)
    • 1712 – Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, comte de Guichen, French admiral (d. 1790)
    • 1730 – Motoori Norinaga, Japanese poet and scholar (d. 1801)
    • 1732 – Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, German pianist and composer (d. 1791)
    • 1736 – Enoch Poor, American general (d. 1780)
    • 1741 – Prince Benedetto, Duke of Chablais (d. 1808)
    • 1750 – Pierre-Nicolas Beauvallet, French sculptor and illustrator (d. 1818)
    • 1759 – Alexander J. Dallas, American lawyer and politician, 6th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1817)
    • 1763 – Pierre Paul Royer-Collard, French philosopher and academic (d. 1845)
    • 1764 – Sidney Smith, English admiral and politician (d. 1840)
    • 1774 – Daniel D. Tompkins, American lawyer and politician, 6th Vice President of the United States (d. 1825)
    • 1781 – Siméon Denis Poisson, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1840)
    • 1786 – Charles Edward Horn, English singer-songwriter (d. 1849)
    • 1792 – Ferdinand Christian Baur, German theologian and scholar (d. 1860)
    • 1797 – Wilhelm Küchelbecker, Russian poet and author (d. 1846)
    • 1802 – Karl Zittel, German theologian (d. 1871)
    • 1805 – Karl Friedrich Curschmann, German composer and singer (d. 1841)
    • 1805 – Charles Thomas Jackson, American physician and geologist (d. 1880)
    • 1811 – Carlo Matteucci, Italian physicist and neurophysiologist (d. 1868)
    • 1814 – Anton Nuhn, German anatomist and academic (d. 1889)
    • 1823 – Jean Chacornac, French astronomer (d. 1873)
    • 1825 – Thomas Edward Cliffe Leslie, Irish economist and jurist (d. 1882)
    • 1825 – William Stubbs, English bishop and historian (d. 1901)
    • 1828 – Ferdinand André Fouqué, French geologist and academic (d. 1904)
    • 1828 – Nikolaus Nilles, German Catholic writer and teacher (d. 1907)
    • 1834 – Frans de Cort, Flemish poet and author (d. 1878)
    • 1836 – Luigi Tripepi, Italian theologian (d. 1906)
    • 1839 – Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1908)
    • 1845 – Samuel Griffith, Welsh-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Queensland (d. 1920)
    • 1845 – Arthur Cowper Ranyard, English astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1894)
    • 1846 – Marion Adams-Acton, Scottish-English author and playwright (d. 1928)
    • 1846 – Enrico Coleman, Italian painter (d. 1911)
    • 1850 – Daniel Carter Beard, American author and illustrator, co-founded the Boy Scouts of America (d. 1941)
    • 1858 – Giuseppe De Sanctis, Italian painter (d. 1924)
    • 1858 – Medardo Rosso, Italian sculptor and educator (d. 1928)
    • 1859 – Henry Ossawa Tanner, American-French painter and illustrator (d. 1937)
    • 1862 – Damrong Rajanubhab, Thai historian and author (d. 1943)
    • 1863 – Max Wolf, German astronomer and academic (d. 1932)
    • 1864 – Heinrich Wölfflin, Swiss historian and critic (d. 1945)
    • 1867 – Oscar Florianus Bluemner, German-American painter and illustrator (d. 1938)
    • 1867 – William Brede Kristensen, Norwegian historian of religion (d. 1953)
    • 1868 – Edwin Stephen Goodrich, English zoologist and anatomist (d. 1946)
    • 1870 – Clara Immerwahr, Jewish-German chemist and academic (d. 1915)
    • 1870 – Anthony Michell, English-Australian engineer (d. 1959)
    • 1870 – Julio Ruelas, Mexican painter (d. 1907)
    • 1876 – Swami Kalyan Dev, philosopher  (d. 2004)
    • 1876 – Willem Hendrik Keesom, Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1956)
    • 1880 – Arnold Gesell, American psychologist and pediatrician (d. 1961)
    • 1880 – Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp, English economist and civil servant (d. 1941)
    • 1881 – (O.S.) Natalia Goncharova, Russian painter, costume designer, and illustrator (d. 1962)
    • 1882 – Lluís Companys, Spanish lawyer and politician, 123rd President of Catalonia (d. 1940)
    • 1882 – Adrianus de Jong, Dutch fencer and soldier (d. 1966)
    • 1882 – Rockwell Kent, American painter and illustrator (d. 1971)
    • 1883 – Feodor Gladkov, Russian author and educator (d. 1958)
    • 1884 – Claude Auchinleck, English field marshal (d. 1981)
    • 1887 – Norman L. Bowen, Canadian geologist and petrologist (d. 1956)
    • 1889 – Ralph Craig, American sprinter and sailor (d. 1972)
    • 1891 – Pier Luigi Nervi, Italian architect and engineer, co-designed the Pirelli Tower and Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption (d. 1979)
    • 1891 – Hermann Scherchen, German-Swiss viola player and conductor (d. 1966)
    • 1892 – Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologian and academic (d. 1971)
    • 1893 – Alois Hába, Czech composer and educator (d. 1973)
    • 1894 – Milward Kennedy, English journalist and civil servant (d. 1968)
    • 1896 – Charles Momsen, American admiral, invented the Momsen lung (d. 1967)
    • 1898 – Donald C. Peattie, American botanist and author (d. 1964)
    • 1899 – Pavel Haas, Czech composer (d. 1944)
    • 1903 – Hermann Engelhard, German runner and coach (d. 1984)
    • 1903 – Al Hirschfeld, American caricaturist, painter and illustrator (d. 2003)
    • 1905 – Jacques Goddet, French journalist (d. 2000)
    • 1905 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and author (d. 1980)
    • 1908 – William Frankena, American philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
    • 1910 – Aleksandr Tvardovsky, Russian poet and author (d. 1971)
    • 1911 – Irving Fein, American producer and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1912 – Kazimierz Leski, Polish pilot and engineer (d. 2000)
    • 1912 – Mary McCarthy, American novelist and critic (d. 1989)
    • 1912 – Vishnu Prabhakar, Indian author and playwright (d. 2009)
    • 1913 – Madihe Pannaseeha Thero, Sri Lankan monk and scholar (d. 2003)
    • 1913 – Luis Taruc, Filipino political activist (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – William Vickrey, Canadian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
    • 1915 – Wilhelm Gliese, German soldier and astronomer (d. 1993)
    • 1916 – Joseph Cyril Bamford, English businessman, founded J. C. Bamford (d. 2001)
    • 1916 – Tchan Fou-li, Chinese photographer (d. 2018)
    • 1916 – Herbert Friedman, American physicist and astronomer (d. 2000)
    • 1916 – Buddy O’Connor, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1977)
    • 1918 – Robert A. Boyd, Canadian engineer (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – James Joll, English historian, author, and academic (d. 1994)
    • 1918 – Eddie Lopat, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1992)
    • 1918 – Dee Molenaar, American mountaineer (d. 2020)
    • 1918 – Robert Roosa, American economist and banker (d. 1993)
    • 1918 – Tibor Szele, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1955)
    • 1918 – Josephine Webb, American engineer
    • 1919 – Antonia Mesina, Italian martyr and saint (d. 1935)
    • 1919 – Gérard Pelletier, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1919 – Vladimir Simagin, Russian chess player and coach (d. 1968)
    • 1919 – Paolo Soleri, Italian-American architect, designed the Cosanti (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Hans Gerschwiler, Swiss figure skater (d. 2017)
    • 1921 – Judy Holliday, American actress and singer (d. 1965)
    • 1921 – Jane Russell, American actress and singer (d. 2011)
    • 1921 – William Edwin Self, American actor, producer, and production manager (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – Joseph Ki-Zerbo, Burkinabé historian, politician and writer (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Jacques Hébert, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1924 – Pontus Hultén, Swedish art collector and historian (d. 2006)
    • 1924 – Ezzatolah Entezami, Iranian actor (d. 2018)
    • 1924 – Wally Fawkes, British-Canadian jazz clarinetist and a satirical cartoonist
    • 1924 – Jean Laplanche, French psychoanalyst and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1925 – Larisa Avdeyeva, Russian mezzo-soprano (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Stanley Moss, American poet, publisher, and art dealer
    • 1925 – Giovanni Spadolini, Italian journalist and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1994)
    • 1925 – Maureen Stapleton, American actress (d. 2006)
    • 1926 – Fred Cone, American football player
    • 1926 – Conrad Hall, French-American cinematographer (d. 2003)
    • 1927 – Carl Stokes, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Seychelles (d. 1996)
    • 1928 – Wolfgang Haken, German-American mathematician and academic
    • 1928 – Fiorella Mari, Brazilian-Italian actress
    • 1928 – Margit Bara, Hungarian actress (d. 2016)
    • 1929 – Alexandre Lagoya, Egyptian-Greek guitarist and composer (d. 1999)
    • 1930 – Gerald Kaufman, English journalist and politician, Shadow Foreign Secretary (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – Mike McCormack, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Zlatko Grgić, Croatian-Canadian animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1988)
    • 1931 – Margaret Heckler, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
    • 1931 – David Kushnir, Israeli Olympic long-jumper
    • 1932 – Bernard Ingham, English journalist and civil servant
    • 1932 – Lalo Schifrin, Argentinian pianist, composer, and conductor
    • 1932 – O.C. Smith, American R&B/jazz singer (d. 2001)
    • 1933 – Bernie Kopell, American actor and comedian
    • 1935 – Françoise Sagan, French author and playwright (d. 2004)
    • 1937 – John Edrich, English cricketer and coach
    • 1938 – Don Black, English songwriter
    • 1938 – John W. Dower, American historian and author
    • 1938 – Michael M. Richter, German mathematician and computer scientist
    • 1940 – Mariette Hartley, American actress and television personality
    • 1940 – Michael Ruse, Canadian philosopher and academic
    • 1941 – Aloysius Paul D’Souza, Indian bishop
    • 1941 – Joe Flaherty, American-Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1941 – Lyman Ward, Canadian actor
    • 1942 – Clive Brooke, Baron Brooke of Alverthorpe, English businessman and politician
    • 1942 – Marjorie Margolies, American journalist and politician
    • 1942 – Henry S. Taylor, American author and poet
    • 1942 – Togo D. West, Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs
    • 1943 – Eumir Deodato, Brazilian pianist, composer, and producer
    • 1943 – Diane Marleau, Canadian accountant and politician, Canadian Minister of Health (d. 2013)
    • 1943 – Brian Sternberg, American pole vaulter (d. 2013)
    • 1944 – Ray Davies, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1944 – Tony Scott, English-American director and producer (d. 2012)
    • 1945 – Robert Dewar, English-American computer scientist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1945 – Adam Zagajewski, Polish author and poet
    • 1946 – Per Eklund, Swedish race car driver
    • 1946 – Kate Hoey, Northern Irish-British academic and politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics
    • 1946 – Brenda Holloway, American singer-songwriter
    • 1946 – Trond Kirkvaag, Norwegian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1946 – Malcolm Rifkind, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
    • 1946 – Maurice Saatchi, Baron Saatchi, Iraqi-British businessman, founded M&C Saatchi and Saatchi & Saatchi
    • 1947 – Meredith Baxter, American actress
    • 1947 – Shirin Ebadi, Iranian lawyer, judge, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1947 – Michael Gross, American actor
    • 1947 – Joey Molland, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Wade Phillips, American football coach
    • 1947 – Fernando Savater, Spanish philosopher and author
    • 1948 – Jovan Aćimović, Serbian footballer and manager
    • 1948 – Ian McEwan, British novelist and screenwriter
    • 1948 – Andrzej Sapkowski, Polish author and translator
    • 1948 – Philippe Sarde, French composer and conductor
    • 1949 – John Agard, Guyanese-English author, poet, and playwright
    • 1949 – Derek Emslie, Lord Kingarth, Scottish lawyer and judge
    • 1950 – Anne Carson, Canadian poet and academic
    • 1950 – Joey Kramer, American rock drummer and songwriter (Aerosmith)
    • 1950 – Enn Reitel, Scottish actor and screenwriter
    • 1950 – Trygve Thue, Norwegian guitarist and record producer
    • 1950 – John Paul Young, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1951 – Jim Douglas, American academic and politician, 80th Governor of Vermont
    • 1951 – Terence Etherton, English lawyer and judge
    • 1951 – Alan Hudson, English footballer
    • 1951 – Nils Lofgren, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – Lenore Manderson, Australian anthropologist and academic
    • 1951 – Mona-Lisa Pursiainen, Finnish sprinter (d. 2000)
    • 1952 – Judith Bingham, English singer-songwriter
    • 1952 – Jeremy Coney, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1952 – Patrick Dunleavy, English political scientist and academic
    • 1952 – Kōichi Mashimo, Japanese director and screenwriter
    • 1953 – Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani financier and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Pakistan (d. 2007)
    • 1954 – Már Guðmundsson, Icelandic economist, former Governor of Central Bank of Iceland
    • 1954 – Mark Kimmitt, American general and politician, 16th Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs
    • 1954 – Robert Menasse, Austrian author and academic
    • 1955 – Tim Bray, Canadian software developer and businessman
    • 1955 – Michel Platini, French footballer and manager
    • 1956 – Rick Sutcliffe, American baseball player and broadcaster
    • 1957 – Berkeley Breathed, American author and illustrator
    • 1957 – Luis Antonio Tagle, Filipino cardinal
    • 1958 – Víctor Montoya, Bolivian journalist and author
    • 1958 – Gennady Padalka, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1959 – John Baron, English captain and politician
    • 1959 – Tom Chambers, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1959 – Marcella Detroit, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1959 – Kathy Mattea, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1960 – Kate Brown, American politician, 38th Governor of Oregon
    • 1960 – Karl Erjavec, Slovenian politician
    • 1961 – Manu Chao, French singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1961 – Sascha Konietzko, German keyboard player and producer
    • 1961 – Joko Widodo, Indonesian businessman and politician, 7th President of Indonesia
    • 1961 – Kip Winger, American rock singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1961 – Iztok Mlakar, Slovenian actor and singer-songwriter
    • 1962 – Shōhei Takada, Japanese shogi player and theoretician
    • 1962 – Viktor Tsoi, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1990)
    • 1963 – Dario Marianelli, Italian pianist and composer
    • 1963 – Mike Sherrard, American football player
    • 1964 – David Morrissey, English actor and director
    • 1964 – Dimitris Papaioannou, Greek director and choreographer
    • 1964 – Dean Saunders, Welsh footballer and manager
    • 1964 – Doug Savant, American actor
    • 1965 – David Beerling, English biologist and academic
    • 1965 – Yang Liwei, Chinese general, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1965 – Ewen McKenzie, Australian rugby player and coach
    • 1965 – Lana Wachowski, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Gretchen Carlson, American model and television journalist, Miss America 1989
    • 1967 – Jim Breuer, American comedian, actor, and producer
    • 1967 – Derrick Coleman, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1967 – Pierre Omidyar, French-American businessman, founded eBay
    • 1967 – Carrie Preston, American actress, director, and producer
    • 1967 – Yingluck Shinawatra, Thai businesswoman and politician, 28th Prime Minister of Thailand
    • 1968 – Sonique, English singer-songwriter and DJ
    • 1970 – Eric Reed, American pianist and composer
    • 1971 – Tyronne Drakeford, American football player
    • 1972 – Nobuharu Asahara, Japanese sprinter and long jumper
    • 1972 – Neil Doak, Northern Irish cricketer and rugby player
    • 1972 – Irene van Dyk, South African-New Zealand netball player
    • 1973 – Juliette Lewis, American actress and singer-songwriter
    • 1973 – John Mitchell, English guitarist, vocalist and songwriter
    • 1974 – Rob Kelly, American football player
    • 1974 – Craig Lowndes, Australian race car driver
    • 1974 – Flavio Roma, Italian footballer
    • 1975 – Brian Simmons, American football player
    • 1976 – Shelley Craft, Australian television host
    • 1976 – Mike Einziger, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1976 – Nigel Lappin, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1977 – Michael Gomez, Irish boxer
    • 1977 – Al Wilson, American football player
    • 1978 – Thomas Blondeau, Flemish writer (d. 2013)
    • 1978 – Matt Kuchar, American golfer
    • 1978 – Cristiano Lupatelli, Italian footballer
    • 1978 – Gervase Markham, British software engineer (d. 2018)
    • 1978 – Dejan Ognjanović, Montenegrin footballer
    • 1978 – Rim’K, French rapper
    • 1979 – Kostas Katsouranis, Greek footballer
    • 1979 – Chris Pratt, American actor
    • 1980 – Michael Crocker, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1980 – Łukasz Cyborowski, Polish chess player
    • 1980 – Richard Jefferson, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Sendy Rleal, Dominican baseball player
    • 1981 – Yann Danis, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Garrett Jones, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Brandon Flowers, American singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Brad Walker, American pole vaulter
    • 1982 – Lee Dae-ho, South Korean baseball player
    • 1982 – Prince William, Duke of Cambridge
    • 1982 – Jussie Smollett, American actor and singer
    • 1983 – Edward Snowden, American activist and academic
    • 1985 – Lana Del Rey, American singer-songwriter
    • 1985 – Sentayehu Ejigu, Ethiopian runner
    • 1985 – Byron Schammer, Australian footballer
    • 1986 – Kathleen O’Kelly-Kennedy, Australian wheelchair basketball player
    • 1986 – Hideaki Wakui, Japanese baseball player
    • 1987 – Pablo Barrera, Mexican footballer
    • 1987 – Sebastian Prödl, Austrian footballer
    • 1987 – Dale Thomas, Australian footballer
    • 1988 – Allyssa DeHaan, American basketball and volleyball player
    • 1988 – Paolo Tornaghi, Italian footballer
    • 1988 – Thaddeus Young, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Abubaker Kaki, Sudanese runner
    • 1990 – Ričardas Berankis, Lithuanian tennis player
    • 1990 – Lunar C, English rapper
    • 1990 – François Moubandje, Swiss footballer
    • 1990 – Håvard Nordtveit, Norwegian footballer
    • 1991 – Gaël Kakuta, French footballer
    • 1992 – MAX, American singer, songwriter, actor, dancer and model
    • 1994 – Başak Eraydın, Turkish tennis player
    • 1996 – Tyrone May, Australian rugby league player
    • 1997 – Rebecca Black, American singer-songwriter
    • 1997 – Derrius Guice, American football player
    • 2011 – Lil Bub, American celebrity cat

    Deaths on June 21

    • 532 – Emperor Jiemin of Northern Wei, former Northern Wei emperor
    • 866 – Rodulf, Frankish archbishop
    • 868 – Ali al-Hadi, the tenth Imam of Shia Islam (b. 829)
    • 870 – Al-Muhtadi, Muslim caliph
    • 947 – Zhang Li, official of the Liao Dynasty
    • 1040 – Fulk III, Count of Anjou (b. 972)
    • 1171 – Walter de Luci, French-English monk (b. 1103)
    • 1208 – Philip of Swabia (b. 1177)
    • 1305 – Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (b. 1271)
    • 1359 – Erik Magnusson, king of Sweden (b. 1339)
    • 1377 – Edward III of England (b. 1312)
    • 1421 – Jean Le Maingre, French general (b. 1366)
    • 1527 – Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian historian and author (b. 1469)
    • 1529 – John Skelton, English poet and educator (b. 1460)
    • 1547 – Sebastiano del Piombo, Italian painter and educator (b. 1485)
    • 1558 – Piero Strozzi, Italian general (b. 1510)
    • 1582 – Oda Nobunaga, Japanese warlord (b. 1534)
    • 1585 – Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland (b. 1532)
    • 1591 – Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian saint (b. 1568)
    • 1596 – Jean Liebault, French agronomist and physician (b. 1535)
    • 1621 – Louis III, Cardinal of Guise (b. 1575)
    • 1621 – Kryštof Harant, Czech soldier and composer (b. 1564)
    • 1622 – Salomon Schweigger, German theologian (b. 1551)
    • 1631 – John Smith, English admiral and explorer (b. 1580)
    • 1652 – Inigo Jones, English architect, designed the Queen’s House and Wilton House (b. 1573)
    • 1661 – Andrea Sacchi, Italian painter (b. 1599)
    • 1737 – Matthieu Marais, French author, critic, and jurist (b. 1664)
    • 1738 – Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1674)
    • 1796 – Richard Gridley, American soldier and engineer (b. 1710)
    • 1824 – Étienne Aignan, French playwright and translator (b. 1773)
    • 1865 – Frances Adeline Seward, American wife of William H. Seward (b. 1824)
    • 1874 – Anders Jonas Ångström, Swedish physicist and astronomer (b. 1814)
    • 1876 – Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican general and politician 8th President of Mexico (b. 1794)
    • 1880 – Theophilus H. Holmes, American general (b. 1804)
    • 1893 – Leland Stanford, American businessman and politician, 8th Governor of California (b. 1824)
    • 1908 – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer and educator (b. 1844)
    • 1914 – Bertha von Suttner, Austrian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
    • 1929 – Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse, English sociologist, journalist, and academic (b. 1864)
    • 1934 – Thorne Smith, American author (b. 1892)
    • 1940 – Smedley Butler, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1881)
    • 1940 – Édouard Vuillard, French painter (b. 1868)
    • 1951 – Charles Dillon Perrine, American astronomer (b. 1867)
    • 1951 – Gustave Sandras, French gymnast (b. 1872)
    • 1952 – Wop May, Canadian captain and pilot (b. 1896)
    • 1954 – Gideon Sundback, Swedish-American engineer, developed the zipper (b. 1880)
    • 1957 – Claude Farrère, French captain and author (b. 1876)
    • 1957 – Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
    • 1964 – James Chaney, American civil rights activist (b. 1943)
    • 1964 – Andrew Goodman, American civil rights activist (b. 1943)
    • 1964 – Michael Schwerner, American civil rights activist (b. 1939)
    • 1967 – Theodore Sizer, American professor of the history of art (b. 1892)
    • 1969 – Maureen Connolly, American tennis player (b. 1934)
    • 1970 – Sukarno, Indonesian engineer and politician, 1st President of Indonesia (b. 1901)
    • 1970 – Piers Courage, English race car driver (b. 1942)
    • 1976 – Margaret Herrick, American librarian (b. 1902)
    • 1980 – Bert Kaempfert, German conductor and composer (b. 1923)
    • 1981 – Don Figlozzi, American illustrator and animator (b. 1909)
    • 1985 – Hector Boyardee, Italian-American chef and businessman, founded Chef Boyardee (b. 1897)
    • 1985 – Tage Erlander, Swedish lieutenant and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Sweden (b. 1901)
    • 1986 – Assi Rahbani, Lebanese singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1923)
    • 1987 – Madman Muntz, American engineer and businessman, founded the Muntz Car Company (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Bobby Dodd, American football coach (b. 1908)
    • 1990 – Cedric Belfrage, English journalist and author, co-founded the National Guardian (b. 1904)
    • 1990 – June Christy, American singer (b. 1925)
    • 1992 – Ben Alexander, Australian rugby league player (b. 1971)
    • 1992 – Arthur Gorrie, Australian hobby shop proprietor (b. 1922)
    • 1992 – Rudra Mohammad Shahidullah, Bangladeshi poet, author, and playwright (b. 1956)
    • 1992 – Li Xiannian, Chinese captain and politician, 3rd President of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1909)
    • 1994 – William Wilson Morgan, American astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1906)
    • 1997 – Shintaro Katsu, Japanese actor, singer, director, and producer (b. 1931)
    • 1997 – Fidel Velázquez Sánchez, Mexican trade union leader (b. 1900)
    • 1998 – Harry Cranbrook Allen, English historian (b. 1917)
    • 1998 – Anastasio Ballestrero, Italian cardinal (b. 1913)
    • 1998 – Al Campanis, American baseball player and manager (b. 1916)
    • 1999 – Kami, Japanese drummer (b. 1973)
    • 2000 – Alan Hovhaness, Armenian-American pianist and composer (b. 1911)
    • 2001 – John Lee Hooker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1917)
    • 2001 – Soad Hosny, Egyptian actress and singer (b. 1942)
    • 2001 – Carroll O’Connor, American actor and producer (b. 1924)
    • 2002 – Timothy Findley, Canadian author and playwright (b. 1930)
    • 2003 – Roger Neilson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1934)
    • 2003 – Leon Uris, American soldier and author (b. 1924)
    • 2004 – Leonel Brizola, Brazilian engineer and politician, Governor of Rio de Janeiro (b. 1922)
    • 2004 – Ruth Leach Amonette, American businesswoman (b. 1916)
    • 2005 – Jaime Sin, Filipino cardinal (b. 1928)
    • 2006 – Jared C. Monti, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1975)
    • 2007 – Bob Evans, American businessman, founded Bob Evans Restaurants (b. 1918)
    • 2008 – Scott Kalitta, American race car driver (b. 1962)
    • 2010 – Russell Ash, English author (b. 1946)
    • 2010 – Irwin Barker, Canadian actor and screenwriter (b. 1956)
    • 2010 – İlhan Selçuk, Turkish lawyer, journalist, and author (b. 1925)
    • 2011 – Robert Kroetsch, Canadian author and poet (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Richard Adler, American composer and producer (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Abid Hussain, Indian economist and diplomat, Indian Ambassador to the United States (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Sunil Janah, Indian photographer and journalist (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Anna Schwartz, American economist and author (b. 1915)
    • 2013 – James P. Gordon, American physicist and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Elliott Reid, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2014 – Yozo Ishikawa, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Defense (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Walter Kieber, Austrian-Liechtenstein politician, 7th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Wong Ho Leng, Malaysian lawyer and politician (b. 1959)
    • 2015 – Darryl Hamilton, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1964)
    • 2015 – Veijo Meri, Finnish author and poet (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Remo Remotti, Italian actor, playwright, and poet (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Alexander Schalck-Golodkowski, German soldier and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Gunther Schuller, American horn player, composer, and conductor (b. 1925)
    • 2016 – Pierre Lalonde, Canadian television host and singer (b. 1941)
    • 2018 – Charles Krauthammer, American columnist and conservative political commentator (b.1950)

    Holidays and observances on June 21

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alban of Mainz
      • Aloysius Gonzaga
      • Engelmund of Velsen
      • Martin of Tongres
      • Onesimos Nesib (Lutheran)
      • June 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the Martyrs (Togo)
    • Father’s Day (Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Uganda, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates)
    • Go Skateboarding Day
    • International Yoga Day (international)
    • National Aboriginal Day (Canada)
    • Solstice-related observances (see also June 20):
      • Day of Private Reflection
      • International Surfing Day
      • National Day (Greenland)
      • We Tripantu, a winter solstice festival in the southern hemisphere. (Mapuche, southern Chile)
      • Willkakuti, an Andean-Amazonic New Year (Aymara)
      • Fête de la Musique
    • World Humanist Day (Humanism)
    • World Hydrography Day (international)

  • May 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch.
    • 558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt.
    • 1274 – In France, the Second Council of Lyon opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
    • 1487 – The Siege of Málaga commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
    • 1544 – The Burning of Edinburgh by an English army is the first action of the Rough Wooing.
    • 1664 – Louis XIV of France begins construction of the Palace of Versailles.
    • 1685 – Battle of Vrtijeljka between rebels and Ottoman forces.
    • 1697 – Stockholm’s royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed by fire. It is replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.
    • 1718 – The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
    • 1763 – Pontiac’s War begins with Pontiac’s attempt to seize Fort Detroit from the British.
    • 1794 – French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic.
    • 1824 – World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer’s supervision.
    • 1832 – Greece’s independence is recognized by the Treaty of London.
    • 1840 – The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.
    • 1846 – The Cambridge Chronicle, America’s oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
    • 1864 – The world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide is launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
    • 1895 – In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector—a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
    • 1915 – World War I: German submarine U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many former pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.
    • 1915 – The Republic of China accedes to 13 of the 21 Demands, extending the Empire of Japan‘s control over Manchuria and the Chinese economy.
    • 1920 – Kiev Offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kiev only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
    • 1920 – Treaty of Moscow: Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
    • 1920 – Morecambe Football Club was founded during a meeting at the West View Hotel on the town’s promenade.
    • 1930 – The 7.1 Mw  Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to three-thousand people were killed.
    • 1931 – The stand-off between criminal Francis Crowley and 300 members of the New York Police Department takes place in his fifth-floor apartment on West 91st Street, New York City.
    • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco’s forces.
    • 1940 – World War II: The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.
    • 1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō; the battle marks the first time in naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
    • 1945 – World War II: Last German U boat attack of the war, two freighters are sunk off the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
    • 1945 – World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany’s participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day.
    • 1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded
    • 1948 – The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
    • 1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
    • 1954 – Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Viet Minh victory (the battle began on March 13).
    • 1960 – Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.
    • 1976 – The Honda Accord is officially launched.
    • 1986 – Canadian Patrick Morrow becomes the first person to climb each of the Seven Summits.
    • 1992 – Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.
    • 1992 – Space Shuttle program: The Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its first mission, STS-49.
    • 1992 – Three employees at a McDonald’s Restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first “fast-food murder” in Canada.
    • 1994 – Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.
    • 1998 – Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
    • 1999 – Pope John Paul II travels to Romania, becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.
    • 1999 – Kosovo War: Three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft apparently inadvertently bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.
    • 1999 – In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
    • 2000 – Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia.
    • 2002 – An EgyptAir Boeing 737-500 crashes on approach to Tunis–Carthage International Airport, killing 14 people.
    • 2002 – A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
    • 2004 – American businessman Nick Berg is beheaded by Islamic militants. The act is recorded on videotape and released on the Internet.

    Births on May 7

    • Before 160 – Julia Maesa, Roman noblewoman (d. 224)
    • 1488 – John III of the Palatinate, archbishop of Regensburg (d. 1538)
    • 1530 – Louis, Prince of Condé (d. 1569)
    • 1553 – Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (d. 1618)
    • 1605 – Patriarch Nikon of Moscow (d. 1681)
    • 1643 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician, 10th Mayor of New York City (d. 1700)
    • 1700 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician (d. 1772)
    • 1701 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor and composer (d. 1759)
    • 1711 – David Hume, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1776)
    • 1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, French-Austrian field marshal (d. 1797)
    • 1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian police officer and general (d. 1814)
    • 1748 – Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and philosopher (d. 1793)
    • 1763 – Józef Poniatowski, Polish general (d. 1813)
    • 1767 – Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (d. 1820)
    • 1774 – William Bainbridge, American commodore (d. 1833)
    • 1787 – Jacques Viger, Canadian archaeologist and politician, 1st mayor of Montreal (d. 1858)
    • 1812 – Robert Browning, English poet and playwright (d. 1889)
    • 1833 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (d. 1897)
    • 1836 – Joseph Gurney Cannon, American lawyer and politician, 40th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1926)
    • 1837 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (d. 1875)
    • 1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and educator (d. 1893)
    • 1845 – Mary Eliza Mahoney, American nurse and activist (d. 1926)
    • 1847 – Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1929)
    • 1857 – William A. MacCorkle, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1930)
    • 1860 – Tom Norman, English businessman (d. 1930)
    • 1861 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
    • 1867 – Władysław Reymont, Polish novelist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
    • 1875 – Bill Hoyt, American pole vaulter (d. 1951)
    • 1880 – Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (d. 1972)
    • 1881 – George E. Wiley, American cyclist (d. 1954)
    • 1882 – Willem Elsschot, Belgian author and poet (d. 1960)
    • 1885 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American actor (d. 1969)
    • 1889 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (d. 1943)
    • 1891 – Harry McShane, Scottish engineer and activist (d. 1988)
    • 1892 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (d. 1982)
    • 1892 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980)
    • 1893 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey coach and manager (d. 1985)
    • 1896 – Kathleen McKane Godfree, English tennis and badminton player (d. 1992)
    • 1899 – Alfred Gerrard, English sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor (d. 1961)
    • 1903 – Jimmy Ball, Canadian sprinter (d. 1988)
    • 1904 – Kurt Weitzmann, German-American historian and author (d. 1993)
    • 1906 – Eric Krenz, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1931)
    • 1909 – Edwin H. Land, American scientist and inventor, co-founded the Polaroid Corporation (d. 1991)
    • 1909 – Dorothy Sunrise Lorentino, Native American teacher (d. 2005)
    • 1911 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
    • 1911 – Rıfat Ilgaz, Turkish author, poet, and educator (d. 1993)
    • 1912 – Pannalal Patel, Indian author (d. 1989)
    • 1913 – John Spencer Hardy, American general (d. 2012)
    • 1913 – Simon Ramo, American physicist and engineer (d. 2016)
    • 1914 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat. British Ambassador to South Africa (d. 1996)
    • 1916 – Huw Wheldon, Welsh-English broadcaster (d. 1986)
    • 1916 – W. B. Young, Scottish rugby player and physician (d. 2013)
    • 1917 – Domenico Bartolucci, Italian cardinal and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1917 – Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (d. 2020)
    • 1917 – David Tomlinson, English actor (d. 2000)
    • 1919 – Eva Perón, Argentinian actress, 25th First Lady of Argentina (d. 1952)
    • 1920 – Rendra Karno, Indonesian actor (d. 1985)
    • 1921 – Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1921 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (d. 1985)
    • 1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor and director (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Joe O’Donnell, American photographer and journalist (d. 2007)
    • 1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
    • 1923 – Jim Lowe, American singer-songwriter, disc jockey, and radio host (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – Albert Band, French-American director and producer (d. 2002)
    • 1925 – Lauri Vaska, Estonian-American chemist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
    • 1930 – Totie Fields, American comedian and author (d. 1978)
    • 1930 – Babe Parilli, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – John Smith, Baron Kirkhill, English politician
    • 1931 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (d. 2007)
    • 1931 – Gene Wolfe, American author (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Jordi Bonet, Spanish-Canadian painter and sculptor (d. 1979)
    • 1932 – Alan Cuthbert, English pharmacologist and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Pete Domenici, American lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Albuquerque (d. 2017)
    • 1932 – Derek Taylor, English journalist and author (d. 1997)
    • 1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
    • 1935 – Avraham Heffner, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Michael Hopkins, English architect
    • 1936 – Robin Hanbury-Tenison, English explorer and author
    • 1936 – Tony O’Reilly, Irish rugby player and businessman
    • 1936 – Jimmy Ruffin, American soul singer (d. 2014)
    • 1937 – Eddie Clayton, English footballer
    • 1937 – Claude Raymond, Canadian baseball player and coach
    • 1939 – Sidney Altman, Canadian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1939 – Ruggero Deodato, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1939 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2018)
    • 1939 – Johnny Maestro, American pop/doo-wop singer (d. 2010)
    • 1939 – Clive Soley, Baron Soley, English politician
    • 1940 – Angela Carter, English novelist and short story writer (d. 1992)
    • 1940 – Dave Chambers, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1941 – Lawrence Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury, English lawyer and judge
    • 1943 – Terry Allen, American singer and painter
    • 1943 – Harvey Andrews, English singer-songwriter and poet
    • 1943 – John Bannon, Australian academic and politician, 39th Premier of South Australia (d. 2015)
    • 1943 – Peter Carey, Australian novelist and short story writer
    • 1945 – Christy Moore, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – Robin Strasser, American actress
    • 1946 – Thelma Houston, American R&B/disco singer and actress
    • 1946 – Marv Hubbard, American football player (d. 2015)
    • 1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer
    • 1946 – Michael Rosen, English author and poet
    • 1946 – Brian Turner, English chef and television host
    • 1949 – Kathy Ahern, American golfer (d. 1996)
    • 1949 – Deborah Butterfield, American sculptor
    • 1950 – John Dowling Coates, Australian lawyer, sports administrator and businessman
    • 1950 – Randall “Tex” Cobb, American boxer and actor
    • 1950 – Tim Russert, American television journalist and lawyer (d. 2008)
    • 1953 – Pat McInally, American football player and coach
    • 1953 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
    • 1954 – Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
    • 1954 – Joanna Haigh, English meteorologist and physicist
    • 1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Clément Gignac, Canadian politician
    • 1955 – Ben Poquette, American basketball player
    • 1955 – Axel Zwingenberger, German pianist and songwriter
    • 1956 – Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch jurist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
    • 1956 – Anne Dudley, English pianist and composer
    • 1956 – Nicholas Hytner, English director and producer
    • 1956 – Jean Lapierre, Canadian talk show host and politician
    • 1956 – Calum MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician
    • 1957 – Kristina M. Johnson, American business executive, engineer, academic and government official
    • 1958 – Mikhail Biryukov, Russian footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Mark G. Kuzyk, American physicist and academic
    • 1958 – Anne Marie Rafferty, English nurse and academic
    • 1959 – Michael E. Knight, American actor
    • 1959 – Tony Sealy, English footballer, forward and manager
    • 1959 – Heiki Valk, Estonian archeologist and academic
    • 1960 – Adam Bernstein, American director and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham, Iraqi-English surgeon and academic
    • 1960 – Almudena Grandes, Spanish author
    • 1961 – Hans-Peter Bartels, German politician
    • 1961 – Sue Black, Scottish anthropologist and academic
    • 1961 – Ivar Must, Estonian composer and producer
    • 1962 – Tony Campbell, American basketball player and coach
    • 1962 – Judith Donath, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1963 – Johnny Lee Middleton, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1964 – Ronnie Harmon, American football player
    • 1964 – Denis Mandarino, Brazilian guitarist, composer, and painter
    • 1964 – Leslie O’Neal, American football player
    • 1965 – Reuben Davis, American football player
    • 1965 – Owen Hart, Canadian wrestler (d. 1999)
    • 1965 – Norman Whiteside, Northern Irish footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Huang Zhihong, Chinese shot putter
    • 1967 – Martin Bryant, Australian mass murderer
    • 1967 – Adam Price, Danish chef and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Joe Rice, American colonel and politician
    • 1968 – Traci Lords, American actress and singer
    • 1968 – Lisa Raitt, Canadian lawyer and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Transport
    • 1969 – Eagle-Eye Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1969 – Jun Falkenstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Katerina Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player
    • 1971 – Reidar Horghagen, Norwegian drummer
    • 1971 – Dave Karpa, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1971 – Thomas Piketty, French economist
    • 1972 – Peter Dubovský, Czech-Slovak footballer (d. 2000)
    • 1972 – Frank Trigg, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
    • 1973 – Kristian Lundin, Swedish songwriter and producer
    • 1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
    • 1974 – Ian Pearce, English footballer and assistant manager
    • 1973 – Lawrence Johnson, American pole vaulter
    • 1975 – Ashley Cowan, English cricketer
    • 1976 – Calvin Booth, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Berke Hatipoğlu, Turkish guitarist and songwriter
    • 1976 – Stacey Jones, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1976 – Andrea Lo Cicero, Italian rugby player
    • 1976 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2005)
    • 1976 – Ayelet Shaked, Israeli Minister of Justice (2015-2019)
    • 1977 – Elton Flatley, Australian rugby player
    • 1978 – Stian Arnesen, Norwegian guitarist, drummer, and songwriter
    • 1978 – James Carter, American hurdler
    • 1978 – Shawn Marion, American basketball player
    • 1979 – Katie Douglas, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Phionah Atuhebwe, Ugandan vaccinologist and immunization expert
    • 1984 – James Loney, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Alex Smith, American football player
    • 1984 – Kevin Owens, Canadian wrestler
    • 1985 – Jarrad Hickey, Australian rugby league player
    • 1985 – Drew Neitzel, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Matt Helders, English drummer
    • 1987 – Asami Konno, Japanese singer
    • 1987 – Michael Maidens, English footballer (d. 2007)
    • 1987 – Mark Reynolds, Scottish footballer
    • 1987 – David Schlemko, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Eino Puri, Estonian footballer
    • 1988 – Sander Puri, Estonian footballer
    • 1989 – Earl Thomas, American football player
    • 1995 – Seko Fofana, French born Ivorian international footballer
    • 1997 – Daria Kasatkina, Russian tennis player
    • 1998 – Jesse Puljujärvi, Finnish ice hockey player

    Deaths on May 7

    • 721 – John of Beverley, bishop of York
    • 833 – Ibn Hisham, Egyptian Muslim historian
    • 973 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 912)
    • 1014 – Bagrat III, 1st King of Georgia (b. 960)
    • 1092 – Remigius de Fécamp, English monk and bishop
    • 1166 – William I of Sicily
    • 1202 – Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey
    • 1205 – Ladislaus III of Hungary (b. 1201)
    • 1234 – Otto I, Duke of Merania (b. c. 1180)
    • 1243 – Hugh d’Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel
    • 1427 – Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English priest (b. 1352)
    • 1494 – Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1471)
    • 1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (b. 1481)
    • 1539 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (b. 1466)
    • 1617 – David Fabricius, German astronomer and theologian (b. 1564)
    • 1667 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (b. 1616)
    • 1682 – Feodor III of Russia (b. 1661)
    • 1685 – Bajo Pivljanin (b. 1630)
    • 1718 – Mary of Modena (b. 1658)
    • 1793 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1722)
    • 1800 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (b. 1728)
    • 1805 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English general and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1737)
    • 1815 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1739)
    • 1825 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1750)
    • 1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter and educator (b. 1774)
    • 1868 – Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1778)
    • 1872 – Alexander Loyd, American carpenter and politician, 4th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
    • 1876 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman, historian, and author (b. 1795)
    • 1887 – C. F. W. Walther, German-American religious leader and theologian (b. 1811)
    • 1896 – H. H. Holmes, American serial killer (b. 1861)
    • 1902 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (b. 1818)
    • 1917 – Albert Ball, English fighter pilot (b. 1896)
    • 1922 – Max Wagenknecht, German pianist and composer (b. 1857)
    • 1924 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (b. 1897/1898)
    • 1925 – William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, English businessman and politician (b. 1851)
    • 1937 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and author (b. 1886)
    • 1938 – Octavian Goga, Romanian politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1881)
    • 1940 – George Lansbury, English journalist and politician (b. 1859)
    • 1941 – James George Frazer, Scottish-English anthropologist and academic (b. 1854)
    • 1942 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
    • 1943 – Fethi Okyar, Turkish colonel and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1880)
    • 1946 – Herbert Macaulay, Nigerian journalist and politician (b. 1864)
    • 1951 – Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)
    • 1967 – Margaret Larkin, American writer and poet (b. 1899)
    • 1958 – Mihkel Lüdig, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1880)
    • 1976 – Alison Uttley, English children’s book writer (b. 1884)
    • 1978 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
    • 1986 – Haldun Taner, Turkish playwright and author (b. 1915)
    • 1987 – Colin Blakely, Northern Irish actor (b. 1930)
    • 1987 – Paul Popham, American soldier and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (b. 1941)
    • 1990 – Sam Tambimuttu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
    • 1994 – Clement Greenberg, American art critic (b. 1909)
    • 1995 – Ray McKinley, American drummer, singer, and bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra) (b. 1910)
    • 1998 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South African-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
    • 1998 – Eddie Rabbitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
    • 2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American captain, actor, and producer (b. 1909)
    • 2001 – Jacques de Bourbon-Busset, French author and politician (b. 1912)
    • 2004 – Waldemar Milewicz, Polish journalist (b. 1956)
    • 2005 – Tristan Egolf, American author and activist (b. 1971)
    • 2005 – Peter Rodino, American captain and politician (b. 1909)
    • 2005 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1980)
    • 2006 – Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (b. 1943)
    • 2006 – Joan C. Edwards, American singer and philanthropist (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – Isabella Blow, English magazine editor (b. 1958)
    • 2007 – Diego Corrales, American boxer (b. 1977)
    • 2007 – Octavian Paler, Romanian journalist and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2007 – Yahweh ben Yahweh, American cult leader, founded the Nation of Yahweh (b. 1935)
    • 2009 – David Mellor, English designer (b. 1930)
    • 2009 – Danny Ozark, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1923)
    • 2011 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer (b. 1957)
    • 2011 – Willard Boyle, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
    • 2011 – Big George, English songwriter, producer, and radio host (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Sammy Barr, Scottish trade union leader (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Ferenc Bartha, Hungarian economist and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Dennis E. Fitch, American captain and pilot (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Ferruccio Mazzola, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – George Sauer, Jr., American football player (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Neville McNamara, Australian air marshal (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Colin Pillinger, English astronomer, chemist, and academic (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Dick Welteroth, American baseball player (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Frank DiPascali, American businessman (b. 1956)
    • 2015 – John Dixon, Australian-American author, and illustrator (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on May 7

    • Christian feast day:
      • Agathius of Byzantium
      • Agostino Roscelli
      • Pope Benedict II
      • Flavia Domitilla
      • Gisela of Hungary
      • Harriet Starr Cannon (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • John of Beverley
      • Rose Venerini
      • Stanislaus (Roman Martyrology)
      • May 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Defender of the Fatherland Day (Kazakhstan)
    • Dien Bien Phu Victory Day (Vietnam)
    • Radio Day, commemorating the work of Alexander Popov (Russia, Bulgaria)

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

    • AD 65 – The freedman Milichus betrays Piso’s plot to kill Emperor Nero and all the conspirators are arrested.
    • 531 – Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army under Belisarius is defeated by the Persians at Raqqa (northern Syria).
    • 797 – Empress Irene organizes a conspiracy against her son, the Byzantine emperor Constantine VI. He is deposed and blinded. Shortly after, Constantine dies of his wounds; Irene proclaims herself basileus.
    • 1506 – The Lisbon Massacre begins, in which accused Jews are being slaughtered by Portuguese Catholics.
    • 1529 – Beginning of the Protestant Reformation: After the Second Diet of Speyer bans Lutheranism, a group of rulers (German: Fürst) and independent cities protests the reinstatement of the Edict of Worms.
    • 1539 – The Treaty of Frankfurt between Protestants and the Holy Roman Emperor is signed.
    • 1608 – In Ireland: O’Doherty’s Rebellion is launched by the Burning of Derry.
    • 1677 – The French army captures the town of Cambrai held by Spanish troops.
    • 1713 – With no living male heirs, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 to ensure that Habsburg lands and the Austrian throne would be inheritable by a female; his daughter and successor, Maria Theresa was not born until 1717.
    • 1770 – Captain James Cook, still holding the rank of lieutenant, sights the eastern coast of what is now Australia.
    • 1770 – Marie Antoinette marries Louis XVI of France in a proxy wedding.
    • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The war begins with an American victory in Concord during the battles of Lexington and Concord.
    • 1782 – John Adams secures the Dutch Republic’s recognition of the United States as an independent government. The house which he had purchased in The Hague, Netherlands becomes the first American embassy.
    • 1809 – An Austrian corps is defeated by the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw in the Battle of Raszyn, part of the struggles of the Fifth Coalition. On the same day the Austrian main army is defeated by a First French Empire Corps led by Louis-Nicolas Davout at the Battle of Teugen-Hausen in Bavaria, part of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory.
    • 1810 – Venezuela achieves home rule: Vicente Emparán, Governor of the Captaincy General is removed by the people of Caracas and a junta is installed.
    • 1818 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel signs his preliminary “Note on the Theory of Diffraction” (deposited on the following day). The document ends with what we now call the Fresnel integrals.
    • 1839 – The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom and guarantees its neutrality.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Baltimore riot of 1861: A pro-Secession mob in Baltimore attacks United States Army troops marching through the city.
    • 1903 – The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.
    • 1927 – Mae West is sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex.
    • 1942 – World War II: In Poland, the Majdan-Tatarski ghetto is established, situated between the Lublin Ghetto and a Majdanek subcamp.
    • 1943 – World War II: In Poland, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins, after German troops enter the Warsaw Ghetto to round up the remaining Jews.
    • 1943 – Albert Hofmann deliberately doses himself with LSD for the first time, three days after having discovered its effects on April 16.
    • 1956 – Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco.
    • 1960 – Students in South Korea hold a nationwide pro-democracy protest against president Syngman Rhee, eventually forcing him to resign.
    • 1971 – Sierra Leone becomes a republic, and Siaka Stevens the president.
    • 1971 – Launch of Salyut 1, the first space station.
    • 1971 – Charles Manson is sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment) for conspiracy in the Tate–LaBianca murders.
    • 1973 – The Portuguese Socialist Party is founded in the German town of Bad Münstereifel.
    • 1975 – India’s first satellite Aryabhata launched in orbit from Kapustin Yar, Russia.
    • 1984 – Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia’s national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours.
    • 1985 – Two hundred ATF and FBI agents lay siege to the compound of the white supremacist survivalist group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord in Arkansas; the CSA surrenders two days later.
    • 1987 – The Simpsons first appear as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, first starting with Good Night.
    • 1989 – A gun turret explodes on the USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors.
    • 1993 – The 51-day FBI siege of the Branch Davidian building in Waco, Texas, USA, ends when a fire breaks out. 76 Davidians, including eighteen children under the age of ten, died in the fire.
    • 1995 – Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, USA, is bombed, killing 168 people including 19 children under the age of six.
    • 1999 – The German Bundestag returns to Berlin.
    • 2000 – Air Philippines Flight 541 crashes in Samal, Davao del Norte, killing all 131 people on board.
    • 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected to the papacy and becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
    • 2011 – Fidel Castro resigns as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba after holding the title since July 1961.
    • 2013 – Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is killed in a shootout with police. His brother Dzhokhar is later captured hiding in a boat inside a backyard in the suburb of Watertown.
    • 2020 – A killing spree in Nova Scotia, Canada, leaves 22 people and the perpetrator dead, making it the deadliest rampage in the country’s history.

    Births on April 19

    • 1452 – Frederick IV, King of Naples (d. 1504)
    • 1593 – Sir John Hobart, 2nd Baronet, English politician (d. 1647)
    • 1603 – Michel Le Tellier, French politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1685)
    • 1613 – Christoph Bach, German musician (d. 1661)
    • 1633 – Willem Drost, Dutch painter (d. 1659)
    • 1655 – George St Lo(e), Royal Navy officer and administrator (d. 1718)
    • 1658 – Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, German husband of Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha of Austria (d. 1716)
    • 1665 – Jacques Lelong, French author (d. 1721)
    • 1686 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian ethnographer and politician (d. 1750)
    • 1715 – James Nares, English organist and composer (d. 1783)
    • 1721 – Roger Sherman, American lawyer and politician (d. 1793)
    • 1734 – Karl von Ordóñez, Austrian violinist and composer (d. 1786)
    • 1757 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, English admiral and politician (d. 1833)
    • 1758 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish admiral (d. 1831)
    • 1785 – Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French pianist and composer (d. 1858)
    • 1787 – Deaf Smith, American soldier (d. 1837)
    • 1793 – Ferdinand I of Austria (d. 1875)
    • 1806 – Sarah Bagley, American labor organizer (d. 1889)
    • 1814 – Louis Amédée Achard, French journalist and author (d. 1875)
    • 1832 – José Echegaray, Spanish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
    • 1835 – Julius Krohn, Finnish poet and journalist (d. 1888)
    • 1863 – Hemmo Kallio, Finnish actor (d. 1940)
    • 1872 – Alice Salomon, German social reformer (d. 1948)
    • 1873 – Sydney Barnes, English cricketer (d. 1967)
    • 1874 – Ernst Rüdin, Swiss psychiatrist, geneticist, and eugenicist (d. 1952)
    • 1877 – Ole Evinrude, Norwegian-American engineer, invented the outboard motor (d. 1934)
    • 1879 – Arthur Robertson, Scottish runner (d. 1957)
    • 1882 – Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 14th President of Brazil (d. 1954)
    • 1883 – Henry Jameson, American soccer player (d. 1938)
    • 1883 – Richard von Mises, Austrian-American mathematician and physicist (d. 1953)
    • 1885 – Karl Tarvas, Estonian architect (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – Otto Georg Thierack, German jurist and politician (d. 1946)
    • 1891 – Françoise Rosay, French actress (d. 1974)
    • 1892 – Germaine Tailleferre, French composer and educator (d. 1983)
    • 1894 – Elizabeth Dilling, American author and activist (d. 1966)
    • 1897 – Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1970)
    • 1897 – Jiroemon Kimura, Japanese super-centenarian, oldest verified man ever (d. 2013)
    • 1898 – Constance Talmadge, American actress and producer (d. 1973)
    • 1899 – George O’Brien, American actor (d. 1985)
    • 1899 – Cemal Tollu, Turkish lieutenant and painter (d. 1968)
    • 1900 – Iracema de Alencar, Brazilian film actress (d. 1978)
    • 1900 – Richard Hughes, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1976)
    • 1900 – Roland Michener, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Governor General of Canada (d. 1991)
    • 1900 – Rhea Silberta, Yiddish songwriter and singing teacher (d. 1959)
    • 1902 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author and screenwriter (d. 1989)
    • 1903 – Eliot Ness, American law enforcement agent (d. 1957)
    • 1907 – Alan Wheatley, English actor (d. 1991)
    • 1908 – Irena Eichlerówna, Polish actress (d. 1990)
    • 1912 – Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
    • 1913 – Ken Carpenter, American discus thrower and coach (d. 1984)
    • 1917 – Sven Hassel, Danish-German soldier and author (d. 2012)
    • 1919 – Sol Kaplan, American pianist and composer (d. 1990)
    • 1920 – Gene Leis, American guitarist, composer, and producer (d. 1993)
    • 1920 – Marvin Mandel, American lawyer and politician, 56th Governor of Maryland (d. 2015)
    • 1920 – John O’Neil, American baseball player and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Julien Ries, Belgian cardinal (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Marian Winters, American actress (d. 1978)
    • 1921 – Anna Lee Aldred, American jockey (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Leon Henkin, American logician (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Roberto Tucci, Italian Jesuit leader, cardinal, and theologian (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – Erich Hartmann, German colonel and pilot (d. 1993)
    • 1922 – David Smith, politician in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe (d. 1996)
    • 1925 – John Kraaijkamp, Sr., Dutch actor (d. 2011)
    • 1925 – Hugh O’Brian, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Rawya Ateya, Egyptian captain and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1928 – John Horlock, English engineer and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Azlan Shah of Perak, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Walter Stewart, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2004)
    • 1932 – Fernando Botero, Colombian painter and sculptor
    • 1933 – Dickie Bird, English cricketer and umpire
    • 1933 – Jayne Mansfield, American model and actress (d. 1967)
    • 1933 – Philip Lavallin Wroughton, English captain and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
    • 1934 – Dickie Goodman, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1989)
    • 1935 – Dudley Moore, English actor, comedian, and pianist (d. 2002)
    • 1935 – Justin Francis Rigali, American cardinal
    • 1936 – Wilfried Martens, Belgian politician, 60th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Jack Pardee, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Antonio Carluccio, Italian-English chef and author (d. 2017)
    • 1937 – Elinor Donahue, American actress
    • 1937 – Joseph Estrada, Filipino politician, 13th President of the Philippines
    • 1938 – Stanley Fish, American theorist, author, and scholar
    • 1939 – E. Clay Shaw, Jr., American accountant, judge, and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Roberto Carlos, Brazilian singer-songwriter
    • 1941 – Clark Dimond, American musician and author
    • 1941 – Michel Roux, French-English chef and author (d. 2020)
    • 1941 – Bobby Russell, American singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1942 – Bas Jan Ader, Dutch-American photographer and director (d. 1975)
    • 1942 – Alan Price, English keyboard player, singer, and composer
    • 1942 – Jack Roush, American businessman, founded Roush Fenway Racing
    • 1942 – Maarten van den Bergh, American-Dutch businessman
    • 1943 – Margo MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician (d. 2014)[28]
    • 1943 – Lorenzo Sanz, Spanish businessman
    • 1944 – Keith Erickson, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1944 – James Heckman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1944 – Bernie Worrell, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2016)[29]
    • 1946 – Duygu Asena, Turkish journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1946 – Tim Curry, English actor[30]
    • 1947 – Murray Perahia, American pianist and conductor
    • 1947 – Wilfrid Stevenson, Baron Stevenson of Balmacara, English civil servant
    • 1947 – Yan Pascal Tortelier, French violinist and conductor
    • 1947 – Mark Volman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1948 – Stuart McLean, Canadian radio host and author (d. 2017)
    • 1948 – Rick Miller, American baseball player and manager
    • 1949 – Paloma Picasso, French-Spanish fashion designer
    • 1949 – Larry Walters, American truck driver and pilot (d. 1993)
    • 1950 – Julia Cleverdon, English businesswoman and philanthropist
    • 1951 – Barry Brown, American actor and playwright (d. 1978)
    • 1951 – Jóannes Eidesgaard, Faroese educator and politician, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
    • 1952 – Alexis Argüello, Nicaraguan boxer and politician (d. 2009)
    • 1952 – Tony Plana, Cuban-American actor and director
    • 1952 – Michael Trend, English journalist and politician
    • 1953 – Rod Morgenstein, American drummer
    • 1953 – Sara Simeoni, Italian high jumper
    • 1953 – Ruby Wax, British-based American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Trevor Francis, English footballer and manager
    • 1954 – Bob Rock, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1956 – Sue Barker, English tennis player and journalist
    • 1956 – Randy Carlyle, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1956 – Anne Glover, Scottish biologist and academic
    • 1957 – Tony Martin, English singer-songwriter
    • 1957 – Mukesh Ambani, Indian businessman, chairman of Reliance Industries and currently the richest man in Asia[31][32]
    • 1958 – Steve Antin, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Stevie B, American singer-songwriter and record producer
    • 1958 – Denis O’Brien, Irish businessman, founded BT Ireland
    • 1958 – Vytautas Šapranauskas, Lithuanian actor (d. 2013)
    • 1958 – Keith Shine, British academic and educator
    • 1959 – Jane Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, English activist
    • 1959 – Teofisto Guingona III, Filipino lawyer and politician
    • 1959 – Donald Markwell, Australian sociologist and academic
    • 1960 – Nicoletta Braschi, Italian actress and producer
    • 1960 – Ara Gevorgyan, Armenian pianist, composer, and producer
    • 1960 – Roger Merrett, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1960 – John Schweitz, American basketball player and coach
    • 1960 – Frank Viola, American baseball player and coach[33]
    • 1961 – Alan Kirschenbaum, American producer and writer (d. 2012)
    • 1961 – Albert Martinez, Filipino actor, director, and producer
    • 1961 – Spike Owen, American baseball player and coach
    • 1962 – Al Unser Jr., American race car driver
    • 1964 – Gordon Marshall, Scottish footballer and coach
    • 1964 – Kim Weaver, American astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
    • 1965 – Natalie Dessay, French soprano and actress
    • 1965 – Suge Knight, American record producer, co-founded Death Row Records
    • 1966 – Véronique Gens, French soprano and actress
    • 1966 – David La Haye, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Paul Reiffel, Australian cricketer and umpire
    • 1966 – El Samurai, Japanese wrestler
    • 1967 – Philippe Saint-André, French rugby player and coach
    • 1968 – Ashley Judd, American actress and activist
    • 1968 – Arshad Warsi, Indian film actor and producer
    • 1969 – Andrew Carnie, Canadian-American linguist, author, and academic
    • 1969 – Susan Polgar, Hungarian-American chess player
    • 1970 – Luis Miguel, Mexican singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1970 – Kelly Holmes, English runner
    • 1970 – Abelardo Fernández, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Brendon Burns, Australian comedian, podcaster, writer and author
    • 1971 – Scott McCord, Canadian voice actor
    • 1972 – Rivaldo, Brazilian footballer
    • 1972 – Jeff Wilkins, American football player
    • 1973 – George Gregan, Zambian-Australian rugby player and coach
    • 1973 – Alessio Scarpi, Italian footballer
    • 1975 – Jason Gillespie, Australian cricketer and coach
    • 1975 – Jussi Jääskeläinen, Finnish footballer
    • 1976 – Ruud Jolie, Dutch guitarist
    • 1976 – Scott Padgett, American basketball player, coach, and radio host
    • 1976 – Kim Young-oh, South Korean author and illustrator
    • 1977 – Joe Beimel, American baseball player
    • 1977 – Anju Bobby George, Indian long jumper
    • 1977 – Lucien Mettomo, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1977 – Dennys Reyes, Mexican baseball player
    • 1977 – Jonny Storm, English wrestler and trainer
    • 1978 – James Franco, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1978 – Gabriel Heinze, Argentinian footballer
    • 1978 – Amanda Sage, American-Austrian painter and educator
    • 1979 – Rocky Bernard, American football player
    • 1979 – Kate Hudson, American actress
    • 1979 – Zhao Junzhe, Chinese footballer
    • 1980 – Jason Blaine, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Robyn Regehr, Brazilian-Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor and producer
    • 1981 – Ryuta Hara, Japanese footballer
    • 1981 – Martin Havlát, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1981 – James Hibberd, English cricketer
    • 1981 – Troy Polamalu, American football player
    • 1981 – Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
    • 1982 – Joseph Hagerty, American gymnast
    • 1982 – Filip Jícha, Czech handball player
    • 1982 – Samuel C. Morrison, Jr., Liberian-American journalist, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1982 – Rocco Sabato, Italian footballer
    • 1982 – Ignacio Serricchio, Argentinian-American actor
    • 1982 – Sitiveni Sivivatu, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1983 – Alberto Callaspo, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1983 – Zach Duke, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Joe Mauer, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Patrick Platins, German footballer
    • 1983 – Curtis Thigpen, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Christopher Pearce, English cricketer
    • 1985 – Valon Behrami, Swiss footballer
    • 1985 – David Cavazos, Mexican singer-songwriter
    • 1985 – Sabrina Jalees, Canadian comedian, dancer, actress, presenter, and writer
    • 1985 – Jan Zimmermann, German footballer
    • 1986 – Pascal Angan, Beninese footballer
    • 1986 – Candace Parker, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Gabe Pruitt, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Will Thursfield, English-Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Luigi Giorgi, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Joe Hart, English footballer
    • 1987 – Daniel Schuhmacher, German singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
    • 1987 – Lauren Wilson, Canadian figure skater
    • 1988 – Enrique Esqueda, Mexican footballer
    • 1989 – Dominik Mader, German footballer
    • 1989 – Daisuke Watabe, Japanese footballer
    • 1989 – Genoveva Añonma, Equatoguinean footballer
    • 1990 – Jackie Bradley, Jr., American baseball player
    • 1990 – Kim Chiu, Filipino actress, singer, and dancer[34]
    • 1990 – Héctor Herrera, Mexican footballer
    • 1990 – Ayaka Takahashi, Japanese badminton player
    • 1991 – Steve Cook, English footballer

    Deaths April 19

    • 843 – Judith of Bavaria, Frankish empress
    • 1012 – Ælfheah of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint (b. 954)
    • 1013 – Hisham II, Umayyad caliph of Córdoba (b. 966)
    • 1044 – Gothelo I, duke of Lorraine
    • 1054 – Leo IX, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1002)
    • 1321 – Gerasimus I, patriarch of Constantinople
    • 1390 – Robert II, king of Scotland (b. 1316)
    • 1405 – Thomas West, 1st Baron West, English nobleman (b. 1335)[35]
    • 1431 – Adolph III, count of Waldeck (b. 1362)
    • 1560 – Philip Melanchthon, German theologian and reformer (b. 1497)
    • 1567 – Michael Stifel, German monk and mathematician (b. 1487)
    • 1578 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1530)
    • 1588 – Paolo Veronese, Italian painter (b. 1528)
    • 1608 – Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, English poet, playwright, and politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1536)
    • 1618 – Thomas Bastard, English priest and author (b. 1566)
    • 1619 – Jagat Gosain, Mughal empress (b. 1573)[36]
    • 1629 – Sigismondo d’India, Italian composer (b. 1582)
    • 1632 – Sigismund III Vasa, king of Sweden and Poland (b. 1566)
    • 1686 – Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra, Spanish historian and playwright (b. 1610)
    • 1689 – Christina, queen of Sweden (b. 1626)
    • 1733 – Elizabeth Hamilton, countess of Orkney (b. 1657)
    • 1739 – Nicholas Saunderson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1682)
    • 1768 – Canaletto, Italian painter and etcher (b. 1697)
    • 1776 – Jacob Emden, German rabbi and author (b. 1697)
    • 1791 – Richard Price, Welsh-English preacher and philosopher (b. 1723)
    • 1813 – Benjamin Rush, American physician and educator (b. 1745)
    • 1824 – Lord Byron, English-Scottish poet and playwright (b. 1788)
    • 1831 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1765)
    • 1833 – James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, Bahamian-English admiral and politician, 36th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1756)
    • 1840 – Jean-Jacques Lartigue, Canadian bishop (b. 1777)
    • 1854 – Robert Jameson, Scottish mineralogist and academic (b. 1774)
    • 1881 – Benjamin Disraeli, English journalist and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1804)
    • 1882 – Charles Darwin, English biologist and theorist (b. 1809)
    • 1893 – Martin Körber, Estonian-German pastor, composer, and conductor (b. 1817)
    • 1901 – Alfred Horatio Belo, American publisher, founded The Dallas Morning News (b. 1839)
    • 1906 – Pierre Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
    • 1906 – Spencer Gore, English tennis player and cricketer (b. 1850)
    • 1909 – Signe Rink, Greenland-born Danish writer and ethnologist (b. 1836)
    • 1914 – Charles Sanders Peirce, American mathematician and philosopher (b. 1839)
    • 1915 – Thomas Playford II, English-Australian politician, 17th Premier of South Australia (b. 1837)
    • 1916 – Ephraim Shay, American engineer, designed the Shay locomotive (b. 1839)
    • 1926 – Alexander Alexandrovich Chuprov, Russian-Swiss statistician and theorist (b. 1874)
    • 1930 – Georges-Casimir Dessaulles, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1827)
    • 1937 – Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English cartographer and politician (b. 1856)
    • 1937 – William Morton Wheeler, American entomologist and zoologist (b. 1865)
    • 1941 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (b. 1878)
    • 1949 – Ulrich Salchow, Danish-Swedish figure skater (b. 1877)
    • 1950 – Ernst Robert Curtius, French-German philologist and scholar (b. 1886)
    • 1955 – Jim Corbett, British-Indian colonel, hunter, and author (b. 1875)
    • 1960 – Beardsley Ruml, American economist and statistician (b. 1894)
    • 1961 – Max Hainle, German swimmer (b. 1882)
    • 1967 – Konrad Adenauer, German politician, 1st Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
    • 1971 – Luigi Piotti, Italian race car driver (b. 1913)
    • 1975 – Percy Lavon Julian, American chemist and academic (b. 1899)
    • 1987 – Hugh Brannum, American vocalist, arranger, and composer (b. 1910)
    • 1989 – Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (b. 1907)
    • 1991 – Stanley Hawes, English-Australian director and producer (b. 1905)
    • 1992 – Frankie Howerd, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1917)
    • 1993 – David Koresh, American religious leader (b. 1959)
    • 1993 – George S. Mickelson, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1941)
    • 1998 – Octavio Paz, Mexican poet, philosopher, and academic Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – Hermine Braunsteiner, Austrian-German SS officer (b. 1919)
    • 2000 – Louis Applebaum, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1918)
    • 2001 – Meldrim Thomson, Jr.. American publisher and politician, 73rd Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1912)
    • 2002 – Reginald Rose, American writer (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Indian-English caliph (b. 1928)
    • 2004 – Norris McWhirter, English author and activist co-founded the Guinness World Records (b. 1925)
    • 2004 – John Maynard Smith, English biologist and geneticist (b. 1920)
    • 2004 – Jenny Pike, Canadian WWII servicewoman and photographer (b. 1922)[37]
    • 2005 – George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Greek director and screenwriter (b. 1941)
    • 2005 – Ruth Hussey, American actress (b. 1911)
    • 2005 – Clement Meadmore, Australian-American sculptor and author (b. 1929)
    • 2005 – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish bassist and composer (b. 1946)
    • 2006 – Albert Scott Crossfield, American engineer, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – Jean-Pierre Cassel, French actor (b. 1932)
    • 2008 – John Marzano, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1963)
    • 2008 – Alfonso López Trujillo, Colombian cardinal (b. 1935)
    • 2009 – J. G. Ballard, English novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1930)
    • 2011 – Elisabeth Sladen, English actress (b. 1946)[38]
    • 2012 – Leopold David de Rothschild, English financier and philanthropist (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Greg Ham, Australian saxophonist, songwriter, and actor (b. 1953)
    • 2012 – Levon Helm, American singer-songwriter, drummer, guitarist, instrumentalist, and actor (b. 1940)
    • 2012 – Valeri Vasiliev, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
    • 2013 – Sivanthi Adithan, Indian businessman (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Allan Arbus, American actor and photographer (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Mike Denness, Scottish-English cricketer and referee (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – François Jacob, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – E. L. Konigsburg, American author and illustrator (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Al Neuharth, American journalist, author, and publisher, founded USA Today (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Lindy Berry, American football player (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Ian McIntyre, Scottish journalist and producer (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Frits Thors, Dutch journalist (b. 1909)
    • 2015 – Raymond Carr, English historian and academic (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – William Price Fox, American journalist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Roy Mason, English miner and politician, Secretary of State for Defence (b. 1924)[39]
    • 2015 – Tom McCabe, Scottish social worker and politician (b. 1954)[40]
    • 2015 – Oktay Sinanoğlu, Italian-Turkish chemist and academic (b. 1935)
    • 2016 – Patricio Aylwin, Chilean politician (b. 1918)[41]
    • 2016 – Milt Pappas, American baseball player (b. 1939)[42]
    • 2017 – Aaron Hernandez, American football player (b. 1989)[43]

    Holidays and observances on April 19

    • Christian feast day:
      • Ælfheah of Canterbury (Anglican, Catholic)
      • Conrad of Ascoli
      • Emma of Lesum
      • Expeditus
      • George of Antioch
      • Olaus and Laurentius Petri (Lutheran)
      • Pope Leo IX
      • Ursmar
      • April 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which First Day of Summer or Sumardagurinn fyrsti can fall, while April 25 is the latest; celebrated on the first Thursday after April 18. (Iceland)
    • Army Day (Brazil)
    • Beginning of the Independence Movement (Venezuela)
    • Bicycle Day[44]
    • Dutch-American Friendship Day (United States)
    • Holocaust Remembrance Day (Poland)
    • Indian Day (Brazil)
    • King Mswati III’s birthday (Eswatini)
    • Landing of the 33 Patriots Day (Uruguay)
    • Patriots’ Day (Massachusetts, Maine and Wisconsin, United States)

  • February 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George’s (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
    • 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.
    • 1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
    • 1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France’s claim to Texas.
    • 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington.
    • 1798 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power.
    • 1813 – Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta.
    • 1816 – Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
    • 1835 – The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile.
    • 1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war.
    • 1865 – End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance.
    • 1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.
    • 1877 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
    • 1901 – The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.
    • 1909 – Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.
    • 1913 – King O’Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra.
    • 1920 – An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in Georgia and heavily damages the town of Gori.
    • 1931 – The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.
    • 1933 – The U.S. Congress approves the Blaine Act to repeal federal Prohibition in the United States, sending the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution to state ratifying conventions for approval.
    • 1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party’s upcoming election campaign.
    • 1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.
    • 1942 – Lieutenant Edward O’Hare becomes America’s first World War II flying ace.
    • 1943 – American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
    • 1943 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms.
    • 1944 – World War II: The “Big Week” began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers.
    • 1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Island.
    • 1952 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
    • 1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.
    • 1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
    • 1962 – Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.
    • 1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
    • 1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
    • 1979 – An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java.
    • 1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years.
    • 1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
    • 1991 – In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania’s long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters.
    • 1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
    • 2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.
    • 2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
    • 2009 – Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack.
    • 2010 – In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago.
    • 2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, many reportedly killed by snipers.
    • 2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services.
    • 2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.

    Births on February 20

    • 1358 – Eleanor of Aragon, queen of John I of Castile (d. 1382)
    • 1469 – Thomas Cajetan, Italian philosopher (d. 1534)
    • 1523 – Jan Blahoslav, Czech writer (d. 1571)
    • 1549 – Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, last Duke of Urbino (d. 1631)
    • 1552 – Sengoku Hidehisa, Daimyō (d. 1614)
    • 1608 – Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (d. 1649)
    • 1631 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1712)
    • 1633 – Jan de Baen, Dutch painter (d. 1702)
    • 1705 – Nicolas Chédeville, French musette player and composer (d. 1782)
    • 1726 – William Prescott, American colonel (d. 1795)
    • 1745 – Henry James Pye, English poet and politician (d. 1813)
    • 1751 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (d. 1826)
    • 1753 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1815)
    • 1759 – Johann Christian Reil, German physician, physiologist, and anatomist (d. 1813)
    • 1774 – Vicente Sebastián Pintado, Spanish cartographer, engineer, military officer and land surveyor of Spanish Louisiana and Spanish West Florida (d. 1829)
    • 1784 – Judith Montefiore, British linguist, travel writer, philanthropist (d. 1862)
    • 1792 – Eliza Courtney, French daughter of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1859)
    • 1794 – William Carleton, Irish author (d. 1869)
    • 1802 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1870)
    • 1819 – Alfred Escher, Swiss businessman and politician (d. 1882)
    • 1839 – Benjamin Waugh, English activist, founded the NSPCC (d. 1908)
    • 1844 – Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1906)
    • 1844 – Joshua Slocum, Canadian sailor and adventurer (d. 1909)
    • 1848 – E. H. Harriman, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1909)
    • 1857 – A. P. Lucas, English cricketer (d. 1923)
    • 1866 – Carl Westman, Swedish architect, designed the Stockholm Court House and Röhsska Museum (d. 1936)
    • 1867 – Louise, Princess Royal of England (d. 1931)
    • 1870 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (d. 1937)
    • 1874 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
    • 1879 – Hod Stuart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1907)
    • 1880 – Jacques d’Adelswärd-Fersen, French author and poet (d. 1923)
    • 1882 – Elie Nadelman, Polish-American sculptor (d. 1946)
    • 1887 – Vincent Massey, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
    • 1888 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (d. 1948)
    • 1889 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and physician (d. 1948)
    • 1893 – Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1993)
    • 1895 – Louis Zborowski, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1924)
    • 1897 – Ivan Albright, American painter (d. 1983)
    • 1898 – Ante Ciliga, Croatian politician, writer and publisher (d. 1992)
    • 1899 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1992)
    • 1901 – René Dubos, French-American biologist and author (d. 1982)
    • 1901 – Louis Kahn, American architect, designed the Salk Institute, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Bangladesh Parliament Building (d. 1974)
    • 1901 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian general and politician, 1st President of Egypt (d. 1984)
    • 1901 – Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (d. 1978)
    • 1902 – Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (d. 1984)
    • 1904 – Alexei Kosygin, Russian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1980)
    • 1906 – Gale Gordon, American actor (d. 1995)
    • 1912 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (d. 1994)
    • 1912 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand flying ace of the Second World War (d. 2006)
    • 1913 – Tommy Henrich, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
    • 1914 – John Charles Daly, South African–American journalist and game show host (d. 1991)
    • 1916 – Jean Erdman, American dancer and choreographer
    • 1918 – Leonore Annenberg, American businesswoman and diplomat (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – James O’Meara, English soldier and pilot (d. 1974)
    • 1920 – Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 1992)
    • 1923 – Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Guyana (d. 1985)
    • 1923 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American actress, fashion designer, and socialite (d. 2019)
    • 1925 – Robert Altman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1925 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (d. 1990)
    • 1926 – Matthew Bucksbaum, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded General Growth Properties (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Gillian Lynne, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 2018)
    • 1926 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Bob Richards, American Olympic track and field athlete
    • 1926 – María de la Purísima Salvat Romero, Spanish Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1998)
    • 1927 – Roy Cohn, American lawyer and political activist (d. 1986)
    • 1927 – Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer and musician (d. 2005)
    • 1927 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat
    • 1928 – Roy Face, American baseball player and carpenter
    • 1928 – Jean Kennedy Smith, American diplomat, 25th United States Ambassador to Ireland
    • 1929 – Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
    • 1931 – John Milnor, American mathematician and academic
    • 1932 – Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and author (d. 2007)
    • 1934 – Bobby Unser, American race car driver
    • 1935 – Ellen Gilchrist, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
    • 1936 – Marj Dusay, American actress (d. 2020)
    • 1936 – Larry Hovis, American actor and singer (d. 2003)
    • 1936 – Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and coach
    • 1937 – David Ackles, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
    • 1937 – Robert Huber, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1937 – Roger Penske, American race car driver and businessman
    • 1937 – Robert Evans, Australian minister and amateur astronomer
    • 1937 – Nancy Wilson, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – Richard Beymer, American actor, director, and cinematographer
    • 1940 – Jimmy Greaves, English international footballer, forward and TV pundit
    • 1941 – Lim Kit Siang, Malaysian lawyer and politician
    • 1941 – Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1942 – Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
    • 1942 – Mitch McConnell, American lawyer, and politician
    • 1942 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1943 – Antonio Inoki, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician
    • 1943 – Mike Leigh, English director and screenwriter
    • 1944 – Robert de Cotret, Canadian economist and politician, 56th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1999)
    • 1944 – Lew Soloff, American trumpet player, composer, and actor (d. 2015)
    • 1944 – Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1945 – Alan Hull, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
    • 1946 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress
    • 1946 – Sandy Duncan, American actress, singer, and dancer
    • 1946 – J. Geils, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
    • 1947 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
    • 1947 – Peter Strauss, American actor and producer
    • 1948 – Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1948 – Jennifer O’Neill, American model and actress
    • 1949 – Eddie Hemmings, English cricketer
    • 1949 – Ivana Trump, Czech-American socialite and model
    • 1950 – Walter Becker, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)
    • 1950 – Peter Marinello, Scottish footballer, forward
    • 1950 – Tony Wilson, English journalist and businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1951 – Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
    • 1951 – Gordon Brown, Scottish historian and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    • 1951 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
    • 1951 – Phil Neal, English footballer and manager
    • 1953 – Poison Ivy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1954 – Jon Brant, American bass player
    • 1954 – Anthony Head, English actor
    • 1954 – Patty Hearst, American actress and author
    • 1957 – Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1959 – Scott Brayton, American race car driver (d. 1996)
    • 1959 – David Corn, American journalist and author
    • 1959 – Bill Gullickson, American baseball player
    • 1960 – Joel Hodgson, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas, Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (d. 2014)
    • 1961 – Steve Lundquist, American swimmer
    • 1962 – Dwayne McDuffie, American author, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded Milestone Media (d. 2011)
    • 1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Ian Brown, English singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1963 – Joakim Nystrom, Swedish tennis player
    • 1963 – Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health
    • 1963 – Cui Yongyuan, Chinese former anchor
    • 1964 – Willie Garson, American actor and director
    • 1964 – Tom Harris, Scottish journalist and politician
    • 1964 – Jeff Maggert, American golfer
    • 1964 – French Stewart, American actor
    • 1966 – Cindy Crawford, American model and businesswoman
    • 1967 – Paul Accola, Swiss alpine skier
    • 1967 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994)
    • 1967 – David Herman, American comedian and actor
    • 1967 – Andrew Shue, American actor and activist, founded Do Something
    • 1967 – Lili Taylor, American actress
    • 1967 – Tom Waddle, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Kjell Ove Hauge, Norwegian school principal and track and field athlete
    • 1969 – Siniša Mihajlović, Serbian footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Danis Tanović, Bosnian director and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Calpernia Addams, American actress, author, and activist
    • 1971 – Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer
    • 1971 – Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby player (d. 2017)
    • 1972 – Neil Primrose, Scottish drummer
    • 1974 – Karim Bagheri, Iranian footballer and manager
    • 1975 – Liván Hernández, Cuban baseball player
    • 1975 – Brian Littrell, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1975 – Niclas Wallin, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Gail Kim, Canadian professional wrestler
    • 1978 – Lauren Ambrose, American actress and producer
    • 1980 – Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
    • 1980 – Luis Gabriel Rey, Colombian footballer
    • 1981 – Tony Hibbert, English footballer
    • 1981 – Fred Jackson, American football player
    • 1982 – Jason Hirsh, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Jose Morales, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
    • 1983 – Justin Verlander, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Brian McCann, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Trevor Noah, South African comedian, actor, and television host
    • 1984 – Ramzee Robinson, American football player
    • 1985 – Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Julia Volkova, Russian singer and actress
    • 1985 – TJ Kirk, American YouTube personality and podcast host
    • 1987 – Luke Burgess, English rugby league player
    • 1987 – Miles Teller, American actor
    • 1988 – Kealoha Pilares, American football player
    • 1988 – Ki Bo-bae, South Korean archer
    • 1988 – Rihanna, Barbadian-American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1988 – Jiah Khan, Indian singer and actress (d. 2013)
    • 1989 – Daly Cherry-Evans, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Ciro Immobile, Italian footballer
    • 1991 – Hidilyn Diaz, Filipino weightlifter
    • 1991 – Giovanni Kyeremateng, Italian footballer
    • 1991 – Angelique van der Meet, Dutch tennis player
    • 1991 – Antonio Pedroza, English-Mexican footballer
    • 1991 – Jocelyn Rae, English-Scottish tennis player
    • 1992 – Kyle Turner, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Elseid Hysaj, Albanian footballer

    Deaths on February 20

    • 789 – Leo of Catania, saint and bishop of Catania (b. 709)
    • 922 – Theodora, Byzantine empress
    • 1054 – Yaroslav the Wise, grand prince of Veliky Novgorod and Kiev (b. 978)
    • 1154 – Saint Wulfric of Haselbury (b. c. 1080)
    • 1171 – Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
    • 1194 – Tancred, King of Sicily (b. 1138)
    • 1258 – Al-Musta’sim, Iraqi caliph (b. 1213)
    • 1408 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (b. 1342)
    • 1431 – Pope Martin V (b. 1368)
    • 1458 – Lazar Branković, Despot of Serbia
    • 1513 – King John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1455)
    • 1524 – Tecun Uman, Mayan ruler (b. 1500)
    • 1579 – Nicholas Bacon, English politician (b. 1509)
    • 1618 – Philip William, Prince of Orange (b. 1554)
    • 1626 – John Dowland, English lute player and composer (b. 1563)
    • 1762 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (b. 1723)
    • 1771 – Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist and astronomer (b. 1678)
    • 1773 – Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (b. 1701)
    • 1778 – Laura Bassi, Italian physicist and scholar (b. 1711)
    • 1790 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741)
    • 1806 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (b. 1725)
    • 1810 – Andreas Hofer, Tyrolean rebel leader (b. 1767)
    • 1850 – Valentín Canalizo, Mexican general and politician. 14th President (1843–1844) (b. 1794)
    • 1862 – William Wallace Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1850)
    • 1871 – Paul Kane, Irish-Canadian painter (b. 1810)
    • 1893 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (b. 1818)
    • 1895 – Frederick Douglass, American author and activist (b. 1818)
    • 1900 – Washakie, American tribal leader (b. 1798)
    • 1907 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
    • 1910 – Boutros Ghali, Egyptian educator and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1846)
    • 1916 – Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish journalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1844)
    • 1920 – Jacinta Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1910)
    • 1920 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (b. 1856)
    • 1933 – Takiji Kobayashi, Japanese writer (b. 1903)
    • 1936 – Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879)
    • 1957 – Sadri Maksudi Arsal, Turkish scholar and politician (b. 1878)
    • 1961 – Percy Grainger, Australian-American pianist and composer (b. 1882)
    • 1963 – Jacob Gade, Danish violinist and composer(b. 1879)
    • 1966 – Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (b. 1885)
    • 1968 – Anthony Asquith, English director and screenwriter (b. 1902)
    • 1969 – Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (b. 1883)
    • 1972 – Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
    • 1972 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and actor (b. 1897)
    • 1976 – René Cassin, French lawyer and judge, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
    • 1976 – Kathryn Kuhlman, healing evangelist, known for belief in Holy Spirit (b. 1907)
    • 1981 – Nicolas de Gunzburg, French-American banker and publisher (b. 1904)
    • 1987 – Wayne Boring, American illustrator (b. 1905)
    • 1992 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (b. 1898)
    • 1992 – Dick York, American actor (b. 1928)
    • 1993 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, founded Lamborghini (b. 1916)
    • 1993 – Ernest L. Massad, American general (b. 1908)
    • 1996 – Solomon Asch, American psychologist and academic (b. 1907)
    • 1996 – Audrey Munson, American model (b. 1891)
    • 1996 – Toru Takemitsu, Japanese pianist, guitarist, and composer (b. 1930)
    • 1999 – Sarah Kane, English playwright (b. 1971)
    • 1999 – Gene Siskel, American journalist and critic (b. 1946)
    • 2000 – Anatoly Sobchak, Russian lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Saint Petersburg (b. 1937)
    • 2001 – Rosemary DeCamp, American actress (b. 1910)
    • 2001 – Donella Meadows, American environmentalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
    • 2003 – Mushaf Ali Mir, Pakistani air marshal (b. 1947)
    • 2003 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and author (b. 1907)
    • 2003 – Orville Freeman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 29th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1918)
    • 2005 – Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1942)
    • 2005 – Josef Holeček, Czechoslovakian canoeist (b. 1921)2005 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (b. 1937)
    • 2006 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
    • 2006 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (b. 1920)
    • 2008 – Emily Perry, English actress and dancer (b. 1907)
    • 2009 – Larry H. Miller, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1944)
    • 2010 – Alexander Haig, American general and politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Knut Torbjørn Eggen, Norwegian footballer and manager (b. 1960)
    • 2012 – Katie Hall, American educator and politician (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Kenji Eno, Japanese game designer and composer (b. 1970)
    • 2013 – David S. McKay, American biochemist and geologist (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Antonio Roma, Argentinian footballer (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Walter D. Ehlers, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Garrick Utley, American journalist (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Govind Pansare, Indian author and activist (b. 1933)
    • 2015 – Henry Segerstrom, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – John C. Willke, American physician, author, and activist (b. 1925)
    • 2016 – Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest and politician (b. 1934)
    • 2017 – Vitaly Churkin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (b. 1952)
    • 2017 – Mildred Dresselhaus, American physicist (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Steve Hewlett, British journalist (b. 1958)
    • 2020 – Joaquim Pina Moura, Portuguese Minister of Economy and Treasury and MP

    Holidays and observances on February 20

    • Christian feast day:
      • Eleutherius of Tournai
      • Eucherius of Orléans
      • Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto
      • Frederick Douglass (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Wulfric of Haselbury
      • February 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of Heavenly Hundred Heroes (Ukraine)
    • World Day of Social Justice

  • February 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1429 – English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orléans in the Battle of the Herrings.
    • 1502 – Isabella I issues an edict outlawing Islam in the Crown of Castile, forcing virtually all her Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity.
    • 1541 – Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia.
    • 1593 – Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders led by general Kwon Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju.
    • 1689 – The Convention Parliament declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, constitutes an abdication.
    • 1733 – Georgia Day: Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the Thirteen Colonies, by settling at Savannah.
    • 1771 – Gustav III becomes the King of Sweden.
    • 1817 – An Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeats Spanish troops at the Battle of Chacabuco.
    • 1818 – Bernardo O’Higgins formally approves the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile.
    • 1825 – The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government by the Treaty of Indian Springs, and migrate west.
    • 1832 – Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands.
    • 1855 – Michigan State University is established.
    • 1894 – Anarchist Émile Henry hurls a bomb into the Cafe Terminus in Paris, killing one person and wounding 20.
    • 1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded.
    • 1909 – New Zealand’s worst maritime disaster of the 20th century happens when the SS Penguin, an inter-island ferry, sinks and explodes at the entrance to Wellington Harbour.
    • 1912 – The Xuantong Emperor, the last Emperor of China, abdicates.
    • 1915 – In Washington, D.C., the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place.
    • 1921 – Bolsheviks launch a revolt in Georgia as a preliminary to the Red Army invasion of Georgia.
    • 1924 – George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue received its premiere in a concert titled “An Experiment in Modern Music”, in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Paul Whiteman and his band, with Gershwin playing the piano.
    • 1935 – USS Macon, one of the two largest helium-filled airships ever created, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and sinks.
    • 1946 – World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats.
    • 1946 – African American United States Army veteran Isaac Woodard is severely beaten by a South Carolina police officer to the point where he loses his vision in both eyes. The incident later galvanizes the civil rights movement and partially inspires Orson Welles’ film Touch of Evil.
    • 1947 – The largest observed iron meteorite until that time creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union.
    • 1947 – Christian Dior unveils a “New Look”, helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world.
    • 1961 – The Soviet Union launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
    • 1963 – Construction begins on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.
    • 1965 – Malcolm X visits Smethwick in Birmingham following the racially-charged 1964 United Kingdom general election.
    • 1968 – Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre.
    • 1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.
    • 1983 – One hundred women protest in Lahore, Pakistan against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq’s proposed Law of Evidence. The women were tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up. The women were successful in repealing the law.
    • 1988 – Cold War: The 1988 Black Sea bumping incident: The U.S. missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG-48) is intentionally rammed by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy in the Soviet territorial waters, while Yorktown claims innocent passage.
    • 1990 – Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia.
    • 1992 – The current Constitution of Mongolia comes into effect.
    • 1993 – Two-year-old James Bulger is abducted from New Strand Shopping Centre by two ten-year-old boys, who later torture and murder him.
    • 1994 – Four thieves break into the National Gallery of Norway and steal Edvard Munch’s iconic painting The Scream.
    • 1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.
    • 2001 – NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the “saddle” region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
    • 2002 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, begins at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. He dies four years later before its conclusion.
    • 2002 – An Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in the mountains outside Khorramabad, Iran while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport, killing 119.
    • 2004 – The city of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
    • 2009 – Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house in Clarence Center, New York while on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all on board and one on the ground.
    • 2016 – Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.
    • 2019 – The country known as the Republic of Macedonia renames itself the Republic of North Macedonia in accordance with the Prespa agreement, settling a long-standing naming dispute with Greece.

    Births on February 12

    • AD 41 – Britannicus, Roman son of Claudius (d. 55)
    • 528 – Daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei, nominal empress regnant of Northern Wei
    • 661 – Princess Ōku of Japan (d. 702)
    • 1074 – Conrad II of Italy (d. 1101)
    • 1218 – Kujo Yoritsune, Japanese shōgun (d. 1256)
    • 1322 – John Henry, Margrave of Moravia (d. 1375)
    • 1443 – Giovanni II Bentivoglio, Italian noble (d. 1508)
    • 1480 – Frederick II of Legnica, Duke of Legnica (d. 1547)
    • 1540 – Won Gyun, Korean general and admiral (d. 1597)
    • 1567 – Thomas Campion, English composer, poet, and physician (d. 1620)
    • 1584 – Caspar Barlaeus, Dutch historian, poet, and theologian (d. 1648)
    • 1602 – Michelangelo Cerquozzi, Italian painter (d. 1660)
    • 1606 – John Winthrop the Younger, English-American lawyer and politician, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1676)
    • 1608 – Daniello Bartoli, Italian Jesuit priest (d. 1685)
    • 1637 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist and zoologist (d. 1680)
    • 1663 – Cotton Mather, English-American minister and author (d. 1728)
    • 1665 – Rudolf Jakob Camerarius, German botanist and physician (d. 1721)
    • 1704 – Charles Pinot Duclos, French author (d. 1772)
    • 1706 – Johann Joseph Christian, German Baroque sculptor and woodcarver (d. 1777)
    • 1728 – Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (d. 1799)
    • 1753 – François-Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers, French admiral (d. 1798)
    • 1761 – Jan Ladislav Dussek, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1812)
    • 1768 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1835)
    • 1775 – Louisa Adams, English-American wife of John Quincy Adams, 6th First Lady of the United States (d. 1852)
    • 1777 – Bernard Courtois, French chemist and academic (d. 1838)
    • 1777 – Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, German author and poet (d. 1843)
    • 1785 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist and chemist (d. 1838)
    • 1787 – Norbert Provencher, Canadian bishop and missionary (d. 1853)
    • 1788 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (d. 1869)
    • 1791 – Peter Cooper, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union (d. 1883)
    • 1794 – Alexander Petrov, Russian chess player and composer (d. 1867)
    • 1794 – Valentín Canalizo, Mexican general and politician. 14th President (1843-1844) (d. 1850)
    • 1804 – Heinrich Lenz, German-Italian physicist and academic (d. 1865)
    • 1809 – Charles Darwin, English geologist and theorist (d. 1882)
    • 1809 – Abraham Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 16th President of the United States (d. 1865)
    • 1819 – William Wetmore Story, American sculptor, architect, poet and editor
    • 1824 – Dayananda Saraswati, Indian monk and philosopher, founded Arya Samaj (d. 1883)
    • 1828 – George Meredith, English novelist and poet (d. 1909)
    • 1837 – Thomas Moran, British-American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School (d. 1926)
    • 1857 – Eugène Atget, French photographer (d. 1927)
    • 1857 – Bobby Peel, English cricketer and coach (d. 1943)
    • 1861 – Lou Andreas-Salomé, Russian-German psychoanalyst and author (d. 1937)
    • 1866 – Lev Shestov, Russian philosopher (d. 1938)
    • 1869 – Kiến Phúc, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1884)
    • 1870 – Marie Lloyd, English actress and singer (d. 1922)
    • 1876 – 13th Dalai Lama (d. 1933)
    • 1877 – Louis Renault, French engineer and businessman, co-founded Renault (d. 1944)
    • 1880 – George Preca, Maltese priest and saint (d. 1962)
    • 1880 – John L. Lewis, American miner and union leader (d. 1969)
    • 1881 – Anna Pavlova, Russian-English ballerina and actress (d. 1931)
    • 1882 – Walter Nash, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1968)
    • 1884 – Max Beckmann, German painter and sculptor (d. 1950)
    • 1884 – Johan Laidoner, Estonian-Russian general (d. 1953)
    • 1884 – Alice Roosevelt Longworth, American author (d. 1980)
    • 1884 – Marie Vassilieff, Russian-French painter (d. 1957)
    • 1885 – Julius Streicher, German publisher, founded Der Stürmer (d. 1946)
    • 1889 – Bhante Dharmawara, Cambodian monk, lawyer, and judge (d. 1999)
    • 1893 – Omar Bradley, American general (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – Kristian Djurhuus, Faroese lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 1984)
    • 1897 – Charles Groves Wright Anderson, South African-Australian colonel and politician (d. 1988)
    • 1897 – Lincoln LaPaz, American astronomer and academic (d. 1985)
    • 1898 – Wallace Ford, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
    • 1900 – Roger J. Traynor, American lawyer and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of California (d. 1983)
    • 1902 – William Collier, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1987)
    • 1903 – Jorge Basadre, Peruvian historian (d. 1980)
    • 1903 – Chick Hafey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1973)
    • 1904 – Ted Mack, American radio and television host (d. 1976)
    • 1907 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (d. 1962)
    • 1908 – Jean Effel, French painter, caricaturist, illustrator and journalist (d. 1982)
    • 1908 – Jacques Herbrand, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1931)
    • 1909 – Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter and illustrator (d. 2005)
    • 1909 – Sigmund Rascher, German physician (d. 1945)
    • 1911 – Charles Mathiesen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1994)
    • 1912 – R. F. Delderfield, English author and playwright (d. 1972)
    • 1914 – Tex Beneke, American singer, saxophonist, and bandleader (d. 2000)
    • 1914 – Johanna von Caemmerer, German mathematician (d. 1971)
    • 1915 – Lorne Greene, Canadian-American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1915 – Olivia Hooker, African-American sailor (d. 2018)
    • 1916 – Joseph Alioto, American lawyer and politician, 36th Mayor of San Francisco (d. 1998)
    • 1917 – Al Cervi, American basketball player and coach (d. 2009)
    • 1917 – Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player (d. 2009)
    • 1918 – Norman Farberow, American psychologist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1918 – Julian Schwinger, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
    • 1919 – Forrest Tucker, American actor (d. 1986)
    • 1920 – Raymond Mhlaba, South African anti-apartheid and ANC activist (d. 2005)
    • 1922 – Hussein Onn, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1990)
    • 1923 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director, producer, and politician (d. 2019)
    • 1925 – Sir Anthony Berry, British Conservative politician (d. 1984)
    • 1925 – Joan Mitchell, American-French painter (d. 1992)
    • 1926 – Rolf Brem, Swiss sculptor and illustrator (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Joe Garagiola, Sr., American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Charles Van Doren, American academic (d. 2019)
    • 1928 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – John Doyle, Irish hurler and politician (d. 2010)
    • 1930 – Arlen Specter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – Janwillem van de Wetering, Dutch-American author and translator (d. 2008)
    • 1932 – Axel Jensen, Norwegian author and poet (d. 2003)
    • 1932 – Julian Simon, American economist, author, and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1933 – Costa-Gavras, Greek-French director and producer
    • 1933 – Brian Carlson, Australian rugby league player (d. 1987)
    • 1934 – Annette Crosbie, Scottish actress
    • 1934 – Anne Osborn Krueger, American economist and academic
    • 1934 – Bill Russell, American basketball player and coach
    • 1935 – Gene McDaniels, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1936 – Alan Ebringer, Australian immunologist, professor at King’s College in the University of London
    • 1938 – Judy Blume, Jewish-American author and educator
    • 1939 – Leon Kass, American physician, scientist, and educator
    • 1939 – Ray Manzarek, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Hubert Marcoux, Canadian solo sailor and author (d. 2009)
    • 1941 – Dominguinhos, Brazilian singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Naomi Uemura, Japanese mountaineer and explorer (d. 1984)
    • 1942 – Ehud Barak, Israeli general and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Israel
    • 1942 – Pat Dobson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2006)
    • 1945 – Maud Adams, Swedish model and actress
    • 1945 – David D. Friedman, American economist, physicist, and scholar
    • 1946 – Jean Eyeghé Ndong, Gabonese politician, Prime Minister of Gabon
    • 1946 – Ajda Pekkan, Turkish singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1948 – Ray Kurzweil, American computer scientist and engineer
    • 1948 – Nicholas Soames, English politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
    • 1950 – Angelo Branduardi, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1950 – Steve Hackett, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1950 – Michael Ironside, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1952 – Michael McDonald, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1953 – Joanna Kerns, American actress and director
    • 1954 – Joseph Jordania, Georgian-Australian musicologist and academic
    • 1954 – Tzimis Panousis, Greek comedian, singer, and author (d. 2018)
    • 1954 – Phil Zimmermann, American cryptographer and programmer
    • 1955 – Bill Laswell, American bass player and producer
    • 1955 – Chet Lemon, American baseball player and coach
    • 1956 – Arsenio Hall, American actor and talk show host
    • 1956 – Ad Melkert, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment
    • 1956 – Brian Robertson, Scottish rock guitarist and songwriter
    • 1958 – Outback Jack, Australian-American wrestler
    • 1961 – Jim Harris, Canadian environmentalist and politician
    • 1961 – Michel Martelly, Haitian singer and politician, 56th President of Haiti
    • 1961 – Di Farmer, Queensland Member of Parliament
    • 1964 – Omar Hakim, American drummer, producer, arranger, and composer
    • 1965 – Rubén Amaro, Jr., American baseball player and manager
    • 1965 – Christine Elise, American actress and producer
    • 1965 – David Westlake, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1966 – Paul Crook, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1968 – Josh Brolin, American actor
    • 1968 – Chynna Phillips, American singer and actress
    • 1969 – Darren Aronofsky, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Alemayehu Atomsa, Ethiopian educator and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1969 – Steve Backley, English javelin thrower
    • 1969 – Anneli Drecker, Norwegian singer and actress
    • 1969 – Hong Myung-bo, South Korean footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Jim Creeggan, Canadian singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1970 – Bryan Roy, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Judd Winick, American author and illustrator
    • 1971 – Scott Menville, American voice actor, singer, actor and musician
    • 1973 – Gianni Romme, Dutch speed skater
    • 1973 – Tara Strong, Canadian voice actress and singer
    • 1974 – Naseem Hamed, English boxer
    • 1976 – Christian Cullen, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1977 – Jimmy Conrad, American soccer player and manager
    • 1978 – Paul Anderson, English actor
    • 1978 – Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1979 – Antonio Chatman, American football player
    • 1979 – Jesse Spencer, Australian actor and violinist
    • 1980 – Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
    • 1980 – Sarah Lancaster, American actress
    • 1980 – Christina Ricci, American actress and producer
    • 1980 – Gucci Mane, American rapper
    • 1981 – Wade McKinnon, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Jonas Hiller, Swiss ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Louis Tsatoumas, Greek long jumper
    • 1982 – Anthony Tuitavake, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1983 – Carlton Brewster, American football player and coach
    • 1984 – Brad Keselowski, American race car driver
    • 1984 – Andrei Sidorenkov, Estonian footballer
    • 1984 – Peter Vanderkaay, American swimmer
    • 1988 – DeMarco Murray, American football player
    • 1988 – Nicolás Otamendi, Argentine footballer
    • 1988 – Mike Posner, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1990 – Robert Griffin III, American football player
    • 1991 – Patrick Herrmann, German footballer
    • 1994 – Arman Hall, American sprinter
    • 1999 – Maggie Coles-Lyster, Canadian cyclist
    • 2000 – Kim Ji-min, South Korean actress

    Deaths on February 12

    • 821 – Benedict of Aniane, French monk and saint (b. 747)
    • 890 – Henjō, Japanese priest and poet (b. 816)
    • 981 – Ælfstan, bishop of Ramsbury
    • 901 – Antony II, patriarch of Constantinople
    • 914 – Li, empress of Yan
    • 941 – Wulfhelm, Archbishop of Canterbury
    • 1247 – Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg, ruler (b. 1185)
    • 1266 – Amadeus of the Amidei, Italian saint
    • 1517 – Catherine of Navarre (b. 1468)
    • 1538 – Albrecht Altdorfer, German painter, engraver, and architect (b. 1480)
    • 1554 – Lord Guildford Dudley, English son of Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland (b. 1536; executed)
    • 1554 – Lady Jane Grey, de facto monarch of England and Ireland for nine days (b. 1537; executed)
    • 1571 – Nicholas Throckmorton, English politician and diplomat (b. 1515)
    • 1590 – François Hotman, French lawyer and author (b. 1524)
    • 1600 – Edward Denny, Knight Banneret of Bishop’s Stortford, English soldier, privateer and adventurer (b. 1547)
    • 1612 – Jodocus Hondius, Flemish cartographer (b. 1563)
    • 1624 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist, founded George Heriot’s School (b. 1563)
    • 1713 – Jahandar Shah, Mughal emperor (b. 1664)
    • 1728 – Agostino Steffani, Italian priest and composer (b. 1653)
    • 1763 – Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (b. 1688)
    • 1771 – Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (b. 1710)
    • 1789 – Ethan Allen, American farmer, general, and politician (b. 1738)
    • 1799 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist and physiologist (b. 1729)
    • 1804 – Immanuel Kant, German anthropologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1724)
    • 1834 – Friedrich Schleiermacher, German philosopher and scholar (b. 1768)
    • 1886 – Randolph Caldecott, English-American painter and illustrator (b. 1846)
    • 1894 – Hans von Bülow, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1830)
    • 1896 – Ambroise Thomas, French composer and academic (b. 1811)
    • 1912 – Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian physician (b. 1841)
    • 1915 – Émile Waldteufel, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1837)
    • 1916 – Richard Dedekind, German mathematician, philosopher, and academic (b. 1831)
    • 1929 – Lillie Langtry, English singer and actress (b. 1853)
    • 1931 – Samad bey Mehmandarov, Azerbaijani-Russian general and politician, 3rd Azerbaijani Minister of Defense (b. 1855)
    • 1935 – Auguste Escoffier, French chef and author (b. 1846)
    • 1942 – Eugene Esmonde, Irish-English lieutenant and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1909)
    • 1942 – Avraham Stern, Polish-Israeli militant leader (b. 1907)
    • 1942 – Grant Wood, American painter and academic (b. 1891)
    • 1947 – Moses Gomberg, Ukrainian-American chemist and academic (b. 1866)
    • 1949 – Hassan al-Banna, Egyptian educator, founded the Muslim Brotherhood (b. 1906)
    • 1954 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1896)
    • 1958 – Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1897)
    • 1960 – Oskar Anderson, Bulgarian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1887)
    • 1970 – Clare Turlay Newberry, American author and illustrator (b. 1903)
    • 1971 – James Cash Penney, American businessman and philanthropist, founded J. C. Penney (b. 1875)
    • 1975 – Carl Lutz, Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews (b. 1895)
    • 1976 – Sal Mineo, American actor (b. 1939)
    • 1977 – Herman Dooyeweerd, Dutch philosopher and scholar (b. 1894)
    • 1979 – Jean Renoir, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
    • 1980 – Muriel Rukeyser, American poet and activist (b. 1913)
    • 1982 – Victor Jory, Canadian-American actor (b. 1902)
    • 1983 – Eubie Blake, American pianist and composer (b. 1887)
    • 1984 – Anna Anderson, Polish-American woman, who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1896)
    • 1984 – Julio Cortázar, Belgian-Argentinian author and poet (b. 1914)
    • 1985 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and director (b. 1924)
    • 1989 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian playwright and author (b. 1931)
    • 1991 – Roger Patterson, American bass player (b. 1968)
    • 1992 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (b. 1907)
    • 1994 – Donald Judd, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928)
    • 1995 – Philip Taylor Kramer, American bass player (b. 1952)
    • 1998 – Gardner Ackley, American economist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Tom Landry, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
    • 2000 – Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist, created Peanuts (b. 1922)
    • 2001 – Kristina Söderbaum, Swedish-German actress and producer (b. 1912)
    • 2002 – John Eriksen, Danish footballer (b. 1957)
    • 2005 – Dorothy Stang, American-Brazilian nun and missionary (b. 1931)
    • 2007 – Ann Barzel, American writer and dance critic (b. 1905)
    • 2007 – Peggy Gilbert, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1905)
    • 2008 – David Groh, American actor (b. 1939)
    • 2009 – victims of Colgan Air Flight 3407:
      • Alison Des Forges, American historian and activist (b. 1942)
      • Beverly Eckert, American activist (b. 1951)
      • Mat Mathews, Dutch accordion player (b. 1924)
      • Coleman Mellett, American guitarist (b. 1974)
      • Gerry Niewood, American saxophonist (b. 1943)
    • 2010 – Nodar Kumaritashvili, Georgian luger (b. 1988)
    • 2011 – Peter Alexander, Austrian singer and actor (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1919)
    • 2011 – Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (b. 1935)
    • 2012 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1945)
    • 2012 – Denis Flannery, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – David Kelly, Irish actor (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – John Severin, American illustrator (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1941)
    • 2013 – Reginald Turnill, English journalist and author (b. 1915)
    • 2013 – Hennadiy Udovenko, Ukrainian politician and diplomat, 2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ukraine (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Sid Caesar, American actor and comedian (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – John Pickstone, English historian and author (b. 1944)
    • 2015 – Movita Castaneda, American actress and singer (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian cleric and politician, 12th Menteri Besar of Kelantan (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Gary Owens, American radio host and voice actor (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Steve Strange, Welsh singer (b. 1959)
    • 2016 – Dominique D’Onofrio, Italian-Belgian footballer and coach (b. 1953)
    • 2016 – Yannis Kalaitzis, Greek cartoonist (b. 1945)
    • 2016 – Yan Su, Chinese general and composer (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Al Jarreau, American singer (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Anna Marguerite McCann, first female American underwater archaeologist (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Ren Xinmin, Chinese rocket scientist (b. 1915)
    • 2019 – Gordon Banks, English footballer (b. 1937)
    • 2019 – Lyndon LaRouche, American political activist (b. 1922)
    • 2019 – Pedro Morales, Puerto Rican professional wrestler and commentator (b. 1942)
    • 2020 – Christie Blatchford, Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster (b. 1951)

    Holidays and observances on February 12

    • Christian feast day:
      • Benedict of Aniane
      • Damian of Alexandria
      • Julian the Hospitaller
      • Martyrs of Abitinae
      • February 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Darwin Day (International)
    • Georgia Day (Georgia (U.S. state))
    • Lincoln’s Birthday (United States)
    • National Freedom to Marry Day (United States)
    • Red Hand Day (United Nations)
    • Union Day (Myanmar)
    • Youth Day (Venezuela)
  • |

    General Science & Ability | Constituents and Structure Solved MCQs (Set-III)

    Click HERE for Q.No.1-50
    Click HERE for Q.No.51-100

    101) Which type of star is maintained by the pressure of an electron gas?
    (a) Main Sequence Star
    (b) White Dwarf
    (c) Neutron Star
    (d) Black Hole
    Answer: (b)
    White dwarfs are stars supported by pressure of degenerate electron gas. i.e. in their interiors thermal energy kT is much smaller then Fermi energy Ep. We shall derive the equations of structure of white dwarfs, sometimes called degenerate dwarfs, in the limiting case when their thermal pressure may be neglected, but the degenerate electron gas may be either non-relativistic. somewhat relativistic. or ultra-relativistic.

    102) Which of the following first hypothesized that the Earth orbited the sun?
    (a) Alexander the Great
    (b) Copernicus
    (c) Socrates
    (d) Tycho Brahe
    Answer: (b)
    Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe.

    103) The LAST manned moon flight was made in what year?
    (a) 1971 (b) 1972
    (c) 1973 (d) 1974
    Answer: (b)
    The last manned landing Apollo 17 on the Moon to date, which took place on December 11, 1972, was made by Commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt who was also the first scientist on the Moon.

    104) A planet is said to be at aphelion when it is:
    (a) closest to the sun
    (b) farthest from the sun
    (c) at it’s highest point above the ecliptic
    (d) at it’s lowest point below the ecliptic
    Answer: (b)

    105) The word Albedo refers to which of the following?
    (a) The wobbling motion of a planet
    (b) The amount of light a planet reflects
    (c) The phase changes of a planet
    (d) The brightness of a star
    Answer: (b)
    Albedo is a measure of the reflectivity of a surface. The albedo effect when applied to the Earth is a measure of how much of the Sun’s energy is reflected back into space. Overall, the Earth’s albedo has a cooling effect. (The term ‘albedo’ is derived from the Latin for ‘whiteness’).

    106) A pulsar is actually a:
    (a) black hole
    (b) white dwarf
    (c) red giant
    (d) neutron star
    Answer: (d)

    107) Astronomers use Cepheid’s principally as measures of what? Is it:
    (a) size
    (b) speed
    (c) chemical composition
    (d) distance
    Answer: (d)

    108) Where are most asteroids located? Is it between:
    (a) Jupiter and Saturn
    (b) Mars and Venus
    (c) Earth and Mars
    (d) Mars and Jupiter
    Answer: (d)

    109) The precession of the Earth refers to the:
    (a) change from night to day.
    (b) Earth’s motion around the sun.
    (c) change in orientation of the Earth’s axis.
    (d) effect of the moon on the Earth’s orbit.
    Answer: (c)
    Precession is the change in orientation of the Earth’s rotational axis. The precession cycle takes about 19,000 – 23,000 years. Precession is caused by two factors: a wobble of the Earth’s axis and a turning around of the elliptical orbit of the Earth itself (Thomas, 2002). Obliquity affected the tilt of the Earth’s axis, precession affects the direction of the Earth’s axis. The change in the axis location changes the dates of perihelion (closest distance from sun) and aphelion (farthest distance from sun), and this increases the seasonal contrast in one hemisphere while decreasing it in the other hemisphere ( Kaufman, 2002). currently, the Earth is closest to the sun in the northern hemisphere winter, which makes the winters there less severe (Thomas, 2002). Another consequence of precession is a shift in the celestial poles. 5000 years ago the North Star was Thuban in the constellation Draco. Currently the North Star is Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor.

    110) The Magellanic cloud is a:
    (a) nebula
    (b) galaxy
    (c) super nova remnant
    (d) star cluster
    Answer: (b)

    111) The comet known as Halley’s Comet has an average period of:
    (a) 56 years
    (b) 66 years
    (c) 76 years
    (d) 86 years
    Answer: (c)
    Halley’s Comet orbits the Sun every 76.0 years and has an orbital eccentricity of 0.97. Comet Halley was visible in 1910 and again in 1986. Its next perihelion passage will be in early 2062.

    112) Which one of the following planets has no moons?
    (a) Mars
    (b) Neptune
    (c) Venus
    (d) Jupiter
    Answer: (c)

    113) The rocks that enter the earth’s atmosphere and blaze a trail all the way to the ground and do not burn up completely are known as:
    (a) meteorites
    (b) meteors
    (c) asteroids
    (d) none of these
    Answer: (a)
    A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and impact with the Earth’s surface

    114) 95% of the Martian atmosphere is composed of what substance?
    (a) Carbon dioxide
    (b) Nitrogen
    (c) Argon
    (d) Carbon monoxide
    Answer: (a)
    The atmosphere of Mars is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s, and it is 95 percent carbon dioxide.

    115) What is the motion called when a planet seems to be moving westward in the sky?
    (a) Retrograde
    (b) Parallax
    (c) Opcentric
    (d) Reverse parallax
    Answer: (a)
    Retrograde motion, in astronomy, describes the orbit of a celestial body that runs counter to the direction of the spin of that body which it orbits. Apparent retrograde motion, in astronomy, is the apparent motion of planets as observed from a particular vantage point.

    116) In what year did Galileo first use an optical telescope to study the moon?
    (a) 1492 (b) 1611
    (c) 1212 (d) 1743
    Answer: (b)

    117) Geocentric means around:
    (a) Jupiter (b) the Earth
    (c) the Moon (d) the Sun
    Answer: (b)

    118) The Pythagoreans appear to have been the first to have taught that the Earth is:
    (a) at the center of the Universe.
    (b) spherical in shape.
    (c) orbits around the sun.
    (d) flat with sharp edges.
    Answer: (b)

    119) A device which would not work on the Moon is:
    (a) thermometer
    (b) siphon
    (c) spectrometer
    (d) spring balance
    Answer: (b)
    Siphons will not work in the International Space Station where there is air but no gravity, but neither will they work on the Moon where there is gravity but no air

    120) Of the following colors, which is bent least in passing through aprism?
    (a) orange (b) violet
    (c) green (d) red
    Answer: (d)

    121) In a reflecting telescope where in the tube is the objective mirror placed?
    (a) the top to the tube
    (b) the middle of the tube
    (c) the bottom of the tube
    (d) the side of the tube
    Answer: (c)

    122) What does it mean when someone says that comets have eccentric orbits? Does it mean
    (a) they have open orbits
    (b) they have nearly circular orbits
    (c) their orbits are unpredictable
    (d) the sun is far from the foci of their orbits
    Answer: (d)

    123) What causes the gas tail of a comet to always point away from the sun?
    (a) solar wind
    (b) air pressure
    (c) centrifugal force
    (d) gravity
    Answer: (a)

    124) What are Saturn’s rings composed of?
    (a) completely connected solid masses
    (b) billions of tiny solid particles
    (c) mixtures of gases
    (d) highly reflective cosmic clouds
    Answer: (b)

    125) Of the following, which is the only planet which CANNOT be seen with the unaided eye?
    (a) Jupiter
    (b) Mars
    (c) Neptune
    (d) Saturn
    Answer: (c)
    The ice giant Neptune was the first planet located through mathematical predictions rather than through regular observations of the sky. Nearly 4.5 billion kilometers (2.8 billion miles) from the Sun, Neptune orbits the Sun once every 165 years. It is invisible to the naked eye because of its extreme distance from Earth. In 2011 Neptune completed its first orbit since its discovery in 1846.

    126) Accretion is:
    (a) the gradual accumulation of matter in one location usually due to gravity.
    (b) the process of moon formation for planets.
    (c) the process of matter accumulation due to centripetal force.
    (d) the disintegration of matter.
    Answer: (b)

    127) A blue shift means a Doppler shift of light from a(an)
    (a) receding star.
    (b) blue star.
    (c) approaching star.
    (d) fixed star.
    Answer: (c)
    In the Doppler effect for visible light, the frequency is shifted toward the blue end of the spectrum when the light source (such as a star) is approaching.

    128) The first and largest asteroid discovered was:
    (a) Pallas.
    (b) Juno.
    (c) Ceres.
    (d) Trojan.
    Answer: (c)

    129) The Crab Nebula consists of the remnants of a supernova which was observed by:
    (a) Brahe in 1572.
    (b) Kepler and Galileo in 1604.
    (c) the Chinese in 1054 A.D.
    (d) several ancient civilizations in 236 B.C.
    Answer: (c)
    The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova noted by Earth-bound chroniclers in 1054 A.D., is filled with mysterious filaments that are are not only tremendously complex, but appear to have less mass than expelled in the original supernova and a higher speed than expected from a free explosion. The Crab Nebula spans about 10 light-years. In the nebula’s very center lies a pulsar: a neutron star as massive as the Sun but with only the size of a small town. The Crab Pulsar rotates about 30 times each second.

    130) The atmosphere of Venus contains mostly
    (a) oxygen
    (b) carbon dioxide
    (c) nitrogen
    (d) water
    Answer: (b)
    The atmosphere of Venus is composed of about 96% carbon dioxide, with most … various other corrosive compounds, and the atmosphere contains little water.

    131) On the celestial sphere, the annual path of the Sun is called
    (a) the eclipse path.
    (b) ecliptic.
    (c) diurnal.
    (d) solstice.
    Answer: (b)
    The ecliptic is an imaginary line on the sky that marks the annual path of the sun. It is the projection of Earth’s orbit onto the celestial sphere.

    132) The angular distance between a planet and the Sun, as viewed from the Earth, is called
    (a) angle of inclination.
    (b) elongation.
    (c) latitude.
    (d) opposition.
    Answer: (b)
    Elongation is the angular distance between the sun, and another object such a moon or a planet as seen from earth. There are several special names for these angular distances. The different names of these angles depend on the status, inferior or superior, of the planet. The planets closer to the sun than the earth are called inferior planets. The planets farther away from the sun than earth are called superior planets.
    Elongation is measured from earth as the angle between the sun and the planet. Sometimes the apparent relative position of a planet in relation to the sun is called the aspect, or configuration, of a planet.

    133) Which of the following has the highest density?
    (a) Earth
    (b) Venus
    (c) Mars
    (d) Jupiter
    Answer: (a)
    Earth has the highest density of any planet in the Solar System, at 5.514 g/cm3. This is considered the standard by which other planet’s densities are measured. In addition, the combination of Earth’s size, mass and density also results in a surface gravity of 9.8 m/s². This is also used as a the standard (one g) when measuring the surface gravity of other planets.

    134) Which of the following planets is NOT a terrestrial planet?
    (a) Earth
    (b) Jupiter
    (c) Mars
    (d) Mercury
    Answer: (b)
    The term terrestrial planet is derived from the Latin “Terra” (i.e. Earth). Terrestrial planets are therefore those that are “Earth-like”, meaning they are similar in structure and composition to planet Earth. All those planets found within the Inner Solar System – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars – are examples of terrestrial planets. Each are composed primarily of silicate rock and metal, which is differentiated between a dense, metallic core and a silicate mantle.

    135) Why do we see lunar eclipses much more often than solar eclipses?
    (a) Lunar eclipses occur more often than solar eclipses.
    (b) Lunar eclipses last longer than solar eclipses.
    (c) The lunar eclipse is visible to much more of the Earth than a solar eclipse.
    (d) The moon is closer to the Earth than the sun.
    Answer: (c)
    Lunar and solar eclipses occur with about equal frequency. Lunar eclipses are more widely visible because Earth casts a much larger shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse than the Moon casts on Earth during a solar eclipse. As a result, we are more likely to see a lunar eclipse than a solar eclipse.

    136) A star like object with a very large red shift is a
    (a) Neutron star.
    (b) Nova.
    (c) Quasar.
    (d) Supernova.
    Answer: (c)
    Quasars: In the 1930’s, Edwin Hubble discovered that all galaxies have a positive redshift. In other words, all galaxies were receding from the Milky Way.

    137) The apparent magnitude of an object in the sky describes its
    (a) Size
    (b) Magnification
    (c) Brightness
    (d) Distance
    Answer: (c)

    138) The Van Allen belts are:
    (a) caused by the refraction of sunlight like rainbows.
    (b) charged particles trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field.
    (c) caused by the reflection of polar snow.
    (d) caused by precession.
    Answer: (b)
    The Van Allen belts are a collection of charged particles, gathered in place by Earth’s magnetic field. They can wax and wane in response to incoming energy from the sun, sometimes swelling up enough to expose satellites in low-Earth orbit to damaging radiation.

    139) A coordinate system based on the ecliptic system is especially useful for the studies of
    (a) Planets
    (b) Stars
    (c) The Milky Way
    (d) Galaxies
    Answer: (a)

    140) The mean distance of the earth from the sun in astronomical units is:
    (a) 3.7 (b) 10
    (c) 1 (d) 101
    Answer: (c)
    In astronomy, an astronomical unit is defined as the average distance from the Sun to the Earth, or about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles). You can abbreviate astronomical unit as AU.
    Since the distances in astronomy are so vast, astronomers use this measurement to bring the size of numbers down.
    For example, Earth is 1 au from the Sun, and Mars is 1.523 AU. That’s much easier than saying that Mars is 227,939,000 km away from the Sun.

    141) What process produces a star’s energy?
    (a) hydrogen and oxygen combustion
    (b) nuclear fusion
    (c) neutron beta decay
    (d) nuclear fission
    Answer: (b)
    The enormous luminous energy of the stars comes from nuclear fusion processes in their centers. Depending upon the age and mass of a star, the energy may come from proton-proton fusion, helium fusion, or the carbon cycle.

    142) What is the most distant object in the sky that the human eye can see without optical instruments?
    (a) The Horsehead Nebula
    (b) The Andromeda Galaxy
    (c) The Sagittarius Constellation
    (d) The Aurora Borealis
    Answer: (b)
    The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the closest large galaxy to the Milky Way and is one of a few galaxies that can be seen unaided from the Earth. In approximately 4.5 billion years the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are expected to collide and the result will be a giant elliptical galaxy. Andromeda is accompanied by 14 dwarf galaxies, including M32, M110, and possibly M33 (The Triangulum Galaxy).

    143) Which civilization developed and implemented the first solar calendar?
    (a) Babylonian
    (b) Greek
    (c) Egyptian
    (d) Aztec
    Answer: (c)
    A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun and is based on the seasonal year of approximately 365 1/4 days, the time it takes the Earth to revolve once around the Sun. The Egyptians appear to have been the first to develop a solar calendar, using as a fixed point the annual sunrise reappearance of the Dog Star — Sirius, or Sothis — in the eastern sky, which coincided with the annual flooding of the Nile River. They constructed a calendar of 365 days, consisting of 12 months of 30 days each, with 5 days added at the year’s end. The Egyptians’ failure to account for the extra fraction of a day, however, caused their calendar to drift gradually into error.

    144) What is the HOTTEST region of the sun?
    (a) The core
    (b) The photosphere
    (c) The chromospheres
    (d) The corona
    Answer: (d)
    The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun, starting at about 1300 miles (2100 km) above the solar surface (the photosphere) The temperature in the corona is 500,000 K (900,000 degrees F, 500,000 degrees C) or more, up to a few million K. The corona cannot be seen with the naked eye except during a total solar eclipse, or with the use of a coronagraph. The corona does not have an upper limit.
    A study published in 2012 in Nature Communications by researchers at Northumbria University found a possible mechanism that causes some stars to have a corona that is almost 200 times hotter than their photosphere (the star’s surface).

    145) The same side of the moon always faces the Earth because:
    (a) the moon is not rotating about its axis.
    (b) the moon’s motion was fixed at its creation by the laws of inertia.
    (c) tidal forces keep the moon’s rotation and orbiting motion in sync with each other.
    (d) the moon’s magnetic poles keep aligned with the Earth’s magnetic field.
    Answer: (b)

    146) The resolving power of a telescope depends on the:
    (a) focal ratio
    (b) diameter of the objective
    (c) magnification
    (d) focal length
    Answer: (b)
    The resolving power of a telescope depends on the diameter of the telescope’s light-gathering apparatus, or objective. In a refracting telescope, the objective lens is the first lens the light passes through. In a reflecting telescope, the objective is the telescope’s primary mirror. In a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, the objective is also the primary mirror. As the diameter of the telescope’s objective increases, the resolving power increases.

    147) On a clear, dark, moonless night, approximately how many stars can be seen with the naked eye?
    (a) 300 (b) 1,000
    (c) 3,000 (d) 10,000
    Answer: (c)
    On any clear dark moonless night a person can see about 3000 stars of our galaxy without the aid of a telescope

    148) The study of the origin and evolution of the universe is known as:
    (a) Tomography
    (b) cystoscopy
    (c) cryology
    (d) cosmology
    Answer: (d)
    Cosmology is the branch of astronomy involving the origin and evolution of the universe, from the Big Bang to today and on into the future. According to NASA, the definition of cosmology is “the scientific study of the large scale properties of the universe as a whole.”

    149) According to Kepler’s Laws, all orbits of the planets are:
    (a) ellipses
    (b) parabolas
    (c) hyperbolas
    (d) square
    Answer: (a)
    Johannes Kepler, working with data painstakingly collected by Tycho Brahe without the aid of a telescope, developed three laws which described the motion of the planets across the sky.
    1. The Law of Orbits: All planets move in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus.
    2. The Law of Areas: A line that connects a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
    3. The Law of Periods: The square of the period of any planet is proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis of its orbit.
    Kepler’s laws were derived for orbits around the sun, but they apply to satellite orbits as well.