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May 26 in History
- 17 – Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
- 451 – Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire takes place. The Sasanids defeat the Armenians militarily but guarantee them freedom to openly practice Christianity.
- 946 – King Edmund I of England is murdered by a thief whom he personally attacks while celebrating St Augustine’s Mass Day.
- 961 – King Otto I elects his 6-year-old son Otto II as heir apparent and co-ruler of the East Frankish Kingdom. He is crowned at Aachen, and placed under the tutelage of his grandmother Matilda.
- 1135 – Alfonso VII of León and Castile is crowned in León Cathedral as Imperator totius Hispaniae (Emperor of all of Spain).
- 1293 – An earthquake strikes Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, killing about 23,000.
- 1328 – William of Ockham, the Franciscan Minister-General Michael of Cesena, and two other Franciscan leaders secretly leave Avignon, fearing a death sentence from Pope John XXII.
- 1538 – Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city. Calvin lives in exile in Strasbourg for the next three years.
- 1573 – The Battle of Haarlemmermeer, a naval engagement in the Dutch War of Independence.
- 1637 – Pequot War: A combined English and Mohegan force under John Mason attacks a village in Connecticut, massacring approximately 500 Pequots.
- 1644 – Portuguese Restoration War: Portuguese and Spanish forces both claim victory in the Battle of Montijo.
- 1736 – The Battle of Ackia was fought near the present site of Tupelo, Mississippi. British and Chickasaw soldiers repelled a French and Choctaw attack on the then-Chickasaw village of Ackia.
- 1770 – The Orlov Revolt, an attempt to revolt against the Ottoman Empire before the Greek War of Independence, ends in disaster for the Greeks.
- 1783 – A Great Jubilee Day held at North Stratford, Connecticut, celebrated the end of fighting in the American Revolution.
- 1805 – Napoléon Bonaparte assumes the title of King of Italy and is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in Milan Cathedral, the gothic cathedral in Milan.
- 1821 – Establishment of the Peloponnesian Senate by the Greek rebels.
- 1822 – One hundred sixteen people die in the Grue Church fire, the biggest fire disaster in Norway’s history.
- 1857 – Dred Scott is emancipated by the Blow family, his original owners.
- 1864 – Montana is organized as a United States territory.
- 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi division, is the last full general of the Confederate Army to surrender, at Galveston, Texas.
- 1868 – The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson ends with his acquittal by one vote.
- 1869 – Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- 1879 – Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.
- 1896 – Nicholas II becomes the last Tsar of Imperial Russia.
- 1896 – Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
- 1897 – Dracula, a Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, is published.
- 1897 – The original manuscript of William Bradford’s history, “Of Plymouth Plantation” is returned to the Governor of Massachusetts by the Bishop of London after being taken during the American Revolutionary War.
- 1900 – Thousand Days’ War: The Colombian Conservative Party turns the tide of war in their favor with victory against the Colombian Liberal Party in the Battle of Palonegro.
- 1908 – The first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East was made at Masjed Soleyman in southwest Persia. The rights to the resource were quickly acquired by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
- 1917 – Several powerful tornadoes rip through Illinois, including the city of Mattoon.
- 1918 – The Democratic Republic of Georgia is established.
- 1923 – The first 24 Hours of Le Mans was held and has since been run annually in June.
- 1927 – The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
- 1936 – In the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, Tommy Henderson begins speaking on the Appropriation Bill. By the time he sits down in the early hours of the following morning, he had spoken for ten hours.
- 1937 – Walter Reuther and members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) clashed with Ford Motor Company security guards at the River Rouge Complex complex in Dearborn, Michigan, during the Battle of the Overpass.
- 1938 – In the United States, the House Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session.
- 1940 – World War II: Operation Dynamo: In northern France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France.
- 1940 – World War II: The Siege of Calais ends with the surrender of the British and French garrison.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Gazala takes place.
- 1948 – The U.S. Congress passes Public Law 80-557, which permanently establishes the Civil Air Patrol as an auxiliary of the United States Air Force.
- 1966 – British Guiana gains independence, becoming Guyana.
- 1967 – The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is released.
- 1968 – H-dagurinn in Iceland: Traffic changes from driving on the left to driving on the right overnight
- 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first manned moon landing.
- 1970 – The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2.
- 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army slaughters at least 71 Hindus in Burunga, Sylhet, Bangladesh.
- 1972 – The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
- 1981 – Italian Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the pseudo-masonic lodge P2 (Propaganda Due).
- 1981 – An EA-6B Prowler crashes on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, killing 14 crewmen and injuring 45 others.
- 1983 – The 7.8 Mw Sea of Japan earthquake shakes northern Honshu with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami is generated that leaves about 100 people dead.
- 1986 – The European Community adopts the European flag.
- 1991 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes the first elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era.
- 1991 – Lauda Air Flight 004 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes in the Phu Toei National Park in Thailand, killing all 223 people on board.
- 1998 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in New Jersey v. New York that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.
- 1998 – The first “National Sorry Day” was held in Australia, and reconciliation events were held nationally, and attended by over a million people.
- 2002 – The tugboat Robert Y. Love collides with a support pier of Interstate 40 on the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, resulting in 14 deaths and 11 others injured.
- 2004 – United States Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2008 – Severe flooding begins in eastern and southern China that will ultimately cause 148 deaths and force the evacuation of 1.3 million.
Births on May 26
- 1264 – Koreyasu, Japanese prince and shōgun (d. 1326)
- 1478 – Clement VII, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1534)
- 1562 – James III, margrave of Baden-Hachberg (d. 1590)
- 1566 – Mehmed III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1603)
- 1602 – Philippe de Champaigne, Dutch-French painter (d. 1674)
- 1623 – William Petty, English economist and philosopher (d. 1687)
- 1650 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire (d. 1722)
- 1667 – Abraham de Moivre, French-English mathematician and theorist (d. 1754)
- 1669 – Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist and mycologist (d. 1722)
- 1700 – Nicolaus Zinzendorf, German bishop and saint (d. 1760)
- 1799 – August Kopisch, German poet and painter (d. 1853)
- 1822 – Edmond de Goncourt, French author and critic, founded the Académie Goncourt (d. 1896)
- 1863 – Bob Fitzsimmons, English-New Zealand boxer (d. 1917)
- 1865 – Robert W. Chambers, American author and illustrator (d. 1933)
- 1867 – Mary of Teck, English-born queen consort of the United Kingdom (d. 1953)
- 1873 – Olaf Gulbransson, Norwegian painter and illustrator (d. 1958)
- 1876 – Percy Perrin, English cricketer (d. 1945)
- 1880 – W. Otto Miessner, American composer and educator (d. 1967)
- 1881 – Adolfo de la Huerta, Mexican politician and provisional president, 1920 (d. 1955)
- 1883 – Mamie Smith, American singer, actress, dancer, and pianist (d. 1946)
- 1886 – Al Jolson, American singer and actor (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Ba U, 2nd President of Burma (d. 1963)
- 1893 – Eugene Aynsley Goossens, English conductor and composer (d. 1962)
- 1895 – Dorothea Lange, American photographer and journalist (d. 1965)
- 1895 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian-American actor and singer (d. 1971)
- 1898 – Ernst Bacon, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1990)
- 1898 – Christfried Burmeister, Estonian speed skater (d. 1965)
- 1899 – Antonio Barrette, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Premier of Quebec (d. 1968)
- 1899 – Muriel McQueen Fergusson, Canadian lawyer and politician, Canadian Speaker of the Senate (d. 1997)
- 1900 – Karin Juel, Swedish singer, actor, and writer (d. 1976)
- 1904 – George Formby, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1961)
- 1904 – Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1983)
- 1904 – Vlado Perlemuter, Lithuanian-French pianist and educator (d. 2002)
- 1907 – Jean Bernard, French physician and haematologist (d. 2006)
- 1907 – John Wayne, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1979)
- 1908 – Robert Morley, English actor (d. 1992)
- 1908 – Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ, Vietnamese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam (d. 1976)
- 1909 – Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Adolfo López Mateos, Mexican politician, 48th President of Mexico (d. 1969)
- 1910 – Imi Lichtenfeld, Hungarian-Israeli martial artist, boxer, and gymnast (d. 1998)
- 1911 – Maurice Baquet, French actor and cellist (d. 2005)
- 1911 – Henry Ephron, American playwright, screenwriter, and producer (d. 1992)
- 1912 – János Kádár, Hungarian mechanic and politician, 46th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1989)
- 1912 – Jay Silverheels, Canadian-American actor (d. 1980)
- 1913 – Peter Cushing, English actor (d. 1994)
- 1913 – Pierre Daninos, French author (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Karin Ekelund, Swedish actress (d. 1976)
- 1913 – Josef Manger, German weightlifter (d. 1991)
- 1914 – Frankie Manning, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Vernon Alley, American bassist (d. 2004)
- 1915 – Antonia Forest, English author (d. 2003)
- 1916 – Henriette Roosenburg, Dutch journalist and author (d. 1972)
- 1919 – Rubén González, Cuban pianist (d. 2003)
- 1920 – Jack Cheetham, South African cricketer (d. 1980)
- 1920 – Peggy Lee, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Inge Borkh, German soprano (d. 2018)
- 1922 – Troy Smith, American businessman, founded Sonic Drive-In (d. 2009)
- 1923 – James Arness, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Roy Dotrice, English actor (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Carmen Montejo, Cuban-Mexican actress (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Alec McCowen, English actor (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Miles Davis, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1991)
- 1927 – Jacques Bergerac, French actor and businessman (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Jack Kevorkian, American pathologist, author, and assisted suicide activist (d. 2011)
- 1929 – J. F. Ade Ajayi, Nigerian historian and academic (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Ernie Carroll, Australian television personality and producer
- 1929 – Hans Freeman, Australian bioinorganic chemist and protein crystallographer (d. 2008)
- 1929 – John Jackson, English lawyer and businessman
- 1929 – Catherine Sauvage, French singer and actress (d. 1998)
- 1930 – Karim Emami, Indian-Iranian lexicographer and critic (d. 2005)
- 1933 – Edward Whittemore, American soldier and author (d. 1995)
- 1935 – Eero Loone, Estonian philosopher and academic
- 1936 – David Stevens, Baron Stevens of Ludgate, English politician
- 1937 – Manorama, Indian actress and singer (d. 2015)
- 1937 – Paul E. Patton, American politician, 59th Governor of Kentucky
- 1938 – William Bolcom, American pianist and composer
- 1938 – Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Russian author and playwright
- 1938 – K. Bikram Singh, Indian director and producer (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Teresa Stratas, Canadian soprano and actress
- 1939 – Brent Musburger, American sportscaster
- 1939 – Herb Trimpe, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, Canadian academic and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
- 1940 – Levon Helm, American singer-songwriter, drummer, producer, and actor (d. 2012)
- 1941 – Aldrich Ames, American CIA officer and criminal
- 1941 – Jim Dobbin, Scottish microbiologist and politician (d. 2014)
- 1941 – Cliff Drysdale, South African tennis player and sportscaster
- 1941 – Imants Kalniņš, Latvian composer
- 1943 – Erica Terpstra, Dutch swimmer, journalist, and politician
- 1944 – Phil Edmonston, American-Canadian journalist and politician
- 1944 – Jan Kinder, Norwegian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
- 1944 – Sam Posey, American race car driver and journalist
- 1945 – Vilasrao Deshmukh, Indian lawyer and politician, 17th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2012)
- 1945 – Alistair MacDuff, English lawyer and judge
- 1945 – Garry Peterson, Canadian-American drummer
- 1946 – Neshka Robeva, Bulgarian gymnast and coach
- 1946 – Mick Ronson, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1993)
- 1947 – Carol O’Connell, American author and painter
- 1947 – Glenn Turner, New Zealand cricketer
- 1948 – Stevie Nicks, American singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Jeremy Corbyn, British journalist and politician
- 1949 – Ward Cunningham, American computer programmer, developed the first wiki
- 1949 – Pam Grier, American actress
- 1949 – Anne McGuire, Scottish educator and politician
- 1949 – Philip Michael Thomas, American actor
- 1949 – Hank Williams Jr., American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Ramón Calderón, Spanish lawyer and businessman
- 1951 – Lou van den Dries, Dutch mathematician
- 1951 – Sally Ride, American physicist and astronaut, founded Sally Ride Science (d. 2012)
- 1951 – Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Irish educator and politician
- 1952 – David Meece, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1953 – Kay Hagan, American lawyer and politician (d. 2019)
- 1953 – Don McAllister, English footballer and manager
- 1953 – Michael Portillo, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Defence
- 1953 – Dan Roundfield, American basketball player (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Alan Hollinghurst, English novelist, poet, short story writer, and translator
- 1954 – Denis Lebel, Canadian businessman and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Transport
- 1955 – Masaharu Morimoto, Japanese-American chef
- 1955 – Paul Stoddart, Australian businessman
- 1955 – Wesley Walker, American football player and educator
- 1956 – Neil Parish, English politician
- 1956 – Fiona Shackleton, English lawyer
- 1957 – Diomedes Díaz, Colombian singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1957 – François Legault, Canadian businessman and politician
- 1957 – Roberto Ravaglia, Italian race car driver
- 1958 – Ronnie Black, American golfer
- 1958 – Arto Bryggare, Finnish hurdler and politician
- 1958 – Margaret Colin, American actress
- 1959 – Ole Bornedal, Danish actor, director, and producer
- 1960 – Doug Hutchison, American actor
- 1960 – Dean Lukin, Australian weightlifter
- 1960 – Masahiro Matsunaga, Japanese race car driver
- 1960 – Rob Murphy, American baseball player
- 1960 – Romas Ubartas, Lithuanian discus thrower
- 1961 – Steve Pate, American golfer
- 1961 – Tarsem Singh, Indian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1962 – Black, English singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
- 1962 – Genie Francis, Canadian-American actress
- 1962 – Bobcat Goldthwait, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1963 – Simon Armitage, English poet, playwright and novelist
- 1963 – Claude Legault, Canadian actor and screenwriter
- 1963 – Mary Nightingale, English journalist
- 1963 – Jamie Spence, English golfer
- 1964 – Caitlín R. Kiernan, Irish-American paleontologist and author
- 1964 – Lenny Kravitz, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor
- 1964 – Argiris Pedoulakis, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1965 – Hazel Irvine, Scottish sportscaster and journalist
- 1966 – Helena Bonham Carter, English actress
- 1966 – Zola Budd, South African runner
- 1967 – Philip Treacy, Irish milliner, hat designer
- 1967 – Mika Yamamoto, Japanese journalist (d. 2012)
- 1968 – Fernando León de Aranoa, Spanish director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1968 – Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
- 1968 – Steve Sedgley, English footballer and manager
- 1969 – John Baird, Canadian politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1969 – Siri Lindley, American triathlete and coach
- 1969 – Dominic Mohan, English journalist
- 1970 – Nobuhiro Watsuki, Japanese illustrator
- 1971 – Zaher Andary, Lebanese footballer
- 1971 – Matt Stone, American actor, animator, screenwriter, producer, and composer
- 1973 – Naomi Harris, Canadian-American photographer
- 1974 – Lars Frölander, Swedish swimmer
- 1975 – Lauryn Hill, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1976 – Paul Collingwood, English cricketer and coach
- 1976 – Stephen Curry, Australian comedian and actor
- 1976 – Kenny Florian, American mixed martial artist and sportscaster
- 1976 – Justin Pierre, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1977 – Nikos Chatzivrettas, Greek basketball player
- 1977 – Raina Telgemeier, American author and cartoonist
- 1977 – Luca Toni, Italian footballer
- 1977 – Misaki Ito, Japanese actress and model
- 1978 – Phil Elvrum, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Fabio Firmani, Italian footballer
- 1978 – Dan Parks, Australian-Scottish rugby player
- 1979 – Amanda Bauer, American astronomer and academic
- 1979 – Natalya Nazarova, Russian sprinter
- 1979 – Elisabeth Harnois, American actress
- 1979 – Mehmet Okur, Turkish basketball player
- 1980 – Louis-Jean Cormier, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1981 – Robert Copeland, Australian footballer
- 1981 – Anthony Ervin, American swimmer
- 1981 – Jason Manford, English actor, screenwriter, and television host
- 1981 – Isaac Slade, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1981 – Ben Zobrist, American baseball player
- 1982 – Sten Lassmann, Estonian pianist
- 1982 – Hasan Kabze, Turkish footballer
- 1983 – Demy de Zeeuw, Dutch footballer
- 1983 – Henry Holland, English fashion designer
- 1983 – Nathan Merritt, Australian rugby league player
- 1985 – Monika Christodoulou, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1985 – Ashley Vincent, English footballer
- 1986 – Michel Tornéus, Swedish long jumper
- 1987 – Olcay Şahan, Turkish footballer
- 1987 – Josh Thomas, Australian comedian and actor
- 1988 – Andrea Catellani, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Will Chambers, Australian rugby league player
- 1988 – Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Colombian footballer
- 1988 – Dani Samuels, Australian discus thrower
- 1988 – Joel Selwood, Australian footballer
- 1988 – Damian Williams, American football player
- 1989 – Paula Findlay, Canadian triathlete
- 1991 – Ah Young, South Korean singer and actress
- 1992 – Curtis Rona, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1993 – Jason Adesanya, Belgian footballer
- 1993 – Dan Sarginson, Australian-English rugby league player
- 1993 – Katerine Savard, Canadian swimmer
- 1993 – Jimmy Vesey, American ice hockey player
- 1996 – Lara Goodall, South African cricketer
Deaths on May 26
- 604 – Augustine of Canterbury, Benedictine monk and archbishop
- 735 – Bede, English monk, historian, and theologian
- 818 – Ali al-Ridha, Saudi Arabian 8th of The Twelve Imams
- 926 – Yuan Xingqin, Chinese general and governor
- 946 – Edmund I, king of England (b. 921)
- 1035 – Berenguer Ramon I, Spanish nobleman (b. 1005)
- 1055 – Adalbert, margrave of Austria
- 1250 – Peter I, duke of Brittany
- 1339 – Aldona Ona, queen of Poland
- 1362 – Louis I, king of Naples (b. 1320)
- 1421 – Mehmed I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1389)
- 1512 – Bayezid II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1447)
- 1536 – Francesco Berni, Italian poet (b. 1498)
- 1552 – Sebastian Münster, German cartographer and cosmographer (b. 1488)
- 1648 – Vincent Voiture, French poet and author (b. 1597)
- 1653 – Robert Filmer, English theorist and author (b. 1588)
- 1679 – Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1636)
- 1685 – Charles II, German elector palatine (b. 1651)
- 1703 – Samuel Pepys, English politician (b. 1633)
- 1742 – Pylyp Orlyk, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1672)
- 1746 – Thomas Southerne, Irish playwright (b. 1660)
- 1762 – Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher and academic (b. 1714)
- 1799 – James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Scottish linguist, biologist, and judge (b. 1714)
- 1818 – Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian field marshal and politician, Governor-General of Finland (b. 1761)
- 1818 – Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, Chilean lawyer and guerrilla leader (b. 1785)
- 1824 – Capel Lofft, English lawyer (b. 1751)
- 1840 – Sidney Smith, English admiral and politician (b. 1764)
- 1881 – Jakob Bernays, German philologist and academic (b. 1824)
- 1883 – Abdelkader El Djezairi, Algerian ruler (b. 1808)
- 1902 – Almon Brown Strowger, American soldier and inventor (b. 1839)
- 1904 – Georges Gilles de la Tourette, French physician and neurologist (b. 1857)
- 1908 – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Indian religious leader, founded the Ahmadiyya movement (b. 1835)
- 1914 – Jacob August Riis, Danish-American journalist, photographer, and reformer (b. 1849)
- 1924 – Victor Herbert, Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor, founded the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (b. 1859)
- 1926 – Srečko Kosovel, Slovenian poet (b. 1904)
- 1933 – Horatio Bottomley, English financier, journalist, and politician (b. 1860)
- 1933 – Jimmie Rodgers, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1897)
- 1939 – Charles Horace Mayo, American physician, co-founded Mayo Clinic (b. 1865)
- 1943 – Edsel Ford, American businessman (b. 1893)
- 1943 – Alice Tegnér, Swedish organist, composer, and educator (b. 1864)
- 1944 – Christian Wirth, German SS officer (b. 1885)
- 1948 – Torsten Bergström, Swedish actor and director (b. 1896)
- 1951 – Lincoln Ellsworth, American explorer (b. 1880)
- 1954 – Lionel Conacher, Canadian football player and politician (b. 1900)
- 1955 – Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver (b. 1918)
- 1956 – Al Simmons, American baseball player and coach (b. 1902)
- 1959 – Philip Kassel, American gymnast (b. 1876)
- 1966 – Elizabeth Dilling, American author and activist (b. 1894)
- 1969 – Paul Hawkins, Australian race car driver (b. 1937)
- 1969 – Allan Haines Loughead, American engineer, co-founded the Lockheed Corporation (b. 1889)
- 1974 – Silvio Moser, Swiss race car driver (b. 1941)
- 1976 – Martin Heidegger, German philosopher and academic (b. 1889)
- 1978 – Cybele Andrianou, Greek actress (b. 1887)
- 1979 – George Brent, Irish-American actor (b. 1904)
- 1984 – Elizabeth Peer, American journalist (b. 1936)
- 1989 – Don Revie, English footballer and manager (b. 1927)
- 1994 – Sonny Sharrock, American guitarist (b. 1940)
- 1995 – Friz Freleng, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1906)
- 1997 – Ralph Horween, American football player and coach (b. 1896)
- 1999 – Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor and philanthropist (b. 1906)
- 1999 – Waldo Semon, American chemist and engineer (b. 1898)
- 2001 – Vittorio Brambilla, Italian race car driver (b. 1937)
- 2001 – Anne Haney, American actress (b. 1934)
- 2001 – Moven Mahachi, Zimbabwean soldier and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Defence (b. 1952)
- 2001 – Dona Massin, Canadian actress and choreographer (b. 1917)
- 2002 – Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (b. 1932)
- 2003 – Kathleen Winsor, American journalist and author (b. 1919)
- 2004 – Nikolai Chernykh, Russian astronomer (b. 1931)
- 2005 – Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Ruth Laredo, American pianist and educator (b. 1937)
- 2005 – Leslie Smith, English businessman, co-founded Lesney Products (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Édouard Michelin, French businessman (b. 1963)
- 2006 – Kevin O’Flanagan, Irish footballer and physician (b. 1919)
- 2007 – Jack Edward Oliver, English illustrator (b. 1942)
- 2007 – Howard Porter, American basketball player (b. 1948)
- 2008 – Sydney Pollack, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
- 2008 – Zita Urbonaitė, Lithuanian cyclist (b. 1973)
- 2009 – Mihalis Papagiannakis, Greek journalist and politician (b. 1941)
- 2009 – Peter Zezel, Canadian ice hockey and soccer player (b. 1965)
- 2010 – Art Linkletter, Canadian-American radio and television host (b. 1912)
- 2010 – Chris Moran, English air marshal and pilot (b. 1956)
- 2010 – Kieran Phelan, Irish politician (b. 1949)
- 2011 – Arisen Ahubudu, Sri Lankan scholar, author, and playwright (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Arthur Decabooter, Belgian cyclist (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Leo Dillon, American illustrator (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Stephen Healey, Welsh captain and footballer (b. 1982)
- 2012 – Hiroshi Miyazawa, Japanese politician (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Hans Schmidt, Canadian wrestler (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Jim Unger, English-Canadian illustrator (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Ray Barnhart, American businessman and politician (b. 1928)
- 2013 – John Bierwirth, American lawyer and businessman (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Roberto Civita, Italian-Brazilian businessman (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Tom Lichtenberg, American football player and coach (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Otto Muehl, Austrian painter (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Jack Vance, American author (b. 1916)
- 2014 – Baselios Thoma Didymos I, Indian metropolitan (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Miodrag Radulovacki, Serbian-American academic and neuropharmacologist (b. 1933)
- 2014 – William R. Roy, American physician, journalist, and politician (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Hooshang Seyhoun, Iranian-Canadian architect, sculptor, and painter (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Vicente Aranda, Spanish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Les Johnson, Australian politician and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Robert Kraft, American astronomer and academic (b. 1927)
- 2015 – João Lucas, Portuguese footballer (b. 1979)
- 2015 – Dayton Waller, American soldier and politician (b. 1925)
- 2016 – Hedy Epstein, German-born American human rights activist and Holocaust survivor (b. 1924)
- 2017 – Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-born American politician (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on May 26
- Christian feast day:
- Augustine of Canterbury (Anglican Communion and Eastern Orthodox)
- Lambert of Vence
- Peter Sanz (one of Martyr Saints of China)
- Philip Neri
- Pope Eleuterus
- Quadratus of Athens
- Zachary, Bishop of Vienne
- May 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Independence Day, commemorates the day of the First Republic in 1918 (Georgia)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Guyana from the United Kingdom in 1966.
- Mother’s Day (Poland)
- National Paper Airplane Day (United States)
- National Sorry Day (Australia)
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April 3 in History
- 686 – Maya king Yuknoom Yich’aak K’ahk’ assumes the crown of Calakmul.
- 801 – King Louis the Pious captures Barcelona from the Moors after a siege of several months.
- 1043 – Edward the Confessor is crowned King of England.
- 1077 – The first Parliament of Friuli is created.
- 1559 – The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis treaty is signed, ending the Italian Wars.
- 1860 – The first successful United States Pony Express run from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, begins.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America.
- 1882 – American Old West: Robert Ford kills Jesse James.
- 1885 – Gottlieb Daimler is granted a German patent for his engine design.
- 1888 – The first of eleven unsolved brutal murders of women committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London, occurs.
- 1895 – The trial in the libel case brought by Oscar Wilde begins, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality.
- 1922 – Joseph Stalin becomes the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
- 1933 – First flight over Mount Everest, by the British Houston-Mount Everest Flight Expedition, led by the Marquis of Clydesdale, and funded by Lucy, Lady Houston.
- 1936 – Bruno Richard Hauptmann is executed for the kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., the baby son of pilot Charles Lindbergh.
- 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces begin an assault on the United States and Filipino troops on the Bataan Peninsula.
- 1946 – Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma is executed in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.
- 1948 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the Marshall Plan, authorizing $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.
- 1948 – In Jeju Province, South Korea, a civil-war-like period of violence and human rights abuses begins, known as the Jeju uprising.
- 1955 – The American Civil Liberties Union announces it will defend Allen Ginsberg’s book Howl against obscenity charges.
- 1956 – Hudsonville–Standale tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is struck by a deadly F5 tornado.
- 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. He was assassinated the next day.
- 1969 – Vietnam War: United States Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announces that the United States will start to “Vietnamize” the war effort.
- 1973 – Martin Cooper of Motorola makes the first handheld mobile phone call to Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs.
- 1974 – The 1974 Super Outbreak occurs, the second biggest tornado outbreak in recorded history (after the 2011 Super Outbreak). The death toll is 315, with nearly 5,500 injured.
- 1975 – Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title of World Champion by default.
- 1980 – US Congress restores a federal trust relationship with the 501 members of the Shvwits, Kanosh, Koosharem, and the Indian Peaks and Cedar City bands of the Paiute people of Utah.
- 1981 – The Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, is unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco.
- 1989 – The US Supreme Court upholds the jurisdictional rights of tribal courts under the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 in Mississippi Choctaw Band v. Holyfield.
- 1996 – Suspected “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski is captured at his Montana cabin in the United States.
- 1997 – The Thalit massacre begins in Algeria; all but one of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit are killed by guerrillas.
- 2000 – United States v. Microsoft Corp.: Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust law by keeping “an oppressive thumb” on its competitors.
- 2004 – Islamic terrorists involved in the 2004 Madrid train bombings are trapped by the police in their apartment and kill themselves.
- 2007 – Conventional-Train World Speed Record: A French TGV train on the LGV Est high speed line sets an official new world speed record.
- 2008 – ATA Airlines, once one of the ten largest U.S. passenger airlines and largest charter airline, files for bankruptcy for the second time in five years and ceases all operations.
- 2008 – Texas law enforcement cordons off the FLDS’s YFZ Ranch. Eventually, 533 women and children will be taken into state custody.
- 2009 – Jiverly Antares Wong opens fire at the American Civic Association immigration center in Binghamton, New York, killing thirteen and wounding four before committing suicide.
- 2010 – Apple Inc. released the first generation iPad, a tablet computer.
- 2013 – More than 50 people die in floods resulting from record-breaking rainfall in La Plata and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 2016 – The Panama Papers, a leak of legal documents, reveals information on 214,488 offshore companies.
- 2017 – A bomb explodes in the St Petersburg metro system, killing 14 and injuring several more people.
- 2018 – YouTube headquarters shooting.
Births on April 3
- 1016 – Xing Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1055)
- 1151 – Igor Svyatoslavich, Russian prince (d. 1202)
- 1438 – John III of Egmont, Dutch nobleman (d. 1516)
- 1529 – Michael Neander, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1581)
- 1540 – Maria de’ Medici, Italian noblewoman, the eldest daughter of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and Eleonora di Toledo. (d. 1557)
- 1593 – George Herbert, English poet (d. 1633)
- 1639 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (d. 1682)
- 1643 – Charles V, duke of Lorraine (d. 1690)
- 1682 – Valentin Rathgeber, German organist and composer (d. 1750)
- 1693 – George Edwards, English ornithologist and entomologist (d. 1773)
- 1715 – William Watson, English physician, physicist, and botanist (d. 1787)
- 1764 – John Abernethy, English surgeon and anatomist (d. 1831)
- 1769 – Christian Günther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian politician and diplomat (d. 1835)
- 1770 – Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general (d. 1843)
- 1778 – Pierre Bretonneau, French doctor who performed the first successful tracheotomy (d. 1862)
- 1781 – Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader (d. 1830)
- 1782 – Alexander Macomb, American general (d. 1841)
- 1783 – Washington Irving, American short story writer, essayist, biographer, historian (d. 1859)
- 1791 – Anne Lister, English diarist, mountaineer, and traveller (d.1840)
- 1798 – Charles Wilkes, American admiral, geographer, and explorer (d.1877)
- 1807 – Mary Carpenter, English educational and social reformer (d. 1877)
- 1814 – Lorenzo Snow, American religious leader, 5th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1901)
- 1822 – Edward Everett Hale, American minister, historian, and author (d. 1909)
- 1823 – George Derby, American lieutenant and journalist (d. 1861)
- 1823 – William M. Tweed, American politician (d. 1878)
- 1826 – Cyrus K. Holliday, American businessman (d. 1900)
- 1837 – John Burroughs, American botanist and author (d. 1921)
- 1842 – Ulric Dahlgren, American colonel (d. 1864)
- 1848 – Arturo Prat, Chilean lawyer and captain (d. 1879)
- 1858 – Jacob Gaudaur, Canadian rower (d. 1937)
- 1860 – Frederik van Eeden, Dutch psychiatrist and author (d. 1932)
- 1864 – Emil Kellenberger, Swiss target shooter (d. 1943)
- 1875 – Mistinguett, French actress and singer (d. 1956)
- 1876 – Margaret Anglin, Canadian actress, director, and producer (d. 1958)
- 1876 – Tomáš Baťa, Czech businessman, founded Bata Shoes (d. 1932)
- 1880 – Otto Weininger, Jewish-Austrian philosopher and author (d. 1903)
- 1881 – Alcide De Gasperi, Italian journalist and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1954)
- 1882 – Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop (d. 1952)
- 1883 – Ikki Kita, Japanese philosopher and author (d. 1937)
- 1885 – Allan Dwan, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
- 1885 – Bud Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 1954)
- 1885 – Marie-Victorin Kirouac, Canadian botanist and academic (d. 1944)
- 1885 – St John Philby, English colonial and explorer (d. 1960)
- 1886 – Dooley Wilson, American actor and singer (d. 1953)
- 1887 – Ōtori Tanigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 24th Yokozuna (d. 1956)
- 1887 – Nishizō Tsukahara, Japanese admiral (d. 1966)
- 1888 – Neville Cardus, English author and critic (d. 1975)
- 1888 – Thomas C. Kinkaid, American admiral (d. 1972)
- 1889 – Grigoraș Dinicu, Romanian violinist and composer (d. 1949)
- 1893 – Leslie Howard, English actor (d. 1943)
- 1895 – Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian-American composer and educator (d. 1968)
- 1895 – Zez Confrey, American pianist and composer (d. 1971)
- 1897 – Joe Kirkwood Sr., Australian golfer (d. 1970)
- 1897 – Thrasyvoulos Tsakalotos, Greek general (d. 1989)
- 1898 – David Jack, English footballer and manager (d. 1958)
- 1898 – George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1981)
- 1898 – Henry Luce, American publisher, co-founded Time Magazine (d. 1967)
- 1900 – Camille Chamoun, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 7th President of Lebanon (d. 1987)
- 1900 – Albert Walsh, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1958)
- 1903 – Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Indian social reformer and freedom fighter (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Iron Eyes Cody, American actor and stuntman (d. 1999)
- 1904 – Sally Rand, American dancer (d. 1979)
- 1904 – Russel Wright, American furniture designer (d. 1976)
- 1905 – Robert Sink, American general (d. 1965)
- 1909 – Stanislaw Ulam, Polish-American mathematician and academic (d. 1984)
- 1910 – Ted Hook, Australian public servant (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Nanette Bordeaux, Canadian-American actress (d. 1956)
- 1911 – Michael Woodruff, English-Scottish surgeon and academic (d. 2001)
- 1911 – Stanisława Walasiewicz, Polish-American runner (d. 1980)
- 1912 – Dorothy Eden, New Zealand-English author (d. 1982)
- 1912 – Grigoris Lambrakis, Greek physician and politician (d. 1963)
- 1913 – Per Borten, Norwegian politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (d. 2005)
- 1914 – Ray Getliffe, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
- 1914 – Sam Manekshaw, Indian field marshal (d. 2008)
- 1915 – Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2016)
- 1915 – İhsan Doğramacı, Turkish physician and academic (d. 2010)
- 1916 – Herb Caen, American journalist and author (d. 1997)
- 1916 – Cliff Gladwin, English cricketer (d. 1988)
- 1916 – Louis Guglielmi, Catalan composer (d. 1991)
- 1918 – Mary Anderson, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Louis Applebaum, Canadian composer and conductor (d. 2000)
- 1919 – Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (d. 2015)
- 1919 – Clairette Oddera, French-Canadian actress and singer (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Stan Freeman, American composer and conductor (d. 2001)
- 1920 – Yoshibayama Junnosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 43rd Yokozuna (d. 1977)
- 1921 – Robert Karvelas, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1921 – Jan Sterling, American actress (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Yevhen Bulanchyk, Ukrainian hurdler (d. 1996)
- 1922 – Doris Day, American singer and actress (d. 2019)
- 1923 – Daniel Hoffman, American poet and academic (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Marlon Brando, American actor and director (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Roza Shanina, Russian sergeant and sniper (d. 1945)
- 1925 – Tony Benn, English pilot and politician, Secretary of State for Industry (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Alex Grammas, American baseball player, manager, and coach (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Gus Grissom, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1967)
- 1927 – Wesley A. Brown, American general and engineer (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Don Gibson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Emmett Johns, Canadian priest, founded Dans la Rue (d. 2018)
- 1928 – Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Jennifer Paterson, English chef and television personality (d. 1999)
- 1929 – Fazlur Rahman Khan, Bangladeshi engineer and architect, co-designed the Willis Tower and John Hancock Center (d. 1982)
- 1929 – Poul Schlüter, Danish lawyer and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1930 – Lawton Chiles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Governor of Florida (d. 1998)
- 1930 – Helmut Kohl, German politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Mario Benjamín Menéndez, Argentinian general and politician (d. 2015)
- 1930 – Wally Moon, American baseball player and coach (d. 2018)
- 1931 – William Bast, American screenwriter and author (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Bob Dornan, American politician
- 1933 – Rod Funseth, American golfer (d. 1985)
- 1934 – Pamela Allen, New Zealand children’s writer and illustrator
- 1934 – Jane Goodall, English primatologist and anthropologist
- 1934 – Jim Parker, American football player (d. 2005)
- 1936 – Jimmy McGriff, American organist and bandleader (d. 2008)
- 1936 – Harold Vick, American saxophonist and flute player (d. 1987)
- 1938 – Jeff Barry, American singer-songwriter, and producer
- 1938 – Phil Rodgers, American golfer (d. 2018)
- 1939 – François de Roubaix, French composer (d. 1975)
- 1939 – Hawk Taylor, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Paul Craig Roberts, American economist and politician
- 1941 – Jan Berry, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
- 1941 – Philippé Wynne, American soul singer (d. 1984)
- 1942 – Marsha Mason, American actress
- 1942 – Wayne Newton, American singer
- 1942 – Billy Joe Royal, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2015)
- 1943 – Mario Lavista, Mexican composer
- 1943 – Jonathan Lynn, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1943 – Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1986)
- 1943 – Hikaru Saeki, Japanese admiral, the first female star officer of the Japan Self-Defense Forces
- 1944 – Peter Colman, Australian biologist and academic
- 1944 – Tony Orlando, American singer
- 1945 – Doon Arbus, American author and journalist
- 1945 – Bernie Parent, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1945 – Catherine Spaak, French actress
- 1946 – Nicholas Jones, English actor
- 1946 – Dee Murray, English bass player (d. 1992)
- 1946 – Hanna Suchocka, Polish lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1947 – Anders Eliasson, Swedish composer (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Arlette Cousture, Canadian author and screenwriter
- 1948 – Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Dutch academic, politician, and diplomat, 11th Secretary General of NATO
- 1948 – Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, German footballer
- 1948 – Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Mexican economist and politician, 53rd President of Mexico
- 1949 – Lyle Alzado, American football player and actor (d. 1992)
- 1949 – A. C. Grayling, English philosopher and academic
- 1949 – Richard Thompson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1950 – Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan cricketer and economist
- 1951 – Brendan Barber, English trade union leader
- 1951 – Annette Dolphin, British academician and educator
- 1951 – Mitch Woods, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1952 – Mike Moore, American lawyer and politician
- 1953 – Sandra Boynton, American author and illustrator
- 1953 – Wakanohana Kanji II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 56th Yokozuna
- 1953 – James Smith, American boxer
- 1953 – Craig Taubman, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1954 – Elisabetta Brusa, Italian composer
- 1954 – K. Krishnasamy, Indian physician and politician
- 1956 – Kalle Kulbok, Estonian politician
- 1956 – Boris Miljković, Serbian director and producer
- 1956 – Miguel Bosé, Spanish musician and actor
- 1956 – Ray Combs, American game show host (d. 1996)
- 1958 – Alec Baldwin, American actor, comedian, producer and television host
- 1958 – Adam Gussow, American scholar, musician, and memoirist
- 1958 – Francesca Woodman, Jewish-American photographer (d. 1981)
- 1959 – David Hyde Pierce, American actor and activist
- 1960 – Arjen Anthony Lucassen, Dutch singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1961 – Tim Crews, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- 1961 – Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian
- 1962 – Dave Miley, American baseball player and manager
- 1962 – Mike Ness, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1962 – Jaya Prada, Indian actress and politician
- 1963 – Les Davidson, Australian rugby league player
- 1963 – Ricky Nixon, Australian footballer and manager
- 1963 – Criss Oliva, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1964 – Marco Ballotta, Italian footballer and manager
- 1964 – Nigel Farage, English politician
- 1964 – Claire Perry, English banker and politician
- 1964 – Bjarne Riis, Danish cyclist and manager
- 1964 – Andy Robinson, English rugby player and coach
- 1964 – Jay Weatherill, Australian politician, 45th Premier of South Australia
- 1965 – Nazia Hassan, Pakistani pop singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist (d. 2000)
- 1966 – John de Vries, Australian race car driver
- 1967 – Cat Cora, American chef and author
- 1967 – Pervis Ellison, American basketball player
- 1967 – Brent Gilchrist, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967 – Cristi Puiu, Romanian director and screenwriter
- 1967 – Mark Skaife, Australian race car driver and sportscaster
- 1968 – Sebastian Bach, Bahamian-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1968 – Charlotte Coleman, English actress (d. 2001)
- 1968 – Jamie Hewlett, English director and performer
- 1968 – Tomoaki Kanemoto, Japanese baseball player
- 1969 – Rodney Hampton, American football player
- 1969 – Peter Matera, Australian footballer and coach
- 1969 – Ben Mendelsohn, Australian actor
- 1969 – Lance Storm, Canadian wrestler and trainer
- 1971 – Vitālijs Astafjevs, Latvian footballer and manager
- 1971 – Emmanuel Collard, French race car driver
- 1971 – Picabo Street, American skier
- 1972 – Jennie Garth, American actress and director
- 1972 – Catherine McCormack, English actress
- 1972 – Sandrine Testud, French tennis player
- 1973 – Nilesh Kulkarni, Indian cricketer
- 1973 – Adam Scott, American actor
- 1974 – Marcus Brown, American basketball player
- 1974 – Drew Shirley, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1974 – Lee Williams, Welsh model and actor
- 1975 – Shawn Bates, American ice hockey player
- 1975 – Michael Olowokandi, Nigerian-American basketball player
- 1975 – Aries Spears, American comedian and actor
- 1975 – Yoshinobu Takahashi, Japanese baseball player
- 1975 – Koji Uehara, Japanese baseball player
- 1976 – Nicolas Escudé, French tennis player
- 1978 – Matthew Goode, English actor
- 1978 – Tommy Haas, German-American tennis player
- 1978 – John Smit, South African rugby player
- 1979 – Simon Black, Australian footballer and coach
- 1980 – Andrei Lodis, Belarusian footballer
- 1980 – Megan Rohrer, American pastor and transgender activist
- 1981 – Aaron Bertram, American trumpet player
- 1981 – DeShawn Stevenson, American basketball player
- 1982 – Jared Allen, American football player
- 1982 – Iain Fyfe, Australian footballer
- 1982 – Cobie Smulders, Canadian actress
- 1983 – Ben Foster, English footballer
- 1983 – Stephen Weiss, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Jonathan Blondel, Belgian footballer
- 1984 – Maxi López, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Jari-Matti Latvala, Finnish race car driver
- 1985 – Leona Lewis, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1986 – Amanda Bynes, American actress
- 1986 – Stephanie Cox, American soccer player
- 1986 – Annalisa Cucinotta, Italian cyclist
- 1986 – Sergio Sánchez Ortega, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Rachel Bloom, American actress, writer, and producer
- 1987 – Jay Bruce, American baseball player
- 1987 – Yileen Gordon, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Jason Kipnis, American baseball player
- 1987 – Martyn Rooney, English sprinter
- 1987 – Julie Sokolow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1988 – Kam Chancellor, American football player
- 1988 – Brandon Graham, American football player
- 1988 – Peter Hartley, English footballer
- 1988 – Tim Krul, Dutch footballer
- 1989 – Romain Alessandrini, French footballer
- 1989 – Israel Folau, Australian rugby player and footballer
- 1989 – Joel Romelo, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Thisara Perera, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1990 – Karim Ansarifard, Iranian footballer
- 1990 – Madison Brengle, American tennis player
- 1990 – Sotiris Ninis, Greek footballer
- 1990 – Natasha Negovanlis, Canadian actress and singer
- 1991 – Hayley Kiyoko, American actress and singer
- 1992 – Simone Benedetti, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Yuliya Yefimova, Russian swimmer
- 1993 – Pape Moussa Konaté, Senegalese footballer
- 1994 – Kodi Nikorima, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1996 – Mayo Hibi, Japanese tennis player
- 1997 – Gabriel Jesus, Brazilian footballer
- 1998 – Paris Jackson, American actress, model and singer
Deaths on April 3
- 963 – William III, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 915)
- 1153 – al-Adil ibn al-Sallar, vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate
- 1171 – Philip of Milly, seventh Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b. c. 1120)
- 1203 – Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1187)
- 1253 – Saint Richard of Chichester
- 1287 – Pope Honorius IV (b. 1210)
- 1325 – Nizamuddin Auliya, Sufi saint (b. 1238)
- 1350 – Odo IV, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1295)
- 1538 – Elizabeth Boleyn, Countess of Wiltshire (b. 1480)
- 1545 – Antonio de Guevara, Spanish chronicler and moralist (b. 1481)
- 1606 – Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1563)
- 1630 – Christopher Villiers, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English noble (b. c. 1593)
- 1680 – Shivaji, Indian emperor, founded the Maratha Empire (b. 1630)
- 1682 – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter and educator (b. 1618)
- 1691 – Jean Petitot, French-Swiss painter (b. 1608)
- 1695 – Melchior d’Hondecoeter, Dutch painter (b. 1636)
- 1717 – Jacques Ozanam, French mathematician and academic (b. 1640)
- 1728 – James Anderson, Scottish lawyer and historian (b. 1662)
- 1792 – George Pocock, English admiral (b. 1706)
- 1804 – Jędrzej Kitowicz, Polish priest, historian, and author (b. 1727)
- 1827 – Ernst Chladni, German physicist and academic (b. 1756)
- 1838 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician and author (b. 1780)
- 1844 – Edward Bigge, English cleric, 1st Archdeacon of Lindisfarne (b. 1807)
- 1846 – William Braine, English soldier and explorer (b. 1814)
- 1849 – Juliusz Słowacki, Polish-French poet and playwright (b. 1809)
- 1868 – Franz Berwald, Swedish composer and surgeon (b. 1796)
- 1882 – Jesse James, American criminal and outlaw (b. 1847)
- 1897 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (b. 1833)
- 1901 – Richard D’Oyly Carte, English composer and talent agent (b. 1844)
- 1902 – Esther Hobart Morris, American lawyer and judge (b. 1814)
- 1930 – Emma Albani, Canadian-English operatic soprano (b. 1847)
- 1936 – Richard Hauptmann, German-American murderer (b. 1899)
- 1941 – Tachiyama Mineemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 22nd Yokozuna (b. 1877)
- 1941 – Pál Teleki, Hungarian academic and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1879)
- 1943 – Conrad Veidt, German actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
- 1946 – Masaharu Homma, Japanese general (b. 1887)
- 1950 – Kurt Weill, German-American composer and pianist (b. 1900)
- 1950 – Carter G. Woodson, American historian, author, and journalist, founded Black History Month (b. 1875)
- 1951 – Henrik Visnapuu, Estonian poet and playwright (b. 1890)
- 1952 – Miina Sillanpää, Finnish minister and politician (b. 1866)
- 1957 – Ned Sparks, Canadian-American actor (b. 1883)
- 1958 – Jaan Kärner, Estonian poet and author (b. 1891)
- 1962 – Manolis Kalomiris, Greek composer and educator (b. 1883)
- 1970 – Avigdor Hameiri, Israeli author (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Joseph Valachi, American gangster (b. 1904)
- 1972 – Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer (b. 1892)
- 1975 – Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (b. 1933)
- 1976 – David M. Dennison, American physicist and academic (b. 1900)
- 1976 – Claude-Henri Grignon, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1894)
- 1978 – Ray Noble, English bandleader, composer, and actor (b. 1903)
- 1978 – Winston Sharples, American composer (b. 1909)
- 1981 – Juan Trippe, American businessman, founded Pan American World Airways (b. 1899)
- 1982 – Warren Oates, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1983 – Jimmy Bloomfield, English footballer and manager (b. 1934)
- 1986 – Peter Pears, English tenor and educator (b. 1910)
- 1987 – Tom Sestak, American football player (b. 1936)
- 1988 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (b. 1907)
- 1990 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (b. 1924)
- 1991 – Charles Goren, American bridge player and author (b. 1901)
- 1991 – Graham Greene, English novelist, playwright, and critic (b. 1904)
- 1993 – Pinky Lee, American television host (b. 1907)
- 1994 – Frank Wells, American businessman (b. 1932)
- 1995 – Alfred J. Billes, Canadian businessman, co-founded Canadian Tire (b. 1902)
- 1996 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1941)
- 1998 – Mary Cartwright, English mathematician and academic (b. 1900)
- 1999 – Lionel Bart, English composer (b. 1930)
- 1999 – Geoffrey Walsh, Canadian general (b. 1909)
- 2000 – Terence McKenna, American botanist and philosopher (b. 1946)
- 2000 – Dina Abramowicz, Librarian and YIVO and Yiddish language expert (b. 1909)
- 2005 – François Gérin, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Nina Wang, Chinese businesswoman (b. 1937)
- 2008 – Hrvoje Ćustić, Croatian footballer (b. 1983)
- 2012 – Mingote, Spanish cartoonist and journalist (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Richard Descoings, French civil servant (b. 1958)
- 2012 – Govind Narain, Indian politician, 8th Governor of Karnataka (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Chief Jay Strongbow, American wrestler (b. 1928)
- 2012 – José María Zárraga, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Mariví Bilbao, Spanish actress (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Régine Deforges, French author, playwright, and director (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Fred Kida, American illustrator (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Prince Michael of Prussia (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Jovan Pavlović, Serbian metropolitan (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith, American guitarist, fiddler, and composer (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Sarah Brady, American activist and author (b. 1942)
- 2015 – Bob Burns, American drummer and songwriter (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Shmuel Wosner, Austrian-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1913)
- 2016 – Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Joe Medicine Crow, American anthropologist, historian, and author (b. 1913)
- 2016 – Koji Wada, Japanese singer and songwriter (b. 1974)
- 2017 – Kishori Amonkar, Indian Classical Vocalist (b. 1931)
Holidays and observances on April 3
- Christian feast day:
- Agape, Chionia, and Irene
- Burgundofara
- Luigi Scrosoppi
- Richard of Chichester
- April 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
-
January 11 in History
- 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence.
- 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muhammad and his followers conquer the city, Quraysh surrender.
- 947 – Emperor Tai Zong of the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty invades the Later Jin, resulting in the destruction of the Later Jin.
- 1055 – Theodora is crowned empress of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1158 – Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia becomes King of Bohemia.
- 1569 – First recorded lottery in England.
- 1571 – Austrian nobility is granted freedom of religion.
- 1654 – Arauco War: A Spanish army is defeated by local Mapuche-Huilliches as it tries to cross Bueno River in Southern Chile.
- 1693 – A powerful earthquake destroys parts of Sicily and Malta.
- 1759 – The first American life insurance company, the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers and of the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of the Presbyterian Ministers (now part of Unum Group), is incorporated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 1779 – Ching-Thang Khomba is crowned King of Manipur.
- 1787 – William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus.
- 1805 – The Michigan Territory is created.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the United States.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Arkansas Post: General John McClernand and Admiral David Dixon Porter capture the Arkansas River for the Union.
- 1863 – American Civil War: CSS Alabama encounters and sinks the USS Hatteras off Galveston Lighthouse in Texas.
- 1879 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins.
- 1908 – Grand Canyon National Monument is created.
- 1912 – Immigrant textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, go on strike when wages are reduced in response to a mandated shortening of the work week.
- 1917 – The Kingsland munitions factory explosion occurs as a result of sabotage.
- 1922 – First use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient.
- 1923 – Occupation of the Ruhr: Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to make its World War I reparation payments.
- 1927 – Louis B. Mayer, head of film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announces the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at a banquet in Los Angeles, California.
- 1935 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
- 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces capture Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federated Malay States.
- 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces attack Tarakan in Borneo, Netherlands Indies (Battle of Tarakan)
- 1943 – The Republic of China agrees to the Sino-British New Equal Treaty and the Sino-American New Equal Treaty.
- 1943 – Italian-American anarchist Carlo Tresca is assassinated in New York City.
- 1946 – Enver Hoxha, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Albania, declares the People’s Republic of Albania with himself as head of state.
- 1949 – The first “networked” television broadcasts took place as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air connecting the east coast and mid-west programming.
- 1957 – The African Convention is founded in Dakar, Senegal.
- 1961 – Throgs Neck Bridge over the East River, linking New York City’s boroughs of The Bronx and Queens, opens to road traffic.
- 1962 – Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment.
- 1962 – An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes around 4,000 deaths.
- 1964 – Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts.
- 1972 – East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh.
- 1973 – Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.
- 1986 – The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is officially opened.
- 1994 – The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin.
- 1996 – Space Shuttle program: STS-72 launches from the Kennedy Space Center marking the start of the 74th Space Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of Endeavour.
- 1998 – Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria.
- 2003 – Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois’s death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.
- 2013 – One French soldier and 17 militants are killed in a failed attempt to free a French hostage in Bulo Marer, Somalia.
Births on January 11
- 347 – Theodosius I, Roman emperor (d. 395)
- 889 – Abd-ar-Rahman III, first Caliph of Córdoba (d. 961)
- 1113 – Wang Chongyang, Chinese religious leader and poet (d. 1170)
- 1209 – Möngke Khan, Mongolian emperor (d. 1259)
- 1322 – Emperor Kōmyō of Japan (d. 1380)
- 1359 – Emperor Go-En’yū of Japan (d. 1393)
- 1395 – Michele of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France (d. 1422)
- 1503 – Parmigianino, Italian artist (d. 1540)
- 1589 – William Strode, English politician (d. 1666)
- 1591 – Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire (d. 1646)
- 1624 – Bastiaan Govertsz van der Leeuw, Dutch painter (d. 1680)
- 1630 – John Rogers, English-American minister, physician, and academic (d. 1684)
- 1638 – Nicolas Steno, Danish bishop and anatomist (d. 1686)
- 1642 – Johann Friedrich Alberti, German organist and composer (d. 1710)
- 1650 – Diana Glauber, Dutch-German painter (d. 1721)
- 1671 – François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French general and diplomat (d. 1745)
- 1755 – Alexander Hamilton, Nevisian-American general, economist and politician, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1804)
- 1757 – Samuel Bentham, English engineer and architect (d. 1831)
- 1760 – Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1833)
- 1777 – Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader (d. 1837)
- 1786 – Joseph Jackson Lister, English physicist (d. 1869)
- 1788 – William Thomas Brande, English chemist and academic (d. 1866)
- 1800 – Ányos Jedlik, Hungarian physicist and engineer (d. 1895)
- 1807 – Ezra Cornell, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Western Union and Cornell University (d. 1874)
- 1814 – James Paget, English surgeon and pathologist (d. 1899)
- 1815 – John A. Macdonald, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1891)
- 1825 – Bayard Taylor, American poet, author, and critic (d. 1878)
- 1839 – Eugenio María de Hostos, Puerto Rican lawyer, philosopher, and sociologist (d. 1903)
- 1842 – William James, American psychologist and philosopher (d. 1910)
- 1843 – Adolf Eberle, German painter (d. 1914)
- 1845 – Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish mathematician and physicist (d. 1912)
- 1850 – Joseph Charles Arthur, American pathologist and mycologist (d. 1942)
- 1852 – Constantin Fehrenbach, German lawyer and politician, 4th Chancellor of Weimar Germany (d. 1926)
- 1853 – Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter and sculptor (d. 1932)
- 1856 – Christian Sinding, Norwegian pianist and composer (d. 1941)
- 1857 – Fred Archer, English jockey (d. 1886)
- 1858 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-English businessman, founded Selfridges (d. 1947)
- 1859 – George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India (d. 1925)
- 1864 – Thomas Dixon, Jr., American minister, lawyer, and politician (d. 1946)
- 1867 – Edward B. Titchener, English psychologist and academic (d. 1927)
- 1868 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1940)
- 1870 – Alexander Stirling Calder, American sculptor and educator (d. 1945)
- 1872 – G. W. Pierce, American physicist and academic (d. 1956)
- 1873 – John Callan O’Laughlin, American soldier and journalist (d. 1949)
- 1875 – Reinhold Glière, Russian composer and academic (d. 1956)
- 1876 – Elmer Flick, American baseball player (d. 1971)
- 1876 – Thomas Hicks, American runner (d. 1952)
- 1878 – Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (d. 1952)
- 1885 – Alice Paul, American activist and suffragist (d. 1977)
- 1887 – Aldo Leopold, American ecologist and author (d. 1948)
- 1888 – Joseph B. Keenan, American jurist and politician (d. 1954)
- 1889 – Calvin Bridges, American geneticist and academic (d. 1938)
- 1890 – Max Carey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
- 1890 – Oswald de Andrade, Brazilian poet and critic (d. 1954)
- 1891 – Andrew Sockalexis, American runner (d. 1919)
- 1893 – Ellinor Aiki, Estonian painter (d. 1969)
- 1893 – Charles Fraser, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1981)
- 1893 – Anthony M. Rud, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
- 1895 – Laurens Hammond, American engineer and businessman, founded the Hammond Clock Company (d. 1973)
- 1897 – Bernard DeVoto, American historian and author (d. 1955)
- 1897 – August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (d. 1979)
- 1899 – Eva Le Gallienne, English-American actress, director, and producer (d. 1991)
- 1901 – Kwon Ki-ok, Korean pilot (d. 1988)
- 1902 – Maurice Duruflé, French organist and composer (d. 1986)
- 1903 – Alan Paton, South African author and activist (d. 1988)
- 1905 – Clyde Kluckhohn, American anthropologist and theorist (d. 1960)
- 1906 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist and academic, discoverer of LSD (d. 2008)
- 1907 – Pierre Mendès France, French lawyer and politician, 142nd Prime Minister of France (d. 1982)
- 1907 – Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-American rabbi, theologian, and philosopher (d. 1972)
- 1908 – Lionel Stander, American actor and activist (d. 1994)
- 1910 – Arthur Lambourn, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1999)
- 1910 – Shane Paltridge, Australian soldier and politician (d. 1966)
- 1911 – Tommy Duncan, American singer-songwriter (d. 1967)
- 1911 – Nora Heysen, Australian painter (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Zenkō Suzuki, Japanese politician, 70th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Don “Red” Barry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1980)
- 1913 – Karl Stegger, Danish actor (d. 1980)
- 1915 – Luise Krüger, German javelin thrower (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Paddy Mayne, British colonel and lawyer (d. 1955)
- 1916 – Bernard Blier, Argentinian-French actor (d. 1989)
- 1917 – John Robarts, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Ontario (d. 1982)
- 1918 – Robert C. O’Brien, American author and journalist (d. 1973)
- 1920 – Mick McManus, English wrestler (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Gory Guerrero, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1990)
- 1921 – Juanita M. Kreps, American economist and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 2010)
- 1923 – Jerome Bixby, American author and screenwriter (d. 1998)
- 1923 – Ernst Nolte, German historian and philosopher (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Carroll Shelby, American race car driver, engineer, and businessman, founded Carroll Shelby International (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Roger Guillemin, French-American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1924 – Sam B. Hall, Jr., American lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1994)
- 1924 – Slim Harpo, American blues singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1970)
- 1925 – Grant Tinker, American television producer, co-founded MTM Enterprises (d. 2016)
- 1926 – Lev Dyomin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1998)
- 1928 – David L. Wolper, American director and producer (d. 2010)
- 1929 – Dmitri Bruns, Estonian architect and theorist (d. 2020)
- 1930 – Ron Mulock, Australian lawyer and politician, 10th Deputy Premier of New South Wales (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Rod Taylor, Australian-American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Betty Churcher, Australian painter, historian, and curator (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Mary Rodgers, American composer and author (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Alfonso Arau, Mexican actor and director
- 1933 – Goldie Hill, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
- 1934 – Jean Chrétien, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Canada
- 1936 – Eva Hesse, German-American sculptor and educator (d. 1970)
- 1938 – Arthur Scargill, English miner, activist, and politician
- 1939 – Anne Heggtveit, Canadian alpine skier
- 1940 – Andres Tarand, Estonian geographer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Estonia
- 1941 – Gérson, Brazilian footballer
- 1942 – Bud Acton, American basketball player
- 1942 – Clarence Clemons, American saxophonist and actor (d. 2011)
- 1944 – Mohammed Abdul-Hayy, Sudanese poet and academic (d. 1989)
- 1944 – Shibu Soren, Indian politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Jharkhand
- 1945 – Christine Kaufmann, German actress, author, and businesswoman (d. 2017)
- 1946 – Naomi Judd, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1946 – Tony Kaye, English progressive rock keyboard player and songwriter (Yes)
- 1946 – John Piper, American theologian and author
- 1947 – Hamish Macdonald, New Zealand rugby player
- 1948 – Fritz Bohla, German footballer and manager
- 1948 – Joe Harper, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1948 – Madeline Manning, American runner and coach
- 1948 – Wajima Hiroshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 54th Yokozuna
- 1948 – Terry Williams, Welsh drummer
- 1949 – Daryl Braithwaite, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Mohammad Reza Rahimi, Iranian lawyer and politician, 2nd Vice President of Iran
- 1951 – Charlie Huhn, American rock singer and guitarist
- 1951 – Willie Maddren, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
- 1951 – Philip Tartaglia, Scottish archbishop
- 1952 – Bille Brown, Australian actor and playwright (d. 2013)
- 1952 – Ben Crenshaw, American golfer and architect
- 1952 – Michael Forshaw, Australian lawyer and politician
- 1952 – Diana Gabaldon, American author
- 1952 – Lee Ritenour, American guitarist, composer, and producer
- 1953 – Graham Allen, English politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
- 1953 – Kostas Skandalidis, Greek engineer and politician, Greek Minister of Agricultural Development and Food
- 1954 – Jaak Aaviksoo, Estonian physicist and politician, 26th Estonian Minister of Defence
- 1954 – Kailash Satyarthi, Indian engineer, academic, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1956 – Big Bank Hank, American rapper (d. 2014)
- 1957 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1957 – Peter Moore, Australian rules footballer and coach
- 1957 – Bryan Robson, English footballer and manager
- 1958 – Vicki Peterson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1959 – Brett Bodine, American NASCAR driver
- 1959 – Rob Ramage, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Lars-Erik Torph, Swedish racing driver (d. 1989)
- 1962 – Chris Bryant, Welsh politician, Minister of State for Europe
- 1962 – Susan Lindauer, American journalist and activist
- 1962 – Brian Moore, English rugby player
- 1963 – Tracy Caulkins, American-Australian swimmer
- 1963 – Petra Schneider, German swimmer
- 1964 – Ralph Recto, Filipino lawyer and politician
- 1964 – Albert Dupontel, French actor and director
- 1965 – Mascarita Sagrada, Mexican wrestler
- 1965 – Aleksey Zhukov, Russian footballer and coach
- 1966 – Marc Acito, American author and screenwriter
- 1967 – Michael Healy-Rae, Irish politician
- 1968 – Anders Borg, Swedish economist and politician, Swedish Minister for Finance
- 1968 – Tom Dumont, American guitarist and producer
- 1969 – Manny Acta, Dominican-American baseball player, coach, manager, and sportscaster
- 1970 – Manfredi Beninati, Italian painter and sculptor
- 1970 – Chris Jent, American basketball player and coach
- 1970 – Malcolm D. Lee, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
- 1970 – Ken Ueno, American composer
- 1971 – Mary J. Blige, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1971 – Jeff Orford, Australian rugby league player
- 1971 – Chris Willsher, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
- 1972 – Christian Jacobs, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1972 – Anthony Lledo, Danish composer
- 1972 – Amanda Peet, American actress and playwright
- 1973 – Rockmond Dunbar, American actor
- 1973 – Rahul Dravid, Indian cricketer and captain
- 1974 – Roman Görtz, German footballer
- 1974 – Cody McKay, Canadian baseball player
- 1974 – Jens Nowotny, German footballer
- 1975 – Rory Fitzpatrick, American ice hockey player
- 1975 – Dan Luger, English rugby player and coach
- 1975 – Matteo Renzi, Italian politician, 56th Prime Minister of Italy
- 1976 – Efthimios Rentzias, Greek basketball player
- 1977 – Shamari Buchanan, American football player
- 1977 – Anni Friesinger-Postma, German speed skater
- 1977 – Olexiy Lukashevych, Ukrainian long jumper
- 1978 – Vallo Allingu, Estonian basketball player
- 1978 – Holly Brisley, Australian actress
- 1978 – Michael Duff, Irish footballer
- 1978 – Emile Heskey, English footballer
- 1979 – Darren Lynn Bousman, American director and screenwriter
- 1979 – Michael Lorenz, German footballer
- 1979 – Henry Shefflin, Irish hurler
- 1980 – Josh Hannay, Australian rugby league player
- 1980 – Mike Williams, American football player
- 1982 – Tony Allen, American basketball player
- 1982 – Blake Heron, American actor (d. 2017)
- 1982 – Son Ye-jin, South Korean actress
- 1983 – Turner Battle, American basketball player
- 1983 – André Myhrer, Swedish skier
- 1983 – Ted Richards, Australian rules footballer
- 1983 – Adrian Sutil, German racing driver
- 1984 – Kevin Boss, American football player
- 1984 – Dario Krešić, Croatian footballer
- 1984 – Matt Mullenweg, American web developer and businessman, co-created WordPress
- 1984 – Stijn Schaars, Dutch footballer
- 1985 – Newton Faulkner, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1985 – Lucy Knisley, American author and illustrator
- 1987 – Scotty Cranmer, American Professional BMX rider
- 1987 – Danuta Kozák, Hungarian sprint canoer
- 1987 – Daniel Semenzato, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Jamie Vardy, English footballer
- 1987 – Kim Young-kwang, South Korean actor and model
- 1988 – Rodrigo José Pereira, Brazilian footballer
- 1989 – Kane Linnett, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Ryan Griffin, American football player
- 1991 – Andrea Bertolacci, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Dani Carvajal, Spanish footballer
- 1992 – Lee Seung-hoon, South Korean rapper and dancer
- 1993 – Michael Keane, English footballer
- 1993 – Will Keane, English footballer
- 1996 – Leroy Sané, German footballer
- 1997 – Cody Simpson, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
Deaths on January 11
- 140 – Pope Hyginus, Bishop of Rome (b. 74)
- 705 – Pope John VI (b. 655)
- 782 – Emperor Kōnin of Japan (b. 709)
- 812 – Staurakios, Byzantine emperor
- 844 – Michael I Rangabe, Byzantine emperor (b. 770)
- 887 – Boso of Provence, Frankish nobleman
- 937 – Cao, empress of Later Tang
- 937 – Li Chongmei, prince of Later Tang
- 937 – Li Congke, emperor of Later Tang (b. 885)
- 937 – Liu, empress of Later Tang
- 1055 – Constantine IX Monomachos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1000)
- 1068 – Egbert I, Margrave of Meissen
- 1083 – Otto of Nordheim (b. 1020)
- 1266 – Swietopelk II, Duke of Pomerania
- 1344 – Thomas Charlton, Bishop of Hereford and Lord Chancellor of Ireland
- 1372 – Eleanor of Lancaster, English noblewoman (b. 1318)
- 1396 – Isidore Glabas, Metropolitan bishop of Thessalonica (b.c. 1341)
- 1397 – Skirgaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania
- 1494 – Domenico Ghirlandaio, Italian painter (b. 1449)
- 1495 – Pedro González de Mendoza, Spanish cardinal (b. 1428)
- 1546 – Gaudenzio Ferrari, Italian painter and sculptor (b. c. 1471)
- 1547 – Pietro Bembo, Italian poet, scholar, and theorist (b. 1470)
- 1554 – Min Bin, king of Arakan (b. 1493)
- 1641 – Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar, Spanish poet and painter (b. 1583)
- 1696 – Charles Albanel, French priest, missionary, and explorer (b. 1616)
- 1703 – Johann Georg Graevius, German scholar and critic (b. 1632)
- 1713 – Pierre Jurieu, French priest and theologian (b. 1637)
- 1735 – Danilo I, Metropolitan of Cetinje (b. 1670)
- 1753 – Hans Sloane, Irish-English physician and academic (b. 1660)
- 1757 – Louis Bertrand Castel, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1688)
- 1762 – Louis-François Roubiliac, French-English sculptor (b. 1695)
- 1763 – Caspar Abel, German poet, historian, and theologian (b. 1676)
- 1771 – Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d’Argens, French philosopher and author (b. 1704)
- 1788 – François Joseph Paul de Grasse, French admiral (b. 1722)
- 1791 – William Williams Pantycelyn, Welsh composer and poet (b. 1717)
- 1798 – Heraclius II of Georgia (b. 1720)
- 1801 – Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer and educator (b. 1749)
- 1824 – Thomas Mullins, 1st Baron Ventry, Anglo-Irish politician and peer (b. 1736)
- 1836 – John Molson, Canadian businessman, founded the Molson Brewing Company (b. 1763)
- 1843 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and songwriter (b. 1779)
- 1866 – Gustavus Vaughan Brooke, Irish actor (b. 1818)
- 1866 – John Woolley, English minister and academic (b. 1816)
- 1867 – Stuart Donaldson, English-Australian businessman and politician, 1st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1812)
- 1882 – Theodor Schwann, German physiologist and biologist (b. 1810)
- 1891 – Georges-Eugène Haussmann, French urban planner (b. 1809)
- 1902 – Johnny Briggs, English cricketer and rugby player (b. 1862)
- 1904 – William Sawyer, Canadian merchant and politician (b. 1815)
- 1914 – Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer and philanthropist (b. 1842)
- 1920 – Steinar Schjøtt, Norwegian philologist and lexicographer (b. 1844)
- 1923 – Constantine I of Greece (b. 1868)
- 1928 – Thomas Hardy, English novelist and poet (b. 1840)
- 1931 – James Milton Carroll, American pastor, historian, and author (b. 1852)
- 1937 – Nuri Conker, Turkish colonel and politician (b. 1882)
- 1941 – Emanuel Lasker, German mathematician, philosopher, and chess player (b. 1868)
- 1944 – Galeazzo Ciano, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1903)
- 1947 – Eva Tanguay, Canadian singer (b. 1879)
- 1952 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (b. 1889)
- 1952 – Aureliano Pertile, Italian tenor and educator (b. 1885)
- 1953 – Noe Zhordania, Georgian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1868)
- 1954 – Oscar Straus, Austrian composer (b. 1870)
- 1957 – Robert Garran, Australian lawyer and politician, Solicitor-General of Australia (b. 1867)
- 1958 – Alec Rowley, English organist and composer (b. 1892)
- 1958 – Edna Purviance, American actress (b. 1895)
- 1961 – Elena Gerhardt, German soprano and actress (b. 1883)
- 1963 – Arthur Nock, English-American scholar, theologian, and academic (b. 1902)
- 1965 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player (b. 1893)
- 1966 – Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor and painter (b. 1901)
- 1966 – Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indian academic and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of India (b. 1904)
- 1968 – Moshe Zvi Segal, Israeli linguist and scholar (b. 1876)
- 1969 – Richmal Crompton, English author and educator (b. 1890)
- 1972 – Padraic Colum, Irish poet and playwright (b. 1881)
- 1975 – Max Lorenz, German tenor and actor (b. 1901)
- 1980 – Barbara Pym, English author (b. 1913)
- 1981 – Beulah Bondi, American actress (b. 1889)
- 1982 – Paul Lynde, American Actor and comedian (b. 1926)
- 1985 – Edward Buzzell, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1895)
- 1985 – William McKell, Australian lawyer and politician, 12th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1891)
- 1986 – Sid Chaplin, English author and screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 1986 – Andrzej Czok, Polish mountaineer (b. 1948)
- 1987 – Albert Ferber, Swiss-English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1911)
- 1988 – Pappy Boyington, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1912)
- 1988 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, Polish-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
- 1989 – Ray Moore, English radio host (b. 1942)
- 1990 – Carolyn Haywood, American author and illustrator (b. 1898)
- 1991 – Carl David Anderson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
- 1994 – Helmut Poppendick, German physician (b. 1902)
- 1995 – Josef Gingold, Belarusian-American violinist and educator (b. 1909)
- 1995 – Onat Kutlar, Turkish author and poet (b. 1936)
- 1995 – Lewis Nixon, U.S. Army captain (b. 1918)
- 1995 – Theodor Wisch, German general (b. 1907)
- 1996 – Roger Crozier, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1942)
- 1999 – Fabrizio De André, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
- 1999 – Naomi Mitchison, Scottish author and poet (b. 1897)
- 1999 – Brian Moore, Irish-Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Ivan Combe, American businessman, invented Clearasil (b. 1911)
- 2000 – Bob Lemon, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
- 2001 – Denys Lasdun, English architect, co-designed the Royal National Theatre (b. 1914)
- 2002 – Henri Verneuil, French-Armenian director and playwright (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Jože Pučnik, Slovenian sociologist and politician (b. 1932)
- 2007 – Solveig Dommartin, French-German actress (b. 1961)
- 2007 – Robert Anton Wilson, American psychologist, author, poet, and playwright (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer and explorer (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Carl Karcher, American businessman, co-founded Carl’s Jr. (b. 1917)
- 2010 – Miep Gies, Austrian-Dutch humanitarian (b. 1909)
- 2010 – Éric Rohmer, French director, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1920)
- 2011 – David Nelson, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, Iranian physicist and academic (b. 1980)
- 2012 – Gilles Jacquier, French journalist and photographer (b. 1968)
- 2012 – Edgar Kaiser, Jr, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Wally Osterkorn, American basketball player (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Steven Rawlings, English astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic (b. 1961)
- 2012 – David Whitaker, English composer and conductor (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Aaron Swartz, American programmer (b. 1986)
- 2013 – Guido Forti, Italian businessman, founded the Forti Racing Team (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Nguyễn Khánh, Vietnamese general and politician, 3rd President of South Vietnam (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Mariangela Melato, Italian actress (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Tom Parry Jones, Welsh chemist, invented the breathalyzer (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Alemayehu Shumye, Ethiopian runner (b. 1988)
- 2014 – Keiko Awaji, Japanese actress (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Indian-Bangladeshi jurist and politician, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Chai Trong-rong, Taiwanese educator and politician (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Jenő Buzánszky, Hungarian footballer and coach (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Anita Ekberg, Swedish-Italian model and actress (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Chashi Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi director and producer (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Vernon Benjamin Mountcastle, American neuroscientist and academic (b. 1918)
- 2016 – Monte Irvin, American baseball player (b. 1919)
- 2016 – David Margulies, American actor (b. 1937)
- 2017 – Adenan Satem, Malaysian politician and Chief Minister of Sarawak, Malaysia (b. 1944)
- 2018 – Edgar Ray Killen, American murderer (b.1925)
- 2019 – Michael Atiyah, British-Lebanese mathematician (b.1929)
Holidays and observances on January 11
- Children’s Day (Tunisia)
- Christian feast day:
- Anastasius of Suppentonia (Roman Catholic)
- Leucius of Brindisi (Roman Catholic)
- Mary Slessor (Church of England)
- Paulinus II of Aquileia
- Pope Hyginus
- Theodosius the Cenobiarch
- Thomas of Cori
- Vitalis of Gaza (Roman Catholic)
- January 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Triodion can fall, while February 14 is the latest; celebrated 70 days before Easter. (Eastern Orthodox)
- Eugenio María de Hostos Day (Puerto Rico)
- Independence Resistance Day (Morocco)
- Kagami biraki (Japan)
- National Human Trafficking Awareness Day (United States)
- Republic Day (Albania)
- Carmentalia (January 11th and January 15th), (Rome)
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January 10 in History
- 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
- AD 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the beginning of his own, the Xin dynasty.
- AD 69 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus is appointed by Galba as deputy Roman Emperor.
- 236 – Pope Fabian succeeds Anterus to become the twentieth pope of Rome.
- 1072 – Robert Guiscard conquers Palermo in Sicily for the Normans.
- 1430 – Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, establishes the Order of the Golden Fleece, the most prestigious, exclusive, and expensive order of chivalry in the world.
- 1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.
- 1645 – Archbishop William Laud is beheaded for treason at the Tower of London.
- 1776 – American Revolution: Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense.
- 1791 – The Siege of Dunlap’s Station begins near Cincinnati during the Northwest Indian War.
- 1806 – Two British brigades occupy Cape Town after the Battle of Blaauwberg.
- 1812 – The first steamboat on the Ohio River or the Mississippi River arrives in New Orleans, 82 days after departing from Pittsburgh.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Florida becomes the third state to secede from the Union.
- 1863 – The Metropolitan Railway, the world’s oldest underground railway, opens between Paddington and Farringdon, marking the beginning of the London Underground.
- 1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil.
- 1901 – The first great Texas oil gusher is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
- 1916 – World War I: In the Erzurum Offensive, Russia defeats the Ottoman Empire.
- 1920 – The Treaty of Versailles takes effect, officially ending World War I.
- 1920 – League of Nations Covenant enters into force. On January 16 the organization holds its first council meeting, in Paris.
- 1927 – Fritz Lang’s futuristic film Metropolis is released in Germany.
- 1941 – World War II: The Greek army captures Kleisoura.
- 1946 – The first General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London. Fifty-one nations are represented.
- 1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the Moon and receiving the reflected signals.
- 1954 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, explodes and falls into the Tyrrhenian Sea killing 35 people.
- 1962 – Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle, which became known as the Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every Apollo Moon mission.
- 1966 – Tashkent Declaration, a peace agreement between India and Pakistan signed that resolved the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
- 1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returns to the newly independent Bangladesh as president after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan.
- 1981 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments
- 1984 – Holy See–United States relations: The United States and Holy See (Vatican City) re-establish full diplomatic relations after almost 117 years, overturning the United States Congress’s 1867 ban on public funding for such a diplomatic envoy.
- 1985 – Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continues to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government.
- 1990 – Time Warner is formed by the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications.
- 2007 – A general strike begins in Guinea in an attempt to get President Lansana Conté to resign.
- 2012 – A bombing in Khyber Agency, Pakistan, kills at least 30 people and 78 others injured.
- 2013 – More than 100 people are killed and 270 injured in several bomb blasts in Pakistan.
- 2015 – A traffic accident between an oil tanker truck and passenger coach en route to Shikarpur from Karachi on the Pakistan National Highway Link Road near Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Karachi, killing at least 62 people.
Births on January 10
- 626 – Husayn ibn Ali the third Shia Imam (d. 680)
- 1392 – Johanna van Polanen, Dutch noblewoman (d. 1445)
- 1480 – Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1530)
- 1538 – Louis of Nassau (d. 1574)
- 1607 – Isaac Jogues, French priest and missionary (d. 1646)
- 1644 – Louis François, duc de Boufflers, French general (d. 1711)
- 1654 – Joshua Barnes, English historian and scholar (d. 1712)
- 1702 – Johannes Zick, German painter (d. 1762)
- 1715 – Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1775)
- 1729 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian priest, biologist, and physiologist (d. 1799)
- 1745 – Isaac Titsingh, Dutch surgeon, scholar, and diplomat (d. 1812)
- 1750 – Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, Scottish-English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1823)
- 1760 – Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, German composer and conductor (d. 1802)
- 1769 – Michel Ney, French general (d. 1815)
- 1776 – George Birkbeck, English physician and academic, founded Birkbeck, University of London (d. 1841)
- 1780 – Martin Lichtenstein, German physician and explorer (d. 1857)
- 1802 – Carl Ritter von Ghega, Italian-Austrian engineer, designed the Semmering railway (d. 1860)
- 1810 – Ferdinand Barbedienne, French engineer (d. 1892)
- 1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, American jurist and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1883)
- 1810 – William Haines, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Victoria (d. 1866)
- 1812 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect and academic (d. 1881)
- 1828 – Herman Koeckemann, German bishop and missionary (d. 1892)
- 1829 – Epameinondas Deligeorgis, Greek lawyer, journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1879)
- 1834 – John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, Italian-English historian and politician (d. 1902)
- 1836 – Charles Ingalls, American farmer and carpenter (d. 1902)
- 1840 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (d. 1925)
- 1842 – Luigi Pigorini, Italian paleontologist, archaeologist, and ethnographer (d. 1925)
- 1843 – Frank James, American soldier and criminal (d. 1915)
- 1848 – Reinhold Sadler, American merchant and politician, 9th Governor of Nevada (d. 1906)
- 1849 – Robert Crosbie, Canadian theosophist, founded the United Lodge of Theosophists (d. 1919)
- 1850 – John Wellborn Root, American architect, designed the Rookery Building and Monadnock Building (d. 1891)
- 1854 – Ramón Corral, Mexican general and politician, 6th Vice President of Mexico (d. 1912)
- 1858 – Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1929)
- 1859 – Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Spanish philosopher and academic (d. 1909)
- 1860 – Charles G. D. Roberts, Canadian poet and author (d. 1943)
- 1864 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (d. 1931)
- 1873 – Algernon Maudslay, English sailor (d. 1948)
- 1873 – Jack O’Neill, Irish-American baseball player (d. 1935)
- 1873 – George Orton, Canadian runner and hurdler (d. 1958)
- 1875 – Issai Schur, German mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
- 1877 – Frederick Gardner Cottrell, American physical chemist, inventor and philanthropist (d. 1948)
- 1878 – John McLean, American hurdler, football player, and coach (d. 1955)
- 1880 – Manuel Azaña, Spanish jurist and politician, 7th President of Spain (d. 1940)
- 1883 – Francis X. Bushman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1966)
- 1883 – Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Russian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1945)
- 1887 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (d. 1962)
- 1890 – Pina Menichelli, Italian actress (d. 1984)
- 1891 – Heinrich Behmann, German mathematician and academic (d. 1970)
- 1891 – Ann Shoemaker, American actress (d. 1978)
- 1892 – Dumas Malone, American historian and author (d. 1986)
- 1892 – Melchior Wańkowicz, Polish soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1974)
- 1893 – Albert Jacka, Australian captain, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1932)
- 1894 – Pingali Lakshmikantam, Indian poet and author (d. 1972)
- 1895 – Percy Cerutty, Australian athletics coach (d. 1975)
- 1896 – Yong Mun Sen, Malaysian watercolour painter (d. 1962)
- 1898 – Katharine Burr Blodgett, American physicist and engineer (d. 1979)
- 1900 – Violette Cordery, English racing driver (d. 1983)
- 1902 – Dobriša Cesarić, Croatian poet and translator (d. 1980)
- 1903 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor (d. 1975)
- 1903 – Pud Thurlow, Australian cricketer (d. 1975)
- 1903 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (d. 1997)
- 1904 – Ray Bolger, American actor and dancer (d. 1987)
- 1905 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor, and playwright (d. 1993)
- 1907 – Gordon Kidd Teal, American engineer and inventor (d. 2003)
- 1908 – Paul Henreid, Italian-American actor and director (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Binod Bihari Chowdhury, Bangladeshi activist (d. 2013)
- 1911 – Norman Heatley, English biologist and chemist (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Maria Mandl, Austrian SS guard (d. 1948)
- 1913 – Franco Bordoni, Italian racing driver and pilot (d. 1975)
- 1913 – Gustáv Husák, Slovak politician, 9th President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Mehmet Shehu, Albanian soldier and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1981)
- 1914 – Pierre Cogan, French cyclist (d. 2013)
- 1914 – Yu Kuo-hwa, Chinese politician, 23rd Premier of the Republic of China (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Dean Dixon, American-Swiss conductor (d. 1976)
- 1915 – Cynthia Freeman, American author (d. 1988)
- 1916 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Eldzier Cortor, American painter (d. 2015)
- 1916 – Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Jerry Wexler, American journalist and producer (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Les Bennett, English footballer and manager (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Arthur Chung, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 1st President of Guyana (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Harry Merkel, German racing driver (d. 1995)
- 1919 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (d. 1977)
- 1919 – Milton Parker, American businessman, co-founded the Carnegie Deli (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Rosella Hightower, American ballerina (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Roberto M. Levingston, Argentinian general and politician, 36th President of Argentina (d. 2015)
- 1920 – Max Patkin, American baseball player and clown (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Rodger Ward, American aviator, race car driver and sportscaster (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Billy Liddell, Scottish-English footballer (d. 2001)
- 1924 – Earl Bakken, American inventor (d. 2018)
- 1924 – Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Canadian ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 1996)
- 1925 – Billie Sol Estes, American financier and businessman (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Musallam Bseiso, Palestinian journalist and politician (d. 2017)
- 1927 – Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian-American singer and actress (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Johnnie Ray, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1990)
- 1927 – Otto Stich, Swiss lawyer and politician, 140th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Philip Levine, American poet and academic (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Peter Mathias, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
- 1929 – Tony Soper, English ornithologist and author
- 1930 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (d. 2009)
- 1931 – Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1931 – Rosalind Howells, Baroness Howells of St Davids, Grenadian-English academic and politician
- 1931 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian cleric and politician, 12th Menteri Besar of Kelantan (d. 2015)
- 1931 – John Zizioulas, Greek metropolitan
- 1934 – Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian politician, 1st President of Ukraine
- 1935 – Ronnie Hawkins, American rockabilly singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1935 – Sherrill Milnes, American opera singer and educator
- 1936 – Stephen E. Ambrose, American historian and author (d. 2002)
- 1936 – Walter Bodmer, German-English geneticist and academic
- 1936 – Robert Woodrow Wilson, American physicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Daniel Walker Howe, American historian and academic
- 1937 – Thomas Penfield Jackson, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Donald Knuth, American computer scientist and mathematician
- 1938 – Frank Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player and politician
- 1938 – Willie McCovey, American baseball player (d. 2018)
- 1939 – Jared Carter, American poet and author
- 1939 – David Horowitz, American activist and author
- 1939 – William Levy, American-Dutch journalist, author, and poet
- 1939 – Scott McKenzie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Sal Mineo, American actor (d. 1976)
- 1940 – K. J. Yesudas, Indian singer and music director
- 1940 – Godfrey Hewitt, English geneticist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Tom Clarke, Scottish politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1942 – Graeme Gahan, Australian footballer and coach
- 1943 – Jim Croce, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
- 1944 – Jeffrey Catherine Jones, American comics and fantasy artist (d. 2011)
- 1944 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer and actor (d. 2016)
- 1945 – John Fahey, New Zealand-Australian lawyer and politician, 38th Premier of New South Wales
- 1945 – Rod Stewart, British singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Gunther von Hagens, German anatomist, invented plastination
- 1946 – Aynsley Dunbar, English drummer and songwriter
- 1947 – George Alec Effinger, American author (d. 2002)
- 1947 – James Morris, American opera singer
- 1947 – Peer Steinbrück, German politician, German Minister of Finance
- 1947 – Tiit Vähi, Estonian engineer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Estonia
- 1948 – Donald Fagen, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1948 – Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist and sportscaster
- 1949 – Kemal Derviş, Turkish economist and politician, Turkish Minister of Economy
- 1949 – George Foreman, American boxer, actor, and businessman
- 1949 – Linda Lovelace, American porn actress and activist (d. 2002)
- 1950 – Roy Blunt, American academic and politician
- 1952 – Scott Thurston, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1953 – Pat Benatar, American singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Bobby Rahal, American race car driver
- 1955 – Michael Schenker, German guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1956 – Shawn Colvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 – Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish author
- 1958 – Eddie Cheever, American race car driver
- 1958 – Anatoly Pisarenko, Ukrainian weightlifter and trainer
- 1959 – Chandra Cheeseborough, American sprinter and coach
- 1959 – Chris Van Hollen, American lawyer and politician
- 1959 – Fran Walsh, New Zealand screenwriter and producer
- 1960 – Gurinder Chadha, Kenyan-English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Brian Cowen, Irish lawyer and politician, 12th Taoiseach of Ireland
- 1960 – John Mann, English lawyer and politician
- 1960 – Benoît Pelletier, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1961 – Janet Jones, American actress
- 1961 – Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Italian-American violinist, author, and educator
- 1962 – Michael Fortier, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1962 – Kathryn S. McKinley, American computer scientist and academic
- 1963 – Malcolm Dunford, New Zealand-Australian footballer
- 1963 – Kira Ivanova, Russian figure skater (d. 2001)
- 1964 – Brad Roberts, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Maciej Śliwowski, Polish footballer
- 1969 – Simone Bagel-Trah, German businessperson
- 1970 – Buff Bagwell, American wrestler and actor
- 1970 – Alisa Marić, Serbian chess player and politician, Serbian Minister of Youth and Sports
- 1972 – Mohammed Benzakour, Moroccan-Dutch journalist, poet, and author
- 1973 – Glenn Robinson, American basketball player
- 1973 – Félix Trinidad, Puerto Rican-American boxer
- 1974 – Jemaine Clement, New Zealand comedian, actor, and musician
- 1974 – Davide Dionigi, Italian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Steve Marlet, French footballer, forward and coach
- 1974 – Bob Peeters, Belgian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
- 1975 – Jake Delhomme, American football player
- 1976 – Adam Kennedy, American baseball player
- 1976 – Ian Poulter, English golfer
- 1978 – Johan van der Wath, South African cricketer
- 1979 – Simone Cavalli, Italian footballer
- 1980 – Sarah Shahi, American actress
- 1980 – DeShaun Foster, American football player
- 1981 – James Coppinger, English footballer
- 1981 – Jared Kushner, American real estate investor and political figure
- 1982 – Julien Brellier, French footballer
- 1982 – Tomasz Brzyski, Polish footballer
- 1984 – Marouane Chamakh, Moroccan footballer
- 1984 – Trent Cutler, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Ariane Friedrich, German high jumper
- 1984 – Kalki Koechlin, Indian actress
- 1986 – Kirsten Flipkens, Belgian tennis player
- 1986 – Hideaki Ikematsu, Japanese footballer
- 1986 – Kenneth Vermeer, Dutch footballer
- 1987 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer
- 1988 – Leonard Patrick Komon, Kenyan runner
- 1988 – Vladimir Zharkov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Emily Meade, American actress
- 1989 – Kyle Reimers, Australian footballer
- 1990 – Mirko Bortolotti, Italian racing driver
- 1990 – Ishiura Masakatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1990 – Cody Walker, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – John Carlson, American ice hockey player
- 1991 – Chad Townsend, Australian rugby league player
Deaths on January 10
- 259 – Polyeuctus, Roman saint
- 314 – Miltiades, pope of the Catholic Church
- 681 – Agatho, pope of the Catholic Church
- 976 – John I Tzimiskes, Byzantine emperor (b. 925)
- 987 – Pietro I Orseolo, doge of Venice (b. 928)
- 1055 – Bretislav I, duke of Bohemia
- 1094 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Egyptian caliph (b. 1029)
- 1218 – Hugh I, king of Cyprus
- 1276 – Gregory X, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1210)
- 1322 – Petrus Aureolus, scholastic philosopher
- 1358 – Abu Inan Faris, Marinid ruler of Morocco (b. 1329)
- 1552 – Johann Cochlaeus, German humanist and controversialist (b. 1479)
- 1645 – William Laud, English archbishop and academic (b. 1573)
- 1654 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, physician, and astrologer (b. 1616)
- 1698 – Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, French priest and historian (b. 1637)
- 1754 – Edward Cave, English publisher, founded The Gentleman’s Magazine (b. 1691)
- 1761 – Edward Boscawen, English admiral and politician (b. 1711)
- 1778 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist and physician (b. 1707)
- 1794 – Georg Forster, German-Polish ethnologist and journalist (b. 1754)
- 1811 – Joseph Chénier, French poet, playwright, and politician (b. 1764)
- 1824 – Victor Emmanuel I, duke of Savoy and king of Sardinia (b. 1759)
- 1828 – François de Neufchâteau, French poet, academic, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (b. 1750)
- 1829 – Gregorio Funes, Argentinian clergyman, historian, and educator (b. 1749)
- 1833 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1752)
- 1843 – Dimitrie Macedonski, Greek-Romanian captain and politician (b. 1780)
- 1851 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (b. 1775)
- 1855 – Mary Russell Mitford, English author and playwright (b. 1787)
- 1862 – Samuel Colt, American engineer and businessman, founded Colt’s Manufacturing Company (b. 1814)
- 1863 – Lyman Beecher, American minister and activist, co-founded the American Temperance Society (b. 1775)
- 1895 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American chemist, physicist, and academic (b. 1836)
- 1895 – Benjamin Godard, French violinist and composer (b. 1849)
- 1901 – James Robert Dickson, English-Australian businessman and politician, 1st Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1832)
- 1904 – Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
- 1905 – Kārlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (b. 1835)
- 1917 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (b. 1846)
- 1917 – Feliks Leparsky, Russian fencer and captain (b. 1875)
- 1920 – Sali Nivica, Albanian journalist and politician (b. 1890)
- 1922 – Frank Tudor, Australian politician, 6th Australian Minister for Trade and Investment (b. 1866)
- 1926 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet and journalist (b. 1878)
- 1935 – Edwin Flack, Australian tennis player and runner (b. 1873)
- 1935 – Charlie McGahey, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1871)
- 1941 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (b. 1879)
- 1941 – John Lavery, Irish painter and academic (b. 1856)
- 1941 – Joe Penner, Hungarian-American actor (b. 1904)
- 1941 – Issai Schur, Belarusian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1875)
- 1949 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (b. 1865)
- 1951 – Sinclair Lewis, American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
- 1951 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist and academic (b. 1890)
- 1954 – Chester Wilmot, American journalist and historian (b. 1911)
- 1956 – Zonia Baber, American geographer and geologist (b. 1862)
- 1957 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
- 1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American novelist (b. 1867)
- 1959 – Şükrü Kaya, Turkish jurist and politician, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
- 1960 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1879)
- 1961 – Dashiell Hammett, American detective novelist and screenwriter (b. 1894)
- 1967 – Charles E. Burchfield, American painter (b. 1893)
- 1968 – Ali Fuat Cebesoy, Turkish general and politician, 6th Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey (b. 1882)
- 1969 – Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 2nd Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1891)
- 1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Russian pilot and astronaut (b. 1925)
- 1971 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer, founded Chanel (b. 1883)
- 1971 – Ignazio Giunti, Italian race car driver (b. 1941)
- 1972 – Aksel Larsen, Danish lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
- 1976 – Howlin’ Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1910)
- 1978 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist and author (b. 1924)
- 1978 – Don Gillis, American composer and conductor (b. 1912)
- 1978 – Hannah Gluckstein, British painter (b. 1895)
- 1980 – Hughie Critz, American baseball player and scout (b. 1900)
- 1980 – George Meany, American plumber and trade union leader (b. 1894)
- 1980 – Bo Rein, American football player and coach (b. 1945)
- 1981 – Fawn M. Brodie, American historian and author (b. 1915)
- 1984 – Souvanna Phouma, Laotian politician, 8th Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1901)
- 1986 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech journalist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
- 1987 – Marion Hutton, American singer (b. 1919)
- 1987 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Herbert Morrison, American journalist and producer (b. 1905)
- 1990 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (b. 1925)
- 1992 – Roberto Bonomi, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1919)
- 1995 – Kathleen Tynan, Canadian-English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 1997 – Elspeth Huxley, Kenyan-English journalist and author (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Sheldon Leonard, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish-English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
- 1999 – Edward Williams, Australian lieutenant, pilot, and judge (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Sam Jaffe, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1901)
- 2004 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1941)
- 2005 – Wasyly, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop (b. 1909)
- 2005 – Jack Horner, American journalist (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (b. 1927)
- 2007 – Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Bradford Washburn, American explorer, photographer, and cartographer (b. 1910)
- 2008 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater and actor (b. 1967)
- 2008 – Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Patcha Ramachandra Rao, Indian metallurgist, educator and administrator (b. 1942)
- 2011 – Margaret Whiting, American singer (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Jean Pigott, Canadian businesswoman and politician (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Gevork Vartanian, Russian intelligence agent (b. 1924)
- 2013 – George Gruntz, Swiss pianist and composer (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Petr Hlaváček, Czech shoemaker and academic (b. 1950)
- 2014 – Zbigniew Messner, Polish economist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Larry Speakes, American journalist, 16th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Junior Malanda, Belgian footballer (b. 1994)
- 2015 – Taylor Negron, American actor, playwright, and painter (b. 1957)
- 2015 – Francesco Rosi, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Robert Stone, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1937)
- 2016 – Wim Bleijenberg, Dutch footballer and manager (b. 1930)
- 2016 – David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1947)
- 2016 – George Jonas, Hungarian-Canadian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1935)
- 2017 – Buddy Greco, American jazz and pop singer and pianist (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Clare Hollingworth, English journalist (b. 1911)
- 2020 – Qaboos bin Said, Ruler Of Oman (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances on January 10
- Christian feast day:
- Gregory of Nyssa
- Leonie Aviat
- Obadiah (Coptic Church)
- Peter Orseolo
- Pope Agatho (Roman Catholic)
- William Laud (Anglican Communion)
- William of Donjeon
- January 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Fête du Vodoun (Benin)
- Margaret Thatcher Day (Falkland Islands)
- Majority Rule Day (Bahamas)