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    May 31- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 455 – Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome.
    • 1223 – Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River: Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus’ and Cumans.
    • 1293 – Mongol invasion of Java was a punitive expedition against King Kertanegara of Singhasari, who had refused to pay tribute to the Yuan and maimed one of its ministers. However, it ended with failure for the Mongols. Regarded as establish City of Surabaya
    • 1578 – King Henry III lays the first stone of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris, France.
    • 1669 – Citing poor eyesight as a reason, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.
    • 1775 – American Revolution: The Mecklenburg Resolves are adopted in the Province of North Carolina.
    • 1790 – Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
    • 1790 – The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.
    • 1795 – French Revolution: The Revolutionary Tribunal is suppressed.
    • 1805 – French and Spanish forces begin the assault against British forces occupying Diamond Rock.
    • 1813 – In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth reach Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains.
    • 1859 – The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston and G.W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: The Army of Northern Virginia engages the Army of the Potomac.
    • 1879 – Gilmore’s Garden in New York City is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue.
    • 1884 – The arrival at Plymouth of Tāwhiao, King of Maoris, to claim the protection of Queen Victoria.
    • 1889 – Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam fails and sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
    • 1902 – Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.
    • 1909 – The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), convenes for the first time.
    • 1910 – The South Africa Act comes into force, establishing the Union of South Africa.
    • 1911 – The RMS Titanic is launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
    • 1911 – The President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz flees the country during the Mexican Revolution.
    • 1916 – World War I: Battle of Jutland: The British Grand Fleet engages the High Seas Fleet in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.
    • 1921 – The Tulsa race massacre kills at least 39, but other estimates of black fatalities vary from 55 to about 300.
    • 1935 – A 7.7 Mw  earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan killing 40,000.
    • 1941 – Anglo-Iraqi War: The United Kingdom completes the re-occupation of Iraq and returns ‘Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II.
    • 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.
    • 1947 – Ferenc Nagy, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, resigns from office after blackmail from the Hungarian Communist Party accusing him of being part of a plot against the state. This grants the Communists effective control of the Hungarian government.
    • 1961 – The South African Constitution of 1961 becomes effective, thus creating the Republic of South Africa, which remains outside the Commonwealth of Nations until 1 June 1994, when South Africa is returned to Commonwealth membership.
    • 1961 – In Moscow City Court, the Rokotov–Faibishenko show trial begins, despite the Khrushchev Thaw to reverse Stalinist elements in Soviet society.
    • 1962 – The West Indies Federation dissolves.
    • 1970 – The 7.9 Mw  Ancash earthquake shakes Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) and a landslide buries the town of Yungay, Peru. Between 66,794–70,000 were killed and 50,000 were injured.
    • 1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.
    • 1973 – The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War.
    • 1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed.
    • 1985 – United States–Canada tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
    • 1991 – Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations’ UNAVEM II mission.
    • 2005 – Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was “Deep Throat”.
    • 2008 – Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7 m/s) 9.72 seconds
    • 2010 – Israeli Shayetet 13 commandos boarded the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while still in international waters trying to break the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip; nine Turkish citizens on the flotilla were killed in the ensuing violent affray.
    • 2013 – The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.
    • 2013 – A record breaking 2.6 mile wide tornado strikes El Reno, Oklahoma, United States, causing eight fatalities and over 150 injuries.
    • 2017 – A car bomb explodes in a crowded intersection in Kabul near the German embassy during rush hour, killing over 90 and injuring 463.
    • 2017 – U.S. President Donald Trump tweets the word “covfefe” and quickly becomes a worldwide viral phenomenon.
    • 2019 – A shooting occurs inside a municipal building at Virginia Beach, Virginia, leaving 13 people dead, including the shooter, and four others injured.

    Births on May 31

    • 1443 (or 1441) – Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (d. 1509)
    • 1462 – Philipp II, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1504)
    • 1469 – Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)
    • 1535 – Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)
    • 1556 – Jerzy Radziwiłł, Catholic cardinal (d. 1600)
    • 1577 – Nur Jahan, Empress consort of the Mughal Empire (d. 1645)
    • 1613 – John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)
    • 1640 – Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland (d. 1673)
    • 1641 – Patriarch Dositheos II of Jerusalem (d. 1707)
    • 1725 – Ahilyabai Holkar, Queen of the Malwa Kingdom under the Maratha Empire (d. 1795)
    • 1732 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Austrian archbishop (d. 1812)
    • 1753 – Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French lawyer and politician (d. 1793)
    • 1754 – Andrea Appiani, Italian painter and educator (d. 1817)
    • 1773 – Ludwig Tieck, German poet, author, and critic (d. 1853)
    • 1801 – Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1887)
    • 1815 – Adye Douglas, English-Australian cricketer and politician, 15th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1906)
    • 1818 – John Albion Andrew, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1867)
    • 1819 – Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist (d. 1892)
    • 1827 – Kusumoto Ine, first Japanese female doctor of Western medicine (d. 1903)
    • 1835 – Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese commander (d. 1869)
    • 1838 – Henry Sidgwick, English economist and philosopher (d. 1900)
    • 1842 – John Cox Bray, Australian politician, 15th Premier of South Australia (d. 1894)
    • 1847 – William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, Canadian-Irish businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of Belfast (d. 1924)
    • 1852 – Francisco Moreno, Argentinian explorer and academic (d. 1919)
    • 1852 – Julius Richard Petri, German microbiologist, invented the Petri dish (d. 1921)
    • 1857 – Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)
    • 1858 – Graham Wallas, English socialist, social psychologist, and educationalist (d. 1932)
    • 1860 – Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)
    • 1863 – Francis Younghusband, Indian-English captain and explorer (d. 1942)
    • 1866 – John Ringling, American entrepreneur; one of the founders of the Ringling Brothers Circus (d. 1936)
    • 1875 – Rosa May Billinghurst, British suffragette and women’s rights activist (d.1953)
    • 1879 – Frances Alda, New Zealand-Australian soprano (d. 1952)
    • 1882 – Sándor Festetics, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of War (d. 1956)
    • 1883 – Lauri Kristian Relander, Finnish politician, 2nd President of Finland (d. 1942)
    • 1885 – Robert Richards, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of South Australia (d. 1967)
    • 1887 – Saint-John Perse, French poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
    • 1892 – Michel Kikoine, Belarusian-French painter (d. 1968)
    • 1892 – Erich Neumann, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1951)
    • 1892 – Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian poet and author (d. 1968)
    • 1892 – Gregor Strasser, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1934)
    • 1894 – Fred Allen, American comedian, radio host, game show panelist, and author (d. 1956)
    • 1898 – Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author (d. 1993)
    • 1900 – Lucile Godbold, American Olympic athlete (d. 1981)
    • 1901 – Alfredo Antonini, Italian-American conductor and composer (d. 1983)
    • 1908 – Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)
    • 1909 – Art Coulter, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – Maurice Allais, French economist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
    • 1912 – Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American experimental physicist (d. 1997)
    • 1914 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer and educator (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Bert Haanstra, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1918 – Robert Osterloh, American actor (d. 2001)
    • 1918 – Lloyd Quarterman, African American chemist (d. 1982)
    • 1919 – Robie Macauley, American editor, novelist and critic (d. 1995)
    • 1921 – Edna Doré, English actress (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Andrew Grima, Anglo-Italian jewellery designer (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer (d. 2008)
    • 1921 – Alida Valli, Austrian-Italian actress and singer (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Denholm Elliott, English-Spanish actor (d. 1992)
    • 1923 – Ellsworth Kelly, American painter and sculptor (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)
    • 1925 – Julian Beck, American actor and director (d. 1986)
    • 1927 – James Eberle, English admiral (d. 2018)
    • 1927 – Michael Sandberg, Baron Sandberg, English lieutenant and banker (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Pankaj Roy, Indian cricketer (d. 2001)
    • 1929 – Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director, musician, and producer
    • 1931 – John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Shirley Verrett, American soprano and actress (d. 2010)
    • 1932 – Ed Lincoln, Brazilian pianist, bassist, and composer (d. 2012)
    • 1932 – Jay Miner, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 1994)
    • 1933 – Henry B. Eyring, American religious leader, educator, and author
    • 1934 – Jim Hutton, American actor (d. 1979)
    • 1935 – Jim Bolger, New Zealand businessman and politician, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1938 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
    • 1938 – John Prescott, British sailor and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    • 1938 – Peter Yarrow, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1939 – Terry Waite, English humanitarian and author
    • 1940 – Anatoliy Bondarchuk, Ukrainian hammer thrower and coach
    • 1940 – Augie Meyers, American musician and singer-songwriter
    • 1940 – Gilbert Shelton, American illustrator
    • 1941 – June Clark, Welsh nurse and educator
    • 1941 – Louis Ignarro, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1941 – William Nordhaus, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1943 – Sharon Gless, American actress
    • 1943 – Joe Namath, American football player, sportscaster, and actor
    • 1945 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
    • 1945 – Laurent Gbagbo, Ivorian academic and politician, 4th President of Côte d’Ivoire
    • 1945 – Bernard Goldberg, American journalist and author
    • 1946 – Ted Baehr, American publisher and critic
    • 1946 – Steve Bucknor, Jamaican cricketer and umpire
    • 1946 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician, and diplomat (d. 2009)
    • 1946 – Debbie Moore, English model and businesswoman
    • 1947 – Junior Campbell, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1947 – Gabriele Hinzmann, German discus thrower
    • 1948 – Svetlana Alexievich, Belarusian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1948 – John Bonham, English musician, songwriter and drummer (d. 1980)
    • 1948 – Martin Hannett, English bass player, guitarist, and record producer (d. 1991)
    • 1948 – Duncan Hunter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician
    • 1949 – Tom Berenger, American actor, film producer and television writer
    • 1950 – Jean Chalopin, French director, producer, and screenwriter, founded DIC Entertainment
    • 1950 – Gregory Harrison, American actor
    • 1950 – Edgar Savisaar, Estonian politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior
    • 1951 – Karl-Hans Riehm, German hammer thrower
    • 1952 – Karl Bartos, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1953 – Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
    • 1954 – Vicki Sue Robinson, American actress and singer (d. 2000)
    • 1955 – Tommy Emmanuel, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Susie Essman, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Fritz Hilpert, German drummer and composer
    • 1956 – John Young, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1957 – Jim Craig, American ice hockey player
    • 1959 – Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver (d. 2014)
    • 1959 – Phil Wilson, English politician
    • 1960 – Greg Adams, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman
    • 1960 – Chris Elliott, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Peter Winterbottom, English rugby player
    • 1961 – Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1961 – Justin Madden, Australian footballer and politician
    • 1961 – Lea Thompson, American actress, director, and producer
    • 1962 – Corey Hart, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1963 – David Leigh, holder of the Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry at the University of Manchester
    • 1963 – Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician, 38th Prime Minister of Hungary
    • 1963 – Wesley Willis, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2003)
    • 1964 – Leonard Asper, Canadian lawyer and businessman
    • 1964 – Stéphane Caristan, French hurdler and coach
    • 1964 – Yukio Edano, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs
    • 1964 – Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels, American rapper and producer
    • 1965 – Brooke Shields, American model, actress, and producer
    • 1966 – Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lankan cricketer and referee
    • 1967 – Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television host and producer
    • 1967 – Kenny Lofton, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Arun Luthra, Indo-Anglo-American saxophonist, konnakol artist, composer, and arranger
    • 1972 – Christian McBride, American bassist and record producer
    • 1972 – Archie Panjabi, Indo-British actress
    • 1972 – Frode Estil, Norwegian skier
    • 1972 – Antti Niemi, Finnish international footballer, goalkeeper and coach
    • 1972 – Dave Roberts, American baseball player and coach
    • 1974 – Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Japanese comedian and singer
    • 1974 – Chad Campbell, American golfer
    • 1975 – Mac Suzuki, Japanese baseball player
    • 1976 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor
    • 1976 – Matt Harpring, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-Greek volleyball player
    • 1977 – Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer
    • 1977 – Eric Christian Olsen, American actor
    • 1977 – Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer
    • 1977 – Petr Tenkrát, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Jean-François Gillet, Belgian footballer
    • 1981 – Mikael Antonsson, Swedish footballer
    • 1981 – Daniele Bonera, Italian footballer
    • 1981 – Jake Peavy, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Marlies Schild, Austrian skier
    • 1984 – Andrew Bailey, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Milorad Čavić, Serbian swimmer
    • 1984 – Nate Robinson, American basketball player
    • 1985 – Jordy Nelson, American football player
    • 1986 – Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist
    • 1989 – Marco Reus, German footballer
    • 1990 – Erik Karlsson, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Michaël Bournival, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Laura Ikauniece, Latvian heptathlete
    • 1996 – Normani Korde, American singer
    • 1998 – Santino Ferrucci, American race car driver

    Deaths on May 31

    • 455 – Petronius Maximus, Roman emperor (b. 396)
    • 930 – Liu Hua, princess of Southern Han (b. 896)
    • 960 – Fujiwara no Morosuke, Japanese statesman (b. 909)
    • 1076 – Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria, English politician (b. 1050)
    • 1089 – Sigwin von Are, archbishop of Cologne
    • 1162 – Géza II, king of Hungary (b. 1130)
    • 1321 – Birger, king of Sweden (b. 1280)
    • 1326 – Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley (b. 1271)
    • 1329 – Albertino Mussato, Italian statesman and writer (b. 1261)
    • 1349 – Thomas Wake, English politician (b. 1297)
    • 1370 – Vitalis of Assisi, Italian hermit and monk (b. 1295)
    • 1408 – Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1358)
    • 1410 – Martin of Aragon, Spanish king (b. 1356)
    • 1504 – Engelbert II of Nassau (b. 1451)
    • 1558 – Philip Hoby, English general and diplomat (b. 1505)
    • 1567 – Guido de Bres, Belgian pastor and theologian (b. 1522)
    • 1594 – Tintoretto, Italian painter and educator (b. 1518)
    • 1601 – Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, Archbishop-Elector of Cologne (b. 1547)
    • 1640 – Zeynab Begum, Safavid princess (date of birth unknown)
    • 1665 – Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, Dutch painter (b. 1597)
    • 1680 – Joachim Neander, German theologian and educator (b. 1650)
    • 1740 – Frederick William I of Prussia (b. 1688)
    • 1747 – Andrey Osterman, German-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1686)
    • 1809 – Joseph Haydn, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1732)
    • 1809 – Jean Lannes, French general (b. 1769)
    • 1831 – Samuel Bentham, English architect and engineer (b. 1757)
    • 1832 – Évariste Galois, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1811)
    • 1837 – Joseph Grimaldi, English actor, comedian and dancer, (b. 1779)
    • 1846 – Philip Marheineke, German pastor and philosopher (b. 1780)
    • 1847 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish minister and economist (b. 1780)
    • 1848 – Eugénie de Guérin, French author (b. 1805)
    • 1899 – Stefanos Koumanoudis, Greek archaeologist, teacher and writer (b. 1818)
    • 1908 – Louis-Honoré Fréchette, Canadian author, poet, and politician (b. 1839)
    • 1909 – Thomas Price, Welsh-Australian politician, 24th Premier of South Australia (b. 1852)
    • 1910 – Elizabeth Blackwell, English-American physician and educator (b. 1821)
    • 1931 – Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1866)
    • 1931 – Willy Stöwer, German author and illustrator (b. 1864)
    • 1945 – Odilo Globocnik, Italian-Austrian SS officer (b. 1904)
    • 1954 – Antonis Benakis, Greek art collector and philanthropist, founded the Benaki Museum (b. 1873)
    • 1957 – Stefanos Sarafis, Greek general and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1957 – Leopold Staff, Polish poet and academic (b. 1878)
    • 1960 – Willem Elsschot, Flemish author and poet (b. 1882)
    • 1960 – Walther Funk, German economist, journalist, and politician, German Minister of Economics (b. 1890)
    • 1962 – Henry F. Ashurst, American lawyer and politician (b. 1874)
    • 1967 – Billy Strayhorn, American pianist and composer (b. 1915)
    • 1970 – Terry Sawchuk, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1929)
    • 1976 – Jacques Monod, French biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
    • 1977 – William Castle, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1914)
    • 1978 – József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1925)
    • 1981 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist and journalist (b. 1914)
    • 1982 – Carlo Mauri, Italian mountaineer and explorer (b. 1930)
    • 1983 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer and lieutenant (b. 1895)
    • 1985 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (b. 1921)
    • 1986 – Jane Frank, American painter and sculptor (b. 1918)
    • 1986 – James Rainwater, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
    • 1987 – John Abraham, Indian director and screenwriter (b. 1937)
    • 1989 – Owen Lattimore, American author and academic (b. 1900)
    • 1989 – C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and historian (b. 1901)
    • 1993 – Honey Tree Evil Eye, or, Spud Mackenzie, a Bull Terrier, dies of kidney failure.
    • 1994 – Uzay Heparı, Turkish actor, producer, and composer (b. 1969)
    • 1994 – Herva Nelli, Italian-American soprano (b. 1909)
    • 1995 – Stanley Elkin, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1930)
    • 1996 – Timothy Leary, American psychologist and author (b. 1920)
    • 1998 – Charles Van Acker, Belgian-American race car driver (b. 1912)
    • 2000 – Petar Mladenov, Bulgarian diplomat, 1st President of Bulgaria (b. 1936)
    • 2000 – Tito Puente, American jazz musician (b. 1923)
    • 2000 – A. Jeyaratnam Wilson, Sri Lankan historian, author, and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2001 – Arlene Francis, American actress, talk show host, game show panelist, and television personality (b. 1907)
    • 2002 – Subhash Gupte, Indian cricketer (b. 1929)
    • 2004 – Aiyathurai Nadesan, Sri Lankan journalist (b. 1954)
    • 2004 – Robert Quine, American guitarist (b. 1941)
    • 2004 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French screenwriter and composer (b. 1941)
    • 2006 – Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, Spanish sculptor (b. 1933)
    • 2006 – Raymond Davis, Jr., American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
    • 2009 – Danny La Rue, Irish-British drag queen performer and singer (b. 1927)
    • 2009 – George Tiller, American physician (b. 1941)
    • 2010 – Louise Bourgeois, French-American sculptor and painter (b. 1911)
    • 2010 – Brian Duffy, English photographer and producer (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – William A. Fraker, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1923)
    • 2010 – Rubén Juárez, Argentinian singer-songwriter and bandoneón player (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Merata Mita, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 2011 – Pauline Betz, American tennis player (b. 1919)
    • 2011 – Jonas Bevacqua, American fashion designer, co-founded the Lifted Research Group (b. 1977)
    • 2011 – Derek Hodge, Virgin Islander lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (b. 1941)
    • 2011 – Hans Keilson, German-Dutch psychoanalyst and author (b. 1909)
    • 2011 – John Martin, English admiral and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey (b. 1918)
    • 2011 – Andy Robustelli, American football player and manager (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Christopher Challis, English cinematographer (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Randall B. Kester, American lawyer and judge (b. 1916)
    • 2012 – Paul Pietsch, German racing driver and publisher (b. 1911)
    • 2012 – Orlando Woolridge, American basketball player and coach (b. 1959)
    • 2013 – Gerald E. Brown, American physicist and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Frederic Lindsay, Scottish author and educator (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Miguel Méndez, American author and poet (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Tim Samaras, American engineer and storm chaser (b. 1957)
    • 2013 – Jairo Mora Sandoval, Costa Rican environmentalist (b. 1987)
    • 2013 – Jean Stapleton, American actress (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Marilyn Beck, American journalist (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1952)
    • 2014 – Hoss Ellington, American race car driver (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Martha Hyer, American actress (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Lewis Katz, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – Mary Soames, Baroness Soames, English author (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – Gladys Taylor, Canadian author and publisher (b. 1917)
    • 2016 – Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (1976–2016) (b. 1947)
    • 2016 – Jan Crouch, American televangelist, co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (b. 1938)
    • 2016 – Carla Lane, English television writer (b. 1928)
    • 2016 – Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (b. 1939)

    Holidays and observances on May 31

    • Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Camilla Battista da Varano
      • Hermias
      • Petronella
      • Visitation of Mary (Western Christianity)
      • May 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The beginning of Gawai Dayak (Dayaks in Sarawak, Malaysia and West Kalimantan, Indonesia)
    • World No Tobacco Day (International)

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

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

    Births on April 14

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

    Deaths on April 14

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

    Holidays and observances on April 14

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

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

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

    Births on April 13

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

    Deaths on April 13

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

    Holidays and observances on April 13

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

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

    In astrology, the day of the equinox is the first full day of the sign of Aries. It is also the traditional first day of the astrological year. In the 21st century, the equinox usually occurs on March 19 or 20; it occurred on March 21 only in 2003 and 2007. The next year in which the equinox occurs on March 21 will be 2102.

    March 21 in History

    • 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius.
    • 630 – Emperor Heraclius returns the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem.
    • 717 – Battle of Vincy between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid.
    • 1152 – Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.
    • 1188 – Emperor Antoku accedes to the throne of Japan.
    • 1556 – On the day of his execution in Oxford, former Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer deviates from the scripted sermon by renouncing the recantations he has made and adds, “And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ’s enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine.”
    • 1788 – A fire in New Orleans leaves most of the town in ruins.
    • 1800 – With the church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII is crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché.
    • 1801 – The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis near Alexandria in Egypt.
    • 1804 – Code Napoléon is adopted as French civil law.
    • 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: Austrian forces repel French troops in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube.
    • 1844 – The Bahá’í calendar begins. This is the first day of the first year of the Bahá’í calendar. It is annually celebrated by members of the Bahá’í Faith as the Bahá’í New Year or Náw-Rúz.
    • 1861 – Alexander Stephens gives the Cornerstone Speech.
    • 1871 – Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Chancellor of the German Empire.
    • 1871 – Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone.
    • 1913 – Over 360 are killed and 20,000 homes destroyed in the Great Dayton Flood in Dayton, Ohio.
    • 1918 – World War I: The first phase of the German Spring Offensive, Operation Michael, begins.
    • 1919 – The Hungarian Soviet Republic is established becoming the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia.
    • 1921 – The New Economic Policy is implemented by the Bolshevik Party in response to the economic failure as a result of war communism.
    • 1925 – The Butler Act prohibits the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee.
    • 1925 – Syngman Rhee is removed from office after being impeached as the President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
    • 1928 – Charles Lindbergh is presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic flight.
    • 1935 – Shah of Iran Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran.
    • 1937 – Ponce massacre: Nineteen people in Ponce, Puerto Rico are gunned down by police acting on orders of the US-appointed Governor, Blanton C. Winship.
    • 1943 – Wehrmacht officer Rudolf von Gersdorff plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler by using a suicide bomb, but the plan falls through; von Gersdorff is able to defuse the bomb in time and avoid suspicion.
    • 1945 – World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma.
    • 1945 – World War II: Operation Carthage: Royal Air Force planes bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also accidentally hit a school, killing 125 civilians.
    • 1945 – World War II: Bulgaria and the Soviet Union successfully complete their defense of the north bank of the Drava River as the Battle of the Transdanubian Hills concludes.
    • 1946 – The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in professional American football since 1933.
    • 1952 – Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.
    • 1960 – Apartheid: Sharpeville massacre, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180.
    • 1963 – Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (in California) closes.
    • 1965 – Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9, the last in a series of unmanned lunar space probes.
    • 1965 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads 3,200 people on the start of the third and finally successful civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
    • 1968 – Battle of Karameh in Jordan between the Israel Defense Forces and the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and PLO.
    • 1970 – The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco.
    • 1980 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet–Afghan War.
    • 1983 – The first cases of the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic begin; Israelis and Palestinians accuse each other of poison gas, but the cause is later determined mostly to be psychosomatic.
    • 1986 – Debi Thomas became the first African American to win the World Figure Skating Championships
    • 1990 – Namibia becomes independent after 75 years of South African rule.
    • 1994 – The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change enters into force.
    • 1999 – Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon.
    • 2000 – Pope John Paul II makes his first ever pontifical visit to Israel.
    • 2006 – The social media site Twitter is founded.
    • 2009 – Four police officers are shot and killed and a fifth is wounded in two shootings at Oakland, California.
    • 2019 – The 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion occurs, killing at least 47 people and injuring 640 others.

    Births on March 21

    • 927 – Emperor Taizu of Song (d. 976)
    • 1474 – Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint (d. 1540)
    • 1501 – Anne Brooke, Baroness Cobham, English noble (d. 1558)
    • 1521 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (d. 1553)
    • 1527 – Hermann Finck, German composer and educator (d. 1558)
    • 1555 – John Leveson, English politician (d. 1615)
    • 1557 – Anne Howard, Countess of Arundel, English countess and poet (d. 1630)
    • 1626 – Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, Spanish saint and missionary (d. 1667)
    • 1672 – Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino, Italian poet and translator (d. 1742)
    • 1685 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German Baroque composer and musician (d. 1750)
    • 1713 – Francis Lewis, Welsh-American merchant and politician (d. 1803)
    • 1716 – Josef Seger, Bohemian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1782)
    • 1752 – Mary Dixon Kies, American inventor (d. 1837)
    • 1763 – Jean Paul, German journalist and author (d. 1825)
    • 1768 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1830)
    • 1806 – Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 25th President of Mexico (d. 1872)
    • 1811 – Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (d. 1891)
    • 1825 – Alexander Mozhaysky, Russian soldier and engineer (d. 1890)
    • 1835 – Thomas Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1876)
    • 1839 – Modest Mussorgsky, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1881)
    • 1854 – Alick Bannerman, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 1924)
    • 1857 – Alice Henry, Australian journalist and activist (d. 1943)
    • 1859 – Daria Pratt, American golfer (d. 1938)
    • 1865 – George Owen Squier, American general (d. 1934)
    • 1866 – Antonia Maury, American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1952)
    • 1867 – Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., American director and producer (d. 1932)
    • 1869 – David Robertson, Scottish-English golfer and rugby player (d. 1937)
    • 1874 – Alfred Tysoe, English runner (d. 1901)
    • 1876 – Walter Tewksbury, American runner and hurdler (d. 1968)
    • 1877 – Maurice Farman, French race car driver and pilot (d. 1964)
    • 1878 – Morris H. Whitehouse, American architect (d. 1944)
    • 1880 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1971)
    • 1880 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter and academic (d. 1966)
    • 1882 – Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician (d. 1963)
    • 1884 – George David Birkhoff, American mathematician (d. 1944)
    • 1885 – Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (d. 1952)
    • 1886 – Walter Dray, American pole vaulter (d. 1973)
    • 1887 – Clarice Beckett, Australian painter (d. 1935)
    • 1887 – Lajos Kassák, Hungarian poet, novelist and painter (d. 1967)
    • 1887 – M. N. Roy, Indian philosopher and politician (d. 1954)
    • 1889 – Jock Sutherland, American football player and coach (d. 1948)
    • 1896 – Friedrich Waismann, Austrian mathematician, physicist, and philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1959)
    • 1897 – Sim Gokkes, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1943)
    • 1897 – Salvador Lutteroth, Mexican wrestling promoter, founded Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (d. 1987)
    • 1899 – Panagiotis Pipinelis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1970)
    • 1901 – Karl Arnold, German businessman and politician, President of the German Bundesrat (d. 1958)
    • 1902 – Son House, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1988)
    • 1904 – Jehane Benoît, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1987)
    • 1904 – Forrest Mars, Sr., American candy maker, created M&M’s and Mars bar (d. 1999)
    • 1904 – Nikos Skalkottas, Greek violinist and composer (d. 1949)
    • 1905 – Phyllis McGinley, American author and poet (d. 1978)
    • 1906 – John D. Rockefeller III, American philanthropist (d. 1978)
    • 1906 – Jim Thompson, American businessman (d. 1967)
    • 1906 – André Filho, Brazilian musician and songwriter (d. 1974)
    • 1907 – Zoltán Kemény, Hungarian sculptor (d. 1965)
    • 1909 – Harry Lane, English footballer (d. 1977)
    • 1910 – Julio Gallo, American businessman, co-founded E & J Gallo Winery (d. 1993)
    • 1910 – Muhammad Siddiq Khan, Bangladeshi librarian and educator (d. 1978)
    • 1911 – Walter Lincoln Hawkins, African-American scientist and inventor (d. 1992)
    • 1912 – André Laurendeau, Canadian journalist, playwright, and politician (d. 1968)
    • 1913 – George Abecassis, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1991)
    • 1913 – Guillermo Haro, Mexican astronomer (d. 1988)
    • 1914 – Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer (d. 1990)
    • 1916 – Bismillah Khan, Indian shehnai player (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Ken Wharton, English race car driver (d. 1957)
    • 1917 – Frank Hardy, Australian journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1994)
    • 1918 – Patrick Lucey, American captain and politician, 38th Governor of Wisconsin (d. 2014)
    • 1918 – Charles Thompson, American pianist and composer (d. 2016)
    • 1919 – Douglas Warren, Australian bishop (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1970)
    • 1920 – Éric Rohmer, French director, film critic, journalist, novelist and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Arthur Grumiaux, Belgian violinist and pianist (d. 1986)
    • 1921 – Antony Hopkins, English pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Russ Meyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1923 – Louis-Edmond Hamelin, Canadian geographer, author, and academic (d. 2020)
    • 1923 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet, publisher, and diplomat (d. 1998)
    • 1923 – Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious leader, founded Sahaja Yoga (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Rezső Nyers, Hungarian politician (d. 2018)
    • 1924 – Philip Abbott, American actor (d. 1998)
    • 1924 – Dov Shilansky, Lithuanian-Israeli lawyer and politician (d. 2010)
    • 1925 – Harold Ashby, American saxophonist (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Peter Brook, English-French director and producer
    • 1925 – Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (d. 1964)
    • 1926 – André Delvaux, Belgian director and screenwriter (d. 2002)
    • 1927 – Halton Arp, American-German astronomer and critic (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German soldier and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 2016)
    • 1928 – Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Maurice Catarcio, American wrestler (d. 2005)
    • 1930 – James Coco, American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1930 – Otis Spann, American blues pianist, singer and composer (d. 1970)
    • 1931 – Toyonobori, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1998)
    • 1931 – Clark L. Brundin, American-English engineer and academic
    • 1931 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Al Williamson, American illustrator (d. 2010)
    • 1932 – Walter Gilbert, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1932 – Joseph Silverstein, American violinist and conductor (d. 2015)
    • 1933 – John Hall, English businessman
    • 1933 – Michael Heseltine, Welsh businessman and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    • 1934 – Al Freeman, Jr., American actor and director (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Brian Clough, English footballer and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1936 – Ed Broadbent, Canadian pilot and politician
    • 1936 – Mike Westbrook, English pianist and composer
    • 1937 – Ann Clwyd, Welsh journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
    • 1937 – Tom Flores, American football player and coach
    • 1937 – Pierre-Jean Rémy, French diplomat and author (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Michael Foreman, English author and illustrator
    • 1938 – Grahame Thomas, Australian cricketer
    • 1939 – Kathleen Widdoes, American actress
    • 1940 – Solomon Burke, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1940 – Andrea Elle, German bicyclist
    • 1942 – Françoise Dorléac, French actress (d. 1967)
    • 1942 – Kostas Politis, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2018)
    • 1942 – Amina Claudine Myers, African-American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1942 – Patcha Ramachandra Rao, India metallurgist, educator and administrator (d. 2010)
    • 1943 – István Gyulai, Hungarian sprinter and sportscaster (d. 2006)
    • 1943 – Hartmut Haenchen, German conductor
    • 1943 – Vivian Stanshall, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter (d. 1995)
    • 1944 – Marie-Christine Barrault, French actress
    • 1944 – Janet Daley, American-English journalist and author
    • 1944 – Hideki Ishima, Japanese guitarist
    • 1944 – Mike Jackson, English general
    • 1944 – David Lindley, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1944 – Gaye Adegbalola, African-American singer and guitarist
    • 1945 – Anthony Grabiner, Baron Grabiner, English lawyer
    • 1945 – Charles Greene, American sprinter and coach
    • 1945 – Rose Stone, African-American R&B singer and keyboard player
    • 1946 – Timothy Dalton, Welsh-English actor
    • 1946 – Ray Dorset, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1946 – Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, Japanese cardinal
    • 1947 – George Johnston. Scottish footballer, forward
    • 1948 – Scott Fahlman, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1949 – Alvin Kallicharran, Guyanese cricketer and coach
    • 1949 – Andy Love, Scottish-English politician
    • 1949 – Eddie Money, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
    • 1949 – Slavoj Žižek, Slovenian sociologist, philosopher, and academic
    • 1950 – Roger Hodgson, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1950 – Ron Oden, American minister and politician, 19th Mayor of Palm Springs
    • 1950 – Sergey Lavrov, Russian politician and diplomat, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1951 – Conrad Lozano, American bass player
    • 1951 – Russell Thompkins Jr., American soul singer
    • 1953 – Steve Furber, English computer scientist and academic
    • 1953 – Paul Martin Lester, American photographer, author, and educator
    • 1953 – David Wisniewski, English-American author and illustrator (d. 2002)
    • 1955 – Fadi Abboud, Lebanese economist and politician
    • 1955 – Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian politician and retired military officer, 38th President of Brazil
    • 1955 – Bob Bennett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Greek politician
    • 1955 – Bärbel Wöckel, East German sprinter
    • 1956 – Dick Beardsley, American runner
    • 1956 – Guy Chadwick, German-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1956 – Richard H. Kirk, English guitarist, keyboard player, composer, and producer
    • 1956 – Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
    • 1958 – Marlies Göhr, German sprinter
    • 1958 – Brad Hall, American comedian, director, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Gary Oldman, English actor, filmmaker, musician and author
    • 1959 – Sarah Jane Morris, English singer-songwriter
    • 1959 – Yuval Rotem, Israeli diplomat
    • 1959 – Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese keyboard player and composer
    • 1960 – Marwan Farhat, Syrian actor and voice actor
    • 1960 – Benito T. de Leon, Filipino general
    • 1960 – Raivo Puusepp, Estonian architect
    • 1960 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1994)
    • 1960 – Robert Sweet, American drummer and producer
    • 1961 – Lothar Matthäus, German footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Gary O’Reilly, English footballer, defender
    • 1961 – Kassie DePaiva, American actress
    • 1961 – Slim Jim Phantom, American rock drummer
    • 1961 – Kim Turner, American hurdler
    • 1962 – Matthew Broderick, American actor
    • 1962 – Kathy Greenwood, Canadian actress and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Rosie O’Donnell, American actress, producer, and talk show host
    • 1962 – Mark Waid, American author
    • 1963 – Shawon Dunston, American baseball player
    • 1963 – Ronald Koeman, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1963 – Shawn Lane, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 2003)
    • 1963 – Share Pedersen, American bass player
    • 1964 – Ieuan Evans, Welsh rugby player
    • 1964 – Jesper Skibby, Danish cyclist
    • 1965 – Xavier Bertrand, French businessman and politician, French Minister of Social Affairs
    • 1965 – Thomas Frank, American author, historian and political analyst
    • 1966 – Benito Archundia, Mexican footballer, referee, lawyer, and economist
    • 1966 – Hauke Fuhlbrügge, German runner
    • 1966 – Matthew Maynard, English cricketer and coach
    • 1966 – Moa Matthis, Swedish author
    • 1967 – Carwyn Jones, Welsh lawyer and politician, First Minister of Wales
    • 1967 – Mirela Rupic, American costume and fashion designer
    • 1968 – Cameron Clyne, Australian businessman
    • 1968 – Andrew Copeland, American singer and guitarist
    • 1968 – Gary Walsh, English football coach and former footballer
    • 1968 – Greg Ellis, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1968 – Tolunay Kafkas, Turkish footballer and manager
    • 1968 – Scott Williams, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Jonah Goldberg, American journalist and author
    • 1970 – Shiho Niiyama, Japanese voice actress (d. 2000)
    • 1970 – Cenk Uygur, Turkish-American political activist
    • 1971 – Zsolt Kürtösi, Hungarian decathlete
    • 1972 – Chris Candido, American wrestler (d. 2005)
    • 1972 – Balázs Kiss, Hungarian hammer thrower
    • 1972 – Derartu Tulu, Ethiopian runner
    • 1972 – Graeme Welch, English cricketer
    • 1973 – Ananda Lewis, American television host
    • 1973 – Stuart Nethercott, English footballer, defender and manager
    • 1973 – Large Professor, American rapper and producer
    • 1974 – Rhys Darby, New Zealand comedian and actor
    • 1974 – Dejima Takeharu, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1974 – Edsel Dope, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1974 – Ted Kravitz, British presenter and Formula One pit-lane reporter
    • 1974 – Kevin Leahy, American drummer
    • 1974 – Conor Woodman, Irish journalist and author
    • 1975 – Yacoub Al-Mohana, Kuwaiti director and producer
    • 1975 – Corne Krige, South African rugby player
    • 1975 – Fabricio Oberto, Argentinian-Italian basketball player
    • 1975 – Vitaly Potapenko, Ukrainian basketball player and coach
    • 1975 – Mark Williams, Welsh snooker player
    • 1976 – Rachael MacFarlane, American voice actress and singer
    • 1976 – Bamboo Mañalac, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1976 – Tekin Sazlog, German-Turkish footballer
    • 1977 – Bruno Cirillo, Italian footballer
    • 1977 – Jamie Delgado, English tennis player
    • 1978 – Sally Barsosio, Kenyan runner
    • 1978 – Joyce Jimenez, Filipino movie and TV actress
    • 1978 – Charmaine Dragun, Australian journalist (d. 2007)
    • 1978 – Cristian Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
    • 1978 – Mohammad Rezaei, Iranian wrestler
    • 1980 – Ronaldinho, Brazilian footballer
    • 1980 – Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian skier
    • 1980 – Lee Jin, South Korean singer and actress
    • 1980 – Deryck Whibley, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1981 – Germano Borovicz Cardoso Schweger, Brazilian footballer
    • 1981 – Sébastien Chavanel, French cyclist
    • 1981 – Glenn Hall, Australian rugby league player
    • 1981 – Jason King, Australian rugby league player
    • 1981 – Todd Polglase, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Maria Elena Camerin, Italian tennis player
    • 1982 – Ejegayehu Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
    • 1982 – Aaron Hill, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Colin Turkington, Northern Irish race car driver
    • 1983 – Lucila Pascua, Spanish basketball player
    • 1983 – Jean Ondoa, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1984 – Tiago dos Santos Roberto, Brazilian footballer
    • 1984 – Guillermo Daniel Rodríguez, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1985 – Ryan Callahan, American ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Adrian Peterson, American football player
    • 1986 – Scott Eastwood, American actor
    • 1986 – Michu, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Romanos Alyfantis, Greek swimmer
    • 1986 – Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou, Greek pole vaulter
    • 1987 – Carlos Carrasco, Venezuelan baseball pitcher
    • 1988 – Kateřina Čechová, Czech sprinter
    • 1988 – Erik Johnson, American ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Eric Krüger, German sprinter
    • 1988 – Michael Madl, Austrian footballer, defender
    • 1989 – Jordi Alba, Spanish footballer
    • 1989 – Nicolás Lodeiro, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1990 – Mandy Capristo, German singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1990 – Ryann Krais, American runner and heptathlete
    • 1990 – Alex Nimo, Liberian-American soccer player
    • 1991 – Luke Chapman, English footballer
    • 1991 – Antoine Griezmann, French footballer
    • 1992 – Lehlogonolo Masalesa, South African footballer
    • 1992 – Karolína Plíšková, Czech tennis player
    • 1993 – Jake Bidwell, English footballer
    • 1993 – Jesse Joronen, Finnish footballer
    • 1994 – Margaret Lu, American fencer
    • 1997 – Martina Stoessel, Argentine actress
    • 2000 – Jace Norman, American actor

    Deaths on March 21

    • 543 or 547 – Benedict of Nursia, Italian saint (b. 480)
    • 867 – Ælla, king of Northumbria
    • 867 – Osberht, king of Northumbria
    • 1034 – Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (b. 955)
    • 1063 – Richeza of Lotharingia (b. 995)
    • 1076 – Robert I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1011)
    • 1201 – Absalon, Danish archbishop (b. c. 1128)
    • 1306 – Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1248)
    • 1372 – Rudolf VI, Margrave of Baden
    • 1487 – Nicholas of Flüe, Swiss monk and saint (b. 1417)
    • 1540 – John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, English peer and courtier (b. c. 1482)
    • 1556 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop (b. 1489)
    • 1571 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal and Protestant (b. 1517)
    • 1617 – Pocahontas, Algonquian Indigenous princess (b. c. 1595)
    • 1653 – Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha, Albanian politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
    • 1656 – James Ussher, Irish archbishop (b. 1581)
    • 1676 – Henri Sauval, French historian and author (b. 1623)
    • 1729 – John Law, Scottish-French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1671)
    • 1729 – Elżbieta Sieniawska, politically influential Polish magnate (b. 1669)
    • 1734 – Robert Wodrow, Scottish historian and author (b. 1679)
    • 1751 – Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (b. 1706)
    • 1752 – Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Maltese painter (b. 1698)
    • 1762 – Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, French priest, astronomer, and academic (b. 1713)
    • 1772 – Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, French geographer and cartographer (b. 1703)
    • 1795 – Giovanni Arduino, Italian miner and geologist (b. 1714)
    • 1801 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer and educator (b. 1741)
    • 1804 – Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien (b. 1772)
    • 1843 – Robert Southey, English poet, historian, and translator (b. 1774)
    • 1843 – Guadalupe Victoria, Mexican general and politician, 1st President of Mexico (b. 1786)
    • 1854 – Pedro María de Anaya, Mexican soldier. President (1847-1848) (b. 1795)
    • 1863 – Edwin Vose Sumner, American general (b. 1797)
    • 1869 – Juan Almonte, son of José María Morelos, was a Mexican soldier and diplomat who served as a regent in the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (b. 1803)
    • 1884 – Ezra Abbot, American scholar and academic (b. 1819)
    • 1891 – Joseph E. Johnston, American general (b. 1807)
    • 1915 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American golfer, tennis player, and engineer (b. 1856)
    • 1920 – Evelina Haverfield, British suffragette and aid worker (b. 1867)
    • 1932 – Frantz Reichel, French rugby player and hurdler (b. 1871)
    • 1934 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1878)
    • 1934 – Lilyan Tashman, American actress (b. 1896)
    • 1936 – Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1865)
    • 1939 – Evald Aav, Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1900)
    • 1939 – Ali Hikmet Ayerdem, Turkish general and politician (b. 1877)
    • 1943 – Cornelia Fort, American soldier and pilot (b. 1919)
    • 1945 – Arthur Nebe, German SS officer (b. 1894)
    • 1951 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor and composer (b. 1871)
    • 1953 – Ed Voss, American basketball player (b. 1922)
    • 1956 – Hatı Çırpan, Turkish politician (b. 1890)
    • 1958 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American soldier and author (b. 1923)
    • 1970 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1920)
    • 1975 – Joe Medwick, American baseball player and coach (b. 1911)
    • 1978 – Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, President of Ireland (b. 1911)
    • 1980 – Peter Stoner, American mathematician and astronomer (b. 1888)
    • 1985 – Michael Redgrave, English actor, director, and manager (b. 1908)
    • 1987 – Walter L. Gordon, Canadian accountant, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Finance (b. 1906)
    • 1987 – Robert Preston, American captain, actor, and singer (b. 1918)
    • 1991 – Vedat Dalokay, Turkish architect and politician, Mayor of Ankara (b. 1927)
    • 1991 – Leo Fender, American businessman, founded Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (b. 1909)
    • 1992 – John Ireland, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914)
    • 1992 – Natalie Sleeth, American pianist and composer (b. 1930)
    • 1994 – Macdonald Carey, American actor (b. 1913)
    • 1994 – Lili Damita, French-American actress and singer (b. 1904)
    • 1994 – Aleksandrs Laime, Latvian-born explorer (b. 1911)
    • 1997 – Wilbert Awdry, English cleric and author, created Thomas the Tank Engine (b. 1911)
    • 1998 – Galina Ulanova, Russian ballerina (b. 1910)
    • 1999 – Jean Guitton, French philosopher and author (b. 1905)
    • 1999 – Ernie Wise, English comedian and actor (b. 1925)
    • 2001 – Chung Ju-yung, South Korean businessman, founded Hyundai (b. 1915)
    • 2001 – Anthony Steel, English actor and singer (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Herman Talmadge, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 70th Governor of Georgia (b. 1913)
    • 2003 – Shivani, Indian author (b. 1923)
    • 2003 – Umar Wirahadikusumah, Indonesian general and politician, 4th Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1924)
    • 2004 – Ludmilla Tchérina, French actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Barney Martin, American police officer and actor (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – Bobby Short, American singer and pianist (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – Drew Hayes, American author and illustrator (b. 1969)
    • 2007 – Sven O. Høiby, Norwegian hurdler and journalist (b. 1936)
    • 2008 – Denis Cosgrove, English-American geographer and academic (b. 1948)
    • 2008 – Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente, Chilean architect and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2009 – Walt Poddubny, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1960)
    • 2010 – Wolfgang Wagner, German director and manager (b. 1919)
    • 2011 – Loleatta Holloway, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2011 – Gerd Klier, German footballer (b. 1944)
    • 2011 – Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2011 – Pinetop Perkins, American singer and pianist (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Albrecht Dietz, German economist and businessman (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Ron Erhardt, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Robert Fuest, English director, screenwriter, and production designer (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Tonino Guerra, Italian poet and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Irving Louis Horowitz, American sociologist, author, and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Yuri Razuvaev, Russian chess player and trainer (b. 1945)
    • 2012 – Marina Salye, Russian geologist and politician (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Rick Hautala, American author and screenwriter (b. 1949)
    • 2013 – Harlon Hill, American football player and coach (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter and politician (b. 1952)
    • 2013 – Giancarlo Zagni, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Qoriniasi Bale, Fijian lawyer and politician, 25th Attorney-General of Fiji (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Bill Boedeker, American football player and soldier (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Jack Fleck, American golfer (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Simeon Oduoye, Nigerian police officer and politician (b. 1945)
    • 2014 – James Rebhorn, American actor (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1933)
    • 2015 – Ishaya Bakut, Nigerian general and politician, Governor of Benue State (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – James C. Binnicker, American sergeant (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Hans Erni, Swiss painter, sculptor, and illustrator (b. 1909)
    • 2015 – Jørgen Ingmann, Danish singer and guitarist (Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann) (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (b. 1955)
    • 2017 – Chuck Barris, American game show host and producer (b. 1929)
    • 2017 – Colin Dexter, English author (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (2007–2017) (b. 1950)
    • 2017 – Mike Hall, British cyclist (b. 1981)
    • 2019 – Victor Hochhauser CBE, British music promoter (b. 1923)[21]
    • 2019 – Gonzalo Portocarrero, Peruvian sociologist (b. 1949)

    Holidays and observances on March 21

    • Arbor Day (Portugal)
    • Birth of Benito Juárez, a Fiestas Patrias (Mexico)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello
      • Passing of Saint Benedict (Order of Saint Benedict)
      • Birillus
      • Enda of Aran
      • Nicholas of Flüe
      • Serapion of Thmuis
      • Thomas Cranmer (Anglicanism)
      • March 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Holy Saturday can fall, while April 24 is the latest; celebrated on the Saturday before Easter (Christianity)
    • Education Freedom Day
    • Harmony Day (Australia)
    • Human Rights Day (South Africa)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Namibia from South African mandate in 1990
    • International Colour Day (International)
    • International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (International)
    • International Day of Forests (International), by proclamation of the United Nations General Assembly
    • Mother’s Day (most of the Arab world)
    • National Tree Planting Day (Lesotho)
    • Newroz (Iran, Kurdistan, Mesopotamia)
    • Truant’s Day (Poland, Faroe Islands)
    • Vernal equinox related observances (see March 20)
    • World Down Syndrome Day (International)
    • World Poetry Day (International)
    • World Puppetry Day (International)
    • Youth Day (Tunisia)

  • March 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, leaves up to 20,000 dead.
    • 1229 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, declares himself King of Jerusalem in the Sixth Crusade.
    • 1241 – First Mongol invasion of Poland: Mongols overwhelm Polish armies in Kraków in the Battle of Chmielnik and plunder the city.
    • 1314 – Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and final Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is burned at the stake.
    • 1438 – Albert II of Habsburg becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1608 – Susenyos is formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia.
    • 1644 – The Third Anglo-Powhatan War begins in the Colony of Virginia.
    • 1741 – New York governor George Clarke’s complex at Fort George is burned in an arson attack, starting the New York Conspiracy of 1741.
    • 1766 – American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act.
    • 1793 – The first modern republic in Germany, the Republic of Mainz, is declared by Andreas Joseph Hofmann.
    • 1793 – Flanders Campaign of the French Revolution, Battle of Neerwinden.
    • 1834 – Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, England are sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union.
    • 1848 – March Revolution: In Berlin there is a struggle between citizens and military, costing about 300 lives.
    • 1850 – American Express is founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: The Congress of the Confederate States adjourns for the last time.
    • 1871 – Declaration of the Paris Commune; President of the French Republic, Adolphe Thiers, orders the evacuation of Paris.
    • 1874 – Hawaii signs a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trade rights.
    • 1892 – Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledges to donate a silver challenge cup as an award for the best hockey team in Canada; it was later named after him as the Stanley Cup.
    • 1900 – AFC Ajax Amsterdam, The Netherlands’s biggest and most successful football club, was founded.
    • 1902 – Macario Sakay issues Presidential Order No. 1 of his Tagalog Republic.
    • 1913 – King George I of Greece is assassinated in the recently liberated city of Thessaloniki.
    • 1915 – World War I: During the Battle of Gallipoli, three battleships are sunk during a failed British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles.
    • 1921 – The second Peace of Riga is signed between Poland and the Soviet Union.
    • 1921 – The Kronstadt rebellion is suppressed by the Red Army.
    • 1922 – In India, Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience, of which he serves only two.
    • 1925 – The Tri-State Tornado hits the Midwestern states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people.
    • 1937 – The New London School explosion in New London, Texas, kills 300 people, mostly children.
    • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Spanish Republican forces defeat the Italians at the Battle of Guadalajara.
    • 1938 – Mexico creates Pemex by expropriating all foreign-owned oil reserves and facilities.
    • 1940 – World War II: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at the Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.
    • 1942 – The War Relocation Authority is established in the United States to take Japanese Americans into custody.
    • 1944 – Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupts, killing 26 people, causing thousands to flee their homes, and destroying dozens of Allied bombers.
    • 1948 – Soviet consultants leave Yugoslavia in the first sign of the Tito–Stalin Split.
    • 1953 – An earthquake hits western Turkey, killing 265 people.
    • 1959 – The Hawaii Admission Act is signed into law.
    • 1962 – The Évian Accords end the Algerian War of Independence, which had begun in 1954.
    • 1965 – Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.
    • 1967 – The supertanker Torrey Canyon runs aground off the Cornish coast.
    • 1968 – Gold standard: The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency.
    • 1969 – The United States begins secretly bombing the Sihanouk Trail in Cambodia, used by communist forces to infiltrate South Vietnam.
    • 1970 – Lon Nol ousts Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
    • 1971 – Peru: a landslide crashes into Yanawayin Lake, killing 200 people at the mining camp of Chungar.
    • 1980 – A Vostok-2M rocket at Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43 explodes during a fueling operation, killing 48 people.
    • 1990 – Germans in the German Democratic Republic vote in the first democratic elections in the former communist dictatorship.
    • 1990 – In the largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings, collectively worth around $500 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
    • 1994 – Bosnia’s Bosniaks and Croats sign the Washington Agreement, ending war between the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and establishing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
    • 1996 – A nightclub fire in Quezon City, Philippines kills 162 people.
    • 1997 – The tail of a Russian Antonov An-24 charter plane breaks off while en route to Turkey causing the plane to crash and killing all 50 people on board.
    • 2014 – The parliaments of Russia and Crimea sign an accession treaty.
    • 2015 – The Bardo National Museum in Tunisia is attacked by gunmen. 23 people, almost all tourists, are killed, and at least 50 other people are wounded.

    Births on March 18

    • 1075 – Al-Zamakhshari, Persian scholar and theologian (d. 1144)
    • 1395 – John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, English military commander (d. 1447)
    • 1495 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France (d. 1533)
    • 1548 – Cornelis Ketel, Dutch painter (d. 1616)
    • 1552 – Polykarp Leyser the Elder, German theologian (d. 1610)
    • 1555 – Francis, Duke of Anjou (d. 1584)
    • 1578 – Adam Elsheimer, German painter (d. 1610)
    • 1590 – Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (d. 1649)
    • 1597 – Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière, French religious leader, founded the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal (d. 1659)
    • 1603 – Simon Bradstreet, English colonial magistrate (d. 1697)
    • 1609 – Frederick III of Denmark (d. 1670)
    • 1634 – Madame de La Fayette, French author (d. 1693)
    • 1640 – Philippe de La Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1719)
    • 1657 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian organist and composer (d. 1743)
    • 1690 – Christian Goldbach, Prussian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1764)
    • 1701 – Niclas Sahlgren, Swedish businessman and philanthropist, co-founded the Swedish East India Company (d. 1776)
    • 1733 – Christoph Friedrich Nicolai, German author and bookseller (d. 1811)
    • 1780 – Miloš Obrenović, Serbian prince (d. 1860)
    • 1782 – John C. Calhoun, American lawyer and politician, 7th Vice President of the United States (d. 1850)
    • 1789 – Charlotte Elliott, English poet, hymn writer, editor (d. 1871)
    • 1798 – Francis Lieber, German-American jurist and philosopher (d. 1872)
    • 1800 – Harriet Smithson, Irish actress, the first wife and muse of Hector Berlioz (d. 1854)
    • 1813 – Christian Friedrich Hebbel, German poet and playwright (d. 1864)
    • 1814 – Jacob Bunn, American businessman (d. 1897)
    • 1819 – James McCulloch, Scottish-Australian politician, 5th Premier of Victoria (d. 1893)
    • 1820 – John Plankinton, American businessman and industrialist, also noted for philanthropy (d. 1891)
    • 1823 – Antoine Chanzy, French general (d. 1883)
    • 1828 – Randal Cremer, English activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1908)
    • 1837 – Grover Cleveland, American lawyer and politician, 22nd and 24th President of the United States (d. 1908)
    • 1840 – William Cosmo Monkhouse, English poet and critic (d. 1901)
    • 1842 – Stéphane Mallarmé, French poet and critic (d. 1898)
    • 1844 – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer and academic (d. 1908)
    • 1846 – Kicking Bear, Native American tribal leader (d. 1904)
    • 1848 – Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, American architect and engineer (d. 1938)
    • 1858 – Rudolf Diesel, German engineer, invented the Diesel engine (d. 1913)
    • 1862 – Eugène Jansson, Swedish painter (d. 1915)
    • 1863 – William Sulzer, American lawyer and politician, 39th Governor of New York (d. 1941)
    • 1869 – Neville Chamberlain, English businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1940)
    • 1870 – Agnes Sime Baxter, Canadian mathematician (d. 1917)
    • 1874 – Nikolai Berdyaev, Russian-French philosopher and theologian (d. 1948)
    • 1877 – Edgar Cayce, American mystic and psychic (d. 1945)
    • 1877 – Clem Hill, Australian cricketer and engineer (d. 1945)
    • 1878 – Percival Perry, 1st Baron Perry, English businessman (d. 1956)
    • 1882 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator (d. 1973)
    • 1884 – Bernard Cronin, English-Australian journalist and author (d. 1968)
    • 1886 – Edward Everett Horton, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1970)
    • 1890 – Henri Decoin, French director and screenwriter (d. 1969)
    • 1893 – Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist (d. 1978)
    • 1893 – Wilfred Owen, English soldier and poet (d. 1918)
    • 1901 – Manly Palmer Hall, Canadian mystic, author and philosopher (d. 1990)
    • 1901 – William Johnson, American painter (d. 1970)
    • 1903 – Galeazzo Ciano, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1944)
    • 1903 – E. O. Plauen, German cartoonist (d. 1944)
    • 1904 – Srečko Kosovel, Slovenian poet and author (d. 1926)
    • 1904 – Margaret Tucker, Australian author and activist (d. 1996)
    • 1905 – Thomas Townsend Brown, American physicist and engineer (d. 1985)
    • 1905 – Robert Donat, English actor (d. 1958)
    • 1907 – John Zachary Young, English zoologist and neurophysiologist (d. 1997)
    • 1908 – Loulou Gasté, French composer (d. 1995)
    • 1909 – Ernest Gallo, American businessman, co-founded the E & J Gallo Winery (d. 2007)
    • 1909 – C. Walter Hodges, English author and illustrator (d. 2004)
    • 1911 – Smiley Burnette, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1967)
    • 1912 – Art Gilmore, American voice actor and announcer (d. 2010)
    • 1913 – René Clément, French director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – Werner Mölders, German colonel and pilot (d. 1941)
    • 1915 – Richard Condon, American author and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1922 – Egon Bahr, German journalist and politician, Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – Seymour Martin Lipset, American sociologist and academic (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Fred Shuttlesworth, American activist, co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Andy Granatelli, American race car driver and businessman (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Alessandro Alessandroni, Italian musician (d. 2017)
    • 1925 – James Pickles, English journalist, lawyer, and judge (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – Peter Graves, American actor and director (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – John Kander, American pianist and composer
    • 1927 – George Plimpton, American journalist and actor (d. 2003)
    • 1927 – Lillian Vernon, German-American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded the Lillian Vernon Company (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Miguel Poblet, Spanish cyclist (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Fidel V. Ramos, Filipino general and politician, 12th President of the Philippines
    • 1929 – Samuel Pisar, Polish-American lawyer and author (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – James J. Andrews, American mathematician and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1931 – John Fraser, Scottish actor
    • 1932 – John Updike, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (d. 2009)
    • 1933 – Unita Blackwell, American civil rights activist and politician (d. 2019)
    • 1934 – Roy Chapman, English footballer and manager (d. 1983)
    • 1934 – Charley Pride, American country music singer and musician
    • 1935 – Ole Barndorff-Nielsen, Danish mathematician and statistician
    • 1935 – Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (d. 2016)
    • 1936 – F. W. de Klerk, South African lawyer and politician, 2nd State President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1937 – Rudi Altig, German cyclist and sportscaster (d. 2016)
    • 1937 – Mark Donohue, American race car driver (d. 1975)
    • 1938 – Carl Gottlieb, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1938 – Shashi Kapoor, Indian actor and producer (d. 2017)
    • 1938 – Kenny Lynch, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1938 – Timo Mäkinen, Finnish race car driver (d. 2017)
    • 1938 – Machiko Soga, Japanese actress (d. 2006)
    • 1939 – Ron Atkinson, English footballer and manager
    • 1939 – Jean-Pierre Wallez, French violinist and conductor
    • 1941 – Wilson Pickett, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Kathleen Collins, African-American filmmaker and playwright (d. 1988)
    • 1943 – Dennis Linde, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1944 – Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, Israeli general and politician, 22nd Transportation Minister of Israel (d. 2012)
    • 1944 – Frank McRae, American football player and actor
    • 1944 – Dick Smith, Australian publisher and businessman, founded Dick Smith Electronics and Australian Geographic
    • 1945 – Hiroh Kikai, Japanese photographer
    • 1945 – Michael Reagan, American journalist and radio host
    • 1945 – Susan Tyrrell, American actress (d. 2012)
    • 1945 – Eric Woolfson, Scottish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 2009)
    • 1946 – Michel Leclère, French race car driver
    • 1947 – Patrick Barlow, English actor and playwright
    • 1947 – Patrick Chesnais, French actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1947 – David Lloyd, English cricketer, journalist, and sportscaster
    • 1947 – B. J. Wilson, English rock drummer (d. 1990)
    • 1948 – Guy Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1948 – Brian Lloyd, Welsh footballer
    • 1948 – Eknath Solkar, Indian cricketer (d. 2005)
    • 1949 – Åse Kleveland, Norwegian singer and politician, Norwegian Minister of Culture
    • 1950 – James Conlon, American conductor and educator
    • 1950 – Brad Dourif, American actor
    • 1950 – Linda Partridge, English geneticist and academic
    • 1950 – Larry Perkins, Australian race car driver
    • 1951 – Paul Barber, English actor
    • 1951 – Ben Cohen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Ben and Jerry’s
    • 1951 – Bill Frisell, American guitarist and composer
    • 1951 – Timothy N. Philpot, American lawyer, author, and judge
    • 1952 – Will Durst, American journalist and actor
    • 1952 – Pat Eddery, Irish jockey and trainer (d. 2015)
    • 1952 – Bernie Tormé, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
    • 1952 – Mike Webster, American football player (d. 2002)
    • 1953 – Franz Wright, Austrian-American poet and translator (d. 2015)
    • 1953 – Takashi Yoshimatsu, Japanese composer
    • 1955 – Francis G. Slay, American lawyer and politician, 45th Mayor of St. Louis
    • 1955 – Jeff Stelling, English journalist and game show host
    • 1956 – Rick Martel, Canadian wrestler
    • 1956 – Deborah Jeane Palfrey, American madam (d. 2008)
    • 1956 – Ingemar Stenmark, Swedish skier
    • 1957 – Christer Fuglesang, Swedish physicist and astronaut
    • 1958 – Richard de Zoysa, Sri Lankan journalist and author (d. 1990)
    • 1959 – Luc Besson, French director, producer, and screenwriter, founded EuropaCorp
    • 1960 – Richard Biggs, American actor (d. 2004)
    • 1960 – Guy Carbonneau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1960 – James Plaskett, Cypriot-English chess player
    • 1961 – Grant Hart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
    • 1962 – Michael Andrews, Australian rugby league player
    • 1962 – Irene Cara, American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer
    • 1962 – Brian Fisher, American baseball player
    • 1962 – Thomas Ian Griffith, American actor and martial artist
    • 1962 – James McMurtry, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1962 – Etsushi Toyokawa, Japanese actor and director
    • 1962 – Volker Weidler, German race car driver and engineer
    • 1963 – Jeff LaBar, American guitarist
    • 1963 – Vanessa L. Williams, American model, actress, and singer
    • 1964 – Bonnie Blair, American speed skater
    • 1964 – Alex Caffi, Italian race car driver
    • 1964 – Jo Churchill, British politician
    • 1964 – Courtney Pine, English saxophonist and clarinet player
    • 1964 – Isabel Noronha, Mozambican film director
    • 1966 – Jerry Cantrell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1966 – Peter Jones, English businessman
    • 1966 – Brian Watts, Canadian golfer
    • 1967 – Miki Berenyi, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1968 – Prince Eudes, Duke of Angoulême
    • 1968 – Miguel Herrera, Mexican footballer and manager
    • 1968 – Temur Ketsbaia, Georgian footballer and manager
    • 1968 – Paul Marsden, English businessman and politician
    • 1969 – Andy Cutting, English accordion player and composer
    • 1969 – Vassily Ivanchuk, Ukrainian chess player
    • 1969 – Shaun Udal, English cricketer
    • 1970 – Queen Latifah, American rapper, producer, and actress
    • 1971 – Wayne Arthurs, Australian tennis player
    • 1971 – Mike Bell, American wrestler (d. 2008)
    • 1971 – Mariaan de Swardt, South African-American tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Kitty Ussher, English economist and politician
    • 1972 – Dane Cook, American comedian, actor, director, and producer
    • 1972 – Reince Priebus, American lawyer and politician
    • 1973 – Luci Christian, American voice actress and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Laure Savasta, French basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Stuart Zender, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1975 – Sutton Foster, American actress, singer, and dancer
    • 1975 – Brian Griese, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1975 – Kimmo Timonen, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Tomas Žvirgždauskas, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1976 – Giovanna Antonelli, Brazilian actress and producer
    • 1976 – Tomo Ohka, Japanese baseball player
    • 1976 – Scott Podsednik, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Mike Quackenbush, American wrestler, trainer, and author, founded Chikara wrestling promotion
    • 1977 – Zdeno Chára, Slovak ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Danny Murphy, English international footballer, midfielder and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Fernando Rodney, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1977 – Willy Sagnol, French footballer and manager
    • 1977 – Terrmel Sledge, American baseball player and coach
    • 1978 – Fernandão, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1978 – Brooke Hanson, Australian swimmer
    • 1978 – Brian Scalabrine, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1978 – Jonas Wallerstedt, Swedish footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1979 – Adam Levine, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and television personality
    • 1980 – Sébastien Frey, French footballer
    • 1980 – Sophia Myles, English actress
    • 1980 – Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater
    • 1981 – Tora Berger, Norwegian biathlete
    • 1981 – Fabian Cancellara, Swiss cyclist
    • 1981 – Leslie Djhone, French sprinter
    • 1981 – Jang Na-ra, South Korean singer and actress
    • 1981 – Kasib Powell, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Tom Starke, German footballer
    • 1981 – Doug Warren, American soccer player
    • 1981 – Lovro Zovko, Croatian tennis player
    • 1982 – Mantorras, Angolan footballer
    • 1982 – Chad Cordero, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Timo Glock, German race car driver
    • 1982 – Adam Pally, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Ethan Carter III, American wrestler
    • 1983 – Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, French tennis player
    • 1983 – Andy Sonnanstine, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Tomasz Stolpa, Polish footballer
    • 1984 – Simone Padoin, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – Rajeev Ram, American tennis player
    • 1984 – Vonzell Solomon, American singer and actress
    • 1985 – Ana Beatriz, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1985 – Marvin Humes, English singer
    • 1985 – Vince Lia, Australian footballer
    • 1986 – Lykke Li, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Abdennour Chérif El-Ouazzani, Algerian footballer
    • 1987 – Rebecca Soni, American swimmer
    • 1989 – Francesco Checcucci, Italian footballer
    • 1989 – Lily Collins, English-American actress
    • 1989 – Shreevats Goswami, Indian cricketer
    • 1989 – Kana Nishino, Japanese singer-songwriter
    • 1989 – Paul Marc Rousseau, Canadian guitarist and producer
    • 1989 – Ming Xi, Chinese model
    • 1991 – Dylan Mattingly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1991 – Sam Williams, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Ryan Truex, American race car driver
    • 1992 – Takuya Terada, Japanese singer, actor, and model
    • 1997 – Ciara Bravo, American actress
    • 1997 – Rieko Ioane, New Zealand rugby union player

    Deaths on March 18

    • 978 – Edward the Martyr, English king (b. 962)
    • 1076 – Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess of Burgundy (b. 1018)
    • 1086 – Anselm of Lucca, Italian bishop (b. 1036)
    • 1227 – Pope Honorius III (b. 1148)
    • 1272 – John FitzAlan, 7th Earl of Arundel (b. 1246)
    • 1308 – Yuri I of Galicia
    • 1314 – Jacques de Molay, Frankish knight (b. 1244)
    • 1314 – Geoffroy de Charney, Preceptor of Normandy for the Knights Templar
    • 1321 – Matthew III Csák, Hungarian oligarch (b. c.1260/5)
    • 1582 – Juan Jauregui, attempted assassin of William I of Orange (b. 1562)
    • 1675 – Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier (b. 1606)
    • 1689 – John Dixwell, English soldier and politician (b. 1607)
    • 1745 – Robert Walpole, English scholar and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1676)
    • 1768 – Laurence Sterne, Irish novelist and clergyman (b. 1713)
    • 1781 – Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1727)
    • 1823 – Jean-Baptiste Bréval, French cellist and composer (b. 1753)
    • 1835 – Christian Günther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian politician and diplomat (b. 1769)
    • 1845 – Johnny Appleseed, American gardener and missionary (b. 1774)
    • 1871 – Augustus De Morgan, Indian-English mathematician and academic (b. 1806)
    • 1898 – Matilda Joslyn Gage, American author and activist (b. 1826)
    • 1900 – Hjalmar Kiærskou, Danish botanist (b. 1835)
    • 1907 – Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1827)
    • 1913 – George I of Greece (b. 1845)
    • 1918 – Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, American architect, designed the Plaza Hotel (b. 1847)
    • 1930 – Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, American painter (b. 1863)
    • 1936 – Eleftherios Venizelos, Greek journalist, lawyer, and politician, 93rd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1864)
    • 1939 – Henry Simpson Lunn, English businessman, founded Lunn Poly (b. 1859)
    • 1941 – Henri Cornet, French cyclist (b. 1884)
    • 1947 – William C. Durant, American businessman, co-founded General Motors and Chevrolet (b. 1861)
    • 1954 – Walter Mead, English cricketer (b. 1868)
    • 1956 – Louis Bromfield, American environmentalist and author (b. 1896)
    • 1962 – Walter W. Bacon, American accountant and politician, 60th Governor of Delaware (b. 1880)
    • 1964 – Sigfrid Edström, Swedish businessman, 4th President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1870)
    • 1965 – Farouk of Egypt (b. 1920)
    • 1973 – Johannes Aavik, Estonian philologist and poet (b. 1880)
    • 1977 – Marien Ngouabi, Congolese politician, President of the Republic of the Congo (b. 1938)
    • 1977 – Carlos Pace, Brazilian race car driver (b. 1944)
    • 1978 – Leigh Brackett, American author and screenwriter (b. 1915)
    • 1978 – Peggy Wood, American actress (b. 1892)
    • 1980 – Erich Fromm, German psychologist and philosopher (b. 1900)
    • 1982 – Patrick Smith, Irish farmer and politician, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (b. 1901)
    • 1983 – Umberto II of Italy (b. 1904)
    • 1984 – Charley Lau, American baseball player and coach (b. 1933)
    • 1986 – Bernard Malamud, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Billy Butterfield, American trumpet player and cornet player (b. 1917)
    • 1990 – Robin Harris, American comedian (b. 1953)
    • 1993 – Kenneth E. Boulding, English-American economist and activist (b. 1910)
    • 1996 – Odysseas Elytis, Greek poet and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
    • 2000 – Eberhard Bethge, German theologian and academic (b. 1909)
    • 2001 – John Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Mamas & the Papas) (b. 1935)
    • 2002 – R. A. Lafferty, American soldier and author (b. 1914)
    • 2003 – Karl Kling, German race car driver (b. 1910)
    • 2003 – Adam Osborne, Thai-English engineer and businessman, founded the Osborne Computer Corporation (b. 1939)
    • 2004 – Harrison McCain, Canadian businessman, co-founded McCain Foods (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Dan Gibson, Canadian photographer and cinematographer (b. 1922)
    • 2007 – Bob Woolmer, Indian-English cricketer, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1948)
    • 2008 – Anthony Minghella, English director and screenwriter (b. 1954)
    • 2009 – Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, Iranian journalist and blogger (b. 1980)
    • 2009 – Natasha Richardson, English-American actress (b. 1963)
    • 2010 – Fess Parker, American actor and businessman (b. 1924)
    • 2011 – Warren Christopher, American lawyer and politician, 63rd United States Secretary of State (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Furman Bisher, American journalist and author (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – William R. Charette, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – William G. Moore Jr., American general (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – George Tupou V of Tonga (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Muhammad Mahmood Alam, Pakistani general and pilot (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Henry Bromell, American novelist, screenwriter, and director (b. 1947)
    • 2013 – Clay Ford, American lawyer and politician (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Catherine Obianuju Acholonu, Nigerian author, playwright, and academic (b. 1951)
    • 2014 – Kaiser Kalambo, Zambian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1953)
    • 2014 – Lucius Shepard, American author and critic (b. 1943)
    • 2015 – Zhao Dayu, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1961)
    • 2015 – Thomas Hopko, American priest and theologian (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Grace Ogot, Kenyan nurse, journalist, and politician (b. 1930)
    • 2016 – Barry Hines, English author and screenwriter (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Jan Němec, Czech director and screenwriter (b. 1936)
    • 2016 – Tray Walker, American football player (b. 1992)
    • 2016 – Guido Westerwelle, German lawyer and politician, 15th Vice-Chancellor of Germany (b. 1961)
    • 2017 – Chuck Berry, American guitarist, singer and songwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2020 – Alfred Worden, Apollo 15 command module pilot (b. 1932)

    Holidays and observances on March 18

    • Anniversary of the Oil Expropriation (Mexico)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexander of Jerusalem
      • Anselm of Lucca
      • Cyril of Jerusalem
      • Edward the Martyr
      • Fridianus
      • Salvator
      • March 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The earliest date on which Holy Wednesday can fall, while April 21 is the latest; celebrated on the week before Easter. (Christianity)
    • Flag Day (Aruba)
    • Gallipoli Memorial Day (Turkey)
    • Men’s and Soldiers’ Day (Mongolia)
    • Ordnance Factories’ Day (India)
    • Sheelah’s Day (Ireland, Canada, Australia)
    • Teacher’s Day (Syria)

  • February 23 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
    • 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I orders the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia.
    • 1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.
    • 1554 – Mapuche forces, under the leadership of Lautaro, score a victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Marihueñu in Chile.
    • 1653 – The Ballet Royal de la Nuit is first performed at the Salle du Petit-Bourbon in Paris
    • 1739 – At York Castle, the outlaw Dick Turpin is identified by his former schoolteacher. Turpin had been using the name Richard Palmer.
    • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.
    • 1820 – Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed.
    • 1836 – Texas Revolution: The Siege of the Alamo (prelude to the Battle of the Alamo) begins in San Antonio, Texas.
    • 1847 – Mexican–American War: Battle of Buena Vista: In Mexico, American troops under future president General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
    • 1854 – The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.
    • 1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.
    • 1870 – Reconstruction Era: Post-U.S. Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
    • 1883 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an anti-trust law.
    • 1885 – Sino-French War: French Army gains an important victory in the Battle of Đồng Đăng in the Tonkin region of Vietnam.
    • 1886 – Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of aluminium from the electrolysis of aluminium oxide, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister, Julia Brainerd Hall.
    • 1887 – The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.
    • 1898 – Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing J’Accuse…!, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: During the Battle of the Tugela Heights, the first British attempt to take Hart’s Hill fails.
    • 1903 – Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States “in perpetuity”.
    • 1905 – Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world’s first service club.
    • 1909 – The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.
    • 1917 – First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution (March 8 in the Gregorian calendar).
    • 1927 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission) which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States.
    • 1927 – German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time.
    • 1934 – Leopold III becomes King of Belgium.
    • 1941 – Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japanese submarines fire artillery shells at the coastline near Santa Barbara, California.
    • 1943 – A fire breaks out at Saint Joseph’s Orphanage, County Cavan, Ireland, killing 35 children and one adult.
    • 1943 – Greek Resistance: The United Panhellenic Organization of Youth is founded in Greece.
    • 1944 – The Soviet Union begins the forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia.
    • 1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag.
    • 1945 – World War II: The 11th Airborne Division, with Filipino guerrillas, free all 2,147 captives of the Los Baños internment camp, in what General Colin Powell later would refer to as “the textbook airborne operation for all ages and all armies.”
    • 1945 – World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by combined Filipino and American forces.
    • 1945 – World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.
    • 1945 – World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is annihilated in a raid by 379 British bombers.
    • 1947 – International Organization for Standardization is founded.
    • 1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.
    • 1966 – In Syria, Ba’ath Party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin al-Hafiz, also a Baathist.
    • 1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
    • 1980 – Iran hostage crisis: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran’s parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
    • 1981 – In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d’état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
    • 1983 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
    • 1987 – Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
    • 1991 – In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d’état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
    • 1998 – In the United States, tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42 people.
    • 1999 – Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
    • 2007 – A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 88. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.
    • 2008 – A United States Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber crashes on Guam, marking the first operational loss of a B-2.
    • 2010 – Unknown criminals pour more than 2​1⁄2 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in northern Italy, sparking an environmental disaster.
    • 2012 – A series of attacks across Iraq leave at least 83 killed and more than 250 injured.
    • 2017 – The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army captures Al-Bab from ISIL.
    • 2019 – Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Boeing 767 freighter, crashes into Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas, killing all three people on board.

    Births on February 23

    • 1417 – Pope Paul II (d. 1471)
    • 1417 – Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1479)
    • 1443 – Matthias Corvinus, Hungarian king (d. 1490)
    • 1529 – Onofrio Panvinio, Italian historian (d. 1568)
    • 1539 – Henry XI of Legnica, thrice Duke of Legnica (d. 1588)
    • 1539 – Salima Sultan Begum, Empress of the Mughal Empire (d. 1612)
    • 1583 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French mathematician, astrologer, and astronomer (d. 1656)
    • 1592 – Balthazar Gerbier, Dutch painter (d. 1663)
    • 1633 – Samuel Pepys, English diarist and politician (d. 1703)
    • 1646 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shōgun (d. 1709)
    • 1680 – Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, Canadian politician, 2nd Colonial Governor of Louisiana (d. 1767)
    • 1685 – George Frideric Handel, German-English organist and composer (d. 1759)
    • 1723 – Richard Price, Welsh-English minister and philosopher (d. 1791)
    • 1744 – Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German banker and businessman (d. 1812)
    • 1792 – José Joaquín de Herrera, Mexican politician and general. President three times (1844–1854) (d. 1854)
    • 1831 – Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Dutch painter (d. 1915)
    • 1840 – Carl Menger, Austrian economist and educator (d. 1921)
    • 1842 – Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher and author (d. 1906)
    • 1850 – César Ritz, Swiss businessman, founded The Ritz Hotel, London and Hôtel Ritz Paris (d. 1918)
    • 1868 – W. E. B. Du Bois, American sociologist, historian, and activist (d. 1963)
    • 1868 – Anna Hofman-Uddgren, Swedish actress, singer, and director (d. 1947)
    • 1873 – Liang Qichao, Chinese journalist, philosopher, and scholar (d. 1929)
    • 1874 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st President of Estonia (d. 1956)
    • 1878 – Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian painter and theorist (d. 1935)
    • 1883 – Karl Jaspers, German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (d. 1969)
    • 1883 – Guy C. Wiggins, American painter (d. 1962)
    • 1889 – Musidora, French actress and director (d. 1957)
    • 1889 – Cyril Delevanti, English-American actor (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – Victor Fleming, American director, cinematographer, and producer (d. 1949)
    • 1889 – John Gilbert Winant, American captain, pilot, and politician, 60th Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1947)
    • 1892 – Kathleen Harrison, English actress (d. 1995)
    • 1892 – Agnes Smedley, American journalist and writer (d. 1950)
    • 1894 – Harold Horder, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1978)
    • 1899 – Erich Kästner, German author and poet (d. 1974)
    • 1899 – Norman Taurog, American director and screenwriter (d. 1981)
    • 1904 – Terence Fisher, English director and screenwriter (d. 1980)
    • 1904 – William L. Shirer, American journalist and historian (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – William McMahon, Australian lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1988)
    • 1915 – Jon Hall, American actor and director (d. 1979)
    • 1915 – Paul Tibbets, American general and pilot (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Johnny Carey, Irish footballer and manager (d. 1995)
    • 1920 – Paul Gérin-Lajoie, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Harry Clarke, English international footballer, defender (d. 2000)
    • 1923 – Ioannis Grivas, Greek judge and politician, 176th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Dante Lavelli, American football player (d. 2009)
    • 1923 – Clarence D. Lester, African-American fighter pilot (d.1986)
    • 1923 – Mary Francis Shura, American author (d. 1991)
    • 1924 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South-African-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
    • 1925 – Louis Stokes, American lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Régine Crespin, French soprano and actress (d. 2007)
    • 1928 – Hans Herrmann, German race car driver
    • 1928 – Vasily Lazarev, Russian colonel, physician, and astronaut (d. 1990)
    • 1929 – Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Elston Howard, American baseball player and coach (d. 1980)
    • 1930 – Paul West, English-American author, poet, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Tom Wesselmann, American painter and sculptor (d. 2004)
    • 1932 – Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1937 – Tom Osborne, American football player, coach, and politician
    • 1938 – Sylvia Chase, American broadcast journalist (d. 2019)
    • 1938 – Paul Morrissey, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1938 – Diane Varsi, American actress (d. 1992)
    • 1940 – Peter Fonda, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Jackie Smith, American football player
    • 1941 – Ron Hunt, American baseball player
    • 1943 – Fred Biletnikoff, American football player and coach
    • 1943 – Bobby Mitchell, American golfer (d. 2018)
    • 1944 – Bernard Cornwell, English author and educator
    • 1944 – Florian Fricke, German keyboard player and composer (d. 2001)
    • 1944 – Johnny Winter, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1945 – Allan Boesak, South African cleric and politician
    • 1946 – Rusty Young, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Pia Kjærsgaard, Danish politician, Speaker of the Danish Parliament
    • 1947 – Anton Mosimann, Swiss chef and author
    • 1948 – Bill Alexander, English director and producer
    • 1948 – Trevor Cherry, English footballer (d. 2020)
    • 1948 – Steve Priest, English singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1949 – César Aira, Argentinian author and translator
    • 1949 – Marc Garneau, Canadian engineer, astronaut, and politician
    • 1950 – Rebecca Goldstein, American philosopher and author
    • 1951 – Eddie Dibbs, American tennis player
    • 1951 – Debbie Friedman, American singer-songwriter of Jewish melodies (d. 2011)
    • 1951 – Ed “Too Tall” Jones, American football player and boxer
    • 1951 – Patricia Richardson, American actress
    • 1952 – Brad Whitford, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1953 – Kenny Bee, Hong Kong singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1953 – Satoru Nakajima, Japanese race car driver
    • 1954 – Rajini Thiranagama, Sri Lankan physician and academic (d. 1989)
    • 1954 – Viktor Yushchenko, Ukrainian captain and politician, 3rd President of Ukraine
    • 1955 – Howard Jones, English singer-songwriter
    • 1955 – Flip Saunders, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1956 – Sandra Osborne, Scottish politician
    • 1958 – David Sylvian, English singer-songwriter
    • 1959 – Clayton Anderson, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1959 – Nick de Bois, English politician
    • 1959 – Ian Liddell-Grainger, Scottish soldier and politician
    • 1959 – Linda Nolan, Irish singer and actress
    • 1960 – Naruhito, Emperor of Japan
    • 1962 – Michael Wilton, American guitarist
    • 1963 – Bobby Bonilla, American baseball player
    • 1963 – Radosław Sikorski, Polish journalist and politician, 11th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland
    • 1964 – John Norum, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter
    • 1965 – Michael Dell, American businessman
    • 1965 – Helena Suková, Czech-Monacan tennis player
    • 1967 – Steve Stricker, American golfer
    • 1967 – Chris Vrenna, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
    • 1969 – Michael Campbell, New Zealand golfer
    • 1969 – Martine Croxall, English journalist and television news presenter
    • 1969 – Daymond John, American fashion designer and businessman, founded FUBU
    • 1970 – Niecy Nash, American actress and producer
    • 1971 – Carin Koch, Swedish golfer
    • 1971 – Melinda Messenger, English model and television host
    • 1971 – Joe-Max Moore, American soccer player
    • 1972 – Alessandro Sturba, Italian footballer
    • 1972 – Rondell White, American baseball player
    • 1973 – Jeff Nordgaard, American-Polish basketball player
    • 1974 – Herschelle Gibbs, South African cricketer
    • 1974 – Robbi Kempson, South African rugby player
    • 1975 – Michael Cornacchia, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1975 – Ryan McCourt, Canadian artist
    • 1976 – Scott Elarton, American baseball player and coach
    • 1976 – Kelly Macdonald, Scottish actress
    • 1976 – Jeff O’Neill, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Kristina Šmigun-Vähi, Estonian skier
    • 1978 – Residente, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
    • 1978 – Dan Snyder, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
    • 1979 – S. E. Cupp, American journalist and author
    • 1981 – Gareth Barry, English footballer
    • 1981 – Josh Gad, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1981 – Charles Tillman, American football player
    • 1982 – Adam Hann-Byrd, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Mido, Egyptian footballer, striker, manager and sportscaster
    • 1983 – Aziz Ansari, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Emily Blunt, English actress
    • 1986 – Emerson Conceição, Brazilian footballer
    • 1986 – Skylar Grey, American singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Kazuya Kamenashi, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1986 – Jerod Mayo, American football player
    • 1986 – Ola Svensson, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Ab-Soul, American rapper
    • 1987 – Theophilus London, Trinidadian-American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1987 – Zak Kirkup, Member of the Parliament of Western Australia
    • 1988 – Nicolás Gaitán, Argentinian footballer
    • 1989 – Evan Bates, American ice dancer
    • 1989 – Jérémy Pied, French footballer
    • 1990 – Kevin Connauton, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Terry Hawkridge, English footballer
    • 1990 – Marco Scandella, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Casemiro, Brazilian footballer
    • 1992 – Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Greek footballer
    • 1993 – Chris Grevsmuhl, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Dakota Fanning, American actress
    • 1995 – Andrew Wiggins, Canadian basketball player
    • 1996 – D’Angelo Russell, American basketball player
    • 1997 – Jamal Murray, Canadian basketball player

    Deaths on February 23

    • 715 – Al-Walid I, Umayyad caliph (b. 668)
    • 908 – Li Keyong, Shatuo military governor during the Tang Dynasty in China (b. 856)
    • 943 – Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, (b. 884)
    • 943 – David I, prince of Tao-Klarjeti (Georgia)
    • 1011 – Willigis, German archbishop (b. 940)
    • 1100 – Emperor Zhezong of Song (b. 1076)
    • 1270 – Isabel of France (b. 1225)
    • 1447 – Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1390)
    • 1447 – Pope Eugene IV (b. 1383)
    • 1464 – Emperor Yingzong of Ming (b. 1427)
    • 1473 – Arnold, Duke of Gelderland (b. 1410)
    • 1526 – Diego Colón, Spanish Viceroy of the Indies (b. c. 1479)
    • 1554 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire (b. 1515)
    • 1603 – Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (b. 1519)
    • 1603 – Franciscus Vieta, French mathematician (b. 1540)
    • 1620 – Nicholas Fuller, English politician (b. 1543)
    • 1704 – Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (b. 1653)
    • 1766 – Stanisław Leszczyński, Polish king (b. 1677)
    • 1781 – George Taylor, Irish-American blacksmith and politician (b. 1716)
    • 1792 – Joshua Reynolds, English painter and academic (b. 1723)
    • 1821 – John Keats, English poet (b. 1795)
    • 1848 – John Quincy Adams, American politician, 6th President of the United States (b. 1767)
    • 1855 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (b. 1777)
    • 1859 – Zygmunt Krasiński, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1812)
    • 1879 – Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and politician, 10th Minister President of Prussia (b. 1803)
    • 1897 – Woldemar Bargiel, German composer and educator (b. 1828)
    • 1900 – Ernest Dowson, English poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1867)
    • 1908 – Friedrich von Esmarch, German surgeon and academic (b. 1823)
    • 1918 – Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1882)
    • 1930 – Horst Wessel, German SA officer (b. 1907)
    • 1931 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (b. 1861)
    • 1934 – Edward Elgar, English composer and academic (b. 1857)
    • 1944 – Leo Baekeland, Belgian-American chemist and engineer (b. 1863)
    • 1946 – Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese general (b. 1885)
    • 1948 – John Robert Gregg, Irish-American publisher and educator (b. 1866)
    • 1955 – Paul Claudel, French poet and playwright (b. 1868)
    • 1965 – Stan Laurel, English actor and comedian (b. 1890)
    • 1969 – Madhubala, Indian actress and producer (b. 1933)
    • 1969 – Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 2nd King of Saudi Arabia (b. 1902)
    • 1973 – Dickinson W. Richards, American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
    • 1974 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (b. 1895)
    • 1976 – L. S. Lowry, English painter (b. 1887)
    • 1979 – W. A. C. Bennett, Canadian businessman and politician, 25th Premier of British Columbia (b. 1900)
    • 1983 – Herbert Howells, English organist and composer (b. 1892)
    • 1990 – José Napoleón Duarte, Salvadoran engineer and politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1925)
    • 1995 – James Herriot, English veterinarian and author (b. 1916)
    • 1997 – Tony Williams, American drummer, composer, and producer (b. 1945)
    • 1998 – Philip Abbott, American actor and director (b. 1924)
    • 1999 – The Renegade, American wrestler (b. 1965)
    • 2000 – Ofra Haza, Israeli singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1957)
    • 2000 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer and manager (b. 1915)
    • 2003 – Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (b. 1955)
    • 2003 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and academic (b. 1910)
    • 2004 – Vijay Anand, Indian director, producer, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1934)
    • 2004 – Sikander Bakht, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Telmo Zarra, Spanish footballer (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – John Ritchie, English footballer (b. 1941)
    • 2008 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian economist and politician, 2nd President of Slovenia (b. 1950)
    • 2008 – Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and journalist (b. 1917)
    • 2010 – Orlando Zapata, Cuban plumber and activist (b. 1967)
    • 2011 – Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious leader, founded Sahaja Yoga (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – William Raggio, American lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – David Sayre, American physicist and mathematician (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Kazimierz Żygulski, Polish sociologist and activist (b. 1919)
    • 2013 – Eugene Bookhammer, American soldier and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Joseph Friedenson, Holocaust survivor, Holocaust historian, Yiddish writer, lecturer and editor (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Julien Ries, Belgian cardinal (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Lotika Sarkar, Indian lawyer and academic (b. 1945)
    • 2014 – Alice Herz-Sommer, Czech-English Holocaust survivor, pianist and educator (b. 1903)
    • 2014 – Roger Hilsman, American soldier, academic, and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – James Aldridge, Australian-English journalist and author (b. 1918)
    • 2015 – Rana Bhagwandas, Pakistani lawyer and judge, Chief Justice of Pakistan (b. 1942)
    • 2015 – W. E. “Bill” Dykes, American soldier and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2016 – Peter Lustig, German television host and author (b. 1937)
    • 2016 – Jacqueline Mattson, American baseball player (b. 1928)
    • 2019 – Katherine Helmond, American actress (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on February 23

    • Christian feast day:
      • Polycarp of Smyrna
      • Serenus the Gardener
      • February 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The Emperor’s Birthday, birthday of Naruhito, the current Emperor of Japan (Japan)
    • Mashramani-Republic Day (Guyana)
    • Meteņi (Latvia)
    • National Day (Brunei)
    • Red Army Day or Day of Soviet Army and Navy in the former Soviet Union, also held in various former Soviet republics:
      • Defender of the Fatherland Day (Russia)
      • Defender of the Fatherland and Armed Forces day (Belarus)
      • Armed Forces Day (Tajikistan) (Tajikistan)

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

    • 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
    • 842 – Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages.
    • 1014 – Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and of Italy, as Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1076 – Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1130 – Pope Innocent II is elected.
    • 1349 – Several hundred Jews are burned to death by mobs while the remaining Jews are forcibly removed from Strasbourg.
    • 1400 – Richard II of England dies, most probably from starvation, in Pontefract Castle, on the orders of Henry Bolingbroke.
    • 1530 – Spanish conquistadores, led by Nuño de Guzmán, overthrow and execute Tangaxuan II, the last independent monarch of the Tarascan state in present-day central Mexico.
    • 1556 – Thomas Cranmer is declared a heretic.
    • 1556 – Coronation of Akbar.
    • 1655 – The Mapuches launch coordinated attacks against the Spanish in Chile beginning the Mapuche uprising of 1655.
    • 1778 – The United States flag is formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones.
    • 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Kettle Creek is fought in Georgia.
    • 1779 – James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii.
    • 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Cape St. Vincent: John Jervis, (later 1st Earl of St Vincent) and Horatio Nelson (later 1st Viscount Nelson) lead the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar.
    • 1804 – Karađorđe leads the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire.
    • 1831 – Ras Marye of Yejju marches into Tigray and defeats and kills Dejazmach Sabagadis in the Battle of Debre Abbay.
    • 1835 – The original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in the Latter Day Saint movement, is formed in Kirtland, Ohio.
    • 1849 – In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
    • 1852 – Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, the first hospital in England to provide in-patient beds specifically for children, is founded in London.
    • 1855 – Texas is linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States, with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas.
    • 1859 – Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state.
    • 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray.
    • 1879 – The War of the Pacific breaks out when the Chilean Army occupies the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta.
    • 1899 – Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections.
    • 1900 – British forces begin the Battle of the Tugela Heights in an effort to lift the Siege of Ladysmith.
    • 1903 – The United States Department of Commerce and Labor is established (later split into the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor).
    • 1912 – Arizona is admitted as the 48th and the last contiguous U.S. state.
    • 1912 – The U.S. Navy commissions its first class of diesel-powered submarines.
    • 1919 – The Polish–Soviet War begins.
    • 1920 – The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago.
    • 1924 – The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).
    • 1929 – Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone’s gang, are murdered in Chicago.
    • 1942 – Battle of Pasir Panjang contributes to the fall of Singapore.
    • 1943 – World War II: Rostov-on-Don, Russia is liberated.
    • 1943 – World War II: Tunisia Campaign: General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim’s Fifth Panzer Army launches a concerted attack against Allied positions in Tunisia.
    • 1944 – World War II: In the Action of 14 February 1944, a Royal Navy submarine sinks a German-controlled Italian submarine in the Strait of Malacca.
    • 1945 – World War II: On the first day of the bombing of Dresden, the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces begin fire-bombing Dresden.
    • 1945 – World War II: Navigational error leads to the mistaken bombing of Prague, Czechoslovakia by an American squadron of B-17s assisting in the Soviet’s Vistula–Oder Offensive.
    • 1945 – World War II: Mostar is liberated by Yugoslav partisans
    • 1945 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy, officially beginning U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relations.
    • 1946 – The Bank of England is nationalized.
    • 1949 – The Knesset (parliament of Israel) convenes for the first time.
    • 1949 – The Asbestos Strike begins in Canada. The strike marks the beginning of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec.
    • 1961 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California.
    • 1966 – Australian currency is decimalized.
    • 1979 – In Kabul, Setami Milli militants kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.
    • 1983 – United American Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee collapses. Its president, Jake Butcher, is later convicted of fraud.
    • 1989 – Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million to the Indian government for damages it caused in the 1984 Bhopal disaster.
    • 1989 – Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses.
    • 1990 – Ninety-two people are killed when Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashes in Bangalore, India.
    • 1990 – The Voyager 1 spacecraft takes the photograph of planet Earth that later become famous as Pale Blue Dot.
    • 1998 – An oil tanker train collides with a freight train in Yaoundé, Cameroon, spilling fuel oil. One person scavenging the oil created a massive explosion which killed 120.
    • 2000 – The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker enters orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.
    • 2004 – In a suburb of Moscow, Russia, the roof of the Transvaal water park collapses, killing more than 25 people, and wounding more than 100 others.
    • 2005 – In Beirut, 23 people, including former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, are killed when the equivalent of around 1,000 kg of TNT is detonated while Hariri’s motorcade drives through the city.
    • 2005 – Seven people are killed and 151 wounded in a series of bombings by suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants that hit Makati, Davao City, and General Santos City, all in the Philippines.
    • 2005 – YouTube is launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos.
    • 2008 – Northern Illinois University shooting: A gunman opens fire in a lecture hall of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb County, Illinois, resulting in six fatalities (including the gunman) and 21 injuries.
    • 2011 – As a part of Arab Spring, the Bahraini uprising begins with a ‘Day of Rage’.
    • 2018 – Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa.
    • 2018 – A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 15 injuries.
    • 2019 – Pulwama attack takes place in Lethpora in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and a suicide bomber were killed and 35 were injured.

    Births on February 14

    • 1404 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian painter, poet, and philosopher (d. 1472)
    • 1408 – John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel (d. 1435)
    • 1452 – Pandolfo Petrucci, tyrant of Siena (d. 1512)
    • 1468 – Johannes Werner, German priest and mathematician (d. 1522)
    • 1483 – Babur, Moghul emperor (d. 1530)
    • 1490 – Valentin Friedland, German scholar and educationist of the Reformation (d. 1556)
    • 1513 – Domenico Ferrabosco, Italian composer (d. 1573)
    • 1545 – Lucrezia de’ Medici, Duchess of Ferrara (d. 1561)
    • 1602 – Francesco Cavalli, Italian composer (d. 1676)
    • 1614 – John Wilkins, English bishop, academic and natural philosopher (d. 1672)
    • 1625 – Countess Palatine Maria Eufrosyne of Zweibrücken, Swedish princess (d. 1687)
    • 1628 – Valentine Greatrakes, Irish faith healer (d. 1683)
    • 1640 – Countess Palatine Anna Magdalena of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler (d. 1693)
    • 1670 – Rajaram Raj Bhonsle, third Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (d. 1700)
    • 1679 – Georg Friedrich Kauffmann, German organist and composer (d. 1735)
    • 1692 – Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French author and playwright (d. 1754)
    • 1701 – Enrique Flórez, Spanish historian and author (d. 1773)
    • 1763 – Jean Victor Marie Moreau, French general (d. 1813)
    • 1782 – Eleanora Atherton, English philanthropist (d. 1870)
    • 1784 – Heinrich Baermann, German clarinetist (d. 1847)
    • 1799 – Walenty Wańkowicz, Polish painter and illustrator (d. 1842)
    • 1800 – Emory Washburn, American historian, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1877)
    • 1808 – Michael Costa, Italian-English conductor and composer (d. 1884)
    • 1813 – Lydia Hamilton Smith, African-American businesswoman (d. 1884)
    • 1819 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American journalist and politician, invented the typewriter (d. 1890)
    • 1824 – Winfield Scott Hancock, American general and politician (d. 1886)
    • 1828 – Edmond François Valentin About, French journalist and author (d. 1885)
    • 1835 – Piet Paaltjens, Dutch minister and poet (d. 1894)
    • 1838 – Margaret E. Knight, American inventor (d. 1914)
    • 1846 – Julian Scott, American soldier and drummer, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1901)
    • 1847 – Anna Howard Shaw, American physician, minister, and activist (d. 1919)
    • 1848 – Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer and academic (d. 1934)
    • 1855 – Frank Harris, Irish author and journalist (d. 1931)
    • 1859 – George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., American engineer, inventor of the Ferris wheel (d. 1896)
    • 1860 – Eugen Schiffer, German lawyer and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 1954)
    • 1869 – Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist and meteorologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
    • 1878 – Julius Nieuwland, Belgian priest, chemist and academic (d. 1936)
    • 1882 – John Barrymore, American actor (d. 1942)
    • 1884 – Nils Olaf Chrisander, Swedish actor and director (d. 1947)
    • 1884 – Kostas Varnalis, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1974)
    • 1890 – Nina Hamnett, Welsh-English painter and author (d. 1956)
    • 1890 – Dick Richards Welsh international footballer, forward
    • 1891 – Katherine Stinson, American aviator (d. 1977)
    • 1892 – Radola Gajda, Czech commander and politician (d. 1948)
    • 1894 – Jack Benny, American actor and producer (d. 1974)
    • 1895 – Wilhelm Burgdorf, German general (d. 1945)
    • 1895 – Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (d. 1973)
    • 1898 – Bill Tilman, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)
    • 1898 – Fritz Zwicky, Swiss-American physicist and astronomer (d. 1974)
    • 1900 – Jessica Dragonette, American singer (d. 1980)
    • 1903 – Stuart Erwin, American actor (d. 1967)
    • 1905 – Thelma Ritter, American actress and singer (d. 1969)
    • 1907 – Johnny Longden, English-American jockey and trainer (d. 2003)
    • 1911 – Willem Johan Kolff, Dutch physician and inventor (d. 2009)
    • 1912 – Tibor Sekelj, Hungarian lawyer, explorer, and author (d. 1988)
    • 1913 – Mel Allen, American sportscaster (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – Woody Hayes, American football player and coach (d. 1987)
    • 1913 – Jimmy Hoffa, American trade union leader (d. 1975)
    • 1913 – James Pike, American bishop (d. 1969)
    • 1916 – Marcel Bigeard, French general (d. 2010)
    • 1916 – Sally Gray, English actress and singer (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Masaki Kobayashi, Japanese director and producer (d. 1996)
    • 1916 – Edward Platt, American actor (d. 1974)
    • 1917 – Herbert A. Hauptman, American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
    • 1921 – Hugh Downs, American journalist, game show host, and producer
    • 1921 – Hazel McCallion, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 3rd Mayor of Mississauga
    • 1923 – Jay Hebert, American golfer (d. 1997)
    • 1924 – Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma (d. 2017)
    • 1927 – Lois Maxwell, Canadian-Australian model and actress (d. 2007)
    • 1928 – William Allain, American soldier and politician, 58th Governor of Mississippi (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Vicente T. Blaz, American general and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Vic Morrow, American actor and director (d. 1982)
    • 1931 – Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2006)
    • 1931 – Brian Kelly, American actor and director (d. 2005)
    • 1932 – Harriet Andersson, Swedish actress
    • 1934 – Florence Henderson, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
    • 1935 – David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, Scottish academic and diplomat, 27th Governor of Hong Kong
    • 1936 – Anna German, Polish singer (d. 1982)
    • 1937 – John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market, English politician, Secretary of State for Transport
    • 1937 – Magic Sam, American singer and guitarist (d. 1969)
    • 1939 – Razzy Bailey, American country music singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1939 – Blowfly, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1939 – Eugene Fama, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1940 – James Maynard, American businessman, co-founded Golden Corral
    • 1941 – Donna Shalala, American academic and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
    • 1941 – Paul Tsongas, American lawyer and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1942 – Michael Bloomberg, American businessman and politician, 108th Mayor of New York City
    • 1942 – Andrew Robinson, American actor and director
    • 1942 – Ricardo Rodríguez, Mexican race car driver (d. 1962)
    • 1943 – Eric Andersen, American singer-songwriter
    • 1943 – Maceo Parker, American saxophonist
    • 1943 – Aaron Russo, American director and producer (d. 2007)
    • 1944 – Carl Bernstein, American journalist and author
    • 1944 – Alan Parker, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1944 – Ronnie Peterson, Swedish race car driver (d. 1978)
    • 1945 – Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein
    • 1945 – Rod Masterson, American lieutenant and actor (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Bernard Dowiyogo, Nauru politician, President of Nauru (d. 2003)
    • 1946 – Gregory Hines, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 2003)
    • 1947 – Tim Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
    • 1947 – Judd Gregg, American lawyer and politician, 76th Governor of New Hampshire
    • 1948 – Kitten Natividad, Mexican-American actress and dancer
    • 1948 – Pat O’Brien, American journalist and author
    • 1948 – Wally Tax, Dutch singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1948 – Teller, American magician and actor
    • 1950 – Roger Fisher, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1951 – Terry Gross, American radio host and producer
    • 1951 – Kevin Keegan, English footballer and manager
    • 1952 – Sushma Swaraj, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (d. 2019)
    • 1954 – Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Balochistan (d. 2013)
    • 1955 – Carol Kalish, American publisher (d. 1991)
    • 1956 – Howard Davis Jr., American boxer and trainer (d. 2015)
    • 1956 – Dave Dravecky, American baseball player
    • 1956 – Katharina Fritsch, German sculptor and academic
    • 1957 – Alan Hunter, American television host and actor
    • 1957 – Soile Isokoski, Finnish soprano and actress
    • 1957 – Alan Smith, English bishop
    • 1958 – Grant Thomas, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1959 – Renée Fleming, American soprano and actress
    • 1960 – Philip Jones, English admiral
    • 1960 – Jim Kelly, American football player and businessman
    • 1960 – Meg Tilly, American actress and author
    • 1963 – Enrico Colantoni, Canadian actor, director, and producer
    • 1963 – John Marzano, American baseball player (d. 2008)
    • 1964 – Gianni Bugno, Italian cyclist and sportscaster
    • 1966 – Petr Svoboda, Czech ice hockey player and agent
    • 1967 – Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Greek-English businessman, founded easyJet
    • 1967 – Manuela Maleeva, Bulgarian-Swiss tennis player
    • 1967 – Mark Rutte, Dutch businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
    • 1968 – Jules Asner, American model and television host
    • 1968 – Chris Lewis, Guyanese-English cricketer
    • 1968 – Scott McClellan, American civil servant and author, 25th White House Press Secretary
    • 1969 – Meg Hillier, English journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
    • 1970 – Giuseppe Guerini, Italian cyclist
    • 1970 – Sean Hill, American ice hockey player
    • 1970 – Simon Pegg, English actor, director, and producer
    • 1971 – Kris Aquino, Filipino talk show host, actress, and producer
    • 1971 – Gheorghe Mureșan, Romanian basketball player
    • 1972 – Drew Bledsoe, American football player and coach
    • 1972 – Musōyama Masashi, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1972 – Najwa Nimri, Spanish actress and singer
    • 1972 – Jaan Tallinn, Estonian computer programmer, co-developed Skype
    • 1972 – Rob Thomas, American singer-songwriter
    • 1973 – H. D. Ackerman, South African cricketer
    • 1973 – Tyus Edney, American basketball player and coach
    • 1973 – Steve McNair, American football player (d. 2009)
    • 1973 – Annalisa Buffa, Italian mathematician
    • 1974 – Valentina Vezzali, Italian fencer and politician
    • 1976 – Liv Kristine, Norwegian singer-songwriter
    • 1976 – Rie Rasmussen, Danish model, film director, writer, photographer, and actress
    • 1977 – Cadel Evans, Australian cyclist
    • 1977 – Jim Jefferies, Australian comedian and actor
    • 1977 – Darren Purse, English footballer
    • 1977 – Elmer Symons, South African motorcycle racer (d. 2007)
    • 1977 – Anna Erschler, Russian mathematician
    • 1977 – Robert J. Jackson Jr., American law professor
    • 1978 – Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
    • 1978 – Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
    • 1980 – Josh Senter, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1980 – Michelle Ye, Hong Kong actress and producer
    • 1981 – Matteo Brighi, Italian footballer
    • 1981 – Randy de Puniet, French motorcycle racer
    • 1981 – Brad Halsey, American baseball player (d. 2014)
    • 1982 – Marián Gáborík, Slovak ice hockey player
    • 1982 – John Halls, English footballer and model
    • 1982 – Lenka Tvarošková, Slovak tennis player
    • 1983 – Callix Crabbe, Virgin Islander baseball player
    • 1983 – Rocky Elsom, Australian rugby player
    • 1983 – Bacary Sagna, French footballer
    • 1985 – Karima Adebibe, English model and actress
    • 1985 – Tyler Clippard, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Heart Evangelista, Filipino singer and actress
    • 1985 – Philippe Senderos, Swiss international footballer, centre back
    • 1985 – Miki Yeung, Hong Kong singer and actress
    • 1986 – Michael Ammermüller, German race car driver
    • 1986 – Oliver Lee, English actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1986 – Gao Lin, Chinese footballer
    • 1987 – Edinson Cavani, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1987 – Tom Pyatt, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – David Wheater, English footballer
    • 1988 – Katie Boland, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1988 – Ángel Di María, Argentinian footballer
    • 1988 – Siim Liivik, Estonian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Asia Nitollano, American singer and dancer
    • 1989 – Néstor Calderón, Mexican footballer
    • 1989 – Adam Matuszczyk, Polish footballer
    • 1989 – Emma Miskew, Canadian curler
    • 1989 – Brandon Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Jurij Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper
    • 1989 – Kristian Thomas, English gymnast
    • 1990 – Sefa Yılmaz, German-Turkish footballer
    • 1991 – Daniela Mona Lambin, Estonian footballer
    • 1991 – Chris Rowney, English footballer
    • 1992 – Christian Eriksen, Danish footballer
    • 1992 – Freddie Highmore, English actor
    • 1996 – Lucas Hernandez, French footballer

    Deaths on February 14

    • 869 – Cyril, Greek missionary bishop (b. 827)
    • 945 – Lian Chongyu, Chinese general
    • 945 – Zhu Wenjin, Chinese emperor
    • 1009 – Bruno of Querfurt, German missionary bishop
    • 1010 – Fujiwara no Korechika, Japanese nobleman (b. 974)
    • 1140 – Leo I, Armenian prince
    • 1140 – Sobĕslav I, duke of Bohemia
    • 1164 – Sviatoslav Olgovich, Kievan prince
    • 1229 – Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, king of the Isles
    • 1317 – Margaret of France, queen of England
    • 1400 – Richard II, king of England (b. 1367)
    • 1440 – Dietrich of Oldenburg, German nobleman
    • 1489 – Nicolaus von Tüngen, prince-bishop of Warmia
    • 1528 – Edzard I, German nobleman (b. 1462)
    • 1549 – Il Sodoma, Italian painter (b. 1477)
    • 1571 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal (b. 1517)
    • 1676 – Abraham Bosse, French engraver and illustrator (b. 1602)
    • 1714 – Maria Luisa of Savoy, queen of Spain (b. 1688)
    • 1737 – Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot, English lawyer and politician Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1685)
    • 1744 – John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (b. 1682)
    • 1779 – James Cook, English captain, cartographer, and explorer (b. 1728)
    • 1780 – William Blackstone, English jurist and politician (b. 1723)
    • 1782 – Singu Min, Burmese king (b. 1756)
    • 1808 – John Dickinson, American lawyer and politician 5th Governor of Delaware (b. 1732)
    • 1831 – Vicente Guerrero, Mexican general and politician, 2nd President of Mexico (b. 1782)
    • 1831 – Henry Maudslay, English engineer (b. 1771)
    • 1870 – St. John Richardson Liddell, American general (b. 1815)
    • 1881 – Fernando Wood, American merchant and politician, 73rd Mayor of New York City (b. 1812)
    • 1884 – Lydia Hamilton Smith, African-American businesswoman (b. 1813)
    • 1885 – Jules Vallès, French journalist and author (b. 1832)
    • 1891 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (b. 1820)
    • 1894 – Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (b. 1814)
    • 1901 – Edward Stafford, Scottish-New Zealand educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1819)
    • 1910 – Giovanni Passannante, Italian anarchist (b. 1849)
    • 1922 – Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish lawyer and politician (b. 1880)
    • 1929 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter, coach, and lawyer (b. 1875)
    • 1930 – Thomas Mackenzie, Scottish-New Zealand cartographer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1853)
    • 1933 – Carl Correns, German botanist and geneticist (b. 1864)
    • 1942 – Adnan Saidi, Malayan lieutenant (b. 1915)
    • 1943 – Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (b. 1899)
    • 1943 – David Hilbert, Russian-German mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (b. 1862)
    • 1948 – Mordecai Brown, American baseball player and manager (b. 1876)
    • 1949 – Yusuf Salman Yusuf, Iraqi politician (b. 1901)
    • 1950 – Karl Guthe Jansky, American physicist and engineer (b. 1905)
    • 1952 – Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist (b. 1896)
    • 1958 – Abdur Rab Nishtar, Pakistani politician, 2nd Governor of Punjab (b. 1899)
    • 1959 – Baby Dodds, American drummer (b. 1898)
    • 1967 – Sig Ruman, German-American actor (b. 1884)
    • 1969 – Vito Genovese, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1897)
    • 1970 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer and coach (b. 1880)
    • 1974 – Stewie Dempster, New Zealand cricketer and coach (b. 1903)
    • 1975 – Julian Huxley, English biologist and eugenicist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (b. 1887)
    • 1975 – P. G. Wodehouse, English novelist and playwright (b. 1881)
    • 1979 – Adolph Dubs, American lieutenant and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Afghanistan (b. 1920)
    • 1983 – Lina Radke, German runner and coach (b. 1903)
    • 1986 – Edmund Rubbra, English composer and conductor (b. 1901)
    • 1987 – Dmitry Kabalevsky, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1904)
    • 1988 – Frederick Loewe, German-American composer (b. 1901)
    • 1989 – James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (b. 1900)
    • 1989 – Vincent Crane, English pianist (b. 1943)
    • 1994 – Andrei Chikatilo, Soviet serial killer (b. 1936)
    • 1994 – Christopher Lasch, American historian and critic (b. 1932)
    • 1995 – Michael V. Gazzo, American actor and playwright (b. 1923)
    • 1995 – U Nu, Burmese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1907)
    • 1996 – Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (b. 1919)
    • 1999 – John Ehrlichman, American lawyer and politician, 12th White House Counsel (b. 1925)
    • 1999 – Buddy Knox, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1933)
    • 2002 – Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1922)
    • 2002 – Mick Tucker, English drummer (b. 1947)
    • 2003 – Johnny Longden, English jockey and trainer (b. 1907)
    • 2004 – Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (b. 1970)
    • 2005 – Rafic Hariri, Lebanese businessman and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1944; assassinated)
    • 2006 – Lynden David Hall, English singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1974)
    • 2007 – Ryan Larkin, Canadian animator and director (b. 1943)
    • 2007 – Gareth Morris, English flute player and educator (b. 1920)
    • 2009 – Bernard Ashley, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Laura Ashley plc (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Louie Bellson, American drummer and composer (b. 1924)
    • 2010 – Doug Fieger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
    • 2010 – Dick Francis, Welsh jockey and author (b. 1920)
    • 2010 – Linnart Mäll, Estonian historian, orientalist, and translator (b. 1938)
    • 2011 – George Shearing, English-American pianist and composer (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Mike Bernardo, South African boxer and martial artist (b. 1969)
    • 2012 – Tonmi Lillman, Finnish drummer and producer (b. 1973)
    • 2012 – Dory Previn, American singer-songwriter (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Péter Rusorán, Hungarian swimmer, water polo player, and coach (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – Glenn Boyer, American historian and author (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Ronald Dworkin, American philosopher and scholar (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Tom Finney, English footballer (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Chris Pearson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Yukon (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Mike Stepovich, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Alaska Territory (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – Louis Jourdan, French-American actor and singer (b. 1921)
    • 2015 – Philip Levine, American poet and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Franjo Mihalić, Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (b. 1920)
    • 2016 – Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, English lieutenant, engineer, and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2016 – Steven Stucky, American composer and academic (b. 1949)
    • 2018 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch politician and diplomat, Prime Minister and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (b. 1939)
    • 2018 – Morgan Tsvangirai, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (b. 1952).

    Holidays and observances on February 14

    • Christian feast day:
      • Cyril and Methodius, patron saints of Europe (Roman Catholic Church)
      • Manchan
      • Valentine (Valentine’s Day)
      • February 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Statehood Day (Arizona, United States)
    • Statehood Day (Oregon, United States)
    • Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Armenian Apostolic Church)
    • Parents’ Worship Day (parts of India)