1093

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

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

    Births on July 17

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

    Deaths on July 17

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

    Holidays and observances on July 17

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

  • 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)

  • April 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated. He is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
    • 632 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde), along with his infant son Chilperic.
    • 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-‘Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
    • 1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin.
    • 1139 – Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated.
    • 1149 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum.
    • 1232 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols begin their siege on Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty.
    • 1271 – In Syria, sultan Baibars conquers the Krak des Chevaliers.
    • 1665 – English colonial patents are granted for the establishment of the Monmouth Tract, for what would eventually become Monmouth County in northeastern New Jersey.
    • 1730 – Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
    • 1740 – War of Jenkins’ Ear: Three British ships capture the Spanish third-rate Princesa, taken into service as HMS Princess.
    • 1808 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore is promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.
    • 1820 – The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
    • 1832 – Black Hawk War: Around three-hundred United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield: Union forces are thwarted by the Confederate army at Mansfield, Louisiana.
    • 1866 – Italy and Prussia ally against the Austrian Empire.
    • 1886 – William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
    • 1895 – In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
    • 1904 – The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
    • 1904 – Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times.
    • 1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, dies.
    • 1908 – H. H. Asquith of the Liberal Party takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
    • 1908 – Harvard University votes to establish the Harvard Business School.
    • 1911 – Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity.
    • 1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
    • 1916 – In Corona, California, race car driver Bob Burman crashes, killing three (including himself), and badly injuring five spectators.
    • 1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City’s financial district.
    • 1924 – Sharia courts are abolished in Turkey, as part of Atatürk’s Reforms.
    • 1929 – Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
    • 1935 – The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
    • 1942 – World War II: Siege of Leningrad: Soviet forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.
    • 1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.
    • 1943 – Otto and Elise Hampel are executed in Berlin for their anti-Nazi activities.
    • 1945 – World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.
    • 1946 – Électricité de France, the world’s largest utility company, is formed as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.
    • 1950 – India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat–Nehru Pact.
    • 1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills in an attempt to prevent the 1952 steel strike.
    • 1953 – Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by British Kenya’s rulers.
    • 1954 – A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collides with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
    • 1954 – South African Airways Flight 201 A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 crashes into the sea during night killing 21 people.
    • 1959 – A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
    • 1959 – The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
    • 1960 – The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
    • 1961 – A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf kills 238.
    • 1964 – The Gemini 1 test flight is conducted.
    • 1968 – BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after takeoff. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
    • 1970 – Bahr El-Baqar primary school bombing: Israeli bombers strike an Egyptian school. Forty-six children are killed.
    • 1974 – At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth’s 39-year-old record.
    • 1975 – Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball’s first African American manager.
    • 1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racially charged remarks he had made while on Nightline.
    • 1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
    • 1993 – The Republic of North Macedonia joins the United Nations.
    • 1999 – Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the Indian National Congress.
    • 2004 – War in Darfur: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
    • 2006 – Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.
    • 2008 – The construction of the world’s first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain.
    • 2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham.

    Births on April 8

    • 1320 – Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
    • 1408 – Jadwiga of Lithuania, Polish princess (d. 1431)
    • 1435 – John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford, English noble (d. 1461)
    • 1533 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1604)
    • 1536 – Barbara of Hesse (d. 1597)
    • 1541 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (d. 1593)
    • 1580 – William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, English noble, courtier and patron of the arts (d. 1630)
    • 1596 – Juan van der Hamen, Spanish artist (d. 1631)
    • 1605 – Philip IV of Spain (d. 1665)
    • 1605 – Mary Stuart, English-Scottish princess (d. 1607)
    • 1641 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1704)
    • 1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1770)
    • 1726 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (d. 1798)
    • 1732 – David Rittenhouse, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1796)
    • 1761 – William Joseph Chaminade, French priest, founded the Society of Mary (d. 1850)
    • 1770 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian banker and politician (d. 1830)
    • 1798 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and author (d. 1857)
    • 1818 – Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)
    • 1818 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (d. 1892)
    • 1826 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican soldier (d. 1890)
    • 1827 – Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican ophthalmologist, journalist, and politician (d. 1898)
    • 1842 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (d. 1933)
    • 1859 – Edmund Husserl, German Jewish-Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1938)
    • 1864 – Carlos Deltour, French rower and rugby player (d. 1920)
    • 1867 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter and educator (d. 1908)
    • 1869 – Harvey Cushing, American surgeon and academic (d. 1939)
    • 1871 – Clarence Hudson White, American photographer and educator (d. 1925)
    • 1874 – Manuel Díaz, Cuban fencer (d. 1929)
    • 1874 – Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960)
    • 1875 – Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
    • 1882 (O.S. 27 March) – Dmytro Doroshenko, Lithuanian-Ukrainian historian and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Prime Minister of Ukraine (d. 1951)
    • 1883 – R. P. Keigwin, English cricketer and academic (d. 1972)
    • 1883 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (d. 1936)
    • 1885 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier, composer, and educator (d. 1951)
    • 1886 – Margaret Ayer Barnes, American author and playwright (d. 1967)
    • 1888 – Dennis Chávez, American journalist and politician (d. 1962)
    • 1889 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (d. 1983)
    • 1892 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (d. 1970)
    • 1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded United Artists (d. 1979)
    • 1896 – Yip Harburg, American composer (d. 1981)
    • 1900 – Marie Byles, Australian solicitor (d. 1979)
    • 1902 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1924)
    • 1902 – Maria Maksakova Sr., Russian soprano (d. 1974)
    • 1904 – John Hicks, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
    • 1904 – Hirsch Jacobs, American horse trainer (d. 1970)
    • 1905 – Joachim Büchner, German sprinter and graphic designer (d. 1978)
    • 1905 – Helen Joseph, English-South African activist (d. 1992)
    • 1905 – Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)
    • 1906 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (d. 1974)
    • 1908 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
    • 1909 – John Fante, American author and screenwriter (d. 1983)
    • 1910 – George Musso, American football player and police officer (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
    • 1911 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and academic (d. 1995)
    • 1912 – Alois Brunner, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 2001 or 2010)
    • 1912 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian-American figure skater and actress (d. 1969)
    • 1914 – María Félix, Yaqui/Basque-Mexican actress (d. 2002)
    • 1915 – Ivan Supek, Croatian physicist, philosopher and writer (d. 2007)
    • 1917 – Winifred Asprey, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 2007)
    • 1917 – Lloyd Bott, Australian public servant (d. 2004)
    • 1917 – Hubertus Ernst, Dutch bishop (d. 2017)
    • 1917 – Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer (d. 1988)
    • 1918 – Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States (d. 2011)
    • 1918 – Glendon Swarthout, American author and academic (d. 1992)
    • 1919 – Ian Smith, Zimbabwean lieutenant and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – Franco Corelli, Italian tenor and actor (d. 2003)
    • 1921 – Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984)
    • 1921 – Herman van Raalte, Dutch footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Carmen McRae, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress (d. 1994)
    • 1923 – George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
    • 1923 – Edward Mulhare, Irish-American actor (d. 1997)
    • 1924 – Frédéric Back, German-Canadian animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English general and historian (d. 2006)
    • 1924 – Kumar Gandharva, Hindustani classical singer (d. 1992)
    • 1924 – Sara Northrup Hollister, American occultist (d. 1997)
    • 1926 – Henry N. Cobb, American architect and academic, co-founded Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (d. 2020)
    • 1926 – Shecky Greene, American actor
    • 1926 – Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian and academic
    • 1927 – Tilly Armstrong, English author (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Ollie Mitchell, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Fred Ebb, American lyricist (d. 2004)
    • 1929 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1978)
    • 1929 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (d. 1996)
    • 1930 – Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma (d. 2010)
    • 1931 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Mexico (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Iskandar of Johor (d. 2010)
    • 1933 – James Lockhart, American scholar of colonial Latin America, especially Nahua peoples (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower and Singapore Flyer (d. 2007)
    • 1935 – Oscar Zeta Acosta, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
    • 1935 – Albert Bustamante, American soldier, educator, and politician
    • 1937 – Tony Barton, English footballer, outside right and manager (d. 1993)
    • 1937 – Seymour Hersh, American journalist and author
    • 1937 – Momo Kapor, Serbian author and painter (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian economist and diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – John Hamm, Canadian physician and politician, 25th Premier of Nova Scotia
    • 1938 – Mary W. Gray, American mathematician, statistician, and lawyer
    • 1939 – John Arbuthnott, Scottish microbiologist and academic
    • 1939 – Trina Schart Hyman, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
    • 1940 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (d. 2019)
    • 1941 – J. J. Jackson, American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger
    • 1941 – Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer
    • 1942 – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Northern Irish politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Roger Chapman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1942 – Douglas Trumbull, American director, producer, and special effects artist
    • 1943 – Michael Bennett, American dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
    • 1943 – Miller Farr, American football player
    • 1943 – James Herbert, English author and illustrator (d. 2013)
    • 1943 – Chris Orr, English painter and illustrator
    • 1944 – Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor (d. 2017)
    • 1944 – Odd Nerdrum, Swedish-Norwegian painter and illustrator
    • 1945 – Derrick Walker, Scottish businessman
    • 1945 – Jang Yong, South Korean actor
    • 1946 – Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999)
    • 1946 – Tim Thomerson, American actor and producer
    • 1947 – Tom DeLay, American lawyer and politician
    • 1947 – Steve Howe, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1947 – Robert Kiyosaki, American businessman, co-founded Cashflow Technologies
    • 1947 – Pascal Lamy, French businessman and politician, European Commissioner for Trade
    • 1947 – Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter, and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1948 – Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone, Scottish academic and politician
    • 1949 – K. C. Kamalasabayson, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 39th Attorney General of Sri Lanka (d. 2007)
    • 1949 – John Madden, English director and producer
    • 1949 – Brenda Russell, African-American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1949 – John Scott, English sociologist and academic
    • 1950 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer and coach
    • 1951 – Gerd Andres, German politician
    • 1951 – Geir Haarde, Icelandic economist, journalist, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Iceland
    • 1951 – Mel Schacher, American bass player
    • 1951 – Joan Sebastian, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2015)
    • 1952 – Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician (d. 2004)
    • 1954 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – G.V. Loganathan, Indian-American engineer and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1955 – Ricky Bell, American football player (d. 1984)
    • 1955 – Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer
    • 1955 – Ron Johnson, American businessman and politician
    • 1955 – Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist, essayist and poet
    • 1955 – David Wu, Taiwanese-American lawyer and politician
    • 1956 – Michael Benton, Scottish-English paleontologist and academic
    • 1956 – Christine Boisson, French actress
    • 1956 – Roman Dragoun, Czech singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1956 – Jim Piddock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Fred Smerlas, American football player and radio host
    • 1958 – Detlef Bruckhoff, German footballer
    • 1958 – Tom Petranoff, American javelin thrower and coach
    • 1959 – Alain Bondue, French cyclist
    • 1960 – John Schneider, American actor and country singer
    • 1961 – Richard Hatch, American reality contestant
    • 1961 – Brian McDermott, English footballer and manager
    • 1962 – Paddy Lowe, English engineer
    • 1962 – Izzy Stradlin, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1963 – Tine Asmundsen, Norwegian bassist
    • 1963 – Julian Lennon, English singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Terry Porter, American basketball player and coach
    • 1963 – Donita Sparks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1963 – Alec Stewart, English cricketer
    • 1963 – Seth Tobias, American businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1964 – Biz Markie, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1964 – John McGinlay, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Steven Blaney, Canadian businessman and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of Public Safety
    • 1965 – Michael Jones, New Zealand rugby player and coach
    • 1966 – Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (d. 2014)
    • 1966 – Mark Blundell, English race car driver
    • 1966 – Andy Currier, English rugby league player
    • 1966 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand-Australian television host (d. 2014)
    • 1966 – Dalton Grant, English high jumper
    • 1966 – Mazinho, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1966 – Harri Rovanperä, Finnish race car driver
    • 1966 – Evripidis Stylianidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
    • 1966 – Robin Wright, American actress, director, producer
    • 1967 – Kenny Benjamin, Antiguan cricketer
    • 1968 – Patricia Arquette, French-Canadian Russian/Polish Jewish-American actress and director
    • 1968 – Patricia Girard, French runner and hurdler
    • 1968 – Tracy Grammer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – Darren Jessee, American singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1972 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1972 – Sergei Magnitsky, Russian lawyer and accountant (d. 2009)
    • 1973 – Khaled Badra, Tunisian footballer
    • 1973 – Emma Caulfield, American actress
    • 1974 – Toutai Kefu, Tongan-Australian rugby player
    • 1974 – Nnedi Okorafor, Nigerian-American author and educator
    • 1975 – Anouk, Dutch singer
    • 1975 – Francesco Flachi, Italian footballer
    • 1975 – Timo Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1975 – Funda Arar, Turkish singer
    • 1977 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress
    • 1977 – Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist and author (d. 2008)
    • 1977 – Mark Spencer, American computer programmer and engineer
    • 1978 – Daigo, Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and voice actor
    • 1978 – Bernt Haas, Austrian-Swiss footballer
    • 1978 – Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress
    • 1978 – Jocelyn Robichaud, Canadian tennis player and coach
    • 1978 – Evans Rutto, Kenyan runner
    • 1979 – Alexi Laiho, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Amit Trivedi, Indian singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
    • 1980 – Katee Sackhoff, American actress
    • 1980 – Mariko Seyama, Japanese announcer, photographer, and model
    • 1981 – Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
    • 1981 – Ofer Shechter, Israeli model, actor, and screenwriter
    • 1982 – Gennady Golovkin, Kazakhstani boxer
    • 1982 – Brett White, Australian rugby league player
    • 1983 – Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova, Russian runner
    • 1984 – Michelle Donelan, British politician
    • 1984 – Ezra Koenig, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1984 – Pablo Portillo, Mexican singer and actor
    • 1984 – Taran Noah Smith, American actor
    • 1985 – Patrick Schliwa, German rugby player
    • 1985 – Yemane Tsegay, Ethiopian runner
    • 1986 – Igor Akinfeev, Russian footballer
    • 1986 – Félix Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1987 – Royston Drenthe, Dutch footballer
    • 1987 – Jeremy Hellickson, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Sam Rapira, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1988 – Jenni Asserholt, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Kim Myung-sung, South Korean baseball player
    • 1990 – Kim Jong-hyun, South Korean singer (d. 2017)
    • 1993 – Viktor Arvidsson, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1993 – Zac Santo, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Josh Chudleigh, Australian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Cedi Osman, Turkish professional basketball player
    • 1997 – Saygrace, Australian singer and songwriter
    • 1997 – Arno Verschueren, Belgian professional football player

    Deaths on April 8

    • 217 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (b. 188)
    • 622 – Shōtoku, Japanese prince (b. 572)
    • 632 – Charibert II, Frankish king (b. 607)
    • 894 – Adalelm, Frankish nobleman
    • 944 – Wang Yanxi, Chinese emperor
    • 956 – Gilbert, Frankish nobleman
    • 967 – Mu’izz al-Dawla, Buyid emir (b. 915)
    • 1143 – John II Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1087)
    • 1150 – Gertrude of Babenberg , duchess of Bohemia (b. 1118)
    • 1321 – Thomas of Tolentino, Italian-Franciscan missionary (b. c. 1255)
    • 1338 – Stephen Gravesend, bishop of London
    • 1364 – John II, French king (b. 1319)
    • 1450 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (b. 1397)
    • 1461 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423)
    • 1492 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1449)
    • 1551 – Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)
    • 1586 – Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran theologian and reformer (b. 1522)
    • 1608 – Magdalen Dacre, English noble (b. 1538)
    • 1612 – Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (b. 1575)
    • 1691 – Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect, designed the Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto (b. 1611)
    • 1697 – Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (b. 1629)
    • 1704 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist and philologist (b. 1624)
    • 1704 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English colonel and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1641)
    • 1709 – Wolfgang Dietrich of Castell-Remlingen, German nobleman (b. 1641)
    • 1725 – John Wise, American minister (b. 1652)
    • 1735 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
    • 1848 – Gaetano Donizetti, Italian composer (b. 1797)
    • 1860 – István Széchenyi, Hungarian statesman and reformer (b.1791)
    • 1861 – Elisha Otis, American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company (b. 1811)
    • 1870 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (b. 1802)
    • 1894 – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1838)
    • 1906 – Auguste Deter, German woman, first person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (b. 1850)
    • 1919 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist, academic, and politician, Hungarian Minister of Education (b. 1848)
    • 1920 – Charles Griffes, American pianist and composer (b. 1884)
    • 1931 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish poet Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
    • 1936 – Róbert Bárány, Austrian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
    • 1936 – Božena Benešová, Czech poet and novelist (b. 1873)
    • 1941 – Marcel Prévost, French novelist and playwright (b. 1862)
    • 1942 – Kostas Skarvelis, Greek guitarist and composer (b. 1880)
    • 1947 – Olaf Frydenlund, Norwegian target shooter (b. 1862)
    • 1950 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish dancer and choreographer (b. 1890)
    • 1959 – Marios Makrionitis, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Athens (b. 1913)
    • 1961 – Joseph Carrodus, Australian public servant (b. 1885)
    • 1962 – Juan Belmonte, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1892)
    • 1965 – Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (b. 1886)
    • 1969 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian astronomer (b. 1900)
    • 1973 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1881)
    • 1974 – James Charles McGuigan, Canadian cardinal (b. 1894)
    • 1979 – Breece D’J Pancake, American short story writer (b. 1952)
    • 1981 – Omar Bradley, American general (b. 1893)
    • 1983 – Isamu Kosugi, Japanese actor and director (b. 1904)
    • 1984 – Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1894)
    • 1985 – John Frederick Coots, American pianist and composer (b. 1897)
    • 1990 – Ryan White, American activist, inspired the Ryan White Care Act (b. 1971)
    • 1991 – Per Ohlin, Swedish musician (b. 1969)
    • 1992 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-Italian pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
    • 1993 – Marian Anderson, American operatic singer (b. 1897)
    • 1994 – François Rozet, French-Canadian actor (b. 1899)
    • 1996 – Ben Johnson, American actor and stuntman (b. 1918)
    • 1996 – León Klimovsky, Argentinian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
    • 1996 – Mick Young, Australian politician (b. 1936)
    • 1997 – Laura Nyro, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1947)
    • 2000 – František Šťastný, Czech motorcycle racer (b. 1927)
    • 2000 – Claire Trevor, American actress (b. 1910)
    • 2002 – María Félix, Mexican actress (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – Harvey Quaytman, American painter (b. 1937)
    • 2004 – Werner Schumacher, German actor (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – Onna White, Canadian choreographer and dancer (b. 1922)
    • 2006 – Gerard Reve, Dutch author and poet (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Sol LeWitt, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928)
    • 2008 – Kazuo Shiraga, Japanese painter (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – Richard de Mille, American Scientologist, author, investigative journalist, and psychologist (b. 1922)
    • 2009 – Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer (b. 1976)
    • 2010 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2010 – Teddy Scholten, Dutch singer (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Hedda Sterne, Romanian-American painter and photographer (b. 1910)
    • 2012 – Blair Kiel, American football player and coach (b. 1961)
    • 2012 – Jack Tramiel, Polish-American businessman, founded Commodore International (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Janusz K. Zawodny, Polish-American soldier, historian, and political scientist (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Mikhail Beketov, Russian journalist (b. 1958)
    • 2013 – Annette Funicello, American actress and singer (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Sara Montiel, Spanish-Mexican actress and singer (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Emmanuel III Delly, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Ivan Mercep, New Zealand architect, designed the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Jayakanthan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Rayson Huang, Hong Kong chemist and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Sergei Lashchenko, Ukrainian kick-boxer (b. 1987)
    • 2015 – David Laventhol, American journalist and publisher (b. 1933)
    • 2015 – Jean-Claude Turcotte, Canadian cardinal (b. 1936)

    Holidays and observances on April 8

    • Buddha’s Birthday, also known as Hana Matsuri, “Flower Festival” (Japan)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Anne Ayres (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Constantina
      • Julie Billiart of Namur
      • Perpetuus
      • Walter of Pontoise
      • William Augustus Muhlenberg (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • April 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Fast and Prayer Day can fall, while April 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Friday in April (Liberia)
    • International Romani Day

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

    • 590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
    • 1027 – Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1169 – Saladin becomes the emir of Egypt.
    • 1344 – The Siege of Algeciras, one of the first European military engagements where gunpowder was used, comes to an end.
    • 1351 – Combat of the Thirty: Thirty Breton knights call out and defeat thirty English knights.
    • 1484 – William Caxton prints his translation of Aesop’s Fables.
    • 1552 – Guru Amar Das becomes the Third Sikh guru.
    • 1636 – Utrecht University is founded in the Netherlands.
    • 1697 – Safavid government troops take control of Basra
    • 1812 – An earthquake devastates Caracas, Venezuela.
    • 1812 – A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette coins the term “gerrymander” to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.
    • 1830 – The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.
    • 1839 – The first Henley Royal Regatta is held.
    • 1871 – The elections of Commune council of the Paris Commune are held.
    • 1885 – The Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.
    • 1913 – First Balkan War: Bulgarian forces capture Adrianople.
    • 1915 – The Vancouver Millionaires win the 1915 Stanley Cup Finals, the first championship played between the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the National Hockey Association.
    • 1917 – World War I: First Battle of Gaza: British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
    • 1922 – The German Social Democratic Party is founded in Poland.
    • 1931 – Swissair is founded as the national airline of Switzerland.
    • 1931 – Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union is founded in Vietnam.
    • 1934 – The United Kingdom driving test is introduced.
    • 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists begin their final offensive of the war.
    • 1942 – World War II: The first female prisoners arrive at Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends as the island is officially secured by American forces.
    • 1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Romeo shot of Operation Castle is detonated at Bikini Atoll. Yield: 11 megatons.
    • 1958 – The United States Army launches Explorer 3.
    • 1958 – The African Regroupment Party is launched at a meeting in Paris.
    • 1967 – Ten thousand people gather for one of many Central Park be-ins in New York City.
    • 1970 – South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu implements a land reform program to solve the problem of land tenancy.
    • 1971 – East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Liberation War begins.
    • 1975 – The Biological Weapons Convention comes into force.
    • 1979 – Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C.
    • 1981 – Social Democratic Party (UK) is founded as a party.
    • 1982 – A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C.
    • 1991 – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay sign the Treaty of Asunción, establishing Mercosur, the South Common Market.
    • 1997 – Thirty-nine bodies are found in the Heaven’s Gate mass suicides.
    • 1998 – During the Algerian Civil War, the Oued Bouaicha massacre sees fifty-two people, mostly infants, killed with axes and knives.
    • 2005 – Around 200,000 to 300,000 Taiwanese demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of China.
    • 2010 – The South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan is torpedoed, killing 46 sailors. After an international investigation, the President of the United Nations Security Council blames North Korea.
    • 2017 – Russia-wide anti-corruption protests in 99 cities. The Levada Center survey showed that 38% of surveyed Russians supported protests and that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption.

    Births on March 26

    • 1031 – Malcolm III, king of Scotland (d. 1093)
    • 1516 – Conrad Gessner, Swiss botanist and zoologist (d. 1565)
    • 1554 – Charles of Lorraine, duke of Mayenne (d. 1611)
    • 1584 – John II, duke of Zweibrücken (d. 1635)
    • 1633 – Mary Beale, British artist (d. 1699)
    • 1634 – Domenico Freschi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1710)
    • 1656 – Nicolaas Hartsoeker, Dutch mathematician and physicist (d. 1725)
    • 1687 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Prussia (d. 1757)
    • 1698 – Prokop Diviš, Czech priest, scientist and inventor (d. 1765)
    • 1749 – William Blount, American politician (d. 1800)
    • 1753 – Benjamin Thompson, American-French physicist and politician, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1814)
    • 1773 – Nathaniel Bowditch, American mathematician and navigator (d. 1838)
    • 1794 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter (d. 1872)
    • 1804 – David Humphreys Storer, American physician and academic (d. 1891)
    • 1824 – Julie-Victoire Daubié, French journalist (d. 1874)
    • 1829 – Théodore Aubanel, French poet (d. 1886)
    • 1842 – Alexandre Saint-Yves d’Alveydre, French occultist (d. 1909)
    • 1850 – Edward Bellamy, American author, socialist, and utopian visionary (d. 1898)
    • 1852 – Élémir Bourges, French author (d. 1925)
    • 1854 – Maurice Lecoq, French target shooter (d. 1925)
    • 1856 – William Massey, Irish-New Zealand farmer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1925)
    • 1857 – Théodore Tuffier, French surgeon (d. 1929)
    • 1859 – A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar (d. 1936)
    • 1859 – Adolf Hurwitz, Jewish German-Swiss mathematician and academic (d. 1919)
    • 1860 – André Prévost, French tennis player (d. 1919)
    • 1866 – Fred Karno, English producer and manager (d. 1941)
    • 1868 – King Fuad I of Egypt (d. 1936)
    • 1873 – Dorothea Bleek, South African-German anthropologist and philologist (d. 1948)
    • 1874 – Robert Frost, American poet and playwright (d. 1963)
    • 1875 – Max Abraham, Polish-German physicist and academic (d. 1922)
    • 1875 – Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea (d. 1965)
    • 1876 – William of Wied, prince of Albania (d. 1945)
    • 1876 – Kate Richards O’Hare, American Socialist Party activist and editor (d. 1948)
    • 1879 – Othmar Ammann, Swiss-American engineer, designed the George Washington Bridge and Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (d. 1965)
    • 1879 – Waldemar Tietgens, German rower (d. 1917)
    • 1881 – Guccio Gucci, Italian fashion designer, founded Gucci (d. 1953)
    • 1882 – Hermann Obrecht, Swiss politician (d. 1940)
    • 1884 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator (d. 1969)
    • 1884 – Georges Imbert, French chemical engineer and inventor (d. 1950)
    • 1886 – Hugh Mulzac, Vincentian-American soldier and politician (d. 1971)
    • 1888 – Elsa Brändström, Swedish nurse and philanthropist (d. 1948)
    • 1893 – James Bryant Conant, American chemist, academic, and diplomat, 1st United States Ambassador to West Germany (d. 1978)
    • 1893 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice (d. 1964)
    • 1894 – Viorica Ursuleac, Ukrainian-Romanian soprano and actress (d. 1985)
    • 1895 – Vilho Tuulos, Finnish triple jumper (d. 1967)
    • 1898 – Rudolf Dassler, German businessman, founded Puma SE (d. 1974)
    • 1898 – Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader (d. 1979)
    • 1900 – Angela Maria Autsch, German nun, died in Auschwitz helping Jewish prisoners (d. 1941)
    • 1904 – Joseph Campbell, American mythologist and author (d. 1987)
    • 1904 – Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1986)
    • 1904 – Attilio Ferraris, Italian footballer (d. 1947)
    • 1905 – Monty Berman, English cinematographer and producer (d. 2006)
    • 1905 – André Cluytens, Belgian-French conductor and director (d. 1967)
    • 1905 – Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1997)
    • 1906 – Rafael Méndez, Mexican trumpet player and composer (d. 1981)
    • 1907 – Azellus Denis, Canadian lawyer and politician, Postmaster General of Canada (d. 1991)
    • 1907 – Mahadevi Varma, Indian poet and activist (d. 1987)
    • 1908 – Franz Stangl, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 1971)
    • 1909 – Chips Rafferty, Australian actor (d. 1971)
    • 1910 – K. W. Devanayagam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 10th Sri Lankan Minister of Justice (d. 2002)
    • 1911 – Lennart Atterwall, Swedish javelin thrower (d. 2001)
    • 1911 – J. L. Austin, English philosopher and academic (d. 1960)
    • 1911 – Bernard Katz, German-English biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
    • 1911 – Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet (d. 1983)
    • 1913 – Jacqueline de Romilly, Jewish Franco-Greek philologist, author, and scholar (d. 2010)
    • 1913 – Paul Erdős, Hungarian-Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1996)
    • 1914 – Toru Kumon, Japanese mathematician and academic (d. 1995)
    • 1914 – William Westmoreland, American general (d. 2005)
    • 1915 – Lennart Strandberg, Swedish sprinter (d. 1989)
    • 1915 – Hwang Sun-won, North Korean author and poet (d. 2000)
    • 1916 – Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
    • 1916 – Bill Edrich, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1986)
    • 1916 – Sterling Hayden, American actor and author (d. 1986)
    • 1917 – Rufus Thomas, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1919 – Strother Martin, American actor (d. 1980)
    • 1919 – Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1965)
    • 1920 – Sergio Livingstone, Chilean footballer and journalist (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – William Milliken, American politician, 44th Governor of Michigan (d. 2019)
    • 1922 – Oscar Sala, Italian-Brazilian physicist and academic (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – Guido Stampacchia, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1978)
    • 1923 – Gert Bastian, German general and politician (d. 1992)
    • 1923 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1925 – Maqsood Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1999)
    • 1925 – Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2016)
    • 1925 – Vesta Roy, American politician, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 2002)
    • 1925 – Edward Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton, English soldier and politician (d. 2020)
    • 1925 – Ben Mondor, Canadian-American businessman (d. 2010)
    • 1925 – James Moody, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Harold Chapman, English photographer
    • 1929 – Edward Sorel, American illustrator and caricaturist
    • 1929 – Edwin Turney, American businessman, co-founded Advanced Micro Devices (d. 2008)
    • 1930 – Sandra Day O’Connor, American lawyer and jurist
    • 1930 – Gregory Corso, American poet (d. 2001)
    • 1931 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Leroy Griffith, American businessman
    • 1932 – James Andrew Harris, American chemist and academic (d. 2000)
    • 1933 – Tinto Brass, Italian director and screenwriter
    • 1934 – Alan Arkin, American actor
    • 1934 – Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, Brazilian footballer (d. 2002)
    • 1937 – Wayne Embry, American basketball player and manager
    • 1937 – Barbara Jones, American sprinter
    • 1937 – James Lee, Canadian businessman and politician, 26th Premier of Prince Edward Island
    • 1938 – Norman Ackroyd, English painter and illustrator
    • 1938 – Anthony James Leggett, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1940 – James Caan, American actor and singer
    • 1940 – Nancy Pelosi, American lawyer and politician, 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
    • 1941 – Richard Dawkins, Kenyan-English ethologist, biologist, and academic
    • 1941 – Lella Lombardi, Italian racing driver (d. 1992)
    • 1942 – Erica Jong, American novelist and poet
    • 1943 – Mustafa Kalemli, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of the Interior
    • 1943 – Bob Woodward, American journalist and author
    • 1944 – Diana Ross, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1945 – Paul Bérenger, Mauritian politician, Prime Minister of Mauritius
    • 1945 – Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast and coach (d. 2004)
    • 1946 – Johnny Crawford, American actor and singer
    • 1946 – Alain Madelin, French politician, French Minister of Finance
    • 1947 – Subhash Kak, Indian-American professor and author
    • 1947 – John Rowles, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1948 – Kyung-wha Chung, South Korean violinist and educator
    • 1948 – Richard Tandy, English pianist and keyboard player (Electric Light Orchestra)
    • 1948 – Steven Tyler, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1949 – Jon English, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2016)
    • 1949 – Rudi Koertzen, South African cricketer and umpire
    • 1949 – Vicki Lawrence, American actress, comedian, talk show host, and singer
    • 1949 – Fran Sheehan, American bass player
    • 1949 – Patrick Süskind, German author and screenwriter
    • 1949 – Ernest Lee Thomas, American actor
    • 1950 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1950 – Graham Barlow, English cricketer
    • 1950 – Martin Short, Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, and producer
    • 1950 – Alan Silvestri, American composer and conductor
    • 1951 – Željko Pavličević, Croatian professional basketball coach and former professional player
    • 1951 – Carl Wieman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1952 – Didier Pironi, French racing driver (d. 1987)
    • 1953 – Lincoln Chafee, American academic and politician, 74th Governor of Rhode Island
    • 1953 – Elaine Chao, Taiwanese-American banker and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Labor
    • 1953 – Tatyana Providokhina, Russian runner
    • 1954 – Clive Palmer, Australian businessman and politician
    • 1954 – Curtis Sliwa, American talk show host and activist, founded Guardian Angels
    • 1954 – Dorothy Porter, Australian poet and playwright (d. 2008)
    • 1956 – Charly McClain, American country singer
    • 1956 – Park Won-soon, South Korean lawyer and politician, 35th Mayor of Seoul
    • 1957 – Fiona Bruce, Scottish lawyer and politician
    • 1957 – Leeza Gibbons, American talk show host and television personality
    • 1957 – Paul Morley, English journalist, producer, and author
    • 1957 – Shirin Neshat, Iranian visual artist
    • 1958 – Elio de Angelis, Italian racing driver (d. 1986)
    • 1960 – Marcus Allen, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Jennifer Grey, American actress and dancer
    • 1960 – Graeme Rutjes, Australian-Dutch footballer
    • 1961 – William Hague, English historian and politician, First Secretary of State
    • 1962 – Richard Coles, English pianist, saxophonist, and priest
    • 1962 – Kevin Seitzer, American baseball player and coach
    • 1962 – Yuri Gidzenko, Russian pilot and cosmonaut
    • 1962 – John Stockton, American basketball player and coach
    • 1962 – Eric Allan Kramer, American-Canadian actor
    • 1963 – Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Japanese author
    • 1964 – Martin Bella, Australian rugby league player
    • 1964 – Martin Donnelly, Irish racing driver
    • 1964 – Maria Miller, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
    • 1964 – Ulf Samuelsson, Swedish-American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1965 – Trey Azagthoth, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1965 – Violeta Szekely, Romanian runner
    • 1966 – Michael Imperioli, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Jason Chaffetz, American politician
    • 1968 – Laurent Brochard, French cyclist
    • 1968 – Kenny Chesney, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1968 – James Iha, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1969 – Alessandro Moscardi, Italian rugby player
    • 1970 – Paul Bosvelt, Dutch footballer
    • 1970 – Jelle Goes, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1970 – Thomas Kyparissis, Greek footballer
    • 1970 – Martin McDonagh, English-born Irish playwright, screenwriter, and director
    • 1971 – Behzad Ghorbani, Iranian zoologist
    • 1971 – Martyn Day, Scottish politician
    • 1971 – Erick Morillo, Colombian-American DJ and producer
    • 1971 – Rennae Stubbs, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Paul Williams, English footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Leslie Mann, American actress
    • 1972 – Jason Maxwell, American baseball player
    • 1973 – Larry Page, American computer scientist and businessman, co-founder of Google
    • 1973 – T. R. Knight, American actor
    • 1973 – Matt Burke, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Irina Spîrlea, Romanian tennis player
    • 1974 – Vadimas Petrenko, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1974 – Michael Peca, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1976 – Amy Smart, American actress and former model
    • 1976 – Alex Varas, Chilean footballer
    • 1976 – Eirik Verås Larsen, Norwegian sprint kayaker
    • 1977 – Kevin Davies, English footballer
    • 1977 – Bianca Kajlich, American actress
    • 1977 – Sylvain Grenier, Canadian wrestler
    • 1978 – Anastasia Kostaki, Greek basketball player
    • 1979 – Nacho Novo, Spanish footballer
    • 1979 – Ben Blair, New Zealand rugby union footballer
    • 1979 – Hiromi Uehara, Japanese pianist and composer
    • 1979 – Pierre Womé, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1979 – Juliana Paes, Brazilian actress
    • 1980 – Margaret Brennan, American journalist
    • 1980 – Son Ho-young, South Korean singer
    • 1980 – Richie Wellens, English footballer
    • 1981 – Sébastien Centomo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Baruch Dego, Ethiopian-Israeli footballer
    • 1981 – Massimo Donati, Italian footballer
    • 1981 – Josh Wilson, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Mikel Arteta, Spanish footballer
    • 1982 – Brendan Ryan, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Nate Kaeding, American football player
    • 1983 – Andreas Hinkel, German footballer
    • 1983 – Floriana Lima, American actress
    • 1983 – Roman Bednář, Czech footballer
    • 1983 – Mike Mondo, American wrestler
    • 1984 – Jimmy Howard, American ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Drew Mitchell, Australian rugby player
    • 1984 – Felix Neureuther, German skier
    • 1984 – Marco Stier, German footballer
    • 1984 – Gregory Strydom, Zimbabwean cricketer
    • 1984 – Sara Jean Underwood, American model, television host, and actress
    • 1985 – Keira Knightley, English actress
    • 1985 – Matt Grevers, American swimmer
    • 1985 – Jonathan Groff, American actor and singer
    • 1985 – Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwean cricketer
    • 1986 – Maxime Biset, Belgian footballer
    • 1986 – Rob Kearney, Irish rugby player
    • 1986 – Emma Laine, Finnish tennis player
    • 1987 – Kim Dong-suk, South Korean footballer
    • 1987 – Jermichael Finley, American football player
    • 1987 – Steven Fletcher, Scottish footballer
    • 1989 – Simon Kjær, Danish footballer
    • 1990 – Choi Woo-shik, South Korean actor
    • 1990 – Patrick Ekeng, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2016)
    • 1990 – Yuya Takaki, Japanese idol, singer, dancer, model and actor
    • 1990 – Xiumin, South Korean singer and actor, member of South Korean boy band EXO
    • 1991 – Matt Davidson, American baseball player
    • 1992 – Nina Agdal, Danish model
    • 1992 – Stoffel Vandoorne, Belgian racing driver
    • 1994 – Jed Wallace, English footballer
    • 1996 – Zane Musgrove, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1996 – Kathryn Bernardo, Filipino actress
    • 1998 – Satoko Miyahara, Japanese figure skater
    • 2003 – Bhad Bhabie, American rapper and social media personality

    Deaths on March 26

    • 752 – Pope-elect Stephen
    • 809 – Ludger, Frisian missionary
    • 903 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese poet
    • 908 – Ai, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (b. 892)
    • 922 – Mansur Al-Hallaj, Persian mystic and poet (b. 858)
    • 929 – Wang Du, Chinese warlord and governor (jiedushi)
    • 973 – Guntram (“the Rich”), Frankish nobleman
    • 983 – ‘Adud al-Dawla, Iranian ruler (b. 936)
    • 1091 – Wallada bint al-Mustakfi, Andalusian poet
    • 1130 – Sigurd the Crusader, Norwegian king (b. 1090)
    • 1132 – Geoffrey of Vendôme, French cardinal and theologian (b. 1065)
    • 1212 – Sancho I of Portugal (b. 1154)
    • 1242 – William de Forz, 3rd Earl of Albemarle
    • 1324 – Marie de Luxembourg, Queen of France (b. 1304)
    • 1326 – Alessandra Giliani, anatomist (b. c. 1307)
    • 1402 – David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, heir to the throne of Scotland (b. 1378)
    • 1437 – Walter Stewart, Earl of Atholl, Scottish nobleman and regicide
    • 1517 – Heinrich Isaac, Flemish composer (b. 1450)
    • 1535 – Georg Tannstetter, Austrian mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer (b. 1482)
    • 1546 – Thomas Elyot, English scholar and diplomat (b. 1490)
    • 1566 – Antonio de Cabezón, Spanish organist and composer (b. 1510)
    • 1625 – Giambattista Marini, Italian poet (b. 1569)
    • 1649 – John Winthrop, English lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
    • 1679 – Johannes Schefferus, Swedish historian and author (b. 1621)
    • 1697 – Godfrey McCulloch, Scottish politician (b. 1640)
    • 1726 – John Vanbrugh, English playwright and architect, designed Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard (b. 1664)
    • 1772 – Charles Pinot Duclos, French author and politician (b. 1704)
    • 1776 – Samuel Ward, American jurist and politician, 31st Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island (b. 1725)
    • 1780 – Charles I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (b. 1713)
    • 1793 – John Mudge, English physician and engineer (b. 1721)
    • 1797 – James Hutton, Scottish geologist and physician (b. 1726)
    • 1814 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician and politician (b. 1738)
    • 1827 – Ludwig van Beethoven, German pianist and composer (b. 1770)
    • 1858 – John Addison Thomas, American lieutenant, engineer, and politician, 3rd United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1811)
    • 1862 – Uriah P. Levy, American commander (b. 1792)
    • 1881 – Roman Sanguszko, Polish general and activist (b. 1800)
    • 1885 – Anson Stager, American general and businessman, co-founded Western Union (b. 1825)
    • 1888 – Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar (b. 1837)
    • 1892 – Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist (b. 1819)
    • 1902 – Cecil Rhodes, English-South African colonialist, businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (b. 1853)
    • 1905 – Maurice Barrymore, American actor (b. 1849)
    • 1910 – Auguste Charlois, French astronomer (b. 1864)
    • 1920 – William Chester Minor, American surgeon and lexicographer (b. 1834)
    • 1923 – Sarah Bernhardt, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1844)
    • 1926 – Constantin Fehrenbach, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1852)
    • 1932 – Henry M. Leland, American machinist, inventor, engineer, automotive entrepreneur and founded of Cadillac and Lincoln (b. 1843)
    • 1934 – John Biller, American jumper and discus thrower (b. 1877)
    • 1940 – Wilhelm Anderson, German-Estonian astrophysicist (b. 1880)
    • 1940 – Spyridon Louis, Greek runner (b. 1873)
    • 1942 – Jimmy Burke, American baseball player and manager (b. 1874)
    • 1942 – Carolyn Wells, American novelist and poet (b. 1862)
    • 1945 – David Lloyd George, English-Welsh lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1863)
    • 1951 – James F. Hinkle, American banker and politician, 6th Governor of New Mexico (b. 1864)
    • 1954 – Charles Perrin, French rower (b. 1875)
    • 1957 – Édouard Herriot, French politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1872)
    • 1958 – Phil Mead, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1887)
    • 1959 – Raymond Chandler, American crime novelist and screenwriter (b. 1888)
    • 1966 – Victor Hochepied, French swimmer (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – John Kennedy Toole, American novelist (b. 1937)
    • 1973 – Noël Coward, English playwright, actor, and composer (b. 1899)
    • 1973 – Johnny Drake, American football player (b. 1916)
    • 1979 – Beauford Delaney, American-French painter (b. 1901)
    • 1979 – Jean Stafford, American author and academic (b. 1915)
    • 1980 – Roland Barthes, French linguist and critic (b. 1915)
    • 1983 – Anthony Blunt, English historian and spy (b. 1907)
    • 1984 – Ahmed Sékou Touré, Guinean politician, 1st President of Guinea (b. 1922)
    • 1987 – Eugen Jochum, German conductor (b. 1902)
    • 1987 – Walter Abel, American actor (b. 1898)
    • 1990 – Halston, American fashion designer (b. 1932)
    • 1992 – Barbara Frum, American-Canadian journalist and radio host (b. 1937)
    • 1993 – Louis Falco, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1942)
    • 1995 – Eazy-E, American rapper and producer (b. 1964)
    • 1996 – Edmund Muskie, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 58th United States Secretary of State (b. 1914)
    • 1996 – David Packard, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (b. 1912)
    • 2000 – Alex Comfort, English physician and author (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Randy Castillo, American drummer and songwriter (b. 1950)
    • 2003 – Daniel Patrick Moynihan, American sociologist and politician, 12th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1927)
    • 2004 – Jan Sterling, American actress (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – James Callaghan, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1912)
    • 2005 – Frederick Rotimi Williams, Nigerian lawyer and politician (b. 1920)
    • 2006 – Anil Biswas, Indian journalist and politician (b. 1944)
    • 2006 – Paul Dana, American racing driver (b. 1975)
    • 2006 – Nikki Sudden, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1956)
    • 2008 – Robert Fagles, American poet and academic (b. 1933)
    • 2008 – Manuel Marulanda, Colombian rebel leader (b. 1930)
    • 2009 – Shane McConkey, Canadian skier and BASE jumper (b. 1969)
    • 2009 – Arne Bendiksen, Norwegian singer and composer (b. 1926)
    • 2010 – Charles Ryskamp, American art collector and curator (b. 1928)
    • 2011 – Roger Abbott, English-Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2011 – Geraldine Ferraro, American lawyer and politician (b. 1935)
    • 2011 – Diana Wynne Jones, English author (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Sisto Averno, American football player (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Michael Begley, Irish carpenter and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Thomas M. Cover, American theorist and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – David Craighead, American organist and educator (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Manik Godghate, Indian poet and educator (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Helmer Ringgren, Swedish theologian and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Tom Boerwinkle, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1945)
    • 2013 – Krzysztof Kozłowski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Interior (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Dave Leggett, American baseball player (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Don Payne, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1964)
    • 2014 – Roger Birkman, American psychologist and author (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Dick Guidry, American businessman and politician (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Marcus Kimball, Baron Kimball, English politician (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Dinkha IV, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Friedrich L. Bauer, German mathematician, computer scientist, and academic (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet, translator, and psychologist Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Jim Harrison, American novelist, essayist, and poet (b. 1937)
    • 2018 – Fabrizio Frizzi, Italian television presenter (b. 1958)

    Holidays and observances on March 26

    • Christian feast days:
      • Castulus
      • Emmanuel and companions
      • Felicitas
      • Harriet Monsell (Church of England)
      • Larissa
      • Ludger
      • Richard Allen (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • March 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Independence Day and National Day (Bangladesh), celebrates the declaration of independence from Pakistan in 1971.
    • Martyr’s Day or Day of Democracy (Mali)
    • Prince Kūhiō Day (Hawaii, United States)
    • Purple Day (Canada and United States)
    • Synaxis of the Archangel Gabriel (Eastern Christianity)

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

    • 747 BC – Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy’s Nabonassar Era.
    • 364 – Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman emperor
    • 1233 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols capture Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty, after besieging it for months.
    • 1266 – Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by Manfred, King of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples.
    • 1365 – The Ava Kingdom and the royal city of Ava (Inwa) founded by King Thado Minbya
    • 1606 – The Janszoon voyage of 1605–06 becomes the first European expedition to set foot on Australia, although it is mistaken as a part of New Guinea.
    • 1616 – Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.
    • 1775 – The British East India Company factory on Balambangan Island is destroyed by Moro pirates
    • 1794 – The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down.
    • 1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.
    • 1876 – Japan and Korea sign a treaty granting Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights, opening three ports to Japanese trade, and ending Korea’s status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty China.
    • 1909 – Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
    • 1914 – HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
    • 1919 – President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park.
    • 1929 – President Calvin Coolidge signs an executive order establishing the 96,000 acre Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
    • 1935 – Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
    • 1935 – Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom.
    • 1936 – In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.
    • 1952 – Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.
    • 1960 – A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland, shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.
    • 1966 – Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket
    • 1971 – U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
    • 1979 – The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.
    • 1980 – Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.
    • 1987 – Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
    • 1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Khojaly Massacre: Armenian armed forces open fire on Azeri civilians at a military post outside the town of Khojaly leaving hundreds dead.
    • 1993 – World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand people.
    • 1995 – The UK’s oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after a rogue securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
    • 2008 – The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this is the first event of its kind to take place in North Korea.
    • 2012 – Trayvon Martin was shot and killed at the age of 17 in Sanford, Florida.
    • 2012 – A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.
    • 2013 – A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people.

    Births on February 26

    • 1361 – Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (d. 1419)
    • 1416 – Christopher of Bavaria (d. 1448)
    • 1564 – Christopher Marlowe, English playwright, poet and translator (d. 1593)
    • 1584 – Albert VI, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1666)
    • 1587 – Stefano Landi, Italian composer and educator (d. 1639)
    • 1629 – Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, Scottish peer (d. 1685)
    • 1651 – Quirinus Kuhlmann, German Baroque poet and mystic (d. 1689)
    • 1671 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician (d. 1713)
    • 1672 – Antoine Augustin Calmet, French monk and theologian (d. 1757)
    • 1677 – Nicola Fago, Italian composer and teacher (d. 1745)
    • 1718 – Johan Ernst Gunnerus, Norwegian bishop, botanist and zoologist (d. 1773)
    • 1720 – Gian Francesco Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1803)
    • 1746 – Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma (d. 1806)
    • 1770 – Anton Reicha, Bohemian composer and flautist (d. 1836)
    • 1777 – Matija Nenadović, Serbian priest, historian, and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 1854)
    • 1786 – François Arago, French mathematician and politician, 25th Prime Minister of France (d. 1853)
    • 1799 – Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron, French physicist and engineer (d. 1864)
    • 1802 – Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1885)
    • 1808 – Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 1879)
    • 1808 – Nathan Kelley, American architect, designed the Ohio Statehouse (d. 1871)
    • 1829 – Levi Strauss, German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (d. 1902)
    • 1842 – Camille Flammarion, French astronomer and author (d. 1925)
    • 1846 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (d. 1917)
    • 1852 – John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes (d. 1943)
    • 1857 – Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (d. 1926)
    • 1861 – Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (d. 1948)
    • 1861 – Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian soldier and politician (d. 1939)
    • 1866 – Herbert Henry Dow, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Dow Chemical Company (d. 1930)
    • 1877 – Henry Barwell, Australian politician, 28th Premier of South Australia (d. 1959)
    • 1877 – Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (d. 1968)
    • 1879 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (d. 1941)
    • 1880 – Kenneth Edgeworth, Irish astronomer (d. 1972)
    • 1881 – Janus Djurhuus, Faroese poet (d. 1948)
    • 1882 – Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (d. 1968)
    • 1885 – Aleksandras Stulginskis, Lithuanian farmer and politician, 2nd President of Lithuania (d. 1969)
    • 1887 – Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player and coach (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (d. 1966)
    • 1887 – Stefan Grabiński, Polish author and educator (d. 1936)
    • 1893 – Wallace Fard Muhammad, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam (disappeared 1934)
    • 1893 – Dorothy Whipple, English novelist (d. 1966)
    • 1896 – Andrei Zhdanov, Ukrainian-Russian civil servant and politician (d. 1948)
    • 1899 – Max Petitpierre, Swiss jurist and politician, 54th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1994)
    • 1900 – Halina Konopacka, Polish discus thrower and poet (d. 1989)
    • 1900 – Fritz Wiessner, German-American mountaineer (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Jean Bruller, French author and illustrator, co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit (d. 1991)
    • 1903 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
    • 1903 – Orde Wingate, English general (d. 1944)
    • 1906 – Madeleine Carroll, English actress (d. 1987)
    • 1908 – Tex Avery, American animator, producer, and voice actor (d. 1980)
    • 1908 – Nestor Mesta Chayres, Mexican operatic tenor and bolero vocalist (d. 1971)
    • 1908 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (d. 1949)
    • 1909 – Fanny Cradock, English chef, author, and critic (d. 1994)
    • 1909 – Talal of Jordan (d. 1972)
    • 1910 – Vic Woodley, English footballer (d. 1978)
    • 1911 – Tarō Okamoto, Japanese painter and sculptor (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Dane Clark, American actor and director (d. 1998)
    • 1913 – George Barker, English author and poet (d. 1991)
    • 1914 – Robert Alda, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1986)
    • 1916 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and singer (d. 1987)
    • 1918 – Otis R. Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Pyotr Masherov, Leader of Soviet Belarus (d. 1980)
    • 1918 – Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic (d. 1985)
    • 1919 – Mason Adams, American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Danny Gardella, American baseball player and trainer (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Tony Randall, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Bill Johnston, Australian cricketer and businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Margaret Leighton, English actress (d. 1976)
    • 1924 – Noboru Takeshita, Japanese soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Marc Bucci, American composer, lyricist, and dramatist (d. 2002)
    • 1925 – Everton Weekes, Barbadian cricketer and referee
    • 1926 – Doris Belack, American actress (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Verne Gagne, American football player, wrestler, and trainer (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Tom Kennedy, American game show host and actor
    • 1928 – Fats Domino, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Ally MacLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1931 – Robert Novak, American journalist and author (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Josephine Tewson, English actress
    • 1932 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2003)
    • 1933 – James Goldsmith, French-British businessman and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1934 – Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, Algerian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1936 – José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal (d. 2014)
    • 1937 – Paul Dickson, American football player and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1939 – Chuck Wepner, American professional boxer
    • 1940 – Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Jozef Adamec, Slovak footballer and manager (d. 2018)
    • 1943 – Paul Cotton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Bill Duke, American actor and director
    • 1943 – Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer
    • 1943 – Bob “The Bear” Hite, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1981)
    • 1944 – Christopher Hope, South African author and poet
    • 1944 – Ronald Lauder, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Austria
    • 1945 – Peter Brock, Australian race car driver (d. 2006)
    • 1945 – Marta Kristen, Norwegian-American actress
    • 1945 – Mitch Ryder, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1946 – Colin Bell, English footballer
    • 1946 – Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
    • 1947 – Sandie Shaw, English singer and psychotherapist
    • 1948 – Sharyn McCrumb, American author
    • 1949 – Simon Crean, Australian trade union leader and politician, 14th Australian Minister for the Arts
    • 1949 – Elizabeth George, American author and educator
    • 1949 – Emma Kirkby, English soprano
    • 1950 – Jonathan Cain, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1950 – Helen Clark, New Zealand academic and politician, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1951 – Steve Bell, English cartoonist
    • 1951 – Wayne Goss, Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Premier of Queensland (d. 2014)
    • 1953 – Michael Bolton, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1954 – Prince Ernst August of Hanover
    • 1954 – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish politician, 12th President of Turkey
    • 1955 – Andreas Maislinger, Austrian historian and academic, founded the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
    • 1956 – Michel Houellebecq, French author, poet, screenwriter, and director
    • 1957 – David Beasley, American lawyer and politician, 113th Governor of South Carolina
    • 1957 – Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1957 – Keena Rothhammer, American swimmer
    • 1958 – Paul Ackford, English rugby player
    • 1958 – Greg Germann, American actor and director
    • 1958 – Susan Helms, American general, engineer, and astronaut
    • 1958 – Tim Kaine, American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Virginia
    • 1959 – Rolando Blackman, American basketball player and coach
    • 1959 – Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish political scientist, academic, and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Turkey
    • 1960 – Jaz Coleman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1962 – Ahn Cheol-soo, South Korean physician, academic, and politician
    • 1963 – Chase Masterson, American actress, singer, and activist
    • 1965 – James Mitchell, American wrestler and manager
    • 1966 – Garry Conille, Haitian physician and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Haiti
    • 1966 – Marc Fortier, French-Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1966 – Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer
    • 1967 – Mark Carroll, Australian rugby league player
    • 1967 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese footballer
    • 1968 – Tim Commerford, American bass player
    • 1969 – Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer and producer
    • 1970 – Mark Harper, English accountant and politician, Minister of State for Immigration
    • 1970 – Scott Mahon, Australian rugby league player
    • 1971 – Erykah Badu, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1971 – Max Martin, Swedish-American record producer and songwriter
    • 1971 – Hélène Segara, French singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1973 – Marshall Faulk, American football player
    • 1973 – Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian footballer and manager
    • 1973 – Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
    • 1974 – Sébastien Loeb, French race car driver
    • 1974 – Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Filipina television actress, host and equestrienne
    • 1976 – Nalini Anantharaman, French mathematician
    • 1976 – Chad Urmston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1977 – Tim Thomas, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Shane Williams, Welsh rugby union player
    • 1978 – Abdoulaye Faye, Senegalese footballer
    • 1979 – Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Steve Evans, Welsh footballer
    • 1979 – Pedro Mendes, Portuguese international footballer, midfielder
    • 1980 – Steve Blake, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Kertus Davis, American race car driver
    • 1981 – Oh Seung-bum, South Korean footballer
    • 1982 – Li Na, Chinese tennis player
    • 1982 – Matt Prior, South African-English cricketer
    • 1982 – Nate Ruess, American singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Jerome Harrison, American football player
    • 1983 – Pepe, Brazilian-Portuguese footballer
    • 1984 – Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese international footballer, forward
    • 1984 – Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer-songwriter
    • 1984 – Beren Saat, Turkish actress
    • 1985 – Fernando Llorente, Spanish international footballer, striker
    • 1986 – Hannah Kearney, American skier
    • 1989 – Gabriel Obertan, French footballer
    • 1990 – Kateřina Cachová, Czech heptathlete
    • 1990 – Takanoiwa Yoshimori, Mongolian sumo wrestler
    • 1991 – Lee Chae-rin, South Korean singer
    • 1992 – Mikael Granlund, Finnish professional hockey player
    • 1992 – Michael Chee Kam, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1997 – Reghan Tumilty, Scottish footballer

    Deaths on February 26

    • 420 – Porphyry of Gaza, Greek bishop and saint (b. 347)
    • 943 – Muirchertach mac Néill, king of Ailech (Ireland)
    • 1154 – Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093)
    • 1266 – Manfred, King of Sicily (b. 1232)
    • 1275 – Margaret of England, Queen consort of Scots (b. 1240)
    • 1349 – Fatima bint al-Ahmar, Nasrid princess in the Emirate of Granada (b. c.1260)
    • 1360 – Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English commander (b. 1328)
    • 1462 – John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, English politician (b. 1408)
    • 1548 – Lorenzino de’ Medici, Italian writer and assassin (b. 1514)
    • 1577 – Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)
    • 1603 – Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, spouse of Maximilian II (b. 1528)
    • 1608 – John Still, English bishop (b. 1543)
    • 1611 – Antonio Possevino, Italian priest and diplomat (b. 1533)
    • 1625 – Anna Vasa of Sweden, Polish and Swedish princess (b. 1568)
    • 1630 – William Brade, English violinist and composer (b. 1560)
    • 1638 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician and linguist (b. 1581)
    • 1723 – Thomas d’Urfey, English poet and playwright (b. 1653)
    • 1726 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1662)
    • 1770 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1692)
    • 1790 – Joshua Rowley, English admiral (b. 1730)
    • 1802 – Esek Hopkins, American admiral (b. 1718)
    • 1806 – Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, Haitian-French general (b. 1762)
    • 1813 – Robert R. Livingston, American lawyer and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs (b. 1746)
    • 1815 – Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. 1737)
    • 1821 – Joseph de Maistre, French lawyer and diplomat (b. 1753)
    • 1864 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Canadian jurist and politician, 3rd Premier of Canada East (b. 1807)
    • 1883 – Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek lawyer and politician, 56th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)
    • 1887 – Anandi Gopal Joshi, First Indian women physician (b. 1865)
    • 1889 – Karl Davydov, Russian cellist and composer (b. 1838)
    • 1903 – Richard Jordan Gatling, American engineer, invented the Gatling gun (b. 1818)
    • 1906 – Jean Lanfray, Swiss convicted murderer (b. 1874)
    • 1913 – Felix Draeseke, German composer and academic (b. 1835)
    • 1921 – Carl Menger, Polish-Austrian economist and academic (b. 1840)
    • 1930 – Mary Whiton Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (b. 1863)
    • 1931 – Otto Wallach, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1847)
    • 1936 – February 26 Incident:
      • Takahashi Korekiyo, Japanese accountant and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1854)
      • Saitō Makoto, Japanese admiral and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1858)
      • Jōtarō Watanabe, Japanese general (b. 1874)
    • 1943 – Theodor Eicke, German general (b. 1892)
    • 1945 – Sándor Szurmay, Minister of Defence of the Hungarian portion of Austria-Hungary (b. 1860)
    • 1947 – Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss judge and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1868)
    • 1950 – Harry Lauder, Scottish comedian and singer (b. 1870)
    • 1951 – Sabiha Kasimati, Albanian ichthyologist (b. 1912) executed with 20 others
    • 1952 – Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (b. 1878)
    • 1961 – Karl Albiker, German sculptor, lithographer, and educator (b. 1878)
    • 1961 – Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909)
    • 1966 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian poet and politician (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Levi Eshkol, Israeli soldier and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895)
    • 1969 – Karl Jaspers, German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (b. 1883)
    • 1981 – Robert Aickman, English author and activist (b. 1914)
    • 1981 – Howard Hanson, American composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1896)
    • 1985 – Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch-American economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
    • 1989 – Roy Eldridge, American trumpet player (b. 1911)
    • 1993 – Constance Ford, American model and actress (b. 1923)
    • 1994 – Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961)
    • 1995 – Jack Clayton, English director and producer (b. 1921)
    • 1997 – David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929)
    • 1998 – Theodore Schultz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 2000 – George L. Street III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)
    • 2004 – Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (b. 1905)
    • 2004 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956)
    • 2005 – Jef Raskin, American computer scientist, created Macintosh (b. 1943)
    • 2006 – Georgina Battiscombe, British biographer (b. 1905)
    • 2008 – Bodil Udsen, Danish actress (b. 1925)
    • 2009 – Johnny Kerr, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Wendy Richard, English actress (b. 1943)
    • 2009 – Norm Van Lier, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Jun Seba, also known as “Nujabes”, Japanese record producer, DJ, composer and arranger (b. 1974)
    • 2011 – Arnošt Lustig, Czech author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Richard Carpenter, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Marie-Claire Alain, French organist and educator (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Stéphane Hessel, German-French diplomat and author (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Simon Li, Hong Kong judge and politician (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Sorel Etrog, Romanian-Canadian sculptor, painter, and illustrator (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Phyllis Krasilovsky, American author and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Sheppard Frere, English historian and archaeologist (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, educator, and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and coach (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Tom Schweich, American lawyer and politician, 36th State Auditor of Missouri (b. 1960)
    • 2016 – Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
    • 2016 – Don Getty, Canadian football player and politician, 11th Premier of Alberta (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Joseph Wapner, American lieutenant and judge (b. 1919)

    Holidays and observances on February 26

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexander of Alexandria
      • Emily Malbone Morgan (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Isabelle of France
      • Li Tim-Oi (Anglican Church of Canada)
      • Porphyry of Gaza
      • February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The first day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (Please note that this observance is only locked into this date the Gregorian calendar on this date if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it doesn’t in all years)
    • Day of Remembrance for Victims of Khojaly Massacre (Azerbaijan)
    • Liberation Day (Kuwait)
    • Saviours’ Day (Nation of Islam)

  • February 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    February 15 in History

    • 590 – Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia.
    • 706 – Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople.
    • 1002 – At an assembly at Pavia of Lombard nobles, Arduin of Ivrea is restored to his domains and crowned King of Italy.
    • 1113 – Pope Paschal II issues Pie Postulatio Voluntatis, recognizing the Order of Hospitallers.
    • 1214 – During the Anglo-French War (1213–1214), an English invasion force led by John, King of England, lands at La Rochelle in France.
    • 1493 – While on board the Niña, Christopher Columbus writes an open letter (widely distributed upon his return to Portugal) describing his discoveries and the unexpected items he came across in the New World.
    • 1637 – Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1690 – Constantin Cantemir, Prince of Moldavia, and the Holy Roman Empire sign a secret treaty in Sibiu, stipulating that Moldavia would support the actions led by the House of Habsburg against the Ottoman Empire.
    • 1764 – The city of St. Louis is established in Spanish Louisiana (now in Missouri, USA).
    • 1798 – The Roman Republic is proclaimed after Louis-Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon, had invaded the city of Rome five days earlier.
    • 1835 – Serbia’s Sretenje Constitution briefly comes into effect.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Confederates commanded by Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd attack General Ulysses S. Grant’s Union forces Fort Donelson, Tennessee. Unable to break the fort’s encirclement, Lloyd surrenders the following day.
    • 1870 – Stevens Institute of Technology is founded in New Jersey, USA and offers the first Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering.
    • 1879 – Women’s rights: US President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
    • 1891 – Allmänna Idrottsklubben (AIK) (Swedish Sports Club) is founded.
    • 1898 – The battleship USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing 274. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain.
    • 1901 – The association football club Alianza Lima is founded in Lima, Peru, under the name Sport Alianza.
    • 1909 – The Flores Theater fire in Acapulco, Mexico kills 250.
    • 1921 – Kingdom of Romania establishes its legation in Helsinki.
    • 1923 – Greece becomes the last European country to adopt the Gregorian calendar.
    • 1925 – The 1925 serum run to Nome: The second delivery of serum arrives in Nome, Alaska.
    • 1933 – In Miami, Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate US President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shoots Chicago mayor Anton J. Cermak, who dies of his wounds on March 6, 1933.
    • 1942 – World War II: Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.
    • 1944 – World War II: The assault on Monte Cassino, Italy begins.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Narva Offensive begins.
    • 1945 – World War II: Third day of bombing in Dresden.
    • 1946 – ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
    • 1949 – Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux begin excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves, where they will eventually discover the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
    • 1952 – King George VI of the United Kingdom is buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
    • 1954 – Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska.
    • 1961 – Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team along with several of their coaches and family members.
    • 1965 – A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.
    • 1971 – The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.
    • 1972 – Sound recordings are granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time.
    • 1972 – José María Velasco Ibarra, serving as President of Ecuador for the fifth time, is overthrown by the military for the fourth time.
    • 1982 – The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 workers.
    • 1989 – Soviet–Afghan War: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan.
    • 1991 – The Visegrád Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
    • 1992 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced in Milwaukee to life in prison.
    • 1992 – Air Transport International Flight 805 crashes near Toledo Express Airport in Ohio, killing all four people on board.
    • 1996 – At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3 rocket, carrying an Intelsat 708, crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing many people.
    • 2001 – The first draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature.
    • 2003 – Protests against the Iraq war take place in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between eight million to 30 million people participate, making this the largest peace demonstration in history.
    • 2010 – Two trains collide in the Halle train collision in Halle, Belgium, killing 19 and injuring 171 people.
    • 2012 – Three hundred sixty people die in a fire at a Honduran prison in the city of Comayagua.
    • 2013 – A meteor explodes over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blows out windows and rocks buildings. This happens unexpectedly only hours before the expected closest ever approach of the larger and unrelated asteroid 2012 DA14.

    Births on February 15

    • 1377 – Ladislaus of Naples (d. 1414)
    • 1458 – Ivan the Young, son of Ivan III of Russia (d. 1490)
    • 1471 – Piero the Unfortunate, Italian ruler (d. 1503)
    • 1506 – Juliana of Stolberg, German countess (d. 1580)
    • 1519 – Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, first Spanish Governor of Florida (d. 1574)
    • 1557 – Alfonso Fontanelli, Italian composer (d. 1622)
    • 1564 – Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (d. 1642)
    • 1571 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (probable; d. 1621)
    • 1612 – Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, French soldier, founded Montreal (d. 1676)
    • 1627 – Charles Morton, Cornish nonconformist minister (d. 1698)
    • 1638 – Zeb-un-Nissa, Mughal princess and poet (d. 1702)
    • 1705 – Charles-André van Loo, French painter (d. 1765)
    • 1710 – Louis XV of France (d. 1774)
    • 1725 – Abraham Clark, American surveyor, lawyer, and politician (d. 1794)
    • 1734 – William Stacy, American colonel (d. 1802)
    • 1739 – Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect, designed the Paris Bourse (d. 1813)
    • 1748 – Jeremy Bentham, English jurist and philosopher (d. 1832)
    • 1759 – Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist and critic (d. 1824)
    • 1760 – Jean-François Le Sueur, French composer and educator (d. 1837)
    • 1797 – Henry E. Steinway, German-American businessman, founded Steinway & Sons (d. 1871)
    • 1809 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (d. 1857)
    • 1809 – Cyrus McCormick, American journalist and businessman, co-founded International Harvester (d. 1884)
    • 1810 – Mary S. B. Shindler, American poet, writer, and editor (d. 1883)
    • 1811 – Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Argentinian journalist and politician, 7th President of Argentina (d. 1888)
    • 1812 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (d. 1902)
    • 1820 – Susan B. Anthony, American suffragist and activist (d. 1906)
    • 1825 – Carter Harrison, Sr., American lawyer and politician, 29th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1893)
    • 1834 – V. A. Urechia, Moldavian-Romanian historian, author, and playwright (d. 1901)
    • 1835 – Demetrius Vikelas, Greek businessman and philanthropist (d. 1908)
    • 1840 – Titu Maiorescu, Romanian philosopher, academic, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1917)
    • 1841 – Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Brazil (d. 1913)
    • 1845 – Elihu Root, American lawyer and politician, 38th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
    • 1847 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1927)
    • 1849 – Rickman Godlee, English surgeon and academic (d. 1925)
    • 1850 – Sophie Bryant, Irish mathematician, academic and activist (d. 1922)
    • 1851 – Spiru Haret, Romanian mathematician, astronomer, and politician, 55th Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs (d. 1912)
    • 1856 – Emil Kraepelin, German psychiatrist and academic (d. 1926)
    • 1861 – Martin Burns, American wrestler and coach (d. 1937)
    • 1861 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)
    • 1861 – Alfred North Whitehead, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1947)
    • 1873 – Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
    • 1874 – Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish captain and explorer (d. 1922)
    • 1883 – Sax Rohmer, English-American author (d. 1959)
    • 1890 – Robert Ley, German politician (d. 1945)
    • 1892 – James Forrestal, American lieutenant and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)
    • 1892 – Roy Rene, Australian comedian (d. 1954)
    • 1893 – Roman Najuch, Polish professional tennis player (d. 1967)
    • 1896 – Arthur Shields, Irish republican and actor (d. 1970)
    • 1897 – Gerrit Kleerekoper, Jewish-Dutch gymnast and coach (d. 1943)
    • 1898 – Totò, Italian actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1967)
    • 1899 – Georges Auric, French composer (d. 1983)
    • 1899 – Gale Sondergaard, Danish-American actress (d. 1985)
    • 1904 – Mary Adshead, English painter (d. 1995)
    • 1904 – Antonin Magne, French cyclist and manager (d. 1983)
    • 1905 – Harold Arlen, Jewish-American composer (d. 1986)
    • 1907 – Jean Langlais, French organist and composer (d. 1991)
    • 1907 – Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)
    • 1908 – Sarto Fournier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 38th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1980)
    • 1909 – Miep Gies, Austrian-Dutch humanitarian, helped hide Anne Frank and her family (d. 2010)
    • 1910 – Irena Sendler, Polish nurse and humanitarian, Righteous Gentile (d. 2008)
    • 1912 – George Mikes, Jewish Hungarian-English journalist and author (d. 1987)
    • 1913 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (d. 1997)
    • 1914 – Hale Boggs, American lawyer and politician (d. 1972)
    • 1914 – Kevin McCarthy, Jewish-Irish American actor (d. 2010)
    • 1916 – Mary Jane Croft, American actress (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Allan Arbus, Jewish-American actor and photographer (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Hank Locklin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Ducky Detweiler, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Endicott Peabody, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1997)
    • 1920 – Eio Sakata, Japanese Go player (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – John B. Anderson, Swedish-American lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1923 – Yelena Bonner, Jewish Soviet-Russian activist (d. 2011)
    • 1924 – Robert Drew, American director and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Angella D. Ferguson, American pediatrician
    • 1927 – Frank Dunlop, English actor and director
    • 1927 – Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian (d. 2008)
    • 1927 – Yehoshua Neuwirth, Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Norman Bridwell, American author and illustrator, created Clifford the Big Red Dog (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Joseph Willcox Jenkins, American composer, conductor, and educator (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Graham Hill, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1975)
    • 1929 – James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Bruce Dawe, Australian poet and academic
    • 1931 – Claire Bloom, English actress
    • 1931 – Jonathan Steele, English journalist and author
    • 1934 – Jimmy Bloomfield, English footballer and manager (d. 1983)
    • 1934 – Graham Kennedy, Australian television host and actor (d. 2005)
    • 1934 – Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist, created the Pascal programming language
    • 1934 – Abe Woodson, American football player and minister (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Susan Brownmiller, American journalist and author
    • 1935 – Roger B. Chaffee, American lieutenant, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)
    • 1935 – Gene Hickerson, American football player (d. 2008)
    • 1937 – Gregory Mcdonald, American author (d. 2008)
    • 1937 – Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
    • 1940 – İsmail Cem İpekçi, Turkish journalist and politician, 45th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2007)
    • 1940 – John Hadl, American football player and coach
    • 1940 – Hamzah Haz, Indonesian journalist and politician, 9th Vice President of Indonesia
    • 1940 – Vaino Vahing, Estonian psychiatrist, author, and playwright (d. 2008)
    • 1941 – Florinda Bolkan, Brazilian actress
    • 1941 – Brian Holland, American songwriter and producer
    • 1944 – Mick Avory, English drummer
    • 1945 – Jack Dann, American-Australian author and poet
    • 1945 – John Helliwell, English saxophonist and keyboard player
    • 1945 – Douglas Hofstadter, American author and academic
    • 1946 – Clare Short, English civil servant and politician, Secretary of State for International Development
    • 1947 – John Adams, American composer
    • 1947 – Marisa Berenson, American model and actress
    • 1948 – Art Spiegelman, Swedish-American cartoonist and critic
    • 1949 – Ken Anderson, American football quarterback and coach
    • 1951 – Markku Alén, Finnish race car driver
    • 1951 – Melissa Manchester, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1951 – Jane Seymour, English-American actress, producer, and jewelry designer
    • 1952 – Tomislav Nikolić, Serbian politician, 4th President of Serbia
    • 1952 – Nikolai Sorokin, Russian actor and director (d. 2013)
    • 1953 – Tony Adams, Irish-American screenwriter and producer (d. 2005)
    • 1953 – Ernie Howe, English footballer, defender and manager
    • 1954 – Matt Groening, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Janice Dickinson, American model, agent, and author
    • 1955 – Christopher McDonald, American actor
    • 1956 – Desmond Haynes, Barbadian cricketer and coach
    • 1956 – Ann Westin, Swedish comedian
    • 1957 – Jake E. Lee, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1957 – Jimmy Spencer, American race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1958 – Chrystine Brouillet, Canadian author
    • 1958 – Tony McKegney, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1958 – Matthew Ward, American singer-songwriter
    • 1959 – Adam Boulton, English journalist
    • 1959 – Ali Campbell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1959 – Brian Propp, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1959 – Martin Rowson, English author and illustrator
    • 1959 – Hugo Savinovich, Ecuadorian wrestler and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Darrell Green, American football player
    • 1960 – Jock Hobbs, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2012)
    • 1962 – Milo Đukanović, Montenegrin politician, 29th Prime Minister of Montenegro
    • 1964 – Chris Farley, American comedian and actor (d. 1997)
    • 1964 – Leland D. Melvin, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1964 – Mark Price, American basketball player and coach
    • 1965 – Craig Matthews, South African cricketer
    • 1967 – Jane Child, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1967 – Syed Kamall, English academic and politician
    • 1967 – Craig Simpson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Birdman, American rapper and producer
    • 1970 – Shepard Fairey, American artist and activist
    • 1971 – Alex Borstein, American actress, voice artist, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Renee O’Connor, American actress, director, and producer
    • 1972 – Jaromír Jágr, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Kateřina Neumannová, Czech skier
    • 1973 – Amy van Dyken, American swimmer
    • 1974 – Miranda July, American actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1974 – Alexander Wurz, Austrian race car driver and businessman
    • 1975 – Serge Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1975 – Annemarie Kramer, Dutch sprinter
    • 1975 – Brendon Small, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and actor
    • 1976 – Brandon Boyd, American singer-songwriter
    • 1976 – Óscar Freire, Spanish cyclist
    • 1979 – Josh Low, English footballer
    • 1979 – Hamish Marshall, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1979 – James Marshall, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1979 – Scott Severin, Scottish footballer
    • 1979 – Gordon Shedden, Scottish race car driver
    • 1980 – Conor Oberst, American singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Heurelho Gomes, Brazilian international footballer, goalkeeper
    • 1981 – Matt Hoopes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1981 – Rita Jeptoo, Kenyan runner
    • 1981 – Diego Martínez, Mexican footballer
    • 1981 – Vivek Shraya, Canadian singer and songwriter
    • 1982 – Shameka Christon, American basketball player
    • 1982 – James Yap, Filipino basketball player
    • 1983 – Don Cowie, Scottish footballer
    • 1983 – David Degen, Swiss footballer
    • 1983 – Philipp Degen, Swiss footballer
    • 1983 – Alan Didak, Australian footballer
    • 1983 – Russell Martin, Canadian baseball player
    • 1985 – Serkan Kırıntılı, Turkish footballer
    • 1986 – Valeri Bojinov, Bulgarian footballer
    • 1986 – Johnny Cueto, Dominican baseball player
    • 1986 – Laura Sallés, Andorran judoka
    • 1987 – Jarrod Sammut, Australian rugby league player
    • 1988 – Jarryd Hayne, Australian rugby league player and football player
    • 1988 – Hironori Kusano, Japanese singer and actor
    • 1988 – Tim Mannah, Australian-born Lebanese rugby league player
    • 1988 – Rui Patrício, Portuguese footballer
    • 1990 – Charles Pic, French race car driver
    • 1991 – Ángel Sepúlveda, Mexican footballer
    • 1993 – Ravi, South Korean rapper

    Deaths on February 15

    • 670 – Oswiu, king of Northumbria (b. c. 612)
    • 706 – Leontios, Byzantine emperor
    • 706 – Tiberios III, Byzantine emperor
    • 956 – Su Yugui, Chinese chancellor (b. 895)
    • 1043 – Gisela of Swabia, Holy Roman Empress (b. 990)
    • 1145 – Lucius II, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 1152 – Conrad III, king of Germany (b. 1093)
    • 1382 – William de Ufford, 2nd Earl of Suffolk (b. c. 1339)
    • 1417 – Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford, English commander (b. 1385)
    • 1508 – Giovanni II Bentivoglio, tyrant of Bologna (b. 1443)
    • 1600 – José de Acosta, Spanish Jesuit missionary and naturalist (b. 1540)
    • 1621 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1571)
    • 1637 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1578)
    • 1738 – Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (b. 1684)
    • 1781 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German philosopher, author, and critic (b. 1729)
    • 1818 – Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (b. 1746)
    • 1835 – Henry Hunt, English farmer and politician (b. 1773)
    • 1839 – François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Canadian rebel (b. 1803)
    • 1842 – Archibald Menzies, Scottish surgeon and botanist (b. 1754)
    • 1844 – Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1757)
    • 1847 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician and engineer (b. 1794)
    • 1848 – Hermann von Boyen, Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (b. 1771)
    • 1849 – Pierre François Verhulst, Belgian mathematician and theorist (b. 1804)
    • 1857 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (b. 1804)
    • 1869 – Ghalib, Indian poet and educator (b. 1796)
    • 1885 – Gregor von Helmersen, Estonian-Russian geologist and engineer (b. 1803)
    • 1897 – Dimitrie Ghica, Romanian lawyer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1816)
    • 1905 – Lew Wallace, American author, general, and politician, 11th Governor of New Mexico Territory (b. 1827)
    • 1911 – Theodor Escherich, German-Austrian pediatrician and academic (b. 1859)
    • 1924 – Lionel Monckton, English composer (b. 1861)
    • 1928 – H. H. Asquith, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1852)
    • 1932 – Minnie Maddern Fiske, American actress and playwright (b. 1865)
    • 1933 – Pat Sullivan, Australian animator and producer, co-created Felix the Cat (b. 1887)
    • 1935 – Basil Hall Chamberlain, English-Swiss historian, author, and academic (b. 1850)
    • 1939 – Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Russian painter and author (b. 1878)
    • 1956 – Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, French lawyer and politician (b. 1878)
    • 1959 – Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
    • 1961 – Laurence Owen, American figure skater (b. 1944)
    • 1965 – Nat King Cole, American singer and pianist (b. 1919)
    • 1966 – Gerard Antoni Ciołek, Polish architect and historian (b. 1909)
    • 1966 – Camilo Torres Restrepo, Colombian priest and theologian (b. 1929)
    • 1967 – Antonio Moreno, Spanish-American actor and director (b. 1887)
    • 1970 – Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, Scottish air marshal (b. 1882)
    • 1973 – Wally Cox, American actor (b. 1924)
    • 1973 – Tim Holt, American actor (b. 1919)
    • 1974 – Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer and engineer (b. 1887)
    • 1981 – Mike Bloomfield, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1943)
    • 1981 – Karl Richter, German organist and conductor (b. 1926)
    • 1984 – Avon Long, American actor and singer (b. 1910)
    • 1984 – Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (b. 1908)
    • 1988 – Richard Feynman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
    • 1992 – María Elena Moyano, Peruvian activist (b. 1960)
    • 1992 – William Schuman, American composer and academic (b. 1910)
    • 1996 – McLean Stevenson, American actor (b. 1929)
    • 1998 – Martha Gellhorn, American journalist and author (b. 1908)
    • 1999 – Henry Way Kendall, American physicist and mountaineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
    • 1999 – Big L, American rapper (b. 1974)
    • 2000 – Angus MacLean, Canadian commander and politician, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist and actor (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b. 1963)
    • 2004 – Jens Evensen, Norwegian lawyer, judge, and politician, Norwegian Minister of Trade (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
    • 2005 – Samuel T. Francis, American historian and journalist (b. 1947)
    • 2007 – Walker Edmiston, American actor (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Ray Evans, American songwriter (b. 1915)
    • 2008 – Johnny Weaver, American wrestler and sportscaster (b. 1935)
    • 2010 – Jeanne M. Holm, American general (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Cyril Domb, English-Israel physicist and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Sanan Kachornprasart, Thai general and politician (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Ahmed Rajib Haider, Bangladeshi atheist blogger
    • 2014 – Thelma Estrin, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Christopher Malcolm, Scottish-Canadian actor, director, and producer (b. 1946)
    • 2015 – Haron Amin, Afghan diplomat, Afghan Ambassador to Japan (b. 1969)
    • 2015 – Arnaud de Borchgrave, American journalist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1979)
    • 2016 – George Gaynes, Finnish-American actor (b. 1917)
    • 2016 – Vanity, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (b. 1959)
    • 2017 – Stuart McLean, Canadian radio broadcaster (b. 1948)
    • 2019 – Lee Radziwill, American socialite (b. 1933)
    • 2020 – Caroline Flack, English Actress and TV Presenter (b. 1979)

    Holidays and observances on February 15

    • Christian feast day:
      • Blessed Michał Sopoćko
      • Claude de la Colombière
      • Faustinus and Jovita
      • Oswiu
      • Quinidius
      • Sigfrid of Sweden
      • Thomas Bray (Episcopal Church)
      • Walfrid
      • February 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Family Day can fall, while February 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in February. (parts of Canada)
    • Earliest day on which Washington’s Birthday can fall, while February 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in February. (United States)
    • Traditionally the feast day for the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia
    • International Duties Memorial Day (Russia, regional)
    • John Frum Day (Vanuatu)
    • Liberation Day (Afghanistan)
    • National Flag of Canada Day (Canada)
    • Parinirvana Day, also celebrated on February 8. (Mahayana Buddhism)
    • Singles Awareness Day
    • Statehood Day (Serbia)
    • Susan B. Anthony Day (Florida, United States)
    • The ENIAC Day (Philadelphia, United States)
    • Total Defence Day (Singapore)

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

    • 27 BCE – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire.
    • 378 – General Siyaj K’ak’ conquers Tikal, enlarging the domain of King Spearthrower Owl of Teotihuacán.
    • 550 – Gothic War: The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.
    • 929 – Emir Abd-ar-Rahman III established the Caliphate of Córdoba.
    • 1120 – The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
    • 1362 – Saint Marcellus’s flood kills at least 25,000 people on the shores of the North Sea.
    • 1412 – The Medici family is appointed official banker of the Papacy.
    • 1492 – The first grammar of the Spanish language (Gramática de la lengua castellana) is presented to Queen Isabella I.
    • 1547 – Grand Duke Ivan IV of Muscovy becomes the first Tsar of Russia, replacing the 264-year-old Grand Duchy of Moscow with the Tsardom of Russia.
    • 1556 – Philip II becomes King of Spain.
    • 1572 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England.
    • 1605 – The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid, Spain.
    • 1707 – The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Act of Union, paving the way for the creation of Great Britain.
    • 1757 – Forces of the Maratha Empire defeat a 5,000-strong army of the Durrani Empire in the Battle of Narela.
    • 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
    • 1786 – Virginia enacts the Statute for Religious Freedom authored by Thomas Jefferson.
    • 1809 – Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of La Coruña.
    • 1847 – John C. Frémont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.
    • 1862 – Hartley Colliery disaster: Two hundred and four men and boys killed in a mining disaster, prompting a change in UK law which henceforth required all collieries to have at least two independent means of escape.
    • 1878 – Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Battle of Philippopolis: Captain Aleksandr Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman rule.
    • 1883 – The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is enacted by Congress.
    • 1900 – The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands.
    • 1909 – Ernest Shackleton’s expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.
    • 1919 – Nebraska becomes the 36th state to approve the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. With the necessary three-quarters of the states approving the amendment, Prohibition is constitutionally mandated in the United States one year later.
    • 1920 – Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated was founded on the campus of Howard University.
    • 1920 – The League of Nations holds its first council meeting in Paris, France.
    • 1921 – The Marxist Left in Slovakia and the Transcarpathian Ukraine holds its founding congress in Ľubochňa.
    • 1942 – Crash of TWA Flight 3, killing all 22 aboard, including film star Carole Lombard.
    • 1945 – Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker.
    • 1964 – Hello, Dolly! opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 2,844 performances.
    • 1969 – Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in protest against the Soviets’ crushing of the Prague Spring the year before.
    • 1969 – Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 perform the first-ever docking of manned spacecraft in orbit, the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time such a transfer was accomplished with a space walk.
    • 1979 – The last Iranian Shah flees Iran with his family for good and relocates to Egypt.
    • 1991 – Coalition Forces go to war with Iraq, beginning the Gulf War.
    • 1992 – El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City, Mexico ending the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War that claimed at least 75,000 lives.
    • 2001 – Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.
    • 2001 – US President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish–American War.
    • 2002 – The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the remaining members of the Taliban.
    • 2003 – The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
    • 2006 – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia’s new president. She becomes Africa’s first female elected head of state.
    • 2016 – Thirty-three out of 126 freed hostages are injured and 23 killed in terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on a hotel and a nearby restaurant.
    • 2018 – Myanmar police open fire on a group of ethnic Rakhine protesters, killing seven and wounding twelve.
    • 2020 – The impeachment of Donald John Trump formally moves into its trial phase in the United States Senate.

    Births on January 16

    • 972 – Sheng Zong, emperor of the Liao Dynasty (d. 1031)
    • 1093 – Isaac Komnenos, son of Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (d. 1152)
    • 1245 – Edmund Crouchback, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 1296)
    • 1362 – Robert de Vere, duke of Ireland (d. 1392)
    • 1409 – René of Anjou, king of Naples (d. 1480)
    • 1477 – Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (d. 1547)
    • 1501 – Anthony Denny, confidant of Henry VIII of England (d. 1559)
    • 1516 – Bayinnaung, king of Burma (d. 1581)
    • 1558 – Jakobea of Baden, Margravine of Baden by birth, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg by marriage (d. 1597)
    • 1616 – François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (d. 1669)
    • 1626 – Lucas Achtschellinck, Belgian painter and educator (d. 1699)
    • 1630 – Guru Har Rai, Sikh Guru (d. 1661)
    • 1634 – Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Norwegian author and poet (d. 1716)
    • 1675 – Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1755)
    • 1691 – Peter Scheemakers, Belgian sculptor and educator (d. 1781)
    • 1728 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer and educator (d. 1800)
    • 1749 – Vittorio Alfieri, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1803)
    • 1757 – Richard Goodwin Keats, English admiral and politician, 3rd Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1834)
    • 1807 – Charles Henry Davis, American admiral (d. 1877)
    • 1815 – Henry Halleck, American lawyer, general, and scholar (d. 1872)
    • 1821 – John C. Breckinridge, American general and politician, 14th Vice President of the United States (d. 1875)
    • 1834 – Robert R. Hitt, American lawyer and politician, 13th United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1906)
    • 1836 – Francis II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1894)
    • 1838 – Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917)
    • 1851 – William Hall-Jones, English-New Zealand politician, 16th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1936)
    • 1853 – Johnston Forbes-Robertson, English actor and manager (d. 1937)
    • 1853 – Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, Greek-English general (d. 1947)
    • 1853 – André Michelin, French businessman, co-founded the Michelin Tyre Company (d. 1931)
    • 1870 – Jüri Jaakson, Estonian businessman and politician, State Elder of Estonia (d. 1942)
    • 1872 – Henri Büsser, French organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1973)
    • 1874 – Robert W. Service, English-Canadian poet and author (d. 1958)
    • 1875 – Leonor Michaelis, German biochemist and physician (d. 1949)
    • 1876 – Claude Buckenham, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1937)
    • 1878 – Harry Carey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1947)
    • 1880 – Samuel Jones, American high jumper (d. 1954)
    • 1882 – Margaret Wilson, American author (d. 1973)
    • 1885 – Zhou Zuoren, Chinese author and translator (d. 1967)
    • 1888 – Osip Brik, Russian avant garde writer and literary critic (d. 1945)
    • 1892 – Homer Burton Adkins, American chemist (d. 1949)
    • 1893 – Daisy Kennedy, Australian-English violinist (d. 1981)
    • 1894 – Irving Mills, American publisher (d. 1985)
    • 1895 – Evripidis Bakirtzis, Greek soldier and politician (d. 1947)
    • 1895 – T. M. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1966)
    • 1895 – Nat Schachner, American lawyer, chemist, and author (d. 1955)
    • 1897 – Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet and academic (d. 1977)
    • 1898 – Margaret Booth, American producer and editor (d. 2002)
    • 1898 – Irving Rapper, American film director and producer (d. 1999)
    • 1900 – Kiku Amino, Japanese author and translator (d. 1978)
    • 1900 – Edith Frank, German-Dutch mother of Anne Frank (d. 1945)
    • 1901 – Fulgencio Batista, Cuban colonel and politician, 9th President of Cuba (d. 1973)
    • 1902 – Eric Liddell, Scottish runner, rugby player, and missionary (d. 1945)
    • 1903 – William Grover-Williams, English-French race car driver (d. 1945)
    • 1905 – Ernesto Halffter, Spanish composer and conductor (d. 1989)
    • 1906 – Johannes Brenner, Estonian footballer and pilot (d. 1975)
    • 1906 – Diana Wynyard, English actress (d. 1964)
    • 1907 – Alexander Knox, Canadian-English actor and screenwriter (d. 1995)
    • 1907 – Paul Nitze, American banker and politician, 10th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 2004)
    • 1908 – Sammy Crooks, English footballer (d. 1981)
    • 1908 – Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (d. 1984)
    • 1908 – Günther Prien, German captain (d. 1941)
    • 1909 – Clement Greenberg, American art critic (d. 1994)
    • 1910 – Dizzy Dean, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1974)
    • 1911 – Ivan Barrow, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1979)
    • 1911 – Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean lawyer and politician, 28th President of Chile (d. 1982)
    • 1911 – Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (d. 1996)
    • 1914 – Roger Wagner, French-American conductor and educator (d. 1992)
    • 1915 – Leslie H. Martinson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1916 – Eddie Burns, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2004)
    • 1916 – Philip Lucock, English-Australian minister and politician (d. 1996)
    • 1917 – Carl Karcher, American businessman, founded Carl’s Jr. (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Nel Benschop, Dutch poet and educator (d. 2005)
    • 1918 – Allan Ekelund, Swedish director, producer, and production manager (d. 2009)
    • 1918 – Clem Jones, Australian surveyor and politician, 8th Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2007)
    • 1918 – Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1996)
    • 1919 – Jerome Horwitz, American chemist and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Alberto Crespo, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1991)
    • 1920 – Elliott Reid, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (d. 2004)
    • 1923 – Gene Feist, American director and playwright, co-founded the Roundabout Theatre Company (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (d. 2002)
    • 1925 – Peter Hirsch, German-English metallurgist and academic
    • 1925 – James Robinson Risner, American general and pilot (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – William Kennedy, American novelist and journalist
    • 1928 – Pilar Lorengar, Spanish soprano and actress (d. 1996)
    • 1929 – Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Sri Lankan anthropologist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Mary Ann McMorrow, American lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Norman Podhoretz, American journalist and author
    • 1931 – John Enderby, English physicist and academic
    • 1931 – Robert L. Park, American physicist and academic
    • 1931 – Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, 8th Federal President of Germany (d. 2006)
    • 1932 – Victor Ciocâltea, Romanian chess player (d. 1983)
    • 1932 – Dian Fossey, American zoologist and anthropologist (d. 1985)
    • 1933 – Susan Sontag, American novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 2004)
    • 1934 – Bob Bogle, American rock guitarist and bass player (d. 2009)
    • 1934 – Marilyn Horne, American soprano and actress
    • 1935 – A. J. Foyt, American race car driver
    • 1935 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – Michael White, Scottish actor and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1937 – Luiz Bueno, Brazilian race car driver (d. 2011)
    • 1937 – Francis George, American cardinal (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Marina Vaizey, American journalist and critic
    • 1939 – Ralph Gibson, American photographer
    • 1941 – Christine Truman, English tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1942 – René Angélil, Canadian singer and manager (d. 2016)
    • 1942 – Barbara Lynn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Gavin Bryars, English bassist and composer
    • 1943 – Ronnie Milsap, American singer and pianist
    • 1944 – Dieter Moebius, Swiss-German keyboard player and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1944 – Jim Stafford, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1944 – Jill Tarter, American astronomer and biologist
    • 1944 – Judy Baar Topinka, American journalist and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1945 – Wim Suurbier, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1946 – Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
    • 1946 – Katia Ricciarelli, Italian soprano and actress
    • 1947 – Elaine Murphy, Baroness Murphy, English academic and politician
    • 1947 – Harvey Proctor, English politician
    • 1947 – Laura Schlessinger, American physiologist, talk show host, and author
    • 1948 – John Carpenter, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
    • 1948 – Ants Laaneots, Estonian general
    • 1948 – Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player
    • 1948 – Ruth Reichl, American journalist and critic
    • 1949 – Anne F. Beiler, American businesswoman, founded Auntie Anne’s
    • 1949 – R. F. Foster, Irish historian and academic
    • 1949 – Andrew Refshauge, Australian physician and politician, 13th Deputy Premier of New South Wales
    • 1950 – Debbie Allen, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
    • 1950 – Robert Schimmel, American comedian, actor, and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1952 – Fuad II, King of Egypt
    • 1952 – Piercarlo Ghinzani, Italian race car driver and manager
    • 1952 – L. Blaine Hammond, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1952 – Julie Anne Peters, American engineer and author
    • 1953 – Robert Jay Mathews, American militant, founded The Order (d. 1984)
    • 1954 – Wolfgang Schmidt, German discus thrower
    • 1954 – Vasili Zhupikov, Russian footballer and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1955 – Jerry M. Linenger, American captain, physician, and astronaut
    • 1956 – Wayne Daniel, Barbadian cricketer
    • 1956 – Martin Jol, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1956 – Greedy Smith, Australian singer-songwriter and keyboardist (d. 2019)
    • 1957 – Jurijs Andrejevs, Latvian footballer and manager
    • 1957 – Ricardo Darín, Argentinian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Mark Pawsey, English businessman and politician
    • 1958 – Anatoli Boukreev, Russian mountaineer and explorer (d. 1997)
    • 1958 – Lena Ek, Swedish lawyer and politician, 9th Swedish Minister for the Environment
    • 1958 – Andris Šķēle, Latvian businessman and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Latvia
    • 1959 – Lisa Milroy, Canadian painter and educator
    • 1959 – Sade, Nigerian-English singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1961 – Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian guitarist and composer (d. 2006)
    • 1962 – Joel Fitzgibbon, Australian electrician and politician, 51st Australian Minister of Defence
    • 1962 – Maxine Jones, American R&B singer–songwriter and actress
    • 1963 – James May, British journalist/co-host of Top Gear
    • 1964 – Gail Graham, Canadian golfer
    • 1966 – Jack McDowell, American baseball player
    • 1968 – Rebecca Stead, American author
    • 1969 – Neil Back, English rugby player and coach
    • 1969 – Marinus Bester, German footballer
    • 1969 – Stevie Jackson, Scottish guitarist and songwriter
    • 1969 – Roy Jones Jr., American boxer
    • 1970 – Ron Villone, American baseball player and coach
    • 1971 – Sergi Bruguera, Spanish tennis player and coach
    • 1971 – Josh Evans, American film producer, screenwriter and actor
    • 1971 – Jonathan Mangum, American actor
    • 1972 – Ruben Bagger, Danish footballer
    • 1972 – Ang Christou, Australian footballer
    • 1972 – Yuri Alekseevich Drozdov, Russian footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Ezra Hendrickson, Vincentian footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Joe Horn, American football player and coach
    • 1974 – Marlon Anderson, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1974 – John Hopoate, Tongan-Australian rugby league player and boxer
    • 1974 – Kate Moss, English model and fashion designer
    • 1976 – Viktor Maslov, Russian race car driver
    • 1976 – Martina Moravcová, Slovak swimmer
    • 1977 – Jeff Foster, American basketball player
    • 1978 – Alfredo Amézaga, Mexican baseball player
    • 1979 – Aaliyah, American singer and actress (d. 2001)
    • 1979 – Brenden Morrow, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Jason Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Lin-Manuel Miranda, American actor, playwright, and composer
    • 1980 – Albert Pujols, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1981 – Jamie Lundmark, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Paul Rofe, Australian cricketer
    • 1981 – Bobby Zamora, English footballer, striker
    • 1982 – Preston, English singer-songwriter
    • 1982 – Tuncay, Turkish footballer
    • 1983 – Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer
    • 1983 – Andriy Rusol, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1984 – Stephan Lichtsteiner, Swiss footballer
    • 1984 – Miroslav Radović, Serbian footballer
    • 1985 – Joe Flacco, American football player
    • 1985 – Jayde Herrick, Australian cricketer
    • 1985 – Gintaras Januševičius, Russian-Lithuanian pianist
    • 1985 – Twins Jonathan and Simon Richter, Danish-Gambian footballers
    • 1985 – Sidharth Malhotra, Indian actor
    • 1986 – Johannes Rahn, German footballer
    • 1986 – Mark Trumbo, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Reto Ziegler, Swiss footballer, left back
    • 1987 – Jake Epstein, Canadian actor
    • 1987 – Charlotte Henshaw, English swimmer
    • 1988 – Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer
    • 1988 – Jorge Torres Nilo, Mexican footballer
    • 1991 – Matt Duchene, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1993 – Hannes Anier, Estonian footballer
    • 1993 – Amandine Hesse, French tennis player
    • 1994 – Chris Smith, Australian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Mikaela Turik, Australian-Canadian cricketer
    • 1998 – Cameron Murray, Australian rugby league player
    • 2003 – Adriana Hernández, Mexican rhythmic gymnast

    Deaths on January 16

    • 654 – Gao Jifu, Chinese politician and chancellor (b. 596)
    • 957 – Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ali al-Madhara’i, Tulunid vizier (b. 871)
    • 970 – Polyeuctus of Constantinople, Byzantine patriarch (b. 956)
    • 1263 – Shinran Shonin, Japanese founder of the Jodo Shinshu branch of Pure Land Buddhism
    • 1289 – Buqa, Mongol minister
    • 1327 – Nikephoros Choumnos, Byzantine monk, scholar, and politician (b. 1250)
    • 1354 – Joanna of Châtillon, duchess of Athens (b. c.1285)
    • 1373 – Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (b. 1342)
    • 1391 – Muhammed V of Granada, Nasrid emir (b. 1338)
    • 1400 – John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, English politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (b. 1352)
    • 1443 – Erasmo of Narni, Italian mercenary (b. 1370)
    • 1545 – George Spalatin, German priest and reformer (b. 1484)
    • 1547 – Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (b. 1477)
    • 1554 – Christiern Pedersen, Danish publisher and scholar (b. 1480)
    • 1585 – Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral and politician (b. 1512)
    • 1595 – Murad III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1546)
    • 1659 – Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (b. 1580)
    • 1710 – Higashiyama, Japanese emperor (b. 1675)
    • 1711 – Joseph Vaz, Indian-Sri Lankan priest and saint (b. 1651)
    • 1747 – Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet and playwright (b. 1680)
    • 1748 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch lawyer and scholar (b. 1684)
    • 1750 – Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshal and politician (b. 1667)
    • 1752 – Francis Blomefield, English historian and author (b. 1705)
    • 1794 – Edward Gibbon, English historian and politician (b. 1737)
    • 1809 – John Moore, Scottish general and politician (b. 1761)
    • 1817 – Alexander J. Dallas, Jamaican-American lawyer and politician, 6th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1759)
    • 1834 – Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician and academic (b. 1769)
    • 1856 – Thaddeus William Harris, American entomologist and botanist (b. 1795)
    • 1864 – Anton Schindler, Austrian secretary and author (b. 1795)
    • 1865 – Edmond François Valentin About, French journalist and author (b. 1828)
    • 1879 – Octave Crémazie, Canadian-French poet and bookseller (b. 1827)
    • 1886 – Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer and academic (b. 1834)
    • 1891 – Léo Delibes, French pianist and composer (b. 1836)
    • 1898 – Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
    • 1901 – Jules Barbier, French poet and playwright (b. 1825)
    • 1901 – Arnold Böcklin, Swiss painter and academic (b. 1827)
    • 1901 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, American soldier, minister, and politician (b. 1822)
    • 1906 – Marshall Field, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Marshall Field’s (b. 1834)
    • 1917 – George Dewey, American admiral (b. 1837)
    • 1919 – Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 5th President of Brazil (b. 1848)
    • 1933 – Bekir Sami Kunduh, Turkish politician (b. 1867)
    • 1936 – Albert Fish, American serial killer, rapist and cannibal (b. 1870)
    • 1938 – Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Indian author and playwright (b. 1876)
    • 1942 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (b. 1850)
    • 1942 – Villem Grünthal-Ridala, Estonian poet and linguist (b. 1885)
    • 1942 – Carole Lombard, American actress and comedian (b. 1908)
    • 1942 – Ernst Scheller, German lawyer and politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1899)
    • 1957 – Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, English general and politician, 16th Governor General of Canada (b. 1874)
    • 1957 – Arturo Toscanini, Italian cellist and conductor (b. 1867)
    • 1959 – Phan Khôi, Vietnamese journalist and author (b. 1887)
    • 1960 – Arthur Darby, English rugby player (b. 1876)
    • 1961 – Max Schöne, German swimmer (b. 1880)
    • 1962 – Frank Hurley, Australian photographer, director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1885)
    • 1962 – Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor and architect, designed the Monument to the Unknown Hero (b. 1883)
    • 1967 – Robert J. Van de Graaff, American physicist and academic (b. 1901)
    • 1968 – Bob Jones Sr., American evangelist, founded Bob Jones University (b. 1883)
    • 1968 – Panagiotis Poulitsas, Greek archaeologist and judge (b. 1881)
    • 1969 – Vernon Duke, Russian-American composer and songwriter (b. 1903)
    • 1971 – Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (b. 1890)
    • 1972 – Teller Ammons, American soldier and politician, 28th Governor of Colorado (b. 1895)
    • 1972 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created Alvin and the Chipmunks (b. 1919)
    • 1973 – Edgar Sampson, American musician and composer (b. 1907)
    • 1975 – Israel Abramofsky, Russian-American painter (b. 1888)
    • 1978 – A. V. Kulasingham, Sri Lankan journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1981 – Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
    • 1983 – Virginia Mauret, American musician and dancer
    • 1986 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)
    • 1987 – Bertram Wainer, Australian physician and activist (b. 1928)
    • 1988 – Andrija Artuković, Croatian politician, war criminal, and Porajmos perpetrator, 1st Minister of Interior of the Independent State of Croatia (b. 1899)
    • 1995 – Eric Mottram, English poet and critic (b. 1924)
    • 1996 – Marcia Davenport, American author and critic (b. 1903)
    • 1996 – Kaye Webb, English journalist and publisher (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – Jim McClelland, Australian lawyer, jurist, and politician, 12th Minister for Industry and Science (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist and academic (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Auberon Waugh, English author and journalist (b. 1939)
    • 2002 – Robert Hanbury Brown, English astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)
    • 2003 – Richard Wainwright, English politician (b. 1918)
    • 2004 – Kalevi Sorsa, Finnish politician 34th Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)
    • 2005 – Marjorie Williams, American journalist and author (b. 1958)
    • 2006 – Stanley Biber, American soldier and physician (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Benny Parsons, American race car driver and sportscaster (b. 1941)
    • 2009 – Joe Erskine, American boxer and runner (b. 1930)
    • 2009 – John Mortimer, English lawyer and author (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Andrew Wyeth, American painter (b. 1917)
    • 2010 – Glen Bell, American businessman, founded Taco Bell (b. 1923)
    • 2010 – Jyoti Basu, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1914)
    • 2010 – Takumi Shibano, Japanese author and translator (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Joe Bygraves, Jamaican-English boxer (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Jimmy Castor, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (b. 1940)
    • 2012 – Sigursteinn Gíslason, Icelandic footballer and manager (b. 1968)
    • 2012 – Lorna Kesterson, American journalist and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Gustav Leonhardt, Dutch pianist, conductor, and musicologist (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Wayne D. Anderson, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – André Cassagnes, French technician and toy maker, created the Etch A Sketch (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Gussie Moran, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Glen P. Robinson, American businessman, founded Scientific Atlanta (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Gary Arlington, American author and illustrator (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Ruth Duccini, American actress (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Dave Madden, Canadian-American actor (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Hiroo Onoda, Japanese lieutenant (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – Miriam Akavia, Polish-Israeli author and translator (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Yao Beina, Chinese singer (b. 1981)
    • 2016 – Joannis Avramidis, Greek sculptor (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Ted Marchibroda, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
    • 2017 – Eugene Cernan, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1934)
    • 2018 – Ed Doolan, British radio presenter (b. 1941)
    • 2018 – Oliver Ivanović, Kosovo Serb politician (b. 1953)
    • 2019 – John C. Bogle, American businessman, investor, and philanthropist (b. 1929)
    • 2019 – Lorna Doom, American musician (b. 1958)
    • 2019 – Chris Wilson, Australian musician (b. 1956)
    • 2020 – Christopher Tolkien, British academic and editor (died 2020)

    Holidays and observances on January 16

    • Christian feast day:
      • Pope Benjamin (Coptic)
      • Berard of Carbio
      • Blaise (Armenian Apostolic)
      • Fursey
      • Joseph Vaz
      • Honoratus of Arles
      • Pope Marcellus I
      • Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Coptic Church)
      • Titian of Oderzo
      • Eve of Saint Anthony observed with ritual bonfires in San Bartolomé de Pinares
      • January 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • National Religious Freedom Day (United States)
    • Teacher’s Day (Myanmar)
    • Teachers’ Day (Thailand)