1162

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

    The terms 7th July, July 7th, and 7/7 (pronounced “Seven-seven“) have been widely used in the Western media as a shorthand for the 7 July 2005 bombings on London’s transport system. In the Chinese language, this term is used to denote the Battle of Lugou Bridge started on July 7, 1937, marking the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.

    July 7 in History

    • 1124 – The city of Tyre falls to the Venetian Crusade after a siege of nineteen weeks.
    • 1456 – A retrial verdict acquits Joan of Arc of heresy 25 years after her death.
    • 1520 – Spanish conquistadores defeat a larger Aztec army at the Battle of Otumba.
    • 1534 – Jacques Cartier makes his first contact with aboriginal peoples in what is now Canada.
    • 1575 – The Raid of the Redeswire is the last major battle between England and Scotland.
    • 1585 – The Treaty of Nemours abolishes tolerance to Protestants in France.
    • 1770 – The Battle of Larga between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire takes place.
    • 1777 – American forces retreating from Fort Ticonderoga are defeated in the Battle of Hubbardton.
    • 1798 – As a result of the XYZ Affair, the US Congress rescinds the Treaty of Alliance with France sparking the “Quasi-War”.
    • 1807 – The Peace of Tilsit between France, Prussia and Russia ends the War of the Fourth Coalition.
    • 1834 – In New York City, four nights of rioting against abolitionists began.
    • 1846 – US troops occupy Monterey and Yerba Buena, thus beginning the US conquest of California.
    • 1863 – The United States begins its first military draft; exemptions cost $300.
    • 1865 – Four conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln are hanged.
    • 1892 – The Katipunan is established, the discovery of which by Spanish authorities initiated the Philippine Revolution.
    • 1898 – US President William McKinley signs the Newlands Resolution annexing Hawaii as a territory of the United States.
    • 1907 – Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. staged his first Follies on the roof of the New York Theater in New York City.
    • 1911 – The United States, UK, Japan, and Russia sign the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911 banning open-water seal hunting, the first international treaty to address wildlife preservation issues.
    • 1915 – The First Battle of the Isonzo comes to an end.
    • 1915 – Colombo Town Guard officer Henry Pedris is executed in British Ceylon for allegedly inciting persecution of Muslims.
    • 1916 – The New Zealand Labour Party was founded in Wellington.
    • 1928 – Sliced bread is sold for the first time (on the inventor’s 48th birthday) by the Chillicothe Baking Company of Chillicothe, Missouri.
    • 1930 – Industrialist Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of Boulder Dam (now known as Hoover Dam).
    • 1937 – The Marco Polo Bridge Incident provides the Imperial Japanese Army with a pretext for starting the Second Sino-Japanese War.
    • 1937 – The Peel Commission Report recommends the partition of Palestine, which was the first formal recommendation for partition in the history of Palestine.
    • 1941 – The US occupation of Iceland replaces the UK’s occupation.
    • 1944 – World War II: Largest Banzai charge of the Pacific War at the Battle of Saipan.
    • 1946 – Mother Francesca S. Cabrini becomes the first American to be canonized.
    • 1946 – Howard Hughes nearly dies when his XF-11 reconnaissance aircraft prototype crashes in a Beverly Hills neighborhood.
    • 1952 – The ocean liner SS United States passes Bishop Rock on her maiden voyage, breaking the transatlantic speed record to become the fastest passenger ship in the world.
    • 1953 – Ernesto “Che” Guevara sets out on a trip through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador.
    • 1954 – Elvis Presley makes his radio debut when WHBQ Memphis played his first recording for Sun Records, “That’s All Right”.
    • 1958 – US President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Alaska Statehood Act into law.
    • 1959 – Venus occults the star Regulus. This rare event is used to determine the diameter of Venus and the structure of the Venusian atmosphere.
    • 1963 – Buddhist crisis: The police of Ngô Đình Nhu, brother and chief political adviser of President Ngo Dinh Diem, attacked a group of American journalists who were covering a protest.
    • 1978 – The Solomon Islands becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
    • 1980 – Institution of sharia law in Iran.
    • 1980 – During the Lebanese Civil War, 83 Tiger militants are killed during what will be known as the Safra massacre.
    • 1981 – US President Ronald Reagan appoints Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female member of the Supreme Court of the United States.
    • 1983 – Cold War: Samantha Smith, a US schoolgirl, flies to the Soviet Union at the invitation of Secretary General Yuri Andropov.
    • 1985 – Boris Becker becomes the youngest player ever to win Wimbledon at age 17.
    • 1991 – Yugoslav Wars: The Brioni Agreement ends the ten-day independence war in Slovenia against the rest of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
    • 1992 – The New York Court of Appeals rules that women have the same right as men to go topless in public.
    • 1997 – The Turkish Armed Forces withdraw from northern Iraq after assisting the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the Iraqi Kurdish Civil War.
    • 2003 – NASA Opportunity rover, MER-B or Mars Exploration Rover–B, was launched into space aboard a Delta II rocket.
    • 2005 – A series of four explosions occurs on London’s transport system, killing 56 people, including four suicide bombers, and injuring over 700 others.
    • 2007 – The first Live Earth benefit concert was held in 11 locations around the world.
    • 2012 – At least 172 people are killed in a flash flood in the Krasnodar Krai region of Russia.
    • 2013 – A De Havilland Otter air taxi crashes in Soldotna, Alaska, killing ten people.
    • 2016 – Ex-US Army soldier Micah Xavier Johnson shoots fourteen policemen during an anti-police protest in downtown Dallas, Texas, killing five of them. He is subsequently killed by a robot-delivered bomb.

    Births on July 7

    • 611 – Eudoxia Epiphania, daughter of Byzantine emperor Heraclius
    • 1053 – Emperor Shirakawa of Japan (d. 1129)
    • 1119 – Emperor Sutoku of Japan (d. 1164)
    • 1207 – Elizabeth of Hungary (d. 1231)
    • 1482 – Andrzej Krzycki, Polish archbishop (d. 1537)
    • 1528 – Archduchess Anna of Austria (d. 1590)
    • 1540 – John Sigismund Zápolya, King of Hungary (d. 1571)
    • 1586 – Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, English courtier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland (d. 1646)
    • 1616 – John Leverett, Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (d. 1679)
    • 1752 – Joseph Marie Jacquard, French merchant, invented the Jacquard loom (d. 1834)
    • 1766 – Guillaume Philibert Duhesme, French general (d. 1815)
    • 1831 – Jane Elizabeth Conklin, American poet and religious writer (d. 1914)
    • 1833 – Félicien Rops, Belgian painter and illustrator (d. 1898)
    • 1843 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1926)
    • 1846 – Heinrich Rosenthal, Estonian physician and author (d. 1916)
    • 1848 – Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, Brazilian politician, 5th President of Brazil (d. 1919)
    • 1851 – Charles Albert Tindley, American minister and composer (d. 1933)
    • 1855 – Ludwig Ganghofer, German author and playwright (d. 1920)
    • 1859 – Rettamalai Srinivasan, Indian politician (d. 1911)
    • 1860 – Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1911)
    • 1861 – Nettie Stevens, American geneticist (d. 1912)
    • 1869 – Rachel Caroline Eaton, American academic (d. 1938)
    • 1869 – Fernande Sadler (d.1949), French painter and mayor
    • 1874 – Erwin Bumke, German lawyer and jurist (d. 1945)
    • 1880 – Otto Frederick Rohwedder, American engineer, invented sliced bread (d. 1960)
    • 1882 – Yanka Kupala, Belarusian poet and writer (d. 1941)
    • 1884 – Toivo Kuula, Finnish conductor and composer (d. 1918)
    • 1884 – Lion Feuchtwanger, German author and playwright (d. 1958)
    • 1891 – Tadamichi Kuribayashi, Japanese general and poet (d. 1945)
    • 1891 – Virginia Rappe, American model and actress (d. 1921)
    • 1893 – Herbert Feis, American historian and author (d. 1972)
    • 1893 – Miroslav Krleža, Croatian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1981)
    • 1898 – Arnold Horween, American football player and coach (d. 1985)
    • 1899 – George Cukor, American director and producer (d. 1983)
    • 1900 – Maria Bard, German stage and silent film actress (d. 1944)
    • 1900 – Earle E. Partridge, American general (d. 1990)
    • 1901 – Vittorio De Sica, Italian actor and director (d. 1974)
    • 1901 – Sam Katzman, American director and producer (d. 1973)
    • 1901 – Eiji Tsuburaya, Japanese cinematographer and producer (d. 1970)
    • 1902 – Ted Radcliffe, American baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
    • 1904 – Simone Beck, French chef and author (d. 1991)
    • 1905 – Marie-Louise Dubreil-Jacotin, French mathematician (d. 1972)
    • 1906 – William Feller, Croatian-American mathematician and academic (d. 1970)
    • 1906 – Anton Karas, Austrian zither player and composer (d. 1985)
    • 1906 – Satchel Paige, American baseball player and coach (d. 1982)
    • 1907 – Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction writer and screenwriter (d. 1988)
    • 1908 – Revilo P. Oliver, American author and academic (d. 1994)
    • 1909 – Gottfried von Cramm, German tennis player (d. 1976)
    • 1910 – Doris McCarthy, Canadian painter and author (d. 2010)
    • 1911 – Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-American composer (d. 2007)
    • 1913 – Pinetop Perkins, American singer and pianist (d. 2011)
    • 1915 – Margaret Walker, American novelist and poet (d. 1998)
    • 1917 – Fidel Sánchez Hernández, Salvadoran general and politician, President of El Salvador (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – Iva Withers, Canadian-American actress and singer (d. 2014)
    • 1918 – Bob Vanatta, American head basketball coach (d. 2016)
    • 1918 – Jing Shuping, Chinese businessman (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Jon Pertwee, English actor (d. 1996)
    • 1921 – Ezzard Charles, American boxer (d. 1975)
    • 1921 – Adolf von Thadden, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1996)
    • 1922 – Alan Armer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – James D. Hughes, American Air Force lieutenant general
    • 1923 – Liviu Ciulei, Romanian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Whitney North Seymour Jr., American politician (d. 2019)
    • 1923 – Eduardo Falú, Argentinian guitarist and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Natalia Bekhtereva, Russian neuroscientist and psychologist (d. 2008)
    • 1924 – Karim Olowu, Nigerian sprinter and long jumper (d. 2019)
    • 1924 – Mary Ford, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)
    • 1924 – Eddie Romero, Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Wally Phillips, American radio host (d. 2008)
    • 1926 – Nuon Chea, Cambodian politician (d. 2019)
    • 1926 – Anand Mohan Zutshi Gulzar Dehlvi, Urdu poet (d. 2020)
    • 1927 – Alan J. Dixon, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Illinois Secretary of State (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Charlie Louvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
    • 1927 – Doc Severinsen, American trumpet player and conductor
    • 1928 – Patricia Hitchcock, English actress
    • 1928 – Kapelwa Sikota Zambian nurse and health official (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Hasan Abidi, Pakistani journalist and poet (d. 2005)
    • 1929 – Sergio Romano, Italian writer, journalist, and historian
    • 1930 – Biljana Plavšić, 2nd President of Republika Srpska
    • 1930 – Hamish MacInnes, Scottish mountaineer and author
    • 1930 – Theodore Edgar McCarrick, American cardinal
    • 1930 – Hank Mobley, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1986)
    • 1931 – David Eddings, American author and academic (d. 2009)
    • 1932 – T. J. Bass, American physician and author (d. 2011)
    • 1932 – Joe Zawinul, Austrian jazz keyboardist and composer (d. 2007)
    • 1933 – David McCullough, American historian and author
    • 1934 – Robert McNeill Alexander, British zoologist (d. 2016)
    • 1935 – Gian Carlo Michelini, Italian-Taiwanese Roman Catholic priest
    • 1936 – Egbert Brieskorn, German mathematician and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Jo Siffert, Swiss race car driver (d. 1971)
    • 1936 – Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer-songwriter (d. 1980)
    • 1937 – Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong businessman and politician, 1st Chief Executive of Hong Kong
    • 1938 – James Montgomery Boice, American pastor and theologian (d. 2000)
    • 1939 – Elena Obraztsova, Russian soprano and actress (d. 2015)
    • 1940 – Ringo Starr, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
    • 1941 – Marco Bollesan, Italian rugby player and coach
    • 1941 – John Fru Ndi, Cameroonian politician
    • 1941 – Michael Howard, Welsh lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for the Environment
    • 1941 – Bill Oddie, English comedian, actor, and singer
    • 1941 – Jim Rodford, English bass player (d. 2018)
    • 1942 – Carmen Duncan, Australian actress (d. 2019)
    • 1943 – Joel Siegel, American journalist and critic (d. 2007)
    • 1944 – Feleti Sevele, Tongan politician; Prime Minister of Tonga
    • 1944 – Tony Jacklin, English golfer and sportscaster
    • 1944 – Glenys Kinnock, Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead, English educator and politician, Minister of State for Europe
    • 1944 – Emanuel Steward, American boxer and trainer (d. 2012)
    • 1944 – Ian Wilmut, English-Scottish embryologist and academic
    • 1945 – Michael Ancram, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
    • 1945 – Adele Goldberg, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1945 – Helô Pinheiro, inspiration for the song “The Girl from Ipanema”
    • 1947 – Gyanendra, King of Nepal
    • 1947 – Howard Rheingold, American author and critic
    • 1949 – Shelley Duvall, American actress, writer, and producer
    • 1954 – Simon Anderson, Australian surfer
    • 1955 – Len Barker, American baseball player and coach
    • 1957 – Jonathan Dayton, American director and producer
    • 1957 – Berry Sakharof, Turkish-Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1958 – Alexander Svinin, Russian figure skater and coach
    • 1959 – Billy Campbell, American actor
    • 1960 – Kevin A. Ford, American colonel and astronaut
    • 1960 – Ralph Sampson, American basketball player and coach
    • 1963 – Vonda Shepard, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1964 – Dominik Henzel, Czech-Swedish actor and comedian
    • 1965 – Mo Collins, American actress, comedian and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Jeremy Kyle, English talk show host
    • 1966 – Jim Gaffigan, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Tom Kristensen, Danish race car driver
    • 1968 – Jorja Fox, American actress
    • 1969 – Sylke Otto, German luger
    • 1969 – Joe Sakic, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1969 – Cree Summer, American-Canadian actress
    • 1970 – Wayne McCullough, Northern Irish boxer
    • 1970 – Min Patel, Indian-English cricketer
    • 1970 – Erik Zabel, German cyclist and coach
    • 1971 – Christian Camargo, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1972 – Lisa Leslie, American basketball player and actress
    • 1972 – Manfred Stohl, Austrian race car driver
    • 1972 – Kirsten Vangsness, American actress and writer
    • 1973 – José Jiménez, Dominican baseball player
    • 1973 – Kārlis Skrastiņš, Latvian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
    • 1974 – Patrick Lalime, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1975 – Tony Benshoof, American luger
    • 1975 – Louis Koen, South African rugby player
    • 1975 – Adam Nelson, American shot putter
    • 1976 – Bérénice Bejo, Argentinian-French actress
    • 1976 – Dominic Foley, Irish footballer
    • 1976 – Vasily Petrenko, Russian conductor
    • 1976 – Ercüment Olgundeniz, Turkish discus thrower and shot putter
    • 1978 – Chris Andersen, American basketball player
    • 1978 – Davor Kraljević, Croatian footballer
    • 1979 – Ibrahim Sulayman Muhammad Arbaysh, Saudi Arabian terrorist (d. 2015)
    • 1979 – Anastasios Gousis, Greek sprinter
    • 1979 – Douglas Hondo, Zimbabwean cricketer
    • 1980 – John Buck, American baseball player
    • 1980 – Serdar Kulbilge, Turkish footballer
    • 1980 – Michelle Kwan, American figure skater
    • 1981 – Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Indian cricketer
    • 1982 – Jan Laštůvka, Czech footballer
    • 1982 – George Owu, Ghanaian footballer
    • 1983 – Justin Davies, Australian footballer
    • 1984 – Minas Alozidis, Greek hurdler
    • 1984 – Alberto Aquilani, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – Mohammad Ashraful, Bangladeshi cricketer
    • 1985 – Marc Stein, German footballer
    • 1986 – Ana Kasparian, American journalist and producer
    • 1986 – Udo Schwarz, German rugby player
    • 1986 – Sevyn Streeter, American singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Kaci Brown, American singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Lukas Rosenthal, German rugby player
    • 1989 – Landon Cassill, American race car driver
    • 1989 – Miina Kallas, Estonian footballer
    • 1989 – Karl-August Tiirmaa, Estonian skier
    • 1990 – Lee Addy, Ghanaian footballer
    • 1990 – Pascal Stöger, Austrian footballer
    • 1991 – Alesso, Swedish DJ, record producer and musician
    • 1992 – Ellina Anissimova, Estonian hammer thrower
    • 1992 – Dominik Furman, Polish footballer
    • 1994 – Timothy Cathcart, Northern Irish race car driver (d. 2014)

    Deaths on July 7

    • 984 – Crescentius the Elder, Italian politician and aristocrat
    • 1021 – Fujiwara no Akimitsu, Japanese bureaucrat (b. 944)
    • 1162 – Haakon II Sigurdsson, king of Norway (b. 1147)
    • 1285 – Tile Kolup, German impostor claiming to be Frederick II
    • 1304 – Benedict XI, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1240)
    • 1307 – Edward I, king of England (b. 1239)
    • 1345 – Momchil, Bulgarian brigand and ruler
    • 1531 – Tilman Riemenschneider, German sculptor (b. 1460)
    • 1568 – William Turner, British ornithologist and botanist (b. 1508)
    • 1572 – Sigismund II Augustus, Polish king (b. 1520)
    • 1573 – Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Italian architect, designed the Church of the Gesù and Villa Farnese (b. 1507)
    • 1593 – Mohammed Bagayogo, Malian scholar and academic (b. 1523)
    • 1600 – Thomas Lucy, English politician (b. 1532)
    • 1607 – Penelope Blount, Countess of Devonshire, English noblewoman (b. 1563)
    • 1647 – Thomas Hooker, English minister, founded the Colony of Connecticut (b. 1586)
    • 1701 – William Stoughton, American judge and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1631)
    • 1713 – Henry Compton, English bishop (b. 1632)
    • 1718 – Alexei Petrovich, Russian tsar (b. 1690)
    • 1730 – Olivier Levasseur, French pirate (b. 1690)
    • 1758 – Marthanda Varma, Rani of Attingal (b. 1706)
    • 1764 – William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, English politician, Secretary at War (b. 1683)
    • 1776 – Jeremiah Markland, English scholar and academic (b. 1693)
    • 1790 – François Hemsterhuis, Dutch philosopher and author (b. 1721)
    • 1816 – Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish playwright and poet (b. 1751)
    • 1863 – William Mulready, Irish genre painter (b. 1786)
    • 1865 – George Atzerodt (b. 1833)
    • 1865 – David Herold (b. 1842)
    • 1865 – Lewis Payne (b. 1844)
    • 1865 – Mary Surratt (b. 1823)
    • 1890 – Henri Nestlé, German businessman, founded Nestlé (b. 1814)
    • 1901 – Johanna Spyri, Swiss author (b. 1827)
    • 1913 – Edward Burd Grubb Jr., American general and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Spain (b. 1841)
    • 1922 – Cathal Brugha, Irish revolutionary and politician, active in the Easter Rising, Irish War of Independence; first Ceann Comhairle and first President of Dáil Éireann (b. 1874)
    • 1925 – Clarence Hudson White, American photographer and educator (b. 1871)
    • 1927 – Gösta Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician and academic (b. 1846)
    • 1930 – Arthur Conan Doyle, British writer (b. 1859)
    • 1932 – Alexander Grin, Russian author (b. 1880)
    • 1932 – Henry Eyster Jacobs, American theologian and educator (b. 1844)
    • 1939 – Deacon White, American baseball player and manager (b. 1847)
    • 1950 – Fats Navarro, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1923)
    • 1955 – Ali Naci Karacan, Turkish journalist and publisher (b. 1896)
    • 1956 – Gottfried Benn, German author and poet (b. 1886)
    • 1960 – Francis Browne, Irish priest and photographer (b. 1880)
    • 1964 – Lillian Copeland, American discus thrower and shot putter (b. 1904)
    • 1965 – Moshe Sharett, Ukrainian-Israeli lieutenant and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1894)
    • 1968 – Jo Schlesser, French race car driver (b. 1928)
    • 1971 – Claude Gauvreau, Canadian poet and playwright (b. 1925)
    • 1972 – Athenagoras I of Constantinople (b. 1886)
    • 1973 – Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (b. 1895)
    • 1973 – Veronica Lake, American actress (b. 1922)
    • 1976 – Walter Giesler, American soccer player and referee (b. 1910)
    • 1978 – Francisco Mendes, Guinea-Bissau lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1933)
    • 1980 – Dore Schary, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905)
    • 1982 – Bon Maharaja, Indian guru and religious writer (b. 1901)
    • 1984 – George Oppen, American poet and author (b. 1908)
    • 1987 – Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, Dutch-French pianist (b. 1902)
    • 1990 – Bill Cullen, American television panelist and game show host (b. 1920)
    • 1990 – Cazuza, Brazilian singer and songwriter (b. 1958)
    • 1993 – Rıfat Ilgaz, Turkish author, poet, and educator (b. 1911)
    • 1994 – Carlo Chiti, Italian engineer (b. 1924)
    • 1994 – Cameron Mitchell, American actor (b. 1918)
    • 1994 – Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte, German general (b. 1907)
    • 1998 – Moshood Abiola, Nigerian businessman and politician (b. 1937)
    • 1999 – Julie Campbell Tatham, American author (b. 1908)
    • 1999 – Vikram Batra, Param Vir Chakra, Indian Army personnel (b. 1974)
    • 2000 – Kenny Irwin Jr., American race car driver (b. 1969)
    • 2001 – Fred Neil, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936)
    • 2003 – Izhak Graziani, Bulgarian trumpet player and conductor (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Syd Barrett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1946)
    • 2006 – Juan de Ávalos, Spanish sculptor (b. 1911)
    • 2006 – John Money, New Zealand-American psychologist and author (b. 1921)
    • 2008 – Bruce Conner, American sculptor, painter, and photographer (b. 1933)
    • 2008 – Dorian Leigh, American model (b. 1917)
    • 2011 – Allan W. Eckert, American historian and author (b. 1931)
    • 2011 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Ronaldo Cunha Lima, Brazilian poet and politician (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Dennis Flemion, American drummer (b. 1955)
    • 2012 – Doris Neal, American baseball player (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Jerry Norman, American sinologist and linguist (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Leon Schlumpf, Swiss politician (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Artur Hajzer, Polish mountaineer (b. 1962)
    • 2013 – Robert Hamerton-Kelly, South African-American pastor, theologian, and author (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Donald J. Irwin, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Ben Pucci, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentinian-Spanish footballer and coach (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Eduard Shevardnadze, Georgian general and politician, 2nd President of Georgia (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Peter Underwood, Australian lawyer and politician, 27th Governor of Tasmania (b. 1937)
    • 2015 – Maria Barroso, Portuguese actress and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Bob MacKinnon, American basketball player and coach (b. 1927)

    Holidays and observances on July 7

    • Christian feast day:
      • Æthelburh of Faremoutiers
      • Felix of Nantes
      • Illidius
      • The job of Manyava (Ukrainian Orthodox Church)
      • Willibald (Catholic Church)
      • July 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Solomon Islands from the United Kingdom in 1978.
    • Ivan Kupala Day (Belarus, Poland, Russia, Ukraine)
    • Saba Saba Day (Tanzania)
    • Tanabata (Japan)
    • World Chocolate Day

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

    • 1358 – The Republic of Ragusa is founded.
    • 1497 – Cornish rebels Michael An Gof and Thomas Flamank are executed at Tyburn, London, England.
    • 1556 – The thirteen Stratford Martyrs are burned at the stake near London for their Protestant beliefs.
    • 1743 – In the Battle of Dettingen, George II becomes the last reigning British monarch to participate in a battle.
    • 1760 – Anglo-Cherokee War: Cherokee warriors defeat British forces at the Battle of Echoee near present-day Otto, North Carolina.
    • 1806 – British forces take Buenos Aires during the first of the British invasions of the River Plate.
    • 1844 – Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother Hyrum Smith, are killed by a mob at the Carthage, Illinois jail.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Confederate forces defeat Union forces during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain during the Atlanta Campaign.
    • 1869 – The Republic of Ezo on the island of Hokkaido ends after being defeated by Japanese Imperial troops.
    • 1895 – The inaugural run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
    • 1898 – The first solo circumnavigation of the globe is completed by Joshua Slocum from Briar Island, Nova Scotia.
    • 1905 – During the Russo-Japanese War, sailors start a mutiny aboard the Russian battleship Potemkin.
    • 1908 – A group of Vietnamese tirailleurs conducts a failed attempt to poison the entire French army’s garrison in the Hanoi Citadel with the aim to make way for Hoàng Hoa Thám’s rebel army to capture Hanoi.
    • 1923 – Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter perform the first ever aerial refueling in a DH.4B biplane.
    • 1927 – Prime Minister of Japan Tanaka Giichi convenes an eleven-day conference to discuss Japan’s strategy in China. The Tanaka Memorial, a forged plan for world domination, is later claimed to be a secret report leaked from this conference.
    • 1941 – Romanian authorities launch one of the most violent pogroms in Jewish history in the city of Iași, resulting in the murder of at least 13,266 Jews.
    • 1941 – World War II: German troops capture the city of Białystok during Operation Barbarossa.
    • 1946 – In the Canadian Citizenship Act, the Parliament of Canada establishes the definition of Canadian citizenship.
    • 1950 – The United States decides to send troops to fight in the Korean War.
    • 1954 – The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, the Soviet Union’s first nuclear power station, opens in Obninsk, near Moscow.
    • 1954 – The FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match between Hungary and Brazil, highly anticipated to be exciting, instead turns violent, with three players ejected and further fighting continuing after the game.
    • 1957 – Hurricane Audrey makes landfall near the Texas–Louisiana border, killing over 400 people, mainly in and around Cameron, Louisiana.
    • 1973 – The President of Uruguay Juan María Bordaberry dissolves Parliament and establishes a dictatorship.
    • 1974 – U.S. president Richard Nixon visits the Soviet Union.
    • 1976 – Air France Flight 139 (Tel Aviv-Athens-Paris) is hijacked en route to Paris by the PLO and redirected to Entebbe, Uganda.
    • 1977 – France grants independence to Djibouti.
    • 1980 – The ‘Ustica massacre’: Itavia Flight 870 crashes in the sea while en route from Bologna to Palermo, Italy, killing all 81 on board.
    • 1981 – The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issues its “Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China”, laying the blame for the Cultural Revolution on Mao Zedong.
    • 1982 – Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the final research and development flight mission, STS-4.
    • 1988 – The Gare de Lyon rail accident in Paris, France, kills 56 people.
    • 1991 – Slovenia, after declaring independence two days before is invaded by Yugoslav troops, tanks, and aircraft starting the Ten-Day War.
    • 1994 – Members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult release sarin gas in Matsumoto, Japan. Seven people are killed, 660 injured.
    • 2007 – Tony Blair resigns as British Prime Minister, a position he had held since 1997. His Chancellor, Gordon Brown succeeds him.
    • 2007 – The Brazilian Military Police invades the favelas of Complexo do Alemão in an episode which is remembered as the Complexo do Alemão massacre.
    • 2008 – In a highly scrutinized election President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe is re-elected in a landslide after his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai had withdrawn a week earlier, citing violence against his party’s supporters.
    • 2013 – NASA launches the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, a space probe to observe the Sun.
    • 2014 – At least fourteen people are killed when a Gas Authority of India Limited pipeline explodes in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
    • 2015 – Formosa Fun Coast fire: A dust fire occurs at a recreational water park in Taiwan, killing 15 people and injuring 497 others, 199 critically.
    • 2017 – A series of powerful cyberattacks using the Petya malware target websites of Ukrainian organizations and counterparts with Ukrainian connections around the globe.

    Births on June 27

    • 850 – Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid emir (d. 902)
    • 1350 – Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1425)
    • 1430 – Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter, Lancastrian leader (d. 1475)
    • 1462 – Louis XII, king of France (d. 1515)
    • 1464 – Ernst II of Saxony, Archbishop of Magdeburg (1476–1513) (d. 1513)
    • 1497 – Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1546)
    • 1550 – Charles IX, king of France (d. 1574)
    • 1596 – Maximilian, Prince of Dietrichstein (d. 1655)
    • 1696 – William Pepperrell, American merchant and soldier (d. 1759)
    • 1717 – Louis-Guillaume Le Monnier, French botanist and physicist (d. 1799)
    • 1767 – Alexis Bouvard, French astronomer and academic (d. 1843)
    • 1805 – Napoléon Coste, French guitarist and composer (d. 1883)
    • 1806 – Augustus De Morgan, English mathematician and logician (d. 1871)
    • 1812 – Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy Waterston, American writer (d. 1899)
    • 1817 – Louise von François, German author (d. 1893)
    • 1828 – Bryan O’Loghlen, Irish-Australian politician, 13th Premier of Victoria (d. 1905)
    • 1838 – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1894)
    • 1838 – Paul Mauser, German weapon designer, designed the Gewehr 98 (d. 1914)
    • 1846 – Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish politician (d. 1891)
    • 1850 – Jørgen Pedersen Gram, Danish mathematician and academic (d. 1919)
    • 1850 – Lafcadio Hearn, Greek-Japanese historian and author (d. 1904)
    • 1862 – May Irwin, Canadian-American actress and singer (d. 1938)
    • 1865 – John Monash, Australian engineer and general (d. 1931)
    • 1869 – Kate Carew, American illustrator and journalist (d. 1961)
    • 1869 – Emma Goldman, Lithuanian-Canadian philosopher and activist (d. 1940)
    • 1869 – Hans Spemann, German embryologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
    • 1870 – Frank Rattray Lillie, American zoologist and embryologist (d. 1947)
    • 1872 – Heber Doust Curtis, American astronomer (d. 1942)
    • 1872 – Paul Laurence Dunbar, American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1906)
    • 1880 – Helen Keller, American author, academic, and activist (d. 1968)
    • 1882 – Eduard Spranger, German philosopher and academic (d. 1963)
    • 1884 – Gaston Bachelard, French philosopher and poet (d. 1962)
    • 1885 – Pierre Montet, French historian and academic (d. 1966)
    • 1885 – Guilhermina Suggia, Portuguese cellist (d. 1950)
    • 1886 – Charlie Macartney, Australian cricketer and soldier (d. 1958)
    • 1888 – Lewis Bernstein Namier, Polish-English historian and academic (d. 1960)
    • 1888 – Antoinette Perry, American actress and director (d. 1946)
    • 1892 – Paul Colin, French illustrator (d. 1985)
    • 1899 – Juan Trippe, American businessman, founded Pan American World Airways (d. 1981)
    • 1900 – Dixie Brown, British boxer (d. 1957)
    • 1901 – Merle Tuve, American geophysicist and academic (d. 1982)
    • 1905 – Armand Mondou, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1976)
    • 1906 – Catherine Cookson, English author and philanthropist (d. 1998)
    • 1906 – Vernon Watkins, Welsh-American poet and painter (d. 1967)
    • 1907 – John McIntire, American actor (d. 1991)
    • 1908 – João Guimarães Rosa, Brazilian physician and author (d. 1967)
    • 1911 – Marion M. Magruder, American Marine officer, commander of the VMF(N)-533 squadron. (d. 1997)
    • 1912 – E. R. Braithwaite, Guyanese novelist, writer, teacher, and diplomat (d. 2016)
    • 1913 – Elton Britt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1972)
    • 1913 – Philip Guston, American painter and academic (d. 1980)
    • 1913 – Willie Mosconi, American pool player (d. 1993)
    • 1914 – Robert Aickman, English author and activist, co-founded the Inland Waterways Association (d. 1981)
    • 1914 – Helena Benitez, Filipina academic and administrator (d. 2016)
    • 1914 – Margaret Ekpo, Nigerian women’s rights activist, social mobilizer and politician (d. 2006)
    • 1914 – Giorgio Almirante, Italian journalist and politician (d. 1988)
    • 1915 – Grace Lee Boggs, American philosopher, author, and activist (d. 2015)
    • 1915 – Aideu Handique, Indian actress (d. 2002)
    • 1915 – John Alexander Moore, American zoologist and academic (d. 2002)
    • 1916 – Robert Normann, Norwegian guitarist (d. 1998)
    • 1918 – Adolph Kiefer, American swimmer (d. 2017)
    • 1919 – M. Carl Holman, American author, educator, poet, and playwright (d. 1988)
    • 1919 – Amala Shankar, Indian danseuse
    • 1920 – Fernando Riera, Chilean football player and manager (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Muriel Pavlow, English actress (d. 2019)
    • 1922 – George Walker, American composer (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Jacques Berthier, French organist and composer (d. 1994)
    • 1923 – Elmo Hope, American pianist and composer (d. 1967)
    • 1924 – Bob Appleyard, English cricketer and businessman (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Leonard Lerman, American geneticist and biologist (d. 2012)
    • 1925 – Doc Pomus, American singer-songwriter (d. 1991)
    • 1925 – Wayne Terwilliger, American second baseman, coach, and manager
    • 1927 – Bob Keeshan, American actor and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1928 – James Lincoln Collier, American journalist and author
    • 1928 – Rudy Perpich, American dentist and politician, 34th Governor of Minnesota (d. 1995)
    • 1929 – Dick the Bruiser, American football player and wrestler (d. 1991)
    • 1929 – Peter Maas, American journalist and author (d. 2001)
    • 1930 – Ross Perot, American businessman and politician (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Charles Bronfman, Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist
    • 1931 – Martinus J. G. Veltman, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1932 – Eddie Kasko, American baseball player and manager (d. 2020)
    • 1932 – Anna Moffo, American operatic soprano (d. 2006)
    • 1932 – Hugh Wood, English composer
    • 1936 – Lucille Clifton, American author and poet (d. 2010)
    • 1936 – Shirley Anne Field, English actress
    • 1937 – Joseph P. Allen, American physicist and astronaut
    • 1937 – Otto Herrigel, Namibian lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Kirkpatrick Sale, American author and scholar
    • 1938 – Bruce Babbitt, American lawyer and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Interior
    • 1938 – David Hope, Baron Hope of Craighead, Scottish lieutenant and judge
    • 1938 – Konrad Kujau, German illustrator (d. 2000)
    • 1939 – R. D. Burman, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 1994)
    • 1939 – Neil Hawke, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 2000)
    • 1940 – Ian Lang, Baron Lang of Monkton, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
    • 1941 – Bill Baxley, American lawyer and politician, 24th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
    • 1941 – James P. Hogan, English-Irish author (d. 2010)
    • 1941 – Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1942 – Bruce Johnston, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1942 – Frank Mills, Canadian pianist and composer
    • 1942 – Danny Schechter, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1943 – Ravi Batra, Indian-American economist and academic
    • 1944 – Angela King, English environmentalist and author, co-founded Common Ground
    • 1944 – Patrick Sercu, Belgian cyclist (d. 2019)
    • 1945 – Joey Covington, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Norma Kamali, American fashion designer
    • 1945 – Ragnar Søderlind, Norwegian composer
    • 1948 – Camile Baudoin, American guitarist
    • 1949 – Vera Wang, American fashion designer
    • 1951 – Ulf Andersson, Swedish chess player
    • 1951 – Julia Duffy, American actress
    • 1951 – Gilson Lavis, English drummer and portrait artist
    • 1951 – Mary McAleese, Irish academic and politician, 8th President of Ireland
    • 1952 – Madan Bhandari, Nepalese politician (d. 1993)
    • 1953 – Igor Gräzin, Estonian academic and politician
    • 1953 – Alice McDermott, American novelist
    • 1954 – Richard Ibbotson, English admiral
    • 1955 – Isabelle Adjani, French actress
    • 1956 – Heiner Dopp, German field hockey player and politician
    • 1957 – Gabriella Dorio, Italian runner
    • 1958 – Lisa Germano, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1958 – Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
    • 1959 – Dan Jurgens, American author and illustrator
    • 1959 – Lorrie Morgan, American singer
    • 1960 – Craig Hodges, American basketball player and coach
    • 1960 – Robert King, English harpsichordist and conductor
    • 1960 – Jeremy Swift, English actor
    • 1962 – Michael Ball, English actor and singer
    • 1962 – Sunanda Pushkar, India-born Canadian businesswoman (d. 2014)
    • 1963 – Wendy Alexander, Scottish politician, Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning
    • 1963 – Johnny Benson Jr., American race car driver
    • 1964 – Stephan Brenninkmeijer, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Chuck Person, American basketball player and coach
    • 1965 – Simon Sebag Montefiore, English journalist, historian, and author
    • 1965 – S. Manikavasagam, Malaysian politician and social activist
    • 1965 – Óscar Vega, Spanish boxer
    • 1966 – J.J. Abrams, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Jörg Bergen, German footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Jeff Conine, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1966 – Aigars Kalvītis, Latvian politician, businessman, and former Prime Minister of Latvia
    • 1967 – Sylvie Fréchette, Canadian swimmer and coach
    • 1967 – George Hamilton, Northern Irish police officer
    • 1967 – Vasiliy Kaptyukh, Belarusian discus thrower
    • 1967 – Phil Kearns, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Kelly Ayotte, American lawyer and politician, New Hampshire Attorney General
    • 1969 – Viktor Petrenko, Ukrainian figure skater
    • 1970 – Régine Cavagnoud, French skier (d. 2001)
    • 1970 – John Eales, Australian rugby player and businessman
    • 1970 – Jim Edmonds, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Jo Frost, English nanny, television personality, and author
    • 1971 – Serginho, Brazilian footballer
    • 1972 – Dawud Wharnsby, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1973 – Abbath Doom Occulta, Norwegian musician
    • 1973 – Simon Archer, English badminton player
    • 1974 – Christian Kane, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1974 – Christopher O’Neill, English-American businessman
    • 1975 – Ace Darling, American wrestler
    • 1975 – Bianca Del Rio, American drag queen & comedian
    • 1975 – Sarah Evanetz, Canadian swimmer
    • 1975 – Tobey Maguire, American actor
    • 1975 – Daryle Ward, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Johnny Estrada, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Leigh Nash, American singer-songwriter
    • 1977 – Arkadiusz Radomski, Polish footballer
    • 1978 – Apparat, German musician
    • 1980 – Hugo Campagnaro, Argentinian footballer
    • 1980 – Jennifer Goodridge, American keyboard player
    • 1980 – Alexander Peya, Austrian tennis player
    • 1980 – Kevin Pietersen, South African-English cricketer
    • 1980 – Craig Terrill, American football player
    • 1981 – Andrew Embley, Australian footballer
    • 1983 – Jim Johnson, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Dale Steyn, South African cricketer
    • 1983 – Nikola Rakočević, Serbian actor
    • 1984 – Khloé Kardashian, American model, businesswoman, and radio host
    • 1984 – D.J. King, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Jose Holebas, German-Greek footballer
    • 1984 – Gökhan Inler, Swiss footballer
    • 1985 – James Hook, Welsh rugby player
    • 1985 – Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russian tennis player
    • 1985 – Nico Rosberg, German race car driver
    • 1986 – Sam Claflin, British actor
    • 1986 – Drake Bell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1986 – Bryan Fletcher, American skier
    • 1986 – LaShawn Merritt, American sprinter
    • 1987 – India de Beaufort, English actress
    • 1987 – Ed Westwick, English actor
    • 1988 – Stefani Bismpikou, Greek gymnast
    • 1988 – Matthew Spiranovic, Australian footballer
    • 1988 – Kate Ziegler, American swimmer
    • 1989 – Hana Birnerová, Czech tennis player
    • 1989 – Matthew Lewis, English actor
    • 1992 – Ahn So-hee, South Korean singer and actress
    • 1992 – Karthika Nair, Indian film actress
    • 1993 – Johanna Talihärm, Estonian biathlete
    • 1993 – Alberto Campbell-Staines, Australian athlete
    • 1994 – Anita Husarić, Bosnian tennis player
    • 1995 – Monté Morris, American basketball player

    Deaths on June 27

    • 992 – Conan I of Rennes, Duke of Brittany
    • 1162 – Odo II, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1118)
    • 1194 – King Sancho VI of Navarre (b. 1132)
    • 1296 – Floris V, Count of Holland (b. 1254)
    • 1458 – Alfonso V of Aragon (b. 1396)
    • 1497 – Michael An Gof, rebel leader
    • 1497 – Thomas Flamank, rebel leader
    • 1574 – Giorgio Vasari, Italian historian, painter, and architect (b. 1511)
    • 1601 – Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys (b. 1525)
    • 1603 – Jan Dymitr Solikowski, Polish archbishop (b. 1539)
    • 1627 – John Hayward, English historian, journalist, and politician (b. 1564)
    • 1636 – Date Masamune, Japanese strongman (b. 1567)
    • 1654 – Johannes Valentinus Andreae, German theologian (b. 1586)
    • 1655 – Eleonora Gonzaga, Holy Roman Empress (b. 1598)
    • 1672 – Roger Twysden, English historian and politician (b. 1597)
    • 1720 – Guillaume Amfrye de Chaulieu, French poet and author (b. 1639)
    • 1794 – Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (b. 1711)
    • 1794 – Philippe de Noailles, French general (b. 1715)
    • 1827 – Johann Gottfried Eichhorn, German theologian and academic (b. 1754)
    • 1829 – James Smithson, English chemist and mineralogist (b. 1765)
    • 1831 – Sophie Germain, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1776)
    • 1839 – Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire (b. 1780)
    • 1844 – Hyrum Smith, American religious leader (b. 1800)
    • 1844 – Joseph Smith, American religious leader, founded the Latter Day Saint movement (b. 1805)
    • 1878 – Sidney Breese, American jurist and politician (b. 1800)
    • 1894 – Giorgio Costantino Schinas, Maltese architect and civil engineer (b. 1834)
    • 1896 – John Berryman, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1825)
    • 1905 – Harold Mahony, Scottish-Irish tennis player (b. 1867)
    • 1907 – Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, American educator, co-founded Radcliffe College (b. 1822)
    • 1911 – Victor Surridge, English motorcycle racer (b. 1882)
    • 1912 – George Bonnor, Australian cricketer (b. 1855)
    • 1917 – Karl Allmenröder, German soldier and pilot (b. 1896)
    • 1919 – Peter Sturholdt, American boxer (b. 1885)
    • 1920 – Adolphe-Basile Routhier, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1839)
    • 1934 – Francesco Buhagiar, Maltese politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1876)
    • 1935 – Eugene Augustin Lauste, French-American inventor (b. 1857)
    • 1944 – Milan Hodža, Czech journalist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (b. 1878)
    • 1946 – Wanda Gág, American author and illustrator (b. 1893)
    • 1949 – Frank Smythe, English botanist and mountaineer (b. 1900)
    • 1950 – Milada Horáková, Czech politician, victim of judicial murder (b. 1901)
    • 1952 – Max Dehn, German-American mathematician and academic (b. 1878)
    • 1957 – Hermann Buhl, Austrian soldier and mountaineer (b. 1924)
    • 1960 – Lottie Dod, English tennis player, golfer, and archer (b. 1871)
    • 1962 – Paul Viiding, Estonian author, poet, and critic (b. 1904)
    • 1967 – Jaan Lattik, Estonian pastor and politician, 9th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (b. 1878)
    • 1970 – Daniel Kinsey, American hurdler and scholar (b. 1902)
    • 1975 – G.I. Taylor, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1886)
    • 1986 – George Nepia, New Zealand rugby player and referee (b. 1905)
    • 1987 – Billy Snedden, Australian lawyer and politician, 17th Attorney-General for Australia (b. 1926)
    • 1989 – A. J. Ayer, English philosopher and academic (b. 1910)
    • 1991 – Milton Subotsky, American-English screenwriter and producer (b. 1921)
    • 1996 – Albert R. Broccoli, American film producer (b. 1909)
    • 1998 – Gilles Rocheleau, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1935)
    • 1999 – Georgios Papadopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, 169th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1919)
    • 2000 – Pierre Pflimlin, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1907)
    • 2001 – Tove Jansson, Finnish author, illustrator, and painter (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Jack Lemmon, American actor (b. 1925)
    • 2001 – Joan Sims, English actress (b. 1930)
    • 2002 – John Entwistle, English singer-songwriter, bass guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
    • 2002 – Robert L. J. Long, American admiral (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – David Newman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
    • 2004 – George Patton IV, American general (b. 1923)
    • 2004 – Darrell Russell, American race car driver (b. 1968)
    • 2005 – Shelby Foote, American historian and author (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Ray Holmes, English lieutenant and pilot (b. 1914)
    • 2005 – John T. Walton, American businessman, co-founded the Children’s Scholarship Fund (b. 1946)
    • 2006 – Ángel Maturino Reséndiz, Mexican serial killer (b. 1959)
    • 2007 – William Hutt, Canadian actor (b. 1920)
    • 2008 – Sam Manekshaw, Indian field marshal (b. 1914)
    • 2009 – Gale Storm, American actress (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Corey Allen, American film and television actor, writer, director, and producer (b. 1934)
    • 2011 – Mike Doyle, English footballer (b. 1946)
    • 2012 – Stan Cox, English runner (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Rosemary Dobson, Australian poet and illustrator (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Stefano Borgonovo, Italian footballer (b. 1964)
    • 2013 – Ian Scott, English-New Zealand painter (b. 1945)
    • 2014 – Edmond Blanchard, Canadian jurist and politician (b. 1954)
    • 2014 – Allen Grossman, American poet, critic, and academic (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Leslie Manigat, Haitian educator and politician, 43rd President of Haiti (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Violet Milstead, Canadian World War II aviator and bush pilot (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Rachid Solh, Lebanese politician, 48th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Zvi Elpeleg, Polish-Israeli diplomat, author, and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Knut Helle, Norwegian historian and professor (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Chris Squire, English musician (bass guitarist), singer and songwriter, member of the rock band Yes (b. 1948)
    • 2016 – Bud Spencer, Italian swimmer, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2017 – Peter L. Berger, Austrian sociologist (b. 1929)
    • 2018 – Joe Jackson, American manager, father of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson (b. 1928)
    • 2018 – Liz Jackson, Australian journalist and former barrister (b. 1951)
    • 2018 – William McBridge, Australian obstetrician (b. 1927)

    Holidays and observances on June 27

    • Christian feast day:
      • Arialdo
      • Crescens, one of the Seventy disciples
      • Cyril of Alexandria (Coptic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion and Lutheran Church)
      • Ladislaus I of Hungary
      • Our Lady of Perpetual Help
      • Sampson the Hospitable
      • Zoilus
      • June 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Canadian Multiculturalism Day (Canada)
    • Commemoration Day for the Victims of the Communist Regime (Czech Republic)
    • Day of Turkmen Workers of Culture and Art (Turkmenistan)
    • Helen Keller Day (United States)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Djibouti from France in 1977.
    • Mixed Race Day (Brazil)
    • National HIV Testing Day (United States)
    • National PTSD Awareness Day (United States)
    • Seven Sleepers’ Day or Siebenschläfertag (Germany)
    • Unity Day (Tajikistan)
  • |

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

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

    Births on May 31

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

    Deaths on May 31

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

    Holidays and observances on May 31

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