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July 15 in History
- 484 BC – Dedication of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in ancient Rome
- AD 70 – Titus and his armies breach the walls of Jerusalem. (17th of Tammuz in the Hebrew calendar).
- 756 – An Lushan Rebellion: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang is ordered by his Imperial Guards to execute chancellor Yang Guozhong by forcing him to commit suicide or face a mutiny. General An Lushan has other members of the emperor’s family killed.
- 1099 – First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege.
- 1149 – The reconstructed Church of the Holy Sepulchre is consecrated in Jerusalem.
- 1207 – King John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop Stephen Langton.
- 1240 – Swedish–Novgorodian Wars: A Novgorodian army led by Alexander Nevsky defeats the Swedes in the Battle of the Neva.
- 1381 – John Ball, a leader in the Peasants’ Revolt, is hanged, drawn, and quartered in the presence of King Richard II of England.
- 1410 – Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War: Battle of Grunwald: The allied forces of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeat the army of the Teutonic Order.
- 1482 – Muhammad XII is crowned the twenty-second and last Nasrid king of Granada.
- 1738 – Baruch Laibov and Alexander Voznitzin are burned alive in St. Petersburg, Russia. Vonitzin had converted to Judaism with Laibov’s help, with the consent of Empress Anna Ivanovna.
- 1741 – Aleksei Chirikov sights land in Southeast Alaska. He sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska.
- 1789 – Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, is named by acclamation Colonel General of the new National Guard of Paris.
- 1799 – The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign.
- 1806 – Pike Expedition: United States Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Bellefontaine near St. Louis, Missouri, to explore the west.
- 1815 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon.
- 1823 – A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, Italy.
- 1834 – The Spanish Inquisition is officially disbanded after nearly 356 years.
- 1838 – Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers the Divinity School Address at Harvard Divinity School, discounting Biblical miracles and declaring Jesus a great man, but not God. The Protestant community reacts with outrage.
- 1862 – The CSS Arkansas, the most effective ironclad on the Mississippi River, battles with Union ships commanded by Admiral David Farragut, severely damaging three ships and sustaining heavy damage herself. The encounter changed the complexion of warfare on the Mississippi and helped to reverse Rebel fortunes on the river in the summer of 1862.
- 1870 – Reconstruction Era of the United States: Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.
- 1870 – Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory are transferred to Canada from the Hudson’s Bay Company, and the province of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are established from these vast territories.
- 1888 – The stratovolcano Mount Bandai erupts killing approximately 500 people, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.
- 1910 – In his book Clinical Psychiatry, Emil Kraepelin gives a name to Alzheimer’s disease, naming it after his colleague Alois Alzheimer.
- 1916 – In Seattle, Washington, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporate Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing).
- 1918 – World War I: The Second Battle of the Marne begins near the River Marne with a German attack.
- 1920 – The Polish Parliament establishes Silesian Voivodeship before the Polish-German plebiscite.
- 1922 – Japanese Communist Party is established in Japan.
- 1927 – Massacre of July 15, 1927: Eighty-nine protesters are killed by the Austrian police in Vienna.
- 1946 – State of North Borneo, today in Sabah, Malaysia, annexed by the United Kingdom.
- 1954 – First flight of the Boeing 367-80, prototype for both the Boeing 707 and C-135 series.
- 1955 – Eighteen Nobel laureates sign the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by thirty-four others.
- 1959 – The steel strike of 1959 begins, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history.
- 1966 – Vietnam War: The United States and South Vietnam begin Operation Hastings to push the North Vietnamese out of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone.
- 1971 – The United Red Army is founded in Japan.
- 1974 – In Nicosia, Cyprus, Greek junta-sponsored nationalists launch a coup d’état, deposing President Makarios and installing Nikos Sampson as Cypriot president.
- 1975 – Space Race: Apollo–Soyuz Test Project features the dual launch of an Apollo spacecraft and a Soyuz spacecraft on the first joint Soviet-United States human-crewed flight. It was both the last launch of an Apollo spacecraft, and the Saturn family of rockets.
- 1979 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter gives his “malaise speech”.
- 1983 – An attack at Orly Airport in Paris is launched by Armenian militant organisation ASALA, leaving eight people dead and 55 injured.
- 1996 – A Belgian Air Force C-130 Hercules carrying the Royal Netherlands Army marching band crashes on landing at Eindhoven Airport.
- 1998 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP S. Shanmuganathan is killed by a claymore mine.
- 2002 – “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and to possession of explosives during the commission of a felony.
- 2002 – Anti-Terrorism Court of Pakistan hands down the death sentence to British born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and life terms to three others suspected of murdering The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
- 2003 – AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day.
- 2006 – Twitter, later one of the largest social media platforms in the world, is launched.
- 2014 – A train derails on the Moscow Metro, killing at least 24 and injuring more than 160 others.
- 2016 – Factions of the Turkish Armed Forces attempt a coup.
Births on July 15
- 980 – Ichijō, Japanese emperor (d. 1011)
- 1273 – Ewostatewos, Ethiopian monk and saint (d. 1352)
- 1353 – Vladimir the Bold, Russian prince (d. 1410)
- 1359 – Antonio Correr, Italian cardinal (d. 1445)
- 1442 – Boček IV of Poděbrady, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1496)
- 1455 – Queen Yun, Korean queen (d. 1482)
- 1471 – Eskender, Ethiopian emperor (d. 1494)
- 1478 – Barbara Jagiellon, duchess consort of Saxony and Margravine consort of Meissen (d. 1534)
- 1573 – Inigo Jones, English architect, designed the Queen’s House (d. 1652)
- 1600 – Jan Cossiers, Flemish painter (d. 1671)
- 1606 – Rembrandt, Dutch painter and etcher (d. 1669)
- 1611 – Jai Singh I, maharaja of Jaipur (d. 1667)
- 1613 – Gu Yanwu, Chinese philologist and geographer (d. 1682)
- 1631 – Jens Juel, Danish politician and diplomat, Governor-general of Norway (d. 1700)
- 1631 – Richard Cumberland, English philosopher (d. 1718)
- 1638 – Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1693)
- 1704 – August Gottlieb Spangenberg, German bishop and theologian (d. 1792)
- 1779 – Clement Clarke Moore, American author, poet, and educator (d. 1863)
- 1793 – Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, American educator, author, editor (d. 1884)
- 1796 – Thomas Bulfinch, American mythologist (d. 1867)
- 1799 – Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (d. 1882)
- 1800 – Sidney Breese, American jurist and politician (d. 1878)
- 1808 – Henry Edward Manning, English cardinal (d. 1892)
- 1812 – James Hope-Scott, English lawyer and academic (d. 1873)
- 1817 – Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet, English engineer, designed the Forth Bridge (d. 1898)
- 1827 – W. W. Thayer American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of Oregon (d. 1899)
- 1848 – Vilfredo Pareto, Italian economist and sociologist (d. 1923)
- 1850 – Frances Xavier Cabrini, Italian-American nun and saint (d. 1917)
- 1852 – Josef Josephi, Polish-born singer and actor (d. 1920)
- 1858 – Emmeline Pankhurst, English political activist and suffragist (d. 1928)
- 1864 – Marie Tempest, English actress and singer (d. 1942)
- 1865 – Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, Anglo-Irish businessman and publisher, founded the Amalgamated Press (d. 1922)
- 1865 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian-German mathematician and theorist (d. 1945)
- 1867 – Jean-Baptiste Charcot, French physician and explorer (d. 1936)
- 1871 – Doppo Kunikida, Japanese journalist, author, and poet (d. 1908)
- 1880 – Enrique Mosca, Argentinian lawyer and politician (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Wharton Esherick, American sculptor (d. 1970)
- 1892 – Walter Benjamin, German philosopher and critic (d. 1940)
- 1893 – Enid Bennett, Australian-American actress (d. 1969)
- 1893 – Dick Rauch, American football player and coach (d. 1970)
- 1894 – Tadeusz Sendzimir, Polish-American engineer (d. 1989)
- 1899 – Seán Lemass, Irish soldier and politician, 4th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1971)
- 1902 – Jean Rey, Belgian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Walter D. Edmonds, American journalist and author (d. 1998)
- 1903 – K. Kamaraj, Indian journalist and politician (d. 1975)
- 1904 – Rudolf Arnheim, German-American psychologist and author (d. 2007)
- 1905 – Dorothy Fields, American songwriter (d. 1974)
- 1905 – Anita Farra, Italian actress (d. 2008)
- 1906 – R. S. Mugali, Indian poet and academic (d. 1993)
- 1906 – Rudolf Uhlenhaut, English-German engineer (d. 1989)
- 1909 – Jean Hamburger, French physician and surgeon (d. 1992)
- 1911 – Edward Shackleton, Baron Shackleton, English geographer and politician, Secretary of State for Air (d. 1994)
- 1913 – Cowboy Copas, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
- 1913 – Hammond Innes, English journalist and author (d. 1998)
- 1913 – Abraham Sutzkever, Russian poet and author (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Akhtar Hameed Khan, Pakistani economist, scholar, and activist (d. 1999)
- 1914 – Howard Vernon, Swiss-French actor (d. 1996)
- 1915 – Albert Ghiorso, American chemist and academic (d. 2010)
- 1915 – Kashmir Singh Katoch, Indian army officer (d. 2007)
- 1916 – Sumner Gerard, American politician and diplomat (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Robert Conquest, English-American historian, poet, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1917 – Joan Roberts, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
- 1917 – Nur Muhammad Taraki, Afghan journalist and politician (d. 1979)
- 1918 – Bertram Brockhouse, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
- 1918 – Brenda Milner, English-Canadian neuropsychologist and academic
- 1919 – Fritz Langanke, German lieutenant (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Iris Murdoch, Anglo-Irish British novelist and philosopher (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Jack Beeson, American pianist and composer (d. 2010)
- 1921 – Henri Colpi, Swiss-French director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Robert Bruce Merrifield, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Jean Heywood, British actress (d. 2019)
- 1922 – Leon M. Lederman, American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
- 1922 – Jean-Pierre Richard, French writer (d. 2019)
- 1923 – Francisco de Andrade, Portuguese sailor
- 1924 – Jeremiah Denton, American admiral and politician (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Marianne Bernadotte, Swedish actress and philanthropist
- 1925 – Philip Carey, American actor (d. 2009)
- 1925 – Taylor Hardwick, American architect, designed Haydon Burns Library and Friendship Fountain Park (d. 2014)
- 1925 – D. A. Pennebaker, American documentary filmmaker (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Evan Hultman, American politician
- 1925 – Antony Carbone, American actor
- 1925 – Pandel Savic, American football player (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Driss Chraïbi, Moroccan-French journalist and author (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentinian general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (d. 2003)
- 1926 – Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Sir John Graham, 4th Baronet, English diplomat (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Nan Martin, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Carmen Zapata, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Håkon Brusveen, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1928 – Carl Woese, American microbiologist and biophysicist (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Viramachaneni Vimla Devi, Indian parliamentarian (d. 1967)
- 1929 – Charles Anthony, American tenor and actor (d. 2012)
- 1929 – Francis Bebey, Cameroonian-French guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1929 – Ian Stewart, Scottish race car driver (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Jacques Derrida, Algerian-French philosopher and academic (d. 2004)
- 1930 – Richard Garneau, Canadian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Stephen Smale, American mathematician and computer scientist
- 1930 – Einosuke Akiya, Japanese Buddhist leader
- 1931 – Clive Cussler, American archaeologist and author (d. 2020)
- 1931 – Joanna Merlin, American actress and casting director
- 1931 – Jacques-Yvan Morin, Canadian lawyer and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
- 1932 – Ed Litzenberger, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2010)
- 1933 – Guido Crepax, Italian author and illustrator (d. 2003)
- 1933 – M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Indian author and screenwriter
- 1934 – Harrison Birtwistle, English composer and academic
- 1934 – Eva Krížiková, Czech actress (d. 2020)
- 1934 – Risto Jarva, Finnish director and producer (d. 1977)
- 1935 – Donn Clendenon, American baseball player and lawyer (d. 2005)
- 1935 – Alex Karras, American football player, wrestler, and actor (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Ken Kercheval, American actor and director (d. 2019)
- 1936 – George Voinovich, American lawyer and politician, 65th Governor of Ohio (d. 2016)
- 1937 – Prabhash Joshi, Indian journalist (d. 2009)
- 1938 – Ernie Barnes, American football player, actor, and painter (d. 2009)
- 1938 – Carmen Callil, Australian publisher, founded Virago Press
- 1938 – Barry Goldwater, Jr., American lawyer and politician
- 1939 – Aníbal Cavaco Silva, Portuguese economist and politician, 19th President of the Portuguese Republic
- 1940 – Denis Héroux, Canadian director and producer (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and convicted murderer (d. 1990)
- 1940 – Robert Winston, English surgeon, academic, and politician
- 1942 – Vivian Malone Jones, American civil rights activist (d. 2005)
- 1943 – Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Northern Irish astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
- 1944 – Millie Jackson, American singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1945 – David Arthur Granger, Guyanese politician, 9th President of Guyana
- 1945 – Peter Lewis (musician), American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1945 – Jürgen Möllemann, German soldier and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 2003)
- 1946 – Linda Ronstadt, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1946 – Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei
- 1947 – Peter Banks, English guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1947 – Lydia Davis, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist
- 1947 – Pridiyathorn Devakula, Thai economist and politician, Thai Minister of Finance
- 1947 – Roky Erickson, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2019)
- 1948 – Twinkle, English singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
- 1948 – Dimosthenis Kourtovik, Greek anthropologist and critic
- 1948 – Artimus Pyle, American rock drummer and songwriter (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- 1949 – Carl Bildt, Swedish politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Sweden
- 1949 – Trevor Horn, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1949 – Richard Russo, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter
- 1950 – Colin Barnett, Australian economist and politician, 29th Premier of Western Australia
- 1950 – Arianna Huffington, Greek-American journalist and publisher (The Huffington Post)
- 1951 – Gregory Isaacs, Jamaican-English singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
- 1951 – Jesse Ventura, American wrestler, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of Minnesota
- 1952 – David Pack, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1952 – Celia Imrie, English actress
- 1952 – Terry O’Quinn, American actor
- 1952 – Marky Ramone, American drummer and songwriter
- 1952 – Johnny Thunders, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)
- 1953 – Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haitian priest and politician, 49th President of Haiti
- 1953 – Sultanah Haminah, Malaysian royal consort
- 1953 – Mohamad Shahrum Osman, Malaysian politician
- 1953 – Alicia Bridges, American singer-songwriter
- 1954 – John Ferguson, Australian rugby league player
- 1954 – Jeff Jarvis, American journalist and blogger
- 1954 – Giorgos Kaminis, American-Greek lawyer and politician, 78th Mayor of Athens
- 1954 – Mario Kempes, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1956 – Ashoke Sen, Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist
- 1956 – Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Joy Division) (d. 1980)
- 1956 – Nicholas Harberd, British botanist, educator and academician
- 1956 – Barry Melrose, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1956 – Steve Mortimer, Australian rugby league player, coach, and administrator
- 1956 – Joe Satriani, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 – Wayne Taylor, South African race car driver
- 1958 – Gary Heale, English footballer and coach
- 1958 – Mac Thornberry, American lawyer and politician
- 1959 – Vincent Lindon, French actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Kim Alexis, American fashion model
- 1961 – Lolita Davidovich, Canadian actress
- 1961 – Jean-Christophe Grangé, French journalist and screenwriter
- 1961 – Scott Ritter, American soldier and international weapons inspector
- 1961 – Forest Whitaker, American actor
- 1962 – Nikos Filippou, Greek basketball player and manager
- 1962 – Michelle Ford, Australian swimmer
- 1963 – Brigitte Nielsen, Danish-Italian actress
- 1963 – Steve Thomas, English-Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 – Alistair Carmichael, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1965 – Gero Miesenböck, Austrian neuroscientist and educator
- 1965 – David Miliband, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
- 1966 – Jason Bonham, English singer-songwriter and drummer
- 1966 – Irène Jacob, French-Swiss actress
- 1967 – Adam Savage, American actor and special effects designer
- 1967 – Elbert West, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
- 1968 – Eddie Griffin, American comedian, actor, and producer
- 1969 – Ain Tammus, Estonian footballer and coach
- 1970 – Tarkan Gözübüyük, Turkish bass player and producer
- 1972 – Scott Foley, American actor
- 1973 – Brian Austin Green, American actor
- 1975 – Cherry, American wrestler and manager
- 1975 – Danny Law, English cricketer
- 1975 – Ben Pepper, Australian basketball player
- 1976 – Steve Cunningham, American boxer
- 1976 – Marco Di Vaio, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Diane Kruger, German actress and model
- 1976 – Gabriel Iglesias, Mexican-American comedian and voice actor
- 1977 – André Nel, South African cricketer
- 1977 – Lana Parrilla, American actress
- 1977 – John St. Clair, American football player
- 1977 – Ray Toro, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Miguel Olivo, Dominican baseball player
- 1979 – Laura Benanti, American actress and singer
- 1979 – Alexander Frei, Swiss footballer
- 1979 – Edda Garðarsdóttir, Icelandic footballer
- 1979 – Renata Kučerová, Czech tennis player
- 1980 – Reggie Abercrombie, American baseball player
- 1980 – BxB Hulk, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1980 – Jonathan Cheechoo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Julia Perez, Indonesian singer and actress (d. 2017)
- 1981 – Alou Diarra, French footballer
- 1981 – Petros Klampanis, Greek bassist and composer
- 1981 – Marius Stankevičius, Lithuanian footballer
- 1982 – Alan Pérez, Spanish cyclist
- 1982 – Neemia Tialata, New Zealand rugby player
- 1982 – Aída Yéspica, Venezuelan model and actress
- 1983 – Nelson Merlo, Brazilian race car driver
- 1983 – Will Rudge, English cricketer
- 1983 – Heath Slater, American wrestler
- 1984 – Angelo Siniscalchi, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Veronika Velez-Zuzulová, Slovak skier
- 1985 – Sanjeev, Tamil actor
- 1985 – Tomer Kapon, Israeli actor
- 1986 – Tyler Kennedy, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Riki Christodoulou, English race car driver
- 1989 – Steven Jahn, German footballer
- 1989 – Alisa Kleybanova, Russian tennis player
- 1989 – Anthony Randolph, American basketball player
- 1990 – Zach Bogosian, American ice hockey player
- 1990 – Damian Lillard, American basketball player
- 1991 – Danilo, Brazilian footballer
- 1991 – Derrick Favors, American basketball player
- 1991 – Evgeny Tishchenko, Russian boxer
- 1992 – Tobias Harris, American basketball player
- 1992 – Hokutōfuji Daiki, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1992 – Wayde van Niekerk, South African sprinter
- 1993 – Håvard Nielsen, Norwegian footballer
Deaths on July 15
- 756 – Yang Guifei, consort of Xuan Zong (b. 719)
- 998 – Abū al-Wafā’ Būzjānī, Persian mathematician and astronomer (b. 940)
- 1015 – Vladimir the Great, Grand prince of Kievan Rus’ (b. c. 958)
- 1274 – Bonaventure, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1221)
- 1291 – Rudolf I of Germany (b. 1218)
- 1299 – King Eric II of Norway (b. c. 1268)
- 1381 – John Ball, English Lollard priest
- 1388 – Agnes of Durazzo, titular Latin empress consort of Constantinople (d. 1313)
- 1397 – Catherine of Henneberg, German ruler (b. c. 1334)
- 1406 – William, Duke of Austria
- 1410 – Ulrich von Jungingen, German Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (b. 1360)
- 1445 – Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland
- 1542 – Lisa del Giocondo, subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Mona Lisa (b. 1479)
- 1544 – René of Châlon (b. 1519)
- 1571 – Shimazu Takahisa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1514)
- 1609 – Annibale Carracci, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1560)
- 1614 – Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme, French soldier, historian, and author (b. 1540)
- 1655 – Girolamo Rainaldi, Italian architect (b. 1570)
- 1685 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, Dutch-English general and politician, Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull (b. 1649)
- 1750 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian ethnographer and politician (b. 1686)
- 1765 – Charles-André van Loo, French painter (b. 1705)
- 1767 – Michael Bruce, Scottish poet and composer (b. 1746)
- 1789 – Jacques Duphly, French harpsichord player and composer (b. 1715)
- 1828 – Jean-Antoine Houdon, French sculptor (b. 1741)
- 1839 – Winthrop Mackworth Praed, English poet and politician (b. 1802)
- 1844 – Claude Charles Fauriel, French philologist and historian (b. 1772)
- 1851 – Juan Felipe Ibarra, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1787)
- 1857 – Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1791)
- 1858 – Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, Russian painter (b. 1806)
- 1883 – General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (b. 1838)
- 1885 – Rosalía de Castro, Spanish author and poet (b. 1837)
- 1890 – Gottfried Keller, Swiss author, poet, and playwright (b. 1819)
- 1898 – Jean-Baptiste Salpointe, French-American archbishop (d. 1825)
- 1904 – Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short story writer (b. 1860)
- 1919 – Hermann Emil Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
- 1929 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1874)
- 1930 – Leopold Auer, Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1845)
- 1931 – Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, Russian-German economist and mathematician (b. 1868)
- 1932 – Bahíyyih Khánum, Iranian writer and leader in the Baha’i faith (b. 1846)
- 1932 – Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven, South African poet and politician (b. 1873)
- 1933 – Irving Babbitt, American scholar, critic, and academic (b. 1865)
- 1933 – Freddie Keppard, American cornet player (b. 1890)
- 1940 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist and physician (b. 1857)
- 1940 – Robert Wadlow, American giant, 8″11′ 271 cm (b.1918)
- 1942 – Wenceslao Vinzons, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1910)
- 1944 – Marie-Victorin Kirouac, Canadian botanist and academic (b. 1885)
- 1946 – Razor Smith, English cricketer and coach (b. 1877)
- 1947 – Walter Donaldson, American soldier and songwriter (b. 1893)
- 1948 – John J. Pershing, American general (b. 1860)
- 1953 – Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, Indian archbishop, founded the Order of the Imitation of Christ (b. 1882)
- 1957 – James M. Cox, American publisher and politician, 46th Governor of Ohio (b. 1870)
- 1957 – Vasily Maklakov, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1869)
- 1959 – Ernest Bloch, Swiss-American composer and academic (b. 1880)
- 1959 – Vance Palmer, Australian author and critic (b. 1885)
- 1960 – Set Persson, Swedish politician (b. 1897)
- 1960 – Lawrence Tibbett, American singer and actor (b. 1896)
- 1961 – John Edward Brownlee, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Alberta (b. 1884)
- 1961. – Nina Bari, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
- 1965 – Francis Cherry, American lawyer and politician, 35th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1908)
- 1966 – Seyfi Arkan, Turkish architect (b. 1903)
- 1974 – Christine Chubbuck, American journalist (b. 1944)
- 1976 – Paul Gallico, American journalist and author (b. 1897)
- 1977 – Donald Mackay, Australian businessman and activist (b. 1933)
- 1979 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican academic and politician, 29th President of Mexico, 1964-1970 (b. 1911)
- 1981 – Frédéric Dorion, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1898)
- 1982 – Bill Justis, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1926)
- 1986 – Billy Haughton, American harness racer and trainer (b. 1923)
- 1988 – Eleanor Estes, American librarian, author, and illustrator (b. 1906)
- 1989 – Laurie Cunningham, English footballer (b. 1956)
- 1990 – Zaim Topčić, Yugoslav and Bosnian writer (b. 1920)
- 1990 – Margaret Lockwood, English actress (b. 1916)
- 1990 – Omar Abu Risha, Syrian poet and diplomat, 4th Syrian Ambassador to the United States (b. 1910)
- 1991 – Bert Convy, American actor, singer, and game show host (b. 1933)
- 1992 – Hammer DeRoburt, Nauruan educator and politician, 1st President of Nauru (b. 1922)
- 1992 – Chingiz Mustafayev, Azerbaijani journalist and author (b. 1960)
- 1997 – Justinas Lagunavičius, Lithuanian basketball player (b. 1924)
- 1997 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, founded Versace (b. 1946)
- 1998 – S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1960)
- 2000 – Louis Quilico, Canadian opera singer and educator (b. 1925)
- 2001 – C. Balasingham, Sri Lankan lawyer and civil servant (b. 1917)
- 2003 – Roberto Bolaño, Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist (b. 1953)
- 2003 – Elisabeth Welch, American actress and singer (b. 1904)
- 2006 – Robert H. Brooks, American businessman, founder of Hooters and Naturally Fresh, Inc. (b. 1937)
- 2006 – Alireza Shapour Shahbazi, Iranian archaeologist and academic (b. 1942)
- 2008 – György Kolonics, Hungarian canoe racer (b. 1972)
- 2010 – James E. Akins, American politician and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Friedrich Wilhelm Schnitzler, German landowner and politician (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Googie Withers, British-Australian actress (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Boris Cebotari, Moldovan footballer (b. 1975)
- 2012 – Tsilla Chelton, Israeli-French actress (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Grant Feasel, American football player (b. 1960)
- 2012 – David Fraser, English general (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Celeste Holm, American actress and singer (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Yoichi Takabayashi, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Ninos Aho, Syrian-American poet and activist (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Henry Braden, American lawyer and politician (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Tom Greenwell, American lawyer and judge (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Earl Gros, American football player (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Noël Lee, Chinese-American pianist and composer (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Meskerem Legesse, Ethiopian runner (b. 1986)
- 2013 – John T. Riedl, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1962)
- 2014 – Óscar Acosta, Honduran author, poet, and diplomat (b. 1933)
- 2014 – James MacGregor Burns, American historian, political scientist, and author (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Saúl Lara, Spanish footballer (b. 1982)
- 2014 – Edward Perl, American neuroscientist and academic (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Masahiko Aoki, Japanese-American economist and academic (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Wan Li, Chinese politician, 4th Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1916)
- 2015 – Aubrey Morris, British actor (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Dave Somerville, Canadian singer (b. 1933)
- 2017 – Martin Landau, American film and television actor (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on July 15
- Christian feast day:
- Abhai (Syriac Orthodox Church)
- Anne-Marie Javouhey
- Bernhard II, Margrave of Baden-Baden
- Bonaventure
- Dispersion of the Apostles (No longer officially celebrated by the Catholic Church)
- Donald of Ogilvy
- Edith of Polesworth
- Edith of Wilton
- Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
- Plechelm
- Quriaqos and Julietta
- Swithun
- Vladimir the Great (Eastern Orthodox; Catholic Church)
- July 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Birthday of Don Luis Muñoz Rivera can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July. (Puerto Rico)
- Earliest day on which Galla Bayramy can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday of July. (Turkmenistan)
- Earliest day on which Marine Day can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July. (Japan)
- Earliest day on which President’s Day (Botswana) can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July.
- Elderly Men Day (Kiribati)
- Festival of Santa Rosalia (Palermo, Sicily)
- Sultan’s Birthday (Brunei Darussalam)
-
July 6 in History
- 371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra shatters Sparta’s reputation of military invincibility.
- 640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under ‘Amr ibn al-‘As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt).
- 1253 – Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania.
- 1348 – Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death.
- 1411 – Ming China’s Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor.
- 1415 – Jan Hus is condemned by the assembly of the council in the cathedral as a heretic and sentenced to be burned at the stake. (See Deaths section.)
- 1438 – A temporary compromise between the rebellious Transylvanian peasants and the noblemen is signed in Kolozsmonostor Abbey.
- 1483 – Richard III is crowned King of England.
- 1484 – Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River.
- 1495 – First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League.
- 1535 – Sir Thomas More is executed for treason against King Henry VIII of England.
- 1557 – King Philip II of Spain, consort of Queen Mary I of England, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of the City of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, and Mary I never seeing her husband again.
- 1560 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England.
- 1573 – Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera.
- 1573 – French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends.
- 1614 – Raid on Żejtun: The south east of Malta, and the town of Żejtun, suffer a raid from Ottoman forces. This was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans to conquer the island of Malta.
- 1630 – Thirty Years’ War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany.
- 1685 – Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.
- 1751 – Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia.
- 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York.
- 1779 – Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces during the American Revolutionary War.
- 1801 – First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras.
- 1809 – The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars.
- 1854 – In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the United States Republican Party is held.
- 1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
- 1887 – David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king’s authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
- 1892 – Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded.
- 1917 – World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt.
- 1918 – The Left SR uprising in Russia starts with the assassination of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach by Cheka members.
- 1919 – The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship.
- 1933 – The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago’s Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2.
- 1936 – A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell.
- 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid.
- 1939 – Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises.
- 1940 – Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia’s longest cantilever bridge is formally opened.
- 1941 – The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk.
- 1942 – Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the “Secret Annexe” above her father’s office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
- 1944 – Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial.
- 1944 – The Hartford circus fire, one of America’s worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut.
- 1947 – Referendum held in Sylhet to decide its fate in the Partition of India.
- 1947 – The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union.
- 1957 – Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so.
- 1957 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles.
- 1962 – As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place.
- 1962 – The Late Late Show, the world’s longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time.
- 1964 – Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1966 – Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President.
- 1967 – Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war.
- 1975 – The Comoros declares independence from France.
- 1986 – Davis Phinney becomes the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France.
- 1988 – The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world’s worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life.
- 1989 – The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: Sixteen bus passengers are killed when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took control of the bus and drove it over a cliff.
- 1990 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation is founded.
- 1995 – In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.
- 1997 – The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland.
- 1998 – Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city’s international airport.
- 2003 – The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively.
- 2006 – The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
- 2013 – At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria.
- 2013 – A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board.
- 2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town’s central area.
Births on July 6
- 1387 – Queen Blanche I of Navarre (d. 1441)
- 1423 – Antonio Manetti, Italian mathematician and architect (d. 1497)
- 1580 – Johann Stobäus, German lute player and composer (d. 1646)
- 1623 – Jacopo Melani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1676)
- 1678 – Nicola Francesco Haym, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1729)
- 1686 – Antoine de Jussieu, French biologist and academic (d. 1758)
- 1701 – Mary, Countess of Harold, English aristocrat and philanthropist (d. 1785)
- 1736 – Daniel Morgan, American general and politician (d. 1802)
- 1747 – John Paul Jones, Scottish-American captain (d. 1792)
- 1766 – Alexander Wilson, Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, and illustrator (d. 1813)
- 1781 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (d. 1826)
- 1782 – Maria Luisa of Spain (d. 1824)
- 1785 – William Hooker, English botanist and academic (d. 1865)
- 1789 – María Isabella of Spain (d. 1846)
- 1796 – Nicholas I of Russia (d. 1855)
- 1797 – Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey (d. 1869)
- 1799 – Louisa Caroline Huggins Tuthill, American author (d. 1879)
- 1817 – Albert von Kölliker, Swiss anatomist and physiologist (d. 1905)
- 1818 – Adolf Anderssen, German chess player (d. 1879)
- 1823 – Sophie Adlersparre, Swedish publisher, writer, and women’s rights activist (d. 1895)
- 1829 – Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1880)
- 1831 – Sylvester Pennoyer, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Oregon (d. 1902)
- 1832 – Maximilian I of Mexico (d. 1867)
- 1837 – R. G. Bhandarkar, Indian orientalist and scholar (d. 1925)
- 1838 – Vatroslav Jagić, Croatian philologist and scholar (d. 1923)
- 1840 – José María Velasco Gómez, Mexican painter and academic (d. 1912)
- 1843 – John Downer, Australian politician, 16th Premier of South Australia (d. 1915)
- 1856 – George Howard Earle, Jr., American lawyer and businessman (d. 1928)
- 1858 – William Irvine, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Victoria (d. 1943)
- 1865 – Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss composer and educator (d. 1950)
- 1868 – Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1935)
- 1873 – Dimitrios Maximos, Greek banker and politician, 140th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1955)
- 1877 – Arnaud Massy, French golfer (d. 1950)
- 1878 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet and journalist (d. 1926)
- 1883 – Godfrey Huggins, Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (d. 1971)
- 1884 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American businessman and sailor (d. 1970)
- 1885 – Ernst Busch, German field marshal (d. 1945)
- 1886 – Marc Bloch, French historian and academic (d. 1944)
- 1887 – Marc Chagall, Belarusian-French painter and poet (d. 1985)
- 1887 – Annette Kellerman, Australian swimmer and actress (d. 1975)
- 1890 – Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Indian-American author and scholar (d. 1936)
- 1892 – Will James, American author and illustrator (d. 1942)
- 1897 – Richard Krautheimer, German-American historian and scholar (d. 1994)
- 1898 – Hanns Eisler, German-Austrian soldier and composer (d. 1962)
- 1899 – Susannah Mushatt Jones, American supercentarian (d. 2016)
- 1900 – Frederica Sagor Maas, American author and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1900 – Elfriede Wever, German Olympic runner (d. 1941)
- 1903 – Hugo Theorell, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
- 1904 – Robert Whitney, American conductor and composer (d. 1986)
- 1904 – Erik Wickberg, Swedish 9th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1996)
- 1905 – Juan O’Gorman, Mexican painter and architect (d. 1982)
- 1907 – Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter and educator (d. 1954)
- 1907 – George Stanley, Canadian soldier, historian, and author, designed the flag of Canada (d. 2002)
- 1908 – Anton Muttukumaru, Sri Lankan general and diplomat (d. 2001)
- 1909 – Eric Reece, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of Tasmania (d. 1999)
- 1910 – René Le Grèves, French cyclist (d. 1946)
- 1911 – June Gale, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Heinrich Harrer, Austrian geographer and mountaineer (d. 2006)
- 1912 – Molly Yard, American feminist (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Vance Trimble, American journalist and author
- 1914 – Vince McMahon Sr., American wrestling promoter, founded WWE (d. 1984)
- 1914 – Ernest Kirkendall, American chemist and metallurgist (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Leonard Birchall, Royal Canadian Air Force pilot (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Harold Norse, American poet and author (d. 2009)
- 1916 – Don R. Christensen, American animator, cartoonist, illustrator, writer and inventor (d. 2006)
- 1917 – Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand runner and coach (d. 2004)
- 1918 – Sebastian Cabot, English-Canadian actor (d. 1977)
- 1918 – Herm Fuetsch, American professional basketball player (d. 2010)
- 1918 – Francisco Moncion, Dominican-American ballet dancer, charter member of the New York City Ballet (d.1995)
- 1919 – Ernst Haefliger, Swiss tenor and educator (d. 2007)
- 1919 – Edward Kenna, Australian Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Ray Dowker, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2004)
- 1921 – Allan MacEachen, Canadian economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2017)
- 1921 – Billy Mauch, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Bobby Mauch, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Nancy Reagan, American actress and activist, 42nd First Lady of the United States (d. 2016)
- 1922 – William Schallert, American actor; president (1979–81) of the Screen Actors Guild (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Mahim Bora, Indian writer and educationist, recipients of the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Louie Bellson, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (d. 2009)
- 1925 – Merv Griffin, American actor, singer, and producer, created Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! (d. 2007)
- 1925 – Bill Haley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1981)
- 1925 – Gazi Yaşargil, Turkish neurosurgeon and academic
- 1926 – Sulev Vahtre, Estonian historian and academic (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Armando Silvestre, Mexican-American actor
- 1927 – Jan Hein Donner, Dutch chess player and journalist (d. 1988)
- 1927 – Janet Leigh, American actress and author (d. 2004)
- 1928 – Bernard Malgrange, French mathematician
- 1929 – Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, French politician historian
- 1930 – George Armstrong, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1930 – Ian Burgess, English racing driver (d. 2012)
- 1931 – Della Reese, American actress and singer (d. 2017)
- 1931 – László Tábori, Hungarian runner and coach (d. 2018)
- 1932 – Herman Hertzberger, Dutch architect and academic
- 1935 – Candy Barr, American model, dancer, and actress (d. 2005)
- 1935 – Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
- 1936 – Dave Allen, Irish comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
- 1937 – Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian-Icelandic pianist and conductor
- 1937 – Ned Beatty, American actor
- 1937 – Gene Chandler, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1937 – Bessie Head, Botswanan writer
- 1937 – Michael Sata, Zambian police officer and politician, 5th President of Zambia (d. 2014)
- 1939 – Jet Harris, English bass player (d. 2011)
- 1939 – Mary Peters, English-Irish pentathlete and shot putter
- 1939 – Bruce Hunter, American swimmer (d. 2018)
- 1940 – Jeannie Seely, Grammy Award-winning country music singer-songwriter and Grand Ole Opry member
- 1940 – Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh politician, 1st President of Kazakhstan
- 1941 – David Crystal, British linguist, author, and academic
- 1941 – Reinhard Roder, German footballer and manager
- 1943 – Tamara Sinyavskaya, Russian soprano
- 1944 – Gunhild Hoffmeister, German runner
- 1946 – George W. Bush, American businessman and politician, 43rd President of the United States
- 1946 – Fred Dryer, American football player and actor
- 1946 – Peter Singer, Australian philosopher and academic
- 1946 – Sylvester Stallone, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1947 – Roy Señeres, Filipino diplomat and politician (d. 2016)
- 1948 – Nathalie Baye, French actress
- 1948 – Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Canadian academic and politician, 26th Canadian Minister of Veterans Affairs
- 1948 – Brad Park, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
- 1949 – Noli de Castro, Filipino journalist and politician, 14th Vice President of the Philippines
- 1949 – Phyllis Hyman, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1995)
- 1949 – Michael Shrieve, American composer, drummer, and percussionist
- 1950 – John Byrne, English-American author and illustrator
- 1951 – Lorna Golding, Former First Lady of Jamaica
- 1951 – Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor and producer
- 1952 – Hilary Mantel, English author and critic
- 1953 – Nanci Griffith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Kaiser Kalambo, Zambian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
- 1953 – Robert Ménard, French politician and former journalist
- 1954 – Allyce Beasley, American actress
- 1954 – Willie Randolph, American baseball player and manager
- 1958 – Jennifer Saunders, English actress, comedian and screenwriter
- 1959 – Richard Dacoury, French basketball player
- 1960 – Maria Wasiak, Polish businesswoman and politician, Polish Minister of Infrastructure and Development
- 1961 – Robin Antin, American dancer, choreographer, and businesswoman
- 1962 – Todd Bennett, English runner and coach (d. 2013)
- 1962 – Peter Hedges, American author, screenwriter, and director
- 1967 – Heather Nova, Bermudian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1970 – Inspectah Deck, American rapper and producer
- 1970 – Martin Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Daniel Andrews, Australian politician, 48th Premier of Victoria
- 1972 – Laurent Gaudé, French author and playwright
- 1972 – Greg Norton, American baseball player and coach
- 1972 – Zhanna Pintusevich-Block, Ukrainian sprinter
- 1974 – Zé Roberto, Brazilian footballer
- 1975 – 50 Cent, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1975 – Sebastián Rulli, Argentine-Mexican actor and model
- 1975 – Amir-Abbas Fakhravar, Iranian journalist and activist
- 1976 – Rory Delap, English-Irish footballer
- 1976 – Ioana Dumitriu, Romanian-American mathematician and academic
- 1977 – Max Mirnyi, Belarusian tennis player
- 1977 – Makhaya Ntini, South African cricketer
- 1978 – Adam Busch, American actor, director, and producer
- 1978 – Tamera Mowry, American actress and producer
- 1978 – Tia Mowry, American actress and producer
- 1978 – Kevin Senio, New Zealand rugby player
- 1979 – Nic Cester, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Kevin Hart, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1980 – Joell Ortiz, American rapper
- 1980 – Eva Green, French actress and model
- 1981 – Nnamdi Asomugha, American football player
- 1981 – Roman Shirokov, Russian footballer
- 1982 – Brandon Jacobs, American football player
- 1982 – Misty Upham, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1983 – Gregory Smith, Canadian actor, director, and producer
- 1984 – Zhang Hao, Chinese figure skater
- 1985 – Ranveer Singh, Indian film actor
- 1986 – David Karp, American businessman, founded Tumblr
- 1987 – Sophie Auster, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Manteo Mitchell, American runner
- 1987 – Kate Nash, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
- 1987 – Caroline Trentini, Brazilian model
- 1988 – Kevin Fickentscher, Swiss footballer
- 1990 – Magaye Gueye, French footballer
- 1992 – Manny Machado, Dominican-American baseball player
Deaths on July 6
- 371 BC – Cleombrotus I, Spartan king
- 649 – Goar of Aquitaine, French bishop
- 887 – Wang Chongrong, Chinese warlord
- 918 – William I, duke of Aquitaine (b. 875)
- 1017 – Genshin, Japanese scholar (b. 942)
- 1070 – Godelieve, Flemish saint (b. 1049)
- 1189 – Henry II, king of England (b. 1133)
- 1218 – Odo III, duke of Burgundy (b. 1166)
- 1249 – Alexander II, king of Scotland (b. 1198)
- 1415 – Jan Hus, Czech priest, philosopher, and reformer (b. 1369)
- 1476 – Regiomontanus, German mathematician and astrologer (b. 1436)
- 1480 – Antonio Squarcialupi, Italian composer (b. 1416)
- 1533 – Ludovico Ariosto, Italian poet and playwright (b. 1474)
- 1535 – Thomas More, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1478)
- 1553 – Edward VI, king of England and Ireland (b. 1537)
- 1583 – Edmund Grindal, English archbishop (b. 1519)
- 1585 – Thomas Aufield, English priest and martyr (b. 1552)
- 1614 – Man Singh I, Rajput Raja of Amer (b. 1550)
- 1684 – Peter Gunning, English bishop (b. 1614)
- 1758 – George Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe, English general and politician (b. 1725)
- 1768 – Conrad Beissel, German-American religious leader (b. 1690)
- 1802 – Daniel Morgan, American general and politician (b. 1736)
- 1809 – Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle, French general (b. 1775)
- 1813 – Granville Sharp, English activist (b. 1735)
- 1815 – Samuel Whitbread, English politician (b. 1764)
- 1835 – John Marshall, American captain and politician, 4th United States Secretary of State (b. 1755)
- 1854 – Georg Ohm, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1789)
- 1868 – Harada Sanosuke, Japanese captain (b. 1840)
- 1893 – Guy de Maupassant, French short story writer, novelist, and poet (b. 1850)
- 1901 – Chlodwig Carl Viktor, German prince and chancellor (b. 1819)
- 1902 – Maria Goretti, Italian martyr and saint (b. 1890)
- 1904 – Abai Qunanbaiuly, Kazakh poet and philosopher (b. 1845)
- 1907 – August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German linguist and theologian (b. 1826)
- 1916 – Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (b. 1840)
- 1918 – Wilhelm von Mirbach, German diplomat (b. 1871)
- 1922 – Maria Teresia Ledóchowska, Polish-Austrian nun and missionary (b. 1863)
- 1932 – Kenneth Grahame, Scottish-English author (b. 1859)
- 1934 – Nestor Makhno, Ukrainian commander (b. 1888)
- 1946 – Horace Pippin, American painter (b. 1888)
- 1947 – Adolfo Müller-Ury, Swiss-American painter (b. 1862)
- 1952 – Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 14th Premier of Quebec (b. 1867)
- 1959 – George Grosz, German painter and illustrator (b. 1893)
- 1960 – Aneurin Bevan, Welsh-English politician, Secretary of State for Health (b. 1897)
- 1961 – Scott LaFaro, American bassist (b. 1936)
- 1961 – Woodall Rodgers, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of Dallas (b. 1890)
- 1962 – Paul Boffa, Maltese soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1890)
- 1962 – William Faulkner, American novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- 1962 – Joseph August, archduke of Austria (b. 1872)
- 1963 – George, duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1899)
- 1964 – Claude V. Ricketts, American admiral (b. 1906)
- 1966 – Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player and manager (b. 1892)
- 1967 – Hilda Taba, Estonian architect and educator (b. 1902)
- 1971 – Louis Armstrong, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1901)
- 1973 – Otto Klemperer, German-American conductor and composer (b. 1885)
- 1975 – Reşat Ekrem Koçu, Turkish historian, scholar, and poet (b. 1905)
- 1976 – Zhu De, Chinese general and politician, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (b. 1886)
- 1976 – Fritz Lenz, German geneticist and physician (b. 1887)
- 1977 – Ödön Pártos, Hungarian-Israeli viola player and composer (b. 1907)
- 1978 – Babe Paley, American socialite and fashion style icon (b. 1915)
- 1979 – Van McCoy, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1940)
- 1986 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian lawyer and politician, 4th Deputy Prime Minister of India (b. 1908)
- 1989 – János Kádár, Hungarian mechanic and politician, Hungarian Minister of the Interior (b. 1912)
- 1991 – Mudashiru Lawal, Nigerian footballer (b. 1954)
- 1992 – Marsha P. Johnson, American drag queen performer and activist (b. 1945)
- 1994 – Ahmet Haxhiu, Kosovan activist (b. 1932)
- 1995 – Aziz Nesin, Turkish author and poet (b. 1915)
- 1997 – Chetan Anand, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 1998 – Roy Rogers, American cowboy, actor, and singer (b. 1911)
- 1999 – Joaquín Rodrigo, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1901)
- 2000 – Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1911)
- 2002 – Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman, founded Reliance Industries (b. 1932)
- 2002 – John Frankenheimer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
- 2003 – Buddy Ebsen, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1908)
- 2003 – Çelik Gülersoy, Turkish lawyer, historical preservationist, writer and poet (b. 1930)
- 2004 – Thomas Klestil, Austrian politician, 10th President of Austria (b. 1932)
- 2004 – Syreeta Wright, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
- 2005 – Ed McBain, American author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2005 – Claude Simon, Malagasy-French novelist and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Kasey Rogers, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2007 – Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, American author (b. 1939)
- 2009 – Vasily Aksyonov, Russian author and academic (b. 1932)
- 2009 – Robert McNamara, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1916)
- 2010 – Harvey Fuqua, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1929)
- 2011 – Carly Hibberd, Australian road racing cyclist (b. 1985)
- 2012 – Hani al-Hassan, Palestinian engineer and politician (b. 1939)
- 2013 – Lo Hsing Han, Burmese businessman, co-founded Asia World (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Alan J. Dixon, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Illinois Secretary of State (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Jerry Weintraub, American film producer, and talent agent (b. 1937)
- 2018 – Shoko Asahara, founder of Japanese cult group Aum Shinrikyo (b. 1955)
- 2019 – João Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist, pioneer of bossa nova music style (b. 1931)
- 2020 – Charlie Daniels, American singer-songwriter, fiddle-player and guitarist (b. 1936)
- 2020 – Ennio Morricone, Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpet player (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on July 6
- The first day of San Fermín, which lasts until July 14. (Pamplona)
- Christian feast day:
- Maria Goretti
- Romulus of Fiesole
- July 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Cayman Islands)
- Day of the Capital (Kazakhstan)
- Independence Day (Comoros), celebrates the independence of the Comoros from France in 1975.
- Independence Day (Malawi), celebrates the independence of Malawi from United Kingdom in 1964.
- International Kissing Day (informally observed)
- Jan Hus Day (Czech Republic)
- Kupala Night (Poland, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine)
- National Fried Chicken Day (United States)
- Statehood Day (Lithuania)
- Teachers’ Day (Peru)
-
June 29 in History
- 226 – Cao Rui succeeds his father as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei.
- 1149 – Raymond of Poitiers is defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din Zangi.
- 1194 – Sverre is crowned King of Norway, leading to his excommunication by the Catholic Church and civil war.
- 1444 – Skanderbeg defeats an Ottoman invasion force at Torvioll.
- 1534 – Jacques Cartier is the first European to reach Prince Edward Island.
- 1613 – The Globe Theatre in London, built by William Shakespeare‘s playing company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, burns to the ground.
- 1644 – Charles I of England defeats a Parliamentarian detachment at the Battle of Cropredy Bridge.
- 1659 – At the Battle of Konotop the Ukrainian armies of Ivan Vyhovsky defeat the Russians led by Prince Trubetskoy.
- 1786 – Alexander Macdonell and over five hundred Roman Catholic highlanders leave Scotland to settle in Glengarry County, Ontario.
- 1807 – Russo-Turkish War: Admiral Dmitry Senyavin destroys the Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Athos.
- 1850 – Autocephaly officially granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Church of Greece.
- 1864 – At least 99 people, mostly German and Polish immigrants, are killed in Canada’s worst railway disaster after a train fails to stop for an open drawbridge and plunges into the Rivière Richelieu near St-Hilaire, Quebec.
- 1874 – Greek politician Charilaos Trikoupis publishes a manifesto in the Athens daily Kairoi entitled “Who’s to Blame?” leveling complaints against King George. Trikoupis is elected Prime Minister of Greece the next year.
- 1880 – France annexes Tahiti, renaming the independent Kingdom of Tahiti as “Etablissements de français de l’Océanie”.
- 1881 – In Sudan, Muhammad Ahmad declares himself to be the Mahdi, the messianic redeemer of Islam.
- 1888 – George Edward Gouraud records Handel’s Israel in Egypt onto a phonograph cylinder, thought for many years to be the oldest known recording of music.
- 1889 – Hyde Park and several other Illinois townships vote to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest United States city in area and second largest in population at the time.
- 1915 – The North Saskatchewan River flood of 1915 is the worst flood in Edmonton history.
- 1916 – British diplomat turned Irish nationalist Roger Casement is sentenced to death for his part in the Easter Rising.
- 1922 – France grants 1 km2 at Vimy Ridge “freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land exempt from all taxes”.
- 1927 – The Bird of Paradise, a U.S. Army Air Corps Fokker tri-motor, completes the first transpacific flight, from the mainland United States to Hawaii.
- 1945 – The Soviet Union annexes the Czechoslovak province of Carpathian Ruthenia.
- 1950 – Korean War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman authorizes a sea blockade of Korea.
- 1956 – The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 is signed by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, officially creating the United States Interstate Highway System.
- 1972 – The United States Supreme Court rules in the case Furman v. Georgia that arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
- 1974 – Vice President Isabel Perón assumes powers and duties as Acting President of Argentina, while her husband President Juan Peron is terminally ill.
- 1974 – Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union to Canada while on tour with the Kirov Ballet.
- 1975 – Steve Wozniak tested his first prototype of Apple I computer.
- 1976 – The Seychelles become independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1976 – The Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe convenes in East Berlin.
- 1987 – Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, the Le Pont de Trinquetaille, was bought for $20.4 million at an auction in London, England.
- 1995 – Space Shuttle program: STS-71 Mission (Atlantis) docks with the Russian space station Mir for the first time.
- 1995 – The Sampoong Department Store collapses in the Seocho District of Seoul, South Korea, killing 501 and injuring 937.
- 2002 – Naval clashes between South Korea and North Korea lead to the death of six South Korean sailors and sinking of a North Korean vessel.
- 2006 – Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that President George W. Bush’s plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violates U.S. and international law.
- 2007 – Apple Inc. releases its first mobile phone, the iPhone.
- 2012 – A derecho sweeps across the eastern United States, leaving at least 22 people dead and millions without power.
- 2014 – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant self-declared its caliphate in Syria and northern Iraq.
Births on June 29
- 1136 – Petronilla of Aragon (d. 1173)
- 1326 – Murad I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1389)
- 1398 – John II of Aragon and Navarre (d. 1479)
- 1443 – Anthony Browne, English knight (d. 1506)
- 1482 – Maria of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (d. 1517)
- 1488 – Pedro Pacheco de Villena, Catholic cardinal (d. 1560)
- 1517 – Rembert Dodoens, Flemish physician and botanist (d. 1585)
- 1525 – Peter Agricola, German humanist, theologian, diplomat and statesman (d. 1585)
- 1528 – Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1589)
- 1543 – Christine of Hesse, Duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1604)
- 1596 – Emperor Go-Mizunoo of Japan (d. 1680)
- 1621 – Willem van der Zaan, Dutch Admiral (d. 1669)
- 1686 – Pietro Paolo Troisi, Maltese artist (d. 1743)
- 1746 – Joachim Heinrich Campe, German linguist, author, and educator (d. 1818)
- 1768 – Vincenzo Dimech, Maltese sculptor (d. 1831)
- 1787 – Lavinia Stoddard, American poet, school founder (d. 1820)
- 1793 – Josef Ressel, Czech-Austrian inventor, invented the propeller (d. 1857)
- 1798 – Willibald Alexis, German author and poet (d. 1871)
- 1798 – Giacomo Leopardi, Italian poet and philosopher (d. 1837)
- 1801 – Frédéric Bastiat, French economist and theorist (d. 1850)
- 1803 – John Newton Brown, American minister and author (d. 1868)
- 1818 – Angelo Secchi, Italian astronomer and academic (d. 1878)
- 1819 – Thomas Dunn English, American poet, playwright, and politician (d. 1902)
- 1833 – Peter Waage, Norwegian chemist and academic (d. 1900)
- 1835 – Celia Thaxter, American poet and story writer (d. 1894)
- 1844 – Peter I of Serbia (d. 1921)
- 1849 – Pedro Montt, Chilean lawyer and politician, 15th President of Chile (d. 1910)
- 1849 – Sergei Witte, Russian politician, 1st Chairmen of Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire (d. 1915)
- 1849 – John Hunn, American businessman and politician, 51st Governor of Delaware (d. 1926)
- 1858 – George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer, co-designed the Panama Canal (d. 1928)
- 1858 – Julia Lathrop, American activist and politician (d. 1932)
- 1861 – William James Mayo, American physician and surgeon, co-founded the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939)
- 1863 – Wilbert Robinson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1934)
- 1866 – Bartholomeus Roodenburch, Dutch swimmer (d. 1939)
- 1868 – George Ellery Hale, American astronomer and journalist (d. 1938)
- 1870 – Joseph Carl Breil, American tenor, composer, and director (d. 1926)
- 1873 – Leo Frobenius, German ethnologist and archaeologist (d. 1938)
- 1879 – Benedetto Aloisi Masella, Italian cardinal (d. 1970)
- 1880 – Ludwig Beck, German general (d. 1944)
- 1881 – Harry Frazee, American director, producer, and agent (d. 1929)
- 1881 – Curt Sachs, German-American composer and musicologist (d. 1959)
- 1882 – Henry Hawtrey, English runner (d. 1961)
- 1882 – Franz Seldte, German captain and politician, Reich Minister for Labour (d. 1947)
- 1886 – Robert Schuman, Luxembourgian-French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1963)
- 1888 – Squizzy Taylor, Australian gangster (d. 1927)
- 1889 – Willie Macfarlane, Scottish-American golfer (d. 1961)
- 1890 – Robert Laurent, American sculptor and academic (d. 1970)
- 1890 – Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, Dutch supercentenarian (d. 2005)
- 1893 – Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, Indian economist and statistician (d. 1972)
- 1893 – Aarre Merikanto, Finnish composer and educator (d. 1958)
- 1897 – Fulgence Charpentier, Canadian journalist and publisher (d. 2001)
- 1898 – Yvonne Lefébure, French pianist and educator (d. 1986)
- 1900 – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French poet and pilot (d. 1944)
- 1901 – Nelson Eddy, American singer and actor (d. 1967)
- 1903 – Alan Blumlein, English engineer, developed the H2S radar (d. 1942)
- 1904 – Witold Hurewicz, Polish mathematician (d. 1956)
- 1906 – Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Ukrainian general (d. 1945)
- 1906 – Heinz Harmel, German general (d. 2000)
- 1908 – Leroy Anderson, American composer and conductor (d. 1975)
- 1908 – Erik Lundqvist, Swedish javelin thrower (d. 1963)
- 1910 – Frank Loesser, American composer and conductor (d. 1969)
- 1910 – Burgess Whitehead, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- 1911 – Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (d. 2004)
- 1911 – Katherine DeMille, Canadian-American actress (d. 1995)
- 1911 – Bernard Herrmann, American composer and conductor (d. 1975)
- 1912 – José Pablo Moncayo, Mexican pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1958)
- 1912 – Émile Peynaud, French oenologist and academic (d. 2004)
- 1912 – John Toland, American historian and author (d. 2004)
- 1913 – Earle Meadows, American pole vaulter (d. 1992)
- 1914 – Rafael Kubelík, Czech-American conductor and composer (d. 1996)
- 1914 – Christos Papakyriakopoulos, Greek-American mathematician and academic (d. 1976)
- 1916 – Ruth Warrick, American actress and activist (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Ling Yun, Chinese politician (d. 2018)
- 1918 – Heini Lohrer, Swiss ice hockey player (d. 2011)
- 1918 – Gene La Rocque, U.S admiral (d. 2016)
- 1918 – Francis W. Nye, United States Air Force major general (d. 2019)
- 1919 – Ernesto Corripio y Ahumada, Mexican cardinal (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Walter Babington Thomas, Commander of British Far East Land Forces (d. 2017)
- 1919 – Slim Pickens, American actor and rodeo performer (d. 1983)
- 1920 – César Rodríguez Álvarez, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1995)
- 1920 – Ray Harryhausen, American animator and producer (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Nicole Russell, Duchess of Bedford (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Frédéric Dard, French author and screenwriter (d. 2000)
- 1921 – Jean Kent, English actress (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Reinhard Mohn, German businessman (d. 2009)
- 1921 – Harry Schell, French-American race car driver (d. 1960)
- 1922 – Ralph Burns, American songwriter, bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and pianist (d. 2001)
- 1922 – Vasko Popa, Serbian poet and academic (d. 1991)
- 1922 – John William Vessey, Jr., American general (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Chou Wen-chung, Chinese-American composer and educator (d. 2019)
- 1924 – Ezra Laderman, American composer and educator (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Roy Walford, American pathologist and gerontologist (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Philip H. Hoff, American politician (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Francis S. Currey, American World War II Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Giorgio Napolitano, Italian journalist and politician, 11th President of Italy
- 1925 – Chan Parker, American dancer and author (d. 1999)
- 1925 – Jackie Lynn Taylor, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Cara Williams, American actress
- 1926 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler, 3rd Emir of Kuwait (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Julius W. Becton, Jr., U.S lieutenant general
- 1926 – Roger Stuart Bacon, Nova Scotia politician
- 1926 – Bobby Morgan, American professional baseball player
- 1927 – Pierre Perrault, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1927 – Marie Thérèse Killens, Canadian politician
- 1928 – Ian Bannen, Scottish actor (d. 1999)
- 1928 – Jean-Louis Pesch, French author and illustrator
- 1928 – Radius Prawiro, Indonesian economist and politician (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Pat Crawford Brown, American actress
- 1929 – Pete George, American weightlifter
- 1929 – Oriana Fallaci, Italian journalist and author (d. 2006)
- 1930 – Ernst Albrecht, German economist and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Robert Evans, American actor and producer (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Viola Léger, American-Canadian actress and politician
- 1930 – Sławomir Mrożek, Polish-French author and playwright (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Sevim Burak, Turkish author (d. 1983)
- 1932 – Brian Hutton, Baron Hutton, British jurist; Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
- 1933 – Bob Shaw, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
- 1933 – John Bradshaw, American theologian and author (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Corey Allen, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
- 1935 – Vassilis C. Constantakopoulos, Greek captain and businessman (d. 2011)
- 1935 – Katsuya Nomura, Japanese baseball player and manager
- 1936 – Harmon Killebrew, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2011)
- 1939 – Alan Connolly, Australian cricketer
- 1939 – Amarildo Tavares da Silveira, Brazilian footballer and coach
- 1940 – Vyacheslav Artyomov, Russian composer
- 1940 – John Dawes, Welsh rugby player and coach
- 1941 – John Boccabella, American baseball player
- 1941 – Stokely Carmichael, Trinidadian-American activist (d. 1998)
- 1942 – Charlotte Bingham, English author and screenwriter
- 1942 – Mike Willesee, Australian journalist and producer (d. 2019)
- 1943 – Little Eva, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1943 – Louis Nicollin, French entrepreneur and chairman of Montpellier HSC (d. 2017)
- 1944 – Gary Busey, American actor
- 1944 – Andreu Mas-Colell, Spanish economist, academic, and politician
- 1944 – Seán Patrick O’Malley, American cardinal
- 1945 – Chandrika Kumaratunga, Sri Lankan journalist and politician, 5th President of Sri Lanka
- 1946 – Ernesto Pérez Balladares, Panamanian politician, 33rd President of Panama
- 1946 – Egon von Fürstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (d. 2004)
- 1947 – Richard Lewis, American actor and screenwriter
- 1948 – Sean Bergin, South African-Dutch saxophonist and flute player (d. 2012)
- 1948 – Fred Grandy, American actor and politician
- 1948 – Ian Paice, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
- 1948 – Usha Prashar, Baroness Prashar, Kenyan-English politician
- 1949 – Dan Dierdorf, American football player and sportscaster
- 1949 – Joan Clos, Spanish anesthesiologist and politician, 116th Mayor of Barcelona
- 1949 – Ann Veneman, American lawyer and politician, 27th United States Secretary of Agriculture
- 1950 – Bobby London, American illustrator
- 1951 – Craig Sager, American sportscaster (d. 2016)
- 1953 – Don Dokken, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Colin Hay, Scottish-Australian singer and guitarist
- 1954 – Rick Honeycutt, American baseball player and coach
- 1954 – Leovegildo Lins da Gama Júnior, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1955 – Charles J. Precourt, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1956 – Nick Fry, English economist and businessman
- 1956 – David Burroughs Mattingly, American illustrator and painter
- 1956 – Pedro Guerrero, Dominican-American baseball player and manager
- 1956 – Pedro Santana Lopes, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 118th Prime Minister of Portugal
- 1956 – Pyotr Vasilevsky, Belarusian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1957 – Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Turkmen dentist and politician, 2nd President of Turkmenistan
- 1957 – María Conchita Alonso, Cuban-Venezuelan singer and actress
- 1957 – Robert Forster, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Michael Nutter, American politician, 98th Mayor of Philadelphia
- 1957 – Terry Wyatt, English physicist and academic
- 1958 – Dieter Althaus, German politician
- 1958 – Rosa Mota, Portuguese runner
- 1961 – Sharon Lawrence, American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1962 – Amanda Donohoe, English actress
- 1962 – Joan Laporta, Spanish lawyer and politician
- 1962 – George D. Zamka, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1963 – Anne-Sophie Mutter, German violinist
- 1964 – Stedman Pearson, English singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1965 – Tripp Eisen, American guitarist
- 1965 – Paul Jarvis, English cricketer
- 1966 – Yoko Kamio, Japanese author and comic artist
- 1967 – Jeff Burton, American race car driver
- 1967 – Melora Hardin, American actress and singer
- 1967 – Seamus McGarvey, Northern Irish cinematographer
- 1968 – Brian d’Arcy James, American actor and musician
- 1968 – Theoren Fleury, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 – Judith Hoag, American actress and educator
- 1969 – Claude Béchard, Canadian politician (d. 2010)
- 1969 – Pavlos Dermitzakis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1969 – Tōru Hashimoto, Japanese lawyer and politician
- 1970 – Melanie Paschke, German sprinter
- 1970 – Emily Skinner, American actress and singer
- 1971 – Matthew Good, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1973 – George Hincapie, American cyclist
- 1976 – Daniel Carlsson, Swedish race car driver
- 1976 – Bret McKenzie, New Zealand comedian, actor, musician, songwriter, and producer
- 1977 – Sotiris Liberopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1977 – Zuleikha Robinson, English actress
- 1978 – Nicole Scherzinger, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
- 1979 – Matthew Bode, Australian footballer
- 1979 – Andy O’Brien, English footballer
- 1979 – Marleen Veldhuis, Dutch swimmer
- 1980 – Katherine Jenkins, Welsh soprano and actress
- 1981 – Luke Branighan, Australian rugby league player
- 1981 – Joe Johnson, American basketball player
- 1981 – Nicolás Vuyovich, Argentinian race car driver (d. 2005)
- 1981 – Shmuly Yanklowitz, American rabbi, author, and educator
- 1982 – Dusty Hughes, American baseball player
- 1982 – Lily Rabe, American actress
- 1983 – Aundrea Fimbres, American singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1983 – Jeremy Powers, American cyclist
- 1984 – Aleksandr Shustov, Russian high jumper
- 1985 – Quintin Demps, American football player
- 1986 – José Manuel Jurado, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Edward Maya, Romanian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1988 – Éver Banega, Argentinian footballer
- 1990 – Kim Little, Scottish footballer
- 1990 – Yann M’Vila, French footballer
- 1991 – Suk Hyun-jun, South Korean footballer
- 1991 – Kawhi Leonard, American basketball player
- 1991 – Addison Timlin, American actress
- 1993 – Harrison Gilbertson, Australian actor
- 1994 – Camila Mendes, American actress and model
- 1996 – Joseph Manu, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1998 – Michael Porter Jr., American basketball player
- 2006 – Sam Lavagnino, American child voice actor
Deaths on June 29
- 226 – Cao Pi, Chinese emperor (b. 187)
- 884 – Yang Shili, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 976 – Gero, archbishop of Cologne
- 1059 – Bernard II, Duke of Saxony (b. 995)
- 1149 – Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch (b. 1115)
- 1153 – Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles
- 1252 – Abel, King of Denmark (b. 1218)
- 1293 – Henry of Ghent, philosopher (b. c.1217)
- 1315 – Ramon Llull, Spanish philosopher (b. 1235)
- 1344 – Joan of Savoy, duchess consort of Brittany, throne claimant of Savoy (b. 1310)
- 1374 – Jan Milíč of Kroměříž, Czech priest and reformer
- 1432 – Janus of Cyprus (b. 1375)
- 1509 – Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (b. 1443)
- 1520 – Moctezuma II, Aztec ruler (b. 1466)
- 1575 – Baba Nobuharu, Japanese samurai (b. 1515)
- 1594 – Niels Kaas, Danish politician, Chancellor of Denmark (b. 1535)
- 1626 – Scipione Cobelluzzi, Italian cardinal and archivist (b. 1564)
- 1646 – Laughlin Ó Cellaigh, Gaelic-Irish Lord
- 1725 – Arai Hakuseki, Japanese philosopher, academic, and politician (b. 1657)
- 1729 – Edward Taylor, American-English poet, pastor, and physician (b. circa 1642)
- 1744 – André Campra, French composer and conductor (b. 1660)
- 1764 – Ralph Allen, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1693)
- 1779 – Anton Raphael Mengs, German painter (b. 1728)
- 1831 – Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein, Prussian minister and politician (b. 1757)
- 1840 – Lucien Bonaparte, French prince (b. 1775)
- 1852 – Henry Clay, American lawyer and politician, 9th United States Secretary of State (b. 1777)
- 1853 – Adrien-Henri de Jussieu, French botanist and academic (b. 1797)
- 1855 – John Gorrie, American physician and humanitarian (b. 1803)
- 1860 – Thomas Addison, English physician and endocrinologist (b. 1793)
- 1861 – Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet and translator (b. 1806)
- 1873 – Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1824)
- 1875 – Ferdinand I of Austria (b. 1793)
- 1895 – Thomas Henry Huxley, English biologist (b. 1825)
- 1900 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1827)
- 1907 – Konstantinos Volanakis, Greek painter and academic (b. 1837)
- 1919 – José Gregorio Hernández Venezuelan physician and educator (b. 1864)
- 1931 – Nérée Beauchemin, Canadian poet and physician (b. 1850)
- 1933 – Roscoe Arbuckle, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1887)
- 1935 – Jack O’Neill, Irish-American baseball player and manager (b. 1873)
- 1936 – János Szlepecz, Slovene priest and missionary (b. 1872)
- 1940 – Paul Klee, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1879)
- 1941 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Polish pianist, composer, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1860)
- 1942 – Paul Troje, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1864)
- 1949 – Themistoklis Sofoulis, Greek politician, 115th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1860)
- 1955 – Max Pechstein, German painter and academic (b. 1881)
- 1960 – Frank Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1885)
- 1962 – Charles Lyon Chandler, American historian (b. 1883)
- 1964 – Eric Dolphy, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1928)
- 1967 – Primo Carnera, Italian boxer and actor (b. 1906)
- 1967 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress (b. 1933)
- 1969 – Moise Tshombe, Congolese accountant and politician, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1919)
- 1971 – Nestor Mesta Chayres, Mexican operatic tenor and bolero vocalist (b. 1908)
- 1975 – Tim Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1947)
- 1978 – Bob Crane, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1979 – Lowell George, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1945)
- 1980 – Jorge Basadre, Peruvian historian (b. 1903)
- 1981 – Russell Drysdale, English-Australian painter (b. 1912)
- 1982 – Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer, founded Balmain (b. 1914)
- 1982 – Henry King, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1886)
- 1986 – Frank Wise, Australian politician, 16th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1897)
- 1990 – Irving Wallace, American author and screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 1992 – Mohamed Boudiaf, Algerian soldier and politician, President of Algeria (b. 1919)
- 1993 – Héctor Lavoe, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
- 1994 – Kurt Eichhorn, German conductor and educator (b. 1908)
- 1995 – Lana Turner, American actress (b. 1921)
- 1997 – William Hickey, American actor (b. 1927)
- 1998 – Horst Jankowski, German pianist and composer (b. 1936)
- 1999 – Karekin I, Syrian-Armenian patriarch (b. 1950)
- 1999 – Allan Carr, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1937)
- 2000 – Vittorio Gassman, Italian actor and director (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (b. 1928)
- 2003 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (b. 1907)
- 2004 – Bernard Babior, American physician and biochemist (b. 1935)
- 2004 – Alvin Hamilton, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Fabián Bielinsky, Argentinian director and screenwriter (b. 1959)
- 2006 – Randy Walker, American football player and coach (b. 1954)
- 2007 – Fred Saberhagen, American soldier and author (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Joel Siegel, American journalist and critic (b. 1943)
- 2009 – Joe Bowman, American, target shooter and boot-maker (b. 1925)
- 2011 – K. D. Sethna, Indian poet, scholar, writer, philosopher, and cultural critic (b. 1904)
- 2012 – Yong Nyuk Lin, Singaporean politician, Singaporean Minister of Health (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Vincent Ostrom, American political scientist and academic (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Juan Reccius, Chilean triple jumper (b. 1911)
- 2012 – Floyd Temple, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Peter Fitzgerald, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Jack Gotta, American-Canadian football player, coach, and manager (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Margherita Hack, Italian astrophysicist and author (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Gilma Jiménez, Colombian politician (b. 1956)
- 2014 – Damian D’Oliveira, South African cricketer (b. 1960)
- 2014 – Dermot Healy, Irish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Hisham Barakat, Egyptian lawyer and judge (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Josef Masopust, Czech footballer and coach (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Charles Pasqua, French businessman and politician, French Minister of the Interior (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Jan Hettema, Springbok cyclist and five times South African National Rally Champion (b. 1933)
- 2017 – Louis Nicollin, French entrepreneur and chairman of Montpellier HSC from 1974 to his death (b. 1943)
- 2017 – Dave Semenko, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1957)
- 2018 – Steve Ditko, American comic writer and illustrator (b. 1927)
- 2020 – Carl Reiner, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
Holidays and observances on June 29
- Christian feast day:
- Cassius of Narni
- Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
- Haro Wine Festival (Haro, La Rioja)
- l-Imnarja (Malta)
- June 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Engineer’s Day (Ecuador)
- Independence Day (Seychelles), celebrates the independence of Seychelles from the United Kingdom in 1976.
- Veterans’ Day (Netherlands)
-
June 25 in History
- 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce.
- 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine.
- 1258 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Acre, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet sailing to relieve Acre.
- 1530 – At the Diet of Augsburg the Augsburg Confession is presented to the Holy Roman Emperor by the Lutheran princes and Electors of Germany.
- 1658 – Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Rio Nuevo during the Anglo-Spanish War.
- 1678 – Venetian Elena Cornaro Piscopia is the first woman awarded a doctorate of philosophy when she graduates from the University of Padua.
- 1741 – Maria Theresa is crowned Queen of Hungary.
- 1786 – Gavriil Pribylov discovers St. George Island of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea.
- 1788 – Virginia becomes the tenth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1848 – A photograph of the June Days uprising becomes the first known instance of photojournalism.
- 1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
- 1900 – The Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
- 1906 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania millionaire Harry Thaw shoots and kills prominent architect Stanford White.
- 1910 – The United States Congress passes the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate transport of women or girls for “immoral purposes”; the ambiguous language would be used to selectively prosecute people for years to come.
- 1910 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird is premiered in Paris, bringing him to prominence as a composer.
- 1913 – American Civil War veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913.
- 1935 – Colombia–Soviet Union relations are established.
- 1938 – Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.
- 1940 – World War II: The French armistice with Germany comes into effect.
- 1943 – The Holocaust: Jews in the Częstochowa Ghetto in Poland stage an uprising against the Nazis.
- 1943 – The left-wing German Jewish exile Arthur Goldstein is murdered in Auschwitz.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in the Nordic countries, begins.
- 1944 – World War II: United States Navy and British Royal Navy ships bombard Cherbourg to support United States Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg.
- 1944 – The final page of the comic Krazy Kat is published, exactly two months after its author George Herriman died.
- 1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is published.
- 1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
- 1960 – Cold War: Two cryptographers working for the United States National Security Agency left for vacation to Mexico, and from there defected to the Soviet Union.
- 1975 – Mozambique achieves independence from Portugal.
- 1975 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a state of internal emergency in India.
- 1976 – Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf of the state of Missouri for the suffering it had caused to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- 1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
- 1981 – Microsoft is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington.
- 1991 – Slovenia and Croatia declare their independence by referendum from Yugoslavia.
- 1993 – Kim Campbell is sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Canada.
- 1996 – The Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. servicemen.
- 1997 – An unmanned Progress spacecraft collides with the Russian space station Mir.
- 1997 – The National Hockey League approved expansion franchises for Nashville (1998), Atlanta (1999), Columbus (2000), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul (2000).
- 1998 – In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decides that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional.
- 2017 – The World Health Organization estimates that Yemen has over 200,000 cases of cholera.
Births on June 25
- 1242 – Beatrice of England (d. 1275)
- 1328 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (d. 1397)
- 1371 – Joanna II of Naples (d. 1435)
- 1484 – Bartholomeus V. Welser, German banker (d. 1561)
- 1526 – Elisabeth Parr, Marchioness of Northampton (d. 1565)
- 1560 – Wilhelm Fabry, German surgeon (d. 1634)
- 1568 – Gunilla Bielke, Queen of Sweden (d. 1597)
- 1612 – John Albert Vasa, Polish cardinal (d. 1634)
- 1709 – Francesco Araja, Italian composer (d. 1762)
- 1715 – Joseph Foullon de Doué, French soldier and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1789)
- 1755 – Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (d. 1776)
- 1799 – David Douglas, Scottish-English botanist and explorer (d. 1834)
- 1814 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist and engineer (d. 1896)
- 1825 – James Farnell, Australian politician, 8th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1888)
- 1852 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect, designed the Park Güell (d. 1926)
- 1858 – Georges Courteline, French author and playwright (d. 1929)
- 1860 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer and conductor (d. 1956)
- 1863 – Émile Francqui, Belgian soldier and diplomat (d. 1935)
- 1864 – Walther Nernst, German chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
- 1866 – Eloísa Díaz, Chilean doctor and Chile’s first female physician (d. 1950)
- 1874 – Rose O’Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (d. 1944)
- 1884 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (d. 1917)
- 1884 – Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, German-French art collector and historian (d. 1979)
- 1886 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (d. 1950)
- 1887 – George Abbott, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1887 – Frigyes Karinthy, Hungarian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1938)
- 1892 – Shirō Ishii, Japanese microbiologist and general (d. 1959)
- 1894 – Hermann Oberth, Romanian-German physicist and engineer (d. 1989)
- 1898 – Kay Sage, American painter and poet (d. 1963)
- 1900 – Marta Abba, Italian actress (d. 1988)
- 1900 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian/Soviet astronomer (d. 1969)
- 1900 – Georgia Hale, American silent film actress and real estate investor (d. 1985)
- 1900 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (d. 1979)
- 1901 – Harold Roe Bartle, American businessman and politician, 47th Mayor of Kansas City (d. 1974)
- 1902 – Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu of Japan (d. 1953)
- 1903 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1950)
- 1903 – Anne Revere, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1905 – Rupert Wildt, German-American astronomer and academic (d. 1976)
- 1907 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1908 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and academic (d. 2000)
- 1911 – William Howard Stein, American chemist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
- 1912 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Cyril Fletcher, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (d. 1990)
- 1917 – Nils Karlsson, Swedish skier (d. 2012)
- 1917 – Claude Seignolle, French author (d. 2018)
- 1918 – P. H. Newby, English soldier and author (d. 1997)
- 1920 – Lassie Lou Ahern, American actress (d. 2018)
- 1921 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian ballerina and choreographer, founded the National Ballet of Canada (d. 2007)
- 1922 – Johnny Smith, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Sam Francis, American soldier and painter (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Jamshid Amouzegar, 43rd Prime Minister of Iran (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Dimitar Isakov, Bulgarian football player
- 1924 – Madan Mohan, Iraqi-Indian composer and director (d. 1975)
- 1924 – William J. Castagna, American lawyer and judge
- 1925 – Clifton Chenier, American singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 1987)
- 1925 – June Lockhart, American actress
- 1925 – Clay Evans, American Baptist pastor (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Robert Venturi, American architect and academic (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Virginia Patton, American actress and businesswoman
- 1926 – Margaret Anstee, English diplomat (d. 2016)
- 1926 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (d. 1973)
- 1926 – Kep Enderby, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 23rd Attorney-General for Australia (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Stig Sollander, Swedish Alpine skier (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Antal Róka, Hungarian runner (d. 1970)
- 1927 – Chuck Smith, American pastor, founded the Calvary Chapel (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Arnold Wolfendale, English astronomer and academic
- 1928 – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
- 1928 – John A. Wickham Jr., United States Army general
- 1928 – Michel Brault, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Peyo, Belgian author and illustrator, created The Smurfs (d. 1992)
- 1928 – Bill Russo, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Alex Toth, American animator and screenwriter (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Eric Carle, American author and illustrator
- 1929 – Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
- 1931 – V. P. Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of India (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Peter Blake, English painter and illustrator
- 1932 – Tim Parnell, English race car driver (d. 2017)
- 1932 – George Sluizer, French-Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Álvaro Siza Vieira, Portuguese architect, designed the Porto School of Architecture
- 1934 – Jean Geissinger, American baseball player (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Jack W. Hayford, American minister and author
- 1934 – Beatriz Sheridan, Mexican actress and director (d. 2006)
- 1935 – Ray Butt, English television producer and director (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Salihu Ibrahim, Nigerian Army Officer (d. 2018)
- 1935 – Taufiq Ismail, Indonesian poet and activist
- 1935 – Larry Kramer, American author, playwright, and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (d. 2020)
- 1935 – Don Demeter, American professional baseball player
- 1935 – Tony Lanfranchi, English race car driver (d. 2004)
- 1935 – Judy Howe, American artistic gymnast
- 1935 – Charles Sheffield, English-American mathematician, physicist, and author (d. 2002)
- 1936 – B. J. Habibie, Indonesian engineer and politician, 3rd President of Indonesia (d. 2019)
- 1936 – Bert Hölldobler, German biologist and entomologist
- 1937 – Eddie Floyd, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
- 1937 – Derek Foster, Baron Foster of Bishop Auckland, English politician (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Doreen Wells, English ballerina and actress
- 1939 – Allen Fox, American tennis player and coach
- 1940 – Judy Amoore, Australian runner
- 1940 – Mary Beth Peil, American actress and singer
- 1940 – A. J. Quinnell, English-Maltese author (d. 2005)
- 1940 – Clint Warwick, English bass player (d. 2004)
- 1941 – Denys Arcand, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1941 – John Albert Raven, Scottish academic and ecologist
- 1942 – Nikiforos Diamandouros, Greek academic and politician
- 1942 – Willis Reed, American basketball player, coach, and manager
- 1942 – Michel Tremblay, Canadian author and playwright
- 1944 – Robert Charlebois, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1944 – Gary David Goldberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
- 1945 – Carly Simon, American singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Baba Gana Kingibe, Nigerian politician
- 1945 – Harry Womack, American singer (d. 1974)
- 1946 – Roméo Dallaire, Dutch-Canadian general and politician
- 1946 – Allen Lanier, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Ian McDonald, English guitarist and saxophonist
- 1947 – John Hilton, English table tennis player
- 1947 – John Powell, American discus thrower
- 1947 – Jimmie Walker, American actor and comedian
- 1949 – Richard Clarke, Irish archbishop
- 1949 – Patrick Tambay, French race car driver
- 1949 – Yoon Joo-sang, South Korean actor
- 1950 – Marcello Toninelli, Italian author and screenwriter
- 1951 – Eva Bayer-Fluckiger, Swiss mathematician and academic
- 1952 – Péter Erdő, Hungarian cardinal
- 1952 – Tim Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Martin Gerschwitz, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1952 – Alan Green, Northern Irish sportscaster
- 1952 – Kristina Abelli Elander, Swedish artist
- 1953 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and educator (d. 2013)
- 1953 – Ian Davis, Australian cricketer
- 1954 – Mario Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1954 – David Paich, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1954 – Lina Romay, Spanish actress (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Daryush Shokof, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1954 – Sonia Sotomayor, American lawyer and judge
- 1955 – Vic Marks, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1956 – Anthony Bourdain, American chef and author (d. 2018)
- 1956 – Frank Paschek, German long jumper
- 1956 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004)
- 1956 – Craig Young, Australian rugby player and coach
- 1957 – Greg Millen, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1958 – George Becali, Romanian businessman, politician
- 1959 – Lutz Dombrowski, German long jumper and educator
- 1959 – Jari Puikkonen, Finnish ski jumper
- 1959 – Bobbie Vaile, Australian astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1996)
- 1960 – Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, English-Scottish journalist and author
- 1960 – Brian Hayward, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1960 – Craig Johnston, South African-Australian footballer and photographer
- 1960 – Laurent Rodriguez, French rugby player
- 1961 – Timur Bekmambetov, Kazakh director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Ricky Gervais, English comedian, actor, director, producer and singer
- 1963 – John Benjamin Hickey, American actor
- 1963 – Yann Martel, Spanish-Canadian author
- 1963 – Doug Gilmour, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1963 – George Michael, English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
- 1963 – Mike Stanley, American baseball player
- 1964 – Dell Curry, American basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Phil Emery, Australian cricketer
- 1964 – Johnny Herbert, English race car driver and sportscaster
- 1964 – John McCrea, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1964 – Greg Raymer, American poker player and lawyer
- 1965 – Napole Polutele, French politician
- 1965 – Kerri Pottharst, Australian beach volleyball player
- 1965 – Joseph Hii Teck Kwong, Malaysian bishop
- 1966 – Dikembe Mutombo, Congolese-American basketball player
- 1967 – Tracey Spicer, Australian journalist
- 1968 – Adrian Garvey, Zimbabwean-South African rugby player
- 1968 – Vaios Karagiannis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1969 – Hunter Foster, American actor and singer
- 1969 – Zim Zum, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1970 – Ariel Gore, American journalist and author
- 1970 – Roope Latvala, Finnish guitarist
- 1970 – Erki Nool, Estonian decathlete and politician
- 1970 – Aaron Sele, American baseball player and scout
- 1971 – Karen Darke, English cyclist and author
- 1971 – Jason Gallian, Australian-English cricketer and educator
- 1971 – Rod Kafer, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Neil Lennon, Northern Irish-Scottish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Michael Tucker, American baseball player
- 1972 – Carlos Delgado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
- 1972 – Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Libyan engineer and politician
- 1973 – René Corbet, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973 – Milan Hnilička, Czech ice hockey player
- 1973 – Jamie Redknapp, English footballer and coach
- 1974 – Nisha Ganatra, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Glen Metropolit, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Kiur Aarma, Estonian journalist and producer
- 1975 – Linda Cardellini, American actress
- 1975 – Albert Costa, Spanish tennis player and coach
- 1975 – Vladimir Kramnik, Russian chess player
- 1975 – Michele Merkin, American model and television host
- 1976 – José Cancela, Uruguayan footballer
- 1976 – Iestyn Harris, Welsh rugby player and coach
- 1976 – Carlos Nieto, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1976 – Neil Walker, American swimmer
- 1978 – Aramis Ramírez, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1978 – Luke Scott, American baseball player
- 1978 – Marcus Stroud, American football player
- 1979 – Marko Albert, Estonian swimmer and triathlete
- 1979 – Richard Hughes, Scottish footballer
- 1979 – Busy Philipps, American actress
- 1981 – Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper
- 1982 – Rain, South Korean singer and actor
- 1982 – Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
- 1983 – Todd Cooper, English swimmer
- 1983 – Marc Janko, Austrian footballer
- 1984 – Lauren Bush, American model and fashion designer
- 1985 – Karim Matmour, Algerian footballer
- 1986 – Aya Matsuura, Japanese singer and actress
- 1986 – Seda Tokatlıoğlu, Turkish volleyball player
- 1988 – Jhonas Enroth, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1988 – Miguel Layún, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – Therese Johaug, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1989 – Jack Cork, English footballer
- 1989 – Edgar Morais, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1989 – Rafael Morais, Portuguese actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1990 – Andi Eigenmann, Filipino actress
- 1991 – Liisi Rist, Estonian cyclist
- 1991 – Anna Zaja, German tennis player
- 1996 – Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazilian-American race car driver
- 1996 – Sione Mata’utia, Australian rugby league player
- 1996 – Lele Pons, Latina-American Internet personality
- 1998 – Kyle Chalmers, Australian swimmer
- 2006 – Mckenna Grace, American actress
Deaths on June 25
- 635 – Gao Zu, Chinese emperor (b. 566)
- 841 – Gerard of Auvergne, Frankish nobleman
- 841 – Ricwin of Nantes, Frankish nobleman
- 891 – Sunderolt, German archbishop
- 931 – An Chonghui, Chinese general
- 1014 – Æthelstan Ætheling, son of Æthelred the Unready
- 1031 – Sheng Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 972)
- 1134 – Niels, king of Denmark (b. 1065)
- 1218 – Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, French politician, Lord High Steward (b. 1160)
- 1291 – Eleanor of Provence, queen of England (b. 1223)
- 1337 – Frederick III, king of Sicily (b. 1272)
- 1394 – Dorothea of Montau, German hermitess (b. 1347)
- 1483 – Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, English courtier and translator (b. 1440)
- 1483 – Richard Grey, half brother of Edward V of England (b. 1458)
- 1522 – Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1451)
- 1533 – Mary Tudor, queen of France (b. 1496)
- 1579 – Hatano Hideharu, Japanese warlord (b. 1541)
- 1593 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (b. 1541)
- 1634 – John Marston, English poet and playwright (b. 1576)
- 1638 – Juan Pérez de Montalbán, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1602)
- 1665 – Sigismund Francis, archduke of Austria (b. 1630)
- 1669 – François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (b. 1616)
- 1671 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (b. 1598)
- 1673 – Charles de Batz-Castelmore d’Artagnan, French captain (b. 1611)
- 1686 – Simon Ushakov, Russian painter and educator (b. 1626)
- 1715 – Jean-Baptiste du Casse, French admiral and politician (b. 1646)
- 1767 – Georg Philipp Telemann, German composer and theorist (b. 1681)
- 1798 – Thomas Sandby, English cartographer, painter, and architect (b. 1721)
- 1822 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German composer, critic, and jurist (b. 1776)
- 1835 – Ebenezer Pemberton, American educator (b. 1746)
- 1838 – François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo, French general and engineer (b. 1774)
- 1861 – Abdülmecid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1823)
- 1866 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (b. 1803)
- 1868 – Carlo Matteucci, Italian physicist and neurophysiologist (b. 1811)
- 1870 – David Heaton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
- 1875 – Antoine-Louis Barye, French sculptor (b. 1796)
- 1876 – James Calhoun, American lieutenant (b. 1845)
- 1876 – Boston Custer, American civilian army contractor (b. 1848)
- 1876 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (b. 1839)
- 1876 – Thomas Custer, American officer, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1845)
- 1876 – Myles Keogh, Irish-American officer (b. 1840)
- 1882 – François Jouffroy, French sculptor (b. 1806)
- 1884 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (b. 1858)
- 1886 – Jean-Louis Beaudry, Canadian businessman and politician, 11th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1809)
- 1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, French engineer and politician, 5th President of France (b. 1837)
- 1906 – Stanford White, American architect, designed the Washington Square Arch (b. 1853)
- 1912 – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-British painter (b. 1836)
- 1916 – Thomas Eakins, American painter, photographer, and sculptor (b. 1844)
- 1917 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (b. 1884)
- 1918 – Jake Beckley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1867)
- 1922 – Satyendranath Dutta, Indian poet and author (b. 1882)
- 1937 – Colin Clive, British actor (b. 1900)
- 1939 – Richard Seaman, English race car driver (b. 1913)
- 1943 – Arthur Goldstein, German Jewish left-wing activist (c. 1887)
- 1944 – Dénes Berinkey, Hungarian jurist and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1871)
- 1944 – Lucha Reyes, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1906)
- 1947 – Jimmy Doyle, American boxer (b. 1924)
- 1948 – William C. Lee, American general (b. 1895)
- 1949 – Buck Freeman, American baseball player (b. 1871)
- 1949 – James Steen, American water polo player (b. 1876)
- 1950 – Maurice O’Sullivan, Irish police officer and author (b. 1904)
- 1958 – Alfred Noyes, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1880)
- 1959 – Charles Starkweather, American spree killer (b. 1938)
- 1960 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
- 1968 – Tony Hancock, English comedian and actor (b. 1924)
- 1971 – John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, Scottish physician, biologist, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1880)
- 1972 – Jan Matulka, Czech-American painter and illustrator (b. 1890)
- 1974 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (b. 1893)
- 1976 – Johnny Mercer, American singer-songwriter, co-founded Capitol Records (b. 1909)
- 1977 – Olave Baden-Powell, British Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting leader (b. 1889)
- 1977 – Endre Szervánszky, Hungarian pianist and composer (b. 1911)
- 1979 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1894)
- 1979 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (b. 1906)
- 1981 – Felipe Cossío del Pomar, Peruvian painter and political activist (b. 1888)
- 1983 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian pianist and composer (b. 1916)
- 1984 – Michel Foucault, French historian and philosopher (b. 1926)
- 1988 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1962)
- 1990 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and murderer (b. 1940)
- 1992 – Jerome Brown, American football player (b. 1965)
- 1995 – Warren E. Burger, Fifteenth Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1907)
- 1995 – Ernest Walton, Irish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat, British Ambassador to South Africa (b. 1914)
- 1997 – Jacques Cousteau, French oceanographer and explorer (b. 1910)
- 2002 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Labour (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Lester Maddox, American businessman and politician, 75th Governor of Georgia (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Morton Coutts, New Zealand inventor (b. 1904)
- 2005 – John Fiedler, American actor and voice artist (b. 1925)
- 2005 – Kâzım Koyuncu, Turkish singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1971)
- 2006 – Jaap Penraat, Dutch-American humanitarian (b. 1918)
- 2007 – J. Fred Duckett, American journalist and educator (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Jeeva, Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1963)
- 2008 – Lyall Watson, South African anthropologist and ethologist (b. 1939)
- 2009 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (b. 1947)
- 2009 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (b. 1958)
- 2009 – Sky Saxon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
- 2010 – Alan Plater, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Richard B. Sellars, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1915)
- 2011 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist and mathematician (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Goff Richards, English composer and conductor (b. 1944)
- 2011 – Margaret Tyzack, English actress (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Shigemitsu Dandō, Japanese academic and jurist (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Campbell Gillies, Scottish jockey (b. 1990)
- 2012 – George Randolph Hearst, Jr., American businessman (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Lucella MacLean, American baseball player (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Edgar Ross, American boxer (b. 1949)
- 2013 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Robert E. Gilka, American photographer and journalist (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Harry Parker, American rower and coach (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Green Wix Unthank, American soldier and judge (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Nigel Calder, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Ivan Plyushch, Ukrainian agronomist and politician (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Patrick Macnee, English actor (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Egyptian-Armenian patriarch (b. 1940)
- 2016 – Adam Small, South African writer of apartheid-period (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Richard Benjamin Harrison, American businessman and reality television personality (b. 1941)
- 2018 – David Goldblatt, South African photographer of apartheid-period (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances on June 25
- Arbor Day (Philippines)
- Christian feast day:
- David of Munktorp
- Eurosia
- Maximus (Massimo) of Turin
- Philipp Melanchthon (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
- Presentation of the Augsburg Confession (Lutheran)
- Prosper of Aquitaine
- Prosper of Reggio
- William of Montevergine
- June 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975.
- National Catfish Day (United States)
- Statehood Day (Slovenia)
- Statehood Day (Virginia)
- Teacher’s Day (Guatemala)
- World Vitiligo Day
-
June 18 in History
- 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China.
- 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
- 860 – Byzantine–Rus’ War: A fleet of about 200 Rus’ vessels sails into the Bosphorus and starts pillaging the suburbs of the Byzantine capital Constantinople.
- 1053 – Battle of Civitate: Three thousand horsemen of Norman Count Humphrey rout the troops of Pope Leo IX.
- 1178 – Five Canterbury monks see what is possibly the Giordano Bruno crater being formed. It is believed that the current oscillations of the Moon’s distance from the Earth (on the order of meters) are a result of this collision.
- 1264 – The Parliament of Ireland meets at Castledermot in County Kildare, the first definitively known meeting of this Irish legislature.
- 1265 – A draft Byzantine–Venetian treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, but is not ratified by Doge Reniero Zeno.
- 1429 – French forces under the leadership of Joan of Arc defeat the main English army under Sir John Fastolf at the Battle of Patay. This turns the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
- 1633 – Charles I is crowned King of Scots at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh.
- 1684 – The charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is revoked via a scire facias writ issued by an English court.
- 1757 – Battle of Kolín between Prussian forces under Frederick the Great and an Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal Count Leopold Joseph von Daun in the Seven Years’ War.
- 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British troops abandon Philadelphia.
- 1799 – Action of 18 June 1799: A frigate squadron under Rear-admiral Perrée is captured by the British fleet under Lord Keith.
- 1812 – The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom is signed by President James Madison, beginning the War of 1812.
- 1815 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Waterloo results in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher forcing him to abdicate the throne of France for the second and last time.
- 1822 – Constantine Kanaris blows up the Ottoman navy’s flagship at Chios, killing the Kapudan Pasha Nasuhzade Ali Pasha.
- 1858 – Charles Darwin receives a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin’s own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory.
- 1859 – First ascent of Aletschhorn, second summit of the Bernese Alps.
- 1873 – Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.
- 1887 – The Reinsurance Treaty between Germany and Russia is signed.
- 1900 – Empress Dowager Cixi of China orders all foreigners killed, including foreign diplomats and their families.
- 1908 – Japanese immigration to Brazil begins when 781 people arrive in Santos aboard the ship Kasato-Maru.
- 1908 – The University of the Philippines is established.
- 1923 – Checker Taxi puts its first taxi on the streets.
- 1928 – Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean (she is a passenger; Wilmer Stultz is the pilot and Lou Gordon the mechanic).
- 1935 – Police in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, clash with striking longshoremen, resulting in a total of 60 injuries and 24 arrests.
- 1940 – Appeal of 18 June by Charles de Gaulle.
- 1940 – The “Finest Hour” speech is delivered by Winston Churchill.
- 1945 – William Joyce (“Lord Haw-Haw”) is charged with treason for his pro-German propaganda broadcasting during World War II.
- 1946 – Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, a Socialist, calls for a Direct Action Day against the Portuguese in Goa.
- 1948 – Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
- 1953 – The Egyptian revolution of 1952 ends with the overthrow of the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the declaration of the Republic of Egypt.
- 1953 – A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns near Tachikawa, Japan, killing 129.
- 1954 – Carlos Castillo Armas leads an invasion force across the Guatemalan border, setting in motion the 1954 Guatemalan coup d’état.
- 1965 – Vietnam War: The United States uses B-52 bombers to attack National Liberation Front guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam.
- 1972 – Staines air disaster: One hundred eighteen people are killed when a BEA H.S. Trident crashes two minutes after take off from London’s Heathrow Airport.
- 1979 – SALT II is signed by the United States and the Soviet Union.
- 1981 – The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational aircraft initially designed around stealth technology, makes its first flight.
- 1982 – Italian banker Roberto Calvi’s body is discovered hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London, England.
- 1983 – Space Shuttle program: STS-7, Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
- 1983 – Mona Mahmudnizhad, together with nine other Bahá’í women, is sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran over her religious beliefs.
- 1984 – A major clash between about 5,000 police and a similar number of miners takes place at Orgreave, South Yorkshire, during the 1984–85 UK miners’ strike.
- 1994 – The Troubles: Members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) attack a crowded pub with assault rifles in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland. Six Catholic civilians are killed and five wounded. It was crowded with people watching the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
- 2006 – The first Kazakh space satellite, KazSat-1 is launched.
- 2007 – The Charleston Sofa Super Store fire happened in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine firefighters.
- 2009 – The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a NASA robotic spacecraft is launched.
- 2018 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 strikes northern Osaka.
Births on June 18
- 1269 – Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar (d. 1298)
- 1318 – Eleanor of Woodstock (d. 1355)
- 1332 – John V Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1391)
- 1466 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (d. 1539)
- 1511 – Bartolomeo Ammannati, Italian architect and sculptor, designed the Ponte Santa Trinita (d. 1592)
- 1517 – Emperor Ōgimachi of Japan (d. 1593)
- 1521 – Maria of Portugal, Duchess of Viseu (d. 1577)
- 1667 – Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshal (d. 1750)
- 1673 – Antonio de Literes, Spanish composer (d. 1747)
- 1677 – Antonio Maria Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1726)
- 1716 – Joseph-Marie Vien, French painter and educator (d. 1809)
- 1717 – Johann Stamitz, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1757)
- 1757 – Ignaz Pleyel, Austrian-French pianist and composer (d. 1831)
- 1757 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentinian lawyer and politician 1st Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (d. 1833)
- 1769 – Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Irish-English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1822)
- 1799 – William Lassell, English astronomer and merchant (d. 1880)
- 1812 – Ivan Goncharov, Russian journalist and author (d. 1891)
- 1815 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (d. 1881)
- 1816 – Hélène Napoleone Bonaparte, French daughter of Napoleon (d. 1907)
- 1816 – Jung Bahadur Rana, Nepali ruler (d. 1877)
- 1833 – Manuel González Flores, Mexican general and President (1880-1884) (d. 1893)
- 1834 – Auguste-Théodore-Paul de Broglie, French philosopher and academic (d. 1895)
- 1839 – William H. Seward Jr., American general and banker (d. 1920)
- 1845 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1922)
- 1850 – Richard Heuberger, Austrian composer and critic (d. 1914)
- 1854 – E. W. Scripps, American publisher, founded the E. W. Scripps Company (d. 1926)
- 1857 – Henry Clay Folger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Folger Shakespeare Library (d. 1930)
- 1858 – Andrew Forsyth, Scottish-English mathematician and academic (d. 1942)
- 1858 – Hector Rason, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1927)
- 1862 – Carolyn Wells, American novelist and poet (d. 1942)
- 1863 – George Essex Evans, English-Australian poet and author (d. 1909)
- 1868 – Miklós Horthy, Hungarian admiral and politician, Regent of Hungary (d. 1957)
- 1870 – Édouard Le Roy, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1954)
- 1877 – James Montgomery Flagg, American painter and illustrator (d. 1960)
- 1881 – Zoltán Halmay, Hungarian swimmer (d. 1956)
- 1882 – Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgarian compositor and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Bulgaria (d. 1949)
- 1884 – Édouard Daladier, French captain and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1970)
- 1886 – George Mallory, English lieutenant and mountaineer (d. 1924)
- 1886 – Alexander Wetmore, American ornithologist and paleontologist (d. 1978)
- 1887 – Tancrède Labbé, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1956)
- 1896 – Blanche Sweet, American actress (d. 1986)
- 1897 – Martti Marttelin, Finnish runner (d. 1940)
- 1900 – Vlasta Vraz, Czech-American relief worker, editor, and fundraiser (d. 1989)
- 1901 – Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1901 – Llewellyn Rees, English actor (d. 1994)
- 1902 – Louis Alter, American musician (d. 1980)
- 1902 – Paavo Yrjölä, Finnish decathlete (d. 1980)
- 1903 – Jeanette MacDonald, American actress and singer (d. 1965)
- 1903 – Raymond Radiguet, French author and poet (d. 1923)
- 1904 – Keye Luke, Chinese-American actor (d. 1991)
- 1904 – Manuel Rosenthal, French conductor and composer (d. 2003)
- 1905 – Eduard Tubin, Estonian composer and conductor (d. 1982)
- 1907 – Frithjof Schuon, Swiss-American metaphysicist, philosopher, and author (d. 1998)
- 1908 – Bud Collyer, American actor and game show host (d. 1969)
- 1908 – Stanley Knowles, American-Canadian academic and politician (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Nedra Volz, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1910 – Dick Foran, American actor and singer (d. 1979)
- 1910 – Avon Long, American actor and singer (d. 1984)
- 1910 – Ray McKinley, American singer, drummer, and bandleader (d. 1995)
- 1912 – Glenn Morris, American decathlete (d. 1974)
- 1913 – Wilfred Gordon Bigelow, Canadian soldier and surgeon (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Sammy Cahn, American pianist and composer (d. 1993)
- 1913 – Sylvia Porter, American economist and journalist (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Françoise Loranger, Canadian playwright and producer (d. 1995)
- 1913 – Robert Mondavi, American winemaker and philanthropist (d. 2008)
- 1913 – Oswald Teichmüller, German mathematician (d. 1943)
- 1914 – E. G. Marshall, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1914 – Efraín Huerta, Mexican poet (d.1982)
- 1915 – Red Adair, American firefighter (d. 2004)
- 1915 – Robert Kanigher, American author (d. 2002)
- 1915 – Alice T. Schafer, American mathematician (d. 2009)
- 1916 – Julio César Turbay Ayala, Colombian lawyer and politician, 25th President of Colombia (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Richard Boone, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1981)
- 1917 – Jack Karnehm, English snooker player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Erik Ortvad, Danish painter and illustrator (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Alf Francis, West Prussia-born, English motor racing mechanic and race car constructor (d. 1983)
- 1918 – Jerome Karle, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Franco Modigliani, Italian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
- 1919 – Jüri Järvet, Estonian actor and screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1920 – Ian Carmichael, English actor and singer (d. 2010)
- 1920 – Lode Van Den Bergh, Belgian author and academic
- 1922 – Claude Helffer, French pianist and educator (d. 2004)
- 1924 – George Mikan, American basketball player and coach (d. 2005)
- 1925 – Robert Beadell, American composer and educator (d. 1994)
- 1926 – Philip B. Crosby, American businessman and author (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Allan Sandage, American astronomer and cosmologist (d. 2010)
- 1926 – Tom Wicker, American journalist and author (d. 2011)
- 1927 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-English actress (d. 1998)
- 1927 – Paul Eddington, English actor (d. 1995)
- 1928 – Michael Blakemore, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1928 – David T. Lykken, American geneticist and academic (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Jürgen Habermas, German sociologist and philosopher
- 1929 – Tibor Rubin, Hungarian-American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazilian sociologist, academic, and politician, 34th President of Brazil
- 1932 – Dudley R. Herschbach, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1932 – Geoffrey Hill, English poet and academic (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Colin Brumby, Australian composer and conductor (d. 2018)
- 1933 – Tommy Hunt, American singer
- 1934 – Brian Kenny, English general (d. 2017)
- 1934 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 2004)
- 1936 – Denny Hulme, New Zealand race car driver (d. 1992)
- 1936 – Barack Obama Sr., Kenyan economist (d. 1982)
- 1936 – Ronald Venetiaan, Surinamese politician, 6th President of Suriname
- 1937 – Del Harris, American basketball player and coach
- 1937 – Jay Rockefeller, American lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of West Virginia
- 1937 – Bruce Trigger, Canadian archaeologist, anthropologist and historian (d. 2006)
- 1937 – Vitaly Zholobov, Ukrainian colonel, engineer, and astronaut
- 1938 – Kevin Murray, Australian footballer and coach
- 1939 – Lou Brock, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1939 – Jean-Claude Germain, Canadian historian, author, and journalist
- 1939 – Brooks Firestone, American businessman and politician
- 1941 – Roger Lemerre, French footballer and manager
- 1941 – Paul Mayersberg, English director and screenwriter
- 1941 – Delia Smith, English chef and author
- 1942 – John Bellany, Scottish painter and academic (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Pat Hutchins, English author and illustrator
- 1942 – Thabo Mbeki, South African politician, 23rd President of South Africa
- 1942 – Paul McCartney, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 – Richard Perry, American record producer
- 1942 – Carl Radle, American bass player and producer (d. 1980)
- 1942 – Nick Tate, Australian actor and director
- 1942 – Hans Vonk, Dutch conductor (d. 2004)
- 1943 – Barry Evans, English actor (d. 1997)
- 1943 – Raffaella Carrà, Italian singer, dancer, and actress
- 1944 – Bruce DuMont, American broadcaster and political analyst
- 1944 – Sandy Posey, American pop/country singer
- 1946 – Russell Ash, English journalist and author (d. 2010)
- 1946 – Bruiser Brody, American wrestler (d. 1988)
- 1946 – Fabio Capello, Italian footballer and manager
- 1946 – Maria Bethânia, Brazilian singer
- 1947 – Ivonne Coll, Puerto Rican-American model and actress, Miss Puerto Rico 1967
- 1947 – Bernard Giraudeau, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1947 – Linda Thorson, Canadian actress
- 1948 – Philip Jackson, English actor
- 1948 – Éva Marton, Hungarian soprano and actress
- 1948 – Sherry Turkle, American academic, psychologist, and sociologist
- 1949 – Chris Van Allsburg, American author and illustrator
- 1949 – Jarosław Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1949 – Lech Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 4th President of Poland (d. 2010)
- 1949 – Lincoln Thompson, Jamaican singer-songwriter (d. 1999)
- 1950 – Rod de’Ath, Welsh drummer and producer (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Annelie Ehrhardt, German hurdler
- 1950 – Mike Johanns, American lawyer and politician, 28th United States Secretary of Agriculture
- 1950 – Jackie Leven, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
- 1951 – Mohammed Al-Sager, Kuwaiti journalist and politician
- 1951 – Miriam Flynn, American actress and comedian
- 1951 – Ian Hargreaves, English-Welsh journalist and academic
- 1951 – Stephen Hopper, Australian botanist and academic
- 1951 – Gyula Sax, Hungarian chess player (d. 2014)
- 1952 – Tiiu Aro, Estonian physician and politician, Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
- 1952 – Denis Herron, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1952 – Carol Kane, American actress
- 1952 – Isabella Rossellini, Italian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Lee Soo-man, South Korean singer and businessman, founded S.M. Entertainment
- 1953 – Peter Donohoe, English pianist and educator
- 1955 – Ed Fast, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1956 – Brian Benben, American actor and producer
- 1956 – John Scott, English organist and conductor (d. 2015)
- 1957 – Miguel Ángel Lotina, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1957 – Richard Powers, American novelist
- 1958 – Peter Altmaier, German jurist and politician, Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany
- 1958 – Gary Martin, British voice actor and actor
- 1959 – Joe Ansolabehere, American animation screenwriter and producer
- 1960 – Barbara Broccoli, American director and producer
- 1960 – Steve Murphy, Canadian journalist
- 1961 – Oz Fox, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1961 – Andrés Galarraga, Venezuelan-American baseball player
- 1961 – Angela Johnson, American novelist and poet
- 1961 – Alison Moyet, English singer-songwriter
- 1962 – Lisa Randall, American physicist and academic
- 1963 – Dizzy Reed, American keyboard player and songwriter
- 1963 – Bruce Smith, American football player
- 1964 – Uday Hussein, Iraqi commander (d. 2003)
- 1964 – Patti Webster, American publicist and author (d. 2013)
- 1966 – Kurt Browning, Canadian figure skater, choreographer, and sportscaster
- 1966 – Troy Kemp, Bahamian high jumper
- 1968 – Frank Müller, German decathlete
- 1969 – Haki Doku, Albanian cyclist
- 1969 – Christopher Largen, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
- 1970 – Katie Derham, English journalist
- 1970 – Ivan Kozák, Slovak footballer
- 1970 – Greg Yaitanes, American director and producer
- 1971 – Kerry Butler, American actress and singer
- 1971 – Jason McAteer, English-Irish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Nathan Morris, American soul singer
- 1972 – Anu Tali, Estonian pianist and conductor
- 1972 – Wikus du Toit, South African actor, director, and composer
- 1973 – Julie Depardieu, French actress
- 1973 – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, American author and music critic
- 1973 – Ray LaMontagne, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1973 – Alexandra Meissnitzer, Austrian skier
- 1973 – Matt Parsons, Australian rugby league player
- 1973 – Gavin Wanganeen Australian footballer and coach
- 1974 – Vincenzo Montella, Italian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Sergey Sharikov, Russian fencer and coach (d. 2015)
- 1975 – Marie Gillain, Belgian actress
- 1975 – Aleksandrs Koļinko, Latvian footballer
- 1975 – Martin St. Louis, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Blake Shelton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Wang Liqin, Chinese table tennis player
- 1979 – Yumiko Kobayashi, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1979 – Ivana Wong, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
- 1980 – Antonio Gates, American football player
- 1980 – Sergey Kirdyapkin, Russian race walker
- 1980 – Craig Mottram, Australian runner
- 1980 – Antero Niittymäki, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1980 – Tara Platt, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1981 – Clint Newton, American-Australian rugby league player
- 1981 – Marco Streller, Swiss footballer
- 1982 – Nadir Belhadj, French-Algerian footballer
- 1982 – Marco Borriello, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Nathan Cavaleri, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1983 – Billy Slater, Australian rugby league player
- 1983 – Cameron Smith, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Nanyak Dala, Canadian rugby player
- 1985 – Chris Coghlan, American baseball player
- 1985 – Alex Hirsch, American animator and television producer
- 1986 – Edgars Eriņš, Latvian decathlete
- 1986 – Richard Gasquet, French tennis player
- 1987 – Omar Arellano, Mexican footballer
- 1987 – Moeen Ali, English cricketer
- 1988 – Elini Dimoutsos, Greek footballer
- 1988 – Josh Dun, American musician
- 1989 – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, French-born Gabonese footballer
- 1989 – Chris Harris Jr., American football player
- 1990 – Luke Adam, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Sandra Izbașa, Romanian gymnast
- 1990 – Derek Stepan, American ice hockey player
- 1990 – Christian Taylor, American triple jumper
- 1993 – Dennis Lloyd, Israeli musician, producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist
- 1994 – Sean McMahon, Australian rugby player
- 1994 – Takeoff, American rapper
- 1995 – Maxim Kovtun, Russian figure skater
- 1996 – Alen Halilović, Croatian footballer
- 1996 – Niki Wories, Dutch figure skater
- 1997 – Katharina Hobgarski, German tennis player
- 1997 – Latrell Mitchell, Australian rugby league player
- 1999 – Trippie Redd, American rapper
Deaths on June 18
- 741 – Leo III the Isaurian, Byzantine emperor (b. 685)
- 908 – Zhang Hao, general of Yang Wu
- 1095 – Sophia of Hungary (b. c. 1050)
- 1164 – Elisabeth of Schönau, German Benedictine visionary (b. c. 1129)
- 1234 – Emperor Chūkyō of Japan (b. 1218)
- 1250 – Theresa of Portugal, Queen of León
- 1291 – Alfonso III of Aragon (b. 1265)
- 1333 – Henry XV, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1312)
- 1464 – Rogier van der Weyden, Flemish painter (b. 1400)
- 1588 – Robert Crowley, English minister and poet (b. 1517)
- 1629 – Piet Pieterszoon Hein, Dutch admiral (b. 1577)
- 1650 – Christoph Scheiner, German priest, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1575)
- 1673 – Jeanne Mance, French-Canadian nurse, founded the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (b. 1606)
- 1704 – Tom Brown, English author and translator (b. 1662)
- 1726 – Michel Richard Delalande, French organist and composer (b. 1657)
- 1742 – John Aislabie, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1670)
- 1749 – Ambrose Philips, English poet and politician (b. 1674)
- 1772 – Johann Ulrich von Cramer, German jurist and scholar (b. 1706)
- 1772 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician and reformer (b. 1700)
- 1788 – Adam Gib, Scottish religious leader (b. 1714)
- 1794 – François Buzot, French lawyer and politician (b. 1760)
- 1794 – James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, 20th Governor of the Province of Quebec (b. 1721)
- 1815 – Thomas Picton, Welsh-English general and politician (b. 1758)
- 1833 – Robert Hett Chapman, American minister, missionary, and academic (b. 1771)
- 1835 – William Cobbett, English farmer and journalist (b. 1763)
- 1860 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, German army officer and writer (b. 1783)
- 1866 – Prince Sigismund of Prussia (b. 1864)
- 1902 – Samuel Butler, English novelist, satirist, and critic (b. 1835)
- 1905 – Carmine Crocco, Italian soldier (b. 1830)
- 1916 – Max Immelmann, German lieutenant and pilot (b. 1890)
- 1917 – Titu Maiorescu, Romanian critic and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1840)
- 1922 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer and academic (b. 1851)
- 1928 – Roald Amundsen, Norwegian pilot and explorer (b. 1872)
- 1936 – Maxim Gorky, Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1868)
- 1937 – Gaston Doumergue, French politician, 13th President of France (b. 1863)
- 1942 – Arthur Pryor, American trombonist, bandleader, and politician (b. 1870)
- 1943 – Elias Degiannis, Greek commander (b. 1912)
- 1945 – Florence Bascom, American geologist and educator (b. 1862)[10]
- 1945 – Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., American general (b. 1886)
- 1947 – Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese admiral (b. 1898)
- 1948 – Edward Brooker, English-Australian politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (b. 1891)
- 1959 – Ethel Barrymore, American actress (b. 1879)
- 1963 – Pedro Armendáriz, Mexican-American actor (b. 1912)
- 1964 – Giorgio Morandi, Italian painter (b. 1890)
- 1967 – Geki, Italian race car driver (b. 1937)
- 1967 – Beat Fehr, Swiss race car driver (b. 1942)
- 1971 – Thomas Gomez, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1971 – Paul Karrer, Russian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
- 1974 – Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian mathematician and academic (b. 1896)
- 1974 – Georgy Zhukov, Russian marshal and politician, Minister of Defence for the Soviet Union (b. 1896)
- 1975 – Hugo Bergmann, German-Israeli philosopher and author (b. 1883)
- 1978 – Walter C. Alvarez, American physician and author (b. 1884)
- 1980 – Terence Fisher, English director and screenwriter (b. 1904)
- 1980 – André Leducq, French cyclist (b. 1904)
- 1982 – Djuna Barnes, American novelist, journalist, and playwright (b. 1892)
- 1982 – John Cheever, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1912)
- 1982 – Curd Jürgens, German-Austrian actor and director (b. 1915)
- 1984 – Alan Berg, American lawyer and radio host (b. 1934)
- 1985 – Paul Colin, French illustrator (b. 1892)
- 1986 – Frances Scott Fitzgerald, American journalist (b. 1921)
- 1989 – I. F. Stone, American journalist and author (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Kofoworola Abeni Pratt, the first black Chief Nursing Officer of Nigeria (b. 1910)
- 1992 – Peter Allen, Australian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1944)
- 1992 – Mordecai Ardon, Polish-Israeli painter and educator (b. 1896)
- 1993 – Craig Rodwell, American activist, founded the Oscar Wilde Bookshop (b. 1940)
- 1996 – Endel Puusepp, Estonian-Soviet military pilot and politician (b. 1909)
- 1997 – Lev Kopelev, Ukrainian-German author and academic (b. 1912)
- 1998 – Felix Knight, American actor and tenor (b. 1908)
- 2000 – Nancy Marchand, American actress (b. 1928)
- 2003 – Larry Doby, American baseball player and manager (b. 1923)
- 2005 – Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (b. 1914)
- 2005 – Manuel Sadosky, Argentinian mathematician and academic (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Vincent Sherman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
- 2006 – Joseph Zobel, Martinique-French author (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Bernard Manning, English comedian and actor (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Hank Medress, American singer and producer (b. 1938)
- 2007 – Georges Thurston, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
- 2008 – Jean Delannoy, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 2008 – Tasha Tudor, American author and illustrator (b. 1915)
- 2008 – Hans Steinbrenner, German sculptor (b. 1928)
- 2010 – Trent Acid, American wrestler (b. 1980)
- 2010 – José Saramago, Portuguese novelist Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Okan Demiriş, Turkish composer (b. 1942)
- 2011 – Yelena Bonner, Russian activist (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Frederick Chiluba, Zambian politician, 2nd President of Zambia (b. 1943)
- 2011 – Clarence Clemons, American saxophonist (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Horacio Coppola, Argentinian photographer and director (b. 1906)
- 2012 – Lina Haag, German author and activist (b. 1907)
- 2012 – Tom Maynard, Welsh cricketer (b. 1989)
- 2012 – Luis Edgardo Mercado Jarrín, Peruvian general and politician, 109th Prime Minister of Peru (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Alketas Panagoulias, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1934)
- 2012 – William Van Regenmorter, American businessman and politician (b. 1939)
- 2013 – Brent F. Anderson, American engineer and politician (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Alastair Donaldson, Scottish bass player (b. 1955)
- 2013 – Garde Gardom, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Michael Hastings, American journalist and author (b. 1980)
- 2013 – David Wall, English ballet dancer (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Stephanie Kwolek, American chemist and engineer (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Johnny Mann, American singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Claire Martin, Canadian author (b. 1914)
- 2014 – Vladimir Popovkin, Russian general (b. 1957)
- 2014 – Horace Silver, American pianist and composer (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Phil Austin, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Ralph J. Roberts, American businessman, co-founded Comcast (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Danny Villanueva, American football player and broadcaster, co-founded Univision (b. 1937)
- 2015 – Allen Weinstein, American historian and academic (b. 1937)
- 2016 – Jeppiaar, Indian educationist, founder and chancellor of Sathyabama University (b. 1931)
- 2018 – XXXTentacion, American rapper (b. 1998)
- 2018 – Big Van Vader (also known as Vader) American professional wrestler (b. 1955)
- 2018 – Jimmy Wopo, American rapper (b. 1997)
- 2020 – Vera Lynn, English singer who was the “Forces’ Sweetheart” in World War II (b. 1917)
Holidays and observances on June 18
- Autistic Pride Day (International)
- Christian feast day:
- Bernard Mizeki (Anglican and Episcopal Church)
- Elisabeth of Schönau
- Gregorio Barbarigo
- Leontius, Hypatius and Theodulus
- Marina the Monk (Maronite Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria)
- Mark and Marcellian
- June 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Foundation Day (Benguet)
- Human Rights Day (Azerbaijan)
- National Day (Seychelles)
- Queen Mother’s Birthday (Cambodia)
- Waterloo Day (United Kingdom)
-
May 24 in History
- 919 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom.
- 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
- 1276 – Magnus Ladulås is crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.
- 1487 – The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel is crowned in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII’s reign.
- 1567 – Erik XIV of Sweden and his guards murder five incarcerated Swedish nobles.
- 1595 – Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.
- 1607 – One hundred English settlers disembark in Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in America.
- 1621 – The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.
- 1626 – Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
- 1667 – The French Royal Army crosses the border into the Spanish Netherlands, starting the War of Devolution opposing France to the Spanish Empire and the Triple Alliance.
- 1683 – The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opens as the world’s first university museum.
- 1689 – The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration protecting dissenting Protestants but excluding Roman Catholics.
- 1738 – John Wesley is converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day and a church service is generally held on the preceding Sunday.
- 1798 – The Irish Rebellion of 1798 led by the United Irishmen against British rule begins.
- 1813 – South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador (“The Liberator”).
- 1822 – Battle of Pichincha: Antonio José de Sucre secures the independence of the Presidency of Quito.
- 1832 – The First Kingdom of Greece is declared in the London Conference.
- 1844 – Samuel Morse sends the message “What hath God wrought” (a biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from a committee room in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate a commercial telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C.
- 1856 – John Brown and his men kill five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.
- 1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
- 1900 – Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.
- 1915 – World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary, joining the conflict on the side of the Allies.
- 1930 – Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight).
- 1935 – The first night game in Major League Baseball history is played in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 at Crosley Field.
- 1940 – Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
- 1940 – Acting on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, NKVD agent Iosif Grigulevich orchestrates an unsuccessful assassination attempt on exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Coyoacán, Mexico.
- 1941 – World War II: In the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Battleship Bismarck sinks then-pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, killing all but three crewmen.
- 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: Egypt captures the Israeli kibbutz of Yad Mordechai, but the five-day effort gives Israeli forces time to prepare enough to stop the Egyptian advance a week later.
- 1956 – The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland.
- 1958 – United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.
- 1960 – Following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded earthquake, Cordón Caulle begins to erupt.
- 1961 – American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for “disturbing the peace” after disembarking from their bus.
- 1962 – Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
- 1967 – Egypt imposes a blockade and siege of the Red Sea coast of Israel.
- 1976 – The Judgment of Paris takes place in France, launching California as a worldwide force in the production of quality wine.
- 1981 – Ecuadorian president Jaime Roldós Aguilera, his wife, and his presidential committee die in an aircraft accident while travelling from Quito to Zapotillo minutes after the president gave a famous speech regarding the 24 de mayo anniversary of the Battle of Pichincha.
- 1982 – Liberation of Khorramshahr: Iranians recapture of the port city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqis during the Iran–Iraq War.
- 1988 – Section 28 of the United Kingdom’s Local Government Act 1988, a controversial amendment stating that a local authority cannot intentionally promote homosexuality, is enacted.
- 1991 – Israel conducts Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
- 1992 – The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-democracy protests.
- 1992 – The ethnic cleansing in Kozarac, Bosnia and Herzegovina begins when Serbian militia and police forces enter the town.
- 1993 – Eritrea gains its independence from Ethiopia.
- 1993 – Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo and five other people are assassinated in a shootout at Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport in Mexico.
- 1994 – Four men convicted of bombing the World Trade Center in New York in 1993 are each sentenced to 240 years in prison.
- 1995 – While attempting to return to Leeds Bradford Airport in the United Kingdom, Knight Air Flight 816 crashes in Harewood, North Yorkshire, killing all 12 people on board.
- 1999 – The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo.
- 2000 – Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
- 2002 – Russia and the United States sign the Moscow Treaty.
- 2014 – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurs in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, injuring 324 people.
- 2014 – At least three people are killed in a shooting at Brussels’ Jewish Museum of Belgium.
- 2019 – Twenty-two students die in a fire in Surat (India).
- 2019 – Under pressure over her handling of Brexit, British Prime Minister Theresa May announces her resignation as Leader of the Conservative Party, effective as of June 7.
Births on May 24
- 15 BC – Germanicus, Roman general (d. 19)
- 1335 – Margaret of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary (d. 1349)
- 1494 – Pontormo, Italian painter (d. 1557)
- 1522 – John Jewel, English bishop (d. 1571)
- 1544 – William Gilbert, English physician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1603)
- 1576 – Elizabeth Carey, Lady Berkeley, English courtier (d. 1635)
- 1616 – John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, Scottish politician, Secretary of State, Scotland (d. 1682)
- 1628 – Marek Sobieski, Polish noble (d. 1652)
- 1669 – Emerentia von Düben, Swedish royal favorite (d. 1743)
- 1671 – Gian Gastone de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1737)
- 1686 – Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Polish-German physicist and engineer, developed the Fahrenheit scale (d. 1736)
- 1689 – Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1769)
- 1743 – Jean-Paul Marat, Swiss-French physician, journalist, and politician (d. 1793)
- 1789 – Cathinka Buchwieser, German operatic singer and actress (d.1828)
- 1794 – William Whewell, English priest and philosopher (d. 1866)
- 1803 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (d. 1866)
- 1810 – Abraham Geiger, German rabbi and scholar (d. 1874)
- 1816 – Emanuel Leutze, German-American painter (d. 1868)
- 1819 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1901)
- 1830 – Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter and academic (d. 1897)
- 1855 – Arthur Wing Pinero, English actor, director, and playwright (d. 1934)
- 1861 – Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland, Maltese lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1940)
- 1863 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (d. 1938)
- 1868 – Charlie Taylor, American engineer and mechanic (d. 1956)
- 1870 – Benjamin N. Cardozo, American lawyer and judge (d. 1938)
- 1870 – Jan Smuts, South African lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1950)
- 1874 – Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1878)
- 1875 – Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1961)
- 1878 – Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American psychologist and engineer (d. 1972)
- 1879 – H. B. Reese, American candy maker, created Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (d. 1956)
- 1886 – Paul Paray, French organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1979)
- 1887 – Mick Mannock, Irish soldier and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
- 1891 – William F. Albright, American archaeologist, philologist, and scholar (d. 1971)
- 1895 – Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr., American publisher, founded Advance Publications (d. 1979)
- 1899 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (d. 1938)
- 1899 – Henri Michaux, Belgian-French poet and painter (d. 1984)
- 1900 – Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor and screenwriter (d. 1984)
- 1901 – José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer and manager (d. 1968)
- 1902 – Lionel Conacher, Canadian football player and politician (d. 1954)
- 1902 – Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (d. 2004)
- 1905 – George Nakashima, American woodworker and architect(d. 1990)
- 1905 – Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
- 1909 – Wilbur Mills, American banker and politician (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Jimmy Demaret, American golfer (d. 1983)
- 1913 – Joe Abreu, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1993)
- 1914 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (d. 1986)
- 1916 – Roden Cutler, Australian lieutenant and politician, 32nd Governor of New South Wales (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Alan Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway, English lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Coleman Young, American politician, 66th Mayor of Detroit (d. 1997)
- 1923 – Siobhán McKenna, Irish actress (d. 1986)
- 1924 – Philip Pearlstein, American soldier and painter
- 1925 – Carmine Infantino, American illustrator and educator (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Mai Zetterling, Swedish actress and director (d. 1994)
- 1926 – Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor and screenwriter
- 1928 – William Trevor, Irish novelist, playwright and short story writer (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Arnold Wesker, English playwright and producer (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Jane Byrne, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Réal Giguère, Canadian television host and actor
- 1933 – Aharon Lichtenstein, French-Israeli rabbi and author (d. 2015)
- 1935 – Joan Micklin Silver, American director and screenwriter
- 1936 – Harold Budd, American composer and poet
- 1937 – Maryvonne Dupureur, French runner and educator (d. 2008)
- 1937 – Archie Shepp, American saxophonist and composer
- 1938 – Prince Buster, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
- 1938 – Tommy Chong, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1940 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
- 1941 – Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 – Patricia Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, English academic and politician
- 1942 – Ali Bacher, South African cricketer and manager
- 1942 – Hannu Mikkola, Finnish race car driver
- 1942 – Ichirō Ozawa, Japanese lawyer and politician, Japanese Minister of Home Affairs
- 1943 – Gary Burghoff, American actor
- 1944 – Patti LaBelle, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1944 – Dominique Lavanant, French actress
- 1945 – Terry Callier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
- 1945 – Steven Norris, English engineer and politician
- 1945 – Richard Ottaway, English lieutenant and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
- 1945 – Priscilla Presley, American actress and businesswoman
- 1946 – Tansu Çiller, Turkish economist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Turkey
- 1946 – Jesualdo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer and manager
- 1946 – Irena Szewińska, Russian-Polish sprinter
- 1947 – Albert Bouchard, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer
- 1947 – Mike De Leon, Filipino director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer
- 1947 – Mike Reid, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and American football player
- 1947 – Waddy Wachtel, American guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer
- 1947 – Martin Winterkorn, German businessman
- 1948 – Richard Dembo, French director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1949 – Jim Broadbent, English actor
- 1949 – Roger Deakins , English cinematographer
- 1953 – Alfred Molina, English actor
- 1955 – Rosanne Cash, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1955 – Philippe Lafontaine, Belgian singer and songwriter
- 1955 – Rajesh Roshan, Indian composer
- 1956 – R. B. Bernstein, American constitutional historian
- 1956 – Larry Blackmon, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1956 – Dominic Grieve, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales
- 1956 – Michael Jackson, Irish archbishop
- 1958 – Chip Ganassi, American race car driver, team owner and businessman
- 1959 – Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish-American ice hockey player (d. 1985)
- 1959 – Barry O’Farrell, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of New South Wales
- 1960 – Guy Fletcher, English keyboard player, guitarist, and producer
- 1960 – Bill Harrigan, Australian rugby league referee and sportscaster
- 1960 – Kristin Scott Thomas, English actress
- 1961 – Lorella Cedroni, Italian philosopher and theorist (d. 2013)
- 1961 – Alain Lemieux, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
- 1962 – Héctor Camacho, Puerto Rican-American boxer (d. 2012)
- 1962 – Gene Anthony Ray, American actor, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2003)
- 1963 – Ivan Capelli, Italian race car driver and sportscaster
- 1963 – Michael Chabon, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter
- 1963 – Joe Dumars, American basketball player
- 1963 – Rich Rodriguez, American football player and coach
- 1963 – Valerie Taylor, American computer scientist and educator
- 1964 – Liz McColgan, Scottish educator and runner
- 1964 – Adrian Moorhouse, English swimmer
- 1964 – Isidro Pérez, Mexican boxer (d. 2013)
- 1964 – Pat Verbeek, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1965 – John C. Reilly, American actor
- 1965 – Shinichirō Watanabe, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Éric Cantona, French footballer, manager, and actor
- 1966 – Ricky Craven, American race car driver and sportscaster
- 1967 – Tamer Karadağlı, Turkish actor
- 1967 – Andrey Borodin, Russian-English economist and businessman
- 1967 – Eric Close, American actor
- 1967 – Heavy D, Jamaican-American rapper, producer, and actor (d. 2011)
- 1967 – Carlos Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
- 1969 – Martin McCague, Northern Irish-English cricketer
- 1969 – Jacob Rees-Mogg, English politician
- 1969 – Rich Robinson, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1971 – Kris Draper, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1972 – Greg Berlanti, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Rodrigo, Argentinian singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1973 – Bartolo Colón, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1973 – Shirish Kunder, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Vladimír Šmicer, Czech footballer and manager
- 1974 – Sébastien Foucan, French runner and actor
- 1974 – Masahide Kobayashi, Japanese baseball player and coach
- 1974 – Magnus Manske, German biochemist and computer programmer, developed MediaWiki
- 1975 – Will Sasso, Canadian actor and comedian
- 1975 – Marc Gagnon, Canadian speed skater
- 1975 – Giannis Goumas, Greek footballer and coach
- 1975 – Maria Lawson, English singer-songwriter
- 1976 – Alessandro Cortini, Italian-American singer and keyboard player
- 1976 – Catherine Cox, New Zealand-Australian netball player
- 1976 – Silje Vige, Norwegian singer
- 1977 – Jeet Gannguli, Indian score composer, music director and singer
- 1978 – Elijah Burke, American wrestler
- 1978 – Johan Holmqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1978 – Brad Penny, American baseball player
- 1978 – Rose, French singer, songwriter and composer
- 1979 – Tracy McGrady, American basketball player
- 1979 – Kareem McKenzie, American football player
- 1980 – Jason Babin, American football player
- 1980 – Anthony Minichiello, Australian rugby league player
- 1981 – Andy Lee, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1982 – Issah Gabriel Ahmed, Ghanaian footballer
- 1982 – Rian Wallace, American football player
- 1983 – Custódio Castro, Portuguese footballer
- 1983 – Pedram Javaheri, Iranian-American meteorologist and journalist
- 1983 – Woo Seung-yeon, South Korean model and actress (d. 2009)
- 1984 – Sarah Hagan, American actress
- 1984 – Dmitri Kruglov, Estonian footballer
- 1985 – Tim Bridgman, English race car driver
- 1986 – Mark Ballas, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, dancer, and actor
- 1986 – Giannis Kontoes, Greek footballer
- 1987 – Guillaume Latendresse, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Artem Anisimov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Monica Lin Brown, American sergeant
- 1988 – Billy Gilman, American musician
- 1988 – Lucian Wintrich, American political artist and White House correspondent
- 1989 – G-Eazy, American rapper
- 1989 – Andrew Jordan, English race car driver
- 1990 – Mattias Ekholm, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1991 – Aled Davies, Welsh discus thrower
- 1991 – Cody Eakin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1992 – Marcus Bettinelli, English footballer, goalkeeper
- 1994 – Daiya Seto, Japanese swimmer
- 1994 – Emily Nicholl, Scottish netball player
- 1994 – Daiya Seto, Japanese swimmer
- 1994 – Emily Temple Wood, American 2016 Wikipedian of the Year award
- 1999 – Tarjei Sandvik Moe, Norwegian actor
Deaths on May 24
- 688 – Ségéne, bishop of Armagh (b. c. 610)
- 1089 – Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1136 – Hugues de Payens, first Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b. c. 1070)
- 1153 – David I of Scotland (b. 1083)
- 1201 – Theobald III, Count of Champagne (b. 1179)
- 1351 – Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman, Moroccan sultan (b. 1297)
- 1408 – Taejo of Joseon (b. 1335)
- 1425 – Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, Scottish politician (b. 1362)
- 1456 – Ambroise de Loré, French commander (b. 1396)
- 1543 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (b. 1473)
- 1612 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1563)
- 1627 – Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet and cleric (b. 1561)
- 1632 – Robert Hues, English mathematician and geographer (b. 1553)
- 1665 – Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, Spanish Franciscan abbess and mystic (b. 1602)
- 1734 – Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)
- 1792 – George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, English admiral and politician, 16th Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1718)
- 1806 – John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, Scottish field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Argyllshire (b. 1723)
- 1843 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician and academic (b. 1765)
- 1848 – Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German author and composer (b. 1797)
- 1861 – Elmer E. Ellsworth, American colonel (b. 1837)
- 1872 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter and illustrator (b. 1794)
- 1879 – William Lloyd Garrison, American journalist and activist (b. 1805)
- 1881 – Samuel Palmer, English painter and illustrator (b. 1805)
- 1901 – Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, Canadian bishop (b. 1824)
- 1908 – Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer and architect (b. 1821)
- 1915 – John Condon, Irish-English soldier (b. 1896)
- 1919 – Amado Nervo, Mexican poet, journalist, and educator (b. 1870)
- 1929 – Nikolai von Meck, Russian engineer (b. 1863)
- 1941 – Lancelot Holland, English admiral (b. 1887)
- 1945 – Robert Ritter von Greim, German field marshal and pilot (b. 1892)
- 1948 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
- 1949 – Alexey Shchusev, Russian architect, designed Lenin’s Mausoleum and Moscow Kazanskaya railway station (b. 1873)
- 1950 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English field marshal and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (b. 1883)
- 1951 – Thomas N. Heffron, American actor, director, screenwriter (b. 1872)
- 1956 – Martha Annie Whiteley, English chemist and mathematician (b. 1866)
- 1958 – Frank Rowe, Australian public servant (b. 1895)
- 1959 – John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (b. 1888)
- 1963 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
- 1965 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1908)
- 1974 – Duke Ellington, American pianist and composer (b. 1899)
- 1976 – Denise Pelletier, Canadian actress (b. 1923)
- 1979 – Ernest Bullock, English organist, composer, and educator (b. 1890)
- 1981 – Herbert Müller, Swiss race car driver (b. 1940)
- 1984 – Vince McMahon Sr., American wrestling promoter and businessman, founded WWE (b. 1914)
- 1988 – Freddie Frith, English motorcycle road racer (b. 1909)
- 1990 – Arthur Villeneuve, Canadian painter (b. 1910)
- 1991 – Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
- 1992 – Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese race car driver (b. 1956)
- 1995 – Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
- 1996 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (b. 1934)
- 1996 – Joseph Mitchell, American journalist and author (b. 1908)
- 1997 – Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (b. 1923)
- 2000 – Kurt Schork, American journalist and scholar (b. 1947)
- 2000 – Majrooh Sultanpuri, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1919)
- 2002 – Wallace Markfield, American author (b. 1926)
- 2003 – Rachel Kempson, English actress (b. 1910)
- 2004 – Henry Ries, German-American photographer (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Milton Shulman, Canadian author and critic (b. 1913)
- 2004 – Edward Wagenknecht, American critic and educator (b. 1900)
- 2005 – Carl Amery, German activist and author (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Arthur Haulot, Belgian journalist and poet (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Guy Tardif, Canadian academic and politician (b. 1935)
- 2006 – Henry Bumstead, American art director and production designer (b. 1915)
- 2006 – Claude Piéplu, French actor (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician and educator (b. 1930)
- 2008 – Dick Martin, American actor, comedian, and director (b. 1922)
- 2008 – Jimmy McGriff, American organist and bandleader (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Jay Bennett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1963)
- 2010 – Ray Alan, English ventriloquist, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1972)
- 2010 – Raymond V. Haysbert, American businessman and activist (b. 1920)
- 2010 – Petr Muk, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1965)
- 2010 – Anneliese Rothenberger, German soprano and actress (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Huguette Clark, American heiress, painter, and philanthropist (b. 1906)
- 2011 – Hakim Ali Zardari, Indian-Pakistani businessman and politician (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Klaas Carel Faber, Dutch-German SS officer (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Kathi Kamen Goldmark, American journalist and author (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Jacqueline Harpman, Belgian psychoanalyst and author (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Juan Francisco Lombardo, Argentinian footballer (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Lee Rich, American production manager and producer (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Ron Davies, Welsh footballer (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Gotthard Graubner, German painter (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Haynes Johnson, American journalist and author (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Pyotr Todorovsky, Ukrainian-Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1925)
- 2014 – David Allen, English cricketer (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Stormé DeLarverie, known as the “Rosa Parks of the lesbian community” (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, Iranian businessman (b. 1969)
- 2014 – Knowlton Nash, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1927)
- 2014 – John Vasconcellos, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Dean Carroll, English rugby player (b. 1962)
- 2015 – Kenneth Jacobs, Australian lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
- 2015 – Tanith Lee, English author (b. 1947)
- 2018 – Gudrun Burwitz, daughter of Margarete Himmler and Heinrich Himmler (b. 1929)
- 2018 – John Bain (TotalBiscuit), English gaming commentator and critic (b. 1984)
Holidays and observances on May 24
- Aldersgate Day/Wesley Day (Methodism)
- Battle of Pichincha Day (Ecuador)
- Bermuda Day (Bermuda), celebrated on the nearest weekday if May 24 falls on the weekend.
- Christian feast day:
- Anna Pak Agi (one of The Korean Martyrs)
- Donatian and Rogatian
- Jackson Kemper (Episcopal Church)
- Joanna
- Mary, Help of Christians
- Sarah (celebrated by the Romani people of Camargue)
- Vincent of Lérins
- May 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commonwealth Day (Belize)
- Earliest day on which El Colacho tradition can fall, while June 27 is the latest; celebrated on Sunday after Corpus Christi. (Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos)
- Independence Day (Eritrea), celebrates the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1993.
- Lubiri Memorial Day (Buganda)
- Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (Eastern Orthodox Church, Julian Calendar) and its related observance:
- Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature Day (Bulgaria)
- Saints Cyril and Methodius, Slavonic Enlighteners’ Day (North Macedonia)
- Victoria Day; celebrated on Monday on or before May 24. (Canada), and its related observance:
- National Patriots’ Day or Journée nationale des patriotes (Quebec)
-
May 19 in History
- 639 – Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace.
- 715 – Pope Gregory II is elected.
- 1051 – Henry I of France marries the Russian princess, Anne of Kiev.
- 1445 – John II of Castile defeats the Infantes of Aragon at the First Battle of Olmedo.
- 1499 – Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Catherine is 13 and Arthur is 12.
- 1535 – French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona’s two sons (whom Cartier had kidnapped during his first voyage).
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.
- 1542 – The Prome Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in present-day Myanmar.
- 1568 – Queen Elizabeth I of England orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.
- 1643 – Thirty Years’ War: French forces under the duc d’Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.
- 1649 – An Act of Parliament declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years.
- 1655 – The Invasion of Jamaica begins during the Anglo-Spanish War.
- 1743 – Jean-Pierre Christin developed the centigrade temperature scale.
- 1749 – King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: A Continental Army garrison surrenders in the Battle of The Cedars.
- 1780 – New England’s Dark Day, an unusual darkening of the day sky, was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada.
- 1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte founds the Legion of Honour.
- 1828 – U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States.
- 1845 – Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition depart from Greenhithe, England.
- 1848 – Mexican–American War: Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo thus ending the war and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of four other modern-day U.S. states to the United States for US$15 million.
- 1911 – Parks Canada, the world’s first national park service, is established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.
- 1917 – The Norwegian football club Rosenborg BK is founded.
- 1919 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.
- 1921 – The United States Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act establishing national quotas on immigration.
- 1922 – The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union is established.
- 1934 – Zveno and the Bulgarian Army engineer a coup d’état and install Kimon Georgiev as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
- 1942 – World War II: In the aftermath of the Battle of the Coral Sea, Task Force 16 heads to Pearl Harbor.
- 1950 – A barge containing munitions destined for Pakistan explodes in the harbor at South Amboy, New Jersey, devastating the city.
- 1950 – Egypt announces that the Suez Canal is closed to Israeli ships and commerce.
- 1959 – The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.
- 1961 – Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
- 1961 – At Silchar Railway Station, Assam, 11 Bengalis die when police open fire on protesters demanding state recognition of Bengali language in the Bengali Language Movement.
- 1962 – A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe’s rendition of “Happy Birthday”.
- 1963 – The New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
- 1971 – Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.
- 1986 – The Firearm Owners Protection Act is signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
- 1991 – Croatians vote for independence in a referendum.
- 1997 – The Sierra Gorda biosphere, the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, is established as a result of grassroots efforts.
- 2007 – President of Romania Traian Băsescu survives an impeachment referendum and returns to office from suspension.
- 2010 – The Royal Thai Armed Forces concludes its crackdown on protests by forcing the surrender of United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship leaders.
- 2012 – Three gas cylinder bombs explode in front of a vocational school in the Italian city of Brindisi, killing one person and injuring five others.
- 2012 – A car bomb explodes near a military complex in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, killing nine people.
- 2015 – The Refugio oil spill deposited 142,800 U.S. gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil onto an area in California considered one of the most biologically diverse coastlines of the west coast.
- 2016 – EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Paris to Cairo, killing all on board.
- 2018 – The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.
Births on May 19
- 1400 – John Stourton, 1st Baron Stourton, English soldier and politician (d. 1462)
- 1462 – Baccio D’Agnolo, Italian woodcarver, sculptor and architect (d. 1543)
- 1476 (or 1474) – Helena of Moscow, Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania and Queen consort of Poland (d. 1513)
- 1593 – Claude Vignon, French painter (d. 1670)
- 1616 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (d. 1667)
- 1639 – Charles Weston, 3rd Earl of Portland, English soldier and noble (d. 1665)
- 1700 – José de Escandón, 1st Count of Sierra Gorda, Spanish sergeant and politician (d. 1770)
- 1724 – Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, English admiral and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (d. 1779)
- 1744 – Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, German-born Queen to George III of the United Kingdom (d. 1818)
- 1762 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (d. 1814)
- 1773 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (d. 1854)
- 1795 – Johns Hopkins, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1873)
- 1827 – Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour, French academic and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1896)
- 1832 – James Watney, Jr., English politician, brewer and cricketer (d. 1886)
- 1857 – John Jacob Abel, American biochemist and pharmacologist (d. 1938)
- 1861 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (d. 1931)
- 1871 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (d. 1963)
- 1874 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1955)
- 1878 – Alfred Laliberté, Canadian sculptor and painter (d. 1953)
- 1879 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (d. 1964)
- 1880 – Albert Richardson, English architect and educator, designed the Manchester Opera House (d. 1964)
- 1881 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (official birthday), Turkish field marshal and statesman, 1st President of Turkey (d. 1938)
- 1884 – David Munson, American runner (d. 1953)
- 1886 – Francis Biddle, American lawyer and judge, 58th United States Attorney General (d. 1968)
- 1887 – Ion Jalea, Romanian soldier and sculptor (d. 1983)
- 1889 – Tản Đà, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1939)
- 1889 – Henry B. Richardson, American archer (d. 1963)
- 1890 – Eveline Adelheid von Maydell, German-American illustrator (d. 1962)
- 1890 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese politician, 1st President of Vietnam (d. 1969)
- 1891 – Oswald Boelcke, German captain and pilot (d. 1916)
- 1893 – H. Bonciu, Romanian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1950)
- 1897 – Frank Luke, American lieutenant and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1918)
- 1898 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and painter (d. 1974)
- 1899 – Lothar Rădăceanu, Romanian journalist, linguist, and politician (d. 1955)
- 1902 – Lubka Kolessa, Ukrainian-Canadian pianist and educator (d. 1997)
- 1903 – Ruth Ella Moore, American scientist (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Bruce Bennett, American shot putter and actor (d. 2007)
- 1908 – Manik Bandopadhyay, Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1956)
- 1908 – Merriam Modell, American author (d. 1994)
- 1908 – Percy Williams, Canadian sprinter (d. 1982)
- 1909 – Nicholas Winton, English banker and humanitarian (d. 2015)
- 1910 – Alan Melville, South African cricketer (d. 1983)
- 1913 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th President of India (d. 1996)
- 1914 – Max Perutz, Austrian-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
- 1914 – Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
- 1914 – John Vachon, American photographer and journalist (d. 1975)
- 1915 – Renée Asherson, English actress (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Abraham Pais, Dutch-American physicist, historian, and academic (d. 2000)
- 1919 – Georgie Auld, Canadian-American saxophonist, clarinet player, and bandleader (d. 1990)
- 1919 – Mitja Ribičič, Italian-Slovenian soldier and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Tina Strobos, Dutch psychiatrist known for rescuing Jews during World War II (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Leslie Broderick, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Harry W. Brown, American colonel and pilot (d. 1991)
- 1921 – Daniel Gélin, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Yuri Kochiyama, American activist (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Karel van het Reve, Dutch historian and author (d. 1999)
- 1922 – Arthur Gorrie, Australian hobby shop proprietor (d. 1992)
- 1924 – Sandy Wilson, English composer and songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (d. 1998)
- 1925 – Malcolm X, American minister and activist (d. 1965)
- 1926 – Edward Parkes, English engineer and academic (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Peter Zadek, German director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Serge Lang, French-American mathematician, author and academic (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Colin Chapman, English engineer and businessman, founded Lotus Cars (d. 1982)
- 1928 – Thomas Kennedy, English air marshal (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Gil McDougald, American baseball player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1928 – Dolph Schayes, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Richard Larter, Australian painter (d. 2014)
- 1929 – John Stroger, American politician (d. 2008)
- 1930 – Eugene Genovese, American historian and author (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Lorraine Hansberry, American playwright and director (d. 1965)
- 1931 – Bob Anderson, English race car driver (d. 1967)
- 1931 – Trevor Peacock, English actor, screenwriter and songwriter
- 1932 – Alma Cogan, English singer (d. 1966)
- 1932 – Paul Erdman, American economist and author (d. 2007)
- 1932 – Bill Fitch, American basketball player and coach
- 1932 – Elena Poniatowska, Mexican intellectual and journalist
- 1933 – Edward de Bono, Maltese physician, author, and academic
- 1934 – Ruskin Bond, Indian author and poet
- 1934 – Jim Lehrer, American journalist and author (d. 2020)
- 1935 – David Hartman, American journalist and television personality
- 1937 – Pat Roach, English wrestler (d. 2004)
- 1938 – Moisés da Costa Amaral, East Timorese politician (d. 1989)
- 1938 – Herbie Flowers, English musician
- 1938 – Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, Ukrainian long jumper and coach
- 1939 – Livio Berruti, Italian sprinter
- 1939 – James Fox, English actor
- 1939 – Nancy Kwan, Hong Kong-American actress and makeup artist
- 1939 – Jānis Lūsis, Latvian javelin thrower and coach (d. 2020)
- 1939 – Dick Scobee, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1986)
- 1940 – Jan Janssen, Dutch cyclist
- 1940 – Mickey Newbury, American country/pop singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
- 1941 – Nora Ephron, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1941 – Igor Judge, Baron Judge, Maltese-English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
- 1942 – Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research Inc. (d. 1994)
- 1942 – Robert Kilroy-Silk, English television host and politician
- 1943 – Eddie May, English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Shirrel Rhoades, American author, publisher, and academic
- 1944 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor (d. 2019)
- 1945 – Pete Townshend, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Claude Lelièvre, Belgian activist
- 1946 – Michele Placido, Italian actor and director
- 1946 – André the Giant, French-American wrestler and actor (d. 1993)
- 1947 – Paul Brady, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1947 – Christopher Chope, English lawyer and politician
- 1947 – David Helfgott, Australian pianist
- 1948 – Grace Jones, Jamaican-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1949 – Dusty Hill, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1949 – Philip Hunt, Baron Hunt of Kings Heath, English politician
- 1949 – Archie Manning, American football player
- 1950 – Tadeusz Ślusarski, Polish pole vaulter (d. 1998)
- 1951 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1951 – Dick Slater, American wrestler
- 1952 – Charlie Spedding, English runner
- 1952 – Bert van Marwijk, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
- 1953 – Patrick Hodge, Lord Hodge, Scottish lawyer and judge
- 1953 – Shavarsh Karapetyan, Armenian finswimmer
- 1953 – Florin Marin, Romanian footballer and manager
- 1953 – Victoria Wood, English actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1954 – Rick Cerone, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1954 – Hōchū Ōtsuka, Japanese voice actor
- 1954 – Phil Rudd, Australian-New Zealand drummer
- 1955 – James Gosling, Canadian-American computer scientist, created Java
- 1956 – Oliver Letwin, English philosopher and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- 1956 – Martyn Ware, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
- 1957 – Bill Laimbeer, American basketball player and coach
- 1957 – James Reyne, Nigerian-Australian singer-songwriter
- 1961 – Vadim Cojocaru, Moldovan politician
- 1961 – Gregory Poirier, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Wayne Van Dorp, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 – Filippo Galli, Italian footballer and manager
- 1964 – Peter Jackson, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster (d. 1997)
- 1964 – John Lee, South Korean-American football player
- 1964 – Miloslav Mečíř, Slovak tennis player
- 1965 – Maile Flanagan, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Marc Bureau, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1966 – Jodi Picoult, American author and educator
- 1966 – Polly Walker, English actress
- 1967 – Alexia, Italian singer
- 1967 – Geraldine Somerville, Irish-born English actress
- 1968 – Kyle Eastwood, American actor and bass player
- 1970 – Stuart Cable, Welsh drummer (d. 2010)
- 1970 – K. J. Choi, South Korean golfer
- 1970 – Regina Narva, Estonian chess player
- 1970 – Nia Zulkarnaen, Indonesian actress, singer and producer
- 1971 – Ross Katz, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Andres Salumets, Estonian biologist, biochemist, and educator
- 1972 – Jenny Berggren, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1972 – Claudia Karvan, Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Dario Franchitti, Scottish race car driver
- 1974 – Andrew Johns, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1974 – Emma Shapplin, French soprano
- 1974 – Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Indian actor
- 1975 – Pretinha, Brazilian footballer
- 1975 – London Fletcher, American football player
- 1975 – Josh Paul, American baseball player and manager
- 1975 – Jonas Renkse, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1976 – Ed Cota, American basketball player
- 1976 – Kevin Garnett, American basketball player
- 1977 – Manuel Almunia, Spanish footballer
- 1977 – Wouter Hamel, Dutch singer and guitarist
- 1977 – Brandon Inge, American baseball player
- 1977 – Natalia Oreiro, Uruguayan singer-songwriter and actress
- 1978 – Marcus Bent, English footballer
- 1978 – Dave Bus, Dutch footballer
- 1979 – Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Diego Forlan, Uruguayan footballer
- 1980 – Tony Hackworth, English footballer
- 1981 – Luciano Figueroa, Argentinian footballer
- 1981 – Yo Gotti, American rapper
- 1981 – Michael Leighton, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Sina Schielke, German sprinter
- 1981 – Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
- 1982 – Kevin Amankwaah, English footballer
- 1982 – Pål Steffen Andresen, Norwegian footballer
- 1982 – Klaas Vantornout, Belgian cyclist
- 1983 – Michael Che, American comedian
- 1983 – Jessica Fox, English actress
- 1984 – Marcedes Lewis, American football player
- 1985 – Aleister Black, Dutch professional wrestler
- 1986 – Mario Chalmers, American basketball player
- 1987 – Michael Angelakos, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1987 – David Edgar, Canadian soccer player
- 1987 – Mariano Torres, Argentinian footballer
- 1987 – Jayne Wisener, Northern Irish actress
- 1991 – Jordan Pruitt, American singer-songwriter
- 1992 – Marshmello, American electronic music producer and DJ
- 1992 – Michele Camporese, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Ola John, Dutch footballer
- 1992 – Felise Kaufusi, New Zealand-Tongan rugby league player
- 1992 – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1992 – Sam Smith, English singer-songwriter
- 1994 – Carlos Guzmán, Mexican footballer
- 1995 – Taane Milne, New Zealand rugby league player
Deaths on May 19
- 804 – Alcuin, English monk and scholar (b. 735)
- 956 – Robert, archbishop of Trier
- 988 – Dunstan, English archbishop and saint (b. 909)
- 1102 – Stephen, Count of Blois (b. 1045)
- 1125 – Vladimir II Monomakh, Grand Duke of Kiev
- 1164 – Saint Bashnouna, Egyptian saint and martyr
- 1218 – Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1296 – Pope Celestine V (b. 1215)
- 1303 – Saint Ivo of Kermartin, French canon lawyer (b. 1253)
- 1319 – Louis, Count of Évreux (b. 1276)
- 1389 – Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1350)
- 1396 – John I of Aragon (b. 1350)
- 1526 – Emperor Go-Kashiwabara of Japan (b. 1464)
- 1531 – Jan Łaski, Polish archbishop and diplomat (b. 1456)
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England (1533–1536); second wife of Henry VIII of England (b. c. 1501)
- 1601 – Costanzo Porta, Italian composer (b. 1528)
- 1609 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete (b. 1535)
- 1610 – Thomas Sanchez, Spanish priest and theologian (b. 1550)
- 1623 – Mariam-uz-Zamani, Empress of the Mughal Empire (b. 1542)
- 1637 – Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and philosopher (b. 1588)
- 1715 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1661)
- 1786 – John Stanley, English organist and composer (b. 1712)
- 1795 – Josiah Bartlett, American physician and politician, 4th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1729)
- 1795 – James Boswell, Scottish biographer (b. 1740)
- 1798 – William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1722)
- 1821 – Camille Jordan, French lawyer and politician (b. 1771)
- 1825 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French philosopher and theorist (b. 1760)
- 1831 – Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, Estonian-German physician, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1793)
- 1864 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1804)
- 1865 – Sengge Rinchen, Mongolian general (b. 1811)
- 1872 – John Baker, English-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of South Australia (b. 1813)
- 1876 – Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch historian and politician (b. 1801)
- 1885 – Peter W. Barlow, English engineer (b. 1809)
- 1895 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1853)
- 1898 – William Ewart Gladstone, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1809)
- 1901 – Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, South African general and politician, 1st President of the South African Republic (b. 1819)
- 1903 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer (b. 1856)
- 1904 – Auguste Molinier, French librarian and historian (b. 1851)
- 1904 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (b. 1839)
- 1906 – Gabriel Dumont, Canadian Métis leader (b. 1837)
- 1907 – Benjamin Baker, English engineer, designed the Forth Bridge (b. 1840)
- 1912 – Bolesław Prus, Polish journalist and author (b. 1847)
- 1915 – John Simpson Kirkpatrick, English-Australian soldier (b. 1892)
- 1918 – Gervais Raoul Lufbery, French-American soldier and pilot (b. 1885)
- 1935 – T. E. Lawrence, British colonel and archaeologist (b. 1888)
- 1936 – Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, British Islamic scholar (b. 1875)
- 1939 – Ahmet Ağaoğlu, Azerbaijani-Turkish journalist and publicist (b. 1869)
- 1943 – Kristjan Raud, Estonian painter and illustrator (b. 1865)
- 1945 – Philipp Bouhler, German soldier and politician (b. 1889)
- 1946 – Booth Tarkington, American novelist and dramatist (b. 1869)
- 1950 – Daniel Ciugureanu, Romanian physician and politician, Prime Minister of Moldova (b. 1884)
- 1954 – Charles Ives, American composer and educator (b. 1874)
- 1958 – Jadunath Sarkar, Indian historian (b. 1870)
- 1958 – Archie Scott Brown, Scottish race car driver (b. 1927)
- 1958 – Ronald Colman, English actor (b. 1891)
- 1963 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (b. 1871)
- 1969 – Coleman Hawkins, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1901)
- 1971 – Ogden Nash, American poet (b. 1902)
- 1978 – Albert Kivikas, Estonian-Swedish journalist and author (b. 1898)
- 1980 – Joseph Schull, Canadian playwright and historian (b. 1906)
- 1983 – Jean Rey, Belgian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (b. 1902)
- 1984 – John Betjeman, English poet and academic (b. 1906)
- 1986 – Jimmy Lyons, American saxophonist (b. 1931)
- 1987 – James Tiptree, Jr., American psychologist and author (b. 1915)
- 1989 – Yiannis Papaioannou, Greek composer and educator (b. 1910)
- 1994 – Jacques Ellul, French sociologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1912)
- 1994 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist, 37th First Lady of the United States (b. 1929)
- 1994 – Luis Ocaña, Spanish cyclist (b. 1945)
- 1996 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (b. 1917)
- 1998 – Sōsuke Uno, Japanese soldier and politician, 75th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1922)
- 2001 – Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (b. 1916)
- 2001 – Susannah McCorkle, American singer (b. 1946)
- 2002 – John Gorton, Australian lieutenant and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1911)
- 2002 – Walter Lord, American historian and author (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Mary Dresselhuys, Dutch actress and screenwriter (b. 1907)
- 2007 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (b. 1940)
- 2007 – Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Vijay Tendulkar, Indian playwright and screenwriter (b. 1928)
- 2009 – Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- 2009 – Nicholas Maw, English composer and academic (b. 1935)
- 2009 – Clint Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1913)
- 2011 – Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 8th Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Jeffrey Catherine Jones, American artist (b.1944)
- 2012 – Bob Boozer, American basketball player (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Tamara Brooks, American conductor and educator (b. 1941)
- 2012 – Ian Burgess, English race car driver (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Gerhard Hetz, German-Mexican swimmer (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Phil Lamason, New Zealand soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
- 2013 – G. Sarsfield Ford, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Robin Harrison, English-Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Neil Reynolds, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Simon Andrews, English motorcycle racer (b. 1982)
- 2014 – Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Terry W. Gee, American businessman and politician (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Sam Greenlee, American author and poet (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Vincent Harding, American historian and scholar (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Gabriel Kolko, American historian and author (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Zbigniew Pietrzykowski, Polish boxer (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Bruce Lundvall, American businessman (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Ted McWhinney, Australian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Happy Rockefeller, American philanthropist, socialite; 31st Second Lady of the United States (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Robert S. Wistrich, English historian, author, and academic (b. 1945)
- 2016 – Alan Young, English-born Canadian-American actor (b. 1919)
- 2016 – Morley Safer, Canadian-born American journalist (b. 1931)
- 2017 – Nawshirwan Mustafa, General coordinator of the Movement for Change (Gorran) (b. 1944)
- 2018 – Zhengzhang Shangfang, Chinese linguist (b. 1933)
Holidays and observances on May 19
- Christian feast day:
- Calocerus (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Crispin of Viterbo
- Dunstan (Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church; commemoration, Anglicanism)
- Ivo of Kermartin
- Joaquina Vedruna de Mas
- Maria Bernarda Bütler
- Peter Celestine
- Pudentiana (Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church)
- May 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day (Turkey, Northern Cyprus)
- Greek Genocide Remembrance Day (Greece)
- Hồ Chí Minh’s Birthday (Vietnam)
- Malcolm X Day (United States of America)
- National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
- Hepatitis Testing Day (United States)
- Mother’s Day (Kyrgyzstan)
-
May 18 in History
- 332 – Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.
- 872 – Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 47. His first coronation was 28 years earlier, in 844, during the reign of his father Lothair I.
- 1096 – First Crusade: Around 800 Jews are massacred in Worms, Germany.
- 1152 – The future Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. He would become king two years later, after the death of his cousin once removed King Stephen of England.
- 1268 – The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Siege of Antioch.
- 1291 – Fall of Acre, the end of Crusader presence in the Holy Land.
- 1302 – Bruges Matins, the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges by members of the local Flemish militia.
- 1388 – During the Battle of Buyur Lake, General Lan Yu leads a Chinese army forward to crush the Mongol hordes of Tögüs Temür, the Khan of Northern Yuan.
- 1499 – Alonso de Ojeda sets sail from Cádiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela.
- 1565 – The Great Siege of Malta begins, in which Ottoman forces attempt and fail to conquer Malta.
- 1593 – Playwright Thomas Kyd’s accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe.
- 1631 – In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.
- 1652 – Slavery in Rhode Island is abolished, although the law is not rigorously enforced.
- 1756 – The Seven Years’ War begins when Great Britain declares war on France.
- 1783 – First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown (later called Saint John, New Brunswick), Canada, after leaving the United States.
- 1794 – Battle of Tourcoing during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
- 1803 – Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.
- 1804 – Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate.
- 1811 – Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay led by José Artigas.
- 1812 – John Bellingham is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.
- 1843 – The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland.
- 1848 – Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany.
- 1860 – Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican Party presidential nomination over William H. Seward, who later becomes the United States Secretary of State.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg begins.
- 1896 – The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that the “separate but equal” doctrine is constitutional.
- 1896 – Khodynka Tragedy: A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people.
- 1900 – The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.
- 1912 – The first Indian film, Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne, is released in Mumbai.
- 1917 – World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription.
- 1926 – Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears in Venice, California.
- 1927 – The Bath School disaster: Forty-five people, including many children, are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Michigan.
- 1927 – After being founded for 20 years, the Government of the Republic of China approves Tongji University to be among the first national universities of the Republic of China.
- 1933 – New Deal: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
- 1944 – World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino: Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino.
- 1944 – Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union government.
- 1948 – The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.
- 1953 – Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.
- 1955 – Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ends.
- 1965 – Israeli spy Eli Cohen is hanged in Damascus, Syria.
- 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched.
- 1973 – Aeroflot Flight 109 is hijacked mid-flight and the aircraft is subsequently destroyed when the hijacker’s bomb explodes, killing all 82 people on board.
- 1974 – Nuclear weapons testing: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
- 1977 – Likud party wins the 1977 Israeli legislative election, with Menachem Begin, its founder, as the sixth Prime Minister of Israel.
- 1980 – Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
- 1980 – Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.
- 1990 – In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).
- 1991 – Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland but is not recognized by the international community.
- 1993 – Riots in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the Maastricht Treaty referendum. Police open fire against civilians for the first time since World War II and injure 11 demonstrators.
- 1994 – Israeli troops finish withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, ceding the area to the Palestinian National Authority to govern.
- 2005 – A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.
- 2006 – The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.
- 2009 – The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides.
- 2015 – At least 78 people die in a landslide caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of Salgar.
- 2018 – A school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas kills 10 people.
Births on May 18
- 1048 – Omar Khayyám, Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet (d. 1131)
- 1186 – Konstantin of Rostov (d. 1218)
- 1450 – Piero Soderini, Italian politician and diplomat (d. 1513)
- 1537 – Guido Luca Ferrero, Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1585)
- 1631 – Stanislaus Papczyński, Polish priest (d. 1701)
- 1662 – George Smalridge, English bishop (d. 1719)
- 1692 – Joseph Butler, English bishop, theologian, and apologist (d. 1752)
- 1711 – Roger Joseph Boscovich, Ragusan physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (d. 1787)
- 1777 – John George Children, English chemist, mineralogist, and zoologist (d. 1852)
- 1778 – Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, Irish soldier and diplomat, British Ambassador to Austria (d. 1854)
- 1785 – John Wilson, Scottish author and critic (d. 1854)
- 1797 – Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (d. 1854)
- 1822 – Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (d. 1896)
- 1835 – Charles N. Sims, American Methodist preacher and 3rd chancellor of Syracuse University (d. 1908)
- 1850 – Oliver Heaviside, English engineer, mathematician, and physicist (d. 1925)
- 1851 – James Budd, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of California (d. 1908)
- 1852 – Gertrude Käsebier, American photographer (d. 1934)
- 1854 – Bernard Zweers, Dutch composer and educator (d. 1924)
- 1855 – Francis Bellamy, American minister and author (d. 1931)
- 1862 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1948)
- 1867 – Minakata Kumagusu, Japanese author, biologist, naturalist and ethnologist (d. 1941)
- 1868 – Nicholas II of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1869 – Lucy Beaumont, English-American actress (d. 1937)
- 1871 – Denis Horgan, Irish shot putter and weight thrower (d. 1922)
- 1872 – Bertrand Russell, British mathematician, historian, and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
- 1876 – Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1931)
- 1878 – Johannes Terwogt, Dutch rower (d. 1977)
- 1882 – Babe Adams, American baseball player, manager, and journalist (d. 1968)
- 1883 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian marshal and politician, 16th President of Brazil (d. 1974)
- 1883 – Walter Gropius, German-American architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building (d. 1969)
- 1886 – Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1946)
- 1889 – Thomas Midgley, Jr., American chemist and engineer (d. 1944)
- 1891 – Rudolf Carnap, German-American philosopher and academic (d. 1970)
- 1892 – Ezio Pinza, Italian-American actor and singer (d. 1957)
- 1895 – Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader (d. 1934)
- 1896 – Eric Backman, Swedish runner (d. 1965)
- 1897 – Frank Capra, Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)
- 1898 – Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (d. 1973)
- 1901 – Henri Sauguet, French composer (d. 1989)
- 1901 – Vincent du Vigneaud, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
- 1902 – Meredith Willson, American playwright and composer (d. 1984)
- 1904 – Shunryū Suzuki, Japanese-American monk and educator (d. 1971)
- 1904 – Jacob K. Javits, American colonel and politician, 58th New York Attorney General (d. 1986)
- 1905 – Ruth Alexander, pioneering American pilot (d. 1930)
- 1905 – Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1943)
- 1907 – Irene Hunt, American author and educator (d. 2001)
- 1909 – Fred Perry, English-Australian tennis player and academic (d. 1995)
- 1910 – Ester Boserup, Danish economist and author (d. 1999)
- 1911 – Big Joe Turner, American blues/R&B singer (d. 1985)
- 1912 – Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1912 – Perry Como, American singer and television host (d. 2001)
- 1912 – Walter Sisulu, South African politician (d. 2003)
- 1913 – Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, Canadian-English publisher and politician (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer, founded Balmain (d. 1982)
- 1914 – Boris Christoff, Bulgarian-Italian opera singer (d. 1993)
- 1917 – Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (d. 1973)
- 1919 – Margot Fonteyn, British ballerina (d. 1991)
- 1920 – Pope John Paul II (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Michael A. Epstein, English pathologist and academic
- 1922 – Bill Macy, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1922 – Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (d. 1983)
- 1923 – Jean-Louis Roux, Canadian actor and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Priscilla Pointer, American actress
- 1924 – Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Lillian Hoban, American author and illustrator (d. 1998)
- 1927 – Richard Body, English politician (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Pernell Roberts, American actor (d. 2010)
- 1929 – Jack Sanford, American baseball player and coach (d. 2000)
- 1929 – Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Warren Rudman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Fred Saberhagen, American soldier and author (d. 2007)
- 1931 – Don Martin, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
- 1931 – Robert Morse, American actor
- 1931 – Kalju Pitksaar, Estonian chess player (d. 1995)
- 1931 – Clément Vincent, Canadian farmer and politician (d. 2018)
- 1933 – Bernadette Chirac, French politician, First Lady of France
- 1933 – H. D. Deve Gowda, Indian farmer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of India
- 1933 – Don Whillans, English rock climber and mountaineer (d. 1985)
- 1934 – Dwayne Hickman, American actor and director
- 1936 – Leon Ashley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Türker İnanoğlu, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1936 – Michael Sandle, English sculptor and academic
- 1937 – Brooks Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1937 – Jacques Santer, Luxembourger jurist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg
- 1938 – Janet Fish, American painter and academic
- 1939 – Patrick Cormack, Baron Cormack, English historian, journalist, and politician
- 1939 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (d. 1992)
- 1939 – Gordon O’Connor, Canadian general and politician, 38th Canadian Minister of Defence
- 1940 – Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1941 – Gino Brito, Canadian wrestler and promoter
- 1941 – Malcolm Longair, Scottish astronomer, physicist, and academic
- 1941 – Miriam Margolyes, English-Australian actress and singer
- 1942 – Nobby Stiles, English footballer, coach, and manager
- 1944 – Albert Hammond, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1944 – W. G. Sebald, German novelist, essayist, and poet (d. 2001)
- 1946 – Frank Hsieh, Taiwanese lawyer and politician, 40th Premier of the Republic of China
- 1946 – Reggie Jackson, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1946 – Gerd Langguth, German political scientist and author (d. 2013)
- 1947 – John Bruton, Irish politician, 10th Taoiseach of Ireland
- 1947 – Gail Strickland, American actress
- 1948 – Joe Bonsall, American country/gospel singer
- 1948 – Yi Mun-yol, South Korean author and academic
- 1948 – Richard Swedberg, Swedish sociologist and academic
- 1948 – Tom Udall, American lawyer and politician, 28th New Mexico Attorney General, United States Senator from New Mexico
- 1949 – Rick Wakeman, English progressive rock keyboardist and songwriter (Yes)
- 1949 – Walter Hawkins, American gospel music singer and pastor (d. 2010)
- 1950 – Rod Milburn, American hurdler and coach (d. 1997)
- 1950 – Mark Mothersbaugh, American singer-songwriter and painter
- 1951 – Richard Clapton, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Jim Sundberg, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1951 – Angela Voigt, German long jumper (d. 2013)
- 1952 – Diane Duane, American author and screenwriter
- 1952 – David Leakey, English general and politician
- 1952 – George Strait, American singer, guitarist and producer
- 1952 – Jeana Yeager, American pilot
- 1953 – Alan Kupperberg, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
- 1954 – Wreckless Eric, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Eric Gerets, Belgian footballer and manager
- 1955 – Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor and screenwriter
- 1956 – Catherine Corsini, French director and screenwriter
- 1956 – John Godber, English playwright and screenwriter
- 1957 – Michael Cretu, Romanian-German keyboard player and producer
- 1957 – Henrietta Moore, English anthropologist and academic
- 1958 – Rubén Omar Romano, Argentinian-Mexican footballer and coach
- 1958 – Toyah Willcox, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1959 – Graham Dilley, English cricketer and coach (d. 2011)
- 1959 – Jay Wells, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1960 – Brent Ashton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1960 – Jari Kurri, Finnish ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1960 – Yannick Noah, French tennis player
- 1961 – Russell Senior, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1963 – Marty McSorley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1963 – Sam Vincent, American basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Ignasi Guardans, Spanish academic and politician
- 1966 – Renata Nielsen, Polish-Danish long jumper and coach
- 1966 – Michael Tait, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1967 – Nina Björk, Swedish journalist and author
- 1967 – Heinz-Harald Frentzen, German race car driver
- 1967 – Nancy Juvonen, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded Flower Films
- 1967 – Mimi Macpherson, Australian environmentalist, entrepreneur and celebrity
- 1968 – Philippe Benetton, French rugby player
- 1968 – Ralf Kelleners, German race car driver
- 1969 – Troy Cassar-Daley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1969 – Martika, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1969 – Antônio Carlos Zago, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1970 – Tina Fey, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1970 – Tim Horan, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Billy Howerdel, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1970 – Javier Cárdenas, Spanish singer, television and radio presenter
- 1970 – Vicky Sunohara, Canadian former ice hockey player
- 1971 – Brad Friedel, American international soccer player, goalkeeper, manager and sportscaster
- 1971 – Mark Menzies, Scottish politician
- 1971 – Nobuteru Taniguchi, Japanese race car driver
- 1972 – Turner Stevenson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1973 – Donyell Marshall, American basketball player and coach
- 1973 – Aleksandr Olerski, Estonian footballer (d. 2011)
- 1974 – Nelson Figueroa, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Jem, Welsh singer-songwriter and producer
- 1975 – John Higgins, Scottish snooker player
- 1975 – Jack Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 – Ron Mercer, American basketball player
- 1976 – Marko Tomasović, Croatian pianist and composer
- 1976 – Oleg Tverdovsky, Ukrainian-Russian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Lee Hendrie, English footballer
- 1977 – Danny Mills, English footballer and sportscaster
- 1977 – Li Tie, Chinese footballer and manager
- 1978 – Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer
- 1978 – Marcus Giles, American baseball player
- 1978 – Charles Kamathi, Kenyan runner
- 1979 – Jens Bergensten, Swedish video game designer, co-designed Minecraft
- 1979 – Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer
- 1979 – Michal Martikán, Slovak slalom canoeist
- 1979 – Milivoje Novaković, Slovenian footballer
- 1979 – Julián Speroni, Argentinian footballer
- 1980 – Reggie Evans, American basketball player
- 1980 – Michaël Llodra, French tennis player
- 1980 – Diego Pérez, Uruguayan footballer
- 1981 – Mahamadou Diarra, Malian international footballer
- 1981 – Ashley Harrison, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Jason Brown, English footballer
- 1982 – Marie-Ève Pelletier, Canadian tennis player
- 1983 – Gary O’Neil, English footballer
- 1983 – Luis Terrero, Dominican baseball player
- 1983 – Vince Young, American football player
- 1984 – Ivet Lalova, Bulgarian sprinter
- 1984 – Simon Pagenaud, French race car driver
- 1984 – Darius Šilinskis, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1984 – Joakim Soria, Mexican baseball player
- 1984 – Niki Terpstra, Dutch cyclist
- 1985 – Oliver Sin, Hungarian painter
- 1985 – Henrique Sereno, Portuguese footballer
- 1986 – Ahmed Hamada, Egyptian race car driver
- 1986 – Kevin Anderson, South African tennis player
- 1988 – Taeyang, South Korean singer
- 1990 – Dimitri Daeseleire, Belgian footballer
- 1990 – Yuya Osako, Japanese footballer
- 1990 – Josh Starling, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Adwoa Aboah, British fashion model
- 1993 – Stuart Percy, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1993 – Jessica Watson, Australian sailor
- 1998 – Polina Edmunds, American figure skater
- 1999 – Laura Omloop, Belgian singer-songwriter
- 2000 – Ryan Sessegnon, English footballer
- 2000 – Steven Sessegnon, English footballer
- 2002 – Alina Zagitova, Russian figure skater
Deaths on May 18
- 526 – Pope John I (b. 470)
- 893 – Stephen I of Constantinople (b. 867)
- 932 – Ma Shaohong, general of Later Tang
- 947 – Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty
- 978 – Frederick I, duke of Upper Lorraine
- 1065 – Frederick, Duke of Lower Lorraine (b. c. 1003)
- 1096 – Minna of Worms, Jewish martyr killed during the Worms massacre (1096)
- 1160 – Eric Jedvardsson (King Eric IX) of Sweden (since 1156); (b. circa 1120)
- 1297 – Nicholas Longespee, Bishop of Salisbury
- 1401 – Vladislaus II of Opole (b. 1332)
- 1410 – Rupert of Germany, Count Palatine of the Rhine (b. 1352)
- 1550 – Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (b. 1498)
- 1551 – Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, Italian painter (b. 1486)
- 1675 – Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, historian, and theologian (b. 1623)
- 1675 – Jacques Marquette, French-American missionary and explorer (b. 1637)
- 1692 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (b. 1617)
- 1721 – Maria Barbara Carillo, victim of the Spanish Inquisition (b.1625)
- 1733 – Georg Böhm, German organist and composer (b. 1761)
- 1780 – Charles Hardy, English-American admiral and politician, 29th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1714)
- 1781 – Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian-Indian rebel leader (b. 1742)
- 1792 – Levy Solomons, Canadian merchant and fur trader (b. 1730)
- 1795 – Robert Rogers, English colonel (b. 1731)
- 1799 – Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and publisher (b. 1732)
- 1800 – Alexander Suvorov, Russian general (b. 1729)
- 1807 – John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (b. 1721)
- 1808 – Elijah Craig, American minister, inventor, and educator, invented Bourbon whiskey (b. 1738)
- 1844 – Richard McCarty, American lawyer and politician (b. 1780)
- 1853 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (b. 1806)
- 1867 – Clarkson Stanfield, English painter (b. 1793)
- 1889 – Isabella Glyn, Scottish-English actress (b. 1823)
- 1900 – Félix Ravaisson-Mollien, French archaeologist and philosopher (b. 1813)
- 1908 – Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1823)
- 1909 – Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1860)
- 1909 – George Meredith, English novelist and poet (b. 1828)
- 1910 – Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish author and publisher (b. 1841)
- 1910 – Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (b. 1821)
- 1911 – Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1860)
- 1922 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
- 1941 – Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (b. 1863)
- 1943 – Ōnishiki Daigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 28th Yokozuna (b. 1883)
- 1947 – Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (b. 1883)
- 1955 – Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (b. 1875)
- 1956 – Maurice Tate, English cricketer (b. 1895)
- 1958 – Jacob Fichman, Israeli poet and critic (b. 1881)
- 1963 – Ernie Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1939)
- 1968 – Frank Walsh, Australian politician, 34th Premier of South Australia (b. 1897)
- 1971 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (b. 1908)
- 1973 – Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (b. 1880)
- 1974 – Harry Ricardo, English engine designer and researcher (b. 1885)
- 1975 – Leroy Anderson, American composer and conductor (b. 1908)
- 1980 – Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption:
- Reid Blackburn, American photographer and journalist (b. 1952)
- David A. Johnston, American volcanologist and geologist (b. 1949)
- 1980 – Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter (b. 1956)
- 1981 – Arthur O’Connell, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1981 – William Saroyan, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (b. 1908)
- 1987 – Mahdi Amel, Lebanese journalist, poet, and academic (b. 1936)
- 1989 – Dorothy Ruth, American horse breeder and author (b. 1921)
- 1990 – Jill Ireland, English actress (b. 1936)
- 1995 – Elisha Cook, Jr., American actor (b. 1903)
- 1995 – Alexander Godunov, Russian-American ballet dancer and actor (b. 1949)
- 1995 – Brinsley Le Poer Trench, 8th Earl of Clancarty, Irish ufologist and historian (b. 1911)
- 1995 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (b. 1933)
- 1998 – Obaidullah Aleem, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (b. 1939)
- 1999 – Augustus Pablo, Jamaican singer, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1954)
- 1999 – Betty Robinson, American runner (b. 1911)
- 2000 – Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian-American composer and musicologist (b. 1946)
- 2001 – Irene Hunt, American author and illustrator (b. 1907)
- 2004 – Elvin Jones, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Jaan Eilart, Estonian geographer, ecologist, and historian (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Joseph Pevney, American actor and director (b. 1911)
- 2008 – Roberto García-Calvo Montiel, Spanish judge (b. 1942)
- 2009 – Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader, founded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (b. 1954)
- 2012 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Peter Jones, English-Australian drummer and songwriter (b. 1967)
- 2012 – Alan Oakley, English bicycle designer, designed the Raleigh Chopper (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Aleksei Balabanov, Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1959)
- 2013 – Jo Benkow, Norwegian soldier and politician (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Steve Forrest, American actor (b. 1925)
- 2013 – David McMillan, American football player (b. 1981)
- 2013 – Lothar Schmid, German chess player (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Dobrica Ćosić, Serbian politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Hans-Peter Dürr, German physicist and academic (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Kaiketsu Masateru, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1948)
- 2014 – Chukwuedu Nwokolo, Nigerian physician and academic (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut (b. 1946)
- 2015 – Halldór Ásgrímsson, Icelandic accountant and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (b. 1926)
- 2015 – T. J. Moran, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Jean-François Théodore, French businessman (b. 1946)
- 2017 – Roger Ailes, American businessman (b. 1940)
- 2017 – Jacque Fresco, American engineer and academic (b. 1916)
- 2017 – Chris Cornell, American singer (b. 1964)
- 2020 – Ken Osmond, American actor and the police officer (b. 1943)
Holidays and observances on May 18
- Christian feast day:
- Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
- Eric IX of Sweden
- Felix of Cantalice
- Pope John I
- Venantius of Camerino
- May 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Victoria Day (Canada) (Earliest possible date of the last Monday preceding May 25)
- Baltic Fleet Day (Russia)
- Battle of Las Piedras Day (Uruguay)
- Day of Remembrance of Crimean Tatar genocide (Ukraine)
- Flag and Universities Day (Haiti)
- Independence Day (Somaliland) (unrecognized)
- International Museum Day
- Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day (Sri Lankan Tamils)
- Revival, Unity, and Poetry of Magtymguly Day (Turkmenistan)
- Teacher’s Day (Syria)
- Victory Day (Sri Lanka)
- World AIDS Vaccine Day
-
May 1 in History
- 475 BC – Roman consul Publius Valerius Poplicola celebrates a Roman triumph for his victory over Veii and the Sabines.
- 305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.
- 524 – King Sigismund of Burgundy is executed at Orléans after an eight-year reign and is succeeded by his brother Godomar.
- 880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
- 1169 – Norman mercenaries land at Bannow Bay in Leinster, marking the beginning of the Norman invasion of Ireland.
- 1328 – Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, England recognises Scotland as an independent state.
- 1455 – Battle of Arkinholm, Royal forces end the Black Douglas hegemony in Scotland.
- 1576 – Stephen Báthory, the reigning Prince of Transylvania, marries Anna Jagiellon and they become co-rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- 1707 – The Act of Union joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain takes effect.
- 1753 – Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
- 1759 – Josiah Wedgwood founds the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain
- 1776 – Establishment of the Illuminati in Ingolstadt, Upper Bavaria, by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt.
- 1778 – American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet begins in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
- 1786 – In Vienna, Austria, Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro is performed for the first time.
- 1794 – War of the Pyrenees: The Battle of Boulou ends, in which French forces defeat the Spanish and regain nearly all the land they lost to Spain in 1793.
- 1820 – Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators, who plotted to kill the British Cabinet and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool.
- 1840 – The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom.
- 1844 – Hong Kong Police Force, the world’s second modern police force and Asia’s first, is established.
- 1846 – The few remaining Mormons left in Nauvoo, Illinois, formally dedicate the Nauvoo Temple.
- 1851 – Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace in London.
- 1856 – The Province of Isabela was created in the Philippines in honor of Queen Isabela II.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Union Army completes its capture of New Orleans.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville begins.
- 1865 – The Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance.
- 1866 – The Memphis Race Riots begin. In three days time, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- 1875 – Alexandra Palace reopens after being burned down in a fire in 1873.
- 1884 – The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions demands the eight-hour work day in the United States.
- 1884 – Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes the first black person to play in a professional baseball game in the United States.
- 1885 – The original Chicago Board of Trade Building opens for business.
- 1886 – Rallies are held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour work day, culminating in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, in commemoration of which May 1 is celebrated as International Workers’ Day in many countries.
- 1893 – The World’s Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago.
- 1894 – Coxey’s Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C.
- 1898 – Spanish–American War: Battle of Manila Bay: The Asiatic Squadron of the United States Navy destroys the Pacific Squadron of the Spanish Navy after a seven-hour battle. Spain loses all seven of its ships, and 381 Spanish sailors die. There are no American vessel losses or combat deaths.
- 1900 – The Scofield Mine disaster kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in United States history.
- 1915 – The RMS Lusitania departs from New York City on her 202nd, and final, crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives.
- 1919 – German troops enter Munich to suppress the Bavarian Soviet Republic.
- 1925 – The All-China Federation of Trade Unions is officially founded. Today it is the largest trade union in the world, with 134 million members.
- 1927 – The Union Labor Life Insurance Company is founded by the American Federation of Labor.
- 1929 – The 7.2 Mw Kopet Dag earthquake shakes the Iran–Turkmenistan border region with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing up to 3,800 and injuring 1,121.
- 1930 – “Pluto” is officially proposed for the name of the newly-discovered dwarf planet Pluto by Vesto Slipher in the Lowell Observatory Observation Circular. The name quickly catches on.
- 1931 – The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.
- 1941 – World War II: German forces launch a major attack during the siege of Tobruk.
- 1944 – World War II: Two hundred Communist prisoners are shot by the Germans at Kaisariani, Athens in reprisal for the killing of General Franz Krech by partisans at Molaoi.
- 1945 – World War II: A German newsreader officially announces that Adolf Hitler has “fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany”. The Soviet flag is raised over the Reich Chancellery, by order of Stalin.
- 1945 – World War II: Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda commit suicide in the Reich Garden outside the Führerbunker. Their children are also killed by having cyanide pills inserted into their mouths by their mother, Magda.
- 1945 – World War II: Forces of the Soviet Red Army liberate Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at Stalag Luft I near Barth, Germany.
- 1945 – World War II: Up to 2,500 people die in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army.
- 1945 – World War II: Yugoslav Partisans liberate Trieste.
- 1946 – Start of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.
- 1946 – The Paris Peace Conference concludes that the islands of the Dodecanese should be returned to Greece by Italy.
- 1947 – Portella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano where 11 persons are killed and 33 wounded.
- 1956 – The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
- 1956 – A doctor in Japan reports an “epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system”, marking the official discovery of Minamata disease.
- 1957 – Thirty-four people are killed when a Vickers Viking airliner crashes in Hampshire, England.
- 1960 – Formation of the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra; also known as “Maharashtra Day”.
- 1960 – Cold War: U-2 incident: Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Sverdlovsk Oblast, Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
- 1961 – The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
- 1965 – Cross-Strait relations: Battle of Dong-Yin, a naval conflict between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China, takes place.
- 1967 – Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu are married in Las Vegas.
- 1970 – Vietnam War: Protests erupt following the announcement by Richard Nixon that the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces would attack Vietnamese communists in a Cambodian Campaign.
- 1971 – Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) takes over operation of U.S. passenger rail service.
- 1974 – The Argentine terrorist organization Montoneros is expelled from Plaza de Mayo by president Juan Perón.
- 1977 – Thirty-six people are killed in Taksim Square, Istanbul, during the Labour Day celebrations.
- 1978 – Japan’s Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
- 1982 – Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during Falklands War.
- 1983 – The Sydney Entertainment Centre is opened.
- 1987 – Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish-born Carmelite nun who was gassed in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.
- 1989 – Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.
- 1990 – The former Philippine Episcopal Church (supervised by the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) is granted full autonomy and raised to the status of an Autocephalous Anglican Province and renamed the Episcopal Church in the Philippines.
- 1993 – Dingiri Banda Wijetunga became president of Sri Lanka automatically after killing of R Premadasa in LTTE bomb explosion.
- 1994 – Three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident whilst leading the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.
- 1995 – Croatian War of Independence: Croatian forces launch Operation Flash.
- 1999 – The body of British climber George Mallory is found on Mount Everest, 75 years after his disappearance in 1924
- 1999 – SpongeBob SquarePants premieres on Nickelodeon.
- 2001 – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares the existence of “a state of rebellion”, hours after thousands of supporters of her arrested predecessor, Joseph Estrada, storm towards the presidential palace at the height of the EDSA III rebellion.
- 2002 – OpenOffice.org released version 1.0, the first stable version of the software.
- 2003 – Invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the “Mission Accomplished” speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declares that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended”.
- 2004 – Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union, celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin.
- 2009 – Same-sex marriage is legalized in Sweden.
- 2011 – Pope John Paul II is beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.
- 2019 – Naxalite attack in Gadchiroli district of India: Sixteen army soldiers, including a driver, killed in an IED blast. Naxals targeted an anti-Naxal operations team.
Births on May 1
- 1218 – John I, Count of Hainaut (d. 1257)
- 1218 – Rudolf I of Germany (d. 1291)
- 1285 – Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, English politician (d. 1326)
- 1326 – Rinchinbal Khan, Mongolian emperor (d. 1332)
- 1488 – Sidonie of Bavaria, eldest daughter of Duke Albrecht IV of Bavaria-Munich (d. 1505)
- 1527 – Johannes Stadius, German astronomer, astrologer, mathematician (d. 1579)
- 1545 – Franciscus Junius, French theologian (d. 1602)
- 1579 – Wolphert Gerretse, Dutch-American farmer, co-founded New Netherland (d. 1662)
- 1582 – Marco da Gagliano, Italian composer (d. 1643)
- 1585 – Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (d. 1612)
- 1591 – Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German missionary and astronomer (d. 1666)
- 1594 – John Haynes, English-American politician, 1st Governor of the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1653)
- 1602 – William Lilly, English astrologer (d. 1681)
- 1672 – Joseph Addison, English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician (d. 1719)
- 1730 – Joshua Rowley, English admiral (d. 1790)
- 1735 – Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, Dutch admiral and philanthropist (d. 1819)
- 1751 – Judith Sargent Murray, American poet and playwright (d. 1820)
- 1764 – Benjamin Henry Latrobe, English-American architect, designed the United States Capitol (d. 1820)
- 1769 – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Irish-English field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1852)
- 1783 – Phoebe Hinsdale Brown, American hymnwriter (d. 1861)
- 1803 – James Clarence Mangan, Irish poet and author (d. 1849)
- 1821 – Henry Ayers, English-Australian politician, 8th Premier of South Australia (d. 1897)
- 1824 – Alexander William Williamson, English chemist and academic (d. 1904)
- 1825 – Johann Jakob Balmer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1898)
- 1825 – George Inness, American painter and educator (d. 1894)
- 1827 – Jules Breton, French painter (d. 1906)
- 1829 – José de Alencar, Brazilian author and playwright (d. 1877)
- 1829 – Frederick Sandys, English painter and illustrator (d. 1904)
- 1830 – Guido Gezelle, Belgian priest and poet (d. 1899)
- 1831 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and activist (d. 1903)
- 1847 – Henry Demarest Lloyd, American journalist and politician (d. 1903)
- 1848 – Adelsteen Normann, Norwegian painter (d. 1919)
- 1850 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (d. 1942)
- 1851 – Laza Lazarević, Serbian psychiatrist and neurologist (d. 1891)
- 1852 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and professional scout (d. 1903)
- 1852 – Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish neuroscientist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1934)
- 1853 – Jacob Mikhailovich Gordin, Jewish Ukrainian-American journalist, actor, and playwright (d. 1909)
- 1855 – Cecilia Beaux, American painter and academic (d. 1942)
- 1857 – Theo van Gogh, Dutch art dealer (d. 1891)
- 1859 – Jacqueline Comerre-Paton, French painter and sculptor (d. 1955)
- 1862 – Marcel Prévost, French novelist and playwright (d. 1941)
- 1864 – Anna Jarvis, American founder of Mother’s Day (d. 1948)
- 1871 – Seakle Greijdanus, Dutch theologian and scholar (d. 1948)
- 1871 – Emiliano Chamorro Vargas, President of Nicaragua (d. 1966)
- 1872 – Hugo Alfvén, Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter (d. 1960)
- 1872 – Sidónio Pais, Portuguese soldier and politician, 4th President of Portugal (d. 1918)
- 1874 – Romaine Brooks, American-French painter and illustrator (d. 1970)
- 1874 – Paul Van Asbroeck, Belgian target shooter (d. 1959)
- 1875 – Dave Hall, American runner (d. 1972)
- 1881 – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French priest, palaeontologist, and philosopher (d. 1955)
- 1884 – Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English race car driver and politician (d. 1964)
- 1885 – Clément Pansaers, Belgian poet (d. 1922)
- 1885 – Ralph Stackpole, American sculptor and painter (d. 1973)
- 1887 – Alan Cunningham, Anglo-Irish general and diplomat, High Commissioners for Palestine and Transjordan (d. 1983)
- 1890 – Clelia Lollini, Italian physician (d. 1963 or 1964)
- 1891 – Lillian Estelle Fisher, American historian of Spanish America (d. 1988)
- 1895 – Nikolai Yezhov, Soviet secret police official, head of the NKVD (d. 1940)
- 1895 – May Hollinworth, Australian theatre producer and director (d. 1968)
- 1896 – Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (d. 1947)
- 1896 – Mark W. Clark, American general (d. 1984)
- 1896 – J. Lawton Collins, American general (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Alfred Schmidt, Estonian weightlifter (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Ignazio Silone, Italian journalist and politician (d. 1978)
- 1900 – Aleksander Wat, Polish poet and writer (d. 1967)
- 1901 – Sterling Allen Brown, American poet, academic, and critic (d. 1989)
- 1901 – Heinz Eric Roemheld, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1985)
- 1901 – Antal Szerb, Hungarian scholar and author (d. 1945)
- 1905 – Henry Koster, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1988)
- 1906 – Horst Schumann, German SS officer and physician (d. 1983)
- 1907 – Hayes Alvis, American bassist (d. 1972)
- 1907 – Kate Smith, American singer and actress (d. 1986)
- 1908 – Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist and author (d. 1968)
- 1908 – Morris Kline, American mathematician and academic (d. 1992)
- 1909 – Endel Puusepp, Estonian-Soviet military pilot and politician (d. 1996)
- 1909 – Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1990)
- 1910 – Behice Boran, Turkish sociologist and politician (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Raya Dunayevskaya, Ukrainian-American philosopher and activist (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Dirk Andries Flentrop, Dutch organ builder (d. 2003)
- 1910 – J. Allen Hynek, American astronomer and ufologist (d. 1986)
- 1910 – Nejdet Sançar, Turkish literature teacher (d. 1975)
- 1911 – Wilfred Watson, English-Canadian poet, playwright and educator (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Otto Kretschmer, German admiral (d. 1998)
- 1913 – Louis Nye, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Walter Susskind, Czech-English pianist, conductor, and educator (d. 1980)
- 1914 – Jaap van der Poll, Dutch javelin thrower (d. 2010)
- 1915 – Hanns Martin Schleyer, German businessman (d. 1977)
- 1916 – Antoni Bazaniak, Polish sprint canoeist (d. 1979)
- 1916 – Glenn Ford, Canadian-American actor and producer (d. 2006)
- 1917 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (d. 1996)
- 1917 – Ulric Cross, Trinidadian navigator, judge, and diplomat (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Danielle Darrieux, French actress and singer (d. 2017)
- 1917 – Ahron Soloveichik, Russian rabbi and scholar (d. 2001)
- 1918 – Gersh Budker, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (d. 1977)
- 1918 – Jack Paar, American comedian, author and talk show host (d. 2004)
- 1919 – Manna Dey, Indian singer and composer (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Mohammed Karim Lamrani, Moroccan businessman and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Morocco (d. 2018)
- 1919 – Dan O’Herlihy, Irish-American actor (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Vladimir Colin, Romanian journalist and author (d. 1991)
- 1922 – Alastair Gillespie, Canadian scholar and politician (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Joseph Heller, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Antônio Maria Mucciolo, Italian-Brazilian archbishop (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Marcel Rayman, Polish soldier (d. 1944)
- 1924 – Evelyn Boyd Granville, American mathematician, computer scientist, and academic
- 1924 – Karel Kachyňa, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Terry Southern, American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1925 – Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Scott Carpenter, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Sardar Fazlul Karim, Bangladeshi philosopher, scholar, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Peter Lax, Hungarian-American mathematician and academic
- 1927 – Gary Bertini, Israeli conductor and composer (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Laura Betti, Italian actress (d. 2004)
- 1927 – Albert Zafy, Malagasy politician, 3rd President of Madagascar (d. 2017)
- 1927 – Bernard Vukas, Yugoslav-Croatian footballer (d. 1983)
- 1928 – Sonny James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
- 1928 – Delfim Netto, Brazilian economist
- 1929 – Ralf Dahrendorf, German-English sociologist and politician (d. 2009)
- 1929 – Sonny Ramadhin, Trinidadian cricketer
- 1930 – Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (d. 2011)
- 1930 – Richard Riordan, American lieutenant and politician, 39th Mayor of Los Angeles and publisher
- 1930 – Little Walter Jacobs, American blues harp player and singer (d. 1968)
- 1931 – Naim Attallah, Palestinian author
- 1932 – Sandy Woodward, English admiral (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Tabibar Rahman Sarder, Bangladeshi politician. (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Mexican politician
- 1934 – Tang Chang, Thai artist (d. 1990)
- 1934 – Shirley Horn, American singer and pianist (d. 2005)
- 1934 – Phillip King, Tunisian-English sculptor
- 1934 – John Meillon, Australian actor (d. 1989)
- 1936 – Danièle Huillet, French filmmaker (d. 2006)
- 1936 – Hans E. Wallman, Swedish director, producer, and composer (d. 2014)
- 1937 – Una Stubbs, English actress and dancer
- 1939 – Judy Collins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1939 – Wilhelmina Cooper, Dutch model (d. 1980)
- 1939 – Victor Davies, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1943 – Vassal Gadoengin, Nauruan politician (d. 2004)
- 1943 – Joe Walsh, Irish politician, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (d. 2014)
- 1945 – Rita Coolidge, American singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Carson Whitsett, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (d. 2007)
- 1946 – Joanna Lumley, English actress, voice-over artist, author, and activist
- 1946 – John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1947 – Jacob Bekenstein, Mexican-born Israeli-American theoretical physicist (d. 2015)
- 1947 – Sergio Infante, Chilean-Swedish poet and author
- 1948 – Györgyi Balogh, Hungarian sprinter
- 1948 – Patricia Hill Collins, American sociologist and scholar
- 1949 – Jim Clench, Canadian bass player (d. 2010)
- 1949 – Tim Hodgkinson, English saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer
- 1949 – Paul Teutul, Sr., American motorcycle designer, co-founded Orange County Choppers
- 1950 – Dann Florek, American actor and director
- 1950 – Danny McGrain, Scottish footballer and coach
- 1951 – Gordon Greenidge, Barbadian cricketer and coach
- 1951 – Geoff Lees, English race car driver
- 1951 – Sally Mann, American photographer
- 1952 – Richard Blundell, English economist and academic
- 1952 – Kim Lewison, English lawyer and judge
- 1952 – Peter Smith, Malaysian-born English academic and judge
- 1953 – Glen Ballard, American songwriter and producer
- 1954 – Ray Parker, Jr., American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1954 – Joel Rosenberg, Canadian-American author and activist (d. 2011)
- 1955 – Alex Cunningham, Scottish politician
- 1955 – Martin O’Donnell, American composer
- 1955 – Ray Searage, American baseball player and coach
- 1956 – Catherine Frot, French actress
- 1956 – Phil Foglio, American illustrator
- 1957 – Rick Darling, Australian cricketer
- 1957 – Uberto Pasolini, Italian banker, director, and producer
- 1959 – Yasmina Reza, French actress and playwright
- 1959 – Lawrence Seeff, South African cricketer and basket weaver
- 1960 – Steve Cauthen, American jockey and sportscaster
- 1961 – Sultan Günal-Gezer, Dutch politician
- 1961 – Clint Malarchuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Marilyn Milian, American judge
- 1961 – Vasiliy Sidorenko, Russian hammer thrower
- 1962 – Maia Morgenstern, Romanian actress
- 1962 – Ted Sundquist, American football player, coach, and manager
- 1964 – Yvonne van Gennip, Dutch speed skater
- 1966 – Olaf Thon, German footballer and manager
- 1967 – Tim McGraw, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1968 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer and manager
- 1968 – D’arcy Wretzky, American bass player and singer
- 1969 – Wes Anderson, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Mary Lou McDonald, Irish politician
- 1969 – Billy Owens, American basketball player
- 1970 – Bernard Butler, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1971 – Ethan Albright, American football player
- 1971 – Stuart Appleby, Australian golfer
- 1971 – Kim Grant, South African tennis player
- 1971 – Artur Kohutek, Polish hurdler and soldier
- 1971 – Ajith Kumar, Indian film actor in Tamil cinema and race car driver
- 1972 – Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Yemeni terrorist
- 1972 – Julie Benz, American actress
- 1972 – Yoon Hae-young, South Korean actress
- 1973 – Peter Baah, English footballer and manager
- 1973 – Mike Jesse, German footballer
- 1973 – Curtis Martin, American football player
- 1973 – Oliver Neuville, German footballer
- 1975 – Austin Croshere, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2003)
- 1975 – Nina Hossain, English journalist
- 1975 – Alexey Smertin, Russian international footballer
- 1976 – Patricia Stokkers, Dutch swimmer
- 1977 – Vera Lischka, Austrian swimmer and politician
- 1978 – James Badge Dale, American actor
- 1979 – Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
- 1979 – Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
- 1980 – Marvin Cabrera, Mexican footballer
- 1980 – Rob Davison, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1980 – Inês Henriques, Portuguese race walker
- 1980 – Jan Heylen, Belgian race car driver
- 1980 – Jay Reatard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
- 1980 – Yuliya Tabakova, Russian athlete
- 1981 – Manny Acosta, Panamanian baseball player
- 1981 – Derek Asamoah, Ghanaian footballer
- 1981 – Alexander Hleb, Belarusian footballer
- 1981 – Wes Welker, American football player
- 1982 – Beto, Portuguese footballer
- 1982 – Jamie Dornan, Northern Irish model and actor
- 1982 – Mark Farren, Irish footballer (d. 2016)
- 1982 – Katya Zamolodchikova, American drag queen
- 1982 – Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player
- 1982 – Darijo Srna, Croatian footballer
- 1983 – Alain Bernard, French swimmer
- 1983 – Human Tornado, American wrestler
- 1983 – Park Hae-jin, South Korean actor
- 1984 – David Backes, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Mišo Brečko, Slovenian footballer
- 1984 – Patrick Eaves, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Alexander Farnerud, Swedish footballer
- 1984 – Farah Fath, American actress
- 1984 – Keiichiro Koyama, Japanese singer and actor
- 1984 – Víctor Montaño, Colombian footballer
- 1984 – Mark Seaby, Australian footballer
- 1985 – Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1986 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1986 – Adam Casey, Australian footballer
- 1986 – Cassie Jaye, American actress and film director
- 1986 – Jesse Klaver, Dutch politician
- 1986 – Lee Chang-min, South Korean singer
- 1986 – Brent Stanton, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Leonardo Bonucci, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Glen Coffee, American football player
- 1987 – Iván DeJesús Jr., Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1987 – Marcus Drum, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Amir Johnson, American basketball player
- 1987 – Ryan Mathews, American football player
- 1987 – Saidi Ntibazonkiza, Burundian footballer
- 1987 – Shahar Pe’er, Israeli tennis player
- 1988 – Maria Balaba, Latvian figure skater
- 1988 – Maxim Gustik, Belarusian freestyle skier
- 1988 – Teodor Peterson, Swedish cross-country skier
- 1989 – Alejandro Arribas, Spanish footballer
- 1989 – Poļina Jeļizarova, Latvian runner
- 1990 – Uriel Álvarez, Mexican footballer
- 1990 – Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress
- 1990 – Diego Contento, German footballer
- 1990 – Scooter Gennett, American baseball player
- 1991 – Marcus Stroman, American baseball player
- 1991 – Daniel Talbot, British sprinter
- 1992 – Trevor Philp, Canadian alpine skier
- 1992 – Bradley Roby, American football player
- 1993 – Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, French footballer
- 1993 – Ifeoma Nwoye, Nigerian wrestler
- 1994 – Wallace Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
- 1995 – Collin Seedorf, Dutch footballer
- 1996 – Christopher J. Alexis Jr., Grenadian road cyclist
- 1996 – Daniel Saifiti, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
- 1996 – Jacob Saifiti, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
- 1996 – Michael Seaton, Jamaican footballer
- 2004 – Charli D’Amelio, American social media influencer and dancer
Deaths on May 1
- 408 – Arcadius, Byzantine emperor (b. 377)
- 558 – Marcouf, missionary and saint
- 908 – Wang Zongji, Chinese prince and pretender
- 1118 – Matilda of Scotland (b. 1080)
- 1171 – Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster (b. 1110)
- 1187 – Roger de Moulins, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
- 1255 – Walter de Gray, English prelate and statesman
- 1277 – Stefan Uroš I of Serbia (b. 1223)
- 1278 – William II of Villehardouin
- 1308 – Albert I of Germany (b. 1255)
- 1312 – Paul I Šubić of Bribir
- 1539 – Isabella of Portugal (b. 1503)
- 1555 – Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)
- 1572 – Pope Pius V (b. 1504)
- 1668 – Frans Luycx, Flemish painter (b. 1604)
- 1730 – François de Troy, French painter and engraver (b. 1645)
- 1731 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German violinist and composer (b. 1677)
- 1738 – Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1669)
- 1772 – Gottfried Achenwall, Polish-German historian, economist, and jurist (b. 1719)
- 1813 – Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French general (b. 1768)
- 1838 – Antoine Louis Dugès, French obstetrician and naturalist (b. 1797)
- 1856 – John Wilbur, American minister and theologian (b. 1774)
- 1873 – David Livingstone, Scottish-English missionary and explorer (b. 1813)
- 1899 – Ludwig Büchner, German physiologist and physician (b. 1824)
- 1904 – Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer and academic (b. 1841)
- 1913 – John Barclay Armstrong, American lieutenant (b. 1850)
- 1920 – Princess Margaret of Connaught (b. 1882)
- 1935 – Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (b. 1889)
- 1943 – Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian religious leader, founded the Brunstad Christian Church (b. 1871)
- 1945 – Joseph Goebbels, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
- 1945 – Magda Goebbels, German wife of Joseph Goebbels (b. 1901)
- 1953 – Everett Shinn, American painter and illustrator (b. 1876)
- 1956 – LeRoy Samse, American pole vaulter (b. 1883)
- 1960 – Charles Holden, English architect, designed the Bristol Central Library (b. 1875)
- 1963 – Lope K. Santos, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1879)
- 1965 – Spike Jones, American singer and bandleader (b. 1911)
- 1968 – Jack Adams, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1895)
- 1968 – Harold Nicolson, English author and politician (b. 1886)
- 1970 – Yi Un, Korean prince (b. 1897)
- 1973 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter and sculptor (b. 1914)
- 1976 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (b. 1908)
- 1976 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (b. 1939)
- 1978 – Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer and conductor (b. 1903)
- 1982 – William Primrose, Scottish viola player and educator (b. 1903)
- 1984 – Jüri Lossmann, Estonian-Swedish runner (b. 1891)
- 1985 – Denise Robins, English journalist and author (b. 1897)
- 1986 – Hylda Baker, English comedian, actress and music hall performer (b. 1905)
- 1986 – Hugo Peretti, American songwriter and producer (b. 1916)
- 1988 – Ben Lexcen, Australian sailor and architect (b. 1936)
- 1989 – Sally Kirkland, American journalist (b. 1912)
- 1989 – V. M. Panchalingam, Sri Lankan civil servant (b. 1930)
- 1989 – Patrice Tardif, Canadian farmer and politician (b. 1904)
- 1990 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-American tenor and actor (b. 1926)
- 1991 – Richard Thorpe, American director and screenwriter (b. 1896)
- 1993 – Pierre Bérégovoy, French metallurgist and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1925)
- 1993 – Ranasinghe Premadasa, Sri Lankan politician, 3rd President of Sri Lanka (b. 1924)
- 1994 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (b. 1960)
- 1995 – Antonio Salemme, Italian-American painter (b. 1892)
- 1997 – Fernand Dumont, Canadian sociologist, philosopher, and poet (b. 1927)
- 1998 – Eldridge Cleaver, American author and activist (b. 1935)
- 2000 – Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder and actor (b. 1926)
- 2002 – Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh, Indian poet and author (b. 1908)
- 2003 – Miss Elizabeth, American wrestler and manager (b. 1960)
- 2003 – Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)
- 2005 – Kenneth Clark, American psychologist and academic (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Anthony Mamo, Maltese judge and politician, 1st President of Malta (b. 1909)
- 2008 – Philipp von Boeselager, German soldier and economist (b. 1917)
- 2010 – Helen Wagner, American actress (b. 1918)
- 2011 – Henry Cooper, English boxer (b. 1934)
- 2011 – Ted Lowe, English sportscaster (b. 1920)
- 2012 – James Kinley, Canadian engineer and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Mordechai Virshubski, German-Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Chris Kelly, American rapper (b. 1978)
- 2013 – Pierre Pleimelding, French footballer and manager (b. 1952)
- 2014 – Adamu Atta, Nigerian lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Kwara State (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Radhia Cousot, Tunisian-American computer scientist and academic (b. 1947)
- 2014 – Assi Dayan, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1945)
- 2014 – Juan de Dios Castillo, Mexican footballer and coach (b. 1951)
- 2015 – Geoff Duke, English-Manx motorcycle racer (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Vafa Guluzade, Azerbaijani political scientist, academic, and diplomat (b. 1940)
- 2015 – María Elena Velasco, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
- 2015 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances on May 1
- Christian feast day:
- Andeolus
- Augustin Schoeffler, Jean-Louis Bonnard (part of Vietnamese Martyrs)
- Benedict of Szkalka
- Brioc
- James the Less (Anglican Communion)
- Joseph the Worker (Roman Catholic)
- Blessed Klymentiy Sheptytsky (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
- Marcouf
- Philip the Apostle (Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church)
- Richard Pampuri
- Sigismund of Burgundy
- Ultan
- May 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in May. (Samoa)
- Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in May. (Hong Kong, Hungary, Lithuania, Mozambique, Portugal, Spain, Romania)
- Earliest day on which National Day of Prayer can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Thursday in May. (United States)
- Earliest day on which World Asthma Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Tuesday in May. (International)
- Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)
- Constitution Day (Argentina, Latvia, Marshall Islands)
- Commemoration of the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat following the foundation of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti (India):
- International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day
- Lei Day (Hawaii)
- International Workers’ Day or Labour Day (International), and its related observances:
- Earliest day on which Labour Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of May. (Barbados, Dominica)
- Law Day (United States), formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States)
- Loyalty Day, formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States)
- May Day (beginning of Summer) observances in the Northern hemisphere (see April 30):
- Beltane (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans in the Northern hemisphere)
- Earliest day on which Beltane can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in May. (Ireland, Scotland)
- Calan Mai (Wales)
- Samhain (Celtic neopagans and Wiccans in the Southern Hemisphere)
-
February 18 in History
- 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.
- 1268 – The Battle of Wesenberg is fought between the Livonian Order and Dovmont of Pskov.
- 1332 – Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces.
- 1478 – George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is executed in private at the Tower of London.
- 1637 – Eighty Years’ War: Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.
- 1781 – Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: Captain Thomas Shirley opens his expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa (present-day Ghana).
- 1791 – Congress passes a law admitting the state of Vermont to the Union, effective 4 March, after that state had existed for 14 years as a de facto independent largely unrecognized state.
- 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Sir Ralph Abercromby and a fleet of 18 British warships invade Trinidad.
- 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Montereau.
- 1861 – In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
- 1861 – With Italian unification almost complete, Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia assumes the title of King of Italy.
- 1873 – Bulgarian revolutionary leader Vasil Levski is executed by hanging in Sofia by the Ottoman authorities.
- 1878 – John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
- 1885 – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States.
- 1900 – Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.
- 1906 – Édouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels.
- 1911 – The first official flight with airmail takes place from Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now India), when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) away.
- 1930 – While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.
- 1930 – Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft and also the first cow to be milked in an aircraft.
- 1932 – The Empire of Japan creates the independent state of Manzhouguo (the obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) free from the Republic of China and installed former Chinese Emperor Aisin Gioro Puyi as Chief Executive of the State.
- 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: During the Nanking Massacre, the Nanking Safety Zone International Committee is renamed “Nanking International Rescue Committee”, and the safety zone in place for refugees falls apart.
- 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army begins the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore.
- 1943 – World War II: The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement.
- 1943 – World War II: Joseph Goebbels delivers his Sportpalast speech.
- 1946 – Sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in Bombay harbour, from where the action spreads throughout the Provinces of British India, involving 78 ships, twenty shore establishments and 20,000 sailors
- 1947 – First Indochina War: The French gain complete control of Hanoi after forcing the Viet Minh to withdraw to mountains.
- 1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles.
- 1955 – Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot “Wasp” is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots in the Teapot series.
- 1957 – Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is executed by the British colonial government.
- 1957 – Walter James Bolton becomes the last person legally executed in New Zealand.
- 1965 – The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1970 – The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
- 1972 – The California Supreme Court in the case of People v. Anderson, (6 Cal.3d 628) invalidates the state’s death penalty and commutes the sentences of all death row inmates to life imprisonment.
- 1977 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden “flight” on top of a Boeing 747.
- 1979 – Richard Petty wins a then-record sixth Daytona 500 after leaders Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crash on the final lap of the first NASCAR race televised live flag-to-flag.
- 1983 – Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee massacre in Seattle. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history.
- 1991 – The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
- 2001 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
- 2001 – Sampit conflict: Inter-ethnic violence between Dayaks and Madurese breaks out in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, ultimately resulting in more than 500 deaths and 100,000 Madurese displaced from their homes.
- 2003 – Nearly 200 people die in the Daegu subway fire in South Korea.
- 2004 – Up to 295 people, including nearly 200 rescue workers, die near Nishapur, Iran, when a runaway freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertilizer catches fire and explodes.
- 2007 – Samjhauta Express bombings occurred around midnight in Diwana near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of New Delhi, India.
- 2010 – WikiLeaks publishes the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by the soldier now known as Chelsea Manning.
- 2013 – Armed robbers steal a haul of diamonds worth $50 million during a raid at Brussels Airport in Belgium.
- 2014 – At least 76 people are killed and hundreds are injured in clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Kiev, Ukraine.
Births on February 18
- 1201 – Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Persian scientist and writer (d. 1274)
- 1372 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (d. 1448)
- 1486 – Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Indian monk and saint (d. 1534)
- 1516 – Mary I of England (d. 1558)
- 1530 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese daimyō (d. 1578)
- 1543 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
- 1547 – Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī, founder of Isfahan School of Islamic Philosophy (d. 1621)
- 1559 – Isaac Casaubon, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1614)
- 1589 – Henry Vane the Elder, English politician (d. 1655)
- 1589 – Maarten Gerritsz Vries, Dutch explorer (d. 1646)
- 1602 – Per Brahe the Younger, Swedish soldier and politician, Governor-General of Finland (d. 1680)
- 1609 – Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, English historian and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1674)
- 1626 – Francesco Redi, Italian physician (d. 1697)
- 1632 – Giovanni Battista Vitali, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1692)
- 1642 – Marie Champmeslé, French actress (d. 1698)
- 1658 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French philosopher and author (d. 1743)
- 1732 – Johann Christian Kittel, German organist and composer (d. 1809)
- 1745 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist, invented the battery (d. 1827)
- 1814 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American lawyer and politician (d. 1900)
- 1817 – Lewis Armistead, American general (d. 1863)
- 1836 – Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Indian mystic and yogi (d. 1886)
- 1838 – Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1916)
- 1846 – Wilson Barrett, English actor, playwright, and manager (d. 1904)
- 1848 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (d. 1933)
- 1849 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician (d. 1906)
- 1850 – George Henschel, German-English singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (d. 1934)
- 1855 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French historian, author, and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (d. 1932)
- 1860 – Anders Zorn, Swedish artist (d. 1920)
- 1862 – Charles M. Schwab, American businessman, co-founded Bethlehem Steel (d. 1939)
- 1867 – Hedwig Courths-Mahler, German writer (d. 1950)
- 1870 – William Laurel Harris, American painter and author (d. 1924)
- 1871 – Harry Brearley, English inventor (d. 1948)
- 1883 – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek philosopher, author, and playwright (d. 1957)
- 1885 – Henri Laurens, French sculptor and illustrator (d. 1954)
- 1893 – Maksim Haretski, Belarusian prose writer, journalist and activist (d. 1938)
- 1890 – Edward Arnold, American actor (d. 1956)
- 1890 – Adolphe Menjou, American actor (d. 1963)
- 1892 – Wendell Willkie, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 1944)
- 1896 – Li Linsi, Chinese educator and diplomat (d. 1970)
- 1898 – Enzo Ferrari, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded Ferrari (d. 1988)
- 1898 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet and politician, 1st Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (d. 1980)
- 1899 – Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (d. 1985)
- 1903 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (d. 1983)
- 1905 – Queenie Leonard, English actress (d. 2002)
- 1906 – Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and academic (d. 1980)
- 1909 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1993)
- 1914 – Pee Wee King, American singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Phyllis Calvert, English actress (d. 2002)
- 1916 – Jean Drapeau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1999)
- 1919 – Jack Palance, American boxer and actor (d. 2006)
- 1920 – Bill Cullen, American game show panelist and host (d. 1990)
- 1920 – Rolande Falcinelli, French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Mary Amdur, American toxicologist and public health researcher (d. 1998)
- 1921 – Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and composer (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Eric Gairy, Grenadan politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (d. 1997)
- 1922 – Helen Gurley Brown, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Allan Melvin, American actor (d. 2008)
- 1925 – George Kennedy, American actor (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Halit Kıvanç, Turkish journalist and sportscaster
- 1925 – Ghafar Baba, Malaysian politician (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (d. 1976)
- 1927 – Luis Arroyo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, manager, and scout (d. 2016)
- 1927 – Fazal Mahmood, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2005)
- 1927 – John Warner, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 61st United States Secretary of the Navy
- 1928 – Rex Mossop, Australian rugby player and sportscaster (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Len Deighton, English historian and author
- 1929 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 1968)
- 1931 – Johnny Hart, American cartoonist, co-created The Wizard of Id (d. 2007)
- 1931 – Toni Morrison, American novelist and editor, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019).
- 1931 – Swraj Paul, Baron Paul, Indian-English businessman and philanthropist
- 1931 – John Ryden, Scottish footballer, centre half (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Bob St. Clair, American football player (d. 2015)
- 1932 – Miloš Forman, Czech-American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1933 – Yoko Ono, Japanese-American multimedia artist and musician
- 1933 – Bobby Robson, English international footballer, inside forward and international manager (d. 2009)
- 1933 – Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (d. 1975)
- 1934 – Skip Battin, American singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2003)
- 1934 – Dave Dunmore, English footballer, centre forward
- 1934 – Audre Lorde, American poet, essayist, memoirist, and activist (d. 1992)
- 1934 – Paco Rabanne, Spanish-French fashion designer
- 1936 – Jean M. Auel, American author
- 1938 – Manny Mota, Dominican baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1938 – Sadanoyama Shinmatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 50th Yokozuna (d. 2017)
- 1938 – István Szabó, Hungarian director and screenwriter
- 1939 – Claude Ake, Nigerian political scientist and academic (d. 1996)
- 1939 – Bobby Hart, American singer-songwriter
- 1939 – Marlos Nobre, Brazilian composer
- 1940 – Fabrizio De André, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
- 1940 – Prue Leith, English restaurateur and journalist
- 1941 – Herman Santiago, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
- 1941 – Irma Thomas, American singer
- 1943 – Graeme Garden, Scottish comedian, actor, and author
- 1944 – Pat Bowlen, American businessman (d. 2019)
- 1945 – Judy Rankin, American golfer and sportscaster
- 1946 – Michael Buerk, English journalist
- 1947 – Dennis DeYoung, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1947 – Eliot Engel, American educator and politician
- 1948 – Sinéad Cusack, Irish actress
- 1948 – Bruce Francis, Australian cricketer
- 1948 – Keith Knudsen, American singer-songwriter and drummer (d. 2005)
- 1949 – Gary Ridgway, American criminal, Green River Killer
- 1950 – Nana Amba Eyiaba I, Ghanaian queen mother and advocate
- 1950 – Cristina Ferrare, American model, actress, author, and television host
- 1950 – John Hughes, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1950 – Cybill Shepherd, American actress and singer
- 1951 – Queen Komal of Nepal
- 1951 – Isabel Preysler, Filipino-Spanish journalist
- 1952 – Randy Crawford, American jazz and R&B singer
- 1952 – Maurice Lucas, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1952 – Juice Newton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1952 – Bernard Valcourt, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1953 – Robbie Bachman, Canadian rock drummer
- 1953 – Derek Pellicci, English-Australian drummer
- 1954 – Charlie Fowler, American mountaineer, author, and photographer (d. 2006)
- 1954 – Paul Rendall, English rugby player
- 1954 – John Travolta, American actor and producer
- 1955 – Cheetah Chrome, American musician
- 1955 – Miles Tredinnick, English singer-songwriter and playwright
- 1955 – Lisa See, American writer and novelist
- 1956 – Ted Gärdestad, Swedish singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1956 – Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian businessman and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Georgia
- 1957 – Marita Koch, German sprinter
- 1957 – Vanna White, American model and game show host
- 1959 – Jayne Atkinson, English-American actress
- 1959 – James Metzger, American businessman and philanthropist
- 1960 – Andy Moog, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960 – Greta Scacchi, Italian-Australian actress
- 1963 – Rob Andrew, English rugby player and cricketer
- 1964 – Matt Dillon, American actor and director
- 1964 – Paul Hanley, English drummer and songwriter
- 1965 – Dr. Dre, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1966 – Phillip DeFreitas, Dominican-English cricketer
- 1967 – Roberto Baggio, Italian footballer
- 1967 – Colin Jackson, Welsh sprinter and hurdler
- 1968 – Molly Ringwald, American actress
- 1969 – Tomaž Humar, Slovenian mountaineer (d. 2009)
- 1969 – Alexander Mogilny, Russian-American ice hockey player
- 1970 – Susan Egan, American actress and singer
- 1970 – James H. Fowler, American political scientist and author
- 1970 – Raine Maida, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1970 – Massimo Taibi, Italian footballer
- 1971 – Thomas Bjorn, Danish golfer
- 1971 – Merritt Gant, American guitarist
- 1972 – Fabian Picardo, Gibraltarian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Gibraltar
- 1973 – Shawn Estes, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1973 – Claude Makélélé, French footballer and manager
- 1974 – Carrie Ann Baade, American painter and academic
- 1974 – Jamey Carroll, American baseball player
- 1974 – Radek Černý, Czech international footballer, goalkeeper
- 1974 – Ruby Dhalla, Canadian chiropractor and politician
- 1974 – Julia Butterfly Hill, American environmentalist and author
- 1974 – Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russian tennis player
- 1974 – Jillian Michaels, American fitness trainer and author
- 1975 – Gary Neville, English footballer and coach
- 1976 – Leilani Munter, American race car driver and environmentalist
- 1976 – Chanda Rubin, American tennis player
- 1976 – Bernadette Sembrano, Filipino journalist
- 1978 – Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer
- 1979 – Tinu Yohannan, Indian cricketer
- 1980 – Aivar Anniste, Estonian footballer
- 1980 – Nik Antropov, Kazakhstani-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Regina Spektor, Russian-American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1981 – Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player
- 1981 – Alex Ríos, American baseball player
- 1981 – Ivan Sproule, Northern Irish footballer
- 1981 – Larry Sweeney, American wrestler and manager (d. 2011)
- 1982 – Juelz Santana, American rapper and actor
- 1982 – Christian Tiffert, German footballer
- 1983 – Jermaine Jenas, English international footballer, midfielder, pundit
- 1984 – Carlos Kameni, Cameroonian footballer
- 1985 – Anton Ferdinand, English footballer
- 1985 – Lee Boyd Malvo, Jamaican-American murderer
- 1985 – Jos van Emden, Dutch cyclist
- 1986 – Robert DeLong, American singer-songwriter
- 1986 – Marc Torrejón, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Cristian Tănase, Romanian footballer
- 1988 – Changmin, South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
- 1990 – Didi Gregorius, Dutch baseball player
- 1990 – Cody Hodgson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1991 – Sebastian Neumann, German footballer
- 1991 – Henry Surtees, English race car driver (d. 2009)
- 1994 – Jake Trbojevic, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – J-Hope, South Korean rapper, dancer, singer-songwriter
Deaths on February 18
- 675 – Colmán, bishop of Lindisfarne
- 814 – Angilbert, Frankish monk and diplomat (b. 760)
- 901 – Thābit ibn Qurra, Arab astronomer and physician (b. 826)
- 999 – Gregory V, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 972)
- 1139 – Yaropolk II, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1082)
- 1218 – Berthold V, duke of Zähringen (b. 1160)
- 1225 – Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, Norman nobleman
- 1294 – Kublai Khan, Mongol emperor (b. 1215)
- 1379 – Albert II, duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1318)
- 1397 – Enguerrand VII, French nobleman (b. 1340)
- 1405 – Timur, Turco-Mongol ruler (b. 1336)
- 1455 – Fra Angelico, Italian priest and painter (b. 1395)
- 1478 – George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, English nobleman (b. 1449)
- 1502 – Hedwig Jagiellon, duchess of Bavaria (b. 1457)
- 1535 – Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German magician, astrologer, and theologian (b. 1486)
- 1546 – Martin Luther, German priest and theologian, leader of the Protestant Reformation (b. 1483)
- 1564 – Michelangelo, Italian sculptor and painter (b. 1475)
- 1654 – Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, French author (b. 1594)
- 1658 – John Villiers, 1st Viscount Purbeck, English courtier (b. c. 1591)
- 1683 – Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Dutch painter (b. 1620)
- 1695 – William Phips, governor of Massachusetts (b. 1650)
- 1712 – Louis, Dauphin of France, (b. 1682)
- 1743 – Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, Italian noble (b. 1667)
- 1748 – Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1677)
- 1772 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician (b. 1712)
- 1778 – Joseph Marie Terray, French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1715)
- 1780 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (b. 1714)
- 1788 – John Whitehurst, English geologist and clockmaker (b. 1713)
- 1803 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet and educator (b. 1719)
- 1851 – Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician and academic (b. 1804)
- 1873 – Vasil Levski, Bulgarian activist, founded the Internal Revolutionary Organization (b. 1837)
- 1880 – Nikolay Zinin, Russian organic chemist (b. 1812)
- 1893 – Serranus Clinton Hastings, American lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Justice of California (b. 1814)
- 1902 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (b. 1812)
- 1906 – John Batterson Stetson, American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company (b. 1830)
- 1910 – Lucy Stanton, American activist (b. 1831)
- 1911 – Billy Murdoch, Australian cricketer (b. 1854)
- 1915 – Frank James, American soldier and criminal (b. 1843)
- 1923 – Alois Rašín, Czech economist and politician (b. 1867)
- 1931 – Milan Šufflay, Croatian historian, author, and politician (b. 1879)
- 1931 – Louis Wolheim, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1880)
- 1933 – James J. Corbett, American boxer and actor (b. 1866)
- 1938 – David King Udall, American missionary and politician (b. 1851)
- 1942 – Albert Payson Terhune, American journalist and author (b. 1872)
- 1945 – Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Russian general (b. 1906)
- 1956 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer (b. 1860)
- 1957 – Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan rebel leader (b. 1920)
- 1957 – Henry Norris Russell, American astronomer, astrophysicist, and academic (b. 1877)
- 1960 – Gertrude Vanderbilt, American stage actress (b. c. 1885)
- 1964 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman, founded Bombardier Inc. (b. 1907)
- 1966 – Robert Rossen, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 1967 – J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (b. 1904)
- 1969 – Dragiša Cvetković, Serbian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1893)
- 1973 – Frank Costello, Italian-American gangster (b. 1891)
- 1976 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
- 1977 – Andy Devine, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1978 – Maggie McNamara, American actress (b. 1928)
- 1981 – Jack Northrop, American engineer and businessman, founded the Northrop Corporation (b. 1895)
- 1982 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author (b. 1895)
- 1989 – Mildred Burke, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1915)
- 1990 – Richard de Zoysa, Sri Lankan journalist (b. 1958)
- 1993 – Jacqueline Hill, English actress (b. 1929)
- 1995 – Eddie Gilbert, American wrestler (b. 1961)
- 1995 – Bob Stinson, American guitarist (b. 1959)
- 1997 – Emily Hahn, American journalist and author (b. 1905)
- 1998 – Harry Caray, American sportscaster (b. 1914)
- 2001 – Balthus, Polish-Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1908)
- 2001 – Dale Earnhardt, American stock car racer and team owner (b. 1951)
- 2001 – Eddie Mathews, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
- 2003 – Isser Harel, Belarusian-Israeli intelligence officer (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer and guitarist (b. 1948)
- 2008 – Alain Robbe-Grillet, French director, screenwriter, and novelist (b. 1922)
- 2009 – Tayeb Salih, Sudanese journalist and author (b. 1929)
- 2009 – Miika Tenkula, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1974)
- 2010 – John Babcock, Canadian soldier (b. 1900)
- 2012 – George Brizan, Grenadian politician, 9th Prime Minister of Grenada (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Elizabeth Connell, South African-English soprano (b. 1946)
- 2013 – Kevin Ayers, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Mavis Gallant, Canadian-French author and playwright (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Kristof Goddaert, Belgian cyclist (b. 1986)
- 2014 – Nikhil Baran Sengupta, Indian art director and production designer (b. 1943)
- 2014 – Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (b. 1914)
- 2015 – Cass Ballenger, American lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Jerome Kersey, American basketball player and coach (b. 1962)
- 2016 – Abdul Rashid Khan, Indian singer-songwriter (b. 1908)
- 2016 – Pantelis Pantelidis, Greek singer (b. 1983)
- 2017 – Ivan Koloff, Canadian wrestler (b. 1942)
- 2017 – Norma McCorvey, American abortion rights activist; Plaintiff, Roe v. Wade (b. 1947)
- 2017 – Clyde Stubblefield, American drummer (b. 1943)
- 2019 – Alessandro Mendini, Italian designer and architect (b.1931)
Holidays and observances on February 18
- Christian feast day:
- Bernadette Soubirous (France)
- Colmán of Lindisfarne
- Flavian of Constantinople
- Geltrude Comensoli
- Simeon of Jerusalem (Western Christianity)
- February 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Dialect Day (Amami Islands, Japan)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Gambia from the United Kingdom in 1965.
- Kurdish Students Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- National Democracy Day, celebrates the 1951 overthrow of the Rana dynasty (Nepal)
- Wife’s Day (Konudagur) (Iceland)