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  • July 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1364 – Troops of the Republic of Pisa and the Republic of Florence clash in the Battle of Cascina.
    • 1540 – Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason. Henry marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day.
    • 1571 – La Laguna encomienda, known today as the Laguna province in the Philippines is founded by the Spaniards as one of the oldest encomiendas (provinces) in the country.
    • 1635 – In the Eighty Years’ War the Spanish capture the strategic Dutch fortress of Schenkenschans.
    • 1656 – Second Northern War: Battle of Warsaw begins.
    • 1778 – Constitution of the province of Cantabria ratified at the Assembly Hall in Bárcena la Puente, Reocín, Spain.
    • 1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just are executed by guillotine in Paris, France.
    • 1808 – Mahmud II became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
    • 1809 – Peninsular War: Battle of Talavera: Sir Arthur Wellesley’s British, Portuguese and Spanish army defeats a French force led by Joseph Bonaparte.
    • 1821 – José de San Martín declares the independence of Peru from Spain.
    • 1854 – USS Constellation (1854), the last all-sail warship built by the United States Navy, is commissioned.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ezra Church: Confederate troops make a third unsuccessful attempt to drive Union forces from Atlanta, Georgia.
    • 1866 – At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream becomes the first and youngest female artist to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue (of Abraham Lincoln).
    • 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is certified, establishing African American citizenship and guaranteeing due process of law.
    • 1896 – The city of Miami, Florida is incorporated.
    • 1914 – In the culmination of the July Crisis, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, igniting World War I.
    • 1915 – The United States begins a 19-year occupation of Haiti.
    • 1917 – The Silent Parade took place in New York City, in protest to murders, lynchings, and other violence directed towards African Americans.
    • 1932 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover orders the United States Army to forcibly evict the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans gathered in Washington, D.C.
    • 1935 – First flight of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
    • 1938 – Hawaii Clipper disappears between Guam and Manila as the first loss of an airliner in trans-Pacific China Clipper service.
    • 1939 – The Sutton Hoo helmet is discovered.
    • 1942 – World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin issues Order No. 227. In response to alarming German advances, all those who retreat or otherwise leave their positions without orders to do so are to be tried in a military court, with punishment ranging from duty in a shtrafbat battalion, imprisonment in a Gulag, or execution.
    • 1943 – World War II: Operation Gomorrah: The Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg, Germany causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.
    • 1945 – A U.S. Army B-25 bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building killing 14 and injuring 26.
    • 1957 – Heavy rain and a mudslide in Isahaya, western Kyushu, Japan, kills 992.
    • 1960 – The German Volkswagen Act came into force.
    • 1965 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
    • 1973 – Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: Nearly 600,000 people attend a rock festival at the Watkins Glen International Raceway.
    • 1974 – Spetsgruppa A, Russia’s elite special force, was formed.
    • 1976 – The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 moment magnitude flattens Tangshan in the People’s Republic of China, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851.
    • 1984 – The Summer Olympics officially known as the games of the XXIII were opened in Los Angeles.
    • 1996 – The remains of a prehistoric man are discovered near Kennewick, Washington. Such remains will be known as the Kennewick Man.
    • 2001 – Australian Ian Thorpe becomes the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single World Championship.
    • 2002 – Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, are rescued after 77 hours underground.
    • 2002 – Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 9560 crashes after takeoff from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, killing 14 of the 16 people on board.
    • 2005 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army calls an end to its thirty-year-long armed campaign in Northern Ireland.
    • 2010 – Airblue Flight 202 crashes into the Margalla Hills north of Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 152 people aboard. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Pakistan history and the first involving an Airbus A321.
    • 2011 – While flying from Seoul, South Korea to Shanghai, China, Asiana Airlines Flight 991 develops an in-flight fire in the cargo hold. The Boeing 747-400F freighter attempts to divert to Jeju International Airport, but crashes into the sea South-West of Jeju island, killing both crew members on board.
    • 2017 – Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for lifetime by Supreme Court of Pakistan founding him guilty of corruption charges.
    • 2018 – Australian Wendy Tuck becomes the first woman skipper to win the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

    Births on July 28

    • 1347 – Margaret of Durazzo, Queen of Naples and Hungary (d. 1412)
    • 1516 – William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, German nobleman (d. 1592)
    • 1609 – Judith Leyster, Dutch painter (d. 1660)
    • 1635 – Robert Hooke, English physicist and chemist (d. 1703)
    • 1645 – Marguerite Louise d’Orléans, French princess (d. 1721)
    • 1659 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (d. 1715)
    • 1746 – Thomas Heyward, Jr., American judge and politician (d. 1809)
    • 1750 – Fabre d’Églantine, French actor, playwright, and politician (d. 1794)
    • 1783 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, German army officer and writer (d. 1860)
    • 1796 – Ignaz Bösendorfer, Austrian businessman, founded the Bösendorfer Company (d. 1859)
    • 1804 – Ludwig Feuerbach, German anthropologist and philosopher (d. 1872)
    • 1815 – Stefan Dunjov, Bulgarian colonel (d. 1889)
    • 1844 – Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (d. 1889)
    • 1857 – Ballington Booth, English-American activist, co-founded Volunteers of America (d. 1940)
    • 1860 – Elias M. Ammons, American businessman and politician, 19th Governor of Colorado (d. 1925)
    • 1860 – Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (d. 1922)
    • 1863 – Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski, Russian general (d. 1919)
    • 1866 – Beatrix Potter, English children’s book writer and illustrator (d. 1943)
    • 1866 – Albertson Van Zo Post, American fencer (d. 1938)
    • 1867 – Charles Dillon Perrine, American-Argentinian astronomer (d. 1951)
    • 1872 – Albert Sarraut, French journalist and politician, 106th Prime Minister of France (d. 1962)
    • 1874 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (d. 1945)
    • 1879 – Lucy Burns, American activist, co-founded the National Woman’s Party (d. 1966)
    • 1879 – Stefan Filipkiewicz, Polish painter (d. 1944)
    • 1887 – Marcel Duchamp, French-American painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
    • 1887 – Willard Price, Canadian-American journalist and author (d. 1983)
    • 1893 – Rued Langgaard, Danish organist and composer (d. 1952)
    • 1896 – Barbara La Marr, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1926)
    • 1898 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (d. 1970)
    • 1901 – Freddie Fitzsimmons, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1979)
    • 1901 – Rudy Vallée, American actor, singer, and saxophonist (d. 1986)
    • 1902 – Albert Namatjira, Australian painter (d. 1959)
    • 1902 – Sir Karl Popper, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
    • 1907 – Earl Tupper, American inventor and businessman, founded Tupperware Brands (d. 1983)
    • 1909 – Aenne Burda, German publisher (d. 2005)
    • 1909 – Malcolm Lowry, English novelist and poet (d. 1957)
    • 1914 – Carmen Dragon, American conductor and composer (d. 1984)
    • 1915 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
    • 1915 – Dick Sprang, American illustrator (d. 2000)
    • 1915 – Frankie Yankovic, American polka musician (d. 1998)
    • 1916 – David Brown, American journalist and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1920 – Andrew V. McLaglen, English-American director and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Jacques Piccard, Belgian-Swiss oceanographer and engineer (d. 2008)
    • 1923 – Ray Ellis, American conductor and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1924 – Luigi Musso, Italian race car driver (d. 1958)
    • 1924 – C. T. Vivian, American minister, author, and activist
    • 1925 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Charlie Biddle, American-Canadian bassist (d. 2003)
    • 1927 – John Ashbery, American poet (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist and socialite, 37th First Lady of the United States (d. 1994)
    • 1929 – Shirley Ann Grau, American novelist and short story writer
    • 1930 – Firoza Begum, Bangladeshi singer (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Junior Kimbrough, American singer and guitarist (d. 1998)
    • 1930 – Jean Roba, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 2006)
    • 1930 – Ramsey Muir Withers, Canadian general (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Alan Brownjohn, English poet and author
    • 1931 – Johnny Martin, Australian cricketer (d. 1992)
    • 1932 – Natalie Babbitt, American author and illustrator (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, Brazilian colonel (d. 2015)
    • 1933 – Charlie Hodge, Canadian ice hockey player and scout (d. 2016)
    • 1934 – Jacques d’Amboise, American dancer and choreographer
    • 1935 – Neil McKendrick, English historian and academic
    • 1936 – Russ Jackson, Canadian football player and coach
    • 1936 – Garfield Sobers, Barbadian cricketer
    • 1937 – Francis Veber, French director and screenwriter
    • 1938 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1938 – Arsen Dedić, Croatian singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Alberto Fujimori, Peruvian engineer, academic, and politician, 90th President of Peru
    • 1938 – Chuan Leekpai, Thai lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Thailand
    • 1939 – Richard Johns, English air marshal
    • 1940 – Philip Proctor, American voice actor and screenwriter
    • 1941 – Riccardo Muti, Italian conductor and educator
    • 1941 – Susan Roces, Filipino actress and producer
    • 1942 – Marty Brennaman, American sportscaster
    • 1942 – Tonia Marketaki, Greek director and screenwriter (d. 1994)
    • 1943 – Mike Bloomfield, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1981)
    • 1943 – Bill Bradley, American basketball player and politician
    • 1943 – Richard Wright, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2008)
    • 1945 – Jim Davis, American cartoonist, created Garfield
    • 1946 – Jonathan Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1946 – Linda Kelsey, American actress
    • 1946 – Fahmida Riaz, Pakistani poet and activist
    • 1947 – Peter Cosgrove, Australian general and politician, 26th Governor General of Australia
    • 1947 – Sally Struthers, American actress
    • 1948 – Gerald Casale, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director
    • 1948 – Eiichi Ohtaki, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1949 – Vida Blue, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1949 – Peter Doyle, Australian singer and guitarist (d. 2001)
    • 1949 – Simon Kirke, English drummer
    • 1949 – Steve Peregrin Took, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1980)
    • 1949 – Randall Wallace, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1950 – Shahyar Ghanbari, Iranian singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Tapley Seaton, Kittitian politician, 4th Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis
    • 1951 – Santiago Calatrava, Spanish architect and engineer, designed the Athens Olympic Sports Complex
    • 1951 – Doug Collins, American basketball player and coach
    • 1951 – Gregg Giuffria, American rock musician and businessman
    • 1951 – Ray Kennedy, English footballer
    • 1952 – Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand
    • 1954 – Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan colonel and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 2013)
    • 1954 – Gerd Faltings, German mathematician and academic
    • 1954 – Steve Morse, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Mikey Sheehy, Irish footballer
    • 1955 – Nikolay Zimyatov, Russian skier
    • 1956 – John Feinstein, American journalist and author
    • 1956 – Robert Swan, English explorer
    • 1958 – Terry Fox, Canadian runner and activist (d. 1981)
    • 1958 – Michael Hitchcock, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1959 – William T. Vollmann, American novelist, short story writer and journalist
    • 1960 – Luiz Fernando Carvalho, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Jon J. Muth, American author and illustrator
    • 1960 – Yōichi Takahashi, Japanese illustrator
    • 1961 – Yannick Dalmas, French race car driver
    • 1962 – Rachel Sweet, American singer, television writer, and actress
    • 1964 – Lori Loughlin, American actress
    • 1965 – Priscilla Chan, Hong Kong singer
    • 1966 – Sossina M. Haile, Ethiopian American chemist
    • 1966 – Miguel Ángel Nadal, Spanish footballer
    • 1966 – Jimmy Pardo, American stand-up comedian, actor, and host
    • 1966 – Shikao Suga, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1967 – Taka Hirose, Japanese bass player
    • 1969 – Garth Snow, American ice hockey player and manager
    • 1969 – Alexis Arquette, American actress (d. 2016)
    • 1970 – Michael Amott, Swedish guitarist and songwriter
    • 1970 – Isabelle Brasseur, Canadian figure skater
    • 1970 – Paul Strang, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
    • 1971 – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Iraqi leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
    • 1971 – Ludmilla Lacueva Canut, Andorran writer
    • 1971 – Stephen Lynch, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1971 – Annie Perreault, Canadian speed skater
    • 1972 – Robert Chapman, English cricketer
    • 1973 – Marc Dupré, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1973 – Steve Staios, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1974 – Alexis Tsipras, Greek engineer and politician, 186th Prime Minister of Greece
    • 1974 – Elizabeth Berkley, American actress
    • 1975 – Leonor Watling, Spanish actress
    • 1976 – Jacoby Shaddix, American singer-songwriter
    • 1977 – Aki Berg, Finnish-Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Manu Ginóbili, Argentinian basketball player
    • 1977 – Miyabiyama Tetsushi, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1978 – Kārlis Vērdiņš, Latvian poet
    • 1978 – Hitomi Yaida, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Henrik Hansen, Danish footballer
    • 1979 – Birgitta Haukdal, Icelandic singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1979 – Lee Min-woo, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1979 – Alena Popchanka, Belarusian-French swimmer and coach
    • 1980 – Stephen Christian, American singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Anthony Weaver, American football player
    • 1981 – Michael Carrick, English footballer
    • 1983 – Sam Dastyari, Iranian-Australian politician
    • 1983 – Cody Hay, Canadian figure skater
    • 1984 – Zach Parise, American ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Mathieu Debuchy, French footballer
    • 1985 – Dustin Milligan, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1985 – Darren Murphy, Irish footballer
    • 1986 – Alexandra Chando, American actress
    • 1986 – Lauri Korpikoski, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Dulquer Salmaan, Indian actor
    • 1987 – Yasser Corona, Mexican footballer
    • 1987 – Yevhen Khacheridi, Ukrainian-Greek footballer
    • 1987 – Pedro, Spanish footballer
    • 1988 – Greg Hardy, American football player
    • 1989 – Felipe Kitadai, Brazilian martial artist
    • 1990 – Soulja Boy, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1990 – Simone Pizzuti, Italian footballer
    • 1993 – Harry Kane, English footballer
    • 1993 – Moses Odubajo, English footballer
    • 1993 – Cher Lloyd, English singer-songwriter
    • 1995 – Josh Addo-Carr, Australian rugby league player

    Deaths on July 28

    • 450 – Theodosius II, Roman emperor (b. 401)
    • 938 – Thankmar, half-brother of Otto I (during Siege of Eresburg) (b. c. 908)
    • 942 – Shi Jingtang, emperor of Later Jin (b. 892)
    • 1057 – Victor II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1018)
    • 1128 – William Clito, English son of Sybilla of Conversano (b. 1102)
    • 1230 – Leopold VI, Duke of Austria (b. 1176)
    • 1271 – Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster (b. 1220)
    • 1285 – Keran, Queen of Armenia
    • 1333 – Guy VIII of Viennois, Dauphin of Vienne (b. 1309)
    • 1345 – Sancia of Majorca, queen regent of Naples (b. c. 1285)
    • 1458 – John II, king of Cyprus and Armenia
    • 1488 – Edward Woodville, Lord Scales (at the Battle of St. Aubin-du-Cormier)
    • 1508 – Robert Blackadder, bishop of Glasgow
    • 1527 – Rodrigo de Bastidas, Spanish explorer, founded the city of Santa Marta (b. 1460)
    • 1540 – Thomas Cromwell, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1495)
    • 1585 – Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (b. 1527)
    • 1631 – Guillén de Castro y Bellvis, Spanish playwright (b. 1569)
    • 1655 – Cyrano de Bergerac, French poet and playwright (b. 1619)
    • 1667 – Abraham Cowley, English poet and author (b. 1618)
    • 1675 – Bulstrode Whitelocke, English lawyer and politician (b. 1605)
    • 1685 – Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, English politician and diplomat, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1618)
    • 1718 – Étienne Baluze, French scholar and academic (b. 1630)
    • 1741 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1678)
    • 1750 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German organist and composer (b. 1685)
    • 1762 – George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset (b. 1691)
    • 1794 – Maximilien Robespierre, French lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the Committee of Public Safety (b. 1758)
    • 1794 – Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, French soldier and politician (b. 1767)
    • 1808 – Selim III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1761)
    • 1809 – Richard Beckett, English cricketer and captain (b.1772)
    • 1818 – Gaspard Monge, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1746)
    • 1835 – Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise, French general and politician, 15th Prime Minister of France (b. 1768)
    • 1836 – Nathan Mayer Rothschild, German-English banker and financier (b. 1777)
    • 1842 – Clemens Brentano, German author and poet (b. 1778)
    • 1844 – Joseph Bonaparte, French diplomat and brother of Napoleon (b. 1768)
    • 1849 – Charles Albert of Sardinia (b. 1798)
    • 1869 – Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Czech anatomist and physiologist (b. 1787)
    • 1878 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician (b. 1820)
    • 1885 – Moses Montefiore, British philanthropist, sheriff and banker (b. 1784)
    • 1895 – Edward Beecher, American minister and theologian (b. 1803)
    • 1930 – John DeWitt, American hammer thrower (b. 1881)
    • 1930 – Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish ophthalmologist and optician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
    • 1933 – Nishinoumi Kajirō III, Japanese sumo wrestler, 30th yokozuna (b. 1890)
    • 1934 – Marie Dressler, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1868)
    • 1934 – Louis Tancred, South African cricketer and pilot (b. 1876)
    • 1935 – Meletius IV of Constantinople (b. 1871)
    • 1942 – Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic (b. 1853)
    • 1946 – Saint Alphonsa, first woman of Indian origin to be Canonization as a saint by the Catholic Church (b. 1910)
    • 1957 – Edith Abbott, American economist, social worker, and educator (b. 1876)
    • 1957 – Isaac Heinemann, German-Israeli scholar and academic (b. 1876)
    • 1965 – Edogawa Ranpo, Japanese author and critic (b. 1894)
    • 1965 – Attallah Suheimat, Jordanian politician (b. 1875)
    • 1967 – Karl W. Richter, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1942)
    • 1968 – Otto Hahn, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
    • 1969 – Ramón Grau, Cuban physician and politician, 6th President of Cuba (b. 1882)
    • 1969 – Frank Loesser, American composer (b. 1910)
    • 1971 – Lawrence Moore Cosgrave, Canadian colonel and diplomat (b. 1890)
    • 1971 – Myril Hoag, American baseball player (b. 1908)
    • 1971 – Charles E. Pont, French-American minister and painter (b. 1898)
    • 1972 – Helen Traubel, American soprano and actress (b. 1903)
    • 1979 – Don Miller, American football player and coach (b. 1902)
    • 1979 – Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader (b. 1898)
    • 1980 – Rose Rand, Austrian-born American logician and philosopher (b. 1903)
    • 1981 – Stanley Rother, American priest and missionary (b. 1935)
    • 1982 – Keith Green, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1953)
    • 1987 – Jack Renshaw, Australian politician, 31st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1909)
    • 1990 – Jill Esmond, English actress (b. 1908)
    • 1992 – Sulev Nõmmik, Estonian actor and director (b. 1931)
    • 1993 – Stanley Woods, Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1903)
    • 1996 – Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist and academic (b. 1908)
    • 1997 – Rosalie Crutchley, English actress (b. 1920)
    • 1997 – Seni Pramoj, Thai lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1905)
    • 1998 – Zbigniew Herbert, Polish poet and author (b. 1924)
    • 1998 – Lenny McLean, English boxer, actor, and author (b. 1949)
    • 1998 – Consalvo Sanesi, Italian race car driver (b. 1911)
    • 1999 – Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
    • 2000 – Abraham Pais, Dutch-American physicist and historian (b. 1918)
    • 2001 – Ahmed Sofa, Bangladeshi poet, author, and critic (b. 1943)
    • 2002 – Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
    • 2003 – Valerie Goulding, Irish activist and politician (b. 1918)
    • 2004 – Francis Crick, English biologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
    • 2004 – Tiziano Terzani, Italian journalist and author (b. 1938)
    • 2006 – David Gemmell, English author (b. 1948)
    • 2007 – Karl Gotch, Belgian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – Jim LeRoy, American soldier and pilot (b. 1961)
    • 2009 – Jim Johnson, American football player and coach (b. 1941)
    • 2011 – Abdul Fatah Younis, Libyan general (b. 1944)
    • 2012 – Colin Horsley, New Zealand-English pianist and educator (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Sepp Mayerl, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – William F. Milliken Jr., American race car driver and engineer (b. 1911)
    • 2013 – Mustafa Adrisi, Ugandan general and politician, 3rd Vice President of Uganda (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Eileen Brennan, American actress and singer (b. 1932)
    • 2013. – Rita Reys, Dutch jazz singer (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – William Scranton, American captain and politician, 13th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Ersilio Tonini, Italian cardinal (b. 1914)
    • 2014 – Margot Adler, American journalist and author (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Alex Forbes, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Alakbar Mammadov, Azerbaijani footballer and manager (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Theodore Van Kirk, American soldier, pilot, and navigator (b. 1921)
    • 2015 – Jan Kulczyk, Polish businessman (b. 1950)
    • 2015 – Edward Natapei, Vanuatuan politician, 6th Prime Minister of Vanuatu (b. 1954)
    • 2015 – Clive Rice, South African cricketer and coach (b. 1949)
    • 2016 – Émile Derlin Zinsou, Beninese politician (b. 1918)
    • 2016 – Mahasweta Devi, Indian Bengali fiction writer and socio-political activist (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Wanny van Gils, Dutch footballer (b. 1959)

    Holidays and observances on July 28

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alphonsa Muttathupadathu (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)
      • Botvid
      • Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel, Henry Purcell (Episcopal Church commemoration)
      • Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Schütz, George Frederick Handel (Lutheran commemoration)
      • Nazarius and Celsus
      • Pedro Poveda Castroverde
      • Pope Innocent I
      • Pope Victor I
      • Samson of Dol
      • July 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval (Canada)
    • Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, while August 3 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before the first Monday in August (Bermuda)
    • Fiestas Patrias, celebrates the independence of Peru from Spain by General José de San Martín in 1821.
    • Liberation Day (San Marino)
    • Ólavsøka Eve (Faroe Islands)
    • World Hepatitis Day

  • July 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    This day is the midpoint of a common year because there are 182 days before and 182 days after it in common years, and 183 before and 182 after in leap years. The exact time of the middle of the year is at noon. In countries that use summertime the actual exact time of the midpoint in a common year is at 1:00 p.m for locations in the northern hemisphere or 11:00 a.m for locations in the southern hemisphere; this is when 182 days and 12 hours have elapsed and there are 182 days and 12 hours remaining. In a leap year in those countries, the middle of the year is at midnight. In countries that use summer time, the midpoint occurs at 1:00 a.m. on July 2, or 11:00 p.m. on July 1 in the southern hemisphere. This is due to summertime having advanced the time by one hour. It falls on the same day of the week as New Year’s Day in common years.

    • 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome.
    • 626 – Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
    • 706 – In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang inters the bodies of relatives in the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang outside Chang’an.
    • 866 – Battle of Brissarthe: The Franks led by Robert the Strong are defeated by a joint Breton-Viking army.
    • 936 – King Henry the Fowler dies in his royal palace in Memleben. He is succeeded by his son Otto I, who becomes the ruler of East Francia.
    • 963 – The Byzantine army proclaims Nikephoros II Phokas Emperor of the Romans on the plains outside Cappadocian Caesarea.
    • 1298 – The Battle of Göllheim is fought between Albert I of Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg.
    • 1494 – The Treaty of Tordesillas is ratified by Spain.
    • 1504 – Bogdan III the One-Eyed becomes Voivode of Moldavia.
    • 1555 – Ottoman Admiral Turgut Reis sacks the Italian city of Paola.
    • 1561 – Menas, emperor of Ethiopia, defeats a revolt in Emfraz.
    • 1582 – Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide.
    • 1613 – The first English expedition (from Virginia) against Acadia led by Samuel Argall takes place.
    • 1644 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor.
    • 1645 – Battle of Alford: Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
    • 1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine.
    • 1776 – American Revolution: The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not published until July 4.
    • 1816 – The French frigate Méduse strikes the Bank of Arguin and 151 people on board have to be evacuated on an improvised raft, a case immortalised by Géricault’s painting The Raft of the Medusa.
    • 1822 – Thirty-five slaves, including Denmark Vesey, are hanged in South Carolina after being accused of organizing a slave rebellion.
    • 1823 – Bahia Independence Day: The end of Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia.
    • 1839 – Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 kidnapped Africans led by Joseph Cinqué mutiny and take over the slave ship Amistad.
    • 1853 – The Russian Army crosses the Pruth river into the Danubian Principalities, Moldavia and Wallachia—providing the spark that will set off the Crimean War.
    • 1871 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome after having conquered it from the Papal States.
    • 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James A. Garfield (who will die of complications from his wounds on September 19).
    • 1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act.
    • 1897 – British-Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London.
    • 1900 – The first Zeppelin flight takes place on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany.
    • 1900 – Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia receives its première performance in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus.
    • 1921 – World War I: U.S. President Warren G. Harding signs the Knox–Porter Resolution formally ending the war between the United States and Germany.
    • 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives ends with the death of Ernst Röhm.
    • 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
    • 1940 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta.
    • 1940 – The SS Arandora Star is sunk by U-47 in the North Atlantic with the loss of over 800 lives, mostly civilians.
    • 1962 – The first Walmart store, then known as Wal-Mart, opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
    • 1964 – Civil rights movement: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places.
    • 1966 – France conducts its first nuclear weapon test in the Pacific, on Moruroa Atoll.
    • 1976 – End of South Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam annexes the former South Vietnam to form the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
    • 1986 – Rodrigo Rojas and Carmen Gloria Quintana are burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile.
    • 1990 – In the 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy, 1,400 Muslim pilgrims are suffocated to death and trampled upon in a pedestrian tunnel leading to the holy city of Mecca.
    • 1994 – USAir Flight 1016 crashes near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, killing 37 of the 57 people on board.
    • 1997 – The Bank of Thailand floats the baht, triggering the Asian financial crisis.
    • 2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of México from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional, after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional.
    • 2001 – The AbioCor self-contained artificial heart is first implanted.
    • 2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.
    • 2005 – The Live 8 benefit concerts takes place in the G8 states and in South Africa. More than 1,000 musicians perform and are broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.
    • 2008 – Colombian conflict: Íngrid Betancourt, a member of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, is released from captivity after being held for six and a half years by FARC.
    • 2010 – The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people.
    • 2013 – The International Astronomical Union names Pluto’s fourth and fifth moons, Kerberos and Styx.
    • 2013 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh, Indonesia, killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others.

    Births on July 2

    • 419 – Valentinian III, Roman emperor (d. 455)
    • 1363 – Maria, Queen of Sicily (d. 1401)
    • 1478 – Louis V, Elector Palatine (d. 1544)
    • 1486 – Jacopo Sansovino, Italian sculptor and architect (d. 1570)
    • 1489 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop, theologian, and saint (d. 1556)
    • 1492 – Elizabeth Tudor, English daughter of Henry VII of England (d. 1495)
    • 1500 – Federico Cesi (cardinal), Italian cardinal (d. 1565)
    • 1575 – Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby, English noblewoman and head of state of the Isle of Man (d. 1627)
    • 1597 – Theodoor Rombouts, Flemish painter (d. 1637)
    • 1647 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1730)
    • 1648 – Arp Schnitger, German organ builder (d. 1719)
    • 1665 – Samuel Penhallow, English-American soldier and historian (d. 1726)
    • 1667 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal and art collector (d. 1740)
    • 1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (d. 1787)
    • 1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet and author (d. 1803)
    • 1797 – Francisco Javier Echeverría, Mexican businessman and politician. President of Mexico (1841) (d. 1852)
    • 1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French pianist and composer (d. 1900)
    • 1820 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician, 5th Governor of the Oregon Territory (d. 1878)
    • 1820 – Juan N. Méndez, Mexican general and interim president, 1876-1877 (d. 1894)
    • 1821 – Charles Tupper, Canadian physician and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
    • 1825 – Émile Ollivier, French statesman (d. 1913)
    • 1834 – Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, Dutch economist and historian (d. 1917)
    • 1849 – Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (d. 1919)
    • 1862 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
    • 1865 – Lily Braun, German author and publicist (d. 1916)
    • 1869 – Liane de Pougy, French-Swiss dancer and author (d. 1950)
    • 1876 – Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist and academic (d. 1933)
    • 1876 – Wilhelm Cuno, German businessman and politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933)
    • 1877 – Hermann Hesse, German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
    • 1877 – Rinaldo Cuneo, American artist (“the painter of San Francisco”) (d. 1939)
    • 1881 – Royal Hurlburt Weller, American lawyer and politician (d. 1929)
    • 1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist and author (d. 1931)
    • 1893 – Ralph Hancock, Welsh gardener and author (d. 1950)
    • 1900 – Tyrone Guthrie, English actor and director (d. 1971)
    • 1900 – Sophie Harris, English costume and scenic designer for theatre and opera (d. 1966)
    • 1902 – K. Kanapathypillai, Sri Lankan author and academic (d. 1968)
    • 1902 – Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, Dutch-French pianist (d. 1987)
    • 1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, English cricketer and politician, 66th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
    • 1903 – Olav V of Norway (d. 1991)
    • 1904 – René Lacoste, French tennis player and businessman, created the polo shirt (d. 1996)
    • 1906 – Hans Bethe, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
    • 1906 – Károly Kárpáti, Hungarian Jewish wrestler (d. 1996)
    • 1906 – Séra Martin, French middle-distance runner (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – Thurgood Marshall, American lawyer and jurist, 32nd Solicitor General of the United States (d. 1993)
    • 1911 – Reg Parnell, English race car driver and manager (d. 1964)
    • 1913 – Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, English historian and academic (d. 1999)
    • 1914 – Frederick Fennell, American conductor and educator (d. 2004)
    • 1914 – Ethelreda Leopold, American actress (d. 1988)
    • 1914 – Mário Schenberg, Brazilian physicist and engineer (d. 1990)
    • 1914 – Erich Topp, German admiral (d. 2005)
    • 1915 – Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, British peer, politician and soldier (d. 2014)
    • 1916 – Ken Curtis, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
    • 1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German colonel and pilot (d. 1982)
    • 1916 – Reino Kangasmäki, Finnish wrestler (d. 2010)
    • 1916 – Zélia Gattai, Brazilian author and photographer (d. 2008)
    • 1917 – Leonard J. Arrington, American author and academic, founded the Mormon History Association (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Athos Bulcão, Brazilian painter and sculptor (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Indumati Bhattacharya, Indian politician
    • 1919 – Jean Craighead George, American author (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – John Kneubuhl, Samoan-American historian, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 1992)
    • 1922 – Pierre Cardin, Italian-French fashion designer
    • 1922 – Paula Valenska, Czech actress
    • 1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American soldier and author (d. 1958)
    • 1923 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
    • 1925 – Medgar Evers, American soldier and activist (d. 1963)
    • 1925 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 1961)
    • 1925 – Marvin Rainwater, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Octavian Paler, Romanian journalist and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1927 – Lee Allen, American saxophone player (d. 1994)
    • 1927 – James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
    • 1927 – Brock Peters, American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1929 – Imelda Marcos, Filipino politician; 10th First Lady of the Philippines
    • 1930 – Carlos Menem, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 50th President of Argentina
    • 1931 – Mohammad Yazdi, Iranian cleric
    • 1932 – Dave Thomas, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Wendy’s (d. 2002)
    • 1933 – Peter Desbarats, Canadian journalist, author, and playwright
    • 1933 – Kenny Wharram, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2017)
    • 1934 – Tom Springfield, English musician
    • 1935 – Gilbert Kalish, American pianist and educator
    • 1936 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general and politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (d. 2012)
    • 1937 – Polly Holliday, American actress
    • 1937 – Richard Petty, American race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1938 – David Owen, English physician and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
    • 1939 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (d. 1976)
    • 1939 – John H. Sununu, American engineer and politician, 14th White House Chief of Staff
    • 1939 – Paul Williams, American singer and choreographer (d. 1973)
    • 1940 – Kenneth Clarke, English politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
    • 1941 – William Guest, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1941 – Wendell Mottley, Trinidadian sprinter, economist, and politician
    • 1942 – John Eekelaar, South African-English lawyer and scholar
    • 1942 – Vicente Fox, Mexican businessman and politician, 35th President of Mexico (2000-2006)
    • 1943 – Ivi Eenmaa, Estonian politician, 36th Mayor of Tallinn
    • 1943 – Larry Lake, American-Canadian trumpet player and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Richard Axel, American neuroscientist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1946 – Ron Silver, American actor, director, and political activist (d. 2009)
    • 1947 – Larry David, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1947 – Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, English politician, Minister for International Security Strategy
    • 1948 – Mutula Kilonzo, Kenyan lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1949 – Greg Brown, American musician
    • 1949 – Robert Paquette, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1950 – Lynne Brindley, English librarian and academic
    • 1950 – Jon Trickett, English politician
    • 1952 – Sylvia Rivera, American transgender rights activist (d. 2002)
    • 1952 – Anatoliy Solomin, Ukrainian race walker and coach
    • 1954 – Chris Huhne, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
    • 1955 – Kim Carr, Australian educator and politician, 31st Australian Minister for Human Services
    • 1956 – Jerry Hall, American model and actress
    • 1957 – Bret Hart, Canadian wrestler
    • 1957 – Jüri Raidla, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice
    • 1957 – Purvis Short, American basketball player
    • 1958 – Pavan Malhotra, Indian actor
    • 1960 – Maria Lourdes Sereno, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 24th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
    • 1961 – Clark Kellogg, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1962 – Neil Williams, English cricketer (d. 2006)
    • 1964 – Jose Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player and mixed martial artist
    • 1964 – Ozzie Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1964 – Joe Magrane, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Alan Tait, English-Scottish rugby player and coach
    • 1965 – Norbert Röttgen, German lawyer and politician
    • 1969 – Tim Rodber, English rugby player
    • 1970 – Derrick Adkins, American hurdler
    • 1970 – Steve Morrow, Northern Irish footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Troy Brown, American football player and actor
    • 1971 – Bryan Redpath, Scottish rugby player and coach
    • 1972 – Darren Shan, English author
    • 1974 – Sean Casey, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1975 – Éric Dazé, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Kristen Michal, Estonian lawyer and politician
    • 1975 – Erik Ohlsson, Swedish singer and guitarist
    • 1975 – Stefan Terblanche, South African rugby player
    • 1976 – Krisztián Lisztes, Hungarian footballer
    • 1976 – Tomáš Vokoun, Czech-American ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Deniz Barış, Turkish footballer
    • 1978 – Jüri Ratas, Estonian politician, 42nd Mayor of Tallinn
    • 1979 – Walter Davis, American triple jumper
    • 1979 – Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of United Airlines Flight 175 (d. 2001)
    • 1979 – Sam Hornish Jr., American race car driver
    • 1979 – Joe Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Nyjer Morgan, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Nathan Ellington, English footballer
    • 1981 – Carlos Rogers, American football player
    • 1983 – Michelle Branch, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1983 – Kyle Hogg, English cricketer
    • 1984 – Thomas Kortegaard, Danish footballer
    • 1984 – Johnny Weir, American figure skater
    • 1985 – Rhett Bomar, American football player
    • 1985 – Chad Henne, American football player
    • 1985 – Ashley Tisdale, American actress, singer, and producer
    • 1986 – Brett Cecil, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Lindsay Lohan, American actress and singer
    • 1987 – Esteban Granero, Spanish footballer
    • 1988 – Lee Chung-yong, South Korean footballer
    • 1989 – Nadezhda Grishaeva, Russian basketball player
    • 1989 – Alex Morgan, American soccer player
    • 1990 – Kayla Harrison, American judoka
    • 1990 – Merritt Mathias, American soccer player
    • 1990 – Morag McLellan, Scottish field hockey player
    • 1990 – Margot Robbie, Australian actress and producer
    • 1990 – Danny Rose, English footballer
    • 1990 – Bill Tupou, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1992 – Madison Chock, American ice dancer
    • 1993 – Vince Staples, American rapper and actor
    • 1994 – Henrik Kristoffersen, Norwegian skier
    • 1995 – Ryan Murphy, American swimmer
    • 1996 – Julia Grabher, Austrian tennis player

    Deaths on July 2

    • 626 – Li Jiancheng, Chinese prince (b. 589)
    • 626 – Li Yuanji, Chinese prince (b. 603)
    • 649 – Li Jing, Chinese general (b. 571)
    • 862 – Swithun, English bishop and saint (b. 789)
    • 866 – Robert the Strong, Frankish nobleman
    • 936 – Henry the Fowler, German king (b. 876)
    • 1215 – Eisai, Japanese Buddhist priest (b. 1141)
    • 1298 – Adolf of Germany (b. 1220)
    • 1504 – Stephen III of Moldavia (b. 1434)
    • 1566 – Nostradamus, French astrologer and author (b. 1503)
    • 1578 – Thomas Doughty, English explorer
    • 1582 – Akechi Mitsuhide, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1528)
    • 1591 – Vincenzo Galilei, Italian lute player and composer (b. 1520)
    • 1619 – Francis II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1547)
    • 1621 – Thomas Harriot, English astronomer, mathematician, and ethnographer (b. 1560)
    • 1656 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-French general (b. 1611)
    • 1674 – Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1614)
    • 1743 – Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1673)
    • 1746 – Thomas Baker, English antiquarian and author (b. 1656)
    • 1778 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher and composer (b. 1712)
    • 1833 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 1st Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (b. 1757)
    • 1843 – Samuel Hahnemann, German physician and academic (b. 1755)
    • 1850 – Robert Peel, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1788)
    • 1857 – Carlo Pisacane, Italian soldier and philosopher (b. 1818)
    • 1903 – Ed Delahanty, American baseball player (b. 1867)
    • 1912 – Tom Richardson, English cricketer (b. 1870)
    • 1914 – Joseph Chamberlain, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1836)
    • 1915 – Porfirio Díaz, Mexican general and politician, 29th President of Mexico (b. 1830)
    • 1920 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (b. 1846)
    • 1926 – Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (b. 1857)
    • 1929 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (b. 1894)
    • 1932 – Manuel II of Portugal (b. 1889)
    • 1950 – Thomas William Burgess, English swimmer and water polo player (b. 1872)
    • 1955 – Edward Lawson, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1873)
    • 1961 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
    • 1963 – Alicia Patterson, American publisher, co-founded Newsday (b. 1906)
    • 1964 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1929)
    • 1966 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet and author (b. 1900)
    • 1970 – Jessie Street, Australian suffragette and feminist (b. 1889)
    • 1972 – Joseph Fielding Smith, American religious leader, 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1876)
    • 1973 – Betty Grable, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1916)
    • 1973 – George McBride, American baseball player and manager (b. 1880)
    • 1973 – Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (b. 1892)
    • 1975 – James Robertson Justice, English actor (b. 1907)
    • 1977 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born novelist and critic (b. 1899)
    • 1978 – Aris Alexandrou, Greek author and poet (b. 1922)
    • 1986 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player and manager (b. 1917)
    • 1988 – Vibert Douglas, Canadian astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1894)
    • 1989 – Andrei Gromyko, Soviet economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1909)
    • 1990 – Snooky Lanson, American singer (b. 1914)
    • 1991 – Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
    • 1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (b. 1926)
    • 1994 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (b. 1967)
    • 1995 – Lloyd MacPhail, Canadian businessman and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (b. 1920)
    • 1997 – James Stewart, American actor (b. 1908)
    • 1999 – Mario Puzo, American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Joey Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
    • 2002 – Ray Brown, American bassist and composer (b. 1926)
    • 2003 – Briggs Cunningham, American race car driver and businessman (b. 1907)
    • 2004 – Mochtar Lubis, Indonesian journalist and author (b. 1922)
    • 2005 – Ernest Lehman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Norm Prescott, American actor, composer, and producer, co-founded Filmation Studios (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Jan Murray, American comedian, actor, and game show host (b. 1916)
    • 2007 – Beverly Sills, American operatic soprano and television personality (b. 1929)
    • 2008 – Natasha Shneider, Russian-American singer, keyboard player, and actress (b. 1956)
    • 2008 – Elizabeth Spriggs, English actress and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2010 – Beryl Bainbridge, English screenwriter and author (b. 1932)
    • 2011 – Itamar Franco, Brazilian engineer and politician, 33rd President of Brazil (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Maurice Chevit, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Julian Goodman, American journalist (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Angelo Mangiarotti, Italian architect and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Betty Meggers, American archaeologist and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Ed Stroud, American baseball player (b. 1939)
    • 2013 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Armand Gaudreault, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Anthony Llewellyn, Welsh-American chemist, academic, and astronaut (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Emilio Álvarez Montalván, Nicaraguan ophthalmologist and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Manuel Cardona, Spanish physicist and academic (b. 1934)
    • 2014 – Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe (b. 1915)
    • 2014 – Harold W. Kuhn, American mathematician and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Louis Zamperini, American runner and World War II US Army Air Forces captain (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Ronald Davison, New Zealand lawyer and judge, 10th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Charlie Sanders, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
    • 2015 – Jim Weaver, American football player and coach (b. 1945)
    • 2015 – Jacobo Zabludovsky, Mexican journalist (b. 1928)
    • 2016 – Caroline Aherne, English actress and comedian (b. 1963)
    • 2016 – Michael Cimino, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Patrick Manning, 4th & 6th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1946)
    • 2016 – Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, activist, and author (b. 1928)
    • 2020 – Ángela Jeria, Chilean archaeologist (b. 1926)
    • 2020 – Byron Bernstein Reckful, gamer, Twitch streamer, investor (b. 1989)

    Holidays and observances on July 2

    • Christian feast day:
      • Aberoh and Atom (Coptic Church)
      • Bernardino Realino
      • Feast of the Visitation (Anglicanism; Levoča at Mariánska hora)
      • Monegundis
      • Otto of Bamberg
      • Oudoceus
      • Martinian and Processus
      • Pishoy (Coptic Church)
      • Stephen III of Moldavia
      • July 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Unity Day can fall, while July 8 is the latest; celebrated on Tuesday following Heroes’ Day. (Zambia)
    • Flag Day (Curaçao)
    • Palio di Provenzano (Siena, Italy)
    • Police Day (Azerbaijan)

  • June 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1215 – Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu.
    • 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León.
    • 1298 – Residents of Riga and Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida.
    • 1495 – A monk, John Cor, records the first known batch of Scotch whisky
    • 1533 – Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England.
    • 1535 – Combined forces loyal to Charles V attack and expel the Ottomans from Tunis during the Conquest of Tunis.
    • 1648 – The Roundheads defeat the Cavaliers at the Battle of Maidstone in the Second English Civil War.
    • 1649 – Start of the Sumuroy Revolt: Filipinos in Northern Samar led by Agustin Sumuroy revolt against Spanish colonial authorities.
    • 1670 – In Dover, England, Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover, which will force England into the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
    • 1676 – Battle of Öland: allied Danish-Dutch forces defeat the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, during the Scanian War (1675–79).
    • 1679 – The Scottish Covenanters defeat John Graham of Claverhouse at the Battle of Drumclog.
    • 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade rescues 14 sailors at the Cape of Good Hope from the sinking ship De Jonge Thomas by riding his horse into the sea seven times. He drowned on his eighth attempt.
    • 1779 – The court-martial for malfeasance of Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, begins.
    • 1792 – Kentucky is admitted as the 15th state of the United States.
    • 1794 – The battle of the Glorious First of June is fought, the first naval engagement between Britain and France during the French Revolutionary Wars.
    • 1796 – Tennessee is admitted as the 16th state of the United States.
    • 1812 – War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.
    • 1813 – Capture of USS Chesapeake.
    • 1815 – Napoleon promulgates a revised Constitution after it passes a plebiscite.
    • 1831 – James Clark Ross becomes the first European at the North Magnetic Pole.
    • 1849 – Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey declared the Territory of Minnesota officially established.
    • 1855 – The American adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua.
    • 1857 – Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal is published.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fairfax Court House is fought.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: The Battle of Seven Pines (or the Battle of Fair Oaks) ends inconclusively, with both sides claiming victory.
    • 1868 – The Treaty of Bosque Redondo is signed, allowing the Navajo to return to their lands in Arizona and New Mexico.
    • 1879 – Napoléon Eugène, the last dynastic Bonaparte, is killed in the Anglo-Zulu War.
    • 1890 – The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith’s tabulating machine to count census returns.
    • 1913 – The Greek–Serbian Treaty of Alliance is signed, paving the way for the Second Balkan War.
    • 1916 – Louis Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
    • 1918 – World War I: Western Front: Battle of Belleau Wood: Allied Forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord engage Imperial German Forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince.
    • 1922 – The Royal Ulster Constabulary is founded.
    • 1929 – The 1st Conference of the Communist Parties of Latin America is held in Buenos Aires.
    • 1930 – The Deccan Queen is introduced as first intercity train between Bombay VT (Now Mumbai CST) and Poona (Pune) to run on electric locomotives.
    • 1939 – First flight of the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Battle of Crete ends as Crete capitulates to Germany.
    • 1941 – The Farhud, a massive pogrom in Iraq, starts and as a result, many Iraqi Jews are forced to leave their homes.
    • 1943 – BOAC Flight 777 is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s, killing British actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that it was actually an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
    • 1946 – Ion Antonescu, “Conducator” (“Leader”) of Romania during World War II, is executed.
    • 1950 – The Chinchaga fire ignites. By September, it would become the largest single fire on record in North America.
    • 1958 – Charles de Gaulle comes out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months.
    • 1961 – The Canadian Bank of Commerce and Imperial Bank of Canada merge to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the largest bank merger in Canadian history.
    • 1962 – Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel.
    • 1964 – Kenya becomes a republic with Jomo Kenyatta (1897 – 22 August 1978) as its first President (1964 to 1978).
    • 1974 – The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine.
    • 1975 – The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded by Jalal Talabani, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Fuad Masum and others.
    • 1978 – The first international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty are filed.
    • 1979 – The first black-led government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 90 years takes power.
    • 1980 – Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.
    • 1988 – European Central Bank is founded in Brussels.
    • 1988 – The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty comes into effect.
    • 1990 – Cold War: George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production.
    • 1993 – Dobrinja mortar attack: Thirteen are killed and 133 wounded when Serb mortar shells are fired at a soccer game in Dobrinja, west of Sarajevo.
    • 1994 – Republic of South Africa becomes a Commonwealth republic.
    • 1999 – American Airlines Flight 1420 slides and crashes while landing at Little Rock National Airport, killing 11 people on a flight from Dallas to Little Rock.
    • 2001 – Nepalese royal massacre: Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal shoots and kills several members of his family including his father and mother.
    • 2001 – Dolphinarium discotheque massacre: A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21 at a disco in Tel Aviv.
    • 2004 – Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of a parole, breaking a Guinness World Record.
    • 2008 – A fire on the back lot of Universal Studios breaks out, destroying the attraction King Kong Encounter and a large archive of master tapes for music and film, the full extent of which was not revealed until 2019.
    • 2009 – Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew are killed.
    • 2009 – General Motors files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth largest United States bankruptcy in history.
    • 2011 – A rare tornado outbreak occurs in New England; a strong EF3 tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts, during the event, killing four people.
    • 2011 – Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its final landing after 25 flights.
    • 2015 – A ship carrying 458 people capsizes on Yangtze river in China’s Hubei province, killing 400 people.

    Births on June 1

    • 1134 – Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (d. 1158)
    • 1300 – Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, English politician, Lord Marshal of England (d. 1338)
    • 1451 – Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney (d. 1508)
    • 1460 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1491)
    • 1480 – Tiedemann Giese, Polish bishop (d. 1550)
    • 1498 – Maarten van Heemskerck, Dutch painter (d. 1574)
    • 1522 – Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert, Dutch writer and scholar (d. 1590)
    • 1563 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Secretary of State for England (d. 1612)
    • 1612 – Frans Post, Dutch painter (d. 1680)
    • 1633 – Geminiano Montanari, Italian astronomer and academic (d. 1687)
    • 1637 – Jacques Marquette, French missionary and explorer (d. 1675)
    • 1653 – Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (d. 1704)
    • 1675 – Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist and playwright (d. 1755)
    • 1762 – Edmund Ignatius Rice, Irish priest and missionary, founded the Irish Christian Brothers (d. 1844)
    • 1765 – Christiane Vulpius, mistress and wife of Johann Wolfgang Goethe (d. 1816)
    • 1770 – Friedrich Laun, German author (d. 1849)
    • 1790 – Ferdinand Raimund, Austrian actor and playwright (d. 1836)
    • 1796 – Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, French physicist and engineer (d. 1832)
    • 1800 – Edward Deas Thomson, Australian educator and politician, Chief Secretary of New South Wales (d. 1879)
    • 1801 – Brigham Young, American religious leader, 2nd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1877)
    • 1804 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (d. 1857)
    • 1808 – Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1881)
    • 1815 – Otto of Greece (d. 1862)
    • 1819 – Francis V, Duke of Modena (d. 1875)
    • 1822 – Clementina Maude, Viscountess Hawarden, English portrait photographer (d. 1865)
    • 1825 – John Hunt Morgan, American general (d. 1864)
    • 1831 – John Bell Hood, American general (d. 1879)
    • 1833 – John Marshall Harlan, American lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General of Kentucky (d. 1911)
    • 1843 – Henry Faulds, Scottish physician and missionary, developed fingerprinting (d. 1930)
    • 1844 – John J. Toffey, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1911)
    • 1869 – Richard Wünsch, German philologist (d. 1915)
    • 1873 – Elena Alistar, Bessarabian politician (d. 1955)
    • 1874 – Yury Nikolaevich Voronov, Russian botanist (d. 1931)
    • 1878 – John Masefield, English author and poet (d. 1967)
    • 1879 – Max Emmerich, American triathlete and gymnast (d. 1956)
    • 1882 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan businessman and politician, Mayor of Chișinău (d. 1940)
    • 1887 – Clive Brook, English actor (d. 1974)
    • 1889 – James Daugherty, American author, illustrator, and painter (d. 1974)
    • 1889 – Charles Kay Ogden, English linguist and philosopher (d. 1957)
    • 1890 – Frank Morgan, American actor (d. 1949)
    • 1892 – Amanullah Khan, sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, (d. 1960)
    • 1899 – Edward Charles Titchmarsh, English mathematician and academic (d. 1963)
    • 1901 – Hap Day, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and manager (d. 1990)
    • 1901 – Tom Gorman, Australian rugby league player (d. 1978)
    • 1901 – John Van Druten, English-American playwright and director (d. 1957)
    • 1903 – Vasyl Velychkovsky, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop and martyr (d. 1973)
    • 1903 – Hans Vogt, Norwegian linguist and academic (d. 1986)
    • 1905 – Robert Newton, English-American actor (d. 1956)
    • 1907 – Jan Patočka, Czech philosopher (d. 1977)
    • 1907 – Frank Whittle, English airman and engineer, developed the jet engine (d. 1996)
    • 1908 – Julie Campbell Tatham, American author (d. 1999)
    • 1909 – Yechezkel Kutscher, Slovakian-Israeli philologist and linguist (d. 1971)
    • 1910 – Gyula Kállai, Hungarian communist leader, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People’s Republic of Hungary (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Herbert Tichy, Austrian geologist, author, and mountaineer (d. 1987)
    • 1913 – Bill Deedes, English journalist and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1915 – John Randolph, American actor (d. 2004)
    • 1916 – Jean Jérôme Hamer, Belgian Cardinal (d. 1996)
    • 1917 – William Standish Knowles, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Robert Clarke, American actor and producer (d. 2005)
    • 1921 – Nelson Riddle, American composer and bandleader (d. 1985)
    • 1922 – Joan Caulfield, American model and actress (d. 1991)
    • 1922 – Povel Ramel, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2007)
    • 1924 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1925 – Dilia Díaz Cisneros, Venezuelan teacher (d. 2017)
    • 1926 – Johnny Berry, English footballer (d. 1994)
    • 1926 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1926 – Marilyn Monroe, American model and actress (d. 1962)
    • 1926 – George Robb, English international footballer and teacher (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Georgy Dobrovolsky, Ukrainian pilot and astronaut (d. 1971)
    • 1928 – Steve Dodd, Australian actor and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Bob Monkhouse, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1929 – Nargis, Indian actress (d. 1981)<ref”>Dilip Kumar (28 July 2014). Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow. Hay House, Inc. p. 137. ISBN 978-93-81398-96-8.</ref>
    • 1929 – James H. Billington, American academic and Thirteenth Librarian of Congress (d. 2018)
    • 1930 – John Lemmon, English logician and philosopher (d. 1966)
    • 1930 – Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (d. 2016)
    • 1930 – Matt Poore, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2020)
    • 1930 – Edward Woodward, English actor (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Walter Horak, Austrian footballer (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Frank Cameron, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1932 – Christopher Lasch, American historian and critic (d. 1994)
    • 1933 – Haruo Remeliik, Palauan politician, 1st President of Palau (d. 1985)
    • 1933 – Charles Wilson, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2010)
    • 1934 – Pat Boone, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1934 – Peter Masterson, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1934 – Doris Buchanan Smith, American author (d. 2002)
    • 1935 – Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, English architect, founded Foster and Partners
    • 1935 – Reverend Ike, American minister and television host (d. 2009)
    • 1935 – Jack Kralick, American baseball player (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Percy Adlon, German director, screenwriter and producer
    • 1935 – John C. Reynolds, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Anatoly Albul, Soviet and Russian wrestler (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – André Bourbeau, Canadian politician (d. 2018)
    • 1936 – Bekim Fehmiu, Bosnian actor (d. 2010)
    • 1936 – Gerald Scarfe, English illustrator and animator
    • 1937 – Morgan Freeman, American actor and producer
    • 1937 – Rosaleen Linehan, Irish actress
    • 1937 – Colleen McCullough, Australian neuroscientist and author (d. 2015)
    • 1939 – Cleavon Little, American actor and comedian (d. 1992)
    • 1940 – René Auberjonois, American actor (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Katerina Gogou, Greek writer and actress (d. 1993)
    • 1940 – Kip Thorne, American physicist, astronomer, and academic
    • 1941 – Dean Chance, American baseball player and manager (d. 2015)
    • 1941 – Toyo Ito, Japanese architect, designed the Torre Realia BCN and Hotel Porta Fira
    • 1941 – Alexander V. Zakharov, Russian physicist and astronomer
    • 1942 – Parveen Kumar, Pakistani-English physician and academic
    • 1943 – Orietta Berti, Italian singer and actress
    • 1943 – Richard Goode, American pianist
    • 1943 – Lorrie Wilmot, South African cricketer (d. 2004)
    • 1944 – Colin Blakemore, British neurobiologist
    • 1944 – Robert Powell, English actor
    • 1945 – Jim McCarty, American blues rock guitarist
    • 1945 – Linda Scott, American singer
    • 1945 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress (d. 2008)
    • 1945 – Kerry Vincent, Australian chef and author
    • 1945 – Frederica von Stade, American soprano and actress
    • 1946 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
    • 1947 – Ron Dennis, English businessman, founded the McLaren Group
    • 1947 – Jonathan Pryce, Welsh actor and singer
    • 1947 – Ronnie Wood, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1948 – Powers Boothe, American actor (d. 2017)
    • 1948 – Tomáš Halík, Czech Roman Catholic priest, philosopher, theologian and scholar
    • 1948 – Michel Plasse, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2006)
    • 1948 – Juhan Viiding, Estonian poet and actor (d. 1995)
    • 1950 – Perrin Beatty, Canadian businessman and politician
    • 1950 – Charlene, American singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Jean Lambert, English educator and politician
    • 1950 – Michael McDowell, American author and screenwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1952 – Şenol Güneş, Turkish footballer and manager
    • 1952 – David Lan, South African-English director and playwright
    • 1952 – Mihaela Loghin, Romanian shot putter
    • 1953 – Ronnie Dunn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1953 – Ted Field, American entrepreneur and race car driver
    • 1954 – Jill Black, English lawyer and judge
    • 1955 – Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 2016)
    • 1955 – Lorraine Moller, New Zealand runner
    • 1955 – Tony Snow, American journalist, 26th White House Press Secretary (d. 2008)
    • 1956 – Patrick Besson, French writer and journalist
    • 1956 – Lisa Hartman Black, American actress
    • 1956 – Petra Morsbach, German author
    • 1958 – Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Mongolian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Mongolia
    • 1958 – Gennadiy Valyukevich, Belarusian triple jumper (d. 2019)
    • 1959 – Martin Brundle, English racing driver and sportscaster
    • 1959 – Alan Wilder, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1960 – Simon Gallup, English musician (The Cure)
    • 1960 – Vladimir Krutov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1960 – Sergey Kuznetsov, Russian footballer and manager
    • 1960 – Giorgos Lillikas, Cypriot politician, 8th Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1960 – Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (d. 2006)
    • 1961 – Paul Coffey, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1961 – Mark Curry, American actor
    • 1961 – Werner Günthör, Swiss shot putter and bobsledder
    • 1961 – John Huston, American golfer
    • 1961 – Peter Machajdík, Slovakian-German pianist and composer
    • 1963 – Vital Borkelmans, Belgian footballer
    • 1963 – Miles J. Padgett, Scottish physicist and academic
    • 1963 – David Westhead, English actor and producer
    • 1965 – Larisa Lazutina, Russian skier
    • 1965 – Olga Nazarova, Russian sprinter
    • 1965 – Nigel Short, English chess player and journalist
    • 1966 – Greg Schiano, American football player and coach
    • 1968 – Jason Donovan, Australian actor and singer
    • 1968 – Jeff Hackett, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1968 – Mathias Rust, German aviator
    • 1969 – Luis García Postigo, former Mexican footballer
    • 1969 – Teri Polo, American actress
    • 1970 – Georgie Gardner, Australian journalist and television host
    • 1970 – Alexi Lalas, American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Mario Cimarro, Cuban-American actor and singer
    • 1973 – Frédérik Deburghgraeve, Belgian swimmer
    • 1973 – Adam Garcia, Australian actor
    • 1973 – Derek Lowe, American baseball player
    • 1973 – Heidi Klum, German-American model, fashion designer, and producer
    • 1974 – Alanis Morissette, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actress
    • 1974 – Michael Rasmussen, Danish cyclist
    • 1974 – Sarah Teather, English politician
    • 1974 – Akis Zikos, Greek footballer and coach
    • 1975 – Michal Grošek, Czech-Swiss ice hockey player and coach
    • 1975 – Frauke Petry, German politician
    • 1975 – Ēriks Rags, Latvian javelin thrower
    • 1976 – Marlon Devonish, English sprinter and coach
    • 1976 – Kōhei Murakami, Japanese actor
    • 1977 – Andrea Bogart, American actress
    • 1977 – Arsen Gitinov, Russian and Kyrgyzstani freestyle wrestler
    • 1977 – Danielle Harris, American actress
    • 1977 – Brad Wilkerson, American baseball player and coach
    • 1977 – Sarah Wayne Callies, American actress
    • 1978 – Antonietta Di Martino, Italian high jumper
    • 1978 – Matthew Hittinger, American poet and author
    • 1979 – Santana Moss, American football player
    • 1979 – Markus Persson, Swedish game designer, founded Mojang
    • 1981 – Brandi Carlile, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1981 – Amy Schumer, American actress
    • 1981 – Carlos Zambrano, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1981 – Aleksei Mikhailovich Uvarov, Russian footballer
    • 1982 – Justine Henin, Belgian tennis player
    • 1983 – Tetyana Hamera-Shmyrko, Ukrainian runner
    • 1983 – Tõnis Sahk, Estonian long jumper
    • 1984 – Jean Beausejour, Chilean footballer
    • 1984 – Olivier Tielemans, Dutch racing driver
    • 1985 – Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
    • 1985 – Mário Hipólito, Angolan footballer
    • 1985 – Dinesh Karthik, Indian cricketer
    • 1985 – Nick Young, American basketball player
    • 1985 – Sam Young, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Moses Ndiema Masai, Kenyan runner
    • 1986 – Chinedu Obasi, Nigerian footballer
    • 1986 – Ben Smith, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1987 – Zoltán Harsányi, Slovakian footballer
    • 1987 – Jerel McNeal, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Yarisley Silva, Cuban pole vaulter
    • 1988 – Javier Hernández, Mexican footballer
    • 1989 – Nataliya Goncharova, Ukrainian/Russian volleyball player
    • 1989 – Sammy Alex Mutahi, Kenyan runner
    • 1990 – Miller Bolaños, Ecuadoran footballer
    • 1990 – Kennie Chopart, Danish footballer
    • 1990 – Carlota Ciganda, Spanish golfer
    • 1990 – Martin Pembleton, English footballer
    • 1990 – Bianca Perie, Romanian hammer thrower
    • 1991 – Tyrone Roberts, Australian rugby league player
    • 1993 – Sam Anas, American ice hockey player
    • 1994 – Kagayaki Taishi, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1996 – Edvinas Gertmonas, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1996 – Tom Holland, English actor
    • 1999 – Dmitri Aliev, Russian figure skater

    Deaths on June 1

    • 195 BC – Emperor Gaozu of Han (b. 256 BC)
    • 193 – Didius Julianus, Roman Emperor (b. 133)
    • 352 – Ran Min, “Heavenly Prince” (Tian Wang) during the Sixteen Kingdoms
    • 654 – Pyrrhus, patriarch of Constantinople
    • 829 – Li Tongjie, general of the Tang Dynasty
    • 847 – Xiao, empress of the Tang Dynasty
    • 896 – Theodosius Romanus, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
    • 932 – Thietmar, duke of Saxony
    • 1146 – Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess regent of Brittany (b. 1068)
    • 1186 – Minamoto no Yukiie, Japanese warlord
    • 1220 – Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford (b. 1176)
    • 1310 – Marguerite Porete, French mystic
    • 1354 – Kitabatake Chikafusa (b. 1293)
    • 1434 – King Wladislaus II of Poland
    • 1571 – John Story, English martyr (b. 1504)
    • 1616 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shogun (b. 1543)
    • 1625 – Honoré d’Urfé, French author and poet (b. 1568)
    • 1639 – Melchior Franck, German composer (b. 1579)
    • 1660 – Mary Dyer, English-American martyr (b. 1611)
    • 1662 – Zhu Youlang, Chinese emperor (b. 1623)
    • 1681 – Cornelis Saftleven, Dutch genre painter (b. 1607)
    • 1710 – David Mitchell, Scottish admiral and politician (b. 1642)
    • 1740 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian (b. 1657)
    • 1769 – Edward Holyoke, American pastor and academic (b. 1689)
    • 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade, South African folk hero (b. 1708)
    • 1795 – Pierre-Joseph Desault, French anatomist and surgeon (b. 1744)
    • 1815 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1753)
    • 1823 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1770)
    • 1826 – J. F. Oberlin, French pastor and philanthropist (b. 1740)
    • 1830 – Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader (b. 1781)
    • 1833 – Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut (b. 1760)
    • 1841 – David Wilkie, Scottish painter and academic (b. 1785)
    • 1846 – Pope Gregory XVI (b. 1765)
    • 1861 – John Quincy Marr, American captain (b. 1825)
    • 1864 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebel, led the Taiping Rebellion (b. 1812)
    • 1868 – James Buchanan, American lawyer and politician, 15th President of the United States (b. 1791)
    • 1872 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr., American publisher, founded the New York Herald (b. 1795)
    • 1873 – Joseph Howe, Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1804)
    • 1876 – Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and journalist (b. 1848)
    • 1879 – Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France (b. 1856)
    • 1908 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter (b. 1867)
    • 1927 – Lizzie Borden, American accused murderer (b. 1860)
    • 1927 – J. B. Bury, Irish historian, philologist, and scholar (b. 1861)
    • 1934 – Sir Alfred Rawlinson, 3rd Baronet, English colonel and polo player (b. 1867)
    • 1935 – Arthur Arz von Straußenburg, Romanian-Hungarian general (d. 1857)
    • 1938 – Ödön von Horváth, Croatian-French author and playwright (b. 1901)
    • 1941 – Hans Berger, German neurologist and academic (b. 1873)
    • 1941 – Hugh Walpole, New Zealand-English author (b. 1884)
    • 1943 – Leslie Howard, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
    • 1943 – Wilfrid Israel, English-German businessman and philanthropist (b. 1899)
    • 1946 – Ion Antonescu, Romanian marshal and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1882)
    • 1948 – Alex Gard, Russian-American cartoonist (b. 1900)
    • 1952 – John Dewey, American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1859)
    • 1953 – Emanuel Vidović, Croatian painter and illustrator (b. 1870)
    • 1954 – Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish-German journalist and author (b. 1869)
    • 1960 – Lester Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1883)
    • 1960 – Paula Hitler, German-Austrian sister of Adolf Hitler (b. 1896)
    • 1962 – Adolf Eichmann, a German Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer (b. 1906)
    • 1963 – Walter Lee, Australian politician, 24th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1874)
    • 1965 – Curly Lambeau, American football player and coach, founded the Green Bay Packers (b. 1898)
    • 1966 – Papa Jack Laine, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1873)
    • 1968 – Helen Keller, American author and activist (b. 1880)
    • 1968 – André Laurendeau, Canadian playwright, journalist, and politician (b. 1912)
    • 1969 – Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1904)
    • 1971 – Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologian and academic (b. 1892)
    • 1979 – Werner Forssmann, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
    • 1980 – Arthur Nielsen, American businessman, founded the ACNielsen company (b. 1897)
    • 1981 – Carl Vinson, American lawyer and politician (b. 1883)
    • 1983 – Prince Charles, Count of Flanders (b. 1903)
    • 1985 – Richard Greene, English actor and soldier (b. 1918)
    • 1986 – Jo Gartner, Austrian racing driver (b. 1958)
    • 1987 – Rashid Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1921)
    • 1988 – Herbert Feigl, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1902)
    • 1989 – Aurelio Lampredi, Italian engineer, designed the Ferrari Lampredi engine (b. 1917)
    • 1991 – David Ruffin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
    • 1996 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian politician, 6th President of India (b. 1913)
    • 1999 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer, invented the hovercraft (b. 1910)
    • 2000 – Tito Puente, American drummer, composer, and producer (b. 1923)
    • 2001 – Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist, created Dennis the Menace (b. 1920)
    • 2001 – notable victims of the Nepalese royal massacre
      • Aishwarya of Nepal (b. 1949)
      • Birendra of Nepal (b. 1945)
      • Dhirendra of Nepal (b. 1950)
      • Prince Nirajan of Nepal (b. 1978)
      • Princess Shruti of Nepal (b. 1976)
    • 2002 – Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (b. 1969)
    • 2004 – William Manchester, American historian and author (b. 1922)
    • 2005 – Hilda Crosby Standish, American physician (b. 1902)
    • 2005 – George Mikan, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
    • 2007 – Tony Thompson, American singer and songwriter (Hi-Five) (b. 1975)
    • 2008 – Tommy Lapid, Israeli journalist and politician, 17th Justice Minister of Israel (b. 1931)
    • 2008 – Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion designer, founded Saint Laurent Paris (b. 1936)
    • 2009 – Bob Christie, American race car driver (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – Vincent O’Brien, Irish horse trainer (b. 1917)
    • 2010 – Kazuo Ohno, Japanese dancer (b. 1906)
    • 2010 – Andrei Voznesensky, Russian poet (b. 1933)
    • 2011 – Haleh Sahabi, Iranian humanitarian and activist (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Faruq Z. Bey, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Pádraig Faulkner, Irish educator and politician, 19th Irish Minister of Defence (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Milan Gaľa, Slovak politician (b. 1953)
    • 2013 – James Kelleher, Canadian lawyer and politician, 33rd Solicitor General of Canada (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Ann B. Davis, American actress (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian sailor (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Charles Kennedy, Scottish journalist and politician (b. 1959)
    • 2015 – Joan Kirner, Australian educator and politician, 42nd Premier of Victoria (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Nicholas Liverpool, Dominican lawyer and politician, 6th President of Dominica (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Jacques Parizeau, Canadian economist and politician, 26th Premier of Quebec (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Jean Ritchie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
    • 2018 – Sinan Sakić, Serbian pop-folk singer (b. 1956)
    • 2019 – Ani Yudhoyono, Indonesian politician, 6th First Lady of Indonesia. (b. 1952)

    Holidays and observances on June 1

    • Children’s Day (International), and its related observances:
      • The Day of Protection of Children Rights (Armenia)
      • Mothers’ and Children’s Day (Mongolia)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Annibale Maria di Francia
      • Crescentinus
      • Fortunatus of Spoleto
      • Herculanus of Piegaro
      • Íñigo of Oña
      • Justin Martyr (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran)
      • Ronan of Locronan
      • June 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Canadian Forces Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Canada)
    • Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Lithuania)
    • Earliest day on which June Holiday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (Ireland)
    • Earliest day on which Labour Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday in June. (The Bahamas)
    • Earliest day on which Teacher’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Hungary)
    • Earliest day on which the Queen’s Birthday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji)
    • Earliest day on which Seamen’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Iceland)
    • Earliest day on which Western Australia Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Western Australia)
    • Global Day of Parents (International)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Samoa from New Zealand in 1962.
    • Madaraka Day (Kenya)
    • National Maritime Day (Mexico)
    • National Tree Planting Day (Cambodia)
    • Pancasila Day (Indonesia)
    • President’s Day (Palau)
    • The beginning of Crop over, celebrated until the first Monday of August. (Barbados)
    • Victory Day (Tunisia)
    • World Milk Day (International)

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

    • 453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.
    • 413 – Emperor Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the Italian provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths.
    • 589 – Reccared I opens the Third Council of Toledo, marking the entry of Visigothic Spain into the Catholic Church.
    • 1429 – Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
    • 1450 – Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
    • 1516 – A group of imperial guards, led by Trịnh Duy Sản, murdered Emperor Lê Tương Dực and fled, leaving the capital Thăng Long undefended.
    • 1541 – Hernando de Soto stops near present-day Walls, Mississippi, and sees the Mississippi River(then known by the Spanish as Río de Espíritu Santo, the name given to it by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda in 1519).
    • 1788 – King Louis XVI of France attempts to impose the reforms of Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne by abolishing the parlements.
    • 1794 – Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme générale, is tried, convicted and guillotined in one day in Paris.
    • 1821 – Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks at the Battle of Gravia Inn.
    • 1842 – A train derails and catches fire in Paris, killing between 52 and 200 people.
    • 1846 – Mexican–American War: American forces led by Zachary Taylor defeat a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war.
    • 1877 – At Gilmore’s Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens.
    • 1886 – Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named “Coca-Cola” as a patent medicine.
    • 1898 – The first games of the Italian football league system are played.
    • 1899 – The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin produced its first play.
    • 1902 – In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.
    • 1912 – Paramount Pictures is founded.
    • 1919 – Edward George Honey proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which ended World War I.
    • 1921 – The creation of the Communist Party of Romania.
    • 1924 – The Klaipėda Convention is signed formally incorporating Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) into Lithuania.
    • 1927 – Attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York, French war heroes Charles Nungesser and François Coli disappear after taking off aboard The White Bird biplane.
    • 1933 – Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast of self-purification and launched a one-year campaign to help the Harijan movement.
    • 1941 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby.
    • 1942 – World War II: The German 11th Army begins Operation Trappenjagd (Bustard Hunt) and destroys the bridgehead of the three Soviet armies defending the Kerch Peninsula.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end with Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attacking and sinking the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington.
    • 1942 – World War II: Gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands rebel in the Cocos Islands Mutiny. Their mutiny is crushed and three of them are executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.
    • 1945 – World War II: The German Instrument of Surrender signed at Reims comes into effect.
    • 1945 – End of the Prague uprising, celebrated now as a national holiday in the Czech Republic.
    • 1945 – Hundreds of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Sétif massacre.
    • 1945 – The Halifax riot starts when thousands of civilians and servicemen rampage through Halifax, Nova Scotia.
    • 1946 – Estonian schoolgirls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial which preceded the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn.
    • 1963 – South Vietnamese soldiers under the Roman Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem open fire on Buddhists defying a ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesak, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.
    • 1967 – The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
    • 1972 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his order to place naval mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.
    • 1973 – A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota ends with the surrender of the militants.
    • 1976 – The rollercoaster The New Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
    • 1978 – The first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen, by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler.
    • 1980 – The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox.
    • 1984 – Corporal Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three people and wounding 13. René Jalbert, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour.
    • 1984 – The Thames Barrier is officially opened, preventing the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded except under extreme circumstances.
    • 1987 – The SAS kills eight Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers and a civilian during an ambush in Loughgall, Northern Ireland.
    • 1988 – A fire at Illinois Bell’s Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered to be the “worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history”.
    • 1997 – China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 crashes on approach into Bao’an International Airport, killing 35 people.
    • 2019 – British 17-year-old Isabelle Holdaway is reported to be the first patient ever to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection.

    Births on May 8

    • 1326 – Joan I, Countess of Auvergne (d. 1360)
    • 1427 – John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1470)
    • 1460 – Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1536)
    • 1492 – Andrea Alciato, Italian jurist and writer (d. 1550)
    • 1508 – Charles Wriothesley, English Officer of Arms (d. 1562)
    • 1521 – Peter Canisius, Dutch-Swiss priest and saint (d. 1597)
    • 1551 – Thomas Drury, English government informer and swindler (d. 1603)
    • 1587 – Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1637)
    • 1622 – Claes Rålamb, Swedish politician (d. 1698)
    • 1628 – Angelo Italia, Sicilian Jesuit and architect (d. 1700)
    • 1629 – Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (d. 1697)
    • 1632 – Heino Heinrich Graf von Flemming, German field marshal and politician (d. 1706)
    • 1639 – Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Italian artist (d. 1709)
    • 1641 – Nicolaes Witsen, Mayor of Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1717)
    • 1653 – Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1734)
    • 1670 – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (d. 1726)
    • 1698 – Henry Baker, English naturalist (d. 1774)
    • 1720 – William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1764)
    • 1735 – Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter and politician (d. 1811)
    • 1737 – Edward Gibbon, English historian and politician (d. 1794)
    • 1745 – Carl Stamitz, German violinist and composer (d. 1801)
    • 1753 – Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest and rebel leader (d. 1811)
    • 1786 – John Vianney, French priest and saint (d. 1859)
    • 1815 – Edward Tompkins, American lawyer and politician (d. 1872)
    • 1818 – Samuel Leonard Tilley, Canadian pharmacist and politician, 3rd Premier of New Brunswick (d. 1896)
    • 1821 – William Henry Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1885)
    • 1824 – William Walker, American physician, lawyer, journalist and mercenary (d. 1860)
    • 1825 – George Bruce Malleson, English-Indian colonel and author (d. 1898)
    • 1828 – Henry Dunant, Swiss businessman and activist, co-founded the Red Cross, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1910)
    • 1828 – Charbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk and saint (d. 1898)
    • 1829 – Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American pianist and composer (d. 1869)
    • 1835 – Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter and academic (d. 1910)
    • 1839 – Adolphe-Basile Routhier, Canadian judge, author, and songwriter (d. 1920)
    • 1842 – Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist and mycologist (d. 1909)
    • 1846 – Oscar Hammerstein I, American businessman and composer (d. 1919)
    • 1850 – Ross Barnes, American baseball player and manager (d. 1915)
    • 1853 – Dan Brouthers, American baseball player and manager (d. 1932)
    • 1856 – Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician, president for 45 minutes on February 13, 1913. (d. 1952)
    • 1858 – Heinrich Berté, Slovak-Austrian composer (d. 1924)
    • 1858 – J. Meade Falkner, English author and poet (d. 1932)
    • 1859 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician and engineer (d. 1925)
    • 1867 – Margarete Böhme, German novelist (d. 1939)
    • 1879 – Wesley Coe, American shot putter, discus thrower, and tug of war competitor (d. 1926)
    • 1884 – Harry S. Truman, American colonel and politician, 33rd President of the United States (d. 1972)
    • 1885 – Thomas B. Costain, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1965)
    • 1892 – Adriaan Pelt, Dutch journalist and diplomat (d. 1981)
    • 1893 – Francis Ouimet, American golfer (d. 1967)
    • 1893 – Edd Roush, American baseball player and coach (d. 1988)
    • 1893 – Teddy Wakelam, English rugby player and sportscaster (d. 1963)
    • 1895 – James H. Kindelberger, American businessman (d. 1962)
    • 1895 – Fulton J. Sheen, American archbishop (d. 1979)
    • 1895 – Edmund Wilson, American critic, essayist, and editor (d. 1972)
    • 1898 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (d. 1960)
    • 1899 – Arthur Q. Bryan, American actor, voice actor, comedian and radio personality (d. 1959)
    • 1899 – Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
    • 1899 – Jacques Heim, French fashion designer (d. 1967)
    • 1901 – Turkey Stearnes, American baseball player (d. 1979)
    • 1902 – André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
    • 1903 – Fernandel, French actor and singer (d. 1971)
    • 1903 – Mary Stewart, Baroness Stewart of Alvechurch, British politician and educator (d. 1984)
    • 1904 – John Snagge, English journalist (d. 1996)
    • 1905 – Red Nichols, American cornet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1965)
    • 1906 – Roberto Rossellini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1977)
    • 1910 – George Male, English footballer (d. 1998)
    • 1910 – Andrew E. Svenson, American author and publisher (d. 1975)
    • 1910 – Mary Lou Williams, American pianist and composer (d. 1981)
    • 1911 – Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman, Dutch jurist and politician, Dutch Minister of The Interior (d. 1997)
    • 1911 – Robert Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1938)
    • 1912 – George Woodcock, Canadian author and poet (d. 1995)
    • 1913 – Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1984)
    • 1913 – Sid James, South African-English actor and singer (d. 1976)
    • 1915 – Milton Meltzer, American historian and author (d. 2009)
    • 1916 – João Havelange, Brazilian water polo player, lawyer, and businessman (d. 2016)
    • 1916 – Chinmayananda Saraswati, Indian spiritual leader and educator (d. 1993)
    • 1916 – Ramananda Sengupta, Indian cinematographer (d. 2017)
    • 1917 – John Anderson, Jr., American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Kansas (d. 2014)
    • 1919 – Lex Barker, American actor (d. 1973)
    • 1920 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (d. 1996)
    • 1920 – Tom of Finland, Finnish illustrator (d. 1991)
    • 1920 – Sloan Wilson, American author and poet (d. 2003)
    • 1920 – Gordon McClymont, Australian ecologist and academic (d. 2000)
    • 1922 – Mary Q. Steele, American naturalist and author (d. 1992)
    • 1924 – S. Vithiananthan, Sri Lankan author and academic (d. 1989)
    • 1925 – Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzanian politician, 2nd President of Tanzania
    • 1926 – David Attenborough, English environmentalist and television host
    • 1926 – David Hurst, German actor (d. 2019)
    • 1926 – Don Rickles, American comedian and actor (d. 2017)
    • 1927 – Chumy Chúmez, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1927 – László Paskai, Hungarian cardinal (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Robert Conley, American journalist (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Ted Sorensen, American lawyer, 8th White House Counsel (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Ethel D. Allen, American physician and politician (d. 1981)
    • 1929 – Girija Devi, Indian classical singer (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – Claude Castonguay, Canadian banker and politician
    • 1929 – Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-American actress and singer (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – Heather Harper, Northern Irish soprano (d. 2019)
    • 1930 – Doug Atkins, American football player (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – René Maltête, French photographer and poet (d. 2000)
    • 1930 – Gary Snyder, American poet, essayist, and translator
    • 1932 – Julieta Campos, Cuban-Mexican author and translator (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Phyllida Law, Scottish actress
    • 1932 – Harry Wells, Australian rugby league player
    • 1934 – Leonard Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann, South African-English lawyer and judge
    • 1934 – Maurice Norman, English footballer
    • 1934 – David Williamson, Baron Williamson of Horton, English soldier and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1935 – Lucius Cary, 15th Viscount Falkland, Scottish politician
    • 1935 – Princess Elisabeth of Denmark (d. 2018)
    • 1935 – Jack Charlton, English footballer and manager
    • 1936 – Kazuo Koike, Japanese author
    • 1936 – Haljand Udam, Estonian orientalist and academic (d. 2005)
    • 1937 – Bernard Cleary, Canadian journalist, academic, and politician
    • 1937 – Mike Cuellar, Cuban-American baseball player (d. 2010)
    • 1937 – Carlos Gaviria Díaz, Colombian lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1937 – Thomas Pynchon, American novelist
    • 1938 – Javed Burki, Indian-Pakistani cricketer
    • 1938 – Jean Giraud, French author and illustrator (d. 2012)
    • 1939 – Paul Drayton, American sprinter (d. 2010)
    • 1940 – Peter Benchley, American author and screenwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1940 – James Blyth, Baron Blyth of Rowington, English businessman and academic
    • 1940 – Irwin Cotler, Canadian lawyer and politician, 47th Canadian Minister of Justice
    • 1940 – Emilio Delgado, Mexican-American actor, “Sesame Street”
    • 1940 – Ricky Nelson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 1985)
    • 1940 – Toni Tennille, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1941 – John Fred, American singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1941 – Bill Lockyer, American academic and politician, 30th Attorney General of California
    • 1941 – James Traficant, American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1942 – Martin Dobkin, Canadian doctor and politician, 2nd Mayor of Mississauga
    • 1942 – Robin Hobbs, English cricketer
    • 1942 – Norman Lamont, Scottish banker and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
    • 1942 – Pierre Morency, Canadian poet and playwright
    • 1942 – Terry Neill, Irish footballer and manager
    • 1943 – Pat Barker, English author
    • 1943 – Johnny Greaves, Australian rugby league player
    • 1943 – Jon Mark, English-New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Paul Samwell-Smith, English bass player and producer
    • 1943 – Danny Whitten, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1972)
    • 1944 – Gary Glitter, English singer-songwriter
    • 1944 – Bill Legend, English drummer
    • 1945 – Arthur Docters van Leeuwen, Dutch jurist and politician
    • 1945 – Mike German, Baron German, Welsh educator and politician, Deputy First Minister for Wales
    • 1945 – Janine Haines, Australian politician (d. 2004)
    • 1945 – Keith Jarrett, American pianist and composer
    • 1946 – André Boulerice, Canadian politician
    • 1946 – Jonathan Dancy, English philosopher, author, and academic
    • 1947 – H. Robert Horvitz, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1947 – Felicity Lott, English soprano
    • 1947 – John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, Scottish historian and politician, Secretary of State for Defence
    • 1948 – Steve Braun, American baseball player and coach
    • 1948 – Stephen Stohn, American-Canadian lawyer and producer
    • 1949 – David Vines, Australian economist and academic
    • 1950 – Robert Mugge, American director and producer
    • 1950 – Lepo Sumera, Estonian composer and educator (d. 2000)
    • 1951 – Philip Bailey, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
    • 1951 – Mike D’Antoni, American basketball player and coach
    • 1951 – Chris Frantz, American drummer and producer
    • 1952 – Peter McNab, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1953 – Billy Burnette, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1953 – Alex Van Halen, Dutch-American drummer
    • 1954 – Pam Arciero, American puppeteer and voice actress
    • 1954 – David Keith, American actor and director
    • 1954 – John Michael Talbot, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Stephen Furst, American actor and director (d. 2017)
    • 1955 – Mladen Markač, Croatian general
    • 1955 – Keith Osgood, English footballer
    • 1956 – Jeff Wincott, Canadian actor and martial artist
    • 1957 – Bill Cowher, American football player and coach
    • 1957 – Rino Katase, Japanese actress
    • 1957 – Gary Lunn, Canadian lawyer and politician, 6th Canadian Minister of Natural Resources
    • 1958 – Roddy Doyle, Irish novelist, playwright, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Simone Kleinsma, Dutch actress and singer
    • 1958 – Brooks Newmark, American-English businessman and politician, Lord of the Treasury
    • 1958 – Lovie Smith, American football player and coach
    • 1959 – Ronnie Lott, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1959 – David Manners, 11th Duke of Rutland, English politician
    • 1959 – Ikue Sakakibara, Japanese actress and singer
    • 1960 – Franco Baresi, Italian footballer and coach
    • 1960 – Eric Brittingham, American bass player
    • 1961 – Bill de Blasio, American politician, 109th Mayor of New York City
    • 1961 – Gert Kruys, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Vallo Reimaa, Estonian academic and politician
    • 1961 – David Winning, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Natalia Molchanova, Russian diver (d. 2015)
    • 1962 – David Sole, Scottish rugby player
    • 1963 – Sylvain Cossette, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Anthony Field, Australian guitarist, songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1963 – Michel Gondry, French director and screenwriter
    • 1963 – Izabela Kloc, Polish politician
    • 1963 – Aleksandr Kovalenko, Belarusian triple jumper
    • 1963 – Rick Zombo, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1964 – Päivi Alafrantti, Finnish javelin thrower
    • 1964 – Melissa Gilbert, American actress and director
    • 1964 – Bobby Labonte, American race car driver
    • 1964 – Nathalie Roy, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1964 – Dave Rowntree, English drummer and animator
    • 1964 – Metin Tekin, Turkish footballer, manager, and journalist
    • 1966 – Cláudio Taffarel, Brazilian footballer and coach
    • 1967 – Viviana Durante, Italian ballerina and actress
    • 1967 – Angus Scott, British sports television presenter
    • 1968 – Teet Kask, Estonian ballet dancer and choreographer
    • 1968 – Nathalie Normandeau, Canadian politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
    • 1968 – Johan Pehrson, Swedish lawyer and politician
    • 1969 – Jonny Searle, English rower
    • 1969 – Akebono Tarō, American-Japanese sumo wrestler, the 64th Yokozuna
    • 1969 – John Timu, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1970 – Michael Bevan, Australian cricketer and coach
    • 1970 – Naomi Klein, Canadian author and activist
    • 1970 – Luis Enrique, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Chuck Huber, American voice actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Candice Night, American singer-songwriter
    • 1972 – Darren Hayes, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1972 – Ray Whitney, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Hiromu Arakawa, Japanese author and illustrator
    • 1973 – Jesús Arellano, Mexican footballer
    • 1973 – Marcus Brigstocke, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Marge Kõrkjas, Estonian swimmer
    • 1974 – Korey Stringer, American football player (d. 2001)
    • 1974 – Christian XXX, American pornographic star
    • 1975 – Enrique Iglesias, Spanish-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1975 – Jussi Markkanen, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Gastón Mazzacane, Argentinian race car driver
    • 1975 – Dmitri Ustritski, Estonian footballer
    • 1976 – Gonçalo Abecasis, Portuguese-American biochemist and academic
    • 1976 – Martha Wainwright, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Joe Bonamassa, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Bad News Brown, Canadian rapper, harmonica player, and actor (d. 2011)
    • 1977 – Theodoros Papaloukas, Greek basketball player
    • 1977 – Kathrin Bringmann, German mathematician and academic
    • 1978 – Lúcio, Brazilian footballer
    • 1978 – Jang Woo-hyuk, South Korean rapper and dancer
    • 1979 – Ole Morten Vågan, Norwegian bassist
    • 1980 – Keyon Dooling, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Panagiotis Kafkis, Greek basketball player
    • 1980 – Evgeny Lebedev, Russian-English publisher and philanthropist
    • 1980 – Michelle McManus, Scottish singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1980 – Benny Yau, Hong Kong-Canadian actor and singer
    • 1981 – Stephen Amell, Canadian actor
    • 1981 – Andrea Barzagli, Italian footballer
    • 1981 – Tatyana Dektyareva, Russian hurdler
    • 1981 – Björn Dixgård, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1981 – Manny Gamburyan, Armenian-American mixed martial artist
    • 1981 – John Maine, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Buakaw Banchamek, Thai kick-boxer
    • 1982 – Christina Cole, English actress
    • 1982 – Adrián González, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Uğur Yıldırım, Turkish-Dutch footballer
    • 1983 – Juan Martin Goity, Argentinian-German rugby player
    • 1983 – Bershawn Jackson, American hurdler
    • 1983 – Lawrence Vickers, American football player
    • 1983 – Vicky McClure, English actress
    • 1984 – David King, English figure skater
    • 1985 – Tommaso Ciampa, American wrestler
    • 1985 – Silvia Stroescu, Romanian gymnast
    • 1985 – Sarah Vaillancourt, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Usama Young, American football player
    • 1986 – Pemra Özgen, Turkish tennis player
    • 1986 – Galen Rupp, American runner
    • 1986 – Marvell Wynne, American soccer player
    • 1987 – Felix Jones, American football player
    • 1987 – Aarne Nirk, Estonian hurdler
    • 1987 – Mark Noble, English footballer
    • 1987 – Kurt Tippett, Australian footballer
    • 1988 – Tanel Kurbas, Estonian basketball player
    • 1988 – Maicon Pereira de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1989 – Liam Bridcutt, English footballer
    • 1989 – Lars Eller, Danish ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Dinesh Patel, Indian baseball player
    • 1990 – Kemba Walker, American basketball player
    • 1991 – Ethan Gage, Canadian soccer player
    • 1991 – Valentijn Lietmeijer, Dutch basketball player
    • 1991 – Anamaria Tămârjan, Romanian gymnast
    • 1992 – Kevin Hayes, American ice hockey player
    • 1993 – Pat Cummins, Australian cricketer
    • 1996 – 6ix9ine, American rapper
    • 2001 – Jordyn Huitema, Canadian soccer player
    • 2003 – Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco

    Deaths on May 8

    • 535 – Pope John II
    • 615 – Pope Boniface IV (b. 550)
    • 685 – Pope Benedict II
    • 997 – Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 939)
    • 1157 – Ahmed Sanjar, Seljuk sultan (b. 1086)
    • 1192 – Ottokar IV, duke of Styria (b. 1163)
    • 1220 – Richeza of Denmark, queen of Sweden
    • 1278 – Duan Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1269)
    • 1319 – Haakon V, king of Norway (b. 1270)
    • 1473 – John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English politician (b. 1420)
    • 1538 – Edward Foxe, English bishop and academic (b. 1496)
    • 1551 – Barbara Radziwiłł, queen of Poland (b. 1520)
    • 1668 – Catherine of St. Augustine, French-Canadian nun and saint (b. 1632)
    • 1766 – Samuel Chandler, English minister and author (b. 1693)
    • 1773 – Ali Bey al-Kabir, Egyptian sultan (b. 1728)
    • 1781 – Richard Jago, English priest and poet (b. 1715)
    • 1782 – Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1699)
    • 1785 – Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1719)
    • 1785 – Pietro Longhi, Italian painter (b. 1701)
    • 1788 – Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1723)
    • 1794 – Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist and biologist (b. 1743)
    • 1819 – Kamehameha I, king of the Hawaiian Islands
    • 1822 – John Stark, American general (b. 1728)
    • 1828 – Mauro Giuliani, Italian guitarist, cellist, and composer (b. 1781)
    • 1837 – Alexander Balashov, Russian general and politician, Russian Minister of Police (b. 1770)
    • 1842 – Jules Dumont d’Urville, French admiral and explorer (b. 1790)
    • 1853 – Jan Roothaan, Dutch priest, 21st Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1785)
    • 1880 – Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (b. 1821)
    • 1891 – Helena Blavatsky, Russian-English mystic and author (b. 1831)
    • 1891 – John Robertson, English-Australian politician, 5th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1816)
    • 1893 – Manuel González Flores, Mexican general and president, 1880–1884 (b. 1833)
    • 1903 – Paul Gauguin, French painter and sculptor (b. 1848)
    • 1907 – Edmund G. Ross, American soldier and politician, 13th Governor of New Mexico Territory (b. 1826)
    • 1925 – John Beresford, Irish polo player (b. 1847)
    • 1936 – Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (b. 1880)
    • 1941 – Natalie, queen consort of Serbia (b. 1859)
    • 1941 – Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (b. 1858)
    • 1942 – Nikolai Reek, Estonian general and politician, 11th Estonian Minister of War (b. 1890)
    • 1943 – Mordechai Anielewicz, Polish commander (b. 1919)
    • 1944 – Themistoklis Diakidis, Greek high jumper (b. 1882)
    • 1945 – Frank Bourne, British soldier, last survivor of the Battle of Rorke’s Drift (b. 1854)
    • 1945 – Wilhelm Rediess, German SS officer (b. 1900)
    • 1945 – Bernhard Rust, German lieutenant and politician (b. 1883)
    • 1945 – Josef Terboven, German lieutenant and politician (b. 1898)
    • 1947 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-English businessman, founded Selfridges (b. 1858)
    • 1948 – U Saw, Burmese politician, Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1900)
    • 1950 – Vital Brazil, Brazilian physician and immunologist (b. 1865)
    • 1952 – William Fox, Austrian businessman, founded Fox Theatres (b. 1879)
    • 1959 – John Fraser, Canadian soccer player (b. 1881)
    • 1960 – J. H. C. Whitehead, Indian-English mathematician and academic (b. 1904)
    • 1965 – Wally Hardinge, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1886)
    • 1969 – Remington Kellogg, American zoologist and paleontologist (b. 1892)
    • 1972 – Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (b. 1880)
    • 1972 – Beatrice Helen Worsley, Mexican-Canadian computer scientist (b. 1921)
    • 1975 – Avery Brundage, American businessman and art collector (b. 1887)
    • 1980 – Geoffrey Baker, English Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the British Army (b. 1920)
    • 1981 – Uri Zvi Greenberg, Israeli poet and journalist (b. 1896)
    • 1982 – Neil Bogart, American record producer, co-founded Casablanca Records (b. 1943)
    • 1982 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (b. 1950)
    • 1983 – John Fante, American author and screenwriter (b. 1909)
    • 1984 – Lila Bell Wallace, American publisher, co-founded Reader’s Digest (b. 1890)
    • 1984 – Gino Bianco, Italian-Brazilian race car driver (b. 1916)
    • 1985 – Karl Marx, German conductor and composer (b. 1897)
    • 1985 – Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic (b. 1918)
    • 1985 – Dolph Sweet, American actor (b. 1920)
    • 1986 – Ernle Bradford, English historian and author (b. 1922)
    • 1987 – Doris Stokes, English psychic and author (b. 1920)
    • 1988 – Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction writer and screenwriter (b. 1907)
    • 1990 – Luigi Nono, Italian composer and educator (b. 1924)
    • 1991 – Jean Langlais, French pianist and composer (b. 1907)
    • 1991 – Rudolf Serkin, Czech-Austrian pianist and educator (b. 1903)
    • 1992 – Joyce Ricketts, American baseball player (b. 1933)
    • 1993 – Avram Davidson, American soldier and author (b. 1923)
    • 1994 – George Peppard, American actor and producer (b. 1928)
    • 1995 – Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (b. 1953)
    • 1996 – Beryl Burton, English cyclist (b. 1937)
    • 1996 – Luis Miguel Dominguín, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1926)
    • 1996 – Larry Levis, American poet, author, and critic (b. 1946)
    • 1996 – Garth Williams, American illustrator (b. 1912)
    • 1998 – Johannes Kotkas, Estonian wrestler (b. 1915)
    • 1998 – Charles Rebozo, American banker and businessman (b. 1912)
    • 1999 – Dirk Bogarde, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 1999 – Ed Gilbert, American actor (b. 1931)
    • 1999 – Dana Plato, American actress (b. 1964)
    • 1999 – Soeman Hs, Indonesian author and educator (b. 1904)
    • 2000 – Pita Amor, Mexican poet and author (b. 1918)
    • 2000 – Dédé Fortin, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1962)
    • 2000 – Henry Nicols, American activist (b. 1973)
    • 2003 – Elvira Pagã, Brazilian vedette, singer, and artist (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Jean Carrière, French author (b. 1928)
    • 2005 – Nicolás Vuyovich, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1981)
    • 2006 – Iain Macmillan, Scottish photographer and author (b. 1938)
    • 2007 – Philip R. Craig, American author and poet (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Carson Whitsett, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (b. 1945)
    • 2008 – Eddy Arnold, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1918)
    • 2008 – François Sterchele, Belgian footballer (b. 1982)
    • 2009 – Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player (b. 1917)
    • 2009 – Bud Shrake, American journalist and author (b. 1931)
    • 2011 – Lionel Rose, Australian boxer (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Everett Lilly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Jerry McMorris, American businessman (b. 1941)
    • 2012 – Stacy Robinson, American football player (b. 1962)
    • 2012 – Maurice Sendak, American author and illustrator (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Ampon Tangnoppakul, Thai criminal (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist and educator (b. 1911)
    • 2013 – Jeanne Cooper, American actress (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Bryan Forbes, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Juan José Muñoz, Argentinian businessman (b. 1950)
    • 2013 – Hugh J. Silverman, American philosopher and theorist (b. 1945)
    • 2013 – Ken Whaley, Austrian-English bass player (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Roger L. Easton, American scientist, co-invented the GPS (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Nancy Malone, American actress, director, and producer (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Yago Lamela, Spanish long jumper (b. 1977)
    • 2014 – Jair Rodrigues, Brazilian singer (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – R. Douglas Stuart Jr., American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Norway (b. 1916)
    • 2014 – Joseph P. Teasdale, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Missouri (b. 1936)
    • 2015 – Zeki Alasya, Turkish actor and director (b. 1943)
    • 2015 – Mwepu Ilunga, Congolese footballer (b. 1949)
    • 2015 – Menashe Kadishman, Israeli sculptor and painter (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Juan Schwanner, Hungarian-Chilean footballer and manager (b. 1921)
    • 2015 – Atanas Semerdzhiev, Bulgarian soldier and politician, 1st Vice President of Bulgaria (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Tom M. Apostol, American analytic number theorist (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – William Schallert, American actor; president (1979–81) of the Screen Actors Guild (b. 1922)
    • 2018 – Big Bully Busick, American professional wrestler (b. 1954)
    • 2018 – Anne V. Coates, British film editor (Lawrence of Arabia, The Elephant Man, Erin Brockovich), Oscar winner (1963) (b. 1925)
    • 2019 – Sprent Dabwido, President of Nauru from 2011 to 2013 (b. 1972)

    Holidays and observances on May 8

    • Christian feast day:
      • Amato Ronconi
      • Apparition of Saint Michael
      • Arsenius the Great
      • Desideratus
      • Blessed Catherine of St. Augustine
      • Julian of Norwich (Anglican, Lutheran)
      • Magdalene of Canossa
      • Our Lady of Luján
      • Peter of Tarentaise
      • Blessed Teresa Demjanovich (Ruthenian Catholic Church)
      • May 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (Romania)
    • Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (United States and others)
    • Earliest day on which State Flag and State Emblem Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (Belarus)
    • Earliest day on which World Fair Trade Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Saturday of May (site of the WFTO) (International)
    • Emancipation Day (Columbus, Mississippi)
    • Furry Dance (Helston, UK)
    • Liberation Day (Czech Republic)
    • Miguel Hidalgo’s birthday (Mexico)
    • Parents’ Day (South Korea)
    • Truman Day (Missouri)
    • Veterans Day (Norway)
    • Victory in Europe Day, and its related observances (Europe):
      • Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War, continues to May 9
    • White Lotus Day (Theosophy)
    • World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day (International)

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

    • 769 – The Lateran Council condemned the Council of Hieria and anathematized its iconoclastic rulings.
    • 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard.
    • 1395 – Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde at the Battle of the Terek River. The Golden Horde capital city, Sarai, is razed to the ground and Timur installs a puppet ruler on the throne.
    • 1450 – Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years’ War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France.
    • 1632 – Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years’ War.
    • 1642 – Irish Confederate Wars: A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush when it attempts to halt the progress of a Royalist Army.
    • 1715 – The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.
    • 1736 – Foundation of the Kingdom of Corsica.
    • 1738 – Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel receives its premiere performance in London, England.
    • 1755 – Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.
    • 1783 – Preliminary articles of peace ending the American Revolutionary War (or American War of Independence) are ratified.
    • 1817 – Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc founded the American School for the Deaf, the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut.
    • 1861 – President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 Volunteers to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War.
    • 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes President upon Lincoln’s death.
    • 1892 – The General Electric Company is formed.
    • 1896 – Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.
    • 1900 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines.
    • 1907 – Triangle Fraternity is founded at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
    • 1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,227 passengers and crew on board survive.
    • 1920 – Two security guards are murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy.
    • 1922 – U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick of Wyoming introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of a secret land deal, which leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal.
    • 1923 – Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.
    • 1924 – Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.
    • 1936 – First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine.
    • 1941 – In the Belfast Blitz, two-hundred bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, killing around one thousand people.
    • 1942 – The George Cross is awarded “to the island fortress of Malta” by King George VI.
    • 1945 – Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
    • 1947 – Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line.
    • 1952 – First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
    • 1955 – McDonald’s restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
    • 1960 – At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
    • 1969 – The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 onboard.
    • 1970 – During the Cambodian Civil War, massacre of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong river into South Vietnam.
    • 1986 – The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon, its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a discotheque bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen.
    • 1989 – Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.
    • 1989 – Upon Hu Yaobang’s death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China.
    • 1994 – Marrakesh Agreement relating to foundation of World Trade Organization is adopted.
    • 2013 – Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring 264 others.
    • 2013 – A wave of bombings across Iraq kills at least 75 people.
    • 2014 – In the worst massacre of the South Sudanese Civil War, at least 200 civilians were gunned down after seeking refuge in houses of worship as well as hospitals.
    • 2019 – The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is seriously damaged by a large fire.

    Births on April 15

    • 68 BC – Gaius Maecenas, Roman politician (d. 8 BC)
    • 1282 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1329)
    • 1367 – Henry IV of England (d. 1413)
    • 1442 – John Paston, English noble (d. 1479)
    • 1452 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (d. 1519)
    • 1469 – Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru (d. 1539)
    • 1552 – Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (d. 1626)
    • 1563 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth Sikh leader (d. 1606)
    • 1588 – Claudius Salmasius, French author and scholar (d. 1653)
    • 1592 – Francesco Maria Brancaccio, Catholic cardinal (d. 1675)
    • 1641 – Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician and geographer (d. 1722)
    • 1642 – Suleiman II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1691)
    • 1646 – Christian V of Denmark (d. 1699)
    • 1684 – Catherine I of Russia (d. 1727)
    • 1688 – Johann Friedrich Fasch, German violinist and composer (d. 1758)
    • 1707 – Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1783)
    • 1710 – William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (d. 1790)
    • 1741 – Charles Willson Peale, American painter and soldier (d. 1827)
    • 1771 – Nicolas Chopin, French-Polish educator (d. 1844)
    • 1772 – Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French biologist and zoologist (d. 1844)
    • 1793 – Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer and academic (d. 1864)
    • 1795 – Maria Schicklgruber, mother of Alois Hitler and the paternal grandmother of Adolf Hitler (d.1847)
    • 1800 – James Clark Ross, English captain and explorer (d. 1862)
    • 1808 – William Champ, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1892)
    • 1809 – Hermann Grassmann, German linguist and mathematician (d. 1877)
    • 1817 – William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1885)
    • 1828 – Jean Danjou, French captain (d. 1863)
    • 1832 – Wilhelm Busch, German poet, painter, and illustrator (d. 1908)
    • 1841 – Mary Grant Roberts, Australian zoo owner (d. 1921)
    • 1841 – Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician, founded the Seagram Company Ltd (d. 1919)
    • 1843 – Henry James, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (d. 1916)
    • 1856 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic (d. 1910)
    • 1858 – Émile Durkheim, French sociologist, psychologist, and philosopher (d. 1917)
    • 1861 – Bliss Carman, Canadian-British poet and playwright (d. 1929)
    • 1863 – Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (d. 1914)
    • 1874 – George Harrison Shull, American botanist and geneticist (d. 1954)
    • 1874 – Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
    • 1875 – James J. Jeffries, American boxer and promoter (d. 1953)
    • 1877 – Georg Kolbe, German sculptor (d. 1947)
    • 1878 – Robert Walser, Swiss author and playwright (d. 1956)
    • 1879 – Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer and poet (d. 1980)
    • 1883 – Stanley Bruce, Australian captain and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)
    • 1885 – Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general (d. 1947)
    • 1886 – Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet and critic (d. 1921)
    • 1887 – William Forgan Smith, Scottish-Australian politician, 24th Premier of Queensland (d. 1953)
    • 1888 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet and author (d. 1904)
    • 1889 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter and educator (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – A. Philip Randolph, American activist (d. 1979)
    • 1890 – Percy Shaw, English businessman, invented the cat’s eye (d. 1976)
    • 1892 – Theo Osterkamp, German general and pilot (d. 1975)
    • 1892 – Corrie ten Boom, Dutch-American clocksmith, Nazi resister, and author (d. 1983)
    • 1894 – Nikita Khrushchev, Russian general and politician, 7th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1971)
    • 1894 – Bessie Smith, African-American singer and actress (d. 1937)
    • 1895 – Clark McConachy, New Zealand snooker player (d. 1980)
    • 1895 – Abigail Mejia, Dominican feminist activist, nationalist, literary critic and educator (d. 1941)
    • 1896 – Nikolay Semyonov, Russian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
    • 1898 – Harry Edward, Guyanese-English sprinter (d. 1973)
    • 1901 – Joe Davis, English snooker player (d. 1978)
    • 1901 – Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1986)
    • 1901 – René Pleven, French businessman and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1993)
    • 1902 – Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist (d. 2002)
    • 1903 – John Williams, English-American actor (d. 1983)
    • 1904 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1948)
    • 1907 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
    • 1908 – eden ahbez, Scottish-American songwriter and recording artist (d. 1995)
    • 1908 – Lita Grey, American actress (d. 1995)
    • 1910 – Sulo Bärlund, Finnish shot putter (d. 1986)
    • 1910 – Miguel Najdorf, Polish-Argentinian chess player and theoretician (d. 1997)
    • 1912 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1998)
    • 1912 – Kim Il-sung, North Korean general and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of North Korea (d. 1994)
    • 1915 – Elizabeth Catlett, African-American sculptor and illustrator (d. 2012)
    • 1916 – Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman (d. 1982)
    • 1916 – Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1917 – Hans Conried, American actor (d. 1982)
    • 1917 – Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and bomber pilot (d. 1944)
    • 1917 – James Kee, American lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
    • 1918 – Hans Billian, German film director, screenwriter, and actor (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Alberto Breccia, Uruguayan-Argentinian author and illustrator (d. 1993)
    • 1920 – Godfrey Stafford, English-South African physicist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Thomas Szasz, Hungarian-American psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Richard von Weizsäcker, German soldier and politician, 6th President of Germany (d. 2015)
    • 1921 – Georgy Beregovoy, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1995)
    • 1921 – Angelo DiGeorge, American physician and endocrinologist (d. 2009)
    • 1922 – Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Hasrat Jaipuri, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Harold Washington, American lawyer and politician, 51st Mayor of Chicago (d. 1987)
    • 1922 – Graham Whitehead, English racing driver (d. 1981)
    • 1923 – Artur Alliksaar, Estonian poet and author (d. 1966)
    • 1923 – Robert DePugh, American activist, founded the Minutemen (an anti-Communist organization) (d. 2009)
    • 1924 – M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician (d. 1980)
    • 1924 – Rikki Fulton, Scottish comedian (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Neville Marriner, English violinist and conductor (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – Robert Mills, American physicist and academic (d. 1999)
    • 1929 – Gérald Beaudoin, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Adrian Cadbury, English rower and businessman (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Georges Descrières, French actor (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Icelandic educator and politician, 4th President of Iceland
    • 1931 – Kenneth Bloomfield, Northern Irish civil servant
    • 1931 – Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet, translator, and psychologist Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
    • 1933 – Roy Clark, American musician and television personality (d. 2018)
    • 1933 – David Hamilton, English-French photographer and director (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress and producer (d. 1995)
    • 1935 – Stavros Paravas, Greek actor and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1936 – Raymond Poulidor, French cyclist
    • 1937 – Bob Luman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1978)
    • 1938 – Claudia Cardinale, Italian actress
    • 1938 – Hso Khan Pha, Burmese-Canadian geologist and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1939 – Marty Wilde, English singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1939 – Desiré Ecaré, Ivorian filmmaker (d. 2009)
    • 1940 – Jeffrey Archer, English author, playwright, and politician
    • 1940 – Penelope Coelen, South African actress, model, beauty queen and 1958 Miss World
    • 1940 – Willie Davis, American baseball player and actor (d. 2010)
    • 1940 – Robert Lacroix, Canadian economist and academic
    • 1941 – Howard Berman, American lawyer and politician
    • 1942 – Francis X. DiLorenzo, American bishop (d. 2017)
    • 1942 – Walt Hazzard, American basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1942 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Tim Lankester, English economist and academic
    • 1943 – Pınar Kür, Turkish author, playwright, and academic
    • 1943 – Robert Lefkowitz, American physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1943 – Veronica Linklater, Baroness Linklater, English politician
    • 1943 – Hugh Thompson, Jr., American soldier and pilot (d. 2006)
    • 1944 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Russian-Chechen general and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (d. 1996)
    • 1944 – Dave Edmunds, Welsh singer, guitarist, and producer
    • 1946 – John Lloyd, Scottish journalist and author
    • 1946 – Pete Rouse, American politician, White House Chief of Staff
    • 1947 – Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1947 – Martin Broughton, English businessman
    • 1947 – Lois Chiles, American model and actress
    • 1947 – David Omand, English civil servant and academic
    • 1947 – Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, Swedish nurse and politician, Swedish Minister for Social Security
    • 1947 – Woolly Wolstenholme, English singer and keyboard player (d. 2010)
    • 1948 – Christopher Brown, English historian, curator, and academic
    • 1948 – Michael Kamen, American composer and conductor (d. 2003)
    • 1948 – Phil Mogg, English singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1949 – Alla Pugacheva, Russian singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1949 – Craig Zadan, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1950 – Josiane Balasko, French actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1950 – Amy Wright, American actress
    • 1950 – Karel Kroupa, Czech football player
    • 1951 – Heloise, American journalist and author
    • 1951 – John L. Phillips, American captain and astronaut
    • 1951 – Stuart Prebble, English journalist and producer
    • 1951 – Marsha Ivins, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1952 – Kym Gyngell, Australian actor, comedian, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Brian Muir, English sculptor and set designer
    • 1952 – Avital Ronell, Czech-American philosopher and academic
    • 1955 – Dodi Fayed, Egyptian film producer (d. 1997)
    • 1955 – Joice Mujuru, Zimbabwean politician
    • 1956 – Michael Cooper, American basketball player and coach
    • 1957 – Evelyn Ashford, American runner and coach
    • 1958 – Keith Acton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1958 – John Bracewell, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1958 – Memos Ioannou, Greek basketball player and coach
    • 1958 – Benjamin Zephaniah, English actor, author, poet, and playwright
    • 1959 – Fruit Chan, Chinese director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1959 – Kevin Lowe, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
    • 1959 – Emma Thompson, English actress, comedian, author, activist and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Pierre Aubry, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1960 – Susanne Bier, Danish director and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Pedro Delgado, Spanish cyclist and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Tony Jones, English snooker player
    • 1961 – Neil Carmichael, English academic and politician
    • 1961 – Carol W. Greider, American molecular biologist
    • 1961 – Dawn Wright, American geographer and oceanographer
    • 1962 – Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan athlete and politician
    • 1962 – Tom Kane, American voice actor
    • 1963 – Alex Crawford, Nigerian-South African journalist
    • 1963 – Manzoor Elahi, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1963 – Manoj Prabhakar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Andre Joubert, South African rugby player
    • 1964 – Lee Kernaghan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1965 – Linda Perry, American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer
    • 1965 – Kevin Stevens, American ice hockey player
    • 1966 – Samantha Fox, English singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1966 – Mott Green, American businessman (d. 2013)
    • 1967 – Frankie Poullain, Scottish bass player and songwriter
    • 1967 – Dara Torres, American swimmer and journalist
    • 1968 – Ben Clarke, English rugby player and coach
    • 1968 – Brahim Lahlafi, Moroccan-French runner
    • 1968 – Ed O’Brien, English guitarist
    • 1969 – Jeromy Burnitz, American baseball player
    • 1969 – Kaisa Roose, Estonian pianist and conductor
    • 1969 – Jimmy Waite, Canadian-German ice hockey player and coach
    • 1970 – Chris Huffins, American decathlete and coach
    • 1971 – Philippe Carbonneau, French rugby player
    • 1971 – Finidi George, Nigerian footballer
    • 1971 – Jason Sehorn, American football player
    • 1971 – Josia Thugwane, South African runner
    • 1971 – Karl Turner, English lawyer and politician
    • 1972 – Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer (d. 2009)
    • 1972 – Lou Romano, American animator and voice actor
    • 1974 – Kim Min-kyo, South Korean actor and director
    • 1974 – Danny Pino, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Mike Quinn, American football player
    • 1974 – Douglas Spain, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1974 – Tim Thomas, American ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Sarah Teichmann, German-American biophysicist and immunologist
    • 1976 – Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1976 – Darius Regelskis, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1976 – Kęstutis Šeštokas, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1976 – Steve Williams, English rower
    • 1977 – Sudarsan Pattnaik, Indian sculptor
    • 1977 – Brian Pothier, American ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Milton Bradley, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Tim Corcoran, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Luis Fonsi, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1978 – Chris Stapleton, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1980 – Patrick Carney, American drummer, musician, and producer
    • 1980 – James Foster, English cricketer
    • 1980 – Raül López, Spanish basketball player
    • 1980 – Willie Mason, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
    • 1980 – Aida Mollenkamp, American chef and author
    • 1980 – Billy Yates, American football player
    • 1981 – Andrés D’Alessandro, Argentinian footballer
    • 1982 – Michael Aubrey, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Anthony Green, American singer-songwriter
    • 1982 – Seth Rogen, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Alice Braga, Brazilian actress
    • 1983 – Matt Cardle, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1983 – Dudu Cearense, Brazilian footballer
    • 1983 – Andreas Fransson, Swedish skier (d. 2014)
    • 1983 – Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Martin Pedersen, Danish cyclist
    • 1984 – Antonio Cromartie, American football player
    • 1984 – Cam Janssen, American ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Daniel Paille, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Ryan Hamilton, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Tom Heaton, English footballer
    • 1986 – Sylvain Marveaux, French footballer
    • 1988 – Blake Ayshford, Australian rugby league player
    • 1988 – Steven Defour, Belgian footballer
    • 1988 – Chris Tillman, American baseball pitcher
    • 1989 – Darren Nicholls, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Emma Watson, English actress
    • 1991 – Daiki Arioka, Japanese idol, singer, and actor
    • 1991 – Javier Fernández López, Spanish figure skater
    • 1992 – Jeremy McGovern, Australian rules football player
    • 1994 – Brodie Grundy, Australian rules football player
    • 1994 – Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Bahamian sprinter
    • 1995 – Leander Dendoncker, Belgian footballer
    • 1999 – Denis Shapovalov, Canadian tennis player
    • 2001 – Shanti Dope, Filipino rapper

    Deaths on April 15

    • 628 – Suiko, emperor of Japan (b. 554)
    • 943 – Liu Bin, emperor of Southern Han (b. 920)
    • 956 – Lin Yanyu, Chinese court official and eunuch
    • 1053 – Godwin, Earl of Wessex (b. 1001)
    • 1136 – Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare (b. 1094)
    • 1220 – Adolf of Altena, German archbishop (b. 1157)
    • 1237 – Richard Poore, English ecclesiastic
    • 1415 – Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek philosopher and translator (b. 1355)
    • 1446 – Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian sculptor and architect (b. 1377)
    • 1502 – John IV of Chalon-Arlay, Prince of Orange (b. 1443)
    • 1558 – Roxelana, wife of Suleiman the Magnificent (b. c. 1500)
    • 1610 – Robert Persons, English Jesuit priest, insurrectionist, and author (b. 1546)
    • 1632 – George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, English politician, English Secretary of State (b. 1580)
    • 1652 – Patriarch Joseph of Moscow, Russian patriarch
    • 1659 – Simon Dach, German poet and hymnwriter (b. 1605)
    • 1719 – Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, French wife of Louis XIV of France (b. 1635)
    • 1754 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician and academic (b. 1676)
    • 1761 – Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord President of the Court of Session (b. 1682)
    • 1761 – William Oldys, English historian and author (b. 1696)
    • 1764 – Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer and mathematician (b. 1679)
    • 1765 – Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian chemist and physicist (b. 1711)
    • 1788 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711)
    • 1793 – Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian priest, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1718)
    • 1854 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (b. 1773)
    • 1861 – Sylvester Jordan, Austrian-German lawyer and politician (b. 1792)
    • 1865 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809)
    • 1888 – Matthew Arnold, English poet and critic (b. 1822)
    • 1889 – Father Damien, Belgian priest and saint (b. 1840)
    • 1898 – Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui, New Zealand commander and politician
    • 1912 – Victims of the Titanic disaster:
      • Thomas Andrews, Irish shipbuilder (b. 1873)
      • John Jacob Astor IV, American colonel, businessman, and author (b. 1864)
      • Archibald Butt, American general and journalist (b. 1865)
      • Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (b. 1875)
      • Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (b. 1865)
      • Henry B. Harris, American producer and manager (b. 1866)
      • Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (b. 1878)
      • James Paul Moody, English Sixth Officer (b. 1887)
      • William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish First Officer (b. 1873)
      • Jack Phillips, English telegraphist (b. 1887)
      • Edward Smith, English Captain (b. 1850)
      • William Thomas Stead, English journalist (b. 1849)
      • Ida Straus, German-American businesswoman (b. 1849)
      • Isidor Straus, German-American businessman and politician (b. 1845)
      • John B. Thayer, American business and sportsman (b. 1862)
      • Henry Tingle Wilde, English chief officer (b. 1872)
    • 1917 – János Murkovics, Slovene author, poet, and educator (b. 1839)
    • 1927 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (b. 1868)
    • 1938 – César Vallejo, Peruvian journalist, poet, and playwright (b. 1892)
    • 1942 – Robert Musil, Austrian-Swiss author and playwright (b. 1880)
    • 1943 – Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian painter and set designer (b. 1882)
    • 1944 – Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin, Russian general (b. 1901)
    • 1945 – Hermann Florstedt, German SS officer (b. 1895)
    • 1948 – Radola Gajda, Montenegrin-Czech general and politician (b. 1892)
    • 1949 – Wallace Beery, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
    • 1962 – Clara Blandick, American actress (b. 1880)
    • 1962 – Arsenio Lacson, Filipino journalist and politician, Mayor of Manila (b. 1912)
    • 1963 – Edward Greeves, Jr., Australian footballer (b. 1903)
    • 1966 – Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury, Bengali politician, writer, journalist, first health minister of East Pakistan
    • 1967 – Totò, Italian comedian (b. 1898)
    • 1971 – Gurgen Boryan, Armenian poet and playwright (b. 1915)
    • 1971 – Friedebert Tuglas, Estonian author and critic (b. 1886)
    • 1979 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1912)
    • 1980 – Raymond Bailey, American actor and soldier (b. 1904)
    • 1980 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
    • 1982 – Arthur Lowe, English actor (b. 1915)
    • 1984 – Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedian and magician (b. 1921)
    • 1986 – Jean Genet, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1910)
    • 1988 – Kenneth Williams, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 1989 – Hu Yaobang, Chinese soldier and politician, former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (b. 1915)
    • 1990 – Greta Garbo, Swedish-American actress (b. 1905)
    • 1993 – Leslie Charteris, English author and screenwriter (b. 1907)
    • 1993 – John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geophysicist and geologist (b. 1908)
    • 1998 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1912)
    • 1998 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b. 1925)
    • 1999 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (b. 1944)
    • 2000 – Edward Gorey, American poet and illustrator (b. 1925)
    • 2001 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
    • 2002 – Damon Knight, American author and critic (b. 1922)
    • 2002 – Byron White, American football player, lawyer, and jurist, 4th United States Deputy Attorney General (b. 1917)
    • 2004 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese illustrator (b. 1934)
    • 2007 – Brant Parker, American illustrator (b. 1920)
    • 2008 – Krister Stendahl, Swedish bishop, theologian, and scholar (b. 1921)
    • 2009 – Clement Freud, German-English journalist, academic, and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – László Tisza, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (b. 1907)
    • 2009 – Salih Neftçi, Turkish economist and author (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Jack Herer, American author and activist (b. 1939)
    • 2010 – Michael Pataki, American actor and director (b. 1938)
    • 2011 – Vittorio Arrigoni, Italian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1975)
    • 2012 – Paul Bogart, American director and producer (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Dwayne Schintzius, American basketball player (b. 1968)
    • 2013 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Richard LeParmentier, American-English actor and screenwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2013 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – John Houbolt, American engineer and academic (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Eliseo Verón, Argentinian sociologist and academic (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Jonathan Crombie, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1966)
    • 2015 – Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1928)
    • 2017 – Clifton James, American actor (b. 1920)
    • 2017 – Emma Morano, Italian supercentenarian, last person verified born in the 1800s (b. 1899)
    • 2018 – R. Lee Ermey, American actor (b. 1944)
    • 2018 – Vittorio Taviani, Italian film director and screenwriter (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on April 15

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abbo II of Metz
      • Father Damien (The Episcopal Church)
      • Hunna
      • Paternus of Avranches
      • April 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the Sun (North Korea)
    • Earliest day on which Sechseläuten can fall, while April 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in April. (Zürich)
    • Father Damien Day (Hawaii)
    • Hillsborough Disaster Memorial (Liverpool, England)
    • Jackie Robinson Day (United States)
    • National American Sign Language Day (United States)
    • One Boston Day (United States)
    • Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year)
    • Tax Day, the official deadline for filing an individual tax return (or requesting an extension). (United States, Philippines)
    • Universal Day of Culture
    • World Art Day

  • April 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    It is the first day of the second quarter of the year, and the midway point of the first half of the year.

    • 33 – According to one historian’s account, Jesus Christ’s Last Supper is held.
    • 286 – Emperor Diocletian elevates his general Maximian to co-emperor with the rank of Augustus and gives him control over the Western regions of the Roman Empire.
    • 325 – Crown Prince Jin Chengdi, age four, succeeds his father Jin Mingdi as emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty.
    • 457 – Majorian is acclaimed emperor by the Roman army after defeating 900 Alemanni near Lake Maggiore (Italy).
    • 527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
    • 528 – The daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei was made the “Emperor” as a male heir of the late emperor by Empress Dowager Hu. Deposed and replaced by Yuan Zhao the next day, she was the first female monarch in the History of China, but is not widely recognised.
    • 988 – Robert II of France is married to Rozala of Italy. The marriage is arranged by his father, King Hugh Capet.
    • 1234 – Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, is defeated by knights loyal to King Henry III of England in the Battle of the Curragh in Ireland.
    • 1293 – Robert Winchelsey leaves England for Rome, to be consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.
    • 1318 – Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by Scotland from England.
    • 1340 – Niels Ebbesen kills Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg in his bedroom, ending the 1332-1340 interregnum in Denmark.
    • 1545 – Potosí, Bolivia, is founded after the discovery of huge silver deposits in the area.
    • 1572 – In the Eighty Years’ War, the Watergeuzen capture Brielle from the Seventeen Provinces, gaining the first foothold on land for what would become the Dutch Republic.
    • 1625 – A combined Spanish and Portuguese fleet of 52 ships commences the recapture of Bahia from the Dutch during the Dutch–Portuguese War.
    • 1789 – In New York City, the United States House of Representatives achieves its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first Speaker.
    • 1826 – Samuel Morey received a patent for a compressionless “Gas or Vapor Engine”.
    • 1833 – The Convention of 1833, a political gathering of settlers in Mexican Texas to help draft a series of petitions to the Mexican government, begins in San Felipe de Austin.
    • 1854 – Charles Dickens’ novel Hard Times begins serialisation in his magazine Household Words.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: Union troops led by Philip Sheridan decisively defeat Confederate troops led by George Pickett, cutting the Army of Northern Virginia’s last supply line.
    • 1867 – Singapore becomes a British crown colony.
    • 1871 – The 3rd Duke of Buckingham opened the Brill Tramway, a short railway line to transport goods between his lands and the national rail network.
    • 1873 – The White Star steamer RMS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547 in one of the worst marine disasters of the 19th century.
    • 1889 – The University of Northern Colorado was established, as the Colorado State Normal School.
    • 1891 – The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
    • 1893 – The rank of Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy is established.
    • 1908 – The Territorial Force (renamed Territorial Army in 1920) is formed as a volunteer reserve component of the British Army.
    • 1918 – The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
    • 1924 – Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years imprisonment for his participation in the “Beer Hall Putsch” but spends only nine months in jail.
    • 1924 – The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.
    • 1933 – The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in a series of anti-Semitic acts.
    • 1933 – English cricketer Wally Hammond set a record for the highest individual Test innings of 336 not out, during a Test match against New Zealand.
    • 1935 – India’s central banking institution, The Reserve Bank of India, is formed.
    • 1937 – Aden becomes a British crown colony.
    • 1937 – The Royal New Zealand Air Force is formed as an independent service.
    • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Jaén, Spain is bombed by German fascist forces, supporting Francoist Nationalists.
    • 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrender.
    • 1941 – Fântâna Albă massacre: Between 200 and 2,000 Romanian civilians are killed by Soviet Border Troops.
    • 1941 – A military coup in Iraq overthrows the regime of ‘Abd al-Ilah and installs Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.
    • 1944 – Navigation errors lead to an accidental American bombing of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Tenth United States Army attacks the Thirty-Second Japanese Army on Okinawa.
    • 1946 – The 8.6 Mw  Aleutian Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). A destructive tsunami reaches the Hawaiian Islands resulting in dozens of deaths, mostly in Hilo, Hawaii.
    • 1947 – The only mutiny in the history of the Royal New Zealand Navy begins.
    • 1948 – Cold War: Communist forces respond to the introduction of the Deutsche Mark by attempting to force the western powers to withdraw from Berlin.
    • 1948 – Faroe Islands gain autonomy from Denmark.
    • 1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Chinese Communist Party holds unsuccessful peace talks with the Nationalist Party in Beijing, after three years of fighting.
    • 1949 – The Government of Canada repeals Japanese-Canadian internment after seven years.
    • 1954 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
    • 1955 – The EOKA rebellion against the British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of unifying with Greece.
    • 1960 – The TIROS-1 satellite transmits the first television picture from space.
    • 1969 – The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational fighter aircraft with Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing capabilities, enters service with the Royal Air Force.
    • 1970 – President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, requiring the Surgeon General’s warnings on tobacco products and banning cigarette advertising on television and radio in the United States, effective 1 January 1971.
    • 1970 – The first of over 670,000 AMC Gremlins are released into North America to compete with foreign imported cars.
    • 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army massacre over 1,000 people in Keraniganj Upazila, Bangladesh.
    • 1973 – Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Jim Corbett National Park, India.
    • 1974 – The Local Government Act 1972 of England and Wales comes into effect.
    • 1976 – Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in Cupertino, California, USA.
    • 1978 – The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, becomes the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
    • 1979 – Iran becomes an Islamic republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.
    • 1979 – Nickelodeon was launched in United States.
    • 1986 – Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) cadres attack a number of police stations in Kathmandu, seeking to incite a popular rebellion.
    • 1989 – Margaret Thatcher’s new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the “poll tax”), is introduced in Scotland.
    • 1993 – Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is founded in Los Angeles, California, USA.
    • 1996 – The government of Nova Scotia amalgamated the City of Halifax and the over 200 communities around the area to create the Halifax Regional Municipality.
    • 1997 – Comet Hale–Bopp is seen passing at perihelion.
    • 1999 – Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved out of the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.
    • 2001 – An EP-3E United States Navy surveillance aircraft collides with a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Shenyang J-8 fighter jet. The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, China and is detained.
    • 2001 – Former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on war crimes charges.
    • 2001 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first contemporary country to allow it.
    • 2004 – Google announces Gmail to the public.
    • 2006 – Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) of the Government of the United Kingdom is enforced, but later merged into National Crime Agency on 7 October 2013.
    • 2011 – After protests against the burning of the Quran turn violent, a mob attacks a United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of thirteen people, including eight foreign workers.
    • 2016 – Nagorno-Karabakh clashes: The Four Day War or April War begins along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on April 1.

    Births on April 1

    • 1220 – Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (d. 1272)
    • 1282 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1347)
    • 1328 – Blanche of France, Duchess of Orléans (d. 1382)
    • 1543 – François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières (d. 1626)
    • 1578 – William Harvey, English physician and academic (d. 1657)
    • 1610 – Charles de Saint-Évremond, French soldier and critic (d. 1703)
    • 1629 – Jean-Henri d’Anglebert, French organist and composer (d. 1691)
    • 1640 – Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician and academic (d. 1697)
    • 1647 – John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet and courtier (d. 1680)
    • 1697 – Antoine François Prévost, French novelist and translator (d. 1763)
    • 1721 – Pieter Hellendaal, Dutch-English organist, violinist, and composer (d. 1799)
    • 1741 – George Dance the Younger, English architect and surveyor (d. 1825)
    • 1753 – Joseph de Maistre, French philosopher, lawyer, and diplomat (d. 1821)
    • 1755 – Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, French lawyer and politician (d. 1826)
    • 1765 – Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian engraver and etcher (d. 1810)
    • 1776 – Sophie Germain, French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (d. 1831)
    • 1786 – William Mulready, Irish genre painter (d. 1863)
    • 1815 – Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of the German Empire (d. 1898)
    • 1815 – Edward Clark, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Texas (d. 1880)
    • 1823 – Simon Bolivar Buckner, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Kentucky (d. 1891)
    • 1824 – Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, Canadian bishop (d. 1901)
    • 1834 – James Fisk, American businessman (d. 1872)
    • 1852 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (d. 1911)
    • 1865 – Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
    • 1866 – William Blomfield, New Zealand cartoonist and politician (d. 1938)
    • 1866 – Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1924)
    • 1866 – Ève Lavallière, French actress (d. 1929)
    • 1868 – Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (d. 1918)
    • 1868 – Walter Mead, English cricketer (d. 1954)
    • 1871 – F. Melius Christiansen, Norwegian-American violinist and conductor (d. 1955)
    • 1873 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1943)
    • 1874 – Ernest Barnes, English mathematician and theologian (d. 1953)
    • 1874 – Prince Karl of Bavaria (d. 1927)
    • 1875 – Edgar Wallace, English journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1932)
    • 1878 – C. Ganesha Iyer, Ceylon Tamil philologist (d. 1958)
    • 1879 – Stanislaus Zbyszko, Polish wrestler and strongman (d. 1967)
    • 1881 – Octavian Goga, Romanian Prime Minister (d. 1938)
    • 1883 – Lon Chaney, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1930)
    • 1883 – Edvard Drabløs, Norwegian actor and director (d. 1976)
    • 1883 – Laurette Taylor, Irish-American actress (d. 1946)
    • 1885 – Wallace Beery, American actor (d. 1949)
    • 1885 – Clementine Churchill, English wife of Winston Churchill (d. 1977)
    • 1889 – K. B. Hedgewar, Indian physician and activist (d. 1940)
    • 1893 – Cicely Courtneidge, Australian-English actress (d. 1980)
    • 1895 – Alberta Hunter, African-American singer-songwriter and nurse (d. 1984)
    • 1898 – William James Sidis, Ukrainian-Russian Jewish American mathematician, anthropologist, and historian (d. 1944)
    • 1899 – Gustavs Celmiņš, Latvian academic and politician (d. 1968)
    • 1900 – Stefanie Clausen, Danish Olympic diver (d. 1981)
    • 1901 – Whittaker Chambers, American journalist and spy (d. 1961)
    • 1905 – Gaston Eyskens, Belgian economist and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1988)
    • 1905 – Paul Hasluck, Australian historian, poet, and politician, 17th Governor-General of Australia (d. 1993)
    • 1906 – Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev, Russian engineer, founded the Yakovlev Design Bureau (d. 1989)
    • 1907 – Shivakumara Swami, Indian religious leader and philanthropist (d. 2019)
    • 1908 – Abraham Maslow, American psychologist and academic (d. 1970)
    • 1908 – Harlow Rothert, American shot putter, lawyer, and academic (d. 1997)
    • 1909 – Abner Biberman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
    • 1909 – Eddy Duchin, American pianist and bandleader (d. 1951)
    • 1910 – Harry Carney, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1974)
    • 1910 – Bob Van Osdel, American high jumper and soldier (d. 1987)
    • 1911 – Augusta Braxton Baker, African American librarian (d. 1998)
    • 1913 – Memos Makris, Greek sculptor (d. 1993)
    • 1915 – O. W. Fischer, Austrian-Swiss actor and director (d. 2004)
    • 1916 – Sheila May Edmonds, British mathematician (d. 2002)
    • 1917 – Sydney Newman, Canadian screenwriter and producer, co-created Doctor Who (d. 1997)
    • 1917 – Melville Shavelson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Joseph Murray, American surgeon and soldier, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (d. 1997)
    • 1921 – William Bergsma, American composer and educator (d. 1994)
    • 1921 – Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith, American guitarist, fiddler, and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Duke Jordan, American pianist and composer (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – William Manchester, American historian and author (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Brendan Byrne, American lieutenant, judge, and politician, 47th Governor of New Jersey (d. 2018)
    • 1926 – Anne McCaffrey, American-Irish author (d. 2011)
    • 1927 – Walter Bahr, American soccer player, coach, and manager (d. 2018)
    • 1927 – Amos Milburn, American R&B singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1980)
    • 1927 – Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Jonathan Haze, American actor, producer, screenwriter, and production manager
    • 1929 – Milan Kundera, Czech-born novelist, poet, and playwright
    • 1929 – Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator and director (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Jane Powell, American actress, singer, and dancer
    • 1930 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – George Baker, Bulgarian-English actor and screenwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1931 – Rolf Hochhuth, German author and playwright (d. 2020)
    • 1932 – Debbie Reynolds, Scottish-Irish American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Algerian-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1933 – Dan Flavin, American sculptor and educator (d. 1996)
    • 1934 – Vladimir Posner, French-American journalist and radio host
    • 1935 – Larry McDonald, American physician and politician (d. 1983)
    • 1936 – Peter Collinson, English-American director and producer (d. 1980)
    • 1936 – Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, Swiss politician, 80th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1998)
    • 1936 – Tarun Gogoi, Indian politician, 14th Chief Minister of Assam
    • 1936 – Abdul Qadeer Khan, Indian-Pakistani physicist, chemist, and engineer
    • 1937 – Jordan Charney, American actor
    • 1939 – Ali MacGraw, American model and actress
    • 1939 – Phil Niekro, American baseball player and manager
    • 1940 – Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
    • 1941 – Gideon Gadot, Israeli journalist and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1941 – Ajit Wadekar, Indian cricketer, coach, and manager (d. 2018)
    • 1942 – Samuel R. Delany, American author and critic
    • 1942 – Richard D. Wolff, American economist and academic
    • 1943 – Dafydd Wigley, Welsh academic and politician
    • 1946 – Nikitas Kaklamanis, Greek academic and politician, Greek Minister of Health and Social Security
    • 1946 – Ronnie Lane, English bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 1997)
    • 1946 – Arrigo Sacchi, Italian footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1947 – Alain Connes, French mathematician and academic
    • 1947 – Philippe Kirsch, Canadian lawyer and judge
    • 1947 – Francine Prose, American novelist, short story writer, and critic
    • 1947 – Norm Van Lier, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2009)
    • 1948 – Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican singer and musician
    • 1948 – Javier Irureta, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1948 – Peter Law, Welsh politician and independent Member of parliament(d. 2006)
    • 1949 – Gérard Mestrallet, French businessman
    • 1949 – Paul Manafort, American lobbyist, political consultant, and convicted felon
    • 1949 – Sammy Nelson, Northern Irish footballer and coach
    • 1949 – Gil Scott-Heron, American singer-songwriter and author (d. 2011)
    • 1950 – Samuel Alito, American lawyer and jurist
    • 1950 – Loris Kessel, Swiss racing driver (d. 2010)
    • 1950 – Daniel Paillé, Canadian academic and politician
    • 1951 – John Abizaid, American general
    • 1951 – Frederic Schwartz, American architect, co-designed Empty Sky (d. 2014)
    • 1952 – Annette O’Toole, American actress
    • 1952 – Bernard Stiegler, French philosopher and academic
    • 1953 – Barry Sonnenfeld, American cinematographer, director, and producer
    • 1953 – Alberto Zaccheroni, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1954 – Jeff Porcaro, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (d. 1992)
    • 1955 – Don Hasselbeck, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1955 – Humayun Akhtar Khan, Pakistani politician, 5th Commerce Minister of Pakistan
    • 1955 – Terry Nichols, American criminal
    • 1957 – David Gower, English cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1957 – Denise Nickerson, American actress (d. 2019)
    • 1958 – D. Boon, American singer and musician (d. 1985)
    • 1959 – Helmuth Duckadam, Romanian footballer
    • 1961 – Susan Boyle, Scottish singer
    • 1961 – Sergio Scariolo, Italian professional basketball head coach
    • 1961 – Mark White, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1962 – Mark Shulman, American author
    • 1962 – Chris Grayling, English journalist and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
    • 1962 – Samboy Lim, Filipino basketball player and manager
    • 1962 – Phillip Schofield, English television host
    • 1963 – Teodoro de Villa Diaz, Filipino guitarist and songwriter (d. 1988)
    • 1963 – Aprille Ericsson-Jackson, American aerospace engineer
    • 1964 – Erik Breukink, Dutch cyclist and manager
    • 1964 – Kevin Duckworth, American basketball player (d. 2008)
    • 1964 – John Morris, English cricketer
    • 1964 – José Rodrigues dos Santos, Portuguese journalist, author, and educator
    • 1965 – Jane Adams, American film, television, and stage actress
    • 1965 – Mark Jackson, American basketball player and coach
    • 1966 – Chris Evans, English radio and television host
    • 1966 – Mehmet Özdilek, Turkish footballer and manager
    • 1967 – Nicola Roxon, Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Attorney-General for Australia
    • 1968 – Mike Baird, Australian politician, 44th Premier of New South Wales
    • 1968 – Andreas Schnaas, German actor and director
    • 1968 – Alexander Stubb, Finnish academic and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Finland
    • 1969 – Lev Lobodin, Ukrainian-Russian decathlete
    • 1969 – Andrew Vlahov, Australian basketball player
    • 1969 – Dean Windass, English footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Brad Meltzer, American author, screenwriter, and producer
    • 1971 – Sonia Bisset, Cuban javelin thrower
    • 1971 – Shinji Nakano, Japanese racing driver
    • 1972 – Darren McCarty, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Jesse Tobias, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1973 – Christian Finnegan, American comedian and actor
    • 1973 – Stephen Fleming, New Zealand cricketer and coach
    • 1973 – Rachel Maddow, American journalist and author
    • 1974 – Hugo Ibarra, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1975 – John Butler, American-Australian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1975 – Magdalena Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player
    • 1976 – Hazem El Masri, Lebanese-Australian rugby league player and educator
    • 1976 – David Gilliland, American race car driver
    • 1976 – David Oyelowo, English actor
    • 1976 – Clarence Seedorf, Dutch-Brazilian footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Yuka Yoshida, Japanese tennis player
    • 1977 – Vitor Belfort, Brazilian-American boxer and mixed martial artist
    • 1977 – Haimar Zubeldia, Spanish cyclist
    • 1978 – Antonio de Nigris, Mexican footballer (d. 2009)
    • 1978 – Mirka Federer, Slovak-Swiss tennis player
    • 1978 – Anamaria Marinca, Romanian-English actress
    • 1978 – Etan Thomas, American basketball player
    • 1979 – Ruth Beitia, Spanish high jumper
    • 1980 – Dennis Kruppke, German footballer
    • 1980 – Randy Orton, American wrestler
    • 1980 – Bijou Phillips, American actress and model
    • 1981 – Antonis Fotsis, Greek basketball player
    • 1981 – Bjørn Einar Romøren, Norwegian ski jumper
    • 1982 – Taran Killam, American actor, voice artist, comedian, and writer
    • 1982 – Andreas Thorkildsen, Norwegian javelin thrower
    • 1983 – Ólafur Ingi Skúlason, Icelandic footballer
    • 1983 – Sean Taylor, American football player (d. 2007)
    • 1984 – Gilberto Macena, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Daniel Murphy, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Beth Tweddle, English gymnast
    • 1986 – Hillary Scott, American country singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Ding Junhui, Chinese professional snooker player
    • 1987 – Gianluca Musacci, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Oliver Turvey, English racing driver
    • 1988 – Brook Lopez, American basketball player
    • 1988 – Robin Lopez, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Jan Blokhuijsen, Dutch speed skater
    • 1989 – David N’Gog, French footballer
    • 1989 – Christian Vietoris, German racing driver
    • 1990 – Julia Fischer, German discus thrower
    • 1992 – Deng Linlin, Chinese gymnast
    • 1995 – Logan Paul, American Youtuber and actor
    • 1997 – Álex Palou, Spanish racing driver

    Deaths on April 1

    • 996 – John XV, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 1085 – Shen Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1048)
    • 1132 – Hugh of Châteauneuf, French bishop (b. 1053)
    • 1204 – Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of France and England (b. 1122)
    • 1205 – Amalric II, king of Cyprus and Jerusalem
    • 1282 – Abaqa Khan, ruler of the Mongol Ilkhanate (b. 1234)
    • 1431 – Nuno Álvares Pereira, Portuguese general (b. 1360)
    • 1441 – Blanche I, queen of Navarre and Sicily (b. 1387)
    • 1455 – Zbigniew Oleśnicki, Polish cardinal and statesman (b. 1389)
    • 1528 – Francisco de Peñalosa, Spanish composer (b. 1470)
    • 1548 – Sigismund I, king of Poland (b. 1467)
    • 1580 – Alonso Mudarra, Spanish guitarist and composer (b. 1510)
    • 1601 – Françoise d’Orléans-Longueville, French princess (b. 1549)
    • 1621 – Cristofano Allori, Italian painter and educator (b. 1577)
    • 1682 – Franz Egon of Fürstenberg, Bavarian bishop (b. 1625)
    • 1787 – Floyer Sydenham, English scholar and academic (b. 1710)
    • 1839 – Benjamin Pierce, American soldier and politician, 11th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1757)
    • 1865 – Giuditta Pasta, Italian soprano (b. 1797)
    • 1872 – Frederick Denison Maurice, English theologian and academic (b. 1805)
    • 1878 – John C.W. Daly, English-Canadian soldier and politician (b. 1796)
    • 1890 – David Wilber, American politician (b. 1820)
    • 1890 – Alexander Mozhaysky, Russian soldier, pilot, and engineer (b. 1825)
    • 1914 – Rube Waddell, American baseball player (b. 1876)
    • 1914 – Charles Wells, English founder of Charles Wells Ltd (b. 1842)
    • 1917 – Scott Joplin, American pianist and composer (b. 1868)
    • 1920 – Walter Simon, German banker and philanthropist (b. 1857)
    • 1922 – Charles I, emperor of Austria (b. 1887)
    • 1922 – Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist and author (b. 1884)
    • 1924 – Jacob Bolotin, American physician (b. 1888)
    • 1924 – Lloyd Hildebrand, English cyclist (b. 1870)
    • 1924 – Stan Rowley, Australian sprinter (b. 1876)
    • 1946 – Noah Beery, Sr., American actor (b. 1882)
    • 1947 – George II, king of Greece (b. 1890)
    • 1950 – Charles R. Drew, American physician and surgeon (b. 1904)
    • 1950 – Recep Peker, Turkish soldier and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1889)
    • 1962 – Jussi Kekkonen, Finnish captain and businessman (b. 1910)
    • 1965 – Helena Rubinstein, Polish-American businesswoman (b. 1870)
    • 1966 – Brian O’Nolan, Irish author (b. 1911)
    • 1968 – Lev Landau, Azerbaijani-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
    • 1976 – Max Ernst, German painter and sculptor (b. 1891)
    • 1981 – Eua Sunthornsanan, Thai singer-songwriter and bandleader (b. 1910)
    • 1984 – Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (b. 1939)
    • 1984 – Elizabeth Goudge, English author (b. 1900)
    • 1986 – Erik Bruhn, Danish actor, director, and choreographer (b. 1928)
    • 1987 – Henri Cochet, French tennis player (b. 1901)
    • 1991 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1894)
    • 1991 – Jaime Guzmán, Chilean lawyer and politician (b. 1946)
    • 1992 – Michael Havers, Baron Havers, English lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1923)
    • 1993 – Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (b. 1954)
    • 1994 – Robert Doisneau, French photographer (b. 1912)
    • 1995 – H. Adams Carter, American mountaineer, journalist, and educator (b. 1914)
    • 1995 – Francisco Moncion, Dominican American ballet dancer, choreographer, charter member of the New York City Ballet (b. 1918)
    • 1995 – Lucie Rie, Austrian-English potter (b. 1902)
    • 1997 – Makar Honcharenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1912)
    • 1998 – Rozz Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1963)
    • 1999 – Jesse Stone, American pianist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1901)
    • 2001 – Trịnh Công Sơn, Vietnamese guitarist and composer (b. 1939)
    • 2002 – Simo Häyhä, Finnish soldier and sniper (b. 1905)
    • 2003 – Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1956)
    • 2004 – Ioannis Kyrastas, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1952)
    • 2004 – Carrie Snodgress, American actress (b. 1945)
    • 2005 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and diplomat, 1st Tanzanian Minister of Finance (b 1925)
    • 2005 – Robert Coldwell Wood, American political scientist and academic (b. 1923)
    • 2006 – In Tam, Cambodian general and politician, 26th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b. 1916)
    • 2010 – John Forsythe, American actor (b. 1918)
    • 2010 – Tzannis Tzannetakis, Greek soldier and politician, 175th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Lionel Bowen, Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian-American soccer player and radio host (b. 1947)
    • 2012 – Miguel de la Madrid, Mexican banker, academic, and politician, 52nd President of Mexico (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Moses Blah, Liberian general and politician, 23rd President of Liberia (b. 1947)
    • 2013 – Karen Muir, South African swimmer and physician (b. 1952)
    • 2014 – King Fleming, American pianist and bandleader (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Jacques Le Goff, French historian and author (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Rolf Rendtorff, German theologian and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Nicolae Rainea, Romanian footballer and referee (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Lonnie Brooks, American blues singer and guitarist (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Soviet and Russian poet and writer (b. 1932)
    • 2018 – Steven Bochco, American television writer and producer (b. 1943)
    • 2019 – Vonda N. McIntyre, American science fiction author (b. 1948)

    Holidays and observances on April 1

    • Christian feast day:
      • Cellach of Armagh
      • Hugh of Grenoble
      • Frederick Denison Maurice (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Mary of Egypt
      • Melito of Sardis
      • Nuno Álvares Pereira
      • Tewdrig
      • Theodora
      • Walric, abbot of Leuconay
      • April 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Sizdah Be-dar can fall, while April 2 is the latest; celebrated on the 13th day after vernal equinox. (Iran)
    • Iranian Islamic Republic Day (Iran) falls on this day if the Vernal Equinox falls on March 21.
    • Veneralia was held on April 1 during Ancient Rome, however this date does not lock into the modern Gregorian calendar.
    • April Fools’ Day
    • Odisha Day (Odisha, India)
    • Arbor Day (Tanzania)
    • Civil Service Day (Thailand)
    • Cyprus National Day (Cyprus)
    • Edible Book Day
    • Fossil Fools Day
    • Kha b-Nisan, the Assyrian New Year (Assyrian people)
    • National Civil Service Day (Thailand)

  • March 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • AD 37 – Roman emperor Caligula accepts the titles of the Principate, bestowed on him by the Senate.
    • 193 – After assassinating the Roman Emperor Pertinax, his Praetorian Guards auction off the throne to Didius Julianus.
    • 364 – Roman Emperor Valentinian I appoints his brother Flavius Valens co-emperor.
    • 1566 – The foundation stone of Valletta, Malta’s capital city, is laid by Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
    • 1737 – The Marathas under Baji Rao I attack and defeat the Mughals in the Battle of Delhi.
    • 1776 – Juan Bautista de Anza finds the site for the Presidio of San Francisco.
    • 1794 – Allies under Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld defeat French forces at Le Cateau.
    • 1795 – Partitions of Poland: The Duchy of Courland and Semigallia, a northern fief of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ceases to exist and becomes part of Imperial Russia.
    • 1801 – Treaty of Florence is signed, ending the war between the French Republic and the Kingdom of Naples.
    • 1802 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers discovers 2 Pallas, the second asteroid ever to be discovered.
    • 1809 – Peninsular War: France defeats Spain in the Battle of Medellín.
    • 1814 – War of 1812: In the Battle of Valparaíso, two American naval vessels are captured by two Royal Navy vessels of equal strength.
    • 1842 – First concert of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Otto Nicolai.
    • 1854 – Crimean War: France and Britain declare war on Russia.
    • 1860 – First Taranaki War: The Battle of Waireka begins.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: In the Battle of Glorieta Pass, Union forces stop the Confederate invasion of the New Mexico Territory. The battle began on March 26.
    • 1871 – The Paris Commune is formally established in Paris.
    • 1883 – Tonkin Campaign: French victory in the Battle of Gia Cuc.
    • 1910 – Henri Fabre becomes the first person to fly a seaplane, the Fabre Hydravion, after taking off from a water runway near Martigues, France.
    • 1920 – Palm Sunday tornado outbreak of 1920 affects the Great Lakes region and Deep South states.
    • 1933 – The Imperial Airways biplane City of Liverpool is believed to be the first airliner lost to sabotage when a passenger sets a fire on board.
    • 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Generalissimo Francisco Franco conquers Madrid after a three-year siege.
    • 1941 – World War II: Britain’s Mediterranean Fleet sinks three heavy cruisers and two destroyers of Italy’s Regia Marina.
    • 1942 – World War II: A British combined force permanently disables the Louis Joubert Lock in Saint-Nazaire in order to keep the German battleship Tirpitz away from the mid-ocean convoy lanes.
    • 1946 – Cold War: The United States Department of State releases the Acheson–Lilienthal Report, outlining a plan for the international control of nuclear power.
    • 1951 – First Indochina War: In the Battle of Mạo Khê, French Union forces, led by World War II hero Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, inflict a defeat on Việt Minh forces commanded by General Võ Nguyên Giáp.
    • 1959 – The State Council of the People’s Republic of China dissolves the government of Tibet.
    • 1968 – Brazilian high school student Edson Luís de Lima Souto is killed by military police at a protest for cheaper meals at a restaurant for low-income students.
    • 1969 – Greek poet and Nobel Prize laureate Giorgos Seferis makes a famous statement on the BBC World Service opposing the junta in Greece.
    • 1970 – An earthquake strikes western Turkey at about 23:05 local time, killing 1,086 and injuring 1,260.
    • 1978 – The US Supreme Court hands down 5–3 decision in Stump v. Sparkman, a controversial case involving involuntary sterilization and judicial immunity.
    • 1979 – A coolant leak at the Three Mile Island’s Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania leads to the core overheating and a partial meltdown.
    • 1979 – The British House of Commons passes a vote of no confidence against James Callaghan’s government by 1 vote, precipitating a general election.
    • 1990 – United States President George H. W. Bush posthumously awards Jesse Owens the Congressional Gold Medal.
    • 1994 – In South Africa, African National Congress security guards kill dozens of Inkatha Freedom Party protesters.
    • 1999 – Kosovo War: Serb paramilitary and military forces kill 146 Kosovo Albanians in Izbica.
    • 2003 – In a friendly fire incident, two American A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft attack British tanks participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, killing one soldier.
    • 2005 – An earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), leaving 915–1,314 people dead and 340–1,146 injured.
    • 2006 – Massive protests are mounted against France’s First Employment Contract law, meant to reduce youth unemployment.

    Births of March 28

    • 931 – Liu Chengyou, emperor of Later Han (d. 951)
    • 1097 – Atsiz, Abbasid caliph (d. 1156)
    • 1416 – Jodha of Mandore, Ruler of Marwar (d. 1489)
    • 1468 – Charles I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1490)
    • 1472 – Fra Bartolomeo, Italian painter (d. 1517)
    • 1483 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
    • 1515 – Teresa of Ávila, Spanish nun and saint (d. 1582)
    • 1522 – Albert the Warlike, German prince (d. 1557)
    • 1527 – Isabella Markham, English courtier (d. 1579)
    • 1591 – William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English earl (d. 1668)
    • 1592 – John Amos Comenius, Czech bishop and educator (d. 1670)
    • 1599 – Witte de With, Dutch captain (d. 1658)
    • 1613 – Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang of China (d. 1688)
    • 1621 – Heinrich Schwemmer, German composer and educator (d. 1696)
    • 1638 – Frederik Ruysch, Dutch botanist and anatomist (d. 1731)
    • 1652 – Samuel Sewall, English judge (d. 1730)
    • 1725 – Andrew Kippis, English minister and author (d. 1795)
    • 1727 – Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria, (d. 1777)
    • 1743 – Yekaterina Vorontsova-Dashkova, Russian academic and politician (d. 1810)
    • 1750 – Francisco de Miranda, Venezuelan general and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 1816)
    • 1760 – Thomas Clarkson, English activist (d. 1846)
    • 1773 – Henri Gatien Bertrand, French general (d. 1844)
    • 1793 – Henry Schoolcraft, American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist (d. 1864)
    • 1795 – Georg Heinrich Pertz, German historian and author (d. 1876)
    • 1806 – Thomas Hare, English lawyer and political scientist (d. 1891)
    • 1811 – John Neumann, Czech-American bishop and saint (d. 1860)
    • 1815 – Arsène Houssaye, French author and poet (d. 1896)
    • 1818 – Wade Hampton III, American general and politician, 77th Governor of South Carolina (d. 1902)
    • 1819 – Joseph Bazalgette, English architect and engineer, designed the Hammersmith Bridge and Battersea Bridge (d. 1891)
    • 1828 – Melchior Anderegg, Swiss mountain guide (d. 1914)
    • 1832 – Henry D. Washburn, American politician, general and explorer (d. 1871)
    • 1836 – Frederick Pabst, German-American brewer, founded the Pabst Brewing Company (d. 1904)
    • 1840 – Emin Pasha, German-Jewish Egyptian physician and politician (d. 1892)
    • 1847 – Gyula Farkas, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1930)
    • 1849 – James Darmesteter, French historian and author (d. 1894)
    • 1850 – Kyrle Bellew, English theatre actor (d. 1911)
    • 1851 – Bernardino Machado, Portuguese academic and politician, 3rd President of Portugal (d. 1944)
    • 1862 – Aristide Briand, French politician, Prime Minister of France, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
    • 1866 – Jimmy Ross, Scottish footballer (d. 1902)
    • 1868 – Maxim Gorky, Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1936)
    • 1871 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch-Swiss conductor (d. 1951)
    • 1873 – John Geiger, American rower (d. 1956)
    • 1878 – Abraham Walkowitz, Russian-American painter (d. 1965)
    • 1879 – Terence MacSwiney, Irish republican politician and hunger striker; Lord Mayor of Cork (d. 1920)
    • 1881 – Martin Sheridan, Irish-American discus thrower and jumper (d. 1918)
    • 1884 – Angelos Sikelianos, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1951)
    • 1886 – Gustave Mesny, French general (d. 1945)
    • 1890 – Paul Whiteman, American violinist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1967)
    • 1892 – Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
    • 1892 – Tom Maguire, Irish general (d. 1993)
    • 1893 – Spyros Skouras, Greek-American businessman (d. 1971)
    • 1894 – Ernst Lindemann, German captain (d. 1941)
    • 1895 – Ángela Ruiz Robles, Spanish teacher, writer and inventor, pioneer of the electronic book (d. 1975)
    • 1895 – Christian Herter, American politician, 53rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1966)
    • 1895 – Donald Grey Barnhouse, American pastor and theologian (d. 1960)
    • 1895 – Spencer W. Kimball, American religious leader, 12th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1985)
    • 1897 – Sepp Herberger, German footballer and manager (d. 1977)
    • 1897 – Tillie Voss, American football player (d. 1975)
    • 1899 – Gussie Busch, American businessman (d. 1989)
    • 1899 – Harold B. Lee, American religious leader, 11th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1973)
    • 1899 – Buck Shaw, American football player and coach (d. 1977)
    • 1900 – Edward Wagenknecht, American critic and educator (d. 2004)
    • 1902 – Flora Robson, English actress (d. 1984)
    • 1902 – Jaromír Vejvoda, Czech fiddler and composer (d. 1988)
    • 1903 – Rudolf Serkin, Czech-American pianist and educator (d. 1991)
    • 1904 – Isabel Cuchí Coll, Puerto Rican author and journalist (d. 1993)
    • 1905 – Pandro S. Berman, American production manager and producer (d. 1996)
    • 1905 – Marlin Perkins, American zoologist and television host (d. 1986)
    • 1906 – Murray Adaskin, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 2002)
    • 1906 – Robert Allen, American actor (d. 1998)
    • 1906 – Dorothy Knowles, South African-English author, fencer and academic (d. 2010)
    • 1907 – Lúcia Santos, Portuguese nun (d. 2005)
    • 1907 – Norrey Ford, English author (d. 1985)
    • 1907 – Irving Paul Lazar, American lawyer and talent agent (d. 1993)
    • 1909 – Nelson Algren, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1981)
    • 1910 – Frederick Baldwin Adams, Jr., American librarian and art collector (d. 2001)
    • 1910 – Jimmie Dodd, American actor and singer-songwriter (d. 1964)
    • 1910 – Ingrid of Sweden, (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – Consalvo Sanesi, Italian race car driver (d. 1998)
    • 1912 – A. Bertram Chandler, English-Australian author (d. 1984)
    • 1912 – Marina Raskova, Russian pilot and navigator (d. 1943)
    • 1913 – Kazuo Taoka, Japanese crime boss (d. 1981)
    • 1913 – Toko Shinoda, Japanese artist
    • 1914 – Edward Anhalt, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2000)
    • 1914 – Bohumil Hrabal, Czech author (d. 1997)
    • 1914 – Kenneth Richard Norris, Australian entomologist and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1914 – Edmund Muskie, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 58th United States Secretary of State (d. 1996)
    • 1914 – Everett Ruess, American explorer, poet, and painter (d. 1934)
    • 1915 – Jay Livingston, American singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1917 – Claude Bertrand, Canadian neurosurgeon and scholar (d. 2014)
    • 1918 – Edward Amy, Canadian soldier (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Jacob Avshalomov, American composer and conductor (d. 2013)
    • 1919 – Tom Brooks, Australian cricket umpire (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Eileen Crofton, British physician and author (d. 2010)
    • 1919 – Vic Raschi, American baseball player and coach (d. 1988)
    • 1921 – Harold Agnew, American physicist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Dirk Bogarde, English actor and author (d. 1999)
    • 1921 – Herschel Grynszpan, German assassin of Ernst vom Rath (d. 1960)
    • 1921 – Walter Neugebauer, Croatian-German author and illustrator (d. 1992)
    • 1922 – Neville Bonner, Australian politician (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Grace Hartigan, American painter and educator (d. 2008)
    • 1922 – Joey Maxim, American boxer and actor (d. 2001)
    • 1922 – B. Neminathan, Sri Lankan politician
    • 1923 – Paul C. Donnelly, American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Thad Jones, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1986)
    • 1924 – Freddie Bartholomew, American actor (d. 1992)
    • 1924 – Fred Flanagan, Australian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Russian actor (d. 1994)
    • 1925 – Dorothy DeBorba, American child actress (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart, 18th Duchess of Alba (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Polly Umrigar, Indian cricketer (d. 2006)
    • 1927 – Theo Colborn, American zoologist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Marianne Fredriksson, Swedish journalist and author (d. 2007)
    • 1927 – Vina Mazumdar, Indian academic and activist (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-American political activist and analyst; 10th United States National Security Advisor (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Alexander Grothendieck, German-French mathematician and theorist (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Paul England, Australian race car driver and engineer (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Robert Ashley, American soldier and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Jerome Isaac Friedman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1930 – Elizabeth Bainbridge, English soprano
    • 1933 – Tete Montoliu, Spanish pianist (d. 1997)
    • 1933 – Frank Murkowski, American soldier, banker, and politician, 8th Governor of Alaska
    • 1934 – Lester R. Brown, American environmentalist, founded the Earth Policy Institute and Worldwatch Institute
    • 1934 – Laurie Taitt, Guyanese-English hurdler (d. 2006)
    • 1935 – Frank Judd, Baron Judd, English politician, Secretary of State for International Development
    • 1935 – Michael Parkinson, English journalist and author
    • 1935 – Józef Szmidt, Polish triple jumper
    • 1936 – Mario Vargas Llosa, Peruvian novelist, playwright, and essayist Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1938 – Hans-Jürgen Bäsler, German footballer (d. 2002)
    • 1939 – Dov Frohman, Israeli electrical engineer and business executive
    • 1940 – Tony Barber, English-Australian television host
    • 1940 – Luis Cubilla, Uruguayan footballer and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Daniel Dennett, American philosopher and academic
    • 1942 – Kitanofuji Katsuaki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 52nd Yokozuna
    • 1942 – Neil Kinnock, Welsh politician, Vice-President of the European Commission
    • 1942 – Mike Newell, English director and producer
    • 1942 – Samuel Ramey, American opera singer
    • 1942 – Conrad Schumann, East German border guard (d. 1998)
    • 1942 – Jerry Sloan, American basketball player and coach
    • 1943 – Richard Eyre, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Conchata Ferrell, American actress
    • 1944 – Rick Barry, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1944 – Ken Howard, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1945 – Rodrigo Duterte, Filipino politician, 16th President of the Philippines
    • 1945 – Johnny Famechon, French-Australian boxer
    • 1945 – Björn Hamilton, Swedish engineer and politician
    • 1946 – Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut (d. 2014)
    • 1946 – Henry Paulson, American banker and politician, 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury
    • 1946 – Alejandro Toledo, Peruvian economist and politician, 48th President of Peru
    • 1947 – Greg Thompson, Canadian educator and politician, 25th Minister of Veterans Affairs (d. 2019)
    • 1948 – John Evan, English keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1948 – Janice Lynde, American actress
    • 1948 – Dianne Wiest, American actress
    • 1948 – Milan Williams, American keyboard player (d. 2006)
    • 1949 – Ronnie Ray Smith, American sprinter (d. 2013)
    • 1952 – Keith Ashfield, Canadian politician (d. 2018)
    • 1952 – Tony Brise, English race car driver (d. 1975)
    • 1953 – Melchior Ndadaye, Burundian banker and politician, 4th President of Burundi (d. 1993)
    • 1953 – Rosemary Ashe, British actress and singer
    • 1954 – Donald Brown, American pianist and educator
    • 1955 – John Alderdice, Baron Alderdice, Northern Irish psychiatrist and politician, 1st Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly
    • 1955 – Reba McEntire, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1956 – Susan Ershler, American mountaineer and author
    • 1957 – Harvey Glance, American sprinter and coach
    • 1958 – Edesio Alejandro, Cuban composer
    • 1958 – Elisabeth Andreassen, Swedish-Norwegian singer
    • 1958 – Bart Conner, American gymnast and sportscaster
    • 1958 – Curt Hennig, American wrestler, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2003)
    • 1959 – Laura Chinchilla, Costa Rican politician, President of Costa Rica
    • 1959 – Chiaki Morosawa, Japanese anime screenwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1959 – Chris Myers, American journalist and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Chris Barrie, British actor and comedian
    • 1960 – José Maria Neves, Cape Verdeian politician, Prime Minister of Cape Verde
    • 1960 – Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, French-Belgian author and playwright
    • 1961 – Byron Scott, American basketball player and coach
    • 1962 – Jure Franko, Slovenian skier
    • 1962 – Simon Bazalgette, English businessman
    • 1963 – Jan Masiel, Polish politician
    • 1964 – Karen Lumley, English politician
    • 1966 – Cheryl James, American rapper and actress
    • 1967 – John Ziegler, German-American radio host and director
    • 1968 – Iris Chang, Chinese-American journalist and author (d. 2004)
    • 1968 – Nasser Hussain, Indian-English cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Colin Brazier, English journalist
    • 1969 – Rodney Atkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1969 – Brett Ratner, American director and producer
    • 1970 – Vince Vaughn, American actor
    • 1970 – Jennifer Weiner, American journalist and author
    • 1971 – Christianne Meneses Jacobs, Nicaraguan-American journalist and educator
    • 1971 – Orfeh, American singer, songwriter and actress
    • 1972 – Nick Frost, English actor and screenwriter
    • 1972 – Keith Tkachuk, American ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Björn Kuipers, Dutch footballer and referee
    • 1975 – Fabrizio Gollin, Italian race car driver
    • 1975 – Kate Gosselin, American television personality
    • 1975 – Iván Helguera, Spanish footballer
    • 1975 – Shanna Moakler, American model
    • 1976 – Dave Keuning, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Lauren Weisberger, American author
    • 1978 – Nathan Cayless, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1979 – Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi film actor, producer, singer and media personality
    • 1980 – Cho Seung-woo, South Korean actor
    • 1980 – David Lee, English footballer
    • 1980 – Rasmus Seebach, Danish singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1980 – Luke Walton, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Lindsay Frimodt, American fashion model
    • 1981 – Edwar Ramírez, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Julia Stiles, American actress
    • 1983 – Ladji Doucouré, French sprinter and hurdler
    • 1984 – Shakib Khan, Bangladeshi actor
    • 1984 – Christopher Samba, Congolese footballer
    • 1984 – Nikki Sanderson, English actress
    • 1985 – Stefano Ferrario, Italian footballer
    • 1985 – Sauli Koskinen, Finnish TV host and entertainer
    • 1985 – Steve Mandanda, French footballer
    • 1985 – Stanislas Wawrinka, Swiss tennis player
    • 1986 – Bowe Bergdahl, American sergeant
    • 1986 – Lady Gaga, American singer-songwriter, dancer, producer, and actress
    • 1986 – J-Kwon, American rapper
    • 1986 – Amaia Salamanca, Spanish actress
    • 1986 – Barbora Strýcová, Czech tennis player
    • 1987 – Jean-Paul Adela, Seychellois footballer
    • 1987 – Yohan Benalouane, French-Tunisian footballer
    • 1987 – Simeon Jackson, Canadian soccer player
    • 1987 – Kagney Linn Karter, American pornographic actress
    • 1987 – Yotam Solomon, Israeli/American fashion designer
    • 1987 – Mary Kate Wiles, American actress
    • 1988 – Ryan Kalish, American baseball player
    • 1988 – Lacey Turner, English actress
    • 1989 – Afrikan Boy, English rapper
    • 1989 – David Goodwillie, Scottish footballer
    • 1989 – Lukas Jutkiewicz, English footballer
    • 1989 – Mira Leung, Canadian figure skater
    • 1989 – Marek Suchý, Czech footballer
    • 1990 – Zac Clarke, Australian footballer
    • 1990 – Zoella (Zoe Sugg), English Youtuber
    • 1991 – Amy Bruckner, American actress
    • 1991 – Lisa-Maria Moser, Austrian tennis player
    • 1991 – Marie-Philip Poulin, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Ondřej Palát, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Sergi Gómez, Spanish footballer
    • 1992 – Lucho Ayala, Filipino actor
    • 1994 – Jackson Wang, Hong Kong rapper
    • 1995 – Jonathan Drouin, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1996 – Matt Renshaw, English-Australian cricketer
    • 2004 – Anna Shcherbakova, Russian figure skater (two-time Russian National Champion – ’19 & ’20)

    Deaths of March 28

    • 193 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (b. 126)
    • 741 – Hatsusebe, Japanese princess
    • 965 – Arnulf I, count of Flanders
    • 966 – Flodoard, Frankish canon and chronicler
    • 1072 – Ordulf, Duke of Saxony (b. 1022)
    • 1134 – Saint Stephen Harding, founder of the Cistercian order
    • 1239 – Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (b. 1180)
    • 1241 – Valdemar II of Denmark (b. 1170)
    • 1254 – William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby (b. 1193)
    • 1285 – Pope Martin IV (b. 1220)
    • 1346 – Venturino of Bergamo, Dominican preacher (b. 1304)
    • 1461 – John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford (b. 1435)
    • 1563 – Heinrich Glarean, Swiss poet and theorist (b. 1488)
    • 1566 – Sigismund von Herberstein, Austrian historian and diplomat (b. 1486)
    • 1583 – Magnus, Duke of Holstein (b. 1540)
    • 1584 – Ivan the Terrible, Russian king (b. 1530)
    • 1687 – Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and composer (b. 1596)
    • 1794 – Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1743)
    • 1818 – Antonio Capuzzi, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1755)
    • 1865 – Petrus Hofman Peerlkamp, Dutch scholar and critic (b. 1786)
    • 1866 – Solomon Foot, American lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
    • 1868 – James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1797)
    • 1870 – George Henry Thomas, American general (b. 1816)
    • 1874 – Peter Andreas Hansen, Danish-German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1795)
    • 1881 – Modest Mussorgsky, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1839)
    • 1893 – Edmund Kirby Smith, American general (b. 1824)
    • 1900 – Piet Joubert, South African soldier and politician (b. 1831 or 1834)
    • 1910 – Édouard Colonne, French violinist and conductor (b. 1838)
    • 1917 – Albert Pinkham Ryder, American painter (b. 1847)
    • 1923 – Charles Hubbard, American archer (b. 1849)
    • 1927 – Joseph-Médard Émard, Canadian archbishop (b. 1853)
    • 1929 – Katharine Lee Bates, American poet and songwriter (b. 1859)
    • 1929 – Lomer Gouin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 13th Premier of Quebec (b. 1861)
    • 1934 – Mahmoud Mokhtar, Egyptian sculptor and educator (b. 1891)
    • 1941 – Marcus Hurley, American basketball player and cyclist (b. 1883)
    • 1941 – Kavasji Jamshedji Petigara, Indian police officer (b. 1877)
    • 1941 – Virginia Woolf, English novelist, essayist, short story writer, and critic (b. 1882)
    • 1942 – Miguel Hernández, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1910)
    • 1943 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1873)
    • 1944 – Stephen Leacock, English-Canadian political scientist and author (b. 1869)
    • 1947 – Karol Świerczewski, Polish general (b. 1897)
    • 1949 – Grigoraș Dinicu, Romanian violinist and composer (b. 1889)
    • 1953 – Jim Thorpe, American football player and coach (b. 1887)
    • 1958 – W. C. Handy, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1873)
    • 1962 – Hugo Wast, Argentinian author and screenwriter (b. 1883)
    • 1963 – Antonius Bouwens, Dutch target shooter (b. 1876)
    • 1965 – Clemence Dane, English author and playwright (b. 1888)
    • 1965 – Jack Hoxie, American actor (b. 1885)
    • 1969 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, American general and politician, 34th President of the United States (b. 1890)
    • 1971 – Robert Hunter, American golfer (b. 1886)
    • 1972 – Donie Bush, American baseball player, manager, and team owner (b. 1887)
    • 1974 – Arthur Crudup, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1905)
    • 1974 – Dorothy Fields, American songwriter (b. 1905)
    • 1974 – Françoise Rosay, French actress (b. 1891)
    • 1976 – Richard Arlen, American actor (b. 1898)
    • 1977 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1907)
    • 1980 – Dick Haymes, Argentinian-American actor and singer (b. 1918)
    • 1982 – William Giauque, Canadian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
    • 1984 – Carmen Dragon, American conductor and composer (b. 1914)
    • 1985 – Marc Chagall, Russian-French painter and poet (b. 1887)
    • 1986 – Virginia Gilmore. American actress (b. 1919)
    • 1987 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (b. 1905)
    • 1992 – Nikolaos Platon, Greek archaeologist and academic (b. 1909)
    • 1993 – Scott Cunningham, American author (b. 1956)
    • 1994 – Eugène Ionesco, Romanian-French playwright and critic (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Shin Kanemaru, Japanese politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – Franco Gasparri, Italian actor (b. 1948)
    • 2000 – Anthony Powell, English soldier and author (b. 1905)
    • 2001 – Moe Koffman, Canadian flute player, saxophonist, and composer (b. 1928)
    • 2004 – Peter Ustinov, English-Swiss actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – Moura Lympany, English-Monacan pianist (b. 1916)
    • 2005 – Robin Spry, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
    • 2006 – Pro Hart, Australian painter (b. 1928)
    • 2006 – Vethathiri Maharishi, Indian philosopher and author (b. 1911)
    • 2006 – Charles Schepens, Belgian-American ophthalmologist and author (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Caspar Weinberger, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1917)
    • 2009 – Maurice Jarre, French-American composer and conductor (b. 1924)
    • 2010 – June Havoc, American actress, dancer, and director (b. 1912)
    • 2011 – Wenche Foss, Norwegian actress (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – John Arden, English author and playwright (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Alexander Arutiunian, Armenian pianist and composer (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Harry Crews, American novelist, playwright, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1935)
    • 2012 – Addie L. Wyatt, African American labor leader (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – George E. P. Box, English-American statistician and educator (b. 1919)
    • 2013 – Manuel García Ferré, Spanish-Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Richard Griffiths, English actor (b. 1947)
    • 2013 – Art Malone, American race car driver (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Hugh McCracken, American guitarist, harmonica player, and producer (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Heinz Patzig, German footballer and manager (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Bob Teague, American college football star and television news-reporter (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Gus Triandos, American baseball player and scout (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Robert Zildjian, American businessman, founded Sabian (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Jeremiah Denton, American admiral and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Lorenzo Semple, Jr., American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Avraham Yaski, Israeli architect and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Chuck Brayton, American baseball player and coach (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Joseph Cassidy, Canadian-English priest and academic (b. 1954)
    • 2015 – Miroslav Ondříček, Czech cinematographer (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Gene Saks, American actor and director (b. 1921)
    • 2016 – James Noble, American actor (b. 1922)

    Holidays and observances on March 28

    • Christian feast day:
      • Stephen Harding
      • Guntram
      • Priscus
      • Pope Sixtus III
      • Tuotilo
      • March 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Commemoration of Sen no Rikyū (Schools of Japanese tea ceremony)
    • Serfs Emancipation Day (Tibet)
    • Teachers’ Day (Czech Republic and Slovakia)

  • March 17- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
    • 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eighteen, following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius.
    • 455 – Petronius Maximus becomes, with support of the Roman Senate, emperor of the Western Roman Empire; he forces Licinia Eudoxia, the widow of his predecessor, Valentinian III, to marry him.
    • 1001 – The Raja of Butuan in what is now the Philippines sends a tributary mission to the Song dynasty.
    • 1337 – Edward, the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy in England.
    • 1452 – The Battle of Los Alporchones is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the Emirate of Granada and the combined forces of the Kingdom of Castile and Murcia resulting in a Christian victory.
    • 1560 – Fort Coligny on Villegagnon Island in Rio de Janeiro is attacked and destroyed during the Portuguese campaign against France Antarctique.
    • 1677 – The Siege of Valenciennes, during the Franco-Dutch War, ends with France’s taking of the city.
    • 1776 – American Revolution: The British Army evacuates Boston, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city.
    • 1780 – American Revolution: George Washington grants the Continental Army a holiday “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence”.
    • 1805 – The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King of Italy.
    • 1824 – The Anglo-Dutch Treaty is signed in London, dividing the Malay archipelago. As a result, the Malay Peninsula is dominated by the British, while Sumatra and Java and surrounding areas are dominated by the Dutch.
    • 1842 – The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is formed.
    • 1852 – Annibale De Gasparis discovers in Naples the asteroid Psyche from the north dome of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte
    • 1860 – The First Taranaki War begins in Taranaki, New Zealand, a major phase of the New Zealand Wars.
    • 1861 – The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed.
    • 1891 – SS Utopia collides with HMS Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar and sinks, killing 562 of the 880 passengers on board.
    • 1921 – The Second Polish Republic adopts the March Constitution.
    • 1939 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and Japan begins.
    • 1941 – In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
    • 1942 – Holocaust: The first Jews from the Lvov Ghetto are gassed at the Belzec death camp in what is today eastern Poland.
    • 1945 – The Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, Germany, collapses, ten days after its capture.
    • 1947 – First flight of the B-45 Tornado strategic bomber.
    • 1948 – Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO.
    • 1950 – Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announce the creation of element 98, which they name “californium”.
    • 1957 – A plane crash in Cebu, Philippines kills Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others.
    • 1958 – The United States launches the first solar-powered satellite.
    • 1960 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
    • 1963 – Mount Agung erupted on Bali killing more than 1,100 people.
    • 1966 – Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the DSV Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb.
    • 1968 – As a result of nerve gas testing by the U.S. Army Chemical Corps in Skull Valley, Utah, over 6,000 sheep are found dead.
    • 1969 – Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
    • 1973 – The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family, which came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War.
    • 1979 – The Penmanshiel Tunnel collapses during engineering works, killing two workers.
    • 1985 – Serial killer Richard Ramirez, aka the “Night Stalker”, commits the first two murders in his Los Angeles murder spree.
    • 1988 – A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into a mountainside near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
    • 1988 – Eritrean War of Independence: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on three sides by military units of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front in the opening action of the Battle of Afabet.
    • 1992 – Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires: Car bomb attack kills 29 and injures 242.
    • 1992 – A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa is passed 68.7% to 31.2%.
    • 2000 – Five hundred and thirty members of the Ugandan cult Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God die in a fire, considered to be a mass murder or suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult. Elsewhere another 248 members are later found dead.
    • 2003 – Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
    • 2004 – Unrest in Kosovo: More than 22 are killed and 200 wounded. Thirty-five Serbian Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Serbia are destroyed.

    Births on March 17

    • 763 – Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph (d. 809)
    • 1231 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (d. 1242)
    • 1473 – James IV of Scotland (d. 1513)
    • 1523 – Giovanni Francesco Commendone, Catholic cardinal (d. 1584)
    • 1537 – Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese daimyō (d. 1598)
    • 1611 – Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge, Swedish field marshal (d. 1662)
    • 1665 – Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, French harpsichord player and composer (d. 1729)
    • 1676 – Thomas Boston, Scottish philosopher and theologian (d. 1732)
    • 1686 – Jean-Baptiste Oudry, French painter and engraver (d. 1755)
    • 1725 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (d. 1806)
    • 1777 – Patrick Brontë, Irish-English priest and author (d. 1861)
    • 1777 – Roger B. Taney, American politician and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1864)
    • 1780 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish minister, economist, and educator (d. 1847)
    • 1781 – Ebenezer Elliott, English poet and educator (d. 1849)
    • 1804 – Jim Bridger, American fur trader and explorer (d. 1881)
    • 1806 – Norbert Rillieux, African American inventor and chemical engineer (d. 1894)
    • 1820 – Jean Ingelow, English poet and author (d. 1897)
    • 1834 – Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and businessman, co-founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (d. 1900)
    • 1839 – Josef Rheinberger, Liechtensteiner-German organist and composer (d. 1901)
    • 1846 – Kate Greenaway, English author and illustrator (d. 1901)
    • 1849 – Charles F. Brush, American businessman and philanthropist, co-invented the Arc lamp (d. 1929)
    • 1849 – Cornelia Clapp, American marine biologist (d. 1934)
    • 1856 – Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter (d. 1910)
    • 1862 – Silvio Gesell, Belgian merchant and economist (d. 1930)
    • 1864 – Joseph Baptista, Indian engineer, lawyer, and politician (d. 1930)
    • 1866 – Pierce Butler, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1939)
    • 1867 – Patrice Contamine de Latour, Spanish poet (d. 1926)
    • 1877 – Edith New, British militant suffragette (d. 1951)
    • 1877 – Otto Gross, Austrian-German psychoanalyst and philosopher (d. 1920)
    • 1880 – Patrick Hastings, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1952)
    • 1880 – Lawrence Oates, English lieutenant and explorer (d. 1912)
    • 1881 – Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
    • 1884 – Alcide Nunez, American clarinet player (d. 1934)
    • 1885 – Ralph Rose, American track and field athlete (d. 1913)
    • 1886 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (d. 1974)
    • 1888 – Paul Ramadier, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1961)
    • 1889 – Harry Clarke, Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator (d. 1931)
    • 1891 – Ross McLarty, Australian politician, 17th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1962)
    • 1892 – Sayed Darwish, Egyptian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1923)
    • 1894 – Paul Green, American playwright and academic (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – Lloyd Rees, Australian painter (d. 1988)
    • 1901 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (d. 1970)
    • 1902 – Bobby Jones, American golfer and lawyer (d. 1971)
    • 1904 – Chaim Gross, Austrian-American sculptor and educator (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (d. 1996)
    • 1907 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1991)
    • 1907 – Takeo Miki, Japanese politician, 41st Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1988)
    • 1910 – Sonny Werblin, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1991)
    • 1912 – Bayard Rustin, American activist (d. 1987)
    • 1914 – Sammy Baugh, American football player and coach (d. 2008)
    • 1915 – Robert S. Arbib Jr., American ornithologist, writer and conservationist (d. 1987)
    • 1915 – Ray Ellington, English drummer and bandleader (d. 1985)
    • 1915 – Bill Roycroft, Australian equestrian rider (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Nat King Cole, American singer, pianist, and television host (d. 1965)
    • 1920 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 1st President of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
    • 1921 – Meir Amit, Israeli general and politician, 12th Israeli Minister of Communications (d. 2009)
    • 1922 – Patrick Suppes, American psychologist and philosopher (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Gabriele Ferzetti, Italian actor (d. 2015)
    • 1926 – Siegfried Lenz, Polish-German author and playwright (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Betty Allen, American soprano and educator (d. 2009)
    • 1928 – William John McKeag, Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – Paul Horn, American-Canadian flute player and saxophonist (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – James Irwin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1991)
    • 1931 – Patricia Breslin, American actress (d. 2011)
    • 1931 – David Peakall, English-American chemist and toxicologist (d. 2001)
    • 1933 – Myrlie Evers-Williams, American journalist and activist
    • 1933 – Penelope Lively, English author
    • 1935 – Fred T. Mackenzie, American biologist and academic
    • 1935 – Adam Wade, American singer, drummer, and actor
    • 1936 – Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – Ladislav Kupkovič, Slovakian composer and conductor (d. 2016)
    • 1936 – Ken Mattingly, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1937 – Galina Samsova, Russian ballerina
    • 1938 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
    • 1938 – Keith O’Brien, Northern Ireland-born Scottish cleric, theologian, and cardinal (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – Zola Taylor, American singer (d. 2007)
    • 1939 – Jim Gary, American sculptor (d. 2006)
    • 1939 – Bill Graham, Canadian academic and politician, 4th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1939 – Robin Knox-Johnston, English sailor and first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe
    • 1939 – Giovanni Trapattoni, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1940 – Mark White, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Texas (d. 2017)
    • 1941 – Wang Jin-pyng, Taiwanese soldier and politician
    • 1941 – Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
    • 1941 – Max Stafford-Clark, English director and academic
    • 1942 – John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer and rapist (d. 1994)
    • 1943 – Jeff Banks, Welsh fashion designer
    • 1943 – Andrew Brook, Canadian philosopher, author, and academic
    • 1944 – Pattie Boyd, English model, author, and photographer
    • 1944 – Cito Gaston, American baseball player and manager
    • 1944 – John Sebastian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – Michael Hayden, American general, 20th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
    • 1947 – Dennis Bond, English footballer, midfielder
    • 1947 – Yury Chernavsky, Russian-American songwriter and producer
    • 1948 – William Gibson, American-Canadian author and screenwriter
    • 1948 – Alex MacDonald, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1949 – Patrick Duffy, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1949 – Pat Rice, Irish footballer and coach
    • 1949 – Stuart Rose, English businessman
    • 1951 – Scott Gorham, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – Craig Ramsay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1951 – Kurt Russell, American actor and producer
    • 1952 – Barry Horne, English activist (d. 2001)
    • 1953 – Filemon Lagman, Filipino activist (d. 2001)
    • 1953 – Chuck Muncie, American football player (d. 2013)
    • 1954 – Lesley-Anne Down, English actress
    • 1955 – Cynthia McKinney, American activist and politician
    • 1955 – Paul Overstreet, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Gary Sinise, American actor, director, and bass player
    • 1956 – Patrick McDonnell, American author and illustrator
    • 1956 – Rory McGrath, British comedian, television personality, and writer
    • 1957 – Michael Kelly, American journalist and author (d. 2003)
    • 1958 – Christian Clemenson, American actor
    • 1959 – Danny Ainge, American baseball and basketball player
    • 1959 – Paul Black, American singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1960 – Arye Gross, American actor
    • 1960 – Vicki Lewis, American actress and singer
    • 1961 – Sam Bowie, American basketball player
    • 1961 – Dana Reeve, American actress, singer, and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1961 – Casey Siemaszko, American actor
    • 1962 – Carsten Almqvist, Swedish business executive
    • 1962 – Ank Bijleveld, Dutch politician
    • 1962 – Janet Gardner, American singer and guitarist
    • 1962 – Clare Grogan, Scottish singer and actress
    • 1962 – Rob Sitch, Australian actor, director, and producer
    • 1963 – Roger Harper, Guyanese cricketer and coach
    • 1964 – Stefano Borgonovo, Italian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1964 – Lee Dixon, English footballer and journalist
    • 1964 – Rob Lowe, American actor and producer
    • 1964 – Jacques Songo’o, Cameroonian footballer and coach
    • 1965 – Andrew Hudson, South African cricketer
    • 1966 – Andrew Rosindell, English journalist and politician
    • 1967 – Jason Alchin, Australian rugby league player
    • 1967 – Billy Corgan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and producer
    • 1967 – Barry Minkow, American pastor and businessman
    • 1968 – Eri Nitta, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1968 – Mathew St. Patrick, American actor and producer
    • 1969 – Edgar Grospiron, French skier
    • 1969 – Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, founded own eponymous brand (d. 2010)
    • 1970 – Patrick Lebeau, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1970 – Gene Ween, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – Bill Mueller, American baseball player and coach
    • 1972 – Melissa Auf der Maur, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1972 – Torquil Campbell, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1972 – Mia Hamm, American soccer player
    • 1973 – Rico Blanco, Filipino singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
    • 1973 – Caroline Corr, Irish singer and drummer
    • 1973 – Vance Wilson, American baseball player and manager
    • 1974 – Mark Dolan, English comedian and television host
    • 1975 – Justin Hawkins, English singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Puneeth Rajkumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer
    • 1975 – Test, Canadian-American wrestler (d. 2009)
    • 1975 – Natalie Zea, American actress
    • 1976 – Scott Downs, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Stephen Gately, Irish singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2009)
    • 1976 – Álvaro Recoba, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1977 – Tamar Braxton, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1978 – Zachery Kouwe, American journalist
    • 1979 – Stormy Daniels, born Stephanie Gregory, American adult film actress
    • 1979 – Andrew Ference, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Stephen Kramer Glickman, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and fashion designer
    • 1979 – Samoa Joe, American professional wrestler
    • 1980 – Danny Califf, American soccer player
    • 1980 – Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Pakistani tennis player
    • 1981 – Aaron Baddeley, American-Australian golfer
    • 1981 – Servet Çetin, Turkish footballer
    • 1981 – Kyle Korver, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Nicky Jam, American-Puerto-Rican singer and songwriter
    • 1982 – Steven Pienaar, South African footballer
    • 1983 – James Heath, English golfer
    • 1983 – Raul Meireles, Portuguese footballer
    • 1983 – Attila Vajda, Hungarian sprint canoeist
    • 1984 – Ryan Rottman, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1985 – Tuğba Karademir, Turkish-Canadian figure skater
    • 1986 – Chris Davis, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Edin Džeko, Bosnian footballer
    • 1986 – Miles Kane, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1986 – Silke Spiegelburg, German pole vaulter
    • 1987 – Federico Fazio, Argentinian international footballer, centre backland rugby league player
    • 1987 – Ryan Parent, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Bobby Ryan, American ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Emmanuel Sanders, American football player
    • 1988 – Rasmus Elm, Swedish footballer
    • 1988 – Fraser Forster, English footballer
    • 1988 – Grimes, Canadian artist, musician and music video director
    • 1988 – Ryan White, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Shinji Kagawa, Japanese footballer
    • 1990 – Hozier, Irish singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1990 – Saina Nehwal, Indian badminton player
    • 1991 – Jack De Belin, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Patrick Cantlay, American golfer
    • 1992 – John Boyega, English actor
    • 1993 – Matteo Bianchetti, Italian footballer
    • 1994 – Dean Britt, Australian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Ashley Taylor, Australian rugby league player
    • 1997 – Katie Ledecky, American swimmer

    Deaths on March 17

    • 45 BC – Titus Labienus, Roman general (b. 100 BC)
    • 45 BC – Publius Attius Varus, Roman governor of Africa
    • 180 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (b. 121)
    • 624 – Amr ibn Hishām, Arab polytheist
    • 659 – Gertrude of Nivelles, Frankish abbess
    • 836 – Haito, bishop of Basel
    • 905 – Li Yu, Prince of De, prince and emperor of the Tang Dynasty
    • 1008 – Kazan, emperor of Japan (b. 968)
    • 1040 – Harold Harefoot, king of England
    • 1058 – Lulach, king of Scotland
    • 1199 – Jocelin of Glasgow, Scottish monk and bishop (b. 1130)
    • 1267 – Pierre de Montreuil, French architect
    • 1270 – Philip of Montfort, French knight and nobleman
    • 1272 – Go-Saga, emperor of Japan (b. 1220)
    • 1361 – An-Nasir Hasan, Mamluk sultan of Egypt
    • 1394 – Louis of Enghien, French nobleman
    • 1406 – Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian sociologist, historian, and scholar (b. 1332)
    • 1425 – Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1407)
    • 1516 – Giuliano de’ Medici, Italian nobleman (b. 1479)
    • 1527 – Rana Sanga, Indian ruler (b. 1482)
    • 1565 – Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian and academic (b. 1500)
    • 1611 – Sophia of Sweden, duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1547)
    • 1620 – John Sarkander, Polish-Moravian priest and saint (b. 1576)
    • 1640 – Philip Massinger, English playwright (b. 1583)
    • 1649 – Gabriel Lalemant, French missionary and saint (b. 1610)
    • 1663 – Jerome Weston, 2nd Earl of Portland, English diplomat (b. 1605)
    • 1680 – François de La Rochefoucauld, French author (b. 1613)
    • 1704 – Menno van Coehoorn, Dutch soldier and engineer (b. 1641)
    • 1715 – Gilbert Burnet, Scottish bishop and historian (b. 1643)
    • 1741 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet and playwright (b. 1671)
    • 1764 – George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, English astronomer and politician (b. 1695)
    • 1782 – Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-Swiss mathematician and physicist (b. 1700)
    • 1828 – James Edward Smith, English botanist and entomologist (b. 1759)
    • 1829 – Sophia Albertina, princess-abbess of Quedlinburg (b. 1753)
    • 1830 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician (b. 1764)
    • 1846 – Friedrich Bessel, German astronomer, mathematician, and physicist (b. 1784)
    • 1849 – William II, Dutch sovereign prince and king (b. 1792)
    • 1853 – Christian Doppler, Austrian physicist and mathematician (b. 1803)
    • 1871 – Robert Chambers, Scottish geologist and publisher, co-founded Chambers Harrap (b. 1802)
    • 1875 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1832)
    • 1893 – Jules Ferry, French lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of France (b. 1832)
    • 1917 – Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1838)
    • 1926 – Aleksei Brusilov, Georgian-Russian general (b. 1853)
    • 1937 – Austen Chamberlain, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1863)
    • 1940 – Philomène Belliveau, Canadian artist (b. 1854)
    • 1946 – Dai Li, Chinese general (b. 1897)
    • 1949 – Aleksandra Ekster, Russian-French painter and set designer (b. 1882)
    • 1956 – Fred Allen, American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and author (b. 1894)
    • 1956 – Irène Joliot-Curie, French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
    • 1957 – Ramon Magsaysay, Filipino captain and politician, 7th President of the Philippines (b. 1907)
    • 1958 – John Pius Boland, Irish tennis player and politician (b. 1870)
    • 1958 – Bertha De Vriese, Belgian physician (b. 1877)
    • 1961 – Susanna M. Salter, American activist and politician (b. 1860)
    • 1965 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, American football player and coach (b. 1862)
    • 1974 – Louis Kahn, American architect and academic, designed Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (b. 1901)
    • 1976 – Luchino Visconti, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
    • 1981 – Paul Dean, American baseball player (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1983 – Louisa E. Rhine, American botanist and parapsychologist (b. 1891)
    • 1986 – Clarence D. Lester, African-American fighter pilot (b.1923)
    • 1990 – Capucine, French model and actress (b. 1928)
    • 1992 – Grace Stafford, American actress (b. 1903)
    • 1993 – Helen Hayes, American actress (b. 1900)
    • 1994 – Mai Zetterling, Swedish-English actress and director (b. 1925)
    • 1996 – René Clément, French director and screenwriter (b. 1913)
    • 1996 – Terry Stafford, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
    • 1997 – Jermaine Stewart, American singer-songwriter and dancer (b. 1957)
    • 1999 – Ernest Gold, Austrian-American composer (b. 1921)
    • 1999 – Jean Pierre-Bloch, French activist (b. 1905)
    • 2002 – Rosetta LeNoire, American actress and producer (b. 1911)
    • 2002 – Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (b. 1917)
    • 2002 – Sylvester “Pat” Weaver, American television broadcaster and producer (b. 1908)
    • 2005 – Royce Frith, Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat, Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – George F. Kennan, American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (b. 1904)
    • 2005 – Andre Norton, American author (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Oleg Cassini, French-American fashion designer (b. 1913)
    • 2006 – Ray Meyer, American basketball player and coach (b. 1913)
    • 2006 – İstemihan Taviloğlu, Turkish composer and educator (b. 1945)
    • 2007 – John Backus, American mathematician and computer scientist, designed Fortran (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – Roger Bennett, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1959)
    • 2008 – Roland Arnall, French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (b. 1939)
    • 2009 – Clodovil Hernandes, Brazilian television host and politician (b. 1937)
    • 2010 – Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1950)
    • 2010 – Sid Fleischman, American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2011 – Michael Gough, English actor (b. 1916)
    • 2011 – Ferlin Husky, American country music singer (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Shenouda III, pope of Alexandria (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Margaret Whitlam, Australian swimmer and author (b. 1919)
    • 2013 – William B. Caldwell III, American general (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Lawrence Fuchs, American scholar and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – A.B.C. Whipple, American journalist and historian (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (b. 1974)
    • 2014 – Joseph Kerman, American musicologist and critic (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Rachel Lambert Mellon, American gardener, philanthropist, art collector and political patron (b. 1910)
    • 2015 – Frank Perris, Canadian motorcycle racer (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Meir Dagan, Israeli general (b. 1945)
    • 2016 – Zoltán Kamondi, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1960)
    • 2018 – Mike MacDonald, Canadian comedian (b. 1954)
    • 2018 – Phan Văn Khải, the fifth Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1933)

    Holidays and observances on March 17

    • Children’s Day (Bangladesh)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexius of Rome (Eastern Church)
      • Gertrude of Nivelles
      • John Sarkander
      • Joseph of Arimathea (Western Church)
      • Patrick of Ireland
      • March 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Evacuation Day (Suffolk County, Massachusetts)
    • Saint Patrick’s Day, a public holiday in Ireland, Montserrat and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, widely celebrated in the English-speaking world and to a lesser degree in other parts of the world.

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

    February 17 in History

    • 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
    • 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
    • 1500 – Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
    • 1600 – On his way to be burned at the stake for heresy, at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome, the philosopher Giordano Bruno has a wooden vise put on his tongue to prevent him continuing to speak.
    • 1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first military commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
    • 1676 – Sixteen men of Pascual de Iriate’s expedition are lost at Evangelistas Islets at the western end of the Strait of Magellan.
    • 1739 – The Battle of Vasai commences as the Marathas move to invade Portuguese-occupied territory.
    • 1753 – In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
    • 1801 – An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr, Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
    • 1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormant.
    • 1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
    • 1838 – Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
    • 1854 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
    • 1859 – Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captured the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress that was manned by 1,000 Nguyễn dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.
    • 1863 – A group of citizens of Geneva founded an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
    • 1867 – The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
    • 1871 – The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
    • 1904 – Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
    • 1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
    • 1919 – The Ukrainian People’s Republic asks Entente and the US for help fighting the Bolsheviks.
    • 1933 – Newsweek magazine is first published.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok begins: The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
    • 1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins: U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan’s main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
    • 1949 – Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
    • 1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
    • 1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
    • 1964 – Gabonese president Léon M’ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
    • 1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the “Sea of Tranquility” would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
    • 1968 – In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
    • 1972 – Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.
    • 1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
    • 1978 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30 others, all Protestants.
    • 1979 – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
    • 1980 – First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.
    • 1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.
    • 1995 – The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.
    • 1996 – In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
    • 1996 – NASA’s Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
    • 1996 – The 8.2 Mw  Biak earthquake shakes the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed, leaving one-hundred sixty-six people dead or missing and 423 injured.
    • 2006 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
    • 2008 – Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
    • 2011 – Arab Spring: Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime begin. In Bahrain, security forces launched a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.
    • 2015 – Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti.
    • 2016 – Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.

    Births on February 17

    • 624 – Wu Zetian, Chinese empress consort (d. 705)
    • 1028 – Al-Juwayni, Persian scholar and imam (d. 1085)
    • 1490 – Charles III, duke of Bourbon (d. 1527)
    • 1519 – Francis, French Grand Chamberlain (d. 1563)
    • 1524 – Charles de Lorraine, French cardinal (d. 1574)
    • 1646 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)
    • 1653 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1713)
    • 1723 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (d. 1762)
    • 1740 – Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist and meteorologist (d. 1799)
    • 1752 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German author and playwright (d. 1831)
    • 1754 – Nicolas Baudin, French cartographer and explorer (d. 1803)
    • 1758 – John Pinkerton, Scottish antiquarian, cartographer, author, numismatist and historian (d. 1826)
    • 1781 – René Laennec, French physician, invented the stethoscope (d. 1826)
    • 1796 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician and botanist (d. 1866)
    • 1817 – Édouard Thilges, Luxembourgian jurist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1904)
    • 1820 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1881)
    • 1821 – Lola Montez, Irish-American actress and dancer (d. 1861)
    • 1832 – Richard Henry Park, American sculptor (d. 1902)
    • 1836 – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1870)
    • 1843 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, American businessman, founded Montgomery Ward (d. 1913)
    • 1848 – Louisa Lawson, Australian poet and publisher (d. 1920)
    • 1854 – Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German businessman (d. 1902)
    • 1861 – Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, duchess of Albany (d. 1922)
    • 1862 – Mori Ōgai, Japanese general, author, and poet (d. 1922)
    • 1864 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak priest, botanist, and painter (d. 1929)
    • 1864 – Banjo Paterson, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1941)
    • 1874 – Thomas J. Watson, American businessman (d. 1956)
    • 1877 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and author (d. 1904)
    • 1877 – André Maginot, French sergeant and politician (d. 1932)
    • 1881 – Mary Carson Breckinridge, American nurse midwife, founded Frontier Nursing Service (d. 1965)
    • 1887 – Joseph Bech, Luxembourgian lawyer and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1975)
    • 1887 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer and critic (d. 1947)
    • 1888 – Otto Stern, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
    • 1890 – Ronald Fisher, English-Australian statistician, biologist, and geneticist (d. 1962)
    • 1891 – Abraham Fraenkel, German-Israeli mathematician and academic (d. 1965)
    • 1893 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1965)
    • 1899 – Jibanananda Das, Bangladeshi-Indian poet and author (d. 1954)
    • 1900 – Ruth Clifford, American actress (d. 1998)
    • 1903 – Sadegh Hedayat, Iranian-French author and translator (d. 1951)
    • 1904 – Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1980)
    • 1905 – Ruth Baldwin, British socialite (d. 1937)
    • 1905 – Rózsa Politzer, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1977)
    • 1906 – Mary Brian, American actress (d. 2002)
    • 1908 – Red Barber, American sportscaster (d. 1992)
    • 1908 – Bo Yibo, Chinese general and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 2007)
    • 1910 – Marc Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1911 – Oskar Seidlin, German-American author, poet, and scholar (d. 1984)
    • 1912 – Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (d. 1990)
    • 1914 – Wayne Morris, American actor and producer (d. 1959)
    • 1916 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian rugby player and pilot (d. 1940)
    • 1916 – Don Tallon, Australian cricketer (d. 1984)
    • 1916 – Raf Vallone, Italian footballer and actor (d. 2002)
    • 1918 – William Bronk, American poet and academic (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Jacqueline Ferrand, French mathematician (d. 2014)
    • 1919 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian and academic (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
    • 1919 – Joe Hunt, American tennis player (d. 1945)
    • 1920 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1920 – Annie Castor, American disability and communication disorder advocate (d. 2020)
    • 1920 – Curt Swan, American soldier and illustrator (d. 1996)
    • 1921 – Duane Gish, American biochemist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Tommy Edwards, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1969)
    • 1923 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (d. 1988)
    • 1923 – Buddy DeFranco, American clarinet player and bandleader (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Margaret Truman, American singer and author (d. 2008)
    • 1925 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Hal Holbrook, American actor and director
    • 1928 – Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress and singer (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Alejandro Jodorowsky, Chilean-French director and screenwriter
    • 1929 – Chaim Potok, American rabbi and author (d. 2002)
    • 1929 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (d. 1993)
    • 1929 – Patricia Routledge, English actress and singer
    • 1930 – Roger Craig, American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1930 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Ruth Rendell, English author (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Jiřina Jirásková, Czech actress and singer (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Buddy Ryan, American football coach (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Craig L. Thomas, American captain and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1934 – Alan Bates, English actor (d. 2003)
    • 1934 – Barry Humphries (Dame Edna Everage), Australian comedian, actor, and author
    • 1935 – Christina Pickles, English-American actress
    • 1936 – Jim Brown, American football player and actor
    • 1937 – Mary Ann Mobley, American model and actress, Miss America 1959 (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Vicente Fernández, Mexican singer-songwriter, actor, and producer
    • 1941 – Julia McKenzie, English actress, singer, and director
    • 1941 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Huey P. Newton, American activist, co-founded the Black Panther Party (d. 1989)
    • 1944 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh saxophonist, keyboard player, and composer (Soft Machine)
    • 1945 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2012)
    • 1945 – Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
    • 1946 – Shahrnush Parsipur, Iranian-American author and academic
    • 1948 – José José, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1948 – Rick Majerus, American basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1949 – Fred Frith, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1949 – Dennis Green, American football player and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1951 – Rashid Minhas, Pakistani soldier and pilot (d. 1971)
    • 1952 – Karin Büttner-Janz, German gymnast and physician
    • 1952 – Vladimír Padrůněk, Czech bass player (d. 1991)
    • 1954 – Lou Ann Barton, American blues singer-songwriter
    • 1954 – Miki Berkovich, Israeli basketball player
    • 1954 – Rene Russo, American actress
    • 1955 – Mo Yan, Chinese author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1956 – Richard Karn, American actor and game show host
    • 1957 – Loreena McKennitt, Canadian singer-songwriter, accordion player, and pianist
    • 1959 – Aryeh Deri, Moroccan-Israeli rabbi and politician, Israeli Minister of Internal Affairs
    • 1959 – Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Lindy Ruff, Canadian hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Angela Eagle, English politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
    • 1961 – Maria Eagle, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
    • 1961 – Andrey Korotayev, Russian anthropologist, historian, and sociologist
    • 1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor and director
    • 1963 – Larry the Cable Guy, American comedian and voice actor
    • 1963 – Alison Hargreaves, English mountaineer (d. 1995)
    • 1963 – Jen-Hsun Huang, Taiwanese-American businessman, co-founded Nvidia
    • 1963 – Michael Jordan, American basketball player and actor
    • 1964 – Sherry Hawco, Canadian gymnast (d. 1991)
    • 1965 – Michael Bay, American director and producer
    • 1965 – Danny Lee, Australian rugby league player
    • 1966 – Quorthon, Swedish guitarist and songwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1966 – Luc Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player, manager, and actor
    • 1968 – Wu’erkaixi, Chinese journalist and activist
    • 1968 – Giuseppe Signori, Italian footballer
    • 1969 – David Douillet, French martial artist and politician
    • 1969 – Vasily Kudinov, Russian handball player (d. 2017)
    • 1970 – Dominic Purcell, English-born Irish-Australian actor and producer
    • 1971 – Denise Richards, American model and actress
    • 1972 – Billie Joe Armstrong, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and producer
    • 1972 – Philippe Candeloro, French figure skater
    • 1972 – Taylor Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1972 – Valeria Mazza, Argentinian model and businesswoman
    • 1972 – Lars Göran Petrov, Swedish singer and drummer
    • 1973 – Goran Bunjevčević, Serbian FR Yugoslavia international footballer, defender (d. 2018)
    • 1973 – Raphaël Ibañez, French rugby player
    • 1974 – Kaoru, Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1974 – Jerry O’Connell, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1975 – Václav Prospal, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Rory Kinnear, English actor and playwright
    • 1980 – Al Harrington, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Klemi Saban, Israeli footballer
    • 1981 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1981 – Paris Hilton, American model, media personality, actress, singer, DJ, author and businesswoman
    • 1981 – Pontus Segerström, Swedish footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1982 – Adriano, Brazilian footballer
    • 1982 – Brian Bruney, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Daniel Merriweather, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Kevin Rudolf, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1984 – AB de Villiers, South African cricketer
    • 1984 – Jimmy Jacobs, American wrestler
    • 1984 – Katie Hill, Australian 3.0 point wheelchair basketball player
    • 1984 – Drew Miller, American ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Marcin Gortat, Polish basketball player
    • 1985 – Anders Jacobsen, Norwegian ski jumper
    • 1988 – Vasyl Lomachenko, Ukrainian boxer
    • 1989 – Rebecca Adlington, English swimmer
    • 1989 – Chord Overstreet, American actor and singer
    • 1990 – Marianne St-Gelais, Canadian speed skater
    • 1991 – Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1991 – Bonnie Wright, English actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1993 – Nicola Leali, Italian footballer
    • 1993 – Marc Márquez, Spanish motorcycle racer

    Deaths on February 17

    • 364 – Jovian, Roman emperor (b. 331)
    • 440 – Mesrop Mashtots, Armenian monk, linguist, and theologian (b. 360)
    • 923 – Al-Tabari, Persian scholar (b. 839)
    • 1178 – Evermode of Ratzeburg, bishop of Ratzeburg
    • 1220 – Theobald I, Duke of Lorraine
    • 1339 – Otto, Duke of Austria (b. 1301)
    • 1371 – Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
    • 1500 – Adolph, Count of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst, German noble (b. before 1463)
    • 1600 – Giordano Bruno, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (b. 1548)
    • 1609 – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1549)
    • 1624 – Juan de Mariana, Spanish priest and historian (b. 1536)
    • 1659 – Abel Servien, French politician, French Minister of Finance (b. 1593)
    • 1673 – Molière, French actor and playwright (b. 1622)
    • 1680 – Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English politician (b. 1599)
    • 1680 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist, zoologist, and entomologist (b. 1637)
    • 1715 – Antoine Galland, French orientalist and archaeologist (b. 1646)
    • 1732 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (b. 1669)
    • 1768 – Arthur Onslow, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1691)
    • 1841 – Ferdinando Carulli, Italian guitarist and composer (b. 1770)
    • 1849 – María de las Mercedes Barbudo, Puerto Rican political activist, the first woman Independentista in the island (b. 1773)
    • 1854 – John Martin, English painter, engraver, and illustrator (b. 1789)
    • 1856 – Heinrich Heine, German journalist and poet (b. 1797)
    • 1874 – Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian astronomer, mathematician, and sociologist (b. 1796)
    • 1890 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American publisher and politician (b. 1819)
    • 1905 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, leader in the Latter Day Saint movement (b. 1815)
    • 1909 – Geronimo, American tribal leader (b. 1829)
    • 1912 – Edgar Evans, Welsh sailor and explorer (b. 1876)
    • 1919 – Wilfrid Laurier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1841)
    • 1934 – Albert I of Belgium (b. 1875)
    • 1934 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player and theoretician (b. 1862)
    • 1939 – Willy Hess, German violinist and educator (b. 1859)
    • 1946 – Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (b. 1889)
    • 1961 – Lütfi Kırdar, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (b. 1887)
    • 1961 – Nita Naldi, American actress (b. 1894)
    • 1962 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (b. 1907)
    • 1962 – Bruno Walter, German-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1876)
    • 1966 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter (b. 1880)
    • 1970 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Ukrainian-Israeli novelist, short story writer, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
    • 1970 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (b. 1900)
    • 1972 – Friday Hassler, American race car driver (b. 1935)
    • 1977 – Janani Luwum, Ugandan archbishop and saint (b. 1922)
    • 1979 – William Gargan, American actor (b. 1905)
    • 1982 – Nestor Chylak, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1922)
    • 1982 – Thelonious Monk, American pianist and composer (b. 1917)
    • 1982 – Lee Strasberg, American actor and director (b. 1901)
    • 1986 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (b. 1895)
    • 1988 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (b. 1923)
    • 1988 – Karpoori Thakur, Indian educator and politician, 11th Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1924)
    • 1989 – Lefty Gomez, American baseball player (b. 1908)
    • 1990 – Jean-Marc Boivin, French mountaineer, skier, and pilot (b. 1951)
    • 1994 – Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (b. 1951)
    • 1998 – Ernst Jünger, German soldier, philosopher, and author (b. 1895)
    • 2003 – Steve Bechler, American baseball player (b. 1979)
    • 2004 – José López Portillo, Mexican lawyer and politician, 51st President of Mexico, 1976-1982 (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Dan O’Herlihy, Irish-American actor (b. 1919)
    • 2005 – Omar Sívori, Argentinian footballer and manager (b. 1935)
    • 2006 – Ray Barretto, American drummer (b. 1929)
    • 2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1948)
    • 2009 – Conchita Cintrón, Chilean bullfighter and journalist (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Robert Carr, English engineer and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1916)
    • 2012 – Michael Davis, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn, Dutch mathematician and theorist (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Ulric Neisser, German-American psychologist and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Richard Briers, English actor (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Shmulik Kraus, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Sophie Kurys, American baseball player (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Mindy McCready, American singer-songwriter (b. 1975)
    • 2014 – Bob Casale, American guitarist, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1952)
    • 2014 – Peter Florin, German politician and diplomat, President of the United Nations General Assembly (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Wayne Smith, Jamaican singer (b. 1965)
    • 2015 – John Barrow, American-Canadian football player and manager (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Cathy Ubels-Veen, Dutch politician (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Liu Yudi, Chinese general and pilot (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – Andy Ganteaume, Trinidadian cricketer (b. 1921)
    • 2016 – Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Egyptian journalist (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – Claude Jeancolas, French historian, author, and journalist (b. 1949)
    • 2016 – Tony Phillips, American baseball player (b. 1959)
    • 2016 – Andrzej Żuławski, Polish film director (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Robert H. Michel, American politician (b. 1923)
    • 2017 – Michael Novak, American Roman Catholic theologian (b. 1933)
    • 2020 – Ror Wolf, German writer, poet, and artist (b. 1932)

    Holidays and observances on February 17

    • Christian feast day:
      • Seven Founders of the Servite Order
        • Alexis Falconieri
      • Constabilis
      • Donatus, Romulus, Secundian, and Companions
      • Fintan of Clonenagh
      • Janani Luwum (Anglican Communion)
      • Lommán of Trim
      • February 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence declaration of Kosovo in 2008, still partially recognized.
    • Revolution Day (Libya)