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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

  • June 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1312 BC – Mursili II launches a campaign against the Kingdom of Azzi-Hayasa.
    • 217 BC – The Romans, led by Gaius Flaminius, are ambushed and defeated by Hannibal at the Battle of Lake Trasimene.
    • 109 – Roman emperor Trajan inaugurates the Aqua Traiana, an aqueduct that channels water from Lake Bracciano, 40 kilometres (25 miles) northwest of Rome.
    • 474 – Julius Nepos forces Roman usurper Glycerius to abdicate the throne and proclaims himself Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
    • 637 – The Battle of Moira is fought between the High King of Ireland and the Kings of Ulster and Dál Riata. It is claimed to be the largest battle in the history of Ireland.
    • 972 – Battle of Cedynia, the first documented victory of Polish forces, takes place.
    • 1128 – Battle of São Mamede, near Guimarães: Forces led by Afonso I defeat forces led by his mother Teresa of León and her lover Fernando Pérez de Traba.
    • 1230 – The Siege of Jaén begins, in the context of the Spanish Reconquista.
    • 1314 – First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn concludes with a decisive victory by Scottish forces led by Robert the Bruce.
    • 1340 – Hundred Years’ War: Battle of Sluys: The French fleet is almost completely destroyed by the English fleet commanded in person by King Edward III.
    • 1374 – A sudden outbreak of St. John’s Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion.
    • 1497 – John Cabot lands in North America at Newfoundland leading the first European exploration of the region since the Vikings.
    • 1509 – Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon are crowned King and Queen of England.
    • 1535 – The Dominion of Münster, a radical communal Anabaptist state in the independent German city of Münster, is conquered by Franz von Waldeck, the Catholic Prince-Bishopric of Münster in a night attack.
    • 1571 – Miguel López de Legazpi founds Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
    • 1604 – Samuel de Champlain discovers the mouth of the Saint John River, site of Reversing Falls and the present-day city of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada.
    • 1622 – Battle of Macau: The Dutch make a failed attempt to capture Macau.
    • 1663 – The Spanish garrison of Évora capitulates, following the Portuguese victory at the Battle of Ameixial.
    • 1717 – The Premier Grand Lodge of England is founded in London, the first Masonic Grand Lodge in the world (now the United Grand Lodge of England).
    • 1762 – Battle of Wilhelmsthal: The British-Hanoverian army of Ferdinand of Brunswick defeats French forces in Westphalia.
    • 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.
    • 1793 – The French Constitution of 1793 is formally adopted, although it is effectively suspended by the Committee of Public Safety.
    • 1812 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon’s Grande Armée crosses the Neman river beginning the invasion of Russia.
    • 1813 – Battle of Beaver Dams: A British and Indian combined force defeats the United States Army.
    • 1821 – The Battle of Carabobo takes place. It is the decisive battle in the war of independence of Venezuela from Spain.
    • 1859 – Battle of Solferino (Battle of the Three Sovereigns): Sardinia and France defeat Austria in Solferino, northern Italy.
    • 1866 – Battle of Custoza: An Austrian army defeats the Italian army during the Austro-Prussian War.
    • 1880 – First performance of O Canada at the Congrès national des Canadiens-Français. The song would later become the national anthem of Canada.
    • 1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot is assassinated by Sante Geronimo Caserio.
    • 1902 – King Edward VII of the United Kingdom develops appendicitis, delaying his coronation.
    • 1913 – Greece and Serbia annul their alliance with Bulgaria.
    • 1916 – Mary Pickford becomes the first female film star to sign a million-dollar contract.
    • 1918 – First airmail service in Canada from Montreal to Toronto.
    • 1922 – The American Professional Football Association is renamed the National Football League.
    • 1932 – A bloodless revolution instigated by the People’s Party ends the absolute power of King Prajadhipok of Siam (now Thailand).
    • 1938 – Pieces of a meteorite land near Chicora, Pennsylvania. The meteorite is estimated to have weighed 450 metric tons when it hit the Earth’s atmosphere and exploded.
    • 1939 – Siam is renamed Thailand by Plaek Phibunsongkhram, the country’s third prime minister.
    • 1940 – World War II: Operation Collar, the first British Commando raid on occupied France, by No 11 Independent Company.
    • 1943 – US military police attempt to arrest a black soldier in Bamber Bridge, England, sparking the Battle of Bamber Bridge mutiny that leaves one dead and seven wounded.
    • 1947 – Kenneth Arnold makes the first widely reported UFO sighting near Mount Rainier, Washington, leading to the coining of the phrase “flying saucer”.
    • 1948 – Cold War: Start of the Berlin Blockade: The Soviet Union makes overland travel between West Germany and West Berlin impossible.
    • 1949 – The first television western, Hopalong Cassidy, starring William Boyd, is aired on NBC.
    • 1950 – Apartheid: In South Africa, the Group Areas Act is passed, formally segregating races.
    • 1954 – First Indochina War: Battle of Mang Yang Pass: Viet Minh troops belonging to the 803rd Regiment ambush G.M. 100 of France in An Khê.
    • 1957 – In Roth v. United States, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that obscenity is not protected by the First Amendment.
    • 1963 – The United Kingdom grants Zanzibar internal self-government.
    • 1973 – The UpStairs Lounge, a gay bar in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, is attacked by an arsonist during a church service, and 32 people die from smoke inhalation or fire.
    • 1975 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 66 encounters severe wind shear and crashes on final approach to New York’s JFK Airport killing 113 of the 124 passengers on board, making it the deadliest U.S. plane crash at the time. This accident led to decades of research into downburst and microburst phenomena and their effects on aircraft.
    • 1981 – The Humber Bridge opens to traffic, connecting Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. It remained the world’s longest bridge span for 17 years.
    • 1982 – British Airways Flight 9 flies into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four engines.
    • 1989 – Jiang Zemin succeeds Zhao Ziyang to become the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China after the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
    • 1995 – Rugby World Cup: South Africa defeats New Zealand and Nelson Mandela presents Francois Pienaar with the Webb Ellis Cup in an iconic post-apartheid moment.
    • 2002 – The Igandu train disaster in Tanzania kills 281, the worst train accident in African history.
    • 2004 – In New York, capital punishment is declared unconstitutional.
    • 2010 – At Wimbledon, John Isner of the United States defeats Nicolas Mahut of France, in the longest match in professional tennis history.
    • 2010 – Julia Gillard assumes office as the first female Prime Minister of Australia.
    • 2012 – Death of Lonesome George, the last known individual of Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii, a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise.
    • 2013 – Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is found guilty of abusing his power and engaging in sex with an underage prostitute, and is sentenced to seven years in prison.

    Births on June 24

    • 1210 – Count Floris IV of Holland (d. 1234)
    • 1244 – Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (d. 1308)
    • 1254 – Floris V, Count of Holland (d. 1296)
    • 1257 – Robert de Vere, 6th Earl of Oxford, English nobleman (probable; d. 1331)
    • 1314 – Philippa of Hainault Queen of England (d. 1369)
    • 1322 – Joanna, Duchess of Brabant (d. 1406)
    • 1343 – Joan of Valois, Queen of Navarre (d. 1373)
    • 1360 – Nuno Álvares Pereira, Portuguese general
    • 1386 – John of Capistrano, Italian priest and saint (d. 1456)
    • 1465 – Isabella del Balzo, Queen Consort of Naples (d. 1533)
    • 1485 – Johannes Bugenhagen, Polish-German priest and reformer (d. 1558)
    • 1485 – Elizabeth of Denmark, Electress of Brandenburg (d. 1555)
    • 1499 – Johannes Brenz, German theologian and the Protestant Reformer (d. 1570)
    • 1519 – Theodore Beza, French theologian and scholar (d. 1605)
    • 1532 – Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, English politician (d. 1588)
    • 1532 – William IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1573)
    • 1535 – Joanna of Austria, Princess of Portugal (d. 1573)
    • 1546 – Robert Persons, English Jesuit priest, insurrectionist, and author (d. 1610)
    • 1587 – William Arnold, English-American settler (d. 1675)
    • 1591 – Mustafa I, Ottoman sultan (d. 1639)
    • 1614 – John Belasyse, 1st Baron Belasyse
    • 1616 – Ferdinand Bol, Dutch painter, etcher and draftsman, student of Rembrandt (d. 1680)
    • 1661 – Hachisuka Tsunanori, Japanese daimyō (d. 1730)
    • 1663 – Jean Baptiste Massillon, French bishop (d. 1742)
    • 1687 – Johann Albrecht Bengel, German-Lutheran clergyman and scholar (d. 1757)
    • 1694 – Jean-Jacques Burlamaqui, Swiss author and theorist (d. 1748)
    • 1704 – Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d’Argens, French philosopher and author (d. 1771)
    • 1753 – William Hull, American general and politician, 1st Governor of Michigan Territory (d. 1825)
    • 1755 – Anacharsis Cloots, Prussian-French activist (d. 1794)
    • 1767 – Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès, French geographer and author (d. 1846)
    • 1771 – Éleuthère Irénée du Pont, French chemist and businessman, founded DuPont (d. 1834)
    • 1774 – Antonio González de Balcarce, Argentinian commander and politician, 5th Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (d. 1819)
    • 1774 – François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo, French general and engineer (d. 1838)
    • 1777 – John Ross, Scottish commander and explorer (d. 1856)
    • 1782 – Juan Larrea, Argentinian captain and politician (d. 1847)
    • 1783 – Johann Heinrich von Thünen, German economist and geographer (d. 1850)
    • 1784 – Juan Antonio Lavalleja, Uruguayan general and politician, President of Uruguay (d. 1853)
    • 1788 – Thomas Blanchard, American inventor (d. 1864)
    • 1795 – Ernst Heinrich Weber, German physician and psychologist (d. 1878)
    • 1797 – John Hughes, Irish-American archbishop (d. 1864)
    • 1797 – Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, Polish geologist and explorer (d. 1873)
    • 1804 – Stephan Endlicher, Austrian botanist, numismatist, and sinologist (d. 1849)
    • 1804 – Willard Richards, American religious leader (d. 1854)
    • 1811 – John Archibald Campbell, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1889)
    • 1813 – Henry Ward Beecher, American minister and reformer (d. 1887)
    • 1813 – Francis Boott, American composer (d. 1904)
    • 1821 – Guillermo Rawson, Argentinian physician and politician (d. 1890)
    • 1826 – George Goyder, English-Australian surveyor (d. 1898)
    • 1835 – Johannes Wislicenus, German chemist and academic (d. 1902)
    • 1838 – Jan Matejko, Polish painter (d. 1893)
    • 1839 – Gustavus Franklin Swift, American businessman (d. 1903)
    • 1842 – Ambrose Bierce, American short story writer, essayist, and journalist (d. 1914)
    • 1846 – Samuel Johnson, Nigerian priest and historian (d. 1901)
    • 1850 – Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, Irish field marshal and politician, Governor-General of Sudan (d. 1916)
    • 1852 – Friedrich Loeffler, German bacteriologist and academic (d. 1915)
    • 1854 – Eleanor Norcross, American painter (d. 1923)
    • 1856 – Henry Chapman Mercer, American archaeologist and author (d. 1930)
    • 1858 – Hastings Rashdall, English historian, philosopher, and theologian (d. 1924)
    • 1865 – Robert Henri, American painter and educator (d. 1929)
    • 1867 – Ruth Randall Edström, American educator and activist (d. 1944)
    • 1869 – Prince George of Greece and Denmark (d. 1957)
    • 1872 – Frank Crowninshield, American journalist and art and theatre critic (d. 1947)
    • 1875 – Forrest Reid, Irish novelist, literary critic and translator (d. 1947)
    • 1880 – Oswald Veblen, American mathematician and academic (g. 1960)
    • 1880 – João Cândido Felisberto, Brazilian revolutionary and sailor (d. 1969)
    • 1881 – George Shiels, Irish-Canadian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1949)
    • 1882 – Athanase David, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1953)
    • 1882 – Carl Diem, German businessman (d. 1962)
    • 1883 – Victor Francis Hess, Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
    • 1883 – Fritz Löhner-Beda, Jewish Austrian librettist, lyricist and writer (d.1942)
    • 1883 – Jean Metzinger, French artist (d. 1956)
    • 1883 – Arthur L. Newton, American runner (d. 1956)
    • 1883 – Frank Verner, American runner (d. 1966)
    • 1884 – Frank Waller, American runner (d. 1941)
    • 1885 – Olaf Holtedahl, Norwegian geologist (d. 1975)
    • 1888 – Gerrit Rietveld, Dutch architect, designed the Rietveld Schröder House (d. 1964)
    • 1893 – Roy O. Disney, American businessman, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (d. 1971)
    • 1895 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer and soldier (d. 1983)
    • 1898 – Armin Öpik, Estonian-Australian paleontologist and geologist (d. 1983)
    • 1898 – Karl Selter, Estonian politician, 14th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (d. 1958)
    • 1900 – Wilhelm Cauer, German mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)
    • 1901 – Marcel Mule, French saxophonist (d. 2001)
    • 1901 – Harry Partch, American composer and theorist (d. 1974)
    • 1901 – Chuck Taylor, American basketball player and salesman (d. 1969)
    • 1904 – Phil Harris, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1995)
    • 1905 – Fred Alderman, American sprinter (d. 1998)
    • 1906 – Pierre Fournier, French cellist and educator (d. 1986)
    • 1906 – Willard Maas, American poet and educator (d. 1971)
    • 1907 – Arseny Tarkovsky, Russian poet and translator (d. 1989)
    • 1908 – Hugo Distler, German organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1942)
    • 1908 – Alfons Rebane, Estonian colonel (d. 1976)
    • 1909 – Jean Deslauriers, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1978)
    • 1909 – William Penney, Baron Penney, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1991)
    • 1909 – Betty Cavanna, American author (d. 2001)
    • 1911 – Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1995)
    • 1911 – Ernesto Sabato, Argentinian physicist and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1911 – Portia White, Canadian opera singer (d. 1968)
    • 1912 – Brian Johnston, English sportscaster and author (d. 1994)
    • 1912 – Mary Wesley, English author (d. 2002)
    • 1913 – Gustaaf Deloor, Belgian cyclist and soldier (d. 2002)
    • 1914 – Jan Karski, Polish-American activist and academic (d. 2000)
    • 1914 – Pearl Witherington, French secret agent (d. 2008)
    • 1915 – Fred Hoyle, English astronomer and author (d. 2001)
    • 1916 – William B. Saxbe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 70th United States Attorney General (d. 2010)
    • 1916 – Saloua Raouda Choucair, Lebanese painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
    • 1917 – David Easton, Canadian-American political scientist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1917 – Lucy Jarvis, American television producer (d. 2020)
    • 1917 – Ramblin’ Tommy Scott, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
    • 1917 – Joan Clarke, English cryptanalyst and numismatist (d. 1996)
    • 1918 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Yong Nyuk Lin, Singaporean businessman and politician, Singaporean Minister for Education (d. 2012)
    • 1919 – Al Molinaro, American actor (d. 2015)
    • 1921 – Gerhard Sommer, German soldier
    • 1922 – Jack Carter, American actor and comedian (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – John Postgate, English microbiologist, author, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Richard Timberlake, American economist
    • 1923 – Margaret Olley, Australian painter and philanthropist (d. 2011)
    • 1924 – Kurt Furgler, Swiss politician, 70th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 2008)
    • 1924 – Archie Roy, Scottish astronomer and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Yoshito Takamine, American politician (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Ogden Reid, American politician (d. 2019)
    • 1927 – Fernand Dumont, Canadian sociologist, philosopher, and poet (d. 1997)
    • 1927 – James B. Edwards, American dentist, soldier, and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Energy (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Martin Lewis Perl, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Carolyn S. Shoemaker, American astronomer
    • 1930 – Claude Chabrol, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1930 – Donald Gordon, South African businessman and philanthropist (d. 2019)
    • 1930 – William Bernard Ziff, Jr., American publisher (d. 2006)
    • 1931 – Billy Casper, American golfer and architect (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – David McTaggart, Canadian-Italian environmentalist (d. 2001)
    • 1933 – Sam Jones, American basketball player and coach
    • 1933 – Ngina Kenyatta, 1st First Lady of Kenya
    • 1934 – Ferdinand Biwersi, German footballer and referee (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Jean-Pierre Ferland, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1934 – Gloria Christian, Italian singer
    • 1935 – Terry Riley, American composer and educator
    • 1935 – Jean Milesi, French racing cyclist
    • 1935 – Charlie Dees, American baseball player
    • 1937 – Anita Desai, Indian-American author and academic
    • 1938 – Lawrence Block, American author
    • 1938 – Abulfaz Elchibey, 1st democratically elected Azerbaijani president (d. 2000)
    • 1938 – Ken Gray, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1992)
    • 1939 – Brigitte Fontaine, French singer
    • 1940 – Ian Ross, Australian newsreader (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Vittorio Storaro, Italian cinematographer
    • 1941 – Erkin Koray, Turkish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1941 – Julia Kristeva, Bulgarian-French psychoanalyst and author
    • 1941 – Graham McKenzie, Australian cricketer
    • 1942 – Arthur Brown, English rock singer-songwriter
    • 1942 – Michele Lee, American actress and singer
    • 1942 – Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Chilean engineer and politician, 32nd President of Chile
    • 1942 – Colin Groves, Australian academician and educator
    • 1943 – Birgit Grodal, Danish economist and academic (d. 2004)
    • 1944 – Jeff Beck, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1944 – Kathryn Lasky, American author
    • 1944 – Chris Wood, English saxophonist (d. 1983)
    • 1945 – Colin Blunstone, English singer-songwriter
    • 1945 – Wayne Cashman, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1945 – George Pataki, American lawyer and politician, 53rd Governor of New York
    • 1945 – Betty Stöve, Dutch tennis player
    • 1946 – David Collenette, Canadian civil servant and politician, 32nd Canadian Minister of National Defence
    • 1946 – Ellison Onizuka, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1986)
    • 1946 – Robert Reich, American economist and politician, 22nd United States Secretary of Labor
    • 1947 – Clarissa Dickson Wright, English chef, author, and television personality (d. 2014)
    • 1947 – Peter Weller, American actor and director
    • 1948 – Patrick Moraz, Swiss keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1949 – John Illsley, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
    • 1949 – Betty Jackson, English fashion designer
    • 1950 – Nancy Allen, American actress
    • 1950 – Bob Carlos Clarke, Irish-born English photographer (d. 2006)
    • 1950 – Jan Kulczyk, Polish businessman (d. 2015)
    • 1950 – Mercedes Lackey, American author
    • 1951 – Raelene Boyle, Australian sprinter
    • 1951 – Charles Sturridge, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Dianna Melrose, English diplomat, British High Commissioner to Tanzania
    • 1952 – Bob Neill, English lawyer and politician
    • 1953 – William E. Moerner, American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1953 – Michael Tuck, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1955 – Chris Higgins, English geneticist and academic
    • 1955 – Edmund Malura, German footballer and manager
    • 1955 – Loren Roberts, American golfer
    • 1956 – Owen Paterson, English politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
    • 1957 – Mark Parkinson, American lawyer and politician, 45th Governor of Kansas
    • 1958 – Jean Charest, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
    • 1958 – Silvio Mondinelli, Italian mountaineer
    • 1958 – John Tortorella, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1959 – Andy McCluskey, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
    • 1960 – Elish Angiolini, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Solicitor General for Scotland
    • 1960 – Siedah Garrett, American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1960 – Karin Pilsäter, Swedish accountant and politician
    • 1960 – Erik Poppe, Norwegian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Dennis Danell, American singer and guitarist (d. 2000)
    • 1961 – Iain Glen, Scottish actor
    • 1961 – Bernie Nicholls, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Ralph E. Reed, Jr., American journalist and activist
    • 1961 – Curt Smith, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1963 – Yuri Kasparyan, Russian guitarist
    • 1963 – Preki, Serbian-American soccer player and coach
    • 1963 – Mike Wieringo, American author and illustrator (d. 2007)
    • 1964 – Jean-Luc Delarue, French television host and producer (d. 2012)
    • 1964 – Kathryn Parminter, Baroness Parminter, English politician
    • 1964 – Gary Suter, American ice hockey player and scout
    • 1965 – Claude Bourbonnais, Canadian race car driver
    • 1965 – Uwe Krupp, German ice hockey player and coach
    • 1965 – Richard Lumsden, English actor, writer, composer and musician
    • 1966 – Hope Sandoval, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1966 – Adrienne Shelly, American actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1967 – Janez Lapajne, Slovenian director and producer
    • 1967 – John Limniatis, Greek-Canadian footballer and manager
    • 1968 – Alaa Abdelnaby, Egyptian-American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1970 – Glenn Medeiros, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1970 – Bernardo Sassetti, Portuguese pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2012)
    • 1972 – Robbie McEwen, Australian cyclist
    • 1972 – Denis Žvegelj, Slovenian rower
    • 1973 – Alexis Gauthier, French chef
    • 1973 – Jere Lehtinen, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1974 – Dan Byles, English sailor, rower, and politician
    • 1974 – Chris Guccione, American baseball player and umpire
    • 1975 – Marek Malík, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Federico Pucciariello, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
    • 1976 – Brock Olivo, American football player and coach
    • 1977 – Dimos Dikoudis, Greek basketball player and manager
    • 1977 – Jeff Farmer, Australian footballer
    • 1978 – Luis García, Spanish footballer
    • 1978 – Pantelis Kafes, Greek footballer
    • 1978 – Shunsuke Nakamura, Japanese footballer
    • 1978 – Ariel Pink, American singer-songwriter
    • 1978 – Juan Román Riquelme, Argentinian footballer
    • 1978 – Emppu Vuorinen, Finnish guitarist and songwriter
    • 1979 – Mindy Kaling, American actress and producer
    • 1979 – Petra Němcová, Czech model and philanthropist
    • 1980 – Cicinho, Brazilian footballer
    • 1980 – Nina Dübbers, German tennis player
    • 1980 – Andrew Jones, Australian race car driver
    • 1980 – Minka Kelly, American actress
    • 1982 – Kevin Nolan, English footballer
    • 1982 – Jarret Stoll, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Rebecca Cooke, English swimmer
    • 1983 – Gianni Munari, Italian footballer
    • 1983 – Gard Nilssen, Norwegian drummer
    • 1983 – David Shillington, Australian rugby league player
    • 1984 – Andrea Raggi, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – J.J. Redick, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Johanna Welin, Swedish-born German wheelchair basketball player
    • 1985 – Diego Alves Carreira, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Tom Kennedy, English footballer
    • 1985 – Ethan Klein, American YouTuber
    • 1985 – Nate Myles, Australian rugby league player
    • 1985 – Vernon Philander, South African cricketer
    • 1985 – Yukina Shirakawa, Japanese model
    • 1986 – Stuart Broad, English cricketer
    • 1986 – Phil Hughes, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Solange Knowles, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1987 – Simona Dobrá, Czech tennis player
    • 1987 – Lionel Messi, Argentinian footballer
    • 1987 – Pierre Vaultier, French snowboarder
    • 1988 – Micah Richards, English footballer
    • 1989 – Teklemariam Medhin, Eritrean runner
    • 1990 – Michael Del Zotto, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Richard Sukuta-Pasu, German footballer
    • 1991 – Yasmin Paige, English actress
    • 1991 – Aidan Sezer, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – David Alaba, Austrian footballer
    • 1996 – Duki, Argentinian rapper

    Deaths on June 24

    • 994 – Abu Isa al-Warraq, Arab scholar (b. 889)
    • 1046 – Jeongjong II, Korean ruler (b. 1018)
    • 1088 – William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, Norman nobleman
    • 1314 – Gilbert de Clare, 8th Earl of Gloucester, English commander (b. 1291)
    • 1314 – Robert de Clifford, 1st Baron de Clifford, English soldier and politician, Lord Warden of the Marches (b. 1274)
    • 1398 – Hongwu, Chinese emperor (b. 1328)
    • 1439 – Frederick IV, duke of Austria (b. 1382)
    • 1503 – Reginald Bray, English architect and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1440)
    • 1519 – Lucrezia Borgia, Italian wife of Alfonso I d’Este, Duke of Ferrara (b. 1480)
    • 1520 – Hosokawa Sumimoto, Japanese commander (b. 1489)
    • 1604 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English courtier, Lord Great Chamberlain (b. 1550)
    • 1637 – Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, French astronomer and historian (b. 1580)
    • 1643 – John Hampden, English politician (b. 1595)
    • 1766 – Adrien Maurice de Noailles, French soldier and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1678)
    • 1778 – Pieter Burman the Younger, Dutch philologist and academic (b. 1714)
    • 1803 – Matthew Thornton, Irish-American judge and politician (b. 1714)
    • 1817 – Thomas McKean, American lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1734)
    • 1835 – Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (b. 1769)
    • 1902 – George Leake, Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Western Australia (b. 1856)
    • 1908 – Grover Cleveland, American lawyer and politician, 22nd and 24th President of the United States (b. 1837)
    • 1909 – Sarah Orne Jewett, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (b. 1849)
    • 1922 – Walther Rathenau, German businessman and politician, 7th German Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1867)
    • 1931 – Otto Mears, Russian-American businessman (b. 1840)
    • 1931 – Xiang Zhongfa, Chinese politician, 2nd General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (b. 1880)
    • 1932 – Ernst Põdder, Estonian general (b. 1879)
    • 1943 – Camille Roy, Canadian priest and critic (b. 1870)
    • 1946 – Louise Whitfield Carnegie, American philanthropist (b. 1857)
    • 1947 – Emil Seidel, American politician, Mayor of Milwaukee (b. 1864)
    • 1962 – Volfgangs Dārziņš, Latvian composer, pianist and music critic (b. 1906)
    • 1964 – Stuart Davis, American painter and academic (b. 1892)
    • 1968 – Tony Hancock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
    • 1969 – Frank King, American cartoonist (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Willy Ley, German-American historian and author (b. 1906)
    • 1976 – Minor White, American photographer, critic, and academic (b. 1908)
    • 1978 – Robert Charroux, French author and critic (b. 1909)
    • 1980 – V. V. Giri, Indian lawyer and politician, 4th President of India (b. 1894)
    • 1984 – Clarence Campbell, Canadian businessman (b. 1905)
    • 1987 – Jackie Gleason, American actor, comedian, and producer (b. 1916)
    • 1988 – Csaba Kesjár, Hungarian race car driver (b. 1962)
    • 1991 – Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-American author and playwright (b. 1917)
    • 1991 – Rufino Tamayo, Mexican painter and illustrator (b. 1899)
    • 1994 – Jean Vallerand, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1915)
    • 1995 – Andrew J. Transue, American politician and attorney Morissette v. United States (b. 1903)
    • 1997 – Brian Keith, American actor (b. 1921)
    • 2000 – Vera Atkins, British intelligence officer (b. 1908)
    • 2000 – David Tomlinson, English actor and comedian (b. 1917)
    • 2000 – Rodrigo Bueno, Argentine cuarteto singer (b. 1973)
    • 2002 – Pierre Werner, Luxembourgian banker and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Luxembourg (b. 1913)
    • 2004 – Ifigeneia Giannopoulou, Greek songwriter and author (b. 1957)
    • 2005 – Paul Winchell, American actor, voice artist, and ventriloquist (b. 1922)
    • 2007 – Natasja Saad, Danish rapper and reggae singer (b. 1974)
    • 2007 – Chris Benoit, Canadian wrestler (b. 1967)
    • 2007 – Derek Dougan, Northern Irish footballer and manager (b. 1938)
    • 2008 – Gerhard Ringel, Austrian mathematician and academic (b. 1919)
    • 2009 – Roméo LeBlanc, Canadian journalist and politician, 25th Governor General of Canada (b. 1927)
    • 2010 – Fred Anderson, American jazz tenor saxophonist (b. 1929)
    • 2011 – Tomislav Ivić, Croatian football coach and manager (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Darrel Akerfelds, American baseball player and coach (b. 1962)
    • 2012 – Gad Beck, German author and educator (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Gu Chaohao, Chinese mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Miki Roqué, Spanish footballer (b. 1988)
    • 2012 – Ann C. Scales, American lawyer, educator, and activist (b. 1952)
    • 2013 – Mick Aston, English archaeologist and academic (b. 1946)
    • 2013 – Emilio Colombo, Italian politician, 40th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Joannes Gijsen, Dutch bishop (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – William Hathaway, American lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – James Martin, English-Bermudian computer scientist and author (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Alan Myers, American drummer (b. 1955)
    • 2014 – John Clement, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Olga Kotelko, Canadian runner and softball player (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Ramón José Velásquez, Venezuelan journalist, lawyer, and politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1916)
    • 2014 – Eli Wallach, American actor (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Cristiano Araújo, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1986)
    • 2015 – Mario Biaggi, American police officer, politician and criminal (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Marva Collins, American author and educator (b. 1936)
    • 2015 – Susan Ahn Cuddy, American lieutenant (b. 1915)
    • 2019 – Billy Drago, American actor (b. 1945)

    Holidays and observances on June 24

    • Army Day or Battle of Carabobo Day (Venezuela)
    • Bannockburn Day (Scotland)
    • Christian feast day:
      • María Guadalupe García Zavala
      • Nativity of Saint John the Baptist
      • June 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the Caboclo (Amazonas, Brazil)
    • Discovery Day, observed on the nearest Monday to June 24 (Newfoundland and Labrador)
    • Earliest day on which Armed Forces Day can fall, while June 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Saturday in June. (United Kingdom)
    • Earliest day on which Inventors’ and Rationalizers’ Day can fall, while June 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Saturday in June. (Russia)
    • Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while June 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in June. (Kenya)
    • Earliest day on which Youth Day can fall, while Jun 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in June. (Ukraine, Belarus)
    • Inti Raymi, a winter solstice festival and a New Year in the Andes of the Southern Hemisphere (Sacsayhuamán)
    • St John’s Day and the second day of the Midsummer celebrations (although this is not the astronomical summer solstice, see June 20) (Roman Catholic Church, Europe), and its related observances:
      • Enyovden (Bulgaria)
      • Jaanipäev (Estonia)
      • Jāņi (Latvia)
      • Jónsmessa (Iceland)
      • Midsummer Day (England)
      • Saint Jonas’ Festival or Joninės (Lithuania)
      • Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (Quebec)
      • Sânziene (western Carpathian Mountains of Romania)
      • Wattah Wattah Festival (Philippines)
    • Fors Fortuna, ancient Roman festival to Fortuna

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

    May 2 in History

    • 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter
    • 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
    • 1335 – Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.
    • 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
    • 1559 – John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation.
    • 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
    • 1611 – The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
    • 1625 – Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.
    • 1670 – King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.
    • 1672 – John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
    • 1808 – Outbreak of the Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation. Francisco de Goya later memorializes this event in his painting The Second of May 1808.
    • 1812 – The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory after Mexican rebels under José María Morelos y Pavón abandon the city after 72 days under siege by royalist Spanish troops under Félix María Calleja.
    • 1816 – Marriage of Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Princess Charlotte of Wales.
    • 1829 – After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia eight days later.
    • 1866 – Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
    • 1876 – The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.
    • 1879 – The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party is founded in Madrid by Pablo Iglesias.
    • 1885 – Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
    • 1889 – Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.
    • 1906 – Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.
    • 1918 – General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
    • 1920 – The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.
    • 1933 – Germany’s independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.
    • 1941 – Following the coup d’état against Iraq Crown Prince ‘Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom launches the Anglo-Iraqi War to restore him to power.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin.
    • 1945 – World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting.
    • 1945 – World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death.
    • 1945 – World War II: A death march from Dachau to the Austrian border is halted by the segregated, all-Nisei 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army in southern Bavaria, saving several hundred prisoners.
    • 1952 – A De Havilland Comet makes the first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg.
    • 1955 – Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
    • 1963 – Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
    • 1964 – Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the American aircraft carrier USNS Card while it is docked at Saigon. Two Viet Cong combat swimmers had placed explosives on the ship’s hull. She is raised and returned to service less than seven months later.
    • 1964 – First ascent of Shishapangma, the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.
    • 1969 – The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
    • 1972 – In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.
    • 1982 – Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
    • 1986 – Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.
    • 1989 – Cold War: Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.
    • 1994 – A bus crashes in Gdańsk, Poland killing 32 people.
    • 1995 – During the Croatian War of Independence, the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina fires cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing seven and wounding over 175 civilians.
    • 1998 – The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union’s monetary policy.
    • 1999 – Panamanian general election, 1999: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
    • 2000 – President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
    • 2004 – The Yelwa massacre concludes. It began on 4 February 2004 when armed Muslims killed 78 Christians at Yelwa. In response, about 630 Muslims were killed by Christians on May 2nd.
    • 2008 – Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
    • 2008 – Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
    • 2011 – Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI’s most wanted man, is killed by the United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
    • 2011 – An E. coli outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others sick from the bacteria outbreak.
    • 2012 – A pastel version of The Scream, by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for $120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for a work of art at auction.
    • 2014 – Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.

    Births on May 2

    • 1360 – Yongle Emperor of China (d. 1424)
    • 1402 – Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (d. 1445)
    • 1451 – René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)
    • 1458 – Eleanor of Viseu (d. 1525)
    • 1476 – Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels, Count of Kladsko, Governor of Bohemia and Silesia (d. 1536)
    • 1533 – Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (d. 1596)
    • 1551 – William Camden, English historian and topographer (d. 1623)
    • 1567 – Sebald de Weert, Dutch captain, vice-admiral of the Dutch East India Company (d. 1603)
    • 1579 – Tokugawa Hidetada, Japanese shōgun (d. 1632)
    • 1601 – Athanasius Kircher, German priest and scholar (d. 1680)
    • 1660 – Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
    • 1695 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French painter and architect (d. 1766)
    • 1702 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and theosopher (d. 1782)
    • 1707 – Jean-Baptiste Barrière, French cellist and composer (d. 1747)
    • 1729 – Catherine the Great of Russia (d. 1796)
    • 1737 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1805)
    • 1740 – Elias Boudinot, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1821)
    • 1750 – John André, English soldier and spy (d. 1780)
    • 1752 – Ludwig August Lebrun, German oboe player and composer (d. 1790)
    • 1754 – Vicente Martín y Soler, Spanish composer (d. 1806)
    • 1772 – Novalis, German author and poet (d. 1801)
    • 1773 – Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher and poet (d. 1845)
    • 1797 – Abraham Pineo Gesner, Canadian physician and geologist (d. 1864)
    • 1802 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)
    • 1806 – Catherine Labouré, French nun and saint (d. 1876)
    • 1810 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (d. 1874)
    • 1813 – Caroline Leigh Gascoigne, English novelist and poet (d. 1883)
    • 1815 – William Buell Richards, Canadian lawyer and judge, 1st Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1889)
    • 1822 – Jane Miller Thengberg, Scottish-Swedish governess and educator (d. 1902)
    • 1828 – Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist and photographer (d. 1915)
    • 1830 – Otto Staudinger, German entomologist and author (d. 1900)
    • 1843 – Elijah McCoy, Canadian-American engineer (d. 1929)
    • 1859 – Jerome K. Jerome, English author and playwright (d. 1927)
    • 1860 – John Scott Haldane, Scottish physiologist, physician, and academic (d. 1936)
    • 1860 – Theodor Herzl, Austro-Hungarian Zionist philosopher, journalist and author (d. 1904)
    • 1865 – Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
    • 1867 – Giuseppe Morello, Italian-American mobster (d. 1930)
    • 1873 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (d. 1944)
    • 1879 – James F. Byrnes, American stenographer and politician, 49th United States Secretary of State (d. 1972)
    • 1880 – Bill Horr, American football player, discus thrower, and coach (d. 1955)
    • 1882 – Isabel González, Puerto Rican activist who helped pave the way for Puerto Ricans’ American citizenship (d. 1971)
    • 1885 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and gossip columnist (d. 1966)
    • 1886 – Gottfried Benn, German author and poet (d. 1956)
    • 1887 – Vernon Castle, English-American dancer (d. 1918)
    • 1887 – Eddie Collins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1951)
    • 1889 – Ki Hajar Dewantara, Indonesian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1959)
    • 1890 – E. E. Smith, American engineer and author (d. 1965)
    • 1892 – Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (d. 1918)
    • 1894 – Norma Talmadge, leading US actress of the silent era (d. 1957)
    • 1894 – Joseph Henry Woodger, English biologist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – Lorenz Hart, American playwright and lyricist (d. 1943)
    • 1897 – John Frederick Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)
    • 1898 – Henry Hall, English bandleader, composer, and actor (d. 1989)
    • 1901 – Bob Wyatt, English cricketer (d. 1995)
    • 1901 – Edouard Zeckendorf, Belgian doctor, army officer and mathematician (d. 1983)
    • 1901 – Willi Bredel, German writer (d. 1964)
    • 1902 – Brian Aherne, English actor (d. 1986)
    • 1902 – Werner Finck, German Kabarett comedian, actor and author (d. 1978)
    • 1903 – Benjamin Spock, American rower, pediatrician, and author (d. 1998)
    • 1904 – Bill Brandt, German-English photographer and journalist (d. 1983)
    • 1905 – Alan Rawsthorne, British composer (d. 1971)
    • 1905 – Charlotte Armstrong, American author (d. 1969)
    • 1906 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (d. 1979)
    • 1907 – Pinky Lee, American comedian and television host (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – Frank Rowlett, American cryptologist (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – Teddy Stauffer, Swiss bandleader, musician, and actor (d. 1991)
    • 1910 – Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1943)
    • 1910 – Edmund Bacon, American urban planner, architect, educator, and author (d. 2005)
    • 1912 – Axel Springer, German journalist and publisher, founded Axel Springer AG (d. 1985)
    • 1912 – Karl Adam, German rowing coaches (d. 1976)
    • 1912 – Marten Toonder, Dutch comic strip creator (d. 2005)
    • 1912 – Nigel Patrick, English actor and director (d. 1981)
    • 1913 – Pietro Frua, Italian coachbuilder and car designer (d. 1983)
    • 1913 – Aydın Sayılı, Turkish historian and academic (d. 1993)
    • 1915 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1915 – Peggy Mount, English actress (d. 2001)
    • 1917 – Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder
    • 1917 – Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (d. 2002)
    • 1920 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian-Brazilian journalist and activist (d. 2000)
    • 1920 – Vasantrao Deshpande, Indian singer and sitar player (d. 1983)
    • 1920 – Guinn Smith, American pole vaulter, soldier, and pilot (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Jacob Gilboa, Israeli composer (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – B. B. Lal, Indian archaeologist
    • 1921 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1922 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born American journalist and author (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Serge Reggiani, Italian-born French singer and actor (d. 2004)
    • 1923 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (d. 2008)
    • 1923 – Albert Nordengen, Norwegian banker and politician (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Jamal Abro, Pakistani lawyer and author (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – Arthur Clues, Australian rugby league player (d. 1998)
    • 1924 – Hugh Cortazzi, English soldier, historian, and diplomat, British Ambassador to Japan (d. 2018)
    • 1925 – John Neville, English-Canadian actor (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Gérard D. Levesque, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1993)
    • 1927 – Ray Barrett, Australian actor and singer (d. 2009)
    • 1927 – Amos Kenan, Israeli columnist, painter, sculptor, playwright and novelist (d. 2009)
    • 1927 – Michael Broadbent, British wine critic and writer (d. 2020)
    • 1928 – Hans Trass, Estonian ecologist and botanist (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Georges-Arthur Goldschmidt, French writer and translator of German origin
    • 1928 – Horst Stein, German conductor (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Édouard Balladur, Turkish-French economist and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of France
    • 1929 – James Dillion, American discus thrower (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Link Wray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
    • 1929 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan (d. 1972)
    • 1930 – Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter and critic (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Marco Pannella, Italian journalist and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1931 – Phil Bruns, American actor and stuntman (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – Martha Grimes, American author and poet
    • 1932 – Maury Allen, American journalist, actor, and author (d. 2010)
    • 1933 – Bunk Gardner, American musician
    • 1933 – Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
    • 1934 – Manfred Durniok, German film producer, director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1935 – Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1935 – Faisal II of Iraq, the last King of Iraq (d.1958)
    • 1936 – Norma Aleandro, Argentinian actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1936 – Engelbert Humperdinck, English singer and pianist
    • 1936 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (d. 1972)
    • 1937 – Klaus Enders, German motorcycle sidecar racer (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Lorenzo Music, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1937 – Gisela Elsner, German writer (d. 1992)
    • 1938 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
    • 1939 – Sumio Iijima, Japanese physicist and engineer
    • 1939 – Ernesto Castano, Italian football player
    • 1940 – Jules Albert Wijdenbosch, Surinamese politician
    • 1941 – Tony Adamowicz, American race car driver (d. 2016)
    • 1941 – Bruce Cameron, Scottish bishop
    • 1941 – Clay Carroll, American baseball player
    • 1941 – Eddy Louiss, French jazz musician (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Jacques Rogge, Belgian businessman
    • 1942 – Wojciech Pszoniak, Polish film and theater actor
    • 1944 – Robert G. W. Anderson, English chemist, historian, and curator
    • 1945 – Randy Cain, American soul singer (d. 2009)
    • 1945 – Judge Dread, English singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
    • 1945 – Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan-American model, actress, and activist
    • 1945 – Goldy McJohn, Canadian keyboard player (d. 2017)
    • 1946 – Peter L. Benson, American psychologist and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1946 – Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1946 – David Suchet, English actor
    • 1947 – James Dyson, English businessman, founded the Dyson Company
    • 1947 – Lynda Myles, English screenwriter and producer
    • 1947 – Philippe Herreweghe, Belgian conductor
    • 1948 – Larry Gatlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1949 – Alan Titchmarsh, English gardener and author
    • 1949 – Alfons Schuhbeck, German celebrity chef, author and businessman
    • 1950 – Simon Gaskell, English chemist and academic
    • 1950 – Duncan Gay, Australian businessman and politician
    • 1950 – Lou Gramm, American singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Richard Ground, English lawyer and judge (d. 2014)
    • 1950 – Fausto Silva, Brazilian television presenter
    • 1951 – John Glascock, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
    • 1952 – Chris Anderson, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1952 – Christine Baranski, American actress and singer
    • 1952 – Isla St Clair, Scottish singer and actress
    • 1953 – Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor and director
    • 1953 – Jamaal Wilkes, American basketball player
    • 1954 – Elliot Goldenthal, American composer and conductor
    • 1954 – Dawn Primarolo, English politician
    • 1954 – Stephen Venables, English mountaineer and author
    • 1955 – Willie Miller, Scottish footballer
    • 1955 – Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
    • 1956 – Régis Labeaume, Canadian businessman and politician, 41st Mayor of Quebec City
    • 1958 – Yasushi Akimoto, Japanese songwriter and producer
    • 1958 – Stanislav Levý, Czech footballer and manager
    • 1958 – David O’Leary, English-Irish footballer and manager
    • 1959 – Alan Best, Canadian animator, director, and producer
    • 1959 – Tony Wakeford, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1960 – Stephen Daldry, English director and producer
    • 1961 – Steve James, English snooker player
    • 1961 – Sophie Thibault, Canadian journalist
    • 1961 – Phil Vickery, English chef and author
    • 1962 – Elizabeth Berridge, American actress
    • 1962 – Michael Grandage, English director and producer
    • 1962 – Jimmy White, English snooker player
    • 1965 – Félix José, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1966 – Uwe Freiler, German footballer
    • 1966 – Margus Kolga, Estonian diplomat
    • 1966 – Belinda Stronach, Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, and politician
    • 1967 – Bengt Åkerblom, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1995)
    • 1967 – Mika Brzezinski, American journalist and author
    • 1967 – David Rocastle, English footballer (d. 2001)
    • 1968 – Jeff Agoos, Swiss-American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Julia Hartley-Brewer, English broadcaster and columnist
    • 1968 – Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1969 – Brian Lara, Trinidadian cricketer
    • 1970 – Marco Walker, Swiss footballer and coach
    • 1971 – Musashimaru Kōyō, Samoan-American sumo wrestler, the 67th Yokozuna
    • 1971 – Fatima Yusuf, Nigerian sprinter
    • 1972 – Paul Adcock, English footballer
    • 1972 – Ahti Heinla, Estonian programmer and businessman, co-developed Skype
    • 1972 – Dwayne Johnson, American-Canadian wrestler, actor, and producer
    • 1973 – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German director and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Horacio Carbonari, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Andy Johnson, English-Welsh footballer
    • 1974 – Janek Meet, Estonian footballer
    • 1975 – David Beckham, English footballer, coach, and model
    • 1975 – Joe Wilkinson, English comedian, actor and writer
    • 1976 – Jeff Gutt, American singer-songwriter
    • 1977 – Brian Cardinal, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Jan Fitschen, German runner
    • 1977 – Luke Hudson, American baseball player
    • 1977 – Fredrik Malm, Swedish journalist and politician
    • 1977 – Jenna von Oÿ, American actress and singer
    • 1977 – Kalle Palander, Finnish skier
    • 1978 – Melvin Ely, American basketball player
    • 1978 – Mike Weaver, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Ioannis Kanotidis, Greek footballer
    • 1979 – Defne Joy Foster, Turkish-American actress, presenter and VJ (d. 2011)
    • 1980 – Tim Borowski, German footballer
    • 1980 – Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canadian skateboarder
    • 1980 – Ellie Kemper, American actress, comedian and writer
    • 1980 – Zat Knight, English footballer
    • 1980 – Artūras Masiulis, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1980 – Troy Murphy, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Lassaâd Ouertani, Tunisian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1980 – Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Vincent Tong, Canadian actor, singer, voice actor and director
    • 1981 – Robert Buckley, American actor
    • 1981 – Chris Kirkland, English footballer
    • 1981 – Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer
    • 1981 – Matt Murray, English footballer
    • 1981 – Rina Satō, Japanese voice actress and singer
    • 1982 – Timothy Benjamin, Welsh sprinter
    • 1982 – Johan Botha, South African cricketer
    • 1983 – Alessandro Diamanti, Italian footballer
    • 1983 – Maynor Figueroa, Honduran footballer
    • 1983 – Tina Maze, Slovenian skier
    • 1983 – Daniel Sordo, Spanish race car driver
    • 1983 – Ove Vanebo, Norwegian politician
    • 1984 – Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1984 – Thabo Sefolosha, Swiss basketball player
    • 1985 – Lily Allen, English singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1985 – Kyle Busch, American race car driver
    • 1985 – Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player
    • 1985 – Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
    • 1987 – Saara Aalto, Finnish singer and actress
    • 1987 – Nana Kitade, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1987 – Pat McAfee, American football player
    • 1987 – Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Justin Young, English singer and songwriter
    • 1988 – Neftalí Feliz, Dominican baseball player
    • 1988 – Stephen Henderson, Irish footballer
    • 1989 – Jeanette Pohlen, American basketball player
    • 1990 – Kay Panabaker, American actress
    • 1990 – Paul George, American basketball player
    • 1991 – Jeong Jinwoon, South Korean actor and singer
    • 1992 – Sunmi, South Korean singer
    • 1992 – María Teresa Torró Flor, Spanish tennis player
    • 1993 – Owain Doull, Welsh track cyclist
    • 1993 – Isyana Sarasvati, Indonesian singer
    • 1993 – Huang Zitao, Chinese singer and rapper
    • 1996 – Cherprang Areekul, Thai singer
    • 1996 – Julian Brandt, German footballer
    • 1996 – Schuyler Bailar, American swimmer
    • 2015 – Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, British royal, and fourth in line to the British throne

    Deaths on May 2

    • 373 – Athanasius of Alexandria, Egyptian bishop and saint (b. 298)
    • 649 – Marutha of Tikrit, Persian theologian of the Syriac Orthodox Church (b. 565)
    • 821 – Liu Zong, general of the Tang Dynasty
    • 907 – Boris I of Bulgaria
    • 1219 – Leo I, King of Armenia (b. 1150)
    • 1230 – William de Braose, English son of Reginald de Braose (b. 1197)
    • 1293 – Meir of Rothenburg, German rabbi (b. c.1215)
    • 1300 – Blanche of Artois (b. 1248)
    • 1450 – William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English admiral (b. 1396)
    • 1519 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1452)
    • 1564 – Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian cardinal (b. 1500)
    • 1627 – Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer and educator (b. 1560)
    • 1667 – George Wither, English poet and author (b. 1588)
    • 1683 – Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and mathematician (b. 1613)
    • 1711 – Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1641)
    • 1799 – Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo (b. 1740)
    • 1802 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch Gold Coast (b. 1762)
    • 1810 – Henry Jerome de Salis, English priest (b. 1740)
    • 1819 – Mary Moser, English painter and academic (b. 1744)
    • 1857 – Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (b. 1810)
    • 1864 – Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer and educator (b. 1791)
    • 1880 – Eberhard Anheuser, German-American businessman, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (b. 1805)
    • 1880 – Tom Wills, Australian cricketer, co-created Australian rules football (b. 1835)
    • 1885 – Terézia Zakoucs, Hungarian-Slovene author (b. 1817)
    • 1915 – Clara Immerwahr, German chemist (b. 1870)
    • 1918 – Jüri Vilms, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1889)
    • 1925 – Antun Branko Šimić, Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian poet (b. 1898)
    • 1927 – Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (b. 1866)
    • 1929 – Charalambos Tseroulis, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister for Military Affairs (b. 1879)
    • 1941 – Penelope Delta, Greek author (b. 1874)
    • 1945 – Martin Bormann, German politician (b. 1900)
    • 1945 – Joe Corbett, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1875)
    • 1947 – Dorothea Binz, German SS officer (b. 1920)
    • 1953 – Wallace Bryant, American archer (b. 1863)
    • 1957 – Joseph McCarthy, American captain, lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1908)
    • 1963 – Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, peer, politician, poet, author and newspaper editor (b. 1884)
    • 1964 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (b. 1879)
    • 1969 – Franz von Papen, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1879)
    • 1972 – J. Edgar Hoover, American 1st director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
    • 1974 – James O. Richardson, American admiral (b. 1878)
    • 1977 – Nicholas Magallanes, American principal dancer and charter member of the New York City Ballet (b. 1922)
    • 1979 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1980 – Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (b. 1891)
    • 1980 – George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (b. 1908)
    • 1983 – Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
    • 1984 – Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (b. 1918)
    • 1984 – Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1913)
    • 1985 – Attilio Bettega, Italian race car driver (b. 1951)
    • 1985 – Larry Clinton, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1909)
    • 1986 – Sergio Cresto, American race car driver (b. 1956)
    • 1986 – Henri Toivonen, Finnish race car driver (b. 1956)
    • 1989 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author (b. 1902)
    • 1989 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (b. 1906)
    • 1990 – David Rappaport, English-American actor (b. 1951)
    • 1991 – Gauri Shankar Rai, Indian Politician(b.1924)
    • 1991 – Ronald McKie, Australian journalist and author (b. 1909)
    • 1992 – Wilbur Mills, American lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
    • 1993 – André Moynet, French race car driver, pilot, and politician (b. 1921)
    • 1994 – Dorothy Marie Donnelly, American poet and author (b. 1903)
    • 1995 – John Bunting, Australian public servant and diplomat, (b. 1918)
    • 1995 – Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
    • 1997 – John Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1997 – Paulo Freire, Brazilian philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
    • 1998 – hide, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1964)
    • 1998 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (b. 1961)
    • 1998 – Gene Raymond, American actor (b. 1908)
    • 1998 – Lord Voldemort, English wizard and terrorist (b. 1926)
    • 1999 – Douglas Harkness, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1903)
    • 1999 – Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
    • 2000 – Sundar Popo, Indo-Trinidadian musician (b. 1943)
    • 2002 – W. T. Tutte, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Wee Kim Wee, Singaporean journalist and politician, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
    • 2006 – Louis Rukeyser, American journalist and author (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Brad McGann, New Zealand director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
    • 2008 – Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (b. 1940)
    • 2008 – Izold Pustõlnik, Ukrainian-Estonian astronomer and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2009 – Marilyn French, American author and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2009 – Kiyoshiro Imawano, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1951)
    • 2009 – Jack Kemp, American football player and politician, 9th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (b. 1935)
    • 2010 – Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (b. 1943)
    • 2011 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founder of Al-Qaeda (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Fernando Lopes, Portuguese director and screenwriter (b. 1935)
    • 2012 – Zenaida Manfugás, Cuban-born American-naturalized pianist (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Tufan Miñnullin, Russian playwright and politician (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, Indonesian physician and politician, Indonesian Minister of Health (b. 1955)
    • 2012 – Akira Tonomura, Japanese physicist, author, and academic (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Ernie Field, English boxer (b. 1943)
    • 2013 – Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1964)
    • 2013 – Joseph P. McFadden, American bishop (b. 1947)
    • 2013 – Dvora Omer, Israeli author and educator (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer (b. 1980)
    • 2013 – Charles Banks Wilson, American painter and illustrator (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Tomás Balduino, Brazilian bishop (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Žarko Petan, Slovenian director, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., American actor (b. 1918)
    • 2015 – Stuart Archer, English colonel and architect (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (b. 1945)
    • 2015 – Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Ruth Rendell, English author (b. 1930)
    • 2016 – Afeni Shakur, American music businesswoman, activist, and Black Panther (b. 1947)
    • 2020 – Arif Wazir, Pakistani politician, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (b. 1982)

    Holidays and observances on May 2

    • Christian feast day:
      • Athanasius of Alexandria (Western Christianity)
      • Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
      • Germanus of Normandy
      • May 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • International Harry Potter Day
    • The last day of the Festival of Ridván (Bahá’í Faith) (Note that this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March equinox, see List of observances set by the Baháʼí calendar)
    • Anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising (Community of Madrid, Spain)
    • Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan)
    • Flag Day (Poland)
    • Indonesia National Education Day
    • Teachers’ Day (Iran) (Note that this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March Equinox, see List of observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar)

  • March 9- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China.
    • 1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.
    • 1226 – Khwarazmian sultan Jalal ad-Din conquers the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
    • 1230 – Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II defeats Theodore of Epirus in the Battle of Klokotnitsa.
    • 1500 – The fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral leaves Lisbon for the Indies. The fleet will discover Brazil which lies within boundaries granted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas.
    • 1701 – Safavid troops retreat from Basra, ending a three year occupation.
    • 1765 – After a campaign by the writer Voltaire, judges in Paris posthumously exonerate Jean Calas of murdering his son. Calas had been tortured and executed in 1762 on the charge, though his son may have actually committed suicide.
    • 1776 – The Wealth of Nations by Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith is published.
    • 1796 – Napoléon Bonaparte marries his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais.
    • 1811 – Paraguayan forces defeat Manuel Belgrano at the Battle of Tacuarí.
    • 1815 – Francis Ronalds describes the first battery-operated clock in the Philosophical Magazine
    • 1841 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the United States v. The Amistad case that captive Africans who had seized control of the ship carrying them had been taken into slavery illegally.
    • 1842 – Giuseppe Verdi’s third opera, Nabucco, receives its première performance in Milan; its success establishes Verdi as one of Italy’s foremost opera composers.
    • 1842 – The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush.
    • 1847 – Mexican–American War: The first large-scale amphibious assault in U.S. history is launched in the Siege of Veracruz.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fight to a draw in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first battle between two ironclad warships.
    • 1908 – Inter Milan was founded on Football Club Internazionale, following a schism from A.C. Milan.
    • 1916 – Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa leads nearly 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against the border town of Columbus, New Mexico.
    • 1933 – Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt submits the Emergency Banking Act to Congress, the first of his New Deal policies
    • 1942 – World War II: Dutch East Indies unconditionally surrendered to the Japanese forces in Kalijati, Subang, West Java, and the Japanese completed their Dutch East Indies campaign
    • 1944 – World War II: Soviet Army planes attack Tallinn, Estonia.
    • 1945 – World War II: A coup d’état by Japanese forces in French Indochina removes the French from power.
    • 1946 – Bolton Wanderers stadium disaster at Burnden Park, Bolton, England, kills 33 and injures hundreds more.
    • 1954 – McCarthyism: CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, “A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy”, produced by Fred Friendly.
    • 1956 – Soviet forces suppress mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Nikita Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization policy.
    • 1957 – The 8.6 Mw  Andreanof Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands, causing over $5 million in damage from ground movement and a destructive tsunami.
    • 1959 – The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.
    • 1960 – Dr. Belding Hibbard Scribner implants for the first time a shunt he invented into a patient, which allows the patient to receive hemodialysis on a regular basis.
    • 1961 – Sputnik 9 successfully launches, carrying a dog and a human dummy, and demonstrating that the Soviet Union was ready to begin human spaceflight.
    • 1967 – Trans World Airlines Flight 553 crashes in a field in Concord Township, Ohio following a mid-air collision with a Beechcraft Baron, killing 26 people.
    • 1974 – The Mars 7 Flyby bus releases the descent module too early, missing Mars.
    • 1976 – Forty-two people die in the Cavalese cable car disaster, the worst cable-car accident to date.
    • 1977 – The Hanafi Siege: In a thirty-nine-hour standoff, armed Hanafi Muslims seize three Washington, D.C., buildings.
    • 1978 – President Soeharto inaugurated Jagorawi Toll Road, the first toll highway in Indonesia, connecting Jakarta, Bogor and Ciawi, West Java.
    • 1997 – Comet Hale–Bopp: Observers in China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia are treated to a rare double feature as an eclipse permits Hale-Bopp to be seen during the day.2011 – Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights.

    Births on March 9

    • 1454 – Amerigo Vespucci, Italian cartographer and explorer (d. 1512)
    • 1564 – David Fabricius, German theologian, cartographer and astronomer (d. 1617)
    • 1568 – Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian saint (d. 1591)
    • 1662 – Franz Anton von Sporck, German noble (d. 1738)
    • 1697 – Friederike Caroline Neuber, German actress (d. 1760)
    • 1737 – Josef Mysliveček, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1781)
    • 1749 – Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, French journalist and politician (d. 1791)
    • 1753 – Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general (d. 1800)
    • 1758 – Franz Joseph Gall, German neuroanatomist and physiologist (d. 1828)
    • 1763 – William Cobbett, English journalist and author (d. 1835)
    • 1806 – Edwin Forrest, American actor and philanthropist (d. 1872)
    • 1814 – Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet and playwright (d. 1861)
    • 1815 – David Davis, American jurist and politician (d. 1886)
    • 1820 – Samuel Blatchford, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1893)
    • 1824 – Amasa Leland Stanford, American businessman and politician, founded Stanford University (d. 1893)
    • 1847 – Martin Pierre Marsick, Belgian violinist, composer, and educator (d. 1924)
    • 1850 – Hamo Thornycroft, English sculptor and academic (d. 1925)
    • 1856 – Eddie Foy, Sr., American actor and dancer (d. 1928)
    • 1863 – Mary Harris Armor, American suffragist (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – Fritz Lenz, German geneticist and physician (d. 1976)
    • 1890 – Rupert Balfe, Australian footballer and lieutenant (d. 1915)
    • 1890 – Vyacheslav Molotov, Russian politician and diplomat, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1986)
    • 1891 – José P. Laurel, Filipino lawyer, politician and President of the Philippines (d. 1959)
    • 1892 – Mátyás Rákosi, Hungarian politician (d. 1971)
    • 1892 – Vita Sackville-West, English author, poet, and gardener (d. 1962)
    • 1902 – Will Geer, American actor (d. 1978)
    • 1904 – Paul Wilbur Klipsch, American soldier and engineer, founded Klipsch Audio Technologies (d. 2002)
    • 1910 – Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (d. 1981)
    • 1911 – Clara Rockmore, American classical violin prodigy and theremin player, (d. 1998)
    • 1915 – Johnnie Johnson, English air marshal and pilot (d. 2001)
    • 1918 – George Lincoln Rockwell, American sailor and politician, founded the American Nazi Party (d. 1967)
    • 1918 – Mickey Spillane, American crime novelist (d. 2006)
    • 1920 – Franjo Mihalić, Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1921 – Carl Betz, American actor (d. 1978)
    • 1922 – Ian Turbott, New Zealand-Australian former diplomat and university administrator (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – James L. Buckley, American lawyer, judge, and politician
    • 1923 – André Courrèges, French fashion designer (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Walter Kohn, Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Joe Franklin, American radio and television host (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Gerald Bull, Canadian-American engineer and academic (d. 1990)
    • 1928 – Keely Smith, American singer and actress (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – Desmond Hoyte, Guyanese lawyer, politician and President of Guyana (d. 2002)
    • 1929 – Zillur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Jackie Healy-Rae, Irish politician (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Qayyum Chowdhury, Bangladeshi painter and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Walter Mercado, Puerto Rican-American astrologer and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1933 – Lloyd Price, American R&B singer-songwriter
    • 1933 – David Weatherall, English physician, geneticist, and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1934 – Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1968)
    • 1934 – Joyce Van Patten, American actress
    • 1935 – Andrew Viterbi, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Qualcomm Inc.
    • 1936 – Mickey Gilley, American singer-songwriter and pianist[
    • 1936 – Marty Ingels, American actor and comedian (d. 2015)
    • 1937 – Bernard Landry, Canadian lawyer, politician and Premier of Quebec (d. 2018)
    • 1937 – Harry Neale, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1937 – Brian Redman, English race car driver
    • 1940 – Raul Julia, Puerto Rican-American actor (d. 1994)
    • 1941 – Jim Colbert, American golfer
    • 1941 – Ernesto Miranda, American criminal (d. 1976)
    • 1942 – Ion Caramitru, Romanian actor and artistic director
    • 1942 – Mark Lindsay, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and producer
    • 1943 – Bobby Fischer, American chess player and author (d. 2008)
    • 1944 – Lee Irvine, South African cricketer
    • 1945 – Robert Calvert, English singer-songwriter and playwright (d. 1988)
    • 1945 – Robin Trower, English rock guitarist and vocalist
    • 1946 – Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (d. 2014)
    • 1946 – Warren Skaaren, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1990)
    • 1946 – Bernd Hölzenbein, German footballer and scout
    • 1947 – Keri Hulme, New Zealand author and poet
    • 1948 – Emma Bonino, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1948 – Eric Fischl, American painter and sculptor
    • 1948 – Jeffrey Osborne, American singer and drummer
    • 1949 – Neil Hamilton, Welsh lawyer and politician
    • 1950 – Doug Ault, American baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1950 – Andy North, American golfer
    • 1950 – Howard Shelley, English pianist and conductor
    • 1951 – Helen Zille, South African journalist, politician and Premier of the Western Cape1952 – Bill Beaumont, English rugby player and manager
    • 1954 – Carlos Ghosn, Brazilian-Lebanese-French business executive
    • 1954 – Bobby Sands, PIRA volunteer; Irish republican politician (d. 1981)
    • 1954 – Jock Taylor, Scottish motorcycle racer (d. 1982)
    • 1955 – Teo Fabi, Italian race car driver
    • 1955 – Józef Pinior, Polish academic and politician
    • 1956 – Mark Dantonio, American football player and coach
    • 1956 – Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs
    • 1956 – David Willetts, English academic and politician
    • 1958 – Paul MacLean, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1959 – Takaaki Kajita, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1959 – Lonny Price, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Linda Fiorentino, American actress
    • 1961 – Rick Steiner, American wrestler
    • 1961 – Darrell Walker, American basketball player and coach
    • 1963 – Terry Mulholland, American baseball player
    • 1963 – Jean-Marc Vallée, Canadian director and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Juliette Binoche, French actress
    • 1964 – Phil Housley, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1965 – Brian Bosworth, American football player and actor
    • 1965 – Benito Santiago, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
    • 1966 – Brendan Canty, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1966 – Tony Lockett, Australian footballer
    • 1968 – Youri Djorkaeff, French footballer
    • 1969 – Kimberly Guilfoyle, American lawyer and journalist
    • 1970 – Naveen Jindal, Indian businessman and politician
    • 1970 – Martin Johnson, English rugby player and coach
    • 1971 – Emmanuel Lewis, American actor
    • 1972 – Jodey Arrington, United States politician
    • 1973 – Liam Griffin, English race car driver
    • 1975 – Juan Sebastián Verón, Argentinian footballer
    • 1977 – Radek Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor
    • 1981 – Antonio Bryant, American football player
    • 1981 – Clay Rapada, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Ryan Bayley, Australian cyclist
    • 1982 – Matt Bowen, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Mirjana Lučić-Baroni, Croatian tennis player
    • 1983 – Wayne Simien, American basketball player[
    • 1983 – Clint Dempsey, American international soccer player, forward
    • 1984 – Abdoulay Konko, French footballer
    • 1984 – Julia Mancuso, American skier
    • 1985 – Brent Burns, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Jesse Litsch, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Pastor Maldonado, Venezuelan race car driver
    • 1985 – Parthiv Patel, Indian cricketer
    • 1986 – Colin Greening, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Brittany Snow, American actress and producer
    • 1989 – Taeyeon, South Korean artist, member of Girls’ Generation
    • 1990 – Daley Blind, Dutch footballer
    • 1990 – Matt Robinson, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1990 – YG (rapper), American rapper
    • 1991 – Jooyoung, Korean singer-songwriter
    • 1993 – Suga, South Korean artist (BTS)
    • 1994 – Morgan Rielly, Canadian ice hockey player

    Deaths on March 9

    • 886 – Abu Ma’shar al-Balkhi, Muslim scholar and astrologer (b. 787)
    • 1202 – Sverre of Norway
    • 1440 – Frances of Rome, Italian nun and saint (b. 1384)
    • 1444 – Leonardo Bruni, Italian humanist (b. c.1370)
    • 1463 – Catherine of Bologna, Italian nun and saint (d. 1463)
    • 1566 – David Rizzio, Italian-Scottish courtier and politician (b. 1533).
    • 1649 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, Scottish soldier and politician, (b. 1606)
    • 1649 – Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, English soldier and politician (b. 1590)
    • 1661 – Cardinal Mazarin, Italian-French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1602)
    • 1709 – Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu, English courtier and politician (b. 1638)
    • 1808 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (b. 1739)
    • 1810 – Ozias Humphry, English painter and academic (b. 1742)
    • 1825 – Anna Laetitia Barbauld, English poet, author, and critic (b. 1743)
    • 1847 – Mary Anning, English paleontologist (b. 1799)
    • 1851 – Hans Christian Ørsted, Danish physicist and chemist (b. 1777)1888 – William I, German Emperor (b. 1797)
    • 1895 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (b. 1836)
    • 1897 – Sondre Norheim, Norwegian-American skier (b. 1825)
    • 1918 – Frank Wedekind, German author and playwright (b. 1864)
    • 1925 – Willard Metcalf, American painter and academic (b. 1858)
    • 1926 – Mikao Usui, Japanese spiritual leader, founded Reiki (b. 1865)
    • 1937 – Paul Elmer More, American journalist and critic (b. 1864)
    • 1943 – Otto Freundlich, German painter and sculptor (b. 1878)
    • 1954 – Vagn Walfrid Ekman, Swedish oceanographer and academic (b. 1874)
    • 1955 – Miroslava, Czech-Mexican actress (b. 1925)
    • 1964 – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (b. 1870)
    • 1969 – Abdul Munim Riad, Egyptian general (b. 1919)
    • 1971 – Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (b. 1902)
    • 1974 – Earl Wilbur Sutherland, Jr., American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
    • 1974 – Harry Womack, American singer (b. 1945)
    • 1983 – Faye Emerson, American actress (b. 1917)
    • 1983 – Ulf von Euler, Swedish physiologist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
    • 1988 – Kurt Georg Kiesinger, German lawyer, politician and Chancellor of Germany (b. 1904)
    • 1989 – Robert Mapplethorpe, American photographer (b. 1946)
    • 1991 – Jim Hardin, American baseball player (b. 1943)
    • 1992 – Menachem Begin, Belarusian-Israeli soldier, politician and Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
    • 1993 – C. Northcote Parkinson, English historian and author (b. 1909)
    • 1994 – Charles Bukowski, American poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1920)
    • 1994 – Eddie Creatchman, Canadian wrestler, referee, and manager (b. 1928)
    • 1994 – Fernando Rey, Spanish actor (b. 1917)
    • 1997 – Jean-Dominique Bauby, French journalist and author (b. 1952)
    • 1997 – Terry Nation, Welsh author and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 1997 – The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper, songwriter, and actor (b. 1972)
    • 1999 – Harry Somers, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1925)
    • 2000 – Jean Coulthard, Canadian composer and educator (b. 1908)
    • 2003 – Stan Brakhage, American director and cinematographer (b. 1933)
    • 2003 – Bernard Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician, President of Nauru (b. 1946)
    • 2006 – Tom Fox, American activist (b. 1951)
    • 2006 – John Profumo, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1915)
    • 2007 – Brad Delp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1951)
    • 2007 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
    • 2010 – Willie Davis, American baseball player and manager (b. 1940)
    • 2010 – Doris Haddock, American activist and politician (b. 1910)
    • 2011 – David S. Broder, American journalist and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Max Jakobson, Finnish journalist and diplomat
    • 2013 – Merton Simpson, American painter and art collector (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, Northern Irish soldier and politician (b. 1920)
    • 2016 – Robert Horton, American actor (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Clyde Lovellette, American basketball player and coach (b. 1929)
    • 2017 – Howard Hodgkin, British painter (b. 1932)
    • 2018 – Jo Min-ki, Korean actor (b. 1965)
    • 2020 – John Bathersby, Australian Catholic bishop (b. 1936)

    Holidays and observances on March 9

    • Christian feast day:
      • Catherine of Bologna
      • Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
      • Frances of Rome
      • Pacian
      • Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (Coptic Orthodox Church)
      • Gregory of Nyssa (Episcopal Church (United States))
      • March 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Teachers’ Day or Eid Al Moalim (Lebanon)

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

    • 202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
    • 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
    • 1246 – The siege of Jaén ends in the context of the Spanish Reconquista resulting in the Castilian takeover of the city from the Taifa of Jaen.
    • 1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.
    • 1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
    • 1700 – Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.
    • 1710 – Battle of Helsingborg: 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock. This is the last time Swedish and Danish troops meet on Swedish soil.
    • 1728 – Peshwa Bajirao I of the Maratha Empire defeats Asaf Jah I in the Battle of Palkhed.
    • 1827 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
    • 1838 – Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Quebec).
    • 1844 – A gun on USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing six people, including two United States Cabinet members.
    • 1847 – The Battle of the Sacramento River during the Mexican–American War is a decisive victory for the United States leading to the capture of Chihuahua.
    • 1849 – Regular steamship service from the east to the west coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, four months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor.
    • 1867 – Seventy years of Holy See–United States relations are ended by a Congressional ban on federal funding of diplomatic envoys to the Vatican and are not restored until January 10, 1984.
    • 1870 – The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire.
    • 1874 – One of the longest cases ever heard in an English court ends when the defendant is convicted of perjury for attempting to assume the identity of the heir to the Tichborne baronetcy.
    • 1893 – The USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, is launched.
    • 1897 – Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force.
    • 1900 – The Second Boer War: The 118-day “Siege of Ladysmith” is lifted.
    • 1904 – S.L. Benfica is founded in Portugal.
    • 1922 – The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
    • 1925 – The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
    • 1933 – Gleichschaltung: The Reichstag Fire Decree is passed in Germany a day after the Reichstag fire.
    • 1935 – DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents nylon.
    • 1939 – The erroneous word “dord” is discovered in the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation.
    • 1940 – Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
    • 1942 – The heavy cruiser USS Houston is sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait with 693 crew members killed, along with HMAS Perth which lost 375 men.
    • 1947 – February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians.
    • 1948 – Christiansborg Cross-Roads shooting in the Gold Coast, when a British police officer opens fire on a march of ex-servicemen, killing three of them and sparking major riots and looting in Accra.
    • 1953 – James Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April’s Nature (pub. April 2).
    • 1954 – The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public.
    • 1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork river. The driver and 26 children die in what remains one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history.
    • 1959 – Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
    • 1966 – A NASA T-38 Talon crashes into the McDonnell Aircraft factory while attempting a poor-visibility landing at Lambert Field, St. Louis, killing astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett.
    • 1972 – China–United States relations: The United States and China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
    • 1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
    • 1980 – Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum.
    • 1983 – The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 106 million viewers. It still holds the record for the highest viewership of a season finale.
    • 1985 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers in the highest loss of life for the RUC on a single day.
    • 1986 – Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
    • 1991 – The first Gulf War ends.
    • 1993 – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group’s leader David Koresh. Four ATF agents and six Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.
    • 1995 – Former Australian Liberal party leader John Hewson resigns from the Australian parliament almost two years after losing the 1993 Australian federal election.
    • 1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 3,000 deaths.
    • 1997 – GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way.
    • 1998 – First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace.
    • 1998 – Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.
    • 2002 – During the religious violence in Gujarat, the 97 people killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in Gulbarg Society massacre.
    • 2004 – Over one million Taiwanese participate in the 228 Hand-in-Hand rally form a 500-kilometre (310 mi) long human chain to commemorate the February 28 Incident in 1947.
    • 2005 – A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127.
    • 2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since Pope Gregory XII, in 1415.

    Births on February 28

    • 1119 – Emperor Xizong of Jin (d. 1150)
    • 1155 – Henry the Young King, son and heir of Henry II of England (d. 1183)
    • 1261 – Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway (d. 1283)
    • 1518 – Francis III, Duke of Brittany, Duke of Brittany (d. 1536)
    • 1533 – Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and author (d. 1592)
    • 1535 – Cornelius Gemma, Dutch astronomer and astrologer (d. 1578)
    • 1552 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss mathematician and clockmaker (d. 1632)
    • 1612 – John Pearson, English bishop, theologian, and scholar (d. 1686)
    • 1627 – Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (d. 1703)
    • 1675 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (d. 1726)
    • 1683 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (d. 1757)
    • 1704 – Louis Godin, French astronomer and academic (d. 1760)
    • 1712 – Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French general (d. 1759)
    • 1724 – George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1807)
    • 1792 – Karl Ernst von Baer, German biologist, meteorologist, and geographer (d. 1876)
    • 1812 – Berthold Auerbach, German poet and author (d. 1882)
    • 1820 – John Tenniel, English illustrator (d. 1914)
    • 1833 – Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal (d. 1913)
    • 1840 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (d. 1892)
    • 1848 – Arthur Giry, French historian and academic (d. 1899)
    • 1851 – Samuel W. McCall, American journalist and politician, 47th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1923)
    • 1858 – Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (d. 1941)
    • 1865 – Wilfred Grenfell, English physician and missionary (d. 1940)
    • 1866 – Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1949)
    • 1873 – William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish sailor (d. 1912)
    • 1878 – Pierre Fatou, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1929)
    • 1882 – Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
    • 1882 – José Vasconcelos, Mexican philosopher, lawyer, and politician, Mexican Secretary of Public Education (d. 1959)
    • 1883 – Seán Mac Diarmada, Irish rebel leader (d. 1916)
    • 1884 – Ants Piip, Estonian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
    • 1887 – William Zorach, Lithuanian-American sculptor and painter (d. 1966)
    • 1894 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1964)
    • 1895 – Marcel Pagnol, French author, playwright and director (d. 1974)
    • 1896 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
    • 1898 – Zeki Rıza Sporel, Turkish footballer (d. 1969)
    • 1900 – Wolf Hirth, German pilot and engineer, co-founded Schempp-Hirth (d. 1959)
    • 1901 – Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
    • 1903 – Vincente Minnelli, American director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
    • 1906 – Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (d. 1947)
    • 1907 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (d. 1988)
    • 1908 – Billie Bird, American actress (d. 2002)
    • 1909 – Stephen Spender, English author and poet (d. 1995)
    • 1911 – Otakar Vávra, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1915 – Ketti Frings, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
    • 1915 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
    • 1915 – Zero Mostel, American actor and comedian (d. 1977)
    • 1916 – Cesar Climaco, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Mayor of Zamboanga City (d. 1984)
    • 1917 – Ernesto Alonso, Mexican actor, director, and producer (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls (d. 2013)
    • 1919 – Brian Urquhart, English soldier and diplomat, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
    • 1920 – Jadwiga Piłsudska, Polish soldier, pilot, and architect (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Pierre Clostermann, French pilot, engineer, and author (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Yuri Lotman, Russian-Estonian historian and scholar (d. 1993)
    • 1923 – Charles Durning, American soldier and actor (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Uno Prii, Estonian-Canadian architect (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (d. 1982)
    • 1926 – Svetlana Alliluyeva, Russian-American author and educator (d. 2011)
    • 1928 – Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (d. 1976)
    • 1928 – Tom Aldredge, American actor (d. 2011)
    • 1928 – Sylvia del Villard, actress, dancer, choreographer and Afro-Puerto Rican activist (d. 1990)
    • 1929 – Hayden Fry, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect, designed 8 Spruce Street and Walt Disney Concert Hall
    • 1929 – John Montague, American-Irish poet and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1929 – Rangaswamy Srinivasan, Indian-American physical chemist and inventor
    • 1930 – Leon Cooper, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1931 – Iajuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi academic and politician, 14th President of Bangladesh (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – Peter Alliss, English golfer and sportscaster
    • 1931 – Gavin MacLeod, American actor
    • 1931 – Len Newcombe, Welsh footballer, outside forward and scout (d. 1996)
    • 1931 – Dean Smith, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer, and jazz musician (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Rein Taagepera, Estonian political scientist and politician
    • 1934 – Willie Bobo, American Latin Jazz/Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist (d. 1983)
    • 1937 – Jeff Farrell, American swimmer
    • 1938 – Foge Fazio, American football player and coach (d. 2009)
    • 1939 – John Fahey, American guitarist (d. 2001)
    • 1939 – Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan philosopher and scholar (d. 1987)
    • 1939 – Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1939 – Tommy Tune, American actor, singer, dancer, and director
    • 1940 – Aldo Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
    • 1940 – Mario Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
    • 1940 – Joe South, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer (d. 2012)
    • 1942 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1969)
    • 1942 – Dino Zoff, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1943 – Barbara Acklin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
    • 1943 – Hans Dijkstal, Egyptian-Dutch educator and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2010)
    • 1943 – Donnie Iris, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1944 – Kelly Bishop, American actress and dancer
    • 1944 – Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Sepp Maier, German footballer and manager
    • 1944 – Storm Thorgerson, English graphic designer (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Mimsy Farmer, American-French actress and sculptor
    • 1945 – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (d. 2011)
    • 1945 – Linda Preiss Rothschild, American mathematician and academic
    • 1946 – Philip Bailhache, English lawyer and politician
    • 1946 – Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2005)
    • 1946 – Syreeta Wright, African-American singer songwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1947 – Stephanie Beacham, English actress
    • 1948 – Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1948 – Mike Figgis, English director, screenwriter, and composer
    • 1948 – Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author
    • 1948 – Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
    • 1948 – Alfred Sant, Maltese politician, 11th Prime Minister of Malta
    • 1951 – Bill Cratty, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1998)
    • 1951 – Debora Green, American physician convicted of murder
    • 1953 – Ingo Hoffmann, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1953 – Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1953 – Ricky Steamboat, American wrestler, referee, and trainer
    • 1954 – Brian Billick, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1955 – Adrian Dantley, American basketball player and coach
    • 1955 – Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer
    • 1956 – Terry Leahy, English businessman
    • 1956 – Guy Maddin, Canadian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
    • 1957 – Paul Delph, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 1996)
    • 1957 – Ainsley Harriott, English chef and author
    • 1957 – Ian Smith, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1957 – John Turturro, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Cindy Wilson, American singer-songwriter
    • 1958 – Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican criminal and narcotics trafficker (d. 2012)
    • 1958 – Natalya Estemirova, Russian journalist and activist (d. 2009)
    • 1958 – Jeanne Mas, Spanish-French singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1958 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (d. 2010)
    • 1959 – Jack Abramoff, American businessman and lobbyist
    • 1959 – Megan McDonald, American librarian and author
    • 1961 – Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian-American actress
    • 1961 – Mark Latham, Australian politician
    • 1961 – Barry McGuigan, Irish-British boxer
    • 1962 – Gary Belcher, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
    • 1964 – Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Uzbekistan sprinter and cyclist
    • 1965 – Colum McCann, Irish-American author and academic
    • 1965 – Norman Smiley, English-American wrestler and trainer
    • 1966 – Vincent Askew, American basketball player and coach
    • 1966 – Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer
    • 1966 – Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid
    • 1967 – Colin Cooper, English footballer and manager
    • 1967 – Martin Tielli, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1969 – Sean Farrel, English footballer, forward
    • 1969 – Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver
    • 1969 – Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
    • 1969 – Patrick Monahan, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1970 – Daniel Handler, American journalist, author, and accordion player
    • 1970 – Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner
    • 1971 – Junya Nakano, Japanese pianist and composer
    • 1971 – Peter Stebbings, Canadian actor and director
    • 1972 – Rory Cochrane, American actor
    • 1972 – Ville Haapasalo, Finnish actor and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Scott McLeod, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1973 – Nicolas Minassian, French race car driver
    • 1973 – Masato Tanaka, Japanese wrestler
    • 1974 – Lee Carsley, English-Irish footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Alexander Zickler, German footballer and manager
    • 1975 – Mike Rucker, American football player
    • 1976 – Ali Larter, American actress
    • 1977 – Jason Aldean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Lance Hoyt, American football player and wrestler
    • 1978 – Jeanne Cherhal, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
    • 1978 – Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player
    • 1978 – Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player
    • 1979 – Sébastien Bourdais, French race car driver
    • 1979 – Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player
    • 1979 – Primož Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper
    • 1980 – Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer
    • 1980 – Lucian Bute, Romanian-Canadian boxer
    • 1980 – Christian Poulsen, Danish footballer
    • 1980 – Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Brian Bannister, American baseball player and scout
    • 1982 – Natalia Vodianova, Russian-French model and actress
    • 1984 – Noureen DeWulf, American actress
    • 1984 – Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress
    • 1985 – Tim Bresnan, English cricketer
    • 1985 – Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player
    • 1985 – Diego Ribas da Cunha, Brazilian footballer
    • 1986 – Travis Stevens, American judoka
    • 1987 – Antonio Candreva, Italian footballer
    • 1988 – Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player
    • 1988 – Markéta Irglová, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1989 – Carlos Dunlap, American football player
    • 1989 – Charles Jenkins, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Kevin Proctor, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1989 – Angelababy, Chinese actress
    • 1990 – Takayasu Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1994 – Jake Bugg, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1994 – Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer
    • 1999 – Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player

    Deaths on February 28

    • 628 – Khosrow II, Shah of Iran – Sasanian Empire (b. c. 570)
    • 911 – Abu Abdallah al-Shi’i, Muslim Shia imam
    • 1105 – Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse (b. c. 1042)
    • 1261 – Henry III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1230)
    • 1326 – Leopold I, Duke of Austria (b. 1290)
    • 1453 – Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine (b. 1400)
    • 1510 – Juan de la Cosa, Spanish cartographer and explorer (b. 1450)
    • 1551 – Martin Bucer, German Protestant reformer (b. 1491)
    • 1572 – Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian and author (b. 1505)
    • 1621 – Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1590)
    • 1648 – Christian IV of Denmark (b. 1577)
    • 1786 – John Gwynn, English architect and engineer (b. 1713)
    • 1788 – Thomas Cushing, American lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1725)
    • 1857 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (b. 1809)
    • 1869 – Alphonse de Lamartine, French author and poet (b. 1790)
    • 1879 – Hortense Allart, Italian-French author (b. 1801)
    • 1891 – George Hearst, American businessman and politician (b. 1820)
    • 1916 – Henry James, American novelist, short writer, and critic (b. 1843)
    • 1925 – Friedrich Ebert, German politician, 1st President of Germany (b. 1871)
    • 1929 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician and immunologist (b. 1874)
    • 1932 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (b. 1851)
    • 1935 – Chiquinha Gonzaga, Brazilian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1847)
    • 1936 – Charles Nicolle, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
    • 1941 – Alfonso XIII of Spain (b. 1886)
    • 1942 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (b. 1889)
    • 1959 – Maxwell Anderson, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1888)
    • 1963 – Rajendra Prasad, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st President of India (b. 1884)
    • 1966 – Charles Bassett, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1931)
    • 1966 – Elliot See, American commander, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)
    • 1967 – Henry Luce, American publisher, co-founded Time Magazine (b. 1898)
    • 1977 – Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, American actor and comedian (b. 1905)
    • 1978 – Zara Cully, American actress (b. 1892)
    • 1978 – Eric Frank Russell, English author (b. 1905)
    • 1983 – Winifred Atwell, Trinidadian pianist (b. 1910 or 1914)
    • 1987 – Stephen Tennant, English author (b. 1906)
    • 1991 – Wassily Hoeffding, Finnish-American statistician and theorist (b. 1914)
    • 1993 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
    • 1993 – Ruby Keeler, Canadian-American actress and dancer (b. 1909)
    • 1998 – Dermot Morgan, Irish comedian and actor (b. 1952)
    • 1998 – Arkady Shevchenko, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1930)
    • 2002 – Mary Stuart, American actress and singer (b. 1926)
    • 2002 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Chris Brasher, Guyanese-English runner and journalist, co-founded the London Marathon (b. 1928)
    • 2003 – Fidel Sánchez Hernández, Salvadorian general and politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1917)
    • 2004 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and librarian (b. 1914)
    • 2004 – Carmen Laforet, Spanish author (b. 1921)
    • 2004 – Andres Nuiamäe, Estonian sergeant (b. 1982)
    • 2005 – Chris Curtis, English singer and drummer (b. 1941)
    • 2006 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
    • 2007 – Charles Forte, Baron Forte, Italian-English businessman, founded the Forte Group (b. 1908)
    • 2007 – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (b. 1917)
    • 2007 – Billy Thorpe, English-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1946)
    • 2008 – Joseph M. Juran, Romanian-American engineer and businessman (b. 1904)
    • 2009 – Paul Harvey, American radio host (b. 1918)
    • 2011 – Annie Girardot, French actress (b. 1931)
    • 2011 – Jane Russell, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Frisner Augustin, Haitian drummer and composer (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Jim Green, American-Canadian educator and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Hal Roach, Irish comedian and author (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Neil McCorkell, English cricketer and coach (b. 1912)
    • 2014 – Hugo Brandt Corstius, Dutch linguist and author (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Lee Lorch, American mathematician and activist (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Alex Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1942)
    • 2015 – Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – George Kennedy, American actor (b. 1925)
    • 2017 – Pierre Pascau, Mauritian-Canadian journalist (b. 1938)
    • 2019 – André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (b. 1929)
    • 2020 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe’s (b. 1930)
    • 2020 – Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (b. 1923)
    • 2020 – Sir Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (b. 1917)

    Holidays and observances on February 28

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abercius (martyr)
      • Anna Julia Cooper and Elizabeth Evelyn Wright (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Hilarius
      • Mar Abba
      • Oswald of Worcester
      • Romanus of Condat
      • Rufinus
      • February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Rare Disease Day can fall, while February 29 is the latest; observed on the last day of February (international)
    • The third day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (Please note that this observance is only locked into this date the Gregorian calendar on this date if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it doesn’t in all years)
    • Día de Andalucía (Andalusia, Spain)
    • Kalevala Day, the day of Finnish culture. (Finland)
    • National Science Day (India)
    • Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)
    • Teachers’ Day (Arab states)