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  • June 11- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1184 BC – Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes.
    • 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called “miracle of the rain”.
    • 631 – Emperor Taizong of Tang sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of Chinese prisoners captured during the transition from Sui to Tang.
    • 786 – A Hasanid Alid uprising in Mecca is crushed by the Abbasids at the Battle of Fakhkh.
    • 980 – Vladimir the Great consolidates the Kievan realm from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea. He is proclaimed ruler (knyaz) of all Kievan Rus’.
    • 1011 – Lombard Revolt: Greek citizens of Bari rise up against the Lombard rebels led by Melus and deliver the city to Basil Mesardonites, Byzantine governor (catepan) of the Catepanate of Italy.
    • 1118 – Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, captures Azaz from the Seljuk Turks.
    • 1157 – Albert I of Brandenburg, also called The Bear (Ger: Albrecht der Bär), becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany and the first margrave.
    • 1345 – The megas doux Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners.
    • 1429 – Hundred Years’ War: Start of the Battle of Jargeau.
    • 1488 – Battle of Sauchieburn: Fought between rebel Lords and James III of Scotland, resulting in the death of the king.
    • 1509 – Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.
    • 1594 – Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paved way to the stabilization of the rule of the Principalía (an elite ruling class of native nobility in Spanish Philippines).
    • 1748 – Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries.
    • 1770 – British explorer Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
    • 1775 – The American Revolutionary War’s first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel.
    • 1776 – The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.
    • 1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska.
    • 1805 – A fire consumes large portions of Detroit in the Michigan Territory.
    • 1825 – The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City.
    • 1837 – The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between Yankees and Irish.
    • 1865 – The Naval Battle of the Riachuelo is fought on the rivulet Riachuelo (Argentina), between the Paraguayan Navy on one side and the Brazilian Navy on the other. The Brazilian victory was crucial for the later success of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina) in the Paraguayan War.
    • 1892 – The Limelight Department, one of the world’s first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia.
    • 1895 – Paris–Bordeaux–Paris, sometimes called the first automobile race in history or the “first motor race”, takes place.
    • 1898 – The Hundred Days’ Reform, a planned movement to reform social, political, and educational institutions in China, is started by the Guangxu Emperor, but is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days. (The failed reform led to the abolition of the Imperial examination in 1905.)
    • 1901 – The boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand are extended by the UK to include the Cook Islands.
    • 1903 – A group of Serbian officers stormed the royal palace and assassinated King Alexander Obrenović and his wife, Queen Draga.
    • 1917 – King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father, Constantine I, abdicates under pressure from allied armies occupying Athens.
    • 1919 – Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown.
    • 1920 – During the U.S. Republican National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Republican Party leaders gathered in a room at the Blackstone Hotel to come to a consensus on their candidate for the U.S. presidential election, leading the Associated Press to coin the political phrase “smoke-filled room”.
    • 1935 – Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States at Alpine, New Jersey.
    • 1936 – The London International Surrealist Exhibition opens.
    • 1937 – Great Purge: The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders.
    • 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan starts.
    • 1940 – World War II: The Siege of Malta begins with a series of Italian air raids.
    • 1942 – World War II: The United States agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
    • 1942 – Free French Forces retreat from Bir Hakeim after having successfully delayed the Axis advance.
    • 1944 – USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the United States Navy and future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, is commissioned.
    • 1955 – Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports.
    • 1956 – Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. The total number of deaths is reportedly 150.
    • 1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
    • 1963 – American Civil Rights Movement: Governor of Alabama George Wallace defiantly stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.
    • 1963 – Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.
    • 1963 – John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which would revolutionize American society by guaranteeing equal access to public facilities, ending segregation in education, and guaranteeing federal protection for voting rights.
    • 1964 – World War II veteran Walter Seifert attacks an elementary school in Cologne, Germany, killing at least eight children and two teachers and seriously injuring several more with a home-made flamethrower and a lance.
    • 1968 – Lloyd J. Old identified the first cell surface antigens that could differentiate among different cell types.
    • 1970 – After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army Generals, becoming the first women to do so.
    • 1971 – The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control.
    • 1978 – Altaf Hussain founds the student political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University.
    • 1981 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000.
    • 1987 – Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black MPs in Great Britain.
    • 1998 – Compaq Computer pays US$9 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation in the largest high-tech acquisition.
    • 2001 – Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
    • 2002 – Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
    • 2004 – Cassini–Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe.
    • 2007 – Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kill 130 people.
    • 2008 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada’s First Nations in regard to abuses at a Canadian Indian residential school.
    • 2008 – The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit.
    • 2010 – The first African FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa.
    • 2012 – More than 80 people die in a landslide triggered by two earthquakes in Afghanistan; an entire village is buried.
    • 2013 – Greece’s public broadcaster ERT is shut down by then-prime minister Antonis Samaras. It reopened exactly two years later by then-prime minister Alexis Tsipras.
    • 2018 – 3 World Trade Center officially opens.

    Births on June 11

    • 1403 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (d. 1427)
    • 1431 – Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (d. 1456)
    • 1456 – Anne Neville, Princess of Wales and Queen of England (d. 1485)
    • 1540 – Barnabe Googe, English poet and translator (d. 1594)
    • 1555 – Lodovico Zacconi, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1627)
    • 1572 – Ben Jonson, English poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1637)
    • 1585 – Evert Horn, Swedish soldier (d. 1615)
    • 1588 – George Wither, English poet (d. 1667)
    • 1620 – John Moore, English businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of London (d. 1702)
    • 1655 – Antonio Cifrondi, Italian painter (d. 1730)
    • 1662 – Tokugawa Ienobu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1712)
    • 1672 – Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Italian priest and composer (d. 1749)
    • 1690 – Giovanni Antonio Giay, Italian composer (d. 1764)
    • 1696 – James Francis Edward Keith, Scottish-Prussian field marshal (d. 1758)
    • 1697 – Francesco Antonio Vallotti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1780)
    • 1704 – Carlos Seixas, Portuguese harpsichord player and composer (d. 1742)
    • 1709 – Joachim Martin Falbe, German painter (d. 1782)
    • 1712 – Benjamin Ingham, American missionary (d. 1772)
    • 1723 – Johann Georg Palitzsch, German astronomer (d. 1788)
    • 1726 – Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (d. 1746)
    • 1741 – Joseph Warren, American physician and general (d. 1775)
    • 1776 – John Constable, English painter and academic (d. 1837)
    • 1797 – José Trinidad Reyes, Honduran philosopher and theorist (d. 1855)
    • 1807 – James F. Schenck, American admiral (d. 1882)
    • 1815 – Julia Margaret Cameron, Indian-Sri Lankan photographer (d. 1879)
    • 1818 – Alexander Bain, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1903)
    • 1829 – Edward Braddon, English-Australian politician, 18th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1904)
    • 1832 – Lucy Pickens, American wife of Francis Wilkinson Pickens (d. 1899)
    • 1842 – Carl von Linde, German engineer and academic (d. 1934)
    • 1846 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (d. 1920)
    • 1847 – Millicent Fawcett, English academic and activist (d. 1929)
    • 1861 – Alexander Peacock, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Victoria (d. 1933)
    • 1864 – Richard Strauss, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
    • 1867 – Charles Fabry, French physicist and academic (d. 1945)
    • 1871 – Stjepan Radić, Croatian lawyer and politician (d. 1928)
    • 1876 – Alfred L. Kroeber, American-French anthropologist and ethnologist (d. 1960)
    • 1877 – Renée Vivien, English-French poet and author (d. 1909)
    • 1879 – Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player and manager (d. 1944)
    • 1880 – Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (d. 1973)
    • 1881 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (d. 1963)
    • 1881 – Mordecai Kaplan, Lithuanian rabbi, founded Reconstructionist Judaism (d. 1983)
    • 1888 – Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian-American anarchist and convicted criminal (d. 1927)
    • 1889 – Hugo Wieslander, Swedish decathlete (d. 1976)
    • 1894 – Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese businessman, founded Toyota (d. 1952)
    • 1895 – Nikolai Bulganin, Soviet politician (d. 1975)
    • 1897 – Ram Prasad Bismil, Indian activist, founded the Hindustan Republican Association (d. 1927)
    • 1897 – Reg Latta, Australian rugby league player (d. 1970)
    • 1899 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese novelist and short story writer Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
    • 1901 – Cap Fear, Canadian football player and rower (d. 1978)
    • 1901 – Benny Wearing, Australian rugby league player (d. 1968)
    • 1902 – Eric Fraser, British illustrator and graphic designer (d. 1983)
    • 1903 – Ernie Nevers, American football player and coach (d. 1976)
    • 1908 – Karl Hein, German hammer thrower (d. 1982)
    • 1908 – Francisco Marto, Portuguese saint (d. 1919)
    • 1909 – Natascha Artin Brunswick, German-American mathematician and photographer (d. 2003)
    • 1910 – Carmine Coppola, American flute player and composer (d. 1991)
    • 1910 – Jacques Cousteau, French biologist, author, and inventor, co-developed the aqua-lung (d. 1997)
    • 1912 – James Algar, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
    • 1912 – William Baziotes, American painter and academic (d. 1963)
    • 1912 – Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Iranian meteorologist and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1913 – Vince Lombardi, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 1970)
    • 1913 – Risë Stevens, American soprano and actress (d. 2013)
    • 1914 – Jan Hendrik van den Berg, Dutch psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1915 – Magda Gabor, Hungarian-American actress (d. 1997)
    • 1915 – Nicholas Metropolis, American mathematician and physicist (d. 1999)
    • 1917 – Joseph B. Wirthlin, American businessman and religious leader (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Ruth Aarons, American table tennis player and manager (d. 1980)
    • 1919 – Suleiman Mousa, Jordanian historian and author (d. 2008)
    • 1919 – Richard Todd, Irish-English actor (d. 2009)
    • 1920 – Shelly Manne, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (d. 1984)
    • 1920 – Hazel Scott, Trinidadian-American singer, actress, and pianist (d. 1981)
    • 1920 – Keith Seaman, Australian lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of South Australia (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Jean Sutherland Boggs, Peruvian-Canadian historian, academic, and civil servant (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Michael Cacoyannis, Greek Cypriot director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1925 – Johnny Esaw, Canadian sportscaster (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – William Styron, American novelist and essayist (d. 2006)
    • 1926 – Carlisle Floyd, American composer and educator
    • 1927 – Beryl Grey, English ballerina
    • 1927 – John W. O’Malley, American Catholic historian, academic and Jesuit priest
    • 1927 – Kit Pedler, English parapsychologist and author (d. 1981)
    • 1928 – Queen Fabiola of Belgium (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Ayhan Şahenk, Turkish businessman (d. 2001)
    • 1930 – Charles Rangel, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
    • 1932 – Athol Fugard, South African-American actor, director, and playwright
    • 1932 – Tim Sainsbury, English businessman and politician, Minister of State for Trade
    • 1933 – Gene Wilder, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1937 – Chad Everett, American actor and director (d. 2012)
    • 1937 – Robin Warren, Australian pathologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1939 – Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, English cricketer and journalist (d. 2017)
    • 1939 – Jackie Stewart, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1942 – Parris Glendening, American politician, 59th Governor of Maryland
    • 1943 – Henry Hill, American mobster (d. 2012)
    • 1945 – Adrienne Barbeau, American actress
    • 1947 – Richard Palmer-James, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1948 – Dave Cash, American baseball player and coach
    • 1948 – Lalu Prasad Yadav, Indian politician, 20th Chief Minister of Bihar
    • 1949 – Frank Beard, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1950 – Lynsey de Paul, English singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, cartoonist and actress (d. 2014)
    • 1950 – Graham Russell, English-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – Matthew Engel, English journalist and author
    • 1951 – Yasumasa Morimura, Japanese painter and photographer
    • 1952 – Yekaterina Podkopayeva, Russian runner
    • 1952 – Donnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1953 – Steve Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton, English politician
    • 1953 – José Bové, French farmer and politician
    • 1953 – Barbara Minty, American model
    • 1954 – John Dyson, Australian cricketer
    • 1954 – Johnny Neel, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1955 – Yuriy Sedykh, Ukrainian hammer thrower
    • 1955 – Duncan Steel, English-Australian astronomer and author
    • 1956 – Joe Montana, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1956 – Simon Plouffe, Canadian mathematician and academic
    • 1956 – Arthur Porter, Canadian physician and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1956 – Jamaaladeen Tacuma, American bass player and bandleader
    • 1958 – Barry Adamson, English singer and bass player
    • 1959 – Hugh Laurie, English actor and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Mehmet Oz, American surgeon, author, and television host
    • 1962 – Mano Menezes, Brazilian footballer and coach
    • 1963 – Gioia Bruno, American singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler and sportscaster (d. 2000)
    • 1964 – Jean Alesi, French race car driver
    • 1964 – Kim Gallagher, American runner (d. 2002)
    • 1965 – Georgios Bartzokas, Greek former professional basketball player
    • 1965 – Gavin Hill, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1966 – Bruce Robison, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1967 – Graeme Bachop, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1967 – João Garcia, Portuguese mountaineer
    • 1968 – Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
    • 1968 – Manoa Thompson, Fijian rugby player
    • 1969 – Peter Dinklage, American actor and producer
    • 1969 – Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2002)
    • 1969 – Olaf Kapagiannidis, German footballer
    • 1971 – Vladimir Gaidamașciuc, Moldovan footballer
    • 1971 – Liz Kendall, British politician
    • 1971 – Mark Richardson, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1971 – Kenjiro Tsuda, Japanese voice actor
    • 1972 – Stephen Kearney, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
    • 1973 – José Manuel Abundis, Mexican footballer and coach
    • 1974 – Fragiskos Alvertis, Greek basketball player, coach, and manager
    • 1976 – Reiko Tosa, Japanese runner
    • 1977 – Geoff Ogilvy, Australian golfer
    • 1978 – Joshua Jackson, Canadian-American actor
    • 1978 – Daryl Tuffey, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1979 – Ali Boussaboun, Moroccan-Dutch footballer
    • 1979 – Amy Duggan, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1980 – Yhency Brazoban, Dominican baseball player
    • 1981 – Emiliano Moretti, Italian footballer
    • 1981 – Kristo Tohver, Estonian footballer and referee
    • 1982 – Vanessa Boslak, French pole vaulter
    • 1982 – Jacques Freitag, South African high jumper
    • 1982 – Joey Graham, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Stephen Graham, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Reni Maitua, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Eldar Rønning, Norwegian skier
    • 1982 – Diana Taurasi, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Chuck Hayes, American basketball player
    • 1983 – José Reyes, Dominican baseball player
    • 1984 – Andy Lee, Irish boxer
    • 1984 – Vágner Love, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Tim Hoogland, German footballer
    • 1986 – Sebastian Bayer, German long jumper
    • 1986 – Shia LaBeouf, American actor
    • 1987 – Marsel İlhan, Turkish tennis player
    • 1987 – Didrik Solli-Tangen, Norwegian singer
    • 1988 – Jesús Fernández Collado, Spanish footballer
    • 1988 – Yui Aragaki, Japanese actress, voice actress, singer-songwriter, model, radio host
    • 1989 – Maya Moore, American basketball player
    • 1990 – Christophe Lemaitre, French sprinter
    • 1991 – Daniel Howell, English internet celebrity
    • 1993 – Brittany Boyd, American basketball player
    • 1994 – Ivana Baquero, Spanish actress
    • 1996 – Ayaka Sasaki, Japanese singer
    • 1998 – Charlie Tahan, American actor
    • 1999 – Eartha Cumings, Scottish footballer

    Deaths on June 11

    • 323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (b. 356 BC)
    • 573 – Emilian of Cogolla, Iberic saint (b. 472)
    • 840 – Junna, emperor of Japan (b. 785)
    • 884 – Shi Jingsi, general of the Tang Dynasty
    • 888 – Rimbert, archbishop of Bremen (b. 830)
    • 1183 – Henry the Young King of England (b. 1155)
    • 1216 – Henry of Flanders, emperor of the Latin Empire (b. c. 1174)
    • 1248 – Adachi Kagemori, Japanese samurai
    • 1253 – Amadeus IV, count of Savoy (b. 1197)
    • 1298 – Yolanda of Poland (b. 1235)
    • 1323 – Bérenger Fredoli, French lawyer and bishop (b. 1250)
    • 1345 – Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire
    • 1347 – Bartholomew of San Concordio, Italian Dominican canonist and man of letters (b. 1260)
    • 1446 – Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick (b. 1425)
    • 1479 – John of Sahagun, hermit and saint (b. 1419)
    • 1488 – James III of Scotland (b. 1451)
    • 1557 – John III of Portugal (b. 1502)
    • 1560 – Mary of Guise, queen of James V of Scotland (b. 1515)
    • 1683 – Nikita Pustosvyat, a leader of the Russian Old Believers, beheaded (b. unknown)
    • 1695 – André Félibien, French historian and author (b. 1619)
    • 1712 – Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme (b. 1654)
    • 1727 – George I of Great Britain (b. 1660)
    • 1748 – Felice Torelli, Italian painter (b. 1667)
    • 1796 – Samuel Whitbread, English brewer and politician, founded the Whitbread Company (b. 1720)
    • 1847 – John Franklin, English admiral and politician (b. 1786)
    • 1852 – Karl Bryullov, Russian painter (b. 1799)
    • 1859 – Klemens von Metternich, German-Austrian politician, 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (b. 1773)
    • 1879 – William, Prince of Orange (b. 1840)
    • 1882 – Louis Désiré Maigret, French bishop (b. 1804)
    • 1885 – Matías Ramos Mejía, Argentinian colonel (b. 1810)
    • 1897 – Henry Ayers, English-Australian politician, 8th Premier of South Australia (b. 1821)
    • 1903 – Nikolai Bugaev, Russian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1837)
    • 1903 – Alexander I of Serbia (b. 1876)
    • 1903 – Draga Mašin, Serbian wife of Alexander I of Serbia (b. 1864)
    • 1911 – James Curtis Hepburn, American physician and missionary (b. 1815)
    • 1913 – Mahmud Shevket Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 279th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1856)
    • 1914 – Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1848)
    • 1920 – William F. Halsey, Sr., American captain (b. 1853)
    • 1924 – Théodore Dubois, French organist, composer, and educator (b. 1837)
    • 1927 – William Attewell, English cricketer (b. 1861)
    • 1934 – Lev Vygotsky, Belarusian-Russian psychologist and theorist (b. 1896)
    • 1936 – Robert E. Howard, American author and poet (b. 1906)
    • 1937 – R. J. Mitchell, English engineer, designed the Supermarine Spitfire (b. 1895)
    • 1941 – Daniel Carter Beard, American author and illustrator, founded the Boy Scouts of America (b. 1850)
    • 1955 – Pierre Levegh, French race car driver (b. 1905)
    • 1962 – Chhabi Biswas, Indian actor and director (b. 1900)
    • 1963 – Thích Quảng Đức, Vietnamese monk and martyr (b. 1897)
    • 1965 – Paul B. Coremans, Belgian chemist and academic (b. 1908)
    • 1965 – José Mendes Cabeçadas, Portuguese admiral and politician, 9th President of Portugal (b. 1883)
    • 1970 – Frank Laubach, American missionary and mystic (b. 1884)
    • 1974 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian general and politician, 16th President of Brazil (b. 1883)
    • 1974 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and author (b. 1898)
    • 1976 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player (b. 1917)
    • 1979 – Alice Dalgliesh, Trinidadian-American author and publisher (b. 1893)
    • 1979 – John Wayne, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
    • 1983 – Ghanshyam Das Birla, Indian businessman and politician (b. 1894)
    • 1984 – Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (b. 1922)
    • 1986 – Chesley Bonestell, American painter and illustrator (b. 1888)
    • 1991 – Cromwell Everson, South African composer (b. 1925)
    • 1993 – Ray Sharkey, American actor (b. 1952)
    • 1994 – A. Thurairajah, Sri Lankan engineer and academic (b. 1934)
    • 1995 – Rodel Naval, Filipino singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1953)
    • 1996 – George Hees, Canadian politician (b. 1910)
    • 1996 – Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (b. 1908)
    • 1998 – Catherine Cookson, English author (b. 1906)
    • 1999 – DeForest Kelley, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2001 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist (b. 1968)
    • 2001 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1923)
    • 2003 – David Brinkley, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
    • 2004 – Egon von Fürstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (b. 1946)
    • 2005 – Vasco Gonçalves, Portuguese general and politician, 103rd Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1922)
    • 2005 – Anne-Marie Alonzo, Canadian playwright, poet, novelist, critic and publisher (b. 1951)
    • 2006 – Neroli Fairhall, New Zealand archer (b. 1944)
    • 2006 – Bruce Shand, English soldier (b. 1917)
    • 2007 – Imre Friedmann, American biologist and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – Mala Powers, American actress (b. 1931)
    • 2008 – Ove Andersson, Swedish race car driver (b. 1938)
    • 2008 – Võ Văn Kiệt, Vietnamese soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1922)
    • 2011 – Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Israeli physicist and engineer (b. 1947)
    • 2011 – Seth Putnam, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1968)
    • 2012 – Ann Rutherford, Canadian-American actress (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer and engineer (b. 1952)
    • 2013 – Miller Barber, American golfer (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Carl W. Bauer, American lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Robert Fogel, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – James Grimsley, Jr., American general (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Rory Morrison, English journalist (b. 1964)
    • 2013 – Kristiāns Pelšs, Latvian ice hockey player (b. 1992)
    • 2013 – Vidya Charan Shukla, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Ruby Dee, American actress (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Spanish conductor and composer (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Susan B. Horwitz, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic (b. 1955)
    • 2014 – Mipham Chokyi Lodro, Tibetan lama and educator (b. 1952)
    • 2014 – Benjamin Mophatlane, South African businessman (b. 1973)
    • 2014 – Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Jim Ed Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Ian McKechnie, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1941)
    • 2015 – Ron Moody, English actor and singer (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Dusty Rhodes, American wrestler (b. 1945)
    • 2016 – Rudi Altig, German track and road racing cyclist (b. 1937)
    • 2020 – Stella Pevsner, children’s author (b. 1921)

    Holidays and observances on June 11

    • American Evacuation Day (Libya)
    • Brazilian Navy commemorative day (Brazil)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Barnabas the Apostle
      • Bartholomew the Apostle (Eastern Christianity)
      • Blessed Ignatius Maloyan (Armenian Catholic Church)
      • Paula Frassinetti
      • Riagail of Bangor
      • June 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Davis Day (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada)
    • Kamehameha Day (Hawaii, United States)
    • Student Day (Honduras)

  • 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)

  • April 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    April 20 in History

    • 1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII.
    • 1453 – Three Genoese galleys and a Byzantine blockade runner fight their way through an Ottoman blockading fleet a few weeks before the fall of Constantinople.
    • 1534 – Jacques Cartier begins his first voyage to what is today the east coast of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador.
    • 1535 – The sun dog phenomenon is observed over Stockholm, as later depicted in the famous painting Vädersolstavlan.
    • 1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves the Rump Parliament.
    • 1657 – Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet under heavy fire at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
    • 1657 – Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
    • 1689 – Deposed monarch James II of England lays siege to Derry.
    • 1752 – Start of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, a new phase in the Burmese Civil War (1740–57).
    • 1770 – The Georgian king, Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian ally Count Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman forces at Aspindza.
    • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Siege of Boston begins, following the battles at Lexington and Concord.
    • 1789 – George Washington arrives at Grays Ferry, Philadelphia while en route to Manhattan for his inauguration.
    • 1792 – France declares war against the “King of Hungary and Bohemia”, the beginning of French Revolutionary Wars.
    • 1800 – The Septinsular Republic is established.
    • 1809 – Two Austrian army corps in Bavaria are defeated by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon at the Battle of Abensberg on the second day of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory.
    • 1810 – The governor of Caracas, Venezuela declares independence from Spain.
    • 1818 – The case of Ashford v Thornton ends, with Abraham Thornton allowed to go free rather than face a retrial for murder, after his demand for trial by battle is upheld.
    • 1828 – René Caillié becomes the second non-Muslim to enter (and the first to return from) Timbuktu, following Major Gordon Laing.
    • 1836 – U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
    • 1862 – Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the experiment disproving the theory of spontaneous generation.
    • 1865 – Astronomer Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX’s yacht, the L’Immaculata Concezion.
    • 1876 – The April Uprising begins. Its suppression shocks European opinion, and Bulgarian independence becomes a condition for ending the Russo-Turkish War.
    • 1884 – Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum genus.
    • 1898 – U.S. President William McKinley signed a joint resolution to Congress for declaration of war against Spain, beginning the Spanish–American War.
    • 1902 – Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.
    • 1908 – Opening day of competition in the New South Wales Rugby League.
    • 1912 – Opening day for baseball’s Tiger Stadium in Detroit, and Fenway Park in Boston.
    • 1914 – Nineteen men, women, and children die in the Ludlow Massacre during a Colorado coal-miners’ strike.
    • 1916 – The Chicago Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park (currently Wrigley Field), defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7–6 in 11 innings.
    • 1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.
    • 1922 – The Soviet government creates South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within Georgian SSR.
    • 1939 – Adolf Hitler’s 50th birthday’s celebrations in Germany
    • 1945 – World War II: U.S. troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.
    • 1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: On his 56th birthday Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.
    • 1945 – Twenty Jewish children used in medical experiments at Neuengamme are killed in the basement of the Bullenhuser Damm school.
    • 1946 – The League of Nations officially dissolves, giving most of its power to the United Nations.
    • 1961 – Cold War: Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba.
    • 1968 – English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial “Rivers of Blood” speech.
    • 1972 – Apollo program: Apollo 16 lunar module, commanded by John Young and piloted by Charles Duke, lands on the moon.
    • 1998 – Air France Flight 422 crashes after taking off from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia, killing all 53 people on board.
    • 1999 – Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado.
    • 2007 – Johnson Space Center shooting: William Phillips with a handgun barricade himself in NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas before killing a male hostage and himself.
    • 2008 – Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.
    • 2010 – The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last six months.
    • 2012 – One hundred twenty-seven people are killed when a plane crashes in a residential area near the Benazir Bhutto International Airport near Islamabad, Pakistan.
    • 2013 – A 6.6-magnitude earthquake strikes Lushan County, Ya’an, in China’s Sichuan province, killing more than 150 people and injuring thousands.
    • 2015 – Ten people are killed in a bomb attack on a convoy carrying food supplies to a United Nations compound in Garowe in the Somali region of Puntland.

    Births on April 20

    • 1494 – Johannes Agricola, German theologian and reformer (d. 1566)
    • 1544 – Renata of Lorraine, Duchess consort of Bavaria (d. 1602)
    • 1586 – Rose of Lima, Peruvian mystic and saint (d. 1617)
    • 1633 – Emperor Go-Kōmyō of Japan (d. 1654)
    • 1646 – Charles Plumier, French botanist and author (d. 1704)
    • 1650 – William Bedloe, English spy (d. 1680)
    • 1718 – David Brainerd, American missionary (d. 1747)
    • 1723 – Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (d. 1781)
    • 1727 – Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Belgian-Austrian minister and diplomat (d. 1794)
    • 1745 – Philippe Pinel, French physician and psychiatrist (d. 1826)
    • 1748 – Georg Michael Telemann, German composer and theologian (d. 1831)
    • 1772 – William Lawless, Irish revolutionary and French general (d. 1824)
    • 1808 – Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France (d. 1873)
    • 1816 – Bogoslav Šulek, Croatian philologist, historian, and lexicographer (d. 1895)
    • 1818 – Heinrich Göbel, German-American mechanic and engineer (d. 1893)
    • 1826 – Dinah Craik, English author and poet (d. 1887)
    • 1836 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American scientist and academic (d. 1895)
    • 1839 – Carol I of Romania, King of Romania (d. 1914)
    • 1840 – Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (d. 1916)
    • 1850 – Daniel Chester French, American sculptor, designed the Lincoln statue (d. 1931)
    • 1851 – Alexander Dianin, Russian chemist (d. 1918)
    • 1851 – Siegmund Lubin, Polish-American businessman, founded the Lubin Manufacturing Company (d. 1923)
    • 1860 – Justinien de Clary, French target shooter (d. 1933)
    • 1871 – Sydney Chapman, English economist and civil servant (d. 1951)
    • 1873 – James Harcourt, English character actor (d. 1951)
    • 1875 – Vladimir Vidrić, Croatian poet and lawyer (d. 1909)
    • 1879 – Paul Poiret, French fashion designer (d. 1944)
    • 1882 – Holland Smith, American general (d. 1967)
    • 1884 – Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1966)
    • 1884 – Oliver Kirk, American boxer (d. 1960)
    • 1884 – Daniel Varoujan, Armenian poet and educator (d. 1915)
    • 1889 – Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish rabbi, lawyer, and activist (d. 1996)
    • 1889 – Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland (d. 1918)
    • 1889 – Marie-Antoinette de Geuser, French mystic (d. 1918)
    • 1889 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian born German politician, Führer of Nazi Germany (d. 1945)
    • 1889 – Tonny Kessler, Dutch footballer (d. 1960)
    • 1890 – Maurice Duplessis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Quebec (d. 1959)
    • 1890 – Adolf Schärf, Austrian soldier and politician, 6th President of Austria (d. 1965)
    • 1891 – Dave Bancroft, American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)
    • 1893 – Harold Lloyd, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1971)
    • 1893 – Joan Miró, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 1983)
    • 1895 – Emile Christian, American trombonist and composer (d. 1973)
    • 1895 – Henry de Montherlant, French essayist, novelist, and dramatist (d. 1972)
    • 1896 – Wop May, Canadian captain and pilot (d. 1952)
    • 1899 – Alan Arnett McLeod, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
    • 1904 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (d. 1972)
    • 1907 – Miran Bux, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1991)
    • 1907 – Augoustinos Kantiotes, Greek bishop (d. 2010)
    • 1908 – Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player, pianist, bandleader, and actor (d. 2002)
    • 1910 – Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, Turkish diplomat and politician (d. 1961)
    • 1913 – Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor and poet (d. 1986)
    • 1913 – Willi Hennig, German biologist and entomologist (d. 1976)
    • 1913 – Roger Rochard, French runner (d. 1993)
    • 1914 – Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (d. 1999)
    • 1915 – Joseph Wolpe, South African psychotherapist and physician (d. 1997)
    • 1916 – Nasiba Zeynalova, Azerbaijani actress (d. 2004)
    • 1918 – Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Richard Hillary, Australian lieutenant and pilot (d. 1943)
    • 1920 – Frances Ames, South African neurologist, psychiatrist, and human rights activist (d. 2002)
    • 1920 – Clement Isong, Nigerian banker and politician, Governor of Cross River State (d. 2000)
    • 1920 – Ronald Speirs, American colonel (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – John Paul Stevens, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2019)
    • 1923 – Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster, founded Eternal Word Television Network (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter and illustrator (d. 2008)
    • 1923 – Tito Puente, American drummer and producer (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (d. 2008)
    • 1924 – Leslie Phillips, English actor and producer
    • 1924 – Guy Rocher, Canadian sociologist and academic
    • 1925 – Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (d. 2006)
    • 1925 – Elena Verdugo, American actress (d. 2017)
    • 1927 – Bud Cullen, Canadian judge and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Employment and Immigration (d. 2005)
    • 1927 – Phil Hill, American race car driver (d. 2008)
    • 1927 – K. Alex Müller, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1928 – Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Johnny Gavin, Irish international footballer (d. 2007)
    • 1929 – Harry Agganis, American baseball and football player (d. 1955)
    • 1929 – Bobby Hollander, American film director, actor, and magazine publisher (d. 2002)
    • 1930 – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Antony Jay, English director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1931 – Michael Allenby, 3rd Viscount Allenby, English lieutenant and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, English businessman and politician
    • 1932 – Myriam Bru, French actress
    • 1933 – Kristaq Dhamo, Albanian actor and film director
    • 1936 – Lisa Davis, English and American former child and adult actress
    • 1936 – Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese technician, surveyor, and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 2012)
    • 1936 – Pat Roberts, American captain, journalist, and politician
    • 1936 – Christopher Robinson, English organist and conductor
    • 1937 – Jiří Dienstbier, Czech journalist and politician, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2011)
    • 1937 – Antonios Kounadis, Greek discus thrower
    • 1937 – Harvey Quaytman, American painter and educator (d. 2002)
    • 1937 – George Takei, American actor
    • 1938 – Betty Cuthbert, Australian sprinter
    • 1938 – Manfred Kinder, German runner
    • 1938 – Peter Snow, British historian and journalist
    • 1938 – Eszter Tamási, Hungarian actress (d. 1991)
    • 1939 – Elspeth Ballantyne, Australian actress
    • 1939 – Peter S. Beagle, American author and screenwriter
    • 1939 – Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian physician and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Norway
    • 1939 – Johnny Tillotson, American singer-songwriter
    • 1940 – James Gammon, American actor (d. 2010)
    • 1941 – Ryan O’Neal, American actor
    • 1942 – Giles Henderson, English lawyer and academic
    • 1942 – Arto Paasilinna, Finnish journalist and author
    • 1943 – Alan Beith, English academic and politician
    • 1943 – John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor and director
    • 1943 – Edie Sedgwick, American model and actress (d. 1971)
    • 1944 – Toivo Aare, Estonian journalist and author (d. 1999)
    • 1945 – Michael Brandon, American actor and director
    • 1945 – Olga Karlatos, Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer
    • 1945 – Thein Sein, Burmese general and politician, 8th President of Burma
    • 1945 – Naftali Temu, Kenyan runner (d. 2003)
    • 1945 – Steve Spurrier, American football player and head coach, 1966 Heisman Trophy winner
    • 1946 – Sandro Chia, Italian painter and sculptor
    • 1946 – Julien Poulin, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1946 – Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (d. 1982)
    • 1947 – Rita Dionne-Marsolais, Canadian economist and politician
    • 1947 – David Leland, English actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1947 – Viktor Suvorov, Russian intelligence officer, historian, and author
    • 1948 – Gregory Itzin, American actor
    • 1948 – Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1949 – Veronica Cartwright, English-American actress
    • 1949 – Toller Cranston, Canadian-Mexican figure skater and painter (d. 2015)
    • 1949 – Massimo D’Alema, Italian journalist and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Italy
    • 1949 – Jessica Lange, American actress
    • 1950 – Steve Erickson, American author and critic
    • 1950 – Alexander Lebed, Russian general and politician (d. 2002)
    • 1950 – N. Chandrababu Naidu, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh
    • 1951 – Louise Jameson, English actress
    • 1951 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2005)
    • 1952 – Louka Katseli, Greek economist and politician
    • 1952 – Božidar Maljković, Serbian basketball player and coach
    • 1952 – Eric Pickles, English politician, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
    • 1953 – Sebastian Faulks, English journalist and author
    • 1955 – Donald Pettit, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1956 – Beatrice Ask, Swedish politician, Swedish Minister for Justice
    • 1956 – Peter Chelsom, English film director, writer, and actor
    • 1956 – Kakha Bendukidze, Georgian economist and politician
    • 1956 – Georgie Glen, Scottish actress
    • 1958 – Viacheslav Fetisov, Russian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1959 – Perry Haddock, Australian rugby league player
    • 1960 – Debbie Flintoff-King, Australian hurdler and coach
    • 1961 – Don Mattingly, American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1961 – Konstantin Lavronenko, Russian actor
    • 1961 – Nicholas Lyndhurst, English actor
    • 1961 – Paul Usher, English actor
    • 1963 – Maurício Gugelmin, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1963 – Rachel Whiteread, English sculptor
    • 1964 – Crispin Glover, American actor
    • 1964 – Andy Serkis, English actor and director
    • 1964 – Rosalynn Sumners, American figure skater
    • 1965 – Kostis Chatzidakis, Greek politician, Ministry of Economy, Infrastructure, Shipping and Tourism
    • 1965 – Léa Fazer, Swiss film director, screenwriter and actress
    • 1965 – Adrián Fernández, Mexican race car driver
    • 1965 – Rebecca Lacey, English actress
    • 1966 – David Chalmers, Australian philosopher and academic
    • 1966 – David Filo, American businessman, co-founded Yahoo!
    • 1966 – Vincent Riendeau, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1967 – Mike Portnoy, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1967 – Raymond van Barneveld, Dutch darts player
    • 1968 – Julia Morris, Australian entertainer
    • 1968 – Yelena Välbe, Russian skier and manager
    • 1968 – Roman Virastyuk, Ukrainian shot putter
    • 1969 – Felix Baumgartner, Austrian skydiver and BASE jumper
    • 1969 – Will Hodgman, Australian politician, 45th Premier of Tasmania
    • 1970 – Sarantuya, Mongolian soprano
    • 1970 – Avishai Cohen, Israeli singer-songwriter and bassist
    • 1970 – Shemar Moore, American actor
    • 1971 – Carla Geurts, Dutch swimmer, physiologist, and academic
    • 1971 – Allan Houston, American basketball player and manager
    • 1971 – Nikos Kyzeridis, Greek footballer
    • 1972 – Lê Huỳnh Đức, Vietnamese footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1972 – Carmen Electra, American model and actress
    • 1972 – Željko Joksimović, Serbian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1972 – Stephen Marley, American singer, guitarist, and producer
    • 1972 – Julia Peng, Taiwanese singer
    • 1973 – Isabel dos Santos, Angolan businesswoman and first African woman billionaire
    • 1973 – Lamond Murray, American basketball player
    • 1974 – Adrian Ilie, Romanian footballer
    • 1974 – Julie Fernandez, English actress and model
    • 1974 – Urmas Paet, Estonian journalist and politician, 26th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1975 – Killer Mike, American rapper and activist
    • 1976 – Aldo Bobadilla, Paraguayan footballer
    • 1976 – Shay Given, Irish footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Chris Mason, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1976 – Ismail Rasheed, Maldivian actor
    • 1976 – Georgina Rylance, English actress
    • 1979 – Stian Barsnes-Simonsen, Norwegian actor and television host
    • 1979 – Ludovic Magnin, Swiss footballer and coach
    • 1979 – Nate Marquardt, American mixed martial artist
    • 1980 – Gunta Baško, Latvian basketball player
    • 1980 – Sunaina Sunaina, Indian weightlifter
    • 1980 – Jasmin Wagner, German singer and actress
    • 1982 – Jacqueline Govaert, Dutch singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1982 – Dario Knežević, Croatian footballer
    • 1983 – Danny Granger, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Miranda Kerr, Australian model
    • 1983 – Joanne King, Irish actress
    • 1984 – Nelson Évora, Ivorian-Portuguese triple jumper
    • 1984 – Bárbara Lennie, Spanish actress
    • 1984 – Edixon Perea, Colombian footballer
    • 1984 – Jenna Shoemaker, American triathlete
    • 1985 – Curt Hawkins, American wrestler
    • 1985 – Brent Seabrook, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Chun Woo-hee, South Korean actress
    • 1988 – Brandon Belt, American baseball player
    • 1989 – Cally-Jo, English fine artist and tattoo artist
    • 1989 – Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2014
    • 1989 – Carlos Valdes, Colombian-American actor and singer
    • 1990 – Luhan, Chinese singer and actor
    • 1990 – Abby Mavers, English actress
    • 1992 – Kristian Álvarez, Mexican footballer
    • 1992 – Marko Meerits, Estonian footballer
    • 1995 – Damian McKenzie, New Zealand rugby union player
    • 1995 – Jean Marie Dongou, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1997 – Alexander “Sascha” Zverev, German tennis player
    • 1998 – Zachary Claman DeMelo, Canadian racing driver

    Deaths on April 20

    • 689 – Cædwalla, king of Wessex (b. 659)
    • 767 – Taichō, Japanese monk (b. 682)
    • 888 – Xi Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 862)
    • 1099 – Peter Bartholomew (b. 1061)
    • 1164 – Antipope Victor IV
    • 1176 – Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English-Irish politician, Lord Chief Justice of Ireland (b. 1130)
    • 1248 – Güyük Khan, Mongol ruler, 3rd Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (b. 1206)
    • 1284 – Hōjō Tokimune, regent of Japan (b. 1251)
    • 1314 – Pope Clement V (b. 1264)
    • 1322 – Simon Rinalducci, Italian Augustinian friar
    • 1521 – Zhengde, Chinese emperor (b. 1491)
    • 1534 – Elizabeth Barton, English nun and martyr (b. 1506)
    • 1558 – Johannes Bugenhagen, German priest and theologian (b. 1485)
    • 1643 – Christoph Demantius, German composer and poet (b. 1567)
    • 1703 – Lancelot Addison, English clergyman and educator (b. 1632)
    • 1769 – Chief Pontiac, American tribal leader (b. 1720)
    • 1831 – John Abernethy, English surgeon and anatomist (b. 1764)
    • 1873 – William Tite, English architect, designed the Royal Exchange (b. 1798)
    • 1874 – Alexander H. Bailey, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1817)
    • 1881 – William Burges, English architect and designer (b. 1827)
    • 1886 – Charles-François-Frédéric, marquis de Montholon-Sémonville, French general and diplomat, French ambassador to the United States (b. 1814)
    • 1887 – Muhammad Sharif Pasha, Greek-Egyptian politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1826)
    • 1899 – Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (b. 1820)
    • 1902 – Joaquim de Sousa Andrade, Brazilian poet and educator (b. 1833)
    • 1912 – Bram Stoker, Anglo-Irish novelist and critic, created Count Dracula (b. 1847)
    • 1918 – Karl Ferdinand Braun, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
    • 1927 – Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and educator (b. 1866)
    • 1929 – Prince Henry of Prussia (b. 1862)
    • 1931 – Sir Cosmo Duff-Gordon, 5th Baronet, Scottish-English fencer and businessman (b. 1862)
    • 1932 – Giuseppe Peano, Italian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1858)
    • 1935 – John Cameron, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1872)
    • 1935 – Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon, English fashion designer (b. 1863)
    • 1942 – Jüri Jaakson, Estonian businessman and politician, 6th State Elder of Estonia (b. 1870)
    • 1944 – Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and pilot (b. 1917)
    • 1945 – Erwin Bumke, Polish-German jurist and politician (b. 1874)
    • 1946 – Mae Busch, Australian actress (b. 1891)
    • 1947 – Christian X of Denmark (b. 1870)
    • 1951 – Ivanoe Bonomi, Italian politician, 25th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1873)
    • 1961 – Ado Vabbe, Estonian painter (b. 1892)
    • 1967 – Léo-Paul Desrosiers, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1896)
    • 1968 – Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (b. 1877)
    • 1969 – Vjekoslav Luburić, Croatian Ustaše official and concentration camp administrator (b. 1914)
    • 1980 – M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1924)
    • 1982 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (b. 1892)
    • 1986 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani journalist, scholar, and activist (b. 1916)
    • 1991 – Steve Marriott, English singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
    • 1991 – Don Siegel, American director and producer (b. 1912)
    • 1992 – Marjorie Gestring, American springboard diver (b. 1922)
    • 1992 – Benny Hill, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
    • 1993 – Cantinflas, Mexican actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
    • 1995 – Milovan Đilas, Yugoslav communist, politician, theorist and author (b. 1911)
    • 1996 – Trần Văn Trà, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1918)
    • 1999 – Casualties of the Columbine High School massacre:
      • Cassie Bernall, American student (b. 1981)
      • Eric Harris, American student and murderer (b. 1981)
      • Dylan Klebold, American student and murderer (b. 1981)
      • Rachel Scott, American student, inspired the Rachel’s Challenge (b. 1981)
    • 1999 – Rick Rude, American wrestler (b. 1958)
    • 2001 – Giuseppe Sinopoli, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1946)
    • 2002 – Alan Dale, American singer (b. 1925)
    • 2003 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976)
    • 2003 – Bernard Katz, German-English biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
    • 2004 – Lizzy Mercier Descloux, French musician, singer-songwriter, composer, actress, writer and painter (b. 1956)
    • 2005 – Fumio Niwa, Japanese journalist and author (b. 1904)
    • 2007 – Andrew Hill, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1931)
    • 2007 – Michael Fu Tieshan, Chinese bishop (b. 1931)
    • 2008 – Monica Lovinescu, Romanian journalist and author (b. 1923)
    • 2010 – Dorothy Height, American educator and activist (b. 1912)
    • 2011 – Tim Hetherington, English photographer and journalist (b. 1970)
    • 2012 – Bert Weedon, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2014 – Mithat Bayrak, Turkish wrestler and trainer (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Rubin Carter, American-Canadian boxer (b. 1937)
    • 2014 – Neville Wran, Australian lawyer and politician, 35th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Victoria Wood, British comedian, actress and writer (b. 1953)
    • 2017 – Cuba Gooding Sr., American singer and actor (b. 1944)
    • 2018 – Avicii, Swedish DJ, and musician (b. 1989)
    • 2019 – Jacqueline Saburido, Venezuelan activist (b. 1978)

    Holidays and observances on April 20

    • 420 (cannabis culture) (International)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Agnes of Montepulciano
      • Beuno
      • Hugh of Anzy le Duc
      • Johannes Bugenhagen (Lutheran)
      • Marcellinus of Gaul (Embrun)
      • Blessed Oda of Brabant
      • Pope Anicetus
      • Theotimos
      • April 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • UN Chinese Language Day (United Nations)

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

    • 1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized on Ferrara, a papal fiefdom.
    • 1329 – Pope John XXII issues his In Agro Dominico condemning some writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical.
    • 1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León reaches the northern end of The Bahamas on his first voyage to Florida.
    • 1625 – Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as claiming the title King of France.
    • 1782 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
    • 1794 – The United States Government establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates.
    • 1809 – Peninsular War: A combined Franco-Polish force defeats the Spanish in the Battle of Ciudad Real.
    • 1814 – War of 1812: In central Alabama, U.S. forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
    • 1836 – Texas Revolution: On the orders of General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican army massacres 342 Texas POWs at Goliad, Texas.
    • 1866 – President of the United States of America Andrew Johnson vetoes the Civil Rights Act of 1866. His veto is overridden by Congress and the bill passes into law on April 9.
    • 1871 – The first international rugby football match, when Scotland defeats England in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place.
    • 1884 – A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, attacks members of a jury which had returned a verdict of manslaughter in what was seen as a clear case of murder; over the next few days the mob would riot and eventually destroy the courthouse.
    • 1886 – Geronimo, Apache warrior, surrenders to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars.
    • 1899 – Emilio Aguinaldo leads Filipino forces for the only time during the Philippine–American War at the Battle of Marilao River.
    • 1915 – Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States is put in quarantine for the second time, where she would remain for the rest of her life.
    • 1918 – The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania.
    • 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Taierzhuang begins, resulting several weeks later in the war’s first major Chinese victory over Japan.
    • 1941 – World War II: Yugoslav Air Force officers topple the pro-Axis government in a bloodless coup.
    • 1943 – World War II: Battle of the Komandorski Islands: In the Aleutian Islands the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.
    • 1945 – World War II: Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan’s ports and waterways begins. Argentina declares war on the Axis Powers.
    • 1958 – Nikita Khrushchev becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union.
    • 1964 – The Good Friday earthquake, the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes Southcentral Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage.
    • 1975 – Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.
    • 1977 – Tenerife airport disaster: Two Boeing 747 airliners collide on a foggy runway on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 (all 248 on KLM and 335 on Pan Am). Sixty-one survived on the Pan Am flight. This is the deadliest aviation accident in history.
    • 1980 – The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.
    • 1980 – Silver Thursday: A steep fall in silver prices, resulting from the Hunt Brothers attempting to corner the market in silver, leads to panic on commodity and futures exchanges.
    • 1981 – The Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which at least 12 million Poles walk off their jobs for four hours.
    • 1986 – A car bomb explodes outside Russell Street Police HQ in Melbourne, Australia, killing one police officer and injuring 21 people.
    • 1990 – The United States begins broadcasting anti-Castro propaganda to Cuba on TV Martí.
    • 1993 – Jiang Zemin is appointed President of the People’s Republic of China.
    • 1993 – Italian former minister and Christian Democracy leader Giulio Andreotti is accused of mafia allegiance by the tribunal of Palermo.
    • 1998 – The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for male impotence, the first pill to be approved for this condition in the United States.
    • 1999 – Kosovo War: An American Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk is shot down by a Yugoslav SAM, the first and only Nighthawk to be lost in combat.
    • 2000 – A Phillips Petroleum plant explosion in Pasadena, Texas kills one person and injures 71 others.
    • 2002 – Passover massacre: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people at a Passover seder in Netanya, Israel.
    • 2002 – Nanterre massacre: In Nanterre, France, a gunman opens fire at the end of a town council meeting, resulting in the deaths of eight councilors; 19 other people are injured.
    • 2004 – HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander-class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.
    • 2009 – The dam forming Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Indonesia, fails, killing at least 99 people.
    • 2014 – Philippines signs a peace accord with the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, ending decades of conflict.
    • 2015 – Al-Shabab militants attack and temporarily occupy a Mogadishu hotel leaving at least 20 people dead.
    • 2016 – A suicide blast in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Lahore claims over 70 lives and leaves almost 300 others injured. The target of the bombing are Christians celebrating Easter.
    • 2020 – North Macedonia becomes the 30th member of NATO.

    Births on March 27

    • 972 – Robert II, king of France (d. 1031)
    • 1401 – Albert III, duke of Bavaria (d. 1460)
    • 1416 – Francis of Paola, Italian friar and saint, founded Order of the Minims (d. 1507)
    • 1546 – Johannes Piscator, German theologian (d. 1625)
    • 1627 – Stephen Fox, English politician (d. 1716)
    • 1676 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
    • 1679 – Domenico Lalli, Italian poet and librettist (d. 1741)
    • 1681 – Joaquín Fernández de Portocarrero, Spanish-Italian cardinal (d. 1760)
    • 1702 – Johann Ernst Eberlin, German organist and composer (d. 1762)
    • 1710 – Joseph Abaco, Belgian cellist and composer (d. 1805)
    • 1712 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and author (d. 1779)
    • 1714 – Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, Italian historian and theologian (d. 1795)
    • 1724 – Jane Colden, American botanist and author (d. 1766)
    • 1745 – Lindley Murray, American-English Quaker and grammarian (d. 1826)
    • 1746 – Michael Bruce, Scottish poet and composer (d. 1767)
    • 1746 – Carlo Buonaparte, Corsican-French lawyer and politician (d. 1785)
    • 1765 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1841)
    • 1781 – Alexander Vostokov, Estonian-Russian philologist and academic (d. 1864)
    • 1784 – Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, Hungarian philologist, orientalist, and author (d. 1842)
    • 1785 – Louis XVII of France (d. 1795)
    • 1797 – Alfred de Vigny, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1863)
    • 1801 – Alexander Barrow, American lawyer and politician (d. 1846)
    • 1802 – Charles-Mathias Simons, German-Luxembourger jurist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1874)
    • 1809 – Georges-Eugène Haussmann, French engineer, urban planner, and politician (d. 1891)
    • 1811 – Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (d. 1880)
    • 1814 – Charles Mackay, Scottish journalist, anthologist, and author (d. 1889)
    • 1820 – Edward Augustus Inglefield, English admiral and explorer (d. 1894)
    • 1822 – Henri Murger, French novelist and poet (d. 1861)
    • 1824 – Virginia Minor, American women’s suffrage activist (d. 1894)
    • 1839 – John Ballance, Irish-New Zealand journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1893)
    • 1843 – George Frederick Leycester Marshall, English colonel and entomologist (d. 1934)
    • 1844 – Adolphus Greely, American general and explorer, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1935)
    • 1845 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1923)
    • 1845 – Jakob Sverdrup, Norwegian bishop and politician, Norwegian Minister of Education and Church Affairs (d. 1899)
    • 1847 – Otto Wallach, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
    • 1851 – Ruperto Chapí, Spanish composer, co-founded Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (d. 1909)
    • 1851 – Vincent d’Indy, French composer and educator (d. 1931)
    • 1852 – Jan van Beers, Belgian painter and illustrator (d. 1927)
    • 1854 – Giovanni Battista Grassi, Italian physician, zoologist, and entomologist (d. 1925)
    • 1855 – William Libbey, American target shooter, colonel, mountaineer, geographer, geologist, and archaeologist (d. 1927)
    • 1857 – Karl Pearson, English mathematician, eugenicist, and academic (d. 1936)
    • 1859 – George Giffen, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 1927)
    • 1860 – Frank Frost Abbott, American-Swiss scholar and academic (d. 1924)
    • 1862 – Jelena Dimitrijević, Serbian short story writer, novelist, poet, traveller, social worker, feminist and polyglot (d. 1945)
    • 1862 – Arturo Berutti, Argentinian composer (d. 1938)
    • 1863 – Henry Royce, English engineer and businessman, founded Rolls-Royce Limited (d. 1933)
    • 1866 – John Allan, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Victoria (d. 1936)
    • 1868 – Patty Hill, American songwriter and educator (d. 1946)
    • 1869 – James McNeill, Irish politician, 2nd Governor-General of the Irish Free State (d. 1938)
    • 1869 – J. R. Clynes, English trade unionist and politician, Home Secretary (d. 1949)
    • 1871 – Heinrich Mann, German author and poet (d. 1950)
    • 1871 – Joseph G. Morrison, American captain and Nazarene minister (d. 1939)
    • 1871 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician, Minister of Labour (d. 1948)
    • 1875 – Albert Marquet, French painter (d. 1947)
    • 1877 – Oscar Grégoire, Belgian water polo player and swimmer (d. 1947)
    • 1878 – Kathleen Scott, British sculptor (d. 1947)
    • 1879 – Sándor Garbai, Hungarian politician, 19th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1947)
    • 1879 – Miller Huggins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1929)
    • 1879 – Edward Steichen, Luxembourger-American painter and photographer (d. 1973)
    • 1881 – Arkady Averchenko, Russian playwright and satirist (d. 1925)
    • 1882 – Thomas Graham Brown, Scottish mountaineer and physiologist (d. 1965)
    • 1883 – Marie Under, Estonian author and poet (d. 1980)
    • 1884 – Gordon Thomson, English rower and lieutenant (d. 1953)
    • 1885 – Julio Lozano Díaz, Honduran accountant and politician, 40th President of Honduras (d. 1957)
    • 1885 – Reginald Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster, English navy officer and politician, Secretary of State for Transport (d. 1961)
    • 1886 – Sergey Kirov, Russian politician (d. 1934)
    • 1886 – Wladimir Burliuk, Ukrainian painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
    • 1886 – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German-American architect, designed IBM Plaza and Seagram Building (d. 1969)
    • 1887 – Väinö Siikaniemi, Finnish javelin thrower, poet, and translator (d. 1932)
    • 1888 – George Alfred Lawrence Hearne, English-South African cricketer (d. 1978)
    • 1889 – Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu, Egyptian-Turkish journalist, author, and politician (d. 1974)
    • 1889 – Leonard Mociulschi, Romanian general (d. 1979)
    • 1890 – Harald Julin, Swedish swimmer and water polo player (d. 1967)
    • 1890 – Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, Scottish admiral (d. 1974)
    • 1891 – Lajos Zilahy, Hungarian novelist and playwright (d. 1974)
    • 1891 – Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski, Belarusian-Lithuanian architect, journalist, and diplomat, created the Flag of Belarus (d. 1959)
    • 1892 – Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer (d. 1972)
    • 1892 – Thorne Smith, American author (d. 1934)
    • 1893 – Karl Mannheim, Hungarian-English sociologist and academic (d. 1947)
    • 1893 – G. Lloyd Spencer, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1981)
    • 1893 – George Beranger, Australian-American actor and director (d. 1973)
    • 1894 – René Fonck, French colonel and pilot (d. 1953)
    • 1895 – Roland Leighton, English soldier and poet (d. 1915)
    • 1897 – Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1958)
    • 1897 – Fred Keating, American magician, stage and film actor (d. 1961)
    • 1899 – Francis Ponge, French poet and author (d. 1988)
    • 1899 – Herbert Arthur Stuart, German-Swiss physicist and academic (d. 1974)
    • 1899 – Gloria Swanson, American actress and producer (d. 1983)
    • 1901 – Carl Barks, American illustrator and screenwriter (d. 2000)
    • 1901 – Erich Ollenhauer, German politician (d. 1963)
    • 1901 – Eisaku Satō, Japanese politician, 61st Prime Minister of Japan, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
    • 1901 – Kenneth Slessor, Australian journalist and poet (d. 1971)
    • 1902 – Sidney Buchman, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1975)
    • 1902 – Charles Lang, American cinematographer (d. 1998)
    • 1903 – Xavier Villaurrutia, Mexican poet and playwright (d. 1950)
    • 1905 – Leroy Carr, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1935)
    • 1905 – Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff, German general (d. 1980)
    • 1905 – Elsie MacGill, Canadian-American author and engineer (d. 1980)
    • 1906 – Pee Wee Russell, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 1969)
    • 1909 – Golo Mann, German historian and author (d. 1994)
    • 1909 – Ben Webster, American saxophonist (d. 1973)
    • 1909 – Valery Marakou, Belarusian poet and translator (d. 1937)
    • 1910 – Ai Qing, Chinese poet and author (d. 1996)
    • 1911 – Veronika Tushnova, Russian poet and physician (d. 1965)
    • 1912 – James Callaghan, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2005)
    • 1913 – Theodor Dannecker, German SS officer (d. 1945)
    • 1914 – Richard Denning, American actor (d. 1998)
    • 1914 – Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2009)
    • 1915 – Robert Lockwood, Jr., American guitarist (d. 2006)
    • 1917 – Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th United States Secretary of State (d. 2002)
    • 1920 – Colin Rowe, English-American architect, theorist and academic (d. 1999)
    • 1921 – Phil Chess, Czech-American record producer, co-founded Chess Records (d. 2016)
    • 1921 – Moacir Barbosa Nascimento, Brazilian footballer and coach (d. 2000)
    • 1921 – Harold Nicholas, American actor and dancer (d. 2000)
    • 1922 – Dick King-Smith, English author (d. 2011)
    • 1922 – Stefan Wul, French author and surgeon (d. 2003)
    • 1922 – Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter, printmaker, and sculptor (d. 2007)
    • 1923 – Shūsaku Endō, Japanese author (d. 1996)
    • 1923 – Louis Simpson, Jamaican-American poet, translator, and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (d. 1990)
    • 1924 – Ian Black, Scottish international footballer, goalkeeper and lawn bowls player (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Margaret K. Butler, American mathematician and computer programmer (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Frank O’Hara, American writer (d. 1966)
    • 1927 – Sylvia Anderson, English voice actress, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – Anthony Lewis, American journalist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (d. 2007)
    • 1928 – Jean Dotto, French cyclist (d. 2000)
    • 1929 – Anne Ramsey, American actress (d. 1988)
    • 1929 – Reg Evans, Australian actor (d. 2009)
    • 1930 – Daniel Spoerri, Romanian-Swiss photographer, writer and artist
    • 1931 – David Janssen, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1980)
    • 1932 – Junior Parker, American singer and harmonica player (d. 1971)
    • 1932 – Bailey Olter, Micronesian politician, 3rd President of the Federated States of Micronesia (d. 1999)
    • 1933 – Lê Văn Hưng, South Vietnamese Brigadier general (d. 1975)
    • 1934 – István Csurka, Hungarian journalist, author, and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Stanley Rother, American Roman Catholic priest and missionary (d. 1981)
    • 1935 – Julian Glover, English actor
    • 1936 – Malcolm Goldstein, American violinist and composer
    • 1937 – Alan Hawkshaw, English keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1939 – Jay Kim, South Korean-American engineer and politician
    • 1939 – Cale Yarborough, American race car driver and businessman
    • 1940 – Sandro Munari, Italian race car driver
    • 1940 – Austin Pendleton, American actor, director, and playwright
    • 1941 – Ivan Gašparovič, Slovak lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Slovakia
    • 1941 – Liese Prokop, Austrian pentathlete and politician, Austrian Minister of the Interior (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Michael Jackson, English journalist and author (d. 2007)
    • 1942 – John Sulston, English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
    • 1942 – Michael York, English actor
    • 1943 – Mike Curtis, American football player and coach (d. 2020)
    • 1944 – Jesse Brown, American marine and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (d. 2002)
    • 1944 – Bryan Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1946 – Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (d. 1999)
    • 1947 – Oliver Friggieri, Maltese author, critic, poet and philosopher
    • 1947 – Brian Jones, English balloonist and pilot
    • 1947 – Walt Mossberg, American journalist
    • 1948 – Jens-Peter Bonde, Danish lawyer and politician
    • 1950 – Tony Banks, English keyboardist and songwriter
    • 1950 – Petros Efthymiou, Greek academic and politician, Greek Minister of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs
    • 1950 – Maria Ewing, African-American soprano
    • 1950 – Chris Stewart, English musician and author
    • 1950 – Terry Yorath, Welsh international footballer, Midfielder and international manager
    • 1951 – Andrei Kozyrev, Belgian-Russian politician and diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Russia
    • 1952 – Annemarie Moser-Pröll, Austrian skier
    • 1952 – Maria Schneider, French actress (d. 2011)
    • 1953 – Herman Ponsteen, Dutch cyclist
    • 1954 – Gerard Batten, English lawyer and politician
    • 1955 – Patrick McCabe, Irish writer
    • 1955 – Mariano Rajoy, Spanish lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain
    • 1955 – Susan Neiman, Jewish American-German philosopher and author
    • 1956 – Leung Kwok-hung, Hong Kong activist and politician
    • 1956 – Thomas Wassberg, Swedish cross country skier
    • 1957 – Kostas Vasilakakis, Greek footballer and manager
    • 1957 – Stephen Dillane, English actor
    • 1958 – Didier de Radiguès, Belgian race car driver and motorcycle racer
    • 1959 – Andrew Farriss, Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist
    • 1960 – Hans Pflügler, German footballer
    • 1960 – Renato Russo, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
    • 1961 – Ellery Hanley, English rugby league player and coach
    • 1961 – Tony Rominger, Swiss professional cyclist
    • 1962 – Jann Arden, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1962 – Brett French, Australian rugby league player
    • 1962 – Rob Hollink, Dutch poker player
    • 1962 – John O’Farrell, English journalist and author
    • 1962 – Brad Wright, American-Spanish basketball player
    • 1962 – Kevin J. Anderson, American science fiction writer
    • 1963 – Cory Blackwell, American basketball player
    • 1963 – Randall Cunningham, American football player, coach, and pastor
    • 1963 – Filippos Sachinidis, Greek-Canadian economist and politician
    • 1963 – Gary Stevens, English-Australian footballer and physiotherapist
    • 1963 – Quentin Tarantino, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor
    • 1963 – Xuxa, Brazilian actress, singer, businesswoman and television presenter
    • 1965 – Gregor Foitek, Swiss race car driver
    • 1966 – Žarko Paspalj, Serbian basketball player
    • 1967 – Talisa Soto, American actress
    • 1968 – Irina Belova, Russian heptathlete
    • 1969 – Gianluigi Lentini, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Pauley Perrette, American actress
    • 1970 – Leila Pahlavi, Princess of Iran (d. 2001)
    • 1970 – Derek Aucoin, Canadian baseball player
    • 1970 – Mariah Carey, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1970 – Brent Fitz, Canadian-American multi-instrumentalist and recording artist
    • 1970 – Jarrod McCracken, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1970 – Elizabeth Mitchell, American actress
    • 1970 – Uwe Rosenberg, German game designer, created Bohnanza
    • 1971 – David Coulthard, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor
    • 1972 – Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Surinamese-Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1972 – Charlie Haas, American professional wrestler
    • 1973 – Roger Telemachus, South African cricketer
    • 1974 – Marek Citko, Polish footballer and manager
    • 1974 – George Koumantarakis, Greek-South African footballer
    • 1974 – Gaizka Mendieta, Spanish footballer
    • 1975 – Andrew Blowers, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1975 – Kim Felton, Australian golfer
    • 1975 – Jeff Palmer, American gay porn actor and singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Fergie, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
    • 1975 – Christian Fiedler, German footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Roberta Anastase, Romanian politician, 57th President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania
    • 1976 – Danny Fortson, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Adrian Anca, Romanian footballer
    • 1977 – Vítor Meira, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1978 – Gabriel Paraschiv, Romanian footballer
    • 1978 – Marius Bakken, Norwegian runner
    • 1978 – Amélie Cocheteux, French tennis player
    • 1979 – Tom Palmer, English rugby union player
    • 1979 – Mohsen Moeini, Iranian author and director
    • 1979 – Imran Tahir, Pakistani-South African cricketer
    • 1979 – Jennifer Wilson, Zimbabwean-South African field hockey player
    • 1980 – Sean Ryan, American football player
    • 1980 – Michaela Paštiková, Czech tennis player
    • 1980 – Maksim Shevchenko, Kazakhstani footballer
    • 1981 – Terry McFlynn, Irish footballer
    • 1981 – Akhil Kumar, Indian boxer
    • 1981 – Jukka Keskisalo, Finnish runner
    • 1981 – Hilda Kibet, Kenyan runner
    • 1982 – Shawn Beveney, Guyanese footballer
    • 1983 – Yuliya Golubchikova, Russian pole vaulter
    • 1983 – Vasily Koshechkin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Román Martínez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1984 – Adam Ashley-Cooper, Australian rugby player
    • 1984 – Ben Franks, Australian-born New Zealand rugby player
    • 1984 – Brett Holman, Australian footballer
    • 1985 – Dustin Byfuglien, American ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Danny Vukovic, Australian footballer
    • 1986 – Manuel Neuer, German footballer
    • 1987 – Jefferson Bernárdez, Honduran footballer
    • 1987 – Samuel Francis, Nigerian-Qatari sprinter
    • 1987 – Polina Gagarina, Russian singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Buster Posey, American baseball player
    • 1988 – Jessie J, English singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Atsuto Uchida, Japanese footballer
    • 1988 – Brenda Song, American actress
    • 1988 – Mauro Goicoechea, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1988 – Holliday Grainger, English actress
    • 1989 – Matt Harvey, American baseball player
    • 1989 – Camilla Lees, New Zealand netball player
    • 1990 – Erdin Demir, Swedish-Turkish footballer
    • 1990 – Ben Hunt, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Nicolas Nkoulou, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1990 – Luca Zuffi, Swiss footballer
    • 1990 – Kimbra, New Zealand musician
    • 1990 – Brodha V, Indian Rapper and Music Producer
    • 1992 – Marc Muniesa, Spanish footballer
    • 1995 – Bill Tuiloma, New Zealand footballer

    Deaths on March 27

    • 710 – Rupert of Salzburg, Austrian bishop and saint (b. 660)
    • 853 – Haymo of Halberstadt, German bishop and author (b. 778)
    • 913 – Du Xiao, chancellor of Later Liang
    • 913 – Zhang empress of Later Liang
    • 916 – Alduin I, Frankish nobleman
    • 965 – Arnulf I, Count of Flanders (born c. 890)
    • 973 – Hermann Billung, Frankish lieutenant (b. 900)
    • 1045 – Ali ibn Ahmad al-Jarjara’i, Fatimid vizier
    • 1184 – Giorgi III, King of Georgia
    • 1248 – Maud Marshal, English countess (b. 1192)
    • 1350 – Alfonso XI of Castile (b. 1312)
    • 1378 – Pope Gregory XI (b. 1336)
    • 1462 – Vasily II of Moscow (b. 1415)
    • 1472 – Janus Pannonius, Hungarian bishop and poet (b. 1434)
    • 1482 – Mary of Burgundy, Sovereign Duchess regnant of Burgundy, married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1457)
    • 1564 – Lütfi Pasha, Turkish historian and politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1488)
    • 1572 – Girolamo Maggi, Italian polymath (b. c. 1523)
    • 1598 – Theodor de Bry, Belgian-German engraver, goldsmith, and publisher (b. 1528)
    • 1613 – Sigismund Báthory (b. 1573)
    • 1615 – Margaret of Valois (b. 1553)
    • 1621 – Benedetto Giustiniani, Italian cardinal (b. 1554)
    • 1624 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (b. 1578)
    • 1625 – James VI and I of the United Kingdom (b. 1566)
    • 1635 – Robert Naunton, English politician (b. 1563)
    • 1676 – Bernardino de Rebolledo, Spanish poet, soldier, and diplomat (b. 1597)
    • 1679 – Abraham Mignon, Dutch painter (b. 1640)
    • 1697 – Simon Bradstreet, English businessman and politician, 20th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1603)
    • 1729 – Leopold, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1679)
    • 1757 – Johann Stamitz, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1717)
    • 1770 – Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian painter (b. 1696)
    • 1848 – Gabriel Bibron, French zoologist and herpetologist (b. 1805)
    • 1849 – Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford, Irish-Canadian politician, 35th Governor General of Canada (b. 1776)
    • 1850 – Wilhelm Beer, Prussian astronomer and banker (b. 1797)
    • 1864 – Jean-Jacques Ampère, French philologist and academic (b. 1800)
    • 1869 – James Harper, American publisher and politician, 65th Mayor of New York City (b. 1795)
    • 1875 – Juan Crisóstomo Torrico, Peruvian soldier and politician, President of Peru (b. 1808)
    • 1875 – Edgar Quinet, French historian and academic (b. 1803)
    • 1878 – George Gilbert Scott, English architect, designed the Albert Memorial and St Mary’s Cathedral (b. 1811)
    • 1886 – Henry Taylor, English poet and playwright (b. 1800)
    • 1889 – John Bright, English politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1811)
    • 1890 – Carl Jacob Löwig, German chemist and academic (b. 1803)
    • 1898 – Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian philosopher and activist (b. 1817)
    • 1900 – Joseph A. Campbell, American businessman, founded the Campbell Soup Company (b. 1817)
    • 1910 – Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, Swiss-American ichthyologist, zoologist, and engineer (b. 1835)
    • 1913 – Richard Montgomery Gano, American minister, physician, and general (b. 1830)
    • 1918 – Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (b. 1838)
    • 1918 – Martin Sheridan, Irish-American discus thrower and jumper (b. 1881)
    • 1921 – Harry Barron, English general and politician, 16th Governor of Western Australia (b. 1847)
    • 1922 – Nikolay Sokolov, Russian composer and educator (b. 1859)
    • 1923 – James Dewar, Scottish chemist and physicist (b. 1842)
    • 1925 – Carl Neumann, German mathematician and academic (b. 1832)
    • 1926 – Kick Kelly, American baseball player, manager, and umpire (b. 1856)
    • 1926 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1887)
    • 1927 – Joe Start, American baseball player and manager (b. 1842)
    • 1927 – Klaus Berntsen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1844)
    • 1928 – Leslie Stuart, English organist and composer (b. 1863)
    • 1931 – Arnold Bennett, English author and playwright (b. 1867)
    • 1934 – Francis William Reitz, South African lawyer and politician, 5th State President of the Orange Free State (b. 1844)
    • 1938 – William Stern, German-American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1871)
    • 1940 – Michael Joseph Savage, Australian-New Zealand politician, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1872)
    • 1942 – Julio González, Catalan sculptor and painter (b. 1876)
    • 1943 – George Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway, English politician, 5th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1882)
    • 1945 – Vincent Hugo Bendix, American engineer and businessman, founded Bendix Corporation (b. 1881)
    • 1945 – Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1866)
    • 1946 – Karl Groos, German psychologist and philosopher (b. 1861)
    • 1949 – Elisheva Bikhovski, Israeli-Russian poet (b. 1888)
    • 1952 – Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese businessman, founded Toyota (b. 1894)
    • 1956 – Évariste Lévi-Provençal, French orientalist and historian (b. 1894)
    • 1958 – Leon C. Phillips, American lawyer and politician, 11th Governor of Oklahoma (b. 1890)
    • 1960 – Gregorio Marañón, Spanish physician, philosopher, and author (b. 1887)
    • 1967 – Jaroslav Heyrovský, Czech chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
    • 1968 – Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1934)
    • 1968 – Vladimir Seryogin, Russian soldier and pilot (b. 1922)
    • 1973 – Mikhail Kalatozov, Georgian-Russian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (b. 1903)
    • 1974 – Eduardo Santos, Colombian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of Colombia (b. 1888)
    • 1975 – Arthur Bliss, English conductor and composer (b. 1891)
    • 1976 – Georg August Zinn, German lawyer and politician, Minister President of Hesse (b. 1901)
    • 1977 – Shirley Graham Du Bois, American author, playwright, and composer (b. 1896)
    • 1977 – Diana Hyland, American actress (b. 1936)
    • 1977 – Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten, Dutch airline pilot (b. 1927)
    • 1978 – Nat Bailey, Canadian businessman, founded the White Spot (b. 1902)
    • 1978 – Kunwar Digvijay Singh, Indian field hockey (b. 1922)
    • 1978 – Sverre Farstad, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1920)
    • 1980 – Steve Fisher, American author and screenwriter (b. 1912)
    • 1981 – Jakob Ackeret, Swiss engineer and academic (b. 1898)
    • 1982 – Fazlur Khan, Bangladeshi-American engineer and architect, designed the John Hancock Center and Willis Tower (b. 1929)
    • 1987 – William Bowers, American journalist and screenwriter (b. 1916)
    • 1988 – Charles Willeford, American author, poet, and critic (b. 1919)
    • 1989 – May Allison, American actress (b. 1890)
    • 1989 – Malcolm Cowley, American novelist, poet, and literary critic (b. 1898)
    • 1990 – Percy Beard, American hurdler and coach (b. 1908)
    • 1991 – Aldo Ray, American actor (b. 1926)
    • 1992 – Colin Gibson, English footballer (b. 1923)
    • 1992 – Lang Hancock, Australian businessman (b. 1909)
    • 1992 – James E. Webb, American colonel and politician, 16th Under Secretary of State (b. 1906)
    • 1993 – Kamal Hassan Ali, Egyptian general and politician, Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1921)
    • 1993 – Paul László, Hungarian-American architect and interior designer (b. 1900)
    • 1994 – Elisabeth Schmid, German archaeologist and osteologist (b. 1912)
    • 1994 – Lawrence Wetherby, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1908)
    • 1995 – René Allio, French director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
    • 1997 – Lane Dwinell, American businessman and politician, 69th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1906)
    • 1997 – Ella Maillart, Swiss skier, sailor, field hockey player, and photographer (b. 1903)
    • 1998 – David McClelland, American psychologist and academic (b. 1917)
    • 1999 – Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (b. 1946)
    • 2000 – George Allen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
    • 2000 – Ian Dury, English singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1942)
    • 2002 – Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (b. 1908)
    • 2002 – Dudley Moore, English actor (b. 1935)
    • 2002 – Billy Wilder, Austrian-born American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
    • 2003 – Edwin Carr, New Zealand composer and educator (b. 1926)
    • 2004 – Robert Merle, French author (b. 1909)
    • 2005 – Wilfred Gordon Bigelow, Canadian soldier and surgeon (b. 1913)
    • 2006 – Dan Curtis, American director and producer (b. 1928)
    • 2006 – Stanisław Lem, Ukrainian-Polish author (b. 1921)
    • 2006 – Rudolf Vrba, Czech Holocaust survivor and educator (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Neil Williams, English cricketer (b. 1962)
    • 2007 – Nancy Adams, New Zealand botanist and illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 2007 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1929)
    • 2008 – Jean-Marie Balestre, French businessman (b. 1921)
    • 2009 – Irving R. Levine, American journalist and author (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Dick Giordano, American illustrator (b. 1932)
    • 2011 – Clement Arrindell, Nevisian judge and politician, 1st Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis (b. 1931)
    • 2011 – Farley Granger, American actor (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist and feminist (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Yvonne Brill, Canadian-American scientist and engineer (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Fay Kanin, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1917)
    • 2014 – Richard N. Frye, American scholar and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2014 – James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense and first United States Secretary of Energy (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Johnny Helms, American trumpet player, bandleader, and educator (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – T. Sailo, Indian soldier and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of Mizoram (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Mother Angelica, American Roman Catholic religious leader and media personality (b. 1923)

    Holidays and observances on March 27

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexander, a Pannonian soldier, martyred in 3rd century.
      • Amador of Portugal
      • Augusta of Treviso
      • Charles Henry Brent (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Gelasius, Archbishop of Armagh
      • John of Egypt
      • Philetus
      • Romulus of Nîmes, a Benedictine abbot, martyred c. 730.
      • Rupert of Salzburg
      • Zanitas and Lazarus of Persia
      • March 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Armed Forces Day (Myanmar)
    • International whisk(e)y day
    • World Theatre Day (International)

  • March 21- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    In astrology, the day of the equinox is the first full day of the sign of Aries. It is also the traditional first day of the astrological year. In the 21st century, the equinox usually occurs on March 19 or 20; it occurred on March 21 only in 2003 and 2007. The next year in which the equinox occurs on March 21 will be 2102.

    March 21 in History

    • 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius.
    • 630 – Emperor Heraclius returns the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem.
    • 717 – Battle of Vincy between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid.
    • 1152 – Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.
    • 1188 – Emperor Antoku accedes to the throne of Japan.
    • 1556 – On the day of his execution in Oxford, former Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer deviates from the scripted sermon by renouncing the recantations he has made and adds, “And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ’s enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine.”
    • 1788 – A fire in New Orleans leaves most of the town in ruins.
    • 1800 – With the church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII is crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché.
    • 1801 – The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis near Alexandria in Egypt.
    • 1804 – Code Napoléon is adopted as French civil law.
    • 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: Austrian forces repel French troops in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube.
    • 1844 – The Bahá’í calendar begins. This is the first day of the first year of the Bahá’í calendar. It is annually celebrated by members of the Bahá’í Faith as the Bahá’í New Year or Náw-Rúz.
    • 1861 – Alexander Stephens gives the Cornerstone Speech.
    • 1871 – Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Chancellor of the German Empire.
    • 1871 – Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone.
    • 1913 – Over 360 are killed and 20,000 homes destroyed in the Great Dayton Flood in Dayton, Ohio.
    • 1918 – World War I: The first phase of the German Spring Offensive, Operation Michael, begins.
    • 1919 – The Hungarian Soviet Republic is established becoming the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia.
    • 1921 – The New Economic Policy is implemented by the Bolshevik Party in response to the economic failure as a result of war communism.
    • 1925 – The Butler Act prohibits the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee.
    • 1925 – Syngman Rhee is removed from office after being impeached as the President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
    • 1928 – Charles Lindbergh is presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic flight.
    • 1935 – Shah of Iran Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran.
    • 1937 – Ponce massacre: Nineteen people in Ponce, Puerto Rico are gunned down by police acting on orders of the US-appointed Governor, Blanton C. Winship.
    • 1943 – Wehrmacht officer Rudolf von Gersdorff plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler by using a suicide bomb, but the plan falls through; von Gersdorff is able to defuse the bomb in time and avoid suspicion.
    • 1945 – World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma.
    • 1945 – World War II: Operation Carthage: Royal Air Force planes bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also accidentally hit a school, killing 125 civilians.
    • 1945 – World War II: Bulgaria and the Soviet Union successfully complete their defense of the north bank of the Drava River as the Battle of the Transdanubian Hills concludes.
    • 1946 – The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in professional American football since 1933.
    • 1952 – Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.
    • 1960 – Apartheid: Sharpeville massacre, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180.
    • 1963 – Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (in California) closes.
    • 1965 – Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9, the last in a series of unmanned lunar space probes.
    • 1965 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads 3,200 people on the start of the third and finally successful civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
    • 1968 – Battle of Karameh in Jordan between the Israel Defense Forces and the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and PLO.
    • 1970 – The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco.
    • 1980 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet–Afghan War.
    • 1983 – The first cases of the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic begin; Israelis and Palestinians accuse each other of poison gas, but the cause is later determined mostly to be psychosomatic.
    • 1986 – Debi Thomas became the first African American to win the World Figure Skating Championships
    • 1990 – Namibia becomes independent after 75 years of South African rule.
    • 1994 – The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change enters into force.
    • 1999 – Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon.
    • 2000 – Pope John Paul II makes his first ever pontifical visit to Israel.
    • 2006 – The social media site Twitter is founded.
    • 2009 – Four police officers are shot and killed and a fifth is wounded in two shootings at Oakland, California.
    • 2019 – The 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion occurs, killing at least 47 people and injuring 640 others.

    Births on March 21

    • 927 – Emperor Taizu of Song (d. 976)
    • 1474 – Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint (d. 1540)
    • 1501 – Anne Brooke, Baroness Cobham, English noble (d. 1558)
    • 1521 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (d. 1553)
    • 1527 – Hermann Finck, German composer and educator (d. 1558)
    • 1555 – John Leveson, English politician (d. 1615)
    • 1557 – Anne Howard, Countess of Arundel, English countess and poet (d. 1630)
    • 1626 – Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, Spanish saint and missionary (d. 1667)
    • 1672 – Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino, Italian poet and translator (d. 1742)
    • 1685 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German Baroque composer and musician (d. 1750)
    • 1713 – Francis Lewis, Welsh-American merchant and politician (d. 1803)
    • 1716 – Josef Seger, Bohemian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1782)
    • 1752 – Mary Dixon Kies, American inventor (d. 1837)
    • 1763 – Jean Paul, German journalist and author (d. 1825)
    • 1768 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1830)
    • 1806 – Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 25th President of Mexico (d. 1872)
    • 1811 – Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (d. 1891)
    • 1825 – Alexander Mozhaysky, Russian soldier and engineer (d. 1890)
    • 1835 – Thomas Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1876)
    • 1839 – Modest Mussorgsky, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1881)
    • 1854 – Alick Bannerman, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 1924)
    • 1857 – Alice Henry, Australian journalist and activist (d. 1943)
    • 1859 – Daria Pratt, American golfer (d. 1938)
    • 1865 – George Owen Squier, American general (d. 1934)
    • 1866 – Antonia Maury, American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1952)
    • 1867 – Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., American director and producer (d. 1932)
    • 1869 – David Robertson, Scottish-English golfer and rugby player (d. 1937)
    • 1874 – Alfred Tysoe, English runner (d. 1901)
    • 1876 – Walter Tewksbury, American runner and hurdler (d. 1968)
    • 1877 – Maurice Farman, French race car driver and pilot (d. 1964)
    • 1878 – Morris H. Whitehouse, American architect (d. 1944)
    • 1880 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1971)
    • 1880 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter and academic (d. 1966)
    • 1882 – Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician (d. 1963)
    • 1884 – George David Birkhoff, American mathematician (d. 1944)
    • 1885 – Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (d. 1952)
    • 1886 – Walter Dray, American pole vaulter (d. 1973)
    • 1887 – Clarice Beckett, Australian painter (d. 1935)
    • 1887 – Lajos Kassák, Hungarian poet, novelist and painter (d. 1967)
    • 1887 – M. N. Roy, Indian philosopher and politician (d. 1954)
    • 1889 – Jock Sutherland, American football player and coach (d. 1948)
    • 1896 – Friedrich Waismann, Austrian mathematician, physicist, and philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1959)
    • 1897 – Sim Gokkes, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1943)
    • 1897 – Salvador Lutteroth, Mexican wrestling promoter, founded Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (d. 1987)
    • 1899 – Panagiotis Pipinelis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1970)
    • 1901 – Karl Arnold, German businessman and politician, President of the German Bundesrat (d. 1958)
    • 1902 – Son House, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1988)
    • 1904 – Jehane Benoît, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1987)
    • 1904 – Forrest Mars, Sr., American candy maker, created M&M’s and Mars bar (d. 1999)
    • 1904 – Nikos Skalkottas, Greek violinist and composer (d. 1949)
    • 1905 – Phyllis McGinley, American author and poet (d. 1978)
    • 1906 – John D. Rockefeller III, American philanthropist (d. 1978)
    • 1906 – Jim Thompson, American businessman (d. 1967)
    • 1906 – André Filho, Brazilian musician and songwriter (d. 1974)
    • 1907 – Zoltán Kemény, Hungarian sculptor (d. 1965)
    • 1909 – Harry Lane, English footballer (d. 1977)
    • 1910 – Julio Gallo, American businessman, co-founded E & J Gallo Winery (d. 1993)
    • 1910 – Muhammad Siddiq Khan, Bangladeshi librarian and educator (d. 1978)
    • 1911 – Walter Lincoln Hawkins, African-American scientist and inventor (d. 1992)
    • 1912 – André Laurendeau, Canadian journalist, playwright, and politician (d. 1968)
    • 1913 – George Abecassis, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1991)
    • 1913 – Guillermo Haro, Mexican astronomer (d. 1988)
    • 1914 – Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer (d. 1990)
    • 1916 – Bismillah Khan, Indian shehnai player (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Ken Wharton, English race car driver (d. 1957)
    • 1917 – Frank Hardy, Australian journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1994)
    • 1918 – Patrick Lucey, American captain and politician, 38th Governor of Wisconsin (d. 2014)
    • 1918 – Charles Thompson, American pianist and composer (d. 2016)
    • 1919 – Douglas Warren, Australian bishop (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1970)
    • 1920 – Éric Rohmer, French director, film critic, journalist, novelist and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Arthur Grumiaux, Belgian violinist and pianist (d. 1986)
    • 1921 – Antony Hopkins, English pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Russ Meyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1923 – Louis-Edmond Hamelin, Canadian geographer, author, and academic (d. 2020)
    • 1923 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet, publisher, and diplomat (d. 1998)
    • 1923 – Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious leader, founded Sahaja Yoga (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Rezső Nyers, Hungarian politician (d. 2018)
    • 1924 – Philip Abbott, American actor (d. 1998)
    • 1924 – Dov Shilansky, Lithuanian-Israeli lawyer and politician (d. 2010)
    • 1925 – Harold Ashby, American saxophonist (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Peter Brook, English-French director and producer
    • 1925 – Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (d. 1964)
    • 1926 – André Delvaux, Belgian director and screenwriter (d. 2002)
    • 1927 – Halton Arp, American-German astronomer and critic (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German soldier and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 2016)
    • 1928 – Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Maurice Catarcio, American wrestler (d. 2005)
    • 1930 – James Coco, American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1930 – Otis Spann, American blues pianist, singer and composer (d. 1970)
    • 1931 – Toyonobori, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1998)
    • 1931 – Clark L. Brundin, American-English engineer and academic
    • 1931 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Al Williamson, American illustrator (d. 2010)
    • 1932 – Walter Gilbert, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1932 – Joseph Silverstein, American violinist and conductor (d. 2015)
    • 1933 – John Hall, English businessman
    • 1933 – Michael Heseltine, Welsh businessman and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    • 1934 – Al Freeman, Jr., American actor and director (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Brian Clough, English footballer and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1936 – Ed Broadbent, Canadian pilot and politician
    • 1936 – Mike Westbrook, English pianist and composer
    • 1937 – Ann Clwyd, Welsh journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
    • 1937 – Tom Flores, American football player and coach
    • 1937 – Pierre-Jean Rémy, French diplomat and author (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Michael Foreman, English author and illustrator
    • 1938 – Grahame Thomas, Australian cricketer
    • 1939 – Kathleen Widdoes, American actress
    • 1940 – Solomon Burke, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1940 – Andrea Elle, German bicyclist
    • 1942 – Françoise Dorléac, French actress (d. 1967)
    • 1942 – Kostas Politis, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2018)
    • 1942 – Amina Claudine Myers, African-American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1942 – Patcha Ramachandra Rao, India metallurgist, educator and administrator (d. 2010)
    • 1943 – István Gyulai, Hungarian sprinter and sportscaster (d. 2006)
    • 1943 – Hartmut Haenchen, German conductor
    • 1943 – Vivian Stanshall, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter (d. 1995)
    • 1944 – Marie-Christine Barrault, French actress
    • 1944 – Janet Daley, American-English journalist and author
    • 1944 – Hideki Ishima, Japanese guitarist
    • 1944 – Mike Jackson, English general
    • 1944 – David Lindley, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1944 – Gaye Adegbalola, African-American singer and guitarist
    • 1945 – Anthony Grabiner, Baron Grabiner, English lawyer
    • 1945 – Charles Greene, American sprinter and coach
    • 1945 – Rose Stone, African-American R&B singer and keyboard player
    • 1946 – Timothy Dalton, Welsh-English actor
    • 1946 – Ray Dorset, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1946 – Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, Japanese cardinal
    • 1947 – George Johnston. Scottish footballer, forward
    • 1948 – Scott Fahlman, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1949 – Alvin Kallicharran, Guyanese cricketer and coach
    • 1949 – Andy Love, Scottish-English politician
    • 1949 – Eddie Money, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
    • 1949 – Slavoj Žižek, Slovenian sociologist, philosopher, and academic
    • 1950 – Roger Hodgson, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1950 – Ron Oden, American minister and politician, 19th Mayor of Palm Springs
    • 1950 – Sergey Lavrov, Russian politician and diplomat, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1951 – Conrad Lozano, American bass player
    • 1951 – Russell Thompkins Jr., American soul singer
    • 1953 – Steve Furber, English computer scientist and academic
    • 1953 – Paul Martin Lester, American photographer, author, and educator
    • 1953 – David Wisniewski, English-American author and illustrator (d. 2002)
    • 1955 – Fadi Abboud, Lebanese economist and politician
    • 1955 – Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian politician and retired military officer, 38th President of Brazil
    • 1955 – Bob Bennett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Greek politician
    • 1955 – Bärbel Wöckel, East German sprinter
    • 1956 – Dick Beardsley, American runner
    • 1956 – Guy Chadwick, German-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1956 – Richard H. Kirk, English guitarist, keyboard player, composer, and producer
    • 1956 – Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
    • 1958 – Marlies Göhr, German sprinter
    • 1958 – Brad Hall, American comedian, director, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Gary Oldman, English actor, filmmaker, musician and author
    • 1959 – Sarah Jane Morris, English singer-songwriter
    • 1959 – Yuval Rotem, Israeli diplomat
    • 1959 – Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese keyboard player and composer
    • 1960 – Marwan Farhat, Syrian actor and voice actor
    • 1960 – Benito T. de Leon, Filipino general
    • 1960 – Raivo Puusepp, Estonian architect
    • 1960 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1994)
    • 1960 – Robert Sweet, American drummer and producer
    • 1961 – Lothar Matthäus, German footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Gary O’Reilly, English footballer, defender
    • 1961 – Kassie DePaiva, American actress
    • 1961 – Slim Jim Phantom, American rock drummer
    • 1961 – Kim Turner, American hurdler
    • 1962 – Matthew Broderick, American actor
    • 1962 – Kathy Greenwood, Canadian actress and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Rosie O’Donnell, American actress, producer, and talk show host
    • 1962 – Mark Waid, American author
    • 1963 – Shawon Dunston, American baseball player
    • 1963 – Ronald Koeman, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1963 – Shawn Lane, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 2003)
    • 1963 – Share Pedersen, American bass player
    • 1964 – Ieuan Evans, Welsh rugby player
    • 1964 – Jesper Skibby, Danish cyclist
    • 1965 – Xavier Bertrand, French businessman and politician, French Minister of Social Affairs
    • 1965 – Thomas Frank, American author, historian and political analyst
    • 1966 – Benito Archundia, Mexican footballer, referee, lawyer, and economist
    • 1966 – Hauke Fuhlbrügge, German runner
    • 1966 – Matthew Maynard, English cricketer and coach
    • 1966 – Moa Matthis, Swedish author
    • 1967 – Carwyn Jones, Welsh lawyer and politician, First Minister of Wales
    • 1967 – Mirela Rupic, American costume and fashion designer
    • 1968 – Cameron Clyne, Australian businessman
    • 1968 – Andrew Copeland, American singer and guitarist
    • 1968 – Gary Walsh, English football coach and former footballer
    • 1968 – Greg Ellis, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1968 – Tolunay Kafkas, Turkish footballer and manager
    • 1968 – Scott Williams, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Jonah Goldberg, American journalist and author
    • 1970 – Shiho Niiyama, Japanese voice actress (d. 2000)
    • 1970 – Cenk Uygur, Turkish-American political activist
    • 1971 – Zsolt Kürtösi, Hungarian decathlete
    • 1972 – Chris Candido, American wrestler (d. 2005)
    • 1972 – Balázs Kiss, Hungarian hammer thrower
    • 1972 – Derartu Tulu, Ethiopian runner
    • 1972 – Graeme Welch, English cricketer
    • 1973 – Ananda Lewis, American television host
    • 1973 – Stuart Nethercott, English footballer, defender and manager
    • 1973 – Large Professor, American rapper and producer
    • 1974 – Rhys Darby, New Zealand comedian and actor
    • 1974 – Dejima Takeharu, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1974 – Edsel Dope, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1974 – Ted Kravitz, British presenter and Formula One pit-lane reporter
    • 1974 – Kevin Leahy, American drummer
    • 1974 – Conor Woodman, Irish journalist and author
    • 1975 – Yacoub Al-Mohana, Kuwaiti director and producer
    • 1975 – Corne Krige, South African rugby player
    • 1975 – Fabricio Oberto, Argentinian-Italian basketball player
    • 1975 – Vitaly Potapenko, Ukrainian basketball player and coach
    • 1975 – Mark Williams, Welsh snooker player
    • 1976 – Rachael MacFarlane, American voice actress and singer
    • 1976 – Bamboo Mañalac, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1976 – Tekin Sazlog, German-Turkish footballer
    • 1977 – Bruno Cirillo, Italian footballer
    • 1977 – Jamie Delgado, English tennis player
    • 1978 – Sally Barsosio, Kenyan runner
    • 1978 – Joyce Jimenez, Filipino movie and TV actress
    • 1978 – Charmaine Dragun, Australian journalist (d. 2007)
    • 1978 – Cristian Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
    • 1978 – Mohammad Rezaei, Iranian wrestler
    • 1980 – Ronaldinho, Brazilian footballer
    • 1980 – Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian skier
    • 1980 – Lee Jin, South Korean singer and actress
    • 1980 – Deryck Whibley, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1981 – Germano Borovicz Cardoso Schweger, Brazilian footballer
    • 1981 – Sébastien Chavanel, French cyclist
    • 1981 – Glenn Hall, Australian rugby league player
    • 1981 – Jason King, Australian rugby league player
    • 1981 – Todd Polglase, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Maria Elena Camerin, Italian tennis player
    • 1982 – Ejegayehu Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
    • 1982 – Aaron Hill, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Colin Turkington, Northern Irish race car driver
    • 1983 – Lucila Pascua, Spanish basketball player
    • 1983 – Jean Ondoa, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1984 – Tiago dos Santos Roberto, Brazilian footballer
    • 1984 – Guillermo Daniel Rodríguez, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1985 – Ryan Callahan, American ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Adrian Peterson, American football player
    • 1986 – Scott Eastwood, American actor
    • 1986 – Michu, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Romanos Alyfantis, Greek swimmer
    • 1986 – Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou, Greek pole vaulter
    • 1987 – Carlos Carrasco, Venezuelan baseball pitcher
    • 1988 – Kateřina Čechová, Czech sprinter
    • 1988 – Erik Johnson, American ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Eric Krüger, German sprinter
    • 1988 – Michael Madl, Austrian footballer, defender
    • 1989 – Jordi Alba, Spanish footballer
    • 1989 – Nicolás Lodeiro, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1990 – Mandy Capristo, German singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1990 – Ryann Krais, American runner and heptathlete
    • 1990 – Alex Nimo, Liberian-American soccer player
    • 1991 – Luke Chapman, English footballer
    • 1991 – Antoine Griezmann, French footballer
    • 1992 – Lehlogonolo Masalesa, South African footballer
    • 1992 – Karolína Plíšková, Czech tennis player
    • 1993 – Jake Bidwell, English footballer
    • 1993 – Jesse Joronen, Finnish footballer
    • 1994 – Margaret Lu, American fencer
    • 1997 – Martina Stoessel, Argentine actress
    • 2000 – Jace Norman, American actor

    Deaths on March 21

    • 543 or 547 – Benedict of Nursia, Italian saint (b. 480)
    • 867 – Ælla, king of Northumbria
    • 867 – Osberht, king of Northumbria
    • 1034 – Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (b. 955)
    • 1063 – Richeza of Lotharingia (b. 995)
    • 1076 – Robert I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1011)
    • 1201 – Absalon, Danish archbishop (b. c. 1128)
    • 1306 – Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1248)
    • 1372 – Rudolf VI, Margrave of Baden
    • 1487 – Nicholas of Flüe, Swiss monk and saint (b. 1417)
    • 1540 – John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, English peer and courtier (b. c. 1482)
    • 1556 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop (b. 1489)
    • 1571 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal and Protestant (b. 1517)
    • 1617 – Pocahontas, Algonquian Indigenous princess (b. c. 1595)
    • 1653 – Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha, Albanian politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
    • 1656 – James Ussher, Irish archbishop (b. 1581)
    • 1676 – Henri Sauval, French historian and author (b. 1623)
    • 1729 – John Law, Scottish-French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1671)
    • 1729 – Elżbieta Sieniawska, politically influential Polish magnate (b. 1669)
    • 1734 – Robert Wodrow, Scottish historian and author (b. 1679)
    • 1751 – Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (b. 1706)
    • 1752 – Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Maltese painter (b. 1698)
    • 1762 – Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, French priest, astronomer, and academic (b. 1713)
    • 1772 – Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, French geographer and cartographer (b. 1703)
    • 1795 – Giovanni Arduino, Italian miner and geologist (b. 1714)
    • 1801 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer and educator (b. 1741)
    • 1804 – Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien (b. 1772)
    • 1843 – Robert Southey, English poet, historian, and translator (b. 1774)
    • 1843 – Guadalupe Victoria, Mexican general and politician, 1st President of Mexico (b. 1786)
    • 1854 – Pedro María de Anaya, Mexican soldier. President (1847-1848) (b. 1795)
    • 1863 – Edwin Vose Sumner, American general (b. 1797)
    • 1869 – Juan Almonte, son of José María Morelos, was a Mexican soldier and diplomat who served as a regent in the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (b. 1803)
    • 1884 – Ezra Abbot, American scholar and academic (b. 1819)
    • 1891 – Joseph E. Johnston, American general (b. 1807)
    • 1915 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American golfer, tennis player, and engineer (b. 1856)
    • 1920 – Evelina Haverfield, British suffragette and aid worker (b. 1867)
    • 1932 – Frantz Reichel, French rugby player and hurdler (b. 1871)
    • 1934 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1878)
    • 1934 – Lilyan Tashman, American actress (b. 1896)
    • 1936 – Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1865)
    • 1939 – Evald Aav, Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1900)
    • 1939 – Ali Hikmet Ayerdem, Turkish general and politician (b. 1877)
    • 1943 – Cornelia Fort, American soldier and pilot (b. 1919)
    • 1945 – Arthur Nebe, German SS officer (b. 1894)
    • 1951 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor and composer (b. 1871)
    • 1953 – Ed Voss, American basketball player (b. 1922)
    • 1956 – Hatı Çırpan, Turkish politician (b. 1890)
    • 1958 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American soldier and author (b. 1923)
    • 1970 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1920)
    • 1975 – Joe Medwick, American baseball player and coach (b. 1911)
    • 1978 – Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, President of Ireland (b. 1911)
    • 1980 – Peter Stoner, American mathematician and astronomer (b. 1888)
    • 1985 – Michael Redgrave, English actor, director, and manager (b. 1908)
    • 1987 – Walter L. Gordon, Canadian accountant, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Finance (b. 1906)
    • 1987 – Robert Preston, American captain, actor, and singer (b. 1918)
    • 1991 – Vedat Dalokay, Turkish architect and politician, Mayor of Ankara (b. 1927)
    • 1991 – Leo Fender, American businessman, founded Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (b. 1909)
    • 1992 – John Ireland, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914)
    • 1992 – Natalie Sleeth, American pianist and composer (b. 1930)
    • 1994 – Macdonald Carey, American actor (b. 1913)
    • 1994 – Lili Damita, French-American actress and singer (b. 1904)
    • 1994 – Aleksandrs Laime, Latvian-born explorer (b. 1911)
    • 1997 – Wilbert Awdry, English cleric and author, created Thomas the Tank Engine (b. 1911)
    • 1998 – Galina Ulanova, Russian ballerina (b. 1910)
    • 1999 – Jean Guitton, French philosopher and author (b. 1905)
    • 1999 – Ernie Wise, English comedian and actor (b. 1925)
    • 2001 – Chung Ju-yung, South Korean businessman, founded Hyundai (b. 1915)
    • 2001 – Anthony Steel, English actor and singer (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Herman Talmadge, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 70th Governor of Georgia (b. 1913)
    • 2003 – Shivani, Indian author (b. 1923)
    • 2003 – Umar Wirahadikusumah, Indonesian general and politician, 4th Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1924)
    • 2004 – Ludmilla Tchérina, French actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Barney Martin, American police officer and actor (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – Bobby Short, American singer and pianist (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – Drew Hayes, American author and illustrator (b. 1969)
    • 2007 – Sven O. Høiby, Norwegian hurdler and journalist (b. 1936)
    • 2008 – Denis Cosgrove, English-American geographer and academic (b. 1948)
    • 2008 – Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente, Chilean architect and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2009 – Walt Poddubny, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1960)
    • 2010 – Wolfgang Wagner, German director and manager (b. 1919)
    • 2011 – Loleatta Holloway, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2011 – Gerd Klier, German footballer (b. 1944)
    • 2011 – Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2011 – Pinetop Perkins, American singer and pianist (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Albrecht Dietz, German economist and businessman (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Ron Erhardt, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Robert Fuest, English director, screenwriter, and production designer (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Tonino Guerra, Italian poet and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Irving Louis Horowitz, American sociologist, author, and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Yuri Razuvaev, Russian chess player and trainer (b. 1945)
    • 2012 – Marina Salye, Russian geologist and politician (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Rick Hautala, American author and screenwriter (b. 1949)
    • 2013 – Harlon Hill, American football player and coach (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter and politician (b. 1952)
    • 2013 – Giancarlo Zagni, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Qoriniasi Bale, Fijian lawyer and politician, 25th Attorney-General of Fiji (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Bill Boedeker, American football player and soldier (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Jack Fleck, American golfer (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Simeon Oduoye, Nigerian police officer and politician (b. 1945)
    • 2014 – James Rebhorn, American actor (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1933)
    • 2015 – Ishaya Bakut, Nigerian general and politician, Governor of Benue State (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – James C. Binnicker, American sergeant (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Hans Erni, Swiss painter, sculptor, and illustrator (b. 1909)
    • 2015 – Jørgen Ingmann, Danish singer and guitarist (Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann) (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (b. 1955)
    • 2017 – Chuck Barris, American game show host and producer (b. 1929)
    • 2017 – Colin Dexter, English author (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (2007–2017) (b. 1950)
    • 2017 – Mike Hall, British cyclist (b. 1981)
    • 2019 – Victor Hochhauser CBE, British music promoter (b. 1923)[21]
    • 2019 – Gonzalo Portocarrero, Peruvian sociologist (b. 1949)

    Holidays and observances on March 21

    • Arbor Day (Portugal)
    • Birth of Benito Juárez, a Fiestas Patrias (Mexico)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello
      • Passing of Saint Benedict (Order of Saint Benedict)
      • Birillus
      • Enda of Aran
      • Nicholas of Flüe
      • Serapion of Thmuis
      • Thomas Cranmer (Anglicanism)
      • March 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Holy Saturday can fall, while April 24 is the latest; celebrated on the Saturday before Easter (Christianity)
    • Education Freedom Day
    • Harmony Day (Australia)
    • Human Rights Day (South Africa)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Namibia from South African mandate in 1990
    • International Colour Day (International)
    • International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (International)
    • International Day of Forests (International), by proclamation of the United Nations General Assembly
    • Mother’s Day (most of the Arab world)
    • National Tree Planting Day (Lesotho)
    • Newroz (Iran, Kurdistan, Mesopotamia)
    • Truant’s Day (Poland, Faroe Islands)
    • Vernal equinox related observances (see March 20)
    • World Down Syndrome Day (International)
    • World Poetry Day (International)
    • World Puppetry Day (International)
    • Youth Day (Tunisia)

  • March 19- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1277 – The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 is concluded, stipulating a two-year truce and renewing Venetian commercial privileges in the Byzantine Empire.
    • 1279 – A Mongol victory at the Battle of Yamen ends the Song dynasty in China.
    • 1284 – The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporates the Principality of Wales into England.
    • 1563 – The Edict of Amboise is signed, ending the first phase of the French Wars of Religion and granting certain freedoms to the Huguenots.
    • 1649 – The House of Commons of England passes an act abolishing the House of Lords, declaring it “useless and dangerous to the people of England”.
    • 1687 – Explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, searching for the mouth of the Mississippi River, is murdered by his own men.
    • 1812 – The Cortes of Cádiz promulgates the Spanish Constitution of 1812.
    • 1853 – The Taiping reform movement occupies and makes Nanjing its capital until 1864.
    • 1861 – The First Taranaki War ends in New Zealand.
    • 1863 – The SS Georgiana, said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is destroyed on her maiden voyage with a cargo of munitions, medicines, and merchandise then valued at over $1,000,000.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Bentonville begins. By the end of the battle two days later, Confederate forces had retreated from Four Oaks, North Carolina.
    • 1885 – Louis Riel declares a provisional government in Saskatchewan, beginning the North-West Rebellion.
    • 1895 – Auguste and Louis Lumière record their first footage using their newly patented cinematograph.
    • 1918 – The US Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time.
    • 1920 – The United States Senate rejects the Treaty of Versailles for the second time (the first time was on November 19, 1919).
    • 1921 – Irish War of Independence: One of the biggest engagements of the war takes place at Crossbarry, County Cork. About 100 Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteers escape an attempt by over 1,300 British forces to encircle them.
    • 1931 – Gambling is legalized in Nevada.
    • 1932 – The Sydney Harbour Bridge is opened.
    • 1943 – Frank Nitti, the Chicago Outfit Boss after Al Capone, commits suicide at the Chicago Central Railyard.
    • 1944 – World War II: The German army occupies Hungary.
    • 1945 – World War II: Off the coast of Japan, a dive bomber hits the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, killing 724 of her crew. Badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the US under her own power.
    • 1945 – World War II: Adolf Hitler issues his “Nero Decree” ordering all industries, military installations, shops, transportation facilities, and communications facilities in Germany to be destroyed.
    • 1946 – French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Réunion become overseas départements of France.
    • 1954 – Joey Giardello knocks out Willie Tory in round seven at Madison Square Garden in the first televised prize boxing fight shown in colour.
    • 1954 – Willie Mosconi sets a world record by running 526 consecutive balls without a miss during a straight pool exhibition at East High Billiard Club in Springfield, Ohio, setting a record that remains unbroken.
    • 1958 – The Monarch Underwear Company fire leaves 24 dead and 15 injured.
    • 1962 – Highly influential artist Bob Dylan releases his first album, Bob Dylan, for Columbia Records.
    • 1962 – The Algerian War of Independence ends.
    • 1964 – Over 500,000 Brazilians attend the March of the Family with God for Liberty, in protest against the government of João Goulart and against communism.
    • 1965 – The wreck of the SS Georgiana, valued at over $50,000,000 and said to have been the most powerful Confederate cruiser, is discovered by teenage diver and pioneer underwater archaeologist E. Lee Spence, exactly 102 years after its destruction.
    • 1966 – 1965–66 Texas Western Miners men’s basketball team wins the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.
    • 1969 – The 385-metre-tall (1,263 ft) TV-mast at Emley Moor transmitting station, United Kingdom, collapses due to ice build-up.
    • 1979 – The United States House of Representatives begins broadcasting its day-to-day business via the cable television network C-SPAN.
    • 1982 – Falklands War: Argentinian forces land on South Georgia Island, precipitating war with the United Kingdom.
    • 1987 – Televangelist Jim Bakker resigns as head of the PTL Club due to a brewing sex scandal; he hands over control to Jerry Falwell.
    • 1989 – The Egyptian flag is raised at Taba, marking the end of Israeli occupation since the Six Days War in 1967 and the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in 1979.
    • 1990 – The ethnic clashes of Târgu Mureș begin four days after the anniversary of the Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire.
    • 1998 – An Ariana Afghan Airlines Boeing 727 crashes on approach to Kabul International Airport, killing all 45 on board.
    • 2002 – Zimbabwe is suspended from the Commonwealth on charges of human rights abuses and of electoral fraud, following a turbulent presidential election.
    • 2004 – Catalina affair: A Swedish DC-3 shot down by a Soviet MiG-15 in 1952 over the Baltic Sea is finally recovered after years of work.
    • 2004 – March 19 Shooting Incident: The Republic of China(Taiwan) president Chen Shui-bian was shot just before the country’s presidential election on March 20.
    • 2008 – GRB 080319B: A cosmic burst that is the farthest object visible to the naked eye is briefly observed.
    • 2011 – Libyan Civil War: After the failure of Muammar Gaddafi’s forces to take Benghazi, the French Air Force launches Opération Harmattan, beginning foreign military intervention in Libya.
    • 2013 – A series of bombings and shootings kills at least 98 people and injures 240 others across Iraq.
    • 2016 – Flydubai Flight 981 crashes while attempting to land at Rostov-on-Don international airport, killing all 62 on board.
    • 2016 – An explosion occurs in Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, killing five people and injuring 36.
    • 2018 – The last male northern white rhinoceros, Sudan, dies, ensuring a chance of extinction for the species.

    Births on March 19

    • 1206 – Güyük Khan, Mongol ruler, 3rd Great Khan of the Mongol Empire (d. 1248)
    • 1434 – Ashikaga Yoshikatsu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1443)
    • 1488 – Johannes Magnus, Swedish archbishop and theologian (d. 1544)
    • 1534 – José de Anchieta, Spanish missionary and saint (d. 1597)
    • 1542 – Jan Zamoyski, Polish nobleman (d. 1605)
    • 1601 – Alonzo Cano, Spanish painter, sculptor, and architect (d. 1667)
    • 1604 – John IV of Portugal (d. 1656)
    • 1641 – Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, Syrian author and scholar (d. 1731)
    • 1661 – Francesco Gasparini, Italian composer and educator (d. 1727)
    • 1684 – Jean Astruc, French physician and scholar (d. 1766)
    • 1721 – Tobias Smollett, Scottish-Italian poet and author (d. 1771) (baptised on this day)
    • 1734 – Thomas McKean, American lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of Pennsylvania (d. 1817)
    • 1739 – Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, French lawyer and politician (d. 1824)
    • 1742 – Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian rebel leader (d. 1781)
    • 1748 – Elias Hicks, American farmer, minister, and theologian (d. 1830)
    • 1778 – Edward Pakenham, Anglo-Irish general and politician (d. 1815)
    • 1809 – Fredrik Pacius, German composer and conductor (d. 1891)
    • 1813 – David Livingstone, Scottish missionary and explorer (d. 1873)
    • 1816 – Johannes Verhulst, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1891)
    • 1821 – Richard Francis Burton, English soldier, geographer, and diplomat (d. 1890)
    • 1823 – Arthur Blyth, English-Australian politician, 9th Premier of South Australia (d. 1891)
    • 1824 – William Allingham, Irish poet, author, and scholar (d. 1889)
    • 1829 – Carl Frederik Tietgen, Danish businessman (d. 1901)
    • 1844 – Minna Canth, Finnish journalist, playwright, and activist (d. 1897)
    • 1847 – Albert Pinkham Ryder, American painter (d. 1917)
    • 1848 – Wyatt Earp, American police officer (d. 1929)
    • 1849 – Alfred von Tirpitz, German admiral and politician (d. 1930)
    • 1858 – Kang Youwei, Chinese scholar and politician (d. 1927)
    • 1860 – William Jennings Bryan, American lawyer and politician, 41st United States Secretary of State (d. 1925)
    • 1861 – Lomer Gouin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 13th Premier of Quebec (d. 1929)
    • 1864 – Charles Marion Russell, American painter and sculptor (d. 1926)
    • 1865 – William Morton Wheeler, American entomologist, myrmecologist, and academic (d. 1937)
    • 1868 – Senda Berenson Abbott, Lithuanian-American basketball player and educator (d. 1954)
    • 1871 – Schofield Haigh, English cricketer and coach (d. 1921)
    • 1872 – Anna Held, Polish singer (d. 1918)
    • 1873 – Max Reger, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1916)
    • 1875 – Zhang Zuolin, Chinese warlord (d. 1928)
    • 1876 – Felix Jacoby, German philologist (d. 1959)
    • 1880 – Ernestine Rose, American librarian and advocate (d. 1961)
    • 1881 – Edith Nourse Rogers, American social worker and politician (d. 1960)
    • 1882 – Gaston Lachaise, French-American sculptor (d. 1935)
    • 1883 – Norman Haworth, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
    • 1883 – Joseph Stilwell, American general (d. 1946)
    • 1885 – Attik, Greek composer (d. 1944)
    • 1888 – Josef Albers, German-American painter and educator (d. 1976)
    • 1888 – Léon Scieur, Belgian cyclist (d. 1969)
    • 1891 – Earl Warren, American lieutenant, jurist, and politician, 14th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1974)
    • 1892 – Theodore Sizer, American professor of the history of art (d. 1967)
    • 1892 – Ado Vabbe, Estonian painter (d. 1961)
    • 1892 – James Van Fleet, American general and diplomat (d. 1992)
    • 1894 – Moms Mabley, American comedian and singer (d. 1975)
    • 1900 – Carmen Carbonell, Spanish stage and film actress (d. 1988)
    • 1900 – Frédéric Joliot-Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
    • 1901 – Jo Mielziner, French-American set designer (d. 1976)
    • 1904 – John Sirica, American lawyer and judge (d. 1992)
    • 1905 – Joe Rollino, American weightlifter and boxer (d. 2010)
    • 1905 – Albert Speer, German architect and politician (d. 1981)
    • 1906 – Adolf Eichmann, German SS officer (d. 1962)
    • 1906 – Clara Breed, American librarian and activist (d. 1994)
    • 1909 – Louis Hayward, South African-born American actor (d. 1985)
    • 1910 – Joseph Carroll, American general (d. 1991)
    • 1912 – Hugh Watt, Australian-New Zealand engineer and politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1980)
    • 1914 – Leonidas Alaoglu, Canadian-American mathematician and theorist (d. 1981)
    • 1914 – Jay Berwanger, American football player and coach (d. 2002)
    • 1915 – Robert G. Cole, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1944)
    • 1915 – Patricia Morison, American actress and singer (d. 2018)
    • 1916 – Eric Christmas, English-Canadian actor (d. 2000)
    • 1916 – Irving Wallace, American journalist, author, and screenwriter (d. 1990)
    • 1917 – Laszlo Szabo, Hungarian chess player (d. 1998)
    • 1919 – Lennie Tristano, American pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1978)
    • 1920 – Kjell Aukrust, Norwegian author, poet, and painter (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Tommy Cooper, British magician and prop comedian (d. 1984)
    • 1922 – Guy Lewis, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – Hiroo Onoda, Japanese lieutenant (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Pamela Britton, American actress (d. 1974)
    • 1923 – Benito Jacovitti, Italian illustrator (d. 1997)
    • 1923 – Henry Morgentaler, Polish-Canadian physician and activist (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Joe Gaetjens, Haitian footballer (d. 1964)
    • 1925 – Brent Scowcroft, American general and diplomat, 9th United States National Security Advisor
    • 1927 – Richie Ashburn, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1997)
    • 1928 – Hans Küng, Swiss theologian and author
    • 1928 – Patrick McGoohan, Irish-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Emma Andijewska, Ukrainian poet, writer and painter
    • 1932 – Gay Brewer, American golfer (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Peter Hall, English geographer, author, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Gail Kobe, American actress and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1933 – Phyllis Newman, American actress and singer (d. 2019)
    • 1933 – Philip Roth, American novelist (d. 2018)
    • 1933 – Renée Taylor, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1933 – Richard Williams, Canadian-English animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1935 – Nancy Malone, American actress, director, and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1936 – Ursula Andress, Swiss model and actress
    • 1936 – Ben Lexcen, Australian sailor and architect (d. 1988)
    • 1937 – Clarence “Frogman” Henry, American R&B singer and pianist
    • 1937 – Egon Krenz, German politician
    • 1938 – Joe Kapp, American football player, coach, and actor
    • 1942 – Heather Robertson, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2014)
    • 1943 – Mario J. Molina, Mexican chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1943 – Mario Monti, Italian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Italy
    • 1943 – Vern Schuppan, Australian race car driver
    • 1944 – Said Musa, Belizean lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Belize
    • 1945 – John Holder, English cricketer and umpire
    • 1945 – Modestas Paulauskas, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
    • 1946 – Ruth Pointer, American musician
    • 1947 – Glenn Close, American actress, singer, and producer
    • 1947 – Marinho Peres, Brazilian footballer and coach
    • 1948 – David Schnitter, American saxophonist and educator
    • 1949 – Blase J. Cupich, American theologian and cardinal
    • 1950 – José S. Palma, Filipino archbishop
    • 1952 – Warren Lees, New Zealand cricketer and coach
    • 1952 – Martin Ravallion, Australian economist and academic
    • 1952 – Harvey Weinstein, American director and producer
    • 1953 – Ian Blair, English police officer
    • 1953 – Peter Hendy, English businessman
    • 1953 – Ricky Wilson, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1985)
    • 1954 – Cho Kwang-rae, South Korean footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1955 – Bruce Willis, German-American actor and producer
    • 1956 – Yegor Gaidar, Russian economist and politician, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (d. 2009)
    • 1958 – Andy Reid, American football player and coach
    • 1960 – Eliane Elias, Brazilian singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1962 – Iván Calderón, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 2003)
    • 1963 – Neil LaBute, American director and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Yoko Kanno, Japanese pianist and composer
    • 1964 – Jake Weber, English actor
    • 1966 – Michael Crockart, Scottish police officer and politician
    • 1966 – Olaf Marschall, German footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Andy Sinton, English international footballer, midfielder and manager
    • 1967 – Vladimir Konstantinov, Russian-American ice hockey player
    • 1968 – Tyrone Hill, American basketball player and coach
    • 1970 – Harald Johnsen, Norwegian bassist and composer (d. 2011)
    • 1970 – Michael Krumm, German race car driver
    • 1973 – Ashley Giles, English cricketer and coach
    • 1975 – Antonio Daniels, American basketball player
    • 1975 – Matthew Richardson, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1976 – Andre Miller, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Alessandro Nesta, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1978 – Cydonie Mothersille, Jamaican-Caymanian sprinter
    • 1979 – Sheldon Brown, American football player
    • 1979 – Hee-seop Choi, South Korean-American baseball player
    • 1979 – Ivan Ljubičić, Croatian tennis player
    • 1979 – Christos Patsatzoglou, Greek footballer
    • 1979 – Hedo Türkoğlu, Turkish basketball player
    • 1980 – Luca Ferri, Italian footballer
    • 1980 – Taichi Ishikari, Japanese wrestler
    • 1980 – Mikuni Shimokawa, Japanese singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Steve Cummings, English cyclist
    • 1981 – Kolo Touré, Ivorian footballer
    • 1982 – Jonathan Fanene, American football player
    • 1982 – Brad Jones, Australian footballer
    • 1982 – Eduardo Saverin, Brazilian-Singaporean businessman
    • 1982 – Yoshikaze Masatsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1985 – Inesa Jurevičiūtė, Lithuanian figure skater
    • 1986 – Tyler Bozak, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Michal Švec, Czech footballer
    • 1987 – Miloš Teodosić, Serbian basketball player
    • 1988 – Clayton Kershaw, American baseball player
    • 1991 – Aleksandr Kokorin, Russian footballer
    • 1993 – Mateusz Szwoch, Polish footballer
    • 1993 – Hakim Ziyech, Moroccan footballer
    • 1995 – Alexei Sintsov, Russian figure skater
    • 1995 – Héctor Bellerín, Spanish footballer
    • 1996 – Barbara Haas, Austrian tennis player

    Deaths on March 19

    • 235 – Severus Alexander, Roman emperor (b. 208)
    • 953 – Al-Mansur Billah, caliph of the Fatimid Caliphate (b. 913)
    • 968 – Emma of Paris, duchess of Normandy (b. 943)
    • 1238 – Henry the Bearded, Polish duke and son of Bolesław I the Tall (b. 1163)
    • 1263 – Hugh of Saint-Cher, French cardinal (b. 1200)
    • 1279 – Zhao Bing, Chinese emperor (b. 1271)
    • 1286 – Alexander III, king of Scotland (b. 1241)
    • 1330 – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1301)
    • 1372 – John II, marquess of Montferrat (b. 1321)
    • 1533 – John Bourchier, 2nd Baron Berners, English baron and statesman (b. 1467)
    • 1534 – Michael Weiße, German theologian (b. c. 1488)
    • 1539 – Lord Edmund Howard, English nobleman (b. c. 1478)
    • 1563 – Arthur Brooke, English poet
    • 1568 – Elizabeth Seymour, Lady Cromwell, English noblewoman (b.c. 1518)
    • 1581 – Francis I, duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1510)
    • 1612 – Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (b. 1585)
    • 1637 – Péter Pázmány, Hungarian cardinal (b. 1570)
    • 1649 – Gerhard Johann Vossius, German scholar and theologian (b. 1577)
    • 1683 – Thomas Killigrew, English playwright and manager (b. 1612)
    • 1687 – René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, French-American explorer (b. 1643)
    • 1697 – Nicolaus Bruhns, German organist and composer (b. 1665)
    • 1711 – Thomas Ken, English bishop and hymn-writer (b. 1637)
    • 1717 – John Campbell, 1st Earl of Breadalbane and Holland, Scottish soldier (b. 1636)
    • 1721 – Pope Clement XI (b. 1649)
    • 1783 – Frederick Cornwallis, English archbishop (b. 1713)
    • 1790 – Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 182nd Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1713)
    • 1797 – Philip Hayes, English organist and composer (b. 1738)
    • 1816 – Philip Mazzei, Italian-American physician and philosopher (b. 1730)
    • 1871 – Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist, geologist, and physicist (b. 1795)
    • 1897 – Antoine Thomson d’Abbadie, Irish-French geographer, ethnologist, linguist, and astronomer (b. 1810)
    • 1900 – John Bingham, American lawyer and politician, 7th United States Ambassador to Japan (b. 1815)
    • 1900 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French pianist and composer (b. 1819)
    • 1914 – Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian priest, geologist, and volcanologist (b. 1850)
    • 1919 – Emma Bell Miles, American writer, poet, and artist of Appalachia (b. 1879)
    • 1930 – Arthur Balfour, Scottish-English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1848)
    • 1930 – Henry Lefroy, Australian politician, 11th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1854)
    • 1942 – Clinton Hart Merriam, American zoologist, ornithologist, and entomologist (b. 1855)
    • 1944 – William Hale Thompson, American rancher and politician, 41st Mayor of Chicago (b. 1869)
    • 1949 – James Somerville, English admiral and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset (b. 1882)
    • 1949 – James Newland, Australian soldier and policeman (b. 1881)
    • 1950 – Edgar Rice Burroughs, American soldier and author (b. 1875)
    • 1950 – Norman Haworth, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
    • 1951 – Dmytro Doroshenko, Ukrainian historian and politician, Prime Minister of Ukraine (b. 1882)
    • 1976 – Albert Dieudonné, French actor and author (b. 1889)
    • 1976 – Paul Kossoff, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1950)
    • 1977 – William L. Laurence, Lithuanian-born American journalist and author (b. 1888)
    • 1978 – M. A. Ayyangar, Indian lawyer and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1891)
    • 1982 – J. B. Kripalani, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1888)
    • 1982 – Randy Rhoads, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1956)
    • 1984 – Garry Winogrand, American photographer (b. 1928)
    • 1986 – Sabino Barinaga, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1922)
    • 1987 – Louis de Broglie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
    • 1988 – Bun Cook, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1904)
    • 1990 – Andrew Wood, American singer-songwriter (b. 1966)
    • 1993 – Henrik Sandberg, Danish production manager and producer (b. 1915)
    • 1996 – Lise Østergaard, Danish psychologist and politician (b. 1924)
    • 1996 – Virginia Henderson, American nurse, researcher, theorist and author (b. 1897)
    • 1997 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch-American painter and educator (b. 1904)
    • 1997 – Eugène Guillevic, French poet and author (b. 1907)
    • 1998 – E. M. S. Namboodiripad, Indian theorist and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Kerala (b. 1909)
    • 1999 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, Samoan politician, 5th Prime Minister of Samoa (b. 1924)
    • 2000 – Joanne Weaver, American baseball player (b. 1935)
    • 2000 – Shafiq-ur-Rahman, Pakistani physician and author (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German soldier and illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 2004 – Mitchell Sharp, Canadian economist and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Finance (b. 1911)
    • 2005 – John DeLorean, American engineer and businessman, founded the DeLorean Motor Company (b. 1925)
    • 2008 – Arthur C. Clarke, British science fiction writer (b. 1917)
    • 2008 – Hugo Claus, Belgian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1929)
    • 2008 – Paul Scofield, English actor (b. 1922)
    • 2009 – Maria Bergson, Austrian-American architect and interior designer (b. 1914)
    • 2011 – Kym Bonython, Australian drummer and radio host (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Jim Case, American director and producer (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Ulu Grosbard, Belgian-American director and producer (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Hugo Munthe-Kaas, Norwegian intelligence agent (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Patrick Joseph McGovern, American businessman, founded IDG (b. 1937)
    • 2014 – Fred Phelps, American lawyer, pastor, and activist, founded the Westboro Baptist Church (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Heather Robertson, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – Robert S. Strauss, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to Russia (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Lawrence Walsh, Canadian-American lawyer, judge, and politician, 4th United States Deputy Attorney General (b. 1912)
    • 2014 – Joseph F. Weis, Jr., American lawyer and judge (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Gus Douglass, American farmer and politician (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Safet Plakalo, Bosnian author and playwright (b. 1950)
    • 2015 – Danny Schechter, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 2016 – Roger Agnelli, Brazilian banker and businessman (b. 1959)
    • 2016 – Jack Mansell, English footballer and manager (b. 1927)
    • 2019 – William Whitfield, British architect (b. 1920)

    Holidays and observances on March 19

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alkmund of Derby
      • Saint Joseph (Western Christianity; if this date falls on Sunday, the feast is moved to Monday March 20)
      • March 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Maundy Thursday can fall, while April 22 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before Easter (Christianity)
    • Minna Canth’s Birthday (Finland)
    • Kashubian Unity Day (Poland)
    • St Joseph’s Day (Roman Catholicism and Anglican Communion) related observances:
      • Falles, celebrated on the week leading to March 19 (Valencia)
      • Father’s Day (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Honduras, and Bolivia)
      • “Return of the Swallow”, annual observance of the swallows’ return to Mission San Juan Capistrano in California

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

    • 1327 – The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
    • 1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia).
    • 1662 – The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.
    • 1713 – The Kalabalik or Skirmish at Bender results from the Ottoman sultan’s order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.
    • 1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
    • 1796 – The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.
    • 1814 – Mayon in the Philippines erupts, killing around 1,200 people, the most devastating eruption of the volcano.
    • 1835 – Slavery is abolished in Mauritius.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.
    • 1864 – Second Schleswig War: Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig, starting the war.
    • 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
    • 1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
    • 1893 – Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.
    • 1895 – Fountains Valley, Pretoria, the oldest nature reserve in Africa, is proclaimed by President Paul Kruger.
    • 1896 – La bohème premieres in Turin at the Teatro Regio (Turin), conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini.
    • 1897 – Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.
    • 1908 – Lisbon Regicide: King Carlos I of Portugal and Infante Luis Filipe are shot dead in Lisbon.
    • 1918 – Russia adopts the Gregorian calendar.
    • 1924 – Russia–United Kingdom relations are restored, over six years after the Communist revolution.
    • 1942 – World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government.
    • 1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy conducts Marshalls–Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.
    • 1942 – Voice of America, the official external radio and television service of the United States government, begins broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers.
    • 1942 – Mao Zedong makes a speech on “Reform in Learning, the Party and Literature”, which puts into motion the Yan’an Rectification Movement.
    • 1946 – Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary-General.
    • 1946 – The Parliament of Hungary abolishes the monarchy after nine centuries, and proclaims the Hungarian Republic.
    • 1960 – Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
    • 1964 – The Beatles have their first number one hit in the United States with “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan is recorded on motion picture film, as well as in an iconic still photograph taken by Eddie Adams.
    • 1968 – Canada’s three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.
    • 1968 – The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form Penn Central Transportation.
    • 1972 – Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
    • 1974 – A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.
    • 1979 – Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile.
    • 1989 – The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder.
    • 1991 – A runway collision between USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport results in the deaths of 34 people, and injuries to 30 others.
    • 1992 – The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal disaster case.
    • 1996 – The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
    • 1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne becomes the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.
    • 2002 – Daniel Pearl, American journalist and South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, kidnapped January 23, 2002, is beheaded and mutilated by his captors.
    • 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the reentry of mission STS-107 into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
    • 2004 – Hajj pilgrimage stampede: In a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured.
    • 2005 – King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d’état to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.
    • 2009 – The first cabinet of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was formed in Iceland, making her the country’s first female prime minister and the world’s first openly gay head of government.
    • 2012 – Seventy-four people are killed and over 500 injured as a result of clashes between fans of Egyptian football teams Al Masry and Al Ahly in the city of Port Said.
    • 2013 – The Shard, the sixth-tallest building in Europe, is opened to the public.

    Births on February 1

    • 1261 – Walter de Stapledon, English bishop and politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1326)
    • 1435 – Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy (d. 1472)
    • 1447 – Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1504)
    • 1459 – Conrad Celtes, German poet and scholar (d. 1508)
    • 1462 – Johannes Trithemius, German lexicographer, historian, and cryptographer (d. 1516)
    • 1552 – Edward Coke, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1634)
    • 1561 – Henry Briggs, British mathematician (d. 1630)
    • 1635 – Marquard Gude, German archaeologist and scholar (d. 1689)
    • 1648 – Elkanah Settle, English poet and playwright (d. 1724)
    • 1659 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (d. 1729)
    • 1663 – Ignacia del Espíritu Santo, Filipino nun, founded the Religious of the Virgin Mary (d. 1748)
    • 1666 – Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, Princess of Conti and titular queen of Poland (d.1732)
    • 1687 – Johann Adam Birkenstock, German violinist and composer (d. 1733)
    • 1690 – Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1768)
    • 1701 – Johan Agrell, Swedish-German pianist and composer (d. 1765)
    • 1761 – Christiaan Hendrik Persoon, South African-French mycologist and academic (d. 1836)
    • 1763 – Thomas Campbell, Irish minister and theologian (d. 1854)
    • 1796 – Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss minister, poet, and educator (d. 1865)
    • 1801 – Émile Littré, French lexicographer and philosopher (d. 1881)
    • 1820 – George Hendric Houghton, American clergyman and theologian (d. 1897)
    • 1836 – Emil Hartmann, Danish organist and composer (d. 1898)
    • 1844 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist and academic (d. 1924)
    • 1851 – Durham Stevens, American lawyer and diplomat (d. 1908)
    • 1858 – Ignacio Bonillas, Mexican diplomat (d. 1942)
    • 1859 – Victor Herbert, Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1924)
    • 1866 – Agda Meyerson, Swedish nurse and healthcare activist (d. 1924)
    • 1868 – Ștefan Luchian, Romanian painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
    • 1870 – Erik Adolf von Willebrand, Finnish physician (d. 1949)
    • 1872 – Clara Butt, English opera singer (d. 1936)
    • 1872 – Jerome F. Donovan, American lawyer and politician (d. 1949)
    • 1873 – John Barry, Irish soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1901)
    • 1874 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1929)
    • 1878 – Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer and architect, designed the Grand Hotel Aranybika (d. 1955)
    • 1878 – Milan Hodža, Slovak journalist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (d. 1944)
    • 1881 – Tip Snooke, South African cricketer (d. 1966)
    • 1882 – Louis St. Laurent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1973)
    • 1884 – Bradbury Robinson, American football player and physician (d. 1949)
    • 1884 – Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1937)
    • 1887 – Charles Nordhoff, English-American lieutenant, pilot, and author (d. 1947)
    • 1890 – Nikolai Reek, Estonian general and politician, 11th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1942)
    • 1894 – John Ford, American director and producer (d. 1973)
    • 1894 – James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer (d. 1955)
    • 1895 – Conn Smythe, Canadian businessman (d. 1980)
    • 1897 – Denise Robins, English journalist and author (d. 1985)
    • 1898 – Leila Denmark, American pediatrician and author (d. 2012)
    • 1901 – Frank Buckles, American soldier (d. 2011)
    • 1901 – Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960)
    • 1902 – Therese Brandl, German concentration camp guard (d. 1947)
    • 1902 – Langston Hughes, American poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright (d. 1967)
    • 1904 – S.J. Perelman, American humorist and screenwriter (d. 1979)
    • 1905 – Emilio G. Segrè, Italian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
    • 1906 – Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigerian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of Nigeria (d. 1993)
    • 1907 – Günter Eich, German author and songwriter (d. 1972)
    • 1907 – Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian pianist and composer (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (d. 1980)
    • 1908 – Louis Rasminsky, Canadian economist and banker (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1910 – Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Chinese general and politician (d. 2009)
    • 1915 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
    • 1917 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1917 – Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player and soldier (d. 1944)
    • 1918 – Muriel Spark, Scottish playwright and poet (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – Ignacy Tokarczuk, Polish archbishop (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Mike Scarry, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Zao Wou-Ki, Chinese-French painter (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Teresa Mattei, Italian feminist partisan and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Peter Sallis, English actor (d. 2017)
    • 1921 – Patricia Robins, British writer and WAAF officer (d. 2016).
    • 1922 – Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano and actress (d. 2004)
    • 1923 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (d. 2008)
    • 1924 – Richard Hooker, American novelist (d. 1997)
    • 1924 – Emmanuel Scheffer, German-Israeli footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1927 – Galway Kinnell, American poet and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Sam Edwards, Welsh physicist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Tom Lantos, Hungarian-American academic and politician (d. 2008)
    • 1930 – Shahabuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi judge and politician, 12th President of Bangladesh
    • 1930 – Hussain Muhammad Ershad, Indian-Bangladeshi general and politician, 10th President of Bangladesh (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudanese activist and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1934 – Nicolae Breban, Romanian author, poet, and playwright
    • 1936 – Tuncel Kurtiz, Turkish actor, playwright, and director (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Azie Taylor Morton, American educator and politician, 36th Treasurer of the United States (d. 2003)
    • 1937 – Don Everly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1937 – Garrett Morris, American actor and comedian
    • 1938 – Jimmy Carl Black, American drummer and singer (d. 2008)
    • 1938 – Jacky Cupit, American golfer
    • 1938 – Sherman Hemsley, American actor and singer (d. 2012)
    • 1939 – Fritjof Capra, Austrian physicist, author, and academic
    • 1939 – Claude François, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and dancer (d. 1978)
    • 1939 – Paul Gillmor, American lawyer and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1939 – Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina (d. 2009)
    • 1939 – Joe Sample, American pianist and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1941 – Jerry Spinelli, American author
    • 1942 – Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d. 1996)
    • 1942 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2020)
    • 1942 – David Sincock, Australian cricketer
    • 1944 – Petru Popescu, Romanian-American director, producer, and author
    • 1944 – Burkhard Ziese, German footballer and manager (d. 2010)
    • 1945 – Serge Joyal, Canadian lawyer and politician, 50th Secretary of State for Canada
    • 1945 – Ferruccio Mazzola, Italian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Mary Jane Reoch, American cyclist (d. 1993)
    • 1946 – Elisabeth Sladen, English actress (d. 2011)
    • 1946 – Karen Krantzcke, Australian tennis player (d. 1977)
    • 1947 – Adam Ingram, Scottish computer programmer and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
    • 1947 – Normie Rowe, Australian singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1947 – Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d. 1983)
    • 1948 – Rick James, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1950 – Mike Campbell, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1950 – Ali Haydar Konca, Turkish politician, 4th Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs
    • 1950 – Rich Williams, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1951 – Sonny Landreth, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1952 – Owoye Andrew Azazi, Nigerian general (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Chuck Dukowski, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1956 – Exene Cervenka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Saudi Arabian businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1957 – Gilbert Hernandez, American author and illustrator
    • 1958 – Luther Blissett, Jamaican-English footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Eleanor Laing, Scottish lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
    • 1961 – Volker Fried, German field hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Daniel M. Tani, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1961 – Kaduvetti Guru, Indian politician (d. 2018)
    • 1962 – José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2004)
    • 1962 – Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1962 – Takashi Murakami, Japanese painter and sculptor
    • 1964 – Jani Lane, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
    • 1964 – Mario Pelchat, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1964 – Linus Roache, English actor
    • 1965 – Stéphanie of Monaco, designer, singer and princess
    • 1965 – Brandon Lee, American actor and martial artist (d. 1993)
    • 1965 – Sherilyn Fenn, American actress
    • 1966 – Michelle Akers, American soccer player
    • 1967 – Meg Cabot, American author and screenwriter
    • 1968 – Lisa Marie Presley, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1968 – Mark Recchi, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1969 – Gabriel Batistuta, Argentinian footballer
    • 1969 – Andrew Breitbart, American journalist, author, and publisher (d. 2012)
    • 1969 – Brian Krause, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Franklyn Rose, Jamaican cricketer
    • 1969 – Patrick Wilson, American drummer
    • 1970 – Yasuyuki Kazama, Japanese racing driver
    • 1970 – Malik Sealy, American basketball player and actor (d. 2000)
    • 1971 – Harald Brattbakk, Norwegian footballer and pilot
    • 1971 – Michael C. Hall, American actor and producer
    • 1972 – Christian Ziege, German footballer
    • 1973 – Andrew DeClercq, American basketball player and coach
    • 1973 – Óscar Pérez Rojas, Mexican footballer
    • 1974 – Walter McCarty, American basketball player and coach
    • 1975 – Martijn Reuser, Dutch footballer
    • 1976 – Phil Ivey, American poker player
    • 1976 – Mat Rogers, Australian rugby player
    • 1977 – Lari Ketner, American basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1977 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (d. 2011)
    • 1978 – Tim Harding, Australian singer and actor
    • 1978 – K’naan, Somali-Canadian hip-hop artist
    • 1979 – Valentín Elizalde, Mexican singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1979 – Jason Isbell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Juan Silveira dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
    • 1980 – Héctor Luna, Dominican baseball player
    • 1980 – Moisés Muñoz, Mexican footballer
    • 1980 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2005)
    • 1981 – Hins Cheung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Christian Giménez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1981 – Graeme Smith, South African cricketer
    • 1982 – Gavin Henson, Welsh rugby player
    • 1982 – Shoaib Malik, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1983 – Heather DeLoach, American actress
    • 1983 – Kevin Martin, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Jurgen Van den Broeck, Belgian cyclist
    • 1984 – Darren Fletcher, Scottish footballer
    • 1985 – Dean Shiels, Irish footballer
    • 1986 – Jorrit Bergsma, Dutch speed skater
    • 1986 – Lauren Conrad, American fashion designer and author
    • 1987 – Sebastian Boenisch, Polish footballer
    • 1987 – Moises Henriques, Portuguese-Australian cricketer
    • 1987 – Austin Jackson, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Ronda Rousey, American mixed martial artist and actress
    • 1987 – Giuseppe Rossi, Italian footballer
    • 1988 – Brett Anderson, American baseball player
    • 1989 – Ricky Pinheiro, Portuguese footballer
    • 1991 – Kyle Palmieri, American hockey player
    • 1993 – Diego Mella, Italian footballer
    • 1994 – Joe Boyce, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Harry Styles, English singer-songwriter

    Deaths on February 1

    • 583 – Kan B’alam I, ruler of Palenque (b. 524)
    • 772 – Pope Stephen III (b. 720)
    • 850 – Ramiro I, king of Asturias
    • 992 – Jawhar as-Siqilli, Fatimid statesman
    • 1222 – Alexios Megas Komnenos, first Emperor of Trebizond
    • 1248 – Henry II, Duke of Brabant (b. 1207)
    • 1328 – Charles IV of France (b. 1294)
    • 1501 – Sigismund of Bavaria (b. 1439)
    • 1542 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian cardinal (b. 1480)
    • 1563 – Menas of Ethiopia
    • 1590 – Lawrence Humphrey, English theologian and academic (b. 1527)
    • 1691 – Pope Alexander VIII (b. 1610)
    • 1718 – Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1660)
    • 1733 – Augustus II the Strong, Polish king (b. 1670)
    • 1734 – John Floyer, English physician and author (b. 1649)
    • 1743 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian organist and composer (b. 1657)
    • 1750 – Bakar of Georgia (b. 1699)
    • 1761 – Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French priest and historian (b. 1682)
    • 1768 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal and politician (b. 1685)
    • 1793 – William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1717)
    • 1832 – Archibald Murphey, American judge and politician (b. 1777)
    • 1851 – Mary Shelley, English novelist and playwright (b. 1797)
    • 1871 – Alexander Serov, Russian composer and critic (b. 1820)
    • 1893 – George Henry Sanderson, American lawyer and politician, 22nd Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1824)
    • 1897 – Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist and botanist (b. 1826)
    • 1903 – Sir George Stokes, Anglo-Irish physicist, mathematician, and politician (b. 1819)
    • 1907 – Léon Serpollet, French businessman (b. 1858)
    • 1908 – Carlos I of Portugal (b. 1863)
    • 1922 – William Desmond Taylor, American actor and director (b. 1872)
    • 1924 – Maurice Prendergast, American painter (b. 1858)
    • 1928 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
    • 1936 – Georgios Kondylis, Greek general and politician, 128th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1878)
    • 1940 – Philip Francis Nowlan, American author, created Buck Rogers (b. 1888)
    • 1940 – Zacharias Papantoniou, Greek journalist and critic (b. 1877)
    • 1944 – Piet Mondrian, Dutch-American painter (b. 1872)
    • 1949 – Nicolae Dumitru Cocea, Romanian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1880)
    • 1949 – Herbert Stothart, American conductor and composer (b. 1885)
    • 1957 – Friedrich Paulus, German general (b. 1890)
    • 1958 – Clinton Davisson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
    • 1959 – Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (b. 1873)
    • 1966 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and journalist (b. 1885)
    • 1966 – Buster Keaton, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1895)
    • 1968 – Echol Cole and Robert Walker – sparking the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike
    • 1970 – Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
    • 1976 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
    • 1976 – George Whipple, American physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878)
    • 1979 – Abdi İpekçi, Turkish journalist and activist (b. 1929)
    • 1981 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American engineer and businessman, founded the Douglas Aircraft Company (b. 1892)
    • 1981 – Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian pianist and composer (b. 1908)
    • 1986 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish sociologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 1987 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1900)
    • 1989 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (b. 1918)
    • 1992 – Jean Hamburger, French physician and surgeon (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Ray Crawford, American race car driver, pilot, and businessman (b. 1915)
    • 1997 – Herb Caen, American journalist and author (b. 1916)
    • 1999 – Paul Mellon, American art collector and philanthropist (b. 1907)
    • 2001 – André D’Allemagne, Canadian political scientist and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2002 – Aykut Barka, Turkish geologist and academic (b. 1951)
    • 2002 – Hildegard Knef, German actress and singer (b. 1925)
    • 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia crew
      • Michael P. Anderson, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1959)
      • David M. Brown, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1956)
      • Kalpana Chawla, Indian-American engineer and astronaut (b. 1961)
      • Laurel Clark, American captain, surgeon, and astronaut (b. 1961)
      • Rick Husband, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1957)
      • William C. McCool, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1961)
      • Ilan Ramon, Israeli colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1954)
    • 2003 – Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer and bandleader (b. 1922)
    • 2004 – Suha Arın, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 2005 – John Vernon, Canadian-American actor (b. 1932)
    • 2007 – Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-American playwright and composer (b. 1911)
    • 2008 – Beto Carrero, Brazilian actor and businessman (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Don Cornelius, American television host and producer (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Helene Hale, American politician (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Ed Koch, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 105th Mayor of New York City (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Shanu Lahiri, Indian painter and educator (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Cecil Womack, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2014 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Vasily Petrov, Russian marshal (b. 1917)
    • 2014 – Rene Ricard, American poet, painter, and critic (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Maximilian Schell, Austrian-Swiss actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Aldo Ciccolini, Italian-French pianist (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, manager, and sportscaster (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Monty Oum, American animator, director, and screenwriter (b. 1981)
    • 2016 – Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores, Guatemalan general and politician, 27th President of Guatemala (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Desmond Carrington, British actor and broadcaster (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Barys Kit, Belarusian rocket scientist (b. 1910)
    • 2018 – Mowzey Radio, Ugandan singer and songwriter (b. 1985)
    • 2019 – Jeremy Hardy, English comedian, radio host and panelist (b. 1961)
    • 2019 – Clive Swift, English actor (b. 1936)
    • 2019 – Wade Wilson, American football player and coach (b. 1959)

    Holidays and observances on February 1

    • Abolition of Slavery Day (Mauritius)
    • Air Force Day (Nicaragua)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Astina (Syrian Church)
      • Blessed Candelaria of San José
      • Brigid, patron saint of Ireland (Saint Brigid’s Day)
      • Verdiana
      • February 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Constitution Day can fall, while February 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in February. (Mexico)
    • Federal Territory Day (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, Malaysia)
    • Heroes Day (Rwanda)
    • Imbolc (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, and some Neopagan groups in the Northern hemisphere)
    • Memorial Day of the Republic (Hungary)
    • National Freedom Day (United States)
    • The start of Black History Month (United States and Canada)

  • January 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
    • 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.
    • 1649 – English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.
    • 1717 – The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance in an attempt to maintain the Treaty of Utrecht; Britain having signed a preliminary alliance with France on November 28 (November 17, 1716).
    • 1762 – Great Britain declares war on Spain, thus entering the Seven Years’ War.
    • 1798 – Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.
    • 1853 – After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller.
    • 1854 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
    • 1863 – The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany.
    • 1878 – Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule and designated the capital of Liberated Bulgaria.
    • 1884 – The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom.
    • 1885 – Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing force at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.
    • 1896 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
    • 1903 – Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy’s death.
    • 1912 – The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Empire by the royal charter.
    • 1918 – The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.
    • 1944 – World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
    • 1948 – Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom becoming an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu its first Prime Minister.
    • 1951 – Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul.
    • 1956 – The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.
    • 1958 – Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.
    • 1959 – Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
    • 1972 – Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, UK.
    • 1976 – The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The next day, gunmen would shoot dead ten Protestant civilians nearby in retaliation.
    • 1987 – The Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, United States, killing 16 people.
    • 1989 – Second Gulf of Sidra incident: A pair of Libyan MiG-23 “Floggers” are shot down by a pair of US Navy F-14 Tomcats during an air-to-air confrontation.
    • 1990 – In Pakistan’s deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries.
    • 1998 – A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.
    • 1999 – Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota, United States.
    • 2004 – Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
    • 2004 – Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution.
    • 2006 – Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke.
    • 2007 – The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
    • 2010 – The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai.
    • 2013 – A gunman kills eight people in a house-to-house rampage in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines.
    • 2018 – Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash: A passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collides with a truck on a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, Free State, South Africa. Twenty people are killed and 260 injured.

    Births on January 4

    • 659 – Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (d.680)
    • 1077 – Emperor Zhezong of China (d. 1100)
    • 1334 – Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (d. 1383)
    • 1467 – Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode (d. 1538)
    • 1581 – James Ussher, Irish archbishop and historian (d. 1656)
    • 1643 – Isaac Newton, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1727)
    • 1654 – Lars Roberg, Swedish physician and academic (d. 1742)
    • 1672 – Hugh Boulter, English-Irish archbishop (d. 1742)
    • 1710 – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist, and organist (d. 1736)
    • 1720 – Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (d. 1774)
    • 1785 – Jacob Grimm, German philologist and mythologist (d. 1863)
    • 1809 – Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (d. 1852)
    • 1813 – Isaac Pitman, English linguist and educator (d. 1897)
    • 1832 – George Tryon, English admiral (d. 1893)
    • 1838 – General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (d. 1883)
    • 1839 – Carl Humann, German archaeologist, architect, and engineer (d. 1896)
    • 1848 – Katsura Tarō, Japanese general and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1913)
    • 1858 – Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1946)
    • 1864 – Clara Emilia Smitt, Swedish doctor and author (d. 1928)
    • 1869 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1960)
    • 1874 – Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1935)
    • 1877 – Marsden Hartley, American painter and poet (d. 1943)
    • 1878 – A. E. Coppard, English poet and short story writer (d. 1957)
    • 1878 – Augustus John, Welsh painter and illustrator (d. 1961)
    • 1881 – Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (d. 1919)
    • 1883 – Max Eastman, American author and poet (d. 1969)
    • 1883 – Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch pathologist and academic (d. 1961)
    • 1884 – Guy Pène du Bois, American painter, critic, and educator (d. 1958)
    • 1889 – M. Patanjali Sastri, Indian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of India (d. 1963)
    • 1891 – Edward Brooker, English-Australian sergeant and politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1948)
    • 1895 – Leroy Grumman, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co. (d. 1982)
    • 1896 – Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)
    • 1896 – André Masson, French painter and illustrator (d. 1987)
    • 1897 – Chen Cheng, Chinese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China (d. 1965)
    • 1900 – James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (d. 1989)
    • 1901 – C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and theorist (d. 1989)
    • 1902 – John A. McCone, American businessman and politician, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1991)
    • 1905 – Sterling Holloway, American actor (d. 1992)
    • 1913 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (d. 2007)
    • 1916 – Lionel Newman, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
    • 1916 – Robert Parrish, American actor and director (d. 1995)
    • 1920 – William Colby, American intelligence officer, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1996)
    • 1924 – Marianne Werner, German shot putter
    • 1925 – Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier and technician (d. 2003)
    • 1927 – Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Barbara Rush, American actress
    • 1929 – Günter Schabowski, German journalist and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Sorrell Booke, American actor and director (d. 1994)
    • 1930 – Don Shula, American football player and coach (d. 2020)
    • 1931 – William Deane, Australian judge and politician, 22nd Governor-General of Australia
    • 1931 – Nora Iuga, Romanian poet, writer and translator
    • 1931 – Coşkun Özarı, Turkish footballer and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1932 – Clint Hill, American secret service agent and author
    • 1932 – Carlos Saura, Spanish director and screenwriter
    • 1934 – Rudolf Schuster, Slovak politician, 2nd President of Slovakia
    • 1935 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)
    • 1937 – Grace Bumbry, American operatic soprano
    • 1937 – Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1940 – Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1940 – Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1941 – George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1941 – Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician (d. 1999)
    • 1942 – Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigerian political scientist, academic, and politician
    • 1942 – John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1943 – Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and author
    • 1943 – Hwang Sok-yong, South Korean author and educator
    • 1945 – Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1946 – Arthur Conley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1947 – Marie-Thérèse Letablier, French sociologist and academic
    • 1948 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (d. 1992)
    • 1948 – Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, Malian civil servant and politician, Prime Minister of Mali
    • 1950 – Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1953 – Norberto Alonso, Argentinian footballer
    • 1954 – Tina Knowles, American fashion designer, founded House of Deréon
    • 1956 – Ann Magnuson, American actress and performance artist
    • 1956 – Zehava Gal-On, Israeli politician
    • 1956 – Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1957 – Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1958 – Matt Frewer, American-Canadian actor
    • 1960 – Michael Stipe, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1963 – Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director, and producer
    • 1963 – Martina Proeber, German diver
    • 1964 – Susan Devoy, New Zealand squash player
    • 1965 – Guy Forget, French tennis player
    • 1965 – Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-English dancer, choreographer, and director
    • 1965 – Julia Ormond, English actress and producer
    • 1966 – Deana Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1967 – David Toms, American golfer and philanthropist
    • 1975 – Paul Watson, English footballer and physiotherapist
    • 1978 – Dominik Hrbatý, Slovak tennis player
    • 1980 – Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer
    • 1985 – Kari Aalvik Grimsbø, Norwegian handball player
    • 1985 – Gökhan Gönül, Turkish footballer
    • 1985 – Al Jefferson, American basketball player
    • 1986 – James Milner, English footballer
    • 1986 – Younès Kaboul, French footballer
    • 1989 – Graham Rahal, American race car driver
    • 1990 – Toni Kroos, German footballer
    • 1992 – Kris Bryant, American baseball player
    • 1994 – Derrick Henry, American football player
    • 1997 – Ante Žižić, Croatian basketball player
    • 1998 – Liza Soberano, Filipina actress

    Deaths on January 4

    • 871 – Æthelwulf, Saxon ealdorman
    • 874 – Hasan al-Askari, eleventh of the Twelve Imams (probable; b. 846)
    • 1248 – Sancho II of Portugal (b. 1209)
    • 1344 – Robert de Lisle, 1st Baron Lisle, English peer (b. 1288)
    • 1399 – Nicholas Eymerich, Catalan theologian and inquisitor
    • 1424 – Muzio Sforza, Italian condottiero
    • 1428 – Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1370)
    • 1584 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1539)
    • 1604 – Ferenc Nádasdy, Hungarian noble (b. 1555)
    • 1695 – François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (b. 1628)
    • 1752 – Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (b. 1704)
    • 1761 – Stephen Hales, English clergyman and physiologist (b. 1677)
    • 1782 – Ange-Jacques Gabriel, French architect, designed École Militaire (b. 1698)
    • 1786 – Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher, and theologian (b. 1729)
    • 1804 – Charlotte Lennox, English author and poet (b. 1730)
    • 1821 – Elizabeth Ann Seton, American nun and saint (b. 1774)
    • 1825 – Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (b. 1751)
    • 1863 – Roger Hanson, American general (b. 1827)
    • 1874 – Thomas Gregson, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1798)
    • 1877 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1794)
    • 1880 – Anselm Feuerbach, German painter and educator (b. 1829)
    • 1880 – Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (b. 1811)
    • 1882 – John William Draper, English-American physician, chemist, and photographer (b. 1811)
    • 1883 – Antoine Chanzy, French general (b. 1823)
    • 1891 – Antoine Labelle, Canadian priest (b. 1833)
    • 1896 – Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German bishop and academic (b. 1821)
    • 1900 – Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria (b. 1827)
    • 1901 – Nikolaos Gyzis, Greek painter and academic (b. 1842)
    • 1904 – Anna Winlock, American astronomer and academic (b. 1857)
    • 1910 – Léon Delagrange, French pilot and sculptor (b. 1873)
    • 1912 – Clarence Dutton, American geologist and soldier (b. 1841)
    • 1919 – Georg von Hertling, German academic and politician, 7th Chancellor of the German Empire (b. 1843)
    • 1920 – Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (b. 1843)
    • 1924 – Alfred Grünfeld, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1852)
    • 1925 – Nellie Cashman, American nurse, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and gold prospector (b. 1845)
    • 1927 – Süleyman Nazif, Turkish poet and civil servant (b. 1870)
    • 1931 – Art Acord, American actor and stuntman (b. 1890)
    • 1931 – Louise, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)
    • 1931 – Mohammad Ali Jouhar, Indian journalist, activist, and scholar (b. 1878)
    • 1940 – Flora Finch, English-American actress and producer (b. 1867)
    • 1941 – Henri Bergson, French philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
    • 1943 – Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, Greek-Polish swimmer and water polo player (b. 1911)
    • 1944 – Kaj Munk, Danish playwright and pastor (b. 1898)
    • 1960 – Albert Camus, French novelist, philosopher, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
    • 1961 – Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
    • 1962 – Hans Lammers, German jurist and politician (b. 1879)
    • 1965 – T. S. Eliot, American-English poet, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
    • 1967 – Donald Campbell, English racing driver and world speed record holder (b. 1921)
    • 1969 – Paul Chambers, American bassist and composer (b. 1935)
    • 1975 – Carlo Levi, Italian painter, author, and activist (b. 1902)
    • 1985 – Brian Horrocks, Indian-English general (b. 1895)
    • 1986 – Christopher Isherwood, English-American author and academic (b. 1904)
    • 1986 – Phil Lynott, Irish singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (b. 1949)
    • 1988 – Lily Laskine, French harp player (b. 1893)
    • 1990 – Harold Eugene Edgerton, American engineer and academic (b. 1903)
    • 1990 – Henry Bolte, Australian sergeant and politician, 38th Premier of Victoria (b. 1908)
    • 1994 – R. D. Burman, Indian film composer and music director (b. 1939
    • 1995 – Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor and composer (b. 1942)
    • 1995 – Sol Tax, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1907)
    • 1997 – Harry Helmsley, American businessman (b. 1909)
    • 1998 – Mae Questel, American actress (b. 1908)
    • 1999 – Iron Eyes Cody, American actor and stuntman (b. 1904)
    • 2000 – Spyros Markezinis, Greek lawyer and politician, 170th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1909)
    • 2000 – Tom Fears, Mexican-American football player and coach (b. 1922)
    • 2001 – Les Brown, American bandleader and composer (b. 1912)
    • 2004 – Brian Gibson, English director and screenwriter (b. 1944)
    • 2004 – Joan Aiken, English author (b. 1924)
    • 2004 – John Toland, American historian and author (b. 1912)
    • 2005 – Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Frank Harary, American mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – Humphrey Carpenter, English radio host and author (b. 1946)
    • 2005 – Robert Heilbroner, American economist and historian (b. 1919)
    • 2006 – Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emirati politician, 1st Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (b. 1946)
    • 2006 – Milton Himmelfarb, American sociographer, author, and academic (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – Helen Hill, American director and producer (b. 1970)
    • 2007 – Steve Krantz, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Marais Viljoen, South African politician, 5th State President of South Africa (b. 1915)
    • 2008 – Xavier Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Gert Jonke, Austrian poet, playwright, and author (b. 1946)
    • 2010 – Johan Ferrier, Surinamese educator and politician, 1st President of Suriname (b. 1910)
    • 2010 – Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese engineer (b. 1916)
    • 2011 – Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (b. 1937)
    • 2011 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1947)
    • 2011 – Salmaan Taseer, Pakistani businessman and politician, 26th Governor of Punjab, Pakistan (b. 1944)
    • 2012 – Eve Arnold, American photographer and journalist (b. 1912)
    • 2012 – Rod Robbie, English-Canadian architect, designed the Canadian Pavilion and Rogers Centre (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Anwar Shamim, Pakistani general (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (b. 1951)
    • 2015 – Pino Daniele, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1955)
    • 2016 – S. H. Kapadia, Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 38th Chief Justice of India (b. 1947)
    • 2016 – Stephen W. Bosworth, American academic and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Korea (b. 1939)
    • 2017 – Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and general manager (b. 1918)
    • 2017 – Georges Prêtre, French orchestral and opera conductor (b. 1924)
    • 2019 – Harold Brown, 14th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1927)
    • 2020 – Tom Long, Australian actor (b. 1968)

    Holidays and observances on January 4

    • Christian feast day:
      • Angela of Foligno
      • Elizabeth Ann Seton
      • Ferréol of Uzès
      • Mavilus
      • Pharaildis of Ghent
      • Rigobert
      • January 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The eleventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Western Christianity)
    • Independence Day (Myanmar), celebrates the independence of Myanmar from the United Kingdom in 1948.
    • Colonial Martyrs Repression Day (Angola)
    • Day of the Martyrs (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
    • Ogoni Day (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People)
    • Tokyo Dome Show: The annual Wrestle Kingdom event run by New Japan Pro Wrestling
    • World Braille Day