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  • July 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

    “Mordad 5th”—day 129th in the Iranian official calendar (236 days – 237 days in leap years – till the end of the year)

    July 26 in History

    • 657 – First Fitna: In the Battle of Siffin, troops led by Ali ibn Abu Talib clash with those led by Muawiyah I.
    • 811 – Battle of Pliska: Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I is killed and his heir Staurakios is seriously wounded.
    • 920 – Rout of an alliance of Christian troops from Navarre and Léon against the Muslims at the Battle of Valdejunquera.
    • 1309 – Henry VII is recognized King of the Romans by Pope Clement V.
    • 1469 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Edgecote Moor, pitting the forces of Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick against those of Edward IV of England, takes place.
    • 1509 – The Emperor Krishnadevaraya ascends to the throne, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire.
    • 1529 – Francisco Pizarro González, Spanish conquistador, is appointed governor of Peru.
    • 1581 – Plakkaat van Verlatinghe (Act of Abjuration): The northern Low Countries declare their independence from the Spanish king, Philip II.
    • 1703 – During the Bavarian Rummel the rural population of Tyrol drove the Bavarian Prince-Elector Maximilian II Emanuel out of North Tyrol with a victory at the Pontlatzer Bridge and thus prevented the Bavarian Army, which was allied with France, from marching as planned on Vienna during the War of the Spanish Succession.
    • 1745 – The first recorded women’s cricket match takes place near Guildford, England.
    • 1758 – French and Indian War: The Siege of Louisbourg ends with British forces defeating the French and taking control of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
    • 1775 – The office that would later become the United States Post Office Department is established by the Second Continental Congress. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania takes office as Postmaster General.
    • 1788 – New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th state of the United States.
    • 1803 – The Surrey Iron Railway, arguably the world’s first public railway, opens in south London, United Kingdom.
    • 1814 – The Swedish–Norwegian War begins.
    • 1822 – José de San Martín arrives in Guayaquil, Ecuador, to meet with Simón Bolívar.
    • 1822 – First day of the three-day Battle of Dervenakia, between the Ottoman Empire force led by Mahmud Dramali Pasha and the Greek Revolutionary force led by Theodoros Kolokotronis.
    • 1847 – Liberia declares its independence.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: George B. McClellan assumes command of the Army of the Potomac following a disastrous Union defeat at the First Battle of Bull Run.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Morgan’s Raid ends; At Salineville, Ohio, Confederate cavalry leader John Hunt Morgan and 360 of his volunteers are captured by Union forces.
    • 1882 – Premiere of Richard Wagner’s opera Parsifal at Bayreuth.
    • 1882 – The Republic of Stellaland is founded in Southern Africa.
    • 1887 – Publication of the Unua Libro, founding the Esperanto movement.
    • 1890 – In Buenos Aires, Argentina the Revolución del Parque takes place, forcing President Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman’s resignation.
    • 1891 – France annexes Tahiti.
    • 1892 – Dadabhai Naoroji is elected as the first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain.
    • 1897 – Anglo-Afghan War: The Pashtun fakir Saidullah leads an army of more than 10,000 to begin a siege of the British garrison in the Malakand Agency of the North West Frontier Province of India.
    • 1899 – Ulises Heureaux, the 27th President of the Dominican Republic, is assassinated.
    • 1908 – United States Attorney General Charles Joseph Bonaparte issues an order to immediately staff the Office of the Chief Examiner (later renamed the Federal Bureau of Investigation).
    • 1918 – Emmy Noether’s paper, which became known as Noether’s theorem was presented at Göttingen, Germany, from which conservation laws are deduced for symmetries of angular momentum, linear momentum, and energy.
    • 1936 – Spanish Civil War: Germany and Italy decide to intervene in the war in support for Francisco Franco and the Nationalist faction.
    • 1936 – King Edward VIII, in one of his few official duties before he abdicates the throne, officially unveils the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
    • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: End of the Battle of Brunete with the Nationalist victory.
    • 1941 – World War II: In response to the Japanese occupation of French Indochina, the United States, Britain and the Netherlands freeze all Japanese assets and cut off oil shipments.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Red Army enters Lviv, a major city in western Ukraine, capturing it from the Nazis. Only 300 Jews survive out of 160,000 living in Lviv prior to occupation.
    • 1945 – The Labour Party wins the United Kingdom general election of July 5 by a landslide, removing Winston Churchill from power.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Potsdam Declaration is signed in Potsdam, Germany.
    • 1945 – World War II: HMS Vestal is the last British Royal Navy ship to be sunk in the war.
    • 1945 – World War II: The USS Indianapolis arrives at Tinian with components and enriched uranium for the Little Boy nuclear bomb.
    • 1946 – Aloha Airlines begins service from Honolulu International Airport.
    • 1947 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs the National Security Act of 1947 into United States law creating the Central Intelligence Agency, United States Department of Defense, United States Air Force, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the United States National Security Council.
    • 1948 – U.S. President Harry S. Truman signs Executive Order 9981, desegregating the military of the United States.
    • 1951 – Walt Disney’s 13th animated film, Alice in Wonderland, premieres in London, England, United Kingdom.
    • 1952 – King Farouk of Egypt abdicates in favor of his son Fuad.
    • 1953 – Cold War: Fidel Castro leads an unsuccessful attack on the Moncada Barracks, thus beginning the Cuban Revolution. The movement took the name of the date: 26th of July Movement
    • 1953 – Arizona Governor John Howard Pyle orders an anti-polygamy law enforcement crackdown on residents of Short Creek, Arizona, which becomes known as the Short Creek raid.
    • 1953 – Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment repel a number of Chinese assaults against a key position known as The Hook during the Battle of the Samichon River, just hours before the Armistice Agreement is signed, ending the Korean War.
    • 1956 – Following the World Bank’s refusal to fund building the Aswan Dam, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal, sparking international condemnation.
    • 1957 – Carlos Castillo Armas, dictator of Guatemala, is assassinated.
    • 1958 – Explorer program: Explorer 4 is launched.
    • 1963 – Syncom 2, the world’s first geosynchronous satellite, is launched from Cape Canaveral on a Delta B booster.
    • 1963 – An earthquake in Skopje, Yugoslavia (present-day North Macedonia) leaves 1,100 dead.
    • 1963 – The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development votes to admit Japan.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: South Vietnamese opposition leader Trương Đình Dzu is sentenced to five years hard labor for advocating the formation of a coalition government as a way to move toward an end to the war.
    • 1971 – Apollo program: Launch of Apollo 15 on the first Apollo “J-Mission”, and first use of a Lunar Roving Vehicle.
    • 1974 – Greek Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis forms the country’s first civil government after seven years of military rule.
    • 1977 – The National Assembly of Quebec imposes the use of French as the official language of the provincial government.
    • 1979 (1358 SH) – Holding the first Friday Prayer in Iran led by Ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani
    • 1986 (1365 SH) – Aerial bombardment of citizens of Arak by Ba’athist Iraq regime at 9:13 a.m. (local time):
    • 1988 (1367 SH) – Mersad Operation part of Iran-Iraq war
    • 1989 – A federal grand jury indicts Cornell University student Robert T. Morris, Jr. for releasing the Morris worm, thus becoming the first person to be prosecuted under the 1986 Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
    • 1990 – The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.
    • 1993 – Asiana Airlines Flight 733 crashes into a ridge on Mt. Ungeo on its third attempt to land at Mokpo Airport, South Korea. Sixty-eight of the 116 people onboard are killed.
    • 1999 – Celebrated as Kargil Vijay Diwas. Kargil conflict officially comes to an end. The Indian Army announces the complete eviction of Pakistani intruders.
    • 2005 – Space Shuttle program: STS-114 Mission: Launch of Discovery, NASA’s first scheduled flight mission after the Columbia Disaster in 2003.
    • 2005 – Mumbai, India receives 99.5cm of rain (39.17 inches) within 24 hours, resulting in floods killing over 5,000 people.
    • 2008 – Fifty-six people are killed and over 200 people are injured, in the Ahmedabad bombings in India.
    • 2009 – The militant Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram attacks a police station in Bauchi, leading to reprisals by the Nigeria Police Force and four days of violence across multiple cities.
    • 2016 – The Sagamihara stabbings occur in Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. Nineteen people are killed.
    • 2016 – Hillary Clinton becomes the first female nominee for President of the United States by a major political party at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.
    • 2016 – Solar Impulse 2 becomes the first solar-powered aircraft to circumnavigate the Earth.

    Births on July 26

    • 1030 – Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Polish bishop and saint (d. 1079)
    • 1400 – Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Worcester, English noble (d. 1439)
    • 1502 – Christian Egenolff, German printer (d. 1555)
    • 1612 – Murad IV, Ottoman sultan (d. 1640)
    • 1678 – Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1711)
    • 1711 – Lorenz Christoph Mizler, German physician, mathematician, and historian (d. 1778)
    • 1739 – George Clinton, American general and politician, 4th Vice President of the United States (d. 1812)
    • 1782 – John Field, Irish pianist and composer (d. 1837)
    • 1791 – Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1844)
    • 1796 – George Catlin, American painter, author, and traveler (d. 1872)
    • 1802 – Mariano Arista, Mexican general and politician, 42nd President of Mexico (d. 1855)
    • 1819 – Justin Holland, American guitarist and educator (d. 1887)
    • 1829 – Auguste Beernaert, Belgian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Belgium, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1912)
    • 1841 – Carl Robert Jakobson, Estonian journalist and politician (d. 1882)
    • 1842 – Alfred Marshall, English economist and academic (d. 1924)
    • 1844 – Stefan Drzewiecki, Ukrainian-Polish engineer and journalist (d. 1938)
    • 1854 – Philippe Gaucher, French dermatologist and academic (d. 1918)
    • 1855 – Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1936)
    • 1856 – George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
    • 1858 – Tom Garrett, Australian cricketer and lawyer (d. 1943)
    • 1863 – Jāzeps Vītols, Latvian composer (d. 1948)
    • 1865 – Philipp Scheidemann, German journalist and politician, 10th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1939)
    • 1865 – Rajanikanta Sen, Indian poet and composer (d. 1910)
    • 1874 – Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American bassist, composer, and conductor (d. 1951)
    • 1875 – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist (d. 1961)
    • 1875 – Antonio Machado, Spanish poet and academic (d. 1939)
    • 1877 – Jesse Lauriston Livermore, American investor and security analyst, “Great Bear of Wall Street” (d. 1940)
    • 1878 – Ernst Hoppenberg, German swimmer and water polo player (d. 1937)
    • 1879 – Shunroku Hata, Japanese field marshal and politician, 48th Japanese Minister of War (d. 1962)
    • 1880 – Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Ukrainian playwright and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Ukrainian People’s Republic (d. 1951)
    • 1882 – Albert Dunstan, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of Victoria (d. 1950)
    • 1885 – Roy Castleton, Major League Baseball player (d.1967)
    • 1885 – André Maurois, French soldier and author (d. 1967)
    • 1886 – Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (d. 1965)
    • 1888 – Reginald Hands, South African cricketer and rugby player (d. 1918)
    • 1890 – Daniel J. Callaghan, American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1942)
    • 1892 – Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player and manager (d. 1966)
    • 1893 – George Grosz, German painter and illustrator (d. 1959)
    • 1894 – Aldous Huxley, English novelist and philosopher (d. 1963)
    • 1895 – Gracie Allen, American actress and comedian (d. 1964)
    • 1896 – Tim Birkin, English soldier and race car driver (d. 1933)
    • 1897 – Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
    • 1897 – Paul Gallico, American journalist and author (d. 1976)
    • 1900 – Sarah Kafrit, Israeli politician and teacher (d. 1983)
    • 1903 – Estes Kefauver, American lawyer and politician (d. 1963)
    • 1904 – Edwin Albert Link, American industrialist and entrepreneur, invented the flight simulator (d. 1981)
    • 1906 – Irena Iłłakowicz, German-Polish lieutenant (d. 1943)
    • 1908 – Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourger sculptor (d. 2002)
    • 1909 – Peter Thorneycroft, Baron Thorneycroft, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1994)
    • 1909 – Vivian Vance, American actress and singer (d. 1979)
    • 1913 – Kan Yuet-keung, Hong Kong banker, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1914 – C. Farris Bryant, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Governor of Florida (d. 2002)
    • 1914 – Erskine Hawkins, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 1993)
    • 1914 – Ellis Kinder, American baseball player (d. 1968)
    • 1916 – Dean Brooks, American physician and actor (d. 2013)
    • 1916 – Jaime Luiz Coelho, Brazilian archbishop (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Marjorie Lord, American actress (d. 2015)
    • 1919 – Virginia Gilmore, American actress (d. 1986)
    • 1919 – James Lovelock, English biologist and chemist
    • 1920 – Bob Waterfield, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
    • 1921 – Tom Saffell, American baseball player and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1921 – Jean Shepherd, American radio host, actor, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Blake Edwards, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – Jim Foglesong, American record producer (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Jason Robards, American actor (d. 2000)
    • 1923 – Jan Berenstain, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
    • 1923 – Hoyt Wilhelm, American baseball player and coach (d. 2002)
    • 1925 – Jerzy Einhorn, Polish-Swedish physician and politician (d. 2000)
    • 1925 – Joseph Engelberger, American physicist and engineer (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Gene Gutowski, Polish-American producer (d. 2016)
    • 1925 – Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – James Best, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1926 (1305 SH) – Sadeq Khalkhali, Shia cleric and a religious ruler in the Islamic Republic of Iran (d. 2003)
    • 1926 – Dorothy E. Smith, Canadian sociologist
    • 1927 – Gulabrai Ramchand, Indian cricketer (d. 2003)
    • 1928 – Don Beauman, English race car driver (d. 1955)
    • 1928 – Francesco Cossiga, Italian academic and politician, 8th President of Italy (d. 2010)
    • 1928 – Elliott Erwitt, French-American photographer and director
    • 1928 – Ibn-e-Safi, Indian-Pakistani author and poet (d. 1980)
    • 1928 – Joe Jackson, American talent manager, father of Michael Jackson (d. 2018)
    • 1928 – Stanley Kubrick, American director, producer, screenwriter, and cinematographer (d. 1999)
    • 1928 – Peter Lougheed, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Premier of Alberta (d. 2012)
    • 1928 – Sally Oppenheim-Barnes, Baroness Oppenheim-Barnes, Irish-born English politician
    • 1928 – Bernice Rubens, Welsh author (d. 2004)
    • 1929 – Marc Lalonde, Canadian lawyer and politician, 34th Canadian Minister of Justice
    • 1929 – Alexis Weissenberg, Bulgarian-French pianist and educator (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, Brazilian lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Barbara Jefford, English actress
    • 1931 – Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2006)
    • 1934 – Tommy McDonald, American football player (d. 2018)
    • 1936 – Tsutomu Koyama, Japanese volleyball player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1936 – Lawrie McMenemy, English footballer and manager
    • 1938 – Bobby Hebb, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Keith Peters, Welsh physician and academic
    • 1939 – Jun Henmi, Japanese author and poet (d. 2011)
    • 1939 – John Howard, Australian lawyer and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Australia
    • 1939 – Bob Lilly, American football player and photographer
    • 1939 – Richard Marlow, English organist and conductor (d. 2013)
    • 1940 – Dobie Gray, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1940 – Brian Mawhinney, Baron Mawhinney, Northern Irish-British academic and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
    • 1940 – Bobby Rousseau, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1941 – Jean Baubérot, French historian and sociologist
    • 1941 – Darlene Love, American singer and actress
    • 1941 – Brenton Wood, American R&B singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1942 – Vladimír Mečiar, Slovak politician, 1st Prime Minister of Slovakia
    • 1942 (1321 SH) – Bahman Mofid, Iranian actor
    • 1942 – Teddy Pilette, Belgian race car driver
    • 1943 – Peter Hyams, American director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
    • 1943 – Mick Jagger, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1944 (1323 SH) – Dariush Arjmand, Iranian actor
    • 1945 – Betty Davis, American singer-songwriter
    • 1945 – Helen Mirren, English actress
    • 1946 – Emilio de Villota, Spanish race car driver
    • 1948 – Luboš Andršt, Czech guitarist and songwriter
    • 1948 – Herbert Wiesinger, German figure skater
    • 1949 – Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai businessman and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Thailand
    • 1949 – Roger Taylor, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
    • 1950 – Nelinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
    • 1950 – Nicholas Evans, English journalist, screenwriter, and producer
    • 1950 – Susan George, English actress and producer
    • 1950 – Anne Rafferty, English lawyer and judge
    • 1950 – Rich Vogler, American race car driver (d. 1990)
    • 1951 – Rick Martin, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2011)
    • 1952 – Glynis Breakwell, English psychologist and academic
    • 1953 – Felix Magath, German footballer and manager
    • 1953 – Robert Phillips, American guitarist
    • 1953 – Henk Bleker, Dutch politician
    • 1953 – Earl Tatum, American professional basketball player
    • 1954 – Vitas Gerulaitis, American tennis player and coach (d. 1994)
    • 1955 – Aleksandrs Starkovs, Latvian footballer and coach
    • 1955 – Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani businessman and politician, 11th President of Pakistan
    • 1956 – Peter Fincham, English screenwriter and producer
    • 1956 – Dorothy Hamill, American figure skater
    • 1956 – Tommy Rich, American wrestler
    • 1956 – Tim Tremlett, English cricketer and coach
    • 1957 – Norman Baker, Scottish politician
    • 1957 – Nana Visitor, American actress
    • 1958 – Monti Davis, American basketball player (d. 2013)
    • 1958 – Angela Hewitt, Canadian-English pianist
    • 1959 – Rick Bragg, American author and journalist
    • 1959 – Kevin Spacey, American actor and director
    • 1960 (1339 SH) – Mohsen Vezvaei, Iranian commander killed in Iran-Iraq war
    • 1961 – Gary Cherone, American singer-songwriter
    • 1961 – Andy Connell, English keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1961 – Felix Dexter, Caribbean-English comedian and actor (d. 2013)
    • 1963 – Jeff Stoughton, Canadian curler
    • 1964 – Sandra Bullock, American actress and producer
    • 1964 – Ralf Metzenmacher, German painter and designer
    • 1964 – Anne Provoost, Belgian author
    • 1965 – Jeremy Piven, American actor and producer
    • 1965 – Jim Lindberg, American singer and guitarist
    • 1966 – Angelo di Livio, Italian footballer
    • 1967 – Martin Baker, English organist and conductor
    • 1967 – Tim Schafer, American video game designer, founded Double Fine Productions
    • 1967 – Jason Statham, English actor
    • 1968 – Frédéric Diefenthal, French actor and director
    • 1968 – Jim Naismith, Scottish biologist and academic
    • 1968 – Olivia Williams, English actress
    • 1969 – Greg Colbrunn, American baseball player and coach
    • 1969 – Tanni Grey-Thompson, Welsh baroness and wheelchair racer
    • 1971 – Khaled Mahmud, Bangladeshi cricketer and coach
    • 1971 – Chris Harrison, America television personality
    • 1972 – Nathan Buckley, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1973 – Kate Beckinsale, English actress
    • 1973 – Mariano Raffo, Argentinian director and producer
    • 1974 – Iron & Wine, American singer-songwriter
    • 1974 – Kees Meeuws, New Zealand rugby player and coach
    • 1974 – Dean Sturridge, English footballer and sportscaster
    • 1975 – Ingo Schultz, German sprinter
    • 1975 – Joe Smith, American basketball player
    • 1975 – Elizabeth Truss, English accountant and politician, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
    • 1976 – Elena Kustarova, Russian ice dancer and coach
    • 1976 – Darius Labanauskas, Lithuanian darts player
    • 1977 – Joaquín Benoit, Dominican baseball player
    • 1977 – Martin Laursen, Danish footballer and manager
    • 1977 – Tanja Szewczenko, German figure skater
    • 1979 – Friedrich Michau, German rugby player
    • 1979 – Derek Paravicini, English pianist
    • 1979 – Peter Sarno, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Erik Westrum, American ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Juliet Rylance, English actress
    • 1980 – Jacinda Ardern, 40th Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1980 – Dave Baksh, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1980 – Robert Gallery, American football player
    • 1981 – Abe Forsythe, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1981 (1360 SH) Mehdi Seyed-Salehi, Iranian soccer player
    • 1981 – Maicon Sisenando, Brazilian footballer
    • 1982 – Gilad Hochman, Israeli composer
    • 1982 – Christopher Kane, Scottish fashion designer
    • 1983 – Kelly Clark, American snowboarder
    • 1983 – Stephen Makinwa, Nigerian footballer
    • 1983 – Roderick Strong, American wrestler
    • 1983 – Naomi van As, Dutch field hockey player
    • 1983 – Ken Wallace, Australian kayaker
    • 1983 – Delonte West, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Kyriakos Ioannou, Cypriot high jumper
    • 1984 – Benjamin Kayser, French rugby player
    • 1984 – Sabri Sarıoğlu, Turkish footballer
    • 1985 – Marcus Benard, American football player
    • 1985 – Gaël Clichy, French footballer
    • 1985 – Audrey De Montigny, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1985 – Mat Gamel, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Leonardo Ulloa, Argentinian footballer
    • 1986 – John White, English footballer
    • 1987 – Panagiotis Kone, Greek footballer
    • 1987 – Jordie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Fredy Montero, Colombian footballer
    • 1988 – Yurie Omi, Japanese female announcer
    • 1988 – Sayaka Akimoto, Filipino–Japanese actress and singer
    • 1991 – Tyson Barrie, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Marika Koroibete, Fijian rugby player
    • 1993 – Raymond Faitala-Mariner, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1994 – Ella Leivo, Finnish tennis player
    • 1996 – Olivia Breen, British sprinter

    Deaths on July 26

    • 342 – Cheng of Jin, emperor of the Jin Dynasty (b. 321)
    • 432 – Celestine I, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 811 – Nikephoros I, Byzantine emperor
    • 899 – Li Hanzhi, Chinese warlord (b. 842)
    • 943 – Motoyoshi, Japanese nobleman and poet (b. 890)
    • 990 – Fujiwara no Kaneie, Japanese statesman (b. 929)
    • 1380 – Kōmyō, emperor of Japan (b. 1322)
    • 1450 – Cecily Neville, duchess of Warwick (b. 1424)
    • 1471 – Paul II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1417)
    • 1533 – Atahualpa, Inca emperor abducted and murdered by Francisco Pizarro (b. ca. 1500)
    • 1592 – Armand de Gontant, French marshal (b. 1524)
    • 1605 – Miguel de Benavides, Spanish archbishop and sinologist (b. 1552)
    • 1611 – Horio Yoshiharu, Japanese daimyō (b. 1542)
    • 1630 – Charles Emmanual I, duke of Savoy (b. 1562)
    • 1659 – Mary Frith, English female criminal (b. 1584)
    • 1680 – John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet and courtier (b. 1647)
    • 1684 – Elena Cornaro Piscopia, Italian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1646)
    • 1693 – Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark, queen of Sweden (b. 1656)
    • 1712 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1631)
    • 1723 – Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1660)
    • 1801 – Maximilian Francis, archduke of Austria (b. 1756)
    • 1863 – Sam Houston, American general and politician, 7th Governor of Texas (b. 1793)
    • 1867 – Otto, king of Greece (b. 1815)
    • 1899 – Ulises Heureaux, 22nd, 26th, and 27th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1845)
    • 1915 – James Murray, Scottish lexicographer and philologist (b. 1837)
    • 1919 – Edward Poynter, English painter and illustrator (b. 1836)
    • 1921 – Howard Vernon, Australian actor (b. 1848)
    • 1925 – Antonio Ascari, Italian race car driver (b. 1888)
    • 1925 – Gottlob Frege, German mathematician and philosopher (b. 1848)
    • 1925 – William Jennings Bryan, American lawyer and politician, 41st United States Secretary of State (b. 1860)
    • 1926 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War, son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1843)
    • 1930 – Pavlos Karolidis, Greek historian and academic (b. 1849)
    • 1932 – Fred Duesenberg, German-American businessman, co-founded the Duesenberg Company (b. 1876)
    • 1934 – Winsor McCay, American cartoonist, animator, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1871)
    • 1941 – Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician and academic (b. 1875)
    • 1942 – Roberto Arlt, Argentinian author and playwright (b. 1900)
    • 1951 – James Mitchell, Australian politician, 13th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1866)
    • 1952 – Eva Perón, Argentinian politician, 25th First Lady of Argentina (b. 1919)
    • 1953 – Nikolaos Plastiras, Greek general and politician, 135th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1883)
    • 1957 – Carlos Castillo Armas, Authoritarian ruler of Guatemala (1954-1957)
    • 1960 – Cedric Gibbons, British art director and production designer (b. 1893)
    • 1964 – Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English race car driver and politician (b. 1884)
    • 1968 – Cemal Tollu, Turkish lieutenant and painter (b. 1899)
    • 1970 – Robert Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 11th Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1896)
    • 1971 – Diane Arbus, American photographer and academic (b. 1923)
    • 1980 (1359 SH) – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the second shah (king) of Pahlavi dynasty
    • 1984 – George Gallup, American mathematician and statistician, founded the Gallup Company (b. 1901)
    • 1984 – Ed Gein, American serial killer (b. 1906)
    • 1986 – W. Averell Harriman, American politician and diplomat, 11th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1891)
    • 1988 – Fazlur Rahman Malik, Pakistani philosopher, scholar, and academic (b. 1919)
    • 1992 – Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
    • 1993 – Matthew Ridgway, American general (b. 1895)
    • 1994 – James Luther Adams, American theologian and academic (b. 1901)
    • 1995 – Laurindo Almeida, Brazilian-American guitarist and composer (b. 1917)
    • 1995 – Raymond Mailloux, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1918)
    • 1995 – George W. Romney, American businessman and politician, 43rd Governor of Michigan (b. 1907)
    • 1996 – Max Winter, American businessman and sports executive (b. 1903)
    • 1999 – Walter Jackson Bate, American author and critic (b. 1918)
    • 1999 – Phaedon Gizikis, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (b. 1917)
    • 2000 – John Tukey, American mathematician and academic (b. 1915)
    • 2001 – Rex T. Barber, American colonel and pilot (b. 1917)
    • 2001 – Peter von Zahn, German journalist and author (b. 1913)
    • 2004 – William A. Mitchell, American chemist, created Pop Rocks and Cool Whip (b. 1911)
    • 2005 – Alexander Golitzen, Russian-born American production designer and art director (b. 1908)
    • 2005 – Jack Hirshleifer, American economist and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2005 – Gilles Marotte, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1945)
    • 2007 – Lars Forssell, Swedish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1928)
    • 2007 – Skip Prosser, American basketball player and coach (b. 1950)
    • 2009 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1919)
    • 2010 – Sivakant Tiwari, Indian-Singaporean politician (b. 1945)
    • 2011 – Joe Arroyo, Colombian singer-songwriter and composer (b. 1955)
    • 2011 – Richard Harris, American-Canadian football player and coach (b. 1948)
    • 2011 – Sakyo Komatsu, Japanese author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
    • 2011 – Margaret Olley, Australian painter and philanthropist (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Don Bagley, American bassist and composer (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Karl Benjamin, American painter and educator (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Miriam Ben-Porat, Russian-Israeli lawyer and jurist (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Lupe Ontiveros, American actress (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – James D. Watkins, American admiral and politician, 6th United States Secretary of Energy (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Luther F. Cole, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Harley Flanders, American mathematician and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Sung Jae-gi, South Korean philosopher and activist (b. 1967)
    • 2013 – George P. Mitchell, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Oleh Babayev, Ukrainian businessman and politician (b. 1965)
    • 2014 – Charles R. Larson, American admiral (b. 1936)
    • 2014 – Richard MacCormac, English architect, founded MJP Architects (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Sergei O. Prokofieff, Russian anthropologist and author (b. 1954)
    • 2014 – Roland Verhavert, Belgian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Bijoy Krishna Handique, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Mines (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Flora MacDonald, Canadian banker and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Communications (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Leo Reise, Jr., Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – Ann Rule, American police officer and author (b. 1931)
    • 2017 – June Foray, American voice actress (b. 1917)
    • 2017 – Patti Deutsch, American voice artist and comedic actress (b. 1943)
    • 2017 – Ronald Phillips, American criminal (b. 1973)
    • 2018 – Adem Demaci, Kosovo Albanian politician and writer (b. 1936)
    • 2018 – John Kline, American basketball player (b. 1931)

    Holidays and observances on July 26

    • Christian feast day:
      • Andrew of Phú Yên
      • Anne (Western Christianity)
      • Bartolomea Capitanio
      • Blessed Maria Pierina
      • Joachim (Western Christianity)
      • Paraskevi of Rome (Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • Venera
      • July 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of National Significance (Barbados)
    • Day of the National Rebellion (Cuba)
    • Esperanto Day
    • Independence Day (Liberia), celebrates the independence of Liberia from the American Colonization Society in 1847.
    • Independence Day (Maldives), celebrates the independence of Maldives from the United Kingdom in 1965.
    • Kargil Victory Day or Kargil Vijay Diwas (India)
  • July 5- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 328 – The official opening of Constantine’s Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius.
    • 1316 – The Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea meet in the Battle of Manolada.
    • 1594 – Portuguese forces under the command of Pedro Lopes de Sousa begin an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Kandy during the Campaign of Danture in Sri Lanka.
    • 1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
    • 1687 – Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
    • 1770 – The Battle of Chesma between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire begins.
    • 1775 – The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
    • 1803 – The Convention of Artlenburg is signed, leading to the French occupation of the Electorate of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
    • 1807 – In Buenos Aires the local militias repel the British soldiers within the Second English Invasion.
    • 1809 – The largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Wagram is fought between the French and Austrian Empires.
    • 1811 – The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence is adopted by a congress of the provinces.
    • 1813 – War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York commence.
    • 1814 – War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa: American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
    • 1833 – Lê Văn Khôi along with 27 soldiers stage a mutiny taking over the Phiên An citadel, developing into the Lê Văn Khôi revolt against Emperor Minh Mạng.
    • 1833 – Admiral Charles Napier vanquishes the navy of the Portuguese usurper Dom Miguel at the third Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
    • 1841 – Thomas Cook organises the first package excursion, from Leicester to Loughborough.
    • 1884 – Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
    • 1915 – The Liberty Bell leaves Philadelphia by special train on its way to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. This is the last trip outside Philadelphia that the custodians of the bell intend to permit.
    • 1934 – “Bloody Thursday”: Police open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco.
    • 1935 – The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
    • 1937 – Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
    • 1940 – World War II: Foreign relations of Vichy France are severed with the United Kingdom.
    • 1941 – World War II: Operation Barbarossa: German troops reach the Dnieper river.
    • 1943 – World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).
    • 1943 – World War II: German forces begin a massive offensive against the Soviet Union at the Battle of Kursk, also known as Operation Citadel.
    • 1946 – Micheline Bernardini models the first modern bikini at a swimming pool in Paris.
    • 1948 – National Health Service Acts create the national public health system in the United Kingdom.
    • 1950 – Korean War: Task Force Smith: American and North Korean forces first clash, in the Battle of Osan.
    • 1950 – Zionism: The Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
    • 1954 – The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
    • 1954 – Elvis Presley records his first single, “That’s All Right”, at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
    • 1962 – The official independence of Algeria is proclaimed after an 8-year-long war with France.
    • 1971 – The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, is formally certified by President Richard Nixon.
    • 1973 – A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills eleven firefighters.
    • 1975 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
    • 1975 – Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
    • 1977 – Military coup in Pakistan: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, is overthrown.
    • 1980 – Swedish tennis player Björn Borg wins his fifth Wimbledon final and becomes the first male tennis player to win the championships five times in a row (1976–1980).
    • 1987 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE uses suicide attacks on the Sri Lankan Army for the first time. The Black Tigers are born and, in the following years, will continue to kill with the tactic.
    • 1989 – Iran–Contra affair: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. His convictions are later overturned.
    • 1995 – Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after its independence from the Soviet Union.
    • 1996 – Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
    • 1997 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP A. Thangathurai is shot dead at Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College in Trincomalee.
    • 1999 – U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
    • 2004 – The first direct Indonesian presidential election is held.
    • 2006 – North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
    • 2009 – A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
    • 2009 – The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in England, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
    • 2012 – The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).
    • 2016 – The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.

    Births on July 5

    • 465 – Ahkal Mo’ Naab’ I, Mayan ruler (d. 524)
    • 980 – Mokjong of Goryeo, Korean king (d. 1009)
    • 1029 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Fatimid caliph (d. 1094)
    • 1057 – Al-Ghazali, Iranian jurist, philosopher, and mystic (d. 1111)
    • 1321 – Joan of the Tower, English consort of David II of Scotland (d. 1362)
    • 1466 – Giovanni Sforza, Italian nobleman (d. 1510)
    • 1547 – Garzia de’ Medici, Tuscan son of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1562)
    • 1549 – Francesco Maria del Monte, Italian cardinal and art collector (d. 1627)
    • 1554 – Elisabeth of Austria, French queen (d. 1592)
    • 1580 – Carlo Contarini, doge of Venice (d. 1656)
    • 1586 – Thomas Hooker, English-born founder of the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1647)
    • 1593 – Achille d’Étampes de Valençay, French military leader (d. 1646)
    • 1653 – Thomas Pitt, English businessman and politician (d. 1726)
    • 1670 – Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, countess palatine (d. 1748)
    • 1675 – Mary Walcott, American accuser and witness at the Salem witch trials (d. 1719)
    • 1709 – Étienne de Silhouette, French translator and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1767)
    • 1717 – Peter III, Portuguese king (d. 1786)
    • 1718 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1794)
    • 1745 – Carl Arnold Kortum, German physician and poet (d. 1824)
    • 1755 – Sarah Siddons, English actress (d. 1831)
    • 1780 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician (d. 1838)
    • 1793 – Pavel Pestel, Russian officer (d. 1826)
    • 1794 – Sylvester Graham, American minister and activist (d. 1851)
    • 1801 – David Farragut, American admiral (d. 1870)
    • 1802 – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (d. 1855)
    • 1803 – George Borrow, British writer (d. 1881)
    • 1805 – Robert FitzRoy, English captain, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (d. 1865)
    • 1810 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1891)
    • 1820 – William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physicist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1872)
    • 1829 – Ignacio Mariscal, Mexican politician and diplomat, Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Mexico (d. 1910)
    • 1832 – Pavel Chistyakov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1919)
    • 1841 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1904)
    • 1849 – William Thomas Stead, English journalist (d. 1912)
    • 1853 – Cecil Rhodes, English-South African businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (d. 1902)
    • 1857 – Clara Zetkin, German theorist and activist (d. 1933)
    • 1857 – Julien Tiersot, French musicologist and composer (d. 1936)
    • 1860 – Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (d. 1919)
    • 1860 – Mathieu Jaboulay, French surgeon (d. 1913)
    • 1862 – George Nuttall, American-British bacteriologist (d. 1937)
    • 1862 – Horatio Caro, English chess master (d. 1920)
    • 1864 – Stephan Krehl, German composer (d. 1924)
    • 1867 – A. E. Douglass, American astronomer (d. 1962)
    • 1872 – Édouard Herriot, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1957)
    • 1874 – Eugen Fischer, German physician and academic (d. 1967)
    • 1879 – Dwight F. Davis, American tennis player and politician, 49th United States Secretary of War (d. 1945)
    • 1879 – Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichord player and educator (d. 1959)
    • 1880 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1940)
    • 1880 – Constantin Tănase, Romanian actor and playwright (d. 1945)
    • 1882 – Inayat Khan, Indian mystic and educator (d. 1927)
    • 1883 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian, author, and academic (d. 1975)
    • 1884 – Enrico Dante, Italian cardinal (d. 1967)
    • 1885 – Blas Infante, Spanish historian and politician (d. 1936)
    • 1885 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (d. 1962)
    • 1886 – Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) (d. 1988)
    • 1886 – Prince John Konstantinovich of Russia (d. 1918)
    • 1888 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1963)
    • 1888 – Louise Freeland Jenkins, American astronomer and academic (d. 1970)
    • 1889 – Jean Cocteau, French novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
    • 1890 – Frederick Lewis Allen, American historian and journalist (d. 1954)
    • 1891 – John Howard Northrop, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
    • 1891 – Tin Ujević, Croatian poet and translator (d. 1955)
    • 1893 – Anthony Berkeley Cox, English writer (d. 1971)
    • 1893 – Giuseppe Caselli, Italian painter (d. 1976)
    • 1894 – Ants Lauter, Estonian actor and director (d. 1973)
    • 1896 – Thomas Playford IV, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1981)
    • 1898 – Georgios Grivas, Greek general (d. 1974)
    • 1899 – Marcel Achard, French playwright, screenwriter, and author (d. 1974)
    • 1900 – Yoshimaro Yamashina, Japanese ornithologist, founded the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology (d. 1989)
    • 1900 – Bernardus Johannes Alfrink, Dutch cardinal (d. 1987)
    • 1901 – Julio Libonatti, Italian-Argentinian footballer (d. 1981)
    • 1902 – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American colonel and politician, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1985)
    • 1904 – Harold Acton, English scholar and author (d. 1994)
    • 1904 – Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist and ornithologist (d. 2005)
    • 1904 – Milburn Stone, American actor (d. 1980)
    • 1905 – Madeleine Sylvain-Bouchereau, Haitian sociologist and educator (d. 1970)
    • 1908 – Henri of Orléans, (d. 1999)
    • 1908 – Lyman S. Ayres II, American businessman (d. 1996)
    • 1910 – Georges Vedel, French lawyer and academic (d. 2002)
    • 1911 – Endel Aruja, Estonian-Canadian physicist and academic (d. 2008)
    • 1911 – Haydn Bunton, Sr., Australian footballer and coach (d. 1955)
    • 1911 – Giorgio Borġ Olivier, Maltese lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1980)
    • 1911 – Georges Pompidou, French banker and politician, 19th President of France (d. 1974)
    • 1913 – George Costakis, Russian art collector (d. 1990)
    • 1913 – Smiley Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)
    • 1914 – John Thomas Dunlop, American administrator and labor scholar (d. 2003)
    • 1914 – Annie Fischer, Hungarian pianist and composer (d. 1995)
    • 1915 – Babe Paley, American socialite (d. 1978)
    • 1915 – John Woodruff, American runner and commander (d. 2007)
    • 1915 – Al Timothy, Trinidadian musician and songwriter (d. 2000)
    • 1916 – Lívia Rév, Hungarian classical pianist (d. 2018)
    • 1916 – Ivor Powell, Welsh footballer (d. 2012)
    • 1918 – K. Karunakaran, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Kerala (d. 2010)
    • 1918 – Brian James, Australian actor (d. 2009)
    • 1918 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian general and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2012)
    • 1918 – George Rochberg, American composer and educator (d. 2005)
    • 1921 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian marshal (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Nanos Valaoritis, Greek author, poet, and playwright (d. 2019)
    • 1923 – George Moore, Australian jockey (d. 2008)
    • 1923 – Mitsuye Yamada, Japanese American activist
    • 1924 – János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist and educator (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Edward Cassidy, Australian Roman Catholic cardinal priest
    • 1925 – Fernando de Szyszlo, Peruvian painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
    • 1925 – Jean Raspail, French author and explorer (d. 2020)
    • 1926 – Diana Lynn, American actress (d. 1971)
    • 1928 – Pierre Mauroy, French educator and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Warren Oates, American actor (d. 1982)
    • 1929 – Jimmy Carruthers, Australian boxer (d. 1990)
    • 1929 – Katherine Helmond, American actress and director (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Tony Lock, English cricketer (d. 1995)
    • 1929 – Jovan Rašković, Serbian psychiatrist, academic, and politician (d. 1992)
    • 1929 – Jiří Reynek, Czech poet and graphic artist (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Chikao Ohtsuka, Japanese voice actor (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Ismail Mahomed, South African lawyer and politician, 17th Chief Justice of South Africa (d. 2000)
    • 1932 – Gyula Horn, Hungarian politician, 37th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 2013)
    • 1933 – Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critic and physicist (d. 1986)
    • 1936 – Shirley Knight, American actress (d. 2020)
    • 1936 – James Mirrlees, Scottish economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – Ronnie Self, American singer-songwriter (d. 1981)
    • 1940 – Chuck Close, American painter and photographer
    • 1941 – Terry Cashman, American singer-songwriter and record producer
    • 1941 – Epeli Nailatikau, Fijian chief, President of Fiji
    • 1942 – Matthias Bamert, Swiss composer and conductor
    • 1942 – Hannes Löhr, German footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2016)
    • 1943 – Curt Blefary, American baseball player and coach (d. 2001)
    • 1943 – Mark Cox, English tennis player, coach and sportscaster
    • 1943 – Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
    • 1943 – Pierre Villepreux, French rugby player and coach
    • 1944 – Leni Björklund, Swedish politician, 28th Swedish Minister of Defence for Sweden
    • 1945 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1945 – Humberto Benítez Treviño, Mexican lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Mexico
    • 1946 – Pierre-Marc Johnson, Canadian lawyer, physician, and politician, 24th Premier of Quebec
    • 1946 – Paul Smith, English fashion designer
    • 1946 – Gerard ‘t Hooft, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1946 – Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 2013)
    • 1947 – Todd Akin, American politician
    • 1949 – Ludwig G. Strauss, German physician and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1950 – Carlos Caszely, Chilean footballer
    • 1950 – Huey Lewis, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1950 – Michael Monarch, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1951 – Goose Gossage, American baseball player
    • 1951 – Roger Wicker, American colonel, lawyer, and politician
    • 1953 – Caryn Navy, American mathematician and computer scientist
    • 1954 – Jimmy Crespo, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1954 – John Wright, New Zealand cricketer and coach
    • 1955 – Tony Hadley, English footballer
    • 1955 – Peter McNamara, Australian tennis player and coach (d. 2019)
    • 1956 – Horacio Cartes, Paraguayan businessman and politician, President of Paraguay
    • 1956 – James Lofton, American football player and coach
    • 1957 – Carlo Thränhardt, German high jumper
    • 1957 – Doug Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
    • 1958 – Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (d. 1996)
    • 1958 – Bill Watterson, American author and illustrator
    • 1959 – Marc Cohn, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1960 – Pruitt Taylor Vince, American actor and director
    • 1962 – Sarina Hülsenbeck, German swimmer
    • 1963 – Edie Falco, American actress
    • 1964 – Ronald D. Moore, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1965 – Kathryn Erbe, American actress
    • 1965 – Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Israeli-American pianist and educator
    • 1966 – Susannah Doyle, English actress, director, and playwright
    • 1966 – Gianfranco Zola, Italian footballer and coach
    • 1968 – Ken Akamatsu, Japanese illustrator
    • 1968 – Kenji Ito, Japanese pianist and composer
    • 1968 – Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1968 – Hedi Slimane, French fashion designer and photographer
    • 1968 – Alex Zülle, Swiss cyclist
    • 1968 – Susan Wojcicki, Polish-American technology executive, CEO of YouTube
    • 1969 – Jenji Kohan, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1969 – Armin Kõomägi, Estonian author and screenwriter
    • 1969 – John LeClair, American ice hockey player
    • 1969 – RZA, American rapper, producer, actor, and director
    • 1970 – Mac Dre, American rapper and producer, founded Thizz Entertainment (d. 2004)
    • 1970 – Valentí Massana, Spanish race walker
    • 1971 – Derek McInnes, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Matthew Birir, Kenyan runner
    • 1972 – Robert Esmie, Canadian sprinter
    • 1972 – Gary Shteyngart, American writer
    • 1973 – Marcus Allbäck, Swedish footballer and coach
    • 1973 – Bengt Lagerberg, Swedish drummer
    • 1973 – Róisín Murphy, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1974 – Márcio Amoroso, Brazilian footballer
    • 1975 – Hernán Crespo, Argentinian footballer and coach
    • 1975 – Ai Sugiyama, Japanese tennis player
    • 1976 – Bizarre, American rapper
    • 1976 – Nuno Gomes, Portuguese footballer
    • 1977 – Nicolas Kiefer, German tennis player
    • 1977 – Steven Sharp Nelson, American cellist
    • 1978 – Britta Oppelt, German rower
    • 1978 – Allan Simonsen, Danish race car driver (d. 2013)
    • 1978 – İsmail YK, German-Turkish singer-songwriter
    • 1979 – Shane Filan, Irish singer-songwriter
    • 1979 – Amélie Mauresmo, French-Swiss tennis player
    • 1979 – Stiliyan Petrov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
    • 1980 – David Rozehnal, Czech footballer
    • 1980 – Mads Tolling, Danish-American violinist and composer
    • 1980 – Jason Wade, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1982 – Fabrício de Souza, Brazilian footballer
    • 1982 – Alexander Dimitrenko, Ukrainian-German boxer
    • 1982 – Alberto Gilardino, Italian footballer
    • 1982 – Philippe Gilbert, Belgian cyclist
    • 1982 – Kate Gynther, Australian water polo player
    • 1982 – Dave Haywood, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1982 – Paíto, Mozambican footballer
    • 1982 – Javier Paredes, Spanish footballer
    • 1982 – Szabolcs Perenyi, Romanian-Hungarian footballer
    • 1982 – Beno Udrih, Slovenian basketball player
    • 1983 – Marco Estrada, Mexican baseball player
    • 1983 – Jonás Gutiérrez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1983 – Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis player
    • 1983 – Taavi Peetre, Estonian shot putter (d. 2010)
    • 1984 – Danay Garcia, Cuban actress
    • 1984 – Zack Miller, American golfer
    • 1985 – Alexandre R. Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Megan Rapinoe, American soccer player
    • 1986 – Iurii Cheban, Ukrainian canoe sprinter
    • 1986 – Piermario Morosini, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
    • 1986 – Alexander Radulov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Owl City, American singer, songwriter and composer
    • 1987 – Ji Chang-wook, South Korean actor
    • 1987 – Mohd Safiq Rahim, Malaysian footballer
    • 1987 – Andrija Kaluđerović, Serbian footballer
    • 1987 – Alexander Kristoff, Norwegian cyclist
    • 1988 – Martin Liivamägi, Estonian swimmer
    • 1988 – Samir Ujkani, Albanian footballer
    • 1989 – Charlie Austin, English footballer
    • 1989 – Georgios Efrem, Cypriot footballer
    • 1989 – Dwight King, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Abeba Aregawi, Ethiopian-Swedish runner
    • 1992 – Alberto Moreno, Spanish footballer
    • 1992 – Chiara Scholl, American tennis player
    • 1993 – Yaroslav Kosov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1994 – Diana Harkusha, Ukrainian lawyer, dancer, model and beauty queen
    • 1994 – Shohei Ohtani, Japanese baseball player

    Deaths on July 5

    • 905 – Cui Yuan, Chinese chancellor
    • 905 – Dugu Sun, Chinese chancellor
    • 905 – Lu Yi, Chinese chancellor (b. 847)
    • 905 – Pei Shu, Chinese chancellor (b. 841)
    • 905 – Wang Pu, Chinese chancellor
    • 936 – Xu Ji, Chinese official and chancellor
    • 967 – Murakami, Japanese emperor (b. 926)
    • 1080 – Ísleifur Gissurarson, Icelandic bishop (b. 1006)
    • 1091 – William of Hirsau, German abbot
    • 1316 – Ferdinand, prince of Majorca (b. 1278)
    • 1375 – Charles III, French nobleman (b. 1337)
    • 1413 – Musa Çelebi, Ottoman prince and co-ruler
    • 1507 – Crinitus, Italian scholar and academic (b. 1475)
    • 1539 – Anthony Maria Zaccaria, Italian saint (b. 1502)
    • 1661 – Sir Hugh Speke, 1st Baronet
    • 1666 – Albert VI, German nobleman (b. 1584)
    • 1676 – Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish field marshal and politician (b. 1613)
    • 1715 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (b. 1659)
    • 1719 – Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, German-English general (b. 1641)
    • 1773 – Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian and philologist (b. 1719)
    • 1819 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (b.1744)
    • 1826 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (b. 1782)
    • 1833 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor, created the first known photograph (b. 1765)
    • 1859 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist and engineer (b. 1777)
    • 1862 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1800)
    • 1863 – Lewis Armistead, American general (b. 1817)
    • 1884 – Victor Massé, French composer (b. 1822)
    • 1908 – Jonas Lie, Norwegian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1833)
    • 1920 – Max Klinger, German painter and sculptor (b. 1857)
    • 1927 – Albrecht Kossel, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
    • 1929 – Henry Johnson, American sergeant (b. 1897)
    • 1932 – Sasha Chorny, Russian poet and author (b. 1880)
    • 1935 – Bernard de Pourtalès, Swiss captain and sailor (b. 1870)
    • 1937 – Daniel Sawyer, American golfer (b. 1884)
    • 1943 – Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski, Polish actor (b. 1880)
    • 1943 – Karin Swanström, Swedish actress, director, and producer (b. 1873)
    • 1945 – John Curtin, Australian journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)
    • 1948 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (b. 1888)
    • 1948 – Carole Landis, American actress (b. 1919)
    • 1948 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician (b. 1871)
    • 1957 – Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1887)
    • 1965 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican race car driver, polo player, and diplomat (b. 1909)
    • 1966 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
    • 1969 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator (b. 1884)
    • 1969 – Walter Gropius, German architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building and Werkbund Exhibition (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Tom Mboya, Kenyan politician, 1st Kenyan Minister of Justice (b. 1930)
    • 1969 – Leo McCarey, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1898)
    • 1975 – Gilda dalla Rizza, Italian soprano and actress (b. 1892)
    • 1983 – Harry James, American trumpet player and actor (b. 1916)
    • 1984 – Chic Murray, Canadian politician, 2nd Mayor of Mississauga (b. 1914)
    • 1991 – Howard Nemerov, American poet and essayist (b. 1920)
    • 1995 – Jüri Järvet, Estonian actor and screenwriter (b. 1919)
    • 1997 – A. Thangathurai, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (b. 1936)
    • 1998 – Sid Luckman, American football player (b. 1916)
    • 2002 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (b. 1924)
    • 2002 – Ted Williams, American baseball player and manager (b. 1918)
    • 2004 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1923)
    • 2004 – Rodger Ward, American race car driver and sportscaster (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – James Stockdale, American admiral (b. 1923)
    • 2006 – Gert Fredriksson, Swedish canoe racer (b. 1919)
    • 2006 – Thirunalloor Karunakaran, Indian poet and scholar (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (b. 1942)
    • 2006 – Amzie Strickland, American actress (b. 1919)
    • 2007 – Régine Crespin, French soprano (b. 1927)
    • 2007 – George Melly, English singer-songwriter and critic (b. 1926)
    • 2008 – Hasan Doğan, Turkish businessman (b. 1956)
    • 2010 – Bob Probert, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host (b. 1965)
    • 2011 – Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter, sculptor, and photographer (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Rob Goris, Belgian cyclist (b. 1982)
    • 2012 – Gerrit Komrij, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (b. 1944)
    • 2012 – Colin Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge, English businessman and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Ruud van Hemert, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Bud Asher, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – David Cargo, American politician, 22nd Governor of New Mexico (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Lambert Jackson Woodburne, South African admiral (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Volodymyr Sabodan, Ukrainian metropolitan (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Hans-Ulrich Wehler, German historian and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Brett Wiesner, American soccer player (b. 1983)
    • 2015 – Archduchess Dorothea of Austria (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Uffe Haagerup, Danish mathematician and academic (b. 1949)
    • 2015 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)

    Holidays and observances on July 5

    • Bloody Thursday (International Longshore and Warehouse Union)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Anthony Maria Zaccaria, priest (d. 1539)
      • Cyril and Methodius (a public holiday in Czech Republic and Slovakia)
      • Zoe of Rome (Roman Catholic Church)
      • July 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Constitution Day (Armenia)
    • Independence Day (Algeria), celebrating the independence of Algeria from France in 1962.
    • Independence Day (Cape Verde), celebrating the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal in 1975.
    • Independence Day (Venezuela), celebrating the independence of Venezuela from Spain in 1811; also National Armed Forces Day.
    • Tynwald Day, if July 5 is on a weekend, the holiday is the following Monday. (Isle of Man)
  • July 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    It is the last day of the first half of the year. The end of this day marks the halfway point of a leap year. It also falls on the same day of the week as New Year’s Day in a leap year. The midpoint of the year for southern hemisphere DST countries occurs at 11:00 p.m.

    • AD 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
    • 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the Ostrogoth king, Totila, is mortally wounded.
    • 1097 – Battle of Dorylaeum: Crusaders led by prince Bohemond of Taranto defeat a Seljuk army led by sultan Kilij Arslan I.
    • 1431 – The Battle of La Higueruela takes place in Granada, leading to a modest advance of the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista.
    • 1520 – Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés fight their way out of Tenochtitlan after nightfall.
    • 1523 – Jan van Essen and Hendrik Vos become the first Lutheran martyrs, burned at the stake by Roman Catholic authorities in Brussels.
    • 1569 – Union of Lublin: The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania confirm a real union; the united country is called the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Republic of Both Nations.
    • 1643 – First meeting of the Westminster Assembly, a council of theologians (“divines”) and members of the Parliament of England appointed to restructure the Church of England, at Westminster Abbey in London.
    • 1690 – Glorious Revolution: Battle of the Boyne in Ireland (as reckoned under the Julian calendar).
    • 1766 – François-Jean de la Barre, a young French nobleman, is tortured and beheaded before his body is burnt on a pyre along with a copy of Voltaire’s Dictionnaire philosophique nailed to his torso for the crime of not saluting a Roman Catholic religious procession in Abbeville, France.
    • 1770 – Lexell’s Comet is seen closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.0146 astronomical units (2,180,000 km; 1,360,000 mi).
    • 1782 – Raid on Lunenburg: American privateers attack the British settlement of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
    • 1819 – Johann Georg Tralles discovers the Great Comet of 1819, (C/1819 N1). It was the first comet analyzed using polarimetry, by François Arago.
    • 1837 – A system of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths is established in England and Wales.
    • 1855 – Signing of the Quinault Treaty: The Quinault and the Quileute cede their land to the United States.
    • 1858 – Joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace’s papers on evolution to the Linnean Society of London.
    • 1862 – The Russian State Library is founded as the Library of the Moscow Public Museum.
    • 1862 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, second daughter of Queen Victoria, marries Prince Louis of Hesse, the future Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Malvern Hill takes place. It is the last of the Seven Days Battles, part of George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign.
    • 1863 – Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) in Suriname, marking the abolition of slavery by the Netherlands.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg begins.
    • 1867 – The British North America Act takes effect as the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia join into confederation to create the modern nation of Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald is sworn in as the first Prime Minister of Canada. This date is commemorated annually in Canada as Canada Day, a national holiday.
    • 1870 – The United States Department of Justice formally comes into existence.
    • 1873 – Prince Edward Island joins into Canadian Confederation.
    • 1874 – The Sholes and Glidden typewriter, the first commercially successful typewriter, goes on sale.
    • 1878 – Canada joins the Universal Postal Union.
    • 1879 – Charles Taze Russell publishes the first edition of the religious magazine The Watchtower.
    • 1881 – The world’s first international telephone call is made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine, United States.
    • 1881 – General Order 70, the culmination of the Cardwell and Childers reforms of the British Army, comes into effect.
    • 1885 – The United States terminates reciprocity and fishery agreement with Canada.
    • 1885 – The Congo Free State is established by King Leopold II of Belgium.
    • 1890 – Canada and Bermuda are linked by telegraph cable.
    • 1898 – Spanish–American War: The Battle of San Juan Hill is fought in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
    • 1903 – Start of first Tour de France bicycle race.
    • 1908 – SOS is adopted as the international distress signal.
    • 1911 – Germany despatches the gunship SMS Panther to Morocco, sparking the Agadir Crisis.
    • 1915 – Leutnant Kurt Wintgens of the then-named German Deutsches Heer’s Fliegertruppe army air service achieves the first known aerial victory with a synchronized machine-gun armed fighter plane, the Fokker M.5K/MG Eindecker.
    • 1916 – World War I: First day on the Somme: On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the British Army are killed and 40,000 wounded.
    • 1922 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1922 begins in the United States.
    • 1923 – The Parliament of Canada suspends all Chinese immigration.
    • 1931 – United Airlines begins service (as Boeing Air Transport).
    • 1931 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty become the first people to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engined monoplane aircraft.
    • 1932 – Australia’s national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was formed.
    • 1935 – Regina, Saskatchewan police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police ambush strikers participating in the On-to-Ottawa Trek.
    • 1942 – World War II: First Battle of El Alamein.
    • 1942 – The Australian Federal Government becomes the sole collector of income tax in Australia as State Income Tax is abolished.
    • 1943 – The City of Tokyo and the Prefecture of Tokyo are both replaced by the Tokyo Metropolis.
    • 1947 – The Philippine Air Force is established.
    • 1948 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-i-Azam) inaugurates Pakistan’s central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan.
    • 1949 – The merger of two princely states of India, Cochin and Travancore, into the state of Thiru-Kochi (later re-organized as Kerala) in the Indian Union ends more than 1,000 years of princely rule by the Cochin royal family.
    • 1957 – The International Geophysical Year begins.
    • 1958 – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation links television broadcasting across Canada via microwave.
    • 1958 – Flooding of Canada’s Saint Lawrence Seaway begins.
    • 1959 – Specific values for the international yard, avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) are adopted after agreement between the US, the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries.
    • 1960 – Independence of Somalia.
    • 1960 – Ghana becomes a republic and Kwame Nkrumah becomes its first President as Queen Elizabeth II ceases to be its head of state.
    • 1962 – Independence of Rwanda and Burundi.
    • 1963 – ZIP codes are introduced for United States mail.
    • 1963 – The British Government admits that former diplomat Kim Philby had worked as a Soviet agent.
    • 1966 – The first color television transmission in Canada takes place from Toronto.
    • 1967 – Merger Treaty: The European Community is formally created out of a merger with the Common Market, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Commission.
    • 1968 – The United States Central Intelligence Agency’s Phoenix Program is officially established.
    • 1968 – The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries.
    • 1968 – Formal separation of the United Auto Workers from the AFL–CIO in the United States.
    • 1972 – The first Gay pride march in England takes place.
    • 1976 – Portugal grants autonomy to Madeira.
    • 1978 – The Northern Territory in Australia is granted self-government.
    • 1979 – Sony introduces the Walkman.
    • 1980 – “O Canada” officially becomes the national anthem of Canada.
    • 1983 – A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea crashes into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board.
    • 1984 – The PG-13 rating is introduced by the MPAA.
    • 1987 – The American radio station WFAN in New York City is launched as the world’s first all-sports radio station.
    • 1990 – German reunification: East Germany accepts the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany.
    • 1991 – Cold War: The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague.
    • 1997 – China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. The handover ceremony is attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Charles, Prince of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
    • 1999 – The Scottish Parliament is officially opened by Elizabeth II on the day that legislative powers are officially transferred from the old Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh. In Wales, the powers of the Welsh Secretary are transferred to the National Assembly.
    • 2002 – The International Criminal Court is established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
    • 2002 – Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154, and DHL Flight 611, a Boeing 757, collide in mid-air over Überlingen, southern Germany, killing all 71 on board both planes.
    • 2003 – Over 500,000 people protest against efforts to pass anti-sedition legislation in Hong Kong.
    • 2004 – Saturn orbit insertion of Cassini–Huygens begins at 01:12 UTC and ends at 02:48 UTC.
    • 2006 – The first operation of Qinghai–Tibet Railway is conducted in China.
    • 2007 – Smoking in England is banned in all public indoor spaces.
    • 2008 – Riots erupt in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections.
    • 2013 – Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union.

    Births on July 1

    • 1311 – Liu Bowen, Chinese military strategist, statesman and poet (d. 1375)
    • 1464 – Clara Gonzaga, Italian noble (d. 1503)
    • 1481 – Christian II of Denmark (d. 1559)
    • 1506 – Louis II of Hungary (d. 1526)
    • 1534 – Frederick II of Denmark (d. 1588)
    • 1553 – Peter Street, English carpenter and builder (d. 1609)
    • 1574 – Joseph Hall, English bishop and mystic (d. 1656)
    • 1586 – Claudio Saracini, Italian lute player and composer (d. 1630)
    • 1633 – Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1698)
    • 1646 – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1716)
    • 1663 – Franz Xaver Murschhauser, German composer and theorist (d. 1738)
    • 1725 – Rhoda Delaval, English painter and aristrocrat (d. 1757)
    • 1725 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general (d. 1807)
    • 1731 – Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan, Scottish-English admiral (d. 1804)
    • 1742 – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist and academic (d. 1799)
    • 1771 – Ferdinando Paer, Italian composer and conductor (d. 1839)
    • 1788 – Jean-Victor Poncelet, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1867)
    • 1804 – Charles Gordon Greene, American journalist and politician (d. 1886)
    • 1804 – George Sand, French author and playwright (d. 1876)
    • 1807 – Thomas Green Clemson, American politician and educator, founded Clemson University (d. 1888)
    • 1808 – Ygnacio del Valle, Mexican-American landowner (d. 1880)
    • 1814 – Robert Torrens, Irish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1884)
    • 1818 – Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian-Austrian physician and obstetrician (d. 1865)
    • 1818 – Karl von Vierordt, German physician, psychologist and academic (d. 1884)
    • 1822 – Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Vietnamese poet and activist (d. 1888)
    • 1834 – Jadwiga Łuszczewska, Polish poet and author (d. 1908)
    • 1850 – Florence Earle Coates, American poet (d. 1927)
    • 1858 – Willard Metcalf, American painter (d. 1925)
    • 1858 – Velma Caldwell Melville, American editor and writer of prose and poetry (d. 1924)
    • 1863 – William Grant Stairs, Canadian-English captain and explorer (d. 1892)
    • 1869 – William Strunk Jr., American author and educator (d. 1946)
    • 1872 – Louis Blériot, French pilot and engineer (d. 1936)
    • 1872 – William Duddell, English physicist and engineer (d. 1917)
    • 1873 – Alice Guy-Blaché, French-American film director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1968)
    • 1873 – Andrass Samuelsen, Faroese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 1954)
    • 1875 – Joseph Weil, American con man (d. 1976)
    • 1876 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (d. 1921)
    • 1878 – Jacques Rosenbaum, Estonian-German architect (d. 1944)
    • 1879 – Léon Jouhaux, French union leader, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
    • 1881 – Edward Battersby Bailey, English geologist (d. 1965)
    • 1882 – Bidhan Chandra Roy, Indian physician and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1962)
    • 1883 – Arthur Borton, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1933)
    • 1885 – Dorothea Mackellar, Australian author and poet (d. 1968)
    • 1887 – Amber Reeves, New Zealand-English author and scholar (d. 1981)
    • 1892 – James M. Cain, American author and journalist (d. 1977)
    • 1892 – László Lajtha, Hungarian composer and conductor (d. 1963)
    • 1899 – Thomas A. Dorsey, American pianist and composer (d. 1993)
    • 1899 – Charles Laughton, English-American actor and director (d. 1962)
    • 1899 – Konstantinos Tsatsos, Greek scholar and politician, President of Greece (d. 1987)
    • 1901 – Irna Phillips, American screenwriter (d. 1973)
    • 1902 – William Wyler, French-American film director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1981)
    • 1903 – Amy Johnson, English pilot (d. 1941)
    • 1903 – Beatrix Lehmann, English actress (d. 1979)
    • 1906 – Jean Dieudonné, French mathematician and academic (d. 1992)
    • 1906 – Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founded the Estée Lauder Companies (d. 2004)
    • 1907 – Norman Pirie, Scottish-English biochemist and virologist (d. 1997)
    • 1909 – Emmett Toppino, American sprinter (d. 1971)
    • 1910 – Glenn Hardin, American hurdler (d. 1975)
    • 1911 – Arnold Alas, Estonian landscape architect and artist (d. 1990)
    • 1911 – Sergey Sokolov, Russian marshal and politician, Soviet Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
    • 1912 – David Brower, American environmentalist, founded Sierra Club Foundation (d. 2000)
    • 1912 – Sally Kirkland, American journalist (d. 1989)
    • 1913 – Frank Barrett, American baseball player (d. 1998)
    • 1913 – Lee Guttero, American basketball player (d. 2004)
    • 1913 – Vasantrao Naik, Indian politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 1979)
    • 1914 – Thomas Pearson, British Army officer (d. 2019)
    • 1914 – Christl Cranz, German alpine skier (d. 2004)
    • 1914 – Bernard B. Wolfe, American politician (d. 2016)
    • 1915 – Boots Poffenberger, American baseball player (d. 1999)
    • 1915 – Willie Dixon, American singer-songwriter, bass player, guitarist and producer (d. 1992)
    • 1915 – Joseph Ransohoff, American soldier and neurosurgeon (d. 2001)
    • 1915 – Philip Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme, British peer (d. 2000)
    • 1915 – Nguyễn Văn Linh, Vietnamese politician (d. 1998)
    • 1916 – Olivia de Havilland, British-American actress
    • 1916 – Iosif Shklovsky, Ukrainian astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1985)
    • 1916 – George C. Stoney, American director and producer (d. 2012)
    • 1917 – Humphry Osmond, English-American lieutenant and psychiatrist (d. 2004)
    • 1917 – Álvaro Domecq y Díez, Spanish aristocrat (d. 2005)
    • 1918 – Ralph Young, American singer and actor (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Ahmed Deedat, South African writer and public speaker (d. 2005)
    • 1918 – Pedro Yap, Filipino lawyer (d. 2003)
    • 1919 – Arnold Meri, Estonian colonel (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Malik Dohan al-Hassan, Iraqi politician
    • 1919 – Gerald E. Miller, American vice admiral (d. 2014)
    • 1920 – Henri Amouroux, French historian and journalist (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – Harold Sakata, Japanese-American wrestler and actor (d. 1982)
    • 1920 – Joseph G. Williams, American musician
    • 1920 – George I. Fujimoto, American-Japanese chemist
    • 1921 – Seretse Khama, Batswana lawyer and politician, 1st President of Botswana (d. 1980)
    • 1921 – Michalina Wisłocka, Polish gynecologist and sexologist (d. 2005)
    • 1921 – Arthur Johnson, Canadian canoeist (d. 2003)
    • 1922 – Toshi Seeger, German-American activist, co-founded the Clearwater Festival (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Mordechai Bibi, Israeli politician
    • 1923 – Scotty Bowers, American Marine, author and pimp (d. 2019)
    • 1924 – Antoni Ramallets, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Florence Stanley, American actress (d. 2003)
    • 1924 – Georges Rivière, French actor
    • 1925 – Farley Granger, American actor (d. 2011)
    • 1925 – Art McNally, American football referee
    • 1926 – Robert Fogel, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Carl Hahn, German businessman
    • 1926 – Mohamed Abshir Muse, Somali general (d. 2017)
    • 1926 – Hans Werner Henze, German composer and educator (d. 2012)
    • 1927 – Alan J. Charig, English paleontologist and author (d. 1997)
    • 1927 – Joseph Martin Sartoris, American bishop
    • 1927 – Chandra Shekhar, 8th Prime Minister of India (d. 2007)[27]
    • 1929 – Gerald Edelman, American biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Moustapha Akkad, Syrian-American director and producer (d. 2005)
    • 1930 – Carol Chomsky, American linguist and academic (d. 2008)
    • 1931 – Leslie Caron, French actress and dancer
    • 1932 – Ze’ev Schiff, French-Israeli journalist and author (d. 2007)
    • 1933 – C. Scott Littleton, American anthropologist and academic (d. 2010)
    • 1934 – Claude Berri, French actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1934 – Jamie Farr, American actor
    • 1934 – Jean Marsh, English actress and screenwriter
    • 1934 – Sydney Pollack, American actor, director and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1935 – James Cotton, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 2017)
    • 1935 – David Prowse, English actor
    • 1936 – Wally Amos, American entrepreneur and founder of Famous Amos
    • 1938 – Craig Anderson, American baseball player and coach
    • 1938 – Hariprasad Chaurasia, Indian flute player and composer
    • 1939 – Karen Black, American actress (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Delaney Bramlett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1940 – Craig Brown, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1940 – Ela Gandhi, South African activist and politician
    • 1940 – Cahit Zarifoğlu, Turkish poet and author (d. 1987)
    • 1941 – Rod Gilbert, Canadian-American ice hockey player
    • 1941 – Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
    • 1941 – Myron Scholes, Canadian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1941 – Twyla Tharp, American dancer and choreographer
    • 1942 – Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Iraqi field marshal and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Geneviève Bujold, Canadian actress
    • 1942 – Andraé Crouch, American singer-songwriter, producer and pastor (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Julia Higgins, English chemist and academic
    • 1943 – Philip Brunelle, American conductor and organist
    • 1943 – Peeter Lepp, Estonian politician, 37th Mayor of Tallinn
    • 1943 – Jeff Wayne, American composer, musician and lyricist
    • 1945 – Mike Burstyn, American actor and singer
    • 1945 – Debbie Harry, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1946 – Mick Aston, English archaeologist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Erkki Tuomioja, Finnish sergeant and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs
    • 1947 – Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Japanese race car driver
    • 1947 – Malcolm Wicks, English academic and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1948 – John Ford, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1949 – Néjia Ben Mabrouk, Tunisian-Belgian director and screenwriter
    • 1949 – John Farnham, English-Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1949 – David Hogan, American composer and educator (d. 1996)
    • 1949 – Venkaiah Naidu, Indian lawyer and politician
    • 1950 – David Duke, American white supremacist, politician and former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard
    • 1951 – Trevor Eve, English actor and producer
    • 1951 – Anne Feeney, American singer-songwriter and activist
    • 1951 – Julia Goodfellow, English physicist and academic
    • 1951 – Klaus-Peter Justus, German runner
    • 1951 – Tom Kozelko, American basketball player
    • 1951 – Terrence Mann, American actor, singer and dancer
    • 1951 – Fred Schneider, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1951 – Victor Willis, American singer-songwriter, pianist and actor
    • 1952 – Dan Aykroyd, Canadian actor, producer and screenwriter
    • 1952 – David Arkenstone, American composer and performer
    • 1952 – David Lane, English oncologist and academic
    • 1952 – Steve Shutt, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1952 – Timothy J. Tobias, American pianist and composer (d. 2006)
    • 1953 – Lawrence Gonzi, Maltese lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Malta
    • 1953 – Jadranka Kosor, Croatian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Croatia
    • 1954 – Keith Whitley, American singer and guitarist (d. 1989)
    • 1955 – Nikolai Demidenko, Russian pianist and educator
    • 1955 – Li Keqiang, Chinese economist and politician, 7th Premier of the People’s Republic of China
    • 1955 – Lisa Scottoline, American lawyer and author
    • 1957 – Lisa Blount, American actress and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1957 – Hannu Kamppuri, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1957 – Sean O’Driscoll, English footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Jack Dyer Crouch II, American diplomat, United States Deputy National Security Advisor
    • 1960 – Michael Beattie, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1960 – Lynn Jennings, American runner
    • 1960 – Evelyn “Champagne” King, American soul/disco singer
    • 1960 – Kevin Swords, American rugby player
    • 1961 – Malcolm Elliott, English cyclist
    • 1961 – Ivan Kaye, English actor
    • 1961 – Carl Lewis, American long jumper and runner
    • 1961 – Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997)
    • 1961 – Michelle Wright, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1962 – Andre Braugher, American actor and producer
    • 1962 – Mokhzani Mahathir, Malaysian businessman
    • 1963 – Roddy Bottum, American singer and keyboard player
    • 1963 – Nick Giannopoulos, Australian actor
    • 1963 – David Wood, American lawyer and environmentalist (d. 2006)
    • 1964 – Bernard Laporte, French rugby player and coach
    • 1965 – Carl Fogarty, English motorcycle racer
    • 1965 – Garry Schofield, English rugby player and coach
    • 1965 – Harald Zwart, Norwegian director and producer
    • 1966 – Enrico Annoni, Italian footballer and coach
    • 1966 – Shawn Burr, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2013)
    • 1967 – Pamela Anderson, Canadian-American model and actress
    • 1969 – Séamus Egan, American-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – Missy Elliott, American rapper, producer, dancer and actress
    • 1971 – Julianne Nicholson, American actress
    • 1974 – Jefferson Pérez, Ecuadorian race walker
    • 1975 – Sean Colson, American basketball player and coach
    • 1975 – Sufjan Stevens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1976 – Patrick Kluivert, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1976 – Hannu Tihinen, Finnish footballer
    • 1976 – Albert Torrens, Australian rugby league player
    • 1976 – Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Szymon Ziółkowski, Polish hammer thrower
    • 1977 – Tom Frager, Senegalese-French singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Keigo Hayashi, Japanese musician
    • 1977 – Jarome Iginla, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Forrest Griffin, American mixed martial artist and actor
    • 1981 – Carlo Del Fava, South African-Italian rugby player
    • 1981 – Tadhg Kennelly, Irish-Australian footballer
    • 1982 – Justin Huber, Australian baseball player
    • 1982 – Joachim Johansson, Swedish tennis player
    • 1982 – Adrian Ward, American football player
    • 1982 – Hilarie Burton, American actress
    • 1984 – Donald Thomas, Bahamian high jumper
    • 1985 – Chris Perez, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Charlie Blackmon, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Andrew Lee, Australian footballer
    • 1986 – Julian Prochnow, German footballer
    • 1987 – Michael Schrader, German decathlete
    • 1988 – Dedé, Brazilian footballer
    • 1988 – Aleksander Lesun, Russian modern pentathlete
    • 1989 – Kent Bazemore, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Daniel Ricciardo, Australian race car driver
    • 1990 – Ben Coker, English footballer
    • 1991 – Michael Wacha, American baseball player
    • 1992 – Aaron Sanchez, American baseball player
    • 1995 – Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, Belgian footballer
    • 1995 – Savvy Shields, Miss America 2017
    • 1996 – Adelina Sotnikova, Russian figure skater
    • 1998 – Aleksandra Golovkina, Lithuanian figure skater
    • 2000 – Lalu Muhammad Zohri, Indonesian sprinter
    • 2001 – Chosen Jacobs, American entertainer

    Deaths on July 1

    • 552 – Totila, Ostrogoth king
    • 992 – Heonjeong, Korean queen (b. 966)
    • 1109 – Alfonso VI, king of León and Castile (b. 1040)
    • 1224 – Hōjō Yoshitoki, regent of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan (b. 1163)
    • 1242 – Chagatai Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1183)
    • 1277 – Baibars, Egyptian sultan (b. 1223)
    • 1321 – María de Molina, queen of Castile and León
    • 1348 – Joan, English princess
    • 1555 – John Bradford, English reformer, prebendary of St. Paul’s (b. 1510)
    • 1589 – Lady Saigō, Japanese concubine (b. 1552)
    • 1592 – Marc’Antonio Ingegneri, Italian composer and educator (b. 1535)
    • 1614 – Isaac Casaubon, French philologist and scholar (b. 1559)
    • 1622 – William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, English politician (b. 1575)
    • 1681 – Oliver Plunkett, Irish archbishop and saint (b. 1629)
    • 1736 – Ahmed III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1673)
    • 1774 – Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1705)
    • 1782 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English admiral and politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (b. 1730)
    • 1784 – Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, German organist and composer (b. 1710)
    • 1787 – Charles de Rohan, French marshal (b. 1715)
    • 1819 – the Public Universal Friend, American evangelist (b. 1752)
    • 1839 – Mahmud II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1785)
    • 1860 – Charles Goodyear, American chemist and engineer (b. 1800)
    • 1863 – John F. Reynolds, American general (b. 1820)
    • 1884 – Allan Pinkerton, Scottish-American detective and spy (b. 1819)
    • 1896 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author and activist (b. 1811)
    • 1905 – John Hay, American journalist and politician, 37th United States Secretary of State (b. 1838)
    • 1912 – Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (b. 1875)
    • 1925 – Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (b. 1866)
    • 1934 – Ernst Röhm, German paramilitary commander (b. 1887)
    • 1942 – Peadar Toner Mac Fhionnlaoich, Irish writer (b. 1857)
    • 1943 – Willem Arondeus, Dutch artist, author, and anti-Nazi resistance fighter (b. 1894)
    • 1944 – Carl Mayer, Austrian-English screenwriter (b. 1894)
    • 1944 – Tanya Savicheva, Russian author (b. 1930)
    • 1948 – Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (b. 1904)
    • 1950 – Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss composer and educator (b. 1865)
    • 1950 – Eliel Saarinen, Finnish-American architect, co-designed the National Museum of Finland (b. 1873)
    • 1951 – Tadeusz Borowski, Polish poet, novelist and journalist (b. 1922)
    • 1961 – Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French physician and author (b. 1894)
    • 1962 – Purushottam Das Tandon, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1882)
    • 1962 – Bidhan Chandra Roy, Indian physician and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1882)
    • 1964 – Pierre Monteux, French-American viola player and conductor (b. 1875)
    • 1965 – Wally Hammond, English cricketer (b. 1903)
    • 1965 – Robert Ruark, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
    • 1966 – Frank Verner, American runner (b. 1883)
    • 1967 – Gerhard Ritter, German historian and academic (b. 1888)
    • 1968 – Fritz Bauer, German judge and politician (b. 1903)
    • 1971 – William Lawrence Bragg, Australian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
    • 1971 – Learie Constantine, Trinidadian-English cricketer, lawyer, and politician (b. 1901)
    • 1974 – Juan Perón, Argentinian general and politician, President of Argentina (b. 1895)
    • 1978 – Kurt Student, German general and pilot (b. 1890)
    • 1981 – Carlos de Oliveira, Portuguese author and poet (b. 1921)
    • 1983 – Buckminster Fuller, American architect, designed the Montreal Biosphère (b. 1895)
    • 1984 – Moshé Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (b. 1904)
    • 1991 – Michael Landon, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1936)
    • 1992 – Franco Cristaldi, Italian screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
    • 1994 – Merriam Modell, American author (b. 1908)
    • 1995 – Wolfman Jack, American radio host (b. 1938)
    • 1995 – Ian Parkin, English guitarist (Be-Bop Deluxe) (b. 1950)
    • 1996 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (b. 1904)
    • 1996 – Margaux Hemingway, American model and actress (b. 1954)
    • 1996 – Steve Tesich, Serbian-American author and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 1997 – Robert Mitchum, American actor (b. 1917)
    • 1997 – Charles Werner, American cartoonist (b. 1909)
    • 1999 – Edward Dmytryk, Canadian-American director and producer (b. 1908)
    • 1999 – Forrest Mars Sr., American businessman, created M&M’s and the Mars bar (b. 1904)
    • 1999 – Sylvia Sidney, American actress (b. 1910)
    • 1999 – Sola Sierra, Chilean human rights activist (b. 1935)
    • 2000 – Walter Matthau, American actor (b. 1920)
    • 2001 – Nikolay Basov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
    • 2001 – Jean-Louis Rosier, French race car driver (b. 1925)
    • 2003 – Herbie Mann, American flute player and saxophonist (b. 1930)
    • 2004 – Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1931)
    • 2004 – Marlon Brando, American actor and director (b. 1924)
    • 2004 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (b. 1909)
    • 2005 – Renaldo Benson, American singer-songwriter (Four Tops) (b. 1936)
    • 2005 – Gus Bodnar, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (Change) (b. 1951)
    • 2006 – Ryutaro Hashimoto, Japanese politician, 53rd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1937)
    • 2006 – Robert Lepikson, Estonian race car driver and politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior (b. 1952)
    • 2006 – Fred Trueman, English cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1931)
    • 2008 – Mel Galley, English guitarist (b. 1948)
    • 2009 – Karl Malden, American actor (b. 1912)
    • 2009 – Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (b. 1917)
    • 2009 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Don Coryell, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
    • 2010 – Arnold Friberg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1913)
    • 2010 – Ilene Woods, American actress and singer (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Peter E. Gillquist, American priest and author (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – Ossie Hibbert, Jamaican-American keyboard player and producer (b. 1950)
    • 2012 – Evelyn Lear, American operatic soprano (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Alan G. Poindexter, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1961)
    • 2012 – Jack Richardson, American author and playwright (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Sidney Bryan Berry, American general (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Charles Foley, American game designer, co-created Twister (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – William H. Gray, American minister and politician (b. 1941)
    • 2014 – Jean Garon, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Stephen Gaskin, American activist, co-founded The Farm (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Bob Jones, English lawyer and politician (b. 1955)
    • 2014 – Anatoly Kornukov, Ukrainian-Russian general (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – Walter Dean Myers, American author and poet (b. 1937)
    • 2015 – Val Doonican, Irish singer and television host (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Czesław Olech, Polish mathematician and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Nicholas Winton, English lieutenant and humanitarian (b. 1909)
    • 2016 – Robin Hardy, English author and film director (b. 1929)
    • 2020 – Georg Ratzinger, German Roman Catholic priest and musician (b. 1924)

    Holidays and observances on July 1

    • Christian feast day:
      • Aaron (Syriac Christianity)
      • Blessed Antonio Rosmini-Serbati
      • Felix of Como
      • Junípero Serra
      • Julius and Aaron
      • Leontius of Autun
      • Servanus
      • Veep
      • July 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
      • Feast of the Most Precious Blood (removed from official Roman Catholic calendar since 1969)
    • Earliest day on which Alexanderson Day can fall, celebrated on the Sunday closest to July 2. (Sweden)
    • Earliest day on which CARICOM Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Guyana)
    • Earliest day on which Constitution Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Cayman Islands)
    • Earliest day on which Día del Amigo can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July. (Peru)
    • Earliest day on which Fishermen’s Holiday, celebrated on the first Friday of July (Marshall Islands)
    • Earliest day on which Heroes’ Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Zambia)
    • Earliest day on which International Co-operative Day, can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July.
    • Earliest day on which International Free Hugs Day, can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July.
    • Earliest day on which Navy Day can fall, celebrated on the first Sunday in July. (Ukraine)
    • Earliest day on which Navy Days can fall, celebrated First Saturday and Sunday. (Netherlands)
    • Earliest day on which Youth Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in July. (Singapore)
    • Armed Forces Day (Singapore)
    • Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day (Canada)
    • Children’s Day (Pakistan)
    • Communist Party of China Founding Day (China)
    • Day of Officials and Civil Servants (Hungary)
    • Doctors’ Day (India)
    • Emancipation Day (Netherlands Antilles)
    • Engineer’s Day (Bahrain, Mexico)
    • Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (Hong Kong, China)
    • Independence Day (Burundi), celebrates the independence of Burundi from Belgium in 1962.
    • Independence Day (Rwanda)
    • Independence Day (Somalia)
    • International Tartan Day
    • July Morning (Bulgaria)
    • Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) (Suriname)
    • Madeira Day (Madeira, Portugal)
    • Moving Day (Quebec) (Canada)
    • Newfoundland and Labrador Memorial Day
    • Republic Day (Ghana)
    • Sir Seretse Khama Day (Botswana)
    • Territory Day (British Virgin Islands)
    • The first day of Van Mahotsav, celebrated until July 7. (India)
  • |

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

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

    Births on May 31

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

    Deaths on May 31

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

    Holidays and observances on May 31

    • Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Camilla Battista da Varano
      • Hermias
      • Petronella
      • Visitation of Mary (Western Christianity)
      • May 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The beginning of Gawai Dayak (Dayaks in Sarawak, Malaysia and West Kalimantan, Indonesia)
    • World No Tobacco Day (International)
  • May 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book Revelations of Divine Love.
    • 1515 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France, and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, are officially married at Greenwich.
    • 1568 – Battle of Langside: The forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother.
    • 1619 – Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after being convicted of treason.
    • 1779 – War of the Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives the part of its territory that was taken from it (the Innviertel).
    • 1780 – The Cumberland Compact is signed by leaders of the settlers in the Cumberland River area of what would become the U.S. state of Tennessee, providing for democratic government and a formal system of justice.
    • 1787 – Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England, with eleven ships full of convicts (the “First Fleet”) to establish a penal colony in Australia.
    • 1804 – Forces sent by Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli to retake Derna from the Americans attack the city.
    • 1830 – Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia.
    • 1846 – Mexican–American War: The United States declares war on the Federal Republic of Mexico following a dispute over the American annexation of the Republic of Texas and a Mexican military incursion.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a “proclamation of neutrality” which recognizes the Confederacy as having belligerent rights.
    • 1861 – The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
    • 1861 – Pakistan’s (then a part of British India) first railway line opens, from Karachi to Kotri.
    • 1862 – The USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, steals through Confederate lines and is passed to the Union, by a southern slave, Robert Smalls, who later was officially appointed as captain, becoming the first black man to command a United States ship.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Resaca: The battle begins with Union General Sherman fighting toward Atlanta.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: Battle of Palmito Ranch: In far south Texas, the last land battle of the Civil War ends with a Confederate victory.
    • 1880 – In Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway.
    • 1888 – With the passage of the Lei Áurea (“Golden Law”), Empire of Brazil abolishes slavery.
    • 1909 – The first Giro d’Italia starts from Milan. Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna will be the winner.
    • 1912 – The Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom.
    • 1917 – Three children report the first apparition of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal.
    • 1940 – World War II: Germany’s conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his “blood, toil, tears, and sweat” speech to the House of Commons.
    • 1940 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees her country to Great Britain after the German invasion. Princess Juliana takes her children to Canada for their safety.
    • 1941 – World War II: Yugoslav royal colonel Dragoljub Mihailović starts fighting against German occupation troops, beginning the Serbian resistance.
    • 1943 – World War II: Operations Vulcan and Strike force the surrender of the last Axis troops in Tunisia.
    • 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre is committed by Arab irregulars, the day before the declaration of independence of the state of Israel on May 14.
    • 1950 – The first round of the Formula One World Championship is held at Silverstone.
    • 1951 – The 400th anniversary of the founding of the National University of San Marcos is commemorated by the opening of the first large-capacity stadium in Peru.
    • 1952 – The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting.
    • 1954 – The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese middle school students in Singapore, take place.
    • 1954 – The original Broadway production of The Pajama Game opens and runs for another 1,063 performances. Later received three Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, and Best Choreography.
    • 1958 – During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard Nixon’s car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
    • 1958 – May 1958 crisis: A group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria.
    • 1958 – Ben Carlin becomes the first (and only) person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) by sea and 62,000 kilometres (39,000 mi) by land during a ten-year journey.
    • 1960 – Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
    • 1967 – Dr. Zakir Husain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of the Indian Union. He holds this position until August 24, 1969.
    • 1969 – May 13 Incident involving sectarian violence in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
    • 1971 – Over 900 unarmed Bengali Hindus are murdered in the Demra massacre.
    • 1972 – Faulty electrical wiring ignites a fire underneath the Playtown Cabaret in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators lead to 118 fatalities, with many victims leaping to their deaths.
    • 1972 – The Troubles: A car bombing outside a crowded pub in Belfast sparks a two-day gun battle involving the Provisional IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force and British Army. Seven people are killed and over 66 injured.
    • 1980 – An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area.
    • 1981 – Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.
    • 1985 – Police bombed MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia to end a stand-off, killing six adults and five children, and destroying the homes of 250 city residents.
    • 1989 – Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.
    • 1990 – The Dinamo–Red Star riot took place at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia between the Bad Blue Boys (fans of Dinamo Zagreb) and the Delije (fans of Red Star Belgrade).
    • 1992 – Li Hongzhi gives the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People’s Republic of China.
    • 1995 – Alison Hargreaves, a 33-year-old British mother, becomes the first woman to conquer Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas.
    • 1996 – Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
    • 1998 – Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped.
    • 1998 – India carries out two nuclear weapon tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
    • 2005 – Andijan uprising, Uzbekistan; Troops open fire on crowds of protestors after a prison break; at least 187 people were killed according to official estimates.
    • 2006 – São Paulo violence: Rebellions occur in several prisons in Brazil.
    • 2011 – Two bombs explode in the Charsadda District of Pakistan killing 98 people and wounding 140 others.
    • 2012 – Forty-nine dismembered bodies are discovered by Mexican authorities on Mexican Federal Highway 40.
    • 2013 – American physician Kermit Gosnell is found guilty in Pennsylvania of murdering three infants born alive during attempted abortions, involuntary manslaughter of a woman during an abortion procedure, and other charges.
    • 2014 – An explosion at an underground coal mine in southwest Turkey kills 301 miners.

    Births on  May 13

    • 1024 – Hugh of Cluny, French abbot and saint (d. 1109)
    • 1179 – Theobald III, Count of Champagne (d. 1201)
    • 1221 – Alexander Nevsky, Russian prince and saint (d. 1263)
    • 1254 – Marie of Brabant, Queen of France (d. 1321)
    • 1453 – Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran, Scottish princess (d. 1488)
    • 1588 – Ole Worm, Danish physician and historian (d. 1654)
    • 1597 – Cornelis Schut, Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver (d. 1655)
    • 1638 – Richard Simon, French priest and scholar (d. 1712)
    • 1699 – Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1782)
    • 1712 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician and diplomat (d. 1772)
    • 1713 – Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (d. 1765)
    • 1717 – Maria Theresa, Archduchess, Queen, and Empress; Austrian wife of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1780)
    • 1730 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1782)
    • 1735 – Horace Coignet, French violinist and composer (d. 1821)
    • 1742 – Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (d. 1798)
    • 1753 – Lazare Carnot, French general, mathematician, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1823)
    • 1792 – Pope Pius IX (d. 1878)
    • 1794 – Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (d. 1835)
    • 1795 – Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist and chronologist (d. 1875)
    • 1811 – Juan Bautista Ceballos, President of Mexico (1853) (b. 1859)
    • 1822 – Francis, Duke of Cádiz (d. 1902)
    • 1830 – Zebulon Baird Vance, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of North Carolina (d. 1894)
    • 1832 – Juris Alunāns, Latvian philologist and author (d. 1864)
    • 1840 – Alphonse Daudet, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1897)
    • 1842 – Arthur Sullivan, English composer (d. 1900)
    • 1853 – Vaiben Louis Solomon, Australian politician, 21st Premier of South Australia (d. 1908)
    • 1856 – Tom O’Rourke, American boxer and manager (d. 1938)
    • 1857 – Ronald Ross, Indian-English physician and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
    • 1868 – Sumner Paine, American target shooter (d. 1904)
    • 1869 – Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Turkish writer (d. 1944)
    • 1877 – Robert Hamilton, Scottish international footballer (d. 1948)
    • 1881 – Lima Barreto, Brazilian journalist and author (d. 1922)
    • 1881 – Joe Forshaw, American runner (d. 1964)
    • 1882 – Georges Braque, French painter and sculptor (d. 1963)
    • 1883 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the pap smear (d. 1962)
    • 1884 – Oskar Rosenfeld, Jewish-Austrian writer and Holocaust victim (d.1944)
    • 1885 – Mikiel Gonzi, Maltese archbishop (d. 1984)
    • 1887 – Lorna Hodgkinson, Australian educator and educational psychologist (d. 1951)
    • 1888 – Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist and geophysicist (d. 1993)
    • 1894 – Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, Icelandic politician, 2nd President of Iceland (d. 1972)
    • 1895 – Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist, parapsychologist, and author (d. 1964)
    • 1901 – Murilo Mendes, Brazilian poet and telegrapher (d. 1975)
    • 1904 – Louis Duffus, Australian-South African cricketer and journalist (d. 1984)
    • 1905 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th President of India (d. 1977)
    • 1907 – Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (d. 1989)
    • 1908 – Eugen Kapp, Estonian composer and educator (d. 1996)
    • 1909 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (d. 1992)
    • 1911 – Robert Middleton, American actor (d. 1977)
    • 1911 – Maxine Sullivan, American singer and actress (d. 1987)
    • 1912 – Gil Evans, Canadian-American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1988)
    • 1912 – Judah Nadich, American colonel and rabbi (d. 2007)
    • 1913 – Robert Dorning, English actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1989)
    • 1913 – Theo Helfrich, German racing driver (d. 1978)
    • 1913 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (d. 1980)
    • 1914 – Joe Louis, American boxer (d. 1981)
    • 1914 – Johnnie Wright, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
    • 1914 – Antonia Ferrín Moreiras, Spanish mathematician, academic, and astronomer (d. 2009)
    • 1916 – Sachidananda Routray, Indian Oriya-language poet (d. 2004)
    • 1918 – Balasaraswati, Indian dancer and instructor (d. 1984)
    • 1918 – Gwyn Howells, Australian public servant (d. 1997)
    • 1920 – Gareth Morris, English flute player (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Michael Ainsworth, English cricketer (d. 1978)
    • 1922 – Otl Aicher, German graphic designer and typographer (d. 1991)
    • 1922 – Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (d. 2009)
    • 1923 – Ruth Adler Schnee, German-American textile designer and interior designer
    • 1924 – Theodore Mann, American director and producer (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Harry Schwarz, South African anti-apartheid leader, lawyer, and Ambassador (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Archie Scott Brown, Scottish race car driver (d. 1958)
    • 1927 – Fred Hellerman, American folk singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – Herbert Ross, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2001)
    • 1928 – Enrique Bolaños, Nicaraguan politician, President of Nicaragua
    • 1928 – Édouard Molinaro, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – John Galvin, American general (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Mike Gravel, American lieutenant and politician
    • 1930 – José Jiménez Lozano, Spanish journalist and author
    • 1930 – Vernon Shaw, Dominican politician, 5th President of Dominica (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Jim Jones, American cult leader, founder of the Peoples Temple (d. 1978)
    • 1931 – Sydney Lipworth, South African-English lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist
    • 1933 – John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (d. 2002)
    • 1934 – Ehud Netzer, Israeli archaeologist, architect, and academic (d. 2010)
    • 1934 – Leon Wagner, American baseball player and actor (d. 2004)
    • 1935 – Dominic Cossa, American opera singer
    • 1935 – Jan Saudek, Czech photographer and painter
    • 1935 – Kája Saudek, Czech author and illustrator (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – Bill Rompkey, Canadian educator and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1937 – Trevor Baylis, English inventor, invented the wind-up radio (d. 2018)
    • 1937 – Roch Carrier, Canadian librarian and author
    • 1937 – Zohra Lampert, American actress
    • 1937 – Beverley Owen, American actress (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Roger Zelazny, American author and poet (d. 1995)
    • 1938 – Giuliano Amato, Italian academic and politician, 48th Prime Minister of Italy
    • 1938 – Laurent Beaudoin, Canadian businessman
    • 1938 – Anna Cropper, British actress (d. 2007)
    • 1938 – Francine Pascal, American author and playwright
    • 1938 – Buck Taylor, American actor
    • 1939 – Hildrun Claus, German long jumper
    • 1939 – Peter Frenkel, German race walker and coach
    • 1939 – Harvey Keitel, American actor
    • 1940 – Bruce Chatwin, English author (d. 1989)
    • 1940 – Kōkichi Tsuburaya, Japanese runner (d. 1968)
    • 1941 – Senta Berger, Austrian actress
    • 1941 – Joe Brown, English singer and musician
    • 1941 – Jody Conradt, American basketball player and coach
    • 1941 – Ritchie Valens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1959)
    • 1942 – Leighton Gage, American author (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Roger Young, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Anthony Clarke, Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, English lawyer and judge
    • 1943 – Kurt Trampedach, Danish painter and sculptor (d. 2013)
    • 1943 – Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1944 – Sir Crispin Agnew, 11th Baronet, Scottish explorer, lawyer, and judge
    • 1944 – Robert L. Crawford Jr., American actor
    • 1944 – Carolyn Franklin, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
    • 1944 – Armistead Maupin, American author, screenwriter, and actor
    • 1945 – Lasse Berghagen, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1945 – Magic Dick, American blues-rock harmonica, trumpet, and saxophone player
    • 1945 – Lou Marini, American saxophonist and composer
    • 1946 – Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor and author (d. 2017)
    • 1946 – Jean Rondeau, French race car driver and constructor (d. 1985)
    • 1946 – Marv Wolfman, American author
    • 1947 – Charles Baxter, American novelist, essayist, and poet
    • 1947 – Edgar Burcksen, Dutch-American film editor
    • 1948 – Sheila Jeffreys, English-Australian political scientist, author, and academic
    • 1948 – Dean Meminger, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1949 – Jane Glover, English conductor and scholar
    • 1949 – Zoë Wanamaker, American-British actress
    • 1949 – Philip Kruse, Norwegian trumpeter and orchestra leader
    • 1950 – Andy Cunningham, English actor (d. 2011)
    • 1950 – Danny Kirwan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
    • 1950 – Joe Johnston, American film director and effects artist
    • 1950 – Manning Marable, American author and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1950 – Bobby Valentine, American baseball player and manager
    • 1950 – Stevie Wonder, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1951 – Rosie Boycott, English journalist and author
    • 1951 – Sharon Sayles Belton, American politician, 45th Mayor of Minneapolis
    • 1951 – Anand Modak, Indian composer and director (d. 2014)
    • 1951 – Herman Philipse, Dutch philosopher and academic
    • 1951 – Selina Scott, English journalist, producer, and author
    • 1951 – Paul Thompson, English drummer
    • 1952 – John Kasich, American politician, 69th Governor of Ohio
    • 1952 – Mary Walsh, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Londa Schiebinger, American academic and author
    • 1953 – Zlatko Burić, Croat-Danish actor
    • 1953 – Gerry Sutcliffe, English politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
    • 1953 – David Voelker, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
    • 1953 – Harm Wiersma, Dutch draughts player and politician
    • 1953 – Ruth A. David, American electrical engineer
    • 1954 – Johnny Logan, Australian-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1956 – Richard Madeley, English journalist and author
    • 1956 – Fred Melamed, American actor
    • 1956 – Kailash Vijayvargiya, National General Secretary of Bhartiya Janta Party
    • 1957 – Alan Ball, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Frances Barber, English actress
    • 1957 – Mark Heap, English actor
    • 1957 – David Hill, English organist and conductor
    • 1957 – Mar Roxas, Filipino economist and politician, 24th Filipino Secretary of the Interior
    • 1957 – Koji Suzuki, Japanese author and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Anthony Ray Parker, American actor
    • 1961 – Siobhan Fallon Hogan, American actress
    • 1961 – Dennis Rodman, American basketball player, wrestler, and actor
    • 1962 – Paul Burstow, English politician
    • 1962 – Nick Hurd, English businessman and politician, Minister for Civil Society
    • 1963 – Andrea Leadsom, English politician
    • 1963 – Wally Masur, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Stephen Colbert, American comedian and talk show host
    • 1964 – Chris Maitland, English drummer
    • 1964 – Tom Verica, American actor, television director, and producer
    • 1965 – José Antonio Delgado, Venezuelan mountaineer (d. 2006)
    • 1965 – Tasmin Little, English violinist and educator
    • 1965 – János Marozsán, Hungarian footballer
    • 1965 – Hikari Ōta, Japanese comedian and actor
    • 1965 – José Rijo, Dominican baseball player
    • 1965 – Lari White, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (d. 2018)
    • 1966 – Alison Goldfrapp, English singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1966 – Darius Rucker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1967 – Tish Cyrus, American actress and film producer
    • 1967 – Shon Greenblatt, American actor
    • 1967 – Tommy Gunn, pornographic actor
    • 1967 – Chuck Schuldiner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
    • 1967 – Melanie Thornton, American-German singer (d. 2001)
    • 1968 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician (d. 1997)
    • 1968 – Susan Floyd, American actress
    • 1968 – Scott Morrison, Australian politician, 30th Prime Minister of Australia
    • 1968 – PMD, American rapper
    • 1968 – Dmitriy Shevchenko, Russian discus thrower and coach
    • 1969 – Buckethead, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1969 – Nikos Aliagas, French-Greek journalist and television host
    • 1970 – Doug Evans, American football player
    • 1970 – Robert Maćkowiak, Polish sprinter
    • 1971 – Imogen Boorman, English actress and martial artist
    • 1971 – Rob Fredrickson, American football player
    • 1971 – Espen Lind, Norwegian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1971 – Tom Nalen, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Stefaan Maene, Belgian swimmer
    • 1972 – Darryl Sydor, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1972 – Pieta van Dishoeck, Dutch rower
    • 1973 – Eric Lewis, American pianist
    • 1973 – Bridgett Riley, American boxer and stuntwoman
    • 1975 – Jamie Allison, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Cristian Bezzi, Italian rugby player and coach
    • 1975 – Brian Geraghty, American actor
    • 1976 – Mark Delaney, Welsh footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Trajan Langdon, American basketball player and scout
    • 1976 – Ana Popović, Serbian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1976 – Magdalena Walach, Polish actress
    • 1977 – Ilse DeLange, Dutch singer-songwriter
    • 1977 – Anthony Q. Farrell, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter
    • 1977 – Robby Hammock, American baseball player and coach
    • 1977 – Neil Hopkins, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1977 – James Middlebrook, English cricketer
    • 1977 – Samantha Morton, English actress and director
    • 1977 – Brian Thomas Smith, American actor and producer
    • 1977 – Pusha T, American rapper
    • 1978 – Brooke Anderson, American journalist
    • 1978 – Mike Bibby, American basketball player and coach
    • 1978 – Ryan Bukvich, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Germán Magariños, Argentinian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1978 – Dilshan Vitharana, Sri Lankan cricketer
    • 1978 – Barry Zito, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Nuwan Zoysa, Sri Lankan cricketer
    • 1979 – Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
    • 1979 – Steve Mildenhall, English footballer
    • 1979 – Vyacheslav Shevchuk, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1980 – L. J. Smith, American football player
    • 1981 – Luciana Berger, English politician
    • 1981 – Nicolas Jeanjean, French rugby player
    • 1981 – Sunny Leone, Canadian American actress, model, and pornstar
    • 1981 – Michael Mantenuto, American actor (d. 2017)
    • 1981 – Shaun Phillips, American football player
    • 1981 – Ryan Piers Williams, American actor and film director
    • 1982 – Albert Crusat, Spanish footballer
    • 1982 – Larry Fonacier, Filipino basketball player
    • 1982 – Oguchi Onyewu, American soccer player
    • 1983 – Natalie Cassidy, English actress and singer
    • 1983 – Anita Görbicz, Hungarian handball player
    • 1983 – Johnny Hoogerland, Dutch cyclist
    • 1983 – Grégory Lemarchal, French singer (d. 2007)
    • 1983 – Jacob Reynolds, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Yaya Touré, Ivorian footballer
    • 1984 – J. B. Cox, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Benny Dayal, Indian singer
    • 1984 – Dawn Harper, American hurdler
    • 1984 – Caroline Rotich, Kenyan runner
    • 1985 – Javier Balboa, Spanish-Equatoguinean footballer
    • 1985 – Jaroslav Halák, Slovak ice hockey player
    • 1985 – David Hernandez, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Carolina Luján, Argentine chess player
    • 1985 – Iwan Rheon, Welsh actor and singer
    • 1985 – Travis Zajac, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Lena Dunham, American actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1986 – Eun-Hee Ji, South Korean golfer
    • 1986 – Robert Pattinson, English actor
    • 1986 – Alexander Rybak, Belarusian-Norwegian singer-songwriter, violinist, and actor
    • 1986 – Scott Sutter, English footballer
    • 1986 – Nino Schurter, Swiss cyclist
    • 1986 – Kris Versteeg, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Antonio Adán, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Hugo Becker, French actor
    • 1987 – Matt Doyle, American actor and singer
    • 1987 – Laura Izibor, Irish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1987 – Candice King, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1987 – Sandro Mareco, Argentine chess player
    • 1987 – Hunter Parrish, American actor and singer
    • 1987 – Marianne Vos, Dutch cyclist
    • 1987 – Charlotte Wessels, Dutch singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Bobby Shuttleworth, American soccer player
    • 1988 – Paulo Avelino, Filipino actor and singer
    • 1988 – Didier Cohen, Australian DJ, producer and media personality
    • 1988 – Casey Donovan, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1989 – P. K. Subban, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Mychal Givens, American baseball player
    • 1991 – Jennifer Beattie, Scottish footballer
    • 1991 – Anders Fannemel, Norwegian ski jumper
    • 1992 – Bill Arnold, American ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Willson Contreras, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1992 – Josh Papalii, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Georgina García Pérez, Spanish tennis player
    • 1993 – Stefan Kraft, Austrian ski jumper
    • 1993 – Debby Ryan, American actress and singer
    • 1993 – Romelu Lukaku, Belgian footballer
    • 1993 – Siim-Tanel Sammelselg, Estonian ski jumper
    • 1993 – Tones and I, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1994 – Łukasz Moneta, Polish footballer
    • 1997 – Reimis Smith, Australian rugby league player

    Deaths on May 13

    • 189 – Emperor Ling of Han, Chinese emperor (b. 156)
    • 1112 – Ulric II, Margrave of Carniola
    • 1176 – Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1119)
    • 1285 – Robert de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros
    • 1312 – Theobald II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1263)
    • 1573 – Takeda Shingen, Japanese daimyō (b. 1521)
    • 1619 – Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch politician (b. 1547)
    • 1704 – Louis Bourdaloue, French preacher and author (b. 1632)
    • 1726 – Francesco Antonio Pistocchi, Italian singer (b. 1659)
    • 1782 – Daniel Solander, Swedish-English botanist and phycologist (b. 1736)
    • 1807 – Eliphalet Dyer, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1721)
    • 1809 – Beilby Porteus, English bishop (b. 1731)
    • 1832 – Georges Cuvier, French zoologist and academic (b. 1769)
    • 1835 – John Nash, English architect, designed the Royal Pavilion (b. 1752)
    • 1866 – Nikolai Brashman, Czech-Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1796)
    • 1878 – Joseph Henry, American physicist and academic (b. 1797)
    • 1884 – Cyrus McCormick, American businessman, co-founded the International Harvester Company (b. 1809)
    • 1885 – Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German physician, pathologist, and anatomist (b. 1809)
    • 1903 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (b. 1864)
    • 1916 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (b. 1859)
    • 1921 – Jean Aicard, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1848)
    • 1926 – Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian-American bishop (b. 1857)
    • 1929 – Arthur Scherbius, German electrical engineer, invented the Enigma machine (b. 1878)
    • 1930 – Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian scientist, explorer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
    • 1938 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
    • 1941 – Frederick Christian, English cricketer (b. 1877)
    • 1941 – Ōnishiki Uichirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 26th Yokozuna (b. 1891)
    • 1945 – Tubby Hall, American drummer (b. 1895)
    • 1946 – Zara DuPont, American suffragist (b. 1869)
    • 1947 – Sukanta Bhattacharya, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1926)
    • 1948 – Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington (b. 1920)
    • 1957 – Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (b. 1886)
    • 1961 – Gary Cooper, American actor (b. 1901)
    • 1962 – Henry Trendley Dean, American dentist (b. 1893)
    • 1962 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (b. 1910)
    • 1963 – Alois Hudal, Austrian-Italian bishop (b. 1885)
    • 1972 – Dan Blocker, American actor (b. 1928)
    • 1974 – Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican poet and diplomat (b. 1902)
    • 1974 – Arthur J. Burks, American colonel and author (b. 1898)
    • 1975 – Bob Wills, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1905)
    • 1977 – Mickey Spillane, American mobster (b. 1934)
    • 1985 – Leatrice Joy, American actress (b. 1893)
    • 1985 – Richard Ellmann, American literary critic and biographer (b. 1918)
    • 1988 – Chet Baker, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1929)
    • 1992 – F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor (b. 1909)
    • 1994 – Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver (b. 1920)
    • 1994 – John Swainson, Canadian-American jurist and politician, 42nd Governor of Michigan (b. 1925)
    • 1995 – Hao Wang, Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (b. 1921)
    • 1999 – Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, Saudi Arabian scholar and academic (b. 1910)
    • 1999 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer and journalist (b. 1902)
    • 2000 – Paul Bartel, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
    • 2000 – Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese wrestler (b. 1951)
    • 2001 – Jason Miller, American actor and playwright (b. 1939)
    • 2002 – Ruth Cracknell, Australian actress and author (b. 1925)
    • 2002 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
    • 2005 – Eddie Barclay, French record producer, founded Barclay Records (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – George Dantzig, American mathematician and academic (b. 1914)
    • 2006 – Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian and scholar (b. 1923)
    • 2006 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (b. 1949)
    • 2008 – Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1930)
    • 2008 – Ron Stone, American journalist and author (b. 1936)
    • 2009 – Frank Aletter, American actor (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Meir Brandsdorfer, Belgian rabbi (b. 1934)
    • 2009 – Achille Compagnoni, Italian skier and mountaineer (b. 1914)
    • 2011 – Derek Boogaard, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1982)
    • 2011 – Stephen De Staebler, American sculptor and educator (b. 1933)
    • 2011 – Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, co-founded McCain Foods (b. 1930)
    • 2011 – Bruce Ricker, American director and producer (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Arsala Rahmani Daulat, Afghan politician (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Donald “Duck” Dunn, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (b. 1941)
    • 2012 – Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Cuban-American theologian, author, and academic (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Lee Richardson, English speedway rider (b. 1979)
    • 2012 – Don Ritchie, Australian humanitarian (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Nguyễn Văn Thiện, Vietnamese bishop (b. 1906)
    • 2013 – Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, author, and actress (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Otto Herrigel, Namibian lawyer and politician (b. 1937)
    • 2013 – Jagdish Mali, Indian photographer (b. 1954)
    • 2013 – Chuck Muncie, American football player (b. 1953)
    • 2013 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (b. 1973)
    • 2013 – Lynne Woolstencroft, Canadian politician (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – David Malet Armstrong, Australian philosopher and author (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Malik Bendjelloul, Swedish director and producer (b. 1977)
    • 2014 – J. F. Coleman, American soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Ron Stevens, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (b. 1948)
    • 2015 – Earl Averill, Jr., American baseball player (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Robert Drasnin, American clarinet player and composer (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – David Sackett, American-Canadian physician and academic (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Gainan Saidkhuzhin, Russian cyclist (b. 1937)
    • 2018 – Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress (b. 1948)
    • 2019 – Doris Day, American singer and actress (b. 1922)
    • 2019 – Unita Blackwell, American civil rights activist, and politician (b. 1933)

    Holidays and observances on May 13

    • Abbotsbury Garland Day (Dorset, England)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Our Lady of Fátima
      • Gerard of Villamagna
      • Glyceria
      • John the Silent (Roman Catholic)
      • Julian of Norwich (Roman Catholic)
      • Frances Perkins (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Servatius
      • May 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Rotuma Day (Rotuma)
  • |

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

    • 33 BC – Lucius Marcius Philippus, step-brother to the future emperor Augustus, celebrates a triumph for his victories while serving as governor in one of the provinces of Hispania.
    • 395 – Emperor Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto. She becomes one of the more powerful Roman empresses of Late Antiquity.
    • 629 – Shahrbaraz is crowned as king of the Sasanian Empire.
    • 711 – Islamic conquest of Hispania: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus).
    • 1296 – First War of Scottish Independence: John Balliol’s Scottish army is defeated by an English army commanded by John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey at the Battle of Dunbar.
    • 1509 – Pope Julius II places the Italian state of Venice under interdict.
    • 1521 – Battle of Mactan: Explorer Ferdinand Magellan is killed by natives in the Philippines led by chief Lapu-Lapu.
    • 1522 – Combined forces of Spain and the Papal States defeat a French and Venetian army at the Battle of Bicocca.
    • 1539 – Re-founding of the city of Bogotá, New Granada (now Colombia), by Nikolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Belalcázar.
    • 1565 – Cebu is established becoming the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines.
    • 1578 – Duel of the Mignons claims the lives of two favourites of Henry III of France and two favorites of Henry I, Duke of Guise.
    • 1595 – The relics of Saint Sava are incinerated in Belgrade on the Vračar plateau by Ottoman Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha; the site of the incineration is now the location of the Church of Saint Sava, one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world.
    • 1650 – The Battle of Carbisdale: A Royalist army from Orkney invades mainland Scotland but is defeated by a Covenanter army.
    • 1667 – Blind and impoverished, John Milton sells Paradise Lost to a printer for £10, so that it could be entered into the Stationers’ Register.
    • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Ridgefield: A British invasion force engages and defeats Continental Army regulars and militia irregulars at Ridgefield, Connecticut.
    • 1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines and Berbers attack the Tripolitan city of Derna (The “shores of Tripoli” part of the Marines’ Hymn).
    • 1813 – War of 1812: American troops capture York, the capital of Upper Canada, in the Battle of York.
    • 1861 – American President Abraham Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus.
    • 1865 – The New York State Senate creates Cornell University as the state’s land grant institution.
    • 1906 – The State Duma of the Russian Empire meets for the first time.
    • 1909 – Sultan of Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Mehmed V.
    • 1911 – Following the resignation and death of William P. Frye, a compromise is reached to rotate the office of President pro tempore of the United States Senate.
    • 1927 – Carabineros de Chile (Chilean national police force and gendarmerie) are created.
    • 1936 – The United Auto Workers (UAW) gains autonomy from the American Federation of Labor.
    • 1941 – World War II: German troops enter Athens.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Communist Party of Slovenia, the Slovene Christian Socialists, the left-wing Slovene Sokols (also known as “National Democrats”) and a group of progressive intellectuals establish the Liberation Front of the Slovene Nation.
    • 1945 – World War II: The last German formations withdraw from Finland to Norway. The Lapland War and thus, World War II in Finland, comes to an end and the Raising the Flag on the Three-Country Cairn photograph is taken.
    • 1945 – World War II: Benito Mussolini is arrested by Italian partisans in Dongo, while attempting escape disguised as a German soldier.
    • 1953 – Operation Moolah offers $50,000 to any pilot who defected with a fully mission-capable Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 to South Korea. The first pilot was to receive $100,000.
    • 1960 – Togo gains independence from French-administered UN trusteeship.
    • 1961 – Sierra Leone is granted its independence from the United Kingdom, with Milton Margai as the first Prime Minister.
    • 1967 – Expo 67 officially opens in Montreal, Quebec, Canada with a large opening ceremony broadcast around the world. It opens to the public the next day.
    • 1974 – Ten thousand march in Washington, D.C., calling for the impeachment of U.S. President Richard Nixon.
    • 1978 – Former United States President Nixon aide John D. Ehrlichman is released from an Arizona prison after serving 18 months for Watergate-related crimes.
    • 1978 – The Saur Revolution begins in Afghanistan, ending the following morning with the murder of Afghan President Mohammed Daoud Khan and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
    • 1981 – Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse.
    • 1986 – The city of Pripyat and surrounding areas are evacuated due to Chernobyl disaster.
    • 1987 – The U.S. Department of Justice bars Austrian President Kurt Waldheim (and his wife, Elisabeth, who had also been a Nazi) from entering the US, charging that he had aided in the deportations and executions of thousands of Jews and others as a German Army officer during World War II.
    • 1989 – The April 27 demonstrations, student-led protests responding to the April 26 Editorial, during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.
    • 1992 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, comprising Serbia and Montenegro, is proclaimed.
    • 1992 – Betty Boothroyd becomes the first woman to be elected Speaker of the British House of Commons in its 700-year history.
    • 1992 – The Russian Federation and 12 other former Soviet republics become members of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
    • 1993 – Most of the Zambia national football team lose their lives in a plane crash off Libreville, Gabon en route to Dakar, Senegal to play a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Senegal.
    • 1994 – South African general election: The first democratic general election in South Africa, in which black citizens could vote. The Interim Constitution comes into force.
    • 2005 – Airbus A380 aircraft had its maiden test flight.
    • 2006 – Construction begins on the Freedom Tower (later renamed One World Trade Center) in New York City.
    • 2007 – Estonian authorities remove the Bronze Soldier, a Soviet Red Army war memorial in Tallinn, amid political controversy with Russia.
    • 2007 – Israeli archaeologists discover the tomb of Herod the Great south of Jerusalem.
    • 2011 – The 2011 Super Outbreak devastates parts of the Southeastern United States, especially the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. 205 tornadoes touched down on April 27 alone, killing more than 300 and injuring hundreds more.
    • 2012 – At least four explosions hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipropetrovsk with at least 27 people injured.
    • 2018 – The Panmunjom Declaration is signed between North and South Korea, officially declaring their intentions to end the Korean conflict.

    Births on April 27

    • 85 BC – Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus, Roman politician and general (d. 43 BC)
    • 1468 – Frederick Jagiellon, Primate of Poland (d. 1503)
    • 1564 – Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland (d. 1632)
    • 1556 – François Béroalde de Verville, French writer (d. 1626)
    • 1593 – Mumtaz Mahal, Mughal empress buried at the Taj Mahal (d. 1631)
    • 1650 – Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel, Queen Consort of Denmark (1670-1699) (d. 1714)
    • 1654 – Charles Blount, English deist and philosopher (d. 1693)
    • 1701 – Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (d. 1773)
    • 1718 – Thomas Lewis, Irish-born American surveyor and lawyer (d. 1790)
    • 1748 – Adamantios Korais, Greek-French philosopher and scholar (d. 1833)
    • 1755 – Marc-Antoine Parseval, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1836)
    • 1759 – Mary Wollstonecraft, English philosopher, historian, and novelist (d. 1797)
    • 1788 – Charles Robert Cockerell, English architect, archaeologist, and writer (d. 1863)
    • 1791 – Samuel Morse, American painter and inventor, co-invented the Morse code (d. 1872)
    • 1812 – William W. Snow, American lawyer and politician (d. 1886)
    • 1812 – Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (d. 1883)
    • 1820 – Herbert Spencer, English biologist, anthropologist, sociologist, and philosopher (d. 1903)
    • 1822 – Ulysses S. Grant, American general and politician, 18th President of the United States (d. 1885)
    • 1840 – Edward Whymper, English-French mountaineer, explorer, author, and illustrator (d. 1911)
    • 1848 – Otto of Bavaria (d. 1916)
    • 1850 – Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German general and politician (d. 1921)
    • 1853 – Jules Lemaître, French playwright and critic (d. 1914)
    • 1857 – Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian painter and illustrator (d. 1914)
    • 1861 – William Arms Fisher, American composer and music historian (d. 1948)
    • 1866 – Maurice Raoul-Duval, French polo player (d. 1916)
    • 1875 – Frederick Fane, Irish-born, English cricketer (d. 1960)
    • 1880 – Mihkel Lüdig, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1958)
    • 1882 – Jessie Redmon Fauset, American author and poet (d. 1961)
    • 1887 – Warren Wood, American golfer (d. 1926)
    • 1888 – Florence La Badie, Canadian actress (d. 1917)
    • 1891 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1953)
    • 1893 – Draža Mihailović, Serbian general (d. 1946)
    • 1893 – Allen Sothoron, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1939)
    • 1894 – George Petty, American painter and illustrator (d. 1975)
    • 1894 – Nicolas Slonimsky, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1995)
    • 1896 – Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1963)
    • 1896 – William Hudson, New Zealand-Australian engineer (d. 1978)
    • 1896 – Wallace Carothers, American chemist and inventor of nylon (d. 1937)
    • 1898 – Ludwig Bemelmans, Italian-American author and illustrator (d. 1962)
    • 1899 – Walter Lantz, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and actor (d. 1994)
    • 1900 – August Koern, Estonian politician and diplomat, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs in exile (d. 1989)
    • 1902 – Tiemoko Garan Kouyaté, Malian educator and activist (d. 1942)
    • 1904 – Cecil Day-Lewis, Anglo-Irish poet and author (d. 1972)
    • 1904 – Nikos Zachariadis, Greek politician (d. 1973)
    • 1905 – John Kuck, American javelin thrower and shot putter (d. 1986)
    • 1906 – Yiorgos Theotokas, Greek author and playwright (d. 1966)
    • 1910 – Chiang Ching-kuo, Chinese politician, 3rd President of the Republic of China (d. 1988)
    • 1911 – Bruno Beger, German anthropologist and ethnologist (d. 2009)
    • 1911 – Chris Berger, Dutch sprinter and footballer (d. 1965)
    • 1912 – Jacques de Bourbon-Busset, French author and politician (d. 2001)
    • 1912 – Zohra Sehgal, Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2014)
    • 1913 – Philip Abelson, American physicist and author (d. 2004)
    • 1913 – Irving Adler, American mathematician, author, and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1913 – Luz Long, German long jumper and soldier (d. 1943)
    • 1916 – Robert Hugh McWilliams, Jr., American sergeant, lawyer, and judge (d. 2013)
    • 1916 – Enos Slaughter, American baseball player and manager (d. 2002)
    • 1917 – Roman Matsov, Estonian violinist, pianist, and conductor (d. 2001)
    • 1918 – Sten Rudholm, Swedish lawyer and jurist (d. 2008)
    • 1920 – Guido Cantelli, Italian conductor (d. 1956)
    • 1920 – Mark Krasnosel’skii, Ukrainian mathematician and academic (d. 1997)
    • 1920 – James Robert Mann, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (d. 2010)
    • 1920 – Edwin Morgan, Scottish poet and translator (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Robert Dhéry, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1922 – Jack Klugman, American actor (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Sheila Scott, English nurse and pilot (d. 1988)
    • 1923 – Betty Mae Tiger Jumper, Seminole chief (d. 2011)
    • 1924 – Vernon B. Romney, American lawyer and politician, 14th Attorney General of Utah (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Derek Chinnery, English broadcaster (d. 2015)
    • 1926 – Tim LaHaye, American minister, activist, and author (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Basil A. Paterson, American lawyer and politician, 59th Secretary of State of New York (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Alan Reynolds, English painter and educator (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Coretta Scott King, African-American activist and author (d. 2006)
    • 1927 – Joe Moakley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2001)
    • 1929 – Nina Ponomaryova, Russian discus thrower and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1931 – Igor Oistrakh, Ukrainian violinist and educator
    • 1932 – Anouk Aimée, French actress
    • 1932 – Pik Botha, South African lawyer, politician, and diplomat, 8th South African Ambassador to the United States (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Casey Kasem, American disc jockey, music historian, radio celebrity, and voice actor; co-created American Top 40 (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Chuck Knox, American football coach (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Derek Minter, English motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Gian-Carlo Rota, Italian-American mathematician and philosopher (d. 1999)
    • 1933 – Peter Imbert, Baron Imbert, English police officer and politician, Lord Lieutenant for Greater London (d. 2017)
    • 1935 – Theodoros Angelopoulos, Greek director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Ron Morris, American pole vaulter and coach
    • 1936 – Geoffrey Shovelton, English singer and illustrator (d. 2016)
    • 1937 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (d. 1992)
    • 1937 – Robin Eames, Irish Anglican archbishop
    • 1937 – Richard Perham, English biologist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Earl Anthony, American bowler and sportscaster (d. 2001)
    • 1938 – Alain Caron, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1986)
    • 1939 – Judy Carne, English actress and comedian (d. 2015)
    • 1939 – Stanisław Dziwisz, Polish cardinal
    • 1941 – Fethullah Gülen, Turkish preacher and theologian
    • 1941 – Dilip Kumar Chakrabarti, Indian archaeologist
    • 1941 – Lee Roy Jordan, American football player
    • 1942 – Ruth Glick, American author
    • 1942 – Jim Keltner, American drummer
    • 1943 – Helmut Marko, Austrian race car driver and manager
    • 1944 – Michael Fish, English meteorologist and journalist
    • 1944 – Cuba Gooding Sr., American singer (d. 2017)
    • 1944 – Herb Pedersen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – Martin Chivers, English footballer and manager
    • 1945 – Jack Deverell, English general
    • 1945 – Helen Hodgman, Scottish-Australian author
    • 1945 – Terry Willesee, Australian journalist and television host
    • 1945 – August Wilson, American author and playwright (d. 2005)
    • 1946 – Franz Roth, German footballer
    • 1947 – G. K. Butterfield, African-American soldier, lawyer, and politician
    • 1947 – Nick Greiner, Hungarian-Australian politician, 37th Premier of New South Wales
    • 1947 – Pete Ham, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
    • 1947 – Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2003)
    • 1947 – Ann Peebles, American soul singer-songwriter
    • 1948 – Frank Abagnale Jr., American security consultant and criminal
    • 1948 – Josef Hickersberger, Austrian footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1948 – Kate Pierson, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1949 – Grant Chapman, Australian businessman and politician
    • 1950 – Jaime Fresnedi, Filipino politician
    • 1950 – Paul Lockyer, Australian journalist (d. 2011)
    • 1951 – Ace Frehley, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1952 – Larry Elder, American lawyer and talk show host
    • 1952 – George Gervin, American basketball player
    • 1952 – Ari Vatanen, Finnish race car driver and politician
    • 1953 – Arielle Dombasle, French-American actress and model
    • 1954 – Frank Bainimarama, Fijian commander and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Fiji
    • 1954 – Herman Edwards, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1954 – Mark Holden, Australian singer, actor, and lawyer
    • 1955 – Gudrun Berend, German hurdler (d. 2011)
    • 1955 – Eric Schmidt, American engineer and businessman
    • 1956 – Bryan Harvey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
    • 1956 – Jeff Probyn, English rugby player, coach, and manager
    • 1957 – Willie Upshaw, American baseball player and manager
    • 1959 – Sheena Easton, Scottish-American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer
    • 1959 – Marco Pirroni, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1960 – Mike Krushelnyski, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Andrew Schlafly, American lawyer and activist, founded Conservapedia
    • 1962 – Ángel Comizzo, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1962 – Seppo Räty, Finnish javelin thrower and coach
    • 1962 – Im Sang-soo, South Korean director and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Andrew Selous, English soldier and politician
    • 1963 – Russell T Davies, Welsh screenwriter and producer
    • 1965 – Anna Chancellor, English actress
    • 1966 – Peter McIntyre, Australian cricketer
    • 1966 – Yoshihiro Togashi, Japanese illustrator
    • 1967 – Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands
    • 1967 – Tommy Smith, Scottish saxophonist, composer, and educator
    • 1967 – Erik Thomson, Scottish-New Zealand actor
    • 1967 – Jason Whitlock, American football player and journalist
    • 1968 – Dana Milbank, American journalist and author
    • 1969 – Cory Booker, African-American lawyer and politician
    • 1969 – Darcey Bussell, English ballerina
    • 1971 – Olari Elts, Estonian conductor
    • 1972 – Nigel Barker, English photographer and author
    • 1972 – Almedin Civa, Bosnian footballer and coach
    • 1973 – Duško Adamović, Serbian footballer
    • 1973 – Sharlee D’Angelo, Swedish bass player and songwriter
    • 1973 – Sébastien Lareau, Canadian tennis player
    • 1974 – Frank Catalanotto, American baseball player
    • 1974 – Richard Johnson, Australian footballer
    • 1975 – Rabih Abdullah, American football player
    • 1975 – Chris Carpenter, American baseball player and manager
    • 1975 – Pedro Feliz, Dominican baseball player
    • 1975 – Kazuyoshi Funaki, Japanese ski jumper
    • 1976 – Isobel Campbell, Scottish singer-songwriter and cellist
    • 1976 – Sally Hawkins, English actress
    • 1976 – Walter Pandiani, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1976 – Faisal Saif, Indian director, screenwriter, and critic
    • 1979 – Will Boyd, American bass player
    • 1979 – Natasha Chokljat, Australian netball player
    • 1979 – Vladimir Kozlov, Ukrainian wrestler
    • 1980 – Sybille Bammer, Austrian tennis player
    • 1980 – Talitha Cummins, Australian journalist
    • 1980 – Christian Lara, Ecuadorian footballer
    • 1981 – Joey Gathright, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Patrik Gerrbrand, Swedish footballer
    • 1982 – François Parisien, Canadian cyclist
    • 1982 – Alexander Widiker, German rugby player
    • 1983 – Ari Graynor, American actress and producer
    • 1983 – Martin Viiask, Estonian basketball player
    • 1984 – Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Daniel Holdsworth, Australian rugby league player
    • 1984 – Patrick Stump, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1985 – José António de Miranda da Silva Júnior, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Meselech Melkamu, Ethiopian runner
    • 1986 – Jenna Coleman, English actress
    • 1986 – Hayley Mulheron, Scottish netball player
    • 1986 – Dinara Safina, Russian tennis player
    • 1987 – Taylor Chorney, American ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Elliott Shriane, Australian speed skater
    • 1987 – William Moseley, English actor
    • 1987 – Wang Feifei, Chinese singer and actress
    • 1988 – Joeri Dequevy, Belgian footballer
    • 1988 – Kris Thackray, English footballer
    • 1988 – Semyon Varlamov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Lizzo, American singer and rapper
    • 1989 – Lars Bender, German footballer
    • 1989 – Sven Bender, German footballer
    • 1989 – Tim Glasby, Australian rugby league player
    • 1989 – Dmytro Kozban, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1990 – Trude Raad, Norwegian deaf track and field athlete
    • 1991 – Isaac Cuenca, Spanish footballer
    • 1991 – Eric Fukusaki, Peruvian singer
    • 1991 – Lara Gut, Swiss skier
    • 1992 – Keenan Allen, American football player
    • 1994 – Corey Seager, American baseball player
    • 1995 – Nick Kyrgios, Australian tennis player
    • 1997 – Josh Onomah, English footballer

    Deaths on April 27

    • 630 – Ardashir III of Persia (b. 621)
    • 1160 – Rudolf I, Count of Bregenz (b. 1081)
    • 1272 – Zita, Italian saint (b. 1212)
    • 1321 – Nicolò Albertini, Italian cardinal statesman (b. c. 1250)
    • 1353 – Simeon of Moscow, Grand Prince of Moscow and Vladimir
    • 1403 – Maria of Bosnia, Countess of Helfenstein (b. 1335)
    • 1404 – Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1342)
    • 1463 – Isidore of Kiev (b. 1385)
    • 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan, Portuguese sailor and explorer (b. 1480)
    • 1599 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (b. 1538)
    • 1605 – Pope Leo XI (b. 1535)
    • 1607 – Edward Cromwell, 3rd Baron Cromwell, Governor of Lecale (b. 1560)
    • 1613 – Robert Abercromby, Scottish priest and missionary (b. 1532)
    • 1656 – Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1596)
    • 1694 – John George IV, Elector of Saxony (b. 1668)
    • 1695 – John Trenchard, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1640)
    • 1702 – Jean Bart, French admiral (b. 1651)
    • 1782 – William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, English politician, Lord Steward of the Household (b. 1710)
    • 1813 – Zebulon Pike, American general and explorer (b. 1779)
    • 1873 – William Macready, English actor and manager (b. 1793)
    • 1882 – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet and philosopher (b. 1803)
    • 1893 – John Ballance, Irish-born New Zealand journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1839)
    • 1896 – Henry Parkes, English-Australian businessman and politician, 7th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1815)
    • 1915 – John Labatt, Canadian businessman (b. 1838)
    • 1915 – Alexander Scriabin, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1872)
    • 1932 – Hart Crane, American poet (b. 1899)
    • 1936 – Karl Pearson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1857)
    • 1937 – Antonio Gramsci, Italian sociologist, linguist, and politician (b. 1891)
    • 1938 – Edmund Husserl, Czech mathematician and philosopher (b. 1859)
    • 1952 – Guido Castelnuovo, Italian mathematician and statistician (b. 1865)
    • 1961 – Roy Del Ruth, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1893)
    • 1962 – A. K. Fazlul Huq, Bangladeshi-Pakistani lawyer and politician, Pakistani Minister of the Interior (b. 1873)
    • 1965 – Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (b. 1908)
    • 1967 – William Douglas Cook, New Zealand farmer, founded the Eastwoodhill Arboretum (b. 1884)
    • 1969 – René Barrientos, Bolivian soldier, pilot, and politician, 55th President of Bolivia (b. 1919)
    • 1970 – Arthur Shields, Irish rebel and actor (b. 1896)
    • 1972 – Kwame Nkrumah, Ghanaian politician, 1st President of Ghana (b. 1909)
    • 1973 – Carlos Menditeguy, Argentinian race car driver and polo player (b. 1914)
    • 1977 – Stanley Adams, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1915)
    • 1988 – Fred Bear, American hunter and author (b. 1902)
    • 1989 – Konosuke Matsushita, Japanese businessman, founded Panasonic (b. 1894)
    • 1992 – Olivier Messiaen, French organist and composer (b. 1908)
    • 1992 – Gerard K. O’Neill, American physicist and astronomer (b. 1927)
    • 1995 – Katherine DeMille, Canadian-American actress (b. 1911)
    • 1995 – Willem Frederik Hermans, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (b. 1921)
    • 1996 – William Colby, American diplomat, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (b. 1920)
    • 1996 – Gilles Grangier, French director and screenwriter (b. 1911)
    • 1998 – John Bassett, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1915)
    • 1998 – Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-American anthropologist and author (b. 1925)
    • 1998 – Anne Desclos, French journalist and author (b. 1907)
    • 1998 – Browning Ross, American runner and soldier (b. 1924)
    • 1999 – Al Hirt, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1922)
    • 1999 – Dale C. Thomson, Canadian historian, author, and academic (b. 1923)
    • 1999 – Cyril Washbrook, English cricketer (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – George Alec Effinger, American author (b. 1947)
    • 2002 – Ruth Handler, American inventor and businesswoman, created the Barbie doll (b. 1916)
    • 2005 – Red Horner, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1909)
    • 2006 – Julia Thorne, American author (b. 1944)
    • 2007 – Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (b. 1927)
    • 2009 – Frankie Manning, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1914)
    • 2009 – Woo Seung-yeon, South Korean model and actress (b. 1983)
    • 2009 – Feroz Khan (actor), Indian Actor, Film Director & Producer (b. 1939)
    • 2011 – Marian Mercer, American actress and singer (b. 1935)
    • 2012 – Daniel E. Boatwright, American soldier and politician (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Bill Skowron, American baseball player (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Aída Bortnik, Argentinian screenwriter (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Lorraine Copeland, Scottish archaeologist (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Antonio Díaz Jurado, Spanish footballer (b. 1969)
    • 2013 – Jérôme Louis Heldring, Dutch journalist and author (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Aloysius Jin Luxian, Chinese bishop (b. 1916)
    • 2013 – Mutula Kilonzo, Kenyan lawyer and politician, Kenyan Minister of Justice (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Yigal Arnon, Israeli lawyer (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Vujadin Boškov, Serbian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Daniel Colchico, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Harry Firth, Australian race car driver and manager (b. 1918)
    • 2015 – Gene Fullmer, American boxer (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Verne Gagne, American football player, wrestler, and trainer (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Alexander Rich, American biologist, biophysicist, and academic (b. 1924)
    • 2017 – Vinod Khanna, Indian actor, producer and politician (b. 1946)
    • 2017 – Sadanoyama Shinmatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1938)

    Holidays and observances on April 27

    • Christian feast days:
      • Anthimus of Nicomedia
      • Assicus
      • Floribert of Liège
      • John of Constantinople
      • Liberalis of Treviso
      • Pollio
      • Rafael Arnáiz Barón
      • Virgin of Montserrat
      • Zita
      • April 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of Russian Parliamentarism (Russia)
    • Day of the Uprising Against the Occupying Forces (Slovenia)
    • Flag Day (Moldova)
    • Freedom Day (South Africa)
      • UnFreedom Day (South Africa, unofficial)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Sierra Leone from United Kingdom in 1961.
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Togo from France in 1960.
    • King’s Day (Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten) (celebrated on April 26 if April 27 falls on a Sunday)
    • National Veterans’ Day (Finla
  • April 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • AD 65 – The freedman Milichus betrays Piso’s plot to kill Emperor Nero and all the conspirators are arrested.
    • 531 – Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army under Belisarius is defeated by the Persians at Raqqa (northern Syria).
    • 797 – Empress Irene organizes a conspiracy against her son, the Byzantine emperor Constantine VI. He is deposed and blinded. Shortly after, Constantine dies of his wounds; Irene proclaims herself basileus.
    • 1506 – The Lisbon Massacre begins, in which accused Jews are being slaughtered by Portuguese Catholics.
    • 1529 – Beginning of the Protestant Reformation: After the Second Diet of Speyer bans Lutheranism, a group of rulers (German: Fürst) and independent cities protests the reinstatement of the Edict of Worms.
    • 1539 – The Treaty of Frankfurt between Protestants and the Holy Roman Emperor is signed.
    • 1608 – In Ireland: O’Doherty’s Rebellion is launched by the Burning of Derry.
    • 1677 – The French army captures the town of Cambrai held by Spanish troops.
    • 1713 – With no living male heirs, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 to ensure that Habsburg lands and the Austrian throne would be inheritable by a female; his daughter and successor, Maria Theresa was not born until 1717.
    • 1770 – Captain James Cook, still holding the rank of lieutenant, sights the eastern coast of what is now Australia.
    • 1770 – Marie Antoinette marries Louis XVI of France in a proxy wedding.
    • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The war begins with an American victory in Concord during the battles of Lexington and Concord.
    • 1782 – John Adams secures the Dutch Republic’s recognition of the United States as an independent government. The house which he had purchased in The Hague, Netherlands becomes the first American embassy.
    • 1809 – An Austrian corps is defeated by the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw in the Battle of Raszyn, part of the struggles of the Fifth Coalition. On the same day the Austrian main army is defeated by a First French Empire Corps led by Louis-Nicolas Davout at the Battle of Teugen-Hausen in Bavaria, part of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory.
    • 1810 – Venezuela achieves home rule: Vicente Emparán, Governor of the Captaincy General is removed by the people of Caracas and a junta is installed.
    • 1818 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel signs his preliminary “Note on the Theory of Diffraction” (deposited on the following day). The document ends with what we now call the Fresnel integrals.
    • 1839 – The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom and guarantees its neutrality.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Baltimore riot of 1861: A pro-Secession mob in Baltimore attacks United States Army troops marching through the city.
    • 1903 – The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.
    • 1927 – Mae West is sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex.
    • 1942 – World War II: In Poland, the Majdan-Tatarski ghetto is established, situated between the Lublin Ghetto and a Majdanek subcamp.
    • 1943 – World War II: In Poland, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins, after German troops enter the Warsaw Ghetto to round up the remaining Jews.
    • 1943 – Albert Hofmann deliberately doses himself with LSD for the first time, three days after having discovered its effects on April 16.
    • 1956 – Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco.
    • 1960 – Students in South Korea hold a nationwide pro-democracy protest against president Syngman Rhee, eventually forcing him to resign.
    • 1971 – Sierra Leone becomes a republic, and Siaka Stevens the president.
    • 1971 – Launch of Salyut 1, the first space station.
    • 1971 – Charles Manson is sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment) for conspiracy in the Tate–LaBianca murders.
    • 1973 – The Portuguese Socialist Party is founded in the German town of Bad Münstereifel.
    • 1975 – India’s first satellite Aryabhata launched in orbit from Kapustin Yar, Russia.
    • 1984 – Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia’s national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours.
    • 1985 – Two hundred ATF and FBI agents lay siege to the compound of the white supremacist survivalist group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord in Arkansas; the CSA surrenders two days later.
    • 1987 – The Simpsons first appear as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, first starting with Good Night.
    • 1989 – A gun turret explodes on the USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors.
    • 1993 – The 51-day FBI siege of the Branch Davidian building in Waco, Texas, USA, ends when a fire breaks out. 76 Davidians, including eighteen children under the age of ten, died in the fire.
    • 1995 – Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, USA, is bombed, killing 168 people including 19 children under the age of six.
    • 1999 – The German Bundestag returns to Berlin.
    • 2000 – Air Philippines Flight 541 crashes in Samal, Davao del Norte, killing all 131 people on board.
    • 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected to the papacy and becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
    • 2011 – Fidel Castro resigns as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba after holding the title since July 1961.
    • 2013 – Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is killed in a shootout with police. His brother Dzhokhar is later captured hiding in a boat inside a backyard in the suburb of Watertown.
    • 2020 – A killing spree in Nova Scotia, Canada, leaves 22 people and the perpetrator dead, making it the deadliest rampage in the country’s history.

    Births on April 19

    • 1452 – Frederick IV, King of Naples (d. 1504)
    • 1593 – Sir John Hobart, 2nd Baronet, English politician (d. 1647)
    • 1603 – Michel Le Tellier, French politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1685)
    • 1613 – Christoph Bach, German musician (d. 1661)
    • 1633 – Willem Drost, Dutch painter (d. 1659)
    • 1655 – George St Lo(e), Royal Navy officer and administrator (d. 1718)
    • 1658 – Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, German husband of Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha of Austria (d. 1716)
    • 1665 – Jacques Lelong, French author (d. 1721)
    • 1686 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian ethnographer and politician (d. 1750)
    • 1715 – James Nares, English organist and composer (d. 1783)
    • 1721 – Roger Sherman, American lawyer and politician (d. 1793)
    • 1734 – Karl von Ordóñez, Austrian violinist and composer (d. 1786)
    • 1757 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, English admiral and politician (d. 1833)
    • 1758 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish admiral (d. 1831)
    • 1785 – Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French pianist and composer (d. 1858)
    • 1787 – Deaf Smith, American soldier (d. 1837)
    • 1793 – Ferdinand I of Austria (d. 1875)
    • 1806 – Sarah Bagley, American labor organizer (d. 1889)
    • 1814 – Louis Amédée Achard, French journalist and author (d. 1875)
    • 1832 – José Echegaray, Spanish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
    • 1835 – Julius Krohn, Finnish poet and journalist (d. 1888)
    • 1863 – Hemmo Kallio, Finnish actor (d. 1940)
    • 1872 – Alice Salomon, German social reformer (d. 1948)
    • 1873 – Sydney Barnes, English cricketer (d. 1967)
    • 1874 – Ernst Rüdin, Swiss psychiatrist, geneticist, and eugenicist (d. 1952)
    • 1877 – Ole Evinrude, Norwegian-American engineer, invented the outboard motor (d. 1934)
    • 1879 – Arthur Robertson, Scottish runner (d. 1957)
    • 1882 – Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 14th President of Brazil (d. 1954)
    • 1883 – Henry Jameson, American soccer player (d. 1938)
    • 1883 – Richard von Mises, Austrian-American mathematician and physicist (d. 1953)
    • 1885 – Karl Tarvas, Estonian architect (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – Otto Georg Thierack, German jurist and politician (d. 1946)
    • 1891 – Françoise Rosay, French actress (d. 1974)
    • 1892 – Germaine Tailleferre, French composer and educator (d. 1983)
    • 1894 – Elizabeth Dilling, American author and activist (d. 1966)
    • 1897 – Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1970)
    • 1897 – Jiroemon Kimura, Japanese super-centenarian, oldest verified man ever (d. 2013)
    • 1898 – Constance Talmadge, American actress and producer (d. 1973)
    • 1899 – George O’Brien, American actor (d. 1985)
    • 1899 – Cemal Tollu, Turkish lieutenant and painter (d. 1968)
    • 1900 – Iracema de Alencar, Brazilian film actress (d. 1978)
    • 1900 – Richard Hughes, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1976)
    • 1900 – Roland Michener, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Governor General of Canada (d. 1991)
    • 1900 – Rhea Silberta, Yiddish songwriter and singing teacher (d. 1959)
    • 1902 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author and screenwriter (d. 1989)
    • 1903 – Eliot Ness, American law enforcement agent (d. 1957)
    • 1907 – Alan Wheatley, English actor (d. 1991)
    • 1908 – Irena Eichlerówna, Polish actress (d. 1990)
    • 1912 – Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
    • 1913 – Ken Carpenter, American discus thrower and coach (d. 1984)
    • 1917 – Sven Hassel, Danish-German soldier and author (d. 2012)
    • 1919 – Sol Kaplan, American pianist and composer (d. 1990)
    • 1920 – Gene Leis, American guitarist, composer, and producer (d. 1993)
    • 1920 – Marvin Mandel, American lawyer and politician, 56th Governor of Maryland (d. 2015)
    • 1920 – John O’Neil, American baseball player and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Julien Ries, Belgian cardinal (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Marian Winters, American actress (d. 1978)
    • 1921 – Anna Lee Aldred, American jockey (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Leon Henkin, American logician (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Roberto Tucci, Italian Jesuit leader, cardinal, and theologian (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – Erich Hartmann, German colonel and pilot (d. 1993)
    • 1922 – David Smith, politician in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe (d. 1996)
    • 1925 – John Kraaijkamp, Sr., Dutch actor (d. 2011)
    • 1925 – Hugh O’Brian, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Rawya Ateya, Egyptian captain and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1928 – John Horlock, English engineer and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Azlan Shah of Perak, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Walter Stewart, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2004)
    • 1932 – Fernando Botero, Colombian painter and sculptor
    • 1933 – Dickie Bird, English cricketer and umpire
    • 1933 – Jayne Mansfield, American model and actress (d. 1967)
    • 1933 – Philip Lavallin Wroughton, English captain and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
    • 1934 – Dickie Goodman, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1989)
    • 1935 – Dudley Moore, English actor, comedian, and pianist (d. 2002)
    • 1935 – Justin Francis Rigali, American cardinal
    • 1936 – Wilfried Martens, Belgian politician, 60th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Jack Pardee, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Antonio Carluccio, Italian-English chef and author (d. 2017)
    • 1937 – Elinor Donahue, American actress
    • 1937 – Joseph Estrada, Filipino politician, 13th President of the Philippines
    • 1938 – Stanley Fish, American theorist, author, and scholar
    • 1939 – E. Clay Shaw, Jr., American accountant, judge, and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Roberto Carlos, Brazilian singer-songwriter
    • 1941 – Clark Dimond, American musician and author
    • 1941 – Michel Roux, French-English chef and author (d. 2020)
    • 1941 – Bobby Russell, American singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1942 – Bas Jan Ader, Dutch-American photographer and director (d. 1975)
    • 1942 – Alan Price, English keyboard player, singer, and composer
    • 1942 – Jack Roush, American businessman, founded Roush Fenway Racing
    • 1942 – Maarten van den Bergh, American-Dutch businessman
    • 1943 – Margo MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician (d. 2014)[28]
    • 1943 – Lorenzo Sanz, Spanish businessman
    • 1944 – Keith Erickson, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1944 – James Heckman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1944 – Bernie Worrell, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2016)[29]
    • 1946 – Duygu Asena, Turkish journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1946 – Tim Curry, English actor[30]
    • 1947 – Murray Perahia, American pianist and conductor
    • 1947 – Wilfrid Stevenson, Baron Stevenson of Balmacara, English civil servant
    • 1947 – Yan Pascal Tortelier, French violinist and conductor
    • 1947 – Mark Volman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1948 – Stuart McLean, Canadian radio host and author (d. 2017)
    • 1948 – Rick Miller, American baseball player and manager
    • 1949 – Paloma Picasso, French-Spanish fashion designer
    • 1949 – Larry Walters, American truck driver and pilot (d. 1993)
    • 1950 – Julia Cleverdon, English businesswoman and philanthropist
    • 1951 – Barry Brown, American actor and playwright (d. 1978)
    • 1951 – Jóannes Eidesgaard, Faroese educator and politician, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
    • 1952 – Alexis Argüello, Nicaraguan boxer and politician (d. 2009)
    • 1952 – Tony Plana, Cuban-American actor and director
    • 1952 – Michael Trend, English journalist and politician
    • 1953 – Rod Morgenstein, American drummer
    • 1953 – Sara Simeoni, Italian high jumper
    • 1953 – Ruby Wax, British-based American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Trevor Francis, English footballer and manager
    • 1954 – Bob Rock, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1956 – Sue Barker, English tennis player and journalist
    • 1956 – Randy Carlyle, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1956 – Anne Glover, Scottish biologist and academic
    • 1957 – Tony Martin, English singer-songwriter
    • 1957 – Mukesh Ambani, Indian businessman, chairman of Reliance Industries and currently the richest man in Asia[31][32]
    • 1958 – Steve Antin, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Stevie B, American singer-songwriter and record producer
    • 1958 – Denis O’Brien, Irish businessman, founded BT Ireland
    • 1958 – Vytautas Šapranauskas, Lithuanian actor (d. 2013)
    • 1958 – Keith Shine, British academic and educator
    • 1959 – Jane Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, English activist
    • 1959 – Teofisto Guingona III, Filipino lawyer and politician
    • 1959 – Donald Markwell, Australian sociologist and academic
    • 1960 – Nicoletta Braschi, Italian actress and producer
    • 1960 – Ara Gevorgyan, Armenian pianist, composer, and producer
    • 1960 – Roger Merrett, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1960 – John Schweitz, American basketball player and coach
    • 1960 – Frank Viola, American baseball player and coach[33]
    • 1961 – Alan Kirschenbaum, American producer and writer (d. 2012)
    • 1961 – Albert Martinez, Filipino actor, director, and producer
    • 1961 – Spike Owen, American baseball player and coach
    • 1962 – Al Unser Jr., American race car driver
    • 1964 – Gordon Marshall, Scottish footballer and coach
    • 1964 – Kim Weaver, American astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
    • 1965 – Natalie Dessay, French soprano and actress
    • 1965 – Suge Knight, American record producer, co-founded Death Row Records
    • 1966 – Véronique Gens, French soprano and actress
    • 1966 – David La Haye, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Paul Reiffel, Australian cricketer and umpire
    • 1966 – El Samurai, Japanese wrestler
    • 1967 – Philippe Saint-André, French rugby player and coach
    • 1968 – Ashley Judd, American actress and activist
    • 1968 – Arshad Warsi, Indian film actor and producer
    • 1969 – Andrew Carnie, Canadian-American linguist, author, and academic
    • 1969 – Susan Polgar, Hungarian-American chess player
    • 1970 – Luis Miguel, Mexican singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1970 – Kelly Holmes, English runner
    • 1970 – Abelardo Fernández, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Brendon Burns, Australian comedian, podcaster, writer and author
    • 1971 – Scott McCord, Canadian voice actor
    • 1972 – Rivaldo, Brazilian footballer
    • 1972 – Jeff Wilkins, American football player
    • 1973 – George Gregan, Zambian-Australian rugby player and coach
    • 1973 – Alessio Scarpi, Italian footballer
    • 1975 – Jason Gillespie, Australian cricketer and coach
    • 1975 – Jussi Jääskeläinen, Finnish footballer
    • 1976 – Ruud Jolie, Dutch guitarist
    • 1976 – Scott Padgett, American basketball player, coach, and radio host
    • 1976 – Kim Young-oh, South Korean author and illustrator
    • 1977 – Joe Beimel, American baseball player
    • 1977 – Anju Bobby George, Indian long jumper
    • 1977 – Lucien Mettomo, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1977 – Dennys Reyes, Mexican baseball player
    • 1977 – Jonny Storm, English wrestler and trainer
    • 1978 – James Franco, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1978 – Gabriel Heinze, Argentinian footballer
    • 1978 – Amanda Sage, American-Austrian painter and educator
    • 1979 – Rocky Bernard, American football player
    • 1979 – Kate Hudson, American actress
    • 1979 – Zhao Junzhe, Chinese footballer
    • 1980 – Jason Blaine, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Robyn Regehr, Brazilian-Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor and producer
    • 1981 – Ryuta Hara, Japanese footballer
    • 1981 – Martin Havlát, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1981 – James Hibberd, English cricketer
    • 1981 – Troy Polamalu, American football player
    • 1981 – Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
    • 1982 – Joseph Hagerty, American gymnast
    • 1982 – Filip Jícha, Czech handball player
    • 1982 – Samuel C. Morrison, Jr., Liberian-American journalist, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1982 – Rocco Sabato, Italian footballer
    • 1982 – Ignacio Serricchio, Argentinian-American actor
    • 1982 – Sitiveni Sivivatu, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1983 – Alberto Callaspo, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1983 – Zach Duke, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Joe Mauer, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Patrick Platins, German footballer
    • 1983 – Curtis Thigpen, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Christopher Pearce, English cricketer
    • 1985 – Valon Behrami, Swiss footballer
    • 1985 – David Cavazos, Mexican singer-songwriter
    • 1985 – Sabrina Jalees, Canadian comedian, dancer, actress, presenter, and writer
    • 1985 – Jan Zimmermann, German footballer
    • 1986 – Pascal Angan, Beninese footballer
    • 1986 – Candace Parker, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Gabe Pruitt, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Will Thursfield, English-Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Luigi Giorgi, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Joe Hart, English footballer
    • 1987 – Daniel Schuhmacher, German singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
    • 1987 – Lauren Wilson, Canadian figure skater
    • 1988 – Enrique Esqueda, Mexican footballer
    • 1989 – Dominik Mader, German footballer
    • 1989 – Daisuke Watabe, Japanese footballer
    • 1989 – Genoveva Añonma, Equatoguinean footballer
    • 1990 – Jackie Bradley, Jr., American baseball player
    • 1990 – Kim Chiu, Filipino actress, singer, and dancer[34]
    • 1990 – Héctor Herrera, Mexican footballer
    • 1990 – Ayaka Takahashi, Japanese badminton player
    • 1991 – Steve Cook, English footballer

    Deaths April 19

    • 843 – Judith of Bavaria, Frankish empress
    • 1012 – Ælfheah of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint (b. 954)
    • 1013 – Hisham II, Umayyad caliph of Córdoba (b. 966)
    • 1044 – Gothelo I, duke of Lorraine
    • 1054 – Leo IX, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1002)
    • 1321 – Gerasimus I, patriarch of Constantinople
    • 1390 – Robert II, king of Scotland (b. 1316)
    • 1405 – Thomas West, 1st Baron West, English nobleman (b. 1335)[35]
    • 1431 – Adolph III, count of Waldeck (b. 1362)
    • 1560 – Philip Melanchthon, German theologian and reformer (b. 1497)
    • 1567 – Michael Stifel, German monk and mathematician (b. 1487)
    • 1578 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1530)
    • 1588 – Paolo Veronese, Italian painter (b. 1528)
    • 1608 – Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, English poet, playwright, and politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1536)
    • 1618 – Thomas Bastard, English priest and author (b. 1566)
    • 1619 – Jagat Gosain, Mughal empress (b. 1573)[36]
    • 1629 – Sigismondo d’India, Italian composer (b. 1582)
    • 1632 – Sigismund III Vasa, king of Sweden and Poland (b. 1566)
    • 1686 – Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra, Spanish historian and playwright (b. 1610)
    • 1689 – Christina, queen of Sweden (b. 1626)
    • 1733 – Elizabeth Hamilton, countess of Orkney (b. 1657)
    • 1739 – Nicholas Saunderson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1682)
    • 1768 – Canaletto, Italian painter and etcher (b. 1697)
    • 1776 – Jacob Emden, German rabbi and author (b. 1697)
    • 1791 – Richard Price, Welsh-English preacher and philosopher (b. 1723)
    • 1813 – Benjamin Rush, American physician and educator (b. 1745)
    • 1824 – Lord Byron, English-Scottish poet and playwright (b. 1788)
    • 1831 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1765)
    • 1833 – James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, Bahamian-English admiral and politician, 36th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1756)
    • 1840 – Jean-Jacques Lartigue, Canadian bishop (b. 1777)
    • 1854 – Robert Jameson, Scottish mineralogist and academic (b. 1774)
    • 1881 – Benjamin Disraeli, English journalist and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1804)
    • 1882 – Charles Darwin, English biologist and theorist (b. 1809)
    • 1893 – Martin Körber, Estonian-German pastor, composer, and conductor (b. 1817)
    • 1901 – Alfred Horatio Belo, American publisher, founded The Dallas Morning News (b. 1839)
    • 1906 – Pierre Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
    • 1906 – Spencer Gore, English tennis player and cricketer (b. 1850)
    • 1909 – Signe Rink, Greenland-born Danish writer and ethnologist (b. 1836)
    • 1914 – Charles Sanders Peirce, American mathematician and philosopher (b. 1839)
    • 1915 – Thomas Playford II, English-Australian politician, 17th Premier of South Australia (b. 1837)
    • 1916 – Ephraim Shay, American engineer, designed the Shay locomotive (b. 1839)
    • 1926 – Alexander Alexandrovich Chuprov, Russian-Swiss statistician and theorist (b. 1874)
    • 1930 – Georges-Casimir Dessaulles, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1827)
    • 1937 – Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English cartographer and politician (b. 1856)
    • 1937 – William Morton Wheeler, American entomologist and zoologist (b. 1865)
    • 1941 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (b. 1878)
    • 1949 – Ulrich Salchow, Danish-Swedish figure skater (b. 1877)
    • 1950 – Ernst Robert Curtius, French-German philologist and scholar (b. 1886)
    • 1955 – Jim Corbett, British-Indian colonel, hunter, and author (b. 1875)
    • 1960 – Beardsley Ruml, American economist and statistician (b. 1894)
    • 1961 – Max Hainle, German swimmer (b. 1882)
    • 1967 – Konrad Adenauer, German politician, 1st Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
    • 1971 – Luigi Piotti, Italian race car driver (b. 1913)
    • 1975 – Percy Lavon Julian, American chemist and academic (b. 1899)
    • 1987 – Hugh Brannum, American vocalist, arranger, and composer (b. 1910)
    • 1989 – Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (b. 1907)
    • 1991 – Stanley Hawes, English-Australian director and producer (b. 1905)
    • 1992 – Frankie Howerd, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1917)
    • 1993 – David Koresh, American religious leader (b. 1959)
    • 1993 – George S. Mickelson, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1941)
    • 1998 – Octavio Paz, Mexican poet, philosopher, and academic Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – Hermine Braunsteiner, Austrian-German SS officer (b. 1919)
    • 2000 – Louis Applebaum, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1918)
    • 2001 – Meldrim Thomson, Jr.. American publisher and politician, 73rd Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1912)
    • 2002 – Reginald Rose, American writer (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Indian-English caliph (b. 1928)
    • 2004 – Norris McWhirter, English author and activist co-founded the Guinness World Records (b. 1925)
    • 2004 – John Maynard Smith, English biologist and geneticist (b. 1920)
    • 2004 – Jenny Pike, Canadian WWII servicewoman and photographer (b. 1922)[37]
    • 2005 – George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Greek director and screenwriter (b. 1941)
    • 2005 – Ruth Hussey, American actress (b. 1911)
    • 2005 – Clement Meadmore, Australian-American sculptor and author (b. 1929)
    • 2005 – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish bassist and composer (b. 1946)
    • 2006 – Albert Scott Crossfield, American engineer, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – Jean-Pierre Cassel, French actor (b. 1932)
    • 2008 – John Marzano, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1963)
    • 2008 – Alfonso López Trujillo, Colombian cardinal (b. 1935)
    • 2009 – J. G. Ballard, English novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1930)
    • 2011 – Elisabeth Sladen, English actress (b. 1946)[38]
    • 2012 – Leopold David de Rothschild, English financier and philanthropist (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Greg Ham, Australian saxophonist, songwriter, and actor (b. 1953)
    • 2012 – Levon Helm, American singer-songwriter, drummer, guitarist, instrumentalist, and actor (b. 1940)
    • 2012 – Valeri Vasiliev, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
    • 2013 – Sivanthi Adithan, Indian businessman (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Allan Arbus, American actor and photographer (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Mike Denness, Scottish-English cricketer and referee (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – François Jacob, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – E. L. Konigsburg, American author and illustrator (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Al Neuharth, American journalist, author, and publisher, founded USA Today (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Lindy Berry, American football player (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Ian McIntyre, Scottish journalist and producer (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Frits Thors, Dutch journalist (b. 1909)
    • 2015 – Raymond Carr, English historian and academic (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – William Price Fox, American journalist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Roy Mason, English miner and politician, Secretary of State for Defence (b. 1924)[39]
    • 2015 – Tom McCabe, Scottish social worker and politician (b. 1954)[40]
    • 2015 – Oktay Sinanoğlu, Italian-Turkish chemist and academic (b. 1935)
    • 2016 – Patricio Aylwin, Chilean politician (b. 1918)[41]
    • 2016 – Milt Pappas, American baseball player (b. 1939)[42]
    • 2017 – Aaron Hernandez, American football player (b. 1989)[43]

    Holidays and observances on April 19

    • Christian feast day:
      • Ælfheah of Canterbury (Anglican, Catholic)
      • Conrad of Ascoli
      • Emma of Lesum
      • Expeditus
      • George of Antioch
      • Olaus and Laurentius Petri (Lutheran)
      • Pope Leo IX
      • Ursmar
      • April 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which First Day of Summer or Sumardagurinn fyrsti can fall, while April 25 is the latest; celebrated on the first Thursday after April 18. (Iceland)
    • Army Day (Brazil)
    • Beginning of the Independence Movement (Venezuela)
    • Bicycle Day[44]
    • Dutch-American Friendship Day (United States)
    • Holocaust Remembrance Day (Poland)
    • Indian Day (Brazil)
    • King Mswati III’s birthday (Eswatini)
    • Landing of the 33 Patriots Day (Uruguay)
    • Patriots’ Day (Massachusetts, Maine and Wisconsin, United States)
  • April 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized.
    • 1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Hasan II.
    • 1362 – Kaunas Castle falls to the Teutonic Order after a month-long siege.
    • 1492 – Spain and Christopher Columbus sign the Capitulations of Santa Fe for his voyage to Asia to acquire spices.
    • 1521 – Trial of Martin Luther over his teachings begins during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. Initially intimidated, he asks for time to reflect before answering and is given a stay of one day.
    • 1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano reaches New York harbor.
    • 1797 – Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, in what would be one of the largest invasions of the Spanish territories in the Americas.
    • 1797 – Citizens of Verona begin an unsuccessful eight-day rebellion against the French occupying forces.
    • 1861 – The state of Virginia’s secession convention votes to secede from the United States, later becoming the eighth state to join the Confederate States of America.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Grierson’s Raid begins: Troops under Union Army Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Plymouth begins: Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina.
    • 1869 – Morelos is admitted as the 27th state of Mexico.
    • 1876 – Catalpa rescue: The rescue of six Fenian prisoners from Fremantle Prison in Western Australia.
    • 1895 – The Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province, Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.
    • 1905 – The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v. New York, which holds that the “right to free contract” is implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
    • 1907 – The Ellis Island immigration center processes 11,747 people, more than on any other day.
    • 1912 – Russian troops open fire on striking goldfield workers in northeast Siberia, killing at least 150.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany.
    • 1942 – French prisoner of war General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Königstein Fortress.
    • 1944 – Forces of the Communist-controlled Greek People’s Liberation Army attack the smaller National and Social Liberation resistance group, which surrenders. Its leader Dimitrios Psarros is murdered.
    • 1945 – World War II: Montese, Italy, is liberated from Nazi forces.
    • 1946 – The last French troops are withdrawn from Syria.
    • 1951 – The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom’s first National Park.
    • 1961 – Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.
    • 1969 – Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.
    • 1969 – Communist Party of Czechoslovakia chairman Alexander Dubček is deposed.
    • 1970 – Apollo program: The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.
    • 1971 – The Provisional Government of Bangladesh is formed.
    • 1975 – The Cambodian Civil War ends. The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender.
    • 1978 – Mir Akbar Khyber is assassinated, provoking a communist coup d’état in Afghanistan.
    • 1982 – Constitution Act, 1982 Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.
    • 1992 – The Katina P is deliberately run aground off of Maputo, Mozambique and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
    • 2006 – A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates an explosive device in a Tel Aviv restaurant, killing 11 people and injuring 70.
    • 2013 – An explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West, Texas, kills 15 people and injures 160 others.
    • 2014 – NASA’s Kepler space telescope confirms the discovery of the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of another star.

    Births on April 17

    • 44 – Pope Evaristus (d. 107)
    • 1277 – Michael IX Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1320)
    • 1455 – Andrea Gritti, Doge of Venice (d. 1538)
    • 1497 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador, conquered northern Chile (d. 1553)
    • 1573 – Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1651)
    • 1586 – John Ford, English poet and playwright (d. 1639)
    • 1598 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (d. 1671)
    • 1620 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal (d. 1700)
    • 1635 – Edward Stillingfleet, British theologian and scholar (d. 1699)
    • 1676 – Frederick I of Sweden (d. 1751)
    • 1683 – Johann David Heinichen, German composer and theorist (d. 1729)
    • 1710 – Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, Scottish politician (d. 1767)
    • 1734 – Taksin, King of Thailand (d. 1782)
    • 1741 – Samuel Chase, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1811)
    • 1750 – François de Neufchâteau, French academic and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1828)
    • 1756 – Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian commander (d. 1805)
    • 1766 – Collin McKinney, American surveyor, merchant, and politician (d. 1861)
    • 1794 – Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist and explorer (d. 1868)
    • 1798 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician and academic (d. 1840)
    • 1814 – Josif Pančić, Serbian botanist and academic (d. 1888)
    • 1816 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English architect and philanthropist (d. 1876)
    • 1820 – Alexander Cartwright, American firefighter and inventor of baseball (d. 1892)
    • 1833 – Jean-Baptiste Accolay, Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1900)
    • 1837 – J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier, founded J.P. Morgan & Co. (d. 1913)
    • 1842 – Maurice Rouvier, French businessman and politician, 53rd Prime Minister of France (d. 1911)
    • 1849 – William R. Day, American jurist and politician, 36th United States Secretary of State (d. 1923)
    • 1852 – Cap Anson, American baseball player and manager (d. 1922)
    • 1863 – Augustus Edward Hough Love, English mathematician and theorist (d. 1940)
    • 1865 – Ursula Ledóchowska, Polish-Austrian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (d. 1939)
    • 1866 – Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (d. 1927)
    • 1875 – Aleksander Tõnisson, Estonian general and politician, 5th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1941)
    • 1877 – Matsudaira Tsuneo, Japanese diplomat (d. 1949)
    • 1878 – Emil Fuchs, German-American lawyer and businessman (d. 1961)
    • 1878 – Demetrios Petrokokkinos, Greek tennis player (d. 1942)
    • 1879 – Henri Tauzin, French hurdler (d. 1918)
    • 1882 – Artur Schnabel, Jewish-Polish pianist and composer (d. 1951)
    • 1888 – Herms Niel, German soldier, trombonist, and composer (d. 1954)
    • 1891 – George Adamski, Polish-American ufologist and author (d. 1965)
    • 1895 – Robert Dean Frisbie, American soldier and author (d. 1948)
    • 1896 – Señor Wences, Spanish-American ventriloquist (d. 1999)
    • 1897 – Nisargadatta Maharaj, Indian philosopher and educator (d. 1981)
    • 1897 – Thornton Wilder, American novelist and playwright (d. 1975)
    • 1897 – Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Swiss physician and mountaineer (d. 1983)
    • 1899 – Aleksander Klumberg, Estonian decathlete and coach (d. 1958)
    • 1903 – Nicolas Nabokov, Russian-American composer and educator (d. 1978)
    • 1903 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Ukrainian-American cellist and educator (d. 1976)
    • 1903 – Morgan Taylor, American hurdler and coach (d. 1975)
    • 1905 – Louis Jean Heydt, American journalist and actor (d. 1960)
    • 1905 – Arthur Lake, American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1906 – Sidney Garfield, American physician, co-founded Kaiser Permanente (d. 1984)
    • 1909 – Alain Poher, French politician, President of France (d. 1996)
    • 1910 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister of Defence (d. 1990)
    • 1910 – Ivan Goff, Australian screenwriter and producer (d. 1999)
    • 1910 – Helenio Herrera, French footballer and manager (d. 1997)
    • 1911 – Hervé Bazin, French author and poet (d. 1996)
    • 1911 – Lester Rodney, American soldier and journalist (d. 2009)
    • 1912 – Marta Eggerth, Jewish-Hungarian-American actress and singer (d. 2013)
    • 1914 – George Davis, American art director (d. 1984)
    • 1914 – Mac Raboy, American illustrator (d. 1967)
    • 1915 – Martin Clemens, Scottish soldier (d. 2009)
    • 1915 – Joe Foss, American general and politician, 20th Governor of South Dakota (d. 2003)
    • 1915 – Regina Ghazaryan, Armenian painter (d. 1999)
    • 1916 – Win Maung, 3rd President of Union of Myanmar (d. 1989)
    • 1916 – A. Thiagarajah, Sri Lankan educator and politician (d. 1981)
    • 1916 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, world’s first female prime minister (d. 2000)
    • 1918 – William Holden, American actor (d. 1981)
    • 1919 – Gilles Lamontagne, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 24th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2016)
    • 1919 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Lindsay Anderson, English actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
    • 1923 – Solly Hemus, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2017)
    • 1923 – Neville McNamara, Australian air marshal (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Gianni Raimondi, Italian lyric tenor (d. 2008)
    • 1923 – Harry Reasoner, American soldier and journalist (d. 1991)
    • 1924 – Kenneth Norman Jones, Australian public servant
    • 1924 – Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – René Moawad, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 13th President of Lebanon (d. 1989)
    • 1926 – Joan Lorring, British actress (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1927 – Margot Honecker, East German politician and First Lady (d. 2016)
    • 1928 – Victor Lownes, American businessman (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Cynthia Ozick, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist
    • 1928 – Heinz Putzl, Austrian fencer
    • 1928 – Fabien Roy, Canadian accountant and politician
    • 1929 – James Last, German-American bassist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Chris Barber, English trombonist and bandleader
    • 1931 – John Barrett, English tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1931 – Malcolm Browne, American journalist and photographer (d. 2012)
    • 1934 – Don Kirshner, American songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1934 – Peter Morris, Australian-English surgeon and academic
    • 1935 – Bud Paxson, American broadcaster, founded Home Shopping Network and Pax TV (d. 2015)
    • 1937 – Ronald Hamowy, Canadian historian and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1937 – Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian-German engineer and businessman (d. 2019)
    • 1938 – Ben Barnes, American businessman and politician, 36th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
    • 1938 – Doug Lewis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 41st Canadian Minister of Justice
    • 1938 – Ronald H. Miller, American theologian, author, and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1938 – Kerry Wendell Thornley, American theorist and author (d. 1988)
    • 1939 – Robert Miller, American art dealer (d. 2011)
    • 1940 – Eric Dancer, English businessman and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Devon
    • 1940 – Billy Fury, English singer-songwriter (d. 1983)
    • 1940 – John McCririck, English journalist (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Chuck Menville, American animator and screenwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1940 – Anja Silja, German soprano and actress
    • 1940 – Agostino Vallini, Italian cardinal and vicar general of Rome
    • 1941 – Lagle Parek, Estonian architect and politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior
    • 1942 – Buster Williams, American jazz bassist
    • 1943 – Richard Allen Epstein, American lawyer, author, and academic
    • 1946 – Clare Francis, English sailor and author
    • 1947 – Nigel Emslie, Lord Emslie, Scottish lawyer and judge
    • 1947 – Richard Field, English lawyer and judge
    • 1947 – Sherrie Levine, American photographer
    • 1947 – Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Japanese baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1948 – Jan Hammer, Czech pianist, composer, and producer
    • 1948 – Alice Harden, American educator and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1948 – Pekka Vasala, Finnish runner
    • 1951 – Olivia Hussey, Argentinian-English actress
    • 1951 – Börje Salming, Swedish ice hockey player and businessman
    • 1952 – Joe Alaskey, American voice actor (d. 2016)
    • 1952 – Pierre Guité, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1952 – John McColl, English general and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
    • 1952 – Željko Ražnatović, Serbian commander (d. 2000)
    • 1952 – John Robertson, Scottish businessman and politician
    • 1954 – Riccardo Patrese, Italian race car driver
    • 1954 – Roddy Piper, Canadian professional wrestler and actor (d. 2015)
    • 1954 – Michael Sembello, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Todd Lickliter, American basketball player and coach
    • 1955 – Pete Shelley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
    • 1955 – Mike Stroud, English physician and explorer
    • 1956 – Colin Tyre, Lord Tyre, Scottish lawyer and judge
    • 1957 – Teri Austin, Canadian actress
    • 1957 – Afrika Bambaataa, American disc jockey
    • 1957 – Nick Hornby, English novelist, essayist, lyricist, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Julia Macur, English lawyer and judge
    • 1957 – Frank McDonough, British historian
    • 1958 – Laslo Babits, Canadian javelin thrower (d. 2013)
    • 1959 – Sean Bean, English actor
    • 1959 – Jimmy Mann, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1959 – Li Meisu, Chinese shot putter
    • 1960 – Vladimir Polyakov, Russian pole vaulter
    • 1961 – Frank J. Christensen, American labor union leader
    • 1961 – Norman Cowans, Jamaican-English cricketer
    • 1961 – Boomer Esiason, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Bella Freud, English fashion designer
    • 1962 – Paul Nicholls, English jockey and trainer
    • 1964 – Ken Daneyko, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Maynard James Keenan, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1964 – Rachel Notley, Canadian politician
    • 1964 – Lela Rochon, American actress
    • 1966 – Vikram, Indian actor and singer
    • 1967 – Kimberly Elise, American actress
    • 1967 – Marquis Grissom, American baseball player and coach
    • 1967 – Ian Jones, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1967 – Barnaby Joyce, Australian politician, 17th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
    • 1967 – Liz Phair, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1968 – Julie Fagerholt, Danish fashion designer
    • 1968 – Phil Henderson, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1968 – Eric Lamaze, Canadian jockey
    • 1968 – Roger Twose, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1968 – Richie Woodhall, English boxer and trainer
    • 1970 – Redman, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1971 – Claire Sweeney, English actress
    • 1972 – Gary Bennett, American baseball player
    • 1972 – Tony Boselli, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Jennifer Garner, American actress
    • 1972 – Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricketer
    • 1972 – Yuichi Nishimura, Japanese footballer and referee
    • 1972 – Terran Sandwith, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Katrin Koov, Estonian architect
    • 1973 – Brett Maher, Australian basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Theo Ratliff, American basketball player
    • 1974 – Mikael Åkerfeldt, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1974 – Victoria Beckham, English singer and fashion designer
    • 1975 – Heidi Alexander, English politician
    • 1975 – Travis Roy, American ice hockey player
    • 1976 – Maurice Wignall, Jamaican hurdler and long jumper
    • 1977 – Chad Hedrick, American speed skater
    • 1977 – Frederik Magle, Danish composer, organist, and pianist
    • 1978 – Monika Bergmann-Schmuderer, German skier
    • 1978 – Lindsay Hartley, American actress
    • 1978 – Jason White, Scottish rugby player
    • 1979 – Eric Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Marija Šestak, Serbian-Slovenian triple jumper
    • 1980 – Fabián Vargas, Colombian footballer
    • 1980 – Curtis Woodhouse, English footballer, boxer, and manager
    • 1981 – Jenny Meadows, English runner
    • 1981 – Hanna Pakarinen, Finnish singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Ryan Raburn, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Chris Thompson, English runner
    • 1981 – Zhang Yaokun, Chinese footballer
    • 1982 – Brad Boyes, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Chuck Kobasew, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Stanislav Chistov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Roberto Jiménez, Peruvian footballer
    • 1983 – Andrea Marcato, Italian rugby player
    • 1984 – Pablo Sebastián Álvarez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1984 – Jed Lowrie, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Raffaele Palladino, Italian footballer
    • 1985 – Rooney Mara, American actress
    • 1985 – Luke Mitchell, Australian actor and model
    • 1985 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French tennis player
    • 1986 – Romain Grosjean, French race car driver
    • 1988 – Takahiro Moriuchi, Japanese singer-songwriter
    • 1989 – Paraskevi Papachristou, Greek triple jumper
    • 1989 – Avi Kaplan, singer and songwriter
    • 1990 – Jonathan Brown, Welsh footballer
    • 1992 – Lachlan Maranta, Australian rugby league footballer
    • 1994 – Alanna Goldie, Canadian fencer
    • 1996 – Lorna Fitzgerald, British actress

    Deaths on April 17

    • 485 – Proclus, Greek mathematician and philosopher (b. 412)
    • 617 – Donnán of Eigg, Irish priest and saint
    • 648 – Xiao, empress of the Sui Dynasty
    • 744 – Al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph (b. 706)
    • 818 – Bernard of Italy, Frankish king (b. 797)
    • 858 – Benedict III, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 1071 – Manuel Komnenos, Byzantine military commander (b. c. 1045)
    • 1080 – Harald III of Denmark (b. 1041)
    • 1111 – Robert of Molesme, Christian saint and abbot (b. 1027)
    • 1298 – Árni Þorláksson, Icelandic bishop (b. 1237)
    • 1321 – Infanta Branca of Portugal, daughter of King Afonso III of Portugal (b. 1259)
    • 1331 – Robert de Vere, 6th Earl of Oxford, English nobleman (b. 1257)
    • 1344 – Constantine II, King of Armenia
    • 1355 – Marin Falier, Doge of Venice (b. 1285)
    • 1427 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (b. 1403)
    • 1539 – George, Duke of Saxony (b. 1471)
    • 1574 – Joachim Camerarius, German scholar and translator (b. 1500)
    • 1669 – Antonio Bertali, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1605)
    • 1680 – Kateri Tekakwitha, Mohawk-born Native American saint (b. 1656)
    • 1695 – Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican poet and scholar (b. 1651)
    • 1696 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (b. 1626)
    • 1711 – Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1678)
    • 1713 – David Hollatz, Polish pastor and theologian (b. 1648)
    • 1764 – Johann Mattheson, German lexicographer and composer (b. 1681)
    • 1790 – Benjamin Franklin, American inventor, publisher, and politician, 6th President of Pennsylvania (b. 1706)
    • 1799 – Richard Jupp, English surveyor and architect (b. 1728)
    • 1840 – Hannah Webster Foster, American journalist and author (b. 1758)
    • 1843 – Samuel Morey, American engineer (b. 1762)
    • 1882 – George Jennings, English engineer and plumber, invented the Flush toilet (b. 1810)
    • 1888 – E. G. Squier, American archaeologist and journalist (b. 1821)
    • 1892 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian journalist and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1822)
    • 1921 – Manwel Dimech, Maltese journalist, author, and philosopher (b. 1860)
    • 1923 – Laurence Ginnell, Irish lawyer and politician (b. 1852)
    • 1930 – Alexander Golovin, Russian painter and stage designer (b. 1863)
    • 1933 – Kote Marjanishvili, Georgian director and playwright (b. 1872)
    • 1936 – Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, Dutch lawyer and politician, 28th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1873)
    • 1942 – Jean Baptiste Perrin, French-American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
    • 1944 – J. T. Hearne, English cricketer and coach (b. 1867)
    • 1944 – Dimitrios Psarros, Greek lieutenant, founded the National and Social Liberation (b. 1893)
    • 1946 – Juan Bautista Sacasa, Nicaraguan medical doctor, politician and 20th President of Nicaragua (b. 1874)
    • 1948 – Suzuki Kantarō, Japanese admiral and politician, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1868)
    • 1954 – Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, Romanian lawyer and politician, Romanian Minister of Justice (b. 1900)
    • 1960 – Eddie Cochran, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1938)
    • 1961 – Elda Anderson, American physicist and health researcher (b. 1899)
    • 1967 – Red Allen, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1908)
    • 1975 – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of India (b. 1888)
    • 1976 – Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
    • 1977 – William Conway, Irish cardinal (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Felix Pappalardi, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (b. 1939)
    • 1984 – Claude Provost, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1933)
    • 1987 – Cecil Harmsworth King, English publisher (b. 1901)
    • 1987 – Dick Shawn, American actor (b. 1923)
    • 1988 – Louise Nevelson, Ukrainian-American sculptor and educator (b. 1900)
    • 1990 – Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (b. 1936)
    • 1993 – Turgut Özal, Turkish engineer and politician, 8th president of Turkey (b. 1927)
    • 1994 – Roger Wolcott Sperry, American psychologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
    • 1995 – Frank E. Resnik, American sergeant and businessman (b. 1928)
    • 1996 – Piet Hein, Danish poet and mathematician (b. 1905)
    • 1997 – Chaim Herzog, Israeli general, lawyer, and politician, 6th President of Israel (b. 1918)
    • 1998 – Linda McCartney, American photographer, activist, and musician (b. 1941)
    • 2003 – Robert Atkins, American physician and cardiologist, created the Atkins diet (b. 1930)
    • 2003 – H. B. Bailey, American race car driver (b. 1936)
    • 2003 – John Paul Getty, Jr., American-English philanthropist (b. 1932)
    • 2003 – Earl King, American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter (b. 1934)
    • 2003 – Yiannis Latsis, Greek businessman (b. 1910)
    • 2004 – Edmond Pidoux, Swiss author and poet (b. 1908)
    • 2006 – Jean Bernard, French physician and haematologist (b. 1907)
    • 2006 – Scott Brazil, American director and producer (b. 1955)
    • 2006 – Henderson Forsythe, American actor (b. 1917)
    • 2007 – Kitty Carlisle, American actress, singer, socialite and game show panelist (b. 1910)
    • 2008 – Aimé Césaire, Caribbean-French poet and politician (b. 1913)
    • 2008 – Danny Federici, American organist and accordion player (b. 1950)
    • 2011 – Eric Gross, Austrian-Australian pianist and composer (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor (b. 1940)
    • 2011 – Robert Vickrey, American artist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Leila Berg, English journalist and author (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – J. Quinn Brisben, American educator and politician (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Nityananda Mohapatra, Indian journalist, poet, and politician (b. 1912)
    • 2012 – Jonathan V. Plaut, American rabbi and author (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Stanley Rogers Resor, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 9th United States Secretary of the Army (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Carlos Graça, São Toméan politician, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Bi Kidude, Tanzanian Taarab singer (b. ≈1910)
    • 2013 – Yngve Moe, Norwegian bass player and songwriter (b. 1957)
    • 2013 – V. S. Ramadevi, Indian politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (b. 1934)
    • 2014 – Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Bernat Klein, Serbian-Scottish fashion designer and painter (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Wojciech Leśnikowski, Polish–American architect and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Karpal Singh, Malaysian lawyer and politician (b. 1940)
    • 2015 – Robert P. Griffin, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Scotty Probasco, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Jeremiah J. Rodell, American general (b. 1921)
    • 2015 – A. Alfred Taubman, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Chyna, American wrestler (b. 1969)
    • 2016 – Doris Roberts, American actress (b. 1925)
    • 2018 – Barbara Bush, former First Lady of the United States (b. 1925)
    • 2018 – Carl Kasell, American radio personality (b. 1934)
    • 2019 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 61st and 64th President of Peru (b. 1949)

    Holidays and observances on April 17

    • Christian feast day:
      • Kateri Tekakwitha (Canada)
      • Stephen Harding
      • April 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Store Bededag or General Prayer Day can fall, while May 13 is the latest; observed on the 4th Friday after Easter. (Denmark)
    • Evacuation Day (Syria), celebrates the recognition of the independence of Syria from France in 1946.
    • FAO Day (Iraq)
    • Flag Day (American Samoa)
    • Malbec World Day
    • Women’s Day (Gabon)
    • World Hemophilia Day
  • April 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated. He is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
    • 632 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde), along with his infant son Chilperic.
    • 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-‘Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
    • 1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin.
    • 1139 – Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated.
    • 1149 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum.
    • 1232 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols begin their siege on Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty.
    • 1271 – In Syria, sultan Baibars conquers the Krak des Chevaliers.
    • 1665 – English colonial patents are granted for the establishment of the Monmouth Tract, for what would eventually become Monmouth County in northeastern New Jersey.
    • 1730 – Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
    • 1740 – War of Jenkins’ Ear: Three British ships capture the Spanish third-rate Princesa, taken into service as HMS Princess.
    • 1808 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore is promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.
    • 1820 – The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
    • 1832 – Black Hawk War: Around three-hundred United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield: Union forces are thwarted by the Confederate army at Mansfield, Louisiana.
    • 1866 – Italy and Prussia ally against the Austrian Empire.
    • 1886 – William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
    • 1895 – In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
    • 1904 – The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
    • 1904 – Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times.
    • 1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, dies.
    • 1908 – H. H. Asquith of the Liberal Party takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
    • 1908 – Harvard University votes to establish the Harvard Business School.
    • 1911 – Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity.
    • 1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
    • 1916 – In Corona, California, race car driver Bob Burman crashes, killing three (including himself), and badly injuring five spectators.
    • 1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City’s financial district.
    • 1924 – Sharia courts are abolished in Turkey, as part of Atatürk’s Reforms.
    • 1929 – Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
    • 1935 – The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
    • 1942 – World War II: Siege of Leningrad: Soviet forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.
    • 1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.
    • 1943 – Otto and Elise Hampel are executed in Berlin for their anti-Nazi activities.
    • 1945 – World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.
    • 1946 – Électricité de France, the world’s largest utility company, is formed as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.
    • 1950 – India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat–Nehru Pact.
    • 1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills in an attempt to prevent the 1952 steel strike.
    • 1953 – Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by British Kenya’s rulers.
    • 1954 – A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collides with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
    • 1954 – South African Airways Flight 201 A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 crashes into the sea during night killing 21 people.
    • 1959 – A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
    • 1959 – The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
    • 1960 – The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
    • 1961 – A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf kills 238.
    • 1964 – The Gemini 1 test flight is conducted.
    • 1968 – BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after takeoff. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
    • 1970 – Bahr El-Baqar primary school bombing: Israeli bombers strike an Egyptian school. Forty-six children are killed.
    • 1974 – At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth’s 39-year-old record.
    • 1975 – Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball’s first African American manager.
    • 1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racially charged remarks he had made while on Nightline.
    • 1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
    • 1993 – The Republic of North Macedonia joins the United Nations.
    • 1999 – Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the Indian National Congress.
    • 2004 – War in Darfur: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
    • 2006 – Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.
    • 2008 – The construction of the world’s first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain.
    • 2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham.

    Births on April 8

    • 1320 – Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
    • 1408 – Jadwiga of Lithuania, Polish princess (d. 1431)
    • 1435 – John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford, English noble (d. 1461)
    • 1533 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1604)
    • 1536 – Barbara of Hesse (d. 1597)
    • 1541 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (d. 1593)
    • 1580 – William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, English noble, courtier and patron of the arts (d. 1630)
    • 1596 – Juan van der Hamen, Spanish artist (d. 1631)
    • 1605 – Philip IV of Spain (d. 1665)
    • 1605 – Mary Stuart, English-Scottish princess (d. 1607)
    • 1641 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1704)
    • 1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1770)
    • 1726 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (d. 1798)
    • 1732 – David Rittenhouse, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1796)
    • 1761 – William Joseph Chaminade, French priest, founded the Society of Mary (d. 1850)
    • 1770 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian banker and politician (d. 1830)
    • 1798 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and author (d. 1857)
    • 1818 – Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)
    • 1818 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (d. 1892)
    • 1826 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican soldier (d. 1890)
    • 1827 – Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican ophthalmologist, journalist, and politician (d. 1898)
    • 1842 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (d. 1933)
    • 1859 – Edmund Husserl, German Jewish-Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1938)
    • 1864 – Carlos Deltour, French rower and rugby player (d. 1920)
    • 1867 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter and educator (d. 1908)
    • 1869 – Harvey Cushing, American surgeon and academic (d. 1939)
    • 1871 – Clarence Hudson White, American photographer and educator (d. 1925)
    • 1874 – Manuel Díaz, Cuban fencer (d. 1929)
    • 1874 – Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960)
    • 1875 – Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
    • 1882 (O.S. 27 March) – Dmytro Doroshenko, Lithuanian-Ukrainian historian and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Prime Minister of Ukraine (d. 1951)
    • 1883 – R. P. Keigwin, English cricketer and academic (d. 1972)
    • 1883 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (d. 1936)
    • 1885 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier, composer, and educator (d. 1951)
    • 1886 – Margaret Ayer Barnes, American author and playwright (d. 1967)
    • 1888 – Dennis Chávez, American journalist and politician (d. 1962)
    • 1889 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (d. 1983)
    • 1892 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (d. 1970)
    • 1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded United Artists (d. 1979)
    • 1896 – Yip Harburg, American composer (d. 1981)
    • 1900 – Marie Byles, Australian solicitor (d. 1979)
    • 1902 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1924)
    • 1902 – Maria Maksakova Sr., Russian soprano (d. 1974)
    • 1904 – John Hicks, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
    • 1904 – Hirsch Jacobs, American horse trainer (d. 1970)
    • 1905 – Joachim Büchner, German sprinter and graphic designer (d. 1978)
    • 1905 – Helen Joseph, English-South African activist (d. 1992)
    • 1905 – Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)
    • 1906 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (d. 1974)
    • 1908 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
    • 1909 – John Fante, American author and screenwriter (d. 1983)
    • 1910 – George Musso, American football player and police officer (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
    • 1911 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and academic (d. 1995)
    • 1912 – Alois Brunner, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 2001 or 2010)
    • 1912 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian-American figure skater and actress (d. 1969)
    • 1914 – María Félix, Yaqui/Basque-Mexican actress (d. 2002)
    • 1915 – Ivan Supek, Croatian physicist, philosopher and writer (d. 2007)
    • 1917 – Winifred Asprey, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 2007)
    • 1917 – Lloyd Bott, Australian public servant (d. 2004)
    • 1917 – Hubertus Ernst, Dutch bishop (d. 2017)
    • 1917 – Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer (d. 1988)
    • 1918 – Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States (d. 2011)
    • 1918 – Glendon Swarthout, American author and academic (d. 1992)
    • 1919 – Ian Smith, Zimbabwean lieutenant and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – Franco Corelli, Italian tenor and actor (d. 2003)
    • 1921 – Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984)
    • 1921 – Herman van Raalte, Dutch footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Carmen McRae, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress (d. 1994)
    • 1923 – George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
    • 1923 – Edward Mulhare, Irish-American actor (d. 1997)
    • 1924 – Frédéric Back, German-Canadian animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English general and historian (d. 2006)
    • 1924 – Kumar Gandharva, Hindustani classical singer (d. 1992)
    • 1924 – Sara Northrup Hollister, American occultist (d. 1997)
    • 1926 – Henry N. Cobb, American architect and academic, co-founded Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (d. 2020)
    • 1926 – Shecky Greene, American actor
    • 1926 – Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian and academic
    • 1927 – Tilly Armstrong, English author (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Ollie Mitchell, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Fred Ebb, American lyricist (d. 2004)
    • 1929 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1978)
    • 1929 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (d. 1996)
    • 1930 – Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma (d. 2010)
    • 1931 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Mexico (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Iskandar of Johor (d. 2010)
    • 1933 – James Lockhart, American scholar of colonial Latin America, especially Nahua peoples (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower and Singapore Flyer (d. 2007)
    • 1935 – Oscar Zeta Acosta, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
    • 1935 – Albert Bustamante, American soldier, educator, and politician
    • 1937 – Tony Barton, English footballer, outside right and manager (d. 1993)
    • 1937 – Seymour Hersh, American journalist and author
    • 1937 – Momo Kapor, Serbian author and painter (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian economist and diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – John Hamm, Canadian physician and politician, 25th Premier of Nova Scotia
    • 1938 – Mary W. Gray, American mathematician, statistician, and lawyer
    • 1939 – John Arbuthnott, Scottish microbiologist and academic
    • 1939 – Trina Schart Hyman, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
    • 1940 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (d. 2019)
    • 1941 – J. J. Jackson, American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger
    • 1941 – Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer
    • 1942 – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Northern Irish politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Roger Chapman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1942 – Douglas Trumbull, American director, producer, and special effects artist
    • 1943 – Michael Bennett, American dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
    • 1943 – Miller Farr, American football player
    • 1943 – James Herbert, English author and illustrator (d. 2013)
    • 1943 – Chris Orr, English painter and illustrator
    • 1944 – Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor (d. 2017)
    • 1944 – Odd Nerdrum, Swedish-Norwegian painter and illustrator
    • 1945 – Derrick Walker, Scottish businessman
    • 1945 – Jang Yong, South Korean actor
    • 1946 – Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999)
    • 1946 – Tim Thomerson, American actor and producer
    • 1947 – Tom DeLay, American lawyer and politician
    • 1947 – Steve Howe, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1947 – Robert Kiyosaki, American businessman, co-founded Cashflow Technologies
    • 1947 – Pascal Lamy, French businessman and politician, European Commissioner for Trade
    • 1947 – Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter, and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1948 – Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone, Scottish academic and politician
    • 1949 – K. C. Kamalasabayson, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 39th Attorney General of Sri Lanka (d. 2007)
    • 1949 – John Madden, English director and producer
    • 1949 – Brenda Russell, African-American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1949 – John Scott, English sociologist and academic
    • 1950 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer and coach
    • 1951 – Gerd Andres, German politician
    • 1951 – Geir Haarde, Icelandic economist, journalist, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Iceland
    • 1951 – Mel Schacher, American bass player
    • 1951 – Joan Sebastian, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2015)
    • 1952 – Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician (d. 2004)
    • 1954 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – G.V. Loganathan, Indian-American engineer and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1955 – Ricky Bell, American football player (d. 1984)
    • 1955 – Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer
    • 1955 – Ron Johnson, American businessman and politician
    • 1955 – Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist, essayist and poet
    • 1955 – David Wu, Taiwanese-American lawyer and politician
    • 1956 – Michael Benton, Scottish-English paleontologist and academic
    • 1956 – Christine Boisson, French actress
    • 1956 – Roman Dragoun, Czech singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1956 – Jim Piddock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Fred Smerlas, American football player and radio host
    • 1958 – Detlef Bruckhoff, German footballer
    • 1958 – Tom Petranoff, American javelin thrower and coach
    • 1959 – Alain Bondue, French cyclist
    • 1960 – John Schneider, American actor and country singer
    • 1961 – Richard Hatch, American reality contestant
    • 1961 – Brian McDermott, English footballer and manager
    • 1962 – Paddy Lowe, English engineer
    • 1962 – Izzy Stradlin, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1963 – Tine Asmundsen, Norwegian bassist
    • 1963 – Julian Lennon, English singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Terry Porter, American basketball player and coach
    • 1963 – Donita Sparks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1963 – Alec Stewart, English cricketer
    • 1963 – Seth Tobias, American businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1964 – Biz Markie, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1964 – John McGinlay, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Steven Blaney, Canadian businessman and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of Public Safety
    • 1965 – Michael Jones, New Zealand rugby player and coach
    • 1966 – Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (d. 2014)
    • 1966 – Mark Blundell, English race car driver
    • 1966 – Andy Currier, English rugby league player
    • 1966 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand-Australian television host (d. 2014)
    • 1966 – Dalton Grant, English high jumper
    • 1966 – Mazinho, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1966 – Harri Rovanperä, Finnish race car driver
    • 1966 – Evripidis Stylianidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
    • 1966 – Robin Wright, American actress, director, producer
    • 1967 – Kenny Benjamin, Antiguan cricketer
    • 1968 – Patricia Arquette, French-Canadian Russian/Polish Jewish-American actress and director
    • 1968 – Patricia Girard, French runner and hurdler
    • 1968 – Tracy Grammer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – Darren Jessee, American singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1972 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1972 – Sergei Magnitsky, Russian lawyer and accountant (d. 2009)
    • 1973 – Khaled Badra, Tunisian footballer
    • 1973 – Emma Caulfield, American actress
    • 1974 – Toutai Kefu, Tongan-Australian rugby player
    • 1974 – Nnedi Okorafor, Nigerian-American author and educator
    • 1975 – Anouk, Dutch singer
    • 1975 – Francesco Flachi, Italian footballer
    • 1975 – Timo Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1975 – Funda Arar, Turkish singer
    • 1977 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress
    • 1977 – Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist and author (d. 2008)
    • 1977 – Mark Spencer, American computer programmer and engineer
    • 1978 – Daigo, Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and voice actor
    • 1978 – Bernt Haas, Austrian-Swiss footballer
    • 1978 – Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress
    • 1978 – Jocelyn Robichaud, Canadian tennis player and coach
    • 1978 – Evans Rutto, Kenyan runner
    • 1979 – Alexi Laiho, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Amit Trivedi, Indian singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
    • 1980 – Katee Sackhoff, American actress
    • 1980 – Mariko Seyama, Japanese announcer, photographer, and model
    • 1981 – Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
    • 1981 – Ofer Shechter, Israeli model, actor, and screenwriter
    • 1982 – Gennady Golovkin, Kazakhstani boxer
    • 1982 – Brett White, Australian rugby league player
    • 1983 – Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova, Russian runner
    • 1984 – Michelle Donelan, British politician
    • 1984 – Ezra Koenig, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1984 – Pablo Portillo, Mexican singer and actor
    • 1984 – Taran Noah Smith, American actor
    • 1985 – Patrick Schliwa, German rugby player
    • 1985 – Yemane Tsegay, Ethiopian runner
    • 1986 – Igor Akinfeev, Russian footballer
    • 1986 – Félix Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1987 – Royston Drenthe, Dutch footballer
    • 1987 – Jeremy Hellickson, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Sam Rapira, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1988 – Jenni Asserholt, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Kim Myung-sung, South Korean baseball player
    • 1990 – Kim Jong-hyun, South Korean singer (d. 2017)
    • 1993 – Viktor Arvidsson, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1993 – Zac Santo, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Josh Chudleigh, Australian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Cedi Osman, Turkish professional basketball player
    • 1997 – Saygrace, Australian singer and songwriter
    • 1997 – Arno Verschueren, Belgian professional football player

    Deaths on April 8

    • 217 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (b. 188)
    • 622 – Shōtoku, Japanese prince (b. 572)
    • 632 – Charibert II, Frankish king (b. 607)
    • 894 – Adalelm, Frankish nobleman
    • 944 – Wang Yanxi, Chinese emperor
    • 956 – Gilbert, Frankish nobleman
    • 967 – Mu’izz al-Dawla, Buyid emir (b. 915)
    • 1143 – John II Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1087)
    • 1150 – Gertrude of Babenberg , duchess of Bohemia (b. 1118)
    • 1321 – Thomas of Tolentino, Italian-Franciscan missionary (b. c. 1255)
    • 1338 – Stephen Gravesend, bishop of London
    • 1364 – John II, French king (b. 1319)
    • 1450 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (b. 1397)
    • 1461 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423)
    • 1492 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1449)
    • 1551 – Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)
    • 1586 – Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran theologian and reformer (b. 1522)
    • 1608 – Magdalen Dacre, English noble (b. 1538)
    • 1612 – Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (b. 1575)
    • 1691 – Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect, designed the Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto (b. 1611)
    • 1697 – Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (b. 1629)
    • 1704 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist and philologist (b. 1624)
    • 1704 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English colonel and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1641)
    • 1709 – Wolfgang Dietrich of Castell-Remlingen, German nobleman (b. 1641)
    • 1725 – John Wise, American minister (b. 1652)
    • 1735 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
    • 1848 – Gaetano Donizetti, Italian composer (b. 1797)
    • 1860 – István Széchenyi, Hungarian statesman and reformer (b.1791)
    • 1861 – Elisha Otis, American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company (b. 1811)
    • 1870 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (b. 1802)
    • 1894 – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1838)
    • 1906 – Auguste Deter, German woman, first person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (b. 1850)
    • 1919 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist, academic, and politician, Hungarian Minister of Education (b. 1848)
    • 1920 – Charles Griffes, American pianist and composer (b. 1884)
    • 1931 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish poet Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
    • 1936 – Róbert Bárány, Austrian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
    • 1936 – Božena Benešová, Czech poet and novelist (b. 1873)
    • 1941 – Marcel Prévost, French novelist and playwright (b. 1862)
    • 1942 – Kostas Skarvelis, Greek guitarist and composer (b. 1880)
    • 1947 – Olaf Frydenlund, Norwegian target shooter (b. 1862)
    • 1950 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish dancer and choreographer (b. 1890)
    • 1959 – Marios Makrionitis, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Athens (b. 1913)
    • 1961 – Joseph Carrodus, Australian public servant (b. 1885)
    • 1962 – Juan Belmonte, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1892)
    • 1965 – Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (b. 1886)
    • 1969 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian astronomer (b. 1900)
    • 1973 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1881)
    • 1974 – James Charles McGuigan, Canadian cardinal (b. 1894)
    • 1979 – Breece D’J Pancake, American short story writer (b. 1952)
    • 1981 – Omar Bradley, American general (b. 1893)
    • 1983 – Isamu Kosugi, Japanese actor and director (b. 1904)
    • 1984 – Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1894)
    • 1985 – John Frederick Coots, American pianist and composer (b. 1897)
    • 1990 – Ryan White, American activist, inspired the Ryan White Care Act (b. 1971)
    • 1991 – Per Ohlin, Swedish musician (b. 1969)
    • 1992 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-Italian pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
    • 1993 – Marian Anderson, American operatic singer (b. 1897)
    • 1994 – François Rozet, French-Canadian actor (b. 1899)
    • 1996 – Ben Johnson, American actor and stuntman (b. 1918)
    • 1996 – León Klimovsky, Argentinian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
    • 1996 – Mick Young, Australian politician (b. 1936)
    • 1997 – Laura Nyro, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1947)
    • 2000 – František Šťastný, Czech motorcycle racer (b. 1927)
    • 2000 – Claire Trevor, American actress (b. 1910)
    • 2002 – María Félix, Mexican actress (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – Harvey Quaytman, American painter (b. 1937)
    • 2004 – Werner Schumacher, German actor (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – Onna White, Canadian choreographer and dancer (b. 1922)
    • 2006 – Gerard Reve, Dutch author and poet (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Sol LeWitt, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928)
    • 2008 – Kazuo Shiraga, Japanese painter (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – Richard de Mille, American Scientologist, author, investigative journalist, and psychologist (b. 1922)
    • 2009 – Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer (b. 1976)
    • 2010 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2010 – Teddy Scholten, Dutch singer (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Hedda Sterne, Romanian-American painter and photographer (b. 1910)
    • 2012 – Blair Kiel, American football player and coach (b. 1961)
    • 2012 – Jack Tramiel, Polish-American businessman, founded Commodore International (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Janusz K. Zawodny, Polish-American soldier, historian, and political scientist (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Mikhail Beketov, Russian journalist (b. 1958)
    • 2013 – Annette Funicello, American actress and singer (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Sara Montiel, Spanish-Mexican actress and singer (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Emmanuel III Delly, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Ivan Mercep, New Zealand architect, designed the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Jayakanthan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Rayson Huang, Hong Kong chemist and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Sergei Lashchenko, Ukrainian kick-boxer (b. 1987)
    • 2015 – David Laventhol, American journalist and publisher (b. 1933)
    • 2015 – Jean-Claude Turcotte, Canadian cardinal (b. 1936)

    Holidays and observances on April 8

    • Buddha’s Birthday, also known as Hana Matsuri, “Flower Festival” (Japan)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Anne Ayres (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Constantina
      • Julie Billiart of Namur
      • Perpetuus
      • Walter of Pontoise
      • William Augustus Muhlenberg (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • April 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Fast and Prayer Day can fall, while April 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Friday in April (Liberia)
    • International Romani Day
  • 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