1365

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

    • 1054 – Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland somewhere north of the Firth of Forth.
    • 1189 – Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Stefan Nemanja, during the Third Crusade.
    • 1202 – Georgian–Seljuk wars: At the Battle of Basian the Kingdom of Georgia defeats the Sultanate of Rum.
    • 1214 – Battle of Bouvines: Philip II of France decisively defeats Imperial, English and Flemish armies, effectively ending John of England’s Angevin Empire.
    • 1299 – According to Edward Gibbon, Osman I invades the territory of Nicomedia for the first time, usually considered to be the founding day of the Ottoman state.
    • 1302 – Battle of Bapheus: Decisive Ottoman victory over the Byzantines opening up Bithynia for Turkish conquest.
    • 1549 – The Jesuit priest Francis Xavier’s ship reaches Japan.
    • 1663 – The English Parliament passes the second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English ports. After the Acts of Union 1707, Scotland would be included in the Act.
    • 1689 – Glorious Revolution: The Battle of Killiecrankie is a victory for the Jacobites.
    • 1694 – A Royal charter is granted to the Bank of England.
    • 1775 – Founding of the U.S. Army Medical Department: The Second Continental Congress passes legislation establishing “an hospital for an army consisting of 20,000 men.”
    • 1778 – American Revolution: First Battle of Ushant: British and French fleets fight to a standoff.
    • 1789 – The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, is established (it will be later renamed Department of State).
    • 1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre is arrested after encouraging the execution of more than 17,000 “enemies of the Revolution”.
    • 1816 – Battle of Negro Fort: The battle ends when a hot shot cannonball fired by US Navy Gunboat No. 154 explodes the Fort’s Powder Magazine, killing approximately 275. It is considered the deadliest single cannon shot in US history.
    • 1857 – Siege of Arrah begins: Sixty-eight men hold out for eight days against a force of 2,500 to 3,000 mutinying sepoys and 8,000 irregular forces.
    • 1865 – Welsh settlers arrive at Chubut in Argentina.
    • 1866 – The first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.
    • 1880 – Second Anglo-Afghan War: Battle of Maiwand: Afghan forces led by Mohammad Ayub Khan defeat the British Army in battle near Maiwand, Afghanistan.
    • 1890 – Vincent van Gogh shoots himself and dies two days later.
    • 1900 – Kaiser Wilhelm II makes a speech comparing Germans to Huns; for years afterwards, “Hun” would be a disparaging name for Germans.
    • 1917 – World War I: The Allies reach the Yser Canal at the Battle of Passchendaele.
    • 1919 – The Chicago Race Riot erupts after a racial incident occurred on a South Side beach, leading to 38 fatalities and 537 injuries over a five-day period.
    • 1921 – Researchers at the University of Toronto, led by biochemist Frederick Banting, prove that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar.
    • 1929 – The Geneva Convention of 1929, dealing with treatment of prisoners-of-war, is signed by 53 nations.
    • 1940 – The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.
    • 1942 – World War II: Allied forces successfully halt the final Axis advance into Egypt.
    • 1949 – Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.
    • 1953 – Cessation of hostilities is achieved in the Korean War when the United States, China, and North Korea sign an armistice agreement. Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea, refuses to sign but pledges to observe the armistice.
    • 1955 – The Austrian State Treaty restores Austrian sovereignty.
    • 1955 – El Al Flight 402 is shot down by two fighter jets after straying into Bulgarian air space. All 58 people onboard are killed.
    • 1959 – The Continental League is announced as baseball’s “3rd major league” in the United States.
    • 1964 – Vietnam War: Five thousand more American military advisers are sent to South Vietnam bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000.
    • 1974 – Watergate scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon.
    • 1975 – Mayor of Jaffna and former MP Alfred Duraiappah is shot dead.
    • 1976 – Former Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka is arrested on suspicion of violating foreign exchange and foreign trade laws in connection with the Lockheed bribery scandals.
    • 1981 – While landing at Chihuahua International Airport, Aeromexico Flight 230 overshoots the runway. Thirty-two of the 66 passengers and crew on board the DC-9 are killed.[2]
    • 1983 – Black July: Eighteen Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by Sinhalese prisoners, the second such massacre in two days.
    • 1987 – RMS Titanic Inc. begins the first expedited salvage of wreckage of the RMS Titanic.
    • 1989 – While attempting to land at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, Korean Air Flight 803 crashes just short of the runway. Seventy-five of the 199 passengers and crew and four people on the ground are killed, in the second accident involving a DC-10 in less than two weeks, the first being United Airlines Flight 232.
    • 1990 – The Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian Soviet Republic declares independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union. Until 1996 the day is celebrated as the Independence Day of Belarus; after a referendum held that year the celebration of independence is moved to June 3.
    • 1990 – The Jamaat al Muslimeen attempt a coup d’état in Trinidad and Tobago.
    • 1995 – The Korean War Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
    • 1996 – In Atlanta, United States, a pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics.
    • 1997 – About 50 people are killed in the Si Zerrouk massacre in Algeria.
    • 2002 – Ukraine airshow disaster: A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes during an air show at Lviv, Ukraine killing 77 and injuring more than 500 others, making it the deadliest air show disaster in history.
    • 2005 – After an incident during STS-114, NASA grounds the Space Shuttle, pending an investigation of the continuing problem with the shedding of foam insulation from the external fuel tank.
    • 2015 – At least seven people are killed and many injured after gunmen attack an Indian police station in Punjab.
    • 2016 – At a news conference in Florida, U.S. Presidential Candidate Donald Trump publicly appealed to Russia to find and release private emails from Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton; a Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019) later alleged that Russian operatives began hacking into servers at the Democratic National Committee on that same day, leading to the July 13, 2018 indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers.[3]

    Births on July 27

    • 1452 – Ludovico Sforza, Italian son of Francesco I Sforza (d. 1508)
    • 1452 – Lucrezia Crivelli, mistress of Ludovico Sforza (d. 1508)
    • 1502 – Francesco Corteccia, Italian composer (d. 1571)
    • 1578 – Frances Howard, Duchess of Richmond (d. 1639)
    • 1612 – Murad IV, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1640)
    • 1625 – Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich (d. 1672)
    • 1667 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (d. 1748)
    • 1733 – Jeremiah Dixon, English surveyor and astronomer (d. 1779)
    • 1740 – Jeanne Baré, French explorer (d. 1803)
    • 1741 – François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, French-English violinist and composer (d. 1808)
    • 1752 – Samuel Smith, American general and politician (d. 1839)
    • 1768 – Charlotte Corday, French assassin of Jean-Paul Marat (d. 1793)
    • 1768 – Joseph Anton Koch, Austrian painter (d. 1839)
    • 1773 – Jacob Aall, Norwegian economist and politician (d. 1844)
    • 1777 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish-French poet and academic (d. 1844)
    • 1777 – Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, English general (d. 1853)
    • 1781 – Mauro Giuliani, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1828)
    • 1784 – Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (d. 1839)
    • 1812 – Thomas Lanier Clingman, American general and politician (d. 1897)
    • 1818 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (d. 1902)
    • 1824 – Alexandre Dumas, fils, French novelist and playwright (d. 1895)
    • 1833 – Thomas George Bonney, English geologist, mountaineer, and academic (d. 1923)
    • 1834 – Miguel Grau Seminario, Peruvian admiral (d. 1879)
    • 1835 – Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
    • 1848 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist and politician, Minister of Education of Hungary (d. 1919)
    • 1848 – Friedrich Ernst Dorn, German physicist (d.1916)
    • 1853 – Vladimir Korolenko, Ukrainian journalist, author, and activist (d. 1921)
    • 1853 – Elizabeth Plankinton, American philanthropist (d. 1923)
    • 1854 – Takahashi Korekiyo, Japanese accountant and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1936)
    • 1857 – José Celso Barbosa, Puerto Rican physician, sociologist, and politician (d. 1921)
    • 1857 – Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge, English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist (d.1934)
    • 1858 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (d. 1938)
    • 1866 – António José de Almeida, Portuguese physician and politician, 6th President of Portugal (d. 1929)
    • 1867 – Enrique Granados, Spanish pianist and composer (d. 1916)
    • 1870 – Hilaire Belloc, French-born British writer and historian (d. 1953)
    • 1872 – Stanislav Binički, Serbian composer, conductor, and pedagogue. (d. 1942)
    • 1879 – Francesco Gaeta, Italian poet (d. 1927)
    • 1877 – Ernő Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1960)
    • 1881 – Hans Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1945)
    • 1882 – Geoffrey de Havilland, English pilot and engineer, founded the de Havilland Aircraft Company (d. 1965)
    • 1886 – Ernst May, German architect and urban planner (d. 1970)
    • 1889 – Vera Karalli, Russian ballerina, choreographer, and actress (d. 1972)
    • 1890 – Benjamin Miessner, American radio engineer and inventor (d. 1976)
    • 1890 – Armas Taipale, Finnish discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1976)
    • 1891 – Jacob van der Hoeden, Dutch-Israeli veterinarian and academic (d. 1968)
    • 1893 – Ugo Agostoni, Italian cyclist (d. 1941)
    • 1894 – Mientje Kling, Dutch actress (d. 1966)
    • 1896 – Robert George, Scottish air marshal and politician, 24th Governor of South Australia (d. 1967)
    • 1896 – Henri Longchambon, French lawyer and politician (d. 1969)
    • 1899 – Percy Hornibrook, Australian cricketer (d. 1976)
    • 1902 – Yaroslav Halan, Ukrainian playwright and publicist (d. 1949)
    • 1903 – Nikolay Cherkasov, Russian actor (d. 1966)
    • 1903 – Michail Stasinopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, President of Greece (d. 2002)
    • 1903 – Mārtiņš Zīverts, Latvian playwright (d. 1990)
    • 1904 – Lyudmila Rudenko, Soviet chess player (d. 1986)
    • 1905 – Leo Durocher, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Jerzy Giedroyc, Polish author and activist (d. 2000)
    • 1906 – Herbert Jasper, Canadian psychologist and neurologist (d. 1999)
    • 1907 – Ross Alexander, American stage and film actor (d. 1937)
    • 1907 – Carl McClellan Hill, African American educator and academic administrator (d. 1995)
    • 1907 – Irene Fischer, Austrian-American geodesist and mathematician (d. 2009)
    • 1908 – Joseph Mitchell, American journalist and author (d. 1996)
    • 1910 – Julien Gracq, French author and critic (d. 2007)
    • 1910 – Lupita Tovar, Mexican-American actress (d. 2016)
    • 1911 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (d. 1981)
    • 1912 – Vernon Elliott, English bassoon player, composer, and conductor (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – George L. Street III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2000)
    • 1914 – August Sang, Estonian poet and translator (d. 1969)
    • 1915 – Mario Del Monaco, Italian tenor (d. 1982)
    • 1915 – Josef Priller, German colonel and pilot (d. 1961)
    • 1916 – Elizabeth Hardwick, American literary critic, novelist, and short story writer (d. 2007)
    • 1916 – Skippy Williams, American saxophonist and arranger (d. 1994)
    • 1916 – Keenan Wynn, American actor (d. 1986)
    • 1918 – Leonard Rose, American cellist and educator (d. 1984)
    • 1920 – Henry D. “Homer” Haynes, American comedian and musician (Homer and Jethro) (d. 1971)
    • 1921 – Garry Davis, American pilot and activist, created the World Passport (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Émile Genest, Canadian-American actor (d. 2003)
    • 1922 – Adolfo Celi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1986)
    • 1922 – Norman Lear, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1923 – Mas Oyama, South Korean-Japanese martial artist (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – Vincent Canby, American historian and critic (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Otar Taktakishvili, Georgian composer and conductor (d. 1989)
    • 1927 – Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Pierre Granier-Deferre, French director and screenwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1927 – Will Jordan, American comedian and actor (d. 2018)
    • 1927 – C. Rajadurai, Sri Lankan journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Batticaloa
    • 1927 – John Seigenthaler, American journalist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Joseph Kittinger, American colonel and pilot
    • 1929 – Jean Baudrillard, French sociologist and philosopher (d. 2007)
    • 1929 – Harvey Fuqua, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Jack Higgins, English author and academic
    • 1929 – Marc Wilkinson, French-Australian composer and conductor
    • 1930 – Joy Whitby, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1930 – Shirley Williams, English academic and politician, Secretary of State for Education
    • 1931 – Khieu Samphan, Cambodian academic and politician, 28th Prime Minister of Cambodia
    • 1931 – Jerry Van Dyke, American actor (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Forest Able, American basketball player
    • 1932 – Diane Webber, American model, dancer and actress
    • 1933 – Nick Reynolds, American singer and bongo player (d. 2008)
    • 1933 – Ted Whitten, Australian footballer and journalist (d. 1995)
    • 1935 – Hillar Kärner, Estonian chess player
    • 1935 – Billy McCullough, Northern Irish footballer
    • 1936 – J. Robert Hooper, American businessman and politician (d. 2008)
    • 1937 – Anna Dawson, English actress and singer
    • 1937 – Don Galloway, American actor (d. 2009)
    • 1937 – Robert Holmes à Court, South African-Australian businessman and lawyer (d. 1990)
    • 1938 – Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (d. 2008)
    • 1939 – William Eggleston, American photographer and academic
    • 1939 – Michael Longley, Northern Irish poet and academic
    • 1939 – Paulo Silvino, Brazilian comedian, composer and actor (d. 2017)
    • 1940 – Pina Bausch, German dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
    • 1941 – Christian Boesch, Austrian opera singer
    • 1941 – Johannes Fritsch, German viola player and composer (d. 2010)
    • 1942 – Édith Butler, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1942 – John Pleshette, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1942 – Dennis Ralston, American tennis player
    • 1943 – Jeremy Greenstock, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations
    • 1944 – Bobbie Gentry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1944 – Jean-Marie Leblanc, French cyclist and journalist
    • 1944 – Barbara Thomson, English saxophonist and composer
    • 1945 – Edmund M. Clarke, American computer scientist
    • 1946 – Peter Reading, English poet and author (d. 2011)
    • 1947 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese businessman (d. 2008)
    • 1947 – Betty Thomas, American actress, director, and producer
    • 1948 – Peggy Fleming, American figure skater and sportscaster
    • 1948 – James Munby, English lawyer and judge
    • 1948 – Henny Vrienten, Dutch singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1949 – Maury Chaykin, American-Canadian actor (d. 2010)
    • 1949 – André Dupont, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1949 – Rory MacDonald, Scottish singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1949 – Maureen McGovern, American singer and actress
    • 1949 – Robert Rankin, English author and illustrator
    • 1950 – Simon Jones, English actor
    • 1951 – Roseanna Cunningham, Scottish lawyer and politician, Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs
    • 1951 – Bob Diamond, American-English banker and businessman
    • 1951 – Rolf Thung, Dutch tennis player
    • 1952 – Marvin Barnes, American basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1952 – Roxanne Hart, American actress
    • 1953 – Chung Dong-young, South Korean journalist and politician, 31st South Korean Minister of Unification
    • 1953 – Yahoo Serious, Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Philippe Alliot, French race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1954 – G. S. Bali, Indian lawyer and politician
    • 1954 – Ricardo Uceda, Peruvian journalist and author
    • 1954 – Mark Stanway, English keyboard player Magnum
    • 1955 – Cat Bauer, American journalist, author, and playwright
    • 1955 – Allan Border, Australian cricketer and coach
    • 1955 – John Howell, English journalist and politician
    • 1955 – Bobby Rondinelli, American drummer
    • 1956 – Carol Leifer, American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer
    • 1957 – Bill Engvall, American comedian, actor, and producer
    • 1958 – Christopher Dean, English figure skater and choreographer
    • 1958 – Kimmo Hakola, Finnish composer
    • 1959 – Joe DeSa, American baseball player (d. 1986)
    • 1959 – Hugh Green, American football player
    • 1959 – Yiannos Papantoniou, French-Greek economist and politician, Greek Minister of National Defence
    • 1960 – Jo Durie, English tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Conway Savage, Australian singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2018)
    • 1960 – Emily Thornberry, English lawyer and politician
    • 1961 – Ed Orgeron, American football coach[4]
    • 1962 – Neil Brooks, Australian swimmer
    • 1962 – Karl Mueller, American bass player (d. 2005)
    • 1963 – Donnie Yen, Chinese-Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and martial artist
    • 1964 – Rex Brown, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1965 – José Luis Chilavert, Paraguayan footballer
    • 1966 – Steve Tilson, English footballer and manager
    • 1967 – Rahul Bose, Indian journalist, actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Juliana Hatfield, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1967 – Hans Mathisen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
    • 1967 – Neil Smith, English cricketer
    • 1967 – Craig Wolanin, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1968 – Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Italian actress and producer
    • 1968 – Tom Goodwin, American baseball player and coach
    • 1968 – Sabina Jeschke, Swedish-German engineer and academic
    • 1968 – Julian McMahon, Australian actor and producer
    • 1968 – Ricardo Rosset, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1969 – Triple H, American wrestler and actor
    • 1969 – Jonty Rhodes, South African cricketer and coach
    • 1970 – Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Danish actor and producer
    • 1970 – David Davies, English-Welsh politician
    • 1971 – Matthew Johns, Australian rugby league player, sportscaster and television host
    • 1972 – Clint Robinson, Australian kayaker[5]
    • 1972 – Maya Rudolph, American actress
    • 1972 – Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysian surgeon and astronaut
    • 1973 – Cassandra Clare, American journalist and author
    • 1973 – Erik Nys, Belgian long jumper
    • 1973 – Gorden Tallis, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1974 – Eason Chan, Hong Kong singer, actor, and producer
    • 1974 – Pete Yorn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1975 – Serkan Çeliköz, Turkish keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1975 – Shea Hillenbrand, American baseball player
    • 1975 – Fred Mascherino, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1975 – Alessandro Pistone, Italian footballer
    • 1975 – Alex Rodriguez, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Demis Hassabis, English computer scientist and academic
    • 1976 – Scott Mason, Australian cricketer (d. 2005)
    • 1977 – Foo Swee Chin, Singaporean illustrator
    • 1977 – Björn Dreyer, German footballer
    • 1977 – Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Irish actor
    • 1978 – Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Irish hurler and manager
    • 1979 – Marielle Franco, Brazilian politician, feminist, and human rights activist (d. 2018)
    • 1979 – Jorge Arce, Mexican boxer
    • 1979 – Sidney Govou, French footballer
    • 1979 – Shannon Moore, American wrestler and singer
    • 1980 – Allan Davis, Australian cyclist
    • 1980 – Wesley Gonzales, Filipino basketball player
    • 1981 – Susan King Borchardt, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Collins Obuya, Kenyan cricketer
    • 1981 – Dash Snow, American painter and photographer (d. 2009)
    • 1981 – Christopher Weselek, German rugby player
    • 1982 – Neil Harbisson, English-Catalan painter, composer, and activist
    • 1983 – Lorik Cana, Albanian footballer
    • 1983 – Martijn Maaskant, Dutch cyclist
    • 1983 – Goran Pandev, Macedonian footballer
    • 1983 – Soccor Velho, Indian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1984 – Antoine Bethea, American football player
    • 1984 – Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Japanese baseball player
    • 1984 – Max Scherzer, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Taylor Schilling, American actress
    • 1984 – Kenny Wormald, American actor, dancer, and choreographer
    • 1985 – Husain Abdullah, American football player
    • 1985 – Matteo Pratichetti, Italian rugby player
    • 1985 – Ajmal Shahzad, English cricketer
    • 1986 – DeMarre Carroll, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Ryan Flaherty, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Ryan Griffen, Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Jacoby Ford, American football player
    • 1987 – Marek Hamšík, Slovak footballer
    • 1987 – Jordan Hill, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Sarah Parsons, American ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Adam Biddle, Australian footballer
    • 1988 – Yoervis Medina, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1988 – Ryan Tannehill, American football player
    • 1989 – Maya Ali, Pakistani actress
    • 1990 – Nick Hogan, American race car driver and actor
    • 1990 – Paolo Hurtado, Peruvian footballer
    • 1990 – Cheyenne Kimball, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1990 – Stephen Li-Chung Kuo, Taiwanese-American figure skater
    • 1990 – Kriti Sanon, Indian actress
    • 1991 – Rena Matsui, Japanese actress and singer
    • 1993 – Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Australian rugby league player
    • 1993 – Max Power, English footballer
    • 1993 – Jordan Spieth, American golfer
    • 2001 – Shin Ki-joon, South Korean actor

    Deaths on July 27

    • 903 – Abdallah II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid emir
    • 959 – Chai Rong, emperor of Later Zhou
    • 1144 – Salomea of Berg, High Duchess consort of Poland[6]
    • 1061 – Nicholas II, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 1101 – Conrad II, king of Italy (b. 1074)
    • 1101 – Hugh d’Avranches, Earl of Chester (b. c. 1047)
    • 1158 – Geoffrey VI, Count of Anjou (b. 1134)
    • 1276 – James I of Aragon (b. 1208)
    • 1365 – Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (b. 1339)
    • 1382 – Joanna I of Naples (b. 1326)
    • 1510 – Giovanni Sforza, Italian condottiere (b. 1466)
    • 1469 – William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (b. 1423)
    • 1656 – Salomo Glassius, German theologian and critic (b. 1593)
    • 1675 – Henri de la Tour d’Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, French general (b. 1611)
    • 1689 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (b. c. 1648)[7]
    • 1759 – Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1698)
    • 1770 – Robert Dinwiddie, Scottish merchant and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1693)
    • 1841 – Mikhail Lermontov, Russian poet and painter (b. 1814)
    • 1844 – John Dalton, English physicist, meteorologist, and chemist (b. 1776)
    • 1863 – William Lowndes Yancey, American journalist and politician (b. 1813)
    • 1865 – Jean-Joseph Dassy, French painter and lithographer (b. 1791)
    • 1875 – Aleksander Kunileid, Estonian composer and educator (b. 1845)
    • 1876 – Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-born American minister and author (b. 1811)
    • 1883 – Montgomery Blair, American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (b. 1813)
    • 1916 – Charles Fryatt, English captain (b. 1872)
    • 1916 – William Jonas, English footballer (d. 1890)
    • 1917 – Emil Theodor Kocher, Swiss physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1841)
    • 1921 – Myrddin Fardd, Welsh writer and antiquarian scholar (b. 1836)
    • 1924 – Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1866)
    • 1931 – Auguste Forel, Swiss neuroanatomist and psychiatrist (b. 1848)
    • 1938 – Tom Crean, Irish seaman and explorer (b. 1877)
    • 1941 – Alfred Henry O’Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (b. 1858)
    • 1942 – Karl Pärsimägi, Estonian painter (b. 1902)
    • 1946 – Gertrude Stein, American novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1874)
    • 1948 – Woolf Barnato, English race car driver and businessman (b. 1898)
    • 1948 – Joe Tinker, American baseball player and manager (b. 1880)
    • 1948 – Dorothea Bleek, South African anthropologist and philologist (b. 1873)
    • 1951 – Paul Kogerman, Estonian chemist and politician, 22nd Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1891)
    • 1958 – Claire Lee Chennault, American general and pilot (b. 1893)
    • 1960 – Julie Vinter Hansen, Danish-Swiss astronomer and academic (b. 1890)
    • 1962 – Richard Aldington, English poet and author (b. 1892)
    • 1962 – James H. Kindelberger, American pilot and businessman (b. 1895)
    • 1963 – Hooks Dauss, American baseball player (b. 1889)
    • 1963 – Garrett Morgan, African-American inventor (b. 1877)
    • 1964 – Winifred Lenihan, American actress, writer, and director (b. 1898)
    • 1965 – Daniel-Rops, French historian and author (b. 1901)
    • 1968 – Babe Adams, American baseball player and manager (b. 1882)
    • 1970 – António de Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese economist and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1889)
    • 1971 – Charlie Tully, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1924)
    • 1975 – Alfred Duraiappah, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (d. 1926)
    • 1978 – Bob Heffron, New Zealand-Australian miner and politician, 30th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1890)
    • 1978 – Willem van Otterloo, Dutch cellist, composer, and conductor (b. 1907)
    • 1980 – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iranian king (b. 1919)
    • 1981 – William Wyler, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1902)
    • 1984 – James Mason, English actor (b. 1909)
    • 1985 – Smoky Joe Wood, American baseball player and coach (b. 1889)
    • 1987 – Travis Jackson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1903)
    • 1988 – Frank Zamboni, American inventor and businessman, founded the Zamboni Company (b. 1901)
    • 1990 – Bobby Day, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1928)
    • 1990 – René Toribio, Guadeloupean politician (b. 1912)
    • 1991 – John Friedrich, German-Australian engineer and conman (b. 1950)
    • 1992 – Max Dupain, Australian photographer and educator (b. 1911)
    • 1992 – Tzeni Karezi, Greek actress and screenwriter
    • 1993 – Reggie Lewis, American basketball player (b. 1965)
    • 1994 – Kevin Carter, South African photographer and journalist (b. 1960)
    • 1995 – Melih Esenbel, Turkish politician and diplomat, 20th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1915)
    • 1995 – Rick Ferrell, American baseball player and coach (b. 1905)
    • 1995 – Miklós Rózsa, Hungarian-American composer and conductor (b. 1907)
    • 1998 – Binnie Barnes, English-American actress (b. 1903)
    • 1999 – Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov, Russian mathematician, physicist, and mountaineer (b. 1912)
    • 1999 – Harry Edison, American trumpet player (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Gordon Solie, American sportscaster (b. 1929)
    • 2001 – Rhonda Sing, Canadian wrestler (b. 1961)
    • 2001 – Leon Wilkeson, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1952)
    • 2003 – Vance Hartke, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2003 – Bob Hope, English-American actor, comedian, television personality, and businessman (b. 1903)
    • 2005 – Al Held, American painter and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2005 – Marten Toonder, Dutch author and illustrator (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Maryann Mahaffey, American academic and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – James Oyebola, Nigerian-English boxer (b. 1961)
    • 2008 – Youssef Chahine, Egyptian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2008 – Horst Stein, German-born Swiss conductor (b. 1928)
    • 2008 – Isaac Saba Raffoul, Mexican businessman (b. 1923)
    • 2010 – Maury Chaykin, American-Canadian actor (b. 1949)
    • 2010 – Jack Tatum, American football player (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Norman Alden, American actor (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Darryl Cotton, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1949)
    • 2012 – Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (b. 1944)
    • 2012 – Tony Martin, American actor and singer (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Jack Taylor, English footballer and referee (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Fernando Alonso, Cuban dancer, co-founded the Cuban National Ballet (b. 1914)
    • 2013 – Lindy Boggs, American politician and diplomat, 5th United States Ambassador to the Holy See (b. 1916)
    • 2013 – Bud Day, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Kidd Kraddick, American radio host (b. 1959)
    • 2013 – Ilya Segalovich, Russian businessman, co-founded Yandex (b. 1964)
    • 2014 – Richard Bolt, New Zealand air marshal and pilot (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – George Freese, American baseball player and coach (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Wallace Jones, American basketball player and coach (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Paul Schell, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Seattle (b. 1937)
    • 2015 – Rickey Grundy, American singer-songwriter (b. 1959)
    • 2015 – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Indian engineer, academic, and politician, 11th President of India (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Samuel Pisar, Polish-born American lawyer and author (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Anthony Shaw, English general (b. 1930)
    • 2016 – Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer (b.1928)[8]
    • 2016 – James Alan McPherson, American short story writer and essayist (b. 1943)[9]
    • 2016 – Jerry Doyle, American actor and talk show host (b. 1956)[10]
    • 2016 – Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Minister of Defence (1963–67), Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1967–71) (b. 1915)[11]
    • 2017 – Sam Shepard, American playwright, actor, author, screenwriter, and director (b.1943)[12]
    • 2018 – Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian literature critic, television host and sexologist[13]
    • 2018 – Rahim Uddin Bharosha, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1934)

    Holidays and observances on July 27

    • Christian feast day:
      • Arethas (Western Christianity)
      • Aurelius and Natalia and companions of the Martyrs of Córdoba.
      • Maurus, Pantalemon, and Sergius
      • Pantaleon
      • Seven Sleepers of Ephesus (Roman Martyrology)
        • National Sleepy Head Day (Finland)
      • Theobald of Marly
      • Blessed Titus Brandsma, O.Carm.
      • July 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War (North Korea)
    • Iglesia ni Cristo Day (the Philippines)
    • José Celso Barbosa Day (Puerto Rico)
    • Martyrs and Wounded Soldiers Day (Vietnam)
    • National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day (United States)

  • 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)

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

    • 1395 – Battle of Rovine: The Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army.
    • 1536 – George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason.
    • 1536 – Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn’s marriage is annulled.
    • 1590 – Anne of Denmark is crowned Queen of Scotland.
    • 1642 – Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve (1612–1676) founds the Ville Marie de Montréal.
    • 1673 – Louis Jolliet and Jacques Marquette begin exploring the Mississippi River.
    • 1792 – The New York Stock Exchange is formed under the Buttonwood Agreement.
    • 1805 – Muhammad Ali becomes Wāli of Egypt.
    • 1809 – Emperor Napoleon I orders the annexation of the Papal States to the French Empire.
    • 1814 – Occupation of Monaco changes from French to Austrian.
    • 1814 – The Constitution of Norway is signed and Crown Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark is elected King of Norway by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly.
    • 1859 – Members of the Melbourne Football Club codified the first rules of Australian rules football.
    • 1863 – Rosalía de Castro publishes Cantares Gallegos, the first book in the Galician language.
    • 1865 – The International Telegraph Union (later the International Telecommunication Union) is established in Paris.
    • 1875 – Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby with the jockey Oliver Lewis (2:37.75)
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: British troops relieve Mafeking.
    • 1900 – The children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, is first published in the United States. The first copy is given to the author’s sister.
    • 1902 – Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism, an ancient mechanical analog computer.
    • 1914 – The Protocol of Corfu is signed, recognising full autonomy to Northern Epirus under nominal Albanian sovereignty.
    • 1915 – The last British Liberal Party government (led by H. H. Asquith) falls.
    • 1933 – Vidkun Quisling and Johan Bernhard Hjort form Nasjonal Samling — the national-socialist party of Norway.
    • 1939 – The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the United States’ first televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City.
    • 1940 – World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.
    • 1943 – World War II: Dambuster Raids commence by No. 617 Squadron RAF.
    • 1954 – The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, outlawing racial segregation in public schools.
    • 1967 – Six-Day War: President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt.
    • 1969 – Venera program: Soviet Venera 6 begins its descent into the atmosphere of Venus, sending back atmospheric data before being crushed by pressure.
    • 1973 – Watergate scandal: Televised hearings begin in the United States Senate.
    • 1974 – The Troubles: Thirty-three civilians are killed and 300 injured when the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) detonates four car bombs in Dublin and Monaghan, Republic of Ireland.
    • 1974 – Police in Los Angeles raid the Symbionese Liberation Army’s headquarters, killing six members, including Camilla Hall.
    • 1977 – Nolan Bushnell opened the first Chuck E. Cheese’s in San Jose, California.
    • 1980 – General Chun Doo-hwan of South Korea seizes control of the government and declares martial law in order to suppress student demonstrations.
    • 1980 – On the eve of presidential elections, Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path attacks a polling location in Chuschi (a town in Ayacucho), starting the Internal conflict in Peru.
    • 1983 – The U.S. Department of Energy declassifies documents showing world’s largest mercury pollution event in Oak Ridge, Tennessee (ultimately found to be 4.2 million pounds , in response to the Appalachian Observer’s Freedom of Information Act request.
    • 1983 – Lebanon, Israel, and the United States sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon.
    • 1984 – Prince Charles calls a proposed addition to the National Gallery, London, a “monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend”, sparking controversies on the proper role of the Royal Family and the course of modern architecture.
    • 1987 – Iran–Iraq War: An Iraqi Dassault Mirage F1 fighter jet fires two missiles into the U.S. Navy warship USS Stark, killing 37 and injuring 21 of her crew.
    • 1990 – The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.
    • 1992 – Three days of popular protests against the government of Prime Minister of Thailand Suchinda Kraprayoon begin in Bangkok, leading to a military crackdown that results in 52 officially confirmed deaths, hundreds of injuries, many disappearances, and more than 3,500 arrests.
    • 1994 – Malawi holds its first multi-party elections.
    • 1995 – Shawn Nelson steals an M60 tank from the California Army National Guard Armory in San Diego and proceeds to go on a rampage.
    • 1997 – Troops of Laurent Kabila march into Kinshasa. Zaire is officially renamed Democratic Republic of the Congo.
    • 2000 – Arsenal and Galatasaray fans clash in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots in Copenhagen
    • 2004 – The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. are performed in the state of Massachusetts.
    • 2006 – The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef.
    • 2007 – Trains from North and South Korea cross the 38th Parallel in a test-run agreed by both governments. This is the first time that trains have crossed the Demilitarized Zone since 1953.
    • 2014 – A plane crash in northern Laos kills 17 people.

    Births on May 17

    • 1155 – Jien, Japanese monk, poet, and historian (d. 1225)
    • 1443 – Edmund, Earl of Rutland (d. 1460)
    • 1451 – Engelbert II of Nassau, Count of Nassau-Vianden and Lord of Breda (1475–1504) (d. 1504)
    • 1490 – Albert, Duke of Prussia, last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (d. 1568)
    • 1500 – Federico II Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (d. 1540)
    • 1551 – Martin Delrio, Belgian occultist and theologian (d. 1601)
    • 1568 – Anna Vasa of Sweden, Swedish princess (d. 1625)
    • 1610 – Stefano della Bella, Italian engraver and etcher (d. 1664)
    • 1628 – Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria (d. 1662)
    • 1636 – Edward Colman, English Catholic courtier under Charles II (d. 1678)
    • 1682 – Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (d. 1722)
    • 1698 – Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Maltese painter (d. 1752)
    • 1706 – Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (d. 1780)
    • 1718 – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician and diplomat, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1778)
    • 1732 – Francesco Pasquale Ricci, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1817)
    • 1743 – Seth Warner, American colonel (d. 1784)
    • 1749 – Edward Jenner, English physician and microbiologist (d. 1823)
    • 1758 – Sir John St Aubyn, 5th Baronet, English politician (d. 1839)
    • 1768 – Caroline of Brunswick (d. 1821)
    • 1768 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1854)
    • 1794 – Anna Brownell Jameson, Irish-English author (d. 1860)
    • 1818 – Ezra Otis Kendall, American professor, astronomer and mathematician (d. 1899)
    • 1821 – Sebastian Kneipp, German priest and therapist (d. 1897)
    • 1835 – Thomas McIlwraith, Scottish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Queensland (d. 1900)
    • 1836 – Virginie Loveling, Belgian author and poet (d. 1923)
    • 1836 – Wilhelm Steinitz, Austrian-American chess player (d. 1900)
    • 1845 – Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan priest and poet (d. 1902)
    • 1860 – Martin Kukučín, Slovak author and playwright (d. 1928)
    • 1860 – Charlotte Barnum, American mathematician and social activist (d. 1934)
    • 1863 – Léon Gérin, Canadian lawyer, sociologist, and civil servant (d. 1951)
    • 1864 – Louis Richardet, Swiss target shooter (d. 1923)
    • 1864 – Ante Trumbić, Croatian lawyer and politician, 27th Mayor of Split (d. 1938)
    • 1866 – Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (d. 1925)
    • 1868 – Horace Elgin Dodge, American businessman, co-founded Dodge (d. 1920)
    • 1868 – Panagis Tsaldaris, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1936)
    • 1870 – Newton Moore, Australian politician, 8th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1936)
    • 1873 – Henri Barbusse, French author and journalist (d. 1935)
    • 1873 – Dorothy Richardson, English author and journalist (d. 1957)
    • 1874 – George Sheldon, American diver (d. 1907)
    • 1882 – Karl Burman, Estonian architect and painter (d. 1965)
    • 1886 – Alfonso XIII of Spain, Spanish monarch (d. 1941)
    • 1888 – Tich Freeman, English cricketer (d. 1965)
    • 1889 – Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (d. 1946)
    • 1889 – Alfonso Reyes, Mexican author (d. 1959)
    • 1891 – Napoleon Zervas, Greek general and politician (d. 1957)
    • 1893 – Frederick McKinley Jones, American inventor and entrepreneur (d. 1961)
    • 1895 – Saul Adler, Belarusian-English captain and parasitologist (d. 1966)
    • 1895 – Reinhold Saulmann, Estonian sprinter and bandy player (d. 1936)
    • 1897 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
    • 1898 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (d. 1992)
    • 1899 – Carmen de Icaza, Spanish writer (d. 1979)
    • 1901 – Werner Egk, German pianist and composer (d. 1983)
    • 1903 – Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
    • 1904 – Marie-Anne Desmarest, French author (d. 1973)
    • 1906 – Zinka Milanov, Croatian-American soprano and educator (d. 1989)
    • 1909 – Julius Sumner Miller, American physicist and academic (d. 1987)
    • 1911 – Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish-American model (d. 1992)
    • 1911 – Maureen O’Sullivan, Irish-American actress (d. 1998)
    • 1912 – Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician, 31st United States Solicitor General (d. 2004)
    • 1912 – Ace Parker, American baseball and football player (d. 2013)
    • 1912 – Mary Beatrice Davidson Kenner, American inventor (d. 2006)
    • 1913 – Hans Ruesch, Swiss racing driver and author (d. 2007)
    • 1914 – Robert N. Thompson, American-Canadian chiropractor and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1918 – Joan Benham, English actress (d. 1981)
    • 1918 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish operatic soprano (d. 2005)
    • 1919 – Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Merle Miller, American author and screenwriter (d. 1986)
    • 1919 – Gustav Naan, Russian-Estonian physicist and philosopher (d. 1994)
    • 1920 – Harry Männil, Estonian-Venezuelan businessman, co-founded ACO Group (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Dennis Brain, English composer (d. 1957)
    • 1921 – Bob Merrill, American composer and screenwriter (d. 1998)
    • 1922 – Jean Rédélé, French racing driver, founded Alpine (d. 2007)
    • 1923 – Michael Beetham, English commander and pilot (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – Roy Bentley, English footballer (d. 2018)
    • 1924 – Francis Tombs, Baron Tombs, English engineer and politician (d. 2020)
    • 1926 – David Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie, English-Scottish soldier and politician
    • 1926 – Dietmar Schönherr, Austrian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Franz Sondheimer, German-English chemist and academic (d. 1981)
    • 1929 – Branko Zebec, Yugoslav football player and coach (d. 1988)
    • 1931 – Marshall Applewhite, American cult leader, founded Heaven’s Gate (d. 1997)
    • 1931 – Dewey Redman, American saxophonist (d. 2006)
    • 1932 – Rodric Braithwaite, English soldier and diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia
    • 1932 – Peter Burge, Australian cricketer (d. 2001)
    • 1933 – Yelena Gorchakova, Russian javelin thrower (d. 2002)
    • 1934 – Friedrich-Wilhelm Kiel, German educator and politician
    • 1934 – Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Ronald Wayne, American computer scientist, co-founded Apple Inc.
    • 1935 – Dennis Potter, English voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
    • 1936 – Dennis Hopper, American actor and director (d. 2010)
    • 1937 – Hazel R. O’Leary, American lawyer and politician, 7th United States Secretary of Energy
    • 1938 – Jason Bernard, American actor (d. 1996)
    • 1938 – Marcia Freedman, Israeli activist
    • 1938 – Pervis Jackson, American R&B bass singer (d. 2008)
    • 1939 – Hugh Dykes, Baron Dykes, English politician
    • 1939 – Gary Paulsen, American author
    • 1940 – Alan Kay, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1940 – Reynato Puno, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 22nd Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
    • 1941 – David Cope, American composer and author
    • 1941 – Ben Nelson, American lawyer and politician, 37th Governor of Nebraska
    • 1942 – Taj Mahal, American blues singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1943 – Sirajuddin of Perlis, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
    • 1943 – Johnny Warren, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2004)
    • 1944 – Jesse Winchester, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1945 – B.S. Chandrasekhar, Indian cricketer
    • 1945 – Tony Roche, Australian tennis player and coach
    • 1946 – Udo Lindenberg, German singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1947 – Stephen Platten, English bishop
    • 1948 – Dick Gaughan, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1949 – Bill Bruford, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
    • 1949 – Keith, American pop singer
    • 1950 – Howard Ashman, American playwright and composer (d. 1991)
    • 1950 – Keith Bradley, Baron Bradley, English accountant and politician
    • 1950 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian economist and politician, 2nd President of Slovenia (d. 2008)
    • 1950 – Alan Johnson, English politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
    • 1950 – Valeriya Novodvorskaya, Russian journalist and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1951 – Simon Hughes, English lawyer and politician
    • 1952 – Howard Hampton, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1954 – Michael Roberts, South African-English jockey
    • 1955 – Bill Paxton, American actor and director (d. 2017)
    • 1955 – David Townsend, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
    • 1956 – Sugar Ray Leonard, American boxer
    • 1956 – Annise Parker, American politician
    • 1956 – Bob Saget, American comedian, actor, and television host
    • 1956 – Dave Sim, Canadian cartoonist and author
    • 1957 – Pascual Pérez, Dominican baseball player (d. 2012)
    • 1958 – Paul Di’Anno, English rock singer-songwriter
    • 1959 – Marcelo Loffreda, Argentine rugby player and coach
    • 1960 – Lou DiBella, American boxing promoter, actor, and producer
    • 1960 – Simon Fuller, English talent manager and producer, created the Idols series
    • 1961 – Enya, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1961 – Jamil Azzaoui, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1961 – Justin King, English businessman
    • 1962 – Lise Lyng Falkenberg, Danish journalist and author
    • 1962 – Andrew Farrar, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1962 – Craig Ferguson, Scottish-American comedian, actor, and talk show host
    • 1962 – Jane Moore, English journalist and author
    • 1962 – Rosalind Picard, American computer scientist and engineer, co-founded Affectiva
    • 1963 – Jon Koncak, American basketball player
    • 1963 – Page McConnell, American keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1964 – Stratos Apostolakis, Greek footballer and coach
    • 1964 – Mauro Martini, Italian race car driver
    • 1964 – Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (d. 1999)
    • 1965 – Trent Reznor, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer
    • 1965 – Jeremy Vine, English journalist and author
    • 1966 – Qusay Hussein, Iraqi soldier and politician (d. 2003)
    • 1966 – Mark Kratzmann, Australian tennis player and coach
    • 1966 – Danny Manning, American basketball player and coach
    • 1966 – Gilles Quénéhervé, French sprinter
    • 1967 – Nancy Benoit, American professional wrestling valet and model (d. 2007)
    • 1967 – Mohamed Nasheed, Maldivian lawyer and politician 4th President of the Maldives
    • 1967 – Patrick Ortlieb, Austrian skier
    • 1968 – Dave Abbruzzese, American rock drummer and songwriter
    • 1969 – Keith Hill, English footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Hubert Davis, American basketball player and coach
    • 1970 – Jordan Knight, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1970 – Matt Lindland, American mixed martial artist, wrestler, and politician
    • 1970 – Jodie Rogers, Australian diver
    • 1970 – René Vilbre, Estonian director and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Mark Connors, Australian rugby player
    • 1971 – Shaun Hart, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Stella Jongmans, Dutch athlete
    • 1971 – Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, Dutch royal
    • 1971 – Gina Raimondo, Governor of Rhode Island
    • 1972 – Barry Hayles, English born Jamaican international footballer
    • 1973 – Josh Homme, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1974 – Andrea Corr, Irish singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress
    • 1974 – Wiki González, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1974 – Eddie Lewis, American international soccer player
    • 1975 – Marcelinho Paraíba, Brazilian footballer
    • 1975 – Alex Wright, German wrestler
    • 1976 – Kandi Burruss, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1976 – Shayne Dunley, Australian rugby league player
    • 1976 – José Guillén, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1976 – Daniel Komen, Kenyan runner
    • 1976 – Wang Leehom, American-Taiwanese singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
    • 1976 – Mayte Martínez, Spanish runner
    • 1976 – Kirsten Vlieghuis, Dutch freestyle swimmer
    • 1978 – John Foster, American baseball player and coach
    • 1978 – Paddy Kenny, English footballer
    • 1978 – Carlos Peña, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1978 – Magdalena Zděnovcová, Czech tennis player
    • 1979 – David Jarolím, Czech footballer
    • 1979 – Wayne Thomas, English footballer
    • 1980 – Davor Džalto, Bosnian historian and philosopher
    • 1980 – Fredrik Kessiakoff, Swedish cyclist
    • 1980 – Alistair Overeem, Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer
    • 1980 – Ariën van Weesenbeek, Dutch drummer
    • 1981 – Beñat Albizuri, Spanish cyclist
    • 1981 – Leon Osman, English footballer
    • 1981 – Lim Jeong-hee, South Korean singer
    • 1981 – Chris Skidmore, English historian and politician
    • 1981 – Giannis Taralidis, Greek footballer
    • 1982 – Matt Cassel, American football player
    • 1982 – Dan Hardy, English mixed martial artist
    • 1982 – Reiko Nakamura, Japanese swimmer
    • 1982 – Tony Parker, French-American basketball player
    • 1982 – Chloe Smith, English politician
    • 1983 – Channing Frye, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Chris Henry, American football player (d. 2009)
    • 1983 – Nicky Hofs, Dutch footballer
    • 1983 – Kevin Kingston, Australian rugby league player
    • 1983 – Jeremy Sowers, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Christian Bolaños, Costa Rican footballer
    • 1984 – Christine Ohuruogu, English runner
    • 1984 – Christine Robinson, Canadian water polo player
    • 1984 – Passenger, English singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1985 – Teófilo Gutiérrez, Colombian footballer
    • 1985 – Derek Hough, American actor, singer, and dancer
    • 1985 – Christine Nesbitt, Canadian speed skater
    • 1985 – Todd Redmond, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Matt Ryan, American football player
    • 1986 – Marius Činikas, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1986 – Timo Simonlatser, Estonian skier
    • 1986 – Jodie Taylor, English footballer
    • 1987 – Edvald Boasson Hagen, Norwegian cyclist
    • 1987 – Aleandro Rosi, Italian footballer
    • 1988 – Nikki Reed, American actress, singer, and screenwriter
    • 1988 – Jennison Myrie-Williams, English footballer
    • 1989 – Mose Masoe, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1989 – Rain Raadik, Estonian basketball player
    • 1989 – Tessa Virtue, Canadian ice dancer
    • 1990 – Fabian Giefer, German footballer
    • 1990 – Charlie Gubb, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1990 – Katrina Hart, English runner
    • 1990 – Guido Pella, Argentine tennis player
    • 1991 – Johanna Konta, Australian-English tennis player
    • 1991 – Adil Omar, Pakistani rapper and music producer
    • 1991 – Abigail Raye, Canadian field hockey player

    Deaths on May 17

    • 528 – Empress Dowager Hu of Northern Wei
    • 528 – Yuan Yong, imperial prince of Northern Wei
    • 528 – Yuan Zhao, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 526)
    • 896 – Liu Jianfeng, Chinese warlord
    • 924 – Li Maozhen, Chinese warlord and king (b. 856)
    • 946 – Al-Qa’im bi-Amr Allah, Fatimid caliph (b. 893)
    • 1299 – Daumantas of Pskov, Lithuanian prince (b. c. 1240)
    • 1336 – Go-Fushimi, emperor of Japan (b. 1288)
    • 1365 – Louis II, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1328)
    • 1395 – Konstantin Dejanović/Constantine Dragaš, Serbian ruler (b. 1355)
    • 1464 – Thomas de Ros, 9th Baron de Ros, English politician (b. 1427)
    • 1510 – Sandro Botticelli, Italian painter (b. 1445)
    • 1521 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham, Welsh politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1478)
    • 1536 – George Boleyn, 2nd Viscount Rochford, English courtier and diplomat, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1504)
    • 1536 – William Brereton, English courtier (b. 1487)
    • 1536 – Henry Norris, English courtier (b. 1482)
    • 1546 – Philipp von Hutten, German explorer (b. 1511)
    • 1551 – Shin Saimdang, South Korean poet and calligraphist (b. 1504)
    • 1558 – Francisco de Sá de Miranda, Portuguese poet (b. 1485)
    • 1575 – Matthew Parker, English archbishop and academic (b. 1504)
    • 1606 – False Dmitriy I, pretender to the Russian throne (b. 1582)
    • 1607 – Anna d’Este, French princess (b. 1531)
    • 1626 – Joan Pau Pujol, Catalan organist and composer (b. 1570)
    • 1643 – Giovanni Picchi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1571)
    • 1727 – Catherine I of Russia (b. 1684)
    • 1729 – Samuel Clarke, English clergyman and philosopher (b. 1675)
    • 1765 – Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (b. 1713)
    • 1797 – Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright and composer (b. 1719)
    • 1801 – William Heberden, English physician and scholar (b. 1710)
    • 1807 – John Gunby, American general (b. 1745)
    • 1809 – Leopold Auenbrugger, Austrian physician (b. 1722)
    • 1822 – Armand-Emmanuel de Vignerot du Plessis, Duc de Richelieu, French general and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of France (b. 1766)
    • 1829 – John Jay, American politician and diplomat, 1st Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1745)
    • 1838 – René Caillié, French explorer and author (b. 1799)
    • 1838 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French bishop and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1754)
    • 1839 – Archibald Alison, Scottish priest and author (b. 1757)
    • 1868 – Kondō Isami, Japanese commander (b. 1834)
    • 1875 – John C. Breckinridge, American lawyer and politician, 14th Vice President of the United States, Confederate States general (b. 1821)
    • 1879 – Asa Packer, American businessman, founded Lehigh University (b. 1805)
    • 1880 – Ziya Pasha, Greek author and translator (b. 1826)
    • 1886 – John Deere, American blacksmith and businessman, founded the Deere & Company (b. 1804)
    • 1888 – Giacomo Zanella, Italian priest and poet (b. 1820)
    • 1911 – Frederick August Otto Schwarz, German-American businessman, founded FAO Schwarz (b. 1836)
    • 1916 – Boris Borisovich Golitsyn, Russian physicist and seismologist (b. 1862)
    • 1917 – Clara Ayres, American nurse (b. 1880)
    • 1917 – Charles Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak (b. 1829)
    • 1919 – Guido von List, Austrian-German journalist, author, and poet (b. 1848)
    • 1921 – Karl Mantzius, Danish actor and director (b. 1860)
    • 1922 – Dorothy Levitt, English racing driver and journalist (b. 1882)
    • 1927 – Harold Geiger, American pilot and lieutenant (b. 1884)
    • 1934 – Cass Gilbert, American architect (b. 1859)
    • 1935 – Paul Dukas, French composer, critic, and educator (b. 1865)
    • 1936 – Panagis Tsaldaris, Greek lawyer and politician, 124th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1868)
    • 1938 – Jakob Ehrlich, Czech-Austrian academic and politician (b. 1877)
    • 1943 – Johanna Elberskirchen, German author and activist (b. 1864)
    • 1947 – George Forbes, New Zealand farmer and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1869)
    • 1951 – William Birdwood, Anglo-Indian field marshal (b. 1865)
    • 1960 – Jules Supervielle, Uruguayan-French poet and author (b. 1884)
    • 1963 – John Wilce, American football player, coach, and physician (b. 1888)
    • 1964 – Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist and parapsychologist (b. 1895)
    • 1974 – Ernest Nash, German-American photographer and scholar (b. 1898)
    • 1977 – Charles E. Rosendahl, American admiral and pilot (b. 1892)
    • 1980 – Gündüz Kılıç, Turkish football player and coach (b. 1918)
    • 1985 – Abe Burrows, American director, composer, and author (b. 1910)
    • 1987 – Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, sociologist, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
    • 1992 – Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (b. 1903)
    • 1995 – Toe Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1912)
    • 1996 – Kevin Gilbert, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1966)
    • 1999 – Bruce Fairbairn, Canadian trumpet player and producer (b. 1949)
    • 1999 – Lembit Oll, Estonian chess Grandmaster (b. 1966)
    • 2000 – Donald Coggan, English archbishop (b. 1909)
    • 2001 – Jacques-Louis Lions, French mathematician (b. 1928)
    • 2001 – Frank G. Slaughter, American physician and author (b. 1908)
    • 2002 – László Kubala, Hungarian-Spanish footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1927)
    • 2002 – Aşık Mahzuni Şerif, Turkish poet and composer (b. 1940)
    • 2004 – Jørgen Nash, Danish poet and painter (b. 1920)
    • 2004 – Tony Randall, American actor (b. 1920)
    • 2004 – Ezzedine Salim, Iraqi politician (b. 1943)
    • 2005 – Frank Gorshin, American actor (b. 1934)
    • 2006 – Cy Feuer, American director, producer, and composer (b. 1911)
    • 2007 – Lloyd Alexander, American soldier and author (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – T. K. Doraiswamy, Indian poet and author (b. 1921)
    • 2009 – Mario Benedetti, Uruguayan journalist, author, and poet (b. 1920)
    • 2009 – Jung Seung-hye, South Korean journalist and producer (b. 1965)
    • 2010 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1924)
    • 2010 – Walasse Ting, Chinese-American painter and poet (b. 1929)
    • 2011 – Harmon Killebrew, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Gideon Ezra, Israeli geographer and politician, Israeli Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Patrick Mafisango, Congolese-Rwandan footballer (b. 1980)
    • 2012 – Donna Summer, American singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Philippe Gaumont, French cyclist (b. 1973)
    • 2013 – Peter Schulz, German politician, Mayor of Hamburg (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Ken Venturi, American golfer and sportscaster (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Jorge Rafael Videla, Argentine general and politician, 42nd President of Argentina (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Gerald Edelman, American biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – C. P. Krishnan Nair, Indian businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Douangchay Phichit, Laotian politician (b. 1944)
    • 2014 – Thongbanh Sengaphone, Laotian politician (b. 1953)
    • 2017 – Todor Veselinović, Serbian football player and manager (b. 1930)
    • 2019 – Herman Wouk, American author (b. 1915)
    • 2020 – Lucky Peterson, American blues singer, keyboardist and guitarist (b. 1964)

    Holidays and observances on May 17

    • Birthday of the Raja (Perlis)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Giulia Salzano
      • Paschal Baylon
      • William Hobart Hare (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Restituta
      • May 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Children’s Day (Norway)
    • Constitution Day (Nauru)
    • Norwegian Constitution Day
    • The earliest date on which Trinity Sunday can fall, while June 20 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. (Western Christianity)
    • Feast of ‘Aẓamat (Bahá’í Faith, day shifts with March Equinox, see List of observances set by the Baháʼí calendar)
    • Galician Literature Day or Día das Letras Galegas (Galicia)
    • National Day Against Homophobia (Canada)
    • International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia also known as IDAHOT
    • Liberation Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
    • Navy Day (Argentina)
    • World Hypertension Day
    • World Information Society Day (International)

  • April 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 823 – Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I.
    • 919 – The second Fatimid invasion of Egypt begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent, al-Qa’im bi-Amr Allah, sets out from Raqqada at the head of his army.
    • 1081 – Alexios I Komnenos is crowned Byzantine emperor at Constantinople, bringing the Komnenian dynasty to full power.
    • 1242 – During the Battle on the Ice of Lake Peipus, Russian forces, led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.
    • 1536 – Royal Entry of Charles V into Rome: The last Roman triumph.
    • 1566 – Two hundred Dutch noblemen, led by Hendrick van Brederode, force themselves into the presence of Margaret of Parma and present the Petition of Compromise, denouncing the Spanish Inquisition in the Seventeen Provinces.
    • 1609 – Daimyō (Lord) Shimazu Tadatsune of the Satsuma Domain in southern Kyūshū, Japan, completes his successful invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in Okinawa.
    • 1614 – In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe.
    • 1621 – The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England.
    • 1710 – The Statute of Anne receives the royal assent establishing the Copyright law of the United Kingdom.
    • 1722 – The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island.
    • 1792 – United States President George Washington exercises his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States.
    • 1795 – Peace of Basel between France and Prussia is made.
    • 1818 – In the Battle of Maipú, Chile’s independence movement, led by Bernardo O’Higgins and José de San Martín, win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Yorktown begins.
    • 1879 – Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific.
    • 1900 – Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover a large cache of clay tablets with hieroglyphic writing in a script they call Linear B.
    • 1904 – The first international rugby league match is played between England and an Other Nationalities team (Welsh and Scottish players) in Central Park, Wigan, England.
    • 1915 – Boxing challenger Jess Willard knocks out Jack Johnson in Havana, Cuba to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World.
    • 1922 – The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, is incorporated.
    • 1932 – Dominion of Newfoundland: Ten thousand rioters seize the Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government.
    • 1933 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs two executive orders: 6101 to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps, and 6102 “forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates” by U.S. citizens.
    • 1936 – Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado kills 233 in Tupelo, Mississippi.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean raid. Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.
    • 1943 – World War II: American bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1,300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. Their target was the Erla factory one kilometer from the residential area hit.
    • 1944 – World War II: Two hundred seventy inhabitants of the Greek town of Kleisoura are executed by the Germans.
    • 1945 – Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito signs an agreement with the Soviet Union to allow “temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory”.
    • 1946 – Soviet troops end their year-long occupation of the Danish island of Bornholm.
    • 1946 – A Fleet Air Arm Vickers Wellington crashes into a residential area in Rabat, Malta during a training exercise, killing all 4 crew members and 16 civilians on the ground.
    • 1949 – A fire in a hospital in Effingham, Illinois, kills 77 people and leads to nationwide fire code improvements in the United States.
    • 1951 – Cold War: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying for the Soviet Union.
    • 1956 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro declares himself at war with Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.
    • 1956 – In Sri Lanka, the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna win the general elections in a landslide and S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Ceylon.
    • 1957 – In India, Communists win the first elections in united Kerala and E. M. S. Namboodiripad is sworn in as the first Chief Minister.
    • 1958 – Ripple Rock, an underwater threat to navigation in the Seymour Narrows in Canada is destroyed in one of the largest non-nuclear controlled explosions of the time.
    • 1969 – Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many U.S. cities.
    • 1971 – In Sri Lanka, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna launches a revolt against the United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
    • 1976 – In China, the April Fifth Movement leads to the Tiananmen Incident.
    • 1977 – The US Supreme Court rules that congressional legislation that diminished the size of the Sioux people’s reservation thereby destroyed the tribe’s jurisdictional authority over the area in Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Kneip.
    • 1986 – Three people are killed in the bombing of the La Belle discotheque in West Berlin, Germany.
    • 1991 – An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard including Sen. John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter.
    • 1992 – Alberto Fujimori, president of Peru, dissolves the Peruvian congress by military force.
    • 1992 – Peace protesters Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sučić are killed on the Vrbanja Bridge in Sarajevo, becoming the first casualties of the Bosnian War.
    • 1998 – In Japan, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge opens to traffic, becoming the longest bridge span in the world.
    • 1999 – Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.
    • 2000 – UEFA Cup semi-final violence: Four Galatasaray fans are arrested for the stabbings to death of two Leeds United fans.
    • 2009 – North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.
    • 2010 – Twenty-nine coal miners are killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.

    Births on April 5

    • 1170 – Isabella of Hainault (d. 1190)
    • 1219 – Wonjong of Goryeo, 24th ruler of Goryeo (d. 1274)
    • 1279 – Al-Nuwayri, Egyptian Muslim historian (d. 1333)
    • 1288 – Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan (d. 1336)
    • 1315 – James III of Majorca (d. 1349)
    • 1365 – William II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1417)
    • 1472 – Bianca Maria Sforza, Italian wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1510)
    • 1521 – Francesco Laparelli, Italian architect (d. 1570)
    • 1523 – Blaise de Vigenère, French cryptographer and diplomat (d. 1596)
    • 1533 – Giulio della Rovere, Italian Catholic Cardinal (d. 1578)
    • 1539 – George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1603)
    • 1549 – Princess Elizabeth of Sweden, (d. 1597)
    • 1568 – Pope Urban VIII (d. 1644)
    • 1588 – Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (d. 1679)
    • 1591 – Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg (d. 1634)
    • 1595 – John Wilson, English composer and educator (d. 1674)
    • 1604 – Charles IV (d. 1675)
    • 1616 – Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (d. 1661)
    • 1622 – Vincenzo Viviani, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (d. 1703)
    • 1649 – Elihu Yale, American-English merchant and philanthropist (d. 1721)
    • 1656 – Nikita Demidov, Russian industrialist (d. 1725)
    • 1664 – Élisabeth Thérèse de Lorraine, French noblewoman and Princess of Epinoy (d. 1748)
    • 1674 – Margravine Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg, (d. 1748)
    • 1691 – Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (d. 1768)
    • 1692 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (d. 1730)
    • 1719 – Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish field marshal and politician, Lord Marshal of Sweden (d. 1794)
    • 1726 – Benjamin Harrison V, American politician, planter and merchant (d. 1791)
    • 1727 – Pasquale Anfossi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1797)
    • 1729 – Frederick Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1809)
    • 1730 – Jean Baptiste Seroux d’Agincourt, French archaeologist and historian (d. 1814)
    • 1732 – Jean-Honoré Fragonard, French painter and etcher (d. 1806)
    • 1735 – Franziskus Herzan von Harras, Czech Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1804)
    • 1739 – Philemon Dickinson, American lawyer and politician (d. 1809)
    • 1752 – Sébastien Érard, French instrument maker (d. 1831)
    • 1761 – Sybil Ludington, American heroine of the American Revolutionary War (d. 1839)
    • 1769 – Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1839)
    • 1773 – José María Coppinger, governor of Spanish East Florida (d. 1844)
    • 1773 – Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, (d. 1839)
    • 1777 – Marie Jules César Savigny, French zoologist (d. 1851)
    • 1782 – Wincenty Krasiński, Polish nobleman (d. 1858)
    • 1784 – Louis Spohr, German violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1859)
    • 1788 – Franz Pforr, German painter (d. 1812)
    • 1793 – Casimir Delavigne, French poet and dramatist (d. 1843)
    • 1793 – Felix de Muelenaere, Belgian politician (d. 1862)
    • 1795 – Henry Havelock, British general (d. 1857)
    • 1799 – Jacques Denys Choisy, Swiss clergyman and botanist (d. 1859)
    • 1801 – Félix Dujardin, French biologist (d. 1860)
    • 1801 – Vincenzo Gioberti, Italian philosopher, publicist and politician (d. 1852)
    • 1804 – Matthias Jakob Schleiden, German botanist (d. 1881)
    • 1809 – Karl Felix Halm, German scholar and critic (d. 1882)
    • 1810 – Sir Henry Rawlinson, British East India Company army officer and politician (d. 1895)
    • 1811 – Jules Dupré, French painter (d. 1889)
    • 1814 – Felix Lichnowsky, Czech soldier and politician (d. 1848)
    • 1822 – Émile Louis Victor de Laveleye, Belgian economist (d. 1892)
    • 1827 – Joseph Lister, English surgeon and academic (d. 1912)
    • 1832 – Jules Ferry, French lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of France (d. 1893)
    • 1834 – Prentice Mulford, American humorist and author (d. 1891)
    • 1834 – Wilhelm Olbers Focke, German medical doctor and botanist (d. 1922)
    • 1834 – Frank R. Stockton, American writer and humorist (d. 1902)
    • 1835 – Vítězslav Hálek, Czech poet, writer, journalist, dramatist and theatre critic. (d. 1874)
    • 1837 – Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic (d. 1909)
    • 1839 – Robert Smalls, African-American ship’s pilot, sea captain, and politician (d. 1915)
    • 1840 – Ghazaros Aghayan, Armenian historian and linguist (d. 1911)
    • 1842 – Hans Hildebrand, Swedish archaeologist (d. 1913)
    • 1845 – Friedrich Sigmund Merkel, German anatomist and histopathologist (d. 1919)
    • 1845 – Jules Cambon, French diplomat (d. 1935)
    • 1846 – Sigmund Exner, Austrian physiologist (d. 1926)
    • 1846 – Henry Wellesley, British peer and politician (d. 1900)
    • 1848 – Thure de Thulstrup, American illustrator (d. 1930)
    • 1848 – Ulrich Wille, Swiss army general (d. 1925)
    • 1850 – Enrico Mazzanti, Italian engineer and cartoonist (d. 1910)
    • 1852 – Émile Billard, French sailor (d. 1930)
    • 1852 – Walter W. Winans, American marksman and sculptor (d. 1920)
    • 1852 – Franz Eckert, German composer and musician (d. 1916)
    • 1856 – Booker T. Washington, African-American educator, essayist and historian (d. 1915)
    • 1857 – Alexander of Battenberg (d. 1893)
    • 1858 – Washington Atlee Burpee, Canadian businessman, founded Burpee Seeds (d. 1915)
    • 1859 – Reinhold Seeberg, German theologian (d. 1935)
    • 1860 – Harry S. Barlow, British tennis player (d. 1917)
    • 1862 – Louis Ganne, French conductor (d. 1923)
    • 1862 – Leo Stern, English cellist (d. 1904)
    • 1863 – Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1950)
    • 1867 – Ernest Lewis, British tennis player (d. 1930)
    • 1869 – Sergey Chaplygin, Russian physicist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1942)
    • 1869 – Albert Roussel, French composer (d. 1937)
    • 1870 – Motobu Chōki, Japanese karateka (d. 1944)
    • 1871 – Stanisław Grabski, Polish economist and politician (d. 1949)
    • 1872 – Samuel Cate Prescott, American microbiologist and chemist (d. 1962)
    • 1873 – Joseph Rheden, Austrian astronomer (d. 1946)
    • 1874 – Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French Cardinal of the Catholic Church (d. 1949)
    • 1874 – Manuel María Ponce Brousset, President of Peru (d. 1966)
    • 1878 – Albert Champion, French cyclist (d. 1927)
    • 1878 – Georg Misch, German philosopher (d. 1965)
    • 1878 – Paul Weinstein, German high jumper (d. 1964)
    • 1879 – Arthur Berriedale Keith, Scottish lawyer (d. 1944)
    • 1879 – Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien, German naval officer and author (d. 1956)
    • 1880 – Eric Carlberg, Swedish Army officer, diplomat, shooter, fencer and modern pentathlete (d. 1963)
    • 1880 – Vilhelm Carlberg, Swedish Army officer and shooter (d. 1970)
    • 1882 – Song Jiaoren, Chinese revolutionary (d. 1913)
    • 1882 – Natalia Sedova, 2nd wife of Leon Trotsky (d. 1962)
    • 1883 – Walter Huston, Canadian-American actor and singer (d. 1950)
    • 1884 – Ion Inculeț, Bessarabian academic and politician, President of Moldova (d. 1940)
    • 1885 – Dimitrie Cuclin, Romanian composer (d. 1978)
    • 1886 – Gotthelf Bergsträsser, German linguist (d. 1933)
    • 1886 – Frederick Lindemann, British physicist (d. 1957)
    • 1886 – Gustavo Jiménez, Peruvian colonel and politician, 73rd President of Peru (d. 1933)
    • 1887 – William Cowhig, British gymnast (d. 1964)
    • 1889 – Vicente Ferreira Pastinha, Brazilian martial artist (d. 1981)
    • 1890 – Karl Kirk, Danish gymnast (d. 1955)
    • 1890 – William Moore, British track and field athlete (d. 1956)
    • 1891 – Arnold Jackson, English runner, soldier, and lawyer (d. 1972)
    • 1891 – Laura Vicuña, Chilean nun (d. 1904)
    • 1892 – Raymond Bonney, American ice hockey player (d. 1964)
    • 1893 – Frithjof Andersen, Norwegian wrestler (d. 1975)
    • 1893 – Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (d. 1973)
    • 1894 – Lawrence Dale Bell, American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation (d. 1956)
    • 1894 – Hans Hüttig, German SS officer (d. 1980)
    • 1894 – Carl Rudolf Florin, Swedish botanist (d. 1965)
    • 1895 – Mike O’Dowd, American boxer (d. 1957)
    • 1896 – Einar Lundborg, Swedish aviator (d. 1931)
    • 1897 – Hans Schuberth, German politician (d. 1976)
    • 1899 – Alfred Blalock, American surgeon and academic (d. 1964)
    • 1900 – Herbert Bayer, Austrian-American graphic designer, painter, and photographer (d. 1985)
    • 1900 – Roman Steinberg, Estonian wrestler (d. 1928)
    • 1900 – Spencer Tracy, American actor (d. 1967)
    • 1901 – Curt Bois, German actor (d. 1991)
    • 1901 – Chester Bowles, American diplomat and ambassador (d. 1986)
    • 1901 – Melvyn Douglas, American actor (d. 1981)
    • 1901 – Doggie Julian, American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach (d. 1967)
    • 1902 – Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Russian-American rabbi (d. 1994)
    • 1903 – Marion Aye, American actress (d. 1951)
    • 1904 – Richard Eberhart, American poet and academic (d. 2005)
    • 1906 – Albert Charles Smith, American botanist (d. 1999)
    • 1906 – Fernando Germani, Italian organist (d. 1998)
    • 1906 – Ted Morgan, New Zealand boxer (d. 1952)
    • 1907 – Sanya Dharmasakti, Thai jurist (d. 2002)
    • 1908 – Bette Davis, American actress (d. 1989)
    • 1908 – Kurt Neumann, German director (d. 1958)
    • 1908 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian politician, 4th Deputy Prime Minister of India (d. 1986)
    • 1908 – Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor and manager (d. 1989)
    • 1909 – Albert R. Broccoli, American film producer, co-founded Eon Productions (d. 1996)
    • 1909 – Giacomo Gentilomo, Italian film director and painter (d. 2001)
    • 1909 – Károly Sós, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 1991)
    • 1909 – Erwin Wegner, German hurdler (d. 1945)
    • 1910 – Sven Andersson, Swedish politician (d. 1987)
    • 1910 – Oronzo Pugliese, Italian football manager (d. 1990)
    • 1911 – Hedi Amara Nouira, Tunisian politician (d. 1993)
    • 1911 – Johnny Revolta, American golfer (d. 1991)
    • 1912 – Jehan Buhan, French fencer (d. 1999)
    • 1912 – Habib Elghanian, Iranian businessman (d. 1979)
    • 1912 – Antonio Ferri, Italian scientist (d. 1975)
    • 1912 – Carlos Guastavino, Argentine composer (d. 2000)
    • 1912 – Makar Honcharenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (d. 1997)
    • 1912 – John Le Mesurier, English actor (d. 1983)
    • 1912 – István Örkény, Hungarian author and playwright (d. 1979)
    • 1912 – Bill Roberts, English sprinter and soldier (d. 2001)
    • 1913 – Antoni Clavé, Catalan artist (d. 2005)
    • 1913 – Nicolas Grunitzky, 2nd President of Togo (d. 1969)
    • 1913 – Ruth Smith, Faroese artist (d. 1958)
    • 1914 – Felice Borel, Italian footballer (d. 1993)
    • 1916 – Gregory Peck, American actor, political activist, and producer (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – Robert Bloch, American author (d. 1994)
    • 1917 – Frans Gommers, Belgian footballer (d. 1996)
    • 1919 – Lester James Peries, Sri Lankan director, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2018)
    • 1920 – Barend Biesheuvel, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2001)
    • 1920 – Arthur Hailey, English-Canadian soldier and author (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Alfonso Thiele, Turkish-Italian race car driver (d. 1986)
    • 1920 – John Willem Gran, Swedish bishop (d. 2008)
    • 1921 – Christopher Hewett, English actor and theatre director (d. 2001)
    • 1922 – Tom Finney, English footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Harry Freedman, Polish-Canadian horn player, composer, and educator (d. 2005)
    • 1922 – Andy Linden, American race car driver (d. 1987)
    • 1922 – Gale Storm, American actress and singer (d. 2009)
    • 1923 – Ernest Mandel, German-born Belgian Marxist economist, Trotskyist activist and theorist (d. 1995)
    • 1923 – Michael V. Gazzo, American actor (d. 1995)
    • 1923 – Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, Vietnamese general and politician, 5th President of South Vietnam (d. 2001)
    • 1924 – Igor Borisov, Soviet rower (d. before 2005)
    • 1925 – Janet Rowley, American human geneticist (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Pierre Nihant, Belgian cyclist (d. 1993)
    • 1926 – Roger Corman, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1926 – Liang Yusheng, Chinese writer (d. 2009)
    • 1927 – Thanin Kraivichien, Thai lawyer and politician
    • 1927 – Arne Hoel, Norwegian ski jumper (d. 2006)
    • 1928 – Enzo Cannavale, Italian actor (d. 2011)
    • 1928 – Tony Williams, American singer (d. 1992)
    • 1929 – Hugo Claus, Belgian author, poet, and painter (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Ivar Giaever, Norwegian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1929 – Nigel Hawthorne, English actor and producer (d. 2001)
    • 1929 – Joe Meek, English songwriter and producer (d. 1967)
    • 1929 – Mahmoud Mollaghasemi, Iranian wrestler
    • 1930 – Mary Costa, American singer and actress
    • 1930 – Pierre Lhomme, French director of photography (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Jack Clement, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Héctor Olivera, Argentine director, producer and screenwriter
    • 1933 – Feridun Buğeker, Turkish footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Frank Gorshin, American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1933 – Barbara Holland, American author (d. 2010)
    • 1933 – K. Kailasapathy, Sri Lankan journalist and academic (d. 1982)
    • 1934 – John Carey, English author and critic
    • 1934 – Roman Herzog, German lawyer and politician, 7th President of Germany (d. 2017)
    • 1934 – Moise Safra, Brazilian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Banco Safra (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Stanley Turrentine, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2000)
    • 1935 – Giovanni Cianfriglia, Italian actor
    • 1935 – Peter Grant, English talent manager (d. 1995)
    • 1935 – Donald Lynden-Bell, English astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 2018)
    • 1935 – Frank Schepke, German rower (d. 2017)
    • 1936 – Ronnie Bucknum, American race car driver (d. 1992)
    • 1936 – Glenn Jordan, American director and producer
    • 1936 – Dragoljub Minić, Yugoslavian chess Grandmaster (d. 2005)
    • 1937 – Joseph Lelyveld, American journalist and author
    • 1937 – Jean-Pierre Petit, French scientist
    • 1937 – Colin Powell, American general and politician, 65th United States Secretary of State
    • 1937 – Andrzej Schinzel, Polish mathematician
    • 1937 – Arie Selinger, Israeli volleyball player and manager
    • 1937 – Juan Vicente Lezcano, Paraguayan footballer (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Colin Bland, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – Mal Colston, Australian educator and politician (d. 2003)
    • 1938 – Nancy Holt, American sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
    • 1938 – Natalya Kustinskaya, Soviet actress (d. 2012)
    • 1939 – Leka I, Crown Prince of Albania (d. 2011)
    • 1939 – Crispian St. Peters, English singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1939 – Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas, Prime Minister of Yemen
    • 1939 – Ronald White, American singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
    • 1939 – David Winters, English-American actor, choreographer and producer (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Tommy Cash, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1940 – Gilles Proulx, Canadian journalist, historian, and radio host
    • 1941 – Michael Moriarty, American-Canadian actor
    • 1941 – Dave Swarbrick, English singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2016)
    • 1942 – Allan Clarke, English singer-songwriter
    • 1942 – Pascal Couchepin, Swiss politician
    • 1942 – Juan Gisbert Sr., Spanish tennis player
    • 1942 – Peter Greenaway, Welsh director and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Dean Brown, Australian politician, 41st Premier of South Australia
    • 1943 – Max Gail, American actor and director
    • 1943 – Fighting Harada, Japanese boxer
    • 1943 – Miet Smet, Belgian politician
    • 1943 – Jean-Louis Tauran, French cardinal (d. 2018)
    • 1944 – Willeke van Ammelrooy, Dutch actress and director
    • 1944 – János Martonyi, Hungarian politician
    • 1944 – Evan Parker, British musician
    • 1944 – Douangchay Phichit, Laotian politician (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Willy Planckaert, Belgian cyclist
    • 1944 – Pedro Rosselló, Puerto Rican physician and politician, 7th Governor of Puerto Rico
    • 1944 – Peter T. King, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
    • 1945 – Ove Bengtson, Swedish tennis player
    • 1945 – Steve Carver, American director and producer
    • 1945 – Cem Karaca, Turkish musician (d. 2004)
    • 1945 – Tommy Smith, English footballer (d. 2019)
    • 1946 – Jane Asher, English actress
    • 1946 – Julio Ángel Fernández, Uruguayan astronomer
    • 1946 – Björn Granath, Swedish actor (d. 2017)
    • 1946 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian Greco-Roman wrestler
    • 1947 – Đurđica Bjedov, Yugoslav swimmer
    • 1947 – Willy Chirino, Cuban-American musician
    • 1947 – Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Filipino academic and politician, 14th President of the Philippines
    • 1947 – Ramón Mifflin, Peruvian footballer
    • 1947 – Virendra Sharma, Indian-English lawyer and politician
    • 1948 – Pierre-Albert Chapuisat, Swiss footballer
    • 1948 – Dave Holland, English drummer (d. 2018)
    • 1948 – Roy McFarland, English footballer and manager
    • 1949 – Stanley Dziedzic, American wrestler
    • 1949 – Larry Franco, American film producer
    • 1949 – Judith Resnik, Ukrainian-American engineer and astronaut (d. 1986)
    • 1950 – Ann C. Crispin, American writer (d. 2013)
    • 1950 – Franklin Chang Díaz, Costa Rican-Chinese American astronaut and physicist
    • 1950 – Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1950 – Toshiko Fujita, Japanese actress, singer and narrator (d. 2018)
    • 1950 – Miki Manojlović, Serbian actor
    • 1951 – Les Binks, Irish drummer and songwriter
    • 1951 – Yevgeniy Gavrilenko, Belarusian hurdler
    • 1951 – Nedim Gürsel, Turkish writer
    • 1951 – Dean Kamen, American inventor and businessman, founded Segway Inc.
    • 1951 – Dave McArtney, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
    • 1951 – Ubol Ratana, Thai Princess
    • 1952 – Alfie Conn, Scottish international footballer, midfielder
    • 1952 – John C. Dvorak, American author and editor
    • 1952 – Sandy Mayer, American tennis player
    • 1952 – Dennis Mortimer, English footballer
    • 1952 – Mitch Pileggi, American actor
    • 1953 – Frank Gaffney, American journalist and radio host
    • 1953 – Keiko Han, Japanese actress
    • 1953 – Tae Jin-ah, South Korean singer
    • 1953 – Raleb Majadele, Israeli politician
    • 1953 – Ian Swales, English accountant and politician
    • 1954 – Guy Bertrand, Canadian linguist and radio host
    • 1954 – Peter Case, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Mohamed Ben Mouza, Tunisian footballer
    • 1954 – Stan Ridgway, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Yoshiichi Watanabe, Japanese footballer
    • 1955 – Charlotte de Turckheim, French actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Ricardo Ferrero, Argentine footballer (d. 2015)
    • 1955 – Christian Gourcuff, French footballer and manager
    • 1955 – Anthony Horowitz, English author and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Bernard Longley, English prelate
    • 1955 – Akira Toriyama, Japanese illustrator
    • 1955 – Takayoshi Yamano, Japanese footballer
    • 1956 – Diamond Dallas Page, American wrestler and actor
    • 1956 – Leonid Fedun, Russian businessman
    • 1956 – Reid Ribble, American politician
    • 1957 – Sebastian Adayanthrath, Indian bishop
    • 1957 – Karin Roßley, German hurdler
    • 1958 – Henrik Dettmann, Finnish basketball coach
    • 1958 – Ryoichi Kawakatsu, Japanese footballer
    • 1958 – Johan Kriek, South African-American tennis player
    • 1958 – Daniel Schneidermann, French journalist
    • 1958 – Lasantha Wickrematunge, Sri Lankan lawyer and journalist (d. 2009)
    • 1959 – Paul Chung, Hong Kong actor and host (d. 1989)
    • 1960 – Asteris Koutoulas, Romanian-German record producer, manager, and author
    • 1960 – Larry McCray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1960 – Ian Redford, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1960 – Hiromi Taniguchi, Japanese long-distance runner
    • 1960 – Adnan Terzić, Bosnian politician
    • 1961 – Andrea Arnold, English filmmaker and actress
    • 1961 – Anna Caterina Antonacci, Italian soprano
    • 1961 – Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Bahraini-Danish human rights activist
    • 1961 – Lisa Zane, American actress and singer
    • 1962 – Lana Clarkson, American actress and model (d. 2003)
    • 1962 – Sara Danius, Swedish scholar of literature and aesthetics
    • 1962 – Richard Gough, Swedish born Scottish international footballer
    • 1962 – Arild Monsen, Norwegian cross-country skier
    • 1962 – Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian businessman and politician, 1st President of Kalmykia
    • 1963 – Arthur Adams, American comic book artist and writer
    • 1964 – Neil Eckersley, British judoka
    • 1964 – Vakhtang Iagorashvili, Soviet modern pentathlete
    • 1964 – Levon Julfalakyan, Soviet Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler
    • 1964 – Marius Lăcătuș, Romanian footballer and coach
    • 1965 – Aykut Kocaman, Turkish footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Lang Tzu-yun, Taiwanese actress
    • 1965 – Elizabeth McIntyre, American freestyle skier
    • 1965 – Svetlana Paramygina, Belarusian biathlete
    • 1966 – Yoon Hyun, South Korean judoka
    • 1966 – Mike McCready, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1967 – Troy Gentry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
    • 1967 – Franck Silvestre, French footballer
    • 1967 – Erland Johnsen, Norwegian footballer
    • 1967 – Laima Zilporytė, Soviet cyclist
    • 1968 – Paula Cole, American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1969 – Dinos Angelidis, Greek basketball player
    • 1969 – Viatcheslav Djavanian, Russian cyclist
    • 1969 – Pontus Kåmark, Swedish footballer
    • 1969 – Pavlo Khnykin, Ukrainian swimmer
    • 1969 – Tomislav Piplica, Bosnian footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Ravindra Prabhat, Indian writer and journalist
    • 1970 – Soheil Ayari, French race car driver
    • 1970 – Valérie Bonneton, French actress
    • 1970 – Diamond D, American hip hop producer
    • 1970 – Petar Genov, Bulgarian chess grandmaster
    • 1970 – Thea Gill, Canadian actress
    • 1970 – Miho Hatori, Japanese singer-songwriter
    • 1970 – Irina Timofeyeva, Russian long-distance runner
    • 1971 – Dong Abay, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – Austin Berry, Costa Rican footballer
    • 1971 – Simona Cavallari, Italian actress
    • 1971 – Victoria Hamilton, English actress
    • 1971 – Nelson Parraguez, Chilean footballer
    • 1971 – Kim Soo-nyung, South Korean archer
    • 1972 – Krista Allen, American actress
    • 1972 – Nima Arkani-Hamed, American-Canadian theoretical physicist
    • 1972 – Tom Coronel, Dutch race car driver
    • 1972 – Paul Okon, Australian footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Yasuhiro Takemoto, Japanese animator and director (d. 2019)
    • 1972 – Junko Takeuchi, Japanese actress
    • 1973 – Élodie Bouchez, French-American actress
    • 1973 – Lidia Trettel, Italian snowboarder
    • 1973 – Pharrell Williams, American singer, songwriter and rapper
    • 1974 – Sandra Bagarić, Croatian opera singer and actress
    • 1974 – Julien Boutter, French tennis player
    • 1974 – Katja Holanti, Finnish biathlete
    • 1974 – Oleg Khodkov, Russian handball player
    • 1974 – Ariel López, Argentine footballer
    • 1974 – Lukas Ridgeston, Slovak actor and director
    • 1974 – Vyacheslav Voronin, Russian high jumper
    • 1975 – Sarah Baldock, English organist and conductor
    • 1975 – John Hartson, Welsh footballer and coach
    • 1975 – Juicy J, American rapper and producer
    • 1975 – Serhiy Klymentiev, Ukrainian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Caitlin Moran, English journalist, author, and critic
    • 1975 – Marcos Vales, Spanish footballer
    • 1975 – Shammond Williams, American basketball player and coach
    • 1976 – Luis de Agustini, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1976 – Péter Biros, Hungarian water polo player
    • 1976 – Sterling K. Brown, American actor
    • 1976 – Aleksei Budõlin, Estonian judoka
    • 1976 – Simone Inzaghi, Italian footballer
    • 1976 – Fernando Morientes, Spanish footballer and coach
    • 1976 – Natascha Ragosina, Russian boxer
    • 1976 – Henrik Stenson, Swedish golfer
    • 1976 – Valeria Straneo, Italian long-distance runner
    • 1976 – Indrek Tobreluts, Estonian biathlete
    • 1976 – Anouska van der Zee, Dutch cyclist
    • 1977 – Jonathan Erlich, Israeli tennis player
    • 1977 – Trevor Letowski, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1977 – Daniel Majstorović, Swedish footballer
    • 1978 – Dwain Chambers, British track sprinter
    • 1978 – Marcone Amaral Costa, Qatari footballer
    • 1978 – Tarek El-Said, Egyptian footballer
    • 1978 – Jairo Patiño, Colombian footballer
    • 1978 – Sohyang, South Korean singer
    • 1978 – Stephen Jackson, American basketball player
    • 1978 – Arnaud Tournant, French cyclist
    • 1978 – Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
    • 1978 – Günther Weidlinger, Austrian long-distance runner
    • 1979 – Vlada Avramov, Serbian footballer
    • 1979 – Josh Boone, American screenwriter and director
    • 1979 – Song Dae-nam, South Korean judoka
    • 1979 – Timo Hildebrand, German footballer
    • 1979 – Imany, French singer
    • 1979 – Barel Mouko, Congolese footballer
    • 1979 – Cesare Natali, Italian footballer
    • 1979 – Mitsuo Ogasawara, Japanese footballer
    • 1979 – Alexander Resch, German luger
    • 1979 – Andrius Velička, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1979 – Dante Wesley, American football player
    • 1979 – Chen Yanqing, Chinese weightlifter
    • 1980 – Matt Bonner, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Alberta Brianti, Italian tennis player
    • 1980 – Rafael Cavalcante, Brazilian mixed martial artist
    • 1980 – David Chocarro, Argentinian baseball player and actor
    • 1980 – Mike Glumac, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Mario Kasun, Croatian basketball player
    • 1980 – Lee Jae-won, South Korean DJ and singer
    • 1980 – Joris Mathijsen, Dutch footballer
    • 1980 – Rasmus Quist Hansen, Danish rower
    • 1980 – Odlanier Solís, Cuban boxer
    • 1981 – Matthew Emmons, American rifle shooter
    • 1981 – Michael A. Monsoor, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2006)
    • 1981 – Mariqueen Maandig, Filipino-American musician and singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Daba Modibo Keïta, Malian taekwondo athlete
    • 1981 – Marissa Nadler, American musician
    • 1981 – Tom Riley, English actor and producer
    • 1981 – Mompati Thuma, Botswana footballer
    • 1981 – Pieter Weening, Dutch cyclist
    • 1982 – Hayley Atwell, English-American actress
    • 1982 – Matheus Coradini Vivian, Brazilian footballer
    • 1982 – Thomas Hitzlsperger, German footballer
    • 1982 – Kelly Pavlik, American boxer
    • 1982 – Matt Pickens, American soccer player
    • 1982 – Alexandre Prémat, French race car driver
    • 1982 – Danylo Sapunov, Ukrainian-Kazakhstani triathlete
    • 1982 – Hubert Schwab, Swiss cyclist
    • 1982 – Marcel Seip, Dutch former footballer
    • 1983 – Jaime Castrillón, Colombian footballer
    • 1983 – Jorge Andrés Martínez, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1983 – Brock Radunske, Canadian-South Korean ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Yohann Sangaré, French basketball player
    • 1983 – Cécile Storti, French cross-country skier
    • 1983 – Shikha Uberoi, Indian-American tennis player
    • 1984 – Marshall Allman, American actor
    • 1984 – Aram Mp3, Armenian singer and comedian
    • 1984 – Rune Brattsveen, Norwegian biathlete
    • 1984 – Alexei Glukhov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Maartje Goderie, Dutch field hockey player
    • 1984 – Darija Jurak, Croatian tennis player
    • 1984 – Dejan Kelhar, Slovenian footballer
    • 1984 – Dmitry Kozonchuk, Russian cyclist
    • 1984 – Shin Min-a, South Korean actress
    • 1984 – Jess Sum, Hong Kong actress
    • 1984 – Peter Penz, Austrian luger
    • 1984 – Samuele Preisig, Swiss footballer
    • 1984 – Cristian Săpunaru, Romanian footballer
    • 1984 – Fabio Vitaioli, San Marinese footballer
    • 1984 – Kisho Yano, Japanese footballer
    • 1984 – Saba Qamar, Pakistani actress-model
    • 1985 – Daniel Congré, French footballer
    • 1985 – Erwin l’Ami, Dutch chess player
    • 1985 – Jolanda Keizer, Dutch heptathlete
    • 1985 – Sergey Khachatryan, Armenian violinist
    • 1985 – Linas Pilibaitis, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1985 – Jan Smeets, Dutch chess grandmaster
    • 1985 – Kristof Vandewalle, Belgian cyclist
    • 1986 – Anna Sophia Berglund, American model and actress
    • 1986 – Anzor Boltukayev, Chechen wrestler
    • 1986 – Diego Chará, Colombian footballer
    • 1986 – Charlotte Flair, American wrestler, author and actress
    • 1986 – Róbert Kasza, Hungarian Modern pentathlete
    • 1986 – Eetu Muinonen, Finnish footballer
    • 1986 – Manuel Ruz, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Albert Selimov, Azerbaijani boxer
    • 1987 – Max Grün, German footballer
    • 1987 – Balázs Hárai, Hungarian water polo player
    • 1987 – Anton Kokorin, Russian sprint athlete
    • 1987 – Fyodor Kudryashov, Russian footballer
    • 1987 – Etiënne Reijnen, Dutch footballer
    • 1988 – Gerson Acevedo, Chilean footballer
    • 1988 – Teresa Almeida, Angolan handball player
    • 1988 – Quade Cooper, New Zealand rugby player and boxer
    • 1988 – Jonathan Davies, Welsh rugby union player
    • 1988 – Gevorg Ghazaryan, Armenian footballer
    • 1988 – Alisha Glass, American ex-indoor volleyball player
    • 1988 – Vurğun Hüseynov, Azerbaijani footballer
    • 1988 – Matthias Jaissle, German footballer and manager
    • 1988 – Jon Kwang-ik, North Korean footballer
    • 1988 – Christopher Papamichalopoulos, Cypriot skier
    • 1988 – Zack Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Pape Sy, French basketball player
    • 1988 – Alexey Volkov, Russian biathlete
    • 1989 – Kader Amadou, Nigerien footballer
    • 1989 – Yémi Apithy, Beninese fencer
    • 1989 – Liemarvin Bonevacia, Dutch sprinter
    • 1989 – Freddie Fox, English actor
    • 1989 – Emre Güral, Turkish footballer
    • 1989 – Justin Holiday, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Rachel Homan, Canadian curler
    • 1989 – Lily James, English actress
    • 1989 – Trevor Marsicano, American speed skater
    • 1989 – Jonathan Rossini, Swiss footballer
    • 1989 – Kiki Sukezane, Japanese actress
    • 1989 – Sosuke Takatani, Japanese wrestler
    • 1990 – Alex Cuthbert, Welsh rugby player
    • 1990 – Amer Said Al-Shatri, Omani footballer
    • 1990 – Fredy Hinestroza, Colombian footballer
    • 1990 – Chen Huijia, Chinese swimmer
    • 1990 – Haruma Miura, Japanese actor and singer
    • 1990 – Ismaeel Mohammad, Qatari footballer
    • 1990 – Iryna Pamialova, Belarusian canoeist
    • 1990 – Jakub Sedláček, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Sercan Yıldırım, Turkish footballer
    • 1990 – Género Zeefuik, Dutch footballer
    • 1991 – Yassine Bounou, Moroccan footballer
    • 1991 – Nathaniel Clyne, English footballer
    • 1991 – Adriano Grimaldi, Italian-German footballer
    • 1991 – Joël Mall, Swiss footballer
    • 1991 – Guilherme dos Santos Torres, Brazilian footballer
    • 1992 – Emmalyn Estrada, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1992 – Shintaro Kurumaya, Japanese footballer
    • 1992 – Kaveh Rezaei, Iranian footballer
    • 1992 – Dmytro Ryzhuk, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1993 – Andreas Bouchalakis, Greek footballer
    • 1993 – Maya DiRado, American swimmer
    • 1993 – Laura Feiersinger, Austrian footballer
    • 1993 – Scottie Wilbekin, American-born naturalized Turkish basketball player
    • 1994 – Mateusz Bieniek, Polish volleyball player
    • 1994 – Edem Rjaïbi, Tunisian footballer
    • 1994 – Richard Sánchez, Mexican footballer
    • 1995 – Viliame Kikau, Fijian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Sei Muroya, Japanese footballer
    • 1995 – Gleb Rassadkin, Belarusian footballer
    • 1995 – Sebastian Starke Hedlund, Swedish footballer
    • 1996 – Nicolas Beer, Danish race car driver
    • 1996 – Raouf Benguit, Algerian footballer
    • 1997 – Borja Mayoral, Spanish footballer
    • 1998 – Jeremy Olson
    • 1999 – Andrea Buwalda
    • 2000 – Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Indian actor
    • 2001 – Thylane Blondeau, French model and actress

    Deaths on April 5

    • 517 – Timothy I, Byzantine patriarch
    • 582 – Eutychius, Byzantine patriarch
    • 584 – Ruadán of Lorrha, Irish abbot
    • 828 – Nikephoros I, Byzantine patriarch
    • 902 – Al-Mu’tadid, Abbasid caliph
    • 1168 – Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, English politician (b. 1104)
    • 1183 – Ramon Berenguer III, Spanish count of Cerdanya and Provence
    • 1205 – Isabella I of Jerusalem, queen regent of Jerusalem (b. 1172)
    • 1258 – Juliana of Liège, Belgian canoness and saint
    • 1308 – Ivan Kőszegi, Hungarian baron and oligarch
    • 1325 – Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron of Monthermer and Earl of Gloucester (b. c.1270)
    • 1419 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (b. 1350)
    • 1431 – Bernard I, margrave of Baden-Baden (b. 1364)
    • 1512 – Lazzaro Bastiani, Italian painter (b. 1429)
    • 1534 – Jan Matthys, Dutch anabaptist reformer
    • 1594 – Catherine of Palma, Spanish nun (b. 1533)
    • 1617 – Alonso Lobo, Spanish composer (b. 1555)
    • 1626 – Anna Koltovskaya, Russian tsarina
    • 1673 – François Caron, Belgian-French explorer and politician, 8th Governor of Formosa (b. 1600)
    • 1674 – George Frederick, prince of Nassau-Siegen (b. 1606)
    • 1679 – Anne Geneviève de Bourbon, French princess (b. 1619)
    • 1684 – William Brouncker, English mathematician (b. 1620)
    • 1684 – Karl Eusebius, prince of Liechtenstein (b. 1611)
    • 1693 – Anne Marie Louise d’Orléans, French noblewoman (b. 1627)
    • 1693 – Philip William August, German nobleman (b. 1668)
    • 1695 – George Savile, English politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1633)
    • 1697 – Charles XI, king of Sweden (b. 1655)
    • 1704 – Christian Ulrich I, German nobleman and Duke of Württemberg-Oels (b. 1652)
    • 1708 – Christian Heinrich, German prince and member of the House of Hohenzollern (b. 1661)
    • 1709 – Roger de Piles, French painter, engraver, art critic and diplomat (b. 1635)
    • 1712 – Jan Luyken, Dutch poet, illustrator and engraver (b. 1649)
    • 1717 – Jean Jouvenet, French painter (b. 1647)
    • 1723 – Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Austrian architect, sculptor and historian (b. 1656)
    • 1735 – William Derham, English minister and philosopher (b. 1657)
    • 1751 – Frederick I, prince consort and king of Sweden (b. 1676)
    • 1765 – Edward Young, English poet and author (b. 1683)
    • 1767 – Princess Charlotte Wilhelmine of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, German princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. 1685)
    • 1768 – Egidio Forcellini, Italian philologist (b. 1688)
    • 1769 – Marc-Antoine Laugier, Jesuit priest (b. 1713)
    • 1794 – Georges Danton, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of Justice (b. 1759)
    • 1794 – François Chabot, French politician (b. 1756)
    • 1794 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1760)
    • 1794 – Fabre d’Églantine, French actor, dramatist, poet and politician (b. 1750)
    • 1794 – Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles, French judge and politician (b. 1759)
    • 1794 – Pierre Philippeaux, French lawyer (b. 1754)
    • 1794 – François Joseph Westermann, French general (b. 1751)
    • 1799 – Johann Christoph Gatterer, German historian (b. 1727)
    • 1804 – Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (b. 1761)
    • 1808 – Johann Georg Wille, German engraver (b. 1715)
    • 1830 – Richard Chenevix, Irish chemist and playwright (b. 1774)
    • 1831 – Pierre Léonard Vander Linden, Belgian entomologist (b. 1797)
    • 1842 – Shah Shujah Durrani, 5th Emir of Afghanistan (b. 1785)
    • 1852 – Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, (b. 1800)
    • 1861 – Ferdinand Joachimsthal, German mathematician (b. 1818)
    • 1862 – Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Dutch artist (b. 1803)
    • 1865 – Manfredo Fanti, Italian general (b. 1806)
    • 1866 – Thomas Hodgkin, British physician (b. 1798)
    • 1868 – Karel Purkyně, Czech painter (b. 1834)
    • 1871 – Paolo Savi, Italian geologist and ornithologist (b. 1798)
    • 1872 – Paul-Auguste-Ernest Laugier, French astronomer (b. 1812)
    • 1873 – Milivoje Blaznavac, Serbian soldier and politician (b. 1824)
    • 1882 – Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play, (b. 1806)
    • 1888 – Vsevolod Garshin, Russian author (b. 1855)
    • 1891 – Johann Hermann Bauer, (b. 1861)
    • 1900 – Joseph Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (b. 1822)
    • 1900 – Osman Nuri Pasha, Ottoman field marshal and the hero of the Siege of Plevna in 1877 (b. 1832)
    • 1901 – Angelo Messedaglia, Italian social scientist and statistician (b. 1820)
    • 1902 – Hans Ernst August Buchner, German bacteriologist (b. 1850)
    • 1904 – Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen (b. 1830)
    • 1904 – Frances Power Cobbe, Irish writer (b. 1822)
    • 1906 – Eastman Johnson, American painter (b. 1824)
    • 1914 – Bernard Borggreve, German forestry scientist (b. 1836)
    • 1916 – Maksim Kovalevsky, Russian sociologist (b. 1851)
    • 1918 – George Tupou II, King of Tonga (b. 1874)
    • 1918 – Paul Vidal de La Blache, French geographer (b. 1845)
    • 1920 – Laurent Marqueste, French sculptor (b. 1848)
    • 1921 – Alphons Diepenbrock, Dutch composer (b. 1862)
    • 1921 – Sophie Elkan, Swedish-Jewish writer and translator (b. 1853)
    • 1923 – George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English archaeologist and businessman (b. 1866)
    • 1924 – Victor Hensen, German zoologist (b. 1835)
    • 1928 – Roy Kilner, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1890)
    • 1928 – Viktor Oliva, Czech painter and illustrator (b. 1861)
    • 1929 – Francis Aidan Gasquet, English Benedictine monk (b. 1846)
    • 1929 – Ludwig von Sybel, German archeologist (b. 1846)
    • 1932 – María Blanchard, Spanish painter (b. 1881)
    • 1933 – Earl Derr Biggers, American novelist and playwright (b. 1884)
    • 1933 – Hjalmar Mellin, Finnish mathematician and functional theorist (b. 1854)
    • 1934 – Salvatore Di Giacomo, Italian poet, playwright, songwriter and fascist intellectual (b. 1860)
    • 1934 – Jiro Sato, Japanese tennis player (b. 1908)
    • 1935 – Achille Locatelli, Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1856)
    • 1935 – Emil Młynarski, Polish conductor, violinist, composer, and pedagogue (b. 1870)
    • 1935 – Franz von Vecsey, Hungarian violinist and composer (b. 1893)
    • 1936 – Chandler Egan, American golfer and architect (b. 1884)
    • 1937 – Gustav Adolf Deissmann, (b. 1866)
    • 1937 – José Benlliure y Gil, Spanish painter (b. 1858)
    • 1938 – Helena Westermarck, Finnish artist and writer (b. 1857)
    • 1938 – Verner Lehtimäki, Finnish revolutionary (b. 1890)
    • 1940 – Charles Freer Andrews, English-Indian priest, missionary, and educator (b. 1871)
    • 1940 – Robert Maillart, Swiss civil engineer (b. 1872)
    • 1940 – Jay O’Brien, American bobsledder (b. 1883)
    • 1940 – Song Zheyuan, Chinese general (b. 1885)
    • 1941 – Parvin E’tesami, Persian poet (b. 1907)
    • 1941 – Nigel Gresley, Scottish-English engineer (b. 1876)
    • 1941 – Franciszek Kleeberg, Polish general (b. 1888)
    • 1945 – Heinrich Borgmann, German officer (b. 1912)
    • 1945 – Karl-Otto Koch, German SS officer (b. 1897)
    • 1946 – Vincent Youmans, American composer and producer (b. 1898)
    • 1947 – Bernhard Pankok, German painter, artist and architect (b. 1872)
    • 1947 – Elis Strömgren, Swedish-Danish astronomer (b. 1870)
    • 1948 – Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, American socialite and philanthropist (b. 1874)
    • 1949 – Erich Zeigner, Prime Minister of Saxony (b. 1886)
    • 1950 – Hiroshi Yoshida, Japanese painter (b. 1876)
    • 1952 – Agnes Morton, British tennis player (b.
    • 1954 – Princess Märtha of Sweden, (b. 1901)
    • 1954 – Claude Delvincourt, French pianist and composer (b. 1888)
    • 1956 – William Titt, British gymnast (b. 1881)
    • 1958 – Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria, (b. 1884)
    • 1958 – Ásgrímur Jónsson, Icelandic painter (b. 1876)
    • 1958 – Isidora Sekulić, Serbian writer (b. 1877)
    • 1961 – Nikolai Kryukov, Russian composer (b. 1908)
    • 1962 – Boo Kullberg, Swedish gymnast (b. 1889)
    • 1963 – Jacobus Oud, Dutch architect (b. 1890)
    • 1964 – James Chapin, American ornithologist (b. 1889)
    • 1964 – Aloïse Corbaz, Swiss artist (b. 1886)
    • 1964 – Douglas MacArthur, American general (b. 1880)
    • 1965 – Pedro Sernagiotto, Italian-Brazilian footballer (b. 1908)
    • 1965 – Sándor Szalay, Hungarian figure skater (b. 1893)
    • 1967 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (b. 1891)
    • 1967 – Johan Falkberget, Norwegian author (b. 1879)
    • 1967 – Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
    • 1967 – Herbert Johnston, British runner (b. 1902)
    • 1968 – Félix Couchoro, Togolese writer (b. 1900)
    • 1968 – Lajos Csordás, Hungarian footballer
    • 1968 – Giuseppe Paris, Italian gymnast (b. 1895)
    • 1969 – Alberto Bonucci, Italian actor and director (b. 1918)
    • 1969 – Rómulo Gallegos, Venezuelan novelist and politician (b. 1917)
    • 1969 – Ain-Ervin Mere, Estonian SS officer (b. 1903)
    • 1970 – Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (b. 1877)
    • 1970 – Alfred Sturtevant, American geneticist and academic (b. 1891)
    • 1970 – Karl von Spreti, German diplomat (b. 1907)
    • 1971 – José Cubiles, Spanish pianist and conductor (b. 1894)
    • 1972 – Brian Donlevy, American actor and producer (b. 1901)
    • 1973 – David Murray, British race car driver (b. 1909)
    • 1973 – Isabel Jewell, American actress and singer (b. 1907)
    • 1973 – Alla Tarasova, Russian ballerina (b. l898)
    • 1974 – Bino Bini, Italian fencer (b. 1900)
    • 1974 – A. Y. Jackson, Canadian painter (b. 1882)
    • 1975 – Tell Berna, American middle and long-distance runner (b. 1891)
    • 1975 – Victor Marijnen, Dutch politician (b. 1917)
    • 1975 – Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (b. 1887)
    • 1975 – Harold Osborn, American track and fielder (b. 1899)
    • 1976 – Howard Hughes, American pilot, engineer, and director (b. 1905)
    • 1976 – Wilder Penfield, American-Canadian surgeon and academic (b. 1891)
    • 1976 – Harry Wyld, British cyclist (b. 1900)
    • 1977 – Carlos Prío Socarrás, President of Cuba, (b. 1903)
    • 1977 – Yuri Zavadsky, Russian actor and director (b. 1894)
    • 1981 – Émile Hanse, Belgian footballer (b. 1892)
    • 1981 – Bob Hite, American singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
    • 1981 – Pinchus Kremegne, French artist (b. 1890)
    • 1982 – Abe Fortas, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1910)
    • 1984 – Hans Lunding, Danish military officer (b. 1899)
    • 1984 – Giuseppe Tucci, Italian scholar of oriental cultures (b. 1894)
    • 1986 – Manly Wade Wellman, American writer (b. 1903)
    • 1987 – Leabua Jonathan, 2nd Prime Minister of Lesotho (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Alf Kjellin, Swedish actor and director (b. 1920)
    • 1989 – Frank Foss, American pole vaulter (b. 1895)
    • 1989 – Karel Zeman, Czech director, artist, production designer and animator (b. 1910)
    • 1991 – Sonny Carter, American soccer player, physician, and astronaut (b. 1947)
    • 1991 – Jay Miller, American basketball player (b. 1943)
    • 1991 – Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist, writer and screenwriter (b. 1915)
    • 1991 – William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L’Isle (b. 1909)
    • 1991 – John Tower, American soldier, academic, and politician (b. 1925)
    • 1992 – Takeshi Inoue, Japanese footballer (b. 1928)
    • 1992 – Molly Picon, American actress (b. 1898)
    • 1992 – Sam Walton, American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam’s Club (b. 1918)
    • 1993 – Divya Bharti, Indian actress (b. 1974)
    • 1994 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1967)
    • 1995 – Nicolaas Cortlever, Dutch chess player (b. 1915)
    • 1995 – Emilio Greco, Italian sculptor and engraver (b. 1913)
    • 1995 – Christian Pineau, French Resistance fighter (b. 1904)
    • 1996 – Charlene Holt, American actress (b. 1928)
    • 1997 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (b. 1926)
    • 1998 – Frederick Charles Frank, British theoretical physicist (b. 1911)
    • 1998 – Cozy Powell, English drummer (b. 1947)
    • 1999 – Giulio Einaudi, Italian book publisher (b. 1912)
    • 2000 – Heinrich Müller, Austrian footballer (b. 1909)
    • 2000 – Lee Petty, American race car driver (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Aldo Olivieri, Italian footballer (b. 1910)
    • 2002 – Layne Staley, American singer-songwriter (b. 1967)
    • 2002 – Kim Won-gyun, North Korean composer and politician (b. 1917)
    • 2003 – Keizo Morishita, Japanese painter (b. 1944)
    • 2004 – Fernand Goyvaerts, Belgian footballer (b. 1938)
    • 2004 – Sławomir Rawicz, Polish lieutenant (b. 1915)
    • 2004 – Heiner Zieschang, German mathematician and academic (b. 1936)
    • 2005 – Saul Bellow, Canadian-American novelist, essayist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Robert Borg, American military officer and equestrian (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – Chung Nam-sik, South Korean footballer (b. 1917)
    • 2006 – Allan Kaprow, American painter and educator (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
    • 2006 – Yevgeny Seredin, Russian swimmer (b. 1958)
    • 2006 – Pasquale Macchi, Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Leela Majumdar, Indian author and academic (b. 1908)
    • 2007 – Werner Maser, German historian and journalist (b. 1922)
    • 2007 – Mark St. John, American guitarist (b. 1956)
    • 2007 – Thomas Stoltz Harvey, American pathologist (b. 1912)
    • 2008 – Charlton Heston, American actor, director, and political activist (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – I. J. Good, British mathematician (b. 1916)
    • 2010 – Vitaly Sevastyanov, Soviet cosmonaut and engineer (b. 1935)
    • 2011 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and geneticist (b. 1925)
    • 2011 – Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African politician (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, German designer (b. 1935)
    • 2012 – Pedro Bartolomé Benoit, Dominican Republican politician military officer
    • 2012 – Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Barney McKenna, Irish musician (b. 1939)
    • 2012 – Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawian economist and politician, 3rd President of Malawi (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Piero de Palma, Italian tenor and actor (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Alan Davie, Scottish saxophonist and painter (b. 1920)
    • 2014 – Mariano Díaz, Spanish cyclist (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Peter Matthiessen, American novelist, short story writer, editor, co-founded The Paris Review (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – John Pinette, American comedian (b. 1964)
    • 2014 – José Wilker, Brazilian actor, director, and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Fredric Brandt, American dermatologist and author (b. 1949)
    • 2015 – Juan Carlos Cáceres, Argentinian singer and pianist (b. 1936)
    • 2016 – Koço Kasapoğlu, Turkish footballer (b. 1936)
    • 2017 – Attilio Benfatto, Italian cyclist (b. 1943)
    • 2017 – Arthur Bisguier, American chess Grandmaster (b. 1929)
    • 2017 – Paul G. Comba, Italian-American computer scientist and astronomer (b. 1926)
    • 2017 – Makoto Ōoka, Japanese poet and literary critic (b. 1931)
    • 2017 – Paul O’Neill, American rock composer and producer (b. 1956)
    • 2017 – Tim Parnell, British race car driver (b. 1932)
    • 2017 – Memè Perlini, Italian actor and director (b. 1947)
    • 2017 – Atanase Sciotnic, Romanian sprint canoeist (b. 1942)
    • 2017 – Ilkka Sinisalo, Finnish ice hockey player (b. 1958)
    • 2018 – Isao Takahata, Japanese director (b. 1935)
    • 2019 – Sydney Brenner, South African biologist (b. 1927)[16]

    Holidays and observances on April 5

    • Christian feast day:
      • Albert of Montecorvino
      • Derfel Gadarn
      • Æthelburh of Kent
      • Gerald of Sauve-Majeure
      • Juliana of Liège
      • Maria Crescentia Höss
      • Blessed Mariano de la Mata
      • Pandita Mary Ramabai (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Ruadhán of Lorrha
      • Vincent Ferrer
      • April 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Cold Food Festival, held on April 4 if it is a leap year (China); and its related observances:
    • Earliest day on which Sham el-Nessim can fall, while May 9 is the latest; celebrated on Monday after the Orthodox Easter (Egypt)
    • Children’s Day (Palestinian territories)
    • Sikmogil (South Korea)
    • National Maritime Day is observed in India, in commemoration of the first voyage of SS Loyalty of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. in 1919.

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

    • 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem Shahnameh.
    • 1126 – Following the death of his mother Urraca, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of Castile and León.
    • 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bourgeois militias and the army of the bishop of Strasbourg.
    • 1576 – Spanish explorer Diego García de Palacio first sights the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Copán.
    • 1618 – Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion.
    • 1655 – John Casor becomes the first legally-recognized slave in England’s North American colonies where a crime was not committed.
    • 1658 – Treaty of Roskilde: After a devastating defeat in the Northern Wars (1655–1661), Frederick III, the King of Denmark–Norway is forced to give up nearly half his territory to Sweden to save the rest.
    • 1702 – Queen Anne, the younger sister of Mary II, becomes Queen regnant of England, Scotland, and Ireland
    • 1722 – The Safavid Empire of Iran is defeated by an army from Afghanistan at the Battle of Gulnabad, pushing Iran into anarchy.
    • 1736 – Nader Shah, founder of the Afsharid dynasty, is crowned Shah of Iran.
    • 1775 – An anonymous writer, thought by some to be Thomas Paine, publishes “African Slavery in America”, the first article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery.
    • 1777 – Regiments from Ansbach and Bayreuth, sent to support Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, mutiny in the town of Ochsenfurt.
    • 1782 – Gnadenhutten massacre: Ninety-six Native Americans in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, who had converted to Christianity, are killed by Pennsylvania militiamen in retaliation for raids carried out by other Indian tribes.
    • 1801 – War of the Second Coalition: At the Battle of Abukir, a British force under Sir Ralph Abercromby lands in Egypt with the aim of ending the French campaign in Egypt and Syria.
    • 1817 – The New York Stock Exchange is founded.
    • 1844 – King Oscar I ascends to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: The Naval Battle of Hampton Roads begins.
    • 1868 – Sakai incident: Japanese samurai kill 11 French sailors in the port of Sakai, Osaka.
    • 1910 – French aviator Raymonde de Laroche becomes the first woman to receive a pilot’s license.
    • 1914 – First flights (for the Royal Thai Air Force) at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok.
    • 1916 – World War I: A British force unsuccessfully attempts to relieve the siege of Kut (present-day Iraq) in the Battle of Dujaila.
    • 1917 – International Women’s Day protests in St. Petersburg mark the beginning of the February Revolution (February 23rd in the Julian calendar).
    • 1917 – The United States Senate votes to limit filibusters by adopting the cloture rule.
    • 1920 – The Arab Kingdom of Syria, the first modern Arab state to come into existence, is established.
    • 1921 – Spanish Prime Minister Eduardo Dato Iradier is assassinated while exiting the parliament building in Madrid.
    • 1924 – A mine disaster kills 172 coal miners near Castle Gate, Utah.
    • 1936 – Daytona Beach and Road Course holds its first oval stock car race.
    • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: The Battle of Guadalajara begins.
    • 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Army forces gave an ultimatum to Dutch East Indies Governor General Jonkheer Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer and KNIL Commander in Chief Lieutenant General Hein Ter Poorten, to unconditionally surrender.
    • 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Army forces captured Rangoon, Burma from British.
    • 1947 – Thirteen thousand troops of the Republic of China Army arrive in Taiwan after the February 28 Incident and launch crackdowns which kill thousands of people, including many elites. This turns into a major root of the Taiwan independence movement.
    • 1949 – President of France Vincent Auriol and ex-emperor of Annam Bảo Đại sign the Élysée Accords, giving Vietnam greater independence from France and creating the State of Vietnam to oppose Viet Minh-led Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
    • 1957 – Egypt re-opens the Suez Canal after the Suez Crisis.
    • 1957 – The 1957 Georgia Memorial to Congress, which petitions the U.S. Congress to declare the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution null and void, is adopted by the U.S. state of Georgia.
    • 1963 – The Ba’ath Party comes to power in Syria in a coup d’état by a clique of quasi-leftist Syrian Army officers calling themselves the National Council of the Revolutionary Command.
    • 1965 – Thirty-five hundred United States Marines are the first American land combat forces committed during the Vietnam War.
    • 1966 – Nelson’s Pillar in Dublin, Ireland, destroyed by a bomb.
    • 1971 – The Fight of the Century between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali commences. Frazier wins in 15 rounds via unanimous decision.
    • 1974 – Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
    • 1979 – Philips demonstrates the compact disc publicly for the first time.
    • 1983 – Cold War: While addressing a convention of Evangelicals, U.S. President Ronald Reagan labels the Soviet Union an “evil empire”.
    • 1985 – A supposed failed assassination attempt on Islamic cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah in Beirut, Lebanon kills at least 45 and injures 175 others.
    • 2004 – A new constitution is signed by Iraq’s Governing Council.
    • 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying a total of 239 people, disappears en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
    • 2017 – The Azure Window, a natural arch on the Maltese island of Gozo, collapses in stormy weather.

    Births on March 8

    • 1286 – John III, Duke of Brittany (d. 1341)
    • 1293 – Beatrice of Castile (d. 1359)
    • 1495 – John of God, Portuguese friar and saint (d. 1550)
    • 1514 – Amago Haruhisa, Japanese daimyō (d. 1562)
    • 1518 – Sidonie of Saxony, Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg (d. 1575)
    • 1550 – William Drury, English politician (d. 1590)
    • 1658 – Thomas Trevor, 1st Baron Trevor, British Baron (d. 1730)
    • 1566 – Carlo Gesualdo, Italian lute player and composer (d. 1613)
    • 1712 – John Fothergill, English physician and botanist (d. 1780)
    • 1714 – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German pianist and composer (d. 1788)
    • 1726 – Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, English admiral and politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1799)
    • 1746 – André Michaux, French botanist and explorer (d. 1802)
    • 1748 – William V, Prince of Orange (d. 1806)
    • 1761 – Jan Potocki, Polish ethnologist, historian, linguist, and author (d. 1815)
    • 1799 – Simon Cameron, American journalist and politician, 26th United States Secretary of War (d. 1889)
    • 1804 – Alvan Clark, American astronomer and optician (d. 1887)
    • 1822 – Ignacy Łukasiewicz, Polish inventor and businessman, invented the Kerosene lamp (d. 1882)
    • 1826 – Johann Köler, Estonian painter and academic (d. 1899)
    • 1827 – Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist and anthropologist (d. 1875)
    • 1830 – João de Deus, Portuguese poet and educator (d. 1896)
    • 1839 – Josephine Cochrane, American inventor (d. 1913)
    • 1841 – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., American colonel, lawyer, and jurist (d. 1935)
    • 1848 – LaMarcus Adna Thompson, American engineer and businessman, developed the roller coaster (d. 1917)
    • 1856 – Bramwell Booth, English 2nd General of The Salvation Army (d. 1929)
    • 1856 – Colin Campbell Cooper, American painter and academic (d. 1937)
    • 1859 – Kenneth Grahame, Scottish-English banker and author (d. 1932)
    • 1865 – Frederic Goudy, American type designer, created Copperplate Gothic and Goudy Old Style (d. 1947)
    • 1879 – Otto Hahn, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
    • 1886 – Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
    • 1892 – Juana de Ibarbourou, Uruguayan poet and author (d. 1979)
    • 1896 – Charlotte Whitton, Canadian journalist and politician, 46th Mayor of Ottawa (d. 1975)
    • 1899 – Elmer Keith, American gun designer and author (d. 1984)
    • 1900 – Howard H. Aiken, American physicist and computer scientist, created the Harvard Mark I (d. 1973)
    • 1902 – Louise Beavers, American actress and singer (d. 1962)
    • 1902 – Jennings Randolph, American journalist and politician (d. 1998)
    • 1907 – Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Greece (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – Beatrice Shilling, English motorcycle racer and engineer (d. 1990)
    • 1909 – Paula Strasberg, American actress and acting coach (d. 1966)
    • 1910 – Claire Trevor, American actress (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – Alan Hovhaness, Armenian-American pianist and composer (d. 2000)
    • 1912 – Preston Smith, American businessman and politician, 40th Governor of Texas (d. 2003)
    • 1912 – Meldrim Thomson, Jr., American publisher and politician, 73rd Governor of New Hampshire (d. 2001)
    • 1914 – Yakov Borisovich Zel’dovich, Belarusian-Russian physicist and astronomer (d. 1987)
    • 1918 – Eileen Herlie, Scottish-American actress (d. 2008)
    • 1920 – Douglass Wallop, American author and playwright (d. 1985)
    • 1921 – Alan Hale, Jr., American actor (d. 1990)
    • 1921 – Sahir Ludhianvi, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1980)
    • 1922 – Ralph H. Baer, German-American video game designer, created the Magnavox Odyssey (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Cyd Charisse, American actress and dancer (d. 2008)
    • 1922 – Carl Furillo, American baseball player (d. 1989)
    • 1922 – Yevgeny Matveyev, Russian actor and director (d. 2003)
    • 1922 – Shigeru Mizuki, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – Anthony Caro, English sculptor and illustrator (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Georges Charpak, Ukrainian-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
    • 1924 – Sean McClory, Irish-American actor and director (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Warren Bennis, American scholar, author, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1929 – Hebe Camargo, Brazilian actress and singer (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Bob Grim, American baseball player (d. 1996)
    • 1930 – Douglas Hurd, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
    • 1931 – Neil Adcock, South African cricketer (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – John McPhee, American author and educator
    • 1931 – Gerald Potterton, English-Canadian animator, director, and producer
    • 1931 – Neil Postman, American author and critic (d. 2003)
    • 1934 – Marv Breeding, American baseball player and scout (d. 2006)
    • 1935 – George Coleman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader
    • 1936 – Sue Ane Langdon, American actress and singer
    • 1936 – Gábor Szabó, Hungarian guitarist and composer (d. 1982)
    • 1937 – Richard Fariña, American singer-songwriter and author (d. 1966)
    • 1937 – Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan politician, 2nd President of Rwanda (d. 1994)
    • 1938 – Pete Dawkins, American football player, colonel, and politician
    • 1939 – Jim Bouton, American baseball player and journalist (d. 2019)
    • 1939 – Lynn Seymour, Canadian ballerina and choreographer
    • 1939 – Lidiya Skoblikova, Russian speed skater and coach
    • 1939 – Robert Tear, Welsh tenor and conductor (d. 2011)
    • 1941 – Norman Stone, Scottish-English historian, author, and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1942 – Dick Allen, American baseball player and tenor
    • 1942 – Ann Packer, English sprinter, hurdler, and long jumper
    • 1943 – Susan Clark, Canadian actress and producer
    • 1943 – Michael Grade, English businessman
    • 1943 – Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (d. 2010)
    • 1943 – Dionysis Simopoulos, Greek physicist and astronomer
    • 1944 – Sergey Nikitin, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – Jim Chapman, American lawyer and politician
    • 1945 – Micky Dolenz, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
    • 1945 – Anselm Kiefer, German painter and sculptor
    • 1945 – Sylvia Wiegand, American mathematician
    • 1946 – Robert Jaworski, Filipino basketball player, coach, and politician
    • 1946 – Randy Meisner, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1947 – Carole Bayer Sager, American singer-songwriter and painter
    • 1947 – Michael S. Hart, American author, founded Project Gutenberg (d. 2011)
    • 1947 – Vladimír Mišík, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Florentino Pérez, Spanish engineer and businessman
    • 1948 – Robert W. Boyd, American physicist and academic
    • 1948 – Gyles Brandreth, German-English actor, screenwriter, and politician
    • 1948 – Mel Galley, English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
    • 1948 – Sam Lacey, American basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1948 – Peggy March, American pop singer
    • 1948 – Jonathan Sacks, English rabbi, philosopher, and scholar
    • 1949 – Teofilo Cubillas, Peruvian footballer
    • 1951 – Phil Edmonds, Zambian-English cricketer and businessman
    • 1951 – Dianne Walker, American tap dancer
    • 1952 – George Allen, American lawyer and politician, 67th Governor of Virginia
    • 1953 – Jim Rice, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1954 – Steve James, American documentary filmmaker
    • 1954 – David Wilkie, Sri Lankan-Scottish swimmer
    • 1956 – Laurie Cunningham, English footballer (d. 1989)
    • 1956 – David Malpass, American economist and government official
    • 1957 – Clive Burr, English rock drummer (d. 2013)
    • 1957 – William Edward Childs, American pianist and composer
    • 1957 – Bob Stoddard, American baseball player
    • 1958 – Andy McDonald, English lawyer and politician
    • 1958 – Gary Numan, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1959 – Aidan Quinn, Irish-American actor
    • 1960 – Jeffrey Eugenides, American author and academic
    • 1960 – Irek Mukhamedov, Russian ballet dancer
    • 1960 – Buck Williams, American basketball player and coach
    • 1961 – Camryn Manheim, American actress
    • 1961 – Larry Murphy, Canadian ice hockey player and journalist
    • 1962 – Leon Robinson, American actor and producer
    • 1964 – Kate Betts, American journalist and author
    • 1965 – Kenny Smith, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1966 – Greg Barker, Baron Barker of Battle, English politician
    • 1966 – Jaime Levy, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1967 – Joel Johnston, American baseball player
    • 1968 – Michael Bartels, German race car driver
    • 1968 – Shawn Mullins, American singer-songwriter
    • 1969 – Juan de Dios Ramírez Perales, Mexican footballer
    • 1970 – Jason Elam, American football player
    • 1971 – Kit Symons, English-Welsh footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Georgios Georgiadis, Greek footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Matthew Nable, Australian rugby player and actor
    • 1972 – Lena Sundström, Swedish journalist and author
    • 1973 – Boris Kodjoe, Austrian-born American actor and producer
    • 1973 – Anneke van Giersbergen, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1975 – Mauro Briano, Italian footballer
    • 1976 – Gaz Coombes, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1976 – Juan Encarnación, Dominican baseball player
    • 1976 – Freddie Prinze, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1977 – James Van Der Beek, American actor
    • 1977 – Johann Vogel, Swiss footballer
    • 1978 – Nick Zano, American actor and producer
    • 1979 – Apathy, American rapper and producer
    • 1979 – Tom Chaplin, English singer-songwriter
    • 1979 – Andy Ross, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1980 – Stephen Milne, Australian footballer
    • 1981 – Michael Beauchamp, Australian footballer
    • 1981 – Timothy Jordan II, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1981 – Joost Posthuma, Dutch cyclist
    • 1982 – Nicolas Armindo, French racing driver
    • 1982 – Leonidas Kampantais, Greek footballer
    • 1982 – Isak Strand, Norwegian drummer, composer, and producer
    • 1983 – André Santos, Brazilian footballer
    • 1983 – Mark Worrell, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Rafik Djebbour, Algerian footballer
    • 1984 – Ross Taylor, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1984 – Sasha Vujačić, Slovenian basketball player
    • 1987 – Jonathan Wright, Australian rugby league player
    • 1988 – Benny Blanco, American rapper and producer
    • 1990 – Asier Illarramendi, Spanish footballer
    • 1990 – Petra Kvitová, Czech tennis player
    • 1990 – Nico Salva, Filipino basketball player
    • 1990 – Ben Tozer, English footballer
    • 1991 – Miriam Bryant, Swedish-Finnish singer-songwriter
    • 1991 – Tom English, Australian rugby player
    • 1992 – Uki Satake, Japanese singer, actress, and radio host
    • 1994 – Pablo Dyego, Brazilian footballer
    • 1994 – Claire Emslie, Scottish footballer
    • 1994 – Dylan Tombides, Australian footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1996 – Matthew Hammelmann, Australian rules footballer
    • 1998 – Tali Darsigny, Canadian weightlifter

    Deaths on March 8

    • 865 – Rudolf of Fulda, German theologian
    • 1126 – Urraca of León and Castile (b. 1079)
    • 1137 – Adela of Normandy, by marriage countess of Blois (b. c. 1067)
    • 1144 – Pope Celestine II
    • 1223 – Wincenty Kadłubek, Polish bishop and historian (b. 1161)
    • 1365 – Queen Noguk of Korea
    • 1403 – Bayezid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1360)
    • 1441 – Margaret of Burgundy, Duchess of Bavaria
    • 1466 – Francesco I Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1401)
    • 1550 – John of God, Portuguese friar and saint (b. 1495)
    • 1619 – Veit Bach, German baker and miller (b. 1550)
    • 1641 – Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer and explorer (b. 1587)
    • 1702 – William III of England (b. 1650)
    • 1717 – Abraham Darby I, English blacksmith (b. 1678)
    • 1723 – Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St. Paul’s Cathedral (b. 1632)
    • 1731 – Ferdinand Brokoff, Czech sculptor (b. 1688)
    • 1771 – Louis August le Clerc, French-Danish sculptor and academic (b. 1688)
    • 1819 – Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1739)
    • 1844 – Charles XIV John of Sweden (b. 1763)
    • 1869 – Hector Berlioz, French composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1803)
    • 1872 – Cornelius Krieghoff, Dutch-Canadian painter (b. 1815)
    • 1874 – Millard Fillmore, American lawyer and politician, 13th President of the United States (b. 1800)
    • 1887 – Henry Ward Beecher, American minister and activist (b. 1813)
    • 1887 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (b. 1820)
    • 1889 – John Ericsson, Swedish-American engineer, designed the USS Monitor (b. 1803)
    • 1917 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and businessman, founded the Zeppelin Company (b. 1838)
    • 1923 – Krišjānis Barons, Latvian linguist and author (b. 1835)
    • 1923 – Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1837)
    • 1930 – William Howard Taft, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, 27th President of the United States (b. 1857)
    • 1930 – Edward Terry Sanford, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, United States Assistant Attorney General (b. 1865)
    • 1935 – Hachikō, Japanese dog (b. 1923)
    • 1937 – Howie Morenz, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1902)
    • 1941 – Sherwood Anderson, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1876)
    • 1942 – José Raúl Capablanca, Cuban chess player and theoretician (b. 1888)
    • 1944 – Fredy Hirsch, German Jewish athlete who helped thousands of Jewish children in the Holocaust (b. 1916)
    • 1945 – Frederick Bligh Bond, English archaeologist and architect (b. 1864)
    • 1948 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and scientist (b. 1889)
    • 1957 – Othmar Schoeck, Swiss composer and conductor (b. 1886)
    • 1961 – Thomas Beecham, English conductor and composer (b. 1879)
    • 1971 – Harold Lloyd, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
    • 1973 – Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, American keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1945)
    • 1975 – George Stevens, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
    • 1976 – Alfons Rebane, Estonian colonel (b. 1908)
    • 1983 – Chabuca Granda, Peruvian-American singer-songwriter (b. 1920)
    • 1983 – Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1904)
    • 1983 – William Walton, English composer (b. 1902)
    • 1985 – Edward Andrews, American actor (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Amar Singh Chamkila, Indian singer-songwriter (b. 1961)
    • 1988 – Werner Hartmann, German physicist and academic (b. 1912)
    • 1991 – John Bellairs, American author and academic (b. 1938)
    • 1993 – Billy Eckstine, American trumpet player (b. 1914)
    • 1996 – Jack Churchill, British colonel (b. 1906)
    • 1997 – Gershon Liebman, French rabbi (b. 1905)
    • 1998 – Ray Nitschke, American football player and actor (b. 1936)
    • 1999 – Adolfo Bioy Casares, Argentinian journalist and author (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – Peggy Cass, American actress and comedian (b. 1924)
    • 1999 – Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player and coach (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Edward Winter, American actor (b. 1937)
    • 2003 – Adam Faith, English singer (b. 1940)
    • 2003 – Karen Morley, American actress (b. 1909)
    • 2004 – Muhammad Zaidan, Syrian terrorist, founded the Palestine Liberation Front (b. 1948)
    • 2005 – César Lattes, Brazilian physicist and academic (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen commander and politician, 3rd President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (b. 1951)
    • 2007 – John Inman, English actor (b. 1935)
    • 2007 – John Vukovich, American baseball player and coach (b. 1947)
    • 2009 – Hank Locklin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
    • 2009 – Zbigniew Religa, Polish surgeon and politician, Polish Minister of Health (b. 1938)
    • 2011 – Mike Starr, American bass player (b. 1966)
    • 2012 – Simin Daneshvar, Iranian author and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Minoru Mori, Japanese businessman, founded the Mori Art Museum (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Steven Rubenstein, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1962)
    • 2013 – Haseeb Ahsan, Pakistani cricketer and manager (b. 1939)
    • 2013 – John O’Connell, Irish journalist and politician, 17th Irish Minister of Health (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin, German soldier and publisher (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Leo Bretholz, Austrian-American Holocaust survivor and author (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – William Guarnere, American sergeant (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Tjol Lategan, South African rugby player (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Sam Simon, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1955)
    • 2016 – Aldo Ferrer, Argentinian economist and diplomat (b. 1927)
    • 2016 – Ross Hannaford, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1950)
    • 2016 – George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Kate Wilhelm, American author (b. 1928)
    • 2019 – Marshall Brodien, American actor (b. 1934)
    • 2019 – Cedrick Hardman, American football player and actor (b. 1948)
    • 2020 – Max von Sydow, Swedish actor (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on March 8

    • Christian feast day:
      • Edward King (Church of England)
      • Felix of Burgundy
      • Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (the Church of England, The Episcopal Church (USA))
      • John of God
      • Philemon the actor
      • March 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Canberra Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in March (Australian Capital Territory)
    • Earliest day on which Commonwealth Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in March (Commonwealth of Nations)
    • Earliest day on which Decoration Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Wednesday in March (Liberia)
    • Earliest day on which Passion Sunday can fall, while April 17 is the latest; observed on the fifth Sunday of Lent (Christianity)
    • International Women’s Day, and its related observances:
      • International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day

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

    • 747 BC – Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy’s Nabonassar Era.
    • 364 – Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman emperor
    • 1233 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols capture Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty, after besieging it for months.
    • 1266 – Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by Manfred, King of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples.
    • 1365 – The Ava Kingdom and the royal city of Ava (Inwa) founded by King Thado Minbya
    • 1606 – The Janszoon voyage of 1605–06 becomes the first European expedition to set foot on Australia, although it is mistaken as a part of New Guinea.
    • 1616 – Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.
    • 1775 – The British East India Company factory on Balambangan Island is destroyed by Moro pirates
    • 1794 – The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down.
    • 1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.
    • 1876 – Japan and Korea sign a treaty granting Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights, opening three ports to Japanese trade, and ending Korea’s status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty China.
    • 1909 – Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
    • 1914 – HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
    • 1919 – President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park.
    • 1929 – President Calvin Coolidge signs an executive order establishing the 96,000 acre Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
    • 1935 – Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
    • 1935 – Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom.
    • 1936 – In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.
    • 1952 – Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.
    • 1960 – A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland, shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.
    • 1966 – Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket
    • 1971 – U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
    • 1979 – The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.
    • 1980 – Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.
    • 1987 – Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
    • 1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Khojaly Massacre: Armenian armed forces open fire on Azeri civilians at a military post outside the town of Khojaly leaving hundreds dead.
    • 1993 – World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand people.
    • 1995 – The UK’s oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after a rogue securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
    • 2008 – The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this is the first event of its kind to take place in North Korea.
    • 2012 – Trayvon Martin was shot and killed at the age of 17 in Sanford, Florida.
    • 2012 – A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.
    • 2013 – A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people.

    Births on February 26

    • 1361 – Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (d. 1419)
    • 1416 – Christopher of Bavaria (d. 1448)
    • 1564 – Christopher Marlowe, English playwright, poet and translator (d. 1593)
    • 1584 – Albert VI, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1666)
    • 1587 – Stefano Landi, Italian composer and educator (d. 1639)
    • 1629 – Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, Scottish peer (d. 1685)
    • 1651 – Quirinus Kuhlmann, German Baroque poet and mystic (d. 1689)
    • 1671 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician (d. 1713)
    • 1672 – Antoine Augustin Calmet, French monk and theologian (d. 1757)
    • 1677 – Nicola Fago, Italian composer and teacher (d. 1745)
    • 1718 – Johan Ernst Gunnerus, Norwegian bishop, botanist and zoologist (d. 1773)
    • 1720 – Gian Francesco Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1803)
    • 1746 – Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma (d. 1806)
    • 1770 – Anton Reicha, Bohemian composer and flautist (d. 1836)
    • 1777 – Matija Nenadović, Serbian priest, historian, and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 1854)
    • 1786 – François Arago, French mathematician and politician, 25th Prime Minister of France (d. 1853)
    • 1799 – Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron, French physicist and engineer (d. 1864)
    • 1802 – Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1885)
    • 1808 – Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 1879)
    • 1808 – Nathan Kelley, American architect, designed the Ohio Statehouse (d. 1871)
    • 1829 – Levi Strauss, German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (d. 1902)
    • 1842 – Camille Flammarion, French astronomer and author (d. 1925)
    • 1846 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (d. 1917)
    • 1852 – John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes (d. 1943)
    • 1857 – Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (d. 1926)
    • 1861 – Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (d. 1948)
    • 1861 – Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian soldier and politician (d. 1939)
    • 1866 – Herbert Henry Dow, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Dow Chemical Company (d. 1930)
    • 1877 – Henry Barwell, Australian politician, 28th Premier of South Australia (d. 1959)
    • 1877 – Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (d. 1968)
    • 1879 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (d. 1941)
    • 1880 – Kenneth Edgeworth, Irish astronomer (d. 1972)
    • 1881 – Janus Djurhuus, Faroese poet (d. 1948)
    • 1882 – Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (d. 1968)
    • 1885 – Aleksandras Stulginskis, Lithuanian farmer and politician, 2nd President of Lithuania (d. 1969)
    • 1887 – Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player and coach (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (d. 1966)
    • 1887 – Stefan Grabiński, Polish author and educator (d. 1936)
    • 1893 – Wallace Fard Muhammad, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam (disappeared 1934)
    • 1893 – Dorothy Whipple, English novelist (d. 1966)
    • 1896 – Andrei Zhdanov, Ukrainian-Russian civil servant and politician (d. 1948)
    • 1899 – Max Petitpierre, Swiss jurist and politician, 54th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1994)
    • 1900 – Halina Konopacka, Polish discus thrower and poet (d. 1989)
    • 1900 – Fritz Wiessner, German-American mountaineer (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Jean Bruller, French author and illustrator, co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit (d. 1991)
    • 1903 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
    • 1903 – Orde Wingate, English general (d. 1944)
    • 1906 – Madeleine Carroll, English actress (d. 1987)
    • 1908 – Tex Avery, American animator, producer, and voice actor (d. 1980)
    • 1908 – Nestor Mesta Chayres, Mexican operatic tenor and bolero vocalist (d. 1971)
    • 1908 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (d. 1949)
    • 1909 – Fanny Cradock, English chef, author, and critic (d. 1994)
    • 1909 – Talal of Jordan (d. 1972)
    • 1910 – Vic Woodley, English footballer (d. 1978)
    • 1911 – Tarō Okamoto, Japanese painter and sculptor (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Dane Clark, American actor and director (d. 1998)
    • 1913 – George Barker, English author and poet (d. 1991)
    • 1914 – Robert Alda, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1986)
    • 1916 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and singer (d. 1987)
    • 1918 – Otis R. Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Pyotr Masherov, Leader of Soviet Belarus (d. 1980)
    • 1918 – Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic (d. 1985)
    • 1919 – Mason Adams, American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Danny Gardella, American baseball player and trainer (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Tony Randall, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Bill Johnston, Australian cricketer and businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Margaret Leighton, English actress (d. 1976)
    • 1924 – Noboru Takeshita, Japanese soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Marc Bucci, American composer, lyricist, and dramatist (d. 2002)
    • 1925 – Everton Weekes, Barbadian cricketer and referee
    • 1926 – Doris Belack, American actress (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Verne Gagne, American football player, wrestler, and trainer (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Tom Kennedy, American game show host and actor
    • 1928 – Fats Domino, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Ally MacLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1931 – Robert Novak, American journalist and author (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Josephine Tewson, English actress
    • 1932 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2003)
    • 1933 – James Goldsmith, French-British businessman and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1934 – Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, Algerian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1936 – José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal (d. 2014)
    • 1937 – Paul Dickson, American football player and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1939 – Chuck Wepner, American professional boxer
    • 1940 – Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Jozef Adamec, Slovak footballer and manager (d. 2018)
    • 1943 – Paul Cotton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Bill Duke, American actor and director
    • 1943 – Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer
    • 1943 – Bob “The Bear” Hite, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1981)
    • 1944 – Christopher Hope, South African author and poet
    • 1944 – Ronald Lauder, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Austria
    • 1945 – Peter Brock, Australian race car driver (d. 2006)
    • 1945 – Marta Kristen, Norwegian-American actress
    • 1945 – Mitch Ryder, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1946 – Colin Bell, English footballer
    • 1946 – Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
    • 1947 – Sandie Shaw, English singer and psychotherapist
    • 1948 – Sharyn McCrumb, American author
    • 1949 – Simon Crean, Australian trade union leader and politician, 14th Australian Minister for the Arts
    • 1949 – Elizabeth George, American author and educator
    • 1949 – Emma Kirkby, English soprano
    • 1950 – Jonathan Cain, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1950 – Helen Clark, New Zealand academic and politician, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1951 – Steve Bell, English cartoonist
    • 1951 – Wayne Goss, Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Premier of Queensland (d. 2014)
    • 1953 – Michael Bolton, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1954 – Prince Ernst August of Hanover
    • 1954 – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish politician, 12th President of Turkey
    • 1955 – Andreas Maislinger, Austrian historian and academic, founded the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
    • 1956 – Michel Houellebecq, French author, poet, screenwriter, and director
    • 1957 – David Beasley, American lawyer and politician, 113th Governor of South Carolina
    • 1957 – Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1957 – Keena Rothhammer, American swimmer
    • 1958 – Paul Ackford, English rugby player
    • 1958 – Greg Germann, American actor and director
    • 1958 – Susan Helms, American general, engineer, and astronaut
    • 1958 – Tim Kaine, American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Virginia
    • 1959 – Rolando Blackman, American basketball player and coach
    • 1959 – Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish political scientist, academic, and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Turkey
    • 1960 – Jaz Coleman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1962 – Ahn Cheol-soo, South Korean physician, academic, and politician
    • 1963 – Chase Masterson, American actress, singer, and activist
    • 1965 – James Mitchell, American wrestler and manager
    • 1966 – Garry Conille, Haitian physician and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Haiti
    • 1966 – Marc Fortier, French-Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1966 – Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer
    • 1967 – Mark Carroll, Australian rugby league player
    • 1967 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese footballer
    • 1968 – Tim Commerford, American bass player
    • 1969 – Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer and producer
    • 1970 – Mark Harper, English accountant and politician, Minister of State for Immigration
    • 1970 – Scott Mahon, Australian rugby league player
    • 1971 – Erykah Badu, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1971 – Max Martin, Swedish-American record producer and songwriter
    • 1971 – Hélène Segara, French singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1973 – Marshall Faulk, American football player
    • 1973 – Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian footballer and manager
    • 1973 – Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
    • 1974 – Sébastien Loeb, French race car driver
    • 1974 – Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Filipina television actress, host and equestrienne
    • 1976 – Nalini Anantharaman, French mathematician
    • 1976 – Chad Urmston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1977 – Tim Thomas, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Shane Williams, Welsh rugby union player
    • 1978 – Abdoulaye Faye, Senegalese footballer
    • 1979 – Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Steve Evans, Welsh footballer
    • 1979 – Pedro Mendes, Portuguese international footballer, midfielder
    • 1980 – Steve Blake, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Kertus Davis, American race car driver
    • 1981 – Oh Seung-bum, South Korean footballer
    • 1982 – Li Na, Chinese tennis player
    • 1982 – Matt Prior, South African-English cricketer
    • 1982 – Nate Ruess, American singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Jerome Harrison, American football player
    • 1983 – Pepe, Brazilian-Portuguese footballer
    • 1984 – Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese international footballer, forward
    • 1984 – Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer-songwriter
    • 1984 – Beren Saat, Turkish actress
    • 1985 – Fernando Llorente, Spanish international footballer, striker
    • 1986 – Hannah Kearney, American skier
    • 1989 – Gabriel Obertan, French footballer
    • 1990 – Kateřina Cachová, Czech heptathlete
    • 1990 – Takanoiwa Yoshimori, Mongolian sumo wrestler
    • 1991 – Lee Chae-rin, South Korean singer
    • 1992 – Mikael Granlund, Finnish professional hockey player
    • 1992 – Michael Chee Kam, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1997 – Reghan Tumilty, Scottish footballer

    Deaths on February 26

    • 420 – Porphyry of Gaza, Greek bishop and saint (b. 347)
    • 943 – Muirchertach mac Néill, king of Ailech (Ireland)
    • 1154 – Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093)
    • 1266 – Manfred, King of Sicily (b. 1232)
    • 1275 – Margaret of England, Queen consort of Scots (b. 1240)
    • 1349 – Fatima bint al-Ahmar, Nasrid princess in the Emirate of Granada (b. c.1260)
    • 1360 – Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English commander (b. 1328)
    • 1462 – John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, English politician (b. 1408)
    • 1548 – Lorenzino de’ Medici, Italian writer and assassin (b. 1514)
    • 1577 – Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)
    • 1603 – Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, spouse of Maximilian II (b. 1528)
    • 1608 – John Still, English bishop (b. 1543)
    • 1611 – Antonio Possevino, Italian priest and diplomat (b. 1533)
    • 1625 – Anna Vasa of Sweden, Polish and Swedish princess (b. 1568)
    • 1630 – William Brade, English violinist and composer (b. 1560)
    • 1638 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician and linguist (b. 1581)
    • 1723 – Thomas d’Urfey, English poet and playwright (b. 1653)
    • 1726 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1662)
    • 1770 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1692)
    • 1790 – Joshua Rowley, English admiral (b. 1730)
    • 1802 – Esek Hopkins, American admiral (b. 1718)
    • 1806 – Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, Haitian-French general (b. 1762)
    • 1813 – Robert R. Livingston, American lawyer and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs (b. 1746)
    • 1815 – Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. 1737)
    • 1821 – Joseph de Maistre, French lawyer and diplomat (b. 1753)
    • 1864 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Canadian jurist and politician, 3rd Premier of Canada East (b. 1807)
    • 1883 – Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek lawyer and politician, 56th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)
    • 1887 – Anandi Gopal Joshi, First Indian women physician (b. 1865)
    • 1889 – Karl Davydov, Russian cellist and composer (b. 1838)
    • 1903 – Richard Jordan Gatling, American engineer, invented the Gatling gun (b. 1818)
    • 1906 – Jean Lanfray, Swiss convicted murderer (b. 1874)
    • 1913 – Felix Draeseke, German composer and academic (b. 1835)
    • 1921 – Carl Menger, Polish-Austrian economist and academic (b. 1840)
    • 1930 – Mary Whiton Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (b. 1863)
    • 1931 – Otto Wallach, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1847)
    • 1936 – February 26 Incident:
      • Takahashi Korekiyo, Japanese accountant and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1854)
      • Saitō Makoto, Japanese admiral and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1858)
      • Jōtarō Watanabe, Japanese general (b. 1874)
    • 1943 – Theodor Eicke, German general (b. 1892)
    • 1945 – Sándor Szurmay, Minister of Defence of the Hungarian portion of Austria-Hungary (b. 1860)
    • 1947 – Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss judge and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1868)
    • 1950 – Harry Lauder, Scottish comedian and singer (b. 1870)
    • 1951 – Sabiha Kasimati, Albanian ichthyologist (b. 1912) executed with 20 others
    • 1952 – Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (b. 1878)
    • 1961 – Karl Albiker, German sculptor, lithographer, and educator (b. 1878)
    • 1961 – Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909)
    • 1966 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian poet and politician (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Levi Eshkol, Israeli soldier and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895)
    • 1969 – Karl Jaspers, German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (b. 1883)
    • 1981 – Robert Aickman, English author and activist (b. 1914)
    • 1981 – Howard Hanson, American composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1896)
    • 1985 – Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch-American economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
    • 1989 – Roy Eldridge, American trumpet player (b. 1911)
    • 1993 – Constance Ford, American model and actress (b. 1923)
    • 1994 – Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961)
    • 1995 – Jack Clayton, English director and producer (b. 1921)
    • 1997 – David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929)
    • 1998 – Theodore Schultz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 2000 – George L. Street III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)
    • 2004 – Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (b. 1905)
    • 2004 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956)
    • 2005 – Jef Raskin, American computer scientist, created Macintosh (b. 1943)
    • 2006 – Georgina Battiscombe, British biographer (b. 1905)
    • 2008 – Bodil Udsen, Danish actress (b. 1925)
    • 2009 – Johnny Kerr, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Wendy Richard, English actress (b. 1943)
    • 2009 – Norm Van Lier, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Jun Seba, also known as “Nujabes”, Japanese record producer, DJ, composer and arranger (b. 1974)
    • 2011 – Arnošt Lustig, Czech author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Richard Carpenter, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Marie-Claire Alain, French organist and educator (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Stéphane Hessel, German-French diplomat and author (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Simon Li, Hong Kong judge and politician (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Sorel Etrog, Romanian-Canadian sculptor, painter, and illustrator (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Phyllis Krasilovsky, American author and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Sheppard Frere, English historian and archaeologist (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, educator, and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and coach (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Tom Schweich, American lawyer and politician, 36th State Auditor of Missouri (b. 1960)
    • 2016 – Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
    • 2016 – Don Getty, Canadian football player and politician, 11th Premier of Alberta (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Joseph Wapner, American lieutenant and judge (b. 1919)

    Holidays and observances on February 26

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexander of Alexandria
      • Emily Malbone Morgan (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Isabelle of France
      • Li Tim-Oi (Anglican Church of Canada)
      • Porphyry of Gaza
      • February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The first day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (Please note that this observance is only locked into this date the Gregorian calendar on this date if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it doesn’t in all years)
    • Day of Remembrance for Victims of Khojaly Massacre (Azerbaijan)
    • Liberation Day (Kuwait)
    • Saviours’ Day (Nation of Islam)

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

    • 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire.
    • 1069 – Robert de Comines, appointed Earl of Northumbria by William the Conqueror, rides into Durham, England, where he is defeated and killed by rebels. This incident leads to the Harrying of the North.
    • 1077 – Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is lifted after he humbles himself before Pope Gregory VII at Canossa in Italy.
    • 1521 – The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
    • 1547 – Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father’s death.
    • 1568 – The Edict of Torda prohibited the persecution of individuals on the religious ground in John Sigismund Zápolya’s Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
    • 1573 – Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
    • 1624 – Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on the island of Saint Kitts.
    • 1671 – Original city of Panama (founded in 1519) was destroyed by a fire when privateer Henry Morgan sacked and set fire to it. The site of the previously devastated city is still in ruins (see Panama Viejo).
    • 1724 – The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented by Senate decree. It is called the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
    • 1754 – Sir Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to a friend.
    • 1813 – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
    • 1846 – The Battle of Aliwal, India, is won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
    • 1851 – Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois.
    • 1855 – A locomotive on the Panama Canal Railway runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
    • 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
    • 1878 – Yale Daily News becomes the first independent daily college newspaper in the United States.
    • 1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h).
    • 1902 – The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
    • 1908 – Members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup d’état against the administrative dictatorship of Prime Minister João Franco.
    • 1909 – United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish–American War.
    • 1915 – An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces.
    • 1918 – Finnish Civil War: The Red Guard rebels seize control of the capital, Helsinki; members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
    • 1920 – Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
    • 1922 – Knickerbocker Storm, Washington D.C.’s biggest snowfall, causes the city’s greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre collapses.
    • 1932 – Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
    • 1933 – The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali Khan and is accepted by Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
    • 1935 – Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
    • 1938 – The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 at a speed of 432.7 kilometres per hour (268.9 mph).
    • 1941 – Franco-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. A Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
    • 1945 – World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
    • 1956 – Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance.
    • 1958 – The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
    • 1960 – The National Football League announced expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for 1961 NFL season.
    • 1964 – An unarmed United States Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission is shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19.
    • 1965 – The current design of the Flag of Canada is chosen by an act of Parliament.
    • 1977 – The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 which dumps 10 feet (3.0 m) of snow in one day in Upstate New York, with Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown, and surrounding areas are most affected.
    • 1980 – USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa, Florida and capsizes, killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
    • 1981 – Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
    • 1982 – US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
    • 1984 – Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region.
    • 1985 – Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) records the hit single We Are the World, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
    • 1986 – Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission: Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
    • 1988 – In R v Morgentaler the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down all anti-abortion laws.
    • 2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia, killing 94.
    • 2006 – The roof of one of the buildings at the Katowice International Fair in Poland collapses due to the weight of snow, killing 65 and injuring more than 170 others.

    Births on January 28

    • 1312 – Joan II, queen of Navarre (d. 1349)
    • 1368 – Razadarit, king of Hanthawaddy (d. 1421)
    • 1457 – Henry VII, king of England (d. 1509)
    • 1533 – Paul Luther, German scientist (d. 1593)
    • 1540 – Ludolph van Ceulen, German-Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1610)
    • 1582 – John Barclay, French-Scottish poet and author (d. 1621)
    • 1600 – Clement IX, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1669)
    • 1608 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)
    • 1611 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (d. 1687)
    • 1622 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (d. 1691)
    • 1693 – Gregor Werner, Austrian composer (d. 1766)
    • 1701 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
    • 1706 – John Baskerville, English printer and typographer (d. 1775)
    • 1712 – Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shōgun (d. 1761)
    • 1717 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1774)
    • 1719 – Johann Elias Schlegel, German poet and critic (d. 1749)
    • 1726 – Christian Felix Weiße, German poet and playwright (d. 1802)
    • 1755 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, Polish-German physician, anthropologist, and paleontologist (d. 1830)
    • 1784 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)
    • 1797 – Charles Gray Round, English lawyer and politician (d. 1867)
    • 1818 – George S. Boutwell, American lawyer and politician, 28th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1905)
    • 1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian soldier, journalist, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
    • 1833 – Charles George Gordon, English general and politician (d. 1885)
    • 1841 – Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-American explorer and journalist (d. 1904)
    • 1843 – Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet and linguist (d. 1890)
    • 1853 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and theorist (d. 1895)
    • 1853 – Vladimir Solovyov, Russian philosopher, poet, and critic (d. 1900)
    • 1855 – William Seward Burroughs I, American businessman, founded the Burroughs Corporation (d. 1898)
    • 1858 – Tannatt William Edgeworth David, Welsh-Australian geologist and explorer (d. 1934)
    • 1861 – Julián Felipe, Filipino composer and educator (d. 1944)
    • 1863 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian-American painter (d. 1918)
    • 1864 – Charles Williams Nash, American businessman, founded Nash Motors (d. 1948)
    • 1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian author and politician (d. 1928)
    • 1865 – Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, Finnish lawyer, judge, and politician, 1st President of Finland (d. 1952)
    • 1873 – Colette, French novelist and journalist (d. 1954)
    • 1873 – Monty Noble, Australian cricketer (d. 1940)
    • 1874 – Alex Smith, Scottish golfer (d. 1930)
    • 1875 – Julián Carrillo, Mexican violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1965)
    • 1878 – Walter Kollo, German composer and conductor (d. 1940)
    • 1880 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer and coach (d. 1970)
    • 1884 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist and explorer (d. 1962)
    • 1885 – Vahan Terian, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1920)
    • 1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian-French author and poet (d. 1973)
    • 1886 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese engineer and academic (d. 1976)
    • 1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-American pianist and educator (d. 1982)
    • 1897 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (d. 1986)
    • 1900 – Alice Neel, American painter (d. 1984)
    • 1903 – Aleksander Kamiński, Polish author and educator (d. 1978)
    • 1903 – Kathleen Lonsdale, Irish crystallographer and 1st female FRS (d. 1971)
    • 1906 – Pat O’Callaghan, Irish athlete (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek general and politician (d. 1992)
    • 1908 – Paul Misraki, Turkish-French composer and historian (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – John Thomson, Scottish footballer (d. 1931)
    • 1910 – John Banner, Austrian actor (d. 1973)
    • 1911 – Johan van Hulst, Dutch politician, academic and author, Yad Vashem recipient (d. 2018)
    • 1912 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)
    • 1918 – Harry Corbett, English puppeteer, actor, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
    • 1918 – Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-English lawyer and politician (d. 2004)
    • 1919 – Gabby Gabreski, American colonel and pilot (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Vytautas Norkus, Lithuanian–American basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Anna Gordy Gaye, American songwriter and producer, co-founded Anna Records (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
    • 1924 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter and poet (d. 1976)
    • 1925 – Raja Ramanna, Indian physicist and politician (d. 2004)
    • 1926 – Jimmy Bryan, American race car driver (d. 1960)
    • 1927 – Per Oscarsson, Swedish actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Ronnie Scott, English saxophonist (d. 1996)
    • 1927 – Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1927 – Vera Williams, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Acker Bilk, English singer and clarinet player (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Nikolai Parshin, Russian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1929 – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-American sculptor and illustrator
    • 1929 – Edith M. Flanigen, American chemist
    • 1930 – Kurt Biedenkopf, German academic and politician, 54th President of the German Bundesrat
    • 1930 – Roy Clarke, English screenwriter, comedian and soldier
    • 1933 – Jack Hill, American director and screenwriter
    • 1934 – Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1990)
    • 1935 – David Lodge, English author and critic
    • 1936 – Alan Alda, American actor, director, and writer
    • 1937 – Karel Čáslavský, Czech historian and television host (d. 2013)
    • 1938 – Tomas Lindahl, Swedish-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1938 – Leonid Zhabotinsky, Ukrainian weightlifter and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1939 – John M. Fabian, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1940 – Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman and philanthropist, founded Grupo Carso
    • 1942 – Sjoukje Dijkstra, Dutch figure skater
    • 1942 – Erkki Pohjanheimo, Finnish director and producer
    • 1943 – Dick Taylor, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1944 – Rosalía Mera, Spanish businesswoman, co-founded Inditex and Zara (d. 2013)
    • 1944 – John Tavener, English composer (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Frank Doubleday, American actor (d. 2018)
    • 1945 – Maxwell Fuller, Australian chess player (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Marthe Keller, Swiss actress and director
    • 1945 – John Perkins, American author and activist
    • 1947 – Jeanne Shaheen, American educator and politician, 78th Governor of New Hampshire
    • 1948 – Bob Moses, American drummer
    • 1948 – Charles Taylor, Liberian politician, 22nd President of Liberia
    • 1949 – Mike Moore, New Zealand union leader and politician, 34th Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1949 – Gregg Popovich, American basketball player and coach
    • 1950 – Barbi Benton, American actress, singer and model
    • 1950 – Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahraini king
    • 1950 – David C. Hilmers, American colonel, physician, and astronaut
    • 1950 – Naila Kabeer, Bangladeshi-English economist and academic
    • 1951 – Brian Bilbray, American politician
    • 1951 – Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1951 – Billy Bass Nelson, American R&B/funk bass player
    • 1952 – Richard Glatzer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1953 – Colin Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1954 – Peter Lampe, German theologian and historian
    • 1954 – Bruno Metsu, French footballer and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1954 – Rick Warren, American pastor and author
    • 1955 – Vinod Khosla, Indian-American businessman, co-founded Sun Microsystems
    • 1955 – Nicolas Sarkozy, French lawyer and politician, 23rd President of France
    • 1956 – Richard Danielpour, American composer and educator
    • 1956 – Peter Schilling, German singer-songwriter
    • 1957 – Mark Napier, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1957 – Nick Price, Zimbabwean-South African golfer
    • 1957 – Frank Skinner, English comedian, actor, and author
    • 1959 – Frank Darabont, American director and producer
    • 1960 – Loren Legarda, Filipino journalist and politician
    • 1961 – Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1962 – Sam Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1964 – David Lawrence, English cricketer
    • 1966 – Seiji Mizushima, Japanese director and producer
    • 1967 – Billy Brownless, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1968 – Rakim, American rapper
    • 1969 – Giorgio Lamberti, Italian swimmer
    • 1969 – Mo Rocca, American comedian and television journalist
    • 1969 – Linda Sánchez, American lawyer and politician
    • 1972 – Mark Regan, English rugby player
    • 1972 – Nicky Southall, English footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Léon van Bon, Dutch cyclist
    • 1974 – Tony Delk, American basketball player and coach
    • 1974 – Jermaine Dye, American baseball player
    • 1974 – Ramsey Nasr, Dutch author and poet
    • 1974 – Magglio Ordóñez, Venezuelan baseball player and politician
    • 1975 – Pedro Pinto, Portuguese-American journalist
    • 1975 – Junior Spivey, American baseball player and coach
    • 1976 – Sireli Bobo, Fijian rugby player
    • 1976 – Mark Madsen, American basketball player and coach
    • 1976 – Rick Ross, American rapper and producer
    • 1976 – Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek footballer
    • 1977 – Sandis Buškevics, Latvian basketball player and coach
    • 1977 – Daunte Culpepper, American football player
    • 1977 – Joey Fatone, American singer, dancer, and television personality
    • 1977 – Takuma Sato, Japanese race car driver
    • 1978 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
    • 1978 – Jamie Carragher, English footballer and sportscaster
    • 1978 – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
    • 1978 – Stephen Farrelly, Irish professional wrestler
    • 1978 – Big Freedia, New Orleans musician, “Queen of Bounce”
    • 1980 – Nick Carter, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1980 – Yasuhito Endō, Japanese footballer
    • 1980 – Michael Hastings, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1980 – Brian Fallon, American singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Elijah Wood, American actor and producer
    • 1984 – Ben Clucas, English race car driver
    • 1984 – Stephen Gostkowski, American football player
    • 1984 – Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Anne Panter, English field hockey player
    • 1985 – J. Cole, American singer
    • 1985 – Daniel Carcillo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Lauris Dārziņš, Latvian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
    • 1985 – Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
    • 1986 – Jessica Ennis-Hill, English heptathlete and hurdler
    • 1986 – Nathan Outteridge, Australian sailor
    • 1986 – Asad Shafiq, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1988 – Paul Henry, English footballer
    • 1988 – Seiya Sanada, Japanese wrestler
    • 1989 – Siem de Jong, Dutch footballer
    • 1991 – Carl Klingberg, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Sergio Araujo, Argentinian footballer
    • 1998 – Ariel Winter, American actress

    Deaths on January 28

    • 592 – Guntram, French king (b. 532)
    • 814 – Charlemagne, Holy Roman emperor (pleurisy; b. 742)
    • 919 – Zhou Dewei, Chinese general
    • 929 – Gao Jixing, founder of Chinese Jingnan (b. 858)
    • 947 – Jing Yanguang, Chinese general (b. 892)
    • 1061 – Spytihněv II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1031)
    • 1142 – Yue Fei, Chinese general (b. 1103)
    • 1256 – William II, Count of Holland, King of Germany (b. 1227)
    • 1271 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France (b. 1247)
    • 1290 – Dervorguilla of Galloway, Scottish noble, mother of king John Balliol of Scotland (b. c. 1210)
    • 1443 – Robert le Maçon, French diplomat (b. 1365)
    • 1501 – John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham, English baron and Lord High Treasurer (b. 1433)
    • 1547 – Henry VIII, king of England (b. 1491)
    • 1613 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (b. 1545)
    • 1621 – Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
    • 1666 – Tommaso Dingli, Maltese architect and sculptor (b. 1591)
    • 1672 – Pierre Séguier, French politician, Lord Chancellor of France (b. 1588)
    • 1681 – Richard Allestree, English priest and academic (b. 1619)
    • 1687 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (b. 1611)
    • 1688 – Ferdinand Verbiest, Flemish Jesuit missionary in China (b. 1623)
    • 1697 – Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet, English general and politician (b. 1645)
    • 1754 – Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian-Danish historian and philosopher (b. 1684)
    • 1782 – Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville, French geographer and cartographer (b. 1697)
    • 1832 – Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (b. 1769)
    • 1859 – F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
    • 1864 – Émile Clapeyron, French physicist and engineer (b. 1799)
    • 1873 – John Hart, English-Australian politician, 10th Premier of South Australia (b. 1809)
    • 1903 – Augusta Holmès, French pianist and composer (b. 1847)
    • 1912 – Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist and theorist (b. 1819)
    • 1918 – John McCrae, Canadian soldier, physician, and author (b. 1872)
    • 1921 – Mustafa Suphi, Turkish journalist and politician (b. 1883)
    • 1930 – Emmy Destinn, Czech soprano and poet (b. 1878)
    • 1935 – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1859)
    • 1937 – Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and target shooter (b. 1862)
    • 1938 – Bernd Rosemeyer, German race car driver (b. 1909)
    • 1939 – W. B. Yeats, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
    • 1942 – Edward Siegler, American gymnast and triathlete (b. 1881)
    • 1945 – Roza Shanina, Russian sergeant and sniper (b. 1924)
    • 1947 – Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan-French composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1875)
    • 1948 – Hans Aumeier, German SS officer (b. 1906)
    • 1949 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)
    • 1950 – Nikolai Luzin, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1883)
    • 1953 – James Scullin, Australian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
    • 1953 – Neyzen Tevfik, Turkish philosopher and poet (b. 1879)
    • 1959 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (b. 1899)
    • 1960 – Zora Neale Hurston, American novelist, short story writer, and folklorist (b. 1891)
    • 1963 – Gustave Garrigou, French cyclist (b. 1884)
    • 1965 – Tich Freeman, English cricketer (b. 1888)
    • 1965 – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (b. 1867)
    • 1971 – Donald Winnicott, English paediatrician and psychoanalyst (b. 1896)
    • 1973 – John Banner, Austrian actor (b. 1910)
    • 1976 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter and poet (b. 1924)
    • 1978 – Ward Moore, American author (b. 1903)
    • 1983 – Billy Fury. English pop star (b. 1940)
    • 1983 – Frank Forde, Australian educator and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
    • 1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger crew
      • Gregory Jarvis, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1944)
      • Christa McAuliffe, American educator and astronaut (b. 1948)
      • Ronald McNair, American physicist and astronaut (b. 1950)
      • Ellison Onizuka, American engineer and astronaut (b. 1946)
      • Judith Resnik, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1949)
      • Dick Scobee, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1939)
      • Michael J. Smith, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1945)
    • 1988 – Klaus Fuchs, German physicist and politician (b. 1911)
    • 1989 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (b. 1938)
    • 1993 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, Canadian astronomer and academic (b. 1905)
    • 1996 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1940)
    • 1996 – Burne Hogarth, American cartoonist and author (b. 1911)
    • 1996 – Jerry Siegel, American author and illustrator, co-created Superman (b. 1914)
    • 1998 – Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese author and illustrator (b. 1938)
    • 1999 – Valery Gavrilin, Russian composer (b. 1939)
    • 2001 – Ranko Marinković, Croatian author and playwright (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Gustaaf Deloor, Belgian cyclist and soldier (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author and screenwriter (b. 1907)
    • 2002 – Ayşe Nur Zarakolu, Turkish author and activist (b. 1946)
    • 2003 – Mieke Pullen, Dutch runner (b. 1957)
    • 2004 – Lloyd M. Bucher, American captain (b. 1927)
    • 2004 – Mel Pritchard, English drummer (b. 1948)
    • 2005 – Jim Capaldi, English singer-songwriter and drummer (b. 1944)
    • 2007 – Carlo Clerici, Swiss cyclist (b. 1929)
    • 2007 – Robert Drinan, American priest, lawyer, and politician (b. 1920)
    • 2007 – Yelena Romanova, Russian runner (b. 1963)
    • 2007 – Karel Svoboda, Czech composer (b. 1938)
    • 2009 – Billy Powell, American keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1952)
    • 2012 – Roman Juszkiewicz, Polish astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1952)
    • 2012 – Don Starkell, Canadian adventurer and author (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Florentino Fernández, Cuban-American boxer and coach (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Hattie N. Harrison, American educator and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – John Cacavas, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Harry Gamble, American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Nigel Jenkins, Welsh poet, journalist, and geographer (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – Jorge Obeid, Argentinian engineer and politician, Governor of Santa Fe (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Suraj Abdurrahman, Nigerian general, architect, and engineer (b. 1954)
    • 2015 – Yves Chauvin, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Lionel Gilbert, Australian historian, author, and academic (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Signe Toly Anderson, American singer (b. 1941)
    • 2016 – Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
    • 2016 – Franklin Gene Bissell, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Buddy Cianci, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Mayor of Providence (b. 1941)
    • 2016 – Bob Tizard, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 6th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1924)
    • 2017 – Alexander Chancellor, British journalist (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Geoff Nicholls, British musician (b. 1948)
    • 2019 – Pepe Smith, Filipino rock musician (b. 1947)

    Holidays and observances on January 28

    • Christian feast day:
      • Joseph Freinademetz
      • Julian of Cuenca
      • Thomas Aquinas
      • January 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Army Day (Armenia)
    • Data Privacy Day

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

    • AD 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule, the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
    • 1186 – Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily.
    • 1302 – Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.
    • 1343 – Pope Clement VI issues the papal bull Unigenitus to justify the power of the pope and the use of indulgences. Nearly 200 years later, Martin Luther would protest this.
    • 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31.
    • 1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan and Caliph of Islam in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703.
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Henry Knox’s “noble train of artillery” arrives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
    • 1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
    • 1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent, approaching the Antarctic coast.
    • 1825 – The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the “Trail of Tears”.
    • 1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Toba–Fushimi begins, between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and pro-Imperial factions; it will end in defeat for the shogunate, and is a pivotal point in the Meiji Restoration.
    • 1869 – Boshin War: Tokugawa rebels establish the Ezo Republic in Hokkaidō.
    • 1880 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his incandescent lamp.
    • 1916 – World War I: The British government passed a legislation that introduced conscription in the United Kingdom.
    • 1918 – Beginning of the Finnish Civil War.
    • 1927 – Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd.
    • 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Eighth Air Force sorties ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-boat construction yards at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was the first American bombing attack on Germany.
    • 1944 – World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Soviet 322nd Rifle Division liberates the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
    • 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger.
    • 1961 – The Soviet submarine S-80 sinks when its snorkel malfunctions, flooding the boat.
    • 1967 – Apollo program: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
    • 1967 – Cold War: The Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom sign the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C., banning deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.
    • 1973 – The Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict’s last recorded American combat casualty.
    • 1980 – Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian Caper.
    • 1983 – The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world’s longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
    • 1996 – In a military coup, Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane.
    • 1996 – Germany first observes the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
    • 2002 – An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others.
    • 2003 – The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress.
    • 2010 – The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras.
    • 2011 – Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution begins as over 16,000 protestors demonstrate in Sana’a.
    • 2013 – Two hundred and forty-two people die in a nightclub fire in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.

    Births on January 27

    • 1365 – Edward of Angoulême, English noble (d. 1370)
    • 1443 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
    • 1546 – Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608)
    • 1571 – Abbas I of Persia (d. 1629)
    • 1585 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
    • 1603 – Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (d. 1685)
    • 1603 – Humphrey Mackworth, English politician, lawyer and judge (d. 1654)
    • 1621 – Thomas Willis, English physician and anatomist (d. 1675)
    • 1662 – Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (d. 1742)
    • 1663 – George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1733)
    • 1687 – Johann Balthasar Neumann, German engineer and architect, designed Würzburg Residence and Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (d. 1753)
    • 1701 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian and theologian (d. 1790)
    • 1708 – Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia (d. 1728)
    • 1741 – Hester Thrale, Welsh author (d. 1821)
    • 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1791)
    • 1775 – Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German-Swiss philosopher and academic (d. 1854)
    • 1790 – Juan Álvarez, Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1867)
    • 1795 – Eli Whitney Blake, American engineer, invented the Mortise lock (d. 1886)
    • 1803 – Eunice Hale Waite Cobb, American writer, public speaker, and activist (d. 1880)
    • 1805 – Maria Anna of Bavaria (d. 1877)
    • 1805 – Samuel Palmer, English painter and etcher (d. 1881)
    • 1806 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer and educator (d. 1826)
    • 1808 – David Strauss, German theologian and author (d. 1874)
    • 1814 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect, designed the Lausanne Cathedral (d. 1879)
    • 1821 – John Chivington, American colonel and pastor (d. 1892)
    • 1823 – Édouard Lalo, French violinist and composer (d. 1892)
    • 1824 – Urbain Johnson, Canadian farmer and political figure (d. 1917)
    • 1826 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1889)
    • 1826 – Richard Taylor, American general, historian, and politician (d. 1879)
    • 1832 – Lewis Carroll, English novelist, poet, and mathematician (d. 1898)
    • 1832 – Carl Friedrich Schmidt, Estonian-Russian geologist and botanist (d. 1908)
    • 1836 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1895)
    • 1842 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ukrainian-Russian painter (d. 1910)
    • 1848 – Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (d. 1934)
    • 1850 – John Collier, English painter and author (d. 1934)
    • 1850 – Samuel Gompers, English-American labor leader (d. 1924)
    • 1850 – Edward Smith, English captain (d. 1912)
    • 1858 – Neel Doff, Dutch-Belgian author (d. 1942)
    • 1859 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (d. 1941)
    • 1869 – Will Marion Cook, American violinist and composer (d. 1944)
    • 1878 – Dorothy Scarborough, American author (d. 1935)
    • 1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer and songwriter (d. 1945)
    • 1885 – Seison Maeda, Japanese painter (d. 1977)
    • 1886 – Radhabinod Pal, Indian academic and jurist (d. 1967)
    • 1889 – Balthasar van der Pol, Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1959)
    • 1891 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian journalist and author (d. 1967)
    • 1893 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese politician, Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – Joseph Rosenstock, Polish-American conductor and manager (d. 1985)
    • 1895 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (d. 1974)
    • 1900 – Hyman G. Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
    • 1901 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
    • 1901 – Art Rooney, American football player and coach, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers (d. 1988)
    • 1903 – John Eccles, Australian-Swiss neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
    • 1903 – Otto P. Weyland, American general (d. 1979)
    • 1904 – James J. Gibson, American psychologist and academic (d. 1979)
    • 1905 – Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
    • 1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (d. 1993)
    • 1910 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general, economist, and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 1979)
    • 1912 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher and environmentalist (d. 2009)
    • 1912 – Francis Rogallo, American engineer, invented the Rogallo wing (d. 2009)
    • 1915 – Jules Archer, American historian and author (d. 2008)
    • 1915 – Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian-American painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1985)
    • 1918 – Skitch Henderson, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2005)
    • 1918 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
    • 1918 – William Seawell, American general (d. 2005)
    • 1919 – Tom Addington, English captain (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created Alvin and the Chipmunks (d. 1972)
    • 1920 – Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Japanese lieutenant and pilot (d. 1944)
    • 1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
    • 1924 – Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Brian Rix, English actor, producer, and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Harvey Shapiro, American poet (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian flute player and journalist (d. 2003)
    • 1926 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
    • 1928 – Michael Craig, Indian-English actor and screenwriter
    • 1928 – Hans Modrow, Polish-German lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of East Germany
    • 1929 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian-Swiss businessman
    • 1929 – Gastón Suárez, Bolivian author and playwright (d. 1984)
    • 1930 – Bobby “Blue” Bland, American blues singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1931 – Nigel Vinson, Baron Vinson, English lieutenant and businessman
    • 1932 – Boris Shakhlin, Russian-Ukrainian gymnast (d. 2008)
    • 1933 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Édith Cresson, French politician and diplomat, 160th Prime Minister of France
    • 1934 – George Follmer, American race car driver
    • 1935 – Steve Demeter, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
    • 1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1937 – Fred Åkerström, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1985)
    • 1940 – Ahmet Kurtcebe Alptemoçin, Turkish engineer and politician, 35th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1940 – James Cromwell, American actor
    • 1940 – Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1940 – Petru Lucinschi, Romanian activist and politician, 2nd President of Moldova
    • 1940 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1941 – Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist (d. 1981)
    • 1942 – Maki Asakawa, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1942 – Tasuku Honjo, Japanese immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine
    • 1942 – John Witherspoon, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
    • 1942 – Kate Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1986)
    • 1943 – Julia Cumberlege, Baroness Cumberlege, English businesswoman and politician
    • 1944 – Peter Akinola, Nigerian archbishop
    • 1944 – Mairead Maguire, Northern Irish activist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1944 – Nick Mason, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
    • 1945 – Harold Cardinal, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2005)
    • 1946 – Christopher Hum, English academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to China
    • 1946 – Nedra Talley, American singer
    • 1947 – Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
    • 1947 – Vyron Polydoras, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for Public Order
    • 1947 – Cal Schenkel, American painter and illustrator
    • 1947 – Philip Sugden, English historian and author (d. 2014)
    • 1947 – Perfecto Yasay Jr., Filipino lawyer and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines
    • 1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor
    • 1948 – Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
    • 1951 – Seth Justman, American keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1951 – Cees van der Knaap, Dutch soldier and politician
    • 1952 – Brian Gottfried, American tennis player
    • 1952 – Billy Johnson, American football player and coach
    • 1952 – Tam O’Shaughnessy, American tennis player, psychologist, and academic
    • 1952 – G. E. Smith, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1954 – Peter Laird, American author and illustrator
    • 1954 – Ed Schultz, American talk show host and sportscaster (d. 2018)
    • 1955 – Brian Engblom, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1955 – John Roberts, American lawyer and judge, 17th Chief Justice of the United States
    • 1956 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
    • 1957 – Janick Gers, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1957 – Frank Miller, American illustrator, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – James Grippando, American lawyer and author
    • 1958 – Alan Milburn, English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
    • 1959 – Cris Collinsworth, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1959 – Göran Hägglund, Swedish lawyer and politician, 28th Swedish Minister for Social Affairs
    • 1959 – Keith Olbermann, American journalist and author
    • 1960 – Fiona O’Donnell, Canadian-Scottish politician
    • 1961 – Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
    • 1961 – Margo Timmins, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1962 – Roberto Paci Dalò, Italian director and composer
    • 1963 – George Monbiot, English-Welsh author and activist
    • 1964 – Patrick van Deurzen, Dutch composer and academic
    • 1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
    • 1964 – Shahin Shahablou, Iranian photographer (d. 2020)
    • 1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish-American actor
    • 1965 – Mike Newell, English footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Ignacio Noé, Argentinian author and illustrator
    • 1965 – Attila Sekerlioglu, Austrian footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Tamlyn Tomita, Japanese-American actress and singer
    • 1967 – Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1968 – Tracy Lawrence, American country singer
    • 1968 – Mike Patton, American singer, composer, and voice artist
    • 1968 – Matt Stover, American football player
    • 1969 – Michael Kulas, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1969 – Patton Oswalt, American comedian and actor
    • 1969 – Shane Thomson, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1970 – Bradley Clyde, Australian rugby league player
    • 1970 – Dean Headley, English cricketer and coach
    • 1971 – Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1972 – Bibi Gaytán, Mexican singer and actress
    • 1973 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1974 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian skier and biathlete
    • 1974 – Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player and coach
    • 1974 – Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach
    • 1976 – Ahn Jung-hwan, South Korean footballer
    • 1976 – Clint Ford, American actor, voice actor and novelist
    • 1976 – Danielle George MBE FIET, Professor of Radio frequency engineering at the University of Manchester
    • 1976 – Fred Taylor, American football player
    • 1976 – Michael K. Winder, American businessman and politician
    • 1978 – Pete Laforest, Canadian-American baseball player and manager
    • 1979 – Rosamund Pike, English actress
    • 1979 – Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer and coach
    • 1980 – Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player and politician
    • 1981 – Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1981 – Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1982 – Eva Asderaki, Greek tennis umpire
    • 1983 – Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Paulo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Katy Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1987 – Anton Shunin, Russian footballer
    • 1987 – Ashley Grace, American singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Kerlon, Brazilian footballer
    • 1989 – Alberto Botía, Spanish footballer
    • 1991 – Christian Bickel, German footballer
    • 1991 – Sebastine Ikahihifo, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1992 – Stefano Pettinari, Italian footballer
    • 1995 – Harrison Reed, English footballer midfielder

    Deaths on January 27

    • AD 98 – Nerva, Roman emperor (b. 35)
    • 457 – Marcian, Byzantine emperor (b. 392)
    • 555 – Yuan Di, emperor of the Liang Dynasty (b. 508)
    • 672 – Pope Vitalian
    • 847 – Pope Sergius II (b. 790)
    • 906 – Liu Can, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
    • 931 – Ruotger, archbishop of Trier
    • 947 – Zhang Yanze, Chinese general and governor
    • 1062 – Adelaide of Hungary, (b. c. 1040)
    • 1311 – Külüg Khan, Emperor Wuzong of Yuan
    • 1377 – Frederick the Simple, King of Sicily
    • 1490 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (b. 1435)
    • 1504 – Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo (b. 1438)
    • 1540 – Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint, founded the Company of St. Ursula (b. 1474)
    • 1592 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (b. 1538)
    • 1596 – Francis Drake, English captain and explorer (b. 1540)
    • 1629 – Hieronymus Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1560)
    • 1638 – Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish author and poet (b. 1585)
    • 1651 – Abraham Bloemaert, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1566)
    • 1689 – Robert Aske, English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1619)
    • 1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the Piano (b. 1655)
    • 1733 – Thomas Woolston, English theologian and author (b. 1669)
    • 1740 – Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1692)
    • 1770 – Philippe Macquer, French historian (b. 1720)
    • 1794 – Antoine Philippe de La Trémoille, French general (b. 1765)
    • 1812 – John Perkins, Anglo-Jamaican captain
    • 1814 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (b. 1762)
    • 1816 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, English admiral and politician (b. 1724)
    • 1851 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (b. 1789)
    • 1860 – János Bolyai, Romanian-Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1802)
    • 1880 – Edward Middleton Barry, English architect and academic, co-designed the Halifax Town Hall and the Royal Opera House (b. 1830)
    • 1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
    • 1910 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber and businessman (b. 1836)
    • 1919 – Endre Ady, Hungarian poet and journalist (b. 1877)
    • 1921 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant (b. 1891)
    • 1922 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
    • 1927 – Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius, Lithuanian bishop (b. 1871)
    • 1931 – Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 25th Yokozuna (b. 1880)
    • 1940 – Isaac Babel, Russian short story writer, journalist, and playwright (b. 1894)
    • 1942 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1888)
    • 1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish field marshal and politician, 6th President of Finland (b. 1867)
    • 1956 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor and director (b. 1890)
    • 1961 – Bernard Friedberg, Austrian scholar and author (b. 1876)
    • 1963 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
    • 1965 – Abraham Walkowitz, American painter (b. 1878)
    • 1967 – crew of Apollo 1
      • Roger B. Chaffee, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1935)
      • Gus Grissom, American pilot and astronaut (b. 1926)
      • Ed White, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
    • 1967 – Alphonse Juin, Algerian-French general (b. 1888)
    • 1970 – Rocco D’Assunta, Italian actor, comedian and playwright (b. 1904)
    • 1971 – Jacobo Árbenz, Guatemalan captain and politician, President of Guatemala (b. 1913)
    • 1972 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (b. 1911)
    • 1973 – William Nolde, American colonel (b. 1929)
    • 1974 – Georgios Grivas, Cypriot general (b. 1898)
    • 1975 – Bill Walsh, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1914)
    • 1986 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (b. 1914)
    • 1987 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator and director (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian historian, author, and playwright (b. 1938)
    • 1989 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player and pilot (b. 1888)
    • 1993 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (b. 1946)
    • 1994 – Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1918)
    • 1996 – Ralph Yarborough, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1903)
    • 2000 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1930)
    • 2003 – Henryk Jabłoński, Polish historian and politician, President of Poland (b. 1909)
    • 2004 – Salvador Laurel, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Vice President of the Philippines (b. 1928)
    • 2004 – Jack Paar, American talk show host and author (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948)
    • 2006 – Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, 8th President of Germany (b. 1931)
    • 2007 – Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese decathlete, long jumper, and hurdler (b. 1933)
    • 2008 – Suharto, Indonesian general and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (b. 1921)
    • 2008 – Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader and author, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1910)
    • 2008 – Louie Welch, American businessman and politician, 54th Mayor of Houston (b. 1918)
    • 2009 – John Updike, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th President of India (b. 1910)
    • 2010 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (b. 1919)
    • 2010 – Howard Zinn, American historian, author, and activist (b. 1922)
    • 2011 – Charlie Callas, American comedian and musician (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Greg Cook, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
    • 2012 – Ted Dicks, English composer and screenwriter (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Jeannette Hamby, American nurse and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Kevin White, American politician, 51st Mayor of Boston (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Ivan Bodiul, Ukrainian-Russian politician (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Epimaco Velasco, Filipino lawyer and politician, Governor of Cavite (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Paul Zorner, German soldier and pilot (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Rocky Bridges, American baseball player and coach (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – David Landau, English-Israeli journalist (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Joseph Rotman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Larry Winters, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1956)
    • 2016 – Carlos Loyzaga, Filipino basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (b. 1927)
    • 2017 – Arthur H. Rosenfeld, American physicist (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Ingvar Kamprad, Founder of IKEA (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Mort Walker, American cartoonist (b. 1923)
    • 2019 – Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau, German socialite (b. 1958)

    Holidays and observances on January 27

    • Christian feast day:
      • Angela Merici
      • Blessed Paul Joseph Nardini
      • Devota (Monaco)
      • Enrique de Ossó y Cercelló
      • John Chrysostom (translation of relics) (Anglican, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox)
      • Sava (Serbia)
      • January 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad (Russia)
    • Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
      • Holocaust Memorial Day (UK)
      • International Holocaust Remembrance Day
      • Memorial Day (Italy)
      • Other Holocaust Memorial Days observances

  • پاکستان کے بڑے شہروں کے نام کیسے پڑے، دلچسپ اور حیران کن معلومات*

    ╭┄┅═══❁═══┅┄╮

    *پاکستان کے بڑے شہروں کے نام کیسے پڑے، دلچسپ اور حیران کن معلومات*
    ╰┄┅═══❁═══┅┄╯

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    *اســـلام آبــاد:-*
    1959ءمیں مرکزی دارالحکومت کا علاقہ قرار پایا۔ اس کا نام مذہب اسلام کے نام پر اسلام آباد رکھا گیا۔

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    *راولـپـنـــڈی:-*
    یہ شہر راول قوم کا گھر تھا۔ چودھری جھنڈے خان راول نے پندرہویں صدی میں باقاعدہ اس کی بنیاد رکھی۔

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    *کــــراچــــی:-*
    تقریباً 220 سال پہلے یہ ماہی گیروں کی بستی تھی۔ کلاچو نامی بلوچ کے نام پر اس کا نام کلاچی پڑگیا۔ پھر آہستہ آہستہ کراچی بن گیا۔ 1925ءمیں اسے شہر کی حیثیت دی گئی۔1947ءسے 1959ءتک یہ پاکستان کا دارالحکومت رہا۔

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    *لاھــــــــور:-*
    ایک نظریےکے مطابق ہندﺅں کے دیوتا راما کے بیٹے لاوا کے بعد لاہور نام پڑا، لاوا کو لوہ سے پکارا جاتا تھا اور لوہ (لاوا) کیلئے تعمیر کیا جانیوالا قلعہ ’لوہ، آور‘ سے مشہور ہوا
    جس کا واضح معنی ’لوہ کا قلعہ ‘ تھا۔ اسی طرح صدیاں گزرتی گئیں اور پھر ’لوہ آور‘ لفظ بالکل اسی طرح لاہور میں بدل گیا جس طرح سیوستان سبی اور شالکوٹ، کوٹیا اور پھر کوئٹہ میں بدل گیا۔
    اسی طرح ایک اور نظریئے کے مطابق دو بھائی لاہور
    ایک اور نظریئے کے مطابق دو بھائی لاہور اور قاصو دو مہاجر بھائی تھے جو اس سرزمین پرآئے جسے لوگ آج لاہور کے نام سے جانتے ہیں، ایک بھائی قاصو نے پھر قصور آباد کیا جس کی وجہ سے اس کا نام بھی قصور پڑا جبکہ دوسرے بھائی نے اندرون شہر سے تین میل دور اچھرہ لااور کو اپنا مسکن بنایا اور بعد میں اسی لاہو کی وجہ سے اس شہر کا نام لاہور پڑ گیا اور شاید یہی وجہ ہے کہ اچھرہ کی حدود میں کئی ہندﺅوں کی قبریں بھی ملیں۔

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    *حــــــیدر آبــاد:-*
    اس کا پرانا نام نیرون کوٹ تھا۔ کلہوڑوں نے اسے حضرت علیؓ کے نام سے منسوب کرکے اس کا نام حیدر آباد رکھ دیا۔ اس کی بنیاد غلام کلہوڑا نے 1768ءمیں رکھی۔

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    *پـشــــاور:-*
    پیشہ ور لوگوں کی نسبت سے اس کا نام پشاور پڑگیا۔ ایک اور روایت کے مطابق محمود غزنوی نے اسے یہ نام دیا۔

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    *کــــوئٹــــہ:-*
    لفظ کوئٹہ، کواٹا سے بنا ہے۔ جس کے معنی قلعے کے ہیں۔ بگڑتے بگڑتے یہ کواٹا سے کوئٹہ بن گیا۔

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    *ٹــــوبہ ٹیک سنــــگھ:-*
    اس شہر کا نام ایک سکھ “ٹیکو سنگھ” کے نام پہ ہے “ٹوبہ” تالاب کو کہتے ہیں یہ درویش صفت سکھ ٹیکو سنگھ شہر کے ریلوے اسٹیشن کے پاس ایک درخت کے نیچے بیٹھا رہتا تھا اور ٹوبہ یعنی تالاب سے پانی بھر کر اپنے پاس رکھتا تھا اور اسٹیشن آنے والے مسافروں کو پانی پلایا کرتا تھا سعادت حسن منٹو کا شہرہ آفاق افسانہ “ٹوبہ ٹیک سنگھ” بھی اسی شہر سے منسوب ہے.

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    *ســــرگــــودھـا:-*
    یہ سر اور گودھا سے مل کر بنا ہے۔ ہندی میں سر، تالاب کو کہتے ہیں، گودھا ایک فقیر کا نام تھا جو تالاب کے کنارے رہتا تھا۔ اسی لیے اس کا نام گودھے والا سر بن گیا۔ بعد میں سرگودھا کہلایا۔ 1930ءمیں باقاعدہ آباد ہوا۔

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    *بہــــاولپــــور:-*
    نواب بہاول خان کا آباد کردہ شہر جو انہی کے نام پر بہاولپور کہلایا۔ مدت تک یہ ریاست بہاولپور کا صدر مقام رہا۔ پاکستان کے ساتھ الحاق کرنے والی یہ پہلی رہاست تھی۔ ون یونٹ کے قیام تک یہاں عباسی خاندان کی حکومت تھی۔

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    *ملــــتان:-*
    کہا جاتا ہے کہ اس شہر کی تاریخ 4 ہزار سال قدیم ہے۔ البیرونی کے مطابق اسے ہزاروں سال پہلے آخری کرت سگیا کے زمانے میں آباد کیا گیا۔ اس کا ابتدائی نام ”کیساپور“ بتایا جاتا ہے۔

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    *فیصــــل آبــاد:-*
    اسے ایک انگریز سر جیمزلائل (گورنرپنجاب) نے آباد کیا۔ اس کے نام پر اس شہر کا نام لائل پور تھا۔ بعدازاں عظیم سعودی فرماں روا شاہ فیصل شہید کے نام سے موسوم کر دیا گیا۔

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    *رحیــــم یار خــــاں:-*
    بہاولپور کے عباسیہ خاندان کے ایک فرد نواب رحیم یار خاں عباسی کے نام پر یہ شہر آباد کیا گیا۔

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    *عبدالحــــکیم:-*
    جنوبی پنجاب کی ایک روحانی بزرگ ہستی کے نام پر یہ قصبہ آباد ہوا۔ جن کا مزار اسی قصبے میں ہے۔ یہ قصبہ دریائے راوی کے کنارے آباد ہے.

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    *ســــاہیوال:-*
    یہ شہر ساہی قوم کا مسکن تھا۔ اسی لیے ساہی وال کہلایا۔ انگریز دور میں پنجاب کے انگریز گورنر منٹگمری کے نام پر ”منٹگمری“ کہلایا۔ نومبر 1966ءصدر ایوب خاں نے عوام کے مطالبے پر اس شہر کا پرانا نام یعنی ساہیوال بحال کردیا۔

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    *ســــیالکوٹ:-*
    2 ہزار قبل مسیح میں راجہ سلکوٹ نے اس شہر کی بنیاد رکھی۔ برطانوی عہد میں اس کا نام سیالکوٹ رکھا گیا۔

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    *گوجــــرانوالہ:-*
    ایک جاٹ سانہی خاں نے اسے 1365ءمیں آباد کیا اور اس کا نام ”خان پور“ رکھا۔ بعدازاں امرتسر سے آ کر یہاں آباد ہونے والے گوجروں نے اس کا نام بدل کر گوجرانوالہ رکھ دیا۔

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    *شیــــخوپـورہ:-*
    مغل حکمران نورالدین سلیم جہانگیر کے حوالے سے آباد کیا جانے والا شہر۔ اکبر اپنے چہیتے بیٹے کو پیار سے ”شیخو“ کہہ کر پکارتا تھا اور اسی کے نام سے شیخوپورہ کہلایا۔

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    *ھــــــــڑپہ:-*
    یہ دنیا کے قدیم ترین شہر کا اعزاز رکھنے والا شہر ہے۔ ہڑپہ، ساہیوال سے 12 میل کے فاصلے پر واقع ہے۔ کہا جاتا ہے کہ یہ موہنجوداڑو کا ہم عصر شہر ہے۔ جو 5 ہزار سال قبل اچانک ختم ہوگیا۔رگِ وید کے قدیم منتروں میں اس کا نام ”ہری روپا“ لکھا گیا ہے۔ زمانے کے چال نے ”ہری روپا“ کو ہڑپہ بنا دیا۔

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    *ٹیکســــلا:-*
    گندھارا تہذیب کا مرکز۔ اس کا شمار بھی دنیا کے قدیم ترین شہروں میں ہوتا ہے۔ یہ راولپنڈی سے 22 میل کے فاصلے پر واقع ہے۔ 326 قبل مسیح میں یہاں سکندرِاعظم کا قبضہ ہوا.

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    *بہاولــــنگـر:-*
    ماضی میں ریاست بہاولپور کا ایک ضلع تھا۔ نواب سر صادق محمد خاں عباسی خامس پنجم کے مورثِ اعلیٰ کے نام پر بہاول نگر نام رکھا گیا۔

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    *مظـفــر گــــڑھ:-*
    والئی ملتان نواب مظفرخاں کا آباد کردہ شہر۔ 1880ءتک اس کا نام ”خان گڑھ“ رہا۔ انگریز حکومت نے اسے مظفرگڑھ کا نام دیا۔

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    *مــــیانـوالـی:-*
    ایک صوفی بزرگ میاں علی کے نام سے موسوم شہر ”میانوالی“ سولہویں صدی میں آباد کیا گیا تھا۔

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    *ڈیرہ غــازی خــان:-*
    پاکستان کا یہ شہر اس حوالے سے خصوصیت کا حامل ہے کہ اس کی سرحدیں چاروں صوبوں سے ملتی ہیں۔

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    *جھــــنگ:-*
    یہ شہر کبھی چند جھونپڑیوں پر مشتمل تھا۔ اس شہر کی ابتدا صدیوں پہلے راجا سرجا سیال نے رکھی تھی اور یوں یہ علاقہ ”جھگی سیالu“ کہلایا۔ جو وقت گزرنے کے ساتھ ساتھ جھنگ سیال بن گیا اور پھر صرف جھنگ رہ گیا۔

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