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July 15 in History
- 484 BC – Dedication of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in ancient Rome
- AD 70 – Titus and his armies breach the walls of Jerusalem. (17th of Tammuz in the Hebrew calendar).
- 756 – An Lushan Rebellion: Emperor Xuanzong of Tang is ordered by his Imperial Guards to execute chancellor Yang Guozhong by forcing him to commit suicide or face a mutiny. General An Lushan has other members of the emperor’s family killed.
- 1099 – First Crusade: Christian soldiers take the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem after the final assault of a difficult siege.
- 1149 – The reconstructed Church of the Holy Sepulchre is consecrated in Jerusalem.
- 1207 – King John of England expels Canterbury monks for supporting Archbishop Stephen Langton.
- 1240 – Swedish–Novgorodian Wars: A Novgorodian army led by Alexander Nevsky defeats the Swedes in the Battle of the Neva.
- 1381 – John Ball, a leader in the Peasants’ Revolt, is hanged, drawn, and quartered in the presence of King Richard II of England.
- 1410 – Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War: Battle of Grunwald: The allied forces of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeat the army of the Teutonic Order.
- 1482 – Muhammad XII is crowned the twenty-second and last Nasrid king of Granada.
- 1738 – Baruch Laibov and Alexander Voznitzin are burned alive in St. Petersburg, Russia. Vonitzin had converted to Judaism with Laibov’s help, with the consent of Empress Anna Ivanovna.
- 1741 – Aleksei Chirikov sights land in Southeast Alaska. He sends men ashore in a longboat, making them the first Europeans to visit Alaska.
- 1789 – Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, is named by acclamation Colonel General of the new National Guard of Paris.
- 1799 – The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign.
- 1806 – Pike Expedition: United States Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins an expedition from Fort Bellefontaine near St. Louis, Missouri, to explore the west.
- 1815 – Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon Bonaparte surrenders aboard HMS Bellerophon.
- 1823 – A fire destroys the ancient Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, Italy.
- 1834 – The Spanish Inquisition is officially disbanded after nearly 356 years.
- 1838 – Ralph Waldo Emerson delivers the Divinity School Address at Harvard Divinity School, discounting Biblical miracles and declaring Jesus a great man, but not God. The Protestant community reacts with outrage.
- 1862 – The CSS Arkansas, the most effective ironclad on the Mississippi River, battles with Union ships commanded by Admiral David Farragut, severely damaging three ships and sustaining heavy damage herself. The encounter changed the complexion of warfare on the Mississippi and helped to reverse Rebel fortunes on the river in the summer of 1862.
- 1870 – Reconstruction Era of the United States: Georgia becomes the last of the former Confederate states to be readmitted to the Union.
- 1870 – Rupert’s Land and the North-Western Territory are transferred to Canada from the Hudson’s Bay Company, and the province of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories are established from these vast territories.
- 1888 – The stratovolcano Mount Bandai erupts killing approximately 500 people, in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan.
- 1910 – In his book Clinical Psychiatry, Emil Kraepelin gives a name to Alzheimer’s disease, naming it after his colleague Alois Alzheimer.
- 1916 – In Seattle, Washington, William Boeing and George Conrad Westervelt incorporate Pacific Aero Products (later renamed Boeing).
- 1918 – World War I: The Second Battle of the Marne begins near the River Marne with a German attack.
- 1920 – The Polish Parliament establishes Silesian Voivodeship before the Polish-German plebiscite.
- 1922 – Japanese Communist Party is established in Japan.
- 1927 – Massacre of July 15, 1927: Eighty-nine protesters are killed by the Austrian police in Vienna.
- 1946 – State of North Borneo, today in Sabah, Malaysia, annexed by the United Kingdom.
- 1954 – First flight of the Boeing 367-80, prototype for both the Boeing 707 and C-135 series.
- 1955 – Eighteen Nobel laureates sign the Mainau Declaration against nuclear weapons, later co-signed by thirty-four others.
- 1959 – The steel strike of 1959 begins, leading to significant importation of foreign steel for the first time in United States history.
- 1966 – Vietnam War: The United States and South Vietnam begin Operation Hastings to push the North Vietnamese out of the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone.
- 1971 – The United Red Army is founded in Japan.
- 1974 – In Nicosia, Cyprus, Greek junta-sponsored nationalists launch a coup d’état, deposing President Makarios and installing Nikos Sampson as Cypriot president.
- 1975 – Space Race: Apollo–Soyuz Test Project features the dual launch of an Apollo spacecraft and a Soyuz spacecraft on the first joint Soviet-United States human-crewed flight. It was both the last launch of an Apollo spacecraft, and the Saturn family of rockets.
- 1979 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter gives his “malaise speech”.
- 1983 – An attack at Orly Airport in Paris is launched by Armenian militant organisation ASALA, leaving eight people dead and 55 injured.
- 1996 – A Belgian Air Force C-130 Hercules carrying the Royal Netherlands Army marching band crashes on landing at Eindhoven Airport.
- 1998 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP S. Shanmuganathan is killed by a claymore mine.
- 2002 – “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh pleads guilty to supplying aid to the enemy and to possession of explosives during the commission of a felony.
- 2002 – Anti-Terrorism Court of Pakistan hands down the death sentence to British born Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and life terms to three others suspected of murdering The Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
- 2003 – AOL Time Warner disbands Netscape. The Mozilla Foundation is established on the same day.
- 2006 – Twitter, later one of the largest social media platforms in the world, is launched.
- 2014 – A train derails on the Moscow Metro, killing at least 24 and injuring more than 160 others.
- 2016 – Factions of the Turkish Armed Forces attempt a coup.
Births on July 15
- 980 – Ichijō, Japanese emperor (d. 1011)
- 1273 – Ewostatewos, Ethiopian monk and saint (d. 1352)
- 1353 – Vladimir the Bold, Russian prince (d. 1410)
- 1359 – Antonio Correr, Italian cardinal (d. 1445)
- 1442 – Boček IV of Poděbrady, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1496)
- 1455 – Queen Yun, Korean queen (d. 1482)
- 1471 – Eskender, Ethiopian emperor (d. 1494)
- 1478 – Barbara Jagiellon, duchess consort of Saxony and Margravine consort of Meissen (d. 1534)
- 1573 – Inigo Jones, English architect, designed the Queen’s House (d. 1652)
- 1600 – Jan Cossiers, Flemish painter (d. 1671)
- 1606 – Rembrandt, Dutch painter and etcher (d. 1669)
- 1611 – Jai Singh I, maharaja of Jaipur (d. 1667)
- 1613 – Gu Yanwu, Chinese philologist and geographer (d. 1682)
- 1631 – Jens Juel, Danish politician and diplomat, Governor-general of Norway (d. 1700)
- 1631 – Richard Cumberland, English philosopher (d. 1718)
- 1638 – Giovanni Buonaventura Viviani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1693)
- 1704 – August Gottlieb Spangenberg, German bishop and theologian (d. 1792)
- 1779 – Clement Clarke Moore, American author, poet, and educator (d. 1863)
- 1793 – Almira Hart Lincoln Phelps, American educator, author, editor (d. 1884)
- 1796 – Thomas Bulfinch, American mythologist (d. 1867)
- 1799 – Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (d. 1882)
- 1800 – Sidney Breese, American jurist and politician (d. 1878)
- 1808 – Henry Edward Manning, English cardinal (d. 1892)
- 1812 – James Hope-Scott, English lawyer and academic (d. 1873)
- 1817 – Sir John Fowler, 1st Baronet, English engineer, designed the Forth Bridge (d. 1898)
- 1827 – W. W. Thayer American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of Oregon (d. 1899)
- 1848 – Vilfredo Pareto, Italian economist and sociologist (d. 1923)
- 1850 – Frances Xavier Cabrini, Italian-American nun and saint (d. 1917)
- 1852 – Josef Josephi, Polish-born singer and actor (d. 1920)
- 1858 – Emmeline Pankhurst, English political activist and suffragist (d. 1928)
- 1864 – Marie Tempest, English actress and singer (d. 1942)
- 1865 – Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, Anglo-Irish businessman and publisher, founded the Amalgamated Press (d. 1922)
- 1865 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian-German mathematician and theorist (d. 1945)
- 1867 – Jean-Baptiste Charcot, French physician and explorer (d. 1936)
- 1871 – Doppo Kunikida, Japanese journalist, author, and poet (d. 1908)
- 1880 – Enrique Mosca, Argentinian lawyer and politician (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Wharton Esherick, American sculptor (d. 1970)
- 1892 – Walter Benjamin, German philosopher and critic (d. 1940)
- 1893 – Enid Bennett, Australian-American actress (d. 1969)
- 1893 – Dick Rauch, American football player and coach (d. 1970)
- 1894 – Tadeusz Sendzimir, Polish-American engineer (d. 1989)
- 1899 – Seán Lemass, Irish soldier and politician, 4th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 1971)
- 1902 – Jean Rey, Belgian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Walter D. Edmonds, American journalist and author (d. 1998)
- 1903 – K. Kamaraj, Indian journalist and politician (d. 1975)
- 1904 – Rudolf Arnheim, German-American psychologist and author (d. 2007)
- 1905 – Dorothy Fields, American songwriter (d. 1974)
- 1905 – Anita Farra, Italian actress (d. 2008)
- 1906 – R. S. Mugali, Indian poet and academic (d. 1993)
- 1906 – Rudolf Uhlenhaut, English-German engineer (d. 1989)
- 1909 – Jean Hamburger, French physician and surgeon (d. 1992)
- 1911 – Edward Shackleton, Baron Shackleton, English geographer and politician, Secretary of State for Air (d. 1994)
- 1913 – Cowboy Copas, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
- 1913 – Hammond Innes, English journalist and author (d. 1998)
- 1913 – Abraham Sutzkever, Russian poet and author (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Akhtar Hameed Khan, Pakistani economist, scholar, and activist (d. 1999)
- 1914 – Howard Vernon, Swiss-French actor (d. 1996)
- 1915 – Albert Ghiorso, American chemist and academic (d. 2010)
- 1915 – Kashmir Singh Katoch, Indian army officer (d. 2007)
- 1916 – Sumner Gerard, American politician and diplomat (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Robert Conquest, English-American historian, poet, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1917 – Joan Roberts, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
- 1917 – Nur Muhammad Taraki, Afghan journalist and politician (d. 1979)
- 1918 – Bertram Brockhouse, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
- 1918 – Brenda Milner, English-Canadian neuropsychologist and academic
- 1919 – Fritz Langanke, German lieutenant (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Iris Murdoch, Anglo-Irish British novelist and philosopher (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Jack Beeson, American pianist and composer (d. 2010)
- 1921 – Henri Colpi, Swiss-French director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Robert Bruce Merrifield, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Jean Heywood, British actress (d. 2019)
- 1922 – Leon M. Lederman, American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
- 1922 – Jean-Pierre Richard, French writer (d. 2019)
- 1923 – Francisco de Andrade, Portuguese sailor
- 1924 – Jeremiah Denton, American admiral and politician (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Marianne Bernadotte, Swedish actress and philanthropist
- 1925 – Philip Carey, American actor (d. 2009)
- 1925 – Taylor Hardwick, American architect, designed Haydon Burns Library and Friendship Fountain Park (d. 2014)
- 1925 – D. A. Pennebaker, American documentary filmmaker (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Evan Hultman, American politician
- 1925 – Antony Carbone, American actor
- 1925 – Pandel Savic, American football player (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Driss Chraïbi, Moroccan-French journalist and author (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentinian general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (d. 2003)
- 1926 – Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Sir John Graham, 4th Baronet, English diplomat (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Nan Martin, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Carmen Zapata, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Håkon Brusveen, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1928 – Carl Woese, American microbiologist and biophysicist (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Viramachaneni Vimla Devi, Indian parliamentarian (d. 1967)
- 1929 – Charles Anthony, American tenor and actor (d. 2012)
- 1929 – Francis Bebey, Cameroonian-French guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1929 – Ian Stewart, Scottish race car driver (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Jacques Derrida, Algerian-French philosopher and academic (d. 2004)
- 1930 – Richard Garneau, Canadian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Stephen Smale, American mathematician and computer scientist
- 1930 – Einosuke Akiya, Japanese Buddhist leader
- 1931 – Clive Cussler, American archaeologist and author (d. 2020)
- 1931 – Joanna Merlin, American actress and casting director
- 1931 – Jacques-Yvan Morin, Canadian lawyer and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
- 1932 – Ed Litzenberger, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2010)
- 1933 – Guido Crepax, Italian author and illustrator (d. 2003)
- 1933 – M. T. Vasudevan Nair, Indian author and screenwriter
- 1934 – Harrison Birtwistle, English composer and academic
- 1934 – Eva Krížiková, Czech actress (d. 2020)
- 1934 – Risto Jarva, Finnish director and producer (d. 1977)
- 1935 – Donn Clendenon, American baseball player and lawyer (d. 2005)
- 1935 – Alex Karras, American football player, wrestler, and actor (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Ken Kercheval, American actor and director (d. 2019)
- 1936 – George Voinovich, American lawyer and politician, 65th Governor of Ohio (d. 2016)
- 1937 – Prabhash Joshi, Indian journalist (d. 2009)
- 1938 – Ernie Barnes, American football player, actor, and painter (d. 2009)
- 1938 – Carmen Callil, Australian publisher, founded Virago Press
- 1938 – Barry Goldwater, Jr., American lawyer and politician
- 1939 – Aníbal Cavaco Silva, Portuguese economist and politician, 19th President of the Portuguese Republic
- 1940 – Denis Héroux, Canadian director and producer (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and convicted murderer (d. 1990)
- 1940 – Robert Winston, English surgeon, academic, and politician
- 1942 – Vivian Malone Jones, American civil rights activist (d. 2005)
- 1943 – Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Northern Irish astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
- 1944 – Millie Jackson, American singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1945 – David Arthur Granger, Guyanese politician, 9th President of Guyana
- 1945 – Peter Lewis (musician), American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1945 – Jürgen Möllemann, German soldier and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 2003)
- 1946 – Linda Ronstadt, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1946 – Hassanal Bolkiah, Sultan of Brunei
- 1947 – Peter Banks, English guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1947 – Lydia Davis, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist
- 1947 – Pridiyathorn Devakula, Thai economist and politician, Thai Minister of Finance
- 1947 – Roky Erickson, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2019)
- 1948 – Twinkle, English singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
- 1948 – Dimosthenis Kourtovik, Greek anthropologist and critic
- 1948 – Artimus Pyle, American rock drummer and songwriter (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- 1949 – Carl Bildt, Swedish politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Sweden
- 1949 – Trevor Horn, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1949 – Richard Russo, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter
- 1950 – Colin Barnett, Australian economist and politician, 29th Premier of Western Australia
- 1950 – Arianna Huffington, Greek-American journalist and publisher (The Huffington Post)
- 1951 – Gregory Isaacs, Jamaican-English singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
- 1951 – Jesse Ventura, American wrestler, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of Minnesota
- 1952 – David Pack, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1952 – Celia Imrie, English actress
- 1952 – Terry O’Quinn, American actor
- 1952 – Marky Ramone, American drummer and songwriter
- 1952 – Johnny Thunders, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)
- 1953 – Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haitian priest and politician, 49th President of Haiti
- 1953 – Sultanah Haminah, Malaysian royal consort
- 1953 – Mohamad Shahrum Osman, Malaysian politician
- 1953 – Alicia Bridges, American singer-songwriter
- 1954 – John Ferguson, Australian rugby league player
- 1954 – Jeff Jarvis, American journalist and blogger
- 1954 – Giorgos Kaminis, American-Greek lawyer and politician, 78th Mayor of Athens
- 1954 – Mario Kempes, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1956 – Ashoke Sen, Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist
- 1956 – Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Joy Division) (d. 1980)
- 1956 – Nicholas Harberd, British botanist, educator and academician
- 1956 – Barry Melrose, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1956 – Steve Mortimer, Australian rugby league player, coach, and administrator
- 1956 – Joe Satriani, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 – Wayne Taylor, South African race car driver
- 1958 – Gary Heale, English footballer and coach
- 1958 – Mac Thornberry, American lawyer and politician
- 1959 – Vincent Lindon, French actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Kim Alexis, American fashion model
- 1961 – Lolita Davidovich, Canadian actress
- 1961 – Jean-Christophe Grangé, French journalist and screenwriter
- 1961 – Scott Ritter, American soldier and international weapons inspector
- 1961 – Forest Whitaker, American actor
- 1962 – Nikos Filippou, Greek basketball player and manager
- 1962 – Michelle Ford, Australian swimmer
- 1963 – Brigitte Nielsen, Danish-Italian actress
- 1963 – Steve Thomas, English-Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 – Alistair Carmichael, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1965 – Gero Miesenböck, Austrian neuroscientist and educator
- 1965 – David Miliband, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
- 1966 – Jason Bonham, English singer-songwriter and drummer
- 1966 – Irène Jacob, French-Swiss actress
- 1967 – Adam Savage, American actor and special effects designer
- 1967 – Elbert West, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
- 1968 – Eddie Griffin, American comedian, actor, and producer
- 1969 – Ain Tammus, Estonian footballer and coach
- 1970 – Tarkan Gözübüyük, Turkish bass player and producer
- 1972 – Scott Foley, American actor
- 1973 – Brian Austin Green, American actor
- 1975 – Cherry, American wrestler and manager
- 1975 – Danny Law, English cricketer
- 1975 – Ben Pepper, Australian basketball player
- 1976 – Steve Cunningham, American boxer
- 1976 – Marco Di Vaio, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Diane Kruger, German actress and model
- 1976 – Gabriel Iglesias, Mexican-American comedian and voice actor
- 1977 – André Nel, South African cricketer
- 1977 – Lana Parrilla, American actress
- 1977 – John St. Clair, American football player
- 1977 – Ray Toro, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Miguel Olivo, Dominican baseball player
- 1979 – Laura Benanti, American actress and singer
- 1979 – Alexander Frei, Swiss footballer
- 1979 – Edda Garðarsdóttir, Icelandic footballer
- 1979 – Renata Kučerová, Czech tennis player
- 1980 – Reggie Abercrombie, American baseball player
- 1980 – BxB Hulk, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1980 – Jonathan Cheechoo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Julia Perez, Indonesian singer and actress (d. 2017)
- 1981 – Alou Diarra, French footballer
- 1981 – Petros Klampanis, Greek bassist and composer
- 1981 – Marius Stankevičius, Lithuanian footballer
- 1982 – Alan Pérez, Spanish cyclist
- 1982 – Neemia Tialata, New Zealand rugby player
- 1982 – Aída Yéspica, Venezuelan model and actress
- 1983 – Nelson Merlo, Brazilian race car driver
- 1983 – Will Rudge, English cricketer
- 1983 – Heath Slater, American wrestler
- 1984 – Angelo Siniscalchi, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Veronika Velez-Zuzulová, Slovak skier
- 1985 – Sanjeev, Tamil actor
- 1985 – Tomer Kapon, Israeli actor
- 1986 – Tyler Kennedy, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Riki Christodoulou, English race car driver
- 1989 – Steven Jahn, German footballer
- 1989 – Alisa Kleybanova, Russian tennis player
- 1989 – Anthony Randolph, American basketball player
- 1990 – Zach Bogosian, American ice hockey player
- 1990 – Damian Lillard, American basketball player
- 1991 – Danilo, Brazilian footballer
- 1991 – Derrick Favors, American basketball player
- 1991 – Evgeny Tishchenko, Russian boxer
- 1992 – Tobias Harris, American basketball player
- 1992 – Hokutōfuji Daiki, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1992 – Wayde van Niekerk, South African sprinter
- 1993 – Håvard Nielsen, Norwegian footballer
Deaths on July 15
- 756 – Yang Guifei, consort of Xuan Zong (b. 719)
- 998 – Abū al-Wafā’ Būzjānī, Persian mathematician and astronomer (b. 940)
- 1015 – Vladimir the Great, Grand prince of Kievan Rus’ (b. c. 958)
- 1274 – Bonaventure, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1221)
- 1291 – Rudolf I of Germany (b. 1218)
- 1299 – King Eric II of Norway (b. c. 1268)
- 1381 – John Ball, English Lollard priest
- 1388 – Agnes of Durazzo, titular Latin empress consort of Constantinople (d. 1313)
- 1397 – Catherine of Henneberg, German ruler (b. c. 1334)
- 1406 – William, Duke of Austria
- 1410 – Ulrich von Jungingen, German Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (b. 1360)
- 1445 – Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland
- 1542 – Lisa del Giocondo, subject of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Mona Lisa (b. 1479)
- 1544 – René of Châlon (b. 1519)
- 1571 – Shimazu Takahisa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1514)
- 1609 – Annibale Carracci, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1560)
- 1614 – Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme, French soldier, historian, and author (b. 1540)
- 1655 – Girolamo Rainaldi, Italian architect (b. 1570)
- 1685 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, Dutch-English general and politician, Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull (b. 1649)
- 1750 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian ethnographer and politician (b. 1686)
- 1765 – Charles-André van Loo, French painter (b. 1705)
- 1767 – Michael Bruce, Scottish poet and composer (b. 1746)
- 1789 – Jacques Duphly, French harpsichord player and composer (b. 1715)
- 1828 – Jean-Antoine Houdon, French sculptor (b. 1741)
- 1839 – Winthrop Mackworth Praed, English poet and politician (b. 1802)
- 1844 – Claude Charles Fauriel, French philologist and historian (b. 1772)
- 1851 – Juan Felipe Ibarra, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1787)
- 1857 – Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1791)
- 1858 – Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, Russian painter (b. 1806)
- 1883 – General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (b. 1838)
- 1885 – Rosalía de Castro, Spanish author and poet (b. 1837)
- 1890 – Gottfried Keller, Swiss author, poet, and playwright (b. 1819)
- 1898 – Jean-Baptiste Salpointe, French-American archbishop (d. 1825)
- 1904 – Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short story writer (b. 1860)
- 1919 – Hermann Emil Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
- 1929 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1874)
- 1930 – Leopold Auer, Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1845)
- 1931 – Ladislaus Bortkiewicz, Russian-German economist and mathematician (b. 1868)
- 1932 – Bahíyyih Khánum, Iranian writer and leader in the Baha’i faith (b. 1846)
- 1932 – Cornelis Jacobus Langenhoven, South African poet and politician (b. 1873)
- 1933 – Irving Babbitt, American scholar, critic, and academic (b. 1865)
- 1933 – Freddie Keppard, American cornet player (b. 1890)
- 1940 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist and physician (b. 1857)
- 1940 – Robert Wadlow, American giant, 8″11′ 271 cm (b.1918)
- 1942 – Wenceslao Vinzons, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1910)
- 1944 – Marie-Victorin Kirouac, Canadian botanist and academic (b. 1885)
- 1946 – Razor Smith, English cricketer and coach (b. 1877)
- 1947 – Walter Donaldson, American soldier and songwriter (b. 1893)
- 1948 – John J. Pershing, American general (b. 1860)
- 1953 – Geevarghese Mar Ivanios, Indian archbishop, founded the Order of the Imitation of Christ (b. 1882)
- 1957 – James M. Cox, American publisher and politician, 46th Governor of Ohio (b. 1870)
- 1957 – Vasily Maklakov, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1869)
- 1959 – Ernest Bloch, Swiss-American composer and academic (b. 1880)
- 1959 – Vance Palmer, Australian author and critic (b. 1885)
- 1960 – Set Persson, Swedish politician (b. 1897)
- 1960 – Lawrence Tibbett, American singer and actor (b. 1896)
- 1961 – John Edward Brownlee, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Alberta (b. 1884)
- 1961. – Nina Bari, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
- 1965 – Francis Cherry, American lawyer and politician, 35th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1908)
- 1966 – Seyfi Arkan, Turkish architect (b. 1903)
- 1974 – Christine Chubbuck, American journalist (b. 1944)
- 1976 – Paul Gallico, American journalist and author (b. 1897)
- 1977 – Donald Mackay, Australian businessman and activist (b. 1933)
- 1979 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican academic and politician, 29th President of Mexico, 1964-1970 (b. 1911)
- 1981 – Frédéric Dorion, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1898)
- 1982 – Bill Justis, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1926)
- 1986 – Billy Haughton, American harness racer and trainer (b. 1923)
- 1988 – Eleanor Estes, American librarian, author, and illustrator (b. 1906)
- 1989 – Laurie Cunningham, English footballer (b. 1956)
- 1990 – Zaim Topčić, Yugoslav and Bosnian writer (b. 1920)
- 1990 – Margaret Lockwood, English actress (b. 1916)
- 1990 – Omar Abu Risha, Syrian poet and diplomat, 4th Syrian Ambassador to the United States (b. 1910)
- 1991 – Bert Convy, American actor, singer, and game show host (b. 1933)
- 1992 – Hammer DeRoburt, Nauruan educator and politician, 1st President of Nauru (b. 1922)
- 1992 – Chingiz Mustafayev, Azerbaijani journalist and author (b. 1960)
- 1997 – Justinas Lagunavičius, Lithuanian basketball player (b. 1924)
- 1997 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, founded Versace (b. 1946)
- 1998 – S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1960)
- 2000 – Louis Quilico, Canadian opera singer and educator (b. 1925)
- 2001 – C. Balasingham, Sri Lankan lawyer and civil servant (b. 1917)
- 2003 – Roberto Bolaño, Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist (b. 1953)
- 2003 – Elisabeth Welch, American actress and singer (b. 1904)
- 2006 – Robert H. Brooks, American businessman, founder of Hooters and Naturally Fresh, Inc. (b. 1937)
- 2006 – Alireza Shapour Shahbazi, Iranian archaeologist and academic (b. 1942)
- 2008 – György Kolonics, Hungarian canoe racer (b. 1972)
- 2010 – James E. Akins, American politician and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Friedrich Wilhelm Schnitzler, German landowner and politician (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Googie Withers, British-Australian actress (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Boris Cebotari, Moldovan footballer (b. 1975)
- 2012 – Tsilla Chelton, Israeli-French actress (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Grant Feasel, American football player (b. 1960)
- 2012 – David Fraser, English general (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Celeste Holm, American actress and singer (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Yoichi Takabayashi, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Ninos Aho, Syrian-American poet and activist (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Henry Braden, American lawyer and politician (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Tom Greenwell, American lawyer and judge (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Earl Gros, American football player (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Noël Lee, Chinese-American pianist and composer (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Meskerem Legesse, Ethiopian runner (b. 1986)
- 2013 – John T. Riedl, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1962)
- 2014 – Óscar Acosta, Honduran author, poet, and diplomat (b. 1933)
- 2014 – James MacGregor Burns, American historian, political scientist, and author (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Saúl Lara, Spanish footballer (b. 1982)
- 2014 – Edward Perl, American neuroscientist and academic (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Masahiko Aoki, Japanese-American economist and academic (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Wan Li, Chinese politician, 4th Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1916)
- 2015 – Aubrey Morris, British actor (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Dave Somerville, Canadian singer (b. 1933)
- 2017 – Martin Landau, American film and television actor (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on July 15
- Christian feast day:
- Abhai (Syriac Orthodox Church)
- Anne-Marie Javouhey
- Bernhard II, Margrave of Baden-Baden
- Bonaventure
- Dispersion of the Apostles (No longer officially celebrated by the Catholic Church)
- Donald of Ogilvy
- Edith of Polesworth
- Edith of Wilton
- Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor
- Plechelm
- Quriaqos and Julietta
- Swithun
- Vladimir the Great (Eastern Orthodox; Catholic Church)
- July 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Birthday of Don Luis Muñoz Rivera can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July. (Puerto Rico)
- Earliest day on which Galla Bayramy can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday of July. (Turkmenistan)
- Earliest day on which Marine Day can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July. (Japan)
- Earliest day on which President’s Day (Botswana) can fall, while July 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday of July.
- Elderly Men Day (Kiribati)
- Festival of Santa Rosalia (Palermo, Sicily)
- Sultan’s Birthday (Brunei Darussalam)
-
June 25 in History
- 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce.
- 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine.
- 1258 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Acre, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet sailing to relieve Acre.
- 1530 – At the Diet of Augsburg the Augsburg Confession is presented to the Holy Roman Emperor by the Lutheran princes and Electors of Germany.
- 1658 – Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Rio Nuevo during the Anglo-Spanish War.
- 1678 – Venetian Elena Cornaro Piscopia is the first woman awarded a doctorate of philosophy when she graduates from the University of Padua.
- 1741 – Maria Theresa is crowned Queen of Hungary.
- 1786 – Gavriil Pribylov discovers St. George Island of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea.
- 1788 – Virginia becomes the tenth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1848 – A photograph of the June Days uprising becomes the first known instance of photojournalism.
- 1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
- 1900 – The Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
- 1906 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania millionaire Harry Thaw shoots and kills prominent architect Stanford White.
- 1910 – The United States Congress passes the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate transport of women or girls for “immoral purposes”; the ambiguous language would be used to selectively prosecute people for years to come.
- 1910 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird is premiered in Paris, bringing him to prominence as a composer.
- 1913 – American Civil War veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913.
- 1935 – Colombia–Soviet Union relations are established.
- 1938 – Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.
- 1940 – World War II: The French armistice with Germany comes into effect.
- 1943 – The Holocaust: Jews in the Częstochowa Ghetto in Poland stage an uprising against the Nazis.
- 1943 – The left-wing German Jewish exile Arthur Goldstein is murdered in Auschwitz.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in the Nordic countries, begins.
- 1944 – World War II: United States Navy and British Royal Navy ships bombard Cherbourg to support United States Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg.
- 1944 – The final page of the comic Krazy Kat is published, exactly two months after its author George Herriman died.
- 1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is published.
- 1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
- 1960 – Cold War: Two cryptographers working for the United States National Security Agency left for vacation to Mexico, and from there defected to the Soviet Union.
- 1975 – Mozambique achieves independence from Portugal.
- 1975 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a state of internal emergency in India.
- 1976 – Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf of the state of Missouri for the suffering it had caused to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- 1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
- 1981 – Microsoft is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington.
- 1991 – Slovenia and Croatia declare their independence by referendum from Yugoslavia.
- 1993 – Kim Campbell is sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Canada.
- 1996 – The Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. servicemen.
- 1997 – An unmanned Progress spacecraft collides with the Russian space station Mir.
- 1997 – The National Hockey League approved expansion franchises for Nashville (1998), Atlanta (1999), Columbus (2000), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul (2000).
- 1998 – In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decides that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional.
- 2017 – The World Health Organization estimates that Yemen has over 200,000 cases of cholera.
Births on June 25
- 1242 – Beatrice of England (d. 1275)
- 1328 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (d. 1397)
- 1371 – Joanna II of Naples (d. 1435)
- 1484 – Bartholomeus V. Welser, German banker (d. 1561)
- 1526 – Elisabeth Parr, Marchioness of Northampton (d. 1565)
- 1560 – Wilhelm Fabry, German surgeon (d. 1634)
- 1568 – Gunilla Bielke, Queen of Sweden (d. 1597)
- 1612 – John Albert Vasa, Polish cardinal (d. 1634)
- 1709 – Francesco Araja, Italian composer (d. 1762)
- 1715 – Joseph Foullon de Doué, French soldier and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1789)
- 1755 – Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (d. 1776)
- 1799 – David Douglas, Scottish-English botanist and explorer (d. 1834)
- 1814 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist and engineer (d. 1896)
- 1825 – James Farnell, Australian politician, 8th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1888)
- 1852 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect, designed the Park Güell (d. 1926)
- 1858 – Georges Courteline, French author and playwright (d. 1929)
- 1860 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer and conductor (d. 1956)
- 1863 – Émile Francqui, Belgian soldier and diplomat (d. 1935)
- 1864 – Walther Nernst, German chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
- 1866 – Eloísa Díaz, Chilean doctor and Chile’s first female physician (d. 1950)
- 1874 – Rose O’Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (d. 1944)
- 1884 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (d. 1917)
- 1884 – Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, German-French art collector and historian (d. 1979)
- 1886 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (d. 1950)
- 1887 – George Abbott, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1887 – Frigyes Karinthy, Hungarian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1938)
- 1892 – Shirō Ishii, Japanese microbiologist and general (d. 1959)
- 1894 – Hermann Oberth, Romanian-German physicist and engineer (d. 1989)
- 1898 – Kay Sage, American painter and poet (d. 1963)
- 1900 – Marta Abba, Italian actress (d. 1988)
- 1900 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian/Soviet astronomer (d. 1969)
- 1900 – Georgia Hale, American silent film actress and real estate investor (d. 1985)
- 1900 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (d. 1979)
- 1901 – Harold Roe Bartle, American businessman and politician, 47th Mayor of Kansas City (d. 1974)
- 1902 – Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu of Japan (d. 1953)
- 1903 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1950)
- 1903 – Anne Revere, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1905 – Rupert Wildt, German-American astronomer and academic (d. 1976)
- 1907 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1908 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and academic (d. 2000)
- 1911 – William Howard Stein, American chemist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
- 1912 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Cyril Fletcher, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (d. 1990)
- 1917 – Nils Karlsson, Swedish skier (d. 2012)
- 1917 – Claude Seignolle, French author (d. 2018)
- 1918 – P. H. Newby, English soldier and author (d. 1997)
- 1920 – Lassie Lou Ahern, American actress (d. 2018)
- 1921 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian ballerina and choreographer, founded the National Ballet of Canada (d. 2007)
- 1922 – Johnny Smith, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Sam Francis, American soldier and painter (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Jamshid Amouzegar, 43rd Prime Minister of Iran (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Dimitar Isakov, Bulgarian football player
- 1924 – Madan Mohan, Iraqi-Indian composer and director (d. 1975)
- 1924 – William J. Castagna, American lawyer and judge
- 1925 – Clifton Chenier, American singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 1987)
- 1925 – June Lockhart, American actress
- 1925 – Clay Evans, American Baptist pastor (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Robert Venturi, American architect and academic (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Virginia Patton, American actress and businesswoman
- 1926 – Margaret Anstee, English diplomat (d. 2016)
- 1926 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (d. 1973)
- 1926 – Kep Enderby, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 23rd Attorney-General for Australia (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Stig Sollander, Swedish Alpine skier (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Antal Róka, Hungarian runner (d. 1970)
- 1927 – Chuck Smith, American pastor, founded the Calvary Chapel (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Arnold Wolfendale, English astronomer and academic
- 1928 – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
- 1928 – John A. Wickham Jr., United States Army general
- 1928 – Michel Brault, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Peyo, Belgian author and illustrator, created The Smurfs (d. 1992)
- 1928 – Bill Russo, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Alex Toth, American animator and screenwriter (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Eric Carle, American author and illustrator
- 1929 – Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
- 1931 – V. P. Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of India (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Peter Blake, English painter and illustrator
- 1932 – Tim Parnell, English race car driver (d. 2017)
- 1932 – George Sluizer, French-Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Álvaro Siza Vieira, Portuguese architect, designed the Porto School of Architecture
- 1934 – Jean Geissinger, American baseball player (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Jack W. Hayford, American minister and author
- 1934 – Beatriz Sheridan, Mexican actress and director (d. 2006)
- 1935 – Ray Butt, English television producer and director (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Salihu Ibrahim, Nigerian Army Officer (d. 2018)
- 1935 – Taufiq Ismail, Indonesian poet and activist
- 1935 – Larry Kramer, American author, playwright, and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (d. 2020)
- 1935 – Don Demeter, American professional baseball player
- 1935 – Tony Lanfranchi, English race car driver (d. 2004)
- 1935 – Judy Howe, American artistic gymnast
- 1935 – Charles Sheffield, English-American mathematician, physicist, and author (d. 2002)
- 1936 – B. J. Habibie, Indonesian engineer and politician, 3rd President of Indonesia (d. 2019)
- 1936 – Bert Hölldobler, German biologist and entomologist
- 1937 – Eddie Floyd, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
- 1937 – Derek Foster, Baron Foster of Bishop Auckland, English politician (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Doreen Wells, English ballerina and actress
- 1939 – Allen Fox, American tennis player and coach
- 1940 – Judy Amoore, Australian runner
- 1940 – Mary Beth Peil, American actress and singer
- 1940 – A. J. Quinnell, English-Maltese author (d. 2005)
- 1940 – Clint Warwick, English bass player (d. 2004)
- 1941 – Denys Arcand, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1941 – John Albert Raven, Scottish academic and ecologist
- 1942 – Nikiforos Diamandouros, Greek academic and politician
- 1942 – Willis Reed, American basketball player, coach, and manager
- 1942 – Michel Tremblay, Canadian author and playwright
- 1944 – Robert Charlebois, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1944 – Gary David Goldberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
- 1945 – Carly Simon, American singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Baba Gana Kingibe, Nigerian politician
- 1945 – Harry Womack, American singer (d. 1974)
- 1946 – Roméo Dallaire, Dutch-Canadian general and politician
- 1946 – Allen Lanier, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Ian McDonald, English guitarist and saxophonist
- 1947 – John Hilton, English table tennis player
- 1947 – John Powell, American discus thrower
- 1947 – Jimmie Walker, American actor and comedian
- 1949 – Richard Clarke, Irish archbishop
- 1949 – Patrick Tambay, French race car driver
- 1949 – Yoon Joo-sang, South Korean actor
- 1950 – Marcello Toninelli, Italian author and screenwriter
- 1951 – Eva Bayer-Fluckiger, Swiss mathematician and academic
- 1952 – Péter Erdő, Hungarian cardinal
- 1952 – Tim Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Martin Gerschwitz, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1952 – Alan Green, Northern Irish sportscaster
- 1952 – Kristina Abelli Elander, Swedish artist
- 1953 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and educator (d. 2013)
- 1953 – Ian Davis, Australian cricketer
- 1954 – Mario Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1954 – David Paich, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1954 – Lina Romay, Spanish actress (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Daryush Shokof, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1954 – Sonia Sotomayor, American lawyer and judge
- 1955 – Vic Marks, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1956 – Anthony Bourdain, American chef and author (d. 2018)
- 1956 – Frank Paschek, German long jumper
- 1956 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004)
- 1956 – Craig Young, Australian rugby player and coach
- 1957 – Greg Millen, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1958 – George Becali, Romanian businessman, politician
- 1959 – Lutz Dombrowski, German long jumper and educator
- 1959 – Jari Puikkonen, Finnish ski jumper
- 1959 – Bobbie Vaile, Australian astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1996)
- 1960 – Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, English-Scottish journalist and author
- 1960 – Brian Hayward, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1960 – Craig Johnston, South African-Australian footballer and photographer
- 1960 – Laurent Rodriguez, French rugby player
- 1961 – Timur Bekmambetov, Kazakh director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Ricky Gervais, English comedian, actor, director, producer and singer
- 1963 – John Benjamin Hickey, American actor
- 1963 – Yann Martel, Spanish-Canadian author
- 1963 – Doug Gilmour, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1963 – George Michael, English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
- 1963 – Mike Stanley, American baseball player
- 1964 – Dell Curry, American basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Phil Emery, Australian cricketer
- 1964 – Johnny Herbert, English race car driver and sportscaster
- 1964 – John McCrea, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1964 – Greg Raymer, American poker player and lawyer
- 1965 – Napole Polutele, French politician
- 1965 – Kerri Pottharst, Australian beach volleyball player
- 1965 – Joseph Hii Teck Kwong, Malaysian bishop
- 1966 – Dikembe Mutombo, Congolese-American basketball player
- 1967 – Tracey Spicer, Australian journalist
- 1968 – Adrian Garvey, Zimbabwean-South African rugby player
- 1968 – Vaios Karagiannis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1969 – Hunter Foster, American actor and singer
- 1969 – Zim Zum, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1970 – Ariel Gore, American journalist and author
- 1970 – Roope Latvala, Finnish guitarist
- 1970 – Erki Nool, Estonian decathlete and politician
- 1970 – Aaron Sele, American baseball player and scout
- 1971 – Karen Darke, English cyclist and author
- 1971 – Jason Gallian, Australian-English cricketer and educator
- 1971 – Rod Kafer, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Neil Lennon, Northern Irish-Scottish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Michael Tucker, American baseball player
- 1972 – Carlos Delgado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
- 1972 – Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Libyan engineer and politician
- 1973 – René Corbet, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973 – Milan Hnilička, Czech ice hockey player
- 1973 – Jamie Redknapp, English footballer and coach
- 1974 – Nisha Ganatra, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Glen Metropolit, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Kiur Aarma, Estonian journalist and producer
- 1975 – Linda Cardellini, American actress
- 1975 – Albert Costa, Spanish tennis player and coach
- 1975 – Vladimir Kramnik, Russian chess player
- 1975 – Michele Merkin, American model and television host
- 1976 – José Cancela, Uruguayan footballer
- 1976 – Iestyn Harris, Welsh rugby player and coach
- 1976 – Carlos Nieto, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1976 – Neil Walker, American swimmer
- 1978 – Aramis Ramírez, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1978 – Luke Scott, American baseball player
- 1978 – Marcus Stroud, American football player
- 1979 – Marko Albert, Estonian swimmer and triathlete
- 1979 – Richard Hughes, Scottish footballer
- 1979 – Busy Philipps, American actress
- 1981 – Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper
- 1982 – Rain, South Korean singer and actor
- 1982 – Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
- 1983 – Todd Cooper, English swimmer
- 1983 – Marc Janko, Austrian footballer
- 1984 – Lauren Bush, American model and fashion designer
- 1985 – Karim Matmour, Algerian footballer
- 1986 – Aya Matsuura, Japanese singer and actress
- 1986 – Seda Tokatlıoğlu, Turkish volleyball player
- 1988 – Jhonas Enroth, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1988 – Miguel Layún, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – Therese Johaug, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1989 – Jack Cork, English footballer
- 1989 – Edgar Morais, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1989 – Rafael Morais, Portuguese actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1990 – Andi Eigenmann, Filipino actress
- 1991 – Liisi Rist, Estonian cyclist
- 1991 – Anna Zaja, German tennis player
- 1996 – Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazilian-American race car driver
- 1996 – Sione Mata’utia, Australian rugby league player
- 1996 – Lele Pons, Latina-American Internet personality
- 1998 – Kyle Chalmers, Australian swimmer
- 2006 – Mckenna Grace, American actress
Deaths on June 25
- 635 – Gao Zu, Chinese emperor (b. 566)
- 841 – Gerard of Auvergne, Frankish nobleman
- 841 – Ricwin of Nantes, Frankish nobleman
- 891 – Sunderolt, German archbishop
- 931 – An Chonghui, Chinese general
- 1014 – Æthelstan Ætheling, son of Æthelred the Unready
- 1031 – Sheng Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 972)
- 1134 – Niels, king of Denmark (b. 1065)
- 1218 – Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, French politician, Lord High Steward (b. 1160)
- 1291 – Eleanor of Provence, queen of England (b. 1223)
- 1337 – Frederick III, king of Sicily (b. 1272)
- 1394 – Dorothea of Montau, German hermitess (b. 1347)
- 1483 – Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, English courtier and translator (b. 1440)
- 1483 – Richard Grey, half brother of Edward V of England (b. 1458)
- 1522 – Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1451)
- 1533 – Mary Tudor, queen of France (b. 1496)
- 1579 – Hatano Hideharu, Japanese warlord (b. 1541)
- 1593 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (b. 1541)
- 1634 – John Marston, English poet and playwright (b. 1576)
- 1638 – Juan Pérez de Montalbán, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1602)
- 1665 – Sigismund Francis, archduke of Austria (b. 1630)
- 1669 – François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (b. 1616)
- 1671 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (b. 1598)
- 1673 – Charles de Batz-Castelmore d’Artagnan, French captain (b. 1611)
- 1686 – Simon Ushakov, Russian painter and educator (b. 1626)
- 1715 – Jean-Baptiste du Casse, French admiral and politician (b. 1646)
- 1767 – Georg Philipp Telemann, German composer and theorist (b. 1681)
- 1798 – Thomas Sandby, English cartographer, painter, and architect (b. 1721)
- 1822 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German composer, critic, and jurist (b. 1776)
- 1835 – Ebenezer Pemberton, American educator (b. 1746)
- 1838 – François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo, French general and engineer (b. 1774)
- 1861 – Abdülmecid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1823)
- 1866 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (b. 1803)
- 1868 – Carlo Matteucci, Italian physicist and neurophysiologist (b. 1811)
- 1870 – David Heaton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
- 1875 – Antoine-Louis Barye, French sculptor (b. 1796)
- 1876 – James Calhoun, American lieutenant (b. 1845)
- 1876 – Boston Custer, American civilian army contractor (b. 1848)
- 1876 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (b. 1839)
- 1876 – Thomas Custer, American officer, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1845)
- 1876 – Myles Keogh, Irish-American officer (b. 1840)
- 1882 – François Jouffroy, French sculptor (b. 1806)
- 1884 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (b. 1858)
- 1886 – Jean-Louis Beaudry, Canadian businessman and politician, 11th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1809)
- 1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, French engineer and politician, 5th President of France (b. 1837)
- 1906 – Stanford White, American architect, designed the Washington Square Arch (b. 1853)
- 1912 – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-British painter (b. 1836)
- 1916 – Thomas Eakins, American painter, photographer, and sculptor (b. 1844)
- 1917 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (b. 1884)
- 1918 – Jake Beckley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1867)
- 1922 – Satyendranath Dutta, Indian poet and author (b. 1882)
- 1937 – Colin Clive, British actor (b. 1900)
- 1939 – Richard Seaman, English race car driver (b. 1913)
- 1943 – Arthur Goldstein, German Jewish left-wing activist (c. 1887)
- 1944 – Dénes Berinkey, Hungarian jurist and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1871)
- 1944 – Lucha Reyes, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1906)
- 1947 – Jimmy Doyle, American boxer (b. 1924)
- 1948 – William C. Lee, American general (b. 1895)
- 1949 – Buck Freeman, American baseball player (b. 1871)
- 1949 – James Steen, American water polo player (b. 1876)
- 1950 – Maurice O’Sullivan, Irish police officer and author (b. 1904)
- 1958 – Alfred Noyes, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1880)
- 1959 – Charles Starkweather, American spree killer (b. 1938)
- 1960 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
- 1968 – Tony Hancock, English comedian and actor (b. 1924)
- 1971 – John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, Scottish physician, biologist, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1880)
- 1972 – Jan Matulka, Czech-American painter and illustrator (b. 1890)
- 1974 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (b. 1893)
- 1976 – Johnny Mercer, American singer-songwriter, co-founded Capitol Records (b. 1909)
- 1977 – Olave Baden-Powell, British Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting leader (b. 1889)
- 1977 – Endre Szervánszky, Hungarian pianist and composer (b. 1911)
- 1979 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1894)
- 1979 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (b. 1906)
- 1981 – Felipe Cossío del Pomar, Peruvian painter and political activist (b. 1888)
- 1983 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian pianist and composer (b. 1916)
- 1984 – Michel Foucault, French historian and philosopher (b. 1926)
- 1988 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1962)
- 1990 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and murderer (b. 1940)
- 1992 – Jerome Brown, American football player (b. 1965)
- 1995 – Warren E. Burger, Fifteenth Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1907)
- 1995 – Ernest Walton, Irish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat, British Ambassador to South Africa (b. 1914)
- 1997 – Jacques Cousteau, French oceanographer and explorer (b. 1910)
- 2002 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Labour (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Lester Maddox, American businessman and politician, 75th Governor of Georgia (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Morton Coutts, New Zealand inventor (b. 1904)
- 2005 – John Fiedler, American actor and voice artist (b. 1925)
- 2005 – Kâzım Koyuncu, Turkish singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1971)
- 2006 – Jaap Penraat, Dutch-American humanitarian (b. 1918)
- 2007 – J. Fred Duckett, American journalist and educator (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Jeeva, Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1963)
- 2008 – Lyall Watson, South African anthropologist and ethologist (b. 1939)
- 2009 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (b. 1947)
- 2009 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (b. 1958)
- 2009 – Sky Saxon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
- 2010 – Alan Plater, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Richard B. Sellars, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1915)
- 2011 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist and mathematician (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Goff Richards, English composer and conductor (b. 1944)
- 2011 – Margaret Tyzack, English actress (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Shigemitsu Dandō, Japanese academic and jurist (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Campbell Gillies, Scottish jockey (b. 1990)
- 2012 – George Randolph Hearst, Jr., American businessman (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Lucella MacLean, American baseball player (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Edgar Ross, American boxer (b. 1949)
- 2013 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Robert E. Gilka, American photographer and journalist (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Harry Parker, American rower and coach (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Green Wix Unthank, American soldier and judge (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Nigel Calder, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Ivan Plyushch, Ukrainian agronomist and politician (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Patrick Macnee, English actor (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Egyptian-Armenian patriarch (b. 1940)
- 2016 – Adam Small, South African writer of apartheid-period (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Richard Benjamin Harrison, American businessman and reality television personality (b. 1941)
- 2018 – David Goldblatt, South African photographer of apartheid-period (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances on June 25
- Arbor Day (Philippines)
- Christian feast day:
- David of Munktorp
- Eurosia
- Maximus (Massimo) of Turin
- Philipp Melanchthon (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
- Presentation of the Augsburg Confession (Lutheran)
- Prosper of Aquitaine
- Prosper of Reggio
- William of Montevergine
- June 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975.
- National Catfish Day (United States)
- Statehood Day (Slovenia)
- Statehood Day (Virginia)
- Teacher’s Day (Guatemala)
- World Vitiligo Day
-
June 17 in History
- 653 – Pope Martin I is arrested and taken to Constantinople, due to his opposition to monothelitism.
- 1242 – Following the Disputation of Paris, twenty-four carriage loads of Jewish religious manuscripts were burnt in Paris.
- 1397 – The Kalmar Union is formed under the rule of Margaret I of Denmark.
- 1462 – Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack at Târgovişte), forcing him to retreat from Wallachia.
- 1497 – Battle of Deptford Bridge: Forces under King Henry VII defeat troops led by Michael An Gof.
- 1565 – Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
- 1579 – Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England.
- 1596 – The Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz discovers the Arctic archipelago of Spitsbergen.
- 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
- 1665 – Battle of Montes Claros: Portugal definitively secured independence from Spain in the last battle of the Portuguese Restoration War.
- 1673 – French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet reach the Mississippi River and become the first Europeans to make a detailed account of its course.
- 1767 – Samuel Wallis, a British sea captain, sights Tahiti and is considered the first European to reach the island.
- 1773 – Cúcuta, Colombia, is founded by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: Colonists inflict heavy casualties on British forces while losing the Battle of Bunker Hill.
- 1789 – In France, the Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly.
- 1794 – Foundation of Anglo-Corsican Kingdom.
- 1795 – The burghers of Swellendam expel the Dutch East India Company magistrate and declare a republic.
- 1839 – In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace are established as a result.
- 1843 – The Wairau Affray, the first serious clash of arms between Māori and British settlers in the New Zealand Wars, takes place.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Vienna, Virginia.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Aldie in the Gettysburg Campaign.
- 1876 – American Indian Wars: Battle of the Rosebud: 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse beat back General George Crook’s forces at Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory.
- 1877 – American Indian Wars: Battle of White Bird Canyon: The Nez Perce defeat the U.S. Cavalry at White Bird Canyon in the Idaho Territory.
- 1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
- 1898 – The United States Navy Hospital Corps is established.
- 1900 – Boxer Rebellion: Western Allied and Japanese forces capture the Taku Forts in Tianjin, China.
- 1901 – The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.
- 1910 – Aurel Vlaicu pilots an A. Vlaicu nr. 1 on its first flight.
- 1922 – Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral complete the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic.
- 1929 – The town of Murchison, New Zealand Is rocked by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killing 17. At the time it was New Zealand’s worst natural disaster.
- 1930 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act into law.
- 1932 – Bonus Army: Around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.
- 1933 – Union Station massacre: In Kansas City, Missouri, four FBI agents and captured fugitive Frank Nash are gunned down by gangsters attempting to free Nash.
- 1939 – Last public guillotining in France: Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is executed in Versailles outside the Saint-Pierre prison.
- 1940 – World War II: RMS Lancastria is attacked and sunk by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France. At least 3,000 are killed in Britain’s worst maritime disaster.
- 1940 – World War II: The British Army’s 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya, Africa from Italian forces.
- 1940 – The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union.
- 1944 – Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.
- 1948 – United Airlines Flight 624, a Douglas DC-6, crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 43 people on board.
- 1952 – Guatemala passes Decree 900, ordering the redistribution of uncultivated land.
- 1953 – Cold War: East Germany Workers Uprising: In East Germany, the Soviet Union orders a division of troops into East Berlin to quell a rebellion.
- 1958 – The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, in the process of being built to connect Vancouver and North Vancouver (Canada), collapses into the Burrard Inlet killing 18 ironworkers and injuring others.
- 1960 – The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of land undervalued at four cents/acre in the 1863 treaty.
- 1963 – The United States Supreme Court rules 8–1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against requiring the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord’s Prayer in public schools.
- 1963 – A day after South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm announced the Joint Communiqué to end the Buddhist crisis, a riot involving around 2,000 people breaks out. One person is killed.
- 1967 – Nuclear weapons testing: China announces a successful test of its first thermonuclear weapon.
- 1972 – Watergate scandal: Five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee during an attempt by members of the administration of President Richard M. Nixon to illegally wiretap the political opposition as part of a broader campaign to subvert the democratic process
- 1985 – Space Shuttle program: STS-51-G mission: Space Shuttle Discovery launches carrying Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first Arab and first Muslim in space, as a payload specialist.
- 1987 – With the death of the last individual of the species, the dusky seaside sparrow becomes extinct.
- 1991 – Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.
- 1992 – A “joint understanding” agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II).
- 1994 – Following a televised low-speed highway chase, O. J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
- 2015 – Nine people are killed in a mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
- 2017 – A series of wildfires in central Portugal kill at least 64 people and injure 204 others.
Births on June 17
- 801 – Drogo of Metz, Frankish bishop (d. 855)
- 1239 – Edward I, English king (d. 1307)
- 1530 – François de Montmorency, French nobleman (d. 1579)
- 1571 – Thomas Mun, English writer on economics (d. 1641)
- 1603 – Joseph of Cupertino, Italian mystic and saint (d. 1663)
- 1604 – John Maurice, Dutch nobleman (d. 1679)
- 1610 – Birgitte Thott, Danish scholar, writer and translator (b. 1662)
- 1631 – Gauharara Begum, Mughal princess (d. 1706)
- 1682 – Charles XII, Swedish king (d. 1718)
- 1691 – Giovanni Paolo Panini, Italian painter and architect (d. 1765)
- 1693 – Johann Georg Walch, German theologian and author (d. 1775)
- 1704 – John Kay, English engineer, invented the Flying shuttle (d. 1780)
- 1714 – César-François Cassini de Thury, French astronomer and cartographer (d. 1784)
- 1718 – George Howard, English field marshal and politician, Governor of Minorca (d. 1796)
- 1778 – Gregory Blaxland, English-Australian explorer (d. 1853)
- 1800 – William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, English-Irish astronomer and politician (d. 1867)
- 1808 – Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian poet, playwright, and linguist (d. 1845)
- 1810 – Ferdinand Freiligrath, German poet and translator (d. 1876)
- 1811 – Jón Sigurðsson, Icelandic scholar and politician (d. 1879)
- 1818 – Charles Gounod, French composer and academic (d. 1893)
- 1818 – Sophie of Württemberg, queen of the Netherlands (d. 1877)
- 1821 – E. G. Squier, American archaeologist and journalist (d. 1888)
- 1832 – William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (d. 1919)
- 1833 – Manuel González Flores, Mexican general and president (d. 1893)
- 1858 – Eben Sumner Draper, American businessman and politician, 44th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1914)
- 1861 – Pete Browning, American baseball player (d. 1905)
- 1861 – Omar Bundy, American general (d. 1940)
- 1863 – Charles Michael, duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1934)
- 1865 – Susan La Flesche Picotte, Native American physician (d. 1915)
- 1867 – Flora Finch, English-American actress (d. 1940)
- 1867 – John Robert Gregg, Irish-born American educator, publisher, and humanitarian (d. 1948)
- 1867 – Henry Lawson, Australian poet and author (d. 1922)
- 1871 – James Weldon Johnson, American author, journalist, and activist (d. 1938)
- 1876 – William Carr, American rower (d. 1942)
- 1876 – Edward Anthony Spitzka, American anatomist and author (d. 1922)
- 1880 – Carl Van Vechten, American author and photographer (d. 1964)
- 1881 – Tommy Burns, Canadian boxer and promoter (d. 1955)
- 1882 – Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1918)
- 1882 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1971)
- 1888 – Heinz Guderian, German general (d. 1954)
- 1897 – Maria Izilda de Castro Ribeiro, Brazilian girl, popular saint (d. 1911)
- 1898 – M. C. Escher, Dutch illustrator (d. 1972)
- 1898 – Carl Hermann, German physicist and academic (d. 1961)
- 1898 – Harry Patch, English soldier and firefighter (d. 2009)
- 1900 – Martin Bormann, German politician (d. 1945)
- 1900 – Evelyn Irons, Scottish journalist and war correspondent (d. 2000)
- 1902 – Sammy Fain, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
- 1902 – Alec Hurwood, Australian cricketer (d. 1982)
- 1903 – Ruth Graves Wakefield, American chef, created the chocolate chip cookie (d. 1977)
- 1904 – Ralph Bellamy, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1904 – J. Vernon McGee, American pastor and theologian (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Patrice Tardif, Canadian farmer and politician (d. 1989)
- 1907 – Maurice Cloche, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1990)
- 1909 – Elmer L. Andersen, American businessman and politician, 30th Governor of Minnesota (d. 2004)
- 1909 – Ralph E. Winters, Canadian-American film editor (d. 2004)
- 1910 – Red Foley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1968)
- 1910 – George Hees, Canadian football player and politician (d. 1996)
- 1914 – John Hersey, American journalist and author (d. 1993)
- 1915 – David “Stringbean” Akeman, American singer and banjo player (d. 1973)
- 1915 – Marcel Cadieux, Canadian civil servant and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States (d. 1981)
- 1916 – Terry Gilkyson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Dufferin Roblin, Canadian politician, 14th Premier of Manitoba (d. 2010)
- 1918 – Ajahn Chah, Thai monk and educator (d. 1992)
- 1919 – William Kaye Estes, American psychologist and academic (d. 2011)
- 1919 – John Moffat, Scottish lieutenant and pilot (d. 2016)
- 1919 – Beryl Reid, English actress (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Jacob H. Gilbert, American lawyer and politician (d. 1981)
- 1920 – Setsuko Hara, Japanese actress (d. 2015)
- 1920 – François Jacob, French biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Peter Le Cheminant, English air marshal and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey (d. 2018)
- 1922 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Elroy Hirsch, American football player (d. 2004)
- 1923 – Arnold S. Relman, American physician and academic (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Dale C. Thomson, Canadian historian and academic (d. 1999)
- 1925 – Alexander Shulgin, American pharmacologist and chemist (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Martin Böttcher, German composer and conductor (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Wally Wood, American author, illustrator, and publisher (d. 1981)
- 1928 – Juan María Bordaberry, President of Uruguay (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Bud Collins, American journalist and sportscaster (d. 2016)
- 1929 – Tigran Petrosian, Armenian chess player (d. 1984)
- 1930 – Cliff Gallup, American rock & roll guitarist (d. 1988)
- 1930 – Brian Statham, English cricketer (d. 2000)
- 1931 – John Baldessari, American painter and illustrator (d. 2020)
- 1932 – Derek Ibbotson, English runner (d. 2017)
- 1932 – John Murtha, American colonel and politician (d. 2010)
- 1933 – Harry Browne, American soldier and politician (d. 2006)
- 1933 – Christian Ferras, French violinist (d. 1982)
- 1933 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (d. 1970)
- 1936 – Vern Harper, Canadian tribal leader and activist (d. 2018)
- 1936 – Ken Loach, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1937 – Peter Fitzgerald, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Ted Nelson, American sociologist and philosopher
- 1937 – Clodovil Hernandes, Brazilian fashion designer, television presenter and politician (d. 2009)
- 1940 – George Akerlof, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 – Bobby Bell, American football player
- 1940 – Chuck Rainey, American bassist
- 1941 – Nicholas C. Handy, English chemist and academic (d. 2012)
- 1942 – Mohamed ElBaradei, Egyptian politician, Vice President of Egypt, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1942 – Doğu Perinçek, Turkish lawyer and politician
- 1942 – Roger Steffens, American actor and producer
- 1943 – Newt Gingrich, American historian and politician, 58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1943 – Barry Manilow, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1943 – Chantal Mouffe, Belgian theorist and author
- 1943 – Burt Rutan, American engineer and pilot
- 1944 – Randy Johnson, American football player (d. 2009)
- 1944 – Chris Spedding, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1945 – Tommy Franks, American general
- 1945 – Ken Livingstone, English politician, 1st Mayor of London
- 1945 – Eddy Merckx, Belgian cyclist and sportscaster
- 1945 – Art Bell, American broadcaster and author (d. 2018)
- 1946 – Peter Rosei, Austrian author, poet, and playwright
- 1947 – Christopher Allport, American actor (d. 2008)
- 1947 – Timothy Wright, American gospel singer, pastor (d. 2009)
- 1947 – Linda Chavez, American journalist and author
- 1947 – George S. Clinton, American composer and songwriter
- 1947 – Gregg Rolie, American rock singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1947 – Paul Young, English singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1948 – Dave Concepción, Venezuelan baseball player and manager
- 1948 – Jacqueline Jones, American historian and academic
- 1948 – Aurelio López, Mexican baseball player and politician (d. 1992)
- 1948 – Karol Sikora, English physician and academic
- 1949 – Snakefinger, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1987)
- 1949 – John Craven, English economist and academic
- 1949 – Russell Smith, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
- 1950 – Lee Tamahori, New Zealand film director
- 1951 – Starhawk, American author and activist
- 1951 – John Garrett, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1951 – Joe Piscopo, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Mike Milbury, American ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1952 – Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley, English educator and politician, Secretary of State for Education
- 1953 – Vernon Coaker, English educator and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
- 1953 – Juan Muñoz, Spanish sculptor and storyteller (d. 2001)
- 1954 – Mark Linn-Baker, American actor and director
- 1955 – Mati Laur, Estonian historian, author, and academic
- 1955 – Bob Sauvé, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1955 – Cem Hakko, Turkish fashion designer and businessman
- 1956 – Iain Milne, Scottish rugby player
- 1957 – Philip Chevron, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1957 – Martin Dillon, American tenor and educator (d. 2005)
- 1957 – Uģis Prauliņš, Latvian composer
- 1958 – Pierre Berbizier, French rugby player and coach
- 1958 – Jello Biafra, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1958 – Bobby Farrelly, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1958 – Sam Hamad, Syrian-Canadian academic and politician
- 1958 – Jon Leibowitz, American lawyer and politician
- 1958 – Daniel McVicar, American actor
- 1959 – Carol Anderson, American author and historian
- 1959 – Lawrence Haddad, South African-English economist and academic
- 1959 – Nikos Stavropoulos, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1960 – Adrián Campos, Spanish race car driver
- 1960 – Thomas Haden Church, American actor
- 1961 – Kōichi Yamadera, Japanese actor and singer
- 1962 – Michael Monroe, Finnish singer-songwriter and saxophonist
- 1963 – Greg Kinnear, American actor, television presenter, and producer
- 1964 – Rinaldo Capello, Italian race car driver
- 1964 – Michael Gross, German swimmer
- 1964 – Steve Rhodes, English cricketer and coach
- 1965 – Dermontti Dawson, American football player and coach
- 1965 – Dan Jansen, American speed skater and sportscaster
- 1965 – Dara O’Kearney, Irish runner and poker player
- 1966 – Mohammed Ghazy Al-Akhras, Iraqi journalist and author
- 1966 – Tory Burch, American fashion designer and philanthropist
- 1966 – Ken Clark, American football player (d. 2013)
- 1966 – Diane Modahl, English runner
- 1966 – Jason Patric, American actor
- 1967 – Dorothea Röschmann, German soprano and actress
- 1967 – Eric Stefani, American keyboard player and composer
- 1968 – Steve Georgallis, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1968 – Minoru Suzuki, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
- 1969 – Paul Tergat, Kenyan runner
- 1969 – Geoff Toovey, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1969 – Ilya Tsymbalar, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
- 1970 – Stéphane Fiset, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1970 – Will Forte, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
- 1970 – Jason Hanson, American football player
- 1970 – Popeye Jones, American basketball player and coach
- 1970 – Michael Showalter, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1970 – Alan Dowson, English football manager and former professional player
- 1971 – Paulina Rubio, Mexican pop singer
- 1971 – Mildred Fox, Irish politician
- 1973 – Leander Paes, Indian tennis player
- 1974 – Evangelia Psarra, Greek archer
- 1975 – Joshua Leonard, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1975 – Juan Carlos Valerón, Spanish footballer
- 1975 – Phiyada Akkraseranee, Thai actress and model
- 1976 – Scott Adkins, English actor and martial artist
- 1976 – Sven Nys, Belgian cyclist
- 1977 – Tjaša Jezernik, Slovenian tennis player
- 1977 – Mark Tauscher, American football player and sportscaster
- 1978 – Isabelle Delobel, French ice dancer
- 1978 – Travis Roche, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Nick Rimando, American soccer player
- 1979 – Tyson Apostol, American television personality
- 1979 – Young Maylay, American rapper, producer, and voice actor
- 1980 – Elisa Rigaudo, Italian race walker
- 1980 – Jeph Jacques, American author and illustrator
- 1980 – Venus Williams, American tennis player
- 1981 – Kyle Boller, American football player
- 1981 – Shane Watson, Australian cricketer
- 1982 – Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Marek Svatoš, Slovak ice hockey player (d. 2016)
- 1982 – Stanislava Hrozenská, Slovak tennis player
- 1982 – Stefan Hodgetts, English racing driver
- 1982 – Arthur Darvill, English actor
- 1982 – Jodie Whittaker, English actress
- 1983 – Lee Ryan, English singer/actor
- 1983 – Vlasis Kazakis, Greek footballer
- 1984 – Michael Mathieu, Bahamian sprinter
- 1984 – Si Tianfeng, Chinese race walker
- 1985 – Özge Akın, Turkish sprinter
- 1985 – Marcos Baghdatis, Cypriot tennis player
- 1985 – Rafael Sóbis, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Apoula Edel, Armenian footballer
- 1986 – Helen Glover, English rower
- 1987 – Kendrick Lamar, American rapper
- 1987 – Nozomi Tsuji, Japanese singer and actress
- 1988 – Andrew Ogilvy, Australian basketball player
- 1988 – Shaun MacDonald, Welsh footballer
- 1988 – Stephanie Rice, Australian swimmer
- 1989 – Georgios Tofas, Cypriot footballer
- 1989 – Simone Battle, American singer and actress (d. 2014)
- 1990 – Jordan Henderson, English footballer
- 1990 – Josh Mansour, Australian rugby league player
- 1991 – Daniel Tupou, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
- 1994 – Amari Cooper, American football player
- 1995 – Clément Lenglet, French footballer
Deaths on June 17
- 656 – Uthman, caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate (b. 579)
- 676 – Adeodatus, pope of the Catholic Church
- 811 – Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, Japanese shōgun (b. 758)
- 850 – Tachibana no Kachiko, Japanese empress (b. 786)
- 900 – Fulk, French archbishop and chancellor
- 1025 – Bolesław I the Brave, Polish king (b. 967)
- 1091 – Dirk V, count of Holland (b. 1052)
- 1207 – Daoji, Chinese buddhist monk (b. 1130)
- 1219 – David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon
- 1361 – Ingeborg of Norway, princess consort and regent of Sweden (b. 1301)
- 1400 – Jan of Jenštejn, archbishop of Prague (b. 1348)
- 1463 – Catherine of Portugal, Portuguese princess (b. 1436)
- 1501 – John I Albert, Polish king (b. 1459)
- 1565 – Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Japanese shōgun (b. 1536)
- 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal, Mughal princess (b. 1593)
- 1649 – Injo of Joseon, Korean king (b. 1595)
- 1674 – Jijabai, Dowager Queen, mother of Shivaji (b. 1598)
- 1694 – Philip Howard, English cardinal (b. 1629)
- 1696 – John III Sobieski, Polish king (b. 1629)
- 1719 – Joseph Addison, English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician (b. 1672)
- 1734 – Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general and politician, French Secretary of State for War (b. 1653)
- 1740 – Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1687)
- 1762 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French poet and playwright (b. 1674)
- 1771 – Daskalogiannis, Greek rebel leader (b. 1722)
- 1775 – John Pitcairn, Scottish-English soldier (b. 1722)
- 1797 – Mohammad Khan Qajar, Persian tribal chief (b. 1742)
- 1813 – Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, Scottish-English admiral and politician (b. 1726)
- 1821 – Martín Miguel de Güemes, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1785)
- 1839 – Lord William Bentinck, English general and politician, 14th Governor-General of India (b. 1774)
- 1866 – Joseph Méry, French poet and author (b. 1798)
- 1889 – Lozen, Chiracaua Apache warrior woman (b. ~1840)
- 1898 – Edward Burne-Jones, English soldier and painter (b. 1833)
- 1904 – Nikolay Bobrikov, Russian soldier and politician, Governor-General of Finland (b. 1839)
- 1936 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist, politician, and diplomat, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
- 1939 – Allen Sothoron, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1893)
- 1939 – Eugen Weidmann, German criminal (b. 1908)
- 1940 – Arthur Harden, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
- 1941 – Johan Wagenaar, Dutch organist and composer (b. 1862)
- 1942 – Charles Fitzpatrick, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1853)
- 1952 – Jack Parsons, American chemist and engineer (b. 1914)
- 1954 – Danny Cedrone, American guitarist and bandleader (b. 1920)
- 1956 – Percival Perry, 1st Baron Perry, English businessman (b. 1878)
- 1956 – Paul Rostock, German surgeon and academic (b. 1892)
- 1956 – Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (b. 1926)
- 1957 – Dorothy Richardson, English journalist and author (b. 1873)
- 1957 – J. R. Williams, Canadian-American cartoonist (b. 1888)
- 1961 – Jeff Chandler, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1963 – Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician (b. 1882)
- 1968 – José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1901)
- 1974 – Refik Koraltan, Turkish lawyer and politician, 8th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (b. 1889)
- 1975 – James Phinney Baxter III, American historian and academic (b. 1893)
- 1979 – Hubert Ashton, English cricketer and politician (b. 1898)
- 1979 – Duffy Lewis, American baseball player and manager (b. 1888)
- 1981 – Richard O’Connor, Indian-English general (b. 1889)
- 1981 – Zerna Sharp, American author and educator (b. 1889)
- 1982 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (b. 1920)
- 1983 – Peter Mennin, American composer and educator (b. 1923)
- 1985 – John Boulting, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1913)
- 1986 – Kate Smith, American singer (b. 1907)
- 1987 – Dick Howser, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1936)
- 1996 – Thomas Kuhn, American historian and philosopher (b. 1922)
- 1996 – Curt Swan, American illustrator (b. 1920)
- 1999 – Basil Hume, English cardinal (b. 1923)
- 2000 – Ismail Mahomed, South African lawyer and jurist, 17th Chief Justice of South Africa (b. 1931)
- 2001 – Donald J. Cram, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1919)
- 2001 – Thomas Winning, Scottish cardinal (b. 1925)
- 2002 – Willie Davenport, American sprinter and hurdler (b. 1943)
- 2002 – Fritz Walter, German footballer (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1926)
- 2006 – Bussunda, Brazilian comedian (b. 1962)
- 2007 – Gianfranco Ferré, Italian fashion designer (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Serena Wilson, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Cyd Charisse, American actress and dancer (b. 1922)
- 2009 – Ralf Dahrendorf, German-English sociologist and politician (b. 1929)
- 2009 – Darrell Powers, American sergeant (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Rex Mossop, Australian rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Stéphane Brosse, French mountaineer (b. 1971)
- 2012 – Patricia Brown, American baseball player (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Nathan Divinsky, Canadian mathematician and chess player (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Rodney King, American victim of police brutality (b. 1965)
- 2012 – Fauzia Wahab, Pakistani actress and politician (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Michael Baigent, New Zealand-English theorist and author (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Atiqul Haque Chowdhury, Bangladeshi playwright and producer (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Pierre F. Côté, Canadian lawyer and civil servant (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Bulbs Ehlers, American basketball player (b. 1923)
- 2013 – James Holshouser, American politician, 68th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Patsy Byrne, English actress (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Éric Dewailly, Canadian epidemiologist and academic (b. 1954)
- 2014 – Stanley Marsh 3, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Arnold S. Relman, American physician and academic (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Larry Zeidel, Canadian-American ice hockey player and sportscaster (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Ron Clarke, Australian runner and politician, Mayor of the Gold Coast (b. 1937)
- 2015 – John David Crow, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Süleyman Demirel, Turkish engineer and politician, 9th President of Turkey (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Roberto M. Levingston, Argentinian general and politician, 36th President of Argentina (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Clementa C. Pinckney, American minister and politician (b. 1973)
- 2017 – Baldwin Lonsdale, president of Vanuatu (b. 1948)
Holidays and observances on June 17
- Christian feast day:
- Albert Chmielowski
- Botolph (England and Scandinavia)
- Gondulphus of Berry
- Hervé
- Hypatius of Bithynia (Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches)
- Rainerius
- Samuel and Henrietta Barnett (Church of England)
- June 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Father’s Day (El Salvador, Guatemala)
- Icelandic National Day, celebrates the independence of Iceland from Kingdom of Denmark in 1944.
- Occupation of the Latvian Republic Day (Latvia)
- Remembrance to East German uprising of 1953, public holiday in West Germany between 1954 and 1990 (today German Unity Day) is the public holiday day)
- World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (International)
- Zemla Intifada Day (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic)
-
June 16 in History
- 363 – Emperor Julian marches back up the Tigris and burns his fleet of supply ships. During the withdrawal, Roman forces suffer several attacks from the Persians.
- 632 – Yazdegerd III ascends the throne as king (shah) of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler of the Sasanian dynasty (modern Iran).
- 1407 – Ming–Hồ War: Retired King Hồ Quý Ly and his son King Hồ Hán Thương of Hồ dynasty are captured by the Ming armies.
- 1487 – Battle of Stoke Field: King Henry VII of England defeats the leaders of a Yorkist rebellion in the final engagement of the Wars of the Roses.
- 1586 – Mary, Queen of Scots, recognizes Philip II of Spain as her heir and successor.
- 1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: New England colonial troops under the command of William Pepperrell capture the Fortress of Louisbourg in Louisbourg, New France (Old Style date).
- 1746 – War of the Austrian Succession: Austria and Sardinia defeat a Franco-Spanish army at the Battle of Piacenza.
- 1755 – French and Indian War: The French surrender Fort Beauséjour to the British, leading to the expulsion of the Acadians.
- 1779 – Spain declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.
- 1795 – French Revolutionary Wars: In what became known as Cornwallis’s Retreat, a British Royal Navy squadron led by Vice Admiral William Cornwallis strongly resists a much larger French Navy force and withdraws largely intact, setting up the French Navy defeat at the Battle of Groix six days later.
- 1811 – Survivors of an attack the previous day by Tla-o-qui-aht on board the Pacific Fur Company’s ship Tonquin, intentionally detonate a powder magazine on the ship, destroying it and killing about 100 attackers.
- 1815 – Battle of Ligny and Battle of Quatre Bras, two days before the Battle of Waterloo.
- 1819 – A major earthquake strikes the Kutch district of western India, killing over 1,543 people and raising a 6 m high, 6 km wide, ridge, extending for at least 80 km, that was known as the Allah Bund (“Dam of God”).
- 1836 – The formation of the London Working Men’s Association gives rise to the Chartist Movement.
- 1846 – The Papal conclave of 1846 elects Pope Pius IX, beginning the longest reign in the history of the papacy.
- 1858 – Abraham Lincoln delivers his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois.
- 1871 – The Universities Tests Act 1871 allows students to enter the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham without religious tests (except for those intending to study theology).
- 1883 – The Victoria Hall theatre panic in Sunderland, England, kills 183 children.
- 1884 – The first purpose-built roller coaster, LaMarcus Adna Thompson’s “Switchback Railway”, opens in New York’s Coney Island amusement park.
- 1897 – A treaty annexing the Republic of Hawaii to the United States is signed; the Republic would not be dissolved until a year later.
- 1903 – The Ford Motor Company is incorporated.
- 1903 – Roald Amundsen leaves Oslo, Norway, to commence the first east-west navigation of the Northwest Passage.
- 1904 – Eugen Schauman assassinates Nikolay Bobrikov, Governor-General of Finland.
- 1904 – Irish author James Joyce begins a relationship with Nora Barnacle and subsequently uses the date to set the actions for his novel Ulysses; this date is now traditionally called “Bloomsday”.
- 1911 – IBM founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York.
- 1922 – General election in the Irish Free State: The pro-Treaty Sinn Féin party wins a large majority.
- 1925 – The most famous Young Pioneer camp of the Soviet Union, Artek, is established.
- 1930 – Sovnarkom establishes decree time in the USSR.
- 1933 – The National Industrial Recovery Act is passed in the United States, allowing businesses to avoid antitrust prosecution if they establish voluntary wage, price, and working condition regulations on an industry-wide basis.
- 1940 – World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l’État Français).
- 1940 – A Communist government is installed in Lithuania.
- 1944 – In a gross miscarriage of justice, George Junius Stinney Jr., age 14, becomes the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century after being convicted in a two-hour trial for the rape and murder of two teenage white girls.
- 1948 – Members of the Malayan Communist Party kill three British plantation managers in Sungai Siput; in response, British Malaya declares a state of emergency.
- 1955 – In a futile effort to topple Argentine President Juan Perón, rogue aircraft pilots of the Argentine Navy drop several bombs upon an unarmed crowd demonstrating in favor of Perón in Buenos Aires, killing 364 and injuring at least 800. At the same time on the ground, some soldiers attempt to stage a coup but are suppressed by loyal forces.
- 1958 – Imre Nagy, Pál Maléter and other leaders of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising are executed.
- 1961 – While on tour with the Kirov Ballet in Paris, Rudolf Nureyev defects from the Soviet Union.
- 1963 – Soviet Space Program: Vostok 6 mission: Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
- 1972 – The largest single-site hydroelectric power project in Canada is inaugurated at Churchill Falls Generating Station.
- 1976 – Soweto uprising: A non-violent march by 15,000 students in Soweto, South Africa, turns into days of rioting when police open fire on the crowd.
- 1977 – Oracle Corporation is incorporated in Redwood Shores, California, as Software Development Laboratories (SDL), by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates.
- 1981 – US President Ronald Reagan awards the Congressional Gold Medal to Ken Taylor, Canada’s former ambassador to Iran, for helping six Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979–81; he is the first foreign citizen bestowed the honor.
- 1989 – Revolutions of 1989: Imre Nagy, the former Hungarian prime minister, is reburied in Budapest following the collapse of Communism in Hungary.
- 1997 – Fifty people are killed in the Daïat Labguer (M’sila) massacre in Algeria.
- 2000 – The Secretary-General of the UN reports that Israel has complied with United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, 22 years after its issuance, and completely withdrew from Lebanon. The Resolution does not encompass the Shebaa farms, which is claimed by Israel, Syria and Lebanon.
- 2010 – Bhutan becomes the first country to institute a total ban on tobacco.
- 2012 – China successfully launches its Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, carrying three astronauts, including the first female Chinese astronaut Liu Yang, to the Tiangong-1 orbital module.
- 2012 – The United States Air Force’s robotic Boeing X-37B spaceplane returns to Earth after a classified 469-day orbital mission
- 2013 – A multi-day cloudburst, centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand, causes devastating floods and landslides, becoming the country’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
- 2016 – Shanghai Disneyland Park, the first Disney Park in Mainland China, opens to the public.
- 2019 – Upwards of 2,000,000 people participate in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the largest in Hong Kong’s history.
Births on June 16
- 1139 – Emperor Konoe of Japan (d. 1155)
- 1332 – Isabella de Coucy, English daughter of Edward III of England (d. 1379)
- 1454 – Joanna of Aragon, Queen of Naples (d. 1517)
- 1514 – John Cheke, English academic and politician, English Secretary of State (d. 1557)
- 1516 – Yang Jisheng, Ming dynasty official and Confucian martyr (d. 1555)
- 1583 – Axel Oxenstierna, Swedish politician, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden (d. 1654)
- 1591 – Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, Greek-Italian physician, mathematician, and theorist (d. 1655)
- 1606 – Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier and politician (d. 1675)
- 1613 – John Cleveland, English poet and educator (d. 1658)
- 1625 – Samuel Chappuzeau, French scholar (d. 1701)
- 1633 – Jean de Thévenot, French linguist and botanist (d. 1667)
- 1644 – Henrietta Anne Stuart, Princess of Scotland, England and Ireland (d. 1670)
- 1653 – James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon, English nobleman (d. 1699)
- 1713 – Meshech Weare, American farmer, lawyer, and politician, 1st Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1786)
- 1723 – Adam Smith, Scottish philosopher and economist (d. 1790)
- 1738 – Mary Katherine Goddard, American publisher (d. 1816)
- 1754 – Salawat Yulayev, Russian poet (d. 1800)
- 1792 – John Linnell, English painter and engraver (d. 1882)
- 1801 – Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1868)
- 1806 – Edward Davy, English physician and chemist (d. 1885)
- 1813 – Otto Jahn, German archaeologist and philologist (d. 1869)
- 1820 – Athanase Josué Coquerel, Dutch-French preacher and theologian (d. 1875)
- 1821 – Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer and architect (d. 1908)
- 1826 – Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist and botanist (d. 1897)
- 1829 – Geronimo, American tribal leader (d. 1909)
- 1836 – Wesley Merritt, American general and politician, Military Governor of the Philippines (d. 1910)
- 1837 – Ernst Laas, German philosopher and academic (d. 1885)
- 1838 – Frederic Archer, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1901)
- 1838 – Cushman Kellogg Davis, American lieutenant and politician, 7th Governor of Minnesota (d. 1900)
- 1840 – Ernst Otto Schlick, German engineer and author (d. 1913)
- 1850 – Max Delbrück, German chemist and academic (d. 1919)
- 1857 – Arthur Arz von Straußenburg, Austrian-Hungarian general (d. 1935)
- 1858 – Gustaf V of Sweden (d. 1950)
- 1863 – Francisco León de la Barra, Mexican politician and diplomat (d. 1939)
- 1866 – Germanos Karavangelis, Greek-Austrian metropolitan (d. 1935)
- 1874 – Arthur Meighen, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Otto Eisenschiml, Austrian-American chemist and author (d. 1963)
- 1882 – Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iranian educator and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Iran (d. 1967)
- 1885 – Erich Jacoby, Estonian-Polish architect (d. 1941)
- 1888 – Alexander Friedmann, Russian physicist and mathematician (d. 1925)
- 1888 – Peter Stoner, American mathematician and astronomer (d. 1980)
- 1890 – Stan Laurel, English actor and comedian (d. 1965)
- 1896 – Murray Leinster, American author and screenwriter (d. 1976)
- 1897 – Georg Wittig, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1899 – Helen Traubel, American operatic soprano (d. 1972)
- 1902 – Barbara McClintock, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
- 1902 – George Gaylord Simpson, American paleontologist and author (d. 1984)
- 1906 – Alan Fairfax, Australian cricketer (d. 1955)
- 1907 – Jack Albertson, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1909 – Archie Carr, American ecologist and zoologist (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Juan Velasco Alvarado, Peruvian general and politician, 1st President of Peru (d. 1977)
- 1912 – Albert Chartier, Canadian illustrator (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Enoch Powell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health (d. 1998)
- 1914 – Eleanor Sokoloff, American pianist and teacher
- 1915 – John Tukey, American mathematician and academic (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Marga Faulstich, German glass chemist (d. 1998)
- 1917 – Phaedon Gizikis, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Katharine Graham, American publisher (d. 2001)
- 1917 – Aurelio Lampredi, Italian automobile and aircraft engine designer (d. 1989)
- 1917 – Irving Penn, American photographer (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Isabelle Holland, Swiss-American author (d. 2002)
- 1920 – Raymond Lemieux, Canadian chemist and academic (d. 2002)
- 1920 – José López Portillo, Mexican lawyer and politician, 31st President of Mexico (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Hemanta Mukharjee, Indian singer and music director
- 1922 – Ilmar Kullam, Estonian basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Ron Flockhart, Scottish race car driver (d. 1962)
- 1924 – Faith Domergue, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1925 – Jean d’Ormesson, French journalist and author (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Otto Muehl, Austrian-Portuguese painter and director (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Efraín Ríos Montt, Guatemalan general and politician, 26th President of Guatemala (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Tom Graveney, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Herbert Lichtenfeld, German author and screenwriter (d. 2001)
- 1927 – Ariano Suassuna, Brazilian author and playwright (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait
- 1930 – Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer and producer (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Eileen Atkins, English actress and screenwriter
- 1934 – Roger Neilson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2003)
- 1935 – Jim Dine, American painter and illustrator
- 1937 – Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Bulgarian politician, 48th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
- 1937 – Erich Segal, American author and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Thomas Boyd-Carpenter, English general
- 1938 – Torgny Lindgren, Swedish author and poet (d. 2017)
- 1938 – Joyce Carol Oates, American novelist, short story writer, critic, and poet
- 1939 – Billy “Crash” Craddock, American singer-songwriter
- 1940 – Māris Čaklais, Latvian poet, writer, and journalist (d. 2003)
- 1940 – Neil Goldschmidt, American lawyer and politician, 33rd Governor of Oregon
- 1941 – Rosalind Baker, Australian author
- 1941 – Lamont Dozier, American songwriter and producer
- 1941 – Tommy Horton, English golfer (d. 2017)
- 1941 – Mumtaz Hamid Rao, Pakistani journalist (d. 2011)
- 1942 – Giacomo Agostini, Italian motorcycle racer and manager
- 1942 – Eddie Levert, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
- 1944 – Henri Richelet, French painter and etcher
- 1945 – Claire Alexander, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1945 – Lucienne Robillard, Canadian social worker and politician, 59th Secretary of State for Canada
- 1946 – Rick Adelman, American basketball player and coach
- 1946 – John Astor, 3rd Baron Astor of Hever, English businessman and politician
- 1946 – Karen Dunnell, English statistician and academic
- 1946 – Tom Harrell, American trumpet player and composer
- 1946 – Neil MacGregor, Scottish historian and curator
- 1946 – Iain Matthews, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Jodi Rell, American politician, 87th Governor of Connecticut
- 1946 – Mark Ritts, American actor, puppeteer, and producer (d. 2009)
- 1946 – Derek Sanderson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1946 – Simon Williams, English actor and playwright
- 1947 – Tom Malone, American trombonist, composer, and producer
- 1947 – Buddy Roberts, American wrestler (d. 2012)
- 1947 – Al Cowlings, American ex-NFL player and close friend of O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson
- 1947 – Tom Wyner, English-American voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1948 – Ron LeFlore, American baseball player and manager
- 1949 – Paulo Cézar Caju, Brazilian footballer
- 1949 – Ralph Mann, American hurdler and author
- 1950 – Mithun Chakraborty, Indian actor and politician
- 1950 – Michel Clair, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Jerry Petrowski, American politician and farmer
- 1951 – Charlie Dominici, American singer and guitarist
- 1951 – Roberto Durán, Panamanian boxer
- 1952 – George Papandreou, Greek sociologist and politician, 182nd Prime Minister of Greece
- 1952 – Gino Vannelli, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Valerie Mahaffey, American actress
- 1953 – Ian Mosley, English drummer
- 1954 – Matthew Saad Muhammad, American boxer and trainer (d. 2014)
- 1954 – Garry Roberts, Irish guitarist
- 1955 – Grete Faremo, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Defence
- 1955 – Laurie Metcalf, American actress
- 1955 – Artemy Troitsky, Russian journalist and critic
- 1957 – Ian Buchanan, Scottish-American actor
- 1957 – Leeona Dorrian, Lady Dorrian, Scottish lawyer and judge
- 1958 – Darrell Griffith, American basketball player
- 1958 – Ulrike Tauber, German swimmer
- 1958 – Warren Rodwell, Australian soldier, educator and musician
- 1959 – The Ultimate Warrior, American wrestler (d. 2014)
- 1960 – Peter Sterling, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1961 – Can Dündar, Turkish journalist and author
- 1961 – Robbie Kerr, Australian cricketer
- 1961 – Steve Larmer, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 – Margus Metstak, Estonian basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Wally Joyner, American baseball player and coach
- 1962 – Arnold Vosloo, South African-American actor
- 1962 – Anthony Wong, Hong Kong singer
- 1963 – The Sandman, American wrestler
- 1964 – Danny Burstein, American actor and singer
- 1965 – Michael Richard Lynch, Irish computer scientist and entrepreneur; co-founded HP Autonomy
- 1965 – Richard Madaleno, American politician
- 1966 – Mark Occhilupo, Australian surfer
- 1966 – Olivier Roumat, French rugby player
- 1966 – Phil Vischer, American voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-created VeggieTales
- 1966 – Jan Železný, Czech javelin thrower and coach
- 1967 – Charalambos Andreou, Cypriot footballer
- 1967 – Jürgen Klopp, German footballer and manager
- 1968 – Adam Schmitt, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
- 1969 – Shami Chakrabarti, English lawyer and academic
- 1969 – Mark Crossley, English-Welsh footballer and manager
- 1970 – Younus AlGohar, Pakistani poet and academic, co-founded Messiah Foundation International
- 1970 – Clifton Collins Jr., American actor
- 1970 – Cobi Jones, American soccer player and manager
- 1970 – Phil Mickelson, American golfer
- 1971 – Tupac Shakur, American rapper and producer (d. 1996)
- 1972 – Kiko Loureiro, Brazilian guitarist
- 1973 – Eddie Cibrian, American actor
- 1974 – Glenicia James, Saint Lucian cricketer
- 1975 – Anthony Carter, American basketball player and coach
- 1977 – Craig Fitzgibbon, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1977 – Duncan Hames, English accountant and politician
- 1977 – Kerry Wood, American baseball player
- 1978 – Daniel Brühl, Spanish-German actor
- 1978 – Dainius Zubrus, Lithuanian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Fish Leong, Malaysian singer
- 1980 – Brandon Armstrong, American basketball player
- 1980 – Phil Christophers, German-English rugby player
- 1980 – Henry Perenara, New Zealand rugby league player and referee
- 1980 – Martin Stranzl, Austrian footballer
- 1980 – Joey Yung, Hong Kong singer
- 1981 – Benjamin Becker, German tennis player
- 1981 – Kevin Bieksa, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Alexandre Giroux, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Ola Kvernberg, Norwegian violinist
- 1981 – Miguel Villalta, Peruvian footballer
- 1982 – May Andersen, Danish model and actress
- 1982 – Missy Peregrym, Canadian model and actress
- 1983 – Armend Dallku, Albanian footballer
- 1984 – Rick Nash, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Dan Ryckert, American writer and entertainer
- 1984 – Steven Whittaker, Scottish footballer
- 1986 – Rodrigo Defendi, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Urby Emanuelson, Dutch footballer
- 1986 – Fernando Muslera, Uruguayan footballer
- 1987 – Diana DeGarmo, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Per Ciljan Skjelbred, Norwegian footballer
- 1987 – Christian Tshimanga Kabeya, Belgian footballer
- 1988 – Keshia Chante, Canadian singer
- 1988 – Jermaine Gresham, American football player
- 1990 – John Newman, English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer
- 1991 – Joe McElderry, English singer-songwriter
- 1991 – Siya Kolisi, South African rugby player
- 1991 – Matt Moylan, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Vladimir Morozov, Russian swimmer
- 1993 – Park Bo-gum, South Korean actor
- 1993 – Gnash, American singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ and record producer
- 1994 – Grete-Lilijane Küppas, Estonian footballer
- 1994 – Rezar, Albanian professional wrestler
- 1995 – Euan Aitken, Australian rugby league player
- 1995 – Joseph Schooling, Singaporean swimmer
- 1995 – Akira Ioane, New Zealand rugby Union player
- 2000 – Bianca Andreescu, Canadian tennis player
Deaths on June 16
- 840 – Rorgon I, Frankish nobleman (or 839)
- 924 – Li Cunshen, general of Later Tang (b. 862)
- 956 – Hugh the Great, Frankish nobleman (b. 898)
- 1185 – Richeza of Poland, queen of León (b. c. 1140)
- 1286 – Hugh de Balsham, English bishop
- 1332 – Adam de Brome, founder of Oriel College, Oxford
- 1361 – Johannes Tauler, German mystic theologian
- 1397 – Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, French soldier (b. 1358)
- 1424 – Johannes Ambundii, archbishop of Riga
- 1468 – Jean Le Fèvre de Saint-Remy, Burgundian historian and author (b. 1395)
- 1487 – John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln (b. c. 1463)
- 1540 – Konrad von Thüngen, German nobleman (b. c. 1466)
- 1622 – Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1555)
- 1626 – Christian, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, German Protestant military leader (b. 1599)
- 1666 – Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet, English poet and diplomat, English Ambassador to Spain (b. 1608)
- 1722 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire (b. 1650)
- 1743 – Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, eldest daughter of King Louis XIV of France (b. 1673)
- 1752 – Joseph Butler, English bishop and philosopher (b. 1692)
- 1762 – Anne Russell, Countess of Jersey (formerly Duchess of Bedford) (b. c.1705)
- 1777 – Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset, French poet and playwright (b. 1709)
- 1779 – Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet, English lawyer and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1712)
- 1804 – Johann Adam Hiller, German composer and conductor (b. 1728)
- 1824 – Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, French lawyer and politician (b. 1739)
- 1849 – Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette, German theologian and scholar (b. 1780)
- 1850 – William Lawson, English-Australian explorer and politician (b. 1774)
- 1858 – John Snow, English epidemiologist and physician (b. 1813)
- 1862 – Hidenoyama Raigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 9th Yokozuna (b. 1808)
- 1869 – Charles Sturt, Indian-English botanist and explorer (b. 1795)
- 1872 – Norman MacLeod, Scottish minister and author (b. 1812)
- 1878 – Crawford Long, American surgeon and pharmacist (b. 1815)
- 1878 – Kikuchi Yōsai, Japanese painter (b. 1781)
- 1881 – Josiah Mason, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1795)
- 1885 – Wilhelm Camphausen, German painter and academic (b. 1818)
- 1886 – Alexander Stuart, Scottish-Australian politician, 9th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1824)
- 1902 – Ernst Schröder, German mathematician and academic (b. 1841)
- 1918 – Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer (b. 1860)
- 1925 – Chittaranjan Das, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1870)
- 1929 – Bramwell Booth, English 2nd General of The Salvation Army (b. 1856)
- 1929 – Vernon Louis Parrington, American historian and scholar (b. 1871)
- 1930 – Ezra Fitch, American lawyer and businessman, co-founded Abercrombie & Fitch (b. 1866)
- 1930 – Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American inventor, co-invented the gyrocompass (b. 1860)
- 1939 – Chick Webb, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1905)
- 1940 – DuBose Heyward, American author (b. 1885)
- 1944 – Marc Bloch, French historian and academic (b. 1886)
- 1945 – Aris Velouchiotis, Greek general (b. 1905)
- 1946 – Gordon Brewster, Irish cartoonist (b 1889)
- 1952 – Andrew Lawson, Scottish-American geologist and academic (b. 1861)
- 1953 – Margaret Bondfield, English politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (b. 1873)
- 1955 – Ozias Leduc, Canadian painter (b. 1864)
- 1958 – Pál Maléter, Hungarian general and politician, Minister of Defence of Hungary (b. 1917)
- 1958 – Imre Nagy, Hungarian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1895)
- 1959 – George Reeves, American actor and director (b. 1914)
- 1961 – Marcel Junod, Swiss physician and anesthesiologist (b. 1904)
- 1967 – Reginald Denny, English actor (b. 1891)
- 1969 – Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, English field marshal and politician, 17th Governor General of Canada (b. 1891)
- 1970 – Sydney Chapman, English mathematician and geophysicist (b. 1888)
- 1970 – Brian Piccolo, American football player (b. 1943)
- 1971 – John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, Scottish broadcaster, co-founded BBC (b. 1889)
- 1974 – Amalie Sara Colquhoun, Australian landscape and portrait painter (b. 1894)
- 1977 – Wernher von Braun, German-American physicist and engineer (b. 1912)
- 1979 – Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, Ghanaian general and politician, 6th Head of state of Ghana (b. 1931)
- 1979 – Nicholas Ray, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
- 1981 – Thomas Playford IV, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of South Australia (b. 1896)
- 1982 – James Honeyman-Scott, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1956)
- 1984 – Lew Andreas, American football player and coach (b. 1895)
- 1984 – Erni Krusten, Estonian author and poet (b. 1900)
- 1986 – Maurice Duruflé, French organist and composer (b. 1902)
- 1987 – Marguerite de Angeli, American author and illustrator (b. 1889)
- 1988 – Miguel Piñero, Puerto Rican-American actor and playwright (b. 1946)
- 1993 – Lindsay Hassett, Australian cricketer and soldier (b. 1913)
- 1994 – Kristen Pfaff, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1967)
- 1996 – Mel Allen, American sportscaster and game show host (b. 1913)
- 1997 – Dal Stivens, Australian soldier and author (b. 1911)
- 1998 – Fred Wacker, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1918)
- 1999 – Screaming Lord Sutch, English singer and activist (b. 1940)
- 2003 – Pierre Bourgault, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Georg Henrik von Wright, Finnish–Swedish philosopher and author (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Thanom Kittikachorn, Thai field marshal and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1911)
- 2004 – Jacques Miquelon, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Enrique Laguerre, Puerto Rican-American author and critic (b. 1906)
- 2008 – Mario Rigoni Stern, Italian soldier and author (b. 1921)
- 2010 – Marc Bazin, Haitian lawyer and politician, 49th President of Haiti (b. 1932)
- 2010 – Maureen Forrester, Canadian singer and academic (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Ronald Neame, English director, producer, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
- 2011 – Östen Mäkitalo, Swedish engineer and academic (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Nils Karlsson, Swedish skier (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Jorge Lankenau, Mexican banker and businessman (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Sławomir Petelicki, Polish general (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Susan Tyrrell, American actress (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Sam Farber, American businessman, co-founded OXO (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Hans Hass, Austrian biologist and diver (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (b. 1950)
- 2013 – Norman Ian MacKenzie, English journalist and author (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Ottmar Walter, German footballer (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Tony Gwynn, American baseball player and coach (b. 1960)
- 2014 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas (b. 1960), Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea
- 2015 – Charles Correa, Indian architect and urban planner (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Jean Vautrin, French director, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1933)
- 2016 – Jo Cox, English political activist and MP (b. 1974)
- 2017 – Helmut Kohl, German politician, 6th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1930)
- 2020 – Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. (b. 1935), Filipino businessman and politician
Holidays and observances on June 16
- Juneteenth (United States)
- Birthday of Leonard P. Howell (Rastafari)
- Bloomsday (Dublin, Ireland)
- Christian feast days:
- Aurelianus of Arles
- Aureus of Mainz (and his sister Justina)
- Benno
- Cettin of Oran
- Curig of Llanbadarn
- Ferreolus and Ferrutio
- George Berkeley and Joseph Butler (Episcopal Church)
- Lutgardis
- Quriaqos and Julietta
- June 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Engineer’s Day (Argentina)
- Father’s Day (Seychelles)
- International Day of the African Child (Organisation of African Unity)
- Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev (Sikhism)
- Sussex Day (Sussex)
- Youth Day (South Africa)
-
June 3 in History
- 350 – The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators.
- 713 – The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, deposed and sent into exile by conspirators of the Opsikion army in Thrace. He is succeeded by Anastasios II, who begins the reorganization of the Byzantine army.
- 1140 – The French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy.
- 1326 – The Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark.
- 1539 – Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain.
- 1608 – Samuel de Champlain completes his third voyage to New France at Tadoussac, Quebec.
- 1621 – The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherland.
- 1658 – Pope Alexander VII appoints François de Laval vicar apostolic in New France.
- 1665 – James Stuart, Duke of York (later to become King James II of England), defeats the Dutch fleet off the coast of Lowestoft.
- 1781 – Jack Jouett begins his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending raid by Banastre Tarleton.
- 1839 – In Humen, China, Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kilograms of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Philippi (also called the Philippi Races): Union forces rout Confederate troops in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Cold Harbor: Union forces attack Confederate troops in Hanover County, Virginia.
- 1866 – The Fenians are driven out of Fort Erie, Ontario back into the United States.
- 1885 – In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police.
- 1889 – The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.
- 1916 – The National Defense Act is signed into law, increasing the size of the United States National Guard by 450,000 men.
- 1935 – One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa.
- 1937 – The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson.
- 1940 – World War II: The Luftwaffe bombs Paris.
- 1940 – World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk ends with a German victory and with Allied forces in full retreat.
- 1940 – Franz Rademacher proposes plans to make Madagascar the “Jewish homeland”, an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.
- 1941 – World War II: The Wehrmacht razes the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground and murders 180 of its inhabitants.
- 1942 – World War II: Japan begins the Aleutian Islands Campaign by bombing Unalaska Island.
- 1943 – In Los Angeles, California, white U.S. Navy sailors and Marines clash with Latino youths in the Zoot Suit Riots.
- 1950 – Herzog and Lachenal of the French Annapurna expedition become the first climbers to reach the summit of an 8,000-metre peak.
- 1962 – At Paris Orly Airport, Air France Flight 007 overruns the runway and explodes when the crew attempts to abort takeoff, killing 130.
- 1963 – Soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army attack protesting Buddhists in Huế with liquid chemicals from tear-gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalized for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments.
- 1965 – The launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew. Ed White, a crew member, performs the first American spacewalk.
- 1969 – Melbourne–Evans collision: off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half.
- 1973 – A Soviet supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 crashes near Goussainville, France, killing 14, the first crash of a supersonic passenger aircraft.
- 1979 – A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels (480,000 m3) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the second-worst accidental oil spill ever recorded.
- 1980 – An explosive device is detonated at the Statue of Liberty. The FBI suspects Croatian nationalists.
- 1980 – The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak hits Nebraska, causing five deaths and $300 million (equivalent to $931 million in 2019) worth of damage.
- 1982 – The Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, is shot on a London street; he survives but is left paralysed.
- 1984 – Operation Blue Star, a military offensive, is launched by the Indian government at Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs, in Amritsar. The operation continues until June 6, with casualties, most of them civilians, in excess of 5,000.
- 1989 – The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation.
- 1991 – Mount Unzen erupts in Kyūshū, Japan, killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists.
- 1992 – Aboriginal land rights are granted in Australia in Mabo v Queensland (No 2), a case brought by Eddie Mabo.
- 1998 – After suffering a mechanical failure, a high speed train derails at Eschede, Germany, killing 101 people.
- 2006 – The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro’s formal declaration of independence.
- 2012 – A plane carrying 153 people on board crashes in a residential neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria, killing everyone on board and 10 people on the ground.
- 2012 – The pageant for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II takes place on the River Thames.
- 2013 – The trial of United States Army private Chelsea Manning for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks begins in Fort Meade, Maryland.
- 2013 – At least 119 people are killed in a fire at a poultry farm in Jilin Province in northeastern China.
- 2015 – An explosion at a gasoline station in Accra, Ghana, killing more than 200 people.
- 2017 – London Bridge attack: Eight people are murdered and dozens of civilians are wounded by Islamist terrorists. Three of the attackers are shot dead by the police.
- 2019 – Khartoum massacre: In Sudan, over 100 people are killed when security forces accompanied by Janjaweed militiamen storm and open fire on a sit-in protest.
Births on June 3
- 20 BC – Sejanus, Roman soldier and bodyguard (d. 31 AD)
- 1139 – Conon of Naso, Basilian abbot (d. 1236)
- 1421 – Giovanni di Cosimo de’ Medici, Italian noble (d. 1463)
- 1454 – Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania (1474–1523) (d. 1523)
- 1537 – João Manuel, Prince of Portugal (d. 1554)
- 1540 – Charles II, Archduke of Austria (d. 1590)
- 1554 – Pietro de’ Medici, Italian noble (d. 1604)
- 1576 – Giovanni Diodati, Swiss-Italian minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1649)
- 1594 – César, Duke of Vendôme, French nobleman (d. 1665)
- 1603 – Pietro Paolini, Italian painter (d. 1681)
- 1635 – Philippe Quinault, French playwright and composer (d. 1688)
- 1636 – John Hale, American minister (d. 1700)
- 1659 – David Gregory, Scottish-English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1708)
- 1662 – Willem van Mieris, Dutch painter (d. 1747)
- 1723 – Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician, geologist, and botanist (d. 1788)
- 1726 – James Hutton, Scottish geologist and physician (d. 1797)
- 1736 – Ignaz Fränzl, German violinist and composer (d. 1811)
- 1770 – Manuel Belgrano, Argentinian economist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1820)
- 1808 – Jefferson Davis, American colonel and politician, President of the Confederate States of America (d. 1889)
- 1818 – Louis Faidherbe, French general and politician, Governor of Senegal (d. 1889)
- 1819 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss religious leader, 23rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus (d. 1892)
- 1819 – Johan Jongkind, Dutch painter (d. 1891)
- 1832 – Charles Lecocq, French pianist and composer (d. 1918)
- 1843 – Frederick VIII of Denmark (d. 1912)
- 1844 – Garret Hobart, American lawyer and politician, 24th Vice President of the United States (d. 1899)
- 1844 – Detlev von Liliencron, German poet and author (d. 1909)
- 1852 – Theodore Robinson, American painter and academic (d. 1896)
- 1853 – Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic (d. 1942)
- 1864 – Otto Erich Hartleben, German poet and playwright (d. 1905)
- 1864 – Ransom E. Olds, American businessman, founded Oldsmobile and REO Motor Car Company (d. 1950)
- 1865 – George V of the United Kingdom (d. 1936)
- 1866 – George Howells Broadhurst, English-American director and manager (d. 1952)
- 1873 – Otto Loewi, German-American pharmacologist and psychobiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
- 1877 – Raoul Dufy, French painter and illustrator (d. 1953)
- 1879 – Alla Nazimova, Ukrainian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1945)
- 1879 – Raymond Pearl, American biologist and botanist (d. 1940)
- 1879 – Vivian Woodward, English footballer and soldier (d. 1954)
- 1881 – Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter and set designer (d. 1964)
- 1890 – Baburao Painter, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1954)
- 1897 – Memphis Minnie, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
- 1899 – Georg von Békésy, Hungarian-American biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Adelaide Ames, American astronomer and academic (d. 1932)
- 1900 – Leo Picard, German-Israeli geologist and academic (d. 1997)
- 1901 – Maurice Evans, English actor (d. 1989)
- 1901 – Zhang Xueliang, Chinese general and warlord (d. 2001)
- 1903 – Eddie Acuff, American actor (d. 1956)
- 1904 – Charles R. Drew, American physician and surgeon (d. 1950)
- 1904 – Jan Peerce, American tenor and actor (d. 1984)
- 1905 – Martin Gottfried Weiss, German SS officer (d. 1946)
- 1906 – R. G. D. Allen, English economist, mathematician, and statistician (d. 1983)
- 1906 – Josephine Baker, French actress, singer, and dancer; French Resistance operative (d. 1975)
- 1906 – Walter Robins, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1968)
- 1907 – Paul Rotha, English director and producer (d. 1984)
- 1910 – Paulette Goddard, American actress and model (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Ellen Corby, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1913 – Pedro Mir, Dominican poet and author (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Ignacio Ponseti, Spanish physician and orthopedist (d. 2009)
- 1917 – Leo Gorcey, American actor (d. 1969)
- 1918 – Patrick Cargill, English actor and producer (d. 1996)
- 1918 – Lili St. Cyr, American dancer (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Forbes Carlile, Australian pentathlete and coach (d. 2016)
- 1921 – Jean Dréjac, French singer and composer (d. 2003)
- 1922 – Alain Resnais, French director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Igor Shafarevich, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 2017)
- 1924 – Karunanidhi, Indian screenwriter and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (d. 2018)
- 1924 – Colleen Dewhurst, Canadian-American actress (d. 1991)
- 1924 – Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Jimmy Rogers, American singer and guitarist (d. 1997)
- 1924 – Torsten Wiesel, Swedish neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1925 – Tony Curtis, American actor (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Thomas Winning, Scottish cardinal (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (d. 1997)
- 1926 – Flora MacDonald, Canadian banker and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2007)
- 1928 – Donald Judd, American sculptor and painter (d. 1994)
- 1928 – John Richard Reid, New Zealand cricketer
- 1929 – Werner Arber, Swiss microbiologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1929 – Chuck Barris, American game show host and producer (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Marion Zimmer Bradley, American author and poet (d. 1999)
- 1930 – George Fernandes, Indian journalist and politician, Minister of Defence for India (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Dakota Staton, American singer (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Abbas Zandi, Iranian wrestler (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Ben Wada, Japanese director and producer (d. 2011)
- 1930 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe’s (d. 2020)
- 1931 – Françoise Arnoul, Algerian-French actress
- 1931 – Raúl Castro, Cuban commander and politician, 18th President of Cuba
- 1931 – John Norman, American philosopher and author
- 1931 – Lindy Remigino, American runner and coach (d. 2018)
- 1933 – Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahranian king (d. 1999)
- 1936 – Larry McMurtry, American novelist and screenwriter
- 1936 – Colin Meads, New Zealand rugby player and coach (d. 2017)
- 1937 – Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, French race car driver
- 1939 – Frank Blevins, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Premier of South Australia (d. 2013)
- 1939 – Steve Dalkowski, American baseball player (d. 2020)
- 1939 – Ian Hunter, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 – Curtis Mayfield, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1999)
- 1943 – Billy Cunningham, American basketball player and coach
- 1944 – Thomas Burns, British bishop
- 1944 – Edith McGuire, American sprinter and educator
- 1944 – Eddy Ottoz, Italian hurdler and coach
- 1945 – Hale Irwin, American golfer and architect
- 1945 – Ramon Jacinto, Filipino singer, guitarist, and businessman, founded the Rajah Broadcasting Network
- 1945 – Bill Paterson, Scottish actor
- 1946 – Michael Clarke, American drummer (d. 1993)
- 1946 – Eddie Holman, American pop/R&B/gospel singer
- 1946 – Penelope Wilton, English actress
- 1947 – John Dykstra, American special effects artist and producer
- 1947 – Mickey Finn, English drummer (d. 2003)
- 1948 – Jan Reker, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1950 – Frédéric François, Belgian-Italian singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Melissa Mathison, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2015)
- 1950 – Juan José Muñoz, Argentinian businessman (d. 2013)
- 1950 – Larry Probst, American businessman
- 1950 – Suzi Quatro, American-English singer-songwriter, bass player, producer, and actress
- 1950 – Christos Verelis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of Transport and Communications
- 1950 – Deniece Williams, American singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Billy Powell, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2009)
- 1952 – David Richards, Welsh entrepreneur and businessman
- 1954 – Dan Hill, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1954 – Susan Landau, American mathematician and engineer
- 1956 – George Burley, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1956 – Danny Wilde, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Horst-Ulrich Hänel, German field hockey player
- 1959 – Imbi Paju, Estonian-Finnish journalist and author
- 1960 – Catherine Davani, first female Papua New Guinean judge (d. 2016)
- 1960 – Tracy Grimshaw, Australian television host
- 1960 – Carl Rackemann, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1961 – Lawrence Lessig, American lawyer, academic, and author, founded the Creative Commons
- 1961 – Peter Vidmar, American gymnast
- 1961 – Ed Wynne, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1962 – Susannah Constantine, English fashion designer, journalist, and author
- 1962 – Dagmar Neubauer, German sprinter
- 1963 – Rudy Demotte, Belgian politician, 8th Minister-President of the Walloon Region
- 1963 – Toshiaki Karasawa, Japanese actor
- 1964 – André Bellavance, Canadian politician
- 1964 – Kerry King, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1964 – James Purefoy, English actor
- 1965 – Hans Kroes, Dutch swimmer
- 1965 – Michael Moore, British accountant and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1966 – Wasim Akram, Pakistani cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
- 1967 – Anderson Cooper, American journalist and author
- 1967 – Tamás Darnyi, Hungarian swimmer
- 1969 – Takako Minekawa, Japanese singer-songwriter
- 1969 – Dean Pay, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1971 – Luigi Di Biagio, Italian footballer and manager
- 1971 – Mary Grigson, Australian cross-country mountain biker
- 1972 – Julie Gayet, French actress
- 1974 – Kelly Jones, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 – Serhiy Rebrov, Ukrainian international footballer and manager
- 1975 – Jose Molina, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
- 1976 – Nikos Chatzis, Greek basketball player
- 1976 – Jamie McMurray, American race car driver
- 1977 – Cris, Brazilian footballer
- 1978 – Lyfe Jennings, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1979 – Luis Fernando López, Colombian race walker
- 1979 – Christian Malcolm, Welsh sprinter
- 1980 – Amauri, Brazilian-Italian footballer
- 1981 – Sosene Anesi, New Zealand rugby player
- 1982 – Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian pole vaulter
- 1982 – Manfred Mölgg, Italian skier
- 1983 – Pasquale Foggia, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Todd Reid, Australian tennis player (d. 2018)
- 1985 – Papiss Cissé, Senegalese footballer
- 1985 – Łukasz Piszczek, Polish footballer
- 1986 – Al Horford, Dominican basketball player
- 1986 – Micah Kogo, Kenyan runner
- 1986 – Rafael Nadal, Spanish tennis player
- 1986 – Adrián Vallés, Spanish race car driver
- 1986 – Tomáš Verner, Czech ice skater
- 1987 – Masami Nagasawa, Japanese actress
- 1989 – Katie Hoff, American swimmer
- 1991 – Lukasz Teodorczyk, Polish footballer
- 1991 – Sami Vatanen, Finnish ice hockey defenceman
- 1991 – Yordano Ventura, Dominican baseball player (d. 2017)
- 1992 – Mario Götze, German footballer
Deaths on June 3
- 628 – Liang Shidu, Chinese rebel leader
- 800 – Staurakios, Byzantine general
- 1052 – Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno
- 1395 – Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria (b. 1350)
- 1397 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (b. 1328)
- 1411 – Leopold IV, Duke of Austria (b. 1371)
- 1453 – Loukas Notaras, last megas doux of the Byzantine Empire
- 1511 – Ahmad ibn Abi Jum’ah, Islamic scholar, author of the Oran fatwa
- 1548 – Juan de Zumárraga, Spanish-Mexican archbishop (b. 1468)
- 1553 – Wolf Huber, Austrian painter, printmaker and architect (b. 1485)
- 1594 – John Aylmer, English bishop and scholar (b. 1521)
- 1605 – Jan Zamoyski, Polish nobleman (b. 1542)
- 1615 – Sanada Yukimura, Japanese samurai (b. 1567)
- 1640 – Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1584)
- 1649 – Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (b. 1590)
- 1657 – William Harvey, English physician and academic (b. 1578)
- 1659 – Morgan Llwyd, Welsh minister and poet (b. 1619)
- 1665 – Charles Weston, 3rd Earl of Portland, English noble (b. 1639)
- 1780 – Thomas Hutchinson, American businessman and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1711)
- 1826 – Nikolay Karamzin, Russian historian and poet (b. 1766)
- 1858 – Julius Reubke, German pianist and composer (b. 1834)
- 1861 – Stephen A. Douglas, American lawyer and politician, 7th Secretary of State of Illinois (b. 1813)
- 1865 – Okada Izō, Japanese samurai (b. 1838)
- 1875 – Georges Bizet, French pianist and composer (b. 1838)
- 1877 – Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, Austrian botanist, composer, and publisher (b. 1800)
- 1882 – Christian Wilberg, German painter and illustrator (b. 1839)
- 1894 – Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1812)
- 1899 – Johann Strauss II, Austrian composer and educator (b. 1825)
- 1900 – Mary Kingsley, English explorer and author (b. 1862)
- 1902 – Vital-Justin Grandin, French-Canadian bishop and missionary (b. 1829)
- 1906 – John Maxwell, American golfer (b. 1871)
- 1921 – Coenraad Hiebendaal, Dutch rower and physician (b. 1879)
- 1924 – Franz Kafka, Czech-Austrian lawyer and author (b. 1883)
- 1928 – Li Yuanhong, Chinese general and politician, 2nd President of the Republic of China (b. 1864)
- 1933 – William Muldoon, American wrestler (b. 1852)
- 1938 – John Flanagan, Irish-American hammer thrower and tug of war competitor (b. 1873)
- 1946 – Mikhail Kalinin, Russian civil servant and politician (b. 1875)
- 1963 – Edmond Decottignies, French weightlifter (b. 1893)
- 1963 – Pope John XXIII (b. 1881)
- 1963 – Nâzım Hikmet Ran, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (b. 1902)
- 1964 – Kâzım Orbay, Turkish general and politician, 9th Turkish Speaker of the Parliament (b. 1887)
- 1964 – Frans Eemil Sillanpää, Finnish author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
- 1969 – George Edwin Cooke, American soccer player (b. 1883)
- 1970 – Hjalmar Schacht, Danish-German economist, banker, and politician (b. 1877)
- 1971 – Heinz Hopf, German-Swiss mathematician and academic (b. 1894)
- 1973 – Jean Batmale, French footballer and manager (b. 1895)
- 1975 – Ozzie Nelson, American actor and bandleader (b. 1906)
- 1975 – Eisaku Satō, Japanese lawyer and politician, 39th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1901)
- 1977 – Archibald Hill, English physiologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
- 1977 – Roberto Rossellini, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
- 1981 – Carleton S. Coon, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1904)
- 1986 – Anna Neagle, English actress and singer (b. 1904)
- 1987 – Will Sampson, American actor and painter (b. 1933)
- 1989 – Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian religious leader and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of Iran (b. 1902)
- 1990 – Robert Noyce, American physicist and businessman, co-founded the Intel Corporation (b. 1927)
- 1991 – Brian Bevan, Australian rugby league player (b. 1924)
- 1991 – Katia Krafft, French volcanologist and geologist (b. 1942)
- 1991 – Maurice Krafft, French volcanologist and geologist (b. 1946)
- 1991 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician and academic (b. 1918)
- 1992 – Robert Morley, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 1994 – Puig Aubert, German-French rugby player and coach (b. 1925)
- 1997 – Dennis James, American actor and game show host (b. 1917)
- 2001 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor and producer (b. 1915)
- 2002 – Lew Wasserman, American talent agent and manager (b. 1913)
- 2003 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor, designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (b. 1907)
- 2005 – Harold Cardinal, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1945)
- 2009 – David Carradine, American actor (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Koko Taylor, American singer (b. 1928)
- 2010 – John Hedgecoe, English photographer and author (b. 1932)
- 2010 – Rue McClanahan, American actress (b. 1934)
- 2011 – James Arness, American actor and producer (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Andrew Gold, American singer, songwriter, musician and arranger (b. 1951)
- 2011 – Bhajan Lal, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of Haryana (b. 1930)
- 2011 – Jack Kevorkian, American pathologist, author, and activist (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Carol Ann Abrams, American producer, author, and academic (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Rajsoomer Lallah, Mauritian lawyer and judge (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Roy Salvadori, English race car driver and manager (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Brian Talboys, New Zealand journalist and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Atul Chitnis, German-Indian technologist and journalist (b. 1962)
- 2013 – Józef Czyrek, Polish economist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Frank Lautenberg, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic (b. 1942)
- 2014 – Gopinath Munde, Indian politician, 3rd Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1949)
- 2015 – Avi Beker, Israeli political scientist and academic (b. 1951)
- 2016 – Muhammad Ali, American boxer (b. 1942)
Holidays and observances on June 3
- Christian feast day:
- Charles Lwanga and Companions (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances:
- Clotilde
- Kevin of Glendalough
- Ovidius
- Vladimirskaya (Russian Orthodox)
- June 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Confederate Memorial Day (Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee, United States)
- Economist day (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Mabo Day (Australia)
- Opium Suppression Movement Day (Taiwan)
- World Bicycle Day
-
May 28 in History
- 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.
- 621 – Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin, the son of the Chinese emperor Gaozu, defeats the numerically superior forces of Dou Jiande near the Hulao Pass (Henan). This victory decides the outcome of the civil war that followed the Sui dynasty’s collapse in favour of the Tang dynasty.
- 1533 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid.
- 1588 – The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port.)
- 1644 – English Civil War: Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby.
- 1754 – French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.
- 1802 – In Guadeloupe, 400 rebellious slaves, led by Louis Delgrès, blow themselves up rather than submit to Napoleon’s troops.
- 1830 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which denies Native Americans their land rights and forcibly relocates them.
- 1871 – The Paris Commune falls after two months.
- 1892 – In San Francisco, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.
- 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and the Imperial Japanese Navy.
- 1907 – The first Isle of Man TT race was held.
- 1918 – The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence.
- 1926 – The 28 May 1926 coup d’état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic.
- 1932 – In the Netherlands, construction of the Afsluitdijk is completed and the Zuiderzee bay is converted to the freshwater IJsselmeer.
- 1934 – Near Callander, Ontario, Canada, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne; they will be the first quintuplets to survive infancy.
- 1936 – Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication.
- 1937 – Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer is founded.
- 1940 – World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.
- 1940 – World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first allied infantry victory of the War.
- 1948 – Daniel François Malan is elected as Prime Minister of South Africa. He later goes on to implement Apartheid.
- 1958 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.
- 1961 – Peter Benenson’s article The Forgotten Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
- 1974 – Northern Ireland’s power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists.
- 1975 – Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States.
- 1977 – In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 people inside.
- 1979 – Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community.
- 1987 – A West German pilot, Mathias Rust, who was 18 years old, evades Soviet Union air defences and lands a private plane in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia.
- 1991 – The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War.
- 1995 – The 7.0 Mw Neftegorsk earthquake shook the former Russian settlement of Neftegorsk with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Total damage was $64.1–300 million, with 1,989 deaths and 750 injured. The settlement was not rebuilt.
- 1996 – U.S. President Bill Clinton’s former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal, and the Governor of Arkansas Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud.
- 1998 – Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own codenamed Chagai-I, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions. Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbir annually.
- 1999 – In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display.
- 2002 – The last steel girder is removed from the original World Trade Center site. Cleanup duties officially end with closing ceremonies at Ground Zero in Manhattan, New York City.
- 2003 – Peter Hollingworth resigns as Governor-General of Australia following criticism of his handling of child sexual abuse allegations during his tenure as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane.
- 2004 – The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, as prime minister of Iraq’s interim government.
- 2008 – The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty.
- 2010 – In West Bengal, India, the Jnaneswari Express train derailment and subsequent collision kills 148 passengers.
- 2011 – Malta votes on the introduction of divorce; the proposal was approved by 53% of voters, resulting in a law allowing divorce under certain conditions being enacted later in the year.
Births on May 28
- 1140 – Xin Qiji, Chinese poet, general, and politician (d. 1207)
- 1371 – John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1419)
- 1524 – Selim II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1574)
- 1588 – Pierre Séguier, French politician, Lord Chancellor of France (d. 1672)
- 1589 – Robert Arnauld d’Andilly, French writer (d. 1674)
- 1663 – António Manoel de Vilhena, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (d. 1736)
- 1676 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1754)
- 1692 – Geminiano Giacomelli, Italian composer (d. 1740)
- 1738 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician (d. 1814)
- 1759 – William Pitt the Younger, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1806)
- 1763 – Manuel Alberti, Argentinian priest and journalist (d. 1811)
- 1764 – Edward Livingston, American jurist and politician, 11th United States Secretary of State (d. 1836)
- 1779 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet and composer (d. 1852)
- 1807 – Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American paleontologist and geologist (d. 1873)
- 1818 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (d. 1893)
- 1836 – Friedrich Baumfelder, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1916)
- 1836 – Alexander Mitscherlich, German chemist and academic (d. 1918)
- 1837 – George Ashlin, Irish architect, co-designed St Colman’s Cathedral (d. 1921)
- 1837 – Tony Pastor, American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner (d. 1908)
- 1841 – Sakaigawa Namiemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 14th Yokozuna (d. 1887)
- 1853 – Carl Larsson, Swedish painter and author (d. 1919)
- 1858 – Carl Richard Nyberg, Swedish inventor and businessman, developed the blow torch (d. 1939)
- 1872 – Marian Smoluchowski, Polish physicist and mountaineer (d. 1917)
- 1878 – Paul Pelliot, French sinologist and explorer (d. 1945)
- 1879 – Milutin Milanković, Serbian mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (d. 1958)
- 1883 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian poet and politician (d. 1966)
- 1883 – Clough Williams-Ellis, English-Welsh architect, designed the Portmeirion Village (d. 1978)
- 1884 – Edvard Beneš, Czech academic and politician, 2nd President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1948)
- 1886 – Santo Trafficante, Sr., Italian-American mobster (d. 1954)
- 1888 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
- 1888 – Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot, English author and educator (d. 1947)
- 1888 – Jim Thorpe, American decathlete, football player, and coach (d. 1953)
- 1889 – Richard Réti, Slovak-Czech chess player and author (d. 1929)
- 1892 – Minna Gombell, American actress (d. 1973)
- 1900 – Tommy Ladnier, American trumpet player (d. 1939)
- 1903 – S. L. Kirloskar, Indian businessman, founded Kirloskar Group (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Henry Thambiah, Sri Lankan lawyer, judge, and diplomat, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian journalist and politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2005)
- 1908 – Ian Fleming, English journalist and author, created James Bond (d. 1964)
- 1909 – Red Horner, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
- 1910 – Georg Gaßmann, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Rachel Kempson, English actress (d. 2003)
- 1910 – T-Bone Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
- 1911 – Bob Crisp, South African cricketer (d. 1994)
- 1911 – Thora Hird, English actress (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Fritz Hochwälder, Austrian playwright (d. 1986)
- 1912 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist, academic, and politician (d. 1992)
- 1912 – Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian physicist and astronomer (d. 1981)
- 1912 – Patrick White, Australian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
- 1914 – W. G. G. Duncan Smith, English captain and pilot (d. 1996)
- 1915 – Joseph Greenberg, American linguist and academic (d. 2001)
- 1916 – Walker Percy, American novelist and essayist (d. 1990)
- 1917 – Barry Commoner, American biologist, academic, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1918 – Johnny Wayne, Canadian comedian (d. 1990)
- 1921 – D. V. Paluskar, Indian Hindustani classical musician (d. 1955)
- 1921 – Heinz G. Konsalik, German journalist and author (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Tom Uren, Australian soldier, boxer, and politician (d. 2015)
- 1922 – Lou Duva, American boxer, trainer, and manager (d. 2017)
- 1922 – Roger Fisher, American author and academic (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Tuomas Gerdt, Finnish soldier
- 1923 – György Ligeti, Hungarian-Austrian composer and educator (d. 2006)
- 1923 – N. T. Rama Rao, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician, 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 1996)
- 1924 – Edward du Cann, English naval officer and politician (d. 2017)
- 1924 – Paul Hébert, Canadian actor (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Bülent Ecevit, Turkish journalist, scholar, and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Sally Forrest, American actress and dancer (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Patrick McNair-Wilson, English politician
- 1930 – Edward Seaga, American-Jamaican academic and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Carroll Baker, American actress
- 1931 – Gordon Willis, American cinematographer (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Tim Renton, Baron Renton of Mount Harry, English politician, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries
- 1933 – John Karlen, American actor
- 1933 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress and activist (d. 2010)
- 1936 – Claude Forget, Canadian academic and politician
- 1936 – Ole K. Sara, Norwegian politician (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Betty Shabazz, American educator and activist (d. 1997)
- 1938 – Jerry West, American basketball player, coach, and executive
- 1939 – Maeve Binchy, Irish novelist (d. 2012)
- 1940 – David William Brewer, English politician, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London
- 1940 – Shlomo Riskin, American rabbi and academic, founded the Lincoln Square Synagogue
- 1941 – Beth Howland, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Stanley B. Prusiner, American neurologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1943 – Terry Crisp, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1944 – Faith Brown, English actress and singer
- 1944 – Rudy Giuliani, American lawyer and politician, 107th mayor of New York City
- 1944 – Gladys Knight, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1944 – Rita MacNeil, Canadian singer and actress (d. 2013)
- 1944 – Gary Stewart, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1944 – Billy Vera, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1945 – Patch Adams, American physician and author, founded the Gesundheit! Institute
- 1945 – John N. Bambacus, American military veteran (USMC) and politician
- 1945 – John Fogerty, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1945 – Jean Perrault, Canadian politician, Mayor of Sherbrooke, Quebec
- 1945 – Helena Shovelton, English physician
- 1946 – Bruce Alexander, English actor
- 1946 – Skip Jutze, American baseball player
- 1946 – Janet Paraskeva, Welsh politician
- 1946 – K. Satchidanandan, Indian poet and critic
- 1946 – William Shawcross, English journalist and author
- 1947 – Zahi Hawass, Egyptian archaeologist and academic
- 1947 – Lynn Johnston, Canadian author and illustrator
- 1947 – Leland Sklar, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1948 – Michael Field, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Tasmania
- 1948 – Pierre Rapsat, Belgian singer and songwriter (d. 2002)
- 1949 – Martin Kelner, English journalist, author, comedian, singer, actor and radio presenter
- 1949 – Wendy O. Williams, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress (d. 1998)
- 1952 – Roger Briggs, American pianist, composer, conductor, and educator
- 1953 – Pierre Gauthier, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1954 – João Carlos de Oliveira, Brazilian jumper (d. 1999)
- 1954 – Youri Egorov, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1988)
- 1954 – Charles Saumarez Smith, English historian and academic
- 1954 – Péter Szilágyi, Hungarian conductor and politician (d. 2013)
- 1954 – John Tory, Canadian lawyer and politician, 65th Mayor of Toronto
- 1955 – Laura Amy Schlitz, American author and librarian
- 1955 – Mark Howe, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1956 – Jerry Douglas, American guitarist and producer
- 1956 – Jeff Dujon, Jamaican cricketer
- 1956 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (d. 1980)
- 1956 – Peter Wilkinson, English admiral
- 1957 – Colin Barnes, English footballer
- 1957 – Kirk Gibson, American baseball player and manager
- 1957 – Ben Howland, American basketball player and coach
- 1959 – Risto Mannisenmäki, Finnish racing driver
- 1960 – Mark Sanford, American military veteran (USAF) and politician, 115th Governor of South Carolina
- 1960 – Mary Portas, English journalist and author
- 1963 – Houman Younessi, Australian-American biologist and academic
- 1964 – Jeff Fenech, Australian boxer and trainer
- 1964 – Armen Gilliam, American basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
- 1964 – Zsa Zsa Padilla, Filipino singer and actress
- 1964 – Phil Vassar, American singer-songwriter
- 1965 – Chris Ballew, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1965 – Mary Coughlan, Irish politician
- 1966 – Roger Kumble, American director, screenwriter, and playwright
- 1966 – Miljenko Jergović, Bosnian novelist and journalist
- 1966 – Gavin Robertson, Australian cricketer
- 1967 – Glen Rice, American basketball player
- 1968 – Kylie Minogue, Australian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1969 – Mike DiFelice, American baseball player and manager
- 1969 – Rob Ford, Canadian politician, 64th Mayor of Toronto (d. 2016)
- 1970 – Glenn Quinn, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1971 – Isabelle Carré, French actress and singer
- 1971 – Ekaterina Gordeeva, Russian figure skater and sportscaster
- 1971 – Marco Rubio, American lawyer and politician
- 1972 – Doriva, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1972 – Michael Boogerd, Dutch cyclist and manager
- 1973 – Marco Paulo Faria Lemos, Portuguese footballer and manager
- 1974 – Hans-Jörg Butt, German footballer
- 1974 – Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer
- 1975 – Maura Johnston, American journalist, critic, and academic
- 1976 – Steven Bell, Australian rugby league player
- 1976 – Zaza Enden, Georgian-Turkish wrestler, basketball player, and coach
- 1976 – Roberto Goretti, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Glenn Morrison, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1977 – Elisabeth Hasselbeck, American talk show host and author
- 1978 – Jake Johnson, American actor
- 1979 – Abdulaziz al-Omari, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 11 (d. 2001)
- 1979 – Ronald Curry, American football player and coach
- 1980 – Miguel Pérez, Spanish footballer
- 1980 – Lucy Shuker, English tennis player
- 1981 – Daniel Cabrera, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1981 – Eric Ghiaciuc, American football player
- 1981 – Adam Green, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1982 – Alexa Davalos, French-American actress
- 1982 – Jhonny Peralta, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1983 – Steve Cronin, American soccer player
- 1983 – Humberto Sánchez, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1983 – Roman Atwood, American YouTube star
- 1985 – Colbie Caillat, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1985 – Pablo Andrés González, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Kostas Mendrinos, Greek footballer
- 1985 – Carey Mulligan, English actress and singer
- 1986 – Berrick Barnes, Australian rugby player
- 1986 – Seth Rollins, American wrestler
- 1986 – Ingmar Vos, Dutch decathlete
- 1987 – T.J. Yates, American football player
- 1988 – NaVorro Bowman, American football player
- 1988 – Percy Harvin, American football player
- 1988 – Craig Kimbrel, American baseball player
- 1990 – Kyle Walker, English international footballer, right-back
- 1991 – Sharrif Floyd, American football player
- 1991 – Alexandre Lacazette, French footballer
- 1991 – Kail Piho, Estonian skier
- 1992 – Tom Carroll, English footballer
- 1993 – Daniel Alvaro, Australian rugby league player
- 1993 – Bárbara Luz, Portuguese tennis player
- 1994 – John Stones, English footballer
- 1994 – Son Yeon-jae, South Korean gymnast
- 1998 – Dahyun, Korean singer
- 1999 – Cameron Boyce, American actor (d. 2019)
- 2000 – Phil Foden, English footballer
Deaths on May 28
- 576 – Germain of Paris, French bishop and saint (b. 496)
- 741 – Ucha’an K’in B’alam, Mayan king
- 926 – Kong Qian, official of Later Tang
- 926 – Li Jiji, prince of Later Tang
- 1023 – Wulfstan, English archbishop
- 1279 – William Wishart, English bishop
- 1327 – Robert Baldock, Lord Privy Seal and Lord Chancellor of England
- 1357 – Afonso IV of Portugal (b. 1291)
- 1427 – Henry IV, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (b. 1397)
- 1556 – Saitō Dōsan, Japanese samurai (b. 1494)
- 1626 – Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (b. 1561)
- 1651 – Henry Grey, 10th Earl of Kent, English politician (b. 1594)
- 1672 – John Trevor, Welsh politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1626)
- 1747 – Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, French author (b. 1715)
- 1750 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1720)
- 1787 – Leopold Mozart, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1719)
- 1805 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (b. 1743)
- 1808 – Richard Hurd, English bishop (b. 1720)
- 1811 – Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1742)
- 1831 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish-English admiral (b. 1756)
- 1843 – Noah Webster, American lexicographer (b. 1758)
- 1849 – Anne Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1820)
- 1864 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian and politician (b. 1808)
- 1878 – John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1792)
- 1904 – Kicking Bear, Native American tribal leader (b. 1846)
- 1916 – Ivan Franko, Ukrainian economist, journalist, and poet (b. 1856)
- 1927 – Boris Kustodiev, Russian painter and stage designer (b. 1878)
- 1937 – Alfred Adler, Austrian-Scottish ophthalmologist and psychologist (b. 1870)
- 1946 – Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1858)
- 1947 – August Eigruber, Austrian-German politician (b. 1907)
- 1952 – Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop (b. 1882)
- 1953 – Tatsuo Hori, Japanese author and poet (b. 1904)
- 1964 – Terry Dillon, American football player (b. 1941)
- 1968 – Fyodor Okhlopkov, Russian sergeant and sniper (b. 1908)
- 1971 – Audie Murphy, American soldier and actor, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1925)
- 1972 – Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
- 1975 – Ezzard Charles, American boxer (b. 1921)
- 1976 – Zainul Abedin, Bangladeshi painter and sculptor (b. 1914)
- 1980 – Rolf Nevanlinna, Finnish mathematician and academic (b. 1895)
- 1981 – Mary Lou Williams, American pianist and composer (b. 1910)
- 1981 – Stefan Wyszyński, Polish cardinal (b. 1901)
- 1982 – H. Jones, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1940)
- 1983 – Erastus Corning 2nd, American soldier and politician, 72nd Mayor of Albany (b. 1909)
- 1984 – Eric Morecambe, English actor and comedian (b. 1926)
- 1986 – Edip Cansever, Turkish poet and author (b. 1928)
- 1988 – Sy Oliver, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1910)
- 1990 – Julius Eastman, American composer (b. 1940)
- 1994 – Julius Boros, American golfer (b. 1920)
- 1994 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American author and academic (b. 1916)
- 1998 – Phil Hartman, Canadian-American actor and comedian (b. 1948)
- 1999 – Michael Barkai, Israeli commander (b. 1935)
- 1999 – B. Vittalacharya, Indian director and producer (b. 1920)
- 2000 – George Irving Bell, American physicist, biologist, and mountaineer (b. 1926)
- 2001 – Joe Moakley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
- 2001 – Francisco Varela, Chilean biologist and philosopher (b. 1946)
- 2002 – Mildred Benson, American journalist and author (b. 1905)
- 2003 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1933)
- 2003 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
- 2003 – Martha Scott, American actress (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Umberto Agnelli, Swiss-Italian businessman and politician (b. 1934)
- 2004 – Michael Buonauro, American author and illustrator (b. 1979)
- 2004 – John Tolos, Greek-Canadian wrestler (b. 1930)
- 2006 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (b. 1920)
- 2007 – Jörg Immendorff, German painter, sculptor, and academic (b. 1945)
- 2007 – Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Agriculture (b. 1945)
- 2008 – Beryl Cook, English painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
- 2010 – Gary Coleman, American actor (b. 1968)
- 2011 – Gino Valenzano, Italian racing driver (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Bob Edwards, English journalist (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Yuri Susloparov, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian commander (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Eddie Romero, Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Gerd Schmückle, German general (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Stan Crowther, English footballer (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Oscar Dystel, American publisher (b. 1912)
- 2014 – Malcolm Glazer, American businessman (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Bob Houbregs, Canadian-American basketball player and manager (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer (b. 1971)
- 2015 – Steven Gerber, American pianist and composer (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Johnny Keating, Scottish trombonist, composer, and producer (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1940)
- 2018 – Neale Cooper, Scottish footballer (b. 1963)
- 2018 – Jens Christian Skou, Danish medical doctor and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- 2018 – Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (b. 1941)
Holidays and observances on May 28
- Armed Forces Day (Croatia)
- Christian feast day:
- Bernard of Menthon
- Germain of Paris
- John Calvin (Episcopal Church)
- Lanfranc
- Margaret Pole
- William of Gellone
- May 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Downfall of the Derg Day (Ethiopia)
- Flag Day (Philippines)
- Menstrual Hygiene Day
- Republic Day (Nepal)
- TDFR Republic Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic in 1918. (Azerbaijan and Armenia)
- Youm-e-Takbir (Pakistan)
-
May 15 in History
- 495 BC – A newly constructed temple in honour of the god Mercury was dedicated in ancient Rome on the Circus Maximus, between the Aventine and Palatine hills. To spite the senate and the consuls, the people awarded the dedication to a senior military officer, Marcus Laetorius.
- 221 – Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaims himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty.
- 392 – Emperor Valentinian II is assassinated while advancing into Gaul against the Frankish usurper Arbogast. He is found hanging in his residence at Vienne.
- 589 – King Authari marries Theodelinda, daughter of the Bavarian duke Garibald I. A Catholic, she has great influence among the Lombard nobility.
- 908 – The three-year-old Constantine VII, the son of Emperor Leo VI the Wise, is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire by Patriarch Euthymius I at Constantinople.
- 1252 – Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull ad extirpanda, which authorizes, but also limits, the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.
- 1525 – Insurgent peasants led by Anabaptist pastor Thomas Müntzer were defeated at the Battle of Frankenhausen, ending the German Peasants’ War in the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest; she is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury.
- 1567 – Mary, Queen of Scots marries James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell, her third husband.
- 1618 – Johannes Kepler confirms his previously rejected discovery of the third law of planetary motion (he first discovered it on March 8 but soon rejected the idea after some initial calculations were made).
- 1648 – The Peace of Münster is ratified, by which Spain acknowledges Dutch sovereignty.
- 1718 – James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world’s first machine gun.
- 1776 – American Revolution: The Fifth Virginia Convention instructs its Continental Congress delegation to propose a resolution of independence from Great Britain, paving the way for the United States Declaration of Independence.
- 1791 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre proposes the Self-denying Ordinance.
- 1792 – War of the First Coalition: France declares war on Kingdom of Sardinia.
- 1793 – Diego Marín Aguilera flies a glider for “about 360 meters”, at a height of 5–6 meters, during one of the first attempted manned flights.
- 1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon enters Milan in triumph.
- 1800 – King George III of the United Kingdom survives an assassination attempt by James Hadfield, who is later acquitted by reason of insanity.
- 1817 – Opening of the first private mental health hospital in the United States, the Asylum for the Relief of Persons Deprived of the Use of Their Reason (now Friends Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
- 1836 – Francis Baily observes “Baily’s beads” during an annular eclipse.
- 1849 – The Sicilian revolution of 1848 is finally extinguished.
- 1850 – The Bloody Island massacre takes place in Lake County, California, in which a large number of Pomo Indians are slaughtered by a regiment of the United States Cavalry.
- 1850 – The Arana–Southern Treaty is ratified, ending “the existing differences” between Great Britain and Argentina.
- 1851 – The first Australian gold rush is proclaimed, although the discovery had been made three months earlier.
- 1858 – Opening of the present Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London.
- 1862 – President Abraham Lincoln signs a bill into law creating the United States Bureau of Agriculture. It is later renamed the United States Department of Agriculture.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of New Market, Virginia: Students from the Virginia Military Institute fight alongside the Confederate army to force Union General Franz Sigel out of the Shenandoah Valley.
- 1867 – Canadian Bank of Commerce opens for business in Toronto, Ontario. The bank would later merge with Imperial Bank of Canada to become what is CIBC in 1961.
- 1869 – Women’s suffrage: In New York, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton form the National Woman Suffrage Association.
- 1891 – Pope Leo XIII defends workers’ rights and property rights in the encyclical Rerum novarum, the beginning of modern Catholic social teaching.
- 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: The Russian minelayer Amur lays a minefield about 15 miles off Port Arthur and sinks Japan’s battleships Hatsuse, 15,000 tons, with 496 crew and Yashima.
- 1905 – Las Vegas is founded when 110 acres (0.45 km2), in what later would become downtown, are auctioned off.
- 1911 – In Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey v. United States, the United States Supreme Court declares Standard Oil to be an “unreasonable” monopoly under the Sherman Antitrust Act and orders the company to be broken up.
- 1911 – More than 300 Chinese immigrants are killed in the Torreón massacre when the forces of the Mexican Revolution led by Emilio Madero take the city of Torreón from the Federales.
- 1914 – During a poker game at the Gaiety Theatre in Galesburg, Illinois, comedian Art Fisher nicknames Chicko, Harpo, Groucho, and Gummo Marx.
- 1919 – The Winnipeg general strike begins. By 11:00, almost the whole working population of Winnipeg had walked off the job.
- 1919 – Greek occupation of Smyrna. During the occupation, the Greek army kills or wounds 350 Turks; those responsible are punished by Greek commander Aristides Stergiades.
- 1925 – Al-Insaniyyah, the first Arabic communist newspaper, is founded.
- 1928 – Walt Disney character Mickey Mouse premieres in his first cartoon, “Plane Crazy”.
- 1929 – A fire at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio kills 123.
- 1932 – In an attempted coup d’état, the Prime Minister of Japan Inukai Tsuyoshi is assassinated.
- 1933 – All military aviation organizations within or under the control of the RLM of Germany were officially merged in a covert manner to form its Wehrmacht military’s air arm, the Luftwaffe.
- 1934 – Kārlis Ulmanis establishes an authoritarian government in Latvia.
- 1940 – USS Sailfish is recommissioned. It was originally the USS Squalus.
- 1940 – World War II: After fierce fighting, the poorly trained and equipped Dutch troops surrender to Germany, marking the beginning of five years of occupation.
- 1940 – Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald’s restaurant.
- 1941 – First flight of the Gloster E.28/39 the first British and Allied jet aircraft.
- 1941 – Joe DiMaggio begins a 56-game hitting streak.
- 1942 – World War II: In the United States, a bill creating the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) is signed into law.
- 1943 – Joseph Stalin dissolves the Comintern (or Third International).
- 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Poljana, the final skirmish in Europe is fought near Prevalje, Slovenia.
- 1948 – Following the expiration of The British Mandate for Palestine, the Kingdom of Egypt, Transjordan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia invade Israel thus starting the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
- 1957 – At Malden Island in the Pacific Ocean, Britain tests its first hydrogen bomb in Operation Grapple.
- 1958 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 3.
- 1960 – The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 4.
- 1963 – Project Mercury: The launch of the final Mercury mission, Mercury-Atlas 9 with astronaut Gordon Cooper on board. He becomes the first American to spend more than a day in space, and the last American to go into space alone.
- 1966 – After a policy dispute, Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ of South Vietnam’s ruling junta launches a military attack on the forces of General Tôn Thất Đính, forcing him to abandon his command.
- 1969 – People’s Park: California Governor Ronald Reagan has an impromptu student park owned by the University of California at Berkeley fenced off from student anti-war protestors, sparking a riot.
- 1970 – President Richard Nixon appoints Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female United States Army generals.
- 1970 – Philip Lafayette Gibbs and James Earl Green are killed at Jackson State University by police during student protests.
- 1972 – The Ryukyu Islands, under U.S. military governance since its conquest in 1945, reverts to Japanese control.
- 1972 – In Laurel, Maryland, Arthur Bremer shoots and paralyzes Alabama Governor George Wallace while he is campaigning to become president.
- 1974 – Ma’alot massacre: Members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine attack and take hostages at an Israeli school; a total of 31 people are killed, including 22 schoolchildren.
- 1976 – Aeroflot Flight 1802 crashes in Viktorovka, Chernihiv Raion, killing all 52 people on board.
- 1987 – The Soviet Union launches the Polyus prototype orbital weapons platform. It fails to reach orbit.
- 1988 – Soviet–Afghan War: After more than eight years of fighting, the Soviet Army begins to withdraw 115,000 troops from Afghanistan.
- 1991 – Édith Cresson becomes France’s first female Prime Minister.
- 1997 – The United States government acknowledges the existence of the “Secret War” in Laos and dedicates the Laos Memorial in honor of Hmong and other “Secret War” veterans.
- 1997 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-84 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
- 2004 – Arsenal F.C. go an entire league campaign unbeaten in the English Premier League, joining Preston North End F.C with the right to claim the title “The Invincibles”.
- 2008 – California becomes the second U.S. state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state’s own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.
- 2010 – Jessica Watson becomes the youngest person to sail, non-stop and unassisted around the world solo.
- 2013 – An upsurge in violence in Iraq leaves more than 389 people dead over three days.
Births on May 15
- 1397 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (d. 1450)
- 1531 – Maria of Austria, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg (d. 1581)
- 1565 – Hendrick de Keyser, Dutch sculptor and architect (d. 1621)
- 1567 – Claudio Monteverdi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1643)
- 1655 – Pope Innocent XIII (d. 1724)
- 1608 – René Goupil, French-American missionary and saint (d. 1642)
- 1633 – Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, French noble (d. 1707)
- 1645 – George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, British judge (d. 1689)
- 1689 – Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, English writer (d. 1762)
- 1720 – Maximilian Hell, Hungarian priest and astronomer (d. 1792)
- 1749 – Levi Lincoln Sr., American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Attorney General (d. 1820)
- 1759 – Maria Theresia von Paradis, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1824)
- 1770 – Ezekiel Hart, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1843)
- 1773 – Klemens von Metternich, German-Austrian politician, 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (d. 1859)
- 1786 – Dimitris Plapoutas, Greek general and politician (d. 1864)
- 1803 – Juan Almonte, son of José María Morelos, was a Mexican soldier and diplomat who served as a regent in the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (d. 1869)
- 1805 – Samuel Carter, Early English railway solicitor and MP (d. 1878)
- 1808 – Michael William Balfe, Irish composer and conductor (d. 1870)
- 1817 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher and author (d. 1905)
- 1841 – Clarence Dutton, American commander and geologist (d. 1912)
- 1845 – Élie Metchnikoff, Russian zoologist (d. 1916)
- 1848 – Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1926)
- 1854 – Ioannis Psycharis, Ukrainian-French philologist and author (d. 1929)
- 1856 – L. Frank Baum, American novelist (d. 1919)
- 1856 – Matthias Zurbriggen, Swiss mountaineer (d. 1917)
- 1857 – Williamina Fleming, Scottish-American astronomer and academic (d. 1911)
- 1859 – Pierre Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
- 1862 – Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (d. 1931)
- 1863 – Frank Hornby, English businessman and politician, invented Meccano (d. 1936)
- 1869 – Paul Probst, Swiss target shooter (d. 1945)
- 1869 – John Storey, Australian politician, 20th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1921)
- 1882 – Walter White, Scottish international footballer (d. 1950)
- 1890 – Katherine Anne Porter, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist (d. 1980)
- 1891 – Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian novelist and playwright (d. 1940)
- 1891 – Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (d. 1971)
- 1892 – Charles E. Rosendahl, American admiral (d. 1977)
- 1892 – Jimmy Wilde, Welsh boxer (d. 1969)
- 1893 – José Nepomuceno, Filipino filmmaker, founder of Philippine cinema (d. 1959)
- 1894 – Feg Murray, American hurdler and cartoonist (d. 1973)
- 1895 – Prescott Bush, American captain, banker, and politician (d. 1972)
- 1895 – William D. Byron, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1941)
- 1898 – Arletty, French model, actress, and singer (d. 1992)
- 1899 – Jean Étienne Valluy, French general (d. 1970)
- 1900 – Ida Rhodes, American mathematician, pioneer in computer programming (d. 1986)
- 1901 – Xavier Herbert, Australian author (d. 1984)
- 1901 – Luis Monti, Argentinian-Italian footballer and manager (d. 1983)
- 1902 – Richard J. Daley, American lawyer and politician, 48th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1976)
- 1902 – Sigizmund Levanevsky, Soviet aircraft pilot of Polish origin (d. 1937)
- 1903 – Maria Reiche, German mathematician and archaeologist (d. 1998)
- 1904 – Clifton Fadiman, American game show host and author (d. 1999)
- 1905 – Joseph Cotten, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1905 – Albert Dubout, French cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and sculptor (d. 1976)
- 1905 – Abraham Zapruder, American businessman and amateur photographer, filmed the Zapruder film (d. 1970)
- 1907 – Sukhdev Thapar, Indian activist (d. 1931)
- 1909 – James Mason, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1984)
- 1909 – Clara Solovera, Chilean singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Constance Cummings, British-based American actress (d. 2005)
- 1911 – Max Frisch, Swiss playwright and novelist (d. 1991)
- 1911 – Herta Oberheuser, German physician (d. 1978)
- 1912 – Arthur Berger, American composer and educator (d. 2003)
- 1914 – Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1972)
- 1914 – Angus MacLean, Canadian farmer and politician, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Norrie Paramor, English composer, producer, and conductor (d. 1979)
- 1915 – Hilda Bernstein, English-South African author and activist (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Paul Samuelson, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Henrik Sandberg, Danish production manager and producer (d. 1993)
- 1916 – Vera Gebuhr, Danish actress (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Eddy Arnold, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Arthur Jackson, American lieutenant and target shooter (d. 2015)
- 1918 – Joseph Wiseman, Canadian-American actor (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Michel Audiard, French director and screenwriter (d. 1985)
- 1922 – Sigurd Ottovich Schmidt, Russian historian and ethnographer (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Jakucho Setouchi, Japanese nun and author
- 1923 – Richard Avedon, American sailor and photographer (d. 2004)
- 1923 – John Lanchbery, English-Australian composer and conductor (d. 2003)
- 1924 – Maria Koepcke, German-Peruvian ornithologist and zoologist (d. 1971)
- 1925 – Andrei Eshpai, Russian pianist and composer (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Mary F. Lyon, English geneticist and biologist (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Carl Sanders, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 74th Governor of Georgia (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Roy Stewart, Jamaican-English actor and stuntman (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Clermont Pépin, Canadian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Anthony Shaffer, English author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Peter Shaffer, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Jasper Johns, American painter and sculptor
- 1931 – Ken Venturi, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Don Bragg, American pole vaulter
- 1935 – Ted Dexter, Italian-English cricketer
- 1935 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
- 1935 – Akihiro Miwa, Japanese singer, actor, director, composer, author and drag queen
- 1936 – Anna Maria Alberghetti, Italian-American actress and singer
- 1936 – Mart Laga, Estonian basketball player (d. 1977)
- 1936 – Ralph Steadman, English painter and illustrator
- 1936 – Paul Zindel, American playwright and novelist (d. 2003)
- 1937 – Madeleine Albright, Czech-American politician and diplomat, 64th United States Secretary of State
- 1937 – Karin Krog, Norwegian singer
- 1937 – Trini Lopez, American singer, guitarist, and actor
- 1938 – Mireille Darc, French actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
- 1938 – Nancy Garden, American author (d. 2014)
- 1939 – Dorothy Shirley, English high jumper and educator
- 1940 – Roger Ailes, American businessman (d. 2017)
- 1940 – Lainie Kazan, American actress and singer
- 1940 – Don Nelson, American basketball player and coach
- 1941 – Jaxon, American illustrator and publisher, co-founded the Rip Off Press (d. 2006)
- 1942 – Lois Johnson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Jusuf Kalla, Indonesian businessman and politician, 10th Vice President of Indonesia
- 1942 – Doug Lowe, Australian politician, 35th Premier of Tasmania
- 1942 – K. T. Oslin, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1943 – Paul Bégin, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1943 – Freddie Perren, American songwriter, producer, and conductor (d. 2004)
- 1944 – Bill Alter, American police officer and politician
- 1944 – Ulrich Beck, German sociologist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Michael Dexter, English hematologist and academic
- 1945 – Jerry Quarry, American boxer (d. 1999)
- 1946 – Thadeus Nguyễn Văn Lý, Vietnamese priest and activist
- 1947 – Graeham Goble, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
- 1948 – Kate Bornstein, American author, playwright, performance artist, and gender theorist
- 1948 – Yutaka Enatsu, Japanese baseball player
- 1948 – Brian Eno, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1948 – Kathleen Sebelius, American politician, 44th Governor of Kansas
- 1949 – Frank L. Culbertson Jr., American captain, pilot, and astronaut
- 1949 – Robert S.J. Sparks, English geologist and academic
- 1950 – Jim Bacon, Australian politician, 41st Premier of Tasmania (d. 2004)
- 1950 – Jim Simons, American golfer (d. 2005)
- 1951 – Dennis Frederiksen, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1951 – Chris Ham, English political scientist and academic
- 1951 – Frank Wilczek, American mathematician and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1952 – Chazz Palminteri, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1953 – George Brett, American baseball player and coach
- 1953 – Athene Donald, English physicist and academic
- 1953 – Mike Oldfield, English-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1954 – Diana Liverman, English-American geographer and academic
- 1954 – Caroline Thomson, English journalist and broadcaster
- 1955 – Mohamed Brahmi, Tunisian politician (d. 2013)
- 1955 – Lia Vissi, Cypriot singer-songwriter and politician
- 1956 – Andreas Loverdos, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Labour
- 1956 – Dan Patrick, American television anchor and sportscaster
- 1956 – Kevin Greenaugh, American nuclear engineer
- 1957 – Meg Gardiner, American-English author and academic
- 1957 – Juan José Ibarretxe, Spanish politician
- 1957 – Kevin Von Erich, American football player and wrestler
- 1958 – Jason Graae, American musical theater actor
- 1958 – Ruth Marcus, American journalist
- 1958 – Ron Simmons, American football player and wrestler
- 1959 – Khaosai Galaxy, Thai boxer and politician
- 1959 – Luis Pérez-Sala, Spanish race car driver
- 1959 – Beverly Jo Scott, American-Belgian singer-songwriter
- 1960 – Rhonda Burchmore, Australian actress, singer, and dancer
- 1960 – Rob Bowman, American director and producer
- 1960 – R. Kuhaneswaran, Sri Lankan politician
- 1960 – Rimas Kurtinaitis, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
- 1961 – Giselle Fernández, Mexican-American television journalist.
- 1962 – Lisa Curry, Australian swimmer
- 1963 – Gavin Nebbeling, South African footballer
- 1964 – Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Danish lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1965 – André Abujamra, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1965 – Scott Tronc, Australian rugby league player
- 1966 – Jiří Němec, Czech footballer
- 1967 – Simen Agdestein, Norwegian chess grandmaster and football player
- 1967 – Laura Hillenbrand, American journalist and author
- 1967 – John Smoltz, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1967 – Madhuri Dixit, Indian actress
- 1968 – Cecilia Malmström, Swedish academic and politician, 15th European Commissioner for Trade
- 1968 – Sophie Raworth, English journalist and broadcaster
- 1969 – Hideki Irabu, Japanese-American baseball player (d. 2011)
- 1969 – Emmitt Smith, American football player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Frank de Boer, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1970 – Ronald de Boer, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1970 – Desmond Howard, American football player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Alison Jackson, English photographer, director, and screenwriter
- 1970 – Rod Smith, American football player
- 1970 – Ben Wallace, English captain and politician
- 1971 – Karin Lušnic, Slovenian tennis player
- 1972 – Danny Alexander, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1972 – David Charvet, French actor and singer
- 1974 – Vasilis Kikilias, Greek basketball player and politician
- 1974 – Matthew Sadler, English chess player and author
- 1974 – Marko Tredup, German footballer and manager
- 1974 – Ahmet Zappa, American musician and writer
- 1975 – Ray Lewis, American football player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Ales Michalevic, Belarusian lawyer and politician
- 1976 – Torraye Braggs, American basketball player
- 1976 – Mark Kennedy, Irish footballer
- 1976 – Jacek Krzynówek, Polish footballer
- 1976 – Ryan Leaf, American football player and coach
- 1976 – Anže Logar, Slovenian politician
- 1976 – Tyler Walker, American baseball player
- 1978 – Amy Chow, American gymnast and pediatrician
- 1978 – Dwayne De Rosario, Canadian soccer player
- 1978 – Edu, Brazilian footballer
- 1978 – David Krumholtz, American actor
- 1979 – Adolfo Bautista, Mexican footballer
- 1979 – Daniel Caines, English sprinter
- 1979 – Chris Masoe, New Zealand rugby player
- 1979 – Ryan Max Riley, American skier
- 1979 – Robert Royal, American football player
- 1979 – Dominic Scott, Irish guitarist
- 1980 – Josh Beckett, American baseball player
- 1981 – Patrice Evra, French footballer
- 1981 – Paul Konchesky, English international footballer
- 1981 – Justin Morneau, Canadian baseball player
- 1981 – Zara Phillips, English equestrian
- 1981 – Jamie-Lynn Sigler, American actress and singer
- 1982 – Veronica Campbell-Brown, Jamaican sprinter
- 1982 – Segundo Castillo, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1982 – Rafael Pérez, Dominican baseball player
- 1982 – Layal Abboud, Lebanese singer
- 1984 – Jeff Deslauriers, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Sérgio Jimenez, Brazilian race car driver
- 1984 – Samantha Noble, Australian actress
- 1984 – Beau Scott, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Mr Probz, Dutch singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and record producer
- 1985 – Cristiane, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Tania Cagnotto, Italian diver
- 1985 – Laura Harvey, English football coach
- 1985 – Tathagata Mukherjee, Indian actor
- 1985 – Denis Onyango, Ugandan goalkeeper
- 1985 – Justine Robbeson, South African javelin thrower
- 1986 – Thomas Brown, American football player
- 1986 – Matías Fernández, Chilean footballer
- 1986 – Adam Moffat, Scottish footballer
- 1987 – David Adams, American baseball player
- 1987 – Michael Brantley, American baseball player
- 1987 – Brian Dozier, American baseball player
- 1987 – Mark Fayne, American ice hockey player
- 1987 – Ersan İlyasova, Turkish basketball player
- 1987 – Leonardo Mayer, Argentinian tennis player
- 1987 – Andy Murray, Scottish tennis player
- 1988 – Indrek Kajupank, Estonian basketball player
- 1988 – Scott Laird, English footballer
- 1989 – Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, French footballer
- 1990 – Jordan Eberle, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Lee Jong-hyun, Korean guitarist
- 1990 – Stella Maxwell, New Zealand model
- 1993 – Jeremy Hawkins, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1993 – Tomáš Kalas, Czech international footballer
- 1996 – Birdy, English singer-songwriter
- 1997 – Ousmane Dembélé, French footballer
Deaths on May 15
- 392 – Valentinian II, Roman emperor (b. 371)
- 558 – Hilary of Galeata, Christian monk (b. 476)
- 884 – Narinus I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 830)
- 913 – Hatto I, German archbishop (b. 850)
- 926 – Zhuang Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 885)
- 973 – Byrhthelm, bishop of Wells
- 1036 – Go-Ichijō, emperor of Japan (b. 1008)
- 1157 – Yuri Dolgorukiy, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1099)
- 1175 – Mleh, prince of Armenia
- 1174 – Nur ad-Din, Seljuk emir of Syria (b. 1118)
- 1268 – Peter II, count of Savoy (b. 1203)
- 1461 – Domenico Veneziano, Italian painter (b. c. 1410)
- 1464 – Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset (b. 1436)
- 1470 – Charles VIII, king of Sweden (b. 1409)
- 1585 – Niwa Nagahide, Japanese samurai (b. 1535)
- 1609 – Giovanni Croce, Italian composer and educator (b. 1557)
- 1615 – Henry Bromley, English politician (b. 1560)
- 1634 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (b. 1585)
- 1698 – Marie Champmeslé, French actress (b. 1642)
- 1699 – Sir Edward Petre, 3rd Baronet, English politician (b. 1631)
- 1700 – John Hale, American minister (b. 1636)
- 1740 – Ephraim Chambers, English publisher (b. 1680)
- 1773 – Alban Butler, English priest and hagiographer (b. 1710)
- 1845 – Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican lawyer and politician, Head of State of Costa Rica (b. 1800)
- 1879 – Gottfried Semper, German architect and educator, designed the Semper Opera House (b. 1803)
- 1886 – Emily Dickinson, American poet and author (b. 1830)
- 1914 – Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (b. 1863)
- 1919 – Hasan Tahsin, Turkish journalist (b. 1888)
- 1924 – Paul-Henri-Benjamin d’Estournelles de Constant, French diplomat and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
- 1926 – Joseph James Fletcher, Australian biologist (b. 1850)
- 1928 – Umegatani Tōtarō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 15th Yokozuna (b. 1845)
- 1935 – Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian-Russian painter and theoretician (b. 1878)
- 1937 – Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1864)
- 1945 – Kenneth J. Alford, English soldier, bandmaster, and composer (b. 1881)
- 1945 – Charles Williams, English author, poet, and critic (b. 1886)
- 1948 – Edward J. Flanagan, Irish-American priest, founded Boys Town (b. 1886)
- 1954 – William March, American soldier and author (b. 1893)
- 1956 – Austin Osman Spare, English painter and magician (b. 1886)
- 1957 – Keith Andrews, American race car driver (b. 1920)
- 1957 – Dick Irvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1892)
- 1963 – John Aglionby, English-born Bishop of Accra and soldier (b. 1884)
- 1964 – Vladko Maček, Croatian lawyer and politician (b. 1879)
- 1965 – Pio Pion, Italian businessman (b. 1887)
- 1967 – Edward Hopper, American painter (b. 1882)
- 1967 – Italo Mus, Italian painter (b. 1892)
- 1969 – Joe Malone, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Tyrone Guthrie, English director, producer, and playwright (b. 1900)
- 1978 – Robert Menzies, Australian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
- 1980 – Gordon Prange, American historian and author (b. 1910)
- 1982 – Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (b. 1946)
- 1984 – Francis Schaeffer, American pastor, theologian, and philosopher (b. 1912)
- 1985 – Jackie Curtis, American actress and writer (b. 1947)
- 1986 – Elio de Angelis, Italian race car driver (b. 1958)
- 1986 – Theodore H. White, American historian, journalist, and author (b. 1915)
- 1989 – Johnny Green, American composer and conductor (b. 1908)
- 1989 – Luc Lacourcière, Canadian ethnographer and author (b. 1910)
- 1991 – Andreas Floer, German mathematician and academic (b. 1956)
- 1991 – Amadou Hampâté Bâ, Malian ethnologist and author (b. 1901)
- 1991 – Fritz Riess, German race car driver (b. 1922)
- 1993 – Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, Sudanese poet and diplomat (b. 1933)
- 1994 – Gilbert Roland, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1995 – Eric Porter, English actor (b. 1928)
- 1996 – Charles B. Fulton, American lawyer and judge (b. 1910)
- 1998 – Earl Manigault, American basketball player (b. 1944)
- 1998 – Naim Talu, Turkish economist, banker, politician, 15th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1919)
- 2003 – June Carter Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (b. 1929)
- 2006 – Nizar Abdul Zahra, Iraqi footballer (b. 1961)
- 2007 – Jerry Falwell, American pastor, founded Liberty University (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Tommy Burns, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1956)
- 2008 – Alexander Courage, American composer and conductor (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Will Elder, American illustrator (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Bud Tingwell, Australian actor, director, and producer (b. 1923)
- 2009 – Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and bass player (b. 1964)
- 2010 – Besian Idrizaj, Austrian footballer (b. 1987)
- 2010 – Loris Kessel, Swiss race car driver (b. 1950)
- 2012 – Carlos Fuentes, Mexican novelist and essayist (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Arno Lustiger, German historian and author (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian soldier and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Jean-Luc Dehaene, French-Belgian politician, 63rd Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Noribumi Suzuki, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Elisabeth Bing, German-American physical therapist and author (b. 1914)
- 2015 – Jackie Brookner, American sculptor and educator (b. 1945)
- 2015 – Garo Yepremian, Cypriot-American football player (b. 1944)
- 2020 – Fred Willard, American actor, comedian, and writer (b. 1933)[19]
Holidays and observances on May 15
- Aoi Matsuri (Kyoto)
- Army Day (Slovenia)
- Christian feast day:
- Achillius of Larissa
- Athanasius of Alexandria (Coptic Church)
- Dymphna
- Hallvard Vebjørnsson (Roman Catholic Church)
- Hesychius of Cazorla
- Hilary of Galeata
- Isidore the Laborer, celebrated with festivals in various countries, the beginning of bullfighting season in Madrid.
- Jean-Baptiste de La Salle (Roman Catholic Church)
- Peter, Andrew, Paul, and Denise (Roman Catholic Church)
- Reticius (Roman Catholic Church)
- Sophia of Rome (Roman Catholic church)
- May 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constituent Assembly Day (Lithuania)
- Earliest date on which Armed Forces Day (United States) can fall, while May 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Saturday of May.
- Independence Day (Paraguay), celebrates the independence of Paraguay from Spain in 1811. Celebrations for the anniversary of the independence begin on Flag Day, May 14.
- International Conscientious Objectors Day
- International Day of Families (International)
- La Corsa dei Ceri begins on the eve of the feast day of Saint Ubaldo. (Gubbio)
- Mother’s Day (Paraguay)
- Nakba Day (Palestinian communities)
- Peace Officers Memorial Day (United States)
- Republic Day (Lithuania)
- Teachers’ Day (Colombia, Mexico and South Korea)
-
May 10 in History
- 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.
- 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king.
- 1497 – Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World.
- 1503 – Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.
- 1534 – Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland.
- 1688 – King Narai nominates Phetracha as regent, leading to the revolution of 1688 in which Phetracha becomes king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
- 1768 – Rioting occurs in London after John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticizing King George III.
- 1773 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by reducing taxes on its tea and granting it the right to sell tea directly to North America. The legislation leads to the Boston Tea Party.
- 1774 – Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette become King and Queen of France.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: A small Colonial militia led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold captures Fort Ticonderoga.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Second Continental Congress takes place in Philadelphia.
- 1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon wins a victory against Austrian forces at Lodi bridge over the Adda River in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.
- 1801 – First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America.
- 1824 – The National Gallery in London opens to the public.
- 1837 – Panic of 1837: New York City banks suspend the payment of specie, triggering a national banking crisis and an economic depression whose severity was not surpassed until the Great Depression.
- 1849 – Astor Place Riot: A riot breaks out at the Astor Opera House in Manhattan, New York City over a dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Charles Macready, killing at least 22 and injuring over 120.
- 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut.
- 1865 – American Civil War: In Kentucky, Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill, who lingers until his death on June 6.
- 1869 – The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah with the golden spike.
- 1872 – Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.
- 1876 – The Centennial Exposition is opened in Philadelphia.
- 1881 – Carol I is crowned the King of the Romanian Kingdom.
- 1904 – The Horch & Cir. Motorwagenwerke AG is founded. It would eventually become the Audi company.
- 1908 – Mother’s Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.
- 1916 – Sailing in the lifeboat James Caird, Ernest Shackleton arrives at South Georgia after a journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island.
- 1922 – The United States annexes the Kingman Reef.
- 1924 – J. Edgar Hoover is appointed first Director of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and remains so until his death in 1972.
- 1933 – Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.
- 1940 – World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.
- 1940 – World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. On the same day, Germany invades France, Belgium and Luxembourg.Meanwhile, the United Kingdom occupies Iceland.
- 1941 – World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
- 1941 – World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany.hai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign.
- 1946 – First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.
- 1962 – Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk.
- 1967 – The Northrop M2-F2 crashes on landing, becoming the inspiration for the novel Cyborg and TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.
- 1969 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.
- 1975 – Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder.
- 1993 – In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills over 200 workers.
- 1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president.
- 1996 – A blizzard strikes Mount Everest, killing eight climbers by the next day.
- 1997 – The 7.3 Mw Qayen earthquake strikes Iran’s Khorasan Province killing 1,567 people.
- 2002 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Russia for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
- 2005 – A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 60 feet from U.S. President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.
- 2012 – The Damascus bombings are carried out using a pair of car bombs detonated by suicide bombers outside of a military intelligence complex in Damascus, Syria, killing 55 people.
- 2013 – One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
Births on May 10
- 874 – Meng Zhixiang, Chinese general and emperor (d. 934)
- 955 – Al-Aziz Billah, Fatimid caliph (d. 996)
- 1491 – Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon (d. 1521)
- 1604 – Jean Mairet, French author and playwright (d. 1686)
- 1697 – Jean-Marie Leclair, French violinist and composer (d. 1764)
- 1727 – Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, French economist and politician (d. 1781)
- 1755 – Robert Gray, American captain and explorer (d. 1806)
- 1760 – Johann Peter Hebel, German author and poet (d. 1826)
- 1760 – Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French captain, engineer, and composer (d. 1836)
- 1770 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1823)
- 1788 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer (d. 1827)
- 1812 – William Henry Barlow, English engineer (d. 1902)
- 1813 – Montgomery Blair, American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (d. 1883)
- 1838 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1865)
- 1841 – James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American publisher and broadcaster (d. 1918)
- 1843 – Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1920)
- 1847 – Wilhelm Killing, German mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
- 1855 – Yukteswar Giri, Indian guru and educator (d. 1936)
- 1872 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist and anthropologist (d. 1950)
- 1876 – Ivan Cankar, Slovenian poet and playwright (d. 1918)
- 1878 – Konstantinos Parthenis, Greek painter (d. 1967)
- 1878 – Gustav Stresemann, German journalist and politician, Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
- 1879 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (d. 1926)
- 1886 – Karl Barth, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1968)
- 1888 – Max Steiner, Austrian-American composer and conductor (d. 1971)
- 1890 – Alfred Jodl, German general (d. 1946)
- 1891 – Mahmoud Mokhtar, Egyptian sculptor and academic (d. 1934)
- 1893 – Tonita Peña, San Ildefonso Pueblo (Native American) artist (d. 1949)
- 1894 – Dimitri Tiomkin, Ukrainian-American composer and conductor (d. 1979)
- 1897 – Einar Gerhardsen, Norwegian politician, Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Ariel Durant, American historian and author (d. 1981)
- 1899 – Fred Astaire, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)
- 1900 – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, English-American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1979)
- 1901 – John Desmond Bernal, Irish-English crystallographer and physicist (d. 1971)
- 1901 – Hildrus Poindexter, American bacteriologist (d. 1987)
- 1902 – David O. Selznick, American director and producer (d. 1965)
- 1903 – Otto Bradfisch, German economist, jurist, and SS officer (d. 1994)
- 1905 – Markos Vamvakaris, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1972)
- 1908 – Carl Albert, American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 2000)
- 1909 – Maybelle Carter, American autoharp player (d. 1978)
- 1911 – Bel Kaufman, American author and educator (d. 2014)
- 1915 – Denis Thatcher, English soldier and businessman, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2003)
- 1916 – Milton Babbitt, American composer and educator (d. 2011)
- 1918 – T. Berry Brazelton, American pediatrician and author (d. 2018)
- 1918 – Desmond MacNamara, Irish painter, sculptor, and author (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Ella T. Grasso, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1981)
- 1920 – Basil Kelly, Northern Irish barrister, judge and politician (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Bert Weedon, English guitarist (d. 2012)
- 1922 – David Azrieli, Polish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Nancy Walker, American actress, singer, and director (d. 1992)
- 1923 – Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan general and politician, President of Azerbaijan (d. 2003)
- 1923 – Otar Korkia, Georgian basketball player and coach (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian general and politician, President of Bolivia (d. 2002)
- 1927 – Nayantara Sahgal, Indian author
- 1928 – Arnold Rüütel, Estonian agronomist and politician, President of Estonia
- 1928 – Lothar Schmid, German chess player (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Audun Boysen, Norwegian runner (d. 2000)
- 1929 – George Coe, American actor and producer (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Antonine Maillet, Canadian author and playwright
- 1930 – George E. Smith, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1931 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Jean Becker, French actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1935 – Larry Williams, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1980)
- 1937 – Tamara Press, Ukrainian shot putter and discus thrower
- 1938 – Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis player
- 1940 – Arthur Alexander, American country-soul singer-songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1940 – Wayne Dyer, American author and educator (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Jim Calhoun, American basketball player and coach
- 1944 – Jim Abrahams, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1944 – Marie-France Pisier, French actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Donovan, Scottish singer-songwriter
- 1946 – Graham Gouldman, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1946 – Dave Mason, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Caroline B. Cooney, American author
- 1949 – Miuccia Prada, Italian fashion designer
- 1952 – Sly Dunbar, Jamaican drummer
- 1955 – Mark David Chapman, American murderer
- 1956 – Vladislav Listyev, Russian journalist (d. 1995)
- 1957 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
- 1958 – Gaétan Boucher, Canadian speed skater
- 1958 – Rick Santorum, American lawyer and politician, United States Senator from Pennsylvania
- 1959 – Victoria Rowell, American actress
- 1959 – Danny Schayes, American basketball player
- 1959 – Cindy Hyde-Smith, American politician, United States Senator from Mississippi, Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce
- 1960 – Bono, Irish singer-songwriter, musician and activist
- 1960 – Dean Heller, American lawyer and politician, United States Senator from Nevada, Secretary of State of Nevada
- 1960 – Merlene Ottey, Jamaican-Slovenian runner
- 1963 – Lisa Nowak, American commander and astronaut
- 1963 – Debbie Wiseman, English composer and conductor
- 1965 – Linda Evangelista, Canadian model
- 1966 – Jonathan Edwards, English triple jumper
- 1967 – Eion Crossan, New Zealand rugby player
- 1968 – Al Murray, English comedian and television host
- 1968 – Tatyana Shikolenko, Russian javelin thrower
- 1969 – Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1969 – John Scalzi, American author and blogger
- 1970 – Gabriela Montero, Venezuelan-American pianist
- 1970 – David Weir, Scottish footballer
- 1971 – Ådne Søndrål, Norwegian speed skater
- 1972 – Christian Wörns, German footballer
- 1973 – Joshua Eagle, Australian tennis player
- 1973 – Ollie le Roux, South African rugby player
- 1974 – Sylvain Wiltord, French footballer
- 1975 – Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver
- 1975 – Adam Deadmarsh, Canadian-American ice hockey player
- 1978 – Bruno Cheyrou, French footballer
- 1981 – Samuel Dalembert, Haitian-Canadian basketball player
- 1981 – Humberto Suazo, Chilean footballer
- 1983 – Gustav Fridolin, Swedish journalist and politician, Swedish Minister of Education
- 1984 – Edward Mujica, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1985 – Ryan Getzlaf, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Jon Schofield, English canoe racer
- 1987 – Wilson Chandler, American basketball player
- 1990 – Salvador Pérez, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1990 – Ivana Španović, Serbian long jumper
- 1995 – Missy Franklin, American swimmer1995 – Gabriella Papadakis, French ice dancer
- 1996 – Tyus Jones, American basketball player
- 1996 – Kateřina Siniaková, Czech tennis player
Deaths on May 10
- 1299 – Theingapati, heir to the Pagan Kingdom
- 1403 – Katherine Swynford, widow of John of Gaunt
- 1482 – Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1397)
- 1493 – Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, Scottish politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1433)
- 1521 – Sebastian Brant, German author (b. 1457)
- 1566 – Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (b. 1501)
- 1569 – John of Ávila, Spanish mystic and saint (b. 1500)
- 1641 – Johan Banér, Swedish field marshal (b. 1596)
- 1717 – John Hathorne, American merchant and politician (b. 1641)
- 1726 – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (b. 1670)
- 1774 – Louis XV of France (b. 1710)
- 1787 – William Watson, English physician, physicist, and botanist (b. 1715)
- 1794 – Élisabeth of France, French princess and youngest sibling of Louis XVI (b.1764)
- 1798 – George Vancouver, English navigator and explorer (b. 1757)
- 1807 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general (b. 1725)
- 1818 – Paul Revere, American engraver and soldier (b. 1735)
- 1829 – Thomas Young, English physician and linguist (b. 1773)
- 1849 – Hokusai, Japanese painter and illustrator (b. 1760)
- 1863 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (b. 1824)
- 1868 – Henry Bennett, American lawyer and politician (b. 1808)
- 1889 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1826)
- 1891 – Carl Nägeli, Swiss botanist and mycologist (b. 1817)
- 1897 – Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino soldier and politician, President of the Philippines (b. 1863)
- 1910 – Stanislao Cannizzaro, Italian chemist and academic (b. 1826)
- 1945 – Richard Glücks, German SS officer (b. 1889)
- 1945 – Konrad Henlein, Czech soldier and politician (b. 1898)
- 1960 – Yury Olesha, Russian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1899)
- 1964 – Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter, illustrator, and set designer (b. 1881)
- 1965 – Hubertus van Mook, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1894)
- 1968 – Scotty Beckett, American actor and singer (b. 1929)
- 1974 – Hal Mohr, American director and cinematographer (b. 1894)
- 1977 – Joan Crawford, American actress (year of birth disputed)
- 1982 – Peter Weiss, German playwright and painter (b. 1916)
- 1988 – Shen Congwen, Chinese author and academic (b. 1902)
- 1990 – Walker Percy, American novelist and essayist (b. 1916)
- 1994 – John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (b. 1942)
- 1999 – Shel Silverstein, American poet, author, and illustrator
- 2000 – Jules Deschênes, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1923)
- 2000 – Dick Sprang, American illustrator (b. 1915)
- 2001 – Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian politician, Governor of Himachal Pradesh (b. 1934)
- 2002 – Kaifi Azmi, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1919)
- 2002 – Yves Robert, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Milan Vukcevich, Serbian-American chemist and chess player (b. 1937)
- 2006 – Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1969)
- 2008 – Leyla Gencer, Turkish soprano (b. 1928)
- 2010 – Frank Frazetta, American illustrator and painter (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Horst Faas, German photographer and journalist (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Carroll Shelby, American race car driver and designer (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Gunnar Sønsteby, Norwegian captain and author (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (b. 1946)
- 2018 – David Goodall, Australian botanist and ecologist (b. 1914)
- 2019 – Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, Spanish politician and chemist (b. 1951)
Holidays and observances on May 10
- Children’s Day (Maldives)
- Christian feast day:
- Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus
- Calepodius
- Catald
- Comgall
- Damien of Molokai
- Gordianus and Epimachus
- Job (Roman Catholic Church, pre-1969 calendar)
- John of Ávila
- May 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Confederate Memorial Day (North Carolina and South Carolina)
- Constitution Day (Micronesia)
- Earliest possible day on which Pentecost can fall, while June 13 is the latest; celebrated 50 days after Easter Day.(Christianity)
- Golden Spike Day (Promontory, Utah)
- Mother’s Day (Guatemala, and Mexico)
-
April 25 in History
- 404 BC – Admiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion.
- 775 – The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate. Muslim control over Transcaucasia is solidified and its Islamization begins, while several major Armenian nakharar families lose power and their remnants flee to the Byzantine Empire.
- 799 – After mistreatment and disfigurement by the citizens of Rome, pope Leo III flees to the Frankish court of king Charlemagne at Paderborn for protection.
- 1134 – The name Zagreb was mentioned for the first time in the Felician Charter relating to the establishment of the Zagreb Bishopric around 1094.
- 1607 – Eighty Years’ War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.
- 1644 – The Chongzhen Emperor, the last Emperor of Ming dynasty China, commits suicide during a peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng.
- 1707 – A coalition of Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal is defeated by a Franco-Spanish army at Almansa (Spain) in the War of the Spanish Succession.
- 1792 – Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.
- 1792 – “La Marseillaise” (the French national anthem) is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
- 1804 – The western Georgian kingdom of Imereti accepts the suzerainty of the Russian Empire.
- 1829 – Charles Fremantle arrives in HMS Challenger off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom.
- 1846 – Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican–American War.
- 1849 – The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal’s English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.
- 1859 – British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Forces under U.S. Admiral David Farragut demand the surrender of the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Marks’ Mills.
- 1882 – French and Vietnamese troops clashed in Tonkin, when Commandant Henri Rivière seized the citadel of Hanoi with a small force of marine infantry.
- 1898 – Spanish–American War: The United States declares war on Spain.
- 1901 – New York becomes the first U.S. state to require automobile license plates.
- 1915 – World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli begins: The invasion of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsula by British, French, Indian, Newfoundland, Australian and New Zealand troops, begins with landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles.
- 1916 – Anzac Day is commemorated for the first time on the first anniversary of the landing at ANZAC Cove.
- 1920 – At the San Remo conference, the principal Allied Powers of World War I adopt a resolution to determine the allocation of Class “A” League of Nations mandates for administration of the former Ottoman-ruled lands of the Middle East.
- 1938 – U.S. Supreme Court delivers its opinion in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins and overturns a century of federal common law.
- 1940 – Merkið, the flag of the Faroe Islands is approved by the British occupation government.
- 1944 – The United Negro College Fund is incorporated.
- 1945 – Elbe Day: United States and Soviet troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in two.
- 1945 – Liberation Day (Italy): The Nazi occupation army surrenders and leaves Northern Italy after a general partisan insurrection by the Italian resistance movement; the puppet fascist regime dissolves and Benito Mussolini is captured after trying to escape. This day was set as a public holiday to celebrate the Liberation of Italy.
- 1945 – United Nations Conference on International Organization: Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco.
- 1945 – The last German troops retreat from Finland’s soil in Lapland, ending the Lapland War. Military acts of Second World War end in Finland.
- 1951 – Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong.
- 1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson publish “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid” describing the double helix structure of DNA.
- 1954 – The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories.
- 1959 – The Saint Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping.
- 1960 – The United States Navy submarine USS Triton completes the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
- 1961 – Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive: The North Vietnamese 320th Division forces 5,000 South Vietnamese troops to retreat and traps about 2,500 others northwest of Kontum.
- 1974 – Carnation Revolution: A leftist military coup in Portugal overthrows the authoritarian-conservative Estado Novo regime and establishes a democratic government.
- 1975 – As North Vietnamese forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost ten years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.
- 1981 – More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
- 1982 – Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords.
- 1983 – Cold War: American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.
- 1983 – Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto’s orbit.
- 1986 – Mswati III is crowned King of Swaziland, succeeding his father Sobhuza II.
- 1988 – In Israel, John Demjanjuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II.
- 1990 – Violeta Chamorro takes office as the President of Nicaragua, the first woman to hold the position.
- 2001 – Michele Alboreto is killed while testing an Audi R8 at the Lausitzring in Germany.
- 2004 – The March for Women’s Lives brings between 500,000 and 800,000 protesters, mostly pro-choice, to Washington D.C. to protest the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, and other restrictions on abortion.
- 2005 – The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937.
- 2005 – Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties to join the European Union.
- 2007 – Boris Yeltsin’s funeral: The first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894.
- 2015 – Nearly 9,100 are killed after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Nepal.
Births on April 25
- 1214 – Louis IX of France (d. 1270)
- 1228 – Conrad IV of Germany (d. 1254)
- 1284 – Edward II of England (d. 1327)
- 1287 – Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1330)
- 1502 – Georg Major, German theologian and academic (d. 1574)
- 1529 – Francesco Patrizi, Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1597)
- 1599 – Oliver Cromwell, English general and politician, Lord Protector of Great Britain (d. 1658)
- 1621 – Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, English soldier and politician (d. 1679)
- 1666 – Johann Heinrich Buttstett, German organist and composer (d. 1727)
- 1694 – Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect and politician, Lord High Treasurer of Ireland (d. 1753)
- 1710 – James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer and author (d. 1776)
- 1723 – Giovanni Marco Rutini, Italian composer (d. 1797)
- 1725 – Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, English admiral and politician (d. 1786)
- 1767 – Nicolas Oudinot, French general (d. 1847)
- 1770 – Georg Sverdrup, Norwegian philologist and academic (d. 1850)
- 1776 – Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (d. 1857)
- 1843 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (d. 1878)
- 1849 – Felix Klein, German mathematician and academic (d. 1925)
- 1850 – Luise Adolpha Le Beau, German composer and educator (d. 1927)
- 1851 – Leopoldo Alas, Spanish author, critic, and academic (d. 1901)
- 1854 – Charles Sumner Tainter, American engineer and inventor (d. 1940)
- 1862 – Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, English ornithologist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1933)
- 1868 – John Moisant, American pilot and engineer (d. 1910)
- 1871 – Lorne Currie, French-English sailor (d. 1926)
- 1872 – C. B. Fry, English cricketer, footballer, educator, and politician (d. 1956)
- 1873 – Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer, and novelist (d. 1956)
- 1873 – Howard Garis, American author, creator of the Uncle Wiggily series of children’s stories (d. 1962)
- 1874 – Guglielmo Marconi, Italian businessman and inventor, developed Marconi’s law, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
- 1874 – Ernest Webb, English-Canadian race walker (d. 1937)
- 1876 – Jacob Nicol, Canadian publisher, lawyer, and politician (d. 1958)
- 1878 – William Merz, American gymnast and triathlete (d. 1946)
- 1882 – Fred McLeod, Scottish golfer (d. 1976)
- 1887 – Kojo Tovalou Houénou, Beninese lawyer and critic (d. 1936)
- 1892 – Maud Hart Lovelace, American author (d. 1980)
- 1896 – Fred Haney, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1977)
- 1897 – Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (d. 1965)
- 1900 – Gladwyn Jebb, English politician and diplomat, Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 1996)
- 1900 – Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian-Swiss-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1902 – Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist and academic (d. 1964)
- 1902 – Mary Miles Minter, American actress (d. 1984)
- 1903 – Andrey Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1987)
- 1905 – George Nepia, New Zealand rugby player and referee (d. 1986)
- 1906 – William J. Brennan Jr., American colonel and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (d. 1965)
- 1909 – William Pereira, American architect, designed the Transamerica Pyramid (d. 1985)
- 1910 – Arapeta Awatere, New Zealand interpreter, military leader, politician, and murderer (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1912 – Earl Bostic, African-American saxophonist (d. 1965)
- 1913 – Nikolaos Roussen, Greek captain (d. 1944)
- 1914 – Ross Lockridge Jr., American author and academic (d. 1948)
- 1915 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (d. 1978)
- 1916 – Jerry Barber, American golfer (d. 1994)
- 1917 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (d. 1996)
- 1917 – Jean Lucas, French racing driver (d. 2003)
- 1918 – Graham Payn, South African-born English actor and singer (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Gérard de Vaucouleurs, French-American astronomer and academic (d. 1995)
- 1918 – Astrid Varnay, Swedish-American soprano and actress (d. 2006)
- 1919 – Finn Helgesen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 2011)
- 1921 – Karel Appel, Dutch painter and sculptor (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Francis Graham-Smith, English astronomer and academic
- 1923 – Melissa Hayden, Canadian ballerina (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Albert King, African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1992)
- 1924 – Ingemar Johansson, Swedish race walker (d. 2009)
- 1924 – Franco Mannino, Italian pianist, composer, director, and playwright (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Paulo Vanzolini, Brazilian singer-songwriter and zoologist (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Tony Christopher, Baron Christopher, English trade union leader and businessman
- 1925 – Sammy Drechsel, German comedian and journalist (d. 1986)
- 1925 – Louis O’Neil, Canadian academic and politician (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Johnny Craig, American author and illustrator (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Gertrude Fröhlich-Sandner, Austrian politician (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Patricia Castell, Argentine actress (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Corín Tellado, Spanish author (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Albert Uderzo, French author and illustrator (d. 2020)
- 1928 – Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand long jumper, shot putter, and discus thrower (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Paul Mazursky, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Godfrey Milton-Thompson, English admiral and surgeon (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Peter Schulz, German lawyer and politician, Mayor of Hamburg (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Felix Berezin, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1980)
- 1931 – David Shepherd, English painter and author (d. 2017)
- 1932 – Nikolai Kardashev, Russian astrophysicist (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Meadowlark Lemon, African-American basketball player and minister (d. 2015)
- 1932 – Lia Manoliu, Romanian discus thrower and politician (d. 1998)
- 1933 – Jerry Leiber, American songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
- 1933 – Joyce Ricketts, American baseball player (d. 1992)
- 1934 – Peter McParland, Northern Irish footballer and manager
- 1935 – Bob Gutowski, American pole vaulter (d. 1960)
- 1935 – Reinier Kreijermaat, Dutch footballer (d. 2018)
- 1936 – Henck Arron, Surinamese banker and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Suriname (d. 2000)
- 1938 – Roger Boisjoly, American aerodynamicist and engineer (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Ton Schulten, Dutch painter and graphic designer
- 1939 – Tarcisio Burgnich, Italian footballer and manager
- 1939 – Michael Llewellyn-Smith, English academic and diplomat
- 1939 – Robert Skidelsky, Baron Skidelsky, English historian and academic
- 1939 – Veronica Sutherland, English academic and British diplomat
- 1940 – Al Pacino, American actor and director
- 1941 – Bertrand Tavernier, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1942 – Jon Kyl, American lawyer and politician
- 1943 – Tony Christie, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1944 – Len Goodman, English dancer
- 1944 – Mike Kogel, German singer-songwriter
- 1944 – Stephen Nickell, English economist and academic
- 1944 – Bruce Ponder, English geneticist and cancer researcher
- 1945 – Stu Cook, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1945 – Richard C. Hoagland, American theorist and author
- 1945 – Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1946 – Talia Shire, American actress
- 1946 – Peter Sutherland, Irish lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Ireland
- 1946 – Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian colonel, lawyer, and politician
- 1947 – Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2016)
- 1947 – Jeffrey DeMunn, American actor
- 1948 – Mike Selvey, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1948 – Yu Shyi-kun, Taiwanese politician, 39th Premier of the Republic of China
- 1949 – Vicente Pernía, Argentinian footballer and race car driver
- 1949 – Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French economist, lawyer, and politician, French Minister of Finance
- 1949 – James Fenton, English poet, journalist and literary critic
- 1950 – Donnell Deeny, Northern Irish lawyer and judge
- 1950 – Steve Ferrone, English drummer
- 1950 – Peter Hintze, German politician (d. 2016)
- 1950 – Valentyna Kozyr, Ukrainian high jumper
- 1951 – Ian McCartney, Scottish politician, Minister of State for Trade
- 1952 – Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist and composer
- 1952 – Vladislav Tretiak, Russian ice hockey player and coach
- 1952 – Jacques Santini, French footballer and coach
- 1953 – Ron Clements, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
- 1953 – Gary Cosier, Australian cricketer
- 1953 – Anthony Venables, English economist, author, and academic
- 1954 – Melvin Burgess, English author
- 1954 – Randy Cross, American football player and sportscaster
- 1954 – Róisín Shortall, Irish educator and politician
- 1955 – Américo Gallego, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1955 – Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor and singer
- 1955 – Zev Siegl, American businessman, co-founded Starbucks
- 1956 – Dominique Blanc, French actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1956 – Abdalla Uba Adamu, Nigerian professor, media scholar
- 1957 – Theo de Rooij, Dutch cyclist and manager
- 1958 – Fish, Scottish singer-songwriter
- 1958 – Misha Glenny, British journalist
- 1959 – Paul Madden, English diplomat, British High Commissioner to Australia
- 1959 – Daniel Kash, Canadian actor and director
- 1959 – Tony Phillips, American baseball player (d. 2016)
- 1960 – Paul Baloff, American singer (d. 2002)
- 1960 – Robert Peston, English journalist
- 1960 – Bruce Redman, Australian director, producer, and critic
- 1961 – Dinesh D’Souza, Indian-American journalist and author
- 1961 – Miran Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper
- 1962 – Foeke Booy, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1963 – Joy Covey, American businesswoman (d. 2013)
- 1963 – Dave Martin, English footballer
- 1963 – David Moyes, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1963 – Bernd Müller, German footballer and manager
- 1963 – Paul Wassif, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – Hank Azaria, American actor, voice artist, comedian and producer
- 1964 – Andy Bell, English singer-songwriter
- 1965 – Eric Avery, American bass player and songwriter
- 1965 – Mark Bryant, American basketball player and coach
- 1965 – John Henson, American puppeteer and voice actor (d. 2014)
- 1966 – Diego Domínguez, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1966 – Femke Halsema, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician
- 1966 – Darren Holmes, American baseball player and coach
- 1966 – Erik Pappas, American baseball player and coach
- 1967 – Angel Martino, American swimmer
- 1968 – Vitaliy Kyrylenko, Ukrainian long jumper
- 1968 – Thomas Strunz, German footballer
- 1969 – Joe Buck, American sportscaster
- 1969 – Martin Koolhoven, Dutch director and screenwriter
- 1969 – Jon Olsen, American swimmer
- 1969 – Darren Woodson, American football player and sportscaster
- 1969 – Renée Zellweger, American actress and producer
- 1970 – Jason Lee, American skateboarder, actor, comedian and producer
- 1971 – Sara Baras, Spanish dancer
- 1971 – Brad Clontz, American baseball player
- 1973 – Carlota Castrejana, Spanish triple jumper
- 1973 – Fredrik Larzon, Swedish drummer
- 1973 – Barbara Rittner, German tennis player
- 1975 – Jacque Jones, American baseball player and coach
- 1976 – Gilberto da Silva Melo, Brazilian footballer
- 1976 – Tim Duncan, American basketball player
- 1976 – Breyton Paulse, South African rugby player
- 1976 – Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player and coach
- 1977 – Constantinos Christoforou, Cypriot singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Ilias Kotsios, Greek footballer
- 1977 – Marguerite Moreau, American actress and producer
- 1977 – Matthew West, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1978 – Matt Walker, English swimmer
- 1980 – Ben Johnston, Scottish drummer and songwriter
- 1980 – James Johnston, Scottish bass player and songwriter
- 1980 – Daniel MacPherson, Australian actor and television host
- 1980 – Bruce Martin, New Zealand cricketer
- 1980 – Kazuhito Tadano, Japanese baseball player
- 1980 – Alejandro Valverde, Spanish cyclist
- 1981 – Dwone Hicks, American football player
- 1981 – Felipe Massa, Brazilian racing driver
- 1981 – John McFall, English sprinter
- 1981 – Anja Pärson, Swedish skier
- 1982 – Brian Barton, American baseball player
- 1982 – Monty Panesar, English cricketer
- 1982 – Marco Russo, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Johnathan Thurston, Australian rugby league player
- 1983 – DeAngelo Williams, American football player
- 1984 – Robert Andino, American baseball player
- 1984 – Isaac Kiprono Songok, Kenyan runner
- 1985 – Giedo van der Garde, Dutch racing driver
- 1986 – Alexei Emelin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Thin Seng Hon, Cambodian Paralympic athlete
- 1986 – Gwen Jorgensen, American triathlete
- 1986 – Claudia Rath, German heptathlete
- 1987 – Razak Boukari, Togolese footballer
- 1987 – Jay Park, American-South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1987 – Johann Smith, American soccer player
- 1988 – James Sheppard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Marie-Michèle Gagnon, Canadian skier
- 1989 – Michael van Gerwen, Dutch darts player
- 1989 – Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, one of the highest-ranking spiritual leaders in Tibet
- 1990 – Jean-Éric Vergne, French racing driver
- 1990 – Taylor Walker, Australian footballer
- 1991 – Alex Shibutani, American ice dancer
- 1993 – Alex Bowman, American race car driver
- 1993 – Daniel Norris, American baseball player
- 1994 – Omar McLeod, Jamaican hurdler
- 1995 – Lewis Baker, English footballer
- 1996 – Mack Horton, Australian swimmer
- 1997 – Julius Ertlthaler, Austrian footballer
Deaths on April 25
- 501 – Rusticus, saint and archbishop of Lyon (b. 455)
- 775 – Smbat VII Bagratuni, Armenian prince
- 775 – Mushegh VI Mamikonian, Armenian prince
- 908 – Zhang Wenwei, Chinese chancellor
- 1074 – Herman I, Margrave of Baden
- 1077 – Géza I of Hungary (b. 1040)
- 1185 – Emperor Antoku of Japan (b. 1178)
- 1217 – Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia
- 1228 – Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem (b. 1212)
- 1243 – Boniface of Valperga, Bishop of Aosta
- 1264 – Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, medieval English nobleman; Earl of Winchester (b. 1195)
- 1295 – Sancho IV of Castile (b. 1258)
- 1342 – Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
- 1397 – Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, English nobleman
- 1472 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian author, poet, and philosopher (b. 1404)
- 1516 – John Yonge, English diplomat (b. 1467)
- 1566 – Louise Labé, French poet and author (b. 1520)
- 1566 – Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II of France (b. 1499)
- 1595 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and songwriter (b. 1544)
- 1605 – Naresuan, Siamese King of Ayutthaya Kingdom (b. c. 1555)
- 1644 – Chongzhen Emperor of China (b. 1611)
- 1660 – Henry Hammond, English cleric and theologian (b. 1605)
- 1690 – David Teniers the Younger, Flemish painter and educator (b. 1610)
- 1744 – Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1701)
- 1770 – Jean-Antoine Nollet, French minister, physicist, and academic (b. 1700)
- 1800 – William Cowper, English poet (b. 1731)
- 1840 – Siméon Denis Poisson, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1781)
- 1873 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1783)
- 1875 – 12th Dalai Lama (b. 1857)
- 1878 – Anna Sewell, English author (b. 1820)
- 1890 – Crowfoot, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1830)
- 1891 – Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (b. 1811)
- 1892 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (b. 1840)
- 1892 – Karl von Ditmar, Estonian-German geologist and explorer (b. 1822)
- 1906 – John Knowles Paine, American composer and educator (b. 1839)
- 1911 – Emilio Salgari, Italian journalist and author (b. 1862)
- 1913 – Joseph-Alfred Archambeault, Canadian bishop (b. 1859)
- 1915 – Frederick W. Seward, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1830)
- 1919 – Augustus D. Juilliard, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1836)
- 1923 – Louis-Olivier Taillon, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Premier of Quebec (b. 1840)
- 1928 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian general (b. 1878)
- 1941 – Salih Bozok, Turkish commander and politician (b. 1881)
- 1943 – Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian director, producer, and playwright (b. 1858)
- 1944 – George Herriman, American cartoonist (b. 1880)
- 1944 – Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player (b. 1859)
- 1944 – William Stephens, American engineer and politician, 24th Governor of California (b. 1859)
- 1945 – Huldreich Georg Früh, Swiss composer (b. 1903)
- 1961 – Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (b. 1875)
- 1970 – Anita Louise, American actress (b. 1915)
- 1972 – George Sanders, English actor (b. 1906)
- 1973 – Olga Grey, Hungarian-American actress (b. 1896)
- 1974 – Gustavo R. Vincenti, Maltese architect and developer (b. 1888)
- 1975 – Mike Brant, Israeli singer and songwriter (b.1947)
- 1976 – Carol Reed, English director and producer (b. 1906)
- 1976 – Markus Reiner, Israeli engineer and educator (b. 1886)
- 1982 – John Cody, American cardinal (b. 1907)
- 1983 – William S. Bowdern, American priest and author (b. 1897)
- 1988 – Carolyn Franklin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
- 1988 – Clifford D. Simak, American journalist and author (b. 1904)
- 1990 – Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist, composer, and actor (b. 1923)
- 1992 – Yutaka Ozaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1965)
- 1995 – Art Fleming, American game show host (b. 1925)
- 1995 – Ginger Rogers, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
- 1995 – Lev Shankovsky, Ukrainian military historian (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (b. 1920)
- 1998 – Wright Morris, American author and photographer (b. 1910)
- 1999 – Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish journalist and author (b. 1914)
- 1999 – Roger Troutman, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1951)
- 2000 – Lucien Le Cam, French mathematician and statistician (b. 1924)
- 2000 – David Merrick, American director and producer (b. 1911)
- 2001 – Michele Alboreto, Italian racing driver (b. 1956)
- 2002 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper and dancer (b. 1971)
- 2003 – Samson Kitur, Kenyan runner (b. 1966)
- 2004 – Thom Gunn, English-American poet and academic (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Jim Barker, American politician (b. 1935)
- 2005 – Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk and educator (b. 1908)
- 2006 – Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Peter Law, Welsh politician and independent member of parliament (b. 1948)
- 2007 – Alan Ball Jr., English footballer and manager (b. 1945)
- 2007 – Arthur Milton, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1928)
- 2007 – Bobby Pickett, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Humphrey Lyttelton, English trumpet player, composer, and radio host (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Dorothy Provine, American actress and singer (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Poly Styrene, British musician (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Gerry Bahen, Australian footballer (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Denny Jones, American rancher and politician (b. 1910)
- 2012 – Moscelyne Larkin, American ballerina and educator (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Louis le Brocquy, Irish painter and illustrator (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Brian Adam, Scottish biochemist and politician (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Jacob Avshalomov, American composer and conductor (b. 1919)
- 2013 – György Berencsi, Hungarian virologist and academic (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Rick Camp, American baseball player (b. 1953)
- 2014 – Dan Heap, Canadian priest and politician (b. 1925)
- 2014 – William Judson Holloway Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and judge (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Tito Vilanova, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1968)
- 2014 – Stefanie Zweig, German journalist and author (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Jim Fanning, American-Canadian baseball player and manager (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Don Mankiewicz, American screenwriter and novelist (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Mike Phillips, American basketball player (b. 1956)
- 2016 – Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1922)
- 2018 – Madeeha Gauhar, Pakistani actress, playwright and director of social theater, and women’s rights activist (b. 1956)
- 2019 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances on April 25
- Anniversary of the First Cabinet of Kurdish Government (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- Anzac Day (Australia, New Zealand)
- Arbor Day (Germany)
- Christian feast day:
- Giovanni Battista Piamarta
- Major Rogation (Western Christianity)
- Mark the Evangelist
- Maughold
- Philo and Agathopodes
- Anianus of Alexandria
- April 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- DNA Day
- Flag Day (Faroe Islands)
- Freedom Day (Portugal)
- Liberation Day (Italy)
- Liberation Day (South Georgia)
- Military Foundation Day (North Korea)
- Parental Alienation Awareness Day
- Red Hat Society Day
- Sinai Liberation Day (Egypt)
- World Malaria Day
-
April 8 in History
- 217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated. He is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
- 632 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde), along with his infant son Chilperic.
- 876 – The Battle of Dayr al-‘Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
- 1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin.
- 1139 – Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated.
- 1149 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum.
- 1232 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols begin their siege on Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty.
- 1271 – In Syria, sultan Baibars conquers the Krak des Chevaliers.
- 1665 – English colonial patents are granted for the establishment of the Monmouth Tract, for what would eventually become Monmouth County in northeastern New Jersey.
- 1730 – Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
- 1740 – War of Jenkins’ Ear: Three British ships capture the Spanish third-rate Princesa, taken into service as HMS Princess.
- 1808 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore is promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.
- 1820 – The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
- 1832 – Black Hawk War: Around three-hundred United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield: Union forces are thwarted by the Confederate army at Mansfield, Louisiana.
- 1866 – Italy and Prussia ally against the Austrian Empire.
- 1886 – William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
- 1895 – In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
- 1904 – The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
- 1904 – Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times.
- 1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, dies.
- 1908 – H. H. Asquith of the Liberal Party takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
- 1908 – Harvard University votes to establish the Harvard Business School.
- 1911 – Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity.
- 1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
- 1916 – In Corona, California, race car driver Bob Burman crashes, killing three (including himself), and badly injuring five spectators.
- 1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City’s financial district.
- 1924 – Sharia courts are abolished in Turkey, as part of Atatürk’s Reforms.
- 1929 – Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
- 1935 – The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
- 1942 – World War II: Siege of Leningrad: Soviet forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
- 1942 – World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.
- 1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.
- 1943 – Otto and Elise Hampel are executed in Berlin for their anti-Nazi activities.
- 1945 – World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.
- 1946 – Électricité de France, the world’s largest utility company, is formed as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.
- 1950 – India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat–Nehru Pact.
- 1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills in an attempt to prevent the 1952 steel strike.
- 1953 – Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by British Kenya’s rulers.
- 1954 – A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collides with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
- 1954 – South African Airways Flight 201 A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 crashes into the sea during night killing 21 people.
- 1959 – A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
- 1959 – The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
- 1960 – The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
- 1961 – A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf kills 238.
- 1964 – The Gemini 1 test flight is conducted.
- 1968 – BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after takeoff. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
- 1970 – Bahr El-Baqar primary school bombing: Israeli bombers strike an Egyptian school. Forty-six children are killed.
- 1974 – At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth’s 39-year-old record.
- 1975 – Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball’s first African American manager.
- 1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racially charged remarks he had made while on Nightline.
- 1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
- 1993 – The Republic of North Macedonia joins the United Nations.
- 1999 – Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the Indian National Congress.
- 2004 – War in Darfur: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
- 2006 – Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.
- 2008 – The construction of the world’s first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain.
- 2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham.
Births on April 8
- 1320 – Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
- 1408 – Jadwiga of Lithuania, Polish princess (d. 1431)
- 1435 – John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford, English noble (d. 1461)
- 1533 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1604)
- 1536 – Barbara of Hesse (d. 1597)
- 1541 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (d. 1593)
- 1580 – William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, English noble, courtier and patron of the arts (d. 1630)
- 1596 – Juan van der Hamen, Spanish artist (d. 1631)
- 1605 – Philip IV of Spain (d. 1665)
- 1605 – Mary Stuart, English-Scottish princess (d. 1607)
- 1641 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1704)
- 1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1770)
- 1726 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (d. 1798)
- 1732 – David Rittenhouse, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1796)
- 1761 – William Joseph Chaminade, French priest, founded the Society of Mary (d. 1850)
- 1770 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian banker and politician (d. 1830)
- 1798 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and author (d. 1857)
- 1818 – Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)
- 1818 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (d. 1892)
- 1826 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican soldier (d. 1890)
- 1827 – Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican ophthalmologist, journalist, and politician (d. 1898)
- 1842 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (d. 1933)
- 1859 – Edmund Husserl, German Jewish-Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1938)
- 1864 – Carlos Deltour, French rower and rugby player (d. 1920)
- 1867 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter and educator (d. 1908)
- 1869 – Harvey Cushing, American surgeon and academic (d. 1939)
- 1871 – Clarence Hudson White, American photographer and educator (d. 1925)
- 1874 – Manuel Díaz, Cuban fencer (d. 1929)
- 1874 – Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960)
- 1875 – Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
- 1882 (O.S. 27 March) – Dmytro Doroshenko, Lithuanian-Ukrainian historian and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Prime Minister of Ukraine (d. 1951)
- 1883 – R. P. Keigwin, English cricketer and academic (d. 1972)
- 1883 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (d. 1936)
- 1885 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier, composer, and educator (d. 1951)
- 1886 – Margaret Ayer Barnes, American author and playwright (d. 1967)
- 1888 – Dennis Chávez, American journalist and politician (d. 1962)
- 1889 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (d. 1983)
- 1892 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (d. 1970)
- 1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded United Artists (d. 1979)
- 1896 – Yip Harburg, American composer (d. 1981)
- 1900 – Marie Byles, Australian solicitor (d. 1979)
- 1902 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1924)
- 1902 – Maria Maksakova Sr., Russian soprano (d. 1974)
- 1904 – John Hicks, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
- 1904 – Hirsch Jacobs, American horse trainer (d. 1970)
- 1905 – Joachim Büchner, German sprinter and graphic designer (d. 1978)
- 1905 – Helen Joseph, English-South African activist (d. 1992)
- 1905 – Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)
- 1906 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (d. 1974)
- 1908 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
- 1909 – John Fante, American author and screenwriter (d. 1983)
- 1910 – George Musso, American football player and police officer (d. 2000)
- 1911 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
- 1911 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and academic (d. 1995)
- 1912 – Alois Brunner, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 2001 or 2010)
- 1912 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian-American figure skater and actress (d. 1969)
- 1914 – María Félix, Yaqui/Basque-Mexican actress (d. 2002)
- 1915 – Ivan Supek, Croatian physicist, philosopher and writer (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Winifred Asprey, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Lloyd Bott, Australian public servant (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Hubertus Ernst, Dutch bishop (d. 2017)
- 1917 – Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer (d. 1988)
- 1918 – Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States (d. 2011)
- 1918 – Glendon Swarthout, American author and academic (d. 1992)
- 1919 – Ian Smith, Zimbabwean lieutenant and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Franco Corelli, Italian tenor and actor (d. 2003)
- 1921 – Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984)
- 1921 – Herman van Raalte, Dutch footballer (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Carmen McRae, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress (d. 1994)
- 1923 – George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
- 1923 – Edward Mulhare, Irish-American actor (d. 1997)
- 1924 – Frédéric Back, German-Canadian animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English general and historian (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Kumar Gandharva, Hindustani classical singer (d. 1992)
- 1924 – Sara Northrup Hollister, American occultist (d. 1997)
- 1926 – Henry N. Cobb, American architect and academic, co-founded Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (d. 2020)
- 1926 – Shecky Greene, American actor
- 1926 – Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian and academic
- 1927 – Tilly Armstrong, English author (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Ollie Mitchell, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Fred Ebb, American lyricist (d. 2004)
- 1929 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1978)
- 1929 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (d. 1996)
- 1930 – Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma (d. 2010)
- 1931 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Mexico (d. 2018)
- 1932 – Iskandar of Johor (d. 2010)
- 1933 – James Lockhart, American scholar of colonial Latin America, especially Nahua peoples (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower and Singapore Flyer (d. 2007)
- 1935 – Oscar Zeta Acosta, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
- 1935 – Albert Bustamante, American soldier, educator, and politician
- 1937 – Tony Barton, English footballer, outside right and manager (d. 1993)
- 1937 – Seymour Hersh, American journalist and author
- 1937 – Momo Kapor, Serbian author and painter (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian economist and diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 2018)
- 1938 – John Hamm, Canadian physician and politician, 25th Premier of Nova Scotia
- 1938 – Mary W. Gray, American mathematician, statistician, and lawyer
- 1939 – John Arbuthnott, Scottish microbiologist and academic
- 1939 – Trina Schart Hyman, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
- 1940 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (d. 2019)
- 1941 – J. J. Jackson, American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger
- 1941 – Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer
- 1942 – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Northern Irish politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics (d. 2006)
- 1942 – Roger Chapman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 – Douglas Trumbull, American director, producer, and special effects artist
- 1943 – Michael Bennett, American dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
- 1943 – Miller Farr, American football player
- 1943 – James Herbert, English author and illustrator (d. 2013)
- 1943 – Chris Orr, English painter and illustrator
- 1944 – Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor (d. 2017)
- 1944 – Odd Nerdrum, Swedish-Norwegian painter and illustrator
- 1945 – Derrick Walker, Scottish businessman
- 1945 – Jang Yong, South Korean actor
- 1946 – Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999)
- 1946 – Tim Thomerson, American actor and producer
- 1947 – Tom DeLay, American lawyer and politician
- 1947 – Steve Howe, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1947 – Robert Kiyosaki, American businessman, co-founded Cashflow Technologies
- 1947 – Pascal Lamy, French businessman and politician, European Commissioner for Trade
- 1947 – Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter, and producer (d. 2008)
- 1948 – Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone, Scottish academic and politician
- 1949 – K. C. Kamalasabayson, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 39th Attorney General of Sri Lanka (d. 2007)
- 1949 – John Madden, English director and producer
- 1949 – Brenda Russell, African-American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1949 – John Scott, English sociologist and academic
- 1950 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer and coach
- 1951 – Gerd Andres, German politician
- 1951 – Geir Haarde, Icelandic economist, journalist, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Iceland
- 1951 – Mel Schacher, American bass player
- 1951 – Joan Sebastian, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2015)
- 1952 – Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician (d. 2004)
- 1954 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco (d. 2012)
- 1954 – G.V. Loganathan, Indian-American engineer and academic (d. 2007)
- 1955 – Ricky Bell, American football player (d. 1984)
- 1955 – Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer
- 1955 – Ron Johnson, American businessman and politician
- 1955 – Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist, essayist and poet
- 1955 – David Wu, Taiwanese-American lawyer and politician
- 1956 – Michael Benton, Scottish-English paleontologist and academic
- 1956 – Christine Boisson, French actress
- 1956 – Roman Dragoun, Czech singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1956 – Jim Piddock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Fred Smerlas, American football player and radio host
- 1958 – Detlef Bruckhoff, German footballer
- 1958 – Tom Petranoff, American javelin thrower and coach
- 1959 – Alain Bondue, French cyclist
- 1960 – John Schneider, American actor and country singer
- 1961 – Richard Hatch, American reality contestant
- 1961 – Brian McDermott, English footballer and manager
- 1962 – Paddy Lowe, English engineer
- 1962 – Izzy Stradlin, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1963 – Tine Asmundsen, Norwegian bassist
- 1963 – Julian Lennon, English singer-songwriter
- 1963 – Terry Porter, American basketball player and coach
- 1963 – Donita Sparks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1963 – Alec Stewart, English cricketer
- 1963 – Seth Tobias, American businessman (d. 2007)
- 1964 – Biz Markie, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1964 – John McGinlay, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1965 – Steven Blaney, Canadian businessman and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of Public Safety
- 1965 – Michael Jones, New Zealand rugby player and coach
- 1966 – Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (d. 2014)
- 1966 – Mark Blundell, English race car driver
- 1966 – Andy Currier, English rugby league player
- 1966 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand-Australian television host (d. 2014)
- 1966 – Dalton Grant, English high jumper
- 1966 – Mazinho, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1966 – Harri Rovanperä, Finnish race car driver
- 1966 – Evripidis Stylianidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
- 1966 – Robin Wright, American actress, director, producer
- 1967 – Kenny Benjamin, Antiguan cricketer
- 1968 – Patricia Arquette, French-Canadian Russian/Polish Jewish-American actress and director
- 1968 – Patricia Girard, French runner and hurdler
- 1968 – Tracy Grammer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1971 – Darren Jessee, American singer-songwriter and drummer
- 1972 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2010)
- 1972 – Sergei Magnitsky, Russian lawyer and accountant (d. 2009)
- 1973 – Khaled Badra, Tunisian footballer
- 1973 – Emma Caulfield, American actress
- 1974 – Toutai Kefu, Tongan-Australian rugby player
- 1974 – Nnedi Okorafor, Nigerian-American author and educator
- 1975 – Anouk, Dutch singer
- 1975 – Francesco Flachi, Italian footballer
- 1975 – Timo Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1975 – Funda Arar, Turkish singer
- 1977 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress
- 1977 – Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist and author (d. 2008)
- 1977 – Mark Spencer, American computer programmer and engineer
- 1978 – Daigo, Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and voice actor
- 1978 – Bernt Haas, Austrian-Swiss footballer
- 1978 – Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress
- 1978 – Jocelyn Robichaud, Canadian tennis player and coach
- 1978 – Evans Rutto, Kenyan runner
- 1979 – Alexi Laiho, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Amit Trivedi, Indian singer-songwriter
- 1980 – Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
- 1980 – Katee Sackhoff, American actress
- 1980 – Mariko Seyama, Japanese announcer, photographer, and model
- 1981 – Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
- 1981 – Ofer Shechter, Israeli model, actor, and screenwriter
- 1982 – Gennady Golovkin, Kazakhstani boxer
- 1982 – Brett White, Australian rugby league player
- 1983 – Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova, Russian runner
- 1984 – Michelle Donelan, British politician
- 1984 – Ezra Koenig, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1984 – Pablo Portillo, Mexican singer and actor
- 1984 – Taran Noah Smith, American actor
- 1985 – Patrick Schliwa, German rugby player
- 1985 – Yemane Tsegay, Ethiopian runner
- 1986 – Igor Akinfeev, Russian footballer
- 1986 – Félix Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
- 1987 – Royston Drenthe, Dutch footballer
- 1987 – Jeremy Hellickson, American baseball player
- 1987 – Sam Rapira, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1988 – Jenni Asserholt, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1988 – Kim Myung-sung, South Korean baseball player
- 1990 – Kim Jong-hyun, South Korean singer (d. 2017)
- 1993 – Viktor Arvidsson, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1993 – Zac Santo, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Josh Chudleigh, Australian rugby league player
- 1995 – Cedi Osman, Turkish professional basketball player
- 1997 – Saygrace, Australian singer and songwriter
- 1997 – Arno Verschueren, Belgian professional football player
Deaths on April 8
- 217 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (b. 188)
- 622 – Shōtoku, Japanese prince (b. 572)
- 632 – Charibert II, Frankish king (b. 607)
- 894 – Adalelm, Frankish nobleman
- 944 – Wang Yanxi, Chinese emperor
- 956 – Gilbert, Frankish nobleman
- 967 – Mu’izz al-Dawla, Buyid emir (b. 915)
- 1143 – John II Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1087)
- 1150 – Gertrude of Babenberg , duchess of Bohemia (b. 1118)
- 1321 – Thomas of Tolentino, Italian-Franciscan missionary (b. c. 1255)
- 1338 – Stephen Gravesend, bishop of London
- 1364 – John II, French king (b. 1319)
- 1450 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (b. 1397)
- 1461 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423)
- 1492 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1449)
- 1551 – Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)
- 1586 – Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran theologian and reformer (b. 1522)
- 1608 – Magdalen Dacre, English noble (b. 1538)
- 1612 – Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (b. 1575)
- 1691 – Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect, designed the Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto (b. 1611)
- 1697 – Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (b. 1629)
- 1704 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist and philologist (b. 1624)
- 1704 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English colonel and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1641)
- 1709 – Wolfgang Dietrich of Castell-Remlingen, German nobleman (b. 1641)
- 1725 – John Wise, American minister (b. 1652)
- 1735 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
- 1848 – Gaetano Donizetti, Italian composer (b. 1797)
- 1860 – István Széchenyi, Hungarian statesman and reformer (b.1791)
- 1861 – Elisha Otis, American businessman, founded the Otis Elevator Company (b. 1811)
- 1870 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (b. 1802)
- 1894 – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1838)
- 1906 – Auguste Deter, German woman, first person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (b. 1850)
- 1919 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist, academic, and politician, Hungarian Minister of Education (b. 1848)
- 1920 – Charles Griffes, American pianist and composer (b. 1884)
- 1931 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish poet Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
- 1936 – Róbert Bárány, Austrian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
- 1936 – Božena Benešová, Czech poet and novelist (b. 1873)
- 1941 – Marcel Prévost, French novelist and playwright (b. 1862)
- 1942 – Kostas Skarvelis, Greek guitarist and composer (b. 1880)
- 1947 – Olaf Frydenlund, Norwegian target shooter (b. 1862)
- 1950 – Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish dancer and choreographer (b. 1890)
- 1959 – Marios Makrionitis, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Athens (b. 1913)
- 1961 – Joseph Carrodus, Australian public servant (b. 1885)
- 1962 – Juan Belmonte, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1892)
- 1965 – Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (b. 1886)
- 1969 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian astronomer (b. 1900)
- 1973 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1881)
- 1974 – James Charles McGuigan, Canadian cardinal (b. 1894)
- 1979 – Breece D’J Pancake, American short story writer (b. 1952)
- 1981 – Omar Bradley, American general (b. 1893)
- 1983 – Isamu Kosugi, Japanese actor and director (b. 1904)
- 1984 – Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1894)
- 1985 – John Frederick Coots, American pianist and composer (b. 1897)
- 1990 – Ryan White, American activist, inspired the Ryan White Care Act (b. 1971)
- 1991 – Per Ohlin, Swedish musician (b. 1969)
- 1992 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-Italian pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
- 1993 – Marian Anderson, American operatic singer (b. 1897)
- 1994 – François Rozet, French-Canadian actor (b. 1899)
- 1996 – Ben Johnson, American actor and stuntman (b. 1918)
- 1996 – León Klimovsky, Argentinian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
- 1996 – Mick Young, Australian politician (b. 1936)
- 1997 – Laura Nyro, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1947)
- 2000 – František Šťastný, Czech motorcycle racer (b. 1927)
- 2000 – Claire Trevor, American actress (b. 1910)
- 2002 – María Félix, Mexican actress (b. 1914)
- 2002 – Harvey Quaytman, American painter (b. 1937)
- 2004 – Werner Schumacher, German actor (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Onna White, Canadian choreographer and dancer (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Gerard Reve, Dutch author and poet (b. 1923)
- 2007 – Sol LeWitt, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928)
- 2008 – Kazuo Shiraga, Japanese painter (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Richard de Mille, American Scientologist, author, investigative journalist, and psychologist (b. 1922)
- 2009 – Piotr Morawski, Polish mountaineer (b. 1976)
- 2010 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
- 2010 – Teddy Scholten, Dutch singer (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Hedda Sterne, Romanian-American painter and photographer (b. 1910)
- 2012 – Blair Kiel, American football player and coach (b. 1961)
- 2012 – Jack Tramiel, Polish-American businessman, founded Commodore International (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Janusz K. Zawodny, Polish-American soldier, historian, and political scientist (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Mikhail Beketov, Russian journalist (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Annette Funicello, American actress and singer (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Sara Montiel, Spanish-Mexican actress and singer (b. 1928)
- 2013 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Emmanuel III Delly, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Ivan Mercep, New Zealand architect, designed the Te Papa Tongarewa Museum (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Jayakanthan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Rayson Huang, Hong Kong chemist and academic (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Sergei Lashchenko, Ukrainian kick-boxer (b. 1987)
- 2015 – David Laventhol, American journalist and publisher (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Jean-Claude Turcotte, Canadian cardinal (b. 1936)
Holidays and observances on April 8
- Buddha’s Birthday, also known as Hana Matsuri, “Flower Festival” (Japan)
- Christian feast day:
- Anne Ayres (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Constantina
- Julie Billiart of Namur
- Perpetuus
- Walter of Pontoise
- William Augustus Muhlenberg (Episcopal Church (USA))
- April 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Fast and Prayer Day can fall, while April 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Friday in April (Liberia)
- International Romani Day