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  • July 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra shatters Sparta’s reputation of military invincibility.
    • 640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under ‘Amr ibn al-‘As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt).
    • 1253 – Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania.
    • 1348 – Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death.
    • 1411 – Ming China’s Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor.
    • 1415 – Jan Hus is condemned by the assembly of the council in the cathedral as a heretic and sentenced to be burned at the stake. (See Deaths section.)
    • 1438 – A temporary compromise between the rebellious Transylvanian peasants and the noblemen is signed in Kolozsmonostor Abbey.
    • 1483 – Richard III is crowned King of England.
    • 1484 – Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River.
    • 1495 – First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League.
    • 1535 – Sir Thomas More is executed for treason against King Henry VIII of England.
    • 1557 – King Philip II of Spain, consort of Queen Mary I of England, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of the City of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, and Mary I never seeing her husband again.
    • 1560 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England.
    • 1573 – Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera.
    • 1573 – French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends.
    • 1614 – Raid on Żejtun: The south east of Malta, and the town of Żejtun, suffer a raid from Ottoman forces. This was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans to conquer the island of Malta.
    • 1630 – Thirty Years’ War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany.
    • 1685 – Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.
    • 1751 – Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia.
    • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York.
    • 1779 – Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces during the American Revolutionary War.
    • 1801 – First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras.
    • 1809 – The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars.
    • 1854 – In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the United States Republican Party is held.
    • 1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
    • 1887 – David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king’s authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
    • 1892 – Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded.
    • 1917 – World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt.
    • 1918 – The Left SR uprising in Russia starts with the assassination of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach by Cheka members.
    • 1919 – The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship.
    • 1933 – The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago’s Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2.
    • 1936 – A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell.
    • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid.
    • 1939 – Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises.
    • 1940 – Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia’s longest cantilever bridge is formally opened.
    • 1941 – The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk.
    • 1942 – Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the “Secret Annexe” above her father’s office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
    • 1944 – Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial.
    • 1944 – The Hartford circus fire, one of America’s worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut.
    • 1947 – Referendum held in Sylhet to decide its fate in the Partition of India.
    • 1947 – The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union.
    • 1957 – Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so.
    • 1957 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles.
    • 1962 – As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place.
    • 1962 – The Late Late Show, the world’s longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time.
    • 1964 – Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.
    • 1966 – Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President.
    • 1967 – Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war.
    • 1975 – The Comoros declares independence from France.
    • 1986 – Davis Phinney becomes the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France.
    • 1988 – The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world’s worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life.
    • 1989 – The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: Sixteen bus passengers are killed when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took control of the bus and drove it over a cliff.
    • 1990 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation is founded.
    • 1995 – In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.
    • 1997 – The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland.
    • 1998 – Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city’s international airport.
    • 2003 – The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively.
    • 2006 – The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
    • 2013 – At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria.
    • 2013 – A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board.
    • 2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town’s central area.

    Births on July 6

    • 1387 – Queen Blanche I of Navarre (d. 1441)
    • 1423 – Antonio Manetti, Italian mathematician and architect (d. 1497)
    • 1580 – Johann Stobäus, German lute player and composer (d. 1646)
    • 1623 – Jacopo Melani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1676)
    • 1678 – Nicola Francesco Haym, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1729)
    • 1686 – Antoine de Jussieu, French biologist and academic (d. 1758)
    • 1701 – Mary, Countess of Harold, English aristocrat and philanthropist (d. 1785)
    • 1736 – Daniel Morgan, American general and politician (d. 1802)
    • 1747 – John Paul Jones, Scottish-American captain (d. 1792)
    • 1766 – Alexander Wilson, Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, and illustrator (d. 1813)
    • 1781 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (d. 1826)
    • 1782 – Maria Luisa of Spain (d. 1824)
    • 1785 – William Hooker, English botanist and academic (d. 1865)
    • 1789 – María Isabella of Spain (d. 1846)
    • 1796 – Nicholas I of Russia (d. 1855)
    • 1797 – Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey (d. 1869)
    • 1799 – Louisa Caroline Huggins Tuthill, American author (d. 1879)
    • 1817 – Albert von Kölliker, Swiss anatomist and physiologist (d. 1905)
    • 1818 – Adolf Anderssen, German chess player (d. 1879)
    • 1823 – Sophie Adlersparre, Swedish publisher, writer, and women’s rights activist (d. 1895)
    • 1829 – Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1880)
    • 1831 – Sylvester Pennoyer, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Oregon (d. 1902)
    • 1832 – Maximilian I of Mexico (d. 1867)
    • 1837 – R. G. Bhandarkar, Indian orientalist and scholar (d. 1925)
    • 1838 – Vatroslav Jagić, Croatian philologist and scholar (d. 1923)
    • 1840 – José María Velasco Gómez, Mexican painter and academic (d. 1912)
    • 1843 – John Downer, Australian politician, 16th Premier of South Australia (d. 1915)
    • 1856 – George Howard Earle, Jr., American lawyer and businessman (d. 1928)
    • 1858 – William Irvine, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Victoria (d. 1943)
    • 1865 – Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss composer and educator (d. 1950)
    • 1868 – Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1935)
    • 1873 – Dimitrios Maximos, Greek banker and politician, 140th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1955)
    • 1877 – Arnaud Massy, French golfer (d. 1950)
    • 1878 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet and journalist (d. 1926)
    • 1883 – Godfrey Huggins, Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (d. 1971)
    • 1884 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American businessman and sailor (d. 1970)
    • 1885 – Ernst Busch, German field marshal (d. 1945)
    • 1886 – Marc Bloch, French historian and academic (d. 1944)
    • 1887 – Marc Chagall, Belarusian-French painter and poet (d. 1985)
    • 1887 – Annette Kellerman, Australian swimmer and actress (d. 1975)
    • 1890 – Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Indian-American author and scholar (d. 1936)
    • 1892 – Will James, American author and illustrator (d. 1942)
    • 1897 – Richard Krautheimer, German-American historian and scholar (d. 1994)
    • 1898 – Hanns Eisler, German-Austrian soldier and composer (d. 1962)
    • 1899 – Susannah Mushatt Jones, American supercentarian (d. 2016)
    • 1900 – Frederica Sagor Maas, American author and screenwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1900 – Elfriede Wever, German Olympic runner (d. 1941)
    • 1903 – Hugo Theorell, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
    • 1904 – Robert Whitney, American conductor and composer (d. 1986)
    • 1904 – Erik Wickberg, Swedish 9th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1996)
    • 1905 – Juan O’Gorman, Mexican painter and architect (d. 1982)
    • 1907 – Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter and educator (d. 1954)
    • 1907 – George Stanley, Canadian soldier, historian, and author, designed the flag of Canada (d. 2002)
    • 1908 – Anton Muttukumaru, Sri Lankan general and diplomat (d. 2001)
    • 1909 – Eric Reece, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of Tasmania (d. 1999)
    • 1910 – René Le Grèves, French cyclist (d. 1946)
    • 1911 – June Gale, American actress (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Heinrich Harrer, Austrian geographer and mountaineer (d. 2006)
    • 1912 – Molly Yard, American feminist (d. 2005)
    • 1913 – Vance Trimble, American journalist and author
    • 1914 – Vince McMahon Sr., American wrestling promoter, founded WWE (d. 1984)
    • 1914 – Ernest Kirkendall, American chemist and metallurgist (d. 2005)
    • 1915 – Leonard Birchall, Royal Canadian Air Force pilot (d. 2004)
    • 1916 – Harold Norse, American poet and author (d. 2009)
    • 1916 – Don R. Christensen, American animator, cartoonist, illustrator, writer and inventor (d. 2006)
    • 1917 – Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand runner and coach (d. 2004)
    • 1918 – Sebastian Cabot, English-Canadian actor (d. 1977)
    • 1918 – Herm Fuetsch, American professional basketball player (d. 2010)
    • 1918 – Francisco Moncion, Dominican-American ballet dancer, charter member of the New York City Ballet (d.1995)
    • 1919 – Ernst Haefliger, Swiss tenor and educator (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Edward Kenna, Australian Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Ray Dowker, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2004)
    • 1921 – Allan MacEachen, Canadian economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2017)
    • 1921 – Billy Mauch, American actor (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Bobby Mauch, American actor (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – Nancy Reagan, American actress and activist, 42nd First Lady of the United States (d. 2016)
    • 1922 – William Schallert, American actor; president (1979–81) of the Screen Actors Guild (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Mahim Bora, Indian writer and educationist, recipients of the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Louie Bellson, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (d. 2009)
    • 1925 – Merv Griffin, American actor, singer, and producer, created Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! (d. 2007)
    • 1925 – Bill Haley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1981)
    • 1925 – Gazi Yaşargil, Turkish neurosurgeon and academic
    • 1926 – Sulev Vahtre, Estonian historian and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Armando Silvestre, Mexican-American actor
    • 1927 – Jan Hein Donner, Dutch chess player and journalist (d. 1988)
    • 1927 – Janet Leigh, American actress and author (d. 2004)
    • 1928 – Bernard Malgrange, French mathematician
    • 1929 – Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, French politician historian
    • 1930 – George Armstrong, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1930 – Ian Burgess, English racing driver (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – Della Reese, American actress and singer (d. 2017)
    • 1931 – László Tábori, Hungarian runner and coach (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Herman Hertzberger, Dutch architect and academic
    • 1935 – Candy Barr, American model, dancer, and actress (d. 2005)
    • 1935 – Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
    • 1936 – Dave Allen, Irish comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1937 – Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian-Icelandic pianist and conductor
    • 1937 – Ned Beatty, American actor
    • 1937 – Gene Chandler, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1937 – Bessie Head, Botswanan writer
    • 1937 – Michael Sata, Zambian police officer and politician, 5th President of Zambia (d. 2014)
    • 1939 – Jet Harris, English bass player (d. 2011)
    • 1939 – Mary Peters, English-Irish pentathlete and shot putter
    • 1939 – Bruce Hunter, American swimmer (d. 2018)
    • 1940 – Jeannie Seely, Grammy Award-winning country music singer-songwriter and Grand Ole Opry member
    • 1940 – Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh politician, 1st President of Kazakhstan
    • 1941 – David Crystal, British linguist, author, and academic
    • 1941 – Reinhard Roder, German footballer and manager
    • 1943 – Tamara Sinyavskaya, Russian soprano
    • 1944 – Gunhild Hoffmeister, German runner
    • 1946 – George W. Bush, American businessman and politician, 43rd President of the United States
    • 1946 – Fred Dryer, American football player and actor
    • 1946 – Peter Singer, Australian philosopher and academic
    • 1946 – Sylvester Stallone, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1947 – Roy Señeres, Filipino diplomat and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1948 – Nathalie Baye, French actress
    • 1948 – Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Canadian academic and politician, 26th Canadian Minister of Veterans Affairs
    • 1948 – Brad Park, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1949 – Noli de Castro, Filipino journalist and politician, 14th Vice President of the Philippines
    • 1949 – Phyllis Hyman, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1995)
    • 1949 – Michael Shrieve, American composer, drummer, and percussionist
    • 1950 – John Byrne, English-American author and illustrator
    • 1951 – Lorna Golding, Former First Lady of Jamaica
    • 1951 – Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor and producer
    • 1952 – Hilary Mantel, English author and critic
    • 1953 – Nanci Griffith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1953 – Kaiser Kalambo, Zambian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1953 – Robert Ménard, French politician and former journalist
    • 1954 – Allyce Beasley, American actress
    • 1954 – Willie Randolph, American baseball player and manager
    • 1958 – Jennifer Saunders, English actress, comedian and screenwriter
    • 1959 – Richard Dacoury, French basketball player
    • 1960 – Maria Wasiak, Polish businesswoman and politician, Polish Minister of Infrastructure and Development
    • 1961 – Robin Antin, American dancer, choreographer, and businesswoman
    • 1962 – Todd Bennett, English runner and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1962 – Peter Hedges, American author, screenwriter, and director
    • 1967 – Heather Nova, Bermudian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1970 – Inspectah Deck, American rapper and producer
    • 1970 – Martin Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1972 – Daniel Andrews, Australian politician, 48th Premier of Victoria
    • 1972 – Laurent Gaudé, French author and playwright
    • 1972 – Greg Norton, American baseball player and coach
    • 1972 – Zhanna Pintusevich-Block, Ukrainian sprinter
    • 1974 – Zé Roberto, Brazilian footballer
    • 1975 – 50 Cent, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1975 – Sebastián Rulli, Argentine-Mexican actor and model
    • 1975 – Amir-Abbas Fakhravar, Iranian journalist and activist
    • 1976 – Rory Delap, English-Irish footballer
    • 1976 – Ioana Dumitriu, Romanian-American mathematician and academic
    • 1977 – Max Mirnyi, Belarusian tennis player
    • 1977 – Makhaya Ntini, South African cricketer
    • 1978 – Adam Busch, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1978 – Tamera Mowry, American actress and producer
    • 1978 – Tia Mowry, American actress and producer
    • 1978 – Kevin Senio, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1979 – Nic Cester, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Kevin Hart, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1980 – Joell Ortiz, American rapper
    • 1980 – Eva Green, French actress and model
    • 1981 – Nnamdi Asomugha, American football player
    • 1981 – Roman Shirokov, Russian footballer
    • 1982 – Brandon Jacobs, American football player
    • 1982 – Misty Upham, American actress (d. 2014)
    • 1983 – Gregory Smith, Canadian actor, director, and producer
    • 1984 – Zhang Hao, Chinese figure skater
    • 1985 – Ranveer Singh, Indian film actor
    • 1986 – David Karp, American businessman, founded Tumblr
    • 1987 – Sophie Auster, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1987 – Manteo Mitchell, American runner
    • 1987 – Kate Nash, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1987 – Caroline Trentini, Brazilian model
    • 1988 – Kevin Fickentscher, Swiss footballer
    • 1990 – Magaye Gueye, French footballer
    • 1992 – Manny Machado, Dominican-American baseball player

    Deaths on July 6

    • 371 BC – Cleombrotus I, Spartan king
    • 649 – Goar of Aquitaine, French bishop
    • 887 – Wang Chongrong, Chinese warlord
    • 918 – William I, duke of Aquitaine (b. 875)
    • 1017 – Genshin, Japanese scholar (b. 942)
    • 1070 – Godelieve, Flemish saint (b. 1049)
    • 1189 – Henry II, king of England (b. 1133)
    • 1218 – Odo III, duke of Burgundy (b. 1166)
    • 1249 – Alexander II, king of Scotland (b. 1198)
    • 1415 – Jan Hus, Czech priest, philosopher, and reformer (b. 1369)
    • 1476 – Regiomontanus, German mathematician and astrologer (b. 1436)
    • 1480 – Antonio Squarcialupi, Italian composer (b. 1416)
    • 1533 – Ludovico Ariosto, Italian poet and playwright (b. 1474)
    • 1535 – Thomas More, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1478)
    • 1553 – Edward VI, king of England and Ireland (b. 1537)
    • 1583 – Edmund Grindal, English archbishop (b. 1519)
    • 1585 – Thomas Aufield, English priest and martyr (b. 1552)
    • 1614 – Man Singh I, Rajput Raja of Amer (b. 1550)
    • 1684 – Peter Gunning, English bishop (b. 1614)
    • 1758 – George Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe, English general and politician (b. 1725)
    • 1768 – Conrad Beissel, German-American religious leader (b. 1690)
    • 1802 – Daniel Morgan, American general and politician (b. 1736)
    • 1809 – Antoine Charles Louis de Lasalle, French general (b. 1775)
    • 1813 – Granville Sharp, English activist (b. 1735)
    • 1815 – Samuel Whitbread, English politician (b. 1764)
    • 1835 – John Marshall, American captain and politician, 4th United States Secretary of State (b. 1755)
    • 1854 – Georg Ohm, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1789)
    • 1868 – Harada Sanosuke, Japanese captain (b. 1840)
    • 1893 – Guy de Maupassant, French short story writer, novelist, and poet (b. 1850)
    • 1901 – Chlodwig Carl Viktor, German prince and chancellor (b. 1819)
    • 1902 – Maria Goretti, Italian martyr and saint (b. 1890)
    • 1904 – Abai Qunanbaiuly, Kazakh poet and philosopher (b. 1845)
    • 1907 – August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German linguist and theologian (b. 1826)
    • 1916 – Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (b. 1840)
    • 1918 – Wilhelm von Mirbach, German diplomat (b. 1871)
    • 1922 – Maria Teresia Ledóchowska, Polish-Austrian nun and missionary (b. 1863)
    • 1932 – Kenneth Grahame, Scottish-English author (b. 1859)
    • 1934 – Nestor Makhno, Ukrainian commander (b. 1888)
    • 1946 – Horace Pippin, American painter (b. 1888)
    • 1947 – Adolfo Müller-Ury, Swiss-American painter (b. 1862)
    • 1952 – Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 14th Premier of Quebec (b. 1867)
    • 1959 – George Grosz, German painter and illustrator (b. 1893)
    • 1960 – Aneurin Bevan, Welsh-English politician, Secretary of State for Health (b. 1897)
    • 1961 – Scott LaFaro, American bassist (b. 1936)
    • 1961 – Woodall Rodgers, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of Dallas (b. 1890)
    • 1962 – Paul Boffa, Maltese soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1890)
    • 1962 – William Faulkner, American novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
    • 1962 – Joseph August, archduke of Austria (b. 1872)
    • 1963 – George, duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1899)
    • 1964 – Claude V. Ricketts, American admiral (b. 1906)
    • 1966 – Sad Sam Jones, American baseball player and manager (b. 1892)
    • 1967 – Hilda Taba, Estonian architect and educator (b. 1902)
    • 1971 – Louis Armstrong, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1901)
    • 1973 – Otto Klemperer, German-American conductor and composer (b. 1885)
    • 1975 – Reşat Ekrem Koçu, Turkish historian, scholar, and poet (b. 1905)
    • 1976 – Zhu De, Chinese general and politician, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (b. 1886)
    • 1976 – Fritz Lenz, German geneticist and physician (b. 1887)
    • 1977 – Ödön Pártos, Hungarian-Israeli viola player and composer (b. 1907)
    • 1978 – Babe Paley, American socialite and fashion style icon (b. 1915)
    • 1979 – Van McCoy, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1940)
    • 1986 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian lawyer and politician, 4th Deputy Prime Minister of India (b. 1908)
    • 1989 – János Kádár, Hungarian mechanic and politician, Hungarian Minister of the Interior (b. 1912)
    • 1991 – Mudashiru Lawal, Nigerian footballer (b. 1954)
    • 1992 – Marsha P. Johnson, American drag queen performer and activist (b. 1945)
    • 1994 – Ahmet Haxhiu, Kosovan activist (b. 1932)
    • 1995 – Aziz Nesin, Turkish author and poet (b. 1915)
    • 1997 – Chetan Anand, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 1998 – Roy Rogers, American cowboy, actor, and singer (b. 1911)
    • 1999 – Joaquín Rodrigo, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1901)
    • 2000 – Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1911)
    • 2002 – Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman, founded Reliance Industries (b. 1932)
    • 2002 – John Frankenheimer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 2003 – Buddy Ebsen, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1908)
    • 2003 – Çelik Gülersoy, Turkish lawyer, historical preservationist, writer and poet (b. 1930)
    • 2004 – Thomas Klestil, Austrian politician, 10th President of Austria (b. 1932)
    • 2004 – Syreeta Wright, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2005 – Ed McBain, American author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2005 – Claude Simon, Malagasy-French novelist and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
    • 2006 – Kasey Rogers, American actress (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, American author (b. 1939)
    • 2009 – Vasily Aksyonov, Russian author and academic (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Robert McNamara, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1916)
    • 2010 – Harvey Fuqua, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1929)
    • 2011 – Carly Hibberd, Australian road racing cyclist (b. 1985)
    • 2012 – Hani al-Hassan, Palestinian engineer and politician (b. 1939)
    • 2013 – Lo Hsing Han, Burmese businessman, co-founded Asia World (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Alan J. Dixon, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 34th Illinois Secretary of State (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Jerry Weintraub, American film producer, and talent agent (b. 1937)
    • 2018 – Shoko Asahara, founder of Japanese cult group Aum Shinrikyo (b. 1955)
    • 2019 – João Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist, pioneer of bossa nova music style (b. 1931)
    • 2020 – Charlie Daniels, American singer-songwriter, fiddle-player and guitarist (b. 1936)
    • 2020 – Ennio Morricone, Italian composer, orchestrator, conductor, and trumpet player (b. 1928)

    Holidays and observances on July 6

    • The first day of San Fermín, which lasts until July 14. (Pamplona)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Maria Goretti
      • Romulus of Fiesole
      • July 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Constitution Day (Cayman Islands)
    • Day of the Capital (Kazakhstan)
    • Independence Day (Comoros), celebrates the independence of the Comoros from France in 1975.
    • Independence Day (Malawi), celebrates the independence of Malawi from United Kingdom in 1964.
    • International Kissing Day (informally observed)
    • Jan Hus Day (Czech Republic)
    • Kupala Night (Poland, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine)
    • National Fried Chicken Day (United States)
    • Statehood Day (Lithuania)
    • Teachers’ Day (Peru)

  • June 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    On this day the Summer solstice may occur in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Winter solstice may occur in the Southern Hemisphere.

    June 22 in History

    • 217 BC – Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom.
    • 168 BC – Battle of Pydna: Romans under Lucius Aemilius Paullus defeat Macedonian King Perseus who surrenders after the battle, ending the Third Macedonian War.
    • 813 – Battle of Versinikia: The Bulgars led by Krum defeat the Byzantine army near Edirne. Emperor Michael I is forced to abdicate in favor of Leo V the Armenian.
    • 910 – The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army near the Rednitz River, killing its leader Gebhard, Duke of Lotharingia (Lorraine).
    • 1527 – Fatahillah expels Portuguese forces from Sunda Kelapa, now regarded as the foundation of Jakarta.
    • 1593 – Battle of Sisak: Allied Christian troops defeat the Ottomans.
    • 1633 – The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe in the form he presented it in, after heated controversy.
    • 1774 – The British pass the Quebec Act, setting out rules of governance for the colony of Quebec in British North America.
    • 1783 – A poisonous cloud caused by the eruption of the Laki volcano in Iceland reaches Le Havre in France.
    • 1807 – In the Chesapeake–Leopard Affair, the British warship HMS Leopard attacks and boards the American frigate USS Chesapeake.
    • 1813 – War of 1812: After learning of American plans for a surprise attack on Beaver Dams in Ontario, Laura Secord sets out on a 30 kilometer journey on foot to warn Lieutenant James FitzGibbon.
    • 1839 – Cherokee leaders Major Ridge, John Ridge, and Elias Boudinot are assassinated for signing the Treaty of New Echota, which had resulted in the Trail of Tears.
    • 1870 – The United States Department of Justice is created by the U.S. Congress.
    • 1893 – The Royal Navy battleship HMS Camperdown accidentally rams the British Mediterranean Fleet flagship HMS Victoria which sinks taking 358 crew with her, including the fleet’s commander, Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon.
    • 1897 – British colonial officers Charles Walter Rand and Lt. Charles Egerton Ayerst are assassinated in Pune, Maharashtra, India by the Chapekar brothers and Mahadeo Vinayak Ranade, who are later caught and hanged.
    • 1898 – Spanish–American War: In a chaotic operation, 6,000 men of the U.S. Fifth Army Corps begins landing at Daiquirí, Cuba, about 16 miles (26 km) east of Santiago de Cuba. Lt. Gen. Arsenio Linares y Pombo of the Spanish Army outnumbers them two-to-one, but does not oppose the landings.
    • 1907 – The London Underground’s Charing Cross, Euston and Hampstead Railway opens.
    • 1911 – George V and Mary of Teck are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
    • 1911 – Mexican Revolution: Government forces bring an end to the Magonista rebellion of 1911 in the Second Battle of Tijuana.
    • 1918 – The Hammond Circus Train Wreck kills 86 and injures 127 near Hammond, Indiana.
    • 1940 – World War II: France is forced to sign the Second Compiègne armistice with Germany, in the same railroad car in which the Germans signed the Armistice in 1918.
    • 1941 – World War II: Nazi Germany invades the Soviet Union in Operation Barbarossa.
    • 1942 – World War II: Erwin Rommel is promoted to Field Marshal after the Axis capture of Tobruk.
    • 1942 – The Pledge of Allegiance is formally adopted by US Congress.
    • 1944 – World War II: Opening day of the Soviet Union’s Operation Bagration against the Army Group Centre.
    • 1944 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs into law the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Okinawa comes to an end.
    • 1948 – The ship HMT Empire Windrush brought the first group of 802 West Indian immigrants to Tilbury, marking the start of modern immigration to the United Kingdom.
    • 1948 – King George VI formally gives up the title “Emperor of India”, half a year after Britain actually gave up its rule of India.
    • 1965 – The Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea is signed.
    • 1969 – The Cuyahoga River catches fire in Cleveland, Ohio, drawing national attention to water pollution, and spurring the passing of the Clean Water Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency.
    • 1978 – Charon, the first of Pluto’s satellites to be discovered, was first seen at the United States Naval Observatory by James W. Christy.
    • 1984 – Virgin Atlantic Airways launches with its first flight from London Gatwick Airport.
    • 1986 – The famous Hand of God goal, scored by Diego Maradona in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup match between Argentina and England, ignites controversy. This was later followed by the Goal of the Century. Argentina wins 2–1 and later goes on to win the World Cup.
    • 1990 – Cold War: Checkpoint Charlie is dismantled in Berlin.
    • 2000 – Wuhan Airlines Flight 343 is struck by lightning and crashes into Wuhan’s Hanyang District, killing 49 people.
    • 2002 – An earthquake measuring 6.5 Mw strikes a region of northwestern Iran killing at least 261 people and injuring 1,300 others and eventually causing widespread public anger due to the slow official response.
    • 2009 – A Washington D.C Metro train traveling southbound near Fort Totten station collides into another train waiting to enter the station. Nine people are killed in the collision (eight passengers and the train operator) and at least 80 others are injured.
    • 2012 – Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo is removed from office by impeachment and succeeded by Federico Franco.
    • 2012 – A Turkish Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II fighter plane is shot down by the Syrian Armed Forces, killing both of the plane’s pilots and worsening already-strained relations between Turkey and Syria.
    • 2015 – The Afghan National Assembly building is attacked by gunmen after a suicide bombing. All six of the gunmen are killed and 18 people are injured.

    Births on June 22

    • 662 – Rui Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 716)
    • 916 – Sayf al-Dawla, founder of the Emirate of Aleppo (d. 967)
    • 1000 – Robert I, duke of Normandy (d. 1035)
    • 1373 – Elizabeth Bonifacia, heiress of Poland (d. 1399)
    • 1427 – Lucrezia Tornabuoni, Italian writer and wife of Piero di Cosimo de’ Medici (d. 1482)
    • 1450 – Eleanor of Naples, duchess of Ferrara (d. 1493)
    • 1477 – Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dorset, English nobleman (d. 1530)
    • 1593 – Sir John Gell, 1st Baronet, English politician and militarian (d. 1671)
    • 1680 – Ebenezer Erskine, Scottish minister and theologian (d. 1754)
    • 1684 – Francesco Manfredini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1762)
    • 1704 – John Taylor, English author and scholar (d. 1766)
    • 1713 – John Sackville, English cricketer and politician (d. 1765)
    • 1738 – Jacques Delille, French poet and translator (d. 1813)
    • 1757 – George Vancouver, English lieutenant and explorer (d. 1798)
    • 1763 – Étienne Méhul, French pianist and composer (d. 1817)
    • 1767 – Wilhelm von Humboldt, German philosopher, academic, and politician, Interior Minister of Prussia (d. 1835)
    • 1792 – James Beaumont Neilson, Scottish engineer and businessman (d. 1865)
    • 1805 – Giuseppe Mazzini, Italian journalist and politician (d. 1872)
    • 1820 – James Hutchison Stirling, Scottish physician and philosopher (d. 1909)
    • 1834 – William Chester Minor, American surgeon and linguist (d. 1920)
    • 1837 – Paul Morphy, American chess player (d. 1884)
    • 1837 – Ernst Ziller, German-Greek architect, designed the Presidential Mansion (d. 1923)
    • 1844 – Oscar von Gebhardt, German theologian and academic (d. 1906)
    • 1845 – Tom Dula, American soldier (d. 1868)
    • 1845 – Richard Seddon, English-New Zealand politician, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1906)
    • 1855 – Samuel Morris, Australian cricketer (d. 1931)
    • 1856 – Henry Rider Haggard, English novelist (d. 1925)
    • 1861 – Maximilian von Spee, Danish-German admiral (d. 1914)
    • 1864 – Hermann Minkowski, German mathematician and academic (d. 1909)
    • 1871 – William McDougall, English psychologist and polymath (d. 1938)
    • 1873 – Filippo Silvestri, Italian entomologist and academic (d. 1949)
    • 1874 – Walter Friedrich Otto, German philologist and scholar (d. 1958)
    • 1876 – Pascual Díaz y Barreto, Mexican archbishop (d. 1936)
    • 1879 – Thibaudeau Rinfret, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 9th Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1962)
    • 1880 – Johannes Drost, Dutch swimmer (d. 1954)
    • 1884 – James Rector, American sprinter and lawyer (d. 1949)
    • 1885 – Milan Vidmar, Slovenian engineer and chess player (d. 1962)
    • 1887 – Julian Huxley, English biologist and academic (d. 1975)
    • 1888 – Harold Hitz Burton, American lawyer and politician, 45th Mayor of Cleveland (d. 1964)
    • 1890 – Aleksander Warma, Estonian commander and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Estonia in exile (d. 1970)
    • 1891 – Franz Alexander, Hungarian psychoanalyst and physician (d. 1964)
    • 1892 – Robert Ritter von Greim, German general and pilot (d. 1945)
    • 1894 – Bernard Ashmole, English archaeologist and art historian (d. 1988)
    • 1896 – Leonard W. Murray, Canadian admiral (d. 1971)
    • 1897 – Edmund A. Chester, American journalist and broadcaster (d. 1973)
    • 1897 – Norbert Elias, German-Dutch sociologist and philosopher (d. 1990)
    • 1898 – Erich Maria Remarque, German-Swiss soldier and author (d. 1970)
    • 1899 – Richard Gurley Drew, American engineer, invented Masking tape (d. 1980)
    • 1899 – Michał Kalecki, Polish economist and academic (d. 1970)
    • 1900 – Oskar Fischinger, German-American abstract artist, filmmaker, and painter (d. 1967)
    • 1901 – Elias Katz, Finnish runner and coach (d. 1947)
    • 1902 – Marguerite De La Motte, American actress (d. 1950)
    • 1903 – John Dillinger, American criminal (d. 1934)
    • 1903 – Carl Hubbell, American baseball player (d. 1988)
    • 1906 – William Kneale, English logician and philosopher (d. 1990)
    • 1906 – Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American pilot and author (d. 2001)
    • 1906 – Billy Wilder, Austrian-born American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
    • 1907 – Eriks Ādamsons, Latvian writer, poet, and novelist (d. 1946)
    • 1909 – Katherine Dunham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2006)
    • 1909 – Infanta Beatriz of Spain, Spanish aristocratic (d. 2002)
    • 1909 – Mike Todd, American producer and manager (d. 1958)
    • 1910 – John Hunt, Baron Hunt, Indian-English lieutenant and mountaineer (d. 1998)
    • 1910 – Anne Ziegler, English singer (d. 2003)
    • 1910 – Konrad Zuse, German computer scientist and engineer, invented the Z3 computer (d. 1995)
    • 1911 – Vernon Kirby, South African tennis player (d. 1994)
    • 1912 – Princess Caroline Mathilde of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1983)
    • 1912 – Raymonde Allain, French model and actress (d. 2008)
    • 1913 – Sándor Weöres, Hungarian poet and author (d. 1989)
    • 1914 – Mei Zhi, Chinese author and essayist (d. 2004)
    • 1915 – Dolf van der Linden, Dutch conductor and composer (d. 1999)
    • 1915 – Cornelius Warmerdam, American pole vaulter and coach (d. 2001)
    • 1915 – Randolph Hokanson, American pianist (d. 2018)
    • 1915 – Thomas Quinn Curtiss, American writer, and film and theatre critic (d. 2000)
    • 1916 – Johnny Jacobs, American television announcer (d. 1982)
    • 1916 – Richard Eastham, American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1916 – Emil Fackenheim, Jewish philosopher and Reform rabbi (d. 2003)
    • 1918 – Cicely Saunders, English Anglican nurse, social worker, physician and writer (d. 2005)
    • 1919 – Gower Champion, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1980)
    • 1919 – Henri Tajfel, Polish social psychologist (d. 1982)
    • 1919 – Clifton McNeely, American basketball player and coach (d. 2003)
    • 1920 – James H. Pomerene, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2008)
    • 1920 – Jovito Salonga, Filipino lawyer and politician, 14th President of the Senate of the Philippines (d. 2016)
    • 1921 – Joseph Papp, American director and producer (d. 1991)
    • 1921 – Barbara Vucanovich, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Radovan Ivšić, Croatian writer (d. 2009)
    • 1921 – Barbara Perry, American actress (d. 2019)
    • 1922 – Bill Blass, American fashion designer, founded Bill Blass Group (d. 2002)
    • 1922 – Clair Cameron Patterson, American scientist (d. 1995)
    • 1923 – José Giovanni, French-Swiss director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Christopher Booth, English clinician and historian (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Larkin Kerwin, Canadian physicist and academic (d. 2004)
    • 1926 – George Englund, American film editor, director, producer and actor (d. 2017)
    • 1926 – Rachid Solh, Lebanese politician, 48th Prime Minister of Lebanon (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Doreen Mantle, South African-English actress
    • 1927 – Anthony Low, Indian-English historian and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Ralph Waite, American actor and director (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Bruce Kent, English activist and laicised Roman Catholic priest
    • 1930 – Yuri Artyukhin, Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1998)
    • 1930 – Walter Bonatti, Italian journalist and mountaineer (d. 2011)
    • 1931 – Ruby Garrard Woodson, American educator and cultural historian (d. 2008)
    • 1932 – Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiari, Princess of Iran (d. 2001)
    • 1932 – Yevgeny Kychanov, Russian orientalist, historian, and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1932 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor (d. 2005)
    • 1932 – June Salter, Australian actress (d. 2001)
    • 1932 – Prunella Scales, English actress
    • 1932 – John Wakeham, Baron Wakeham, English businessman and politician, Leader of the House of Lords
    • 1933 – Dianne Feinstein, American politician
    • 1934 – James Bjorken, American physicist, author, and academic
    • 1936 – Kris Kristofferson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1936 – Ferran Olivella, Spanish footballer
    • 1936 – Hermeto Pascoal, Brazilian accordion player and composer
    • 1937 – Chris Blackwell, English record producer, co-founded Island Records
    • 1937 – Bernie McGann, Australian saxophonist and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Don Matthews, American-Canadian football player and coach (d. 2017)
    • 1939 – Ed Paschke, Polish-American painter and academic (d. 2004)
    • 1940 – Joan Busfield, English sociologist, psychologist, and academic
    • 1940 – Hubert Chesshyre, English historian and author
    • 1940 – Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1940 – Esther Rantzen, English journalist
    • 1941 – Ed Bradley, American journalist (d. 2006)
    • 1941 – Terttu Savola, Finnish journalist and politician
    • 1943 – Brit Hume, American journalist and author
    • 1943 – Klaus Maria Brandauer, Austrian actor and director
    • 1944 – Peter Asher, English singer, guitarist, and producer
    • 1944 – Helmut Dietl, German director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1945 – Rainer Brüderle, German economist and politician, German Minister of Economics and Technology
    • 1946 – Linda Bond, Canadian 19th General of The Salvation Army
    • 1946 – Sheila Hollins, Baroness Hollins, English psychiatrist and academic
    • 1946 – Eliades Ochoa, Cuban singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1946 – Józef Oleksy, Polish economist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Poland (d. 2015)
    • 1946 – Stephen Waley-Cohen, English journalist and businessman
    • 1947 – Octavia E. Butler, American author (d. 2006)
    • 1947 – Howard Kaylan, American pop-rock singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1947 – Pete Maravich, American basketball player (d. 1988)
    • 1947 – Jerry Rawlings, Ghanaian lieutenant and politician, President of Ghana
    • 1948 – James Charteris, 13th Earl of Wemyss, Scottish businessman
    • 1948 – Todd Rundgren, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1949 – Larry Junstrom, American bass player
    • 1949 – Brian Leveson, English lawyer and judge
    • 1949 – Alan Osmond, American singer and producer
    • 1949 – Meryl Streep, American actress and singer
    • 1949 – Luís Filipe Vieira, Portuguese businessman
    • 1949 – Lindsay Wagner, American actress
    • 1949 – Elizabeth Warren, American academic and politician
    • 1950 – Sharon Maughan, English actress
    • 1950 – Adrian Năstase, Romanian lawyer and politician, 59th Prime Minister of Romania
    • 1950 – Greg Oliphant, Australian rugby league player
    • 1950 – Zenonas Petrauskas, Lithuanian lawyer and politician (d. 2009)
    • 1950 – Tom Alter, Indian actor (d. 2017)
    • 1951 – Brian Cookson, British cyclist and sports administrator
    • 1951 – Craig Gruber, American bass player (d. 2015)
    • 1951 – Humphrey Ocean, English painter and academic
    • 1952 – Graham Greene, Canadian actor
    • 1952 – Santokh Singh, Malaysian football player
    • 1953 – Wim Eijk, Dutch cardinal
    • 1953 – Mauro Francaviglia, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1953 – Cyndi Lauper, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1953 – Bruce McAvaney, Australian journalist and sportscaster
    • 1954 – Freddie Prinze, American comedian and actor (d. 1977)
    • 1955 – Green Gartside, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Christine Orengo, British academic and educator
    • 1956 – Darryl Brohman, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1956 – Alfons De Wolf, Belgian cyclist
    • 1956 – Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pakistani agriculturist and politician, 25th Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1956 – Tim Russ, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Markus Schatte, German footballer, manager, and coach
    • 1956 – Derek Forbes, Scottish bass player and guitarist
    • 1957 – Danny Baker, English journalist and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Garry Gary Beers, Australian bass player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1957 – Kevin Bond, English footballer and manager
    • 1957 – Michael Stratton, English geneticist and academic
    • 1958 – Rocío Banquells, Mexican pop singer and actress
    • 1958 – Bruce Campbell, American actor, director, producer and writer
    • 1959 – Michael Kinane, Irish jockey
    • 1959 – Nicola Sirkis, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1959 – Daniel Xuereb, French footballer
    • 1960 – Erin Brockovich, American lawyer and environmentalist
    • 1960 – Margrit Klinger, German runner
    • 1960 – Tracy Pollan, American actress
    • 1961 – Jimmy Somerville, Scottish singer-songwriter
    • 1962 – Stephen Chow, Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Bobby Gillespie, Scottish musician and singer-songwriter
    • 1962 – Clyde Drexler, American basketball player and coach
    • 1962 – Gerald Hillringhaus, German footballer
    • 1963 – Hokutoumi Nobuyoshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 61st Yokozuna
    • 1963 – John Tenta, Canadian-American wrestler (d. 2006)
    • 1964 – Cadillac Anderson, American basketball player
    • 1964 – Amy Brenneman, American actress
    • 1964 – Dan Brown, American author and academic
    • 1964 – Miroslav Kadlec, Czech footballer
    • 1965 – Uwe Boll, German director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Ľubomír Moravčík, Czech footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Michael Park, English racing driver (d. 2005)
    • 1966 – Emmanuelle Seigner, French actress
    • 1966 – Dean Woods, Australian cyclist
    • 1968 – Darrell Armstrong, American basketball player and coach
    • 1968 – Miri Yu, Zainichi, Korean novelist
    • 1971 – Gary Connolly, English rugby player
    • 1971 – Mary Lynn Rajskub, American actress and comedian
    • 1971 – Kurt Warner, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Damien Oliver, Australian jockey
    • 1973 – Carson Daly, American radio and television host
    • 1974 – Jo Cox, British MP (d. 2016)
    • 1974 – Vijay, Indian film actor in Tamil cinema
    • 1975 – Urmas Reinsalu, Estonian academic and politician, 28th Estonian Minister of Defence
    • 1978 – Champ Bailey, American football player
    • 1978 – Dan Wheldon, English racing driver (d. 2011)
    • 1979 – Joey Cheek, American speed skater
    • 1979 – Thomas Voeckler, French cyclist
    • 1980 – Ilya Bryzgalov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Stephanie Jacobsen, Hong Kong-Australian actress
    • 1981 – Sione Lauaki, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1981 – Aquivaldo Mosquera, Colombian footballer
    • 1982 – Andoni Iraola, Spanish footballer
    • 1982 – Ian Kinsler, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Soraia Chaves, Portuguese actress and model
    • 1983 – Allar Raja, Estonian rower
    • 1984 – Dustin Johnson, American golfer
    • 1984 – Rubén Iván Martínez, Spanish footballer
    • 1984 – Jerome Taylor, Jamaican cricketer
    • 1984 – Janko Tipsarević, Serbian tennis player
    • 1985 – Thomas Leuluai, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1987 – Danny Green, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Nikita Rukavytsya, Ukrainian-Australian footballer
    • 1988 – Omri Casspi, Israeli basketball player
    • 1989 – Cédric Mongongu, Congolese footballer
    • 1989 – Jung Yong-hwa, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1990 – Sebastian Jung, German footballer
    • 1991 – Hugo Mallo, Spanish footballer
    • 1992 – Ura Kazuki, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1992 – Harry Reid, British actor
    • 1993 – Loris Karius, German footballer
    • 1994 – Sebastien Haller, French footballer
    • 1994 – Carlos Vinícius Santos de Jesus, Brazilian footballer
    • 1996 – Mikel Merino, Spanish footballer
    • 1999 – Sam Retford, Australian-English actor

    Deaths on June 22

    • 431 – Paulinus of Nola, Christian bishop and poet (b. 354)
    • 910 – Gebhard, Frankish nobleman
    • 910 – Gerhard I, Frankish nobleman
    • 947 – Qian Hongzuo, king of Wuyue (b. 928)
    • 1017 – Leo Passianos, Byzantine general
    • 1101 – Roger I of Sicily, Norman nobleman (b. 1031)
    • 1276 – Innocent V, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1225)
    • 1343 – Aimone, Count of Savoy (b. 1291)
    • 1429 – Jamshīd al-Kāshī, Persian astronomer and mathematician (b. 1380)
    • 1521 – Leonardo Loredan, Italian politician, 76th Doge of Venice (b. 1436)
    • 1535 – John Fisher, English bishop and saint (b. 1469)
    • 1632 – James Whitelocke, English judge and politician, Chief Justice of Chester (b. 1570)
    • 1634 – Johann von Aldringen, Austrian field marshal (b. 1588)
    • 1664 – Katherine Philips, Anglo-Welsh poet (b. 1631)
    • 1699 – Josiah Child, English merchant, economist, and politician (b. 1630)
    • 1714 – Matthew Henry, Welsh minister and author (b. 1662)
    • 1766 – Carlo Zimech, Maltese priest and painter (b. 1696)
    • 1868 – Heber C. Kimball, American religious leader (b. 1801)
    • 1872 – Rudecindo Alvarado, Argentinian general (b. 1792)
    • 1874 – Howard Staunton, English chess player (b. 1810)
    • 1892 – Pierre Ossian Bonnet, French mathematician and academic (b. 1819)
    • 1894 – Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian archbishop and missionary (b. 1823)
    • 1905 – Francis Lubbock, American colonel and politician, 9th Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
    • 1913 – Ștefan Octavian Iosif, Romanian poet and translator (b. 1875)
    • 1925 – Felix Klein, German mathematician and academic (b. 1849)
    • 1928 – A. B. Frost, American illustrator and painter (b. 1851)
    • 1931 – Armand Fallières, French politician, 9th President of France (b. 1841)
    • 1933 – Tim Birkin, English racing driver and lieutenant (b. 1896)
    • 1935 – Szymon Askenazy, Polish historian and diplomat (b. 1866)
    • 1936 – Moritz Schlick, German-Austrian physicist and philosopher (b. 1882)
    • 1938 – C. J. Dennis, Australian poet and author (b. 1876)
    • 1940 – Monty Noble, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1873)
    • 1942 – August Froehlich, German priest and activist (b. 1891)
    • 1945 – Isamu Chō, Japanese general (b. 1895)
    • 1945 – Mitsuru Ushijima, Japanese general (b. 1887)
    • 1956 – Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer and novelist (b. 1873)
    • 1959 – Hermann Brill, German educator and politician, 8th Minister-President of Thuringia (b. 1895)
    • 1964 – Havank, Dutch journalist and author (b. 1904)
    • 1965 – David O. Selznick, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1902)
    • 1966 – Thaddeus Shideler, American hurdler (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Judy Garland, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
    • 1970 – Đặng Thùy Trâm, Vietnamese surgeon and author (b. 1942)
    • 1974 – Darius Milhaud, French composer and educator (b. 1892)
    • 1977 – Jacqueline Audry, French director and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 1977 – Peter Laughner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Rocket From the Tombs and Pere Ubu) (b. 1952)
    • 1979 – Louis Chiron, Monégasque race car driver (b. 1899)
    • 1984 – Joseph Losey, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1909)
    • 1987 – Fred Astaire, American actor and dancer (b. 1899)
    • 1988 – Dennis Day, American singer and actor (b. 1916)
    • 1990 – Ilya Frank, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
    • 1993 – Pat Nixon, American educator, 37th First Lady of the United States (b. 1912)
    • 1995 – Leonid Derbenyov, Russian poet and songwriter (b. 1931)
    • 1995 – Al Hansen, American sculptor and author (b. 1927)
    • 1997 – Ted Gärdestad, Swedish singer-songwriter (b. 1956)
    • 1997 – Gérard Pelletier, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2003 – Vasil Bykaŭ, Belarusian war novelist (b. 1924)
    • 2004 – Bob Bemer, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1920)
    • 2004 – Mattie Stepanek, American poet and author (b. 1990)
    • 2007 – Erik Parlevliet, Dutch field hockey player (b. 1964)
    • 2008 – Natalia Bekhtereva, Russian neuroscientist and psychologist (b. 1924)
    • 2008 – George Carlin, American comedian, actor, and author (b. 1937)
    • 2008 – Dody Goodman, American actress and dancer (b. 1914)
    • 2011 – Coşkun Özarı, Turkish footballer and coach (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Juan Luis Galiardo, Spanish actor and producer (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Henning Larsen, Danish architect, designed the Copenhagen Opera House (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Allan Simonsen, Danish race car driver (b. 1978)
    • 2014 – Fouad Ajami, Lebanese-American author and academic (b. 1945)
    • 2014 – Rama Narayanan, Indian director and producer (b. 1949)
    • 2015 – James Horner, American composer and conductor (b. 1953)
    • 2017 – Mao Kobayashi, Japanese newscaster and actress (b. 1982)
    • 2017 – Quett Masire, Botswanan politician (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Vinnie Paul, American musician (b. 1964)

    Holidays and observances on June 22

    • Christian feast day:
      • Aaron of Aleth
      • Alban, first recorded Martyr in Britain (commemoration, Anglicanism)
      • Blessed Pope Innocent V
      • Eusebius of Samosata (Orthodox Church)
      • John Fisher (Catholic Church)
      • Nicetas of Remesiana
      • Paulinus of Nola
      • Thomas More (Catholic Church)
      • June 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Anti-Fascist Struggle Day (Croatia)
    • Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War (Belarus)
    • Father’s Day (Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Jersey)
    • Teachers’ Day (El Salvador)

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

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

    • 913 – The 8-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, Constantine VII, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire, under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed by Constantine’s uncle Alexander III on his deathbed.
    • 1513 – Italian Wars: Battle of Novara. Swiss troops defeat the French under Louis II de la Trémoille, forcing the French to abandon Milan. Duke Massimiliano Sforza is restored.
    • 1523 – Gustav Vasa, the Swedish regent, is elected King of Sweden, marking a symbolic end to the Kalmar Union. This is the Swedish national day.
    • 1586 – Francis Drake’s forces raid St. Augustine in Spanish Florida.
    • 1674 – Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire, is crowned.
    • 1749 – The Conspiracy of the Slaves in Malta is discovered.
    • 1762 – Seven Years’ War: British forces begin a siege of Havana, Cuba, and temporarily capture the city in the Battle of Havana.
    • 1808 – Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte, is crowned King of Spain.
    • 1809 – Sweden promulgates a new Constitution, which restores political power to the Riksdag of the Estates after 20 years of enlightened absolutism. At the same time, Charles XIII is elected to succeed Gustav IV Adolf as King of Sweden.
    • 1813 – War of 1812: Battle of Stoney Creek: A British force of 700 under John Vincent defeats an American force twice its size under William Winder and John Chandler.
    • 1822 – Alexis St. Martin is accidentally shot in the stomach, leading to William Beaumont’s studies on digestion.
    • 1832 – The June Rebellion in Paris is put down by the National Guard.
    • 1844 – The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London.
    • 1844 – The Glaciarium, the world’s first mechanically frozen ice rink, opens.
    • 1857 – Sophia of Nassau marries the future King Oscar II of Sweden–Norway.
    • 1859 – Australia: Queensland is established as a separate colony from New South Wales (Queensland Day).
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Memphis: Union forces capture Memphis, Tennessee, from the Confederates.
    • 1882 – The Shewan forces of Menelik II of Ethiopia defeat the Gojjame army in the Battle of Embabo. The Shewans capture Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and their victory leads to a Shewan hegemony over the territories south of the Abay River.
    • 1889 – The Great Seattle Fire destroys all of downtown Seattle.
    • 1892 – The Chicago “L” elevated rail system begins operation.
    • 1894 – Governor Davis H. Waite orders the Colorado state militia to protect and support the miners engaged in the Cripple Creek miners’ strike.
    • 1909 – French troops capture Abéché (in modern-day Chad) and install a puppet sultan in the Ouaddai Empire.
    • 1912 – The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska begins. It is the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.
    • 1916 – The death of Yuan Shikai marks the beginning of China’s Warlord Era.
    • 1918 – World War I: Battle of Belleau Wood: The U.S. Marine Corps suffers its worst single day’s casualties while attempting to recapture the wood at Château-Thierry.
    • 1919 – After eight days of existence, the Republic of Prekmurje is conquered by the Hungarian Soviet Republic.
    • 1921 – Southwark Bridge in London is opened to traffic by King George V and Queen Mary.
    • 1932 – The Revenue Act of 1932 is enacted, creating the first gas tax in the United States, at a rate of 1 cent per US gallon (​1⁄4¢/L) sold.
    • 1933 – The first drive-in theater opens in Camden, New Jersey, United States.
    • 1934 – New Deal: The U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 into law, establishing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
    • 1939 – Judge Joseph Force Crater, known as the “Missingest Man in New York”, is declared legally dead.
    • 1942 – World War II: Battle of Midway. U.S. Navy dive bombers sink the Japanese cruiser Mikuma and four Japanese carriers.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Allied invasion of Normandy—codenamed Operation Overlord—begins with the execution of Operation Neptune (commonly referred to as D-Day), the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France. The Allied soldiers quickly break through the Atlantic Wall and push inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history.
    • 1946 – The Basketball Association of America is founded in New York City; the BAA was the precursor to the modern National Basketball Association.
    • 1954 – The grand opening of the sculpture of Yuriy Dolgorukiy took place in Moscow. This statue is one of the main monuments of Moscow.
    • 1964 – Under a temporary order, the rocket launches at Cuxhaven, Germany are terminated. They never resume.
    • 1971 – Soyuz program: Soyuz 11 is launched.
    • 1971 – A midair collision between a Hughes Airwest Douglas DC-9 jetliner and a United States Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II jet fighter near Duarte, California, claims 50 lives.
    • 1971 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Long Khanh between Australian and Vietnamese communist forces begins.
    • 1974 – A new Instrument of Government is promulgated making Sweden a parliamentary monarchy.
    • 1981 – Bihar train disaster: A passenger train travelling between Mansi and Saharsa, India, jumps the tracks at a bridge crossing the Bagmati River. The government places the official death toll at 268 plus another 300 missing; however, it is generally believed that the death toll is closer to 1,000.
    • 1982 – The Lebanon War begins. Forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon during Operation Peace for the Galilee, eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut.
    • 1985 – The grave of “Wolfgang Gerhard” is opened in Embu, Brazil; the exhumed remains are later proven to be those of Josef Mengele, Auschwitz’s “Angel of Death”; Mengele is thought to have drowned while swimming in February 1979.
    • 1993 – Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat wins the first presidential election in Mongolia.
    • 1994 – China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 crashes near Xi’an, China, killing all 160 people on board.
    • 2002 – Eastern Mediterranean event. A near-Earth asteroid estimated at ten meters in diameter explodes over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya. The explosion is estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, slightly more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb.
    • 2004 – Tamil is established as a “classical language” by the President of India, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, in a joint sitting of the two houses of the Indian Parliament.
    • 2005 – In Gonzales v. Raich, the United States Supreme Court upholds a federal law banning cannabis, including medical marijuana.

    Births on June 6

    pre-19th century

    • 1236 – Wen Tianxiang, Chinese general and scholar (d. 1283)
    • 1243 – Alix of Brittany, Dame de Pontarcy, Breton noble (d. 1288)
    • 1296 – Władysław of Legnica (d. 1352)
    • 1436 – Regiomontanus, German mathematician, astronomer, and bishop (d. 1476)
    • 1519 – Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (d. 1603)
    • 1539 – Catherine Vasa, Regent of East Frisia (d. 1610)
    • 1553 – Bernardino Baldi, Italian mathematician and author (d. 1617)
    • 1556 – Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche, English politician and diplomat (d. 1625)
    • 1580 – Godefroy Wendelin, Belgian astronomer and author (d. 1667)
    • 1584 – Yuan Chonghuan, politician, military general and writer (d. 1630)
    • 1599 – Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter and educator (d. 1660)
    • 1606 – Pierre Corneille, French playwright and producer (d. 1684)
    • 1622 – Claude-Jean Allouez, French-American missionary and explorer (d. 1689)
    • 1646 – Hortense Mancini, favourite Italian niece of Cardinal Mazarin (d. 1699)
    • 1661 – Giacomo Antonio Perti, Italian composer and educator (d. 1756)
    • 1699 – Johann Georg Estor, German historian and theorist (d. 1773)
    • 1714 – Joseph I of Portugal (d. 1777)
    • 1735 – Anton Schweitzer, German composer (d. 1787)
    • 1755 – Nathan Hale, American soldier (d. 1776)
    • 1756 – John Trumbull, American soldier and painter (d. 1843)
    • 1772 – Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily (d. 1807)
    • 1799 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian author and poet (d. 1837)

    19th century

    • 1807 – Thiệu Trị, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1847)
    • 1810 – Friedrich Wilhelm Schneidewin, German philologist and scholar (d. 1856)
    • 1829 – Honinbo Shusaku, Japanese Go player (d. 1862)
    • 1841 – Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish author and publisher (d. 1910)
    • 1844 – Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter and academic (d. 1905)
    • 1850 – Karl Ferdinand Braun, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1918)
    • 1857 – Aleksandr Lyapunov, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1918)
    • 1862 – Henry Newbolt, English historian, author, and poet (d. 1938)
    • 1867 – David T. Abercrombie, American surveyor and businessman, founded Abercrombie & Fitch (d. 1931)
    • 1868 – Robert Falcon Scott, English sailor and explorer (d. 1912)
    • 1872 – Alix of Hesse, German princess and Russian empress (d.1918)
    • 1875 – Thomas Mann, German author and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
    • 1878 – Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, French lawyer and politician (d. 1956)
    • 1884 – Jock Hutchison, Scottish-American golfer (d. 1977)
    • 1890 – Ted Lewis, American singer, clarinet player, and bandleader (d. 1971)
    • 1891 – Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, Indian author and academic (d. 1986)
    • 1891 – Erich Marcks, German general (d. 1944)
    • 1896 – Henry Allingham, English World War I soldier and supercentenarian (d. 2009).
    • 1896 – Italo Balbo, Italian air marshal and politician (d. 1940)
    • 1898 – Walter Abel, American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1898 – Jacobus Johannes Fouché, South African politician, 2nd State President of South Africa (d. 1980)
    • 1898 – Ninette de Valois, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 2001)
    • 1900 – Manfred Sakel, Ukrainian-American psychiatrist and physician (d. 1957)

    1901–1930

    • 1901 – Jan Struther, English author and hymnwriter (d. 1953)
    • 1901 – Sukarno, Indonesian engineer and politician, 1st President of Indonesia (d. 1970)
    • 1902 – Jimmie Lunceford, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1947)
    • 1903 – Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer and conductor (d. 1978)
    • 1903 – Bakht Singh, Indian evangelist, well-known bible teacher and preacher (d. 2000)
    • 1906 – Max August Zorn, German mathematician and academic (d. 1993)
    • 1907 – Bill Dickey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1993)
    • 1907 – Robin Humphreys, British scholar of Latin America (d. 1999)
    • 1908 – Giovanni Bracco, Italian race car driver (d. 1968)
    • 1909 – Isaiah Berlin, Latvian-English historian and philosopher (d. 1997)
    • 1913 – Carlo L. Golino, Italian-American author, critic, and academic (d. 1991)
    • 1915 – Vincent Persichetti, American pianist and composer (d. 1987)
    • 1916 – Hamani Diori, Nigerien academic and politician, 1st President of Niger (d. 1989)
    • 1917 – Kirk Kerkorian, American businessman, founded the Tracinda Corporation (d. 2015)
    • 1918 – Edwin G. Krebs, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, English army officer and politician, 6th Secretary General of NATO (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – V. C. Andrews, American author, illustrator, and painter (d. 1986)
    • 1923 – Jean Pouliot, Canadian broadcaster (d. 2004)
    • 1925 – Maxine Kumin, American poet and author (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Frank Chee Willeto, American soldier and politician, 4th Vice President of the Navajo Nation (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Torsten Andersson, Swedish painter and illustrator (d. 2009)
    • 1926 – Erdal İnönü, Turkish physicist and politician, Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Klaus Tennstedt, German conductor (d. 1998)
    • 1929 – Sunil Dutt, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician (d. 2005)
    • 1930 – Frank Tyson, English-Australian cricketer, coach and journalist (d. 2015)

    1931–1945

    Tommie Smith, born 6 June 1944, at the 1968 Olympic medal ceremony where he and John Carlos (behind) protested against racism.

    • 1932 – David Scott, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut
    • 1932 – Billie Whitelaw, English actress (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Eli Broad, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded KB Home
    • 1933 – Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Albert II of Belgium
    • 1935 – Jon Henricks, Australian swimmer; winner of two Olympic gold medals in 1956.
    • 1936 – Mompati Merafhe, Botswana general and politician, Vice-President of Botswana (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – D. Ramanaidu, Indian actor, director, and producer, founded Suresh Productions (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – Levi Stubbs, American singer (d. 2008)
    • 1938 – Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza
    • 1938 – Ryuchi Matsuda, Japanese martial artist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Louis Andriessen, Dutch pianist and composer
    • 1939 – Gary U.S. Bonds, American singer-songwriter
    • 1939 – Eddie Giacomin, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1940 – Kumar Bhattacharyya, Baron Bhattacharyya, Indian-English engineer and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Willie John McBride, Northern Irish rugby player, coach, and manager
    • 1941 – Alexander Cockburn, Scottish-American journalist and author (d. 2012)
    • 1943 – José de Jesús Gudiño Pelayo, Mexican lawyer and jurist (d. 2010)
    • 1943 – Richard Smalley, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
    • 1943 – Joe Stampley, American country music singer-songwriter
    • 1944 – Monty Alexander, Jamaican jazz pianist.
    • 1944 – Phillip Allen Sharp, American molecular biologist; 1993 Nobel Prize laureate (Physiology or Medicine).
    • 1944 – Tommie Smith, American sprinter and football player; winner of 1968 Olympic 200m gold medal in a world record time.

    1946–2000

    • 1946 – Tony Levin, American bass player and songwriter.[
    • 1947 – David Blunkett, British Labour politician; Home Secretary 2001–2004.
    • 1947 – Robert Englund, American actor; best known for Nightmare on Elm Street.
    • 1947 – Ada Kok, Dutch butterfly stroke swimmer; winner of three Olympic medals including gold in 1968.
    • 1948 – Arlene Harris, American entrepreneur, inventor, investor and policy advocate.
    • 1949 – Holly Near, American folk singer and songwriter.
    • 1954 – Harvey Fierstein, American actor and playwright; twice a winner at the Tony Awards.
    • 1954 – Wladyslaw Zmuda, Polish footballer and manager; 91 caps for Poland and voted Best Young Player at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
    • 1955 – Sam Simon, American director, producer and screenwriter; co-developer of The Simpsons (d. 2015).
    • 1956 – Björn Borg, Swedish tennis player; winner of eleven Grand Slam singles titles including five consecutive Wimbledons.
    • 1972 – Natalie Morales, American television journalist and NBC News anchor.

    Deaths

    • 184 – Qiao Xuan, Chinese official (b. c. 110).
    • 863 – Abu Musa Utamish, vizier to the Abbasid Caliphate.
    • 913 – Alexander III, Byzantine emperor (b. 870).
    • 1097 – Agnes of Aquitaine, Queen of Aragon and Navarre
    • 1134 – Norbert of Xanten, German bishop and saint (b. 1060)
    • 1217 – Henry I, King of Castile and Toledo (b. 1204)
    • 1237 – John of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon
    • 1251 – William III of Dampierre, Count of Flanders
    • 1252 – Robert Passelewe, Bishop of Chichester
    • 1333 – William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster (b. 1312)
    • 1393 – Emperor Go-En’yū of Japan (b. 1359)
    • 1480 – Vecchietta, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1412)
    • 1548 – João de Castro, Portuguese soldier and politician, Governor of Portuguese India (b. 1500)
    • 1561 – Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Italian painter (b. 1483)
    • 1583 – Nakagawa Kiyohide, Japanese daimyō (b. 1556)
    • 1659 – Nadira Banu Begum, Mughal princess (b. 1618)
    • 1661 – Martino Martini, Italian Jesuit missionary (b. 1614)
    • 1730 – Alain Emmanuel de Coëtlogon, French general (b. 1646)
    • 1740 – Alexander Spotswood, Moroccan-American colonial and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (b. 1676)
    • 1784 – Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, Dutch politician (b. 1741)
    • 1799 – Patrick Henry, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Virginia (b. 1736)
    • 1813 – Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect, designed the Hôtel de Mademoiselle de Condé (b. 1739)
    • 1813 – Antonio Cachia, Maltese architect, engineer and archaeologist (b. 1739)
    • 1832 – Jeremy Bentham, English jurist and philosopher (b. 1748)
    • 1840 – Marcellin Champagnat, French priest and saint, founded the Marist Brothers (b. 1789)
    • 1843 – Friedrich Hölderlin, German poet and author (b. 1770)
    • 1861 – Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, Italian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1810)
    • 1862 – Turner Ashby, American colonel (b. 1828)
    • 1865 – William Quantrill, American captain (b. 1837)
    • 1878 – Robert Stirling, Scottish minister and engineer, invented the stirling engine (b. 1790)
    • 1881 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer (b. 1820)
    • 1883 – Ciprian Porumbescu, Romanian composer and poet (b. 1853)
    • 1891 – John A. Macdonald, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1815)
    • 1916 – Yuan Shikai, Chinese general and politician, 2nd President of the Republic of China (b. 1859)
    • 1922 – Lillian Russell, American actress and singer (b. 1860)
    • 1924 – William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, Irish businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of Belfast (b. 1847)
    • 1934 – Julije Kempf, Croatian historian and author (b. 1864)
    • 1935 – Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy, English field marshal and politician, 12th Governor-General of Canada (b. 1862)
    • 1941 – Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-American race car driver and businessman, founded Chevrolet and Frontenac Motor Corporation (b. 1878)
    • 1943 – Pandelis Pouliopoulos, Greek politician (b. 1900)
    • 1946 – Gerhart Hauptmann, German novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
    • 1947 – James Agate, English author and critic (b. 1877)
    • 1948 – Louis Lumière, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1864)
    • 1951 – Olive Tell, American actress (b. 1894)
    • 1954 – Fritz Kasparek, Austrian mountaineer and author (b. 1910)
    • 1955 – Max Meldrum, Scottish-Australian painter and educator (b. 1875)
    • 1961 – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist (b. 1875)
    • 1962 – Yves Klein, French painter (b. 1928)
    • 1962 – Tom Phillis, Australian motorcycle racer (b. 1934)
    • 1963 – William Baziotes, American painter and academic (b. 1912)
    • 1968 – Randolph Churchill, English journalist and politician (b. 1911)
    • 1968 – Robert F. Kennedy, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 64th United States Attorney General (b. 1925)
    • 1968 – Kâzım Özalp, Turkish general and politician, 3rd Turkish Minister of National Defence (b. 1880)
    • 1975 – Larry Blyden, American actor (b. 1925)
    • 1976 – J. Paul Getty, American businessman, founded the Getty Oil Company (b. 1892)
    • 1979 – Jack Haley, American actor (b. 1897)
    • 1980 – Ruth Aarons, American table tennis player and manager (b. 1918)
    • 1982 – Kenneth Rexroth, American poet and academic (b. 1905)
    • 1983 – Hans Leip, German author, poet, and playwright (b. 1893)
    • 1984 – A. Bertram Chandler, English-Australian soldier and author (b. 1912)
    • 1991 – Stan Getz, American saxophonist (b. 1927)
    • 1994 – Barry Sullivan, American actor (b. 1912)
    • 1996 – George Davis Snell, American geneticist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1997 – Magda Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and socialite (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Frédéric Dard, French author and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 2001 – Suzanne Schiffman, French screenwriter and director (b. 1939)
    • 2003 – Ken Grimwood, American author (b. 1944)
    • 2003 – Dave Rowberry, English singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1940)
    • 2005 – Anne Bancroft, American actress (b. 1931)
    • 2005 – Dana Elcar, American actor (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Arnold Newman, American photographer and educator (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Billy Preston, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (b. 1946)
    • 2006 – Camille Sandorfy, Hungarian-Canadian chemist and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2009 – Jean Dausset, French-Spanish immunologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
    • 2009 – Jim Owens, American football player and coach (b. 1927)
    • 2010 – Marvin Isley, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1953)
    • 2012 – Vladimir Krutov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1960)
    • 2012 – Manuel Preciado Rebolledo, Spanish footballer and coach (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Mykola Volosyanko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1972)
    • 2013 – Jerome Karle, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Eugen Merzbacher, German-American physicist and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Tom Sharpe, English-Spanish author and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Esther Williams, American swimmer and actress (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Ado Bayero, Nigerian politician and diplomat (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Eric Hill, English-American author and illustrator (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Lorna Wing, English psychiatrist and physician (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Pierre Brice, French actor (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Vincent Bugliosi, American lawyer and author (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Ronnie Gilbert, American singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Ludvík Vaculík, Czech journalist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Peter Shaffer, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Ralph Santolla, American guitarist (b. 1969)

    Holidays and observances on June 6

    • Christian feast day:
      • Claude the Thaumaturge
      • Gottschalk
      • Ini Kopuria (Church of England, Episcopal Church, Anglican Church of Melanesia)
      • Marcellin Champagnat
      • Norbert of Xanten
      • June 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Engineer’s Day (Taiwan)
    • Korean Children’s Union Foundation Day (North Korea)
    • Memorial Day (South Korea)
    • National Day, marks the end of the Danish-ruled Kalmar Union. (Sweden)
    • National Huntington’s Disease Awareness Day (United States)
    • Normandy landings of the Allied Expeditionary Forces (D-Day), a.k.a. Operation Neptune, part of Operation Overlord (1944)
    • Queensland Day (Queensland)
    • Teachers’ Day (Bolivia)
    • UN Russian Language Day (United Nations)

  • May 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

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

    • 1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae.
    • 1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.
    • 1436 – Assassination of the Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
    • 1471 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury: Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales.
    • 1493 – Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.
    • 1626 – Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.
    • 1686 – The Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.
    • 1776 – Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.
    • 1799 – Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam: The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is invaded and Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris.
    • 1814 – Emperor Napoleon arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.
    • 1814 – King Ferdinand VII abolishes the Spanish Constitution of 1812, returning Spain to absolutism.
    • 1836 – Formation of Ancient Order of Hibernians
    • 1859 – The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking Devon and Cornwall in England.
    • 1869 – The Naval Battle of Hakodate is fought in Japan.
    • 1871 – The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
    • 1886 – Haymarket affair: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
    • 1904 – The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal.
    • 1910 – The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
    • 1912 – Italy occupies the Greek island of Rhodes.
    • 1919 – May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.
    • 1926 – The United Kingdom general strike begins.
    • 1927 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is incorporated.
    • 1932 – In Atlanta, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.
    • 1945 – World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army.
    • 1945 – World War II: The German surrender at Lüneburg Heath is signed, coming into effect the following day. It encompasses all Wehrmacht units in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany.
    • 1946 – In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Five people are killed in the riot.
    • 1949 – The entire Torino football team (except for two players who did not take the trip: Sauro Tomà, due to an injury and Renato Gandolfi, because of coach request) is killed in a plane crash.
    • 1953 – Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
    • 1959 – The 1st Annual Grammy Awards are held.
    • 1961 – American civil rights movement: The “Freedom Riders” begin a bus trip through the South.
    • 1961 – Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather attain a new altitude record for manned balloon flight ascending in the Strato-Lab V open gondola to 113,740 feet (34.67 km).
    • 1970 – Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: The Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opens fire killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the Cambodian Campaign of the United States and South Vietnam.
    • 1972 – The Don’t Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to “Greenpeace Foundation”.
    • 1978 – The South African Defence Force attacks a SWAPO base at Cassinga in southern Angola, killing about 600 people.
    • 1979 – Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
    • 1982 – Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
    • 1988 – The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of Space Shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.
    • 1989 – Iran–Contra affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges; the convictions are later overturned on appeal.
    • 1990 – Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.
    • 1994 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord, granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
    • 1998 – A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
    • 2000 – Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London (an office separate from that of the Lord Mayor of London).
    • 2007 – Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7-mile wide EF5 tornado. It was the first-ever tornado to be rated as such with the new Enhanced Fujita scale.
    • 2014 – Three people are killed and 62 injured in a pair of bombings on buses in Nairobi, Kenya.

    Births on May 4

    • 1006 – Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, Persian mystic and poet (d. 1088)
    • 1008 – Henry I, king of France (d. 1060)
    • 1559 – Alice Spencer, English noblewoman (d. 1637)
    • 1634 – Katherine Ferrers, English aristocrat and heiress (d. 1660)
    • 1649 – Chhatrasal, Indian ruler (d. 1731)
    • 1654 – Kangxi Emperor, Emperor of the Qing Dynasty
    • 1655 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the piano (d. 1731)
    • 1677 – Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, French noblewoman (d.1749)
    • 1715 – Richard Graves, English minister and author (d. 1804)
    • 1733 – Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (d. 1799)
    • 1752 – John Brooks, American soldier and politician, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
    • 1757 – Manuel Tolsá, Spanish sculptor and first director of the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City (d. 1816)
    • 1767 – Tyagaraja, Indian composer (d. 1847)
    • 1770 – François Gérard, French painter (d. 1837)
    • 1772 – Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (d. 1823)
    • 1796 – Horace Mann, American educator and politician (d. 1859)
    • 1796 – William Pennington, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of New Jersey, 23rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1862)
    • 1796 – William H. Prescott, American historian and scholar (d. 1859)
    • 1820 – Julia Gardiner Tyler, American wife of John Tyler, 11th First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)
    • 1820 – John Whiteaker, American soldier, judge, and politician, 1st Governor of Oregon (d. 1902)
    • 1822 – Charles Boucher de Boucherville, Canadian physician and politician, 3rd Premier of Quebec (d. 1915)
    • 1825 – Thomas Henry Huxley, English biologist, anatomist, and academic (d. 1895)
    • 1825 – Augustus Le Plongeon, English-American historian, photographer, and academic (d. 1908)
    • 1826 – Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (d. 1900)
    • 1827 – John Hanning Speke, English soldier and explorer (d. 1864)
    • 1851 – Thomas Dewing, American painter (d. 1938)
    • 1852 – Alice Liddell, English model (d. 1934)
    • 1855 – Greyfriars Bobby, faithful dog (d. 1872)
    • 1883 – Wang Jingwei, Chinese politician (d. 1944)
    • 1884 – Richard Baggallay, English army officer and cricketer (d. 1975)
    • 1887 – Andrew Dasburg, French-American painter (d. 1979)
    • 1889 – Francis Spellman, American cardinal (d. 1967)
    • 1890 – Franklin Carmichael, Canadian painter (d. 1945)
    • 1902 – Ronnie Aird, English cricketer and administrator (d. 1986)
    • 1902 – Cola Debrot, Dutch physician, lawyer, and politician (d. 1981)
    • 1903 – Luther Adler, American actor (d. 1984)
    • 1903 – Paul Demel, Czech actor (d. 1951)
    • 1905 – Al Dexter, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
    • 1906 – Gustav Bergmann, Austrian-American philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1987)
    • 1907 – Lincoln Kirstein, American soldier and playwright, co-founded the New York City Ballet (d. 1996)
    • 1907 – Walter Walsh, American target shooter and FBI agent (d. 2014)
    • 1908 – Wolrad Eberle, German decathlete (d. 1949)
    • 1911 – Evald Seepere, Estonian boxer (d. 1990)
    • 1913 – John Broome, American author (d. 1999)
    • 1913 – Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (d. 2007)
    • 1914 – Maedayama Eigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 39th Yokozuna (d. 1971)
    • 1916 – Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Richard Proenneke, American soldier, carpenter, and meteorologist (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – Edward T. Cone, American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
    • 1917 – Nick Joaquin, Filipino writer, journalist and historian (d. 2004)
    • 1918 – Tom Mead, Australian journalist and politician (d. 2004)
    • 1918 – Kakuei Tanaka, Japanese soldier and politician, 64th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1993)
    • 1919 – Dory Funk, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1973)
    • 1919 – Basil Yamey, South African-English economist and academic
    • 1921 – Patsy Garrett, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
    • 1921 – John van Kesteren, Dutch-American tenor and actor (d. 2008)
    • 1921 – Edo Murtić, Croatian painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2005)
    • 1922 – Paul-Émile Charbonneau, Canadian archbishop (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Eugenie Clark, American biologist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – Stanley Biber, American soldier and physician (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Ed Cassidy, American jazz and rock drummer (d. 2012)
    • 1923 – Assi Rahbani, Lebanese composer and producer (d. 1986)
    • 1923 – Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian (d. 2012)
    • 1923 – John Toner, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Jenő Buzánszky, Hungarian footballer and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Maurice R. Greenberg, American businessman and philanthropist
    • 1926 – David Stoddart, Baron Stoddart of Swindon, English politician
    • 1928 – Maynard Ferguson, Canadian trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2006)
    • 1928 – Thomas Kinsella, Irish poet, translator, and publisher
    • 1928 – Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian air marshal and politician, 4th President of Egypt (d. 2020)
    • 1928 – Betsy Rawls, American golfer
    • 1928 – Wolfgang von Trips, German race car driver (d. 1961)
    • 1929 – Manuel Contreras, Chilean general (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Audrey Hepburn, Belgian-British actress and humanitarian (d. 1993)
    • 1930 – Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the Jackson family
    • 1930 – Roberta Peters, American soprano (d. 2017)
    • 1931 – Jan Pesman, Dutch speed skater (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor and educator (d. 2018)
    • 1931 – Thomas Stuttaford, English physician, journalist, and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Harlon Hill, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1932 – Alexander MacAra, Scottish epidemiologist and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1933 – J. Fred Duckett, American journalist and educator (d. 2007)
    • 1936 – El Cordobés, Spanish bullfighter
    • 1936 – Med Hondo, Mauritanian filmmaker and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Ron Carter, American bassist and educator
    • 1937 – Dick Dale, American surf-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Wim Verstappen, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1938 – Tyrone Davis, American blues and soul singer (d. 2005)
    • 1938 – Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican journalist, author, and critic (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Gillian Tindall, English historian and author
    • 1939 – Neil Fox, English rugby league player and coach
    • 1939 – Amos Oz, Israeli journalist and author (d. 2018)
    • 1939 – Leon Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1940 – Robin Cook, American physician and author
    • 1940 – Peter Gregg, American race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)
    • 1941 – George Will, American journalist and author
    • 1942 – Nickolas Ashford, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1943 – Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer (d. 1971)
    • 1943 – Mihail Chemiakin, Russian painter and sculptor
    • 1943 – Prasanta Pattanaik, Indian economist and academic
    • 1944 – Steve Liebmann, Australian radio and television host
    • 1944 – Russi Taylor, American voice actress (d. 2019)
    • 1945 – Jan Mulder, Dutch footballer and journalist
    • 1946 – John Barnard, English car designer
    • 1946 – Gary Bauer, American political activist
    • 1946 – John Watson, British race car driver
    • 1947 – John Bosley, Canadian businessman and politician, 31st Canadian Speaker of the House of Commons
    • 1947 – Ronald Sørensen, Dutch historian and politician
    • 1947 – Trivimi Velliste, Estonian politician, 17th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1948 – Alison Britton, English sculptor and educator
    • 1948 – Hurley Haywood, American race car driver
    • 1948 – King George Tupou V of Tonga, (d. 2012)
    • 1949 – Graham Swift, English novelist and short story writer
    • 1950 – Darryl Hunt, English bass player
    • 1951 – Colin Bass, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1951 – Colleen Hanabusa, American lawyer and politician
    • 1951 – Jackie Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1952 – Belinda Green, Australian beauty queen and 1972 Miss World
    • 1953 – Pia Zadora, American actress and singer
    • 1954 – Ryan Cayabyab, Filipino pianist, composer, and conductor
    • 1956 – Michael L. Gernhardt, American astronaut and engineer
    • 1956 – David Guterson, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist
    • 1956 – Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player and coach
    • 1957 – Jaak Huimerind, Estonian architect
    • 1957 – Kathy Kreiner, Canadian skier
    • 1957 – Peter Sleep, Australian cricketer
    • 1957 – Marijke Vos, Dutch educator and politician
    • 1958 – Delbert Fowler, American football player
    • 1958 – Keith Haring, American painter (d. 1990)
    • 1958 – Jane Kennedy, English politician
    • 1958 – Caroline Spelman, English politician, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
    • 1959 – Valdemaras Chomičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
    • 1959 – Randy Travis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1959 – Bob Tway, American golfer
    • 1960 – Werner Faymann, Austrian politician, 28th Chancellor of Austria
    • 1961 – Jay Aston, English singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1964 – Silvia Costa, Cuban high jumper
    • 1966 – Gary Elkins, English footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Jane McGrath, English-Australian activist, co-founded the McGrath Foundation (d. 2008)
    • 1967 – Kate Garraway, English journalist
    • 1967 – Ana Gasteyer, American actress and singer
    • 1969 – Micah Aivazoff, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1969 – Franz Resch, Austrian footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Gregg Alexander, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1970 – Will Arnett, Canadian actor and producer
    • 1970 – Giovanni Mirabassi, Italian jazz musician
    • 1970 – Dawn Staley, American basketball player
    • 1970 – Paul Wiseman, New Zealand cricketer and coach
    • 1971 – Joe Borowski, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Miles Stewart, Australian triathlete
    • 1972 – Manny Aybar, Dominican baseball player
    • 1972 – Mike Dirnt, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1973 – Matthew Barnaby, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentinian footballer and coach
    • 1973 – John Madden, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1974 – Miguel Cairo, Venezuelan baseball player and coach
    • 1974 – Tony McCoy, Northern Irish jockey and sportscaster
    • 1976 – Ben Grieve, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Rory Hamill, Northern Irish international footballer
    • 1976 – Jason Michaels, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Indrek Visnapuu, Estonian basketball player and coach
    • 1977 – John Tripp, Canadian-German ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Erin Andrews, American sportscaster and journalist
    • 1978 – Igor Biscan, Croatian footballer
    • 1978 – Brett Burton, Australian footballer
    • 1978 – Vladimíra Uhlířová, Czech tennis player
    • 1979 – Lance Bass, American singer, dancer, and producer
    • 1979 – Kristin Harmel, American journalist and author
    • 1979 – Marie Poissonnier, French pole vaulter
    • 1979 – Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan rugby player
    • 1980 – Andrew Raycroft, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer
    • 1981 – Dallon Weekes, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1982 – Kleopas Giannou, Greek footballer
    • 1982 – Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
    • 1982 – Giorgos Tsiaras, Greek basketball player
    • 1983 – Dan Christian, Australian cricketer
    • 1983 – Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Robert Zwinkels, Dutch footballer
    • 1984 – Manjural Islam Rana, Bangladeshi cricketer (d. 2007)
    • 1984 – Brad Maddox, American wrestler and referee
    • 1984 – Sarah Meier, Swiss figure skater
    • 1984 – Montell Owens, American football player
    • 1984 – Kevin Slowey, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Ravi Bopara, English cricketer
    • 1985 – Anthony Fedorov, Ukrainian-born American singer and actor
    • 1985 – Fernandinho, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Lester “Bo” McCalebb, American-Macedonian professional basketball player
    • 1985 – Jamie Adenuga, English MC and rapper
    • 1986 – Devan Dubnyk, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – George Hill, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
    • 1988 – Radja Nainggolan, Belgian footballer
    • 1989 – Dániel Gyurta, Hungarian swimmer
    • 1989 – Henna Lindholm, Finnish figure skater
    • 1989 – Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer
    • 1989 – Aris Tatarounis, Greek basketball player
    • 1989 – James van Riemsdyk, American ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Irina Falconi, American tennis player
    • 1990 – Ryan Morgan, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Duvashen Padayachee, Australian race car driver
    • 1990 – Andrea Torres, Filipino actress and model
    • 1991 – Brianne Jenner, Canadian women’s ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Victor Oladipo, American basketball player
    • 1993 – Jānis Bērziņš, Latvian basketball player
    • 1994 – Abi Masatora, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1994 – Joseph Tapine, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1996 – Pelayo Roza, Spanish sprint canoeist

    Deaths on May 4

    • 408 – Venerius, archbishop of Milan
    • 784 – Arbeo, bishop of Freising
    • 1003 – Herman II, duke of Swabia
    • 1038 – Gotthard of Hildesheim, German bishop (b. 960)
    • 1406 – Coluccio Salutati, chancellor of Florence (b. 1331)
    • 1436 – Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish rebel leader
    • 1471 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, son and heir of Henry VI of England (b. 1453)
    • 1471 – Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset (b. 1438)
    • 1483 – George Neville, Duke of Bedford (b. 1457)
    • 1506 – Husayn Mirza Bayqara, Timurid ruler of Herat (b. 1438)
    • 1519 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, duke of Urbino (b. 1492)
    • 1535 – John Houghton, Carthusian monk and saint
    • 1562 – Lelio Sozzini, Italian Protestant theologian (b. 1525)
    • 1566 – Luca Ghini, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1490)
    • 1571 – Pierre Viret, Swiss theologian and reformer (b. 1511)
    • 1604 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (b. 1533)
    • 1605 – Ulisse Aldrovandi, Italian naturalist (b. 1522)
    • 1615 – Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish priest and mathematician (b. 1561)
    • 1626 – Arthur Lake, English bishop and scholar (b. 1569)
    • 1677 – Isaac Barrow, English mathematician and theologian (b. 1630)
    • 1684 – John Nevison, English criminal (b. 1639)
    • 1729 – Louis Antoine de Noailles, French cardinal (b. 1651)
    • 1734 – James Thornhill, English painter and politician (b. 1675)
    • 1737 – Eustace Budgell, English journalist and politician (b. 1686)
    • 1774 – Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick, Prussian nobleman (b. 1714)
    • 1776 – Jacques Saly, French painter and sculptor (b. 1717)
    • 1790 – Matthew Tilghman, American politician (b. 1718)
    • 1799 – Tipu, ruler of Mysore (b. 1750)
    • 1811 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (b. 1776)
    • 1816 – Samuel Dexter, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of War, 3rd United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1761)
    • 1824 – Joseph Joubert, French author (b. 1754)
    • 1826 – Sebastián Kindelán y O’Regan, colonial governor of East Florida, Santo Domingo and Cuba (b. 1757)
    • 1839 – Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (b. 1784)
    • 1858 – Aimé Bonpland, French botanist and explorer (b. 1773)
    • 1859 – Joseph Diaz Gergonne, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1771)
    • 1880 – Edward Clark, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
    • 1901 – John Jones Ross, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Premier of Quebec (b. 1831)
    • 1903 – Gotse Delchev, Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary IMRO (b. 1872)
    • 1912 – Nettie Stevens, American geneticist credited with discovering sex chromosomes (b. 1861)
    • 1916 – Ned Daly, Irish rebel commander (Easter Rising) (b. 1891)
    • 1916 – John Murray, Australian politician, 23rd Premier of Victoria (b. 1851)
    • 1916 – Joseph Plunkett, Irish rebel and writer (b. 1887)
    • 1916 – Willie Pearse, Irish rebel (b. 1891)
    • 1919 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak general and politician (b. 1880)
    • 1922 – Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian politician (b. 1888)
    • 1923 – Ralph McKittrick, American golfer and tennis player (b. 1877)
    • 1924 – E. Nesbit, English author and poet (b. 1858)
    • 1938 – Kanō Jigorō, Japanese founder of judo (b. 1860)
    • 1938 – Carl von Ossietzky, German journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
    • 1941 – Chris McKivat, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1880)
    • 1945 – Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (b. 1880)
    • 1953 – Alexandre Pharamond, French rugby player (b. 1876)
    • 1955 – George Enescu, Romanian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1881)
    • 1964 – Karl Robert Pusta, Estonian politician, 4th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Osbert Sitwell, English-Italian author and poet (b. 1892)
    • 1972 – Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
    • 1973 – Jane Bowles, American author and playwright (b. 1917)
    • 1975 – Moe Howard, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1897)
    • 1976 – Frank Strahan, Australian public servant (b. 1886)
    • 1980 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
    • 1981 – C. Loganathan, Sri Lankan banker (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Nino Sanzogno, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1911)
    • 1984 – Diana Dors, English actress (b. 1931)
    • 1985 – Fikri Sönmez, Turkish tailor and politician (b. 1938)
    • 1985 – Clarence Wiseman, English-Canadian 10th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1907)
    • 1987 – Paul Butterfield, American singer and harmonica player (b. 1942)
    • 1987 – Cathryn Damon, American actress (b. 1930)
    • 1988 – Lillian Estelle Fisher, American historian of Spanish America (b. 1891)
    • 1990 – Emily Remler, American guitarist (b. 1957)
    • 1991 – Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egyptian singer-songwriter and mandolin player (b. 1902)
    • 1992 – Gregor Mackenzie, Scottish politician (b. 1927)
    • 1993 – France Štiglic, Slovenian film director and screenwriter (b. 1919)
    • 1995 – Connie Wisniewski, American baseball player (b. 1922)
    • 2000 – Hendrik Casimir, Dutch physicist and academic (b. 1909)
    • 2001 – Bonnie Lee Bakley, American model, wife of Robert Blake (b. 1956)
    • 2004 – David Reimer, Canadian victim of a botched circumcision and transgender reassignment surgery (b. 1965)
    • 2005 – David Hackworth, American colonel and journalist (b. 1930)
    • 2008 – Fred Baur, American chemist and founder of Pringles (b. 1918)
    • 2009 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1933)
    • 2011 – Sammy McCrory, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Mort Lindsey, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Bob Stewart, American television producer, founded Stewart Tele Enterprises (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Adam Yauch, American rapper and director (b. 1964)
    • 2012 – Rashidi Yekini, Nigerian footballer (b. 1963)
    • 2013 – Otis R. Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Christian de Duve, English-Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Javier Diez Canseco, Peruvian sociologist and politician (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Mario Machado, Chinese-American journalist and actor (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Morgan Morgan-Giles, English admiral and politician (b. 1914)
    • 2013 – César Portillo de la Luz, Cuban guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Dick Ayers, American author and illustrator (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Elena Baltacha, Ukrainian-Scottish tennis player (b. 1983)
    • 2014 – Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Helga Königsdorf, German physicist and author (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Ross Lonsberry, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1947)
    • 2014 – Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, Central African politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1948)
    • 2015 – William Bast, American screenwriter and author (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Ellen Albertini Dow, American actress (b. 1913)
    • 2015 – Marv Hubbard, American football player (b. 1946)
    • 2016 – Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, Burundian politician (b. 1946)
    • 2020 – Don Shula, American football player and coach (b. 1930)
    • 2020 – Greg Zanis, American carpenter and activist (b. 1950)

    Holidays and observances on May 4

    • Anti-Bullying Day (United Nations)
    • Bird Day (United States)
    • Cassinga Day (Namibia)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla
      • Blessed Michal Giedroyc
      • English Saints and Martyrs of the Reformation Era (Church of England)
      • F. C. D. Wyneken (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod)
      • Florian
      • Gotthard of Hildesheim
      • José María Rubio
      • Judas Cyriacus
      • Monica of Hippo (1960 Roman Catholic Calendar)
      • Sacerdos of Limoges
      • Venerius of Milan
      • May 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Dave Brubeck Day
    • Death of Milan Rastislav Štefánik Day (Slovakia)
    • Greenery Day (Japan)
    • International Firefighters’ Day
    • May Fourth Movement commemorations:
      • Literary Day (Republic of China)
      • Youth Day (China)
    • Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled (Afghanistan)
    • Remembrance of the Dead (Netherlands)
    • Restoration of Independence day (Latvia)
    • Star Wars Day (International observance)
    • World Give Day
    • World Naked Gardening Day
    • Youth Day (Fiji)

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

    On the Roman calendar, this was known as the day before the nones of April (Latin: Prid. Non. Apr.).

    April 4 in History

    • 503 BC – Roman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines.
    • 1147 – Moscow is mentioned for the first time in the historical record, when it is named as a meeting place for two princes.
    • 1268 – A five-year Byzantine–Venetian peace treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
    • 1460 – Basel University is founded.
    • 1581 – Francis Drake is knighted for completing a circumnavigation of the world.
    • 1609 – Moriscos are expelled from the Kingdom of Valencia.
    • 1660 – Declaration of Breda by King Charles II of Great Britain promises, among other things, a general pardon to all royalists for crimes committed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum.
    • 1721 – Sir Robert Walpole becomes the first British prime minister.
    • 1768 – In London, Philip Astley stages the first modern circus.
    • 1796 – Georges Cuvier delivers the first paleontological lecture.
    • 1814 – Napoleon abdicates for the first time and names his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French.
    • 1818 – The United States Congress, affirming the Second Continental Congress, adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 at that time).
    • 1841 – William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia, becoming the first President of the United States to die in office, and setting the record for the briefest administration. Vice President John Tyler succeeds Harrison as President.
    • 1850 – A large part of the English village of Cottenham burns to the ground in suspicious circumstances.
    • 1850 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a city.
    • 1859 – Bryant’s Minstrels debut “Dixie” in New York City in the finale of a blackface minstrel show.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital.
    • 1866 – Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of Saint Petersburg.
    • 1873 – The Kennel Club is founded, the oldest and first official registry of purebred dogs in the world.
    • 1875 – Vltava, composed by Czech composer Bedřich Smetana and also known by its German name Die Moldau, premiered in Prague.
    • 1887 – Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
    • 1905 – In India, an earthquake hits the Kangra Valley, killing 20,000, and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala.
    • 1913 – First Balkan War: Greek aviator Emmanouil Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot to die in the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes.
    • 1925 – The Schutzstaffel (SS) is founded under Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party in Germany.
    • 1933 – U.S. Navy airship USS Akron is wrecked off the New Jersey coast due to severe weather.
    • 1939 – Faisal II becomes King of Iraq.
    • 1944 – World War II: First bombardment of oil refineries in Bucharest by Anglo-American forces kills 3000 civilians.
    • 1945 – World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany.
    • 1945 – World War II: American troops capture Kassel.
    • 1945 – World War II: Soviet troops liberate Hungary from German occupation and occupy the country themselves.
    • 1949 – Cold War: Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
    • 1958 – The CND peace symbol is displayed in public for the first time in London.
    • 1960 – France agrees to grant independence to the Mali Federation, a union of Senegal and French Sudan.
    • 1964 – The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
    • 1965 – The first model of the new Saab Viggen fighter aircraft is unveiled.
    • 1967 – Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence” speech in New York City’s Riverside Church.
    • 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
    • 1968 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6.
    • 1968 – A.E.K. Athens B.C. becomes the first Greek team to win the European Basketball Cup.
    • 1969 – Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart.
    • 1973 – The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City are officially dedicated.
    • 1973 – A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming.
    • 1975 – Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
    • 1975 – Vietnam War: A United States Air Force Lockheed C-5A Galaxy transporting orphans, crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing 172 people.
    • 1979 – Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed.
    • 1981 – Iran–Iraq War: The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mounts an attack on H-3 Airbase and destroys about 50 Iraqi aircraft.
    • 1983 – Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space.
    • 1984 – President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons.
    • 1988 – Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office.
    • 1990 – The current flag of Hong Kong is adopted for post-colonial Hong Kong during the Third Session of the Seventh National People’s Congress.
    • 1991 – Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their airplane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania.
    • 1994 – Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark found Netscape Communications Corporation under the name Mosaic Communications Corporation.
    • 1996 – Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous.
    • 2002 – The Angolan government and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War.
    • 2009 – France announces its return to full participation of its military forces within NATO.
    • 2013 – More than 70 people are killed in a building collapse in Thane, India.
    • 2020 – China holds a National day of mourning for martyrs who died in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease outbreak.

    Births on April 4

    • 188 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (d. 217)
    • 1436 – Amalia of Saxony, Duchess of Bavaria-Landshut (d. 1501)
    • 1490 – Vojtěch I of Pernstein, Bohemian nobleman (d. 1534)
    • 1492 – Ambrosius Blarer, German-Swiss theologian and reformer (d. 1564)
    • 1572 – William Strachey, English author (d. 1621)
    • 1586 – Richard Saltonstall, English diplomat (d. 1661)
    • 1593 – Edward Nicholas, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1669)
    • 1640 – Gaspar Sanz, Spanish guitarist, composer, and priest (d. 1710)
    • 1646 – Antoine Galland, French orientalist and archaeologist (d. 1715)
    • 1648 – Grinling Gibbons, Dutch-English sculptor (d. 1721)
    • 1676 – Giuseppe Maria Orlandini, Italian composer (d. 1760)
    • 1688 – Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, French astronomer and cartographer (d. 1768)
    • 1718 – Benjamin Kennicott, English theologian and scholar (d. 1783)
    • 1752 – Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli, Italian composer (d. 1837)
    • 1760 – Juan Manuel Olivares, Venezuelan organist and composer (d. 1797)
    • 1762 – Stephen Storace, English actor and composer (d. 1796)
    • 1772 – Nachman of Breslov, Ukrainian founder of the Breslov Hasidic movement (d. 1810)
    • 1780 – Edward Hicks, American minister and painter (d. 1849)
    • 1785 – Bettina von Arnim, German author, illustrator, and composer (d. 1859)
    • 1792 – Thaddeus Stevens, American lawyer and politician (d. 1868)
    • 1802 – Dorothea Dix, American nurse and activist (d. 1887)
    • 1818 – Thomas Mayne Reid, Irish-American author and poet (d. 1883)
    • 1819 – Maria II of Portugal (d. 1853)
    • 1821 – Linus Yale, Jr., American engineer and businessman (d. 1868)
    • 1826 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (d. 1901)
    • 1829 – Owen Suffolk, Australian bushranger, poet, confidence-man and author
    • 1835 – John Hughlings Jackson, English physician and neurologist (d. 1911)
    • 1842 – Édouard Lucas, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1891)
    • 1843 – William Henry Jackson, American painter and photographer (d. 1942)
    • 1846 – Comte de Lautréamont, Uruguayan-French poet and educator (d. 1870)
    • 1851 – James Campbell, 1st Baron Glenavy, Irish lawyer and politician (d. 1931)
    • 1853 – Remy de Gourmont, French poet, novelist, and critic (d. 1915)
    • 1868 – Philippa Fawcett, English mathematician and educator (d. 1948)
    • 1869 – Mary Colter, American architect, designed the Desert View Watchtower (d. 1958)
    • 1875 – Pierre Monteux, Sephardic Jewish French-American viola player and conductor (d. 1964)
    • 1876 – Maurice de Vlaminck, French painter and poet (d. 1958)
    • 1878 – Stylianos Lykoudis, Greek admiral and historian (d. 1958)
    • 1879 – Gustav Goßler, German rower (d. 1940)
    • 1884 – James Alberione, Italian priest, founded the Society of St. Paul (d. 1971)
    • 1884 – Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese admiral (d. 1943)
    • 1886 – Frank Luther Mott, American historian and journalist (d. 1964)
    • 1888 – Tris Speaker, American baseball player and manager (d. 1958)
    • 1888 – Zdzisław Żygulski, Sr., Polish historian and academic (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Indian journalist, poet, and playwright (d. 1968)
    • 1892 – Italo Mus, Italian painter (d. 1967)
    • 1895 – Arthur Murray, American dancer and educator (d. 1991)
    • 1896 – Robert E. Sherwood, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 1955)
    • 1897 – Pierre Fresnay, French actor and screenwriter (d. 1975)
    • 1898 – Agnes Ayres, American actress (d. 1940)
    • 1899 – Hillel Oppenheimer, German-Israeli botanist and academic (d. 1971)
    • 1902 – Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin, French journalist and author (d. 1969)
    • 1902 – Stanley G. Weinbaum, American author and poet (d. 1935)
    • 1905 – Eugène Bozza, French composer and conductor (d. 1991)
    • 1905 – Erika Nõva, Estonian architect and engineer (d. 1987)
    • 1906 – Bea Benaderet, Turkish-Jewish Irish-American television, radio, and voice actress (d. 1968)
    • 1906 – John Cameron Swayze, American journalist (d. 1995)
    • 1907 – Robert Askin, Australian sergeant and politician, 32nd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1981)
    • 1910 – Đặng Văn Ngữ, Vietnamese physician and academic (d. 1967)
    • 1911 – Max Dupain, Australian photographer (d. 1992)
    • 1913 – Dave Brown, Australian rugby league player (d. 1974)
    • 1913 – Rosemary Lane, American actress and singer (d. 1974)
    • 1913 – Frances Langford, American actress and singer (d. 2005)
    • 1913 – Jules Léger, Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Governor General of Canada (d. 1980)
    • 1913 – Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1983)
    • 1914 – Richard Coogan, American actor (d. 2014)
    • 1914 – Marguerite Duras, French novelist, screenwriter, and director (d. 1996)
    • 1914 – David W. Goodall, Australian ecologist and botanist (d. 2018)
    • 1915 – Louis Archambault, Canadian sculptor (d. 2003)
    • 1916 – Nikola Ljubičić, Serbian general and politician, 10th President of Serbia (d. 2005)
    • 1916 – Mickey Owen, American baseball player and coach (d. 2005)
    • 1916 – David White, American actor (d. 1990)
    • 1918 – George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe, English soldier and politician, Leader of the House of Lords (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – Orunamamu, American-Canadian author and educator (d. 2014)
    • 1920 – Ignatius IV of Antioch, Greek patriarch (d. 2012)
    • 1921 – Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – Elmer Bernstein, American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
    • 1923 – Peter Vaughan, English actor (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Gene Reynolds, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2020)
    • 1924 – Bob Christie, American race car driver (d. 2009)
    • 1924 – Gil Hodges, American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)
    • 1925 – Dettmar Cramer, German footballer and manager (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Frank Truitt, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Claude Wagner, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1979)
    • 1925 – Emmett Williams, American poet and author (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Mildred Fay Jefferson, American physician and activist (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – Ronnie Masterson, Irish actress (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Joe Orlando, Italian-American author and illustrator (d. 1998)
    • 1928 – Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Estelle Harris, American actress and comedian
    • 1928 – Jimmy Logan, Scottish actor, director, and producer (d. 2001)
    • 1928 – Monty Norman, English singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1929 – Humbert Allen Astredo, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1930 – Netty Herawaty, Indonesian actress (d. 1989)
    • 1931 – James Dickens, English politician (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Bobby Ray Inman, American admiral and intelligence officer
    • 1931 – Catherine Tizard, New Zealand politician, 16th Governor-General of New Zealand
    • 1932 – Clive Davis, American record producer, founded Arista Records and J Records
    • 1932 – Richard Lugar, American lieutenant and politician, 44th Mayor of Indianapolis (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Anthony Perkins, American actor (d. 1992)
    • 1932 – Johanna Reiss, Dutch-American author
    • 1932 – Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian director and producer (d. 1986)
    • 1933 – Bill France, Jr., American businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1933 – Brian Hewson, English runner
    • 1933 – Bapu Nadkarni, Indian cricketer (d. 2020)
    • 1934 – Helen Hanft, American actress (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (d. 1996)
    • 1935 – Geoff Braybrooke, English-New Zealand soldier and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1935 – Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (d. 2011)
    • 1935 – Trevor Griffiths, English playwright and educator
    • 1938 – A. Bartlett Giamatti, American businessman and academic (d. 1989)
    • 1939 – JoAnne Carner, American golfer
    • 1939 – Darlene Hooley, American educator and politician
    • 1939 – Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer (d. 2018)
    • 1940 – Richard Attwood, English race car driver
    • 1940 – Sharon Sheeley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
    • 1942 – Jim Fregosi, American baseball player and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1942 – Kitty Kelley, American journalist and biographer
    • 1942 – Elizabeth Levy, American author
    • 1944 – Magda Aelvoet, Belgian politician
    • 1944 – Mary Kenny, Irish journalist, author, and playwright
    • 1944 – Bob McDill, American country music songwriter
    • 1944 – Craig T. Nelson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1944 – Nelson Prudêncio, Brazilian triple jumper and educator (d. 2012)
    • 1944 – Toktamış Ateş, Turkish academician, political commentator, columnist and writer (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Daniel Cohn-Bendit, French-German educator and politician
    • 1945 – Caroline McWilliams, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1946 – Colin Coates, Australian speed skater
    • 1946 – Dave Hill, English guitarist
    • 1946 – Katsuaki Satō, Japanese martial artist and coach
    • 1946 – György Spiró, Hungarian author and playwright
    • 1946 – Bubba Wyche, American football player and coach
    • 1947 – Wiranto, Indonesian general and politician
    • 1947 – Ray Fosse, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1947 – Eliseo Soriano, Filipino minister and television host
    • 1948 – Abdullah Öcalan, Turkish activist
    • 1948 – Berry Oakley, American bass player (d. 1972)
    • 1948 – Richard Parsons, American lawyer and businessman
    • 1948 – Dan Simmons, American author
    • 1948 – Derek Thompson, Northern Irish actor
    • 1948 – Pick Withers, English drummer
    • 1949 – Junior Braithwaite, Jamaican-American singer (d. 1999)
    • 1949 – Shing-Tung Yau, Chinese-American mathematician and academic
    • 1950 – Christine Lahti, American actress and director
    • 1951 – John Hannah, American football player and coach
    • 1952 – Rosemarie Ackermann, German high jumper
    • 1952 – Pat Burns, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2010)
    • 1952 – Gregg Hansford, Australian race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 1995)
    • 1952 – Cherie Lunghi, English actress and dancer
    • 1952 – Karen Magnussen, Canadian figure skater and coach
    • 1952 – Gary Moore, Northern Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1952 – Villy Søvndal, Danish educator and politician, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1953 – Robert Bertrand, Canadian politician
    • 1953 – Henry Fotheringham, South African cricketer
    • 1953 – Simcha Jacobovici, Canadian director, producer, journalist, and author
    • 1953 – Sammy Wilson, Northern Irish politician, 31st Lord Mayor of Belfast
    • 1953 – Chen Yi, Chinese violinist and composer
    • 1956 – Evelyn Hart, Canadian ballerina
    • 1956 – Tom Herr, American baseball player and manager
    • 1956 – David E. Kelley, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1957 – Paul Downton, English cricketer
    • 1957 – Aki Kaurismäki, Finnish director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Graeme Kelling, Scottish guitarist (d. 2004)
    • 1957 – Nobuyoshi Kuwano, Japanese singer and trumpet player
    • 1958 – Peter Baltes, German bass player
    • 1958 – Cazuza, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 1990)
    • 1958 – Rodney Eade, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1959 – Phil Morris, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Jonathan Agnew, English cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Jane Eaglen, English soprano
    • 1960 – Hugo Weaving, Nigerian-Australian actor and producer
    • 1960 – Godknows Igali, Nigerian diplomat, civil servant and technocrat
    • 1961 – Hildi Santo-Tomas, American interior decorator
    • 1962 – Craig Adams, English bass player and songwriter
    • 1962 – Kailasho Devi, Indian social worker and politician
    • 1963 – A. Michael Baldwin, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1963 – Jack Del Rio, American football player and coach
    • 1963 – Dale Hawerchuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1963 – Jane McDonald, English singer and broadcaster
    • 1963 – Graham Norton, Irish actor and talk show host
    • 1964 – Branco, Brazilian footballer and coach
    • 1964 – Dr. Chud, American drummer and singer
    • 1964 – Anthony Clark, American actor
    • 1964 – David Cross, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Paul Parker, England international footballer, right-back and TV pundit
    • 1964 – Đặng Thân, Vietnamese writer and poet
    • 1965 – Vinny Burns, English guitarist and producer
    • 1965 – Robert Downey Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Nancy McKeon, American actress
    • 1966 – Mike Starr, American bass player (d. 2011)
    • 1966 – Christos Tsekos, Greek basketball player
    • 1967 – Edith Masai, Kenyan-German runner
    • 1967 – George Mavrotas, Greek water polo player and politician
    • 1968 – Jesús Rollán, Spanish water polo player (d. 2006)
    • 1969 – Piotr Anderszewski, Polish pianist and composer
    • 1969 – Karren Brady, English journalist and businesswoman
    • 1970 – Georgios Amanatidis, Greek footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Greg Garcia, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1970 – Barry Pepper, Canadian actor and producer
    • 1970 – Jason Stoltenberg, Australian tennis player
    • 1970 – Josh Todd, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1970 – Yelena Yelesina, Russian high jumper
    • 1971 – Yanic Perreault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1971 – Malik Yusef, American actor, producer, and poet
    • 1971 – John Zandig, American wrestler and promoter
    • 1972 – Jim Dymock, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1972 – Jill Scott, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1972 – Magnus Sveningsson, Swedish bass player
    • 1973 – Chris Banks, American football player (d. 2014)
    • 1973 – David Blaine, American magician and producer
    • 1973 – Loris Capirossi, Italian motorcycle racer
    • 1973 – Peter Hoekstra, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1973 – Chris McCormack, Australian triathlete and coach
    • 1973 – Kelly Price, American singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Delphine Arnault, French businesswoman
    • 1975 – Thobias Fredriksson, Swedish skier
    • 1975 – Joyce Giraud, Puerto Rican-American model, television actress and producer, Miss Puerto Rico 1994
    • 1975 – Pamela Ribon, American actress, screenwriter, and author
    • 1975 – Miranda Lee Richards, American singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Scott Rolen, American baseball player
    • 1975 – Kevin Weekes, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1976 – Nathan Blacklock, Australian rugby player
    • 1976 – Sébastien Enjolras, French race car driver (d. 1997)
    • 1976 – Emerson Ferreira da Rosa, Brazilian footballer
    • 1976 – James Roday, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1977 – Stephan Bonnar, American mixed martial artist
    • 1977 – Keith Bulluck, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Adam Dutkiewicz, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1977 – Stephen Mulhern, English magician and television host
    • 1977 – Omarr Smith, American football player and coach
    • 1978 – Jason Ellison, American baseball player and scout
    • 1978 – Alan Mahon, Irish footballer
    • 1979 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor (d. 2008)
    • 1979 – Roberto Luongo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Natasha Lyonne, American actress
    • 1979 – Andy McKee, American guitarist
    • 1979 – Maksim Opalev, Russian canoeist
    • 1980 – Johnny Borrell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1980 – Trevor Moore, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1980 – Eric Steinbach, American football player
    • 1980 – Björn Wirdheim, Swedish race car driver
    • 1981 – Currensy, American rapper
    • 1981 – Eduardo Luís Carloto, Brazilian footballer
    • 1981 – Casey Daigle, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Anna Pyatykh, Russian triple jumper
    • 1981 – Ned Vizzini, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1982 – Justin Cook, American voice actor and producer
    • 1982 – Magnus Lindgren, Swedish chef (d. 2012)
    • 1983 – Evgeny Artyukhin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Eric Andre, American comedian
    • 1983 – Ben Gordon, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Doug Lynch, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Natalie Pike, Scottish-English model and actress
    • 1983 – Amanda Righetti, American actress
    • 1984 – Sean May, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Arkady Vyatchanin, Russian swimmer
    • 1985 – Rudy Fernández, Spanish basketball player
    • 1985 – Dudi Sela, Israeli tennis player
    • 1985 – Ricardo Vilar, Brazilian footballer
    • 1986 – Eunhyuk, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1986 – Cameron Barker, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Maurice Manificat, French skier
    • 1986 – Aiden McGeady, Scottish-born Irish footballer
    • 1986 – Alexander Tettey, Norwegian footballer
    • 1987 – Sami Khedira, German footballer
    • 1987 – McDonald Mariga, Kenyan footballer
    • 1987 – Cameron Maybin, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Marcos Vellidis, Greek footballer
    • 1987 – Sarah Gadon, Canadian actress
    • 1988 – Frank Fielding, English footballer
    • 1989 – Vurnon Anita, Dutch footballer
    • 1989 – Steven Finn, English cricketer
    • 1989 – Chris Herd, Australian footballer
    • 1991 – Yui Koike, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1991 – Justin O’Neill, Australian rugby league player
    • 1991 – Jamie Lynn Spears, American actress and singer
    • 1991 – Marlon Stöckinger, Filipino race car driver
    • 1992 – Lucy May Barker, English actress and singer
    • 1992 – Christina Metaxa, Cypriot singer-songwriter
    • 1992 – Ricky Dillon, American youtuber and singer
    • 1993 – Samir Carruthers, English footballer
    • 1993 – Frank Kaminsky, American basketball player
    • 1994 – Shunsuke Nishikawa, Japanese actor
    • 1994 – Risako Sugaya, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1996 – Austin Mahone, American singer-songwriter and actor

    Deaths on April 4

    • 397 – Ambrose, Roman archbishop and saint (b. 338)
    • 636 – Isidore of Seville, Spanish archbishop and saint (b. 560)
    • 814 – Plato of Sakkoudion, Byzantine monk and saint (b. 735)
    • 896 – Formosus, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 816)
    • 911 – Liu Yin, Chinese warlord and governor (b. 874)
    • 931 – Kong Xun, Chinese official and governor (b. 884)
    • 968 – Abu Firas al-Hamdani, Arab prince and poet (b. 932)
    • 991 – Reginold, bishop of Eichstätt
    • 1284 – Alfonso X, king of Castile and León (b. 1221)
    • 1292 – Nicholas IV, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1227)
    • 1406 – Robert III, king of Scotland (b.1337)
    • 1483 – Henry Bourchier, 1st Earl of Essex (b. c. 1405)
    • 1536 – Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (b. 1460)
    • 1538 – Elena Glinskaya, Grand Princess and regent of Russia
    • 1588 – Frederick II, king of Denmark and Norway (b. 1534)
    • 1596 – Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (b. 1533)
    • 1609 – Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist, mycologist, and academic (b. 1526)
    • 1617 – John Napier, Scottish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1550)
    • 1643 – Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian and academic (b. 1583)
    • 1661 – Alexander Leslie, 1st Earl of Leven, Scottish field marshal (b. 1580)
    • 1743 – Daniel Neal, English historian and author (b. 1678)
    • 1761 – Théodore Gardelle, Swiss painter (b. 1722)
    • 1766 – John Taylor, English librarian and scholar (b. 1704)
    • 1774 – Oliver Goldsmith, Irish novelist, playwright and poet (b. 1728)
    • 1792 – James Sykes, American lawyer and politician (b. 1725)
    • 1807 – Jérôme Lalande, French astronomer and academic (b. 1732)
    • 1817 – André Masséna, French general (b. 1758)
    • 1841 – William Henry Harrison, American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (b. 1773)
    • 1846 – Solomon Sibley, American lawyer and politician, 1st Mayor of Detroit (b. 1769)
    • 1861 – John McLean, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Postmaster General (b. 1785)
    • 1863 – Ludwig Emil Grimm, German painter and engraver (b. 1790)
    • 1864 – Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American commander and paleontologist (b. 1808)
    • 1870 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (b. 1802)
    • 1874 – Charles Ernest Beulé, French archaeologist and politician (b. 1826)
    • 1875 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (b. 1837)
    • 1878 – Richard M. Brewer, American criminal (b. 1850)
    • 1879 – Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, German physicist and meteorologist (b. 1803)
    • 1883 – Peter Cooper, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union (b. 1791)
    • 1890 – Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Quebec (b. 1820)
    • 1890 – Edmond Hébert, French geologist and academic (b. 1812)
    • 1912 – Charles Brantley Aycock, American lawyer and politician, 50th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1859)
    • 1912 – Isaac K. Funk, American minister, lexicographer, and publisher, co-founded Funk & Wagnalls (b. 1839)
    • 1919 – William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (b. 1832)
    • 1919 – Francisco Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1908)
    • 1923 – John Venn, English mathematician and philosopher, created the Venn diagram (b. 1834)
    • 1929 – Karl Benz, German engineer and businessman, founded Mercedes-Benz (b. 1844)
    • 1931 – André Michelin, French businessman, co-founded the Michelin Tyre Company (b. 1853)
    • 1932 – Wilhelm Ostwald, Latvian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
    • 1933 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (b. 1842)
    • 1941 – Emine Nazikedâ Kadınefendi, the first wife and chief consort of Sultan Mehmed VI (b. 1866)
    • 1944 – Morris H. Whitehouse, American architect (b. 1878)[14]
    • 1951 – George Albert Smith, American religious leader, 8th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1870)
    • 1953 – Carol II of Romania (b. 1893)
    • 1957 – E. Herbert Norman, Canadian historian and diplomat (b. 1909)
    • 1958 – Johnny Stompanato, American soldier and bodyguard (b. 1925)
    • 1961 – Harald Riipalu, Estonian military commander (b. 1912)
    • 1961 – Simion Stoilow, Romanian mathematician and academic (b. 1873)
    • 1967 – Al Lewis, American songwriter (b. 1901)
    • 1967 – Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1898)
    • 1968 – Martin Luther King Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (assassinated)(b. 1929)
    • 1972 – Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., American pastor and politician (b. 1908)
    • 1972 – Stefan Wolpe, German-American composer and academic (b. 1902)
    • 1976 – Harry Nyquist, Swedish engineer and theorist (b. 1889)
    • 1977 – Andrey Dikiy, Ukrainian-American journalist, historian, and politician (b. 1893)
    • 1979 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 4th President of Pakistan (b. 1928)
    • 1979 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (b. 1903)
    • 1980 – Red Sovine, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1917)
    • 1983 – Gloria Swanson, American actress (b. 1899)
    • 1983 – Bernard Vukas, Croatian football player, played for 1953 FIFA’s “Rest of the World” team against England at Wembley (b. 1927)
    • 1984 – Oleg Antonov, Russian-Ukrainian engineer and businessman, founded Antonov (b. 1906)
    • 1985 – Kate Roberts, Welsh author and activist (b. 1891)
    • 1987 – C. L. Moore, American author and academic (b. 1911)
    • 1987 – Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan guru, poet, and scholar (b. 1939)
    • 1987 – Sachchidananda Vatsyayan, Indian journalist and author (b. 1911)
    • 1991 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (b. 1920)
    • 1991 – Max Frisch, Swiss playwright and novelist (b. 1911)
    • 1991 – H. John Heinz III, American soldier and politician (b. 1938)
    • 1991 – Graham Ingels, American illustrator (b. 1915)
    • 1992 – Yvette Brind’Amour, Canadian actress and director (b. 1918)
    • 1992 – Jack Hamilton, Australian footballer (b. 1928)
    • 1992 – Arthur Russell, American singer-songwriter and cellist (b. 1951)
    • 1993 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American game designer, invented Scrabble (b. 1899)
    • 1993 – Douglas Leopold, Canadian radio and television host (b. 1947)
    • 1995 – Kenny Everett, English radio and television host (b. 1944)
    • 1995 – Priscilla Lane, American actress (b. 1915)
    • 1996 – Barney Ewell, American runner and long jumper (b. 1918)
    • 1996 – Boone Guyton, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1913)
    • 1997 – Leo Picard, German-Israeli geologist and academic (b. 1900)
    • 1997 – Alparslan Türkeş, Turkish colonel and politician, 39th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1917)
    • 1999 – Lucille Lortel, American actress, artistic director and producer (b. 1900)
    • 1999 – Early Wynn, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1920)
    • 2001 – Liisi Oterma, Finnish astronomer (b. 1915)
    • 2001 – Ed Roth, American illustrator and engineer (b. 1932)
    • 2001 – Maury Van Vliet, American-Canadian academic (b. 1913)
    • 2003 – Anthony Caruso, American actor (b. 1916)
    • 2004 – Briek Schotte, Belgian cyclist and coach (b. 1919)
    • 2005 – Edward Bronfman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – Bob Clark, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1941)
    • 2007 – Karen Spärck Jones, English computer scientist and academic (b. 1935)
    • 2008 – Francis Tucker, South African race car driver (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Maxine Cooper, American actress, activist and photographer (b. 1924)
    • 2011 – Scott Columbus, American drummer (b. 1956)
    • 2011 – Juliano Mer-Khamis, Israeli actor, director, and activist (b. 1958)
    • 2012 – A. Dean Byrd, American psychologist and academic (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Anne Karin Elstad, Norwegian author and educator (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Dubravko Pavličić, Croatian footballer (b. 1967)
    • 2012 – Roberto Rexach Benítez, American-Puerto Rican academic and politician, 10th President of the Senate of Puerto Rico (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Bengt Blomgren, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Carmine Infantino, American illustrator (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Tommy Tycho, Hungarian-Australian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Ian Walsh, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Noboru Yamaguchi, Japanese author (b. 1972)
    • 2014 – İsmet Atlı, Turkish wrestler and trainer (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Wayne Henderson, American trombonist and producer (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Kumba Ialá, Bissau-Guinean soldier and politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1953)
    • 2014 – Margo MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Curtis Bill Pepper, American journalist and author (b. 1917)
    • 2014 – Muhammad Qutb, Egyptian author and academic (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – Jamaluddin Jarjis, Malaysian engineer and politician (b. 1951)
    • 2015 – Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1918)
    • 2015 – Donald N. Levine, American sociologist and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Klaus Rifbjerg, Danish author and poet (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress (b. 1930)

    Holidays and observances on April 4

    • Children’s Day (Hong Kong, Taiwan)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Benedict the Moor
      • Gaetano Catanoso
      • Isidore of Seville
      • Martin Luther King Jr. (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Reginald Heber (Anglican Church of Canada)
      • Tigernach of Clones
      • April 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Senegal from France (1960).
    • Peace Day (Angola)[15]
    • One of the possible days for Qingming Festival.

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

    • 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph.
    • 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to become monks by Constantine VII, who becomes the sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
    • 1500 – Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil.
    • 1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Mw Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people.
    • 1564 – The Council of Trent establishes an official distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
    • 1564 – The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Tsardom of Russia in the Battle of Ula during the Livonian War.
    • 1565 – Battle of Talikota, fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates, leads to the subjugation, and eventual destruction of the last Hindu kingdom in India, and the consolidation of Islamic rule over much of the Indian subcontinent.
    • 1699 – For the first time, the Ottoman Empire permanently cedes territory to the Christian powers.
    • 1700 – The 8.7–9.2 Mw Cascadia earthquake takes place off the west coast of North America, as evidenced by Japanese records.
    • 1736 – Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne.
    • 1788 – The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on Australia. Commemorated as Australia Day.
    • 1808 – The Rum Rebellion is the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in New South Wales.
    • 1837 – Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
    • 1838 – Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States.
    • 1841 – James Bremer takes formal possession of Hong Kong Island at what is now Possession Point, establishing British Hong Kong.
    • 1855 – Point No Point Treaty is signed in Washington Territory.
    • 1856 – First Battle of Seattle. Marines from the USS Decatur drive off American Indian attackers after all day battle with settlers.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: The state of Louisiana secedes from the Union.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: General Ambrose Burnside is relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac after the disastrous Fredericksburg campaign. He is replaced by Joseph Hooker.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Governor of Massachusetts John Albion Andrew receives permission from the Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.
    • 1870 – Reconstruction Era: Virginia rejoins the Union.
    • 1885 – Troops loyal to The Mahdi conquer Khartoum, killing the Governor-General Charles George Gordon.
    • 1905 – The world’s largest diamond ever, the Cullinan weighing 3,106.75 carats (0.621350 kg), is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
    • 1911 – Glenn Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane.
    • 1915 – The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress.
    • 1918 – Finnish Civil War: A group of Red Guards hangs a red lantern atop the tower of Helsinki Workers’ Hall to symbolically mark the start of the war.
    • 1920 – Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.
    • 1926 – The first demonstration of the television by John Logie Baird.
    • 1930 – The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj (“Complete Independence”) which occurred 17 years later.
    • 1934 – The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
    • 1934 – German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact is signed.
    • 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Catalonia Offensive: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.
    • 1942 – World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe landing in Northern Ireland.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins encircling the German Fourth Army near Heiligenbeil in East Prussia, which will end in destruction of the 4th Army two months later.
    • 1945 – World War II: Audie Murphy displays valor and bravery in action for which he will later be awarded the Medal of Honor.
    • 1949 – The Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory sees first light under the direction of Edwin Hubble, becoming the largest aperture optical telescope (until BTA-6 is built in 1976).
    • 1950 – The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first President of India. Observed as Republic Day in India.
    • 1952 – Black Saturday in Egypt: rioters burn Cairo’s central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
    • 1956 – the Soviet Union cedes Porkkala back to Finland.
    • 1961 – John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be the first woman Physician to the President.
    • 1962 – Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. The space probe later misses the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).
    • 1965 – Hindi becomes the official language of India.
    • 1972 – JAT Fight 367 is destroyed by a terrorist bomb, killing 27 of the 28 people on board the DC-9. Flight attendant Vesna Vulović survives with critical injuries.
    • 1980 – Egypt–Israel relations are formally established.
    • 1986 – The Ugandan government of Tito Okello is overthrown by the National Resistance Army, led by Yoweri Museveni.
    • 1991 – Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.
    • 1992 – Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.
    • 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had “sexual relations” with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
    • 2001 – The 7.7 Mw Gujarat earthquake shakes Western India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 13,805–20,023 dead and about 166,800 injured.
    • 2009 – Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina.
    • 2015 – An aircraft crashes at Los Llanos Air Base in Albacete, Spain, killing 11 people and injuring 21 others.
    • 2020 – A Sikorsky S-76B flying from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport crashes in Calabasas, 30 miles west of Los Angeles, killing all nine people on board including former five time NBA champion Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant.

    Births on January 26

    • 183 – Lady Zhen, wife of Cao Pi (d. 221)
    • 1436 – Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, Lancastrian military commander (d. 1464)
    • 1467 – Guillaume Budé, French scholar (d. 1540)
    • 1495 – Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (d. 1557)
    • 1541 – Florent Chrestien, French poet and translator (d. 1596)
    • 1549 – Jakob Ebert, German theologian (d. 1614)
    • 1582 – Giovanni Lanfranco, Italian painter (d. 1647)
    • 1595 – Antonio Maria Abbatini, Italian composer (d. 1679)
    • 1624 – George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1705)
    • 1657 – William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1737)
    • 1708 – William Hayes, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1777)
    • 1714 – Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor and educator (d. 1785)
    • 1715 – Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (d. 1771)
    • 1716 – George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1785)
    • 1722 – Alexander Carlyle, Scottish minister and author (d. 1805)
    • 1763 – Charles XIV John of Sweden (d. 1844)
    • 1781 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (d. 1831)
    • 1813 – Juan Pablo Duarte, Dominican philosopher and poet (d. 1876)
    • 1824 – Emil Czyrniański, Polish chemist (d. 1888)
    • 1832 – George Shiras, Jr., American lawyer and jurist (d. 1924)
    • 1842 – François Coppée, French poet and author (d. 1908)
    • 1852 – Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, Italian-French explorer (d. 1905)
    • 1857 – 12th Dalai Lama (d. 1875)
    • 1861 – Louis Anquetin, French painter (d. 1932)
    • 1864 – József Pusztai, Slovene-Hungarian poet and journalist (d. 1934)
    • 1866 – John Cady, American golfer (d. 1933)
    • 1877 – Kees van Dongen, Dutch painter (d. 1968)
    • 1878 – Dave Nourse, English-South African cricketer and coach (d. 1948)
    • 1880 – Douglas MacArthur, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)
    • 1885 – Michael Considine, Irish-Australian politician (d. 1959)
    • 1885 – Harry Ricardo, English engineer and academic (d. 1974)
    • 1885 – Per Thorén, Swedish figure skater (d. 1962)
    • 1887 – François Faber, French-Luxembourgian cyclist (d. 1915)
    • 1887 – Marc Mitscher, American admiral and pilot (d. 1947)
    • 1887 – Dimitris Pikionis, Greek architect and academic (d. 1968)
    • 1891 – Frank Costello, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1973)
    • 1891 – August Froehlich, German priest and martyr (d. 1942)
    • 1891 – Wilder Penfield, American-Canadian neurosurgeon and academic (d. 1976)
    • 1892 – Bessie Coleman, American pilot (d. 1926)
    • 1893 – Giuseppe Genco Russo, Italian mob boss (d. 1976)
    • 1899 – Günther Reindorff, Russian-Estonian graphic designer and illustrator (d. 1974)
    • 1900 – Karl Ristenpart, German conductor (d. 1967)
    • 1902 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (d. 1940)
    • 1904 – Ancel Keys, American physiologist and nutritionist (d. 2004)
    • 1904 – Seán MacBride, Irish lawyer and politician, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
    • 1905 – Charles Lane, American actor and singer (d. 2007)
    • 1905 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (d. 1987)
    • 1907 – Henry Cotton, English golfer (d. 1987)
    • 1907 – Dimitrios Holevas, Greek priest and philologist (d. 2001)
    • 1908 – Jill Esmond, English actress (d. 1990)
    • 1908 – Rupprecht Geiger, German painter and sculptor (d. 2009)
    • 1908 – Stéphane Grappelli, French violinist (d. 1997)
    • 1910 – Jean Image, Hungarian-French animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
    • 1911 – Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
    • 1911 – Norbert Schultze, German composer and conductor (d. 2002)
    • 1913 – Jimmy Van Heusen, American pianist and composer (d. 1990)
    • 1914 – Dürrüşehvar Sultan, Imperial Princess of the Ottoman Empire (d. 2006)
    • 1915 – William Hopper, American actor (d. 1970)
    • 1917 – Louis Zamperini, American runner and captain (d. 2014)
    • 1918 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian dictator, 1st President of Romania (d. 1989)
    • 1918 – Philip José Farmer, American author (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Valentino Mazzola, Italian footballer (d. 1949)
    • 1919 – Bill Nicholson, English footballer and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1919 – Hyun Soong-jong, South Korean politician, 24th Prime Minister of South Korea (d. 2020)
    • 1920 – Hans Holzer, Austrian-American paranormal researcher and author (d. 2009)
    • 1921 – Eddie Barclay, French record producer, founded Barclay Records (d. 2005)
    • 1921 – Akio Morita, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Michael Bentine, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1922 – Seán Flanagan, Irish footballer and politician, 7th Irish Minister for Health (d. 1993)
    • 1922 – Gil Merrick, English footballer (d. 2010)
    • 1923 – Patrick J. Hannifin, American admiral (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Anne Jeffreys, American actress and singer (d. 2017)
    • 1924 – Alice Babs, Swedish singer and actress (b. 1924)
    • 1924 – Annette Strauss, American philanthropist and politician, Mayor of Dallas (d. 1998)
    • 1925 – David Jenkins, English bishop and theologian (d. 2016)
    • 1925 – Joan Leslie, American actress (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Paul Newman, American actor, activist, director, race car driver, and businessman, co-founded Newman’s Own (d. 2008)
    • 1925 – Ben Pucci, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Claude Ryan, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2004)
    • 1926 – Farman Fatehpuri, Pakistani linguist and scholar (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Joseph Bacon Fraser, Jr., American architect and businessman, co-founded the Sea Pines Company (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – José Azcona del Hoyo, Honduran businessman and politician, President of Honduras (d. 2005)
    • 1927 – Bob Nieman, American baseball player and scout (d. 1985)
    • 1927 – Hubert Schieth, German footballer and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Roger Vadim, French actor and director (d. 2000)
    • 1929 – Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter, and educator
    • 1934 – Roger Landry, Canadian businessman and publisher (d. 2020)
    • 1934 – Charles Marowitz, American director, playwright, and critic (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Huey “Piano” Smith, American pianist and songwriter
    • 1934 – Bob Uecker, American baseball player, sportscaster and actor
    • 1935 – Corrado Augias, Italian journalist and politician
    • 1935 – Henry Jordan, American football player (d. 1977)
    • 1935 – Paula Rego, Portuguese-born British visual artist
    • 1936 – Sal Buscema, American illustrator
    • 1937 – Joseph Saidu Momoh, Sierra Leonean soldier and politician, 2nd President of Sierra Leone (d. 2003)
    • 1937 – Francisco Gonzales, former 1960 Summer Olympics yachting team member and murderer
    • 1938 – Henry Jaglom, English-American director and screenwriter
    • 1940 – Séamus Hegarty, Irish bishop
    • 1940 – Frank Large, English footballer, centre forward and cricketer (d. 2003)
    • 1943 – César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
    • 1943 – Jack Warner, Trinidadian businessman and politician
    • 1944 – Angela Davis, American activist, academic, and author
    • 1944 – Jerry Sandusky, American football coach and criminal
    • 1945 – Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (d. 1987)
    • 1945 – David Purley, English race car driver (d. 1985)
    • 1946 – Christopher Hampton, Portuguese-English director, screenwriter, and playwright
    • 1946 – Gene Siskel, American journalist and film critic (d. 1999)
    • 1946 – Susan Friedlander, American mathematician
    • 1947 – Patrick Dewaere, French actor and composer (d. 1982)
    • 1947 – Les Ebdon, English chemist and academic
    • 1947 – Redmond Morris, 4th Baron Killanin, Irish director, producer, and production manager
    • 1947 – Michel Sardou, French singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1948 – Alda Facio, Costa Rican jurist, writer and teacher
    • 1949 – Jonathan Carroll, American author
    • 1949 – David Strathairn, American actor
    • 1950 – Jörg Haider, Austrian lawyer and politician, Governor of Carinthia (d. 2008)
    • 1951 – David Briggs, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1951 – Andy Hummel, American singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2010)
    • 1951 – Anne Mills, English economist and academic
    • 1953 – Alik L. Alik, Micronesian politician, 7th Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia
    • 1953 – Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Danish politician and diplomat, 39th Prime Minister of Denmark
    • 1953 – Lucinda Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Kim Hughes, Australian cricketer
    • 1955 – Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1957 – Road Warrior Hawk, American wrestler (d. 2003)
    • 1958 – Anita Baker, American singer-songwriter
    • 1958 – Ellen DeGeneres, American comedian, actress, and talk show host
    • 1961 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Tom Keifer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1962 – Guo Jian, Chinese-Australian painter, sculptor, and photographer
    • 1962 – Tim May, Australian cricketer
    • 1962 – Oscar Ruggeri, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1963 – José Mourinho, Portuguese footballer and manager
    • 1963 – Simon O’Donnell, Australian footballer, cricketer, and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Tony Parks, English footballer and manager
    • 1963 – Andrew Ridgeley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1964 – Adam Crozier, Scottish businessman
    • 1965 – Thomas Östros, Swedish businessman and politician
    • 1965 – Natalia Yurchenko, Russian gymnast and coach
    • 1966 – Kazushige Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1967 – Anatoly Komm, Russian chef and businessman
    • 1967 – Col Needham, English businessman, co-founded Internet Movie Database
    • 1968 – Jupiter Apple, Brazilian singer-songwriter, film director, and actor (d. 2015)
    • 1969 – George Dikeoulakos, Greek-Romanian basketball player and coach
    • 1970 – Kirk Franklin, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1973 – Larissa Lowing, Canadian artistic gymnast
    • 1973 – Melvil Poupaud, French actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Brendan Rodgers, Northern Irish footballer and manager
    • 1973 – Mayu Shinjo, Japanese author and illustrator
    • 1977 – Vince Carter, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Justin Gimelstob, American tennis player and coach
    • 1978 – Corina Morariu, American tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1981 – José de Jesús Corona, Mexican footballer
    • 1981 – Gustavo Dudamel, Venezuelan violinist, composer, and conductor
    • 1981 – Juan José Haedo, Argentinian cyclist
    • 1981 – Colin O’Donoghue, Irish actor
    • 1982 – Reggie Hodges, American football player
    • 1983 – Petri Oravainen, Finnish footballer
    • 1983 – Eric Werner, American ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Ryan Hoffman, Australian rugby league player
    • 1984 – Iain Turner, Scottish footballer
    • 1984 – Luo Xuejuan, Chinese swimmer
    • 1985 – Heather Stanning, English rower
    • 1986 – Gerald Green, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Kim Jae-joong, South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, director and designer.
    • 1986 – Mustapha Yatabaré, French-Malian footballer
    • 1987 – Sebastian Giovinco, Italian footballer
    • 1988 – Dimitrios Chondrokoukis, Greek high jumper
    • 1989 – MarShon Brooks, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Emily Hughes, American figure skater
    • 1990 – Sergio Pérez, Mexican race car driver
    • 1990 – Peter Sagan, Slovak professional cyclist
    • 1990 – Nina Zander, German tennis player
    • 1991 – Tom Meechan, English footballer
    • 1992 – Sasha Banks, American professional wrestler
    • 1993 – Lana Clelland, Scottish footballer
    • 1993 – Florian Thauvin, French footballer
    • 1995 – Sione Katoa, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1997 – Gedion Zelalem, German-born American soccer player
    • 2001 – Latalia Bevan, Welsh artistic gymnast

    Deaths on January 26

    • 724 – Yazid II, Umayyad caliph (b. 687)
    • 738 – John of Dailam, Syrian monk and saint (b. 660)
    • 910 – Luo Yin, Chinese statesman and poet
    • 946 – Eadgyth, Queen consort of Germany (b.c 910)
    • 1186 – Ismat ad-Din Khatun, wife of Saladin
    • 1390 – Adolph IX, Count of Holstein-Kiel (b.c 1327)
    • 1567 – Nicholas Wotton, English courtier and diplomat (b. 1497)
    • 1568 – Lady Catherine Grey, Countess of Hertford (b. 1540)
    • 1620 – Amar Singh I, ruler of Mewar (b. 1559)
    • 1630 – Henry Briggs, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1556)
    • 1636 – Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul, French diplomat (b. 1552)
    • 1641 – Lawrence Hyde, English lawyer (b. 1562)
    • 1697 – Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician and theorist (b. 1640)
    • 1744 – Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller, Austrian field marshal (b. 1683)
    • 1750 – Albert Schultens, Dutch philologist and academic (b. 1686)
    • 1779 – Thomas Hudson, English painter (b. 1701)
    • 1795 – Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, German harpsichord player and composer (b. 1732)
    • 1799 – Gabriel Christie, Scottish general (b. 1722)
    • 1823 – Edward Jenner, English physician and immunologist (b. 1749)
    • 1824 – Théodore Géricault, French painter and lithographer (b. 1791)
    • 1831 – Sangolli Rayanna, Indian soldier (b. 1798)
    • 1831 – Anton Delvig, Russian poet and journalist (b. 1798)
    • 1849 – Thomas Lovell Beddoes, English poet, playwright, and physician (b. 1803)
    • 1855 – Gérard de Nerval, French poet and translator (b. 1808)
    • 1860 – Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, opera singer (b. 1804)
    • 1869 – Duncan Gordon Boyes, English soldier; Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1846)
    • 1870 – Victor de Broglie, French politician, 9th Prime Minister of France (b. 1785)
    • 1885 – Edward Davy, English-Australian physician and engineer (b. 1806)
    • 1885 – Charles George Gordon, English general and politician (b. 1833)
    • 1886 – David Rice Atchison, American general and politician (b. 1807)
    • 1887 – Anandi Gopal Joshi, One of the first female Indian physicians (b. 1865)
    • 1891 – Nicolaus Otto, German engineer, invented the Internal combustion engine (b. 1833)
    • 1893 – Abner Doubleday, American general (b. 1819)
    • 1895 – Arthur Cayley, English mathematician and academic (b. 1825)
    • 1904 – Whitaker Wright, English businessman (b. 1846)
    • 1926 – John Flannagan, American priest and academic (b. 1860)
    • 1932 – William Wrigley, Jr., American businessman, founded the Wrigley Company (b. 1861)
    • 1942 – Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician and academic (b. 1868)
    • 1943 – Harry H. Laughlin, American sociologist and eugenicist (b. 1880)
    • 1943 – Nikolai Vavilov, Russian botanist and geneticist (b. 1887)
    • 1946 – Oskar Kallas, Estonian linguist and diplomat (b. 1868)
    • 1946 – Adriaan van Maanen, Dutch-American astronomer and academic (b. 1884)
    • 1947 – Grace Moore, American soprano and actress (b. 1898)
    • 1948 – Kâzım Karabekir, Turkish general and politician, 5th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (b. 1882)
    • 1948 – Fred Conrad Koch, American biochemist and endocrinologist (born 1876)
    • 1948 – John Lomax, American musicologist and academic (b. 1867)
    • 1952 – Khorloogiin Choibalsan, Mongolian general and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Mongolia (b. 1895)
    • 1953 – Athanase David, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1882)
    • 1957 – Helene Costello, American actress (b. 1906)
    • 1962 – Lucky Luciano, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1897)
    • 1968 – Merrill C. Meigs, American publisher (b. 1883)
    • 1973 – Edward G. Robinson, Romanian-American actor (b. 1893)
    • 1975 – Donald Sheldon, American bush pilot (b. 1921)
    • 1976 – João Branco Núncio, Portuguese bullfighter (b. 1901)
    • 1977 – Filopimin Finos, Greek production manager and producer, founded Finos Film (b. 1908)
    • 1979 – Nelson Rockefeller, American businessman and politician, 41st Vice President of the United States (b. 1908)
    • 1980 – Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian politician, 2nd Vice President of Zambia (b. 1922)
    • 1983 – Bear Bryant, American football player and coach (b. 1913)
    • 1985 – Kenny Clarke, American jazz drummer and bandleader (b. 1914)
    • 1990 – Bob Gerard, English race car driver and businessman (b. 1914)
    • 1990 – Lewis Mumford, American sociologist and historian (b. 1895)
    • 1992 – José Ferrer, Puerto Rican-American actor (b. 1912)
    • 1993 – Jan Gies, Dutch businessman and humanitarian (b. 1905)
    • 1993 – Robert Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and painter (b. 1912)
    • 1993 – Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Governor General of Canada (b. 1922)
    • 1996 – Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1921)
    • 1996 – Harold Brodkey, American author and academic (b. 1930)
    • 1996 – Frank Howard, American football player and coach (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Henry Lewis, American bassist and conductor (b. 1932)
    • 1997 – Jeane Dixon, American astrologer and psychic (b. 1904)
    • 2000 – Don Budge, American tennis player and coach (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Kathleen Hale, English author and illustrator (b. 1898)
    • 2000 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-American author (b. 1912)
    • 2001 – Al McGuire, American basketball player and coach (b. 1928)
    • 2003 – Valeriy Brumel, Russian high jumper (b. 1942)
    • 2003 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2003 – George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, Scottish banker and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (b. 1931)
    • 2004 – Fred Haas, American golfer (b. 1916)
    • 2006 – Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Pakistani politician (b. 1917)
    • 2007 – Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
    • 2008 – Viktor Schreckengost, American sculptor and designer (b. 1906)
    • 2010 – Louis Auchincloss, American novelist and essayist (b. 1917)
    • 2011 – David Kato Kisule, Ugandan teacher and LGBT rights activist, considered a father of Uganda’s gay rights movement (b. 1964)
    • 2011 – Charlie Louvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Roberto Mieres, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Christine M. Jones, American educator and politician (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Stefan Kudelski, Polish-Swiss engineer, invented the Nagra (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Padma Kant Shukla, Indian physicist and academic (b. 1950)
    • 2013 – Shōtarō Yasuoka, Japanese author (b. 1920)
    • 2014 – Tom Gola, American basketball player, coach, and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Paula Gruden, Slovenian-Australian poet and translator (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – José Emilio Pacheco, Mexican poet and author (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Ralph T. Troy, American banker and politician (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Cleven “Goodie” Goudeau, American art director and cartoonist (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Tom Uren, Australian soldier and politician (b. 1921)
    • 2016 – Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, Pakistani politician and diplomat, 14th Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1920)
    • 2016 – Abe Vigoda, American actor (b. 1921)
    • 2017 – Mike Connors, American actor (b. 1925)
    • 2017 – Tam Dalyell, Scottish politician (b. 1932)
    • 2017 – Lindy Delapenha, Jamaican footballer and sports journalist (b. 1927)
    • 2017 – Barbara Hale, American actress (b. 1922)
    • 2020 – John Altobelli, American college baseball coach (b. 1963)
    • 2020 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player (b. 1978)

    Holidays and observances on January 26

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alberic
      • Founders of Cîteaux (Alberic of Cîteaux, Robert of Molesme, Stephen Harding)
      • Blessed Gabriele Allegra
      • Paula
      • Timothy and Titus
      • January 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Australia Day (Australia)
    • Duarte Day (Dominican Republic)
    • Engineer’s Day (Panama)
    • International Customs Day
    • Liberation Day (Uganda)
    • Republic Day (India)

  • January 23 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor.
    • 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.
    • 1264 – In the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, King Louis IX of France issues the Mise of Amiens, a one-sided decision in favour of Henry that later leads to the Second Barons’ War.
    • 1368 – In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries.
    • 1546 – Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel.
    • 1556 – The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
    • 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such.
    • 1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London.
    • 1579 – The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.
    • 1656 – Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales.
    • 1719 – The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.
    • 1789 – Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.).
    • 1793 – Second Partition of Poland.
    • 1795 – After an extraordinary charge across the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry captured 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns, in a rare occurrence of a battle between ships and cavalry.
    • 1846 – Slavery in Tunisia is abolished.
    • 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States’ first female doctor.
    • 1870 – In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what becomes known as the Marias Massacre.
    • 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle of Rorke’s Drift ends.
    • 1899 – The Malolos Constitution is inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic. Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as its first President.
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces ends in a British defeat.
    • 1904 – Ålesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
    • 1909 – RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day.
    • 1912 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague.
    • 1920 – The Netherlands refuses to surrender the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.
    • 1937 – The trial of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist center sees seventeen mid-level Communists accused of sympathizing with Leon Trotsky and plotting to overthrow Joseph Stalin’s regime.
    • 1941 – Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Rabaul commences Japan’s invasion of Australia’s Territory of New Guinea.
    • 1943 – World War II: Troops of the British Eighth Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German–Italian Panzer Army.
    • 1945 – World War II: German admiral Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal.
    • 1950 – The Knesset resolves that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
    • 1957 – American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the “Frisbee”.
    • 1958 – After a general uprising and rioting in the streets, President Marcos Pérez Jiménez leaves Venezuela.
    • 1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 metres (35,797 ft) in the Pacific Ocean.
    • 1961 – The Portuguese luxury cruise ship Santa Maria is hijacked by opponents of the Estado Novo regime with the intention of waging war until dictator António de Oliveira Salazar is overthrown.
    • 1963 – The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attack the Portuguese army stationed in Tite.
    • 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
    • 1967 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Ivory Coast are established.
    • 1967 – Milton Keynes (England) is founded as a new town by Order in Council, with a planning brief to become a city of 250,000 people. Its initial designated area enclosed three existing towns and twenty one villages. The area to be developed was largely farmland, with evidence of continuous settlement dating back to the Bronze Age.
    • 1968 – USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is attacked and seized by naval forces of North Korea.
    • 1973 – United States President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
    • 1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
    • 1997 – Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
    • 1998 – Netscape announced Mozilla, with the intention to release Communicator code as open source.
    • 2001 – Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Communist Party of China to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution.
    • 2002 – U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered.
    • 2003 – A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted.
    • 2018 – A 7.9 Mw  earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska. It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities.
    • 2018 – A double car bombing in Benghazi, Libya, kills at least 33 people and wounds “dozens” of others. The victims include both military personnel and civilians, according to local officials.

    Births on January 23

    • 599 – Tai Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 649)
    • 1350 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (d. 1419)
    • 1378 – Louis III, Elector Palatine (d. 1436)
    • 1514 – Hai Rui, Chinese politician (d. 1587)
    • 1585 – Mary Ward, English Catholic Religious Sister (d. 1645)
    • 1622 – Abraham Diepraam, Dutch painter (d. 1670)
    • 1719 – John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (d. 1790)
    • 1737 – John Hancock, American general and politician, 1st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1793)
    • 1745 – William Jessop, English engineer, built the Cromford Canal (d. 1814)
    • 1752 – Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1832)
    • 1780 – Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek general (d. 1827)
    • 1783 – Stendhal, French novelist (d. 1842)
    • 1786 – Auguste de Montferrand, French-Russian architect, designed Saint Isaac’s Cathedral and Alexander Column (d. 1858)
    • 1799 – Alois Negrelli, Tyrolean engineer and railroad pioneer active in the Austrian Empire (d. 1858)
    • 1809 – Surendra Sai, Indian activist (d. 1884)
    • 1813 – Camilla Collett, Norwegian novelist and activist (d. 1895)
    • 1828 – Saigō Takamori, Japanese samurai (d. 1877)
    • 1832 – Édouard Manet, French painter (d. 1883)
    • 1833 – Muthu Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1879)
    • 1838 – Marianne Cope, German-American nun and saint (d. 1918)
    • 1840 – Ernst Abbe, German physicist and engineer (d. 1905)
    • 1846 – Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist and mathematician (d. 1915)
    • 1855 – John Browning, American weapons designer, founded the Browning Arms Company (d. 1926)
    • 1857 – Andrija Mohorovičić, Croatian meteorologist and seismologist (d. 1936)
    • 1862 – David Hilbert, Russian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1943)
    • 1862 – Frank Shuman, American inventor and engineer (d. 1918)
    • 1872 – Paul Langevin, French physicist and academic (d. 1946)
    • 1872 – Jože Plečnik, Slovenian architect, designed Plečnik Parliament (d. 1957)
    • 1876 – Otto Diels, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
    • 1878 – Rutland Boughton, English composer (d. 1960)
    • 1880 – Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, Mexican politician (d. 1967)
    • 1889 – Claribel Kendall, American mathematician (d.1965)
    • 1894 – Jyotirmoyee Devi, Indian author (d. 1988)
    • 1896 – Alf Blair, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1944)
    • 1896 – Alf Hall, English-South African cricketer (d. 1964)
    • 1897 – Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian activist and politician (d. 1945)
    • 1897 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (d. 2000)
    • 1897 – Ieva Simonaitytė, Lithuanian author (d. 1978)
    • 1897 – William Stephenson, Canadian captain and spy (d. 1989)
    • 1898 – Georg Kulenkampff, German violinist (d. 1948)
    • 1898 – Randolph Scott, American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1898 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (d. 1978)
    • 1899 – Glen Kidston, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1931)
    • 1900 – William Ifor Jones, Welsh organist and conductor (d. 1988)
    • 1901 – Arthur Wirtz, American businessman (d. 1983)
    • 1903 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Minister of National Education of Colombia (d. 1948)
    • 1905 – Erich Borchmeyer, German sprinter (d. 2000)
    • 1907 – Dan Duryea, American actor and singer (d. 1968)
    • 1907 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
    • 1910 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (d. 1953)
    • 1912 – Boris Pokrovsky, Russian director and manager (d. 2009)
    • 1913 – Jean-Michel Atlan, Algerian-French painter (d. 1960)
    • 1913 – Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (d. 2007)
    • 1915 – Herma Bauma, Austrian javelin thrower and handball player (d. 2003)
    • 1915 – W. Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian-Barbadian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
    • 1915 – Potter Stewart, American lawyer and judge (d. 1985)
    • 1916 – David Douglas Duncan, American photographer and journalist (d. 2018)
    • 1916 – Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (d. 1979)
    • 1918 – Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Florence Rush, American social worker and theorist (d. 2008)
    • 1919 – Frances Bay, Canadian-American actress (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Hans Hass, Austrian biologist and diver (d. 2013)
    • 1919 – Ernie Kovacs, American actor and game show host (d. 1962)
    • 1919 – Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (d. 1996)
    • 1920 – Gottfried Böhm, German architect
    • 1920 – Henry Eriksson, Swedish runner (d. 2000)
    • 1920 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – Leon Golub, American painter and academic (d. 2004)
    • 1922 – Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Horace Ashenfelter, American runner (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Cot Deal, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Walter M. Miller, Jr., American soldier and author (d. 1996)
    • 1924 – Frank Lautenberg, American soldier, businessman, and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Marty Paich, American pianist, composer, producer, and conductor (d. 1995)
    • 1926 – Bal Thackeray, Indian journalist, cartoonist, and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1927 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American businessman and explorer (d. 1994)
    • 1927 – Fred Williams, Australian painter (d. 1982)
    • 1928 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
    • 1928 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – Myron Cope, American journalist and sportscaster (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Phillip Knightley, Australian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2016)
    • 1929 – John Polanyi, German-Canadian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1930 – Filaret, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan
    • 1930 – Mervyn Rose, Australian tennis player (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – Derek Walcott, Saint Lucian poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
    • 1932 – George Allen, English footballer (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Larri Thomas, American actress and dancer (d. 2013)
    • 1933 – Bill Hayden, Australian politician, 21st Governor General of Australia
    • 1933 – Chita Rivera, American actress, singer, and dancer
    • 1934 – Pierre Bourgault, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2003)
    • 1935 – Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (d. 2016)
    • 1935 – Tom Reamy, American author (d. 1977)
    • 1935 – Teresa Żylis-Gara, Polish operatic soprano
    • 1936 – Brian Howe, Australian minister and politician, 8th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
    • 1936 – Jerry Kramer, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1936 – Cécile Ousset, French pianist
    • 1938 – Giant Baba, Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (d. 1999)
    • 1938 – Georg Baselitz, German painter and sculptor
    • 1939 – Ed Roberts, American disability rights activist (d. 1995)
    • 1940 – Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (d. 2015)
    • 1940 – Joe Dowell, American pop singer (d. 2016)
    • 1941 – Jock R. Anderson, Australian economist and academic
    • 1941 – João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1942 – Laurie Mayne, Australian cricketer
    • 1942 – Herman Tjeenk Willink, Dutch judge and politician
    • 1942 – Phil Clarke, New Zealand rugby union player
    • 1943 – Gary Burton, American vibraphone player and composer
    • 1943 – Özhan Canaydın, Turkish basketball player and businessman (d. 2010)
    • 1943 – Gil Gerard, American actor and producer
    • 1944 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (d. 2019)
    • 1945 – Mike Harris, Canadian politician, 22nd Premier of Ontario
    • 1946 – Arnoldo Alemán, Nicaraguan lawyer and politician, President of Nicaragua
    • 1946 – Boris Berezovsky, Russian-English businessman and mathematician (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Zvonko Bušić, Croatian terrorist, hijacker of TWA Flight 355 (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Don Whittington, American race car driver
    • 1947 – Tom Carper, American captain and politician, 71st Governor of Delaware
    • 1947 – Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesian politician, 5th President of Indonesia
    • 1948 – Anita Pointer, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Richard Dean Anderson, American actor, producer, and composer
    • 1950 – Bill Cunningham, American bass and keyboard player
    • 1950 – Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (d. 2018)
    • 1950 – Suzanne Scotchmer, American economist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1950 – Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet (d. 2012)
    • 1951 – Margaret Bailes, American sprinter
    • 1951 – Chesley Sullenberger, American captain and pilot
    • 1952 – Omar Henry, South African cricketer
    • 1953 – John Luther Adams, American composer
    • 1953 – Alister McGrath, Irish priest, historian, and theologian
    • 1953 – Antonio Villaraigosa, American politician, 41st Mayor of Los Angeles
    • 1953 – Robin Zander, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Trevor Hohns, Australian cricketer
    • 1957 – Caroline, Princess of Hanover
    • 1958 – Sergey Litvinov, Russian hammer thrower (d. 2018)
    • 1959 – Clive Bull, English radio host
    • 1960 – Jean-François Sauvé, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1960 – Greg Ritchie, Australian cricketer
    • 1961 – Neil Henry, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1961 – Yelena Sinchukova, Russian long jumper
    • 1962 – David Arnold, English composer
    • 1962 – Aivar Lillevere, Estonian footballer and coach
    • 1962 – Elvira Lindo, Spanish journalist and author
    • 1964 – Jonatha Brooke, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1964 – Mariska Hargitay, American actress and producer
    • 1964 – Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyanese economist and politician, 7th President of Guyana
    • 1964 – Mario Roberge, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1965 – Louie Clemente, American drummer
    • 1966 – Damien Hardman, Australian surfer
    • 1966 – Haywoode Workman, American basketball player and referee
    • 1967 – Owen Cunningham, Australian rugby league player
    • 1968 – Taro Hakase, Japanese violinist and composer
    • 1968 – Petr Korda, Czech-Monacan tennis player
    • 1969 – Andrei Kanchelskis, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Brendan Shanahan, Canadian ice hockey player and actor
    • 1969 – Susen Tiedtke, German long jumper
    • 1970 – Spyridon Vasdekis, Greek long jumper
    • 1971 – Scott Gibbs, Welsh-South African rugby player and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Kevin Mawae, American football player and coach
    • 1971 – Marc Nelson, American singer-songwriter
    • 1971 – Adam Parore, New Zealand cricketer and mountaineer
    • 1971 – Claire Rankin, Canadian actress
    • 1971 – Lisa Snowdon, English television and radio presenter and fashion model
    • 1972 – Ewen Bremner, Scottish actor
    • 1973 – Tomas Holmström, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1974 – Glen Chapple, English cricketer
    • 1974 – Rebekah Elmaloglou, Australian actress
    • 1974 – Yosvani Pérez, Cuban baseball player
    • 1974 – Richard T. Slone, English painter
    • 1974 – Tiffani Thiessen, American actress
    • 1975 – Nick Harmer, German musician
    • 1975 – Phil Dawson, American football player
    • 1976 – Brandon Duckworth, American baseball player and scout
    • 1976 – Anne Margrethe Hausken, Norwegian orienteering competitor
    • 1976 – Alex Shaffer, American skier
    • 1979 – Larry Hughes, American basketball player
    • 1979 – Dawn O’Porter, Scottish-English fashion designer and journalist
    • 1979 – Juan Rincón, Venezuelan baseball player and coach
    • 1981 – Rob Friend, Canadian soccer player
    • 1982 – Wily Mo Peña, Dominican baseball player
    • 1982 – Oceana Mahlmann, German singer and songwriter
    • 1982 – Andrew Rock, American sprinter
    • 1983 – Irving Saladino, Panamanian long jumper
    • 1984 – Robbie Farah, Australian rugby league player
    • 1984 – Arjen Robben, Dutch footballer
    • 1985 – Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese footballer
    • 1985 – Doutzen Kroes, Dutch model and actress
    • 1985 – Yevgeny Lukyanenko, Russian pole vaulter
    • 1985 – Aselefech Mergia, Ethiopian runner
    • 1985 – Jeff Samardzija, American baseball player
    • 1985 – San E, South Korean rapper
    • 1986 – Gelete Burka, Ethiopian runner
    • 1986 – Marc Laird, Scottish footballer
    • 1986 – José Enrique, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Michael Stevens, American YouTuber and educator
    • 1986 – Steven Taylor, English footballer
    • 1986 – Sandro Viletta, Swiss skier
    • 1987 – Leo Komarov, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1990 – Şener Özbayraklı, Turkish footballer
    • 1990 – Alex Silva, Canadian wrestler
    • 1990 – Martyn Waghorn, English footballer
    • 1992 – Reina Triendl, Japanese model and actress
    • 1994 – Addison Russell, American baseball player
    • 1995 – Luke Bateman, Australian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Tuimoala Lolohea, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1998 – XXXTentacion, American rapper (d. 2018)

    Deaths on January 23

    • 667 – Ildefonsus, bishop of Toledo
    • 989 – Adalbero, archbishop of Reims
    • 1002 – Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 980)
    • 1199 – Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, Moroccan caliph (b. 1160)
    • 1252 – Isabella, Queen of Armenia
    • 1297 – Florent of Hainaut, Prince of Achaea (b. c. 1255)
    • 1423 – Margaret of Bavaria, Burgundian regent (b. 1363)
    • 1516 – Ferdinand II of Aragon (b. 1452)
    • 1548 – Bernardo Pisano, Italian priest, scholar, and composer (b. 1490)
    • 1549 – Johannes Honter, Romanian-Hungarian cartographer and theologian (b. 1498)
    • 1567 – Jiajing Emperor of China (b. 1507)
    • 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, Scottish politician (b. 1531)
    • 1620 – John Croke, English politician and judge (b. 1553)
    • 1622 – William Baffin, English explorer and navigator (b. 1584)
    • 1650 – Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke (b. 1584)
    • 1744 – Giambattista Vico, Italian historian and philosopher (b. 1668)
    • 1785 – Matthew Stewart, Scottish mathematician and academic (b. 1717)
    • 1789 – Frances Brooke, English author and playwright (b. 1724)
    • 1789 – John Cleland, English author (b. 1709)
    • 1800 – Edward Rutledge, American captain and politician, 39th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1749)
    • 1803 – Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer, founded Guinness (b. 1725)
    • 1805 – Claude Chappe, French engineer (b. 1763)
    • 1806 – William Pitt the Younger, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
    • 1810 – Johann Wilhelm Ritter, German chemist and physicist (b. 1776)
    • 1812 – Robert Craufurd, Scottish general and politician (b. 1764)
    • 1820 – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (b. 1767)
    • 1833 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, English admiral and politician (b. 1757)
    • 1837 – John Field, Irish pianist and composer (b. 1782)
    • 1866 – Thomas Love Peacock, English author and poet (b. 1785)
    • 1875 – Charles Kingsley English priest and author (b. 1819)
    • 1883 – Gustave Doré, French engraver and illustrator (b. 1832)
    • 1893 – Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, American lawyer and politician, 16th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1825)
    • 1893 – José Zorrilla, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1817)
    • 1921 – Mykola Leontovych, Ukrainian composer and conductor (b. 1877)
    • 1922 – René Beeh, Alsatian painter and draughtsman (b. 1886)
    • 1922 – Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor and academic (b. 1855)
    • 1923 – Max Nordau, Austrian physician and author (b. 1849)
    • 1931 – Anna Pavlova, Russian-English ballerina (b. 1881)
    • 1937 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (b. 1876)
    • 1939 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer and manager (b. 1903)
    • 1943 – Alexander Woollcott, American actor, playwright, and critic (b. 1887)
    • 1944 – Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1863)
    • 1947 – Pierre Bonnard, French painter (b. 1867)
    • 1956 – Alexander Korda, Hungarian-English director and producer (b. 1893)
    • 1963 – Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor (b. 1908)
    • 1966 – T. M. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1895)
    • 1971 – Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (b. 1871)
    • 1973 – Alexander Onassis, American-Greek businessman (b. 1948)
    • 1973 – Kid Ory, American trombonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1886)
    • 1976 – Paul Robeson, American actor, singer, and activist (b. 1898)
    • 1977 – Toots Shor, American businessman, founded Toots Shor’s Restaurant (b. 1903)
    • 1978 – Terry Kath, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 1978 – Jack Oakie, American actor (b. 1903)
    • 1980 – Giovanni Michelotti, Italian engineer (b. 1921)
    • 1981 – Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (b. 1910)
    • 1983 – Fred Bakewell, English cricketer and coach (b. 1908)
    • 1984 – Muin Bseiso, Palestinian-Egyptian poet and critic (b. 1926)
    • 1985 – James Beard, American chef and cookbook author for whom the James Beard Foundation Awards are named (b.1905)
    • 1986 – Joseph Beuys, German sculptor and painter (b. 1921)
    • 1988 – Charles Glen King, American biochemist and academic (b. 1896)
    • 1989 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1904)
    • 1989 – Lars-Erik Torph, Swedish race car driver (b. 1961)
    • 1990 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1952)
    • 1991 – Northrop Frye, Canadian author and critic (b. 1912)
    • 1992 – Freddie Bartholomew, American actor (b. 1924)
    • 1993 – Keith Laumer, American soldier, author, and diplomat (b. 1925)
    • 1994 – Nikolai Ogarkov, Russian field marshal (b. 1917)
    • 1994 – Brian Redhead, English journalist and author (b. 1929)
    • 1999 – Joe D’Amato, Italian director and cinematographer (b. 1936)
    • 1999 – Jay Pritzker, American businessman, co-founded the Hyatt Corporation (b. 1922)
    • 2002 – Paul Aars, American race car driver (b. 1934)
    • 2002 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (b. 1930)
    • 2002 – Robert Nozick, American philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2003 – Nell Carter, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
    • 2004 – Bob Keeshan, American television personality and producer (b. 1927)
    • 2004 – Helmut Newton, German-Australian photographer (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – Johnny Carson, American talk show host, television personality, and producer (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Syed Hussein Alatas, Malaysian sociologist and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2007 – E. Howard Hunt, American CIA officer (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Robert W. Scott, American farmer and politician, 67th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1929)
    • 2010 – Kermit Tyler, American colonel and pilot (b. 1913)
    • 2010 – Earl Wild, American pianist and composer (b. 1915)
    • 2011 – Jack LaLanne, American fitness instructor, author, and television host (b. 1914)
    • 2012 – Wesley E. Brown, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1907)
    • 2012 – Maurice Meisner, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Bingham Ray, American businessman, co-founded October Films (b. 1954)
    • 2013 – Józef Glemp, Polish cardinal (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Peter van der Merwe, South African cricketer and referee (b. 1937)
    • 2013 – Jean-Félix-Albert-Marie Vilnet, French bishop (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Yuri Izrael, Russian meteorologist and journalist (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Riz Ortolani, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Prosper Ego, Dutch activist, founded the Oud-Strijders Legioen (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Jimmy Bain, Scottish bassist (b. 1947)
    • 2016 – Bobby Wanzer, American basketball player and coach (b. 1921)
    • 2017 – Bobby Freeman, American singer, songwriter and record producer (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Gorden Kaye, English actor (b. 1941)
    • 2018 – Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, composer and singer (b. 1939)
    • 2018 – Nicanor Parra, Chilean poet (b. 1914)
    • 2018 – Wyatt Tee Walker, American civil rights activist and pastor (b. 1928)

    Holidays and observances on January 23

    • Bounty Day (Pitcairn Islands)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Abakuh
      • Marianne of Molokai
      • Emerentiana
      • Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary
      • Ildefonsus of Toledo
      • Phillips Brooks (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • January 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Jayanti (Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal, India)
    • World Freedom Day (Taiwan and South Korea)

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

    • 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
    • 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
    • 1265 – The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the “Houses of Parliament”.
    • 1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
    • 1356 – Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.
    • 1523 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
    • 1567 – Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
    • 1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
    • 1649 – The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings.
    • 1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signed preliminary articles of peace with France, setting the stage to the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year.
    • 1785 – Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
    • 1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Port Jackson is a more suitable location for a colony.
    • 1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
    • 1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
    • 1877 – The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
    • 1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
    • 1921 – The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die.
    • 1921 – The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
    • 1929 – The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released.
    • 1936 – King George V of the United Kingdom dies. His eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII. The title Prince of Wales is not used for another 22 years.
    • 1937 – Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms.
    • 1941 – A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
    • 1942 – World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the “Final Solution to the Jewish question”.
    • 1945 – World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
    • 1945 – World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
    • 1949 – Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
    • 1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States of America.
    • 1954 – In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
    • 1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the second youngest man to take the office, and the first Catholic.
    • 1969 – Richard Nixon is inaugurated the 37th President of the United States of America.
    • 1972 – Pakistan launched its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
    • 1977 – Jimmy Carter is inaugurated the 39th President of the United States of America.
    • 1981 – Ronald Reagan is inaugurated the 40th President of the United States of America. Twenty minutes later, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
    • 1986 – In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
    • 1989 – George H. W. Bush is inaugurated the 41st President of the United States of America.
    • 1990 – Protests in Azerbaijan, part of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
    • 1991 – Sudan’s government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country’s Muslim north and Christian south.
    • 1992 – Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France killing 87 of the 96 people on board.
    • 1993 – Bill Clinton is inaugurated the 42nd President of the United States of America.
    • 2001 – George W. Bush is inaugurated the 43rd President of the United States of America.
    • 2001 – President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
    • 2009 – Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the first African-American President of the United States.
    • 2009 – A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.
    • 2017 – Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America, becoming the oldest person to assume the office.
    • 2018 – A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others.

    Births on January 20

    • 225 – Gordian III, Roman emperor (d. 244)
    • 1029 – Alp Arslan, Seljuk sultan (probable; d. 1072)
    • 1292 – Elizabeth of Bohemia, queen consort of Bohemia (d. 1330)
    • 1436 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (d. 1490)
    • 1488 – John George, Marquess of Montferrat, Italian noble (d. 1533)
    • 1488 – Sebastian Münster, German scholar, cartographer, and cosmographer (d. 1552)
    • 1499 – Sebastian Franck, German humanist (probable; d. 1543)
    • 1502 – Sebastian de Aparicio, Spanish-Mexican rancher and missionary (d. 1600)
    • 1526 – Rafael Bombelli, Italian mathematician (d. 1572)
    • 1554 – Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
    • 1569 – Heribert Rosweyde, Jesuit hagiographer (d. 1629)
    • 1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer and academic (d. 1624)
    • 1586 – Johann Hermann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
    • 1664 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian lawyer and jurist (d. 1718)
    • 1703 – Joseph-Hector Fiocco, Flemish violinist and composer (d. 1741)
    • 1716 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and numismatist (d. 1795)
    • 1716 – Charles III of Spain (d. 1788)
    • 1732 – Richard Henry Lee, American lawyer and politician, President of the Continental Congress (d. 1794)
    • 1741 – Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Swedish botanist and author (d. 1783)
    • 1755 – Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1824)
    • 1762 – Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny, Belgian-French composer and theorist (d. 1842)
    • 1775 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1836)
    • 1781 – Joseph Hormayr, Baron zu Hortenburg, Austrian-German historian and politician (d. 1848)
    • 1783 – Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
    • 1799 – Anson Jones, American physician and politician, 5th President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1858)
    • 1804 – Eugène Sue, French author and politician (d. 1857)
    • 1812 – Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
    • 1814 – David Wilmot, American politician, sponsor of Wilmot Proviso (d. 1868)
    • 1834 – George D. Robinson, American lawyer and politician, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
    • 1855 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
    • 1856 – Harriot Stanton Blatch, U.S. suffragist and organizer (d. 1940)
    • 1865 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
    • 1870 – Guillaume Lekeu, Belgian pianist and composer (d. 1894)
    • 1873 – Johannes V. Jensen, Danish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
    • 1874 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer and coach (d. 1938)
    • 1876 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1957)
    • 1878 – Finlay Currie, Scottish-English actor (d. 1968)
    • 1879 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and educator (d. 1968)
    • 1880 – Walter W. Bacon, American accountant and politician, 60th Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
    • 1882 – Johnny Torrio, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1957)
    • 1883 – Enoch L. Johnson, American mob boss (d. 1968)
    • 1883 – Forrest Wilson, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
    • 1888 – Lead Belly, American folk/blues musician and songwriter (d. 1949)
    • 1889 – Allan Haines Loughead, American engineer and businessman, founded the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company (d. 1969)
    • 1891 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (d. 1967)
    • 1893 – Georg Åberg, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1946)
    • 1894 – Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (d. 1968)
    • 1894 – Walter Piston, American composer, theorist, and academic (d. 1976)
    • 1895 – Gábor Szegő, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1985)
    • 1896 – George Burns, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1996)
    • 1898 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (d. 1947)
    • 1899 – Clarice Cliff, English potter (d. 1972)
    • 1899 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (d. 1990)
    • 1900 – Dorothy Annan, English painter, potter, and muralist (d. 1983)
    • 1900 – Colin Clive, English actor (d. 1937)
    • 1902 – Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
    • 1902 – Kevin Barry, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 1920)
    • 1906 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975)
    • 1907 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress and producer (d. 2000)
    • 1908 – Fleur Cowles, American author and illustrator (d. 2009)
    • 1909 – Gōgen Yamaguchi, Japanese martial artist (d. 1989)
    • 1910 – Joy Adamson, Austria-born Kenyan painter and author (d. 1980)
    • 1913 – W. Cleon Skousen, American author and academic (d. 2006)
    • 1915 – Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Pakistani businessman and politician, 7th President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2002)
    • 1918 – Nevin Scrimshaw, American scientist (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Federico Fellini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1993)
    • 1920 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
    • 1920 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Telmo Zarra, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Ray Anthony, American trumpet player, composer, bandleader, and actor
    • 1922 – Don Mankiewicz, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – Slim Whitman, American country and western singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist and composer (d. 2010)
    • 1925 – Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest, poet, and politician (d. 2020)
    • 1926 – Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
    • 1927 – Qurratulain Hyder, Indian-Pakistani journalist and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1928 – Antonio de Almeida, French conductor and musicologist (d. 1997)
    • 1929 – Arte Johnson, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Masaharu Kawakatsu, Japanese biologist
    • 1929 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
    • 1930 – Buzz Aldrin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1931 – David Lee, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1931 – Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 1992)
    • 1932 – Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
    • 1934 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Tom Baker, English actor
    • 1935 – Dorothy Provine, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2010)
    • 1937 – Bailey Howell, American basketball player
    • 1938 – Derek Dougan, Irish-English footballer and journalist (d. 2007)
    • 1939 – Paul Coverdell, American captain and politician (d. 2000)
    • 1939 – Chandra Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan-English mathematician, astronomer, and biologist
    • 1940 – Carol Heiss, American figure skater and actress
    • 1940 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
    • 1940 – Mandé Sidibé, Malian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (d. 2009)
    • 1942 – Linda Moulton Howe, American journalist and producer
    • 1944 – José Luis Garci, Spanish director and producer
    • 1944 – Farhad Mehrad, Iranian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
    • 1944 – Pat Parker, African American poet
    • 1945 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Eric Stewart, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1946 – David Lynch, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1946 – Vladimír Merta, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist
    • 1947 – Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and sportscaster
    • 1948 – Nancy Kress, American author and academic
    • 1948 – Natan Sharansky, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
    • 1949 – Göran Persson, Swedish lawyer and politician, 31st Prime Minister of Sweden
    • 1950 – Daniel Benzali, Brazilian-American actor
    • 1950 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2014)
    • 1950 – Mahamane Ousmane, Nigerien politician, President of Niger
    • 1951 – Iván Fischer, Hungarian conductor and composer
    • 1952 – Nikos Sideris, Greek psychiatrist and poet
    • 1952 – Paul Stanley, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1952 – John Witherow, South African-English journalist and author
    • 1953 – Jeffrey Epstein, American financier and convicted sex offender (d. 2019)
    • 1954 – Alison Seabeck, English lawyer and politician
    • 1955 – McKeeva Bush, Caymanian politician, Premier of the Cayman Islands
    • 1956 – Maria Larsson, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Health and Social Affairs
    • 1956 – Bill Maher, American comedian, political commentator, media critic, television host, and producer
    • 1956 – John Naber, American swimmer
    • 1957 – Andy Sheppard, English saxophonist and composer
    • 1958 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1959 – Tami Hoag, American author
    • 1959 – R. A. Salvatore, American author
    • 1960 – Apa Sherpa, Nepalese-American mountaineer
    • 1960 – Scott Thunes, American bass player
    • 1960 – Will Wright, American video game designer, co-founded Maxis
    • 1963 – James Denton, American actor
    • 1963 – Mark Ryden, American painter and illustrator
    • 1964 – Ozzie Guillén, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
    • 1964 – Ron Harper, American basketball player and coach
    • 1964 – Jack Lewis, American soldier and author
    • 1964 – Kazushige Nojima, Japanese screenwriter and songwriter
    • 1964 – Aquilino Pimentel III, Filipino lawyer and politician
    • 1964 – Fareed Zakaria, Indian-American journalist and author
    • 1965 – Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer defender and manager
    • 1965 – Sophie, Countess of Wessex
    • 1965 – Warren Joyce, English footballer and manager
    • 1965 – John Michael Montgomery, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1965 – Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
    • 1966 – Rainn Wilson, American actor
    • 1967 – Stacey Dash, American actress and television journalist
    • 1967 – Kellyanne Conway, American political strategist and pundit
    • 1968 – Nick Anderson, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Junior Murray, Grenadian cricketer
    • 1969 – Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker and activist, co-founded MindVox
    • 1969 – Nicky Wire, Welsh singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1970 – Edwin McCain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1970 – Skeet Ulrich, American actor
    • 1971 – Derrick Green, American singer
    • 1971 – Gary Barlow, English singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1971 – Ger McDonnell, Irish mountaineer and engineer (d. 2008)
    • 1971 – Jung Woong-in, South Korean actor
    • 1971 – Questlove, American drummer, DJ, and producer
    • 1971 – Wakanohana Masaru, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna
    • 1972 – Nikki Haley, American accountant and politician, 116th Governor of South Carolina
    • 1973 – Stephen Crabb, Scottish-Welsh politician, Secretary of State for Wales
    • 1973 – Queen Mathilde of Belgium
    • 1974 – David Dei, Italian footballer and coach
    • 1975 – Norberto Fontana, Argentinian racing driver
    • 1975 – Zac Goldsmith, English journalist and politician
    • 1976 – Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish journalist and sportscaster
    • 1976 – Michael Myers, American football player
    • 1976 – Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
    • 1977 – Paul Adams, South African cricketer and coach
    • 1978 – Salvatore Aronica, Italian footballer
    • 1978 – Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
    • 1978 – Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
    • 1979 – Choo Ja-hyun, South Korean actress
    • 1979 – Will Young, English singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1980 – Karl Anderson, American wrestler
    • 1980 – Philippe Cousteau, Jr., American-French oceanographer and journalist
    • 1980 – Philippe Gagnon, Canadian swimmer
    • 1980 – Kim Jeong-hoon, South Korean singer and actor
    • 1980 – Petra Rampre, Slovenian tennis player
    • 1980 – Matthew Tuck, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1981 – Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
    • 1981 – Owen Hargreaves, English footballer
    • 1981 – Jason Richardson, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Ruchi Sanghvi, Indian computer engineer
    • 1982 – Fredrik Strømstad, Norwegian footballer
    • 1983 – Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
    • 1983 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1984 – Malek Jaziri, Tunisian tennis player
    • 1985 – Marina Inoue, Japanese voice actress and singer
    • 1985 – Tanel Sokk, Estonian basketball player
    • 1987 – Janin Lindenberg, German sprinter
    • 1987 – Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2011)
    • 1988 – Uwa Elderson Echiéjilé, Nigerian footballer
    • 1988 – Jeffrén Suárez, Spanish footballer
    • 1989 – Nick Foles, American football player
    • 1989 – Washington Santana da Silva, Brazilian footballer
    • 1989 – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1990 – Ray Thompson, Australian rugby league player
    • 1991 – Ciara Hanna, American actress and model
    • 1991 – Tom Cairney, Scottish footballer, midfielder
    • 1991 – Polona Hercog, Slovenian tennis player
    • 1991 – Jolyon Palmer, English racing driver
    • 1992 – Jorge Zárate, Mexican footballer
    • 1993 – Lorenzo Crisetig, Italian footballer
    • 1994 – Seán Kavanagh, Irish footballer, defender
    • 1994 – Lucas Piazon, Brazilian footballer
    • 1995 – Joey Badass, American rapper and actor
    • 1995 – Calum Chambers, English footballer, defender

    Deaths on January 20

    • 820 – Al-Shafi‘i, Arab scholar and jurist (b. 767)
    • 842 – Theophilos, Byzantine emperor (b. 813)
    • 882 – Louis the Younger, king of the East Frankish Kingdom
    • 924 – Li Jitao, Chinese general of Later Tang
    • 928 – Zhao Guangfeng, Chinese official and chancellor
    • 1029 – Heonae, Korean queen and regent (b. 964)
    • 1095 – Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester
    • 1156 – Henry, English bishop and saint
    • 1189 – Shi Zong, Chinese emperor of Jin (b. 1123)
    • 1191 – Frederick VI, duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
    • 1191 – Theobald V, count of Blois (b. 1130)
    • 1265 – John Maunsell, English Lord Chancellor
    • 1336 – John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (b. 1306)
    • 1343 – Robert, king of Naples (b. 1275)
    • 1479 – John II, king of Sicily (b. 1398)
    • 1568 – Myles Coverdale, English bishop and translator (b. 1488)
    • 1612 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552)
    • 1663 – Isaac Ambrose, English minister and author (b. 1604)
    • 1666 – Anne of Austria, Queen and regent of France (b. 1601)
    • 1707 – Humphrey Hody, English scholar and theologian (b. 1659)
    • 1709 – François de la Chaise, French priest (b. 1624)
    • 1751 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (b. 1665)
    • 1770 – Charles Yorke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1722)
    • 1779 – David Garrick, English actor, producer, playwright, and manager (b. 1717)
    • 1810 – Benjamin Chew, American lawyer and judge (b. 1721)
    • 1819 – Charles IV, Spanish king (b. 1748)
    • 1837 – John Soane, English architect, designed the Bank of England (b. 1753)
    • 1841 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish explorer (b. 1780)
    • 1841 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1791)
    • 1848 – Christian VIII, Danish king (b. 1786)
    • 1850 – Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1779)
    • 1852 – Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 6th Yokozuna (b. 1794)
    • 1873 – Basil Moreau, French priest, founded the Congregation of Holy Cross (b. 1799)
    • 1875 – Jean-François Millet, French painter and educator (b. 1814)
    • 1891 – Kalākaua, king of Hawaii (b. 1836)
    • 1900 – John Ruskin, English painter and critic (b. 1819)
    • 1901 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (b. 1826)
    • 1907 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (b. 1842)
    • 1908 – John Ordronaux, American surgeon and academic (b. 1830)
    • 1913 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican engraver and illustrator (b. 1852)
    • 1915 – Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, Irish businessman, philanthropist, and politician (b. 1840)
    • 1920 – Georg Lurich, Estonian-Russian wrestler and strongman (b. 1876)
    • 1921 – Mary Watson Whitney, American astronomer and academic (b. 1847)
    • 1924 – Henry “Ivo” Crapp, Australian footballer and umpire (b. 1872)
    • 1936 – George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
    • 1940 – Omar Bundy, American general (b. 1861)
    • 1944 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (b. 1860)
    • 1947 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (b. 1911)
    • 1947 – Andrew Volstead, American member of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1860)
    • 1954 – Warren Bardsley, Australian cricketer (b. 1882)
    • 1954 – Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1890)
    • 1955 – Robert P. T. Coffin, American author and poet (b. 1892)
    • 1962 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (b. 1887)
    • 1965 – Alan Freed, American radio host (b. 1922)
    • 1971 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
    • 1971 – Minanogawa Tōzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th Yokozuna (b. 1903)
    • 1973 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and surgeon (b. 1885)
    • 1973 – Amílcar Cabral, Guinea Bissauan-Cape Verdian engineer and politician (b. 1924)
    • 1977 – Dimitrios Kiousopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, 151st Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1892)
    • 1980 – William Roberts, English soldier and painter (b. 1895)
    • 1983 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
    • 1984 – Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904)
    • 1988 – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pakistani activist and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1988 – Dora Stratou, Greek dancer and choreographer (b. 1903)
    • 1989 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
    • 1990 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
    • 1993 – Audrey Hepburn, British actress and humanitarian activist (b. 1929)
    • 1994 – Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1909)
    • 1994 – Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, first Kenyan Vice-President (b. 1911)
    • 1996 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1927)
    • 2002 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress and singer (b. 1963)
    • 2003 – Al Hirschfeld, American painter and illustrator (b. 1903)
    • 2003 – Nedra Volz, American actress (b. 1908)
    • 2004 – Alan Brown, English racing driver (b. 1919)
    • 2004 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Per Borten, Norwegian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist and politician (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – Miriam Rothschild, English zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908)
    • 2009 – Stéphanos II Ghattas, Egyptian patriarch (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Etta James, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – John Levy, American bassist and manager (b. 1912)
    • 2012 – Ioannis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of the Interior (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Alejandro Rodriguez, Venezuelan-American pediatrician and psychiatrist (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Pavlos Matesis, Greek author and playwright (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Toyo Shibata, Japanese poet and author (b. 1911)
    • 2014 – Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Otis G. Pike, American judge and politician (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Jonas Trinkūnas, Lithuanian ethnologist and academic (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Edgar Froese, Russian-German keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1944)
    • 2016 – Mykolas Burokevičius, Lithuanian carpenter and politician (b. 1927)
    • 2016 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (b. 1920)
    • 2018 – Paul Bocuse, French chef (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Naomi Parker Fraley, American naval machiner (b. 1921)
    • 2020 – Jaroslav Kubera, Czech politician (b. 1947)
    • 2020 – Tom Fisher Railsback, American politician, member of the Illinois and U.S. House of Representatives

    Holidays and observances on January 20

    • Armed Forces Day (Mali)
    • Army Day (Laos)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Abadios
      • Blessed Basil Moreau
      • Eustochia Smeralda Calafato
      • Euthymius the Great
      • Fabian
      • Manchán of Lemanaghan
      • Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception Brando
      • Richard Rolle (Church of England)
      • Sebastian
      • Stephen Min Kuk-ka (one of The Korean Martyrs)
      • January 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Heroes’ Day (Cape Verde)
    • Inauguration Day, held every four years in odd-numbered years immediately following years divisible by 4, except for the public ceremony when January 20 falls on Sunday (the public ceremony is held the following day; however, the terms of offices still begin on the 20th) (United States of America, not a federal holiday for all government employees but only for those working in the Capital region)
    • Martyrs’ Day (Azerbaijan)