1451

  • July 31 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 30 BC – Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian’s forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.
    • 781 – The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: 6th day of the 7th month of the 1st year of the Ten’o (天応) era).
    • 1009 – Pope Sergius IV becomes the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII.
    • 1201 – Attempted usurpation by John Komnenos the Fat for the throne of Alexios III Angelos.
    • 1423 – Hundred Years’ War: Battle of Cravant: The French army is defeated by the English at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne.
    • 1451 – Jacques Cœur is arrested by order of Charles VII of France.
    • 1492 – The Jews are expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree takes effect.
    • 1498 – On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad.
    • 1588 – The Spanish Armada is spotted off the coast of England.
    • 1618 – Maurice, Prince of Orange disbands the waardgelders militia in Utrecht, a pivotal event in the Remonstrant/Counter-Remonstrant tensions.
    • 1655 – Russo-Polish War (1654–67): The Russian army enters the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it holds for six years.
    • 1658 – Aurangzeb is proclaimed Mughal emperor of India.
    • 1703 – Daniel Defoe is placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but is pelted with flowers.
    • 1712 – Action of 31 July 1712 (Great Northern War): Danish and Swedish ships clash in the Baltic Sea; the result is inconclusive.
    • 1715 – Seven days after a Spanish treasure fleet of 12 ships left Havana, Cuba for Spain, 11 of them sink in a storm off the coast of Florida. A few centuries later, treasure is salvaged from these wrecks.
    • 1741 – Charles Albert of Bavaria invades Upper Austria and Bohemia.
    • 1763 – Odawa Chief Pontiac’s forces defeat British troops at the Battle of Bloody Run during Pontiac’s War.
    • 1777 – The U.S. Second Continental Congress passes a resolution that the services of Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette “be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States.”
    • 1790 – The first U.S. patent is issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process.
    • 1856 – Christchurch, New Zealand is chartered as a city.
    • 1865 – The first narrow-gauge mainline railway in the world opens at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia.
    • 1874 – Dr. Patrick Francis Healy became the first African-American inaugurated as president of a predominantly white university, Georgetown University.
    • 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeat units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation.
    • 1913 – The Balkan States sign an armistice in Bucharest.
    • 1917 – World War I: The Battle of Passchendaele begins near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium.
    • 1919 – German national assembly adopts the Weimar Constitution, which comes into force on August 14.
    • 1932 – The NSDAP (Nazi Party) wins more than 38% of the vote in German elections.
    • 1938 – Bulgaria signs a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia).
    • 1938 – Archaeologists discover engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.
    • 1941 – The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, orders SS General Reinhard Heydrich to “submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question.”
    • 1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.
    • 1945 – Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrenders to Allied soldiers in Austria.
    • 1948 – At Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) is dedicated.
    • 1948 – USS Nevada is sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships.
    • 1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 7 sends back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes.
    • 1970 – Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy.
    • 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
    • 1972 – The Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-takes the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It is the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians are killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy.
    • 1973 – A Delta Air Lines jetliner, flight DL 723 crashes while landing in fog at Logan International Airport, Boston, Massachusetts killing 89.
    • 1975 – The Troubles: three members of a popular cabaret band and two gunmen are killed during a botched paramilitary attack in Northern Ireland.
    • 1987 – A tornado occurs in Edmonton, Canada.
    • 1988 – Thirty-two people are killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapses in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia.
    • 1991 – The United States and Soviet Union both sign the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries’ stockpiles.
    • 1992 – The nation of Georgia joins the United Nations.
    • 1992 – Thai Airways International Flight 311 crashes into a mountain north of Kathmandu, Nepal killing all 113 people on board.
    • 1999 – Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector: NASA intentionally crashes the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the Moon’s surface.
    • 2006 – Fidel Castro hands over power to his brother, Raúl.
    • 2007 – Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, comes to an end.
    • 2012 – Michael Phelps breaks the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.
    • 2014 – Gas explosions in the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung kill at least 20 people and injure more than 270.

    Births on July 31

    • 1143 – Emperor Nijō of Japan (d. 1165)
    • 1396 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1467)
    • 1526 – Augustus, Elector of Saxony (d. 1586)
    • 1527 – Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1576)
    • 1595 – Philipp Wolfgang, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1641)
    • 1598 – Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (d. 1654)
    • 1686 – Charles of France, Duke of Berry (d. 1714)
    • 1702 – Jean Denis Attiret, French missionary and painter (d. 1768)
    • 1704 – Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1752)
    • 1718 – John Canton, English physicist and academic (d. 1772)
    • 1724 – Noël François de Wailly, French lexicographer and author (d. 1801)
    • 1759 – Ignaz Anton von Indermauer, Austrian nobleman and government official (d. 1796)
    • 1777 – Pedro Ignacio de Castro Barros, Argentinian priest and politician (d. 1849)
    • 1796 – Jean-Gaspard Deburau, Czech-French actor and mime (d. 1846)
    • 1800 – Friedrich Wöhler, German chemist and academic (d. 1882)
    • 1803 – John Ericsson, Swedish-American engineer, co-designed the USS Princeton and the Novelty Locomotive (d. 1889)
    • 1816 – George Henry Thomas, American general (d. 1870)
    • 1826 – William S. Clark, American colonel and politician (d. 1886)
    • 1835 – Henri Brisson, French lawyer and politician, 50th Prime Minister of France (d. 1912)
    • 1835 – Paul Du Chaillu, French-American anthropologist and explorer (d. 1903)
    • 1836 – Vasily Sleptsov, Russian author and activist (d. 1878)
    • 1837 – William Quantrill, American captain (d. 1865)
    • 1839 – Ignacio Andrade, Venezuelan general and politician, 25th President of Venezuela (d. 1925)
    • 1843 – Peter Rosegger, Austrian poet and author (d. 1918)
    • 1847 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (d. 1905)
    • 1854 – José Canalejas, Spanish academic and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1912)
    • 1858 – Richard Dixon Oldham, English seismologist and geologist (d. 1936)
    • 1858 – Marion Talbot, influential American educator (d. 1948)
    • 1860 – Mary Vaux Walcott, American painter and illustrator (d. 1940)
    • 1867 – S. S. Kresge, American businessman, founded Kmart (d. 1966)
    • 1875 – Jacques Villon, French painter (d. 1963)
    • 1877 – Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (d. 1970)
    • 1880 – Premchand, Indian author and playwright (d. 1936)
    • 1883 – Ramón Fonst, Cuban fencer (d. 1959)
    • 1884 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, Polish-German economist and politician (d. 1945)
    • 1886 – Salvatore Maranzano, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1931)
    • 1886 – Fred Quimby, American animation producer (d. 1965)
    • 1887 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist and philosopher (d. 1969)
    • 1892 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist and publisher, founded Worldwide Church of God (d. 1986)
    • 1892 – Joseph Charbonneau, Canadian archbishop (d. 1959)
    • 1894 – Fred Keenor, Welsh footballer (d. 1972)
    • 1901 – Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (d. 1985)
    • 1902 – Gubby Allen, Australian-English cricketer and soldier (d. 1989)
    • 1904 – Brett Halliday, American engineer, surveyor, and author (d. 1977)
    • 1909 – Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, Austrian theorist and author (d. 1999)
    • 1911 – George Liberace, American violinist (d. 1983)
    • 1912 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer (d. 2008)
    • 1912 – Milton Friedman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
    • 1912 – Irv Kupcinet, American football player and journalist (d. 2003)
    • 1913 – Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
    • 1914 – Paul J. Christiansen, American conductor and composer (d. 1997)
    • 1914 – Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter (d. 1983)
    • 1916 – Sibte Hassan, Pakistani journalist, scholar, and activist (d. 1986)
    • 1916 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Bill Todman, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1979)
    • 1918 – Paul D. Boyer, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
    • 1918 – Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2010)
    • 1918 – Frank Renouf, New Zealand businessman and financier (d. 1998)
    • 1919 – Hemu Adhikari, Indian cricketer (d. 2003)
    • 1919 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster and actor (d. 2006)
    • 1919 – Primo Levi, Italian chemist and author (d. 1987)
    • 1920 – James E. Faust, American religious leader, lawyer, and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – Peter Benenson, English lawyer and activist, founded Amnesty International (d. 2005)
    • 1921 – Donald Malarkey, American sergeant and author (d. 2017)
    • 1921 – Whitney Young, American activist (d. 1971)
    • 1922 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
    • 1923 – Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American songwriter and producer, founded Atlantic Records (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Stephanie Kwolek, American chemist and engineer, invented Kevlar (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Jimmy Evert, American tennis player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Carmel Quinn, Irish singer, actress and writer
    • 1925 – John Swainson, Canadian-American jurist and politician, 42nd Governor of Michigan (d. 1994)
    • 1926 – Bernard Nathanson, American physician and activist (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Hilary Putnam, American mathematician, computer scientist, and philosopher (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – Peter Nichols, English author and playwright (d. 2019)
    • 1928 – Bill Frenzel, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Lynne Reid Banks, English author
    • 1929 – Gilles Carle, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1929 – Don Murray, American actor
    • 1929 – José Santamaría, Uruguayan footballer and manager
    • 1931 – Nick Bollettieri, American tennis player and coach
    • 1931 – Kenny Burrell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1932 – Ted Cassidy, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1979)
    • 1932 – John Searle, American philosopher and academic
    • 1933 – Cees Nooteboom, Dutch journalist, author, and poet
    • 1935 – Yvon Deschamps, Canadian comedian, actor, and producer
    • 1935 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1939 – Steuart Bedford, English pianist and conductor
    • 1939 – Susan Flannery, American actress
    • 1939 – France Nuyen, Vietnamese-French actress
    • 1941 – Amarsinh Chaudhary, Indian politician, 8th Chief Minister of Gujarat (d. 2004)
    • 1943 – William Bennett, American journalist and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Education
    • 1943 – Lobo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1944 – Geraldine Chaplin, American actress and screenwriter
    • 1944 – Jonathan Dimbleby, English journalist and author
    • 1944 – Sherry Lansing, American film producer
    • 1944 – Robert C. Merton, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1944 – David Norris, Irish scholar and politician
    • 1945 – William Weld, American lawyer and politician, 68th Governor of Massachusetts
    • 1946 – Gary Lewis, American pop-rock musician
    • 1947 – Karl Green, English bass player and songwriter (Herman’s Hermits)
    • 1947 – Richard Griffiths, English actor (d. 2013)
    • 1947 – Mumtaz, Indian actress
    • 1947 – Hubert Védrine, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1947 – Ian Beck, English children’s illustrator and author
    • 1948 – Russell Morris, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1949 – Mike Jackson, American basketball player
    • 1949 – Alan Meale, English journalist and politician
    • 1950 – Richard Berry, French actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1951 – Evonne Goolagong Cawley, Australian tennis player
    • 1952 – Chris Ahrens, American ice hockey player
    • 1952 – Alan Autry, American football player, actor, and politician, 23rd Mayor of Fresno, California
    • 1952 – Helmuts Balderis, Latvian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1952 – João Barreiros, Portuguese author and critic
    • 1952 – Faye Kellerman, American author
    • 1953 – Ted Baillieu, Australian architect and politician, 46th Premier of Victoria
    • 1953 – Jimmy Cook, South African cricketer and coach
    • 1953 – Hugh McDowell, English cellist
    • 1954 – Derek Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1956 – Michael Biehn, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Bill Callahan, American football player and coach
    • 1956 – Ron Kuby, American lawyer and radio host
    • 1956 – Deval Patrick, American lawyer and politician, 71st Governor of Massachusetts
    • 1956 – Lynne Rae Perkins, American author and illustrator
    • 1957 – Daniel Ash, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Mark Thompson, English business executive
    • 1958 – Bill Berry, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1958 – Mark Cuban, American businessman and television personality
    • 1958 – Suzanne Giraud, French music editor and composer
    • 1959 – Stanley Jordan, American guitarist, pianist, and songwriter
    • 1959 – Andrew Marr, Scottish journalist and author
    • 1959 – Kim Newman, English journalist and author
    • 1960 – Dale Hunter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1960 – Malcolm Ross, Scottish guitarist and songwriter
    • 1961 – Frank Gardner, English captain and journalist
    • 1961 – Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Nigerian banker, royal
    • 1962 – John Chiang, American lawyer and politician, 31st California State Controller
    • 1962 – Kevin Greene, American football player and coach
    • 1962 – Wesley Snipes, American actor and producer
    • 1963 – Norman Cook (Fatboy Slim), English DJ and musician
    • 1963 – Fergus Henderson, English chef and author
    • 1963 – Brian Skrudland, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1964 – Jim Corr, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1964 – Urmas Hepner, Estonian footballer and coach
    • 1965 – Scott Brooks, American basketball player and coach
    • 1965 – John Laurinaitis, American wrestler and producer
    • 1965 – Ian Roberts, English-Australian rugby league player and actor
    • 1965 – J. K. Rowling, English author and film producer
    • 1966 – Dean Cain, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Tony Massenburg, American basketball player
    • 1967 – Tim Wright, Welsh composer
    • 1968 – Saeed-Al-Saffar, Emirati cricketer
    • 1968 – Julian Richards, Welsh director and producer
    • 1969 – Antonio Conte, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Loren Dean, American actor
    • 1969 – Kenneth D. Schisler, American lawyer and politician
    • 1970 – Ahmad Akbarpour, Iranian author and poet
    • 1970 – Ben Chaplin, English actor
    • 1970 – Andrzej Kobylański, Polish footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Giorgos Sigalas, Greek basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Gus Frerotte, American football player and coach
    • 1973 – Nathan Brown, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1974 – Emilia Fox, English actress
    • 1974 – Leona Naess, American-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1974 – Jonathan Ogden, American football player
    • 1975 – Randy Flores, American baseball player and coach
    • 1975 – Andrew Hall, South African cricketer
    • 1975 – Gabe Kapler, American baseball player and manager
    • 1976 – Joshua Cain, American guitarist and producer
    • 1976 – Paulo Wanchope, Costa Rican footballer and manager
    • 1978 – Zac Brown, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – Nick Sorensen, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1978 – Justin Wilson, English race car driver (d. 2015)
    • 1979 – Jaco Erasmus, South African-Italian rugby player
    • 1979 – J.J. Furmaniak, American baseball player
    • 1979 – Per Krøldrup, Danish footballer
    • 1979 – Carlos Marchena, Spanish footballer
    • 1979 – B.J. Novak, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1980 – Mikko Hirvonen, Finnish race car driver
    • 1980 – Mils Muliaina, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1981 – Titus Bramble, English footballer
    • 1981 – Vernon Carey, American football player
    • 1981 – Paul Whatuira, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1981 – M. Shadows, American musician, lead singer of Avenged Sevenfold
    • 1982 – Anabel Medina Garrigues, Spanish tennis player
    • 1982 – DeMarcus Ware, American football player
    • 1985 – Daniel Ciofani, Italian footballer
    • 1985 – Rémy Di Gregorio, French cyclist
    • 1986 – Evgeni Malkin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Brian Orakpo, American football player
    • 1987 – Michael Bradley, American soccer player
    • 1988 – Alex Glenn, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1989 – Victoria Azarenka, Belorussian tennis player
    • 1991 – Réka Luca Jani, Hungarian tennis player
    • 1992 – José Fernández, Cuban baseball player (d. 2016)
    • 1992 – Ryan Johansen, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Kyle Larson, American race car driver
    • 1994 – Lil Uzi Vert, American hip hop artist

    Deaths on July 31

    • 54 BC – Aurelia Cotta, Roman mother of Gaius Julius Caesar (b. 120 BC)
    • 450 – Peter Chrysologus, Italian bishop and saint (b. 380)
    • 910 – Feng Xingxi, Chinese warlord
    • 975 – Fu Yanqing, Chinese general (b. 898)
    • 1098 – Hugh of Montgomery, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury
    • 1358 – Étienne Marcel, French rebel leader (b. 1302)
    • 1396 – William Courtenay, English archbishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (b. 1342)
    • 1508 – Na’od, Ethiopian emperor
    • 1556 – Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish priest and theologian, founded the Society of Jesus (b. 1491)
    • 1616 – Roger Wilbraham, Solicitor-General for Ireland (b. 1553)
    • 1638 – Sibylla Schwarz, German poet (b. 1621)
    • 1653 – Thomas Dudley, English soldier and politician, 3rd Governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1576)
    • 1693 – Willem Kalf, Dutch still life painter (b. 1619)
    • 1726 – Nicolaus II Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and theorist (b. 1695)
    • 1750 – John V, king of Portugal (b. 1689)
    • 1762 – Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla, Spanish sailor and commander (b. 1711)
    • 1781 – John Bligh, 3rd Earl of Darnley, British parliamentarian (b. 1719)
    • 1784 – Denis Diderot, French philosopher and critic (b. 1713)
    • 1805 – Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian soldier (b. 1756)
    • 1864 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (b. 1800)
    • 1875 – Andrew Johnson, American general and politician, 17th President of the United States (b. 1808)
    • 1884 – Kiến Phúc, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1869)
    • 1886 – Franz Liszt, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1811)
    • 1891 – Jean-Baptiste Capronnier, Belgian stained glass painter (b. 1814)
    • 1913 – John Milne, British geologist and mining engineer. (b. 1850)
    • 1914 – Jean Jaurès, French journalist and politician (b. 1859)
    • 1917 – Hedd Wyn, Welsh language poet (b. 1887)
    • 1917 – Francis Ledwidge, Irish soldier and poet (b. 1881)
    • 1920 – Ion Dragoumis, Greek philosopher and diplomat (b. 1878)
    • 1940 – Udham Singh, Indian activist (b. 1899)
    • 1943 – Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1905)
    • 1942 – Francis Younghusband, British Army Officer, explorer and spiritual writer (b.1863)
    • 1944 – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French pilot and poet (b. 1900)
    • 1953 – Robert A. Taft, American soldier and politician (b. 1889)
    • 1954 – Onofre Marimón, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1923)
    • 1958 – Eino Kaila, Finnish philosopher and psychologist, attendant of the Vienna circle (b. 1890)
    • 1964 – Jim Reeves, American singer-songwriter (b. 1923)
    • 1966 – Bud Powell, American pianist (b. 1924)
    • 1968 – Jack Pizzey, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Queensland (b. 1911)
    • 1971 – Walter P. Carter, American soldier and activist (b. 1923)
    • 1972 – Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1899)
    • 1973 – Azumafuji Kin’ichi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 40th Yokozuna (b. 1921)
    • 1979 – Beatrix Lehmann, English actress and director (b. 1903)
    • 1980 – Pascual Jordan, German physicist, author, and academic (b. 1902)
    • 1980 – Mohammed Rafi, Indian playback singer (b. 1924)
    • 1981 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian general and politician, Military Leader of Panama (b. 1929)
    • 1985 – Eugene Carson Blake, American religious leader (b. 1906)
    • 1986 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (b. 1900)
    • 1987 – Joseph E. Levine, American film producer (b, 1905)
    • 1990 – Albert Leduc, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1902)
    • 1992 – Leonard Cheshire, English captain and pilot (b. 1917)
    • 1992 – Md. Abdul Wajed Chowdhury, Bangladeshi politician.
    • 1993 – Baudouin, King of Belgium (b. 1930)
    • 2000 – William Keepers Maxwell Jr., American editor, novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1908)
    • 2001 – Francisco da Costa Gomes, Portuguese general and politician, 15th President of Portugal (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Friedrich Franz, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (b. 1910)
    • 2003 – Guido Crepax, Italian author and illustrator (b. 1933)
    • 2004 – Virginia Grey, American actress (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch economist and politician, 1st President of the European Central Bank (b. 1935)
    • 2009 – Bobby Robson, English footballer and manager (b. 1933)
    • 2009 – Harry Alan Towers, English-Canadian screenwriter and producer (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Mollie Hunter, Scottish author and playwright (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Alfredo Ramos, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Gore Vidal, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Tony Sly, American musician, singer-songwriter (b. 1970)
    • 2013 – Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Michel Donnet, English-Belgian general and pilot (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – John Graves, American captain and author (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Trevor Storer, English businessman, founded Pukka Pies (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Warren Bennis, American scholar, author, and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Nabarun Bhattacharya, Indian journalist and author (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Jeff Bourne, English footballer (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Wilfred Feinberg, American lawyer and judge (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (b. 1940)
    • 2015 – Howard W. Jones, American surgeon and academic (b. 1910)
    • 2015 – Billy Pierce, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler and actor (b. 1954)
    • 2015 – Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 58th Yokozuna (b. 1955)
    • 2016 – Seymour Papert, South African mathematician (b. 1928)
    • 2017 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress (b. 1928)
    • 2018 – Tony Bullimore, British sailor & businessman (b. 1939)
    • 2019 – Harold Prince, noted Broadway producer and director, who received more Tony awards than anyone else in history (b. 1928)

    Holidays and observances on July 31

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abanoub
      • Germanus of Auxerre
      • Ignatius of Loyola
      • Neot
      • July 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which the Feast of Kamál (Perfection) can fall, while August 1 is the latest; observed on the first day of the eighth month of the Bahá’í calendar. (Bahá’í Faith)
    • End of the Trinity term (sitting of the High Court of Justice of England)
    • Ka Hae Hawaiʻi Day (Hawaii, United States), and its related observance:
      • Sovereignty Restoration Day (Hawaiian sovereignty movement)
    • Martyrdom Day of Shahid Udham Singh (Haryana and Punjab, India)
    • Treasury Day (Poland)
    • Warriors’ Day (Malaysia)

  • July 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

    July 11 in History

    • 472 – After being besieged in Rome by his own generals, Western Roman Emperor Anthemius is captured in St. Peter’s Basilica and put to death.
    • 813 – Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius).
    • 911 – Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy.
    • 1174 – Baldwin IV, 13, becomes King of Jerusalem, with Raymond III, Count of Tripoli as regent and William of Tyre as chancellor.
    • 1302 – Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch): A coalition around the Flemish cities defeats the king of France’s royal army.
    • 1346 – Charles IV, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, is elected King of the Romans.
    • 1405 – Ming admiral Zheng He sets sail to explore the world for the first time.
    • 1476 – Giuliano della Rovere is appointed bishop of Coutances.
    • 1576 – Martin Frobisher sights Greenland.
    • 1616 – Samuel de Champlain returns to Quebec.
    • 1735 – Mathematical calculations suggest that it is on this day that dwarf planet Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune for the last time before 1979.
    • 1789 – Jacques Necker is dismissed as France’s Finance Minister sparking the Storming of the Bastille.
    • 1796 – The United States takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty.
    • 1798 – The United States Marine Corps is re-established; they had been disbanded after the American Revolutionary War.
    • 1801 – French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons makes his first comet discovery. In the next 27 years he discovers another 36 comets, more than any other person in history.
    • 1804 – A duel occurs in which the Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.
    • 1833 – Noongar Australian aboriginal warrior Yagan, wanted for the murder of white colonists in Western Australia, is killed.
    • 1848 – Waterloo railway station in London opens.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Stevens; Confederate forces attempt to invade Washington, D.C.
    • 1882 – The British Mediterranean Fleet begins the Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt as part of the Anglo-Egyptian War.
    • 1889 – Tijuana, Mexico, is founded.
    • 1893 – The first cultured pearl is obtained by Kōkichi Mikimoto.
    • 1893 – A revolution led by the liberal general and politician José Santos Zelaya takes over state power in Nicaragua.
    • 1895 – Brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière demonstrate movie film technology to scientists.
    • 1897 – Salomon August Andrée leaves Spitsbergen to attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon. He later crashes and dies.
    • 1899 – Fiat founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy.
    • 1906 – Murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in the United States, inspiration for Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy.
    • 1914 – Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball.
    • 1914 – USS Nevada (BB-36) is launched.
    • 1919 – The eight-hour day and free Sunday become law for workers in the Netherlands.
    • 1920 – In the East Prussian plebiscite the local populace decides to remain with Weimar Germany.
    • 1921 – A truce in the Irish War of Independence comes into effect.
    • 1921 – The Red Army captures Mongolia from the White Army and establishes the Mongolian People’s Republic.
    • 1921 – Former president of the United States William Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the only person ever to hold both offices.
    • 1922 – The Hollywood Bowl opens.
    • 1924 – Eric Liddell won the gold medal in 400m at the 1924 Paris Olympics, after refusing to run in the heats for 100m, his favoured distance, on the Sunday.
    • 1934 – Engelbert Zaschka of Germany flies his large human-powered aircraft, the Zaschka Human-Power Aircraft, about 20 meters at Berlin Tempelhof Airport without assisted take-off.
    • 1936 – The Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic.
    • 1940 – World War II: Vichy France regime is formally established. Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of the French State.
    • 1941 – The Northern Rhodesian Labour Party holds its first congress in Nkana.
    • 1943 – Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army within the Reichskommissariat Ukraine (Volhynia) peak.
    • 1943 – World War II: Allied invasion of Sicily: German and Italian troops launch a counter-attack on Allied forces in Sicily.
    • 1947 – The Exodus 1947 heads to Palestine from France.
    • 1950 – Pakistan joins the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank.
    • 1957 – Prince Karim Husseini Aga Khan IV inherits the office of Imamat as the 49th Imam of Shia Imami Ismai’li worldwide, after the death of Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah Aga Khan III.
    • 1960 – France legislates for the independence of Dahomey (later Benin), Upper Volta (later Burkina) and Niger.
    • 1960 – Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
    • 1960 – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first published, in the United States.
    • 1962 – First transatlantic satellite television transmission.
    • 1962 – Project Apollo: At a press conference, NASA announces lunar orbit rendezvous as the means to land astronauts on the Moon, and return them to Earth.
    • 1971 – Copper mines in Chile are nationalized.
    • 1972 – The first game of the World Chess Championship 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky starts.
    • 1973 – Varig Flight 820 crashes near Paris, France on approach to Orly Airport, killing 123 of the 134 on board. In response, the FAA bans smoking in airplane lavatories.
    • 1977 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
    • 1978 – Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain killing 216 tourists.
    • 1979 – America’s first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
    • 1983 – A TAME airline Boeing 737-200 crashes near Cuenca, Ecuador, killing all 119 passengers and crew on board.
    • 1990 – Oka Crisis: First Nations land dispute in Quebec, Canada begins.
    • 1991 – Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 crashes in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia killing all 261 passengers and crew on board.
    • 1995 – Yugoslav Wars: Srebrenica massacre begins; lasts until 22 July.
    • 2006 – Mumbai train bombings: Two hundred nine people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India.
    • 2010 – The Islamist militia group Al-Shabaab carried out multiple suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, killing 74 people and injuring 85 others.
    • 2011 – Ninety-eight containers of explosives self-detonate killing 13 people in Zygi, Cyprus.

    Births on July 11

    • 154 – Bardaisan, Syrian astrologer, scholar, and philosopher (d. 222)
    • 1274 – Robert the Bruce, Scottish king (d. 1329)
    • 1406 – William, Margrave of Hachberg-Sausenberg (d. 1482)
    • 1459 – Kaspar, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, German nobleman (d. 1527)
    • 1558 – Robert Greene, English author and playwright (d. 1592)
    • 1561 – Luis de Góngora, Spanish cleric and poet (d. 1627)
    • 1603 – Kenelm Digby, English astrologer, courtier, and diplomat (d. 1665)
    • 1628 – Tokugawa Mitsukuni, Japanese daimyō (d. 1701)
    • 1653 – Sarah Good, American woman accused of witchcraft (d. 1692)
    • 1657 – Frederick I of Prussia (d. 1713)
    • 1662 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1726)
    • 1709 – Johan Gottschalk Wallerius, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1785)
    • 1723 – Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and author (d. 1799)
    • 1751 – Caroline Matilda, British princess, queen consort of Denmark (d. 1775)
    • 1754 – Thomas Bowdler, English physician and philanthropist (d. 1825)
    • 1760 – Peggy Shippen, American wife of Benedict Arnold and American Revolutionary War spy (d. 1804)
    • 1767 – John Quincy Adams, American lawyer and politician, 6th President of the United States (d. 1848)
    • 1826 – Alexander Afanasyev, Russian ethnographer and author (d. 1871)
    • 1832 – Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek lawyer and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1896)
    • 1834 – James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American-English painter and illustrator (d. 1903)
    • 1836 – Antônio Carlos Gomes, Brazilian composer (d. 1896)
    • 1846 – Léon Bloy, French author and poet (d. 1917)
    • 1849 – N. E. Brown, English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents (d. 1934)
    • 1850 – Annie Armstrong, American missionary (d. 1938)
    • 1866 – Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1953)
    • 1875 – H. M. Brock, British painter and illustrator (d. 1960)
    • 1880 – Friedrich Lahrs, German architect and academic (d. 1964)
    • 1881 – Isabel Martin Lewis, American astronomer and author (d. 1966)
    • 1882 – James Larkin White, American miner, explorer, and park ranger (d. 1946)
    • 1886 – Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1939)
    • 1888 – Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (d. 1985)
    • 1892 – Thomas Mitchell, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1962)
    • 1894 – Erna Mohr, German zoologist (d. 1968)
    • 1895 – Dorothy Wilde, English author and poet (d. 1941)
    • 1897 – Bull Connor, American police officer (d. 1973)
    • 1899 – Wilfrid Israel, German businessman and philanthropist (d. 1943)
    • 1899 – E. B. White, American essayist and journalist (d. 1985)
    • 1901 – Gwendolyn Lizarraga, Belizean businesswoman, activist, and politician (d. 1975)
    • 1903 – Rudolf Abel, English-Russian colonel (d. 1971)
    • 1903 – Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (d. 1976)
    • 1904 – Niño Ricardo, Spanish guitarist and composer (d. 1972)
    • 1905 – Betty Allan, Australian statistician and biometrician (d. 1952)
    • 1906 – Harry von Zell, American actor and announcer (d. 1981)
    • 1906 – Herbert Wehner, German politician, Minister of Intra-German Relations (d. 1990)
    • 1909 – Irene Hervey, American actress (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – Jacques Clemens, Dutch catholic priest (d. 2018)
    • 1910 – Sally Blane, American actress (d. 1997)
    • 1911 – Erna Flegel, German Third Reich nurse (d. 2006)
    • 1912 – Sergiu Celibidache, Romanian conductor and composer (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Peta Taylor, English cricketer (d. 1989)
    • 1912 – William F. Walsh, American captain and politician, 48th Mayor of Syracuse (d. 2011)
    • 1913 – Paul Gibb, English cricketer (d. 1977)
    • 1913 – Cordwainer Smith, American sinologist, author, and academic (d. 1966)
    • 1916 – Mortimer Caplin, American tax attorney, educator, and IRS Commissioner (d. 2019)
    • 1916 – Hans Maier, Dutch water polo player (d. 2018)
    • 1916 – Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
    • 1916 – Reg Varney, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2008)
    • 1916 – Gough Whitlam, Australian lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2014)
    • 1918 – Venetia Burney, English educator, who named Pluto (d. 2009)
    • 1920 – Yul Brynner, Russian actor and dancer (d. 1985)
    • 1920 – Zecharia Sitchin, Russian-American author (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – Gene Evans, American actor (d. 1998)
    • 1922 – Fritz Riess, German-Swiss racing driver (d. 1991)
    • 1923 – Richard Pipes, Polish-American historian and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Tun Tun, Indian actress and comedian (d. 2003)
    • 1924 – César Lattes, Brazilian physicist and academic (d. 2005)
    • 1924 – Brett Somers, Canadian-American actress and singer (d. 2007)
    • 1924 – Charlie Tully, Northern Irish footballer and manager (d. 1971)
    • 1924 – Oscar Wyatt, American businessman
    • 1925 – Charles Chaynes, French composer (d. 2016)
    • 1925 – Nicolai Gedda, Swedish operatic tenor (d. 2017)
    • 1925 – Peter Kyros, American lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1925 – Sid Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2004)
    • 1926 – Frederick Buechner, American minister, theologian, and author
    • 1927 – Theodore Maiman, American-Canadian physicist and engineer (d. 2007)
    • 1927 – Chris Leonard, English footballer
    • 1928 – Greville Janner, Baron Janner of Braunstone, Welsh-English lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Bobo Olson, American boxer (d. 2002)
    • 1928 – Andrea Veneracion, Filipina choirmaster (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Danny Flores, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – David Kelly, Irish actor (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Jack Alabaster, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1930 – Harold Bloom, American literary critic (d. 2019)
    • 1930 – Trevor Storer, English businessman, founded Pukka Pies (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Dick Gray, American baseball player (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Thurston Harris, American doo-wop singer (d. 1990)
    • 1931 – Tab Hunter, American actor and singer (d. 2018)
    • 1931 – Tullio Regge, Italian physicist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Alex Hassilev, French-born American folk singer and musician
    • 1932 – Jean-Guy Talbot, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1933 – Jim Carlen, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1933 – Frank Kelso, American admiral and politician, United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer, founded the Armani Company
    • 1935 – Frederick Hemke, American saxophonist and educator
    • 1935 – Oliver Napier, Northern Irish lawyer and politician (d. 2011)
    • 1937 – Pai Hsien-yung, Chinese-Taiwanese author
    • 1941 – Bill Boggs, American journalist and producer
    • 1941 – Henry Lowther, English trumpet player
    • 1943 – Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (d. 2006)
    • 1943 – Howard Gardner, American psychologist and academic
    • 1943 – Tom Holland, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Peter Jensen, Australian metropolitan
    • 1943 – Robert Malval, Haitian businessman and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Haiti
    • 1943 – Rolf Stommelen, German racing driver (d. 1983)
    • 1944 – Lou Hudson, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Michael Levy, Baron Levy, English philanthropist
    • 1944 – Patricia Polacco, American author and illustrator
    • 1946 – Martin Wong, American painter (d. 1999)
    • 1947 – Jeff Hanna, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer
    • 1947 – Norman Lebrecht, English author and critic
    • 1947 – Bo Lundgren, Swedish politician
    • 1950 – Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pakistani physicist and academic
    • 1950 – J. R. Morgan, Welsh author and academic
    • 1950 – Bonnie Pointer, American singer (d. 2020)
    • 1951 – Ed Ott, American baseball player and coach
    • 1952 – Bill Barber, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1952 – Stephen Lang, American actor and playwright
    • 1953 – Piyasvasti Amranand, Thai businessman and politician, Thai Minister of Energy
    • 1953 – Angélica Aragón, Mexican film, television, and stage actress and singer
    • 1953 – Peter Brown, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1953 – Suresh Prabhu, Indian accountant and politician, Indian Minister of Railways
    • 1953 – Patricia Reyes Spíndola, Mexican actress, director, and producer
    • 1953 – Leon Spinks, American boxer
    • 1953 – Mindy Sterling, American actress
    • 1953 – Ivan Toms, South African physician and activist (d. 2008)
    • 1953 – Bramwell Tovey, English-Canadian conductor and composer
    • 1953 – Paul Weiland, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Julia King, English engineer and academic
    • 1955 – Balaji Sadasivan, Singaporean neurosurgeon and politician, Singaporean Minister of Health (d. 2010)
    • 1956 – Amitav Ghosh, Indian-American author and academic
    • 1956 – Robin Renucci, French actor and director
    • 1956 – Sela Ward, American actress
    • 1957 – Johann Lamont, Scottish educator and politician
    • 1957 – Peter Murphy, English singer-songwriter
    • 1957 – Michael Rose, Jamaican singer-songwriter
    • 1958 – Mark Lester, English actor
    • 1958 – Hugo Sánchez, Mexican footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1959 – Richie Sambora, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1959 – Suzanne Vega, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1960 – David Baerwald, American singer-songwriter, composer, and musician
    • 1960 – Caroline Quentin, English actress
    • 1961 – Antony Jenkins, English banker and businessman
    • 1962 – Gaétan Duchesne, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
    • 1962 – Pauline McLynn, Irish actress and author
    • 1962 – Fumiya Fujii, Japanese music artist
    • 1963 – Al MacInnis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1963 – Dean Richards, English rugby player and coach
    • 1963 – Lisa Rinna, American actress and talk show host
    • 1965 – Tony Cottee, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1965 – Ernesto Hoost, Dutch kick-boxer and sportscaster
    • 1965 – Scott Shriner, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1966 – Nadeem Aslam, Pakistani-English author
    • 1966 – Kentaro Miura, Japanese author and illustrator
    • 1966 – Rod Strickland, American basketball player and coach
    • 1966 – Ricky Warwick, Northern Irish musician
    • 1967 – Andy Ashby, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1967 – Jhumpa Lahiri, Indian American novelist and short story writer
    • 1968 – Michael Geist, Canadian journalist and academic
    • 1968 – Daniel MacMaster, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
    • 1968 – Esera Tuaolo, American football player
    • 1969 – Ned Boulting, British sports journalist and television presenter
    • 1970 – Justin Chambers, American actor
    • 1970 – Sajjad Karim, English lawyer and politician
    • 1970 – Eric Owens, American opera singer
    • 1971 – Leisha Hailey, Japanese-American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1972 – Cormac Battle, English-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1973 – Konstantinos Kenteris, Greek runner
    • 1974 – Alanas Chošnau, Lithuanian singer-songwriter
    • 1974 – Hermann Hreiðarsson, Icelandic footballer and manager
    • 1974 – André Ooijer, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1975 – Willie Anderson, American football player
    • 1975 – Rubén Baraja, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1975 – Lil’ Kim, American rapper and producer
    • 1976 – Eduardo Nájera, Mexican-American basketball player and coach
    • 1977 – Brandon Short, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1978 – Kathleen Edwards, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – Massimiliano Rosolino, Italian swimmer
    • 1979 – Raio Piiroja, Estonian footballer
    • 1980 – Tyson Kidd, Canadian wrestler
    • 1980 – Kevin Powers, American soldier and author
    • 1981 – Andre Johnson, American football player
    • 1982 – Chris Cooley, American football player
    • 1983 – Engin Baytar, German-Turkish footballer
    • 1983 – Peter Cincotti, American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1983 – Marie Serneholt, Swedish singer and dancer
    • 1984 – Yorman Bazardo, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1984 – Tanith Belbin, Canadian-American ice dancer
    • 1984 – Jacoby Jones, American football player
    • 1984 – Joe Pavelski, American ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Morné Steyn, South African rugby player
    • 1985 – Robert Adamson, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1985 – Orestis Karnezis, Greek footballer
    • 1986 – Raúl García, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Yoann Gourcuff, French footballer
    • 1986 – Ryan Jarvis, English footballer
    • 1987 – Shigeaki Kato, Japanese singer
    • 1988 – Étienne Capoue, French footballer
    • 1988 – Natalie La Rose, Dutch singer, songwriter and dancer
    • 1989 – Tobias Sana, Swedish footballer
    • 1989 – Travis Waddell, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Mona Barthel, German tennis player
    • 1990 – Connor Paolo, American actor
    • 1990 – Adam Jezierski, Polish-Spanish actor and singer
    • 1990 – Patrick Peterson, American football player
    • 1990 – Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player
    • 1993 – Rebecca Bross, American gymnast
    • 1993 – Heini Salonen, Finnish tennis player
    • 1994 – Bartłomiej Kalinkowski, Polish footballer
    • 1994 – Anthony Milford, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Nina Nesbitt, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1994 – Lucas Ocampos, Argentinian footballer
    • 1995 – Joey Bosa, American football player
    • 1995 – Tyler Medeiros, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1996 – Alessia Cara, Canadian singer-songwriter

    Deaths on July 11

    • 472 – Anthemius, Roman emperor (b. 420)
    • 937 – Rudolph II of Burgundy (b. 880)
    • 969 – Olga of Kiev (b. 890)
    • 1174 – Amalric I of Jerusalem (b. 1136)
    • 1183 – Otto I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1117)
    • 1302 – Robert II, Count of Artois (b. 1250)
    • 1302 – Pierre Flotte, French politician and lawyer
    • 1344 – Ulrich III, Count of Württemberg (b. c. 1286)
    • 1362 – Anna von Schweidnitz, empress of Charles IV (b. 1339)
    • 1382 – Nicole Oresme, French philosopher (b. 1325)
    • 1451 – Barbara of Cilli, Slovenian noblewoman
    • 1484 – Mino da Fiesole, Italian sculptor (b. c. 1429)
    • 1535 – Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1484)
    • 1581 – Peder Skram, Danish admiral and politician (b. 1503)
    • 1593 – Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Italian painter (b. 1527)
    • 1599 – Chōsokabe Motochika, Japanese daimyō (b.1539)
    • 1688 – Narai, Thai king (b. 1629)
    • 1774 – Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, Irish-English general (b. 1715)
    • 1775 – Simon Boerum, American farmer and politician (b. 1724)
    • 1797 – Ienăchiță Văcărescu, Romanian historian and philologist (b. 1740)
    • 1806 – James Smith, Irish-American lawyer and politician (b. 1719)
    • 1825 – Thomas P. Grosvenor, American soldier and politician (b. 1744)
    • 1844 – Yevgeny Baratynsky, Russian philosopher and poet (b. 1800)
    • 1897 – Patrick Jennings, Irish-Australian politician, 11th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1831)
    • 1905 – Muhammad Abduh, Egyptian jurist and scholar (b. 1849)
    • 1908 – Friedrich Traun, German sprinter and tennis player (b. 1876)
    • 1909 – Simon Newcomb, Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician (b. 1835)
    • 1929 – Billy Mosforth, English footballer and engraver (b. 1857)
    • 1937 – George Gershwin, American pianist, songwriter, and composer (b. 1898)
    • 1959 – Charlie Parker, English cricketer, coach, and umpire (b. 1882)
    • 1966 – Delmore Schwartz, American poet and short story writer (b. 1913)
    • 1967 – Guy Favreau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 28th Canadian Minister of Justice (b. 1917)
    • 1971 – John W. Campbell, American journalist and author (b. 1910)
    • 1971 – Pedro Rodríguez, Mexican racing driver (b. 1940)
    • 1974 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
    • 1976 – León de Greiff, Colombian poet and educator (b. 1895)
    • 1979 – Claude Wagner, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1925)
    • 1983 – Ross Macdonald, American-Canadian author (b. 1915)
    • 1987 – Avi Ran, Israeli footballer (b. 1963)
    • 1987 – Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, American rabbi and scholar (b. 1901)
    • 1989 – Laurence Olivier, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
    • 1991 – Mokhtar Dahari, Malaysian footballer and coach (b. 1953)
    • 1994 – Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research (b. 1942)
    • 1998 – Panagiotis Kondylis, Greek philosopher and author (b. 1943)
    • 1999 – Helen Forrest, American singer (b. 1917)
    • 1999 – Jan Sloot, Dutch computer scientist and electronics technician (b. 1945)
    • 2000 – Pedro Mir, Dominican lawyer, author, and poet (b. 1913)
    • 2000 – Robert Runcie, English archbishop (b. 1921)
    • 2001 – Herman Brood, Dutch musician and painter (b. 1946)
    • 2003 – Zahra Kazemi, Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer (b. 1948)
    • 2004 – Laurance Rockefeller, American financier and philanthropist (b. 1910)
    • 2004 – Renée Saint-Cyr, French actress and producer (b. 1904)
    • 2005 – Gretchen Franklin, English actress and dancer (b. 1911)
    • 2005 – Jesús Iglesias, Argentinian racing driver (b. 1922)
    • 2005 – Frances Langford, American actress and singer (b. 1913)
    • 2006 – Barnard Hughes, American actor (b. 1915)
    • 2006 – Bronwyn Oliver, Australian sculptor (b. 1959)
    • 2006 – John Spencer, English snooker player and sportscaster (b. 1935)
    • 2007 – Glenda Adams, Australian author and academic (b. 1939)
    • 2007 – Lady Bird Johnson, American beautification activist; 43rd First Lady of the United States (b. 1912)
    • 2007 – Alfonso López Michelsen, Colombian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Colombia (b. 1913)
    • 2007 – Ed Mirvish, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist, founded Honest Ed’s (b. 1914)
    • 2008 – Michael E. DeBakey, American surgeon and educator (b. 1908)
    • 2009 – Reg Fleming, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1936)
    • 2009 – Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer (b. 1972)
    • 2009 – Ji Xianlin, Chinese linguist and paleographer (b. 1911)
    • 2010 – Walter Hawkins, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and pastor (b. 1949)
    • 2011 – Rob Grill, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Art Ceccarelli, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Marion Cunningham, American author (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Richard Scudder, American journalist and publisher, co-founded MediaNews Group (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Donald J. Sobol, American soldier and author (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Marvin Traub, American businessman and author (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Emik Avakian, Iranian-American inventor (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Egbert Brieskorn, German mathematician and academic (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Eugene P. Wilkinson, American admiral (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Charlie Haden, American bassist and composer (b. 1937)
    • 2014 – Carin Mannheimer, Swedish author and screenwriter (b. 1934)
    • 2014 – Bill McGill, American basketball player (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-American drummer and producer (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – John Seigenthaler, American journalist and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Randall Stout, American architect, designed the Taubman Museum of Art (b. 1958)
    • 2015 – Giacomo Biffi, Italian cardinal (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – James U. Cross, American general (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Satoru Iwata, Japanese game programmer and businessman (b. 1959)
    • 2015 – Lawrence K. Karlton, American lawyer and judge (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – André Leysen, Belgian businessman (b. 1927)

    Holidays and observances on July 11

    • Christian Feast Day:
      • Benedict of Nursia
      • Olga of Kiev
      • Pope Pius I
      • July 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • China National Maritime Day (China)
    • Day of the Bandoneón (Argentina)
    • Day of the Flemish Community (Flemish Community of Belgium)
    • Eleventh Night (Northern Ireland)
    • Free Slurpee Day (Participating stores of the 7-Eleven chain in North America)
    • National Day of Remembrance of Victims of Genocide by Ukrainian Nationalists on Citizens of the Second Republic of Poland (Poland)
    • Gospel Day (Kiribati)
    • Imamat Day (Isma’ilism)
    • National Day of Commemoration, held on the nearest Sunday to this date (Ireland)
    • The first day of Naadam (July 11–15) (Mongolia)
    • World Population Day (International)

  • July 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 138 – Emperor Hadrian dies of heart failure at Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina.
    • 645 – Isshi Incident: Prince Naka-no-Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari assassinate Soga no Iruka during a coup d’état at the imperial palace.
    • 988 – The Norse King Glúniairn recognises Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, and agrees to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law; the event is considered to be the founding of the city of Dublin.
    • 1086 – King Canute IV of Denmark is killed by rebellious peasants.
    • 1212 – The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground.
    • 1460 – Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, defeats the king’s Lancastrian forces and takes King Henry VI prisoner in the Battle of Northampton.
    • 1499 – The Portuguese explorer Nicolau Coelho returns to Lisbon after discovering the sea route to India as a companion of Vasco da Gama.
    • 1512 – The Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre commences with the capture of Goizueta.
    • 1519 – Zhu Chenhao declares the Ming dynasty’s Zhengde Emperor a usurper, beginning the Prince of Ning rebellion, and leads his army north in an attempt to capture Nanjing.
    • 1553 – Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England.
    • 1584 – William I of Orange is assassinated in his home in Delft, Holland, by Balthasar Gérard.
    • 1645 – English Civil War: The Battle of Langport takes place.
    • 1778 – American Revolution: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.
    • 1789 – Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Mackenzie River delta.
    • 1806 – The Vellore Mutiny is the first instance of a mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company.
    • 1832 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.
    • 1850 – U.S. President Millard Fillmore is sworn in, a day after becoming president upon Zachary Taylor’s death.
    • 1869 – Gävle, Sweden, is largely destroyed in a fire; 80% of its 10,000 residents are left homeless.
    • 1877 – The then-villa of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, formally receives its city charter from the Royal Crown of Spain.
    • 1882 – War of the Pacific: Chile suffers its last military defeat in the Battle of La Concepción when a garrison of 77 men is annihilated by a 1,300-strong Peruvian force, many of them armed with spears.
    • 1883 – War of the Pacific: Chileans led by Alejandro Gorostiaga defeat Andrés Avelino Cáceres’s Peruvuan army at the Battle of Huamachuco, hastening the end of the war.
    • 1890 – Wyoming is admitted as the 44th U.S. state.
    • 1921 – Belfast’s Bloody Sunday: Sixteen people are killed and 161 houses destroyed during rioting and gun battles in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
    • 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called “Monkey Trial” begins of John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
    • 1927 – Kevin O’Higgins TD, Vice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State is assassinated by the IRA.
    • 1938 – Howard Hughes begins a 91-hour airplane flight around the world that will set a new record.
    • 1940 – World War II: The Vichy government is established in France.
    • 1940 – World War II: Six days before Adolf Hitler issues his Directive 16 to the combined Wehrmacht armed forces for Operation Sea Lion, the Kanalkampf shipping attacks against British maritime convoys begin, in the leadup to initiating the Battle of Britain.
    • 1941 – Jedwabne pogrom: Massacre of Polish Jews living in and near the village of Jedwabne.
    • 1942 – World War II: An American pilot spots a downed, intact Mitsubishi A6M Zero on Akutan Island (the “Akutan Zero”) that the US Navy uses to learn the aircraft’s flight characteristics.
    • 1943 – World War II: Operation Husky begins in Sicily.
    • 1947 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah is recommended as the first Governor-General of Pakistan by the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee.
    • 1951 – Korean War: Armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong.
    • 1962 – Telstar, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.
    • 1966 – The Chicago Freedom Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago. As many as 60,000 people attend.
    • 1973 – The Bahamas gain full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations.
    • 1976 – Four mercenaries (one American and three British) are executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial.
    • 1978 – ABC World News Tonight premieres on ABC.
    • 1978 – President Moktar Ould Daddah of Mauritania is ousted in a bloodless coup d’état.
    • 1985 – The Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior is bombed and sunk in Auckland harbour by French DGSE agents, killing Fernando Pereira.
    • 1985 – An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 stalls and crashes near Uchkuduk, Uzbekistan (then part of the Soviet Union), killing all 200 people on board in the USSR’s worst-ever airline disaster.
    • 1991 – The South African cricket team is readmitted into the International Cricket Council following the end of Apartheid.
    • 1991 – Boris Yeltsin takes office as the first elected President of Russia.
    • 1992 – In Miami, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations.
    • 1997 – In London, scientists report the findings of the DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton which supports the “out of Africa theory” of human evolution, placing an “African Eve” at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
    • 1997 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, a member of Partido Popular (Spain), is kidnapped (and later murdered) in the Basque city of Ermua by ETA members, sparking widespread protests.
    • 1998 – Catholic Church sexual abuse cases: The Diocese of Dallas agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by Rudolph Kos, a former priest.
    • 1999 – In women’s association football, the United States defeated China in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl near Los Angeles to win the final match of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The final was watched by 90,185 spectators, which set a new world record for attendance at a women’s sporting event.
    • 2000 – EADS, the world’s second-largest aerospace group is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA.
    • 2002 – At a Sotheby’s auction, Peter Paul Rubens’s painting The Massacre of the Innocents is sold for £49.5 million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Thomson.
    • 2005 – Hurricane Dennis slams into the Florida Panhandle, causing billions of dollars in damage.
    • 2007 – Erden Eruç begins the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.
    • 2008 – Former Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boškoski is acquitted of all war-crimes charges by a United Nations Tribunal.
    • 2011 – Russian cruise ship Bulgaria sinks in Volga near Syukeyevo, Tatarstan, causing 122 deaths.
    • 2017 – Iraqi Civil War: Mosul is declared fully liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
    • 2019 – The last Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the line in Puebla, Mexico. The last of 5,961 “Special Edition” cars will be exhibited in a museum.

    Births on July 10

    • 1419 – Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (d. 1471)
    • 1451 – James III of Scotland (d. 1488)
    • 1501 – Cho Shik, Korean poet and scholar (d. 1572)
    • 1509 – John Calvin, French pastor and theologian (d. 1564)
    • 1515 – Francisco de Toledo, Viceroy of Peru (d. 1582)
    • 1517 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal (d. 1571)
    • 1533 – Antonio Possevino, Italian diplomat (d. 1611)
    • 1592 – Pierre d’Hozier, French genealogist and historian (d. 1660)
    • 1614 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, Irish-English politician (d. 1686)
    • 1625 – Jean Herauld Gourville, French adventurer (d. 1703)
    • 1638 – David Teniers III, Flemish painter (d. 1685)
    • 1666 – John Ernest Grabe, German theologian and academic (d. 1711)
    • 1682 – Roger Cotes, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1716)
    • 1723 – William Blackstone, English lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1780)
    • 1724 – Eva Ekeblad, Swedish noble and agronomist (d. 1786)
    • 1752 – St. George Tucker, United States federal judge (d. 1827)
    • 1792 – George M. Dallas, American lawyer and politician, 11th Vice President of the United States (d. 1864)
    • 1802 – Robert Chambers, Scottish geologist and publisher, co-founded Chambers Harrap (d. 1871)
    • 1804 – Emma Smith, American religious leader (d. 1879)
    • 1809 – Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist and palaeontologist (d. 1889)
    • 1823 – Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1908)
    • 1830 – Camille Pissarro, Danish-French painter (d. 1903)
    • 1832 – Alvan Graham Clark, American astronomer (d. 1897)
    • 1835 – Henryk Wieniawski, Polish violinist and composer (d. 1880)
    • 1839 – Adolphus Busch, German brewer, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (d. 1913)
    • 1856 – Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American physicist and engineer (d. 1943)
    • 1864 – Austin Chapman, Australian businessman and politician, 4th Australian Minister for Defence (d. 1926)
    • 1867 – Prince Maximilian of Baden (d. 1929)
    • 1871 – Marcel Proust, French novelist, critic, and essayist (d. 1922)
    • 1874 – Sergey Konenkov, Russian sculptor (d. 1971)
    • 1875 – Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (d. 1955)
    • 1875 – Dezső Pattantyús-Ábrahám, Hungarian politician (d. 1973)
    • 1877 – Ernst Bresslau, German zoologist (d. 1935)
    • 1878 – Otto Freundlich, German painter and sculptor (d. 1943)
    • 1882 – Ima Hogg, American society leader, philanthropist, patron and collector of the arts (d. 1975)
    • 1883 – Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (d. 1948)
    • 1883 – Hugo Raudsepp, Estonian playwright and politician (d. 1952)
    • 1888 – Giorgio de Chirico, Greek-Italian painter and set designer (d. 1978)
    • 1888 – Toyohiko Kagawa, Japanese evangelist, author, and activist (d. 1960)
    • 1891 – Edith Quimby, American medical researcher and physicist (d. 1982)
    • 1894 – Jimmy McHugh, American composer (d. 1969)
    • 1895 – Carl Orff, German composer and educator (d. 1982)
    • 1896 – Thérèse Casgrain, Canadian politician (d. 1981)
    • 1897 – Legs Diamond, American gangster (d. 1931)
    • 1897 – Karl Plagge, German general and engineer (d. 1957)
    • 1898 – Renée Björling, Swedish actress (d. 1975)
    • 1899 – John Gilbert, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1936)
    • 1899 – Heiri Suter, Swiss cyclist (d. 1978)
    • 1900 – Mitchell Parish, Lithuanian-American songwriter (d. 1993)
    • 1900 – Sampson Sievers, Russian monk and mystic (d. 1979)
    • 1902 – Kurt Alder, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
    • 1902 – Nicolás Guillén, Cuban poet, journalist, and activist (d. 1989)
    • 1903 – Werner Best, German SS officer and jurist (d. 1989)
    • 1903 – John Wyndham, English soldier and author (d. 1969)
    • 1904 – Lili Damita, French-American actress (d. 1994)
    • 1905 – Mildred Benson, American journalist and author (d. 2002)
    • 1905 – Thomas Gomez, American actor (d. 1971)
    • 1905 – Wolfram Sievers, German physician (d. 1948)
    • 1907 – Blind Boy Fuller, American singer and guitarist (d. 1941)
    • 1909 – Donald Sinclair, English lieutenant and businessman (d. 1981)
    • 1911 – Terry-Thomas, English comedian and character actor (d. 1990)
    • 1911 – Cootie Williams, American trumpeter and bandleader (d. 1985)
    • 1913 – Salvador Espriu, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1985)
    • 1914 – Joe Shuster, Canadian-American illustrator, co-created Superman (d. 1992)
    • 1914 – Rempo Urip, Indonesian film director
    • 1916 – Judith Jasmin, Canadian journalist (d. 1972)
    • 1917 – Hugh Alexander, American baseball player and scout (d. 2000)
    • 1917 – Reg Smythe, English cartoonist (d. 1998)
    • 1918 – James Aldridge, Australian-English journalist and author (d. 2015)
    • 1918 – Chuck Stevens, American baseball player (d. 2018)
    • 1918 – Frank L. Lambert, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Occidental College (d. 2018)
    • 1918 – Fred Wacker, American race driver and engineer (d. 1998)
    • 1919 – Pierre Gamarra, French author, poet, and critic (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Ian Wallace, English actor and singer (d. 2009)
    • 1920 – David Brinkley, American journalist (d. 2003)
    • 1920 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
    • 1920 – Cyril Grant, English footballer (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the Smiley (d. 2001)
    • 1921 – Jeff Donnell, American actress (d. 1988)
    • 1921 – John K. Singlaub, U.S Army Major General
    • 1921 – Eunice Kennedy Shriver, American activist, co-founded the Special Olympics (d. 2009)
    • 1922 – Jean Kerr, American author and playwright (d. 2003)
    • 1922 – Herb McKenley, Jamaican sprinter (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Jake LaMotta, American boxer and actor (d. 2017)
    • 1923 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (d. 2001)
    • 1923 – John Bradley, American soldier (d. 1994)
    • 1923 – Suzanne Cloutier, Canadian actress and producer (d. 2003)
    • 1923 – G. A. Kulkarni, Indian author and academic (d. 1987)
    • 1924 – Johnny Bach, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Bobo Brazil, American wrestler (d. 1998)
    • 1925 – Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysian physician and politician, 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia
    • 1925 – Ernest Bertrand Boland, American Roman Catholic bishop
    • 1926 – Carleton Carpenter, American actor, magician, songwriter, and novelist
    • 1926 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (d. 1993)
    • 1927 – Grigory Barenblatt, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1927 – David Dinkins, American soldier and politician, 106th Mayor of New York City
    • 1927 – William Smithers, American actor
    • 1928 – Don Bolles, American investigative reporter (d. 1976)
    • 1928 – Bernard Buffet, French painter and illustrator (d. 1999)
    • 1928 – Alejandro de Tomaso, Argentinian-Italian race car driver and businessman, founded De Tomaso (d. 2003)
    • 1928 – Moshe Greenberg, American-Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 2010)
    • 1928 – John Glenn, American baseball player
    • 1929 – Winnie Ewing, Scottish lawyer and politician
    • 1929 – George Clayton Johnson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Moe Norman, Canadian golfer (d. 2004)
    • 1929 – José Vicente Rangel, Venezuelan politician; 21st Vice President of Venezuela
    • 1930 – Bruce Boa, Canadian actor (d. 2004)
    • 1930 – Janette Sherman, American physician, author, and pioneer in occupational and environmental health (d. 2019)
    • 1930 – Josephine Veasey, English soprano and actress
    • 1931 – Nick Adams, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
    • 1931 – Jerry Herman, American composer and songwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Julian May, American author (d. 2017)
    • 1931 – Alice Munro, Canadian short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1932 – Carlo Maria Abate, Italian race car driver (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Neile Adams, Filipino-American actress, singer and dancer
    • 1932 – Manfred Preußger, German athlete
    • 1933 – Jumpin’ Gene Simmons, American rockabilly singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1933 – C.K. Yang, Taiwanese decathlete and pole vaulter (d. 2007)
    • 1934 – Marshall Brodien, American actor (d. 2019)
    • 1934 – Jerry Nelson, American puppeteer and voice actor (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Tura Satana, American actress and dancer (d. 2011)
    • 1935 – Wilson Tuckey, Australian politician
    • 1935 – Margaret McEntee, American Catholic religious sister and educator
    • 1935 – Wilson Whineray, New Zealand rugby player and businessman (d. 2012)
    • 1936 – Herbert Boyer, American businessman, co-founded Genentech
    • 1936 – Tunne Kelam, Estonian journalist and politician
    • 1937 – Edwards Barham, American farmer and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1937 – Gun Svensson, Swedish politician
    • 1938 – Paul Andreu, French architect (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – Lee Morgan, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1972)
    • 1939 – Phil Kelly, Irish-English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1939 – Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Turkish political scientist, journalist and educator (d. 1999)
    • 1939 – Mavis Staples, American singer
    • 1940 – Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai, Indian-English economist and politician
    • 1940 – Helen Donath, American soprano and actress
    • 1940 – Brian Priestley, English pianist and composer
    • 1940 – Keith Stackpole, Australian cricketer
    • 1941 – Jake Eberts, Canadian film producer (d. 2012)
    • 1941 – David G. Hartwell, American anthologist, author, and critic (d. 2016)
    • 1941 – Robert Pine, American actor and director
    • 1941 – Ian Whitcomb, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1942 – Ronnie James Dio, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1942 – Pyotr Klimuk, Belarusian general, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1942 – Sixto Rodriguez, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1942 – Lopo do Nascimento, Angolan politician; 1st Prime Minister of Angola
    • 1943 – Arthur Ashe, American tennis player and journalist (d. 1993)
    • 1943 – Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika, Zambian politician
    • 1943 – Jerry Miller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1944 – Mick Grant, English motorcycle racer
    • 1944 – Norman Hammond, English archaeologist and academic
    • 1945 – Ron Glass, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1945 – Hal McRae, American baseball player and manager
    • 1945 – John Motson, English sportscaster
    • 1945 – Jean-Marie Poiré, French director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1945 – Virginia Wade, English tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1946 – Jean-Pierre Jarier, French racing driver
    • 1946 – Chin Han, Taiwanese actor
    • 1947 – Arlo Guthrie, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1948 – Ronnie Cutrone, American painter (d. 2013)
    • 1948 – Chico Resch, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1948 – Natalya Sedykh, Russian figure skater, ballet dancer, actor
    • 1949 – Anna Czerwińska, Polish mountaineer and author
    • 1949 – Sunil Gavaskar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1949 – Greg Kihn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1949 – John Whitehead, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1950 – Tony Baldry, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, British Minister of State for Agriculture
    • 1950 – Prokopis Pavlopoulos, President of Greece, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
    • 1951 – Cheryl Wheeler, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – Rajnath Singh, Indian Politician and Union Home Minister of India
    • 1952 – Kim Mitchell, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1952 – Peter van Heemst, Dutch politician
    • 1953 – Rik Emmett, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1953 – Zoogz Rift, American musician and wrestler (d. 2011)
    • 1954 – Tommy Bowden, American football player and coach
    • 1954 – Andre Dawson, American baseball player
    • 1954 – Neil Tennant, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1955 – Nic Dakin, English educator and politician
    • 1955 – Geoff Gerard, Australian rugby league player
    • 1956 – Tom McClintock, American lawyer and politician
    • 1956 – K. Rajagopal, Malaysian football manager
    • 1957 – Derry Grehan, Canadian rock guitarist and songwriter
    • 1958 – Béla Fleck, American banjo player and songwriter
    • 1958 – Fiona Shaw, Irish actress and director
    • 1959 – Ellen Kuras, American director and cinematographer
    • 1959 – Sandy West, American singer-songwriter and drummer (d. 2006)
    • 1961 – Jacky Cheung, Hong Kong singer and film actor
    • 1961 – Marc Riley, English guitarist (The Fall), radio DJ
    • 1963 – Ian Lougher, Welsh motorcycle racer
    • 1964 – Martin Laurendeau, Canadian tennis player and coach
    • 1964 – Urban Meyer, American football player and coach
    • 1964 – Wilfried Peeters, Belgian cyclist
    • 1965 – Scott McCarron, American golfer
    • 1965 – Ken Mellons, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1966 – Clive Efford, English politician
    • 1966 – Johnny Grunge, American wrestler (d. 2006)
    • 1966 – Christian Stangl, Austrian skier and mountaineer
    • 1966 – Anna Bråkenhielm, Swedish business executive
    • 1967 – Tom Meents, American professional monster truck driver
    • 1967 – Rebekah Del Rio, American singer-songwriter
    • 1967 – Gillian Tett, English journalist and author
    • 1967 – Ikki Sawamura, Japanese model, actor and television presenter
    • 1967 – John Yoo, South Korean-American lawyer, author, and educator
    • 1969 – Marty Cordova, American baseball player
    • 1969 – Gale Harold, American actor
    • 1970 – Gary LeVox, American singer-songwriter
    • 1970 – Jason Orange, English singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1970 – John Simm, English actor
    • 1971 – Adam Foote, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1971 – Gregory Goodridge, Barbadian footballer and coach
    • 1972 – Peter Serafinowicz, English actor
    • 1972 – Sofía Vergara, Colombian-American actress and producer
    • 1972 – Tilo Wolff, German-Swiss singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1974 – Imelda May, Irish singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
    • 1975 – Andrew Firestone, American businessman
    • 1975 – Brendan Gaughan, American race car driver
    • 1975 – Alain Nasreddine, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1975 – Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor (d. 2018)
    • 1975 – Richard Westbrook, English race car driver
    • 1976 – Edmílson, Brazilian footballer
    • 1976 – Elijah Blue Allman, American singer and guitarist
    • 1976 – Ludovic Giuly, French footballer
    • 1976 – Adrian Grenier, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1976 – Brendon Lade, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1976 – Lars Ricken, German footballer
    • 1977 – Chiwetel Ejiofor, English actor
    • 1979 – Mvondo Atangana, Cameroon footballer
    • 1979 – Gong Yoo, Korean actor
    • 1980 – Alejandro Millán, Mexican singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1980 – Adam Petty, American race car driver (d. 2000)
    • 1980 – Claudia Leitte, Brazilian singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – James Rolfe, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1980 – Jessica Simpson, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer
    • 1981 – Aleksandar Tunchev, Bulgarian footballer
    • 1982 – Alex Arrowsmith, American guitarist and producer
    • 1982 – Juliya Chernetsky, Ukrainian-American television host
    • 1982 – Sebastian Mila, Polish footballer
    • 1982 – Jeffrey Walker, Australian actor and director
    • 1983 – Giuseppe De Feudis, Italian footballer
    • 1983 – Matthew Egan, Australian footballer
    • 1983 – Gabi, Spanish footballer
    • 1983 – Kim Hee-chul, Korean entertainer
    • 1983 – Joelson José Inácio, Brazilian footballer
    • 1983 – Doug Kramer, Filipino basketball player
    • 1983 – Anthony Watmough, Australian rugby league player
    • 1984 – Nikolaos Mitrou, Greek footballer
    • 1985 – Park Chu-young, South Korean footballer
    • 1985 – B. J. Crombeen, American ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Mario Gómez, German footballer
    • 1988 – Antonio Brown, American football player
    • 1988 – Heather Hemmens, American actress, director, and producer
    • 1988 – Sarah Walker, New Zealand BMX rider
    • 1990 – Adam Reynolds, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Trent Richardson, American footballer
    • 1990 – Chiyonokuni Toshiki, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1991 – Daishōmaru Shōgo, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1999 – April Ivy, Portuguese composer and singer
    • 2001 – Isabela Moner, American actress

    Deaths on July 10

    • 138 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (b. 76)
    • 645 – Soga no Iruka, Japanese politician
    • 649 – Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 598)
    • 772 – Amalberga of Temse, Frankish noblewoman
    • 831 – Zubaidah bint Ja`far, Abbasid Princess
    • 983 – Benedict VII, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 994 – Leopold I, margrave of Austria
    • 1086 – Canute IV, king of Denmark (b. 1043)
    • 1103 – Eric I, king of Denmark (b. 1060)
    • 1290 – Ladislaus IV, king of Hungaria (b. 1262)
    • 1460 – Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English commander and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1402)
    • 1460 – John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, English nobleman (b. c. 1413)
    • 1461 – Thomas, king of Bosnia (b. 1411)
    • 1473 – James II, king of Cyprus
    • 1480 – René of Anjou, French nobleman (b. 1400)
    • 1510 – Catherine Cornaro, queen of Cyprus (b. 1454)
    • 1576 – Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo, Italian noble (b. 1553)
    • 1559 – Henry II, king of France (b. 1519)
    • 1584 – William I, Dutch nobleman (b. 1533)
    • 1590 – Charles II, archduke of Austria (b. 1540)
    • 1594 – Paolo Bellasio, Italian organist and composer (b. 1554)
    • 1603 – Joan Terès i Borrull, Spanish archbishop and academic (b. 1538)
    • 1621 – Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, French commander (b. 1571)
    • 1653 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (b. 1600)
    • 1680 – Louis Moréri, French priest and scholar (b. 1643)
    • 1683 – François Eudes de Mézeray, French historian and author (b. 1610)
    • 1686 – John Fell, English bishop and academic (b. 1625)
    • 1776 – Richard Peters, English lawyer and minister (b. 1704)
    • 1794 – Gaspard de Bernard de Marigny, French general (b. 1754)
    • 1806 – George Stubbs, English painter and academic (b. 1724)
    • 1851 – Louis Daguerre, French photographer and physicist, invented the daguerreotype (b. 1787)
    • 1863 – Clement Clarke Moore, American author and educator (b. 1779)
    • 1881 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect and academic (b. 1812)
    • 1884 – Paul Morphy, American chess player (b. 1837)
    • 1908 – Phoebe Knapp, American organist and composer (b. 1839)
    • 1915 – Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Dutch painter (b. 1831)
    • 1920 – John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, British admiral (b. 1841)
    • 1929 – Ève Lavallière, French actress (b. 1866)
    • 1941 – Jelly Roll Morton, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1890)
    • 1941 – Huntley Wright, English actor (b. 1868)
    • 1950 – Richard Maury, American-Argentinian engineer (b. 1882)
    • 1952 – Rued Langgaard, Danish organist and composer (b. 1893)
    • 1954 – Calogero Vizzini, Italian mob boss (b. 1877)
    • 1956 – Joe Giard, American baseball player (b. 1898)
    • 1960 – Sæbjørn Buttedahl, Norwegian actor and sculptor (b. 1876)
    • 1962 – Yehuda Leib Maimon, Israeli rabbi and politician (b. 1875)
    • 1963 – Teddy Wakelam, English rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1893)
    • 1970 – Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic academic and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1908)
    • 1971 – Laurent Dauthuille, French boxer (b. 1924)
    • 1972 – Lovie Austin, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1887)
    • 1978 – John D. Rockefeller III, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Asia Society (b. 1906)
    • 1979 – Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (b. 1894)
    • 1980 – Joseph Krumgold, American author and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 1985 – Fernando Pereira, Dutch photographer (b. 1950)
    • 1986 – Tadeusz Piotrowski, Polish mountaineer and author (b. 1940)
    • 1987 – John Hammond, American record producer, critic, and activist (b. 1910)
    • 1989 – Mel Blanc, American voice actor (b. 1908)
    • 1993 – Ruth Krauss, American author and poet (b. 1901)
    • 1993 – Sam Rolfe, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
    • 1995 – Mehmet Ali Aybar, Turkish lawyer and politician (b. 1908)
    • 1996 – Eno Raud, Estonian author (b. 1928)
    • 2000 – Vakkom Majeed, Indian journalist and politician (b. 1909)
    • 2002 – Jean-Pierre Côté, Canadian politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1926)
    • 2002 – Evangelos Florakis, Greek general (b. 1943)
    • 2002 – Laurence Janifer, American author (b. 1933)
    • 2003 – Winston Graham, English author (b. 1908)
    • 2003 – Hartley Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, German-English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1902)
    • 2004 – Pati Behrs, Russian-American ballerina and actress (b. 1922)
    • 2005 – A. J. Quinnell, English author (b. 1940)
    • 2006 – Shamil Basayev, Chechen terrorist rebel leader (b. 1965)
    • 2007 – Doug Marlette, American cartoonist and author (b. 1949)
    • 2008 – Hiroaki Aoki, Japanese-American wrestler and businessman, founded Benihana (b. 1938)
    • 2008 – Mike Souchak, American golfer (b. 1927)
    • 2011 – Pierrette Alarie, Canadian soprano and educator (b. 1921)
    • 2011 – Roland Petit, French dancer and choreographer (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Dolphy, Filipino actor, singer, and producer (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Peter Kyros, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Berthe Meijer, German-Dutch journalist and author (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – Fritz Langanke, German lieutenant (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Viktor Suslin, Russian-German composer (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Philip Caldwell, American businessman (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Józef Gara, Polish poet and linguist (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Concha García Campoy, Spanish journalist (b. 1958)
    • 2013 – Caroline Duby Glassman, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Ku Ok-hee, South Korean golfer (b. 1956)
    • 2013 – Gokulananda Mahapatra, Indian author and academic (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Robert C. Broomfield, American lawyer and judge (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Juozas Kazickas, Lithuanian-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Paul G. Risser, American ecologist and academic (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Zohra Sehgal, Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1912)
    • 2014 – Gloria Schweigerdt, American baseball player (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Roger Rees, Welsh-American actor and director (b. 1944)
    • 2015 – Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Jon Vickers, Canadian tenor (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Katharina Focke, German politician (b. 1922)
    • 2018 – Henry Morgenthau III, American author and television producer (b. 1917)
    • 2020 – Lara van Ruijven, Dutch short track speed skater (b. 1992)

    Holidays and observances on July 10

    • Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Amalberga of Maubeuge
      • Canute IV of Denmark
      • Rufina and Secunda
      • Seven Brothers
      • Victoria, Anatolia, and Audax
      • July 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Independence Day (Bahamas), celebrates the independence of the Bahamas from the United Kingdom in 1973.
    • Nikola Tesla Day
    • Statehood Day (Wyoming)

  • June 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce.
    • 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine.
    • 1258 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Acre, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet sailing to relieve Acre.
    • 1530 – At the Diet of Augsburg the Augsburg Confession is presented to the Holy Roman Emperor by the Lutheran princes and Electors of Germany.
    • 1658 – Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Rio Nuevo during the Anglo-Spanish War.
    • 1678 – Venetian Elena Cornaro Piscopia is the first woman awarded a doctorate of philosophy when she graduates from the University of Padua.
    • 1741 – Maria Theresa is crowned Queen of Hungary.
    • 1786 – Gavriil Pribylov discovers St. George Island of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea.
    • 1788 – Virginia becomes the tenth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
    • 1848 – A photograph of the June Days uprising becomes the first known instance of photojournalism.
    • 1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
    • 1900 – The Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
    • 1906 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania millionaire Harry Thaw shoots and kills prominent architect Stanford White.
    • 1910 – The United States Congress passes the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate transport of women or girls for “immoral purposes”; the ambiguous language would be used to selectively prosecute people for years to come.
    • 1910 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird is premiered in Paris, bringing him to prominence as a composer.
    • 1913 – American Civil War veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913.
    • 1935 – Colombia–Soviet Union relations are established.
    • 1938 – Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.
    • 1940 – World War II: The French armistice with Germany comes into effect.
    • 1943 – The Holocaust: Jews in the Częstochowa Ghetto in Poland stage an uprising against the Nazis.
    • 1943 – The left-wing German Jewish exile Arthur Goldstein is murdered in Auschwitz.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in the Nordic countries, begins.
    • 1944 – World War II: United States Navy and British Royal Navy ships bombard Cherbourg to support United States Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg.
    • 1944 – The final page of the comic Krazy Kat is published, exactly two months after its author George Herriman died.
    • 1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is published.
    • 1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
    • 1960 – Cold War: Two cryptographers working for the United States National Security Agency left for vacation to Mexico, and from there defected to the Soviet Union.
    • 1975 – Mozambique achieves independence from Portugal.
    • 1975 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a state of internal emergency in India.
    • 1976 – Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf of the state of Missouri for the suffering it had caused to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
    • 1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
    • 1981 – Microsoft is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington.
    • 1991 – Slovenia and Croatia declare their independence by referendum from Yugoslavia.
    • 1993 – Kim Campbell is sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Canada.
    • 1996 – The Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. servicemen.
    • 1997 – An unmanned Progress spacecraft collides with the Russian space station Mir.
    • 1997 – The National Hockey League approved expansion franchises for Nashville (1998), Atlanta (1999), Columbus (2000), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul (2000).
    • 1998 – In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decides that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional.
    • 2017 – The World Health Organization estimates that Yemen has over 200,000 cases of cholera.

    Births on June 25

    • 1242 – Beatrice of England (d. 1275)
    • 1328 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (d. 1397)
    • 1371 – Joanna II of Naples (d. 1435)
    • 1484 – Bartholomeus V. Welser, German banker (d. 1561)
    • 1526 – Elisabeth Parr, Marchioness of Northampton (d. 1565)
    • 1560 – Wilhelm Fabry, German surgeon (d. 1634)
    • 1568 – Gunilla Bielke, Queen of Sweden (d. 1597)
    • 1612 – John Albert Vasa, Polish cardinal (d. 1634)
    • 1709 – Francesco Araja, Italian composer (d. 1762)
    • 1715 – Joseph Foullon de Doué, French soldier and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1789)
    • 1755 – Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (d. 1776)
    • 1799 – David Douglas, Scottish-English botanist and explorer (d. 1834)
    • 1814 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist and engineer (d. 1896)
    • 1825 – James Farnell, Australian politician, 8th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1888)
    • 1852 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect, designed the Park Güell (d. 1926)
    • 1858 – Georges Courteline, French author and playwright (d. 1929)
    • 1860 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer and conductor (d. 1956)
    • 1863 – Émile Francqui, Belgian soldier and diplomat (d. 1935)
    • 1864 – Walther Nernst, German chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
    • 1866 – Eloísa Díaz, Chilean doctor and Chile’s first female physician (d. 1950)
    • 1874 – Rose O’Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (d. 1944)
    • 1884 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (d. 1917)
    • 1884 – Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, German-French art collector and historian (d. 1979)
    • 1886 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – George Abbott, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
    • 1887 – Frigyes Karinthy, Hungarian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1938)
    • 1892 – Shirō Ishii, Japanese microbiologist and general (d. 1959)
    • 1894 – Hermann Oberth, Romanian-German physicist and engineer (d. 1989)
    • 1898 – Kay Sage, American painter and poet (d. 1963)
    • 1900 – Marta Abba, Italian actress (d. 1988)
    • 1900 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian/Soviet astronomer (d. 1969)
    • 1900 – Georgia Hale, American silent film actress and real estate investor (d. 1985)
    • 1900 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (d. 1979)
    • 1901 – Harold Roe Bartle, American businessman and politician, 47th Mayor of Kansas City (d. 1974)
    • 1902 – Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu of Japan (d. 1953)
    • 1903 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1950)
    • 1903 – Anne Revere, American actress (d. 1990)
    • 1905 – Rupert Wildt, German-American astronomer and academic (d. 1976)
    • 1907 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
    • 1908 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and academic (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – William Howard Stein, American chemist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
    • 1912 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – Cyril Fletcher, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1915 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (d. 1990)
    • 1917 – Nils Karlsson, Swedish skier (d. 2012)
    • 1917 – Claude Seignolle, French author (d. 2018)
    • 1918 – P. H. Newby, English soldier and author (d. 1997)
    • 1920 – Lassie Lou Ahern, American actress (d. 2018)
    • 1921 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian ballerina and choreographer, founded the National Ballet of Canada (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Johnny Smith, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Sam Francis, American soldier and painter (d. 1994)
    • 1923 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (d. 2012)
    • 1923 – Jamshid Amouzegar, 43rd Prime Minister of Iran (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1924 – Dimitar Isakov, Bulgarian football player
    • 1924 – Madan Mohan, Iraqi-Indian composer and director (d. 1975)
    • 1924 – William J. Castagna, American lawyer and judge
    • 1925 – Clifton Chenier, American singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 1987)
    • 1925 – June Lockhart, American actress
    • 1925 – Clay Evans, American Baptist pastor (d. 2019)
    • 1925 – Robert Venturi, American architect and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1925 – Virginia Patton, American actress and businesswoman
    • 1926 – Margaret Anstee, English diplomat (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (d. 1973)
    • 1926 – Kep Enderby, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 23rd Attorney-General for Australia (d. 2015)
    • 1926 – Stig Sollander, Swedish Alpine skier (d. 2019)
    • 1927 – Antal Róka, Hungarian runner (d. 1970)
    • 1927 – Chuck Smith, American pastor, founded the Calvary Chapel (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Arnold Wolfendale, English astronomer and academic
    • 1928 – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – John A. Wickham Jr., United States Army general
    • 1928 – Michel Brault, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Peyo, Belgian author and illustrator, created The Smurfs (d. 1992)
    • 1928 – Bill Russo, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
    • 1928 – Alex Toth, American animator and screenwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Eric Carle, American author and illustrator
    • 1929 – Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – V. P. Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of India (d. 2008)
    • 1932 – Peter Blake, English painter and illustrator
    • 1932 – Tim Parnell, English race car driver (d. 2017)
    • 1932 – George Sluizer, French-Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Álvaro Siza Vieira, Portuguese architect, designed the Porto School of Architecture
    • 1934 – Jean Geissinger, American baseball player (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Jack W. Hayford, American minister and author
    • 1934 – Beatriz Sheridan, Mexican actress and director (d. 2006)
    • 1935 – Ray Butt, English television producer and director (d. 2013)
    • 1935 – Salihu Ibrahim, Nigerian Army Officer (d. 2018)
    • 1935 – Taufiq Ismail, Indonesian poet and activist
    • 1935 – Larry Kramer, American author, playwright, and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (d. 2020)
    • 1935 – Don Demeter, American professional baseball player
    • 1935 – Tony Lanfranchi, English race car driver (d. 2004)
    • 1935 – Judy Howe, American artistic gymnast
    • 1935 – Charles Sheffield, English-American mathematician, physicist, and author (d. 2002)
    • 1936 – B. J. Habibie, Indonesian engineer and politician, 3rd President of Indonesia (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – Bert Hölldobler, German biologist and entomologist
    • 1937 – Eddie Floyd, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
    • 1937 – Derek Foster, Baron Foster of Bishop Auckland, English politician (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Doreen Wells, English ballerina and actress
    • 1939 – Allen Fox, American tennis player and coach
    • 1940 – Judy Amoore, Australian runner
    • 1940 – Mary Beth Peil, American actress and singer
    • 1940 – A. J. Quinnell, English-Maltese author (d. 2005)
    • 1940 – Clint Warwick, English bass player (d. 2004)
    • 1941 – Denys Arcand, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1941 – John Albert Raven, Scottish academic and ecologist
    • 1942 – Nikiforos Diamandouros, Greek academic and politician
    • 1942 – Willis Reed, American basketball player, coach, and manager
    • 1942 – Michel Tremblay, Canadian author and playwright
    • 1944 – Robert Charlebois, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1944 – Gary David Goldberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Carly Simon, American singer-songwriter
    • 1945 – Baba Gana Kingibe, Nigerian politician
    • 1945 – Harry Womack, American singer (d. 1974)
    • 1946 – Roméo Dallaire, Dutch-Canadian general and politician
    • 1946 – Allen Lanier, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Ian McDonald, English guitarist and saxophonist
    • 1947 – John Hilton, English table tennis player
    • 1947 – John Powell, American discus thrower
    • 1947 – Jimmie Walker, American actor and comedian
    • 1949 – Richard Clarke, Irish archbishop
    • 1949 – Patrick Tambay, French race car driver
    • 1949 – Yoon Joo-sang, South Korean actor
    • 1950 – Marcello Toninelli, Italian author and screenwriter
    • 1951 – Eva Bayer-Fluckiger, Swiss mathematician and academic
    • 1952 – Péter Erdő, Hungarian cardinal
    • 1952 – Tim Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter
    • 1952 – Martin Gerschwitz, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1952 – Alan Green, Northern Irish sportscaster
    • 1952 – Kristina Abelli Elander, Swedish artist
    • 1953 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and educator (d. 2013)
    • 1953 – Ian Davis, Australian cricketer
    • 1954 – Mario Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1954 – David Paich, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1954 – Lina Romay, Spanish actress (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Daryush Shokof, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Sonia Sotomayor, American lawyer and judge
    • 1955 – Vic Marks, English cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1956 – Anthony Bourdain, American chef and author (d. 2018)
    • 1956 – Frank Paschek, German long jumper
    • 1956 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004)
    • 1956 – Craig Young, Australian rugby player and coach
    • 1957 – Greg Millen, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1958 – George Becali, Romanian businessman, politician
    • 1959 – Lutz Dombrowski, German long jumper and educator
    • 1959 – Jari Puikkonen, Finnish ski jumper
    • 1959 – Bobbie Vaile, Australian astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1996)
    • 1960 – Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, English-Scottish journalist and author
    • 1960 – Brian Hayward, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Craig Johnston, South African-Australian footballer and photographer
    • 1960 – Laurent Rodriguez, French rugby player
    • 1961 – Timur Bekmambetov, Kazakh director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Ricky Gervais, English comedian, actor, director, producer and singer
    • 1963 – John Benjamin Hickey, American actor
    • 1963 – Yann Martel, Spanish-Canadian author
    • 1963 – Doug Gilmour, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
    • 1963 – George Michael, English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1963 – Mike Stanley, American baseball player
    • 1964 – Dell Curry, American basketball player and coach
    • 1964 – Phil Emery, Australian cricketer
    • 1964 – Johnny Herbert, English race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1964 – John McCrea, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1964 – Greg Raymer, American poker player and lawyer
    • 1965 – Napole Polutele, French politician
    • 1965 – Kerri Pottharst, Australian beach volleyball player
    • 1965 – Joseph Hii Teck Kwong, Malaysian bishop
    • 1966 – Dikembe Mutombo, Congolese-American basketball player
    • 1967 – Tracey Spicer, Australian journalist
    • 1968 – Adrian Garvey, Zimbabwean-South African rugby player
    • 1968 – Vaios Karagiannis, Greek footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Hunter Foster, American actor and singer
    • 1969 – Zim Zum, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1970 – Ariel Gore, American journalist and author
    • 1970 – Roope Latvala, Finnish guitarist
    • 1970 – Erki Nool, Estonian decathlete and politician
    • 1970 – Aaron Sele, American baseball player and scout
    • 1971 – Karen Darke, English cyclist and author
    • 1971 – Jason Gallian, Australian-English cricketer and educator
    • 1971 – Rod Kafer, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Neil Lennon, Northern Irish-Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Michael Tucker, American baseball player
    • 1972 – Carlos Delgado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
    • 1972 – Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Libyan engineer and politician
    • 1973 – René Corbet, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Milan Hnilička, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Jamie Redknapp, English footballer and coach
    • 1974 – Nisha Ganatra, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Glen Metropolit, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Kiur Aarma, Estonian journalist and producer
    • 1975 – Linda Cardellini, American actress
    • 1975 – Albert Costa, Spanish tennis player and coach
    • 1975 – Vladimir Kramnik, Russian chess player
    • 1975 – Michele Merkin, American model and television host
    • 1976 – José Cancela, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1976 – Iestyn Harris, Welsh rugby player and coach
    • 1976 – Carlos Nieto, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
    • 1976 – Neil Walker, American swimmer
    • 1978 – Aramis Ramírez, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1978 – Luke Scott, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Marcus Stroud, American football player
    • 1979 – Marko Albert, Estonian swimmer and triathlete
    • 1979 – Richard Hughes, Scottish footballer
    • 1979 – Busy Philipps, American actress
    • 1981 – Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper
    • 1982 – Rain, South Korean singer and actor
    • 1982 – Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
    • 1983 – Todd Cooper, English swimmer
    • 1983 – Marc Janko, Austrian footballer
    • 1984 – Lauren Bush, American model and fashion designer
    • 1985 – Karim Matmour, Algerian footballer
    • 1986 – Aya Matsuura, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1986 – Seda Tokatlıoğlu, Turkish volleyball player
    • 1988 – Jhonas Enroth, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Miguel Layún, Mexican footballer
    • 1988 – Therese Johaug, Norwegian cross-country skier
    • 1989 – Jack Cork, English footballer
    • 1989 – Edgar Morais, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1989 – Rafael Morais, Portuguese actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1990 – Andi Eigenmann, Filipino actress
    • 1991 – Liisi Rist, Estonian cyclist
    • 1991 – Anna Zaja, German tennis player
    • 1996 – Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazilian-American race car driver
    • 1996 – Sione Mata’utia, Australian rugby league player
    • 1996 – Lele Pons, Latina-American Internet personality
    • 1998 – Kyle Chalmers, Australian swimmer
    • 2006 – Mckenna Grace, American actress

    Deaths on June 25

    • 635 – Gao Zu, Chinese emperor (b. 566)
    • 841 – Gerard of Auvergne, Frankish nobleman
    • 841 – Ricwin of Nantes, Frankish nobleman
    • 891 – Sunderolt, German archbishop
    • 931 – An Chonghui, Chinese general
    • 1014 – Æthelstan Ætheling, son of Æthelred the Unready
    • 1031 – Sheng Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 972)
    • 1134 – Niels, king of Denmark (b. 1065)
    • 1218 – Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, French politician, Lord High Steward (b. 1160)
    • 1291 – Eleanor of Provence, queen of England (b. 1223)
    • 1337 – Frederick III, king of Sicily (b. 1272)
    • 1394 – Dorothea of Montau, German hermitess (b. 1347)
    • 1483 – Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, English courtier and translator (b. 1440)
    • 1483 – Richard Grey, half brother of Edward V of England (b. 1458)
    • 1522 – Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1451)
    • 1533 – Mary Tudor, queen of France (b. 1496)
    • 1579 – Hatano Hideharu, Japanese warlord (b. 1541)
    • 1593 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (b. 1541)
    • 1634 – John Marston, English poet and playwright (b. 1576)
    • 1638 – Juan Pérez de Montalbán, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1602)
    • 1665 – Sigismund Francis, archduke of Austria (b. 1630)
    • 1669 – François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (b. 1616)
    • 1671 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (b. 1598)
    • 1673 – Charles de Batz-Castelmore d’Artagnan, French captain (b. 1611)
    • 1686 – Simon Ushakov, Russian painter and educator (b. 1626)
    • 1715 – Jean-Baptiste du Casse, French admiral and politician (b. 1646)
    • 1767 – Georg Philipp Telemann, German composer and theorist (b. 1681)
    • 1798 – Thomas Sandby, English cartographer, painter, and architect (b. 1721)
    • 1822 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German composer, critic, and jurist (b. 1776)
    • 1835 – Ebenezer Pemberton, American educator (b. 1746)
    • 1838 – François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo, French general and engineer (b. 1774)
    • 1861 – Abdülmecid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1823)
    • 1866 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (b. 1803)
    • 1868 – Carlo Matteucci, Italian physicist and neurophysiologist (b. 1811)
    • 1870 – David Heaton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
    • 1875 – Antoine-Louis Barye, French sculptor (b. 1796)
    • 1876 – James Calhoun, American lieutenant (b. 1845)
    • 1876 – Boston Custer, American civilian army contractor (b. 1848)
    • 1876 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (b. 1839)
    • 1876 – Thomas Custer, American officer, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1845)
    • 1876 – Myles Keogh, Irish-American officer (b. 1840)
    • 1882 – François Jouffroy, French sculptor (b. 1806)
    • 1884 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (b. 1858)
    • 1886 – Jean-Louis Beaudry, Canadian businessman and politician, 11th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1809)
    • 1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, French engineer and politician, 5th President of France (b. 1837)
    • 1906 – Stanford White, American architect, designed the Washington Square Arch (b. 1853)
    • 1912 – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-British painter (b. 1836)
    • 1916 – Thomas Eakins, American painter, photographer, and sculptor (b. 1844)
    • 1917 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (b. 1884)
    • 1918 – Jake Beckley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1867)
    • 1922 – Satyendranath Dutta, Indian poet and author (b. 1882)
    • 1937 – Colin Clive, British actor (b. 1900)
    • 1939 – Richard Seaman, English race car driver (b. 1913)
    • 1943 – Arthur Goldstein, German Jewish left-wing activist (c. 1887)
    • 1944 – Dénes Berinkey, Hungarian jurist and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1871)
    • 1944 – Lucha Reyes, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1906)
    • 1947 – Jimmy Doyle, American boxer (b. 1924)
    • 1948 – William C. Lee, American general (b. 1895)
    • 1949 – Buck Freeman, American baseball player (b. 1871)
    • 1949 – James Steen, American water polo player (b. 1876)
    • 1950 – Maurice O’Sullivan, Irish police officer and author (b. 1904)
    • 1958 – Alfred Noyes, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1880)
    • 1959 – Charles Starkweather, American spree killer (b. 1938)
    • 1960 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
    • 1968 – Tony Hancock, English comedian and actor (b. 1924)
    • 1971 – John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, Scottish physician, biologist, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1880)
    • 1972 – Jan Matulka, Czech-American painter and illustrator (b. 1890)
    • 1974 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (b. 1893)
    • 1976 – Johnny Mercer, American singer-songwriter, co-founded Capitol Records (b. 1909)
    • 1977 – Olave Baden-Powell, British Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting leader (b. 1889)
    • 1977 – Endre Szervánszky, Hungarian pianist and composer (b. 1911)
    • 1979 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1894)
    • 1979 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (b. 1906)
    • 1981 – Felipe Cossío del Pomar, Peruvian painter and political activist (b. 1888)
    • 1983 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian pianist and composer (b. 1916)
    • 1984 – Michel Foucault, French historian and philosopher (b. 1926)
    • 1988 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1962)
    • 1990 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and murderer (b. 1940)
    • 1992 – Jerome Brown, American football player (b. 1965)
    • 1995 – Warren E. Burger, Fifteenth Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1907)
    • 1995 – Ernest Walton, Irish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1996 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat, British Ambassador to South Africa (b. 1914)
    • 1997 – Jacques Cousteau, French oceanographer and explorer (b. 1910)
    • 2002 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Labour (b. 1934)
    • 2003 – Lester Maddox, American businessman and politician, 75th Governor of Georgia (b. 1915)
    • 2004 – Morton Coutts, New Zealand inventor (b. 1904)
    • 2005 – John Fiedler, American actor and voice artist (b. 1925)
    • 2005 – Kâzım Koyuncu, Turkish singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1971)
    • 2006 – Jaap Penraat, Dutch-American humanitarian (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – J. Fred Duckett, American journalist and educator (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Jeeva, Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1963)
    • 2008 – Lyall Watson, South African anthropologist and ethologist (b. 1939)
    • 2009 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2009 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (b. 1958)
    • 2009 – Sky Saxon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
    • 2010 – Alan Plater, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1935)
    • 2010 – Richard B. Sellars, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1915)
    • 2011 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist and mathematician (b. 1933)
    • 2011 – Goff Richards, English composer and conductor (b. 1944)
    • 2011 – Margaret Tyzack, English actress (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Shigemitsu Dandō, Japanese academic and jurist (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Campbell Gillies, Scottish jockey (b. 1990)
    • 2012 – George Randolph Hearst, Jr., American businessman (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Lucella MacLean, American baseball player (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Edgar Ross, American boxer (b. 1949)
    • 2013 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Robert E. Gilka, American photographer and journalist (b. 1916)
    • 2013 – Harry Parker, American rower and coach (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Green Wix Unthank, American soldier and judge (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Nigel Calder, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Ivan Plyushch, Ukrainian agronomist and politician (b. 1941)
    • 2015 – Patrick Macnee, English actor (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Egyptian-Armenian patriarch (b. 1940)
    • 2016 – Adam Small, South African writer of apartheid-period (b. 1936)
    • 2018 – Richard Benjamin Harrison, American businessman and reality television personality (b. 1941)
    • 2018 – David Goldblatt, South African photographer of apartheid-period (b. 1930)

    Holidays and observances on June 25

    • Arbor Day (Philippines)
    • Christian feast day:
      • David of Munktorp
      • Eurosia
      • Maximus (Massimo) of Turin
      • Philipp Melanchthon (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
      • Presentation of the Augsburg Confession (Lutheran)
      • Prosper of Aquitaine
      • Prosper of Reggio
      • William of Montevergine
      • June 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975.
    • National Catfish Day (United States)
    • Statehood Day (Slovenia)
    • Statehood Day (Virginia)
    • Teacher’s Day (Guatemala)
    • World Vitiligo Day

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

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

    Births on June 11

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

    Deaths on June 11

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

    Holidays and observances on June 11

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

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

    • 1215 – Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu.
    • 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León.
    • 1298 – Residents of Riga and Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida.
    • 1495 – A monk, John Cor, records the first known batch of Scotch whisky
    • 1533 – Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England.
    • 1535 – Combined forces loyal to Charles V attack and expel the Ottomans from Tunis during the Conquest of Tunis.
    • 1648 – The Roundheads defeat the Cavaliers at the Battle of Maidstone in the Second English Civil War.
    • 1649 – Start of the Sumuroy Revolt: Filipinos in Northern Samar led by Agustin Sumuroy revolt against Spanish colonial authorities.
    • 1670 – In Dover, England, Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover, which will force England into the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
    • 1676 – Battle of Öland: allied Danish-Dutch forces defeat the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, during the Scanian War (1675–79).
    • 1679 – The Scottish Covenanters defeat John Graham of Claverhouse at the Battle of Drumclog.
    • 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade rescues 14 sailors at the Cape of Good Hope from the sinking ship De Jonge Thomas by riding his horse into the sea seven times. He drowned on his eighth attempt.
    • 1779 – The court-martial for malfeasance of Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, begins.
    • 1792 – Kentucky is admitted as the 15th state of the United States.
    • 1794 – The battle of the Glorious First of June is fought, the first naval engagement between Britain and France during the French Revolutionary Wars.
    • 1796 – Tennessee is admitted as the 16th state of the United States.
    • 1812 – War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.
    • 1813 – Capture of USS Chesapeake.
    • 1815 – Napoleon promulgates a revised Constitution after it passes a plebiscite.
    • 1831 – James Clark Ross becomes the first European at the North Magnetic Pole.
    • 1849 – Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey declared the Territory of Minnesota officially established.
    • 1855 – The American adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua.
    • 1857 – Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal is published.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fairfax Court House is fought.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: The Battle of Seven Pines (or the Battle of Fair Oaks) ends inconclusively, with both sides claiming victory.
    • 1868 – The Treaty of Bosque Redondo is signed, allowing the Navajo to return to their lands in Arizona and New Mexico.
    • 1879 – Napoléon Eugène, the last dynastic Bonaparte, is killed in the Anglo-Zulu War.
    • 1890 – The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith’s tabulating machine to count census returns.
    • 1913 – The Greek–Serbian Treaty of Alliance is signed, paving the way for the Second Balkan War.
    • 1916 – Louis Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
    • 1918 – World War I: Western Front: Battle of Belleau Wood: Allied Forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord engage Imperial German Forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince.
    • 1922 – The Royal Ulster Constabulary is founded.
    • 1929 – The 1st Conference of the Communist Parties of Latin America is held in Buenos Aires.
    • 1930 – The Deccan Queen is introduced as first intercity train between Bombay VT (Now Mumbai CST) and Poona (Pune) to run on electric locomotives.
    • 1939 – First flight of the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Battle of Crete ends as Crete capitulates to Germany.
    • 1941 – The Farhud, a massive pogrom in Iraq, starts and as a result, many Iraqi Jews are forced to leave their homes.
    • 1943 – BOAC Flight 777 is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s, killing British actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that it was actually an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
    • 1946 – Ion Antonescu, “Conducator” (“Leader”) of Romania during World War II, is executed.
    • 1950 – The Chinchaga fire ignites. By September, it would become the largest single fire on record in North America.
    • 1958 – Charles de Gaulle comes out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months.
    • 1961 – The Canadian Bank of Commerce and Imperial Bank of Canada merge to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the largest bank merger in Canadian history.
    • 1962 – Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel.
    • 1964 – Kenya becomes a republic with Jomo Kenyatta (1897 – 22 August 1978) as its first President (1964 to 1978).
    • 1974 – The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine.
    • 1975 – The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded by Jalal Talabani, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Fuad Masum and others.
    • 1978 – The first international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty are filed.
    • 1979 – The first black-led government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 90 years takes power.
    • 1980 – Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.
    • 1988 – European Central Bank is founded in Brussels.
    • 1988 – The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty comes into effect.
    • 1990 – Cold War: George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production.
    • 1993 – Dobrinja mortar attack: Thirteen are killed and 133 wounded when Serb mortar shells are fired at a soccer game in Dobrinja, west of Sarajevo.
    • 1994 – Republic of South Africa becomes a Commonwealth republic.
    • 1999 – American Airlines Flight 1420 slides and crashes while landing at Little Rock National Airport, killing 11 people on a flight from Dallas to Little Rock.
    • 2001 – Nepalese royal massacre: Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal shoots and kills several members of his family including his father and mother.
    • 2001 – Dolphinarium discotheque massacre: A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21 at a disco in Tel Aviv.
    • 2004 – Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of a parole, breaking a Guinness World Record.
    • 2008 – A fire on the back lot of Universal Studios breaks out, destroying the attraction King Kong Encounter and a large archive of master tapes for music and film, the full extent of which was not revealed until 2019.
    • 2009 – Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew are killed.
    • 2009 – General Motors files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth largest United States bankruptcy in history.
    • 2011 – A rare tornado outbreak occurs in New England; a strong EF3 tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts, during the event, killing four people.
    • 2011 – Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its final landing after 25 flights.
    • 2015 – A ship carrying 458 people capsizes on Yangtze river in China’s Hubei province, killing 400 people.

    Births on June 1

    • 1134 – Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (d. 1158)
    • 1300 – Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, English politician, Lord Marshal of England (d. 1338)
    • 1451 – Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney (d. 1508)
    • 1460 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1491)
    • 1480 – Tiedemann Giese, Polish bishop (d. 1550)
    • 1498 – Maarten van Heemskerck, Dutch painter (d. 1574)
    • 1522 – Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert, Dutch writer and scholar (d. 1590)
    • 1563 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Secretary of State for England (d. 1612)
    • 1612 – Frans Post, Dutch painter (d. 1680)
    • 1633 – Geminiano Montanari, Italian astronomer and academic (d. 1687)
    • 1637 – Jacques Marquette, French missionary and explorer (d. 1675)
    • 1653 – Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (d. 1704)
    • 1675 – Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist and playwright (d. 1755)
    • 1762 – Edmund Ignatius Rice, Irish priest and missionary, founded the Irish Christian Brothers (d. 1844)
    • 1765 – Christiane Vulpius, mistress and wife of Johann Wolfgang Goethe (d. 1816)
    • 1770 – Friedrich Laun, German author (d. 1849)
    • 1790 – Ferdinand Raimund, Austrian actor and playwright (d. 1836)
    • 1796 – Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, French physicist and engineer (d. 1832)
    • 1800 – Edward Deas Thomson, Australian educator and politician, Chief Secretary of New South Wales (d. 1879)
    • 1801 – Brigham Young, American religious leader, 2nd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1877)
    • 1804 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (d. 1857)
    • 1808 – Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1881)
    • 1815 – Otto of Greece (d. 1862)
    • 1819 – Francis V, Duke of Modena (d. 1875)
    • 1822 – Clementina Maude, Viscountess Hawarden, English portrait photographer (d. 1865)
    • 1825 – John Hunt Morgan, American general (d. 1864)
    • 1831 – John Bell Hood, American general (d. 1879)
    • 1833 – John Marshall Harlan, American lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General of Kentucky (d. 1911)
    • 1843 – Henry Faulds, Scottish physician and missionary, developed fingerprinting (d. 1930)
    • 1844 – John J. Toffey, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1911)
    • 1869 – Richard Wünsch, German philologist (d. 1915)
    • 1873 – Elena Alistar, Bessarabian politician (d. 1955)
    • 1874 – Yury Nikolaevich Voronov, Russian botanist (d. 1931)
    • 1878 – John Masefield, English author and poet (d. 1967)
    • 1879 – Max Emmerich, American triathlete and gymnast (d. 1956)
    • 1882 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan businessman and politician, Mayor of Chișinău (d. 1940)
    • 1887 – Clive Brook, English actor (d. 1974)
    • 1889 – James Daugherty, American author, illustrator, and painter (d. 1974)
    • 1889 – Charles Kay Ogden, English linguist and philosopher (d. 1957)
    • 1890 – Frank Morgan, American actor (d. 1949)
    • 1892 – Amanullah Khan, sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, (d. 1960)
    • 1899 – Edward Charles Titchmarsh, English mathematician and academic (d. 1963)
    • 1901 – Hap Day, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and manager (d. 1990)
    • 1901 – Tom Gorman, Australian rugby league player (d. 1978)
    • 1901 – John Van Druten, English-American playwright and director (d. 1957)
    • 1903 – Vasyl Velychkovsky, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop and martyr (d. 1973)
    • 1903 – Hans Vogt, Norwegian linguist and academic (d. 1986)
    • 1905 – Robert Newton, English-American actor (d. 1956)
    • 1907 – Jan Patočka, Czech philosopher (d. 1977)
    • 1907 – Frank Whittle, English airman and engineer, developed the jet engine (d. 1996)
    • 1908 – Julie Campbell Tatham, American author (d. 1999)
    • 1909 – Yechezkel Kutscher, Slovakian-Israeli philologist and linguist (d. 1971)
    • 1910 – Gyula Kállai, Hungarian communist leader, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People’s Republic of Hungary (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Herbert Tichy, Austrian geologist, author, and mountaineer (d. 1987)
    • 1913 – Bill Deedes, English journalist and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1915 – John Randolph, American actor (d. 2004)
    • 1916 – Jean Jérôme Hamer, Belgian Cardinal (d. 1996)
    • 1917 – William Standish Knowles, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Robert Clarke, American actor and producer (d. 2005)
    • 1921 – Nelson Riddle, American composer and bandleader (d. 1985)
    • 1922 – Joan Caulfield, American model and actress (d. 1991)
    • 1922 – Povel Ramel, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2007)
    • 1924 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1925 – Dilia Díaz Cisneros, Venezuelan teacher (d. 2017)
    • 1926 – Johnny Berry, English footballer (d. 1994)
    • 1926 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1926 – Marilyn Monroe, American model and actress (d. 1962)
    • 1926 – George Robb, English international footballer and teacher (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Georgy Dobrovolsky, Ukrainian pilot and astronaut (d. 1971)
    • 1928 – Steve Dodd, Australian actor and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Bob Monkhouse, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1929 – Nargis, Indian actress (d. 1981)<ref”>Dilip Kumar (28 July 2014). Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow. Hay House, Inc. p. 137. ISBN 978-93-81398-96-8.</ref>
    • 1929 – James H. Billington, American academic and Thirteenth Librarian of Congress (d. 2018)
    • 1930 – John Lemmon, English logician and philosopher (d. 1966)
    • 1930 – Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (d. 2016)
    • 1930 – Matt Poore, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2020)
    • 1930 – Edward Woodward, English actor (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Walter Horak, Austrian footballer (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Frank Cameron, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1932 – Christopher Lasch, American historian and critic (d. 1994)
    • 1933 – Haruo Remeliik, Palauan politician, 1st President of Palau (d. 1985)
    • 1933 – Charles Wilson, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2010)
    • 1934 – Pat Boone, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1934 – Peter Masterson, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1934 – Doris Buchanan Smith, American author (d. 2002)
    • 1935 – Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, English architect, founded Foster and Partners
    • 1935 – Reverend Ike, American minister and television host (d. 2009)
    • 1935 – Jack Kralick, American baseball player (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Percy Adlon, German director, screenwriter and producer
    • 1935 – John C. Reynolds, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Anatoly Albul, Soviet and Russian wrestler (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – André Bourbeau, Canadian politician (d. 2018)
    • 1936 – Bekim Fehmiu, Bosnian actor (d. 2010)
    • 1936 – Gerald Scarfe, English illustrator and animator
    • 1937 – Morgan Freeman, American actor and producer
    • 1937 – Rosaleen Linehan, Irish actress
    • 1937 – Colleen McCullough, Australian neuroscientist and author (d. 2015)
    • 1939 – Cleavon Little, American actor and comedian (d. 1992)
    • 1940 – René Auberjonois, American actor (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Katerina Gogou, Greek writer and actress (d. 1993)
    • 1940 – Kip Thorne, American physicist, astronomer, and academic
    • 1941 – Dean Chance, American baseball player and manager (d. 2015)
    • 1941 – Toyo Ito, Japanese architect, designed the Torre Realia BCN and Hotel Porta Fira
    • 1941 – Alexander V. Zakharov, Russian physicist and astronomer
    • 1942 – Parveen Kumar, Pakistani-English physician and academic
    • 1943 – Orietta Berti, Italian singer and actress
    • 1943 – Richard Goode, American pianist
    • 1943 – Lorrie Wilmot, South African cricketer (d. 2004)
    • 1944 – Colin Blakemore, British neurobiologist
    • 1944 – Robert Powell, English actor
    • 1945 – Jim McCarty, American blues rock guitarist
    • 1945 – Linda Scott, American singer
    • 1945 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress (d. 2008)
    • 1945 – Kerry Vincent, Australian chef and author
    • 1945 – Frederica von Stade, American soprano and actress
    • 1946 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
    • 1947 – Ron Dennis, English businessman, founded the McLaren Group
    • 1947 – Jonathan Pryce, Welsh actor and singer
    • 1947 – Ronnie Wood, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1948 – Powers Boothe, American actor (d. 2017)
    • 1948 – Tomáš Halík, Czech Roman Catholic priest, philosopher, theologian and scholar
    • 1948 – Michel Plasse, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2006)
    • 1948 – Juhan Viiding, Estonian poet and actor (d. 1995)
    • 1950 – Perrin Beatty, Canadian businessman and politician
    • 1950 – Charlene, American singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Jean Lambert, English educator and politician
    • 1950 – Michael McDowell, American author and screenwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1952 – Şenol Güneş, Turkish footballer and manager
    • 1952 – David Lan, South African-English director and playwright
    • 1952 – Mihaela Loghin, Romanian shot putter
    • 1953 – Ronnie Dunn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1953 – Ted Field, American entrepreneur and race car driver
    • 1954 – Jill Black, English lawyer and judge
    • 1955 – Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 2016)
    • 1955 – Lorraine Moller, New Zealand runner
    • 1955 – Tony Snow, American journalist, 26th White House Press Secretary (d. 2008)
    • 1956 – Patrick Besson, French writer and journalist
    • 1956 – Lisa Hartman Black, American actress
    • 1956 – Petra Morsbach, German author
    • 1958 – Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Mongolian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Mongolia
    • 1958 – Gennadiy Valyukevich, Belarusian triple jumper (d. 2019)
    • 1959 – Martin Brundle, English racing driver and sportscaster
    • 1959 – Alan Wilder, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1960 – Simon Gallup, English musician (The Cure)
    • 1960 – Vladimir Krutov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1960 – Sergey Kuznetsov, Russian footballer and manager
    • 1960 – Giorgos Lillikas, Cypriot politician, 8th Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1960 – Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (d. 2006)
    • 1961 – Paul Coffey, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1961 – Mark Curry, American actor
    • 1961 – Werner Günthör, Swiss shot putter and bobsledder
    • 1961 – John Huston, American golfer
    • 1961 – Peter Machajdík, Slovakian-German pianist and composer
    • 1963 – Vital Borkelmans, Belgian footballer
    • 1963 – Miles J. Padgett, Scottish physicist and academic
    • 1963 – David Westhead, English actor and producer
    • 1965 – Larisa Lazutina, Russian skier
    • 1965 – Olga Nazarova, Russian sprinter
    • 1965 – Nigel Short, English chess player and journalist
    • 1966 – Greg Schiano, American football player and coach
    • 1968 – Jason Donovan, Australian actor and singer
    • 1968 – Jeff Hackett, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1968 – Mathias Rust, German aviator
    • 1969 – Luis García Postigo, former Mexican footballer
    • 1969 – Teri Polo, American actress
    • 1970 – Georgie Gardner, Australian journalist and television host
    • 1970 – Alexi Lalas, American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Mario Cimarro, Cuban-American actor and singer
    • 1973 – Frédérik Deburghgraeve, Belgian swimmer
    • 1973 – Adam Garcia, Australian actor
    • 1973 – Derek Lowe, American baseball player
    • 1973 – Heidi Klum, German-American model, fashion designer, and producer
    • 1974 – Alanis Morissette, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actress
    • 1974 – Michael Rasmussen, Danish cyclist
    • 1974 – Sarah Teather, English politician
    • 1974 – Akis Zikos, Greek footballer and coach
    • 1975 – Michal Grošek, Czech-Swiss ice hockey player and coach
    • 1975 – Frauke Petry, German politician
    • 1975 – Ēriks Rags, Latvian javelin thrower
    • 1976 – Marlon Devonish, English sprinter and coach
    • 1976 – Kōhei Murakami, Japanese actor
    • 1977 – Andrea Bogart, American actress
    • 1977 – Arsen Gitinov, Russian and Kyrgyzstani freestyle wrestler
    • 1977 – Danielle Harris, American actress
    • 1977 – Brad Wilkerson, American baseball player and coach
    • 1977 – Sarah Wayne Callies, American actress
    • 1978 – Antonietta Di Martino, Italian high jumper
    • 1978 – Matthew Hittinger, American poet and author
    • 1979 – Santana Moss, American football player
    • 1979 – Markus Persson, Swedish game designer, founded Mojang
    • 1981 – Brandi Carlile, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1981 – Amy Schumer, American actress
    • 1981 – Carlos Zambrano, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1981 – Aleksei Mikhailovich Uvarov, Russian footballer
    • 1982 – Justine Henin, Belgian tennis player
    • 1983 – Tetyana Hamera-Shmyrko, Ukrainian runner
    • 1983 – Tõnis Sahk, Estonian long jumper
    • 1984 – Jean Beausejour, Chilean footballer
    • 1984 – Olivier Tielemans, Dutch racing driver
    • 1985 – Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
    • 1985 – Mário Hipólito, Angolan footballer
    • 1985 – Dinesh Karthik, Indian cricketer
    • 1985 – Nick Young, American basketball player
    • 1985 – Sam Young, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Moses Ndiema Masai, Kenyan runner
    • 1986 – Chinedu Obasi, Nigerian footballer
    • 1986 – Ben Smith, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1987 – Zoltán Harsányi, Slovakian footballer
    • 1987 – Jerel McNeal, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Yarisley Silva, Cuban pole vaulter
    • 1988 – Javier Hernández, Mexican footballer
    • 1989 – Nataliya Goncharova, Ukrainian/Russian volleyball player
    • 1989 – Sammy Alex Mutahi, Kenyan runner
    • 1990 – Miller Bolaños, Ecuadoran footballer
    • 1990 – Kennie Chopart, Danish footballer
    • 1990 – Carlota Ciganda, Spanish golfer
    • 1990 – Martin Pembleton, English footballer
    • 1990 – Bianca Perie, Romanian hammer thrower
    • 1991 – Tyrone Roberts, Australian rugby league player
    • 1993 – Sam Anas, American ice hockey player
    • 1994 – Kagayaki Taishi, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1996 – Edvinas Gertmonas, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1996 – Tom Holland, English actor
    • 1999 – Dmitri Aliev, Russian figure skater

    Deaths on June 1

    • 195 BC – Emperor Gaozu of Han (b. 256 BC)
    • 193 – Didius Julianus, Roman Emperor (b. 133)
    • 352 – Ran Min, “Heavenly Prince” (Tian Wang) during the Sixteen Kingdoms
    • 654 – Pyrrhus, patriarch of Constantinople
    • 829 – Li Tongjie, general of the Tang Dynasty
    • 847 – Xiao, empress of the Tang Dynasty
    • 896 – Theodosius Romanus, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
    • 932 – Thietmar, duke of Saxony
    • 1146 – Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess regent of Brittany (b. 1068)
    • 1186 – Minamoto no Yukiie, Japanese warlord
    • 1220 – Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford (b. 1176)
    • 1310 – Marguerite Porete, French mystic
    • 1354 – Kitabatake Chikafusa (b. 1293)
    • 1434 – King Wladislaus II of Poland
    • 1571 – John Story, English martyr (b. 1504)
    • 1616 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shogun (b. 1543)
    • 1625 – Honoré d’Urfé, French author and poet (b. 1568)
    • 1639 – Melchior Franck, German composer (b. 1579)
    • 1660 – Mary Dyer, English-American martyr (b. 1611)
    • 1662 – Zhu Youlang, Chinese emperor (b. 1623)
    • 1681 – Cornelis Saftleven, Dutch genre painter (b. 1607)
    • 1710 – David Mitchell, Scottish admiral and politician (b. 1642)
    • 1740 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian (b. 1657)
    • 1769 – Edward Holyoke, American pastor and academic (b. 1689)
    • 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade, South African folk hero (b. 1708)
    • 1795 – Pierre-Joseph Desault, French anatomist and surgeon (b. 1744)
    • 1815 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1753)
    • 1823 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1770)
    • 1826 – J. F. Oberlin, French pastor and philanthropist (b. 1740)
    • 1830 – Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader (b. 1781)
    • 1833 – Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut (b. 1760)
    • 1841 – David Wilkie, Scottish painter and academic (b. 1785)
    • 1846 – Pope Gregory XVI (b. 1765)
    • 1861 – John Quincy Marr, American captain (b. 1825)
    • 1864 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebel, led the Taiping Rebellion (b. 1812)
    • 1868 – James Buchanan, American lawyer and politician, 15th President of the United States (b. 1791)
    • 1872 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr., American publisher, founded the New York Herald (b. 1795)
    • 1873 – Joseph Howe, Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1804)
    • 1876 – Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and journalist (b. 1848)
    • 1879 – Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France (b. 1856)
    • 1908 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter (b. 1867)
    • 1927 – Lizzie Borden, American accused murderer (b. 1860)
    • 1927 – J. B. Bury, Irish historian, philologist, and scholar (b. 1861)
    • 1934 – Sir Alfred Rawlinson, 3rd Baronet, English colonel and polo player (b. 1867)
    • 1935 – Arthur Arz von Straußenburg, Romanian-Hungarian general (d. 1857)
    • 1938 – Ödön von Horváth, Croatian-French author and playwright (b. 1901)
    • 1941 – Hans Berger, German neurologist and academic (b. 1873)
    • 1941 – Hugh Walpole, New Zealand-English author (b. 1884)
    • 1943 – Leslie Howard, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
    • 1943 – Wilfrid Israel, English-German businessman and philanthropist (b. 1899)
    • 1946 – Ion Antonescu, Romanian marshal and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1882)
    • 1948 – Alex Gard, Russian-American cartoonist (b. 1900)
    • 1952 – John Dewey, American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1859)
    • 1953 – Emanuel Vidović, Croatian painter and illustrator (b. 1870)
    • 1954 – Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish-German journalist and author (b. 1869)
    • 1960 – Lester Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1883)
    • 1960 – Paula Hitler, German-Austrian sister of Adolf Hitler (b. 1896)
    • 1962 – Adolf Eichmann, a German Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer (b. 1906)
    • 1963 – Walter Lee, Australian politician, 24th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1874)
    • 1965 – Curly Lambeau, American football player and coach, founded the Green Bay Packers (b. 1898)
    • 1966 – Papa Jack Laine, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1873)
    • 1968 – Helen Keller, American author and activist (b. 1880)
    • 1968 – André Laurendeau, Canadian playwright, journalist, and politician (b. 1912)
    • 1969 – Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1904)
    • 1971 – Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologian and academic (b. 1892)
    • 1979 – Werner Forssmann, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
    • 1980 – Arthur Nielsen, American businessman, founded the ACNielsen company (b. 1897)
    • 1981 – Carl Vinson, American lawyer and politician (b. 1883)
    • 1983 – Prince Charles, Count of Flanders (b. 1903)
    • 1985 – Richard Greene, English actor and soldier (b. 1918)
    • 1986 – Jo Gartner, Austrian racing driver (b. 1958)
    • 1987 – Rashid Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1921)
    • 1988 – Herbert Feigl, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1902)
    • 1989 – Aurelio Lampredi, Italian engineer, designed the Ferrari Lampredi engine (b. 1917)
    • 1991 – David Ruffin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
    • 1996 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian politician, 6th President of India (b. 1913)
    • 1999 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer, invented the hovercraft (b. 1910)
    • 2000 – Tito Puente, American drummer, composer, and producer (b. 1923)
    • 2001 – Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist, created Dennis the Menace (b. 1920)
    • 2001 – notable victims of the Nepalese royal massacre
      • Aishwarya of Nepal (b. 1949)
      • Birendra of Nepal (b. 1945)
      • Dhirendra of Nepal (b. 1950)
      • Prince Nirajan of Nepal (b. 1978)
      • Princess Shruti of Nepal (b. 1976)
    • 2002 – Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (b. 1969)
    • 2004 – William Manchester, American historian and author (b. 1922)
    • 2005 – Hilda Crosby Standish, American physician (b. 1902)
    • 2005 – George Mikan, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
    • 2007 – Tony Thompson, American singer and songwriter (Hi-Five) (b. 1975)
    • 2008 – Tommy Lapid, Israeli journalist and politician, 17th Justice Minister of Israel (b. 1931)
    • 2008 – Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion designer, founded Saint Laurent Paris (b. 1936)
    • 2009 – Bob Christie, American race car driver (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – Vincent O’Brien, Irish horse trainer (b. 1917)
    • 2010 – Kazuo Ohno, Japanese dancer (b. 1906)
    • 2010 – Andrei Voznesensky, Russian poet (b. 1933)
    • 2011 – Haleh Sahabi, Iranian humanitarian and activist (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Faruq Z. Bey, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Pádraig Faulkner, Irish educator and politician, 19th Irish Minister of Defence (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Milan Gaľa, Slovak politician (b. 1953)
    • 2013 – James Kelleher, Canadian lawyer and politician, 33rd Solicitor General of Canada (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Ann B. Davis, American actress (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian sailor (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Charles Kennedy, Scottish journalist and politician (b. 1959)
    • 2015 – Joan Kirner, Australian educator and politician, 42nd Premier of Victoria (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Nicholas Liverpool, Dominican lawyer and politician, 6th President of Dominica (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Jacques Parizeau, Canadian economist and politician, 26th Premier of Quebec (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Jean Ritchie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
    • 2018 – Sinan Sakić, Serbian pop-folk singer (b. 1956)
    • 2019 – Ani Yudhoyono, Indonesian politician, 6th First Lady of Indonesia. (b. 1952)

    Holidays and observances on June 1

    • Children’s Day (International), and its related observances:
      • The Day of Protection of Children Rights (Armenia)
      • Mothers’ and Children’s Day (Mongolia)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Annibale Maria di Francia
      • Crescentinus
      • Fortunatus of Spoleto
      • Herculanus of Piegaro
      • Íñigo of Oña
      • Justin Martyr (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran)
      • Ronan of Locronan
      • June 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Canadian Forces Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Canada)
    • Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Lithuania)
    • Earliest day on which June Holiday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (Ireland)
    • Earliest day on which Labour Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday in June. (The Bahamas)
    • Earliest day on which Teacher’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Hungary)
    • Earliest day on which the Queen’s Birthday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji)
    • Earliest day on which Seamen’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Iceland)
    • Earliest day on which Western Australia Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Western Australia)
    • Global Day of Parents (International)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Samoa from New Zealand in 1962.
    • Madaraka Day (Kenya)
    • National Maritime Day (Mexico)
    • National Tree Planting Day (Cambodia)
    • Pancasila Day (Indonesia)
    • President’s Day (Palau)
    • The beginning of Crop over, celebrated until the first Monday of August. (Barbados)
    • Victory Day (Tunisia)
    • World Milk Day (International)
  • |

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

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

    Births on May 31

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

    Deaths on May 31

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

    Holidays and observances on May 31

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

  • May 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 363 – The Roman emperor Julian defeats the Sasanian army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sasanian capital, but is unable to take the city.
    • 1108 – Battle of Uclés: Almoravid troops under the command of Tamim ibn Yusuf defeat a Castile and León alliance under the command of Prince Sancho Alfónsez.
    • 1167 – Battle of Monte Porzio: A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III is defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel.
    • 1176 – Battle of Legnano: The Lombard League defeats Emperor Frederick I.
    • 1328 – Philip VI is crowned King of France.
    • 1416 – Battle of Gallipoli: The Venetians under Pietro Loredan defeat a much larger Ottoman fleet off Gallipoli.
    • 1453 – Fall of Constantinople: Ottoman armies under Sultan Mehmed II Fatih capture Constantinople after a 53-day siege, ending the Byzantine Empire.
    • 1658 – Battle of Samugarh: decisive battle in the struggle for the throne during the Mughal war of succession (1658–1659).
    • 1660 – English Restoration: Charles II is restored to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland.
    • 1733 – The right of settlers in New France to enslave natives is upheld at Quebec City.
    • 1780 – American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Waxhaws, the British continue attacking after the Continentals lay down their arms, killing 113 and critically wounding all but 53 that remained.
    • 1790 – Rhode Island becomes the last of North America’s original Thirteen Colonies to ratify the Constitution and become one of the United States.
    • 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Between 300 and 500 United Irishmen are executed as rebels by the British Army in County Kildare, Ireland.
    • 1807 – Mustafa IV became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
    • 1848 – Wisconsin is admitted as the 30th U.S. state.
    • 1852 – Jenny Lind leaves New York after her two-year American tour.
    • 1861 – The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is founded, in Hong Kong.
    • 1864 – Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico arrives in Mexico for the first time.
    • 1867 – The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (“the Compromise”) is born through Act 12, which establishes the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
    • 1868 – Mihailo Obrenović III, Prince of Serbia is assassinated.
    • 1886 – The pharmacist John Pemberton places his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, which appeared in The Atlanta Journal.
    • 1900 – N’Djamena is founded as Fort-Lamy by the French commander Émile Gentil.
    • 1903 – In the May Coup, Alexander I, King of Serbia, and Queen Draga, are assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization.
    • 1913 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet score The Rite of Spring receives its premiere performance in Paris, France, provoking a riot.
    • 1914 – The Ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with the loss of 1,012 lives.
    • 1918 – Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarabad.
    • 1919 – Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity is tested (later confirmed) by Arthur Eddington and Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin
    • 1920 – The Louth flood of 1920 was a severe flash flooding in the Lincolnshire market town of Louth which occurred 29 May 1920, resulting in 23 fatalities in 20 minutes. It has been described as one of the most significant flood disasters in Britain during the 20th century.
    • 1931 – Michele Schirru, a citizen of the United States, is executed by Italian military firing squad for intent to kill Benito Mussolini.
    • 1932 – World War I veterans begin to assemble in Washington, D.C., in the Bonus Army to request cash bonuses promised to them to be paid in 1945.
    • 1935 – First flight of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aeroplane.
    • 1945 – First combat mission of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator heavy bomber.
    • 1948 – United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is founded.
    • 1950 – The St. Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
    • 1953 – Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay’s (adopted) 39th birthday.
    • 1964 – The Arab League meets in East Jerusalem to discuss the Palestinian question, leading to the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
    • 1973 – Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, California.
    • 1982 – Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit Canterbury Cathedral.
    • 1982 – Falklands War: British forces defeat the Argentines at the Battle of Goose Green.
    • 1985 – Heysel Stadium disaster: Thirty-nine association football fans die and hundreds are injured when a dilapidated retaining wall collapses.
    • 1985 – Amputee Steve Fonyo completes cross-Canada marathon at Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months.
    • 1988 – The U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
    • 1989 – Signing of an agreement between Egypt and the United States, allowing the manufacture of parts of the F-16 jet fighter plane in Egypt.
    • 1990 – The Russian parliament elects Boris Yeltsin as president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
    • 1993 – The Miss Sarajevo beauty pageant is held in war-torn Sarajevo drawing global attention to the plight of its citizens.
    • 1999 – Olusegun Obasanjo takes office as President of Nigeria, the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule.
    • 1999 – Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station.
    • 2001 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the disabled golfer Casey Martin can use a cart to ride in tournaments.
    • 2004 – The National World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
    • 2008 – A doublet earthquake, of combined magnitude 6.1, strikes Iceland near the town of Selfoss, injuring 30 people.
    • 2012 – A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits northern Italy near Bologna, killing at least 24 people.
    • 2015 – One World Observatory at One World Trade Center opens.

    Births on May 29

    • 1421 – Charles, Prince of Viana (d. 1461)
    • 1439 – Pope Pius III (d. 1503)
    • 1443 – Victor, Duke of Münsterberg, Reichsgraf, Duke of Münsterberg and Opava, Count of Glatz (d. 1500)
    • 1504 – Antun Vrančić, Croatian archbishop (d. 1573)
    • 1555 – George Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes, English Earl, general and administrator (d. 1629)
    • 1568 – Virginia de’ Medici, Italian princess (d. 1615)
    • 1594 – Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, Bavarian field marshal (d. 1632)
    • 1627 – Anne, Duchess of Montpensier, French princess (d. 1693)
    • 1630 – Charles II of England (d. 1685)
    • 1675 – Humphry Ditton, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1715)
    • 1716 – Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, French zoologist and mineralogist (d. 1800)
    • 1722 – James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster, Irish soldier and politician (d. 1773)
    • 1730 – Jackson of Exeter, English organist and composer (d. 1803)
    • 1736 – Patrick Henry, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Virginia (d. 1799)
    • 1780 – Henri Braconnot, French chemist and pharmacist (d. 1855)
    • 1794 – Johann Heinrich von Mädler, German astronomer and selenographer (d. 1874)
    • 1797 – Louise-Adéone Drölling, French painter (d. 1836)
    • 1823 – John H. Balsley, American carpenter and inventor (d. 1895)
    • 1860 – Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (d. 1909)
    • 1871 – Clark Voorhees, American painter (d. 1933)
    • 1873 – Rudolf Tobias, Estonian organist and composer (d. 1918)
    • 1874 – G. K. Chesterton, English essayist, poet, and playwright (d. 1936)
    • 1880 – Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (d. 1936)
    • 1892 – Alfonsina Storni, Swiss-Argentinian poet and author (d. 1938)
    • 1893 – Max Brand, American journalist and author (d. 1944)
    • 1894 – Beatrice Lillie, Canadian-English actress, singer and writer (d. 1989)
    • 1894 – Josef von Sternberg, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1969)
    • 1897 – Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Czech-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1957)
    • 1899 – Douglas Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Defence (d. 1987)
    • 1902 – Harry Kadwell, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1999)
    • 1903 – Bob Hope, English-American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2003)
    • 1904 – Hubert Opperman, Australian cyclist and politician (d. 1996)
    • 1905 – Sebastian Shaw, English actor, director, and playwright (d. 1994)
    • 1906 – T. H. White, Indian-English author (d. 1964)
    • 1907 – Hartland Molson, Canadian captain and politician (d. 2002)
    • 1908 – Diana Morgan, Welsh-English playwright and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1910 – Ralph Metcalfe, American sprinter and politician (d. 1978)
    • 1913 – Tony Zale, American boxer (d. 1997)
    • 1914 – Stacy Keach Sr., American actor (d. 2003)
    • 1914 – Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese-Indian mountaineer (d. 1986)
    • 1915 – Karl Münchinger, German conductor and composer (d. 1990)
    • 1917 – John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States (d. 1963)
    • 1917 – Marcel Trudel, Canadian historian, author, and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Jacques Genest, Canadian physician and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1920 – John Harsanyi, Hungarian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
    • 1920 – Clifton James, American actor (d. 2017)
    • 1921 – Norman Hetherington, Australian cartoonist and puppeteer (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – Joe Weatherly, American race car driver (d. 1964)
    • 1922 – Iannis Xenakis, Greek-French composer, engineer, and theorist (d. 2001)
    • 1923 – Bernard Clavel, French author (d. 2010)
    • 1923 – John Parker, 6th Earl of Morley, English colonel and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Devon (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – Eugene Wright, American jazz bassist
    • 1924 – Lars Bo, Danish author and illustrator (d. 1999)
    • 1924 – Miloslav Kříž, Czech basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Pepper Paire, American baseball player (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Katie Boyle, Italian-English actress and television host (d. 2018)
    • 1926 – Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe, Queen Consort of Tonga (d. 2017)
    • 1926 – Abdoulaye Wade, Senegalese academic and politician, 3rd President of Senegal
    • 1927 – Jean Coutu, Canadian pharmacist and businessman, founded the Jean Coutu Group
    • 1929 – Harry Frankfurt, American philosopher and academic
    • 1929 – Peter Higgs, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1929 – Roberto Vargas, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Paul R. Ehrlich, American biologist and author
    • 1932 – Richie Guerin, American basketball player and coach
    • 1933 – Helmuth Rilling, German conductor and educator
    • 1933 – Tarquinio Provini, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2005)
    • 1934 – Bill Vander Zalm, Dutch-Canadian businessman and politician, 28th Premier of British Columbia
    • 1935 – André Brink, South African author and playwright (d. 2015)
    • 1935 – Sylvia Robinson, American singer and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1937 – Charles W. Pickering, American lawyer and judge
    • 1937 – Irmin Schmidt, German keyboard player and composer
    • 1937 – Alwin Schockemöhle, German show-jumper
    • 1937 – Harry Statham, American basketball player and coach
    • 1938 – Christopher Bland, English businessman and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1938 – Fay Vincent, American lawyer and businessman
    • 1939 – Pete Smith, Australian radio and television announcer
    • 1939 – Al Unser, American race car driver
    • 1940 – Taihō Kōki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 48th Yokozuna (d. 2013)
    • 1940 – Farooq Leghari, Pakistani politician, 8th President of Pakistan (d. 2010)
    • 1941 – Doug Scott, English mountaineer and author
    • 1941 – Bob Simon, American journalist (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Pierre Bourque, Canadian businessman and politician, 40th Mayor of Montreal
    • 1942 – Kevin Conway, American actor and director (d. 2020)
    • 1943 – Robert W. Edgar, American educator and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1944 – Bob Benmosche, American businessman (d. 2015)
    • 1944 – Quentin Davies, English soldier and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
    • 1945 – Gary Brooker, English singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1945 – Peter Fraser, Baron Fraser of Carmyllie, Scottish lawyer and politician, Solicitor General for Scotland (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Julian Le Grand, English economist and author
    • 1945 – Martin Pipe, English jockey and trainer
    • 1945 – Joyce Tenneson, American photographer
    • 1945 – Jean-Pierre Van Rossem, Belgian scholar and author (d. 2018)
    • 1946 – Fernando Buesa, Spanish politician (d. 2000)
    • 1947 – Anthony Geary, American actor
    • 1948 – Michael Berkeley, English composer and radio host
    • 1948 – Keith Gull, English microbiologist and academic
    • 1949 – Robert Axelrod, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1949 – Brian Kidd, English footballer and manager
    • 1949 – Francis Rossi, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1950 – Rebbie Jackson, American singer and actress
    • 1953 – Danny Elfman, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1954 – Robert Beaser, American composer and educator
    • 1954 – Jerry Moran, American lawyer and politician
    • 1955 – Frank Baumgartl, German runner (d. 2010)
    • 1955 – John Hinckley Jr., American attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan
    • 1955 – David Kirschner, American animator, producer, and author
    • 1955 – Gordon Rintoul, Scottish historian and curator
    • 1955 – Ken Schrader, American race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1956 – Mark Lyall Grant, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations
    • 1956 – La Toya Jackson, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1957 – Steven Croft, English bishop and theologian
    • 1957 – Jeb Hensarling, American lawyer and politician
    • 1957 – Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian film director
    • 1958 – Annette Bening, American actress
    • 1958 – Juliano Mer-Khamis, Israeli actor, director, and activist (d. 2011)
    • 1958 – Uwe Rapolder, German footballer and coach
    • 1958 – Mike Stenhouse, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1959 – Rupert Everett, English actor and novelist
    • 1959 – Mel Gaynor, English drummer
    • 1959 – Steve Hanley, Irish-English bass player and songwriter
    • 1960 – Thomas Baumer, Swiss economist and academic
    • 1960 – Mike Freer, English politician
    • 1961 – Melissa Etheridge, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist
    • 1961 – John Miceli, American drummer
    • 1962 – Fandi Ahmad, Singaporean footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1962 – Eric Davis, American baseball player
    • 1962 – Carol Kirkwood, Scottish journalist
    • 1962 – Chloé Sainte-Marie, Canadian actress and singer
    • 1963 – Blaze Bayley, English singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Zhu Jianhua, Chinese high jumper
    • 1963 – Ukyo Katayama, Japanese race car driver
    • 1963 – Claude Loiselle, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
    • 1964 – Howard Mills III, American academic and politician
    • 1964 – Oswaldo Negri Jr., Brazilian race car driver
    • 1966 – Natalie Nougayrède, French journalist
    • 1967 – Noel Gallagher, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1967 – Mike Keane, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1967 – Steven Levitt, American economist, author, and academic
    • 1968 – Torquhil Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll, Scottish politician
    • 1968 – Tate George, American basketball player
    • 1968 – Jessica Morden, English politician
    • 1968 – Hida Viloria, American activist
    • 1970 – Natarsha Belling, Australian journalist
    • 1970 – Roberto Di Matteo, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Éric Lucas, Canadian boxer
    • 1971 – Bernd Mayländer, German race car driver
    • 1971 – Jo Beth Taylor, Australian television host and actress
    • 1971 – Rob Womack, English shot putter and discus thrower
    • 1972 – Bill Curley, American basketball player and coach
    • 1972 – Simon Jones, English singer and bass player
    • 1973 – Tomoko Kaneda, Japanese voice actress, singer, and radio personality
    • 1973 – Mark Lee, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1973 – Alpay Özalan, Turkish footballer
    • 1974 – Steve Cardenas, American martial artist and retired actor
    • 1974 – Stephen Larkham, Australian rugby player and coach
    • 1974 – Aaron McGruder, American author and cartoonist
    • 1974 – Myf Warhurst, Australian radio and television host
    • 1974 – Jenny Willott, English politician
    • 1975 – Jason Allison, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Mel B, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
    • 1975 – Sven Kubis, German footballer
    • 1975 – Sarah Millican, English comedian
    • 1975 – Anthony Wall, English golfer
    • 1975 – Daniel Tosh, American comedian, television host, actor, writer, and executive producer
    • 1976 – Caçapa, Brazilian footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Jerry Hairston Jr., American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1976 – Raef LaFrentz, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Yegor Titov, Russian footballer
    • 1977 – Massimo Ambrosini, Italian footballer
    • 1977 – Marco Cassetti, Italian footballer
    • 1977 – António Lebo Lebo, Angolan footballer
    • 1978 – Pelle Almqvist, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1978 – Sébastien Grosjean, French tennis player
    • 1978 – Lorenzo Odone, Italian-American adrenoleukodystrophy patient who inspired the 1992 film, Lorenzo’s Oil (d. 2008)
    • 1978 – Adam Rickitt, English singer
    • 1979 – Arne Friedrich, German footballer
    • 1979 – Brian Kendrick, American wrestler
    • 1979 – John Rheinecker, American baseball player (d. 2017)
    • 1980 – Ernesto Farías, Argentinian footballer
    • 1981 – Andrey Arshavin, Russian footballer
    • 1982 – Nataliya Dobrynska, Ukrainian heptathlete
    • 1982 – Matt Macri, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Kim Tae-kyun, South Korean baseball player
    • 1984 – Carmelo Anthony, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Nia Jax, Australian-American professional wrestler
    • 1984 – Funmi Jimoh, American long jumper
    • 1984 – Andreas Schäffer, German footballer
    • 1984 – Ina Wroldsen, Norwegian singer and songwriter
    • 1985 – Nathan Horton, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Lina Andrijauskaitė, Lithuanian long jumper
    • 1987 – Issac Luke, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1987 – Kelvin Maynard, Dutch footballer (d. 2019)
    • 1987 – Noah Reid, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1987 – Rui Sampaio, Portuguese footballer
    • 1988 – Muath Al-Kasasbeh, Jordanian captain and pilot (d. 2015)
    • 1988 – Cheng Fei, Chinese gymnast
    • 1988 – Steve Mason, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Ezekiel Ansah, Ghanaian-American football player
    • 1989 – Diego Barisone, Argentinian footballer (d. 2015)
    • 1989 – Riley Keough, American model and actress
    • 1990 – Joe Biagini, American baseball pitcher
    • 1992 – Sarah Moundir, Swiss tennis player
    • 1993 – Jana Čepelová, Slovak tennis player
    • 1993 – Maika Monroe, American actress and kiteboarder
    • 1993 – Grete Šadeiko, Estonian heptathlete
    • 1998 – Markelle Fultz, American basketball player
    • 1999 – Park Ji-hoon, South Korean singer and actor

    Deaths on May 29

    • 931 – Jimeno Garcés of Pamplona
    • 1040 – Renauld I, Count of Nevers
    • 1259 – Christopher I of Denmark (b. 1219)
    • 1311 – James II of Majorca (b. 1243)
    • 1320 – Pope John VIII of Alexandria, Coptic pope
    • 1327 – Jens Grand, Danish archbishop (b. c. 1260)
    • 1379 – Henry II of Castile (b. 1334)
    • 1405 – Philippe de Mézières, French soldier and author (b. 1327)
    • 1425 – Hongxi Emperor of China (b. 1378)
    • 1453 – Ulubatlı Hasan, Ottoman commander (b. 1428)
    • 1453 – Constantine XI Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1404)
    • 1500 – Bartolomeu Dias, Portuguese explorer and navigator (b. 1451)
    • 1500 – Thomas Rotherham, English cleric and minister (b. 1423)
    • 1546 – David Beaton, Scottish cardinal and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1494)
    • 1593 – John Penry, Welsh martyr (b. 1559)
    • 1660 – Frans van Schooten, Dutch mathematician and academic (b. 1615)
    • 1691 – Cornelis Tromp, Dutch admiral (b. 1629)
    • 1790 – Israel Putnam, American general (b. 1718)
    • 1796 – Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish general and politician (b. 1720)
    • 1814 – Joséphine de Beauharnais, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte (b. 1763)
    • 1829 – Humphry Davy, English-Swiss chemist and academic (b. 1778)
    • 1847 – Emmanuel de Grouchy, Marquis de Grouchy, French general (b. 1766)
    • 1862 – Franz Mirecki, Polish composer, music conductor, and music teacher (b. 1791)
    • 1866 – Winfield Scott, American general, lawyer, and politician (b. 1786)
    • 1873 – Prince Friedrich of Hesse and by Rhine (b. 1870)
    • 1892 – Bahá’u’lláh, Persian religious leader, founded the Bahá’í Faith (b. 1817)
    • 1896 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist and academic (b. 1814)
    • 1903 – Bruce Price, American architect, designed the Château Frontenac and American Surety Building (b. 1845)
    • 1910 – Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1837)
    • 1911 – W. S. Gilbert, English playwright and poet (b. 1836)
    • 1914 – Laurence Sydney Brodribb Irving, English author and playwright (b. 1871)
    • 1914 – Henry Seton-Karr, English explorer, hunter, and author (b. 1853)
    • 1917 – Kate Harrington, American poet and educator (b. 1831)
    • 1919 – Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (b. 1860)
    • 1920 – Carlos Deltour, French rower (b. 1864)
    • 1921 – Abbott Handerson Thayer, American painter and educator (b. 1849)
    • 1935 – Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1874)
    • 1939 – Ursula Ledóchowska, Austrian-Polish nun and saint, founded the Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (b. 1865)
    • 1941 – Léo-Pol Morin, Canadian pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1892)
    • 1942 – John Barrymore, American actor (b. 1882)
    • 1946 – Martin Gottfried Weiss, German SS officer (b. 1905)
    • 1948 – May Whitty, English actress (b. 1865)
    • 1951 – Fanny Brice, American singer and comedian (b. 1891)
    • 1951 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier and composer (b. 1885)
    • 1953 – Morgan Russell, American painter and educator (b. 1886)
    • 1957 – James Whale, English director (b. 1889)
    • 1958 – Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
    • 1963 – Netta Muskett, English author (b. 1887)
    • 1966 – Ignace Lepp, Estonian-French priest and psychologist (b. 1909)
    • 1968 – Arnold Susi, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1896)
    • 1970 – John Gunther, American journalist and author (b. 1901)
    • 1970 – Eva Hesse, American artist (b. 1936)
    • 1972 – Moe Berg, American baseball player, coach, and spy (b. 1902)
    • 1972 – Stephen Timoshenko, Ukrainian-American engineer and academic (b. 1878)
    • 1973 – George Harriman, English businessman (b. 1908)
    • 1977 – Ba Maw, Burmese politician, Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1893)
    • 1979 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded United Artists (b. 1892)
    • 1979 – John H. Wood Jr., American lawyer and judge (b. 1916)
    • 1982 – Romy Schneider, Austrian actress (b. 1938)
    • 1983 – Arvīds Pelše, Latvian-Russian historian and politician (b. 1899)
    • 1987 – Charan Singh, Indian politician, 5th Prime Minister of India (b. 1902)
    • 1988 – Salem bin Laden, Saudi Arabian businessman (b. 1946)
    • 1989 – George C. Homans, American sociologist and academic (b. 1910)
    • 1991 – Margaret Barr (choreographer), Australian choreographer and teacher of dance-drama (b. 1904)
    • 1993 – Billy Conn, American boxer (b. 1917)
    • 1994 – Erich Honecker, German lawyer and politician (b. 1912)
    • 1994- Lady May Abel Smith, member of the British Royal Family (b. 1906)
    • 1996 – Tamara Toumanova, American ballerina and actress (b. 1919)
    • 1997 – Jeff Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1966)
    • 1998 – Barry Goldwater, American general, activist, and politician (b. 1909)
    • 2003 – David Jefferies, English motorcycle racer (b. 1972)
    • 2004 – Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician, 31st United States Solicitor General (b. 1912)
    • 2004 – Samuel Dash, American academic and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2005 – John D’Amico, Canadian ice hockey player and referee (b. 1937)
    • 2005 – Hamilton Naki, South African surgeon (b. 1926)
    • 2005 – George Rochberg, American soldier and composer (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Jacques Bouchard, Canadian businessman (b. 1930)
    • 2007 – Dave Balon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1938)
    • 2007 – Lois Browne-Evans, Bermudian lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
    • 2008 – Paula Gunn Allen, Native American writer (b. 1939)
    • 2008 – Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1987)
    • 2008 – Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian (b. 1927)
    • 2010 – Dennis Hopper, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
    • 2011 – Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian politician, 2nd President of Abkhazia (b. 1949)
    • 2011 – Bill Clements, American soldier and politician, 42nd Governor of Texas (b. 1917)
    • 2011 – Ferenc Mádl, Hungarian academic and politician, 14th President of Hungary (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Mark Minkov, Russian composer (b. 1944)
    • 2012 – Kaneto Shindo, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1912)
    • 2012 – Doc Watson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Richard Ballantine, American-English journalist and author (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – Françoise Blanchard, French actress (b. 1954)
    • 2013 – Andrew Greeley, American priest, sociologist, and author (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Mulgrew Miller, American pianist and composer (b. 1955)
    • 2013 – Henry Morgentaler, Polish-Canadian physician and activist (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Franca Rame, Italian actress and playwright (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Ludwig G. Strauss, German physician and academic (b. 1949)
    • 2013 – Wali-ur-Rehman, Pakistani commander (b. 1970)
    • 2014 – Christine Charbonneau, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Walter Jakob Gehring, Swiss biologist and academic (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Peter Glaser, Czech-American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Miljenko Prohaska, Croatian composer and conductor (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – William M. Roth, American businessman (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – Henry Carr, American football player and sprinter (b. 1942)
    • 2015 – Doris Hart, American tennis player (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Betsy Palmer, American actress (b. 1926)
    • 2017 – Manuel Noriega, Panamanian general and politician, Military Leader of Panama (b. 1934)
    • 2017 – Mordechai Tzipori, Israeli Lieutenant General and minister (b. 1924)
    • 2017 – Konstantinos Mitsotakis, Greek politician and prime minister (b. 1918)
    • 2020 – Maikanti Baru, Nigerian engineer, former chief of state oil firm. (b. 1959)

    Holidays and observances on May 29

    • Army Day (Argentina)
    • Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh (Bahá’í Faith) (Only if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz falls on March 21 of the Gregorian calendar)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Bona of Pisa
      • Hypomone (Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • Maximin of Trier
      • Pope Alexander of Alexandria (Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • Theodosia of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • Ursula Ledóchowska
      • May 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Feast of the Sacred Heart can fall, while July 2 is the latest; celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. (Catholic Church)
    • International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers (International)
    • National Elderly Day (Indonesia)
    • Oak Apple Day (England), and its related observance:
      • Castleton Garland Day (Castleton)
    • Statehood Day (Rhode Island and Wisconsin)
    • Veterans Day (Sweden)
    • World Digestive Health Day

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

    • 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.
    • 491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed Augusta is able to choose her successor for the Byzantine throne, after Zeno (late emperor) dies of dysentery.
    • 685 – The Battle of Dun Nechtain is fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated.
    • 794 – While visiting the royal Mercian court at Sutton Walls with a view to marrying princess Ælfthryth, King Æthelberht II of East Anglia is taken captive and beheaded.
    • 1217 – The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
    • 1293 – King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Estudio de Escuelas de Generales in Alcalá de Henares.
    • 1449 – The Battle of Alfarrobeira is fought, establishing the House of Braganza as a principal royal family of Portugal.
    • 1497 – John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship Matthew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a May 2 date).
    • 1498 – Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovers the sea route to India when he arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India.
    • 1521 – Ignatius of Loyola is seriously wounded in the Battle of Pampeluna.
    • 1570 – Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas.
    • 1609 – Shakespeare’s sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisher Thomas Thorpe.
    • 1631 – The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years’ War.
    • 1645 – Yangzhou massacre: The ten day massacre of 800,000 residents of the city of Yangzhou, part of the Transition from Ming to Qing.
    • 1741 – The Battle of Cartagena de Indias ends in a Spanish victory and the British begin withdrawal towards Jamaica with substantial losses.
    • 1775 – The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is allegedly signed in Charlotte, North Carolina.
    • 1802 – By the Law of 20 May 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte reinstates slavery in the French colonies, revoking its abolition in the French Revolution.
    • 1813 – Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.
    • 1840 – York Minster is badly damaged by fire.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state. Meanwhile, the State of North Carolina secedes from the Union.
    • 1862 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law, opening 84 million acres of public land to settlers.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church: In the Virginia Bermuda Hundred campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory.
    • 1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
    • 1875 – Signing of the Metre Convention by 17 nations leading to the establishment of the International System of Units.
    • 1882 – The Triple Alliance between the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy is formed.
    • 1883 – Krakatoa begins to erupt; the volcano explodes three months later, killing more than 36,000 people.
    • 1891 – History of cinema: The first public display of Thomas Edison’s prototype kinetoscope.
    • 1902 – Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the country’s first President.
    • 1927 – Treaty of Jeddah: The United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
    • 1932 – Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world’s first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
    • 1940 – The Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
    • 1941 – World War II: Battle of Crete: German paratroops invade Crete.
    • 1948 – Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wins the 1948 Republic of China presidential election and is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of China at Nanjing.
    • 1949 – In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, is established.
    • 1956 – In Operation Redwing, the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
    • 1964 – Discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation by Robert Woodrow Wilson and Arno Penzias.
    • 1967 – The Popular Movement of the Revolution political party is established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
    • 1969 – The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.
    • 1971 – In the Chuknagar massacre, Pakistani forces massacre thousands, mostly Bengali Hindus.
    • 1980 – In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects, by 60% of the vote, a government proposal to move towards independence from Canada.
    • 1983 – First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier.
    • 1983 – Church Street bombing: A car bomb planted by Umkhonto we Sizwe explodes on Church Street in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, killing 19 people and injuring 217 others.
    • 1985 – Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.
    • 1989 – The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.
    • 1990 – The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
    • 1996 – Civil rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.
    • 2002 – The independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and three years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself is the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976).
    • 2012 – At least 27 people are killed and 50 others injured when a 6.0-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Italy.
    • 2013 – An EF5 tornado strikes the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 24 people and injuring 377 others.
    • 2019 – The International System of Units (SI): The base units are redefined, making the international prototype of the kilogram obsolete.

    Births on May 20

    • 1315 – Bonne of Luxembourg, first wife of John II of France (d. 1349)
    • 1470 – Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal, poet, and scholar (d. 1547)
    • 1505 – Levinus Lemnius, Dutch writer (d. 1568)
    • 1531 – Thado Minsaw of Ava, Viceroy of Ava (d. 1584)
    • 1537 – Hieronymus Fabricius, Italian anatomist (d. 1619)
    • 1575 – Robert Heath, English judge and politician (d. 1649)
    • 1664 – Andreas Schlüter, German sculptor and architect (d. 1714)
    • 1726 – Francis Cotes, English painter and academic (d. 1770)
    • 1743 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian revolutionary, general, and president (d. 1803)
    • 1759 – William Thornton, Virgin Islander-American architect, designed the United States Capitol (d. 1828)
    • 1769 – Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (d. 1835)
    • 1772 – Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet, English inventor and politician, developed Congreve rockets (d. 1828)
    • 1776 – Simon Fraser, American-Canadian fur trader and explorer (d. 1862)
    • 1795 – Pedro María de Anaya, Mexican soldier. President (1847-1848) (d. 1854)
    • 1799 – Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (d. 1850)
    • 1806 – John Stuart Mill, English economist, civil servant, and philosopher (d. 1873)
    • 1811 – Alfred Domett, English-New Zealand poet and politician, 4th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1887)
    • 1818 – William Fargo, American businessman and politician, co-founded Wells Fargo and American Express (d. 1881)
    • 1822 – Frédéric Passy, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1912)
    • 1824 – Cadmus M. Wilcox, Confederate States Army general (d. 1890)
    • 1825 – Antoinette Brown Blackwell, the first woman to be ordained as a mainstream Protestant minister in the U.S. (d. 1921)
    • 1830 – Hector Malot, French author (d. 1907)
    • 1838 – Jules Méline, French lawyer and politician, 65th Prime Minister of France (d. 1925)
    • 1851 – Emile Berliner, German-American inventor, invented the Gramophone record (d. 1929)
    • 1854 – George Prendergast, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Victoria (d. 1937)
    • 1856 – Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (d. 1910)
    • 1860 – Eduard Buchner, German chemist, zymologist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
    • 1875 – Hendrik Offerhaus, Dutch rower (d. 1953)
    • 1877 – Pat Leahy, Irish-American jumper (d. 1927)
    • 1879 – Hans Meerwein, German chemist (d. 1965)
    • 1882 – Sigrid Undset, Danish-Norwegian novelist, essayist, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1949)
    • 1883 – Faisal I of Iraq (d. 1933)
    • 1886 – Ali Sami Yen, Turkish footballer and manager, founded the Galatasaray Sports Club (d. 1951)
    • 1894 – Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian guru and scholar (d. 1994)
    • 1895 – R. J. Mitchell, English engineer, designed the Supermarine Spitfire and Supermarine S.6B (d. 1937)
    • 1897 – Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish economist and author (d. 1983)
    • 1897 – Malcolm Nokes, English hammer and discus thrower (d. 1986)
    • 1898 – Eduard Ole, Estonian painter (d. 1995)
    • 1899 – Aleksandr Deyneka, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1969)
    • 1899 – John Marshall Harlan II, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1971)
    • 1900 – Sumitranandan Pant, Indian poet and author (d. 1977)
    • 1901 – Max Euwe, Dutch chess player, mathematician, and author (d. 1981)
    • 1901 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (d. 1970)
    • 1904 – Margery Allingham, English author of detective fiction (d. 1966)
    • 1906 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (d. 1989)
    • 1907 – Carl Mydans, American photographer and journalist (d. 2004)
    • 1908 – Henry Bolte, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Victoria (d. 1990)
    • 1908 – Louis Daquin, French actor and director (d. 1980)
    • 1908 – Francis Raymond Fosberg, American botanist and author (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – James Stewart, American actor (d. 1997)
    • 1911 – Gardner Fox, American author (d. 1986)
    • 1911 – Annie M. G. Schmidt, Dutch author and playwright (d. 1995)
    • 1913 – Teodoro Fernández, Peruvian footballer (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – William Redington Hewlett, American engineer, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (d. 2001)
    • 1915 – Peter Copley, English actor (d. 2008)
    • 1915 – Moshe Dayan, Israeli general and politician, 5th Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1981)
    • 1915 – Joff Ellen, Australian comedian and actor (d. 1999)
    • 1916 – Owen Chadwick, English rugby player, historian, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1916 – Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (d. 2001)
    • 1916 – Ondina Valla, Italian sprinter and hurdler (d. 2006)
    • 1917 – Tony Cliff, Israeli-English author and activist (d. 2000)
    • 1917 – Guy Favreau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 28th Canadian Minister of Justice (d. 1967)
    • 1918 – Alexandra Boyko, Russian tank commander (d. 1996)
    • 1918 – Edward B. Lewis, American biologist, geneticist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
    • 1919 – George Gobel, American comedian (d. 1991)
    • 1920 – John Cruickshank, Scottish lieutenant and banker, Victoria Cross recipient
    • 1921 – Wolfgang Borchert, German author and playwright (d. 1947)
    • 1921 – Hal Newhouser, American baseball player and scout (d. 1998)
    • 1921 – Hao Wang, Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (d. 1995)
    • 1922 – Ted Hinton, Northern Irish international footballer (d. 1988)
    • 1923 – Edith Fellows, American actress (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Sam Selvon, Trinidad-born writer (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – David Chavchavadze, English-American CIA officer and author (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan journalist and politician (d. 1976)
    • 1925 – Alexei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-144 (d. 2001)
    • 1926 – Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (d. 1956)
    • 1927 – Bud Grant, American football player and coach
    • 1927 – David Hedison, American actor (d. 2019)
    • 1927 – Franciszek Macharski, Polish cardinal (d. 2016)
    • 1929 – Gilles Loiselle, Canadian politician and diplomat, 33rd Canadian Minister of Finance
    • 1930 – Sam Etcheverry, American football player and coach (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Ken Boyer, American baseball player and manager (d. 1982)
    • 1931 – Louis Smith, American trumpeter (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Constance Towers, American actress and singer
    • 1935 – José Mujica, Uruguayan guerrilla leader and politician, 40th President of Uruguay
    • 1936 – Anthony Zerbe, American actor
    • 1937 – Dave Hill, American golfer (d. 2011)
    • 1937 – Derek Lampe, English footballer
    • 1939 – Balu Mahendra, Sri Lankan-Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Shorty Long, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1969)
    • 1940 – Stan Mikita, Slovak-Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 2018)
    • 1940 – Sadaharu Oh, Japanese-Taiwanese baseball player and manager
    • 1941 – Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Singapore
    • 1941 – John Strasberg, American actor and teacher
    • 1942 – Raymond Chrétien, Canadian lawyer and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
    • 1942 – Lynn Davies, Welsh sprinter and long jumper
    • 1942 – Carlos Hathcock, American sergeant and sniper (d. 1999)
    • 1942 – Frew McMillan, South African tennis player
    • 1943 – Albano Carrisi, Italian singer, actor, and winemaker
    • 1943 – Deryck Murray, Trinidadian cricketer
    • 1944 – Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Boudewijn de Groot, Indonesian-Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1944 – Keith Fletcher, English cricketer and manager
    • 1944 – Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman, co-founded Red Bull GmbH
    • 1945 – Vladimiro Montesinos, Peruvian intelligence officer
    • 1946 – Cher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1946 – Bobby Murcer, American baseball player, coach, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2008)
    • 1947 – Steve Currie, English bass player (d. 1981)
    • 1947 – Greg Dyke, English journalist and academic
    • 1949 – Robert Morin, Canadian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
    • 1949 – Michèle Roberts, English author and poet
    • 1949 – Dave Thomas, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1950 – Andy Johns, English-American engineer and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1950 – Reinaldo Merlo, Argentinian footballer and coach
    • 1951 – Thomas Akers, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut
    • 1951 – Christie Blatchford, Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster (d. 2020)
    • 1951 – Mike Crapo, American lawyer and politician
    • 1952 – Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer and manager
    • 1952 – Michael Wills, English politician, British Minister of Justice
    • 1953 – Robert Doyle, Australian educator and politician, 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne
    • 1954 – David Paterson, American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of New York
    • 1954 – Colin Sutherland, Lord Carloway, Scottish lawyer and judge
    • 1955 – Steve George, American keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1955 – Zbigniew Preisner, Polish composer and producer
    • 1956 – Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian-German author and critic
    • 1956 – Gerry Peyton, English born Irish international footballer and coach
    • 1956 – Douglas Preston, American journalist and author
    • 1957 – Yoshihiko Noda, Japanese lawyer and politician, 62nd Prime Minister of Japan
    • 1958 – Ron Reagan, American journalist and radio host
    • 1958 – Jane Wiedlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1959 – Susan Cowsill, American singer-songwriter
    • 1960 – Tony Goldwyn, American actor and director
    • 1961 – Clive Allen, English international footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Nick Heyward, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1963 – David Wells, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Kōichirō Genba, Japanese politician, 80th Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs
    • 1964 – Edin Osmanović, Slovenian footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1964 – Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, English journalist and author
    • 1965 – Ted Allen, American television host and author
    • 1965 – Stu Grimson, Canadian ice hockey player, sportscaster, and lawyer
    • 1966 – Dan Abrams, American journalist and author
    • 1967 – Graham Brady, English politician
    • 1967 – Gabriele Muccino, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1968 – Timothy Olyphant, American actor and producer
    • 1969 – Road Dogg, American wrestler, producer, and soldier
    • 1970 – Terrell Brandon, American basketball player
    • 1970 – Louis Theroux, Singaporean-English journalist and producer
    • 1971 – Šárka Kašpárková, Czech triple jumper and coach
    • 1971 – Tony Stewart, American race car driver
    • 1972 – Michael Diamond, Australian shooter
    • 1972 – Christophe Dominici, French rugby player
    • 1972 – Busta Rhymes, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1973 – Nathan Long, Australian rugby league player
    • 1974 – Allison Amend, American novelist and short story writer
    • 1974 – Shiboprosad Mukherjee, Indian film director, writer and actor
    • 1975 – Juan Minujín, Argentinian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1976 – Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1976 – Tomoya Satozaki, Japanese baseball player
    • 1977 – Matt Czuchry, American actor
    • 1977 – Leo Franco, Argentinian footballer
    • 1977 – Angela Goethals, American actress
    • 1977 – Stirling Mortlock, Australian rugby player
    • 1977 – Vesa Toskala, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Hristos Banikas, Greek chess player
    • 1978 – Pavla Hamáčková-Rybová, Czech pole vaulter
    • 1978 – Nils Schumann, German runner
    • 1979 – Andrew Scheer, Canadian politician, 28th Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
    • 1979 – Jayson Werth, American baseball player
    • 1980 – Austin Kearns, American baseball player
    • 1980 – Kassim Osgood, American football player
    • 1981 – Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
    • 1981 – Rachel Platten, American singer and songwriter
    • 1981 – Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Mark Winterbottom, Australian race car driver
    • 1982 – Petr Čech, Czech footballer
    • 1982 – Imran Farhat, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1982 – Jessica Raine, English actress
    • 1982 – Daniel Ribeiro, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Óscar Cardozo, Paraguayan footballer
    • 1983 – Matt Langridge, English rower
    • 1984 – Mauro Rafael da Silva, Brazilian footballer
    • 1984 – Patrick Ewing, Jr., American basketball player
    • 1984 – Keith Grennan, American football player
    • 1985 – Chris Froome, Kenyan-English cyclist
    • 1985 – Brendon Goddard, Australian footballer
    • 1986 – Dexter Blackstock, English footballer
    • 1986 – Stéphane Mbia, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1986 – Jiřina Svobodová, Czech pole vaulter
    • 1987 – Mike Havenaar, Japanese footballer
    • 1987 – Julian Wright, American basketball player
    • 1988 – Joel Moon, Australian rugby league player
    • 1989 – Siosia Vave, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
    • 1991 – Bastian Baker, Swiss singer, songwriter, and performer
    • 1991 – Emre Colak, Turkish footballer
    • 1992 – Cate Campbell, Malawian-Australian swimmer
    • 1992 – Jack Gleeson, Irish actor
    • 1992 – Enes Kanter, Turkish basketball player
    • 1993 – Caroline Zhang, American figure skater
    • 1996 – Brian Kelly, Australian rugby league player
    • 1998 – Jamie Chadwick, English race car driver
    • 1998 – Nam Nguyen, Canadian figure skater

    Deaths on May 20

    • 685 – Ecgfrith of Northumbria (b. 645)
    • 794 – Æthelberht II, king of East Anglia
    • 965 – Gero the Great, Saxon ruler (b.c. 900)
    • 1062 – Bao Zheng, Chinese magistrate and mayor of Kaifeng (b. 999)
    • 1277 – Pope John XXI (b. 1215)
    • 1285 – John II of Jerusalem (b. 1259)
    • 1291 – Sufi Saint Sayyid Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari
    • 1366 – Maria of Calabria, Empress of Constantinople (b. 1329)
    • 1444 – Bernardino of Siena, Italian-Spanish missionary and saint (b. 1380)
    • 1449 – Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches
    • 1449 – Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra (b. 1392)
    • 1501 – Columba of Rieti, Italian Dominican tertiary Religious Sister (b. 1467)
    • 1503 – Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, Italian banker and politician (b. 1463)
    • 1506 – Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer, discovered the Americas (b. 1451)
    • 1550 – Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1510)
    • 1579 – Isabella Markham, English courtier (b. 1527)
    • 1622 – Osman II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1604)
    • 1645 – Shi Kefa, Chinese general and calligrapher (b. 1601)
    • 1648 – Władysław IV Vasa, Polish son of Sigismund III Vasa (b. 1595)
    • 1677 – George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, Spanish-English politician, English Secretary of State (b. 1612)
    • 1713 – Thomas Sprat, English bishop (b. 1635)
    • 1717 – John Trevor, Welsh lawyer and politician, 102nd Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1637)
    • 1722 – Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist and mycologist (b. 1669)
    • 1732 – Thomas Boston, Scottish author and educator (b. 1676)
    • 1782 – William Emerson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1701)
    • 1793 – Charles Bonnet, Swiss botanist and biologist (b. 1720)
    • 1812 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Austrian archbishop (b. 1732)
    • 1834 – Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, French general (b. 1757)
    • 1841 – Joseph Blanco White, Spanish poet and theologian (b. 1775)
    • 1864 – John Clare, English poet (b. 1793)
    • 1873 – George-Étienne Cartier, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 9th Premier of East Canada (b. 1814)
    • 1880 – Ana Néri, Brazilian nurse and philanthropist (b. 1814)
    • 1896 – Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (b. 1819)
    • 1909 – Ernest Hogan, American actor and composer (b. 1859)
    • 1917 – Valentine Fleming, Scottish soldier and politician (b. 1887)
    • 1917 – Philipp von Ferrary, Italian stamp collector (b. 1850)
    • 1924 – Bogd Khan, Mongolian ruler (c. 1869)
    • 1925 – Joseph Howard, Maltese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1862)
    • 1931 – Ernest Noel, Scottish businessman and politician (b. 1831)
    • 1940 – Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
    • 1942 – Hector Guimard, French Architect (b. 1867)
    • 1946 – Jacob Ellehammer, Danish pilot and engineer (b. 1871)
    • 1947 – Philipp Lenard, Slovak-German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
    • 1947 – Georgios Siantos, Greek sergeant and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1949 – Damaskinos of Athens, Greek archbishop and politician, 137th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1891)
    • 1956 – Max Beerbohm, English essayist, parodist, and caricaturist (b. 1872)
    • 1956 – Zoltán Halmay, Hungarian swimmer and trainer (b. 1881)
    • 1961 – Josef Priller, German colonel and pilot (b. 1915)
    • 1964 – Rudy Lewis, American singer (b. 1936)
    • 1971 – Waldo Williams, Welsh poet and academic (b. 1904)
    • 1973 – Renzo Pasolini, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1938)
    • 1973 – Jarno Saarinen, Finnish motorcycle racer (b. 1945)
    • 1975 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor and lithographer (b. 1903)
    • 1976 – Syd Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1911)
    • 1976 – Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan journalist and politician (b. 1924)
    • 1976 – Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz, Uruguayan politician (b. 1934)
    • 1989 – John Hicks, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
    • 1989 – Gilda Radner, American actress and comedian (b. 1946)
    • 1995 – Les Cowie, Australian rugby league player (b. 1925)
    • 1996 – Jon Pertwee, English actor, portrayed the Third Doctor (b. 1919)
    • 1998 – Robert Normann, Norwegian guitarist (b. 1916)
    • 2000 – Jean-Pierre Rampal, French flute player (b. 1922)
    • 2000 – Malik Sealy, American basketball player and actor (b. 1970)
    • 2000 – Yevgeny Khrunov, Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1933)
    • 2001 – Renato Carosone, Italian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist, biologist, and academic (b. 1941)
    • 2005 – Paul Ricœur, French philosopher and academic (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – William Seawell, American general (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – Norman Von Nida, Australian golfer (b. 1914)
    • 2008 – Hamilton Jordan, American politician, 8th White House Chief of Staff (b. 1944)
    • 2009 – Arthur Erickson, Canadian architect and urban planner, designed Roy Thomson Hall (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – Lucy Gordon, American actress and model (b. 1980)
    • 2009 – Pierre Gamarra, French author, poet, and critic (b. 1919)
    • 2011 – Randy Savage, American wrestler and actor (b. 1952)
    • 2012 – Leela Dube, Indian anthropologist and scholar (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Robin Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1949)
    • 2012 – David Littman, English-Swiss historian, author, and academic (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Ken Lyons, American bass guitarist (b. 1953)
    • 2012 – Eugene Polley, American engineer, invented the remote control (b. 1915)
    • 2012 – Andrew B. Steinberg, American lawyer (b. 1958)
    • 2013 – Flavio Costantini, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Billie Dawe, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Anders Eliasson, Swedish composer (b. 1947)
    • 2013 – Miloslav Kříž, Czech basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Ray Manzarek, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1939)
    • 2013 – Denys Roberts, English judge and politician (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Zach Sobiech, American singer-songwriter (b. 1995)
    • 2014 – Sandra Bem, American psychologist and academic (b. 1944)
    • 2014 – Ross Brown, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1934)
    • 2014 – Robyn Denny, English-French painter (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Arthur Gelb, American journalist, author, and critic (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Prince Rupert Loewenstein, Spanish-English businessman (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Barbara Murray, English actress (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Bob Belden, American saxophonist, composer, and producer (b. 1956)
    • 2015 – Femi Robinson, Nigerian actor and playwright (b. 1940)

    Holidays and observances on May 20

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abercius and Helena
      • Alcuin of York
      • Aurea of Ostia
      • Austregisilus
      • Baudilus
      • Bernardino of Siena
      • Ivo of Chartres
      • Lucifer of Cagliari
      • Sanctan
      • May 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of Remembrance (Cambodia)
    • Emancipation Day (Florida)
    • European Maritime Day (European Council)
    • Independence Restoration Day, celebrates the independence of East Timor from Indonesia in 2002.
    • Josephine Baker Day (NAACP)
    • National Awakening Day (Indonesia), and its related observances:
      • Indonesian Doctor Day (Indonesia)
    • National Day (Cameroon)
    • World Bee Day
    • World Metrology Day

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

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

    Births on May 17

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

    Deaths on May 17

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

    Holidays and observances on May 17

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