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July 28 in History
- 1364 – Troops of the Republic of Pisa and the Republic of Florence clash in the Battle of Cascina.
- 1540 – Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason. Henry marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day.
- 1571 – La Laguna encomienda, known today as the Laguna province in the Philippines is founded by the Spaniards as one of the oldest encomiendas (provinces) in the country.
- 1635 – In the Eighty Years’ War the Spanish capture the strategic Dutch fortress of Schenkenschans.
- 1656 – Second Northern War: Battle of Warsaw begins.
- 1778 – Constitution of the province of Cantabria ratified at the Assembly Hall in Bárcena la Puente, Reocín, Spain.
- 1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just are executed by guillotine in Paris, France.
- 1808 – Mahmud II became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
- 1809 – Peninsular War: Battle of Talavera: Sir Arthur Wellesley’s British, Portuguese and Spanish army defeats a French force led by Joseph Bonaparte.
- 1821 – José de San Martín declares the independence of Peru from Spain.
- 1854 – USS Constellation (1854), the last all-sail warship built by the United States Navy, is commissioned.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ezra Church: Confederate troops make a third unsuccessful attempt to drive Union forces from Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1866 – At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream becomes the first and youngest female artist to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue (of Abraham Lincoln).
- 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is certified, establishing African American citizenship and guaranteeing due process of law.
- 1896 – The city of Miami, Florida is incorporated.
- 1914 – In the culmination of the July Crisis, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, igniting World War I.
- 1915 – The United States begins a 19-year occupation of Haiti.
- 1917 – The Silent Parade took place in New York City, in protest to murders, lynchings, and other violence directed towards African Americans.
- 1932 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover orders the United States Army to forcibly evict the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans gathered in Washington, D.C.
- 1935 – First flight of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
- 1938 – Hawaii Clipper disappears between Guam and Manila as the first loss of an airliner in trans-Pacific China Clipper service.
- 1939 – The Sutton Hoo helmet is discovered.
- 1942 – World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin issues Order No. 227. In response to alarming German advances, all those who retreat or otherwise leave their positions without orders to do so are to be tried in a military court, with punishment ranging from duty in a shtrafbat battalion, imprisonment in a Gulag, or execution.
- 1943 – World War II: Operation Gomorrah: The Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg, Germany causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.
- 1945 – A U.S. Army B-25 bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building killing 14 and injuring 26.
- 1957 – Heavy rain and a mudslide in Isahaya, western Kyushu, Japan, kills 992.
- 1960 – The German Volkswagen Act came into force.
- 1965 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
- 1973 – Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: Nearly 600,000 people attend a rock festival at the Watkins Glen International Raceway.
- 1974 – Spetsgruppa A, Russia’s elite special force, was formed.
- 1976 – The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 moment magnitude flattens Tangshan in the People’s Republic of China, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851.
- 1984 – The Summer Olympics officially known as the games of the XXIII were opened in Los Angeles.
- 1996 – The remains of a prehistoric man are discovered near Kennewick, Washington. Such remains will be known as the Kennewick Man.
- 2001 – Australian Ian Thorpe becomes the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single World Championship.
- 2002 – Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, are rescued after 77 hours underground.
- 2002 – Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 9560 crashes after takeoff from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, killing 14 of the 16 people on board.
- 2005 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army calls an end to its thirty-year-long armed campaign in Northern Ireland.
- 2010 – Airblue Flight 202 crashes into the Margalla Hills north of Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 152 people aboard. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Pakistan history and the first involving an Airbus A321.
- 2011 – While flying from Seoul, South Korea to Shanghai, China, Asiana Airlines Flight 991 develops an in-flight fire in the cargo hold. The Boeing 747-400F freighter attempts to divert to Jeju International Airport, but crashes into the sea South-West of Jeju island, killing both crew members on board.
- 2017 – Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for lifetime by Supreme Court of Pakistan founding him guilty of corruption charges.
- 2018 – Australian Wendy Tuck becomes the first woman skipper to win the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Births on July 28
- 1347 – Margaret of Durazzo, Queen of Naples and Hungary (d. 1412)
- 1516 – William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, German nobleman (d. 1592)
- 1609 – Judith Leyster, Dutch painter (d. 1660)
- 1635 – Robert Hooke, English physicist and chemist (d. 1703)
- 1645 – Marguerite Louise d’Orléans, French princess (d. 1721)
- 1659 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (d. 1715)
- 1746 – Thomas Heyward, Jr., American judge and politician (d. 1809)
- 1750 – Fabre d’Églantine, French actor, playwright, and politician (d. 1794)
- 1783 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, German army officer and writer (d. 1860)
- 1796 – Ignaz Bösendorfer, Austrian businessman, founded the Bösendorfer Company (d. 1859)
- 1804 – Ludwig Feuerbach, German anthropologist and philosopher (d. 1872)
- 1815 – Stefan Dunjov, Bulgarian colonel (d. 1889)
- 1844 – Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (d. 1889)
- 1857 – Ballington Booth, English-American activist, co-founded Volunteers of America (d. 1940)
- 1860 – Elias M. Ammons, American businessman and politician, 19th Governor of Colorado (d. 1925)
- 1860 – Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (d. 1922)
- 1863 – Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski, Russian general (d. 1919)
- 1866 – Beatrix Potter, English children’s book writer and illustrator (d. 1943)
- 1866 – Albertson Van Zo Post, American fencer (d. 1938)
- 1867 – Charles Dillon Perrine, American-Argentinian astronomer (d. 1951)
- 1872 – Albert Sarraut, French journalist and politician, 106th Prime Minister of France (d. 1962)
- 1874 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (d. 1945)
- 1879 – Lucy Burns, American activist, co-founded the National Woman’s Party (d. 1966)
- 1879 – Stefan Filipkiewicz, Polish painter (d. 1944)
- 1887 – Marcel Duchamp, French-American painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
- 1887 – Willard Price, Canadian-American journalist and author (d. 1983)
- 1893 – Rued Langgaard, Danish organist and composer (d. 1952)
- 1896 – Barbara La Marr, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1926)
- 1898 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1901 – Freddie Fitzsimmons, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1979)
- 1901 – Rudy Vallée, American actor, singer, and saxophonist (d. 1986)
- 1902 – Albert Namatjira, Australian painter (d. 1959)
- 1902 – Sir Karl Popper, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
- 1907 – Earl Tupper, American inventor and businessman, founded Tupperware Brands (d. 1983)
- 1909 – Aenne Burda, German publisher (d. 2005)
- 1909 – Malcolm Lowry, English novelist and poet (d. 1957)
- 1914 – Carmen Dragon, American conductor and composer (d. 1984)
- 1915 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
- 1915 – Dick Sprang, American illustrator (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Frankie Yankovic, American polka musician (d. 1998)
- 1916 – David Brown, American journalist and producer (d. 2010)
- 1920 – Andrew V. McLaglen, English-American director and producer (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Jacques Piccard, Belgian-Swiss oceanographer and engineer (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Ray Ellis, American conductor and producer (d. 2008)
- 1924 – Luigi Musso, Italian race car driver (d. 1958)
- 1924 – C. T. Vivian, American minister, author, and activist
- 1925 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Charlie Biddle, American-Canadian bassist (d. 2003)
- 1927 – John Ashbery, American poet (d. 2017)
- 1929 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist and socialite, 37th First Lady of the United States (d. 1994)
- 1929 – Shirley Ann Grau, American novelist and short story writer
- 1930 – Firoza Begum, Bangladeshi singer (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Junior Kimbrough, American singer and guitarist (d. 1998)
- 1930 – Jean Roba, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 2006)
- 1930 – Ramsey Muir Withers, Canadian general (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Alan Brownjohn, English poet and author
- 1931 – Johnny Martin, Australian cricketer (d. 1992)
- 1932 – Natalie Babbitt, American author and illustrator (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, Brazilian colonel (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Charlie Hodge, Canadian ice hockey player and scout (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Jacques d’Amboise, American dancer and choreographer
- 1935 – Neil McKendrick, English historian and academic
- 1936 – Russ Jackson, Canadian football player and coach
- 1936 – Garfield Sobers, Barbadian cricketer
- 1937 – Francis Veber, French director and screenwriter
- 1938 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
- 1938 – Arsen Dedić, Croatian singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2015)
- 1938 – Alberto Fujimori, Peruvian engineer, academic, and politician, 90th President of Peru
- 1938 – Chuan Leekpai, Thai lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Thailand
- 1939 – Richard Johns, English air marshal
- 1940 – Philip Proctor, American voice actor and screenwriter
- 1941 – Riccardo Muti, Italian conductor and educator
- 1941 – Susan Roces, Filipino actress and producer
- 1942 – Marty Brennaman, American sportscaster
- 1942 – Tonia Marketaki, Greek director and screenwriter (d. 1994)
- 1943 – Mike Bloomfield, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1981)
- 1943 – Bill Bradley, American basketball player and politician
- 1943 – Richard Wright, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2008)
- 1945 – Jim Davis, American cartoonist, created Garfield
- 1946 – Jonathan Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Linda Kelsey, American actress
- 1946 – Fahmida Riaz, Pakistani poet and activist
- 1947 – Peter Cosgrove, Australian general and politician, 26th Governor General of Australia
- 1947 – Sally Struthers, American actress
- 1948 – Gerald Casale, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director
- 1948 – Eiichi Ohtaki, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Vida Blue, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1949 – Peter Doyle, Australian singer and guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1949 – Simon Kirke, English drummer
- 1949 – Steve Peregrin Took, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1980)
- 1949 – Randall Wallace, American screenwriter and producer
- 1950 – Shahyar Ghanbari, Iranian singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Tapley Seaton, Kittitian politician, 4th Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis
- 1951 – Santiago Calatrava, Spanish architect and engineer, designed the Athens Olympic Sports Complex
- 1951 – Doug Collins, American basketball player and coach
- 1951 – Gregg Giuffria, American rock musician and businessman
- 1951 – Ray Kennedy, English footballer
- 1952 – Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand
- 1954 – Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan colonel and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Gerd Faltings, German mathematician and academic
- 1954 – Steve Morse, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Mikey Sheehy, Irish footballer
- 1955 – Nikolay Zimyatov, Russian skier
- 1956 – John Feinstein, American journalist and author
- 1956 – Robert Swan, English explorer
- 1958 – Terry Fox, Canadian runner and activist (d. 1981)
- 1958 – Michael Hitchcock, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1959 – William T. Vollmann, American novelist, short story writer and journalist
- 1960 – Luiz Fernando Carvalho, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Jon J. Muth, American author and illustrator
- 1960 – Yōichi Takahashi, Japanese illustrator
- 1961 – Yannick Dalmas, French race car driver
- 1962 – Rachel Sweet, American singer, television writer, and actress
- 1964 – Lori Loughlin, American actress
- 1965 – Priscilla Chan, Hong Kong singer
- 1966 – Sossina M. Haile, Ethiopian American chemist
- 1966 – Miguel Ángel Nadal, Spanish footballer
- 1966 – Jimmy Pardo, American stand-up comedian, actor, and host
- 1966 – Shikao Suga, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Taka Hirose, Japanese bass player
- 1969 – Garth Snow, American ice hockey player and manager
- 1969 – Alexis Arquette, American actress (d. 2016)
- 1970 – Michael Amott, Swedish guitarist and songwriter
- 1970 – Isabelle Brasseur, Canadian figure skater
- 1970 – Paul Strang, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
- 1971 – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Iraqi leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- 1971 – Ludmilla Lacueva Canut, Andorran writer
- 1971 – Stephen Lynch, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1971 – Annie Perreault, Canadian speed skater
- 1972 – Robert Chapman, English cricketer
- 1973 – Marc Dupré, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1973 – Steve Staios, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 – Alexis Tsipras, Greek engineer and politician, 186th Prime Minister of Greece
- 1974 – Elizabeth Berkley, American actress
- 1975 – Leonor Watling, Spanish actress
- 1976 – Jacoby Shaddix, American singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Aki Berg, Finnish-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Manu Ginóbili, Argentinian basketball player
- 1977 – Miyabiyama Tetsushi, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1978 – Kārlis Vērdiņš, Latvian poet
- 1978 – Hitomi Yaida, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Henrik Hansen, Danish footballer
- 1979 – Birgitta Haukdal, Icelandic singer-songwriter and producer
- 1979 – Lee Min-woo, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1979 – Alena Popchanka, Belarusian-French swimmer and coach
- 1980 – Stephen Christian, American singer-songwriter
- 1980 – Anthony Weaver, American football player
- 1981 – Michael Carrick, English footballer
- 1983 – Sam Dastyari, Iranian-Australian politician
- 1983 – Cody Hay, Canadian figure skater
- 1984 – Zach Parise, American ice hockey player
- 1985 – Mathieu Debuchy, French footballer
- 1985 – Dustin Milligan, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1985 – Darren Murphy, Irish footballer
- 1986 – Alexandra Chando, American actress
- 1986 – Lauri Korpikoski, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1986 – Dulquer Salmaan, Indian actor
- 1987 – Yasser Corona, Mexican footballer
- 1987 – Yevhen Khacheridi, Ukrainian-Greek footballer
- 1987 – Pedro, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Greg Hardy, American football player
- 1989 – Felipe Kitadai, Brazilian martial artist
- 1990 – Soulja Boy, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1990 – Simone Pizzuti, Italian footballer
- 1993 – Harry Kane, English footballer
- 1993 – Moses Odubajo, English footballer
- 1993 – Cher Lloyd, English singer-songwriter
- 1995 – Josh Addo-Carr, Australian rugby league player
Deaths on July 28
- 450 – Theodosius II, Roman emperor (b. 401)
- 938 – Thankmar, half-brother of Otto I (during Siege of Eresburg) (b. c. 908)
- 942 – Shi Jingtang, emperor of Later Jin (b. 892)
- 1057 – Victor II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1018)
- 1128 – William Clito, English son of Sybilla of Conversano (b. 1102)
- 1230 – Leopold VI, Duke of Austria (b. 1176)
- 1271 – Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster (b. 1220)
- 1285 – Keran, Queen of Armenia
- 1333 – Guy VIII of Viennois, Dauphin of Vienne (b. 1309)
- 1345 – Sancia of Majorca, queen regent of Naples (b. c. 1285)
- 1458 – John II, king of Cyprus and Armenia
- 1488 – Edward Woodville, Lord Scales (at the Battle of St. Aubin-du-Cormier)
- 1508 – Robert Blackadder, bishop of Glasgow
- 1527 – Rodrigo de Bastidas, Spanish explorer, founded the city of Santa Marta (b. 1460)
- 1540 – Thomas Cromwell, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1495)
- 1585 – Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (b. 1527)
- 1631 – Guillén de Castro y Bellvis, Spanish playwright (b. 1569)
- 1655 – Cyrano de Bergerac, French poet and playwright (b. 1619)
- 1667 – Abraham Cowley, English poet and author (b. 1618)
- 1675 – Bulstrode Whitelocke, English lawyer and politician (b. 1605)
- 1685 – Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, English politician and diplomat, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1618)
- 1718 – Étienne Baluze, French scholar and academic (b. 1630)
- 1741 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1678)
- 1750 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German organist and composer (b. 1685)
- 1762 – George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset (b. 1691)
- 1794 – Maximilien Robespierre, French lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the Committee of Public Safety (b. 1758)
- 1794 – Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, French soldier and politician (b. 1767)
- 1808 – Selim III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1761)
- 1809 – Richard Beckett, English cricketer and captain (b.1772)
- 1818 – Gaspard Monge, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1746)
- 1835 – Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise, French general and politician, 15th Prime Minister of France (b. 1768)
- 1836 – Nathan Mayer Rothschild, German-English banker and financier (b. 1777)
- 1842 – Clemens Brentano, German author and poet (b. 1778)
- 1844 – Joseph Bonaparte, French diplomat and brother of Napoleon (b. 1768)
- 1849 – Charles Albert of Sardinia (b. 1798)
- 1869 – Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Czech anatomist and physiologist (b. 1787)
- 1878 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician (b. 1820)
- 1885 – Moses Montefiore, British philanthropist, sheriff and banker (b. 1784)
- 1895 – Edward Beecher, American minister and theologian (b. 1803)
- 1930 – John DeWitt, American hammer thrower (b. 1881)
- 1930 – Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish ophthalmologist and optician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
- 1933 – Nishinoumi Kajirō III, Japanese sumo wrestler, 30th yokozuna (b. 1890)
- 1934 – Marie Dressler, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1868)
- 1934 – Louis Tancred, South African cricketer and pilot (b. 1876)
- 1935 – Meletius IV of Constantinople (b. 1871)
- 1942 – Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic (b. 1853)
- 1946 – Saint Alphonsa, first woman of Indian origin to be Canonization as a saint by the Catholic Church (b. 1910)
- 1957 – Edith Abbott, American economist, social worker, and educator (b. 1876)
- 1957 – Isaac Heinemann, German-Israeli scholar and academic (b. 1876)
- 1965 – Edogawa Ranpo, Japanese author and critic (b. 1894)
- 1965 – Attallah Suheimat, Jordanian politician (b. 1875)
- 1967 – Karl W. Richter, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1942)
- 1968 – Otto Hahn, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- 1969 – Ramón Grau, Cuban physician and politician, 6th President of Cuba (b. 1882)
- 1969 – Frank Loesser, American composer (b. 1910)
- 1971 – Lawrence Moore Cosgrave, Canadian colonel and diplomat (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Myril Hoag, American baseball player (b. 1908)
- 1971 – Charles E. Pont, French-American minister and painter (b. 1898)
- 1972 – Helen Traubel, American soprano and actress (b. 1903)
- 1979 – Don Miller, American football player and coach (b. 1902)
- 1979 – Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader (b. 1898)
- 1980 – Rose Rand, Austrian-born American logician and philosopher (b. 1903)
- 1981 – Stanley Rother, American priest and missionary (b. 1935)
- 1982 – Keith Green, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1953)
- 1987 – Jack Renshaw, Australian politician, 31st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1909)
- 1990 – Jill Esmond, English actress (b. 1908)
- 1992 – Sulev Nõmmik, Estonian actor and director (b. 1931)
- 1993 – Stanley Woods, Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist and academic (b. 1908)
- 1997 – Rosalie Crutchley, English actress (b. 1920)
- 1997 – Seni Pramoj, Thai lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1905)
- 1998 – Zbigniew Herbert, Polish poet and author (b. 1924)
- 1998 – Lenny McLean, English boxer, actor, and author (b. 1949)
- 1998 – Consalvo Sanesi, Italian race car driver (b. 1911)
- 1999 – Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- 2000 – Abraham Pais, Dutch-American physicist and historian (b. 1918)
- 2001 – Ahmed Sofa, Bangladeshi poet, author, and critic (b. 1943)
- 2002 – Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
- 2003 – Valerie Goulding, Irish activist and politician (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Francis Crick, English biologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Tiziano Terzani, Italian journalist and author (b. 1938)
- 2006 – David Gemmell, English author (b. 1948)
- 2007 – Karl Gotch, Belgian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Jim LeRoy, American soldier and pilot (b. 1961)
- 2009 – Jim Johnson, American football player and coach (b. 1941)
- 2011 – Abdul Fatah Younis, Libyan general (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Colin Horsley, New Zealand-English pianist and educator (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Sepp Mayerl, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1937)
- 2012 – William F. Milliken Jr., American race car driver and engineer (b. 1911)
- 2013 – Mustafa Adrisi, Ugandan general and politician, 3rd Vice President of Uganda (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Eileen Brennan, American actress and singer (b. 1932)
- 2013. – Rita Reys, Dutch jazz singer (b. 1924)
- 2013 – William Scranton, American captain and politician, 13th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Ersilio Tonini, Italian cardinal (b. 1914)
- 2014 – Margot Adler, American journalist and author (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Alex Forbes, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Alakbar Mammadov, Azerbaijani footballer and manager (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Theodore Van Kirk, American soldier, pilot, and navigator (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Jan Kulczyk, Polish businessman (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Edward Natapei, Vanuatuan politician, 6th Prime Minister of Vanuatu (b. 1954)
- 2015 – Clive Rice, South African cricketer and coach (b. 1949)
- 2016 – Émile Derlin Zinsou, Beninese politician (b. 1918)
- 2016 – Mahasweta Devi, Indian Bengali fiction writer and socio-political activist (b. 1926)
- 2018 – Wanny van Gils, Dutch footballer (b. 1959)
Holidays and observances on July 28
- Christian feast day:
- Alphonsa Muttathupadathu (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)
- Botvid
- Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel, Henry Purcell (Episcopal Church commemoration)
- Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Schütz, George Frederick Handel (Lutheran commemoration)
- Nazarius and Celsus
- Pedro Poveda Castroverde
- Pope Innocent I
- Pope Victor I
- Samson of Dol
- July 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval (Canada)
- Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, while August 3 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before the first Monday in August (Bermuda)
- Fiestas Patrias, celebrates the independence of Peru from Spain by General José de San Martín in 1821.
- Liberation Day (San Marino)
- Ólavsøka Eve (Faroe Islands)
- World Hepatitis Day
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June 27 in History
- 1358 – The Republic of Ragusa is founded.
- 1497 – Cornish rebels Michael An Gof and Thomas Flamank are executed at Tyburn, London, England.
- 1556 – The thirteen Stratford Martyrs are burned at the stake near London for their Protestant beliefs.
- 1743 – In the Battle of Dettingen, George II becomes the last reigning British monarch to participate in a battle.
- 1760 – Anglo-Cherokee War: Cherokee warriors defeat British forces at the Battle of Echoee near present-day Otto, North Carolina.
- 1806 – British forces take Buenos Aires during the first of the British invasions of the River Plate.
- 1844 – Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, and his brother Hyrum Smith, are killed by a mob at the Carthage, Illinois jail.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Confederate forces defeat Union forces during the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain during the Atlanta Campaign.
- 1869 – The Republic of Ezo on the island of Hokkaido ends after being defeated by Japanese Imperial troops.
- 1895 – The inaugural run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
- 1898 – The first solo circumnavigation of the globe is completed by Joshua Slocum from Briar Island, Nova Scotia.
- 1905 – During the Russo-Japanese War, sailors start a mutiny aboard the Russian battleship Potemkin.
- 1908 – A group of Vietnamese tirailleurs conducts a failed attempt to poison the entire French army’s garrison in the Hanoi Citadel with the aim to make way for Hoàng Hoa Thám’s rebel army to capture Hanoi.
- 1923 – Capt. Lowell H. Smith and Lt. John P. Richter perform the first ever aerial refueling in a DH.4B biplane.
- 1927 – Prime Minister of Japan Tanaka Giichi convenes an eleven-day conference to discuss Japan’s strategy in China. The Tanaka Memorial, a forged plan for world domination, is later claimed to be a secret report leaked from this conference.
- 1941 – Romanian authorities launch one of the most violent pogroms in Jewish history in the city of Iași, resulting in the murder of at least 13,266 Jews.
- 1941 – World War II: German troops capture the city of Białystok during Operation Barbarossa.
- 1946 – In the Canadian Citizenship Act, the Parliament of Canada establishes the definition of Canadian citizenship.
- 1950 – The United States decides to send troops to fight in the Korean War.
- 1954 – The Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, the Soviet Union’s first nuclear power station, opens in Obninsk, near Moscow.
- 1954 – The FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match between Hungary and Brazil, highly anticipated to be exciting, instead turns violent, with three players ejected and further fighting continuing after the game.
- 1957 – Hurricane Audrey makes landfall near the Texas–Louisiana border, killing over 400 people, mainly in and around Cameron, Louisiana.
- 1973 – The President of Uruguay Juan María Bordaberry dissolves Parliament and establishes a dictatorship.
- 1974 – U.S. president Richard Nixon visits the Soviet Union.
- 1976 – Air France Flight 139 (Tel Aviv-Athens-Paris) is hijacked en route to Paris by the PLO and redirected to Entebbe, Uganda.
- 1977 – France grants independence to Djibouti.
- 1980 – The ‘Ustica massacre’: Itavia Flight 870 crashes in the sea while en route from Bologna to Palermo, Italy, killing all 81 on board.
- 1981 – The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issues its “Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China”, laying the blame for the Cultural Revolution on Mao Zedong.
- 1982 – Space Shuttle Columbia launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the final research and development flight mission, STS-4.
- 1988 – The Gare de Lyon rail accident in Paris, France, kills 56 people.
- 1991 – Slovenia, after declaring independence two days before is invaded by Yugoslav troops, tanks, and aircraft starting the Ten-Day War.
- 1994 – Members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult release sarin gas in Matsumoto, Japan. Seven people are killed, 660 injured.
- 2007 – Tony Blair resigns as British Prime Minister, a position he had held since 1997. His Chancellor, Gordon Brown succeeds him.
- 2007 – The Brazilian Military Police invades the favelas of Complexo do Alemão in an episode which is remembered as the Complexo do Alemão massacre.
- 2008 – In a highly scrutinized election President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe is re-elected in a landslide after his opponent Morgan Tsvangirai had withdrawn a week earlier, citing violence against his party’s supporters.
- 2013 – NASA launches the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph, a space probe to observe the Sun.
- 2014 – At least fourteen people are killed when a Gas Authority of India Limited pipeline explodes in the East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, India.
- 2015 – Formosa Fun Coast fire: A dust fire occurs at a recreational water park in Taiwan, killing 15 people and injuring 497 others, 199 critically.
- 2017 – A series of powerful cyberattacks using the Petya malware target websites of Ukrainian organizations and counterparts with Ukrainian connections around the globe.
Births on June 27
- 850 – Ibrahim II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid emir (d. 902)
- 1350 – Manuel II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1425)
- 1430 – Henry Holland, 3rd Duke of Exeter, Lancastrian leader (d. 1475)
- 1462 – Louis XII, king of France (d. 1515)
- 1464 – Ernst II of Saxony, Archbishop of Magdeburg (1476–1513) (d. 1513)
- 1497 – Ernest I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1546)
- 1550 – Charles IX, king of France (d. 1574)
- 1596 – Maximilian, Prince of Dietrichstein (d. 1655)
- 1696 – William Pepperrell, American merchant and soldier (d. 1759)
- 1717 – Louis-Guillaume Le Monnier, French botanist and physicist (d. 1799)
- 1767 – Alexis Bouvard, French astronomer and academic (d. 1843)
- 1805 – Napoléon Coste, French guitarist and composer (d. 1883)
- 1806 – Augustus De Morgan, English mathematician and logician (d. 1871)
- 1812 – Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy Waterston, American writer (d. 1899)
- 1817 – Louise von François, German author (d. 1893)
- 1828 – Bryan O’Loghlen, Irish-Australian politician, 13th Premier of Victoria (d. 1905)
- 1838 – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, Indian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1894)
- 1838 – Paul Mauser, German weapon designer, designed the Gewehr 98 (d. 1914)
- 1846 – Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish politician (d. 1891)
- 1850 – Jørgen Pedersen Gram, Danish mathematician and academic (d. 1919)
- 1850 – Lafcadio Hearn, Greek-Japanese historian and author (d. 1904)
- 1862 – May Irwin, Canadian-American actress and singer (d. 1938)
- 1865 – John Monash, Australian engineer and general (d. 1931)
- 1869 – Kate Carew, American illustrator and journalist (d. 1961)
- 1869 – Emma Goldman, Lithuanian-Canadian philosopher and activist (d. 1940)
- 1869 – Hans Spemann, German embryologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
- 1870 – Frank Rattray Lillie, American zoologist and embryologist (d. 1947)
- 1872 – Heber Doust Curtis, American astronomer (d. 1942)
- 1872 – Paul Laurence Dunbar, American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1906)
- 1880 – Helen Keller, American author, academic, and activist (d. 1968)
- 1882 – Eduard Spranger, German philosopher and academic (d. 1963)
- 1884 – Gaston Bachelard, French philosopher and poet (d. 1962)
- 1885 – Pierre Montet, French historian and academic (d. 1966)
- 1885 – Guilhermina Suggia, Portuguese cellist (d. 1950)
- 1886 – Charlie Macartney, Australian cricketer and soldier (d. 1958)
- 1888 – Lewis Bernstein Namier, Polish-English historian and academic (d. 1960)
- 1888 – Antoinette Perry, American actress and director (d. 1946)
- 1892 – Paul Colin, French illustrator (d. 1985)
- 1899 – Juan Trippe, American businessman, founded Pan American World Airways (d. 1981)
- 1900 – Dixie Brown, British boxer (d. 1957)
- 1901 – Merle Tuve, American geophysicist and academic (d. 1982)
- 1905 – Armand Mondou, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1976)
- 1906 – Catherine Cookson, English author and philanthropist (d. 1998)
- 1906 – Vernon Watkins, Welsh-American poet and painter (d. 1967)
- 1907 – John McIntire, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1908 – João Guimarães Rosa, Brazilian physician and author (d. 1967)
- 1911 – Marion M. Magruder, American Marine officer, commander of the VMF(N)-533 squadron. (d. 1997)
- 1912 – E. R. Braithwaite, Guyanese novelist, writer, teacher, and diplomat (d. 2016)
- 1913 – Elton Britt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1972)
- 1913 – Philip Guston, American painter and academic (d. 1980)
- 1913 – Willie Mosconi, American pool player (d. 1993)
- 1914 – Robert Aickman, English author and activist, co-founded the Inland Waterways Association (d. 1981)
- 1914 – Helena Benitez, Filipina academic and administrator (d. 2016)
- 1914 – Margaret Ekpo, Nigerian women’s rights activist, social mobilizer and politician (d. 2006)
- 1914 – Giorgio Almirante, Italian journalist and politician (d. 1988)
- 1915 – Grace Lee Boggs, American philosopher, author, and activist (d. 2015)
- 1915 – Aideu Handique, Indian actress (d. 2002)
- 1915 – John Alexander Moore, American zoologist and academic (d. 2002)
- 1916 – Robert Normann, Norwegian guitarist (d. 1998)
- 1918 – Adolph Kiefer, American swimmer (d. 2017)
- 1919 – M. Carl Holman, American author, educator, poet, and playwright (d. 1988)
- 1919 – Amala Shankar, Indian danseuse
- 1920 – Fernando Riera, Chilean football player and manager (d. 2010)
- 1921 – Muriel Pavlow, English actress (d. 2019)
- 1922 – George Walker, American composer (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Jacques Berthier, French organist and composer (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Elmo Hope, American pianist and composer (d. 1967)
- 1924 – Bob Appleyard, English cricketer and businessman (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Leonard Lerman, American geneticist and biologist (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Doc Pomus, American singer-songwriter (d. 1991)
- 1925 – Wayne Terwilliger, American second baseman, coach, and manager
- 1927 – Bob Keeshan, American actor and producer (d. 2004)
- 1928 – James Lincoln Collier, American journalist and author
- 1928 – Rudy Perpich, American dentist and politician, 34th Governor of Minnesota (d. 1995)
- 1929 – Dick the Bruiser, American football player and wrestler (d. 1991)
- 1929 – Peter Maas, American journalist and author (d. 2001)
- 1930 – Ross Perot, American businessman and politician (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Charles Bronfman, Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist
- 1931 – Martinus J. G. Veltman, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1932 – Eddie Kasko, American baseball player and manager (d. 2020)
- 1932 – Anna Moffo, American operatic soprano (d. 2006)
- 1932 – Hugh Wood, English composer
- 1936 – Lucille Clifton, American author and poet (d. 2010)
- 1936 – Shirley Anne Field, English actress
- 1937 – Joseph P. Allen, American physicist and astronaut
- 1937 – Otto Herrigel, Namibian lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Kirkpatrick Sale, American author and scholar
- 1938 – Bruce Babbitt, American lawyer and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Interior
- 1938 – David Hope, Baron Hope of Craighead, Scottish lieutenant and judge
- 1938 – Konrad Kujau, German illustrator (d. 2000)
- 1939 – R. D. Burman, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 1994)
- 1939 – Neil Hawke, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 2000)
- 1940 – Ian Lang, Baron Lang of Monkton, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1941 – Bill Baxley, American lawyer and politician, 24th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
- 1941 – James P. Hogan, English-Irish author (d. 2010)
- 1941 – Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
- 1942 – Bruce Johnston, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1942 – Frank Mills, Canadian pianist and composer
- 1942 – Danny Schechter, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1943 – Ravi Batra, Indian-American economist and academic
- 1944 – Angela King, English environmentalist and author, co-founded Common Ground
- 1944 – Patrick Sercu, Belgian cyclist (d. 2019)
- 1945 – Joey Covington, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (d. 2013)
- 1945 – Norma Kamali, American fashion designer
- 1945 – Ragnar Søderlind, Norwegian composer
- 1948 – Camile Baudoin, American guitarist
- 1949 – Vera Wang, American fashion designer
- 1951 – Ulf Andersson, Swedish chess player
- 1951 – Julia Duffy, American actress
- 1951 – Gilson Lavis, English drummer and portrait artist
- 1951 – Mary McAleese, Irish academic and politician, 8th President of Ireland
- 1952 – Madan Bhandari, Nepalese politician (d. 1993)
- 1953 – Igor Gräzin, Estonian academic and politician
- 1953 – Alice McDermott, American novelist
- 1954 – Richard Ibbotson, English admiral
- 1955 – Isabelle Adjani, French actress
- 1956 – Heiner Dopp, German field hockey player and politician
- 1957 – Gabriella Dorio, Italian runner
- 1958 – Lisa Germano, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1958 – Jeffrey Lee Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
- 1959 – Dan Jurgens, American author and illustrator
- 1959 – Lorrie Morgan, American singer
- 1960 – Craig Hodges, American basketball player and coach
- 1960 – Robert King, English harpsichordist and conductor
- 1960 – Jeremy Swift, English actor
- 1962 – Michael Ball, English actor and singer
- 1962 – Sunanda Pushkar, India-born Canadian businesswoman (d. 2014)
- 1963 – Wendy Alexander, Scottish politician, Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning
- 1963 – Johnny Benson Jr., American race car driver
- 1964 – Stephan Brenninkmeijer, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1964 – Chuck Person, American basketball player and coach
- 1965 – Simon Sebag Montefiore, English journalist, historian, and author
- 1965 – S. Manikavasagam, Malaysian politician and social activist
- 1965 – Óscar Vega, Spanish boxer
- 1966 – J.J. Abrams, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Jörg Bergen, German footballer and manager
- 1966 – Jeff Conine, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1966 – Aigars Kalvītis, Latvian politician, businessman, and former Prime Minister of Latvia
- 1967 – Sylvie Fréchette, Canadian swimmer and coach
- 1967 – George Hamilton, Northern Irish police officer
- 1967 – Vasiliy Kaptyukh, Belarusian discus thrower
- 1967 – Phil Kearns, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1968 – Kelly Ayotte, American lawyer and politician, New Hampshire Attorney General
- 1969 – Viktor Petrenko, Ukrainian figure skater
- 1970 – Régine Cavagnoud, French skier (d. 2001)
- 1970 – John Eales, Australian rugby player and businessman
- 1970 – Jim Edmonds, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Jo Frost, English nanny, television personality, and author
- 1971 – Serginho, Brazilian footballer
- 1972 – Dawud Wharnsby, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1973 – Abbath Doom Occulta, Norwegian musician
- 1973 – Simon Archer, English badminton player
- 1974 – Christian Kane, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1974 – Christopher O’Neill, English-American businessman
- 1975 – Ace Darling, American wrestler
- 1975 – Bianca Del Rio, American drag queen & comedian
- 1975 – Sarah Evanetz, Canadian swimmer
- 1975 – Tobey Maguire, American actor
- 1975 – Daryle Ward, American baseball player
- 1976 – Johnny Estrada, American baseball player
- 1976 – Leigh Nash, American singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Arkadiusz Radomski, Polish footballer
- 1978 – Apparat, German musician
- 1980 – Hugo Campagnaro, Argentinian footballer
- 1980 – Jennifer Goodridge, American keyboard player
- 1980 – Alexander Peya, Austrian tennis player
- 1980 – Kevin Pietersen, South African-English cricketer
- 1980 – Craig Terrill, American football player
- 1981 – Andrew Embley, Australian footballer
- 1983 – Jim Johnson, American baseball player
- 1983 – Dale Steyn, South African cricketer
- 1983 – Nikola Rakočević, Serbian actor
- 1984 – Khloé Kardashian, American model, businesswoman, and radio host
- 1984 – D.J. King, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Jose Holebas, German-Greek footballer
- 1984 – Gökhan Inler, Swiss footballer
- 1985 – James Hook, Welsh rugby player
- 1985 – Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russian tennis player
- 1985 – Nico Rosberg, German race car driver
- 1986 – Sam Claflin, British actor
- 1986 – Drake Bell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1986 – Bryan Fletcher, American skier
- 1986 – LaShawn Merritt, American sprinter
- 1987 – India de Beaufort, English actress
- 1987 – Ed Westwick, English actor
- 1988 – Stefani Bismpikou, Greek gymnast
- 1988 – Matthew Spiranovic, Australian footballer
- 1988 – Kate Ziegler, American swimmer
- 1989 – Hana Birnerová, Czech tennis player
- 1989 – Matthew Lewis, English actor
- 1992 – Ahn So-hee, South Korean singer and actress
- 1992 – Karthika Nair, Indian film actress
- 1993 – Johanna Talihärm, Estonian biathlete
- 1993 – Alberto Campbell-Staines, Australian athlete
- 1994 – Anita Husarić, Bosnian tennis player
- 1995 – Monté Morris, American basketball player
Deaths on June 27
- 992 – Conan I of Rennes, Duke of Brittany
- 1162 – Odo II, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1118)
- 1194 – King Sancho VI of Navarre (b. 1132)
- 1296 – Floris V, Count of Holland (b. 1254)
- 1458 – Alfonso V of Aragon (b. 1396)
- 1497 – Michael An Gof, rebel leader
- 1497 – Thomas Flamank, rebel leader
- 1574 – Giorgio Vasari, Italian historian, painter, and architect (b. 1511)
- 1601 – Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys (b. 1525)
- 1603 – Jan Dymitr Solikowski, Polish archbishop (b. 1539)
- 1627 – John Hayward, English historian, journalist, and politician (b. 1564)
- 1636 – Date Masamune, Japanese strongman (b. 1567)
- 1654 – Johannes Valentinus Andreae, German theologian (b. 1586)
- 1655 – Eleonora Gonzaga, Holy Roman Empress (b. 1598)
- 1672 – Roger Twysden, English historian and politician (b. 1597)
- 1720 – Guillaume Amfrye de Chaulieu, French poet and author (b. 1639)
- 1794 – Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (b. 1711)
- 1794 – Philippe de Noailles, French general (b. 1715)
- 1827 – Johann Gottfried Eichhorn, German theologian and academic (b. 1754)
- 1829 – James Smithson, English chemist and mineralogist (b. 1765)
- 1831 – Sophie Germain, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1776)
- 1839 – Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire (b. 1780)
- 1844 – Hyrum Smith, American religious leader (b. 1800)
- 1844 – Joseph Smith, American religious leader, founded the Latter Day Saint movement (b. 1805)
- 1878 – Sidney Breese, American jurist and politician (b. 1800)
- 1894 – Giorgio Costantino Schinas, Maltese architect and civil engineer (b. 1834)
- 1896 – John Berryman, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1825)
- 1905 – Harold Mahony, Scottish-Irish tennis player (b. 1867)
- 1907 – Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, American educator, co-founded Radcliffe College (b. 1822)
- 1911 – Victor Surridge, English motorcycle racer (b. 1882)
- 1912 – George Bonnor, Australian cricketer (b. 1855)
- 1917 – Karl Allmenröder, German soldier and pilot (b. 1896)
- 1919 – Peter Sturholdt, American boxer (b. 1885)
- 1920 – Adolphe-Basile Routhier, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1839)
- 1934 – Francesco Buhagiar, Maltese politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1876)
- 1935 – Eugene Augustin Lauste, French-American inventor (b. 1857)
- 1944 – Milan Hodža, Czech journalist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (b. 1878)
- 1946 – Wanda Gág, American author and illustrator (b. 1893)
- 1949 – Frank Smythe, English botanist and mountaineer (b. 1900)
- 1950 – Milada Horáková, Czech politician, victim of judicial murder (b. 1901)
- 1952 – Max Dehn, German-American mathematician and academic (b. 1878)
- 1957 – Hermann Buhl, Austrian soldier and mountaineer (b. 1924)
- 1960 – Lottie Dod, English tennis player, golfer, and archer (b. 1871)
- 1962 – Paul Viiding, Estonian author, poet, and critic (b. 1904)
- 1967 – Jaan Lattik, Estonian pastor and politician, 9th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (b. 1878)
- 1970 – Daniel Kinsey, American hurdler and scholar (b. 1902)
- 1975 – G.I. Taylor, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1886)
- 1986 – George Nepia, New Zealand rugby player and referee (b. 1905)
- 1987 – Billy Snedden, Australian lawyer and politician, 17th Attorney-General for Australia (b. 1926)
- 1989 – A. J. Ayer, English philosopher and academic (b. 1910)
- 1991 – Milton Subotsky, American-English screenwriter and producer (b. 1921)
- 1996 – Albert R. Broccoli, American film producer (b. 1909)
- 1998 – Gilles Rocheleau, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1935)
- 1999 – Georgios Papadopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, 169th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1919)
- 2000 – Pierre Pflimlin, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1907)
- 2001 – Tove Jansson, Finnish author, illustrator, and painter (b. 1914)
- 2001 – Jack Lemmon, American actor (b. 1925)
- 2001 – Joan Sims, English actress (b. 1930)
- 2002 – John Entwistle, English singer-songwriter, bass guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
- 2002 – Robert L. J. Long, American admiral (b. 1920)
- 2003 – David Newman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 2004 – George Patton IV, American general (b. 1923)
- 2004 – Darrell Russell, American race car driver (b. 1968)
- 2005 – Shelby Foote, American historian and author (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Ray Holmes, English lieutenant and pilot (b. 1914)
- 2005 – John T. Walton, American businessman, co-founded the Children’s Scholarship Fund (b. 1946)
- 2006 – Ángel Maturino Reséndiz, Mexican serial killer (b. 1959)
- 2007 – William Hutt, Canadian actor (b. 1920)
- 2008 – Sam Manekshaw, Indian field marshal (b. 1914)
- 2009 – Gale Storm, American actress (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Corey Allen, American film and television actor, writer, director, and producer (b. 1934)
- 2011 – Mike Doyle, English footballer (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Stan Cox, English runner (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Rosemary Dobson, Australian poet and illustrator (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Stefano Borgonovo, Italian footballer (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Ian Scott, English-New Zealand painter (b. 1945)
- 2014 – Edmond Blanchard, Canadian jurist and politician (b. 1954)
- 2014 – Allen Grossman, American poet, critic, and academic (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Leslie Manigat, Haitian educator and politician, 43rd President of Haiti (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Violet Milstead, Canadian World War II aviator and bush pilot (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Rachid Solh, Lebanese politician, 48th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Zvi Elpeleg, Polish-Israeli diplomat, author, and academic (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Knut Helle, Norwegian historian and professor (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Chris Squire, English musician (bass guitarist), singer and songwriter, member of the rock band Yes (b. 1948)
- 2016 – Bud Spencer, Italian swimmer, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
- 2017 – Peter L. Berger, Austrian sociologist (b. 1929)
- 2018 – Joe Jackson, American manager, father of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson (b. 1928)
- 2018 – Liz Jackson, Australian journalist and former barrister (b. 1951)
- 2018 – William McBridge, Australian obstetrician (b. 1927)
Holidays and observances on June 27
- Christian feast day:
- Arialdo
- Crescens, one of the Seventy disciples
- Cyril of Alexandria (Coptic Church, Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion and Lutheran Church)
- Ladislaus I of Hungary
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help
- Sampson the Hospitable
- Zoilus
- June 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Canadian Multiculturalism Day (Canada)
- Commemoration Day for the Victims of the Communist Regime (Czech Republic)
- Day of Turkmen Workers of Culture and Art (Turkmenistan)
- Helen Keller Day (United States)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Djibouti from France in 1977.
- Mixed Race Day (Brazil)
- National HIV Testing Day (United States)
- National PTSD Awareness Day (United States)
- Seven Sleepers’ Day or Siebenschläfertag (Germany)
- Unity Day (Tajikistan)
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June 25 in History
- 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce.
- 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine.
- 1258 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Acre, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet sailing to relieve Acre.
- 1530 – At the Diet of Augsburg the Augsburg Confession is presented to the Holy Roman Emperor by the Lutheran princes and Electors of Germany.
- 1658 – Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Rio Nuevo during the Anglo-Spanish War.
- 1678 – Venetian Elena Cornaro Piscopia is the first woman awarded a doctorate of philosophy when she graduates from the University of Padua.
- 1741 – Maria Theresa is crowned Queen of Hungary.
- 1786 – Gavriil Pribylov discovers St. George Island of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea.
- 1788 – Virginia becomes the tenth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1848 – A photograph of the June Days uprising becomes the first known instance of photojournalism.
- 1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
- 1900 – The Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
- 1906 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania millionaire Harry Thaw shoots and kills prominent architect Stanford White.
- 1910 – The United States Congress passes the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate transport of women or girls for “immoral purposes”; the ambiguous language would be used to selectively prosecute people for years to come.
- 1910 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird is premiered in Paris, bringing him to prominence as a composer.
- 1913 – American Civil War veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913.
- 1935 – Colombia–Soviet Union relations are established.
- 1938 – Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.
- 1940 – World War II: The French armistice with Germany comes into effect.
- 1943 – The Holocaust: Jews in the Częstochowa Ghetto in Poland stage an uprising against the Nazis.
- 1943 – The left-wing German Jewish exile Arthur Goldstein is murdered in Auschwitz.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in the Nordic countries, begins.
- 1944 – World War II: United States Navy and British Royal Navy ships bombard Cherbourg to support United States Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg.
- 1944 – The final page of the comic Krazy Kat is published, exactly two months after its author George Herriman died.
- 1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is published.
- 1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
- 1960 – Cold War: Two cryptographers working for the United States National Security Agency left for vacation to Mexico, and from there defected to the Soviet Union.
- 1975 – Mozambique achieves independence from Portugal.
- 1975 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a state of internal emergency in India.
- 1976 – Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf of the state of Missouri for the suffering it had caused to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- 1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
- 1981 – Microsoft is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington.
- 1991 – Slovenia and Croatia declare their independence by referendum from Yugoslavia.
- 1993 – Kim Campbell is sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Canada.
- 1996 – The Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. servicemen.
- 1997 – An unmanned Progress spacecraft collides with the Russian space station Mir.
- 1997 – The National Hockey League approved expansion franchises for Nashville (1998), Atlanta (1999), Columbus (2000), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul (2000).
- 1998 – In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decides that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional.
- 2017 – The World Health Organization estimates that Yemen has over 200,000 cases of cholera.
Births on June 25
- 1242 – Beatrice of England (d. 1275)
- 1328 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (d. 1397)
- 1371 – Joanna II of Naples (d. 1435)
- 1484 – Bartholomeus V. Welser, German banker (d. 1561)
- 1526 – Elisabeth Parr, Marchioness of Northampton (d. 1565)
- 1560 – Wilhelm Fabry, German surgeon (d. 1634)
- 1568 – Gunilla Bielke, Queen of Sweden (d. 1597)
- 1612 – John Albert Vasa, Polish cardinal (d. 1634)
- 1709 – Francesco Araja, Italian composer (d. 1762)
- 1715 – Joseph Foullon de Doué, French soldier and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1789)
- 1755 – Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (d. 1776)
- 1799 – David Douglas, Scottish-English botanist and explorer (d. 1834)
- 1814 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist and engineer (d. 1896)
- 1825 – James Farnell, Australian politician, 8th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1888)
- 1852 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect, designed the Park Güell (d. 1926)
- 1858 – Georges Courteline, French author and playwright (d. 1929)
- 1860 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer and conductor (d. 1956)
- 1863 – Émile Francqui, Belgian soldier and diplomat (d. 1935)
- 1864 – Walther Nernst, German chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
- 1866 – Eloísa Díaz, Chilean doctor and Chile’s first female physician (d. 1950)
- 1874 – Rose O’Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (d. 1944)
- 1884 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (d. 1917)
- 1884 – Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, German-French art collector and historian (d. 1979)
- 1886 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (d. 1950)
- 1887 – George Abbott, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1887 – Frigyes Karinthy, Hungarian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1938)
- 1892 – Shirō Ishii, Japanese microbiologist and general (d. 1959)
- 1894 – Hermann Oberth, Romanian-German physicist and engineer (d. 1989)
- 1898 – Kay Sage, American painter and poet (d. 1963)
- 1900 – Marta Abba, Italian actress (d. 1988)
- 1900 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian/Soviet astronomer (d. 1969)
- 1900 – Georgia Hale, American silent film actress and real estate investor (d. 1985)
- 1900 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (d. 1979)
- 1901 – Harold Roe Bartle, American businessman and politician, 47th Mayor of Kansas City (d. 1974)
- 1902 – Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu of Japan (d. 1953)
- 1903 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1950)
- 1903 – Anne Revere, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1905 – Rupert Wildt, German-American astronomer and academic (d. 1976)
- 1907 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1908 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and academic (d. 2000)
- 1911 – William Howard Stein, American chemist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
- 1912 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Cyril Fletcher, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (d. 1990)
- 1917 – Nils Karlsson, Swedish skier (d. 2012)
- 1917 – Claude Seignolle, French author (d. 2018)
- 1918 – P. H. Newby, English soldier and author (d. 1997)
- 1920 – Lassie Lou Ahern, American actress (d. 2018)
- 1921 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian ballerina and choreographer, founded the National Ballet of Canada (d. 2007)
- 1922 – Johnny Smith, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Sam Francis, American soldier and painter (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Jamshid Amouzegar, 43rd Prime Minister of Iran (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Dimitar Isakov, Bulgarian football player
- 1924 – Madan Mohan, Iraqi-Indian composer and director (d. 1975)
- 1924 – William J. Castagna, American lawyer and judge
- 1925 – Clifton Chenier, American singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 1987)
- 1925 – June Lockhart, American actress
- 1925 – Clay Evans, American Baptist pastor (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Robert Venturi, American architect and academic (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Virginia Patton, American actress and businesswoman
- 1926 – Margaret Anstee, English diplomat (d. 2016)
- 1926 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (d. 1973)
- 1926 – Kep Enderby, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 23rd Attorney-General for Australia (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Stig Sollander, Swedish Alpine skier (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Antal Róka, Hungarian runner (d. 1970)
- 1927 – Chuck Smith, American pastor, founded the Calvary Chapel (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Arnold Wolfendale, English astronomer and academic
- 1928 – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
- 1928 – John A. Wickham Jr., United States Army general
- 1928 – Michel Brault, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Peyo, Belgian author and illustrator, created The Smurfs (d. 1992)
- 1928 – Bill Russo, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Alex Toth, American animator and screenwriter (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Eric Carle, American author and illustrator
- 1929 – Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
- 1931 – V. P. Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of India (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Peter Blake, English painter and illustrator
- 1932 – Tim Parnell, English race car driver (d. 2017)
- 1932 – George Sluizer, French-Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Álvaro Siza Vieira, Portuguese architect, designed the Porto School of Architecture
- 1934 – Jean Geissinger, American baseball player (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Jack W. Hayford, American minister and author
- 1934 – Beatriz Sheridan, Mexican actress and director (d. 2006)
- 1935 – Ray Butt, English television producer and director (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Salihu Ibrahim, Nigerian Army Officer (d. 2018)
- 1935 – Taufiq Ismail, Indonesian poet and activist
- 1935 – Larry Kramer, American author, playwright, and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (d. 2020)
- 1935 – Don Demeter, American professional baseball player
- 1935 – Tony Lanfranchi, English race car driver (d. 2004)
- 1935 – Judy Howe, American artistic gymnast
- 1935 – Charles Sheffield, English-American mathematician, physicist, and author (d. 2002)
- 1936 – B. J. Habibie, Indonesian engineer and politician, 3rd President of Indonesia (d. 2019)
- 1936 – Bert Hölldobler, German biologist and entomologist
- 1937 – Eddie Floyd, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
- 1937 – Derek Foster, Baron Foster of Bishop Auckland, English politician (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Doreen Wells, English ballerina and actress
- 1939 – Allen Fox, American tennis player and coach
- 1940 – Judy Amoore, Australian runner
- 1940 – Mary Beth Peil, American actress and singer
- 1940 – A. J. Quinnell, English-Maltese author (d. 2005)
- 1940 – Clint Warwick, English bass player (d. 2004)
- 1941 – Denys Arcand, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1941 – John Albert Raven, Scottish academic and ecologist
- 1942 – Nikiforos Diamandouros, Greek academic and politician
- 1942 – Willis Reed, American basketball player, coach, and manager
- 1942 – Michel Tremblay, Canadian author and playwright
- 1944 – Robert Charlebois, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1944 – Gary David Goldberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
- 1945 – Carly Simon, American singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Baba Gana Kingibe, Nigerian politician
- 1945 – Harry Womack, American singer (d. 1974)
- 1946 – Roméo Dallaire, Dutch-Canadian general and politician
- 1946 – Allen Lanier, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Ian McDonald, English guitarist and saxophonist
- 1947 – John Hilton, English table tennis player
- 1947 – John Powell, American discus thrower
- 1947 – Jimmie Walker, American actor and comedian
- 1949 – Richard Clarke, Irish archbishop
- 1949 – Patrick Tambay, French race car driver
- 1949 – Yoon Joo-sang, South Korean actor
- 1950 – Marcello Toninelli, Italian author and screenwriter
- 1951 – Eva Bayer-Fluckiger, Swiss mathematician and academic
- 1952 – Péter Erdő, Hungarian cardinal
- 1952 – Tim Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Martin Gerschwitz, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1952 – Alan Green, Northern Irish sportscaster
- 1952 – Kristina Abelli Elander, Swedish artist
- 1953 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and educator (d. 2013)
- 1953 – Ian Davis, Australian cricketer
- 1954 – Mario Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1954 – David Paich, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1954 – Lina Romay, Spanish actress (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Daryush Shokof, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1954 – Sonia Sotomayor, American lawyer and judge
- 1955 – Vic Marks, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1956 – Anthony Bourdain, American chef and author (d. 2018)
- 1956 – Frank Paschek, German long jumper
- 1956 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004)
- 1956 – Craig Young, Australian rugby player and coach
- 1957 – Greg Millen, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1958 – George Becali, Romanian businessman, politician
- 1959 – Lutz Dombrowski, German long jumper and educator
- 1959 – Jari Puikkonen, Finnish ski jumper
- 1959 – Bobbie Vaile, Australian astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1996)
- 1960 – Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, English-Scottish journalist and author
- 1960 – Brian Hayward, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1960 – Craig Johnston, South African-Australian footballer and photographer
- 1960 – Laurent Rodriguez, French rugby player
- 1961 – Timur Bekmambetov, Kazakh director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Ricky Gervais, English comedian, actor, director, producer and singer
- 1963 – John Benjamin Hickey, American actor
- 1963 – Yann Martel, Spanish-Canadian author
- 1963 – Doug Gilmour, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1963 – George Michael, English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
- 1963 – Mike Stanley, American baseball player
- 1964 – Dell Curry, American basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Phil Emery, Australian cricketer
- 1964 – Johnny Herbert, English race car driver and sportscaster
- 1964 – John McCrea, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1964 – Greg Raymer, American poker player and lawyer
- 1965 – Napole Polutele, French politician
- 1965 – Kerri Pottharst, Australian beach volleyball player
- 1965 – Joseph Hii Teck Kwong, Malaysian bishop
- 1966 – Dikembe Mutombo, Congolese-American basketball player
- 1967 – Tracey Spicer, Australian journalist
- 1968 – Adrian Garvey, Zimbabwean-South African rugby player
- 1968 – Vaios Karagiannis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1969 – Hunter Foster, American actor and singer
- 1969 – Zim Zum, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1970 – Ariel Gore, American journalist and author
- 1970 – Roope Latvala, Finnish guitarist
- 1970 – Erki Nool, Estonian decathlete and politician
- 1970 – Aaron Sele, American baseball player and scout
- 1971 – Karen Darke, English cyclist and author
- 1971 – Jason Gallian, Australian-English cricketer and educator
- 1971 – Rod Kafer, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Neil Lennon, Northern Irish-Scottish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Michael Tucker, American baseball player
- 1972 – Carlos Delgado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
- 1972 – Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Libyan engineer and politician
- 1973 – René Corbet, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973 – Milan Hnilička, Czech ice hockey player
- 1973 – Jamie Redknapp, English footballer and coach
- 1974 – Nisha Ganatra, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Glen Metropolit, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Kiur Aarma, Estonian journalist and producer
- 1975 – Linda Cardellini, American actress
- 1975 – Albert Costa, Spanish tennis player and coach
- 1975 – Vladimir Kramnik, Russian chess player
- 1975 – Michele Merkin, American model and television host
- 1976 – José Cancela, Uruguayan footballer
- 1976 – Iestyn Harris, Welsh rugby player and coach
- 1976 – Carlos Nieto, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1976 – Neil Walker, American swimmer
- 1978 – Aramis Ramírez, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1978 – Luke Scott, American baseball player
- 1978 – Marcus Stroud, American football player
- 1979 – Marko Albert, Estonian swimmer and triathlete
- 1979 – Richard Hughes, Scottish footballer
- 1979 – Busy Philipps, American actress
- 1981 – Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper
- 1982 – Rain, South Korean singer and actor
- 1982 – Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
- 1983 – Todd Cooper, English swimmer
- 1983 – Marc Janko, Austrian footballer
- 1984 – Lauren Bush, American model and fashion designer
- 1985 – Karim Matmour, Algerian footballer
- 1986 – Aya Matsuura, Japanese singer and actress
- 1986 – Seda Tokatlıoğlu, Turkish volleyball player
- 1988 – Jhonas Enroth, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1988 – Miguel Layún, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – Therese Johaug, Norwegian cross-country skier
- 1989 – Jack Cork, English footballer
- 1989 – Edgar Morais, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1989 – Rafael Morais, Portuguese actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1990 – Andi Eigenmann, Filipino actress
- 1991 – Liisi Rist, Estonian cyclist
- 1991 – Anna Zaja, German tennis player
- 1996 – Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazilian-American race car driver
- 1996 – Sione Mata’utia, Australian rugby league player
- 1996 – Lele Pons, Latina-American Internet personality
- 1998 – Kyle Chalmers, Australian swimmer
- 2006 – Mckenna Grace, American actress
Deaths on June 25
- 635 – Gao Zu, Chinese emperor (b. 566)
- 841 – Gerard of Auvergne, Frankish nobleman
- 841 – Ricwin of Nantes, Frankish nobleman
- 891 – Sunderolt, German archbishop
- 931 – An Chonghui, Chinese general
- 1014 – Æthelstan Ætheling, son of Æthelred the Unready
- 1031 – Sheng Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 972)
- 1134 – Niels, king of Denmark (b. 1065)
- 1218 – Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, French politician, Lord High Steward (b. 1160)
- 1291 – Eleanor of Provence, queen of England (b. 1223)
- 1337 – Frederick III, king of Sicily (b. 1272)
- 1394 – Dorothea of Montau, German hermitess (b. 1347)
- 1483 – Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, English courtier and translator (b. 1440)
- 1483 – Richard Grey, half brother of Edward V of England (b. 1458)
- 1522 – Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1451)
- 1533 – Mary Tudor, queen of France (b. 1496)
- 1579 – Hatano Hideharu, Japanese warlord (b. 1541)
- 1593 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (b. 1541)
- 1634 – John Marston, English poet and playwright (b. 1576)
- 1638 – Juan Pérez de Montalbán, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1602)
- 1665 – Sigismund Francis, archduke of Austria (b. 1630)
- 1669 – François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (b. 1616)
- 1671 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (b. 1598)
- 1673 – Charles de Batz-Castelmore d’Artagnan, French captain (b. 1611)
- 1686 – Simon Ushakov, Russian painter and educator (b. 1626)
- 1715 – Jean-Baptiste du Casse, French admiral and politician (b. 1646)
- 1767 – Georg Philipp Telemann, German composer and theorist (b. 1681)
- 1798 – Thomas Sandby, English cartographer, painter, and architect (b. 1721)
- 1822 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German composer, critic, and jurist (b. 1776)
- 1835 – Ebenezer Pemberton, American educator (b. 1746)
- 1838 – François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo, French general and engineer (b. 1774)
- 1861 – Abdülmecid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1823)
- 1866 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (b. 1803)
- 1868 – Carlo Matteucci, Italian physicist and neurophysiologist (b. 1811)
- 1870 – David Heaton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
- 1875 – Antoine-Louis Barye, French sculptor (b. 1796)
- 1876 – James Calhoun, American lieutenant (b. 1845)
- 1876 – Boston Custer, American civilian army contractor (b. 1848)
- 1876 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (b. 1839)
- 1876 – Thomas Custer, American officer, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1845)
- 1876 – Myles Keogh, Irish-American officer (b. 1840)
- 1882 – François Jouffroy, French sculptor (b. 1806)
- 1884 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (b. 1858)
- 1886 – Jean-Louis Beaudry, Canadian businessman and politician, 11th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1809)
- 1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, French engineer and politician, 5th President of France (b. 1837)
- 1906 – Stanford White, American architect, designed the Washington Square Arch (b. 1853)
- 1912 – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-British painter (b. 1836)
- 1916 – Thomas Eakins, American painter, photographer, and sculptor (b. 1844)
- 1917 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (b. 1884)
- 1918 – Jake Beckley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1867)
- 1922 – Satyendranath Dutta, Indian poet and author (b. 1882)
- 1937 – Colin Clive, British actor (b. 1900)
- 1939 – Richard Seaman, English race car driver (b. 1913)
- 1943 – Arthur Goldstein, German Jewish left-wing activist (c. 1887)
- 1944 – Dénes Berinkey, Hungarian jurist and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1871)
- 1944 – Lucha Reyes, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1906)
- 1947 – Jimmy Doyle, American boxer (b. 1924)
- 1948 – William C. Lee, American general (b. 1895)
- 1949 – Buck Freeman, American baseball player (b. 1871)
- 1949 – James Steen, American water polo player (b. 1876)
- 1950 – Maurice O’Sullivan, Irish police officer and author (b. 1904)
- 1958 – Alfred Noyes, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1880)
- 1959 – Charles Starkweather, American spree killer (b. 1938)
- 1960 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
- 1968 – Tony Hancock, English comedian and actor (b. 1924)
- 1971 – John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, Scottish physician, biologist, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1880)
- 1972 – Jan Matulka, Czech-American painter and illustrator (b. 1890)
- 1974 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (b. 1893)
- 1976 – Johnny Mercer, American singer-songwriter, co-founded Capitol Records (b. 1909)
- 1977 – Olave Baden-Powell, British Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting leader (b. 1889)
- 1977 – Endre Szervánszky, Hungarian pianist and composer (b. 1911)
- 1979 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1894)
- 1979 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (b. 1906)
- 1981 – Felipe Cossío del Pomar, Peruvian painter and political activist (b. 1888)
- 1983 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian pianist and composer (b. 1916)
- 1984 – Michel Foucault, French historian and philosopher (b. 1926)
- 1988 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1962)
- 1990 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and murderer (b. 1940)
- 1992 – Jerome Brown, American football player (b. 1965)
- 1995 – Warren E. Burger, Fifteenth Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1907)
- 1995 – Ernest Walton, Irish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat, British Ambassador to South Africa (b. 1914)
- 1997 – Jacques Cousteau, French oceanographer and explorer (b. 1910)
- 2002 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Labour (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Lester Maddox, American businessman and politician, 75th Governor of Georgia (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Morton Coutts, New Zealand inventor (b. 1904)
- 2005 – John Fiedler, American actor and voice artist (b. 1925)
- 2005 – Kâzım Koyuncu, Turkish singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1971)
- 2006 – Jaap Penraat, Dutch-American humanitarian (b. 1918)
- 2007 – J. Fred Duckett, American journalist and educator (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Jeeva, Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1963)
- 2008 – Lyall Watson, South African anthropologist and ethologist (b. 1939)
- 2009 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (b. 1947)
- 2009 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (b. 1958)
- 2009 – Sky Saxon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
- 2010 – Alan Plater, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Richard B. Sellars, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1915)
- 2011 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist and mathematician (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Goff Richards, English composer and conductor (b. 1944)
- 2011 – Margaret Tyzack, English actress (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Shigemitsu Dandō, Japanese academic and jurist (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Campbell Gillies, Scottish jockey (b. 1990)
- 2012 – George Randolph Hearst, Jr., American businessman (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Lucella MacLean, American baseball player (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Edgar Ross, American boxer (b. 1949)
- 2013 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Robert E. Gilka, American photographer and journalist (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Harry Parker, American rower and coach (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Green Wix Unthank, American soldier and judge (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Nigel Calder, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Ivan Plyushch, Ukrainian agronomist and politician (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Patrick Macnee, English actor (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Egyptian-Armenian patriarch (b. 1940)
- 2016 – Adam Small, South African writer of apartheid-period (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Richard Benjamin Harrison, American businessman and reality television personality (b. 1941)
- 2018 – David Goldblatt, South African photographer of apartheid-period (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances on June 25
- Arbor Day (Philippines)
- Christian feast day:
- David of Munktorp
- Eurosia
- Maximus (Massimo) of Turin
- Philipp Melanchthon (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
- Presentation of the Augsburg Confession (Lutheran)
- Prosper of Aquitaine
- Prosper of Reggio
- William of Montevergine
- June 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975.
- National Catfish Day (United States)
- Statehood Day (Slovenia)
- Statehood Day (Virginia)
- Teacher’s Day (Guatemala)
- World Vitiligo Day
-
May 16 in History
- 946 – Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan.
- 1204 – Having been elected on May 9, Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.
- 1426 – Gov. Thado of Mohnyin becomes king of Ava.
- 1527 – The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes itself as a republic.
- 1532 – Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.
- 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England.
- 1584 – Santiago de Vera becomes sixth Governor-General of the Spanish colony of the Philippines.
- 1739 – The Battle of Vasai concludes as the Marathas defeat the Portuguese army.
- 1770 – The 14-year-old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste, who later becomes king of France.
- 1771 – The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The “Regulators”, occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
- 1811 – Peninsular War: The allies Spain, Portugal and United Kingdom, defeat the French at the Battle of Albuera.
- 1812 – Imperial Russia signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War. The Ottoman Empire cedes Bessarabia to Russia.
- 1822 – Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.
- 1832 – Juan Godoy discovers the rich silver outcrops of Chañarcillo sparking the Chilean silver rush.
- 1834 – The Battle of Asseiceira is fought, the last and decisive engagement of the Liberal Wars in Portugal.
- 1842 – The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail from Elm Grove, Missouri, with 100 pioneers.
- 1866 – The United States Congress establishes the nickel.
- 1868 – The United States Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson by one vote.
- 1874 – A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroys much of four villages and kills 139 people.
- 1877 – The 16 May 1877 crisis occurs in France, ending with the dissolution of the National Assembly 22 June and affirming the interpretation of the Constitution of 1875 as a parliamentary rather than presidential system. The elections held in October 1877 led to the defeat of the royalists as a formal political movement in France.
- 1888 – Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
- 1891 – The International Electrotechnical Exhibition opens in Frankfurt, Germany, and will feature the world’s first long-distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electric current (the most common form today).
- 1916 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the French Third Republic sign the secret wartime Sykes-Picot Agreement partitioning former Ottoman territories such as Iraq and Syria.
- 1918 – The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government during wartime an imprisonable offense. It will be repealed less than two years later.
- 1919 – A naval Curtiss NC-4 aircraft commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.
- 1920 – In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc.
- 1929 – In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony takes place.
- 1943 – The Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.
- 1951 – The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
- 1959 – The Triton Fountain in Valletta, Malta is turned on for the first time.
- 1960 – Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
- 1961 – Park Chung-hee leads a coup d’état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea.
- 1966 – The Communist Party of China issues the “May 16 Notice”, marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
- 1969 – Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus.
- 1974 – Josip Broz Tito is elected president for life of Yugoslavia.
- 1988 – A report by the Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
- 1991 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addresses a joint session of the United States Congress. She is the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress.
- 1997 – Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, flees the country.
- 2003 – In Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
- 2005 – Kuwait permits women’s suffrage in a 35–23 National Assembly vote.
- 2011 – STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6), launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the 25th and final flight for Space Shuttle Endeavour.
- 2014 – Twelve people are killed in two explosions in the Gikomba market area of Nairobi, Kenya.
Births on May 16
- 1418 – John II of Cyprus, King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458 (probable; d. 1458)
- 1455 – Wolfgang I of Oettingen, German count (d. 1522)
- 1542 – Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German noblewoman (d. 1580)
- 1606 – John Bulwer, British doctor (d. 1656)
- 1611 – Pope Innocent XI (d. 1689)
- 1641 – Dudley North, English economist and politician (d. 1691)
- 1710 – William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, English politician, Lord Steward of the Household (d. 1782)
- 1718 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1799)
- 1763 – Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French pharmacist and chemist (d. 1829)
- 1788 – Friedrich Rückert, German poet and translator (d. 1866)
- 1801 – William H. Seward, American lawyer and politician, 24th United States Secretary of State (d. 1872)
- 1804 – Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, American educator who founded the first U.S. kindergarten (d. 1894)
- 1819 – Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Estonian journalist and poet (d. 1890)
- 1821 – Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician and statistician (d. 1894)
- 1824 – Levi P. Morton, American banker and politician, 22nd United States Vice President (d. 1920)
- 1824 – Edmund Kirby Smith, American general (d. 1893)
- 1827 – Pierre Cuypers, Dutch architect, designed the Amsterdam Centraal railway station and Rijksmuseum (d. 1921)
- 1831 – David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, co-invented the microphone (d. 1900)
- 1862 – Margaret Fountaine, English lepidopterist and diarist (d.1940)
- 1876 – Fred Conrad Koch, American biochemist and endocrinologist (d. 1948)
- 1879 – Pierre Gilliard, Swiss author and academic (d. 1962)
- 1882 – Simeon Price, American golfer (d. 1945)
- 1883 – Celâl Bayar, Turkish politician, 3rd President of Turkey (d. 1986)
- 1888 – Royal Rife, American microbiologist and instrument maker (d. 1971)
- 1890 – Edith Grace White, American ichthyologist (d. 1975)
- 1892 – Osgood Perkins, American actor (d. 1937)
- 1894 – Walter Yust, American journalist and writer (d. 1960)
- 1897 – Zvi Sliternik, Israeli entomologist and academic (d. 1994)
- 1898 – Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-American painter (d. 1980)
- 1898 – Desanka Maksimović, Serbian poet and academic (d. 1993)
- 1898 – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese director and screenwriter (d. 1956)
- 1903 – Charles F. Brannock, American inventor and manufacturer (d. 1992)
- 1905 – Henry Fonda, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1906 – Ernie McCormick, Australian cricketer (d. 1991)
- 1906 – Alfred Pellan, Canadian painter and educator (d. 1988)
- 1906 – Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan lawyer, journalist, and author (d. 2001)
- 1906 – Margret Rey, German author and illustrator (d. 1996)
- 1907 – Bob Tisdall, Irish hurdler (d. 2004)
- 1909 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress and singer (d. 1960)
- 1909 – Luigi Villoresi, Italian race car driver (d. 1997)
- 1910 – Olga Bergholz, Russian poet and author (d. 1975)
- 1910 – Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (d. 2014)
- 1910 – Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1972)
- 1912 – Studs Terkel, American historian and author (d. 2008)
- 1913 – Gordon Chalk, Australian politician, 30th Premier of Queensland (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Woody Herman, American singer, saxophonist, and clarinet player (d. 1987)
- 1914 – Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist and author (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Mario Monicelli, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1916 – Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (d. 2009)
- 1917 – Ben Kuroki, American sergeant and pilot (d. 2015)
- 1917 – James C. Murray, American lawyer and politician (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Juan Rulfo, Mexican author and photographer (d. 1986)
- 1918 – Wilf Mannion, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
- 1919 – Liberace, American pianist and entertainer (d. 1987)
- 1919 – Ramon Margalef, Spanish ecologist and biologist (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Martine Carol, French actress (d. 1967)
- 1921 – Harry Carey, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Victoria Fromkin, American linguist and academic (d. 2000)
- 1923 – Merton Miller, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
- 1923 – Peter Underwood, English parapsychologist and author (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Dawda Jawara, 1st President of the Gambia (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Nancy Roman, American astronomer (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Ola Vincent, Nigerian banker and economist (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Nílton Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Billy Martin, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989)
- 1929 – Betty Carter, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
- 1929 – John Conyers, American lawyer and politician (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Claude Morin, Canadian academic and politician
- 1929 – Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist, and feminist (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 2000)
- 1931 – Vujadin Boškov, Serbian footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Hana Brady, Jewish-Czech Holocaust victim (d.1944)
- 1931 – K. Natwar Singh, Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs
- 1931 – Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., American soldier and politician, 85th Governor of Connecticut
- 1934 – Kenneth O. Morgan, Welsh historian and author
- 1934 – Antony Walker, English general
- 1935 – Floyd Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1936 – Karl Lehmann, German cardinal (d. 2018)
- 1937 – Yvonne Craig, American ballet dancer and actress (d. 2015)
- 1938 – Stuart Bell, English lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Ivan Sutherland, American computer scientist and academic
- 1938 – Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian television host and sexologist (d. 2018)
- 1941 – Denis Hart, Australian archbishop
- 1942 – David Penry-Davey, English lawyer and judge (d. 2015)
- 1943 – Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews, English politician
- 1943 – Dan Coats, American politician and diplomat, 29th United States Ambassador to Germany
- 1943 – Wieteke van Dort, Dutch actress, comedian, singer, writer and artist
- 1944 – Billy Cobham, Panamanian-American drummer, composer, and bandleader
- 1944 – Antal Nagy, Hungarian footballer
- 1944 – Danny Trejo, American actor
- 1946 – John Law, English sociologist and academic
- 1946 – Robert Fripp, English guitarist, songwriter and producer
- 1947 – Cheryl Clarke, American writer
- 1947 – Darrell Sweet, Scottish drummer (d. 1999)
- 1947 – Roch Thériault, Canadian religious leader (d. 2011)
- 1948 – Jesper Christensen, Danish actor, director, and producer
- 1948 – Judy Finnigan, English talk show host and author
- 1948 – Enrico Fumia, Italian automobile and product designer
- 1948 – Emma Georgina Rothschild, English historian and academic
- 1948 – Staf Van Roosbroeck, Belgian cyclist
- 1949 – Rick Reuschel, American baseball player
- 1950 – Georg Bednorz, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1950 – Ray Condo, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2004)
- 1950 – Bruce Coville, American author
- 1951 – Christian Lacroix, French fashion designer
- 1951 – Jonathan Richman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Janet Soskice, Canadian philosopher and theologian
- 1952 – James Herndon, American psychologist and academic
- 1953 – Pierce Brosnan, Irish-American actor and producer
- 1953 – Peter Onorati, American actor
- 1953 – Richard Page, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1953 – Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 55th Yokozuna (d. 2015)
- 1953 – David Maclean, Scottish politician
- 1953 – Stephen Woolman, Lord Woolman, Scottish judge and academic
- 1954 – Dafydd Williams, Canadian physician and astronaut
- 1955 – Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast
- 1955 – Jack Morris, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1955 – Hazel O’Connor, English-born Irish singer-songwriter and actress
- 1955 – Páidí Ó Sé, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1955 – Debra Winger, American actress
- 1956 – Loretta Schrijver, Dutch television host, news anchor
- 1957 – Joan Benoit, American runner
- 1957 – Benjamin Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft, English politician
- 1957 – Yuri Shevchuk, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso, English lawyer and businessman
- 1957 – Bob Suter, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1959 – Mitch Webster, American baseball player
- 1959 – Mare Winningham, American actress and singer-songwriter
- 1960 – Landon Deireragea, Nauruan politician, Nauruan Speaker of Parliament
- 1960 – S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan commander and politician (d. 1998)
- 1961 – Kevin McDonald, Canadian actor and screenwriter
- 1961 – Charles Wright, American wrestler
- 1962 – Jimmy Hood, Scottish engineer and politician (d. 2017)
- 1962 – Helga Radtke, German long jumper
- 1963 – Rachel Griffith, Anglo-American economist
- 1963 – David Wilkinson, English theologian and academic
- 1964 – John Salley, American basketball player and actor
- 1964 – Boyd Tinsley, American singer-songwriter and violinist
- 1964 – Milton Jones, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Krist Novoselic, American bass player, songwriter, author, and activist
- 1965 – Tanel Tammet, Estonian computer scientist, engineer, and academic
- 1966 – Janet Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actress
- 1966 – Scott Reeves, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1966 – Thurman Thomas, American football player
- 1967 – Doug Brocail, American baseball player and coach
- 1967 – Susan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford, British politician
- 1968 – Ralph Tresvant, American singer and producer
- 1969 – David Boreanaz, American actor
- 1969 – Tucker Carlson, American journalist, co-founded The Daily Caller
- 1969 – Steve Lewis, American sprinter
- 1970 – Gabriela Sabatini, Argentinian tennis player
- 1970 – Danielle Spencer, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1971 – Phil Clarke, English rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Rachel Goswell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Christian Califano, French rugby player
- 1972 – Matthew Hart, New Zealand cricketer
- 1973 – Tori Spelling, American actress, reality television personality, and author
- 1974 – Laura Pausini, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1974 – Sonny Sandoval, American singer-songwriter and rapper
- 1975 – Tony Kakko, Finnish musician, composer, and vocalist
- 1975 – Simon Whitfield, Canadian triathlete
- 1976 – Dirk Nannes, Australian-Dutch cricketer
- 1977 – Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress
- 1977 – Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer-songwriter
- 1978 – Scott Nicholls, English motorcycle racer
- 1978 – Lionel Scaloni, Argentinian footballer
- 1980 – Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spanish tennis player
- 1981 – Ricardo Costa, Portuguese footballer
- 1982 – Łukasz Kubot, Polish tennis player
- 1983 – Daniel Kerr, Australian footballer
- 1983 – Kyle Wellwood, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Darío Cvitanich, Argentinian footballer
- 1984 – Tomáš Fleischmann, Czech ice hockey player
- 1984 – Jensen Lewis, American baseball player
- 1984 – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
- 1985 – Anja Mittag, German footballer
- 1985 – Rodrigo Peters Marques, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Corey Perry, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Megan Fox, American actress
- 1986 – Andy Keogh, Irish footballer
- 1986 – Shamcey Supsup, Filipino model and architect
- 1987 – Tom Onslow-Cole, English race car driver
- 1988 – Jesús Castillo, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – Martynas Gecevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1988 – Jaak Põldma, Estonian tennis player
- 1989 – Behati Prinsloo, Namibian model
- 1990 – Amanda Carreras, Gibraltarian tennis player
- 1990 – Thomas Brodie-Sangster, English actor
- 1990 – Darko Šarović, Serbian sprinter
- 1990 – Omar Strong, American basketball player
- 1991 – Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgarian tennis player
- 1991 – Joey Graceffa, American internet celebrity
- 1991 – Ashley Wagner, American figure skater
- 1992 – Jeff Skinner, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1992 – Kirstin Maldonado, American singer and songwriter
- 1993 – Johannes Thingnes Bø, Norwegian biathlete
- 1993 – Karol Mets, Estonian footballer
- 1993 – IU, Korean singer-songwriter and actress
- 1995 – Elizabeth Ralston, Australian footballer
- 1996 – Louisa Chirico, an American tennis player
Deaths on May 16
- 290 – Emperor Wu of Jin, Chinese emperor (b. 236)
- 895 – Qian Kuan, Chinese nobleman
- 934 – Meng Hanqiong, eunuch official of Later Tang
- 995 – Fujiwara no Michitaka, Japanese nobleman (b. 953)
- 1182 – John Komnenos Vatatzes, Byzantine general (b. 1132)
- 1265 – Simon Stock, English-French saint (b. 1165)
- 1375 – Liu Bowen, Chinese military strategist, officer, statesman and poet (b. 1311)
- 1412 – Gian Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan (b. 1388)
- 1561 – Jan Tarnowski, Polish noble and statesman (b. 1488)
- 1620 – William Adams, English sailor and navigator (b. 1564)
- 1657 – Andrew Bobola, Polish missionary and martyr (b. 1591)
- 1667 – Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1607)
- 1669 – Pietro da Cortona, Italian painter and architect, designed the Santi Luca e Martina (b. 1596)
- 1691 – Jacob Leisler, German-American politician, 8th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1640)
- 1696 – Mariana of Austria, Queen consort of Spain (b. 1634)
- 1703 – Charles Perrault, French author and academic (b. 1628)
- 1778 – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1718)
- 1790 – Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire (b. 1720)
- 1818 – Matthew Lewis, English author and playwright (b. 1775)
- 1823 – Grace Elliott, Scottish courtesan and spy (b. c.1754)
- 1830 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1768)
- 1862 – Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (b. 1796)
- 1882 – Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (b. 1799)
- 1890 – Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet, linguist and theologist (b. 1843)
- 1891 – Ion C. Brătianu, Romanian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1821)
- 1910 – Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (b. 1856)
- 1913 – Louis Perrier, Swiss architect and politician (b. 1849)
- 1920 – Levi P. Morton, American politician, 22nd United States Vice President (b. 1824)
- 1926 – Mehmed VI, Ottoman sultan (b. 1861)
- 1936 – Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Greek general and politician (b. 1860)
- 1938 – Joseph Strauss, American engineer, co designed The Golden Gate Bridge (b. 1870)
- 1943 – Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1865)
- 1944 – George Ade, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1866)
- 1946 – Bruno Tesch, German chemist and businessman (b. 1890)
- 1947 – Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
- 1947 – Zhang Lingfu, Chinese general (b. 1903)
- 1953 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (b. 1910)
- 1954 – Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor and manager (b. 1893)
- 1955 – James Agee, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic(b. 1909)
- 1955 – Manny Ayulo, American race car driver (b. 1921)
- 1956 – H. B. Reese, American candy-maker and businessman, created Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (b. 1876)
- 1957 – Eliot Ness, American federal agent (b. 1903)
- 1961 – George A. Malcolm, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1881)
- 1973 – Jacques Lipchitz, Lithuanian-American sculptor (b. 1891)
- 1977 – Modibo Keïta, Malian politician, 1st President of Mali (b. 1915)
- 1979 – A. Philip Randolph, American union leader and activist (b. 1889)
- 1981 – Ernie Freeman, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1922)
- 1981 – Willy Hartner, German physician and academic (b. 1905)
- 1984 – Andy Kaufman, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1949)
- 1984 – Irwin Shaw, American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1913)
- 1985 – Margaret Hamilton, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1989 – Leila Kasra, Iranian poet and songwriter (b. 1939)
- 1990 – Sammy Davis Jr., American singer, dancer, and actor (b. 1925)
- 1990 – Jim Henson, American puppeteer, director, producer, and screenwriter, created The Muppets (b. 1936)
- 1993 – Marv Johnson, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1938)
- 1994 – Alain Cuny, French actor (b. 1908)
- 1996 – Jeremy Michael Boorda, American admiral (b. 1939)
- 1997 – Elbridge Durbrow, American diplomat (b. 1903)
- 2002 – Alec Campbell, Australian soldier (b. 1899)
- 2003 – Mark McCormack, American lawyer and sports agent, founded IMG (b. 1930)
- 2005 – Andrew Goodpaster, American general (b. 1915)
- 2008 – Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, co-founded the Opus One Winery (b. 1913)
- 2010 – Ronnie James Dio, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1942)
- 2010 – Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1918)
- 2011 – Ralph Barker, English author (b. 1917)
- 2011 – Bob Davis, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Edward Hardwicke, English actor (b. 1932)
- 2011 – Kiyoshi Kodama, Japanese actor (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Patricia Aakhus, American author and academic (b. 1952)
- 2012 – James Abdnor, American soldier and politician, 30th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Chuck Brown, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Ernie Chan, Filipino-American illustrator (b. 1940)
- 2012 – Kevin Hickey, American baseball player (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Angelo Errichetti, American politician (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Bryan Illerbrun, Canadian football player (b. 1957)
- 2013 – Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Dick Trickle, American race car driver (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Bernard Waber, American author and illustrator (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Chris Duckworth, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Vito Favero, Italian cyclist (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Bud Hollowell, American baseball player and manager (b. 1943)
- 2014 – Clyde Snow, American anthropologist and author (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Prashant Bhargava, American director and producer (b. 1973)
- 2015 – Moshe Levinger, Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Flora MacNeil, Scottish Gaelic singer (b. 1928)
- 2019 – Piet Blauw, Dutch politician (b. 1937)
- 2019 – Bob Hawke, Australian politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1929)
- 2019 – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect (b. 1917)
Holidays and observances on May 16
- Christian feast day:
- Aaron (Coptic Church)
- Abda and Abdjesus, and companions:
- Andrew Bobola
- Brendan the Navigator (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Caroline Chisholm (Church of England)
- Gemma Galgani (Passionists Calendar)
- Germerius
- Honoratus of Amiens
- John of Nepomuk
- Margaret of Cortona
- Peregrine of Auxerre
- Simon Stock
- Ubald (see Saint Ubaldo Day)
- Martyrs of Sudan (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Mass Graves Day (Iraq)
- National Day, declared by Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan)
- Teachers’ Day (Malaysia)
-
May 2 in History
- 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter
- 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
- 1335 – Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
- 1559 – John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation.
- 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
- 1611 – The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
- 1625 – Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.
- 1670 – King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.
- 1672 – John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
- 1808 – Outbreak of the Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation. Francisco de Goya later memorializes this event in his painting The Second of May 1808.
- 1812 – The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory after Mexican rebels under José María Morelos y Pavón abandon the city after 72 days under siege by royalist Spanish troops under Félix María Calleja.
- 1816 – Marriage of Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Princess Charlotte of Wales.
- 1829 – After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia eight days later.
- 1866 – Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
- 1876 – The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.
- 1879 – The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party is founded in Madrid by Pablo Iglesias.
- 1885 – Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
- 1889 – Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.
- 1906 – Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.
- 1918 – General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
- 1920 – The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.
- 1933 – Germany’s independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.
- 1941 – Following the coup d’état against Iraq Crown Prince ‘Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom launches the Anglo-Iraqi War to restore him to power.
- 1945 – World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin.
- 1945 – World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting.
- 1945 – World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death.
- 1945 – World War II: A death march from Dachau to the Austrian border is halted by the segregated, all-Nisei 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army in southern Bavaria, saving several hundred prisoners.
- 1952 – A De Havilland Comet makes the first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg.
- 1955 – Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
- 1963 – Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
- 1964 – Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the American aircraft carrier USNS Card while it is docked at Saigon. Two Viet Cong combat swimmers had placed explosives on the ship’s hull. She is raised and returned to service less than seven months later.
- 1964 – First ascent of Shishapangma, the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.
- 1969 – The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
- 1972 – In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.
- 1982 – Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
- 1986 – Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.
- 1989 – Cold War: Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.
- 1994 – A bus crashes in Gdańsk, Poland killing 32 people.
- 1995 – During the Croatian War of Independence, the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina fires cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing seven and wounding over 175 civilians.
- 1998 – The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union’s monetary policy.
- 1999 – Panamanian general election, 1999: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
- 2000 – President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
- 2004 – The Yelwa massacre concludes. It began on 4 February 2004 when armed Muslims killed 78 Christians at Yelwa. In response, about 630 Muslims were killed by Christians on May 2nd.
- 2008 – Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
- 2008 – Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
- 2011 – Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI’s most wanted man, is killed by the United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
- 2011 – An E. coli outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others sick from the bacteria outbreak.
- 2012 – A pastel version of The Scream, by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for $120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for a work of art at auction.
- 2014 – Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.
Births on May 2
- 1360 – Yongle Emperor of China (d. 1424)
- 1402 – Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (d. 1445)
- 1451 – René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)
- 1458 – Eleanor of Viseu (d. 1525)
- 1476 – Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels, Count of Kladsko, Governor of Bohemia and Silesia (d. 1536)
- 1533 – Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (d. 1596)
- 1551 – William Camden, English historian and topographer (d. 1623)
- 1567 – Sebald de Weert, Dutch captain, vice-admiral of the Dutch East India Company (d. 1603)
- 1579 – Tokugawa Hidetada, Japanese shōgun (d. 1632)
- 1601 – Athanasius Kircher, German priest and scholar (d. 1680)
- 1660 – Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
- 1695 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French painter and architect (d. 1766)
- 1702 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and theosopher (d. 1782)
- 1707 – Jean-Baptiste Barrière, French cellist and composer (d. 1747)
- 1729 – Catherine the Great of Russia (d. 1796)
- 1737 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1805)
- 1740 – Elias Boudinot, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1821)
- 1750 – John André, English soldier and spy (d. 1780)
- 1752 – Ludwig August Lebrun, German oboe player and composer (d. 1790)
- 1754 – Vicente Martín y Soler, Spanish composer (d. 1806)
- 1772 – Novalis, German author and poet (d. 1801)
- 1773 – Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher and poet (d. 1845)
- 1797 – Abraham Pineo Gesner, Canadian physician and geologist (d. 1864)
- 1802 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)
- 1806 – Catherine Labouré, French nun and saint (d. 1876)
- 1810 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (d. 1874)
- 1813 – Caroline Leigh Gascoigne, English novelist and poet (d. 1883)
- 1815 – William Buell Richards, Canadian lawyer and judge, 1st Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1889)
- 1822 – Jane Miller Thengberg, Scottish-Swedish governess and educator (d. 1902)
- 1828 – Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist and photographer (d. 1915)
- 1830 – Otto Staudinger, German entomologist and author (d. 1900)
- 1843 – Elijah McCoy, Canadian-American engineer (d. 1929)
- 1859 – Jerome K. Jerome, English author and playwright (d. 1927)
- 1860 – John Scott Haldane, Scottish physiologist, physician, and academic (d. 1936)
- 1860 – Theodor Herzl, Austro-Hungarian Zionist philosopher, journalist and author (d. 1904)
- 1865 – Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
- 1867 – Giuseppe Morello, Italian-American mobster (d. 1930)
- 1873 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (d. 1944)
- 1879 – James F. Byrnes, American stenographer and politician, 49th United States Secretary of State (d. 1972)
- 1880 – Bill Horr, American football player, discus thrower, and coach (d. 1955)
- 1882 – Isabel González, Puerto Rican activist who helped pave the way for Puerto Ricans’ American citizenship (d. 1971)
- 1885 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and gossip columnist (d. 1966)
- 1886 – Gottfried Benn, German author and poet (d. 1956)
- 1887 – Vernon Castle, English-American dancer (d. 1918)
- 1887 – Eddie Collins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1951)
- 1889 – Ki Hajar Dewantara, Indonesian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1959)
- 1890 – E. E. Smith, American engineer and author (d. 1965)
- 1892 – Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (d. 1918)
- 1894 – Norma Talmadge, leading US actress of the silent era (d. 1957)
- 1894 – Joseph Henry Woodger, English biologist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1981)
- 1895 – Lorenz Hart, American playwright and lyricist (d. 1943)
- 1897 – John Frederick Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)
- 1898 – Henry Hall, English bandleader, composer, and actor (d. 1989)
- 1901 – Bob Wyatt, English cricketer (d. 1995)
- 1901 – Edouard Zeckendorf, Belgian doctor, army officer and mathematician (d. 1983)
- 1901 – Willi Bredel, German writer (d. 1964)
- 1902 – Brian Aherne, English actor (d. 1986)
- 1902 – Werner Finck, German Kabarett comedian, actor and author (d. 1978)
- 1903 – Benjamin Spock, American rower, pediatrician, and author (d. 1998)
- 1904 – Bill Brandt, German-English photographer and journalist (d. 1983)
- 1905 – Alan Rawsthorne, British composer (d. 1971)
- 1905 – Charlotte Armstrong, American author (d. 1969)
- 1906 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (d. 1979)
- 1907 – Pinky Lee, American comedian and television host (d. 1993)
- 1908 – Frank Rowlett, American cryptologist (d. 1998)
- 1909 – Teddy Stauffer, Swiss bandleader, musician, and actor (d. 1991)
- 1910 – Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1943)
- 1910 – Edmund Bacon, American urban planner, architect, educator, and author (d. 2005)
- 1912 – Axel Springer, German journalist and publisher, founded Axel Springer AG (d. 1985)
- 1912 – Karl Adam, German rowing coaches (d. 1976)
- 1912 – Marten Toonder, Dutch comic strip creator (d. 2005)
- 1912 – Nigel Patrick, English actor and director (d. 1981)
- 1913 – Pietro Frua, Italian coachbuilder and car designer (d. 1983)
- 1913 – Aydın Sayılı, Turkish historian and academic (d. 1993)
- 1915 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1915 – Peggy Mount, English actress (d. 2001)
- 1917 – Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder
- 1917 – Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (d. 2002)
- 1920 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian-Brazilian journalist and activist (d. 2000)
- 1920 – Vasantrao Deshpande, Indian singer and sitar player (d. 1983)
- 1920 – Guinn Smith, American pole vaulter, soldier, and pilot (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Jacob Gilboa, Israeli composer (d. 2007)
- 1921 – B. B. Lal, Indian archaeologist
- 1921 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1922 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (d. 2007)
- 1922 – A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born American journalist and author (d. 2006)
- 1922 – Serge Reggiani, Italian-born French singer and actor (d. 2004)
- 1923 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Albert Nordengen, Norwegian banker and politician (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Jamal Abro, Pakistani lawyer and author (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Arthur Clues, Australian rugby league player (d. 1998)
- 1924 – Hugh Cortazzi, English soldier, historian, and diplomat, British Ambassador to Japan (d. 2018)
- 1925 – John Neville, English-Canadian actor (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Gérard D. Levesque, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1993)
- 1927 – Ray Barrett, Australian actor and singer (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Amos Kenan, Israeli columnist, painter, sculptor, playwright and novelist (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Michael Broadbent, British wine critic and writer (d. 2020)
- 1928 – Hans Trass, Estonian ecologist and botanist (d. 2017)
- 1928 – Georges-Arthur Goldschmidt, French writer and translator of German origin
- 1928 – Horst Stein, German conductor (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Édouard Balladur, Turkish-French economist and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of France
- 1929 – James Dillion, American discus thrower (d. 2010)
- 1929 – Link Wray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan (d. 1972)
- 1930 – Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter and critic (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Marco Pannella, Italian journalist and politician (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Phil Bruns, American actor and stuntman (d. 2012)
- 1931 – Martha Grimes, American author and poet
- 1932 – Maury Allen, American journalist, actor, and author (d. 2010)
- 1933 – Bunk Gardner, American musician
- 1933 – Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
- 1934 – Manfred Durniok, German film producer, director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1935 – Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1935 – Faisal II of Iraq, the last King of Iraq (d.1958)
- 1936 – Norma Aleandro, Argentinian actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1936 – Engelbert Humperdinck, English singer and pianist
- 1936 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (d. 1972)
- 1937 – Klaus Enders, German motorcycle sidecar racer (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Lorenzo Music, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
- 1937 – Gisela Elsner, German writer (d. 1992)
- 1938 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
- 1939 – Sumio Iijima, Japanese physicist and engineer
- 1939 – Ernesto Castano, Italian football player
- 1940 – Jules Albert Wijdenbosch, Surinamese politician
- 1941 – Tony Adamowicz, American race car driver (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Bruce Cameron, Scottish bishop
- 1941 – Clay Carroll, American baseball player
- 1941 – Eddy Louiss, French jazz musician (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Jacques Rogge, Belgian businessman
- 1942 – Wojciech Pszoniak, Polish film and theater actor
- 1944 – Robert G. W. Anderson, English chemist, historian, and curator
- 1945 – Randy Cain, American soul singer (d. 2009)
- 1945 – Judge Dread, English singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
- 1945 – Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan-American model, actress, and activist
- 1945 – Goldy McJohn, Canadian keyboard player (d. 2017)
- 1946 – Peter L. Benson, American psychologist and academic (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
- 1946 – David Suchet, English actor
- 1947 – James Dyson, English businessman, founded the Dyson Company
- 1947 – Lynda Myles, English screenwriter and producer
- 1947 – Philippe Herreweghe, Belgian conductor
- 1948 – Larry Gatlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1949 – Alan Titchmarsh, English gardener and author
- 1949 – Alfons Schuhbeck, German celebrity chef, author and businessman
- 1950 – Simon Gaskell, English chemist and academic
- 1950 – Duncan Gay, Australian businessman and politician
- 1950 – Lou Gramm, American singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Richard Ground, English lawyer and judge (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Fausto Silva, Brazilian television presenter
- 1951 – John Glascock, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
- 1952 – Chris Anderson, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1952 – Christine Baranski, American actress and singer
- 1952 – Isla St Clair, Scottish singer and actress
- 1953 – Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor and director
- 1953 – Jamaal Wilkes, American basketball player
- 1954 – Elliot Goldenthal, American composer and conductor
- 1954 – Dawn Primarolo, English politician
- 1954 – Stephen Venables, English mountaineer and author
- 1955 – Willie Miller, Scottish footballer
- 1955 – Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
- 1956 – Régis Labeaume, Canadian businessman and politician, 41st Mayor of Quebec City
- 1958 – Yasushi Akimoto, Japanese songwriter and producer
- 1958 – Stanislav Levý, Czech footballer and manager
- 1958 – David O’Leary, English-Irish footballer and manager
- 1959 – Alan Best, Canadian animator, director, and producer
- 1959 – Tony Wakeford, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1960 – Stephen Daldry, English director and producer
- 1961 – Steve James, English snooker player
- 1961 – Sophie Thibault, Canadian journalist
- 1961 – Phil Vickery, English chef and author
- 1962 – Elizabeth Berridge, American actress
- 1962 – Michael Grandage, English director and producer
- 1962 – Jimmy White, English snooker player
- 1965 – Félix José, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1966 – Uwe Freiler, German footballer
- 1966 – Margus Kolga, Estonian diplomat
- 1966 – Belinda Stronach, Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, and politician
- 1967 – Bengt Åkerblom, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1995)
- 1967 – Mika Brzezinski, American journalist and author
- 1967 – David Rocastle, English footballer (d. 2001)
- 1968 – Jeff Agoos, Swiss-American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
- 1968 – Julia Hartley-Brewer, English broadcaster and columnist
- 1968 – Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1969 – Brian Lara, Trinidadian cricketer
- 1970 – Marco Walker, Swiss footballer and coach
- 1971 – Musashimaru Kōyō, Samoan-American sumo wrestler, the 67th Yokozuna
- 1971 – Fatima Yusuf, Nigerian sprinter
- 1972 – Paul Adcock, English footballer
- 1972 – Ahti Heinla, Estonian programmer and businessman, co-developed Skype
- 1972 – Dwayne Johnson, American-Canadian wrestler, actor, and producer
- 1973 – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German director and screenwriter
- 1974 – Horacio Carbonari, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Andy Johnson, English-Welsh footballer
- 1974 – Janek Meet, Estonian footballer
- 1975 – David Beckham, English footballer, coach, and model
- 1975 – Joe Wilkinson, English comedian, actor and writer
- 1976 – Jeff Gutt, American singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Brian Cardinal, American basketball player
- 1977 – Jan Fitschen, German runner
- 1977 – Luke Hudson, American baseball player
- 1977 – Fredrik Malm, Swedish journalist and politician
- 1977 – Jenna von Oÿ, American actress and singer
- 1977 – Kalle Palander, Finnish skier
- 1978 – Melvin Ely, American basketball player
- 1978 – Mike Weaver, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Ioannis Kanotidis, Greek footballer
- 1979 – Defne Joy Foster, Turkish-American actress, presenter and VJ (d. 2011)
- 1980 – Tim Borowski, German footballer
- 1980 – Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canadian skateboarder
- 1980 – Ellie Kemper, American actress, comedian and writer
- 1980 – Zat Knight, English footballer
- 1980 – Artūras Masiulis, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1980 – Troy Murphy, American basketball player
- 1980 – Lassaâd Ouertani, Tunisian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1980 – Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Vincent Tong, Canadian actor, singer, voice actor and director
- 1981 – Robert Buckley, American actor
- 1981 – Chris Kirkland, English footballer
- 1981 – Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer
- 1981 – Matt Murray, English footballer
- 1981 – Rina Satō, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1982 – Timothy Benjamin, Welsh sprinter
- 1982 – Johan Botha, South African cricketer
- 1983 – Alessandro Diamanti, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Maynor Figueroa, Honduran footballer
- 1983 – Tina Maze, Slovenian skier
- 1983 – Daniel Sordo, Spanish race car driver
- 1983 – Ove Vanebo, Norwegian politician
- 1984 – Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer
- 1984 – Thabo Sefolosha, Swiss basketball player
- 1985 – Lily Allen, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1985 – Kyle Busch, American race car driver
- 1985 – Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player
- 1985 – Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
- 1987 – Saara Aalto, Finnish singer and actress
- 1987 – Nana Kitade, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Pat McAfee, American football player
- 1987 – Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Justin Young, English singer and songwriter
- 1988 – Neftalí Feliz, Dominican baseball player
- 1988 – Stephen Henderson, Irish footballer
- 1989 – Jeanette Pohlen, American basketball player
- 1990 – Kay Panabaker, American actress
- 1990 – Paul George, American basketball player
- 1991 – Jeong Jinwoon, South Korean actor and singer
- 1992 – Sunmi, South Korean singer
- 1992 – María Teresa Torró Flor, Spanish tennis player
- 1993 – Owain Doull, Welsh track cyclist
- 1993 – Isyana Sarasvati, Indonesian singer
- 1993 – Huang Zitao, Chinese singer and rapper
- 1996 – Cherprang Areekul, Thai singer
- 1996 – Julian Brandt, German footballer
- 1996 – Schuyler Bailar, American swimmer
- 2015 – Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, British royal, and fourth in line to the British throne
Deaths on May 2
- 373 – Athanasius of Alexandria, Egyptian bishop and saint (b. 298)
- 649 – Marutha of Tikrit, Persian theologian of the Syriac Orthodox Church (b. 565)
- 821 – Liu Zong, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 907 – Boris I of Bulgaria
- 1219 – Leo I, King of Armenia (b. 1150)
- 1230 – William de Braose, English son of Reginald de Braose (b. 1197)
- 1293 – Meir of Rothenburg, German rabbi (b. c.1215)
- 1300 – Blanche of Artois (b. 1248)
- 1450 – William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English admiral (b. 1396)
- 1519 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1452)
- 1564 – Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian cardinal (b. 1500)
- 1627 – Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer and educator (b. 1560)
- 1667 – George Wither, English poet and author (b. 1588)
- 1683 – Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and mathematician (b. 1613)
- 1711 – Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1641)
- 1799 – Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo (b. 1740)
- 1802 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch Gold Coast (b. 1762)
- 1810 – Henry Jerome de Salis, English priest (b. 1740)
- 1819 – Mary Moser, English painter and academic (b. 1744)
- 1857 – Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (b. 1810)
- 1864 – Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer and educator (b. 1791)
- 1880 – Eberhard Anheuser, German-American businessman, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (b. 1805)
- 1880 – Tom Wills, Australian cricketer, co-created Australian rules football (b. 1835)
- 1885 – Terézia Zakoucs, Hungarian-Slovene author (b. 1817)
- 1915 – Clara Immerwahr, German chemist (b. 1870)
- 1918 – Jüri Vilms, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1889)
- 1925 – Antun Branko Šimić, Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian poet (b. 1898)
- 1927 – Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (b. 1866)
- 1929 – Charalambos Tseroulis, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister for Military Affairs (b. 1879)
- 1941 – Penelope Delta, Greek author (b. 1874)
- 1945 – Martin Bormann, German politician (b. 1900)
- 1945 – Joe Corbett, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1875)
- 1947 – Dorothea Binz, German SS officer (b. 1920)
- 1953 – Wallace Bryant, American archer (b. 1863)
- 1957 – Joseph McCarthy, American captain, lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1908)
- 1963 – Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, peer, politician, poet, author and newspaper editor (b. 1884)
- 1964 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (b. 1879)
- 1969 – Franz von Papen, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1879)
- 1972 – J. Edgar Hoover, American 1st director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
- 1974 – James O. Richardson, American admiral (b. 1878)
- 1977 – Nicholas Magallanes, American principal dancer and charter member of the New York City Ballet (b. 1922)
- 1979 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1980 – Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (b. 1891)
- 1980 – George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (b. 1908)
- 1983 – Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
- 1984 – Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (b. 1918)
- 1984 – Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1913)
- 1985 – Attilio Bettega, Italian race car driver (b. 1951)
- 1985 – Larry Clinton, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1909)
- 1986 – Sergio Cresto, American race car driver (b. 1956)
- 1986 – Henri Toivonen, Finnish race car driver (b. 1956)
- 1989 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author (b. 1902)
- 1989 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (b. 1906)
- 1990 – David Rappaport, English-American actor (b. 1951)
- 1991 – Gauri Shankar Rai, Indian Politician(b.1924)
- 1991 – Ronald McKie, Australian journalist and author (b. 1909)
- 1992 – Wilbur Mills, American lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
- 1993 – André Moynet, French race car driver, pilot, and politician (b. 1921)
- 1994 – Dorothy Marie Donnelly, American poet and author (b. 1903)
- 1995 – John Bunting, Australian public servant and diplomat, (b. 1918)
- 1995 – Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
- 1997 – John Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1997 – Paulo Freire, Brazilian philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
- 1998 – hide, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1964)
- 1998 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (b. 1961)
- 1998 – Gene Raymond, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1998 – Lord Voldemort, English wizard and terrorist (b. 1926)
- 1999 – Douglas Harkness, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1903)
- 1999 – Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
- 2000 – Sundar Popo, Indo-Trinidadian musician (b. 1943)
- 2002 – W. T. Tutte, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Wee Kim Wee, Singaporean journalist and politician, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
- 2006 – Louis Rukeyser, American journalist and author (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Brad McGann, New Zealand director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
- 2008 – Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (b. 1940)
- 2008 – Izold Pustõlnik, Ukrainian-Estonian astronomer and academic (b. 1938)
- 2009 – Marilyn French, American author and academic (b. 1929)
- 2009 – Kiyoshiro Imawano, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1951)
- 2009 – Jack Kemp, American football player and politician, 9th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (b. 1943)
- 2011 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founder of Al-Qaeda (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Fernando Lopes, Portuguese director and screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Zenaida Manfugás, Cuban-born American-naturalized pianist (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Tufan Miñnullin, Russian playwright and politician (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, Indonesian physician and politician, Indonesian Minister of Health (b. 1955)
- 2012 – Akira Tonomura, Japanese physicist, author, and academic (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Ernie Field, English boxer (b. 1943)
- 2013 – Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Joseph P. McFadden, American bishop (b. 1947)
- 2013 – Dvora Omer, Israeli author and educator (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer (b. 1980)
- 2013 – Charles Banks Wilson, American painter and illustrator (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Tomás Balduino, Brazilian bishop (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Žarko Petan, Slovenian director, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., American actor (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Stuart Archer, English colonel and architect (b. 1915)
- 2015 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (b. 1945)
- 2015 – Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Ruth Rendell, English author (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Afeni Shakur, American music businesswoman, activist, and Black Panther (b. 1947)
- 2020 – Arif Wazir, Pakistani politician, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (b. 1982)
Holidays and observances on May 2
- Christian feast day:
- Athanasius of Alexandria (Western Christianity)
- Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
- Germanus of Normandy
- May 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- International Harry Potter Day
- The last day of the Festival of Ridván (Bahá’í Faith) (Note that this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March equinox, see List of observances set by the Baháʼí calendar)
- Anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising (Community of Madrid, Spain)
- Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan)
- Flag Day (Poland)
- Indonesia National Education Day
- Teachers’ Day (Iran) (Note that this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March Equinox, see List of observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar)
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April 9 in History
- 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground.
- 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite Christological position.
- 537 – Siege of Rome: The Byzantine general Belisarius receives his promised reinforcements, 1,600 cavalry, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen. He starts, despite shortages, raids against the Gothic camps and Vitiges is forced into a stalemate.
- 1241 – Battle of Liegnitz: Mongol forces defeat the Polish and German armies.
- 1288 – Mongol invasions of Vietnam: Yuan forces are defeated by Trần forces in the Battle of Bach Dang in present-day northern Vietnam.
- 1388 – Despite being outnumbered 16 to 1, forces of the Old Swiss Confederacy are victorious over the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Näfels.
- 1413 – Henry V is crowned King of England.
- 1440 – Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark.
- 1454 – The Treaty of Lodi is signed, establishing a balance of power among northern Italian city-states for almost 50 years.
- 1511 – St John’s College, Cambridge, England, founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, receives its charter.
- 1585 – The expedition organised by Sir Walter Raleigh departs England for Roanoke Island (now in North Carolina) to establish the Roanoke Colony.
- 1609 – Eighty Years’ War: Spain and the Dutch Republic sign the Treaty of Antwerp to initiate twelve years of truce.
- 1609 – Philip III of Spain issues the decree of the “Expulsion of the Moriscos”.
- 1682 – Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovers the mouth of the Mississippi River, claims it for France and names it Louisiana.
- 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of the Saintes begins.
- 1784 – The Treaty of Paris, ratified by the United States Congress on January 14, 1784, is ratified by King George III of the Kingdom of Great Britain, ending the American Revolutionary War. Copies of the ratified documents are exchanged on May 12, 1784.
- 1860 – On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the oldest known recording of an audible human voice.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the war.
- 1909 – The U.S. Congress passes the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act.
- 1914 – Mexican Revolution: One of the world’s first naval/air skirmishes takes place off the coast of western Mexico.
- 1916 – World War I: The Battle of Verdun: German forces launch their third offensive of the battle.
- 1917 – World War I: The Battle of Arras: The battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
- 1918 – World War I: The Battle of the Lys: The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps is crushed by the German forces during what is called the Spring Offensive on the Belgian region of Flanders.
- 1937 – The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London. It is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
- 1939 – African-American singer Marian Anderson gives a concert at the Lincoln Memorial after being denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
- 1940 – World War II: Operation Weserübung: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
- 1940 – Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Bataan ends. An Indian Ocean raid by Japan’s 1st Air Fleet sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and the Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire.
- 1945 – Execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, anti-Nazi dissident and spy, by the Nazi regime.
- 1945 – World War II: The German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer is sunk by the Royal Air Force.
- 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends.
- 1945 – The United States Atomic Energy Commission is formed.
- 1947 – The Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
- 1947 – The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride begins through the upper South in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court’s 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel.
- 1947 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 22 relating to Corfu Channel incident is adopted.
- 1948 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán’s assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia.
- 1948 – Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100.
- 1952 – Hugo Ballivián’s government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, starting a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalization of tin mines
- 1957 – The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping following the Suez Crisis.
- 1959 – Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States’ first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the “Mercury Seven”.
- 1960 – Dr Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and architect of apartheid, narrowly survives an assassination attempt by a white farmer, David Pratt in Johannesburg.
- 1961 – The Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles, once the largest electric railway in the world, ends operations.
- 1965 – Astrodome opens. First indoor baseball game is played.
- 1967 – The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) makes its maiden flight.
- 1969 – The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford.
- 1975 – The first game of the Philippine Basketball Association, the second oldest professional basketball league in the world.
- 1976 – The EMD F40PH diesel locomotive enters revenue service with Amtrak.
- 1980 – The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture.
- 1981 – The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine USS George Washington accidentally collides with the Nissho Maru, a Japanese cargo ship, sinking it.
- 1989 – Tbilisi massacre: an anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strike in Tbilisi, demanding restoration of Georgian independence, is dispersed by the Soviet Army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
- 1990 – An IRA bombing in County Down, Northern Ireland, kills three members of the UDR.
- 1990 – Thirteen thousand members of the Dene and Métis tribes sign a land claim agreement for 180,000 square kilometres (69,000 sq mi) in the Mackenzie Valley of the western Arctic.
- 1991 – Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1992 – A U.S. Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison.
- 1999 – Kosovo War: The Battle of Košare begins.
- 2003 – Iraq War: Baghdad falls to American forces.
- 2005 – Charles, Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor’s Guildhall.
- 2009 – In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili.
- 2013 – A 6.1–magnitude earthquake strikes Iran killing 32 people and injuring over 850 people.
- 2013 – At least 13 people are killed and another three injured after a man goes on a spree shooting in the Serbian village of Velika Ivanča.
- 2014 – A student stabs 20 people at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.
- 2017 – The Palm Sunday church bombings at Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt, take place.
- 2017 – After refusing to give up his seat on an overbooked United Airlines flight, Dr. David Dao Duy Anh is forcibly dragged off the flight by aviation security officers, leading to major criticism of United Airlines.
Births on April 9
- 1285 – Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan, Emperor Renzong of Yuan (d. 1320)
- 1458 – Camilla Battista da Varano, Italian saint (d. 1524)
- 1498 – Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (d. 1550)
- 1586 – Julius Henry, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. 1665)
- 1597 – John Davenport, English minister, co-founded the New Haven Colony (d. 1670)
- 1598 – Johann Crüger, Sorbian-German composer and theorist (d. 1662)
- 1624 – Henrik Rysensteen, Dutch military engineer (d. 1679)
- 1627 – Johann Caspar Kerll, German organist and composer (d. 1693)
- 1634 – Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau (d. 1696)
- 1648 – Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1720)
- 1649 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire (d. 1685)
- 1654 – Samuel Fritz, Czech Jesuit missionary to South America (d. 1725?)
- 1680 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French playwright (d. 1754)
- 1686 – James Craggs the Younger, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1721)
- 1691 – Johann Matthias Gesner, German scholar and academic (d. 1761)
- 1717 – Georg Matthias Monn, Austrian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1750)
- 1770 – Thomas Johann Seebeck, German physicist and academic (d. 1831)
- 1773 – Étienne Aignan, French author and academic (d. 1824)
- 1794 – Theobald Boehm, German flute player and composer (d. 1881)
- 1802 – Elias Lönnrot, Finnish physician and philologist (d. 1884)
- 1806 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel, English engineer, designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge (d. 1859)
- 1807 – James Bannerman, Scottish theologian and academic (d. 1868)
- 1821 – Charles Baudelaire, French poet and critic (d. 1867)
- 1830 – Eadweard Muybridge, English photographer and cinematographer (d. 1904)
- 1835 – Leopold II of Belgium (d. 1909)
- 1835 – Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore (d. 1913)
- 1846 – Paolo Tosti, Italian-English composer and educator (d. 1916)
- 1848 – Ezequiél Moreno y Díaz, Spanish Augustinian Recollect priest and saint (d. 1906)
- 1865 – Erich Ludendorff, German general and politician (d. 1937)
- 1865 – Charles Proteus Steinmetz, Polish-American mathematician and engineer (d. 1923)
- 1867 – Chris Watson, Chilean-Australian journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1941)
- 1867 – Charles Winckler, Danish tug of war competitor, discus thrower, and shot putter (d. 1932)
- 1872 – Léon Blum, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1950)
- 1875 – Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (d. 1912)
- 1880 – Jan Letzel, Czech architect (d. 1925)
- 1882 – Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (d. 1946)
- 1882 – Otz Tollen, German actor (d. 1965)
- 1883 – Frank King, American cartoonist (d. 1969)
- 1887 – Konrad Tom, Polish actor, writer, singer, and director (d. 1957)
- 1888 – Sol Hurok, Ukrainian-American talent manager (d. 1974)
- 1893 – Charles E. Burchfield, American painter (d.1967)
- 1893 – Victor Gollancz, English publisher, founded Victor Gollancz Ltd (d. 1967)
- 1893 – Rahul Sankrityayan, Indian linguist, author, and scholar (d. 1963)
- 1895 – Mance Lipscomb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
- 1895 – Michel Simon, Swiss-French actor (d. 1975)
- 1897 – John B. Gambling, American radio host (d. 1974)
- 1898 – Curly Lambeau, American football player and coach (d. 1965)
- 1898 – Paul Robeson, American singer, actor, and activist (d. 1976)
- 1900 – Allen Jenkins, American actor and singer (d. 1974)
- 1901 – Jean Bruchési, Canadian historian and author (d. 1979)
- 1901 – Paul Willis, American actor and director (d. 1960)
- 1902 – Théodore Monod, French explorer and scholar (d. 2000)
- 1903 – Ward Bond, American actor (d. 1960)
- 1904 – Sharkey Bonano, American singer, trumpet player, and bandleader (d. 1972)
- 1905 – J. William Fulbright, American lawyer and politician (d. 1995)
- 1906 – Rafaela Aparicio, Spanish actress (d. 1996)
- 1906 – Antal Doráti, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (d. 1988)
- 1906 – Hugh Gaitskell, British politician and leader of the Labour Party (d. 1963)
- 1906 – Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-French painter (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Joseph Krumgold, American author and screenwriter (d. 1980)
- 1909 – Robert Helpmann, Australian dancer, actor, and choreographer (d. 1986)
- 1910 – Abraham A. Ribicoff, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Lev Kopelev, Ukrainian-German author and academic (d. 1997)
- 1915 – Daniel Johnson Sr., Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Quebec (d. 1968)
- 1916 – Julian Dash, American swing music jazz tenor saxophonist (d. 1974)
- 1916 – Heinz Meyer, German Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) during World War II (d. 1987)
- 1916 – Bill Leonard, American journalist (d. 1994)
- 1917 – Johannes Bobrowski, German songwriter and poet (d. 1965)
- 1917 – Ronnie Burgess, Welsh international footballer left-half and manager (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Brad Dexter, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Henry Hewes, American theater writer (d. 2006)
- 1918 – Jørn Utzon, Danish architect, designed the Sydney Opera House (d. 2008)
- 1919 – J. Presper Eckert, American engineer, invented the ENIAC (d. 1995)
- 1921 – Jean-Marie Balestre, French businessman (d. 2008)
- 1921 – Yitzhak Navon, Israeli politician (d. 2015)
- 1921 – Frankie Thomas, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Mary Jackson, African-American mathematician and aerospace engineer (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Carl Amery, German author and activist (d. 2005)
- 1923 – Leonard Levy, American historian and author (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Arthur Shaw, English professional footballer (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Virginia Gibson, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Art Kane, American photographer (d. 1995)
- 1926 – Gerry Fitt, Northern Irish soldier and politician; British life peer (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Hugh Hefner, American publisher, founded Playboy Enterprises (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Harris Wofford, American politician, author and civil rights activist (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Tiny Hill, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2019)
- 1928 – Paul Arizin, American basketball player (d. 2006)
- 1928 – Tom Lehrer, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and mathematician
- 1929 – Sharan Rani Backliwal, Indian sarod player and scholar (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Fred Hollows, New Zealand-Australian ophthalmologist (d. 1993)
- 1929 – Paule Marshall, American author and academic (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Nathaniel Branden, Canadian-American psychotherapist and author (d. 2014)
- 1930 – F. Albert Cotton, American chemist and academic (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Jim Fowler, American zoologist and television host (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, founded McCain Foods (d. 2011)
- 1931 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (d. 1991)
- 1932 – Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (d. 2006)
- 1932 – Peter Moores, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Carl Perkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
- 1933 – Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor and producer
- 1933 – René Burri, Swiss photographer and journalist (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Fern Michaels, American author
- 1933 – Richard Rose, American political scientist and academic
- 1933 – Gian Maria Volonté, Italian actor (d. 1994)
- 1934 – Bill Birch, New Zealand surveyor and politician, 38th New Zealand Minister of Finance
- 1934 – Tom Phillis, Australian motorcycle racer (d. 1962)
- 1934 – Mariya Pisareva, Russian high jumper
- 1935 – Aulis Sallinen, Finnish composer and academic
- 1935 – Avery Schreiber, American actor and comedian (d. 2002)
- 1936 – Jerzy Maksymiuk, Polish pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1936 – Valerie Solanas, American radical feminist author, attempted murderer (d. 1988)
- 1937 – Simon Brown, Baron Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, English lieutenant, lawyer, and judge
- 1937 – Marty Krofft, Canadian screenwriter and producer
- 1937 – Valerie Singleton, English television and radio host
- 1938 – Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian businessman and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Russia (d. 2010)
- 1939 – Michael Learned, American actress
- 1940 – Hans-Joachim Reske, German sprinter
- 1940 – Jim Roberts, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1941 – Kay Adams, American singer-songwriter
- 1942 – Brandon deWilde, American actor (d. 1972)
- 1942 – Margo Smith, American singer-songwriter
- 1943 – Leila Khaled, Palestinian activist
- 1943 – Terry Knight, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
- 1944 – Joe Brinkman, American baseball player and umpire
- 1944 – Heinz-Joachim Rothenburg, German shot putter
- 1945 – Steve Gadd, American drummer and percussionist[9]
- 1946 – Nate Colbert, American baseball player[10]
- 1946 – Alan Knott, English cricketer[11]
- 1946 – Sara Parkin, Scottish activist and politician[12]
- 1946 – David Webb, English footballer, coach, and manager
- 1947 – Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Italian economist and academic
- 1948 – Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress and politician
- 1948 – Michel Parizeau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1948 – Patty Pravo, Italian singer
- 1949 – Tony Cragg, English sculptor
- 1952 – Robert Clark, American author
- 1952 – Bruce Robertson, New Zealand rugby player
- 1952 – Tania Tsanaklidou, Greek singer and actress
- 1953 – John Howard, English singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1953 – Hal Ketchum, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Stephen Paddock, American mass murderer responsible for the 2017 Las Vegas shooting (d. 2017)
- 1954 – Ken Kalfus, American journalist and author
- 1954 – Dennis Quaid, American actor
- 1954 – Iain Duncan Smith, British soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
- 1955 – Yamina Benguigui, Algerian-French director and politician
- 1955 – Joolz Denby, English poet and author
- 1956 – Miguel Ángel Russo, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1956 – Nigel Shadbolt, English computer scientist and academic
- 1956 – Vahur Sova, Estonian architect
- 1956 – Marina Zoueva, Russian ice dancer and coach
- 1957 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer and architect (d. 2011)
- 1957 – Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer
- 1957 – Jamie Redfern, English-born Australian television presenter, and pop singer
- 1958 – Tony Sibson, English boxer
- 1958 – Nigel Slater, English food writer and author
- 1959 – Bernard Jenkin, English businessman and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
- 1960 – Jaak Aab, Estonian educator and politician, Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia
- 1961 – Mark Kelly, Irish keyboard player
- 1961 – Kirk McCaskill, Canadian-American baseball and hockey player
- 1962 – John Eaves, American production designer and illustrator
- 1962 – Ihor Podolchak, Ukrainian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1962 – Imran Sherwani, English field hockey player
- 1962 – Jeff Turner, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1963 – Marc Jacobs, American-French fashion designer
- 1963 – Joe Scarborough, American journalist, lawyer, and politician
- 1964 – Rob Awalt, German-American football player
- 1964 – Juliet Cuthbert, Jamaican sprinter
- 1964 – Peter Penashue, Canadian businessman and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
- 1964 – Margaret Peterson Haddix, American author
- 1964 – Rick Tocchet, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 – Helen Alfredsson, Swedish golfer
- 1965 – Paulina Porizkova, Czech-born Swedish-American model and actress
- 1965 – Jeff Zucker, American businessman
- 1966 – John Hammond, English weather forecaster
- 1966 – Cynthia Nixon, American actress
- 1967 – Natascha Engel, German-English translator and politician
- 1967 – Sam Harris, American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist
- 1968 – Jay Chandrasekhar, American actor, comedian, writer and director
- 1969 – Barnaby Kay, English actor
- 1969 – Linda Kisabaka, German runner
- 1970 – Chorão, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1971 – Peter Canavan, Irish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Leo Fortune-West, English footballer and manager
- 1971 – Austin Peck, American actor
- 1971 – Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver
- 1972 – Bernard Ackah, German-Japanese martial artist and kick-boxer
- 1972 – Siiri Vallner, Estonian architect
- 1974 – Megan Connolly, Australian actress (d. 2001)
- 1974 – Jenna Jameson, American actress and pornographic performer
- 1975 – Robbie Fowler, English footballer and manager
- 1975 – David Gordon Green, American director and screenwriter
- 1976 – Kyle Peterson, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1977 – Gerard Way, American singer-songwriter and comic book writer
- 1978 – Kousei Amano, Japanese actor
- 1978 – Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
- 1978 – Rachel Stevens, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
- 1979 – Jeff Reed, American football player
- 1979 – Keshia Knight Pulliam, American actress
- 1980 – Sarah Ayton, English sailor
- 1980 – Luciano Galletti, Argentinian footballer
- 1980 – Albert Hammond Jr., American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Milan Bartovič, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1981 – A. J. Ellis, American baseball player
- 1981 – Ireneusz Jeleń, Polish footballer
- 1981 – Dennis Sarfate, American baseball player
- 1981 – Eric Harris, American mass murderer, responsible for the Columbine High School massacre (d. 1999)
- 1982 – Jay Baruchel, Canadian actor
- 1982 – Carlos Hernández, Costa Rican footballer
- 1982 – Kathleen Munroe, Canadian-American actress
- 1983 – Ryan Clark, Australian actor
- 1984 – Habiba Ghribi, Tunisian runner[13]
- 1984 – Adam Loewen, Canadian baseball player
- 1984 – Óscar Razo, Mexican footballer
- 1985 – Antonio Nocerino, Italian footballer
- 1985 – David Robertson, American baseball player
- 1986 – Mike Hart, American football player
- 1986 – Leighton Meester, American actress
- 1987 – Kassim Abdallah, French-Comorian footballer
- 1987 – Graham Gano, American football player
- 1987 – Craig Mabbitt, American singer
- 1987 – Jesse McCartney, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1987 – Jarrod Mullen, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Jazmine Sullivan, American singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Michel Alves Baroni, Brazilian footballer
- 1988 – Jeremy Metcalfe, English racing driver
- 1989 – Danielle Kahle, American figure skater
- 1990 – Kristen Stewart, American actress
- 1990 – Ryan Williams, American football player
- 1991 – Ryan Kelly, American basketball player
- 1991 – Mary Killman, American synchronized swimmer
- 1992 – Joshua Ledet, American singer
- 1994 – Joey Pollari, American actor
- 1995 – Domagoj Bošnjak, Croatian basketball player
- 1995 – Robert Bauer, German-Kazakhstani footballer
- 1996 – Jayden Brailey, Australian rugby league player[14]
- 1996 – Giovani Lo Celso, Argentinian international footballer, midfielder[15]
- 1998 – Elle Fanning, American actress[16]
- 1999 – Montero Lamar Hill, American rapper[17]
- 2000 – Jackie Evancho, American singer[18]
Deaths on April 9
- 585 BC – Jimmu, emperor of Japan (b. 711 BC)
- AD 93 – Yuan An, Chinese scholar and politician
- 436 – Tan Daoji, Chinese general and politician
- 491 – Zeno, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (b. 425)
- 682 – Maslama ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari, Egyptian politician, Governor of Egypt (b. 616)
- 715 – Constantine, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 664)
- 1024 – Benedict VIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 980)
- 1137 – William X, duke of Aquitaine (b. 1099)
- 1241 – Henry II, High Duke of Poland (b. 1196)
- 1283 – Margaret of Scotland, queen of Norway (b. 1261)
- 1327 – Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, Scottish nobleman (ca. 1296)
- 1483 – Edward IV, king of England (b. 1442)
- 1484 – Edward of Middleheim, prince of Wales (b. 1473)
- 1550 – Alqas Mirza, Safavid prince (b. 1516)[19]
- 1553 – François Rabelais, French monk and scholar (b. 1494)
- 1557 – Mikael Agricola, Finnish priest and scholar (b. 1510)
- 1626 – Francis Bacon, English jurist and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1561)
- 1654 – Matei Basarab, Romanian prince (b. 1588)
- 1693 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French author (b. 1618)
- 1747 – Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, Scottish soldier and politician (b. 1667)
- 1754 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (b. 1679)
- 1761 – William Law, English priest and theologian (b. 1686)
- 1768 – Sarah Fielding, English author (b. 1710)
- 1804 – Jacques Necker, Swiss-French politician, Chief Minister to the French Monarch (b. 1732)
- 1806 – William V, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic (b. 1748)
- 1872 – Erastus Corning, American businessman and politician (b. 1794)
- 1876 – Charles Goodyear, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1804)
- 1882 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (b. 1828)
- 1889 – Michel Eugène Chevreul, French chemist and academic (b. 1786)
- 1909 – Helena Modjeska, Polish-American actress (b. 1840)
- 1915 – Raymond Whittindale, English rugby player (b. 1883)
- 1917 – James Hope Moulton, English philologist and scholar (b. 1863)
- 1922 – Hans Fruhstorfer, German entomologist and explorer (b. 1866)
- 1926 – Zip the Pinhead, American freak show performer (b. 1857)
- 1936 – Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1855)
- 1940 – Mrs Patrick Campbell, English actress (b. 1865)
- 1944 – Yevgeniya Rudneva, Ukrainian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1920)
- 1945 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (b. 1906)
- 1945 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (b. 1887)
- 1945 – Johann Georg Elser, German carpenter (b. 1903)
- 1945 – Hans Oster, German general (b. 1887)
- 1945 – Karl Sack, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1896)
- 1945 – Hans von Dohnányi, Austrian-German lawyer and jurist (b. 1902)
- 1948 – George Carpenter, Australian 5th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1872)
- 1948 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Colombian Minister of National Education (b. 1903)
- 1951 – Vilhelm Bjerknes, Norwegian physicist and meteorologist (b. 1862)
- 1953 – Eddie Cochems, American football player and coach (b. 1877)
- 1953 – C. E. M. Joad, English philosopher and television host (b. 1891)
- 1953 – Hans Reichenbach, German philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1891)
- 1959 – Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (b. 1867)
- 1961 – Zog I of Albania (b. 1895)
- 1963 – Eddie Edwards, American trombonist (b. 1891)
- 1963 – Xul Solar, Argentinian painter and sculptor (b. 1887)
- 1970 – Gustaf Tenggren, Swedish-American illustrator and animator (b. 1896)
- 1976 – Dagmar Nordstrom, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1903)
- 1976 – Phil Ochs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
- 1976 – Renato Petronio, Italian rower (b. 1891)
- 1978 – Clough Williams-Ellis, English-Welsh architect, designed Portmeirion (b. 1883)
- 1980 – Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric and philosopher (b. 1935)
- 1982 – Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1896)
- 1988 – Brook Benton, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1931)
- 1988 – Hans Berndt, German footballer (b. 1913)
- 1988 – Dave Prater, American singer (b. 1937)
- 1991 – Forrest Towns, American hurdler and coach (b. 1914)
- 1993 – Joseph B. Soloveitchik, American rabbi and philosopher (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Richard Condon, American author and publicist (b. 1915)
- 1997 – Mae Boren Axton, American singer-songwriter (b. 1914)
- 1997 – Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 1998 – Tom Cora, American cellist and composer (b. 1953)
- 1999 – Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Nigerien general and politician, President of Niger (b. 1949)
- 2001 – Willie Stargell, American baseball player and coach (b. 1940)
- 2002 – Pat Flaherty, American race car driver (b. 1926)
- 2002 – Leopold Vietoris, Austrian soldier, mathematician, and academic (b. 1891)
- 2003 – Jerry Bittle, American cartoonist (b. 1949)
- 2006 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player, coach, manager (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Egon Bondy, Czech philosopher and poet (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer and academic (b. 1907)
- 2009 – Nick Adenhart, American baseball player (b. 1986)
- 2010 – Zoltán Varga, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1945)
- 2011 – Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri, Bahraini journalist (b. 1971)
- 2011 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Malcolm Thomas, Welsh rugby player and cricketer (b. 1929)
- 2013 – David Hayes, American sculptor and painter (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Greg McCrary, American football player (b. 1952)
- 2013 – Mordechai Mishani, Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1945)
- 2013 – McCandlish Phillips, American journalist and author (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Paolo Soleri, Italian-American architect, designed the Cosanti (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Gil Askey, American trumpet player, composer, and producer (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Chris Banks, American football player (b. 1973)
- 2014 – Rory Ellinger, American lawyer and politician (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Norman Girvan, Jamaican economist, academic, and politician (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Aelay Narendra, Indian politician (b. 1946)
- 2014 – A. N. R. Robinson, Trinbagonian politician, 3rd President of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Svetlana Velmar-Janković, Serbian author (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Paul Almond, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Margaret Rule, British marine archaeologist (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Nina Companeez, French director and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 2015 – Alexander Dalgarno, English physicist and academic (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Ivan Doig, American journalist and author (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Tsien Tsuen-hsuin, Chinese-American academic (b. 1909)
- 2016 – Duane Clarridge, American spy (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Will Smith, American football player (b. 1981)
- 2017 – John Clarke, New Zealand-Australian comedian, writer, and satirist (b. 1948)
Holidays and observances on April 9
- Christian feast day:
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Anglicanism, Lutheranism)
- Gaucherius
- Materiana
- Waltrude
- April 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Anniversary of the German Invasion of Denmark (Denmark)
- Baghdad Liberation Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- Bataan Day or Araw ng Kagitingan (Philippines)
- Constitution Day (Kosovo)
- Day of National Unity (Georgia)
- Day of the Finnish Language (Finland)
- Feast of the Second Day of the Writing of the Book of the Law (Thelema)
- Martyr’s Day (Tunisia)
- National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day (United States)
- Remembrance for Haakon Sigurdsson (The Troth)
- Vimy Ridge Day (Canada)
-
April 6 in History
- 46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
- 402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
- 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Ayyubids of Egypt capture King Louis IX of France in the Battle of Fariskur.
- 1320 – The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
- 1327 – The poet Petrarch first sees his idealized love, Laura, in the church of Saint Clare in Avignon.
- 1385 – John, Master of the Order of Aviz, an illegitimate son of Peter I of Portugal, is made king John I of Portugal.
- 1453 – Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Istanbul), which falls on May 29.
- 1580 – One of the largest earthquakes recorded in the history of England, Flanders, or Northern France, takes place.
- 1652 – At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp that eventually becomes Cape Town.
- 1712 – The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 begins near Broadway.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy fail in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat.
- 1782 – King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) of Siam (modern day Thailand) establishes the Chakri dynasty.
- 1793 – During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety becomes the executive organ of the republic.
- 1808 – John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America’s first millionaire.
- 1812 – British forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington assault the fortress of Badajoz. This would be the turning point in the Peninsular War against Napoleon-led France.
- 1814 – Nominal beginning of the Bourbon Restoration; anniversary date that Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.
- 1830 – Church of Christ, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement, is organized by Joseph Smith and others at either Fayette or Manchester, New York.
- 1841 – U.S. President John Tyler is sworn in, two days after having become President upon William Henry Harrison’s death.
- 1860 – The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, later renamed Community of Christ, is organized by Joseph Smith III and others at Amboy, Illinois.
- 1861 – First performance of Arthur Sullivan’s debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, leading to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh begins: In Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.
- 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Sailor’s Creek: Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia fights and loses its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign.
- 1866 – The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, is founded. It lasts until 1956.
- 1869 – Celluloid is patented.
- 1888 – Thomas Green Clemson dies, bequeathing his estate to the State of South Carolina to establish Clemson Agricultural College.
- 1893 – Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.
- 1895 – Oscar Wilde is arrested in the Cadogan Hotel, London, after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry.
- 1896 – In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman emperor Theodosius I.
- 1909 – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson become the first people to reach the North Pole; Peary’s claim has been disputed because of failings in his navigational ability.
- 1911 – During the Battle of Deçiq, Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg).
- 1917 – World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson’s address to Congress).
- 1926 – Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines).
- 1929 – Huey P. Long, Governor of Louisiana, is impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives.
- 1930 – At the end of the Salt March, Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire.”
- 1936 – Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.
- 1941 – World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece).
- 1945 – World War II: Sarajevo is liberated from German and Croatian forces by the Yugoslav Partisans.
- 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Slater’s Knoll on Bougainville comes to an end.
- 1947 – The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement.
- 1957 – Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis buys the Hellenic National Airlines (TAE) and founds Olympic Airlines.
- 1965 – Launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.
- 1968 – In Richmond, Indiana’s downtown district, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150.
- 1968 – Pierre Elliott Trudeau wins the Liberal Leadership Election, and becomes Prime Minister of Canada soon after.
- 1970 – Newhall massacre: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed in a shootout.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: Easter Offensive: American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.
- 1973 – Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
- 1973 – The American League of Major League Baseball begins using the designated hitter.
- 1974 – The Swedish pop band ABBA wins the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Waterloo”, launching their international career.
- 1979 – Student protests break out in Nepal.
- 1984 – Members of Cameroon’s Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.
- 1992 – The Bosnian War begins.
- 1994 – The Rwandan genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down.
- 1997 – In Greene County, Tennessee, the Lillelid murders occurs when a group of young people abduct and kidnap a religious family before shooting them dead on a rural suburban road.
- 1998 – Nuclear weapons testing: Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India.
- 1998 – Travelers Group announces an agreement to undertake the $76 billion merger between Travelers and Citicorp, and the merger is completed on October 8, of that year, forming Citibank.
- 2004 – Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment.
- 2005 – Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.
- 2008 – The 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activists.
- 2009 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L’Aquila, Italy, killing 307.
- 2010 – Maoist rebels kill 76 CRPF officers in Dantewada district, India.
- 2011 – In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, over 193 victims of Los Zetas were exhumed from several mass graves.
- 2012 – Azawad declares itself independent from the Republic of Mali.
- 2017 – U.S. military launches 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria. Russia describes the strikes as an “aggression”, adding they significantly damage US-Russia ties.
- 2018 – A bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collides with a semi-truck in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 people and injuring 13 others.
Births on April 6
- 1135 – Maimonides, Jewish philosopher, Torah scholar, physician and astronomer (March 30 also proposed, d. 1204)
- 1342 – Infanta Maria, Marchioness of Tortosa
- 1483 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
- 1573 – Margaret of Brunswick-Lüneburg, German noble (d. 1643)
- 1632 – Maria Leopoldine of Austria (d. 1649)
- 1651 – André Dacier, French scholar and academic (d. 1722)
- 1660 – Johann Kuhnau, German organist and composer (d. 1722)
- 1664 – Arvid Horn, Swedish general and politician, Governor of Västerbotten County (d. 1742)
- 1671 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet and playwright (d. 1741)
- 1672 – André Cardinal Destouches, French composer (d. 1749)
- 1706 – Louis de Cahusac, French playwright and composer (d. 1759)
- 1708 – Johann Georg Reutter, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1772)
- 1725 – Pasquale Paoli, French soldier and politician (d. 1807)
- 1726 – Gerard Majella, Italian saint (d. 1755)
- 1741 – Nicolas Chamfort, French author and playwright (d. 1794)
- 1766 – Wilhelm von Kobell, German painter and educator (d. 1853)
- 1773 – James Mill, Scottish historian, economist, and philosopher (d. 1836)
- 1787 – Celestina Cordero, Puerto Rican educator (d. 1862)
- 1810 – Philip Henry Gosse, English biologist and academic (d. 1888)
- 1812 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (d. 1870)
- 1815 – Robert Volkmann, German organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1883)
- 1818 – Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian journalist and poet (d. 1870)
- 1820 – Nadar, French photographer, journalist, and author (d. 1910)
- 1823 – Joseph Medill, Canadian-American publisher and politician, 26th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1899)
- 1824 – George Waterhouse, English-New Zealand politician, 7th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1906)
- 1826 – Gustave Moreau, French painter and academic (d. 1898)
- 1844 – William Lyne, Australian politician, 13th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1913)
- 1851 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (d. 1932)
- 1852 – Will Crooks, English trade unionist and politician (d. 1921)
- 1855 – Charles Huot, Canadian painter and illustrator (d. 1930)
- 1857 – Arthur Wesley Dow, American painter and photographer (d. 1922)
- 1860 – René Lalique, French sculptor and jewellery designer (d. 1945)
- 1861 – Stanislas de Guaita, French poet and author (d. 1897)
- 1864 – William Bate Hardy, English biologist and academic (d. 1934)
- 1866 – Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, Canadian cardinal (d. 1931)
- 1869 – Levon Shant, Armenian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1951)
- 1878 – Erich Mühsam, German author, poet, and playwright (d. 1934)
- 1881 – Karl Staaf, Swedish pole vaulter and hammer thrower (d. 1953)
- 1884 – J. G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh race car driver and engineer (d. 1927)
- 1886 – Athenagoras I of Constantinople (d. 1972)
- 1886 – Walter Dandy, American physician and neurosurgeon (d. 1946)
- 1886 – Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, Indian ruler (d. 1967)
- 1888 – Hans Richter, Swiss painter, illustrator, and director (d. 1976)
- 1888 – Gerhard Ritter, German historian and academic (d. 1967)
- 1890 – Anthony Fokker, Dutch engineer and businessman, founded Fokker Aircraft Manufacturer (d. 1939)
- 1892 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American businessman, founded the Douglas Aircraft Company (d. 1981)
- 1892 – Lowell Thomas, American journalist and author (d. 1981)
- 1895 – Dudley Nichols, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1960)
- 1898 – Jeanne Hébuterne, French painter and author (d. 1920)
- 1900 – Leo Robin, American composer and songwriter (d. 1984)
- 1901 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian activist (d. 1925)
- 1902 – Julien Torma, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1933)
- 1903 – Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player and manager (d. 1962)
- 1903 – Harold Eugene Edgerton, American engineer and academic (d. 1990)
- 1904 – Kurt Georg Kiesinger, German lawyer, politician and Chancellor of Germany (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Erwin Komenda, Austrian car designer and engineer (d. 1966)
- 1908 – Marcel-Marie Desmarais, Canadian preacher, missionary, and author (d. 1994)
- 1909 – William M. Branham, American minister and theologian (d. 1965)
- 1909 – Hermann Lang, German race car driver (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Barys Kit, Belarusian-American rocket scientist (d. 2018)
- 1911 – Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
- 1913 – Shannon Boyd-Bailey McCune, American geographer and academic (d. 1993)
- 1915 – Tadeusz Kantor, Polish director, painter, and set designer (d. 1990)
- 1916 – Phil Leeds, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1916 – Vincent Ellis McKelvey, American geologist and author (d. 1987)
- 1917 – Leonora Carrington, English-Mexican painter and author (d. 2011)
- 1918 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian general and politician, 56th President of Bolivia (d. 1982)
- 1919 – Georgios Mylonas, Greek politician, 11th Greek Minister of Culture (d. 1998)
- 1920 – Jack Cover, American pilot and physicist, invented the Taser gun (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Edmond H. Fischer, Swiss-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1921 – Wilbur Thompson, American shot putter (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Gordon Chater, English-Australian comedian and actor (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Herb Thomas, American race car driver (d. 2000)
- 1926 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-American singer and actor (d. 1990)
- 1926 – Gil Kane, Latvian-American author and illustrator (d. 2000)
- 1926 – Ian Paisley, Northern Irish evangelical minister and politician, 2nd First Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Randy Weston, American jazz pianist and composer (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (d. 1996)
- 1928 – James Watson, American biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1929 – Willis Hall, English playwright and author (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Joi Lansing, American model, actress and nightclub singer (d. 1972)
- 1929 – André Previn, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Ram Dass, American author and educator (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Ivan Dixon, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Connie Broden, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Helmut Griem, German actor and director (d. 2004)
- 1933 – Roy Goode, English lawyer and academic
- 1933 – Tom C. Korologos, American journalist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Belgium
- 1933 – Eduardo Malapit, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of Kauai (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (d. 1996)
- 1934 – Anton Geesink, Dutch martial artist and wrestler (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Guy Peellaert, Belgian painter, illustrator, and photographer (d. 2008)
- 1935 – Douglas Hill, Canadian author and critic (d. 2007)
- 1936 – Helen Berman, Dutch-Israeli painter and illustrator
- 1936 – Jean-Pierre Changeux, French neuroscientist, biologist, and academic
- 1937 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
- 1937 – Tom Veivers, Australian cricketer and politician
- 1937 – Billy Dee Williams, American actor, singer, and writer
- 1938 – Paul Daniels, English magician and television host (d. 2016)
- 1938 – Roy Thinnes, American television and film actor
- 1939 – André Ouellet, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1939 – John Sculley, American businessman, co-founded Zeta Interactive
- 1940 – Homero Aridjis, Mexican journalist, author, and poet
- 1940 – Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., Mexican-American actor and producer (d. 2011)
- 1941 – Christopher Allsopp, English economist and academic
- 1941 – Phil Austin, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1941 – Hans W. Geißendörfer, German director and producer
- 1941 – Don Prudhomme, American race car driver and manager
- 1941 – Gheorghe Zamfir, Romanian flute player and composer
- 1942 – Barry Levinson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1942 – Anita Pallenberg, Italian-English model, actress, and fashion designer (d. 2017)
- 1943 – Max Clifford, English journalist and publicist (d. 2017)
- 1943 – Roger Cook, New Zealand-English journalist and academic
- 1943 – Ian MacRae, New Zealand rugby player
- 1943 – Mitchell Melton, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
- 1944 – Felicity Palmer, English operatic soprano
- 1945 – Rodney Bickerstaffe, English trade union leader (d. 2017)
- 1945 – Peter Hill, English journalist
- 1946 – Paul Beresford, New Zealand-English dentist and politician
- 1947 – John Ratzenberger, American actor and director
- 1947 – André Weinfeld, French-American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1947 – Mike Worboys, English mathematician and computer scientist
- 1949 – Alyson Bailes, English academic and diplomat (d. 2016)
- 1949 – Patrick Hernandez, French singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Ng Ser Miang, Singaporean athlete, entrepreneur and diplomat
- 1949 – Horst Ludwig Störmer, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1950 – Claire Morissette, Canadian cycling activist (d. 2007)
- 1950 – Cleo Odzer, American anthropologist and author (d. 2001)
- 1951 – Bert Blyleven, Dutch-American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1951 – Jean-Marc Boivin, French skier, mountaineer, and pilot (d. 1990)
- 1951 – Pascal Rogé, French pianist
- 1951 – Phil Schaap, American jazz disc jockey and historian
- 1952 – Udo Dirkschneider, German singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Marilu Henner, Greek-Polish American actress and author
- 1952 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 1992)
- 1953 – Patrick Doyle, Scottish actor and composer
- 1953 – Christopher Franke, German-American drummer and songwriter
- 1955 – Rob Epstein, American director and producer
- 1955 – Michael Rooker, American actor, director, and producer
- 1955 – Cathy Jones, Canadian actress, comedian, and writer
- 1956 – Michele Bachmann, American lawyer and politician
- 1956 – Normand Corbeil, Canadian composer (d. 2013)
- 1956 – Mudassar Nazar, Pakistani cricketer
- 1956 – Lee Scott, English politician
- 1956 – Sebastian Spreng, Argentinian-American painter and journalist
- 1956 – Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer and coach
- 1957 – Giorgio Damilano, Italian race walker and coach
- 1957 – Maurizio Damilano, Italian race walker and coach
- 1957 – Jaroslava Maxová, Czech soprano and educator
- 1957 – Paolo Nespoli, Italian soldier, engineer, and astronaut
- 1958 – Graeme Base, Australian author and illustrator
- 1959 – Gail Shea, Canadian politician
- 1960 – Warren Haynes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1960 – Richard Loe, New Zealand rugby player
- 1960 – John Pizzarelli, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1961 – Rory Bremner, Scottish actor and screenwriter
- 1961 – Peter Jackson, English footballer and manager
- 1962 – Iris Häussler, German sculptor and academic
- 1962 – Marco Schällibaum, Swiss footballer, coach, and manager
- 1963 – Rafael Correa, Ecuadorian economist and politician, 54th President of Ecuador
- 1965 – Black Francis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1965 – Sterling Sharpe, American football player and sportscaster
- 1966 – Vince Flynn, American author (d. 2013)
- 1966 – Young Man Kang, South Korean-American director and producer
- 1967 – Julian Anderson, English composer and educator
- 1967 – Kathleen Barr, Canadian voice actress and singer
- 1967 – Tanya Byron, English psychologist and academic
- 1967 – Jonathan Firth, English actor
- 1968 – Archon Fung, American political scientist, author, and academic
- 1968 – Affonso Giaffone, Brazilian race car driver
- 1969 – Bret Boone, American baseball player and manager
- 1969 – Bison Dele, American basketball player (d. 2002)
- 1969 – Philipp Peter, Austrian race car driver
- 1969 – Paul Rudd, American actor
- 1969 – Spencer Wells, American geneticist and anthropologist
- 1970 – Olaf Kölzig, South African-German ice hockey player and coach
- 1970 – Roy Mayorga, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
- 1970 – Huang Xiaomin, Chinese swimmer
- 1972 – Anders Thomas Jensen, Danish director and screenwriter
- 1972 – Dickey Simpkins, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1973 – Donnie Edwards, American football player
- 1973 – Randall Godfrey, American football player
- 1973 – Rie Miyazawa, Japanese model and actress
- 1973 – Sun Wen, Chinese footballer
- 1975 – Zach Braff, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1975 – Hal Gill, American ice hockey player
- 1976 – Candace Cameron Bure, American actress and talk show panelist
- 1976 – James Fox, Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1976 – Chris Hoke, American football player
- 1976 – Georg Hólm, Icelandic bass player
- 1976 – Hirotada Ototake, Japanese author and educator
- 1977 – Ville Nieminen, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1977 – Andy Phillips, American baseball player and coach
- 1978 – Imani Coppola, American singer-songwriter and violinist
- 1978 – Robert Glasper, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1978 – Tim Hasselbeck, American football player and sportscaster
- 1978 – Myleene Klass, Austrian/Filipino-English singer, pianist, and model
- 1978 – Martín Méndez, Uruguayan bass player and songwriter
- 1978 – Blaine Neal, American baseball player
- 1978 – Igor Semshov, Russian footballer
- 1979 – Lord Frederick Windsor, English journalist and financier
- 1979 – Clay Travis, American sports journalist, blogger, and broadcaster
- 1980 – Tommi Evilä, Finnish long jumper
- 1980 – Tanja Poutiainen, Finnish skier
- 1980 – Antonio Thomas, American wrestler
- 1981 – Robert Earnshaw, Welsh footballer
- 1981 – Jeff Faine, American football player
- 1981 – Alex Suarez, American bass player
- 1982 – Travis Moen, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Spanish actor
- 1983 – Mehdi Ballouchy, Moroccan footballer
- 1983 – Jerome Kaino, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983 – Mitsuru Nagata, Japanese footballer
- 1983 – Remi Nicole, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1983 – James Wade, English darts player
- 1983 – Katie Weatherston, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Max Bemis, American singer-songwriter
- 1984 – Michaël Ciani, French footballer
- 1984 – Siboniso Gaxa, South African footballer
- 1984 – Diana Matheson, Canadian soccer player
- 1985 – Clarke MacArthur, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Frank Ongfiang, Cameroonian footballer
- 1985 – Sinqua Walls, American basketball player and actor
- 1986 – Nikolas Asprogenis, Cypriot footballer
- 1986 – Aaron Curry, American football player
- 1986 – Goeido Gotaro, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1986 – Ryota Moriwaki, Japanese footballer
- 1987 – Benjamin Corgnet, French footballer
- 1987 – Heidi Mount, American model
- 1987 – Juan Adriel Ochoa, Mexican footballer
- 1987 – Levi Porter, English footballer
- 1987 – Hilary Rhoda, American model
- 1988 – Jucilei, Brazilian footballer
- 1988 – Leigh Adams, Australian footballer
- 1988 – Daniele Gasparetto, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Carlton Mitchell, American football player
- 1988 – Fabrice Muamba, Congolese-English footballer
- 1988 – Ivonne Orsini, Puerto Rican-American model and television host, Miss World Puerto Rico 2008
- 1990 – Lachlan Coote, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Charlie McDermott, American actor
- 1990 – Andrei Veis, Estonian footballer
- 1992 – Ken, South Korean singer
- 1992 – Julie Ertz, American soccer player
- 1994 – Adrián Alonso, Mexican actor
- 1995 – Darya Lebesheva, Belarusian tennis player
- 1998 – Peyton List, American actress and model
Deaths on April 6
- 861 – Prudentius, bishop of Troyes
- 885 – Saint Methodius, Byzantine missionary and saint (b. 815)
- 887 – Pei Che, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
- 943 – Liu Churang, Chinese general and chief of staff (b. 881)
- 943 – Nasr II, ruler (amir) of the Samanid Empire (b. 906)
- 1147 – Frederick II, duke of Swabia (b. 1090)
- 1199 – Richard I, king of England (b. 1157)
- 1231 – William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
- 1250 – Guillaume de Sonnac, Grand Master of the Knights Templar
- 1252 – Peter of Verona, Italian priest and saint (b. 1206)
- 1340 – Basil, emperor of Trebizond (Turkey)
- 1362 – James I, count of La Marche (b. 1319)
- 1376 – Preczlaw of Pogarell, Cardinal and Bishop of Wrocław (b. 1310)
- 1490 – Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490 (b. 1443)
- 1520 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (b. 1483)
- 1523 – Henry Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English nobleman (b. 1479)
- 1528 – Albrecht Dürer, German painter, engraver, and mathematician (b. 1471)
- 1551 – Joachim Vadian, Swiss scholar and politician (b. 1484)
- 1571 – John Hamilton, Scottish archbishop and academic (b. 1512)
- 1590 – Francis Walsingham, English politician and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1532)
- 1593 – Henry Barrowe, English Puritan and separatist (b. 1550)
- 1605 – John Stow, English historian and author (b. 1525)
- 1621 – Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford (b. 1539)
- 1641 – Domenico Zampieri (Domenichino), Italian painter (b. 1581)
- 1655 – David Blondel, French minister, historian, and scholar (b. 1591)
- 1676 – John Winthrop the Younger, English politician, 1st Governor of Connecticut (b. 1606)
- 1686 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, Irish-English politician (b. 1614)
- 1707 – Willem van de Velde the Younger, Dutch-English painter (b. 1633)
- 1755 – Richard Rawlinson, English minister and historian (b. 1690)
- 1790 – Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1719)
- 1825 – Vladimir Borovikovsky, Ukrainian-Russian painter and educator (b. 1757)
- 1829 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (b. 1802)
- 1833 – Adamantios Korais, Greek philosopher and scholar (b. 1748)
- 1838 – José Bonifácio de Andrada, Brazilian poet, academic, and politician (b. 1763)
- 1860 – James Kirke Paulding, American author and politician, 11th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1778)
- 1862 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (b. 1803)
- 1883 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, American merchant and politician, 3rd Mayor of Chicago (b. 1801)
- 1886 – William Edward Forster, English businessman, philanthropist, and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1818)
- 1899 – Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (b. 1809)
- 1906 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician, 6th County Governor of Møre og Romsdal (b. 1849)
- 1913 – Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore (b. 1835)
- 1923 – Kabalega, King of Bunyoro (b.1853)
- 1927 – Florence Earle Coates, American poet (b. 1850)
- 1935 – Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet and playwright (b. 1869)
- 1944 – Rose O’Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (b. 1874)
- 1947 – Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (b. 1896)
- 1950 – Louis Wilkins, American pole vaulter (b. 1882)
- 1953 – Idris Davies, Welsh poet and author (b. 1905)
- 1959 – Leo Aryeh Mayer, Polish-Israeli scholar and academic (b. 1895)
- 1961 – Jules Bordet, Belgian microbiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
- 1963 – Otto Struve, Ukrainian-American astronomer and academic (b. 1897)
- 1970 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933)
- 1971 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1882)
- 1974 – Willem Marinus Dudok, Dutch architect (b. 1884)
- 1974 – Hudson Fysh, Australian pilot and businessman, co-founded Qantas Airways Limited (b. 1895)
- 1977 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (b. 1889)
- 1979 – Ivan Vasilyov, Bulgarian architect, designed the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library (b. 1893)
- 1983 – Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, Indian General who served as the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1962 to 1966 and the Military Governor of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1949. (b. 1908)
- 1992 – Isaac Asimov, American science fiction writer (b. 1920)
- 1994 – Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan banker and politician, 3rd President of Rwanda (b. 1937)
- 1994 – Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician, 5th President of Burundi (b. 1955)
- 1995 – Ioannis Alevras, Greek banker and politician, President of Greece (b. 1912)
- 1996 – Greer Garson, English-American actress (b. 1904)
- 1998 – Norbert Schmitz, German footballer (b. 1958)
- 1998 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
- 1999 – Red Norvo, American vibraphone player and composer (b. 1908)
- 2000 – Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian politician, 1st President of Tunisia (b. 1903)
- 2001 – Charles Pettigrew, American singer-songwriter (b. 1963)
- 2003 – David Bloom, American journalist (b. 1963)
- 2003 – Anita Borg, American computer scientist and educator; founded Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology (b. 1949)
- 2003 – Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian cardinal (b. 1912)
- 2003 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer, educator, and activist (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Lou Berberet, American baseball player (b. 1929)
- 2004 – Larisa Bogoraz, Russian linguist and activist (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Maggie Dixon, American basketball player and coach (b. 1977)
- 2006 – Francis L. Kellogg, American soldier and diplomat (b. 1917)
- 2006 – Stefanos Stratigos, Greek actor and director (b. 1926)
- 2007 – Luigi Comencini, Italian director and producer (b. 1916)
- 2009 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1919)
- 2009 – Shawn Mackay, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1982)
- 2010 – Wilma Mankiller, American tribal leader (b. 1945)
- 2010 – Corin Redgrave, English actor (b. 1939)
- 2011 – Gerald Finnerman, American director and cinematographer (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Roland Guilbault, American admiral (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter and illustrator (b. 1958)
- 2012 – Fang Lizhi, Chinese astrophysicist and academic (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Sheila Scotter, Australian fashion designer and journalist (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Reed Whittemore, American poet and critic (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Hilda Bynoe, Grenadian physician and politician, 2nd Governor of Grenada (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Bill Guttridge, English footballer and manager (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Bigas Luna, Spanish director and screenwriter (b. 1946)
- 2013 – Ottmar Schreiner, German lawyer and politician (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Mary Anderson, American actress (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Jacques Castérède, French pianist and composer (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Liv Dommersnes, Norwegian actress (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Mickey Rooney, American soldier, actor, and dancer (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Chuck Stone, American soldier, journalist, and academic (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Massimo Tamburini, Italian motorcycle designer, co-founded Bimota (b. 1943)
- 2015 – Giovanni Berlinguer, Italian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – James Best, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
- 2016 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)
- 2017 – Don Rickles, American actor and comedian (b. 1926)
- 2019 – Michael O’Donnell, British physician, journalist, author and broadcaster (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on April 6
- Chakri Day, commemorating the establishment of the Chakri dynasty. (Thailand)
- Christian feast day:
- Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach (Lutheran Church).
- Brychan
- Eutychius of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Marcellinus of Carthage
- Pope Celestine I (Catholic Church)
- Pope Sixtus I
- April 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
- National Fisherman Day (Indonesia)
- New Beer’s Eve (United States)
- Tartan Day (United States & Canada)
-
March 25 in History
- 708 – Pope Constantine succeeds Pope Sisinnius as the 88th pope.
- 717 – Theodosius III resigns the throne to the Byzantine Empire to enter the clergy.
- 919 – Romanos Lekapenos seizes the Boukoleon Palace in Constantinople and becomes regent of the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII.
- 1000 – Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah assassinates the eunuch chief minister Barjawan and assumes control of the government.
- 1306 – Robert the Bruce becomes King of Scots (Scotland).
- 1409 – The Council of Pisa opens.
- 1555 – The city of Valencia is founded in present-day Venezuela.
- 1576 – Jerome Savage takes out a sub-lease to start the Newington Butts Theatre outside London.
- 1584 – Sir Walter Raleigh is granted a patent to colonize Virginia.
- 1655 – Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is discovered by Christiaan Huygens.
- 1802 – The Treaty of Amiens is signed as a “Definitive Treaty of Peace” between France and the United Kingdom.
- 1807 – The Slave Trade Act becomes law, abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire.
- 1807 – The Swansea and Mumbles Railway, then known as the Oystermouth Railway, becomes the first passenger-carrying railway in the world.
- 1811 – Percy Bysshe Shelley is expelled from the University of Oxford for publishing the pamphlet The Necessity of Atheism.
- 1821 – Traditional date of the start of the Greek War of Independence. The war had actually begun on 23 February 1821 (Julian calendar).
- 1845 – New Zealand Legislative Council pass the first Militia Act constituting the New Zealand Army.
- 1865 – American Civil War: In Virginia, Confederate forces temporarily capture Fort Stedman from the Union.
- 1894 – Coxey’s Army, the first significant American protest march, departs Massillon, Ohio for Washington, D.C.
- 1911 – In New York City, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire kills 146 garment workers.
- 1917 – The Georgian Orthodox Church restores its autocephaly abolished by Imperial Russia in 1811.
- 1918 – The Belarusian People’s Republic is established.
- 1924 – On the anniversary of Greek Independence, Alexandros Papanastasiou proclaims the Second Hellenic Republic.
- 1931 – The Scottsboro Boys are arrested in Alabama and charged with rape.
- 1941 – The Kingdom of Yugoslavia joins the Axis powers with the signing of the Tripartite Pact.
- 1947 – An explosion in a coal mine in Centralia, Illinois kills 111.
- 1948 – The first successful tornado forecast predicts that a tornado will strike Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
- 1949 – More than 92,000 kulaks are suddenly deported from the Baltic states to Siberia.
- 1957 – United States Customs seizes copies of Allen Ginsberg’s poem “Howl” on obscenity grounds.
- 1957 – The European Economic Community is established with West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg as the first members.
- 1965 – Civil rights activists led by Martin Luther King Jr. successfully complete their 4-day 50-mile march from Selma to the capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.
- 1969 – During their honeymoon, John Lennon and Yoko Ono hold their first Bed-In for Peace at the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel (until March 31).
- 1971 – The Army of the Republic of Vietnam abandon an attempt to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos.
- 1975 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia is shot and killed by a mentally ill nephew.
- 1979 – The first fully functional Space Shuttle orbiter, Columbia, is delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center to be prepared for its first launch.
- 1988 – The Candle demonstration in Bratislava is the first mass demonstration of the 1980s against the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
- 1995 – WikiWikiWeb, the world’s first wiki, and part of the Portland Pattern Repository, is made public by Ward Cunningham.
- 1996 – The European Union’s Veterinarian Committee bans the export of British beef and its by-products as a result of mad cow disease (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy).
- 2006 – Capitol Hill massacre: A gunman kills six people before taking his own life at a party in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.
- 2006 – Protesters demanding a new election in Belarus, following the rigged 2006 Belarusian presidential election, clash with riot police. Opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin is among several protesters arrested.
Births on March 25
- 1252 – Conradin, Duke of Swabia (d. 1268)
- 1259 – Andronikos II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1332)
- 1297 – Andronikos III Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1341)
- 1297 – Arnošt of Pardubice, Polish archbishop (d. 1364)
- 1345 – Blanche of Lancaster (d. 1369)
- 1347 – Catherine of Siena, Italian philosopher, theologian, and saint (d. 1380)
- 1404 – John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English military leader (d. 1444)
- 1414 – Thomas Clifford, 8th Baron de Clifford, English noble (d. 1455)
- 1434 – Eustochia Smeralda Calafato, Italian saint (d. 1485)
- 1453 – Giuliano de’ Medici (d. 1478)
- 1479 – Vasili III of Russia (d. 1533)
- 1491 – Marie d’Albret, Countess of Rethel (d. 1549)
- 1510 – Guillaume Postel, French linguist (d. 1581)
- 1538 – Christopher Clavius, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1612)
- 1541 – Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1587)
- 1545 – John II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg (d. 1622)
- 1546 – Giacomo Castelvetro, Italian writer (d. 1616)
- 1593 – Jean de Brébeuf, French-Canadian missionary and saint (d. 1649)
- 1611 – Evliya Çelebi, Ottoman Turk traveller and writer (d. 1682)
- 1636 – Henric Piccardt, Dutch lawyer (d. 1712)
- 1643 – Louis Moréri, French priest and scholar (d. 1680)
- 1661 – Paul de Rapin, French soldier and historian (d. 1725)
- 1699 – Johann Adolph Hasse, German singer and composer (d. 1783)
- 1741 – Jean-Antoine Houdon, French sculptor and educator (d. 1828)
- 1745 – John Barry, American naval officer and father of the American navy (d. 1803)
- 1767 – Joachim Murat, French general (d. 1815)
- 1782 – Caroline Bonaparte, French daughter of Carlo Buonaparte (d. 1839)
- 1800 – Ernst Heinrich Karl von Dechen, German geologist and academic (d. 1889)
- 1808 – José de Espronceda, Spanish poet and author (d. 1842)
- 1824 – Clinton L. Merriam, American banker and politician (d. 1900)
- 1840 – Myles Keogh, Irish-American colonel (d. 1876)
- 1863 – Simon Flexner, American physician and academic (d. 1946)
- 1867 – Gutzon Borglum, American sculptor, designed Mount Rushmore (d. 1941)
- 1867 – Arturo Toscanini, Italian-American cellist and conductor (d. 1957)
- 1868 – Bill Lockwood, English cricketer (d. 1932)
- 1871 – Louis Perrée, French fencer (d. 1924)
- 1872 – Horatio Nelson Jackson, American race car driver and physician (d. 1955)
- 1873 – Rudolf Rocker, German-American author and activist (d. 1958)
- 1874 – Selim Sırrı Tarcan, Turkish educator and politician (d. 1957)
- 1876 – Irving Baxter, American jumper and pole vaulter (d. 1957)
- 1877 – Walter Little, Canadian politician (d. 1961)
- 1878 – František Janda-Suk, Czech discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1955)
- 1879 – Amedee Reyburn, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1920)
- 1881 – Béla Bartók, Hungarian pianist and composer (d. 1945)
- 1881 – Patrick Henry Bruce, American painter and educator (d. 1936)
- 1881 – Mary Webb, English author and poet (d. 1927)
- 1893 – Johannes Villemson, Estonian runner (d. 1971)
- 1895 – Siegfried Handloser, German general and physician (d. 1954)
- 1885 – Jimmy Seed, English international footballer, inside forward and manager (d. 1966)
- 1897 – Leslie Averill, New Zealand doctor and soldier (d. 1981)
- 1899 – François Rozet, French-Canadian actor (d. 1994)
- 1901 – Ed Begley, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1903 – Binnie Barnes, English-American actress (d. 1998)
- 1903 – Frankie Carle, American pianist and bandleader (d. 2001)
- 1903 – Nahum Norbert Glatzer, Ukrainian-American theologian and scholar (d. 1990)
- 1904 – Pete Johnson, American boogie-woogie and jazz pianist (d. 1967)
- 1905 – Albrecht Mertz von Quirnheim, German colonel (d. 1944)
- 1906 – Jean Sablon, French singer and actor (d. 1994)
- 1906 – A. J. P. Taylor, English historian and academic (d. 1990)
- 1908 – David Lean, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)
- 1910 – Magda Olivero, Italian soprano (d. 2014)
- 1910 – Benzion Netanyahu, Polish-Israeli historian and academic (d. 2012)
- 1912 – Melita Norwood, English civil servant and spy (d. 2005)
- 1912 – Jean Vilar, French actor and director (d. 1971)
- 1913 – Reo Stakis, Cypriot-Scottish businessman, founded Stakis Hotels (d. 2001)
- 1914 – Norman Borlaug, American agronomist and humanitarian, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Dorothy Squires, Welsh singer (d. 1998)
- 1916 – S. M. Pandit, Indian painter and educator (d. 1993)
- 1918 – Howard Cosell, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1995)
- 1920 – Paul Scott, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1978)
- 1920 – Patrick Troughton, English actor (d. 1987)
- 1920 – Usha Mehta, Gandhian and freedom fighter of India (d. 2000)
- 1921 – Nancy Kelly, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1921 – Simone Signoret, French actress (d. 1985)
- 1922 – Eileen Ford, American businesswoman, co-founded Ford Models (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Bonnie Guitar, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
- 1923 – Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (d. 2003)
- 1924 – Roberts Blossom, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Machiko Kyō, Japanese actress (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Flannery O’Connor, American short story writer and novelist (d. 1964)
- 1925 – Anthony Quinton, Baron Quinton, English physician and philosopher (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Kishori Sinha, Indian politician, social activist and advocate (d. 2016)
- 1926 – Riz Ortolani, Italian composer and conductor (d. 2014)
- 1926 – László Papp, Hungarian boxer (d. 2003)
- 1926 – Jaime Sabines, Mexican poet and politician (d. 1999)
- 1926 – Gene Shalit, American journalist and critic
- 1927 – P. Shanmugam, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Puducherry (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Jim Lovell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
- 1928 – Gunnar Nielsen, Danish runner and typographer (d. 1985)
- 1928 – Hans Steinbrenner, German sculptor (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Cecil Taylor, American pianist and composer (d. 2018)
- 1930 – David Burge, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Carlo Mauri, Italian mountaineer and explorer (d. 1982)
- 1930 – Rudy Minarcin, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Humphrey Burton, English radio and television host
- 1932 – Penelope Gilliatt, English novelist, short story writer, and critic (d. 1993)
- 1932 – Wes Santee, American runner (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Johnny Burnette, American singer-songwriter (d. 1964)
- 1934 – Bernard King, Australian actor and chef (d. 2002)
- 1934 – Karlheinz Schreiber, German-Canadian businessman
- 1934 – Gloria Steinem, American feminist activist, co-founded the Women’s Media Center
- 1935 – Gabriel Elorde, Filipino boxer (d. 1985)
- 1936 – Carl Kaufmann, American-German sprinter (d. 2008)
- 1937 – Tom Monaghan, American businessman, founded Domino’s Pizza
- 1938 – Hoyt Axton, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
- 1938 – Daniel Buren, French sculptor and painter
- 1938 – Fritz d’Orey, Brazilian race car driver
- 1939 – Toni Cade Bambara, American author, academic, and activist (d. 1995)
- 1939 – D. C. Fontana, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2019)
- 1941 – Gudmund Hernes, Norwegian sociologist and politician, Norwegian Minister of Education and Research
- 1942 – Aretha Franklin, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2018)
- 1942 – Richard O’Brien, English actor and screenwriter
- 1942 – Kim Woodburn, English television host
- 1943 – Paul Michael Glaser, American actor and director
- 1945 – Leila Diniz, Brazilian actress (d. 1972)
- 1946 – Cliff Balsom, English footballer
- 1946 – Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher and author (d. 2010)
- 1946 – Stephen Hunter, American author and critic
- 1946 – Maurice Krafft, French volcanologist (d. 1991)
- 1947 – Richard Cork, English historian and critic
- 1947 – Elton John, English singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor
- 1948 – Bonnie Bedelia, American actress
- 1948 – Michael Stanley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1949 – Ronnie Flanagan, Northern Irish Chief Constable (Royal Irish Constabulary, Police Service of Northern Ireland)
- 1949 – Sue Klebold, American activist
- 1950 – Chuck Greenberg, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1995)
- 1950 – Ronnie McDowell, American singer-songwriter
- 1950 – David Paquette, American-New Zealander pianist
- 1951 – Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese wrestler (d. 2000)
- 1952 – Stephen Dorrell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health
- 1952 – Antanas Mockus, Colombian mathematician, philosopher, and politician, Mayor of Bogotá
- 1953 – Robert Fox, English producer and manager
- 1953 – Vesna Pusić, Croatian sociologist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Croatia
- 1953 – Haroon Rasheed, Pakistani cricketer and coach
- 1954 – Thom Loverro, American journalist and author
- 1955 – Daniel Boulud, French chef and author
- 1955 – Lee Mazzilli, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1957 – Christina Boxer, English runner and journalist
- 1957 – Jonathan Michie, English economist and academic
- 1957 – Aleksandr Puchkov, Russian hurdler
- 1957 – Jim Uhls, American screenwriter and producer
- 1958 – Lorna Brown, Canadian artist, curator, and writer
- 1958 – Susie Bright, American journalist, author, and critic
- 1958 – Sisy Chen, Taiwanese journalist and politician
- 1958 – María Caridad Colón, Cuban javelin thrower and shot putter
- 1958 – John Ensign, American physician and politician
- 1958 – Ray Tanner, American baseball player and coach
- 1958 – Åsa Torstensson, Swedish politician, 3rd Swedish Minister for Infrastructure
- 1960 – Steve Norman, English saxophonist, songwriter, and producer
- 1960 – Peter O’Brien, Australian actor
- 1960 – Brenda Strong, American actress
- 1961 – Mark Brooks, American golfer
- 1962 – Marcia Cross, American actress
- 1962 – David Nuttall, English lawyer and politician
- 1963 – Karen Bruce, English dancer and choreographer
- 1963 – Velle Kadalipp, Estonian architect
- 1963 – Andrew O’Connor, British actor, comedian, magician, television presenter and executive producer
- 1964 – René Meulensteen, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1964 – Ken Wregget, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1964 – Norm Duke, American bowler
- 1965 – Avery Johnson, American basketball player and coach
- 1965 – Stefka Kostadinova, Bulgarian high jumper
- 1965 – Sarah Jessica Parker, American actress, producer, and designer
- 1966 – Tom Glavine, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1966 – Humberto Gonzalez, Mexican boxer
- 1966 – Jeff Healey, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
- 1966 – Anton Rogan, Northern Irish footballer
- 1967 – Matthew Barney, American sculptor and photographer
- 1967 – Doug Stanhope, American comedian and actor
- 1967 – Debi Thomas, American figure skater and physician
- 1969 – George Chlitsios, Greek conductor and composer
- 1969 – Dale Davis, American basketball player
- 1969 – Cathy Dennis, English singer-songwriter, record producer and actress
- 1969 – Jeffrey Walker, English singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1970 – Magnus Larsson, Swedish golfer
- 1971 – Stacy Dragila, American pole vaulter and coach
- 1971 – Cammi Granato, American ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Sheryl Swoopes, American basketball player and coach
- 1972 – Giniel de Villiers, South African race car driver
- 1972 – Phil O’Donnell, Scottish footballer (d. 2007)
- 1973 – Michaela Dorfmeister, Austrian skier
- 1973 – Anders Fridén, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1973 – Bob Sura, American basketball player
- 1974 – Serge Betsen, Cameroonian-French rugby player
- 1974 – Lark Voorhies, American actress and singer
- 1975 – Ladislav Benýšek, Czech ice hockey player
- 1975 – Melanie Blatt, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1975 – Erika Heynatz, Papua New Guinean-Australian model and actress
- 1976 – Francie Bellew, Irish footballer
- 1976 – Lars Figura, German sprinter
- 1976 – Wladimir Klitschko, Ukrainian boxer
- 1976 – Rima Wakarua, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
- 1977 – Natalie Clein, English cellist and educator
- 1977 – Andrew Lindsay, Scottish rower
- 1978 – Gennaro Delvecchio, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Muriel Hurtis-Houairi, French sprinter
- 1980 – Kathrine Sørland, Norwegian fashion model and television presenter
- 1982 – Danica Patrick, American race car driver
- 1982 – Álvaro Saborío, Costa Rican footballer
- 1982 – Jenny Slate, American comedian, actress and author
- 1983 – Mickaël Hanany, French high jumper
- 1984 – Katharine McPhee, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1984 – Liam Messam, New Zealand rugby player
- 1985 – Carmen Rasmusen, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1985 – Diana Rennik, Estonian figure skater
- 1986 – Marco Belinelli, Italian basketball player
- 1986 – Megan Gibson, American softball player
- 1986 – Kyle Lowry, American basketball player
- 1986 – Mickey Paea, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Jacob Bagersted, Danish handball player
- 1987 – Victor Obinna, Nigerian footballer
- 1987 – Nobunari Oda, Japanese figure skater
- 1988 – Big Sean, American rapper, singer and songwriter
- 1988 – Mitchell Watt, Australian long jumper
- 1988 – Arthur Zeiler, German rugby player
- 1989 – Aly Michalka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1989 – Scott Sinclair, English footballer
- 1990 – Mehmet Ekici, Turkish footballer
- 1990 – Alexander Esswein, German footballer
- 1991 – Scott Malone, English footballer, left-back
- 1993 – Jacob Gagan, Australian rugby league player
- 1993 – Sam Johnstone, English footballer
- 1994 – Justine Dufour-Lapointe, Canadian skier
Deaths on March 25
- 908 – Li Kening, Chinese general
- 940 – Taira no Masakado, Japanese samurai
- 990 – Nicodemus of Mammola, Italian monk and saint
- 1005 – Kenneth III, king of Scotland
- 1051 – Hugh IV, French nobleman
- 1189 – Frederick, duke of Bohemia
- 1223 – Alfonso II, king of Portugal (b. 1185)
- 1351 – Kō no Moronao, Japanese samurai
- 1351 – Kō no Moroyasu, Japanese samurai
- 1392 – Hosokawa Yoriyuki, Japanese samurai
- 1458 – Íñigo López de Mendoza, 1st Marquis of Santillana, Spanish poet and politician (b. 1398)
- 1558 – Marcos de Niza, French friar and explorer (b. 1495)
- 1603 – Ikoma Chikamasa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1526)
- 1609 – Olaus Martini, Swedish archbishop (b. 1557)
- 1609 – Isabelle de Limeuil, French noble (b. 1535)
- 1620 – Johannes Nucius, German composer and theorist (b. 1556)
- 1625 – Giambattista Marino, Italian poet and author (b. 1569)
- 1658 – Herman IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg, German nobleman (b. 1607)
- 1677 – Wenceslaus Hollar, Czech-English painter and etcher (b. 1607)
- 1701 – Jean Regnault de Segrais, French poet and novelist (b. 1624)
- 1712 – Nehemiah Grew, English anatomist and physiologist (b. 1641)
- 1732 – Lucy Filippini, Italian teacher and saint (b. 1672)
- 1736 – Nicholas Hawksmoor, English architect, designed Easton Neston and Christ Church (b. 1661)
- 1738 – Turlough O’Carolan, Irish harp player and composer (b. 1670)
- 1801 – Novalis, German poet and author (b. 1772)
- 1818 – Caspar Wessel, Norwegian-Danish mathematician and cartographer (b. 1745)
- 1857 – William Colgate, English-American businessman and philanthropist, founded Colgate-Palmolive (b. 1783)
- 1860 – James Braid, Scottish-English surgeon (b. 1795)
- 1869 – Edward Bates, American politician and lawyer (b. 1793)
- 1873 – Wilhelm Marstrand, Danish painter and illustrator (b. 1810)
- 1907 – Ernst von Bergmann, Latvian-German surgeon and academic (b. 1836)
- 1908 – Durham Stevens, American diplomat (b. 1851)
- 1914 – Frédéric Mistral, French lexicographer and poet, 1904 Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1830)
- 1917 – Elizabeth Storrs Mead, American academic (b. 1832)
- 1918 – Claude Debussy, French composer (b. 1862)
- 1918 – Peter Martin, Australian footballer and soldier (b. 1875)
- 1927 – Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas, Palestinian Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (b. 1843)
- 1931 – Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi, Indian journalist and politician (b. 1890)
- 1931 – Ida B. Wells, American journalist and activist (b. 1862)
- 1932 – Harriet Backer, Norwegian painter (b.1845)
- 1942 – William Carr, American rower (b. 1876)
- 1951 – Eddie Collins, American baseball player and manager (b. 1887)
- 1956 – Lou Moore, American race car driver (b. 1904)
- 1956 – Robert Newton, English actor (b. 1905)
- 1957 – Max Ophüls, German-American director and screenwriter (b. 1902)
- 1958 – Tom Brown, American trombonist (b. 1888)
- 1964 – Charles Benjamin Howard, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1885)
- 1965 – Viola Liuzzo, American civil rights activist (b. 1925)
- 1969 – Billy Cotton, English singer, drummer, and bandleader (b. 1899)
- 1969 – Max Eastman, American poet and activist (b. 1883)
- 1973 – Jakob Sildnik, Estonian photographer and director (b. 1883)
- 1973 – Edward Steichen, Luxembourgian-American photographer, painter, and curator (b. 1879)
- 1975 – Juan Gaudino, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1893)
- 1975 – Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian king (b. 1906)
- 1975 – Deiva Zivarattinam, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1894)
- 1976 – Josef Albers, German-American painter and educator (b. 1888)
- 1976 – Benjamin Miessner, American radio engineer and inventor (b. 1890)
- 1979 – Robert Madgwick, Australian colonel and academic (b. 1905)
- 1979 – Akinoumi Setsuo, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 37th Yokozuna (b. 1914)
- 1980 – Milton H. Erickson, American psychiatrist and psychologist (b. 1901)
- 1980 – Walter Susskind, Czech-English conductor and educator (b. 1913)
- 1982 – Goodman Ace, American comedian and writer (b. 1899)
- 1983 – Bob Waterfield, American football player and coach (b. 1920)
- 1986 – Gloria Blondell, American actress (b. 1910)
- 1987 – A. W. Mailvaganam, Sri Lankan physicist and academic (b. 1906)
- 1988 – Robert Joffrey, American dancer, choreographer, and director, co-founded the Joffrey Ballet (b. 1930)
- 1991 – Marcel Lefebvre, French-Swiss archbishop (b. 1905)
- 1992 – Nancy Walker, American actress, singer, and director (b. 1922)
- 1994 – Angelines Fernández, Spanish-Mexican actress (b. 1922)
- 1994 – Bernard Kangro, Estonian poet and journalist (b. 1910)
- 1994 – Max Petitpierre, Swiss jurist and politician (b. 1899)
- 1995 – James Samuel Coleman, American sociologist and academic (b. 1926)
- 1995 – John Hugenholtz, Dutch engineer (b. 1914)
- 1996 – John Snagge, English journalist (b. 1904)
- 1998 – Max Green, Australian lawyer (b. 1952)
- 1998 – Steven Schiff, American lawyer and politician (b. 1947)
- 1999 – Cal Ripken, Sr., American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1936)
- 2000 – Helen Martin, American actress (b. 1909)
- 2001 – Brian Trubshaw, English cricketer and pilot (b. 1924)
- 2002 – Kenneth Wolstenholme, English journalist and sportscaster (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Paul Henning, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1911)
- 2006 – Bob Carlos Clarke, Irish photographer (b. 1950)
- 2006 – Rocío Dúrcal, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
- 2006 – Richard Fleischer, American film director (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Buck Owens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Andranik Margaryan, Armenian engineer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Armenia (b. 1951)
- 2008 – Ben Carnevale, American basketball player and coach (b. 1915)
- 2008 – Thierry Gilardi, French journalist and sportscaster (b. 1958)
- 2008 – Abby Mann, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1927)
- 2008 – Herb Peterson, American businessman, created the McMuffin (b. 1919)
- 2009 – Johnny Blanchard, American baseball player (b. 1933)
- 2009 – Kosuke Koyama, Japanese-American theologian and academic (b. 1929)
- 2009 – Dan Seals, American musician (b. 1948)
- 2009 – Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, Turkish politician and member of the Parliament of Turkey (b. 1954)
- 2012 – Priscilla Buckley, American journalist and author (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Hal E. Chester, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1921)
- 2012 – John Crosfield, English businessman, founded Crosfield Electronics (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Edd Gould, English animator and voice actor, founded Eddsworld (b. 1988)
- 2012 – Antonio Tabucchi, Italian author and academic (b. 1943)
- 2013 – Léonce Bernard, Canadian politician, 26th Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (b. 1943)
- 2013 – Ben Goldfaden, American basketball player and educator (b. 1913)
- 2013 – Anthony Lewis, American journalist and academic (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Jean Pickering, English runner and long jumper (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Jean-Marc Roberts, French author and screenwriter (b. 1954)
- 2013 – John F. Wiley, American lieutenant, football player, and coach (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Lorna Arnold, English historian and author (b. 1915)
- 2014 – Hank Lauricella, American football player and politician (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Jon Lord, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1956)
- 2014 – Sonny Ruberto, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Jonathan Schell, American journalist and author (b. 1943)
- 2014 – Ralph Wilson, American businessman, founded the Buffalo Bills (b. 1918)
- 2015 – George Fischbeck, American journalist and educator (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Shannon Bolin, American actress and singer (b. 1917)
- 2017 – Cuthbert Sebastian, St. Kitts and Nevis politician (b. 1921)
- 2018 – Zell Miller, American author and politician (b. 1932)
- 2019 – Scott Walker, American-born British singer-songwriter (b. 1943)[9]
Holidays and observances on March 25
- Anniversary of the Arengo and the Feast of the Militants (San Marino)
- Christian feast days:
- Ælfwold II of Sherborne
- Barontius and Desiderius
- Blessed Marie-Alphonsine Danil Ghattas
- Omelyan Kovch (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church)
- Dismas, the “Good Thief”
- Humbert of Maroilles
- Quirinus of Tegernsee
- March 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Cultural Workers Day (Russia)
- Earliest day on which Seward’s Day can fall, while March 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Monday in March. (Alaska)
- Empress Menen’s Birthday (Rastafari)
- EU Talent Day (European Union)
- Feast of the Annunciation (Christianity), and its related observances (if March 25 falls in Holy Week or Easter Week the feast is moved to the Monday after the 2nd Sunday of Easter):
- Historic start of the new year (Lady Day) in England, Wales, Ireland, and the future United States until the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752. (The year 1751 began on 25 March; the year 1752 began on 1 January.) It is one of the four Quarter days in Ireland and England.
- International Day of the Unborn Child (international)
- Mother’s Day (Slovenia)
- Vårfrudagen or Våffeldagen, “Waffle Day” (Sweden, Norway & Denmark)
- Freedom Day (Belarus)
- International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (international)
- International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members (United Nations General Assembly)
- Maryland Day (Maryland, United States)
- Medal of Honor Day (United States)
- Independence Day, celebrates the start of Greek War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, in 1821. (Greece)
- NZ Army Day
- Struggle for Human Rights Day (Slovakia)
- Tolkien Reading Day
-
March 6 in History
- 12 BCE – The Roman Emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the emperor.
- 632 – The Farewell Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada’) of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.
- 845 – Execution of the 42 Martyrs of Amorium at Samarra.
- 961 – Byzantine conquest of Chandax by Nikephoros Phokas, end of the Emirate of Crete.
- 1204 – The Siege of Château Gaillard ends in a French victory over King John of England, who loses control of Normandy to King Philip II Augustus.
- 1323 – Treaty of Paris of 1323 is signed.
- 1454 – Thirteen Years’ War: Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledge allegiance to King Casimir IV of Poland who agrees to commit his forces in aiding the Confederation’s struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights.
- 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Guam.
- 1665 – The first joint Secretary of the Royal Society, Henry Oldenburg, publishes the first issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, the world’s longest-running scientific journal.
- 1788 – The First Fleet arrives at Norfolk Island in order to found a convict settlement.
- 1820 – The Missouri Compromise is signed into law by President James Monroe. The compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, brings Maine into the Union as a free state, and makes the rest of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase territory slavery-free.
- 1834 – York, Upper Canada, is incorporated as Toronto.
- 1836 – Texas Revolution: Battle of the Alamo: After a thirteen-day siege by an army of 3,000 Mexican troops, the 187 Texas volunteers, including frontiersman Davy Crockett and colonel Jim Bowie, defending the Alamo are killed and the fort is captured.
- 1857 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case.
- 1869 – Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society.
- 1882 – The Serbian kingdom is re-founded.
- 1899 – Bayer registers “Aspirin” as a trademark.
- 1902 – Real Madrid CF is founded.
- 1912 – Italo-Turkish War: Italian forces become the first to use airships in war, as two dirigibles drop bombs on Turkish troops encamped at Janzur, from an altitude of 6,000 feet.
- 1921 – Portuguese Communist Party is founded as the Portuguese Section of the Communist International.
- 1930 – International Unemployment Day demonstrations globally initiated by the Comintern.
- 1933 – Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a “bank holiday”, closing all U.S. banks and freezing all financial transactions.
- 1943 – Norman Rockwell published Freedom from Want in The Saturday Evening Post with a matching essay by Carlos Bulosan as part of the Four Freedoms series.
- 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Fardykambos, one of the first major battles between the Greek Resistance and the occupying Royal Italian Army, ends with the surrender of an entire Italian battalion, the bulk of the garrison of the town of Grevena, leading to its liberation a fortnight later.
- 1944 – World War II: Soviet Air Forces bomb an evacuated town of Narva in German-occupied Estonia, destroying the entire historical Swedish-era town.
- 1945 – World War II: Cologne is captured by American troops. On the same day, Operation Spring Awakening, the last major German offensive of the war, begins.
- 1946 – Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.
- 1951 – Cold War: The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins.
- 1953 – Georgy Malenkov succeeds Joseph Stalin as Premier of the Soviet Union and First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
- 1957 – Ghana becomes the first Sub-Saharan country to gain independence from the British.
- 1964 – Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad officially gives boxing champion Cassius Clay the name Muhammad Ali.
- 1964 – Constantine II becomes King of Greece.
- 1965 – Premier Tom Playford of South Australia loses power after 27 years in office.
- 1967 – Cold War: Joseph Stalin’s daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva defects to the United States.
- 1968 – Three rebels are executed by Rhodesia, the first executions since UDI, prompting international condemnation.
- 1970 – An explosion at the Weather Underground safe house in Greenwich Village kills three.
- 1975 – For the first time the Zapruder film of the assassination of John F. Kennedy is shown in motion to a national TV audience by Robert J. Groden and Dick Gregory.
- 1975 – Algiers Accord: Iran and Iraq announce a settlement of their border dispute.
- 1983 – The first United States Football League games are played.
- 1984 – In the United Kingdom, a walkout at Cortonwood Colliery in Brampton Bierlow signals the start of a strike that lasted almost a year and involved the majority of the country’s miners.
- 1987 – The British ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes in about 90 seconds, killing 193.
- 1988 – Three Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers are shot dead by the SAS in Gibraltar in Operation Flavius.
- 1992 – The Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers.
- 2003 – Air Algérie Flight 6289 crashes at the Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport in Tamanrasset, Algeria, killing 102 out of the 103 people on board.
- 2008 – A suicide bomber kills 68 people (including first responders) in Baghdad on the same day that a gunman kills eight students in Jerusalem.
Births on March 6
- 1340 – John of Gaunt (d. 1399)
- 1405 – John II of Castile (d. 1454)
- 1459 – Jakob Fugger, German merchant and banker (d. 1525)
- 1475 – Michelangelo, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1564)
- 1483 – Francesco Guicciardini, Italian historian and politician (d. 1540)
- 1493 – Juan Luis Vives, Spanish scholar and humanist (d. 1540)
- 1495 – Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet and diplomat (d. 1556)
- 1536 – Santi di Tito, Italian painter (d. 1603)
- 1619 – Cyrano de Bergerac, French author and playwright (d. 1655)
- 1663 – Francis Atterbury, English bishop and poet (d. 1732)
- 1706 – George Pocock, English admiral (d. 1792)
- 1716 – Pehr Kalm, Swedish-Finnish botanist and explorer (d. 1779)
- 1724 – Henry Laurens, English-American merchant and politician, 5th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1792)
- 1761 – Antoine-François Andréossy, French general and diplomat (d. 1828)
- 1779 – Antoine-Henri Jomini, Swiss-French general (d. 1869)
- 1780 – Lucy Barnes, American writer (d. 1809)
- 1785 – Karol Kurpiński, Polish composer and conductor (d. 1857)
- 1787 – Joseph von Fraunhofer, German physicist and astronomer (d. 1826)
- 1806 – Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English-Italian poet and translator (d. 1861)
- 1812 – Aaron Lufkin Dennison, American businessman, co-founded the Waltham Watch Company (d. 1895)
- 1817 – Princess Clémentine of Orléans (d. 1907)
- 1818 – William Claflin, American businessman and politician, 27th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1905)
- 1823 – Charles I of Württemberg (d. 1891)
- 1831 – Philip Sheridan, Irish-American general (d. 1888)
- 1834 – George du Maurier, French-English author and illustrator (d. 1896)
- 1841 – Viktor Burenin, Russian author, poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1926)
- 1849 – Georg Luger, Austrian gun designer, designed the Luger pistol (d. 1923)
- 1864 – Richard Rushall, British businessman (d. 1953)
- 1870 – Oscar Straus, Viennese composer and conductor (d. 1954)
- 1871 – Afonso Costa, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 59th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1937)
- 1872 – Ben Harney, American pianist and composer (d. 1938)
- 1879 – Jimmy Hunter, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1962)
- 1882 – F. Burrall Hoffman, American architect, co-designed Villa Vizcaya (d. 1980)
- 1882 – Guy Kibbee, American actor and singer (d. 1956)
- 1884 – Molla Mallory, Norwegian-American tennis player (d. 1959)
- 1885 – Ring Lardner, American journalist and author (d. 1933)
- 1886 – Jam Handy, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1983)
- 1886 – Nella Walker, American actress and vaudevillian (d. 1971)
- 1892 – Bert Smith, English international footballer, right half (d. 1969)
- 1893 – Furry Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1981)
- 1893 – Ella P. Stewart, pioneering Black American pharmacist (d. 1987)
- 1895 – Albert Tessier, Canadian priest and historian (d. 1976)
- 1898 – Gus Sonnenberg, American football player and wrestler (d. 1944)
- 1900 – Gina Cigna, French-Italian soprano and actress (d. 2001)
- 1900 – Lefty Grove, American baseball player (d. 1975)
- 1900 – Henri Jeanson, French journalist and author (d. 1970)
- 1903 – Empress Kōjun of Japan (d. 2000)
- 1904 – José Antonio Aguirre, Spanish lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Basque Country (d. 1960)
- 1905 – Bob Wills, American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader (d. 1975)
- 1906 – Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (d. 1959)
- 1909 – Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian lawyer and politician (d. 1987)
- 1909 – Stanisław Jerzy Lec, Polish poet and author (d. 1966)
- 1910 – Ella Logan, Scottish-American singer and actress (d. 1969)
- 1912 – Mohammed Burhanuddin, Indian spiritual leader, 52nd Da’i al-Mutlaq (d. 2014)
- 1917 – Donald Davidson, American philosopher and academic (d. 2003)
- 1917 – Will Eisner, American illustrator and publisher (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Frankie Howerd, English comedian (d. 1992)
- 1918 – Howard McGhee, American trumpeter (d. 1987)
- 1920 – Lewis Gilbert, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1921 – Leo Bretholz, Austrian-American holocaust survivor and author (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Ed McMahon, American comedian, game show host, and announcer (d. 2009)
- 1923 – Wes Montgomery, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1968)
- 1924 – Ottmar Walter, German footballer (d. 2013)
- 1924 – William H. Webster, American lawyer and jurist, 14th Director of Central Intelligence
- 1926 – Ann Curtis, American swimmer (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Alan Greenspan, American economist and politician
- 1926 – Ray O’Connor, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of Western Australia (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Andrzej Wajda, Polish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1927 – William J. Bell, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Gordon Cooper, American engineer, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2004)
- 1927 – Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Tom Foley, American lawyer and politician, 57th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 2013)
- 1929 – David Sheppard, English cricketer and bishop (d. 2005)
- 1930 – Lorin Maazel, French-American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Marc Bazin, Haitian lawyer and politician, 49th President of Haiti (d. 2010)
- 1932 – Bronisław Geremek, Polish historian and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2008)
- 1933 – Ted Abernathy, American baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1933 – William Davis, German-English journalist and economist (d. 2019)
- 1933 – Augusto Odone, Italian economist and inventor of Lorenzo’s oil (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Red Simpson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
- 1935 – Ron Delany, Irish runner and coach
- 1935 – Derek Kevan, English footballer (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Bob Akin, American race car driver and journalist (d. 2002)
- 1936 – Marion Barry, American lawyer and politician, 2nd Mayor of the District of Columbia (d. 2014)
- 1936 – Choummaly Sayasone, Laotian politician, 5th President of Laos
- 1937 – Ivan Boesky, American businessman
- 1937 – Valentina Tereshkova, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut
- 1938 – Keishu Tanaka, Japanese politician, 17th Japanese Minister of Justice
- 1939 – Kit Bond, American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of Missouri
- 1939 – Adam Osborne, Thai-Indian engineer and businessman, founded the Osborne Computer Corporation (d. 2003)
- 1940 – Ken Danby, Canadian painter (d. 2007)
- 1940 – Joanna Miles, French-born American actress
- 1940 – R. H. Sikes, American golfer
- 1940 – Willie Stargell, American baseball player and coach (d. 2001)
- 1940 – Jeff Wooller, English accountant and banker
- 1941 – Peter Brötzmann, German saxophonist and clarinet player
- 1941 – Marilyn Strathern, Welsh anthropologist and academic
- 1942 – Ben Murphy, American actor
- 1944 – Richard Corliss, American journalist and critic (d. 2015)
- 1944 – Kiri Te Kanawa, New Zealand soprano and actress
- 1944 – Mary Wilson, American singer
- 1945 – Angelo Castro, Jr., Filipino actor and journalist (d. 2012)
- 1946 – David Gilmour, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Richard Noble, Scottish race car driver and businessman
- 1947 – Kiki Dee, English singer-songwriter
- 1947 – Dick Fosbury, American high jumper
- 1947 – Anna Maria Horsford, American actress
- 1947 – Rob Reiner, American actor, director, producer, and activist
- 1947 – Jean Seaton, English historian and academic
- 1947 – John Stossel, American journalist and author
- 1948 – Stephen Schwartz, American composer and producer
- 1949 – Shaukat Aziz, Pakistani economist and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Pakistan
- 1949 – Martin Buchan, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1950 – Arthur Roche, English archbishop
- 1951 – Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (d. 2004)
- 1952 – Denis Napthine, Australian politician, 47th Premier of Victoria
- 1953 – Madhav Kumar Nepal, Nepali banker and politician, 34th Prime Minister of Nepal
- 1953 – Carolyn Porco, American astronomer and academic
- 1953 – Phil Alvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Jeff Greenwald, American author, photographer, and monologist
- 1954 – Harald Schumacher, German footballer and manager
- 1955 – Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician, 5th President of Burundi (d. 1994)
- 1955 – Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (d. 2015)
- 1956 – Peter Roebuck, English cricketer, journalist, and sportcaster (d. 2011)
- 1956 – Steve Vizard, Australian television host, actor, and producer
- 1960 – Sleepy Floyd, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Alison Nicholas, British golfer
- 1963 – D. L. Hughley, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1964 – Linda Pearson, Scottish sport shooter
- 1965 – Allan Bateman, Welsh rugby player
- 1965 – Jim Knight, English politician
- 1966 – Alan Davies, English comedian, actor and screenwriter
- 1967 – Julio Bocca, Argentinian ballet dancer and director
- 1967 – Connie Britton, American actress
- 1967 – Glenn Greenwald, American journalist and author
- 1967 – Shuler Hensley, American actor and singer
- 1968 – Moira Kelly, American actress and director
- 1971 – Darrick Martin, American basketball player and coach
- 1972 – Shaquille O’Neal, American basketball player, actor, and rapper
- 1972 – Jaret Reddick, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1973 – Michael Finley, American basketball player
- 1973 – Peter Lindgren, Swedish guitarist and songwriter
- 1973 – Greg Ostertag, American basketball player
- 1973 – Trent Willmon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 – Guy Garvey, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 – Matthew Guy, Australian politician
- 1974 – Brad Schumacher, American swimmer
- 1974 – Beanie Sigel, American rapper
- 1975 – Aracely Arámbula, Mexican actress and singer
- 1975 – Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Canadian pianist and conductor
- 1976 – Ken Anderson, American wrestler and actor
- 1977 – Nantie Hayward, South African cricketer
- 1977 – Giorgos Karagounis, Greek international footballer, midfielder
- 1977 – Shabani Nonda, DR Congolese footballer
- 1977 – Marcus Thames, American baseball player and coach
- 1978 – Sage Rosenfels, American football player
- 1978 – Chad Wicks, American wrestler
- 1979 – Clint Barmes, American baseball player
- 1979 – Érik Bédard, Canadian baseball player
- 1979 – David Flair, American wrestler
- 1979 – Tim Howard, American soccer player
- 1980 – Emílson Cribari, Brazilian footballer
- 1981 – Ellen Muth, American actress
- 1983 – Andranik Teymourian, Armenian-Iranian footballer
- 1984 – Daniël de Ridder, Dutch footballer
- 1984 – Eskil Pedersen, Norwegian politician
- 1984 – Chris Tomson, American drummer
- 1985 – Bakaye Traoré, French-Malian footballer
- 1986 – Jake Arrieta, American baseball player
- 1986 – Francisco Cervelli, Venezuelan-Italian baseball player
- 1986 – Ross Detwiler, American baseball player
- 1986 – Eli Marienthal, American actor
- 1986 – Charlie Mulgrew, Scottish footballer
- 1987 – Kevin-Prince Boateng, Ghanaian-German footballer
- 1987 – José Manuel Flores, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Agnes Carlsson, Swedish singer
- 1988 – Marina Erakovic, New Zealand tennis player
- 1988 – Simon Mignolet, Belgian footballer
- 1989 – Agnieszka Radwańska, Polish tennis player
- 1990 – Derek Drouin, Canadian athlete
- 1991 – Lex Luger, American keyboard player and producer
- 1991 – Emma McDougall, English footballer (d. 2013)
- 1991 – Tyler Gregory Okonma, American rapper
- 1993 – Andrés Rentería, Colombian footballer
- 1994 – Nathan Redmond, English footballer
- 1994 – Marcus Smart, American basketball player
- 1994 – Wesley Hoedt, Dutch footballer
- 1995 – Georgi Kitanov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1996 – Christian Coleman, American sprinter
- 1996 – Tyrell Fuimaono, Australian rugby player
- 1996 – Timo Werner, German footballer
Deaths on March 6
- 190 – Liu Bian (poisoned by Dong Zhuo) (b. 176)
- 653 – Li Ke, prince of the Tang Dynasty (b. 619)
- 766 – Chrodegang, Frankish bishop and saint
- 903 – Lu Guangqi, Chinese official and chancellor
- 903 – Su Jian, Chinese official and chancellor
- 1070 – Ulric I, Margrave of Carniola
- 1251 – Rose of Viterbo, Italian saint (b. 1235)
- 1353 – Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn
- 1466 – Alvise Loredan, Venetian admiral and statesman (b. 1393)
- 1490 – Ivan the Young, Ruler of Tver (b. 1458)
- 1491 – Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers
- 1531 – Pedro Arias Dávila, Spanish explorer and diplomat (b. 1440)
- 1616 – Francis Beaumont, English playwright (b. 1584)
- 1754 – Henry Pelham, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1694)
- 1758 – Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Durham (b. 1705)
- 1764 – Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (b. 1690)
- 1796 – Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French historian and author (b. 1713)
- 1836 – Deaths at the Battle of the Alamo:
- James Bonham, American lawyer and soldier (b. 1807)
- James Bowie, American colonel (b. 1796)
- Davy Crockett, American soldier and politician (b. 1786)
- William B. Travis, American lieutenant colonel and lawyer (b. 1809)
- 1854 – Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, Irish colonel and diplomat, Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies (b. 1778)
- 1866 – William Whewell, English priest, historian, and philosopher (b. 1794)
- 1867 – Charles Farrar Browne, American-English author and educator (b. 1834)
- 1888 – Louisa May Alcott, American novelist and poet (b. 1832)
- 1895 – Camilla Collett, Norwegian novelist and activist (b. 1813)
- 1899 – Kaʻiulani of Hawaii (b. 1875)
- 1900 – Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and businessman, co-founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (b. 1834)
- 1905 – John Henninger Reagan, American surveyor, judge, and politician, 3rd Confederate States of America Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1818)
- 1905 – Makar Yekmalyan, Armenian composer (b. 1856)
- 1919 – Oskars Kalpaks, Latvian colonel (b. 1882)
- 1920 – Ömer Seyfettin, Turkish author and educator (b. 1884)
- 1932 – John Philip Sousa, American conductor and composer (b. 1854)
- 1933 – Anton Cermak, Czech-American lawyer and politician, 44th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1873)
- 1935 – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., American colonel, lawyer, and jurist (b. 1841)
- 1939 – Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician and academic (b. 1852)
- 1941 – Francis Aveling, Canadian priest, psychologist, and author (b. 1875)
- 1941 – Gutzon Borglum, American sculptor and academic, designed Mount Rushmore (b. 1867)
- 1948 – Ross Lockridge, Jr., American author, poet, and academic (b. 1914)
- 1948 – Alice Woodby McKane, First Black woman doctor in Savannah, Georgia (b. 1865)
- 1950 – Albert François Lebrun, French engineer and politician, 15th President of France (b. 1871)
- 1951 – Ivor Novello, Welsh singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1893)
- 1951 – Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Ukrainian playwright and politician, Prime Minister of Ukraine (b. 1880)
- 1952 – Jürgen Stroop, German general (b. 1895)
- 1955 – Mammad Amin Rasulzade, Azerbaijani scholar and politician (b. 1884)
- 1961 – George Formby, English singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1904)
- 1964 – Paul of Greece (b. 1901)
- 1965 – Margaret Dumont, American actress (b. 1889)
- 1967 – John Haden Badley, English author and educator, founded the Bedales School (b. 1865)
- 1967 – Nelson Eddy, American actor and singer (b. 1901)
- 1967 – Zoltán Kodály, Hungarian composer, linguist, and philosopher (b. 1882)
- 1970 – William Hopper, American actor (b. 1915)
- 1973 – Pearl S. Buck, American novelist, essayist, short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
- 1974 – Ernest Becker, American anthropologist and author (b. 1924)
- 1976 – Maxie Rosenbloom, American boxer (b. 1903)
- 1977 – Alvin R. Dyer, American religious leader (b. 1903)
- 1978 – Dennis Viollet, English-American soccer player and manager (b. 1933)
- 1981 – George Geary, English cricketer and coach (b. 1893)
- 1981 – Rambhau Mhalgi, Indian politician and member of the Lok Sabha (b. 9 July 1921)
- 1982 – Ayn Rand, Russian-American philosopher, author, and playwright (b. 1905)
- 1984 – Billy Collins, Jr., American boxer (b. 1961)
- 1984 – Martin Niemöller, German pastor and theologian (b. 1892)
- 1984 – Homer N. Wallin, American admiral (b. 1893)
- 1984 – Henry Wilcoxon, Dominican-American actor and producer (b. 1905)
- 1986 – Georgia O’Keeffe, American painter (b. 1887)
- 1988 – Mairéad Farrell, Provisional IRA volunteer (b. 1957)
- 1988 – Daniel McCann, Provisional IRA volunteer (b. 1957)
- 1988 – Seán Savage, Provisional IRA volunteer (b. 1965)
- 1994 – Melina Mercouri, Greek actress and politician, 9th Greek Minister of Culture (b. 1920)
- 1997 – Cheddi Jagan, Guyanese politician, 4th President of Guyana (b. 1918)
- 1997 – Michael Manley, Jamaican soldier, pilot, and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1924)
- 1997 – Ursula Torday, English author (b. 1912)
- 1999 – Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahrain king (b. 1933)
- 2000 – John Colicos, Canadian actor (b. 1928)
- 2002 – Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1969)
- 2004 – Hercules, American wrestler (b. 1957)
- 2004 – Frances Dee, American actress (b. 1909)
- 2005 – Hans Bethe, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Danny Gardella, American baseball player and trainer (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Tommy Vance, English radio host (b. 1943)
- 2005 – Teresa Wright, American actress (b. 1918)
- 2005 – Gladys Marín, Chilean activist and political figure. (b.1938)
- 2006 – Anne Braden, American journalist and activist (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Kirby Puckett, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1960)
- 2007 – Jean Baudrillard, French photographer and theorist (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Ernest Gallo, American businessman, co-founded E & J Gallo Winery (b. 1909)
- 2008 – Peter Poreku Dery, Ghanaian cardinal (b. 1918)
- 2009 – Francis Magalona, Filipino rapper, producer, and actor (b. 1964)
- 2010 – Endurance Idahor, Nigerian footballer (b. 1984)
- 2010 – Mark Linkous, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1962)
- 2010 – Betty Millard, American philanthropist and activist (b. 1911)
- 2012 – Francisco Xavier do Amaral, East Timorese politician, 1st President of East Timor (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Donald M. Payne, American businessman and politician (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Helen Walulik, American baseball player (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Chorão, Brazilian singer-songwriter (Charlie Brown Jr.) (b. 1970)
- 2013 – Stompin’ Tom Connors, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Alvin Lee, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
- 2013 – W. Wallace Cleland, American biochemist and academic (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Alemayehu Atomsa, Ethiopian educator and politician (b. 1969)
- 2014 – Frank Jobe, American soldier and surgeon (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Sheila MacRae, English-American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Martin Nesbitt, American lawyer and politician (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Manlio Sgalambro, Italian philosopher, author, and poet (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Fred Craddock, American minister and academic (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Ram Sundar Das, Indian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Enrique “Coco” Vicéns, Puerto Rican-American basketball player and politician (b. 1926)
- 2016 – Nancy Reagan, American actress, 42nd First Lady of the United States (b. 1921)
- 2016 – Sheila Varian, American horse trainer and breeder (b. 1937)
- 2017 – Robert Osborne, American actor and historian (b. 1932)
- 2018 – Peter Nicholls, Australian science fiction critic and encyclopedist (b. 1939)
Holidays and observances on March 6
- Christian feast day:
- Chrodegang
- Colette
- Fridolin
- Kyneburga, Kyneswide and Tibba
- Marcian of Tortona
- William W. Mayo and Charles Frederick Menninger (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Olegarius
- March 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- European Day of the Righteous, commemorates those who have stood up against crimes against humanity and totalitarism with their own moral responsibility. (Europe)
- Foundation Day (Norfolk Island), the founding of Norfolk Island in 1788.
- Independence Day (Ghana), celebrates the independence of Ghana from the UK in 1957.
- The Day of the Dude, celebrated by the adherents of Dudeism
-
March 4 in History
- AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
- 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
- 852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
- 938 – Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.
- 1152 – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of Germany.
- 1238 – The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus’.
- 1351 – Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.
- 1386 – Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) is crowned King of Poland.
- 1461 – Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his House of York cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.
- 1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what are now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
- 1519 – Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.
- 1628 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.
- 1665 – English King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands marking the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
- 1675 – John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.
- 1681 – Charles II grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon, leading the British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston.
- 1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect. The United States Bill of Rights is written and proposed to Congress.
- 1790 – France is divided into 83 départements, cutting across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.
- 1791 – The Constitutional Act of 1791 is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).
- 1791 – Vermont is admitted to the United States as the fourteenth state.
- 1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.
- 1797 – John Adams is inaugurated as the 2nd President of the United States of America, becoming the first President to begin his presidency on March 4.
- 1804 – Castle Hill Rebellion: Irish convicts rebel against British colonial authority in the Colony of New South Wales.
- 1813 – Cyril VI of Constantinople is elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
- 1814 – Americans defeat British forces at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
- 1837 – The city of Chicago is incorporated.
- 1848 – Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d’Italia.
- 1849 – President-Elect Zachary Taylor and Vice President-Elect Millard Fillmore did not take their respective oaths of office (they did so the following day), leading to the erroneous theory that outgoing President pro tempore of the United States Senate David Rice Atchison had assumed the role of acting president for one day.
- 1861 – The first national flag of the Confederate States of America (the “Stars and Bars”) is adopted.
- 1865 – The third and final national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted by the Confederate Congress.
- 1882 – Britain’s first electric trams run in east London.
- 1890 – The longest bridge in Great Britain, the Forth Bridge in Scotland, measuring 1,710 feet (520 m) long, is opened by the Duke of Rothesay, later King Edward VII.
- 1899 – Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 metres (39 ft) wave that reaches up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland, killing over 300.
- 1908 – The Collinwood school fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.
- 1909 – U.S. President William Taft used what became known as a Saxbe fix, a mechanism to avoid the restriction of the U.S. Constitution’s Ineligibility Clause, to appoint Philander C. Knox as U.S. Secretary of State.
- 1913 – First Balkan War: The Greek army engages the Turks at Bizani, resulting in victory two days later.
- 1913 – The United States Department of Labor is formed.
- 1917 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
- 1933 – Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States.
- 1933 – Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet.
- 1933 – The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure – Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates an authoritarian rule by decree.
- 1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands; the first large scale British Commando raid.
- 1943 – World War II: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea in the south-west Pacific comes to an end.
- 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Fardykambos, one of the first major battles between the Greek Resistance and the occupying Royal Italian Army, begins. It ends on 6 March with the surrender of an entire Italian battalion and the liberation of the town of Grevena.
- 1944 – World War II: After the success of Big Week, the USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.
- 1957 – The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.
- 1960 – The French freighter La Coubre explodes in Havana, Cuba, killing 100.
- 1962 – A Caledonian Airways Douglas DC-7 crashes shortly after takeoff from Cameroon, killing 111 – the worst crash of a DC-7.
- 1966 – A Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.
- 1966 – In an interview in the London Evening Standard, The Beatles’ John Lennon declares that the band is “more popular than Jesus now”.
- 1970 – French submarine Eurydice explodes underwater, resulting in the loss of the entire 57-man crew.
- 1974 – People magazine is published for the first time in the United States as People Weekly.
- 1976 – The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London by the British parliament.
- 1977 – The 1977 Vrancea earthquake in eastern and southern Europe kills more than 1,500, mostly in Bucharest, Romania.
- 1980 – Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe’s first black prime minister.
- 1985 – The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.
- 1986 – The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Halley’s Comet and the first images of its nucleus.
- 1990 – American basketball player Hank Gathers dies after collapsing during the semifinals of a West Coast Conference Tournament game.
- 1996 – A derailed train in Weyauwega, Wisconsin (USA) causes the emergency evacuation of 2,300 people for 16 days.
- 1998 – Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
- 2001 – BBC bombing: A massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring one person; the attack was attributed to the Real IRA.
- 2002 – Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers and 200 Al-Qaeda Fighters are killed as American forces attempt to infiltrate the Shah-i-Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
- 2009 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.
- 2012 – A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, killing at least 250 people.
- 2015 – At least 34 miners die in a suspected gas explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in the rebel-held Donetsk region of Ukraine.
- 2018 – Former MI6 spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England, causing a diplomatic uproar that results in mass-expulsions of diplomats from all countries involved.
- 2019 – The Indian Attack submarine was spotted by the Pakistan Navy.
- 2020 – Former Daredevil Nik Wallenda is the first person to walk over the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.
Births on March 4
- 895 – Liu Zhiyuan, founder of the Later Han Dynasty (d. 948)
- 977 – Al-Musabbihi, Fatimid historian and official (d. 1030)
- 1188 – Blanche of Castile, French queen consort (d. 1252)
- 1394 – Henry the Navigator, Portuguese explorer (d. 1460)
- 1484 – George, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1543)
- 1492 – Francesco de Layolle, Italian organist and composer (d. 1540)
- 1502 – Elisabeth of Hesse, princess of Saxony (d. 1557)
- 1519 – Hindal Mirza, Mughal emperor (d. 1551)
- 1526 – Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (d. 1596)
- 1602 – Kanō Tan’yū, Japanese painter (d. 1674)
- 1634 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, Polish philosopher (d. 1689)
- 1651 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English lawyer, jurist, and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1716)
- 1655 – Fra Galgario, Italian painter (d. 1743)
- 1665 – Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish soldier (d. 1694)
- 1678 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1741)
- 1702 – Jack Sheppard, English criminal (d. 1724)
- 1706 – Lauritz de Thurah, Danish architect, designed the Hermitage Hunting Lodge and Gammel Holtegård (d. 1759)
- 1715 – James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, English historian and politician (d. 1763)
- 1719 – George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot, English politician (d. 1777)
- 1729 – Anne d’Arpajon, French wife of Philippe de Noailles (d. 1794)
- 1745 – Charles Dibdin, English actor, playwright, and composer (d. 1814)
- 1745 – Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American general (d. 1779)
- 1756 – Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter and educator (d. 1823)
- 1760 – William Payne, English painter (d. 1830)
- 1760 – Hugh Ronalds, British nurseryman who cultivated and documented 300 varieties of apples (d. 1833)
- 1769 – Muhammad Ali, Ottoman military leader and pasha (d. 1849)
- 1770 – Joseph Jacotot, French philosopher and academic (d. 1840)
- 1778 – Robert Emmet, Irish commander (d. 1803)
- 1781 – Rebecca Gratz, American educator and philanthropist (d. 1869)
- 1782 – Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss philosopher, author, and academic (d. 1830)
- 1792 – Isaac Lea, American conchologist, geologist, and publisher (d. 1886)
- 1793 – Karl Lachmann, German philologist and critic (d. 1851)
- 1814 – Napoleon Collins, Rear Admiral of the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War (d. 1875)
- 1817 – Edwards Pierrepont, American lawyer and politician, 34th United States Attorney General (d. 1892)
- 1820 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian rebel leader (d. 1856)
- 1822 – Jules Antoine Lissajous, French mathematician and academic (d. 1880)
- 1823 – George Caron, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1902)
- 1826 – August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German linguist, ethnographer, and theologian (d. 1907)
- 1826 – John Buford, American general (d. 1863)
- 1826 – Elme Marie Caro, French philosopher and academic (d. 1887)
- 1826 – Theodore Judah, American engineer, founded the Central Pacific Railroad (d. 1863)
- 1828 – Owen Wynne Jones, Welsh clergyman and poet (d. 1870)
- 1838 – Paul Lacôme, French pianist, cellist, and composer (d. 1920)
- 1847 – Carl Josef Bayer, Austrian chemist and academic (d. 1904)
- 1851 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (d. 1911)
- 1854 – Napier Shaw, English meteorologist and academic (d. 1945)
- 1856 – Alfred William Rich, English painter, author, and educator (d. 1921)
- 1861 – Arthur Cushman McGiffert, American theologian and author (d. 1933)
- 1862 – Jacob Robert Emden, Swiss astrophysicist and meteorologist (d. 1940)
- 1863 – R. I. Pocock, English zoologist and archaeologist (d. 1947)
- 1863 – John Henry Wigmore, American academic and jurist (d. 1943)
- 1864 – David W. Taylor, American admiral, architect, and engineer (d. 1940)
- 1866 – Eugène Cosserat, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1931)
- 1867 – Jacob L. Beilhart, American activist, founded the Spirit Fruit Society (d. 1908)
- 1867 – Charles Pelot Summerall, senior United States Army officer (d. 1955)
- 1870 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author and poet (d. 1944)
- 1871 – Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)
- 1873 – Guy Wetmore Carryl, American journalist and poet (d. 1904)
- 1873 – John H. Trumbull, American colonel and politician, 70th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1961)
- 1875 – Mihály Károlyi, Hungarian politician, President of the Hungary (d. 1955)
- 1875 – Enrique Larreta, Argentinian historian and author (d. 1961)
- 1876 – Léon-Paul Fargue, French poet and author (d. 1947)
- 1876 – Theodore Hardeen, Hungarian-American magician (d. 1945)
- 1877 – Alexander Goedicke, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1957)
- 1877 – Fritz Graebner, German geographer and ethnologist (d. 1934)
- 1877 – Garrett Morgan, African-American inventor (d. 1963)
- 1878 – Takeo Arishima, Japanese author and critic (d. 1923)
- 1878 – Egbert Van Alstyne, American pianist and songwriter (d. 1951)
- 1879 – Bernhard Kellermann, German author and poet (d. 1951)
- 1880 – Channing Pollock, American playwright and critic (d. 1946)
- 1881 – Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian educator and activist (d. 1924)
- 1881 – Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American lawyer and author (d. 1965)
- 1881 – Richard C. Tolman, American physicist and chemist (d. 1948)
- 1882 – Nicolae Titulescu, Romanian academic and politician, 61st Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1941)
- 1883 – Maude Fealy, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1971)
- 1883 – Robert Emmett Keane, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1883 – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (d. 1956)
- 1884 – Red Murray, American baseball player (d. 1958)
- 1884 – Lee Shumway, American actor (d. 1959)
- 1886 – Paul Bazelaire, French cellist and composer (d. 1958)
- 1888 – Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-American actress (d. 1942)
- 1888 – Jeff Pfeffer, American baseball player (d. 1972)
- 1888 – Emma Richter, German paleontologist (d. 1956)
- 1888 – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
- 1889 – Oscar Chisini, Italian mathematician and statistician (d. 1967)
- 1889 – Oren E. Long, American soldier and politician, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawaii (d. 1965)
- 1889 – Pearl White, American actress (d. 1938)
- 1889 – Robert William Wood, English-American painter (d. 1979)
- 1890 – Norman Bethune, Canadian soldier and physician (d. 1939)
- 1891 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (d. 1961)
- 1893 – Charles Herbert Colvin, American engineer, co-founded the Pioneer Instrument Company (d. 1985)
- 1893 – Adolph Lowe, German sociologist and economist (d. 1995)
- 1894 – Charles Corm, Lebanese businessman and philanthropist (d. 1963)
- 1895 – Milt Gross, American animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1953)
- 1896 – Kai Holm, Danish actor and director (d. 1985)
- 1897 – Lefty O’Doul, American baseball player and manager (d. 1969)
- 1898 – Georges Dumézil, French philologist and academic (d. 1986)
- 1898 – Hans Krebs, German general (d. 1945)
- 1899 – Peter Illing, Austrian born, British film and television actor (d. 1966)
- 1899 – Emilio Prados, Spanish poet and author (d. 1962)
- 1900 – Herbert Biberman, American director and screenwriter (d. 1971)
- 1901 – Wilbur R. Franks, Canadian scientist, invented the g-suit (d. 1986)
- 1901 – Charles Goren, American bridge player and author (d. 1991)
- 1901 – Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, Malagasy-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
- 1902 – Rachel Messerer, Lithuanian-Russian actress (d. 1993)
- 1902 – Russell Reeder, American soldier and author (d. 1998)
- 1903 – William C. Boyd, American immunologist and chemist (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Malcolm Dole, American chemist and academic (d. 1990)
- 1903 – Dorothy Mackaill, English-American actress and singer (d. 1990)
- 1903 – John Scarne, American magician and author (d. 1985)
- 1904 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish admiral and politician, 69th President of the Government of Spain (d. 1973)
- 1904 – George Gamow, Ukrainian-American physicist and cosmologist (d. 1968)
- 1904 – Joseph Schmidt, Austrian-Hungarian tenor and actor (d. 1942)
- 1906 – Meindert DeJong, Dutch-American soldier and author (d. 1991)
- 1906 – Avery Fisher, American violinist and engineer, founded Fisher Electronics (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Georges Ronsse, Belgian cyclist and manager (d. 1969)
- 1907 – Edgar Barrier, American actor (d. 1964)
- 1908 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (d. 1976)
- 1908 – Thomas Shaw, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)
- 1909 – Harry Helmsley, American businessman (d. 1997)
- 1909 – George Edward Holbrook, American chemist and engineer (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (d. 1985)
- 1911 – Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, English actor (d. 1984)
- 1912 – Afro Basaldella, Italian painter and academic (d. 1976)
- 1912 – Ferdinand Leitner, German conductor and composer (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Carl Marzani, Italian-American activist and publisher (d. 1994)
- 1913 – Taos Amrouche, Algerian singer and author (d. 1976)
- 1913 – John Garfield, American actor and singer (d. 1952)
- 1914 – Barbara Newhall Follett, American author (d. 1939)
- 1914 – Ward Kimball, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
- 1914 – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist, sculptor, and architect (d. 2000)
- 1915 – László Csatáry, Hungarian art dealer (d. 2013)
- 1915 – Frank Sleeman, Australian lieutenant and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Carlos Surinach, Spanish-Catalan composer and conductor (d. 1997)
- 1916 – William Alland, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1997)
- 1916 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (d. 2000)
- 1916 – Hans Eysenck, German-English psychologist and theorist (d. 1997)
- 1917 – Clyde McCullough, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1982)
- 1918 – Kurt Dahlmann, German pilot, lawyer, and journalist (d. 2017)
- 1918 – Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Buck Baker, American race car driver (d. 2002)
- 1919 – Tan Chee Khoon, Malaysian physician and politician (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Jean Lecanuet, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 1993)
- 1920 – Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish-English actor (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Halim El-Dabh, Egyptian-American composer and educator (d. 2017)
- 1921 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (d. 1987)
- 1921 – Dinny Pails, English-Australian tennis player (d. 1986)
- 1922 – Richard E. Cunha, American director and cinematographer (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Dina Pathak, Indian actor and director (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Russell Freeburg, American journalist and author
- 1923 – Francis King, English author and poet (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Patrick Moore, English astronomer and television host (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Kenneth O’Donnell, American soldier and politician (d. 1977)
- 1925 – Alan R. Battersby, English chemist and academic (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Paul Mauriat, French conductor and composer (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Henri de Contenson, French archaeologist and academic (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma, French businessman, soldier and race car driver (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Richard DeVos, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Amway (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Pascual Pérez, Argentinian boxer (d. 1977)
- 1926 – Don Rendell, English saxophonist and flute player (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Phil Batt, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Idaho
- 1927 – Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1927 – Jacques Dupin, French poet and critic (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Robert Orben, American magician and author
- 1927 – Dick Savitt, American tennis player and businessman
- 1928 – Samuel Adler, German-American composer and conductor
- 1928 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (d. 2010)
- 1929 – Bernard Haitink, Dutch violinist and conductor
- 1929 – Peter Swerling, American theoretician and engineer (d. 2000)
- 1931 – Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (d. 1997)
- 1931 – Bob Johnson, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1991)
- 1931 – William Henry Keeler, American cardinal (d. 2017)
- 1931 – Alice Rivlin, American economist and politician (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Sigurd Jansen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1932 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist, photographer, and poet (d. 2007)
- 1932 – Miriam Makeba, South African singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Ed Roth, American illustrator (d. 2001)
- 1932 – Frank Wells, American businessman (d. 1994)
- 1933 – Nino Vaccarella, Italian race car driver
- 1934 – Mario Davidovsky, Argentinian-American composer and academic (d. 2019)
- 1934 – John Duffey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
- 1934 – Anne Haney, American actress (d. 2001)
- 1934 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Sandra Reynolds, South African tennis player
- 1934 – Janez Strnad, Slovenian physicist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1935 – Edward Dębicki, Ukrainian-Polish poet and composer
- 1935 – Bent Larsen, Danish chess player and author (d. 2010)
- 1936 – Eric Allandale, Dominican trombonist and songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1936 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (d. 1968)
- 1936 – Aribert Reimann, German pianist and composer
- 1937 – José Araquistáin, Spanish footballer
- 1937 – William Deverell, Canadian lawyer, author, and activist
- 1937 – Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricketer
- 1937 – Leslie H. Gelb, American journalist and author (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Yuri Senkevich, Russian physician and explorer (d. 2003)
- 1937 – Barney Wilen, French saxophonist and composer (d. 1996)
- 1937 – Richard B. Wright, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2017)
- 1938 – Anton Balasingham, Sri Lankan-English negotiator (d. 2006)
- 1938 – Alpha Condé, Guinean politician, President of Guinea
- 1938 – Allan Kornblum, American police officer and judge (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Angus MacLise, American drummer and composer (d. 1979)
- 1938 – Don Perkins, American football player and sportscaster
- 1938 – Paula Prentiss, American actress
- 1938 – Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1939 – Jack Fisher, American baseball player
- 1939 – Robert Shaye, American film producer
- 1940 – Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, German scholar and judge
- 1940 – David Plante, American novelist
- 1941 – John Hancock, American film and television actor (d. 1992)
- 1941 – Adrian Lyne, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1941 – James Zagel, American lawyer and judge
- 1942 – Gloria Gaither, American singer-songwriter
- 1942 – Charles C. Krulak, American general
- 1942 – David Matthews, American keyboard player and composer
- 1942 – Lynn Sherr, American journalist and author
- 1942 – James Gustave Speth, American lawyer and politician
- 1942 – Zorán Sztevanovity, Serbian-Hungarian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1943 – Lucio Dalla, Italian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Aldo Rico, Argentinian commander and politician
- 1944 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (d. 1999)
- 1944 – Anthony Ichiro Sanda, Japanese-American physicist and academic
- 1944 – Len Walker, English footballer and manager
- 1944 – Bobby Womack, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1945 – Tommy Svensson, Swedish footballer and manager
- 1945 – Gary Williams, American basketball player and coach
- 1946 – Michael Ashcroft, English businessman and politician
- 1946 – Danny Frisella, American baseball player (d. 1977)
- 1946 – Haile Gerima, Ethiopian born US filmmaker
- 1946 – Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, American journalist and author
- 1947 – David Franzoni, American screenwriter and film producer
- 1947 – Jan Garbarek, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
- 1947 – Bob Lewis, American guitarist
- 1947 – Pēteris Plakidis, Latvian pianist and composer (d. 2017)
- 1948 – Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, New Zealand-Australian author
- 1948 – James Ellroy, American writer
- 1948 – Tom Grieve, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
- 1948 – Mike Moran, English musician, songwriter and record producer
- 1948 – Jean O’Leary, American nun and activist (d. 2005)
- 1948 – Chris Squire, English singer-songwriter and bass guitarist (d. 2015)
- 1948 – Shakin’ Stevens, British singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian politician, 2nd President of Abkhazia (d. 2011)
- 1949 – Carroll Baker, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Ofelia Medina, Mexican actress and screenwriter
- 1950 – Rick Perry, American captain and politician, 47th Governor of Texas
- 1950 – Safet Plakalo, Bosnian author and playwright (d. 2015)
- 1951 – Edelgard Bulmahn, German educator and politician, German Federal Minister of Education and Research
- 1951 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, South Korean-American author, director, and producer (d. 1982)
- 1951 – Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1951 – Pete Haycock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1951 – Peter O’Sullivan, Welsh international footballer, winger
- 1951 – Sam Perlozzo, American baseball player and manager
- 1951 – Chris Rea, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Glenis Willmott, English scientist and politician
- 1951 – Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
- 1952 – Peter Kuhfeld, English painter
- 1952 – Ronn Moss, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1952 – Svend Robinson, American-Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1952 – Umberto Tozzi, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1953 – John Edwards, Australian director and producer
- 1953 – Emilio Estefan, Cuban-American drummer and producer
- 1953 – Paweł Janas, Polish footballer and manager
- 1953 – Ray Price, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1953 – Reinhold Roth, German motorcycle racer
- 1953 – Chris Smith, American lawyer and politician
- 1953 – Agustí Villaronga, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1953 – Daniel Woodrell, American novelist and short story writer
- 1954 – Timur Apakidze, Russian general and pilot (d. 2001)
- 1954 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Korean American author (d. 1982)
- 1954 – François Fillon, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France
- 1954 – Peter Jacobsen, American golfer and sportscaster
- 1954 – Catherine O’Hara, Canadian-American actress and comedian
- 1954 – Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian poet and author (d. 2017)
- 1955 – Tim Costello, Australian minister and politician
- 1955 – Joey Jones, Welsh footballer and manager
- 1957 – Nicholas Coleridge, English journalist and businessman
- 1957 – Ron Fassler, American film and television actor and author
- 1957 – Mykelti Williamson, American actor and director
- 1958 – Patricia Heaton, American actress
- 1958 – Massimo Mascioletti, Italian rugby player and coach
- 1958 – Tina Smith, American politician, junior senator of Minnesota
- 1959 – Rick Ardon, Australian journalist
- 1959 – Plamen Getov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1960 – Chonda Pierce, American comedian
- 1961 – Ray Mancini, American boxer
- 1961 – Steven Weber, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Roger Wessels, South African golfer and educator
- 1962 – Simon Bisley, English author and illustrator
- 1962 – Paul Canoville, English footballer
- 1962 – Stephan Reimertz, German historian and author
- 1963 – Jason Newsted, American heavy metal singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1964 – Dave Colclough, Welsh computer programmer and poker player (d. 2016)
- 1964 – Brian Crowley, Irish lawyer and politician
- 1964 – Tom Lampkin, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1964 – Paolo Virzì, Italian director and screenwriter
- 1965 – Greg Alexander, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1965 – Paul W. S. Anderson, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Andrew Collins, English journalist and screenwriter
- 1965 – Khaled Hosseini, Afghan-born American novelist
- 1965 – Yury Lonchakov, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1965 – John Murphy British film composer
- 1966 – Emese Hunyady, Hungarian speed skater
- 1966 – Kevin Johnson, American basketball player and politician, 55th Mayor of Sacramento
- 1966 – Fiona Ma, American accountant and politician
- 1966 – Helmut Mayer, Austrian skier
- 1966 – Glen Nissen, Australian rugby league player
- 1966 – Dav Pilkey, American author and illustrator
- 1966 – Grand Puba, American rapper
- 1966 – Mike Small, American golfer and coach
- 1967 – Daryll Cullinan, South African cricketer and coach
- 1967 – Evan Dando, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Ivan Lewis, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- 1967 – Terry Matterson, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1967 – Dave Rayner, English cyclist (d. 1994)
- 1967 – Sam Taylor-Johnson, English filmmaker and photographer
- 1967 – Kubilay Türkyilmaz, Swiss footballer
- 1967 – Tim Vine, English comedian, actor, and author
- 1968 – Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1968 – Jorge Celedón, Colombian singer
- 1968 – Patsy Kensit, English model and actress
- 1968 – Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek banker and politician, Prime Minister of Greece
- 1968 – Graham Westley, English footballer and manager
- 1969 – Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italian footballer and manager
- 1969 – Wayne Collins, English footballer, midfielder
- 1969 – Annie Yi, Taiwanese singer, actress, and writer
- 1970 – Àlex Crivillé, Spanish motorcycle racer
- 1970 – Will Keen, English actor
- 1970 – Caroline Vis, Dutch tennis player
- 1971 – Iain Baird, Canadian soccer player and manager
- 1971 – Claire Baker, Scottish politician
- 1971 – Emily Bazelon, American journalist
- 1971 – Jason Croot, English actor and director
- 1971 – Anders Kjølholm, Danish bass player
- 1971 – Satoshi Motoyama, Japanese race car driver
- 1971 – Geraldine O’Rawe, Northern Irish actress
- 1972 – Katherine Center, American journalist and author
- 1972 – Nocturno Culto, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Robert Smith, American football player and sportscaster
- 1972 – Ivy Queen, Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, rapper, actress and record producer
- 1972 – Jos Verstappen, Dutch race car driver
- 1972 – Alison Wheeler, English singer-songwriter
- 1973 – Massimo Brambilla, Italian footballer and coach
- 1973 – Phillip Daniels, American football player and coach
- 1973 – Valery Kobelev, Russian ski jumper
- 1973 – Penny Mordaunt, English lieutenant and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
- 1973 – Linus of Hollywood, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1973 – Len Wiseman, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, Indian director and screenwriter
- 1974 – Crowbar, American wrestler
- 1974 – Mladen Krstajić, Serbian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Karol Kučera, Slovak tennis player
- 1974 – Ariel Ortega, Argentinian footballer
- 1974 – Tommy Phelps, South Korean-American baseball player and coach
- 1974 – ICS Vortex, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 – David Wagner, American tennis player and educator
- 1974 – Bill Young, Australian rugby player
- 1975 – Mats Eilertsen, Norwegian bassist and composer
- 1975 – Patrick Femerling, German basketball player
- 1975 – Antti Aalto, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1975 – Kristi Harrower, Australian basketball player
- 1975 – Hawksley Workman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 – Robbie Blake, English footballer
- 1976 – Tommy Jönsson, Swedish footballer
- 1977 – Nacho Figueras, Argentinian polo player and model
- 1977 – Traver Rains, American fashion designer and photographer
- 1978 – Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Denis Dallan, Italian rugby player and singer
- 1978 – Jean-Marc Pelletier, American ice hockey player
- 1979 – Sarah Stock, Canadian wrestler and trainer
- 1980 – Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis player
- 1980 – Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
- 1980 – Suzanna Choffel, American singer-songwriter
- 1980 – Giedrius Gustas, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1980 – Scott Hamilton, New Zealand rugby player and coach
- 1980 – Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
- 1980 – Michael Henrich, American ice hockey player
- 1980 – Phil McGuire, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1980 – Aja Volkman, American singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Ariza Makukula, Portuguese footballer
- 1981 – Helen Wyman, English cyclist
- 1982 – Landon Donovan, American soccer player and coach
- 1982 – Cate Edwards, American lawyer and author
- 1982 – Ludmila Ezhova, Russian gymnast
- 1982 – Yasemin Mori, Turkish singer
- 1983 – Samuel Contesti, French-Italian figure skater
- 1983 – Adam Deacon, English film actor, rapper, writer and director
- 1983 – Jaque Fourie, South African rugby player
- 1983 – Drew Houston, American billionaire and Internet entrepreneur
- 1984 – Josh Bowman, English actor
- 1984 – Tamir Cohen, Israeli footballer
- 1984 – Anders Grøndal, Norwegian race car driver
- 1984 – Spencer Larsen, American football player
- 1984 – Jeremy Loops, South African singer-songwriter and record producer
- 1984 – Raven Quinn, American singer-songwriter
- 1984 – Zak Whitbread, American-English footballer
- 1985 – Jake Buxton, English footballer
- 1985 – Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player
- 1985 – Whitney Port, American fashion designer and author
- 1986 – Steven Burke, English road and track cyclist
- 1986 – Tom De Mul, Belgian footballer
- 1986 – Mike Krieger, Brazilian-American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram
- 1986 – Siim Roops, Estonian footballer
- 1986 – Bohdan Shust, Ukrainian footballer
- 1986 – Manu Vatuvei, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1986 – Margo Harshman, American actress
- 1987 – Ben McKinley, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Cameron Wood, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Tamzin Merchant, English actress
- 1988 – Gal Mekel, Israeli basketball player
- 1988 – Laura Siegemund, German tennis player
- 1988 – Adam Watts, English footballer
- 1989 – Benjamin Kiplagat, Ugandan long-distance runner
- 1990 – Andrea Bowen, American actress
- 1990 – Draymond Green, American basketball player
- 1990 – Paddy Madden, Irish footballer
- 1990 – Fran Mérida, Spanish footballer
- 1992 – Nick Castellanos, American baseball player
- 1992 – Erik Lamela, Argentinian international footballer, midfielder
- 1992 – Bernd Leno, German footballer
- 1992 – Karl Mööl, Estonian footballer
- 1993 – Bobbi Kristina Brown, American singer and actress (d. 2015)
- 1993 – Richard Peniket, English footballer
- 1994 – Callum Harriott, English footballer
- 1994 – AJ Tracey, British hip-hop artist and record producer
- 1995 – Chlöe Howl, British singer-songwriter
- 1995 – Bill Milner, English actor
- 1996 – Lukas Webb, Australian rules footballer
- 2002 – Jacob Hopkins, American actor
Deaths on March 4
- 306 – Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia, Christian martyrs
- 480 – Landry of Sées, French bishop and saint
- 561 – Pelagius I, pope of the Catholic Church
- 934 – Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, Fatimid caliph (b. 873)
- 1172 – Stephen III, king of Hungary (b. 1147)
- 1193 – Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid Sultanate (b. 1137)
- 1238 – Joan of England, queen of Scotland (b. 1210)
- 1238 – Yuri II, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1189)
- 1303 – Daniel of Moscow, Russian Grand Duke (b. 1261)
- 1314 – Jakub Świnka, Polish priest and archbishop
- 1371 – Jeanne d’Évreux, queen consort of France (b. 1310)
- 1388 – Thomas Usk, English author
- 1484 – Saint Casimir, Polish prince (b. 1458)
- 1496 – Sigismund, archduke of Austria (b. 1427)
- 1583 – Bernard Gilpin, English priest and theologian (b. 1517)
- 1604 – Fausto Sozzini, Italian theologian and educator (b. 1539)
- 1615 – Hans von Aachen, German painter and educator (b. 1552)
- 1710 – Louis III, duke of Bourbon (b. 1668)
- 1733 – Claude de Forbin, French admiral and politician (b. 1656)
- 1744 – John Anstis, English historian and politician (b. 1669)
- 1762 – Johannes Zick, German painter (b. 1702)
- 1793 – Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre (b. 1725)
- 1795 – John Collins, American politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1717)
- 1805 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (b. 1725)
- 1807 – Abraham Baldwin, American minister, lawyer, and politician (b. 1754)
- 1811 – Mariano Moreno, Argentinian journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1778)
- 1832 – Jean-François Champollion, French philologist and scholar (b. 1790)
- 1851 – James Richardson, English explorer (b. 1809)
- 1852 – Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, novelist, and playwright (b. 1809)
- 1853 – Thomas Bladen Capel, English admiral (b. 1776)
- 1853 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1774)
- 1858 – Matthew C. Perry, American naval commander (b. 1794)
- 1864 – Thomas Starr King, American minister and politician (b. 1824)
- 1866 – Alexander Campbell, Irish-American minister and theologian (b. 1788)
- 1872 – Carsten Hauch, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1790)
- 1883 – Alexander H. Stephens, American lawyer and politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1812)
- 1888 – Amos Bronson Alcott, American philosopher and educator (b. 1799)
- 1903 – Joseph Henry Shorthouse, English author (b. 1834)
- 1906 – John Schofield, American general and politician, 28th United States Secretary of War (b. 1831)
- 1915 – William Willett, English inventor, founded British Summer Time (b. 1856)
- 1916 – Franz Marc, German painter (b. 1880)
- 1925 – Moritz Moszkowski, Polish-German pianist and composer (b. 1854)
- 1925 – James Ward, English psychologist and philosopher (b. 1843)
- 1925 – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player and manager (b. 1860)
- 1927 – Ira Remsen, American chemist and academic (b. 1846)
- 1938 – George Foster Peabody, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1852)
- 1938 – Jack Taylor, American baseball player (b. 1874)
- 1940 – Hamlin Garland, American novelist, poet, essayist, and short story writer (b. 1860)
- 1941 – Ludwig Quidde, German activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
- 1944 – Fannie Barrier Williams, American educator and activist (b. 1855)
- 1944 – Louis Buchalter, American mob boss (b. 1897)
- 1944 – Louis Capone, Italian-American gangster (b. 1896)
- 1944 – René Lefebvre, French businessman (b. 1879)
- 1945 – Lucille La Verne, American actress (b. 1872)
- 1945 – Mark Sandrich, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
- 1948 – Antonin Artaud, French actor and director (b. 1896)
- 1949 – Clarence Kingsbury, English cyclist (b. 1882)
- 1952 – Charles Scott Sherrington, English neurophysiologist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
- 1954 – Noel Gay, English composer and songwriter (b. 1898)
- 1960 – Herbert O’Conor, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 51st Governor of Maryland (b. 1896)
- 1963 – William Carlos Williams, American poet, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1883)
- 1969 – Nicholas Schenck, Russian-American businessman (b. 1881)
- 1972 – Harold Barrowclough, New Zealand general, lawyer, and politician, 8th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1894)
- 1972 – Charles Biro, American author and illustrator (b. 1911)
- 1974 – Adolph Gottlieb, American painter and sculptor (b. 1903)
- 1976 – John Marvin Jones, American judge and politician (b. 1882)
- 1976 – Walter H. Schottky, Swiss-German physicist and engineer (b. 1886)
- 1977 – Anatol E. Baconsky, Romanian poet, author, and critic (b. 1925)
- 1977 – Nancy Tyson Burbidge, Australian botanist and curator (b. 1912)
- 1977 – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1951)
- 1977 – William Paul, American lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
- 1977 – Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, German jurist and politician, German Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1887)
- 1978 – Wesley Bolin, American businessman and politician, 15th Governor of Arizona (b. 1909)
- 1978 – Joe Marsala, American clarinet player and songwriter (b. 1907)
- 1979 – Willi Unsoeld, American mountaineer and educator (b. 1926)
- 1980 – Alan Hardaker, English lieutenant and businessman (b. 1912)
- 1981 – Torin Thatcher, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1981 – Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer, German admiral (b. 1900)
- 1986 – Albert L. Lehninger, American biochemist and academic (b. 1917)
- 1986 – Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1943)
- 1986 – Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and author (b. 1913)
- 1987 – Seibo Kitamura, Japanese sculptor (b. 1884)
- 1988 – Beatriz Guido, Argentine author and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 1989 – Tiny Grimes, American guitarist (b. 1916)
- 1990 – Hank Gathers, American basketball player (b. 1967)
- 1991 – Godfrey Bryan, English cricketer (b. 1902)
- 1992 – Art Babbitt, American animator and director (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Pare Lorentz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905)
- 1993 – Art Hodes, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (b. 1904)
- 1993 – Tomislav Ivčić, Croatian singer-songwriter and politician (b. 1953)
- 1993 – Izaak Kolthoff, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1894)
- 1993 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Environment (b. 1929)
- 1994 – John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (b. 1950)
- 1994 – George Edward Hughes, Irish-Scottish philosopher and author (b. 1918)
- 1995 – Matt Urban, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
- 1996 – Minnie Pearl, American entertainer (b. 1912)
- 1996 – John Sauer, American football player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1925)
- 1997 – Joe Baker-Cresswell, English captain (b. 1901)
- 1997 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (b. 1916)
- 1998 – Ivan Dougherty, Australian general (b. 1907)
- 1999 – Harry Blackmun, American lawyer and judge (b. 1908)
- 1999 – Del Close, American actor and educator (b. 1934)
- 1999 – Miłosz Magin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1929)
- 2000 – Hermann Brück, German-Scottish physicist and astronomer (b. 1905)
- 2000 – Michael Noonan, New Zealand-Australian author and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Ta-You Wu, Chinese physicist and academic (b. 1907)
- 2001 – Gerardo Barbero, Argentinian chess player (b. 1961)
- 2001 – Jean René Bazaine, French painter and author (b. 1904)
- 2001 – Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916)
- 2001 – Jim Rhodes, American businessman and politician, 61st Governor of Ohio (b. 1909)
- 2001 – Harold Stassen, American educator and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1907)
- 2002 – Ugnė Karvelis, Lithuanian author and translator (b. 1935)
- 2002 – Elyne Mitchell, Australian skier and author (b. 1913)
- 2002 – Velibor Vasović, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
- 2003 – Jaba Ioseliani, Georgian playwright, academic, and politician (b. 1926)
- 2003 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, screenwriter, and director (b. 1931)
- 2004 – Claude Nougaro, French singer-songwriter (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Nicola Calipari, Italian general (b. 1953)
- 2005 – Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukrainian police officer and politician (b. 1951)
- 2005 – Carlos Sherman, Uruguayan-Belarusian author and activist (b. 1934)
- 2006 – John Reynolds Gardiner, American author and engineer (b. 1944)
- 2006 – Edgar Valter, Estonian author and illustrator (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Thomas Eagleton, American lawyer and politician, 38th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Tadeusz Nalepa, Polish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
- 2007 – Ian Wooldridge, English journalist (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Leonard Rosenman, American composer and conductor (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Yvon Cormier, Canadian wrestler (b. 1938)
- 2009 – Horton Foote, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 2009 – George McAfee, American football player (b. 1918)
- 2010 – Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect and educator, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (b. 1933)
- 2010 – Johnny Alf, Brazilian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
- 2010 – Vladislav Ardzinba, Abkhazian historian and politician, 1st President of Abkhazia (b. 1945)
- 2010 – Fred Wedlock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
- 2011 – Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Nepalese journalist and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
- 2011 – Vivienne Harris, English journalist and publisher, co-founded the Jewish Telegraph (b. 1921)
- 2011 – Ed Manning, American basketball player and coach (b. 1943)
- 2011 – Arjun Singh, Indian politician (b. 1930)
- 2011 – Alenush Terian, Iranian astronomer and physicist (b. 1920)
- 2011 – Simon van der Meer, Dutch-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Paul McBride, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1965)
- 2012 – Don Mincher, American baseball player (b. 1938)
- 2013 – Lillian Cahn, Hungarian-American businesswoman, co-founded Coach, Inc. (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Mickey Moore, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914)
- 2013 – Toren Smith, Canadian businessman, founded Studio Proteus (b. 1960)
- 2014 – Mark Freidkin, Russian author and poet (b. 1953)
- 2014 – Elaine Kellett-Bowman, English lawyer and politician (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Jack Kinzler, American engineer (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Wu Tianming, Chinese director and producer (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Dušan Bilandžić, Croatian historian and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Ray Hatton, English-American runner, author, and academic (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Bud Collins, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1929)
- 2016 – Pat Conroy, American author (b. 1945)
- 2016 – P. A. Sangma, Indian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1947)
- 2016 – Zhou Xiaoyan, Chinese soprano and educator (b. 1917)
- 2017 – Clayton Yeutter, American politician (b. 1930)
- 2018 – Davide Astori, Italian soccer player (b. 1987)
- 2019 – Keith Flint, English singer (The Prodigy) (b. 1969)
- 2019 – Luke Perry, American actor (b. 1966)
- 2020 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian politician and diplomat
Holidays and observances on March 4
- Christian feast day:
- Adrian of Nicomedia
- Casimir
- Felix of Rhuys
- Giovanni Antonio Farina (Catholic Church)
- Blessed Humbert III, Count of Savoy (Roman Catholic Church)
- Paul Cuffee (Episcopal Church)
- Peter of Pappacarbone
- Blessed Zoltán Meszlényi
- March 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- St Casimir’s Day (Poland and Lithuania)