1479

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

    • 769 – The Lateran Council condemned the Council of Hieria and anathematized its iconoclastic rulings.
    • 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard.
    • 1395 – Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde at the Battle of the Terek River. The Golden Horde capital city, Sarai, is razed to the ground and Timur installs a puppet ruler on the throne.
    • 1450 – Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years’ War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France.
    • 1632 – Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years’ War.
    • 1642 – Irish Confederate Wars: A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush when it attempts to halt the progress of a Royalist Army.
    • 1715 – The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.
    • 1736 – Foundation of the Kingdom of Corsica.
    • 1738 – Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel receives its premiere performance in London, England.
    • 1755 – Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.
    • 1783 – Preliminary articles of peace ending the American Revolutionary War (or American War of Independence) are ratified.
    • 1817 – Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc founded the American School for the Deaf, the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut.
    • 1861 – President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 Volunteers to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War.
    • 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes President upon Lincoln’s death.
    • 1892 – The General Electric Company is formed.
    • 1896 – Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.
    • 1900 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines.
    • 1907 – Triangle Fraternity is founded at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
    • 1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,227 passengers and crew on board survive.
    • 1920 – Two security guards are murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy.
    • 1922 – U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick of Wyoming introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of a secret land deal, which leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal.
    • 1923 – Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.
    • 1924 – Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.
    • 1936 – First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine.
    • 1941 – In the Belfast Blitz, two-hundred bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, killing around one thousand people.
    • 1942 – The George Cross is awarded “to the island fortress of Malta” by King George VI.
    • 1945 – Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
    • 1947 – Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line.
    • 1952 – First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
    • 1955 – McDonald’s restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
    • 1960 – At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
    • 1969 – The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 onboard.
    • 1970 – During the Cambodian Civil War, massacre of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong river into South Vietnam.
    • 1986 – The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon, its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a discotheque bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen.
    • 1989 – Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.
    • 1989 – Upon Hu Yaobang’s death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China.
    • 1994 – Marrakesh Agreement relating to foundation of World Trade Organization is adopted.
    • 2013 – Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring 264 others.
    • 2013 – A wave of bombings across Iraq kills at least 75 people.
    • 2014 – In the worst massacre of the South Sudanese Civil War, at least 200 civilians were gunned down after seeking refuge in houses of worship as well as hospitals.
    • 2019 – The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is seriously damaged by a large fire.

    Births on April 15

    • 68 BC – Gaius Maecenas, Roman politician (d. 8 BC)
    • 1282 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1329)
    • 1367 – Henry IV of England (d. 1413)
    • 1442 – John Paston, English noble (d. 1479)
    • 1452 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (d. 1519)
    • 1469 – Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru (d. 1539)
    • 1552 – Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (d. 1626)
    • 1563 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth Sikh leader (d. 1606)
    • 1588 – Claudius Salmasius, French author and scholar (d. 1653)
    • 1592 – Francesco Maria Brancaccio, Catholic cardinal (d. 1675)
    • 1641 – Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician and geographer (d. 1722)
    • 1642 – Suleiman II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1691)
    • 1646 – Christian V of Denmark (d. 1699)
    • 1684 – Catherine I of Russia (d. 1727)
    • 1688 – Johann Friedrich Fasch, German violinist and composer (d. 1758)
    • 1707 – Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1783)
    • 1710 – William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (d. 1790)
    • 1741 – Charles Willson Peale, American painter and soldier (d. 1827)
    • 1771 – Nicolas Chopin, French-Polish educator (d. 1844)
    • 1772 – Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French biologist and zoologist (d. 1844)
    • 1793 – Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer and academic (d. 1864)
    • 1795 – Maria Schicklgruber, mother of Alois Hitler and the paternal grandmother of Adolf Hitler (d.1847)
    • 1800 – James Clark Ross, English captain and explorer (d. 1862)
    • 1808 – William Champ, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1892)
    • 1809 – Hermann Grassmann, German linguist and mathematician (d. 1877)
    • 1817 – William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1885)
    • 1828 – Jean Danjou, French captain (d. 1863)
    • 1832 – Wilhelm Busch, German poet, painter, and illustrator (d. 1908)
    • 1841 – Mary Grant Roberts, Australian zoo owner (d. 1921)
    • 1841 – Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician, founded the Seagram Company Ltd (d. 1919)
    • 1843 – Henry James, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (d. 1916)
    • 1856 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic (d. 1910)
    • 1858 – Émile Durkheim, French sociologist, psychologist, and philosopher (d. 1917)
    • 1861 – Bliss Carman, Canadian-British poet and playwright (d. 1929)
    • 1863 – Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (d. 1914)
    • 1874 – George Harrison Shull, American botanist and geneticist (d. 1954)
    • 1874 – Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
    • 1875 – James J. Jeffries, American boxer and promoter (d. 1953)
    • 1877 – Georg Kolbe, German sculptor (d. 1947)
    • 1878 – Robert Walser, Swiss author and playwright (d. 1956)
    • 1879 – Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer and poet (d. 1980)
    • 1883 – Stanley Bruce, Australian captain and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)
    • 1885 – Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general (d. 1947)
    • 1886 – Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet and critic (d. 1921)
    • 1887 – William Forgan Smith, Scottish-Australian politician, 24th Premier of Queensland (d. 1953)
    • 1888 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet and author (d. 1904)
    • 1889 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter and educator (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – A. Philip Randolph, American activist (d. 1979)
    • 1890 – Percy Shaw, English businessman, invented the cat’s eye (d. 1976)
    • 1892 – Theo Osterkamp, German general and pilot (d. 1975)
    • 1892 – Corrie ten Boom, Dutch-American clocksmith, Nazi resister, and author (d. 1983)
    • 1894 – Nikita Khrushchev, Russian general and politician, 7th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1971)
    • 1894 – Bessie Smith, African-American singer and actress (d. 1937)
    • 1895 – Clark McConachy, New Zealand snooker player (d. 1980)
    • 1895 – Abigail Mejia, Dominican feminist activist, nationalist, literary critic and educator (d. 1941)
    • 1896 – Nikolay Semyonov, Russian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
    • 1898 – Harry Edward, Guyanese-English sprinter (d. 1973)
    • 1901 – Joe Davis, English snooker player (d. 1978)
    • 1901 – Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1986)
    • 1901 – René Pleven, French businessman and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1993)
    • 1902 – Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist (d. 2002)
    • 1903 – John Williams, English-American actor (d. 1983)
    • 1904 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1948)
    • 1907 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
    • 1908 – eden ahbez, Scottish-American songwriter and recording artist (d. 1995)
    • 1908 – Lita Grey, American actress (d. 1995)
    • 1910 – Sulo Bärlund, Finnish shot putter (d. 1986)
    • 1910 – Miguel Najdorf, Polish-Argentinian chess player and theoretician (d. 1997)
    • 1912 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1998)
    • 1912 – Kim Il-sung, North Korean general and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of North Korea (d. 1994)
    • 1915 – Elizabeth Catlett, African-American sculptor and illustrator (d. 2012)
    • 1916 – Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman (d. 1982)
    • 1916 – Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1917 – Hans Conried, American actor (d. 1982)
    • 1917 – Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and bomber pilot (d. 1944)
    • 1917 – James Kee, American lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
    • 1918 – Hans Billian, German film director, screenwriter, and actor (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Alberto Breccia, Uruguayan-Argentinian author and illustrator (d. 1993)
    • 1920 – Godfrey Stafford, English-South African physicist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Thomas Szasz, Hungarian-American psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Richard von Weizsäcker, German soldier and politician, 6th President of Germany (d. 2015)
    • 1921 – Georgy Beregovoy, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1995)
    • 1921 – Angelo DiGeorge, American physician and endocrinologist (d. 2009)
    • 1922 – Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Hasrat Jaipuri, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Harold Washington, American lawyer and politician, 51st Mayor of Chicago (d. 1987)
    • 1922 – Graham Whitehead, English racing driver (d. 1981)
    • 1923 – Artur Alliksaar, Estonian poet and author (d. 1966)
    • 1923 – Robert DePugh, American activist, founded the Minutemen (an anti-Communist organization) (d. 2009)
    • 1924 – M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician (d. 1980)
    • 1924 – Rikki Fulton, Scottish comedian (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Neville Marriner, English violinist and conductor (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – Robert Mills, American physicist and academic (d. 1999)
    • 1929 – Gérald Beaudoin, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Adrian Cadbury, English rower and businessman (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Georges Descrières, French actor (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Icelandic educator and politician, 4th President of Iceland
    • 1931 – Kenneth Bloomfield, Northern Irish civil servant
    • 1931 – Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet, translator, and psychologist Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
    • 1933 – Roy Clark, American musician and television personality (d. 2018)
    • 1933 – David Hamilton, English-French photographer and director (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress and producer (d. 1995)
    • 1935 – Stavros Paravas, Greek actor and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1936 – Raymond Poulidor, French cyclist
    • 1937 – Bob Luman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1978)
    • 1938 – Claudia Cardinale, Italian actress
    • 1938 – Hso Khan Pha, Burmese-Canadian geologist and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1939 – Marty Wilde, English singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1939 – Desiré Ecaré, Ivorian filmmaker (d. 2009)
    • 1940 – Jeffrey Archer, English author, playwright, and politician
    • 1940 – Penelope Coelen, South African actress, model, beauty queen and 1958 Miss World
    • 1940 – Willie Davis, American baseball player and actor (d. 2010)
    • 1940 – Robert Lacroix, Canadian economist and academic
    • 1941 – Howard Berman, American lawyer and politician
    • 1942 – Francis X. DiLorenzo, American bishop (d. 2017)
    • 1942 – Walt Hazzard, American basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1942 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Tim Lankester, English economist and academic
    • 1943 – Pınar Kür, Turkish author, playwright, and academic
    • 1943 – Robert Lefkowitz, American physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1943 – Veronica Linklater, Baroness Linklater, English politician
    • 1943 – Hugh Thompson, Jr., American soldier and pilot (d. 2006)
    • 1944 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Russian-Chechen general and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (d. 1996)
    • 1944 – Dave Edmunds, Welsh singer, guitarist, and producer
    • 1946 – John Lloyd, Scottish journalist and author
    • 1946 – Pete Rouse, American politician, White House Chief of Staff
    • 1947 – Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1947 – Martin Broughton, English businessman
    • 1947 – Lois Chiles, American model and actress
    • 1947 – David Omand, English civil servant and academic
    • 1947 – Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, Swedish nurse and politician, Swedish Minister for Social Security
    • 1947 – Woolly Wolstenholme, English singer and keyboard player (d. 2010)
    • 1948 – Christopher Brown, English historian, curator, and academic
    • 1948 – Michael Kamen, American composer and conductor (d. 2003)
    • 1948 – Phil Mogg, English singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1949 – Alla Pugacheva, Russian singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1949 – Craig Zadan, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1950 – Josiane Balasko, French actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1950 – Amy Wright, American actress
    • 1950 – Karel Kroupa, Czech football player
    • 1951 – Heloise, American journalist and author
    • 1951 – John L. Phillips, American captain and astronaut
    • 1951 – Stuart Prebble, English journalist and producer
    • 1951 – Marsha Ivins, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1952 – Kym Gyngell, Australian actor, comedian, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Brian Muir, English sculptor and set designer
    • 1952 – Avital Ronell, Czech-American philosopher and academic
    • 1955 – Dodi Fayed, Egyptian film producer (d. 1997)
    • 1955 – Joice Mujuru, Zimbabwean politician
    • 1956 – Michael Cooper, American basketball player and coach
    • 1957 – Evelyn Ashford, American runner and coach
    • 1958 – Keith Acton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1958 – John Bracewell, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1958 – Memos Ioannou, Greek basketball player and coach
    • 1958 – Benjamin Zephaniah, English actor, author, poet, and playwright
    • 1959 – Fruit Chan, Chinese director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1959 – Kevin Lowe, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
    • 1959 – Emma Thompson, English actress, comedian, author, activist and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Pierre Aubry, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1960 – Susanne Bier, Danish director and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Pedro Delgado, Spanish cyclist and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Tony Jones, English snooker player
    • 1961 – Neil Carmichael, English academic and politician
    • 1961 – Carol W. Greider, American molecular biologist
    • 1961 – Dawn Wright, American geographer and oceanographer
    • 1962 – Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan athlete and politician
    • 1962 – Tom Kane, American voice actor
    • 1963 – Alex Crawford, Nigerian-South African journalist
    • 1963 – Manzoor Elahi, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1963 – Manoj Prabhakar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Andre Joubert, South African rugby player
    • 1964 – Lee Kernaghan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1965 – Linda Perry, American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer
    • 1965 – Kevin Stevens, American ice hockey player
    • 1966 – Samantha Fox, English singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1966 – Mott Green, American businessman (d. 2013)
    • 1967 – Frankie Poullain, Scottish bass player and songwriter
    • 1967 – Dara Torres, American swimmer and journalist
    • 1968 – Ben Clarke, English rugby player and coach
    • 1968 – Brahim Lahlafi, Moroccan-French runner
    • 1968 – Ed O’Brien, English guitarist
    • 1969 – Jeromy Burnitz, American baseball player
    • 1969 – Kaisa Roose, Estonian pianist and conductor
    • 1969 – Jimmy Waite, Canadian-German ice hockey player and coach
    • 1970 – Chris Huffins, American decathlete and coach
    • 1971 – Philippe Carbonneau, French rugby player
    • 1971 – Finidi George, Nigerian footballer
    • 1971 – Jason Sehorn, American football player
    • 1971 – Josia Thugwane, South African runner
    • 1971 – Karl Turner, English lawyer and politician
    • 1972 – Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer (d. 2009)
    • 1972 – Lou Romano, American animator and voice actor
    • 1974 – Kim Min-kyo, South Korean actor and director
    • 1974 – Danny Pino, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Mike Quinn, American football player
    • 1974 – Douglas Spain, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1974 – Tim Thomas, American ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Sarah Teichmann, German-American biophysicist and immunologist
    • 1976 – Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1976 – Darius Regelskis, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1976 – Kęstutis Šeštokas, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1976 – Steve Williams, English rower
    • 1977 – Sudarsan Pattnaik, Indian sculptor
    • 1977 – Brian Pothier, American ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Milton Bradley, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Tim Corcoran, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Luis Fonsi, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1978 – Chris Stapleton, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1980 – Patrick Carney, American drummer, musician, and producer
    • 1980 – James Foster, English cricketer
    • 1980 – Raül López, Spanish basketball player
    • 1980 – Willie Mason, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
    • 1980 – Aida Mollenkamp, American chef and author
    • 1980 – Billy Yates, American football player
    • 1981 – Andrés D’Alessandro, Argentinian footballer
    • 1982 – Michael Aubrey, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Anthony Green, American singer-songwriter
    • 1982 – Seth Rogen, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Alice Braga, Brazilian actress
    • 1983 – Matt Cardle, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1983 – Dudu Cearense, Brazilian footballer
    • 1983 – Andreas Fransson, Swedish skier (d. 2014)
    • 1983 – Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Martin Pedersen, Danish cyclist
    • 1984 – Antonio Cromartie, American football player
    • 1984 – Cam Janssen, American ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Daniel Paille, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Ryan Hamilton, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Tom Heaton, English footballer
    • 1986 – Sylvain Marveaux, French footballer
    • 1988 – Blake Ayshford, Australian rugby league player
    • 1988 – Steven Defour, Belgian footballer
    • 1988 – Chris Tillman, American baseball pitcher
    • 1989 – Darren Nicholls, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Emma Watson, English actress
    • 1991 – Daiki Arioka, Japanese idol, singer, and actor
    • 1991 – Javier Fernández López, Spanish figure skater
    • 1992 – Jeremy McGovern, Australian rules football player
    • 1994 – Brodie Grundy, Australian rules football player
    • 1994 – Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Bahamian sprinter
    • 1995 – Leander Dendoncker, Belgian footballer
    • 1999 – Denis Shapovalov, Canadian tennis player
    • 2001 – Shanti Dope, Filipino rapper

    Deaths on April 15

    • 628 – Suiko, emperor of Japan (b. 554)
    • 943 – Liu Bin, emperor of Southern Han (b. 920)
    • 956 – Lin Yanyu, Chinese court official and eunuch
    • 1053 – Godwin, Earl of Wessex (b. 1001)
    • 1136 – Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare (b. 1094)
    • 1220 – Adolf of Altena, German archbishop (b. 1157)
    • 1237 – Richard Poore, English ecclesiastic
    • 1415 – Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek philosopher and translator (b. 1355)
    • 1446 – Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian sculptor and architect (b. 1377)
    • 1502 – John IV of Chalon-Arlay, Prince of Orange (b. 1443)
    • 1558 – Roxelana, wife of Suleiman the Magnificent (b. c. 1500)
    • 1610 – Robert Persons, English Jesuit priest, insurrectionist, and author (b. 1546)
    • 1632 – George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, English politician, English Secretary of State (b. 1580)
    • 1652 – Patriarch Joseph of Moscow, Russian patriarch
    • 1659 – Simon Dach, German poet and hymnwriter (b. 1605)
    • 1719 – Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, French wife of Louis XIV of France (b. 1635)
    • 1754 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician and academic (b. 1676)
    • 1761 – Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord President of the Court of Session (b. 1682)
    • 1761 – William Oldys, English historian and author (b. 1696)
    • 1764 – Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer and mathematician (b. 1679)
    • 1765 – Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian chemist and physicist (b. 1711)
    • 1788 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711)
    • 1793 – Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian priest, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1718)
    • 1854 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (b. 1773)
    • 1861 – Sylvester Jordan, Austrian-German lawyer and politician (b. 1792)
    • 1865 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809)
    • 1888 – Matthew Arnold, English poet and critic (b. 1822)
    • 1889 – Father Damien, Belgian priest and saint (b. 1840)
    • 1898 – Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui, New Zealand commander and politician
    • 1912 – Victims of the Titanic disaster:
      • Thomas Andrews, Irish shipbuilder (b. 1873)
      • John Jacob Astor IV, American colonel, businessman, and author (b. 1864)
      • Archibald Butt, American general and journalist (b. 1865)
      • Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (b. 1875)
      • Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (b. 1865)
      • Henry B. Harris, American producer and manager (b. 1866)
      • Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (b. 1878)
      • James Paul Moody, English Sixth Officer (b. 1887)
      • William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish First Officer (b. 1873)
      • Jack Phillips, English telegraphist (b. 1887)
      • Edward Smith, English Captain (b. 1850)
      • William Thomas Stead, English journalist (b. 1849)
      • Ida Straus, German-American businesswoman (b. 1849)
      • Isidor Straus, German-American businessman and politician (b. 1845)
      • John B. Thayer, American business and sportsman (b. 1862)
      • Henry Tingle Wilde, English chief officer (b. 1872)
    • 1917 – János Murkovics, Slovene author, poet, and educator (b. 1839)
    • 1927 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (b. 1868)
    • 1938 – César Vallejo, Peruvian journalist, poet, and playwright (b. 1892)
    • 1942 – Robert Musil, Austrian-Swiss author and playwright (b. 1880)
    • 1943 – Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian painter and set designer (b. 1882)
    • 1944 – Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin, Russian general (b. 1901)
    • 1945 – Hermann Florstedt, German SS officer (b. 1895)
    • 1948 – Radola Gajda, Montenegrin-Czech general and politician (b. 1892)
    • 1949 – Wallace Beery, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
    • 1962 – Clara Blandick, American actress (b. 1880)
    • 1962 – Arsenio Lacson, Filipino journalist and politician, Mayor of Manila (b. 1912)
    • 1963 – Edward Greeves, Jr., Australian footballer (b. 1903)
    • 1966 – Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury, Bengali politician, writer, journalist, first health minister of East Pakistan
    • 1967 – Totò, Italian comedian (b. 1898)
    • 1971 – Gurgen Boryan, Armenian poet and playwright (b. 1915)
    • 1971 – Friedebert Tuglas, Estonian author and critic (b. 1886)
    • 1979 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1912)
    • 1980 – Raymond Bailey, American actor and soldier (b. 1904)
    • 1980 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
    • 1982 – Arthur Lowe, English actor (b. 1915)
    • 1984 – Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedian and magician (b. 1921)
    • 1986 – Jean Genet, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1910)
    • 1988 – Kenneth Williams, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 1989 – Hu Yaobang, Chinese soldier and politician, former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (b. 1915)
    • 1990 – Greta Garbo, Swedish-American actress (b. 1905)
    • 1993 – Leslie Charteris, English author and screenwriter (b. 1907)
    • 1993 – John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geophysicist and geologist (b. 1908)
    • 1998 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1912)
    • 1998 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b. 1925)
    • 1999 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (b. 1944)
    • 2000 – Edward Gorey, American poet and illustrator (b. 1925)
    • 2001 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
    • 2002 – Damon Knight, American author and critic (b. 1922)
    • 2002 – Byron White, American football player, lawyer, and jurist, 4th United States Deputy Attorney General (b. 1917)
    • 2004 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese illustrator (b. 1934)
    • 2007 – Brant Parker, American illustrator (b. 1920)
    • 2008 – Krister Stendahl, Swedish bishop, theologian, and scholar (b. 1921)
    • 2009 – Clement Freud, German-English journalist, academic, and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – László Tisza, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (b. 1907)
    • 2009 – Salih Neftçi, Turkish economist and author (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Jack Herer, American author and activist (b. 1939)
    • 2010 – Michael Pataki, American actor and director (b. 1938)
    • 2011 – Vittorio Arrigoni, Italian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1975)
    • 2012 – Paul Bogart, American director and producer (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Dwayne Schintzius, American basketball player (b. 1968)
    • 2013 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Richard LeParmentier, American-English actor and screenwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2013 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – John Houbolt, American engineer and academic (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Eliseo Verón, Argentinian sociologist and academic (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Jonathan Crombie, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1966)
    • 2015 – Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1928)
    • 2017 – Clifton James, American actor (b. 1920)
    • 2017 – Emma Morano, Italian supercentenarian, last person verified born in the 1800s (b. 1899)
    • 2018 – R. Lee Ermey, American actor (b. 1944)
    • 2018 – Vittorio Taviani, Italian film director and screenwriter (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on April 15

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abbo II of Metz
      • Father Damien (The Episcopal Church)
      • Hunna
      • Paternus of Avranches
      • April 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the Sun (North Korea)
    • Earliest day on which Sechseläuten can fall, while April 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in April. (Zürich)
    • Father Damien Day (Hawaii)
    • Hillsborough Disaster Memorial (Liverpool, England)
    • Jackie Robinson Day (United States)
    • National American Sign Language Day (United States)
    • One Boston Day (United States)
    • Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year)
    • Tax Day, the official deadline for filing an individual tax return (or requesting an extension). (United States, Philippines)
    • Universal Day of Culture
    • World Art Day

  • April 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 240 – Shapur I becomes co-emperor of the Sasanian Empire with his father Ardashir I.
    • 467 – Anthemius is elevated to Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
    • 627 – King Edwin of Northumbria is converted to Christianity by Paulinus, bishop of York.
    • 1012 – Duke Oldřich of Bohemia deposes and blinds his brother Jaromír who flees to Poland.
    • 1204 – The Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade breach the walls of Constantinople and enter the city, which they completely occupy the following day.
    • 1606 – The Union Flag is adopted as the flag of English and Scottish ships.
    • 1776 – American Revolution: With the Halifax Resolves, the North Carolina Provincial Congress authorizes its Congressional delegation to vote for independence from Britain.
    • 1807 – The Froberg mutiny ends when the remaining mutineers blow up the magazine of Fort Ricasoli.
    • 1820 – Alexander Ypsilantis is declared leader of Filiki Eteria, a secret organization to overthrow Ottoman rule over Greece.
    • 1831 – Soldiers marching on the Broughton Suspension Bridge in Manchester, England, cause it to collapse.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Sumter. The war begins with Confederate forces firing on Fort Sumter, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: The Andrews Raid (the Great Locomotive Chase) occurs, starting from Big Shanty, Georgia (now Kennesaw).
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fort Pillow: Confederate forces kill most of the African American soldiers that surrendered at Fort Pillow, Tennessee.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: Mobile, Alabama, falls to the Union Army.
    • 1877 – The United Kingdom annexes the Transvaal.
    • 1910 – SMS Zrínyi, one of the last pre-dreadnought battleships built by the Austro-Hungarian Navy, is launched.
    • 1917 – World War I: Canadian forces successfully complete the taking of Vimy Ridge from the Germans.
    • 1927 – Shanghai massacre of 1927: Chiang Kai-shek orders the Communist Party of China members executed in Shanghai, ending the First United Front.
    • 1927 – Rocksprings, Texas was hit by an F5 tornado that destroyed 235 of the 247 buildings in the town and killed 72 townspeople and injured 205; third deadliest tornado in Texas history.
    • 1928 – The Bremen, a German Junkers W 33 type aircraft, takes off for the first successful transatlantic aeroplane flight from east to west.
    • 1934 – The strongest surface wind gust in the world at the time of 231 mph, is measured on the summit of Mount Washington, New Hampshire. It has since been surpassed.
    • 1934 – The U.S. Auto-Lite strike begins, culminating in a five-day melee between Ohio National Guard troops and 6,000 strikers and picketers.
    • 1937 – Sir Frank Whittle ground-tests the first jet engine designed to power an aircraft, at Rugby, England.
    • 1945 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt dies in office; Vice President Harry S. Truman becomes President upon Roosevelt’s death.
    • 1945 – World War II: The U.S. Ninth Army under General William H. Simpson crosses the Elbe River astride Magdeburg, and reached Tangermünde—only 50 miles from Berlin.
    • 1955 – The polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, is declared safe and effective.
    • 1961 – Cold War: Space Race: The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first manned orbital flight, Vostok 1.
    • 1963 – The Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-33 collides with the Finnish merchant vessel M/S Finnclipper in the Danish straits.
    • 1970 – Soviet submarine K-8, carrying four nuclear torpedoes, sinks in the Bay of Biscay four days after a fire on board.
    • 1980 – The Americo-Liberian government of Liberia is violently deposed.
    • 1980 – Transbrasil Flight 303, a Boeing 727, crashes on approach to Hercílio Luz International Airport, in Florianópolis, Brazil. Fifty-five out of the 58 people on board are killed.
    • 1981 – The first launch of a Space Shuttle (Columbia) takes place: The STS-1 mission.
    • 1983 – Harold Washington is elected as the first black mayor of Chicago.
    • 1990 – Jim Gary’s “Twentieth Century Dinosaurs” exhibition opens at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. He is the only sculptor ever invited to present a solo exhibition there.
    • 1992 – The Euro Disney Resort officially opens with its theme park Euro Disneyland; the resort and its park’s name are subsequently changed to Disneyland Paris.
    • 1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is cited for contempt of court for giving “intentionally false statements” in a civil lawsuit; he is later fined and disbarred.
    • 2002 – A suicide bomber blows herself up at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Mahane Yehuda Market, killing seven people and wounding 104.
    • 2007 – A suicide bomber penetrates the Green Zone and detonates in a cafeteria within a parliament building, killing Iraqi MP Mohammed Awad and wounding more than twenty other people.
    • 2009 – Zimbabwe officially abandons the Zimbabwean dollar as its official currency.
    • 2010 – Merano derailment: A rail accident in South Tyrol kills nine people and injures a further 28.
    • 2013 – Two suicide bombers kill three Chadian soldiers and injure dozens of civilians at a market in Kidal, Mali.
    • 2014 – The Great Fire of Valparaíso ravages the Chilean city of Valparaíso, killing 16 people, displacing nearly 10,000, and destroying over 2,000 homes.

    Births on April 12

    • 811 – Muhammad al-Jawad, the ninth Imam of Shia Islam (d. 835)
    • 959 – En’yū, emperor of Japan (d. 991)
    • 1116 – Richeza of Poland, queen of Sweden and Grand Princess of Minsk (d. 1156)
    • 1432 – Anne of Austria, Landgravine of Thuringia (d. 1462)
    • 1484 – Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Italian architect, designed the Apostolic Palace and St. Peter’s Basilica (d. 1546)
    • 1484 – Maharana Sangram Singh, Rana of Mewar (d. 1527)
    • 1500 – Joachim Camerarius, German scholar and translator (d. 1574)
    • 1526 – Muretus, French philosopher and author (d. 1585)
    • 1550 – Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford, English courtier and politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (d. 1604)
    • 1577 – Christian IV of Denmark (d. 1648)
    • 1612 – Simone Cantarini, Italian painter and engraver (d. 1648)
    • 1639 – Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician (d. 1712)
    • 1656 – Benoît de Maillet, French diplomat and natural historian (d. 1738)
    • 1705 – William Cookworthy, English minister and pharmacist (d. 1780)
    • 1710 – Caffarelli, Italian actor and singer (d. 1783)
    • 1713 – Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French historian and author (d. 1796)
    • 1716 – Felice Giardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1796)
    • 1722 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1793)
    • 1724 – Lyman Hall, American physician, clergyman, and politician, 16th Governor of Georgia (d. 1790)
    • 1748 – Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, French botanist and author (d. 1836)
    • 1777 – Henry Clay, American lawyer and politician, 9th United States Secretary of State (d. 1852)
    • 1792 – John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, English soldier and politician, Lord Privy Seal (d. 1840)
    • 1794 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician and engineer (d. 1847)
    • 1796 – George N. Briggs, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1861)
    • 1799 – Henri Druey, Swiss lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1855)
    • 1801 – Joseph Lanner, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1843)
    • 1816 – Charles Gavan Duffy, Irish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Victoria (d. 1903)
    • 1823 – Alexander Ostrovsky, Russian playwright and translator (d. 1886)
    • 1839 – Nikolay Przhevalsky, Russian geographer and explorer (d. 1888)
    • 1845 – Gustaf Cederström, Swedish painter (d. 1933)
    • 1851 – José Gautier Benítez, Puerto Rican soldier and poet (d. 1880)
    • 1851 – Edward Walter Maunder, English astronomer and author (d. 1928)
    • 1852 – Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician and academic (d. 1939)
    • 1856 – Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English mountaineer, cartographer, and politician (d. 1937)
    • 1863 – Raul Pompeia, Brazilian writer (d. 1895)
    • 1868 – Akiyama Saneyuki, Japanese admiral (d. 1918)
    • 1869 – Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (d. 1922)
    • 1871 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and politician, 130th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1941)
    • 1874 – William B. Bankhead, American lawyer and politician, 47th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1940)
    • 1880 – Addie Joss, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1911)
    • 1883 – Imogen Cunningham, American photographer and educator (d. 1976)
    • 1883 – Dally Messenger, Australian rugby player, cricketer, and sailor (d. 1959)
    • 1884 – Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (d. 1932)
    • 1884 – Otto Meyerhof, German physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1951)
    • 1885 – Robert Delaunay, French painter (d. 1941)
    • 1887 – Harold Lockwood, American actor and director (d. 1918)
    • 1888 – Dan Ahearn, Irish-American long jumper and police officer (d. 1942)
    • 1888 – Cecil Kimber, English automobile engineer (d. 1945)
    • 1892 – Henry Darger, American writer and artist (d. 1973)
    • 1894 – Dorothy Cumming, Australian-American actress (d. 1983)
    • 1894 – Francisco Craveiro Lopes, Portuguese field marshal and politician, 13th President of Portugal (d. 1964)
    • 1898 – Lily Pons, French-American soprano and actress (d. 1976)
    • 1901 – Lowell Stockman, American farmer and politician (d. 1962)
    • 1902 – Louis Beel, Dutch academic and politician, 36th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1977)
    • 1903 – Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
    • 1907 – Zawgyi, Burmese poet, author, literary historian, critic, scholar and academic (d. 1990)
    • 1907 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor, designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (d. 2003)
    • 1908 – Ida Pollock, English author and painter (d. 2013)
    • 1908 – Robert Lee Scott, Jr., American pilot and general (d. 2006)
    • 1910 – Gillo Dorfles, Italian art critic, painter and philosopher (d. 2018)
    • 1910 – Irma Rapuzzi, French politician (d. 2018)
    • 1911 – Mahmoud Younis, Egyptian engineer (d. 1976)
    • 1912 – Frank Dilio, Canadian businessman (d. 1997)
    • 1912 – Hamengkubuwono IX, Indonesian politician, 2nd Vice President of Indonesia (d. 1988)
    • 1912 – Hound Dog Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
    • 1913 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist (d. 2013)
    • 1914 – Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1916 – Beverly Cleary, American author
    • 1916 – Russell Garcia, American-New Zealander composer and conductor (d. 2011)
    • 1916 – Benjamin Libet, American neuropsychologist and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1917 – Helen Forrest, American singer and actress (d. 1999)
    • 1917 – Vinoo Mankad, Indian cricketer (d. 1978)
    • 1917 – Robert Manzon, French racing driver (d. 2015)
    • 1919 – István Anhalt, Hungarian-Canadian composer and educator (d. 2012)
    • 1919 – Billy Vaughn, American musician and bandleader (d. 1991)
    • 1921 – Robert Cliche, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1978)
    • 1922 – Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian politician, 2nd Vice President of Zambia (d. 1980)
    • 1923 – Ann Miller, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Raymond Barre, French economist and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
    • 1924 – Peter Safar, Austrian physician and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1924 – Curtis Turner, American race car driver (d. 1970)
    • 1925 – Evelyn Berezin, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2018)
    • 1925 – Ned Miller, American country music singer and songwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1925 – Oliver Postgate, English animator, puppeteer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
    • 1926 – Jane Withers, American actress
    • 1927 – Thomas Hemsley, English baritone (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Alvin Sargent, two-time Academy-Award-winning American screenwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1928 – Hardy Krüger, German actor
    • 1928 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Elspet Gray, Scottish actress (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Mukhran Machavariani, Georgian poet and educator (d. 2010)
    • 1930 – John Landy, Australian runner and politician, 26th Governor of Victoria
    • 1930 – Bryan Magee, English philosopher and politician (d. 2019)
    • 1930 – Manuel Neri, American sculptor and painter
    • 1930 – Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician and educator (d. 2006)
    • 1931 – Leonid Derbenyov, Russian poet and songwriter (d. 1995)
    • 1932 – Lakshman Kadirgamar, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 5th Sri Lankan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2005)
    • 1932 – Jean-Pierre Marielle, French actor (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Tiny Tim, American singer and ukulele player (d. 1996)
    • 1933 – Montserrat Caballé, Spanish soprano and actress (d. 2018)
    • 1934 – Heinz Schneiter, Swiss footballer and manager (d. 2017)
    • 1936 – Charles Napier, American actor (d. 2011)
    • 1936 – Kennedy Simmonds, Kittitian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
    • 1937 – Dennis Banks, American author and activist (d. 2017)
    • 1937 – Igor Volk, Ukrainian-Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2017)
    • 1939 – Alan Ayckbourn, English director and playwright
    • 1939 – Johnny Raper, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1940 – Woodie Fryman, American baseball player (d. 2011)
    • 1940 – Herbie Hancock, American pianist, composer, and bandleader
    • 1941 – Bobby Moore, English footballer and manager (d. 1993)
    • 1942 – Bill Bryden, Scottish actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1942 – Carlos Reutemann, Argentinian race car driver and politician
    • 1942 – Jacob Zuma, South African politician, 4th President of South Africa
    • 1943 – Sumitra Mahajan, Indian politician, 16th Speaker of the Lok Sabha
    • 1944 – Lisa Jardine, English historian, author, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1944 – John Kay, German-Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1945 – Lee Jong-wook, South Korean physician and diplomat (d. 2006)
    • 1946 – Ed O’Neill, American actor and comedian
    • 1946 – George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, Scottish politician and diplomat, 10th Secretary General of NATO
    • 1947 – Roy M. Anderson, English epidemiologist, zoologist, and academic
    • 1947 – Martin Brasier, English palaeontologist, biologist, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1947 – Alex Briley, American disco singer
    • 1947 – Tom Clancy, American historian and author (d. 2013)
    • 1947 – Woody Johnson, American businessman and philanthropist
    • 1947 – Dan Lauria, American actor
    • 1947 – David Letterman, American comedian and talk show host
    • 1948 – Jeremy Beadle, English television host and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1948 – Joschka Fischer, German academic and politician
    • 1948 – Marcello Lippi, Italian footballer, manager, and coach
    • 1949 – Scott Turow, American lawyer and author
    • 1950 – Flavio Briatore, Italian businessman
    • 1950 – David Cassidy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
    • 1950 – Joyce Banda, Malawian politician, 4th president of Malawi
    • 1950 – Nick Sackman, English composer and educator
    • 1951 – Tom Noonan, American actor
    • 1952 – Reuben Gant, American football player
    • 1952 – Leicester Rutledge, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1952 – Gary Soto, American poet, novelist, and memoirist
    • 1952 – Ralph Wiley, American journalist (d. 2004)
    • 1953 – Tanino Liberatore, Italian author and illustrator
    • 1954 – John Faulkner, Australian educator and politician, 52nd Australian Minister for Defence
    • 1954 – Steve Stevaert, Belgian businessman and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1954 – Pat Travers, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Fabian Hamilton, English graphic designer, engineer, and politician
    • 1956 – Andy Garcia, Cuban-American actor, director, and producer
    • 1956 – Herbert Grönemeyer, German singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1957 – Greg Child, Australian mountaineer and author
    • 1957 – Vince Gill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Tama Janowitz, American novelist and short story writer
    • 1958 – Will Sergeant, English guitarist
    • 1958 – Klaus Tafelmeier, German javelin thrower
    • 1958 – Ginka Zagorcheva, Bulgarian hurdler
    • 1959 – Howard Stableford, English radio and television host
    • 1961 – Corrado Fabi, Italian racing driver
    • 1961 – Charles Mann, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Magda Szubanski, English-Australian actress, comedian and writer
    • 1962 – Art Alexakis, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1962 – Carlos Sainz, Spanish racing driver
    • 1962 – Nobuhiko Takada, Japanese mixed martial artist and wrestler, founded Hustle
    • 1963 – Lydia Cacho, Mexican journalist and author
    • 1964 – Chris Fairclough, English footballer and coach
    • 1965 – Amy Ray, American folk-rock singer-songwriter, musician, and music producer
    • 1965 – Kim Bodnia, Danish actor and director
    • 1965 – Chi Onwurah, English politician
    • 1965 – Gervais Rufyikiri, Burundian politician
    • 1965 – Mihai Stoica, Romanian footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Nils-Olav Johansen, Norwegian guitarist and singer
    • 1966 – Lorenzo White, American football player
    • 1967 – Sarah Cracknell, English singer-songwriter
    • 1968 – Alicia Coppola, American actress
    • 1968 – Toby Gad, German songwriter and producer
    • 1968 – Adam Graves, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1969 – Jörn Lenz, German footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Lucas Radebe, South African footballer and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Michael Jackson, American football player and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1970 – Sylvain Bouchard, Canadian speed skater
    • 1971 – Nicholas Brendon, American actor
    • 1971 – Shannen Doherty, American actress, director, and producer
    • 1972 – Paul Lo Duca, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1973 – J. Scott Campbell, American author and illustrator
    • 1973 – Ryan Kisor, American trumpet player and composer
    • 1973 – Antonio Osuna, Mexican-American baseball player
    • 1973 – Christian Panucci, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Belinda Emmett, Australian actress (d. 2006)
    • 1974 – Bryan Fletcher, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Roman Hamrlík, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1974 – Marley Shelton, American actress
    • 1974 – Sylvinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Olga Kotlyarova, Russian runner
    • 1976 – Brad Miller, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Giovanny Espinoza, Ecuadorian footballer
    • 1977 – Sarah Monahan, Australian actress
    • 1977 – Jason Price, Welsh footballer
    • 1977 – Glenn Rogers, Australian-Scottish cricketer
    • 1978 – Guy Berryman, Scottish bass player and producer
    • 1978 – Scott Crary, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1978 – Svetlana Lapina, Russian high jumper
    • 1978 – Robin Walker, English businessman and politician
    • 1979 – Claire Danes, American actress
    • 1979 – Elena Grosheva, Russian gymnast
    • 1979 – Mateja Kežman, Serbian footballer
    • 1979 – Jennifer Morrison, American actress
    • 1979 – Cristian Ranalli, Italian footballer
    • 1979 – Lee Soo-young, South Korean singer
    • 1980 – Sara Head, Welsh Paralympic table tennis champion
    • 1980 – Brian McFadden, Irish singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Yuriy Borzakovskiy, Russian runner
    • 1981 – Nicolás Burdisso, Argentinian footballer
    • 1981 – Tulsi Gabbard, American politician
    • 1981 – Grant Holt, English footballer and professional wrestler
    • 1981 – Hisashi Iwakuma, Japanese baseball pitcher
    • 1983 – Jelena Dokic, Serbian-Australian tennis player
    • 1983 – Luke Kibet, Kenyan runner
    • 1984 – Aleksey Dmitrik, Russian high jumper
    • 1985 – Brennan Boesch, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Hitomi Yoshizawa, Japanese singer
    • 1986 – Brad Brach, American baseball pitcher
    • 1986 – Blerim Džemaili, Swiss footballer
    • 1986 – Marcel Granollers, Spanish tennis player
    • 1986 – Jonathan Pitroipa, Burkinabé footballer
    • 1987 – Brooklyn Decker, American model and actress
    • 1987 – Shawn Gore, Canadian football player
    • 1987 – Josh McCrone, Australian rugby league player
    • 1987 – Luiz Adriano, Brazilian professional footballer
    • 1987 – Brendon Urie, American singer, songwriter, musician and multi-instrumentalist
    • 1988 – Ricardo Gabriel Álvarez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1988 – Stephen Brogan, English footballer
    • 1988 – Amedeo Calliari, Italian footballer
    • 1988 – Jessie James Decker, American singer-songwriter
    • 1989 – Bethan Dainton, Welsh rugby union player
    • 1989 – Miguel Ángel Ponce, American-Mexican footballer
    • 1989 – Ádám Hanga, Hungarian basketball player
    • 1989 – Kaitlyn Weaver, Canadian-American ice dancer
    • 1989 – Valentin Stocker, Swiss footballer
    • 1990 – Francesca Halsall, English swimmer
    • 1990 – Hiroki Sakai, Japanese footballer
    • 1991 – Torey Krug, American ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Lionel Carole, French professional footballer
    • 1991 – Oliver Norwood, English born Northern Irish international footballer
    • 1991 – Magnus Pääjärvi, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Jazz Richards, Welsh international footballer
    • 1992 – Chad le Clos, South African swimmer
    • 1993 – Jordan Archer, English-Scottish footballer
    • 1993 – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1994 – Isabelle Drummond, Brazilian actress and singer
    • 1994 – Saoirse Ronan, American-born Irish actress
    • 1994 – Oh Sehun, South Korean musician
    • 1994 – Eric Bailly, Ivorian professional footballer
    • 1994 – Guido Rodríguez, Argentine footballer
    • 1995 – Pedro Cachín, Argentine tennis player
    • 1996 – Elizaveta Kulichkova, Russian tennis player

    Deaths on April 12

    • 45 BC – Gnaeus Pompeius, Roman general and politician (b. 75 BC)
    • 352 – Julius I, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 434 – Maximianus, archbishop of Constantinople
    • 901 – Eudokia Baïana, Byzantine empress and wife of Leo VI
    • 1125 – Vladislaus I, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1065)
    • 1167 – Charles VII, king of Sweden (b. c. 1130)
    • 1212 – Vsevolod the Big Nest, Grand Prince of Vladimir (b. 1154)
    • 1256 – Margaret of Bourbon, Queen of Navarre, regent of Navarre (b. c. 1217)
    • 1443 – Henry Chichele, English archbishop (b. 1364)
    • 1500 – Leonhard of Gorizia, Count of Gorz (b. 1440)
    • 1530 – Joanna La Beltraneja, Princess of Castile (b. 1462)
    • 1550 – Claude, Duke of Guise (b. 1496)
    • 1555 – Joanna of Castile (b. 1479)
    • 1675 – Richard Bennett, English politician, colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1609)
    • 1684 – Nicola Amati, Italian instrument maker (b. 1596)
    • 1687 – Ambrose Dixon, English-American soldier (b. 1619)
    • 1704 – Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and theologian (b. 1627)
    • 1748 – William Kent, English architect, designed Holkham Hall and Chiswick House (b. 1685)
    • 1782 – Metastasio, Italian-Austrian poet and composer (b. 1698)
    • 1788 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-Italian composer (b. 1719)
    • 1795 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (b. 1710)
    • 1814 – Charles Burney, English composer and historian (b. 1726)
    • 1817 – Charles Messier, French astronomer and academic (b. 1730)
    • 1850 – Adoniram Judson, American lexicographer and missionary (b. 1788)
    • 1866 – Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded Fleetwood (b. 1801)
    • 1872 – Nikolaos Mantzaros, Greek composer and theorist (b. 1795)
    • 1878 – William M. Tweed, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
    • 1879 – Richard Taylor, American general (b. 1826)
    • 1885 – William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1817)
    • 1898 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1820)
    • 1902 – Marie Alfred Cornu, French physicist and academic (b. 1842)
    • 1906 – Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar, academic, and philanthropist (b. 1836)
    • 1912 – Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founded the American Red Cross (b. 1821)
    • 1933 – Adelbert Ames, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1835)
    • 1937 – Abdülhak Hâmid Tarhan, Turkish playwright and poet (b. 1852)
    • 1938 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (b. 1873)
    • 1943 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (b. 1889)
    • 1945 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (b. 1882)
    • 1953 – Lionel Logue, Australian actor and therapist (b. 1880)
    • 1962 – Ron Flockhart, Scottish racing driver (b. 1923)
    • 1966 – Sydney Allard, English racing driver and founder of the Allard car company (b. 1910)
    • 1968 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer (b. 1899)
    • 1971 – Ed Lafitte, American baseball player and dentist (b. 1886)
    • 1973 – Arthur Freed, American songwriter and producer (b. 1894)
    • 1975 – Josephine Baker, French actress, activist, and humanitarian (b. 1906)
    • 1977 – Philip K. Wrigley, American businessman, co-founded Lincoln Park Gun Club (b. 1894)
    • 1980 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (b. 1913)
    • 1981 – Prince Yasuhiko Asaka of Japan (b. 1887)
    • 1981 – Joe Louis, American boxer and wrestler (b. 1914)
    • 1983 – Jørgen Juve, Norwegian football player and journalist (b. 1906)
    • 1983 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (b. 1944)
    • 1984 – Edwin T. Layton, American admiral and cryptanalyst (b. 1903)
    • 1986 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (b. 1897)
    • 1988 – Colette Deréal, French singer and actress (b. 1927)
    • 1988 – Alan Paton, South African historian and author (b. 1903)
    • 1989 – Abbie Hoffman, American activist, co-founded Youth International Party (b. 1936)
    • 1989 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (b. 1921)
    • 1992 – Ilario Bandini, Italian racing driver and businessman (b. 1911)
    • 1997 – George Wald, American neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
    • 1998 – Robert Ford, Canadian poet and diplomat (b. 1915)
    • 1999 – Boxcar Willie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1931)
    • 2001 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the smiley (b. 1921)
    • 2002 – George Shevelov, Ukrainian-American linguist and philologist (b. 1908)
    • 2004 – Moran Campbell, Canadian physician and academic, invented the venturi mask (b. 1925)
    • 2006 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – Kevin Crease, Australian journalist (b. 1936)
    • 2008 – Cecilia Colledge, English-American figure skater and coach (b. 1920)
    • 2008 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (b. 1923)
    • 2008 – Jerry Zucker, Israeli-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1949)
    • 2010 – Michel Chartrand, Canadian trade union leader (b. 1916)
    • 2010 – Werner Schroeter, German director and screenwriter (b. 1945)
    • 2011 – Karim Fakhrawi, Bahraini journalist, co-founded Al-Wasat (b. 1962)
    • 2012 – Mohit Chattopadhyay, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Rodgers Grant, American pianist and composer (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Johnny du Plooy, South African boxer (b. 1964)
    • 2013 – Michael France, American screenwriter (b. 1962)
    • 2013 – Brennan Manning, American priest and author (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Annamária Szalai, Hungarian journalist and politician (b. 1961)
    • 2013 – Ya’akov Yosef, Israeli rabbi and politician (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Pierre Autin-Grenier, French author and poet (b. 1947)
    • 2014 – Pierre-Henri Menthéour, French cyclist (b. 1960)
    • 2014 – Maurício Alves Peruchi, Brazilian footballer (b. 1990)
    • 2014 – Hal Smith, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Billy Standridge, American race car driver (b. 1953)
    • 2015 – Paulo Brossard, Brazilian jurist and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Patrice Dominguez, Algerian-French tennis player and trainer (b. 1950)
    • 2015 – Alfred Eick, German commander (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – André Mba Obame, Gabonese politician (b. 1957)
    • 2016 – Anne Jackson, American actress (b. 1925)
    • 2016 – Mohammad Al Gaz, Emirati politician & diplomat (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Charlie Murphy, American actor and comedian (b. 1959)
    • 2020 – Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (b. 1983)

    Holidays and observances on April 12

    • Children’s Day (Bolivia)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Adoniram Judson (Episcopal Church)
      • Alferius
      • Blessed Angelo Carletti di Chivasso
      • Erkembode
      • Pope Julius I
      • Teresa of the Andes
      • Zeno of Verona
      • April 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Commemoration of first human in space by Yuri Gagarin:
      • Cosmonautics Day (Russia)
      • International Day of Human Space Flight
      • Yuri’s Night (International observance)
    • Halifax Day (North Carolina)
    • National Redemption Day (Liberia)

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

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

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

    Typically the March equinox falls on March 20, marking the vernal point in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal point in the Southern Hemisphere.

    • 235 – Maximinus Thrax is proclaimed emperor.
    • 673 – Emperor Tenmu of Japan assumes the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Palace of Kiyomihara in Asuka.
    • 1206 – Michael IV Autoreianos is appointed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
    • 1600 – The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden: five Swedish noblemen are publicly beheaded in the aftermath of the War against Sigismund (1598–1599).
    • 1602 – The Dutch East India Company is established.
    • 1616 – Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment.
    • 1760 – The Great Boston Fire of 1760 destroys 349 buildings.
    • 1815 – After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his “Hundred Days” rule.
    • 1848 – German revolutions of 1848–49: King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates.
    • 1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published.
    • 1854 – The Republican Party of the United States is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin, US.
    • 1861 – An earthquake destroys Mendoza, Argentina.
    • 1883 – The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is signed.
    • 1888 – The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta is staged in Moscow, Russia.
    • 1890 – Prime Minister of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck is dismissed by Emperor Wilhelm II.
    • 1896 – With the approval of Emperor Guangxu, the Qing dynasty post office is opened, marking the beginning of a postal service in China.
    • 1913 – Sung Chiao-jen, a founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party, is wounded in an assassination attempt and dies 2 days later.
    • 1915 – Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity.
    • 1921 – The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty to determine a section of the border between Weimar Germany and Poland.
    • 1922 – The USS Langley is commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier.
    • 1923 – The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso’s first United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming an early proponent of modern art in the United States.
    • 1933 – Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler ordered the creation of Dachau concentration camp as Chief of Police of Munich and appointed Theodor Eicke as the camp commandant.
    • 1942 – World War II: General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: “I came out of Bataan and I shall return”.
    • 1948 – With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC.
    • 1951 – Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshū is founded.
    • 1952 – The US Senate ratifies the Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan.
    • 1956 – Tunisia gains independence from France.
    • 1964 – The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organisation) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.
    • 1972 – The Troubles: The first Provisional IRA car bombing in Belfast kills seven people and injures 148 others in Northern Ireland.
    • 1985 – Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
    • 1985 – Canadian paraplegic athlete and humanitarian Rick Hansen begins his circumnavigation of the globe in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research.
    • 1987 – The Food and Drug Administration approves the anti-AIDS drug, AZT.
    • 1988 – Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.
    • 1990 – Ferdinand Marcos’s widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
    • 1993 – The Troubles: A Provisional IRA bomb kills two children in Warrington, England. It leads to mass protests in both Britain and Ireland.
    • 1995 – The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo carries out a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, killing 13 and wounding over 6,200 people.
    • 1999 – Legoland California, the first Legoland outside of Europe, opens in Carlsbad, California, US.
    • 2000 – Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured after murdering Georgia sheriff’s deputy Ricky Kinchen and critically wounding Deputy Aldranon English.
    • 2003 – Invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries (the UK, Australia and Poland) begin military operations in Iraq.
    • 2006 – Over 150 Chadian soldiers are killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The rebel movement sought to overthrow Chadian president Idriss Déby.
    • 2012 – At least 52 people are killed and more than 250 injured in a wave of terror attacks across ten cities in Iraq.
    • 2014 – Four suspected Taliban members attack the Kabul Serena Hotel, killing at least nine people.
    • 2015 – A Solar eclipse, equinox, and a supermoon all occur on the same day.

    Births on March 20

    • 43 BC – Ovid, Roman poet (d. 17)
    • 1253 – Magadu, renamed Wareru, founder of Ramanya Kingdom, renamed Hanthawady Kingdom of Pegu (b. a commoner; d. on a Saturday in January 1307)
    • 1319 – Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke (d. 1348)
    • 1469 – Cecily of York (d. 1507)
    • 1477 – Jerome Emser, German theologian and scholar (d. 1527)
    • 1479 – Ippolito d’Este, Italian cardinal (d. 1520)
    • 1502 – Pierino Belli, Italian soldier and jurist (d. 1575)
    • 1532 – Juan de Ribera, Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 1611)
    • 1612 – Anne Bradstreet, Puritan American poet (d. 1672)
    • 1615 – Dara Shikoh, Indian prince (d. 1659)
    • 1639 – Ivan Mazepa, Ukrainian diplomat, Hetman of Ukraine (d. 1709)
    • 1725 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (d. 1789)
    • 1737 – Rama I, Thai king (d. 1809)
    • 1771 – Heinrich Clauren, German author (d. 1854)
    • 1796 – Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (d. 1862)
    • 1799 – Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet and author (d. 1839)
    • 1800 – Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican lawyer and politician, President of Costa Rica (d. 1845)
    • 1805 – Thomas Cooper, British poet (d. 1892)
    • 1811 – Napoleon II, French emperor (d. 1832)
    • 1811 – George Caleb Bingham, American painter and politician, State Treasurer of Missouri (d. 1879)
    • 1821 – Ned Buntline, American journalist, author, and publisher (d. 1886)
    • 1824 – Theodor von Heuglin, German explorer and ornithologist (d. 1876)
    • 1828 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian poet, playwright, and director (d. 1906)
    • 1831 – Patrick Jennings, Northern Irish-Australian politician, 11th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1897)
    • 1831 – Solomon L. Spink, American lawyer and politician (d. 1881)
    • 1834 – Charles William Eliot, American mathematician and academic (d. 1926)
    • 1836 – Ferris Jacobs, Jr., American general, lawyer, and politician (d. 1886)
    • 1836 – Edward Poynter, English painter, illustrator, and curator (d. 1919)
    • 1840 – Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (d. 1894)
    • 1851 – Ismail Gasprinski, Ukrainian educator, publisher, and politician (d. 1914)
    • 1856 – John Lavery, Irish painter (d. 1941)
    • 1856 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American tennis player and engineer (d. 1915)
    • 1870 – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (d. 1964)
    • 1874 – Börries von Münchhausen, German poet and activist (d. 1945)
    • 1876 – Payne Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1927)
    • 1879 – Maud Menten, Canadian physician and biochemist (d. 1960)
    • 1882 – René Coty, French lawyer and politician, 17th President of France (d. 1962)
    • 1882 – Harold Weber, American golfer (d. 1933)
    • 1884 – Philipp Frank, Austrian-American physicist, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1966)
    • 1884 – John Jensen, Australian public servant (d. 1970)
    • 1885 – Vernon Ransford, Australian cricketer (d. 1958)
    • 1888 – Amanda Clement, American baseball player, umpire, and educator (d. 1971)
    • 1890 – Lauritz Melchior, Danish-American tenor and actor (d. 1973)
    • 1894 – Amalie Sara Colquhoun, Australian landscape and portrait painter (d. 1974)
    • 1895 – Fredric Wertham, German-American psychologist and author (d. 1981)
    • 1898 – Eduard Wiiralt, Estonian artist (d. 1954)
    • 1900 – Amelia Chopitea Villa, Bolivia’s first female physician (d. 1942)
    • 1903 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (d. 1979)
    • 1904 – B. F. Skinner, American psychologist and author (d. 1990)
    • 1905 – Jean Galia, French rugby player and boxer (d. 1949)
    • 1906 – Abraham Beame, American accountant and politician, 104th Mayor of New York City (d. 2001)
    • 1906 – Ozzie Nelson, American actor and bandleader (d. 1975)
    • 1907 – Hugh MacLennan, Canadian author and educator (d. 1990)
    • 1908 – Michael Redgrave, English actor and director (d. 1985)
    • 1910 – Erwin Blask, German hammer thrower (d. 1999)
    • 1911 – Alfonso García Robles, Mexican lawyer and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
    • 1912 – Ralph Hauenstein, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
    • 1913 – Nikolai Stepulov, Russian-Estonian boxer (d. 1968)
    • 1914 – Wendell Corey, American actor and politician (d. 1968)
    • 1915 – Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian judge and politician, 8th President of Austria (d. 2000)
    • 1915 – Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist and composer (d. 1997)
    • 1915 – Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1973)
    • 1916 – Pierre Messmer, French lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
    • 1917 – Vera Lynn, English singer, songwriter and actress (d. 2020)
    • 1917 – Yigael Yadin, Israeli archaeologist, general, and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1984)
    • 1918 – Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (d. 1984)
    • 1918 – Donald Featherstone, English soldier and author (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Marian McPartland, English-American pianist and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Bernd Alois Zimmermann, German composer (d. 1970)
    • 1919 – Gerhard Barkhorn, German fighter ace (d. 1983)
    • 1920 – Pamela Harriman, English-American diplomat, 58th United States Ambassador to France (d. 1997)
    • 1920 – Rosemary Timperley, English author and screenwriter (d. 1988)
    • 1921 – Usmar Ismail, Indonesian filmmaker (d. 1971)
    • 1921 – Dušan Pirjevec, Slovenian historian and philosopher (d. 1977)
    • 1921 – Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician and theorist (d. 1970)
    • 1922 – Larry Elgart, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 2017)
    • 1922 – Ray Goulding, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1990)
    • 1922 – Carl Reiner, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2020)
    • 1923 – Con Martin, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1925 – John Ehrlichman, American lawyer, 12th White House Counsel (d. 1999)
    • 1927 – John Joubert, South African-English composer and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1928 – Jerome Biffle, American long jumper and coach (d. 2002)
    • 1928 – James P. Gordon, American physicist and engineer (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Fred Rogers, American television host and producer (d. 2003)
    • 1929 – William Andrew MacKay, Canadian lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Germán Robles, Spanish-Mexican actor and director (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – S. Arasaratnam, Sri Lankan historian, author, and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1931 – Hal Linden, American actor, singer, and director
    • 1931 – Rein Raamat, Estonian director and screenwriter
    • 1933 – Lateef Adegbite, Nigerian lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1933 – George Altman, American baseball player
    • 1933 – Ian Walsh, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Willie Brown, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Mayor of San Francisco
    • 1934 – David Malouf, Australian author and playwright
    • 1935 – Ted Bessell, American actor and director (d. 1996)
    • 1935 – Bettye Washington Greene, American chemist (d. 1995)
    • 1936 – Lee “Scratch” Perry, Jamaican singer, songwriter, music producer, and inventor
    • 1936 – Mark Saville, Baron Saville of Newdigate, English lieutenant, lawyer, and judge
    • 1937 – Lois Lowry, American author
    • 1937 – Jerry Reed, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2008)
    • 1938 – Sergei Novikov, Russian mathematician and academic
    • 1939 – Gerald Curran, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Don Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1939 – Walter Jakob Gehring, Swiss biologist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1939 – Brian Mulroney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Canada
    • 1940 – Stathis Chaitas, Greek footballer and manager
    • 1940 – Mary Ellen Mark, American photographer and journalist (d. 2015)
    • 1940 – Giampiero Moretti, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded the Momo company (d. 2012)
    • 1941 – Pat Corrales, American baseball player and manager
    • 1941 – Kenji Kimihara, Japanese runner
    • 1943 – Gerard Malanga, American poet and photographer
    • 1943 – Douglas Tompkins, American businessman, co-founded The North Face and Esprit Holdings (d. 2015)
    • 1943 – Paul Junger Witt, American director and producer (d. 2018)
    • 1944 – John Cameron, English composer and conductor
    • 1944 – Camille Cosby, American author, producer, and philanthropist
    • 1944 – Alan Harper, English-Irish archbishop
    • 1945 – Henry Bartholomay, American soldier and pilot (d. 2015)
    • 1945 – Jay Ingram, Canadian television host and author
    • 1945 – Pat Riley, American basketball player and coach
    • 1945 – Tim Yeo, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Health
    • 1946 – Douglas B. Green, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1946 – Malcolm Simmons, English motorcycle racer (d. 2014)
    • 1947 – John Boswell, American historian, philologist, and academic (d. 1994)
    • 1948 – John de Lancie, American actor
    • 1948 – Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1948 – Nikos Papazoglou, Greek singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1949 – Marcia Ball, American blues singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1949 – Richard Dowden, English journalist and educator
    • 1950 – William Hurt, American actor
    • 1950 – Carl Palmer, English drummer, percussionist, and songwriter
    • 1951 – Jimmie Vaughan, American blues-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1952 – Geoff Brabham, Australian race car driver
    • 1952 – David Greenaway, English economist and academic
    • 1953 – Phil Judd, New Zealand singer-songwriter, guitarist and painter
    • 1954 – Mike Francesa, American radio talk show host and television commentator
    • 1954 – Liana Kanelli, Greek journalist and politician
    • 1954 – Paul Mirabella, American baseball player
    • 1955 – Nina Kiriki Hoffman, American author
    • 1955 – Ian Moss, Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter
    • 1955 – Mariya Takeuchi, Japanese singer-songwriter
    • 1956 – Catherine Ashton, English politician, Vice-President of the European Commission
    • 1956 – Anne Donahue, American lawyer and politician
    • 1956 – Naoto Takenaka, Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director
    • 1957 – Vanessa Bell Calloway, American actress
    • 1957 – David Foster, Australian woodchopper
    • 1957 – Spike Lee, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Theresa Russell, American actress
    • 1957 – Chris Wedge, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
    • 1958 – Holly Hunter, American actress and producer
    • 1958 – Rickey Jackson, American football player
    • 1958 – Joe Reaiche, Australian rugby player
    • 1959 – Dave Beasant, English footballer and coach
    • 1959 – Mary Roach, American author
    • 1959 – Sting, American wrestler
    • 1959 – Peter Truscott, Baron Truscott, British Labour Party politician and peer
    • 1960 – Norm Magnusson, American painter and sculptor
    • 1960 – Norbert Pohlmann, German computer scientist and academic
    • 1960 – Yuri Shargin, Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut
    • 1961 – Ingrid Arndt-Brauer, German politician
    • 1961 – Jesper Olsen, Danish footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Sara Wheeler, English author and journalist
    • 1962 – Stephen Sommers, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1963 – Paul Annacone, American tennis player and coach
    • 1963 – Kathy Ireland, American model, actress, and furniture designer
    • 1963 – Yelena Romanova, Russian runner (d. 2007)
    • 1963 – David Thewlis, English-French actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Natacha Atlas, Belgian singer-songwriter
    • 1965 – William Dalrymple, Scottish historian and author
    • 1967 – Xavier Beauvois, French actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Mookie Blaylock, American basketball player
    • 1968 – Carlos Almeida, Cape Verdean runner
    • 1968 – A. J. Jacobs, American journalist and author
    • 1968 – Paul Merson, English footballer and manager
    • 1968 – Ultra Naté, American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ, and promoter
    • 1969 – Yvette Cooper, English economist and politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
    • 1969 – Fabien Galthie, French rugby player
    • 1970 – Edoardo Ballerini, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1970 – Josephine Medina, Filipino Paralympic table tennis player
    • 1970 – sj Miller, American academic, public speaker, and social justice activist
    • 1970 – Michael Rapaport, American actor, podcast host, and director
    • 1971 – Manny Alexander, Dominican baseball player
    • 1971 – Touré, American journalist and author
    • 1972 – Chilly Gonzales, Canadian-German singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1972 – Alex Kapranos, English-Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1972 – Greg Searle, English rower
    • 1972 – Marco Sejna, German footballer
    • 1972 – Cristel Vahtra, Estonian skier
    • 1973 – Nicky Boje, South African cricketer
    • 1973 – Natalya Khrushcheleva, Russian runner
    • 1973 – Talal Khalifa Aljeri, Kuwaiti businessman
    • 1974 – Carsten Ramelow, German footballer
    • 1975 – Ramin Bahrani, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1975 – Isolde Kostner, Italian skier
    • 1976 – Chester Bennington, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2017)
    • 1978 – Kevin Betsy, English born Seychelles international footballer, midfielder and manager
    • 1978 – Brent Sherwin, Australian rugby league player
    • 1979 – Shinnosuke Abe, Japanese baseball player
    • 1979 – Freema Agyeman, English actress
    • 1979 – Keven Mealamu, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1980 – Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Robertas Javtokas, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1981 – Ian Murray, Scottish footballer
    • 1981 – Carl Webb, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Terrence Duffin, Zimbabwean cricketer
    • 1982 – Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish footballer
    • 1982 – José Moreira, Portuguese footballer
    • 1983 – Carolina Padrón, Venezuelan journalist
    • 1983 – Jenni Vartiainen, Finnish singer
    • 1984 – Vikram Banerjee, English cricketer
    • 1984 – Christy Carlson Romano, American actress and singer
    • 1984 – Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer
    • 1985 – Morgan Amalfitano, French footballer
    • 1985 – Ronnie Brewer, American basketball player
    • 1985 – Nicolas Lombaerts, Belgian footballer
    • 1986 – Dean Geyer, South African-Australian singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1986 – Julián Magallanes, Argentinian footballer
    • 1986 – Ruby Rose, Australian actress and model
    • 1986 – Román Torres, Panamanian footballer
    • 1987 – Daniel Maa Boumsong, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1987 – Jô, Brazilian footballer
    • 1987 – Pedro Ken, Brazilian footballer
    • 1987 – Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarusian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Xavier Dolan, Canadian actor and director
    • 1989 – Tamim Iqbal, Bangladeshi Cricketer
    • 1990 – Blake Ferguson, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Marcos Rojo, Argentine footballer
    • 1991 – Mattia Destro, Italian footballer
    • 1991 – Michał Kucharczyk, Polish footballer
    • 1991 – Ethan Lowe, Australian rugby league player
    • 1993 – Sloane Stephens, American tennis player
    • 1995 – Jack Bird, Australian rugby league player

    Deaths on March 20

    • 687 – Cuthbert, Northumbrian (English) monk, bishop, and saint (b. 634)
    • 703 – Wulfram, archbishop of Sens
    • 842 – Alfonso II, king of Asturias (Spain) (b. 759)
    • 851 – Ebbo, archbishop of Reims
    • 1181 – Taira no Kiyomori, Japanese general (b. 1118)
    • 1191 – Pope Clement III (b. 1130)
    • 1239 – Hermann von Salza, German knight and diplomat (b. 1179)
    • 1302 – Ralph Walpole, Bishop of Norwich
    • 1336 – Maurice Csák, Hungarian Dominican friar (b. 1270)
    • 1351 – Muhammad bin Tughluq, Sultan of Delhi
    • 1390 – Alexios III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1338)
    • 1413 – Henry IV of England (b. 1367)
    • 1440 – Sigismund I of Lithuania
    • 1475 – Georges Chastellain, Burgundian chronicler and poet
    • 1549 – Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, English general and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1508)
    • 1568 – Albert, Duke of Prussia (b. 1490)
    • 1619 – Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1557)
    • 1673 – Augustyn Kordecki, Polish monk (b. 1603)
    • 1688 – Maria of Orange-Nassau, Dutch princess (b. 1642)
    • 1730 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (b. 1692)
    • 1746 – Nicolas de Largillière, French painter and academic (b. 1656)
    • 1780 – Benjamin Truman, English brewer and businessman (b. 1699)
    • 1793 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1705)
    • 1835 – Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (b. 1794)
    • 1849 – James Justinian Morier, Turkish-English author and diplomat (b. 1780)
    • 1855 – Joseph Aspdin, English businessman (b. 1788)
    • 1865 – Yamanami Keisuke, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
    • 1874 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (b. 1810)
    • 1878 – Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (b. 1814)
    • 1894 – Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian lawyer, journalist and politician (b. 1802)
    • 1897 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1821)
    • 1899 – Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist and author (b. 1822)
    • 1909 – Friedrich Amelung, Estonian historian and businessman (b. 1842)
    • 1918 – Lewis A. Grant, American general and lawyer (b. 1828)
    • 1925 – George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India (b. 1859)
    • 1929 – Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal (b. 1851)
    • 1930 – Arthur F. Andrews, American cyclist (b. 1876)
    • 1931 – Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
    • 1933 – Giuseppe Zangara, Italian-American assassin of Anton Cermak (b. 1900; executed)
    • 1940 – Alfred Ploetz, German physician, biologist, and eugenicist (b. 1860)
    • 1945 – Dorothy Campbell, Scottish-American golfer (b. 1883)
    • 1946 – Amadeus William Grabau, American-Chinese geologist, paleontologist, and academic (b. 1870)
    • 1947 – Sigurd Wallén, Swedish actor and director (b. 1884)
    • 1952 – Hjalmar Väre, Finnish cyclist (b. 1892)
    • 1958 – Adegoke Adelabu, Nigerian merchant, journalist, and politician (b. 1915)
    • 1964 – Brendan Behan, Irish republican and playwright (b. 1923)
    • 1965 – Daniel Frank, American long jumper (b. 1882)
    • 1966 – Johnny Morrison, American baseball player (b. 1895)
    • 1968 – Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish director and screenwriter (b. 1889)
    • 1969 – Henri Longchambon, French politician (b. 1896)
    • 1971 – Falih Rıfkı Atay, Turkish journalist and politician (b. 1894)
    • 1972 – Marilyn Maxwell, American actress (b. 1921)
    • 1974 – Chet Huntley, American journalist (b. 1911)
    • 1977 – Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, English politician, 9th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1909)
    • 1977 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (b. 1919)
    • 1978 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (b. 1895)
    • 1981 – Gerry Bertier, American football player (b. 1953)
    • 1983 – Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1891)
    • 1990 – Maurice Cloche, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1907)
    • 1990 – Lev Yashin, Russian footballer (b. 1929)
    • 1992 – Georges Delerue, French composer (b. 1925)
    • 1993 – Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
    • 1994 – Lewis Grizzard, American writer and humorist (b. 1946)
    • 1997 – V. S. Pritchett, English short story writer, essayist, and critic (b. 1900)
    • 1999 – Patrick Heron, British painter (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Gene Eugene, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1961)
    • 2001 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (b. 1949)
    • 2004 – Juliana of the Netherlands (b. 1909)
    • 2004 – Pierre Sévigny, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
    • 2007 – Raynald Fréchette, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Taha Yassin Ramadan, Iraqi politician, Vice President of Iraq (b. 1938)
    • 2007 – Hawa Yakubu, Ghanaian politician (b. 1948)
    • 2010 – Ai, American poet and academic (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Girija Prasad Koirala, Indian-Nepalese politician, 30th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
    • 2010 – Stewart Udall, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 37th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1920)
    • 2011 – Johnny Pearson, English pianist, conductor, and composer (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Lincoln Hall, Australian mountaineer and author (b. 1955)
    • 2012 – Noboru Ishiguro, Japanese animator and director (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Polish-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1910)
    • 2012 – Jim Stynes, Irish-Australian footballer (b. 1966)
    • 2013 – James Herbert, English author (b. 1943)
    • 2013 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Zillur Rahman, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (b. 1934)
    • 2014 – Hilderaldo Bellini, Brazilian footballer (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Tonie Nathan, American politician (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Eva Burrows, Australian 13th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1930)
    • 2016 – Anker Jørgensen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1922)
    • 2017 – David Rockefeller, American billionaire and philanthropist (b. 1915)
    • 2018 – C. K. Mann, a Ghanaian Highlife musician and producer (b. 1936)
    • 2019 – Mary Warnock, English philosopher & writer (b. 1924)
    • 2020 – Kenny Rogers, American singer (b. 1938)

    Holidays and observances on March 20

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexandra
      • Blessed John of Parma
      • Clement of Ireland
      • Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
      • Herbert of Derwentwater
      • John of Nepomuk
      • Józef Bilczewski
      • María Josefa Sancho de Guerra
      • Martin of Braga
      • Michele Carcano
      • Wulfram
      • March 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest date for the vernal equinox in the Northern hemisphere:
      • Bahá’í Naw-Rúz, started at sunset on March 20. The end of the 19-day sunrise-to-sunset fast. (Bahá’í Faith)
      • Chunfen (China)
      • Earth Equinox Day
      • International Astrology Day
      • New Year (Thelema)
      • Nowruz (Persian, Gilaki, Kurdish, Zoroastrians, and other Iranian people and countries with an Iranian influence)
      • Ostara in the northern hemisphere, Mabon in the southern hemisphere. (Neo-Druidic Wheel of the Year)
      • Shunbun no Hi (Japan)
      • Sun-Earth Day (United States)
      • Vernal Equinox Day/Kōreisai (Japan)
      • World Storytelling Day
    • Earliest day on which Good Friday can fall, while April 23 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Easter. (Christianity)
    • Great American Meatout (United States)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Tunisia from France in 1956.
    • International Day of Happiness (United Nations)
    • International Francophonie Day (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie), and its related observances:
      • UN French Language Day (United Nations)
    • National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
    • World Sparrow Day

  • March 17- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
    • 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eighteen, following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius.
    • 455 – Petronius Maximus becomes, with support of the Roman Senate, emperor of the Western Roman Empire; he forces Licinia Eudoxia, the widow of his predecessor, Valentinian III, to marry him.
    • 1001 – The Raja of Butuan in what is now the Philippines sends a tributary mission to the Song dynasty.
    • 1337 – Edward, the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy in England.
    • 1452 – The Battle of Los Alporchones is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the Emirate of Granada and the combined forces of the Kingdom of Castile and Murcia resulting in a Christian victory.
    • 1560 – Fort Coligny on Villegagnon Island in Rio de Janeiro is attacked and destroyed during the Portuguese campaign against France Antarctique.
    • 1677 – The Siege of Valenciennes, during the Franco-Dutch War, ends with France’s taking of the city.
    • 1776 – American Revolution: The British Army evacuates Boston, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city.
    • 1780 – American Revolution: George Washington grants the Continental Army a holiday “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence”.
    • 1805 – The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King of Italy.
    • 1824 – The Anglo-Dutch Treaty is signed in London, dividing the Malay archipelago. As a result, the Malay Peninsula is dominated by the British, while Sumatra and Java and surrounding areas are dominated by the Dutch.
    • 1842 – The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is formed.
    • 1852 – Annibale De Gasparis discovers in Naples the asteroid Psyche from the north dome of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte
    • 1860 – The First Taranaki War begins in Taranaki, New Zealand, a major phase of the New Zealand Wars.
    • 1861 – The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed.
    • 1891 – SS Utopia collides with HMS Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar and sinks, killing 562 of the 880 passengers on board.
    • 1921 – The Second Polish Republic adopts the March Constitution.
    • 1939 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and Japan begins.
    • 1941 – In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
    • 1942 – Holocaust: The first Jews from the Lvov Ghetto are gassed at the Belzec death camp in what is today eastern Poland.
    • 1945 – The Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, Germany, collapses, ten days after its capture.
    • 1947 – First flight of the B-45 Tornado strategic bomber.
    • 1948 – Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO.
    • 1950 – Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announce the creation of element 98, which they name “californium”.
    • 1957 – A plane crash in Cebu, Philippines kills Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others.
    • 1958 – The United States launches the first solar-powered satellite.
    • 1960 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
    • 1963 – Mount Agung erupted on Bali killing more than 1,100 people.
    • 1966 – Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the DSV Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb.
    • 1968 – As a result of nerve gas testing by the U.S. Army Chemical Corps in Skull Valley, Utah, over 6,000 sheep are found dead.
    • 1969 – Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
    • 1973 – The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family, which came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War.
    • 1979 – The Penmanshiel Tunnel collapses during engineering works, killing two workers.
    • 1985 – Serial killer Richard Ramirez, aka the “Night Stalker”, commits the first two murders in his Los Angeles murder spree.
    • 1988 – A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into a mountainside near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
    • 1988 – Eritrean War of Independence: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on three sides by military units of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front in the opening action of the Battle of Afabet.
    • 1992 – Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires: Car bomb attack kills 29 and injures 242.
    • 1992 – A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa is passed 68.7% to 31.2%.
    • 2000 – Five hundred and thirty members of the Ugandan cult Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God die in a fire, considered to be a mass murder or suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult. Elsewhere another 248 members are later found dead.
    • 2003 – Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
    • 2004 – Unrest in Kosovo: More than 22 are killed and 200 wounded. Thirty-five Serbian Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Serbia are destroyed.

    Births on March 17

    • 763 – Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph (d. 809)
    • 1231 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (d. 1242)
    • 1473 – James IV of Scotland (d. 1513)
    • 1523 – Giovanni Francesco Commendone, Catholic cardinal (d. 1584)
    • 1537 – Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese daimyō (d. 1598)
    • 1611 – Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge, Swedish field marshal (d. 1662)
    • 1665 – Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, French harpsichord player and composer (d. 1729)
    • 1676 – Thomas Boston, Scottish philosopher and theologian (d. 1732)
    • 1686 – Jean-Baptiste Oudry, French painter and engraver (d. 1755)
    • 1725 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (d. 1806)
    • 1777 – Patrick Brontë, Irish-English priest and author (d. 1861)
    • 1777 – Roger B. Taney, American politician and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1864)
    • 1780 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish minister, economist, and educator (d. 1847)
    • 1781 – Ebenezer Elliott, English poet and educator (d. 1849)
    • 1804 – Jim Bridger, American fur trader and explorer (d. 1881)
    • 1806 – Norbert Rillieux, African American inventor and chemical engineer (d. 1894)
    • 1820 – Jean Ingelow, English poet and author (d. 1897)
    • 1834 – Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and businessman, co-founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (d. 1900)
    • 1839 – Josef Rheinberger, Liechtensteiner-German organist and composer (d. 1901)
    • 1846 – Kate Greenaway, English author and illustrator (d. 1901)
    • 1849 – Charles F. Brush, American businessman and philanthropist, co-invented the Arc lamp (d. 1929)
    • 1849 – Cornelia Clapp, American marine biologist (d. 1934)
    • 1856 – Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter (d. 1910)
    • 1862 – Silvio Gesell, Belgian merchant and economist (d. 1930)
    • 1864 – Joseph Baptista, Indian engineer, lawyer, and politician (d. 1930)
    • 1866 – Pierce Butler, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1939)
    • 1867 – Patrice Contamine de Latour, Spanish poet (d. 1926)
    • 1877 – Edith New, British militant suffragette (d. 1951)
    • 1877 – Otto Gross, Austrian-German psychoanalyst and philosopher (d. 1920)
    • 1880 – Patrick Hastings, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1952)
    • 1880 – Lawrence Oates, English lieutenant and explorer (d. 1912)
    • 1881 – Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
    • 1884 – Alcide Nunez, American clarinet player (d. 1934)
    • 1885 – Ralph Rose, American track and field athlete (d. 1913)
    • 1886 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (d. 1974)
    • 1888 – Paul Ramadier, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1961)
    • 1889 – Harry Clarke, Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator (d. 1931)
    • 1891 – Ross McLarty, Australian politician, 17th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1962)
    • 1892 – Sayed Darwish, Egyptian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1923)
    • 1894 – Paul Green, American playwright and academic (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – Lloyd Rees, Australian painter (d. 1988)
    • 1901 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (d. 1970)
    • 1902 – Bobby Jones, American golfer and lawyer (d. 1971)
    • 1904 – Chaim Gross, Austrian-American sculptor and educator (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (d. 1996)
    • 1907 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1991)
    • 1907 – Takeo Miki, Japanese politician, 41st Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1988)
    • 1910 – Sonny Werblin, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1991)
    • 1912 – Bayard Rustin, American activist (d. 1987)
    • 1914 – Sammy Baugh, American football player and coach (d. 2008)
    • 1915 – Robert S. Arbib Jr., American ornithologist, writer and conservationist (d. 1987)
    • 1915 – Ray Ellington, English drummer and bandleader (d. 1985)
    • 1915 – Bill Roycroft, Australian equestrian rider (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Nat King Cole, American singer, pianist, and television host (d. 1965)
    • 1920 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 1st President of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
    • 1921 – Meir Amit, Israeli general and politician, 12th Israeli Minister of Communications (d. 2009)
    • 1922 – Patrick Suppes, American psychologist and philosopher (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Gabriele Ferzetti, Italian actor (d. 2015)
    • 1926 – Siegfried Lenz, Polish-German author and playwright (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Betty Allen, American soprano and educator (d. 2009)
    • 1928 – William John McKeag, Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – Paul Horn, American-Canadian flute player and saxophonist (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – James Irwin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1991)
    • 1931 – Patricia Breslin, American actress (d. 2011)
    • 1931 – David Peakall, English-American chemist and toxicologist (d. 2001)
    • 1933 – Myrlie Evers-Williams, American journalist and activist
    • 1933 – Penelope Lively, English author
    • 1935 – Fred T. Mackenzie, American biologist and academic
    • 1935 – Adam Wade, American singer, drummer, and actor
    • 1936 – Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – Ladislav Kupkovič, Slovakian composer and conductor (d. 2016)
    • 1936 – Ken Mattingly, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1937 – Galina Samsova, Russian ballerina
    • 1938 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
    • 1938 – Keith O’Brien, Northern Ireland-born Scottish cleric, theologian, and cardinal (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – Zola Taylor, American singer (d. 2007)
    • 1939 – Jim Gary, American sculptor (d. 2006)
    • 1939 – Bill Graham, Canadian academic and politician, 4th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1939 – Robin Knox-Johnston, English sailor and first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe
    • 1939 – Giovanni Trapattoni, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1940 – Mark White, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Texas (d. 2017)
    • 1941 – Wang Jin-pyng, Taiwanese soldier and politician
    • 1941 – Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
    • 1941 – Max Stafford-Clark, English director and academic
    • 1942 – John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer and rapist (d. 1994)
    • 1943 – Jeff Banks, Welsh fashion designer
    • 1943 – Andrew Brook, Canadian philosopher, author, and academic
    • 1944 – Pattie Boyd, English model, author, and photographer
    • 1944 – Cito Gaston, American baseball player and manager
    • 1944 – John Sebastian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – Michael Hayden, American general, 20th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
    • 1947 – Dennis Bond, English footballer, midfielder
    • 1947 – Yury Chernavsky, Russian-American songwriter and producer
    • 1948 – William Gibson, American-Canadian author and screenwriter
    • 1948 – Alex MacDonald, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1949 – Patrick Duffy, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1949 – Pat Rice, Irish footballer and coach
    • 1949 – Stuart Rose, English businessman
    • 1951 – Scott Gorham, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – Craig Ramsay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1951 – Kurt Russell, American actor and producer
    • 1952 – Barry Horne, English activist (d. 2001)
    • 1953 – Filemon Lagman, Filipino activist (d. 2001)
    • 1953 – Chuck Muncie, American football player (d. 2013)
    • 1954 – Lesley-Anne Down, English actress
    • 1955 – Cynthia McKinney, American activist and politician
    • 1955 – Paul Overstreet, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Gary Sinise, American actor, director, and bass player
    • 1956 – Patrick McDonnell, American author and illustrator
    • 1956 – Rory McGrath, British comedian, television personality, and writer
    • 1957 – Michael Kelly, American journalist and author (d. 2003)
    • 1958 – Christian Clemenson, American actor
    • 1959 – Danny Ainge, American baseball and basketball player
    • 1959 – Paul Black, American singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1960 – Arye Gross, American actor
    • 1960 – Vicki Lewis, American actress and singer
    • 1961 – Sam Bowie, American basketball player
    • 1961 – Dana Reeve, American actress, singer, and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1961 – Casey Siemaszko, American actor
    • 1962 – Carsten Almqvist, Swedish business executive
    • 1962 – Ank Bijleveld, Dutch politician
    • 1962 – Janet Gardner, American singer and guitarist
    • 1962 – Clare Grogan, Scottish singer and actress
    • 1962 – Rob Sitch, Australian actor, director, and producer
    • 1963 – Roger Harper, Guyanese cricketer and coach
    • 1964 – Stefano Borgonovo, Italian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1964 – Lee Dixon, English footballer and journalist
    • 1964 – Rob Lowe, American actor and producer
    • 1964 – Jacques Songo’o, Cameroonian footballer and coach
    • 1965 – Andrew Hudson, South African cricketer
    • 1966 – Andrew Rosindell, English journalist and politician
    • 1967 – Jason Alchin, Australian rugby league player
    • 1967 – Billy Corgan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and producer
    • 1967 – Barry Minkow, American pastor and businessman
    • 1968 – Eri Nitta, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1968 – Mathew St. Patrick, American actor and producer
    • 1969 – Edgar Grospiron, French skier
    • 1969 – Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, founded own eponymous brand (d. 2010)
    • 1970 – Patrick Lebeau, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1970 – Gene Ween, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – Bill Mueller, American baseball player and coach
    • 1972 – Melissa Auf der Maur, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1972 – Torquil Campbell, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1972 – Mia Hamm, American soccer player
    • 1973 – Rico Blanco, Filipino singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
    • 1973 – Caroline Corr, Irish singer and drummer
    • 1973 – Vance Wilson, American baseball player and manager
    • 1974 – Mark Dolan, English comedian and television host
    • 1975 – Justin Hawkins, English singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Puneeth Rajkumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer
    • 1975 – Test, Canadian-American wrestler (d. 2009)
    • 1975 – Natalie Zea, American actress
    • 1976 – Scott Downs, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Stephen Gately, Irish singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2009)
    • 1976 – Álvaro Recoba, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1977 – Tamar Braxton, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1978 – Zachery Kouwe, American journalist
    • 1979 – Stormy Daniels, born Stephanie Gregory, American adult film actress
    • 1979 – Andrew Ference, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Stephen Kramer Glickman, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and fashion designer
    • 1979 – Samoa Joe, American professional wrestler
    • 1980 – Danny Califf, American soccer player
    • 1980 – Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Pakistani tennis player
    • 1981 – Aaron Baddeley, American-Australian golfer
    • 1981 – Servet Çetin, Turkish footballer
    • 1981 – Kyle Korver, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Nicky Jam, American-Puerto-Rican singer and songwriter
    • 1982 – Steven Pienaar, South African footballer
    • 1983 – James Heath, English golfer
    • 1983 – Raul Meireles, Portuguese footballer
    • 1983 – Attila Vajda, Hungarian sprint canoeist
    • 1984 – Ryan Rottman, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1985 – Tuğba Karademir, Turkish-Canadian figure skater
    • 1986 – Chris Davis, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Edin Džeko, Bosnian footballer
    • 1986 – Miles Kane, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1986 – Silke Spiegelburg, German pole vaulter
    • 1987 – Federico Fazio, Argentinian international footballer, centre backland rugby league player
    • 1987 – Ryan Parent, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Bobby Ryan, American ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Emmanuel Sanders, American football player
    • 1988 – Rasmus Elm, Swedish footballer
    • 1988 – Fraser Forster, English footballer
    • 1988 – Grimes, Canadian artist, musician and music video director
    • 1988 – Ryan White, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Shinji Kagawa, Japanese footballer
    • 1990 – Hozier, Irish singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1990 – Saina Nehwal, Indian badminton player
    • 1991 – Jack De Belin, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Patrick Cantlay, American golfer
    • 1992 – John Boyega, English actor
    • 1993 – Matteo Bianchetti, Italian footballer
    • 1994 – Dean Britt, Australian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Ashley Taylor, Australian rugby league player
    • 1997 – Katie Ledecky, American swimmer

    Deaths on March 17

    • 45 BC – Titus Labienus, Roman general (b. 100 BC)
    • 45 BC – Publius Attius Varus, Roman governor of Africa
    • 180 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (b. 121)
    • 624 – Amr ibn Hishām, Arab polytheist
    • 659 – Gertrude of Nivelles, Frankish abbess
    • 836 – Haito, bishop of Basel
    • 905 – Li Yu, Prince of De, prince and emperor of the Tang Dynasty
    • 1008 – Kazan, emperor of Japan (b. 968)
    • 1040 – Harold Harefoot, king of England
    • 1058 – Lulach, king of Scotland
    • 1199 – Jocelin of Glasgow, Scottish monk and bishop (b. 1130)
    • 1267 – Pierre de Montreuil, French architect
    • 1270 – Philip of Montfort, French knight and nobleman
    • 1272 – Go-Saga, emperor of Japan (b. 1220)
    • 1361 – An-Nasir Hasan, Mamluk sultan of Egypt
    • 1394 – Louis of Enghien, French nobleman
    • 1406 – Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian sociologist, historian, and scholar (b. 1332)
    • 1425 – Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1407)
    • 1516 – Giuliano de’ Medici, Italian nobleman (b. 1479)
    • 1527 – Rana Sanga, Indian ruler (b. 1482)
    • 1565 – Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian and academic (b. 1500)
    • 1611 – Sophia of Sweden, duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1547)
    • 1620 – John Sarkander, Polish-Moravian priest and saint (b. 1576)
    • 1640 – Philip Massinger, English playwright (b. 1583)
    • 1649 – Gabriel Lalemant, French missionary and saint (b. 1610)
    • 1663 – Jerome Weston, 2nd Earl of Portland, English diplomat (b. 1605)
    • 1680 – François de La Rochefoucauld, French author (b. 1613)
    • 1704 – Menno van Coehoorn, Dutch soldier and engineer (b. 1641)
    • 1715 – Gilbert Burnet, Scottish bishop and historian (b. 1643)
    • 1741 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet and playwright (b. 1671)
    • 1764 – George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, English astronomer and politician (b. 1695)
    • 1782 – Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-Swiss mathematician and physicist (b. 1700)
    • 1828 – James Edward Smith, English botanist and entomologist (b. 1759)
    • 1829 – Sophia Albertina, princess-abbess of Quedlinburg (b. 1753)
    • 1830 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician (b. 1764)
    • 1846 – Friedrich Bessel, German astronomer, mathematician, and physicist (b. 1784)
    • 1849 – William II, Dutch sovereign prince and king (b. 1792)
    • 1853 – Christian Doppler, Austrian physicist and mathematician (b. 1803)
    • 1871 – Robert Chambers, Scottish geologist and publisher, co-founded Chambers Harrap (b. 1802)
    • 1875 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1832)
    • 1893 – Jules Ferry, French lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of France (b. 1832)
    • 1917 – Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1838)
    • 1926 – Aleksei Brusilov, Georgian-Russian general (b. 1853)
    • 1937 – Austen Chamberlain, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1863)
    • 1940 – Philomène Belliveau, Canadian artist (b. 1854)
    • 1946 – Dai Li, Chinese general (b. 1897)
    • 1949 – Aleksandra Ekster, Russian-French painter and set designer (b. 1882)
    • 1956 – Fred Allen, American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and author (b. 1894)
    • 1956 – Irène Joliot-Curie, French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
    • 1957 – Ramon Magsaysay, Filipino captain and politician, 7th President of the Philippines (b. 1907)
    • 1958 – John Pius Boland, Irish tennis player and politician (b. 1870)
    • 1958 – Bertha De Vriese, Belgian physician (b. 1877)
    • 1961 – Susanna M. Salter, American activist and politician (b. 1860)
    • 1965 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, American football player and coach (b. 1862)
    • 1974 – Louis Kahn, American architect and academic, designed Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (b. 1901)
    • 1976 – Luchino Visconti, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
    • 1981 – Paul Dean, American baseball player (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1983 – Louisa E. Rhine, American botanist and parapsychologist (b. 1891)
    • 1986 – Clarence D. Lester, African-American fighter pilot (b.1923)
    • 1990 – Capucine, French model and actress (b. 1928)
    • 1992 – Grace Stafford, American actress (b. 1903)
    • 1993 – Helen Hayes, American actress (b. 1900)
    • 1994 – Mai Zetterling, Swedish-English actress and director (b. 1925)
    • 1996 – René Clément, French director and screenwriter (b. 1913)
    • 1996 – Terry Stafford, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
    • 1997 – Jermaine Stewart, American singer-songwriter and dancer (b. 1957)
    • 1999 – Ernest Gold, Austrian-American composer (b. 1921)
    • 1999 – Jean Pierre-Bloch, French activist (b. 1905)
    • 2002 – Rosetta LeNoire, American actress and producer (b. 1911)
    • 2002 – Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (b. 1917)
    • 2002 – Sylvester “Pat” Weaver, American television broadcaster and producer (b. 1908)
    • 2005 – Royce Frith, Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat, Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – George F. Kennan, American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (b. 1904)
    • 2005 – Andre Norton, American author (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Oleg Cassini, French-American fashion designer (b. 1913)
    • 2006 – Ray Meyer, American basketball player and coach (b. 1913)
    • 2006 – İstemihan Taviloğlu, Turkish composer and educator (b. 1945)
    • 2007 – John Backus, American mathematician and computer scientist, designed Fortran (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – Roger Bennett, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1959)
    • 2008 – Roland Arnall, French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (b. 1939)
    • 2009 – Clodovil Hernandes, Brazilian television host and politician (b. 1937)
    • 2010 – Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1950)
    • 2010 – Sid Fleischman, American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2011 – Michael Gough, English actor (b. 1916)
    • 2011 – Ferlin Husky, American country music singer (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Shenouda III, pope of Alexandria (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Margaret Whitlam, Australian swimmer and author (b. 1919)
    • 2013 – William B. Caldwell III, American general (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Lawrence Fuchs, American scholar and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – A.B.C. Whipple, American journalist and historian (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (b. 1974)
    • 2014 – Joseph Kerman, American musicologist and critic (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Rachel Lambert Mellon, American gardener, philanthropist, art collector and political patron (b. 1910)
    • 2015 – Frank Perris, Canadian motorcycle racer (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Meir Dagan, Israeli general (b. 1945)
    • 2016 – Zoltán Kamondi, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1960)
    • 2018 – Mike MacDonald, Canadian comedian (b. 1954)
    • 2018 – Phan Văn Khải, the fifth Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1933)

    Holidays and observances on March 17

    • Children’s Day (Bangladesh)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexius of Rome (Eastern Church)
      • Gertrude of Nivelles
      • John Sarkander
      • Joseph of Arimathea (Western Church)
      • Patrick of Ireland
      • March 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Evacuation Day (Suffolk County, Massachusetts)
    • Saint Patrick’s Day, a public holiday in Ireland, Montserrat and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, widely celebrated in the English-speaking world and to a lesser degree in other parts of the world.

  • March 13- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1567 – The Battle of Oosterweel, traditionally regarded as the start of the Eighty Years’ War.
    • 1591 – At the Battle of Tondibi in Mali, Moroccan forces of the Saadi dynasty, led by Judar Pasha, defeat the Songhai Empire, despite being outnumbered by at least five to one.
    • 1639 – Harvard College is named after clergyman John Harvard.
    • 1697 – Nojpetén, capital of the last independent Maya kingdom, fell to Spanish conquistadors, the final step in the Spanish conquest of Guatemala.
    • 1741 – The Battle of Cartagena de Indias (part of the War of Jenkins’ Ear) begins..
    • 1809 – Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden is deposed in the Coup of 1809.
    • 1826 – Pope Leo XII publishes the apostolic constitution Quo Graviora in which he renewed the prohibition on Catholics joining freemasonry.
    • 1845 – Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto receives its première performance in Leipzig with Ferdinand David as soloist.
    • 1848 – The German revolutions of 1848–1849 begin in Vienna.
    • 1862 – The Act Prohibiting the Return of Slaves was passed by the United States Congress, effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation.
    • 1881 – Alexander II of Russia is assassinated.
    • 1884 – The Siege of Khartoum begins. It lasts until January 26, 1885.
    • 1900 – British forces occupy Bloemfontein, Orange Free State, during the Second Boer War.
    • 1920 – The Kapp Putsch briefly ousts the Weimar Republic government from Berlin.
    • 1930 – The news of the discovery of Pluto is announced by Lowell Observatory.
    • 1933 – Banks in the U.S. begin to re-open after the three-day national “bank holiday” mandated by the Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Emergency Banking Act.
    • 1943 – German forces liquidate the Jewish ghetto in Kraków.
    • 1954 – The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ begins with an artillery barrage by Viet Minh forces under Võ Nguyên Giáp; Viet Minh victory lead to the end of the First Indochina War and French withdrawal from Vietnam.
    • 1957 – Cuban student revolutionaries storm the presidential palace in Havana in a failed attempt on the life of President Fulgencio Batista.
    • 1969 – Apollo 9 returns safely to Earth after testing the Lunar Module.
    • 1979 – The New Jewel Movement, headed by Maurice Bishop, ousts the Prime Minister of Grenada, Eric Gairy, in a coup d’état.
    • 1988 – The Seikan Tunnel, the longest undersea tunnel in the world, opens between Aomori and Hakodate, Japan.
    • 1992 – The Mw  6.6 Erzincan earthquake strikes eastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe).
    • 1996 – The Dunblane massacre leads to the death of sixteen primary school children and one teacher in Dunblane, Scotland.
    • 1997 – The Missionaries of Charity choose Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as their leader.
    • 2003 – An article in Nature identifies the Ciampate del Diavolo as 350,000-year-old hominid footprints.
    • 2012 – The Sierre coach crash kills 28 people, including 22 children.
    • 2013 – The 2013 papal conclave elects Pope Francis as the 266th Pope of the Catholic Church.
    • 2016 – The Ankara bombing kills at least 37 people.
    • 2016 – Three gunmen attack two hotels in the Ivory Coast town of Grand-Bassam, killing at least 19 people.

    Births on March 13

    • 1372 – Louis I, Duke of Orléans (d. 1407)
    • 1479 – Lazarus Spengler, German hymnwriter (d. 1534)
    • 1560 – William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, Dutch count (d. 1620)
    • 1593 – Georges de La Tour, French painter (probable; d. 1652)
    • 1599 – John Berchmans, Belgian Jesuit scholastic and saint (d. 1621)
    • 1615 – Innocent XII, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1700)
    • 1683 – Johann Wilhelm Weinmann, German botanist (d. 1741)
    • 1700 – Michel Blavet, French flute player and composer (d. 1768)
    • 1719 – John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (d. 1797)
    • 1720 – Charles Bonnet, Swiss historian and author (d. 1793)
    • 1741 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1790)
    • 1763 – Guillaume Brune, French general and diplomat (d. 1815)
    • 1764 – Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1845)
    • 1770 – Daniel Lambert, English animal breeder (d. 1809)
    • 1781 – Karl Friedrich Schinkel, German painter and architect, designed the Konzerthaus Berlin (d. 1841)
    • 1798 – Abigail Fillmore, American wife of Millard Fillmore, 14th First Lady of the United States (d. 1853)
    • 1800 – Mustafa Reşid Pasha, Ottoman politician, 212th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1858)
    • 1815 – James Curtis Hepburn, American physician, linguist, and missionary (d. 1911)
    • 1825 – Hans Gude, Norwegian-German painter and academic (d. 1903)
    • 1855 – Percival Lowell, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1916)
    • 1857 – B. H. Roberts, English-American historian and politician (d. 1933)
    • 1860 – Hugo Wolf, Slovene-Austrian composer (d. 1903)
    • 1862 – Paul Prosper Henrys, French general (d. 1943)
    • 1864 – Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian-German painter (d. 1941)
    • 1870 – William Glackens, American painter and illustrator (d. 1938)
    • 1874 – Ellery Harding Clark, American jumper, coach, and lawyer (d. 1949)
    • 1880 – Josef Gočár, Czech architect (d. 1945)
    • 1883 – Enrico Toselli, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1926)
    • 1884 – Hugh Walpole, New Zealand-English author and educator (d. 1941)
    • 1886 – Home Run Baker, American baseball player and manager (d. 1963)
    • 1886 – Albert William Stevens, American captain and photographer (d. 1949)
    • 1888 – Paul Morand, French author and diplomat (d. 1976)
    • 1890 – Fritz Busch, German conductor and director (d. 1951)
    • 1892 – Janet Flanner, American journalist and author (d. 1978)
    • 1897 – Yeghishe Charents, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1937)
    • 1898 – Henry Hathaway, American director and producer (d. 1985)
    • 1899 – John Hasbrouck Van Vleck, American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
    • 1899 – Pancho Vladigerov, Bulgarian pianist and composer (d. 1978)
    • 1900 – Andrée Bosquet, Belgian painter (d. 1980)
    • 1900 – Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
    • 1902 – Hans Bellmer, German-French painter and sculptor (d. 1975)
    • 1904 – Clifford Roach, Trinidadian cricketer and footballer (d. 1988)
    • 1907 – Dorothy Tangney, Australian politician (d. 1985)
    • 1908 – Walter Annenberg, American publisher, philanthropist, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (d. 2002)
    • 1908 – Myrtle Bachelder, American chemist and Women’s Army Corps officer (d. 1997)
    • 1910 – Sammy Kaye, American saxophonist, songwriter, and bandleader (d. 1987)
    • 1910 – Kemal Tahir, Turkish journalist and author (d. 1973)
    • 1911 – José Ardévol, Cuban composer and conductor (d. 1981)
    • 1913 – William J. Casey, American politician, 13th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1987)
    • 1913 – Sergey Mikhalkov, Russian author and playwright (d. 2009)
    • 1914 – W. O. Mitchell, Canadian author and playwright (d. 1998)
    • 1914 – Edward O’Hare, American lieutenant and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1943)
    • 1916 – Lindy Boggs, American educator and politician, 5th United States Ambassador to the Holy See (d. 2013)
    • 1916 – Jacque Fresco, American engineer and academic (d. 2017)
    • 1920 – Ralph J. Roberts, American businessman, co-founded Comcast (d. 2015)
    • 1921 – Al Jaffee, American cartoonist
    • 1923 – Dimitrios Ioannidis, Greek general (d. 2010)
    • 1925 – Roy Haynes, American drummer and composer
    • 1926 – Carlos Roberto Reina, Honduran lawyer and politician, President of Honduras (d. 2003)
    • 1929 – Zbigniew Messner, Polish economist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Mahdi Elmandjra, Moroccan economist and sociologist (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Gero von Wilpert, German author and academic (d. 2009)
    • 1935 – David Nobbs, English author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Robert Gammage, American captain and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1939 – Neil Sedaka, American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1941 – Donella Meadows, American environmentalist, author, and academic (d. 2001)
    • 1942 – Dave Cutler, American computer scientist and engineer
    • 1942 – Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian poet and author (d. 2008)
    • 1944 – Terence Burns, Baron Burns, English economist and academic
    • 1945 – Anatoly Fomenko, Russian mathematician and academic
    • 1946 – Yonatan Netanyahu, American-Israeli colonel (d. 1976)
    • 1947 – Lesley Collier, English ballerina and educator
    • 1947 – Beat Richner, Swiss pediatrician and cellist (d. 2018)
    • 1947 – Lyn St. James, American race car driver
    • 1949 – Ze’ev Bielski, Israeli politician
    • 1949 – Sian Elias, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 12th Chief Justice of New Zealand
    • 1950 – Bernard Julien, Trinidadian cricketer
    • 1950 – Charles Krauthammer, American physician, journalist, and author (d. 2018)
    • 1950 – William H. Macy, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1951 – Charo, Spanish-American singer, guitarist, and actress
    • 1952 – Wolfgang Rihm, German composer and educator
    • 1952 – Tim Sebastian, English journalist and author
    • 1953 – Andy Bean, American golfer
    • 1953 – Michael Curry, 27th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church
    • 1954 – Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos, Guyanese-English politician and diplomat
    • 1954 – Robin Duke, Canadian actress and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Bruno Conti, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1955 – Glenne Headly, American actress (d. 2017)
    • 1955 – Olga Rukavishnikova, Russian pentathlete
    • 1956 – Dana Delany, American actress and producer
    • 1957 – John Hoeven, American banker and politician, 31st Governor of North Dakota
    • 1957 – Moses Hogan, American composer and conductor (d. 2003)
    • 1958 – Mágico González, Salvadoran footballer
    • 1958 – Rick Lazio, American lawyer and politician
    • 1958 – Caryl Phillips, Caribbean-English author and playwright
    • 1959 – Dirk Wellham, Australian cricketer
    • 1960 – Adam Clayton, English-born Irish musician and songwriter
    • 1960 – Joe Ranft, American animator, screenwriter, and voice actor (d. 2005)
    • 1963 – Vance Johnson, American football player
    • 1964 – Will Clark, American baseball player
    • 1966 – Chico Science, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1967 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (d. 1994)
    • 1967 – Pieter Vink, Dutch footballer and referee
    • 1970 – Tim Story, American director and producer
    • 1971 – Annabeth Gish, American actress
    • 1971 – Allan Nielsen, Danish international footballer, midfielder and manager
    • 1972 – Common, American rapper and actor
    • 1973 – Edgar Davids, Surinamese born Dutch international footballer midfielder and manager
    • 1973 – Bobby Jackson, American basketball player and coach
    • 1974 – Thomas Enqvist, Swedish tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1975 – Mark Clattenburg, English football referee
    • 1976 – Troy Hudson, American basketball player and rapper
    • 1976 – Danny Masterson, American actor and producer
    • 1978 – Tom Danielson, American cyclist
    • 1978 – Kenny Watson, American football player
    • 1979 – Johan Santana, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1979 – Cédric Van Branteghem, Belgian sprinter
    • 1980 – Caron Butler, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Nicole Ohlde, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Kaitlin Sandeno, American swimmer
    • 1984 – Geeta Basra, Indian actress
    • 1985 – Alcides Araújo Alves, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Emile Hirsch, American actor
    • 1986 – Neil Wagner, South African-New Zealand cricketer
    • 1987 – Marco Andretti, American race car driver
    • 1987 – Andreas Beck, German footballer
    • 1988 – Furdjel Narsingh, Dutch footballer
    • 1989 – Holger Badstuber, German footballer
    • 1989 – Marko Marin, German footballer
    • 1989 – Robert Wickens, Canadian racing driver
    • 1990 – Anicet Abel, Malagasy footballer
    • 1991 – Daniel Greig, Australian speed skater
    • 1991 – Tristan Thompson, American basketball player
    • 1994 – Gerard Deulofeu, Spanish footballer
    • 1995 – Mikaela Shiffrin, American skier
    • 1998 – Jay-Roy Grot, Dutch footballer

    Deaths on March 13

    • 1202 – Mieszko III the Old, king of Poland (b. c. 1121)
    • 1271 – Henry of Almain, English knight (b. 1235)
    • 1415 – Minye Kyawswa, Crown Prince of Ava (b. 1391)
    • 1447 – Shah Rukh, Timurid ruler of Persia and Transoxania (b. 1377)
    • 1573 – Michel de l’Hôpital, French politician (b. 1507)
    • 1601 – Henry Cuffe, Politician (b. 1563)
    • 1619 – Richard Burbage, English actor (b. 1567)
    • 1711 – Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, French poet and critic (b. 1636)
    • 1719 – Johann Friedrich Böttger, German chemist and potter (b. 1682)
    • 1800 – Nana Fadnavis, Indian minister and politician (b. 1742)
    • 1808 – Christian VII of Denmark (b. 1749)
    • 1823 – John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, English admiral and politician (b. 1735)
    • 1833 – William Bradley, English lieutenant and cartographer (b. 1757)
    • 1842 – Henry Shrapnel, English general (b. 1761)
    • 1854 – Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, French politician, 6th Prime Minister of France (b. 1773)
    • 1873 – David Swinson Maynard, American physician, lawyer, and businessman (b. 1808)
    • 1879 – Adolf Anderssen, German mathematician and chess player (b. 1818)
    • 1881 – Alexander II of Russia (b. 1818)
    • 1884 – Leland Stanford Jr., American son of Leland Stanford (b. 1868)
    • 1885 – Giorgio Mitrovich, Maltese politician (b. 1795)
    • 1901 – Benjamin Harrison, American general and politician, 23rd President of the United States (b. 1833)
    • 1906 – Susan B. Anthony, American activist (b. 1820)
    • 1912 – Eugène-Étienne Taché, Canadian engineer and architect, designed the Parliament Building (b. 1836)
    • 1921 – Jenny Twitchell Kempton, American opera singer and educator (b. 1835)
    • 1936 – Francis Bell, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1851)
    • 1938 – Clarence Darrow, American lawyer and author (b. 1857)
    • 1943 – Stephen Vincent Benét, American poet, short story writer, and novelist (b. 1898)
    • 1946 – Werner von Blomberg, German field marshal (b. 1878)
    • 1962 – Anne Acheson, Irish sculptor (d. 1882)
    • 1965 – Vittorio Jano, Italian engineer (b. 1891)
    • 1965 – Fan Noli, Albanian-American bishop and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Albania (b. 1882)
    • 1971 – Rockwell Kent, American painter and illustrator (b. 1882)
    • 1972 – Tony Ray-Jones, English photographer (b. 1941)
    • 1975 – Ivo Andrić, Yugoslav novelist, poet, and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
    • 1976 – Ole Haugsrud, American sports executive (b. 1900)
    • 1983 – Paul Citroen, German-Dutch illustrator and educator (b. 1896)
    • 1990 – Bruno Bettelheim, Austrian-American psychologist and author (b. 1903)
    • 1995 – Odette Hallowes, French nurse and spy (b. 1912)
    • 1996 – Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish director and screenwriter (b. 1941)
    • 1998 – Judge Dread, English singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
    • 1998 – Hans von Ohain, German-American physicist and engineer (b. 1911)
    • 1999 – Lee Falk, American cartoonist, director, and producer (b. 1911)
    • 1999 – Garson Kanin, American director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
    • 2001 – John A. Alonzo, American actor and cinematographer (b. 1934)
    • 2001 – Encarnacion Alzona, Filipino historian and educator (b. 1895)
    • 2002 – Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher and scholar (b. 1900)
    • 2004 – Franz König, Austrian cardinal (b. 1905)
    • 2006 – Robert C. Baker, American businessman, invented the chicken nugget (b. 1921)
    • 2006 – Jimmy Johnstone, Scottish footballer (b. 1944)
    • 2006 – Maureen Stapleton, American actress (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Arnold Skaaland, American wrestler and manager (b. 1925)
    • 2009 – Betsy Blair, American actress (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Alan W. Livingston, American businessman (b. 1917)
    • 2010 – Jean Ferrat, French singer-songwriter (b. 1930)
    • 2011 – Rick Martin, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1951)
    • 2014 – Reubin Askew, American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of Florida (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond, Irish businessman and politician (b. 1944)
    • 2014 – Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Sierra Leonean economist, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of Sierra Leone (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Icchokas Meras, Lithuanian-Israeli author and screenwriter (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Al Rosen, American baseball player and manager (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Hilary Putnam, American philosopher, mathematician, and computer scientist (b. 1926)
    • 2017 – Amy Krouse Rosenthal, American author (b. 1965)
    • 2018 – Emily Nasrallah, Lebanese writer and women’s rights activist. (b. 1931)

    Holidays and observances on March 13

    • Christian feast days:
      • Ansovinus
      • Gerald of Mayo
      • James Theodore Holly (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Nicephorus
      • Roderick
      • March 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Kasuga Matsuri (Kasuga Grand Shrine, Nara, Japan)
    • National Elephant Day (Thailand)
    • Africa Scout Day

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

    • 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
    • 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I orders the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia.
    • 1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.
    • 1554 – Mapuche forces, under the leadership of Lautaro, score a victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Marihueñu in Chile.
    • 1653 – The Ballet Royal de la Nuit is first performed at the Salle du Petit-Bourbon in Paris
    • 1739 – At York Castle, the outlaw Dick Turpin is identified by his former schoolteacher. Turpin had been using the name Richard Palmer.
    • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.
    • 1820 – Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed.
    • 1836 – Texas Revolution: The Siege of the Alamo (prelude to the Battle of the Alamo) begins in San Antonio, Texas.
    • 1847 – Mexican–American War: Battle of Buena Vista: In Mexico, American troops under future president General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
    • 1854 – The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.
    • 1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.
    • 1870 – Reconstruction Era: Post-U.S. Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
    • 1883 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an anti-trust law.
    • 1885 – Sino-French War: French Army gains an important victory in the Battle of Đồng Đăng in the Tonkin region of Vietnam.
    • 1886 – Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of aluminium from the electrolysis of aluminium oxide, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister, Julia Brainerd Hall.
    • 1887 – The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.
    • 1898 – Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing J’Accuse…!, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: During the Battle of the Tugela Heights, the first British attempt to take Hart’s Hill fails.
    • 1903 – Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States “in perpetuity”.
    • 1905 – Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world’s first service club.
    • 1909 – The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.
    • 1917 – First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution (March 8 in the Gregorian calendar).
    • 1927 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission) which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States.
    • 1927 – German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time.
    • 1934 – Leopold III becomes King of Belgium.
    • 1941 – Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japanese submarines fire artillery shells at the coastline near Santa Barbara, California.
    • 1943 – A fire breaks out at Saint Joseph’s Orphanage, County Cavan, Ireland, killing 35 children and one adult.
    • 1943 – Greek Resistance: The United Panhellenic Organization of Youth is founded in Greece.
    • 1944 – The Soviet Union begins the forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia.
    • 1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag.
    • 1945 – World War II: The 11th Airborne Division, with Filipino guerrillas, free all 2,147 captives of the Los Baños internment camp, in what General Colin Powell later would refer to as “the textbook airborne operation for all ages and all armies.”
    • 1945 – World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by combined Filipino and American forces.
    • 1945 – World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.
    • 1945 – World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is annihilated in a raid by 379 British bombers.
    • 1947 – International Organization for Standardization is founded.
    • 1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.
    • 1966 – In Syria, Ba’ath Party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin al-Hafiz, also a Baathist.
    • 1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
    • 1980 – Iran hostage crisis: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran’s parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
    • 1981 – In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d’état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
    • 1983 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
    • 1987 – Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
    • 1991 – In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d’état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
    • 1998 – In the United States, tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42 people.
    • 1999 – Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
    • 2007 – A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 88. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.
    • 2008 – A United States Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber crashes on Guam, marking the first operational loss of a B-2.
    • 2010 – Unknown criminals pour more than 2​1⁄2 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in northern Italy, sparking an environmental disaster.
    • 2012 – A series of attacks across Iraq leave at least 83 killed and more than 250 injured.
    • 2017 – The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army captures Al-Bab from ISIL.
    • 2019 – Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Boeing 767 freighter, crashes into Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas, killing all three people on board.

    Births on February 23

    • 1417 – Pope Paul II (d. 1471)
    • 1417 – Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1479)
    • 1443 – Matthias Corvinus, Hungarian king (d. 1490)
    • 1529 – Onofrio Panvinio, Italian historian (d. 1568)
    • 1539 – Henry XI of Legnica, thrice Duke of Legnica (d. 1588)
    • 1539 – Salima Sultan Begum, Empress of the Mughal Empire (d. 1612)
    • 1583 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French mathematician, astrologer, and astronomer (d. 1656)
    • 1592 – Balthazar Gerbier, Dutch painter (d. 1663)
    • 1633 – Samuel Pepys, English diarist and politician (d. 1703)
    • 1646 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shōgun (d. 1709)
    • 1680 – Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, Canadian politician, 2nd Colonial Governor of Louisiana (d. 1767)
    • 1685 – George Frideric Handel, German-English organist and composer (d. 1759)
    • 1723 – Richard Price, Welsh-English minister and philosopher (d. 1791)
    • 1744 – Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German banker and businessman (d. 1812)
    • 1792 – José Joaquín de Herrera, Mexican politician and general. President three times (1844–1854) (d. 1854)
    • 1831 – Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Dutch painter (d. 1915)
    • 1840 – Carl Menger, Austrian economist and educator (d. 1921)
    • 1842 – Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher and author (d. 1906)
    • 1850 – César Ritz, Swiss businessman, founded The Ritz Hotel, London and Hôtel Ritz Paris (d. 1918)
    • 1868 – W. E. B. Du Bois, American sociologist, historian, and activist (d. 1963)
    • 1868 – Anna Hofman-Uddgren, Swedish actress, singer, and director (d. 1947)
    • 1873 – Liang Qichao, Chinese journalist, philosopher, and scholar (d. 1929)
    • 1874 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st President of Estonia (d. 1956)
    • 1878 – Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian painter and theorist (d. 1935)
    • 1883 – Karl Jaspers, German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (d. 1969)
    • 1883 – Guy C. Wiggins, American painter (d. 1962)
    • 1889 – Musidora, French actress and director (d. 1957)
    • 1889 – Cyril Delevanti, English-American actor (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – Victor Fleming, American director, cinematographer, and producer (d. 1949)
    • 1889 – John Gilbert Winant, American captain, pilot, and politician, 60th Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1947)
    • 1892 – Kathleen Harrison, English actress (d. 1995)
    • 1892 – Agnes Smedley, American journalist and writer (d. 1950)
    • 1894 – Harold Horder, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1978)
    • 1899 – Erich Kästner, German author and poet (d. 1974)
    • 1899 – Norman Taurog, American director and screenwriter (d. 1981)
    • 1904 – Terence Fisher, English director and screenwriter (d. 1980)
    • 1904 – William L. Shirer, American journalist and historian (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – William McMahon, Australian lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1988)
    • 1915 – Jon Hall, American actor and director (d. 1979)
    • 1915 – Paul Tibbets, American general and pilot (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Johnny Carey, Irish footballer and manager (d. 1995)
    • 1920 – Paul Gérin-Lajoie, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Harry Clarke, English international footballer, defender (d. 2000)
    • 1923 – Ioannis Grivas, Greek judge and politician, 176th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Dante Lavelli, American football player (d. 2009)
    • 1923 – Clarence D. Lester, African-American fighter pilot (d.1986)
    • 1923 – Mary Francis Shura, American author (d. 1991)
    • 1924 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South-African-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
    • 1925 – Louis Stokes, American lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Régine Crespin, French soprano and actress (d. 2007)
    • 1928 – Hans Herrmann, German race car driver
    • 1928 – Vasily Lazarev, Russian colonel, physician, and astronaut (d. 1990)
    • 1929 – Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Elston Howard, American baseball player and coach (d. 1980)
    • 1930 – Paul West, English-American author, poet, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Tom Wesselmann, American painter and sculptor (d. 2004)
    • 1932 – Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1937 – Tom Osborne, American football player, coach, and politician
    • 1938 – Sylvia Chase, American broadcast journalist (d. 2019)
    • 1938 – Paul Morrissey, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1938 – Diane Varsi, American actress (d. 1992)
    • 1940 – Peter Fonda, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Jackie Smith, American football player
    • 1941 – Ron Hunt, American baseball player
    • 1943 – Fred Biletnikoff, American football player and coach
    • 1943 – Bobby Mitchell, American golfer (d. 2018)
    • 1944 – Bernard Cornwell, English author and educator
    • 1944 – Florian Fricke, German keyboard player and composer (d. 2001)
    • 1944 – Johnny Winter, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1945 – Allan Boesak, South African cleric and politician
    • 1946 – Rusty Young, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Pia Kjærsgaard, Danish politician, Speaker of the Danish Parliament
    • 1947 – Anton Mosimann, Swiss chef and author
    • 1948 – Bill Alexander, English director and producer
    • 1948 – Trevor Cherry, English footballer (d. 2020)
    • 1948 – Steve Priest, English singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1949 – César Aira, Argentinian author and translator
    • 1949 – Marc Garneau, Canadian engineer, astronaut, and politician
    • 1950 – Rebecca Goldstein, American philosopher and author
    • 1951 – Eddie Dibbs, American tennis player
    • 1951 – Debbie Friedman, American singer-songwriter of Jewish melodies (d. 2011)
    • 1951 – Ed “Too Tall” Jones, American football player and boxer
    • 1951 – Patricia Richardson, American actress
    • 1952 – Brad Whitford, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1953 – Kenny Bee, Hong Kong singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1953 – Satoru Nakajima, Japanese race car driver
    • 1954 – Rajini Thiranagama, Sri Lankan physician and academic (d. 1989)
    • 1954 – Viktor Yushchenko, Ukrainian captain and politician, 3rd President of Ukraine
    • 1955 – Howard Jones, English singer-songwriter
    • 1955 – Flip Saunders, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1956 – Sandra Osborne, Scottish politician
    • 1958 – David Sylvian, English singer-songwriter
    • 1959 – Clayton Anderson, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1959 – Nick de Bois, English politician
    • 1959 – Ian Liddell-Grainger, Scottish soldier and politician
    • 1959 – Linda Nolan, Irish singer and actress
    • 1960 – Naruhito, Emperor of Japan
    • 1962 – Michael Wilton, American guitarist
    • 1963 – Bobby Bonilla, American baseball player
    • 1963 – Radosław Sikorski, Polish journalist and politician, 11th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland
    • 1964 – John Norum, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter
    • 1965 – Michael Dell, American businessman
    • 1965 – Helena Suková, Czech-Monacan tennis player
    • 1967 – Steve Stricker, American golfer
    • 1967 – Chris Vrenna, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
    • 1969 – Michael Campbell, New Zealand golfer
    • 1969 – Martine Croxall, English journalist and television news presenter
    • 1969 – Daymond John, American fashion designer and businessman, founded FUBU
    • 1970 – Niecy Nash, American actress and producer
    • 1971 – Carin Koch, Swedish golfer
    • 1971 – Melinda Messenger, English model and television host
    • 1971 – Joe-Max Moore, American soccer player
    • 1972 – Alessandro Sturba, Italian footballer
    • 1972 – Rondell White, American baseball player
    • 1973 – Jeff Nordgaard, American-Polish basketball player
    • 1974 – Herschelle Gibbs, South African cricketer
    • 1974 – Robbi Kempson, South African rugby player
    • 1975 – Michael Cornacchia, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1975 – Ryan McCourt, Canadian artist
    • 1976 – Scott Elarton, American baseball player and coach
    • 1976 – Kelly Macdonald, Scottish actress
    • 1976 – Jeff O’Neill, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Kristina Šmigun-Vähi, Estonian skier
    • 1978 – Residente, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
    • 1978 – Dan Snyder, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
    • 1979 – S. E. Cupp, American journalist and author
    • 1981 – Gareth Barry, English footballer
    • 1981 – Josh Gad, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1981 – Charles Tillman, American football player
    • 1982 – Adam Hann-Byrd, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Mido, Egyptian footballer, striker, manager and sportscaster
    • 1983 – Aziz Ansari, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Emily Blunt, English actress
    • 1986 – Emerson Conceição, Brazilian footballer
    • 1986 – Skylar Grey, American singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Kazuya Kamenashi, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1986 – Jerod Mayo, American football player
    • 1986 – Ola Svensson, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Ab-Soul, American rapper
    • 1987 – Theophilus London, Trinidadian-American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1987 – Zak Kirkup, Member of the Parliament of Western Australia
    • 1988 – Nicolás Gaitán, Argentinian footballer
    • 1989 – Evan Bates, American ice dancer
    • 1989 – Jérémy Pied, French footballer
    • 1990 – Kevin Connauton, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Terry Hawkridge, English footballer
    • 1990 – Marco Scandella, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Casemiro, Brazilian footballer
    • 1992 – Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Greek footballer
    • 1993 – Chris Grevsmuhl, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Dakota Fanning, American actress
    • 1995 – Andrew Wiggins, Canadian basketball player
    • 1996 – D’Angelo Russell, American basketball player
    • 1997 – Jamal Murray, Canadian basketball player

    Deaths on February 23

    • 715 – Al-Walid I, Umayyad caliph (b. 668)
    • 908 – Li Keyong, Shatuo military governor during the Tang Dynasty in China (b. 856)
    • 943 – Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, (b. 884)
    • 943 – David I, prince of Tao-Klarjeti (Georgia)
    • 1011 – Willigis, German archbishop (b. 940)
    • 1100 – Emperor Zhezong of Song (b. 1076)
    • 1270 – Isabel of France (b. 1225)
    • 1447 – Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1390)
    • 1447 – Pope Eugene IV (b. 1383)
    • 1464 – Emperor Yingzong of Ming (b. 1427)
    • 1473 – Arnold, Duke of Gelderland (b. 1410)
    • 1526 – Diego Colón, Spanish Viceroy of the Indies (b. c. 1479)
    • 1554 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire (b. 1515)
    • 1603 – Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (b. 1519)
    • 1603 – Franciscus Vieta, French mathematician (b. 1540)
    • 1620 – Nicholas Fuller, English politician (b. 1543)
    • 1704 – Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (b. 1653)
    • 1766 – Stanisław Leszczyński, Polish king (b. 1677)
    • 1781 – George Taylor, Irish-American blacksmith and politician (b. 1716)
    • 1792 – Joshua Reynolds, English painter and academic (b. 1723)
    • 1821 – John Keats, English poet (b. 1795)
    • 1848 – John Quincy Adams, American politician, 6th President of the United States (b. 1767)
    • 1855 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (b. 1777)
    • 1859 – Zygmunt Krasiński, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1812)
    • 1879 – Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and politician, 10th Minister President of Prussia (b. 1803)
    • 1897 – Woldemar Bargiel, German composer and educator (b. 1828)
    • 1900 – Ernest Dowson, English poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1867)
    • 1908 – Friedrich von Esmarch, German surgeon and academic (b. 1823)
    • 1918 – Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1882)
    • 1930 – Horst Wessel, German SA officer (b. 1907)
    • 1931 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (b. 1861)
    • 1934 – Edward Elgar, English composer and academic (b. 1857)
    • 1944 – Leo Baekeland, Belgian-American chemist and engineer (b. 1863)
    • 1946 – Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese general (b. 1885)
    • 1948 – John Robert Gregg, Irish-American publisher and educator (b. 1866)
    • 1955 – Paul Claudel, French poet and playwright (b. 1868)
    • 1965 – Stan Laurel, English actor and comedian (b. 1890)
    • 1969 – Madhubala, Indian actress and producer (b. 1933)
    • 1969 – Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 2nd King of Saudi Arabia (b. 1902)
    • 1973 – Dickinson W. Richards, American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
    • 1974 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (b. 1895)
    • 1976 – L. S. Lowry, English painter (b. 1887)
    • 1979 – W. A. C. Bennett, Canadian businessman and politician, 25th Premier of British Columbia (b. 1900)
    • 1983 – Herbert Howells, English organist and composer (b. 1892)
    • 1990 – José Napoleón Duarte, Salvadoran engineer and politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1925)
    • 1995 – James Herriot, English veterinarian and author (b. 1916)
    • 1997 – Tony Williams, American drummer, composer, and producer (b. 1945)
    • 1998 – Philip Abbott, American actor and director (b. 1924)
    • 1999 – The Renegade, American wrestler (b. 1965)
    • 2000 – Ofra Haza, Israeli singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1957)
    • 2000 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer and manager (b. 1915)
    • 2003 – Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (b. 1955)
    • 2003 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and academic (b. 1910)
    • 2004 – Vijay Anand, Indian director, producer, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1934)
    • 2004 – Sikander Bakht, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Telmo Zarra, Spanish footballer (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – John Ritchie, English footballer (b. 1941)
    • 2008 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian economist and politician, 2nd President of Slovenia (b. 1950)
    • 2008 – Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and journalist (b. 1917)
    • 2010 – Orlando Zapata, Cuban plumber and activist (b. 1967)
    • 2011 – Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious leader, founded Sahaja Yoga (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – William Raggio, American lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – David Sayre, American physicist and mathematician (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Kazimierz Żygulski, Polish sociologist and activist (b. 1919)
    • 2013 – Eugene Bookhammer, American soldier and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Joseph Friedenson, Holocaust survivor, Holocaust historian, Yiddish writer, lecturer and editor (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Julien Ries, Belgian cardinal (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Lotika Sarkar, Indian lawyer and academic (b. 1945)
    • 2014 – Alice Herz-Sommer, Czech-English Holocaust survivor, pianist and educator (b. 1903)
    • 2014 – Roger Hilsman, American soldier, academic, and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – James Aldridge, Australian-English journalist and author (b. 1918)
    • 2015 – Rana Bhagwandas, Pakistani lawyer and judge, Chief Justice of Pakistan (b. 1942)
    • 2015 – W. E. “Bill” Dykes, American soldier and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2016 – Peter Lustig, German television host and author (b. 1937)
    • 2016 – Jacqueline Mattson, American baseball player (b. 1928)
    • 2019 – Katherine Helmond, American actress (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on February 23

    • Christian feast day:
      • Polycarp of Smyrna
      • Serenus the Gardener
      • February 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The Emperor’s Birthday, birthday of Naruhito, the current Emperor of Japan (Japan)
    • Mashramani-Republic Day (Guyana)
    • Meteņi (Latvia)
    • National Day (Brunei)
    • Red Army Day or Day of Soviet Army and Navy in the former Soviet Union, also held in various former Soviet republics:
      • Defender of the Fatherland Day (Russia)
      • Defender of the Fatherland and Armed Forces day (Belarus)
      • Armed Forces Day (Tajikistan) (Tajikistan)

  • February 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of “Roman law”.
    • 880 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.
    • 962 – Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.
    • 1032 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy.
    • 1141 – The Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen, King of England is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda.
    • 1207 – Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established.
    • 1438 – Nine leaders of the Transylvanian peasant revolt are executed at Torda.
    • 1461 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer’s Cross is fought in Herefordshire, England.
    • 1536 – Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.
    • 1645 – Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Inverlochy.
    • 1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
    • 1709 – Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe’s adventure book Robinson Crusoe.
    • 1848 – Mexican–American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
    • 1850 – Brigham Young declares war on Timpanogos in the Battle at Fort Utah.
    • 1868 – Pro-Imperial forces captured Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burned it to the ground.
    • 1876 – The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
    • 1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.
    • 1899 – The Australian Premiers’ Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia’s capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.
    • 1901 – Funeral of Queen Victoria.
    • 1909 – The Paris Film Congress opens. An attempt by European producers to form an equivalent to the MPCC cartel in the United States.
    • 1913 – Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City.
    • 1920 – The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.
    • 1922 – Ulysses by James Joyce is published.
    • 1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
    • 1934 – The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.
    • 1935 – Leonarde Keeler administers polygraph tests to two murder suspects, the first time polygraph evidence was admitted in U.S. courts.
    • 1942 – The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last organized German troops in the city.
    • 1959 – Nine experienced ski hikers in the northern Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union die under mysterious circumstances.
    • 1966 – Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
    • 1971 – Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.
    • 1971 – The international Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands is signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran.
    • 1980 – Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.
    • 1982 – Hama massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama.
    • 1987 – After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution.
    • 1989 – Soviet–Afghan War: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.
    • 1990 – Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
    • 2000 – First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.
    • 2002 – Wedding of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, and Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti
    • 2004 – Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men’s singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks.
    • 2005 – The Government of Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act. This legislation would become law on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage.
    • 2007 – Police officer Filippo Raciti is killed when a clash breaks out in the Sicily derby between Catania and Palermo, in the Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. This event led to major changes in stadium regulations in Italy.
    • 2012 – The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 146-165 dead.

    Births on February 2

    • 1208 – James I of Aragon (d. 1276)
    • 1282 – Maud Chaworth, Countess of Leicester (d. 1322).
    • 1425 (or 1426) – Eleanor of Navarre, Queen regnant of Navarre (d. 1479)
    • 1443 – Elisabeth of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (d. 1486)
    • 1455 – John, King of Denmark (d. 1513)
    • 1457 – Peter Martyr d’Anghiera, Italian-Spanish historian and author (d. 1526)
    • 1467 – Columba of Rieti, Italian Dominican sister (d. 1501)
    • 1494 – Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (d. 1557)
    • 1502 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher and historian (d. 1574)
    • 1506 – René de Birague, Italian-French cardinal and politician (d. 1583)
    • 1509 – John of Leiden, Dutch Anabaptist leader (d. 1536)
    • 1522 – Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1565)
    • 1536 – Piotr Skarga, Polish writer (d. 1612)
    • 1551 – Nicolaus Reimers, German astronomer (d. 1600)
    • 1576 – Alix Le Clerc, French Canoness Regular and foundress (d. 1622)
    • 1585 – Judith Quiney, William Shakespeare’s youngest daughter (d. 1662)
    • 1585 – Hamnet Shakespeare, William Shakespeare’s only son (baptised; d. 1596)
    • 1588 – Georg II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl, German nobleman (d. 1644)
    • 1600 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653)
    • 1611 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (d. 1633)
    • 1613 – Noël Chabanel, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)
    • 1621 – Johannes Schefferus, Swedish author and hymn-writer (d. 1679)
    • 1650 – Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730)
    • 1650 – Nell Gwyn, English actress, mistress of King Charles II of England (d. 1687)
    • 1651 – William Phips, Royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1695)
    • 1669 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (d. 1732)
    • 1677 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French composer (d. 1745)
    • 1695 – William Borlase, English geologist and archaeologist (d. 1772)
    • 1695 – François de Chevert, French general (d. 1769)
    • 1700 – Johann Christoph Gottsched, German author and critic (d. 1766)
    • 1711 – Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (d. 1794)
    • 1714 – Gottfried August Homilius, German organist and composer (d. 1785)
    • 1717 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790)
    • 1754 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1838)
    • 1782 – Henri de Rigny, French admiral and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1835)
    • 1786 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1856)
    • 1802 – Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist and academic (d. 1887)
    • 1803 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (d. 1862)
    • 1829 – Alfred Brehm, German zoologist and illustrator (d. 1884)
    • 1829 – William Stanley, English engineer and philanthropist (d. 1909)
    • 1841 – François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss limnologist and hydrologist (d. 1912)
    • 1842 – Julian Sochocki, Polish-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1927)
    • 1849 – Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet and playwright (d. 1921)
    • 1851 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican illustrator and engraver (d. 1913)
    • 1856 – Frederick William Vanderbilt, American railway magnate (d. 1938)
    • 1856 – Makar Yekmalyan, Armenian composer (d. 1905)
    • 1857 – Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (d. 1918)
    • 1860 – Curtis Guild, Jr., American journalist and politician, 43rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915)
    • 1861 – Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (d. 1949)
    • 1862 – Émile Coste, French fencer (d. 1927)
    • 1862 – Cornelius McKane, American physician, educator, and hospital founder (d. 1912)
    • 1866 – Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and academic (d. 1927)
    • 1873 – Leo Fall, Austrian composer (d. 1925)
    • 1873 – Konstantin von Neurath, German politician and diplomat, 13th German Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1956)
    • 1875 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (d. 1962)
    • 1877 – Frank L. Packard, Canadian author (d. 1942)
    • 1878 – Joe Lydon, American boxer (d. 1937)
    • 1880 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (d. 1969)
    • 1881 – Orval Overall, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947)
    • 1882 – Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (d. 1944)
    • 1882 – James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1941)
    • 1883 – Johnston McCulley, American author and screenwriter, created Zorro (d. 1958)
    • 1883 – Julia Nava de Ruisánchez, Mexican activist and writer (d. 1964)
    • 1886 – William Rose Benét, American poet and author (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – Ernst Hanfstaengl, German businessman (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (d. 1952)
    • 1890 – Charles Correll, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1972)
    • 1892 – Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (d. 1959)
    • 1893 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1974)
    • 1893 – Raoul Riganti, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1970)
    • 1893 – Damdin Sükhbaatar, Mongolian soldier and politician (d. 1924)
    • 1895 – George Halas, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
    • 1895 – Robert Philipp, American painter (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – George Sutcliffe, Australian public servant (d. 1964)
    • 1896 – Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980)
    • 1897 – Howard Deering Johnson, American businessman, founded Howard Johnson’s (d. 1972)
    • 1897 – Gertrude Blanch, Russian-American mathematician (d. 1996)
    • 1900 – Anni Frind, German lyric soprano (d. 1987)
    • 1900 – Willie Kamm, American baseball player and manager (d. 1988)
    • 1901 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-born American violinist and educator (d. 1987)
    • 1902 – Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (d. 1966)
    • 1902 – John Tonkin, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1995)
    • 1904 – Bozorg Alavi, Iranian author and activist (d. 1997)
    • 1905 – Ayn Rand, Russian-born American novelist and philosopher (d. 1982)
    • 1908 – Wes Ferrell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
    • 1909 – Frank Albertson, American actor (d. 1964)
    • 1911 – Jack Pizzey, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Queensland (d. 1968)
    • 1912 – Millvina Dean, English civil servant and cartographer (d. 2009)
    • 1912 – Burton Lane, American songwriter and composer (d. 1997)
    • 1913 – Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor and singer (d. 1985)
    • 1914 – Eric Kierans, Canadian economist and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2004)
    • 1915 – Abba Eban, South African-Israeli politician and diplomat, 1st Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
    • 1915 – Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (d. 2005)
    • 1915 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (d. 2014)
    • 1916 – Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1985)
    • 1917 – Mary Ellis, British World War II ferry pilot (d. 2018)
    • 1917 – Đỗ Mười, Vietnamese politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (d. 2018)
    • 1918 – Hella Haasse, Indonesian-Dutch author (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Lisa Della Casa, Swiss soprano and actress (d. 2012)
    • 1919 – Georg Gawliczek, German footballer and manager (d. 1999)
    • 1920 – George Hardwick, English footballer and coach (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – John Russell, American Olympic equestrian
    • 1920 – Arthur Willis, English footballer, full-back, player-manager (d. 1987)
    • 1922 – Kunwar Digvijay Singh, Indian field hockey player (d. 1978)
    • 1922 – Robert Chef d’Hôtel, French athlete (d. 2019)
    • 1922 – James L. Usry, American politician, first African-American mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2002)
    • 1922 – Stoyanka Mutafova, Bulgarian actress (d. 2019)
    • 1923 – Jean Babilée, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (d. 1997)
    • 1923 – Svetozar Gligorić, Serbian and Yugoslav chess grandmaster (d.2012)
    • 1923 – Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (d. 1988)
    • 1923 – Red Schoendienst, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Liz Smith, American journalist and author (d. 2017)
    • 1923 – Clem Windsor, Australian rugby player and surgeon (d. 2007)
    • 1924 – Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American singer, pianist, producer (d. 2007)
    • 1924 – Sonny Stitt, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1982)
    • 1925 – Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, French academic and politician, 20th President of France
    • 1927 – Stan Getz, American saxophonist (d. 1991)
    • 1927 – Doris Sams, American baseball player (d. 2012)
    • 1928 – Ciriaco De Mita, 47th Prime minister of Italy
    • 1928 – Jay Handlan, American basketball player and engineer (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Tommy Harmer, English footballer, inside forward, youth team coach (d. 2007)
    • 1929 – Sheila Matthews Allen, American actress and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – George Band, English engineer and mountaineer (d. 2011)
    • 1929 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – John Henry Holland, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Waldemar Kmentt, Austrian operatic tenor (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Dries van Agt, Dutch politician, diplomat and jurist, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
    • 1931 – Les Dawson, English comedian and author (d. 1993)
    • 1931 – Glynn Edwards, Malaysian-English actor (d. 2018)
    • 1931 – John Paul Harney, Canadian educator and politician
    • 1931 – Judith Viorst, American journalist and author
    • 1932 – Arthur Lyman, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player (d. 2002)
    • 1932 – Robert Mandan, American actor (d. 2018)
    • 1933 – M’el Dowd, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
    • 1933 – Tony Jay, English-American actor (d. 2006)
    • 1933 – Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Cuban bassist and composer (d. 2009)
    • 1933 – Than Shwe, Burmese general and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma
    • 1935 – Pete Brown, American golfer (d. 2015)
    • 1935 – Evgeny Velikhov, Russian physicist and academic
    • 1936 – Duane Jones, American actor (d. 1988)
    • 1936 – Metin Oktay, Turkish footballer and manager (d. 1991)
    • 1937 – Don Buford, American baseball player and coach
    • 1937 – Eric Arturo Delvalle, Panamanian lawyer and politician, President of Panama (d. 2015)
    • 1937 – Anthony Haden-Guest, British journalist, poet, and critic
    • 1937 – Remak Ramsay, American actor
    • 1937 – Tom Smothers, American comedian, actor, and activist
    • 1937 – Alexandra Strelchenko, Russian Singer (d. 2019)
    • 1938 – Norman Fowler, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
    • 1938 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
    • 1939 – Jackie Burroughs, English-born Canadian actress (d. 2010)
    • 1939 – Mary-Dell Chilton, American chemist and inventor and one of the founders of modern plant biotechnology
    • 1939 – Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Alan Caddy, English guitarist and producer (d. 2000)
    • 1940 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (d. 2008)
    • 1940 – Wayne Fontes, American football player and coach
    • 1940 – David Jason, English actor, director, and producer
    • 1941 – Terry Biddlecombe, English jockey (d. 2014)
    • 1942 – Bo Hopkins, American actor
    • 1942 – Graham Nash, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1944 – Andrew Davis, English organist and conductor
    • 1944 – Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (d. 2012)
    • 1944 – Ursula Oppens, American pianist and educator
    • 1945 – John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, English economist and academic
    • 1946 – John Armitt, English engineer and businessman
    • 1946 – Alpha Oumar Konaré, Malian academic and politician, 3rd President of Mali
    • 1946 – Constantine Papadakis, Greek-American businessman and academic (d. 2009)
    • 1947 – Greg Antonacci, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
    • 1947 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (d. 2009)
    • 1948 – Ina Garten, American chef and author
    • 1948 – Al McKay, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1948 – Roger Williamson, English race car driver (d. 1973)
    • 1949 – Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish businessman and philanthropist
    • 1949 – Yasuko Namba, Japanese mountaineer (d. 1996)
    • 1949 – Brent Spiner, American actor and singer
    • 1949 – Ross Valory, American rock bass player and songwriter
    • 1950 – Osamu Kido, Japanese wrestler
    • 1950 – Libby Purves, British journalist and author
    • 1950 – Barbara Sukowa, German actress
    • 1950 – Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese wrestler
    • 1951 – Vangelis Alexandris, Greek basketball player and coach
    • 1951 – Ken Bruce, Scottish radio host
    • 1952 – John Cornyn, American lawyer and politician, 49th Attorney General of Texas
    • 1952 – Rick Dufay, French-American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1952 – Park Geun-hye, South Korean politician, 11th President of South Korea
    • 1952 – Ralph Merkle, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1952 – Carol Ann Susi, American actress (d. 2014)
    • 1953 – Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter
    • 1953 – Jerry Sisk, Jr., American gemologist, co-founded Jewelry Television (d. 2013)
    • 1954 – Christie Brinkley, American actress, model, and businesswoman
    • 1954 – Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian skier and actor
    • 1954 – Nelson Ne’e, Solomon Islander politician (d. 2013)
    • 1954 – John Tudor, American baseball player
    • 1955 – Leszek Engelking, Polish poet and author
    • 1955 – Bob Schreck, American author
    • 1955 – Michael Talbott, American actor
    • 1955 – Kim Zimmer, American actress
    • 1956 – Adnan Oktar, Turkish theorist and author
    • 1957 – Phil Barney, Algerian-French singer-songwriter
    • 1958 – Michel Marc Bouchard, Canadian playwright
    • 1961 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (d. 2013)
    • 1961 – Lauren Lane, American actress and academic
    • 1962 – Philippe Claudel, French author, director, and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Andy Fordham, English darts player
    • 1962 – Paul Kilgus, American baseball player
    • 1962 – Kate Raison, Australian actress
    • 1962 – Michael T. Weiss, American actor
    • 1963 – Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist (d. 1996)
    • 1963 – Kjell Dahlin, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1963 – Andrej Kiska, Slovak entrepreneur and philanthropist, President of Slovakia
    • 1963 – Philip Laats, Belgian martial artist
    • 1963 – Vigleik Storaas, Norwegian pianist
    • 1965 – Carl Airey, English footballer
    • 1965 – Naoki Sano, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
    • 1966 – Andrei Chesnokov, Russian tennis player and coach
    • 1966 – Robert DeLeo, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1966 – Adam Ferrara, American actor and comedian
    • 1966 – Michael Misick, Caicos Islander politician, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands
    • 1967 – Artūrs Irbe, Latvian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1967 – Laurent Nkunda, Congolese general
    • 1968 – Sean Elliott, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Scott Erickson, American baseball player and coach
    • 1969 – Dana International, Israeli singer-songwriter
    • 1969 – Valeri Karpin, Estonian-Russian footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Roar Strand, Norwegian footballer
    • 1970 – Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress and singer
    • 1971 – Michelle Gayle, English singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1971 – Arly Jover, Spanish actress
    • 1971 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer and sportscaster (d. 2014)
    • 1971 – Jason Taylor, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1971 – Hwang Seok-jeong, South Korean actress
    • 1972 – Melvin Mora, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1972 – Aleksey Naumov, Russian footballer
    • 1973 – Andrei Luzgin, Estonian tennis player and coach
    • 1973 – Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower
    • 1973 – Marissa Jaret Winokur, American actress and singer
    • 1975 – Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Donald Driver, American football player
    • 1975 – Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer
    • 1976 – Ryan Farquhar, Northern Irish motorcycle racer
    • 1976 – James Hickman, English swimmer
    • 1976 – Ana Roces, Filipino actress
    • 1977 – Shakira, Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1977 – Libor Sionko, Czech footballer
    • 1978 – Adam Christopher, New Zealand writer
    • 1978 – Eden Espinosa, American actress and singer
    • 1978 – Annabel Ellwood, Australian tennis player
    • 1978 – Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1978 – Rich Sommer, American actor
    • 1978 – Faye White, English footballer
    • 1979 – Urmo Aava, Estonian race car driver
    • 1979 – Fani Chalkia, Greek hurdler and sprinter
    • 1979 – Christine Lampard, Irish television host
    • 1979 – Klaus Mainzer, German rugby player
    • 1979 – Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
    • 1979 – Irini Terzoglou, Greek shot putter
    • 1980 – Angela Finger-Erben, German journalist
    • 1980 – Teddy Hart, Canadian wrestler
    • 1980 – Oleguer Presas, Spanish footballer
    • 1981 – Emre Aydın, Turkish singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Michelle Bass, English model and singer
    • 1981 – Salem al-Hazmi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 77 (d. 2001)
    • 1982 – Sergio Castaño Ortega, Spanish footballer
    • 1982 – Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Kan Mi-youn, South Korean singer, model, and host
    • 1983 – Ronny Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1983 – Carolina Klüft, Swedish heptathlete and jumper
    • 1983 – Jordin Tootoo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Vladimir Voskoboinikov, Estonian footballer
    • 1983 – Alex Westaway, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1984 – Brian Cage, American wrestler
    • 1984 – Mao Miyaji, Japanese actress
    • 1984 – Rudi Wulf, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1985 – Masoud Azizi, Afghan sprinter
    • 1985 – Renn Kiriyama, Japanese actor
    • 1985 – Kristo Saage, Estonian basketball player
    • 1985 – Silvestre Varela, Portuguese footballer
    • 1986 – Gemma Arterton, English actress and singer
    • 1986 – Miwa Asao, Japanese volleyball player
    • 1987 – Anthony Fainga’a, Australian rugby player
    • 1987 – Saia Fainga’a, Australian rugby player
    • 1987 – Faydee, Australian singer
    • 1987 – Athena Imperial, Filipino journalist, Miss Earth-Water 2011
    • 1987 – Mimi Page, American singer-songwriter and composer
    • 1987 – Gerard Piqué, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Javon Ringer, American football player
    • 1987 – Jill Scott, English footballer
    • 1987 – Victoria Song, Chinese singer and actress
    • 1987 – Martin Spanjers, American actor and producer
    • 1988 – Zosia Mamet, American actress
    • 1989 – Harrison Smith, American football player
    • 1989 – Southside, American record producer
    • 1991 – Nathan Delfouneso, English footballer
    • 1991 – Gregory Mertens, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
    • 1991 – Shohei Nanba, Japanese actor
    • 1992 – Lammtarra, American race horse (d. 2014)
    • 1992 – Joonas Tamm, Estonian footballer
    • 1993 – Ravel Morrison, English footballer
    • 1993 – Bobby Decordova-Reid, English born Jamaican international footballer, forward
    • 1995 – Paul Digby, English footballer
    • 1995 – Aleksander Jagiełło, Polish footballer
    • 1995 – Arfa Karim, Pakstani student and computer prodigy (d. 2012)
    • 1996 – Harry Winks, English international footballer, midfielder

    Deaths on February 2

    • 619 – Laurence of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint
    • 880 – Bruno, duke of Saxony
    • 1124 – Bořivoj II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1064)
    • 1218 – Konstantin of Rostov (b. 1186)
    • 1237 – Joan, Lady of Wales
    • 1250 – Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216)
    • 1294 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1229)
    • 1347 – Thomas Bek, Bishop of Lincoln, was the bishop of Lincoln (b. 1282)
    • 1348 – Narymunt, Prince of Pinsk
    • 1435 – Joan II of Naples, Queen of Naples (b. 1371)
    • 1446 – Vittorino da Feltre, Italian humanist (b. 1378)
    • 1448 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (b. 1372)
    • 1461 – Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty (b. c. 1400)
    • 1512 – Hatuey, Caribbean tribal chief
    • 1529 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian soldier and diplomat (b. 1478)
    • 1580 – Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese daimyō (b. 1558)
    • 1594 – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer and educator (b. 1525)
    • 1648 – George Abbot, English author and politician (b. 1603)
    • 1660 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans (b. 1608)
    • 1660 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (b. 1615)
    • 1661 – Lucas Holstenius, German geographer and historian (b. 1596)
    • 1675 – Ivan Belostenec, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (b. 1594)
    • 1688 – Abraham Duquesne, French admiral (b. 1610)
    • 1704 – Guillaume de l’Hôpital, French mathematician and academic (b. 1661)
    • 1712 – Martin Lister, English physician and geologist (b. 1639)
    • 1714 – John Sharp, English archbishop (b. 1643)
    • 1723 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist and physician (b. 1666)
    • 1768 – Robert Smith, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1689)
    • 1769 – Pope Clement XIII (b. 1693)
    • 1802 – Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1713)
    • 1804 – George Walton, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Georgia (b. 1749)
    • 1831 – Vincenzo Dimech, Maltese sculptor (b. 1768)
    • 1836 – Letizia Ramolino, Italian noblewoman (b. 1750)
    • 1861 – Théophane Vénard, French Catholic missionary (b. 1829)
    • 1881 – Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1808)
    • 1904 – Ernest Cashel, American-Canadian criminal (b. 1882)
    • 1904 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1841)
    • 1905 – Henri Germain, French banker and politician, founded Le Crédit Lyonnais (b. 1824)
    • 1907 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (b. 1834)
    • 1909 – Carlo Acton, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1829)
    • 1913 – Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer (b. 1845)
    • 1918 – John L. Sullivan, American boxer (b. 1858)
    • 1919 – Julius Kuperjanov, Estonian lieutenant (b. 1894)
    • 1925 – Antti Aarne, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1867)
    • 1925 – Jaap Eden, Dutch speed skater and cyclist (b. 1873)
    • 1926 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general and politician (b. 1848)
    • 1932 – Agha Petros, Assyrian general and politician (b. 1880)
    • 1939 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (b. 1879)
    • 1942 – Ado Birk, Estonian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1883)
    • 1942 – Daniil Kharms, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1905)
    • 1942 – Hugh D. McIntosh, Australian businessman (b. 1876)
    • 1945 – Alfred Delp, German priest and philosopher (b. 1907)
    • 1945 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German economist and politician (b. 1884)
    • 1945 – Johannes Popitz, German lawyer and politician (b. 1884)
    • 1948 – Thomas W. Lamont, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1870)
    • 1948 – Bevil Rudd, South African runner and journalist (b. 1894)
    • 1950 – Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician and academic (b. 1873)
    • 1952 – Callistratus of Georgia, Georgian patriarch (b. 1866)
    • 1954 – Hella Wuolijoki, Estonian-Finnish author and politician (b. 1886)
    • 1956 – Charley Grapewin, American actor (b. 1869)
    • 1956 – Truxtun Hare, American football player and hammer thrower (b. 1878)
    • 1956 – Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
    • 1957 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1890)
    • 1962 – Shlomo Hestrin, Canadian-Israeli biochemist and academic (b. 1914)
    • 1966 – Hacı Ömer Sabancı, Turkish businessman (b. 1906)
    • 1968 – Tullio Serafin, Italian conductor and director (b. 1878)
    • 1969 – Boris Karloff, English actor (b. 1887)
    • 1970 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (b. 1898)
    • 1970 – Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1872)
    • 1972 – Natalie Clifford Barney, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1876)
    • 1973 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian academic and politician, 9th Mayor of Ghent (b. 1902)
    • 1974 – Imre Lakatos, Hungarian-English mathematician and philosopher (b. 1922)
    • 1975 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1883)
    • 1979 – Jim Burke, Australian cricketer (b. 1930)
    • 1979 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (b. 1957)
    • 1980 – William Howard Stein, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
    • 1982 – Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
    • 1983 – Sam Chatmon, American singer and guitarist (b. 1897)
    • 1986 – Anita Cobby, Australian murder victim (b. 1959)
    • 1986 – Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957)
    • 1987 – Carlos José Castilho, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1927)
    • 1987 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (b. 1922)
    • 1988 – Marcel Bozzuffi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 1989 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (b. 1951)
    • 1989 – Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand minister and politician, 30th New Zealand Minister of Finance (b. 1901)
    • 1990 – Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist and academic (b. 1905)
    • 1990 – Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (b. 1934)
    • 1992 – Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality; Miss America telecast presenter (b. 1914)
    • 1993 – François Reichenbach, French director and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 1994 – Marija Gimbutas, Lithuanian-American archeologist (b. 1921)
    • 1995 – Thomas Hayward, American tenor and actor (b. 1917)
    • 1995 – Fred Perry, English-Australian tennis player (b. 1909)
    • 1995 – Donald Pleasence, English-French actor (b. 1919)
    • 1996 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, dancer, and director (b. 1912)
    • 1997 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (b. 1913)
    • 1997 – Sanford Meisner, American actor and coach (b. 1904)
    • 1998 – Haroun Tazieff, German-French geologist and cinematographer (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – David McComb, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1962)
    • 2002 – Paul Baloff, American singer-songwriter (b. 1960)
    • 2002 – Claude Brown, American author (b. 1937)
    • 2003 – Lou Harrison, American composer and educator (b. 1917)
    • 2004 – Bernard McEveety, American director and producer (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Birgitte Federspiel, Danish actress (b. 1925)
    • 2005 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905)
    • 2007 – Vijay Arora, Indian actor (b. 1944)
    • 2007 – Billy Henderson, American singer (b. 1939)
    • 2007 – Joe Hunter, American pianist (b. 1927)
    • 2007 – Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (b. 1967)
    • 2007 – Eric Von Schmidt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931)
    • 2007 – Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (b. 1919)
    • 2008 – Barry Morse, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1918)
    • 2008 – Katoucha Niane, Guinean model and author (b. 1960)
    • 2011 – Edward Amy, Canadian general (b. 1918)
    • 2011 – Defne Joy Foster, Turkish actress (b. 1975)
    • 2011 – Margaret John, Welsh actress (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Joyce Barkhouse, Canadian author (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Frederick William Danker, American lexicographer and scholar (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – George Esper, American journalist and academic (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – James F. Lloyd, American pilot and politician (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (b. 1961)
    • 2013 – John Kerr, American actor and lawyer (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Chris Kyle, American soldier and sniper (b. 1974)
    • 2013 – Lino Oviedo, Paraguayan general and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2013 – Pepper Paire, American baseball player (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – P. Shanmugam, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Puducherry (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Walt Sweeney, American football player (b. 1941)
    • 2013 – Guy F. Tozzoli, American architect (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Gerd Albrecht, German conductor (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Tommy Aquino, American motorcycle racer (b. 1992)
    • 2014 – Nicholas Brooks, English historian (b. 1941)
    • 2014 – Eduardo Coutinho, Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1967)
    • 2014 – Luis Raúl, Puerto Rican comedian and actor (b. 1962)
    • 2014 – Bunny Rugs, Jamaican singer (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Nigel Walker, English footballer (b. 1959)
    • 2015 – Joseph Alfidi, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1949)
    • 2015 – Dave Bergman, American baseball player (b. 1953)
    • 2015 – Andriy Kuzmenko, Ukrainian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1968)
    • 2015 – Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Stewart Stern, American screenwriter (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – The Jacka, American rapper and producer (b. 1977)
    • 2016 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1923)

    Holidays and observances on February 2

    • Anniversary of Treaty of Tartu (Estonia)
    • Christian Feast Day:
      • Adalbard
      • Cornelius the Centurion
      • Martyrs of Ebsdorf
      • February 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Constitution Day (Philippines)
    • Day of Youth (Azerbaijan)
    • Earliest day on which Shrove Monday can fall, while March 8 is the latest; celebrated on Monday before Ash Wednesday (Christianity), and its related observances:
      • Bun Day (Iceland)
      • Fastelavn (Denmark/Norway)
      • Nickanan Night (Cornwall)
      • Rosenmontag (Germany)
    • Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple or Candlemas (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
      • A quarter day in the Christian calendar (due to Candlemas). (Scotland)
      • Celebration of Yemanja or Our Lady of Navigators (Candomblé)
      • Le Jour des Crêpes (France)
      • Our Lady of the Candles (Filipino Catholics)
      • Virgin of Candelaria (Tenerife, Spain)
    • Groundhog Day (United States and Canada), and its related observances:
      • Marmot Day (Alaska)
    • Inventor’s Day (Thailand)
    • Trader’s Day (Poland)
    • Victory of the Battle of Stalingrad (Russia)
    • World Wetlands Day

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

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

    Births on January 20

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

    Deaths on January 20

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

    Holidays and observances on January 20

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