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August 1 in History
- 30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.
- AD 69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.
- 527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
- 607 – Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).
- 902 – Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabids army, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
- 1203 – Isaac II Angelos, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declares his son Alexios IV Angelos co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.
- 1291 – The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.
- 1469 – Louis XI of France founds the chivalric order called the Order of Saint Michael in Amboise.
- 1498 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.
- 1571 – The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus is concluded, by the surrender of Famagusta.
- 1620 – Speedwell leaves Delfshaven to bring pilgrims to America by way of England.
- 1664 – Ottoman forces are defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.
- 1714 – George, Elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain, marking the beginning of the Georgian era of British history.
- 1759 – Seven Years’ War: The Battle of Minden, an allied Anglo-German army victory over the French. In Britain this was one of a number of events that constituted the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 and is celebrated as Minden Day by certain British Army regiments.
- 1774 – British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
- 1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay): Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.
- 1800 – The Acts of Union 1800 are passed which merge the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- 1801 – First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captures the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.
- 1834 – Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force, although it remains legal in the possessions of the East India Company until the passage of the Indian Slavery Act, 1843.
- 1842 – The Lombard Street riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
- 1849 – Joven Daniel wrecks at the coast of Araucanía, Chile, leading to allegations that local Mapuche tribes murdered survivors and kidnapped Elisa Bravo.
- 1855 – The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.
- 1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.
- 1893 – Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.
- 1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.
- 1907 – The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.
- 1911 – Harriet Quimby takes her pilot’s test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator’s certificate.
- 1914 – The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.
- 1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.
- 1933 – Anti-Fascist activists Bruno Tesch, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff, and August Lütgens are executed by the Nazi regime in Altona.
- 1936 – The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
- 1937 – Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution “Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH” to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.
- 1943 – World War II: Operation Tidal Wave also known as “Black Sunday”, was a failed American attempt to destroy Romanian oil fields.
- 1944 – World War II: The Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi German occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.
- 1946 – Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.
- 1950 – Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth as President Harry S. Truman signs the Guam Organic Act.
- 1957 – The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
- 1960 – Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.
- 1960 – Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.
- 1961 – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation’s first centralized military espionage organization.
- 1964 – The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 1965 – Frank Herbert’s novel, Dune was published for the first time. It was named as the world’s best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.
- 1966 – Charles Whitman kills 16 people at the University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.
- 1966 – Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
- 1968 – The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.
- 1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
- 1974 – Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the “Green Line”, dividing Cyprus into two zones.
- 1980 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.
- 1980 – A train crash kills 18 people in County Cork, Ireland.
- 1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles.
- 1984 – Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England.
- 1988 – A British soldier was killed in the Inglis Barracks bombing in London, England.
- 1993 – The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.
- 1998 – The establishment of Muslim Medics, one of the largest student-led societies in Imperial College London that provides both academic and wellbeing support to medical students of all backgrounds.
- 2004 – A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 others in Asunción, Paraguay.
- 2007 – The I-35W Mississippi River bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145.
- 2008 – The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.
- 2008 – Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.
- 2017 – A suicide attack on a mosque in Herat, Afghanistan kills 20 people.
Births on August 1
- 10 BC – Claudius, Roman emperor (d. 54)
- 126 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (d. 193)
- 845 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese scholar and politician (d. 903)
- 992 – Hyeonjong, Korean king (d. 1031)
- 1068 – Taizu, Chinese emperor (d. 1123)
- 1313 – Kōgon, Japanese emperor (d. 1364)
- 1377 – Go-Komatsu, Japanese emperor (d. 1433)
- 1385 – John FitzAlan, 13th Earl of Arundel (d. 1421)
- 1410 – Jan IV, count of Nassau-Dillenburg (d. 1475)
- 1492 – Wolfgang, German prince (d. 1566)
- 1520 – Sigismund II, Polish king (d. 1572)
- 1545 – Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and scholar (d. 1622)
- 1555 – Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (d. 1597)
- 1579 – Luis Vélez de Guevara, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1644)
- 1626 – Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (d. 1676)
- 1630 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1673)
- 1659 – Sebastiano Ricci, Italian painter (d. 1734)
- 1713 – Charles I, German duke and prince (d. 1780)
- 1714 – Richard Wilson, Welsh painter and academic (d. 1782)
- 1738 – Jacques François Dugommier, French general (d. 1794)
- 1744 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French soldier, biologist, and academic (d. 1829)
- 1770 – William Clark, American soldier, explorer, and politician, 4th Governor of Missouri Territory (d. 1838)
- 1778 – Mary Jefferson Eppes, daughter of Thomas Jefferson who died in childbirth (d. 1804)
- 1779 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1843)
- 1779 – Lorenz Oken, German-Swiss botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (d. 1851)
- 1809 – William B. Travis, American colonel and lawyer (d. 1836)
- 1815 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1882)
- 1818 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1889)
- 1819 – Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1891)
- 1831 – Antonio Cotogni, Italian opera singer and educator (d. 1918)
- 1843 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (d. 1926)
- 1856 – George Coulthard, Australian footballer and cricketer (d. 1883)
- 1858 – Gaston Doumergue, French lawyer and politician, 13th President of France (d. 1937)
- 1858 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1884)
- 1860 – Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer (d. 1918)
- 1861 – Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)
- 1865 – Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (d. 1917)
- 1871 – John Lester, American cricketer and soccer player (d. 1969)
- 1877 – George Hackenschmidt, Estonian-English wrestler and strongman (d. 1968)
- 1878 – Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek physician and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1961)
- 1881 – Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1940)
- 1885 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
- 1889 – Walter Gerlach, German physicist and academic (d. 1979)
- 1891 – Karl Kobelt, Swiss lawyer and politician, 52nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1968)
- 1893 – Alexander of Greece (d. 1920)
- 1894 – Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (d. 1927)
- 1898 – Morris Stoloff, American composer and musical director (d. 1980)
- 1899 – Raymond Mays, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)
- 1900 – Otto Nothling, Australian cricketer and rugby player (d. 1965)
- 1901 – Francisco Guilledo, Filipino boxer (d. 1925)
- 1903 – Paul Horgan, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1995)
- 1905 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, American-Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1993)
- 1907 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)
- 1910 – James Henry Govier, English painter and illustrator (d. 1974)
- 1910 – Walter Scharf, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
- 1910 – Gerda Taro, German war photographer (d. 1937)
- 1911 – Jackie Ormes, American journalist and cartoonist (d. 1985)
- 1912 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1979)
- 1912 – Gego, German-Venezuelan sculptor and academic (d. 1994)
- 1912 – Henry Jones, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1914 – Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (d. 1997)
- 1914 – Alan Moore, Australian painter and educator (d. 2015)
- 1914 – J. Lee Thompson, English-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
- 1916 – Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
- 1916 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (d. 2000)
- 1918 – T. J. Jemison, American minister and activist (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Stanley Middleton, English author (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Raul Renter, Estonian economist and chess player (d. 1992)
- 1921 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player, sailor, and sportscaster (d. 2009)
- 1921 – Pat McDonald, Australian actress (d. 1990)
- 1922 – Arthur Hill, Canadian-American actor (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Val Bettin, American actor
- 1924 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Frank Havens, American canoeist (d. 2018)
- 1924 – Marcia Mae Jones, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Frank Worrell, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1967)
- 1925 – Ernst Jandl, Austrian poet and author (d. 2000)
- 1926 – George Hauptfuhrer, American basketball player and lawyer (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Hannah Hauxwell, English TV personality (d. 2018)
- 1927 – María Teresa López Boegeholz, Chilean oceanographer (d. 2006)
- 1927 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1979)
- 1929 – Ann Calvello, American roller derby racer (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Leila Abashidze, Georgian actress (d. 2018)
- 1930 – Lionel Bart, English composer (d. 1999)
- 1930 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (d. 2002)
- 1930 – Julie Bovasso, American actress and writer (d. 1991)
- 1930 – Lawrence Eagleburger, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)
- 1930 – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1996)
- 1930 – Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1931 – Trevor Goddard, South African cricketer (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Meir Kahane, American-Israeli rabbi and activist, founded the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990)
- 1932 – Meena Kumari, Indian actress (d. 1972)
- 1933 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2009)
- 1933 – Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 2019)
- 1933 – Teri Shields, American actress, producer, and agent (d. 2012)
- 1933 – Dušan Třeštík, Czech historian and author (d. 2007)
- 1934 – John Beck, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2000)
- 1934 – Derek Birdsall, English graphic designer
- 1935 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (d. 2014)
- 1936 – W. D. Hamilton, Egyptian born British biologist, psychologist, and academic (d. 2000)
- 1936 – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French fashion designer, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (d. 2008)
- 1936 – Laurie Taylor, English sociologist, radio host, and academic
- 1937 – Al D’Amato, American lawyer and politician
- 1939 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (d. 2015)
- 1939 – Terry Kiser, American actor
- 1939 – Stephen Sykes, English bishop and theologian (d. 2014)
- 1939 – Robert James Waller, American author and photographer (d. 2017)
- 1940 – Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire
- 1940 – Henry Silverman, American businessman, founded Cendant
- 1940 – Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Iranian writer and actor
- 1941 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1996)
- 1941 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1942 – Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
- 1942 – Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1944 – Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian banker and politician (d. 1998)
- 1945 – Douglas Osheroff, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1946 – Boz Burrell, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and guitarist (d. 2006)
- 1946 – Rick Coonce, American drummer (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Richard O. Covey, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1946 – Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist and academic
- 1947 – Lorna Goodison, Jamaican poet and author
- 1947 – Chantal Montellier, French comics creator and artist
- 1948 – Avi Arad, Israeli-American screenwriter and producer, founded Marvel Studios
- 1948 – Cliff Branch, American football player
- 1948 – David Gemmell, English journalist and author (d. 2006)
- 1949 – Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstani politician, 2nd President of Kyrgyzstan
- 1949 – Jim Carroll, American poet, author, and musician (d. 2009)
- 1949 – Ray Nettles, American football player (d. 2009)
- 1950 – Roy Williams, American basketball player and coach
- 1951 – Tim Bachman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Tommy Bolin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
- 1951 – Pete Mackanin, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1952 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2003)
- 1953 – Robert Cray, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Howard Kurtz, American journalist and author
- 1954 – Trevor Berbick, Jamaican-Canadian boxer (d. 2006)
- 1954 – James Gleick, American journalist and author
- 1954 – Benno Möhlmann, German footballer and manager
- 1957 – Taylor Negron, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1958 – Rob Buck, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1958 – Michael Penn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1958 – Kiki Vandeweghe, American basketball player and coach
- 1959 – Joe Elliott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1960 – Chuck D, American rapper and songwriter
- 1960 – Suzi Gardner, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1962 – Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (d. 2013)
- 1963 – Demián Bichir, Mexican-American actor and producer
- 1963 – Coolio, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1963 – John Carroll Lynch, American actor
- 1963 – Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut and engineer
- 1963 – Dean Wareham, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – Adam Duritz, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1964 – Fiona Hyslop, Scottish businesswoman and politician
- 1964 – Augusta Read Thomas, American composer, conductor and educator
- 1965 – Brandt Jobe, American golfer
- 1965 – Sam Mendes, English director and producer
- 1966 – James St. James, American club promoter and author
- 1967 – Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player and coach
- 1967 – José Padilha, Brazilian director, producer and screenwriter
- 1968 – Stacey Augmon, American basketball player and coach
- 1968 – Dan Donegan, American heavy metal guitarist and songwriter
- 1968 – Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster
- 1969 – Andrei Borissov, Estonian footballer and manager
- 1969 – Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player and scout
- 1969 – Graham Thorpe, English cricketer and journalist
- 1970 – Quentin Coryatt, American football player
- 1970 – David James, English footballer and manager
- 1970 – Eugenie van Leeuwen, Dutch cricketer
- 1972 – Nicke Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Christer Basma, Norwegian footballer and coach
- 1972 – Todd Bouman, American football player and coach
- 1972 – Thomas Woods, American historian, economist, and academic
- 1973 – Gregg Berhalter, American soccer player and coach
- 1973 – Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian runner
- 1973 – Edurne Pasaban, Spanish mountaineer
- 1974 – Cher Calvin, American journalist
- 1974 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (d. 2014)
- 1974 – Tyron Henderson, South African cricketer
- 1974 – Dennis Lawrence, Trinidadian footballer and coach
- 1974 – Beckie Scott, Canadian skier
- 1975 – Vhrsti, Czech author and illustrator
- 1976 – Don Hertzfeldt, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
- 1976 – Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer
- 1976 – Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer
- 1976 – David Nemirovsky, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager
- 1976 – Cristian Stoica, Romanian-Italian rugby player
- 1977 – Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1977 – Haspop, French-Moroccan dancer, choreographer, and actor
- 1977 – Darnerien McCants, American-Canadian football player
- 1977 – Damien Saez, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1977 – Yoshi Tatsu, Japanese wrestler and boxer
- 1978 – Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1978 – Björn Ferry, Swedish biathlete
- 1978 – Dhani Harrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Chris Iwelumo, Scottish footballer
- 1978 – Edgerrin James, American football player
- 1979 – Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer
- 1979 – Nathan Fien, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
- 1979 – Jason Momoa, American actor, director, and producer
- 1980 – Mancini, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 – Romain Barras, French decathlete
- 1980 – Esteban Paredes, Chilean footballer
- 1981 – Dean Cox, Australian footballer
- 1981 – Pia Haraldsen, Norwegian journalist and author
- 1981 – Christofer Heimeroth, German footballer
- 1981 – Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer
- 1981 – Jamie Jones-Buchanan, English rugby player
- 1982 – Basem Fathi, Jordanian footballer
- 1982 – Montserrat Lombard, English actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1983 – Bobby Carpenter, American football player
- 1983 – Craig Clarke, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983 – Julien Faubert, French footballer
- 1983 – David Gervasi, Swiss decathlete
- 1984 – Steve Feak, American game designer
- 1984 – Francesco Gavazzi, Italian cyclist
- 1984 – Brandon Kintzler, American baseball player
- 1984 – Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer
- 1985 – Stuart Holden, Scottish-American soccer player
- 1985 – Adam Jones, American baseball player
- 1985 – Cole Kimball, American baseball player
- 1985 – Tendai Mtawarira, South African rugby player
- 1985 – Kris Stadsgaard, Danish footballer
- 1985 – Dušan Švento, Slovak footballer
- 1986 – Damien Allen, English footballer
- 1986 – Anton Strålman, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1986 – Andrew Taylor, English footballer
- 1986 – Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player
- 1986 – Mike Wallace, American football player
- 1987 – Iago Aspas, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Karen Carney, English women’s football winger
- 1987 – Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer
- 1987 – Lee Wallace, Scottish footballer
- 1988 – Mustafa Abdellaoue, Norwegian footballer
- 1988 – Patryk Małecki, Polish footballer
- 1988 – Bodene Thompson, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1989 – Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player
- 1989 – Tiffany Hwang, Korean American singer, songwriter, and actress
- 1990 – Aledmys Díaz, Cuban baseball player
- 1990 – Jean Hugues Gregoire, Mauritian swimmer
- 1990 – Elton Jantjies, South African rugby player
- 1991 – Piotr Malarczyk, Polish footballer
- 1991 – Marco Puntoriere, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Austin Rivers, American basketball player
- 1992 – Mrunal Thakur, Indian actress
- 1993 – Álex Abrines, Spanish basketball player
- 1993 – Leon Thomas III, American actor and singer
- 1994 – Sergeal Petersen, South African rugby player
- 1994 – Ayaka Wada, Japanese singer
- 1996 – Katie Boulter, English tennis player
- 2001 – Park Si-eun, South Korean actress
Deaths on August 1
- 30 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (b. 83 BC)
- 371 – Eusebius of Vercelli, Italian bishop and saint (b. 283)
- 527 – Justin I, Byzantine emperor (b. 450)
- 873 – Thachulf, duke of Thuringia
- 946 – Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah, Abbasid vizier (b. 859)
- 946 – Lady Xu Xinyue, Chinese queen (b. 902)
- 953 – Yingtian, Chinese Khitan empress (b. 879)
- 984 – Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester
- 1098 – Adhemar of Le Puy, French papal legate
- 1137 – Louis VI, king of France (b. 1081)
- 1146 – Vsevolod II of Kiev, Russian prince
- 1227 – Shimazu Tadahisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1179)
- 1252 – Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Italian archbishop and explorer (b. 1180)
- 1299 – Conrad de Lichtenberg, Bishop of Strasbourg (b. 1240)
- 1402 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1341)
- 1457 – Lorenzo Valla, Italian author and educator (b. 1406)
- 1464 – Cosimo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1386)
- 1494 – Giovanni Santi, artist and father of Raphael (b. c. 1435)
- 1541 – Simon Grynaeus, German theologian and scholar (b. 1493)
- 1543 – Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1488)
- 1546 – Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (b. 1506)
- 1557 – Olaus Magnus, Swedish archbishop, historian, and cartographer (b. 1490)
- 1580 – Albrecht Giese, Polish-German politician and diplomat (b. 1524)
- 1589 – Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (b. 1567)
- 1603 – Matthew Browne, English politician (b. 1563)
- 1714 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (b. 1665)
- 1787 – Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1696)
- 1795 – Clas Bjerkander, Swedish meteorologist, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1735)
- 1796 – Sir Robert Pigot, 2nd Baronet, English colonel and politician (b. 1720)
- 1798 – François-Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers, French admiral (b. 1753)
- 1807 – John Boorman, English cricketer (b. c. 1754)
- 1807 – John Walker, English actor, philologist, and lexicographer (b. 1732)
- 1808 – Lady Diana Beauclerk, English painter and illustrator (b. 1734)
- 1812 – Yakov Kulnev, Russian general (b. 1763)
- 1851 – William Joseph Behr, German publicist and academic (b. 1775)
- 1863 – Jind Kaur Majarani (Regent) of the Sikh Empire (b. 1817)
- 1866 – John Ross, American tribal chief (b. 1790)
- 1869 – Peter Julian Eymard, French Priest and Founder Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (b. 1811)
- 1869 – Richard Dry, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1815)
- 1903 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and scout (b. 1853)
- 1911 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (b. 1852)
- 1911 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (b. 1843)
- 1918 – John Riley Banister, American cowboy and police officer (b. 1854)
- 1920 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (b. 1856)
- 1921 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)
- 1922 – Donát Bánki, Hungarian engineer (b. 1856)
- 1929 – Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
- 1938 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and academic (b. 1862)
- 1943 – Lydia Litvyak, Russian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1921)
- 1944 – Manuel L. Quezon, Filipino soldier, lawyer, and politician, 2nd President of the Philippines (b. 1878)
- 1959 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (b. 1921)
- 1963 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (b. 1908)
- 1966 – Charles Whitman, American murderer (b. 1941)
- 1967 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1900)
- 1970 – Frances Farmer, American actress (b. 1913)
- 1970 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (b. 1901)
- 1970 – Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
- 1973 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator (b. 1882)
- 1973 – Walter Ulbricht, German soldier and politician (b. 1893)
- 1974 – Ildebrando Antoniutti, Italian cardinal (b. 1898)
- 1977 – Francis Gary Powers, American captain and pilot (b. 1929)
- 1980 – Patrick Depailler, French race car driver (b. 1944)
- 1980 – Strother Martin, American actor (b. 1919)
- 1981 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
- 1982 – T. Thirunavukarasu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
- 1989 – John Ogdon, English pianist and composer (b. 1937)
- 1990 – Norbert Elias, German-Dutch sociologist, author, and academic (b. 1897)
- 1996 – Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- 1996 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian physician and surgeon (b. 1929)
- 1998 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-British actress (b. 1927)
- 2001 – Korey Stringer, American football player (b. 1974)
- 2003 – Guy Thys, Belgian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
- 2003 – Marie Trintignant, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1962)
- 2004 – Philip Abelson, American physicist and author (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Al Aronowitz, American journalist (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist and educator (b. 1918)
- 2005 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter and sculptor (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Bob Thaves, American illustrator (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and activist (b. 1949)
- 2007 – Tommy Makem, Irish singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Gertan Klauber, Czech-English actor (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
- 2009 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (b. 1933)
- 2010 – Lolita Lebrón, Puerto Rican-American activist (b. 1919)
- 2010 – Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby player and cricketer (b. 1910)
- 2012 – Aldo Maldera, Italian footballer and agent (b. 1953)
- 2012 – Douglas Townsend, American composer and musicologist (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Barry Trapnell, English cricketer and academic (b. 1924)
- 2013 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Gail Kobe, American actress and producer (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Babe Martin, American baseball player (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Toby Saks, American cellist and educator (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Wilford White, American football player (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (b. 1973)
- 2014 – Jan Roar Leikvoll, Norwegian author (b. 1974)
- 2014 – Charles T. Payne, American soldier (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Mike Smith, English radio and television host (b. 1955)
- 2015 – Stephan Beckenbauer, German footballer and manager (b. 1968)
- 2015 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (b. 1943)
- 2015 – Bernard d’Espagnat, French physicist, philosopher, and author (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Hong Yuanshuo, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1948)
- 2016 – Queen Anne of Romania (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances on August 1
- Armed Forces Day (Lebanon)
- Armed Forces Day (China) or Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Liberation Army (People’s Republic of China)
- Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day (Azerbaijan)
- Celebration of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 which ended the slavery in the British Empire, generally celebrated as a part of Carnival, as the Caribbean Carnival takes place at this time (British West Indies):
- Earliest day on which Caribana celebration can fall, celebrated on the first Weekend of August. (Toronto)
- Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Anguilla, the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands)
- Emancipation Day (Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago)
- Christian feast day:
- Abgar V of Edessa (Syrian Church)
- Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori
- Æthelwold of Winchester
- Bernard Võ Văn Duệ (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
- Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder
- Eusebius of Vercelli
- Exuperius of Bayeux
- Felix of Girona
- Peter Apostle in Chains
- Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy)
- The Holy Maccabees
- August 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which August Bank Holiday (Ireland) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
- Earliest day on which Civic Holiday can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Canada)
- Earliest day on which Commerce Day, or Frídagur verslunarmanna, can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Iceland)
- Earliest day on which Constitution Day (Cook Islands) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
- Earliest day on which Farmers’ Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Zambia)
- Earliest day on which International Beer Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday of August.
- Earliest day on which Friendship Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of August. (United States)
- Earliest day on which Kadooment Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Barbados)
- Earliest day on which Labor Day (Samoa) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Samoa)
- Minden Day (United Kingdom)
- National Day, celebrates the independence of Benin from France in 1960.
- National Day, commemorates Switzerland becoming a single unit in 1291.
- Official Birthday and Coronation Day of the King of Tonga (Tonga)
- Parents’ Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Statehood Day (Colorado)
- Swiss National Day (Switzerland)
- The beginning of autumn observances in the Northern hemisphere and spring observances in the Southern hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year):
- Lughnasadh in the Northern hemisphere, Imbolc in the Southern hemisphere; traditionally begins on the eve of August 1. (Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopagans)
- Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopagans)
- Pachamama Raymi (Quechuan in Ecuador and Peru)
- The first day of Carnaval del Pueblo (Burgess Park, London, England)
- Victory Day (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam)
- World Scout Scarf Day
- Yorkshire Day (Yorkshire, England)
-
July 28 in History
- 1364 – Troops of the Republic of Pisa and the Republic of Florence clash in the Battle of Cascina.
- 1540 – Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason. Henry marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day.
- 1571 – La Laguna encomienda, known today as the Laguna province in the Philippines is founded by the Spaniards as one of the oldest encomiendas (provinces) in the country.
- 1635 – In the Eighty Years’ War the Spanish capture the strategic Dutch fortress of Schenkenschans.
- 1656 – Second Northern War: Battle of Warsaw begins.
- 1778 – Constitution of the province of Cantabria ratified at the Assembly Hall in Bárcena la Puente, Reocín, Spain.
- 1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just are executed by guillotine in Paris, France.
- 1808 – Mahmud II became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
- 1809 – Peninsular War: Battle of Talavera: Sir Arthur Wellesley’s British, Portuguese and Spanish army defeats a French force led by Joseph Bonaparte.
- 1821 – José de San Martín declares the independence of Peru from Spain.
- 1854 – USS Constellation (1854), the last all-sail warship built by the United States Navy, is commissioned.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ezra Church: Confederate troops make a third unsuccessful attempt to drive Union forces from Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1866 – At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream becomes the first and youngest female artist to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue (of Abraham Lincoln).
- 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is certified, establishing African American citizenship and guaranteeing due process of law.
- 1896 – The city of Miami, Florida is incorporated.
- 1914 – In the culmination of the July Crisis, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, igniting World War I.
- 1915 – The United States begins a 19-year occupation of Haiti.
- 1917 – The Silent Parade took place in New York City, in protest to murders, lynchings, and other violence directed towards African Americans.
- 1932 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover orders the United States Army to forcibly evict the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans gathered in Washington, D.C.
- 1935 – First flight of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
- 1938 – Hawaii Clipper disappears between Guam and Manila as the first loss of an airliner in trans-Pacific China Clipper service.
- 1939 – The Sutton Hoo helmet is discovered.
- 1942 – World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin issues Order No. 227. In response to alarming German advances, all those who retreat or otherwise leave their positions without orders to do so are to be tried in a military court, with punishment ranging from duty in a shtrafbat battalion, imprisonment in a Gulag, or execution.
- 1943 – World War II: Operation Gomorrah: The Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg, Germany causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.
- 1945 – A U.S. Army B-25 bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building killing 14 and injuring 26.
- 1957 – Heavy rain and a mudslide in Isahaya, western Kyushu, Japan, kills 992.
- 1960 – The German Volkswagen Act came into force.
- 1965 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
- 1973 – Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: Nearly 600,000 people attend a rock festival at the Watkins Glen International Raceway.
- 1974 – Spetsgruppa A, Russia’s elite special force, was formed.
- 1976 – The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 moment magnitude flattens Tangshan in the People’s Republic of China, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851.
- 1984 – The Summer Olympics officially known as the games of the XXIII were opened in Los Angeles.
- 1996 – The remains of a prehistoric man are discovered near Kennewick, Washington. Such remains will be known as the Kennewick Man.
- 2001 – Australian Ian Thorpe becomes the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single World Championship.
- 2002 – Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, are rescued after 77 hours underground.
- 2002 – Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 9560 crashes after takeoff from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, killing 14 of the 16 people on board.
- 2005 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army calls an end to its thirty-year-long armed campaign in Northern Ireland.
- 2010 – Airblue Flight 202 crashes into the Margalla Hills north of Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 152 people aboard. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Pakistan history and the first involving an Airbus A321.
- 2011 – While flying from Seoul, South Korea to Shanghai, China, Asiana Airlines Flight 991 develops an in-flight fire in the cargo hold. The Boeing 747-400F freighter attempts to divert to Jeju International Airport, but crashes into the sea South-West of Jeju island, killing both crew members on board.
- 2017 – Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for lifetime by Supreme Court of Pakistan founding him guilty of corruption charges.
- 2018 – Australian Wendy Tuck becomes the first woman skipper to win the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Births on July 28
- 1347 – Margaret of Durazzo, Queen of Naples and Hungary (d. 1412)
- 1516 – William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, German nobleman (d. 1592)
- 1609 – Judith Leyster, Dutch painter (d. 1660)
- 1635 – Robert Hooke, English physicist and chemist (d. 1703)
- 1645 – Marguerite Louise d’Orléans, French princess (d. 1721)
- 1659 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (d. 1715)
- 1746 – Thomas Heyward, Jr., American judge and politician (d. 1809)
- 1750 – Fabre d’Églantine, French actor, playwright, and politician (d. 1794)
- 1783 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, German army officer and writer (d. 1860)
- 1796 – Ignaz Bösendorfer, Austrian businessman, founded the Bösendorfer Company (d. 1859)
- 1804 – Ludwig Feuerbach, German anthropologist and philosopher (d. 1872)
- 1815 – Stefan Dunjov, Bulgarian colonel (d. 1889)
- 1844 – Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (d. 1889)
- 1857 – Ballington Booth, English-American activist, co-founded Volunteers of America (d. 1940)
- 1860 – Elias M. Ammons, American businessman and politician, 19th Governor of Colorado (d. 1925)
- 1860 – Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (d. 1922)
- 1863 – Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski, Russian general (d. 1919)
- 1866 – Beatrix Potter, English children’s book writer and illustrator (d. 1943)
- 1866 – Albertson Van Zo Post, American fencer (d. 1938)
- 1867 – Charles Dillon Perrine, American-Argentinian astronomer (d. 1951)
- 1872 – Albert Sarraut, French journalist and politician, 106th Prime Minister of France (d. 1962)
- 1874 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (d. 1945)
- 1879 – Lucy Burns, American activist, co-founded the National Woman’s Party (d. 1966)
- 1879 – Stefan Filipkiewicz, Polish painter (d. 1944)
- 1887 – Marcel Duchamp, French-American painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
- 1887 – Willard Price, Canadian-American journalist and author (d. 1983)
- 1893 – Rued Langgaard, Danish organist and composer (d. 1952)
- 1896 – Barbara La Marr, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1926)
- 1898 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1901 – Freddie Fitzsimmons, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1979)
- 1901 – Rudy Vallée, American actor, singer, and saxophonist (d. 1986)
- 1902 – Albert Namatjira, Australian painter (d. 1959)
- 1902 – Sir Karl Popper, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
- 1907 – Earl Tupper, American inventor and businessman, founded Tupperware Brands (d. 1983)
- 1909 – Aenne Burda, German publisher (d. 2005)
- 1909 – Malcolm Lowry, English novelist and poet (d. 1957)
- 1914 – Carmen Dragon, American conductor and composer (d. 1984)
- 1915 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
- 1915 – Dick Sprang, American illustrator (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Frankie Yankovic, American polka musician (d. 1998)
- 1916 – David Brown, American journalist and producer (d. 2010)
- 1920 – Andrew V. McLaglen, English-American director and producer (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Jacques Piccard, Belgian-Swiss oceanographer and engineer (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Ray Ellis, American conductor and producer (d. 2008)
- 1924 – Luigi Musso, Italian race car driver (d. 1958)
- 1924 – C. T. Vivian, American minister, author, and activist
- 1925 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Charlie Biddle, American-Canadian bassist (d. 2003)
- 1927 – John Ashbery, American poet (d. 2017)
- 1929 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist and socialite, 37th First Lady of the United States (d. 1994)
- 1929 – Shirley Ann Grau, American novelist and short story writer
- 1930 – Firoza Begum, Bangladeshi singer (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Junior Kimbrough, American singer and guitarist (d. 1998)
- 1930 – Jean Roba, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 2006)
- 1930 – Ramsey Muir Withers, Canadian general (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Alan Brownjohn, English poet and author
- 1931 – Johnny Martin, Australian cricketer (d. 1992)
- 1932 – Natalie Babbitt, American author and illustrator (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, Brazilian colonel (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Charlie Hodge, Canadian ice hockey player and scout (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Jacques d’Amboise, American dancer and choreographer
- 1935 – Neil McKendrick, English historian and academic
- 1936 – Russ Jackson, Canadian football player and coach
- 1936 – Garfield Sobers, Barbadian cricketer
- 1937 – Francis Veber, French director and screenwriter
- 1938 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
- 1938 – Arsen Dedić, Croatian singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2015)
- 1938 – Alberto Fujimori, Peruvian engineer, academic, and politician, 90th President of Peru
- 1938 – Chuan Leekpai, Thai lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Thailand
- 1939 – Richard Johns, English air marshal
- 1940 – Philip Proctor, American voice actor and screenwriter
- 1941 – Riccardo Muti, Italian conductor and educator
- 1941 – Susan Roces, Filipino actress and producer
- 1942 – Marty Brennaman, American sportscaster
- 1942 – Tonia Marketaki, Greek director and screenwriter (d. 1994)
- 1943 – Mike Bloomfield, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1981)
- 1943 – Bill Bradley, American basketball player and politician
- 1943 – Richard Wright, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2008)
- 1945 – Jim Davis, American cartoonist, created Garfield
- 1946 – Jonathan Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Linda Kelsey, American actress
- 1946 – Fahmida Riaz, Pakistani poet and activist
- 1947 – Peter Cosgrove, Australian general and politician, 26th Governor General of Australia
- 1947 – Sally Struthers, American actress
- 1948 – Gerald Casale, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director
- 1948 – Eiichi Ohtaki, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Vida Blue, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1949 – Peter Doyle, Australian singer and guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1949 – Simon Kirke, English drummer
- 1949 – Steve Peregrin Took, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1980)
- 1949 – Randall Wallace, American screenwriter and producer
- 1950 – Shahyar Ghanbari, Iranian singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Tapley Seaton, Kittitian politician, 4th Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis
- 1951 – Santiago Calatrava, Spanish architect and engineer, designed the Athens Olympic Sports Complex
- 1951 – Doug Collins, American basketball player and coach
- 1951 – Gregg Giuffria, American rock musician and businessman
- 1951 – Ray Kennedy, English footballer
- 1952 – Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand
- 1954 – Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan colonel and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Gerd Faltings, German mathematician and academic
- 1954 – Steve Morse, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Mikey Sheehy, Irish footballer
- 1955 – Nikolay Zimyatov, Russian skier
- 1956 – John Feinstein, American journalist and author
- 1956 – Robert Swan, English explorer
- 1958 – Terry Fox, Canadian runner and activist (d. 1981)
- 1958 – Michael Hitchcock, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1959 – William T. Vollmann, American novelist, short story writer and journalist
- 1960 – Luiz Fernando Carvalho, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Jon J. Muth, American author and illustrator
- 1960 – Yōichi Takahashi, Japanese illustrator
- 1961 – Yannick Dalmas, French race car driver
- 1962 – Rachel Sweet, American singer, television writer, and actress
- 1964 – Lori Loughlin, American actress
- 1965 – Priscilla Chan, Hong Kong singer
- 1966 – Sossina M. Haile, Ethiopian American chemist
- 1966 – Miguel Ángel Nadal, Spanish footballer
- 1966 – Jimmy Pardo, American stand-up comedian, actor, and host
- 1966 – Shikao Suga, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Taka Hirose, Japanese bass player
- 1969 – Garth Snow, American ice hockey player and manager
- 1969 – Alexis Arquette, American actress (d. 2016)
- 1970 – Michael Amott, Swedish guitarist and songwriter
- 1970 – Isabelle Brasseur, Canadian figure skater
- 1970 – Paul Strang, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
- 1971 – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Iraqi leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- 1971 – Ludmilla Lacueva Canut, Andorran writer
- 1971 – Stephen Lynch, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1971 – Annie Perreault, Canadian speed skater
- 1972 – Robert Chapman, English cricketer
- 1973 – Marc Dupré, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1973 – Steve Staios, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 – Alexis Tsipras, Greek engineer and politician, 186th Prime Minister of Greece
- 1974 – Elizabeth Berkley, American actress
- 1975 – Leonor Watling, Spanish actress
- 1976 – Jacoby Shaddix, American singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Aki Berg, Finnish-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Manu Ginóbili, Argentinian basketball player
- 1977 – Miyabiyama Tetsushi, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1978 – Kārlis Vērdiņš, Latvian poet
- 1978 – Hitomi Yaida, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Henrik Hansen, Danish footballer
- 1979 – Birgitta Haukdal, Icelandic singer-songwriter and producer
- 1979 – Lee Min-woo, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1979 – Alena Popchanka, Belarusian-French swimmer and coach
- 1980 – Stephen Christian, American singer-songwriter
- 1980 – Anthony Weaver, American football player
- 1981 – Michael Carrick, English footballer
- 1983 – Sam Dastyari, Iranian-Australian politician
- 1983 – Cody Hay, Canadian figure skater
- 1984 – Zach Parise, American ice hockey player
- 1985 – Mathieu Debuchy, French footballer
- 1985 – Dustin Milligan, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1985 – Darren Murphy, Irish footballer
- 1986 – Alexandra Chando, American actress
- 1986 – Lauri Korpikoski, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1986 – Dulquer Salmaan, Indian actor
- 1987 – Yasser Corona, Mexican footballer
- 1987 – Yevhen Khacheridi, Ukrainian-Greek footballer
- 1987 – Pedro, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Greg Hardy, American football player
- 1989 – Felipe Kitadai, Brazilian martial artist
- 1990 – Soulja Boy, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1990 – Simone Pizzuti, Italian footballer
- 1993 – Harry Kane, English footballer
- 1993 – Moses Odubajo, English footballer
- 1993 – Cher Lloyd, English singer-songwriter
- 1995 – Josh Addo-Carr, Australian rugby league player
Deaths on July 28
- 450 – Theodosius II, Roman emperor (b. 401)
- 938 – Thankmar, half-brother of Otto I (during Siege of Eresburg) (b. c. 908)
- 942 – Shi Jingtang, emperor of Later Jin (b. 892)
- 1057 – Victor II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1018)
- 1128 – William Clito, English son of Sybilla of Conversano (b. 1102)
- 1230 – Leopold VI, Duke of Austria (b. 1176)
- 1271 – Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster (b. 1220)
- 1285 – Keran, Queen of Armenia
- 1333 – Guy VIII of Viennois, Dauphin of Vienne (b. 1309)
- 1345 – Sancia of Majorca, queen regent of Naples (b. c. 1285)
- 1458 – John II, king of Cyprus and Armenia
- 1488 – Edward Woodville, Lord Scales (at the Battle of St. Aubin-du-Cormier)
- 1508 – Robert Blackadder, bishop of Glasgow
- 1527 – Rodrigo de Bastidas, Spanish explorer, founded the city of Santa Marta (b. 1460)
- 1540 – Thomas Cromwell, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1495)
- 1585 – Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (b. 1527)
- 1631 – Guillén de Castro y Bellvis, Spanish playwright (b. 1569)
- 1655 – Cyrano de Bergerac, French poet and playwright (b. 1619)
- 1667 – Abraham Cowley, English poet and author (b. 1618)
- 1675 – Bulstrode Whitelocke, English lawyer and politician (b. 1605)
- 1685 – Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, English politician and diplomat, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1618)
- 1718 – Étienne Baluze, French scholar and academic (b. 1630)
- 1741 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1678)
- 1750 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German organist and composer (b. 1685)
- 1762 – George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset (b. 1691)
- 1794 – Maximilien Robespierre, French lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the Committee of Public Safety (b. 1758)
- 1794 – Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, French soldier and politician (b. 1767)
- 1808 – Selim III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1761)
- 1809 – Richard Beckett, English cricketer and captain (b.1772)
- 1818 – Gaspard Monge, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1746)
- 1835 – Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise, French general and politician, 15th Prime Minister of France (b. 1768)
- 1836 – Nathan Mayer Rothschild, German-English banker and financier (b. 1777)
- 1842 – Clemens Brentano, German author and poet (b. 1778)
- 1844 – Joseph Bonaparte, French diplomat and brother of Napoleon (b. 1768)
- 1849 – Charles Albert of Sardinia (b. 1798)
- 1869 – Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Czech anatomist and physiologist (b. 1787)
- 1878 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician (b. 1820)
- 1885 – Moses Montefiore, British philanthropist, sheriff and banker (b. 1784)
- 1895 – Edward Beecher, American minister and theologian (b. 1803)
- 1930 – John DeWitt, American hammer thrower (b. 1881)
- 1930 – Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish ophthalmologist and optician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
- 1933 – Nishinoumi Kajirō III, Japanese sumo wrestler, 30th yokozuna (b. 1890)
- 1934 – Marie Dressler, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1868)
- 1934 – Louis Tancred, South African cricketer and pilot (b. 1876)
- 1935 – Meletius IV of Constantinople (b. 1871)
- 1942 – Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic (b. 1853)
- 1946 – Saint Alphonsa, first woman of Indian origin to be Canonization as a saint by the Catholic Church (b. 1910)
- 1957 – Edith Abbott, American economist, social worker, and educator (b. 1876)
- 1957 – Isaac Heinemann, German-Israeli scholar and academic (b. 1876)
- 1965 – Edogawa Ranpo, Japanese author and critic (b. 1894)
- 1965 – Attallah Suheimat, Jordanian politician (b. 1875)
- 1967 – Karl W. Richter, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1942)
- 1968 – Otto Hahn, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- 1969 – Ramón Grau, Cuban physician and politician, 6th President of Cuba (b. 1882)
- 1969 – Frank Loesser, American composer (b. 1910)
- 1971 – Lawrence Moore Cosgrave, Canadian colonel and diplomat (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Myril Hoag, American baseball player (b. 1908)
- 1971 – Charles E. Pont, French-American minister and painter (b. 1898)
- 1972 – Helen Traubel, American soprano and actress (b. 1903)
- 1979 – Don Miller, American football player and coach (b. 1902)
- 1979 – Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader (b. 1898)
- 1980 – Rose Rand, Austrian-born American logician and philosopher (b. 1903)
- 1981 – Stanley Rother, American priest and missionary (b. 1935)
- 1982 – Keith Green, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1953)
- 1987 – Jack Renshaw, Australian politician, 31st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1909)
- 1990 – Jill Esmond, English actress (b. 1908)
- 1992 – Sulev Nõmmik, Estonian actor and director (b. 1931)
- 1993 – Stanley Woods, Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist and academic (b. 1908)
- 1997 – Rosalie Crutchley, English actress (b. 1920)
- 1997 – Seni Pramoj, Thai lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1905)
- 1998 – Zbigniew Herbert, Polish poet and author (b. 1924)
- 1998 – Lenny McLean, English boxer, actor, and author (b. 1949)
- 1998 – Consalvo Sanesi, Italian race car driver (b. 1911)
- 1999 – Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- 2000 – Abraham Pais, Dutch-American physicist and historian (b. 1918)
- 2001 – Ahmed Sofa, Bangladeshi poet, author, and critic (b. 1943)
- 2002 – Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
- 2003 – Valerie Goulding, Irish activist and politician (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Francis Crick, English biologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Tiziano Terzani, Italian journalist and author (b. 1938)
- 2006 – David Gemmell, English author (b. 1948)
- 2007 – Karl Gotch, Belgian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Jim LeRoy, American soldier and pilot (b. 1961)
- 2009 – Jim Johnson, American football player and coach (b. 1941)
- 2011 – Abdul Fatah Younis, Libyan general (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Colin Horsley, New Zealand-English pianist and educator (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Sepp Mayerl, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1937)
- 2012 – William F. Milliken Jr., American race car driver and engineer (b. 1911)
- 2013 – Mustafa Adrisi, Ugandan general and politician, 3rd Vice President of Uganda (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Eileen Brennan, American actress and singer (b. 1932)
- 2013. – Rita Reys, Dutch jazz singer (b. 1924)
- 2013 – William Scranton, American captain and politician, 13th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Ersilio Tonini, Italian cardinal (b. 1914)
- 2014 – Margot Adler, American journalist and author (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Alex Forbes, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Alakbar Mammadov, Azerbaijani footballer and manager (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Theodore Van Kirk, American soldier, pilot, and navigator (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Jan Kulczyk, Polish businessman (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Edward Natapei, Vanuatuan politician, 6th Prime Minister of Vanuatu (b. 1954)
- 2015 – Clive Rice, South African cricketer and coach (b. 1949)
- 2016 – Émile Derlin Zinsou, Beninese politician (b. 1918)
- 2016 – Mahasweta Devi, Indian Bengali fiction writer and socio-political activist (b. 1926)
- 2018 – Wanny van Gils, Dutch footballer (b. 1959)
Holidays and observances on July 28
- Christian feast day:
- Alphonsa Muttathupadathu (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)
- Botvid
- Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel, Henry Purcell (Episcopal Church commemoration)
- Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Schütz, George Frederick Handel (Lutheran commemoration)
- Nazarius and Celsus
- Pedro Poveda Castroverde
- Pope Innocent I
- Pope Victor I
- Samson of Dol
- July 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval (Canada)
- Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, while August 3 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before the first Monday in August (Bermuda)
- Fiestas Patrias, celebrates the independence of Peru from Spain by General José de San Martín in 1821.
- Liberation Day (San Marino)
- Ólavsøka Eve (Faroe Islands)
- World Hepatitis Day
-
July 18 in history
- 477 BC – Battle of the Cremera as part of the Roman–Etruscan Wars. Veii ambushes and defeats the Roman army.
- 387 BC– Roman-Gaulish Wars: Battle of the Allia: A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome.
- 362 – Roman–Persian Wars: Emperor Julian arrives at Antioch with a Roman expeditionary force (60,000 men) and stays there for nine months to launch a campaign against the Persian Empire.
- 452 – Sack of Aquileia: After an earlier defeat on the Catalaunian Plains, Attila lays siege to the metropolis of Aquileia and eventually destroys it.
- 645 – Chinese forces under general Li Shiji besiege the strategic fortress city of Anshi (Liaoning) during the Goguryeo–Tang War.
- 1195 – Battle of Alarcos: Almohad forces defeat the Castilian army of Alfonso VIII and force its retreat to Toledo.
- 1290 – King Edward I of England issues the Edict of Expulsion, banishing all Jews (numbering about 16,000) from England; this was Tisha B’Av on the Hebrew calendar, a day that commemorates many Jewish calamities.
- 1334 – The bishop of Florence blesses the first foundation stone for the new campanile (bell tower) of the Florence Cathedral, designed by the artist Giotto di Bondone.
- 1389 – France and England agree to the Truce of Leulinghem, inaugurating a 13-year peace, the longest period of sustained peace during the Hundred Years’ War.
- 1391 – Tokhtamysh–Timur war: Battle of the Kondurcha River: Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde in present-day southeast Russia.
- 1507 – In Brussels, Prince Charles I, is crowned Duke of Burgundy and Count of Flanders, a year after inheriting the title.
- 1555 – The College of Arms is reincorporated by Royal charter signed by Queen Mary I of England and King Philip II of Spain.
- 1806 – A gunpowder magazine explosion in Birgu, Malta, kills around 200 people.
- 1812 – The Treaties of Orebro end both the Anglo-Russian and Anglo-Swedish Wars.
- 1841 – Coronation of Emperor Pedro II of Brazil.
- 1857 – Louis Faidherbe, French governor of Senegal, arrives to relieve French forces at Kayes, effectively ending El Hajj Umar Tall’s war against the French.
- 1862 – First ascent of Dent Blanche, one of the highest summits in the Alps.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Fort Wagner: One of the first formal African American military units, the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, supported by several white regiments, attempts an unsuccessful assault on Confederate-held Battery Wagner.
- 1870 – The First Vatican Council decrees the dogma of papal infallibility.
- 1872 – The Ballot Act 1872 in the United Kingdom introduced the requirement that parliamentary and local government elections be held by secret ballot.
- 1914 – The U.S. Congress forms the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, giving official status to aircraft within the U.S. Army for the first time.
- 1925 – Adolf Hitler publishes Mein Kampf.
- 1936 – On the Spanish mainland, a faction of the army supported by fascists, rises up against the Second Spanish Republic in a coup d’etat starting the 3-year-long Civil War, resulting in the longest dictatorship in modern European history.
- 1942 – World War II: During the Beisfjord massacre in Norway, 15 Norwegian paramilitary guards help members of the SS to kill 288 political prisoners from Yugoslavia.
- 1942 – The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt Me 262 using its jet engines for the first time.
- 1944 – World War II: Hideki Tōjō resigns as Prime Minister of Japan because of numerous setbacks in the war effort.
- 1966 – Human spaceflight: Gemini 10 is launched from Cape Kennedy on a 70-hour mission that includes docking with an orbiting Agena target vehicle.
- 1966 – A racially charged incident in a bar sparks the six-day Hough riots in Cleveland, Ohio; 1,700 Ohio National Guard troops intervene to restore order.
- 1968 – Intel is founded in Mountain View, California.
- 1976 – Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
- 1982 – Two hundred sixty-eight Guatemalan campesinos (“peasants” or “country people”) are slain in the Plan de Sánchez massacre.
- 1984 – McDonald’s massacre in San Ysidro, California: In a fast-food restaurant, James Oliver Huberty opens fire, killing 21 people and injuring 19 others before being shot dead by police.
- 1992 – A picture of Les Horribles Cernettes was taken, which became the first ever photo posted to the World Wide Web.
- 1994 – The bombing of the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina (Argentine Jewish Community Center) in Buenos Aires kills 85 people (mostly Jewish) and injures 300.
- 1994 – Rwandan genocide: The Rwandan Patriotic Front takes control of Gisenyi and north western Rwanda, forcing the interim government into Zaire and ending the genocide.
- 1995 – On the Caribbean island of Montserrat, the Soufrière Hills volcano erupts. Over the course of several years, it devastates the island, destroying the capital, forcing most of the population to flee.
- 1996 – Storms provoke severe flooding on the Saguenay River, beginning one of Quebec’s costliest natural disasters ever.
- 1996 – Battle of Mullaitivu: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam capture the Sri Lanka Army’s base, killing over 1200 soldiers.
- 2012 – At least seven people are killed and 32 others are injured after a bomb explodes on an Israeli tour bus at Burgas Airport, Bulgaria.
- 2013 – The Government of Detroit, with up to $20 billion in debt, files for the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
- 2019 – A man sets fire to an anime studio in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, Japan, killing at 35 people and injuring dozens of others.
Births on July 18
- 1013 – Hermann of Reichenau, German composer, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1013)
- 1501 – Isabella of Austria, queen of Denmark (d. 1526)
- 1504 – Heinrich Bullinger, Swiss pastor and reformer (d. 1575)
- 1534 – Zacharius Ursinus, German theologian (d. 1583)
- 1552 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1612)
- 1634 – Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1695)
- 1659 – Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (d. 1743)
- 1670 – Giovanni Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1747)
- 1702 – Maria Clementina Sobieska, Polish noble (d. 1735)
- 1718 – Saverio Bettinelli, Italian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1808)
- 1720 – Gilbert White, English ornithologist and ecologist (d. 1793)
- 1724 – Maria Antonia of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (d. 1780)
- 1750 – Frederick Adolf, duke of Östergötland (d. 1803)
- 1796 – Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher and academic (d. 1879)
- 1811 – William Makepeace Thackeray, English author and poet (d. 1863)
- 1818 – Louis Gerhard De Geer, Swedish lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1896)
- 1821 – Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (d. 1910)
- 1837 – Vasil Levski, Bulgarian priest and activist (d. 1873)
- 1843 – Virgil Earp, American marshal (d. 1905)
- 1845 – Tristan Corbière, French poet (d. 1875)
- 1848 – W. G. Grace, English cricketer and physician (d. 1915)
- 1853 – Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
- 1861 – Kadambini Ganguly, Indian physician, one of the first Indian women to obtain a degree (d. 1923)
- 1864 – Philip Snowden, 1st Viscount Snowden, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1937)
- 1867 – Margaret Brown, American philanthropist and activist (d. 1932)
- 1871 – Giacomo Balla, Italian painter (d.1958)
- 1871 – Sada Yacco, Japanese actress and dancer (d. 1946)
- 1881 – Larry McLean, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1921)
- 1884 – Alberto di Jorio, Italian cardinal (d. 1979)
- 1886 – Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., American general (d. 1945)
- 1887 – Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian military officer and politician, Minister President of Norway (d. 1945)
- 1889 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (d. 1977)
- 1890 – Frank Forde, Australian educator and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1983)
- 1892 – Arthur Friedenreich, Brazilian footballer (d. 1969)
- 1893 – David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, Scottish peer, soldier and courtier (d. 1968)
- 1895 – Olga Spessivtseva, Russian-American ballerina (d. 1991)
- 1895 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (d. 1954)
- 1897 – Ernest Eldridge, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1935)
- 1898 – John Stuart, Scottish-English actor (d. 1979)
- 1899 – Ernst Scheller, German soldier and politician, 8th Mayor of Marburg (d. 1942)
- 1900 – Nathalie Sarraute, French lawyer and author (d. 1999)
- 1902 – Jessamyn West, American author (d. 1984)
- 1902 – Chill Wills, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1905 – Robert Elton Brooker, American business executive (d. 2000)
- 1906 – S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-American academic and politician (d. 1992)
- 1906 – Clifford Odets, American director, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1963)
- 1908 – Peace Pilgrim, American mystic and activist (d. 1981)
- 1908 – Lupe Vélez, Mexican-American actress and dancer (d. 1944)
- 1908 – Beatrice Aitchison, American mathematician, statistician, and transportation economist (d. 1997)
- 1909 – Bishnu Dey, Indian poet, critic, and academic (d. 1982)
- 1909 – Andrei Gromyko, Belarusian-Russian economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1989)
- 1909 – Mohammed Daoud Khan, Afghan commander and politician, 1st President of Afghanistan (d. 1978)
- 1909 – Harriet Nelson, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
- 1910 – Diptendu Pramanick, Indian businessman (d. 1989)
- 1910 – Mamadou Dia, Senegalese politician; 1st Prime Minister of Senegal (d. 2009)
- 1911 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1913 – Red Skelton, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
- 1914 – Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Oscar Heisserer, French footballer (d. 2004)
- 1915 – Carequinha, Brazilian clown and actor (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Roxana Cannon Arsht, American judge (d. 2003)
- 1915 – Louis Le Bailly, British Royal Navy officer (d. 2010)
- 1916 – Charles Kittel, American physicist (d. 2019)
- 1917 – Henri Salvador, French singer and guitarist (d. 2008)
- 1917 – Paul Streeten, Austrian-born British economics professor (d. 2019)
- 1918 – Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Lilia Dale, Italian actress
- 1920 – Eric Brandon, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1982)
- 1921 – Peter Austin, English brewer, founded Ringwood Brewery (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Aaron T. Beck, American psychiatrist and academic
- 1921 – John Glenn, American colonel, astronaut, and politician (d. 2016)
- 1921 – Richard Leacock, English-French director and producer (d. 2011)
- 1921 – Heinz Bennent, German actor (d. 2011)
- 1922 – Thomas Kuhn, American physicist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1996)
- 1923 – Jerome H. Lemelson, American engineer and businessman (d. 1997)
- 1923 – Michael Medwin, English actor (d. 2020)
- 1924 – Inge Sørensen, Danish swimmer (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Tullio Altamura, Italian actor
- 1925 – Shirley Strickland, Australian runner and hurdler (d. 2004)
- 1925 – Friedrich Zimmermann, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Raymond Jones, Australian Modernist architect
- 1925 – Windy McCall, American baseball relief pitcher (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Margaret Laurence, Canadian author and academic (d. 1987)
- 1926 – Nita Bieber, American actress (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Bernard Pons, French politician and medical doctor
- 1926 – Maunu Kurkvaara, Finnish film director and screenwriter
- 1927 – Mehdi Hassan, Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Kurt Masur, German conductor and educator (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Antonio García-Trevijano, Spanish republican, political activist, and author (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Keith MacDonald, Canadian politician
- 1927 – Anthony Mirra, American gangster, member of the Bonanno Crime Family (d. 1982)
- 1928 – Andrea Gallo, Italian priest and author (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Baddiewinkle, American internet personality
- 1929 – Dick Button, American figure skater and actor
- 1929 – Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, American R&B singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (d. 2000)
- 1932 – Robert Ellis Miller, American director and screenwriter (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Jean Yanne, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1933 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Russian poet and playwright (d. 2017)
- 1934 – Edward Bond, English director, playwright, and screenwriter
- 1934 – Darlene Conley, American actress (d. 2007)
- 1935 – Tenley Albright, American figure skater and physician
- 1935 – Jayendra Saraswathi, Indian guru, 69th Shankaracharya
- 1937 – Roald Hoffmann, Polish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (d. 2005)
- 1938 – John Connelly, English footballer (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Ian Stewart, Scottish keyboard player and manager (d. 1985)
- 1938 – Paul Verhoeven, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1939 – Brian Auger, English rock and jazz keyboard player
- 1939 – Dion DiMucci, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1939 – Jerry Moore, American football player and coach
- 1940 – James Brolin, American actor
- 1940 – Joe Torre, American baseball player and manager
- 1941 – Frank Farian, German songwriter and producer
- 1941 – Lonnie Mack, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Martha Reeves, American singer and politician
- 1942 – Giacinto Facchetti, Italian footballer (d. 2006)
- 1942 – Adolf Ogi, Swiss politician, 84th President of the Swiss Confederation
- 1943 – Joseph J. Ellis, American historian and author
- 1944 – David Hemery, English hurdler and author
- 1945 – Pat Doherty, Irish Republican politician
- 1946 – Kalpana Mohan, Indian actress
- 1946 – John Naughton, Scottish-Irish journalist, author, and academic
- 1947 – Steve Forbes, American publisher and politician
- 1948 – Carlos Colón Sr., Puerto Rican-American wrestler and promoter
- 1948 – Jeanne Córdova, American journalist and activist (d. 2016)
- 1948 – Graham Spanier, 16th President of Pennsylvania State University
- 1948 – Hartmut Michel, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1949 – Dennis Lillee, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1950 – Richard Branson, English businessman, founded Virgin Group
- 1950 – Jack Dongarra, American computer scientist and academic
- 1950 – Kostas Eleftherakis, Greek footballer
- 1950 – Glenn Hughes, American disco singer (Village People) and actor (d. 2001)
- 1950 – Jack Layton, Canadian political scientist, academic, and politician (d. 2011)
- 1950 – Mark Udall, American educator and politician
- 1951 – Elio Di Rupo, Belgian chemist, academic, and politician, 68th Prime Minister of Belgium
- 1951 – Margo Martindale, American actress
- 1954 – Ricky Skaggs, American singer-songwriter, mandolin player, and producer
- 1955 – Bernd Fasching, Austrian painter and sculptor
- 1957 – Nick Faldo, English golfer and sportscaster
- 1957 – Keith Levene, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1960 – Simon Heffer, English journalist and author
- 1961 – Elizabeth McGovern, American actress
- 1961 – Alan Pardew, English footballer and manager
- 1961 – Pasi Rautiainen, Finnish footballer, coach, and manager
- 1962 – Shaun Micallef, Australian comedian, producer, and screenwriter
- 1963 – Marc Girardelli, Austrian-Luxembourgian skier
- 1963 – Martín Torrijos, Panamanian economist and politician, 35th President of Panama
- 1964 – Wendy Williams, American talk show host
- 1965 – Vesselina Kasarova, Bulgarian soprano
- 1966 – Dan O’Brien, American decathlete and coach
- 1967 – Vin Diesel, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter1968 – Grant Bowler, New Zealand-Australian actor
- 1968 – Scott Gourley, Australian rugby player
- 1969 – Elizabeth Gilbert, American author
- 1969 – The Great Sasuke, Japanese wrestler and politician
- 1971 – Penny Hardaway, American basketball player and coach
- 1971 – Sukhwinder Singh, Indian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1974 – Alan Morrison, British poet
- 1975 – Torii Hunter, American baseball player
- 1975 – Daron Malakian, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1975 – M.I.A., English rapper and producer5
- 1976 – Elsa Pataky, Spanish actress
- 1976 – Go Soo-hee, South Korean actress
- 1977 – Alexander Morozevich, Russian chess player and author
- 1978 – Adabel Guerrero, Argentinian actress, singer, and dancer
- 1978 – Shane Horgan, Irish rugby player and sportscaster
- 1978 – Crystal Mangum, American murderer responsible for making false rape allegations in the Duke lacrosse case
- 1978 – Joo Sang-wook, South Korean actor
- 1978 – Ben Sheets, American baseball player and coach
- 1978 – Mélissa Theuriau, French journalist
- 1979 – Deion Branch, American football player
- 1979 – Joey Mercury, American wrestler and producer
- 1980 – Kristen Bell, American actress
- 1981 – Dennis Seidenberg, German ice hockey player
- 1982 – Ryan Cabrera, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1982 – Priyanka Chopra, Indian actress, singer, and film producer
- 1982 – Carlo Costly, Honduran footballer
- 1983 – Carlos Diogo, Uruguayan footballer
- 1983 – Aaron Gillespie, American singer-songwriter and drummer
- 1983 – Mikk Pahapill, Estonian decathlete
- 1983 – Jan Schlaudraff, German footballer
- 1985 – Chace Crawford, American actor
- 1985 – Panagiotis Lagos, Greek footballer
- 1985 – James Norton, English actor
- 1986 – Natalia Mikhailova, Russian ice dancer
- 1987 – Tontowi Ahmad, Indonesian badminton player
- 1988 – Änis Ben-Hatira, German-Tunisian footballer
- 1988 – César Villaluz, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Jamie Benn, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Sebastian Mielitz, German footballer
- 1989 – Yohan Mollo, French footballer
- 1993 – Lee Tae-min, South Korean singer and actor
- 1993 – Michael Lichaa, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Nilo Soares, East Timorese footballer
- 1997 – Noah Lyles, American sprinter
- 2001 – Agustina Roth, Argentine BMX rider
Deaths on July 18
- 707 – Emperor Monmu of Japan (b. 683)
- 715 – Muhammad bin Qasim, Umayyad general (b. 695)
- 912 – Zhu Wen, Chinese emperor (b. 852)
- 924 – Abu’l-Hasan Ali ibn al-Furat, Abbasid vizier (b. 855)
- 928 – Stephen II, patriarch of Constantinople
- 984 – Dietrich I, bishop of Metz
- 1100 – Godfrey of Bouillon, Frankish knight (b. 1016)
- 1185 – Stefan, first Archbishop of Uppsala (b. before 1143)
- 1194 – Guy of Lusignan, king consort of Jerusalem (b. c. 1150)
- 1232 – John de Braose, Marcher Lord of Bramber and Gower
- 1270 – Boniface of Savoy, Archbishop of Canterbury
- 1300 – Gerard Segarelli, Italian religious leader, founded the Apostolic Brethren (b. 1240)
- 1450 – Francis I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1414)
- 1488 – Alvise Cadamosto, Italian explorer (b. 1432)
- 1566 – Bartolomé de las Casas, Spanish bishop and historian (b. 1484)
- 1591 – Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer (b. 1550)
- 1608 – Joachim Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1546)
- 1610 – Caravaggio, Italian painter (b. 1571)
- 1639 – Bernard of Saxe-Weimar, German general (b. 1604)
- 1650 – Robert Levinz, English Royalist, hanged in London by Parliamentary forces as a spy (b. 1615)
- 1695 – Johannes Camphuys, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1634)
- 1698 – Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian and author (b. 1633)
- 1721 – Jean-Antoine Watteau, French painter (b. 1684)
- 1730 – François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy, French general (b. 1644)
- 1756 – Pieter Langendijk, Dutch poet and playwright (b. 1683)
- 1792 – John Paul Jones, Scottish-American admiral and diplomat (b. 1747)
- 1817 – Jane Austen, English novelist (b. 1775)
- 1837 – Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader (b. 1777)
- 1863 – Robert Gould Shaw, American colonel (b. 1837)
- 1872 – Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 26th President of Mexico (b. 1806)
- 1884 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist and academic (b. 1829)
- 1887 – Dorothea Dix, American social reformer and activist (b. 1802)
- 1890 – Lydia Becker, English journalist, author, and activist, co-founded the Women’s Suffrage Journal (b. 1827)
- 1892 – Thomas Cook, English travel agent, founded the Thomas Cook Group (b. 1808)
- 1899 – Horatio Alger, American novelist and journalist (b. 1832)
- 1916 – Benjamin C. Truman, American journalist and author (b. 1835)
- 1925 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (b. 1840)
- 1932 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French author and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (b. 1855)
- 1937 – Julian Bell, English poet and academic (b. 1908)
- 1938 – Marie of Romania (b. 1875)
- 1944 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1870)
- 1947 – Evald Tipner, Estonian footballer and ice hockey player (b. 1906)
- 1948 – Herman Gummerus, Finnish historian, academic, and politician (b. 1877)
- 1949 – Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer and educator (b. 1870)
- 1949 – Francisco Javier Arana, Guatemalan Army colonel and briefly Guatemalan head of state (b.1905)
- 1950 – Carl Clinton Van Doren, American critic and biographer (b. 1885)
- 1952 – Paul Saintenoy, Belgian architect and historian (b. 1862)
- 1954 – Machine Gun Kelly, American gangster (b. 1895)
- 1966 – Bobby Fuller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
- 1968 – Corneille Heymans, Belgian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
- 1969 – Mary Jo Kopechne, American educator and secretary (b. 1940)
- 1973 – Jack Hawkins, English actor (b. 1910)
- 1975 – Vaughn Bodē, American illustrator (b. 1941)
- 1981 – Sonja Branting-Westerståhl, Swedish lawyer (b. 1890)
- 1982 – Roman Jakobson, Russian–American linguist and theorist (b. 1896)
- 1984 – Lally Bowers, English actress (b. 1914)
- 1984 – Grigori Kromanov, Estonian director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 1987 – Gilberto Freyre, Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian, writer, painter, journalist and congressman (b. 1907)
- 1988 – Nico, German singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and actress (b. 1938)
- 1988 – Joly Braga Santos, Portuguese composer and conductor (b. 1924)
- 1989 – Donnie Moore, American baseball player (b. 1954)
- 1989 – Rebecca Schaeffer, American model and actress (b.1967)
- 1990 – Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1896)
- 1990 – Yun Posun, South Korean politician, 2nd President of South Korea (b. 1897)
- 2001 – Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
- 2002 – Metin Toker, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1924)
- 2004 – André Castelot, Belgian-French historian and author (b. 1911)
- 2004 – Émile Peynaud, French wine maker (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Amy Gillett, Australian cyclist and rower (b. 1976)
- 2005 – William Westmoreland, American general (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Henry Hewes, American theater writer (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Jerry Hadley, American tenor (b. 1952)
- 2007 – Kenji Miyamoto, Japanese politician (b. 1908)
- 2009 – Henry Allingham, English soldier (b. 1896)
- 2009 – Jill Balcon, English actress (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, Lithuanian-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1910)
- 2012 – Jean François-Poncet, French politician and diplomat, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Dawoud Rajiha, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense (b. 1947)
- 2012 – Assef Shawkat, Syrian general and politician (b. 1950)
- 2012 – Hasan Turkmani, Syrian general and politician, Syrian Minister of Defense (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Rajesh Khanna, Indian actor (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Vaali, Indian poet, songwriter, and actor (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and academic (b. 1953)
- 2014 – Andreas Biermann, German footballer (b. 1980)
- 2014 – João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Dietmar Schönherr, Austrian-Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Alex Rocco, American actor (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Jonathan Gold, American food critic (b. 1960)
- 2018 – Adrian Cronauer, American Radio personality (b. 1938)
Holidays and observances on July 18
- Christian feast day:
- Arnulf of Metz
- Bartolomé de las Casas (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Bruno of Segni
- Camillus de Lellis (optional memorial, United States only)
- Eadburh (or Edburga) of Bicester
- Elizabeth Ferard (Church of England)
- Frederick of Utrecht
- Goneri of Brittany
- Gundenis
- Marina of Aguas Santas
- Maternus of Milan
- Minnborinus of Cologne
- Pambo
- Philastrius (or Filaster)
- Symphorosa
- Teneu (or Theneva)
- Theodosia of Constantinople
- July 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Uruguay)
- Nelson Mandela International Day
-
July 10 in History
- 138 – Emperor Hadrian dies of heart failure at Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina.
- 645 – Isshi Incident: Prince Naka-no-Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari assassinate Soga no Iruka during a coup d’état at the imperial palace.
- 988 – The Norse King Glúniairn recognises Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, and agrees to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law; the event is considered to be the founding of the city of Dublin.
- 1086 – King Canute IV of Denmark is killed by rebellious peasants.
- 1212 – The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground.
- 1460 – Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, defeats the king’s Lancastrian forces and takes King Henry VI prisoner in the Battle of Northampton.
- 1499 – The Portuguese explorer Nicolau Coelho returns to Lisbon after discovering the sea route to India as a companion of Vasco da Gama.
- 1512 – The Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre commences with the capture of Goizueta.
- 1519 – Zhu Chenhao declares the Ming dynasty’s Zhengde Emperor a usurper, beginning the Prince of Ning rebellion, and leads his army north in an attempt to capture Nanjing.
- 1553 – Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England.
- 1584 – William I of Orange is assassinated in his home in Delft, Holland, by Balthasar Gérard.
- 1645 – English Civil War: The Battle of Langport takes place.
- 1778 – American Revolution: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.
- 1789 – Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Mackenzie River delta.
- 1806 – The Vellore Mutiny is the first instance of a mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company.
- 1832 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.
- 1850 – U.S. President Millard Fillmore is sworn in, a day after becoming president upon Zachary Taylor’s death.
- 1869 – Gävle, Sweden, is largely destroyed in a fire; 80% of its 10,000 residents are left homeless.
- 1877 – The then-villa of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, formally receives its city charter from the Royal Crown of Spain.
- 1882 – War of the Pacific: Chile suffers its last military defeat in the Battle of La Concepción when a garrison of 77 men is annihilated by a 1,300-strong Peruvian force, many of them armed with spears.
- 1883 – War of the Pacific: Chileans led by Alejandro Gorostiaga defeat Andrés Avelino Cáceres’s Peruvuan army at the Battle of Huamachuco, hastening the end of the war.
- 1890 – Wyoming is admitted as the 44th U.S. state.
- 1921 – Belfast’s Bloody Sunday: Sixteen people are killed and 161 houses destroyed during rioting and gun battles in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called “Monkey Trial” begins of John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
- 1927 – Kevin O’Higgins TD, Vice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State is assassinated by the IRA.
- 1938 – Howard Hughes begins a 91-hour airplane flight around the world that will set a new record.
- 1940 – World War II: The Vichy government is established in France.
- 1940 – World War II: Six days before Adolf Hitler issues his Directive 16 to the combined Wehrmacht armed forces for Operation Sea Lion, the Kanalkampf shipping attacks against British maritime convoys begin, in the leadup to initiating the Battle of Britain.
- 1941 – Jedwabne pogrom: Massacre of Polish Jews living in and near the village of Jedwabne.
- 1942 – World War II: An American pilot spots a downed, intact Mitsubishi A6M Zero on Akutan Island (the “Akutan Zero”) that the US Navy uses to learn the aircraft’s flight characteristics.
- 1943 – World War II: Operation Husky begins in Sicily.
- 1947 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah is recommended as the first Governor-General of Pakistan by the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee.
- 1951 – Korean War: Armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong.
- 1962 – Telstar, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.
- 1966 – The Chicago Freedom Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago. As many as 60,000 people attend.
- 1973 – The Bahamas gain full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations.
- 1976 – Four mercenaries (one American and three British) are executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial.
- 1978 – ABC World News Tonight premieres on ABC.
- 1978 – President Moktar Ould Daddah of Mauritania is ousted in a bloodless coup d’état.
- 1985 – The Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior is bombed and sunk in Auckland harbour by French DGSE agents, killing Fernando Pereira.
- 1985 – An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 stalls and crashes near Uchkuduk, Uzbekistan (then part of the Soviet Union), killing all 200 people on board in the USSR’s worst-ever airline disaster.
- 1991 – The South African cricket team is readmitted into the International Cricket Council following the end of Apartheid.
- 1991 – Boris Yeltsin takes office as the first elected President of Russia.
- 1992 – In Miami, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations.
- 1997 – In London, scientists report the findings of the DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton which supports the “out of Africa theory” of human evolution, placing an “African Eve” at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
- 1997 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, a member of Partido Popular (Spain), is kidnapped (and later murdered) in the Basque city of Ermua by ETA members, sparking widespread protests.
- 1998 – Catholic Church sexual abuse cases: The Diocese of Dallas agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by Rudolph Kos, a former priest.
- 1999 – In women’s association football, the United States defeated China in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl near Los Angeles to win the final match of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The final was watched by 90,185 spectators, which set a new world record for attendance at a women’s sporting event.
- 2000 – EADS, the world’s second-largest aerospace group is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA.
- 2002 – At a Sotheby’s auction, Peter Paul Rubens’s painting The Massacre of the Innocents is sold for £49.5 million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Thomson.
- 2005 – Hurricane Dennis slams into the Florida Panhandle, causing billions of dollars in damage.
- 2007 – Erden Eruç begins the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.
- 2008 – Former Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boškoski is acquitted of all war-crimes charges by a United Nations Tribunal.
- 2011 – Russian cruise ship Bulgaria sinks in Volga near Syukeyevo, Tatarstan, causing 122 deaths.
- 2017 – Iraqi Civil War: Mosul is declared fully liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
- 2019 – The last Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the line in Puebla, Mexico. The last of 5,961 “Special Edition” cars will be exhibited in a museum.
Births on July 10
- 1419 – Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (d. 1471)
- 1451 – James III of Scotland (d. 1488)
- 1501 – Cho Shik, Korean poet and scholar (d. 1572)
- 1509 – John Calvin, French pastor and theologian (d. 1564)
- 1515 – Francisco de Toledo, Viceroy of Peru (d. 1582)
- 1517 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal (d. 1571)
- 1533 – Antonio Possevino, Italian diplomat (d. 1611)
- 1592 – Pierre d’Hozier, French genealogist and historian (d. 1660)
- 1614 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, Irish-English politician (d. 1686)
- 1625 – Jean Herauld Gourville, French adventurer (d. 1703)
- 1638 – David Teniers III, Flemish painter (d. 1685)
- 1666 – John Ernest Grabe, German theologian and academic (d. 1711)
- 1682 – Roger Cotes, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1716)
- 1723 – William Blackstone, English lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1780)
- 1724 – Eva Ekeblad, Swedish noble and agronomist (d. 1786)
- 1752 – St. George Tucker, United States federal judge (d. 1827)
- 1792 – George M. Dallas, American lawyer and politician, 11th Vice President of the United States (d. 1864)
- 1802 – Robert Chambers, Scottish geologist and publisher, co-founded Chambers Harrap (d. 1871)
- 1804 – Emma Smith, American religious leader (d. 1879)
- 1809 – Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist and palaeontologist (d. 1889)
- 1823 – Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1908)
- 1830 – Camille Pissarro, Danish-French painter (d. 1903)
- 1832 – Alvan Graham Clark, American astronomer (d. 1897)
- 1835 – Henryk Wieniawski, Polish violinist and composer (d. 1880)
- 1839 – Adolphus Busch, German brewer, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (d. 1913)
- 1856 – Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American physicist and engineer (d. 1943)
- 1864 – Austin Chapman, Australian businessman and politician, 4th Australian Minister for Defence (d. 1926)
- 1867 – Prince Maximilian of Baden (d. 1929)
- 1871 – Marcel Proust, French novelist, critic, and essayist (d. 1922)
- 1874 – Sergey Konenkov, Russian sculptor (d. 1971)
- 1875 – Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (d. 1955)
- 1875 – Dezső Pattantyús-Ábrahám, Hungarian politician (d. 1973)
- 1877 – Ernst Bresslau, German zoologist (d. 1935)
- 1878 – Otto Freundlich, German painter and sculptor (d. 1943)
- 1882 – Ima Hogg, American society leader, philanthropist, patron and collector of the arts (d. 1975)
- 1883 – Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (d. 1948)
- 1883 – Hugo Raudsepp, Estonian playwright and politician (d. 1952)
- 1888 – Giorgio de Chirico, Greek-Italian painter and set designer (d. 1978)
- 1888 – Toyohiko Kagawa, Japanese evangelist, author, and activist (d. 1960)
- 1891 – Edith Quimby, American medical researcher and physicist (d. 1982)
- 1894 – Jimmy McHugh, American composer (d. 1969)
- 1895 – Carl Orff, German composer and educator (d. 1982)
- 1896 – Thérèse Casgrain, Canadian politician (d. 1981)
- 1897 – Legs Diamond, American gangster (d. 1931)
- 1897 – Karl Plagge, German general and engineer (d. 1957)
- 1898 – Renée Björling, Swedish actress (d. 1975)
- 1899 – John Gilbert, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1936)
- 1899 – Heiri Suter, Swiss cyclist (d. 1978)
- 1900 – Mitchell Parish, Lithuanian-American songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1900 – Sampson Sievers, Russian monk and mystic (d. 1979)
- 1902 – Kurt Alder, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1902 – Nicolás Guillén, Cuban poet, journalist, and activist (d. 1989)
- 1903 – Werner Best, German SS officer and jurist (d. 1989)
- 1903 – John Wyndham, English soldier and author (d. 1969)
- 1904 – Lili Damita, French-American actress (d. 1994)
- 1905 – Mildred Benson, American journalist and author (d. 2002)
- 1905 – Thomas Gomez, American actor (d. 1971)
- 1905 – Wolfram Sievers, German physician (d. 1948)
- 1907 – Blind Boy Fuller, American singer and guitarist (d. 1941)
- 1909 – Donald Sinclair, English lieutenant and businessman (d. 1981)
- 1911 – Terry-Thomas, English comedian and character actor (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Cootie Williams, American trumpeter and bandleader (d. 1985)
- 1913 – Salvador Espriu, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1985)
- 1914 – Joe Shuster, Canadian-American illustrator, co-created Superman (d. 1992)
- 1914 – Rempo Urip, Indonesian film director
- 1916 – Judith Jasmin, Canadian journalist (d. 1972)
- 1917 – Hugh Alexander, American baseball player and scout (d. 2000)
- 1917 – Reg Smythe, English cartoonist (d. 1998)
- 1918 – James Aldridge, Australian-English journalist and author (d. 2015)
- 1918 – Chuck Stevens, American baseball player (d. 2018)
- 1918 – Frank L. Lambert, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Occidental College (d. 2018)
- 1918 – Fred Wacker, American race driver and engineer (d. 1998)
- 1919 – Pierre Gamarra, French author, poet, and critic (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Ian Wallace, English actor and singer (d. 2009)
- 1920 – David Brinkley, American journalist (d. 2003)
- 1920 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
- 1920 – Cyril Grant, English footballer (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the Smiley (d. 2001)
- 1921 – Jeff Donnell, American actress (d. 1988)
- 1921 – John K. Singlaub, U.S Army Major General
- 1921 – Eunice Kennedy Shriver, American activist, co-founded the Special Olympics (d. 2009)
- 1922 – Jean Kerr, American author and playwright (d. 2003)
- 1922 – Herb McKenley, Jamaican sprinter (d. 2007)
- 1922 – Jake LaMotta, American boxer and actor (d. 2017)
- 1923 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (d. 2001)
- 1923 – John Bradley, American soldier (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Suzanne Cloutier, Canadian actress and producer (d. 2003)
- 1923 – G. A. Kulkarni, Indian author and academic (d. 1987)
- 1924 – Johnny Bach, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Bobo Brazil, American wrestler (d. 1998)
- 1925 – Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysian physician and politician, 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia
- 1925 – Ernest Bertrand Boland, American Roman Catholic bishop
- 1926 – Carleton Carpenter, American actor, magician, songwriter, and novelist
- 1926 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1927 – Grigory Barenblatt, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2018)
- 1927 – David Dinkins, American soldier and politician, 106th Mayor of New York City
- 1927 – William Smithers, American actor
- 1928 – Don Bolles, American investigative reporter (d. 1976)
- 1928 – Bernard Buffet, French painter and illustrator (d. 1999)
- 1928 – Alejandro de Tomaso, Argentinian-Italian race car driver and businessman, founded De Tomaso (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Moshe Greenberg, American-Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 2010)
- 1928 – John Glenn, American baseball player
- 1929 – Winnie Ewing, Scottish lawyer and politician
- 1929 – George Clayton Johnson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Moe Norman, Canadian golfer (d. 2004)
- 1929 – José Vicente Rangel, Venezuelan politician; 21st Vice President of Venezuela
- 1930 – Bruce Boa, Canadian actor (d. 2004)
- 1930 – Janette Sherman, American physician, author, and pioneer in occupational and environmental health (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Josephine Veasey, English soprano and actress
- 1931 – Nick Adams, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
- 1931 – Jerry Herman, American composer and songwriter (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Julian May, American author (d. 2017)
- 1931 – Alice Munro, Canadian short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1932 – Carlo Maria Abate, Italian race car driver (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Neile Adams, Filipino-American actress, singer and dancer
- 1932 – Manfred Preußger, German athlete
- 1933 – Jumpin’ Gene Simmons, American rockabilly singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
- 1933 – C.K. Yang, Taiwanese decathlete and pole vaulter (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Marshall Brodien, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1934 – Jerry Nelson, American puppeteer and voice actor (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Tura Satana, American actress and dancer (d. 2011)
- 1935 – Wilson Tuckey, Australian politician
- 1935 – Margaret McEntee, American Catholic religious sister and educator
- 1935 – Wilson Whineray, New Zealand rugby player and businessman (d. 2012)
- 1936 – Herbert Boyer, American businessman, co-founded Genentech
- 1936 – Tunne Kelam, Estonian journalist and politician
- 1937 – Edwards Barham, American farmer and politician (d. 2014)
- 1937 – Gun Svensson, Swedish politician
- 1938 – Paul Andreu, French architect (d. 2018)
- 1938 – Lee Morgan, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1972)
- 1939 – Phil Kelly, Irish-English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Turkish political scientist, journalist and educator (d. 1999)
- 1939 – Mavis Staples, American singer
- 1940 – Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai, Indian-English economist and politician
- 1940 – Helen Donath, American soprano and actress
- 1940 – Brian Priestley, English pianist and composer
- 1940 – Keith Stackpole, Australian cricketer
- 1941 – Jake Eberts, Canadian film producer (d. 2012)
- 1941 – David G. Hartwell, American anthologist, author, and critic (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Robert Pine, American actor and director
- 1941 – Ian Whitcomb, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1942 – Ronnie James Dio, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
- 1942 – Pyotr Klimuk, Belarusian general, pilot, and astronaut
- 1942 – Sixto Rodriguez, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 – Lopo do Nascimento, Angolan politician; 1st Prime Minister of Angola
- 1943 – Arthur Ashe, American tennis player and journalist (d. 1993)
- 1943 – Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika, Zambian politician
- 1943 – Jerry Miller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1944 – Mick Grant, English motorcycle racer
- 1944 – Norman Hammond, English archaeologist and academic
- 1945 – Ron Glass, American actor (d. 2016)
- 1945 – Hal McRae, American baseball player and manager
- 1945 – John Motson, English sportscaster
- 1945 – Jean-Marie Poiré, French director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1945 – Virginia Wade, English tennis player and sportscaster
- 1946 – Jean-Pierre Jarier, French racing driver
- 1946 – Chin Han, Taiwanese actor
- 1947 – Arlo Guthrie, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1948 – Ronnie Cutrone, American painter (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Chico Resch, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1948 – Natalya Sedykh, Russian figure skater, ballet dancer, actor
- 1949 – Anna Czerwińska, Polish mountaineer and author
- 1949 – Sunil Gavaskar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1949 – Greg Kihn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1949 – John Whitehead, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
- 1950 – Tony Baldry, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, British Minister of State for Agriculture
- 1950 – Prokopis Pavlopoulos, President of Greece, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
- 1951 – Cheryl Wheeler, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Rajnath Singh, Indian Politician and Union Home Minister of India
- 1952 – Kim Mitchell, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1952 – Peter van Heemst, Dutch politician
- 1953 – Rik Emmett, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1953 – Zoogz Rift, American musician and wrestler (d. 2011)
- 1954 – Tommy Bowden, American football player and coach
- 1954 – Andre Dawson, American baseball player
- 1954 – Neil Tennant, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1955 – Nic Dakin, English educator and politician
- 1955 – Geoff Gerard, Australian rugby league player
- 1956 – Tom McClintock, American lawyer and politician
- 1956 – K. Rajagopal, Malaysian football manager
- 1957 – Derry Grehan, Canadian rock guitarist and songwriter
- 1958 – Béla Fleck, American banjo player and songwriter
- 1958 – Fiona Shaw, Irish actress and director
- 1959 – Ellen Kuras, American director and cinematographer
- 1959 – Sandy West, American singer-songwriter and drummer (d. 2006)
- 1961 – Jacky Cheung, Hong Kong singer and film actor
- 1961 – Marc Riley, English guitarist (The Fall), radio DJ
- 1963 – Ian Lougher, Welsh motorcycle racer
- 1964 – Martin Laurendeau, Canadian tennis player and coach
- 1964 – Urban Meyer, American football player and coach
- 1964 – Wilfried Peeters, Belgian cyclist
- 1965 – Scott McCarron, American golfer
- 1965 – Ken Mellons, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1966 – Clive Efford, English politician
- 1966 – Johnny Grunge, American wrestler (d. 2006)
- 1966 – Christian Stangl, Austrian skier and mountaineer
- 1966 – Anna Bråkenhielm, Swedish business executive
- 1967 – Tom Meents, American professional monster truck driver
- 1967 – Rebekah Del Rio, American singer-songwriter
- 1967 – Gillian Tett, English journalist and author
- 1967 – Ikki Sawamura, Japanese model, actor and television presenter
- 1967 – John Yoo, South Korean-American lawyer, author, and educator
- 1969 – Marty Cordova, American baseball player
- 1969 – Gale Harold, American actor
- 1970 – Gary LeVox, American singer-songwriter
- 1970 – Jason Orange, English singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1970 – John Simm, English actor
- 1971 – Adam Foote, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1971 – Gregory Goodridge, Barbadian footballer and coach
- 1972 – Peter Serafinowicz, English actor
- 1972 – Sofía Vergara, Colombian-American actress and producer
- 1972 – Tilo Wolff, German-Swiss singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1974 – Imelda May, Irish singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
- 1975 – Andrew Firestone, American businessman
- 1975 – Brendan Gaughan, American race car driver
- 1975 – Alain Nasreddine, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1975 – Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor (d. 2018)
- 1975 – Richard Westbrook, English race car driver
- 1976 – Edmílson, Brazilian footballer
- 1976 – Elijah Blue Allman, American singer and guitarist
- 1976 – Ludovic Giuly, French footballer
- 1976 – Adrian Grenier, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1976 – Brendon Lade, Australian footballer and coach
- 1976 – Lars Ricken, German footballer
- 1977 – Chiwetel Ejiofor, English actor
- 1979 – Mvondo Atangana, Cameroon footballer
- 1979 – Gong Yoo, Korean actor
- 1980 – Alejandro Millán, Mexican singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1980 – Adam Petty, American race car driver (d. 2000)
- 1980 – Claudia Leitte, Brazilian singer-songwriter
- 1980 – James Rolfe, American actor, director, and producer
- 1980 – Jessica Simpson, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer
- 1981 – Aleksandar Tunchev, Bulgarian footballer
- 1982 – Alex Arrowsmith, American guitarist and producer
- 1982 – Juliya Chernetsky, Ukrainian-American television host
- 1982 – Sebastian Mila, Polish footballer
- 1982 – Jeffrey Walker, Australian actor and director
- 1983 – Giuseppe De Feudis, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Matthew Egan, Australian footballer
- 1983 – Gabi, Spanish footballer
- 1983 – Kim Hee-chul, Korean entertainer
- 1983 – Joelson José Inácio, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Doug Kramer, Filipino basketball player
- 1983 – Anthony Watmough, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Nikolaos Mitrou, Greek footballer
- 1985 – Park Chu-young, South Korean footballer
- 1985 – B. J. Crombeen, American ice hockey player
- 1985 – Mario Gómez, German footballer
- 1988 – Antonio Brown, American football player
- 1988 – Heather Hemmens, American actress, director, and producer
- 1988 – Sarah Walker, New Zealand BMX rider
- 1990 – Adam Reynolds, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Trent Richardson, American footballer
- 1990 – Chiyonokuni Toshiki, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1991 – Daishōmaru Shōgo, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1999 – April Ivy, Portuguese composer and singer
- 2001 – Isabela Moner, American actress
Deaths on July 10
- 138 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (b. 76)
- 645 – Soga no Iruka, Japanese politician
- 649 – Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 598)
- 772 – Amalberga of Temse, Frankish noblewoman
- 831 – Zubaidah bint Ja`far, Abbasid Princess
- 983 – Benedict VII, pope of the Catholic Church
- 994 – Leopold I, margrave of Austria
- 1086 – Canute IV, king of Denmark (b. 1043)
- 1103 – Eric I, king of Denmark (b. 1060)
- 1290 – Ladislaus IV, king of Hungaria (b. 1262)
- 1460 – Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English commander and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1402)
- 1460 – John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, English nobleman (b. c. 1413)
- 1461 – Thomas, king of Bosnia (b. 1411)
- 1473 – James II, king of Cyprus
- 1480 – René of Anjou, French nobleman (b. 1400)
- 1510 – Catherine Cornaro, queen of Cyprus (b. 1454)
- 1576 – Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo, Italian noble (b. 1553)
- 1559 – Henry II, king of France (b. 1519)
- 1584 – William I, Dutch nobleman (b. 1533)
- 1590 – Charles II, archduke of Austria (b. 1540)
- 1594 – Paolo Bellasio, Italian organist and composer (b. 1554)
- 1603 – Joan Terès i Borrull, Spanish archbishop and academic (b. 1538)
- 1621 – Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, French commander (b. 1571)
- 1653 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (b. 1600)
- 1680 – Louis Moréri, French priest and scholar (b. 1643)
- 1683 – François Eudes de Mézeray, French historian and author (b. 1610)
- 1686 – John Fell, English bishop and academic (b. 1625)
- 1776 – Richard Peters, English lawyer and minister (b. 1704)
- 1794 – Gaspard de Bernard de Marigny, French general (b. 1754)
- 1806 – George Stubbs, English painter and academic (b. 1724)
- 1851 – Louis Daguerre, French photographer and physicist, invented the daguerreotype (b. 1787)
- 1863 – Clement Clarke Moore, American author and educator (b. 1779)
- 1881 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect and academic (b. 1812)
- 1884 – Paul Morphy, American chess player (b. 1837)
- 1908 – Phoebe Knapp, American organist and composer (b. 1839)
- 1915 – Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Dutch painter (b. 1831)
- 1920 – John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, British admiral (b. 1841)
- 1929 – Ève Lavallière, French actress (b. 1866)
- 1941 – Jelly Roll Morton, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1890)
- 1941 – Huntley Wright, English actor (b. 1868)
- 1950 – Richard Maury, American-Argentinian engineer (b. 1882)
- 1952 – Rued Langgaard, Danish organist and composer (b. 1893)
- 1954 – Calogero Vizzini, Italian mob boss (b. 1877)
- 1956 – Joe Giard, American baseball player (b. 1898)
- 1960 – Sæbjørn Buttedahl, Norwegian actor and sculptor (b. 1876)
- 1962 – Yehuda Leib Maimon, Israeli rabbi and politician (b. 1875)
- 1963 – Teddy Wakelam, English rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1893)
- 1970 – Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic academic and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1908)
- 1971 – Laurent Dauthuille, French boxer (b. 1924)
- 1972 – Lovie Austin, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1887)
- 1978 – John D. Rockefeller III, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Asia Society (b. 1906)
- 1979 – Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (b. 1894)
- 1980 – Joseph Krumgold, American author and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 1985 – Fernando Pereira, Dutch photographer (b. 1950)
- 1986 – Tadeusz Piotrowski, Polish mountaineer and author (b. 1940)
- 1987 – John Hammond, American record producer, critic, and activist (b. 1910)
- 1989 – Mel Blanc, American voice actor (b. 1908)
- 1993 – Ruth Krauss, American author and poet (b. 1901)
- 1993 – Sam Rolfe, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
- 1995 – Mehmet Ali Aybar, Turkish lawyer and politician (b. 1908)
- 1996 – Eno Raud, Estonian author (b. 1928)
- 2000 – Vakkom Majeed, Indian journalist and politician (b. 1909)
- 2002 – Jean-Pierre Côté, Canadian politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1926)
- 2002 – Evangelos Florakis, Greek general (b. 1943)
- 2002 – Laurence Janifer, American author (b. 1933)
- 2003 – Winston Graham, English author (b. 1908)
- 2003 – Hartley Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, German-English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1902)
- 2004 – Pati Behrs, Russian-American ballerina and actress (b. 1922)
- 2005 – A. J. Quinnell, English author (b. 1940)
- 2006 – Shamil Basayev, Chechen terrorist rebel leader (b. 1965)
- 2007 – Doug Marlette, American cartoonist and author (b. 1949)
- 2008 – Hiroaki Aoki, Japanese-American wrestler and businessman, founded Benihana (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Mike Souchak, American golfer (b. 1927)
- 2011 – Pierrette Alarie, Canadian soprano and educator (b. 1921)
- 2011 – Roland Petit, French dancer and choreographer (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Dolphy, Filipino actor, singer, and producer (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Peter Kyros, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Berthe Meijer, German-Dutch journalist and author (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Fritz Langanke, German lieutenant (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Viktor Suslin, Russian-German composer (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Philip Caldwell, American businessman (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Józef Gara, Polish poet and linguist (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Concha García Campoy, Spanish journalist (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Caroline Duby Glassman, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Ku Ok-hee, South Korean golfer (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Gokulananda Mahapatra, Indian author and academic (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Robert C. Broomfield, American lawyer and judge (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Juozas Kazickas, Lithuanian-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Paul G. Risser, American ecologist and academic (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Zohra Sehgal, Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1912)
- 2014 – Gloria Schweigerdt, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Roger Rees, Welsh-American actor and director (b. 1944)
- 2015 – Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Jon Vickers, Canadian tenor (b. 1926)
- 2016 – Katharina Focke, German politician (b. 1922)
- 2018 – Henry Morgenthau III, American author and television producer (b. 1917)
- 2020 – Lara van Ruijven, Dutch short track speed skater (b. 1992)
Holidays and observances on July 10
- Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)
- Christian feast day:
- Amalberga of Maubeuge
- Canute IV of Denmark
- Rufina and Secunda
- Seven Brothers
- Victoria, Anatolia, and Audax
- July 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Independence Day (Bahamas), celebrates the independence of the Bahamas from the United Kingdom in 1973.
- Nikola Tesla Day
- Statehood Day (Wyoming)
-
June 29 in History
- 226 – Cao Rui succeeds his father as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei.
- 1149 – Raymond of Poitiers is defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din Zangi.
- 1194 – Sverre is crowned King of Norway, leading to his excommunication by the Catholic Church and civil war.
- 1444 – Skanderbeg defeats an Ottoman invasion force at Torvioll.
- 1534 – Jacques Cartier is the first European to reach Prince Edward Island.
- 1613 – The Globe Theatre in London, built by William Shakespeare‘s playing company, the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, burns to the ground.
- 1644 – Charles I of England defeats a Parliamentarian detachment at the Battle of Cropredy Bridge.
- 1659 – At the Battle of Konotop the Ukrainian armies of Ivan Vyhovsky defeat the Russians led by Prince Trubetskoy.
- 1786 – Alexander Macdonell and over five hundred Roman Catholic highlanders leave Scotland to settle in Glengarry County, Ontario.
- 1807 – Russo-Turkish War: Admiral Dmitry Senyavin destroys the Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Athos.
- 1850 – Autocephaly officially granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Church of Greece.
- 1864 – At least 99 people, mostly German and Polish immigrants, are killed in Canada’s worst railway disaster after a train fails to stop for an open drawbridge and plunges into the Rivière Richelieu near St-Hilaire, Quebec.
- 1874 – Greek politician Charilaos Trikoupis publishes a manifesto in the Athens daily Kairoi entitled “Who’s to Blame?” leveling complaints against King George. Trikoupis is elected Prime Minister of Greece the next year.
- 1880 – France annexes Tahiti, renaming the independent Kingdom of Tahiti as “Etablissements de français de l’Océanie”.
- 1881 – In Sudan, Muhammad Ahmad declares himself to be the Mahdi, the messianic redeemer of Islam.
- 1888 – George Edward Gouraud records Handel’s Israel in Egypt onto a phonograph cylinder, thought for many years to be the oldest known recording of music.
- 1889 – Hyde Park and several other Illinois townships vote to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest United States city in area and second largest in population at the time.
- 1915 – The North Saskatchewan River flood of 1915 is the worst flood in Edmonton history.
- 1916 – British diplomat turned Irish nationalist Roger Casement is sentenced to death for his part in the Easter Rising.
- 1922 – France grants 1 km2 at Vimy Ridge “freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land exempt from all taxes”.
- 1927 – The Bird of Paradise, a U.S. Army Air Corps Fokker tri-motor, completes the first transpacific flight, from the mainland United States to Hawaii.
- 1945 – The Soviet Union annexes the Czechoslovak province of Carpathian Ruthenia.
- 1950 – Korean War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman authorizes a sea blockade of Korea.
- 1956 – The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 is signed by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, officially creating the United States Interstate Highway System.
- 1972 – The United States Supreme Court rules in the case Furman v. Georgia that arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
- 1974 – Vice President Isabel Perón assumes powers and duties as Acting President of Argentina, while her husband President Juan Peron is terminally ill.
- 1974 – Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union to Canada while on tour with the Kirov Ballet.
- 1975 – Steve Wozniak tested his first prototype of Apple I computer.
- 1976 – The Seychelles become independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1976 – The Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe convenes in East Berlin.
- 1987 – Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, the Le Pont de Trinquetaille, was bought for $20.4 million at an auction in London, England.
- 1995 – Space Shuttle program: STS-71 Mission (Atlantis) docks with the Russian space station Mir for the first time.
- 1995 – The Sampoong Department Store collapses in the Seocho District of Seoul, South Korea, killing 501 and injuring 937.
- 2002 – Naval clashes between South Korea and North Korea lead to the death of six South Korean sailors and sinking of a North Korean vessel.
- 2006 – Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that President George W. Bush’s plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violates U.S. and international law.
- 2007 – Apple Inc. releases its first mobile phone, the iPhone.
- 2012 – A derecho sweeps across the eastern United States, leaving at least 22 people dead and millions without power.
- 2014 – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant self-declared its caliphate in Syria and northern Iraq.
Births on June 29
- 1136 – Petronilla of Aragon (d. 1173)
- 1326 – Murad I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1389)
- 1398 – John II of Aragon and Navarre (d. 1479)
- 1443 – Anthony Browne, English knight (d. 1506)
- 1482 – Maria of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (d. 1517)
- 1488 – Pedro Pacheco de Villena, Catholic cardinal (d. 1560)
- 1517 – Rembert Dodoens, Flemish physician and botanist (d. 1585)
- 1525 – Peter Agricola, German humanist, theologian, diplomat and statesman (d. 1585)
- 1528 – Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1589)
- 1543 – Christine of Hesse, Duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1604)
- 1596 – Emperor Go-Mizunoo of Japan (d. 1680)
- 1621 – Willem van der Zaan, Dutch Admiral (d. 1669)
- 1686 – Pietro Paolo Troisi, Maltese artist (d. 1743)
- 1746 – Joachim Heinrich Campe, German linguist, author, and educator (d. 1818)
- 1768 – Vincenzo Dimech, Maltese sculptor (d. 1831)
- 1787 – Lavinia Stoddard, American poet, school founder (d. 1820)
- 1793 – Josef Ressel, Czech-Austrian inventor, invented the propeller (d. 1857)
- 1798 – Willibald Alexis, German author and poet (d. 1871)
- 1798 – Giacomo Leopardi, Italian poet and philosopher (d. 1837)
- 1801 – Frédéric Bastiat, French economist and theorist (d. 1850)
- 1803 – John Newton Brown, American minister and author (d. 1868)
- 1818 – Angelo Secchi, Italian astronomer and academic (d. 1878)
- 1819 – Thomas Dunn English, American poet, playwright, and politician (d. 1902)
- 1833 – Peter Waage, Norwegian chemist and academic (d. 1900)
- 1835 – Celia Thaxter, American poet and story writer (d. 1894)
- 1844 – Peter I of Serbia (d. 1921)
- 1849 – Pedro Montt, Chilean lawyer and politician, 15th President of Chile (d. 1910)
- 1849 – Sergei Witte, Russian politician, 1st Chairmen of Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire (d. 1915)
- 1849 – John Hunn, American businessman and politician, 51st Governor of Delaware (d. 1926)
- 1858 – George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer, co-designed the Panama Canal (d. 1928)
- 1858 – Julia Lathrop, American activist and politician (d. 1932)
- 1861 – William James Mayo, American physician and surgeon, co-founded the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939)
- 1863 – Wilbert Robinson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1934)
- 1866 – Bartholomeus Roodenburch, Dutch swimmer (d. 1939)
- 1868 – George Ellery Hale, American astronomer and journalist (d. 1938)
- 1870 – Joseph Carl Breil, American tenor, composer, and director (d. 1926)
- 1873 – Leo Frobenius, German ethnologist and archaeologist (d. 1938)
- 1879 – Benedetto Aloisi Masella, Italian cardinal (d. 1970)
- 1880 – Ludwig Beck, German general (d. 1944)
- 1881 – Harry Frazee, American director, producer, and agent (d. 1929)
- 1881 – Curt Sachs, German-American composer and musicologist (d. 1959)
- 1882 – Henry Hawtrey, English runner (d. 1961)
- 1882 – Franz Seldte, German captain and politician, Reich Minister for Labour (d. 1947)
- 1886 – Robert Schuman, Luxembourgian-French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1963)
- 1888 – Squizzy Taylor, Australian gangster (d. 1927)
- 1889 – Willie Macfarlane, Scottish-American golfer (d. 1961)
- 1890 – Robert Laurent, American sculptor and academic (d. 1970)
- 1890 – Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, Dutch supercentenarian (d. 2005)
- 1893 – Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, Indian economist and statistician (d. 1972)
- 1893 – Aarre Merikanto, Finnish composer and educator (d. 1958)
- 1897 – Fulgence Charpentier, Canadian journalist and publisher (d. 2001)
- 1898 – Yvonne Lefébure, French pianist and educator (d. 1986)
- 1900 – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French poet and pilot (d. 1944)
- 1901 – Nelson Eddy, American singer and actor (d. 1967)
- 1903 – Alan Blumlein, English engineer, developed the H2S radar (d. 1942)
- 1904 – Witold Hurewicz, Polish mathematician (d. 1956)
- 1906 – Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Ukrainian general (d. 1945)
- 1906 – Heinz Harmel, German general (d. 2000)
- 1908 – Leroy Anderson, American composer and conductor (d. 1975)
- 1908 – Erik Lundqvist, Swedish javelin thrower (d. 1963)
- 1910 – Frank Loesser, American composer and conductor (d. 1969)
- 1910 – Burgess Whitehead, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- 1911 – Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (d. 2004)
- 1911 – Katherine DeMille, Canadian-American actress (d. 1995)
- 1911 – Bernard Herrmann, American composer and conductor (d. 1975)
- 1912 – José Pablo Moncayo, Mexican pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1958)
- 1912 – Émile Peynaud, French oenologist and academic (d. 2004)
- 1912 – John Toland, American historian and author (d. 2004)
- 1913 – Earle Meadows, American pole vaulter (d. 1992)
- 1914 – Rafael Kubelík, Czech-American conductor and composer (d. 1996)
- 1914 – Christos Papakyriakopoulos, Greek-American mathematician and academic (d. 1976)
- 1916 – Ruth Warrick, American actress and activist (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Ling Yun, Chinese politician (d. 2018)
- 1918 – Heini Lohrer, Swiss ice hockey player (d. 2011)
- 1918 – Gene La Rocque, U.S admiral (d. 2016)
- 1918 – Francis W. Nye, United States Air Force major general (d. 2019)
- 1919 – Ernesto Corripio y Ahumada, Mexican cardinal (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Walter Babington Thomas, Commander of British Far East Land Forces (d. 2017)
- 1919 – Slim Pickens, American actor and rodeo performer (d. 1983)
- 1920 – César Rodríguez Álvarez, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1995)
- 1920 – Ray Harryhausen, American animator and producer (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Nicole Russell, Duchess of Bedford (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Frédéric Dard, French author and screenwriter (d. 2000)
- 1921 – Jean Kent, English actress (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Reinhard Mohn, German businessman (d. 2009)
- 1921 – Harry Schell, French-American race car driver (d. 1960)
- 1922 – Ralph Burns, American songwriter, bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and pianist (d. 2001)
- 1922 – Vasko Popa, Serbian poet and academic (d. 1991)
- 1922 – John William Vessey, Jr., American general (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Chou Wen-chung, Chinese-American composer and educator (d. 2019)
- 1924 – Ezra Laderman, American composer and educator (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Roy Walford, American pathologist and gerontologist (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Philip H. Hoff, American politician (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Francis S. Currey, American World War II Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Giorgio Napolitano, Italian journalist and politician, 11th President of Italy
- 1925 – Chan Parker, American dancer and author (d. 1999)
- 1925 – Jackie Lynn Taylor, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Cara Williams, American actress
- 1926 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler, 3rd Emir of Kuwait (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Julius W. Becton, Jr., U.S lieutenant general
- 1926 – Roger Stuart Bacon, Nova Scotia politician
- 1926 – Bobby Morgan, American professional baseball player
- 1927 – Pierre Perrault, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1927 – Marie Thérèse Killens, Canadian politician
- 1928 – Ian Bannen, Scottish actor (d. 1999)
- 1928 – Jean-Louis Pesch, French author and illustrator
- 1928 – Radius Prawiro, Indonesian economist and politician (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Pat Crawford Brown, American actress
- 1929 – Pete George, American weightlifter
- 1929 – Oriana Fallaci, Italian journalist and author (d. 2006)
- 1930 – Ernst Albrecht, German economist and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Robert Evans, American actor and producer (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Viola Léger, American-Canadian actress and politician
- 1930 – Sławomir Mrożek, Polish-French author and playwright (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Sevim Burak, Turkish author (d. 1983)
- 1932 – Brian Hutton, Baron Hutton, British jurist; Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
- 1933 – Bob Shaw, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
- 1933 – John Bradshaw, American theologian and author (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Corey Allen, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
- 1935 – Vassilis C. Constantakopoulos, Greek captain and businessman (d. 2011)
- 1935 – Katsuya Nomura, Japanese baseball player and manager
- 1936 – Harmon Killebrew, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2011)
- 1939 – Alan Connolly, Australian cricketer
- 1939 – Amarildo Tavares da Silveira, Brazilian footballer and coach
- 1940 – Vyacheslav Artyomov, Russian composer
- 1940 – John Dawes, Welsh rugby player and coach
- 1941 – John Boccabella, American baseball player
- 1941 – Stokely Carmichael, Trinidadian-American activist (d. 1998)
- 1942 – Charlotte Bingham, English author and screenwriter
- 1942 – Mike Willesee, Australian journalist and producer (d. 2019)
- 1943 – Little Eva, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1943 – Louis Nicollin, French entrepreneur and chairman of Montpellier HSC (d. 2017)
- 1944 – Gary Busey, American actor
- 1944 – Andreu Mas-Colell, Spanish economist, academic, and politician
- 1944 – Seán Patrick O’Malley, American cardinal
- 1945 – Chandrika Kumaratunga, Sri Lankan journalist and politician, 5th President of Sri Lanka
- 1946 – Ernesto Pérez Balladares, Panamanian politician, 33rd President of Panama
- 1946 – Egon von Fürstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (d. 2004)
- 1947 – Richard Lewis, American actor and screenwriter
- 1948 – Sean Bergin, South African-Dutch saxophonist and flute player (d. 2012)
- 1948 – Fred Grandy, American actor and politician
- 1948 – Ian Paice, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
- 1948 – Usha Prashar, Baroness Prashar, Kenyan-English politician
- 1949 – Dan Dierdorf, American football player and sportscaster
- 1949 – Joan Clos, Spanish anesthesiologist and politician, 116th Mayor of Barcelona
- 1949 – Ann Veneman, American lawyer and politician, 27th United States Secretary of Agriculture
- 1950 – Bobby London, American illustrator
- 1951 – Craig Sager, American sportscaster (d. 2016)
- 1953 – Don Dokken, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Colin Hay, Scottish-Australian singer and guitarist
- 1954 – Rick Honeycutt, American baseball player and coach
- 1954 – Leovegildo Lins da Gama Júnior, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1955 – Charles J. Precourt, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1956 – Nick Fry, English economist and businessman
- 1956 – David Burroughs Mattingly, American illustrator and painter
- 1956 – Pedro Guerrero, Dominican-American baseball player and manager
- 1956 – Pedro Santana Lopes, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 118th Prime Minister of Portugal
- 1956 – Pyotr Vasilevsky, Belarusian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1957 – Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Turkmen dentist and politician, 2nd President of Turkmenistan
- 1957 – María Conchita Alonso, Cuban-Venezuelan singer and actress
- 1957 – Robert Forster, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Michael Nutter, American politician, 98th Mayor of Philadelphia
- 1957 – Terry Wyatt, English physicist and academic
- 1958 – Dieter Althaus, German politician
- 1958 – Rosa Mota, Portuguese runner
- 1961 – Sharon Lawrence, American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1962 – Amanda Donohoe, English actress
- 1962 – Joan Laporta, Spanish lawyer and politician
- 1962 – George D. Zamka, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1963 – Anne-Sophie Mutter, German violinist
- 1964 – Stedman Pearson, English singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1965 – Tripp Eisen, American guitarist
- 1965 – Paul Jarvis, English cricketer
- 1966 – Yoko Kamio, Japanese author and comic artist
- 1967 – Jeff Burton, American race car driver
- 1967 – Melora Hardin, American actress and singer
- 1967 – Seamus McGarvey, Northern Irish cinematographer
- 1968 – Brian d’Arcy James, American actor and musician
- 1968 – Theoren Fleury, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 – Judith Hoag, American actress and educator
- 1969 – Claude Béchard, Canadian politician (d. 2010)
- 1969 – Pavlos Dermitzakis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1969 – Tōru Hashimoto, Japanese lawyer and politician
- 1970 – Melanie Paschke, German sprinter
- 1970 – Emily Skinner, American actress and singer
- 1971 – Matthew Good, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1973 – George Hincapie, American cyclist
- 1976 – Daniel Carlsson, Swedish race car driver
- 1976 – Bret McKenzie, New Zealand comedian, actor, musician, songwriter, and producer
- 1977 – Sotiris Liberopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1977 – Zuleikha Robinson, English actress
- 1978 – Nicole Scherzinger, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
- 1979 – Matthew Bode, Australian footballer
- 1979 – Andy O’Brien, English footballer
- 1979 – Marleen Veldhuis, Dutch swimmer
- 1980 – Katherine Jenkins, Welsh soprano and actress
- 1981 – Luke Branighan, Australian rugby league player
- 1981 – Joe Johnson, American basketball player
- 1981 – Nicolás Vuyovich, Argentinian race car driver (d. 2005)
- 1981 – Shmuly Yanklowitz, American rabbi, author, and educator
- 1982 – Dusty Hughes, American baseball player
- 1982 – Lily Rabe, American actress
- 1983 – Aundrea Fimbres, American singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1983 – Jeremy Powers, American cyclist
- 1984 – Aleksandr Shustov, Russian high jumper
- 1985 – Quintin Demps, American football player
- 1986 – José Manuel Jurado, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Edward Maya, Romanian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1988 – Éver Banega, Argentinian footballer
- 1990 – Kim Little, Scottish footballer
- 1990 – Yann M’Vila, French footballer
- 1991 – Suk Hyun-jun, South Korean footballer
- 1991 – Kawhi Leonard, American basketball player
- 1991 – Addison Timlin, American actress
- 1993 – Harrison Gilbertson, Australian actor
- 1994 – Camila Mendes, American actress and model
- 1996 – Joseph Manu, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1998 – Michael Porter Jr., American basketball player
- 2006 – Sam Lavagnino, American child voice actor
Deaths on June 29
- 226 – Cao Pi, Chinese emperor (b. 187)
- 884 – Yang Shili, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 976 – Gero, archbishop of Cologne
- 1059 – Bernard II, Duke of Saxony (b. 995)
- 1149 – Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch (b. 1115)
- 1153 – Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles
- 1252 – Abel, King of Denmark (b. 1218)
- 1293 – Henry of Ghent, philosopher (b. c.1217)
- 1315 – Ramon Llull, Spanish philosopher (b. 1235)
- 1344 – Joan of Savoy, duchess consort of Brittany, throne claimant of Savoy (b. 1310)
- 1374 – Jan Milíč of Kroměříž, Czech priest and reformer
- 1432 – Janus of Cyprus (b. 1375)
- 1509 – Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (b. 1443)
- 1520 – Moctezuma II, Aztec ruler (b. 1466)
- 1575 – Baba Nobuharu, Japanese samurai (b. 1515)
- 1594 – Niels Kaas, Danish politician, Chancellor of Denmark (b. 1535)
- 1626 – Scipione Cobelluzzi, Italian cardinal and archivist (b. 1564)
- 1646 – Laughlin Ó Cellaigh, Gaelic-Irish Lord
- 1725 – Arai Hakuseki, Japanese philosopher, academic, and politician (b. 1657)
- 1729 – Edward Taylor, American-English poet, pastor, and physician (b. circa 1642)
- 1744 – André Campra, French composer and conductor (b. 1660)
- 1764 – Ralph Allen, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1693)
- 1779 – Anton Raphael Mengs, German painter (b. 1728)
- 1831 – Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein, Prussian minister and politician (b. 1757)
- 1840 – Lucien Bonaparte, French prince (b. 1775)
- 1852 – Henry Clay, American lawyer and politician, 9th United States Secretary of State (b. 1777)
- 1853 – Adrien-Henri de Jussieu, French botanist and academic (b. 1797)
- 1855 – John Gorrie, American physician and humanitarian (b. 1803)
- 1860 – Thomas Addison, English physician and endocrinologist (b. 1793)
- 1861 – Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet and translator (b. 1806)
- 1873 – Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1824)
- 1875 – Ferdinand I of Austria (b. 1793)
- 1895 – Thomas Henry Huxley, English biologist (b. 1825)
- 1900 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1827)
- 1907 – Konstantinos Volanakis, Greek painter and academic (b. 1837)
- 1919 – José Gregorio Hernández Venezuelan physician and educator (b. 1864)
- 1931 – Nérée Beauchemin, Canadian poet and physician (b. 1850)
- 1933 – Roscoe Arbuckle, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1887)
- 1935 – Jack O’Neill, Irish-American baseball player and manager (b. 1873)
- 1936 – János Szlepecz, Slovene priest and missionary (b. 1872)
- 1940 – Paul Klee, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1879)
- 1941 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Polish pianist, composer, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1860)
- 1942 – Paul Troje, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1864)
- 1949 – Themistoklis Sofoulis, Greek politician, 115th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1860)
- 1955 – Max Pechstein, German painter and academic (b. 1881)
- 1960 – Frank Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1885)
- 1962 – Charles Lyon Chandler, American historian (b. 1883)
- 1964 – Eric Dolphy, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1928)
- 1967 – Primo Carnera, Italian boxer and actor (b. 1906)
- 1967 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress (b. 1933)
- 1969 – Moise Tshombe, Congolese accountant and politician, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1919)
- 1971 – Nestor Mesta Chayres, Mexican operatic tenor and bolero vocalist (b. 1908)
- 1975 – Tim Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1947)
- 1978 – Bob Crane, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1979 – Lowell George, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1945)
- 1980 – Jorge Basadre, Peruvian historian (b. 1903)
- 1981 – Russell Drysdale, English-Australian painter (b. 1912)
- 1982 – Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer, founded Balmain (b. 1914)
- 1982 – Henry King, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1886)
- 1986 – Frank Wise, Australian politician, 16th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1897)
- 1990 – Irving Wallace, American author and screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 1992 – Mohamed Boudiaf, Algerian soldier and politician, President of Algeria (b. 1919)
- 1993 – Héctor Lavoe, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
- 1994 – Kurt Eichhorn, German conductor and educator (b. 1908)
- 1995 – Lana Turner, American actress (b. 1921)
- 1997 – William Hickey, American actor (b. 1927)
- 1998 – Horst Jankowski, German pianist and composer (b. 1936)
- 1999 – Karekin I, Syrian-Armenian patriarch (b. 1950)
- 1999 – Allan Carr, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1937)
- 2000 – Vittorio Gassman, Italian actor and director (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (b. 1928)
- 2003 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (b. 1907)
- 2004 – Bernard Babior, American physician and biochemist (b. 1935)
- 2004 – Alvin Hamilton, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Fabián Bielinsky, Argentinian director and screenwriter (b. 1959)
- 2006 – Randy Walker, American football player and coach (b. 1954)
- 2007 – Fred Saberhagen, American soldier and author (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Joel Siegel, American journalist and critic (b. 1943)
- 2009 – Joe Bowman, American, target shooter and boot-maker (b. 1925)
- 2011 – K. D. Sethna, Indian poet, scholar, writer, philosopher, and cultural critic (b. 1904)
- 2012 – Yong Nyuk Lin, Singaporean politician, Singaporean Minister of Health (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Vincent Ostrom, American political scientist and academic (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Juan Reccius, Chilean triple jumper (b. 1911)
- 2012 – Floyd Temple, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Peter Fitzgerald, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Jack Gotta, American-Canadian football player, coach, and manager (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Margherita Hack, Italian astrophysicist and author (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Gilma Jiménez, Colombian politician (b. 1956)
- 2014 – Damian D’Oliveira, South African cricketer (b. 1960)
- 2014 – Dermot Healy, Irish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Hisham Barakat, Egyptian lawyer and judge (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Josef Masopust, Czech footballer and coach (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Charles Pasqua, French businessman and politician, French Minister of the Interior (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Jan Hettema, Springbok cyclist and five times South African National Rally Champion (b. 1933)
- 2017 – Louis Nicollin, French entrepreneur and chairman of Montpellier HSC from 1974 to his death (b. 1943)
- 2017 – Dave Semenko, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1957)
- 2018 – Steve Ditko, American comic writer and illustrator (b. 1927)
- 2020 – Carl Reiner, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
Holidays and observances on June 29
- Christian feast day:
- Cassius of Narni
- Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
- Haro Wine Festival (Haro, La Rioja)
- l-Imnarja (Malta)
- June 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Engineer’s Day (Ecuador)
- Independence Day (Seychelles), celebrates the independence of Seychelles from the United Kingdom in 1976.
- Veterans’ Day (Netherlands)
-
June 23 in History
- 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu.
- 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships.
- 1280 – The Spanish Reconquista: In the Battle of Moclín the Emirate of Granada ambush a superior pursuing force, killing most of them in a military disaster for the Kingdom of Castile.
- 1305 – A peace treaty between the Flemish and the French is signed at Athis-sur-Orge.
- 1314 – First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn (south of Stirling) begins.
- 1532 – Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France sign the “Treaty of Closer Amity With France” (also known as the Pommeraye treaty), pledging mutual aid against Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1565 – Dragut, commander of the Ottoman navy, dies during the Great Siege of Malta.
- 1594 – The Action of Faial, Azores. The Portuguese carrack Cinco Chagas, loaded with slaves and treasure, is attacked and sunk by English ships with only 13 survivors out of over 700 on board.
- 1611 – The mutinous crew of Henry Hudson’s fourth voyage sets Henry, his son and seven loyal crew members adrift in an open boat in what is now Hudson Bay; they are never heard from again.
- 1683 – William Penn signs a friendship treaty with Lenni Lenape Indians in Pennsylvania.
- 1713 – The French residents of Acadia are given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada.
- 1757 – Battle of Plassey: Three thousand British troops under Robert Clive defeat a 50,000-strong Indian army under Siraj ud-Daulah at Plassey.
- 1758 – Seven Years’ War: Battle of Krefeld: British, Hanoverian, and Prussian forces defeat French troops at Krefeld in Germany.
- 1760 – Seven Years’ War: Battle of Landeshut: Austria defeats Prussia.
- 1780 – American Revolution: Battle of Springfield fought in and around Springfield, New Jersey (including Short Hills, formerly of Springfield, now of Millburn Township).
- 1794 – Empress Catherine II of Russia grants Jews permission to settle in Kiev.
- 1810 – John Jacob Astor forms the Pacific Fur Company.
- 1812 – War of 1812: Great Britain revokes the restrictions on American commerce, thus eliminating one of the chief reasons for going to war.
- 1860 – The United States Congress establishes the Government Printing Office.
- 1865 – American Civil War: At Fort Towson in the Oklahoma Territory, Confederate Brigadier General Stand Watie surrenders the last significant Confederate army.
- 1868 – Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called the “Type-Writer”.
- 1887 – The Rocky Mountains Park Act becomes law in Canada creating the nation’s first national park, Banff National Park.
- 1894 – The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne in Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
- 1913 – Second Balkan War: The Greeks defeat the Bulgarians in the Battle of Doiran.
- 1914 – Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa takes Zacatecas from Victoriano Huerta.
- 1917 – In a game against the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ernie Shore retires 26 batters in a row after replacing Babe Ruth, who had been ejected for punching the umpire.
- 1919 – Estonian War of Independence: The decisive defeat of the Baltische Landeswehr in the Battle of Cēsis; this date is celebrated as Victory Day in Estonia.
- 1926 – The College Board administers the first SAT exam.
- 1931 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty take off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island in an attempt to circumnavigate the world in a single-engine plane.
- 1938 – The Civil Aeronautics Act is signed into law, forming the Civil Aeronautics Authority in the United States.
- 1940 – Adolf Hitler goes on a three-hour tour of the architecture of Paris with architect Albert Speer and sculptor Arno Breker in his only visit to the city.
- 1940 – Henry Larsen begins the first successful west-to-east navigation of Northwest Passage from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
- 1941 – The Lithuanian Activist Front declares independence from the Soviet Union and forms the Provisional Government of Lithuania; it lasts only briefly as the Nazis will occupy Lithuania a few weeks later.
- 1942 – World War II: Germany’s latest fighter aircraft, a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, is captured intact when it mistakenly lands at RAF Pembrey in Wales.
- 1946 – The 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake strikes Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
- 1947 – The United States Senate follows the United States House of Representatives in overriding U.S. President Harry S. Truman’s veto of the Taft–Hartley Act.
- 1951 – The ocean liner SS United States is christened and launched.
- 1956 – The French National Assembly takes the first step in creating the French Community by passing the Loi Cadre, transferring a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa.
- 1959 – Convicted Manhattan Project spy Klaus Fuchs is released after only nine years in prison and allowed to emigrate to Dresden, East Germany where he resumes a scientific career.
- 1960 – The United States Food and Drug Administration declares Enovid to be the first officially approved combined oral contraceptive pill in the world.
- 1961 – The Antarctic Treaty System, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and limits military activity on the continent, its islands and ice shelves, comes into force.
- 1967 – Cold War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin in Glassboro, New Jersey for the three-day Glassboro Summit Conference.
- 1969 – Warren E. Burger is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren.
- 1969 – IBM announces that effective January 1970 it will price its software and services separately from hardware thus creating the modern software industry.
- 1972 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about using the Central Intelligence Agency to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the Watergate break-ins.
- 1972 – Title IX of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended to prohibit sexual discrimination to any educational program receiving federal funds.
- 1973 – A fire at a house in Hull, England, which kills a six-year-old boy is passed off as an accident; it later emerges as the first of 26 deaths by fire caused over the next seven years by serial arsonist Peter Dinsdale.
- 1985 – A terrorist bomb explodes at Narita International Airport near Tokyo. An hour later, the same group detonates a second bomb aboard Air India Flight 182, bringing the Boeing 747 down off the coast of Ireland killing all 329 aboard.
- 1994 – NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility, a new state-of-the-art manufacturing building for the International Space Station, officially opens at Kennedy Space Center.
- 2001 – The 8.4 Mw southern Peru earthquake shakes coastal Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami followed, leaving at least 74 people dead, and 2,687 injured.
- 2012 – Ashton Eaton breaks the decathlon world record at the United States Olympic Trials.
- 2013 – Nik Wallenda becomes the first man to successfully walk across the Grand Canyon on a tight rope.
- 2013 – Militants stormed a high-altitude mountaineering base camp near Nanga Parbat in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan killing ten climbers, and a local guide.
- 2014 – The last of Syria’s declared chemical weapons are shipped out for destruction.
- 2016 – The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union, by 52% to 48%.
- 2017 – A series of terrorist attacks took place in Pakistan resulting in 96 deaths and wounded 200 others.
Births on June 23
- 47 BC – Caesarion, Egyptian king (d. 30 BC)
- 1385 – Stefan, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken (d. 1459)
- 1433 – Francis II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1488)
- 1456 – Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland (d. 1486)
- 1489 – Charles II, Duke of Savoy, Italian nobleman (d. 1496)
- 1534 – Oda Nobunaga, Japanese warlord (d. 1582)
- 1596 – Johan Banér, Swedish field marshal (d. 1641)
- 1616 – Shah Shuja, Mughal prince (d. 1661)
- 1625 – John Fell, English churchman and influential academic (d. 1686)
- 1668 – Giambattista Vico, Italian jurist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1744)
- 1683 – Étienne Fourmont, French orientalist and sinologist (d. 1745)
- 1711 – Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Italian instrument maker (d. 1786)
- 1716 – Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English lawyer and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales (d. 1789)
- 1750 – Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu, French geologist and academic (d. 1801)
- 1763 – Joséphine de Beauharnais, French wife of Napoleon I (d. 1814)
- 1799 – John Milton Bernhisel, American physician and politician (d. 1881)
- 1800 – Karol Marcinkowski, Polish physician and activist (d. 1846)
- 1824 – Carl Reinecke, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1910)
- 1843 – Paul Heinrich von Groth, German scientist (d. 1927)
- 1860 – Albert Giraud, Belgian poet and librarian (d. 1929)
- 1863 – Sándor Bródy, Hungarian author and journalist (d. 1924)
- 1877 – Norman Pritchard, Indian-English hurdler and actor (d. 1929)
- 1879 – Huda Sha’arawi, Egyptian feminist and journalist (d. 1947)
- 1884 – Cyclone Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player and politician (d. 1979)
- 1888 – Bronson M. Cutting, American publisher and politician (d. 1935)
- 1889 – Anna Akhmatova, Ukrainian-Russian poet and author (d. 1966)
- 1889 – Verena Holmes, English engineer (d. 1964)
- 1894 – Harold Barrowclough, New Zealand military leader, lawyer and Chief Justice (d. 1972)
- 1894 – Alfred Kinsey, American entomologist and sexologist (d. 1956)
- 1894 – Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom (d. 1972)
- 1899 – Amédée Gordini, Italian-born French race car driver and sports car manufacturer (d. 1979)
- 1900 – Blanche Noyes, American aviator, winner of the 1936 Bendix Trophy Race (d. 1981)
- 1901 – Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Turkish author, poet, and scholar (d. 1962)
- 1903 – Paul Martin Sr., Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1992)
- 1904 – Quintin McMillan, South African cricketer (d. 1938)
- 1905 – Jack Pickersgill, Canadian civil servant and politician, 35th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1997)
- 1906 – Tribhuvan of Nepal (d. 1955)
- 1907 – Dercy Gonçalves, Brazilian actress and singer (d. 2008)
- 1907 – James Meade, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
- 1909 – David Lewis, Russian-Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1981)
- 1909 – Georges Rouquier, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
- 1910 – Jean Anouilh, French playwright and screenwriter (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 2008)
- 1910 – Milt Hinton, American bassist and photographer (d. 2000)
- 1910 – Bill King, English commander and author (d. 2012)
- 1910 – Lawson Little, American golfer (d. 1968)
- 1912 – Alan Turing, English mathematician and computer scientist (d. 1954)
- 1913 – William P. Rogers, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Frances Gabe, American artist and inventor (d. 2016)
- 1916 – Len Hutton, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1990)
- 1916 – Irene Worth, American actress (d. 2002)
- 1916 – Al G. Wright, American bandleader and conductor
- 1919 – Mohamed Boudiaf, Algerian politician, President of Algeria (d. 1992)
- 1920 – Saleh Ajeery, Kuwaiti astronomer
- 1921 – Paul Findley, American politician (d. 2019)
- 1922 – Morris R. Jeppson, American lieutenant and physicist (d. 2010)
- 1922 – Hal Laycoe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1998)
- 1923 – Peter Corr, Irish-English footballer and manager (d. 2001)
- 1923 – Elroy Schwartz, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Doris Johnson, American politician
- 1923 – Jerry Rullo, American professional basketball player (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Giuseppina Tuissi, Italian communist and Partisan (d. 1945)
- 1924 – Frank Bolle, American comic-strip artist, comic-book artist, and illustrator (d. 2020)
- 1925 – Miriam Karlin, English actress (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Art Modell, American businessman (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Anna Chennault, Chinese widow of Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Lawson Soulsby, Baron Soulsby of Swaffham Prior, English microbiologist and parasitologist (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Magda Herzberger, Romanian author, poet and composer, a survivor of the Holocaust
- 1926 – Annette Mbaye d’Erneville, Senegalese writer
- 1926 – Arnaldo Pomodoro, Italian sculptor
- 1927 – Bob Fosse, American actor, dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
- 1927 – John Habgood, Baron Habgood, English archbishop (d. 2019)
- 1928 – Jean Cione, American baseball player (d. 2010)
- 1928 – Klaus von Dohnányi, German politician
- 1928 – Michael Shaara, American author and academic (d. 1988)
- 1929 – June Carter Cash, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress (d. 2003)
- 1929 – Mario Ghella, Italian racing cyclist
- 1930 – Donn F. Eisele, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1987)
- 1930 – John Elliott, English historian and academic
- 1930 – Francis Newall, 2nd Baron Newall, English businessman and politician
- 1930 – Anthony Thwaite, English poet, critic, and academic
- 1930 – Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny, former First Lady of Ivory Coast
- 1931 – Gunnar Uusi, Estonian chess player (d. 1981)
- 1931 – Ola Ullsten, Swedish politician and diplomat (d. 2018)
- 1932 – Peter Millett, Baron Millett, English lawyer and judge
- 1934 – Keith Sutton, English bishop (d. 2017)
- 1934 – Bill Torrey, Canadian businessman (d. 2018)
- 1934 – Virbhadra Singh, Indian politician
- 1935 – Maurice Ferré, Puerto Rican-American politician, 32nd Mayor of Miami
- 1935 – Keith Burkinshaw, English footballer and manager
- 1936 – Richard Bach, American novelist and essayist
- 1936 – Costas Simitis, Greek economist, lawyer, and politician, 180th Prime Minister of Greece
- 1937 – Martti Ahtisaari, Finnish captain and politician, 10th President of Finland, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Alan Haselhurst, English academic and politician
- 1937 – Niki Sullivan, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2004)
- 1939 – Scott Burton, American sculptor (d. 1989)
- 1940 – Adam Faith, English singer (d. 2003)
- 1940 – George Feigley, American sex cult leader and two-time prison escapee (d. 2009)
- 1940 – Derry Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
- 1940 – Wilma Rudolph, American runner (d. 1994)
- 1940 – Mike Shrimpton, New Zealand cricketer and coach (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Stuart Sutcliffe, Scottish painter and musician (d. 1962)
- 1940 – Diana Trask, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1941 – Robert Hunter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
- 1941 – Roger McDonald, Australian author and screenwriter
- 1941 – Keith Newton, English footballer (d. 1998)
- 1942 – Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, English cosmologist and astrophysicist
- 1943 – Patrick Bokanowski, French filmmaker
- 1943 – Ellyn Kaschak, American psychologist and academic
- 1943 – James Levine, American pianist and conductor
- 1945 – Kjell Albin Abrahamson, Swedish journalist and author
- 1945 – John Garang, Sudanese colonel and politician, President of Southern Sudan (d. 2005)
- 1946 – Julian Hipwood, English polo player and coach
- 1946 – Ted Shackelford, American actor
- 1947 – Bryan Brown, Australian actor and producer
- 1948 – Clarence Thomas, American lawyer and judge, United States Supreme Court Justice
- 1949 – Gordon Bray, Australian journalist and sportscaster
- 1949 – Sheila Noakes, Baroness Noakes, English accountant and politician
- 1951 – Angelo Falcón, Puerto Rican-American political scientist, activist, and academic, founded the National Institute for Latino Policy
- 1951 – Michèle Mouton, French race car driver and manager
- 1951 – Raj Babbar, Indian actor and politician
- 1953 – Armen Sarkissian, Armenian physicist, politician and current President of Armenia
- 1955 – Pierre Corbeil, Canadian dentist and politician
- 1955 – Glenn Danzig, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1955 – Jean Tigana, French footballer and manager
- 1956 – Daniel J. Drucker, Canadian academic and educator
- 1956 – Tony Hill, American football player and sportscaster
- 1956 – Randy Jackson, American bass player and producer
- 1957 – Dave Houghton, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
- 1957 – Frances McDormand, American actress, winner of the Triple Crown of Acting
- 1958 – John Hayes, English politician, Minister of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change
- 1960 – Donald Harrison, American saxophonist, composer, and producer
- 1960 – Tatsuya Uemura, Japanese composer and programmer
- 1961 – Richard Arnold, English lawyer and judge
- 1961 – Zoran Janjetov, Serbian singer and illustrator
- 1961 – LaSalle Thompson, American basketball player, coach, and manager
- 1962 – Chuck Billy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1963 – Colin Montgomerie, Scottish golfer
- 1964 – Nicolas Marceau, Canadian economist and politician
- 1964 – Tara Morice, Australian actress and singer
- 1964 – Joss Whedon, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1964 – Lou Yun, Chinese gymnast
- 1965 – Paul Arthurs, English guitarist
- 1965 – Sylvia Mathews Burwell, American government and non-profit executive
- 1965 – Peter O’Malley, Australian golfer
- 1966 – Chico DeBarge, American singer and pianist
- 1969 – Martin Klebba, American actor, producer, and stuntman
- 1970 – Robert Brooks, American football player
- 1970 – Martin Deschamps, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1970 – Yann Tiersen, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1971 – Fred Ewanuick, Canadian actor and producer
- 1971 – Félix Potvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1972 – Selma Blair, American actress
- 1972 – Louis Van Amstel, Dutch dancer and choreographer
- 1972 – Zinedine Zidane, French footballer and manager
- 1974 – Joel Edgerton, Australian actor
- 1974 – Mark Hendrickson, American basketball and baseball player
- 1975 – Kevin Dyson, American football player and coach
- 1975 – David Howell, English golfer
- 1975 – Mike James, American basketball player
- 1975 – KT Tunstall, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician
- 1976 – Wade Barrett, American soccer player and manager
- 1976 – Joe Becker, American guitarist and composer
- 1976 – Savvas Poursaitidis, Greek-Cypriot footballer and scout
- 1976 – Brandon Stokley, American football player
- 1976 – Paola Suárez, Argentinian tennis player
- 1976 – Emmanuelle Vaugier, Canadian actress and singer
- 1976 – Patrick Vieira, French footballer and manager
- 1977 – Miguel Ángel Angulo, Spanish footballer
- 1977 – Hayden Foxe, Australian footballer and manager
- 1977 – Jaan Jüris, Estonian ski jumper
- 1977 – Jason Mraz, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1977 – Shaun O’Hara, American football player and sportscaster
- 1978 – Memphis Bleek, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1978 – Frederic Leclercq, French heavy metal musician
- 1978 – Matt Light, American football player and sportscaster
- 1979 – LaDainian Tomlinson, American football player
- 1980 – Becky Cloonan, American author and illustrator
- 1980 – Melissa Rauch, American actress
- 1980 – Ramnaresh Sarwan, Guyanese cricketer
- 1980 – Francesca Schiavone, Italian tennis player
- 1981 – Antony Costa, English singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Rolf Wacha, German rugby player
- 1982 – Derek Boogaard, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2011)
- 1983 – Brooks Laich, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – José Manuel Rojas, Chilean footballer
- 1984 – Duffy, Welsh singer-songwriter and actress
- 1984 – Takeshi Matsuda, Japanese swimmer
- 1984 – Levern Spencer, Saint Lucian high jumper
- 1985 – Marcel Reece, American football player
- 1986 – Christy Altomare, American actress and singer songwriter
- 1987 – Alessia Filippi, Italian swimmer
- 1988 – Chet Faker, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Chellsie Memmel, American gymnast
- 1989 – Lisa Carrington, New Zealand flatwater canoeist
- 1989 – Jordan Nolan, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Clevid Dikamona, French footballer
- 1990 – Vasek Pospisil, Canadian tennis player
- 1990 – Laura Ràfols, Spanish footballer
- 1991 – Katie Armiger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1992 – Luiza Galiulina, Uzbekistani gymnast
- 1992 – Nampalys Mendy, French footballer
- 1993 – Tim Anderson, American baseball player
- 1993 – Marvin Grumann, German footballer
- 2004 – Alexandra Trusova, Russian figure skater
Deaths on June 23
- AD 79 – Vespasian, Roman emperor (b. AD 9)
- 679 – Æthelthryth, English saint (b. 636)
- 947 – Li Congyi, prince of Later Tang (b. 931)
- 947 – Wang, imperial consort of Later Tang
- 960 – Feng Yanji, chancellor of Southern Tang (b. 903)
- 994 – Lothair Udo I, count of Stade (b. 950)
- 1018 – Henry I, margrave of Austria
- 1137 – Adalbert of Mainz, German archbishop
- 1222 – Constance of Aragon, Hungarian queen (b. 1179)
- 1290 – Henryk IV Probus, duke of Wrocław and high duke of Kraków (b. c. 1258)
- 1314 – Henry de Bohun, English knight
- 1324 – Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (b. 1270)
- 1343 – Giacomo Gaetani Stefaneschi, Italian cardinal (b. c. 1270)
- 1356 – Margaret II, Holy Roman Empress (b. 1311)
- 1537 – Pedro de Mendoza, Spanish conquistador (b. 1487)
- 1565 – Dragut, Ottoman admiral (b. 1485)
- 1582 – Shimizu Muneharu, Japanese commander (b. 1537)
- 1615 – Mashita Nagamori, Japanese daimyō (b. 1545)
- 1677 – William Louis, duke of Württemberg (b. 1647)
- 1686 – William Coventry, English politician (b. 1628)
- 1707 – John Mill, English theologian and author (b. 1645)
- 1733 – Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, Swiss paleontologist and scholar (b. 1672)
- 1770 – Mark Akenside, English poet and physician (b. 1721)
- 1775 – Karl Ludwig von Pöllnitz, German adventurer and author (b. 1692)
- 1779 – Mikael Sehul, Ethiopian warlord (b. 1691)
- 1806 – Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French zoologist and philosopher (b. 1723)
- 1811 – Nicolau Tolentino de Almeida, Portuguese poet and author (b. 1740)
- 1832 – Sir James Hall, 4th Baronet, Scottish geologist and geophysicist (b. 1761)
- 1836 – James Mill, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (b. 1773)
- 1848 – Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este, Electress of Bavaria (b. 1776)
- 1856 – Ivan Kireyevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (b. 1806)
- 1881 – Matthias Jakob Schleiden, German botanist and academic (b. 1804)
- 1891 – Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist and academic (b. 1804)
- 1891 – Samuel Newitt Wood, American lawyer and politician (b. 1825)
- 1893 – William Fox, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1812)
- 1893 – Theophilus Shepstone, English-South African politician (b. 1817)
- 1914 – Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Indian guru and philosopher (b. 1838)
- 1945 – Giuseppina Tuissi, Italian journalist and activist (b. 1923)
- 1953 – Albert Gleizes, French painter (b. 1881)
- 1954 – Salih Omurtak, Turkish general (b. 1889)
- 1956 – Reinhold Glière, Russian composer and educator (b. 1875)
- 1959 – Boris Vian, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1920)
- 1959 – Hidir Lutfi, Iraqi poet. (b. 1880)
- 1969 – Volmari Iso-Hollo, Finnish runner (b. 1907)
- 1970 – Roscoe Turner, American soldier and pilot (b. 1895)
- 1973 – Gerry Birrell, Scottish race car driver (b. 1944)
- 1980 – Sanjay Gandhi, Indian engineer and politician (b. 1946)
- 1980 – Clyfford Still, American painter and academic (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Werner Best, German police officer and jurist (b. 1903)
- 1990 – Harindranath Chattopadhyay, Indian poet, actor, and politician (b. 1898)
- 1992 – Eric Andolsek, American football player (b. 1966)
- 1995 – Roger Grimsby, American journalist (b. 1928)
- 1995 – Jonas Salk, American biologist and physician (b. 1914)
- 1995 – Anatoli Tarasov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1918)
- 1996 – Andreas Papandreou, Greek economist and politician, 174th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1919)
- 1996 – Ray Lindwall, Australian cricketer and rugby player (b. 1921)
- 1997 – Betty Shabazz, American educator and activist (b. 1936)
- 1998 – Maureen O’Sullivan, Irish-American actress (b. 1911)
- 2000 – Peter Dubovský, Slovak footballer (b. 1972)
- 2002 – Pedro Alcázar, Panamanian boxer (b. 1975)
- 2005 – Shana Alexander, American journalist and author (b. 1926)
- 2005 – Manolis Anagnostakis, Greek poet and critic (b. 1925)
- 2006 – Aaron Spelling, American actor, producer, and screenwriter, founded Spelling Television (b. 1923)
- 2007 – Rod Beck, American baseball player (b. 1968)
- 2008 – Claudio Capone, Italian-Scottish actor (b. 1952)
- 2008 – Arthur Chung, Guyanese surveyor and politician, 1st President of Guyana (b. 1918)
- 2008 – Marian Glinka, Polish actor and bodybuilder (b. 1943)
- 2009 – Raymond Berthiaume, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1931)
- 2009 – Ed McMahon, American game show host and announcer (b. 1923)
- 2009 – Jerri Nielsen, American physician and explorer (b. 1952)
- 2010 – John Burton, Australian public servant and diplomat (b. 1915)
- 2011 – Peter Falk, American actor (b. 1927)
- 2011 – Dennis Marshall, Costa Rican footballer (b. 1985)
- 2011 – Fred Steiner, American composer and conductor (b. 1923)
- 2012 – James Durbin, English economist and statistician (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Brigitte Engerer, French pianist and educator (b. 1952)
- 2012 – Alan McDonald, Northern Ireland footballer and manager (b. 1963)
- 2012 – Frank Chee Willeto, American soldier and politician, 4th Vice President of the Navajo Nation (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Walter J. Zable, American football player and businessman, founded the Cubic Corporation (b. 1915)
- 2013 – Bobby Bland, American singer-songwriter (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Gary David Goldberg, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Frank Kelso, American admiral and politician, United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Kurt Leichtweiss, German mathematician and academic (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Darryl Read, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor (b. 1951)
- 2013 – Sharon Stouder, American swimmer (b. 1948)
- 2014 – Nancy Garden, American author (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Euros Lewis, Welsh cricketer (b. 1942)
- 2014 – Paula Kent Meehan, American businesswoman, co-founded Redken (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Miguel Facussé Barjum, Honduran businessman (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Nirmala Joshi, Indian nun, lawyer, and social worker (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Dick Van Patten, American actor (b. 1928)
- 2016 – Ralph Stanley, American singer and banjo player (b. 1927)
Holidays and observances on June 23
- Christian feast day:
- Æthelthryth
- Marie of Oignies
- Joseph Cafasso
- June 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Feast of Raḥmat can fall, while June 24 is the latest. (Bahá’í Faith)
- Father’s Day (Nicaragua, Poland)
- Grand Duke’s Official Birthday (Luxembourg)
- International Widows Day (international)
- National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism (Canada)
- Okinawa Memorial Day (Okinawa Prefecture)
- St John’s Eve and the first day of the Midsummer celebrations [although this is not the real summer solstice; see June 20] (Roman Catholic Church, Europe):
- Bonfires of Saint John (Spain)
- First night of Festa de São João do Porto (Porto)
- First day of Golowan Festival (Cornwall)
- Jaaniõhtu (Estonia)
- Jāņi (Latvia)
- Kupala Night (Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine)
- Last day of Drăgaica fair (Buzău, Romania)
- United Nations Public Service Day (International)
- Victory Day (Estonia)
-
June 11 in History
- 1184 BC – Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes.
- 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called “miracle of the rain”.
- 631 – Emperor Taizong of Tang sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of Chinese prisoners captured during the transition from Sui to Tang.
- 786 – A Hasanid Alid uprising in Mecca is crushed by the Abbasids at the Battle of Fakhkh.
- 980 – Vladimir the Great consolidates the Kievan realm from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea. He is proclaimed ruler (knyaz) of all Kievan Rus’.
- 1011 – Lombard Revolt: Greek citizens of Bari rise up against the Lombard rebels led by Melus and deliver the city to Basil Mesardonites, Byzantine governor (catepan) of the Catepanate of Italy.
- 1118 – Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, captures Azaz from the Seljuk Turks.
- 1157 – Albert I of Brandenburg, also called The Bear (Ger: Albrecht der Bär), becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany and the first margrave.
- 1345 – The megas doux Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners.
- 1429 – Hundred Years’ War: Start of the Battle of Jargeau.
- 1488 – Battle of Sauchieburn: Fought between rebel Lords and James III of Scotland, resulting in the death of the king.
- 1509 – Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.
- 1594 – Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paved way to the stabilization of the rule of the Principalía (an elite ruling class of native nobility in Spanish Philippines).
- 1748 – Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries.
- 1770 – British explorer Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
- 1775 – The American Revolutionary War’s first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel.
- 1776 – The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.
- 1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska.
- 1805 – A fire consumes large portions of Detroit in the Michigan Territory.
- 1825 – The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City.
- 1837 – The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between Yankees and Irish.
- 1865 – The Naval Battle of the Riachuelo is fought on the rivulet Riachuelo (Argentina), between the Paraguayan Navy on one side and the Brazilian Navy on the other. The Brazilian victory was crucial for the later success of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina) in the Paraguayan War.
- 1892 – The Limelight Department, one of the world’s first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia.
- 1895 – Paris–Bordeaux–Paris, sometimes called the first automobile race in history or the “first motor race”, takes place.
- 1898 – The Hundred Days’ Reform, a planned movement to reform social, political, and educational institutions in China, is started by the Guangxu Emperor, but is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days. (The failed reform led to the abolition of the Imperial examination in 1905.)
- 1901 – The boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand are extended by the UK to include the Cook Islands.
- 1903 – A group of Serbian officers stormed the royal palace and assassinated King Alexander Obrenović and his wife, Queen Draga.
- 1917 – King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father, Constantine I, abdicates under pressure from allied armies occupying Athens.
- 1919 – Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown.
- 1920 – During the U.S. Republican National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Republican Party leaders gathered in a room at the Blackstone Hotel to come to a consensus on their candidate for the U.S. presidential election, leading the Associated Press to coin the political phrase “smoke-filled room”.
- 1935 – Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States at Alpine, New Jersey.
- 1936 – The London International Surrealist Exhibition opens.
- 1937 – Great Purge: The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders.
- 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan starts.
- 1940 – World War II: The Siege of Malta begins with a series of Italian air raids.
- 1942 – World War II: The United States agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
- 1942 – Free French Forces retreat from Bir Hakeim after having successfully delayed the Axis advance.
- 1944 – USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the United States Navy and future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, is commissioned.
- 1955 – Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports.
- 1956 – Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. The total number of deaths is reportedly 150.
- 1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
- 1963 – American Civil Rights Movement: Governor of Alabama George Wallace defiantly stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.
- 1963 – Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.
- 1963 – John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which would revolutionize American society by guaranteeing equal access to public facilities, ending segregation in education, and guaranteeing federal protection for voting rights.
- 1964 – World War II veteran Walter Seifert attacks an elementary school in Cologne, Germany, killing at least eight children and two teachers and seriously injuring several more with a home-made flamethrower and a lance.
- 1968 – Lloyd J. Old identified the first cell surface antigens that could differentiate among different cell types.
- 1970 – After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army Generals, becoming the first women to do so.
- 1971 – The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control.
- 1978 – Altaf Hussain founds the student political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University.
- 1981 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000.
- 1987 – Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black MPs in Great Britain.
- 1998 – Compaq Computer pays US$9 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation in the largest high-tech acquisition.
- 2001 – Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2002 – Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
- 2004 – Cassini–Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe.
- 2007 – Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kill 130 people.
- 2008 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada’s First Nations in regard to abuses at a Canadian Indian residential school.
- 2008 – The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit.
- 2010 – The first African FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa.
- 2012 – More than 80 people die in a landslide triggered by two earthquakes in Afghanistan; an entire village is buried.
- 2013 – Greece’s public broadcaster ERT is shut down by then-prime minister Antonis Samaras. It reopened exactly two years later by then-prime minister Alexis Tsipras.
- 2018 – 3 World Trade Center officially opens.
Births on June 11
- 1403 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (d. 1427)
- 1431 – Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (d. 1456)
- 1456 – Anne Neville, Princess of Wales and Queen of England (d. 1485)
- 1540 – Barnabe Googe, English poet and translator (d. 1594)
- 1555 – Lodovico Zacconi, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1627)
- 1572 – Ben Jonson, English poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1637)
- 1585 – Evert Horn, Swedish soldier (d. 1615)
- 1588 – George Wither, English poet (d. 1667)
- 1620 – John Moore, English businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of London (d. 1702)
- 1655 – Antonio Cifrondi, Italian painter (d. 1730)
- 1662 – Tokugawa Ienobu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1712)
- 1672 – Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Italian priest and composer (d. 1749)
- 1690 – Giovanni Antonio Giay, Italian composer (d. 1764)
- 1696 – James Francis Edward Keith, Scottish-Prussian field marshal (d. 1758)
- 1697 – Francesco Antonio Vallotti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1780)
- 1704 – Carlos Seixas, Portuguese harpsichord player and composer (d. 1742)
- 1709 – Joachim Martin Falbe, German painter (d. 1782)
- 1712 – Benjamin Ingham, American missionary (d. 1772)
- 1723 – Johann Georg Palitzsch, German astronomer (d. 1788)
- 1726 – Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (d. 1746)
- 1741 – Joseph Warren, American physician and general (d. 1775)
- 1776 – John Constable, English painter and academic (d. 1837)
- 1797 – José Trinidad Reyes, Honduran philosopher and theorist (d. 1855)
- 1807 – James F. Schenck, American admiral (d. 1882)
- 1815 – Julia Margaret Cameron, Indian-Sri Lankan photographer (d. 1879)
- 1818 – Alexander Bain, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1903)
- 1829 – Edward Braddon, English-Australian politician, 18th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1904)
- 1832 – Lucy Pickens, American wife of Francis Wilkinson Pickens (d. 1899)
- 1842 – Carl von Linde, German engineer and academic (d. 1934)
- 1846 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (d. 1920)
- 1847 – Millicent Fawcett, English academic and activist (d. 1929)
- 1861 – Alexander Peacock, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Victoria (d. 1933)
- 1864 – Richard Strauss, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
- 1867 – Charles Fabry, French physicist and academic (d. 1945)
- 1871 – Stjepan Radić, Croatian lawyer and politician (d. 1928)
- 1876 – Alfred L. Kroeber, American-French anthropologist and ethnologist (d. 1960)
- 1877 – Renée Vivien, English-French poet and author (d. 1909)
- 1879 – Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player and manager (d. 1944)
- 1880 – Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (d. 1973)
- 1881 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (d. 1963)
- 1881 – Mordecai Kaplan, Lithuanian rabbi, founded Reconstructionist Judaism (d. 1983)
- 1888 – Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian-American anarchist and convicted criminal (d. 1927)
- 1889 – Hugo Wieslander, Swedish decathlete (d. 1976)
- 1894 – Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese businessman, founded Toyota (d. 1952)
- 1895 – Nikolai Bulganin, Soviet politician (d. 1975)
- 1897 – Ram Prasad Bismil, Indian activist, founded the Hindustan Republican Association (d. 1927)
- 1897 – Reg Latta, Australian rugby league player (d. 1970)
- 1899 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese novelist and short story writer Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
- 1901 – Cap Fear, Canadian football player and rower (d. 1978)
- 1901 – Benny Wearing, Australian rugby league player (d. 1968)
- 1902 – Eric Fraser, British illustrator and graphic designer (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Ernie Nevers, American football player and coach (d. 1976)
- 1908 – Karl Hein, German hammer thrower (d. 1982)
- 1908 – Francisco Marto, Portuguese saint (d. 1919)
- 1909 – Natascha Artin Brunswick, German-American mathematician and photographer (d. 2003)
- 1910 – Carmine Coppola, American flute player and composer (d. 1991)
- 1910 – Jacques Cousteau, French biologist, author, and inventor, co-developed the aqua-lung (d. 1997)
- 1912 – James Algar, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
- 1912 – William Baziotes, American painter and academic (d. 1963)
- 1912 – Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Iranian meteorologist and academic (d. 2012)
- 1913 – Vince Lombardi, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 1970)
- 1913 – Risë Stevens, American soprano and actress (d. 2013)
- 1914 – Jan Hendrik van den Berg, Dutch psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012)
- 1915 – Magda Gabor, Hungarian-American actress (d. 1997)
- 1915 – Nicholas Metropolis, American mathematician and physicist (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Joseph B. Wirthlin, American businessman and religious leader (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Ruth Aarons, American table tennis player and manager (d. 1980)
- 1919 – Suleiman Mousa, Jordanian historian and author (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Richard Todd, Irish-English actor (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Shelly Manne, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (d. 1984)
- 1920 – Hazel Scott, Trinidadian-American singer, actress, and pianist (d. 1981)
- 1920 – Keith Seaman, Australian lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of South Australia (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Jean Sutherland Boggs, Peruvian-Canadian historian, academic, and civil servant (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Michael Cacoyannis, Greek Cypriot director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Johnny Esaw, Canadian sportscaster (d. 2013)
- 1925 – William Styron, American novelist and essayist (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Carlisle Floyd, American composer and educator
- 1927 – Beryl Grey, English ballerina
- 1927 – John W. O’Malley, American Catholic historian, academic and Jesuit priest
- 1927 – Kit Pedler, English parapsychologist and author (d. 1981)
- 1928 – Queen Fabiola of Belgium (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Ayhan Şahenk, Turkish businessman (d. 2001)
- 1930 – Charles Rangel, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
- 1932 – Athol Fugard, South African-American actor, director, and playwright
- 1932 – Tim Sainsbury, English businessman and politician, Minister of State for Trade
- 1933 – Gene Wilder, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1937 – Chad Everett, American actor and director (d. 2012)
- 1937 – Robin Warren, Australian pathologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1939 – Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, English cricketer and journalist (d. 2017)
- 1939 – Jackie Stewart, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster
- 1942 – Parris Glendening, American politician, 59th Governor of Maryland
- 1943 – Henry Hill, American mobster (d. 2012)
- 1945 – Adrienne Barbeau, American actress
- 1947 – Richard Palmer-James, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1948 – Dave Cash, American baseball player and coach
- 1948 – Lalu Prasad Yadav, Indian politician, 20th Chief Minister of Bihar
- 1949 – Frank Beard, American drummer and songwriter
- 1950 – Lynsey de Paul, English singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, cartoonist and actress (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Graham Russell, English-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Matthew Engel, English journalist and author
- 1951 – Yasumasa Morimura, Japanese painter and photographer
- 1952 – Yekaterina Podkopayeva, Russian runner
- 1952 – Donnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Steve Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton, English politician
- 1953 – José Bové, French farmer and politician
- 1953 – Barbara Minty, American model
- 1954 – John Dyson, Australian cricketer
- 1954 – Johnny Neel, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1955 – Yuriy Sedykh, Ukrainian hammer thrower
- 1955 – Duncan Steel, English-Australian astronomer and author
- 1956 – Joe Montana, American football player and sportscaster
- 1956 – Simon Plouffe, Canadian mathematician and academic
- 1956 – Arthur Porter, Canadian physician and academic (d. 2015)
- 1956 – Jamaaladeen Tacuma, American bass player and bandleader
- 1958 – Barry Adamson, English singer and bass player
- 1959 – Hugh Laurie, English actor and screenwriter
- 1960 – Mehmet Oz, American surgeon, author, and television host
- 1962 – Mano Menezes, Brazilian footballer and coach
- 1963 – Gioia Bruno, American singer-songwriter
- 1963 – Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler and sportscaster (d. 2000)
- 1964 – Jean Alesi, French race car driver
- 1964 – Kim Gallagher, American runner (d. 2002)
- 1965 – Georgios Bartzokas, Greek former professional basketball player
- 1965 – Gavin Hill, New Zealand rugby player
- 1966 – Bruce Robison, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Graeme Bachop, New Zealand rugby player
- 1967 – João Garcia, Portuguese mountaineer
- 1968 – Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
- 1968 – Manoa Thompson, Fijian rugby player
- 1969 – Peter Dinklage, American actor and producer
- 1969 – Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2002)
- 1969 – Olaf Kapagiannidis, German footballer
- 1971 – Vladimir Gaidamașciuc, Moldovan footballer
- 1971 – Liz Kendall, British politician
- 1971 – Mark Richardson, New Zealand cricketer
- 1971 – Kenjiro Tsuda, Japanese voice actor
- 1972 – Stephen Kearney, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
- 1973 – José Manuel Abundis, Mexican footballer and coach
- 1974 – Fragiskos Alvertis, Greek basketball player, coach, and manager
- 1976 – Reiko Tosa, Japanese runner
- 1977 – Geoff Ogilvy, Australian golfer
- 1978 – Joshua Jackson, Canadian-American actor
- 1978 – Daryl Tuffey, New Zealand cricketer
- 1979 – Ali Boussaboun, Moroccan-Dutch footballer
- 1979 – Amy Duggan, Australian footballer and sportscaster
- 1980 – Yhency Brazoban, Dominican baseball player
- 1981 – Emiliano Moretti, Italian footballer
- 1981 – Kristo Tohver, Estonian footballer and referee
- 1982 – Vanessa Boslak, French pole vaulter
- 1982 – Jacques Freitag, South African high jumper
- 1982 – Joey Graham, American basketball player
- 1982 – Stephen Graham, American basketball player
- 1982 – Reni Maitua, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Eldar Rønning, Norwegian skier
- 1982 – Diana Taurasi, American basketball player
- 1983 – Chuck Hayes, American basketball player
- 1983 – José Reyes, Dominican baseball player
- 1984 – Andy Lee, Irish boxer
- 1984 – Vágner Love, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Tim Hoogland, German footballer
- 1986 – Sebastian Bayer, German long jumper
- 1986 – Shia LaBeouf, American actor
- 1987 – Marsel İlhan, Turkish tennis player
- 1987 – Didrik Solli-Tangen, Norwegian singer
- 1988 – Jesús Fernández Collado, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Yui Aragaki, Japanese actress, voice actress, singer-songwriter, model, radio host
- 1989 – Maya Moore, American basketball player
- 1990 – Christophe Lemaitre, French sprinter
- 1991 – Daniel Howell, English internet celebrity
- 1993 – Brittany Boyd, American basketball player
- 1994 – Ivana Baquero, Spanish actress
- 1996 – Ayaka Sasaki, Japanese singer
- 1998 – Charlie Tahan, American actor
- 1999 – Eartha Cumings, Scottish footballer
Deaths on June 11
- 323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (b. 356 BC)
- 573 – Emilian of Cogolla, Iberic saint (b. 472)
- 840 – Junna, emperor of Japan (b. 785)
- 884 – Shi Jingsi, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 888 – Rimbert, archbishop of Bremen (b. 830)
- 1183 – Henry the Young King of England (b. 1155)
- 1216 – Henry of Flanders, emperor of the Latin Empire (b. c. 1174)
- 1248 – Adachi Kagemori, Japanese samurai
- 1253 – Amadeus IV, count of Savoy (b. 1197)
- 1298 – Yolanda of Poland (b. 1235)
- 1323 – Bérenger Fredoli, French lawyer and bishop (b. 1250)
- 1345 – Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire
- 1347 – Bartholomew of San Concordio, Italian Dominican canonist and man of letters (b. 1260)
- 1446 – Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick (b. 1425)
- 1479 – John of Sahagun, hermit and saint (b. 1419)
- 1488 – James III of Scotland (b. 1451)
- 1557 – John III of Portugal (b. 1502)
- 1560 – Mary of Guise, queen of James V of Scotland (b. 1515)
- 1683 – Nikita Pustosvyat, a leader of the Russian Old Believers, beheaded (b. unknown)
- 1695 – André Félibien, French historian and author (b. 1619)
- 1712 – Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme (b. 1654)
- 1727 – George I of Great Britain (b. 1660)
- 1748 – Felice Torelli, Italian painter (b. 1667)
- 1796 – Samuel Whitbread, English brewer and politician, founded the Whitbread Company (b. 1720)
- 1847 – John Franklin, English admiral and politician (b. 1786)
- 1852 – Karl Bryullov, Russian painter (b. 1799)
- 1859 – Klemens von Metternich, German-Austrian politician, 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (b. 1773)
- 1879 – William, Prince of Orange (b. 1840)
- 1882 – Louis Désiré Maigret, French bishop (b. 1804)
- 1885 – Matías Ramos Mejía, Argentinian colonel (b. 1810)
- 1897 – Henry Ayers, English-Australian politician, 8th Premier of South Australia (b. 1821)
- 1903 – Nikolai Bugaev, Russian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1837)
- 1903 – Alexander I of Serbia (b. 1876)
- 1903 – Draga Mašin, Serbian wife of Alexander I of Serbia (b. 1864)
- 1911 – James Curtis Hepburn, American physician and missionary (b. 1815)
- 1913 – Mahmud Shevket Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 279th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1856)
- 1914 – Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1848)
- 1920 – William F. Halsey, Sr., American captain (b. 1853)
- 1924 – Théodore Dubois, French organist, composer, and educator (b. 1837)
- 1927 – William Attewell, English cricketer (b. 1861)
- 1934 – Lev Vygotsky, Belarusian-Russian psychologist and theorist (b. 1896)
- 1936 – Robert E. Howard, American author and poet (b. 1906)
- 1937 – R. J. Mitchell, English engineer, designed the Supermarine Spitfire (b. 1895)
- 1941 – Daniel Carter Beard, American author and illustrator, founded the Boy Scouts of America (b. 1850)
- 1955 – Pierre Levegh, French race car driver (b. 1905)
- 1962 – Chhabi Biswas, Indian actor and director (b. 1900)
- 1963 – Thích Quảng Đức, Vietnamese monk and martyr (b. 1897)
- 1965 – Paul B. Coremans, Belgian chemist and academic (b. 1908)
- 1965 – José Mendes Cabeçadas, Portuguese admiral and politician, 9th President of Portugal (b. 1883)
- 1970 – Frank Laubach, American missionary and mystic (b. 1884)
- 1974 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian general and politician, 16th President of Brazil (b. 1883)
- 1974 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and author (b. 1898)
- 1976 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player (b. 1917)
- 1979 – Alice Dalgliesh, Trinidadian-American author and publisher (b. 1893)
- 1979 – John Wayne, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
- 1983 – Ghanshyam Das Birla, Indian businessman and politician (b. 1894)
- 1984 – Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (b. 1922)
- 1986 – Chesley Bonestell, American painter and illustrator (b. 1888)
- 1991 – Cromwell Everson, South African composer (b. 1925)
- 1993 – Ray Sharkey, American actor (b. 1952)
- 1994 – A. Thurairajah, Sri Lankan engineer and academic (b. 1934)
- 1995 – Rodel Naval, Filipino singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1953)
- 1996 – George Hees, Canadian politician (b. 1910)
- 1996 – Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (b. 1908)
- 1998 – Catherine Cookson, English author (b. 1906)
- 1999 – DeForest Kelley, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)
- 2001 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist (b. 1968)
- 2001 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1923)
- 2003 – David Brinkley, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Egon von Fürstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (b. 1946)
- 2005 – Vasco Gonçalves, Portuguese general and politician, 103rd Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Anne-Marie Alonzo, Canadian playwright, poet, novelist, critic and publisher (b. 1951)
- 2006 – Neroli Fairhall, New Zealand archer (b. 1944)
- 2006 – Bruce Shand, English soldier (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Imre Friedmann, American biologist and academic (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Mala Powers, American actress (b. 1931)
- 2008 – Ove Andersson, Swedish race car driver (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Võ Văn Kiệt, Vietnamese soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Israeli physicist and engineer (b. 1947)
- 2011 – Seth Putnam, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1968)
- 2012 – Ann Rutherford, Canadian-American actress (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer and engineer (b. 1952)
- 2013 – Miller Barber, American golfer (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Carl W. Bauer, American lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Robert Fogel, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
- 2013 – James Grimsley, Jr., American general (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Rory Morrison, English journalist (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Kristiāns Pelšs, Latvian ice hockey player (b. 1992)
- 2013 – Vidya Charan Shukla, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Ruby Dee, American actress (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Spanish conductor and composer (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Susan B. Horwitz, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic (b. 1955)
- 2014 – Mipham Chokyi Lodro, Tibetan lama and educator (b. 1952)
- 2014 – Benjamin Mophatlane, South African businessman (b. 1973)
- 2014 – Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Jim Ed Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Ian McKechnie, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Ron Moody, English actor and singer (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Dusty Rhodes, American wrestler (b. 1945)
- 2016 – Rudi Altig, German track and road racing cyclist (b. 1937)
- 2020 – Stella Pevsner, children’s author (b. 1921)
Holidays and observances on June 11
- American Evacuation Day (Libya)
- Brazilian Navy commemorative day (Brazil)
- Christian feast day:
- Barnabas the Apostle
- Bartholomew the Apostle (Eastern Christianity)
- Blessed Ignatius Maloyan (Armenian Catholic Church)
- Paula Frassinetti
- Riagail of Bangor
- June 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Davis Day (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada)
- Kamehameha Day (Hawaii, United States)
- Student Day (Honduras)
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May 27 in History
- 1096 – Count Emicho enters Mainz, where his followers massacre Jewish citizens.At least 600 Jews are killed.
- 1120 – Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death.
- 1153 – Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland.
- 1199 – John is crowned King of England.
- 1257 – Richard of Cornwall, and his wife, Sanchia of Provence, are crowned King and Queen of the Germans at Aachen Cathedral.
- 1644 – Manchu regent Dorgon defeats rebel leader Li Zicheng of the Shun dynasty at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, allowing the Manchus to enter and conquer the capital city of Beijing.
- 1703 – Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.
- 1798 – The Battle of Oulart Hill takes place in Wexford, Ireland; Irish rebel leaders defeat and kill a detachment of militia.
- 1799 – War of the Second Coalition: Austrian forces defeat the French at Winterthur, Switzerland.
- 1813 – War of 1812: In Canada, American forces capture Fort George.
- 1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi begins his attack on Palermo, Sicily, as part of the Italian unification.
- 1863 – American Civil War: First Assault on the Confederate works at the Siege of Port Hudson.
- 1874 – The first group of Dorsland trekkers under the leadership of Gert Alberts leaves Pretoria.
- 1883 – Alexander III is crowned Tsar of Russia.
- 1896 – The F4-strength St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado hits in St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing over $10–million in damage.
- 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima begins.
- 1917 – Pope Benedict XV promulgates the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive codification of Catholic canon law in the legal history of the Catholic Church.
- 1919 – The NC-4 aircraft arrives in Lisbon after completing the first transatlantic flight.
- 1927 – The Ford Motor Company ceases manufacture of the Ford Model T and begins to retool plants to make the Ford Model A.
- 1930 – The 1,046 feet (319 m) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public.
- 1933 – New Deal: The U.S. Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.
- 1933 – The Walt Disney Company releases the cartoon Three Little Pigs, with its hit song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”
- 1935 – New Deal: The Supreme Court of the United States declares the National Industrial Recovery Act to be unconstitutional in A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, (295 U.S. 495).
- 1937 – In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California.
- 1940 – World War II: In the Le Paradis massacre, 99 soldiers from a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are shot after surrendering to German troops; two survive.
- 1941 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims an “unlimited national emergency”.
- 1941 – World War II: The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic killing almost 2,100 men.
- 1942 – World War II: In Operation Anthropoid, Reinhard Heydrich is fatally wounded in Prague; he dies of his injuries eight days later.
- 1958 – First flight of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.
- 1960 – In Turkey, a military coup removes President Celâl Bayar and the rest of the democratic government from office.
- 1962 – The Centralia mine fire is ignited in the town’s landfill above a coal mine.
- 1965 – Vietnam War: American warships begin the first bombardment of National Liberation Front targets within South Vietnam.
- 1967 – Australians vote in favor of a constitutional referendum granting the Australian government the power to make laws to benefit Indigenous Australians and to count them in the national census.
- 1967 – The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy is launched by Jacqueline Kennedy and her daughter Caroline.
- 1971 – The Dahlerau train disaster, the worst railway accident in West Germany, kills 46 people and injures 25 near Wuppertal.
- 1971 – Pakistani forces massacre over 200 civilians, mostly Bengali Hindus, in the Bagbati massacre.
- 1975 – Dibbles Bridge coach crash near Grassington, in North Yorkshire, England, kills 33 – the highest ever death toll in a road accident in the United Kingdom.
- 1980 – The Gwangju Massacre: Airborne and army troops of South Korea retake the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at least 207 and possibly many more.
- 1984 – The Danube-Black Sea canal is opened, in a ceremony attended by the Ceaușescus. It had been under construction since the 1950s.
- 1996 – First Chechen War: the Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire.
- 1997 – The 1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak occurs, spawning multiple tornadoes in Central Texas, including the F5 that killed 27 in Jarrell.
- 1998 – Oklahoma City bombing: Michael Fortier is sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 for failing to warn authorities about the terrorist plot.
- 2001 – Members of the Islamist separatist group Abu Sayyaf seize twenty hostages from an affluent island resort on Palawan in the Philippines; the hostage crisis would not be resolved until June 2002.
- 2006 – The 6.4 Mw Yogyakarta earthquake shakes central Java with an MSK intensity of VIII (Damaging), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.
- 2016 – Barack Obama is the first president of United States to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and meet Hibakusha.
- 2017 – Andrew Scheer takes over after Rona Ambrose as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
- 2018 – Maryland Flood Event: A flood occurs throughout the Patapsco Valley causing one death and destroying the entire first floors of buildings on Main Street in Ellicott City and causing cars to overturn.
Births on May 27
- 742 – Emperor Dezong of Tang (d. 805)
- 1332 – Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian historian and theologian (d. 1406)
- 1378 – Zhu Quan, Chinese military commander, historian and playwright (d. 1448)
- 1519 – Girolamo Mei, Italian historian and theorist (d. 1594)
- 1537 – Louis IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Marburg (d. 1604)
- 1576 – Caspar Schoppe, German author and scholar (d. 1649)
- 1584 – Michael Altenburg, German theologian and composer (d. 1640)
- 1601 – Antoine Daniel, French-Canadian missionary and saint (d. 1648)
- 1626 – William II, Prince of Orange (d. 1650)
- 1627 – Anne Marie Louise d’Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier (d. 1693)
- 1651 – Louis Antoine de Noailles, French cardinal (d. 1729)
- 1652 – Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine of Germany (d. 1722)
- 1738 – Nathaniel Gorham, American merchant and politician, 14th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1796)
- 1756 – Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (d. 1825)
- 1774 – Francis Beaufort, Irish hydrographer and officer in the Royal Navy (d. 1857)
- 1794 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1877)
- 1814 – John Rudolph Niernsee, Viennese-born American architect (d.1885)
- 1815 – Henry Parkes, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1896)
- 1818 – Amelia Bloomer, American journalist and activist (d. 1894)
- 1819 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet and songwriter (d. 1910)
- 1827 – Samuel F. Miller, American lawyer and politician (d. 1892)
- 1832 – Zenas Ferry Moody, American surveyor and politician, 7th Governor of Oregon (d. 1917)
- 1836 – Jay Gould, American businessman and financier (d. 1892)
- 1837 – Wild Bill Hickok, American police officer (d. 1876)
- 1852 – Billy Barnes, English cricketer (d. 1899)
- 1857 – Theodor Curtius, German chemist (d. 1928)
- 1860 – Manuel Teixeira Gomes, Portuguese politician, 7th President of Portugal (d. 1941)
- 1863 – Arthur Mold, English cricketer (d. 1921)
- 1867 – Arnold Bennett, English author and playwright (d. 1931)
- 1868 – Aleksa Šantić, Bosnian poet and author (d. 1924)
- 1871 – Georges Rouault, French painter and illustrator (d. 1958)
- 1875 – Frederick Cuming, English cricketer (d. 1942)
- 1876 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and author (d. 1945)
- 1876 – William Stanier, English engineer (d. 1965)
- 1878 – Anna Cervin, Swedish artist (d. 1972)
- 1879 – Karl Bühler, German-American linguist and psychologist (d. 1963)
- 1879 – Hans Lammers, German judge and politician (d. 1962)
- 1883 – Jessie Arms Botke, American painter (d. 1971)
- 1884 – Max Brod, Czech journalist, author, and composer (d. 1968)
- 1887 – Frank Woolley, English cricketer (d. 1978)
- 1888 – Louis Durey, French composer (d. 1979)
- 1891 – Claude Champagne, Canadian violinist, pianist, and composer (d. 1965)
- 1891 – Jaan Kärner, Estonian poet and author (d. 1958)
- 1894 – Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French physician and author (d. 1961)
- 1894 – Dashiell Hammett, American detective novelist and screenwriter (d. 1961)
- 1895 – Douglas Lloyd Campbell, Canadian educator and politician, 13th Premier of Manitoba (d. 1995)
- 1897 – John Cockcroft, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
- 1897 – Dink Templeton, American rugby player and coach (d. 1962)
- 1898 – David Crosthwait, American engineer, inventor and writer (d. 1976)
- 1899 – Johannes Türn, Estonian chess and draughts player (d. 1993)
- 1900 – Lotte Toberentz, German overseer of the Nazi Uckermark concentration camp (d. 1964)
- 1900 – Uładzimir Žyłka, Belarusian poet and translator (d. 1933)
- 1904 – Chūhei Nambu, Japanese jumper and journalist (d. 1997)
- 1906 – Buddhadasa, Thai monk and philosopher (d. 1993)
- 1906 – Harry Hibbs, English footballer (d. 1984)
- 1906 – Antonio Rosario Mennonna, Italian bishop (d. 2009)
- 1907 – Nicolas Calas, Greek-American poet and critic (d. 1988)
- 1907 – Rachel Carson, American biologist, environmentalist, and author (d. 1964)
- 1909 – Dolores Hope, American singer and philanthropist (d. 2011)
- 1911 – Hubert Humphrey, American journalist and politician, 38th Vice President of the United States (d. 1978)
- 1911 – Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (d. 2007)
- 1911 – Vincent Price, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1912 – John Cheever, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1982)
- 1912 – Sam Snead, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2002)
- 1912 – Terry Moore, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1995)
- 1915 – Ester Soré, Chilean singer-songwriter (d. 1996)
- 1915 – Herman Wouk, American novelist (d. 2019)
- 1917 – Harry Webster, English engineer (d. 2007)
- 1918 – Yasuhiro Nakasone, Japanese commander and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2019)
- 1921 – Bob Godfrey, Australian-English animator, director, and voice actor (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (d. 2015)
- 1922 – Christopher Lee, English actor (d. 2015)
- 1922 – John D. Vanderhoof, American banker and politician, 37th Governor of Colorado (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Henry Kissinger, German-American political scientist and politician, 56th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1923 – Sumner Redstone, American businessman and philanthropist
- 1924 – Jaime Lusinchi, Venezuelan physician and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 2014)
- 1924 – John Sumner, English-Australian director, founded the Melbourne Theatre Company (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Tony Hillerman, American journalist and author (d. 2008)
- 1927 – Jüri Randviir, Estonian chess player and journalist (d. 1996)
- 1928 – Thea Musgrave, Scottish-American composer and educator
- 1930 – John Barth, American novelist and short story writer
- 1930 – William S. Sessions, American civil servant and judge, 8th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- 1930 – Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer and educator (d. 2010)
- 1931 – André Barbeau, French-Canadian neurologist (d. 1986)
- 1931 – John Chapple, English field marshal and politician, Governor of Gibraltar
- 1931 – Bernard Fresson, French actor (d. 2002)
- 1931 – Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress and producer (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Philip Kotler, American author and professor
- 1933 – Edward Samuel Rogers, Canadian businessman (d. 2008)
- 1933 – Manfred Sommer, Spanish author and illustrator (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Ray Daviault, Canadian-American baseball player
- 1934 – Harlan Ellison, American author and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1935 – Daniel Colchico, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Mal Evans, British road manager of The Beatles (d. 1976)
- 1935 – Jerry Kindall, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
- 1935 – Ramsey Lewis, American jazz pianist and composer
- 1935 – Lee Meriwether, American model and actress, Miss America 1955
- 1936 – Benjamin Bathurst, English admiral
- 1936 – Louis Gossett, Jr., American actor and producer
- 1936 – Marcel Masse, Canadian educator and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2014)
- 1937 – Allan Carr, American playwright and producer (d. 1999)
- 1939 – Simon Cairns, 6th Earl Cairns, English courtier and businessman
- 1939 – Yves Duhaime, Canadian captain and politician
- 1939 – Sokratis Kokkalis, Greek businessman
- 1939 – Gerald Ronson, English businessman and philanthropist
- 1939 – Lionel Sosa, Mexican-American advertising and marketing executive
- 1939 – Don Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
- 1940 – Mike Gibson, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Lee Baca, American police officer
- 1942 – Piers Courage, English racing driver (d. 1970)
- 1942 – Roger Freeman, Baron Freeman, English accountant and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- 1942 – Robin Widdows, English racing driver
- 1943 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (d. 2015)
- 1943 – Bruce Weitz, American actor
- 1944 – Chris Dodd, American lawyer and politician
- 1944 – Ingrid Roscoe, English historian and politician, Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire
- 1944 – Alain Souchon, French singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1945 – Bruce Cockburn, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish bassist and composer (d. 2005)
- 1946 – John Williams, English motorcycle racer (d. 1978)
- 1947 – Peter DeFazio, American politician
- 1947 – Marty Kristian, German-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1947 – Branko Oblak, Slovenian footballer and coach
- 1947 – Riivo Sinijärv, Estonian politician, 19th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1948 – Wubbo de Boer, Dutch civil servant (d. 2017)
- 1948 – Pete Sears, English bass player
- 1948 – Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (d. 2014)
- 1949 – Hugh Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale, English politician
- 1949 – Christa Vahlensieck, German runner
- 1950 – Dee Dee Bridgewater, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1950 – Makis Dendrinos, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1951 – John Conteh, English boxer
- 1954 – Pauline Hanson, Australian businesswoman, activist, and politician
- 1954 – Jackie Slater, American football player and coach
- 1955 – Eric Bischoff, American wrestler, manager, and producer
- 1955 – Richard Schiff, American actor, director, and producer
- 1955 – Ian Tracey, English organist and conductor
- 1956 – Cynthia McFadden, American journalist
- 1956 – Rosemary Squire, English producer and manager, co-founded Ambassador Theatre Group
- 1956 – Giuseppe Tornatore, Italian director and screenwriter
- 1957 – Dag Terje Andersen, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Labour
- 1957 – Nitin Gadkari, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Transport
- 1957 – Eddie Harsch, Canadian-American keyboard player and bass player (d. 2016)
- 1957 – Siouxsie Sioux, English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
- 1958 – Nick Anstee, English accountant and politician, 682nd Lord Mayor of London
- 1958 – Neil Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician
- 1958 – Jesse Robredo, Filipino politician, 23rd Filipino Secretary of the Interior (d. 2012)
- 1960 – Gaston Therrien, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1961 – José Luíz Barbosa, Brazilian runner and coach
- 1961 – Peri Gilpin, American actress
- 1962 – Marcelino Bernal, Mexican footballer
- 1962 – Ray Borner, Australian basketball player
- 1962 – Steven Brill, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1962 – Anthony A. Hyman, Israeli-English biologist and academic
- 1962 – David Mundell, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1962 – Ravi Shastri, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1963 – Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Cuban pianist and composer
- 1963 – Maria Walliser, Swiss skier
- 1964 – Adam Carolla, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Pat Cash, Australian-English tennis player and sportscaster
- 1966 – Heston Blumenthal, English chef and author
- 1967 – Paul Gascoigne, English international footballer, midfielder, coach, and manager
- 1967 – Eddie McClintock, American actor
- 1968 – Jeff Bagwell, American baseball player and coach
- 1968 – Rebekah Brooks, English journalist
- 1968 – Harun Erdenay, Turkish basketball player and coach
- 1968 – Frank Thomas, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1969 – Todd Hundley, American baseball player
- 1969 – Jeremy Mayfield, American race car driver
- 1969 – Craig Federighi, American computer scientist and engineer
- 1970 – Michele Bartoli, Italian cyclist
- 1970 – Tim Farron, English educator and politician
- 1970 – Joseph Fiennes, English actor
- 1970 – Alex Archer, American-born Australian musician
- 1971 – Mathew Batsiua, Nauruan politician
- 1971 – Paul Bettany, English actor
- 1971 – Wayne Carey, Australian footballer and coach
- 1971 – Kaur Kender, Estonian author
- 1971 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper and dancer (d. 2002)
- 1971 – Lee Sharpe, English footballer
- 1971 – Grant Stafford, South African tennis player
- 1971 – Sophie Walker, British politician, leader of the Women’s Equality Party
- 1971 – Petroc Trelawny, British radio and television broadcaster
- 1972 – Todd Demsey, American golfer
- 1972 – Antonio Freeman, American football player
- 1972 – Maxim Sokolov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1973 – Jack McBrayer, American actor and comedian
- 1973 – Tana Umaga, New Zealand rugby player and coach
- 1973 – Yorgos Lanthimos, Greek film video, and theatre director, producer and screenwriter
- 1974 – Skye Edwards, British singer-songwriter
- 1974 – Denise van Outen, English actress, singer, and television host
- 1974 – Derek Webb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 – Danny Wuerffel, American football player
- 1975 – André 3000, American rapper
- 1975 – Michael Hussey, Australian cricketer
- 1975 – Jamie Oliver, English chef and author
- 1975 – Feryal Özel, Turkish astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
- 1976 – Marcel Fässler, Swiss racing driver
- 1977 – Abderrahmane Hammad, Algerian high jumper
- 1977 – Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1978 – Adin Brown, American soccer player
- 1979 – Michael Buonauro, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
- 1979 – Mile Sterjovski, Australian footballer
- 1980 – Craig Buntin, Canadian figure skater
- 1981 – Alina Cojocaru, Romanian ballerina
- 1981 – Johan Elmander, Swedish footballer
- 1984 – Blake Ahearn, American basketball player
- 1984 – Miguel González, Mexican baseball pitcher
- 1985 – Chiang Chien-ming, Taiwanese baseball player
- 1985 – Roberto Soldado, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Conor Cummins, Manx motorcycle racer
- 1986 – Bamba Fall, Senegalese basketball player
- 1986 – Lasse Schöne, Danish footballer
- 1987 – Gervinho, Ivorian footballer
- 1987 – Bella Heathcote, Australian actress
- 1987 – Eric Kolelas, French-English actor and director
- 1987 – Bora Paçun, Turkish basketball player
- 1987 – Matt Prior, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Martina Sablikova, Czech speed skater and cyclist
- 1988 – Vontae Davis, American football player
- 1988 – Irina Davydova, Russian hurdler
- 1988 – Garrett Richards, American baseball pitcher
- 1988 – Tyler Sash, American football player (d. 2015)
- 1989 – Igor Morozov, Estonian footballer
- 1990 – Yenew Alamirew, Ethiopian runner
- 1990 – Chris Colfer, American actor and singer
- 1990 – Marcus Kruger, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1991 – Sebastien Dewaest, Belgian footballer
- 1991 – Tim Lafai, Samoan rugby league player
- 1991 – Ksenia Pervak, Russian tennis player
- 1991 – Eneli Vals, Estonian footballer
- 1992 – Aaron Brown, Canadian sprinter
- 1992 – Laurence Vincent-Lapointe, Canadian canoer
Deaths on May 27
- 366 – Procopius, Roman usurper (b. 325)
- 398 – Murong Bao, emperor of the Xianbei state Later Yan (b. 355)
- 475 – Eutropius, bishop of Orange
- 866 – Ordoño I of Asturias (b. 831)
- 927 – Simeon I of Bulgaria first Bulgarian Emperor (b. 864)
- 1039 – Dirk III, Count of Holland (b. 981)
- 1045 – Bruno of Würzburg, imperial chancellor of Italy (b. c. 1005)
- 1178 – Godfrey van Rhenen, bishop of Utrecht
- 1240 – William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey (b. 1166)
- 1444 – John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1404)
- 1508 – Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1452)
- 1508 – Lucrezia Crivelli, mistress of Ludovico Sforza (b. 1452)
- 1525 – Thomas Müntzer, German mystic and theologian (b. 1488)
- 1541 – Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (b. 1473)
- 1564 – John Calvin, French pastor and theologian (b. 1509)
- 1610 – François Ravaillac, French assassin of Henry IV of France (b. 1578)
- 1624 – Diego Ramírez de Arellano, Spanish sailor and cosmographer (b. c. 1580)
- 1637 – John Boteler, 1st Baron Boteler of Brantfield, English politician (b. c. 1566)
- 1661 – Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, Scottish general and politician (b. 1607)
- 1675 – Gaspard Dughet, Italian-French painter (b. 1613)
- 1690 – Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1626)
- 1702 – Dominique Bouhours, French priest and critic (b. 1628)
- 1707 – Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan, French mistress of Louis XIV of France (b. 1640)
- 1781 – Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1716)
- 1797 – François-Noël Babeuf, French journalist (b. 1760)
- 1831 – Jedediah Smith, American hunter, explorer, and author (b. 1799)
- 1840 – Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1782)
- 1867 – Thomas Bulfinch American mythologist (b. 1796)
- 1896 – Aleksandr Stoletov, Russian physicist, engineer, and academic (b. 1839)
- 1910 – Robert Koch, German physician and microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
- 1918 – Ōzutsu Man’emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 18th Yokozuna (b. 1869)
- 1919 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian author and activist (b. 1848)
- 1933 – Achille Paroche, French target shooter (b. 1868)
- 1939 – Joseph Roth, Austrian-French journalist and author (b. 1894)
- 1941 – Ernst Lindemann, German captain (b. 1894)
- 1941 – Günther Lütjens, German admiral (b. 1889)
- 1942 – Muhammed Hamdi Yazır, Turkish theologian, logician, and translator (b. 1878)
- 1943 – Gordon Coates, New Zealand soldier and politician, 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1878)
- 1945 – Enno Lolling, German physician (b. 1888)
- 1947 – Ed Konetchy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1885)
- 1949 – Robert Ripley, American cartoonist, publisher, and businessman, founded Ripley’s Believe It or Not! (b. 1890)
- 1953 – Jesse Burkett, American baseball player and manager (b. 1868)
- 1960 – James Montgomery Flagg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1877)
- 1963 – Grigoris Lambrakis, Greek physician and politician (b. 1912)
- 1964 – Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of India (b. 1889)
- 1967 – W. Otto Miessner, American composer and educator (b. 1880)
- 1967 – Ernst Niekisch, German academic and politician (b. 1889)
- 1969 – Jeffrey Hunter, American actor and producer (b. 1926)
- 1971 – Béla Juhos, Hungarian-Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1901)
- 1971 – Armando Picchi, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1935)
- 1980 – Gün Sazak, Turkish agronomist and politician (b. 1932)
- 1984 – Vasilije Mokranjac, Serbian composer (b. 1923)
- 1986 – Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
- 1986 – Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1901)
- 1986 – Giorgos Tzifos, Greek actor and cinematographer (b. 1918)
- 1987 – John Howard Northrop, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- 1988 – Hjördis Petterson, Swedish actress (b. 1908)
- 1988 – Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- 1989 – Arseny Tarkovsky, Russian poet and translator (b. 1907)
- 1990 – Robert B. Meyner, American lawyer and politician, 44th Governor of New Jersey (b. 1908)
- 1991 – Leopold Nowak, Austrian musicologist and theorist (b. 1904)
- 1992 – Uncle Charlie Osborne, American fiddler (b. 1890)
- 1998 – Minoo Masani, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
- 2000 – Kazimierz Leski, Polish engineer and pilot (b. 1912)
- 2000 – Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, Scottish politician and diplomat, 25th Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1917)
- 2000 – Maurice Richard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1921)
- 2003 – Luciano Berio, Italian composer and educator (b. 1925)
- 2006 – Rob Borsellino, American journalist (b. 1949)
- 2006 – Paul Gleason, American actor (b. 1939)
- 2006 – Craig Heyward, American football player (b. 1966)
- 2007 – Izumi Sakai, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1967)
- 2007 – Gretchen Wyler, American actress and dancer (b. 1932)
- 2007 – Ed Yost, American inventor, created the hot air balloon (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Franz Künstler, Hungarian soldier (b. 1900)
- 2009 – Thomas M. Franck, American lawyer and academic (b. 1931)
- 2009 – Clive Granger, Welsh-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1934)
- 2009 – Mona Grey, British nursing administrator; Northern Ireland’s first Chief Nursing Officer
- 2009 – Abram Hoffer, Canadian biochemist, physician, and psychiatrist (b. 1917)
- 2009 – Gérard Jean-Juste, Haitian-American priest and theologian (b. 1946)
- 2009 – Carol Anne O’Marie, American nun and author (b. 1933)
- 2009 – William Refshauge, Australian soldier and physician (b. 1913)
- 2009 – Paul Sharratt, English-American television host (b. 1933)
- 2010 – Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator and director (b. 1929)
- 2011 – Jeff Conaway, American actor and singer (b. 1950)
- 2011 – Margo Dydek, Polish-American basketball player (b. 1974)
- 2011 – Gil Scott-Heron, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1949)
- 2012 – Simeon Daniel, Nevisian educator and politician, 1st Premier of Nevis (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Friedrich Hirzebruch, German mathematician and academic (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Anahit Perikhanian, Russian-born Armenian Iranologist (b. 1928)
- 2012 – David Rimoin, Canadian-American geneticist and academic (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri, Indian politician (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Bill Pertwee, English actor (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Abdoulaye Sékou Sow, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Robert Genn, Canadian painter and author (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Roberto Vargas, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Massimo Vignelli, Italian-American graphic designer (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Erik Carlsson, Swedish rally driver (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Nils Christie, Norwegian sociologist, criminologist, and author (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Andy King, English footballer and manager (b. 1956)
- 2015 – Michael Martin, American philosopher and academic (b. 1932)
- 2017 – Gregg Allman, American musician, singer and songwriter (b. 1947)
- 2020 – Larry Kramer, American playwright, public health advocate and LGBT rights activist (b. 1935)
Holidays and observances on May 27
- Armed Forces Day (Nicaragua)
- Children’s Day (Nigeria)
- Christian feast day:
- Augustine of Canterbury
- Blessed Lojze Grozde
- Bede (commemoration, Anglican Communion)
- Bruno of Würzburg
- Eutropius of Orange
- Hildebert
- Julius the Veteran
- May 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Mother’s Day (Bolivia)
- Navy Day (Japan)
- Slavery Abolition Day (Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin)
- Start of National Reconciliation Week (Australia)
-
May 26 in History
- 17 – Germanicus celebrates a triumph in Rome for his victories over the Cherusci, Chatti, and other German tribes west of the Elbe.
- 451 – Battle of Avarayr between Armenian rebels and the Sasanian Empire takes place. The Sasanids defeat the Armenians militarily but guarantee them freedom to openly practice Christianity.
- 946 – King Edmund I of England is murdered by a thief whom he personally attacks while celebrating St Augustine’s Mass Day.
- 961 – King Otto I elects his 6-year-old son Otto II as heir apparent and co-ruler of the East Frankish Kingdom. He is crowned at Aachen, and placed under the tutelage of his grandmother Matilda.
- 1135 – Alfonso VII of León and Castile is crowned in León Cathedral as Imperator totius Hispaniae (Emperor of all of Spain).
- 1293 – An earthquake strikes Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan, killing about 23,000.
- 1328 – William of Ockham, the Franciscan Minister-General Michael of Cesena, and two other Franciscan leaders secretly leave Avignon, fearing a death sentence from Pope John XXII.
- 1538 – Geneva expels John Calvin and his followers from the city. Calvin lives in exile in Strasbourg for the next three years.
- 1573 – The Battle of Haarlemmermeer, a naval engagement in the Dutch War of Independence.
- 1637 – Pequot War: A combined English and Mohegan force under John Mason attacks a village in Connecticut, massacring approximately 500 Pequots.
- 1644 – Portuguese Restoration War: Portuguese and Spanish forces both claim victory in the Battle of Montijo.
- 1736 – The Battle of Ackia was fought near the present site of Tupelo, Mississippi. British and Chickasaw soldiers repelled a French and Choctaw attack on the then-Chickasaw village of Ackia.
- 1770 – The Orlov Revolt, an attempt to revolt against the Ottoman Empire before the Greek War of Independence, ends in disaster for the Greeks.
- 1783 – A Great Jubilee Day held at North Stratford, Connecticut, celebrated the end of fighting in the American Revolution.
- 1805 – Napoléon Bonaparte assumes the title of King of Italy and is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy in Milan Cathedral, the gothic cathedral in Milan.
- 1821 – Establishment of the Peloponnesian Senate by the Greek rebels.
- 1822 – One hundred sixteen people die in the Grue Church fire, the biggest fire disaster in Norway’s history.
- 1857 – Dred Scott is emancipated by the Blow family, his original owners.
- 1864 – Montana is organized as a United States territory.
- 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith, commander of the Confederate Trans-Mississippi division, is the last full general of the Confederate Army to surrender, at Galveston, Texas.
- 1868 – The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson ends with his acquittal by one vote.
- 1869 – Boston University is chartered by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
- 1879 – Russia and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Gandamak establishing an Afghan state.
- 1896 – Nicholas II becomes the last Tsar of Imperial Russia.
- 1896 – Charles Dow publishes the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
- 1897 – Dracula, a Gothic horror novel by Irish author Bram Stoker, is published.
- 1897 – The original manuscript of William Bradford’s history, “Of Plymouth Plantation” is returned to the Governor of Massachusetts by the Bishop of London after being taken during the American Revolutionary War.
- 1900 – Thousand Days’ War: The Colombian Conservative Party turns the tide of war in their favor with victory against the Colombian Liberal Party in the Battle of Palonegro.
- 1908 – The first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East was made at Masjed Soleyman in southwest Persia. The rights to the resource were quickly acquired by the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.
- 1917 – Several powerful tornadoes rip through Illinois, including the city of Mattoon.
- 1918 – The Democratic Republic of Georgia is established.
- 1923 – The first 24 Hours of Le Mans was held and has since been run annually in June.
- 1927 – The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
- 1936 – In the House of Commons of Northern Ireland, Tommy Henderson begins speaking on the Appropriation Bill. By the time he sits down in the early hours of the following morning, he had spoken for ten hours.
- 1937 – Walter Reuther and members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) clashed with Ford Motor Company security guards at the River Rouge Complex complex in Dearborn, Michigan, during the Battle of the Overpass.
- 1938 – In the United States, the House Un-American Activities Committee begins its first session.
- 1940 – World War II: Operation Dynamo: In northern France, Allied forces begin a massive evacuation from Dunkirk, France.
- 1940 – World War II: The Siege of Calais ends with the surrender of the British and French garrison.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Gazala takes place.
- 1948 – The U.S. Congress passes Public Law 80-557, which permanently establishes the Civil Air Patrol as an auxiliary of the United States Air Force.
- 1966 – British Guiana gains independence, becoming Guyana.
- 1967 – The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is released.
- 1968 – H-dagurinn in Iceland: Traffic changes from driving on the left to driving on the right overnight
- 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 returns to Earth after a successful eight-day test of all the components needed for the forthcoming first manned moon landing.
- 1970 – The Soviet Tupolev Tu-144 becomes the first commercial transport to exceed Mach 2.
- 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army slaughters at least 71 Hindus in Burunga, Sylhet, Bangladesh.
- 1972 – The United States and the Soviet Union sign the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
- 1981 – Italian Prime Minister Arnaldo Forlani and his coalition cabinet resign following a scandal over membership of the pseudo-masonic lodge P2 (Propaganda Due).
- 1981 – An EA-6B Prowler crashes on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, killing 14 crewmen and injuring 45 others.
- 1983 – The 7.8 Mw Sea of Japan earthquake shakes northern Honshu with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami is generated that leaves about 100 people dead.
- 1986 – The European Community adopts the European flag.
- 1991 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia becomes the first elected President of the Republic of Georgia in the post-Soviet era.
- 1991 – Lauda Air Flight 004 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes in the Phu Toei National Park in Thailand, killing all 223 people on board.
- 1998 – The Supreme Court of the United States rules in New Jersey v. New York that Ellis Island, the historic gateway for millions of immigrants, is mainly in the state of New Jersey, not New York.
- 1998 – The first “National Sorry Day” was held in Australia, and reconciliation events were held nationally, and attended by over a million people.
- 2002 – The tugboat Robert Y. Love collides with a support pier of Interstate 40 on the Arkansas River near Webbers Falls, Oklahoma, resulting in 14 deaths and 11 others injured.
- 2004 – United States Army veteran Terry Nichols is found guilty of 161 state murder charges for helping carry out the Oklahoma City bombing.
- 2008 – Severe flooding begins in eastern and southern China that will ultimately cause 148 deaths and force the evacuation of 1.3 million.
Births on May 26
- 1264 – Koreyasu, Japanese prince and shōgun (d. 1326)
- 1478 – Clement VII, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1534)
- 1562 – James III, margrave of Baden-Hachberg (d. 1590)
- 1566 – Mehmed III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1603)
- 1602 – Philippe de Champaigne, Dutch-French painter (d. 1674)
- 1623 – William Petty, English economist and philosopher (d. 1687)
- 1650 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire (d. 1722)
- 1667 – Abraham de Moivre, French-English mathematician and theorist (d. 1754)
- 1669 – Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist and mycologist (d. 1722)
- 1700 – Nicolaus Zinzendorf, German bishop and saint (d. 1760)
- 1799 – August Kopisch, German poet and painter (d. 1853)
- 1822 – Edmond de Goncourt, French author and critic, founded the Académie Goncourt (d. 1896)
- 1863 – Bob Fitzsimmons, English-New Zealand boxer (d. 1917)
- 1865 – Robert W. Chambers, American author and illustrator (d. 1933)
- 1867 – Mary of Teck, English-born queen consort of the United Kingdom (d. 1953)
- 1873 – Olaf Gulbransson, Norwegian painter and illustrator (d. 1958)
- 1876 – Percy Perrin, English cricketer (d. 1945)
- 1880 – W. Otto Miessner, American composer and educator (d. 1967)
- 1881 – Adolfo de la Huerta, Mexican politician and provisional president, 1920 (d. 1955)
- 1883 – Mamie Smith, American singer, actress, dancer, and pianist (d. 1946)
- 1886 – Al Jolson, American singer and actor (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Ba U, 2nd President of Burma (d. 1963)
- 1893 – Eugene Aynsley Goossens, English conductor and composer (d. 1962)
- 1895 – Dorothea Lange, American photographer and journalist (d. 1965)
- 1895 – Paul Lukas, Hungarian-American actor and singer (d. 1971)
- 1898 – Ernst Bacon, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1990)
- 1898 – Christfried Burmeister, Estonian speed skater (d. 1965)
- 1899 – Antonio Barrette, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Premier of Quebec (d. 1968)
- 1899 – Muriel McQueen Fergusson, Canadian lawyer and politician, Canadian Speaker of the Senate (d. 1997)
- 1900 – Karin Juel, Swedish singer, actor, and writer (d. 1976)
- 1904 – George Formby, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1961)
- 1904 – Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1983)
- 1904 – Vlado Perlemuter, Lithuanian-French pianist and educator (d. 2002)
- 1907 – Jean Bernard, French physician and haematologist (d. 2006)
- 1907 – John Wayne, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1979)
- 1908 – Robert Morley, English actor (d. 1992)
- 1908 – Nguyễn Ngọc Thơ, Vietnamese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Vietnam (d. 1976)
- 1909 – Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Adolfo López Mateos, Mexican politician, 48th President of Mexico (d. 1969)
- 1910 – Imi Lichtenfeld, Hungarian-Israeli martial artist, boxer, and gymnast (d. 1998)
- 1911 – Maurice Baquet, French actor and cellist (d. 2005)
- 1911 – Henry Ephron, American playwright, screenwriter, and producer (d. 1992)
- 1912 – János Kádár, Hungarian mechanic and politician, 46th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1989)
- 1912 – Jay Silverheels, Canadian-American actor (d. 1980)
- 1913 – Peter Cushing, English actor (d. 1994)
- 1913 – Pierre Daninos, French author (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Karin Ekelund, Swedish actress (d. 1976)
- 1913 – Josef Manger, German weightlifter (d. 1991)
- 1914 – Frankie Manning, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Vernon Alley, American bassist (d. 2004)
- 1915 – Antonia Forest, English author (d. 2003)
- 1916 – Henriette Roosenburg, Dutch journalist and author (d. 1972)
- 1919 – Rubén González, Cuban pianist (d. 2003)
- 1920 – Jack Cheetham, South African cricketer (d. 1980)
- 1920 – Peggy Lee, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Inge Borkh, German soprano (d. 2018)
- 1922 – Troy Smith, American businessman, founded Sonic Drive-In (d. 2009)
- 1923 – James Arness, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Roy Dotrice, English actor (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Carmen Montejo, Cuban-Mexican actress (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Alec McCowen, English actor (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Miles Davis, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1991)
- 1927 – Jacques Bergerac, French actor and businessman (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Jack Kevorkian, American pathologist, author, and assisted suicide activist (d. 2011)
- 1929 – J. F. Ade Ajayi, Nigerian historian and academic (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Ernie Carroll, Australian television personality and producer
- 1929 – Hans Freeman, Australian bioinorganic chemist and protein crystallographer (d. 2008)
- 1929 – John Jackson, English lawyer and businessman
- 1929 – Catherine Sauvage, French singer and actress (d. 1998)
- 1930 – Karim Emami, Indian-Iranian lexicographer and critic (d. 2005)
- 1933 – Edward Whittemore, American soldier and author (d. 1995)
- 1935 – Eero Loone, Estonian philosopher and academic
- 1936 – David Stevens, Baron Stevens of Ludgate, English politician
- 1937 – Manorama, Indian actress and singer (d. 2015)
- 1937 – Paul E. Patton, American politician, 59th Governor of Kentucky
- 1938 – William Bolcom, American pianist and composer
- 1938 – Lyudmila Petrushevskaya, Russian author and playwright
- 1938 – K. Bikram Singh, Indian director and producer (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Teresa Stratas, Canadian soprano and actress
- 1939 – Brent Musburger, American sportscaster
- 1939 – Herb Trimpe, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, Canadian academic and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
- 1940 – Levon Helm, American singer-songwriter, drummer, producer, and actor (d. 2012)
- 1941 – Aldrich Ames, American CIA officer and criminal
- 1941 – Jim Dobbin, Scottish microbiologist and politician (d. 2014)
- 1941 – Cliff Drysdale, South African tennis player and sportscaster
- 1941 – Imants Kalniņš, Latvian composer
- 1943 – Erica Terpstra, Dutch swimmer, journalist, and politician
- 1944 – Phil Edmonston, American-Canadian journalist and politician
- 1944 – Jan Kinder, Norwegian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
- 1944 – Sam Posey, American race car driver and journalist
- 1945 – Vilasrao Deshmukh, Indian lawyer and politician, 17th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2012)
- 1945 – Alistair MacDuff, English lawyer and judge
- 1945 – Garry Peterson, Canadian-American drummer
- 1946 – Neshka Robeva, Bulgarian gymnast and coach
- 1946 – Mick Ronson, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1993)
- 1947 – Carol O’Connell, American author and painter
- 1947 – Glenn Turner, New Zealand cricketer
- 1948 – Stevie Nicks, American singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Jeremy Corbyn, British journalist and politician
- 1949 – Ward Cunningham, American computer programmer, developed the first wiki
- 1949 – Pam Grier, American actress
- 1949 – Anne McGuire, Scottish educator and politician
- 1949 – Philip Michael Thomas, American actor
- 1949 – Hank Williams Jr., American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Ramón Calderón, Spanish lawyer and businessman
- 1951 – Lou van den Dries, Dutch mathematician
- 1951 – Sally Ride, American physicist and astronaut, founded Sally Ride Science (d. 2012)
- 1951 – Madeleine Taylor-Quinn, Irish educator and politician
- 1952 – David Meece, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1953 – Kay Hagan, American lawyer and politician (d. 2019)
- 1953 – Don McAllister, English footballer and manager
- 1953 – Michael Portillo, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Defence
- 1953 – Dan Roundfield, American basketball player (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Alan Hollinghurst, English novelist, poet, short story writer, and translator
- 1954 – Denis Lebel, Canadian businessman and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Transport
- 1955 – Masaharu Morimoto, Japanese-American chef
- 1955 – Paul Stoddart, Australian businessman
- 1955 – Wesley Walker, American football player and educator
- 1956 – Neil Parish, English politician
- 1956 – Fiona Shackleton, English lawyer
- 1957 – Diomedes Díaz, Colombian singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1957 – François Legault, Canadian businessman and politician
- 1957 – Roberto Ravaglia, Italian race car driver
- 1958 – Ronnie Black, American golfer
- 1958 – Arto Bryggare, Finnish hurdler and politician
- 1958 – Margaret Colin, American actress
- 1959 – Ole Bornedal, Danish actor, director, and producer
- 1960 – Doug Hutchison, American actor
- 1960 – Dean Lukin, Australian weightlifter
- 1960 – Masahiro Matsunaga, Japanese race car driver
- 1960 – Rob Murphy, American baseball player
- 1960 – Romas Ubartas, Lithuanian discus thrower
- 1961 – Steve Pate, American golfer
- 1961 – Tarsem Singh, Indian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1962 – Black, English singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
- 1962 – Genie Francis, Canadian-American actress
- 1962 – Bobcat Goldthwait, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1963 – Simon Armitage, English poet, playwright and novelist
- 1963 – Claude Legault, Canadian actor and screenwriter
- 1963 – Mary Nightingale, English journalist
- 1963 – Jamie Spence, English golfer
- 1964 – Caitlín R. Kiernan, Irish-American paleontologist and author
- 1964 – Lenny Kravitz, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor
- 1964 – Argiris Pedoulakis, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1965 – Hazel Irvine, Scottish sportscaster and journalist
- 1966 – Helena Bonham Carter, English actress
- 1966 – Zola Budd, South African runner
- 1967 – Philip Treacy, Irish milliner, hat designer
- 1967 – Mika Yamamoto, Japanese journalist (d. 2012)
- 1968 – Fernando León de Aranoa, Spanish director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1968 – Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark
- 1968 – Steve Sedgley, English footballer and manager
- 1969 – John Baird, Canadian politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1969 – Siri Lindley, American triathlete and coach
- 1969 – Dominic Mohan, English journalist
- 1970 – Nobuhiro Watsuki, Japanese illustrator
- 1971 – Zaher Andary, Lebanese footballer
- 1971 – Matt Stone, American actor, animator, screenwriter, producer, and composer
- 1973 – Naomi Harris, Canadian-American photographer
- 1974 – Lars Frölander, Swedish swimmer
- 1975 – Lauryn Hill, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1976 – Paul Collingwood, English cricketer and coach
- 1976 – Stephen Curry, Australian comedian and actor
- 1976 – Kenny Florian, American mixed martial artist and sportscaster
- 1976 – Justin Pierre, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1977 – Nikos Chatzivrettas, Greek basketball player
- 1977 – Raina Telgemeier, American author and cartoonist
- 1977 – Luca Toni, Italian footballer
- 1977 – Misaki Ito, Japanese actress and model
- 1978 – Phil Elvrum, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Fabio Firmani, Italian footballer
- 1978 – Dan Parks, Australian-Scottish rugby player
- 1979 – Amanda Bauer, American astronomer and academic
- 1979 – Natalya Nazarova, Russian sprinter
- 1979 – Elisabeth Harnois, American actress
- 1979 – Mehmet Okur, Turkish basketball player
- 1980 – Louis-Jean Cormier, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1981 – Robert Copeland, Australian footballer
- 1981 – Anthony Ervin, American swimmer
- 1981 – Jason Manford, English actor, screenwriter, and television host
- 1981 – Isaac Slade, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1981 – Ben Zobrist, American baseball player
- 1982 – Sten Lassmann, Estonian pianist
- 1982 – Hasan Kabze, Turkish footballer
- 1983 – Demy de Zeeuw, Dutch footballer
- 1983 – Henry Holland, English fashion designer
- 1983 – Nathan Merritt, Australian rugby league player
- 1985 – Monika Christodoulou, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1985 – Ashley Vincent, English footballer
- 1986 – Michel Tornéus, Swedish long jumper
- 1987 – Olcay Şahan, Turkish footballer
- 1987 – Josh Thomas, Australian comedian and actor
- 1988 – Andrea Catellani, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Will Chambers, Australian rugby league player
- 1988 – Juan Guillermo Cuadrado, Colombian footballer
- 1988 – Dani Samuels, Australian discus thrower
- 1988 – Joel Selwood, Australian footballer
- 1988 – Damian Williams, American football player
- 1989 – Paula Findlay, Canadian triathlete
- 1991 – Ah Young, South Korean singer and actress
- 1992 – Curtis Rona, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1993 – Jason Adesanya, Belgian footballer
- 1993 – Dan Sarginson, Australian-English rugby league player
- 1993 – Katerine Savard, Canadian swimmer
- 1993 – Jimmy Vesey, American ice hockey player
- 1996 – Lara Goodall, South African cricketer
Deaths on May 26
- 604 – Augustine of Canterbury, Benedictine monk and archbishop
- 735 – Bede, English monk, historian, and theologian
- 818 – Ali al-Ridha, Saudi Arabian 8th of The Twelve Imams
- 926 – Yuan Xingqin, Chinese general and governor
- 946 – Edmund I, king of England (b. 921)
- 1035 – Berenguer Ramon I, Spanish nobleman (b. 1005)
- 1055 – Adalbert, margrave of Austria
- 1250 – Peter I, duke of Brittany
- 1339 – Aldona Ona, queen of Poland
- 1362 – Louis I, king of Naples (b. 1320)
- 1421 – Mehmed I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1389)
- 1512 – Bayezid II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1447)
- 1536 – Francesco Berni, Italian poet (b. 1498)
- 1552 – Sebastian Münster, German cartographer and cosmographer (b. 1488)
- 1648 – Vincent Voiture, French poet and author (b. 1597)
- 1653 – Robert Filmer, English theorist and author (b. 1588)
- 1679 – Ferdinand Maria, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1636)
- 1685 – Charles II, German elector palatine (b. 1651)
- 1703 – Samuel Pepys, English politician (b. 1633)
- 1742 – Pylyp Orlyk, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1672)
- 1746 – Thomas Southerne, Irish playwright (b. 1660)
- 1762 – Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher and academic (b. 1714)
- 1799 – James Burnett, Lord Monboddo, Scottish linguist, biologist, and judge (b. 1714)
- 1818 – Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly, Russian field marshal and politician, Governor-General of Finland (b. 1761)
- 1818 – Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, Chilean lawyer and guerrilla leader (b. 1785)
- 1824 – Capel Lofft, English lawyer (b. 1751)
- 1840 – Sidney Smith, English admiral and politician (b. 1764)
- 1881 – Jakob Bernays, German philologist and academic (b. 1824)
- 1883 – Abdelkader El Djezairi, Algerian ruler (b. 1808)
- 1902 – Almon Brown Strowger, American soldier and inventor (b. 1839)
- 1904 – Georges Gilles de la Tourette, French physician and neurologist (b. 1857)
- 1908 – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Indian religious leader, founded the Ahmadiyya movement (b. 1835)
- 1914 – Jacob August Riis, Danish-American journalist, photographer, and reformer (b. 1849)
- 1924 – Victor Herbert, Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor, founded the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (b. 1859)
- 1926 – Srečko Kosovel, Slovenian poet (b. 1904)
- 1933 – Horatio Bottomley, English financier, journalist, and politician (b. 1860)
- 1933 – Jimmie Rodgers, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1897)
- 1939 – Charles Horace Mayo, American physician, co-founded Mayo Clinic (b. 1865)
- 1943 – Edsel Ford, American businessman (b. 1893)
- 1943 – Alice Tegnér, Swedish organist, composer, and educator (b. 1864)
- 1944 – Christian Wirth, German SS officer (b. 1885)
- 1948 – Torsten Bergström, Swedish actor and director (b. 1896)
- 1951 – Lincoln Ellsworth, American explorer (b. 1880)
- 1954 – Lionel Conacher, Canadian football player and politician (b. 1900)
- 1955 – Alberto Ascari, Italian race car driver (b. 1918)
- 1956 – Al Simmons, American baseball player and coach (b. 1902)
- 1959 – Philip Kassel, American gymnast (b. 1876)
- 1966 – Elizabeth Dilling, American author and activist (b. 1894)
- 1969 – Paul Hawkins, Australian race car driver (b. 1937)
- 1969 – Allan Haines Loughead, American engineer, co-founded the Lockheed Corporation (b. 1889)
- 1974 – Silvio Moser, Swiss race car driver (b. 1941)
- 1976 – Martin Heidegger, German philosopher and academic (b. 1889)
- 1978 – Cybele Andrianou, Greek actress (b. 1887)
- 1979 – George Brent, Irish-American actor (b. 1904)
- 1984 – Elizabeth Peer, American journalist (b. 1936)
- 1989 – Don Revie, English footballer and manager (b. 1927)
- 1994 – Sonny Sharrock, American guitarist (b. 1940)
- 1995 – Friz Freleng, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1906)
- 1997 – Ralph Horween, American football player and coach (b. 1896)
- 1999 – Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor and philanthropist (b. 1906)
- 1999 – Waldo Semon, American chemist and engineer (b. 1898)
- 2001 – Vittorio Brambilla, Italian race car driver (b. 1937)
- 2001 – Anne Haney, American actress (b. 1934)
- 2001 – Moven Mahachi, Zimbabwean soldier and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Defence (b. 1952)
- 2001 – Dona Massin, Canadian actress and choreographer (b. 1917)
- 2002 – Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (b. 1932)
- 2003 – Kathleen Winsor, American journalist and author (b. 1919)
- 2004 – Nikolai Chernykh, Russian astronomer (b. 1931)
- 2005 – Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Ruth Laredo, American pianist and educator (b. 1937)
- 2005 – Leslie Smith, English businessman, co-founded Lesney Products (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Édouard Michelin, French businessman (b. 1963)
- 2006 – Kevin O’Flanagan, Irish footballer and physician (b. 1919)
- 2007 – Jack Edward Oliver, English illustrator (b. 1942)
- 2007 – Howard Porter, American basketball player (b. 1948)
- 2008 – Sydney Pollack, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
- 2008 – Zita Urbonaitė, Lithuanian cyclist (b. 1973)
- 2009 – Mihalis Papagiannakis, Greek journalist and politician (b. 1941)
- 2009 – Peter Zezel, Canadian ice hockey and soccer player (b. 1965)
- 2010 – Art Linkletter, Canadian-American radio and television host (b. 1912)
- 2010 – Chris Moran, English air marshal and pilot (b. 1956)
- 2010 – Kieran Phelan, Irish politician (b. 1949)
- 2011 – Arisen Ahubudu, Sri Lankan scholar, author, and playwright (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Arthur Decabooter, Belgian cyclist (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Leo Dillon, American illustrator (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Stephen Healey, Welsh captain and footballer (b. 1982)
- 2012 – Hiroshi Miyazawa, Japanese politician (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Hans Schmidt, Canadian wrestler (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Jim Unger, English-Canadian illustrator (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Ray Barnhart, American businessman and politician (b. 1928)
- 2013 – John Bierwirth, American lawyer and businessman (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Roberto Civita, Italian-Brazilian businessman (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Tom Lichtenberg, American football player and coach (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Otto Muehl, Austrian painter (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Jack Vance, American author (b. 1916)
- 2014 – Baselios Thoma Didymos I, Indian metropolitan (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Miodrag Radulovacki, Serbian-American academic and neuropharmacologist (b. 1933)
- 2014 – William R. Roy, American physician, journalist, and politician (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Hooshang Seyhoun, Iranian-Canadian architect, sculptor, and painter (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Vicente Aranda, Spanish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Les Johnson, Australian politician and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Robert Kraft, American astronomer and academic (b. 1927)
- 2015 – João Lucas, Portuguese footballer (b. 1979)
- 2015 – Dayton Waller, American soldier and politician (b. 1925)
- 2016 – Hedy Epstein, German-born American human rights activist and Holocaust survivor (b. 1924)
- 2017 – Zbigniew Brzezinski, Polish-born American politician (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on May 26
- Christian feast day:
- Augustine of Canterbury (Anglican Communion and Eastern Orthodox)
- Lambert of Vence
- Peter Sanz (one of Martyr Saints of China)
- Philip Neri
- Pope Eleuterus
- Quadratus of Athens
- Zachary, Bishop of Vienne
- May 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Independence Day, commemorates the day of the First Republic in 1918 (Georgia)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Guyana from the United Kingdom in 1966.
- Mother’s Day (Poland)
- National Paper Airplane Day (United States)
- National Sorry Day (Australia)
-
May 16 in History
- 946 – Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan.
- 1204 – Having been elected on May 9, Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.
- 1426 – Gov. Thado of Mohnyin becomes king of Ava.
- 1527 – The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes itself as a republic.
- 1532 – Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.
- 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England.
- 1584 – Santiago de Vera becomes sixth Governor-General of the Spanish colony of the Philippines.
- 1739 – The Battle of Vasai concludes as the Marathas defeat the Portuguese army.
- 1770 – The 14-year-old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste, who later becomes king of France.
- 1771 – The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The “Regulators”, occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
- 1811 – Peninsular War: The allies Spain, Portugal and United Kingdom, defeat the French at the Battle of Albuera.
- 1812 – Imperial Russia signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War. The Ottoman Empire cedes Bessarabia to Russia.
- 1822 – Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.
- 1832 – Juan Godoy discovers the rich silver outcrops of Chañarcillo sparking the Chilean silver rush.
- 1834 – The Battle of Asseiceira is fought, the last and decisive engagement of the Liberal Wars in Portugal.
- 1842 – The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail from Elm Grove, Missouri, with 100 pioneers.
- 1866 – The United States Congress establishes the nickel.
- 1868 – The United States Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson by one vote.
- 1874 – A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroys much of four villages and kills 139 people.
- 1877 – The 16 May 1877 crisis occurs in France, ending with the dissolution of the National Assembly 22 June and affirming the interpretation of the Constitution of 1875 as a parliamentary rather than presidential system. The elections held in October 1877 led to the defeat of the royalists as a formal political movement in France.
- 1888 – Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
- 1891 – The International Electrotechnical Exhibition opens in Frankfurt, Germany, and will feature the world’s first long-distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electric current (the most common form today).
- 1916 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the French Third Republic sign the secret wartime Sykes-Picot Agreement partitioning former Ottoman territories such as Iraq and Syria.
- 1918 – The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government during wartime an imprisonable offense. It will be repealed less than two years later.
- 1919 – A naval Curtiss NC-4 aircraft commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.
- 1920 – In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc.
- 1929 – In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony takes place.
- 1943 – The Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.
- 1951 – The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
- 1959 – The Triton Fountain in Valletta, Malta is turned on for the first time.
- 1960 – Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
- 1961 – Park Chung-hee leads a coup d’état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea.
- 1966 – The Communist Party of China issues the “May 16 Notice”, marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
- 1969 – Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus.
- 1974 – Josip Broz Tito is elected president for life of Yugoslavia.
- 1988 – A report by the Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
- 1991 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addresses a joint session of the United States Congress. She is the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress.
- 1997 – Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, flees the country.
- 2003 – In Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
- 2005 – Kuwait permits women’s suffrage in a 35–23 National Assembly vote.
- 2011 – STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6), launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the 25th and final flight for Space Shuttle Endeavour.
- 2014 – Twelve people are killed in two explosions in the Gikomba market area of Nairobi, Kenya.
Births on May 16
- 1418 – John II of Cyprus, King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458 (probable; d. 1458)
- 1455 – Wolfgang I of Oettingen, German count (d. 1522)
- 1542 – Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German noblewoman (d. 1580)
- 1606 – John Bulwer, British doctor (d. 1656)
- 1611 – Pope Innocent XI (d. 1689)
- 1641 – Dudley North, English economist and politician (d. 1691)
- 1710 – William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, English politician, Lord Steward of the Household (d. 1782)
- 1718 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1799)
- 1763 – Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French pharmacist and chemist (d. 1829)
- 1788 – Friedrich Rückert, German poet and translator (d. 1866)
- 1801 – William H. Seward, American lawyer and politician, 24th United States Secretary of State (d. 1872)
- 1804 – Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, American educator who founded the first U.S. kindergarten (d. 1894)
- 1819 – Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Estonian journalist and poet (d. 1890)
- 1821 – Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician and statistician (d. 1894)
- 1824 – Levi P. Morton, American banker and politician, 22nd United States Vice President (d. 1920)
- 1824 – Edmund Kirby Smith, American general (d. 1893)
- 1827 – Pierre Cuypers, Dutch architect, designed the Amsterdam Centraal railway station and Rijksmuseum (d. 1921)
- 1831 – David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, co-invented the microphone (d. 1900)
- 1862 – Margaret Fountaine, English lepidopterist and diarist (d.1940)
- 1876 – Fred Conrad Koch, American biochemist and endocrinologist (d. 1948)
- 1879 – Pierre Gilliard, Swiss author and academic (d. 1962)
- 1882 – Simeon Price, American golfer (d. 1945)
- 1883 – Celâl Bayar, Turkish politician, 3rd President of Turkey (d. 1986)
- 1888 – Royal Rife, American microbiologist and instrument maker (d. 1971)
- 1890 – Edith Grace White, American ichthyologist (d. 1975)
- 1892 – Osgood Perkins, American actor (d. 1937)
- 1894 – Walter Yust, American journalist and writer (d. 1960)
- 1897 – Zvi Sliternik, Israeli entomologist and academic (d. 1994)
- 1898 – Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-American painter (d. 1980)
- 1898 – Desanka Maksimović, Serbian poet and academic (d. 1993)
- 1898 – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese director and screenwriter (d. 1956)
- 1903 – Charles F. Brannock, American inventor and manufacturer (d. 1992)
- 1905 – Henry Fonda, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1906 – Ernie McCormick, Australian cricketer (d. 1991)
- 1906 – Alfred Pellan, Canadian painter and educator (d. 1988)
- 1906 – Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan lawyer, journalist, and author (d. 2001)
- 1906 – Margret Rey, German author and illustrator (d. 1996)
- 1907 – Bob Tisdall, Irish hurdler (d. 2004)
- 1909 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress and singer (d. 1960)
- 1909 – Luigi Villoresi, Italian race car driver (d. 1997)
- 1910 – Olga Bergholz, Russian poet and author (d. 1975)
- 1910 – Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (d. 2014)
- 1910 – Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1972)
- 1912 – Studs Terkel, American historian and author (d. 2008)
- 1913 – Gordon Chalk, Australian politician, 30th Premier of Queensland (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Woody Herman, American singer, saxophonist, and clarinet player (d. 1987)
- 1914 – Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist and author (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Mario Monicelli, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1916 – Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (d. 2009)
- 1917 – Ben Kuroki, American sergeant and pilot (d. 2015)
- 1917 – James C. Murray, American lawyer and politician (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Juan Rulfo, Mexican author and photographer (d. 1986)
- 1918 – Wilf Mannion, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
- 1919 – Liberace, American pianist and entertainer (d. 1987)
- 1919 – Ramon Margalef, Spanish ecologist and biologist (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Martine Carol, French actress (d. 1967)
- 1921 – Harry Carey, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Victoria Fromkin, American linguist and academic (d. 2000)
- 1923 – Merton Miller, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
- 1923 – Peter Underwood, English parapsychologist and author (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Dawda Jawara, 1st President of the Gambia (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Nancy Roman, American astronomer (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Ola Vincent, Nigerian banker and economist (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Nílton Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Billy Martin, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989)
- 1929 – Betty Carter, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
- 1929 – John Conyers, American lawyer and politician (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Claude Morin, Canadian academic and politician
- 1929 – Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist, and feminist (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 2000)
- 1931 – Vujadin Boškov, Serbian footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Hana Brady, Jewish-Czech Holocaust victim (d.1944)
- 1931 – K. Natwar Singh, Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs
- 1931 – Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., American soldier and politician, 85th Governor of Connecticut
- 1934 – Kenneth O. Morgan, Welsh historian and author
- 1934 – Antony Walker, English general
- 1935 – Floyd Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1936 – Karl Lehmann, German cardinal (d. 2018)
- 1937 – Yvonne Craig, American ballet dancer and actress (d. 2015)
- 1938 – Stuart Bell, English lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Ivan Sutherland, American computer scientist and academic
- 1938 – Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian television host and sexologist (d. 2018)
- 1941 – Denis Hart, Australian archbishop
- 1942 – David Penry-Davey, English lawyer and judge (d. 2015)
- 1943 – Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews, English politician
- 1943 – Dan Coats, American politician and diplomat, 29th United States Ambassador to Germany
- 1943 – Wieteke van Dort, Dutch actress, comedian, singer, writer and artist
- 1944 – Billy Cobham, Panamanian-American drummer, composer, and bandleader
- 1944 – Antal Nagy, Hungarian footballer
- 1944 – Danny Trejo, American actor
- 1946 – John Law, English sociologist and academic
- 1946 – Robert Fripp, English guitarist, songwriter and producer
- 1947 – Cheryl Clarke, American writer
- 1947 – Darrell Sweet, Scottish drummer (d. 1999)
- 1947 – Roch Thériault, Canadian religious leader (d. 2011)
- 1948 – Jesper Christensen, Danish actor, director, and producer
- 1948 – Judy Finnigan, English talk show host and author
- 1948 – Enrico Fumia, Italian automobile and product designer
- 1948 – Emma Georgina Rothschild, English historian and academic
- 1948 – Staf Van Roosbroeck, Belgian cyclist
- 1949 – Rick Reuschel, American baseball player
- 1950 – Georg Bednorz, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1950 – Ray Condo, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2004)
- 1950 – Bruce Coville, American author
- 1951 – Christian Lacroix, French fashion designer
- 1951 – Jonathan Richman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Janet Soskice, Canadian philosopher and theologian
- 1952 – James Herndon, American psychologist and academic
- 1953 – Pierce Brosnan, Irish-American actor and producer
- 1953 – Peter Onorati, American actor
- 1953 – Richard Page, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1953 – Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 55th Yokozuna (d. 2015)
- 1953 – David Maclean, Scottish politician
- 1953 – Stephen Woolman, Lord Woolman, Scottish judge and academic
- 1954 – Dafydd Williams, Canadian physician and astronaut
- 1955 – Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast
- 1955 – Jack Morris, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1955 – Hazel O’Connor, English-born Irish singer-songwriter and actress
- 1955 – Páidí Ó Sé, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1955 – Debra Winger, American actress
- 1956 – Loretta Schrijver, Dutch television host, news anchor
- 1957 – Joan Benoit, American runner
- 1957 – Benjamin Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft, English politician
- 1957 – Yuri Shevchuk, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso, English lawyer and businessman
- 1957 – Bob Suter, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1959 – Mitch Webster, American baseball player
- 1959 – Mare Winningham, American actress and singer-songwriter
- 1960 – Landon Deireragea, Nauruan politician, Nauruan Speaker of Parliament
- 1960 – S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan commander and politician (d. 1998)
- 1961 – Kevin McDonald, Canadian actor and screenwriter
- 1961 – Charles Wright, American wrestler
- 1962 – Jimmy Hood, Scottish engineer and politician (d. 2017)
- 1962 – Helga Radtke, German long jumper
- 1963 – Rachel Griffith, Anglo-American economist
- 1963 – David Wilkinson, English theologian and academic
- 1964 – John Salley, American basketball player and actor
- 1964 – Boyd Tinsley, American singer-songwriter and violinist
- 1964 – Milton Jones, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Krist Novoselic, American bass player, songwriter, author, and activist
- 1965 – Tanel Tammet, Estonian computer scientist, engineer, and academic
- 1966 – Janet Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actress
- 1966 – Scott Reeves, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1966 – Thurman Thomas, American football player
- 1967 – Doug Brocail, American baseball player and coach
- 1967 – Susan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford, British politician
- 1968 – Ralph Tresvant, American singer and producer
- 1969 – David Boreanaz, American actor
- 1969 – Tucker Carlson, American journalist, co-founded The Daily Caller
- 1969 – Steve Lewis, American sprinter
- 1970 – Gabriela Sabatini, Argentinian tennis player
- 1970 – Danielle Spencer, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1971 – Phil Clarke, English rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Rachel Goswell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Christian Califano, French rugby player
- 1972 – Matthew Hart, New Zealand cricketer
- 1973 – Tori Spelling, American actress, reality television personality, and author
- 1974 – Laura Pausini, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1974 – Sonny Sandoval, American singer-songwriter and rapper
- 1975 – Tony Kakko, Finnish musician, composer, and vocalist
- 1975 – Simon Whitfield, Canadian triathlete
- 1976 – Dirk Nannes, Australian-Dutch cricketer
- 1977 – Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress
- 1977 – Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer-songwriter
- 1978 – Scott Nicholls, English motorcycle racer
- 1978 – Lionel Scaloni, Argentinian footballer
- 1980 – Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spanish tennis player
- 1981 – Ricardo Costa, Portuguese footballer
- 1982 – Łukasz Kubot, Polish tennis player
- 1983 – Daniel Kerr, Australian footballer
- 1983 – Kyle Wellwood, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Darío Cvitanich, Argentinian footballer
- 1984 – Tomáš Fleischmann, Czech ice hockey player
- 1984 – Jensen Lewis, American baseball player
- 1984 – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
- 1985 – Anja Mittag, German footballer
- 1985 – Rodrigo Peters Marques, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Corey Perry, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Megan Fox, American actress
- 1986 – Andy Keogh, Irish footballer
- 1986 – Shamcey Supsup, Filipino model and architect
- 1987 – Tom Onslow-Cole, English race car driver
- 1988 – Jesús Castillo, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – Martynas Gecevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1988 – Jaak Põldma, Estonian tennis player
- 1989 – Behati Prinsloo, Namibian model
- 1990 – Amanda Carreras, Gibraltarian tennis player
- 1990 – Thomas Brodie-Sangster, English actor
- 1990 – Darko Šarović, Serbian sprinter
- 1990 – Omar Strong, American basketball player
- 1991 – Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgarian tennis player
- 1991 – Joey Graceffa, American internet celebrity
- 1991 – Ashley Wagner, American figure skater
- 1992 – Jeff Skinner, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1992 – Kirstin Maldonado, American singer and songwriter
- 1993 – Johannes Thingnes Bø, Norwegian biathlete
- 1993 – Karol Mets, Estonian footballer
- 1993 – IU, Korean singer-songwriter and actress
- 1995 – Elizabeth Ralston, Australian footballer
- 1996 – Louisa Chirico, an American tennis player
Deaths on May 16
- 290 – Emperor Wu of Jin, Chinese emperor (b. 236)
- 895 – Qian Kuan, Chinese nobleman
- 934 – Meng Hanqiong, eunuch official of Later Tang
- 995 – Fujiwara no Michitaka, Japanese nobleman (b. 953)
- 1182 – John Komnenos Vatatzes, Byzantine general (b. 1132)
- 1265 – Simon Stock, English-French saint (b. 1165)
- 1375 – Liu Bowen, Chinese military strategist, officer, statesman and poet (b. 1311)
- 1412 – Gian Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan (b. 1388)
- 1561 – Jan Tarnowski, Polish noble and statesman (b. 1488)
- 1620 – William Adams, English sailor and navigator (b. 1564)
- 1657 – Andrew Bobola, Polish missionary and martyr (b. 1591)
- 1667 – Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1607)
- 1669 – Pietro da Cortona, Italian painter and architect, designed the Santi Luca e Martina (b. 1596)
- 1691 – Jacob Leisler, German-American politician, 8th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1640)
- 1696 – Mariana of Austria, Queen consort of Spain (b. 1634)
- 1703 – Charles Perrault, French author and academic (b. 1628)
- 1778 – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1718)
- 1790 – Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire (b. 1720)
- 1818 – Matthew Lewis, English author and playwright (b. 1775)
- 1823 – Grace Elliott, Scottish courtesan and spy (b. c.1754)
- 1830 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1768)
- 1862 – Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (b. 1796)
- 1882 – Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (b. 1799)
- 1890 – Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet, linguist and theologist (b. 1843)
- 1891 – Ion C. Brătianu, Romanian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1821)
- 1910 – Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (b. 1856)
- 1913 – Louis Perrier, Swiss architect and politician (b. 1849)
- 1920 – Levi P. Morton, American politician, 22nd United States Vice President (b. 1824)
- 1926 – Mehmed VI, Ottoman sultan (b. 1861)
- 1936 – Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Greek general and politician (b. 1860)
- 1938 – Joseph Strauss, American engineer, co designed The Golden Gate Bridge (b. 1870)
- 1943 – Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1865)
- 1944 – George Ade, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1866)
- 1946 – Bruno Tesch, German chemist and businessman (b. 1890)
- 1947 – Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
- 1947 – Zhang Lingfu, Chinese general (b. 1903)
- 1953 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (b. 1910)
- 1954 – Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor and manager (b. 1893)
- 1955 – James Agee, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic(b. 1909)
- 1955 – Manny Ayulo, American race car driver (b. 1921)
- 1956 – H. B. Reese, American candy-maker and businessman, created Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (b. 1876)
- 1957 – Eliot Ness, American federal agent (b. 1903)
- 1961 – George A. Malcolm, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1881)
- 1973 – Jacques Lipchitz, Lithuanian-American sculptor (b. 1891)
- 1977 – Modibo Keïta, Malian politician, 1st President of Mali (b. 1915)
- 1979 – A. Philip Randolph, American union leader and activist (b. 1889)
- 1981 – Ernie Freeman, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1922)
- 1981 – Willy Hartner, German physician and academic (b. 1905)
- 1984 – Andy Kaufman, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1949)
- 1984 – Irwin Shaw, American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1913)
- 1985 – Margaret Hamilton, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1989 – Leila Kasra, Iranian poet and songwriter (b. 1939)
- 1990 – Sammy Davis Jr., American singer, dancer, and actor (b. 1925)
- 1990 – Jim Henson, American puppeteer, director, producer, and screenwriter, created The Muppets (b. 1936)
- 1993 – Marv Johnson, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1938)
- 1994 – Alain Cuny, French actor (b. 1908)
- 1996 – Jeremy Michael Boorda, American admiral (b. 1939)
- 1997 – Elbridge Durbrow, American diplomat (b. 1903)
- 2002 – Alec Campbell, Australian soldier (b. 1899)
- 2003 – Mark McCormack, American lawyer and sports agent, founded IMG (b. 1930)
- 2005 – Andrew Goodpaster, American general (b. 1915)
- 2008 – Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, co-founded the Opus One Winery (b. 1913)
- 2010 – Ronnie James Dio, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1942)
- 2010 – Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1918)
- 2011 – Ralph Barker, English author (b. 1917)
- 2011 – Bob Davis, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Edward Hardwicke, English actor (b. 1932)
- 2011 – Kiyoshi Kodama, Japanese actor (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Patricia Aakhus, American author and academic (b. 1952)
- 2012 – James Abdnor, American soldier and politician, 30th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Chuck Brown, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Ernie Chan, Filipino-American illustrator (b. 1940)
- 2012 – Kevin Hickey, American baseball player (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Angelo Errichetti, American politician (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Bryan Illerbrun, Canadian football player (b. 1957)
- 2013 – Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Dick Trickle, American race car driver (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Bernard Waber, American author and illustrator (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Chris Duckworth, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Vito Favero, Italian cyclist (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Bud Hollowell, American baseball player and manager (b. 1943)
- 2014 – Clyde Snow, American anthropologist and author (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Prashant Bhargava, American director and producer (b. 1973)
- 2015 – Moshe Levinger, Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Flora MacNeil, Scottish Gaelic singer (b. 1928)
- 2019 – Piet Blauw, Dutch politician (b. 1937)
- 2019 – Bob Hawke, Australian politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1929)
- 2019 – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect (b. 1917)
Holidays and observances on May 16
- Christian feast day:
- Aaron (Coptic Church)
- Abda and Abdjesus, and companions:
- Andrew Bobola
- Brendan the Navigator (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Caroline Chisholm (Church of England)
- Gemma Galgani (Passionists Calendar)
- Germerius
- Honoratus of Amiens
- John of Nepomuk
- Margaret of Cortona
- Peregrine of Auxerre
- Simon Stock
- Ubald (see Saint Ubaldo Day)
- Martyrs of Sudan (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Mass Graves Day (Iraq)
- National Day, declared by Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan)
- Teachers’ Day (Malaysia)