Question
Manutius’s Virgil printed 1501 was the first time what was used?
Answer
Italic letters
1501
September 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day
- 61 BC – Pompey the Great celebrates his third triumph for victories over the pirates and the end of the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday.
- 1011 – Danes capture Canterbury after a siege, taking Ælfheah, archbishop of Canterbury, as a prisoner.
- 1227 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, is excommunicated by Pope Gregory IX for his failure to participate in the Crusades.
- 1267 – The Treaty of Montgomery recognises Llywelyn ap Gruffudd as Prince of Wales, but only as a vassal of King Henry III.
- 1364 – English forces defeat the French in Brittany, ending the War of the Breton Succession.
- 1578 – Tegucigalpa, capital city of Honduras, is claimed by the Spaniards.
- 1637 – 42-year-old Lorenzo Ruiz dies.
- 1717 – An earthquake strikes Antigua Guatemala, destroying much of the city’s architecture.
- 1789 – The United States Department of War first establishes a regular army with a strength of several hundred men.
- 1789 – The 1st United States Congress adjourns.
- 1829 – The Metropolitan Police of London, later also known as the Met, is founded.
- 1848 – The Battle of Pákozd is a stalemate between Hungarian and Croatian forces, and is the first battle of the Hungarian Revolution.
- 1850 – The papal bull Universalis Ecclesiae restores the Roman Catholic hierarchy in England and Wales.
- 1855 – The Philippine port of Iloilo is opened to world trade by the Spanish administration.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chaffin’s Farm is fought.
- 1864 – The Treaty of Lisbon defines the boundaries between Spain and Portugal and abolishes the Couto Misto microstate.
- 1885 – The first practical public electric tramway in the world is opened in Blackpool, England.
- 1907 – The cornerstone is laid at the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (better known as Washington National Cathedral) in Washington, D.C.
- 1911 – Italy declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
- 1918 – World War I: Bulgaria signs the Armistice of Salonica.
- 1918 – The Hindenburg Line is broken by an Allied attack.
- 1918 – Germany’s Supreme Army Command tells the Kaiser and the Chancellor to open negotiations for an armistice.
- 1923 – The British Mandate for Palestine takes effect, creating Mandatory Palestine.
- 1923 – The French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon takes effect.
- 1923 – The First American Track & Field championships for women are held.
- 1932 – Chaco War: Last day of the Battle of Boquerón between Paraguay and Bolivia.
- 1940 – Two Avro Ansons collide in mid-air over New South Wales, Australia, remain locked together, then land safely.
- 1941 – World War II: German forces, with the aid of local Ukrainian collaborators, begin the two-day Babi Yar massacre.
- 1949 – The Communist Party of China writes the Common Programme for the future People’s Republic of China.
- 1954 – The convention establishing CERN (the European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed.
- 1957 – The Kyshtym disaster is the third-worst nuclear accident ever recorded.
- 1971 – Oman joins the Arab League.
- 1972 – China–Japan relations: Japan establishes diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China after breaking official ties with the Republic of China.
- 1975 – WGPR becomes the first black-owned-and-operated television station in the US.
- 1979 – The dictator Francisco Macias of Equatorial Guinea is shot by soldiers from Western Sahara.
- 1988 – NASA launches STS-26, the first mission since the Challenger disaster.
- 1990 – Construction of the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul (better known as Washington National Cathedral) is completed in Washington, D.C.
- 1990 – The YF-22, which would later become the F-22 Raptor, flies for the first time.
- 1991 – A Haitian coup d’état occurs.
- 1992 – Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello is impeached.
- 2004 – The asteroid 4179 Toutatis passes within four lunar distances of Earth.
- 2004 – Burt Rutan’s Ansari SpaceShipOne performs a successful spaceflight, the first of two required to win the Ansari X Prize.
- 2006 – A Boeing 737 and an Embraer 600 collide in mid-air, killing 154 people and triggering a Brazilian aviation crisis.
- 2007 – Calder Hall, the world’s first commercial nuclear power station, is demolished in a controlled explosion.
- 2009 – The 8.1 Mw Samoa earthquake results in a tsunami that kills 189 and injures hundreds.
- 2011 – The special court in India convicted all 269 accused officials for atrocity on Dalits and 17 for rape in the Vachathi case.
- 2013 – Over 42 people are killed by members of Boko Haram at the College of Agriculture in Nigeria.
- 2016 – Eleven days after the Uri attack, the Indian Army conducts “surgical strikes” against suspected militants in Pakistani-administered Kashmir.
- 2019 – Violence and low turnout mar the 2019 Afghan presidential election.
- 2019 – At least 59 people are reported dead due to monsoon rains in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, India. 350 people have died this year due to rain in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
Births on September 29
- 106 BC – Pompey, Roman general and politician (d. 48 BC)
- 929 – Qian Chu, Chinese king (Ten Kingdoms) (d. 988)
- 1240 – Margaret of England, Queen consort of Scots (d. 1275)
- 1276 – Christopher II of Denmark (d. 1332)
- 1373 – Margaret of Bohemia, Burgravine of Nuremberg (d. 1410)
- 1402 – Fernando, the Saint Prince, of Portugal (d. 1443)
- 1403 – Elisabeth of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brzeg-Legnica and Cieszyn, German princess (d. 1449)
- 1460 – Louis II de la Trémoille, French military leader (d. 1525)
- 1463 – Louis I, Count of Löwenstein, founder of the House of Löwenstein-Wertheim (d. 1523)
- 1511 – Michael Servetus, Spanish physician, cartographer, and theologian (d. 1553)
- 1527 – John Lesley, Scottish bishop (d. 1596)
- 1538 – Joan Terès i Borrull, Spanish archbishop and academic (d. 1603)
- 1547 – Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1616)
- 1548 – William V, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1626)
- 1561 – Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish priest and mathematician (d. 1615)
- 1574 – Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox, Scottish nobleman and politician (d. 1624)
- 1602 – Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland, English military leader (d. 1668)
- 1636 – Thomas Tenison, English archbishop (d. 1715)
- 1639 – William Russell, Lord Russell, English politician (d. 1683)
- 1640 – Antoine Coysevox, French sculptor and educator (d. 1720)
- 1674 – Jacques-Martin Hotteterre, French flute player and composer (d. 1763)
- 1678 – Adrien Maurice de Noailles, French soldier and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1766)
- 1691 – Richard Challoner, English bishop (d. 1781)
- 1703 – François Boucher, French painter and set designer (d. 1770)
- 1718 – Nikita Ivanovich Panin, Russian soldier and politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1783)
- 1725 – Robert Clive, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Montgomeryshire (d. 1774)
- 1758 – Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English admiral (d. 1805)
- 1766 – Charlotte, Princess Royal of England (d. 1828)
- 1786 – Guadalupe Victoria, Mexican general, lawyer, and politician, 1st President of Mexico (d. 1843)
- 1803 – Mercator Cooper, American captain and explorer (d. 1872)
- 1803 – Jacques Charles François Sturm, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1850)
- 1808 – Henry Bennett, American lawyer and politician (d. 1868)
- 1810 – Elizabeth Gaskell, English author (d. 1865)
- 1816 – Paul Féval, père, French author and playwright (d. 1887)
- 1832 – Joachim Oppenheim, rabbi and author (d. 1891)
- 1832 – Miguel Miramón, Unconstitutional president of Mexico, 1859-1860 (d. 1867)
- 1843 – Mikhail Skobelev, Russian general (d. 1882)
- 1844 – Miguel Ángel Juárez Celman, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 10th President of Argentina (d. 1909)
- 1853 – Luther D. Bradley, American cartoonist (d. 1917)
- 1863 – Hugo Haase, German lawyer, jurist, and politician (d. 1919)
- 1864 – Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish philosopher and author (d. 1936)
- 1866 – Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, Ukrainian historian, academic, and politician (d. 1934)
- 1876 – Charlie Llewellyn, South African cricketer (d. 1964)
- 1880 – Liberato Pinto, Portuguese colonel and politician, 79th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1949)
- 1881 – Ludwig von Mises, Austrian-American economist, sociologist, and philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1882 – Lilias Armstrong, English phonetician (d. 1937)
- 1885 – George Scott, English footballer (d. 1916)
- 1891 – Ian Fairweather, Scottish-Australian painter (d. 1974)
- 1895 – Clarence Ashley, American singer, guitarist, and banjo player (d. 1967)
- 1895 – Joseph Banks Rhine, American botanist and parapsychologist (d. 1980)
- 1895 – Roscoe Turner, American pilot (d. 1970)
- 1897 – Herbert Agar, American journalist and historian (d. 1980)
- 1898 – Trofim Lysenko, Ukrainian-Russian biologist and agronomist (d. 1976)
- 1899 – László Bíró, Hungarian-Argentinian journalist and inventor, invented the ballpoint pen (d. 1985)
- 1899 – Billy Butlin, South African-English businessman, founded Butlins (d. 1980)
- 1901 – Lanza del Vasto, Italian poet, philosopher, and activist (d. 1981)
- 1901 – Enrico Fermi, Italian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
- 1903 – Miguel Alemán Valdés, Mexican lawyer and civilian politician, 46th President of Mexico (1946-1952) (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Diana Vreeland, American journalist (d. 1989)
- 1904 – Greer Garson, English-American actress (d. 1996)
- 1907 – Gene Autry, American singer, actor, and businessman (d. 1998)
- 1907 – George W. Jenkins, American businessman, founded Publix (d. 1996)
- 1908 – Eddie Tolan, American sprinter and educator (d. 1967)
- 1910 – Bill Boyd, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)
- 1910 – Virginia Bruce, American actress (d. 1982)
- 1911 – Charles Court, English-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia (d. 2007)
- 1912 – Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2007)
- 1913 – Trevor Howard, English actor (d. 1988)
- 1913 – Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Vincent DeDomenico, American businessman, founded the Napa Valley Wine Train (d. 2007)
- 1915 – Oscar Handlin, American historian and academic (d. 2011)
- 1915 – Brenda Marshall, American actress (d. 1992)
- 1916 – Carl Giles, English cartoonist (d. 1995)
- 1919 – Kira Zvorykina, Belarusian chess player (d. 2014)
- 1920 – Peter D. Mitchell, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
- 1920 – Václav Neumann, Czech violinist and conductor (d. 1995)
- 1921 – John Ritchie, New Zealand composer and educator (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Albie Roles, English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Lizabeth Scott, American actress (d. 2015)
- 1923 – Stan Berenstain, American author and illustrator (d. 2005)
- 1923 – Bum Phillips, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Steve Forrest, American actor (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Paul MacCready, American engineer, founded AeroVironment (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Chuck Cooper, American basketball player (d. 1984)
- 1926 – Pete Elliott, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Adhemar da Silva, Brazilian triple jumper and actor (d. 2001)
- 1927 – Sherwood Johnston, American race car driver (d. 2000)
- 1927 – Pete McCloskey, American colonel and politician
- 1927 – Barbara Mertz, American historian and author (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, English lieutenant, engineer, and politician (d. 2016)
- 1928 – Brajesh Mishra, Indian politician and diplomat, 1st Indian National Security Advisor (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Nathan Shamuyarira, Zimbabwean journalist and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Richard Bonynge, Australian pianist and conductor
- 1930 – Colin Dexter, English author and educator (d. 2017)
- 1931 – James Cronin, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Anita Ekberg, Swedish-Italian model and actress (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Paul Oestreicher, German-English priest and theologian
- 1932 – Robert Benton, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1932 – Paul Giel, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
- 1933 – Samora Machel, Mozambican commander and politician, 1st President of Mozambique (d. 1986)
- 1934 – Skandor Akbar, American wrestler and manager (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Hungarian-American psychologist and academic
- 1934 – Lance Gibbs, Guyanese cricketer and manager
- 1934 – Stuart M. Kaminsky, American author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1934 – Lindsay Kline, Australian cricketer (d. 2015)
- 1935 – Jerry Lee Lewis, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1936 – Silvio Berlusconi, Italian businessman and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Italy
- 1936 – James Fogle, American author (d. 2012)
- 1936 – Hal Trosky, Jr., American baseball player (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Dave Harper, English footballer (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Wim Kok, Dutch union leader and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2018)
- 1939 – Fikret Abdić, Bosnian economist and politician
- 1939 – Jim Baxter, Scottish footballer (d. 2001)
- 1939 – Larry Linville, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1939 – Rhodri Morgan, Welsh politician, 2nd First Minister of Wales (d. 2017)
- 1940 – Brute Force, American singer-songwriter
- 1940 – Carlos Morales Troncoso, Dominican politician, 34th Vice President of the Dominican Republic (d. 2014)
- 1941 – David Steele, English cricketer
- 1942 – Felice Gimondi, Italian cyclist
- 1942 – Madeline Kahn, American actress and singer (d. 1999)
- 1942 – Ian McShane, English actor
- 1942 – Bill Nelson, American captain and politician
- 1942 – Jean-Luc Ponty, French violinist and composer
- 1942 – Janet Powell, Australian educator and politician (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Steve Tesich, Serbian-American screenwriter and playwright (d. 1996)
- 1943 – Wolfgang Overath, German footballer
- 1943 – Lech Wałęsa, Polish electrician and politician, 2nd President of Poland, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1944 – Mike Post, American composer and producer
- 1945 – Kyriakos Sfetsas, Greek composer and poet
- 1945 – Nadezhda Chizhova, Russian shot putter
- 1946 – Patricia Hodge, English actress
- 1947 – Ülo Kaevats, Estonian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 2015)
- 1947 – S. H. Kapadia, Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 38th Chief Justice of India (d. 2016)
- 1947 – Gary Wetzel, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient
- 1948 – Mark Farner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1948 – Bryant Gumbel, American journalist and sportscaster
- 1948 – Theo Jörgensmann, German clarinet player and composer
- 1948 – Mike Pinera, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1949 – George Dalaras, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1950 – Ken Macha, American baseball player and manager
- 1951 – Michelle Bachelet, Chilean physician and politician, 34th President of Chile
- 1951 – Pier Luigi Bersani, Italian educator and politician, 6th President of Emilia-Romagna
- 1951 – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1977)
- 1951 – Maureen Caird, Australian-New Zealand hurdler
- 1951 – Mike Enriquez, Filipino journalist and radio commentator
- 1952 – Roy Campbell, Jr., American trumpet player (d. 2014)
- 1952 – Gábor Csupó, Hungarian-American animator, director, and producer, co-founded Klasky Csupo
- 1952 – Richard Hodges, English archaeologist and academic
- 1952 – Max Sandlin, American lawyer, judge, and politician
- 1952 – Takanosato Toshihide, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 59th Yokozuna (d. 2011)
- 1953 – Warren Cromartie, American baseball player, coach, and radio host
- 1953 – Jean-Claude Lauzon, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 1997)
- 1953 – Lawrence Reed, American economist and author
- 1954 – Uwe Jahn, German footballer and manager
- 1954 – Mark Mitchell, Australian actor
- 1955 – Ann Bancroft, American explorer and author
- 1955 – Gareth Davies, Welsh rugby player and academic
- 1955 – Joe Donnelly, American politician and lawyer
- 1955 – Benoît Ferreux, French actor and director
- 1955 – Gwen Ifill, American journalist (d. 2016)
- 1956 – Sebastian Coe, English sprinter and politician
- 1956 – Jenny Morris, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 – Suzzy Roche, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1957 – Chris Broad, English cricketer and referee
- 1957 – Sokratis Malamas, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Mark Nicholas, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1960 – Julian Armour, American-Canadian cellist and educator
- 1960 – Kenneth Hansen, Swedish race car driver
- 1960 – Alan McGee, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1960 – Hubert Neuper, Austrian ski jumper
- 1960 – John Paxson, American basketball player and coach
- 1960 – David Sammartino, American wrestler and trainer
- 1960 – Andy Slaughter, English politician
- 1960 – Carol Welsman, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1961 – Julia Gillard, Welsh-Australian lawyer and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1961 – Stephanie Miller, American comedian and radio host
- 1962 – Roger Bart, American actor
- 1963 – Dave Andreychuk, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 – Les Claypool, American bass player, singer, songwriter, and producer
- 1964 – Brad Lohaus, American basketball player
- 1966 – Hersey Hawkins, American basketball player and coach
- 1966 – Ben Miles, English actor
- 1967 – Brett Anderson, English singer-songwriter
- 1967 – Sara Sankey, English badminton player
- 1968 – Patrick Burns, American paranormal investigator
- 1968 – Luke Goss, English actor
- 1968 – Matt Goss, English singer-songwriter
- 1969 – Erika Eleniak, American model and actress
- 1969 – DeVante Swing, American singer-songwriter, and producer
- 1969 – Aleks Syntek, Mexican singer-songwriter and producer
- 1970 – Russell Peters, Canadian comedian, actor, and producer
- 1970 – Yoshihiro Tajiri, Japanese wrestler and trainer
- 1970 – Natasha Gregson Wagner, American actress
- 1970 – Kushboo, South Indian actress and producer
- 1971 – Yitzhak Yedid, Israeli-Australian composer & pianist
- 1971 – Tanoka Beard, American basketball player
- 1971 – Mackenzie Crook, English actor and screenwriter
- 1971 – Theodore Shapiro, American composer
- 1972 – Oliver Gavin, English race car driver
- 1973 – Foivos Delivorias, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1973 – Shannon Larratt, Canadian publisher, founded BMEzine (d. 2013)
- 1973 – Scout Niblett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 – Brian Ash, American screenwriter and producer
- 1974 – Matt Hullum, American actor, director, and producer, co-founded Rooster Teeth
- 1974 – James Lance, British actor
- 1975 – Albert Celades, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1976 – Darren Byfield, English-Jamaican footballer
- 1976 – Kelvin Davis, English footballer
- 1976 – Óscar Sevilla, Spanish cyclist
- 1976 – Andriy Shevchenko, Ukrainian footballer and politician
- 1977 – Eric Barton, American football player
- 1977 – Wade Brookbank, Canadian ice hockey player and scout
- 1977 – Debelah Morgan, American singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Jake Westbrook, American baseball player
- 1978 – Mohini Bhardwaj, American gymnast and coach
- 1978 – Gunner McGrath, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Karen Putzer, Italian skier
- 1978 – Kurt Nilsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Orhan Ak, Turkish footballer
- 1979 – Takumi Beppu, Japanese cyclist and manager
- 1979 – Artika Sari Devi, Indonesian model and actress
- 1979 – Shelley Duncan, American baseball player and manager
- 1979 – Jaime Lozano, Mexican footballer
- 1980 – Patrick Agyemang, English footballer
- 1980 – Dallas Green, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1980 – Zachary Levi, American actor and singer
- 1981 – Aris Galanopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1981 – Shane Smeltz, German-New Zealand footballer
- 1982 – Matt Giteau, Australian rugby player
- 1982 – Amy Williams, English skeleton racer
- 1983 – Lisette Oropesa, American soprano and actress
- 1984 – Per Mertesacker, German footballer
- 1985 – Calvin Johnson, American football player
- 1985 – Niklas Moisander, Finnish footballer
- 1985 – Dani Pedrosa, Spanish motorcycle racer
- 1985 – Magnus Gangstad Jørgensen, Norwegian music producer
- 1986 – Lisa Foiles, American actress and journalist
- 1986 – Mark Fraser, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Matt Lashoff, American ice hockey player
- 1986 – Isaac Makwala, Botswanan sprinter
- 1986 – Benoît Pouliot, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – David Del Rio, American actor and director
- 1988 – Kevin Durant, American basketball player
- 1988 – Justin Nozuka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1989 – Theo Adams, English photographer and director
- 1989 – Adore Delano, American drag queen and singer
- 1989 – Yevhen Konoplyanka, Ukrainian footballer
- 1989 – Aaron Martin, English footballer
- 1989 – Andrea Poli, Italian footballer
- 1989 – Fatima Lodhi, Pakistani social activist
- 1990 – Doug Brochu, American voice actor
- 1990 – Gerphil Flores, Filipina classical crossover singer and Asia’s Got Talent finalist
- 1990 – Lena Wermelt, German footballer
- 1991 – Adem Ljajić, Serbian footballer
- 1991 – Martin Jensen, Danish musician
- 1993 – Lee Hong-bin, South Korean singer
- 1993 – Viktor Romanenkov, Estonian figure skater
- 1993 – Oleg Vernyayev, Ukrainian artistic gymnast
- 1998 – Vera Lapko, Belarusian tennis player
- 1999 – Choi Ye-na, South Korean singer and dancer
Deaths on September 29
- 722 – Leudwinus, Frankish archbishop and saint (b. 660)
- 855 – Lothair I, Roman emperor (b. 795)
- 1186 – William of Tyre, Archbishop of Tyre (b. c. 1130)
- 1225 – Arnaud Amalric, Papal legate who allegedly promoted mass murder
- 1298 – Guido I da Montefeltro, Italian military strategist (b. 1223)
- 1304 – John de Warenne, 6th Earl of Surrey, English general (b. 1231)
- 1360 – Joanna I of Auvergne, queen consort of France (b. 1326)
- 1364 – Charles I, Duke of Brittany (b. 1319)
- 1382 – ‘Izz al-Din ibn Rukn al-Din Mahmud, malik of Sistan
- 1501 – Andrew Stewart, Scottish bishop (b. 1442)
- 1560 – Gustav I of Sweden (b. 1496)
- 1622 – Conrad Vorstius, German-Dutch Remonstrant theologian (b. 1569)
- 1634 – Henry Hyde, English politician and lawyer (b.c. 1563)
- 1637 – Lorenzo Ruiz, Filipino martyr and saint (b. 1600)
- 1642 – René Goupil, French missionary and saint (b. 1608)
- 1642 – William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire (b. 1561)
- 1703 – Charles de Saint-Évremond, French-English soldier, author, and critic (b. 1610)
- 1800 – Michael Denis, Austrian poet and author (b. 1729)
- 1804 – Michael Hillegas, American politician, 1st Treasurer of the United States (b. 1728)
- 1833 – Ferdinand VII of Spain (b. 1784)
- 1862 – William “Bull” Nelson, American general (b. 1824)
- 1887 – Bernhard von Langenbeck, German surgeon and academic (b. 1810)
- 1889 – Louis Faidherbe, French general and politician (b. 1818)
- 1900 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American lawyer and politician (b. 1814)
- 1902 – William McGonagall, Scottish poet and actor (b. 1825)
- 1902 – Émile Zola, French journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1840)
- 1908 – Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1839)
- 1910 – Winslow Homer, American painter, illustrator, and engraver (b. 1836)
- 1913 – Rudolf Diesel, German engineer, invented the diesel engine (b. 1858)
- 1918 – Lawrence Weathers, decorated WWI Australian soldier (b. 1890).
- 1925 – Léon Bourgeois, French police officer and politician, 64th Prime Minister of France, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1851)
- 1927 – Arthur Achleitner, German journalist and author (b. 1858)
- 1927 – Willem Einthoven, Indonesian-Dutch physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1860)
- 1928 – John Devoy, Irish-American Fenian rebel leader (b. 1842)
- 1930 – Ilya Repin, Ukrainian-Russian painter and illustrator (b. 1844)
- 1937 – Marie Zdeňka Baborová-Čiháková, Czech botanist and zoologist (b. 1877)
- 1937 – Ray Ewry, American triple jumper (b. 1873)
- 1937 – Ernst Hoppenberg, German swimmer and water polo player (b. 1878)
- 1951 – Thomas Cahill, American soccer player and coach (b. 1864)
- 1952 – John Cobb, English race car driver and pilot (b. 1899)
- 1967 – Carson McCullers, American novelist, playwright, essayist, and poet (b. 1917)
- 1970 – Edward Everett Horton, American actor (b. 1886)
- 1973 – W. H. Auden, English-American poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1907)
- 1975 – Casey Stengel, American baseball player and manager (b. 1890)
- 1981 – Bill Shankly, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1913)
- 1982 – Monty Stratton, American baseball player and coach (b. 1912)
- 1986 – Prince George Valdemar of Denmark (b. 1920)
- 1987 – Henry Ford II, American businessman (b. 1917)
- 1988 – Charles Addams, American cartoonist (b. 1912)
- 1989 – Gussie Busch, American businessman (b. 1899)
- 1989 – Georges Ulmer, Danish-French singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1919)
- 1993 – Gordon Douglas, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Roy Lichtenstein, American painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
- 1998 – Tom Bradley, American lieutenant and politician, 38th Mayor of Los Angeles (b. 1917)
- 1999 – Jean-Louis Millette, Canadian actor (b. 1935)
- 2000 – John Grant, English journalist and politician (b. 1932)
- 2001 – Mabel Fairbanks, American figure skater and coach (b. 1915)
- 2001 – Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, Vietnamese general and politician, 5th President of South Vietnam (b. 1923)
- 2004 – Richard Sainct, French motorcycle racer (b. 1970)
- 2004 – Patrick Wormald, English historian (b. 1947)
- 2005 – Patrick Caulfield, English painter and academic (b. 1936)
- 2005 – Austin Leslie, American chef and author (b. 1934)
- 2006 – Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer and manager (b. 1915)
- 2006 – Michael A. Monsoor, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1981)
- 2006 – Louis-Albert Vachon, Canadian cardinal (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Lois Maxwell, Canadian actress (b. 1927)
- 2007 – Yıldırım Aktuna, Turkish psychiatrist and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (b. 1930)
- 2008 – Hayden Carruth, American poet and critic (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Pavel Popovich, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Tony Curtis, American actor (b. 1925)
- 2010 – Greg Giraldo, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1965)
- 2011 – Sylvia Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Hathloul bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Neil Smith, Scottish geographer and academic (b. 1954)
- 2012 – Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, American publisher (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Malcolm Wicks, English academic and politician (b. 1947)
- 2013 – Harold Agnew, American physicist and engineer (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Anton Benning, German lieutenant (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Pete T. Cenarrusa, American soldier, pilot, and politician, Secretary of State of Idaho (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Carl Joachim Classen, German scholar and academic (b. 1928)
- 2013 – L. C. Greenwood, American football player (b. 1946)
- 2013 – Bob Kurland, American basketball player and politician (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Miguel Boyer, Spanish economist and politician (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Andreas Fransson, Swedish skier (b. 1983)
- 2014 – Stan Monteith, American surgeon and author (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Luis Nishizawa, Mexican painter and educator (b. 1918)
- 2014 – John Ritchie, New Zealand composer and educator (b. 1921)
- 2014 – George Shuba, American baseball player (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Nawwaf bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Hellmuth Karasek, Czech-German journalist, author, and critic (b. 1934)
- 2015 – William Kerslake, American wrestler and engineer (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Jean Ter-Merguerian, French-Armenian violinist (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Phil Woods, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Miriam Defensor Santiago, Filipina politician (b. 1945)
- 2017 – Tom Alter, Indian actor (b. 1950)
- 2018 – Otis Rush, American blues guitarist and singer (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances on September 29
- Christian feast day:
- Rhipsime
- September 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- the Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. One of the four quarter days in the Irish calendar. (England and Ireland). Called Michaelmas in some western liturgical traditions
- Day of Machine-Building Industry Workers (Russia)
- Inventors’ Day (Argentina)
- Victory of Boquerón Day (Paraguay)
- World Heart Day
July 18- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day
- 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 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day
- 138 – Emperor Hadrian dies of heart failure at Baiae; he is buried at Rome in the Tomb of Hadrian beside his late wife, Vibia Sabina.
- 645 – Isshi Incident: Prince Naka-no-Ōe and Fujiwara no Kamatari assassinate Soga no Iruka during a coup d’état at the imperial palace.
- 988 – The Norse King Glúniairn recognises Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill, High King of Ireland, and agrees to pay taxes and accept Brehon Law; the event is considered to be the founding of the city of Dublin.
- 1086 – King Canute IV of Denmark is killed by rebellious peasants.
- 1212 – The most severe of several early fires of London burns most of the city to the ground.
- 1460 – Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick, defeats the king’s Lancastrian forces and takes King Henry VI prisoner in the Battle of Northampton.
- 1499 – The Portuguese explorer Nicolau Coelho returns to Lisbon after discovering the sea route to India as a companion of Vasco da Gama.
- 1512 – The Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre commences with the capture of Goizueta.
- 1519 – Zhu Chenhao declares the Ming dynasty’s Zhengde Emperor a usurper, beginning the Prince of Ning rebellion, and leads his army north in an attempt to capture Nanjing.
- 1553 – Lady Jane Grey takes the throne of England.
- 1584 – William I of Orange is assassinated in his home in Delft, Holland, by Balthasar Gérard.
- 1645 – English Civil War: The Battle of Langport takes place.
- 1778 – American Revolution: Louis XVI of France declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain.
- 1789 – Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Mackenzie River delta.
- 1806 – The Vellore Mutiny is the first instance of a mutiny by Indian sepoys against the British East India Company.
- 1832 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson vetoes a bill that would re-charter the Second Bank of the United States.
- 1850 – U.S. President Millard Fillmore is sworn in, a day after becoming president upon Zachary Taylor’s death.
- 1869 – Gävle, Sweden, is largely destroyed in a fire; 80% of its 10,000 residents are left homeless.
- 1877 – The then-villa of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, formally receives its city charter from the Royal Crown of Spain.
- 1882 – War of the Pacific: Chile suffers its last military defeat in the Battle of La Concepción when a garrison of 77 men is annihilated by a 1,300-strong Peruvian force, many of them armed with spears.
- 1883 – War of the Pacific: Chileans led by Alejandro Gorostiaga defeat Andrés Avelino Cáceres’s Peruvuan army at the Battle of Huamachuco, hastening the end of the war.
- 1890 – Wyoming is admitted as the 44th U.S. state.
- 1921 – Belfast’s Bloody Sunday: Sixteen people are killed and 161 houses destroyed during rioting and gun battles in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- 1925 – Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called “Monkey Trial” begins of John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher accused of teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
- 1927 – Kevin O’Higgins TD, Vice-President of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State is assassinated by the IRA.
- 1938 – Howard Hughes begins a 91-hour airplane flight around the world that will set a new record.
- 1940 – World War II: The Vichy government is established in France.
- 1940 – World War II: Six days before Adolf Hitler issues his Directive 16 to the combined Wehrmacht armed forces for Operation Sea Lion, the Kanalkampf shipping attacks against British maritime convoys begin, in the leadup to initiating the Battle of Britain.
- 1941 – Jedwabne pogrom: Massacre of Polish Jews living in and near the village of Jedwabne.
- 1942 – World War II: An American pilot spots a downed, intact Mitsubishi A6M Zero on Akutan Island (the “Akutan Zero”) that the US Navy uses to learn the aircraft’s flight characteristics.
- 1943 – World War II: Operation Husky begins in Sicily.
- 1947 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah is recommended as the first Governor-General of Pakistan by the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee.
- 1951 – Korean War: Armistice negotiations begin at Kaesong.
- 1962 – Telstar, the world’s first communications satellite, is launched into orbit.
- 1966 – The Chicago Freedom Movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr., holds a rally at Soldier Field in Chicago. As many as 60,000 people attend.
- 1973 – The Bahamas gain full independence within the Commonwealth of Nations.
- 1976 – Four mercenaries (one American and three British) are executed in Angola following the Luanda Trial.
- 1978 – ABC World News Tonight premieres on ABC.
- 1978 – President Moktar Ould Daddah of Mauritania is ousted in a bloodless coup d’état.
- 1985 – The Greenpeace vessel Rainbow Warrior is bombed and sunk in Auckland harbour by French DGSE agents, killing Fernando Pereira.
- 1985 – An Aeroflot Tupolev Tu-154 stalls and crashes near Uchkuduk, Uzbekistan (then part of the Soviet Union), killing all 200 people on board in the USSR’s worst-ever airline disaster.
- 1991 – The South African cricket team is readmitted into the International Cricket Council following the end of Apartheid.
- 1991 – Boris Yeltsin takes office as the first elected President of Russia.
- 1992 – In Miami, former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega is sentenced to 40 years in prison for drug and racketeering violations.
- 1997 – In London, scientists report the findings of the DNA analysis of a Neanderthal skeleton which supports the “out of Africa theory” of human evolution, placing an “African Eve” at 100,000 to 200,000 years ago.
- 1997 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, a member of Partido Popular (Spain), is kidnapped (and later murdered) in the Basque city of Ermua by ETA members, sparking widespread protests.
- 1998 – Catholic Church sexual abuse cases: The Diocese of Dallas agrees to pay $23.4 million to nine former altar boys who claimed they were sexually abused by Rudolph Kos, a former priest.
- 1999 – In women’s association football, the United States defeated China in a penalty shoot-out at the Rose Bowl near Los Angeles to win the final match of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The final was watched by 90,185 spectators, which set a new world record for attendance at a women’s sporting event.
- 2000 – EADS, the world’s second-largest aerospace group is formed by the merger of Aérospatiale-Matra, DASA, and CASA.
- 2002 – At a Sotheby’s auction, Peter Paul Rubens’s painting The Massacre of the Innocents is sold for £49.5 million (US$76.2 million) to Lord Thomson.
- 2005 – Hurricane Dennis slams into the Florida Panhandle, causing billions of dollars in damage.
- 2007 – Erden Eruç begins the first solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.
- 2008 – Former Macedonian Interior Minister Ljube Boškoski is acquitted of all war-crimes charges by a United Nations Tribunal.
- 2011 – Russian cruise ship Bulgaria sinks in Volga near Syukeyevo, Tatarstan, causing 122 deaths.
- 2017 – Iraqi Civil War: Mosul is declared fully liberated from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
- 2019 – The last Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the line in Puebla, Mexico. The last of 5,961 “Special Edition” cars will be exhibited in a museum.
Births on July 10
- 1419 – Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (d. 1471)
- 1451 – James III of Scotland (d. 1488)
- 1501 – Cho Shik, Korean poet and scholar (d. 1572)
- 1509 – John Calvin, French pastor and theologian (d. 1564)
- 1515 – Francisco de Toledo, Viceroy of Peru (d. 1582)
- 1517 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal (d. 1571)
- 1533 – Antonio Possevino, Italian diplomat (d. 1611)
- 1592 – Pierre d’Hozier, French genealogist and historian (d. 1660)
- 1614 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, Irish-English politician (d. 1686)
- 1625 – Jean Herauld Gourville, French adventurer (d. 1703)
- 1638 – David Teniers III, Flemish painter (d. 1685)
- 1666 – John Ernest Grabe, German theologian and academic (d. 1711)
- 1682 – Roger Cotes, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1716)
- 1723 – William Blackstone, English lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1780)
- 1724 – Eva Ekeblad, Swedish noble and agronomist (d. 1786)
- 1752 – St. George Tucker, United States federal judge (d. 1827)
- 1792 – George M. Dallas, American lawyer and politician, 11th Vice President of the United States (d. 1864)
- 1802 – Robert Chambers, Scottish geologist and publisher, co-founded Chambers Harrap (d. 1871)
- 1804 – Emma Smith, American religious leader (d. 1879)
- 1809 – Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist and palaeontologist (d. 1889)
- 1823 – Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1908)
- 1830 – Camille Pissarro, Danish-French painter (d. 1903)
- 1832 – Alvan Graham Clark, American astronomer (d. 1897)
- 1835 – Henryk Wieniawski, Polish violinist and composer (d. 1880)
- 1839 – Adolphus Busch, German brewer, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (d. 1913)
- 1856 – Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American physicist and engineer (d. 1943)
- 1864 – Austin Chapman, Australian businessman and politician, 4th Australian Minister for Defence (d. 1926)
- 1867 – Prince Maximilian of Baden (d. 1929)
- 1871 – Marcel Proust, French novelist, critic, and essayist (d. 1922)
- 1874 – Sergey Konenkov, Russian sculptor (d. 1971)
- 1875 – Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (d. 1955)
- 1875 – Dezső Pattantyús-Ábrahám, Hungarian politician (d. 1973)
- 1877 – Ernst Bresslau, German zoologist (d. 1935)
- 1878 – Otto Freundlich, German painter and sculptor (d. 1943)
- 1882 – Ima Hogg, American society leader, philanthropist, patron and collector of the arts (d. 1975)
- 1883 – Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (d. 1948)
- 1883 – Hugo Raudsepp, Estonian playwright and politician (d. 1952)
- 1888 – Giorgio de Chirico, Greek-Italian painter and set designer (d. 1978)
- 1888 – Toyohiko Kagawa, Japanese evangelist, author, and activist (d. 1960)
- 1891 – Edith Quimby, American medical researcher and physicist (d. 1982)
- 1894 – Jimmy McHugh, American composer (d. 1969)
- 1895 – Carl Orff, German composer and educator (d. 1982)
- 1896 – Thérèse Casgrain, Canadian politician (d. 1981)
- 1897 – Legs Diamond, American gangster (d. 1931)
- 1897 – Karl Plagge, German general and engineer (d. 1957)
- 1898 – Renée Björling, Swedish actress (d. 1975)
- 1899 – John Gilbert, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1936)
- 1899 – Heiri Suter, Swiss cyclist (d. 1978)
- 1900 – Mitchell Parish, Lithuanian-American songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1900 – Sampson Sievers, Russian monk and mystic (d. 1979)
- 1902 – Kurt Alder, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
- 1902 – Nicolás Guillén, Cuban poet, journalist, and activist (d. 1989)
- 1903 – Werner Best, German SS officer and jurist (d. 1989)
- 1903 – John Wyndham, English soldier and author (d. 1969)
- 1904 – Lili Damita, French-American actress (d. 1994)
- 1905 – Mildred Benson, American journalist and author (d. 2002)
- 1905 – Thomas Gomez, American actor (d. 1971)
- 1905 – Wolfram Sievers, German physician (d. 1948)
- 1907 – Blind Boy Fuller, American singer and guitarist (d. 1941)
- 1909 – Donald Sinclair, English lieutenant and businessman (d. 1981)
- 1911 – Terry-Thomas, English comedian and character actor (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Cootie Williams, American trumpeter and bandleader (d. 1985)
- 1913 – Salvador Espriu, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1985)
- 1914 – Joe Shuster, Canadian-American illustrator, co-created Superman (d. 1992)
- 1914 – Rempo Urip, Indonesian film director
- 1916 – Judith Jasmin, Canadian journalist (d. 1972)
- 1917 – Hugh Alexander, American baseball player and scout (d. 2000)
- 1917 – Reg Smythe, English cartoonist (d. 1998)
- 1918 – James Aldridge, Australian-English journalist and author (d. 2015)
- 1918 – Chuck Stevens, American baseball player (d. 2018)
- 1918 – Frank L. Lambert, Professor Emeritus of Chemistry at Occidental College (d. 2018)
- 1918 – Fred Wacker, American race driver and engineer (d. 1998)
- 1919 – Pierre Gamarra, French author, poet, and critic (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Ian Wallace, English actor and singer (d. 2009)
- 1920 – David Brinkley, American journalist (d. 2003)
- 1920 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
- 1920 – Cyril Grant, English footballer (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Harvey Ball, American illustrator, created the Smiley (d. 2001)
- 1921 – Jeff Donnell, American actress (d. 1988)
- 1921 – John K. Singlaub, U.S Army Major General
- 1921 – Eunice Kennedy Shriver, American activist, co-founded the Special Olympics (d. 2009)
- 1922 – Jean Kerr, American author and playwright (d. 2003)
- 1922 – Herb McKenley, Jamaican sprinter (d. 2007)
- 1922 – Jake LaMotta, American boxer and actor (d. 2017)
- 1923 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (d. 2001)
- 1923 – John Bradley, American soldier (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Suzanne Cloutier, Canadian actress and producer (d. 2003)
- 1923 – G. A. Kulkarni, Indian author and academic (d. 1987)
- 1924 – Johnny Bach, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Bobo Brazil, American wrestler (d. 1998)
- 1925 – Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysian physician and politician, 4th and 7th Prime Minister of Malaysia
- 1925 – Ernest Bertrand Boland, American Roman Catholic bishop
- 1926 – Carleton Carpenter, American actor, magician, songwriter, and novelist
- 1926 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1927 – Grigory Barenblatt, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2018)
- 1927 – David Dinkins, American soldier and politician, 106th Mayor of New York City
- 1927 – William Smithers, American actor
- 1928 – Don Bolles, American investigative reporter (d. 1976)
- 1928 – Bernard Buffet, French painter and illustrator (d. 1999)
- 1928 – Alejandro de Tomaso, Argentinian-Italian race car driver and businessman, founded De Tomaso (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Moshe Greenberg, American-Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 2010)
- 1928 – John Glenn, American baseball player
- 1929 – Winnie Ewing, Scottish lawyer and politician
- 1929 – George Clayton Johnson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Moe Norman, Canadian golfer (d. 2004)
- 1929 – José Vicente Rangel, Venezuelan politician; 21st Vice President of Venezuela
- 1930 – Bruce Boa, Canadian actor (d. 2004)
- 1930 – Janette Sherman, American physician, author, and pioneer in occupational and environmental health (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Josephine Veasey, English soprano and actress
- 1931 – Nick Adams, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
- 1931 – Jerry Herman, American composer and songwriter (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Julian May, American author (d. 2017)
- 1931 – Alice Munro, Canadian short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1932 – Carlo Maria Abate, Italian race car driver (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Neile Adams, Filipino-American actress, singer and dancer
- 1932 – Manfred Preußger, German athlete
- 1933 – Jumpin’ Gene Simmons, American rockabilly singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
- 1933 – C.K. Yang, Taiwanese decathlete and pole vaulter (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Marshall Brodien, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1934 – Jerry Nelson, American puppeteer and voice actor (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Tura Satana, American actress and dancer (d. 2011)
- 1935 – Wilson Tuckey, Australian politician
- 1935 – Margaret McEntee, American Catholic religious sister and educator
- 1935 – Wilson Whineray, New Zealand rugby player and businessman (d. 2012)
- 1936 – Herbert Boyer, American businessman, co-founded Genentech
- 1936 – Tunne Kelam, Estonian journalist and politician
- 1937 – Edwards Barham, American farmer and politician (d. 2014)
- 1937 – Gun Svensson, Swedish politician
- 1938 – Paul Andreu, French architect (d. 2018)
- 1938 – Lee Morgan, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1972)
- 1939 – Phil Kelly, Irish-English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Turkish political scientist, journalist and educator (d. 1999)
- 1939 – Mavis Staples, American singer
- 1940 – Meghnad Desai, Baron Desai, Indian-English economist and politician
- 1940 – Helen Donath, American soprano and actress
- 1940 – Brian Priestley, English pianist and composer
- 1940 – Keith Stackpole, Australian cricketer
- 1941 – Jake Eberts, Canadian film producer (d. 2012)
- 1941 – David G. Hartwell, American anthologist, author, and critic (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Robert Pine, American actor and director
- 1941 – Ian Whitcomb, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1942 – Ronnie James Dio, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
- 1942 – Pyotr Klimuk, Belarusian general, pilot, and astronaut
- 1942 – Sixto Rodriguez, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 – Lopo do Nascimento, Angolan politician; 1st Prime Minister of Angola
- 1943 – Arthur Ashe, American tennis player and journalist (d. 1993)
- 1943 – Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika, Zambian politician
- 1943 – Jerry Miller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1944 – Mick Grant, English motorcycle racer
- 1944 – Norman Hammond, English archaeologist and academic
- 1945 – Ron Glass, American actor (d. 2016)
- 1945 – Hal McRae, American baseball player and manager
- 1945 – John Motson, English sportscaster
- 1945 – Jean-Marie Poiré, French director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1945 – Virginia Wade, English tennis player and sportscaster
- 1946 – Jean-Pierre Jarier, French racing driver
- 1946 – Chin Han, Taiwanese actor
- 1947 – Arlo Guthrie, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1948 – Ronnie Cutrone, American painter (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Chico Resch, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1948 – Natalya Sedykh, Russian figure skater, ballet dancer, actor
- 1949 – Anna Czerwińska, Polish mountaineer and author
- 1949 – Sunil Gavaskar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1949 – Greg Kihn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1949 – John Whitehead, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
- 1950 – Tony Baldry, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, British Minister of State for Agriculture
- 1950 – Prokopis Pavlopoulos, President of Greece, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
- 1951 – Cheryl Wheeler, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Rajnath Singh, Indian Politician and Union Home Minister of India
- 1952 – Kim Mitchell, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1952 – Peter van Heemst, Dutch politician
- 1953 – Rik Emmett, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1953 – Zoogz Rift, American musician and wrestler (d. 2011)
- 1954 – Tommy Bowden, American football player and coach
- 1954 – Andre Dawson, American baseball player
- 1954 – Neil Tennant, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1955 – Nic Dakin, English educator and politician
- 1955 – Geoff Gerard, Australian rugby league player
- 1956 – Tom McClintock, American lawyer and politician
- 1956 – K. Rajagopal, Malaysian football manager
- 1957 – Derry Grehan, Canadian rock guitarist and songwriter
- 1958 – Béla Fleck, American banjo player and songwriter
- 1958 – Fiona Shaw, Irish actress and director
- 1959 – Ellen Kuras, American director and cinematographer
- 1959 – Sandy West, American singer-songwriter and drummer (d. 2006)
- 1961 – Jacky Cheung, Hong Kong singer and film actor
- 1961 – Marc Riley, English guitarist (The Fall), radio DJ
- 1963 – Ian Lougher, Welsh motorcycle racer
- 1964 – Martin Laurendeau, Canadian tennis player and coach
- 1964 – Urban Meyer, American football player and coach
- 1964 – Wilfried Peeters, Belgian cyclist
- 1965 – Scott McCarron, American golfer
- 1965 – Ken Mellons, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1966 – Clive Efford, English politician
- 1966 – Johnny Grunge, American wrestler (d. 2006)
- 1966 – Christian Stangl, Austrian skier and mountaineer
- 1966 – Anna Bråkenhielm, Swedish business executive
- 1967 – Tom Meents, American professional monster truck driver
- 1967 – Rebekah Del Rio, American singer-songwriter
- 1967 – Gillian Tett, English journalist and author
- 1967 – Ikki Sawamura, Japanese model, actor and television presenter
- 1967 – John Yoo, South Korean-American lawyer, author, and educator
- 1969 – Marty Cordova, American baseball player
- 1969 – Gale Harold, American actor
- 1970 – Gary LeVox, American singer-songwriter
- 1970 – Jason Orange, English singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1970 – John Simm, English actor
- 1971 – Adam Foote, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1971 – Gregory Goodridge, Barbadian footballer and coach
- 1972 – Peter Serafinowicz, English actor
- 1972 – Sofía Vergara, Colombian-American actress and producer
- 1972 – Tilo Wolff, German-Swiss singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1974 – Imelda May, Irish singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
- 1975 – Andrew Firestone, American businessman
- 1975 – Brendan Gaughan, American race car driver
- 1975 – Alain Nasreddine, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1975 – Stefán Karl Stefánsson, Icelandic actor (d. 2018)
- 1975 – Richard Westbrook, English race car driver
- 1976 – Edmílson, Brazilian footballer
- 1976 – Elijah Blue Allman, American singer and guitarist
- 1976 – Ludovic Giuly, French footballer
- 1976 – Adrian Grenier, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1976 – Brendon Lade, Australian footballer and coach
- 1976 – Lars Ricken, German footballer
- 1977 – Chiwetel Ejiofor, English actor
- 1979 – Mvondo Atangana, Cameroon footballer
- 1979 – Gong Yoo, Korean actor
- 1980 – Alejandro Millán, Mexican singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1980 – Adam Petty, American race car driver (d. 2000)
- 1980 – Claudia Leitte, Brazilian singer-songwriter
- 1980 – James Rolfe, American actor, director, and producer
- 1980 – Jessica Simpson, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer
- 1981 – Aleksandar Tunchev, Bulgarian footballer
- 1982 – Alex Arrowsmith, American guitarist and producer
- 1982 – Juliya Chernetsky, Ukrainian-American television host
- 1982 – Sebastian Mila, Polish footballer
- 1982 – Jeffrey Walker, Australian actor and director
- 1983 – Giuseppe De Feudis, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Matthew Egan, Australian footballer
- 1983 – Gabi, Spanish footballer
- 1983 – Kim Hee-chul, Korean entertainer
- 1983 – Joelson José Inácio, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Doug Kramer, Filipino basketball player
- 1983 – Anthony Watmough, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Nikolaos Mitrou, Greek footballer
- 1985 – Park Chu-young, South Korean footballer
- 1985 – B. J. Crombeen, American ice hockey player
- 1985 – Mario Gómez, German footballer
- 1988 – Antonio Brown, American football player
- 1988 – Heather Hemmens, American actress, director, and producer
- 1988 – Sarah Walker, New Zealand BMX rider
- 1990 – Adam Reynolds, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Trent Richardson, American footballer
- 1990 – Chiyonokuni Toshiki, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1991 – Daishōmaru Shōgo, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1999 – April Ivy, Portuguese composer and singer
- 2001 – Isabela Moner, American actress
Deaths on July 10
- 138 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (b. 76)
- 645 – Soga no Iruka, Japanese politician
- 649 – Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 598)
- 772 – Amalberga of Temse, Frankish noblewoman
- 831 – Zubaidah bint Ja`far, Abbasid Princess
- 983 – Benedict VII, pope of the Catholic Church
- 994 – Leopold I, margrave of Austria
- 1086 – Canute IV, king of Denmark (b. 1043)
- 1103 – Eric I, king of Denmark (b. 1060)
- 1290 – Ladislaus IV, king of Hungaria (b. 1262)
- 1460 – Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, English commander and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1402)
- 1460 – John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury, English nobleman (b. c. 1413)
- 1461 – Thomas, king of Bosnia (b. 1411)
- 1473 – James II, king of Cyprus
- 1480 – René of Anjou, French nobleman (b. 1400)
- 1510 – Catherine Cornaro, queen of Cyprus (b. 1454)
- 1576 – Eleonora di Garzia di Toledo, Italian noble (b. 1553)
- 1559 – Henry II, king of France (b. 1519)
- 1584 – William I, Dutch nobleman (b. 1533)
- 1590 – Charles II, archduke of Austria (b. 1540)
- 1594 – Paolo Bellasio, Italian organist and composer (b. 1554)
- 1603 – Joan Terès i Borrull, Spanish archbishop and academic (b. 1538)
- 1621 – Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, French commander (b. 1571)
- 1653 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (b. 1600)
- 1680 – Louis Moréri, French priest and scholar (b. 1643)
- 1683 – François Eudes de Mézeray, French historian and author (b. 1610)
- 1686 – John Fell, English bishop and academic (b. 1625)
- 1776 – Richard Peters, English lawyer and minister (b. 1704)
- 1794 – Gaspard de Bernard de Marigny, French general (b. 1754)
- 1806 – George Stubbs, English painter and academic (b. 1724)
- 1851 – Louis Daguerre, French photographer and physicist, invented the daguerreotype (b. 1787)
- 1863 – Clement Clarke Moore, American author and educator (b. 1779)
- 1881 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect and academic (b. 1812)
- 1884 – Paul Morphy, American chess player (b. 1837)
- 1908 – Phoebe Knapp, American organist and composer (b. 1839)
- 1915 – Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Dutch painter (b. 1831)
- 1920 – John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, British admiral (b. 1841)
- 1929 – Ève Lavallière, French actress (b. 1866)
- 1941 – Jelly Roll Morton, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1890)
- 1941 – Huntley Wright, English actor (b. 1868)
- 1950 – Richard Maury, American-Argentinian engineer (b. 1882)
- 1952 – Rued Langgaard, Danish organist and composer (b. 1893)
- 1954 – Calogero Vizzini, Italian mob boss (b. 1877)
- 1956 – Joe Giard, American baseball player (b. 1898)
- 1960 – Sæbjørn Buttedahl, Norwegian actor and sculptor (b. 1876)
- 1962 – Yehuda Leib Maimon, Israeli rabbi and politician (b. 1875)
- 1963 – Teddy Wakelam, English rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1893)
- 1970 – Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic academic and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1908)
- 1971 – Laurent Dauthuille, French boxer (b. 1924)
- 1972 – Lovie Austin, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1887)
- 1978 – John D. Rockefeller III, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Asia Society (b. 1906)
- 1979 – Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (b. 1894)
- 1980 – Joseph Krumgold, American author and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 1985 – Fernando Pereira, Dutch photographer (b. 1950)
- 1986 – Tadeusz Piotrowski, Polish mountaineer and author (b. 1940)
- 1987 – John Hammond, American record producer, critic, and activist (b. 1910)
- 1989 – Mel Blanc, American voice actor (b. 1908)
- 1993 – Ruth Krauss, American author and poet (b. 1901)
- 1993 – Sam Rolfe, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
- 1995 – Mehmet Ali Aybar, Turkish lawyer and politician (b. 1908)
- 1996 – Eno Raud, Estonian author (b. 1928)
- 2000 – Vakkom Majeed, Indian journalist and politician (b. 1909)
- 2002 – Jean-Pierre Côté, Canadian politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1926)
- 2002 – Evangelos Florakis, Greek general (b. 1943)
- 2002 – Laurence Janifer, American author (b. 1933)
- 2003 – Winston Graham, English author (b. 1908)
- 2003 – Hartley Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, German-English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1902)
- 2004 – Pati Behrs, Russian-American ballerina and actress (b. 1922)
- 2005 – A. J. Quinnell, English author (b. 1940)
- 2006 – Shamil Basayev, Chechen terrorist rebel leader (b. 1965)
- 2007 – Doug Marlette, American cartoonist and author (b. 1949)
- 2008 – Hiroaki Aoki, Japanese-American wrestler and businessman, founded Benihana (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Mike Souchak, American golfer (b. 1927)
- 2011 – Pierrette Alarie, Canadian soprano and educator (b. 1921)
- 2011 – Roland Petit, French dancer and choreographer (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Dolphy, Filipino actor, singer, and producer (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Peter Kyros, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Berthe Meijer, German-Dutch journalist and author (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Fritz Langanke, German lieutenant (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Viktor Suslin, Russian-German composer (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Philip Caldwell, American businessman (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Józef Gara, Polish poet and linguist (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Concha García Campoy, Spanish journalist (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Caroline Duby Glassman, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Ku Ok-hee, South Korean golfer (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Gokulananda Mahapatra, Indian author and academic (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Robert C. Broomfield, American lawyer and judge (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Juozas Kazickas, Lithuanian-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Paul G. Risser, American ecologist and academic (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Zohra Sehgal, Indian actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1912)
- 2014 – Gloria Schweigerdt, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Roger Rees, Welsh-American actor and director (b. 1944)
- 2015 – Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Jon Vickers, Canadian tenor (b. 1926)
- 2016 – Katharina Focke, German politician (b. 1922)
- 2018 – Henry Morgenthau III, American author and television producer (b. 1917)
- 2020 – Lara van Ruijven, Dutch short track speed skater (b. 1992)
Holidays and observances on July 10
- Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)
- Christian feast day:
- Amalberga of Maubeuge
- Canute IV of Denmark
- Rufina and Secunda
- Seven Brothers
- Victoria, Anatolia, and Audax
- July 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Independence Day (Bahamas), celebrates the independence of the Bahamas from the United Kingdom in 1973.
- Nikola Tesla Day
- Statehood Day (Wyoming)
June 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day
- 653 – Pope Martin I is arrested and taken to Constantinople, due to his opposition to monothelitism.
- 1242 – Following the Disputation of Paris, twenty-four carriage loads of Jewish religious manuscripts were burnt in Paris.
- 1397 – The Kalmar Union is formed under the rule of Margaret I of Denmark.
- 1462 – Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack at Târgovişte), forcing him to retreat from Wallachia.
- 1497 – Battle of Deptford Bridge: Forces under King Henry VII defeat troops led by Michael An Gof.
- 1565 – Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shōgun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
- 1579 – Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England.
- 1596 – The Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz discovers the Arctic archipelago of Spitsbergen.
- 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
- 1665 – Battle of Montes Claros: Portugal definitively secured independence from Spain in the last battle of the Portuguese Restoration War.
- 1673 – French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet reach the Mississippi River and become the first Europeans to make a detailed account of its course.
- 1767 – Samuel Wallis, a British sea captain, sights Tahiti and is considered the first European to reach the island.
- 1773 – Cúcuta, Colombia, is founded by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: Colonists inflict heavy casualties on British forces while losing the Battle of Bunker Hill.
- 1789 – In France, the Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly.
- 1794 – Foundation of Anglo-Corsican Kingdom.
- 1795 – The burghers of Swellendam expel the Dutch East India Company magistrate and declare a republic.
- 1839 – In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace are established as a result.
- 1843 – The Wairau Affray, the first serious clash of arms between Māori and British settlers in the New Zealand Wars, takes place.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Vienna, Virginia.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Aldie in the Gettysburg Campaign.
- 1876 – American Indian Wars: Battle of the Rosebud: 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse beat back General George Crook’s forces at Rosebud Creek in Montana Territory.
- 1877 – American Indian Wars: Battle of White Bird Canyon: The Nez Perce defeat the U.S. Cavalry at White Bird Canyon in the Idaho Territory.
- 1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
- 1898 – The United States Navy Hospital Corps is established.
- 1900 – Boxer Rebellion: Western Allied and Japanese forces capture the Taku Forts in Tianjin, China.
- 1901 – The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.
- 1910 – Aurel Vlaicu pilots an A. Vlaicu nr. 1 on its first flight.
- 1922 – Portuguese naval aviators Gago Coutinho and Sacadura Cabral complete the first aerial crossing of the South Atlantic.
- 1929 – The town of Murchison, New Zealand Is rocked by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake killing 17. At the time it was New Zealand’s worst natural disaster.
- 1930 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act into law.
- 1932 – Bonus Army: Around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.
- 1933 – Union Station massacre: In Kansas City, Missouri, four FBI agents and captured fugitive Frank Nash are gunned down by gangsters attempting to free Nash.
- 1939 – Last public guillotining in France: Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is executed in Versailles outside the Saint-Pierre prison.
- 1940 – World War II: RMS Lancastria is attacked and sunk by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France. At least 3,000 are killed in Britain’s worst maritime disaster.
- 1940 – World War II: The British Army’s 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya, Africa from Italian forces.
- 1940 – The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union.
- 1944 – Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.
- 1948 – United Airlines Flight 624, a Douglas DC-6, crashes near Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania, killing all 43 people on board.
- 1952 – Guatemala passes Decree 900, ordering the redistribution of uncultivated land.
- 1953 – Cold War: East Germany Workers Uprising: In East Germany, the Soviet Union orders a division of troops into East Berlin to quell a rebellion.
- 1958 – The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, in the process of being built to connect Vancouver and North Vancouver (Canada), collapses into the Burrard Inlet killing 18 ironworkers and injuring others.
- 1960 – The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of land undervalued at four cents/acre in the 1863 treaty.
- 1963 – The United States Supreme Court rules 8–1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against requiring the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord’s Prayer in public schools.
- 1963 – A day after South Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm announced the Joint Communiqué to end the Buddhist crisis, a riot involving around 2,000 people breaks out. One person is killed.
- 1967 – Nuclear weapons testing: China announces a successful test of its first thermonuclear weapon.
- 1972 – Watergate scandal: Five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee during an attempt by members of the administration of President Richard M. Nixon to illegally wiretap the political opposition as part of a broader campaign to subvert the democratic process
- 1985 – Space Shuttle program: STS-51-G mission: Space Shuttle Discovery launches carrying Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first Arab and first Muslim in space, as a payload specialist.
- 1987 – With the death of the last individual of the species, the dusky seaside sparrow becomes extinct.
- 1991 – Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.
- 1992 – A “joint understanding” agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified in START II).
- 1994 – Following a televised low-speed highway chase, O. J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
- 2015 – Nine people are killed in a mass shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
- 2017 – A series of wildfires in central Portugal kill at least 64 people and injure 204 others.
Births on June 17
- 801 – Drogo of Metz, Frankish bishop (d. 855)
- 1239 – Edward I, English king (d. 1307)
- 1530 – François de Montmorency, French nobleman (d. 1579)
- 1571 – Thomas Mun, English writer on economics (d. 1641)
- 1603 – Joseph of Cupertino, Italian mystic and saint (d. 1663)
- 1604 – John Maurice, Dutch nobleman (d. 1679)
- 1610 – Birgitte Thott, Danish scholar, writer and translator (b. 1662)
- 1631 – Gauharara Begum, Mughal princess (d. 1706)
- 1682 – Charles XII, Swedish king (d. 1718)
- 1691 – Giovanni Paolo Panini, Italian painter and architect (d. 1765)
- 1693 – Johann Georg Walch, German theologian and author (d. 1775)
- 1704 – John Kay, English engineer, invented the Flying shuttle (d. 1780)
- 1714 – César-François Cassini de Thury, French astronomer and cartographer (d. 1784)
- 1718 – George Howard, English field marshal and politician, Governor of Minorca (d. 1796)
- 1778 – Gregory Blaxland, English-Australian explorer (d. 1853)
- 1800 – William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse, English-Irish astronomer and politician (d. 1867)
- 1808 – Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian poet, playwright, and linguist (d. 1845)
- 1810 – Ferdinand Freiligrath, German poet and translator (d. 1876)
- 1811 – Jón Sigurðsson, Icelandic scholar and politician (d. 1879)
- 1818 – Charles Gounod, French composer and academic (d. 1893)
- 1818 – Sophie of Württemberg, queen of the Netherlands (d. 1877)
- 1821 – E. G. Squier, American archaeologist and journalist (d. 1888)
- 1832 – William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (d. 1919)
- 1833 – Manuel González Flores, Mexican general and president (d. 1893)
- 1858 – Eben Sumner Draper, American businessman and politician, 44th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1914)
- 1861 – Pete Browning, American baseball player (d. 1905)
- 1861 – Omar Bundy, American general (d. 1940)
- 1863 – Charles Michael, duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1934)
- 1865 – Susan La Flesche Picotte, Native American physician (d. 1915)
- 1867 – Flora Finch, English-American actress (d. 1940)
- 1867 – John Robert Gregg, Irish-born American educator, publisher, and humanitarian (d. 1948)
- 1867 – Henry Lawson, Australian poet and author (d. 1922)
- 1871 – James Weldon Johnson, American author, journalist, and activist (d. 1938)
- 1876 – William Carr, American rower (d. 1942)
- 1876 – Edward Anthony Spitzka, American anatomist and author (d. 1922)
- 1880 – Carl Van Vechten, American author and photographer (d. 1964)
- 1881 – Tommy Burns, Canadian boxer and promoter (d. 1955)
- 1882 – Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1918)
- 1882 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1971)
- 1888 – Heinz Guderian, German general (d. 1954)
- 1897 – Maria Izilda de Castro Ribeiro, Brazilian girl, popular saint (d. 1911)
- 1898 – M. C. Escher, Dutch illustrator (d. 1972)
- 1898 – Carl Hermann, German physicist and academic (d. 1961)
- 1898 – Harry Patch, English soldier and firefighter (d. 2009)
- 1900 – Martin Bormann, German politician (d. 1945)
- 1900 – Evelyn Irons, Scottish journalist and war correspondent (d. 2000)
- 1902 – Sammy Fain, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
- 1902 – Alec Hurwood, Australian cricketer (d. 1982)
- 1903 – Ruth Graves Wakefield, American chef, created the chocolate chip cookie (d. 1977)
- 1904 – Ralph Bellamy, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1904 – J. Vernon McGee, American pastor and theologian (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Patrice Tardif, Canadian farmer and politician (d. 1989)
- 1907 – Maurice Cloche, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1990)
- 1909 – Elmer L. Andersen, American businessman and politician, 30th Governor of Minnesota (d. 2004)
- 1909 – Ralph E. Winters, Canadian-American film editor (d. 2004)
- 1910 – Red Foley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1968)
- 1910 – George Hees, Canadian football player and politician (d. 1996)
- 1914 – John Hersey, American journalist and author (d. 1993)
- 1915 – David “Stringbean” Akeman, American singer and banjo player (d. 1973)
- 1915 – Marcel Cadieux, Canadian civil servant and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States (d. 1981)
- 1916 – Terry Gilkyson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Dufferin Roblin, Canadian politician, 14th Premier of Manitoba (d. 2010)
- 1918 – Ajahn Chah, Thai monk and educator (d. 1992)
- 1919 – William Kaye Estes, American psychologist and academic (d. 2011)
- 1919 – John Moffat, Scottish lieutenant and pilot (d. 2016)
- 1919 – Beryl Reid, English actress (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Jacob H. Gilbert, American lawyer and politician (d. 1981)
- 1920 – Setsuko Hara, Japanese actress (d. 2015)
- 1920 – François Jacob, French biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Peter Le Cheminant, English air marshal and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey (d. 2018)
- 1922 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Elroy Hirsch, American football player (d. 2004)
- 1923 – Arnold S. Relman, American physician and academic (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Dale C. Thomson, Canadian historian and academic (d. 1999)
- 1925 – Alexander Shulgin, American pharmacologist and chemist (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Martin Böttcher, German composer and conductor (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Wally Wood, American author, illustrator, and publisher (d. 1981)
- 1928 – Juan María Bordaberry, President of Uruguay (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Bud Collins, American journalist and sportscaster (d. 2016)
- 1929 – Tigran Petrosian, Armenian chess player (d. 1984)
- 1930 – Cliff Gallup, American rock & roll guitarist (d. 1988)
- 1930 – Brian Statham, English cricketer (d. 2000)
- 1931 – John Baldessari, American painter and illustrator (d. 2020)
- 1932 – Derek Ibbotson, English runner (d. 2017)
- 1932 – John Murtha, American colonel and politician (d. 2010)
- 1933 – Harry Browne, American soldier and politician (d. 2006)
- 1933 – Christian Ferras, French violinist (d. 1982)
- 1933 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (d. 1970)
- 1936 – Vern Harper, Canadian tribal leader and activist (d. 2018)
- 1936 – Ken Loach, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1937 – Peter Fitzgerald, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Ted Nelson, American sociologist and philosopher
- 1937 – Clodovil Hernandes, Brazilian fashion designer, television presenter and politician (d. 2009)
- 1940 – George Akerlof, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 – Bobby Bell, American football player
- 1940 – Chuck Rainey, American bassist
- 1941 – Nicholas C. Handy, English chemist and academic (d. 2012)
- 1942 – Mohamed ElBaradei, Egyptian politician, Vice President of Egypt, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1942 – Doğu Perinçek, Turkish lawyer and politician
- 1942 – Roger Steffens, American actor and producer
- 1943 – Newt Gingrich, American historian and politician, 58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1943 – Barry Manilow, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1943 – Chantal Mouffe, Belgian theorist and author
- 1943 – Burt Rutan, American engineer and pilot
- 1944 – Randy Johnson, American football player (d. 2009)
- 1944 – Chris Spedding, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1945 – Tommy Franks, American general
- 1945 – Ken Livingstone, English politician, 1st Mayor of London
- 1945 – Eddy Merckx, Belgian cyclist and sportscaster
- 1945 – Art Bell, American broadcaster and author (d. 2018)
- 1946 – Peter Rosei, Austrian author, poet, and playwright
- 1947 – Christopher Allport, American actor (d. 2008)
- 1947 – Timothy Wright, American gospel singer, pastor (d. 2009)
- 1947 – Linda Chavez, American journalist and author
- 1947 – George S. Clinton, American composer and songwriter
- 1947 – Gregg Rolie, American rock singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1947 – Paul Young, English singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1948 – Dave Concepción, Venezuelan baseball player and manager
- 1948 – Jacqueline Jones, American historian and academic
- 1948 – Aurelio López, Mexican baseball player and politician (d. 1992)
- 1948 – Karol Sikora, English physician and academic
- 1949 – Snakefinger, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1987)
- 1949 – John Craven, English economist and academic
- 1949 – Russell Smith, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
- 1950 – Lee Tamahori, New Zealand film director
- 1951 – Starhawk, American author and activist
- 1951 – John Garrett, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1951 – Joe Piscopo, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Mike Milbury, American ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1952 – Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley, English educator and politician, Secretary of State for Education
- 1953 – Vernon Coaker, English educator and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
- 1953 – Juan Muñoz, Spanish sculptor and storyteller (d. 2001)
- 1954 – Mark Linn-Baker, American actor and director
- 1955 – Mati Laur, Estonian historian, author, and academic
- 1955 – Bob Sauvé, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1955 – Cem Hakko, Turkish fashion designer and businessman
- 1956 – Iain Milne, Scottish rugby player
- 1957 – Philip Chevron, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1957 – Martin Dillon, American tenor and educator (d. 2005)
- 1957 – Uģis Prauliņš, Latvian composer
- 1958 – Pierre Berbizier, French rugby player and coach
- 1958 – Jello Biafra, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1958 – Bobby Farrelly, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1958 – Sam Hamad, Syrian-Canadian academic and politician
- 1958 – Jon Leibowitz, American lawyer and politician
- 1958 – Daniel McVicar, American actor
- 1959 – Carol Anderson, American author and historian
- 1959 – Lawrence Haddad, South African-English economist and academic
- 1959 – Nikos Stavropoulos, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1960 – Adrián Campos, Spanish race car driver
- 1960 – Thomas Haden Church, American actor
- 1961 – Kōichi Yamadera, Japanese actor and singer
- 1962 – Michael Monroe, Finnish singer-songwriter and saxophonist
- 1963 – Greg Kinnear, American actor, television presenter, and producer
- 1964 – Rinaldo Capello, Italian race car driver
- 1964 – Michael Gross, German swimmer
- 1964 – Steve Rhodes, English cricketer and coach
- 1965 – Dermontti Dawson, American football player and coach
- 1965 – Dan Jansen, American speed skater and sportscaster
- 1965 – Dara O’Kearney, Irish runner and poker player
- 1966 – Mohammed Ghazy Al-Akhras, Iraqi journalist and author
- 1966 – Tory Burch, American fashion designer and philanthropist
- 1966 – Ken Clark, American football player (d. 2013)
- 1966 – Diane Modahl, English runner
- 1966 – Jason Patric, American actor
- 1967 – Dorothea Röschmann, German soprano and actress
- 1967 – Eric Stefani, American keyboard player and composer
- 1968 – Steve Georgallis, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1968 – Minoru Suzuki, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
- 1969 – Paul Tergat, Kenyan runner
- 1969 – Geoff Toovey, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1969 – Ilya Tsymbalar, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
- 1970 – Stéphane Fiset, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1970 – Will Forte, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
- 1970 – Jason Hanson, American football player
- 1970 – Popeye Jones, American basketball player and coach
- 1970 – Michael Showalter, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1970 – Alan Dowson, English football manager and former professional player
- 1971 – Paulina Rubio, Mexican pop singer
- 1971 – Mildred Fox, Irish politician
- 1973 – Leander Paes, Indian tennis player
- 1974 – Evangelia Psarra, Greek archer
- 1975 – Joshua Leonard, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1975 – Juan Carlos Valerón, Spanish footballer
- 1975 – Phiyada Akkraseranee, Thai actress and model
- 1976 – Scott Adkins, English actor and martial artist
- 1976 – Sven Nys, Belgian cyclist
- 1977 – Tjaša Jezernik, Slovenian tennis player
- 1977 – Mark Tauscher, American football player and sportscaster
- 1978 – Isabelle Delobel, French ice dancer
- 1978 – Travis Roche, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Nick Rimando, American soccer player
- 1979 – Tyson Apostol, American television personality
- 1979 – Young Maylay, American rapper, producer, and voice actor
- 1980 – Elisa Rigaudo, Italian race walker
- 1980 – Jeph Jacques, American author and illustrator
- 1980 – Venus Williams, American tennis player
- 1981 – Kyle Boller, American football player
- 1981 – Shane Watson, Australian cricketer
- 1982 – Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Marek Svatoš, Slovak ice hockey player (d. 2016)
- 1982 – Stanislava Hrozenská, Slovak tennis player
- 1982 – Stefan Hodgetts, English racing driver
- 1982 – Arthur Darvill, English actor
- 1982 – Jodie Whittaker, English actress
- 1983 – Lee Ryan, English singer/actor
- 1983 – Vlasis Kazakis, Greek footballer
- 1984 – Michael Mathieu, Bahamian sprinter
- 1984 – Si Tianfeng, Chinese race walker
- 1985 – Özge Akın, Turkish sprinter
- 1985 – Marcos Baghdatis, Cypriot tennis player
- 1985 – Rafael Sóbis, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Apoula Edel, Armenian footballer
- 1986 – Helen Glover, English rower
- 1987 – Kendrick Lamar, American rapper
- 1987 – Nozomi Tsuji, Japanese singer and actress
- 1988 – Andrew Ogilvy, Australian basketball player
- 1988 – Shaun MacDonald, Welsh footballer
- 1988 – Stephanie Rice, Australian swimmer
- 1989 – Georgios Tofas, Cypriot footballer
- 1989 – Simone Battle, American singer and actress (d. 2014)
- 1990 – Jordan Henderson, English footballer
- 1990 – Josh Mansour, Australian rugby league player
- 1991 – Daniel Tupou, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
- 1994 – Amari Cooper, American football player
- 1995 – Clément Lenglet, French footballer
Deaths on June 17
- 656 – Uthman, caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate (b. 579)
- 676 – Adeodatus, pope of the Catholic Church
- 811 – Sakanoue no Tamuramaro, Japanese shōgun (b. 758)
- 850 – Tachibana no Kachiko, Japanese empress (b. 786)
- 900 – Fulk, French archbishop and chancellor
- 1025 – Bolesław I the Brave, Polish king (b. 967)
- 1091 – Dirk V, count of Holland (b. 1052)
- 1207 – Daoji, Chinese buddhist monk (b. 1130)
- 1219 – David of Scotland, 8th Earl of Huntingdon
- 1361 – Ingeborg of Norway, princess consort and regent of Sweden (b. 1301)
- 1400 – Jan of Jenštejn, archbishop of Prague (b. 1348)
- 1463 – Catherine of Portugal, Portuguese princess (b. 1436)
- 1501 – John I Albert, Polish king (b. 1459)
- 1565 – Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Japanese shōgun (b. 1536)
- 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal, Mughal princess (b. 1593)
- 1649 – Injo of Joseon, Korean king (b. 1595)
- 1674 – Jijabai, Dowager Queen, mother of Shivaji (b. 1598)
- 1694 – Philip Howard, English cardinal (b. 1629)
- 1696 – John III Sobieski, Polish king (b. 1629)
- 1719 – Joseph Addison, English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician (b. 1672)
- 1734 – Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general and politician, French Secretary of State for War (b. 1653)
- 1740 – Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1687)
- 1762 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French poet and playwright (b. 1674)
- 1771 – Daskalogiannis, Greek rebel leader (b. 1722)
- 1775 – John Pitcairn, Scottish-English soldier (b. 1722)
- 1797 – Mohammad Khan Qajar, Persian tribal chief (b. 1742)
- 1813 – Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, Scottish-English admiral and politician (b. 1726)
- 1821 – Martín Miguel de Güemes, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1785)
- 1839 – Lord William Bentinck, English general and politician, 14th Governor-General of India (b. 1774)
- 1866 – Joseph Méry, French poet and author (b. 1798)
- 1889 – Lozen, Chiracaua Apache warrior woman (b. ~1840)
- 1898 – Edward Burne-Jones, English soldier and painter (b. 1833)
- 1904 – Nikolay Bobrikov, Russian soldier and politician, Governor-General of Finland (b. 1839)
- 1936 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist, politician, and diplomat, Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
- 1939 – Allen Sothoron, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1893)
- 1939 – Eugen Weidmann, German criminal (b. 1908)
- 1940 – Arthur Harden, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
- 1941 – Johan Wagenaar, Dutch organist and composer (b. 1862)
- 1942 – Charles Fitzpatrick, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1853)
- 1952 – Jack Parsons, American chemist and engineer (b. 1914)
- 1954 – Danny Cedrone, American guitarist and bandleader (b. 1920)
- 1956 – Percival Perry, 1st Baron Perry, English businessman (b. 1878)
- 1956 – Paul Rostock, German surgeon and academic (b. 1892)
- 1956 – Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (b. 1926)
- 1957 – Dorothy Richardson, English journalist and author (b. 1873)
- 1957 – J. R. Williams, Canadian-American cartoonist (b. 1888)
- 1961 – Jeff Chandler, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1963 – Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician (b. 1882)
- 1968 – José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1901)
- 1974 – Refik Koraltan, Turkish lawyer and politician, 8th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (b. 1889)
- 1975 – James Phinney Baxter III, American historian and academic (b. 1893)
- 1979 – Hubert Ashton, English cricketer and politician (b. 1898)
- 1979 – Duffy Lewis, American baseball player and manager (b. 1888)
- 1981 – Richard O’Connor, Indian-English general (b. 1889)
- 1981 – Zerna Sharp, American author and educator (b. 1889)
- 1982 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (b. 1920)
- 1983 – Peter Mennin, American composer and educator (b. 1923)
- 1985 – John Boulting, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1913)
- 1986 – Kate Smith, American singer (b. 1907)
- 1987 – Dick Howser, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1936)
- 1996 – Thomas Kuhn, American historian and philosopher (b. 1922)
- 1996 – Curt Swan, American illustrator (b. 1920)
- 1999 – Basil Hume, English cardinal (b. 1923)
- 2000 – Ismail Mahomed, South African lawyer and jurist, 17th Chief Justice of South Africa (b. 1931)
- 2001 – Donald J. Cram, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1919)
- 2001 – Thomas Winning, Scottish cardinal (b. 1925)
- 2002 – Willie Davenport, American sprinter and hurdler (b. 1943)
- 2002 – Fritz Walter, German footballer (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1926)
- 2006 – Bussunda, Brazilian comedian (b. 1962)
- 2007 – Gianfranco Ferré, Italian fashion designer (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Serena Wilson, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Cyd Charisse, American actress and dancer (b. 1922)
- 2009 – Ralf Dahrendorf, German-English sociologist and politician (b. 1929)
- 2009 – Darrell Powers, American sergeant (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Rex Mossop, Australian rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Stéphane Brosse, French mountaineer (b. 1971)
- 2012 – Patricia Brown, American baseball player (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Nathan Divinsky, Canadian mathematician and chess player (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Rodney King, American victim of police brutality (b. 1965)
- 2012 – Fauzia Wahab, Pakistani actress and politician (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Michael Baigent, New Zealand-English theorist and author (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Atiqul Haque Chowdhury, Bangladeshi playwright and producer (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Pierre F. Côté, Canadian lawyer and civil servant (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Bulbs Ehlers, American basketball player (b. 1923)
- 2013 – James Holshouser, American politician, 68th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Patsy Byrne, English actress (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Éric Dewailly, Canadian epidemiologist and academic (b. 1954)
- 2014 – Stanley Marsh 3, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Arnold S. Relman, American physician and academic (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Larry Zeidel, Canadian-American ice hockey player and sportscaster (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Ron Clarke, Australian runner and politician, Mayor of the Gold Coast (b. 1937)
- 2015 – John David Crow, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Süleyman Demirel, Turkish engineer and politician, 9th President of Turkey (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Roberto M. Levingston, Argentinian general and politician, 36th President of Argentina (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Clementa C. Pinckney, American minister and politician (b. 1973)
- 2017 – Baldwin Lonsdale, president of Vanuatu (b. 1948)
Holidays and observances on June 17
- Christian feast day:
- Albert Chmielowski
- Botolph (England and Scandinavia)
- Gondulphus of Berry
- Hervé
- Hypatius of Bithynia (Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic Churches)
- Rainerius
- Samuel and Henrietta Barnett (Church of England)
- June 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Father’s Day (El Salvador, Guatemala)
- Icelandic National Day, celebrates the independence of Iceland from Kingdom of Denmark in 1944.
- Occupation of the Latvian Republic Day (Latvia)
- Remembrance to East German uprising of 1953, public holiday in West Germany between 1954 and 1990 (today German Unity Day) is the public holiday day)
- World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (International)
- Zemla Intifada Day (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic)
June 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day
- 218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus. He flees but is captured near Chalcedon and later executed in Cappadocia.
- 793 – Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of Norse activity in the British Isles.
- 1042 – Edward the Confessor becomes King of England – the country’s penultimate Anglo-Saxon king.
- 1191 – Richard I arrives in Acre, beginning his crusade.
- 1663 – Portuguese victory at the Battle of Ameixial ensures Portugal’s independence from Spain.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: American attackers are driven back at the Battle of Trois-Rivières.
- 1783 – Laki, a volcano in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine.
- 1789 – James Madison introduces twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in Congress.
- 1794 – Robespierre inaugurates the French Revolution’s new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, with large organized festivals all across France.
- 1856 – A group of 194 Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the mutineers of HMS Bounty, arrives at Norfolk Island, commencing the Third Settlement of the Island.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Cross Keys: Confederate forces under General Stonewall Jackson save the Army of Northern Virginia from a Union assault on the James Peninsula led by General George B. McClellan.
- 1867 – Coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Hungary following the Austro-Hungarian compromise (Ausgleich).
- 1887 – Herman Hollerith applies for US patent #395,781 for the ‘Art of Compiling Statistics’, which was his punched card calculator.
- 1906 – Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquities Act into law, authorizing the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value.
- 1912 – Carl Laemmle incorporates Universal Pictures.
- 1918 – A solar eclipse is observed at Baker City, Oregon by scientists and an artist hired by the United States Navy.
- 1928 – Second Northern Expedition: The National Revolutionary Army captures Peking, whose name is changed to Beijing (“Northern Capital”).
- 1929 – Margaret Bondfield is appointed Minister of Labour. She is the first woman appointed to the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
- 1940 – World War II: The completion of Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of Allied forces from Narvik at the end of the Norwegian Campaign.
- 1941 – World War II: The Allies commence the Syria–Lebanon Campaign against the possessions of Vichy France in the Levant.
- 1942 – World War II: The Japanese imperial submarines I-21 and I-24 shell the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle.
- 1949 – Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members.
- 1949 – George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is published.
- 1953 – An F5 tornado hits Beecher, Michigan, killing 116, injuring 844, and destroying 340 homes.
- 1953 – The United States Supreme Court rules in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. that restaurants in Washington, D.C., cannot refuse to serve black patrons.
- 1959 – USS Barbero and the United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via Missile Mail.
- 1966 – An F-104 Starfighter collides with XB-70 Valkyrie prototype no. 2, destroying both aircraft during a photo shoot near Edwards Air Force Base. Joseph A. Walker, a NASA test pilot, and Carl Cross, a United States Air Force test pilot, are both killed.
- 1966 – Topeka, Kansas, is devastated by a tornado that registers as an “F5” on the Fujita scale: The first to exceed US$100 million in damages. Sixteen people are killed, hundreds more injured, and thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.
- 1966 – The National Football League and American Football League announced a merger effective in 1970.
- 1967 – Six-Day War: The USS Liberty incident occurs, killing 34 and wounding 171.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: Nine-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc is burned by napalm, an event captured by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut moments later while the young girl is seen running down a road, in what would become an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo.
- 1982 – Bluff Cove Air Attacks during the Falklands War: Fifty-six British servicemen are killed by an Argentine air attack on two landing ships, RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram.
- 1984 – Homosexuality is declared legal in the Australian state of New South Wales.
- 1987 – New Zealand’s Labour government establishes a national nuclear-free zone under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987.
- 1992 – The first World Oceans Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- 1995 – Downed U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O’Grady is rescued by U.S. Marines in Bosnia.
- 2001 – Mamoru Takuma kills eight and injures 15 in a mass stabbing at an elementary school in the Osaka Prefecture of Japan.
- 2004 – The first Venus Transit in well over a century takes place, the previous one being in 1882.
- 2007 – Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, is hit by the State’s worst storms and flooding in 30 years resulting in the death of nine people and the grounding of a trade ship, the MV Pasha Bulker.
- 2008 – At least 37 miners go missing after an explosion in a Ukrainian coal mine causes it to collapse.
- 2008 – At least seven people are killed and ten injured in a stabbing spree in Tokyo, Japan.
- 2009 – Two American journalists are found guilty of illegally entering North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of penal labour.
- 2014 – At least 28 people are killed in an attack at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan.
Births on June 8
- 862 – Emperor Xizong of Tang (d. 888)
- 1508 – Primož Trubar, Slovenian Protestant reformer (d. 1586)
- 1552 – Gabriello Chiabrera, Italian poet and author (d. 1638)
- 1593 – George I Rákóczi, prince of Transylvania (d. 1648)
- 1625 – Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Italian-French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1712)
- 1671 – Tomaso Albinoni, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1751)
- 1717 – John Collins, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1795)
- 1724 – John Smeaton, English engineer, designed the Coldstream Bridge and Perth Bridge (d. 1794)
- 1745 – Caspar Wessel, Norwegian-Danish mathematician and cartographer (d. 1818)
- 1757 – Ercole Consalvi, Italian cardinal (d. 1824)
- 1788 – Charles A. Wickliffe, American politician, 14th Governor of Kentucky (d. 1869)
- 1810 – Robert Schumann, German composer and critic (d. 1856)
- 1829 – John Everett Millais, English painter and illustrator (d. 1896)
- 1831 – Thomas J. Higgins, Canadian-American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1917)
- 1842 – John Q. A. Brackett, American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1918)
- 1851 – Jacques-Arsène d’Arsonval, French physician and physicist (d. 1940)
- 1852 – Guido Banti, Italian physician and pathologist (d. 1925)
- 1854 – Douglas Cameron, Canadian politician, 8th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 1921)
- 1855 – George Charles Haité, English painter and illustrator (d. 1924)
- 1858 – Charlotte Scott, English mathematician (d. 1931)
- 1859 – Smith Wigglesworth, English evangelist (d. 1947)
- 1860 – Alicia Boole Stott, Irish-English mathematician and theorist (d. 1940)
- 1867 – Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (d. 1959)
- 1868 – Robert Robinson Taylor, American architect (d. 1942)
- 1872 – Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter and illustrator (d. 1949)
- 1875 – Ernst Enno, Estonian poet and author (d. 1934)
- 1876 – Alexandre Tuffère, Greek-French triple jumper (d. 1958)
- 1885 – Karl Genzken, German physician (d. 1957)
- 1891 – William Funnell, Australian public servant (d. 1962)
- 1893 – Ernst Marcus, German zoologist (d. 1968)
- 1893 – Gaby Morlay, French actress (d. 1964)
- 1894 – Erwin Schulhoff, Czech composer and pianist (d. 1942)
- 1895 – Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1978)
- 1897 – John G. Bennett, English mathematician and technologist (d. 1974)
- 1899 – Eugène Lapierre, Canadian organist, composer and arts administrator (d. 1970)
- 1899 – Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician (d. 1945)
- 1900 – Lena Baker, African-American maid executed for capital murder, later pardoned posthumously (d. 1945)
- 1903 – Ralph Yarborough, American colonel and politician (d. 1996)
- 1903 – Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian-French author and poet (d. 1987)
- 1910 – C. C. Beck, American illustrator (d. 1989)
- 1910 – John W. Campbell, American journalist and author (d. 1971)
- 1910 – Fernand Fonssagrives, French-American photographer, sculptor, and painter (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Edmundo Rivero, Argentinian singer-songwriter (d. 1986)
- 1912 – Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, British abstract painter (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Maurice Bellemare, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
- 1912 – Harry Holtzman, American painter (d. 1987)
- 1915 – Kayyar Kinhanna Rai, Indian journalist, author, and poet (d. 2015)
- 1916 – Francis Crick, English biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Luigi Comencini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2007)
- 1916 – Richard Pousette-Dart, American painter and educator (d. 1992)
- 1917 – Byron White, American football player and judge (d. 2002)
- 1918 – George Edward Hughes, Irish-New Zealand philosopher and logician (d. 1994)
- 1918 – Robert Preston, American captain, actor, and singer (d. 1987)
- 1918 – John D. Roberts, American chemist and academic (d. 2016)
- 1918 – John H. Ross, American captain and pilot (d. 2013)
- 1919 – John R. Deane, Jr., American general (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Gwen Harwood, Australian poet and playwright (d. 1995)
- 1921 – Gordon McLendon, American broadcaster and businessman (d. 1986)
- 1921 – Olga Nardone, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1921 – LeRoy Neiman, American soldier and painter (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Alexis Smith, Canadian-born American actress and singer (d. 1993)
- 1921 – Suharto, Indonesian soldier and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (d. 2008)
- 1924 – Billie Dawe, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Kenneth Waltz, American political scientist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Barbara Bush, American wife of George H. W. Bush, 41st First Lady of the United States (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Jerry Stiller, American actor, comedian and producer (d. 2020)
- 1929 – Nada Inada, Japanese psychiatrist and author (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Robert Aumann, German-American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1930 – Marcel Léger, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1993)
- 1931 – James Goldstone, American director and screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1931 – Dana Wynter, British actress (d. 2011)
- 1932 – Ray Illingworth, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1932 – Ian Kirkwood, Lord Kirkwood, Scottish lawyer and judge (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Rommie Loudd, American football player and coach (d. 1998)
- 1933 – Joan Rivers, American comedian, actress, and television host (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Robert Stevens, English lawyer and academic
- 1934 – Millicent Martin, English actress and singer
- 1935 – Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2015)
- 1936 – James Darren, American actor
- 1936 – Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Gillian Clarke, Welsh poet and playwright
- 1938 – Angelo Amato, Italian cardinal
- 1939 – Herb Adderley, American football player
- 1940 – Nancy Sinatra, American singer and actress
- 1941 – Robert Bradford, Northern Irish politician and activist (d. 1981)
- 1941 – George Pell, Australian cardinal
- 1942 – Nikos Konstantopoulos, Greek politician, Greek Minister of the Interior
- 1942 – Doug Mountjoy, Welsh snooker player
- 1943 – Colin Baker, English actor
- 1943 – William Calley, American lieutenant
- 1943 – Willie Davenport, American colonel and hurdler (d. 2002)
- 1943 – Peter Eggert, German footballer and manager
- 1943 – Pierre-André Fournier, Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 2015)
- 1944 – Mark Belanger, American baseball player (d. 1998)
- 1944 – Marc Ouellet, Canadian cardinal
- 1944 – Boz Scaggs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1945 – Steven Fromholz, American singer-songwriter, producer, and poet (d. 2014)
- 1945 – Derek Underwood, English cricketer
- 1946 – Graham Henry, New Zealand rugby player and coach
- 1947 – Annie Haslam, English singer-songwriter and painter
- 1947 – Sara Paretsky, American author
- 1947 – Eric F. Wieschaus, American biologist, geneticist, and academic Nobel Prize laureate
- 1949 – Emanuel Ax, Polish-American pianist and educator
- 1949 – Hildegard Falck, German runner
- 1950 – Kathy Baker, American actress
- 1950 – Sônia Braga, Brazilian actress and producer
- 1951 – Tony Rice, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1951 – Bonnie Tyler, Welsh singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Billy Hayes, English union leader
- 1953 – Sandy Nairne, English historian and curator
- 1953 – Ivo Sanader, Croatian historian and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Croatia
- 1953 – Olav Stedje, Norwegian singer-songwriter
- 1954 – Greg Ginn, American punk rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (Black Flag)
- 1954 – Kiril of Varna, Bulgarian metropolitan (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Sergei Storchak, Ukrainian-Russian politician
- 1955 – Tim Berners-Lee, English computer scientist, best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web
- 1955 – José Antonio Camacho, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1955 – Griffin Dunne, American actor, director, and producer
- 1956 – Udo Bullmann, German politician
- 1956 – Jonathan Potter, English psychologist, sociolinguist, and academic
- 1957 – Scott Adams, American author and illustrator
- 1957 – Don Robinson, American baseball player and politician
- 1957 – Sonja Vectomov, Czech/Finnish sculptor
- 1958 – Louise Richardson, Irish political scientist and academic
- 1958 – Keenen Ivory Wayans, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1959 – Mohsen Kadivar, Iranian philosopher
- 1960 – Mick Hucknall, English singer-songwriter
- 1960 – Terje Gewelt, Norwegian bassist
- 1960 – Thomas Steen, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Mary Bonauto, American lawyer and gay rights activist
- 1962 – John Gibbons, American baseball player and manager
- 1962 – Andreas Keim, German footballer
- 1962 – Nick Rhodes, English keyboard player and producer
- 1963 – Karen Kingsbury, American journalist and author
- 1963 – Antoaneta Todorova, Bulgarian javelin thrower
- 1964 – Butch Reynolds, American runner and coach
- 1965 – Kevin Farley, American screenwriter
- 1965 – Rob Pilatus, German model, dancer and singer (Milli Vanilli) (d. 1998)
- 1966 – Julianna Margulies, American actress
- 1966 – Doris Pearson, English singer-songwriter and choreographer
- 1967 – Dan Futterman, American actor, screenwriter and producer
- 1967 – Russell E. Morris, Professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of St Andrews
- 1968 – Rob Ray, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1969 – David Barnhill, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1969 – J. P. Manoux, American actor
- 1969 – Marcos Siega, American director and producer
- 1970 – Gabrielle Giffords, American businesswoman, politician and activist
- 1970 – Kwame Kilpatrick, American educator and politician, 68th Mayor of Detroit
- 1970 – Steve Renouf, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Troy Vincent, American football player
- 1971 – Mark Feuerstein, American actor, director, and producer
- 1972 – Christian Mayrleb, Austrian footballer
- 1973 – Lexa Doig, Canadian model and actress
- 1973 – Bryant Reeves, American basketball player
- 1974 – Pål Arne Fagernes, Norwegian javelin thrower (d. 2003)
- 1974 – Lauren Burns, Australian taekwondo practitioner
- 1974 – Alma Lepina, Latvian figure skater
- 1975 – Emm Gryner, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Bryan McCabe, Canadian-American ice hockey player
- 1975 – Mark Ricciuto, Australian footballer and sportscaster
- 1975 – Shilpa Shetty, Indian actress and producer
- 1976 – Eion Bailey, American actor
- 1976 – Kenji Johjima, Japanese baseball player
- 1976 – Catherine McKinnell, English lawyer and politician
- 1977 – Kanye West, American rapper, producer, director, and fashion designer
- 1978 – Eun Ji-won, South Korean rapper, dancer, and producer
- 1978 – Maria Menounos, American television journalist
- 1979 – Alexei Kozlov, Estonian figure skater
- 1979 – Pete Orr, Canadian-American baseball player
- 1979 – Adine Wilson, New Zealand netball player
- 1979 – İpek Şenoğlu, Turkish tennis player
- 1980 – Gustavo Manduca, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 – Jamie Spencer, Irish jockey
- 1981 – Alex Band, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1981 – Rachel Held Evans, American Christian author
- 1981 – Matteo Meneghello, Italian race car driver
- 1981 – Sara Watkins, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
- 1982 – Matteo Barbini, Italian rugby player
- 1982 – Michael Cammalleri, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Dickson Etuhu, Nigerian footballer
- 1982 – Irina Lăzăreanu, Romanian-Canadian model and singer
- 1982 – Nadia Petrova, Russian tennis player
- 1983 – Gaines Adams, American football player (d. 2010)
- 1983 – Kim Clijsters, Belgian tennis player
- 1983 – Pantelis Kapetanos, Greek footballer
- 1983 – Coby Karl, American basketball player
- 1984 – Javier Mascherano, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Alexandre Despatie, Canadian diver
- 1985 – Rosanna Pansino, American actress, writer and TV personality
- 1986 – Patrick Kaleta, American ice hockey player
- 1986 – Andrej Sekera, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1987 – Coralie Balmy, French swimmer
- 1987 – Issiar Dia, Senegalese footballer
- 1989 – Timea Bacsinszky, Swiss tennis player
- 1989 – Mitchell Schwartz, American football player
- 1990 – Todd Barclay, New Zealand politician
- 1990 – Mickey Bushell, English wheelchair racer
- 1992 – Sebá, Brazilian footballer
- 1996 – Doğanay Kılıç, Turkish footballer
- 1997 – Jeļena Ostapenko, Latvian tennis player
Deaths on June 8
- 632 – Muhammad, the central figure of Islam, widely regarded as its founder (b. 570/571)
- 696 – Chlodulf, bishop of Metz (or 697)
- 951 – Zhao Ying, Chinese chancellor (b. 885)
- 1042 – Harthacnut, English-Danish king (b. 1018)
- 1154 – William of York, English archbishop and saint
- 1290 – Beatrice Portinari, object of Dante Alighieri’s adoration (b. 1266)
- 1376 – Edward, the Black Prince, English son of Edward III of England (b. 1330)
- 1383 – Thomas de Ros, 4th Baron de Ros, English politician (b. 1338)
- 1384 – Kan’ami, Japanese actor and playwright (b. 1333)
- 1405 – Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York (b. c.1350)
- 1405 – Thomas de Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk (b. 1385)
- 1476 – George Neville, English archbishop and academic (b. 1432)
- 1492 – Elizabeth Woodville, Queen consort of England (b. 1437)
- 1501 – George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly, Earl of Huntly and Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1440)
- 1505 – Hongzhi Emperor of China (b. 1470)
- 1600 – Edward Fortunatus, German nobleman (b. 1565)
- 1611 – Jean Bertaut, French bishop and poet (b. 1552)
- 1612 – Hans Leo Hassler, German organist and composer (b. 1562)
- 1621 – Anne de Xainctonge, French saint, founded the Society of the Sisters of Saint Ursula of the Blessed Virgin (b. 1567)
- 1628 – Rudolph Goclenius, German lexicographer and philosopher (b. 1547)
- 1651 – Tokugawa Iemitsu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1604)
- 1714 – Sophia of Hanover (b. 1630)
- 1716 – Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, German son of Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1658)
- 1727 – August Hermann Francke, German-Lutheran pietist, philanthropist, and scholar (b. 1663)
- 1768 – Johann Joachim Winckelmann, German archaeologist and scholar (b. 1717)
- 1771 – George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1716)
- 1795 – Louis XVII of France (b. 1785)
- 1809 – Thomas Paine, English-American theorist and author (b. 1737)
- 1831 – Sarah Siddons, Welsh actress (b. 1755)
- 1835 – Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Italian economist and jurist (b. 1761)
- 1845 – Andrew Jackson, American general, judge, and politician, 7th President of the United States (b. 1767)
- 1846 – Rodolphe Töpffer, Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricaturist (b. 1799)
- 1857 – Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (b. 1803)
- 1874 – Cochise, American tribal chief (b. 1805)
- 1876 – George Sand, French author and playwright (b. 1804)
- 1885 – Ignace Bourget, Canadian bishop (b. 1799)
- 1889 – Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (b. 1844)
- 1899 – Mary of the Divine Heart, German nun and saint (b. 1863)
- 1924 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1902)
- 1924 – George Mallory, English lieutenant and mountaineer (b. 1886)
- 1929 – Bliss Carman, Canadian-American poet and playwright (b. 1861)
- 1945 – Karl Hanke, Polish-German soldier and politician (b. 1903)
- 1951 – Eugène Fiset, Canadian physician, general, and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1874)
- 1951 – Oswald Pohl, German SS officer (b. 1892)
- 1956 – Marie Laurencin, French painter and sculptor (b. 1883)
- 1959 – Leslie Johnson, English race car driver (b. 1912)
- 1965 – Edmondo Rossoni, Italian politician (b. 1884)
- 1966 – Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer and academic (b. 1890)
- 1968 – Elizabeth Enright, American author and illustrator (b. 1909)
- 1968 – Ludovico Scarfiotti, Italian race car driver (b. 1933)
- 1969 – Arunachalam Mahadeva, Sri Lankan politician and diplomat (b. 1885)
- 1969 – Robert Taylor, American actor and singer (b. 1911)
- 1970 – Abraham Maslow, American psychologist and academic (b. 1908)
- 1971 – J.I. Rodale, American author and playwright (b. 1898)
- 1976 – Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe, Norwegian zoologist and psychologist (b. 1894)
- 1982 – Satchel Paige, American baseball player and coach (b. 1906)
- 1984 – Gordon Jacob, English composer and academic (b. 1895)
- 1987 – Alexander Iolas, Egyptian-American art collector (b. 1907)
- 1997 – George Turner, Australian author and critic (b. 1916)
- 1997 – Karen Wetterhahn, American chemist and academic (b. 1948)
- 1998 – Sani Abacha, Nigerian general and politician, 10th President of Nigeria (b. 1943)
- 1998 – Maria Reiche, German mathematician and archaeologist (b. 1903)
- 2000 – Jeff MacNelly, American cartoonist (b. 1948)
- 2001 – Alex de Renzy, American director and producer (b. 1935)
- 2004 – Charles Hyder, American astrophysicist and academic (b. 1930)
- 2004 – Mack Jones, American baseball player (b. 1938)
- 2006 – Jaxon, American illustrator and publisher, co-founded Rip Off Press (b. 1941)
- 2006 – Matta El Meskeen, Egyptian monk, theologian, and author (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Šaban Bajramović, Serbian singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Omar Bongo, Gabonese captain and politician, President of Gabon (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Crispian St. Peters, English singer-songwriter (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Pete Brennan, American basketball player (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Charles E. M. Pearce, New Zealand-Australian mathematician and academic (b. 1940)
- 2012 – Ghassan Tueni, Lebanese journalist, academic, and politician (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Paul Cellucci, American soldier and politician, 69th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter, journalist, and critic (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Taufiq Kiemas, Indonesian politician, 5th First Spouse of Indonesia (b. 1942)
- 2014 – Alexander Imich, Polish-American chemist, parapsychologist, and academic (b. 1903)
- 2014 – Yoshihito, Prince Katsura of Japan (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Chea Sim, Cambodian commander and politician (b. 1932)
- 2017 – Sam Panopoulos, Greek cook (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances on June 8
- Christian feast day:
- Blessed Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan
- Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart (Droste zu Vischering)
- Chlodulf of Metz
- Jacques Berthieu, S.J.
- Jadwiga (Hedwig) of Poland
- Medard
- Melania the Elder
- Roland Allen (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Thomas Ken (Church of England)
- William of York
- June 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Queen’s Birthday can fall, while June 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in June. (Australia, except Western Australia and Queensland)
- Bounty Day (Norfolk Island)
- Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
- Engineer’s Day (Peru)
- Pranav Sivakumar Day (Illinois, United States)
- Primož Trubar Day (Slovenia)
- World Brain Tumor Day
- World Oceans Day
May 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day
- 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.
- 491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed Augusta is able to choose her successor for the Byzantine throne, after Zeno (late emperor) dies of dysentery.
- 685 – The Battle of Dun Nechtain is fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated.
- 794 – While visiting the royal Mercian court at Sutton Walls with a view to marrying princess Ælfthryth, King Æthelberht II of East Anglia is taken captive and beheaded.
- 1217 – The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
- 1293 – King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Estudio de Escuelas de Generales in Alcalá de Henares.
- 1449 – The Battle of Alfarrobeira is fought, establishing the House of Braganza as a principal royal family of Portugal.
- 1497 – John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship Matthew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a May 2 date).
- 1498 – Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovers the sea route to India when he arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India.
- 1521 – Ignatius of Loyola is seriously wounded in the Battle of Pampeluna.
- 1570 – Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas.
- 1609 – Shakespeare’s sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisher Thomas Thorpe.
- 1631 – The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years’ War.
- 1645 – Yangzhou massacre: The ten day massacre of 800,000 residents of the city of Yangzhou, part of the Transition from Ming to Qing.
- 1741 – The Battle of Cartagena de Indias ends in a Spanish victory and the British begin withdrawal towards Jamaica with substantial losses.
- 1775 – The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is allegedly signed in Charlotte, North Carolina.
- 1802 – By the Law of 20 May 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte reinstates slavery in the French colonies, revoking its abolition in the French Revolution.
- 1813 – Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.
- 1840 – York Minster is badly damaged by fire.
- 1861 – American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state. Meanwhile, the State of North Carolina secedes from the Union.
- 1862 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law, opening 84 million acres of public land to settlers.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church: In the Virginia Bermuda Hundred campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory.
- 1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
- 1875 – Signing of the Metre Convention by 17 nations leading to the establishment of the International System of Units.
- 1882 – The Triple Alliance between the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy is formed.
- 1883 – Krakatoa begins to erupt; the volcano explodes three months later, killing more than 36,000 people.
- 1891 – History of cinema: The first public display of Thomas Edison’s prototype kinetoscope.
- 1902 – Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the country’s first President.
- 1927 – Treaty of Jeddah: The United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
- 1932 – Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world’s first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
- 1940 – The Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
- 1941 – World War II: Battle of Crete: German paratroops invade Crete.
- 1948 – Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wins the 1948 Republic of China presidential election and is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of China at Nanjing.
- 1949 – In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, is established.
- 1956 – In Operation Redwing, the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
- 1964 – Discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation by Robert Woodrow Wilson and Arno Penzias.
- 1967 – The Popular Movement of the Revolution political party is established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 1969 – The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.
- 1971 – In the Chuknagar massacre, Pakistani forces massacre thousands, mostly Bengali Hindus.
- 1980 – In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects, by 60% of the vote, a government proposal to move towards independence from Canada.
- 1983 – First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier.
- 1983 – Church Street bombing: A car bomb planted by Umkhonto we Sizwe explodes on Church Street in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, killing 19 people and injuring 217 others.
- 1985 – Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.
- 1989 – The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.
- 1990 – The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
- 1996 – Civil rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.
- 2002 – The independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and three years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself is the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976).
- 2012 – At least 27 people are killed and 50 others injured when a 6.0-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Italy.
- 2013 – An EF5 tornado strikes the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 24 people and injuring 377 others.
- 2019 – The International System of Units (SI): The base units are redefined, making the international prototype of the kilogram obsolete.
Births on May 20
- 1315 – Bonne of Luxembourg, first wife of John II of France (d. 1349)
- 1470 – Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal, poet, and scholar (d. 1547)
- 1505 – Levinus Lemnius, Dutch writer (d. 1568)
- 1531 – Thado Minsaw of Ava, Viceroy of Ava (d. 1584)
- 1537 – Hieronymus Fabricius, Italian anatomist (d. 1619)
- 1575 – Robert Heath, English judge and politician (d. 1649)
- 1664 – Andreas Schlüter, German sculptor and architect (d. 1714)
- 1726 – Francis Cotes, English painter and academic (d. 1770)
- 1743 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian revolutionary, general, and president (d. 1803)
- 1759 – William Thornton, Virgin Islander-American architect, designed the United States Capitol (d. 1828)
- 1769 – Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (d. 1835)
- 1772 – Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet, English inventor and politician, developed Congreve rockets (d. 1828)
- 1776 – Simon Fraser, American-Canadian fur trader and explorer (d. 1862)
- 1795 – Pedro María de Anaya, Mexican soldier. President (1847-1848) (d. 1854)
- 1799 – Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (d. 1850)
- 1806 – John Stuart Mill, English economist, civil servant, and philosopher (d. 1873)
- 1811 – Alfred Domett, English-New Zealand poet and politician, 4th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1887)
- 1818 – William Fargo, American businessman and politician, co-founded Wells Fargo and American Express (d. 1881)
- 1822 – Frédéric Passy, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1912)
- 1824 – Cadmus M. Wilcox, Confederate States Army general (d. 1890)
- 1825 – Antoinette Brown Blackwell, the first woman to be ordained as a mainstream Protestant minister in the U.S. (d. 1921)
- 1830 – Hector Malot, French author (d. 1907)
- 1838 – Jules Méline, French lawyer and politician, 65th Prime Minister of France (d. 1925)
- 1851 – Emile Berliner, German-American inventor, invented the Gramophone record (d. 1929)
- 1854 – George Prendergast, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Victoria (d. 1937)
- 1856 – Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (d. 1910)
- 1860 – Eduard Buchner, German chemist, zymologist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
- 1875 – Hendrik Offerhaus, Dutch rower (d. 1953)
- 1877 – Pat Leahy, Irish-American jumper (d. 1927)
- 1879 – Hans Meerwein, German chemist (d. 1965)
- 1882 – Sigrid Undset, Danish-Norwegian novelist, essayist, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1949)
- 1883 – Faisal I of Iraq (d. 1933)
- 1886 – Ali Sami Yen, Turkish footballer and manager, founded the Galatasaray Sports Club (d. 1951)
- 1894 – Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian guru and scholar (d. 1994)
- 1895 – R. J. Mitchell, English engineer, designed the Supermarine Spitfire and Supermarine S.6B (d. 1937)
- 1897 – Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish economist and author (d. 1983)
- 1897 – Malcolm Nokes, English hammer and discus thrower (d. 1986)
- 1898 – Eduard Ole, Estonian painter (d. 1995)
- 1899 – Aleksandr Deyneka, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1969)
- 1899 – John Marshall Harlan II, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1971)
- 1900 – Sumitranandan Pant, Indian poet and author (d. 1977)
- 1901 – Max Euwe, Dutch chess player, mathematician, and author (d. 1981)
- 1901 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (d. 1970)
- 1904 – Margery Allingham, English author of detective fiction (d. 1966)
- 1906 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (d. 1989)
- 1907 – Carl Mydans, American photographer and journalist (d. 2004)
- 1908 – Henry Bolte, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Victoria (d. 1990)
- 1908 – Louis Daquin, French actor and director (d. 1980)
- 1908 – Francis Raymond Fosberg, American botanist and author (d. 1993)
- 1908 – James Stewart, American actor (d. 1997)
- 1911 – Gardner Fox, American author (d. 1986)
- 1911 – Annie M. G. Schmidt, Dutch author and playwright (d. 1995)
- 1913 – Teodoro Fernández, Peruvian footballer (d. 1996)
- 1913 – William Redington Hewlett, American engineer, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Peter Copley, English actor (d. 2008)
- 1915 – Moshe Dayan, Israeli general and politician, 5th Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1981)
- 1915 – Joff Ellen, Australian comedian and actor (d. 1999)
- 1916 – Owen Chadwick, English rugby player, historian, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1916 – Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (d. 2001)
- 1916 – Ondina Valla, Italian sprinter and hurdler (d. 2006)
- 1917 – Tony Cliff, Israeli-English author and activist (d. 2000)
- 1917 – Guy Favreau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 28th Canadian Minister of Justice (d. 1967)
- 1918 – Alexandra Boyko, Russian tank commander (d. 1996)
- 1918 – Edward B. Lewis, American biologist, geneticist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1919 – George Gobel, American comedian (d. 1991)
- 1920 – John Cruickshank, Scottish lieutenant and banker, Victoria Cross recipient
- 1921 – Wolfgang Borchert, German author and playwright (d. 1947)
- 1921 – Hal Newhouser, American baseball player and scout (d. 1998)
- 1921 – Hao Wang, Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (d. 1995)
- 1922 – Ted Hinton, Northern Irish international footballer (d. 1988)
- 1923 – Edith Fellows, American actress (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Sam Selvon, Trinidad-born writer (d. 1994)
- 1924 – David Chavchavadze, English-American CIA officer and author (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan journalist and politician (d. 1976)
- 1925 – Alexei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-144 (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (d. 1956)
- 1927 – Bud Grant, American football player and coach
- 1927 – David Hedison, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1927 – Franciszek Macharski, Polish cardinal (d. 2016)
- 1929 – Gilles Loiselle, Canadian politician and diplomat, 33rd Canadian Minister of Finance
- 1930 – Sam Etcheverry, American football player and coach (d. 2009)
- 1931 – Ken Boyer, American baseball player and manager (d. 1982)
- 1931 – Louis Smith, American trumpeter (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Constance Towers, American actress and singer
- 1935 – José Mujica, Uruguayan guerrilla leader and politician, 40th President of Uruguay
- 1936 – Anthony Zerbe, American actor
- 1937 – Dave Hill, American golfer (d. 2011)
- 1937 – Derek Lampe, English footballer
- 1939 – Balu Mahendra, Sri Lankan-Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Shorty Long, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1969)
- 1940 – Stan Mikita, Slovak-Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 2018)
- 1940 – Sadaharu Oh, Japanese-Taiwanese baseball player and manager
- 1941 – Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Singapore
- 1941 – John Strasberg, American actor and teacher
- 1942 – Raymond Chrétien, Canadian lawyer and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
- 1942 – Lynn Davies, Welsh sprinter and long jumper
- 1942 – Carlos Hathcock, American sergeant and sniper (d. 1999)
- 1942 – Frew McMillan, South African tennis player
- 1943 – Albano Carrisi, Italian singer, actor, and winemaker
- 1943 – Deryck Murray, Trinidadian cricketer
- 1944 – Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Boudewijn de Groot, Indonesian-Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1944 – Keith Fletcher, English cricketer and manager
- 1944 – Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman, co-founded Red Bull GmbH
- 1945 – Vladimiro Montesinos, Peruvian intelligence officer
- 1946 – Cher, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1946 – Bobby Murcer, American baseball player, coach, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2008)
- 1947 – Steve Currie, English bass player (d. 1981)
- 1947 – Greg Dyke, English journalist and academic
- 1949 – Robert Morin, Canadian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
- 1949 – Michèle Roberts, English author and poet
- 1949 – Dave Thomas, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1950 – Andy Johns, English-American engineer and producer (d. 2013)
- 1950 – Reinaldo Merlo, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1951 – Thomas Akers, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut
- 1951 – Christie Blatchford, Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster (d. 2020)
- 1951 – Mike Crapo, American lawyer and politician
- 1952 – Roger Milla, Cameroonian footballer and manager
- 1952 – Michael Wills, English politician, British Minister of Justice
- 1953 – Robert Doyle, Australian educator and politician, 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne
- 1954 – David Paterson, American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of New York
- 1954 – Colin Sutherland, Lord Carloway, Scottish lawyer and judge
- 1955 – Steve George, American keyboard player and songwriter
- 1955 – Zbigniew Preisner, Polish composer and producer
- 1956 – Ingvar Ambjørnsen, Norwegian-German author and critic
- 1956 – Gerry Peyton, English born Irish international footballer and coach
- 1956 – Douglas Preston, American journalist and author
- 1957 – Yoshihiko Noda, Japanese lawyer and politician, 62nd Prime Minister of Japan
- 1958 – Ron Reagan, American journalist and radio host
- 1958 – Jane Wiedlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
- 1959 – Susan Cowsill, American singer-songwriter
- 1960 – Tony Goldwyn, American actor and director
- 1961 – Clive Allen, English international footballer and manager
- 1961 – Nick Heyward, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1963 – David Wells, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1964 – Kōichirō Genba, Japanese politician, 80th Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs
- 1964 – Edin Osmanović, Slovenian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1964 – Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer, English journalist and author
- 1965 – Ted Allen, American television host and author
- 1965 – Stu Grimson, Canadian ice hockey player, sportscaster, and lawyer
- 1966 – Dan Abrams, American journalist and author
- 1967 – Graham Brady, English politician
- 1967 – Gabriele Muccino, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1968 – Timothy Olyphant, American actor and producer
- 1969 – Road Dogg, American wrestler, producer, and soldier
- 1970 – Terrell Brandon, American basketball player
- 1970 – Louis Theroux, Singaporean-English journalist and producer
- 1971 – Šárka Kašpárková, Czech triple jumper and coach
- 1971 – Tony Stewart, American race car driver
- 1972 – Michael Diamond, Australian shooter
- 1972 – Christophe Dominici, French rugby player
- 1972 – Busta Rhymes, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1973 – Nathan Long, Australian rugby league player
- 1974 – Allison Amend, American novelist and short story writer
- 1974 – Shiboprosad Mukherjee, Indian film director, writer and actor
- 1975 – Juan Minujín, Argentinian actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1976 – Ramón Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
- 1976 – Tomoya Satozaki, Japanese baseball player
- 1977 – Matt Czuchry, American actor
- 1977 – Leo Franco, Argentinian footballer
- 1977 – Angela Goethals, American actress
- 1977 – Stirling Mortlock, Australian rugby player
- 1977 – Vesa Toskala, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1978 – Hristos Banikas, Greek chess player
- 1978 – Pavla Hamáčková-Rybová, Czech pole vaulter
- 1978 – Nils Schumann, German runner
- 1979 – Andrew Scheer, Canadian politician, 28th Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
- 1979 – Jayson Werth, American baseball player
- 1980 – Austin Kearns, American baseball player
- 1980 – Kassim Osgood, American football player
- 1981 – Iker Casillas, Spanish footballer
- 1981 – Rachel Platten, American singer and songwriter
- 1981 – Lindsay Taylor, American basketball player
- 1981 – Mark Winterbottom, Australian race car driver
- 1982 – Petr Čech, Czech footballer
- 1982 – Imran Farhat, Pakistani cricketer
- 1982 – Jessica Raine, English actress
- 1982 – Daniel Ribeiro, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1983 – Óscar Cardozo, Paraguayan footballer
- 1983 – Matt Langridge, English rower
- 1984 – Mauro Rafael da Silva, Brazilian footballer
- 1984 – Patrick Ewing, Jr., American basketball player
- 1984 – Keith Grennan, American football player
- 1985 – Chris Froome, Kenyan-English cyclist
- 1985 – Brendon Goddard, Australian footballer
- 1986 – Dexter Blackstock, English footballer
- 1986 – Stéphane Mbia, Cameroonian footballer
- 1986 – Jiřina Svobodová, Czech pole vaulter
- 1987 – Mike Havenaar, Japanese footballer
- 1987 – Julian Wright, American basketball player
- 1988 – Joel Moon, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Siosia Vave, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
- 1991 – Bastian Baker, Swiss singer, songwriter, and performer
- 1991 – Emre Colak, Turkish footballer
- 1992 – Cate Campbell, Malawian-Australian swimmer
- 1992 – Jack Gleeson, Irish actor
- 1992 – Enes Kanter, Turkish basketball player
- 1993 – Caroline Zhang, American figure skater
- 1996 – Brian Kelly, Australian rugby league player
- 1998 – Jamie Chadwick, English race car driver
- 1998 – Nam Nguyen, Canadian figure skater
Deaths on May 20
- 685 – Ecgfrith of Northumbria (b. 645)
- 794 – Æthelberht II, king of East Anglia
- 965 – Gero the Great, Saxon ruler (b.c. 900)
- 1062 – Bao Zheng, Chinese magistrate and mayor of Kaifeng (b. 999)
- 1277 – Pope John XXI (b. 1215)
- 1285 – John II of Jerusalem (b. 1259)
- 1291 – Sufi Saint Sayyid Jalaluddin Surkh-Posh Bukhari
- 1366 – Maria of Calabria, Empress of Constantinople (b. 1329)
- 1444 – Bernardino of Siena, Italian-Spanish missionary and saint (b. 1380)
- 1449 – Álvaro Vaz de Almada, 1st Count of Avranches
- 1449 – Infante Pedro, Duke of Coimbra (b. 1392)
- 1501 – Columba of Rieti, Italian Dominican tertiary Religious Sister (b. 1467)
- 1503 – Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, Italian banker and politician (b. 1463)
- 1506 – Christopher Columbus, Italian explorer, discovered the Americas (b. 1451)
- 1550 – Ashikaga Yoshiharu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1510)
- 1579 – Isabella Markham, English courtier (b. 1527)
- 1622 – Osman II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1604)
- 1645 – Shi Kefa, Chinese general and calligrapher (b. 1601)
- 1648 – Władysław IV Vasa, Polish son of Sigismund III Vasa (b. 1595)
- 1677 – George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, Spanish-English politician, English Secretary of State (b. 1612)
- 1713 – Thomas Sprat, English bishop (b. 1635)
- 1717 – John Trevor, Welsh lawyer and politician, 102nd Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1637)
- 1722 – Sébastien Vaillant, French botanist and mycologist (b. 1669)
- 1732 – Thomas Boston, Scottish author and educator (b. 1676)
- 1782 – William Emerson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1701)
- 1793 – Charles Bonnet, Swiss botanist and biologist (b. 1720)
- 1812 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Austrian archbishop (b. 1732)
- 1834 – Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette, French general (b. 1757)
- 1841 – Joseph Blanco White, Spanish poet and theologian (b. 1775)
- 1864 – John Clare, English poet (b. 1793)
- 1873 – George-Étienne Cartier, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 9th Premier of East Canada (b. 1814)
- 1880 – Ana Néri, Brazilian nurse and philanthropist (b. 1814)
- 1896 – Clara Schumann, German pianist and composer (b. 1819)
- 1909 – Ernest Hogan, American actor and composer (b. 1859)
- 1917 – Valentine Fleming, Scottish soldier and politician (b. 1887)
- 1917 – Philipp von Ferrary, Italian stamp collector (b. 1850)
- 1924 – Bogd Khan, Mongolian ruler (c. 1869)
- 1925 – Joseph Howard, Maltese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1862)
- 1931 – Ernest Noel, Scottish businessman and politician (b. 1831)
- 1940 – Verner von Heidenstam, Swedish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
- 1942 – Hector Guimard, French Architect (b. 1867)
- 1946 – Jacob Ellehammer, Danish pilot and engineer (b. 1871)
- 1947 – Philipp Lenard, Slovak-German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
- 1947 – Georgios Siantos, Greek sergeant and politician (b. 1890)
- 1949 – Damaskinos of Athens, Greek archbishop and politician, 137th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1891)
- 1956 – Max Beerbohm, English essayist, parodist, and caricaturist (b. 1872)
- 1956 – Zoltán Halmay, Hungarian swimmer and trainer (b. 1881)
- 1961 – Josef Priller, German colonel and pilot (b. 1915)
- 1964 – Rudy Lewis, American singer (b. 1936)
- 1971 – Waldo Williams, Welsh poet and academic (b. 1904)
- 1973 – Renzo Pasolini, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1938)
- 1973 – Jarno Saarinen, Finnish motorcycle racer (b. 1945)
- 1975 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor and lithographer (b. 1903)
- 1976 – Syd Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1911)
- 1976 – Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan journalist and politician (b. 1924)
- 1976 – Héctor Gutiérrez Ruiz, Uruguayan politician (b. 1934)
- 1989 – John Hicks, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Gilda Radner, American actress and comedian (b. 1946)
- 1995 – Les Cowie, Australian rugby league player (b. 1925)
- 1996 – Jon Pertwee, English actor, portrayed the Third Doctor (b. 1919)
- 1998 – Robert Normann, Norwegian guitarist (b. 1916)
- 2000 – Jean-Pierre Rampal, French flute player (b. 1922)
- 2000 – Malik Sealy, American basketball player and actor (b. 1970)
- 2000 – Yevgeny Khrunov, Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1933)
- 2001 – Renato Carosone, Italian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Stephen Jay Gould, American paleontologist, biologist, and academic (b. 1941)
- 2005 – Paul Ricœur, French philosopher and academic (b. 1913)
- 2005 – William Seawell, American general (b. 1918)
- 2007 – Norman Von Nida, Australian golfer (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Hamilton Jordan, American politician, 8th White House Chief of Staff (b. 1944)
- 2009 – Arthur Erickson, Canadian architect and urban planner, designed Roy Thomson Hall (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Lucy Gordon, American actress and model (b. 1980)
- 2009 – Pierre Gamarra, French author, poet, and critic (b. 1919)
- 2011 – Randy Savage, American wrestler and actor (b. 1952)
- 2012 – Leela Dube, Indian anthropologist and scholar (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Robin Gibb, Manx-English singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1949)
- 2012 – David Littman, English-Swiss historian, author, and academic (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Ken Lyons, American bass guitarist (b. 1953)
- 2012 – Eugene Polley, American engineer, invented the remote control (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Andrew B. Steinberg, American lawyer (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Flavio Costantini, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Billie Dawe, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Anders Eliasson, Swedish composer (b. 1947)
- 2013 – Miloslav Kříž, Czech basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Ray Manzarek, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1939)
- 2013 – Denys Roberts, English judge and politician (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Zach Sobiech, American singer-songwriter (b. 1995)
- 2014 – Sandra Bem, American psychologist and academic (b. 1944)
- 2014 – Ross Brown, New Zealand rugby player (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Robyn Denny, English-French painter (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Arthur Gelb, American journalist, author, and critic (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Prince Rupert Loewenstein, Spanish-English businessman (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Barbara Murray, English actress (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Bob Belden, American saxophonist, composer, and producer (b. 1956)
- 2015 – Femi Robinson, Nigerian actor and playwright (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances on May 20
- Christian feast day:
- Abercius and Helena
- Alcuin of York
- Aurea of Ostia
- Austregisilus
- Baudilus
- Bernardino of Siena
- Ivo of Chartres
- Lucifer of Cagliari
- Sanctan
- May 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of Remembrance (Cambodia)
- Emancipation Day (Florida)
- European Maritime Day (European Council)
- Independence Restoration Day, celebrates the independence of East Timor from Indonesia in 2002.
- Josephine Baker Day (NAACP)
- National Awakening Day (Indonesia), and its related observances:
- Indonesian Doctor Day (Indonesia)
- National Day (Cameroon)
- World Bee Day
- World Metrology Day
May 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day
- 639 – Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace.
- 715 – Pope Gregory II is elected.
- 1051 – Henry I of France marries the Russian princess, Anne of Kiev.
- 1445 – John II of Castile defeats the Infantes of Aragon at the First Battle of Olmedo.
- 1499 – Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Catherine is 13 and Arthur is 12.
- 1535 – French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona’s two sons (whom Cartier had kidnapped during his first voyage).
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.
- 1542 – The Prome Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in present-day Myanmar.
- 1568 – Queen Elizabeth I of England orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.
- 1643 – Thirty Years’ War: French forces under the duc d’Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.
- 1649 – An Act of Parliament declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years.
- 1655 – The Invasion of Jamaica begins during the Anglo-Spanish War.
- 1743 – Jean-Pierre Christin developed the centigrade temperature scale.
- 1749 – King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: A Continental Army garrison surrenders in the Battle of The Cedars.
- 1780 – New England’s Dark Day, an unusual darkening of the day sky, was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada.
- 1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte founds the Legion of Honour.
- 1828 – U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States.
- 1845 – Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition depart from Greenhithe, England.
- 1848 – Mexican–American War: Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo thus ending the war and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of four other modern-day U.S. states to the United States for US$15 million.
- 1911 – Parks Canada, the world’s first national park service, is established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.
- 1917 – The Norwegian football club Rosenborg BK is founded.
- 1919 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.
- 1921 – The United States Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act establishing national quotas on immigration.
- 1922 – The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union is established.
- 1934 – Zveno and the Bulgarian Army engineer a coup d’état and install Kimon Georgiev as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
- 1942 – World War II: In the aftermath of the Battle of the Coral Sea, Task Force 16 heads to Pearl Harbor.
- 1950 – A barge containing munitions destined for Pakistan explodes in the harbor at South Amboy, New Jersey, devastating the city.
- 1950 – Egypt announces that the Suez Canal is closed to Israeli ships and commerce.
- 1959 – The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.
- 1961 – Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
- 1961 – At Silchar Railway Station, Assam, 11 Bengalis die when police open fire on protesters demanding state recognition of Bengali language in the Bengali Language Movement.
- 1962 – A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe’s rendition of “Happy Birthday”.
- 1963 – The New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
- 1971 – Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.
- 1986 – The Firearm Owners Protection Act is signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
- 1991 – Croatians vote for independence in a referendum.
- 1997 – The Sierra Gorda biosphere, the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, is established as a result of grassroots efforts.
- 2007 – President of Romania Traian Băsescu survives an impeachment referendum and returns to office from suspension.
- 2010 – The Royal Thai Armed Forces concludes its crackdown on protests by forcing the surrender of United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship leaders.
- 2012 – Three gas cylinder bombs explode in front of a vocational school in the Italian city of Brindisi, killing one person and injuring five others.
- 2012 – A car bomb explodes near a military complex in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, killing nine people.
- 2015 – The Refugio oil spill deposited 142,800 U.S. gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil onto an area in California considered one of the most biologically diverse coastlines of the west coast.
- 2016 – EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Paris to Cairo, killing all on board.
- 2018 – The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.
Births on May 19
- 1400 – John Stourton, 1st Baron Stourton, English soldier and politician (d. 1462)
- 1462 – Baccio D’Agnolo, Italian woodcarver, sculptor and architect (d. 1543)
- 1476 (or 1474) – Helena of Moscow, Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania and Queen consort of Poland (d. 1513)
- 1593 – Claude Vignon, French painter (d. 1670)
- 1616 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (d. 1667)
- 1639 – Charles Weston, 3rd Earl of Portland, English soldier and noble (d. 1665)
- 1700 – José de Escandón, 1st Count of Sierra Gorda, Spanish sergeant and politician (d. 1770)
- 1724 – Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, English admiral and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (d. 1779)
- 1744 – Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, German-born Queen to George III of the United Kingdom (d. 1818)
- 1762 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (d. 1814)
- 1773 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (d. 1854)
- 1795 – Johns Hopkins, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1873)
- 1827 – Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour, French academic and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1896)
- 1832 – James Watney, Jr., English politician, brewer and cricketer (d. 1886)
- 1857 – John Jacob Abel, American biochemist and pharmacologist (d. 1938)
- 1861 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (d. 1931)
- 1871 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (d. 1963)
- 1874 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1955)
- 1878 – Alfred Laliberté, Canadian sculptor and painter (d. 1953)
- 1879 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (d. 1964)
- 1880 – Albert Richardson, English architect and educator, designed the Manchester Opera House (d. 1964)
- 1881 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (official birthday), Turkish field marshal and statesman, 1st President of Turkey (d. 1938)
- 1884 – David Munson, American runner (d. 1953)
- 1886 – Francis Biddle, American lawyer and judge, 58th United States Attorney General (d. 1968)
- 1887 – Ion Jalea, Romanian soldier and sculptor (d. 1983)
- 1889 – Tản Đà, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1939)
- 1889 – Henry B. Richardson, American archer (d. 1963)
- 1890 – Eveline Adelheid von Maydell, German-American illustrator (d. 1962)
- 1890 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese politician, 1st President of Vietnam (d. 1969)
- 1891 – Oswald Boelcke, German captain and pilot (d. 1916)
- 1893 – H. Bonciu, Romanian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1950)
- 1897 – Frank Luke, American lieutenant and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1918)
- 1898 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and painter (d. 1974)
- 1899 – Lothar Rădăceanu, Romanian journalist, linguist, and politician (d. 1955)
- 1902 – Lubka Kolessa, Ukrainian-Canadian pianist and educator (d. 1997)
- 1903 – Ruth Ella Moore, American scientist (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Bruce Bennett, American shot putter and actor (d. 2007)
- 1908 – Manik Bandopadhyay, Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1956)
- 1908 – Merriam Modell, American author (d. 1994)
- 1908 – Percy Williams, Canadian sprinter (d. 1982)
- 1909 – Nicholas Winton, English banker and humanitarian (d. 2015)
- 1910 – Alan Melville, South African cricketer (d. 1983)
- 1913 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th President of India (d. 1996)
- 1914 – Max Perutz, Austrian-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
- 1914 – Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
- 1914 – John Vachon, American photographer and journalist (d. 1975)
- 1915 – Renée Asherson, English actress (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Abraham Pais, Dutch-American physicist, historian, and academic (d. 2000)
- 1919 – Georgie Auld, Canadian-American saxophonist, clarinet player, and bandleader (d. 1990)
- 1919 – Mitja Ribičič, Italian-Slovenian soldier and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Tina Strobos, Dutch psychiatrist known for rescuing Jews during World War II (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Leslie Broderick, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Harry W. Brown, American colonel and pilot (d. 1991)
- 1921 – Daniel Gélin, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Yuri Kochiyama, American activist (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Karel van het Reve, Dutch historian and author (d. 1999)
- 1922 – Arthur Gorrie, Australian hobby shop proprietor (d. 1992)
- 1924 – Sandy Wilson, English composer and songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (d. 1998)
- 1925 – Malcolm X, American minister and activist (d. 1965)
- 1926 – Edward Parkes, English engineer and academic (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Peter Zadek, German director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Serge Lang, French-American mathematician, author and academic (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Colin Chapman, English engineer and businessman, founded Lotus Cars (d. 1982)
- 1928 – Thomas Kennedy, English air marshal (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Gil McDougald, American baseball player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1928 – Dolph Schayes, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Richard Larter, Australian painter (d. 2014)
- 1929 – John Stroger, American politician (d. 2008)
- 1930 – Eugene Genovese, American historian and author (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Lorraine Hansberry, American playwright and director (d. 1965)
- 1931 – Bob Anderson, English race car driver (d. 1967)
- 1931 – Trevor Peacock, English actor, screenwriter and songwriter
- 1932 – Alma Cogan, English singer (d. 1966)
- 1932 – Paul Erdman, American economist and author (d. 2007)
- 1932 – Bill Fitch, American basketball player and coach
- 1932 – Elena Poniatowska, Mexican intellectual and journalist
- 1933 – Edward de Bono, Maltese physician, author, and academic
- 1934 – Ruskin Bond, Indian author and poet
- 1934 – Jim Lehrer, American journalist and author (d. 2020)
- 1935 – David Hartman, American journalist and television personality
- 1937 – Pat Roach, English wrestler (d. 2004)
- 1938 – Moisés da Costa Amaral, East Timorese politician (d. 1989)
- 1938 – Herbie Flowers, English musician
- 1938 – Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, Ukrainian long jumper and coach
- 1939 – Livio Berruti, Italian sprinter
- 1939 – James Fox, English actor
- 1939 – Nancy Kwan, Hong Kong-American actress and makeup artist
- 1939 – Jānis Lūsis, Latvian javelin thrower and coach (d. 2020)
- 1939 – Dick Scobee, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1986)
- 1940 – Jan Janssen, Dutch cyclist
- 1940 – Mickey Newbury, American country/pop singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
- 1941 – Nora Ephron, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1941 – Igor Judge, Baron Judge, Maltese-English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
- 1942 – Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research Inc. (d. 1994)
- 1942 – Robert Kilroy-Silk, English television host and politician
- 1943 – Eddie May, English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Shirrel Rhoades, American author, publisher, and academic
- 1944 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor (d. 2019)
- 1945 – Pete Townshend, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Claude Lelièvre, Belgian activist
- 1946 – Michele Placido, Italian actor and director
- 1946 – André the Giant, French-American wrestler and actor (d. 1993)
- 1947 – Paul Brady, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1947 – Christopher Chope, English lawyer and politician
- 1947 – David Helfgott, Australian pianist
- 1948 – Grace Jones, Jamaican-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1949 – Dusty Hill, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1949 – Philip Hunt, Baron Hunt of Kings Heath, English politician
- 1949 – Archie Manning, American football player
- 1950 – Tadeusz Ślusarski, Polish pole vaulter (d. 1998)
- 1951 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1951 – Dick Slater, American wrestler
- 1952 – Charlie Spedding, English runner
- 1952 – Bert van Marwijk, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
- 1953 – Patrick Hodge, Lord Hodge, Scottish lawyer and judge
- 1953 – Shavarsh Karapetyan, Armenian finswimmer
- 1953 – Florin Marin, Romanian footballer and manager
- 1953 – Victoria Wood, English actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1954 – Rick Cerone, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1954 – Hōchū Ōtsuka, Japanese voice actor
- 1954 – Phil Rudd, Australian-New Zealand drummer
- 1955 – James Gosling, Canadian-American computer scientist, created Java
- 1956 – Oliver Letwin, English philosopher and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- 1956 – Martyn Ware, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
- 1957 – Bill Laimbeer, American basketball player and coach
- 1957 – James Reyne, Nigerian-Australian singer-songwriter
- 1961 – Vadim Cojocaru, Moldovan politician
- 1961 – Gregory Poirier, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Wayne Van Dorp, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 – Filippo Galli, Italian footballer and manager
- 1964 – Peter Jackson, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster (d. 1997)
- 1964 – John Lee, South Korean-American football player
- 1964 – Miloslav Mečíř, Slovak tennis player
- 1965 – Maile Flanagan, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Marc Bureau, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1966 – Jodi Picoult, American author and educator
- 1966 – Polly Walker, English actress
- 1967 – Alexia, Italian singer
- 1967 – Geraldine Somerville, Irish-born English actress
- 1968 – Kyle Eastwood, American actor and bass player
- 1970 – Stuart Cable, Welsh drummer (d. 2010)
- 1970 – K. J. Choi, South Korean golfer
- 1970 – Regina Narva, Estonian chess player
- 1970 – Nia Zulkarnaen, Indonesian actress, singer and producer
- 1971 – Ross Katz, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Andres Salumets, Estonian biologist, biochemist, and educator
- 1972 – Jenny Berggren, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1972 – Claudia Karvan, Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Dario Franchitti, Scottish race car driver
- 1974 – Andrew Johns, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1974 – Emma Shapplin, French soprano
- 1974 – Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Indian actor
- 1975 – Pretinha, Brazilian footballer
- 1975 – London Fletcher, American football player
- 1975 – Josh Paul, American baseball player and manager
- 1975 – Jonas Renkse, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1976 – Ed Cota, American basketball player
- 1976 – Kevin Garnett, American basketball player
- 1977 – Manuel Almunia, Spanish footballer
- 1977 – Wouter Hamel, Dutch singer and guitarist
- 1977 – Brandon Inge, American baseball player
- 1977 – Natalia Oreiro, Uruguayan singer-songwriter and actress
- 1978 – Marcus Bent, English footballer
- 1978 – Dave Bus, Dutch footballer
- 1979 – Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Diego Forlan, Uruguayan footballer
- 1980 – Tony Hackworth, English footballer
- 1981 – Luciano Figueroa, Argentinian footballer
- 1981 – Yo Gotti, American rapper
- 1981 – Michael Leighton, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Sina Schielke, German sprinter
- 1981 – Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
- 1982 – Kevin Amankwaah, English footballer
- 1982 – Pål Steffen Andresen, Norwegian footballer
- 1982 – Klaas Vantornout, Belgian cyclist
- 1983 – Michael Che, American comedian
- 1983 – Jessica Fox, English actress
- 1984 – Marcedes Lewis, American football player
- 1985 – Aleister Black, Dutch professional wrestler
- 1986 – Mario Chalmers, American basketball player
- 1987 – Michael Angelakos, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1987 – David Edgar, Canadian soccer player
- 1987 – Mariano Torres, Argentinian footballer
- 1987 – Jayne Wisener, Northern Irish actress
- 1991 – Jordan Pruitt, American singer-songwriter
- 1992 – Marshmello, American electronic music producer and DJ
- 1992 – Michele Camporese, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Ola John, Dutch footballer
- 1992 – Felise Kaufusi, New Zealand-Tongan rugby league player
- 1992 – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1992 – Sam Smith, English singer-songwriter
- 1994 – Carlos Guzmán, Mexican footballer
- 1995 – Taane Milne, New Zealand rugby league player
Deaths on May 19
- 804 – Alcuin, English monk and scholar (b. 735)
- 956 – Robert, archbishop of Trier
- 988 – Dunstan, English archbishop and saint (b. 909)
- 1102 – Stephen, Count of Blois (b. 1045)
- 1125 – Vladimir II Monomakh, Grand Duke of Kiev
- 1164 – Saint Bashnouna, Egyptian saint and martyr
- 1218 – Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor
- 1296 – Pope Celestine V (b. 1215)
- 1303 – Saint Ivo of Kermartin, French canon lawyer (b. 1253)
- 1319 – Louis, Count of Évreux (b. 1276)
- 1389 – Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1350)
- 1396 – John I of Aragon (b. 1350)
- 1526 – Emperor Go-Kashiwabara of Japan (b. 1464)
- 1531 – Jan Łaski, Polish archbishop and diplomat (b. 1456)
- 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England (1533–1536); second wife of Henry VIII of England (b. c. 1501)
- 1601 – Costanzo Porta, Italian composer (b. 1528)
- 1609 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete (b. 1535)
- 1610 – Thomas Sanchez, Spanish priest and theologian (b. 1550)
- 1623 – Mariam-uz-Zamani, Empress of the Mughal Empire (b. 1542)
- 1637 – Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and philosopher (b. 1588)
- 1715 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1661)
- 1786 – John Stanley, English organist and composer (b. 1712)
- 1795 – Josiah Bartlett, American physician and politician, 4th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1729)
- 1795 – James Boswell, Scottish biographer (b. 1740)
- 1798 – William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1722)
- 1821 – Camille Jordan, French lawyer and politician (b. 1771)
- 1825 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French philosopher and theorist (b. 1760)
- 1831 – Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, Estonian-German physician, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1793)
- 1864 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1804)
- 1865 – Sengge Rinchen, Mongolian general (b. 1811)
- 1872 – John Baker, English-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of South Australia (b. 1813)
- 1876 – Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch historian and politician (b. 1801)
- 1885 – Peter W. Barlow, English engineer (b. 1809)
- 1895 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1853)
- 1898 – William Ewart Gladstone, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1809)
- 1901 – Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, South African general and politician, 1st President of the South African Republic (b. 1819)
- 1903 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer (b. 1856)
- 1904 – Auguste Molinier, French librarian and historian (b. 1851)
- 1904 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (b. 1839)
- 1906 – Gabriel Dumont, Canadian Métis leader (b. 1837)
- 1907 – Benjamin Baker, English engineer, designed the Forth Bridge (b. 1840)
- 1912 – Bolesław Prus, Polish journalist and author (b. 1847)
- 1915 – John Simpson Kirkpatrick, English-Australian soldier (b. 1892)
- 1918 – Gervais Raoul Lufbery, French-American soldier and pilot (b. 1885)
- 1935 – T. E. Lawrence, British colonel and archaeologist (b. 1888)
- 1936 – Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, British Islamic scholar (b. 1875)
- 1939 – Ahmet Ağaoğlu, Azerbaijani-Turkish journalist and publicist (b. 1869)
- 1943 – Kristjan Raud, Estonian painter and illustrator (b. 1865)
- 1945 – Philipp Bouhler, German soldier and politician (b. 1889)
- 1946 – Booth Tarkington, American novelist and dramatist (b. 1869)
- 1950 – Daniel Ciugureanu, Romanian physician and politician, Prime Minister of Moldova (b. 1884)
- 1954 – Charles Ives, American composer and educator (b. 1874)
- 1958 – Jadunath Sarkar, Indian historian (b. 1870)
- 1958 – Archie Scott Brown, Scottish race car driver (b. 1927)
- 1958 – Ronald Colman, English actor (b. 1891)
- 1963 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (b. 1871)
- 1969 – Coleman Hawkins, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1901)
- 1971 – Ogden Nash, American poet (b. 1902)
- 1978 – Albert Kivikas, Estonian-Swedish journalist and author (b. 1898)
- 1980 – Joseph Schull, Canadian playwright and historian (b. 1906)
- 1983 – Jean Rey, Belgian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (b. 1902)
- 1984 – John Betjeman, English poet and academic (b. 1906)
- 1986 – Jimmy Lyons, American saxophonist (b. 1931)
- 1987 – James Tiptree, Jr., American psychologist and author (b. 1915)
- 1989 – Yiannis Papaioannou, Greek composer and educator (b. 1910)
- 1994 – Jacques Ellul, French sociologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1912)
- 1994 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist, 37th First Lady of the United States (b. 1929)
- 1994 – Luis Ocaña, Spanish cyclist (b. 1945)
- 1996 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (b. 1917)
- 1998 – Sōsuke Uno, Japanese soldier and politician, 75th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1922)
- 2001 – Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (b. 1916)
- 2001 – Susannah McCorkle, American singer (b. 1946)
- 2002 – John Gorton, Australian lieutenant and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1911)
- 2002 – Walter Lord, American historian and author (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Mary Dresselhuys, Dutch actress and screenwriter (b. 1907)
- 2007 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (b. 1940)
- 2007 – Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Vijay Tendulkar, Indian playwright and screenwriter (b. 1928)
- 2009 – Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- 2009 – Nicholas Maw, English composer and academic (b. 1935)
- 2009 – Clint Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1913)
- 2011 – Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 8th Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Jeffrey Catherine Jones, American artist (b.1944)
- 2012 – Bob Boozer, American basketball player (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Tamara Brooks, American conductor and educator (b. 1941)
- 2012 – Ian Burgess, English race car driver (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Gerhard Hetz, German-Mexican swimmer (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Phil Lamason, New Zealand soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
- 2013 – G. Sarsfield Ford, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Robin Harrison, English-Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Neil Reynolds, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Simon Andrews, English motorcycle racer (b. 1982)
- 2014 – Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Terry W. Gee, American businessman and politician (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Sam Greenlee, American author and poet (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Vincent Harding, American historian and scholar (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Gabriel Kolko, American historian and author (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Zbigniew Pietrzykowski, Polish boxer (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Bruce Lundvall, American businessman (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Ted McWhinney, Australian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Happy Rockefeller, American philanthropist, socialite; 31st Second Lady of the United States (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Robert S. Wistrich, English historian, author, and academic (b. 1945)
- 2016 – Alan Young, English-born Canadian-American actor (b. 1919)
- 2016 – Morley Safer, Canadian-born American journalist (b. 1931)
- 2017 – Nawshirwan Mustafa, General coordinator of the Movement for Change (Gorran) (b. 1944)
- 2018 – Zhengzhang Shangfang, Chinese linguist (b. 1933)
Holidays and observances on May 19
- Christian feast day:
- Calocerus (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Crispin of Viterbo
- Dunstan (Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church; commemoration, Anglicanism)
- Ivo of Kermartin
- Joaquina Vedruna de Mas
- Maria Bernarda Bütler
- Peter Celestine
- Pudentiana (Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church)
- May 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day (Turkey, Northern Cyprus)
- Greek Genocide Remembrance Day (Greece)
- Hồ Chí Minh’s Birthday (Vietnam)
- Malcolm X Day (United States of America)
- National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
- Hepatitis Testing Day (United States)
- Mother’s Day (Kyrgyzstan)
May 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day
- 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.
- 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king.
- 1497 – Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World.
- 1503 – Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.
- 1534 – Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland.
- 1688 – King Narai nominates Phetracha as regent, leading to the revolution of 1688 in which Phetracha becomes king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
- 1768 – Rioting occurs in London after John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticizing King George III.
- 1773 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by reducing taxes on its tea and granting it the right to sell tea directly to North America. The legislation leads to the Boston Tea Party.
- 1774 – Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette become King and Queen of France.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: A small Colonial militia led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold captures Fort Ticonderoga.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Second Continental Congress takes place in Philadelphia.
- 1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon wins a victory against Austrian forces at Lodi bridge over the Adda River in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.
- 1801 – First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America.
- 1824 – The National Gallery in London opens to the public.
- 1837 – Panic of 1837: New York City banks suspend the payment of specie, triggering a national banking crisis and an economic depression whose severity was not surpassed until the Great Depression.
- 1849 – Astor Place Riot: A riot breaks out at the Astor Opera House in Manhattan, New York City over a dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Charles Macready, killing at least 22 and injuring over 120.
- 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut.
- 1865 – American Civil War: In Kentucky, Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill, who lingers until his death on June 6.
- 1869 – The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah with the golden spike.
- 1872 – Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.
- 1876 – The Centennial Exposition is opened in Philadelphia.
- 1881 – Carol I is crowned the King of the Romanian Kingdom.
- 1904 – The Horch & Cir. Motorwagenwerke AG is founded. It would eventually become the Audi company.
- 1908 – Mother’s Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.
- 1916 – Sailing in the lifeboat James Caird, Ernest Shackleton arrives at South Georgia after a journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island.
- 1922 – The United States annexes the Kingman Reef.
- 1924 – J. Edgar Hoover is appointed first Director of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and remains so until his death in 1972.
- 1933 – Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.
- 1940 – World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.
- 1940 – World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. On the same day, Germany invades France, Belgium and Luxembourg.Meanwhile, the United Kingdom occupies Iceland.
- 1941 – World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
- 1941 – World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany.hai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign.
- 1946 – First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.
- 1962 – Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk.
- 1967 – The Northrop M2-F2 crashes on landing, becoming the inspiration for the novel Cyborg and TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.
- 1969 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.
- 1975 – Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder.
- 1993 – In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills over 200 workers.
- 1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president.
- 1996 – A blizzard strikes Mount Everest, killing eight climbers by the next day.
- 1997 – The 7.3 Mw Qayen earthquake strikes Iran’s Khorasan Province killing 1,567 people.
- 2002 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Russia for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
- 2005 – A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 60 feet from U.S. President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.
- 2012 – The Damascus bombings are carried out using a pair of car bombs detonated by suicide bombers outside of a military intelligence complex in Damascus, Syria, killing 55 people.
- 2013 – One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
Births on May 10
- 874 – Meng Zhixiang, Chinese general and emperor (d. 934)
- 955 – Al-Aziz Billah, Fatimid caliph (d. 996)
- 1491 – Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon (d. 1521)
- 1604 – Jean Mairet, French author and playwright (d. 1686)
- 1697 – Jean-Marie Leclair, French violinist and composer (d. 1764)
- 1727 – Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, French economist and politician (d. 1781)
- 1755 – Robert Gray, American captain and explorer (d. 1806)
- 1760 – Johann Peter Hebel, German author and poet (d. 1826)
- 1760 – Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French captain, engineer, and composer (d. 1836)
- 1770 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1823)
- 1788 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer (d. 1827)
- 1812 – William Henry Barlow, English engineer (d. 1902)
- 1813 – Montgomery Blair, American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (d. 1883)
- 1838 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1865)
- 1841 – James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American publisher and broadcaster (d. 1918)
- 1843 – Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1920)
- 1847 – Wilhelm Killing, German mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
- 1855 – Yukteswar Giri, Indian guru and educator (d. 1936)
- 1872 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist and anthropologist (d. 1950)
- 1876 – Ivan Cankar, Slovenian poet and playwright (d. 1918)
- 1878 – Konstantinos Parthenis, Greek painter (d. 1967)
- 1878 – Gustav Stresemann, German journalist and politician, Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
- 1879 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (d. 1926)
- 1886 – Karl Barth, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1968)
- 1888 – Max Steiner, Austrian-American composer and conductor (d. 1971)
- 1890 – Alfred Jodl, German general (d. 1946)
- 1891 – Mahmoud Mokhtar, Egyptian sculptor and academic (d. 1934)
- 1893 – Tonita Peña, San Ildefonso Pueblo (Native American) artist (d. 1949)
- 1894 – Dimitri Tiomkin, Ukrainian-American composer and conductor (d. 1979)
- 1897 – Einar Gerhardsen, Norwegian politician, Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Ariel Durant, American historian and author (d. 1981)
- 1899 – Fred Astaire, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)
- 1900 – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, English-American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1979)
- 1901 – John Desmond Bernal, Irish-English crystallographer and physicist (d. 1971)
- 1901 – Hildrus Poindexter, American bacteriologist (d. 1987)
- 1902 – David O. Selznick, American director and producer (d. 1965)
- 1903 – Otto Bradfisch, German economist, jurist, and SS officer (d. 1994)
- 1905 – Markos Vamvakaris, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1972)
- 1908 – Carl Albert, American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 2000)
- 1909 – Maybelle Carter, American autoharp player (d. 1978)
- 1911 – Bel Kaufman, American author and educator (d. 2014)
- 1915 – Denis Thatcher, English soldier and businessman, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2003)
- 1916 – Milton Babbitt, American composer and educator (d. 2011)
- 1918 – T. Berry Brazelton, American pediatrician and author (d. 2018)
- 1918 – Desmond MacNamara, Irish painter, sculptor, and author (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Ella T. Grasso, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1981)
- 1920 – Basil Kelly, Northern Irish barrister, judge and politician (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Bert Weedon, English guitarist (d. 2012)
- 1922 – David Azrieli, Polish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Nancy Walker, American actress, singer, and director (d. 1992)
- 1923 – Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan general and politician, President of Azerbaijan (d. 2003)
- 1923 – Otar Korkia, Georgian basketball player and coach (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian general and politician, President of Bolivia (d. 2002)
- 1927 – Nayantara Sahgal, Indian author
- 1928 – Arnold Rüütel, Estonian agronomist and politician, President of Estonia
- 1928 – Lothar Schmid, German chess player (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Audun Boysen, Norwegian runner (d. 2000)
- 1929 – George Coe, American actor and producer (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Antonine Maillet, Canadian author and playwright
- 1930 – George E. Smith, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1931 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Jean Becker, French actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1935 – Larry Williams, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1980)
- 1937 – Tamara Press, Ukrainian shot putter and discus thrower
- 1938 – Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis player
- 1940 – Arthur Alexander, American country-soul singer-songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1940 – Wayne Dyer, American author and educator (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Jim Calhoun, American basketball player and coach
- 1944 – Jim Abrahams, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1944 – Marie-France Pisier, French actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Donovan, Scottish singer-songwriter
- 1946 – Graham Gouldman, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1946 – Dave Mason, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Caroline B. Cooney, American author
- 1949 – Miuccia Prada, Italian fashion designer
- 1952 – Sly Dunbar, Jamaican drummer
- 1955 – Mark David Chapman, American murderer
- 1956 – Vladislav Listyev, Russian journalist (d. 1995)
- 1957 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
- 1958 – Gaétan Boucher, Canadian speed skater
- 1958 – Rick Santorum, American lawyer and politician, United States Senator from Pennsylvania
- 1959 – Victoria Rowell, American actress
- 1959 – Danny Schayes, American basketball player
- 1959 – Cindy Hyde-Smith, American politician, United States Senator from Mississippi, Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce
- 1960 – Bono, Irish singer-songwriter, musician and activist
- 1960 – Dean Heller, American lawyer and politician, United States Senator from Nevada, Secretary of State of Nevada
- 1960 – Merlene Ottey, Jamaican-Slovenian runner
- 1963 – Lisa Nowak, American commander and astronaut
- 1963 – Debbie Wiseman, English composer and conductor
- 1965 – Linda Evangelista, Canadian model
- 1966 – Jonathan Edwards, English triple jumper
- 1967 – Eion Crossan, New Zealand rugby player
- 1968 – Al Murray, English comedian and television host
- 1968 – Tatyana Shikolenko, Russian javelin thrower
- 1969 – Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1969 – John Scalzi, American author and blogger
- 1970 – Gabriela Montero, Venezuelan-American pianist
- 1970 – David Weir, Scottish footballer
- 1971 – Ådne Søndrål, Norwegian speed skater
- 1972 – Christian Wörns, German footballer
- 1973 – Joshua Eagle, Australian tennis player
- 1973 – Ollie le Roux, South African rugby player
- 1974 – Sylvain Wiltord, French footballer
- 1975 – Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver
- 1975 – Adam Deadmarsh, Canadian-American ice hockey player
- 1978 – Bruno Cheyrou, French footballer
- 1981 – Samuel Dalembert, Haitian-Canadian basketball player
- 1981 – Humberto Suazo, Chilean footballer
- 1983 – Gustav Fridolin, Swedish journalist and politician, Swedish Minister of Education
- 1984 – Edward Mujica, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1985 – Ryan Getzlaf, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Jon Schofield, English canoe racer
- 1987 – Wilson Chandler, American basketball player
- 1990 – Salvador Pérez, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1990 – Ivana Španović, Serbian long jumper
- 1995 – Missy Franklin, American swimmer1995 – Gabriella Papadakis, French ice dancer
- 1996 – Tyus Jones, American basketball player
- 1996 – Kateřina Siniaková, Czech tennis player
Deaths on May 10
- 1299 – Theingapati, heir to the Pagan Kingdom
- 1403 – Katherine Swynford, widow of John of Gaunt
- 1482 – Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1397)
- 1493 – Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, Scottish politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1433)
- 1521 – Sebastian Brant, German author (b. 1457)
- 1566 – Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (b. 1501)
- 1569 – John of Ávila, Spanish mystic and saint (b. 1500)
- 1641 – Johan Banér, Swedish field marshal (b. 1596)
- 1717 – John Hathorne, American merchant and politician (b. 1641)
- 1726 – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (b. 1670)
- 1774 – Louis XV of France (b. 1710)
- 1787 – William Watson, English physician, physicist, and botanist (b. 1715)
- 1794 – Élisabeth of France, French princess and youngest sibling of Louis XVI (b.1764)
- 1798 – George Vancouver, English navigator and explorer (b. 1757)
- 1807 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general (b. 1725)
- 1818 – Paul Revere, American engraver and soldier (b. 1735)
- 1829 – Thomas Young, English physician and linguist (b. 1773)
- 1849 – Hokusai, Japanese painter and illustrator (b. 1760)
- 1863 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (b. 1824)
- 1868 – Henry Bennett, American lawyer and politician (b. 1808)
- 1889 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1826)
- 1891 – Carl Nägeli, Swiss botanist and mycologist (b. 1817)
- 1897 – Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino soldier and politician, President of the Philippines (b. 1863)
- 1910 – Stanislao Cannizzaro, Italian chemist and academic (b. 1826)
- 1945 – Richard Glücks, German SS officer (b. 1889)
- 1945 – Konrad Henlein, Czech soldier and politician (b. 1898)
- 1960 – Yury Olesha, Russian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1899)
- 1964 – Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter, illustrator, and set designer (b. 1881)
- 1965 – Hubertus van Mook, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1894)
- 1968 – Scotty Beckett, American actor and singer (b. 1929)
- 1974 – Hal Mohr, American director and cinematographer (b. 1894)
- 1977 – Joan Crawford, American actress (year of birth disputed)
- 1982 – Peter Weiss, German playwright and painter (b. 1916)
- 1988 – Shen Congwen, Chinese author and academic (b. 1902)
- 1990 – Walker Percy, American novelist and essayist (b. 1916)
- 1994 – John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (b. 1942)
- 1999 – Shel Silverstein, American poet, author, and illustrator
- 2000 – Jules Deschênes, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1923)
- 2000 – Dick Sprang, American illustrator (b. 1915)
- 2001 – Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian politician, Governor of Himachal Pradesh (b. 1934)
- 2002 – Kaifi Azmi, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1919)
- 2002 – Yves Robert, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Milan Vukcevich, Serbian-American chemist and chess player (b. 1937)
- 2006 – Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1969)
- 2008 – Leyla Gencer, Turkish soprano (b. 1928)
- 2010 – Frank Frazetta, American illustrator and painter (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Horst Faas, German photographer and journalist (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Carroll Shelby, American race car driver and designer (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Gunnar Sønsteby, Norwegian captain and author (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (b. 1946)
- 2018 – David Goodall, Australian botanist and ecologist (b. 1914)
- 2019 – Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, Spanish politician and chemist (b. 1951)
Holidays and observances on May 10
- Children’s Day (Maldives)
- Christian feast day:
- Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus
- Calepodius
- Catald
- Comgall
- Damien of Molokai
- Gordianus and Epimachus
- Job (Roman Catholic Church, pre-1969 calendar)
- John of Ávila
- May 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Confederate Memorial Day (North Carolina and South Carolina)
- Constitution Day (Micronesia)
- Earliest possible day on which Pentecost can fall, while June 13 is the latest; celebrated 50 days after Easter Day.(Christianity)
- Golden Spike Day (Promontory, Utah)
- Mother’s Day (Guatemala, and Mexico)
May 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day
- 1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance.
- 1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanish.
- 1536 – King Henry VIII orders English-language Bibles be placed in every church. In 1539 the Great Bible would be provided for this purpose.
- 1542 – Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time.
- 1659 – English Restoration: A faction of the British Army removes Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and reinstalls the Rump Parliament.
- 1682 – Louis XIV of France moves his court to the Palace of Versailles.
- 1757 – Battle of Prague: A Prussian army fights an Austrian army in Prague during the Seven Years’ War.
- 1757 – The end of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, and the end of Burmese Civil War (1740–1757).
- 1757 – English poet Christopher Smart is admitted into St Luke’s Hospital for Lunatics in London, beginning his six-year confinement to mental asylums.
- 1782 – Construction begins on the Grand Palace, the royal residence of the King of Siam in Bangkok, at the command of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
- 1801 – Captain Thomas Cochrane in the 14-gun HMS Speedy captures the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo.
- 1835 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr. publishes the first issue of the New York Herald.
- 1840 – The Penny Black postage stamp becomes valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- 1857 – The East India Company disbands the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry whose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British in the lead up to the War of Indian Independence.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with the defeat of the Army of the Potomac by the Army of Northern Virginia.
- 1877 – Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Lakota surrenders to United States troops in Nebraska.
- 1882 – Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish are stabbed to death by Fenian assassins in Phoenix Park, Dublin.
- 1882 – The United States Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act.
- 1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
- 1906 – The Russian Constitution of 1906 is adopted (on April 23 by the Julian calendar).
- 1910 – George V becomes King of Great Britain, Ireland, and many overseas territories, on the death of his father, Edward VII.
- 1915 – Babe Ruth, then a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, hits his first major league home run.
- 1916 – Twenty-one Lebanese nationalists are executed in Martyrs’ Square, Beirut by Djemal Pasha.
- 1916 – Vietnamese Emperor Duy Tân is captured while calling upon the people to rise up against the French, and is later deposed and exiled to Réunion island.
- 1933 – The Deutsche Studentenschaft attacked Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, later burning many of its books.
- 1935 – New Deal: Under the authority of the newly-enacted Federal Emergency Relief Administration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues Executive Order 7034 to create the Works Progress Administration.
- 1937 – Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed.
- 1940 – John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.
- 1941 – At California’s March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO show.
- 1941 – The first flight of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
- 1942 – World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrender to the Japanese.
- 1945 – World War II: Axis Sally delivers her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops.
- 1945 – World War II: The Prague Offensive, the last major battle of the Eastern Front, begins.
- 1949 – EDSAC, the first practical electronic digital stored-program computer, runs its first operation.
- 1954 – Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
- 1960 – More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.
- 1966 – Myra Hindley and Ian Brady are sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors murders in England.
- 1972 – Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin İnan are executed in Ankara after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the Constitutional order.
- 1975 – During a lull in fighting, 100,000 Armenians gather in Beirut for the 60th anniversary commemorations of the Armenian Genocide.
- 1976 – The 6.5 Mw Friuli earthquake affected Northern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 900–978 dead and 1,700–2,400 injured.
- 1983 – The Hitler Diaries are revealed as a hoax after being examined by new experts.
- 1984 – One hundred three Korean Martyrs are canonized by Pope John Paul II in Seoul.
- 1988 – All thirty-six passengers and crew were killed when Widerøe Flight 710 crashed into Mt. Torghatten in Brønnøy.
- 1994 – Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiate at the opening of the Channel Tunnel.
- 1996 – The body of former CIA director William Colby is found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he disappeared.
- 1997 – The Bank of England is given independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank’s 300-year history.
- 1998 – Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his fifth career start.
- 1998 – Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. unveils the first iMac.
- 1999 – The first elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are held.
- 2001 – During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque.
- 2002 – Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated following a radio-interview at the Mediapark in Hilversum.
- 2010 – In just 36 minutes, the Dow-Jones average plunged nearly 1000 points in what is known as the 2010 Flash Crash.
- 2013 – Three women, kidnapped and missing for more than a decade, are found alive in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.
Births on May 6
- 973 – Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1024)
- 1464 – Sophia Jagiellon, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Polish princess (d. 1512)
- 1493 – Girolamo Seripando, Italian theologian and cardinal (d. 1563)
- 1501 – Marcellus II, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1555)
- 1574 – Innocent X, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1655)
- 1580 – Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat, French noble (d. 1637)
- 1635 – Johann Joachim Becher, German physician and alchemist (d. 1682)
- 1668 – Alain-René Lesage, French author and playwright (d. 1747)
- 1680 – Jean-Baptiste Stuck, Italian-French cellist and composer (d. 1755)
- 1713 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher and academic (d. 1780)
- 1714 – Anton Raaff, German tenor (d. 1797)
- 1742 – Jean Senebier, Swiss pastor and physiologist (d. 1809)
- 1758 – André Masséna, French general (d. 1817)
- 1758 – Maximilien Robespierre, French lawyer and politician (d. 1794)
- 1769 – Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1824)
- 1769 – Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician and academic (d. 1834)
- 1781 – Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher and author (d. 1832)
- 1797 – Joseph Brackett, American religious leader and composer (d. 1882)
- 1800 – Roman Sanguszko, Polish general (d. 1881)
- 1827 – Hermann Raster, German-American journalist and politician (d. 1891)
- 1836 – Max Eyth, German engineer and author (d. 1906)
- 1843 – Grove Karl Gilbert, American geologist and academic (d. 1918)
- 1848 – Henry Edward Armstrong, English chemist and academic (d. 1937)
- 1851 – Aristide Bruant, French singer and actor (d. 1925)
- 1856 – Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst (d. 1939)
- 1856 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (d. 1920)
- 1861 – Motilal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (d. 1931)
- 1868 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (d. 1927)
- 1869 – Junnosuke Inoue, Japanese businessman and central banker, 8th and 11th Governor of the Bank of Japan (d. 1932)
- 1870 – Walter Rutherford, Scottish golfer (d. 1936)
- 1871 – Victor Grignard, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)
- 1871 – Christian Morgenstern, German author and poet (d. 1914)
- 1872 – Willem de Sitter, Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1934)
- 1872 – Djemal Pasha, Ottoman general (d. 1922)
- 1879 – Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist (d. 1952)
- 1879 – Hendrik van Heuckelum, Dutch footballer (d. 1929)
- 1880 – Winifred Brunton, English-South African painter and illustrator (d. 1959)
- 1880 – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German-Swiss painter (d. 1938)
- 1883 – Alberto Collo, Italian actor (d. 1955)
- 1895 – Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian mathematician and author (d. 1974)
- 1895 – Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian soldier and politician, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture (d. 1946)
- 1895 – Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (d. 1926)
- 1896 – Rolf Maximilian Sievert, Swedish physicist and academic (d. 1966)
- 1897 – Paul Alverdes, German author and poet (d. 1979)
- 1898 – Konrad Henlein, Czech soldier and politician (d. 1945)
- 1902 – Harry Golden, Ukrainian-American journalist and author (d. 1981)
- 1902 – Max Ophüls, German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1957)
- 1903 – Toots Shor, American businessman, founded Toots Shor’s Restaurant (d. 1977)
- 1904 – Moshé Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (d. 1984)
- 1904 – Catherine Lacey, English actress (d. 1979)
- 1904 – Harry Martinson, Swedish novelist, essayist, and poet Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
- 1905 – Philip N. Krasne, American lawyer and producer (d. 1999)
- 1906 – André Weil, French mathematician and academic (d. 1998)
- 1907 – Weeb Ewbank, American football player and coach (d. 1998)
- 1911 – Guy des Cars, French journalist and author (d. 1993)
- 1913 – Carmen Cavallaro, American pianist (d. 1989)
- 1913 – Stewart Granger, English-American actor (d. 1993)
- 1915 – Orson Welles, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1985)
- 1915 – Theodore H. White, American historian, journalist, and author (d. 1986)
- 1916 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (d. 1997)
- 1917 – Kal Mann, American songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1918 – Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, emir of Abu Dhabi and first president of the United Arab Emirates (d. 2004)
- 1919 – André Guelfi, French race car driver (d. 2016)
- 1920 – Kamisese Mara, Fijian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Fiji (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Marguerite Piazza, American soprano and actress (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Erich Fried, Austrian-German author, poet, and translator (d. 1988)
- 1922 – Camille Laurin, Canadian psychiatrist and politician, 7th Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Harry Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2002)
- 1924 – Nestor Basterretxea, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Patricia Helen Kennedy, American socialite, activist, and author (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Denny Wright, English guitarist, composer, and producer (d. 1992)
- 1926 – Gilles Grégoire, Canadian politician, co-founded the Parti Québécois (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Rosemary Cramp, English archaeologist and academic
- 1929 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
- 1929 – John Taylor, English bishop and theologian (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Willie Mays, American baseball player and coach
- 1931 – Louis Gambaccini, American government official (d. 2018)
- 1932 – Ahmet Haxhiu, Kosovan activist (d. 1994)
- 1932 – Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, English lieutenant and politician (d. 2020)
- 1934 – Richard Shelby, American lawyer and politician
- 1937 – Rubin Carter, American-Canadian boxer (d. 2014)
- 1938 – Jean Garon, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician (d. 2014)
- 1939 – Eddie C. Campbell, American singer and guitarist (d. 2018)
- 1939 – Chet Allen, American child actor (d. 1984)
- 1942 – Ariel Dorfman, Argentinian author, playwright, and academic
- 1943 – Andreas Baader, German terrorist, co-founded the Red Army Faction (d. 1977)
- 1943 – Milton William Cooper, American theorist and author (d. 2001)
- 1943 – Wolfgang Reinhardt, German pole vaulter (d. 2011)
- 1943 – James Turrell, American sculptor and illustrator
- 1944 – Anton Furst, English-American production designer and art director (d. 1991)
- 1944 – Masanori Murakami, Japanese baseball player and coach
- 1945 – Jimmie Dale Gilmore, American country singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and producer
- 1945 – Bob Seger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Alan Dale, New Zealand actor
- 1947 – Martha Nussbaum, American philosopher and author
- 1947 – Ljubomir Vračarević, Serbian martial artist, founded Real Aikido (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 2013)
- 1950 – Jeffery Deaver, American journalist and author
- 1951 – Samuel Doe, Liberian sergeant and politician, 21st President of Liberia (d. 1990)
- 1952 – Gerrit Zalm, Dutch economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- 1953 – Alexander Akimov, Ukrainian Chernobyl worker (d. 1986)
- 1953 – Tony Blair, British politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1953 – Michelle Courchesne, Canadian urban planner and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
- 1953 – Ülle Rajasalu, Estonian politician
- 1953 – Graeme Souness, Scottish international footballer and manager
- 1953 – Lynn Whitfield, American actress and producer
- 1954 – Tom Abernethy, American basketball player
- 1954 – Dora Bakoyannis, Greek politician, 120th Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs
- 1954 – Angela Hernández Nuñez, Dominican author and poet
- 1954 – Ain Lutsepp, Estonian actor and politician
- 1955 – Nicholas Alexander, 7th Earl of Caledon, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Armagh
- 1955 – Tom Bergeron, American television host
- 1955 – John Hutton, Baron Hutton of Furness, English academic and politician, Secretary of State for Defence
- 1956 – Lakis Lazopoulos, Greek actor and screenwriter
- 1956 – Cindy Lovell, American educator and writer
- 1956 – Roland Wieser, German race walker and coach
- 1958 – Randall Stout, American architect, designed the Taubman Museum of Art (d. 2014)
- 1959 – Andreas Busse, German runner
- 1959 – Charles Hendry, English politician
- 1960 – Lyudmila Andonova, Bulgarian high jumper
- 1960 – Keith Dowding, English political scientist, philosopher, and academic
- 1960 – Roma Downey, Irish-American actress and producer
- 1960 – John Flansburgh, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1960 – Aleksei Lotman, Estonian biologist and politician
- 1960 – Anne Parillaud, French actress
- 1961 – Oleksandr Apaychev, Ukrainian decathlete and coach
- 1961 – George Clooney, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Tom Hunter, Scottish businessman and philanthropist
- 1961 – Gina Riley, Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Frans Timmermans, Dutch politician and diplomat, First Vice President of the European Commission
- 1962 – Tom Brake, English politician
- 1962 – Brad Izzard, Australian rugby league player
- 1963 – Alessandra Ferri, Italian ballerina
- 1965 – Leslie Hope, Canadian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1968 – Worku Bikila, Ethiopian runner
- 1968 – Lætitia Sadier, French singer and keyboard player
- 1969 – Jim Magilton, Northern Irish footballer and manager
- 1970 – Roland Kun, Nauruan politician
- 1970 – Kavan Smith, Canadian actor
- 1971 – Chris Shiflett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Martin Brodeur, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 – Naoko Takahashi, Japanese runner
- 1974 – Bernard Barmasai, Kenyan runner
- 1974 – Daniela Bártová, Czech pole vaulter and gymnast
- 1975 – Alan Richardson, English cricketer and coach
- 1976 – Dean Chandler, English footballer
- 1976 – Iván de la Peña, Spanish footballer
- 1977 – Christophe Brandt, Belgian cyclist
- 1977 – Marc Chouinard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Mark Eaton, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1977 – Chantelle Newbery, Australian diver
- 1978 – John Abraham, American football player
- 1978 – Tony Estanguet, French slalom canoeist
- 1978 – Fredrick Federley, Swedish journalist and politician
- 1978 – Alexandr Fedorov, Russian bodybuilder
- 1979 – Gerd Kanter, Estonian discus thrower
- 1979 – Jan Erik Mikalsen, Norwegian composer
- 1979 – Jon Montgomery, Canadian skeleton racer and television host
- 1980 – Brooke Bennett, American swimmer
- 1980 – Dimitris Diamantidis, Greek professional basketball player
- 1980 – Ricardo Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 – Matthew Whiley, English cricketer
- 1982 – Jason Witten, American football player
- 1983 – Dani Alves, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Ingrid Jonach, Australian author
- 1983 – Gabourey Sidibe, American actress
- 1983 – Trinley Thaye Dorje, Tibetan religious leader, the 17th Karmapa Lama
- 1983 – Fredrik Sjöström, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1984 – Anton Babchuk, Ukrainian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Juan Pablo Carrizo, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Chris Paul, American basketball player
- 1986 – Goran Dragic, Slovenian basketball player
- 1987 – Dries Mertens, Belgian footballer
- 1987 – Meek Mill, American rapper
- 1987 – Adrienne Warren, American actress
- 1988 – Ryan Anderson, American basketball player
- 1988 – Dakota Kai, New Zealander profesional wrestler
- 1989 – Dominika Cibulková, Slovak tennis player
- 1989 – Jesse Hughes, Canadian DJ and producer
- 1990 – José Altuve, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1992 – Brendan Gallagher, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1992 – Byun Baekhyun, South Korean musician and actor
- 1992 – Jonas Valančiūnas, Lithuanian professional basketball player
- 1993 – Gustavo Gómez, Paraguayan footballer
- 1994 – Mateo Kovačić, Austrian-Croatian footballer
- 1997 – Duncan Scott, Scottish swimmer
- 2019 – Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, British royal
Deaths on May 6
- 698 – Eadberht, bishop of Lindisfarne
- 850 – Ninmyō, Japanese emperor (b. 808)
- 932 – Qian Liu, Chinese warlord and king (b. 852)
- 988 – Dirk II, count of Frisia and Holland
- 1002 – Ealdwulf, Archbishop of York, Abbot of Peterborough and Bishop of Worcester
- 1187 – Ruben III, Prince of Armenia (b. 1145)
- 1236 – Roger of Wendover, Benedictine monk and chronicler
- 1471 – Edmund Beaufort, English commander (b. 1438)
- 1471 – Thomas Tresham, Speaker of the House of Commons
- 1475 – Dieric Bouts, Flemish painter (b. 1415)
- 1483 – Queen Jeonghui, Korean regent (b. 1418)
- 1502 – James Tyrrell, English knight (b. 1450)
- 1527 – Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, Count of Montpensier and Dauphin of Auvergne (b.1490)
- 1540 – Juan Luís Vives, Spanish scholar (b. 1492)
- 1596 – Giaches de Wert, Flemish-Italian composer (b. 1535)
- 1631 – Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, English historian and politician, founded the Cotton library (b. 1570)
- 1638 – Cornelius Jansen, Dutch-French bishop and theologian (b. 1585)
- 1708 – François de Laval, French-Canadian bishop (b. 1623)
- 1757 – Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1683)
- 1757 – Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, Prussian field marshal (b. 1684)
- 1782 – Christine Kirch, German astronomer and academic (b. 1696)
- 1840 – Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombian general and politician, 4th President of the Republic of the New Granada (b. 1792)
- 1859 – Alexander von Humboldt, German geographer and explorer (b. 1769)
- 1862 – Henry David Thoreau, American essayist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1817)
- 1877 – Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Swedish-Finnish poet and hymn-writer (b. 1804)
- 1882 – Thomas Henry Burke, Irish civil servant (b. 1829)
- 1882 – Lord Frederick Cavendish, British politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1836)
- 1902 – Bret Harte, American author and poet (b. 1836)
- 1905 – Robert Herbert, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Queensland (b. 1831)
- 1907 – Emanuele Luigi Galizia, Maltese architect and civil engineer (b. 1830)
- 1910 – Edward VII of the United Kingdom (b. 1841)
- 1919 – L. Frank Baum, American novelist (b. 1856)
- 1939 – Konstantin Somov, Russian-French painter and illustrator (b. 1869)
- 1949 – Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian-French poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
- 1951 – Élie Cartan, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1869)
- 1952 – Maria Montessori, Italian-Dutch physician and educator (b. 1870)
- 1959 – Maria Dulęba, Polish actress (b. 1881)
- 1959 – Ragnar Nurkse, Estonian-American economist and academic (b. 1907)
- 1961 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (b. 1895)
- 1963 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (b. 1881)
- 1963 – Ted Weems, American violinist, trombonist, and bandleader (b. 1901)
- 1963 – Monty Woolley, American raconteur, actor, and director (b. 1888)
- 1967 – Zhou Zuoren, Chinese author and translator (b. 1885)
- 1970 – Alexander Rodzyanko, Russian general (b. 1879)
- 1973 – Ernest MacMillan, Canadian conductor and composer (b. 1893)
- 1975 – József Mindszenty, Hungarian cardinal (b. 1892)
- 1980 – María Luisa Bombal, Chilean writer (b. 1910)
- 1983 – Ezra Jack Keats, American author and illustrator (b. 1916)
- 1983 – Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (b. 1922)
- 1984 – Mary Cain, American journalist and politician (b. 1904)
- 1984 – Bonner Pink, English politician (b. 1912)
- 1987 – William J. Casey, American politician, 13th Director of Central Intelligence (b. 1913)
- 1989 – Earl Blaik, American football player and coach (b. 1897)
- 1990 – Charles Farrell, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1991 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, English actor (b. 1903)
- 1992 – Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer (b. 1901)
- 1993 – Ann Todd, English actress and producer (b. 1909)
- 1995 – Noel Brotherston, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1956)
- 2000 – Gordon McClymont, Australian ecologist and academic (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Murray Adaskin, Canadian violinist, composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1906)
- 2002 – Otis Blackwell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1932)
- 2002 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (b. 1948)
- 2002 – Bjørn Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist (b. 1940)
- 2003 – Art Houtteman, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Virginia Capers, American actress and singer (b. 1925)
- 2004 – Philip Kapleau, American monk and educator (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Barney Kessel, American guitarist and composer (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Grant McLennan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1958)
- 2006 – Lorne Saxberg, Canadian journalist (b. 1958)
- 2007 – Enéas Carneiro, Brazilian physician and politician (b. 1938)
- 2007 – Curtis Harrington, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Kevin Grubb, American race car driver (b. 1978)
- 2010 – Robin Roberts, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1926)
- 2012 – James R. Browning, American lieutenant, lawyer, and judge (b. 1918)
- 2012 – James Isaac, American director and producer (b. 1960)
- 2012 – Jean Laplanche, French psychoanalyst and author (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Giulio Andreotti, Italian journalist and politician, 41st Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Severo Aparicio Quispe, Peruvian bishop (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Michelangelo Spensieri, Italian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
- 2014 – Wil Albeda, Dutch economist and politician, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs (b. 1925)
- 2014 – William H. Dana, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Jimmy Ellis, American boxer (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Billy Harrell, American baseball player and scout (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Antony Hopkins, English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Maria Lassnig, Austrian painter and academic (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Farley Mowat, Canadian environmentalist and author (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Novera Ahmed, Bangladeshi sculptor (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Denise McCluggage, American race car driver and journalist (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Jim Wright, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Patrick Ekeng, Cameroonian footballer (b. 1990)
- 2016 – Reg Grundy, Australian businessman (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances on May 6
- Christian Feast Day:
- Dominic Savio
- Evodius of Antioch (Roman Catholic Church)
- François de Laval
- Gerard of Lunel
- Lucius of Cyrene
- Petronax of Monte Cassino
- St George’s Day related observances (Eastern Orthodox Church):
- Day of Bravery, also known as Gergyovden (Bulgaria)
- Đurđevdan (Gorani, Roma)
- Police Day (Georgia)
- Yuri’s Day in the Spring (Russian Orthodox Church)
- St John before the Latin Gate
- May 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Military Spouse Day can fall, while May 12 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Mother’s Day (United States)
- International No Diet Day
- Martyrs’ Day (Gabon)
- Martyrs’ Day (Lebanon and Syria)
- Teachers’ Day (Jamaica)
- The first day of Hıdırellez (Turkey)