351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch.
558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt.
1274 – In France, the Second Council of Lyon opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
1487 – The Siege of Málaga commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
1544 – The Burning of Edinburgh by an English army is the first action of the Rough Wooing.
1664 – Louis XIV of France begins construction of the Palace of Versailles.
1685 – Battle of Vrtijeljka between rebels and Ottoman forces.
1697 – Stockholm’s royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed by fire. It is replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.
1718 – The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
1763 – Pontiac’s War begins with Pontiac’s attempt to seize Fort Detroit from the British.
1794 – French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic.
1824 – World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer’s supervision.
1832 – Greece’s independence is recognized by the Treaty of London.
1840 – The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.
1846 – The Cambridge Chronicle, America’s oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1864 – American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
1864 – The world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide is launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
1895 – In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector—a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
1915 – World War I: German submarine U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many former pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.
1915 – The Republic of China accedes to 13 of the 21 Demands, extending the Empire of Japan‘s control over Manchuria and the Chinese economy.
1920 – Kiev Offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kiev only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
1920 – Treaty of Moscow: Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
1920 – Morecambe Football Club was founded during a meeting at the West View Hotel on the town’s promenade.
1930 – The 7.1 Mw Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to three-thousand people were killed.
1931 – The stand-off between criminal Francis Crowley and 300 members of the New York Police Department takes place in his fifth-floor apartment on West 91st Street, New York City.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco’s forces.
1940 – World War II: The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.
1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō; the battle marks the first time in naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
1945 – World War II: Last German U boat attack of the war, two freighters are sunk off the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
1945 – World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany’s participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day.
1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded
1948 – The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
1954 – Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Viet Minh victory (the battle began on March 13).
1960 – Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.
1976 – The Honda Accord is officially launched.
1986 – Canadian Patrick Morrow becomes the first person to climb each of the Seven Summits.
1992 – Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.
1992 – Space Shuttle program: The Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its first mission, STS-49.
1992 – Three employees at a McDonald’s Restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first “fast-food murder” in Canada.
1994 – Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.
1998 – Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
1999 – Pope John Paul II travels to Romania, becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.
1999 – Kosovo War: Three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft apparently inadvertently bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.
1999 – In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
2000 – Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia.
2002 – An EgyptAir Boeing 737-500 crashes on approach to Tunis–Carthage International Airport, killing 14 people.
2002 – A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
2004 – American businessman Nick Berg is beheaded by Islamic militants. The act is recorded on videotape and released on the Internet.
Births on May 7
Before 160 – Julia Maesa, Roman noblewoman (d. 224)
1488 – John III of the Palatinate, archbishop of Regensburg (d. 1538)
1530 – Louis, Prince of Condé (d. 1569)
1553 – Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (d. 1618)
1605 – Patriarch Nikon of Moscow (d. 1681)
1643 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician, 10th Mayor of New York City (d. 1700)
1700 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician (d. 1772)
1701 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor and composer (d. 1759)
1711 – David Hume, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1776)
1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, French-Austrian field marshal (d. 1797)
1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian police officer and general (d. 1814)
1748 – Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and philosopher (d. 1793)
1763 – Józef Poniatowski, Polish general (d. 1813)
1767 – Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (d. 1820)
1774 – William Bainbridge, American commodore (d. 1833)
1787 – Jacques Viger, Canadian archaeologist and politician, 1st mayor of Montreal (d. 1858)
1812 – Robert Browning, English poet and playwright (d. 1889)
1833 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (d. 1897)
1836 – Joseph Gurney Cannon, American lawyer and politician, 40th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1926)
1837 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (d. 1875)
1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and educator (d. 1893)
1845 – Mary Eliza Mahoney, American nurse and activist (d. 1926)
1847 – Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1929)
1857 – William A. MacCorkle, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1930)
1860 – Tom Norman, English businessman (d. 1930)
1861 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
1867 – Władysław Reymont, Polish novelist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
1875 – Bill Hoyt, American pole vaulter (d. 1951)
1880 – Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (d. 1972)
1881 – George E. Wiley, American cyclist (d. 1954)
1882 – Willem Elsschot, Belgian author and poet (d. 1960)
1885 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American actor (d. 1969)
1889 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (d. 1943)
1891 – Harry McShane, Scottish engineer and activist (d. 1988)
1892 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (d. 1982)
1892 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980)
1893 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey coach and manager (d. 1985)
1896 – Kathleen McKane Godfree, English tennis and badminton player (d. 1992)
1899 – Alfred Gerrard, English sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor (d. 1961)
1903 – Jimmy Ball, Canadian sprinter (d. 1988)
1904 – Kurt Weitzmann, German-American historian and author (d. 1993)
1906 – Eric Krenz, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1931)
1909 – Edwin H. Land, American scientist and inventor, co-founded the Polaroid Corporation (d. 1991)
1909 – Dorothy Sunrise Lorentino, Native American teacher (d. 2005)
1911 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
1911 – Rıfat Ilgaz, Turkish author, poet, and educator (d. 1993)
1912 – Pannalal Patel, Indian author (d. 1989)
1913 – John Spencer Hardy, American general (d. 2012)
1913 – Simon Ramo, American physicist and engineer (d. 2016)
1914 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat. British Ambassador to South Africa (d. 1996)
1916 – Huw Wheldon, Welsh-English broadcaster (d. 1986)
1916 – W. B. Young, Scottish rugby player and physician (d. 2013)
1917 – Domenico Bartolucci, Italian cardinal and composer (d. 2013)
1917 – Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (d. 2020)
1917 – David Tomlinson, English actor (d. 2000)
1919 – Eva Perón, Argentinian actress, 25th First Lady of Argentina (d. 1952)
1920 – Rendra Karno, Indonesian actor (d. 1985)
1921 – Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
1921 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (d. 1985)
1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor and director (d. 2006)
1922 – Joe O’Donnell, American photographer and journalist (d. 2007)
1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
1923 – Jim Lowe, American singer-songwriter, disc jockey, and radio host (d. 2016)
1923 – Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2015)
1924 – Albert Band, French-American director and producer (d. 2002)
1925 – Lauri Vaska, Estonian-American chemist and academic (d. 2015)
1927 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1929 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
1930 – Totie Fields, American comedian and author (d. 1978)
1930 – Babe Parilli, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
1930 – John Smith, Baron Kirkhill, English politician
1931 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (d. 2007)
1931 – Gene Wolfe, American author (d. 2019)
1932 – Jordi Bonet, Spanish-Canadian painter and sculptor (d. 1979)
1932 – Alan Cuthbert, English pharmacologist and academic (d. 2016)
1932 – Pete Domenici, American lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Albuquerque (d. 2017)
1932 – Derek Taylor, English journalist and author (d. 1997)
1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
1935 – Avraham Heffner, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
1935 – Michael Hopkins, English architect
1936 – Robin Hanbury-Tenison, English explorer and author
1936 – Tony O’Reilly, Irish rugby player and businessman
1936 – Jimmy Ruffin, American soul singer (d. 2014)
1937 – Eddie Clayton, English footballer
1937 – Claude Raymond, Canadian baseball player and coach
1939 – Sidney Altman, Canadian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1939 – Ruggero Deodato, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter
1939 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2018)
1939 – Johnny Maestro, American pop/doo-wop singer (d. 2010)
1939 – Clive Soley, Baron Soley, English politician
1940 – Angela Carter, English novelist and short story writer (d. 1992)
1940 – Dave Chambers, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1941 – Lawrence Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury, English lawyer and judge
1943 – Terry Allen, American singer and painter
1943 – Harvey Andrews, English singer-songwriter and poet
1943 – John Bannon, Australian academic and politician, 39th Premier of South Australia (d. 2015)
1943 – Peter Carey, Australian novelist and short story writer
1945 – Christy Moore, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1945 – Robin Strasser, American actress
1946 – Thelma Houston, American R&B/disco singer and actress
1946 – Marv Hubbard, American football player (d. 2015)
1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer
1946 – Michael Rosen, English author and poet
1946 – Brian Turner, English chef and television host
1949 – Kathy Ahern, American golfer (d. 1996)
1949 – Deborah Butterfield, American sculptor
1950 – John Dowling Coates, Australian lawyer, sports administrator and businessman
1950 – Randall “Tex” Cobb, American boxer and actor
1950 – Tim Russert, American television journalist and lawyer (d. 2008)
1953 – Pat McInally, American football player and coach
1953 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
1954 – Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
1954 – Joanna Haigh, English meteorologist and physicist
1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1955 – Clément Gignac, Canadian politician
1955 – Ben Poquette, American basketball player
1955 – Axel Zwingenberger, German pianist and songwriter
1956 – Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch jurist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
1956 – Anne Dudley, English pianist and composer
1956 – Nicholas Hytner, English director and producer
1956 – Jean Lapierre, Canadian talk show host and politician
1956 – Calum MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician
1957 – Kristina M. Johnson, American business executive, engineer, academic and government official
1958 – Mikhail Biryukov, Russian footballer and manager
1958 – Mark G. Kuzyk, American physicist and academic
1958 – Anne Marie Rafferty, English nurse and academic
1959 – Michael E. Knight, American actor
1959 – Tony Sealy, English footballer, forward and manager
1959 – Heiki Valk, Estonian archeologist and academic
1960 – Adam Bernstein, American director and screenwriter
1960 – Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham, Iraqi-English surgeon and academic
1960 – Almudena Grandes, Spanish author
1961 – Hans-Peter Bartels, German politician
1961 – Sue Black, Scottish anthropologist and academic
1961 – Ivar Must, Estonian composer and producer
1962 – Tony Campbell, American basketball player and coach
1962 – Judith Donath, American computer scientist and academic
1963 – Johnny Lee Middleton, American bass player and songwriter
1964 – Ronnie Harmon, American football player
1964 – Denis Mandarino, Brazilian guitarist, composer, and painter
1964 – Leslie O’Neal, American football player
1965 – Reuben Davis, American football player
1965 – Owen Hart, Canadian wrestler (d. 1999)
1965 – Norman Whiteside, Northern Irish footballer and manager
1965 – Huang Zhihong, Chinese shot putter
1967 – Martin Bryant, Australian mass murderer
1967 – Adam Price, Danish chef and screenwriter
1967 – Joe Rice, American colonel and politician
1968 – Traci Lords, American actress and singer
1968 – Lisa Raitt, Canadian lawyer and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Transport
1969 – Eagle-Eye Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
1969 – Jun Falkenstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1969 – Katerina Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player
1971 – Reidar Horghagen, Norwegian drummer
1971 – Dave Karpa, Canadian ice hockey player
1971 – Thomas Piketty, French economist
1972 – Peter Dubovský, Czech-Slovak footballer (d. 2000)
1972 – Frank Trigg, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
1973 – Kristian Lundin, Swedish songwriter and producer
1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
1974 – Ian Pearce, English footballer and assistant manager
1973 – Lawrence Johnson, American pole vaulter
1975 – Ashley Cowan, English cricketer
1976 – Calvin Booth, American basketball player
1976 – Berke Hatipoğlu, Turkish guitarist and songwriter
1976 – Stacey Jones, New Zealand rugby league player
1976 – Andrea Lo Cicero, Italian rugby player
1976 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2005)
1976 – Ayelet Shaked, Israeli Minister of Justice (2015-2019)
1977 – Elton Flatley, Australian rugby player
1978 – Stian Arnesen, Norwegian guitarist, drummer, and songwriter
1978 – James Carter, American hurdler
1978 – Shawn Marion, American basketball player
1979 – Katie Douglas, American basketball player
1983 – Phionah Atuhebwe, Ugandan vaccinologist and immunization expert
1984 – James Loney, American baseball player
1984 – Alex Smith, American football player
1984 – Kevin Owens, Canadian wrestler
1985 – Jarrad Hickey, Australian rugby league player
1985 – Drew Neitzel, American basketball player
1986 – Matt Helders, English drummer
1987 – Asami Konno, Japanese singer
1987 – Michael Maidens, English footballer (d. 2007)
1987 – Mark Reynolds, Scottish footballer
1987 – David Schlemko, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Eino Puri, Estonian footballer
1988 – Sander Puri, Estonian footballer
1989 – Earl Thomas, American football player
1995 – Seko Fofana, French born Ivorian international footballer
1997 – Daria Kasatkina, Russian tennis player
1998 – Jesse Puljujärvi, Finnish ice hockey player
Deaths on May 7
721 – John of Beverley, bishop of York
833 – Ibn Hisham, Egyptian Muslim historian
973 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 912)
1014 – Bagrat III, 1st King of Georgia (b. 960)
1092 – Remigius de Fécamp, English monk and bishop
1166 – William I of Sicily
1202 – Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey
1205 – Ladislaus III of Hungary (b. 1201)
1234 – Otto I, Duke of Merania (b. c. 1180)
1243 – Hugh d’Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel
1427 – Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English priest (b. 1352)
1494 – Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1471)
1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (b. 1481)
1539 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (b. 1466)
1617 – David Fabricius, German astronomer and theologian (b. 1564)
1667 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (b. 1616)
1682 – Feodor III of Russia (b. 1661)
1685 – Bajo Pivljanin (b. 1630)
1718 – Mary of Modena (b. 1658)
1793 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1722)
1800 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (b. 1728)
1805 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English general and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1737)
1815 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1739)
1825 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1750)
1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter and educator (b. 1774)
1868 – Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1778)
1872 – Alexander Loyd, American carpenter and politician, 4th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
1876 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman, historian, and author (b. 1795)
1887 – C. F. W. Walther, German-American religious leader and theologian (b. 1811)
1896 – H. H. Holmes, American serial killer (b. 1861)
1902 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (b. 1818)
1917 – Albert Ball, English fighter pilot (b. 1896)
1922 – Max Wagenknecht, German pianist and composer (b. 1857)
1924 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (b. 1897/1898)
1925 – William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, English businessman and politician (b. 1851)
1937 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and author (b. 1886)
1938 – Octavian Goga, Romanian politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1881)
1940 – George Lansbury, English journalist and politician (b. 1859)
1941 – James George Frazer, Scottish-English anthropologist and academic (b. 1854)
1942 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
1943 – Fethi Okyar, Turkish colonel and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1880)
1946 – Herbert Macaulay, Nigerian journalist and politician (b. 1864)
1951 – Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)
1967 – Margaret Larkin, American writer and poet (b. 1899)
1958 – Mihkel Lüdig, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1880)
1976 – Alison Uttley, English children’s book writer (b. 1884)
1978 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
1986 – Haldun Taner, Turkish playwright and author (b. 1915)
1987 – Colin Blakely, Northern Irish actor (b. 1930)
1987 – Paul Popham, American soldier and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (b. 1941)
1990 – Sam Tambimuttu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
1994 – Clement Greenberg, American art critic (b. 1909)
1995 – Ray McKinley, American drummer, singer, and bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra) (b. 1910)
1998 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South African-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
1998 – Eddie Rabbitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American captain, actor, and producer (b. 1909)
2001 – Jacques de Bourbon-Busset, French author and politician (b. 1912)
215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene.
599 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico, defeating queen Yohl Ik’nal and sacking the city.
711 – Dagobert III succeeds his father King Childebert III as King of the Franks.
1014 – Battle of Clontarf: High King of Ireland Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle.
1016 – Edmund Ironside succeeds his father Æthelred the Unready as King of England.
1343 – St. George’s Night Uprising commences in the Duchy of Estonia.
1348 – The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III is announced on St. George’s Day.
1516 – The Munich Reinheitsgebot (regarding the ingredients of beer) takes effect in all of Bavaria.
1521 – Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros.
1635 – The first public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, is founded in Boston.
1655 – The Siege of Santo Domingo begins during the Anglo-Spanish War, and fails seven days later.
1660 – Treaty of Oliva is established between Sweden and Poland.
1661 – King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
1815 – The Second Serbian Uprising: A second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire, erupts shortly after the annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire.
1879 – Fire burns down the second main building and dome of the University of Notre Dame, which prompts the construction of the third, and current, Main Building with its golden dome.
1914 – First baseball game at Wrigley Field, then known as Weeghman Park, in Chicago.
1918 – World War I: The British Royal Navy makes a raid in an attempt to neutralise the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge.
1920 – The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) is founded in Ankara. The assembly denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces the preparation of a temporary constitution.
1927 – Cardiff City defeat Arsenal in the FA Cup Final, the only time it has been won by a team not based in England.
1935 – The Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted.
1940 – The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
1941 – World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht.
1942 – World War II: Baedeker Blitz: German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
1945 – World War II: Adolf Hitler’s designated successor, Hermann Göring, sends him a telegram asking permission to take leadership of the Third Reich. Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels advise Hitler that the telegram is treasonous.
1946 – Manuel Roxas is elected the last President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
1949 – Chinese Civil War: Establishment of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
1951 – Cold War: American journalist William N. Oatis is arrested for espionage by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia.
1961 – Algiers putsch by French generals.
1967 – Soviet space program: Soyuz 1 (Russian: Союз 1, Union 1) a manned spaceflight carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov is launched into orbit.
1968 – Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.
1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army and Razakars massacre approximately 3,000 Hindu emigrants in the Jathibhanga area of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
1985 – Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months.
1990 – Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
1993 – Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum.
1993 – Sri Lankan politician Lalith Athulathmudali is assassinated while addressing a gathering, approximately four weeks ahead of the Provincial Council elections for the Western Province.
1999 – NATO bombs the headquarters of Radio Television of Serbia, as part of their aerial campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
2005 – The first ever YouTube video, titled “Me at the zoo”, was published by co-founder Jawed Karim.
2013 – At least 28 people are killed and more than 70 are injured as violence breaks out in Hawija, Iraq.
2018 – A vehicle-ramming attack kills 10 people and injures 16 in Toronto. A 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, is arrested.
2019 – The 2019 Hpakant jade mine collapse in Myanmar kills four miners and two rescuers.
Births on April 23
1141 (probable) – Malcolm IV of Scotland (d. 1165)
1185 – Afonso II of Portugal (d. 1223)
1408 – John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford (d. 1462)
1420 – George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia (d. 1471)
1464 – Joan of France, Duchess of Berry (d. 1505)
1464 – Robert Fayrfax, English Renaissance composer (d. 1521)
1484 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian physician and scholar (d. 1558)
1500 – Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian and academic (d. 1565)
1500 – Johann Stumpf, Swiss writer (d. 1576)
1512 – Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel, Chancellor of the University of Oxford (d. 1580)
1516 – Georg Fabricius, German poet, historian, and archaeologist (d. 1571)
1598 – Maarten Tromp, Dutch admiral (d. 1653)
1621 – William Penn, English admiral and politician (d. 1670)
1628 – Johannes Hudde, Dutch mathematician and politician (d. 1704)
1661 – Issachar Berend Lehmann, German-Jewish banker, merchant and diplomat (d. 1730)
1715 – Johann Friedrich Doles, German composer and conductor (d. 1797)
1720 – Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi and author (d. 1797)
1744 – Princess Charlotte Amalie Wilhelmine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (d. 1770)
1748 – Félix Vicq-d’Azyr, French physician and anatomist (d. 1794)
1791 – James Buchanan, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868)
1792 – Thomas Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist (d. 1882)
1794 – Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar and author (d. 1856)
1805 – Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz, German philosopher and academic (d. 1879)
1812 – Frederick Whitaker, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1891)
1813 – Stephen A. Douglas, American educator and politician, 7th Illinois Secretary of State (d. 1861)
1813 – Frédéric Ozanam, Italian-French historian and scholar (d. 1853)
1818 – James Anthony Froude, English historian, novelist, biographer and editor (d. 1894)
1819 – Edward Stafford, Scottish-New Zealand educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1901)
1853 – Winthrop M. Crane, American businessman and politician, 40th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1920)
1856 – Granville Woods, American inventor and engineer (d. 1910)
1857 – Ruggero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (d. 1919)
1858 – Max Planck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
1860 – Justinian Oxenham, Australian public servant (d. 1932)
1861 – Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, English field marshal and diplomat, British High Commissioner in Egypt (d. 1936)
1861 – John Peltz, American baseball player and manager (d. 1906)
1865 – Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (d. 1943)
1867 – Johannes Fibiger, Danish physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
1876 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian and author (d. 1925)
1880 – Michel Fokine, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1942)
1882 – Albert Coates, English composer and conductor (d. 1953)
1888 – Georges Vanier, Canadian general and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
1889 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (d. 1942)
1893 – Frank Borzage, American actor and director (d. 1952)
1895 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author and director (d. 1982)
1897 – Folke Jansson, American general (d. 1965)
1897 – Lester B. Pearson, Canadian historian and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Canada, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
1898 – Lucius D. Clay, American general (d. 1978)
1899 – Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
1899 – Minoru Shirota, Japanese physician and microbiologist, invented Yakult (d. 1982)
1900 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1959)
1900 – Joseph Green, Polish-American actor and director (d. 1996)
1901 – E. B. Ford, English biologist and geneticist (d. 1988)
1902 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
1903 – Guy Simonds, English-Canadian general (d. 1974)
1904 – Clifford Bricker, Canadian long-distance runner (d. 1980)
1904 – Louis Muhlstock, Polish-Canadian painter (d. 2001)
1904 – Duncan Renaldo, American actor (d. 1985)
1907 – Lee Miller, American model and photographer (d. 1977)
1907 – Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor, designed the Wotruba Church (d. 1975)
1908 – Myron Waldman, American animator and director (d. 2006)
1910 – Sheila Scott Macintyre, Scottish mathematician (d. 1960)
1910 – Simone Simon, French actress (d. 2005)
1911 – Ronald Neame, English-American director, cinematographer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
1913 – Diosa Costello, Puerto Rican-American entertainer, producer and club owner (d. 2013)
1915 – Arnold Alexander Hall, English engineer, academic, and businessman (d. 2000)
1916 – Yiannis Moralis, Greek painter and educator (d. 2009)
1916 – Sinah Estelle Kelley, American chemist (d. 1982)
1917 – Dorian Leigh, American model (d. 2008)
1917 – Tony Lupien, American baseball player and coach (d. 2004)
1918 – Maurice Druon, French author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
1919 – Oleg Penkovsky, Russian colonel (d. 1963)
1920 – Eric Grant Yarrow, 3rd Baronet, English businessman (d. 2018)
1921 – Judy Agnew, Second Lady of the United States (d. 2012)
1921 – Cleto Bellucci, Italian archbishop (d. 2013)
1921 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
1921 – Warren Spahn, American baseball player and coach (d. 2003)
1923 – Dolph Briscoe, American lieutenant and politician, 41st Governor of Texas (d. 2010)
1923 – Avram Davidson, American soldier and author (d. 1993)
1924 – Chuck Harmon, American baseball player and scout (d. 2019)
1924 – Bobby Rosengarden, American drummer and bandleader (d. 2007)
1926 – J.P. Donleavy, American-Irish novelist and playwright (d. 2017)
1926 – Rifaat el-Mahgoub, Egyptian politician (d. 1990)
1928 – Shirley Temple, American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat (d. 2014)
1929 – George Steiner, French-American philosopher, author, and critic (d. 2020)
1932 – Halston, American fashion designer (d. 1990)
1932 – Jim Fixx, American runner and author (d. 1984)
1933 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 2011)
1934 – George Canseco, Filipino composer and producer (d. 2004)
1936 – Roy Orbison, American singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
1937 – Victoria Glendinning, English author and critic
1937 – David Mills, English cricketer (d. 2013)
1937 – Barry Shepherd, Australian cricketer (d. 2001)
1939 – Jorge Fons, Mexican director and screenwriter
1939 – Bill Hagerty, English journalist
1939 – Lee Majors, American actor
1939 – Ray Peterson, American pop singer (d. 2005)
1940 – Michael Copps, American academic and politician
1940 – Dale Houston, American singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
1940 – Michael Kadosh, Israeli footballer and manager (d. 2014)
1941 – Jacqueline Boyer, French singer and actress
1941 – Arie den Hartog, Dutch road bicycle racer (d. 2018)
1941 – Paavo Lipponen, Finnish journalist and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Finland
1941 – Michael Lynne, American film producer, co-founded New Line Cinema
1941 – Ed Stewart, English radio and television host (d. 2016)
1941 – Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer and engineer (d. 2016)
1942 – Sandra Dee, American model and actress (d. 2005)
1943 – Gail Goodrich, American basketball player and coach
1943 – Tony Esposito, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager
1943 – Frans Koppelaar, Dutch painter
1943 – Hervé Villechaize, French actor (d. 1993)
1944 – Jean-François Stévenin, French actor and director
1946 – Blair Brown, American actress
1946 – Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (d. 2014)
1947 – Robert Burgess, English sociologist and academic
1947 – Glenn Cornick, English bass player (d. 2014)
1947 – Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, Irish civil rights leader and politician
1948 – Pascal Quignard, French author and screenwriter
1948 – Serge Thériault, Canadian actor
1949 – Paul Collier, English economist and academic
1949 – David Cross, English violinist
1949 – John Miles, British rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1950 – Rowley Leigh, English chef and journalist
1950 – Barbara McIlvaine Smith, Sac and Fox Nation Native American politician
1951 – Martin Bayerle, American treasure hunter
1952 – Narada Michael Walden, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
1953 – James Russo, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1954 – Stephen Dalton, English air marshal
1954 – Michael Moore, American director, producer, and activist
1955 – Judy Davis, Australian actress
1955 – Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
1955 – Urmas Ott, Estonian journalist and author (d. 2008)
1957 – Neville Brody, English graphic designer, typographer, and art director
1957 – Jan Hooks, American actress and comedian (d. 2014)
1958 – Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Icelandic composer and producer
1958 – Ryan Walter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1959 – Unity Dow, Botswanan judge, author, and rights activist
1960 – Valerie Bertinelli, American actress
1960 – Steve Clark, English guitarist and songwriter (d. 1991)
1960 – Barry Douglas, Irish pianist and conductor
1960 – Léo Jaime, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1960 – Claude Julien, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1961 – George Lopez, American comedian, actor, and talk show host
1961 – Pierluigi Martini, Italian race car driver
1962 – John Hannah, Scottish actor and producer
1962 – Shaun Spiers, English businessman and politician
1963 – Paul Belmondo, French race car driver
1963 – Robby Naish, American windsurfer
1964 – Gianandrea Noseda, Italian pianist and conductor
1965 – Leni Robredo, Filipina human rights lawyer, 14th Vice President of the Philippines
1966 – Jörg Deisinger, German bass player
1966 – Matt Freeman, American bass player
1966 – Lembit Oll, Estonian chess Grandmaster (d. 1999)
1967 – Rheal Cormier, Canadian baseball player
1967 – Melina Kanakaredes, American actress
1968 – Bas Haring, Dutch philosopher, writer, television presenter and professor.
1968 – Ken McRae, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1968 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist, Oklahoma City bombing co-perpetrator (d. 2001)
1969 – Martín López-Zubero, American-Spanish swimmer and coach
1969 – Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast
1970 – Egemen Bağış, Turkish politician, 1st Minister of European Union Affairs
1970 – Dennis Culp, American singer-songwriter and trombonist
1970 – Andrew Gee, Australian rugby league player and manager
1970 – Hans Välimäki, Finnish chef and author
1970 – Tayfur Havutçu, Turkish international footballer and manager
43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly after.
900 – The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (the earliest known written document found in what is now the Philippines): the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Tondo, as represented by the Honourable Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pailah, pardons from all debt the Honourable Namwaran and his relations.
1092 – The Diocese of Pisa is elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Urban II
1506 – The three-day Lisbon Massacre comes to an end with the slaughter of over 1,900 suspected Jews by Portuguese Catholics.
1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.
1526 – The last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi is defeated and killed by Babur in the First Battle of Panipat.
1615 – The Wignacourt Aqueduct is inaugurated in Malta.
1782 – The city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
1789 – George Washington’s reception at Trenton is hosted by the Ladies of Trenton as he journeys to New York City for his first inauguration.
1792 – Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading a movement for Brazil’s independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered.
1802 – Twelve thousand Wahhabis under Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad, invaded city of Karbala, killed over three thousand inhabitants, and sacked the city.
1806 – Action of 21 April 1806: A French frigate escapes British forces off the coast of South Africa.
1809 – Two Austrian army corps are driven from Landshut by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon as two French corps to the north hold off the main Austrian army on the first day of the Battle of Eckmühl.
1821 – Benderli Ali Pasha arrives in Constantinople as the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire; he remains in power for only nine days before being sent into exile.
1836 – Texas Revolution: The Battle of San Jacinto: Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
1856 – Australian labour movement: Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne march from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day.
1894 – Norway formally adopts the Krag–Jørgensen bolt-action rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
1898 – Spanish–American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports. When the U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 25, it declared that a state of war had existed from this date.
1914 – Ypiranga incident: A German arms shipment to Mexico is intercepted by the U.S. Navy near Veracruz.
1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as “The Red Baron”, is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.
1926 – Al-Baqi cemetery, former site of the mausoleum of four Shi’a Imams, is leveled to the ground by Wahhabis.
1934 – The “Surgeon’s Photograph”, the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail (in 1999, it is revealed to be a hoax).
1945 – World War II: Soviet forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters.
1948 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 47 relating to Kashmir conflict is adopted.
1952 – Secretary’s Day (now Administrative Professionals’ Day) is first celebrated.
1958 – United Airlines Flight 736 collides into a United States Air Force fighter jet near Arden, Nevada in what is now Enterprise, Nevada.
1960 – Brasília, Brazil’s capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
1962 – The Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World’s Fair in the United States since World War II.
1963 – The first election of the Universal House of Justice is held, marking its establishment as the supreme governing institution of the Bahá’í Faith.
1964 – A Transit-5bn satellite fails to reach orbit after launch; as it re-enters the atmosphere, 2.1 pounds (0.95 kg) of radioactive plutonium in its SNAP RTG power source is widely dispersed.
1965 – The 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair opens for its second and final season.
1966 – Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.
1967 – A few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d’état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years.
1975 – Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu flees Saigon, as Xuân Lộc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
1977 – Annie opens on Broadway.
1982 – Baseball: Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.
1985 – The compound of the militant group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord surrenders to federal authorities in Arkansas after a two-day government siege.
1987 – The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that detonates in the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo, killing 106 people.
1989 – Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
1993 – The Supreme Court in La Paz, Bolivia, sentences former dictator Luis García Meza to 30 years in jail without parole for murder, theft, fraud and violating the constitution.
2004 – Five suicide car bombers target police stations in and around Basra, killing 74 people and wounding 160.
2010 – The controversial Kharkiv Pact (Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas Treaty) is signed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev; it was unilaterally terminated by Russia on March 31, 2014.
2012 – Two trains are involved in a head-on collision near Sloterdijk, Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, injuring 116 people.
2014 – The American city of Flint, Michigan switches its water source to the Flint River, beginning the ongoing Flint water crisis which has caused lead poisoning in up to 12,000 people, and 15 deaths from Legionnaires disease, ultimately leading to criminal indictments against 15 people, five of whom have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
2019 – Eight bombs explode at churches, hotels, and other locations in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday; more than 200 people are killed.
Births on April 21
1132 – Sancho VI, king of Navarre (d. 1194)
1488 – Ulrich von Hutten, German religious reformer (d. 1523)
1523 – Marco Antonio Bragadin, Venetian lawyer and military officer (d. 1571)
1555 – Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter and etcher (d. 1619)
1619 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch founder of Cape Town (d. 1677)
1630 – Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraten, Dutch-English painter (d. 1700)
1631 – Francesco Maidalchini, Catholic cardinal (d. 1700)
1642 – Simon de la Loubère, French mathematician, poet, and diplomat (d. 1729)
1651 – Joseph Vaz, Sri Lankan priest, missionary, and saint (d. 1711)
1652 – Michel Rolle, French mathematician and academic (d. 1719)
1671 – John Law, Scottish economist (d. 1729)
1673 – Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1742)
1713 – Louis de Noailles, French general (d. 1793)
1730 – Antonín Kammel, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1788)
1752 – Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait, French engineer, hydrographer, and politician, French Minister of Marine and the Colonies (d. 1807)
1752 – Humphry Repton, English gardener and author (d. 1818)
1774 – Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (d. 1862)
1775 – Alexander Anderson, Scottish-American illustrator and engraver (d. 1870)
1790 – Manuel Blanco Encalada, Spanish-Chilean admiral and politician, 1st President of Chile (d. 1876)
1810 – John Putnam Chapin, American politician, 10th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1864)
1811 – Alson Sherman, American merchant and politician, 8th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1903)
1814 – Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts, English art collector and philanthropist (d. 1906)
1816 – Charlotte Brontë, Cornish-English novelist and poet (d. 1855)
1837 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish lieutenant and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1922)
1838 – John Muir, Scottish-American environmentalist and author (d. 1914)
1851 – Charles Barrois, French geologist and palaeontologist (d. 1939)
1854 – William Stang, German-American bishop (d. 1907)
1864 – Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (d. 1920)
1868 – Alfred Henry Maurer, American painter (d. 1932)
1870 – Edwin Stanton Porter, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1941)
1874 – Vincent Scotto, French actor and composer (d. 1952)
1882 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
1885 – Tatu Kolehmainen, Finnish runner (d. 1967)
1887 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (d. 1978)
1889 – Marcel Boussac, French businessman (d. 1980)
1889 – Paul Karrer, Russian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
1889 – Efrem Zimbalist, Sr., Russian-American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1985)
1892 – Freddie Dixon, English motorcycle racer and racing driver (d. 1956)
1893 – Romeo Bertini, Italian runner (d. 1973)
1898 – Maurice Wilson, English soldier, pilot, and mountaineer (d. 1934)
1899 – Randall Thompson, American composer and academic (d. 1984)
1903 – Luis Saslavsky, Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
1904 – Jean Hélion, French painter (d. 1987)
1904 – Odilo Globocnik, Italian-Austrian SS officer (d. 1945)
1905 – Pat Brown, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of California (d. 1996)
1911 – Ivan Combe, American businessman, developed Clearasil (d. 2000)
1911 – Kemal Satır, Turkish physician and politician (d. 1991)
1912 – Eve Arnold, Russian-American photojournalist (d. 2012)
1912 – Marcel Camus, French director and screenwriter (d. 1982)
1913 – Norman Parkinson, English photographer (d. 1990)
1914 – Angelo Savoldi, Italian-American wrestler and promoter, co-founded International World Class Championship Wrestling (d. 2013)
1915 – Garrett Hardin, American ecologist, author, and academic (d. 2003)
1915 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor (d. 2001)
1916 – Estella B. Diggs, American businesswoman and politician (d. 2013)
1918 – Eddy Christiani, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
1919 – Don Cornell, American singer (d. 2004)
1919 – Roger Doucet, Canadian tenor (d. 1981)
1919 – Licio Gelli, Italian financer (d. 2015)
1920 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (d. 1991)
1922 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (d. 1987)
1922 – Allan Watkins, Welsh-English cricketer (d. 2011)
1923 – John Mortimer, English lawyer and author (d. 2009)
1924 – Ira Louvin, American singer-songwriter and mandolin player (d. 1965)
1925 – Anthony Mason, Australian soldier and judge, 9th Chief Justice of Australia
1925 – John Swinton of Kimmerghame, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire (d. 2018)
1926 – Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and her other realms
1926 – Arthur Rowley, English footballer, manager and cricketer (d. 2002)
1927 – Ahmed Arif, Turkish poet and author (d. 1991)
1928 – Jack Evans, Welsh-Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1996)
1930 – Hilda Hilst, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright (d. 2004)
1930 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d. 1989)
1930 – Dieter Roth, German-Swiss illustrator and sculptor (d. 1998)
1930 – Jack Taylor, English footballer and referee (d. 2012)
1931 – Morgan Wootten, American high school basketball coach (d. 2020)
1932 – Slide Hampton, African-American trombonist and composer
1932 – Elaine May, American actress, comedian, director, and screenwriter
1932 – Angela Mortimer, English tennis player
1933 – Edelmiro Amante, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
1933 – Easley Blackwood, Jr., American pianist, composer, and educator
1933 – Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Iraqi patriarch (d. 2014)
1935 – Charles Grodin, American actor and talk show host
1935 – Thomas Kean, American academic and politician, 48th Governor of New Jersey
1936 – James Dobson, American evangelist, psychologist, and author, founded Focus on the Family
1936 – Reg Fleming, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2009)
1937 – Gary Peters, American baseball player
1937 – Ben Zinn, Israeli-born American academic and former international soccer player
1939 – John McCabe, English pianist and composer (d. 2015)
1939 – Sister Helen Prejean, American nun, activist, and author
1939 – Reni Santoni, American actor
1940 – Jacques Caron, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1940 – Souleymane Cissé, Malian director, producer, and screenwriter
1941 – David L. Boren, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Oklahoma
1942 – Geoffrey Palmer, New Zealand politician, 33rd Prime Minister of New Zealand
1945 – Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Indian cricketer and umpire
1945 – Mark Wainberg, Canadian researcher and HIV/AIDS activist (d. 2017)
1945 – Diana Darvey, English actress, singer and dancer (d. 2000)
1947 – Al Bumbry, American baseball player
1947 – Iggy Pop, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
1947 – John Weider, English bass player
1948 – Gary Condit, American businessman and politician
1948 – Paul Davis, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2008)
1948 – Josef Flammer, Swiss ophthalmologist
1948 – Dieter Fromm, German runner
1949 – Patti LuPone, American actress and singer
1950 – Shivaji Satam, Indian actor
1951 – Tony Danza, American actor and producer
1951 – Michael Freedman, American mathematician and academic
1951 – Bob Varsha, American sportscaster
1951 – Steve Vickers, Canadian ice hockey player
1952 – Gerald Early, American author and academic
1952 – Cheryl Gillan, British businesswoman and politician, Secretary of State for Wales
1953 – John Brumby, Australian politician, 45th Premier of Victoria
1954 – Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – James Morrison, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1955 – Murathan Mungan, Turkish author, poet, and playwright
1955 – Doug Soetaert, Canadian ice hockey player
1956 – Peter Kosminsky, English director, producer, and screenwriter
1956 – Phillip Longman, German-American demographer and journalist
1957 – Hervé Le Tellier, French linguist and author
1957 – Jesse Orosco, American baseball player
1957 – Herbert Wetterauer, German painter, sculptor, and author
1958 – Andie MacDowell, American model, actress, and producer
1958 – Yoshito Usui, Japanese illustrator (d. 2009)
1958 – Michael Zarnock, American author
1959 – Tim Jacobus, American illustrator and painter
1959 – Olga Kuragina, Russian pentathlete
1959 – Arno Pijpers, Dutch footballer and coach
1959 – Robert Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1960 – Michel Goulet, Canadian ice hockey player and scout
1960 – Julius Korir, Kenyan runner
1961 – Cathy Cavadini, American voice actress
1961 – Carey Hayes, American screenwriter and producer
1961 – Chad Hayes, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1961 – Neale Marmon, English-German footballer, coach, and manager
1961 – David Servan-Schreiber, French physician, neuroscientist, and author (d. 2011)
1962 – Les Lancaster, American baseball player and coach
1962 – Craig Robinson, American basketball player and coach
1962 – Aavo Sarap, Estonian footballer and coach
1963 – Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (d. 2004)
1963 – Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor
1963 – John Cameron Mitchell, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1964 – Alex Baumann, Czech-Canadian swimmer
1964 – Ludmila Engquist, Russian-Swedish hurdler
1965 – Ed Belfour, Canadian ice hockey player
1965 – Karen Foster, American model and actress
1965 – Gary Grant, American basketball player
1965 – Thomas Helmer, German footballer
1965 – Fiona Kelleghan, American academic, critic and librarian
1967 – Emilio Valle, Cuban hurdler
1968 – Peter van Vossen, Dutch footballer and coach
1969 – John Kibowen, Kenyan runner
1969 – Toby Stephens, English actor
1970 – Jeff Anderson, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1970 – Glen Hansard, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1970 – Rob Riggle, American actor and comedian
1970 – Nicole Sullivan, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter
1971 – Axl Rotten, American wrestler (d. 2016)
1971 – Michael Turner, American author and illustrator (d. 2008)
1972 – Richard Chelimo, Kenyan runner (d. 2001)
1972 – Gwendal Peizerat, French ice dancer
1973 – Steve Backshall, English naturalist, writer, and television presenter
1973 – Jonathan Nsenga, Belgian hurdler and coach
1974 – Maksim Gruznov, Estonian footballer
1974 – Orlando Jordan, American wrestler
1974 – David Peachey, Australian rugby league player
1975 – Danyon Loader, New Zealand swimmer
1976 – Rommel Adducul, Filipino basketball player
1976 – Petero Civoniceva, Fijian-Australian rugby league player
1977 – Gyula Koi, Hungarian scholar and educator
1977 – Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater
1978 – Jacob Burns, Australian footballer
1978 – Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer
1978 – Yuliya Pechonkina, Russian hurdler
1979 – Virginie Basselot, French chef
1979 – Tobias Linderoth, French-Swedish footballer and coach
1979 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor
1980 – Jeff Keppinger, American baseball player
1980 – Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian ice hockey player
1980 – Tony Romo, American football player
1981 – Mads Junker, Danish footballer
1982 – Khalif Barnes, American football player
1982 – Micheal Luck, Australian rugby league player
1982 – Carnell Williams, American football player
1983 – Paweł Brożek, Polish footballer
1983 – Marco Donadel, Italian footballer
1983 – Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (d. 2020)
1984 – Shayna Fox, American voice actress
1986 – Audra Cohen, American tennis player
1986 – Alexander Edler, Swedish ice hockey player
1986 – Rodney Stuckey, American basketball player
1986 – Mirko Valdifiori, Italian footballer
1987 – Nadif Chowdhury, Bangladeshi cricketer
1987 – Eric Devendorf, American basketball player
1987 – Leroy George, Dutch footballer
1987 – Anastasia Prikhodko, Ukrainian singer
1988 – Ricky Berens, American swimmer
1988 – Jencarlos Canela, American singer-songwriter and actor
1988 – Pedro Mosquera, Spanish footballer
1988 – Adam Rooney, Irish footballer
1989 – Tatyana McFadden, Russian-American sprinter and skier
1989 – Carlos Muñoz, Chilean footballer
1990 – Aleksandar Prijović, Swiss-born Serbian footballer
1992 – Isco, Spanish footballer
1992 – Rene Santos, Brazilian footballer
1992 – Joc Pederson, American baseball player
1994 – Mitchell Weiser, German footballer
Deaths on April 21
234 – Emperor Xian of Han, Chinese emperor (b. 181)
586 – Liuvigild, king of the Visigoths
847 – Odgar, Frankish archbishop of Mainz
866 – Bardas, de facto regent of the Byzantine Empire
941 – Bajkam, de facto regent of the Abbasid Caliphate
1073 – Pope Alexander II
1109 – Anselm of Canterbury, Italian-English archbishop and saint (b. 1033)
1136 – Stephen, Count of Tréguier Breton noblemen (b. c. 1058/62)
1142 – Peter Abelard, French philosopher and theologian (b. 1079)
1213 – Maria of Montpellier, Lady of Montpellier, Queen of Aragon (b. 1182)
1329 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1282)
1400 – John Wittlebury, English politician (b. 1333)
1509 – Henry VII of England (b. 1457)
1557 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1495)
1574 – Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1519)
1591 – Sen no Rikyū, Japanese exponent of the tea ceremony (b. 1522)
1650 – Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi, Japanese samurai (b. 1607)
1668 – Jan Boeckhorst, Flemish painter (b. c. 1604)
1699 – Jean Racine, French playwright and poet (b. 1639)
1719 – Philippe de La Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (b. 1640)
1720 – Antoine Hamilton, Irish-French soldier and author (b. 1646)
1722 – Robert Beverley, Jr., English historian and author (b. 1673)
1736 – Prince Eugene of Savoy (b. 1663)
1740 – Thomas Tickell, English poet and author (b. 1685)
1758 – Francesco Zerafa, Maltese architect (b. 1679)
1815 – Joseph Winston, American soldier and politician (b. 1746)
1825 – Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathematician and academic (b. 1765)
1852 – Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (b. 1787)
1863 – Sir Robert Bateson, 1st Baronet, Irish politician (b. 1782)
1900 – Vikramatji Khimojiraj, Indian ruler (b. 1819)
1910 – Mark Twain, American novelist, humorist, and critic (b. 1835)
1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (b. 1892)
1924 – Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (b. 1858)
1930 – Robert Bridges, English poet and author (b. 1844)
1932 – Friedrich Gustav Piffl, Bohemian cardinal (b. 1864)
1938 – Muhammad Iqbal, Indian-Pakistani philosopher and poet (b. 1877)
1941 – Fritz Manteuffel, German gymnast (b. 1875)
1945 – Walter Model, German field marshal (b. 1891)
1946 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist and philosopher (b. 1883)
1948 – Aldo Leopold, American ecologist and author (b. 1887)
1952 – Leslie Banks, American actor, director and producer (b. 1890)
1954 – Emil Leon Post, Polish-American mathematician and logician (b. 1897)
1956 – Charles MacArthur, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1895)
1965 – Edward Victor Appleton, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
1971 – François Duvalier, Haitian physician and politician, 40th President of Haiti (b. 1907)
1973 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
1973 – Kemal Tahir, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1910)
1974 – Chic Harley, American football player (b. 1894)
1977 – Gummo Marx, American vaudevillian and talent agent (b. 1893)
1978 – Sandy Denny, English singer-songwriter (b.1947)
1978 – Thomas Wyatt Turner, American biologist and academic (b. 1877)
1980 – Alexander Oparin, Russian biochemist and academic (b. 1894)
1980 – Sohrab Sepehri, Iranian poet and painter (b. 1928)
1983 – Walter Slezak, Austrian-American actor and singer (b. 1902)
1984 – Marcel Janco, Romanian-Israeli artist (b. 1895)
1984 – Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian engineer and mountaineer (b. 1943)
1985 – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-American fashion designer, created the monokini (b. 1922)
1985 – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian banker and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (b. 1910)
1986 – Marjorie Eaton, American painter and actress (b. 1901)
1986 – Salah Jahin, Egyptian poet, playwright, and composer (b. 1930)
1987 – Gustav Bergmann, Austrian-American philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1906)
1989 – James Kirkwood, Jr., American actor, playwright, and author (b. 1924)
1990 – Erté, Russian-French illustrator (b. 1892)
1991 – Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b. 1909)
1996 – Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-born American engineer and race car driver (b. 1909)
1996 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Chechen general and politician, 1st President of Ichkeria (b. 1944)
1996 – Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistani cricketer (b. 1925)
1996 – Jimmy Snyder, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
1998 – Jean-François Lyotard, French sociologist and philosopher (b. 1924)
1999 – Buddy Rogers, American actor (b. 1904)
2003 – Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and activist (b. 1933)
2004 – Mary McGrory, American journalist (b. 1918)
2005 – Gerry Marshall, English race car driver and journalist (b. 1941)
2006 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand commander and pilot (b. 1912)
2006 – T. K. Ramakrishnan, Indian politician (b. 1922)
2006 – Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1931)
2007 – Lobby Loyde, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1941)
2009 – Vivian Maier, American photographer (b. 1926)
2010 – Gustav Lorentzen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1947)
2010 – Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish businessman, seventh President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1920)
2010 – Kanagaratnam Sriskandan, Sri Lankan-English engineer and civil servant (b. 1930)
2011 – Catharina Halkes, Dutch theologian and academic (b. 1920)
2012 – Doris Betts, American author and academic (b. 1932)
2012 – Charles Colson, American lawyer and activist, founded Prison Fellowship (b. 1931)
2012 – Albert Falco, French captain and diver (b. 1927)
2012 – Charles Higham, English-American author and poet (b. 1931)
2012 – Jerry Toppazzini, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1931)
2013 – Chrissy Amphlett, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1959)
2013 – Shakuntala Devi, Indian mathematician and astrologer (b. 1929)
2013 – Leopold Engleitner, Austrian Holocaust survivor, author, and educator (b. 1905)
2013 – Gordon D. Gayle, American general and historian (b. 1917)
2014 – Herb Gray, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1931)
2014 – Janet Gray Hayes, American politician, 60th Mayor of San Jose (b. 1926)
2014 – George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (b. 1936)
2014 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (b. 1930)
2015 – M. H. Abrams, American author, critic, and academic (b. 1912)
2015 – Steve Byrnes, American sportscaster and producer (b. 1959)
2015 – John Moshoeu, South African footballer and manager (b. 1965)
2015 – Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, Indian politician, Governor of Assam (b. 1927)
2015 – Sydney Valpy Radley-Walters, Canadian general (b. 1920)
2015 – Betsy von Furstenberg, German-American actress (b. 1931)
2016 – Prince, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (b. 1958)
2017 – Ugo Ehiogu, English footballer (b. 1972)
2018 – Verne Troyer, American actor (b. 1969)
2018 – Nabi Tajima, Japanese supercentenarian, oldest Japanese and Asian person ever, last verified person born in the 19th century (b. 1900)
46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
402 – Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
1250 – Seventh Crusade: Ayyubids of Egypt capture King Louis IX of France in the Battle of Fariskur.
1320 – The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
1327 – The poet Petrarch first sees his idealized love, Laura, in the church of Saint Clare in Avignon.
1385 – John, Master of the Order of Aviz, an illegitimate son of Peter I of Portugal, is made king John I of Portugal.
1453 – Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Istanbul), which falls on May 29.
1580 – One of the largest earthquakes recorded in the history of England, Flanders, or Northern France, takes place.
1652 – At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp that eventually becomes Cape Town.
1712 – The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 begins near Broadway.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy fail in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat.
1782 – King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) of Siam (modern day Thailand) establishes the Chakri dynasty.
1793 – During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety becomes the executive organ of the republic.
1808 – John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America’s first millionaire.
1812 – British forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington assault the fortress of Badajoz. This would be the turning point in the Peninsular War against Napoleon-led France.
1814 – Nominal beginning of the Bourbon Restoration; anniversary date that Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.
1830 – Church of Christ, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement, is organized by Joseph Smith and others at either Fayette or Manchester, New York.
1841 – U.S. President John Tyler is sworn in, two days after having become President upon William Henry Harrison’s death.
1860 – The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, later renamed Community of Christ, is organized by Joseph Smith III and others at Amboy, Illinois.
1861 – First performance of Arthur Sullivan’s debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, leading to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh begins: In Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.
1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Sailor’s Creek: Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia fights and loses its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia during the Appomattox Campaign.
1866 – The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, is founded. It lasts until 1956.
1869 – Celluloid is patented.
1888 – Thomas Green Clemson dies, bequeathing his estate to the State of South Carolina to establish Clemson Agricultural College.
1893 – Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.
1895 – Oscar Wilde is arrested in the Cadogan Hotel, London, after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry.
1896 – In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman emperor Theodosius I.
1909 – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson become the first people to reach the North Pole; Peary’s claim has been disputed because of failings in his navigational ability.
1911 – During the Battle of Deçiq, Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg).
1917 – World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson’s address to Congress).
1926 – Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines).
1929 – Huey P. Long, Governor of Louisiana, is impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives.
1930 – At the end of the Salt March, Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire.”
1936 – Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.
1941 – World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece).
1945 – World War II: Sarajevo is liberated from German and Croatian forces by the Yugoslav Partisans.
1945 – World War II: The Battle of Slater’s Knoll on Bougainville comes to an end.
1947 – The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement.
1957 – Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis buys the Hellenic National Airlines (TAE) and founds Olympic Airlines.
1965 – Launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.
1968 – In Richmond, Indiana’s downtown district, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150.
1968 – Pierre Elliott Trudeau wins the Liberal Leadership Election, and becomes Prime Minister of Canada soon after.
1970 – Newhall massacre: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed in a shootout.
1972 – Vietnam War: Easter Offensive: American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.
1973 – Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
1973 – The American League of Major League Baseball begins using the designated hitter.
1974 – The Swedish pop band ABBA wins the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Waterloo”, launching their international career.
1979 – Student protests break out in Nepal.
1984 – Members of Cameroon’s Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.
1992 – The Bosnian War begins.
1994 – The Rwandan genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down.
1997 – In Greene County, Tennessee, the Lillelid murders occurs when a group of young people abduct and kidnap a religious family before shooting them dead on a rural suburban road.
1998 – Nuclear weapons testing: Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India.
1998 – Travelers Group announces an agreement to undertake the $76 billion merger between Travelers and Citicorp, and the merger is completed on October 8, of that year, forming Citibank.
2004 – Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment.
2005 – Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.
2008 – The 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activists.
2009 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L’Aquila, Italy, killing 307.
2010 – Maoist rebels kill 76 CRPF officers in Dantewada district, India.
2011 – In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, over 193 victims of Los Zetas were exhumed from several mass graves.
2012 – Azawad declares itself independent from the Republic of Mali.
2017 – U.S. military launches 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at an airbase in Syria. Russia describes the strikes as an “aggression”, adding they significantly damage US-Russia ties.
2018 – A bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collides with a semi-truck in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 people and injuring 13 others.
Births on April 6
1135 – Maimonides, Jewish philosopher, Torah scholar, physician and astronomer (March 30 also proposed, d. 1204)
1342 – Infanta Maria, Marchioness of Tortosa
1483 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
1573 – Margaret of Brunswick-Lüneburg, German noble (d. 1643)
1632 – Maria Leopoldine of Austria (d. 1649)
1651 – André Dacier, French scholar and academic (d. 1722)
1660 – Johann Kuhnau, German organist and composer (d. 1722)
1664 – Arvid Horn, Swedish general and politician, Governor of Västerbotten County (d. 1742)
1671 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet and playwright (d. 1741)
1672 – André Cardinal Destouches, French composer (d. 1749)
1706 – Louis de Cahusac, French playwright and composer (d. 1759)
1708 – Johann Georg Reutter, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1772)
1725 – Pasquale Paoli, French soldier and politician (d. 1807)
1726 – Gerard Majella, Italian saint (d. 1755)
1741 – Nicolas Chamfort, French author and playwright (d. 1794)
1766 – Wilhelm von Kobell, German painter and educator (d. 1853)
1773 – James Mill, Scottish historian, economist, and philosopher (d. 1836)
1787 – Celestina Cordero, Puerto Rican educator (d. 1862)
1810 – Philip Henry Gosse, English biologist and academic (d. 1888)
1812 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (d. 1870)
1815 – Robert Volkmann, German organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1883)
1818 – Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian journalist and poet (d. 1870)
1820 – Nadar, French photographer, journalist, and author (d. 1910)
1823 – Joseph Medill, Canadian-American publisher and politician, 26th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1899)
1824 – George Waterhouse, English-New Zealand politician, 7th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1906)
1826 – Gustave Moreau, French painter and academic (d. 1898)
1844 – William Lyne, Australian politician, 13th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1913)
1851 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (d. 1932)
1852 – Will Crooks, English trade unionist and politician (d. 1921)
1855 – Charles Huot, Canadian painter and illustrator (d. 1930)
1857 – Arthur Wesley Dow, American painter and photographer (d. 1922)
1860 – René Lalique, French sculptor and jewellery designer (d. 1945)
1861 – Stanislas de Guaita, French poet and author (d. 1897)
1864 – William Bate Hardy, English biologist and academic (d. 1934)
1866 – Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, Canadian cardinal (d. 1931)
1869 – Levon Shant, Armenian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1951)
1878 – Erich Mühsam, German author, poet, and playwright (d. 1934)
1881 – Karl Staaf, Swedish pole vaulter and hammer thrower (d. 1953)
1884 – J. G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh race car driver and engineer (d. 1927)
1886 – Athenagoras I of Constantinople (d. 1972)
1886 – Walter Dandy, American physician and neurosurgeon (d. 1946)
1886 – Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, Indian ruler (d. 1967)
1888 – Hans Richter, Swiss painter, illustrator, and director (d. 1976)
1888 – Gerhard Ritter, German historian and academic (d. 1967)
1890 – Anthony Fokker, Dutch engineer and businessman, founded Fokker Aircraft Manufacturer (d. 1939)
1892 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American businessman, founded the Douglas Aircraft Company (d. 1981)
1892 – Lowell Thomas, American journalist and author (d. 1981)
1895 – Dudley Nichols, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1960)
1898 – Jeanne Hébuterne, French painter and author (d. 1920)
1900 – Leo Robin, American composer and songwriter (d. 1984)
1901 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian activist (d. 1925)
1902 – Julien Torma, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1933)
1903 – Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player and manager (d. 1962)
1903 – Harold Eugene Edgerton, American engineer and academic (d. 1990)
1904 – Kurt Georg Kiesinger, German lawyer, politician and Chancellor of Germany (d. 1988)
1904 – Erwin Komenda, Austrian car designer and engineer (d. 1966)
1908 – Marcel-Marie Desmarais, Canadian preacher, missionary, and author (d. 1994)
1909 – William M. Branham, American minister and theologian (d. 1965)
1909 – Hermann Lang, German race car driver (d. 1987)
1910 – Barys Kit, Belarusian-American rocket scientist (d. 2018)
1911 – Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
1913 – Shannon Boyd-Bailey McCune, American geographer and academic (d. 1993)
1915 – Tadeusz Kantor, Polish director, painter, and set designer (d. 1990)
1916 – Phil Leeds, American actor (d. 1998)
1916 – Vincent Ellis McKelvey, American geologist and author (d. 1987)
1917 – Leonora Carrington, English-Mexican painter and author (d. 2011)
1918 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian general and politician, 56th President of Bolivia (d. 1982)
1919 – Georgios Mylonas, Greek politician, 11th Greek Minister of Culture (d. 1998)
1920 – Jack Cover, American pilot and physicist, invented the Taser gun (d. 2009)
1920 – Edmond H. Fischer, Swiss-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1921 – Wilbur Thompson, American shot putter (d. 2013)
1922 – Gordon Chater, English-Australian comedian and actor (d. 1999)
1923 – Herb Thomas, American race car driver (d. 2000)
1926 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-American singer and actor (d. 1990)
1926 – Gil Kane, Latvian-American author and illustrator (d. 2000)
1926 – Ian Paisley, Northern Irish evangelical minister and politician, 2nd First Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 2014)
1926 – Randy Weston, American jazz pianist and composer (d. 2018)
1927 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (d. 1996)
1928 – James Watson, American biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1929 – Willis Hall, English playwright and author (d. 2005)
1929 – Joi Lansing, American model, actress and nightclub singer (d. 1972)
1929 – André Previn, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2019)
1931 – Ram Dass, American author and educator (d. 2019)
1931 – Ivan Dixon, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2008)
1932 – Connie Broden, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
1932 – Helmut Griem, German actor and director (d. 2004)
1933 – Roy Goode, English lawyer and academic
1933 – Tom C. Korologos, American journalist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Belgium
1933 – Eduardo Malapit, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of Kauai (d. 2007)
1934 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (d. 1996)
1934 – Anton Geesink, Dutch martial artist and wrestler (d. 2010)
1934 – Guy Peellaert, Belgian painter, illustrator, and photographer (d. 2008)
1935 – Douglas Hill, Canadian author and critic (d. 2007)
1936 – Helen Berman, Dutch-Israeli painter and illustrator
1936 – Jean-Pierre Changeux, French neuroscientist, biologist, and academic
1937 – Merle Haggard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
1937 – Tom Veivers, Australian cricketer and politician
1937 – Billy Dee Williams, American actor, singer, and writer
1938 – Paul Daniels, English magician and television host (d. 2016)
1938 – Roy Thinnes, American television and film actor
1939 – André Ouellet, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1939 – John Sculley, American businessman, co-founded Zeta Interactive
1940 – Homero Aridjis, Mexican journalist, author, and poet
1940 – Pedro Armendáriz, Jr., Mexican-American actor and producer (d. 2011)
1941 – Christopher Allsopp, English economist and academic
1941 – Phil Austin, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1941 – Hans W. Geißendörfer, German director and producer
1941 – Don Prudhomme, American race car driver and manager
1941 – Gheorghe Zamfir, Romanian flute player and composer
1942 – Barry Levinson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1942 – Anita Pallenberg, Italian-English model, actress, and fashion designer (d. 2017)
1943 – Max Clifford, English journalist and publicist (d. 2017)
1943 – Roger Cook, New Zealand-English journalist and academic
1943 – Ian MacRae, New Zealand rugby player
1943 – Mitchell Melton, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
1944 – Felicity Palmer, English operatic soprano
1945 – Rodney Bickerstaffe, English trade union leader (d. 2017)
1945 – Peter Hill, English journalist
1946 – Paul Beresford, New Zealand-English dentist and politician
1947 – John Ratzenberger, American actor and director
1947 – André Weinfeld, French-American director, producer, and screenwriter
1947 – Mike Worboys, English mathematician and computer scientist
1949 – Alyson Bailes, English academic and diplomat (d. 2016)
1949 – Patrick Hernandez, French singer-songwriter
1949 – Ng Ser Miang, Singaporean athlete, entrepreneur and diplomat
1949 – Horst Ludwig Störmer, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1950 – Claire Morissette, Canadian cycling activist (d. 2007)
1950 – Cleo Odzer, American anthropologist and author (d. 2001)
1951 – Bert Blyleven, Dutch-American baseball player and sportscaster
1951 – Jean-Marc Boivin, French skier, mountaineer, and pilot (d. 1990)
1951 – Pascal Rogé, French pianist
1951 – Phil Schaap, American jazz disc jockey and historian
1952 – Udo Dirkschneider, German singer-songwriter
1952 – Marilu Henner, Greek-Polish American actress and author
1952 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 1992)
1953 – Patrick Doyle, Scottish actor and composer
1953 – Christopher Franke, German-American drummer and songwriter
1955 – Rob Epstein, American director and producer
1955 – Michael Rooker, American actor, director, and producer
1955 – Cathy Jones, Canadian actress, comedian, and writer
1956 – Michele Bachmann, American lawyer and politician
1956 – Normand Corbeil, Canadian composer (d. 2013)
1956 – Mudassar Nazar, Pakistani cricketer
1956 – Lee Scott, English politician
1956 – Sebastian Spreng, Argentinian-American painter and journalist
1956 – Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer and coach
1957 – Giorgio Damilano, Italian race walker and coach
1957 – Maurizio Damilano, Italian race walker and coach
1957 – Jaroslava Maxová, Czech soprano and educator
1957 – Paolo Nespoli, Italian soldier, engineer, and astronaut
1958 – Graeme Base, Australian author and illustrator
1959 – Gail Shea, Canadian politician
1960 – Warren Haynes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1960 – Richard Loe, New Zealand rugby player
1960 – John Pizzarelli, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1961 – Rory Bremner, Scottish actor and screenwriter
1961 – Peter Jackson, English footballer and manager
1962 – Iris Häussler, German sculptor and academic
1962 – Marco Schällibaum, Swiss footballer, coach, and manager
1963 – Rafael Correa, Ecuadorian economist and politician, 54th President of Ecuador
1965 – Black Francis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1965 – Sterling Sharpe, American football player and sportscaster
1966 – Vince Flynn, American author (d. 2013)
1966 – Young Man Kang, South Korean-American director and producer
1967 – Julian Anderson, English composer and educator
1967 – Kathleen Barr, Canadian voice actress and singer
1967 – Tanya Byron, English psychologist and academic
1967 – Jonathan Firth, English actor
1968 – Archon Fung, American political scientist, author, and academic
1968 – Affonso Giaffone, Brazilian race car driver
1969 – Bret Boone, American baseball player and manager
1969 – Bison Dele, American basketball player (d. 2002)
1969 – Philipp Peter, Austrian race car driver
1969 – Paul Rudd, American actor
1969 – Spencer Wells, American geneticist and anthropologist
1970 – Olaf Kölzig, South African-German ice hockey player and coach
1970 – Roy Mayorga, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
1970 – Huang Xiaomin, Chinese swimmer
1972 – Anders Thomas Jensen, Danish director and screenwriter
1972 – Dickey Simpkins, American basketball player and sportscaster
1973 – Donnie Edwards, American football player
1973 – Randall Godfrey, American football player
1973 – Rie Miyazawa, Japanese model and actress
1973 – Sun Wen, Chinese footballer
1975 – Zach Braff, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1975 – Hal Gill, American ice hockey player
1976 – Candace Cameron Bure, American actress and talk show panelist
1976 – James Fox, Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1976 – Chris Hoke, American football player
1976 – Georg Hólm, Icelandic bass player
1976 – Hirotada Ototake, Japanese author and educator
1977 – Ville Nieminen, Finnish ice hockey player
1977 – Andy Phillips, American baseball player and coach
1978 – Imani Coppola, American singer-songwriter and violinist
1978 – Robert Glasper, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
1978 – Tim Hasselbeck, American football player and sportscaster
1978 – Myleene Klass, Austrian/Filipino-English singer, pianist, and model
1978 – Martín Méndez, Uruguayan bass player and songwriter
1978 – Blaine Neal, American baseball player
1978 – Igor Semshov, Russian footballer
1979 – Lord Frederick Windsor, English journalist and financier
1979 – Clay Travis, American sports journalist, blogger, and broadcaster
1980 – Tommi Evilä, Finnish long jumper
1980 – Tanja Poutiainen, Finnish skier
1980 – Antonio Thomas, American wrestler
1981 – Robert Earnshaw, Welsh footballer
1981 – Jeff Faine, American football player
1981 – Alex Suarez, American bass player
1982 – Travis Moen, Canadian ice hockey player
1982 – Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Spanish actor
1983 – Mehdi Ballouchy, Moroccan footballer
1983 – Jerome Kaino, New Zealand rugby player
1983 – Mitsuru Nagata, Japanese footballer
1983 – Remi Nicole, English singer-songwriter and actress
1983 – James Wade, English darts player
1983 – Katie Weatherston, Canadian ice hockey player
1984 – Max Bemis, American singer-songwriter
1984 – Michaël Ciani, French footballer
1984 – Siboniso Gaxa, South African footballer
1984 – Diana Matheson, Canadian soccer player
1985 – Clarke MacArthur, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Frank Ongfiang, Cameroonian footballer
1985 – Sinqua Walls, American basketball player and actor
1927 – Florence Earle Coates, American poet (b. 1850)
1935 – Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet and playwright (b. 1869)
1944 – Rose O’Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (b. 1874)
1947 – Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (b. 1896)
1950 – Louis Wilkins, American pole vaulter (b. 1882)
1953 – Idris Davies, Welsh poet and author (b. 1905)
1959 – Leo Aryeh Mayer, Polish-Israeli scholar and academic (b. 1895)
1961 – Jules Bordet, Belgian microbiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
1963 – Otto Struve, Ukrainian-American astronomer and academic (b. 1897)
1970 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933)
1971 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1882)
1974 – Willem Marinus Dudok, Dutch architect (b. 1884)
1974 – Hudson Fysh, Australian pilot and businessman, co-founded Qantas Airways Limited (b. 1895)
1977 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician, 13th Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal of Japan (b. 1889)
1979 – Ivan Vasilyov, Bulgarian architect, designed the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library (b. 1893)
1983 – Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, Indian General who served as the Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1962 to 1966 and the Military Governor of Hyderabad State from 1948 to 1949. (b. 1908)
1992 – Isaac Asimov, American science fiction writer (b. 1920)
1994 – Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan banker and politician, 3rd President of Rwanda (b. 1937)
1994 – Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician, 5th President of Burundi (b. 1955)
1995 – Ioannis Alevras, Greek banker and politician, President of Greece (b. 1912)
823 – Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I.
919 – The second Fatimid invasion of Egypt begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent, al-Qa’im bi-Amr Allah, sets out from Raqqada at the head of his army.
1081 – Alexios I Komnenos is crowned Byzantine emperor at Constantinople, bringing the Komnenian dynasty to full power.
1242 – During the Battle on the Ice of Lake Peipus, Russian forces, led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.
1536 – Royal Entry of Charles V into Rome: The last Roman triumph.
1566 – Two hundred Dutch noblemen, led by Hendrick van Brederode, force themselves into the presence of Margaret of Parma and present the Petition of Compromise, denouncing the Spanish Inquisition in the Seventeen Provinces.
1609 – Daimyō (Lord) Shimazu Tadatsune of the Satsuma Domain in southern Kyūshū, Japan, completes his successful invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in Okinawa.
1614 – In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe.
1621 – The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England.
1710 – The Statute of Anne receives the royal assent establishing the Copyright law of the United Kingdom.
1722 – The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island.
1792 – United States President George Washington exercises his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States.
1795 – Peace of Basel between France and Prussia is made.
1818 – In the Battle of Maipú, Chile’s independence movement, led by Bernardo O’Higgins and José de San Martín, win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead.
1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Yorktown begins.
1879 – Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific.
1900 – Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover a large cache of clay tablets with hieroglyphic writing in a script they call Linear B.
1904 – The first international rugby league match is played between England and an Other Nationalities team (Welsh and Scottish players) in Central Park, Wigan, England.
1915 – Boxing challenger Jess Willard knocks out Jack Johnson in Havana, Cuba to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World.
1922 – The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, is incorporated.
1932 – Dominion of Newfoundland: Ten thousand rioters seize the Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government.
1933 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs two executive orders: 6101 to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps, and 6102 “forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates” by U.S. citizens.
1936 – Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado kills 233 in Tupelo, Mississippi.
1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean raid. Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.
1943 – World War II: American bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1,300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. Their target was the Erla factory one kilometer from the residential area hit.
1944 – World War II: Two hundred seventy inhabitants of the Greek town of Kleisoura are executed by the Germans.
1945 – Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito signs an agreement with the Soviet Union to allow “temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory”.
1946 – Soviet troops end their year-long occupation of the Danish island of Bornholm.
1946 – A Fleet Air Arm Vickers Wellington crashes into a residential area in Rabat, Malta during a training exercise, killing all 4 crew members and 16 civilians on the ground.
1949 – A fire in a hospital in Effingham, Illinois, kills 77 people and leads to nationwide fire code improvements in the United States.
1951 – Cold War: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying for the Soviet Union.
1956 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro declares himself at war with Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.
1956 – In Sri Lanka, the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna win the general elections in a landslide and S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Ceylon.
1957 – In India, Communists win the first elections in united Kerala and E. M. S. Namboodiripad is sworn in as the first Chief Minister.
1958 – Ripple Rock, an underwater threat to navigation in the Seymour Narrows in Canada is destroyed in one of the largest non-nuclear controlled explosions of the time.
1969 – Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many U.S. cities.
1971 – In Sri Lanka, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna launches a revolt against the United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
1976 – In China, the April Fifth Movement leads to the Tiananmen Incident.
1977 – The US Supreme Court rules that congressional legislation that diminished the size of the Sioux people’s reservation thereby destroyed the tribe’s jurisdictional authority over the area in Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Kneip.
1986 – Three people are killed in the bombing of the La Belle discotheque in West Berlin, Germany.
1991 – An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard including Sen. John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter.
1992 – Alberto Fujimori, president of Peru, dissolves the Peruvian congress by military force.
1992 – Peace protesters Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sučić are killed on the Vrbanja Bridge in Sarajevo, becoming the first casualties of the Bosnian War.
1998 – In Japan, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge opens to traffic, becoming the longest bridge span in the world.
1999 – Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.
2000 – UEFA Cup semi-final violence: Four Galatasaray fans are arrested for the stabbings to death of two Leeds United fans.
2009 – North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.
2010 – Twenty-nine coal miners are killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.
Births on April 5
1170 – Isabella of Hainault (d. 1190)
1219 – Wonjong of Goryeo, 24th ruler of Goryeo (d. 1274)
1279 – Al-Nuwayri, Egyptian Muslim historian (d. 1333)
1288 – Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan (d. 1336)
1315 – James III of Majorca (d. 1349)
1365 – William II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1417)
1472 – Bianca Maria Sforza, Italian wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1510)
1521 – Francesco Laparelli, Italian architect (d. 1570)
1523 – Blaise de Vigenère, French cryptographer and diplomat (d. 1596)
1533 – Giulio della Rovere, Italian Catholic Cardinal (d. 1578)
1539 – George Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1603)
1549 – Princess Elizabeth of Sweden, (d. 1597)
1568 – Pope Urban VIII (d. 1644)
1588 – Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (d. 1679)
1591 – Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Luneburg (d. 1634)
1595 – John Wilson, English composer and educator (d. 1674)
1604 – Charles IV (d. 1675)
1616 – Frederick, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (d. 1661)
1622 – Vincenzo Viviani, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (d. 1703)
1649 – Elihu Yale, American-English merchant and philanthropist (d. 1721)
1656 – Nikita Demidov, Russian industrialist (d. 1725)
1664 – Élisabeth Thérèse de Lorraine, French noblewoman and Princess of Epinoy (d. 1748)
1674 – Margravine Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg, (d. 1748)
1691 – Louis VIII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (d. 1768)
1692 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (d. 1730)
1719 – Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish field marshal and politician, Lord Marshal of Sweden (d. 1794)
1726 – Benjamin Harrison V, American politician, planter and merchant (d. 1791)
1727 – Pasquale Anfossi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1797)
1729 – Frederick Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1809)
1730 – Jean Baptiste Seroux d’Agincourt, French archaeologist and historian (d. 1814)
1732 – Jean-Honoré Fragonard, French painter and etcher (d. 1806)
1735 – Franziskus Herzan von Harras, Czech Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1804)
1739 – Philemon Dickinson, American lawyer and politician (d. 1809)
1752 – Sébastien Érard, French instrument maker (d. 1831)
1761 – Sybil Ludington, American heroine of the American Revolutionary War (d. 1839)
1769 – Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1839)
1773 – José María Coppinger, governor of Spanish East Florida (d. 1844)
1773 – Duchess Therese of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, (d. 1839)
1777 – Marie Jules César Savigny, French zoologist (d. 1851)
1782 – Wincenty Krasiński, Polish nobleman (d. 1858)
1784 – Louis Spohr, German violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1859)
1788 – Franz Pforr, German painter (d. 1812)
1793 – Casimir Delavigne, French poet and dramatist (d. 1843)
1793 – Felix de Muelenaere, Belgian politician (d. 1862)
1795 – Henry Havelock, British general (d. 1857)
1799 – Jacques Denys Choisy, Swiss clergyman and botanist (d. 1859)
1801 – Félix Dujardin, French biologist (d. 1860)
1801 – Vincenzo Gioberti, Italian philosopher, publicist and politician (d. 1852)
1804 – Matthias Jakob Schleiden, German botanist (d. 1881)
1809 – Karl Felix Halm, German scholar and critic (d. 1882)
1810 – Sir Henry Rawlinson, British East India Company army officer and politician (d. 1895)
1811 – Jules Dupré, French painter (d. 1889)
1814 – Felix Lichnowsky, Czech soldier and politician (d. 1848)
1822 – Émile Louis Victor de Laveleye, Belgian economist (d. 1892)
1827 – Joseph Lister, English surgeon and academic (d. 1912)
1832 – Jules Ferry, French lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of France (d. 1893)
1834 – Prentice Mulford, American humorist and author (d. 1891)
1834 – Wilhelm Olbers Focke, German medical doctor and botanist (d. 1922)
1834 – Frank R. Stockton, American writer and humorist (d. 1902)
1835 – Vítězslav Hálek, Czech poet, writer, journalist, dramatist and theatre critic. (d. 1874)
1837 – Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic (d. 1909)
1839 – Robert Smalls, African-American ship’s pilot, sea captain, and politician (d. 1915)
1840 – Ghazaros Aghayan, Armenian historian and linguist (d. 1911)
1842 – Hans Hildebrand, Swedish archaeologist (d. 1913)
1845 – Friedrich Sigmund Merkel, German anatomist and histopathologist (d. 1919)
1845 – Jules Cambon, French diplomat (d. 1935)
1846 – Sigmund Exner, Austrian physiologist (d. 1926)
1846 – Henry Wellesley, British peer and politician (d. 1900)
1848 – Thure de Thulstrup, American illustrator (d. 1930)
1848 – Ulrich Wille, Swiss army general (d. 1925)
1850 – Enrico Mazzanti, Italian engineer and cartoonist (d. 1910)
1852 – Émile Billard, French sailor (d. 1930)
1852 – Walter W. Winans, American marksman and sculptor (d. 1920)
1852 – Franz Eckert, German composer and musician (d. 1916)
1856 – Booker T. Washington, African-American educator, essayist and historian (d. 1915)
1857 – Alexander of Battenberg (d. 1893)
1858 – Washington Atlee Burpee, Canadian businessman, founded Burpee Seeds (d. 1915)
1859 – Reinhold Seeberg, German theologian (d. 1935)
1860 – Harry S. Barlow, British tennis player (d. 1917)
1862 – Louis Ganne, French conductor (d. 1923)
1862 – Leo Stern, English cellist (d. 1904)
1863 – Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1950)
1867 – Ernest Lewis, British tennis player (d. 1930)
1869 – Sergey Chaplygin, Russian physicist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1942)
1869 – Albert Roussel, French composer (d. 1937)
1870 – Motobu Chōki, Japanese karateka (d. 1944)
1871 – Stanisław Grabski, Polish economist and politician (d. 1949)
1872 – Samuel Cate Prescott, American microbiologist and chemist (d. 1962)
1873 – Joseph Rheden, Austrian astronomer (d. 1946)
1874 – Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French Cardinal of the Catholic Church (d. 1949)
1874 – Manuel María Ponce Brousset, President of Peru (d. 1966)
1878 – Albert Champion, French cyclist (d. 1927)
1878 – Georg Misch, German philosopher (d. 1965)
1878 – Paul Weinstein, German high jumper (d. 1964)
1879 – Arthur Berriedale Keith, Scottish lawyer (d. 1944)
1879 – Nikolaus zu Dohna-Schlodien, German naval officer and author (d. 1956)
1880 – Eric Carlberg, Swedish Army officer, diplomat, shooter, fencer and modern pentathlete (d. 1963)
1880 – Vilhelm Carlberg, Swedish Army officer and shooter (d. 1970)
1882 – Song Jiaoren, Chinese revolutionary (d. 1913)
1882 – Natalia Sedova, 2nd wife of Leon Trotsky (d. 1962)
1883 – Walter Huston, Canadian-American actor and singer (d. 1950)
1884 – Ion Inculeț, Bessarabian academic and politician, President of Moldova (d. 1940)
1885 – Dimitrie Cuclin, Romanian composer (d. 1978)
1886 – Gotthelf Bergsträsser, German linguist (d. 1933)
1886 – Frederick Lindemann, British physicist (d. 1957)
1886 – Gustavo Jiménez, Peruvian colonel and politician, 73rd President of Peru (d. 1933)
1887 – William Cowhig, British gymnast (d. 1964)
1889 – Vicente Ferreira Pastinha, Brazilian martial artist (d. 1981)
1890 – Karl Kirk, Danish gymnast (d. 1955)
1890 – William Moore, British track and field athlete (d. 1956)
1891 – Arnold Jackson, English runner, soldier, and lawyer (d. 1972)
1891 – Laura Vicuña, Chilean nun (d. 1904)
1892 – Raymond Bonney, American ice hockey player (d. 1964)
1893 – Frithjof Andersen, Norwegian wrestler (d. 1975)
1893 – Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (d. 1973)
1894 – Lawrence Dale Bell, American industrialist and founder of Bell Aircraft Corporation (d. 1956)
1894 – Hans Hüttig, German SS officer (d. 1980)
1894 – Carl Rudolf Florin, Swedish botanist (d. 1965)
1895 – Mike O’Dowd, American boxer (d. 1957)
1896 – Einar Lundborg, Swedish aviator (d. 1931)
1897 – Hans Schuberth, German politician (d. 1976)
1899 – Alfred Blalock, American surgeon and academic (d. 1964)
1900 – Herbert Bayer, Austrian-American graphic designer, painter, and photographer (d. 1985)
1900 – Roman Steinberg, Estonian wrestler (d. 1928)
1900 – Spencer Tracy, American actor (d. 1967)
1901 – Curt Bois, German actor (d. 1991)
1901 – Chester Bowles, American diplomat and ambassador (d. 1986)
1901 – Melvyn Douglas, American actor (d. 1981)
1901 – Doggie Julian, American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach (d. 1967)
1902 – Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Russian-American rabbi (d. 1994)
1903 – Marion Aye, American actress (d. 1951)
1904 – Richard Eberhart, American poet and academic (d. 2005)
1906 – Albert Charles Smith, American botanist (d. 1999)
1906 – Fernando Germani, Italian organist (d. 1998)
1906 – Ted Morgan, New Zealand boxer (d. 1952)
1907 – Sanya Dharmasakti, Thai jurist (d. 2002)
1908 – Bette Davis, American actress (d. 1989)
1908 – Kurt Neumann, German director (d. 1958)
1908 – Jagjivan Ram, Indian politician, 4th Deputy Prime Minister of India (d. 1986)
1908 – Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor and manager (d. 1989)
1909 – Albert R. Broccoli, American film producer, co-founded Eon Productions (d. 1996)
1909 – Giacomo Gentilomo, Italian film director and painter (d. 2001)
1909 – Károly Sós, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 1991)
1909 – Erwin Wegner, German hurdler (d. 1945)
1910 – Sven Andersson, Swedish politician (d. 1987)
1910 – Oronzo Pugliese, Italian football manager (d. 1990)
1911 – Hedi Amara Nouira, Tunisian politician (d. 1993)
1911 – Johnny Revolta, American golfer (d. 1991)
1912 – Jehan Buhan, French fencer (d. 1999)
1912 – Habib Elghanian, Iranian businessman (d. 1979)
1912 – Antonio Ferri, Italian scientist (d. 1975)
1912 – Carlos Guastavino, Argentine composer (d. 2000)
1912 – Makar Honcharenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (d. 1997)
1912 – John Le Mesurier, English actor (d. 1983)
1912 – István Örkény, Hungarian author and playwright (d. 1979)
1912 – Bill Roberts, English sprinter and soldier (d. 2001)
1913 – Antoni Clavé, Catalan artist (d. 2005)
1913 – Nicolas Grunitzky, 2nd President of Togo (d. 1969)
1913 – Ruth Smith, Faroese artist (d. 1958)
1914 – Felice Borel, Italian footballer (d. 1993)
1916 – Gregory Peck, American actor, political activist, and producer (d. 2003)
1917 – Robert Bloch, American author (d. 1994)
1917 – Frans Gommers, Belgian footballer (d. 1996)
1919 – Lester James Peries, Sri Lankan director, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2018)
1920 – Barend Biesheuvel, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2001)
1920 – Arthur Hailey, English-Canadian soldier and author (d. 2004)
1920 – Alfonso Thiele, Turkish-Italian race car driver (d. 1986)
1920 – John Willem Gran, Swedish bishop (d. 2008)
1921 – Christopher Hewett, English actor and theatre director (d. 2001)
1922 – Tom Finney, English footballer (d. 2014)
1922 – Harry Freedman, Polish-Canadian horn player, composer, and educator (d. 2005)
1922 – Andy Linden, American race car driver (d. 1987)
1922 – Gale Storm, American actress and singer (d. 2009)
1923 – Ernest Mandel, German-born Belgian Marxist economist, Trotskyist activist and theorist (d. 1995)
1923 – Michael V. Gazzo, American actor (d. 1995)
1923 – Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, Vietnamese general and politician, 5th President of South Vietnam (d. 2001)
1924 – Igor Borisov, Soviet rower (d. before 2005)
1925 – Janet Rowley, American human geneticist (d. 2013)
1925 – Pierre Nihant, Belgian cyclist (d. 1993)
1926 – Roger Corman, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1926 – Liang Yusheng, Chinese writer (d. 2009)
1927 – Thanin Kraivichien, Thai lawyer and politician
1927 – Arne Hoel, Norwegian ski jumper (d. 2006)
1928 – Enzo Cannavale, Italian actor (d. 2011)
1928 – Tony Williams, American singer (d. 1992)
1929 – Hugo Claus, Belgian author, poet, and painter (d. 2008)
1929 – Ivar Giaever, Norwegian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1929 – Nigel Hawthorne, English actor and producer (d. 2001)
1929 – Joe Meek, English songwriter and producer (d. 1967)
1929 – Mahmoud Mollaghasemi, Iranian wrestler
1930 – Mary Costa, American singer and actress
1930 – Pierre Lhomme, French director of photography (d. 2019)
1931 – Jack Clement, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
1931 – Héctor Olivera, Argentine director, producer and screenwriter
1933 – Feridun Buğeker, Turkish footballer (d. 2014)
1933 – Frank Gorshin, American actor (d. 2005)
1933 – Barbara Holland, American author (d. 2010)
1933 – K. Kailasapathy, Sri Lankan journalist and academic (d. 1982)
1934 – John Carey, English author and critic
1934 – Roman Herzog, German lawyer and politician, 7th President of Germany (d. 2017)
1934 – Moise Safra, Brazilian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Banco Safra (d. 2014)
1934 – Stanley Turrentine, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2000)
1935 – Giovanni Cianfriglia, Italian actor
1935 – Peter Grant, English talent manager (d. 1995)
1935 – Donald Lynden-Bell, English astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 2018)
1935 – Frank Schepke, German rower (d. 2017)
1936 – Ronnie Bucknum, American race car driver (d. 1992)
1936 – Glenn Jordan, American director and producer
1936 – Dragoljub Minić, Yugoslavian chess Grandmaster (d. 2005)
1937 – Joseph Lelyveld, American journalist and author
1937 – Jean-Pierre Petit, French scientist
1937 – Colin Powell, American general and politician, 65th United States Secretary of State
1937 – Andrzej Schinzel, Polish mathematician
1937 – Arie Selinger, Israeli volleyball player and manager
1937 – Juan Vicente Lezcano, Paraguayan footballer (d. 2012)
1938 – Colin Bland, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (d. 2018)
1938 – Mal Colston, Australian educator and politician (d. 2003)
1938 – Nancy Holt, American sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
1938 – Natalya Kustinskaya, Soviet actress (d. 2012)
1939 – Leka I, Crown Prince of Albania (d. 2011)
1939 – Crispian St. Peters, English singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
1939 – Haidar Abu Bakr al-Attas, Prime Minister of Yemen
1939 – Ronald White, American singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
1939 – David Winters, English-American actor, choreographer and producer (d. 2019)
1940 – Tommy Cash, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1940 – Gilles Proulx, Canadian journalist, historian, and radio host
1941 – Michael Moriarty, American-Canadian actor
1941 – Dave Swarbrick, English singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2016)
1942 – Allan Clarke, English singer-songwriter
1942 – Pascal Couchepin, Swiss politician
1942 – Juan Gisbert Sr., Spanish tennis player
1942 – Peter Greenaway, Welsh director and screenwriter
1943 – Dean Brown, Australian politician, 41st Premier of South Australia
1943 – Max Gail, American actor and director
1943 – Fighting Harada, Japanese boxer
1943 – Miet Smet, Belgian politician
1943 – Jean-Louis Tauran, French cardinal (d. 2018)
1944 – Willeke van Ammelrooy, Dutch actress and director
1944 – János Martonyi, Hungarian politician
1944 – Evan Parker, British musician
1944 – Douangchay Phichit, Laotian politician (d. 2014)
1944 – Willy Planckaert, Belgian cyclist
1944 – Pedro Rosselló, Puerto Rican physician and politician, 7th Governor of Puerto Rico
1944 – Peter T. King, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
1945 – Ove Bengtson, Swedish tennis player
1945 – Steve Carver, American director and producer
1945 – Cem Karaca, Turkish musician (d. 2004)
1945 – Tommy Smith, English footballer (d. 2019)
1946 – Jane Asher, English actress
1946 – Julio Ángel Fernández, Uruguayan astronomer
1946 – Björn Granath, Swedish actor (d. 2017)
1946 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian Greco-Roman wrestler
1947 – Đurđica Bjedov, Yugoslav swimmer
1947 – Willy Chirino, Cuban-American musician
1947 – Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Filipino academic and politician, 14th President of the Philippines
1947 – Ramón Mifflin, Peruvian footballer
1947 – Virendra Sharma, Indian-English lawyer and politician
1948 – Pierre-Albert Chapuisat, Swiss footballer
1948 – Dave Holland, English drummer (d. 2018)
1948 – Roy McFarland, English footballer and manager
1949 – Stanley Dziedzic, American wrestler
1949 – Larry Franco, American film producer
1949 – Judith Resnik, Ukrainian-American engineer and astronaut (d. 1986)
1950 – Ann C. Crispin, American writer (d. 2013)
1950 – Franklin Chang Díaz, Costa Rican-Chinese American astronaut and physicist
1950 – Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
1950 – Toshiko Fujita, Japanese actress, singer and narrator (d. 2018)
1950 – Miki Manojlović, Serbian actor
1951 – Les Binks, Irish drummer and songwriter
1951 – Yevgeniy Gavrilenko, Belarusian hurdler
1951 – Nedim Gürsel, Turkish writer
1951 – Dean Kamen, American inventor and businessman, founded Segway Inc.
1951 – Dave McArtney, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1951 – Ubol Ratana, Thai Princess
1952 – Alfie Conn, Scottish international footballer, midfielder
1952 – John C. Dvorak, American author and editor
1952 – Sandy Mayer, American tennis player
1952 – Dennis Mortimer, English footballer
1952 – Mitch Pileggi, American actor
1953 – Frank Gaffney, American journalist and radio host
1953 – Keiko Han, Japanese actress
1953 – Tae Jin-ah, South Korean singer
1953 – Raleb Majadele, Israeli politician
1953 – Ian Swales, English accountant and politician
1954 – Guy Bertrand, Canadian linguist and radio host
1954 – Peter Case, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – Mohamed Ben Mouza, Tunisian footballer
1954 – Stan Ridgway, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – Yoshiichi Watanabe, Japanese footballer
1955 – Charlotte de Turckheim, French actress, producer, and screenwriter
1955 – Ricardo Ferrero, Argentine footballer (d. 2015)
1955 – Christian Gourcuff, French footballer and manager
1955 – Anthony Horowitz, English author and screenwriter
1955 – Bernard Longley, English prelate
1955 – Akira Toriyama, Japanese illustrator
1955 – Takayoshi Yamano, Japanese footballer
1956 – Diamond Dallas Page, American wrestler and actor
1956 – Leonid Fedun, Russian businessman
1956 – Reid Ribble, American politician
1957 – Sebastian Adayanthrath, Indian bishop
1957 – Karin Roßley, German hurdler
1958 – Henrik Dettmann, Finnish basketball coach
1958 – Ryoichi Kawakatsu, Japanese footballer
1958 – Johan Kriek, South African-American tennis player
1958 – Daniel Schneidermann, French journalist
1958 – Lasantha Wickrematunge, Sri Lankan lawyer and journalist (d. 2009)
1959 – Paul Chung, Hong Kong actor and host (d. 1989)
1960 – Asteris Koutoulas, Romanian-German record producer, manager, and author
1960 – Larry McCray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1960 – Ian Redford, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
1960 – Hiromi Taniguchi, Japanese long-distance runner
1960 – Adnan Terzić, Bosnian politician
1961 – Andrea Arnold, English filmmaker and actress
1961 – Anna Caterina Antonacci, Italian soprano
1961 – Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Bahraini-Danish human rights activist
1961 – Lisa Zane, American actress and singer
1962 – Lana Clarkson, American actress and model (d. 2003)
1962 – Sara Danius, Swedish scholar of literature and aesthetics
1962 – Richard Gough, Swedish born Scottish international footballer
1309 – Pope Clement V imposes excommunication and interdiction on Venice, and a general prohibition of all commercial intercourse with Venice, which had seized on Ferrara, a papal fiefdom.
1329 – Pope John XXII issues his In Agro Dominico condemning some writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical.
1513 – Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León reaches the northern end of The Bahamas on his first voyage to Florida.
1625 – Charles I becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland as well as claiming the title King of France.
1782 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1794 – The United States Government establishes a permanent navy and authorizes the building of six frigates.
1809 – Peninsular War: A combined Franco-Polish force defeats the Spanish in the Battle of Ciudad Real.
1814 – War of 1812: In central Alabama, U.S. forces under General Andrew Jackson defeat the Creek at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
1836 – Texas Revolution: On the orders of General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican army massacres 342 Texas POWs at Goliad, Texas.
1866 – President of the United States of America Andrew Johnson vetoes the Civil Rights Act of 1866. His veto is overridden by Congress and the bill passes into law on April 9.
1871 – The first international rugby football match, when Scotland defeats England in Edinburgh at Raeburn Place.
1884 – A mob in Cincinnati, Ohio, attacks members of a jury which had returned a verdict of manslaughter in what was seen as a clear case of murder; over the next few days the mob would riot and eventually destroy the courthouse.
1886 – Geronimo, Apache warrior, surrenders to the U.S. Army, ending the main phase of the Apache Wars.
1899 – Emilio Aguinaldo leads Filipino forces for the only time during the Philippine–American War at the Battle of Marilao River.
1915 – Typhoid Mary, the first healthy carrier of disease ever identified in the United States is put in quarantine for the second time, where she would remain for the rest of her life.
1918 – The National Council of Bessarabia proclaims union with the Kingdom of Romania.
1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Taierzhuang begins, resulting several weeks later in the war’s first major Chinese victory over Japan.
1941 – World War II: Yugoslav Air Force officers topple the pro-Axis government in a bloodless coup.
1943 – World War II: Battle of the Komandorski Islands: In the Aleutian Islands the battle begins when United States Navy forces intercept Japanese attempting to reinforce a garrison at Kiska.
1945 – World War II: Operation Starvation, the aerial mining of Japan’s ports and waterways begins. Argentina declares war on the Axis Powers.
1958 – Nikita Khrushchev becomes Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union.
1964 – The Good Friday earthquake, the most powerful earthquake recorded in North American history at a magnitude of 9.2 strikes Southcentral Alaska, killing 125 people and inflicting massive damage to the city of Anchorage.
1975 – Construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System begins.
1977 – Tenerife airport disaster: Two Boeing 747 airliners collide on a foggy runway on Tenerife in the Canary Islands, killing 583 (all 248 on KLM and 335 on Pan Am). Sixty-one survived on the Pan Am flight. This is the deadliest aviation accident in history.
1980 – The Norwegian oil platform Alexander L. Kielland collapses in the North Sea, killing 123 of its crew of 212.
1980 – Silver Thursday: A steep fall in silver prices, resulting from the Hunt Brothers attempting to corner the market in silver, leads to panic on commodity and futures exchanges.
1981 – The Solidarity movement in Poland stages a warning strike, in which at least 12 million Poles walk off their jobs for four hours.
1986 – A car bomb explodes outside Russell Street Police HQ in Melbourne, Australia, killing one police officer and injuring 21 people.
1990 – The United States begins broadcasting anti-Castro propaganda to Cuba on TV Martí.
1993 – Jiang Zemin is appointed President of the People’s Republic of China.
1993 – Italian former minister and Christian Democracy leader Giulio Andreotti is accused of mafia allegiance by the tribunal of Palermo.
1998 – The Food and Drug Administration approves Viagra for use as a treatment for male impotence, the first pill to be approved for this condition in the United States.
1999 – Kosovo War: An American Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk is shot down by a Yugoslav SAM, the first and only Nighthawk to be lost in combat.
2000 – A Phillips Petroleum plant explosion in Pasadena, Texas kills one person and injures 71 others.
2002 – Passover massacre: A Palestinian suicide bomber kills 29 people at a Passover seder in Netanya, Israel.
2002 – Nanterre massacre: In Nanterre, France, a gunman opens fire at the end of a town council meeting, resulting in the deaths of eight councilors; 19 other people are injured.
2004 – HMS Scylla, a decommissioned Leander-class frigate, is sunk as an artificial reef off Cornwall, the first of its kind in Europe.
2009 – The dam forming Situ Gintung, an artificial lake in Indonesia, fails, killing at least 99 people.
2014 – Philippines signs a peace accord with the largest Muslim rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, ending decades of conflict.
2015 – Al-Shabab militants attack and temporarily occupy a Mogadishu hotel leaving at least 20 people dead.
2016 – A suicide blast in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Lahore claims over 70 lives and leaves almost 300 others injured. The target of the bombing are Christians celebrating Easter.
2020 – North Macedonia becomes the 30th member of NATO.
Births on March 27
972 – Robert II, king of France (d. 1031)
1401 – Albert III, duke of Bavaria (d. 1460)
1416 – Francis of Paola, Italian friar and saint, founded Order of the Minims (d. 1507)
1546 – Johannes Piscator, German theologian (d. 1625)
1627 – Stephen Fox, English politician (d. 1716)
1676 – Francis II Rákóczi, Hungarian prince (b. 1676)
1679 – Domenico Lalli, Italian poet and librettist (d. 1741)
1681 – Joaquín Fernández de Portocarrero, Spanish-Italian cardinal (d. 1760)
1702 – Johann Ernst Eberlin, German organist and composer (d. 1762)
1710 – Joseph Abaco, Belgian cellist and composer (d. 1805)
1712 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and author (d. 1779)
1714 – Francesco Antonio Zaccaria, Italian historian and theologian (d. 1795)
1724 – Jane Colden, American botanist and author (d. 1766)
1745 – Lindley Murray, American-English Quaker and grammarian (d. 1826)
1746 – Michael Bruce, Scottish poet and composer (d. 1767)
1746 – Carlo Buonaparte, Corsican-French lawyer and politician (d. 1785)
1765 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1841)
1781 – Alexander Vostokov, Estonian-Russian philologist and academic (d. 1864)
1784 – Sándor Kőrösi Csoma, Hungarian philologist, orientalist, and author (d. 1842)
1785 – Louis XVII of France (d. 1795)
1797 – Alfred de Vigny, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1863)
1801 – Alexander Barrow, American lawyer and politician (d. 1846)
1802 – Charles-Mathias Simons, German-Luxembourger jurist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1874)
1809 – Georges-Eugène Haussmann, French engineer, urban planner, and politician (d. 1891)
1811 – Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (d. 1880)
1814 – Charles Mackay, Scottish journalist, anthologist, and author (d. 1889)
1820 – Edward Augustus Inglefield, English admiral and explorer (d. 1894)
1822 – Henri Murger, French novelist and poet (d. 1861)
1824 – Virginia Minor, American women’s suffrage activist (d. 1894)
1839 – John Ballance, Irish-New Zealand journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1893)
1843 – George Frederick Leycester Marshall, English colonel and entomologist (d. 1934)
1844 – Adolphus Greely, American general and explorer, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1935)
1845 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1923)
1845 – Jakob Sverdrup, Norwegian bishop and politician, Norwegian Minister of Education and Church Affairs (d. 1899)
1847 – Otto Wallach, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
1851 – Ruperto Chapí, Spanish composer, co-founded Sociedad General de Autores y Editores (d. 1909)
1851 – Vincent d’Indy, French composer and educator (d. 1931)
1852 – Jan van Beers, Belgian painter and illustrator (d. 1927)
1854 – Giovanni Battista Grassi, Italian physician, zoologist, and entomologist (d. 1925)
1855 – William Libbey, American target shooter, colonel, mountaineer, geographer, geologist, and archaeologist (d. 1927)
1857 – Karl Pearson, English mathematician, eugenicist, and academic (d. 1936)
1859 – George Giffen, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 1927)
1860 – Frank Frost Abbott, American-Swiss scholar and academic (d. 1924)
1862 – Jelena Dimitrijević, Serbian short story writer, novelist, poet, traveller, social worker, feminist and polyglot (d. 1945)
1862 – Arturo Berutti, Argentinian composer (d. 1938)
1863 – Henry Royce, English engineer and businessman, founded Rolls-Royce Limited (d. 1933)
1866 – John Allan, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Victoria (d. 1936)
1868 – Patty Hill, American songwriter and educator (d. 1946)
1869 – James McNeill, Irish politician, 2nd Governor-General of the Irish Free State (d. 1938)
1869 – J. R. Clynes, English trade unionist and politician, Home Secretary (d. 1949)
1871 – Heinrich Mann, German author and poet (d. 1950)
1871 – Joseph G. Morrison, American captain and Nazarene minister (d. 1939)
1871 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician, Minister of Labour (d. 1948)
1875 – Albert Marquet, French painter (d. 1947)
1877 – Oscar Grégoire, Belgian water polo player and swimmer (d. 1947)
1878 – Kathleen Scott, British sculptor (d. 1947)
1879 – Sándor Garbai, Hungarian politician, 19th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1947)
1879 – Miller Huggins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1929)
1879 – Edward Steichen, Luxembourger-American painter and photographer (d. 1973)
1881 – Arkady Averchenko, Russian playwright and satirist (d. 1925)
1882 – Thomas Graham Brown, Scottish mountaineer and physiologist (d. 1965)
1883 – Marie Under, Estonian author and poet (d. 1980)
1884 – Gordon Thomson, English rower and lieutenant (d. 1953)
1885 – Julio Lozano Díaz, Honduran accountant and politician, 40th President of Honduras (d. 1957)
1885 – Reginald Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster, English navy officer and politician, Secretary of State for Transport (d. 1961)
1886 – Sergey Kirov, Russian politician (d. 1934)
1886 – Wladimir Burliuk, Ukrainian painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
1886 – Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, German-American architect, designed IBM Plaza and Seagram Building (d. 1969)
1887 – Väinö Siikaniemi, Finnish javelin thrower, poet, and translator (d. 1932)
1888 – George Alfred Lawrence Hearne, English-South African cricketer (d. 1978)
1889 – Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu, Egyptian-Turkish journalist, author, and politician (d. 1974)
1889 – Leonard Mociulschi, Romanian general (d. 1979)
1890 – Harald Julin, Swedish swimmer and water polo player (d. 1967)
1890 – Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton, Scottish admiral (d. 1974)
1891 – Lajos Zilahy, Hungarian novelist and playwright (d. 1974)
1891 – Klawdziy Duzh-Dushewski, Belarusian-Lithuanian architect, journalist, and diplomat, created the Flag of Belarus (d. 1959)
1892 – Ferde Grofé, American pianist and composer (d. 1972)
1892 – Thorne Smith, American author (d. 1934)
1893 – Karl Mannheim, Hungarian-English sociologist and academic (d. 1947)
1893 – G. Lloyd Spencer, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1981)
1893 – George Beranger, Australian-American actor and director (d. 1973)
1894 – René Fonck, French colonel and pilot (d. 1953)
1895 – Roland Leighton, English soldier and poet (d. 1915)
1897 – Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1958)
1897 – Fred Keating, American magician, stage and film actor (d. 1961)
1899 – Francis Ponge, French poet and author (d. 1988)
1899 – Herbert Arthur Stuart, German-Swiss physicist and academic (d. 1974)
1899 – Gloria Swanson, American actress and producer (d. 1983)
1901 – Carl Barks, American illustrator and screenwriter (d. 2000)
1901 – Erich Ollenhauer, German politician (d. 1963)
1901 – Eisaku Satō, Japanese politician, 61st Prime Minister of Japan, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
1901 – Kenneth Slessor, Australian journalist and poet (d. 1971)
1902 – Sidney Buchman, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1975)
1902 – Charles Lang, American cinematographer (d. 1998)
1903 – Xavier Villaurrutia, Mexican poet and playwright (d. 1950)
1905 – Leroy Carr, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1935)
1905 – Rudolf Christoph Freiherr von Gersdorff, German general (d. 1980)
1905 – Elsie MacGill, Canadian-American author and engineer (d. 1980)
1906 – Pee Wee Russell, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 1969)
1909 – Golo Mann, German historian and author (d. 1994)
1909 – Ben Webster, American saxophonist (d. 1973)
1909 – Valery Marakou, Belarusian poet and translator (d. 1937)
1910 – Ai Qing, Chinese poet and author (d. 1996)
1911 – Veronika Tushnova, Russian poet and physician (d. 1965)
1912 – James Callaghan, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2005)
1913 – Theodor Dannecker, German SS officer (d. 1945)
1914 – Richard Denning, American actor (d. 1998)
1914 – Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2009)
1915 – Robert Lockwood, Jr., American guitarist (d. 2006)
1917 – Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th United States Secretary of State (d. 2002)
1920 – Colin Rowe, English-American architect, theorist and academic (d. 1999)
1921 – Phil Chess, Czech-American record producer, co-founded Chess Records (d. 2016)
1921 – Moacir Barbosa Nascimento, Brazilian footballer and coach (d. 2000)
1921 – Harold Nicholas, American actor and dancer (d. 2000)
1922 – Dick King-Smith, English author (d. 2011)
1922 – Stefan Wul, French author and surgeon (d. 2003)
1922 – Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter, printmaker, and sculptor (d. 2007)
1923 – Shūsaku Endō, Japanese author (d. 1996)
1923 – Louis Simpson, Jamaican-American poet, translator, and academic (d. 2012)
1924 – Sarah Vaughan, American singer (d. 1990)
1924 – Ian Black, Scottish international footballer, goalkeeper and lawn bowls player (d. 2012)
1924 – Margaret K. Butler, American mathematician and computer programmer (d. 2013)
1926 – Frank O’Hara, American writer (d. 1966)
1927 – Sylvia Anderson, English voice actress, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2016)
1927 – Anthony Lewis, American journalist and academic (d. 2013)
1927 – Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian cellist and conductor (d. 2007)
1928 – Jean Dotto, French cyclist (d. 2000)
1929 – Anne Ramsey, American actress (d. 1988)
1929 – Reg Evans, Australian actor (d. 2009)
1930 – Daniel Spoerri, Romanian-Swiss photographer, writer and artist
1931 – David Janssen, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1980)
1932 – Junior Parker, American singer and harmonica player (d. 1971)
1932 – Bailey Olter, Micronesian politician, 3rd President of the Federated States of Micronesia (d. 1999)
1933 – Lê Văn Hưng, South Vietnamese Brigadier general (d. 1975)
1934 – István Csurka, Hungarian journalist, author, and politician (d. 2012)
1935 – Stanley Rother, American Roman Catholic priest and missionary (d. 1981)
1935 – Julian Glover, English actor
1936 – Malcolm Goldstein, American violinist and composer
1937 – Alan Hawkshaw, English keyboard player and songwriter
1939 – Jay Kim, South Korean-American engineer and politician
1939 – Cale Yarborough, American race car driver and businessman
1940 – Sandro Munari, Italian race car driver
1940 – Austin Pendleton, American actor, director, and playwright
1941 – Ivan Gašparovič, Slovak lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Slovakia
1941 – Liese Prokop, Austrian pentathlete and politician, Austrian Minister of the Interior (d. 2006)
1942 – Michael Jackson, English journalist and author (d. 2007)
1942 – John Sulston, English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
1942 – Michael York, English actor
1943 – Mike Curtis, American football player and coach (d. 2020)
1944 – Jesse Brown, American marine and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (d. 2002)
1944 – Bryan Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
1946 – Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (d. 1999)
1947 – Oliver Friggieri, Maltese author, critic, poet and philosopher
1947 – Brian Jones, English balloonist and pilot
1947 – Walt Mossberg, American journalist
1948 – Jens-Peter Bonde, Danish lawyer and politician
1950 – Tony Banks, English keyboardist and songwriter
1950 – Petros Efthymiou, Greek academic and politician, Greek Minister of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs
1950 – Maria Ewing, African-American soprano
1950 – Chris Stewart, English musician and author
1950 – Terry Yorath, Welsh international footballer, Midfielder and international manager
1951 – Andrei Kozyrev, Belgian-Russian politician and diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Russia
1952 – Annemarie Moser-Pröll, Austrian skier
1952 – Maria Schneider, French actress (d. 2011)
1953 – Herman Ponsteen, Dutch cyclist
1954 – Gerard Batten, English lawyer and politician
1955 – Patrick McCabe, Irish writer
1955 – Mariano Rajoy, Spanish lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain
1955 – Susan Neiman, Jewish American-German philosopher and author
1956 – Leung Kwok-hung, Hong Kong activist and politician
1956 – Thomas Wassberg, Swedish cross country skier
1957 – Kostas Vasilakakis, Greek footballer and manager
1957 – Stephen Dillane, English actor
1958 – Didier de Radiguès, Belgian race car driver and motorcycle racer
1959 – Andrew Farriss, Australian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist
1960 – Hans Pflügler, German footballer
1960 – Renato Russo, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
1961 – Ellery Hanley, English rugby league player and coach
1961 – Tony Rominger, Swiss professional cyclist
1962 – Jann Arden, Canadian singer-songwriter
1962 – Brett French, Australian rugby league player
1962 – Rob Hollink, Dutch poker player
1962 – John O’Farrell, English journalist and author
1962 – Brad Wright, American-Spanish basketball player
1962 – Kevin J. Anderson, American science fiction writer
1963 – Cory Blackwell, American basketball player
1963 – Randall Cunningham, American football player, coach, and pastor
1963 – Filippos Sachinidis, Greek-Canadian economist and politician
1963 – Gary Stevens, English-Australian footballer and physiotherapist
1963 – Quentin Tarantino, American director, producer, screenwriter and actor
1963 – Xuxa, Brazilian actress, singer, businesswoman and television presenter
1965 – Gregor Foitek, Swiss race car driver
1966 – Žarko Paspalj, Serbian basketball player
1967 – Talisa Soto, American actress
1968 – Irina Belova, Russian heptathlete
1969 – Gianluigi Lentini, Italian footballer and manager
1969 – Pauley Perrette, American actress
1970 – Leila Pahlavi, Princess of Iran (d. 2001)
1970 – Derek Aucoin, Canadian baseball player
1970 – Mariah Carey, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1970 – Brent Fitz, Canadian-American multi-instrumentalist and recording artist
1970 – Jarrod McCracken, New Zealand rugby league player
1970 – Elizabeth Mitchell, American actress
1970 – Uwe Rosenberg, German game designer, created Bohnanza
1971 – David Coulthard, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster
1971 – Nathan Fillion, Canadian actor
1972 – Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Surinamese-Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
1972 – Charlie Haas, American professional wrestler
1973 – Roger Telemachus, South African cricketer
1974 – Marek Citko, Polish footballer and manager
1974 – George Koumantarakis, Greek-South African footballer
1974 – Gaizka Mendieta, Spanish footballer
1975 – Andrew Blowers, New Zealand rugby player
1975 – Kim Felton, Australian golfer
1975 – Jeff Palmer, American gay porn actor and singer-songwriter
1975 – Fergie, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
1975 – Christian Fiedler, German footballer and manager
1976 – Roberta Anastase, Romanian politician, 57th President of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania
1980 – Steve Fisher, American author and screenwriter (b. 1912)
1981 – Jakob Ackeret, Swiss engineer and academic (b. 1898)
1982 – Fazlur Khan, Bangladeshi-American engineer and architect, designed the John Hancock Center and Willis Tower (b. 1929)
1987 – William Bowers, American journalist and screenwriter (b. 1916)
1988 – Charles Willeford, American author, poet, and critic (b. 1919)
1989 – May Allison, American actress (b. 1890)
1989 – Malcolm Cowley, American novelist, poet, and literary critic (b. 1898)
1990 – Percy Beard, American hurdler and coach (b. 1908)
1991 – Aldo Ray, American actor (b. 1926)
1992 – Colin Gibson, English footballer (b. 1923)
1992 – Lang Hancock, Australian businessman (b. 1909)
1992 – James E. Webb, American colonel and politician, 16th Under Secretary of State (b. 1906)
1993 – Kamal Hassan Ali, Egyptian general and politician, Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1921)
1993 – Paul László, Hungarian-American architect and interior designer (b. 1900)
1994 – Elisabeth Schmid, German archaeologist and osteologist (b. 1912)
1994 – Lawrence Wetherby, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1908)
1995 – René Allio, French director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
1997 – Lane Dwinell, American businessman and politician, 69th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1906)
1997 – Ella Maillart, Swiss skier, sailor, field hockey player, and photographer (b. 1903)
1998 – David McClelland, American psychologist and academic (b. 1917)
1999 – Michael Aris, Cuban-English author and academic (b. 1946)
2000 – George Allen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
2000 – Ian Dury, English singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1942)
2002 – Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (b. 1908)
2002 – Dudley Moore, English actor (b. 1935)
2002 – Billy Wilder, Austrian-born American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
2003 – Edwin Carr, New Zealand composer and educator (b. 1926)
2004 – Robert Merle, French author (b. 1909)
2005 – Wilfred Gordon Bigelow, Canadian soldier and surgeon (b. 1913)
2006 – Dan Curtis, American director and producer (b. 1928)
2006 – Stanisław Lem, Ukrainian-Polish author (b. 1921)
2006 – Rudolf Vrba, Czech Holocaust survivor and educator (b. 1924)
2006 – Neil Williams, English cricketer (b. 1962)
2007 – Nancy Adams, New Zealand botanist and illustrator (b. 1926)
2007 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1929)
2008 – Jean-Marie Balestre, French businessman (b. 1921)
2009 – Irving R. Levine, American journalist and author (b. 1922)
2010 – Dick Giordano, American illustrator (b. 1932)
2011 – Clement Arrindell, Nevisian judge and politician, 1st Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis (b. 1931)
2011 – Farley Granger, American actor (b. 1925)
2012 – Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist and feminist (b. 1929)
2013 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1923)
2013 – Yvonne Brill, Canadian-American scientist and engineer (b. 1924)
2013 – Fay Kanin, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1917)
2014 – Richard N. Frye, American scholar and academic (b. 1920)
2014 – James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense and first United States Secretary of Energy (b. 1929)
2015 – Johnny Helms, American trumpet player, bandleader, and educator (b. 1935)
2015 – T. Sailo, Indian soldier and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of Mizoram (b. 1922)
2016 – Mother Angelica, American Roman Catholic religious leader and media personality (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances on March 27
Christian feast day:
Alexander, a Pannonian soldier, martyred in 3rd century.
Amador of Portugal
Augusta of Treviso
Charles Henry Brent (Episcopal Church (USA))
Gelasius, Archbishop of Armagh
John of Egypt
Philetus
Romulus of Nîmes, a Benedictine abbot, martyred c. 730.
45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eighteen, following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius.
455 – Petronius Maximus becomes, with support of the Roman Senate, emperor of the Western Roman Empire; he forces Licinia Eudoxia, the widow of his predecessor, Valentinian III, to marry him.
1001 – The Raja of Butuan in what is now the Philippines sends a tributary mission to the Song dynasty.
1337 – Edward, the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy in England.
1452 – The Battle of Los Alporchones is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the Emirate of Granada and the combined forces of the Kingdom of Castile and Murcia resulting in a Christian victory.
1560 – Fort Coligny on Villegagnon Island in Rio de Janeiro is attacked and destroyed during the Portuguese campaign against France Antarctique.
1677 – The Siege of Valenciennes, during the Franco-Dutch War, ends with France’s taking of the city.
1776 – American Revolution: The British Army evacuates Boston, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city.
1780 – American Revolution: George Washington grants the Continental Army a holiday “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence”.
1805 – The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King of Italy.
1824 – The Anglo-Dutch Treaty is signed in London, dividing the Malay archipelago. As a result, the Malay Peninsula is dominated by the British, while Sumatra and Java and surrounding areas are dominated by the Dutch.
1842 – The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is formed.
1852 – Annibale De Gasparis discovers in Naples the asteroid Psyche from the north dome of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte
1860 – The First Taranaki War begins in Taranaki, New Zealand, a major phase of the New Zealand Wars.
1861 – The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed.
1891 – SS Utopia collides with HMS Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar and sinks, killing 562 of the 880 passengers on board.
1921 – The Second Polish Republic adopts the March Constitution.
1939 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and Japan begins.
1941 – In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1942 – Holocaust: The first Jews from the Lvov Ghetto are gassed at the Belzec death camp in what is today eastern Poland.
1945 – The Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, Germany, collapses, ten days after its capture.
1947 – First flight of the B-45 Tornado strategic bomber.
1948 – Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO.
1950 – Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announce the creation of element 98, which they name “californium”.
1957 – A plane crash in Cebu, Philippines kills Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others.
1958 – The United States launches the first solar-powered satellite.
1960 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
1963 – Mount Agung erupted on Bali killing more than 1,100 people.
1966 – Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the DSV Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb.
1968 – As a result of nerve gas testing by the U.S. Army Chemical Corps in Skull Valley, Utah, over 6,000 sheep are found dead.
1969 – Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
1973 – The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family, which came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War.
1979 – The Penmanshiel Tunnel collapses during engineering works, killing two workers.
1985 – Serial killer Richard Ramirez, aka the “Night Stalker”, commits the first two murders in his Los Angeles murder spree.
1988 – A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into a mountainside near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
1988 – Eritrean War of Independence: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on three sides by military units of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front in the opening action of the Battle of Afabet.
1992 – Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires: Car bomb attack kills 29 and injures 242.
1992 – A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa is passed 68.7% to 31.2%.
2000 – Five hundred and thirty members of the Ugandan cult Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God die in a fire, considered to be a mass murder or suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult. Elsewhere another 248 members are later found dead.
2003 – Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
2004 – Unrest in Kosovo: More than 22 are killed and 200 wounded. Thirty-five Serbian Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Serbia are destroyed.
Births on March 17
763 – Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph (d. 809)
1231 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (d. 1242)
1473 – James IV of Scotland (d. 1513)
1523 – Giovanni Francesco Commendone, Catholic cardinal (d. 1584)
1537 – Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese daimyō (d. 1598)
1611 – Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge, Swedish field marshal (d. 1662)
1665 – Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, French harpsichord player and composer (d. 1729)
1676 – Thomas Boston, Scottish philosopher and theologian (d. 1732)
1686 – Jean-Baptiste Oudry, French painter and engraver (d. 1755)
1725 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (d. 1806)
1777 – Patrick Brontë, Irish-English priest and author (d. 1861)
1777 – Roger B. Taney, American politician and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1864)
1780 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish minister, economist, and educator (d. 1847)
1781 – Ebenezer Elliott, English poet and educator (d. 1849)
1804 – Jim Bridger, American fur trader and explorer (d. 1881)
1806 – Norbert Rillieux, African American inventor and chemical engineer (d. 1894)
1820 – Jean Ingelow, English poet and author (d. 1897)
1834 – Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and businessman, co-founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (d. 1900)
1839 – Josef Rheinberger, Liechtensteiner-German organist and composer (d. 1901)
1846 – Kate Greenaway, English author and illustrator (d. 1901)
1849 – Charles F. Brush, American businessman and philanthropist, co-invented the Arc lamp (d. 1929)
1849 – Cornelia Clapp, American marine biologist (d. 1934)
1856 – Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter (d. 1910)
1862 – Silvio Gesell, Belgian merchant and economist (d. 1930)
1864 – Joseph Baptista, Indian engineer, lawyer, and politician (d. 1930)
1866 – Pierce Butler, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1939)
1867 – Patrice Contamine de Latour, Spanish poet (d. 1926)
1877 – Edith New, British militant suffragette (d. 1951)
1877 – Otto Gross, Austrian-German psychoanalyst and philosopher (d. 1920)
1880 – Patrick Hastings, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1952)
1880 – Lawrence Oates, English lieutenant and explorer (d. 1912)
1881 – Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
1884 – Alcide Nunez, American clarinet player (d. 1934)
1885 – Ralph Rose, American track and field athlete (d. 1913)
1886 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (d. 1974)
1888 – Paul Ramadier, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1961)
1889 – Harry Clarke, Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator (d. 1931)
1891 – Ross McLarty, Australian politician, 17th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1962)
1892 – Sayed Darwish, Egyptian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1923)
1894 – Paul Green, American playwright and academic (d. 1981)
1895 – Lloyd Rees, Australian painter (d. 1988)
1901 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (d. 1970)
1902 – Bobby Jones, American golfer and lawyer (d. 1971)
1904 – Chaim Gross, Austrian-American sculptor and educator (d. 1991)
1906 – Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (d. 1996)
1907 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1991)
1907 – Takeo Miki, Japanese politician, 41st Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1988)
1910 – Sonny Werblin, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1991)
1912 – Bayard Rustin, American activist (d. 1987)
1914 – Sammy Baugh, American football player and coach (d. 2008)
1915 – Robert S. Arbib Jr., American ornithologist, writer and conservationist (d. 1987)
1915 – Ray Ellington, English drummer and bandleader (d. 1985)
1915 – Bill Roycroft, Australian equestrian rider (d. 2011)
1919 – Nat King Cole, American singer, pianist, and television host (d. 1965)
1920 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 1st President of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
1921 – Meir Amit, Israeli general and politician, 12th Israeli Minister of Communications (d. 2009)
1922 – Patrick Suppes, American psychologist and philosopher (d. 2014)
1924 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (d. 2013)
1925 – Gabriele Ferzetti, Italian actor (d. 2015)
1926 – Siegfried Lenz, Polish-German author and playwright (d. 2014)
1927 – Betty Allen, American soprano and educator (d. 2009)
1928 – William John McKeag, Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 2007)
1930 – Paul Horn, American-Canadian flute player and saxophonist (d. 2014)
1930 – James Irwin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1991)
1931 – Patricia Breslin, American actress (d. 2011)
1931 – David Peakall, English-American chemist and toxicologist (d. 2001)
1933 – Myrlie Evers-Williams, American journalist and activist
1933 – Penelope Lively, English author
1935 – Fred T. Mackenzie, American biologist and academic
1935 – Adam Wade, American singer, drummer, and actor
1936 – Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (d. 2019)
1936 – Ladislav Kupkovič, Slovakian composer and conductor (d. 2016)
1936 – Ken Mattingly, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut
1937 – Galina Samsova, Russian ballerina
1938 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
1938 – Keith O’Brien, Northern Ireland-born Scottish cleric, theologian, and cardinal (d. 2018)
1938 – Zola Taylor, American singer (d. 2007)
1939 – Jim Gary, American sculptor (d. 2006)
1939 – Bill Graham, Canadian academic and politician, 4th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1939 – Robin Knox-Johnston, English sailor and first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe
1939 – Giovanni Trapattoni, Italian footballer and manager
1940 – Mark White, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Texas (d. 2017)
1941 – Wang Jin-pyng, Taiwanese soldier and politician
1941 – Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
1941 – Max Stafford-Clark, English director and academic
1942 – John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer and rapist (d. 1994)
1943 – Jeff Banks, Welsh fashion designer
1943 – Andrew Brook, Canadian philosopher, author, and academic
1944 – Pattie Boyd, English model, author, and photographer
1944 – Cito Gaston, American baseball player and manager
1944 – John Sebastian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1945 – Michael Hayden, American general, 20th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
1947 – Dennis Bond, English footballer, midfielder
1947 – Yury Chernavsky, Russian-American songwriter and producer
1948 – William Gibson, American-Canadian author and screenwriter
1948 – Alex MacDonald, Scottish footballer and manager
1949 – Patrick Duffy, American actor, director, and producer
1949 – Pat Rice, Irish footballer and coach
1949 – Stuart Rose, English businessman
1951 – Scott Gorham, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1951 – Craig Ramsay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1951 – Kurt Russell, American actor and producer
1952 – Barry Horne, English activist (d. 2001)
1953 – Filemon Lagman, Filipino activist (d. 2001)
1953 – Chuck Muncie, American football player (d. 2013)
1954 – Lesley-Anne Down, English actress
1955 – Cynthia McKinney, American activist and politician
1955 – Paul Overstreet, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1955 – Gary Sinise, American actor, director, and bass player
1956 – Patrick McDonnell, American author and illustrator
1956 – Rory McGrath, British comedian, television personality, and writer
1957 – Michael Kelly, American journalist and author (d. 2003)
1958 – Christian Clemenson, American actor
1959 – Danny Ainge, American baseball and basketball player
1959 – Paul Black, American singer-songwriter and drummer
1960 – Arye Gross, American actor
1960 – Vicki Lewis, American actress and singer
1961 – Sam Bowie, American basketball player
1961 – Dana Reeve, American actress, singer, and activist (d. 2006)
1961 – Casey Siemaszko, American actor
1962 – Carsten Almqvist, Swedish business executive
1962 – Ank Bijleveld, Dutch politician
1962 – Janet Gardner, American singer and guitarist
1962 – Clare Grogan, Scottish singer and actress
1962 – Rob Sitch, Australian actor, director, and producer
1963 – Roger Harper, Guyanese cricketer and coach
1964 – Stefano Borgonovo, Italian footballer (d. 2013)
1964 – Lee Dixon, English footballer and journalist
1964 – Rob Lowe, American actor and producer
1964 – Jacques Songo’o, Cameroonian footballer and coach
1965 – Andrew Hudson, South African cricketer
1966 – Andrew Rosindell, English journalist and politician
1967 – Jason Alchin, Australian rugby league player
1967 – Billy Corgan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and producer
1967 – Barry Minkow, American pastor and businessman
1968 – Eri Nitta, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
1968 – Mathew St. Patrick, American actor and producer
1969 – Edgar Grospiron, French skier
1969 – Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, founded own eponymous brand (d. 2010)
1970 – Patrick Lebeau, Canadian ice hockey player
1970 – Gene Ween, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1971 – Bill Mueller, American baseball player and coach
1972 – Melissa Auf der Maur, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and bass player
1972 – Torquil Campbell, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
1972 – Mia Hamm, American soccer player
1973 – Rico Blanco, Filipino singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
1973 – Caroline Corr, Irish singer and drummer
1973 – Vance Wilson, American baseball player and manager
1974 – Mark Dolan, English comedian and television host
1975 – Justin Hawkins, English singer-songwriter
1975 – Puneeth Rajkumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer
1975 – Test, Canadian-American wrestler (d. 2009)
1975 – Natalie Zea, American actress
1976 – Scott Downs, American baseball player
1976 – Stephen Gately, Irish singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2009)
1976 – Álvaro Recoba, Uruguayan footballer
1977 – Tamar Braxton, American singer-songwriter and actress
1978 – Zachery Kouwe, American journalist
1979 – Stormy Daniels, born Stephanie Gregory, American adult film actress
1979 – Andrew Ference, Canadian ice hockey player
1979 – Stephen Kramer Glickman, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and fashion designer
1979 – Samoa Joe, American professional wrestler
1980 – Danny Califf, American soccer player
1980 – Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Pakistani tennis player
1981 – Aaron Baddeley, American-Australian golfer
1981 – Servet Çetin, Turkish footballer
1981 – Kyle Korver, American basketball player
1981 – Nicky Jam, American-Puerto-Rican singer and songwriter
1982 – Steven Pienaar, South African footballer
1983 – James Heath, English golfer
1983 – Raul Meireles, Portuguese footballer
1983 – Attila Vajda, Hungarian sprint canoeist
1984 – Ryan Rottman, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
2006 – Ray Meyer, American basketball player and coach (b. 1913)
2006 – İstemihan Taviloğlu, Turkish composer and educator (b. 1945)
2007 – John Backus, American mathematician and computer scientist, designed Fortran (b. 1924)
2007 – Roger Bennett, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1959)
2008 – Roland Arnall, French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (b. 1939)
2009 – Clodovil Hernandes, Brazilian television host and politician (b. 1937)
2010 – Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1950)
2010 – Sid Fleischman, American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
2011 – Michael Gough, English actor (b. 1916)
2011 – Ferlin Husky, American country music singer (b. 1925)
2012 – Shenouda III, pope of Alexandria (b. 1923)
2012 – Margaret Whitlam, Australian swimmer and author (b. 1919)
2013 – William B. Caldwell III, American general (b. 1925)
2013 – Lawrence Fuchs, American scholar and academic (b. 1927)
2013 – A.B.C. Whipple, American journalist and historian (b. 1918)
2014 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (b. 1974)
2014 – Joseph Kerman, American musicologist and critic (b. 1924)
2014 – Rachel Lambert Mellon, American gardener, philanthropist, art collector and political patron (b. 1910)
2015 – Frank Perris, Canadian motorcycle racer (b. 1931)
2016 – Meir Dagan, Israeli general (b. 1945)
2016 – Zoltán Kamondi, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1960)
2018 – Mike MacDonald, Canadian comedian (b. 1954)
2018 – Phan Văn Khải, the fifth Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1933)
Holidays and observances on March 17
Children’s Day (Bangladesh)
Christian feast day:
Alexius of Rome (Eastern Church)
Gertrude of Nivelles
John Sarkander
Joseph of Arimathea (Western Church)
Patrick of Ireland
March 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Evacuation Day (Suffolk County, Massachusetts)
Saint Patrick’s Day, a public holiday in Ireland, Montserrat and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, widely celebrated in the English-speaking world and to a lesser degree in other parts of the world.
363 – Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death.
1046 – Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama.
1279 – The Livonian Order is defeated in the Battle of Aizkraukle by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
1496 – King Henry VII of England issues letters patent to John Cabot and his sons, authorising them to explore unknown lands.
1616 – Nicolaus Copernicus’s book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres is added to the Index of Forbidden Books 73 years after it was first published.
1766 – Antonio de Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans.
1770 – Boston Massacre: Five Americans, including Crispus Attucks, are fatally shot by British troops in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence) five years later.
1811 – Peninsular War: A French force under the command of Marshal Victor is routed while trying to prevent an Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese army from lifting the Siege of Cádiz in the Battle of Barrosa.
1824 – First Anglo-Burmese War: The British officially declare war on Burma.
1836 – Samuel Colt patents the first production-model revolver, the .34-caliber.
1850 – The Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales is opened.
1860 – Parma, Tuscany, Modena and Romagna vote in referendums to join the Kingdom of Sardinia.
1868 – Mefistofele, an opera by Arrigo Boito, receives its premiere performance at La Scala.
1872 – George Westinghouse patents the air brake.
1906 – Moro Rebellion: United States Army troops bring overwhelming force against the native Moros in the First Battle of Bud Dajo, leaving only six survivors.
1912 – Italo-Turkish War: Italian forces are the first to use airships for military purposes, employing them for reconnaissance behind Turkish lines.
1931 – The British Raj: Gandhi–Irwin Pact is signed.
1933 – Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party receives 43.9% at the Reichstag elections, which allows the Nazis to later pass the Enabling Act and establish a dictatorship.
1936 – First flight of K5054, the first prototype Supermarine Spitfire advanced monoplane fighter aircraft in the United Kingdom.
1940 – Six high-ranking members of Soviet politburo, including Joseph Stalin, sign an order for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POWs, in what will become known as the Katyn massacre.
1942 – World War II: Japanese forces capture Batavia, capital of Dutch East Indies, which is left undefended after the withdrawal of the KNIL garrison and Australian Blackforce battalion to Buitenzorg and Bandung.
1943 – First Flight of the Gloster Meteor, Britain’s first combat jet aircraft.
1944 – World War II: The Red Army begins the Uman–Botoșani Offensive in the western Ukrainian SSR.
1946 – Cold War: Winston Churchill coins the phrase “Iron Curtain” in his speech at Westminster College, Missouri.
1953 – Joseph Stalin, the longest serving leader of the Soviet Union, dies at his Volynskoe dacha in Moscow after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage four days earlier.
1960 – Indonesian President Sukarno dismissed the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), 1955 democratically elected parliament, and replaced with DPR-GR, the parliament of his own selected members.
1963 – American country music stars Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas and their pilot Randy Hughes are killed in a plane crash in Camden, Tennessee.
1965 – March Intifada: A Leftist uprising erupts in Bahrain against British colonial presence.
1966 – BOAC Flight 911, a Boeing 707 aircraft, breaks apart in mid-air due to clear-air turbulence and crashes into Mount Fuji, Japan, killing all 124 people on board.
1970 – The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations.
1974 – Yom Kippur War: Israeli forces withdraw from the west bank of the Suez Canal.
1978 – The Landsat 3 is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
1979 – Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the German-American solar satellite Helios II all are hit by “off the scale” gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters.
1981 – The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, is launched by Sinclair Research and would go on to sell over 11⁄2 million units around the world.
1982 – Soviet probe Venera 14 lands on Venus.
2003 – In Haifa, 17 Israeli civilians are killed in the Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing.
2012 – Tropical Storm Irina kills over 75 as it passes through Madagascar.
Births on March 5
1133 – Henry II of England (d. 1189)
1224 – Saint Kinga of Poland (d. 1292)
1324 – David II of Scotland (d. 1371)
1326 – Louis I of Hungary (d. 1382)
1340 – Cansignorio della Scala, Lord of Verona (d. 1375)
1451 – William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English Earl (d. 1491)
1512 – Gerardus Mercator, Flemish mathematician, cartographer, and philosopher (d. 1594)
1523 – Rodrigo de Castro Osorio, Spanish cardinal (d. 1600)
1527 – Ulrich, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1603)
1539 – Christoph Pezel, German theologian (d. 1604)
1563 – John Coke, English civil servant and politician (d. 1644)
1575 – William Oughtred, English minister and mathematician (d. 1660)
1585 – John George I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1656)
1585 – Frederick I, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (d. 1638)
1637 – Jan van der Heyden, Dutch painter and engineer (d. 1712)
1658 – Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, French explorer and politician, 3rd Colonial Governor of Louisiana (d. 1730)
1693 – Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian and scholar (d. 1754)
1696 – Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian painter (d. 1770)
1703 – Vasily Trediakovsky, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1768)
1713 – Edward Cornwallis, English general and politician, Governor of Gibraltar (d. 1776)
1713 – Frederick Cornwallis, English archbishop (d. 1783)
1723 – Princess Mary of Great Britain (d. 1773)
1733 – Vincenzo Galeotti, Italian-Danish dancer and choreographer (d. 1816)
1739 – Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, American colonel and physician (d. 1819)
1748 – Jonas Carlsson Dryander, Swedish botanist and biologist (d. 1810)
1748 – William Shield, English violinist and composer (d. 1829)
1750 – Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d’Ansse de Villoison, French scholar and academic (d. 1805)
1751 – Jan Křtitel Kuchař, Czech organist, composer, and educator (d. 1829)
1774 – Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse, Danish organist and composer (d. 1842)
1779 – Benjamin Gompertz, English mathematician and statistician (d. 1865)
1785 – Carlo Odescalchi, Italian cardinal (d. 1841)
1794 – Jacques Babinet, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (d. 1872)
1794 – Robert Cooper Grier, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1870)
1814 – Wilhelm von Giesebrecht, German historian and academic (d. 1889)
1800 – Georg Friedrich Daumer, German poet and philosopher (d. 1875)
1815 – John Wentworth, American journalist and politician, 19th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1888)
1817 – Austen Henry Layard, English archaeologist, academic, and politician, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (d. 1894)
1830 – Étienne-Jules Marey, French physiologist and chronophotographer (d. 1904)
1830 – Charles Wyville Thomson, Scottish historian and zoologist (d. 1882)
1834 – Félix de Blochausen, Luxembourgian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1915)
1834 – Marietta Piccolomini, Italian soprano (d. 1899)
1853 – Howard Pyle, American author and illustrator (d. 1911)
1862 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player and theoretician (d. 1934)
1867 – Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 14th Premier of Quebec (d. 1952)
1869 – Michael von Faulhaber, German cardinal (d. 1952)
1870 – Frank Norris, American journalist and author (d. 1902)
1870 – Evgeny Paton, French-Ukrainian engineer (d. 1953)
1871 – Rosa Luxemburg, Polish-Russian economist and philosopher (d. 1919)
1871 – Konstantinos Pallis, Greek general and politician, Minister Governor-General of Macedonia (d. 1941)
1873 – Olav Bjaaland, Norwegian skier and explorer (d. 1961)
1874 – Henry Travers, English-American actor (d. 1965)
1875 – Harry Lawson, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Victoria (d. 1952)
1876 – Thomas Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote, English lawyer and politician, 8th Lord Chief Justice of England (d. 1947)
1876 – Elisabeth Moore, American tennis player (d. 1959)
1879 – William Beveridge, Bangladeshi-English economist and academic (d. 1963)
1879 – Andres Larka, Estonian general and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of War (d. 1943)
1880 – Sergei Natanovich Bernstein, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1968)
1882 – Dora Marsden, English author and activist (d. 1960)
1883 – Pauline Sperry, American mathematician (d. 1967)
1885 – Marius Barbeau, Canadian ethnographer and academic (d. 1969)
1886 – Dong Biwu, Chinese judge and politician, Chairman of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1975)
1886 – Freddie Welsh, Welsh boxer (d. 1927)
1887 – Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian guitarist and composer (d. 1959)
1894 – Henry Daniell, English-American actor (d. 1963)
1898 – Zhou Enlai, Chinese politician, 1st Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1976)
1898 – Misao Okawa, Japanese super-centenarian (d. 2015)
1900 – Lilli Jahn, Jewish German doctor (d. 1944)
1900 – Johanna Langefeld, German guard and supervisor of three Nazi concentration camps (d. 1974)
1901 – Friedrich Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg (d. 1971)
1901 – Julian Przyboś, Polish poet, essayist and translator (d. 1970)
1904 – Karl Rahner, German priest and theologian (d. 1984)
1905 – László Benedek, Hungarian-American director and cinematographer (d. 1992)
1908 – Fritz Fischer, German historian and author (d. 1999)
1908 – Irving Fiske, American author and playwright (d. 1990)
1908 – Rex Harrison, English actor (d. 1990)
1910 – Momofuku Ando, Taiwanese-Japanese businessman, founded Nissin Foods (d. 2007)
1910 – Ennio Flaiano, Italian author, screenwriter, and critic (d. 1972)
1912 – Jack Marshall, New Zealand colonel, lawyer, and politician, 28th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1988)
1915 – Henry Hicks, Canadian academic and politician, 16th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 1990)
1915 – Laurent Schwartz, French mathematician and academic (d. 2002)
1918 – Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2017)
1918 – Red Storey, Canadian football player, referee, and sportscaster (d. 2006)
1918 – James Tobin, American economist and academic (d. 2002)
1920 – José Aboulker, Algerian surgeon and activist (d. 2009)
1920 – Virginia Christine, American actress (d. 1996)
1920 – Rachel Gurney, English actress (d. 2001)
1920 – Wang Zengqi, Chinese writer (d. 1997)
1921 – Elmer Valo, American baseball player and coach (d. 1998)
1922 – James Noble, American actor (d. 2016)
1922 – Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1975)
1923 – Juan A. Rivero, Puerto Rican biologist and academic (d. 2014)
1923 – Laurence Tisch, American businessman, co-founded the Loews Corporation (d. 2003)
1924 – Roger Marche, French footballer (d. 1997)
1927 – Jack Cassidy, American actor and singer (d. 1976)
1927 – Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford, Scottish businessman and politician
1928 – J. Hillis Miller, American academic and critic
1929 – Erik Carlsson, Swedish race car driver (d. 2015)
1929 – J. B. Lenoir, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1967)
1930 – John Ashley, Canadian ice hockey player and referee (d. 2008)
1930 – Del Crandall, American baseball player and manager
1931 – Fred, French author and illustrator (d. 2013)
1931 – Barry Tuckwell, Australian horn player and educator (d. 2020)
1932 – Paul Sand, American actor
1933 – Walter Kasper, German cardinal and theologian
1934 – Daniel Kahneman, Israeli-American economist and psychologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1935 – Letizia Battaglia, Italian photographer and journalist
1935 – Philip K. Chapman, Australian-American astronaut and engineer
1936 – Canaan Banana, Zimbabwean minister and politician, 1st President of Zimbabwe (d. 2003)
1936 – Dale Douglass, American golfer
1936 – Dean Stockwell, American actor
1937 – Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian general and politician, 5th President of Nigeria
1938 – Paul Evans, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1938 – Lynn Margulis, American biologist and academic (d. 2011)
1938 – Fred Williamson, American football player, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1939 – Samantha Eggar, English actress
1939 – Tony Rundle, Australian politician, 40th Premier of Tasmania
1939 – Benyamin Sueb, Indonesian actor and comedian (d. 1995)
1939 – Peter Woodcock, Canadian serial killer (d. 2010)
1939 – Pierre Wynants, Belgian chef
1940 – Tom Butler, English bishop
1940 – Ken Irvine, Australian rugby league player (d. 1990)
1940 – Graham McRae, New Zealand race car driver
1940 – Sepp Piontek, German footballer and manager
1941 – Des Wilson, New Zealand-English businessman and activist
1942 – Felipe González, Spanish lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain
1942 – Mike Resnick, American author and editor (d. 2020)
1942 – David Watkins, Welsh rugby player
1943 – Lucio Battisti, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
1944 – Peter Brandes, Danish painter and sculptor
1944 – Roy Gutman, American journalist and author
1945 – Wilf Tranter, English footballer
1946 – Richard Bell, Canadian pianist (d. 2007)
1946 – Guerrino Boatto, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 2018)
1946 – Graham Hawkins, English footballer and manager (d. 2016)
1946 – Murray Head, English actor and singer
1947 – Clodagh Rodgers, Northern Irish singer and actress
1947 – Kent Tekulve, American baseball player and sportscaster
1948 – Paquirri, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1984)
1948 – Eddy Grant, Guyanese-British singer-songwriter and musician
1948 – Richard Hickox, English conductor and scholar (d. 2008)
1948 – Elaine Paige, English singer and actress
1948 – Jan van Beveren, Dutch footballer and coach (d. 2011)
1949 – Bernard Arnault, French businessman, philanthropist, and art collector
1949 – Franz Josef Jung, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of Defence
1949 – Tom Russell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1951 – Rodney Hogg, Australian cricketer and coach
1952 – Petar Borota, Serbian footballer and coach (d. 2010)
1952 – Mike Squires, American baseball player and scout
1953 – Katarina Frostenson, Swedish poet and author
1953 – Michael J. Sandel, American philosopher and academic
1953 – Tokyo Sexwale, South African businessman and politician, 1st Premier of Gauteng
1954 – Marsha Warfield, American actress
1954 – João Lourenço, Angolan president
1955 – Penn Jillette, American magician, actor, and author
1956 – Teena Marie, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
1956 – Christopher Snowden, English engineer and academic
1957 – Mark E. Smith, English singer, songwriter and musician (d. 2018)
1957 – Ray Suarez, American journalist and author
1958 – Volodymyr Bezsonov, Ukrainian footballer and manager
1958 – Bob Forward, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1958 – Andy Gibb, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1988)
1959 – Vazgen Sargsyan, Armenian colonel and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 1999)
1960 – Paul Drayson, Baron Drayson, English businessman and politician, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
1963 – Joel Osteen, American pastor, author, and television host
1964 – Bertrand Cantat, French singer-songwriter
1964 – Gerald Vanenburg, Dutch footballer and manager
1965 – José Semedo, Portuguese footballer and coach
1966 – Oh Eun-sun, South Korean mountaineer
1966 – Bob Halkidis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1966 – Michael Irvin, American football player, sportscaster, and actor
1966 – Aasif Mandvi, Indian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1966 – Zachery Stevens, American singer-songwriter
1968 – Gordon Bajnai, Hungarian businessman and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Hungary
1968 – Theresa Villiers, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
1969 – Paul Blackthorne, English actor and producer
1969 – Danny King, English author and playwright
1969 – Moussa Saïb, Algerian footballer and manager
1969 – M.C. Solaar, Afro-French rapper
1970 – Mike Brown, American basketball player and coach
1970 – John Frusciante, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1970 – Yuu Watase, Japanese illustrator
1971 – Greg Berry, English footballer and coach
1971 – Jeffrey Hammonds, American baseball player and scout
1971 – Yuri Lowenthal, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter
1971 – Filip Meirhaeghe, Belgian cyclist
1971 – Mark Protheroe, Australian rugby league player
1973 – Yannis Anastasiou, Greek footballer and manager
1973 – Nelly Arcan, Canadian author (d. 2009)
1973 – Juan Esnáider, Argentinian footballer and manager
1973 – Ryan Franklin, American baseball player
1973 – Nicole Pratt, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
1973 – Špela Pretnar, Slovenian skier
1974 – Kevin Connolly, American actor and director
1974 – Jens Jeremies, German footballer
1974 – Eva Mendes, American model and actress
1975 – Luciano Burti, Brazilian race car driver and sportscaster
1975 – Sasho Petrovski, Australian footballer
1975 – Chris Silverwood, English cricketer and coach
1976 – Neil Jackson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
1976 – Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
1976 – Paul Konerko, American baseball player
1976 – Norm Maxwell, New Zealand rugby player
1977 – Taismary Agüero, Cuban-Italian volleyball player
1978 – Jared Crouch, Australian footballer
1978 – Mike Hessman, American baseball player and coach
1978 – Kimberly McCullough, American actress, singer, and dancer
1978 – Carlos Ochoa, Mexican footballer
1979 – Martin Axenrot, Swedish drummer
1979 – Lee Mears, English rugby player
1980 – Shay Carl, American businessman, co-founded Maker Studios
1981 – Barret Jackman, Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – Paul Martin, American ice hockey player
1982 – Dan Carter, New Zealand rugby player
1982 – Philipp Haastrup, German footballer
1983 – Édgar Dueñas, Mexican footballer
1984 – Branko Cvetković, Serbian basketball player
1984 – Guillaume Hoarau, French footballer
1985 – David Marshall, Scottish footballer
1985 – Brad Mills, American baseball player
1985 – Kenichi Matsuyama, Japanese actor
1986 – Alexandre Barthe, French footballer
1986 – Matty Fryatt, English footballer
1987 – Anna Chakvetadze, Russian tennis player
1987 – Chris Cohen, English footballer
1988 – Liassine Cadamuro-Bentaïba, Algerian footballer
1990 – Danny Drinkwater, English footballer
1990 – Mason Plumlee, American basketball player
1990 – Alex Smithies, English footballer
1991 – Ramiro Funes Mori, Argentinian footballer
1991 – Daniil Trifonov, Russian pianist and composer
1993 – El Hadji Ba, French footballer
1993 – Joshua Coyne, American violinist and composer
1993 – Harry Maguire, English footballer
1994 – Daria Gavrilova, Russian-Australian tennis player
1994 – Kyle Schwarber, American baseball player
1996 – Taylor Hill, American model
1996 – Emmanuel Mudiay, Congolese basketball player
1997 – Milena Venega, Cuban rower
1998 – Bo Bichette, American baseball player
1999 – Madison Beer, American singer, songwriter and producer.
2007 – Roman Griffin Davis, British actor, second youngest Golden Globe recipient.
Deaths on March 5
254 – Pope Lucius I (b. 200)
824 – Suppo I, Frankish nobleman
1239 – Hermann Balk, German knight
1410 – Matthew of Kraków, Polish reformer (b. 1335)
1417 – Manuel III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1364)
1534 – Antonio da Correggio, Italian painter and educator (b. 1489)
1539 – Nuno da Cunha, Portuguese admiral and politician, Governor of Portuguese India (b. 1487)
1599 – Guido Panciroli, Italian historian and jurist (b. 1523)
1611 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1533)
1622 – Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma (b. 1569)
1695 – Henry Wharton, English writer and librarian (b. 1664)
1726 – Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, English politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1655)
1770 – Crispus Attucks, American slave (b. 1723)
1778 – Thomas Arne, English composer and educator (b. 1710)
1815 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologist (b. 1734)
1827 – Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (b. 1749)
1827 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1745)
1829 – John Adams, English sailor and mutineer (b. 1766)
1849 – David Scott, Scottish historical painter (b. 1806)
1876 – Marie d’Agoult, German-French historian and author (b. 1805)
1893 – Hippolyte Taine, French historian and critic (b. 1828)
1895 – Nikolai Leskov, Russian author, playwright, and journalist (b. 1831)
1895 – Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet, English general and scholar (b. 1810)
1907 – Friedrich Blass, German philologist, scholar, and academic (b. 1843)
1925 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician and engineer (b. 1859)
1927 – Franz Mertens, Polish-Austrian mathematician and academic (b. 1840)
1929 – David Dunbar Buick, Scottish-American businessman, founded Buick (b. 1854)
1934 – Reşit Galip, Turkish academic and politician, 6th Turkish Minister of National Education (b. 1893)
1935 – Roque Ruaño, Spanish priest and engineer (b. 1877)
1940 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher and academic (b. 1868)
1944 – Max Jacob, French poet and author (b. 1876)
1945 – Lena Baker, African American maid and murderer (b. 1900)
1947 – Alfredo Casella, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1883)
1950 – Edgar Lee Masters, American poet, author, and playwright (b. 1868)
1950 – Roman Shukhevych, Ukrainian general and politician (b. 1907)
1953 – Herman J. Mankiewicz, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1897)
1953 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1891)
1953 – Joseph Stalin, Soviet dictator and politician of Georgian descent, 2nd leader of the Soviet Union (b. 1878)
1955 – Antanas Merkys, Lithuanian lawyer and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Lithuania (b. 1888)
1963 – Patsy Cline, American singer-songwriter (b. 1932)
1963 – Cowboy Copas, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1913)
1963 – Hawkshaw Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1921)
1965 – Chen Cheng, Chinese general and politician, 27th Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1897)
1965 – Pepper Martin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1904)
1966 – Anna Akhmatova, Ukrainian-Russian poet, author, and translator (b. 1889)
1967 – Mischa Auer, Russian-American actor (b. 1905)
1967 – Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iranian political scientist and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1882)
1967 – Georges Vanier, Canadian general and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (b. 1888)
1971 – Allan Nevins, American journalist and author (b. 1890)
1973 – Robert C. O’Brien, American journalist and author (b. 1918)
1974 – John Samuel Bourque, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1894)
1974 – Billy De Wolfe, American actor (b. 1907)
1974 – Sol Hurok, Ukrainian-American businessman (b. 1888)
1976 – Otto Tief, Estonian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1889)
1977 – Tom Pryce, Welsh race car driver (b. 1949)
1980 – Jay Silverheels, Canadian-American actor (b. 1912)
1981 – Yip Harburg, American songwriter and composer (b. 1896)
1982 – John Belushi, American actor (b. 1949)
1984 – Pierre Cochereau, French organist and composer (b. 1924)
1984 – Tito Gobbi, Italian operatic baritone (b. 1913)
1984 – William Powell, American actor (b. 1892)
1988 – Alberto Olmedo, Argentine comedian and actor (b. 1933)
1990 – Gary Merrill, American actor and director (b. 1915)
1995 – Vivian Stanshall, English singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1943)
1996 – Whit Bissell, American character actor (b. 1909)
1997 – Samm Sinclair Baker, American writer (b. 1909)
1997 – Jean Dréville, French director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
1999 – Richard Kiley, American actor and singer (b. 1922)
2000 – Lolo Ferrari, French dancer, actress and singer (b. 1963)
2005 – David Sheppard, English cricketer and bishop (b. 1929)
2008 – Joseph Weizenbaum, German computer scientist and author (b. 1923)
2010 – Charles B. Pierce, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
2010 – Richard Stapley, British actor and writer (b. 1923)
537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his bucellarii are almost cut off.
986 – Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
1444 – Skanderbeg organizes a group of Albanian nobles to form the League of Lezhë.
1458 – George of Poděbrady is chosen as the king of Bohemia.
1476 – Burgundian Wars: The Old Swiss Confederacy hands Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a major defeat in the Battle of Grandson in Canton of Neuchâtel.
1484 – The College of Arms is formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England.
1498 – Vasco da Gama’s fleet visits the Island of Mozambique.
1561 – Mendoza, Argentina, is founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro del Castillo.
1657 – Great Fire of Meireki: A fire in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan, caused more than 100,000 deaths; it lasted three days
1717 – The Loves of Mars and Venus is the first ballet performed in England.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units arrest the Royal Governor of Georgia James Wright and attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in the Battle of the Rice Boats.
1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.
1807 – The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country.
1808 – The inaugural meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
1811 – Argentine War of Independence: A royalist fleet defeats a small flotilla of revolutionary ships in the Battle of San Nicolás on the River Plate.
1815 – Signing of the Kandyan Convention treaty by British invaders and the leaders of the Kingdom of Kandy.
1825 – Roberto Cofresí, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates, is defeated in combat and captured by authorities.
1836 – Texas Revolution: The Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico is adopted.
1855 – Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
1859 – The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, begins.
1865 – East Cape War: The Völkner Incident in New Zealand.
1867 – The U.S. Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act.
1877 – Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the 1876 U.S. presidential election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote.
1882 – Queen Victoria narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick McLean in Windsor.
1896 – The Battle of Adwa: The Italian Army defeated by the Ethiopian Army in Adwa, Tigray, Ethiopia.
1901 – United States Steel Corporation is founded as a result of a merger between Carnegie Steel Company and Federal Steel Company which became the first corporation in the world with a market capital over $1 billion.
1901 – The U.S. Congress passes the Platt Amendment limiting the autonomy of Cuba, as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.
1903 – In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
1917 – The enactment of the Jones–Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
1919 – The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
1933 – The film King Kong opens at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
1937 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
1939 – Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
1941 – World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joins the Axis Pact.
1943 – World War II: Allied aircraft defeat a Japanese attempt to ship troops to New Guinea.
1946 – Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
1949 – Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas, after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
1955 – Norodom Sihanouk, king of Cambodia, abdicates the throne in favor of his father, Norodom Suramarit.
1961 – John F. Kennedy announces the creation of the Peace Corps in a nationally televised broadcast.
1962 – In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup d’état.
1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
1965 – The US and Republic of Vietnam Air Force begin Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
1968 – Baggeridge Colliery closes marking the end of over 300 years of coal mining in the Black Country.
1969 – In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
1970 – Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.
1972 – The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
1977 – Libya becomes the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya as the General People’s Congress adopted the “Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People”.
1978 – Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
1983 – Compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan.
1989 – Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
1990 – Nelson Mandela is elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
1991 – Battle at Rumaila oil field brings an end to the 1991 Gulf War.
1992 – Start of the war in Transnistria.
1992 – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations.
1995 – Researchers at Fermilab announce the discovery of the top quark.
1995 – Yahoo! is incorporated.
1998 – Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter’s moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
2004 – War in Iraq: Al-Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
2012 – A tornado outbreak occurred over a large section of the Southern United States and into the Ohio Valley region, resulting in 40 tornado-related fatalities.
2017 – The elements Moscovium, Tennessine, and Oganesson were officially added to the periodic table at a conference in Moscow, Russia.
Births on March 2
480 – Benedict of Nursia, Italian Christian saint (d. 543 or 547)
1316 – Robert II of Scotland (d. 1390)
1409 – Jean II, Duke of Alençon (d. 1476)
1432 – Countess Palatine Margaret of Mosbach, countess consort of Hanau (d. 1457)
1453 – Johannes Engel, German doctor, astronomer and astrologer (d. 1512)
1459 – Pope Adrian VI (d. 1523)
1481 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (d. 1523)
1545 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (d. 1613)
1577 – George Sandys, English traveller, colonist and poet (d. 1644)
1628 – Cornelis Speelman, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1684)
1651 – Carlo Gimach, Maltese architect, engineer and poet (d. 1730)
1705 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1793)
1740 – Nicholas Pocock, English naval painter (d.1821)
1760 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist and politician (d. 1794)
1769 – DeWitt Clinton, American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of New York (d. 1828)
1770 – Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French general (d. 1826)
1779 – Joel Roberts Poinsett, American physician and politician, 15th United States Secretary of War (d. 1851)
1793 – Sam Houston, American soldier and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1863)
1800 – Yevgeny Baratynsky, Russian-Italian poet and philosopher (d. 1844)
1810 – Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903)
1816 – Alexander Bullock, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1882)
1817 – János Arany, Hungarian journalist and poet (d. 1882)
1820 – Multatuli, Dutch writer (d. 1887)
1824 – Bedřich Smetana, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1884)
1829 – Carl Schurz, German-American general, lawyer, and politician, 13th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1906)
1836 – Henry Billings Brown, American lawyer and judge (d. 1913)
1842 – Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer, art collector, and philanthropist (d. 1914)
1846 – Marie Roze, French soprano (d. 1926)
1849 – Robert Means Thompson, American commander, lawyer, and businessman (d. 1930)
1859 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (d. 1916)
1860 – Susanna M. Salter, American activist and politician (d. 1961)
1862 – John Jay Chapman, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1933)
1876 – Pope Pius XII (d. 1958)
1878 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, American sailor and race car driver (d. 1944)
1886 – Willis H. O’Brien, American animator and director (d. 1962)
1886 – Kurt Grelling, German logician and philosopher (d. 1942)
1900 – Kurt Weill, German-American pianist and composer (d. 1950)
1901 – Grete Hermann, German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1984)
1902 – Moe Berg, American baseball player and spy (d. 1972)
1902 – Edward Condon, American physicist and academic (d. 1974)
1904 – Dr. Seuss, American children’s book writer, poet, and illustrator (d. 1991)
1905 – Marc Blitzstein, American composer and songwriter (d. 1964)
1905 – Geoffrey Grigson, English poet and critic (d. 1985)
1908 – Walter Bruch, German engineer (d. 1990)
1909 – Mel Ott, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 1958)
1912 – Henry Katzman, American pianist, composer, and painter (d. 2001)
1913 – Godfried Bomans, Dutch television host and author (d. 1971)
1913 – Mort Cooper, American baseball player (d. 1958)
1914 – Martin Ritt, American actor and film director (d. 1990)
1915 – John Burton, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to Ceylon (d. 2010)
1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1986)
1917 – David Goodis, American author and screenwriter (d. 1967)
1917 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player and coach (d. 1976)
1919 – Jennifer Jones, American actress (d. 2009)
1919 – Eddie Lawrence, American actor, singer, and playwright (d. 2014)
1919 – Tamara Toumanova, Russian-American ballerina and actress (d. 1996)
1921 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and coach (d. 2006)
1921 – Ernst Haas, Austrian-American photographer and journalist (d. 1986)
1922 – Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, American saxophonist (d. 1986)
1922 – Bill Quackenbush, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1999)
1922 – Frances Spence, American computer programmer (d. 2012)
1923 – Basil Hume, English cardinal (d. 1999)
1923 – Robert H. Michel, American soldier and politician (d. 2017)
1923 – Dave Strack, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
1924 – Cal Abrams, American baseball player (d. 1997)
1924 – Renos Apostolidis, Greek philologist, author, and critic (d. 2004)
1926 – Bernard Agré, Ivorian cardinal (d. 2014)
1926 – Murray Rothbard, American economist and historian (d. 1995)
1927 – Roger Walkowiak, French cyclist and economist (d. 2017)
1930 – John Cullum, American actor and singer
1930 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress (d. 2007)
1930 – Tom Wolfe, American journalist and author (d. 2018)
1931 – Mikhail Gorbachev, Russian lawyer and politician, President of the Soviet Union, Nobel Prize laureate
1932 – Gun Hägglund, Swedish journalist and translator (d. 2011)
1934 – Dottie Rambo, American singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
1935 – Gene Stallings, American football player and coach
1936 – Haroon Ahmed, Pakistani-English engineer and academic
1936 – John Tusa, Czech-English journalist and academic
1937 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algerian soldier and politician, 5th President of Algeria
1938 – Ricardo Lagos, Chilean economist, lawyer, and politician, 33rd President of Chile
1938 – Lawrence Payton, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1997)
1938 – Clark Gesner, American author and composer (d. 2002)
1939 – Jan Howard Finder, American author and academic (d. 2013)
1940 – Billy McNeill, Scottish footballer (d. 2019)
1941 – John Cornell, Australian actor, director, and producer
1941 – David Satcher, American admiral and physician, 16th Surgeon General of the United States
1942 – John Irving, American novelist and screenwriter
1942 – Claude Larose, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1942 – Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Iranian architect and politician, 79th Prime Minister of Iran
1942 – Lou Reed, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (d. 2013)
1942 – Derek Woodley, English footballer (d. 2002)
1943 – George Layton, English actor, director, and screenwriter
1943 – Peter Straub, American author and poet
1943 – Robert Williams, American painter and cartoonist
1945 – Derek Watkins, English trumpet player and composer (d. 2013)
1947 – Nelson Ned, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
1947 – Harry Redknapp, English footballer and manager
1948 – Larry Carlton, American guitarist and songwriter
1948 – Rory Gallagher, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1995)
1948 – Jeff Kennett, Australian journalist and politician, 43rd Premier of Victoria
1948 – Carmen Lawrence, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Western Australia
1950 – Karen Carpenter, American singer (d. 1983)
1952 – Mark Evanier, American author and screenwriter
1952 – Laraine Newman, American actress and comedian
1953 – Russ Feingold, American lawyer and politician
1954 – Ed Johnstone, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1955 – Dale Bozzio, American pop-rock singer-songwriter
1955 – Jay Osmond, American singer, drummer, actor, and TV/film producer
1955 – Ken Salazar, American lawyer and politician, 50th United States Secretary of the Interior
1955 – Steve Small, Australian cricketer
1956 – John Cowsill, American musician, songwriter, and producer
1956 – Mark Evans, Australian rock bass player
1957 – Hossein Dehghan, Iranian general and politician, Iranian Minister of Defense
1957 – Dito Tsintsadze, Georgian film director and screenwriter
1957 – Mark Dean, American inventor and computer engineer
1958 – Kevin Curren, South African-American tennis player
1958 – Ian Woosnam, English-Welsh golfer
1959 – Larry Stewart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1961 – Simone Young, Australian conductor, director, and composer
1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
1962 – Paul Farrelly, English journalist and politician
1962 – Tom Nordlie, Norwegian footballer and coach
1962 – Brendan O’Connor, Australian politician, Australian Minister for Employment
1962 – Raimo Summanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
1962 – Gabriele Tarquini, Italian race car driver
1963 – Alvin Youngblood Hart, American singer and guitarist
1963 – Anthony Albanese, Australian politician, 15th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
1963 – Vidyasagar (composer), Indian composer, musician and singer
1964 – Laird Hamilton, American surfer and actor
1964 – Mike Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1987)
1965 – Ron Gant, American baseball player and journalist
1965 – Lembit Öpik, Northern Irish politician
1966 – Ann Leckie, American author
1966 – Simon Reevell, English lawyer and politician
1968 – Daniel Craig, English actor and producer
1970 – James Purnell, English politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
1970 – Ciriaco Sforza, Swiss footballer and manager
1970 – Wibi Soerjadi, Dutch pianist and composer
1971 – Dave Gorman, English comedian, author and television presenter
1971 – Method Man, American rapper, record producer and actor
1972 – Mauricio Pochettino, Argentinian footballer and manager
1973 – Dejan Bodiroga, Serbian basketball player
1973 – Trevor Sinclair, English footballer and manager
1974 – Hayley Lewis, Australian swimmer and television host
1975 – Daryl Gibson, New Zealand rugby player
1977 – Dominique Canty, American basketball player and coach
1977 – Chris Martin, English singer-songwriter and producer
1977 – Stephen Parry, English swimmer and sportscaster
1977 – Andrew Strauss, South African-English cricketer
1978 – Gabby Eigenmann, Filipino actor and singer
1978 – Lee Hodges, English footballer and manager
1978 – Tomáš Kaberle, Czech ice hockey player
1979 – Damien Duff, Irish international footballer, winger
1979 – Gayatri Asokan, Indian playback singer
1979 – Jim Troughton, English cricketer
1979 – Nicky Weaver, English footballer
1980 – Chris Barker, English footballer and manager (d. 2020)
1980 – Rebel Wilson, Australian actress and screenwriter
1981 – Lance Cade, American wrestler (d. 2010)
1981 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
1982 – Kevin Kurányi, German footballer
1982 – Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
1982 – Ben Roethlisberger, American football player
1982 – Corey Webster, American football player
1983 – Deuce, American singer-songwriter and producer
1983 – Lisandro López, Argentinian footballer
1983 – Jay McClement, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Glen Perkins, American baseball player
1983 – Ryan Shannon, American ice hockey player
1985 – Reggie Bush, American football player
1985 – Suso Santana, Spanish footballer
1986 – Jonathan D’Aversa, Canadian ice hockey player
1987 – Jonas Jerebko, Swedish basketball player
1988 – Édgar Andrade, Mexican footballer
1988 – James Arthur, English singer-songwriter
1988 – Laura Kaeppeler, Miss America 2012
1988 – Matthew Mitcham, Australian diver
1988 – Chris Rainey, American football player
1988 – Geert Arend Roorda, Dutch footballer
1989 – Alemão, Brazilian footballer
1989 – Toby Alderweireld, Belgian international footballer, defender
1989 – André Bernardes Santos, Portuguese footballer
1989 – Marcel Hirscher, Austrian skier
1989 – Shane Vereen, American football player
1989 – Chris Woakes, English cricketer
1990 – Rauno Alliku, Estonian footballer
1990 – Malcolm Butler, American football player
1990 – Josh McGuire, Australian rugby league player
1990 – Tiger Shroff, Indian actor
1991 – Nick Franklin, American baseball player
1992 – Jack Stockwell, Australian rugby league player
1995 – Ange-Freddy Plumain, French footballer
1997 – Becky G, American singer and actress
2010 – Hailey Dawson, American with a 3D-printed robotic hand
2016 – Prince Oscar, duke of Skåne and prince of Sweden
Deaths on March 2
274 – Mani, Persian prophet and founder of Manichaeism (b. 216)
672 – Chad of Mercia, English bishop and saint (b. 634)
986 – Lothair, king of West Francia (b.941)
968 – William, archbishop of Mainz (b. 929)
1009 – Mokjong, king of Goryeo (b. 980)
1127 – Charles the Good, Count of Flanders (b. 1084)
1316 – Marjorie Bruce, Scottish daughter of Robert the Bruce (b. 1296)
1333 – Wladyslaw I, king of Poland (b. 1261)
1589 – Alessandro Farnese, Italian cardinal and diplomat (b. 1520)
1619 – Anne of Denmark, queen of Scotland (b. 1574)
1729 – Francesco Bianchini, Italian astronomer and philosopher (b. 1662)
1755 – Louis de Rouvroy, French duke and diplomat (b. 1675)
1791 – John Wesley, English cleric and theologian (b. 1703)
1793 – Carl Gustaf Pilo, Swedish-Danish painter and academic (b. 1711)
1797 – Horace Walpole, English historian and politician (b. 1717)
1829 – Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, Mexican revolutionary (b. ca. 1773)
1830 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, German physician, anatomist, and anthropologist (b. 1755)
1835 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1768)
1840 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers, German physician and astronomer (b. 1758)
1855 – Nicholas I, Russian emperor (b. 1796)
1864 – Ulric Dahlgren, American colonel (b. 1842)
1865 – Carl Sylvius Völkner, German-New Zealand priest and missionary (b. 1819)
1880 – John Benjamin Macneill, Irish engineer (b. 1790)
1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George’s (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.
1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France’s claim to Texas.
1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington.
1798 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power.
1813 – Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta.
1816 – Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
1835 – The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile.
1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war.
1865 – End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance.
1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.
1877 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
1901 – The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.
1909 – Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.
1913 – King O’Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra.
1920 – An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in Georgia and heavily damages the town of Gori.
1931 – The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.
1933 – The U.S. Congress approves the Blaine Act to repeal federal Prohibition in the United States, sending the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution to state ratifying conventions for approval.
1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party’s upcoming election campaign.
1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.
1942 – Lieutenant Edward O’Hare becomes America’s first World War II flying ace.
1943 – American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
1943 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms.
1944 – World War II: The “Big Week” began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers.
1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Island.
1952 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.
1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
1962 – Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.
1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
1979 – An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java.
1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years.
1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
1991 – In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania’s long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters.
1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.
2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
2009 – Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack.
2010 – In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago.
2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, many reportedly killed by snipers.
2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services.
2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
Births on February 20
1358 – Eleanor of Aragon, queen of John I of Castile (d. 1382)
1469 – Thomas Cajetan, Italian philosopher (d. 1534)
1523 – Jan Blahoslav, Czech writer (d. 1571)
1549 – Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, last Duke of Urbino (d. 1631)
1552 – Sengoku Hidehisa, Daimyō (d. 1614)
1608 – Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (d. 1649)
1631 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1712)
1633 – Jan de Baen, Dutch painter (d. 1702)
1705 – Nicolas Chédeville, French musette player and composer (d. 1782)
1726 – William Prescott, American colonel (d. 1795)
1745 – Henry James Pye, English poet and politician (d. 1813)
1751 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (d. 1826)
1753 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1815)
1759 – Johann Christian Reil, German physician, physiologist, and anatomist (d. 1813)
1774 – Vicente Sebastián Pintado, Spanish cartographer, engineer, military officer and land surveyor of Spanish Louisiana and Spanish West Florida (d. 1829)
1784 – Judith Montefiore, British linguist, travel writer, philanthropist (d. 1862)
1792 – Eliza Courtney, French daughter of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1859)
1794 – William Carleton, Irish author (d. 1869)
1802 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1870)
1819 – Alfred Escher, Swiss businessman and politician (d. 1882)
1839 – Benjamin Waugh, English activist, founded the NSPCC (d. 1908)
1844 – Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1906)
1844 – Joshua Slocum, Canadian sailor and adventurer (d. 1909)
1848 – E. H. Harriman, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1909)
1857 – A. P. Lucas, English cricketer (d. 1923)
1866 – Carl Westman, Swedish architect, designed the Stockholm Court House and Röhsska Museum (d. 1936)
1867 – Louise, Princess Royal of England (d. 1931)
1870 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (d. 1937)
1874 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
1879 – Hod Stuart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1907)
1880 – Jacques d’Adelswärd-Fersen, French author and poet (d. 1923)
1882 – Elie Nadelman, Polish-American sculptor (d. 1946)
1887 – Vincent Massey, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
1888 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (d. 1948)
1889 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and physician (d. 1948)
1893 – Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1993)
1895 – Louis Zborowski, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1924)
1897 – Ivan Albright, American painter (d. 1983)
1898 – Ante Ciliga, Croatian politician, writer and publisher (d. 1992)
1899 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1992)
1901 – René Dubos, French-American biologist and author (d. 1982)
1901 – Louis Kahn, American architect, designed the Salk Institute, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Bangladesh Parliament Building (d. 1974)
1901 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian general and politician, 1st President of Egypt (d. 1984)
1901 – Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (d. 1978)
1902 – Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (d. 1984)
1904 – Alexei Kosygin, Russian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1980)
1906 – Gale Gordon, American actor (d. 1995)
1912 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (d. 1994)
1912 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand flying ace of the Second World War (d. 2006)
1913 – Tommy Henrich, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
1914 – John Charles Daly, South African–American journalist and game show host (d. 1991)
1916 – Jean Erdman, American dancer and choreographer
1918 – Leonore Annenberg, American businesswoman and diplomat (d. 2009)
1919 – James O’Meara, English soldier and pilot (d. 1974)
1920 – Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (d. 2014)
1921 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 1992)
1923 – Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (d. 2014)
1923 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Guyana (d. 1985)
1923 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress (d. 2004)
1924 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American actress, fashion designer, and socialite (d. 2019)
1925 – Robert Altman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
1925 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (d. 1990)
1926 – Matthew Bucksbaum, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded General Growth Properties (d. 2013)
1926 – Gillian Lynne, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 2018)
1926 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1926 – Bob Richards, American Olympic track and field athlete
1926 – María de la Purísima Salvat Romero, Spanish Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1998)
1927 – Roy Cohn, American lawyer and political activist (d. 1986)
1927 – Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer and musician (d. 2005)
1927 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat
1928 – Roy Face, American baseball player and carpenter
1928 – Jean Kennedy Smith, American diplomat, 25th United States Ambassador to Ireland
1929 – Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
1931 – John Milnor, American mathematician and academic
1932 – Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and author (d. 2007)
1934 – Bobby Unser, American race car driver
1935 – Ellen Gilchrist, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
1936 – Marj Dusay, American actress (d. 2020)
1936 – Larry Hovis, American actor and singer (d. 2003)
1936 – Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and coach
1937 – David Ackles, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
1937 – Robert Huber, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1937 – Roger Penske, American race car driver and businessman
1937 – Robert Evans, Australian minister and amateur astronomer
1937 – Nancy Wilson, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
1938 – Richard Beymer, American actor, director, and cinematographer
1940 – Jimmy Greaves, English international footballer, forward and TV pundit
1941 – Lim Kit Siang, Malaysian lawyer and politician
1941 – Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
1942 – Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
1942 – Mitch McConnell, American lawyer, and politician
1942 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1943 – Antonio Inoki, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician
1943 – Mike Leigh, English director and screenwriter
1944 – Robert de Cotret, Canadian economist and politician, 56th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1999)
1944 – Lew Soloff, American trumpet player, composer, and actor (d. 2015)
1944 – Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach
1945 – Alan Hull, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
1946 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress
1946 – Sandy Duncan, American actress, singer, and dancer
1946 – J. Geils, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
1947 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
1947 – Peter Strauss, American actor and producer
1948 – Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1948 – Jennifer O’Neill, American model and actress
1949 – Eddie Hemmings, English cricketer
1949 – Ivana Trump, Czech-American socialite and model
1950 – Walter Becker, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)
1950 – Peter Marinello, Scottish footballer, forward
1950 – Tony Wilson, English journalist and businessman (d. 2007)
1951 – Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
1951 – Gordon Brown, Scottish historian and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1951 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
1951 – Phil Neal, English footballer and manager
1953 – Poison Ivy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1954 – Jon Brant, American bass player
1954 – Anthony Head, English actor
1954 – Patty Hearst, American actress and author
1957 – Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1959 – Scott Brayton, American race car driver (d. 1996)
1959 – David Corn, American journalist and author
1959 – Bill Gullickson, American baseball player
1960 – Joel Hodgson, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
1960 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas, Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (d. 2014)
1961 – Steve Lundquist, American swimmer
1962 – Dwayne McDuffie, American author, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded Milestone Media (d. 2011)
1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball player and sportscaster
1963 – Ian Brown, English singer-songwriter and musician
1963 – Joakim Nystrom, Swedish tennis player
1963 – Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health
1963 – Cui Yongyuan, Chinese former anchor
1964 – Willie Garson, American actor and director
1964 – Tom Harris, Scottish journalist and politician
1964 – Jeff Maggert, American golfer
1964 – French Stewart, American actor
1966 – Cindy Crawford, American model and businesswoman
1967 – Paul Accola, Swiss alpine skier
1967 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994)
1967 – David Herman, American comedian and actor
1967 – Andrew Shue, American actor and activist, founded Do Something
1967 – Lili Taylor, American actress
1967 – Tom Waddle, American football player and sportscaster
1969 – Kjell Ove Hauge, Norwegian school principal and track and field athlete
1969 – Siniša Mihajlović, Serbian footballer and manager
1969 – Danis Tanović, Bosnian director and screenwriter
1971 – Calpernia Addams, American actress, author, and activist
1971 – Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer
1971 – Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby player (d. 2017)
1972 – Neil Primrose, Scottish drummer
1974 – Karim Bagheri, Iranian footballer and manager
1975 – Liván Hernández, Cuban baseball player
1975 – Brian Littrell, American singer-songwriter and actor
1975 – Niclas Wallin, Swedish ice hockey player
1977 – Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
1977 – Gail Kim, Canadian professional wrestler
1978 – Lauren Ambrose, American actress and producer
1980 – Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
1980 – Luis Gabriel Rey, Colombian footballer
1981 – Tony Hibbert, English footballer
1981 – Fred Jackson, American football player
1982 – Jason Hirsh, American baseball player
1983 – Jose Morales, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
1983 – Justin Verlander, American baseball player
1984 – Brian McCann, American baseball player
1984 – Trevor Noah, South African comedian, actor, and television host
1984 – Ramzee Robinson, American football player
1985 – Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player
1985 – Julia Volkova, Russian singer and actress
1985 – TJ Kirk, American YouTube personality and podcast host
1987 – Luke Burgess, English rugby league player
1987 – Miles Teller, American actor
1988 – Kealoha Pilares, American football player
1988 – Ki Bo-bae, South Korean archer
1988 – Rihanna, Barbadian-American singer-songwriter and actress
1988 – Jiah Khan, Indian singer and actress (d. 2013)
1989 – Daly Cherry-Evans, Australian rugby league player
1990 – Ciro Immobile, Italian footballer
1991 – Hidilyn Diaz, Filipino weightlifter
1991 – Giovanni Kyeremateng, Italian footballer
1991 – Angelique van der Meet, Dutch tennis player
1991 – Antonio Pedroza, English-Mexican footballer
1991 – Jocelyn Rae, English-Scottish tennis player
1992 – Kyle Turner, Australian rugby league player
1994 – Elseid Hysaj, Albanian footballer
Deaths on February 20
789 – Leo of Catania, saint and bishop of Catania (b. 709)
922 – Theodora, Byzantine empress
1054 – Yaroslav the Wise, grand prince of Veliky Novgorod and Kiev (b. 978)
1154 – Saint Wulfric of Haselbury (b. c. 1080)
1171 – Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
1194 – Tancred, King of Sicily (b. 1138)
1258 – Al-Musta’sim, Iraqi caliph (b. 1213)
1408 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (b. 1342)
1431 – Pope Martin V (b. 1368)
1458 – Lazar Branković, Despot of Serbia
1513 – King John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1455)
1524 – Tecun Uman, Mayan ruler (b. 1500)
1579 – Nicholas Bacon, English politician (b. 1509)
1618 – Philip William, Prince of Orange (b. 1554)
1626 – John Dowland, English lute player and composer (b. 1563)
1762 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (b. 1723)
1771 – Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist and astronomer (b. 1678)
1773 – Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (b. 1701)
1778 – Laura Bassi, Italian physicist and scholar (b. 1711)
1790 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741)
1806 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (b. 1725)
1810 – Andreas Hofer, Tyrolean rebel leader (b. 1767)
1850 – Valentín Canalizo, Mexican general and politician. 14th President (1843–1844) (b. 1794)
1862 – William Wallace Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1850)
1871 – Paul Kane, Irish-Canadian painter (b. 1810)
1893 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (b. 1818)
1895 – Frederick Douglass, American author and activist (b. 1818)
1900 – Washakie, American tribal leader (b. 1798)
1907 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
1910 – Boutros Ghali, Egyptian educator and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1846)
1916 – Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish journalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1844)
1920 – Jacinta Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1910)
1920 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (b. 1856)
1933 – Takiji Kobayashi, Japanese writer (b. 1903)
