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July 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

762 – Baghdad is founded.
1419 – First Defenestration of Prague: A crowd of radical Hussites kill seven members of the Prague city council.
1502 – Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off the coast of Honduras during his fourth voyage.
1609 – Beaver Wars: At Ticonderoga (now Crown Point, New York), Samuel de Champlain shoots and kills two Iroquois chiefs on behalf of his native allies.
1619 – In Jamestown, Virginia, the first Colonial European representative assembly in the Americas, the House of Burgesses, convenes for the first time.
1626 – An earthquake in Naples, Italy, kills about 10,000 people.
1635 – Eighty Years’ War: The Siege of Schenkenschans begins; Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, begins the recapture of the strategically important fortress from the Spanish Army.
1656 – Swedish forces under the command of King Charles X Gustav defeat the forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth at the Battle of Warsaw.
1676 – Nathaniel Bacon issues the “Declaration of the People of Virginia”, beginning Bacon’s Rebellion against the rule of Governor William Berkeley.
1729 – Founding of Baltimore, Maryland.
1733 – The first Masonic Grand Lodge in the future United States is constituted in Massachusetts.
1756 – In Saint Petersburg, Bartolomeo Rastrelli presents the newly built Catherine Palace to Empress Elizabeth and her courtiers.
1811 – Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, leader of the Mexican insurgency, is executed by the Spanish in Chihuahua City, Mexico.
1825 – Malden Island is discovered by captain George Byron, 7th Baron Byron.
1859 – First ascent of Grand Combin, one of the highest summits in the Alps.
1863 – American Indian Wars: Representatives of the United States and tribal leaders including Chief Pocatello (of the Shoshone) sign the Treaty of Box Elder.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of the Crater: Union forces attempt to break Confederate lines at Petersburg, Virginia by exploding a large bomb under their trenches.
1865 – The steamboat Brother Jonathan sinks off the coast of Crescent City, California, killing 225 passengers, the deadliest shipwreck on the Pacific Coast of the U.S. at the time.
1866 – Armed Confederate veterans in New Orleans riot against a meeting of Radical Republicans, killing 48 people and injuring another 100.
1871 – The Staten Island Ferry Westfield’s boiler explodes, killing over 85 people.
1912 – Japan’s Emperor Meiji dies and is succeeded by his son Yoshihito, who is now known as the Emperor Taishō.
1930 – In Montevideo, Uruguay wins the first FIFA World Cup.
1932 – Premiere of Walt Disney’s Flowers and Trees, the first cartoon short to use Technicolor and the first Academy Award winning cartoon short.
1945 – World War II: Japanese submarine I-58 sinks the USS Indianapolis, killing 883 seamen. Most die during the following four days, until an aircraft notices the survivors.
1956 – A joint resolution of the U.S. Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing In God We Trust as the U.S. national motto.
1962 – The Trans-Canada Highway, the longest national highway in the world, is officially opened.
1965 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Social Security Act of 1965 into law, establishing Medicare and Medicaid.
1966 – England defeats West Germany to win the 1966 FIFA World Cup at Wembley Stadium after extra time.
1969 – Vietnam War: US President Richard Nixon makes an unscheduled visit to South Vietnam and meets with President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and U.S. military commanders.
1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 15 Mission: David Scott and James Irwin on the Apollo Lunar Module Falcon land on the Moon with the first Lunar Rover.
1971 – An All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 and a Japanese Air Force F-86 collide over Morioka, Iwate, Japan killing 162.
1974 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon releases subpoenaed White House recordings after being ordered to do so by the Supreme Court of the United States.
1975 – Jimmy Hoffa disappears from the parking lot of the Machus Red Fox restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, at about 2:30 p.m. He is never seen or heard from again.
1978 – The 730 (transport), Okinawa Prefecture changes its traffic on the right-hand side of the road to the left-hand side.
1980 – Vanuatu gains independence.
1980 – Israel’s Knesset passes the Jerusalem Law.
1981 – As many as 50,000 demonstrators, mostly women and children, took to the streets in Łódź to protest food ration shortages in Communist Poland.
1990 – Ian Gow, Conservative Member of Parliament, is assassinated at his home by IRA terrorists in a car bombing after he assured the group that the British government would never surrender to them.
2003 – In Mexico, the last ‘old style’ Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line.
2006 – The world’s longest running music show Top of the Pops is broadcast for the last time on BBC Two. The show had aired for 42 years.
2011 – Marriage of Queen Elizabeth II’s eldest granddaughter Zara Phillips to former rugby union footballer Mike Tindall.
2012 – A train fire kills 32 passengers and injures 27 on the Tamil Nadu Express in Andhra Pradesh, India.
2012 – A power grid failure in Delhi leaves more than 300 million people without power in northern India.
2014 – One hundred and fifty people are trapped after a landslide in Maharashtra, India; 20 are killed.

Births on July 30

1470 – Hongzhi, emperor of the Ming dynasty (d. 1505)
1511 – Giorgio Vasari, Italian painter, historian, and architect (d. 1574)
1549 – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1609)
1641 – Regnier de Graaf, Dutch physician and anatomist (d. 1673)
1751 – Maria Anna Mozart, Austrian pianist (d. 1829)
1763 – Samuel Rogers, English poet and art collector (d. 1855)
1809 – Charles Chiniquy, Canadian-American priest and theologian (d. 1899)
1818 – Emily Brontë, English novelist and poet (d. 1848)
1818 – Jan Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer and politician, 16th and 19th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1897)
1825 – Chaim Aronson, Lithuanian engineer and author (d. 1893)
1832 – George Lemuel Woods, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 3rd Governor of Oregon (d. 1890)
1855 – Georg Wilhelm von Siemens, German-Swiss businessman (d. 1919)
1857 – Thorstein Veblen, American economist and sociologist (d. 1929)
1859 – Henry Simpson Lunn, English minister and humanitarian, founded Lunn Poly (d. 1939)
1862 – Nikolai Yudenich, Russian general (d. 1933)
1863 – Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (d. 1947)
1872 – Princess Clémentine of Belgium (d. 1955)
1881 – Smedley Butler, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1940)
1890 – Casey Stengel, American baseball player and manager (d. 1975)
1893 – Fatima Jinnah, Pakistani dentist and politician (d. 1967)
1898 – Henry Moore, English sculptor and illustrator (d. 1986)
1899 – Gerald Moore, English pianist (d. 1987)
1901 – Alfred Lépine, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1955)
1904 – Salvador Novo, Mexican poet and playwright (d. 1974)
1909 – C. Northcote Parkinson, English historian and author (d. 1993)
1910 – Edgar de Evia, Mexican-American photographer (d. 2003)
1913 – Lou Darvas, American soldier and cartoonist (d. 1987)
1914 – Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish journalist and author, 6th President of the International Olympic Committee (d. 1999)
1920 – Walter Schuck, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 2015)
1921 – Grant Johannesen, American pianist and educator (d. 2005)
1922 – Henry W. Bloch, American banker and businessman, co-founded H&R Block (d. 2019)
1925 – Stan Stennett, Welsh actor and trumpet player (d. 2013)
1925 – Alexander Trocchi, Scottish author and poet (d. 1984)
1926 – Betye Saar, African American artist
1927 – Richard Johnson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1927 – Pete Schoening, American mountaineer (d. 2004)
1927 – Victor Wong, American actor (d. 2001)
1928 – Joe Nuxhall, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2007)
1929 – Sid Krofft, Canadian-American puppeteer and producer
1931 – Dominique Lapierre, French historian and author
1934 – Bud Selig, 9th Major League Baseball Commissioner
1936 – Buddy Guy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1936 – Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz (d. 2020)
1938 – Hervé de Charette, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs
1938 – Terry O’Neill, English photographer (d. 2019)
1939 – Peter Bogdanovich, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1939 – Eleanor Smeal, American activist, founded the Feminist Majority Foundation
1940 – Patricia Schroeder, American lawyer and politician
1940 – Clive Sinclair, English businessman, founded Sinclair Radionics and Sinclair Research
1941 – Paul Anka, Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
1942 – Pollyanna Pickering, English environmentalist and painter (d. 2018)
1943 – Henri-François Gautrin, Canadian physicist and politician
1944 – Gerry Birrell, Scottish race car driver (d. 1973)
1944 – Peter Bottomley, English politician
1944 – Frances de la Tour, English actress
1945 – Patrick Modiano, French novelist and screenwriter, Nobel Prize laureate
1945 – David Sanborn, American saxophonist and composer
1946 – Neil Bonnett, American race car driver and sportscaster (d. 1994)
1946 – Jeffrey Hammond, English bass player
1947 – William Atherton, American actor and producer
1947 – Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, French virologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1947 – Jonathan Mann, American physician and author (d. 1998)
1947 – Arnold Schwarzenegger, Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor, and politician, 38th Governor of California
1948 – Billy Paultz, American basketball player
1948 – Jean Reno, Moroccan-French actor
1948 – Otis Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1948 – Julia Tsenova, Bulgarian pianist and composer (d. 2010)
1949 – Duck Baker, American guitarist
1949 – Sonia Proudman, English lawyer and judge
1950 – Harriet Harman, English lawyer and politician
1950 – Frank Stallone, American singer-songwriter and actor
1951 – Alan Kourie, South African cricketer
1951 – Gerry Judah, Indian-English painter and sculptor
1952 – Stephen Blackmore, English botanist and author
1954 – Ken Olin, American actor, director, and producer
1955 – Rat Scabies, English drummer and producer
1955 – Christopher Warren-Green, English violinist and conductor
1956 – Delta Burke, American actress
1956 – Réal Cloutier, Canadian ice hockey player
1956 – Anita Hill, American lawyer and academic
1956 – Soraida Martinez, American painter and educator
1957 – Antonio Adamo, Italian director and cinematographer
1957 – Bill Cartwright, American basketball player and coach
1957 – Clint Hurdle, American baseball player and manager
1957 – Nery Pumpido, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager
1958 – Kate Bush, English singer-songwriter and producer
1958 – Liz Kershaw, English radio broadcaster
1958 – Daley Thompson, English decathlete and trainer
1960 – Jennifer Barnes, American-English musicologist and academic
1960 – Richard Linklater, American director and screenwriter
1960 – Brillante Mendoza, Filipino independent film director
1961 – Laurence Fishburne, American actor and producer
1962 – Alton Brown, American chef, author, and producer
1962 – Jay Feaster, American ice hockey player and manager
1962 – Yakub Memon, Indian accountant and terrorist (d. 2015)
1963 – Peter Bowler, English-Australian cricketer
1963 – Lisa Kudrow, American actress and producer
1963 – Antoni Martí, Andorran architect and politician
1963 – Chris Mullin, American basketball player, coach, and executive
1964 – Ron Block, American singer-songwriter and banjo player
1964 – Vivica A. Fox, American actress
1964 – Alek Keshishian, Lebanese-American director, producer, and screenwriter
1964 – Jürgen Klinsmann, German footballer and manager
1964 – Laine Randjärv, Estonian lawyer and politician, 6th Estonian Minister of Culture
1965 – Tim Munton, English cricketer
1966 – Kerry Fox, New Zealand actress and screenwriter
1966 – Craig Gannon, English guitarist and songwriter
1966 – Allan Langer, Australian rugby league player and coach
1966 – Louise Wener, English author and singer-songwriter
1968 – Terry Crews, American football player and actor
1968 – Robert Korzeniowski, Polish race walker and coach
1968 – Sean Moore, Welsh drummer and songwriter
1969 – Simon Baker, Australian actor, director, and producer
1969 – Errol Stewart, South African cricketer and lawyer
1970 – Alun Cairns, Welsh businessman and politician
1970 – Dean Edwards, American comedian, actor, and singer
1970 – Christopher Nolan, English-American director, producer, and screenwriter
1971 – Elvis Crespo, American-Puerto Rican singer
1971 – Tom Green, Canadian comedian and actor
1972 – Jim McIlvaine, American basketball player and sportscaster
1973 – Kenton Cool, English mountaineer
1973 – Ümit Davala, Turkish footballer and manager
1973 – Anastasios Katsabis, Greek footballer
1973 – Markus Näslund, Swedish ice hockey player and manager
1973 – Sonu Nigam, Indian playback singer and actor
1973 – Clementa C. Pinckney, American minister and politician (d. 2015)
1974 – Radostin Kishishev, Bulgarian footballer and manager
1974 – Jason Robinson, English rugby league footballer, and rugby union footballer and coach
1974 – Hilary Swank, American actress and producer
1975 – Graham Nicholls, English author and activist
1975 – Kate Starbird, American basketball player and computer scientist
1977 – Diana Bolocco, Chilean model and journalist;
1977 – Misty May-Treanor, American volleyball player and coach
1977 – Jaime Pressly, American actress
1977 – Bootsy Thornton, American basketball player
1977 – Ian Watkins, Welsh singer-songwriter and child abuse convict
1979 – Carlos Arroyo, Puerto Rican basketball player and singer
1979 – Chad Keegan, South African cricketer and coach
1979 – Graeme McDowell, Northern Irish golfer
1979 – Maya Nasser, Syrian journalist (d. 2012)
1980 – Seth Avett, American folk-rock singer-songwriter and musician
1980 – Justin Rose, South African-English golfer
1981 – Nicky Hayden, American motorcycle racer (d. 2017)
1981 – Juan Smith, South African rugby union footballer
1981 – Hope Solo, American soccer player
1981 – Indrek Turi, Estonian decathlete
1982 – Jehad Al-Hussain, Syrian footballer
1982 – James Anderson, English cricketer
1982 – Yvonne Strahovski, Australian actress
1983 – Seán Dillon, Irish footballer
1984 – Marko Asmer, Estonian race car driver
1984 – Gabrielle Christian, American actress and singer
1984 – Trudy McIntosh, Australian artistic gymnast
1984 – Kevin Pittsnogle, American basketball player
1985 – Chris Guccione, Australian tennis player
1985 – Daniel Fredheim Holm, Norwegian footballer
1985 – Luca Lanotte, Italian ice dancer
1985 – Matthew Scott, Australian rugby league player
1986 – Tiago Alencar, Brazilian footballer
1986 – William Zillman, Australian rugby league player
1987 – Anton Fink, German footballer
1987 – Sam Saunders, American golfer
1988 – Wen Chean Lim, Malaysian rhythmic gymnast
1989 – Aleix Espargaró, Spanish motorcycle racer
1989 – Wayne Parnell, South African cricketer
1990 – Chris Maxwell, Welsh footballer
1991 – Diana Vickers, English singer-songwriter
1992 – Hannah Cockroft, English wheelchair racer
1993 – Jacob Faria, American baseball player
1993 – André Gomes, Portuguese footballer
1993 – Margarida Moura, Portuguese tennis player
1994 – Nelydia Senrose, Malaysian actress
1996 – Nina Stojanović, Serbian tennis player

Deaths on July 30

578 – Jacob Baradaeus, Greek bishop
579 – Pope Benedict I
734 – Tatwine, English archbishop (b. 670)
829 – Shi Xiancheng, general of the Tang Dynasty
1286 – Bar Hebraeus, Syrian scholar and historian (b. 1226)
1393 – Alberto d’Este, Lord of Ferrara and Modena (b. 1347)
1516 – Johann V of Nassau-Vianden-Dietz (b. 1455)
1540 – Thomas Abel, English priest and martyr (b. 1497)
1540 – Robert Barnes, English martyr and reformer (b. 1495)
1550 – Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (b. 1505)
1566 – Guillaume Rondelet, French doctor (b. 1507)
1608 – Rory O’Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, last King of Tyrconnell (b. 1575)
1624 – Esmé Stewart, 3rd Duke of Lennox, British nobleman (b. 1579)
1652 – Charles Amadeus, Duke of Nemours (b. 1624)
1680 – Thomas Butler, 6th Earl of Ossory, Irish admiral and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1634)
1683 – Maria Theresa of Spain (b. 1638)
1691 – Daniel Georg Morhof, German scholar and academic (b. 1639)
1700 – Prince William, Duke of Gloucester, English royal (b. 1689)
1718 – William Penn, English businessman and philosopher, founded the Province of Pennsylvania (b. 1644)
1771 – Thomas Gray, English poet (b. 1716)
1811 – Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest and soldier (b. 1753)
1832 – Lê Văn Duyệt, Vietnamese general, mandarin (b. 1763-4)
1870 – Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian poet and journalist (b. 1818)
1875 – George Pickett, American general (b. 1825)
1889 – Charlie Absolom, England cricketer (b. 1846)
1898 – Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of Germany (b. 1815)
1900 – Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 1844)
1912 – Emperor Meiji of Japan (b. 1852)
1918 – Joyce Kilmer, American soldier, journalist, and poet (b. 1886)
1920 – Albert Gustaf Dahlman, Swedish executioner (b. 1848)
1930 – Joan Gamper, Swiss-Spanish footballer and businessman, founded FC Barcelona (b. 1877)
1938 – John Derbyshire, English swimmer and water polo player (b. 1878)
1941 – Hugo Celmiņš, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (b. 1877)
1947 – Joseph Cook, English-Australian miner and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1860)
1965 – Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, Japanese author and playwright (b. 1886)
1970 – Walter Murdoch, Scottish-Australian academic (b. 1874)
1970 – George Szell, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (b. 1897)
1971 – Thomas Hollway, Australian politician, 36th Premier of Victoria (b. 1906)
1975 – James Blish, American author and critic (b. 1921)
1977 – Emory Holloway, American scholar, author, and educator (b. 1885)
1983 – Howard Dietz, American songwriter and publicist (b. 1896)
1983 – Lynn Fontanne, English actress (b. 1887)
1985 – Julia Robinson, American mathematician and theorist (b. 1919)
1989 – Lane Frost, American professional bull rider
1990 – Ian Gow, British Member of Parliament who was assassinated by the IRA (b. 1937)
1992 – Brenda Marshall, Filipino-American actress and singer (b. 1915)
1992 – Joe Shuster, Canadian-American illustrator, co-created Superman (b. 1914)
1996 – Claudette Colbert, French-American actress (b. 1903)
1997 – Bảo Đại, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1913)
1998 – Buffalo Bob Smith, American television host (b. 1917)
2001 – Anton Schwarzkopf, German engineer (b. 1924)
2003 – Steve Hislop, Scottish motorcycle racer (b. 1962)
2003 – Sam Phillips, American record producer, founded Sun Records (b. 1923)
2005 – Ray Cunningham, American baseball player (b. 1905)
2005 – John Garang, Sudanese colonel and politician, 6th President of South Sudan (b. 1945)
2006 – Duygu Asena, Turkish journalist and author(b. 1946)
2006 – Al Balding, Canadian golfer (b. 1924)
2006 – Murray Bookchin, American philosopher and author (b. 1921)
2006 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordion player and composer (b. 1904)
2006 – Akbar Mohammadi, Iranian activist (b. 1972)
2007 – Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
2007 – Teoctist Arăpașu, Romanian patriarch (b. 1915)
2007 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1918)
2007 – Bill Walsh, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
2008 – Anne Armstrong, American businesswoman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1927)
2009 – Mohammed Yusuf, Nigerian militant leader, founded Boko Haram (b. 1970)
2009 – Peter Zadek, German director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
2011 – Bob Peterson, American basketball player (b. 1932)
2012 – Maeve Binchy, Irish author, playwright, and journalist (b. 1939)
2012 – Bill Doss, American singer and guitarist (b. 1968)
2012 – Stig Ossian Ericson, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
2012 – Les Green, English footballer and manager (b. 1941)
2012 – Jonathan Hardy, New Zealand-Australian actor and screenwriter (b. 1940)
2012 – Bill Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1960)
2012 – Mary Louise Rasmuson, American colonel (b. 1911)
2013 – Cecil Alexander, American architect, designed the State of Georgia Building (b. 1918)
2013 – Berthold Beitz, German businessman (b. 1913)
2013 – Robert Neelly Bellah, American sociologist and author (b. 1927)
2013 – Harry F. Byrd Jr., American lieutenant, publisher, and politician (b. 1914)
2013 – Antoni Ramallets, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1924)
2013 – Ossie Schectman, American basketball player (b. 1919)
2013 – Benjamin Walker, Indian-English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1913)
2014 – Robert Drew, American director and producer (b. 1924)
2014 – Harun Farocki, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
2014 – Julio Grondona, Argentinian businessman (b. 1931)
2014 – Peter Hall, English geographer, author, and academic (b. 1932)
2014 – Dick Smith, American make-up artist (b. 1922)
2014 – Dick Wagner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
2015 – Lynn Anderson, American singer (b. 1947)
2015 – Endel Lippmaa, Estonian physicist (b. 1930)
2015 – Francis Paul Prucha, American historian and academic (b. 1921)
2015 – Alena Vrzáňová, Czech figure skater (b. 1931)
2016 – Gloria DeHaven, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1925)
2018 – Michael A. Sheehan, American author, former government official and military officer (b. 1955)

Holidays and observances on July 30

Christian feast day:
- Abdon and Sennen
- Hatebrand
- Maxima, Donatilla, and Secunda
- Peter Chrysologus
- Robert Barnes (Lutheran)
- Rufinus of Assisi
- Tatwine
- Ursus of Auxerre
- Solanus Casey
- July 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Feast of the Throne (Morocco)
Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Vanuatu from the United Kingdom and France in 1980.
International Day of Friendship (international), and its related observances:
- Día del Amigo (Paraguay)
Martyrs Day (South Sudan)

July 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1054 – Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades Scotland and defeats Macbeth, King of Scotland somewhere north of the Firth of Forth.
1189 – Friedrich Barbarossa arrives at Niš, the capital of Serbian King Stefan Nemanja, during the Third Crusade.
1202 – Georgian–Seljuk wars: At the Battle of Basian the Kingdom of Georgia defeats the Sultanate of Rum.
1214 – Battle of Bouvines: Philip II of France decisively defeats Imperial, English and Flemish armies, effectively ending John of England’s Angevin Empire.
1299 – According to Edward Gibbon, Osman I invades the territory of Nicomedia for the first time, usually considered to be the founding day of the Ottoman state.
1302 – Battle of Bapheus: Decisive Ottoman victory over the Byzantines opening up Bithynia for Turkish conquest.
1549 – The Jesuit priest Francis Xavier’s ship reaches Japan.
1663 – The English Parliament passes the second Navigation Act requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English ports. After the Acts of Union 1707, Scotland would be included in the Act.
1689 – Glorious Revolution: The Battle of Killiecrankie is a victory for the Jacobites.
1694 – A Royal charter is granted to the Bank of England.
1775 – Founding of the U.S. Army Medical Department: The Second Continental Congress passes legislation establishing “an hospital for an army consisting of 20,000 men.”
1778 – American Revolution: First Battle of Ushant: British and French fleets fight to a standoff.
1789 – The first U.S. federal government agency, the Department of Foreign Affairs, is established (it will be later renamed Department of State).
1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre is arrested after encouraging the execution of more than 17,000 “enemies of the Revolution”.
1816 – Battle of Negro Fort: The battle ends when a hot shot cannonball fired by US Navy Gunboat No. 154 explodes the Fort’s Powder Magazine, killing approximately 275. It is considered the deadliest single cannon shot in US history.
1857 – Siege of Arrah begins: Sixty-eight men hold out for eight days against a force of 2,500 to 3,000 mutinying sepoys and 8,000 irregular forces.
1865 – Welsh settlers arrive at Chubut in Argentina.
1866 – The first permanent transatlantic telegraph cable is successfully completed, stretching from Valentia Island, Ireland, to Heart’s Content, Newfoundland.
1880 – Second Anglo-Afghan War: Battle of Maiwand: Afghan forces led by Mohammad Ayub Khan defeat the British Army in battle near Maiwand, Afghanistan.
1890 – Vincent van Gogh shoots himself and dies two days later.
1900 – Kaiser Wilhelm II makes a speech comparing Germans to Huns; for years afterwards, “Hun” would be a disparaging name for Germans.
1917 – World War I: The Allies reach the Yser Canal at the Battle of Passchendaele.
1919 – The Chicago Race Riot erupts after a racial incident occurred on a South Side beach, leading to 38 fatalities and 537 injuries over a five-day period.
1921 – Researchers at the University of Toronto, led by biochemist Frederick Banting, prove that the hormone insulin regulates blood sugar.
1929 – The Geneva Convention of 1929, dealing with treatment of prisoners-of-war, is signed by 53 nations.
1940 – The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.
1942 – World War II: Allied forces successfully halt the final Axis advance into Egypt.
1949 – Initial flight of the de Havilland Comet, the first jet-powered airliner.
1953 – Cessation of hostilities is achieved in the Korean War when the United States, China, and North Korea sign an armistice agreement. Syngman Rhee, President of South Korea, refuses to sign but pledges to observe the armistice.
1955 – The Austrian State Treaty restores Austrian sovereignty.
1955 – El Al Flight 402 is shot down by two fighter jets after straying into Bulgarian air space. All 58 people onboard are killed.
1959 – The Continental League is announced as baseball’s “3rd major league” in the United States.
1964 – Vietnam War: Five thousand more American military advisers are sent to South Vietnam bringing the total number of United States forces in Vietnam to 21,000.
1974 – Watergate scandal: The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee votes 27 to 11 to recommend the first article of impeachment (for obstruction of justice) against President Richard Nixon.
1975 – Mayor of Jaffna and former MP Alfred Duraiappah is shot dead.
1976 – Former Japanese prime minister Kakuei Tanaka is arrested on suspicion of violating foreign exchange and foreign trade laws in connection with the Lockheed bribery scandals.
1981 – While landing at Chihuahua International Airport, Aeromexico Flight 230 overshoots the runway. Thirty-two of the 66 passengers and crew on board the DC-9 are killed.^[2]
1983 – Black July: Eighteen Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by Sinhalese prisoners, the second such massacre in two days.
1987 – RMS Titanic Inc. begins the first expedited salvage of wreckage of the RMS Titanic.
1989 – While attempting to land at Tripoli International Airport in Libya, Korean Air Flight 803 crashes just short of the runway. Seventy-five of the 199 passengers and crew and four people on the ground are killed, in the second accident involving a DC-10 in less than two weeks, the first being United Airlines Flight 232.
1990 – The Supreme Soviet of the Belarusian Soviet Republic declares independence of Belarus from the Soviet Union. Until 1996 the day is celebrated as the Independence Day of Belarus; after a referendum held that year the celebration of independence is moved to June 3.
1990 – The Jamaat al Muslimeen attempt a coup d’état in Trinidad and Tobago.
1995 – The Korean War Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
1996 – In Atlanta, United States, a pipe bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park during the 1996 Summer Olympics.
1997 – About 50 people are killed in the Si Zerrouk massacre in Algeria.
2002 – Ukraine airshow disaster: A Sukhoi Su-27 fighter crashes during an air show at Lviv, Ukraine killing 77 and injuring more than 500 others, making it the deadliest air show disaster in history.
2005 – After an incident during STS-114, NASA grounds the Space Shuttle, pending an investigation of the continuing problem with the shedding of foam insulation from the external fuel tank.
2015 – At least seven people are killed and many injured after gunmen attack an Indian police station in Punjab.
2016 – At a news conference in Florida, U.S. Presidential Candidate Donald Trump publicly appealed to Russia to find and release private emails from Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton; a Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019) later alleged that Russian operatives began hacking into servers at the Democratic National Committee on that same day, leading to the July 13, 2018 indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers.^[3]

Births on July 27

1452 – Ludovico Sforza, Italian son of Francesco I Sforza (d. 1508)
1452 – Lucrezia Crivelli, mistress of Ludovico Sforza (d. 1508)
1502 – Francesco Corteccia, Italian composer (d. 1571)
1578 – Frances Howard, Duchess of Richmond (d. 1639)
1612 – Murad IV, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1640)
1625 – Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich (d. 1672)
1667 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (d. 1748)
1733 – Jeremiah Dixon, English surveyor and astronomer (d. 1779)
1740 – Jeanne Baré, French explorer (d. 1803)
1741 – François-Hippolyte Barthélémon, French-English violinist and composer (d. 1808)
1752 – Samuel Smith, American general and politician (d. 1839)
1768 – Charlotte Corday, French assassin of Jean-Paul Marat (d. 1793)
1768 – Joseph Anton Koch, Austrian painter (d. 1839)
1773 – Jacob Aall, Norwegian economist and politician (d. 1844)
1777 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish-French poet and academic (d. 1844)
1777 – Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, English general (d. 1853)
1781 – Mauro Giuliani, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1828)
1784 – Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (d. 1839)
1812 – Thomas Lanier Clingman, American general and politician (d. 1897)
1818 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (d. 1902)
1824 – Alexandre Dumas, fils, French novelist and playwright (d. 1895)
1833 – Thomas George Bonney, English geologist, mountaineer, and academic (d. 1923)
1834 – Miguel Grau Seminario, Peruvian admiral (d. 1879)
1835 – Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
1848 – Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist and politician, Minister of Education of Hungary (d. 1919)
1848 – Friedrich Ernst Dorn, German physicist (d.1916)
1853 – Vladimir Korolenko, Ukrainian journalist, author, and activist (d. 1921)
1853 – Elizabeth Plankinton, American philanthropist (d. 1923)
1854 – Takahashi Korekiyo, Japanese accountant and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1936)
1857 – José Celso Barbosa, Puerto Rican physician, sociologist, and politician (d. 1921)
1857 – Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge, English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist (d.1934)
1858 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (d. 1938)
1866 – António José de Almeida, Portuguese physician and politician, 6th President of Portugal (d. 1929)
1867 – Enrique Granados, Spanish pianist and composer (d. 1916)
1870 – Hilaire Belloc, French-born British writer and historian (d. 1953)
1872 – Stanislav Binički, Serbian composer, conductor, and pedagogue. (d. 1942)
1879 – Francesco Gaeta, Italian poet (d. 1927)
1877 – Ernő Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1960)
1881 – Hans Fischer, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1945)
1882 – Geoffrey de Havilland, English pilot and engineer, founded the de Havilland Aircraft Company (d. 1965)
1886 – Ernst May, German architect and urban planner (d. 1970)
1889 – Vera Karalli, Russian ballerina, choreographer, and actress (d. 1972)
1890 – Benjamin Miessner, American radio engineer and inventor (d. 1976)
1890 – Armas Taipale, Finnish discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1976)
1891 – Jacob van der Hoeden, Dutch-Israeli veterinarian and academic (d. 1968)
1893 – Ugo Agostoni, Italian cyclist (d. 1941)
1894 – Mientje Kling, Dutch actress (d. 1966)
1896 – Robert George, Scottish air marshal and politician, 24th Governor of South Australia (d. 1967)
1896 – Henri Longchambon, French lawyer and politician (d. 1969)
1899 – Percy Hornibrook, Australian cricketer (d. 1976)
1902 – Yaroslav Halan, Ukrainian playwright and publicist (d. 1949)
1903 – Nikolay Cherkasov, Russian actor (d. 1966)
1903 – Michail Stasinopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, President of Greece (d. 2002)
1903 – Mārtiņš Zīverts, Latvian playwright (d. 1990)
1904 – Lyudmila Rudenko, Soviet chess player (d. 1986)
1905 – Leo Durocher, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
1906 – Jerzy Giedroyc, Polish author and activist (d. 2000)
1906 – Herbert Jasper, Canadian psychologist and neurologist (d. 1999)
1907 – Ross Alexander, American stage and film actor (d. 1937)
1907 – Carl McClellan Hill, African American educator and academic administrator (d. 1995)
1907 – Irene Fischer, Austrian-American geodesist and mathematician (d. 2009)
1908 – Joseph Mitchell, American journalist and author (d. 1996)
1910 – Julien Gracq, French author and critic (d. 2007)
1910 – Lupita Tovar, Mexican-American actress (d. 2016)
1911 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (d. 1981)
1912 – Vernon Elliott, English bassoon player, composer, and conductor (d. 1996)
1913 – George L. Street III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2000)
1914 – August Sang, Estonian poet and translator (d. 1969)
1915 – Mario Del Monaco, Italian tenor (d. 1982)
1915 – Josef Priller, German colonel and pilot (d. 1961)
1916 – Elizabeth Hardwick, American literary critic, novelist, and short story writer (d. 2007)
1916 – Skippy Williams, American saxophonist and arranger (d. 1994)
1916 – Keenan Wynn, American actor (d. 1986)
1918 – Leonard Rose, American cellist and educator (d. 1984)
1920 – Henry D. “Homer” Haynes, American comedian and musician (Homer and Jethro) (d. 1971)
1921 – Garry Davis, American pilot and activist, created the World Passport (d. 2013)
1921 – Émile Genest, Canadian-American actor (d. 2003)
1922 – Adolfo Celi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1986)
1922 – Norman Lear, American screenwriter and producer
1923 – Mas Oyama, South Korean-Japanese martial artist (d. 1994)
1924 – Vincent Canby, American historian and critic (d. 2000)
1924 – Otar Taktakishvili, Georgian composer and conductor (d. 1989)
1927 – Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (d. 2015)
1927 – Pierre Granier-Deferre, French director and screenwriter (d. 2007)
1927 – Will Jordan, American comedian and actor (d. 2018)
1927 – C. Rajadurai, Sri Lankan journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Batticaloa
1927 – John Seigenthaler, American journalist and academic (d. 2014)
1928 – Joseph Kittinger, American colonel and pilot
1929 – Jean Baudrillard, French sociologist and philosopher (d. 2007)
1929 – Harvey Fuqua, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
1929 – Jack Higgins, English author and academic
1929 – Marc Wilkinson, French-Australian composer and conductor
1930 – Joy Whitby, English director, producer, and screenwriter
1930 – Shirley Williams, English academic and politician, Secretary of State for Education
1931 – Khieu Samphan, Cambodian academic and politician, 28th Prime Minister of Cambodia
1931 – Jerry Van Dyke, American actor (d. 2018)
1932 – Forest Able, American basketball player
1932 – Diane Webber, American model, dancer and actress
1933 – Nick Reynolds, American singer and bongo player (d. 2008)
1933 – Ted Whitten, Australian footballer and journalist (d. 1995)
1935 – Hillar Kärner, Estonian chess player
1935 – Billy McCullough, Northern Irish footballer
1936 – J. Robert Hooper, American businessman and politician (d. 2008)
1937 – Anna Dawson, English actress and singer
1937 – Don Galloway, American actor (d. 2009)
1937 – Robert Holmes à Court, South African-Australian businessman and lawyer (d. 1990)
1938 – Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (d. 2008)
1939 – William Eggleston, American photographer and academic
1939 – Michael Longley, Northern Irish poet and academic
1939 – Paulo Silvino, Brazilian comedian, composer and actor (d. 2017)
1940 – Pina Bausch, German dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
1941 – Christian Boesch, Austrian opera singer
1941 – Johannes Fritsch, German viola player and composer (d. 2010)
1942 – Édith Butler, Canadian singer-songwriter
1942 – John Pleshette, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1942 – Dennis Ralston, American tennis player
1943 – Jeremy Greenstock, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations
1944 – Bobbie Gentry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1944 – Jean-Marie Leblanc, French cyclist and journalist
1944 – Barbara Thomson, English saxophonist and composer
1945 – Edmund M. Clarke, American computer scientist
1946 – Peter Reading, English poet and author (d. 2011)
1947 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese businessman (d. 2008)
1947 – Betty Thomas, American actress, director, and producer
1948 – Peggy Fleming, American figure skater and sportscaster
1948 – James Munby, English lawyer and judge
1948 – Henny Vrienten, Dutch singer-songwriter and bass player
1949 – Maury Chaykin, American-Canadian actor (d. 2010)
1949 – André Dupont, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1949 – Rory MacDonald, Scottish singer-songwriter and bass player
1949 – Maureen McGovern, American singer and actress
1949 – Robert Rankin, English author and illustrator
1950 – Simon Jones, English actor
1951 – Roseanna Cunningham, Scottish lawyer and politician, Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs
1951 – Bob Diamond, American-English banker and businessman
1951 – Rolf Thung, Dutch tennis player
1952 – Marvin Barnes, American basketball player (d. 2014)
1952 – Roxanne Hart, American actress
1953 – Chung Dong-young, South Korean journalist and politician, 31st South Korean Minister of Unification
1953 – Yahoo Serious, Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1954 – Philippe Alliot, French race car driver and sportscaster
1954 – G. S. Bali, Indian lawyer and politician
1954 – Ricardo Uceda, Peruvian journalist and author
1954 – Mark Stanway, English keyboard player Magnum
1955 – Cat Bauer, American journalist, author, and playwright
1955 – Allan Border, Australian cricketer and coach
1955 – John Howell, English journalist and politician
1955 – Bobby Rondinelli, American drummer
1956 – Carol Leifer, American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer
1957 – Bill Engvall, American comedian, actor, and producer
1958 – Christopher Dean, English figure skater and choreographer
1958 – Kimmo Hakola, Finnish composer
1959 – Joe DeSa, American baseball player (d. 1986)
1959 – Hugh Green, American football player
1959 – Yiannos Papantoniou, French-Greek economist and politician, Greek Minister of National Defence
1960 – Jo Durie, English tennis player and sportscaster
1960 – Conway Savage, Australian singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2018)
1960 – Emily Thornberry, English lawyer and politician
1961 – Ed Orgeron, American football coach^[4]
1962 – Neil Brooks, Australian swimmer
1962 – Karl Mueller, American bass player (d. 2005)
1963 – Donnie Yen, Chinese-Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and martial artist
1964 – Rex Brown, American bass player and songwriter
1965 – José Luis Chilavert, Paraguayan footballer
1966 – Steve Tilson, English footballer and manager
1967 – Rahul Bose, Indian journalist, actor, director, and screenwriter
1967 – Juliana Hatfield, American singer-songwriter and musician
1967 – Hans Mathisen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
1967 – Neil Smith, English cricketer
1967 – Craig Wolanin, Canadian ice hockey player
1968 – Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Italian actress and producer
1968 – Tom Goodwin, American baseball player and coach
1968 – Sabina Jeschke, Swedish-German engineer and academic
1968 – Julian McMahon, Australian actor and producer
1968 – Ricardo Rosset, Brazilian race car driver
1969 – Triple H, American wrestler and actor
1969 – Jonty Rhodes, South African cricketer and coach
1970 – Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Danish actor and producer
1970 – David Davies, English-Welsh politician
1971 – Matthew Johns, Australian rugby league player, sportscaster and television host
1972 – Clint Robinson, Australian kayaker^[5]
1972 – Maya Rudolph, American actress
1972 – Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor, Malaysian surgeon and astronaut
1973 – Cassandra Clare, American journalist and author
1973 – Erik Nys, Belgian long jumper
1973 – Gorden Tallis, Australian rugby league player and coach
1974 – Eason Chan, Hong Kong singer, actor, and producer
1974 – Pete Yorn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1975 – Serkan Çeliköz, Turkish keyboard player and songwriter
1975 – Shea Hillenbrand, American baseball player
1975 – Fred Mascherino, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1975 – Alessandro Pistone, Italian footballer
1975 – Alex Rodriguez, American baseball player
1976 – Demis Hassabis, English computer scientist and academic
1976 – Scott Mason, Australian cricketer (d. 2005)
1977 – Foo Swee Chin, Singaporean illustrator
1977 – Björn Dreyer, German footballer
1977 – Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Irish actor
1978 – Diarmuid O’Sullivan, Irish hurler and manager
1979 – Marielle Franco, Brazilian politician, feminist, and human rights activist (d. 2018)
1979 – Jorge Arce, Mexican boxer
1979 – Sidney Govou, French footballer
1979 – Shannon Moore, American wrestler and singer
1980 – Allan Davis, Australian cyclist
1980 – Wesley Gonzales, Filipino basketball player
1981 – Susan King Borchardt, American basketball player
1981 – Collins Obuya, Kenyan cricketer
1981 – Dash Snow, American painter and photographer (d. 2009)
1981 – Christopher Weselek, German rugby player
1982 – Neil Harbisson, English-Catalan painter, composer, and activist
1983 – Lorik Cana, Albanian footballer
1983 – Martijn Maaskant, Dutch cyclist
1983 – Goran Pandev, Macedonian footballer
1983 – Soccor Velho, Indian footballer (d. 2013)
1984 – Antoine Bethea, American football player
1984 – Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Japanese baseball player
1984 – Max Scherzer, American baseball player
1984 – Taylor Schilling, American actress
1984 – Kenny Wormald, American actor, dancer, and choreographer
1985 – Husain Abdullah, American football player
1985 – Matteo Pratichetti, Italian rugby player
1985 – Ajmal Shahzad, English cricketer
1986 – DeMarre Carroll, American basketball player
1986 – Ryan Flaherty, American baseball player
1986 – Ryan Griffen, Australian footballer
1987 – Jacoby Ford, American football player
1987 – Marek Hamšík, Slovak footballer
1987 – Jordan Hill, American basketball player
1987 – Sarah Parsons, American ice hockey player
1988 – Adam Biddle, Australian footballer
1988 – Yoervis Medina, Venezuelan baseball player
1988 – Ryan Tannehill, American football player
1989 – Maya Ali, Pakistani actress
1990 – Nick Hogan, American race car driver and actor
1990 – Paolo Hurtado, Peruvian footballer
1990 – Cheyenne Kimball, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1990 – Stephen Li-Chung Kuo, Taiwanese-American figure skater
1990 – Kriti Sanon, Indian actress
1991 – Rena Matsui, Japanese actress and singer
1993 – Reagan Campbell-Gillard, Australian rugby league player
1993 – Max Power, English footballer
1993 – Jordan Spieth, American golfer
2001 – Shin Ki-joon, South Korean actor

Deaths on July 27

903 – Abdallah II of Ifriqiya, Aghlabid emir
959 – Chai Rong, emperor of Later Zhou
1144 – Salomea of Berg, High Duchess consort of Poland^[6]
1061 – Nicholas II, pope of the Catholic Church
1101 – Conrad II, king of Italy (b. 1074)
1101 – Hugh d’Avranches, Earl of Chester (b. c. 1047)
1158 – Geoffrey VI, Count of Anjou (b. 1134)
1276 – James I of Aragon (b. 1208)
1365 – Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (b. 1339)
1382 – Joanna I of Naples (b. 1326)
1510 – Giovanni Sforza, Italian condottiere (b. 1466)
1469 – William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (b. 1423)
1656 – Salomo Glassius, German theologian and critic (b. 1593)
1675 – Henri de la Tour d’Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne, French general (b. 1611)
1689 – John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (b. c. 1648)^[7]
1759 – Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1698)
1770 – Robert Dinwiddie, Scottish merchant and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1693)
1841 – Mikhail Lermontov, Russian poet and painter (b. 1814)
1844 – John Dalton, English physicist, meteorologist, and chemist (b. 1776)
1863 – William Lowndes Yancey, American journalist and politician (b. 1813)
1865 – Jean-Joseph Dassy, French painter and lithographer (b. 1791)
1875 – Aleksander Kunileid, Estonian composer and educator (b. 1845)
1876 – Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-born American minister and author (b. 1811)
1883 – Montgomery Blair, American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (b. 1813)
1916 – Charles Fryatt, English captain (b. 1872)
1916 – William Jonas, English footballer (d. 1890)
1917 – Emil Theodor Kocher, Swiss physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1841)
1921 – Myrddin Fardd, Welsh writer and antiquarian scholar (b. 1836)
1924 – Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1866)
1931 – Auguste Forel, Swiss neuroanatomist and psychiatrist (b. 1848)
1938 – Tom Crean, Irish seaman and explorer (b. 1877)
1941 – Alfred Henry O’Keeffe, New Zealand painter and educator (b. 1858)
1942 – Karl Pärsimägi, Estonian painter (b. 1902)
1946 – Gertrude Stein, American novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1874)
1948 – Woolf Barnato, English race car driver and businessman (b. 1898)
1948 – Joe Tinker, American baseball player and manager (b. 1880)
1948 – Dorothea Bleek, South African anthropologist and philologist (b. 1873)
1951 – Paul Kogerman, Estonian chemist and politician, 22nd Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1891)
1958 – Claire Lee Chennault, American general and pilot (b. 1893)
1960 – Julie Vinter Hansen, Danish-Swiss astronomer and academic (b. 1890)
1962 – Richard Aldington, English poet and author (b. 1892)
1962 – James H. Kindelberger, American pilot and businessman (b. 1895)
1963 – Hooks Dauss, American baseball player (b. 1889)
1963 – Garrett Morgan, African-American inventor (b. 1877)
1964 – Winifred Lenihan, American actress, writer, and director (b. 1898)
1965 – Daniel-Rops, French historian and author (b. 1901)
1968 – Babe Adams, American baseball player and manager (b. 1882)
1970 – António de Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese economist and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1889)
1971 – Charlie Tully, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1924)
1975 – Alfred Duraiappah, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (d. 1926)
1978 – Bob Heffron, New Zealand-Australian miner and politician, 30th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1890)
1978 – Willem van Otterloo, Dutch cellist, composer, and conductor (b. 1907)
1980 – Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iranian king (b. 1919)
1981 – William Wyler, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1902)
1984 – James Mason, English actor (b. 1909)
1985 – Smoky Joe Wood, American baseball player and coach (b. 1889)
1987 – Travis Jackson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1903)
1988 – Frank Zamboni, American inventor and businessman, founded the Zamboni Company (b. 1901)
1990 – Bobby Day, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1928)
1990 – René Toribio, Guadeloupean politician (b. 1912)
1991 – John Friedrich, German-Australian engineer and conman (b. 1950)
1992 – Max Dupain, Australian photographer and educator (b. 1911)
1992 – Tzeni Karezi, Greek actress and screenwriter
1993 – Reggie Lewis, American basketball player (b. 1965)
1994 – Kevin Carter, South African photographer and journalist (b. 1960)
1995 – Melih Esenbel, Turkish politician and diplomat, 20th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1915)
1995 – Rick Ferrell, American baseball player and coach (b. 1905)
1995 – Miklós Rózsa, Hungarian-American composer and conductor (b. 1907)
1998 – Binnie Barnes, English-American actress (b. 1903)
1999 – Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov, Russian mathematician, physicist, and mountaineer (b. 1912)
1999 – Harry Edison, American trumpet player (b. 1915)
2000 – Gordon Solie, American sportscaster (b. 1929)
2001 – Rhonda Sing, Canadian wrestler (b. 1961)
2001 – Leon Wilkeson, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1952)
2003 – Vance Hartke, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1919)
2003 – Bob Hope, English-American actor, comedian, television personality, and businessman (b. 1903)
2005 – Al Held, American painter and academic (b. 1928)
2005 – Marten Toonder, Dutch author and illustrator (b. 1912)
2006 – Maryann Mahaffey, American academic and politician (b. 1925)
2007 – James Oyebola, Nigerian-English boxer (b. 1961)
2008 – Youssef Chahine, Egyptian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
2008 – Horst Stein, German-born Swiss conductor (b. 1928)
2008 – Isaac Saba Raffoul, Mexican businessman (b. 1923)
2010 – Maury Chaykin, American-Canadian actor (b. 1949)
2010 – Jack Tatum, American football player (b. 1948)
2012 – Norman Alden, American actor (b. 1924)
2012 – R. G. Armstrong, American actor and playwright (b. 1917)
2012 – Darryl Cotton, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1949)
2012 – Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (b. 1944)
2012 – Tony Martin, American actor and singer (b. 1913)
2012 – Jack Taylor, English footballer and referee (b. 1930)
2013 – Fernando Alonso, Cuban dancer, co-founded the Cuban National Ballet (b. 1914)
2013 – Lindy Boggs, American politician and diplomat, 5th United States Ambassador to the Holy See (b. 1916)
2013 – Bud Day, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1925)
2013 – Kidd Kraddick, American radio host (b. 1959)
2013 – Ilya Segalovich, Russian businessman, co-founded Yandex (b. 1964)
2014 – Richard Bolt, New Zealand air marshal and pilot (b. 1923)
2014 – George Freese, American baseball player and coach (b. 1926)
2014 – Wallace Jones, American basketball player and coach (b. 1926)
2014 – Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (b. 1929)
2014 – Paul Schell, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Seattle (b. 1937)
2015 – Rickey Grundy, American singer-songwriter (b. 1959)
2015 – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, Indian engineer, academic, and politician, 11th President of India (b. 1931)
2015 – Samuel Pisar, Polish-born American lawyer and author (b. 1929)
2015 – Anthony Shaw, English general (b. 1930)
2016 – Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer (b.1928)^[8]
2016 – James Alan McPherson, American short story writer and essayist (b. 1943)^[9]
2016 – Jerry Doyle, American actor and talk show host (b. 1956)^[10]
2016 – Piet de Jong, Dutch politician and naval officer, Minister of Defence (1963–67), Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1967–71) (b. 1915)^[11]
2017 – Sam Shepard, American playwright, actor, author, screenwriter, and director (b.1943)^[12]
2018 – Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian literature critic, television host and sexologist^[13]
2018 – Rahim Uddin Bharosha, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances on July 27

Christian feast day:
- Arethas (Western Christianity)
- Aurelius and Natalia and companions of the Martyrs of Córdoba.
- Maurus, Pantalemon, and Sergius
- Pantaleon
- Seven Sleepers of Ephesus (Roman Martyrology)
  - National Sleepy Head Day (Finland)
- Theobald of Marly
- Blessed Titus Brandsma, O.Carm.
- July 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War (North Korea)
Iglesia ni Cristo Day (the Philippines)
José Celso Barbosa Day (Puerto Rico)
Martyrs and Wounded Soldiers Day (Vietnam)
National Korean War Veterans Armistice Day (United States)

July 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

AD 70 – The armies of Titus attack the walls of Jerusalem after a six-month siege. Three days later they breach the walls, which enables the army to destroy the Second Temple.
927 – King Constantine II of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Ealdred of Bamburgh and King Owain of the Cumbrians accepted the overlordship of King Æthelstan of England, leading to seven years of peace in the north.
1191 – Third Crusade: Saladin’s garrison surrenders to Philip Augustus, ending the two-year siege of Acre.
1470 – The Ottomans capture Euboea.
1493 – Hartmann Schedel’s Nuremberg Chronicle, one of the best-documented early printed books, is published.
1527 – Lê Cung Hoàng ceded the throne to Mạc Đăng Dung, ending the Lê dynasty and starting the Mạc dynasty.
1543 – King Henry VIII of England marries his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace.
1562 – Fray Diego de Landa, acting Bishop of Yucatán, burns the sacred books of the Maya.
1576 – Mughal Empire annexes Bengal after defeating the Bengal Sultanate at the Battle of Raj Mahal.
1580 – The Ostrog Bible, one of the early printed Bibles in a Slavic language, is published.
1691 – Battle of Aughrim (Julian calendar): The decisive victory of William III of England’s forces in Ireland.
1776 – Captain James Cook begins his third voyage.
1789 – In response to the dismissal of the French finance minister Jacques Necker, the radical journalist Camille Desmoulins gives a speech which results in the storming of the Bastille two days later.
1790 – The Civil Constitution of the Clergy is passed in France by the National Constituent Assembly.
1799 – Ranjit Singh conquers Lahore and becomes Maharaja of the Punjab (Sikh Empire).
1801 – British ships inflict heavy damage on Spanish and French ships in the Second Battle of Algeciras.
1806 – At the insistence of Napoleon, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg and thirteen minor principalities leave the Holy Roman Empire and form the Confederation of the Rhine.
1812 – The American Army of the Northwest briefly occupies the Upper Canadian settlement at what is now at Windsor, Ontario.
1862 – The Medal of Honor is authorized by the United States Congress.
1913 – Serbian forces begin their siege of the Bulgarian city of Vidin; the siege is later called off when the war ends.
1917 – The Bisbee Deportation occurs as vigilantes kidnap and deport nearly 1,300 striking miners and others from Bisbee, Arizona.
1918 – The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Kawachi blows up at Shunan, western Honshu, Japan, killing at least 621.
1920 – The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty is signed, by which Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania.
1943 – German and Soviet forces engage in one of the largest armored engagements of all time.
1948 – Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion orders the expulsion of Palestinians from the towns of Lod and Ramla.
1960 – Orlyonok, the main Young Pioneer camp of the Russian SFSR, is founded.
1961 – Indian city Pune floods due to failure of the Khadakwasla and Panshet dams, killing at least two thousand people.
1962 – The Rolling Stones perform their first concert, at London’s Marquee Club.
1963 – Pauline Reade, 16, disappears in Gorton, England, the first victim in the Moors murders.
1967 – Riots begin in Newark, New Jersey.
1971 – The Australian Aboriginal Flag is flown for the first time.
1973 – A fire destroys the entire sixth floor of the National Personnel Records Center of the United States.
1975 – São Tomé and Príncipe declare independence from Portugal.
1979 – The island nation of Kiribati becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
1998 – The Ulster Volunteer Force attacked a house in Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a petrol bomb, killing the Quinn brothers.
2006 – The 2006 Lebanon War begins.
2007 – U.S. Army Apache helicopters engage in airstrikes against civilians in Baghdad, Iraq; footage from the cockpit is later leaked to the Internet.
2012 – Syrian Civil War: Government forces target the homes of rebels and activists in Tremseh and kill anywhere between 68 and 150 people.
2012 – A tank truck explosion kills more than 100 people in Okobie, Nigeria.
2013 – Six people are killed and 200 injured in a French passenger train derailment in Brétigny-sur-Orge.

Births on July 12

100 BC – Julius Caesar, Roman politician and general (d. 44 BC)
1394 – Ashikaga Yoshinori, Japanese shōgun (d. 1441)
1468 – Juan del Encina, Spanish poet, playwright, and composer (probable; d. 1530)
1477 – Jacopo Sadoleto, Italian cardinal (d. 1547)
1549 – Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland (d. 1587)
1628 – Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk (d. 1684)
1651 – Margaret Theresa of Spain (d. 1673)
1675 – Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1742)
1712 – Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet, Colonial governor of New Jersey and Massachusetts Bay (d. 1779)
1730 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (d. 1795)
1803 – Peter Chanel, French priest and saint (d. 1841)
1807 – Thomas Hawksley, English engineer and academic (d. 1893)
1813 – Claude Bernard, French physiologist and academic (d. 1878)
1817 – Henry David Thoreau, American essayist, poet, and philosopher (d. 1862)
1817 – Alvin Saunders, Territorial Governor and Senator from Nebraska (d. 1899)
1821 – D. H. Hill, American general and academic (d. 1889)
1824 – Eugène Boudin, French painter (d. 1898)
1828 – Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (d. 1889)
1849 – William Osler, Canadian physician and author (d. 1919)
1850 – Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist and academic (d. 1912)
1852 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 19th President of Argentina (d. 1933)
1854 – George Eastman, American businessman, founded Eastman Kodak (d. 1933)
1855 – Ned Hanlan, Canadian rower, academic, and businessman (d. 1908)
1857 – George E. Ohr, American potter (d. 1918)
1861 – Anton Arensky, Russian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1906)
1863 – Albert Calmette, French physician, bacteriologist, and immunologist (d. 1933)
1863 – Paul Drude, German physicist and academic (d. 1906)
1868 – Stefan George, German poet and translator (d. 1933)
1870 – Louis II, Prince of Monaco (d. 1949)
1872 – Emil Hácha, Czech lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1945)
1876 – Max Jacob, French poet, painter, and critic (d. 1944)
1876 – Alphaeus Philemon Cole, American artist, engraver and etcher (d. 1988)
1878 – Peeter Põld, Estonian scientist and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Education (d. 1930)
1879 – Margherita Piazzola Beloch, Italian mathematician (d. 1976)
1879 – Han Yong-un, Korean poet (d. 1944)
1880 – Tod Browning, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1962)
1884 – Louis B. Mayer, Russian-born American film producer, co-founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (d. 1957)
1884 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1920)
1886 – Jean Hersholt, Danish-American actor and director (d. 1956)
1892 – Bruno Schulz, Ukrainian-Polish author and painter (d. 1942)
1895 – Kirsten Flagstad, Norwegian soprano (d. 1962)
1895 – Buckminster Fuller, American architect and engineer, designed the Montreal Biosphère (d. 1983)
1895 – Oscar Hammerstein II, American director, producer, and songwriter (d. 1960)
1899 – E.D. Nixon, American civil rights leader (d. 1987)
1902 – Günther Anders, German philosopher and journalist (d. 1992)
1902 – Tony Lovink, Dutch politician; Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1995)
1902 – Vic Armbruster, Australian rugby league player (d. 1984)
1904 – Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
1907 – Weary Dunlop, Australian colonel and surgeon (d. 1993)
1908 – Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (d. 2002)
1908 – Alain Cuny, French actor (d. 1994)
1908 – Paul Runyan, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2002)
1909 – Joe DeRita, American actor (d. 1993)
1909 – Motoichi Kumagai, Japanese photographer and illustrator (d. 2010)
1909 – Fritz Leonhardt, German engineer, designed Fernsehturm Stuttgart (d. 1999)
1909 – Herbert Zim, American naturalist, author, and educator (d. 1994)
1911 – Evald Mikson, Estonian footballer (d. 1993)
1913 – Willis Lamb, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
1914 – Mohammad Moin, Iranian linguist and lexicographer (d. 1971)
1915 – Emanuel Papper, American anesthesiologist, professor, and author (d. 2002)
1915 – Princess Catherine Ivanovna of Russia, (d. 2007)
1916 – Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Ukrainian-Russian soldier and sniper (d. 1974)
1917 – Luigi Gorrini, Italian soldier and pilot (d. 2014)
1917 – Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Indian statesman (d. 2006)
1917 – Andrew Wyeth, American artist (d. 2009)
1918 – Mary Glen-Haig, English fencer (d. 2014)
1918 – Vivian Mason, American actress (d. 2009)
1918 – Doris Grumbach, American novelist, memoirist, biographer, literary critic, and essayist
1918 – Rusty Dedrick, American swing and bebop jazz trumpeter (d. 2009)
1920 – Pierre Berton, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2004)
1920 – Bob Fillion, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 2015)
1920 – Paul Gonsalves, American saxophonist (d. 1974)
1920 – Randolph Quirk, Manx linguist and academic (d. 2017)
1920 – Beah Richards, American actress (d. 2000)
1922 – Mark Hatfield, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Oregon (d. 2011)
1923 – James E. Gunn, American science fiction author
1924 – Faidon Matthaiou, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
1925 – Albert Lance, Australian-French tenor (d. 2013)
1925 – Roger Smith, American businessman (d. 2007)
1927 – Françoys Bernier, Canadian pianist, conductor, and educator (d. 1993)
1927 – Conte Candoli, American trumpet player (d. 2001)
1927 – Jack Harshman, American baseball player (d. 2013)
1927 – Harley Hotchkiss, Canadian businessman (d. 2011)
1928 – Alastair Burnet, English journalist (d. 2012)
1928 – Elias James Corey, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1928 – Imero Fiorentino, American lighting designer (d. 2013)
1930 – Gordon Pinsent, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
1930 – Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
1931 – Eric Ives, English historian and academic (d. 2012)
1931 – Geeto Mongol, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (d. 2013)
1932 – Rene Goulet, Canadian retired professional wrestler (d. 2019)
1932 – Monte Hellman, American director and producer
1932 – Otis Davis, American sprinter
1933 – Victor Poor, American engineer, developed the Datapoint 2200 (d. 2012)
1933 – Donald E. Westlake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2008)
1934 – Thomas Charlton, American competition rower and Olympic champion
1934 – Van Cliburn, American pianist and composer (d. 2013)
1935 – Satoshi Ōmura, Japanese biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1936 – Jan Němec, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1937 – Bill Cosby, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
1937 – Mickey Edwards, American lawyer and politician
1937 – Lionel Jospin, French civil servant and politician, 165th Prime Minister of France
1937 – Robert McFarlane, American colonel and diplomat, 13th United States National Security Advisor
1937 – Guy Woolfenden, English composer and conductor (d. 2016)
1938 – Ron Fairly, American baseball player and sportscaster
1938 – Wieger Mensonides, Dutch swimmer
1938 – Eiko Ishioka, Japanese art director and graphic designer (d. 2012)
1939 – Phillip Adams, Australian journalist and producer
1939 – Arlen Ness, American motorcycle designer and entrepreneur
1941 – Benny Parsons, American race car driver and sportscaster (d. 2007)
1942 – Swamp Dogg, American R&B singer-songwriter and musician
1942 – Roy Palmer, English cricketer and umpire
1942 – Billy Smith, Australian rugby league player and coach
1942 – Steve Young, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
1943 – Christine McVie, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1943 – Paul Silas, American basketball player and coach
1944 – Simon Blackburn, English philosopher and academic
1944 – Delia Ephron, American author, playwright, and screenwriter
1944 – Pat Woodell, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
1945 – Butch Hancock, American country-folk singer-songwriter and musician
1947 – Gareth Edwards, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster
1947 – Wilko Johnson, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1947 – Richard C. McCarty, American psychologist and academic
1948 – Ben Burtt, American director, screenwriter, and sound designer
1948 – Walter Egan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1948 – Richard Simmons, American fitness trainer and actor
1949 – Simon Fox, English drummer
1949 – Rick Hendrick, American businessman, founded Hendrick Motorsports
1950 – Eric Carr, American drummer and songwriter (d. 1991)
1950 – Gilles Meloche, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1951 – Joan Bauer, American author
1951 – Brian Grazer, American screenwriter and producer, founded Imagine Entertainment
1951 – Cheryl Ladd, American actress
1951 – Piotr Pustelnik, Polish mountaineer
1951 – Jamey Sheridan, American actor
1952 – Voja Antonić, Serbian computer scientist and journalist, designed the Galaksija computer
1952 – Irina Bokova, Bulgarian politician, Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1952 – Philip Taylor Kramer, American bass player (d. 1995)
1954 – Eric Adams, American singer-songwriter
1954 – Robert Carl, American pianist and composer
1954 – Wolfgang Dremmler, German footballer and coach
1955 – Timothy Garton Ash, English historian and author
1955 – Jimmy LaFave, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
1956 – Mel Harris, American actress
1956 – Sandi Patty, American singer and pianist
1956 – Mario Soto, Dominican baseball player
1957 – Rick Husband, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
1957 – Dave Semenko, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 2017)
1958 – J. D. Hayworth, American politician and radio host
1958 – Tonya Lee Williams, English-Canadian actress and producer
1959 – David Brown, Australian meteorologist
1959 – Tupou VI, King of Tonga
1959 – Karl J. Friston, English psychiatrist and neuroscientist
1959 – Charlie Murphy, American actor and comedian (d. 2017)
1961 – Heikko Glöde, German footballer and manager
1961 – Shiva Rajkumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer
1962 – Julio César Chávez, Mexican boxer
1962 – Luc De Vos, Belgian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
1962 – Joanna Shields, American-English businesswoman
1962 – Dean Wilkins, English footballer and manager
1964 – Gaby Roslin, English television host and actress
1965 – Sanjay Manjrekar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
1965 – Robin Wilson, American singer and guitarist
1966 – Jeff Bucknum, American race car driver
1966 – Annabel Croft, English tennis player and sportscaster
1966 – Taiji, Japanese bass player and songwriter (d. 2011)
1967 – Richard Herring, English comedian and screenwriter
1967 – Mac McCaughan, American singer and guitarist
1967 – John Petrucci, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1967 – Bruny Surin, Canadian sprinter
1968 – Catherine Plewinski, French swimmer
1969 – Lisa Nicole Carson, American actress
1969 – Chantal Jouanno, French politician, French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports
1969 – Alan Mullally, English cricketer and sportscaster
1969 – Anne-Sophie Pic, French chef
1969 – Jesse Pintado, Mexican-American guitarist (d. 2006)
1970 – Aure Atika, Portuguese-French actress, director, and screenwriter
1970 – Lee Byung-hun, South Korean actor, singer, and dancer
1971 – Joel Casamayor, Cuban American former professional boxer
1971 – Andriy Kovalenco, Ukrainian-Spanish rugby player
1971 – Loni Love, American comedian, actress, and talk show host
1971 – Kristi Yamaguchi, American figure skater
1972 – Travis Best, American basketball player
1972 – Jake Wood, English actor
1973 – Christian Vieri, Italian footballer
1974 – Sharon den Adel, Dutch singer-songwriter
1974 – Stelios Giannakopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
1974 – Gregory Shane Helms, American professional wrestler
1975 – Phil Lord, American filmmaker
1976 – Dan Boyle, Canadian ice hockey player
1976 – Anna Friel, English actress
1976 – Tracie Spencer, American singer-songwriter and actress
1977 – Neil Harris, English footballer and manager
1977 – Steve Howey, American actor
1977 – Brock Lesnar, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
1977 – Francesca Lubiani, Italian tennis player
1978 – Topher Grace, American actor
1978 – Michelle Rodriguez, American actress
1979 – Brooke Baldwin, American journalist and television news anchor
1979 – Nikos Barlos, Greek basketball player
1979 – Maya Kobayashi, Japanese journalist
1980 – Kristen Connolly, American actress
1981 – Adrienne Camp, South African singer-songwriter
1981 – Pradeepan Raveendran, Sri Lankan director, producer, and screenwriter
1982 – Antonio Cassano, Italian footballer
1984 – Gareth Gates, English singer-songwriter
1984 – Jonathan Lewis, American football player
1984 – Natalie Martinez, American actress
1984 – Michael McGovern, Irish footballer
1984 – Sami Zayn, Canadian professional wrestler
1985 – Paulo Vitor Barreto, Brazilian footballer
1985 – Gianluca Curci, Italian footballer
1985 – Keven Lacombe, Canadian cyclist
1985 – Ismael Londt, Surinamese-Dutch kickboxer
1986 – 360, Australian rapper
1986 – Didier Digard, French footballer
1986 – Hannaliis Jaadla, Estonian footballer
1986 – JP Pietersen, South African rugby player
1986 – Simone Laudehr, German footballer
1988 – LeSean McCoy, American football player
1988 – Inbee Park, South Korean golfer
1989 – Nick Palmieri, American ice hockey player
1990 – Bebé, Portuguese footballer
1990 – Rachel Brosnahan, American actress
1990 – Chasen Shreve, American baseball player
1991 – Salih Dursun, Turkish footballer
1991 – James Rodríguez, Colombian footballer
1992 – Bartosz Bereszyński, Polish footballer
1993 – Kurt Capewell, Australian rugby league player
1994 – Kanako Momota, Japanese singer-songwriter
1995 – Luke Shaw, English footballer
1995 – Jordyn Wieber, American gymnast
1996 – Moussa Dembélé, French footballer
1996 – Jordan Romero, American mountaineer
1997 – Daniel Lawrence, English cricketer
1997 – Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani-English activist, Nobel Prize laureate

Deaths on July 12

524 – Viventiolus, archbishop of Lyon (b. 460)
783 – Bertrada of Laon, Frankish queen (b. 720)
965 – Meng Chang, emperor of Later Shu (b. 919)
981 – Xue Juzheng, Chinese scholar-official and historian
1067 – John Komnenos, Byzantine general
1441 – Ashikaga Yoshinori, Japanese shōgun (b. 1394)
1441 – Kyōgoku Takakazu, Japanese nobleman
1489 – Bahlul Lodi, sultan of Delhi
1536 – Desiderius Erasmus, Dutch priest and philosopher (b. 1466)
1584 – Steven Borough, English navigator and explorer (b. 1525)
1623 – William Bourchier, 3rd Earl of Bath (b. 1557)
1664 – Stefano della Bella, Italian illustrator and engraver (b. 1610)
1682 – Jean Picard, French priest and astronomer (b. 1620)
1691 – Marquis de St Ruth, French general
1693 – John Ashby, English admiral (b. 1640)
1712 – Richard Cromwell, English academic and politician (b. 1626)
1742 – Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1675)
1749 – Charles de la Boische, Marquis de Beauharnois, French navy officer and politician, Governor General of New France (b. 1671)
1773 – Johann Joachim Quantz, German flute player and composer (b. 1697)
1804 – Alexander Hamilton, American general, economist, and politician, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1755)
1845 – Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian linguist, poet, and playwright (b. 1808)
1850 – Robert Stevenson, Scottish engineer (b. 1772)
1855 – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (b. 1802)
1870 – John A. Dahlgren, American admiral (b. 1809)
1892 – Alexander Cartwright, American firefighter, invented baseball (b. 1820)
1910 – Charles Rolls, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Rolls-Royce Limited (b. 1887)
1926 – Gertrude Bell, English archaeologist and spy (b. 1868)
1926 – Charles Wood Irish composer (b. 1866)
1929 – Robert Henri, American painter and educator (b. 1865)
1931 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
1934 – Ole Evinrude, Norwegian-American inventor and businessman, invented the outboard motor (b. 1877)
1935 – Alfred Dreyfus, French colonel (b. 1859)
1944 – Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., American general and politician, Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1887)
1945 – Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician and engineer (b. 1871)
1945 – Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, German field marshal (b. 1895)
1946 – Ray Stannard Baker, American journalist and author (b. 1870)
1947 – Jimmie Lunceford, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1902)
1949 – Douglas Hyde, Irish scholar and politician, 1st President of Ireland (b. 1860)
1950 – Elsie de Wolfe, American actress, author, and interior decorator (b. 1865)
1956 – John Hayes, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1868)
1961 – Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author and playwright (b. 1879)
1962 – Roger Wolfe Kahn, American composer and bandleader (b. 1907)
1965 – Christfried Burmeister, Estonian speed skater (b. 1898)
1966 – D. T. Suzuki, Japanese philosopher and author (b. 1870)
1969 – Henry George Lamond, Australian farmer and author (b. 1885)
1971 – Yvon Robert, Canadian wrestler (b. 1914)
1973 – Lon Chaney, Jr., American actor (b. 1906)
1975 – James Ormsbee Chapin, American painter and illustrator (b. 1887)
1979 – Olive Morris, Jamaican-English civil rights activist (d. 1979)
1979 – Minnie Riperton, American singer-songwriter (b. 1947)
1982 – Kenneth More, English actor (b. 1914)
1983 – Chris Wood, English saxophonist (b. 1944)
1990 – João Saldanha, Brazilian footballer, manager, and journalist (b. 1917)
1992 – Caroline Pafford Miller, American journalist and author (b. 1903)
1993 – Dan Eldon, English photographer and journalist (b. 1970)
1994 – Eila Campbell, English geographer and cartographer (b. 1915)
1996 – John Chancellor, American journalist (b. 1927)
1997 – François Furet, French historian and author (b. 1927)
1998 – Jimmy Driftwood, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1907)
1998 – Arkady Ostashev, Soviet/Russian scientist and engineer (b. 1925)
1998 – Serge Lemoyne, Canadian painter (b. 1941)
1999 – Rajendra Kumar, Bollywood actor, (b. 1921)
2000 – Charles Merritt, Canadian colonel and politician, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1908)
2001 – Fred Marcellino, American author and illustrator (b. 1939)
2003 – Benny Carter, American trumpet player, saxophonist, and composer (b. 1907)
2003 – Mark Lovell, English race car driver (b. 1960)
2004 – Betty Oliphant, English-Canadian ballerina, co-founded the National Ballet School of Canada (b. 1918)
2005 – John King, Baron King of Wartnaby, English businessman (b. 1917)
2007 – Robert Burås, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1975)
2007 – Stan Zemanek, Australian radio and television host (b. 1947)
2008 – Bobby Murcer, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1946)
2008 – Tony Snow, American journalist, 26th White House Press Secretary (b. 1955)
2010 – Olga Guillot, Cuban-American singer (b. 1922)
2010 – James P. Hogan, English-American author (b. 1941)
2010 – Paulo Moura, Brazilian clarinetist and saxophonist (b. 1932)
2010 – Pius Njawé, Cameroonian journalist (b. 1957)
2010 – Harvey Pekar, American author and critic (b. 1939)
2011 – Sherwood Schwartz, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1916)
2012 – Alimuddin, Pakistani cricketer (b. 1930)
2012 – Dara Singh, Indian wrestler, actor, and politician (b. 1928)
2012 – Eddy Brown, English footballer and manager (b. 1926)
2012 – Else Holmelund Minarik, Danish-American author and illustrator (b. 1920)
2012 – Roger Payne, English mountaineer (b. 1956)
2012 – Hamid Samandarian, Iranian director and playwright (b. 1931)
2012 – George C. Stoney, American director and producer (b. 1916)
2013 – Amar Bose, American businessman, founded the Bose Corporation (b. 1929)
2013 – Takako Takahashi, Japanese author (b. 1932)
2013 – Elaine Morgan, Welsh writer (b. 1920)
2013 – Alan Whicker, Egyptian-English journalist (b. 1925)
2014 – Jamil Ahmad, Pakistani author (b. 1931)
2014 – Nestor Basterretxea, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1924)
2014 – Emil Bobu, Romanian politician (b. 1927)
2014 – Alfred de Grazia, American political scientist and author (b. 1919)
2014 – Kenneth J. Gray, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
2014 – Valeriya Novodvorskaya, Russian journalist and politician (b. 1950)
2015 – D’Army Bailey, American lawyer, judge, and actor (b. 1941)
2015 – Chenjerai Hove, Zimbabwean journalist, author, and poet (b. 1956)
2015 – Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, Tibetan monk and activist (b. 1950)
2015 – Cheng Siwei, Chinese engineer, economist, and politician (b. 1935)
2016 – Goran Hadžić, Serbian politician (b. 1958)
2018 – Dada J. P. Vaswani, Indian spiritual leader (b. 1918)

Holidays and observances on July 12

Birthday of the Heir to the Crown of Tonga (Tonga)
Christian feast day:
- Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (Eastern Orthodox)
- Hermagoras and Fortunatus
- Jason of Thessalonica (Catholic Church)
- John Gualbert
- Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin
- Nabor and Felix
- Nathan Söderblom (Lutheran, Episcopal Church (USA))
- Veronica
- Viventiolus
- July 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Kiribati from the United Kingdom in 1979.
Independence Day, celebrates the independence of São Tomé and Príncipe from Portugal in 1975.
The second day of Naadam (Mongolia)
The Twelfth, also known as Orangemen’s Day (Northern Ireland, Scotland, Newfoundland and Labrador)

July 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 5- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

328 – The official opening of Constantine’s Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius.
1316 – The Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea meet in the Battle of Manolada.
1594 – Portuguese forces under the command of Pedro Lopes de Sousa begin an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Kandy during the Campaign of Danture in Sri Lanka.
1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
1687 – Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
1770 – The Battle of Chesma between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire begins.
1775 – The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
1803 – The Convention of Artlenburg is signed, leading to the French occupation of the Electorate of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
1807 – In Buenos Aires the local militias repel the British soldiers within the Second English Invasion.
1809 – The largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Wagram is fought between the French and Austrian Empires.
1811 – The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence is adopted by a congress of the provinces.
1813 – War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York commence.
1814 – War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa: American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
1833 – Lê Văn Khôi along with 27 soldiers stage a mutiny taking over the Phiên An citadel, developing into the Lê Văn Khôi revolt against Emperor Minh Mạng.
1833 – Admiral Charles Napier vanquishes the navy of the Portuguese usurper Dom Miguel at the third Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
1841 – Thomas Cook organises the first package excursion, from Leicester to Loughborough.
1884 – Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
1915 – The Liberty Bell leaves Philadelphia by special train on its way to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. This is the last trip outside Philadelphia that the custodians of the bell intend to permit.
1934 – “Bloody Thursday”: Police open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco.
1935 – The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1937 – Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
1940 – World War II: Foreign relations of Vichy France are severed with the United Kingdom.
1941 – World War II: Operation Barbarossa: German troops reach the Dnieper river.
1943 – World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).
1943 – World War II: German forces begin a massive offensive against the Soviet Union at the Battle of Kursk, also known as Operation Citadel.
1946 – Micheline Bernardini models the first modern bikini at a swimming pool in Paris.
1948 – National Health Service Acts create the national public health system in the United Kingdom.
1950 – Korean War: Task Force Smith: American and North Korean forces first clash, in the Battle of Osan.
1950 – Zionism: The Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
1954 – The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
1954 – Elvis Presley records his first single, “That’s All Right”, at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
1962 – The official independence of Algeria is proclaimed after an 8-year-long war with France.
1971 – The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, is formally certified by President Richard Nixon.
1973 – A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills eleven firefighters.
1975 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
1975 – Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
1977 – Military coup in Pakistan: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, is overthrown.
1980 – Swedish tennis player Björn Borg wins his fifth Wimbledon final and becomes the first male tennis player to win the championships five times in a row (1976–1980).
1987 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE uses suicide attacks on the Sri Lankan Army for the first time. The Black Tigers are born and, in the following years, will continue to kill with the tactic.
1989 – Iran–Contra affair: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. His convictions are later overturned.
1995 – Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after its independence from the Soviet Union.
1996 – Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
1997 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP A. Thangathurai is shot dead at Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College in Trincomalee.
1999 – U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
2004 – The first direct Indonesian presidential election is held.
2006 – North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
2009 – A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
2009 – The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in England, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
2012 – The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).
2016 – The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.

Births on July 5

465 – Ahkal Mo’ Naab’ I, Mayan ruler (d. 524)
980 – Mokjong of Goryeo, Korean king (d. 1009)
1029 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Fatimid caliph (d. 1094)
1057 – Al-Ghazali, Iranian jurist, philosopher, and mystic (d. 1111)
1321 – Joan of the Tower, English consort of David II of Scotland (d. 1362)
1466 – Giovanni Sforza, Italian nobleman (d. 1510)
1547 – Garzia de’ Medici, Tuscan son of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1562)
1549 – Francesco Maria del Monte, Italian cardinal and art collector (d. 1627)
1554 – Elisabeth of Austria, French queen (d. 1592)
1580 – Carlo Contarini, doge of Venice (d. 1656)
1586 – Thomas Hooker, English-born founder of the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1647)
1593 – Achille d’Étampes de Valençay, French military leader (d. 1646)
1653 – Thomas Pitt, English businessman and politician (d. 1726)
1670 – Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, countess palatine (d. 1748)
1675 – Mary Walcott, American accuser and witness at the Salem witch trials (d. 1719)
1709 – Étienne de Silhouette, French translator and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1767)
1717 – Peter III, Portuguese king (d. 1786)
1718 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1794)
1745 – Carl Arnold Kortum, German physician and poet (d. 1824)
1755 – Sarah Siddons, English actress (d. 1831)
1780 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician (d. 1838)
1793 – Pavel Pestel, Russian officer (d. 1826)
1794 – Sylvester Graham, American minister and activist (d. 1851)
1801 – David Farragut, American admiral (d. 1870)
1802 – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (d. 1855)
1803 – George Borrow, British writer (d. 1881)
1805 – Robert FitzRoy, English captain, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (d. 1865)
1810 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1891)
1820 – William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physicist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1872)
1829 – Ignacio Mariscal, Mexican politician and diplomat, Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Mexico (d. 1910)
1832 – Pavel Chistyakov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1919)
1841 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1904)
1849 – William Thomas Stead, English journalist (d. 1912)
1853 – Cecil Rhodes, English-South African businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (d. 1902)
1857 – Clara Zetkin, German theorist and activist (d. 1933)
1857 – Julien Tiersot, French musicologist and composer (d. 1936)
1860 – Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (d. 1919)
1860 – Mathieu Jaboulay, French surgeon (d. 1913)
1862 – George Nuttall, American-British bacteriologist (d. 1937)
1862 – Horatio Caro, English chess master (d. 1920)
1864 – Stephan Krehl, German composer (d. 1924)
1867 – A. E. Douglass, American astronomer (d. 1962)
1872 – Édouard Herriot, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1957)
1874 – Eugen Fischer, German physician and academic (d. 1967)
1879 – Dwight F. Davis, American tennis player and politician, 49th United States Secretary of War (d. 1945)
1879 – Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichord player and educator (d. 1959)
1880 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1940)
1880 – Constantin Tănase, Romanian actor and playwright (d. 1945)
1882 – Inayat Khan, Indian mystic and educator (d. 1927)
1883 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian, author, and academic (d. 1975)
1884 – Enrico Dante, Italian cardinal (d. 1967)
1885 – Blas Infante, Spanish historian and politician (d. 1936)
1885 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (d. 1962)
1886 – Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) (d. 1988)
1886 – Prince John Konstantinovich of Russia (d. 1918)
1888 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1963)
1888 – Louise Freeland Jenkins, American astronomer and academic (d. 1970)
1889 – Jean Cocteau, French novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
1890 – Frederick Lewis Allen, American historian and journalist (d. 1954)
1891 – John Howard Northrop, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
1891 – Tin Ujević, Croatian poet and translator (d. 1955)
1893 – Anthony Berkeley Cox, English writer (d. 1971)
1893 – Giuseppe Caselli, Italian painter (d. 1976)
1894 – Ants Lauter, Estonian actor and director (d. 1973)
1896 – Thomas Playford IV, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1981)
1898 – Georgios Grivas, Greek general (d. 1974)
1899 – Marcel Achard, French playwright, screenwriter, and author (d. 1974)
1900 – Yoshimaro Yamashina, Japanese ornithologist, founded the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology (d. 1989)
1900 – Bernardus Johannes Alfrink, Dutch cardinal (d. 1987)
1901 – Julio Libonatti, Italian-Argentinian footballer (d. 1981)
1902 – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American colonel and politician, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1985)
1904 – Harold Acton, English scholar and author (d. 1994)
1904 – Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist and ornithologist (d. 2005)
1904 – Milburn Stone, American actor (d. 1980)
1905 – Madeleine Sylvain-Bouchereau, Haitian sociologist and educator (d. 1970)
1908 – Henri of Orléans, (d. 1999)
1908 – Lyman S. Ayres II, American businessman (d. 1996)
1910 – Georges Vedel, French lawyer and academic (d. 2002)
1911 – Endel Aruja, Estonian-Canadian physicist and academic (d. 2008)
1911 – Haydn Bunton, Sr., Australian footballer and coach (d. 1955)
1911 – Giorgio Borġ Olivier, Maltese lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1980)
1911 – Georges Pompidou, French banker and politician, 19th President of France (d. 1974)
1913 – George Costakis, Russian art collector (d. 1990)
1913 – Smiley Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)
1914 – John Thomas Dunlop, American administrator and labor scholar (d. 2003)
1914 – Annie Fischer, Hungarian pianist and composer (d. 1995)
1915 – Babe Paley, American socialite (d. 1978)
1915 – John Woodruff, American runner and commander (d. 2007)
1915 – Al Timothy, Trinidadian musician and songwriter (d. 2000)
1916 – Lívia Rév, Hungarian classical pianist (d. 2018)
1916 – Ivor Powell, Welsh footballer (d. 2012)
1918 – K. Karunakaran, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Kerala (d. 2010)
1918 – Brian James, Australian actor (d. 2009)
1918 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian general and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2012)
1918 – George Rochberg, American composer and educator (d. 2005)
1921 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian marshal (d. 2013)
1921 – Nanos Valaoritis, Greek author, poet, and playwright (d. 2019)
1923 – George Moore, Australian jockey (d. 2008)
1923 – Mitsuye Yamada, Japanese American activist
1924 – János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist and educator (d. 2013)
1924 – Edward Cassidy, Australian Roman Catholic cardinal priest
1925 – Fernando de Szyszlo, Peruvian painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
1925 – Jean Raspail, French author and explorer (d. 2020)
1926 – Diana Lynn, American actress (d. 1971)
1928 – Pierre Mauroy, French educator and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2013)
1928 – Warren Oates, American actor (d. 1982)
1929 – Jimmy Carruthers, Australian boxer (d. 1990)
1929 – Katherine Helmond, American actress and director (d. 2019)
1929 – Tony Lock, English cricketer (d. 1995)
1929 – Jovan Rašković, Serbian psychiatrist, academic, and politician (d. 1992)
1929 – Jiří Reynek, Czech poet and graphic artist (d. 2014)
1929 – Chikao Ohtsuka, Japanese voice actor (d. 2015)
1931 – Ismail Mahomed, South African lawyer and politician, 17th Chief Justice of South Africa (d. 2000)
1932 – Gyula Horn, Hungarian politician, 37th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 2013)
1933 – Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critic and physicist (d. 1986)
1936 – Shirley Knight, American actress (d. 2020)
1936 – James Mirrlees, Scottish economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
1938 – Ronnie Self, American singer-songwriter (d. 1981)
1940 – Chuck Close, American painter and photographer
1941 – Terry Cashman, American singer-songwriter and record producer
1941 – Epeli Nailatikau, Fijian chief, President of Fiji
1942 – Matthias Bamert, Swiss composer and conductor
1942 – Hannes Löhr, German footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2016)
1943 – Curt Blefary, American baseball player and coach (d. 2001)
1943 – Mark Cox, English tennis player, coach and sportscaster
1943 – Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
1943 – Pierre Villepreux, French rugby player and coach
1944 – Leni Björklund, Swedish politician, 28th Swedish Minister of Defence for Sweden
1945 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1945 – Humberto Benítez Treviño, Mexican lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Mexico
1946 – Pierre-Marc Johnson, Canadian lawyer, physician, and politician, 24th Premier of Quebec
1946 – Paul Smith, English fashion designer
1946 – Gerard ‘t Hooft, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1946 – Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 2013)
1947 – Todd Akin, American politician
1949 – Ludwig G. Strauss, German physician and academic (d. 2013)
1950 – Carlos Caszely, Chilean footballer
1950 – Huey Lewis, American singer-songwriter and actor
1950 – Michael Monarch, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1951 – Goose Gossage, American baseball player
1951 – Roger Wicker, American colonel, lawyer, and politician
1953 – Caryn Navy, American mathematician and computer scientist
1954 – Jimmy Crespo, American guitarist and songwriter
1954 – John Wright, New Zealand cricketer and coach
1955 – Tony Hadley, English footballer
1955 – Peter McNamara, Australian tennis player and coach (d. 2019)
1956 – Horacio Cartes, Paraguayan businessman and politician, President of Paraguay
1956 – James Lofton, American football player and coach
1957 – Carlo Thränhardt, German high jumper
1957 – Doug Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
1958 – Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (d. 1996)
1958 – Bill Watterson, American author and illustrator
1959 – Marc Cohn, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1960 – Pruitt Taylor Vince, American actor and director
1962 – Sarina Hülsenbeck, German swimmer
1963 – Edie Falco, American actress
1964 – Ronald D. Moore, American screenwriter and producer
1965 – Kathryn Erbe, American actress
1965 – Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Israeli-American pianist and educator
1966 – Susannah Doyle, English actress, director, and playwright
1966 – Gianfranco Zola, Italian footballer and coach
1968 – Ken Akamatsu, Japanese illustrator
1968 – Kenji Ito, Japanese pianist and composer
1968 – Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1968 – Hedi Slimane, French fashion designer and photographer
1968 – Alex Zülle, Swiss cyclist
1968 – Susan Wojcicki, Polish-American technology executive, CEO of YouTube
1969 – Jenji Kohan, American screenwriter and producer
1969 – Armin Kõomägi, Estonian author and screenwriter
1969 – John LeClair, American ice hockey player
1969 – RZA, American rapper, producer, actor, and director
1970 – Mac Dre, American rapper and producer, founded Thizz Entertainment (d. 2004)
1970 – Valentí Massana, Spanish race walker
1971 – Derek McInnes, Scottish footballer and manager
1972 – Matthew Birir, Kenyan runner
1972 – Robert Esmie, Canadian sprinter
1972 – Gary Shteyngart, American writer
1973 – Marcus Allbäck, Swedish footballer and coach
1973 – Bengt Lagerberg, Swedish drummer
1973 – Róisín Murphy, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
1974 – Márcio Amoroso, Brazilian footballer
1975 – Hernán Crespo, Argentinian footballer and coach
1975 – Ai Sugiyama, Japanese tennis player
1976 – Bizarre, American rapper
1976 – Nuno Gomes, Portuguese footballer
1977 – Nicolas Kiefer, German tennis player
1977 – Steven Sharp Nelson, American cellist
1978 – Britta Oppelt, German rower
1978 – Allan Simonsen, Danish race car driver (d. 2013)
1978 – İsmail YK, German-Turkish singer-songwriter
1979 – Shane Filan, Irish singer-songwriter
1979 – Amélie Mauresmo, French-Swiss tennis player
1979 – Stiliyan Petrov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
1980 – David Rozehnal, Czech footballer
1980 – Mads Tolling, Danish-American violinist and composer
1980 – Jason Wade, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1982 – Fabrício de Souza, Brazilian footballer
1982 – Alexander Dimitrenko, Ukrainian-German boxer
1982 – Alberto Gilardino, Italian footballer
1982 – Philippe Gilbert, Belgian cyclist
1982 – Kate Gynther, Australian water polo player
1982 – Dave Haywood, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1982 – Paíto, Mozambican footballer
1982 – Javier Paredes, Spanish footballer
1982 – Szabolcs Perenyi, Romanian-Hungarian footballer
1982 – Beno Udrih, Slovenian basketball player
1983 – Marco Estrada, Mexican baseball player
1983 – Jonás Gutiérrez, Argentinian footballer
1983 – Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis player
1983 – Taavi Peetre, Estonian shot putter (d. 2010)
1984 – Danay Garcia, Cuban actress
1984 – Zack Miller, American golfer
1985 – Alexandre R. Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Megan Rapinoe, American soccer player
1986 – Iurii Cheban, Ukrainian canoe sprinter
1986 – Piermario Morosini, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
1986 – Alexander Radulov, Russian ice hockey player
1986 – Owl City, American singer, songwriter and composer
1987 – Ji Chang-wook, South Korean actor
1987 – Mohd Safiq Rahim, Malaysian footballer
1987 – Andrija Kaluđerović, Serbian footballer
1987 – Alexander Kristoff, Norwegian cyclist
1988 – Martin Liivamägi, Estonian swimmer
1988 – Samir Ujkani, Albanian footballer
1989 – Charlie Austin, English footballer
1989 – Georgios Efrem, Cypriot footballer
1989 – Dwight King, Canadian ice hockey player
1990 – Abeba Aregawi, Ethiopian-Swedish runner
1992 – Alberto Moreno, Spanish footballer
1992 – Chiara Scholl, American tennis player
1993 – Yaroslav Kosov, Russian ice hockey player
1994 – Diana Harkusha, Ukrainian lawyer, dancer, model and beauty queen
1994 – Shohei Ohtani, Japanese baseball player

Deaths on July 5

905 – Cui Yuan, Chinese chancellor
905 – Dugu Sun, Chinese chancellor
905 – Lu Yi, Chinese chancellor (b. 847)
905 – Pei Shu, Chinese chancellor (b. 841)
905 – Wang Pu, Chinese chancellor
936 – Xu Ji, Chinese official and chancellor
967 – Murakami, Japanese emperor (b. 926)
1080 – Ísleifur Gissurarson, Icelandic bishop (b. 1006)
1091 – William of Hirsau, German abbot
1316 – Ferdinand, prince of Majorca (b. 1278)
1375 – Charles III, French nobleman (b. 1337)
1413 – Musa Çelebi, Ottoman prince and co-ruler
1507 – Crinitus, Italian scholar and academic (b. 1475)
1539 – Anthony Maria Zaccaria, Italian saint (b. 1502)
1661 – Sir Hugh Speke, 1st Baronet
1666 – Albert VI, German nobleman (b. 1584)
1676 – Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish field marshal and politician (b. 1613)
1715 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (b. 1659)
1719 – Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, German-English general (b. 1641)
1773 – Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian and philologist (b. 1719)
1819 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (b.1744)
1826 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (b. 1782)
1833 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor, created the first known photograph (b. 1765)
1859 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist and engineer (b. 1777)
1862 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1800)
1863 – Lewis Armistead, American general (b. 1817)
1884 – Victor Massé, French composer (b. 1822)
1908 – Jonas Lie, Norwegian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1833)
1920 – Max Klinger, German painter and sculptor (b. 1857)
1927 – Albrecht Kossel, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
1929 – Henry Johnson, American sergeant (b. 1897)
1932 – Sasha Chorny, Russian poet and author (b. 1880)
1935 – Bernard de Pourtalès, Swiss captain and sailor (b. 1870)
1937 – Daniel Sawyer, American golfer (b. 1884)
1943 – Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski, Polish actor (b. 1880)
1943 – Karin Swanström, Swedish actress, director, and producer (b. 1873)
1945 – John Curtin, Australian journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)
1948 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (b. 1888)
1948 – Carole Landis, American actress (b. 1919)
1948 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician (b. 1871)
1957 – Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1887)
1965 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican race car driver, polo player, and diplomat (b. 1909)
1966 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
1969 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator (b. 1884)
1969 – Walter Gropius, German architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building and Werkbund Exhibition (b. 1883)
1969 – Tom Mboya, Kenyan politician, 1st Kenyan Minister of Justice (b. 1930)
1969 – Leo McCarey, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1898)
1975 – Gilda dalla Rizza, Italian soprano and actress (b. 1892)
1983 – Harry James, American trumpet player and actor (b. 1916)
1984 – Chic Murray, Canadian politician, 2nd Mayor of Mississauga (b. 1914)
1991 – Howard Nemerov, American poet and essayist (b. 1920)
1995 – Jüri Järvet, Estonian actor and screenwriter (b. 1919)
1997 – A. Thangathurai, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (b. 1936)
1998 – Sid Luckman, American football player (b. 1916)
2002 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (b. 1924)
2002 – Ted Williams, American baseball player and manager (b. 1918)
2004 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1923)
2004 – Rodger Ward, American race car driver and sportscaster (b. 1921)
2005 – James Stockdale, American admiral (b. 1923)
2006 – Gert Fredriksson, Swedish canoe racer (b. 1919)
2006 – Thirunalloor Karunakaran, Indian poet and scholar (b. 1924)
2006 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (b. 1942)
2006 – Amzie Strickland, American actress (b. 1919)
2007 – Régine Crespin, French soprano (b. 1927)
2007 – George Melly, English singer-songwriter and critic (b. 1926)
2008 – Hasan Doğan, Turkish businessman (b. 1956)
2010 – Bob Probert, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host (b. 1965)
2011 – Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter, sculptor, and photographer (b. 1928)
2012 – Rob Goris, Belgian cyclist (b. 1982)
2012 – Gerrit Komrij, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (b. 1944)
2012 – Colin Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge, English businessman and politician (b. 1933)
2012 – Ruud van Hemert, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
2013 – Bud Asher, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
2013 – David Cargo, American politician, 22nd Governor of New Mexico (b. 1929)
2013 – Lambert Jackson Woodburne, South African admiral (b. 1939)
2014 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (b. 1925)
2014 – Volodymyr Sabodan, Ukrainian metropolitan (b. 1935)
2014 – Hans-Ulrich Wehler, German historian and academic (b. 1931)
2014 – Brett Wiesner, American soccer player (b. 1983)
2015 – Archduchess Dorothea of Austria (b. 1920)
2015 – Uffe Haagerup, Danish mathematician and academic (b. 1949)
2015 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances on July 5

Bloody Thursday (International Longshore and Warehouse Union)
Christian feast day:
- Anthony Maria Zaccaria, priest (d. 1539)
- Cyril and Methodius (a public holiday in Czech Republic and Slovakia)
- Zoe of Rome (Roman Catholic Church)
- July 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Constitution Day (Armenia)
Independence Day (Algeria), celebrating the independence of Algeria from France in 1962.
Independence Day (Cape Verde), celebrating the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal in 1975.
Independence Day (Venezuela), celebrating the independence of Venezuela from Spain in 1811; also National Armed Forces Day.
Tynwald Day, if July 5 is on a weekend, the holiday is the following Monday. (Isle of Man)

July 5- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
844 – Louis II is crowned as king of Italy at Rome by pope Sergius II.
923 – Battle of Soissons: King Robert I of France is killed and King Charles the Simple is arrested by the supporters of Duke Rudolph of Burgundy.
1184 – The naval Battle of Fimreite is won by the Birkebeiner pretender Sverre Sigurdsson. Sigurdsson takes the Norwegian throne and King Magnus V of Norway is killed.
1215 – King John of England puts his seal to Magna Carta.
1219 – Northern Crusades: Danish victory at the Battle of Lindanise (modern-day Tallinn) establishes the Danish Duchy of Estonia.
1246 – With the death of Frederick II, Duke of Austria, the Babenberg dynasty ends in Austria.
1300 – The city of Bilbao is founded.
1312 – At the Battle of Rozgony, King Charles I of Hungary wins a decisive victory over the family of Palatine Amade Aba.
1389 – Battle of Kosovo: The Ottoman Empire defeats Serbs and Bosnians.
1410 – In a decisive battle at Onon River, the Mongol forces of Oljei Temur were decimated by the Chinese armies of the Yongle Emperor.
1502 – Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Martinique on his fourth voyage.
1520 – Pope Leo X threatens to excommunicate Martin Luther in Exsurge Domine.
1648 – Margaret Jones is hanged in Boston for witchcraft in the first such execution for the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1667 – The first human blood transfusion is administered by Dr. Jean-Baptiste Denys.
1670 – The first stone of Fort Ricasoli is laid down in Malta.
1752 – Benjamin Franklin proves that lightning is electricity (traditional date, the exact date is unknown).
1776 – Delaware Separation Day: Delaware votes to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from Pennsylvania.
1800 – The Provisional Army of the United States is dissolved.
1804 – New Hampshire approves the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratifying the document.
1808 – Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
1836 – Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
1844 – Charles Goodyear receives a patent for vulcanization, a process to strengthen rubber.
1846 – The Oregon Treaty extends the border between the United States and British North America, established by the Treaty of 1818, westward to the Pacific Ocean.
1859 – Ambiguity in the Oregon Treaty leads to the “Northwestern Boundary Dispute” between American and British/Canadian settlers.
1864 – American Civil War: The Second Battle of Petersburg begins.
1864 – Arlington National Cemetery is established when 200 acres (0.81 km²) of the Arlington estate (formerly owned by Confederate General Robert E. Lee) are officially set aside as a military cemetery by U.S. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
1877 – Henry Ossian Flipper becomes the first African American cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy.
1878 – Eadweard Muybridge takes a series of photographs to prove that all four feet of a horse leave the ground when it runs; the study becomes the basis of motion pictures.
1888 – Crown Prince Wilhelm becomes Kaiser Wilhelm II; he will be the last Emperor of the German Empire. Due to the death of his predecessors Wilhelm I and Frederick III, 1888 is the Year of the Three Emperors.
1896 – The deadliest tsunami in Japan’s history kills more than 22,000 people.
1904 – A fire aboard the steamboat SS General Slocum in New York City’s East River kills 1,000.
1916 – United States President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter.
1919 – John Alcock and Arthur Brown complete the first nonstop transatlantic flight when they reach Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
1920 – Following the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites, Northern Schleswig is transferred from Germany to Denmark.
1921 – Bessie Coleman earns her pilot’s license, becoming the first female pilot of African-American descent.
1934 – The United States Great Smoky Mountains National Park is founded.
1936 – First flight of the Vickers Wellington bomber.
1937 – A German expedition led by Karl Wien loses sixteen members in an avalanche on Nanga Parbat. It is the worst single disaster to occur on an 8000m peak.
1940 – World War II: Operation Ariel begins: Allied troops start to evacuate France, following Germany’s takeover of Paris and most of the nation.
1944 – World War II: The United States invades Saipan, capital of Japan’s South Seas Mandate.
1944 – In the Saskatchewan general election, the CCF, led by Tommy Douglas, is elected and forms the first socialist government in North America.
1970 – Charles Manson goes on trial for the Sharon Tate murders.
1972 – Red Army Faction co-founder Ulrike Meinhof is captured by police in Langenhagen.
1977 – After the death of dictator Francisco Franco in 1975, the first democratic elections took place in Spain.
1978 – King Hussein of Jordan marries American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.
1985 – Rembrandt’s painting Danaë is attacked by a man (later judged insane) who throws sulfuric acid on the canvas and cuts it twice with a knife.
1991 – In the Philippines, Mount Pinatubo erupts in the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, killing over 800 people.
1992 – The United States Supreme Court rules in United States v. Álvarez-Machaín that it is permissible for the United States to forcibly extradite suspects in foreign countries and bring them to the United States for trial, without approval from those other countries.
1994 – Israel and Vatican City establish full diplomatic relations.
1996 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) detonates a powerful truck bomb in the middle of Manchester, England, devastating the city centre and injuring 200 people.
2001 – Leaders of the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
2012 – Nik Wallenda becomes the first person to successfully tightrope walk directly over Niagara Falls.
2013 – A bomb explodes on a bus in the Pakistani city of Quetta, killing at least 25 people and wounding 22 others.

Births on June 15

1330 – Edward, the Black Prince of England (d. 1376)
1479 – Lisa del Giocondo, Italian model, subject of the Mona Lisa (d. 1542)
1519 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1536)
1542 – Richard Grenville, English captain and explorer (d. 1591)
1549 – Elizabeth Knollys, English noblewoman (d. 1605)
1553 – Archduke Ernest of Austria (d. 1595)
1605 – Thomas Randolph, English poet and playwright (d. 1635)
1618 – François Blondel, French architect (d. 1686)
1623 – Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (d. 1672)
1624 – Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist and philologist (d. 1704)
1640 – Bernard Lamy, French mathematician and theologian (d. 1715)
1645 – Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin, English politician (d. 1712)
1749 – Georg Joseph Vogler, German organist, composer, and theorist (d. 1814)
1754 – Juan José Elhuyar, Spanish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1796)
1755 – Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist and entomologist (d. 1809)
1763 – Franz Danzi, German cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1826)
1763 – Kobayashi Issa, Japanese priest and poet (d. 1827)
1765 – Martin Baum, American businessman and politician, Mayor of Cincinnati (d. 1831)
1765 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1831)
1767 – Rachel Jackson, American wife of Andrew Jackson (d. 1828)
1777 – David Daniel Davis, Welsh physician and academic (d. 1841)
1789 – Josiah Henson, American minister, author, and activist (d. 1883)
1792 – Thomas Mitchell, Scottish-Australian colonel and explorer (d. 1855)
1801 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, American merchant and politician, 3rd Mayor of Chicago (d. 1883)
1805 – William B. Ogden, American businessman and politician, 1st Mayor of Chicago (d. 1877)
1809 – François-Xavier Garneau, Canadian poet and historian (d. 1866)
1835 – Adah Isaacs Menken, American actress, painter, and poet (d. 1868)
1843 – Edvard Grieg, Norwegian pianist and composer (d. 1907)
1848 – Gheevarghese Mar Gregorios of Parumala, Indian bishop and saint (d. 1902)
1872 – Thomas William Burgess, English swimmer and water polo player (d. 1950)
1875 – Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-Canadian skier (d. 1987)
1878 – Margaret Abbott, Indian-American golfer (d. 1955)
1881 – Kesago Nakajima, Japanese lieutenant general in the Imperial Japanese Army (d. 1945)
1884 – Harry Langdon, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1944)
1886 – Frank Clement, British racing driver (d. 1970)
1888 – Ramón López Velarde, Mexican poet and author (d. 1921)
1890 – Georg Wüst, German oceanographer and academic (d. 1977)
1894 – Robert Russell Bennett, American composer and conductor (d. 1981)
1894 – Nikolai Chebotaryov, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1947)
1898 – Hubertus Strughold, German-American physiologist and academic (d. 1986)
1900 – Gotthard Günther, German philosopher and academic (d. 1984)
1900 – Otto Luening, German-American composer and conductor (d. 1996)
1901 – Elmar Lohk, Russian-Estonian architect (d. 1963)
1902 – Erik Erikson, German-American psychologist and psychoanalyst (d. 1994)
1906 – Gordon Welchman, English-American mathematician and author (d. 1985)
1906 – Léon Degrelle, Belgian SS officer (d. 1994)
1907 – James Robertson Justice, English actor and educator (d. 1975)
1909 – Elena Nikolaidi, Greek-American soprano and educator (d. 2002)
1910 – David Rose, English-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1990)
1911 – Wilbert Awdry, English author, co-created Thomas the Tank Engine (d. 1997)
1913 – Tom Adair, American songwriter, composer, and screenwriter (d. 1988)
1914 – Yuri Andropov, Russian politician (d. 1984)
1914 – Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American cartoonist (d. 1999)
1914 – Hilda Terry, American cartoonist (d. 2006)
1915 – Nini Theilade, Danish ballet dancer, choreographer, and educator (d. 2018)
1915 – Thomas Huckle Weller, American biologist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
1916 – Olga Erteszek, Polish-American fashion designer (d. 1989)
1916 – Horacio Salgán, Argentinian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2016)
1916 – Herbert A. Simon, American political scientist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
1917 – John Fenn, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
1917 – Michalis Genitsaris, Greek singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
1917 – Lash LaRue, American actor and producer (d. 1996)
1918 – François Tombalbaye, Chadian politician, 1st President of Chad (d. 1975)
1920 – Keith Andrews, American race car driver (d. 1957)
1920 – Alla Kazanskaya, Russian actress (d. 2008)
1920 – Sam Sniderman, Canadian businessman, founded Sam the Record Man (d. 2012)
1920 – Alberto Sordi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
1921 – Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (d. 1977)
1922 – Jaki Byard, American pianist and composer (d. 1999)
1923 – Erland Josephson, Swedish actor and director (d. 2012)
1923 – Ninian Stephen, English-Australian lieutenant, judge, and politician, 20th Governor-General of Australia (d. 2017)
1924 – Hédi Fried, Swedish author and psychologist
1924 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli general and politician, 7th President of Israel (d. 2005)
1925 – Richard Baker, English journalist and author (d. 2018)
1925 – Attilâ İlhan, Turkish poet, author, and critic (d. 2005)
1926 – Alfred Duraiappah, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (d. 1975)
1927 – Ross Andru, American illustrator (d. 1993)
1927 – Ibn-e-Insha, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (d. 1978)
1927 – Hugo Pratt, Italian author and illustrator (d. 1995)
1930 – Miguel Méndez, American author and academic (d. 2013)
1930 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
1931 – Joseph Gilbert, English air marshal
1931 – Brian Sewell, English art dealer and critic (d. 2015)
1932 – David Alliance, Baron Alliance, Iranian-English businessman and politician
1932 – Mario Cuomo, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New York (d. 2015)
1932 – Zia Fariduddin Dagar, Indian singer (d. 2013)
1932 – Bernie Faloney, American-Canadian football player and sportscaster (d. 1999)
1933 – Mohammad-Ali Rajai, Iranian politician, 2nd President of Iran (d. 1981)
1933 – Predrag Koraksić Corax, Serbian political caricaturist
1934 – Ruby Nash Garnett, American R&B singer
1936 – William Levada, American cardinal
1937 – Pierre Billon, Swiss-Canadian author and screenwriter
1937 – Waylon Jennings, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
1938 – Billy Williams, American baseball player and coach
1939 – Ward Connerly, American activist and businessman, founded the American Civil Rights Institute
1941 – Neal Adams, American illustrator
1941 – Harry Nilsson, American singer-songwriter (d. 1994)
1942 – Ian Greenberg, Canadian broadcaster, founded Astral Media
1942 – John E. McLaughlin, American diplomat
1942 – Peter Norman, Australian sprinter (d. 2006)
1943 – Johnny Hallyday, French singer and actor (d. 2017)
1943 – Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, Danish politician, 38th Prime Minister of Denmark
1944 – Robert D. Keppel, American police officer and academic
1945 – Miriam Defensor Santiago, Filipino judge and politician (d. 2016)
1945 – Robert Sarah, Guinean cardinal
1945 – Lawrence Wilkerson, American colonel
1946 – Noddy Holder, English rock singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
1946 – John Horner, American paleontologist and academic
1946 – Demis Roussos, Egyptian-Greek singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2015)
1947 – John Hoagland, American photographer and journalist (d. 1984)
1948 – Mike Holmgren, American football player and coach
1948 – Alan Huckle, English politician and diplomat, Governor of Anguilla
1948 – Henry McLeish, Scottish footballer, academic, and politician, 2nd First Minister of Scotland
1949 – Dusty Baker, American baseball player and manager
1949 – Simon Callow, English actor and director
1949 – Russell Hitchcock, Australian singer-songwriter
1949 – Jim Varney, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (d. 2000)
1950 – Uğur Erdener, Turkish ophthalmologist and professor
1950 – Juliana Azumah-Mensah, Ghanaian nurse and politician
1950 – Deney Terrio, American choreographer and host of the television musical variety series Dance Fever
1950 – Lakshmi Mittal, Indian-English businessman
1951 – Jane Amsterdam, American magazine and newspaper editor (Manhattan, inc., New York Post)
1951 – Vance A. Larson, American painter (d. 2000)
1951 – John Redwood, English politician, Secretary of State for Wales
1951 – Steve Walsh, American rock singer-songwriter and musician
1952 – Satya Pal Jain, Indian lawyer and politician, Additional Solicitor General of India
1953 – Vilma Bardauskienė, Lithuanian long jumper
1953 – Marc Brickman, American lighting and production designer
1953 – Eje Elgh, Swedish racing driver and sportscaster
1953 – Xi Jinping, Chinese engineer and politician, General Secretary of the Communist Party and President of China
1953 – Raphael Wallfisch, English cellist and educator
1954 – Jim Belushi, American actor
1954 – Terri Gibbs, American country music singer and keyboard player
1954 – Paul Rusesabagina, Rwandan humanitarian
1954 – Zdeňka Šilhavá, Czech discus thrower and shot putter
1954 – Beverley Whitfield, Australian swimmer (d. 1996)
1955 – Polly Draper, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
1955 – Julie Hagerty, American model and actress
1956 – Yevgeny Kiselyov, Russian-Ukrainian journalist
1956 – Lance Parrish, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1958 – Wade Boggs, American baseball player
1958 – Riccardo Paletti, Italian racing driver (d. 1982)
1959 – Alan Brazil, Scottish footballer and sportscaster
1959 – Eileen Davidson, American model and actress
1960 – Michèle Laroque, French actress, producer, and screenwriter
1960 – Marieke van Doorn, Dutch field hockey player and coach
1961 – Dave McAuley, Irish boxer and sportscaster
1961 – Scott Norton, American wrestler
1962 – Brad Armstrong, American wrestler (d. 2012)
1962 – Chris Morris, English actor, satirist, director, and producer
1962 – Andrea Rost, Hungarian soprano
1963 – Marina Azyabina, Russian hurdler
1963 – Mario Gosselin, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1963 – Helen Hunt, American actress, director, and producer
1964 – Courteney Cox, American actress and producer
1964 – Michael Laudrup, Danish footballer and manager
1965 – Annelies Bredael, Belgian rower
1965 – Karim Massimov, Kazakhstani politician, 7th Prime Minister of Kazakhstan
1965 – Adam Smith, American lawyer and politician
1966 – Raimonds Vējonis, Latvian politician, 9th President of Latvia
1968 – Károly Güttler, Hungarian swimmer
1969 – Jesse Bélanger, Canadian ice hockey player
1969 – Ice Cube, American rapper, producer, and actor
1969 – Idalis DeLeón, American singer and actress
1969 – Nasos Galakteros, Greek basketball player
1969 – Oliver Kahn, German footballer and sportscaster
1969 – Maurice Odumbe, Kenyan cricketer
1969 – Cédric Pioline, French tennis player
1970 – Christian Bauman, American soldier and author
1970 – David Bayssari, Australian rugby league player
1970 – Gaëlle Méchaly, French soprano
1970 – Leah Remini, American actress and producer
1970 – Žan Tabak, Croatian basketball player and coach
1971 – Christos Myriounis, Greek basketball player
1971 – Jake Busey, American actor, musician, and film producer
1972 – Justin Leonard, American golfer
1972 – Andy Pettitte, American baseball player
1973 – Tore Andre Flo, Norwegian footballer and coach
1973 – Neil Patrick Harris, American actor and singer
1973 – Pia Miranda, Australian actress
1976 – Jiří Ryba, Czech decathlete
1977 – Michael Doleac, American basketball player and manager
1978 – Wilfred Bouma, Dutch footballer
1978 – Zach Day, American baseball player
1979 – Yulia Nestsiarenka, Belarusian sprinter
1979 – Christian Rahn, German footballer
1979 – Charles Zwolsman, Jr., Dutch racing driver
1980 – David Lyons, Australian rugby player
1981 – John Paintsil, Ghanaian footballer
1982 – Mike Delany, New Zealand rugby player
1982 – Abdur Razzak, Bangladeshi cricketer
1983 – Julia Fischer, German violinist and pianist^{[citation needed]}
1983 – Laura Imbruglia, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist^{[citation needed]}
1983 – Josh McGuire, Canadian fencer
1984 – Luke Hodge, Australian footballer
1984 – Eva Hrdinová, Czech tennis player
1984 – Tim Lincecum, American baseball player
1984 – Edison Toloza, Colombian footballer
1985 – Ashley Nicole Black, American comedian, actress, and writer
1986 – James Maloney, Australian rugby league player
1986 – Trevor Plouffe, American baseball player
1989 – Víctor Cabedo, Spanish cyclist (d. 2012)
1989 – Bryan Clauson, American race car driver (d. 2016)
1992 – Michał Kopczyński, Polish footballer
1992 – Mohamed Salah, Egyptian footballer
1992 – Dafne Schippers, Dutch heptathlete and sprinter
1993 – Irfan Hadžić, Bosnian footballer
1994 – Inaki Williams, Basque footballer
1997 – Madison Kocian, American gymnast

Deaths on June 15

923 – Robert I of France (b. 866)
948 – Romanos I Lekapenos, Byzantine Emperor (b. c. 870)
952 – Murong Yanchao, Chinese general
960 – Eadburh of Winchester, English princess and saint
970 – Adalbert, bishop of Passau
991 – Theophanu, Byzantine wife of Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 960)
1073 – Emperor Go-Sanjō of Japan (b. 1034)
1184 – Magnus Erlingsson, King of Norway (b. 1156)
1189 – Minamoto no Yoshitsune, Japanese general (b. 1159)
1246 – Frederick II, Duke of Austria (b. 1219)
1337 – Angelo da Clareno, Italian Franciscan and leader of a group of Fraticelli (b. 1247)
1341 – Andronikos III Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1297)
1381 – John Cavendish, English lawyer and judge (b. 1346)
1381 – Wat Tyler, English rebel leader (b. 1341)
1383 – John VI Kantakouzenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1292)
1383 – Matthew Kantakouzenos, Byzantine emperor
1389 – Lazar of Serbia (b. 1329)
1389 – Murad I, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1319)
1389 – Miloš Obilić, Serbian knight.
1416 – John, Duke of Berry (b. 1340)
1467 – Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1396)
1521 – Tamás Bakócz, Hungarian cardinal (b. 1442)
1614 – Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English courtier and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1540)
1724 – Henry Sacheverell, English minister and politician (b. 1674)
1768 – James Short, Scottish mathematician and optician (b. 1710)
1772 – Louis-Claude Daquin, French organist and composer (b. 1694)
1844 – Thomas Campbell, Scottish poet and academic (b. 1777)
1849 – James K. Polk, American lawyer and politician, 11th President of the United States (b. 1795)
1858 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter and academic (b. 1795)
1888 – Frederick III, German Emperor (b. 1831)
1889 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1850)
1890 – Unryū Kyūkichi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 10th Yokozuna (b. 1822)
1917 – Kristian Birkeland, Norwegian physicist and academic (b. 1867)
1934 – Alfred Bruneau, French cellist and composer (b. 1857)
1938 – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German painter and illustrator (b. 1880)
1941 – Otfrid Foerster, German neurologist and physician (b. 1873)
1941 – Evelyn Underhill, English mystic and author (b. 1875)
1945 – Count Albert von Mensdorff-Pouilly-Dietrichstein, Austrian diplomat
1961 – Giulio Cabianca, Italian racing driver (b. 1923)
1961 – Peyami Safa, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1899)
1962 – Alfred Cortot, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1877)
1967 – Tatu Kolehmainen, Finnish runner (b. 1885)
1968 – Sam Crawford, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (b. 1880)
1968 – Wes Montgomery, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1925)
1971 – Wendell Meredith Stanley, American biochemist and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
1976 – Jimmy Dykes, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1896)
1984 – Meredith Willson, American playwright, composer, and conductor (b. 1902)
1985 – Andy Stanfield, American sprinter (b. 1927)
1989 – Maurice Bellemare, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1912)
1989 – Ray McAnally, Irish actor (b. 1926)
1991 – Happy Chandler, American businessman and politician, 49th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1898)
1991 – Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
1992 – Chuck Menville, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
1992 – Brett Whiteley, Australian painter (b. 1939)
1993 – John Connally, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 61st United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1917)
1993 – James Hunt, English racing driver and sportscaster (b. 1947)
1994 – Manos Hatzidakis, Greek composer and theorist (b. 1925)
1995 – John Vincent Atanasoff, American physicist and inventor, invented the Atanasoff–Berry computer (b. 1903)
1996 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer and actress (b. 1917)
1996 – Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet, Scottish general and politician (b. 1911)
1996 – Dick Murdoch, American wrestler (b. 1946)
1999 – Omer Côté, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1906)
2000 – Jules Roy, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1907)
2001 – Henri Alekan, French cinematographer (b. 1909)
2002 – Choi Hong Hi, South Korean general and martial artist, founded Taekwondo (b. 1918)
2003 – Hume Cronyn, Canadian-American actor (b. 1911)
2004 – Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician and mayor of İzmir (b. 1952)
2005 – Suzanne Flon, French actress (b. 1918)
2006 – Raymond Devos, Belgian-French comedian and clown (b. 1922)
2006 – Herb Pearson, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1910)
2008 – Ray Getliffe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1914)
2011 – Bill Haast, American herpetologist and academic (b. 1910)
2012 – Phillip D. Cagan, American economist and author (b. 1927)
2012 – Capitola Dickerson, American pianist and educator (b. 1913)
2012 – Barry MacKay, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1935)
2012 – Israel Nogueda Otero, Mexican economist and politician, 10th Governor of Guerrero (b. 1935)
2012 – Jerry Tubbs, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
2013 – Heinz Flohe, German footballer and manager (b. 1948)
2013 – José Froilán González, Argentinian racing driver (b. 1922)
2013 – Dennis O’Rourke, Australian director and producer (b. 1945)
2013 – Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1936)
2014 – Jacques Bergerac, French actor and businessman (b. 1927)
2014 – Casey Kasem, American radio host, producer, and voice actor, co-created American Top 40 (b. 1932)
2014 – Daniel Keyes, American short story writer and novelist (b. 1927)
2014 – Moise Safra, Brazilian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Banco Safra (b. 1934)
2015 – Kirk Kerkorian, American businessman, founded the Tracinda Corporation (b. 1917)
2016 – Lois Duncan, American author (b. 1934)
2018 – Matt “Guitar” Murphy, American Blues guitarist (The Blues Brothers) (b. 1929)
2019 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian film director (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances on June 15

Arbor Day (Costa Rica)
Christian feast day:
- Abraham of Clermont (or of St Cyriacus)
- Alice (or Adelaide) of Schaerbeek
- Augustine of Hippo (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Blessed Albertina Berkenbrock
- Blessed Clement Vismara
- Edburga of Winchester
- Evelyn Underhill (Church of England and The Episcopal Church)
- Germaine Cousin
- Landelin (of Crespin or of Lobbes)
- Trillo
- Vitus (Guy), Modestus and Crescentia
- June 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Day of Valdemar and Reunion Day (Flag Day) (Denmark)
Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while June 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in June. (United States, and most other countries.)
Engineer’s Day (Italy)
Global Wind Day (international)
National Beer Day (United Kingdom)
National Salvation Day (Azerbaijan)

June 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 21 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as Caesar to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy.
878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlabids after a nine-month siege.
879 – Pope John VIII gives blessings to Branimir of Croatia and to the Croatian people, considered to be international recognition of the Croatian state.
996 – Sixteen-year-old Otto III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
1349 – Dušan’s Code, the constitution of the Serbian Empire, is enacted by Dušan the Mighty.
1403 – Henry III of Castile sends Ruy González de Clavijo as ambassador to Timur to discuss the possibility of an alliance between Timur and Castile against the Ottoman Empire.
1554 – Queen Mary I grants a royal charter to Derby School, as a grammar school for boys in Derby, England.
1659 – In the Concert of The Hague, the Dutch Republic, the Commonwealth of England and the Kingdom of France set out their views on how the Second Northern War should end.
1660 – The Battle of Long Sault concludes after five days in which French colonial militia, with their Huron and Algonquin allies, are defeated by the Iroquois Confederacy.
1674 – The nobility elect John Sobieski King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.
1703 – Daniel Defoe is imprisoned on charges of seditious libel.
1725 – The Order of St. Alexander Nevsky is instituted in Russia by Empress Catherine I. It would later be discontinued and then reinstated by the Soviet government in 1942 as the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
1758 – Ten-year-old Mary Campbell is abducted in Pennsylvania by Lenape during the French and Indian War. She is returned six and a half years later.
1792 – A lava dome collapses on Mount Unzen, near the city of Shimbara on the Japanese island of Kyūshū, creating a deadly tsunami that kills nearly 15,000 people.
1809 – The first day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling between the Austrian army led by Archduke Charles and the French army led by Napoleon I of France sees the French attack across the Danube held.
1851 – Slavery in Colombia is abolished.
1856 – Lawrence, Kansas is captured and burned by pro-slavery forces.
1863 – American Civil War: The Union Army succeeds in closing off the last escape route from Port Hudson, Louisiana, in preparation for the coming siege.
1864 – Russia declares an end to the Russo-Circassian War and many Circassians are forced into exile. The day is designated the Circassian Day of Mourning.
1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House ends.
1864 – The Ionian Islands reunite with Greece.
1871 – French troops invade the Paris Commune and engage its residents in street fighting. By the close of “Bloody Week”, some 20,000 communards have been killed and 38,000 arrested.
1871 – Opening of the first rack railway in Europe, the Rigi Bahnen on Mount Rigi.
1879 – War of the Pacific: Two Chilean ships blocking the harbor of Iquique (then belonging to Peru) battle two Peruvian vessels in the Battle of Iquique.
1881 – The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton in Washington, D.C.
1894 – The Manchester Ship Canal in the United Kingdom is officially opened by Queen Victoria, who later knights its designer Sir Edward Leader Williams.
1904 – The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is founded in Paris.
1911 – President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz and the revolutionary Francisco Madero sign the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez to put an end to the fighting between the forces of both men, concluding the initial phase of the Mexican Revolution.
1917 – The Imperial War Graves Commission is established through royal charter to mark, record, and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of the British Empire’s military forces.
1917 – The Great Atlanta fire of 1917 causes $5.5 million in damages, destroying some 300 acres including 2,000 homes, businesses and churches, displacing about 10,000 people but leading to only one fatality (due to heart attack).
1924 – University of Chicago students Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, Jr. murder 14-year-old Bobby Franks in a “thrill killing”.
1927 – Charles Lindbergh touches down at Le Bourget Field in Paris, completing the world’s first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
1932 – Bad weather forces Amelia Earhart to land in a pasture in Derry, Northern Ireland, and she thereby becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
1934 – Oskaloosa, Iowa, becomes the first municipality in the United States to fingerprint all of its citizens.
1936 – Sada Abe is arrested after wandering the streets of Tokyo for days with her dead lover’s severed genitals in her handbag. Her story soon becomes one of Japan’s most notorious scandals.
1937 – A Soviet station, North Pole-1, becomes the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean.
1939 – The Canadian National War Memorial is unveiled by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
1946 – Physicist Louis Slotin is fatally irradiated in a criticality incident during an experiment with the demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
1951 – The opening of the Ninth Street Show, otherwise known as the 9th Street Art Exhibition: A gathering of a number of notable artists, and the stepping-out of the post war New York avant-garde, collectively known as the New York School.
1961 – American civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore order after race riots break out.
1966 – The Ulster Volunteer Force declares war on the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland.
1969 – Civil unrest in Rosario, Argentina, known as Rosariazo, following the death of a 15-year-old student.
1972 – Michelangelo’s Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is damaged by a vandal, the mentally disturbed Hungarian geologist Laszlo Toth.
1976 – Twenty-nine people are killed in the Yuba City bus disaster in Martinez, California.
1979 – White Night riots in San Francisco following the manslaughter conviction of Dan White for the assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk.
1981 – The Italian government releases the membership list of Propaganda Due, an illegal pseudo-Masonic lodge that was implicated in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries.
1981 – Transamerica Corporation agrees to sell United Artists to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $380 million after the box office failure of the 1980 film Heaven’s Gate.
1982 – Falklands War: A British amphibious assault during Operation Sutton leads to the Battle of San Carlos.
1991 – Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a female suicide bomber near Madras.
1991 – Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.
1992 – After 30 seasons Johnny Carson hosted his penultimate episode and last featuring guests (Robin Williams and Bette Midler) of The Tonight Show.
1994 – The Democratic Republic of Yemen unsuccessfully attempts to secede from the Republic of Yemen; a war breaks out.
1996 – The ferry MV Bukoba sinks in Tanzanian waters on Lake Victoria, killing nearly 1,000.
1998 – In Miami, five abortion clinics are attacked by a butyric acid attacker.
1998 – President Suharto of Indonesia resigns following the killing of students from Trisakti University earlier that week by security forces and growing mass protests in Jakarta against his ongoing corrupt rule.
2001 – French Taubira law is enacted, officially recognizing the Atlantic slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity.
2003 – The 6.8 M_w  Boumerdès earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). More than 2,200 people were killed and a moderate tsunami sank boats at the Balearic Islands.
2005 – The tallest roller coaster in the world, Kingda Ka opens at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey.
2006 – The Republic of Montenegro holds a referendum proposing independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro; 55% of Montenegrins vote for independence.
2010 – JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, launches the solar-sail spacecraft IKAROS aboard an H-IIA rocket. The vessel would make a Venus flyby late in the year.
2011 – Radio broadcaster Harold Camping predicted that the world would end on this date.
2012 – A bus accident near Himara, Albania kills 13 people and injures 21 others.
2012 – A suicide bombing kills more than 120 people in Sana’a, Yemen.
2017 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed their final show at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Births on May 21

1471 – Albrecht Dürer, German painter, engraver, and mathematician (d. 1528)
1497 – Al-Hattab, Muslim jurist (d. 1547)
1527 – Philip II of Spain (d. 1598)
1653 – Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland (d. 1697)
1688 – Alexander Pope, English poet, essayist, and translator (d. 1744)
1755 – Alfred Moore, American lawyer and judge (d. 1810)
1756 – William Babington, Irish-born, English physician and mineralogist (d. 1833)
1763 – Joseph Fouché, French lawyer and politician (d. 1820)
1775 – Lucien Bonaparte, French soldier and politician (d. 1840)
1780 – Elizabeth Fry, English prison reformer, philanthropist and Quaker (d. 1845)
1790 – William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Lord Chamberlain of the Household (d. 1858)
1792 – Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1843)
1799 – Mary Anning, English paleontologist (d. 1847)
1801 – Princess Sophie of Sweden, Swedish princess (d. 1865)
1806 – Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland, English duchess (d. 1868)
1808 – David de Jahacob Lopez Cardozo, Dutch Talmudist (d. 1890)
1827 – William P. Sprague, American banker and politician (d. 1899)
1828 – Rudolf Koller, Swiss painter (d. 1905)
1835 – František Chvostek, Czech-Austrian physician and academic (d. 1884)
1837 – Itagaki Taisuke, Japanese soldier and politician (d. 1919)
1843 – Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss lawyer and politician, and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1914)
1843 – Louis Renault, French jurist, educator, and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1918)
1844 – Henri Rousseau, French painter (d. 1910)
1850 – Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian priest and volcanologist (d. 1914)
1851 – Léon Bourgeois, French police officer and politician, 64th Prime Minister of France, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
1853 – Jacques Marie Eugène Godefroy Cavaignac, French politician (d. 1905)
1856 – José Batlle y Ordóñez, Uruguayan journalist and politician, President of Uruguay (d. 1929)
1860 – Willem Einthoven, Indonesian-Dutch physician, physiologist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1927)
1861 – Abel Ayerza, Argentinian physician and academic (d. 1918)
1863 – Archduke Eugen of Austria (d. 1954)
1864 – Princess Stéphanie of Belgium (d. 1945)
1873 – Hans Berger, German neurologist and academic (d. 1941)
1878 – Glenn Curtiss, American cyclist and engineer (d. 1930)
1880 – Tudor Arghezi, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1967)
1884 – Manuel Pérez y Curis, Uruguayan poet and publisher (d. 1920)
1885 – Princess Sophie of Albania, (Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg) (d. 1936)
1893 – Arthur Carr, English cricketer (d. 1963)
1893 – Giles Chippindall, Australian public servant (d. 1969)
1895 – Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexican general, president (1934–1940) and father of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas (d. 1970)
1898 – Armand Hammer, American physician and businessman, founded Occidental Petroleum (d. 1990)
1898 – Charles Léon Hammes, Luxembourgian lawyer and judge (d. 1967)
1898 – Carl Johnson, American long jumper (d. 1932)
1898 – John McLaughlin, American painter and translator (d. 1976)
1901 – Regina M. Anderson, Multiracial playwright and librarian (d. 1993)
1901 – Horace Heidt, American pianist, bandleader, and radio host (d. 1986)
1901 – Sam Jaffe, American film producer and agent (d. 2000)
1901 – Suzanne Lilar, Belgian author and playwright (d. 1992)
1902 – Earl Averill, American baseball player (d. 1983)
1902 – Marcel Breuer, Hungarian-American architect and academic, designed the Ameritrust Tower (d. 1981)
1902 – Anatole Litvak, Ukrainian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1974)
1903 – Manly Wade Wellman, American author (d. 1986)
1904 – Robert Montgomery, American actor and director (d. 1981)
1904 – Fats Waller, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1943)
1907 – John C. Allen, American roller coaster designer (d. 1979)
1912 – Chen Dayu, Chinese painter and calligrapher (d. 2001)
1912 – John Curtis Gowan, American psychologist and academic (d. 1986)
1912 – Monty Stratton, American baseball player and coach (d. 1982)
1913 – Gina Bachauer, Greek pianist and composer (d. 1976)
1915 – Cathleen Cordell, American actress (d. 1997)
1915 – Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan, Indian Civil Service Officer and former Under Secretary-General of the UN (d. 2003)
1916 – Dennis Day, American singer and actor (d. 1988)
1916 – Tinus Osendarp, Dutch sprinter and police officer (d. 2002)
1916 – Harold Robbins, American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)
1917 – Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor and director (d. 1993)
1918 – Anthony Steel, English actor and singer (d. 2001)
1919 – George P. Mitchell, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
1920 – Bill Barber, American tuba player and educator (d. 2007)
1920 – Forrest White, American businessman, co-founded the Music Man Company (d. 1994)
1921 – Sandy Douglas, English computer scientist and academic, designed OXO (d. 2010)
1921 – Andrei Sakharov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
1923 – Vernon Biever, American photographer (d. 2010)
1923 – Armand Borel, Swiss-American mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
1923 – Ara Parseghian, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
1923 – Dorothy Hewett, Australian feminist poet, novelist and playwright (d. 2002)
1923 – Evelyn Ward, American actress (d. 2012)
1924 – Peggy Cass, American actress, comedian, and game show panelist (d. 1999)
1926 – Robert Creeley, American novelist, essayist, and poet (d. 2005)
1927 – Kay Kendall, English actress and comedian (d. 1959)
1927 – Péter Zwack, Hungarian businessman and diplomat (d. 2012)
1928 – Tom Donahue, American radio host and producer (d. 1975)
1928 – Alice Drummond, American actress (d. 2016)
1929 – Larance Marable, American drummer (d. 2012)
1929 – Robert Welch, English silversmith and industrial designer (d. 2000)
1930 – Tommy Bryant, American bassist (d. 1982)
1930 – Keith Davis, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2019)
1930 – Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2015)
1932 – Inese Jaunzeme, Latvian javelin thrower and surgeon (d. 2011)
1932 – Leonidas Vasilikopoulos, Greek admiral and intelligence chief (d. 2014)
1933 – Maurice André, French trumpet player (d. 2012)
1933 – Yevgeny Minayev, Russian weightlifter (d. 1993)
1934 – Jocasta Innes, Chinese-English journalist and author (d. 2013)
1934 – Bob Northern, American horn player and bandleader
1934 – Bengt I. Samuelsson, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1935 – Terry Lightfoot, English clarinet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
1936 – Günter Blobel, Polish-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
1938 – Lee “Shot” Williams, American singer (d. 2011)
1939 – Heinz Holliger, Swiss oboist, composer, and conductor
1940 – Tony Sheridan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1941 – Martin Carthy, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1941 – Bobby Cox, American baseball player and manager
1941 – Ambrose Greenway, 4th Baron Greenway, English photographer and politician
1941 – Ronald Isley, American singer-songwriter and producer
1942 – David Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral, English politician, Secretary of State for Wales
1942 – John Konrads, Australian swimmer
1942 – Danny Ongais, American race car driver
1943 – Vincent Crane, English pianist and composer (d. 1989)
1943 – John Dalton, English bass player
1943 – Hilton Valentine, English guitarist and songwriter
1944 – Haleh Afshar, Baroness Afshar, Iranian-English academic and politician
1944 – Marcie Blane, American singer
1944 – Janet Dailey, American author and entrepreneur (d. 2013)
1944 – Mary Robinson, Irish lawyer and politician, 7th President of Ireland
1945 – Ernst Messerschmid, German physicist and astronaut
1945 – Richard Hatch, American actor, writer, and producer (d. 2017)
1946 – Allan McKeown, English-American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
1946 – Wayne Roycroft, Australian equestrian rider and coach
1947 – Bill Champlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1947 – Linda Laubenstein, American physician and academic (d. 1992)
1947 – İlber Ortaylı, Turkish historian and academic
1948 – Elizabeth Buchan, English author and critic
1948 – Joe Camilleri, Maltese-Australian singer-songwriter and saxophonist
1948 – Jonathan Hyde, Australian-English actor
1948 – Denis MacShane, Scottish journalist and politician, UK Minister of State for Europe
1948 – Leo Sayer, English-Australian singer-songwriter and musician
1949 – Andrew Neil, Scottish journalist and academic
1949 – Denis O’Connor, British police officer
1949 – Rosalind Plowright, English soprano
1950 – Will Hutton, English economist and journalist
1951 – Al Franken, American actor, screenwriter, and politician
1951 – Adrian Hardiman, Irish lawyer and judge (d. 2016)
1952 – Mr. T, American actor and wrestler
1953 – Nora Aunor, Filipino actress and recording artist
1954 – D. B. S. Jeyaraj, Sri Lankan-Canadian journalist and blogger
1954 – Janice Karman, American film producer, record producer, singer, and voice actress
1954 – Marc Ribot, American guitarist and composer
1955 – Paul Barber, English field hockey player
1955 – Stan Lynch, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
1957 – James Bailey, American basketball player
1957 – Nadine Dorries, English nurse and politician
1957 – Judge Reinhold, American actor and producer
1957 – Renée Soutendijk, Dutch actress
1958 – Christian Audigier, French fashion designer (d. 2015)
1958 – Muffy Calder, Canadian-Scottish computer scientist and academic
1958 – Michael Crick, English journalist and author
1958 – Naeem Khan, Indian-American fashion designer
1958 – Jefery Levy, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1959 – Nick Cassavetes, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1959 – Abdulla Yameen, Maldivian politician, 6th President of the Maldives
1960 – Jeffrey Dahmer, American serial killer (d. 1994)
1960 – Kent Hrbek, American baseball player and sportscaster
1960 – Mohanlal, Indian actor
1960 – Mark Ridgway, Australian cricketer
1960 – Vladimir Salnikov, Russian swimmer
1962 – David Crumb, American composer and educator
1963 – Richard Appel, American screenwriter and producer
1963 – Patrick Grant, American musician and producer
1963 – David Lonsdale, English actor
1964 – Pete Sandoval, Salvadoran-American drummer
1963 – Kevin Shields, American-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1963 – Dave Specter, American guitarist
1963 – Laurie Spina, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
1964 – Danny Bailey, English footballer and coach
1965 – Josh Richman, American actor and producer
1966 – Lisa Edelstein, American actress and playwright
1966 – Tatyana Ledovskaya, Belarusian hurdler
1967 – Chris Benoit, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 2007)
1968 – Ilmar Raag, Estonian director, producer, and screenwriter
1968 – Matthias Ungemach, German-Australian rower
1968 – Julie Vega, Filipino actress and singer (d. 1985)
1969 – Pierluigi Brivio, Italian footballer
1969 – Georgiy Gongadze, Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and director (d. 2000)
1969 – Masayo Kurata, Japanese voice actress and singer
1969 – George LeMieux, American lawyer and politician
1969 – Brian Statham, Rhodesian born English footballer, defender and manager
1970 – Brigita Bukovec, Slovenian hurdler
1970 – Dorsey Levens, American football player and sportscaster
1970 – Pauline Menczer, Australian surfer
1970 – Carl Veart, Australian footballer and coach
1972 – The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper (d. 1997)
1973 – Stewart Cink, American golfer
1973 – Noel Fielding, English comedian, musician and television presenter
1974 – Brad Arthur, Australian rugby league coach
1974 – Fairuza Balk, American actress
1974 – Aditi Gowitrikar, Indian model, actress, and physician, Mrs. World 2001
1974 – Havoc, American rapper and producer
1975 – Anthony Mundine, Australian rugby league player and boxer
1976 – Stuart Bingham, English snooker player
1976 – Abderrahim Goumri, Moroccan runner (d. 2013)
1976 – Deron Miller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Quinton Fortune, South African international footballer midfielder and coach
1977 – Michael Fuß, German footballer
1977 – Ricky Williams, American football player and coach
1978 – Max B, American rapper and songwriter
1978 – Briana Banks, German-American porn actress and model
1978 – Jamaal Magloire, Canadian basketball player and coach
1979 – Damián Ariel Álvarez, Argentinian-Mexican footballer
1979 – Jamie Hepburn, Scottish politician, Minister for Sport, Health Improvement and Mental Health
1979 – James Clancy Phelan, Australian author and academic
1979 – Scott Smith, American mixed martial artist
1979 – Sonja Vectomov, Czech musician/composer
1980 – Gotye, Belgian-Australian singer-songwriter
1981 – Craig Anderson, American ice hockey player
1981 – Edson Buddle, American soccer player
1981 – Josh Hamilton, American baseball player
1981 – Maximilian Mutzke, German singer-songwriter
1981 – Anna Rogowska, Polish pole vaulter
1983 – Līga Dekmeijere, Latvian tennis player
1983 – Deidson Araújo Maia, Brazilian footballer
1983 – Kaori Shimizu, Japanese voice actress and singer
1984 – Brandon Fields, American football player
1984 – Sara Goller, German volleyball player
1984 – Syamsul Yusof, Malaysian actor, film director, scriptwriter, film producer, rapper and singer
1985 – Mutya Buena, English singer-songwriter
1985 – Alison Carroll, English gymnast, model, and actress
1985 – Mark Cavendish, Manx cyclist
1985 – Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer (d. 2012)
1985 – Isa Guha, English cricketer
1985 – Lucie Hradecká, Czech tennis player
1985 – Kano, English rapper, producer, and actor
1985 – Dušan Kuciak, Slovak footballer
1985 – Heath L’Estrange, Australian rugby league player
1985 – Andrew Miller, American baseball player
1986 – Mario Mandžukić, Croatian footballer
1986 – Myra, American singer and actress
1986 – Eder Sánchez, Mexican race walker
1986 – Park Sojin, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
1986 – Greg Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player
1987 – Beau Falloon, Australian rugby league player
1988 – Claire Cashmore, English Paralympic swimmer
1988 – Park Gyu-ri, South Korean singer
1988 – Jonny Howson, English footballer
1988 – Kaire Leibak, Estonian triple jumper
1989 – Emily Robins, New Zealand actress and singer
1989 – Hal Robson-Kanu, English footballer
1990 – Kierre Beckles, Barbadian athlete
1990 – Rene Krhin, Slovenian footballer
1991 – Guilherme, Brazilian footballer
1992 – Hutch Dano, American actor
1992 – Lisa Evans, Scottish footballer
1992 – Philipp Grüneberg, German footballer
1992 – Olivia Olson, American singer and actress
1993 – Grete Gaim, Estonian biathlete
1993 – Luke Garbutt, English footballer, left-back
1994 – Tom Daley, English diver
1995 – Katharina Andresen, Norwegian heiress and equestrian
1995 – Diego Loyzaga, Filipino actor
1996 – Josh Allen, American footballer
1996 – Indy de Vroome, Dutch tennis player
1996 – Karen Khachanov, Russian tennis player
1997 – Ivan De Santis, Italian footballer
1997 – Sisca Folkertsma, Dutch footballer
1997 – Viktoria Petryk, Ukrainian singer-songwriter

Deaths on May 21

252 – Sun Quan, Chinese emperor of Eastern Wu (b. 182)
954 – Feng Dao, Chinese prince and chancellor (b. 882)
987 – Louis V, king of West Francia (b. c. 966)
1075 – Richeza of Poland, queen of Hungary (b. 1013)
1086 – Wang Anshi, Chinese statesman and poet (b. 1021)
1237 – Olaf the Black, Manx son of Godred II Olafsson
1254 – Conrad IV, king of Germany (b. 1228)
1416 – Anna of Celje, queen consort of Poland (b. 1386)
1471 – Henry VI, king of England (b. 1421)
1481 – Christian I, king of Denmark (b. 1426)
1512 – Pandolfo Petrucci, Italian ruler (b. 1452)
1524 – Thomas Howard, 2nd Duke of Norfolk, English soldier and politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1443)
1542 – Hernando de Soto, Spanish-American explorer (b. 1496)
1563 – Martynas Mažvydas, Lithuanian writer (b. 1510)
1607 – John Rainolds, English scholar and academic (b. 1549)
1619 – Hieronymus Fabricius, Italian anatomist (b. 1537)
1639 – Tommaso Campanella, Italian astrologer, theologian, and poet (b. 1568)
1647 – Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch poet and playwright (b. 1581)
1650 – James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose, Scottish general and politician (b. 1612)
1664 – Elizabeth Poole, English settler, founded Taunton, Massachusetts (b. 1588)
1670 – Niccolò Zucchi, Italian astronomer and physicist (b. 1586)
1686 – Otto von Guericke, German physicist and inventor of the Magdeburg Hemispheres (b. 1602)
1690 – John Eliot, English-American minister and missionary (b. 1604)
1719 – Pierre Poiret, French mystic and philosopher (b. 1646)
1724 – Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1661)
1742 – Lars Roberg, Swedish physician and academic (b. 1664)
1762 – Alexander Joseph Sulkowski, Polish and Saxon general (b. 1695)
1771 – Christopher Smart, English actor, playwright, and poet (b. 1722)
1786 – Carl Wilhelm Scheele, German-Swedish chemist and pharmacist (b. 1742)
1790 – Thomas Warton, English poet and critic (b. 1728)
1810 – Chevalier d’Eon, French diplomat and spy (b. 1728)
1844 – Giuseppe Baini, Italian priest and composer (b. 1775)
1858 – José de la Riva Agüero, Peruvian soldier and politician, 1st President of Peru and 2nd President of North Peru (b. 1783)
1862 – John Drew, Irish-American actor and manager (b. 1827)
1879 – Arturo Prat, Chilean lawyer and commander (b. 1848)
1894 – Émile Henry, French anarchist (b. 1872)
1894 – August Kundt, German physicist and academic (b. 1839)
1895 – Franz von Suppé, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1819)
1901 – Joseph Olivier, French rugby player (b. 1874)
1911 – Williamina Fleming, Scottish-American astronomer and academic (b. 1857)
1915 – Leonid Gobyato, Russian general and engineer (b. 1875)
1919 – Evgraf Fedorov, Russian mathematician, crystallographer, and mineralogist (b. 1853)
1920 – Venustiano Carranza, Mexican politician, 54th President of Mexico (b. 1859)
1925 – Hidesaburō Ueno, Japanese agriculturalist, guardian of Hachikō (b. 1871)
1926 – Ronald Firbank, English-Italian author (b. 1886)
1929 – Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1847)
1932 – Marcel Boulenger, French fencer and author (b. 1873)
1935 – Jane Addams, American activist and author, co-founded Hull House, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1860)
1935 – Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist and geneticist (b. 1848)
1940 – Billy Minter, English footballer and manager (b. 1888)
1949 – Klaus Mann, German-American novelist, playwright, and critic (b. 1906)
1952 – John Garfield, American actor (b. 1913)
1956 – Harry Bensley, English businessman and adventurer (b. 1877)
1957 – Alexander Vertinsky, Ukrainian-Russian singer-songwriter, actor, and poet (b. 1889)
1964 – James Franck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
1965 – Marguerite Bise, French chef (b. 1898)
1965 – Geoffrey de Havilland, English pilot and engineer, designed the de Havilland Mosquito (b. 1882)
1968 – Doris Lloyd, English actress (b. 1896)
1970 – E. L. Grant Watson, English-Australian biologist and author (b. 1885)
1973 – Vaughn Monroe, American singer, trumpet player, bandleader, and actor (b. 1911)
1973 – Ivan Konev, Soviet Marshal and general (b. 1897)
1981 – Raymond McCreesh, PIRA volunteer (b. 1957)
1981 – Patsy O’Hara, INLA volunteer (b. 1957)
1983 – Kenneth Clark, English historian and author (b. 1903)
1984 – Ann Little, American actress (b. 1891)
1988 – Sammy Davis Sr., American actor and dancer (b. 1900)
1991 – Lino Brocka, Filipino director and screenwriter (b. 1939)
1991 – Rajiv Gandhi, Indian politician, 6th Prime Minister of India (b. 1944)
1995 – Les Aspin, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1938)
1996 – Paul Delph, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1957)
1996 – Lash LaRue, American actor and producer (b. 1917)
1996 – Villem Raam, Estonian art historian, art critic and conservator (b. 1910)
1998 – Robert Gist, American actor and director (b. 1917)
2000 – Barbara Cartland, English author (b. 1901)
2000 – John Gielgud, English actor (b. 1904)
2000 – Mark R. Hughes, American businessman, founded Herbalife (b. 1956)
2002 – Niki de Saint Phalle, French-American sculptor and painter (b. 1930)
2003 – Alejandro de Tomaso, Argentinian-Italian race car driver and businessman, founded De Tomaso (b. 1928)
2003 – Frank D. White, American captain, banker, and politician, 41st Governor of Arkansas (b. 1933)
2005 – Deborah Berger, American outsider artist (b. 1956)
2005 – Stephen Elliott, American actor (b. 1918)
2005 – Howard Morris, American actor and director (b. 1919)
2006 – Spencer Clark, American race car driver (b. 1987)
2006 – Katherine Dunham, American dancer, choreographer, and author (b. 1909)
2006 – Cherd Songsri, Thai director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2006 – Billy Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1929)
2012 – Eddie Blazonczyk, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
2012 – Otis Clark, American butler and preacher, survivor of the Tulsa race riot (b. 1903)
2012 – Constantine of Irinoupolis, Metropolitan of Irinoupolis and Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (b. 1936)
2012 – Roman Dumbadze, Georgian commander (b. 1964)
2012 – Douglas Rodríguez, Cuban boxer (b. 1950)
2012 – Bill Stewart, American football player and coach (b. 1952)
2012 – Alan Thorne, Australian anthropologist and academic (b. 1939)
2013 – Count Christian of Rosenborg, member of the Danish royal family (b. 1942)
2013 – Frank Comstock, American trombonist, composer, and conductor (b. 1922)
2013 – Cot Deal, American baseball player and coach (b. 1923)
2013 – Mohammad Khaled Hossain, Bangladeshi mountaineer (b. 1979)
2013 – Leonard Marsh, American businessman, co-founded Snapple (b. 1933)
2013 – Bob Thompson, American pianist and composer (b. 1924)
2013 – Dominique Venner, French journalist and historian (b. 1935)
2013 – David Voelker, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1953)
2014 – Tunku Annuar, Malaysian son of Badlishah of Kedah (b. 1939)
2014 – Evelyn Blackmon, American businesswoman and politician (b. 1924)
2014 – Johnny Gray, American baseball player (b. 1926)
2014 – Jaime Lusinchi, Venezuelan physician and politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1924)
2014 – Alireza Soleimani, Iranian wrestler (b. 1956)
2015 – Annarita Sidoti, Italian race walker (b. 1969)
2015 – Twinkle, English singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
2015 – Jassem Al-Kharafi, Kuwaiti businessman and politician, 8th Kuwaiti Speaker of the National Assembly (b. 1940)
2015 – Fred Gladding, American baseball player and coach (b. 1936)
2015 – Louis Johnson, American bass player and producer (b. 1955)
2016 – Nick Menza, American drummer and songwriter (b. 1964)
2019 – Rik Kuypers, Belgian film director (b. 1925)
2019 – Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan writer (b. 1971)
2020 – Alan Merten, fifth President of George Mason University (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances on May 21

Afro-Colombian Day (Colombia)
Christian feast day:
- Arcangelo Tadini
- Blessed Adílio Daronch and Manuel Gómez González
- Blessed Franz Jägerstätter
- Earliest day on which Corpus Christi can fall, while June 24 is the latest; held on Thursday after Trinity Sunday (often locally moved to Sunday). (Roman Catholic Church)
- Emperor Constantine I
- Eugène de Mazenod
- Helena of Constantinople, also known as “Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helen, Equal-to-the-Apostles.” (Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion)
- John Elliot (Episcopal Church)
- Saints of the Cristero War, including Christopher Magallanes
- May 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Circassian Day of Mourning (Circassians)
Day of Patriots and Military (Hungary)
Independence Day, celebrates the Montenegrin independence referendum in 2006, celebrated until the next day. (Montenegro)
Navy Day (Chile)
Saint Helena Day, celebrates the discovery of Saint Helena in 1502. (Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha)
World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (International)
International Tea Day (International)

May 21 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.
1478 – The Pazzi family attack Lorenzo de’ Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Florence Cathedral.
1564 – Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of actual birth is unknown).
1607 – English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia.
1721 – A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz.
1777 – Sybil Ludington, aged 16, rode 40 miles (64 km) to alert American colonial forces to the approach of the British regular forces
1794 – Battle of Beaumont during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France.
1803 – Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L’Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist.
1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon.
1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrenders his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina. Also the date of Confederate Memorial Day for two states.
1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, in Virginia.
1903 – Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded
1923 – The Duke of York weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey.
1925 – Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic.
1933 – The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
1942 – Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1549 Chinese miners dead.
1943 – The Easter Riots break out in Uppsala, Sweden.
1944 – Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt.
1944 – Heinrich Kreipe is captured by Allied commandos in occupied Crete.
1945 – World War II: Battle of Bautzen: Last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.
1945 – World War II: Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army are liberated in Baguio City and they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
1954 – The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.
1956 – SS Ideal X, the world’s first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey, for Houston, Texas.
1958 – Final run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
1960 – Forced out by the April Revolution, President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after 12 years of dictatorial rule.
1962 – NASA’s Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.
1963 – In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections.
1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.
1966 – The magnitude 5.1 Tashkent earthquake affects the largest city in Soviet Central Asia with a maximum MSK intensity of VII (Very strong). Tashkent is mostly destroyed and 15–200 are killed.
1966 – A new government is formed in the Republic of the Congo, led by Ambroise Noumazalaye.
1970 – The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force.
1981 – Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world’s first human open fetal surgery.
1982 – Fifty-seven people are killed by former police officer Woo Bum-kon in a shooting spree in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
1986 – A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union, creating the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
1989 – The deadliest known tornado strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.
1989 – People’s Daily publishes the April 26 Editorial which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests.
1991 – Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States. Before the outbreak’s end, Andover, Kansas, would record the year’s only F5 tornado.
1994 – China Airlines Flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board.
2002 – Robert Steinhäuser kills 16 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot.
2005 – Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country (Syrian occupation of Lebanon).
2018 – American comedian Bill Cosby is found guilty of sexual assault.

Births on April 26

121 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (d. 180)
757 – Hisham I of Córdoba (d. 796)
764 – Al-Hadi, Iranian caliph (d. 786)
1284 – Alice de Toeni, Countess of Warwick (d. 1324)
1319 – King John II of France (d. 1364)
1538 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter and academic (d. 1600)
1575 – Marie de’ Medici, queen of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)
1647 – William Ashhurst, English banker, Sheriff of London, Lord Mayor of London and politician (d. 1720)
1648 – Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)
1697 – Adam Falckenhagen, German lute player and composer (d. 1754)
1710 – Thomas Reid, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1796)
1718 – Esek Hopkins, American commander (d. 1802)
1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (d. 1853)
1782 – Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (d. 1866)
1785 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (d. 1851)
1787 – Ludwig Uhland, German poet, philologist, and historian (d. 1862)
1798 – Eugène Delacroix, French painter and lithographer (d. 1863)
1801 – Ambrose Dudley Mann, American politician and diplomat, 1st United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1889)
1804 – Charles Goodyear, American banker, lawyer, and politician (d. 1876)
1822 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American journalist and designer, co-designed Central Park (d. 1903)
1834 – Charles Farrar Browne, American author (d. 1867)
1856 – Joseph Ward, Australian-New Zealand businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
1862 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and educator (d. 1938)
1876 – Ernst Felle, German rower (d. 1959)
1877 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (d. 1950)
1878 – Rafael Guízar y Valencia, Mexican bishop and saint (d. 1938)
1879 – Eric Campbell, British actor (d. 1917)
1879 – Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
1886 – Ma Rainey, American singer (d. 1939)
1886 – Ğabdulla Tuqay, Russian poet and publicist (d. 1913)
1889 – Anita Loos, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
1889 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1951)
1894 – Rudolf Hess, Egyptian-German politician (d. 1987)
1896 – Ruut Tarmo, Estonian actor and director (d. 1967)
1896 – Ernst Udet, German colonel and pilot (d. 1941)
1897 – Eddie Eagan, American boxer and bobsledder (d. 1967)
1897 – Douglas Sirk, German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
1898 – Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
1898 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (d. 1972)
1899 – Oscar Rabin, Latvian-English saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1958)
1900 – Eva Aschoff, German bookbinder and calligrapher (d. 1969)
1900 – Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist and physicist (d. 1985)
1900 – Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948)
1904 – Paul-Émile Léger, Canadian cardinal (d. 1991)
1904 – Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and politician, 177th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2004)
1905 – Jean Vigo, French director and screenwriter (d. 1934)
1907 – Ilias Tsirimokos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1968)
1909 – Marianne Hoppe, German actress (d. 2002)
1910 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
1911 – Paul Verner, German soldier and politician (d. 1986)
1912 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-American author (d. 2000)
1914 – Bernard Malamud, Jewish American novelist and short story writer (d. 1986)
1914 – James Rouse, American real estate developer (d. 1996)
1916 – Eyvind Earle, American artist, author, and illustrator (d. 2000)
1916 – Ken Wallis, English commander, engineer, and pilot (d. 2013)
1916 – Morris West, Australian author and playwright (d. 1999)
1917 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player and coach (d. 1992)
1917 – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect, designed the National Gallery of Art and Bank of China Tower (d. 2019)
1917 – Virgil Trucks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
1918 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch sprinter and long jumper (d. 2004)
1921 – Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 2008)
1922 – J. C. Holt, English historian and academic (d. 2014)
1922 – Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Governor General of Canada (d. 1993)
1922 – Margaret Scott, South African-Australian ballerina and choreographer (d. 2019)
1924 – Browning Ross, American runner and soldier (d. 1998)
1925 – Vladimir Boltyansky, Russian mathematician, educator and author (d. 2019)
1925 – Gerard Cafesjian, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
1925 – Michele Ferrero, Italian entrepreneur (d. 2015)
1925 – Frank Hahn, British economist (d. 2013)
1926 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German soldier and illustrator (d. 2003)
1927 – Jack Douglas, English actor (d. 2008)
1927 – Harry Gallatin, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
1927 – Granny Hamner, American baseball player (d. 1993)
1929 – Richard Mitchell, American author and educator (d. 2002)
1930 – Roger Moens, Belgian runner and sportscaster
1931 – Paul Almond, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1931 – Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent and producer (d. 2008)
1931 – John Cain Jr., Australian politician, 41st Premier of Victoria (d. 2019)
1932 – Israr Ahmed, Indian-Pakistani theologian, philosopher, and scholar (d. 2010)
1932 – Shirley Cawley, English long jumper
1932 – Frank D’Rone, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
1932 – Francis Lai, French accordion player and composer (d. 2018)
1932 – Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
1933 – Carol Burnett, American actress, singer, and producer
1933 – Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican-American general (d. 2005)
1933 – Arno Allan Penzias, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1935 – Patricia Reilly Giff, American author and educator
1937 – Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
1938 – Duane Eddy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1938 – Maurice Williams, American doo-wop/R&B singer-songwriter
1940 – Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Indian cleric and politician (d. 2014)
1940 – Giorgio Moroder, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
1940 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league player (d. 2018)
1941 – Claudine Auger, French model and actress (d. 2019)
1942 – Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2014)
1942 – Sharon Carstairs, Canadian lawyer and politician, Leader of the Government in the Senate
1942 – Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
1942 – Bobby Rydell, American singer and actor
1942 – Jadwiga Staniszkis, Polish sociologist, political scientist, and academic
1943 – Gary Wright, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
1943 – Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect and academic, designed the Therme Vals
1944 – Richard Bradshaw, English conductor (d. 2007)
1945 – Howard Davies, English director and producer (d. 2016)
1945 – Dick Johnson, Australian race car driver
1945 – Sylvain Simard, Canadian academic and politician
1946 – Ralph Coates, English international footballer (d. 2010)
1946 – Marilyn Nelson, American poet and author
1946 – Alberto Quintano, Chilean footballer
1949 – Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer and manager
1949 – Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler (d. 1995)
1951 – John Battle, English politician
1954 – Tatyana Fomina, Estonian chess player
1954 – Alan Hinkes, English mountaineer and explorer
1955 – Kurt Bodewig, German politician
1956 – Koo Stark, American actress and photographer
1958 – John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, Scottish race car driver
1958 – Giancarlo Esposito, American actor, director, and producer
1958 – Georgios Kostikos, Greek footballer, coach, and manager
1959 – John Corabi, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1960 – Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player and coach
1960 – Roger Taylor, English drummer
1961 – Joan Chen, Chinese-American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
1961 – Chris Mars, American artist
1962 – Colin Anderson, English footballer
1962 – Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian
1963 – Jet Li, Chinese-Singaporean martial artist, actor, and producer
1963 – Colin Scotts, Australian-American football player
1963 – Cornelia Ullrich, German hurdler
1963 – Bill Wennington, Canadian basketball player
1965 – Susannah Harker, English actress
1965 – Kevin James, American actor and comedian
1967 – Glenn Thomas Jacobs, American professional wrestler, actor, businessman and politician
1967 – Marianne Jean-Baptiste, English actress and singer-songwriter
1967 – Toomas Tõniste, Estonian sailor and politician
1970 – Dean Austin, English footballer and manager
1970 – Melania Trump, Slovene-American model; 47th First Lady of the United States
1970 – Kristen R. Ghodsee, American ethnographer and academic
1970 – Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
1971 – Jay DeMarcus, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
1972 – Jason Bargwanna, Australian race car driver
1972 – Kiko, Spanish footballer
1972 – Natrone Means, American football player and coach
1972 – Avi Nimni, Israeli footballer and manager
1973 – Geoff Blum, American baseball player and sportscaster
1973 – Jules Naudet, French-American director and producer
1973 – Chris Perry, English footballer
1973 – Óscar García Junyent, Spanish footballer and coach
1975 – Joey Jordison, American musician, songwriter, record producer
1975 – Rahul Verma, Indian social worker and activist
1976 – Luigi Panarelli, Italian footballer
1976 – Václav Varaďa, Czech ice hockey player
1977 – Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian astronaut
1977 – Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player
1977 – Roxana Saberi, American journalist and author
1977 – Tom Welling, American actor
1978 – Joe Crede, American baseball player
1978 – Stana Katic, Canadian actress
1978 – Peter Madsen, Danish footballer
1980 – Jordana Brewster, Panamanian-American actress
1980 – Marlon King, English footballer
1980 – Anna Mucha, Polish actress and journalist
1980 – Channing Tatum, American actor and producer
1981 – Caro Emerald, Dutch pop and jazz singer
1981 – Ms. Dynamite, English rapper and producer
1981 – Sandra Schmitt, German skier (d. 2000)
1982 – Novlene Williams-Mills, Jamaican sprinter
1983 – José María López, Argentinian race car driver
1983 – Jessica Lynch, American soldier
1984 – Emily Wickersham, American actress
1985 – John Isner, American tennis player
1985 – Andrea Koch Benvenuto, Chilean tennis player
1986 – Lior Refaelov, Israeli footballer
1986 – Sean Evans, American YouTuber and producer
1986 – Yuliya Zaripova, Russian runner
1987 – Jorge Andújar Moreno, Spanish footballer
1988 – Ben Spina, Australian rugby league player
1988 – Manuel Viniegra, Mexican footballer
1988 – Gareth Evans, English footballer
1989 – Melvin Ingram, American football player
1990 – Mitch Rein, Australian rugby league player
1990 – Nevin Spence, Northern Irish rugby player (d. 2012)
1991 – Lazaros Fotias, Greek footballer
1991 – Peter Handscomb, Australian cricketer
1991 – Will Heard, British singer and songwriter
1991 – Isaac Liu, New Zealand rugby league player
1991 – Ignacio Lores Varela, Uruguayan footballer
1991 – Srdjan Pejicic, Canadian/Bosnian basketball player
1991 – Wojciech Pszczolarski, Polish bicycle racer
1992 – Aaron Judge, American baseball player
1994 – Daniil Kvyat, Russian race car driver

Deaths on April 26

499 – Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (b. 467)
645 – Richarius, Frankish monk and saint (b. 560)
680 – Muawiyah I, Umayyad caliph (b. 602)
757 – Pope Stephen II (b. 715)
893 – Chen Jingxuan, general of the Tang Dynasty
962 – Adalbero I, bishop of Metz
1192 – Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1127)
1366 – Simon Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury
1392 – Jeong Mong-ju, Korean civil minister, diplomat and scholar (b. 1338)
1444 – Robert Campin, Flemish painter (b. 1378)
1478 – Giuliano de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1453)
1489 – Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shōgun (b. 1465)
1558 – Jean Fernel, French physician (b. 1497)
1686 – Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Swedish statesman and military man (b. 1622)
1716 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English jurist and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1651)
1784 – Nano Nagle, Irish nun and educator, founded the Presentation Sisters (b. 1718)
1789 – Petr Ivanovich Panin, Russian general (b. 1721)
1809 – Bernhard Schott, German music publisher (b. 1748)
1865 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1838)
1881 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (b. 1815)
1895 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian-English author and poet (b. 1860)
1910 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian-French author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1832)
1915 – John Bunny, American actor (b. 1863)
1920 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (b. 1887)
1932 – William Lockwood, English cricketer (b. 1868)
1934 – Arturs Alberings, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (b. 1876)
1940 – Carl Bosch, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
1944 – Violette Morris, French footballer, shot putter, and discus thrower (b. 1893)
1945 – Sigmund Rascher, German physician (b. 1909)
1945 – Pavlo Skoropadskyi, German-Ukrainian general and politician, Hetman of Ukraine (b. 1871)
1946 – James Larkin White, American miner, explorer, and park ranger (b. 1882)
1950 – George Murray Hulbert, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1881)
1951 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist and academic (b. 1868)
1956 – Edward Arnold, American actor (b. 1890)
1957 – Gichin Funakoshi, Japanese martial artist, founded Shotokan (b. 1868)
1964 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet and author (b. 1882)
1968 – John Heartfield, German illustrator and photographer (b. 1891)
1969 – Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist, founded aikido (b. 1883)
1970 – Erik Bergman, Swedish minister and author (b. 1886)
1970 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress, striptease dancer, and writer (b. 1911)
1973 – Irene Ryan, American actress and philanthropist (b. 1902)
1976 – Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (b. 1903)
1976 – Sid James, South African-English actor (b. 1913)
1976 – Armstrong Sperry, American author and illustrator (b. 1897)
1980 – Cicely Courtneidge, Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer (b. 1893)
1981 – Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
1984 – Count Basie, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1904)
1986 – Broderick Crawford, American actor (b. 1911)
1986 – Bessie Love, American actress (b. 1898)
1986 – Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (b. 1899)
1987 – Shankar, Indian composer and conductor (b. 1922)
1987 – John Silkin, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons (b. 1923)
1989 – Lucille Ball, American model, actress, comedian, and producer (b. 1911)
1991 – Leo Arnaud, French-American composer and conductor (b. 1904)
1991 – Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (b. 1910)
1991 – A. B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist and historian, (b. 1901)
1991 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1931)
1994 – Masutatsu Ōyama, Japanese martial artist, founded Kyokushin kaikan (b. 1923)
1996 – Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)
1999 – Adrian Borland, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1957)
1999 – Jill Dando, English journalist and television personality (b. 1961)
2003 – Rosemary Brown, Jamaican-Canadian academic and politician (b. 1930)
2003 – Yun Hyon-seok, South Korean poet and author (b. 1984)
2003 – Edward Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (b. 1904)
2004 – Hubert Selby, Jr., American author, poet, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
2005 – Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919)
2005 – Elisabeth Domitien, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1925)
2005 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (b. 1926)
2005 – Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan journalist, author, and academic (b. 1917)
2007 – Jack Valenti, American businessman, created the MPAA film rating system (b. 1921)
2009 – Hans Holzer, Austrian-American paranormal investigator and author (b. 1920)
2010 – Mariam A. Aleem, Egyptian graphic designer and academic (b. 1930)
2010 – Urs Felber, Swiss engineer and businessman (b. 1942)
2011 – Phoebe Snow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1950)
2012 – Terence Spinks, English boxer and trainer (b. 1938)
2013 – Jacqueline Brookes, American actress and educator (b. 1930)
2013 – George Jones, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931)
2014 – Gerald Guralnik, American physicist and academic (b. 1936)
2014 – Paul Robeson, Jr., American historian and author (b. 1927)
2014 – DJ Rashad, American electronic musician, producer and DJ (b. 1979)
2015 – Jayne Meadows, American actress (b. 1919)
2015 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1930)
2016 – Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (b. 1937)
2017 – Jonathan Demme, American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances on April 26

Chernobyl disaster related observances:
- Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy (Belarus)
- Memorial Day of Radiation Accidents and Catastrophes (Russia)
Christian feast day:
- Aldobrandesca (or Alda)
- Franca Visalta
- Lucidius of Verona
- Our Lady of Good Counsel
- Pope Anacletus and Marcellinus
- Riquier
- Paschasius Radbertus
- Peter of Rates (or of Braga)
- Robert Hunt (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Stephen of Perm, see also Old Permic Alphabet Day
- Trudpert
- April 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Confederate Memorial Day (Florida, United States)
Union Day (Tanzania)
World Intellectual Property Day

April 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

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
1962 – Arild Monsen, Norwegian cross-country skier
1962 – Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, Russian businessman and politician, 1st President of Kalmykia
1963 – Arthur Adams, American comic book artist and writer
1964 – Neil Eckersley, British judoka
1964 – Vakhtang Iagorashvili, Soviet modern pentathlete
1964 – Levon Julfalakyan, Soviet Armenian Greco-Roman wrestler
1964 – Marius Lăcătuș, Romanian footballer and coach
1965 – Aykut Kocaman, Turkish footballer and manager
1965 – Lang Tzu-yun, Taiwanese actress
1965 – Elizabeth McIntyre, American freestyle skier
1965 – Svetlana Paramygina, Belarusian biathlete
1966 – Yoon Hyun, South Korean judoka
1966 – Mike McCready, American guitarist and songwriter
1967 – Troy Gentry, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
1967 – Franck Silvestre, French footballer
1967 – Erland Johnsen, Norwegian footballer
1967 – Laima Zilporytė, Soviet cyclist
1968 – Paula Cole, American singer-songwriter and pianist
1969 – Dinos Angelidis, Greek basketball player
1969 – Viatcheslav Djavanian, Russian cyclist
1969 – Pontus Kåmark, Swedish footballer
1969 – Pavlo Khnykin, Ukrainian swimmer
1969 – Tomislav Piplica, Bosnian footballer and manager
1969 – Ravindra Prabhat, Indian writer and journalist
1970 – Soheil Ayari, French race car driver
1970 – Valérie Bonneton, French actress
1970 – Diamond D, American hip hop producer
1970 – Petar Genov, Bulgarian chess grandmaster
1970 – Thea Gill, Canadian actress
1970 – Miho Hatori, Japanese singer-songwriter
1970 – Irina Timofeyeva, Russian long-distance runner
1971 – Dong Abay, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
1971 – Austin Berry, Costa Rican footballer
1971 – Simona Cavallari, Italian actress
1971 – Victoria Hamilton, English actress
1971 – Nelson Parraguez, Chilean footballer
1971 – Kim Soo-nyung, South Korean archer
1972 – Krista Allen, American actress
1972 – Nima Arkani-Hamed, American-Canadian theoretical physicist
1972 – Tom Coronel, Dutch race car driver
1972 – Paul Okon, Australian footballer and manager
1972 – Yasuhiro Takemoto, Japanese animator and director (d. 2019)
1972 – Junko Takeuchi, Japanese actress
1973 – Élodie Bouchez, French-American actress
1973 – Lidia Trettel, Italian snowboarder
1973 – Pharrell Williams, American singer, songwriter and rapper
1974 – Sandra Bagarić, Croatian opera singer and actress
1974 – Julien Boutter, French tennis player
1974 – Katja Holanti, Finnish biathlete
1974 – Oleg Khodkov, Russian handball player
1974 – Ariel López, Argentine footballer
1974 – Lukas Ridgeston, Slovak actor and director
1974 – Vyacheslav Voronin, Russian high jumper
1975 – Sarah Baldock, English organist and conductor
1975 – John Hartson, Welsh footballer and coach
1975 – Juicy J, American rapper and producer
1975 – Serhiy Klymentiev, Ukrainian ice hockey player
1975 – Caitlin Moran, English journalist, author, and critic
1975 – Marcos Vales, Spanish footballer
1975 – Shammond Williams, American basketball player and coach
1976 – Luis de Agustini, Uruguayan footballer
1976 – Péter Biros, Hungarian water polo player
1976 – Sterling K. Brown, American actor
1976 – Aleksei Budõlin, Estonian judoka
1976 – Simone Inzaghi, Italian footballer
1976 – Fernando Morientes, Spanish footballer and coach
1976 – Natascha Ragosina, Russian boxer
1976 – Henrik Stenson, Swedish golfer
1976 – Valeria Straneo, Italian long-distance runner
1976 – Indrek Tobreluts, Estonian biathlete
1976 – Anouska van der Zee, Dutch cyclist
1977 – Jonathan Erlich, Israeli tennis player
1977 – Trevor Letowski, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1977 – Daniel Majstorović, Swedish footballer
1978 – Dwain Chambers, British track sprinter
1978 – Marcone Amaral Costa, Qatari footballer
1978 – Tarek El-Said, Egyptian footballer
1978 – Jairo Patiño, Colombian footballer
1978 – Sohyang, South Korean singer
1978 – Stephen Jackson, American basketball player
1978 – Arnaud Tournant, French cyclist
1978 – Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
1978 – Günther Weidlinger, Austrian long-distance runner
1979 – Vlada Avramov, Serbian footballer
1979 – Josh Boone, American screenwriter and director
1979 – Song Dae-nam, South Korean judoka
1979 – Timo Hildebrand, German footballer
1979 – Imany, French singer
1979 – Barel Mouko, Congolese footballer
1979 – Cesare Natali, Italian footballer
1979 – Mitsuo Ogasawara, Japanese footballer
1979 – Alexander Resch, German luger
1979 – Andrius Velička, Lithuanian footballer
1979 – Dante Wesley, American football player
1979 – Chen Yanqing, Chinese weightlifter
1980 – Matt Bonner, American basketball player
1980 – Alberta Brianti, Italian tennis player
1980 – Rafael Cavalcante, Brazilian mixed martial artist
1980 – David Chocarro, Argentinian baseball player and actor
1980 – Mike Glumac, Canadian ice hockey player
1980 – Mario Kasun, Croatian basketball player
1980 – Lee Jae-won, South Korean DJ and singer
1980 – Joris Mathijsen, Dutch footballer
1980 – Rasmus Quist Hansen, Danish rower
1980 – Odlanier Solís, Cuban boxer
1981 – Matthew Emmons, American rifle shooter
1981 – Michael A. Monsoor, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2006)
1981 – Mariqueen Maandig, Filipino-American musician and singer-songwriter
1981 – Daba Modibo Keïta, Malian taekwondo athlete
1981 – Marissa Nadler, American musician
1981 – Tom Riley, English actor and producer
1981 – Mompati Thuma, Botswana footballer
1981 – Pieter Weening, Dutch cyclist
1982 – Hayley Atwell, English-American actress
1982 – Matheus Coradini Vivian, Brazilian footballer
1982 – Thomas Hitzlsperger, German footballer
1982 – Kelly Pavlik, American boxer
1982 – Matt Pickens, American soccer player
1982 – Alexandre Prémat, French race car driver
1982 – Danylo Sapunov, Ukrainian-Kazakhstani triathlete
1982 – Hubert Schwab, Swiss cyclist
1982 – Marcel Seip, Dutch former footballer
1983 – Jaime Castrillón, Colombian footballer
1983 – Jorge Andrés Martínez, Uruguayan footballer
1983 – Brock Radunske, Canadian-South Korean ice hockey player
1983 – Yohann Sangaré, French basketball player
1983 – Cécile Storti, French cross-country skier
1983 – Shikha Uberoi, Indian-American tennis player
1984 – Marshall Allman, American actor
1984 – Aram Mp3, Armenian singer and comedian
1984 – Rune Brattsveen, Norwegian biathlete
1984 – Alexei Glukhov, Russian ice hockey player
1984 – Maartje Goderie, Dutch field hockey player
1984 – Darija Jurak, Croatian tennis player
1984 – Dejan Kelhar, Slovenian footballer
1984 – Dmitry Kozonchuk, Russian cyclist
1984 – Shin Min-a, South Korean actress
1984 – Jess Sum, Hong Kong actress
1984 – Peter Penz, Austrian luger
1984 – Samuele Preisig, Swiss footballer
1984 – Cristian Săpunaru, Romanian footballer
1984 – Fabio Vitaioli, San Marinese footballer
1984 – Kisho Yano, Japanese footballer
1984 – Saba Qamar, Pakistani actress-model
1985 – Daniel Congré, French footballer
1985 – Erwin l’Ami, Dutch chess player
1985 – Jolanda Keizer, Dutch heptathlete
1985 – Sergey Khachatryan, Armenian violinist
1985 – Linas Pilibaitis, Lithuanian footballer
1985 – Jan Smeets, Dutch chess grandmaster
1985 – Kristof Vandewalle, Belgian cyclist
1986 – Anna Sophia Berglund, American model and actress
1986 – Anzor Boltukayev, Chechen wrestler
1986 – Diego Chará, Colombian footballer
1986 – Charlotte Flair, American wrestler, author and actress
1986 – Róbert Kasza, Hungarian Modern pentathlete
1986 – Eetu Muinonen, Finnish footballer
1986 – Manuel Ruz, Spanish footballer
1986 – Albert Selimov, Azerbaijani boxer
1987 – Max Grün, German footballer
1987 – Balázs Hárai, Hungarian water polo player
1987 – Anton Kokorin, Russian sprint athlete
1987 – Fyodor Kudryashov, Russian footballer
1987 – Etiënne Reijnen, Dutch footballer
1988 – Gerson Acevedo, Chilean footballer
1988 – Teresa Almeida, Angolan handball player
1988 – Quade Cooper, New Zealand rugby player and boxer
1988 – Jonathan Davies, Welsh rugby union player
1988 – Gevorg Ghazaryan, Armenian footballer
1988 – Alisha Glass, American ex-indoor volleyball player
1988 – Vurğun Hüseynov, Azerbaijani footballer
1988 – Matthias Jaissle, German footballer and manager
1988 – Jon Kwang-ik, North Korean footballer
1988 – Christopher Papamichalopoulos, Cypriot skier
1988 – Zack Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Pape Sy, French basketball player
1988 – Alexey Volkov, Russian biathlete
1989 – Kader Amadou, Nigerien footballer
1989 – Yémi Apithy, Beninese fencer
1989 – Liemarvin Bonevacia, Dutch sprinter
1989 – Freddie Fox, English actor
1989 – Emre Güral, Turkish footballer
1989 – Justin Holiday, American basketball player
1989 – Rachel Homan, Canadian curler
1989 – Lily James, English actress
1989 – Trevor Marsicano, American speed skater
1989 – Jonathan Rossini, Swiss footballer
1989 – Kiki Sukezane, Japanese actress
1989 – Sosuke Takatani, Japanese wrestler
1990 – Alex Cuthbert, Welsh rugby player
1990 – Amer Said Al-Shatri, Omani footballer
1990 – Fredy Hinestroza, Colombian footballer
1990 – Chen Huijia, Chinese swimmer
1990 – Haruma Miura, Japanese actor and singer
1990 – Ismaeel Mohammad, Qatari footballer
1990 – Iryna Pamialova, Belarusian canoeist
1990 – Jakub Sedláček, Czech ice hockey player
1990 – Sercan Yıldırım, Turkish footballer
1990 – Género Zeefuik, Dutch footballer
1991 – Yassine Bounou, Moroccan footballer
1991 – Nathaniel Clyne, English footballer
1991 – Adriano Grimaldi, Italian-German footballer
1991 – Joël Mall, Swiss footballer
1991 – Guilherme dos Santos Torres, Brazilian footballer
1992 – Emmalyn Estrada, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
1992 – Shintaro Kurumaya, Japanese footballer
1992 – Kaveh Rezaei, Iranian footballer
1992 – Dmytro Ryzhuk, Ukrainian footballer
1993 – Andreas Bouchalakis, Greek footballer
1993 – Maya DiRado, American swimmer
1993 – Laura Feiersinger, Austrian footballer
1993 – Scottie Wilbekin, American-born naturalized Turkish basketball player
1994 – Mateusz Bieniek, Polish volleyball player
1994 – Edem Rjaïbi, Tunisian footballer
1994 – Richard Sánchez, Mexican footballer
1995 – Viliame Kikau, Fijian rugby league player
1995 – Sei Muroya, Japanese footballer
1995 – Gleb Rassadkin, Belarusian footballer
1995 – Sebastian Starke Hedlund, Swedish footballer
1996 – Nicolas Beer, Danish race car driver
1996 – Raouf Benguit, Algerian footballer
1997 – Borja Mayoral, Spanish footballer
1998 – Jeremy Olson
1999 – Andrea Buwalda
2000 – Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Indian actor
2001 – Thylane Blondeau, French model and actress

Deaths on April 5

517 – Timothy I, Byzantine patriarch
582 – Eutychius, Byzantine patriarch
584 – Ruadán of Lorrha, Irish abbot
828 – Nikephoros I, Byzantine patriarch
902 – Al-Mu’tadid, Abbasid caliph
1168 – Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, English politician (b. 1104)
1183 – Ramon Berenguer III, Spanish count of Cerdanya and Provence
1205 – Isabella I of Jerusalem, queen regent of Jerusalem (b. 1172)
1258 – Juliana of Liège, Belgian canoness and saint
1308 – Ivan Kőszegi, Hungarian baron and oligarch
1325 – Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron of Monthermer and Earl of Gloucester (b. c.1270)
1419 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (b. 1350)
1431 – Bernard I, margrave of Baden-Baden (b. 1364)
1512 – Lazzaro Bastiani, Italian painter (b. 1429)
1534 – Jan Matthys, Dutch anabaptist reformer
1594 – Catherine of Palma, Spanish nun (b. 1533)
1617 – Alonso Lobo, Spanish composer (b. 1555)
1626 – Anna Koltovskaya, Russian tsarina
1673 – François Caron, Belgian-French explorer and politician, 8th Governor of Formosa (b. 1600)
1674 – George Frederick, prince of Nassau-Siegen (b. 1606)
1679 – Anne Geneviève de Bourbon, French princess (b. 1619)
1684 – William Brouncker, English mathematician (b. 1620)
1684 – Karl Eusebius, prince of Liechtenstein (b. 1611)
1693 – Anne Marie Louise d’Orléans, French noblewoman (b. 1627)
1693 – Philip William August, German nobleman (b. 1668)
1695 – George Savile, English politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1633)
1697 – Charles XI, king of Sweden (b. 1655)
1704 – Christian Ulrich I, German nobleman and Duke of Württemberg-Oels (b. 1652)
1708 – Christian Heinrich, German prince and member of the House of Hohenzollern (b. 1661)
1709 – Roger de Piles, French painter, engraver, art critic and diplomat (b. 1635)
1712 – Jan Luyken, Dutch poet, illustrator and engraver (b. 1649)
1717 – Jean Jouvenet, French painter (b. 1647)
1723 – Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, Austrian architect, sculptor and historian (b. 1656)
1735 – William Derham, English minister and philosopher (b. 1657)
1751 – Frederick I, prince consort and king of Sweden (b. 1676)
1765 – Edward Young, English poet and author (b. 1683)
1767 – Princess Charlotte Wilhelmine of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, German princess of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. 1685)
1768 – Egidio Forcellini, Italian philologist (b. 1688)
1769 – Marc-Antoine Laugier, Jesuit priest (b. 1713)
1794 – Georges Danton, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of Justice (b. 1759)
1794 – François Chabot, French politician (b. 1756)
1794 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1760)
1794 – Fabre d’Églantine, French actor, dramatist, poet and politician (b. 1750)
1794 – Marie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles, French judge and politician (b. 1759)
1794 – Pierre Philippeaux, French lawyer (b. 1754)
1794 – François Joseph Westermann, French general (b. 1751)
1799 – Johann Christoph Gatterer, German historian (b. 1727)
1804 – Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (b. 1761)
1808 – Johann Georg Wille, German engraver (b. 1715)
1830 – Richard Chenevix, Irish chemist and playwright (b. 1774)
1831 – Pierre Léonard Vander Linden, Belgian entomologist (b. 1797)
1842 – Shah Shujah Durrani, 5th Emir of Afghanistan (b. 1785)
1852 – Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, (b. 1800)
1861 – Ferdinand Joachimsthal, German mathematician (b. 1818)
1862 – Barend Cornelis Koekkoek, Dutch artist (b. 1803)
1865 – Manfredo Fanti, Italian general (b. 1806)
1866 – Thomas Hodgkin, British physician (b. 1798)
1868 – Karel Purkyně, Czech painter (b. 1834)
1871 – Paolo Savi, Italian geologist and ornithologist (b. 1798)
1872 – Paul-Auguste-Ernest Laugier, French astronomer (b. 1812)
1873 – Milivoje Blaznavac, Serbian soldier and politician (b. 1824)
1882 – Pierre Guillaume Frédéric le Play, (b. 1806)
1888 – Vsevolod Garshin, Russian author (b. 1855)
1891 – Johann Hermann Bauer, (b. 1861)
1900 – Joseph Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (b. 1822)
1900 – Osman Nuri Pasha, Ottoman field marshal and the hero of the Siege of Plevna in 1877 (b. 1832)
1901 – Angelo Messedaglia, Italian social scientist and statistician (b. 1820)
1902 – Hans Ernst August Buchner, German bacteriologist (b. 1850)
1904 – Ernst Leopold, 4th Prince of Leiningen (b. 1830)
1904 – Frances Power Cobbe, Irish writer (b. 1822)
1906 – Eastman Johnson, American painter (b. 1824)
1914 – Bernard Borggreve, German forestry scientist (b. 1836)
1916 – Maksim Kovalevsky, Russian sociologist (b. 1851)
1918 – George Tupou II, King of Tonga (b. 1874)
1918 – Paul Vidal de La Blache, French geographer (b. 1845)
1920 – Laurent Marqueste, French sculptor (b. 1848)
1921 – Alphons Diepenbrock, Dutch composer (b. 1862)
1921 – Sophie Elkan, Swedish-Jewish writer and translator (b. 1853)
1923 – George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English archaeologist and businessman (b. 1866)
1924 – Victor Hensen, German zoologist (b. 1835)
1928 – Roy Kilner, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1890)
1928 – Viktor Oliva, Czech painter and illustrator (b. 1861)
1929 – Francis Aidan Gasquet, English Benedictine monk (b. 1846)
1929 – Ludwig von Sybel, German archeologist (b. 1846)
1932 – María Blanchard, Spanish painter (b. 1881)
1933 – Earl Derr Biggers, American novelist and playwright (b. 1884)
1933 – Hjalmar Mellin, Finnish mathematician and functional theorist (b. 1854)
1934 – Salvatore Di Giacomo, Italian poet, playwright, songwriter and fascist intellectual (b. 1860)
1934 – Jiro Sato, Japanese tennis player (b. 1908)
1935 – Achille Locatelli, Roman Catholic cardinal (b. 1856)
1935 – Emil Młynarski, Polish conductor, violinist, composer, and pedagogue (b. 1870)
1935 – Franz von Vecsey, Hungarian violinist and composer (b. 1893)
1936 – Chandler Egan, American golfer and architect (b. 1884)
1937 – Gustav Adolf Deissmann, (b. 1866)
1937 – José Benlliure y Gil, Spanish painter (b. 1858)
1938 – Helena Westermarck, Finnish artist and writer (b. 1857)
1938 – Verner Lehtimäki, Finnish revolutionary (b. 1890)
1940 – Charles Freer Andrews, English-Indian priest, missionary, and educator (b. 1871)
1940 – Robert Maillart, Swiss civil engineer (b. 1872)
1940 – Jay O’Brien, American bobsledder (b. 1883)
1940 – Song Zheyuan, Chinese general (b. 1885)
1941 – Parvin E’tesami, Persian poet (b. 1907)
1941 – Nigel Gresley, Scottish-English engineer (b. 1876)
1941 – Franciszek Kleeberg, Polish general (b. 1888)
1945 – Heinrich Borgmann, German officer (b. 1912)
1945 – Karl-Otto Koch, German SS officer (b. 1897)
1946 – Vincent Youmans, American composer and producer (b. 1898)
1947 – Bernhard Pankok, German painter, artist and architect (b. 1872)
1947 – Elis Strömgren, Swedish-Danish astronomer (b. 1870)
1948 – Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, American socialite and philanthropist (b. 1874)
1949 – Erich Zeigner, Prime Minister of Saxony (b. 1886)
1950 – Hiroshi Yoshida, Japanese painter (b. 1876)
1952 – Agnes Morton, British tennis player (b.
1954 – Princess Märtha of Sweden, (b. 1901)
1954 – Claude Delvincourt, French pianist and composer (b. 1888)
1956 – William Titt, British gymnast (b. 1881)
1958 – Prince Ferdinand of Bavaria, (b. 1884)
1958 – Ásgrímur Jónsson, Icelandic painter (b. 1876)
1958 – Isidora Sekulić, Serbian writer (b. 1877)
1961 – Nikolai Kryukov, Russian composer (b. 1908)
1962 – Boo Kullberg, Swedish gymnast (b. 1889)
1963 – Jacobus Oud, Dutch architect (b. 1890)
1964 – James Chapin, American ornithologist (b. 1889)
1964 – Aloïse Corbaz, Swiss artist (b. 1886)
1964 – Douglas MacArthur, American general (b. 1880)
1965 – Pedro Sernagiotto, Italian-Brazilian footballer (b. 1908)
1965 – Sándor Szalay, Hungarian figure skater (b. 1893)
1967 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (b. 1891)
1967 – Johan Falkberget, Norwegian author (b. 1879)
1967 – Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
1967 – Herbert Johnston, British runner (b. 1902)
1968 – Félix Couchoro, Togolese writer (b. 1900)
1968 – Lajos Csordás, Hungarian footballer
1968 – Giuseppe Paris, Italian gymnast (b. 1895)
1969 – Alberto Bonucci, Italian actor and director (b. 1918)
1969 – Rómulo Gallegos, Venezuelan novelist and politician (b. 1917)
1969 – Ain-Ervin Mere, Estonian SS officer (b. 1903)
1970 – Louisa Bolus, South African botanist and taxonomist (b. 1877)
1970 – Alfred Sturtevant, American geneticist and academic (b. 1891)
1970 – Karl von Spreti, German diplomat (b. 1907)
1971 – José Cubiles, Spanish pianist and conductor (b. 1894)
1972 – Brian Donlevy, American actor and producer (b. 1901)
1973 – David Murray, British race car driver (b. 1909)
1973 – Isabel Jewell, American actress and singer (b. 1907)
1973 – Alla Tarasova, Russian ballerina (b. l898)
1974 – Bino Bini, Italian fencer (b. 1900)
1974 – A. Y. Jackson, Canadian painter (b. 1882)
1975 – Tell Berna, American middle and long-distance runner (b. 1891)
1975 – Victor Marijnen, Dutch politician (b. 1917)
1975 – Chiang Kai-shek, Chinese general and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (b. 1887)
1975 – Harold Osborn, American track and fielder (b. 1899)
1976 – Howard Hughes, American pilot, engineer, and director (b. 1905)
1976 – Wilder Penfield, American-Canadian surgeon and academic (b. 1891)
1976 – Harry Wyld, British cyclist (b. 1900)
1977 – Carlos Prío Socarrás, President of Cuba, (b. 1903)
1977 – Yuri Zavadsky, Russian actor and director (b. 1894)
1981 – Émile Hanse, Belgian footballer (b. 1892)
1981 – Bob Hite, American singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
1981 – Pinchus Kremegne, French artist (b. 1890)
1982 – Abe Fortas, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1910)
1984 – Hans Lunding, Danish military officer (b. 1899)
1984 – Giuseppe Tucci, Italian scholar of oriental cultures (b. 1894)
1986 – Manly Wade Wellman, American writer (b. 1903)
1987 – Leabua Jonathan, 2nd Prime Minister of Lesotho (b. 1914)
1988 – Alf Kjellin, Swedish actor and director (b. 1920)
1989 – Frank Foss, American pole vaulter (b. 1895)
1989 – Karel Zeman, Czech director, artist, production designer and animator (b. 1910)
1991 – Sonny Carter, American soccer player, physician, and astronaut (b. 1947)
1991 – Jay Miller, American basketball player (b. 1943)
1991 – Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist, writer and screenwriter (b. 1915)
1991 – William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L’Isle (b. 1909)
1991 – John Tower, American soldier, academic, and politician (b. 1925)
1992 – Takeshi Inoue, Japanese footballer (b. 1928)
1992 – Molly Picon, American actress (b. 1898)
1992 – Sam Walton, American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam’s Club (b. 1918)
1993 – Divya Bharti, Indian actress (b. 1974)
1994 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1967)
1995 – Nicolaas Cortlever, Dutch chess player (b. 1915)
1995 – Emilio Greco, Italian sculptor and engraver (b. 1913)
1995 – Christian Pineau, French Resistance fighter (b. 1904)
1996 – Charlene Holt, American actress (b. 1928)
1997 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (b. 1926)
1998 – Frederick Charles Frank, British theoretical physicist (b. 1911)
1998 – Cozy Powell, English drummer (b. 1947)
1999 – Giulio Einaudi, Italian book publisher (b. 1912)
2000 – Heinrich Müller, Austrian footballer (b. 1909)
2000 – Lee Petty, American race car driver (b. 1914)
2001 – Aldo Olivieri, Italian footballer (b. 1910)
2002 – Layne Staley, American singer-songwriter (b. 1967)
2002 – Kim Won-gyun, North Korean composer and politician (b. 1917)
2003 – Keizo Morishita, Japanese painter (b. 1944)
2004 – Fernand Goyvaerts, Belgian footballer (b. 1938)
2004 – Sławomir Rawicz, Polish lieutenant (b. 1915)
2004 – Heiner Zieschang, German mathematician and academic (b. 1936)
2005 – Saul Bellow, Canadian-American novelist, essayist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
2005 – Robert Borg, American military officer and equestrian (b. 1913)
2005 – Chung Nam-sik, South Korean footballer (b. 1917)
2006 – Allan Kaprow, American painter and educator (b. 1927)
2006 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
2006 – Yevgeny Seredin, Russian swimmer (b. 1958)
2006 – Pasquale Macchi, Roman Catholic archbishop (b. 1923)
2007 – Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (b. 1923)
2007 – Leela Majumdar, Indian author and academic (b. 1908)
2007 – Werner Maser, German historian and journalist (b. 1922)
2007 – Mark St. John, American guitarist (b. 1956)
2007 – Thomas Stoltz Harvey, American pathologist (b. 1912)
2008 – Charlton Heston, American actor, director, and political activist (b. 1923)
2009 – I. J. Good, British mathematician (b. 1916)
2010 – Vitaly Sevastyanov, Soviet cosmonaut and engineer (b. 1935)
2011 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and geneticist (b. 1925)
2011 – Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African politician (b. 1937)
2012 – Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, German designer (b. 1935)
2012 – Pedro Bartolomé Benoit, Dominican Republican politician military officer
2012 – Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (b. 1923)
2012 – Barney McKenna, Irish musician (b. 1939)
2012 – Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawian economist and politician, 3rd President of Malawi (b. 1934)
2013 – Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (b. 1921)
2013 – Piero de Palma, Italian tenor and actor (b. 1924)
2014 – Alan Davie, Scottish saxophonist and painter (b. 1920)
2014 – Mariano Díaz, Spanish cyclist (b. 1939)
2014 – Peter Matthiessen, American novelist, short story writer, editor, co-founded The Paris Review (b. 1927)
2014 – John Pinette, American comedian (b. 1964)
2014 – José Wilker, Brazilian actor, director, and producer (b. 1947)
2015 – Fredric Brandt, American dermatologist and author (b. 1949)
2015 – Juan Carlos Cáceres, Argentinian singer and pianist (b. 1936)
2016 – Koço Kasapoğlu, Turkish footballer (b. 1936)
2017 – Attilio Benfatto, Italian cyclist (b. 1943)
2017 – Arthur Bisguier, American chess Grandmaster (b. 1929)
2017 – Paul G. Comba, Italian-American computer scientist and astronomer (b. 1926)
2017 – Makoto Ōoka, Japanese poet and literary critic (b. 1931)
2017 – Paul O’Neill, American rock composer and producer (b. 1956)
2017 – Tim Parnell, British race car driver (b. 1932)
2017 – Memè Perlini, Italian actor and director (b. 1947)
2017 – Atanase Sciotnic, Romanian sprint canoeist (b. 1942)
2017 – Ilkka Sinisalo, Finnish ice hockey player (b. 1958)
2018 – Isao Takahata, Japanese director (b. 1935)
2019 – Sydney Brenner, South African biologist (b. 1927)^[16]

Holidays and observances on April 5

Christian feast day:
- Albert of Montecorvino
- Derfel Gadarn
- Æthelburh of Kent
- Gerald of Sauve-Majeure
- Juliana of Liège
- Maria Crescentia Höss
- Blessed Mariano de la Mata
- Pandita Mary Ramabai (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Ruadhán of Lorrha
- Vincent Ferrer
- April 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Cold Food Festival, held on April 4 if it is a leap year (China); and its related observances:
Earliest day on which Sham el-Nessim can fall, while May 9 is the latest; celebrated on Monday after the Orthodox Easter (Egypt)
Children’s Day (Palestinian territories)
Sikmogil (South Korea)
National Maritime Day is observed in India, in commemoration of the first voyage of SS Loyalty of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. in 1919.

April 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

It is the first day of the second quarter of the year, and the midway point of the first half of the year.

33 – According to one historian’s account, Jesus Christ’s Last Supper is held.
286 – Emperor Diocletian elevates his general Maximian to co-emperor with the rank of Augustus and gives him control over the Western regions of the Roman Empire.
325 – Crown Prince Jin Chengdi, age four, succeeds his father Jin Mingdi as emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty.
457 – Majorian is acclaimed emperor by the Roman army after defeating 900 Alemanni near Lake Maggiore (Italy).
527 – Byzantine Emperor Justin I names his nephew Justinian I as co-ruler and successor to the throne.
528 – The daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei was made the “Emperor” as a male heir of the late emperor by Empress Dowager Hu. Deposed and replaced by Yuan Zhao the next day, she was the first female monarch in the History of China, but is not widely recognised.
988 – Robert II of France is married to Rozala of Italy. The marriage is arranged by his father, King Hugh Capet.
1234 – Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, is defeated by knights loyal to King Henry III of England in the Battle of the Curragh in Ireland.
1293 – Robert Winchelsey leaves England for Rome, to be consecrated as Archbishop of Canterbury.
1318 – Berwick-upon-Tweed is captured by Scotland from England.
1340 – Niels Ebbesen kills Gerhard III, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg in his bedroom, ending the 1332-1340 interregnum in Denmark.
1545 – Potosí, Bolivia, is founded after the discovery of huge silver deposits in the area.
1572 – In the Eighty Years’ War, the Watergeuzen capture Brielle from the Seventeen Provinces, gaining the first foothold on land for what would become the Dutch Republic.
1625 – A combined Spanish and Portuguese fleet of 52 ships commences the recapture of Bahia from the Dutch during the Dutch–Portuguese War.
1789 – In New York City, the United States House of Representatives achieves its first quorum and elects Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as its first Speaker.
1826 – Samuel Morey received a patent for a compressionless “Gas or Vapor Engine”.
1833 – The Convention of 1833, a political gathering of settlers in Mexican Texas to help draft a series of petitions to the Mexican government, begins in San Felipe de Austin.
1854 – Charles Dickens’ novel Hard Times begins serialisation in his magazine Household Words.
1865 – American Civil War: Union troops led by Philip Sheridan decisively defeat Confederate troops led by George Pickett, cutting the Army of Northern Virginia’s last supply line.
1867 – Singapore becomes a British crown colony.
1871 – The 3rd Duke of Buckingham opened the Brill Tramway, a short railway line to transport goods between his lands and the national rail network.
1873 – The White Star steamer RMS Atlantic sinks off Nova Scotia, killing 547 in one of the worst marine disasters of the 19th century.
1889 – The University of Northern Colorado was established, as the Colorado State Normal School.
1891 – The Wrigley Company is founded in Chicago, Illinois.
1893 – The rank of Chief Petty Officer in the United States Navy is established.
1908 – The Territorial Force (renamed Territorial Army in 1920) is formed as a volunteer reserve component of the British Army.
1918 – The Royal Air Force is created by the merger of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service.
1924 – Adolf Hitler is sentenced to five years imprisonment for his participation in the “Beer Hall Putsch” but spends only nine months in jail.
1924 – The Royal Canadian Air Force is formed.
1933 – The recently elected Nazis under Julius Streicher organize a one-day boycott of all Jewish-owned businesses in Germany, ushering in a series of anti-Semitic acts.
1933 – English cricketer Wally Hammond set a record for the highest individual Test innings of 336 not out, during a Test match against New Zealand.
1935 – India’s central banking institution, The Reserve Bank of India, is formed.
1937 – Aden becomes a British crown colony.
1937 – The Royal New Zealand Air Force is formed as an independent service.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: Jaén, Spain is bombed by German fascist forces, supporting Francoist Nationalists.
1939 – Spanish Civil War: Generalísimo Francisco Franco of the Spanish State announces the end of the Spanish Civil War, when the last of the Republican forces surrender.
1941 – Fântâna Albă massacre: Between 200 and 2,000 Romanian civilians are killed by Soviet Border Troops.
1941 – A military coup in Iraq overthrows the regime of ‘Abd al-Ilah and installs Rashid Ali al-Gaylani as Prime Minister.
1944 – Navigation errors lead to an accidental American bombing of the Swiss city of Schaffhausen.
1945 – World War II: The Tenth United States Army attacks the Thirty-Second Japanese Army on Okinawa.
1946 – The 8.6 M_w  Aleutian Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong). A destructive tsunami reaches the Hawaiian Islands resulting in dozens of deaths, mostly in Hilo, Hawaii.
1947 – The only mutiny in the history of the Royal New Zealand Navy begins.
1948 – Cold War: Communist forces respond to the introduction of the Deutsche Mark by attempting to force the western powers to withdraw from Berlin.
1948 – Faroe Islands gain autonomy from Denmark.
1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Chinese Communist Party holds unsuccessful peace talks with the Nationalist Party in Beijing, after three years of fighting.
1949 – The Government of Canada repeals Japanese-Canadian internment after seven years.
1954 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.
1955 – The EOKA rebellion against the British Empire begins in Cyprus, with the goal of unifying with Greece.
1960 – The TIROS-1 satellite transmits the first television picture from space.
1969 – The Hawker Siddeley Harrier, the first operational fighter aircraft with Vertical/Short Takeoff and Landing capabilities, enters service with the Royal Air Force.
1970 – President Richard Nixon signs the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act into law, requiring the Surgeon General’s warnings on tobacco products and banning cigarette advertising on television and radio in the United States, effective 1 January 1971.
1970 – The first of over 670,000 AMC Gremlins are released into North America to compete with foreign imported cars.
1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army massacre over 1,000 people in Keraniganj Upazila, Bangladesh.
1973 – Project Tiger, a tiger conservation project, is launched in the Jim Corbett National Park, India.
1974 – The Local Government Act 1972 of England and Wales comes into effect.
1976 – Apple Inc. is formed by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne in Cupertino, California, USA.
1978 – The Philippine College of Commerce, through a presidential decree, becomes the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.
1979 – Iran becomes an Islamic republic by a 99% vote, officially overthrowing the Shah.
1979 – Nickelodeon was launched in United States.
1986 – Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal) cadres attack a number of police stations in Kathmandu, seeking to incite a popular rebellion.
1989 – Margaret Thatcher’s new local government tax, the Community Charge (commonly known as the “poll tax”), is introduced in Scotland.
1993 – Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is founded in Los Angeles, California, USA.
1996 – The government of Nova Scotia amalgamated the City of Halifax and the over 200 communities around the area to create the Halifax Regional Municipality.
1997 – Comet Hale–Bopp is seen passing at perihelion.
1999 – Nunavut is established as a Canadian territory carved out of the eastern part of the Northwest Territories.
2001 – An EP-3E United States Navy surveillance aircraft collides with a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Shenyang J-8 fighter jet. The Navy crew makes an emergency landing in Hainan, China and is detained.
2001 – Former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on war crimes charges.
2001 – Same-sex marriage becomes legal in the Netherlands, the first contemporary country to allow it.
2004 – Google announces Gmail to the public.
2006 – Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) of the Government of the United Kingdom is enforced, but later merged into National Crime Agency on 7 October 2013.
2011 – After protests against the burning of the Quran turn violent, a mob attacks a United Nations compound in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of thirteen people, including eight foreign workers.
2016 – Nagorno-Karabakh clashes: The Four Day War or April War begins along the Nagorno-Karabakh line of contact on April 1.

Births on April 1

1220 – Emperor Go-Saga of Japan (d. 1272)
1282 – Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1347)
1328 – Blanche of France, Duchess of Orléans (d. 1382)
1543 – François de Bonne, Duke of Lesdiguières (d. 1626)
1578 – William Harvey, English physician and academic (d. 1657)
1610 – Charles de Saint-Évremond, French soldier and critic (d. 1703)
1629 – Jean-Henri d’Anglebert, French organist and composer (d. 1691)
1640 – Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician and academic (d. 1697)
1647 – John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester, English poet and courtier (d. 1680)
1697 – Antoine François Prévost, French novelist and translator (d. 1763)
1721 – Pieter Hellendaal, Dutch-English organist, violinist, and composer (d. 1799)
1741 – George Dance the Younger, English architect and surveyor (d. 1825)
1753 – Joseph de Maistre, French philosopher, lawyer, and diplomat (d. 1821)
1755 – Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, French lawyer and politician (d. 1826)
1765 – Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian engraver and etcher (d. 1810)
1776 – Sophie Germain, French mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (d. 1831)
1786 – William Mulready, Irish genre painter (d. 1863)
1815 – Otto von Bismarck, German lawyer and politician, 1st Chancellor of the German Empire (d. 1898)
1815 – Edward Clark, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Texas (d. 1880)
1823 – Simon Bolivar Buckner, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Kentucky (d. 1891)
1824 – Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, Canadian bishop (d. 1901)
1834 – James Fisk, American businessman (d. 1872)
1852 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (d. 1911)
1865 – Richard Adolf Zsigmondy, Austrian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
1866 – William Blomfield, New Zealand cartoonist and politician (d. 1938)
1866 – Ferruccio Busoni, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1924)
1866 – Ève Lavallière, French actress (d. 1929)
1868 – Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (d. 1918)
1868 – Walter Mead, English cricketer (d. 1954)
1871 – F. Melius Christiansen, Norwegian-American violinist and conductor (d. 1955)
1873 – Sergei Rachmaninoff, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1943)
1874 – Ernest Barnes, English mathematician and theologian (d. 1953)
1874 – Prince Karl of Bavaria (d. 1927)
1875 – Edgar Wallace, English journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1932)
1878 – C. Ganesha Iyer, Ceylon Tamil philologist (d. 1958)
1879 – Stanislaus Zbyszko, Polish wrestler and strongman (d. 1967)
1881 – Octavian Goga, Romanian Prime Minister (d. 1938)
1883 – Lon Chaney, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1930)
1883 – Edvard Drabløs, Norwegian actor and director (d. 1976)
1883 – Laurette Taylor, Irish-American actress (d. 1946)
1885 – Wallace Beery, American actor (d. 1949)
1885 – Clementine Churchill, English wife of Winston Churchill (d. 1977)
1889 – K. B. Hedgewar, Indian physician and activist (d. 1940)
1893 – Cicely Courtneidge, Australian-English actress (d. 1980)
1895 – Alberta Hunter, African-American singer-songwriter and nurse (d. 1984)
1898 – William James Sidis, Ukrainian-Russian Jewish American mathematician, anthropologist, and historian (d. 1944)
1899 – Gustavs Celmiņš, Latvian academic and politician (d. 1968)
1900 – Stefanie Clausen, Danish Olympic diver (d. 1981)
1901 – Whittaker Chambers, American journalist and spy (d. 1961)
1905 – Gaston Eyskens, Belgian economist and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1988)
1905 – Paul Hasluck, Australian historian, poet, and politician, 17th Governor-General of Australia (d. 1993)
1906 – Alexander Sergeyevich Yakovlev, Russian engineer, founded the Yakovlev Design Bureau (d. 1989)
1907 – Shivakumara Swami, Indian religious leader and philanthropist (d. 2019)
1908 – Abraham Maslow, American psychologist and academic (d. 1970)
1908 – Harlow Rothert, American shot putter, lawyer, and academic (d. 1997)
1909 – Abner Biberman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
1909 – Eddy Duchin, American pianist and bandleader (d. 1951)
1910 – Harry Carney, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1974)
1910 – Bob Van Osdel, American high jumper and soldier (d. 1987)
1911 – Augusta Braxton Baker, African American librarian (d. 1998)
1913 – Memos Makris, Greek sculptor (d. 1993)
1915 – O. W. Fischer, Austrian-Swiss actor and director (d. 2004)
1916 – Sheila May Edmonds, British mathematician (d. 2002)
1917 – Sydney Newman, Canadian screenwriter and producer, co-created Doctor Who (d. 1997)
1917 – Melville Shavelson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
1919 – Joseph Murray, American surgeon and soldier, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
1920 – Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (d. 1997)
1921 – William Bergsma, American composer and educator (d. 1994)
1921 – Arthur “Guitar Boogie” Smith, American guitarist, fiddler, and composer (d. 2014)
1922 – Duke Jordan, American pianist and composer (d. 2006)
1922 – William Manchester, American historian and author (d. 2004)
1924 – Brendan Byrne, American lieutenant, judge, and politician, 47th Governor of New Jersey (d. 2018)
1926 – Anne McCaffrey, American-Irish author (d. 2011)
1927 – Walter Bahr, American soccer player, coach, and manager (d. 2018)
1927 – Amos Milburn, American R&B singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1980)
1927 – Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2006)
1929 – Jonathan Haze, American actor, producer, screenwriter, and production manager
1929 – Milan Kundera, Czech-born novelist, poet, and playwright
1929 – Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator and director (d. 2010)
1929 – Jane Powell, American actress, singer, and dancer
1930 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
1931 – George Baker, Bulgarian-English actor and screenwriter (d. 2011)
1931 – Rolf Hochhuth, German author and playwright (d. 2020)
1932 – Debbie Reynolds, Scottish-Irish American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2016)
1933 – Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Algerian-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1933 – Dan Flavin, American sculptor and educator (d. 1996)
1934 – Vladimir Posner, French-American journalist and radio host
1935 – Larry McDonald, American physician and politician (d. 1983)
1936 – Peter Collinson, English-American director and producer (d. 1980)
1936 – Jean-Pascal Delamuraz, Swiss politician, 80th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1998)
1936 – Tarun Gogoi, Indian politician, 14th Chief Minister of Assam
1936 – Abdul Qadeer Khan, Indian-Pakistani physicist, chemist, and engineer
1937 – Jordan Charney, American actor
1939 – Ali MacGraw, American model and actress
1939 – Phil Niekro, American baseball player and manager
1940 – Wangari Maathai, Kenyan environmentalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
1941 – Gideon Gadot, Israeli journalist and politician (d. 2012)
1941 – Ajit Wadekar, Indian cricketer, coach, and manager (d. 2018)
1942 – Samuel R. Delany, American author and critic
1942 – Richard D. Wolff, American economist and academic
1943 – Dafydd Wigley, Welsh academic and politician
1946 – Nikitas Kaklamanis, Greek academic and politician, Greek Minister of Health and Social Security
1946 – Ronnie Lane, English bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 1997)
1946 – Arrigo Sacchi, Italian footballer, coach, and manager
1947 – Alain Connes, French mathematician and academic
1947 – Philippe Kirsch, Canadian lawyer and judge
1947 – Francine Prose, American novelist, short story writer, and critic
1947 – Norm Van Lier, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2009)
1948 – Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican singer and musician
1948 – Javier Irureta, Spanish footballer and manager
1948 – Peter Law, Welsh politician and independent Member of parliament(d. 2006)
1949 – Gérard Mestrallet, French businessman
1949 – Paul Manafort, American lobbyist, political consultant, and convicted felon
1949 – Sammy Nelson, Northern Irish footballer and coach
1949 – Gil Scott-Heron, American singer-songwriter and author (d. 2011)
1950 – Samuel Alito, American lawyer and jurist
1950 – Loris Kessel, Swiss racing driver (d. 2010)
1950 – Daniel Paillé, Canadian academic and politician
1951 – John Abizaid, American general
1951 – Frederic Schwartz, American architect, co-designed Empty Sky (d. 2014)
1952 – Annette O’Toole, American actress
1952 – Bernard Stiegler, French philosopher and academic
1953 – Barry Sonnenfeld, American cinematographer, director, and producer
1953 – Alberto Zaccheroni, Italian footballer and manager
1954 – Jeff Porcaro, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (d. 1992)
1955 – Don Hasselbeck, American football player and sportscaster
1955 – Humayun Akhtar Khan, Pakistani politician, 5th Commerce Minister of Pakistan
1955 – Terry Nichols, American criminal
1957 – David Gower, English cricketer and sportscaster
1957 – Denise Nickerson, American actress (d. 2019)
1958 – D. Boon, American singer and musician (d. 1985)
1959 – Helmuth Duckadam, Romanian footballer
1961 – Susan Boyle, Scottish singer
1961 – Sergio Scariolo, Italian professional basketball head coach
1961 – Mark White, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Mark Shulman, American author
1962 – Chris Grayling, English journalist and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
1962 – Samboy Lim, Filipino basketball player and manager
1962 – Phillip Schofield, English television host
1963 – Teodoro de Villa Diaz, Filipino guitarist and songwriter (d. 1988)
1963 – Aprille Ericsson-Jackson, American aerospace engineer
1964 – Erik Breukink, Dutch cyclist and manager
1964 – Kevin Duckworth, American basketball player (d. 2008)
1964 – John Morris, English cricketer
1964 – José Rodrigues dos Santos, Portuguese journalist, author, and educator
1965 – Jane Adams, American film, television, and stage actress
1965 – Mark Jackson, American basketball player and coach
1966 – Chris Evans, English radio and television host
1966 – Mehmet Özdilek, Turkish footballer and manager
1967 – Nicola Roxon, Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Attorney-General for Australia
1968 – Mike Baird, Australian politician, 44th Premier of New South Wales
1968 – Andreas Schnaas, German actor and director
1968 – Alexander Stubb, Finnish academic and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Finland
1969 – Lev Lobodin, Ukrainian-Russian decathlete
1969 – Andrew Vlahov, Australian basketball player
1969 – Dean Windass, English footballer and manager
1970 – Brad Meltzer, American author, screenwriter, and producer
1971 – Sonia Bisset, Cuban javelin thrower
1971 – Shinji Nakano, Japanese racing driver
1972 – Darren McCarty, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1972 – Jesse Tobias, American guitarist and songwriter
1973 – Christian Finnegan, American comedian and actor
1973 – Stephen Fleming, New Zealand cricketer and coach
1973 – Rachel Maddow, American journalist and author
1974 – Hugo Ibarra, Argentinian footballer and manager
1975 – John Butler, American-Australian singer-songwriter and producer
1975 – Magdalena Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player
1976 – Hazem El Masri, Lebanese-Australian rugby league player and educator
1976 – David Gilliland, American race car driver
1976 – David Oyelowo, English actor
1976 – Clarence Seedorf, Dutch-Brazilian footballer and manager
1976 – Yuka Yoshida, Japanese tennis player
1977 – Vitor Belfort, Brazilian-American boxer and mixed martial artist
1977 – Haimar Zubeldia, Spanish cyclist
1978 – Antonio de Nigris, Mexican footballer (d. 2009)
1978 – Mirka Federer, Slovak-Swiss tennis player
1978 – Anamaria Marinca, Romanian-English actress
1978 – Etan Thomas, American basketball player
1979 – Ruth Beitia, Spanish high jumper
1980 – Dennis Kruppke, German footballer
1980 – Randy Orton, American wrestler
1980 – Bijou Phillips, American actress and model
1981 – Antonis Fotsis, Greek basketball player
1981 – Bjørn Einar Romøren, Norwegian ski jumper
1982 – Taran Killam, American actor, voice artist, comedian, and writer
1982 – Andreas Thorkildsen, Norwegian javelin thrower
1983 – Ólafur Ingi Skúlason, Icelandic footballer
1983 – Sean Taylor, American football player (d. 2007)
1984 – Gilberto Macena, Brazilian footballer
1985 – Daniel Murphy, American baseball player
1985 – Beth Tweddle, English gymnast
1986 – Hillary Scott, American country singer-songwriter
1987 – Ding Junhui, Chinese professional snooker player
1987 – Gianluca Musacci, Italian footballer
1987 – Oliver Turvey, English racing driver
1988 – Brook Lopez, American basketball player
1988 – Robin Lopez, American basketball player
1989 – Jan Blokhuijsen, Dutch speed skater
1989 – David N’Gog, French footballer
1989 – Christian Vietoris, German racing driver
1990 – Julia Fischer, German discus thrower
1992 – Deng Linlin, Chinese gymnast
1995 – Logan Paul, American Youtuber and actor
1997 – Álex Palou, Spanish racing driver

Deaths on April 1

996 – John XV, pope of the Catholic Church
1085 – Shen Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1048)
1132 – Hugh of Châteauneuf, French bishop (b. 1053)
1204 – Eleanor of Aquitaine, queen of France and England (b. 1122)
1205 – Amalric II, king of Cyprus and Jerusalem
1282 – Abaqa Khan, ruler of the Mongol Ilkhanate (b. 1234)
1431 – Nuno Álvares Pereira, Portuguese general (b. 1360)
1441 – Blanche I, queen of Navarre and Sicily (b. 1387)
1455 – Zbigniew Oleśnicki, Polish cardinal and statesman (b. 1389)
1528 – Francisco de Peñalosa, Spanish composer (b. 1470)
1548 – Sigismund I, king of Poland (b. 1467)
1580 – Alonso Mudarra, Spanish guitarist and composer (b. 1510)
1601 – Françoise d’Orléans-Longueville, French princess (b. 1549)
1621 – Cristofano Allori, Italian painter and educator (b. 1577)
1682 – Franz Egon of Fürstenberg, Bavarian bishop (b. 1625)
1787 – Floyer Sydenham, English scholar and academic (b. 1710)
1839 – Benjamin Pierce, American soldier and politician, 11th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1757)
1865 – Giuditta Pasta, Italian soprano (b. 1797)
1872 – Frederick Denison Maurice, English theologian and academic (b. 1805)
1878 – John C.W. Daly, English-Canadian soldier and politician (b. 1796)
1890 – David Wilber, American politician (b. 1820)
1890 – Alexander Mozhaysky, Russian soldier, pilot, and engineer (b. 1825)
1914 – Rube Waddell, American baseball player (b. 1876)
1914 – Charles Wells, English founder of Charles Wells Ltd (b. 1842)
1917 – Scott Joplin, American pianist and composer (b. 1868)
1920 – Walter Simon, German banker and philanthropist (b. 1857)
1922 – Charles I, emperor of Austria (b. 1887)
1922 – Hermann Rorschach, Swiss psychologist and author (b. 1884)
1924 – Jacob Bolotin, American physician (b. 1888)
1924 – Lloyd Hildebrand, English cyclist (b. 1870)
1924 – Stan Rowley, Australian sprinter (b. 1876)
1946 – Noah Beery, Sr., American actor (b. 1882)
1947 – George II, king of Greece (b. 1890)
1950 – Charles R. Drew, American physician and surgeon (b. 1904)
1950 – Recep Peker, Turkish soldier and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1889)
1962 – Jussi Kekkonen, Finnish captain and businessman (b. 1910)
1965 – Helena Rubinstein, Polish-American businesswoman (b. 1870)
1966 – Brian O’Nolan, Irish author (b. 1911)
1968 – Lev Landau, Azerbaijani-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
1976 – Max Ernst, German painter and sculptor (b. 1891)
1981 – Eua Sunthornsanan, Thai singer-songwriter and bandleader (b. 1910)
1984 – Marvin Gaye, American singer-songwriter (b. 1939)
1984 – Elizabeth Goudge, English author (b. 1900)
1986 – Erik Bruhn, Danish actor, director, and choreographer (b. 1928)
1987 – Henri Cochet, French tennis player (b. 1901)
1991 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1894)
1991 – Jaime Guzmán, Chilean lawyer and politician (b. 1946)
1992 – Michael Havers, Baron Havers, English lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1923)
1993 – Alan Kulwicki, American race car driver (b. 1954)
1994 – Robert Doisneau, French photographer (b. 1912)
1995 – H. Adams Carter, American mountaineer, journalist, and educator (b. 1914)
1995 – Francisco Moncion, Dominican American ballet dancer, choreographer, charter member of the New York City Ballet (b. 1918)
1995 – Lucie Rie, Austrian-English potter (b. 1902)
1997 – Makar Honcharenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1912)
1998 – Rozz Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1963)
1999 – Jesse Stone, American pianist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1901)
2001 – Trịnh Công Sơn, Vietnamese guitarist and composer (b. 1939)
2002 – Simo Häyhä, Finnish soldier and sniper (b. 1905)
2003 – Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1956)
2004 – Ioannis Kyrastas, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1952)
2004 – Carrie Snodgress, American actress (b. 1945)
2005 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and diplomat, 1st Tanzanian Minister of Finance (b 1925)
2005 – Robert Coldwell Wood, American political scientist and academic (b. 1923)
2006 – In Tam, Cambodian general and politician, 26th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b. 1916)
2010 – John Forsythe, American actor (b. 1918)
2010 – Tzannis Tzannetakis, Greek soldier and politician, 175th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1927)
2012 – Lionel Bowen, Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1922)
2012 – Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian-American soccer player and radio host (b. 1947)
2012 – Miguel de la Madrid, Mexican banker, academic, and politician, 52nd President of Mexico (b. 1934)
2013 – Moses Blah, Liberian general and politician, 23rd President of Liberia (b. 1947)
2013 – Karen Muir, South African swimmer and physician (b. 1952)
2014 – King Fleming, American pianist and bandleader (b. 1922)
2014 – Jacques Le Goff, French historian and author (b. 1924)
2014 – Rolf Rendtorff, German theologian and academic (b. 1925)
2015 – Nicolae Rainea, Romanian footballer and referee (b. 1933)
2017 – Lonnie Brooks, American blues singer and guitarist (b. 1933)
2017 – Yevgeny Yevtushenko, Soviet and Russian poet and writer (b. 1932)
2018 – Steven Bochco, American television writer and producer (b. 1943)
2019 – Vonda N. McIntyre, American science fiction author (b. 1948)

Holidays and observances on April 1

Christian feast day:
- Cellach of Armagh
- Hugh of Grenoble
- Frederick Denison Maurice (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Mary of Egypt
- Melito of Sardis
- Nuno Álvares Pereira
- Tewdrig
- Theodora
- Walric, abbot of Leuconay
- April 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Sizdah Be-dar can fall, while April 2 is the latest; celebrated on the 13th day after vernal equinox. (Iran)
Iranian Islamic Republic Day (Iran) falls on this day if the Vernal Equinox falls on March 21.
Veneralia was held on April 1 during Ancient Rome, however this date does not lock into the modern Gregorian calendar.
April Fools’ Day
Odisha Day (Odisha, India)
Arbor Day (Tanzania)
Civil Service Day (Thailand)
Cyprus National Day (Cyprus)
Edible Book Day
Fossil Fools Day
Kha b-Nisan, the Assyrian New Year (Assyrian people)
National Civil Service Day (Thailand)

April 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of Venice.
1461 – Battle of Towton: Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England, bringing a temporary stop to the Wars of the Roses.
1500 – Cesare Borgia is given the title of Captain-General and Gonfalonier by his father Rodrigo Borgia after returning from his conquests in the Romagna.
1549 – The city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded.
1632 – Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629.
1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden dies after being shot in the back at a midnight masquerade ball at Stockholm’s Royal Opera 13 days earlier. He is succeeded by Gustav IV Adolf.
1806 – Construction is authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway.
1809 – King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates after a coup d’état. At the Diet of Porvoo, Finland’s four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, commencing the secession of the Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden.
1831 – Great Bosnian uprising: Bosniaks rebel against Turkey.
1847 – Mexican–American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege.
1849 – The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab.
1857 – Sepoy Mangal Pandey of the 34th Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry mutinies against the East India Company’s rule in India and inspires the protracted Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny.
1865 – American Civil War: Federal forces under Major General Philip Sheridan move to flank Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee as the Appomattox Campaign begins.
1867 – Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes Canada on July 1.
1871 – Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria.
1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus.
1882 – The Knights of Columbus is established.
1886 – John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta.
1911 – The M1911 .45 ACP pistol becomes the official U.S. Army side arm.
1927 – Sunbeam 1000hp breaks the land speed record at Daytona Beach, Florida.
1930 – Heinrich Brüning is appointed German Reichskanzler.
1936 – Adolf Hitler receives 99% of the votes in the 1936 German parliamentary election and referendum.
1941 – The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement goes into effect at 03:00 local time.
1941 – World War II: British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces defeat those of the Italian Regia Marina off the Peloponnesian coast of Greece in the Battle of Cape Matapan.
1942 – The Bombing of Lübeck in World War II is the first major success for the RAF Bomber Command against Germany and a German city.
1945 – World War II: Last day of V-1 flying bomb attacks on England.
1945 – World War II: The German 4th Army is almost destroyed by the Soviet Red Army.
1946 – Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, one of Mexico’s leading universities, is founded.
1947 – Malagasy Uprising against French colonial rule in Madagascar.
1951 – Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.
1957 – The New York, Ontario and Western Railway makes its final run, the first major U.S. railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.
1961 – The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.
1962 – Arturo Frondizi, the president of Argentina, is overthrown in a military coup by Argentina’s armed forces, ending an 11¹⁄₂ day constitutional crisis.
1971 – My Lai Massacre: Lieutenant William Calley is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison.
1973 – Vietnam War: The last United States combat soldiers leave South Vietnam.
1973 – Operation Barrel Roll, a covert American bombing campaign in Laos to stop communist infiltration of South Vietnam, ends.
1974 – NASA’s Mariner 10 becomes the first space probe to fly by Mercury.
1974 – Terracotta Army was discovered in Shaanxi province, China.
1982 – The Canada Act 1982 receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982.
1984 – The Baltimore Colts load its possessions onto fifteen Mayflower moving trucks in the early morning hours and transfer its operations to Indianapolis.
1990 – The Czechoslovak parliament is unable to reach an agreement on what to call the country after the fall of Communism, sparking the so-called Hyphen War.
1993 – Catherine Callbeck becomes premier of Prince Edward Island and the first woman to be elected in a general election as premier of a Canadian province.
1999 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark (10,006.78) for the first time, during the height of the dot-com bubble.
1999 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake in India strikes the Chamoli district in Uttar Pradesh, killing 103.
2002 – In reaction to the Passover massacre two days prior, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian militants, its largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.
2004 – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia join NATO as full members.
2010 – Two suicide bombers hit the Moscow Metro system at the peak of the morning rush hour, killing 40.
2013 – At least 36 people are killed when a 16-floor building collapses in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
2014 – The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales are performed.

Births on March 29

1001 – Sokkate, king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (d. 1044)
1187 – Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (d. 1203)
1373 – Marie d’Alençon, French princess (d. 1417)
1517 – Carlo Carafa, Italian cardinal (d. 1561)
1553 – Vitsentzos Kornaros, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1614)
1561 – Santorio Santorio, Italian biologist (d. 1636)
1584 – Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English general and politician (d. 1648)
1602 – John Lightfoot, English priest, scholar, and academic (d. 1675)
1620 – Edward Digges, English barrister and colonist
1629 – Alexis of Russia, Tsar of Russia (d. 1676)
1713 – John Ponsonby, Irish politician (d. 1789)
1735 – Johann Karl August Musäus, German author (d. 1787)
1747 – Johann Wilhelm Hässler, German pianist and composer (d. 1822)
1769 – Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, French general and politician, 12th Prime Minister of France (d. 1851)
1780 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish adventurer (d. 1841)
1790 – John Tyler, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the United States (d. 1862)
1799 – Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1869)
1802 – Johann Moritz Rugendas, German landscape painter of Spanish America (d. 1858)
1816 – 10th Dalai Lama (d. 1837)
1824 – Ludwig Büchner, German physiologist, physician, and philosopher (d. 1899)
1826 – Wilhelm Liebknecht, German journalist and politician (d. 1900)
1862 – Adolfo Müller-Ury, Swiss-American painter (d. 1947)
1863 – Walter James, Australian politician, 5th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1943)
1867 – Cy Young, American baseball player and manager (d. 1955)
1869 – Aleš Hrdlička, Czech-American anthropologist and scholar (d. 1943)
1869 – Sir Edwin Lutyens, British architect (d. 1944)
1870 – Pavlos Melas, French-Greek captain (d. 1904)
1871 – Tom Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1939)
1872 – Hal Colebatch, English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1953)
1873 – Tullio Levi-Civita, Jewish-Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
1874 – Lou Henry Hoover, American wife of Herbert Hoover, 33rd First Lady of the United States (d. 1944)
1876 – Friedrich Traun, German sprinter and tennis player (d. 1908)
1884 – Ed Archibald, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1965)
1885 – Dezső Kosztolányi, Hungarian author and poet (d. 1936)
1888 – Enea Bossi, Sr., Italian-American engineer, designed the Budd BB-1 Pioneer and Bossi-Bonomi Pedaliante (d. 1963)
1889 – Warner Baxter, American actor (d. 1951)
1889 – Howard Lindsay, American producer, playwright, librettist, director and actor (d. 1968)
1890 – Bert Bliss, English international footballer, inside forward (d. 1968)
1891 – Yvan Goll, French-German poet and playwright (d. 1950)
1891 – Alfred Neubauer, Austrian race car driver and manager (d. 1980)
1892 – József Mindszenty, Hungarian cardinal (d. 1975)
1893 – Astrid Holm, Danish actress (d. 1961)
1895 – Ernst Jünger, German philosopher and author (d. 1998)
1896 – Wilhelm Ackermann, German mathematician (d. 1962)
1899 – Lavrentiy Beria, Georgian-Russian general and politician (d. 1953)
1900 – Bill Aston, English race car driver (d. 1974)
1900 – John McEwen, Australian farmer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1980)
1902 – Marcel Aymé, French author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1967)
1902 – Don Miller, American football player and coach (d. 1979)
1902 – William Walton, English composer (d. 1983)
1903 – Douglas Harkness, Canadian colonel and politician, 14th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 1999)
1906 – James Bausch, American decathlete and football player (d. 1974)
1907 – Braguinha, Brazilian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2006)
1908 – Arthur O’Connell, American actor (d. 1981)
1908 – Dennis O’Keefe, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
1909 – Moon Mullican, American country and western singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1967)
1912 – Hanna Reitsch, German soldier and pilot (d. 1979)
1914 – Phil Foster, American actor (d. 1985)
1914 – Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (d. 2014)
1916 – Peter Geach, English philosopher and academic (d. 2013)
1916 – Eugene McCarthy, American poet and politician (d. 2005)
1917 – Tommy Holmes, American baseball player (d. 2008)
1918 – Pearl Bailey, American actress and singer (d. 1990)
1918 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician and academic (d. 1991)
1918 – Sam Walton, American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam’s Club (d. 1992)
1919 – Eileen Heckart, American actress (d. 2001)
1920 – John M. Belk, American businessman and politician (d. 2007)
1920 – Clarke Fraser, American-Canadian geneticist and academic (d. 2014)
1920 – Pierre Moinot, French author (d. 2007)
1920 – Theodore Trautwein, American lawyer and judge (d. 2000)
1921 – Sam Loxton, Australian cricketer, footballer, and politician (d. 2011)
1923 – Geoff Duke, English-Manx motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
1923 – Betty Binns Fletcher, American lawyer and judge (d. 2012)
1923 – Bob Haymes, American singer-songwriter, and actor (d. 1989)
1926 – Moshe Sanbar, Hungarian-Israeli banker and economist (d. 2012)
1927 – John McLaughlin, American journalist and producer (d. 2016)
1927 – John Vane, English pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
1928 – Romesh Bhandari, Pakistani-Indian politician, 13th Foreign Secretary of India (d. 2013)
1928 – Keith Botsford, Belgian-American journalist, author, and academic (d. 2018)
1928 – Vincent Gigante, American boxer and mobster (d. 2005)
1929 – Sheila Kitzinger, English activist, author, and academic (d. 2015)
1929 – Richard Lewontin, American biologist, geneticist, and academic
1929 – Lennart Meri, Estonian director and politician, 2nd President of Estonia (d. 2006)
1929 – Utpal Dutt, Indian Bengali actor, director and playwright (d. 1993)
1930 – Anerood Jugnauth, Mauritian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Mauritius
1931 – Ștefan Andrei, Romanian politician, 87th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2014)
1931 – Sopubek Begaliev, Kyrgyzstani economist and politician (d. 2002)
1931 – Aleksei Gubarev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2015)
1931 – Norman Tebbit, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1933 – Jacques Brault, Canadian poet and academic
1934 – Shahryar Khan, Indian-Pakistani politician and diplomat, 20th Foreign Secretary of Pakistan
1936 – Richard Rodney Bennett, English-American composer and educator (d. 2012)
1936 – Mogens Camre, Danish politician (d. 2016)
1936 – John A. Durkin, American lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
1936 – Judith Guest, American author and screenwriter
1936 – Joseph P. Teasdale, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Missouri (d. 2014)
1937 – Roberto Chabet, Filipino painter and sculptor (d. 2013)
1937 – Smarck Michel, Haitian businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Haiti (d. 2012)
1937 – Gordon Milne, English footballer
1938 – Bert de Vries, Dutch politician
1939 – Roland Arnall, French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (d. 2008)
1939 – Terence Hill, Italian actor, director, and producer
1939 – Hanumant Singh, Indian cricketer (d. 2006)
1940 – Ray Davis, American bass singer (d. 2005)
1940 – Astrud Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter
1940 – John Suchet, English journalist and game show host
1941 – Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr., American astrophysicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
1942 – Bob Lurtsema, American football player
1942 – Scott Wilson, American actor (d. 2018)
1943 – Vangelis, Greek keyboard player and songwriter
1943 – Chad Allan, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1943 – Eric Idle, English actor and comedian
1943 – John Major, English banker and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1944 – Terry Jacks, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1944 – Denny McLain, American baseball player and sportscaster
1944 – Lynne Segal, Australian-British feminist academic and activist
1945 – Walt Frazier, American basketball player and sportscaster
1945 – Speedy Keen, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2002)
1946 – Billy Thorpe, English-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2007)
1946 – Segun Bucknor, Nigerian musician and journalist (d. 2017)
1947 – Inge Bödding, German sprinter
1947 – Robert Gordon, American singer and actor
1947 – Bobby Kimball, American singer-songwriter
1948 – Bud Cort, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1948 – Piet Souer, Dutch record producer, songwriter and arranger
1949 – Michael Brecker, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2007)
1949 – Dave Greenfield, English musician (d. 2020)
1949 – Pauline Marois, Canadian social worker and politician, 30th Premier of Quebec
1949 – Keith Simpson, English historian and politician
1951 – William Clarke, American harmonica player (d. 1996)
1951 – Geoff Howarth, New Zealand cricketer
1951 – Tina Monzon-Palma, Filipino journalist
1952 – Rainer Bonhof, German footballer
1952 – Russell Fairfax, Australian rugby player and coach
1952 – John Hendricks, American businessman, founded Discovery Communications
1952 – Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer and engineer (d. 2012)
1953 – Tõnis Palts, Estonian politician, 39th Mayor of Tallinn
1955 – Earl Campbell, American football player
1955 – Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor
1955 – Marina Sirtis, British-American actress
1956 – Patty Donahue, American singer (d. 1996)
1957 – Elizabeth Hand, American author
1957 – Christopher Lambert, American-born French actor
1958 – Pedro Bial, Brazilian journalist and producer
1958 – Travis Childers, American businessman and politician
1958 – Nouriel Roubini, Turkish-American economist and academic
1958 – Victor Salva, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1958 – Marc Silvestri, American publisher, founded Top Cow Productions
1959 – Barry Blanchard, Canadian mountaineer
1959 – Perry Farrell, American singer-songwriter
1959 – Brad McCrimmon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2011)
1960 – Wayne Pearce, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
1961 – Gary Brabham, English-Australian race car driver
1961 – Mike Kingery, American baseball player
1961 – Amy Sedaris, American actress and comedian
1961 – Michael Winterbottom, English director and producer
1962 – Billy Beane, American baseball player and manager
1962 – Ted Failon, Filipino journalist and politician
1962 – Kirk Triplett, American golfer
1964 – Catherine Cortez Masto, American attorney and politician
1964 – Jill Goodacre, American model and actress
1964 – Elle Macpherson, Australian model and actress
1964 – Ming Tsai, American chef and television host
1965 – Emilios T. Harlaftis, Greek astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic (d. 2005)
1965 – William Oefelein, American commander, pilot, and astronaut
1965 – Voula Patoulidou, Greek hurdler, long jumper, and politician
1966 – Krasimir Balakov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
1966 – Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Dutch politician
1966 – Eric Gunderson, American baseball player
1966 – Sigrid Kirchmann, Austrian high jumper
1967 – Ainars Bagatskis, Latvian basketball player and coach
1967 – Michel Hazanavicius, French director, producer, and screenwriter
1967 – Brian Jordan, American baseball player and sportscaster
1968 – Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress
1969 – Kim Batten, American hurdler
1969 – Shinichi Mochizuki, Japanese mathematician
1969 – Jimmy Spencer, American football player and coach
1971 – Robert Gibbs, American political adviser, 28th White House Press Secretary
1971 – Lara Logan, South African television and radio journalist and war correspondent
1971 – Hidetoshi Nishijima, Japanese actor
1972 – Rui Costa, Portuguese footballer
1972 – Piet-Hein Geeris, Dutch field hockey player
1972 – Alex Ochoa, Cuban-American baseball player and coach
1972 – Priti Patel, British Indian politician, Secretary of State for the Home Department
1973 – Marc Overmars, Dutch footballer and coach
1973 – Sebastiano Siviglia, Italian footballer
1973 – Steve Smith, English high jumper
1974 – Miguel Gómez, Colombian-American photographer and educator
1976 – Igor Astarloa, Spanish cyclist
1976 – Jennifer Capriati, American tennis player
1978 – Aaron Persico, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
1980 – Bill Demong, American skier
1980 – Bruno Silva, Uruguayan footballer
1981 – Jlloyd Samuel, Trinidadian footballer (d. 2018)
1982 – Jēkabs Rēdlihs, Latvian ice hockey player
1983 – Darius Draudvila, Lithuanian decathlete
1984 – Juan Mónaco, Argentinian tennis player
1985 – Fernando Amorebieta, Venezuelan international footballer, central defender
1985 – Maxim Lapierre, Canadian ice hockey player
1985 – Mickey Pimentel, American football player
1986 – Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, English footballer
1986 – Ivan Ukhov, Russian high jumper
1987 – Gianluca Freddi, Italian footballer
1987 – Dimitri Payet, French footballer
1987 – Romain Hamouma, French footballer
1988 – Esther Cremer, German runner
1988 – Jesús Molina, Mexican footballer
1988 – Jürgen Zopp, Estonian tennis player
1989 – James Tomkins, English footballer
1990 – Carlos Peña, Mexican footballer
1990 – Teemu Pukki, Finnish footballer
1990 – Lyle Taylor, English footballer
1991 – Irene, South Korean idol, actress and television host
1991 – Fabio Borini, Italian footballer
1991 – N’Golo Kanté, French footballer
1993 – Thorgan Hazard, Belgian footballer

Deaths on March 29

87 BC – Emperor Wu of Han of China (b. 157 BC)
AD 57 – Emperor Guangwu of Han (b. 5 BC)
500 – Gwynllyw, Welsh king and religious figure
1058 – Pope Stephen IX (b. 1020)
1075 – Ottokar I of Styria, German noble
1368 – Emperor Go-Murakami of Japan (b. 1328)
1461 – Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, English politician (b. 1421)
1461 – Lionel de Welles, 6th Baron Welles
1467 – Matthew Palaiologos Asen, Byzantine aristocrat and official
1578 – Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (b. 1527)
1578 – Arthur Champernowne, English admiral and politician (b. 1524)
1628 – Tobias Matthew, English archbishop and academic (b. 1546)
1629 – Jacob de Gheyn II, Dutch painter and engraver (b. 1565)
1692 – Nicolaus Bruhns, Danish-German organist, violinist, and composer (b. 1665)
1703 – George Frederick II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, (b. 1678)
1751 – Thomas Coram, English captain and philanthropist, founded Foundling Hospital (b. 1668)
1772 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish astronomer, philosopher, and theologian (b. 1688)
1788 – Charles Wesley, English missionary and poet (b. 1707)
1792 – Gustav III of Sweden (b. 1746)
1800 – Marc René, marquis de Montalembert, French general and engineer (b. 1714)
1803 – Gottfried van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian librarian and diplomat (b. 1733)
1826 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (b. 1751)
1829 – Cornelio Saavedra, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1759)
1848 – John Jacob Astor, German-American businessman (b. 1763)
1855 – Henri Druey, Swiss politician, 2nd President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1799)
1873 – Francesco Zantedeschi, Italian priest and physicist (b. 1797)
1877 – Inazuma Raigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 7th Yokozuna (b. 1802)
1888 – Charles-Valentin Alkan, French pianist and composer (b. 1813)
1891 – John Plankinton, American businessman and industrialist, also noted for philanthropy (b. 1820)
1891 – Georges Seurat, French painter (b. 1859)
1900 – Cyrus K. Holliday, American businessman (b. 1826)
1905 – William Plankinton, American businessman, industrialist and banker (b. 1843)
1906 – Slava Raškaj, Croatian painter (b. 1878)
1911 – Alexandre Guilmant, French organist and composer (b. 1837)
1912 – Henry Robertson Bowers, Scottish lieutenant and explorer (b. 1883)
1912 – Robert Falcon Scott, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1868)
1912 – Edward Adrian Wilson, English physician and explorer (b. 1872)
1924 – Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish composer and conductor (b. 1852)
1934 – Otto Hermann Kahn, German-American banker and philanthropist (b. 1867)
1937 – Karol Szymanowski, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1882)
1940 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian-English rugby player and soldier (b. 1916)
1948 – Harry Price, English parapsychologist and author (b. 1881)
1957 – Joyce Cary, Anglo-Irish novelist (b. 1888)
1959 – Barthélemy Boganda, African priest and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1910)
1963 – Gaspard Fauteux, Canadian dentist and politician, 19th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1898)
1963 – August Rei, Estonian soldier, journalist, and politician, 12th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1886)
1970 – Anna Louise Strong, American journalist and author (b. 1885)
1971 – Dhirendranath Datta, Pakistani lawyer and politician (b. 1886)
1972 – J. Arthur Rank, English businessman, founded Rank Organisation (b. 1888)
1980 – Mantovani, Italian-English conductor and composer (b. 1905)
1981 – Eric Williams, Trinidadian historian and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1911)
1982 – Walter Hallstein, German academic and politician, 1st President of the European Commission (b. 1901)
1982 – Carl Orff, German composer and educator (b. 1895)
1982 – Nathan Farragut Twining, American general (b. 1897)
1985 – Luther Terry, American physician and academic, 9th Surgeon General of the United States (b. 1911)
1988 – Maurice Blackburn, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1914)
1988 – Ted Kluszewski, American baseball player and coach (b. 1924)
1991 – Guy Bourdin, French photographer (b. 1928)
1992 – Paul Henreid, American actor (b. 1908)
1994 – Bill Travers, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
1995 – Mort Meskin, American illustrator (b. 1916)
1995 – Terry Moore, American baseball player and coach (b. 1912)
1996 – Frank Daniel, Czech-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
1996 – Bill Goldsworthy, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1944)
1997 – Hans-Walter Eigenbrodt, German footballer and coach (b. 1935)
1999 – Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian footballer (b. 1915)
1999 – Joe Williams, American jazz singer (b. 1918)
2001 – Helge Ingstad, Norwegian lawyer, academic, and explorer (b. 1899)
2001 – John Lewis, American pianist and composer (b. 1920)
2003 – Carlo Urbani, Italian physician and microbiologist (b. 1956)
2004 – Lise de Baissac, Mauritian-born SOE agent, war hero (b. 1905)
2004 – Joel Feinberg, American philosopher and academic (b. 1926)
2005 – Miltos Sachtouris, Greek poet and author (b. 1919)
2006 – Salvador Elizondo, Mexican author and poet (b. 1932)
2007 – Larry L’Estrange, English rugby player and soldier (b. 1934)
2009 – Vladimir Fedotov, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1943)
2009 – Andy Hallett, American actor and singer (b. 1975)
2011 – Ângelo de Sousa, Portuguese painter and sculptor (b. 1938)
2011 – Iakovos Kambanellis, Greek author, poet, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
2012 – Pap Cheyassin Secka, Gambian lawyer and politician (b. 1942)
2012 – Bill Jenkins, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1930)
2013 – Reginald Gray, Irish-French painter (b. 1930)
2013 – Brian Huggins, English-Canadian journalist and actor (b. 1931)
2013 – Liu Kang, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1961)
2013 – Ralph Klein, Canadian journalist and politician, 12th Premier of Alberta (b. 1942)
2013 – Art Phillips, Canadian businessman and politician, 32nd Mayor of Vancouver (b. 1930)
2014 – Marc Platt, American actor and dancer (b. 1913)
2014 – Ruth A. M. Schmidt, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1916)
2015 – William Delafield Cook, Australian-English painter (b. 1926)
2015 – Gerry Hardstaff, English cricketer (b. 1940)
2016 – Patty Duke, American actress (b. 1946)
2017 – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian physicist (b. 1928)
2019 – Agnès Varda, French film director (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on March 29

Christian feast day:
- Berthold
- Eustace of Luxeuil
- Gwladys
- Gwynllyw
- Hans Nielsen Hauge (Lutheran)
- John Keble (commemoration, Anglicanism)
- March 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which the Octave Day of Easter can fall, while May 2 is the latest; observed on the Sunday after Easter. (Christianity)
Boganda Day (Central African Republic)
Commemoration of the 1947 Rebellion (Madagascar)
National Vietnam War Veterans Day (United States of America)
Day of the Young Combatant (Chile)
Youth Day (Taiwan)

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