1661

  • June 6- History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 913 – The 8-year-old illegitimate son of Leo VI the Wise, Constantine VII, becomes nominal ruler of the Byzantine Empire, under the regency of a seven-man council headed by Patriarch Nicholas Mystikos, appointed by Constantine’s uncle Alexander III on his deathbed.
    • 1513 – Italian Wars: Battle of Novara. Swiss troops defeat the French under Louis II de la Trémoille, forcing the French to abandon Milan. Duke Massimiliano Sforza is restored.
    • 1523 – Gustav Vasa, the Swedish regent, is elected King of Sweden, marking a symbolic end to the Kalmar Union. This is the Swedish national day.
    • 1586 – Francis Drake’s forces raid St. Augustine in Spanish Florida.
    • 1674 – Shivaji, founder of the Maratha Empire, is crowned.
    • 1749 – The Conspiracy of the Slaves in Malta is discovered.
    • 1762 – Seven Years’ War: British forces begin a siege of Havana, Cuba, and temporarily capture the city in the Battle of Havana.
    • 1808 – Napoleon’s brother, Joseph Bonaparte, is crowned King of Spain.
    • 1809 – Sweden promulgates a new Constitution, which restores political power to the Riksdag of the Estates after 20 years of enlightened absolutism. At the same time, Charles XIII is elected to succeed Gustav IV Adolf as King of Sweden.
    • 1813 – War of 1812: Battle of Stoney Creek: A British force of 700 under John Vincent defeats an American force twice its size under William Winder and John Chandler.
    • 1822 – Alexis St. Martin is accidentally shot in the stomach, leading to William Beaumont’s studies on digestion.
    • 1832 – The June Rebellion in Paris is put down by the National Guard.
    • 1844 – The Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) is founded in London.
    • 1844 – The Glaciarium, the world’s first mechanically frozen ice rink, opens.
    • 1857 – Sophia of Nassau marries the future King Oscar II of Sweden–Norway.
    • 1859 – Australia: Queensland is established as a separate colony from New South Wales (Queensland Day).
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Memphis: Union forces capture Memphis, Tennessee, from the Confederates.
    • 1882 – The Shewan forces of Menelik II of Ethiopia defeat the Gojjame army in the Battle of Embabo. The Shewans capture Negus Tekle Haymanot of Gojjam, and their victory leads to a Shewan hegemony over the territories south of the Abay River.
    • 1889 – The Great Seattle Fire destroys all of downtown Seattle.
    • 1892 – The Chicago “L” elevated rail system begins operation.
    • 1894 – Governor Davis H. Waite orders the Colorado state militia to protect and support the miners engaged in the Cripple Creek miners’ strike.
    • 1909 – French troops capture Abéché (in modern-day Chad) and install a puppet sultan in the Ouaddai Empire.
    • 1912 – The eruption of Novarupta in Alaska begins. It is the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century.
    • 1916 – The death of Yuan Shikai marks the beginning of China’s Warlord Era.
    • 1918 – World War I: Battle of Belleau Wood: The U.S. Marine Corps suffers its worst single day’s casualties while attempting to recapture the wood at Château-Thierry.
    • 1919 – After eight days of existence, the Republic of Prekmurje is conquered by the Hungarian Soviet Republic.
    • 1921 – Southwark Bridge in London is opened to traffic by King George V and Queen Mary.
    • 1932 – The Revenue Act of 1932 is enacted, creating the first gas tax in the United States, at a rate of 1 cent per US gallon (​1⁄4¢/L) sold.
    • 1933 – The first drive-in theater opens in Camden, New Jersey, United States.
    • 1934 – New Deal: The U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 into law, establishing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
    • 1939 – Judge Joseph Force Crater, known as the “Missingest Man in New York”, is declared legally dead.
    • 1942 – World War II: Battle of Midway. U.S. Navy dive bombers sink the Japanese cruiser Mikuma and four Japanese carriers.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Allied invasion of Normandy—codenamed Operation Overlord—begins with the execution of Operation Neptune (commonly referred to as D-Day), the landing of 155,000 Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy in France. The Allied soldiers quickly break through the Atlantic Wall and push inland in the largest amphibious military operation in history.
    • 1946 – The Basketball Association of America is founded in New York City; the BAA was the precursor to the modern National Basketball Association.
    • 1954 – The grand opening of the sculpture of Yuriy Dolgorukiy took place in Moscow. This statue is one of the main monuments of Moscow.
    • 1964 – Under a temporary order, the rocket launches at Cuxhaven, Germany are terminated. They never resume.
    • 1971 – Soyuz program: Soyuz 11 is launched.
    • 1971 – A midair collision between a Hughes Airwest Douglas DC-9 jetliner and a United States Marine Corps McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II jet fighter near Duarte, California, claims 50 lives.
    • 1971 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Long Khanh between Australian and Vietnamese communist forces begins.
    • 1974 – A new Instrument of Government is promulgated making Sweden a parliamentary monarchy.
    • 1981 – Bihar train disaster: A passenger train travelling between Mansi and Saharsa, India, jumps the tracks at a bridge crossing the Bagmati River. The government places the official death toll at 268 plus another 300 missing; however, it is generally believed that the death toll is closer to 1,000.
    • 1982 – The Lebanon War begins. Forces under Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon invade southern Lebanon during Operation Peace for the Galilee, eventually reaching as far north as the capital Beirut.
    • 1985 – The grave of “Wolfgang Gerhard” is opened in Embu, Brazil; the exhumed remains are later proven to be those of Josef Mengele, Auschwitz’s “Angel of Death”; Mengele is thought to have drowned while swimming in February 1979.
    • 1993 – Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat wins the first presidential election in Mongolia.
    • 1994 – China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 crashes near Xi’an, China, killing all 160 people on board.
    • 2002 – Eastern Mediterranean event. A near-Earth asteroid estimated at ten meters in diameter explodes over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya. The explosion is estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, slightly more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb.
    • 2004 – Tamil is established as a “classical language” by the President of India, Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, in a joint sitting of the two houses of the Indian Parliament.
    • 2005 – In Gonzales v. Raich, the United States Supreme Court upholds a federal law banning cannabis, including medical marijuana.

    Births on June 6

    pre-19th century

    • 1236 – Wen Tianxiang, Chinese general and scholar (d. 1283)
    • 1243 – Alix of Brittany, Dame de Pontarcy, Breton noble (d. 1288)
    • 1296 – Władysław of Legnica (d. 1352)
    • 1436 – Regiomontanus, German mathematician, astronomer, and bishop (d. 1476)
    • 1519 – Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (d. 1603)
    • 1539 – Catherine Vasa, Regent of East Frisia (d. 1610)
    • 1553 – Bernardino Baldi, Italian mathematician and author (d. 1617)
    • 1556 – Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche, English politician and diplomat (d. 1625)
    • 1580 – Godefroy Wendelin, Belgian astronomer and author (d. 1667)
    • 1584 – Yuan Chonghuan, politician, military general and writer (d. 1630)
    • 1599 – Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter and educator (d. 1660)
    • 1606 – Pierre Corneille, French playwright and producer (d. 1684)
    • 1622 – Claude-Jean Allouez, French-American missionary and explorer (d. 1689)
    • 1646 – Hortense Mancini, favourite Italian niece of Cardinal Mazarin (d. 1699)
    • 1661 – Giacomo Antonio Perti, Italian composer and educator (d. 1756)
    • 1699 – Johann Georg Estor, German historian and theorist (d. 1773)
    • 1714 – Joseph I of Portugal (d. 1777)
    • 1735 – Anton Schweitzer, German composer (d. 1787)
    • 1755 – Nathan Hale, American soldier (d. 1776)
    • 1756 – John Trumbull, American soldier and painter (d. 1843)
    • 1772 – Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily (d. 1807)
    • 1799 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian author and poet (d. 1837)

    19th century

    • 1807 – Thiệu Trị, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1847)
    • 1810 – Friedrich Wilhelm Schneidewin, German philologist and scholar (d. 1856)
    • 1829 – Honinbo Shusaku, Japanese Go player (d. 1862)
    • 1841 – Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish author and publisher (d. 1910)
    • 1844 – Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter and academic (d. 1905)
    • 1850 – Karl Ferdinand Braun, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1918)
    • 1857 – Aleksandr Lyapunov, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1918)
    • 1862 – Henry Newbolt, English historian, author, and poet (d. 1938)
    • 1867 – David T. Abercrombie, American surveyor and businessman, founded Abercrombie & Fitch (d. 1931)
    • 1868 – Robert Falcon Scott, English sailor and explorer (d. 1912)
    • 1872 – Alix of Hesse, German princess and Russian empress (d.1918)
    • 1875 – Thomas Mann, German author and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
    • 1878 – Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, French lawyer and politician (d. 1956)
    • 1884 – Jock Hutchison, Scottish-American golfer (d. 1977)
    • 1890 – Ted Lewis, American singer, clarinet player, and bandleader (d. 1971)
    • 1891 – Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, Indian author and academic (d. 1986)
    • 1891 – Erich Marcks, German general (d. 1944)
    • 1896 – Henry Allingham, English World War I soldier and supercentenarian (d. 2009).
    • 1896 – Italo Balbo, Italian air marshal and politician (d. 1940)
    • 1898 – Walter Abel, American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1898 – Jacobus Johannes Fouché, South African politician, 2nd State President of South Africa (d. 1980)
    • 1898 – Ninette de Valois, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 2001)
    • 1900 – Manfred Sakel, Ukrainian-American psychiatrist and physician (d. 1957)

    1901–1930

    • 1901 – Jan Struther, English author and hymnwriter (d. 1953)
    • 1901 – Sukarno, Indonesian engineer and politician, 1st President of Indonesia (d. 1970)
    • 1902 – Jimmie Lunceford, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1947)
    • 1903 – Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer and conductor (d. 1978)
    • 1903 – Bakht Singh, Indian evangelist, well-known bible teacher and preacher (d. 2000)
    • 1906 – Max August Zorn, German mathematician and academic (d. 1993)
    • 1907 – Bill Dickey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1993)
    • 1907 – Robin Humphreys, British scholar of Latin America (d. 1999)
    • 1908 – Giovanni Bracco, Italian race car driver (d. 1968)
    • 1909 – Isaiah Berlin, Latvian-English historian and philosopher (d. 1997)
    • 1913 – Carlo L. Golino, Italian-American author, critic, and academic (d. 1991)
    • 1915 – Vincent Persichetti, American pianist and composer (d. 1987)
    • 1916 – Hamani Diori, Nigerien academic and politician, 1st President of Niger (d. 1989)
    • 1917 – Kirk Kerkorian, American businessman, founded the Tracinda Corporation (d. 2015)
    • 1918 – Edwin G. Krebs, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington, English army officer and politician, 6th Secretary General of NATO (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – V. C. Andrews, American author, illustrator, and painter (d. 1986)
    • 1923 – Jean Pouliot, Canadian broadcaster (d. 2004)
    • 1925 – Maxine Kumin, American poet and author (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Frank Chee Willeto, American soldier and politician, 4th Vice President of the Navajo Nation (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Torsten Andersson, Swedish painter and illustrator (d. 2009)
    • 1926 – Erdal İnönü, Turkish physicist and politician, Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Klaus Tennstedt, German conductor (d. 1998)
    • 1929 – Sunil Dutt, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician (d. 2005)
    • 1930 – Frank Tyson, English-Australian cricketer, coach and journalist (d. 2015)

    1931–1945

    Tommie Smith, born 6 June 1944, at the 1968 Olympic medal ceremony where he and John Carlos (behind) protested against racism.

    • 1932 – David Scott, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut
    • 1932 – Billie Whitelaw, English actress (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Eli Broad, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded KB Home
    • 1933 – Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Albert II of Belgium
    • 1935 – Jon Henricks, Australian swimmer; winner of two Olympic gold medals in 1956.
    • 1936 – Mompati Merafhe, Botswana general and politician, Vice-President of Botswana (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – D. Ramanaidu, Indian actor, director, and producer, founded Suresh Productions (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – Levi Stubbs, American singer (d. 2008)
    • 1938 – Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza
    • 1938 – Ryuchi Matsuda, Japanese martial artist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Louis Andriessen, Dutch pianist and composer
    • 1939 – Gary U.S. Bonds, American singer-songwriter
    • 1939 – Eddie Giacomin, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1940 – Kumar Bhattacharyya, Baron Bhattacharyya, Indian-English engineer and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Willie John McBride, Northern Irish rugby player, coach, and manager
    • 1941 – Alexander Cockburn, Scottish-American journalist and author (d. 2012)
    • 1943 – José de Jesús Gudiño Pelayo, Mexican lawyer and jurist (d. 2010)
    • 1943 – Richard Smalley, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
    • 1943 – Joe Stampley, American country music singer-songwriter
    • 1944 – Monty Alexander, Jamaican jazz pianist.
    • 1944 – Phillip Allen Sharp, American molecular biologist; 1993 Nobel Prize laureate (Physiology or Medicine).
    • 1944 – Tommie Smith, American sprinter and football player; winner of 1968 Olympic 200m gold medal in a world record time.

    1946–2000

    • 1946 – Tony Levin, American bass player and songwriter.[
    • 1947 – David Blunkett, British Labour politician; Home Secretary 2001–2004.
    • 1947 – Robert Englund, American actor; best known for Nightmare on Elm Street.
    • 1947 – Ada Kok, Dutch butterfly stroke swimmer; winner of three Olympic medals including gold in 1968.
    • 1948 – Arlene Harris, American entrepreneur, inventor, investor and policy advocate.
    • 1949 – Holly Near, American folk singer and songwriter.
    • 1954 – Harvey Fierstein, American actor and playwright; twice a winner at the Tony Awards.
    • 1954 – Wladyslaw Zmuda, Polish footballer and manager; 91 caps for Poland and voted Best Young Player at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
    • 1955 – Sam Simon, American director, producer and screenwriter; co-developer of The Simpsons (d. 2015).
    • 1956 – Björn Borg, Swedish tennis player; winner of eleven Grand Slam singles titles including five consecutive Wimbledons.
    • 1972 – Natalie Morales, American television journalist and NBC News anchor.

    Deaths

    • 184 – Qiao Xuan, Chinese official (b. c. 110).
    • 863 – Abu Musa Utamish, vizier to the Abbasid Caliphate.
    • 913 – Alexander III, Byzantine emperor (b. 870).
    • 1097 – Agnes of Aquitaine, Queen of Aragon and Navarre
    • 1134 – Norbert of Xanten, German bishop and saint (b. 1060)
    • 1217 – Henry I, King of Castile and Toledo (b. 1204)
    • 1237 – John of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon
    • 1251 – William III of Dampierre, Count of Flanders
    • 1252 – Robert Passelewe, Bishop of Chichester
    • 1333 – William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster (b. 1312)
    • 1393 – Emperor Go-En’yū of Japan (b. 1359)
    • 1480 – Vecchietta, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1412)
    • 1548 – João de Castro, Portuguese soldier and politician, Governor of Portuguese India (b. 1500)
    • 1561 – Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, Italian painter (b. 1483)
    • 1583 – Nakagawa Kiyohide, Japanese daimyō (b. 1556)
    • 1659 – Nadira Banu Begum, Mughal princess (b. 1618)
    • 1661 – Martino Martini, Italian Jesuit missionary (b. 1614)
    • 1730 – Alain Emmanuel de Coëtlogon, French general (b. 1646)
    • 1740 – Alexander Spotswood, Moroccan-American colonial and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Virginia (b. 1676)
    • 1784 – Joan van der Capellen tot den Pol, Dutch politician (b. 1741)
    • 1799 – Patrick Henry, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Virginia (b. 1736)
    • 1813 – Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect, designed the Hôtel de Mademoiselle de Condé (b. 1739)
    • 1813 – Antonio Cachia, Maltese architect, engineer and archaeologist (b. 1739)
    • 1832 – Jeremy Bentham, English jurist and philosopher (b. 1748)
    • 1840 – Marcellin Champagnat, French priest and saint, founded the Marist Brothers (b. 1789)
    • 1843 – Friedrich Hölderlin, German poet and author (b. 1770)
    • 1861 – Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, Italian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1810)
    • 1862 – Turner Ashby, American colonel (b. 1828)
    • 1865 – William Quantrill, American captain (b. 1837)
    • 1878 – Robert Stirling, Scottish minister and engineer, invented the stirling engine (b. 1790)
    • 1881 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer (b. 1820)
    • 1883 – Ciprian Porumbescu, Romanian composer and poet (b. 1853)
    • 1891 – John A. Macdonald, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1815)
    • 1916 – Yuan Shikai, Chinese general and politician, 2nd President of the Republic of China (b. 1859)
    • 1922 – Lillian Russell, American actress and singer (b. 1860)
    • 1924 – William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, Irish businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of Belfast (b. 1847)
    • 1934 – Julije Kempf, Croatian historian and author (b. 1864)
    • 1935 – Julian Byng, 1st Viscount Byng of Vimy, English field marshal and politician, 12th Governor-General of Canada (b. 1862)
    • 1941 – Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-American race car driver and businessman, founded Chevrolet and Frontenac Motor Corporation (b. 1878)
    • 1943 – Pandelis Pouliopoulos, Greek politician (b. 1900)
    • 1946 – Gerhart Hauptmann, German novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
    • 1947 – James Agate, English author and critic (b. 1877)
    • 1948 – Louis Lumière, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1864)
    • 1951 – Olive Tell, American actress (b. 1894)
    • 1954 – Fritz Kasparek, Austrian mountaineer and author (b. 1910)
    • 1955 – Max Meldrum, Scottish-Australian painter and educator (b. 1875)
    • 1961 – Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist and psychotherapist (b. 1875)
    • 1962 – Yves Klein, French painter (b. 1928)
    • 1962 – Tom Phillis, Australian motorcycle racer (b. 1934)
    • 1963 – William Baziotes, American painter and academic (b. 1912)
    • 1968 – Randolph Churchill, English journalist and politician (b. 1911)
    • 1968 – Robert F. Kennedy, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 64th United States Attorney General (b. 1925)
    • 1968 – Kâzım Özalp, Turkish general and politician, 3rd Turkish Minister of National Defence (b. 1880)
    • 1975 – Larry Blyden, American actor (b. 1925)
    • 1976 – J. Paul Getty, American businessman, founded the Getty Oil Company (b. 1892)
    • 1979 – Jack Haley, American actor (b. 1897)
    • 1980 – Ruth Aarons, American table tennis player and manager (b. 1918)
    • 1982 – Kenneth Rexroth, American poet and academic (b. 1905)
    • 1983 – Hans Leip, German author, poet, and playwright (b. 1893)
    • 1984 – A. Bertram Chandler, English-Australian soldier and author (b. 1912)
    • 1991 – Stan Getz, American saxophonist (b. 1927)
    • 1994 – Barry Sullivan, American actor (b. 1912)
    • 1996 – George Davis Snell, American geneticist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1997 – Magda Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and socialite (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Frédéric Dard, French author and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 2001 – Suzanne Schiffman, French screenwriter and director (b. 1939)
    • 2003 – Ken Grimwood, American author (b. 1944)
    • 2003 – Dave Rowberry, English singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1940)
    • 2005 – Anne Bancroft, American actress (b. 1931)
    • 2005 – Dana Elcar, American actor (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Arnold Newman, American photographer and educator (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Billy Preston, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (b. 1946)
    • 2006 – Camille Sandorfy, Hungarian-Canadian chemist and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2009 – Jean Dausset, French-Spanish immunologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
    • 2009 – Jim Owens, American football player and coach (b. 1927)
    • 2010 – Marvin Isley, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1953)
    • 2012 – Vladimir Krutov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1960)
    • 2012 – Manuel Preciado Rebolledo, Spanish footballer and coach (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Mykola Volosyanko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1972)
    • 2013 – Jerome Karle, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Eugen Merzbacher, German-American physicist and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Tom Sharpe, English-Spanish author and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Esther Williams, American swimmer and actress (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Ado Bayero, Nigerian politician and diplomat (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Eric Hill, English-American author and illustrator (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Lorna Wing, English psychiatrist and physician (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Pierre Brice, French actor (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Vincent Bugliosi, American lawyer and author (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Ronnie Gilbert, American singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Ludvík Vaculík, Czech journalist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Peter Shaffer, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Ralph Santolla, American guitarist (b. 1969)

    Holidays and observances on June 6

    • Christian feast day:
      • Claude the Thaumaturge
      • Gottschalk
      • Ini Kopuria (Church of England, Episcopal Church, Anglican Church of Melanesia)
      • Marcellin Champagnat
      • Norbert of Xanten
      • June 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Engineer’s Day (Taiwan)
    • Korean Children’s Union Foundation Day (North Korea)
    • Memorial Day (South Korea)
    • National Day, marks the end of the Danish-ruled Kalmar Union. (Sweden)
    • National Huntington’s Disease Awareness Day (United States)
    • Normandy landings of the Allied Expeditionary Forces (D-Day), a.k.a. Operation Neptune, part of Operation Overlord (1944)
    • Queensland Day (Queensland)
    • Teachers’ Day (Bolivia)
    • UN Russian Language Day (United Nations)

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

    • 1096 – Count Emicho enters Mainz, where his followers massacre Jewish citizens.At least 600 Jews are killed.
    • 1120 – Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death.
    • 1153 – Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland.
    • 1199 – John is crowned King of England.
    • 1257 – Richard of Cornwall, and his wife, Sanchia of Provence, are crowned King and Queen of the Germans at Aachen Cathedral.
    • 1644 – Manchu regent Dorgon defeats rebel leader Li Zicheng of the Shun dynasty at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, allowing the Manchus to enter and conquer the capital city of Beijing.
    • 1703 – Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.
    • 1798 – The Battle of Oulart Hill takes place in Wexford, Ireland; Irish rebel leaders defeat and kill a detachment of militia.
    • 1799 – War of the Second Coalition: Austrian forces defeat the French at Winterthur, Switzerland.
    • 1813 – War of 1812: In Canada, American forces capture Fort George.
    • 1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi begins his attack on Palermo, Sicily, as part of the Italian unification.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: First Assault on the Confederate works at the Siege of Port Hudson.
    • 1874 – The first group of Dorsland trekkers under the leadership of Gert Alberts leaves Pretoria.
    • 1883 – Alexander III is crowned Tsar of Russia.
    • 1896 – The F4-strength St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado hits in St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing over $10–million in damage.
    • 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima begins.
    • 1917 – Pope Benedict XV promulgates the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive codification of Catholic canon law in the legal history of the Catholic Church.
    • 1919 – The NC-4 aircraft arrives in Lisbon after completing the first transatlantic flight.
    • 1927 – The Ford Motor Company ceases manufacture of the Ford Model T and begins to retool plants to make the Ford Model A.
    • 1930 – The 1,046 feet (319 m) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public.
    • 1933 – New Deal: The U.S. Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.
    • 1933 – The Walt Disney Company releases the cartoon Three Little Pigs, with its hit song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”
    • 1935 – New Deal: The Supreme Court of the United States declares the National Industrial Recovery Act to be unconstitutional in A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, (295 U.S. 495).
    • 1937 – In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California.
    • 1940 – World War II: In the Le Paradis massacre, 99 soldiers from a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are shot after surrendering to German troops; two survive.
    • 1941 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims an “unlimited national emergency”.
    • 1941 – World War II: The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic killing almost 2,100 men.
    • 1942 – World War II: In Operation Anthropoid, Reinhard Heydrich is fatally wounded in Prague; he dies of his injuries eight days later.
    • 1958 – First flight of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.
    • 1960 – In Turkey, a military coup removes President Celâl Bayar and the rest of the democratic government from office.
    • 1962 – The Centralia mine fire is ignited in the town’s landfill above a coal mine.
    • 1965 – Vietnam War: American warships begin the first bombardment of National Liberation Front targets within South Vietnam.
    • 1967 – Australians vote in favor of a constitutional referendum granting the Australian government the power to make laws to benefit Indigenous Australians and to count them in the national census.
    • 1967 – The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy is launched by Jacqueline Kennedy and her daughter Caroline.
    • 1971 – The Dahlerau train disaster, the worst railway accident in West Germany, kills 46 people and injures 25 near Wuppertal.
    • 1971 – Pakistani forces massacre over 200 civilians, mostly Bengali Hindus, in the Bagbati massacre.
    • 1975 – Dibbles Bridge coach crash near Grassington, in North Yorkshire, England, kills 33 – the highest ever death toll in a road accident in the United Kingdom.
    • 1980 – The Gwangju Massacre: Airborne and army troops of South Korea retake the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at least 207 and possibly many more.
    • 1984 – The Danube-Black Sea canal is opened, in a ceremony attended by the Ceaușescus. It had been under construction since the 1950s.
    • 1996 – First Chechen War: the Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire.
    • 1997 – The 1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak occurs, spawning multiple tornadoes in Central Texas, including the F5 that killed 27 in Jarrell.
    • 1998 – Oklahoma City bombing: Michael Fortier is sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 for failing to warn authorities about the terrorist plot.
    • 2001 – Members of the Islamist separatist group Abu Sayyaf seize twenty hostages from an affluent island resort on Palawan in the Philippines; the hostage crisis would not be resolved until June 2002.
    • 2006 – The 6.4 Mw  Yogyakarta earthquake shakes central Java with an MSK intensity of VIII (Damaging), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.
    • 2016 – Barack Obama is the first president of United States to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and meet Hibakusha.
    • 2017 – Andrew Scheer takes over after Rona Ambrose as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
    • 2018 – Maryland Flood Event: A flood occurs throughout the Patapsco Valley causing one death and destroying the entire first floors of buildings on Main Street in Ellicott City and causing cars to overturn.

    Births on May 27

    • 742 – Emperor Dezong of Tang (d. 805)
    • 1332 – Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian historian and theologian (d. 1406)
    • 1378 – Zhu Quan, Chinese military commander, historian and playwright (d. 1448)
    • 1519 – Girolamo Mei, Italian historian and theorist (d. 1594)
    • 1537 – Louis IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Marburg (d. 1604)
    • 1576 – Caspar Schoppe, German author and scholar (d. 1649)
    • 1584 – Michael Altenburg, German theologian and composer (d. 1640)
    • 1601 – Antoine Daniel, French-Canadian missionary and saint (d. 1648)
    • 1626 – William II, Prince of Orange (d. 1650)
    • 1627 – Anne Marie Louise d’Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier (d. 1693)
    • 1651 – Louis Antoine de Noailles, French cardinal (d. 1729)
    • 1652 – Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine of Germany (d. 1722)
    • 1738 – Nathaniel Gorham, American merchant and politician, 14th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1796)
    • 1756 – Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (d. 1825)
    • 1774 – Francis Beaufort, Irish hydrographer and officer in the Royal Navy (d. 1857)
    • 1794 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1877)
    • 1814 – John Rudolph Niernsee, Viennese-born American architect (d.1885)
    • 1815 – Henry Parkes, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1896)
    • 1818 – Amelia Bloomer, American journalist and activist (d. 1894)
    • 1819 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet and songwriter (d. 1910)
    • 1827 – Samuel F. Miller, American lawyer and politician (d. 1892)
    • 1832 – Zenas Ferry Moody, American surveyor and politician, 7th Governor of Oregon (d. 1917)
    • 1836 – Jay Gould, American businessman and financier (d. 1892)
    • 1837 – Wild Bill Hickok, American police officer (d. 1876)
    • 1852 – Billy Barnes, English cricketer (d. 1899)
    • 1857 – Theodor Curtius, German chemist (d. 1928)
    • 1860 – Manuel Teixeira Gomes, Portuguese politician, 7th President of Portugal (d. 1941)
    • 1863 – Arthur Mold, English cricketer (d. 1921)
    • 1867 – Arnold Bennett, English author and playwright (d. 1931)
    • 1868 – Aleksa Šantić, Bosnian poet and author (d. 1924)
    • 1871 – Georges Rouault, French painter and illustrator (d. 1958)
    • 1875 – Frederick Cuming, English cricketer (d. 1942)
    • 1876 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and author (d. 1945)
    • 1876 – William Stanier, English engineer (d. 1965)
    • 1878 – Anna Cervin, Swedish artist (d. 1972)
    • 1879 – Karl Bühler, German-American linguist and psychologist (d. 1963)
    • 1879 – Hans Lammers, German judge and politician (d. 1962)
    • 1883 – Jessie Arms Botke, American painter (d. 1971)
    • 1884 – Max Brod, Czech journalist, author, and composer (d. 1968)
    • 1887 – Frank Woolley, English cricketer (d. 1978)
    • 1888 – Louis Durey, French composer (d. 1979)
    • 1891 – Claude Champagne, Canadian violinist, pianist, and composer (d. 1965)
    • 1891 – Jaan Kärner, Estonian poet and author (d. 1958)
    • 1894 – Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French physician and author (d. 1961)
    • 1894 – Dashiell Hammett, American detective novelist and screenwriter (d. 1961)
    • 1895 – Douglas Lloyd Campbell, Canadian educator and politician, 13th Premier of Manitoba (d. 1995)
    • 1897 – John Cockcroft, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
    • 1897 – Dink Templeton, American rugby player and coach (d. 1962)
    • 1898 – David Crosthwait, American engineer, inventor and writer (d. 1976)
    • 1899 – Johannes Türn, Estonian chess and draughts player (d. 1993)
    • 1900 – Lotte Toberentz, German overseer of the Nazi Uckermark concentration camp (d. 1964)
    • 1900 – Uładzimir Žyłka, Belarusian poet and translator (d. 1933)
    • 1904 – Chūhei Nambu, Japanese jumper and journalist (d. 1997)
    • 1906 – Buddhadasa, Thai monk and philosopher (d. 1993)
    • 1906 – Harry Hibbs, English footballer (d. 1984)
    • 1906 – Antonio Rosario Mennonna, Italian bishop (d. 2009)
    • 1907 – Nicolas Calas, Greek-American poet and critic (d. 1988)
    • 1907 – Rachel Carson, American biologist, environmentalist, and author (d. 1964)
    • 1909 – Dolores Hope, American singer and philanthropist (d. 2011)
    • 1911 – Hubert Humphrey, American journalist and politician, 38th Vice President of the United States (d. 1978)
    • 1911 – Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (d. 2007)
    • 1911 – Vincent Price, American actor (d. 1993)
    • 1912 – John Cheever, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1982)
    • 1912 – Sam Snead, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2002)
    • 1912 – Terry Moore, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1995)
    • 1915 – Ester Soré, Chilean singer-songwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1915 – Herman Wouk, American novelist (d. 2019)
    • 1917 – Harry Webster, English engineer (d. 2007)
    • 1918 – Yasuhiro Nakasone, Japanese commander and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2019)
    • 1921 – Bob Godfrey, Australian-English animator, director, and voice actor (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – Christopher Lee, English actor (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – John D. Vanderhoof, American banker and politician, 37th Governor of Colorado (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Henry Kissinger, German-American political scientist and politician, 56th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1923 – Sumner Redstone, American businessman and philanthropist
    • 1924 – Jaime Lusinchi, Venezuelan physician and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – John Sumner, English-Australian director, founded the Melbourne Theatre Company (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Tony Hillerman, American journalist and author (d. 2008)
    • 1927 – Jüri Randviir, Estonian chess player and journalist (d. 1996)
    • 1928 – Thea Musgrave, Scottish-American composer and educator
    • 1930 – John Barth, American novelist and short story writer
    • 1930 – William S. Sessions, American civil servant and judge, 8th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
    • 1930 – Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer and educator (d. 2010)
    • 1931 – André Barbeau, French-Canadian neurologist (d. 1986)
    • 1931 – John Chapple, English field marshal and politician, Governor of Gibraltar
    • 1931 – Bernard Fresson, French actor (d. 2002)
    • 1931 – Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Philip Kotler, American author and professor
    • 1933 – Edward Samuel Rogers, Canadian businessman (d. 2008)
    • 1933 – Manfred Sommer, Spanish author and illustrator (d. 2007)
    • 1934 – Ray Daviault, Canadian-American baseball player
    • 1934 – Harlan Ellison, American author and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1935 – Daniel Colchico, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Mal Evans, British road manager of The Beatles (d. 1976)
    • 1935 – Jerry Kindall, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
    • 1935 – Ramsey Lewis, American jazz pianist and composer
    • 1935 – Lee Meriwether, American model and actress, Miss America 1955
    • 1936 – Benjamin Bathurst, English admiral
    • 1936 – Louis Gossett, Jr., American actor and producer
    • 1936 – Marcel Masse, Canadian educator and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2014)
    • 1937 – Allan Carr, American playwright and producer (d. 1999)
    • 1939 – Simon Cairns, 6th Earl Cairns, English courtier and businessman
    • 1939 – Yves Duhaime, Canadian captain and politician
    • 1939 – Sokratis Kokkalis, Greek businessman
    • 1939 – Gerald Ronson, English businessman and philanthropist
    • 1939 – Lionel Sosa, Mexican-American advertising and marketing executive
    • 1939 – Don Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
    • 1940 – Mike Gibson, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Lee Baca, American police officer
    • 1942 – Piers Courage, English racing driver (d. 1970)
    • 1942 – Roger Freeman, Baron Freeman, English accountant and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
    • 1942 – Robin Widdows, English racing driver
    • 1943 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (d. 2015)
    • 1943 – Bruce Weitz, American actor
    • 1944 – Chris Dodd, American lawyer and politician
    • 1944 – Ingrid Roscoe, English historian and politician, Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire
    • 1944 – Alain Souchon, French singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1945 – Bruce Cockburn, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1946 – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish bassist and composer (d. 2005)
    • 1946 – John Williams, English motorcycle racer (d. 1978)
    • 1947 – Peter DeFazio, American politician
    • 1947 – Marty Kristian, German-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1947 – Branko Oblak, Slovenian footballer and coach
    • 1947 – Riivo Sinijärv, Estonian politician, 19th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1948 – Wubbo de Boer, Dutch civil servant (d. 2017)
    • 1948 – Pete Sears, English bass player
    • 1948 – Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (d. 2014)
    • 1949 – Hugh Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale, English politician
    • 1949 – Christa Vahlensieck, German runner
    • 1950 – Dee Dee Bridgewater, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1950 – Makis Dendrinos, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1951 – John Conteh, English boxer
    • 1954 – Pauline Hanson, Australian businesswoman, activist, and politician
    • 1954 – Jackie Slater, American football player and coach
    • 1955 – Eric Bischoff, American wrestler, manager, and producer
    • 1955 – Richard Schiff, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1955 – Ian Tracey, English organist and conductor
    • 1956 – Cynthia McFadden, American journalist
    • 1956 – Rosemary Squire, English producer and manager, co-founded Ambassador Theatre Group
    • 1956 – Giuseppe Tornatore, Italian director and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Dag Terje Andersen, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Labour
    • 1957 – Nitin Gadkari, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Transport
    • 1957 – Eddie Harsch, Canadian-American keyboard player and bass player (d. 2016)
    • 1957 – Siouxsie Sioux, English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
    • 1958 – Nick Anstee, English accountant and politician, 682nd Lord Mayor of London
    • 1958 – Neil Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1958 – Jesse Robredo, Filipino politician, 23rd Filipino Secretary of the Interior (d. 2012)
    • 1960 – Gaston Therrien, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1961 – José Luíz Barbosa, Brazilian runner and coach
    • 1961 – Peri Gilpin, American actress
    • 1962 – Marcelino Bernal, Mexican footballer
    • 1962 – Ray Borner, Australian basketball player
    • 1962 – Steven Brill, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Anthony A. Hyman, Israeli-English biologist and academic
    • 1962 – David Mundell, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
    • 1962 – Ravi Shastri, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Cuban pianist and composer
    • 1963 – Maria Walliser, Swiss skier
    • 1964 – Adam Carolla, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Pat Cash, Australian-English tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1966 – Heston Blumenthal, English chef and author
    • 1967 – Paul Gascoigne, English international footballer, midfielder, coach, and manager
    • 1967 – Eddie McClintock, American actor
    • 1968 – Jeff Bagwell, American baseball player and coach
    • 1968 – Rebekah Brooks, English journalist
    • 1968 – Harun Erdenay, Turkish basketball player and coach
    • 1968 – Frank Thomas, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Todd Hundley, American baseball player
    • 1969 – Jeremy Mayfield, American race car driver
    • 1969 – Craig Federighi, American computer scientist and engineer
    • 1970 – Michele Bartoli, Italian cyclist
    • 1970 – Tim Farron, English educator and politician
    • 1970 – Joseph Fiennes, English actor
    • 1970 – Alex Archer, American-born Australian musician
    • 1971 – Mathew Batsiua, Nauruan politician
    • 1971 – Paul Bettany, English actor
    • 1971 – Wayne Carey, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1971 – Kaur Kender, Estonian author
    • 1971 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper and dancer (d. 2002)
    • 1971 – Lee Sharpe, English footballer
    • 1971 – Grant Stafford, South African tennis player
    • 1971 – Sophie Walker, British politician, leader of the Women’s Equality Party
    • 1971 – Petroc Trelawny, British radio and television broadcaster
    • 1972 – Todd Demsey, American golfer
    • 1972 – Antonio Freeman, American football player
    • 1972 – Maxim Sokolov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Jack McBrayer, American actor and comedian
    • 1973 – Tana Umaga, New Zealand rugby player and coach
    • 1973 – Yorgos Lanthimos, Greek film video, and theatre director, producer and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Skye Edwards, British singer-songwriter
    • 1974 – Denise van Outen, English actress, singer, and television host
    • 1974 – Derek Webb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1974 – Danny Wuerffel, American football player
    • 1975 – André 3000, American rapper
    • 1975 – Michael Hussey, Australian cricketer
    • 1975 – Jamie Oliver, English chef and author
    • 1975 – Feryal Özel, Turkish astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
    • 1976 – Marcel Fässler, Swiss racing driver
    • 1977 – Abderrahmane Hammad, Algerian high jumper
    • 1977 – Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lankan cricketer
    • 1978 – Adin Brown, American soccer player
    • 1979 – Michael Buonauro, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
    • 1979 – Mile Sterjovski, Australian footballer
    • 1980 – Craig Buntin, Canadian figure skater
    • 1981 – Alina Cojocaru, Romanian ballerina
    • 1981 – Johan Elmander, Swedish footballer
    • 1984 – Blake Ahearn, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Miguel González, Mexican baseball pitcher
    • 1985 – Chiang Chien-ming, Taiwanese baseball player
    • 1985 – Roberto Soldado, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Conor Cummins, Manx motorcycle racer
    • 1986 – Bamba Fall, Senegalese basketball player
    • 1986 – Lasse Schöne, Danish footballer
    • 1987 – Gervinho, Ivorian footballer
    • 1987 – Bella Heathcote, Australian actress
    • 1987 – Eric Kolelas, French-English actor and director
    • 1987 – Bora Paçun, Turkish basketball player
    • 1987 – Matt Prior, Australian rugby league player
    • 1987 – Martina Sablikova, Czech speed skater and cyclist
    • 1988 – Vontae Davis, American football player
    • 1988 – Irina Davydova, Russian hurdler
    • 1988 – Garrett Richards, American baseball pitcher
    • 1988 – Tyler Sash, American football player (d. 2015)
    • 1989 – Igor Morozov, Estonian footballer
    • 1990 – Yenew Alamirew, Ethiopian runner
    • 1990 – Chris Colfer, American actor and singer
    • 1990 – Marcus Kruger, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Sebastien Dewaest, Belgian footballer
    • 1991 – Tim Lafai, Samoan rugby league player
    • 1991 – Ksenia Pervak, Russian tennis player
    • 1991 – Eneli Vals, Estonian footballer
    • 1992 – Aaron Brown, Canadian sprinter
    • 1992 – Laurence Vincent-Lapointe, Canadian canoer

    Deaths on May 27

    • 366 – Procopius, Roman usurper (b. 325)
    • 398 – Murong Bao, emperor of the Xianbei state Later Yan (b. 355)
    • 475 – Eutropius, bishop of Orange
    • 866 – Ordoño I of Asturias (b. 831)
    • 927 – Simeon I of Bulgaria first Bulgarian Emperor (b. 864)
    • 1039 – Dirk III, Count of Holland (b. 981)
    • 1045 – Bruno of Würzburg, imperial chancellor of Italy (b. c. 1005)
    • 1178 – Godfrey van Rhenen, bishop of Utrecht
    • 1240 – William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey (b. 1166)
    • 1444 – John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1404)
    • 1508 – Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1452)
    • 1508 – Lucrezia Crivelli, mistress of Ludovico Sforza (b. 1452)
    • 1525 – Thomas Müntzer, German mystic and theologian (b. 1488)
    • 1541 – Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (b. 1473)
    • 1564 – John Calvin, French pastor and theologian (b. 1509)
    • 1610 – François Ravaillac, French assassin of Henry IV of France (b. 1578)
    • 1624 – Diego Ramírez de Arellano, Spanish sailor and cosmographer (b. c. 1580)
    • 1637 – John Boteler, 1st Baron Boteler of Brantfield, English politician (b. c. 1566)
    • 1661 – Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, Scottish general and politician (b. 1607)
    • 1675 – Gaspard Dughet, Italian-French painter (b. 1613)
    • 1690 – Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1626)
    • 1702 – Dominique Bouhours, French priest and critic (b. 1628)
    • 1707 – Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan, French mistress of Louis XIV of France (b. 1640)
    • 1781 – Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1716)
    • 1797 – François-Noël Babeuf, French journalist (b. 1760)
    • 1831 – Jedediah Smith, American hunter, explorer, and author (b. 1799)
    • 1840 – Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1782)
    • 1867 – Thomas Bulfinch American mythologist (b. 1796)
    • 1896 – Aleksandr Stoletov, Russian physicist, engineer, and academic (b. 1839)
    • 1910 – Robert Koch, German physician and microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
    • 1918 – Ōzutsu Man’emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 18th Yokozuna (b. 1869)
    • 1919 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian author and activist (b. 1848)
    • 1933 – Achille Paroche, French target shooter (b. 1868)
    • 1939 – Joseph Roth, Austrian-French journalist and author (b. 1894)
    • 1941 – Ernst Lindemann, German captain (b. 1894)
    • 1941 – Günther Lütjens, German admiral (b. 1889)
    • 1942 – Muhammed Hamdi Yazır, Turkish theologian, logician, and translator (b. 1878)
    • 1943 – Gordon Coates, New Zealand soldier and politician, 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1878)
    • 1945 – Enno Lolling, German physician (b. 1888)
    • 1947 – Ed Konetchy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1885)
    • 1949 – Robert Ripley, American cartoonist, publisher, and businessman, founded Ripley’s Believe It or Not! (b. 1890)
    • 1953 – Jesse Burkett, American baseball player and manager (b. 1868)
    • 1960 – James Montgomery Flagg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1877)
    • 1963 – Grigoris Lambrakis, Greek physician and politician (b. 1912)
    • 1964 – Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of India (b. 1889)
    • 1967 – W. Otto Miessner, American composer and educator (b. 1880)
    • 1967 – Ernst Niekisch, German academic and politician (b. 1889)
    • 1969 – Jeffrey Hunter, American actor and producer (b. 1926)
    • 1971 – Béla Juhos, Hungarian-Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1901)
    • 1971 – Armando Picchi, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1935)
    • 1980 – Gün Sazak, Turkish agronomist and politician (b. 1932)
    • 1984 – Vasilije Mokranjac, Serbian composer (b. 1923)
    • 1986 – Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
    • 1986 – Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1901)
    • 1986 – Giorgos Tzifos, Greek actor and cinematographer (b. 1918)
    • 1987 – John Howard Northrop, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
    • 1988 – Hjördis Petterson, Swedish actress (b. 1908)
    • 1988 – Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
    • 1989 – Arseny Tarkovsky, Russian poet and translator (b. 1907)
    • 1990 – Robert B. Meyner, American lawyer and politician, 44th Governor of New Jersey (b. 1908)
    • 1991 – Leopold Nowak, Austrian musicologist and theorist (b. 1904)
    • 1992 – Uncle Charlie Osborne, American fiddler (b. 1890)
    • 1998 – Minoo Masani, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
    • 2000 – Kazimierz Leski, Polish engineer and pilot (b. 1912)
    • 2000 – Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, Scottish politician and diplomat, 25th Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1917)
    • 2000 – Maurice Richard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1921)
    • 2003 – Luciano Berio, Italian composer and educator (b. 1925)
    • 2006 – Rob Borsellino, American journalist (b. 1949)
    • 2006 – Paul Gleason, American actor (b. 1939)
    • 2006 – Craig Heyward, American football player (b. 1966)
    • 2007 – Izumi Sakai, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1967)
    • 2007 – Gretchen Wyler, American actress and dancer (b. 1932)
    • 2007 – Ed Yost, American inventor, created the hot air balloon (b. 1919)
    • 2008 – Franz Künstler, Hungarian soldier (b. 1900)
    • 2009 – Thomas M. Franck, American lawyer and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2009 – Clive Granger, Welsh-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1934)
    • 2009 – Mona Grey, British nursing administrator; Northern Ireland’s first Chief Nursing Officer
    • 2009 – Abram Hoffer, Canadian biochemist, physician, and psychiatrist (b. 1917)
    • 2009 – Gérard Jean-Juste, Haitian-American priest and theologian (b. 1946)
    • 2009 – Carol Anne O’Marie, American nun and author (b. 1933)
    • 2009 – William Refshauge, Australian soldier and physician (b. 1913)
    • 2009 – Paul Sharratt, English-American television host (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator and director (b. 1929)
    • 2011 – Jeff Conaway, American actor and singer (b. 1950)
    • 2011 – Margo Dydek, Polish-American basketball player (b. 1974)
    • 2011 – Gil Scott-Heron, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1949)
    • 2012 – Simeon Daniel, Nevisian educator and politician, 1st Premier of Nevis (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Friedrich Hirzebruch, German mathematician and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Anahit Perikhanian, Russian-born Armenian Iranologist (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – David Rimoin, Canadian-American geneticist and academic (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri, Indian politician (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Bill Pertwee, English actor (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Abdoulaye Sékou Sow, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Robert Genn, Canadian painter and author (b. 1936)
    • 2014 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Roberto Vargas, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Massimo Vignelli, Italian-American graphic designer (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Erik Carlsson, Swedish rally driver (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Nils Christie, Norwegian sociologist, criminologist, and author (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Andy King, English footballer and manager (b. 1956)
    • 2015 – Michael Martin, American philosopher and academic (b. 1932)
    • 2017 – Gregg Allman, American musician, singer and songwriter (b. 1947)
    • 2020 – Larry Kramer, American playwright, public health advocate and LGBT rights activist (b. 1935)

    Holidays and observances on May 27

    • Armed Forces Day (Nicaragua)
    • Children’s Day (Nigeria)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Augustine of Canterbury
      • Blessed Lojze Grozde
      • Bede (commemoration, Anglican Communion)
      • Bruno of Würzburg
      • Eutropius of Orange
      • Hildebert
      • Julius the Veteran
      • May 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Mother’s Day (Bolivia)
    • Navy Day (Japan)
    • Slavery Abolition Day (Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin)
    • Start of National Reconciliation Week (Australia)

  • May 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
    • 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet.
    • 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain, back from the Moors.
    • 1420 – Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ.
    • 1521 – The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.
    • 1644 – Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan pass, letting the Manchus through towards the capital Beijing.
    • 1659 – Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth of England.
    • 1660 – Charles II lands at Dover at the invitation of the Convention Parliament, which marks the end of the Cromwell-proclaimed Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and begins the Restoration of the British monarchy.
    • 1738 – A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners.
    • 1787 – After a delay of 11 days, the United States Constitutional Convention formally convenes in Philadelphia after a quorum of seven states is secured.
    • 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Battle of Carlow begins; executions of suspected rebels at Carnew and at Dunlavin Green take place.
    • 1809 – Chuquisaca Revolution: Patriot revolt in Chuquisaca (modern-day Sucre) against the Spanish Empire, sparking the Latin American wars of independence.
    • 1810 – May Revolution: Citizens of Buenos Aires expel Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros during the “May Week”, starting the Argentine War of Independence.
    • 1819 – The Argentine Constitution of 1819 is promulgated.
    • 1833 – The Chilean Constitution of 1833 is promulgated.
    • 1865 – In Mobile, Alabama, around 300 people are killed when an ordnance depot explodes.
    • 1878 – Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opens at the Opera Comique in London.
    • 1895 – Playwright, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of “committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons” and sentenced to serve two years in prison.
    • 1895 – The Republic of Formosa is formed, with Tang Jingsong as its president.
    • 1914 – The House of Commons of the United Kingdom passes the Home Rule Bill for devolution in Ireland.
    • 1925 – Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching human evolution in Tennessee.
    • 1926 – Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, which is in government-in-exile in Paris.
    • 1935 – Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
    • 1938 – Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante kills 313 people.
    • 1940 – World War II: The German 2nd Panzer Division captures the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer; the surrender of the last French and British troops marks the end of the Battle of Boulogne.
    • 1946 – The parliament of Transjordan makes Abdullah I of Jordan their Emir.
    • 1953 – Nuclear weapons testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.
    • 1953 – The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting as KUHT from the campus of the University of Houston.
    • 1955 – In the United States, a night-time F5 tornado strikes the small city of Udall, Kansas, killing 80 and injuring 273. It is the deadliest tornado to ever occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in the U.S.
    • 1955 – First ascent of Mount Kangchenjunga: A British expedition led by Charles Evans, Joe Brown and George Band reaches the summit of the third-highest mountain in the world (8,586 meters); Norman Hardie and Tony Streather join them the following day.
    • 1961 – Apollo program: U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces, before a special joint session of the U.S. Congress, his goal to initiate a project to put a “man on the Moon” before the end of the decade.
    • 1963 – The Organisation of African Unity is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
    • 1966 – Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches.
    • 1968 – The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, is dedicated.
    • 1973 – In protest against the dictatorship in Greece, the captain and crew on Greek naval destroyer Velos mutiny and refuse to return to Greece, instead anchoring at Fiumicino, Italy.
    • 1977 – Star Wars (retroactively titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) is released in theaters.
    • 1977 – The Chinese government removes a decade-old ban on William Shakespeare’s work, effectively ending the Cultural Revolution started in 1966.
    • 1978 – The first of a series of bombings orchestrated by the Unabomber detonates at Northwestern University resulting in minor injuries.
    • 1979 – John Spenkelink, a convicted murderer, is executed in Florida; he is the first person to be executed in the state after the reintroduction of capital punishment in 1976.
    • 1979 – American Airlines Flight 191: A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, killing all 271 on board and two people on the ground.
    • 1981 – In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
    • 1982 – Falklands War: HMS Coventry is sunk by Argentine Air Force A-4 Skyhawks.
    • 1985 – Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people.
    • 1986 – The Hands Across America event takes place.
    • 1997 – A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koroma.
    • 1999 – The United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report which details the People’s Republic of China’s nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prior two decades.
    • 2000 – Liberation Day of Lebanon: Israel withdraws its army from Lebanese territory (with the exception of the disputed Shebaa farms zone) 18 years after the invasion of 1982.
    • 2001 – Erik Weihenmayer becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, with Dr. Sherman Bull.
    • 2002 – China Airlines Flight 611 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes into the Taiwan Strait, with the loss of all 225 people on board.
    • 2008 – NASA’s Phoenix lander touches down in the Green Valley region of Mars to search for environments suitable for water and microbial life.
    • 2009 – North Korea allegedly tests its second nuclear device, after which Pyongyang also conducts several missile tests, building tensions in the international community.
    • 2011 – Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her 25-year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
    • 2012 – The SpaceX Dragon becomes the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station.
    • 2013 – Suspected Maoist rebels kill at least 28 people and injure 32 others in an attack on a convoy of Indian National Congress politicians in Chhattisgarh, India.
    • 2013 – A gas cylinder explodes on a school bus in the Pakistani city of Gujrat, killing at least 18 people.
    • 2018 – The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable in the European Union.
    • 2018 – Ireland votes to repeal the Eighth Amendment of their constitution that prohibits abortion in all but a few cases, choosing to replace it with the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.
    • 2020 – George Floyd, a black man, is killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest when he is restrained in a prone position face-down on the ground for several minutes, provoking protests across the United States and elsewhere around the world.

    Births on May 25

    • 1048 – Emperor Shenzong of Song (d. 1085)
    • 1320 – Toghon Temür, Mongolian emperor (d. 1370)
    • 1334 – Emperor Sukō of Japan (d. 1398)
    • 1416 – Jakobus (“James”), Count of Lichtenburg (d. 1480)
    • 1417 – Catherine of Cleves, Duchess consort regent of Guelders (d. 1479)
    • 1550 – Camillus de Lellis, Italian saint and nurse (d. 1614)
    • 1606 – Charles Garnier, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)
    • 1661 – Claude Buffier, Polish-French historian and philosopher (d. 1737)
    • 1713 – John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
    • 1725 – Samuel Ward, American politician, 31st Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island (d. 1776)
    • 1783 – Philip Pendleton Barbour, American farmer and politician, 12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1841)
    • 1791 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1841)
    • 1803 – Edward Bulwer-Lytton, English author, playwright, and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1873)
    • 1803 – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet and philosopher (d. 1882)
    • 1818 – Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss historian and academic (d. 1897)
    • 1818 – Louise de Broglie, Countess d’Haussonville, French essayist and biographer (d. 1882)
    • 1830 – Trebor Mai (né Robert Williams), Welsh poet (d. 1877)
    • 1846 – Naim Frashëri, Albanian-Turkish poet and translator (d. 1900)
    • 1848 – Johann Baptist Singenberger, Swiss composer, educator, and publisher (d. 1924)
    • 1852 – William Muldoon, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1933)
    • 1856 – Louis Franchet d’Espèrey, Algerian-French general (d. 1942)
    • 1860 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (d. 1944)
    • 1865 – John Mott, American evangelist and saint, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
    • 1865 – Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
    • 1867 – Anders Peter Nielsen, Danish target shooter (d. 1950)
    • 1869 – Robbie Ross, Canadian journalist and art critic (d. 1918)
    • 1869 – Mathilde Verne, English pianist and educator (d. 1936)
    • 1878 – Bill Robinson, American actor and dancer (d. 1949)
    • 1879 – Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, Canadian-English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 1964)
    • 1879 – William Stickney, American golfer (d. 1944)
    • 1880 – Jean Alexandre Barré, French neurologist and academic (d. 1967)
    • 1882 – Marie Doro, American actress (d. 1956)
    • 1883 – Carl Johan Lind, Swedish hammer thrower (d. 1965)
    • 1886 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian soldier and activist (d. 1945)
    • 1886 – Philip Murray, Scottish-American miner and labor leader (d. 1952)
    • 1887 – Padre Pio, Italian priest and saint (d. 1968)
    • 1888 – Miles Malleson, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1969)
    • 1889 – Günther Lütjens, German admiral (d. 1941)
    • 1889 – Igor Sikorsky, Russian-American aircraft designer, founded Sikorsky Aircraft (d. 1972)
    • 1893 – Ernest “Pop” Stoneman, American country musician (d. 1968)
    • 1897 – Alan Kippax, Australian cricketer (d. 1972)
    • 1897 – Gene Tunney, American boxer and soldier (d. 1978)
    • 1898 – Bennett Cerf, American publisher and television game show panelist; co-founded Random House (d. 1971)
    • 1899 – Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, author, and flute player (d. 1976)
    • 1900 – Alain Grandbois, Canadian poet and author (d. 1975)
    • 1907 – U Nu, Burmese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (d. 1995)
    • 1908 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (d. 1963)
    • 1909 – Alfred Kubel, German politician, 5th Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (d. 1999)
    • 1912 – Dean Rockwell, American commander, wrestler, and coach (d. 2005)
    • 1913 – Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot (d. 1957)
    • 1913 – Richard Dimbleby, English journalist and producer (d. 1965)
    • 1916 – Brian Dickson, Canadian captain, lawyer, and politician, 15th Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1998)
    • 1916 – Giuseppe Tosi, Italian discus thrower (d. 1981)
    • 1917 – Steve Cochran, American film, television and stage actor (d. 1965)
    • 1917 – Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1920 – Arthur Wint, Jamaican runner and diplomat (d. 1992)
    • 1921 – Hal David, American songwriter and composer (d. 2012)
    • 1921 – Kitty Kallen, American singer (d. 2016)
    • 1921 – Jack Steinberger, German-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1922 – Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (d. 1984)
    • 1924 – István Nyers, French-Hungarian footballer (d. 2005)
    • 1925 – Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet and author (d. 1974)
    • 1925 – Jeanne Crain, American actress (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Eldon Griffiths, English journalist and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Don Liddle, American baseball player (d. 2000)
    • 1925 – Claude Pinoteau, French film director and screenwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1926 – Claude Akins, American actor (d. 1994)
    • 1926 – William Bowyer, English painter and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1926 – Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian author and poet (d. 2009)
    • 1926 – Bill Sharman, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – David Wynne, English sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Robert Ludlum, American soldier and author (d. 2001)
    • 1927 – Norman Petty, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1984)
    • 1929 – Beverly Sills, American soprano and actress (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer (d. 2016)
    • 1931 – Herb Gray, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Georgy Grechko, Russian engineer and astronaut (d. 2017)
    • 1931 – Irwin Winkler, American director and producer
    • 1932 – John Gregory Dunne, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2003)
    • 1932 – K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach
    • 1933 – Sarah Marshall, English-American actress (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Basdeo Panday, Trinidadian lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
    • 1933 – Ray Spencer, English footballer (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Jógvan Sundstein, Faroese accountant and politician, 7th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
    • 1935 – John Ffowcs Williams, Welsh engineer and academic
    • 1935 – Cookie Gilchrist, American football player (d. 2011)
    • 1935 – W. P. Kinsella, Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2016)
    • 1935 – Victoria Shaw, Australian-born American actress (d. 1988)
    • 1936 – Tom T. Hall, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1936 – Rusi Surti, Indian cricketer (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Tom Phillips, English painter and academic
    • 1938 – Raymond Carver, American short story writer and poet (d. 1988)
    • 1938 – Margaret Forster, English historian, author, and critic (d. 2016)
    • 1938 – Geoffrey Robinson, English businessman and politician
    • 1939 – Dixie Carter, American actress and singer (d. 2010)
    • 1939 – Ian McKellen, English actor
    • 1940 – Nobuyoshi Araki, Japanese photographer
    • 1941 – Rudolf Adler, Czech filmmaker:88
    • 1941 – Uta Frith, German developmental psychologist
    • 1941 – Vladimir Voronin, Moldovan economist and politician, 3rd President of Moldova
    • 1943 – Jessi Colter, American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1943 – John Palmer, English keyboard player
    • 1943 – Leslie Uggams, American actress and singer
    • 1944 – Digby Anderson, English journalist and philosopher
    • 1944 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1944 – Charlie Harper, English singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1944 – Robert MacPherson, American mathematician and academic
    • 1944 – Frank Oz, English-born American puppeteer, filmmaker, and actor
    • 1944 – Chris Ralston, English rugby player
    • 1946 – Bill Adam, Scottish-Canadian racing driver
    • 1946 – David A. Hargrave, American game designer, created Arduin (d. 1988)
    • 1947 – Karen Valentine, American actress
    • 1947 – Catherine G. Wolf, American psychologist and computer scientist
    • 1948 – Bülent Arınç, Turkish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
    • 1948 – Marianne Elliott, Northern Irish historian, author, and academic
    • 1948 – Klaus Meine, German rock singer-songwriter
    • 1949 – Jamaica Kincaid, Antiguan-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist
    • 1949 – Barry Windsor-Smith, English painter and illustrator
    • 1950 – Robby Steinhardt, American rock violinist and singer
    • 1951 – Bob Gale, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Jeffrey Bewkes, American businessman
    • 1952 – Nick Fotiu, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1952 – David Jenkins, Trinidadian-Scottish runner
    • 1952 – Al Sarrantonio, American author and publisher
    • 1952 – Gordon H. Smith, American businessman and politician
    • 1953 – Eve Ensler, American playwright and producer
    • 1953 – Daniel Passarella, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1953 – Stan Sakai, Japanese-American author and illustrator
    • 1953 – Gaetano Scirea, Italian footballer (d. 1989)
    • 1954 – John Beck, English footballer, midfielder and manager
    • 1954 – Murali, Indian actor, producer, and politician (d. 2009)
    • 1955 – Alistair Burt, English lawyer and politician
    • 1956 – Stavros Arnaoutakis, Greek politician
    • 1956 – Larry Hogan, American politician, 62nd Governor of Maryland
    • 1956 – David P. Sartor, American composer and conductor
    • 1957 – Alastair Campbell, English journalist and author
    • 1957 – Edward Lee, American author
    • 1957 – Robert Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1958 – Dorothy Straight, American children’s author
    • 1958 – Paul Weller, English singer, songwriter and musician
    • 1959 – Julian Clary, English comedian, actor, and author
    • 1959 – Manolis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician
    • 1959 – Rick Wamsley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1960 – Amy Klobuchar, American lawyer and politician
    • 1960 – Anthea Turner, English journalist and television host
    • 1962 – Ric Nattress, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
    • 1963 – George Hickenlooper, American director and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1963 – Mike Myers, Canadian-American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1963 – Ludovic Orban, Romanian engineer, and politician, 68th Prime Minister of Romania
    • 1964 – David Shaw, Canadian-American ice hockey player
    • 1965 – Yahya Jammeh, Gambian colonel and politician, President of the Gambia
    • 1967 – Luc Nilis, Belgian footballer and manager
    • 1967 – Mark Rosewater, Head designer of Magic: the Gathering
    • 1968 – Kendall Gill, American basketball player, boxer, and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Glen Drover, Canadian guitarist and songwriter
    • 1969 – Anne Heche, American actress
    • 1969 – Karen Bernstein, Canadian voice actress
    • 1969 – Stacy London, American journalist and author
    • 1970 – Robert Croft, Welsh-English cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1970 – Jamie Kennedy, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Stefano Baldini, Italian runner
    • 1971 – Marco Cappato, Italian politician
    • 1972 – Karan Johar, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1972 – Octavia Spencer, American actress and author
    • 1973 – Daz Dillinger, American rapper and producer
    • 1973 – Molly Sims, American model and actress
    • 1974 – Dougie Freedman, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Frank Klepacki, American drummer and composer
    • 1974 – Miguel Tejada, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1975 – Blaise Nkufo, Congolese-Swiss footballer
    • 1976 – Stefan Holm, Swedish high jumper
    • 1976 – Erki Pütsep, Estonian cyclist
    • 1976 – Ethan Suplee, American actor
    • 1976 – Cillian Murphy, Irish actor
    • 1976 – Miguel Zepeda, Mexican footballer
    • 1977 – Andre Anis, Estonian footballer
    • 1977 – Alberto Del Rio, Mexican-American mixed martial artist and wrestler
    • 1978 – Adam Gontier, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – Brian Urlacher, American football player
    • 1979 – Carlos Bocanegra, American international soccer player, defender and Sports Executive
    • 1979 – Sayed Moawad, Egyptian footballer
    • 1979 – Caroline Ouellette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1979 – Sam Sodje, English-Nigerian footballer
    • 1979 – Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby player
    • 1979 – Chris Young, American baseball pitcher
    • 1980 – David Navarro, Spanish footballer
    • 1981 – Michalis Pelekanos, Greek basketball player
    • 1981 – Matt Utai, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1982 – Adam Boyd, English footballer
    • 1982 – Daniel Braaten, Norwegian footballer
    • 1982 – Ryan Gallant, American skateboarder
    • 1982 – Roger Guerreiro, Polish footballer
    • 1982 – Justin Hodges, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenyan runner
    • 1982 – Jason Kubel, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Stacey Pensgen, American figure skater and meteorologist
    • 1982 – Luke Webster, Australian footballer
    • 1984 – Luke Ball, Australian footballer
    • 1984 – Kyle Brodziak, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1984 – A. J. Foyt IV, American race car driver
    • 1984 – Shawne Merriman, American football player
    • 1985 – Luciana Abreu, Portuguese singer and actress
    • 1985 – Demba Ba, French footballer
    • 1985 – Gert Kams, Estonian footballer
    • 1985 – Roman Reigns, American football player and wrestler
    • 1986 – Edewin Fanini, Brazilian footballer
    • 1986 – Yoan Gouffran, French footballer
    • 1986 – Takahiro Hōjō, Japanese actor and musician
    • 1986 – Geraint Thomas, Welsh cyclist
    • 1987 – Timothy Derijck, Belgian footballer
    • 1987 – Yves De Winter, Belgian footballer
    • 1987 – Moritz Stehling, German footballer
    • 1987 – Kamil Stoch, Polish ski jumper
    • 1988 – Dávid Škutka, Slovak footballer
    • 1988 – Cameron van der Burgh, South African swimmer
    • 1990 – Bo Dallas, American wrestler
    • 1990 – Nikita Filatov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1993 – James Porter, English cricketer
    • 1994 – Matt Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1994 – Aly Raisman, American gymnast
    • 1995 – Kagiso Rabada, South African cricketer
    • 1996 – David Pastrňák, Czech ice hockey player

    Deaths on May 25

    • 675 – Li Hong, Chinese prince (b. 652)
    • 709 – Aldhelm, English-Latin bishop, poet, and scholar (b. 639)
    • 803 – Higbald of Lindisfarne, English bishop
    • 912 – Xue Yiju, chancellor of Later Liang
    • 916 – Flann Sinna, king of Meath
    • 939 – Yao Yanzhang, general of Chu
    • 986 – Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Muslim astronomer (b. 903)
    • 992 – Mieszko I of Poland (b. 935)
    • 1085 – Pope Gregory VII (b. 1020)
    • 1261 – Pope Alexander IV (b. 1185)
    • 1452 – John Stafford, English archbishop and politician
    • 1555 – Gemma Frisius, Dutch physician, mathematician, and cartographer (b. 1508)
    • 1555 – Henry II of Navarre (b. 1503)
    • 1595 – Valens Acidalius, German poet and critic (b. 1567)
    • 1595 – Philip Neri, Italian priest and saint (b. 1515)
    • 1607 – Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Italian Carmelite nun and mystic (b. 1566)
    • 1632 – Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1572)
    • 1667 – Gustaf Bonde, Finnish-Swedish politician, 5th Lord High Treasurer of Sweden (b. 1620)
    • 1681 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1600)
    • 1741 – Daniel Ernst Jablonski, German bishop and theologian (b. 1660)
    • 1786 – Peter III of Portugal (b. 1717)
    • 1789 – Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist and physician (b. 1751)
    • 1797 – John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (b. 1719)
    • 1805 – William Paley, English priest and philosopher (b. 1743)
    • 1849 – Benjamin D’Urban, English general and politician, Governor of British Guiana (b. 1777)
    • 1895 – Ahmed Cevdet Pasha, Ottoman sociologist, historian, and jurist (b. 1822)
    • 1899 – Rosa Bonheur, French painter and sculptor (b. 1822)
    • 1912 – Austin Lane Crothers, American educator and politician, 46th Governor of Maryland (b. 1860)
    • 1917 – Maksim Bahdanovič, Belarusian poet and critic (b. 1891)
    • 1919 – Eliza Pollock, American archer (b. 1840)
    • 1919 – Madam C. J. Walker, American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded the Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company (b. 1867)
    • 1924 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter and illustrator (b. 1889)
    • 1926 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (b. 1879)
    • 1927 – Payne Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1876)
    • 1930 – Randall Davidson, Scottish-English archbishop (b. 1848)
    • 1934 – Gustav Holst, English trombonist, composer, and educator (b. 1874)
    • 1937 – Henry Ossawa Tanner, American-French painter and illustrator (b. 1859)
    • 1939 – Frank Watson Dyson, English astronomer and academic (b. 1868)
    • 1942 – Emanuel Feuermann, Ukrainian-American cellist and educator (b. 1902)
    • 1943 – Nils von Dardel, Swedish painter (b. 1888)
    • 1948 – Witold Pilecki, Polish officer and Resistance leader (b. 1901)
    • 1951 – Paula von Preradović, Croatian poet and author (b. 1887)
    • 1954 – Robert Capa, Hungarian photographer and journalist (b. 1913)
    • 1957 – Leo Goodwin, American swimmer, diver, and water polo player (b. 1883)
    • 1968 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (b. 1881)
    • 1970 – Tom Patey, Scottish mountaineer and author (b. 1932)
    • 1977 – Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian author (b. 1904)
    • 1979 – Itzhak Bentov, Czech-Israeli engineer, mystic, and author (b. 1923)
    • 1979 – Amédée Gordini, Italian-born French racing driver and sports car manufacturer (b. 1899)
    • 1981 – Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian physicist and astronomer (b. 1912)
    • 1981 – Fredric Warburg, English author and publisher (b. 1898)
    • 1983 – Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1904)
    • 1983 – Idris of Libya (b. 1889)
    • 1983 – Jack Stewart, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1917)
    • 1986 – Chester Bowles, American journalist and politician, 22nd Under Secretary of State (b. 1901)
    • 1990 – Vic Tayback, American actor (b. 1930)
    • 1995 – Élie Bayol, French racing driver (b. 1914)
    • 1995 – Krešimir Ćosić, Croatian basketball player and coach, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer 1996 (b. 1948)
    • 1995 – Dany Robin, French actress (b. 1927)
    • 1996 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (b. 1929)
    • 2003 – Sloan Wilson, American author and poet (b. 1920)
    • 2004 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishing Company (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Sunil Dutt, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician (b. 1929)
    • 2005 – Robert Jankel, English businessman, founded Panther Westwinds (b. 1938)
    • 2005 – Graham Kennedy, Australian television host and actor (b. 1934)
    • 2005 – Ismail Merchant, Indian-born film producer and director (b. 1936)
    • 2005 – Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter and illustrator (b. 1909)
    • 2007 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, and director (b. 1931)
    • 2008 – J. R. Simplot, American businessman, founded Simplot (b. 1909)
    • 2009 – Haakon Lie, Norwegian politician (b. 1905)
    • 2010 – Alexander Belostenny, Ukrainian basketball player (b. 1959)
    • 2010 – Michael H. Jordan, American businessman (b. 1936)
    • 2010 – Alan Hickinbotham, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1925)
    • 2010 – Gabriel Vargas, Mexican painter and illustrator (b. 1915)
    • 2010 – Jarvis Williams, American football player and coach (b. 1965)
    • 2011 – Terry Jenner, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1944)
    • 2012 – William Hanley, American author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Peter D. Sieruta, American author and critic (b. 1958)
    • 2012 – Lou Watson, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Mahendra Karma, Indian politician (b. 1950)
    • 2013 – Nand Kumar Patel, Indian politician (b. 1953)
    • 2014 – David Allen, English cricketer (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Marcel Côté, Canadian economist and politician (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Herb Jeffries, American singer and actor (b. 1913)
    • 2014 – Toaripi Lauti, Tuvaluan educator and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Tuvalu (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Matthew Saad Muhammad, American boxer and trainer (b. 1954)
    • 2015 – George Braden, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of the Northwest Territories (b. 1949)
    • 2015 – Robert Lebel, Canadian bishop (b. 1924)
    • 2019 – Claus von Bülow, Danish-British socialite (b.1926)

    Holidays and observances on May 25

    • Africa Day (African Union)
    • African Liberation Day (African Union, Rastafari)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Aldhelm
      • Bede
      • Canius
      • Dionysius of Milan
      • Dúnchad mac Cinn Fáelad
      • Gerard of Lunel
      • Madeleine Sophie Barat
      • Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
      • Maximus (Mauxe) of Évreux
      • Pope Boniface IV
      • Pope Gregory VII
      • Pope Urban I
      • Zenobius of Florence
      • May 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Arbor Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Venezuela)
    • Earliest day on which Children’s Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Hungary)
    • Earliest day on which Holiday of Saint Etchmiadzin can fall, while July 27 is the latest; celebrated on the 64th day after Easter. (Armenia)
    • Earliest day on which Memorial Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Monday in May. (United States)
    • Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Algeria, Dominican Republic, France (First Sunday of June, if Pentecost occurs on this day), Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia)
    • Earliest day on which Turkmen Carpet Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Turkmenistan)
    • First National Government / National Day (Argentina)
    • Geek Pride Day (geek culture)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Jordan from the United Kingdom in 1946.
    • Last bell (Russia, post-Soviet countries)
    • Liberation Day (Lebanon)
    • International Missing Children’s Day and its related observances:
      • National Missing Children’s Day (United States),
    • National Tap Dance Day (United States)
    • Towel Day in honour of the work of the writer Douglas Adams

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

    • 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 Mw  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 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 639 – Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace.
    • 715 – Pope Gregory II is elected.
    • 1051 – Henry I of France marries the Russian princess, Anne of Kiev.
    • 1445 – John II of Castile defeats the Infantes of Aragon at the First Battle of Olmedo.
    • 1499 – Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Catherine is 13 and Arthur is 12.
    • 1535 – French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona’s two sons (whom Cartier had kidnapped during his first voyage).
    • 1536 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.
    • 1542 – The Prome Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in present-day Myanmar.
    • 1568 – Queen Elizabeth I of England orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.
    • 1643 – Thirty Years’ War: French forces under the duc d’Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.
    • 1649 – An Act of Parliament declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years.
    • 1655 – The Invasion of Jamaica begins during the Anglo-Spanish War.
    • 1743 – Jean-Pierre Christin developed the centigrade temperature scale.
    • 1749 – King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River.
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: A Continental Army garrison surrenders in the Battle of The Cedars.
    • 1780 – New England’s Dark Day, an unusual darkening of the day sky, was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada.
    • 1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte founds the Legion of Honour.
    • 1828 – U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States.
    • 1845 – Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition depart from Greenhithe, England.
    • 1848 – Mexican–American War: Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo thus ending the war and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of four other modern-day U.S. states to the United States for US$15 million.
    • 1911 – Parks Canada, the world’s first national park service, is established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.
    • 1917 – The Norwegian football club Rosenborg BK is founded.
    • 1919 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.
    • 1921 – The United States Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act establishing national quotas on immigration.
    • 1922 – The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union is established.
    • 1934 – Zveno and the Bulgarian Army engineer a coup d’état and install Kimon Georgiev as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
    • 1942 – World War II: In the aftermath of the Battle of the Coral Sea, Task Force 16 heads to Pearl Harbor.
    • 1950 – A barge containing munitions destined for Pakistan explodes in the harbor at South Amboy, New Jersey, devastating the city.
    • 1950 – Egypt announces that the Suez Canal is closed to Israeli ships and commerce.
    • 1959 – The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.
    • 1961 – Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
    • 1961 – At Silchar Railway Station, Assam, 11 Bengalis die when police open fire on protesters demanding state recognition of Bengali language in the Bengali Language Movement.
    • 1962 – A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe’s rendition of “Happy Birthday”.
    • 1963 – The New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
    • 1971 – Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.
    • 1986 – The Firearm Owners Protection Act is signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
    • 1991 – Croatians vote for independence in a referendum.
    • 1997 – The Sierra Gorda biosphere, the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, is established as a result of grassroots efforts.
    • 2007 – President of Romania Traian Băsescu survives an impeachment referendum and returns to office from suspension.
    • 2010 – The Royal Thai Armed Forces concludes its crackdown on protests by forcing the surrender of United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship leaders.
    • 2012 – Three gas cylinder bombs explode in front of a vocational school in the Italian city of Brindisi, killing one person and injuring five others.
    • 2012 – A car bomb explodes near a military complex in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, killing nine people.
    • 2015 – The Refugio oil spill deposited 142,800 U.S. gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil onto an area in California considered one of the most biologically diverse coastlines of the west coast.
    • 2016 – EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Paris to Cairo, killing all on board.
    • 2018 – The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.

    Births on May 19

    • 1400 – John Stourton, 1st Baron Stourton, English soldier and politician (d. 1462)
    • 1462 – Baccio D’Agnolo, Italian woodcarver, sculptor and architect (d. 1543)
    • 1476 (or 1474) – Helena of Moscow, Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania and Queen consort of Poland (d. 1513)
    • 1593 – Claude Vignon, French painter (d. 1670)
    • 1616 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (d. 1667)
    • 1639 – Charles Weston, 3rd Earl of Portland, English soldier and noble (d. 1665)
    • 1700 – José de Escandón, 1st Count of Sierra Gorda, Spanish sergeant and politician (d. 1770)
    • 1724 – Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, English admiral and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (d. 1779)
    • 1744 – Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, German-born Queen to George III of the United Kingdom (d. 1818)
    • 1762 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (d. 1814)
    • 1773 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (d. 1854)
    • 1795 – Johns Hopkins, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1873)
    • 1827 – Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour, French academic and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1896)
    • 1832 – James Watney, Jr., English politician, brewer and cricketer (d. 1886)
    • 1857 – John Jacob Abel, American biochemist and pharmacologist (d. 1938)
    • 1861 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (d. 1931)
    • 1871 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (d. 1963)
    • 1874 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1955)
    • 1878 – Alfred Laliberté, Canadian sculptor and painter (d. 1953)
    • 1879 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (d. 1964)
    • 1880 – Albert Richardson, English architect and educator, designed the Manchester Opera House (d. 1964)
    • 1881 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (official birthday), Turkish field marshal and statesman, 1st President of Turkey (d. 1938)
    • 1884 – David Munson, American runner (d. 1953)
    • 1886 – Francis Biddle, American lawyer and judge, 58th United States Attorney General (d. 1968)
    • 1887 – Ion Jalea, Romanian soldier and sculptor (d. 1983)
    • 1889 – Tản Đà, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1939)
    • 1889 – Henry B. Richardson, American archer (d. 1963)
    • 1890 – Eveline Adelheid von Maydell, German-American illustrator (d. 1962)
    • 1890 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese politician, 1st President of Vietnam (d. 1969)
    • 1891 – Oswald Boelcke, German captain and pilot (d. 1916)
    • 1893 – H. Bonciu, Romanian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1950)
    • 1897 – Frank Luke, American lieutenant and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1918)
    • 1898 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and painter (d. 1974)
    • 1899 – Lothar Rădăceanu, Romanian journalist, linguist, and politician (d. 1955)
    • 1902 – Lubka Kolessa, Ukrainian-Canadian pianist and educator (d. 1997)
    • 1903 – Ruth Ella Moore, American scientist (d. 1994)
    • 1906 – Bruce Bennett, American shot putter and actor (d. 2007)
    • 1908 – Manik Bandopadhyay, Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1956)
    • 1908 – Merriam Modell, American author (d. 1994)
    • 1908 – Percy Williams, Canadian sprinter (d. 1982)
    • 1909 – Nicholas Winton, English banker and humanitarian (d. 2015)
    • 1910 – Alan Melville, South African cricketer (d. 1983)
    • 1913 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th President of India (d. 1996)
    • 1914 – Max Perutz, Austrian-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
    • 1914 – Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – John Vachon, American photographer and journalist (d. 1975)
    • 1915 – Renée Asherson, English actress (d. 2014)
    • 1918 – Abraham Pais, Dutch-American physicist, historian, and academic (d. 2000)
    • 1919 – Georgie Auld, Canadian-American saxophonist, clarinet player, and bandleader (d. 1990)
    • 1919 – Mitja Ribičič, Italian-Slovenian soldier and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Tina Strobos, Dutch psychiatrist known for rescuing Jews during World War II (d. 2012)
    • 1921 – Leslie Broderick, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Harry W. Brown, American colonel and pilot (d. 1991)
    • 1921 – Daniel Gélin, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Yuri Kochiyama, American activist (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Karel van het Reve, Dutch historian and author (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Arthur Gorrie, Australian hobby shop proprietor (d. 1992)
    • 1924 – Sandy Wilson, English composer and songwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (d. 1998)
    • 1925 – Malcolm X, American minister and activist (d. 1965)
    • 1926 – Edward Parkes, English engineer and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1926 – Peter Zadek, German director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1927 – Serge Lang, French-American mathematician, author and academic (d. 2005)
    • 1928 – Colin Chapman, English engineer and businessman, founded Lotus Cars (d. 1982)
    • 1928 – Thomas Kennedy, English air marshal (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Gil McDougald, American baseball player and coach (d. 2010)
    • 1928 – Dolph Schayes, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Richard Larter, Australian painter (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – John Stroger, American politician (d. 2008)
    • 1930 – Eugene Genovese, American historian and author (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Lorraine Hansberry, American playwright and director (d. 1965)
    • 1931 – Bob Anderson, English race car driver (d. 1967)
    • 1931 – Trevor Peacock, English actor, screenwriter and songwriter
    • 1932 – Alma Cogan, English singer (d. 1966)
    • 1932 – Paul Erdman, American economist and author (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Bill Fitch, American basketball player and coach
    • 1932 – Elena Poniatowska, Mexican intellectual and journalist
    • 1933 – Edward de Bono, Maltese physician, author, and academic
    • 1934 – Ruskin Bond, Indian author and poet
    • 1934 – Jim Lehrer, American journalist and author (d. 2020)
    • 1935 – David Hartman, American journalist and television personality
    • 1937 – Pat Roach, English wrestler (d. 2004)
    • 1938 – Moisés da Costa Amaral, East Timorese politician (d. 1989)
    • 1938 – Herbie Flowers, English musician
    • 1938 – Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, Ukrainian long jumper and coach
    • 1939 – Livio Berruti, Italian sprinter
    • 1939 – James Fox, English actor
    • 1939 – Nancy Kwan, Hong Kong-American actress and makeup artist
    • 1939 – Jānis Lūsis, Latvian javelin thrower and coach (d. 2020)
    • 1939 – Dick Scobee, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1986)
    • 1940 – Jan Janssen, Dutch cyclist
    • 1940 – Mickey Newbury, American country/pop singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
    • 1941 – Nora Ephron, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1941 – Igor Judge, Baron Judge, Maltese-English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
    • 1942 – Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research Inc. (d. 1994)
    • 1942 – Robert Kilroy-Silk, English television host and politician
    • 1943 – Eddie May, English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1943 – Shirrel Rhoades, American author, publisher, and academic
    • 1944 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor (d. 2019)
    • 1945 – Pete Townshend, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1946 – Claude Lelièvre, Belgian activist
    • 1946 – Michele Placido, Italian actor and director
    • 1946 – André the Giant, French-American wrestler and actor (d. 1993)
    • 1947 – Paul Brady, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1947 – Christopher Chope, English lawyer and politician
    • 1947 – David Helfgott, Australian pianist
    • 1948 – Grace Jones, Jamaican-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1949 – Dusty Hill, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1949 – Philip Hunt, Baron Hunt of Kings Heath, English politician
    • 1949 – Archie Manning, American football player
    • 1950 – Tadeusz Ślusarski, Polish pole vaulter (d. 1998)
    • 1951 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1951 – Dick Slater, American wrestler
    • 1952 – Charlie Spedding, English runner
    • 1952 – Bert van Marwijk, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1953 – Patrick Hodge, Lord Hodge, Scottish lawyer and judge
    • 1953 – Shavarsh Karapetyan, Armenian finswimmer
    • 1953 – Florin Marin, Romanian footballer and manager
    • 1953 – Victoria Wood, English actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1954 – Rick Cerone, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1954 – Hōchū Ōtsuka, Japanese voice actor
    • 1954 – Phil Rudd, Australian-New Zealand drummer
    • 1955 – James Gosling, Canadian-American computer scientist, created Java
    • 1956 – Oliver Letwin, English philosopher and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
    • 1956 – Martyn Ware, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1957 – Bill Laimbeer, American basketball player and coach
    • 1957 – James Reyne, Nigerian-Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1961 – Vadim Cojocaru, Moldovan politician
    • 1961 – Gregory Poirier, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Wayne Van Dorp, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1963 – Filippo Galli, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1964 – Peter Jackson, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster (d. 1997)
    • 1964 – John Lee, South Korean-American football player
    • 1964 – Miloslav Mečíř, Slovak tennis player
    • 1965 – Maile Flanagan, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Marc Bureau, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1966 – Jodi Picoult, American author and educator
    • 1966 – Polly Walker, English actress
    • 1967 – Alexia, Italian singer
    • 1967 – Geraldine Somerville, Irish-born English actress
    • 1968 – Kyle Eastwood, American actor and bass player
    • 1970 – Stuart Cable, Welsh drummer (d. 2010)
    • 1970 – K. J. Choi, South Korean golfer
    • 1970 – Regina Narva, Estonian chess player
    • 1970 – Nia Zulkarnaen, Indonesian actress, singer and producer
    • 1971 – Ross Katz, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Andres Salumets, Estonian biologist, biochemist, and educator
    • 1972 – Jenny Berggren, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1972 – Claudia Karvan, Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Dario Franchitti, Scottish race car driver
    • 1974 – Andrew Johns, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Emma Shapplin, French soprano
    • 1974 – Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Indian actor
    • 1975 – Pretinha, Brazilian footballer
    • 1975 – London Fletcher, American football player
    • 1975 – Josh Paul, American baseball player and manager
    • 1975 – Jonas Renkse, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1976 – Ed Cota, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Kevin Garnett, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Manuel Almunia, Spanish footballer
    • 1977 – Wouter Hamel, Dutch singer and guitarist
    • 1977 – Brandon Inge, American baseball player
    • 1977 – Natalia Oreiro, Uruguayan singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1978 – Marcus Bent, English footballer
    • 1978 – Dave Bus, Dutch footballer
    • 1979 – Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer
    • 1979 – Diego Forlan, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1980 – Tony Hackworth, English footballer
    • 1981 – Luciano Figueroa, Argentinian footballer
    • 1981 – Yo Gotti, American rapper
    • 1981 – Michael Leighton, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Sina Schielke, German sprinter
    • 1981 – Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
    • 1982 – Kevin Amankwaah, English footballer
    • 1982 – Pål Steffen Andresen, Norwegian footballer
    • 1982 – Klaas Vantornout, Belgian cyclist
    • 1983 – Michael Che, American comedian
    • 1983 – Jessica Fox, English actress
    • 1984 – Marcedes Lewis, American football player
    • 1985 – Aleister Black, Dutch professional wrestler
    • 1986 – Mario Chalmers, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Michael Angelakos, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1987 – David Edgar, Canadian soccer player
    • 1987 – Mariano Torres, Argentinian footballer
    • 1987 – Jayne Wisener, Northern Irish actress
    • 1991 – Jordan Pruitt, American singer-songwriter
    • 1992 – Marshmello, American electronic music producer and DJ
    • 1992 – Michele Camporese, Italian footballer
    • 1992 – Ola John, Dutch footballer
    • 1992 – Felise Kaufusi, New Zealand-Tongan rugby league player
    • 1992 – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Sam Smith, English singer-songwriter
    • 1994 – Carlos Guzmán, Mexican footballer
    • 1995 – Taane Milne, New Zealand rugby league player

    Deaths on May 19

    • 804 – Alcuin, English monk and scholar (b. 735)
    • 956 – Robert, archbishop of Trier
    • 988 – Dunstan, English archbishop and saint (b. 909)
    • 1102 – Stephen, Count of Blois (b. 1045)
    • 1125 – Vladimir II Monomakh, Grand Duke of Kiev
    • 1164 – Saint Bashnouna, Egyptian saint and martyr
    • 1218 – Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor
    • 1296 – Pope Celestine V (b. 1215)
    • 1303 – Saint Ivo of Kermartin, French canon lawyer (b. 1253)
    • 1319 – Louis, Count of Évreux (b. 1276)
    • 1389 – Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1350)
    • 1396 – John I of Aragon (b. 1350)
    • 1526 – Emperor Go-Kashiwabara of Japan (b. 1464)
    • 1531 – Jan Łaski, Polish archbishop and diplomat (b. 1456)
    • 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England (1533–1536); second wife of Henry VIII of England (b. c. 1501)
    • 1601 – Costanzo Porta, Italian composer (b. 1528)
    • 1609 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete (b. 1535)
    • 1610 – Thomas Sanchez, Spanish priest and theologian (b. 1550)
    • 1623 – Mariam-uz-Zamani, Empress of the Mughal Empire (b. 1542)
    • 1637 – Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and philosopher (b. 1588)
    • 1715 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1661)
    • 1786 – John Stanley, English organist and composer (b. 1712)
    • 1795 – Josiah Bartlett, American physician and politician, 4th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1729)
    • 1795 – James Boswell, Scottish biographer (b. 1740)
    • 1798 – William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1722)
    • 1821 – Camille Jordan, French lawyer and politician (b. 1771)
    • 1825 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French philosopher and theorist (b. 1760)
    • 1831 – Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, Estonian-German physician, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1793)
    • 1864 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1804)
    • 1865 – Sengge Rinchen, Mongolian general (b. 1811)
    • 1872 – John Baker, English-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of South Australia (b. 1813)
    • 1876 – Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch historian and politician (b. 1801)
    • 1885 – Peter W. Barlow, English engineer (b. 1809)
    • 1895 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1853)
    • 1898 – William Ewart Gladstone, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1809)
    • 1901 – Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, South African general and politician, 1st President of the South African Republic (b. 1819)
    • 1903 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer (b. 1856)
    • 1904 – Auguste Molinier, French librarian and historian (b. 1851)
    • 1904 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (b. 1839)
    • 1906 – Gabriel Dumont, Canadian Métis leader (b. 1837)
    • 1907 – Benjamin Baker, English engineer, designed the Forth Bridge (b. 1840)
    • 1912 – Bolesław Prus, Polish journalist and author (b. 1847)
    • 1915 – John Simpson Kirkpatrick, English-Australian soldier (b. 1892)
    • 1918 – Gervais Raoul Lufbery, French-American soldier and pilot (b. 1885)
    • 1935 – T. E. Lawrence, British colonel and archaeologist (b. 1888)
    • 1936 – Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, British Islamic scholar (b. 1875)
    • 1939 – Ahmet Ağaoğlu, Azerbaijani-Turkish journalist and publicist (b. 1869)
    • 1943 – Kristjan Raud, Estonian painter and illustrator (b. 1865)
    • 1945 – Philipp Bouhler, German soldier and politician (b. 1889)
    • 1946 – Booth Tarkington, American novelist and dramatist (b. 1869)
    • 1950 – Daniel Ciugureanu, Romanian physician and politician, Prime Minister of Moldova (b. 1884)
    • 1954 – Charles Ives, American composer and educator (b. 1874)
    • 1958 – Jadunath Sarkar, Indian historian (b. 1870)
    • 1958 – Archie Scott Brown, Scottish race car driver (b. 1927)
    • 1958 – Ronald Colman, English actor (b. 1891)
    • 1963 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (b. 1871)
    • 1969 – Coleman Hawkins, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1901)
    • 1971 – Ogden Nash, American poet (b. 1902)
    • 1978 – Albert Kivikas, Estonian-Swedish journalist and author (b. 1898)
    • 1980 – Joseph Schull, Canadian playwright and historian (b. 1906)
    • 1983 – Jean Rey, Belgian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (b. 1902)
    • 1984 – John Betjeman, English poet and academic (b. 1906)
    • 1986 – Jimmy Lyons, American saxophonist (b. 1931)
    • 1987 – James Tiptree, Jr., American psychologist and author (b. 1915)
    • 1989 – Yiannis Papaioannou, Greek composer and educator (b. 1910)
    • 1994 – Jacques Ellul, French sociologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1912)
    • 1994 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist, 37th First Lady of the United States (b. 1929)
    • 1994 – Luis Ocaña, Spanish cyclist (b. 1945)
    • 1996 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (b. 1917)
    • 1998 – Sōsuke Uno, Japanese soldier and politician, 75th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1922)
    • 2001 – Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (b. 1916)
    • 2001 – Susannah McCorkle, American singer (b. 1946)
    • 2002 – John Gorton, Australian lieutenant and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1911)
    • 2002 – Walter Lord, American historian and author (b. 1917)
    • 2004 – Mary Dresselhuys, Dutch actress and screenwriter (b. 1907)
    • 2007 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (b. 1940)
    • 2007 – Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (b. 1914)
    • 2008 – Vijay Tendulkar, Indian playwright and screenwriter (b. 1928)
    • 2009 – Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
    • 2009 – Nicholas Maw, English composer and academic (b. 1935)
    • 2009 – Clint Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1913)
    • 2011 – Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 8th Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Jeffrey Catherine Jones, American artist (b.1944)
    • 2012 – Bob Boozer, American basketball player (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Tamara Brooks, American conductor and educator (b. 1941)
    • 2012 – Ian Burgess, English race car driver (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Gerhard Hetz, German-Mexican swimmer (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Phil Lamason, New Zealand soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – G. Sarsfield Ford, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Robin Harrison, English-Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Neil Reynolds, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Simon Andrews, English motorcycle racer (b. 1982)
    • 2014 – Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Terry W. Gee, American businessman and politician (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Sam Greenlee, American author and poet (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Vincent Harding, American historian and scholar (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Gabriel Kolko, American historian and author (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Zbigniew Pietrzykowski, Polish boxer (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Bruce Lundvall, American businessman (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Ted McWhinney, Australian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Happy Rockefeller, American philanthropist, socialite; 31st Second Lady of the United States (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Robert S. Wistrich, English historian, author, and academic (b. 1945)
    • 2016 – Alan Young, English-born Canadian-American actor (b. 1919)
    • 2016 – Morley Safer, Canadian-born American journalist (b. 1931)
    • 2017 – Nawshirwan Mustafa, General coordinator of the Movement for Change (Gorran) (b. 1944)
    • 2018 – Zhengzhang Shangfang, Chinese linguist (b. 1933)

    Holidays and observances on May 19

    • Christian feast day:
      • Calocerus (Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • Crispin of Viterbo
      • Dunstan (Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church; commemoration, Anglicanism)
      • Ivo of Kermartin
      • Joaquina Vedruna de Mas
      • Maria Bernarda Bütler
      • Peter Celestine
      • Pudentiana (Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church)
      • May 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day (Turkey, Northern Cyprus)
    • Greek Genocide Remembrance Day (Greece)
    • Hồ Chí Minh’s Birthday (Vietnam)
    • Malcolm X Day (United States of America)
    • National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
    • Hepatitis Testing Day (United States)
    • Mother’s Day (Kyrgyzstan)

  • May 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch.
    • 558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt.
    • 1274 – In France, the Second Council of Lyon opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
    • 1487 – The Siege of Málaga commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
    • 1544 – The Burning of Edinburgh by an English army is the first action of the Rough Wooing.
    • 1664 – Louis XIV of France begins construction of the Palace of Versailles.
    • 1685 – Battle of Vrtijeljka between rebels and Ottoman forces.
    • 1697 – Stockholm’s royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed by fire. It is replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.
    • 1718 – The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
    • 1763 – Pontiac’s War begins with Pontiac’s attempt to seize Fort Detroit from the British.
    • 1794 – French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic.
    • 1824 – World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer’s supervision.
    • 1832 – Greece’s independence is recognized by the Treaty of London.
    • 1840 – The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.
    • 1846 – The Cambridge Chronicle, America’s oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
    • 1864 – The world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide is launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
    • 1895 – In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector—a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
    • 1915 – World War I: German submarine U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many former pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.
    • 1915 – The Republic of China accedes to 13 of the 21 Demands, extending the Empire of Japan‘s control over Manchuria and the Chinese economy.
    • 1920 – Kiev Offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kiev only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
    • 1920 – Treaty of Moscow: Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
    • 1920 – Morecambe Football Club was founded during a meeting at the West View Hotel on the town’s promenade.
    • 1930 – The 7.1 Mw  Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to three-thousand people were killed.
    • 1931 – The stand-off between criminal Francis Crowley and 300 members of the New York Police Department takes place in his fifth-floor apartment on West 91st Street, New York City.
    • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco’s forces.
    • 1940 – World War II: The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.
    • 1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō; the battle marks the first time in naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
    • 1945 – World War II: Last German U boat attack of the war, two freighters are sunk off the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
    • 1945 – World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany’s participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day.
    • 1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded
    • 1948 – The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
    • 1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
    • 1954 – Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Viet Minh victory (the battle began on March 13).
    • 1960 – Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.
    • 1976 – The Honda Accord is officially launched.
    • 1986 – Canadian Patrick Morrow becomes the first person to climb each of the Seven Summits.
    • 1992 – Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.
    • 1992 – Space Shuttle program: The Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its first mission, STS-49.
    • 1992 – Three employees at a McDonald’s Restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first “fast-food murder” in Canada.
    • 1994 – Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.
    • 1998 – Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
    • 1999 – Pope John Paul II travels to Romania, becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.
    • 1999 – Kosovo War: Three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft apparently inadvertently bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.
    • 1999 – In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
    • 2000 – Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia.
    • 2002 – An EgyptAir Boeing 737-500 crashes on approach to Tunis–Carthage International Airport, killing 14 people.
    • 2002 – A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
    • 2004 – American businessman Nick Berg is beheaded by Islamic militants. The act is recorded on videotape and released on the Internet.

    Births on May 7

    • Before 160 – Julia Maesa, Roman noblewoman (d. 224)
    • 1488 – John III of the Palatinate, archbishop of Regensburg (d. 1538)
    • 1530 – Louis, Prince of Condé (d. 1569)
    • 1553 – Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (d. 1618)
    • 1605 – Patriarch Nikon of Moscow (d. 1681)
    • 1643 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician, 10th Mayor of New York City (d. 1700)
    • 1700 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician (d. 1772)
    • 1701 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor and composer (d. 1759)
    • 1711 – David Hume, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1776)
    • 1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, French-Austrian field marshal (d. 1797)
    • 1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian police officer and general (d. 1814)
    • 1748 – Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and philosopher (d. 1793)
    • 1763 – Józef Poniatowski, Polish general (d. 1813)
    • 1767 – Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (d. 1820)
    • 1774 – William Bainbridge, American commodore (d. 1833)
    • 1787 – Jacques Viger, Canadian archaeologist and politician, 1st mayor of Montreal (d. 1858)
    • 1812 – Robert Browning, English poet and playwright (d. 1889)
    • 1833 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (d. 1897)
    • 1836 – Joseph Gurney Cannon, American lawyer and politician, 40th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1926)
    • 1837 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (d. 1875)
    • 1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and educator (d. 1893)
    • 1845 – Mary Eliza Mahoney, American nurse and activist (d. 1926)
    • 1847 – Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1929)
    • 1857 – William A. MacCorkle, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1930)
    • 1860 – Tom Norman, English businessman (d. 1930)
    • 1861 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
    • 1867 – Władysław Reymont, Polish novelist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
    • 1875 – Bill Hoyt, American pole vaulter (d. 1951)
    • 1880 – Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (d. 1972)
    • 1881 – George E. Wiley, American cyclist (d. 1954)
    • 1882 – Willem Elsschot, Belgian author and poet (d. 1960)
    • 1885 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American actor (d. 1969)
    • 1889 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (d. 1943)
    • 1891 – Harry McShane, Scottish engineer and activist (d. 1988)
    • 1892 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (d. 1982)
    • 1892 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980)
    • 1893 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey coach and manager (d. 1985)
    • 1896 – Kathleen McKane Godfree, English tennis and badminton player (d. 1992)
    • 1899 – Alfred Gerrard, English sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor (d. 1961)
    • 1903 – Jimmy Ball, Canadian sprinter (d. 1988)
    • 1904 – Kurt Weitzmann, German-American historian and author (d. 1993)
    • 1906 – Eric Krenz, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1931)
    • 1909 – Edwin H. Land, American scientist and inventor, co-founded the Polaroid Corporation (d. 1991)
    • 1909 – Dorothy Sunrise Lorentino, Native American teacher (d. 2005)
    • 1911 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
    • 1911 – Rıfat Ilgaz, Turkish author, poet, and educator (d. 1993)
    • 1912 – Pannalal Patel, Indian author (d. 1989)
    • 1913 – John Spencer Hardy, American general (d. 2012)
    • 1913 – Simon Ramo, American physicist and engineer (d. 2016)
    • 1914 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat. British Ambassador to South Africa (d. 1996)
    • 1916 – Huw Wheldon, Welsh-English broadcaster (d. 1986)
    • 1916 – W. B. Young, Scottish rugby player and physician (d. 2013)
    • 1917 – Domenico Bartolucci, Italian cardinal and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1917 – Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (d. 2020)
    • 1917 – David Tomlinson, English actor (d. 2000)
    • 1919 – Eva Perón, Argentinian actress, 25th First Lady of Argentina (d. 1952)
    • 1920 – Rendra Karno, Indonesian actor (d. 1985)
    • 1921 – Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1921 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (d. 1985)
    • 1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor and director (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Joe O’Donnell, American photographer and journalist (d. 2007)
    • 1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
    • 1923 – Jim Lowe, American singer-songwriter, disc jockey, and radio host (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – Albert Band, French-American director and producer (d. 2002)
    • 1925 – Lauri Vaska, Estonian-American chemist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
    • 1930 – Totie Fields, American comedian and author (d. 1978)
    • 1930 – Babe Parilli, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – John Smith, Baron Kirkhill, English politician
    • 1931 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (d. 2007)
    • 1931 – Gene Wolfe, American author (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Jordi Bonet, Spanish-Canadian painter and sculptor (d. 1979)
    • 1932 – Alan Cuthbert, English pharmacologist and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Pete Domenici, American lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Albuquerque (d. 2017)
    • 1932 – Derek Taylor, English journalist and author (d. 1997)
    • 1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
    • 1935 – Avraham Heffner, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Michael Hopkins, English architect
    • 1936 – Robin Hanbury-Tenison, English explorer and author
    • 1936 – Tony O’Reilly, Irish rugby player and businessman
    • 1936 – Jimmy Ruffin, American soul singer (d. 2014)
    • 1937 – Eddie Clayton, English footballer
    • 1937 – Claude Raymond, Canadian baseball player and coach
    • 1939 – Sidney Altman, Canadian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1939 – Ruggero Deodato, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1939 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2018)
    • 1939 – Johnny Maestro, American pop/doo-wop singer (d. 2010)
    • 1939 – Clive Soley, Baron Soley, English politician
    • 1940 – Angela Carter, English novelist and short story writer (d. 1992)
    • 1940 – Dave Chambers, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1941 – Lawrence Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury, English lawyer and judge
    • 1943 – Terry Allen, American singer and painter
    • 1943 – Harvey Andrews, English singer-songwriter and poet
    • 1943 – John Bannon, Australian academic and politician, 39th Premier of South Australia (d. 2015)
    • 1943 – Peter Carey, Australian novelist and short story writer
    • 1945 – Christy Moore, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – Robin Strasser, American actress
    • 1946 – Thelma Houston, American R&B/disco singer and actress
    • 1946 – Marv Hubbard, American football player (d. 2015)
    • 1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer
    • 1946 – Michael Rosen, English author and poet
    • 1946 – Brian Turner, English chef and television host
    • 1949 – Kathy Ahern, American golfer (d. 1996)
    • 1949 – Deborah Butterfield, American sculptor
    • 1950 – John Dowling Coates, Australian lawyer, sports administrator and businessman
    • 1950 – Randall “Tex” Cobb, American boxer and actor
    • 1950 – Tim Russert, American television journalist and lawyer (d. 2008)
    • 1953 – Pat McInally, American football player and coach
    • 1953 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
    • 1954 – Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
    • 1954 – Joanna Haigh, English meteorologist and physicist
    • 1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Clément Gignac, Canadian politician
    • 1955 – Ben Poquette, American basketball player
    • 1955 – Axel Zwingenberger, German pianist and songwriter
    • 1956 – Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch jurist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
    • 1956 – Anne Dudley, English pianist and composer
    • 1956 – Nicholas Hytner, English director and producer
    • 1956 – Jean Lapierre, Canadian talk show host and politician
    • 1956 – Calum MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician
    • 1957 – Kristina M. Johnson, American business executive, engineer, academic and government official
    • 1958 – Mikhail Biryukov, Russian footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Mark G. Kuzyk, American physicist and academic
    • 1958 – Anne Marie Rafferty, English nurse and academic
    • 1959 – Michael E. Knight, American actor
    • 1959 – Tony Sealy, English footballer, forward and manager
    • 1959 – Heiki Valk, Estonian archeologist and academic
    • 1960 – Adam Bernstein, American director and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham, Iraqi-English surgeon and academic
    • 1960 – Almudena Grandes, Spanish author
    • 1961 – Hans-Peter Bartels, German politician
    • 1961 – Sue Black, Scottish anthropologist and academic
    • 1961 – Ivar Must, Estonian composer and producer
    • 1962 – Tony Campbell, American basketball player and coach
    • 1962 – Judith Donath, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1963 – Johnny Lee Middleton, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1964 – Ronnie Harmon, American football player
    • 1964 – Denis Mandarino, Brazilian guitarist, composer, and painter
    • 1964 – Leslie O’Neal, American football player
    • 1965 – Reuben Davis, American football player
    • 1965 – Owen Hart, Canadian wrestler (d. 1999)
    • 1965 – Norman Whiteside, Northern Irish footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Huang Zhihong, Chinese shot putter
    • 1967 – Martin Bryant, Australian mass murderer
    • 1967 – Adam Price, Danish chef and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Joe Rice, American colonel and politician
    • 1968 – Traci Lords, American actress and singer
    • 1968 – Lisa Raitt, Canadian lawyer and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Transport
    • 1969 – Eagle-Eye Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1969 – Jun Falkenstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Katerina Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player
    • 1971 – Reidar Horghagen, Norwegian drummer
    • 1971 – Dave Karpa, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1971 – Thomas Piketty, French economist
    • 1972 – Peter Dubovský, Czech-Slovak footballer (d. 2000)
    • 1972 – Frank Trigg, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
    • 1973 – Kristian Lundin, Swedish songwriter and producer
    • 1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
    • 1974 – Ian Pearce, English footballer and assistant manager
    • 1973 – Lawrence Johnson, American pole vaulter
    • 1975 – Ashley Cowan, English cricketer
    • 1976 – Calvin Booth, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Berke Hatipoğlu, Turkish guitarist and songwriter
    • 1976 – Stacey Jones, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1976 – Andrea Lo Cicero, Italian rugby player
    • 1976 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2005)
    • 1976 – Ayelet Shaked, Israeli Minister of Justice (2015-2019)
    • 1977 – Elton Flatley, Australian rugby player
    • 1978 – Stian Arnesen, Norwegian guitarist, drummer, and songwriter
    • 1978 – James Carter, American hurdler
    • 1978 – Shawn Marion, American basketball player
    • 1979 – Katie Douglas, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Phionah Atuhebwe, Ugandan vaccinologist and immunization expert
    • 1984 – James Loney, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Alex Smith, American football player
    • 1984 – Kevin Owens, Canadian wrestler
    • 1985 – Jarrad Hickey, Australian rugby league player
    • 1985 – Drew Neitzel, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Matt Helders, English drummer
    • 1987 – Asami Konno, Japanese singer
    • 1987 – Michael Maidens, English footballer (d. 2007)
    • 1987 – Mark Reynolds, Scottish footballer
    • 1987 – David Schlemko, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Eino Puri, Estonian footballer
    • 1988 – Sander Puri, Estonian footballer
    • 1989 – Earl Thomas, American football player
    • 1995 – Seko Fofana, French born Ivorian international footballer
    • 1997 – Daria Kasatkina, Russian tennis player
    • 1998 – Jesse Puljujärvi, Finnish ice hockey player

    Deaths on May 7

    • 721 – John of Beverley, bishop of York
    • 833 – Ibn Hisham, Egyptian Muslim historian
    • 973 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 912)
    • 1014 – Bagrat III, 1st King of Georgia (b. 960)
    • 1092 – Remigius de Fécamp, English monk and bishop
    • 1166 – William I of Sicily
    • 1202 – Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey
    • 1205 – Ladislaus III of Hungary (b. 1201)
    • 1234 – Otto I, Duke of Merania (b. c. 1180)
    • 1243 – Hugh d’Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel
    • 1427 – Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English priest (b. 1352)
    • 1494 – Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1471)
    • 1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (b. 1481)
    • 1539 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (b. 1466)
    • 1617 – David Fabricius, German astronomer and theologian (b. 1564)
    • 1667 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (b. 1616)
    • 1682 – Feodor III of Russia (b. 1661)
    • 1685 – Bajo Pivljanin (b. 1630)
    • 1718 – Mary of Modena (b. 1658)
    • 1793 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1722)
    • 1800 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (b. 1728)
    • 1805 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English general and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1737)
    • 1815 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1739)
    • 1825 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1750)
    • 1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter and educator (b. 1774)
    • 1868 – Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1778)
    • 1872 – Alexander Loyd, American carpenter and politician, 4th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
    • 1876 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman, historian, and author (b. 1795)
    • 1887 – C. F. W. Walther, German-American religious leader and theologian (b. 1811)
    • 1896 – H. H. Holmes, American serial killer (b. 1861)
    • 1902 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (b. 1818)
    • 1917 – Albert Ball, English fighter pilot (b. 1896)
    • 1922 – Max Wagenknecht, German pianist and composer (b. 1857)
    • 1924 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (b. 1897/1898)
    • 1925 – William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, English businessman and politician (b. 1851)
    • 1937 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and author (b. 1886)
    • 1938 – Octavian Goga, Romanian politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1881)
    • 1940 – George Lansbury, English journalist and politician (b. 1859)
    • 1941 – James George Frazer, Scottish-English anthropologist and academic (b. 1854)
    • 1942 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
    • 1943 – Fethi Okyar, Turkish colonel and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1880)
    • 1946 – Herbert Macaulay, Nigerian journalist and politician (b. 1864)
    • 1951 – Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)
    • 1967 – Margaret Larkin, American writer and poet (b. 1899)
    • 1958 – Mihkel Lüdig, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1880)
    • 1976 – Alison Uttley, English children’s book writer (b. 1884)
    • 1978 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
    • 1986 – Haldun Taner, Turkish playwright and author (b. 1915)
    • 1987 – Colin Blakely, Northern Irish actor (b. 1930)
    • 1987 – Paul Popham, American soldier and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (b. 1941)
    • 1990 – Sam Tambimuttu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
    • 1994 – Clement Greenberg, American art critic (b. 1909)
    • 1995 – Ray McKinley, American drummer, singer, and bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra) (b. 1910)
    • 1998 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South African-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
    • 1998 – Eddie Rabbitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
    • 2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American captain, actor, and producer (b. 1909)
    • 2001 – Jacques de Bourbon-Busset, French author and politician (b. 1912)
    • 2004 – Waldemar Milewicz, Polish journalist (b. 1956)
    • 2005 – Tristan Egolf, American author and activist (b. 1971)
    • 2005 – Peter Rodino, American captain and politician (b. 1909)
    • 2005 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1980)
    • 2006 – Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (b. 1943)
    • 2006 – Joan C. Edwards, American singer and philanthropist (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – Isabella Blow, English magazine editor (b. 1958)
    • 2007 – Diego Corrales, American boxer (b. 1977)
    • 2007 – Octavian Paler, Romanian journalist and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2007 – Yahweh ben Yahweh, American cult leader, founded the Nation of Yahweh (b. 1935)
    • 2009 – David Mellor, English designer (b. 1930)
    • 2009 – Danny Ozark, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1923)
    • 2011 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer (b. 1957)
    • 2011 – Willard Boyle, Canadian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
    • 2011 – Big George, English songwriter, producer, and radio host (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Sammy Barr, Scottish trade union leader (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Ferenc Bartha, Hungarian economist and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Dennis E. Fitch, American captain and pilot (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Ferruccio Mazzola, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – George Sauer, Jr., American football player (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Neville McNamara, Australian air marshal (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Colin Pillinger, English astronomer, chemist, and academic (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Dick Welteroth, American baseball player (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Frank DiPascali, American businessman (b. 1956)
    • 2015 – John Dixon, Australian-American author, and illustrator (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on May 7

    • Christian feast day:
      • Agathius of Byzantium
      • Agostino Roscelli
      • Pope Benedict II
      • Flavia Domitilla
      • Gisela of Hungary
      • Harriet Starr Cannon (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • John of Beverley
      • Rose Venerini
      • Stanislaus (Roman Martyrology)
      • May 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Defender of the Fatherland Day (Kazakhstan)
    • Dien Bien Phu Victory Day (Vietnam)
    • Radio Day, commemorating the work of Alexander Popov (Russia, Bulgaria)

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

    • 215 BC – A temple is built on the Capitoline Hill dedicated to Venus Erycina to commemorate the Roman defeat at Lake Trasimene.
    • 599 – Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico, defeating queen Yohl Ik’nal and sacking the city.
    • 711 – Dagobert III succeeds his father King Childebert III as King of the Franks.
    • 1014 – Battle of Clontarf: High King of Ireland Brian Boru defeats Viking invaders, but is killed in battle.
    • 1016 – Edmund Ironside succeeds his father Æthelred the Unready as King of England.
    • 1343 – St. George’s Night Uprising commences in the Duchy of Estonia.
    • 1348 – The founding of the Order of the Garter by King Edward III is announced on St. George’s Day.
    • 1516 – The Munich Reinheitsgebot (regarding the ingredients of beer) takes effect in all of Bavaria.
    • 1521 – Battle of Villalar: King Charles I of Spain defeats the Comuneros.
    • 1635 – The first public school in the United States, Boston Latin School, is founded in Boston.
    • 1655 – The Siege of Santo Domingo begins during the Anglo-Spanish War, and fails seven days later.
    • 1660 – Treaty of Oliva is established between Sweden and Poland.
    • 1661 – King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland is crowned in Westminster Abbey.
    • 1815 – The Second Serbian Uprising: A second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire, erupts shortly after the annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire.
    • 1879 – Fire burns down the second main building and dome of the University of Notre Dame, which prompts the construction of the third, and current, Main Building with its golden dome.
    • 1914 – First baseball game at Wrigley Field, then known as Weeghman Park, in Chicago.
    • 1918 – World War I: The British Royal Navy makes a raid in an attempt to neutralise the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge.
    • 1920 – The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) is founded in Ankara. The assembly denounces the government of Sultan Mehmed VI and announces the preparation of a temporary constitution.
    • 1927 – Cardiff City defeat Arsenal in the FA Cup Final, the only time it has been won by a team not based in England.
    • 1935 – The Polish Constitution of 1935 is adopted.
    • 1940 – The Rhythm Club fire at a dance hall in Natchez, Mississippi, kills 198 people.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Greek government and King George II evacuate Athens before the invading Wehrmacht.
    • 1942 – World War II: Baedeker Blitz: German bombers hit Exeter, Bath and York in retaliation for the British raid on Lübeck.
    • 1945 – World War II: Adolf Hitler’s designated successor, Hermann Göring, sends him a telegram asking permission to take leadership of the Third Reich. Martin Bormann and Joseph Goebbels advise Hitler that the telegram is treasonous.
    • 1946 – Manuel Roxas is elected the last President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
    • 1949 – Chinese Civil War: Establishment of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
    • 1951 – Cold War: American journalist William N. Oatis is arrested for espionage by the Communist government of Czechoslovakia.
    • 1961 – Algiers putsch by French generals.
    • 1967 – Soviet space program: Soyuz 1 (Russian: Союз 1, Union 1) a manned spaceflight carrying cosmonaut Colonel Vladimir Komarov is launched into orbit.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university.
    • 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: The Pakistan Army and Razakars massacre approximately 3,000 Hindu emigrants in the Jathibhanga area of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
    • 1985 – Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months.
    • 1990 – Namibia becomes the 160th member of the United Nations and the 50th member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
    • 1993 – Eritreans vote overwhelmingly for independence from Ethiopia in a United Nations-monitored referendum.
    • 1993 – Sri Lankan politician Lalith Athulathmudali is assassinated while addressing a gathering, approximately four weeks ahead of the Provincial Council elections for the Western Province.
    • 1999 – NATO bombs the headquarters of Radio Television of Serbia, as part of their aerial campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
    • 2005 – The first ever YouTube video, titled “Me at the zoo”, was published by co-founder Jawed Karim.
    • 2013 – At least 28 people are killed and more than 70 are injured as violence breaks out in Hawija, Iraq.
    • 2018 – A vehicle-ramming attack kills 10 people and injures 16 in Toronto. A 25-year-old suspect, Alek Minassian, is arrested.
    • 2019 – The 2019 Hpakant jade mine collapse in Myanmar kills four miners and two rescuers.

    Births on April 23

    • 1141 (probable) – Malcolm IV of Scotland (d. 1165)
    • 1185 – Afonso II of Portugal (d. 1223)
    • 1408 – John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford (d. 1462)
    • 1420 – George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia (d. 1471)
    • 1464 – Joan of France, Duchess of Berry (d. 1505)
    • 1464 – Robert Fayrfax, English Renaissance composer (d. 1521)
    • 1484 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian physician and scholar (d. 1558)
    • 1500 – Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian and academic (d. 1565)
    • 1500 – Johann Stumpf, Swiss writer (d. 1576)
    • 1512 – Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel, Chancellor of the University of Oxford (d. 1580)
    • 1516 – Georg Fabricius, German poet, historian, and archaeologist (d. 1571)
    • 1598 – Maarten Tromp, Dutch admiral (d. 1653)
    • 1621 – William Penn, English admiral and politician (d. 1670)
    • 1628 – Johannes Hudde, Dutch mathematician and politician (d. 1704)
    • 1661 – Issachar Berend Lehmann, German-Jewish banker, merchant and diplomat (d. 1730)
    • 1715 – Johann Friedrich Doles, German composer and conductor (d. 1797)
    • 1720 – Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi and author (d. 1797)
    • 1744 – Princess Charlotte Amalie Wilhelmine of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön (d. 1770)
    • 1748 – Félix Vicq-d’Azyr, French physician and anatomist (d. 1794)
    • 1791 – James Buchanan, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 15th President of the United States (d. 1868)
    • 1792 – Thomas Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist (d. 1882)
    • 1794 – Wei Yuan, Chinese scholar and author (d. 1856)
    • 1805 – Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz, German philosopher and academic (d. 1879)
    • 1812 – Frederick Whitaker, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1891)
    • 1813 – Stephen A. Douglas, American educator and politician, 7th Illinois Secretary of State (d. 1861)
    • 1813 – Frédéric Ozanam, Italian-French historian and scholar (d. 1853)
    • 1818 – James Anthony Froude, English historian, novelist, biographer and editor (d. 1894)
    • 1819 – Edward Stafford, Scottish-New Zealand educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1901)
    • 1853 – Winthrop M. Crane, American businessman and politician, 40th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1920)
    • 1856 – Granville Woods, American inventor and engineer (d. 1910)
    • 1857 – Ruggero Leoncavallo, Italian composer (d. 1919)
    • 1858 – Max Planck, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
    • 1860 – Justinian Oxenham, Australian public servant (d. 1932)
    • 1861 – Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, English field marshal and diplomat, British High Commissioner in Egypt (d. 1936)
    • 1861 – John Peltz, American baseball player and manager (d. 1906)
    • 1865 – Ali-Agha Shikhlinski, Russian-Azerbaijani general (d. 1943)
    • 1867 – Johannes Fibiger, Danish physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
    • 1876 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian and author (d. 1925)
    • 1880 – Michel Fokine, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1942)
    • 1882 – Albert Coates, English composer and conductor (d. 1953)
    • 1888 – Georges Vanier, Canadian general and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
    • 1889 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (d. 1942)
    • 1893 – Frank Borzage, American actor and director (d. 1952)
    • 1895 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author and director (d. 1982)
    • 1897 – Folke Jansson, American general (d. 1965)
    • 1897 – Lester B. Pearson, Canadian historian and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Canada, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
    • 1898 – Lucius D. Clay, American general (d. 1978)
    • 1899 – Bertil Ohlin, Swedish economist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
    • 1899 – Minoru Shirota, Japanese physician and microbiologist, invented Yakult (d. 1982)
    • 1900 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1959)
    • 1900 – Joseph Green, Polish-American actor and director (d. 1996)
    • 1901 – E. B. Ford, English biologist and geneticist (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
    • 1903 – Guy Simonds, English-Canadian general (d. 1974)
    • 1904 – Clifford Bricker, Canadian long-distance runner (d. 1980)
    • 1904 – Louis Muhlstock, Polish-Canadian painter (d. 2001)
    • 1904 – Duncan Renaldo, American actor (d. 1985)
    • 1907 – Lee Miller, American model and photographer (d. 1977)
    • 1907 – Fritz Wotruba, Austrian sculptor, designed the Wotruba Church (d. 1975)
    • 1908 – Myron Waldman, American animator and director (d. 2006)
    • 1910 – Sheila Scott Macintyre, Scottish mathematician (d. 1960)
    • 1910 – Simone Simon, French actress (d. 2005)
    • 1911 – Ronald Neame, English-American director, cinematographer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1913 – Diosa Costello, Puerto Rican-American entertainer, producer and club owner (d. 2013)
    • 1915 – Arnold Alexander Hall, English engineer, academic, and businessman (d. 2000)
    • 1916 – Yiannis Moralis, Greek painter and educator (d. 2009)
    • 1916 – Sinah Estelle Kelley, American chemist (d. 1982)
    • 1917 – Dorian Leigh, American model (d. 2008)
    • 1917 – Tony Lupien, American baseball player and coach (d. 2004)
    • 1918 – Maurice Druon, French author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Oleg Penkovsky, Russian colonel (d. 1963)
    • 1920 – Eric Grant Yarrow, 3rd Baronet, English businessman (d. 2018)
    • 1921 – Judy Agnew, Second Lady of the United States (d. 2012)
    • 1921 – Cleto Bellucci, Italian archbishop (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – Warren Spahn, American baseball player and coach (d. 2003)
    • 1923 – Dolph Briscoe, American lieutenant and politician, 41st Governor of Texas (d. 2010)
    • 1923 – Avram Davidson, American soldier and author (d. 1993)
    • 1924 – Chuck Harmon, American baseball player and scout (d. 2019)
    • 1924 – Bobby Rosengarden, American drummer and bandleader (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – J.P. Donleavy, American-Irish novelist and playwright (d. 2017)
    • 1926 – Rifaat el-Mahgoub, Egyptian politician (d. 1990)
    • 1928 – Shirley Temple, American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – George Steiner, French-American philosopher, author, and critic (d. 2020)
    • 1932 – Halston, American fashion designer (d. 1990)
    • 1932 – Jim Fixx, American runner and author (d. 1984)
    • 1933 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 2011)
    • 1934 – George Canseco, Filipino composer and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1936 – Roy Orbison, American singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
    • 1937 – Victoria Glendinning, English author and critic
    • 1937 – David Mills, English cricketer (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Barry Shepherd, Australian cricketer (d. 2001)
    • 1939 – Jorge Fons, Mexican director and screenwriter
    • 1939 – Bill Hagerty, English journalist
    • 1939 – Lee Majors, American actor
    • 1939 – Ray Peterson, American pop singer (d. 2005)
    • 1940 – Michael Copps, American academic and politician
    • 1940 – Dale Houston, American singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1940 – Michael Kadosh, Israeli footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1941 – Jacqueline Boyer, French singer and actress
    • 1941 – Arie den Hartog, Dutch road bicycle racer (d. 2018)
    • 1941 – Paavo Lipponen, Finnish journalist and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Finland
    • 1941 – Michael Lynne, American film producer, co-founded New Line Cinema
    • 1941 – Ed Stewart, English radio and television host (d. 2016)
    • 1941 – Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer and engineer (d. 2016)
    • 1942 – Sandra Dee, American model and actress (d. 2005)
    • 1943 – Gail Goodrich, American basketball player and coach
    • 1943 – Tony Esposito, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager
    • 1943 – Frans Koppelaar, Dutch painter
    • 1943 – Hervé Villechaize, French actor (d. 1993)
    • 1944 – Jean-François Stévenin, French actor and director
    • 1946 – Blair Brown, American actress
    • 1946 – Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (d. 2014)
    • 1947 – Robert Burgess, English sociologist and academic
    • 1947 – Glenn Cornick, English bass player (d. 2014)
    • 1947 – Bernadette Devlin McAliskey, Irish civil rights leader and politician
    • 1948 – Pascal Quignard, French author and screenwriter
    • 1948 – Serge Thériault, Canadian actor
    • 1949 – Paul Collier, English economist and academic
    • 1949 – David Cross, English violinist
    • 1949 – John Miles, British rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist
    • 1950 – Rowley Leigh, English chef and journalist
    • 1950 – Barbara McIlvaine Smith, Sac and Fox Nation Native American politician
    • 1951 – Martin Bayerle, American treasure hunter
    • 1952 – Narada Michael Walden, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
    • 1953 – James Russo, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Stephen Dalton, English air marshal
    • 1954 – Michael Moore, American director, producer, and activist
    • 1955 – Judy Davis, Australian actress
    • 1955 – Tony Miles, English chess player (d. 2001)
    • 1955 – Urmas Ott, Estonian journalist and author (d. 2008)
    • 1957 – Neville Brody, English graphic designer, typographer, and art director
    • 1957 – Jan Hooks, American actress and comedian (d. 2014)
    • 1958 – Hilmar Örn Hilmarsson, Icelandic composer and producer
    • 1958 – Ryan Walter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1959 – Unity Dow, Botswanan judge, author, and rights activist
    • 1960 – Valerie Bertinelli, American actress
    • 1960 – Steve Clark, English guitarist and songwriter (d. 1991)
    • 1960 – Barry Douglas, Irish pianist and conductor
    • 1960 – Léo Jaime, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1960 – Claude Julien, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – George Lopez, American comedian, actor, and talk show host
    • 1961 – Pierluigi Martini, Italian race car driver
    • 1962 – John Hannah, Scottish actor and producer
    • 1962 – Shaun Spiers, English businessman and politician
    • 1963 – Paul Belmondo, French race car driver
    • 1963 – Robby Naish, American windsurfer
    • 1964 – Gianandrea Noseda, Italian pianist and conductor
    • 1965 – Leni Robredo, Filipina human rights lawyer, 14th Vice President of the Philippines
    • 1966 – Jörg Deisinger, German bass player
    • 1966 – Matt Freeman, American bass player
    • 1966 – Lembit Oll, Estonian chess Grandmaster (d. 1999)
    • 1967 – Rheal Cormier, Canadian baseball player
    • 1967 – Melina Kanakaredes, American actress
    • 1968 – Bas Haring, Dutch philosopher, writer, television presenter and professor.
    • 1968 – Ken McRae, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1968 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist, Oklahoma City bombing co-perpetrator (d. 2001)
    • 1969 – Martín López-Zubero, American-Spanish swimmer and coach
    • 1969 – Yelena Shushunova, Russian gymnast
    • 1970 – Egemen Bağış, Turkish politician, 1st Minister of European Union Affairs
    • 1970 – Dennis Culp, American singer-songwriter and trombonist
    • 1970 – Andrew Gee, Australian rugby league player and manager
    • 1970 – Hans Välimäki, Finnish chef and author
    • 1970 – Tayfur Havutçu, Turkish international footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Uli Herzner, German-American fashion designer
    • 1972 – Pierre Labrie, Canadian poet and playwright
    • 1972 – Peter Dench, English photographer and journalist
    • 1972 – Amira Medunjanin, singer from Bosnia and Herzegovina
    • 1973 – Patrick Poulin, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1974 – Carlos Dengler, American bass player
    • 1974 – Michael Kerr, New Zealand-German rugby player
    • 1975 – Bobby Shaw, American football player
    • 1976 – Aaron Dessner, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1977 – John Cena, American professional wrestler and actor
    • 1977 – David Kidwell, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
    • 1977 – Willie Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1977 – John Oliver, English comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1977 – Kal Penn, Indian-American actor
    • 1977 – Bram Schmitz, Dutch cyclist
    • 1977 – Lee Young-pyo, South Korean international footballer
    • 1978 – Gezahegne Abera, Ethiopian runner
    • 1979 – Barry Hawkins, English snooker player
    • 1979 – Jaime King, American actress and model
    • 1979 – Joanna Krupa, Polish-American model and television personality
    • 1979 – Samppa Lajunen, Finnish skier
    • 1982 – Tony Sunshine, American singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Leon Andreasen, Danish international footballer
    • 1983 – Daniela Hantuchová, Slovak tennis player
    • 1983 – Ian Henderson, English rugby league player
    • 1984 – Alexandra Kosteniuk, Russian chess player
    • 1984 – Jesse Lee Soffer, American actor
    • 1985 – Angel Locsin, Filipino actress, producer, and fashion designer
    • 1986 – Sven Kramer, Dutch speed skater
    • 1986 – Alysia Montaño, American runner
    • 1986 – Rafael Fernandes, Brazilian baseball player
    • 1987 – Michael Arroyo, Ecuadorian footballer
    • 1987 – John Boye, Ghanaian footballer
    • 1987 – Emily Fox, American basketball player
    • 1988 – Victor Anichebe, Nigerian footballer
    • 1988 – Alistair Brownlee, English triathlete
    • 1988 – Signe Ronka, Canadian figure skater
    • 1988 – Lenka Wienerová, Slovak tennis player
    • 1989 – Nicole Vaidišová, Czech tennis player
    • 1990 – Rui Fonte, Portuguese footballer, winger
    • 1990 – Dev Patel, English actor
    • 1991 – Nathan Baker, English footballer
    • 1991 – Caleb Johnson, American singer-songwriter
    • 1991 – Paul Vaughan, Australian-Italian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Patrick Olsen, Danish footballer
    • 1994 – Song Kang, South Korean actor
    • 1995 – Gigi Hadid, American fashion model and television personality
    • 1997 – Zach Apple, American swimmer

    Deaths on April 23

    • 303 – Saint George, Roman soldier and martyr (b. 275)
    • 711 – Childebert III, Frankish king (b. 670)
    • 725 – Wihtred of Kent (b. 670)
    • 871 – Æthelred of Wessex (b. 837)
    • 915 – Yang Shihou, Chinese general
    • 944 – Wichmann the Elder, Saxon nobleman
    • 990 – Ekkehard II, Swiss monk and abbot
    • 997 – Adalbert of Prague, Czech bishop, missionary, and saint (b. 956)
    • 1014 – Brian Boru, Irish king (b. 941)
    • 1014 – Domnall mac Eimín, Mormaer of Mar
    • 1016 – Æthelred the Unready, English son of Edgar the Peaceful (b. 968)
    • 1124 – Alexander I of Scotland (b. 1078)
    • 1151 – Adeliza of Louvain (b. 1103)
    • 1170 – Minamoto no Tametomo, Japanese samurai (b. 1139)
    • 1196 – Béla III of Hungary (b. c.1148)
    • 1200 – Zhu Xi, Chinese philosopher (b. 1130)
    • 1217 – Inge II of Norway (b. 1185)
    • 1262 – Aegidius of Assisi, companion of Saint Francis of Assisi
    • 1307 – Joan of Acre (b. 1272)
    • 1400 – Aubrey de Vere, 10th Earl of Oxford, English politician and nobleman (b. c. 1338)
    • 1407 – Olivier de Clisson, French soldier (b. 1326)
    • 1501 – Domenico della Rovere, Catholic cardinal (b. 1442)
    • 1554 – Gaspara Stampa, Italian poet (b. 1523)
    • 1605 – Boris Godunov, Russian ruler (b. 1551)
    • 1616 – William Shakespeare, English playwright and poet (b. 1564)
    • 1625 – Maurice, Prince of Orange (b. 1567)
    • 1695 – Henry Vaughan, Welsh poet and author (b. 1621)
    • 1702 – Margaret Fell, English religious leader, founded the Religious Society of Friends (b. 1614)
    • 1781 – James Abercrombie, Scottish general and politician (b. 1706)
    • 1784 – Solomon I of Imereti (b. 1735)
    • 1792 – Karl Friedrich Bahrdt, German theologian and author (b. 1741)
    • 1794 – Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French lawyer and politician (b. 1721)
    • 1827 – Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek general (b. 1780)
    • 1839 – Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French admiral and explorer (b. 1768)
    • 1850 – William Wordsworth, English poet and author (b. 1770)
    • 1889 – Jules Amédée Barbey d’Aurevilly, French author and critic (b. 1808)
    • 1895 – Carl Ludwig, German physician and physiologist (b. 1815)
    • 1905 – Gédéon Ouimet, Canadian politician, 2nd Premier of Quebec (b. 1823)
    • 1907 – Alferd Packer, American prospector (b. 1842)
    • 1915 – Rupert Brooke, English poet (b. 1887)
    • 1936 – Teresa de la Parra, French-Venezuelan author (b. 1889)
    • 1951 – Jules Berry, French actor and director (b. 1883)
    • 1951 – Charles G. Dawes, American banker and politician, 30th Vice President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (b. 1865)
    • 1959 – Bak Jungyang, Korean politician
    • 1965 – George Adamski, Polish-American ufologist and author (b. 1891)
    • 1966 – George Ohsawa, Japanese founder of the Macrobiotic diet (b. 1893)
    • 1981 – Josep Pla, Catalan journalist and author (b. 1897)
    • 1983 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (b. 1908)
    • 1984 – Red Garland, American pianist (b. 1923)
    • 1985 – Sam Ervin, American lawyer and politician (b. 1896)
    • 1985 – Frank Farrell, Australian rugby league player and policeman (b. 1916)
    • 1986 – Harold Arlen, American composer (b. 1905)
    • 1986 – Jim Laker, English cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1922)
    • 1986 – Otto Preminger, Ukrainian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1906)
    • 1990 – Paulette Goddard, American actress (b. 1910)
    • 1991 – Johnny Thunders, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
    • 1992 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 1992 – Tanka Prasad Acharya, Nepalese politician, 27th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1912)
    • 1993 – Cesar Chavez, American activist, co-founded the United Farm Workers (b. 1927)
    • 1995 – Douglas Lloyd Campbell, Canadian farmer and politician, 13th Premier of Manitoba (b. 1895)
    • 1995 – Howard Cosell, American lawyer and journalist (b. 1918)
    • 1995 – Riho Lahi, Estonian journalist (b. 1904)
    • 1995 – John C. Stennis, American lawyer and politician (b. 1904)
    • 1996 – Jean Victor Allard, Canadian general (b. 1913)
    • 1996 – P. L. Travers, Australian-English author and actress (b. 1899)
    • 1997 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1918)
    • 1998 – Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek lawyer and politician, 172nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1907)
    • 1998 – James Earl Ray, American assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1928)
    • 1998 – Thanassis Skordalos, Greek singer-songwriter and lyra player (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Fernand Fonssagrives, French-American photographer (b. 1910)
    • 2004 – Herman Veenstra, Dutch water polo player (b. 1911)
    • 2005 – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, New Zealand-Australian politician, 31st Premier of Queensland (b. 1911)
    • 2005 – Robert Farnon, Canadian-English trumpet player, composer and conductor (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Al Grassby, Australian journalist and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2005 – John Mills, English actor (b. 1908)
    • 2005 – Romano Scarpa, Italian author and illustrator (b. 1927)
    • 2005 – Earl Wilson, American baseball player, coach and educator (b. 1934)
    • 2006 – Phil Walden, American record producer and manager, co-founder of Capricorn Records (b. 1940)
    • 2007 – Paul Erdman, Canadian-American economist and author (b. 1932)
    • 2007 – David Halberstam, American journalist, historian and author (b. 1934)
    • 2007 – Peter Randall, English sergeant (b. 1930)
    • 2007 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (b. 1931)
    • 2010 – Peter Porter, Australian-born British poet (b. 1929)
    • 2011 – James Casey, English comedian, radio scriptwriter and producer (b. 1922)
    • 2011 – Tom King, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1943)
    • 2011 – Geoffrey Russell, 4th Baron Ampthill, English businessman and politician (b. 1921)
    • 2011 – Max van der Stoel, Dutch politician and Minister of State (b. 1924)
    • 2011 – John Sullivan, English screenwriter and producer (b. 1946)
    • 2012 – Lillemor Arvidsson, Swedish trade union leader and politician, 34th Governor of Gotland (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Billy Bryans, Canadian drummer, songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2012 – Chris Ethridge, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1947)
    • 2012 – Raymond Thorsteinsson, Canadian geologist and paleontologist (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – LeRoy T. Walker, American football player and coach (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Bob Brozman, American guitarist (b. 1954)
    • 2013 – Robert W. Edgar, American educator and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2013 – Tony Grealish, English footballer (b. 1956)
    • 2013 – Antonio Maccanico, Italian banker and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Frank W. J. Olver, English-American mathematician and academic (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Kathryn Wasserman Davis, American philanthropist and scholar (b. 1907)
    • 2014 – Benjamín Brea, Spanish-Venezuelan saxophonist, clarinet player, and conductor (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Michael Glawogger, Austrian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer (b. 1959)
    • 2014 – Jaap Havekotte, Dutch speed skater and producer of ice skates (b. 1912)
    • 2014 – Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (b. 1911)
    • 2014 – F. Michael Rogers, American general (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Mark Shand, English conservationist and author (b. 1951)
    • 2014 – Patric Standford, English composer and educator (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Richard Corliss, American journalist and critic (b. 1944)
    • 2015 – Ray Jackson, Australian activist (b. 1941)
    • 2015 – Pierre Claude Nolin, Canadian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Canadian Senate (b. 1950)
    • 2015 – Jim Steffen, American football player (b. 1936)
    • 2015 – Francis Tsai, American author and illustrator (b. 1967)
    • 2016 – Inge King, German-born Australian sculptor (b. 1915)
    • 2016 – Banharn Silpa-archa, Thai politician, Prime Minister from 1995–1996 (b. 1932)
    • 2019 – Charity Sunshine Tillemann-Dick, American soprano singer and presenter (b.1983)

    Holidays and observances on April 23

    • Castile and León Day (Castile and León)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Adalbert of Prague
      • Felix, Fortunatus, and Achilleus
      • George
      • Blessed Giles of Assisi
      • Gerard of Toul
      • Ibar of Beggerin (Meath)
      • Toyohiko Kagawa (Episcopal and Lutheran Church)
      • April 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which the first day of Children’s Day can fall, while April 29 is the latest; celebrated on the last Saturday of April. (Colombia)
    • Independence Day (Conch Republic, Key West, Florida)
    • International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day
    • Khongjom Day (Manipur)
    • National Sovereignty and Children’s Day (Turkey and Northern Cyprus)
    • Navy Day (China)
    • St George’s Day (England) and its related observances:
      • Canada Book Day (Canada)
      • La Diada de Sant Jordi (Catalonia, Spain)
      • World Book Day
    • UN English Language Day (United Nations)

  • April 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • AD 65 – The freedman Milichus betrays Piso’s plot to kill Emperor Nero and all the conspirators are arrested.
    • 531 – Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army under Belisarius is defeated by the Persians at Raqqa (northern Syria).
    • 797 – Empress Irene organizes a conspiracy against her son, the Byzantine emperor Constantine VI. He is deposed and blinded. Shortly after, Constantine dies of his wounds; Irene proclaims herself basileus.
    • 1506 – The Lisbon Massacre begins, in which accused Jews are being slaughtered by Portuguese Catholics.
    • 1529 – Beginning of the Protestant Reformation: After the Second Diet of Speyer bans Lutheranism, a group of rulers (German: Fürst) and independent cities protests the reinstatement of the Edict of Worms.
    • 1539 – The Treaty of Frankfurt between Protestants and the Holy Roman Emperor is signed.
    • 1608 – In Ireland: O’Doherty’s Rebellion is launched by the Burning of Derry.
    • 1677 – The French army captures the town of Cambrai held by Spanish troops.
    • 1713 – With no living male heirs, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 to ensure that Habsburg lands and the Austrian throne would be inheritable by a female; his daughter and successor, Maria Theresa was not born until 1717.
    • 1770 – Captain James Cook, still holding the rank of lieutenant, sights the eastern coast of what is now Australia.
    • 1770 – Marie Antoinette marries Louis XVI of France in a proxy wedding.
    • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The war begins with an American victory in Concord during the battles of Lexington and Concord.
    • 1782 – John Adams secures the Dutch Republic’s recognition of the United States as an independent government. The house which he had purchased in The Hague, Netherlands becomes the first American embassy.
    • 1809 – An Austrian corps is defeated by the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw in the Battle of Raszyn, part of the struggles of the Fifth Coalition. On the same day the Austrian main army is defeated by a First French Empire Corps led by Louis-Nicolas Davout at the Battle of Teugen-Hausen in Bavaria, part of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory.
    • 1810 – Venezuela achieves home rule: Vicente Emparán, Governor of the Captaincy General is removed by the people of Caracas and a junta is installed.
    • 1818 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel signs his preliminary “Note on the Theory of Diffraction” (deposited on the following day). The document ends with what we now call the Fresnel integrals.
    • 1839 – The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom and guarantees its neutrality.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Baltimore riot of 1861: A pro-Secession mob in Baltimore attacks United States Army troops marching through the city.
    • 1903 – The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.
    • 1927 – Mae West is sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex.
    • 1942 – World War II: In Poland, the Majdan-Tatarski ghetto is established, situated between the Lublin Ghetto and a Majdanek subcamp.
    • 1943 – World War II: In Poland, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins, after German troops enter the Warsaw Ghetto to round up the remaining Jews.
    • 1943 – Albert Hofmann deliberately doses himself with LSD for the first time, three days after having discovered its effects on April 16.
    • 1956 – Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco.
    • 1960 – Students in South Korea hold a nationwide pro-democracy protest against president Syngman Rhee, eventually forcing him to resign.
    • 1971 – Sierra Leone becomes a republic, and Siaka Stevens the president.
    • 1971 – Launch of Salyut 1, the first space station.
    • 1971 – Charles Manson is sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment) for conspiracy in the Tate–LaBianca murders.
    • 1973 – The Portuguese Socialist Party is founded in the German town of Bad Münstereifel.
    • 1975 – India’s first satellite Aryabhata launched in orbit from Kapustin Yar, Russia.
    • 1984 – Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia’s national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours.
    • 1985 – Two hundred ATF and FBI agents lay siege to the compound of the white supremacist survivalist group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord in Arkansas; the CSA surrenders two days later.
    • 1987 – The Simpsons first appear as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, first starting with Good Night.
    • 1989 – A gun turret explodes on the USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors.
    • 1993 – The 51-day FBI siege of the Branch Davidian building in Waco, Texas, USA, ends when a fire breaks out. 76 Davidians, including eighteen children under the age of ten, died in the fire.
    • 1995 – Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, USA, is bombed, killing 168 people including 19 children under the age of six.
    • 1999 – The German Bundestag returns to Berlin.
    • 2000 – Air Philippines Flight 541 crashes in Samal, Davao del Norte, killing all 131 people on board.
    • 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected to the papacy and becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
    • 2011 – Fidel Castro resigns as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba after holding the title since July 1961.
    • 2013 – Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is killed in a shootout with police. His brother Dzhokhar is later captured hiding in a boat inside a backyard in the suburb of Watertown.
    • 2020 – A killing spree in Nova Scotia, Canada, leaves 22 people and the perpetrator dead, making it the deadliest rampage in the country’s history.

    Births on April 19

    • 1452 – Frederick IV, King of Naples (d. 1504)
    • 1593 – Sir John Hobart, 2nd Baronet, English politician (d. 1647)
    • 1603 – Michel Le Tellier, French politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1685)
    • 1613 – Christoph Bach, German musician (d. 1661)
    • 1633 – Willem Drost, Dutch painter (d. 1659)
    • 1655 – George St Lo(e), Royal Navy officer and administrator (d. 1718)
    • 1658 – Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, German husband of Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha of Austria (d. 1716)
    • 1665 – Jacques Lelong, French author (d. 1721)
    • 1686 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian ethnographer and politician (d. 1750)
    • 1715 – James Nares, English organist and composer (d. 1783)
    • 1721 – Roger Sherman, American lawyer and politician (d. 1793)
    • 1734 – Karl von Ordóñez, Austrian violinist and composer (d. 1786)
    • 1757 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, English admiral and politician (d. 1833)
    • 1758 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish admiral (d. 1831)
    • 1785 – Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French pianist and composer (d. 1858)
    • 1787 – Deaf Smith, American soldier (d. 1837)
    • 1793 – Ferdinand I of Austria (d. 1875)
    • 1806 – Sarah Bagley, American labor organizer (d. 1889)
    • 1814 – Louis Amédée Achard, French journalist and author (d. 1875)
    • 1832 – José Echegaray, Spanish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
    • 1835 – Julius Krohn, Finnish poet and journalist (d. 1888)
    • 1863 – Hemmo Kallio, Finnish actor (d. 1940)
    • 1872 – Alice Salomon, German social reformer (d. 1948)
    • 1873 – Sydney Barnes, English cricketer (d. 1967)
    • 1874 – Ernst Rüdin, Swiss psychiatrist, geneticist, and eugenicist (d. 1952)
    • 1877 – Ole Evinrude, Norwegian-American engineer, invented the outboard motor (d. 1934)
    • 1879 – Arthur Robertson, Scottish runner (d. 1957)
    • 1882 – Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 14th President of Brazil (d. 1954)
    • 1883 – Henry Jameson, American soccer player (d. 1938)
    • 1883 – Richard von Mises, Austrian-American mathematician and physicist (d. 1953)
    • 1885 – Karl Tarvas, Estonian architect (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – Otto Georg Thierack, German jurist and politician (d. 1946)
    • 1891 – Françoise Rosay, French actress (d. 1974)
    • 1892 – Germaine Tailleferre, French composer and educator (d. 1983)
    • 1894 – Elizabeth Dilling, American author and activist (d. 1966)
    • 1897 – Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1970)
    • 1897 – Jiroemon Kimura, Japanese super-centenarian, oldest verified man ever (d. 2013)
    • 1898 – Constance Talmadge, American actress and producer (d. 1973)
    • 1899 – George O’Brien, American actor (d. 1985)
    • 1899 – Cemal Tollu, Turkish lieutenant and painter (d. 1968)
    • 1900 – Iracema de Alencar, Brazilian film actress (d. 1978)
    • 1900 – Richard Hughes, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1976)
    • 1900 – Roland Michener, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Governor General of Canada (d. 1991)
    • 1900 – Rhea Silberta, Yiddish songwriter and singing teacher (d. 1959)
    • 1902 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author and screenwriter (d. 1989)
    • 1903 – Eliot Ness, American law enforcement agent (d. 1957)
    • 1907 – Alan Wheatley, English actor (d. 1991)
    • 1908 – Irena Eichlerówna, Polish actress (d. 1990)
    • 1912 – Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
    • 1913 – Ken Carpenter, American discus thrower and coach (d. 1984)
    • 1917 – Sven Hassel, Danish-German soldier and author (d. 2012)
    • 1919 – Sol Kaplan, American pianist and composer (d. 1990)
    • 1920 – Gene Leis, American guitarist, composer, and producer (d. 1993)
    • 1920 – Marvin Mandel, American lawyer and politician, 56th Governor of Maryland (d. 2015)
    • 1920 – John O’Neil, American baseball player and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Julien Ries, Belgian cardinal (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Marian Winters, American actress (d. 1978)
    • 1921 – Anna Lee Aldred, American jockey (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Leon Henkin, American logician (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Roberto Tucci, Italian Jesuit leader, cardinal, and theologian (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – Erich Hartmann, German colonel and pilot (d. 1993)
    • 1922 – David Smith, politician in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe (d. 1996)
    • 1925 – John Kraaijkamp, Sr., Dutch actor (d. 2011)
    • 1925 – Hugh O’Brian, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Rawya Ateya, Egyptian captain and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1928 – John Horlock, English engineer and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Azlan Shah of Perak, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Walter Stewart, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2004)
    • 1932 – Fernando Botero, Colombian painter and sculptor
    • 1933 – Dickie Bird, English cricketer and umpire
    • 1933 – Jayne Mansfield, American model and actress (d. 1967)
    • 1933 – Philip Lavallin Wroughton, English captain and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
    • 1934 – Dickie Goodman, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1989)
    • 1935 – Dudley Moore, English actor, comedian, and pianist (d. 2002)
    • 1935 – Justin Francis Rigali, American cardinal
    • 1936 – Wilfried Martens, Belgian politician, 60th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Jack Pardee, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Antonio Carluccio, Italian-English chef and author (d. 2017)
    • 1937 – Elinor Donahue, American actress
    • 1937 – Joseph Estrada, Filipino politician, 13th President of the Philippines
    • 1938 – Stanley Fish, American theorist, author, and scholar
    • 1939 – E. Clay Shaw, Jr., American accountant, judge, and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Roberto Carlos, Brazilian singer-songwriter
    • 1941 – Clark Dimond, American musician and author
    • 1941 – Michel Roux, French-English chef and author (d. 2020)
    • 1941 – Bobby Russell, American singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1942 – Bas Jan Ader, Dutch-American photographer and director (d. 1975)
    • 1942 – Alan Price, English keyboard player, singer, and composer
    • 1942 – Jack Roush, American businessman, founded Roush Fenway Racing
    • 1942 – Maarten van den Bergh, American-Dutch businessman
    • 1943 – Margo MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician (d. 2014)[28]
    • 1943 – Lorenzo Sanz, Spanish businessman
    • 1944 – Keith Erickson, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1944 – James Heckman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1944 – Bernie Worrell, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2016)[29]
    • 1946 – Duygu Asena, Turkish journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1946 – Tim Curry, English actor[30]
    • 1947 – Murray Perahia, American pianist and conductor
    • 1947 – Wilfrid Stevenson, Baron Stevenson of Balmacara, English civil servant
    • 1947 – Yan Pascal Tortelier, French violinist and conductor
    • 1947 – Mark Volman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1948 – Stuart McLean, Canadian radio host and author (d. 2017)
    • 1948 – Rick Miller, American baseball player and manager
    • 1949 – Paloma Picasso, French-Spanish fashion designer
    • 1949 – Larry Walters, American truck driver and pilot (d. 1993)
    • 1950 – Julia Cleverdon, English businesswoman and philanthropist
    • 1951 – Barry Brown, American actor and playwright (d. 1978)
    • 1951 – Jóannes Eidesgaard, Faroese educator and politician, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
    • 1952 – Alexis Argüello, Nicaraguan boxer and politician (d. 2009)
    • 1952 – Tony Plana, Cuban-American actor and director
    • 1952 – Michael Trend, English journalist and politician
    • 1953 – Rod Morgenstein, American drummer
    • 1953 – Sara Simeoni, Italian high jumper
    • 1953 – Ruby Wax, British-based American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Trevor Francis, English footballer and manager
    • 1954 – Bob Rock, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1956 – Sue Barker, English tennis player and journalist
    • 1956 – Randy Carlyle, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1956 – Anne Glover, Scottish biologist and academic
    • 1957 – Tony Martin, English singer-songwriter
    • 1957 – Mukesh Ambani, Indian businessman, chairman of Reliance Industries and currently the richest man in Asia[31][32]
    • 1958 – Steve Antin, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Stevie B, American singer-songwriter and record producer
    • 1958 – Denis O’Brien, Irish businessman, founded BT Ireland
    • 1958 – Vytautas Šapranauskas, Lithuanian actor (d. 2013)
    • 1958 – Keith Shine, British academic and educator
    • 1959 – Jane Campbell, Baroness Campbell of Surbiton, English activist
    • 1959 – Teofisto Guingona III, Filipino lawyer and politician
    • 1959 – Donald Markwell, Australian sociologist and academic
    • 1960 – Nicoletta Braschi, Italian actress and producer
    • 1960 – Ara Gevorgyan, Armenian pianist, composer, and producer
    • 1960 – Roger Merrett, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1960 – John Schweitz, American basketball player and coach
    • 1960 – Frank Viola, American baseball player and coach[33]
    • 1961 – Alan Kirschenbaum, American producer and writer (d. 2012)
    • 1961 – Albert Martinez, Filipino actor, director, and producer
    • 1961 – Spike Owen, American baseball player and coach
    • 1962 – Al Unser Jr., American race car driver
    • 1964 – Gordon Marshall, Scottish footballer and coach
    • 1964 – Kim Weaver, American astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
    • 1965 – Natalie Dessay, French soprano and actress
    • 1965 – Suge Knight, American record producer, co-founded Death Row Records
    • 1966 – Véronique Gens, French soprano and actress
    • 1966 – David La Haye, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Paul Reiffel, Australian cricketer and umpire
    • 1966 – El Samurai, Japanese wrestler
    • 1967 – Philippe Saint-André, French rugby player and coach
    • 1968 – Ashley Judd, American actress and activist
    • 1968 – Arshad Warsi, Indian film actor and producer
    • 1969 – Andrew Carnie, Canadian-American linguist, author, and academic
    • 1969 – Susan Polgar, Hungarian-American chess player
    • 1970 – Luis Miguel, Mexican singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1970 – Kelly Holmes, English runner
    • 1970 – Abelardo Fernández, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Brendon Burns, Australian comedian, podcaster, writer and author
    • 1971 – Scott McCord, Canadian voice actor
    • 1972 – Rivaldo, Brazilian footballer
    • 1972 – Jeff Wilkins, American football player
    • 1973 – George Gregan, Zambian-Australian rugby player and coach
    • 1973 – Alessio Scarpi, Italian footballer
    • 1975 – Jason Gillespie, Australian cricketer and coach
    • 1975 – Jussi Jääskeläinen, Finnish footballer
    • 1976 – Ruud Jolie, Dutch guitarist
    • 1976 – Scott Padgett, American basketball player, coach, and radio host
    • 1976 – Kim Young-oh, South Korean author and illustrator
    • 1977 – Joe Beimel, American baseball player
    • 1977 – Anju Bobby George, Indian long jumper
    • 1977 – Lucien Mettomo, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1977 – Dennys Reyes, Mexican baseball player
    • 1977 – Jonny Storm, English wrestler and trainer
    • 1978 – James Franco, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1978 – Gabriel Heinze, Argentinian footballer
    • 1978 – Amanda Sage, American-Austrian painter and educator
    • 1979 – Rocky Bernard, American football player
    • 1979 – Kate Hudson, American actress
    • 1979 – Zhao Junzhe, Chinese footballer
    • 1980 – Jason Blaine, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Robyn Regehr, Brazilian-Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Hayden Christensen, Canadian actor and producer
    • 1981 – Ryuta Hara, Japanese footballer
    • 1981 – Martin Havlát, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1981 – James Hibberd, English cricketer
    • 1981 – Troy Polamalu, American football player
    • 1981 – Catalina Sandino Moreno, Colombian actress
    • 1982 – Joseph Hagerty, American gymnast
    • 1982 – Filip Jícha, Czech handball player
    • 1982 – Samuel C. Morrison, Jr., Liberian-American journalist, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1982 – Rocco Sabato, Italian footballer
    • 1982 – Ignacio Serricchio, Argentinian-American actor
    • 1982 – Sitiveni Sivivatu, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1983 – Alberto Callaspo, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1983 – Zach Duke, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Joe Mauer, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Patrick Platins, German footballer
    • 1983 – Curtis Thigpen, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Christopher Pearce, English cricketer
    • 1985 – Valon Behrami, Swiss footballer
    • 1985 – David Cavazos, Mexican singer-songwriter
    • 1985 – Sabrina Jalees, Canadian comedian, dancer, actress, presenter, and writer
    • 1985 – Jan Zimmermann, German footballer
    • 1986 – Pascal Angan, Beninese footballer
    • 1986 – Candace Parker, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Gabe Pruitt, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Will Thursfield, English-Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Luigi Giorgi, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Joe Hart, English footballer
    • 1987 – Daniel Schuhmacher, German singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Maria Sharapova, Russian tennis player
    • 1987 – Lauren Wilson, Canadian figure skater
    • 1988 – Enrique Esqueda, Mexican footballer
    • 1989 – Dominik Mader, German footballer
    • 1989 – Daisuke Watabe, Japanese footballer
    • 1989 – Genoveva Añonma, Equatoguinean footballer
    • 1990 – Jackie Bradley, Jr., American baseball player
    • 1990 – Kim Chiu, Filipino actress, singer, and dancer[34]
    • 1990 – Héctor Herrera, Mexican footballer
    • 1990 – Ayaka Takahashi, Japanese badminton player
    • 1991 – Steve Cook, English footballer

    Deaths April 19

    • 843 – Judith of Bavaria, Frankish empress
    • 1012 – Ælfheah of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint (b. 954)
    • 1013 – Hisham II, Umayyad caliph of Córdoba (b. 966)
    • 1044 – Gothelo I, duke of Lorraine
    • 1054 – Leo IX, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1002)
    • 1321 – Gerasimus I, patriarch of Constantinople
    • 1390 – Robert II, king of Scotland (b. 1316)
    • 1405 – Thomas West, 1st Baron West, English nobleman (b. 1335)[35]
    • 1431 – Adolph III, count of Waldeck (b. 1362)
    • 1560 – Philip Melanchthon, German theologian and reformer (b. 1497)
    • 1567 – Michael Stifel, German monk and mathematician (b. 1487)
    • 1578 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1530)
    • 1588 – Paolo Veronese, Italian painter (b. 1528)
    • 1608 – Thomas Sackville, 1st Earl of Dorset, English poet, playwright, and politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1536)
    • 1618 – Thomas Bastard, English priest and author (b. 1566)
    • 1619 – Jagat Gosain, Mughal empress (b. 1573)[36]
    • 1629 – Sigismondo d’India, Italian composer (b. 1582)
    • 1632 – Sigismund III Vasa, king of Sweden and Poland (b. 1566)
    • 1686 – Antonio de Solís y Ribadeneyra, Spanish historian and playwright (b. 1610)
    • 1689 – Christina, queen of Sweden (b. 1626)
    • 1733 – Elizabeth Hamilton, countess of Orkney (b. 1657)
    • 1739 – Nicholas Saunderson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1682)
    • 1768 – Canaletto, Italian painter and etcher (b. 1697)
    • 1776 – Jacob Emden, German rabbi and author (b. 1697)
    • 1791 – Richard Price, Welsh-English preacher and philosopher (b. 1723)
    • 1813 – Benjamin Rush, American physician and educator (b. 1745)
    • 1824 – Lord Byron, English-Scottish poet and playwright (b. 1788)
    • 1831 – Johann Gottlieb Friedrich von Bohnenberger, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1765)
    • 1833 – James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, Bahamian-English admiral and politician, 36th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1756)
    • 1840 – Jean-Jacques Lartigue, Canadian bishop (b. 1777)
    • 1854 – Robert Jameson, Scottish mineralogist and academic (b. 1774)
    • 1881 – Benjamin Disraeli, English journalist and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1804)
    • 1882 – Charles Darwin, English biologist and theorist (b. 1809)
    • 1893 – Martin Körber, Estonian-German pastor, composer, and conductor (b. 1817)
    • 1901 – Alfred Horatio Belo, American publisher, founded The Dallas Morning News (b. 1839)
    • 1906 – Pierre Curie, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
    • 1906 – Spencer Gore, English tennis player and cricketer (b. 1850)
    • 1909 – Signe Rink, Greenland-born Danish writer and ethnologist (b. 1836)
    • 1914 – Charles Sanders Peirce, American mathematician and philosopher (b. 1839)
    • 1915 – Thomas Playford II, English-Australian politician, 17th Premier of South Australia (b. 1837)
    • 1916 – Ephraim Shay, American engineer, designed the Shay locomotive (b. 1839)
    • 1926 – Alexander Alexandrovich Chuprov, Russian-Swiss statistician and theorist (b. 1874)
    • 1930 – Georges-Casimir Dessaulles, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1827)
    • 1937 – Martin Conway, 1st Baron Conway of Allington, English cartographer and politician (b. 1856)
    • 1937 – William Morton Wheeler, American entomologist and zoologist (b. 1865)
    • 1941 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (b. 1878)
    • 1949 – Ulrich Salchow, Danish-Swedish figure skater (b. 1877)
    • 1950 – Ernst Robert Curtius, French-German philologist and scholar (b. 1886)
    • 1955 – Jim Corbett, British-Indian colonel, hunter, and author (b. 1875)
    • 1960 – Beardsley Ruml, American economist and statistician (b. 1894)
    • 1961 – Max Hainle, German swimmer (b. 1882)
    • 1967 – Konrad Adenauer, German politician, 1st Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
    • 1971 – Luigi Piotti, Italian race car driver (b. 1913)
    • 1975 – Percy Lavon Julian, American chemist and academic (b. 1899)
    • 1987 – Hugh Brannum, American vocalist, arranger, and composer (b. 1910)
    • 1989 – Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (b. 1907)
    • 1991 – Stanley Hawes, English-Australian director and producer (b. 1905)
    • 1992 – Frankie Howerd, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1917)
    • 1993 – David Koresh, American religious leader (b. 1959)
    • 1993 – George S. Mickelson, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1941)
    • 1998 – Octavio Paz, Mexican poet, philosopher, and academic Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – Hermine Braunsteiner, Austrian-German SS officer (b. 1919)
    • 2000 – Louis Applebaum, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1918)
    • 2001 – Meldrim Thomson, Jr.. American publisher and politician, 73rd Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1912)
    • 2002 – Reginald Rose, American writer (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Mirza Tahir Ahmad, Indian-English caliph (b. 1928)
    • 2004 – Norris McWhirter, English author and activist co-founded the Guinness World Records (b. 1925)
    • 2004 – John Maynard Smith, English biologist and geneticist (b. 1920)
    • 2004 – Jenny Pike, Canadian WWII servicewoman and photographer (b. 1922)[37]
    • 2005 – George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Greek director and screenwriter (b. 1941)
    • 2005 – Ruth Hussey, American actress (b. 1911)
    • 2005 – Clement Meadmore, Australian-American sculptor and author (b. 1929)
    • 2005 – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish bassist and composer (b. 1946)
    • 2006 – Albert Scott Crossfield, American engineer, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – Jean-Pierre Cassel, French actor (b. 1932)
    • 2008 – John Marzano, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1963)
    • 2008 – Alfonso López Trujillo, Colombian cardinal (b. 1935)
    • 2009 – J. G. Ballard, English novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1930)
    • 2011 – Elisabeth Sladen, English actress (b. 1946)[38]
    • 2012 – Leopold David de Rothschild, English financier and philanthropist (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Greg Ham, Australian saxophonist, songwriter, and actor (b. 1953)
    • 2012 – Levon Helm, American singer-songwriter, drummer, guitarist, instrumentalist, and actor (b. 1940)
    • 2012 – Valeri Vasiliev, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1949)
    • 2013 – Sivanthi Adithan, Indian businessman (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Allan Arbus, American actor and photographer (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Mike Denness, Scottish-English cricketer and referee (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – François Jacob, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – E. L. Konigsburg, American author and illustrator (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Al Neuharth, American journalist, author, and publisher, founded USA Today (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Lindy Berry, American football player (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Ian McIntyre, Scottish journalist and producer (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Frits Thors, Dutch journalist (b. 1909)
    • 2015 – Raymond Carr, English historian and academic (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – William Price Fox, American journalist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Roy Mason, English miner and politician, Secretary of State for Defence (b. 1924)[39]
    • 2015 – Tom McCabe, Scottish social worker and politician (b. 1954)[40]
    • 2015 – Oktay Sinanoğlu, Italian-Turkish chemist and academic (b. 1935)
    • 2016 – Patricio Aylwin, Chilean politician (b. 1918)[41]
    • 2016 – Milt Pappas, American baseball player (b. 1939)[42]
    • 2017 – Aaron Hernandez, American football player (b. 1989)[43]

    Holidays and observances on April 19

    • Christian feast day:
      • Ælfheah of Canterbury (Anglican, Catholic)
      • Conrad of Ascoli
      • Emma of Lesum
      • Expeditus
      • George of Antioch
      • Olaus and Laurentius Petri (Lutheran)
      • Pope Leo IX
      • Ursmar
      • April 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which First Day of Summer or Sumardagurinn fyrsti can fall, while April 25 is the latest; celebrated on the first Thursday after April 18. (Iceland)
    • Army Day (Brazil)
    • Beginning of the Independence Movement (Venezuela)
    • Bicycle Day[44]
    • Dutch-American Friendship Day (United States)
    • Holocaust Remembrance Day (Poland)
    • Indian Day (Brazil)
    • King Mswati III’s birthday (Eswatini)
    • Landing of the 33 Patriots Day (Uruguay)
    • Patriots’ Day (Massachusetts, Maine and Wisconsin, United States)

  • April 16 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • AD 73 – Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the First Jewish–Roman War.
    • 1346 – Stefan Dušan, “the Mighty”, is crowned Emperor of the Serbs at Skopje, his empire occupying much of the Balkans.
    • 1520 – The Revolt of the Comuneros begins in Spain against the rule of Charles V.
    • 1582 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.
    • 1746 – The Battle of Culloden is fought between the French-supported Jacobites and the British Hanoverian forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, in Scotland.After the battle many highland traditions were banned and the Highlands of Scotland were cleared of inhabitants.
    • 1780 – Franz Friedrich Wilhelm von Fürstenberg founds the University of Münster.
    • 1799 – French Revolutionary Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor: Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.
    • 1818 – The United States Senate ratifies the Rush–Bagot Treaty, limiting naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.
    • 1847 – Shooting of a Māori by an English sailor results in the opening of the Wanganui Campaign of the New Zealand Wars.
    • 1853 – The Great Indian Peninsula Railway opens the first passenger rail in India, from Bori Bunder to Thane.
    • 1858 – The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is wound up.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Battle at Lee’s Mills in Virginia.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia, becomes law.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: During the Vicksburg Campaign, gunboats commanded by acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter run downriver past Confederate artillery batteries at Vicksburg.
    • 1881 – In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
    • 1908 – Natural Bridges National Monument is established in Utah.
    • 1910 – The oldest existing indoor ice hockey arena still used for the sport in the 21st century, Boston Arena, opens for the first time.
    • 1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
    • 1917 – Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd, Russia, from exile in Switzerland.
    • 1919 – Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of “prayer and fasting” in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by the British colonial troops three days earlier.
    • 1919 – Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army launches the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania.
    • 1922 – The Treaty of Rapallo, pursuant to which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations, is signed.
    • 1925 – During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, Bulgaria, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Italian-German Tarigo convoy is attacked and destroyed by British ships.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Nazi-affiliated Ustaše is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis powers after Operation 25 is effected.
    • 1943 – Albert Hofmann accidentally discovers the hallucinogenic effects of the research drug LSD. He intentionally takes the drug three days later on April 19.
    • 1944 – World War II: Allied forces start bombing Belgrade, killing about 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin, with nearly one million troops fighting in the Battle of the Seelow Heights.
    • 1945 – The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz).
    • 1945 – More than 7,000 die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine.
    • 1947 – An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.
    • 1947 – Bernard Baruch first applies the term “Cold War” to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
    • 1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.
    • 1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
    • 1972 – Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
    • 1990 – “Doctor Death”, Jack Kevorkian, participates in his first assisted suicide.
    • 2001 – India and Bangladesh begin a five-day border conflict, but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border.
    • 2003 – The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting ten new member states to the European Union.
    • 2007 – Virginia Tech shooting: Seung-Hui Cho guns down 32 people and injures 17 before committing suicide.
    • 2012 – The trial for Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, begins in Oslo, Norway.
    • 2012 – The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced, it was the first time since 1977 that no book won the Fiction Prize.
    • 2013 – A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, killing at least 35 people and injuring 117 others.
    • 2013 – The 2013 Baga massacre is started when Boko Haram militants engage government soldiers in Baga.
    • 2014 – The South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsizes and sinks near Jindo Island, killing 304 passengers and crew and leading to widespread criticism of the South Korean government, media, and shipping authorities.

    Births on April 16

    • 1435 – Jan II the Mad, Duke of Żagań (1439–1449 and 1461–1468 and again in 1472) (d. 1504)
    • 1488 – Jungjong of Joseon (d. 1544)
    • 1495 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1557)
    • 1516 – Tabinshwehti, Burmese king (d. 1550)
    • 1569 – John Davies, English poet and lawyer (d. 1626)
    • 1635 – Frans van Mieris the Elder, Dutch painter (d. 1681)
    • 1646 – Jules Hardouin-Mansart, French architect, designed the Château de Dampierre and Grand Trianon (d. 1708)
    • 1660 – Hans Sloane, Irish-English physician and academic (d. 1753)
    • 1661 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician, First Lord of the Treasury (d. 1715)
    • 1682 – John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (d. 1744)
    • 1697 – Johann Gottlieb Görner, German organist and composer (d. 1778)
    • 1728 – Joseph Black, French-Scottish physician and chemist (d. 1799)
    • 1730 – Henry Clinton, English general and politician (d. 1795)
    • 1755 – Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)
    • 1786 – John Franklin, English admiral and politician, 4th Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land (d. 1847)
    • 1800 – George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, English field marshal and politician (d. 1888)
    • 1808 – Caleb Blood Smith, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1864)
    • 1821 – Ford Madox Brown, French-English soldier and painter (d. 1893)
    • 1823 – Gotthold Eisenstein, German mathematician and academic (d. 1852)
    • 1826 – Sir James Corry, 1st Baronet, British politician (d. 1891)
    • 1827 – Octave Crémazie, Canadian poet and bookseller (d. 1879)
    • 1839 – Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì, Italian politician, 12th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1908)
    • 1834 – Charles Lennox Richardson, English merchant (d. 1862)
    • 1844 – Anatole France, French journalist, novelist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
    • 1847 – Hans Auer, Swiss-Austrian architect, designed the Federal Palace of Switzerland (d. 1906)
    • 1848 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian author and activist (d. 1919)
    • 1851 – Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 3rd Solicitor General of Sri Lanka (d. 1930)
    • 1864 – Rose Talbot Bullard, American medical doctor and professor (d. 1915)
    • 1865 – Harry Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
    • 1866 – José de Diego, Puerto Rican journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1918)
    • 1867 – Wilbur Wright, American inventor (d. 1912)
    • 1871 – John Millington Synge, Irish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1909)
    • 1874 – Jōtarō Watanabe, Japanese general (d. 1936)
    • 1878 – R. E. Foster, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1914)
    • 1882 – Seth Bingham, American organist and composer (d. 1972)
    • 1884 – Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, journalist, and politician (d. 1963)
    • 1885 – Leó Weiner, Hungarian composer and educator (d. 1960)
    • 1886 – Michalis Dorizas, Greek-American football player and javelin thrower (d. 1957)
    • 1886 – Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
    • 1888 – Billy Minter, English footballer and manager (d. 1940)
    • 1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (d. 1977)
    • 1890 – Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1954)
    • 1890 – Gertrude Chandler Warner, American author and educator (d. 1979)
    • 1891 – Dorothy P. Lathrop, American author and illustrator (d. 1980)
    • 1892 – Howard Mumford Jones, American author, critic, and academic (d. 1980)
    • 1893 – Germaine Guèvremont, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1968)
    • 1893 – John Norton, American hurdler (d. 1979)
    • 1895 – Ove Arup, English-Danish engineer and businessman, founded Arup (d. 1988)
    • 1896 – Robert Henry Best, American journalist (d. 1952)
    • 1896 – Árpád Weisz, Hungarian footballer (d. 1944)
    • 1899 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist and academic (d. 1988)
    • 1900 – Polly Adler, Russian-American madam and author (d. 1962)
    • 1903 – Paul Waner, American baseball player and manager (d. 1965)
    • 1904 – Fifi D’Orsay, Canadian-American vaudevillian, actress, and singer (d. 1983)
    • 1905 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
    • 1907 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman, founded Bombardier Inc. (d. 1964)
    • 1907 – August Eigruber, Austrian-German politician (d. 1947)
    • 1908 – Ellis Marsalis, Sr., American businessman and activist (d. 2004)
    • 1908 – Ray Ventura, French jazz bandleader (d. 1979)
    • 1910 – Berton Roueché, American journalist and author (d. 1994)
    • 1911 – Guy Burgess, English-Russian spy (d. 1963)
    • 1913 – Les Tremayne, English actor (d. 2003)
    • 1914 – John Hodiak, American actor (d. 1955)
    • 1915 – Robert Speck, Canadian politician, 1st Mayor of Mississauga (d. 1972)
    • 1916 – Behçet Necatigil, Turkish author, poet, and translator (d. 1979)
    • 1917 – Victoria Eugenia Fernández de Córdoba, 18th Duchess of Medinaceli (d. 2013)
    • 1917 – Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
    • 1918 – Dick Gibson, English racing driver (d. 2010)
    • 1918 – Hsuan Hua, Chinese-American monk and author (d. 1995)
    • 1918 – Juozas Kazickas, Lithuanian-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2014)
    • 1918 – Spike Milligan, Irish actor, comedian, and writer (d. 2002)
    • 1919 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Mexican architect, designed the Tijuana Cultural Center and National Museum of Anthropology (d. 2013)
    • 1919 – Thomas Willmore, English geometer and academic (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Ananda Dassanayake, Sri Lankan politician (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Prince George Valdemar of Denmark (d. 1986)
    • 1921 – Arlin M. Adams, American lawyer and judge (d. 2015)
    • 1921 – Wolfgang Leonhard, German historian and author (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Peter Ustinov, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1922 – Kingsley Amis, English novelist, poet, and critic (d. 1995)
    • 1922 – John Christopher, English author (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Lawrence N. Guarino, American colonel (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Leo Tindemans, Belgian politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Warren Barker, American composer (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Arch A. Moore Jr., American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor of West Virginia (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – John Harvey-Jones, English academic and businessman (d. 2008)
    • 1924 – Henry Mancini, American composer and conductor (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – Rudy Pompilli, American saxophonist (d. 1976)
    • 1924 – Madanjeet Singh, Indian diplomat, author, and philanthropist (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist, founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Edie Adams, American actress and singer (d. 2008)
    • 1927 – Pope Benedict XVI
    • 1927 – Rolf Schult, German actor (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Dick Lane, American football player and soldier (d. 2002)
    • 1929 – Roy Hamilton, American singer (d. 1969)
    • 1929 – Ralph Slatyer, Australian biologist and ecologist (d. 2012)
    • 1929 – Ed Townsend, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2003)
    • 1930 – Doug Beasy, Australian footballer and educator (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Herbie Mann, American flute player and composer (d. 2003)
    • 1932 – Maury Meyers, American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Marcos Alonso Imaz, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
    • 1933 – Joan Bakewell, English journalist and author
    • 1933 – Perry Botkin Jr., American composer, arranger and musician
    • 1933 – Vera Krepkina, Russian long jumper
    • 1933 – Ike Pappas, American journalist and actor (d. 2008)
    • 1934 – Vince Hill, English singer-songwriter
    • 1934 – Robert Stigwood, Australian producer and manager (d. 2016)
    • 1934 – Barrie Unsworth, Australian politician, 36th Premier of New South Wales
    • 1934 – Vicar, Chilean cartoonist (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Marcel Carrière, Canadian director and screenwriter
    • 1935 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet and author (d. 2013)
    • 1935 – Lennart Risberg, Swedish boxer (d. 2013)
    • 1935 – Dominique Venner, French journalist and historian (d. 2013)
    • 1935 – Bobby Vinton, American singer
    • 1936 – Vadim Kuzmin, Russian physicist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1937 – Gert Potgieter, South African hurdler and coach
    • 1938 – Rich Rollins, American baseball player
    • 1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1939 – John Amabile, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1939 – Dusty Springfield, English singer and record producer (d. 1999)
    • 1940 – Benoît Bouchard, Canadian academic and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Transport
    • 1940 – David Holford, Barbadian cricketer
    • 1940 – Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
    • 1940 – Joan Snyder, American painter
    • 1940 – Thomas Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys, English banker and politician, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom
    • 1941 – Allan Segal, American director and producer (d. 2012)
    • 1942 – Jim Lonborg, American baseball pitcher
    • 1942 – Sir Frank Williams, English businessman, founded the Williams F1 Racing Team
    • 1943 – Lonesome Dave Peverett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2000)
    • 1943 – Petro Tyschtschenko, Austrian-German businessman
    • 1943 – John Watkins, Australian cricketer
    • 1945 – Tom Allen, American lawyer and politician
    • 1946 – Margot Adler, American journalist and author (d. 2014)
    • 1946 – Ernst Bakker, Dutch politician (d. 2014)
    • 1946 – Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (d. 2015)
    • 1946 – R. Carlos Nakai, American flute player
    • 1947 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player and coach
    • 1947 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1948 – Reg Alcock, Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Canadian President of the Treasury Board (d. 2011)
    • 1950 – David Graf, American actor (d. 2001)
    • 1950 – Colleen Hewett, Australian singer and actress
    • 1951 – Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian author and photographer
    • 1951 – David Nutt, English psychiatrist and academic
    • 1952 – Bill Belichick, American football player and coach
    • 1952 – Michel Blanc, French actor and director
    • 1952 – Esther Roth-Shahamorov, Israeli sprinter and hurdler
    • 1952 – Billy West, American voice actor, singer-songwriter, and comedian
    • 1953 – Peter Garrett, Australian singer-songwriter and politician
    • 1953 – Jay O. Sanders, American actor
    • 1954 – Ellen Barkin, American actress
    • 1954 – John Bowe, Australian racing driver
    • 1954 – Mike Zuke, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1955 – Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager
    • 1955 – Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
    • 1956 – David M. Brown, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
    • 1956 – T Lavitz, American keyboard player, composer, and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1956 – Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
    • 1957 – Patricia De Martelaere, Belgian philosopher, author, and academic (d. 2009)
    • 1958 – Tim Flach, English photographer and director
    • 1958 – Ulf Wakenius, Swedish guitarist
    • 1959 – Alison Ramsay, English-Scottish field hockey player and lawyer
    • 1960 – Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)
    • 1960 – Rafael Benítez, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1960 – Pierre Littbarski, German footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Jarbom Gamlin, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh (d. 2014)
    • 1961 – Linda Ruth Williams, British film studies academic
    • 1962 – Anna Dello Russo, Italian journalist
    • 1962 – Douglas Elmendorf, American economist and politician
    • 1962 – Ian MacKaye, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1963 – Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1963 – Jimmy Osmond, American singer
    • 1964 – David Kohan, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1964 – Dave Pirner, American singer, songwriter and producer
    • 1964 – Esbjörn Svensson, Swedish pianist (d. 2008)
    • 1965 – Yves-François Blanchet, Canadian politician
    • 1965 – Jon Cryer, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Martin Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Jarle Vespestad, Norwegian drummer
    • 1966 – Jeff Varner, American newscaster and reality television personality
    • 1968 – Vickie Guerrero, American wrestler and manager
    • 1968 – Rüdiger Stenzel, German runner
    • 1969 – Patrik Järbyn, Swedish skier
    • 1969 – Fernando Viña, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1970 – Dero Goi, German singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1970 – Walt Williams, American basketball player
    • 1971 – Cameron Blades, Australian rugby player
    • 1971 – Selena, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer (d. 1995)
    • 1971 – Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese racing driver
    • 1971 – Natasha Zvereva, Belarusian tennis player
    • 1972 – Conchita Martínez, Spanish-American tennis player
    • 1972 – Tracy K. Smith, American poet and educator
    • 1973 – Akon, Senegalese-American singer, rapper and songwriter
    • 1973 – Charlotta Sörenstam, Swedish golfer
    • 1973 – Teddy Cobeña, Spanish-Ecuadorian expressionist and representational sculptor
    • 1975 – Keon Clark, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Lukas Haas, American actor and musician
    • 1976 – Kelli O’Hara, American actress and singer
    • 1977 – Freddie Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
    • 1979 – Christijan Albers, Dutch racing driver
    • 1979 – Lars Börgeling, German pole vaulter
    • 1979 – Daniel Browne, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1981 – Anestis Agritis, Greek footballer
    • 1981 – Maya Dunietz, Israeli singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1981 – Matthieu Proulx, Canadian football player
    • 1982 – Gina Carano, American mixed martial artist and actress
    • 1982 – Boris Diaw, French basketball player
    • 1982 – Jonathan Vilma, American football player
    • 1983 – Marié Digby, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1983 – Cat Osterman, American softball player
    • 1984 – Teddy Blass, American composer and producer
    • 1984 – Claire Foy, English actress
    • 1984 – Tucker Fredricks, American speed skater
    • 1984 – Paweł Kieszek, Polish footballer
    • 1984 – Kerron Stewart, Jamaican sprinter
    • 1985 – Luol Deng, Sudanese-English basketball player
    • 1985 – Brendon Leonard, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1985 – Benjamín Rojas, Argentinian singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1985 – Taye Taiwo, Nigerian footballer
    • 1986 – Paul di Resta, Scottish racing driver
    • 1986 – Shinji Okazaki, Japanese footballer
    • 1986 – Peter Regin, Danish ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Epke Zonderland, Dutch gymnast
    • 1987 – Cenk Akyol, Turkish basketball player
    • 1987 – Aaron Lennon, English international footballer
    • 1988 – Kyle Okposo, American ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Reggie Jackson, American basketball player
    • 1990 – Vangelis Mantzaris, Greek basketball player
    • 1990 – Tony McQuay, American sprinter
    • 1990 – Travis Shaw, American baseball player
    • 1991 – Nolan Arenado, American baseball player
    • 1991 – Kim Kyung-jung, South Korean footballer
    • 1993 – Mirai Nagasu, American figure skater
    • 1993 – Chance the Rapper, American rapper
    • 1994 – Albert Almora, American baseball player
    • 1994 – Will Fuller, American football player
    • 2002 – Sadie Sink, American actress

    Deaths on April 16

    • AD 69 – Otho, Roman emperor (b. AD 32)
    • 665 – Fructuosus of Braga, French archbishop and saint
    • 1090 – Sikelgaita, duchess of Apulia (b. c. 1040)
    • 1113 – Sviatopolk II of Kiev (b. 1050)
    • 1118 – Adelaide del Vasto, regent of Sicily, mother of Roger II of Sicily, queen of Baldwin I of Jerusalem
    • 1198 – Frederick I, Duke of Austria (b. 1175)
    • 1234 – Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (b. 1191)
    • 1375 – John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English nobleman and soldier (b. 1347)
    • 1496 – Charles II, Duke of Savoy (b. 1489)
    • 1587 – Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (b. 1497)
    • 1640 – Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau (b. 1579)
    • 1645 – Tobias Hume, Scottish soldier, viol player, and composer (b. 1569)
    • 1687 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English poet and politician, Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire (b. 1628)
    • 1689 – Aphra Behn, English author and playwright (b. 1640)
    • 1742 – Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino, Italian poet and translator (b. 1672)
    • 1756 – Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (b. 1677)
    • 1783 – Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer and educator (b. 1719)
    • 1788 – Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French mathematician, cosmologist, and author (b. 1707)
    • 1828 – Francisco Goya, Spanish-French painter and illustrator (b. 1746)
    • 1846 – Domenico Dragonetti, Italian bassist and composer (b. 1763)
    • 1850 – Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founded the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (b. 1761)
    • 1859 – Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and philosopher, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1805)
    • 1879 – Bernadette Soubirous, French nun and saint (b. 1844)
    • 1888 – Zygmunt Florenty Wróblewski, Polish physicist and chemist (b. 1845)
    • 1899 – Emilio Jacinto, Filipino journalist and activist (b. 1875)
    • 1904 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet and author (b. 1888)
    • 1904 – Samuel Smiles, Scottish-English author (b. 1812)
    • 1914 – George William Hill, American astronomer and mathematician (b. 1838)
    • 1915 – Nelson W. Aldrich, American businessman and politician (b. 1841)
    • 1925 – Stefan Nerezov, Bulgarian general (b. 1867)
    • 1928 – Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founded Henry Birks and Sons (b. 1840)
    • 1928 – Roman Steinberg, Estonian wrestler (b. 1900)
    • 1930 – José Carlos Mariátegui, Peruvian journalist, philosopher, and activist (b. 1894)
    • 1935 – Panait Istrati, Romanian journalist and author (b. 1884)
    • 1937 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American military engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (b. 1870)
    • 1938 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer and manager (b. 1874)
    • 1941 – Josiah Stamp, 1st Baron Stamp, English economist and civil servant (b. 1880)
    • 1942 – Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 1878)
    • 1942 – Denis St. George Daly, Irish polo player (b. 1862)
    • 1946 – Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-American race car driver and engineer (b. 1884)
    • 1947 – Rudolf Höss, German SS officer (b. 1900)
    • 1950 – Eduard Oja, Estonian composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1905)
    • 1950 – Anders Peter Nielsen, Danish target shooter (b. 1867)
    • 1955 – David Kirkwood, Scottish engineer and politician (b. 1872)
    • 1958 – Rosalind Franklin, English biophysicist and academic (b. 1920)
    • 1960 – Mihály Fekete, Hungarian actor, screenwriter and film director (b. 1884)
    • 1961 – Carl Hovland, American psychologist and academic (b. 1912)
    • 1965 – Francis Balfour, English soldier and colonial administrator (b. 1884)
    • 1965 – Sydney Chaplin, English actor, comedian, brother of Charlie Chaplin (b. 1885)
    • 1966 – Eric Lambert, Australian author (b. 1918)
    • 1968 – Fay Bainter, American actress (b. 1893)
    • 1968 – Edna Ferber, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1885)
    • 1969 – Hem Vejakorn, Thai illustrator and painter (b. 1904)
    • 1970 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (b. 1892)
    • 1970 – Péter Veres, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of Defence (b. 1897)
    • 1972 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
    • 1972 – Frank O’Connor, Australian public servant (b. 1894)
    • 1973 – István Kertész, Hungarian conductor and educator (b. 1929)
    • 1978 – Lucius D. Clay, American officer and military governor in occupied Germany (b. 1898)
    • 1980 – Morris Stoloff, American composer (b. 1898)
    • 1985 – Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)
    • 1988 – Khalil al-Wazir, Palestinian commander, founded Fatah (b. 1935)
    • 1988 – Youri Egorov, Russian pianist (b. 1954)
    • 1989 – Jocko Conlan, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1899)
    • 1989 – Kaoru Ishikawa Japanese author and educator (b. 1915)
    • 1989 – Miles Lawrence, English cricketer (b. 1940)
    • 1989 – Hakkı Yeten, Turkish footballer and manager (b. 1910)
    • 1991 – David Lean, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 1992 – Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
    • 1992 – Alexandru Nicolschi, Romanian spy and activist (b. 1915)
    • 1992 – Andy Russell, American singer and actor (b. 1919)
    • 1994 – Paul-Émilien Dalpé, Canadian labor unionist (b. 1919)
    • 1994 – Ralph Ellison, American novelist and critic (b. 1913)
    • 1996 – Lucille Bremer, American actress and dancer (b. 1917)
    • 1996 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek-Swiss businessman (b. 1909)
    • 1997 – Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid, Colombian politician (b. 1921)
    • 1997 – Roland Topor, French actor, director, and painter (b. 1938)
    • 1998 – Alberto Calderón, Argentinian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1920)
    • 1998 – Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)
    • 1998 – Marie-Louise Meilleur, Canadian super-centenarian (b. 1880)
    • 1999 – Skip Spence, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1946)
    • 2001 – Robert Osterloh, American actor (b. 1918)
    • 2001 – Michael Ritchie, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
    • 2001 – Alec Stock, English footballer and manager (b. 1917)
    • 2002 – Billy Ayre, English footballer and manager (b. 1952)
    • 2002 – Ruth Fertel, American businesswoman, founded Ruth’s Chris Steak House (b. 1927)
    • 2002 – Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)
    • 2003 – Graham Jarvis, Canadian actor (b. 1930)
    • 2003 – Graham Stuart Thomas, English horticulturalist and author (b. 1909)
    • 2005 – Kay Walsh, English actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
    • 2007 – Frank Bateson, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1909)
    • 2007 – Gaétan Duchesne, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1962)
    • 2007 – Maria Lenk, Brazilian swimmer (b. 1915)
    • 2007 – Chandrabose Suthaharan, Sri Lankan journalist
    • 2008 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (b. 1917)
    • 2010 – Rasim Delić, Bosnian general and convicted war criminal (b. 1949)
    • 2010 – Daryl Gates, American police officer, created the D.A.R.E. Program (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Gerry Alexander, Jamaican cricketer and veterinarian (b. 1928)
    • 2011 – Allan Blakeney, Canadian scholar and politician, 10th Premier of Saskatchewan (b. 1925)
    • 2011 – Sol Saks, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1910)
    • 2012 – Sári Barabás, Hungarian soprano (b. 1914)
    • 2012 – Marian Biskup, Polish author and academic (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Alan Hacker, English clarinet player and conductor (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – George Kunda, Zambian lawyer and politician, 11th Vice-President of Zambia (b. 1956)
    • 2012 – Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish businessman (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Carlo Petrini, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Charles Bruzon, Gibraltarian politician (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Ali Kafi, Algerian colonel and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Siegfried Ludwig, Austrian politician, 18th Governor of Lower Austria (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Pentti Lund, Finnish-Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American singer-songwriter (b. 1909)
    • 2013 – Pat Summerall, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Mexican architect, designed the Tijuana Cultural Center and National Museum of Anthropology (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Gyude Bryant, Liberian businessman and politician (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – Aulis Rytkönen, Finnish footballer and manager (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Ernst Florian Winter, Austrian-American historian and political scientist (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Valery Belousov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1948)
    • 2015 – Attaphol Buspakom, Thai footballer and manager (b. 1962)
    • 2015 – Oles Buzina, Ukrainian journalist and author (b. 1969)
    • 2015 – Stanislav Gross, Czech lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of the Czech Republic (b. 1969)
    • 2016 – Charlie Hodge, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1933)
    • 2018 – Harry Anderson, American actor and magician (b. 1952)
    • 2018 – Jim Caine, British jazz pianist (b. 1926)

    Holidays and observances on April 16

    • Christian feast day:
      • Benedict Joseph Labre
      • Bernadette Soubirous
      • Drogo
      • Fructuosus of Braga
      • Isabella Gilmore (Church of England)
      • Martyrs of Zaragoza
      • Molly Brant (Konwatsijayenni) (Anglican Church of Canada, Episcopal Church)
      • Turibius of Astorga
      • April 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Birthday of José de Diego (Puerto Rico, United States)
    • Birthday of Queen Margrethe II (Denmark)
    • Emancipation Day (Washington, D.C., United States)
    • Foursquare Day (International observance)
    • Memorial Day for the Victims of the Holocaust (Hungary)
    • National Healthcare Decisions Day (United States)
    • Remembrance of Chemical Attack on Balisan and Sheikh Wasan (Iraqi Kurdistan)
    • World Voice Day

  • April 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 428 – Nestorius becomes the Patriarch of Constantinople.
    • 837 – Halley’s Comet makes its closest approach to Earth at a distance equal to 0.0342 AU (5.1 million kilometres/3.2 million miles).
    • 1407 – Deshin Shekpa, 5th Karmapa Lama visits the Ming dynasty capital at Nanjing. He is awarded the title “Great Treasure Prince of Dharma”.
    • 1500 – Ludovico Sforza is captured by Swiss troops at Novara and is handed over to the French.
    • 1606 – The Virginia Company of London is established by royal charter by James I of England with the purpose of establishing colonial settlements in North America.
    • 1710 – The Statute of Anne, the first law regulating copyright, comes into force in Great Britain.
    • 1741 – War of the Austrian Succession: Prussia gains control of Silesia at the Battle of Mollwitz.
    • 1809 – Napoleonic Wars: The War of the Fifth Coalition begins when forces of the Austrian Empire invade Bavaria.
    • 1815 – The Mount Tambora volcano begins a three-month-long eruption, lasting until July 15. The eruption ultimately kills 71,000 people and affects Earth’s climate for the next two years.
    • 1816 – The Federal government of the United States approves the creation of the Second Bank of the United States.
    • 1821 – Patriarch Gregory V of Constantinople is hanged by the Ottoman government from the main gate of the Patriarchate and his body is thrown into the Bosphorus.
    • 1826 – The 10,500 inhabitants of the Greek town of Missolonghi begin leaving the town after a year’s siege by Turkish forces. Very few of them survive.
    • 1858 – After the original Big Ben, a 14.5 tonnes (32,000 lb) bell for the Palace of Westminster, had cracked during testing, it is recast into the current 13.76 tonnes (30,300 lb) bell by Whitechapel Bell Foundry.
    • 1864 – Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg is proclaimed emperor of Mexico during the French intervention in Mexico.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: A day after his surrender to Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee addresses his troops for the last time.
    • 1866 – The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is founded in New York City by Henry Bergh.
    • 1868 – At Arogee in Abyssinia, British and Indian forces defeat an army of Emperor Tewodros II. While 700 Ethiopians are killed and many more injured, only two British/Indian troops die.
    • 1872 – The first Arbor Day is celebrated in Nebraska.
    • 1875 – India: Arya Samaj is founded in Mumbai by Swami Dayananda Saraswati to propagate his goal of social reform.
    • 1887 – On Easter Sunday, Pope Leo XIII authorizes the establishment of the Catholic University of America.
    • 1912 – RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton, England on her maiden and only voyage.
    • 1916 – The Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA) is created in New York City.
    • 1919 – Mexican Revolution leader Emiliano Zapata is ambushed and shot dead by government forces in Morelos.
    • 1925 – The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is first published in New York City, by Charles Scribner’s Sons.
    • 1938 – The 1938 German parliamentary election and referendum seeks approval for a single list of Nazi candidates and the recent annexation of Austria.
    • 1939 – Alcoholics Anonymous, A.A.’s “Big Book”, is first published.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Axis powers establish the Independent State of Croatia.
    • 1944 – Rudolf Vrba and Alfréd Wetzler escape from Birkenau death camp.
    • 1957 – The Suez Canal is reopened for all shipping after being closed for three months.
    • 1963 – One hundred twenty-nine American sailors die when the submarine USS Thresher sinks at sea.
    • 1968 – The TEV Wahine, a New Zealand ferry sinks in Wellington harbour due to a fierce storm – the strongest winds ever in Wellington. Out of the 734 people on board, fifty-three died.
    • 1970 – Paul McCartney announces that he is leaving The Beatles for personal and professional reasons.
    • 1971 – Ping-pong diplomacy: In an attempt to thaw relations with the United States, China hosts the U.S. table tennis team for a week-long visit.
    • 1972 – Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu’s Art of War and Sun Bin’s lost military treatise, are accidentally discovered by construction workers in Shandong.
    • 1972 – Vietnam War: For the first time since November 1967, American B-52 bombers reportedly begin bombing North Vietnam.
    • 1973 – Invicta International Airlines Flight 435 crashes in a snowstorm on approach to Basel, Switzerland, killing 108 people.
    • 1979 – Red River Valley tornado outbreak: A tornado lands in Wichita Falls, Texas killing 42 people.
    • 1988 – The Ojhri Camp explosion kills or injures more than 1,000 people in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, Pakistan.
    • 1991 – Italian ferry MS Moby Prince collides with an oil tanker in dense fog off Livorno, Italy, killing 140.
    • 1991 – A rare tropical storm develops in the South Atlantic Ocean near Angola; the first to be documented by satellites.
    • 1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is signed in Northern Ireland.
    • 2009 – President of Fiji Ratu Josefa Iloilo announces the abrogation of the constitution and assumes all governance in the country, creating a constitutional crisis.
    • 2010 – Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing 96 people, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński, his wife, and dozens of other senior officials and dignitaries.
    • 2016 – The Paravur temple accident in which a devastating fire caused by the explosion of firecrackers stored for Vishu, kills more than one hundred people out of the thousands gathered for seventh day of Bhadrakali worship.
    • 2016 – An earthquake of 6.6 magnitude strikes 39 km west-southwest of Ashkasham, shakes up India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Srinagar and Pakistan.
    • 2019 – Scientists from the Event Horizon Telescope project announce the first ever image of a black hole, located in the centre of the M87 galaxy.

    Births on April 10

    • 401 – Theodosius II, Roman emperor (d. 450)
    • 1018 – Nizam al-Mulk, Persian scholar and vizier (d. 1092)
    • 1472 – Margaret of York, English princess (d. 1472)
    • 1480 – Philibert II, duke of Savoy (d. 1504)
    • 1487 – William I, count of Nassau-Dillenburg (d. 1559)
    • 1512 – James V, king of Scotland (d. 1542)
    • 1579 – Augustus II, duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1666)
    • 1583 – Hugo Grotius, Dutch philosopher and jurist (d. 1645)
    • 1603 – Christian, Prince-Elect of Denmark (d. 1647)
    • 1651 – Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus, German mathematician, physicist, and physician (d. 1708)
    • 1656 – René Lepage de Sainte-Claire, French-Canadian settler, founded Rimouski (d. 1718)
    • 1704 – Benjamin Heath, English scholar and author (d. 1766)
    • 1707 – Michel Corrette, French organist, composer, and author (d. 1795)
    • 1713 – John Whitehurst, English geologist and clockmaker (d. 1788)
    • 1755 – Samuel Hahnemann, German-French physician and academic (d. 1843)
    • 1762 – Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1834)
    • 1769 – Jean Lannes, French marshal (d. 1809)
    • 1778 – William Hazlitt, English essayist and critic (d. 1830)
    • 1794 – Matthew C. Perry, English-Scottish American commander (d. 1858)
    • 1806 – Juliette Drouet, French actress (d. 1883)
    • 1806 – Leonidas Polk, Scottish-American general and bishop (d. 1884)
    • 1827 – Lew Wallace, American general, lawyer, and politician, 11th Governor of New Mexico Territory (d. 1905)
    • 1829 – William Booth, English minister, founded The Salvation Army (d. 1912)
    • 1847 – Joseph Pulitzer, Hungarian-American journalist, publisher, and politician, founded Pulitzer, Inc. (d. 1911)
    • 1864 – Eugen d’Albert, Scottish-German pianist and composer (d. 1932)
    • 1865 – Jack Miner, American-Canadian farmer, hunter, and environmentalist (d. 1944)
    • 1867 – George William Russell, Irish author, poet, and painter (d. 1935)
    • 1868 – George Arliss, English actor and playwright (d. 1946)
    • 1868 – Asriel Günzig, Moravian rabbi (d. 1931)
    • 1873 – Kyösti Kallio, Finnish farmer, banker, and politician, 4th President of Finland (d. 1940)
    • 1875 – George Clawley, English footballer (d. 1920)
    • 1877 – Alfred Kubin, Austrian author and illustrator (d. 1959)
    • 1879 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (d. 1939)
    • 1879 – Coenraad Hiebendaal, Dutch rower and physician (d. 1921)
    • 1880 – Frances Perkins, American sociologist, academic, and politician, 4th United States Secretary of Labor (d. 1965)
    • 1880 – Montague Summers, English clergyman and author (d. 1948)
    • 1886 – Johnny Hayes, American runner and trainer (d. 1965)
    • 1887 – Bernardo Houssay, Argentinian physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
    • 1889 – Louis Rougier, French philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1982)
    • 1891 – Frank Barson, English footballer and coach (d. 1968)
    • 1893 – Otto Steinböck, Austrian zoologist (d. 1969)
    • 1894 – Ben Nicholson, British painter (d. 1982)
    • 1897 – Prafulla Chandra Sen, Indian accountant and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1990)
    • 1900 – Arnold Orville Beckman, American chemist, inventor, and philanthropist (d. 2004)
    • 1901 – Dhananjay Ramchandra Gadgil, Indian economist (d. 1971)
    • 1903 – Clare Turlay Newberry, American author and illustrator (d. 1970)
    • 1906 – Steve Anderson, American hurdler (d. 1988)
    • 1910 – Margaret Clapp, American scholar and academic (d. 1974)
    • 1910 – Helenio Herrera, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1997)
    • 1910 – Paul Sweezy, American economist and publisher, founded the Monthly Review (d. 2004)
    • 1911 – Martin Denny, American pianist and composer (d. 2005)
    • 1911 – Maurice Schumann, French journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs for France (d. 1998)
    • 1912 – Boris Kidrič, Austrian-Slovenian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Slovenia (d. 1953)
    • 1913 – Stefan Heym, German-American soldier and author (d. 2001)
    • 1914 – Jack Badcock, Australian cricketer (d. 1982)
    • 1915 – Harry Morgan, American actor and director (d. 2011)
    • 1915 – Leo Vroman, Dutch-American hematologist, poet, and illustrator (d. 2014)
    • 1916 – Lee Jung-seob, Korean painter (d. 1956)
    • 1917 – Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri, Indian politician (d. 2013)
    • 1917 – Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
    • 1919 – John Houbolt, American engineer and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Chuck Connors, American baseball player and actor (d. 1992)
    • 1921 – Jake Warren, Canadian soldier and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States (d. 2008)
    • 1921 – Sheb Wooley, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2003)
    • 1923 – Roger Gaillard, Haitian historian and author (d. 2000)
    • 1923 – Jane Kean, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Floyd Simmons, American decathlete and actor (d. 2008)
    • 1923 – Sid Tickridge, English footballer (d. 1997)
    • 1923 – John Watkins, South African cricketer
    • 1924 – Kenneth Noland, American soldier and painter (d. 2010)
    • 1925 – Linda Goodman, American astrologer and author (d. 1995)
    • 1925 – Angelo Poffo, American wrestler and promoter (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – Jacques Castérède, French pianist and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Junior Samples, American comedian (d. 1983)
    • 1927 – Norma Candal, Puerto Rican-American actress (d. 2006)
    • 1927 – Marshall Warren Nirenberg, American biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (d. 1959)
    • 1929 – Liz Sheridan, American actress
    • 1929 – Max von Sydow, Swedish-French actor (d. 2020)
    • 1930 – Claude Bolling, French pianist, composer, and actor
    • 1930 – Dolores Huerta, American activist, co-founded the United Farm Workers
    • 1931 – Kishori Amonkar, Indian classical vocalist (d. 2017)
    • 1932 – Delphine Seyrig, Swiss/Alsatian French actress (d. 1990)
    • 1932 – Omar Sharif, Egyptian actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1933 – Rokusuke Ei, Japanese composer and author (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Helen McElhone, Scottish politician (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – David Halberstam, American journalist and author (d. 2007)
    • 1935 – John A. Bennett, American soldier (d. 1961)
    • 1935 – Patrick Garland, English actor and director (d. 2013)
    • 1935 – Peter Hollingworth, Australian bishop, 23rd Governor General of Australia
    • 1936 – John Howell, English long jumper
    • 1936 – John Madden, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1936 – Bobby Smith, American singer (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Bella Akhmadulina, Soviet and Russian poet, short story writer, and translator (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Don Meredith, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2010)
    • 1939 – Claudio Magris, Italian scholar, author, and translator
    • 1940 – Gloria Hunniford, British radio and television host
    • 1941 – Harold Long, Canadian politician (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Paul Theroux, American novelist, short story writer, and travel writer
    • 1942 – Nick Auf der Maur, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1998)
    • 1942 – Ian Callaghan, English footballer
    • 1942 – Stuart Dybek, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
    • 1943 – Andrzej Badeński, Polish-German sprinter (d. 2008)
    • 1943 – Margaret Pemberton, English author
    • 1945 – Kevin Berry, Australian swimmer (d. 2006)
    • 1946 – David Angell, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2001)
    • 1946 – Bob Watson, American baseball player and manager
    • 1946 – Adolf Winkelmann, German director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1947 – David A. Adler, American author and educator
    • 1947 – Bunny Wailer, Jamaican singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1948 – Mel Blount, American football player
    • 1949 – Daniel Mangeas, French banker and sportscaster
    • 1949 – Eric Troyer, American singer-songwriter, keyboardist and guitarist
    • 1950 – Ken Griffey, Sr., American baseball player and manager
    • 1950 – Eddie Hazel, American guitarist (d. 1992)
    • 1951 – David Helvarg, American journalist and activist
    • 1952 – Narayan Rane, Indian politician, 16th Chief Minister of Maharashtra
    • 1952 – Masashi Sada, Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, novelist, actor, and producer
    • 1952 – Steven Seagal, American actor, producer, and martial artist
    • 1953 – David Moorcroft, English runner and businessman
    • 1953 – Pamela Wallin, Swedish-Canadian journalist, academic, and politician
    • 1954 – Paul Bearer, American wrestler and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1954 – Anne Lamott, American author and educator
    • 1954 – Peter MacNicol, American actor
    • 1954 – Juan Williams, Panamanian-American journalist and author
    • 1955 – Lesley Garrett, English soprano and actress
    • 1956 – Carol V. Robinson, English chemist and academic
    • 1957 – Aliko Dangote, Nigerian businessman, founded Dangote Group
    • 1957 – John M. Ford, American author and poet (d. 2006)
    • 1957 – Steve Gustafson, Spanish-American bass player
    • 1957 – Rosemary Hill, English historian and author
    • 1958 – Bob Bell, Northern Irish engineer
    • 1958 – Yefim Bronfman, Uzbek-American pianist
    • 1958 – Brigitte Holzapfel, German high jumper
    • 1959 – Babyface, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1959 – Yvan Loubier, Canadian economist and politician
    • 1959 – Brian Setzer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1960 – Steve Bisciotti, American businessman, co-founded Allegis Group
    • 1960 – Katrina Leskanich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1960 – Terry Teagle, American basketball player
    • 1961 – Nicky Campbell, Scottish broadcaster and journalist
    • 1961 – Joe Cole, American roadie and author (d. 1991)
    • 1961 – Carole Goble, English computer scientist and academic
    • 1961 – Mark Jones, American basketball player
    • 1962 – Steve Tasker, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Warren DeMartini, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1963 – Jeff Gray, American baseball player and coach
    • 1963 – Doris Leuthard, Swiss lawyer and politician, 162nd President of the Swiss Confederation
    • 1965 – Tim Alexander, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1966 – Steve Claridge, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1967 – Donald Dufresne, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1967 – David Rovics, American singer-songwriter
    • 1968 – Metin Göktepe, Turkish photographer and journalist (d. 1996)
    • 1968 – Orlando Jones, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Steve Glasson, Australian lawn bowler
    • 1969 – Ekaterini Koffa, Greek sprinter
    • 1970 – Enrico Ciccone, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1970 – Leonard Doroftei, Romanian-Canadian boxer
    • 1970 – Kenny Lattimore, American singer-songwriter
    • 1970 – Q-Tip, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1971 – Brad William Henke, American football player and actor
    • 1971 – Indro Olumets, Estonian footballer and coach
    • 1971 – Al Reyes, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1972 – Ian Harvey, Australian cricketer
    • 1972 – Priit Kasesalu, Estonian computer programmer, co-created Skype
    • 1972 – Gordon Buchanan, Scottish film maker
    • 1973 – Guillaume Canet, French actor and director
    • 1973 – Roberto Carlos, Brazilian footballer and manager
    • 1973 – Aidan Moffat, Scottish singer-songwriter
    • 1973 – Christopher Simmons, Canadian-American graphic designer, author, and academic
    • 1974 – Eric Greitens, American soldier, author and politician
    • 1974 – Petros Passalis, Greek footballer
    • 1975 – Chris Carrabba, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1975 – Terrence Lewis, Indian dancer and choreographer
    • 1975 – David Harbour, American actor
    • 1976 – Clare Buckfield, English actress
    • 1976 – Yoshino Kimura, Japanese actress and singer
    • 1976 – Sara Renner, Canadian skier
    • 1977 – Stephanie Sheh, Taiwanese-American voice actress, director, and producer
    • 1978 – Sir Christus, Finnish guitarist
    • 1979 – Iván Alonso, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1979 – Kenyon Coleman, American football player
    • 1979 – Rachel Corrie, American author and activist (d. 2003)
    • 1979 – Tsuyoshi Domoto, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1979 – Sophie Ellis-Bextor, English singer-songwriter
    • 1979 – Peter Kopteff, Finnish footballer
    • 1980 – Sean Avery, Canadian ice hockey player and model
    • 1980 – Charlie Hunnam, English actor
    • 1980 – Shao Jiayi, Chinese footballer
    • 1980 – Kasey Kahne, American race car driver
    • 1980 – Bryce Soderberg, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1981 – Laura Bell Bundy, American actress and singer
    • 1981 – Liz McClarnon, English singer and dancer
    • 1981 – Michael Pitt, American actor, model and musician
    • 1981 – Alexei Semenov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Andre Ethier, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Chyler Leigh, American actress and singer
    • 1983 – Jamie Chung, American actress
    • 1983 – Andrew Dost, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1983 – Ryan Merriman, American actor
    • 1983 – Hannes Sigurðsson, Icelandic footballer
    • 1984 – Faustina Agolley, Australian television host
    • 1984 – Jeremy Barrett, American figure skater
    • 1984 – Mandy Moore, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1984 – David Obua, Ugandan footballer
    • 1984 – Damien Perquis, French-Polish footballer
    • 1984 – Gonzalo Javier Rodríguez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1985 – Barkhad Abdi, Somali-American actor and director
    • 1985 – Willo Flood, Irish footballer
    • 1985 – Jesús Gámez, Spanish footballer
    • 1985 – Dion Phaneuf, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Olivia Borlée, Belgian sprinter
    • 1986 – Fernando Gago, Argentine footballer
    • 1986 – Corey Kluber, American baseball pitcher
    • 1986 – Vincent Kompany, Belgian footballer
    • 1986 – Tore Reginiussen, Norwegian footballer
    • 1987 – Shay Mitchell, Canadian actress and model
    • 1987 – Hayley Westenra, New Zealand soprano
    • 1988 – Chris Heston, American baseball pitcher
    • 1988 – Kareem Jackson, American football player
    • 1988 – Haley Joel Osment, American actor
    • 1990 – Ben Amos, English footballer
    • 1990 – Andile Jali, South African footballer
    • 1990 – Ricky Leutele, Australian-Samoan rugby league player
    • 1990 – Maren Morris, American singer
    • 1990 – Alex Pettyfer, English actor
    • 1991 – AJ Michalka, American actress and singer
    • 1992 – Jack Buchanan, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Sadio Mané, Senegalese footballer
    • 1992 – Daisy Ridley, English actress
    • 1993 – Sofia Carson, American singer and actress
    • 1994 – Siobhan Hunter, Scottish footballer
    • 1995 – Ian Nelson, American actor
    • 1996 – Thanasi Kokkinakis, Australian tennis player
    • 1996 – Audrey Whitby, American actress
    • 1998 – Anna Pogorilaya, Russian figure skater
    • 2001 – Ky Baldwin, Australian singer and actor
    • 2001 – Noa Kirel, Israeli singer

    Deaths on April 10

    • 879 – Louis the Stammerer, king of West Francia (b. 846)
    • 943 – Landulf I, prince of Benevento and Capua
    • 948 – Hugh of Arles, king of Italy
    • 1008 – Notker of Liège, French bishop (b. 940)
    • 1216 – Eric X, king of Sweden (b. 1180)
    • 1282 – Ahmad Fanakati, chief minister under Kublai Khan
    • 1309 – Elisabeth von Rapperswil, Swiss countess (b. 1261)
    • 1362 – Maud, English noblewoman (b. 1339)
    • 1500 – Michael Tarchaniota Marullus, Greek scholar and poet
    • 1533 – Frederick I, king of Denmark and Norway (b. 1471)
    • 1545 – Costanzo Festa, Italian composer
    • 1585 – Gregory XIII, Pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1502)
    • 1598 – Jacopo Mazzoni, Italian philosopher (b. 1548)
    • 1599 – Gabrielle d’Estrées, French mistress of Henry IV of France (b. 1571)
    • 1601 – Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish soldier and poet (b. 1562)
    • 1619 – Thomas Jones, English-Irish archbishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of Ireland (b. 1550)
    • 1640 – Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1578)
    • 1644 – William Brewster, English official and pilgrim leader (b. 1566)
    • 1646 – Santino Solari, Swiss architect and sculptor (b. 1576)
    • 1667 – Jan Marek Marci, Czech physician and author (b. 1595)
    • 1704 – William Egon of Fürstenberg, German cardinal (b. 1629)
    • 1756 – Giacomo Antonio Perti, Italian composer (b. 1661)
    • 1760 – Jean Lebeuf, French historian and author (b. 1687)
    • 1786 – John Byron, English admiral and politician, 24th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1723)
    • 1806 – Horatio Gates, English-American general (b. 1727)
    • 1813 – Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1736)
    • 1823 – Karl Leonhard Reinhold, Austrian philosopher and academic (b. 1757)
    • 1871 – Lucio Norberto Mansilla, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1789)
    • 1904 – Isabella II, Spanish queen (b. 1830)
    • 1909 – Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic (b. 1837)
    • 1919 – Emiliano Zapata, Mexican general (b. 1879)
    • 1920 – Moritz Cantor, German mathematician and historian (b. 1829)
    • 1931 – Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet, painter, and philosopher (b. 1883)
    • 1935 – Rosa Campbell Praed, Australian novelist (b. 1851)
    • 1938 – King Oliver, American cornet player and bandleader (b. 1885)
    • 1942 – Carl Schenstrøm, Danish actor and director (b. 1881)
    • 1943 – Andreas Faehlmann, Estonian-German sailor and engineer (b. 1898)
    • 1945 – Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, Dutch printer and typographer (b. 1882)
    • 1947 – Charles Nordhoff, English-American lieutenant and author (b. 1887)
    • 1950 – Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish field marshal and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1876)
    • 1954 – Auguste Lumière, French director and producer (b. 1862)
    • 1954 – Oscar Mathisen, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1888)
    • 1955 – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French priest, theologian, and philosopher (b. 1881)
    • 1958 – Chuck Willis, American singer-songwriter (b. 1928)
    • 1960 – André Berthomieu, French director and screenwriter (b. 1903)
    • 1962 – Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1886)
    • 1962 – Stuart Sutcliffe, Scottish artist and musician (b. 1940)
    • 1965 – Lloyd Casner, American race car driver, founded Casner Motor Racing Division (b. 1928)
    • 1965 – Linda Darnell, American actress (b. 1923)
    • 1966 – Evelyn Waugh, English soldier, novelist, journalist and critic (b. 1903)
    • 1968 – Gustavs Celmiņš, Latvian lieutenant and politician (b. 1899)
    • 1969 – Harley Earl, American businessman (b. 1893)
    • 1975 – Walker Evans, American photographer (b. 1903)
    • 1975 – Marjorie Main, American actress (b. 1890)
    • 1978 – Hjalmar Mäe, Estonian politician (b. 1901)
    • 1979 – Nino Rota, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1911)
    • 1980 – Kay Medford, American actress and singer (b. 1919)
    • 1981 – Howard Thurman, American author, philosopher and civil rights activist (b. 1899)
    • 1983 – Issam Sartawi, Palestinian activist (b. 1935)
    • 1985 – Zisis Verros, Greek chieftain of the Macedonian Struggle (b. 1880)
    • 1986 – Linda Creed, American singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
    • 1991 – Kevin Peter Hall, American actor (b. 1955)
    • 1991 – Martin Hannett, English guitarist and producer (b. 1948)
    • 1991 – Natalie Schafer, American actress (b. 1900)
    • 1992 – Sam Kinison, American comedian and actor (b. 1953)
    • 1993 – Chris Hani, South African activist and politician (b. 1942)
    • 1994 – Sam B. Hall, Jr., American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1924)
    • 1995 – Morarji Desai, Indian politician, 4th Prime Minister of India (b. 1896)
    • 1997 – Michael Dorris, American author and academic (b. 1945)
    • 1998 – Seraphim of Athens, Greek archbishop (b. 1913)
    • 1999 – Heinz Fraenkel-Conrat, German-American biochemist and physician (b. 1910)
    • 1999 – Jean Vander Pyl, American actress and voice artist (b. 1919)
    • 2000 – Peter Jones, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Larry Linville, American actor (b. 1939)
    • 2003 – Little Eva, American singer (b. 1943)
    • 2004 – Jacek Kaczmarski, Polish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet (b. 1957)
    • 2004 – Sakıp Sabancı, Turkish businessman and philanthropist, founded Sabancı Holding (b. 1933)
    • 2005 – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – Scott Gottlieb, American drummer (b. 1970)
    • 2005 – Archbishop Iakovos of America (b. 1911)
    • 2005 – Al Lucas, American football player (b. 1978)
    • 2005 – Wally Tax, Dutch singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
    • 2007 – Charles Philippe Leblond, French-Canadian biologist and academic (b. 1910)
    • 2007 – Dakota Staton, American singer (b. 1930)
    • 2009 – Deborah Digges, American poet and educator (b. 1950)
    • 2010 – Casualties in the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash included:
      • Ryszard Kaczorowski, Polish soldier and politician, 6th President of the Republic of Poland (b. 1919)
      • Maria Kaczyńska, Polish economist, First Lady of Poland (b. 1942)
      • Lech Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 4th President of Poland (b. 1949)
      • Anna Walentynowicz, Ukrainian-Polish journalist and activist (b. 1929)
    • 2010 – Dixie Carter, American actress and singer (b. 1939)
    • 2012 – Raymond Aubrac, French engineer and activist (b. 1914)
    • 2012 – Barbara Buchholz, German theremin player and composer (b. 1959)
    • 2012 – Lili Chookasian, Armenian-American operatic singer (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Luis Aponte Martínez, Puerto Rican cardinal (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Akin Omoboriowo, Nigerian lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Lorenzo Antonetti, Italian cardinal (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Raymond Boudon, French sociologist and academic (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Binod Bihari Chowdhury, Bangladeshi activist (b. 1911)
    • 2013 – Robert Edwards, English physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Olive Lewin, Jamaican anthropologist, musicologist, and author (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Gordon Thomas, English cyclist (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Angela Voigt, German long jumper (b. 1951)
    • 2014 – Dominique Baudis, French journalist and politician (b. 1947)
    • 2014 – Jim Flaherty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Canadian Minister of Finance (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – Richard Hoggart, English author and academic (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Sue Townsend, English author and playwright (b. 1946)
    • 2015 – Richie Benaud, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Raúl Héctor Castro, Mexican-American politician and diplomat, 14th Governor of Arizona (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – Judith Malina, German-American actress and director, co-founded The Living Theatre (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Rose Francine Rogombé, Gabonese lawyer and politician, President of Gabon (b. 1942)
    • 2015 – Peter Walsh, Australian farmer and politician, 6th Australian Minister for Finance (b. 1935)
    • 2016 – Howard Marks, Welsh cannabis smuggler, writer, and legalisation campaigner (b. 1945)

    Holidays and observances on April 10

    • Christian feast day:
      • Fulbert of Chartres
      • James, Azadanus and Abdicius
      • Mikael Agricola (Lutheran)
      • Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (Episcopal Church)
      • William of Ockham (Anglicanism)
      • William Law (Anglicanism)
      • April 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the Builder (Azerbaijan)
    • Feast of the Third Day of the Writing of the Book of the Law (Thelema)
    • Siblings Day (International observance)
    • World Homeopathy Day