1686

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

    • 524 – The Franks are defeated by the Burgundians in the Battle of Vézeronce.
    • 841 – In the Battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye, forces led by Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeat the armies of Lothair I of Italy and Pepin II of Aquitaine.
    • 1258 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Acre, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet sailing to relieve Acre.
    • 1530 – At the Diet of Augsburg the Augsburg Confession is presented to the Holy Roman Emperor by the Lutheran princes and Electors of Germany.
    • 1658 – Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Rio Nuevo during the Anglo-Spanish War.
    • 1678 – Venetian Elena Cornaro Piscopia is the first woman awarded a doctorate of philosophy when she graduates from the University of Padua.
    • 1741 – Maria Theresa is crowned Queen of Hungary.
    • 1786 – Gavriil Pribylov discovers St. George Island of the Pribilof Islands in the Bering Sea.
    • 1788 – Virginia becomes the tenth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
    • 1848 – A photograph of the June Days uprising becomes the first known instance of photojournalism.
    • 1876 – Battle of the Little Bighorn and the death of Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer.
    • 1900 – The Taoist monk Wang Yuanlu discovers the Dunhuang manuscripts, a cache of ancient texts that are of great historical and religious significance, in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang, China.
    • 1906 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania millionaire Harry Thaw shoots and kills prominent architect Stanford White.
    • 1910 – The United States Congress passes the Mann Act, which prohibits interstate transport of women or girls for “immoral purposes”; the ambiguous language would be used to selectively prosecute people for years to come.
    • 1910 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird is premiered in Paris, bringing him to prominence as a composer.
    • 1913 – American Civil War veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913.
    • 1935 – Colombia–Soviet Union relations are established.
    • 1938 – Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.
    • 1940 – World War II: The French armistice with Germany comes into effect.
    • 1943 – The Holocaust: Jews in the Częstochowa Ghetto in Poland stage an uprising against the Nazis.
    • 1943 – The left-wing German Jewish exile Arthur Goldstein is murdered in Auschwitz.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Tali-Ihantala, the largest battle ever fought in the Nordic countries, begins.
    • 1944 – World War II: United States Navy and British Royal Navy ships bombard Cherbourg to support United States Army units engaged in the Battle of Cherbourg.
    • 1944 – The final page of the comic Krazy Kat is published, exactly two months after its author George Herriman died.
    • 1947 – The Diary of a Young Girl (better known as The Diary of Anne Frank) is published.
    • 1950 – The Korean War begins with the invasion of South Korea by North Korea.
    • 1960 – Cold War: Two cryptographers working for the United States National Security Agency left for vacation to Mexico, and from there defected to the Soviet Union.
    • 1975 – Mozambique achieves independence from Portugal.
    • 1975 – Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a state of internal emergency in India.
    • 1976 – Missouri Governor Kit Bond issues an executive order rescinding the Extermination Order, formally apologizing on behalf of the state of Missouri for the suffering it had caused to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
    • 1978 – The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
    • 1981 – Microsoft is restructured to become an incorporated business in its home state of Washington.
    • 1991 – Slovenia and Croatia declare their independence by referendum from Yugoslavia.
    • 1993 – Kim Campbell is sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Canada.
    • 1996 – The Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia kills 19 U.S. servicemen.
    • 1997 – An unmanned Progress spacecraft collides with the Russian space station Mir.
    • 1997 – The National Hockey League approved expansion franchises for Nashville (1998), Atlanta (1999), Columbus (2000), and Minneapolis-Saint Paul (2000).
    • 1998 – In Clinton v. City of New York, the United States Supreme Court decides that the Line Item Veto Act of 1996 is unconstitutional.
    • 2017 – The World Health Organization estimates that Yemen has over 200,000 cases of cholera.

    Births on June 25

    • 1242 – Beatrice of England (d. 1275)
    • 1328 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (d. 1397)
    • 1371 – Joanna II of Naples (d. 1435)
    • 1484 – Bartholomeus V. Welser, German banker (d. 1561)
    • 1526 – Elisabeth Parr, Marchioness of Northampton (d. 1565)
    • 1560 – Wilhelm Fabry, German surgeon (d. 1634)
    • 1568 – Gunilla Bielke, Queen of Sweden (d. 1597)
    • 1612 – John Albert Vasa, Polish cardinal (d. 1634)
    • 1709 – Francesco Araja, Italian composer (d. 1762)
    • 1715 – Joseph Foullon de Doué, French soldier and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1789)
    • 1755 – Natalia Alexeievna of Russia (d. 1776)
    • 1799 – David Douglas, Scottish-English botanist and explorer (d. 1834)
    • 1814 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist and engineer (d. 1896)
    • 1825 – James Farnell, Australian politician, 8th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1888)
    • 1852 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect, designed the Park Güell (d. 1926)
    • 1858 – Georges Courteline, French author and playwright (d. 1929)
    • 1860 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer and conductor (d. 1956)
    • 1863 – Émile Francqui, Belgian soldier and diplomat (d. 1935)
    • 1864 – Walther Nernst, German chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
    • 1866 – Eloísa Díaz, Chilean doctor and Chile’s first female physician (d. 1950)
    • 1874 – Rose O’Neill, American cartoonist, illustrator, artist, and writer (d. 1944)
    • 1884 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (d. 1917)
    • 1884 – Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, German-French art collector and historian (d. 1979)
    • 1886 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – George Abbott, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
    • 1887 – Frigyes Karinthy, Hungarian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1938)
    • 1892 – Shirō Ishii, Japanese microbiologist and general (d. 1959)
    • 1894 – Hermann Oberth, Romanian-German physicist and engineer (d. 1989)
    • 1898 – Kay Sage, American painter and poet (d. 1963)
    • 1900 – Marta Abba, Italian actress (d. 1988)
    • 1900 – Zinaida Aksentyeva, Ukrainian/Soviet astronomer (d. 1969)
    • 1900 – Georgia Hale, American silent film actress and real estate investor (d. 1985)
    • 1900 – Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, English admiral and politician, 44th Governor-General of India (d. 1979)
    • 1901 – Harold Roe Bartle, American businessman and politician, 47th Mayor of Kansas City (d. 1974)
    • 1902 – Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu of Japan (d. 1953)
    • 1903 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 1950)
    • 1903 – Anne Revere, American actress (d. 1990)
    • 1905 – Rupert Wildt, German-American astronomer and academic (d. 1976)
    • 1907 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
    • 1908 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and academic (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – William Howard Stein, American chemist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1980)
    • 1912 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – Cyril Fletcher, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1915 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (d. 1990)
    • 1917 – Nils Karlsson, Swedish skier (d. 2012)
    • 1917 – Claude Seignolle, French author (d. 2018)
    • 1918 – P. H. Newby, English soldier and author (d. 1997)
    • 1920 – Lassie Lou Ahern, American actress (d. 2018)
    • 1921 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian ballerina and choreographer, founded the National Ballet of Canada (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Johnny Smith, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Sam Francis, American soldier and painter (d. 1994)
    • 1923 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (d. 2012)
    • 1923 – Jamshid Amouzegar, 43rd Prime Minister of Iran (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1924 – Dimitar Isakov, Bulgarian football player
    • 1924 – Madan Mohan, Iraqi-Indian composer and director (d. 1975)
    • 1924 – William J. Castagna, American lawyer and judge
    • 1925 – Clifton Chenier, American singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 1987)
    • 1925 – June Lockhart, American actress
    • 1925 – Clay Evans, American Baptist pastor (d. 2019)
    • 1925 – Robert Venturi, American architect and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1925 – Virginia Patton, American actress and businesswoman
    • 1926 – Margaret Anstee, English diplomat (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (d. 1973)
    • 1926 – Kep Enderby, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 23rd Attorney-General for Australia (d. 2015)
    • 1926 – Stig Sollander, Swedish Alpine skier (d. 2019)
    • 1927 – Antal Róka, Hungarian runner (d. 1970)
    • 1927 – Chuck Smith, American pastor, founded the Calvary Chapel (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Arnold Wolfendale, English astronomer and academic
    • 1928 – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – John A. Wickham Jr., United States Army general
    • 1928 – Michel Brault, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Peyo, Belgian author and illustrator, created The Smurfs (d. 1992)
    • 1928 – Bill Russo, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
    • 1928 – Alex Toth, American animator and screenwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Eric Carle, American author and illustrator
    • 1929 – Francesco Marchisano, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – V. P. Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of India (d. 2008)
    • 1932 – Peter Blake, English painter and illustrator
    • 1932 – Tim Parnell, English race car driver (d. 2017)
    • 1932 – George Sluizer, French-Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Álvaro Siza Vieira, Portuguese architect, designed the Porto School of Architecture
    • 1934 – Jean Geissinger, American baseball player (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Jack W. Hayford, American minister and author
    • 1934 – Beatriz Sheridan, Mexican actress and director (d. 2006)
    • 1935 – Ray Butt, English television producer and director (d. 2013)
    • 1935 – Salihu Ibrahim, Nigerian Army Officer (d. 2018)
    • 1935 – Taufiq Ismail, Indonesian poet and activist
    • 1935 – Larry Kramer, American author, playwright, and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (d. 2020)
    • 1935 – Don Demeter, American professional baseball player
    • 1935 – Tony Lanfranchi, English race car driver (d. 2004)
    • 1935 – Judy Howe, American artistic gymnast
    • 1935 – Charles Sheffield, English-American mathematician, physicist, and author (d. 2002)
    • 1936 – B. J. Habibie, Indonesian engineer and politician, 3rd President of Indonesia (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – Bert Hölldobler, German biologist and entomologist
    • 1937 – Eddie Floyd, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
    • 1937 – Derek Foster, Baron Foster of Bishop Auckland, English politician (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Doreen Wells, English ballerina and actress
    • 1939 – Allen Fox, American tennis player and coach
    • 1940 – Judy Amoore, Australian runner
    • 1940 – Mary Beth Peil, American actress and singer
    • 1940 – A. J. Quinnell, English-Maltese author (d. 2005)
    • 1940 – Clint Warwick, English bass player (d. 2004)
    • 1941 – Denys Arcand, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1941 – John Albert Raven, Scottish academic and ecologist
    • 1942 – Nikiforos Diamandouros, Greek academic and politician
    • 1942 – Willis Reed, American basketball player, coach, and manager
    • 1942 – Michel Tremblay, Canadian author and playwright
    • 1944 – Robert Charlebois, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1944 – Gary David Goldberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Carly Simon, American singer-songwriter
    • 1945 – Baba Gana Kingibe, Nigerian politician
    • 1945 – Harry Womack, American singer (d. 1974)
    • 1946 – Roméo Dallaire, Dutch-Canadian general and politician
    • 1946 – Allen Lanier, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Ian McDonald, English guitarist and saxophonist
    • 1947 – John Hilton, English table tennis player
    • 1947 – John Powell, American discus thrower
    • 1947 – Jimmie Walker, American actor and comedian
    • 1949 – Richard Clarke, Irish archbishop
    • 1949 – Patrick Tambay, French race car driver
    • 1949 – Yoon Joo-sang, South Korean actor
    • 1950 – Marcello Toninelli, Italian author and screenwriter
    • 1951 – Eva Bayer-Fluckiger, Swiss mathematician and academic
    • 1952 – Péter Erdő, Hungarian cardinal
    • 1952 – Tim Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter
    • 1952 – Martin Gerschwitz, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1952 – Alan Green, Northern Irish sportscaster
    • 1952 – Kristina Abelli Elander, Swedish artist
    • 1953 – Olivier Ameisen, French-American cardiologist and educator (d. 2013)
    • 1953 – Ian Davis, Australian cricketer
    • 1954 – Mario Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1954 – David Paich, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1954 – Lina Romay, Spanish actress (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Daryush Shokof, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Sonia Sotomayor, American lawyer and judge
    • 1955 – Vic Marks, English cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1956 – Anthony Bourdain, American chef and author (d. 2018)
    • 1956 – Frank Paschek, German long jumper
    • 1956 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (d. 2004)
    • 1956 – Craig Young, Australian rugby player and coach
    • 1957 – Greg Millen, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1958 – George Becali, Romanian businessman, politician
    • 1959 – Lutz Dombrowski, German long jumper and educator
    • 1959 – Jari Puikkonen, Finnish ski jumper
    • 1959 – Bobbie Vaile, Australian astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1996)
    • 1960 – Alastair Bruce of Crionaich, English-Scottish journalist and author
    • 1960 – Brian Hayward, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Craig Johnston, South African-Australian footballer and photographer
    • 1960 – Laurent Rodriguez, French rugby player
    • 1961 – Timur Bekmambetov, Kazakh director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Ricky Gervais, English comedian, actor, director, producer and singer
    • 1963 – John Benjamin Hickey, American actor
    • 1963 – Yann Martel, Spanish-Canadian author
    • 1963 – Doug Gilmour, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
    • 1963 – George Michael, English singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1963 – Mike Stanley, American baseball player
    • 1964 – Dell Curry, American basketball player and coach
    • 1964 – Phil Emery, Australian cricketer
    • 1964 – Johnny Herbert, English race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1964 – John McCrea, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1964 – Greg Raymer, American poker player and lawyer
    • 1965 – Napole Polutele, French politician
    • 1965 – Kerri Pottharst, Australian beach volleyball player
    • 1965 – Joseph Hii Teck Kwong, Malaysian bishop
    • 1966 – Dikembe Mutombo, Congolese-American basketball player
    • 1967 – Tracey Spicer, Australian journalist
    • 1968 – Adrian Garvey, Zimbabwean-South African rugby player
    • 1968 – Vaios Karagiannis, Greek footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Hunter Foster, American actor and singer
    • 1969 – Zim Zum, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1970 – Ariel Gore, American journalist and author
    • 1970 – Roope Latvala, Finnish guitarist
    • 1970 – Erki Nool, Estonian decathlete and politician
    • 1970 – Aaron Sele, American baseball player and scout
    • 1971 – Karen Darke, English cyclist and author
    • 1971 – Jason Gallian, Australian-English cricketer and educator
    • 1971 – Rod Kafer, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Neil Lennon, Northern Irish-Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Michael Tucker, American baseball player
    • 1972 – Carlos Delgado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
    • 1972 – Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, Libyan engineer and politician
    • 1973 – René Corbet, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Milan Hnilička, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Jamie Redknapp, English footballer and coach
    • 1974 – Nisha Ganatra, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Glen Metropolit, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Kiur Aarma, Estonian journalist and producer
    • 1975 – Linda Cardellini, American actress
    • 1975 – Albert Costa, Spanish tennis player and coach
    • 1975 – Vladimir Kramnik, Russian chess player
    • 1975 – Michele Merkin, American model and television host
    • 1976 – José Cancela, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1976 – Iestyn Harris, Welsh rugby player and coach
    • 1976 – Carlos Nieto, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
    • 1976 – Neil Walker, American swimmer
    • 1978 – Aramis Ramírez, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1978 – Luke Scott, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Marcus Stroud, American football player
    • 1979 – Marko Albert, Estonian swimmer and triathlete
    • 1979 – Richard Hughes, Scottish footballer
    • 1979 – Busy Philipps, American actress
    • 1981 – Simon Ammann, Swiss ski jumper
    • 1982 – Rain, South Korean singer and actor
    • 1982 – Mikhail Youzhny, Russian tennis player
    • 1983 – Todd Cooper, English swimmer
    • 1983 – Marc Janko, Austrian footballer
    • 1984 – Lauren Bush, American model and fashion designer
    • 1985 – Karim Matmour, Algerian footballer
    • 1986 – Aya Matsuura, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1986 – Seda Tokatlıoğlu, Turkish volleyball player
    • 1988 – Jhonas Enroth, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Miguel Layún, Mexican footballer
    • 1988 – Therese Johaug, Norwegian cross-country skier
    • 1989 – Jack Cork, English footballer
    • 1989 – Edgar Morais, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1989 – Rafael Morais, Portuguese actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1990 – Andi Eigenmann, Filipino actress
    • 1991 – Liisi Rist, Estonian cyclist
    • 1991 – Anna Zaja, German tennis player
    • 1996 – Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazilian-American race car driver
    • 1996 – Sione Mata’utia, Australian rugby league player
    • 1996 – Lele Pons, Latina-American Internet personality
    • 1998 – Kyle Chalmers, Australian swimmer
    • 2006 – Mckenna Grace, American actress

    Deaths on June 25

    • 635 – Gao Zu, Chinese emperor (b. 566)
    • 841 – Gerard of Auvergne, Frankish nobleman
    • 841 – Ricwin of Nantes, Frankish nobleman
    • 891 – Sunderolt, German archbishop
    • 931 – An Chonghui, Chinese general
    • 1014 – Æthelstan Ætheling, son of Æthelred the Unready
    • 1031 – Sheng Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 972)
    • 1134 – Niels, king of Denmark (b. 1065)
    • 1218 – Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, French politician, Lord High Steward (b. 1160)
    • 1291 – Eleanor of Provence, queen of England (b. 1223)
    • 1337 – Frederick III, king of Sicily (b. 1272)
    • 1394 – Dorothea of Montau, German hermitess (b. 1347)
    • 1483 – Anthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers, English courtier and translator (b. 1440)
    • 1483 – Richard Grey, half brother of Edward V of England (b. 1458)
    • 1522 – Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1451)
    • 1533 – Mary Tudor, queen of France (b. 1496)
    • 1579 – Hatano Hideharu, Japanese warlord (b. 1541)
    • 1593 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (b. 1541)
    • 1634 – John Marston, English poet and playwright (b. 1576)
    • 1638 – Juan Pérez de Montalbán, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1602)
    • 1665 – Sigismund Francis, archduke of Austria (b. 1630)
    • 1669 – François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (b. 1616)
    • 1671 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (b. 1598)
    • 1673 – Charles de Batz-Castelmore d’Artagnan, French captain (b. 1611)
    • 1686 – Simon Ushakov, Russian painter and educator (b. 1626)
    • 1715 – Jean-Baptiste du Casse, French admiral and politician (b. 1646)
    • 1767 – Georg Philipp Telemann, German composer and theorist (b. 1681)
    • 1798 – Thomas Sandby, English cartographer, painter, and architect (b. 1721)
    • 1822 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German composer, critic, and jurist (b. 1776)
    • 1835 – Ebenezer Pemberton, American educator (b. 1746)
    • 1838 – François-Nicolas-Benoît Haxo, French general and engineer (b. 1774)
    • 1861 – Abdülmecid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1823)
    • 1866 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (b. 1803)
    • 1868 – Carlo Matteucci, Italian physicist and neurophysiologist (b. 1811)
    • 1870 – David Heaton, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
    • 1875 – Antoine-Louis Barye, French sculptor (b. 1796)
    • 1876 – James Calhoun, American lieutenant (b. 1845)
    • 1876 – Boston Custer, American civilian army contractor (b. 1848)
    • 1876 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (b. 1839)
    • 1876 – Thomas Custer, American officer, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1845)
    • 1876 – Myles Keogh, Irish-American officer (b. 1840)
    • 1882 – François Jouffroy, French sculptor (b. 1806)
    • 1884 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (b. 1858)
    • 1886 – Jean-Louis Beaudry, Canadian businessman and politician, 11th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1809)
    • 1894 – Marie François Sadi Carnot, French engineer and politician, 5th President of France (b. 1837)
    • 1906 – Stanford White, American architect, designed the Washington Square Arch (b. 1853)
    • 1912 – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-British painter (b. 1836)
    • 1916 – Thomas Eakins, American painter, photographer, and sculptor (b. 1844)
    • 1917 – Géza Gyóni, Hungarian soldier and poet (b. 1884)
    • 1918 – Jake Beckley, American baseball player and coach (b. 1867)
    • 1922 – Satyendranath Dutta, Indian poet and author (b. 1882)
    • 1937 – Colin Clive, British actor (b. 1900)
    • 1939 – Richard Seaman, English race car driver (b. 1913)
    • 1943 – Arthur Goldstein, German Jewish left-wing activist (c. 1887)
    • 1944 – Dénes Berinkey, Hungarian jurist and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1871)
    • 1944 – Lucha Reyes, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1906)
    • 1947 – Jimmy Doyle, American boxer (b. 1924)
    • 1948 – William C. Lee, American general (b. 1895)
    • 1949 – Buck Freeman, American baseball player (b. 1871)
    • 1949 – James Steen, American water polo player (b. 1876)
    • 1950 – Maurice O’Sullivan, Irish police officer and author (b. 1904)
    • 1958 – Alfred Noyes, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1880)
    • 1959 – Charles Starkweather, American spree killer (b. 1938)
    • 1960 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
    • 1968 – Tony Hancock, English comedian and actor (b. 1924)
    • 1971 – John Boyd Orr, 1st Baron Boyd-Orr, Scottish physician, biologist, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1880)
    • 1972 – Jan Matulka, Czech-American painter and illustrator (b. 1890)
    • 1974 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (b. 1893)
    • 1976 – Johnny Mercer, American singer-songwriter, co-founded Capitol Records (b. 1909)
    • 1977 – Olave Baden-Powell, British Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting leader (b. 1889)
    • 1977 – Endre Szervánszky, Hungarian pianist and composer (b. 1911)
    • 1979 – Dave Fleischer, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1894)
    • 1979 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (b. 1906)
    • 1981 – Felipe Cossío del Pomar, Peruvian painter and political activist (b. 1888)
    • 1983 – Alberto Ginastera, Argentinian pianist and composer (b. 1916)
    • 1984 – Michel Foucault, French historian and philosopher (b. 1926)
    • 1988 – Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1962)
    • 1990 – Ronald Gene Simmons, American sergeant and murderer (b. 1940)
    • 1992 – Jerome Brown, American football player (b. 1965)
    • 1995 – Warren E. Burger, Fifteenth Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1907)
    • 1995 – Ernest Walton, Irish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1996 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat, British Ambassador to South Africa (b. 1914)
    • 1997 – Jacques Cousteau, French oceanographer and explorer (b. 1910)
    • 2002 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Labour (b. 1934)
    • 2003 – Lester Maddox, American businessman and politician, 75th Governor of Georgia (b. 1915)
    • 2004 – Morton Coutts, New Zealand inventor (b. 1904)
    • 2005 – John Fiedler, American actor and voice artist (b. 1925)
    • 2005 – Kâzım Koyuncu, Turkish singer-songwriter and activist (b. 1971)
    • 2006 – Jaap Penraat, Dutch-American humanitarian (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – J. Fred Duckett, American journalist and educator (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Jeeva, Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1963)
    • 2008 – Lyall Watson, South African anthropologist and ethologist (b. 1939)
    • 2009 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2009 – Michael Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor (b. 1958)
    • 2009 – Sky Saxon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
    • 2010 – Alan Plater, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1935)
    • 2010 – Richard B. Sellars, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1915)
    • 2011 – Annie Easley, American computer scientist and mathematician (b. 1933)
    • 2011 – Goff Richards, English composer and conductor (b. 1944)
    • 2011 – Margaret Tyzack, English actress (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Shigemitsu Dandō, Japanese academic and jurist (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Campbell Gillies, Scottish jockey (b. 1990)
    • 2012 – George Randolph Hearst, Jr., American businessman (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Lucella MacLean, American baseball player (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Edgar Ross, American boxer (b. 1949)
    • 2013 – George Burditt, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Robert E. Gilka, American photographer and journalist (b. 1916)
    • 2013 – Harry Parker, American rower and coach (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Mildred Ladner Thompson, American journalist (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Green Wix Unthank, American soldier and judge (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Nigel Calder, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Ana María Matute, Spanish author and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Ivan Plyushch, Ukrainian agronomist and politician (b. 1941)
    • 2015 – Patrick Macnee, English actor (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Egyptian-Armenian patriarch (b. 1940)
    • 2016 – Adam Small, South African writer of apartheid-period (b. 1936)
    • 2018 – Richard Benjamin Harrison, American businessman and reality television personality (b. 1941)
    • 2018 – David Goldblatt, South African photographer of apartheid-period (b. 1930)

    Holidays and observances on June 25

    • Arbor Day (Philippines)
    • Christian feast day:
      • David of Munktorp
      • Eurosia
      • Maximus (Massimo) of Turin
      • Philipp Melanchthon (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
      • Presentation of the Augsburg Confession (Lutheran)
      • Prosper of Aquitaine
      • Prosper of Reggio
      • William of Montevergine
      • June 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Mozambique from Portugal in 1975.
    • National Catfish Day (United States)
    • Statehood Day (Slovenia)
    • Statehood Day (Virginia)
    • Teacher’s Day (Guatemala)
    • World Vitiligo Day

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

    • 229 – Sun Quan proclaims himself emperor of Eastern Wu.
    • 1266 – War of Saint Sabas: In the Battle of Trapani, the Venetians defeat a larger Genoese fleet, capturing all its ships.
    • 1280 – The Spanish Reconquista: In the Battle of Moclín the Emirate of Granada ambush a superior pursuing force, killing most of them in a military disaster for the Kingdom of Castile.
    • 1305 – A peace treaty between the Flemish and the French is signed at Athis-sur-Orge.
    • 1314 – First War of Scottish Independence: The Battle of Bannockburn (south of Stirling) begins.
    • 1532 – Henry VIII of England and Francis I of France sign the “Treaty of Closer Amity With France” (also known as the Pommeraye treaty), pledging mutual aid against Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1565 – Dragut, commander of the Ottoman navy, dies during the Great Siege of Malta.
    • 1594 – The Action of Faial, Azores. The Portuguese carrack Cinco Chagas, loaded with slaves and treasure, is attacked and sunk by English ships with only 13 survivors out of over 700 on board.
    • 1611 – The mutinous crew of Henry Hudson’s fourth voyage sets Henry, his son and seven loyal crew members adrift in an open boat in what is now Hudson Bay; they are never heard from again.
    • 1683 – William Penn signs a friendship treaty with Lenni Lenape Indians in Pennsylvania.
    • 1713 – The French residents of Acadia are given one year to declare allegiance to Britain or leave Nova Scotia, Canada.
    • 1757 – Battle of Plassey: Three thousand British troops under Robert Clive defeat a 50,000-strong Indian army under Siraj ud-Daulah at Plassey.
    • 1758 – Seven Years’ War: Battle of Krefeld: British, Hanoverian, and Prussian forces defeat French troops at Krefeld in Germany.
    • 1760 – Seven Years’ War: Battle of Landeshut: Austria defeats Prussia.
    • 1780 – American Revolution: Battle of Springfield fought in and around Springfield, New Jersey (including Short Hills, formerly of Springfield, now of Millburn Township).
    • 1794 – Empress Catherine II of Russia grants Jews permission to settle in Kiev.
    • 1810 – John Jacob Astor forms the Pacific Fur Company.
    • 1812 – War of 1812: Great Britain revokes the restrictions on American commerce, thus eliminating one of the chief reasons for going to war.
    • 1860 – The United States Congress establishes the Government Printing Office.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: At Fort Towson in the Oklahoma Territory, Confederate Brigadier General Stand Watie surrenders the last significant Confederate army.
    • 1868 – Christopher Latham Sholes received a patent for an invention he called the “Type-Writer”.
    • 1887 – The Rocky Mountains Park Act becomes law in Canada creating the nation’s first national park, Banff National Park.
    • 1894 – The International Olympic Committee is founded at the Sorbonne in Paris, at the initiative of Baron Pierre de Coubertin.
    • 1913 – Second Balkan War: The Greeks defeat the Bulgarians in the Battle of Doiran.
    • 1914 – Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa takes Zacatecas from Victoriano Huerta.
    • 1917 – In a game against the Washington Senators, Boston Red Sox pitcher Ernie Shore retires 26 batters in a row after replacing Babe Ruth, who had been ejected for punching the umpire.
    • 1919 – Estonian War of Independence: The decisive defeat of the Baltische Landeswehr in the Battle of Cēsis; this date is celebrated as Victory Day in Estonia.
    • 1926 – The College Board administers the first SAT exam.
    • 1931 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty take off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island in an attempt to circumnavigate the world in a single-engine plane.
    • 1938 – The Civil Aeronautics Act is signed into law, forming the Civil Aeronautics Authority in the United States.
    • 1940 – Adolf Hitler goes on a three-hour tour of the architecture of Paris with architect Albert Speer and sculptor Arno Breker in his only visit to the city.
    • 1940 – Henry Larsen begins the first successful west-to-east navigation of Northwest Passage from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
    • 1941 – The Lithuanian Activist Front declares independence from the Soviet Union and forms the Provisional Government of Lithuania; it lasts only briefly as the Nazis will occupy Lithuania a few weeks later.
    • 1942 – World War II: Germany’s latest fighter aircraft, a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, is captured intact when it mistakenly lands at RAF Pembrey in Wales.
    • 1946 – The 1946 Vancouver Island earthquake strikes Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.
    • 1947 – The United States Senate follows the United States House of Representatives in overriding U.S. President Harry S. Truman’s veto of the Taft–Hartley Act.
    • 1951 – The ocean liner SS United States is christened and launched.
    • 1956 – The French National Assembly takes the first step in creating the French Community by passing the Loi Cadre, transferring a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French West Africa.
    • 1959 – Convicted Manhattan Project spy Klaus Fuchs is released after only nine years in prison and allowed to emigrate to Dresden, East Germany where he resumes a scientific career.
    • 1960 – The United States Food and Drug Administration declares Enovid to be the first officially approved combined oral contraceptive pill in the world.
    • 1961 – The Antarctic Treaty System, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and limits military activity on the continent, its islands and ice shelves, comes into force.
    • 1967 – Cold War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin in Glassboro, New Jersey for the three-day Glassboro Summit Conference.
    • 1969 – Warren E. Burger is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court by retiring Chief Justice Earl Warren.
    • 1969 – IBM announces that effective January 1970 it will price its software and services separately from hardware thus creating the modern software industry.
    • 1972 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and White House Chief of Staff H. R. Haldeman are taped talking about using the Central Intelligence Agency to obstruct the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s investigation into the Watergate break-ins.
    • 1972 – Title IX of the United States Civil Rights Act of 1964 is amended to prohibit sexual discrimination to any educational program receiving federal funds.
    • 1973 – A fire at a house in Hull, England, which kills a six-year-old boy is passed off as an accident; it later emerges as the first of 26 deaths by fire caused over the next seven years by serial arsonist Peter Dinsdale.
    • 1985 – A terrorist bomb explodes at Narita International Airport near Tokyo. An hour later, the same group detonates a second bomb aboard Air India Flight 182, bringing the Boeing 747 down off the coast of Ireland killing all 329 aboard.
    • 1994 – NASA’s Space Station Processing Facility, a new state-of-the-art manufacturing building for the International Space Station, officially opens at Kennedy Space Center.
    • 2001 – The 8.4 Mw  southern Peru earthquake shakes coastal Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A destructive tsunami followed, leaving at least 74 people dead, and 2,687 injured.
    • 2012 – Ashton Eaton breaks the decathlon world record at the United States Olympic Trials.
    • 2013 – Nik Wallenda becomes the first man to successfully walk across the Grand Canyon on a tight rope.
    • 2013 – Militants stormed a high-altitude mountaineering base camp near Nanga Parbat in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan killing ten climbers, and a local guide.
    • 2014 – The last of Syria’s declared chemical weapons are shipped out for destruction.
    • 2016 – The United Kingdom votes in a referendum to leave the European Union, by 52% to 48%.
    • 2017 – A series of terrorist attacks took place in Pakistan resulting in 96 deaths and wounded 200 others.

    Births on June 23

    • 47 BC – Caesarion, Egyptian king (d. 30 BC)
    • 1385 – Stefan, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken (d. 1459)
    • 1433 – Francis II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1488)
    • 1456 – Margaret of Denmark, Queen of Scotland (d. 1486)
    • 1489 – Charles II, Duke of Savoy, Italian nobleman (d. 1496)
    • 1534 – Oda Nobunaga, Japanese warlord (d. 1582)
    • 1596 – Johan Banér, Swedish field marshal (d. 1641)
    • 1616 – Shah Shuja, Mughal prince (d. 1661)
    • 1625 – John Fell, English churchman and influential academic (d. 1686)
    • 1668 – Giambattista Vico, Italian jurist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1744)
    • 1683 – Étienne Fourmont, French orientalist and sinologist (d. 1745)
    • 1711 – Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Italian instrument maker (d. 1786)
    • 1716 – Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English lawyer and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales (d. 1789)
    • 1750 – Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu, French geologist and academic (d. 1801)
    • 1763 – Joséphine de Beauharnais, French wife of Napoleon I (d. 1814)
    • 1799 – John Milton Bernhisel, American physician and politician (d. 1881)
    • 1800 – Karol Marcinkowski, Polish physician and activist (d. 1846)
    • 1824 – Carl Reinecke, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1910)
    • 1843 – Paul Heinrich von Groth, German scientist (d. 1927)
    • 1860 – Albert Giraud, Belgian poet and librarian (d. 1929)
    • 1863 – Sándor Bródy, Hungarian author and journalist (d. 1924)
    • 1877 – Norman Pritchard, Indian-English hurdler and actor (d. 1929)
    • 1879 – Huda Sha’arawi, Egyptian feminist and journalist (d. 1947)
    • 1884 – Cyclone Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player and politician (d. 1979)
    • 1888 – Bronson M. Cutting, American publisher and politician (d. 1935)
    • 1889 – Anna Akhmatova, Ukrainian-Russian poet and author (d. 1966)
    • 1889 – Verena Holmes, English engineer (d. 1964)
    • 1894 – Harold Barrowclough, New Zealand military leader, lawyer and Chief Justice (d. 1972)
    • 1894 – Alfred Kinsey, American entomologist and sexologist (d. 1956)
    • 1894 – Edward VIII, King of the United Kingdom (d. 1972)
    • 1899 – Amédée Gordini, Italian-born French race car driver and sports car manufacturer (d. 1979)
    • 1900 – Blanche Noyes, American aviator, winner of the 1936 Bendix Trophy Race (d. 1981)
    • 1901 – Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Turkish author, poet, and scholar (d. 1962)
    • 1903 – Paul Martin Sr., Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1992)
    • 1904 – Quintin McMillan, South African cricketer (d. 1938)
    • 1905 – Jack Pickersgill, Canadian civil servant and politician, 35th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1997)
    • 1906 – Tribhuvan of Nepal (d. 1955)
    • 1907 – Dercy Gonçalves, Brazilian actress and singer (d. 2008)
    • 1907 – James Meade, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
    • 1909 – David Lewis, Russian-Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1981)
    • 1909 – Georges Rouquier, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
    • 1910 – Jean Anouilh, French playwright and screenwriter (d. 1987)
    • 1910 – Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 2008)
    • 1910 – Milt Hinton, American bassist and photographer (d. 2000)
    • 1910 – Bill King, English commander and author (d. 2012)
    • 1910 – Lawson Little, American golfer (d. 1968)
    • 1912 – Alan Turing, English mathematician and computer scientist (d. 1954)
    • 1913 – William P. Rogers, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (d. 2001)
    • 1915 – Frances Gabe, American artist and inventor (d. 2016)
    • 1916 – Len Hutton, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1990)
    • 1916 – Irene Worth, American actress (d. 2002)
    • 1916 – Al G. Wright, American bandleader and conductor
    • 1919 – Mohamed Boudiaf, Algerian politician, President of Algeria (d. 1992)
    • 1920 – Saleh Ajeery, Kuwaiti astronomer
    • 1921 – Paul Findley, American politician (d. 2019)
    • 1922 – Morris R. Jeppson, American lieutenant and physicist (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – Hal Laycoe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1998)
    • 1923 – Peter Corr, Irish-English footballer and manager (d. 2001)
    • 1923 – Elroy Schwartz, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Doris Johnson, American politician
    • 1923 – Jerry Rullo, American professional basketball player (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Giuseppina Tuissi, Italian communist and Partisan (d. 1945)
    • 1924 – Frank Bolle, American comic-strip artist, comic-book artist, and illustrator (d. 2020)
    • 1925 – Miriam Karlin, English actress (d. 2011)
    • 1925 – Art Modell, American businessman (d. 2012)
    • 1925 – Anna Chennault, Chinese widow of Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault (d. 2018)
    • 1926 – Lawson Soulsby, Baron Soulsby of Swaffham Prior, English microbiologist and parasitologist (d. 2017)
    • 1926 – Magda Herzberger, Romanian author, poet and composer, a survivor of the Holocaust
    • 1926 – Annette Mbaye d’Erneville, Senegalese writer
    • 1926 – Arnaldo Pomodoro, Italian sculptor
    • 1927 – Bob Fosse, American actor, dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
    • 1927 – John Habgood, Baron Habgood, English archbishop (d. 2019)
    • 1928 – Jean Cione, American baseball player (d. 2010)
    • 1928 – Klaus von Dohnányi, German politician
    • 1928 – Michael Shaara, American author and academic (d. 1988)
    • 1929 – June Carter Cash, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress (d. 2003)
    • 1929 – Mario Ghella, Italian racing cyclist
    • 1930 – Donn F. Eisele, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1987)
    • 1930 – John Elliott, English historian and academic
    • 1930 – Francis Newall, 2nd Baron Newall, English businessman and politician
    • 1930 – Anthony Thwaite, English poet, critic, and academic
    • 1930 – Marie-Thérèse Houphouët-Boigny, former First Lady of Ivory Coast
    • 1931 – Gunnar Uusi, Estonian chess player (d. 1981)
    • 1931 – Ola Ullsten, Swedish politician and diplomat (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Peter Millett, Baron Millett, English lawyer and judge
    • 1934 – Keith Sutton, English bishop (d. 2017)
    • 1934 – Bill Torrey, Canadian businessman (d. 2018)
    • 1934 – Virbhadra Singh, Indian politician
    • 1935 – Maurice Ferré, Puerto Rican-American politician, 32nd Mayor of Miami
    • 1935 – Keith Burkinshaw, English footballer and manager
    • 1936 – Richard Bach, American novelist and essayist
    • 1936 – Costas Simitis, Greek economist, lawyer, and politician, 180th Prime Minister of Greece
    • 1937 – Martti Ahtisaari, Finnish captain and politician, 10th President of Finland, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1937 – Alan Haselhurst, English academic and politician
    • 1937 – Niki Sullivan, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1939 – Scott Burton, American sculptor (d. 1989)
    • 1940 – Adam Faith, English singer (d. 2003)
    • 1940 – George Feigley, American sex cult leader and two-time prison escapee (d. 2009)
    • 1940 – Derry Irvine, Baron Irvine of Lairg, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
    • 1940 – Wilma Rudolph, American runner (d. 1994)
    • 1940 – Mike Shrimpton, New Zealand cricketer and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1940 – Stuart Sutcliffe, Scottish painter and musician (d. 1962)
    • 1940 – Diana Trask, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1941 – Robert Hunter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
    • 1941 – Roger McDonald, Australian author and screenwriter
    • 1941 – Keith Newton, English footballer (d. 1998)
    • 1942 – Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow, English cosmologist and astrophysicist
    • 1943 – Patrick Bokanowski, French filmmaker
    • 1943 – Ellyn Kaschak, American psychologist and academic
    • 1943 – James Levine, American pianist and conductor
    • 1945 – Kjell Albin Abrahamson, Swedish journalist and author
    • 1945 – John Garang, Sudanese colonel and politician, President of Southern Sudan (d. 2005)
    • 1946 – Julian Hipwood, English polo player and coach
    • 1946 – Ted Shackelford, American actor
    • 1947 – Bryan Brown, Australian actor and producer
    • 1948 – Clarence Thomas, American lawyer and judge, United States Supreme Court Justice
    • 1949 – Gordon Bray, Australian journalist and sportscaster
    • 1949 – Sheila Noakes, Baroness Noakes, English accountant and politician
    • 1951 – Angelo Falcón, Puerto Rican-American political scientist, activist, and academic, founded the National Institute for Latino Policy
    • 1951 – Michèle Mouton, French race car driver and manager
    • 1951 – Raj Babbar, Indian actor and politician
    • 1953 – Armen Sarkissian, Armenian physicist, politician and current President of Armenia
    • 1955 – Pierre Corbeil, Canadian dentist and politician
    • 1955 – Glenn Danzig, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1955 – Jean Tigana, French footballer and manager
    • 1956 – Daniel J. Drucker, Canadian academic and educator
    • 1956 – Tony Hill, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1956 – Randy Jackson, American bass player and producer
    • 1957 – Dave Houghton, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
    • 1957 – Frances McDormand, American actress, winner of the Triple Crown of Acting
    • 1958 – John Hayes, English politician, Minister of State at the Department of Energy and Climate Change
    • 1960 – Donald Harrison, American saxophonist, composer, and producer
    • 1960 – Tatsuya Uemura, Japanese composer and programmer
    • 1961 – Richard Arnold, English lawyer and judge
    • 1961 – Zoran Janjetov, Serbian singer and illustrator
    • 1961 – LaSalle Thompson, American basketball player, coach, and manager
    • 1962 – Chuck Billy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1963 – Colin Montgomerie, Scottish golfer
    • 1964 – Nicolas Marceau, Canadian economist and politician
    • 1964 – Tara Morice, Australian actress and singer
    • 1964 – Joss Whedon, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Lou Yun, Chinese gymnast
    • 1965 – Paul Arthurs, English guitarist
    • 1965 – Sylvia Mathews Burwell, American government and non-profit executive
    • 1965 – Peter O’Malley, Australian golfer
    • 1966 – Chico DeBarge, American singer and pianist
    • 1969 – Martin Klebba, American actor, producer, and stuntman
    • 1970 – Robert Brooks, American football player
    • 1970 – Martin Deschamps, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1970 – Yann Tiersen, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – Fred Ewanuick, Canadian actor and producer
    • 1971 – Félix Potvin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1972 – Selma Blair, American actress
    • 1972 – Louis Van Amstel, Dutch dancer and choreographer
    • 1972 – Zinedine Zidane, French footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Joel Edgerton, Australian actor
    • 1974 – Mark Hendrickson, American basketball and baseball player
    • 1975 – Kevin Dyson, American football player and coach
    • 1975 – David Howell, English golfer
    • 1975 – Mike James, American basketball player
    • 1975 – KT Tunstall, Scottish singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1976 – Wade Barrett, American soccer player and manager
    • 1976 – Joe Becker, American guitarist and composer
    • 1976 – Savvas Poursaitidis, Greek-Cypriot footballer and scout
    • 1976 – Brandon Stokley, American football player
    • 1976 – Paola Suárez, Argentinian tennis player
    • 1976 – Emmanuelle Vaugier, Canadian actress and singer
    • 1976 – Patrick Vieira, French footballer and manager
    • 1977 – Miguel Ángel Angulo, Spanish footballer
    • 1977 – Hayden Foxe, Australian footballer and manager
    • 1977 – Jaan Jüris, Estonian ski jumper
    • 1977 – Jason Mraz, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Shaun O’Hara, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1978 – Memphis Bleek, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1978 – Frederic Leclercq, French heavy metal musician
    • 1978 – Matt Light, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1979 – LaDainian Tomlinson, American football player
    • 1980 – Becky Cloonan, American author and illustrator
    • 1980 – Melissa Rauch, American actress
    • 1980 – Ramnaresh Sarwan, Guyanese cricketer
    • 1980 – Francesca Schiavone, Italian tennis player
    • 1981 – Antony Costa, English singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Rolf Wacha, German rugby player
    • 1982 – Derek Boogaard, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2011)
    • 1983 – Brooks Laich, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – José Manuel Rojas, Chilean footballer
    • 1984 – Duffy, Welsh singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1984 – Takeshi Matsuda, Japanese swimmer
    • 1984 – Levern Spencer, Saint Lucian high jumper
    • 1985 – Marcel Reece, American football player
    • 1986 – Christy Altomare, American actress and singer songwriter
    • 1987 – Alessia Filippi, Italian swimmer
    • 1988 – Chet Faker, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Chellsie Memmel, American gymnast
    • 1989 – Lisa Carrington, New Zealand flatwater canoeist
    • 1989 – Jordan Nolan, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Clevid Dikamona, French footballer
    • 1990 – Vasek Pospisil, Canadian tennis player
    • 1990 – Laura Ràfols, Spanish footballer
    • 1991 – Katie Armiger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1992 – Luiza Galiulina, Uzbekistani gymnast
    • 1992 – Nampalys Mendy, French footballer
    • 1993 – Tim Anderson, American baseball player
    • 1993 – Marvin Grumann, German footballer
    • 2004 – Alexandra Trusova, Russian figure skater

    Deaths on June 23

    • AD 79 – Vespasian, Roman emperor (b. AD 9)
    • 679 – Æthelthryth, English saint (b. 636)
    • 947 – Li Congyi, prince of Later Tang (b. 931)
    • 947 – Wang, imperial consort of Later Tang
    • 960 – Feng Yanji, chancellor of Southern Tang (b. 903)
    • 994 – Lothair Udo I, count of Stade (b. 950)
    • 1018 – Henry I, margrave of Austria
    • 1137 – Adalbert of Mainz, German archbishop
    • 1222 – Constance of Aragon, Hungarian queen (b. 1179)
    • 1290 – Henryk IV Probus, duke of Wrocław and high duke of Kraków (b. c. 1258)
    • 1314 – Henry de Bohun, English knight
    • 1324 – Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke (b. 1270)
    • 1343 – Giacomo Gaetani Stefaneschi, Italian cardinal (b. c. 1270)
    • 1356 – Margaret II, Holy Roman Empress (b. 1311)
    • 1537 – Pedro de Mendoza, Spanish conquistador (b. 1487)
    • 1565 – Dragut, Ottoman admiral (b. 1485)
    • 1582 – Shimizu Muneharu, Japanese commander (b. 1537)
    • 1615 – Mashita Nagamori, Japanese daimyō (b. 1545)
    • 1677 – William Louis, duke of Württemberg (b. 1647)
    • 1686 – William Coventry, English politician (b. 1628)
    • 1707 – John Mill, English theologian and author (b. 1645)
    • 1733 – Johann Jakob Scheuchzer, Swiss paleontologist and scholar (b. 1672)
    • 1770 – Mark Akenside, English poet and physician (b. 1721)
    • 1775 – Karl Ludwig von Pöllnitz, German adventurer and author (b. 1692)
    • 1779 – Mikael Sehul, Ethiopian warlord (b. 1691)
    • 1806 – Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French zoologist and philosopher (b. 1723)
    • 1811 – Nicolau Tolentino de Almeida, Portuguese poet and author (b. 1740)
    • 1832 – Sir James Hall, 4th Baronet, Scottish geologist and geophysicist (b. 1761)
    • 1836 – James Mill, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (b. 1773)
    • 1848 – Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este, Electress of Bavaria (b. 1776)
    • 1856 – Ivan Kireyevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (b. 1806)
    • 1881 – Matthias Jakob Schleiden, German botanist and academic (b. 1804)
    • 1891 – Wilhelm Eduard Weber, German physicist and academic (b. 1804)
    • 1891 – Samuel Newitt Wood, American lawyer and politician (b. 1825)
    • 1893 – William Fox, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1812)
    • 1893 – Theophilus Shepstone, English-South African politician (b. 1817)
    • 1914 – Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Indian guru and philosopher (b. 1838)
    • 1945 – Giuseppina Tuissi, Italian journalist and activist (b. 1923)
    • 1953 – Albert Gleizes, French painter (b. 1881)
    • 1954 – Salih Omurtak, Turkish general (b. 1889)
    • 1956 – Reinhold Glière, Russian composer and educator (b. 1875)
    • 1959 – Boris Vian, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1920)
    • 1959 – Hidir Lutfi, Iraqi poet. (b. 1880)
    • 1969 – Volmari Iso-Hollo, Finnish runner (b. 1907)
    • 1970 – Roscoe Turner, American soldier and pilot (b. 1895)
    • 1973 – Gerry Birrell, Scottish race car driver (b. 1944)
    • 1980 – Sanjay Gandhi, Indian engineer and politician (b. 1946)
    • 1980 – Clyfford Still, American painter and academic (b. 1904)
    • 1989 – Werner Best, German police officer and jurist (b. 1903)
    • 1990 – Harindranath Chattopadhyay, Indian poet, actor, and politician (b. 1898)
    • 1992 – Eric Andolsek, American football player (b. 1966)
    • 1995 – Roger Grimsby, American journalist (b. 1928)
    • 1995 – Jonas Salk, American biologist and physician (b. 1914)
    • 1995 – Anatoli Tarasov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1918)
    • 1996 – Andreas Papandreou, Greek economist and politician, 174th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1919)
    • 1996 – Ray Lindwall, Australian cricketer and rugby player (b. 1921)
    • 1997 – Betty Shabazz, American educator and activist (b. 1936)
    • 1998 – Maureen O’Sullivan, Irish-American actress (b. 1911)
    • 2000 – Peter Dubovský, Slovak footballer (b. 1972)
    • 2002 – Pedro Alcázar, Panamanian boxer (b. 1975)
    • 2005 – Shana Alexander, American journalist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2005 – Manolis Anagnostakis, Greek poet and critic (b. 1925)
    • 2006 – Aaron Spelling, American actor, producer, and screenwriter, founded Spelling Television (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Rod Beck, American baseball player (b. 1968)
    • 2008 – Claudio Capone, Italian-Scottish actor (b. 1952)
    • 2008 – Arthur Chung, Guyanese surveyor and politician, 1st President of Guyana (b. 1918)
    • 2008 – Marian Glinka, Polish actor and bodybuilder (b. 1943)
    • 2009 – Raymond Berthiaume, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1931)
    • 2009 – Ed McMahon, American game show host and announcer (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Jerri Nielsen, American physician and explorer (b. 1952)
    • 2010 – John Burton, Australian public servant and diplomat (b. 1915)
    • 2011 – Peter Falk, American actor (b. 1927)
    • 2011 – Dennis Marshall, Costa Rican footballer (b. 1985)
    • 2011 – Fred Steiner, American composer and conductor (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – James Durbin, English economist and statistician (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Brigitte Engerer, French pianist and educator (b. 1952)
    • 2012 – Alan McDonald, Northern Ireland footballer and manager (b. 1963)
    • 2012 – Frank Chee Willeto, American soldier and politician, 4th Vice President of the Navajo Nation (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Walter J. Zable, American football player and businessman, founded the Cubic Corporation (b. 1915)
    • 2013 – Bobby Bland, American singer-songwriter (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Gary David Goldberg, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1944)
    • 2013 – Frank Kelso, American admiral and politician, United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Kurt Leichtweiss, German mathematician and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Darryl Read, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor (b. 1951)
    • 2013 – Sharon Stouder, American swimmer (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Nancy Garden, American author (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Euros Lewis, Welsh cricketer (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – Paula Kent Meehan, American businesswoman, co-founded Redken (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Miguel Facussé Barjum, Honduran businessman (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Nirmala Joshi, Indian nun, lawyer, and social worker (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Dick Van Patten, American actor (b. 1928)
    • 2016 – Ralph Stanley, American singer and banjo player (b. 1927)

    Holidays and observances on June 23

    • Christian feast day:
      • Æthelthryth
      • Marie of Oignies
      • Joseph Cafasso
      • June 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Feast of Raḥmat can fall, while June 24 is the latest. (Bahá’í Faith)
    • Father’s Day (Nicaragua, Poland)
    • Grand Duke’s Official Birthday (Luxembourg)
    • International Widows Day (international)
    • National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism (Canada)
    • Okinawa Memorial Day (Okinawa Prefecture)
    • St John’s Eve and the first day of the Midsummer celebrations [although this is not the real summer solstice; see June 20] (Roman Catholic Church, Europe):
      • Bonfires of Saint John (Spain)
      • First night of Festa de São João do Porto (Porto)
      • First day of Golowan Festival (Cornwall)
      • Jaaniõhtu (Estonia)
      • Jāņi (Latvia)
      • Kupala Night (Belarus, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Ukraine)
      • Last day of Drăgaica fair (Buzău, Romania)
    • United Nations Public Service Day (International)
    • Victory Day (Estonia)

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

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

    Births on June 15

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

    Deaths on June 15

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

    Holidays and observances on June 15

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

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

    • 910 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child, using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors.
    • 1240 – At the instigation of Louis IX of France, an inter-faith debate, known as the Disputation of Paris, starts between a Christian monk and four rabbis.
    • 1381 – Peasants’ Revolt: In England, rebels assemble at Blackheath, just outside London.
    • 1418 – Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War: Parisians slaughter Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac and his suspected sympathizers, along with all prisoners, foreign bankers, and students and faculty of the College of Navarre.
    • 1429 – Hundred Years’ War: On the second day of the Battle of Jargeau, Joan of Arc leads the French army in their capture of the city and the English commander, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
    • 1550 – The city of Helsinki, Finland (belonging to Sweden at the time) is founded by King Gustav I of Sweden.
    • 1653 – First Anglo-Dutch War: The Battle of the Gabbard begins, lasting until the following day.
    • 1665 – Thomas Willett is appointed the first mayor of New York City.
    • 1758 – French and Indian War: Siege of Louisbourg: James Wolfe’s attack at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, commences
    • 1772 – French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne and 25 of his men killed by Māori in New Zealand.
    • 1775 – American Revolution: British general Thomas Gage declares martial law in Massachusetts. The British offer a pardon to all colonists who lay down their arms. There would be only two exceptions to the amnesty: Samuel Adams and John Hancock, if captured, were to be hanged.
    • 1776 – The Virginia Declaration of Rights is adopted.
    • 1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798: Battle of Ballynahinch.
    • 1817 – The earliest form of bicycle, the dandy horse, is driven by Karl von Drais.
    • 1821 – Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Isma’il Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, ending the existence of that Sudanese kingdom.
    • 1830 – Beginning of the Invasion of Algiers: Thiry-four thousand French soldiers land 27 kilometers west of Algiers, at Sidi Ferruch.
    • 1864 – American Civil War, Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: Ulysses S. Grant gives the Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee a victory when he pulls his Union troops from their position at Cold Harbor, Virginia and moves south.
    • 1898 – Philippine Declaration of Independence: General Emilio Aguinaldo declares the Philippines’ independence from Spain.
    • 1899 – New Richmond tornado: The eighth deadliest tornado in U.S. history kills 117 people and injures around 200.
    • 1914 – Massacre of Phocaea: Turkish irregulars slaughter 50 to 100 Greeks and expel thousands of others in an ethnic cleansing operation in the Ottoman Empire.
    • 1921 – Mikhail Tukhachevsky orders the use of chemical weapons against the Tambov Rebellion, bringing an end to the peasant uprising.
    • 1935 – A ceasefire is negotiated between Bolivia and Paraguay, ending the Chaco War.
    • 1939 – Shooting begins on Paramount Pictures’ Dr. Cyclops, the first horror film photographed in three-strip Technicolor.
    • 1939 – The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, New York.
    • 1940 – World War II: Thirteen thousand British and French troops surrender to Major General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux.
    • 1942 – Anne Frank receives a diary for her thirteenth birthday.
    • 1943 – The Holocaust: Germany liquidates the Jewish Ghetto in Brzeżany, Poland (now Berezhany, Ukraine). Around 1,180 Jews are led to the city’s old Jewish graveyard and shot.
    • 1944 – World War II: Operation Overlord: American paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division secure the town of Carentan, Normandy, France.
    • 1954 – Pope Pius XII canonises Dominic Savio, who was 14 years old at the time of his death, as a saint, making him at the time the youngest unmartyred saint in the Roman Catholic Church. In 2017, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, aged ten and nine at the time of their deaths, are declared saints.
    • 1963 – NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers is murdered in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi by Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith during the civil rights movement.
    • 1964 – Anti-apartheid activist and ANC leader Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison for sabotage in South Africa.
    • 1967 – The United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional.
    • 1975 – India, Judge Jagmohanlal Sinha of the city of Allahabad ruled that India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had used corrupt practices to win her seat in the Indian Parliament, and that she should be banned from holding any public office. Mrs. Gandhi sent word that she refused to resign.
    • 1979 – Bryan Allen wins the second Kremer prize for a man powered flight across the English Channel in the Gossamer Albatross.
    • 1987 – The Central African Republic’s former emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa is sentenced to death for crimes he had committed during his 13-year rule.
    • 1987 – Cold War: At the Brandenburg Gate, U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
    • 1988 – Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 46, a McDonnell Douglas MD-81, crashes short of the runway at Libertador General José de San Martín Airport, killing all 22 people on board.
    • 1990 – Russia Day: The parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.
    • 1991 – Russians first democratically elected Boris Yeltsin as the President of Russia.
    • 1991 – Kokkadichcholai massacre: The Sri Lankan Army massacres 152 minority Tamil civilians in the village of Kokkadichcholai near the eastern province town of Batticaloa.
    • 1993 – An election takes place in Nigeria and is won by Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. Its results are later annulled by the military Government of Ibrahim Babangida.
    • 1994 – Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are murdered outside Simpson’s home in Los Angeles. Her estranged husband, O.J. Simpson is later charged with the murders, but is acquitted by a jury.
    • 1997 – Queen Elizabeth II reopens the Globe Theatre in London.
    • 1999 – Kosovo War: Operation Joint Guardian begins when a NATO-led United Nations peacekeeping force (KFor) enters the province of Kosovo in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
    • 2009 – Analog television stations (excluding low-powered stations) switch to digital television following the DTV Delay Act.
    • 2009 – A disputed presidential election in Iran leads to wide-ranging local and international protests.
    • 2016 – Forty-nine civilians are killed and 58 others injured in an attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida; the gunman, Omar Mateen, is killed in a gunfight with police.
    • 2017 – American student Otto Warmbier returns home in a coma after spending 17 months in a North Korean prison and dies a week later.
    • 2018 – United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea held the first meeting between leaders of their two countries in Singapore.

    Births on June 12

    • 950 – Reizei, Japanese emperor (d. 1011)
    • 1107 – Gao Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1187)
    • 1161 – Constance, Duchess of Brittany (d. 1201)
    • 1519 – Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1574)
    • 1561 – Anna of Württemberg, German princess (d. 1616)
    • 1564 – John Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Coburg (d. 1633)
    • 1573 – Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex, soldier (d. 1629)
    • 1577 – Paul Guldin, Swiss astronomer and mathematician (d. 1643)
    • 1580 – Adriaen van Stalbemt, Flemish painter (d. 1662)
    • 1653 – Maria Amalia of Courland, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1711)
    • 1686 – Marie-Catherine Homassel Hecquet, French writer (d. 1764)
    • 1711 – Louis Legrand, French priest and theologian (d. 1780)
    • 1760 – Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai, French author, playwright, journalist, and politician (d. 1797)
    • 1771 – Patrick Gass, American sergeant (Lewis and Clark Expedition) and author (d. 1870)
    • 1775 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (d. 1851)
    • 1777 – Robert Clark, American physician and politician (d. 1837)
    • 1795 – John Marston, American sailor (d. 1885)
    • 1798 – Samuel Cooper, American general (d. 1876)
    • 1800 – Samuel Wright Mardis, American politician (d. 1836)
    • 1802 – Harriet Martineau, English sociologist and author (d. 1876)
    • 1806 – John A. Roebling, German-American engineer, designed the Brooklyn Bridge (d. 1869)
    • 1807 – Ante Kuzmanić, Croatian physician and journalist (d. 1879)
    • 1812 – Edmond Hébert, French geologist and academic (d. 1890)
    • 1819 – Charles Kingsley, English priest, historian, and author (d. 1875)
    • 1827 – Johanna Spyri, Swiss author, best known for Heidi (d. 1901)
    • 1831 – Robert Herbert, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Queensland (d. 1905)
    • 1841 – Watson Fothergill, English architect, designed the Woodborough Road Baptist Church (d. 1928)
    • 1843 – David Gill, Scottish-English astronomer and author (d. 1914)
    • 1851 – Oliver Lodge, English physicist and academic (d. 1940)
    • 1857 – Maurice Perrault, Canadian architect, engineer, and politician, 15th Mayor of Longueuil (d. 1909)
    • 1858 – Harry Johnston, English botanist and explorer (d. 1927)
    • 1858 – Henry Scott Tuke, English painter and photographer (d. 1929)
    • 1861 – William Attewell, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1927)
    • 1864 – Frank Chapman, American ornithologist, photographer, and author (d. 1945)
    • 1877 – Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (d. 1971)
    • 1883 – Fernand Gonder, French pole vaulter (d. 1969)
    • 1883 – Robert Lowie, Austrian-American anthropologist and academic (d. 1957)
    • 1888 – Zygmunt Janiszewski, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1920)
    • 1890 – Egon Schiele, Austrian soldier and painter (d. 1918)
    • 1892 – Djuna Barnes, American novelist, journalist, and playwright (d. 1982)
    • 1895 – Eugénie Brazier, French chef (d. 1977)
    • 1897 – Anthony Eden, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1977)
    • 1899 – Fritz Albert Lipmann, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
    • 1899 – Weegee, Ukrainian-American photographer and journalist (d. 1968)
    • 1902 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian lawyer and politician, Mayor of Ghent (d. 1973)
    • 1905 – Ray Barbuti, American sprinter and football player (d. 1988)
    • 1906 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet (d. 1977)
    • 1908 – Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian broadcaster (d. 1988)
    • 1908 – Marina Semyonova, Russian ballerina and educator (d. 2010)
    • 1908 – Otto Skorzeny, German SS officer (d. 1975)
    • 1910 – Bill Naughton, Irish-English playwright and author (d. 1992)
    • 1912 – Bill Cowley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1993)
    • 1912 – Carl Hovland, American psychologist and academic (d. 1961)
    • 1913 – Jean Victor Allard, Canadian general (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – Desmond Piers, Canadian admiral (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – William Lundigan, American actor (d. 1975)
    • 1914 – Go Seigen, Chinese-Japanese Go player (d. 2014)
    • 1915 – Priscilla Lane, American actress (d. 1995)
    • 1915 – Christopher Mayhew, English soldier and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1915 – David Rockefeller, American banker and businessman (d. 2017)
    • 1916 – Irwin Allen, American director and producer (d. 1991)
    • 1916 – Raúl Héctor Castro, Mexican-American politician and diplomat, 14th Governor of Arizona (d. 2015)
    • 1918 – Samuel Z. Arkoff, American film producer (d. 2001)
    • 1918 – Georgia Louise Harris Brown, American architect (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Christie Jayaratnam Eliezer, Sri Lankan-Australian mathematician and academic (d. 2001)
    • 1919 – Uta Hagen, German-American actress and educator (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Dave Berg, American soldier and cartoonist (d. 2002)
    • 1920 – Peter Jones, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2000)
    • 1921 – Luis García Berlanga, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Christopher Derrick, English author, critic, and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – James Archibald Houston, Canadian author and illustrator (d. 2005)
    • 1922 – Margherita Hack, Italian astrophysicist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – George H. W. Bush, American lieutenant and politician, 41st President of the United States (d. 2018)
    • 1924 – Grete Dollitz, German-American guitarist and radio host (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Vic Damone, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2018)
    • 1928 – Petros Molyviatis, Greek politician and diplomat, Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs
    • 1928 – Richard M. Sherman, American composer and director
    • 1929 – Brigid Brophy, English author and critic (d. 1995)
    • 1929 – Anne Frank, German-Dutch diarist; victim of the Holocaust (d. 1945)
    • 1929 – Jameel Jalibi, Pakistani linguist and academic
    • 1929 – John McCluskey, Baron McCluskey, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Solicitor General for Scotland (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – Jim Burke, Australian cricketer (d. 1979)
    • 1930 – Donald Byrne, American chess player (d. 1976)
    • 1930 – Innes Ireland, Scottish race car driver and engineer (d. 1993)
    • 1930 – Jim Nabors, American actor and singer (d. 2017)
    • 1931 – Trevanian, American author and scholar (d. 2005)
    • 1931 – Rona Jaffe, American novelist (d. 2005)
    • 1932 – Mimi Coertse, South African soprano and producer
    • 1932 – Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (d. 2002)
    • 1933 – Eddie Adams, American photographer and journalist (d. 2004)
    • 1934 – John A. Alonzo, American actor and cinematographer (d. 2001)
    • 1934 – Kevin Billington, English director and producer
    • 1935 – Ian Craig, Australian cricketer (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Paul Kennedy, English lawyer and judge
    • 1937 – Vladimir Arnold, Russian-French mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
    • 1937 – Klaus Basikow, German footballer and manager (d. 2015)
    • 1937 – Antal Festetics, Hungarian-Austrian biologist and zoologist
    • 1937 – Chips Moman, American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1938 – Jean-Marie Doré, Guinean lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Guinea (d. 2016)
    • 1938 – Tom Oliver, English-Australian actor
    • 1939 – Ron Lynch, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1939 – Frank McCloskey, American sergeant and politician (d. 2003)
    • 1940 – Jacques Brassard, Canadian educator and politician
    • 1941 – Marv Albert, American sportscaster
    • 1941 – Chick Corea, American pianist and composer
    • 1941 – Roy Harper, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1941 – Reg Presley, English singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Lucille Roybal-Allard, American politician
    • 1942 – Len Barry, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1942 – Bert Sakmann, German physiologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1945 – Pat Jennings, Irish footballer and coach
    • 1946 – Michel Bergeron, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1946 – Bobby Gould, English footballer and manager
    • 1946 – Catherine Bréchignac, French physicist and academic
    • 1948 – Hans Binder, Austrian race car driver
    • 1948 – Herbert Meyer, German footballer
    • 1948 – Len Wein, American comic book writer and editor (d. 2017)
    • 1949 – Jens Böhrnsen, German judge and politician
    • 1949 – Marc Tardif, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1949 – John Wetton, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (d. 2017)
    • 1950 – Oğuz Abadan, Turkish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1950 – Michael Fabricant, English politician
    • 1950 – Sonia Manzano, American actress of Puerto Rican descent, noted for playing Maria on Sesame Street
    • 1950 – Bun E. Carlos, American drummer
    • 1951 – Brad Delp, American musician and singer (d. 2007)
    • 1951 – Andranik Margaryan, Armenian engineer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 2007)
    • 1952 – Spencer Abraham, American academic and politician, 10th United States Secretary of Energy
    • 1952 – Junior Brown, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1952 – Pete Farndon, English bass player and songwriter (d. 1983)
    • 1953 – Rocky Burnette, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Tim Razzall, Baron Razzall, English lawyer and politician
    • 1956 – Terry Alderman, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1957 – Timothy Busfield, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1957 – Javed Miandad, Pakistani cricketer and coach
    • 1958 – Meredith Brooks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1959 – John Linnell, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1959 – Scott Thompson, Canadian actor and comedian
    • 1960 – Joe Kopicki, American basketball player and coach
    • 1962 – Jordan Peterson, Canadian psychologist, professor and cultural critic
    • 1963 – Philippe Bugalski, French race car driver (d. 2012)
    • 1963 – Warwick Capper, Australian footballer, coach, and actor
    • 1963 – Tim DeKay, American actor
    • 1963 – Jerry Lynn, American wrestler
    • 1964 – Derek Higgins, Irish race car driver
    • 1964 – Kent Jones, American journalist
    • 1964 – Paula Marshall, American actress
    • 1964 – Peter Such, Scottish-born, English cricketer
    • 1965 – Adrian Toole, Australian rugby league player
    • 1965 – Gwen Torrence, American sprinter
    • 1965 – Cathy Tyson, English actress
    • 1966 – Marc Glanville, Australian rugby league player
    • 1966 – Tom Misteli, Swiss cell biologist
    • 1967 – Aivar Kuusmaa, Estonian basketball player and coach
    • 1967 – Frances O’Connor, English-Australian actress
    • 1968 – Scott Aldred, American baseball player and coach
    • 1968 – Htay Kywe, Burmese activist
    • 1968 – Bobby Sheehan, American bass player and songwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1969 – Zsolt Daczi, Hungarian guitarist (d. 2007)
    • 1969 – Héctor Garza, Mexican wrestler (d. 2013)
    • 1969 – Mathieu Schneider, American ice hockey player
    • 1969 – Heinz-Christian Strache, Austrian politician
    • 1971 – Mark Henry, American weightlifter and wrestler
    • 1971 – Ryan Klesko, American baseball player
    • 1971 – Jérôme Romain, Caribbean-Dominican triple jumper and coach
    • 1973 – Jason Caffey, American basketball player and coach
    • 1973 – Darryl White, Australian footballer
    • 1974 – Flávio Conceição, Brazilian footballer
    • 1974 – Hideki Matsui, Japanese baseball player
    • 1974 – Jason Mewes, American actor and producer
    • 1974 – Kerry Kittles, American basketball player
    • 1975 – Bryan Alvarez, American wrestler and journalist
    • 1975 – Stéphanie Szostak, French-American actress
    • 1976 – Antawn Jamison, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1976 – Ray Price, Zimbabwean cricketer
    • 1976 – Thomas Sørensen, Danish footballer
    • 1977 – Wade Redden, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Kenny Wayne Shepherd, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – Lewis Moody, English rugby player
    • 1979 – Dallas Clark, American football player
    • 1979 – Martine Dugrenier, Canadian wrestler
    • 1979 – Diego Milito, Argentine footballer
    • 1979 – Robyn, Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer
    • 1979 – Earl Watson, American basketball player and coach
    • 1980 – Marco Bortolami, Italian rugby player
    • 1980 – Larry Foote, American football player
    • 1980 – Ifet Taljević, German footballer
    • 1981 – Raitis Grafs, Latvian basketball player
    • 1981 – Paul Hasleby, Australian footballer
    • 1981 – Adriana Lima, Brazilian model and actress
    • 1982 – Ben Blackwell, American drummer
    • 1982 – Diem Brown, German-American journalist and activist (d. 2014)
    • 1982 – Jason David, American football player
    • 1982 – Shailaja Pujari, Indian weightlifter
    • 1982 – James Tomlinson, English cricketer
    • 1983 – Bryan Habana, South African rugby player
    • 1983 – Alexander Pipa, German rugby player
    • 1983 – Christine Sinclair, Canadian soccer player
    • 1984 – James Kwalia, Kenyan-Qatari runner
    • 1984 – Bruno Soriano, Spanish footballer
    • 1985 – Blake Ross, American computer programmer, co-created Mozilla Firefox
    • 1985 – Sam Thaiday, Australian rugby league player
    • 1985 – Kendra Wilkinson, American model, actress, and author
    • 1985 – Chris Young, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1986 – Salim Mehajer, Australian politician
    • 1986 – Harry Taylor, Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Seyi Ajirotutu, American football player
    • 1987 – Antonio Barragán, Spanish footballer
    • 1988 – Artūrs Bērziņš, Latvian basketball player
    • 1988 – Eren Derdiyok, Swiss footballer
    • 1988 – Mauricio Isla, Chilean footballer
    • 1988 – Dave Melillo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1988 – Dakota Morton, Canadian actor and radio host
    • 1989 – Emma Eliasson, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Ibrahim Jeilan, Ethiopian runner
    • 1990 – Jrue Holiday, American basketball player
    • 1990 – Kevin López, Spanish runner
    • 1990 – David Worrall, English footballer
    • 1991 – Avisail García, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1992 – Philippe Coutinho, Brazilian footballer

    Deaths on June 12

    • 796 – Hisham I, Muslim emir (b. 757)
    • 816 – Pope Leo III (b. 750)
    • 918 – Æthelflæd, Mercian daughter of Alfred the Great (b. 870)
    • 1020 – Lyfing, English archbishop (b. 999)
    • 1036 – Tedald, Italian bishop (b. 990)
    • 1144 – Al-Zamakhshari, Persian theologian (b. 1075)
    • 1152 – Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon (b. 1114)
    • 1266 – Henry II, Prince of Anhalt-Aschersleben (b. 1215)
    • 1294 – John I of Brienne, Count of Eu
    • 1418 – Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac (b. 1360)
    • 1435 – John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel, English commander (b. 1408)
    • 1478 – Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua (b. 1412)
    • 1524 – Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, Spanish conquistador (b. 1465)
    • 1560 – Ii Naomori, Japanese warrior (b. 1506)
    • 1560 – Imagawa Yoshimoto, Japanese daimyō (b. 1519)
    • 1565 – Adrianus Turnebus, French philologist and scholar (b. 1512)
    • 1567 – Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich, English politician, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1490)
    • 1647 – Thomas Farnaby, English scholar and educator (b. 1575)
    • 1668 – Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge, English politician (b. 1599)
    • 1675 – Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy (b. 1634)
    • 1734 – James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French-English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (b. 1670)
    • 1758 – Prince Augustus William of Prussia (b. 1722)
    • 1772 – Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, French explorer (b. 1724)
    • 1778 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (b. 1716)
    • 1816 – Pierre Augereau, French general (b. 1757)
    • 1818 – Egwale Seyon, Ethiopian emperor
    • 1841 – Konstantinos Nikolopoulos, Greek composer, archaeologist, and philologist (b. 1786)
    • 1900 – Lucretia Peabody Hale, American journalist and author (b. 1820)
    • 1904 – Camille of Renesse-Breidbach (b. 1836)
    • 1912 – Frédéric Passy, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1822)
    • 1917 – Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan-American singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (b. 1853)
    • 1932 – Theo Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1852)
    • 1937 – Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Russian general (b. 1893)
    • 1944 – Erich Marcks, German general (b. 1891)
    • 1946 – Médéric Martin, Canadian politician, mayor of Montreal (b. 1869)
    • 1952 – Harry Lawson, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Victoria (b. 1875)
    • 1957 – Jimmy Dorsey, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (The Dorsey Brothers and The California Ramblers) (b. 1904)
    • 1962 – John Ireland, English composer and educator (b. 1879)
    • 1963 – Medgar Evers, American soldier and activist (b. 1925)
    • 1966 – Hermann Scherchen, German viola player and conductor (b. 1891)
    • 1968 – Herbert Read, English poet and critic (b. 1893)
    • 1969 – Aleksandr Deyneka, Ukrainian-Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1899)
    • 1972 – Edmund Wilson, American critic, essayist, and editor (b. 1895)
    • 1972 – Dinanath Gopal Tendulkar, Indian writer and documentary filmmaker (b. 1909)
    • 1976 – Gopinath Kaviraj, Indian philosopher and scholar (b. 1887)
    • 1978 – Guo Moruo, Chinese historian, author, and poet (b. 1892)
    • 1978 – Georg Siimenson, Estonian footballer (b. 1912)
    • 1980 – Billy Butlin, South African-English businessman, founded the Butlins Company (b. 1899)
    • 1980 – Masayoshi Ōhira, Japanese politician, 68th Prime minister of Japan (b. 1910)
    • 1980 – Milburn Stone, American actor (b. 1904)
    • 1982 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1953)
    • 1982 – Karl von Frisch, Austrian-German ethologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
    • 1983 – Norma Shearer, Canadian-American actress (b. 1902)
    • 1989 – Bruce Hamilton, Australian public servant (b. 1911)
    • 1990 – Terence O’Neill, Baron O’Neill of the Maine, English captain and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (b. 1914)
    • 1994 – Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Russian-French rabbi and author (b. 1902)
    • 1995 – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist (b. 1920)
    • 1995 – Pierre Russell, American basketball player (b. 1949)
    • 1997 – Bulat Okudzhava, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1924)
    • 1998 – Leo Buscaglia, American author and educator (b. 1924)
    • 1998 – Theresa Merritt, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
    • 1999 – J. F. Powers, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1917)
    • 2000 – Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
    • 2000 – Sandro Rosa do Nascimento, Brazilian criminal (b. 1978)
    • 2002 – Bill Blass, American fashion designer, founded Bill Blass Limited (b. 1922)
    • 2002 – Zena Sutherland, American reviewer of children’s literature (b. 1915)
    • 2003 – Gregory Peck, American actor and political activist (b. 1916)
    • 2005 – Scott Young, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Nicky Barr, Australian rugby player and fighter pilot (b. 1915)
    • 2006 – György Ligeti, Romanian-Hungarian composer and educator (b. 1923)
    • 2006 – Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian businessman and art collector (b. 1923)
    • 2008 – Miroslav Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player (b. 1951)
    • 2008 – Derek Tapscott, Welsh footballer and manager (b. 1932)
    • 2010 – Al Williamson, American illustrator (b. 1931)
    • 2011 – René Audet, Canadian bishop (b. 1920)
    • 2011 – Carl Gardner, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Hector Bianciotti, Argentinian-French journalist and author (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Henry Hill, American mobster (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Margarete Mitscherlich-Nielsen, Danish-German psychoanalyst and author (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Medin Zhega, Albanian footballer and manager (b. 1946)
    • 2012 – Elinor Ostrom, American political scientist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Pahiño, Spanish footballer (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Frank Walker, Australian judge and politician, 41st Attorney General of New South Wales (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Teresita Barajuen, Spanish nun (b. 1908)
    • 2013 – Jason Leffler, American race car driver (b. 1975)
    • 2013 – Joseph A. Unanue, American sergeant and businessman (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Nabil Hemani, Algerian footballer (b. 1979)
    • 2014 – Dan Jacobson, South African-English author and critic (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Frank Schirrmacher, German journalist (b. 1959)
    • 2015 – Fernando Brant, Brazilian journalist, poet, and composer (b. 1946)
    • 2015 – Frederick Pei Li, Chinese-American physician and academic (b. 1940)
    • 2015 – Patrick Lennox Tierney, American historian and academic (b. 1914)
    • 2016 – Omar Mateen, American mass murderer (b. 1986)
    • 2016 – George Voinovich, American politician (b. 1936)
    • 2016 – Janet Waldo, American actress and voice artist (b. 1920)

    Holidays and observances on June 12

    • Chaco Armistice Day (Paraguay)
    • Christian feast day:
      • 108 Martyrs of World War II
      • Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor and Nazarius
      • Blessed Hildegard Burjan
      • Enmegahbowh (Episcopal Church)
      • Eskil
      • First Ecumenical Council (Lutheran)
      • Gaspar Bertoni
      • John of Sahagún
      • Onuphrius
      • Pope Leo III
      • Ternan
      • June 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Dia dos Namorados (Brazil)
    • Helsinki Day (Finland)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Philippines from Spain in 1898.
    • June 12 Commemoration (Lagos State)
    • Loving Day (United States)
    • Russia Day (Russia)
    • World Day Against Child Labour, and its related observances:
      • Children’s Day (Haiti)

  • June 9- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 411 BC – The Athenian coup succeeds, forming a short-lived oligarchy.
    • AD 53 – The Roman emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia.
    • AD 68 – Nero commits suicide, after quoting Homer’s Iliad, thus ending the Julio-Claudian dynasty and starting the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
    • 721 – Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse.
    • 747 – Abbasid Revolution: Abu Muslim Khorasani begins an open revolt against Umayyad rule, which is carried out under the sign of the Black Standard.
    • 1311 – Duccio’s Maestà, a seminal artwork of the early Italian Renaissance, is unveiled and installed in Siena Cathedral in Siena, Italy.
    • 1523 – The Parisian Faculty of Theology fines Simon de Colines for publishing the Biblical commentary Commentarii initiatorii in quatuor Evangelia by Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples.
    • 1534 – Jacques Cartier is the first European to describe and map the Saint Lawrence River.
    • 1667 – Second Anglo-Dutch War: The Raid on the Medway by the Dutch fleet begins. It lasts for five days and results in the worst ever defeat of the Royal Navy.
    • 1732 – James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of the future U.S. state of Georgia.
    • 1772 – The British schooner Gaspee is burned in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.
    • 1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798: Battles of Arklow and Saintfield.
    • 1815 – End of the Congress of Vienna: The new European political situation is set.
    • 1856 – Five hundred Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa for the Mormon Trail.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson concludes his successful Shenandoah Valley Campaign with a victory in the Battle of Port Republic; his tactics during the campaign are now studied by militaries around the world.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Brandy Station, Virginia.
    • 1885 – Treaty of Tientsin is signed to end the Sino-French War, with China eventually giving up Tonkin and Annam – most of present-day Vietnam – to France.
    • 1900 – Indian nationalist Birsa Munda dies of cholera in a British prison.
    • 1915 – William Jennings Bryan resigns as Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of State over a disagreement regarding the United States’ handling of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.
    • 1923 – Bulgaria’s military takes over the government in a coup.
    • 1928 – Charles Kingsford Smith completes the first trans-Pacific flight in a Fokker Trimotor monoplane, the Southern Cross.
    • 1930 – A Chicago Tribune reporter, Jake Lingle, is killed during rush hour at the Illinois Central train station by Leo Vincent Brothers, allegedly over a $100,000 gambling debt owed to Al Capone.
    • 1944 – World War II: Ninety-nine civilians are hanged from lampposts and balconies by German troops in Tulle, France, in reprisal for maquisards attacks.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Soviet Union invades East Karelia and the previously Finnish part of Karelia, occupied by Finland since 1941.
    • 1948 – Foundation of the International Council on Archives under the auspices of the UNESCO.
    • 1953 – The Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence kills 94 people in Massachusetts.
    • 1954 – Joseph Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Army–McCarthy hearings, giving McCarthy the famous rebuke, “You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”
    • 1957 – First ascent of Broad Peak by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, and Hermann Buhl.
    • 1959 – The USS George Washington is launched. It is the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
    • 1965 – The civilian Prime Minister of South Vietnam, Phan Huy Quát, resigns after being unable to work with a junta led by Nguyễn Cao Kỳ.
    • 1965 – Vietnam War: The Viet Cong commences combat with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in the Battle of Đồng Xoài, one of the largest battles in the war.
    • 1967 – Six-Day War: Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria.
    • 1968 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a national day of mourning following the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
    • 1972 – Severe rainfall causes a dam in the Black Hills of South Dakota to burst, creating a flood that kills 238 people and causes $160 million in damage.
    • 1973 – In horse racing, Secretariat wins the U.S. Triple Crown.
    • 1978 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opens its priesthood to “all worthy men”, ending a 148-year-old policy of excluding black men.
    • 1979 – The Ghost Train fire at Luna Park Sydney, Australia, kills seven.
    • 1999 – Kosovo War: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO sign a peace treaty.
    • 2008 – Two bombs explode at a train station near Algiers, Algeria, killing at least 13 people.
    • 2009 – An explosion kills 17 people and injures at least 46 at a hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan.
    • 2010 – At least 40 people are killed and more than 70 wounded in a suicide bombing at a wedding party in Arghandab, Kandahar.

    Births on June 9

    • 1016 – Deokjong of Goryeo, ruler of Korea (d. 1034)
    • 1424 – Blanche II of Navarre (d. 1464)
    • 1580 – Daniel Heinsius, Belgian poet and scholar (d. 1655)
    • 1588 – Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer and theorist (d. 1666)
    • 1595 – Władysław IV Vasa, Polish king (d. 1648)
    • 1597 – Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, Dutch painter (d. 1665)
    • 1640 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1705)
    • 1661 – Feodor III of Russia (d. 1682)
    • 1672 – Peter the Great, Russian emperor (d. 1725)
    • 1686 – Andrey Osterman, German-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1747)
    • 1696 – Shiva Rajaram, infant Chattrapati of the Maratha Empire (d. 1726)
    • 1732 – Giuseppe Demachi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1791)
    • 1754 – Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, English general and politician, Governor of Barbados (d. 1815)
    • 1768 – Samuel Slater, English-American engineer and businessman (d. 1835)
    • 1781 – George Stephenson, English engineer, designed the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (d. 1848)
    • 1810 – Otto Nicolai, German composer and conductor (d. 1849)
    • 1812 – Johann Gottfried Galle, German astronomer and academic (d. 1910)
    • 1836 – Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, English physician and politician (d. 1917)
    • 1837 – Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie, English author (d. 1919)
    • 1842 – Hazard Stevens, American military officer, mountaineer, politician and writer (d. 1918)
    • 1843 – Bertha von Suttner, Austrian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1914)
    • 1845 – Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, English soldier, academic, and politician, 36th Governor-General of India (d. 1914)
    • 1845 – Frank Norton, American baseball player (d. 1920)
    • 1849 – Michael Ancher, Danish painter and academic (d. 1927)
    • 1851 – Charles Joseph Bonaparte, American lawyer and politician, 46th United States Attorney General (d. 1921)
    • 1861 – Pierre Duhem, French physicist, mathematician, and historian (d. 1916)
    • 1861 – Gustav Heinrich Johann Apollon Tammann, Russian-German chemist and physicist (d. 1938)
    • 1864 – Jeanne Bérangère, French actress (d. 1928)
    • 1865 – Albéric Magnard, French composer and educator (d. 1914)
    • 1865 – Carl Nielsen, Danish violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1931)
    • 1868 – Jane Avril, French model and dancer (d. 1943)
    • 1874 – Launceston Elliot, Scottish weightlifter and wrestler (d. 1930)
    • 1875 – Henry Hallett Dale, English pharmacologist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
    • 1879 – Harry DeBaecke, American rower (d. 1961)
    • 1882 – Robert Kerr, Irish-Canadian sprinter and coach (d. 1963)
    • 1885 – Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, Polish general and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Poland (d. 1962)
    • 1890 – Leslie Banks, English actor, director, and producer (d. 1952)
    • 1891 – Cole Porter, American composer and songwriter (d. 1964)
    • 1893 – Irish Meusel, American baseball player and coach (d. 1963)
    • 1895 – Archie Weston, American football player and journalist (d. 1981)
    • 1898 – Luigi Fagioli, Italian race car driver (d. 1952)
    • 1900 – Fred Waring, American singer, bandleader, and television host (d. 1984)
    • 1902 – Skip James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1969)
    • 1903 – Felice Bonetto, Italian race car driver (d. 1953)
    • 1903 – Marcia Davenport, American author and critic (d. 1996)
    • 1906 – Robert Klark Graham, American eugenicist and businessman, founded Repository for Germinal Choice (d. 1997)
    • 1908 – Luis Kutner, American lawyer, author, and activist (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – Branch McCracken, American basketball player and coach (d. 1970)
    • 1910 – Robert Cummings, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1990)
    • 1910 – Ted Hicks, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand (d. 1984)
    • 1912 – Ingolf Dahl, German-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1970)
    • 1915 – Jim McDonald, American football player and coach (d. 1997)
    • 1915 – Les Paul, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1916 – Jurij Brězan, German soldier and author (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Siegfried Graetschus, German SS officer (d. 1943)
    • 1916 – Robert McNamara, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 2009)
    • 1917 – Eric Hobsbawm, Egyptian-English historian and author (d. 2012)
    • 1918 – John Hospers, American philosopher and politician (d. 2011)
    • 1921 – Arthur Hertzberg, American rabbi and scholar (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Jean Lacouture, French journalist, historian, and author (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – George Axelrod, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1922 – John Gillespie Magee, Jr., Anglo-American pilot and poet (d. 1941)
    • 1922 – Fernand Seguin, Canadian biochemist and academic (d. 1988)
    • 1923 – Gerald Götting, German politician (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – Ed Farhat, American wrestler and manager (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Keith Laumer, American soldier and author (d. 1993)
    • 1925 – Herman Sarkowsky, German-American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded the Seattle Seahawks (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Calvin “Fuzz” Jones, American singer and bass player (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – Happy Rockefeller, American philanthropist, 31st Second Lady of the United States (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Jim Nolan, American basketball player (d. 1983)
    • 1928 – R. Geraint Gruffydd, Welsh critic and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Johnny Ace, American singer and pianist (d. 1954)
    • 1930 – Barbara, French singer (d. 1997)
    • 1930 – Jordi Pujol, Spanish physician and politician, 126th President of the Generalitat de Catalunya
    • 1931 – Jackie Mason, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
    • 1931 – Nandini Satpathy, Indian author and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Odisha (d. 2006)
    • 1931 – Bill Virdon, American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1933 – Al Cantello, American javelin thrower and coach
    • 1934 – Michael Mates, English colonel and politician
    • 1934 – Jackie Wilson, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984)
    • 1935 – Dutch Savage, American wrestler and promoter (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Nell Dunn, English playwright, screenwriter and author
    • 1936 – Mick O’Dwyer, Irish Gaelic footballer and manager
    • 1936 – George Radda, Hungarian chemist and academic
    • 1937 – Harald Rosenthal, German hydrobiologist and academic
    • 1938 – Jeremy Hardie, English economist and businessman
    • 1938 – Giles Havergal, Scottish actor, director, and playwright
    • 1938 – Charles Wuorinen, American composer and educator (d. 2020)
    • 1939 – Ileana Cotrubaș, Romanian soprano and actress
    • 1939 – Eric Fernie, Scottish historian and academic
    • 1939 – David Hobbs, English race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1939 – Dick Vitale, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1939 – Charles Webb, American author
    • 1940 – André Vallerand, Canadian businessman and politician
    • 1941 – Jon Lord, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2012)
    • 1942 – Anton Burghardt, German footballer and manager
    • 1942 – Nicholas Lloyd, English journalist
    • 1943 – John Fitzpatrick, English race car driver
    • 1943 – Charles Saatchi, Iraqi-English businessman, co-founded Saatchi & Saatchi
    • 1944 – Janric Craig, 3rd Viscount Craigavon, English accountant and politician
    • 1944 – Wally Gabler, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1946 – Deyda Hydara, Gambian journalist and publisher, co-founded The Point (d. 2004)
    • 1946 – James Kelman, Scottish author and playwright
    • 1946 – Peter Kilfoyle, English politician
    • 1946 – Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata, Italian politician and diplomat, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1947 – Robert Indermaur, Swiss painter
    • 1947 – Robbie Vincent, UK disc jockey and radio presenter
    • 1948 – Jim Bailey, American football player
    • 1948 – Gudrun Schyman, Swedish social worker and politician
    • 1949 – Kiran Bedi, Indian police officer and activist
    • 1950 – Trevor Bolder, English bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1950 – Fred Jackson, American football player and coach
    • 1950 – Giorgos Kastrinakis, Greek-American basketball player
    • 1951 – Michael Patrick Cronan, American graphic designer and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1951 – James Newton Howard, American composer, conductor, and producer
    • 1951 – Dave Parker, American baseball player and coach
    • 1951 – Brian Taylor, American basketball player
    • 1952 – Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1952 – Billy Knight, American basketball player
    • 1953 – Ken Navarro, Italian-American guitarist and composer
    • 1954 – Pete Byrne, English singer-songwriter
    • 1954 – Paul Chapman, Welsh guitarist and songwriter
    • 1954 – Gregory Maguire, American author
    • 1954 – Elizabeth May, American-Canadian environmentalist, lawyer, and politician
    • 1954 – George Pérez, American author and illustrator
    • 1956 – Berit Aunli, Norwegian skier
    • 1956 – Patricia Cornwell, American journalist and author
    • 1956 – Marek Gazdzicki, Polish nuclear physicist
    • 1956 – Joaquín, Spanish footballer
    • 1956 – John Le Lievre, British squash player
    • 1956 – Kayhan Mortezavi, Iranian director
    • 1956 – Francine Raymond, French Canadian singer songwriter
    • 1956 – Nikolai Tsonev, Bulgarian politician
    • 1956 – Rudolf Wojtowicz, Polish footballer
    • 1957 – Randy Read, English crystallographer and academic
    • 1958 – David Ancrum, American basketball player and coach
    • 1959 – Peter Fowler, Australian golfer
    • 1960 – Steve Paikin, Canadian journalist and author
    • 1961 – Thomas Benson, American football player
    • 1961 – Michael J. Fox, Canadian-American actor, producer, and author
    • 1961 – Aaron Sorkin, American screenwriter, producer, and playwright
    • 1962 – Yuval Banay, Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1962 – Ken Rose, American football player
    • 1962 – David Trewhella, Australian rugby league player
    • 1963 – Gilad Atzmon, Israeli-English saxophonist, author, and activist
    • 1963 – Johnny Depp, American actor
    • 1963 – David Koepp, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Gloria Reuben, Canadian-American actress
    • 1964 – Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and bass player (d. 2009)
    • 1967 – Rubén Maza, Venezuelan runner
    • 1968 – Niki Bakoyianni, Greek high jumper and coach
    • 1969 – André Racicot, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1969 – Eric Wynalda, American soccer player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Gilles De Bilde, Belgian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Jean Galfione, French pole vaulter and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Jackie McKeown, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1972 – Matt Horsley, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1973 – Aigars Apinis, Latvian discus thrower and shot putter
    • 1973 – Tedy Bruschi, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Frédéric Choffat, Swiss director, producer, and cinematographer
    • 1973 – Grant Marshall, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1974 – Samoth, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1975 – Otto Addo, German-Ghanaian footballer and manager
    • 1975 – Ameesha Patel, Indian actress and model
    • 1975 – Andrew Symonds, English-Australian cricketer
    • 1977 – Usman Afzaal, Pakistani-English cricketer
    • 1977 – Paul Hutchison, English cricketer
    • 1977 – Olin Kreutz, American football player
    • 1977 – Peja Stojaković, Serbian basketball player
    • 1978 – Matt Bellamy, English singer, musician and songwriter
    • 1978 – Shandi Finnessey, American model and actress, Miss USA 2004
    • 1978 – Miroslav Klose, German footballer
    • 1978 – Heather Mitts, American soccer player
    • 1978 – Hayden Schlossberg, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1979 – Dario Dainelli, Italian footballer
    • 1979 – Amanda Lassiter, American basketball player
    • 1980 – D’banj, Nigerian singer-songwriter and harmonica player
    • 1980 – Mike Fontenot, American baseball player
    • 1980 – Udonis Haslem, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Lehlohonolo Seema, South African footballer
    • 1981 – Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress
    • 1982 – Parinya Charoenphol, Thai boxer, model, and actress
    • 1982 – Yoshito Ōkubo, Japanese footballer
    • 1982 – Christina Stürmer, Austrian singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Firas Al-Khatib, Syrian footballer
    • 1983 – Josh Cribbs, American football player
    • 1983 – Dwayne Jones, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Danny Richar, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1984 – Yulieski Gourriel, Cuban baseball player
    • 1984 – Jake Newton, Guyanese footballer
    • 1984 – Asko Paade, Estonian basketball player
    • 1984 – Masoud Shojaei, Iranian footballer
    • 1984 – Wesley Sneijder, Dutch footballer
    • 1985 – Richard Kahui, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1985 – Sonam Kapoor, Indian model and actress
    • 1985 – Sebastian Telfair, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Doug Legursky, American football player
    • 1986 – Yadier Pedroso, Cuban baseball player (d. 2013)
    • 1986 – Ashley Postell, American gymnast
    • 1987 – Jaan Mölder, Estonian race car driver
    • 1988 – Jason Demers, Canadian ice hockey defenseman
    • 1988 – Sara Isaković, Slovenian swimmer
    • 1989 – Dídac Vilà, Spanish footballer
    • 1990 – Matthias Mayer, Austrian skier
    • 1992 – Zach Hyman, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Yannick Agnel, French swimmer
    • 1992 – Boyd Cordner, Australian rugby league player
    • 1993 – George Jennings, Australian rugby league player

    Deaths on June 9

    • AD 68 – Nero, Roman emperor (b. 37)
    • 373 – Ephrem the Syrian, hymnographer and theologian (b. 306)
    • 597 – Columba, Irish missionary and saint (b. 521)
    • 630 – Shahrbaraz, king of the Persian Empire
    • 889 – Aimoin, Frankish monk and archivist
    • 908 – Yang Wo, Prince of Hongnong
    • 1075 – Gebhard of Supplinburg, Saxon count
    • 1087 – Otto I of Olomouc (b. 1045)
    • 1238 – Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester
    • 1252 – Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
    • 1348 – Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Sienese painter (b. 1290)
    • 1361 – Philippe de Vitry, French composer and poet (b. 1291)
    • 1563 – William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, English accountant and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1506)
    • 1572 – Jeanne d’Albret, Navarrese queen and Huguenot leader (b. 1528)
    • 1583 – Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1525)
    • 1597 – José de Anchieta, Spanish Jesuit missionary (b. 1534)
    • 1647 – Leonard Calvert, Colonial governor of Maryland (b. 1606)
    • 1656 – Thomas Tomkins, Welsh-English composer (b. 1572)
    • 1716 – Banda Singh Bahadur, Indian commander (b. 1670)
    • 1717 – Jeanne Guyon, French mystic and author (b. 1648)
    • 1834 – William Carey, English minister and missionary (b. 1761)
    • 1870 – Charles Dickens, English novelist and critic (b. 1812)
    • 1875 – Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist and conchologist (b. 1795)
    • 1889 – Mike Burke, American baseball player (b. 1854)
    • 1892 – William Grant Stairs, Canadian-English captain and explorer (b. 1863)
    • 1901 – Adolf Bötticher, German historian and author (b. 1842)
    • 1923 – Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (b. 1846)
    • 1927 – Victoria Woodhull, American activist for women’s rights (b. 1838)
    • 1929 – Louis Bennison, American stage and silent film actor (b. 1884)
    • 1929 – Margaret Lawrence, American stage actress (b. 1889)
    • 1942 – František Erben, Czech gymnast (b. 1874)
    • 1952 – Adolf Busch, German-Austrian violinist and composer (b. 1891)
    • 1953 – Ernest Graves, Sr., American football player, coach, and general (b. 1880)
    • 1956 – Chandrashekhar Agashe, Indian industrialist and lawyer (b. 1888)
    • 1956 – Hans Bergsland, Norwegian fencer (b. 1878)
    • 1956 – Thomas Hicks, Australian tennis player (b. 1869)
    • 1956 – Ferdinand Jodl, German general (b. 1896)
    • 1958 – Robert Donat, English actor (b. 1905)
    • 1959 – Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
    • 1960 – Harry S. Hammond, American football player and businessman (b. 1884)
    • 1961 – Camille Guérin, French veterinarian, bacteriologist and immunologist (b. 1872)
    • 1963 – Jacques Villon, French painter (b.1875)
    • 1964 – Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, British businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1879)
    • 1968 – Bernard Cronin, Australian author and journalist (b. 1884)
    • 1972 – Gilberto Parlotti, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1940)
    • 1973 – Chuck Bennett, American football player and coach (b. 1907)
    • 1973 – John Creasey, English author and politician (b. 1908)
    • 1973 – Erich von Manstein, German general (b. 1887)
    • 1974 – Miguel Ángel Asturias, Guatemalan journalist, author, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
    • 1979 – Cyclone Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player and civil servant (b. 1884)
    • 1981 – Allen Ludden, American game show host (b. 1917)
    • 1984 – Helen Hardin, American painter (b. 1943)
    • 1989 – George Wells Beadle, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1991 – Claudio Arrau, Chilean-American pianist and educator (b. 1903)
    • 1993 – Alexis Smith, Canadian-born American actress (b. 1921)
    • 1994 – Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1997 – Stanley Knowles, American-Canadian academic and politician (b. 1908)
    • 1998 – Lois Mailou Jones, American painter and academic (b. 1905)
    • 2000 – John Abramovic, American basketball player (b. 1919)
    • 2000 – Jacob Lawrence, American painter and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2004 – Rosey Brown, American football player and coach (b. 1932)
    • 2004 – Brian Williamson, Jamaican activist, co-founded J-FLAG (b. 1945)
    • 2006 – Drafi Deutscher, German singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2007 – Frankie Abernathy, American purse designer, cast-member on The Real World: San Diego (b. 1981)
    • 2008 – Algis Budrys, Lithuanian-American author and critic (b. 1931)
    • 2008 – Suleiman Mousa, Jordanian historian and author (b. 1919)
    • 2009 – Dick May, American race car driver (b. 1930)
    • 2010 – Ken Brown, British Guitarist who was a member of The Quarrymen (b. 1940)
    • 2011 – M. F. Husain, Indian painter and director (b. 1915)
    • 2011 – Tomoko Kawakami, Japanese voice actress (b. 1970)
    • 2011 – Mike Mitchell, American basketball player (b. 1956)
    • 2012 – Régis Clère, French cyclist (b. 1956)
    • 2012 – John Maples, Baron Maples, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Ivan Minatti, Slovene poet and translator (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Hawk Taylor, American baseball player and coach (b. 1939)
    • 2012 – Abram Wilson, American-English trumpet player and educator (b. 1973)
    • 2013 – Iain Banks, Scottish author (b. 1954)
    • 2013 – Bruno Bartoletti, Italian conductor (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – John Burke, English rugby player (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Walter Jens, German philologist, historian, and academic (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Zdeněk Rotrekl, Czech poet and historian (b. 1920)
    • 2014 – Bernard Agré, Ivorian cardinal (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Rik Mayall, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1958)
    • 2014 – Elsie Quarterman, American ecologist and academic (b. 1910)
    • 2014 – Alicemarie Huber Stotler, American lawyer and judge (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – Gustave Tassell, American fashion designer (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Bob Welch, American baseball player and coach (b. 1956)
    • 2015 – Pumpkinhead, American rapper (b. 1975)
    • 2015 – Pedro Zerolo, Spanish lawyer and politician (b. 1960)
    • 2017 – Adam West, American actor and investor (b. 1928)
    • 2018 – Fadil Vokrri, Kosovo Albanian football administrator and player (b. 1960)
    • 2019 – Bushwick Bill, Jamaican-American rapper (b. 1966)

    Holidays and observances on June 9

    • Anniversary of the Accession of King Abdullah II (Jordan)
    • Autonomy Day (Åland Islands)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Aidan of Lindisfarne (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
      • Bede (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
      • Columba
      • Ephrem the Syrian (Roman Catholic Church and Church of England)
      • José de Anchieta
      • Primus and Felician
      • June 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Coral Triangle Day
    • La Rioja Day (La Rioja)
    • Murcia Day (Murcia)
    • National Heroes’ Day (Uganda)
  • |

    May 31- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 455 – Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome.
    • 1223 – Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River: Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus’ and Cumans.
    • 1293 – Mongol invasion of Java was a punitive expedition against King Kertanegara of Singhasari, who had refused to pay tribute to the Yuan and maimed one of its ministers. However, it ended with failure for the Mongols. Regarded as establish City of Surabaya
    • 1578 – King Henry III lays the first stone of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris, France.
    • 1669 – Citing poor eyesight as a reason, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.
    • 1775 – American Revolution: The Mecklenburg Resolves are adopted in the Province of North Carolina.
    • 1790 – Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
    • 1790 – The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.
    • 1795 – French Revolution: The Revolutionary Tribunal is suppressed.
    • 1805 – French and Spanish forces begin the assault against British forces occupying Diamond Rock.
    • 1813 – In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth reach Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains.
    • 1859 – The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston and G.W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: The Army of Northern Virginia engages the Army of the Potomac.
    • 1879 – Gilmore’s Garden in New York City is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue.
    • 1884 – The arrival at Plymouth of Tāwhiao, King of Maoris, to claim the protection of Queen Victoria.
    • 1889 – Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam fails and sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
    • 1902 – Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.
    • 1909 – The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), convenes for the first time.
    • 1910 – The South Africa Act comes into force, establishing the Union of South Africa.
    • 1911 – The RMS Titanic is launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
    • 1911 – The President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz flees the country during the Mexican Revolution.
    • 1916 – World War I: Battle of Jutland: The British Grand Fleet engages the High Seas Fleet in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.
    • 1921 – The Tulsa race massacre kills at least 39, but other estimates of black fatalities vary from 55 to about 300.
    • 1935 – A 7.7 Mw  earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan killing 40,000.
    • 1941 – Anglo-Iraqi War: The United Kingdom completes the re-occupation of Iraq and returns ‘Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II.
    • 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.
    • 1947 – Ferenc Nagy, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, resigns from office after blackmail from the Hungarian Communist Party accusing him of being part of a plot against the state. This grants the Communists effective control of the Hungarian government.
    • 1961 – The South African Constitution of 1961 becomes effective, thus creating the Republic of South Africa, which remains outside the Commonwealth of Nations until 1 June 1994, when South Africa is returned to Commonwealth membership.
    • 1961 – In Moscow City Court, the Rokotov–Faibishenko show trial begins, despite the Khrushchev Thaw to reverse Stalinist elements in Soviet society.
    • 1962 – The West Indies Federation dissolves.
    • 1970 – The 7.9 Mw  Ancash earthquake shakes Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) and a landslide buries the town of Yungay, Peru. Between 66,794–70,000 were killed and 50,000 were injured.
    • 1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.
    • 1973 – The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War.
    • 1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed.
    • 1985 – United States–Canada tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
    • 1991 – Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations’ UNAVEM II mission.
    • 2005 – Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was “Deep Throat”.
    • 2008 – Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7 m/s) 9.72 seconds
    • 2010 – Israeli Shayetet 13 commandos boarded the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while still in international waters trying to break the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip; nine Turkish citizens on the flotilla were killed in the ensuing violent affray.
    • 2013 – The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.
    • 2013 – A record breaking 2.6 mile wide tornado strikes El Reno, Oklahoma, United States, causing eight fatalities and over 150 injuries.
    • 2017 – A car bomb explodes in a crowded intersection in Kabul near the German embassy during rush hour, killing over 90 and injuring 463.
    • 2017 – U.S. President Donald Trump tweets the word “covfefe” and quickly becomes a worldwide viral phenomenon.
    • 2019 – A shooting occurs inside a municipal building at Virginia Beach, Virginia, leaving 13 people dead, including the shooter, and four others injured.

    Births on May 31

    • 1443 (or 1441) – Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (d. 1509)
    • 1462 – Philipp II, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1504)
    • 1469 – Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)
    • 1535 – Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)
    • 1556 – Jerzy Radziwiłł, Catholic cardinal (d. 1600)
    • 1577 – Nur Jahan, Empress consort of the Mughal Empire (d. 1645)
    • 1613 – John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)
    • 1640 – Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland (d. 1673)
    • 1641 – Patriarch Dositheos II of Jerusalem (d. 1707)
    • 1725 – Ahilyabai Holkar, Queen of the Malwa Kingdom under the Maratha Empire (d. 1795)
    • 1732 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Austrian archbishop (d. 1812)
    • 1753 – Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French lawyer and politician (d. 1793)
    • 1754 – Andrea Appiani, Italian painter and educator (d. 1817)
    • 1773 – Ludwig Tieck, German poet, author, and critic (d. 1853)
    • 1801 – Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1887)
    • 1815 – Adye Douglas, English-Australian cricketer and politician, 15th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1906)
    • 1818 – John Albion Andrew, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1867)
    • 1819 – Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist (d. 1892)
    • 1827 – Kusumoto Ine, first Japanese female doctor of Western medicine (d. 1903)
    • 1835 – Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese commander (d. 1869)
    • 1838 – Henry Sidgwick, English economist and philosopher (d. 1900)
    • 1842 – John Cox Bray, Australian politician, 15th Premier of South Australia (d. 1894)
    • 1847 – William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, Canadian-Irish businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of Belfast (d. 1924)
    • 1852 – Francisco Moreno, Argentinian explorer and academic (d. 1919)
    • 1852 – Julius Richard Petri, German microbiologist, invented the Petri dish (d. 1921)
    • 1857 – Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)
    • 1858 – Graham Wallas, English socialist, social psychologist, and educationalist (d. 1932)
    • 1860 – Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)
    • 1863 – Francis Younghusband, Indian-English captain and explorer (d. 1942)
    • 1866 – John Ringling, American entrepreneur; one of the founders of the Ringling Brothers Circus (d. 1936)
    • 1875 – Rosa May Billinghurst, British suffragette and women’s rights activist (d.1953)
    • 1879 – Frances Alda, New Zealand-Australian soprano (d. 1952)
    • 1882 – Sándor Festetics, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of War (d. 1956)
    • 1883 – Lauri Kristian Relander, Finnish politician, 2nd President of Finland (d. 1942)
    • 1885 – Robert Richards, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of South Australia (d. 1967)
    • 1887 – Saint-John Perse, French poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
    • 1892 – Michel Kikoine, Belarusian-French painter (d. 1968)
    • 1892 – Erich Neumann, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1951)
    • 1892 – Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian poet and author (d. 1968)
    • 1892 – Gregor Strasser, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1934)
    • 1894 – Fred Allen, American comedian, radio host, game show panelist, and author (d. 1956)
    • 1898 – Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author (d. 1993)
    • 1900 – Lucile Godbold, American Olympic athlete (d. 1981)
    • 1901 – Alfredo Antonini, Italian-American conductor and composer (d. 1983)
    • 1908 – Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)
    • 1909 – Art Coulter, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – Maurice Allais, French economist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
    • 1912 – Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American experimental physicist (d. 1997)
    • 1914 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer and educator (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Bert Haanstra, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1918 – Robert Osterloh, American actor (d. 2001)
    • 1918 – Lloyd Quarterman, African American chemist (d. 1982)
    • 1919 – Robie Macauley, American editor, novelist and critic (d. 1995)
    • 1921 – Edna Doré, English actress (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Andrew Grima, Anglo-Italian jewellery designer (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer (d. 2008)
    • 1921 – Alida Valli, Austrian-Italian actress and singer (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Denholm Elliott, English-Spanish actor (d. 1992)
    • 1923 – Ellsworth Kelly, American painter and sculptor (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)
    • 1925 – Julian Beck, American actor and director (d. 1986)
    • 1927 – James Eberle, English admiral (d. 2018)
    • 1927 – Michael Sandberg, Baron Sandberg, English lieutenant and banker (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Pankaj Roy, Indian cricketer (d. 2001)
    • 1929 – Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director, musician, and producer
    • 1931 – John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Shirley Verrett, American soprano and actress (d. 2010)
    • 1932 – Ed Lincoln, Brazilian pianist, bassist, and composer (d. 2012)
    • 1932 – Jay Miner, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 1994)
    • 1933 – Henry B. Eyring, American religious leader, educator, and author
    • 1934 – Jim Hutton, American actor (d. 1979)
    • 1935 – Jim Bolger, New Zealand businessman and politician, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1938 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
    • 1938 – John Prescott, British sailor and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    • 1938 – Peter Yarrow, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1939 – Terry Waite, English humanitarian and author
    • 1940 – Anatoliy Bondarchuk, Ukrainian hammer thrower and coach
    • 1940 – Augie Meyers, American musician and singer-songwriter
    • 1940 – Gilbert Shelton, American illustrator
    • 1941 – June Clark, Welsh nurse and educator
    • 1941 – Louis Ignarro, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1941 – William Nordhaus, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1943 – Sharon Gless, American actress
    • 1943 – Joe Namath, American football player, sportscaster, and actor
    • 1945 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
    • 1945 – Laurent Gbagbo, Ivorian academic and politician, 4th President of Côte d’Ivoire
    • 1945 – Bernard Goldberg, American journalist and author
    • 1946 – Ted Baehr, American publisher and critic
    • 1946 – Steve Bucknor, Jamaican cricketer and umpire
    • 1946 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician, and diplomat (d. 2009)
    • 1946 – Debbie Moore, English model and businesswoman
    • 1947 – Junior Campbell, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1947 – Gabriele Hinzmann, German discus thrower
    • 1948 – Svetlana Alexievich, Belarusian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1948 – John Bonham, English musician, songwriter and drummer (d. 1980)
    • 1948 – Martin Hannett, English bass player, guitarist, and record producer (d. 1991)
    • 1948 – Duncan Hunter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician
    • 1949 – Tom Berenger, American actor, film producer and television writer
    • 1950 – Jean Chalopin, French director, producer, and screenwriter, founded DIC Entertainment
    • 1950 – Gregory Harrison, American actor
    • 1950 – Edgar Savisaar, Estonian politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior
    • 1951 – Karl-Hans Riehm, German hammer thrower
    • 1952 – Karl Bartos, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1953 – Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
    • 1954 – Vicki Sue Robinson, American actress and singer (d. 2000)
    • 1955 – Tommy Emmanuel, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Susie Essman, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Fritz Hilpert, German drummer and composer
    • 1956 – John Young, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1957 – Jim Craig, American ice hockey player
    • 1959 – Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver (d. 2014)
    • 1959 – Phil Wilson, English politician
    • 1960 – Greg Adams, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman
    • 1960 – Chris Elliott, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Peter Winterbottom, English rugby player
    • 1961 – Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1961 – Justin Madden, Australian footballer and politician
    • 1961 – Lea Thompson, American actress, director, and producer
    • 1962 – Corey Hart, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1963 – David Leigh, holder of the Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry at the University of Manchester
    • 1963 – Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician, 38th Prime Minister of Hungary
    • 1963 – Wesley Willis, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2003)
    • 1964 – Leonard Asper, Canadian lawyer and businessman
    • 1964 – Stéphane Caristan, French hurdler and coach
    • 1964 – Yukio Edano, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs
    • 1964 – Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels, American rapper and producer
    • 1965 – Brooke Shields, American model, actress, and producer
    • 1966 – Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lankan cricketer and referee
    • 1967 – Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television host and producer
    • 1967 – Kenny Lofton, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Arun Luthra, Indo-Anglo-American saxophonist, konnakol artist, composer, and arranger
    • 1972 – Christian McBride, American bassist and record producer
    • 1972 – Archie Panjabi, Indo-British actress
    • 1972 – Frode Estil, Norwegian skier
    • 1972 – Antti Niemi, Finnish international footballer, goalkeeper and coach
    • 1972 – Dave Roberts, American baseball player and coach
    • 1974 – Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Japanese comedian and singer
    • 1974 – Chad Campbell, American golfer
    • 1975 – Mac Suzuki, Japanese baseball player
    • 1976 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor
    • 1976 – Matt Harpring, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-Greek volleyball player
    • 1977 – Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer
    • 1977 – Eric Christian Olsen, American actor
    • 1977 – Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer
    • 1977 – Petr Tenkrát, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Jean-François Gillet, Belgian footballer
    • 1981 – Mikael Antonsson, Swedish footballer
    • 1981 – Daniele Bonera, Italian footballer
    • 1981 – Jake Peavy, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Marlies Schild, Austrian skier
    • 1984 – Andrew Bailey, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Milorad Čavić, Serbian swimmer
    • 1984 – Nate Robinson, American basketball player
    • 1985 – Jordy Nelson, American football player
    • 1986 – Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist
    • 1989 – Marco Reus, German footballer
    • 1990 – Erik Karlsson, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Michaël Bournival, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Laura Ikauniece, Latvian heptathlete
    • 1996 – Normani Korde, American singer
    • 1998 – Santino Ferrucci, American race car driver

    Deaths on May 31

    • 455 – Petronius Maximus, Roman emperor (b. 396)
    • 930 – Liu Hua, princess of Southern Han (b. 896)
    • 960 – Fujiwara no Morosuke, Japanese statesman (b. 909)
    • 1076 – Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria, English politician (b. 1050)
    • 1089 – Sigwin von Are, archbishop of Cologne
    • 1162 – Géza II, king of Hungary (b. 1130)
    • 1321 – Birger, king of Sweden (b. 1280)
    • 1326 – Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley (b. 1271)
    • 1329 – Albertino Mussato, Italian statesman and writer (b. 1261)
    • 1349 – Thomas Wake, English politician (b. 1297)
    • 1370 – Vitalis of Assisi, Italian hermit and monk (b. 1295)
    • 1408 – Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1358)
    • 1410 – Martin of Aragon, Spanish king (b. 1356)
    • 1504 – Engelbert II of Nassau (b. 1451)
    • 1558 – Philip Hoby, English general and diplomat (b. 1505)
    • 1567 – Guido de Bres, Belgian pastor and theologian (b. 1522)
    • 1594 – Tintoretto, Italian painter and educator (b. 1518)
    • 1601 – Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, Archbishop-Elector of Cologne (b. 1547)
    • 1640 – Zeynab Begum, Safavid princess (date of birth unknown)
    • 1665 – Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, Dutch painter (b. 1597)
    • 1680 – Joachim Neander, German theologian and educator (b. 1650)
    • 1740 – Frederick William I of Prussia (b. 1688)
    • 1747 – Andrey Osterman, German-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1686)
    • 1809 – Joseph Haydn, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1732)
    • 1809 – Jean Lannes, French general (b. 1769)
    • 1831 – Samuel Bentham, English architect and engineer (b. 1757)
    • 1832 – Évariste Galois, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1811)
    • 1837 – Joseph Grimaldi, English actor, comedian and dancer, (b. 1779)
    • 1846 – Philip Marheineke, German pastor and philosopher (b. 1780)
    • 1847 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish minister and economist (b. 1780)
    • 1848 – Eugénie de Guérin, French author (b. 1805)
    • 1899 – Stefanos Koumanoudis, Greek archaeologist, teacher and writer (b. 1818)
    • 1908 – Louis-Honoré Fréchette, Canadian author, poet, and politician (b. 1839)
    • 1909 – Thomas Price, Welsh-Australian politician, 24th Premier of South Australia (b. 1852)
    • 1910 – Elizabeth Blackwell, English-American physician and educator (b. 1821)
    • 1931 – Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1866)
    • 1931 – Willy Stöwer, German author and illustrator (b. 1864)
    • 1945 – Odilo Globocnik, Italian-Austrian SS officer (b. 1904)
    • 1954 – Antonis Benakis, Greek art collector and philanthropist, founded the Benaki Museum (b. 1873)
    • 1957 – Stefanos Sarafis, Greek general and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1957 – Leopold Staff, Polish poet and academic (b. 1878)
    • 1960 – Willem Elsschot, Flemish author and poet (b. 1882)
    • 1960 – Walther Funk, German economist, journalist, and politician, German Minister of Economics (b. 1890)
    • 1962 – Henry F. Ashurst, American lawyer and politician (b. 1874)
    • 1967 – Billy Strayhorn, American pianist and composer (b. 1915)
    • 1970 – Terry Sawchuk, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1929)
    • 1976 – Jacques Monod, French biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
    • 1977 – William Castle, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1914)
    • 1978 – József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1925)
    • 1981 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist and journalist (b. 1914)
    • 1982 – Carlo Mauri, Italian mountaineer and explorer (b. 1930)
    • 1983 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer and lieutenant (b. 1895)
    • 1985 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (b. 1921)
    • 1986 – Jane Frank, American painter and sculptor (b. 1918)
    • 1986 – James Rainwater, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
    • 1987 – John Abraham, Indian director and screenwriter (b. 1937)
    • 1989 – Owen Lattimore, American author and academic (b. 1900)
    • 1989 – C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and historian (b. 1901)
    • 1993 – Honey Tree Evil Eye, or, Spud Mackenzie, a Bull Terrier, dies of kidney failure.
    • 1994 – Uzay Heparı, Turkish actor, producer, and composer (b. 1969)
    • 1994 – Herva Nelli, Italian-American soprano (b. 1909)
    • 1995 – Stanley Elkin, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1930)
    • 1996 – Timothy Leary, American psychologist and author (b. 1920)
    • 1998 – Charles Van Acker, Belgian-American race car driver (b. 1912)
    • 2000 – Petar Mladenov, Bulgarian diplomat, 1st President of Bulgaria (b. 1936)
    • 2000 – Tito Puente, American jazz musician (b. 1923)
    • 2000 – A. Jeyaratnam Wilson, Sri Lankan historian, author, and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2001 – Arlene Francis, American actress, talk show host, game show panelist, and television personality (b. 1907)
    • 2002 – Subhash Gupte, Indian cricketer (b. 1929)
    • 2004 – Aiyathurai Nadesan, Sri Lankan journalist (b. 1954)
    • 2004 – Robert Quine, American guitarist (b. 1941)
    • 2004 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French screenwriter and composer (b. 1941)
    • 2006 – Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, Spanish sculptor (b. 1933)
    • 2006 – Raymond Davis, Jr., American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
    • 2009 – Danny La Rue, Irish-British drag queen performer and singer (b. 1927)
    • 2009 – George Tiller, American physician (b. 1941)
    • 2010 – Louise Bourgeois, French-American sculptor and painter (b. 1911)
    • 2010 – Brian Duffy, English photographer and producer (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – William A. Fraker, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1923)
    • 2010 – Rubén Juárez, Argentinian singer-songwriter and bandoneón player (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Merata Mita, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 2011 – Pauline Betz, American tennis player (b. 1919)
    • 2011 – Jonas Bevacqua, American fashion designer, co-founded the Lifted Research Group (b. 1977)
    • 2011 – Derek Hodge, Virgin Islander lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (b. 1941)
    • 2011 – Hans Keilson, German-Dutch psychoanalyst and author (b. 1909)
    • 2011 – John Martin, English admiral and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey (b. 1918)
    • 2011 – Andy Robustelli, American football player and manager (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Christopher Challis, English cinematographer (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Randall B. Kester, American lawyer and judge (b. 1916)
    • 2012 – Paul Pietsch, German racing driver and publisher (b. 1911)
    • 2012 – Orlando Woolridge, American basketball player and coach (b. 1959)
    • 2013 – Gerald E. Brown, American physicist and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Frederic Lindsay, Scottish author and educator (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Miguel Méndez, American author and poet (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Tim Samaras, American engineer and storm chaser (b. 1957)
    • 2013 – Jairo Mora Sandoval, Costa Rican environmentalist (b. 1987)
    • 2013 – Jean Stapleton, American actress (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Marilyn Beck, American journalist (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1952)
    • 2014 – Hoss Ellington, American race car driver (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Martha Hyer, American actress (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Lewis Katz, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – Mary Soames, Baroness Soames, English author (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – Gladys Taylor, Canadian author and publisher (b. 1917)
    • 2016 – Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (1976–2016) (b. 1947)
    • 2016 – Jan Crouch, American televangelist, co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (b. 1938)
    • 2016 – Carla Lane, English television writer (b. 1928)
    • 2016 – Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (b. 1939)

    Holidays and observances on May 31

    • Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Camilla Battista da Varano
      • Hermias
      • Petronella
      • Visitation of Mary (Western Christianity)
      • May 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The beginning of Gawai Dayak (Dayaks in Sarawak, Malaysia and West Kalimantan, Indonesia)
    • World No Tobacco Day (International)

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

    • AD 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometers.
    • 1381 – Beginning of the Peasants’ Revolt in England.
    • 1416 – The Council of Constance, called by Emperor Sigismund, a supporter of Antipope John XXIII, burns Jerome of Prague following a trial for heresy.
    • 1431 – Hundred Years’ War: In Rouen, France, the 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal. The Roman Catholic Church remembers this day as the celebration of Saint Joan of Arc.
    • 1434 – Hussite Wars: Battle of Lipany: Effectively ending the war, Utraquist forces led by Diviš Bořek of Miletínek defeat and almost annihilate Taborite forces led by Prokop the Great.
    • 1510 – During the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, Ming dynasty rebel leader Zhu Zhifan is defeated by commander Qiu Yue, ending the Prince of Anhua rebellion.
    • 1536 – King Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.
    • 1539 – In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.
    • 1574 – Henry III becomes King of France.
    • 1588 – The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.
    • 1631 – Publication of Gazette de France, the first French newspaper.
    • 1635 – Thirty Years’ War: The Peace of Prague is signed.
    • 1642 – From this date all honors granted by Charles I of England are retroactively annulled by Parliament.
    • 1806 – Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel.
    • 1814 – The First Treaty of Paris is signed, returning the French frontiers to their 1792 extent, and restoring the House of Bourbon to power.
    • 1815 – The East Indiaman Arniston is wrecked during a storm at Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, in present-day South Africa, with the loss of 372 lives.
    • 1834 – Minister of Justice Joaquim António de Aguiar issues a law seizing “all convents, monasteries, colleges, hospices and any other houses” from the Catholic religious orders in Portugal, earning him the nickname of “The Friar-Killer”.
    • 1842 – John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria as she drives down Constitution Hill in London with Prince Albert.
    • 1845 – The Fatel Razack coming from India, lands in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago carrying the first Indians to the country.
    • 1854 – The Kansas–Nebraska Act becomes law establishing the US territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
    • 1868 – Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern “Memorial Day”) is observed in the United States for the first time after a proclamation by John A. Logan, head of the Grand Army of the Republic (a veterans group).
    • 1876 – Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz is deposed and succeeded by his nephew Murad V.
    • 1883 – In New York City, a stampede on the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge killed twelve people.
    • 1899 – Pearl Hart, a female outlaw of the Old West, robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.
    • 1911 – At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race.
    • 1913 – The Treaty of London is signed, ending the First Balkan War; Albania becomes an independent nation.
    • 1914 – The new, and then the largest, Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, sets sails on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City.
    • 1922 – The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
    • 1925 – May Thirtieth Movement: Shanghai Municipal Police Force shoot and kill 13 protesting workers.
    • 1937 – Memorial Day massacre: Chicago police shoot and kill ten labor demonstrators.
    • 1941 – World War II: Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas climb the Athenian Acropolis and tear down the German flag.
    • 1942 – World War II: One thousand British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany.
    • 1943 – The Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Zigeunerfamilienlager (Romani family camp) at Auschwitz concentration camp.
    • 1948 – A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
    • 1958 – Memorial Day: The remains of two unidentified American servicemen, killed in action during World War II and the Korean War respectively, are buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
    • 1959 – The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham.
    • 1961 – The long-time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
    • 1963 – A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination during the Buddhist crisis is held outside South Vietnam’s National Assembly, the first open demonstration during the eight-year rule of Ngo Dinh Diem.
    • 1966 – Former Congolese Prime Minister, Évariste Kimba, and several other politicians are publicly executed in Kinshasa on the orders of President Joseph Mobutu.
    • 1967 – The Nigerian Eastern Region declares independence as the Republic of Biafra, sparking a civil war.
    • 1968 – Charles de Gaulle reappears publicly after his flight to Baden-Baden, Germany, and dissolves the French National Assembly by a radio appeal. Immediately after, less than one million of his supporters march on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. This is the turning point of May 1968 events in France.
    • 1971 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched to map 70% of the surface, and to study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface, of Mars.
    • 1972 – The Angry Brigade goes on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout the United Kingdom.
    • 1972 – In Ben Gurion Airport (at the time: Lod Airport), Israel, members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others.
    • 1974 – The Airbus A300 passenger aircraft first enters service.
    • 1979 – Downeast Flight 46 crashes on approach to Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine, killing 17.
    • 1975 – European Space Agency is established.
    • 1982 – Cold War: Spain joins NATO.
    • 1989 – Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 10-metre high “Goddess of Democracy” statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.
    • 1990 – Croatian Parliament is constituted after the first free, multi-party elections, today celebrated as the National Day of Croatia.
    • 1998 – The 6.5 Mw  Afghanistan earthquake shook the Takhar Province of northern Afghanistan with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), killing around 4,000–4,500.
    • 1998 – Nuclear Testing: Pakistan conducts an underground test in the Kharan Desert. It is reported to be a plutonium device with yield of 20kt TNT equivalent.
    • 2003 – Depayin massacre: At least 70 people associated with the National League for Democracy are killed by government-sponsored mob in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi flees the scene, but is arrested soon afterwards.
    • 2008 – Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted.
    • 2008 – TACA Flight 390 overshoots the runway at Toncontín International Airport, killing five people.
    • 2012 – Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in atrocities committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
    • 2013 – Nigeria passes a law banning same-sex marriage.
    • 2020 – The Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches from the Kennedy Space Center, becoming the first crewed rocket to launch from the United States since 2011.

    Births on May 30

    • 1010 – Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1063)
    • 1201 – Theobald IV, count of Champagne (d. 1253)
    • 1423 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1461)
    • 1464 – Barbara of Brandenburg, Bohemian queen (d. 1515)
    • 1580 – Fadrique de Toledo, 1st Marquis of Villanueva de Valdueza (d. 1634)
    • 1599 – Samuel Bochart, French Protestant biblical scholar (d. 1667)
    • 1623 – John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (d. 1686)
    • 1686 – Antonina Houbraken, Dutch illustrator (d. 1736)
    • 1718 – Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1793)
    • 1719 – Roger Newdigate, English politician (d. 1806)
    • 1757 – Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1844)
    • 1768 – Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty, French general (d. 1815)
    • 1797 – Georg Amadeus Carl Friedrich Naumann, German mineralogist and geologist (d. 1873)
    • 1800 – Henri-Marie-Gaston Boisnormand de Bonnechose, French cardinal (d. 1883)
    • 1814 – Mikhail Bakunin, Russian philosopher and theorist (d. 1876)
    • 1814 – Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (d. 1894)
    • 1819 – William McMurdo, English general (d. 1894)
    • 1820 – Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Quebec (d. 1890)
    • 1835 – Alfred Austin, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1913)
    • 1844 – Félix Arnaudin, French poet and photographer (d. 1921)
    • 1845 – Amadeo I, Spanish king (d. 1890)
    • 1846 – Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian goldsmith and jeweler (d. 1920)
    • 1862 – Mirza Alakbar Sabir, Azerbaijani philosopher and poet (d. 1911)
    • 1869 – Grace Andrews, American mathematician (d. 1951)
    • 1874 – Ernest Duchesne, French physician (d. 1912)
    • 1875 – Giovanni Gentile, Italian philosopher and academic (d. 1944)
    • 1879 – Colin Blythe, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1917)
    • 1879 – Konstantin Ramul, Estonian psychologist and academic (d. 1975)
    • 1881 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (d. 1968)
    • 1882 – Wyndham Halswelle, English runner and soldier (d. 1915)
    • 1883 – Sandy Pearce, Australian rugby league player (d. 1930)
    • 1884 – Siegmund Glücksmann, German soldier and politician (d. 1942)
    • 1885 – Villem Grünthal-Ridala, Estonian poet and linguist (d. 1942)
    • 1886 – Laurent Barré, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1964)
    • 1886 – Randolph Bourne, American theorist and author (d. 1918)
    • 1887 – Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian-American sculptor and illustrator (d. 1964)
    • 1887 – Emil Reesen, Danish pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1964)
    • 1890 – Roger Salengro, French soldier and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1936)
    • 1892 – Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (d. 1972)
    • 1894 – Hubertus van Mook, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1965)
    • 1895 – Maurice Tate, English cricketer (d. 1956)
    • 1896 – Howard Hawks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
    • 1897 – Frank Wise, Australian politician, 16th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1986)
    • 1898 – John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (d. 1985)
    • 1899 – Irving Thalberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1936)
    • 1901 – Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (d. 1969)
    • 1901 – Cornelia Otis Skinner, American actress and author (d. 1979)
    • 1902 – Stepin Fetchit, American actor and dancer (d. 1985)
    • 1903 – Countee Cullen, American poet and author (d. 1946)
    • 1906 – Bruno Gröning, German mystic and author (d. 1959)
    • 1907 – Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist and academic (d. 2008)
    • 1908 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
    • 1908 – Mel Blanc, American voice actor (d. 1989)
    • 1909 – Jacques Canetti, French music executive and talent agent (d. 1997)
    • 1909 – Freddie Frith, English motorcycle road racer (d. 1988)
    • 1909 – Benny Goodman, American clarinet player, songwriter, and bandleader (d. 1986)
    • 1910 – Harry Bernstein, English-American journalist and author (d. 2011)
    • 1912 – Julius Axelrod, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
    • 1912 – Erich Bagge, German physicist and academic (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (d. 1980)
    • 1912 – Millicent Selsam, American author and academic (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Joseph Stein, American playwright and author (d. 2010)
    • 1914 – Akinoumi Setsuo, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 37th Yokozuna (d. 1979)
    • 1915 – Len Carney, English footballer and soldier (d. 1996)
    • 1916 – Justin Catayée, French soldier and politician (d. 1962)
    • 1916 – Mort Meskin, American illustrator (d. 1995)
    • 1918 – Pita Amor, Mexican poet and author (d. 2000)
    • 1918 – Bob Evans, American businessman, founded Bob Evans Restaurants (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – René Barrientos, Bolivian general and politician, 55th President of Bolivia (d. 1969)
    • 1920 – Franklin J. Schaffner, Japanese-American director and producer (d. 1989)
    • 1922 – Hal Clement, American author and educator (d. 2003)
    • 1924 – Anthony Dryden Marshall, American CIA officer and diplomat (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – John Henry Marks, English physician and author
    • 1926 – Johnny Gimble, American country/western swing musician (Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys) (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Joan Birman, American mathematician
    • 1927 – Clint Walker, American actor and singer (d. 2018)
    • 1927 – Billy Wilson, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1993)
    • 1928 – Pro Hart, Australian painter (d. 2006)
    • 1928 – Agnès Varda, Belgian-French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Georges Gilson, French archbishop
    • 1930 – Mark Birley, English businessman, founded Annabel’s (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – Robert Ryman, American painter (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Larry Silverstein, American real estate magnate
    • 1932 – Ray Cooney, English actor and playwright
    • 1932 – Pauline Oliveros, American accordion player and composer (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Ivor Richard, Baron Richard, Welsh politician and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2018)
    • 1934 – Alexei Leonov, Russian general, pilot, and cosmonaut (d. 2019)
    • 1934 – Alketas Panagoulias, Greek footballer and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Ruta Lee, Canadian-American actress and dancer
    • 1935 – Guy Tardif, Canadian academic and politician (d. 2005)
    • 1936 – Keir Dullea, American actor
    • 1937 – Christopher Haskins, Anglo-Irish businessman, life peer, and British politician
    • 1937 – Rick Mather, American-English architect (d. 2013)
    • 1938 – Billie Letts, American author and educator (d. 2014)
    • 1939 – Michael J. Pollard, American actor (d. 2019)
    • 1939 – Dieter Quester, Austrian race car driver
    • 1939 – Tim Waterstone, Scottish businessman, founded Waterstones
    • 1940 – Jagmohan Dalmiya, Indian cricket administrator (d. 2015)
    • 1940 – Gilles Villemure, Canadian-American ice hockey player
    • 1942 – John Gladwin, English bishop
    • 1942 – Carole Stone, English journalist and author
    • 1943 – Anders Michanek, Swedish motorcycle racer
    • 1943 – Gale Sayers, American football player and philanthropist
    • 1944 – Lenny Davidson, English guitarist and songwriter (The Dave Clark Five)
    • 1944 – Meredith MacRae, American actress (d. 2000)
    • 1944 – Stav Prodromou, Greek-American engineer and businessman
    • 1945 – Gladys Horton, American singer (d. 2011)
    • 1946 – Allan Chapman, English historian and author
    • 1946 – Dragan Džajić, Serbian and Yugoslav footballer
    • 1947 – Jocelyne Bourassa, Canadian golfer
    • 1948 – Johan De Muynck, Belgian former professional road racing cyclist
    • 1948 – Michael Piller, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2005)
    • 1948 – David Thorpe, Australian rules footballer
    • 1949 – P.J. Carlesimo, American basketball player and coach
    • 1949 – Paul Coleridge, English lawyer and judge
    • 1949 – Bob Willis, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2019)
    • 1950 – Bertrand Delanoë, French politician, 14th Mayor of Paris
    • 1950 – Paresh Rawal, Indian actor, producer, and politician
    • 1950 – Joshua Rozenberg, English lawyer, journalist, and author
    • 1951 – Zdravko Čolić, Bosnian Serb singer-songwriter
    • 1951 – Fernando Lugo, Paraguayan bishop and politician, President of Paraguay
    • 1951 – Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor, singer, and director
    • 1952 – Daniel Grodnik, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1952 – Kerry Fraser, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and sportscaster
    • 1953 – Jim Hunter, Canadian skier
    • 1953 – Colm Meaney, Irish actor
    • 1955 – Topper Headon, English drummer and songwriter (The Clash)
    • 1955 – Jacqueline McGlade, English-Canadian biologist, ecologist, and academic
    • 1955 – Caroline Swift, English lawyer and judge
    • 1955 – Colm Tóibín, Irish novelist, poet, playwright, and critic
    • 1956 – Tim Lucas, American author, screenwriter, and critic
    • 1957 – Michael Clayton, Australian golfer
    • 1958 – Eugene Belliveau, Canadian football player
    • 1958 – Marie Fredriksson, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2019)
    • 1958 – Steve Israel, American lawyer and politician
    • 1958 – Michael López-Alegría, Spanish-American captain, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1958 – Ted McGinley, American actor
    • 1959 – Phil Brown, English footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1959 – Randy Ferbey, Canadian curler
    • 1959 – Frank Vanhecke, Belgian politician
    • 1961 – Harry Enfield, English actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Bob Yari, Iranian-American director and producer
    • 1962 – Kevin Eastman, American author and illustrator, co-created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
    • 1962 – Richard Fuller, English lawyer and politician
    • 1962 – Tim Loughton, English businessman and politician
    • 1962 – Tonya Pinkins, American actress and singer
    • 1963 – Michel Langevin, Canadian drummer and songwriter
    • 1963 – Élise Lucet, French journalist
    • 1963 – Helen Sharman, English chemist and astronaut
    • 1964 – Wynonna Judd, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1964 – Andrea Montermini, Italian race car driver
    • 1964 – Tom Morello, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1965 – Troy Coker, Australian rugby player
    • 1965 – Billy Donovan, American basketball player and coach
    • 1965 – Iginio Straffi, Italian animator and producer, founded Rainbow S.r.l.
    • 1966 – Thomas Häßler, German footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Stephen Malkmus, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1967 – Tim Burgess, English singer-songwriter
    • 1967 – Rechelle Hawkes, Australian hockey player
    • 1967 – Sven Pipien, German-American bass player
    • 1968 – Jason Kenney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 40th Canadian Minister of National Defence
    • 1968 – Zacarias Moussaoui, French citizen, sentenced to life in prison related to September 11 attacks
    • 1969 – Naomi Kawase, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Ryuhei Kitamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Paul Grayson, English rugby player and coach
    • 1971 – Duncan Jones, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Idina Menzel, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1971 – Jiří Šlégr, Czech ice hockey player and politician
    • 1971 – Adrian Vowles, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Manny Ramirez, Dominican-American baseball player and coach
    • 1974 – Big L, American rapper (d. 1999)
    • 1974 – Kostas Chalkias, Greek footballer
    • 1974 – CeeLo Green, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor
    • 1974 – David Wilkie, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1975 – Evan Eschmeyer, American basketball player
    • 1975 – Brian Fair, American singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Andy Farrell, English rugby player and coach
    • 1975 – Marissa Mayer, American computer scientist and businesswoman
    • 1976 – Radoslav Nesterović, Slovenian-Greek basketball player
    • 1976 – Magnus Norman, Swedish tennis player and coach
    • 1976 – Margaret Okayo, Kenyan runner
    • 1977 – Rachael Stirling, English actress
    • 1977 – Federico Vilar, Argentinian-Italian footballer
    • 1979 – Mike Bishai, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Clint Bowyer, American race car driver
    • 1979 – Francis Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Steven Gerrard, English international footballer, midfielder and manager
    • 1980 – Ilona Korstin, Russian basketball player
    • 1980 – Ryōgo Narita, Japanese author
    • 1981 – Devendra Banhart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1981 – Gianmaria Bruni, Italian race car driver
    • 1981 – Ahmad Elrich, Australian footballer
    • 1981 – Remy Ma, American rapper
    • 1981 – Lars Møller Madsen, Danish handball player
    • 1981 – Hisanori Takada, Japanese footballer
    • 1982 – Eddie Griffin, American basketball player (d. 2007)
    • 1982 – James Simpson-Daniel, English rugby player
    • 1984 – Sham Kwok Fai, Hong Kong footballer
    • 1984 – Matt Maguire, Australian footballer
    • 1984 – Alexander Sulzer, German ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Igor Kurnosov, Russian chess player (d. 2013)
    • 1985 – Igor Lewczuk, Polish footballer
    • 1985 – Aaron Volpatti, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Nikolay Bodurov, Bulgarian international footballer, centre-back
    • 1989 – Ailee, Korean-American singer and songwriter
    • 1989 – Lesia Tsurenko, Ukrainian tennis player
    • 1990 – Andrei Loktionov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Jonathan Fox, English swimmer
    • 1992 – Harrison Barnes, American basketball player
    • 1992 – Danielle Harold, English actress
    • 1994 – Scott Laughton, Canadian ice hockey player

    Deaths on May 30

    • 531 – Xiao Tong, prince of the Liang Dynasty (b. 501)
    • 727 – Hubertus, bishop Liège
    • 947 – Ma Xifan, king of Chu (b. 899)
    • 1035 – Baldwin IV, count of Flanders (b. 980)
    • 1159 – Władysław II the Exile, High Duke of Poland and Duke of Silesia (b. 1105)
    • 1252 – Ferdinand III, king of Castile and León (b. 1199)
    • 1347 – John Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth, English peer (b. 1290)
    • 1376 – Joan of Ponthieu, Dame of Epernon, French noblewoman
    • 1416 – Jerome of Prague, Czech martyr and theologian (b. 1379)
    • 1431 – Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (b. 1412)
    • 1434 – Prokop the Great, Czech general (b. 1380)
    • 1469 – Lope de Barrientos, Castilian bishop (b. 1389)
    • 1472 – Jacquetta of Luxembourg, daughter of Pierre de Luxembourg (b. 1416)
    • 1574 – Charles IX of France (b. 1550)
    • 1593 – Christopher Marlowe, English poet and playwright (b. 1564)
    • 1606 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth of the Sikh gurus (executed) (b. 1563)
    • 1640 – Peter Paul Rubens, German-Belgian painter (b. 1577)
    • 1696 – Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Tewkesbury, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1638)
    • 1670 – John Davenport, English minister, co-founded the New Haven Colony (b. 1597)
    • 1712 – Andrea Lanzani, Italian painter (b. 1645)
    • 1718 – Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle, Dutch-English general (b. 1670)
    • 1744 – Alexander Pope, English poet, essayist, and translator (b. 1688)
    • 1770 – François Boucher, French painter and set designer (b. 1703)
    • 1778 – Voltaire, French philosopher and author (b. 1694)
    • 1778 – José de la Borda, French/Spanish mining magnate in colonial Mexico (b. ca. 1700)
    • 1829 – Philibert Jean-Baptiste Curial, French general (b. 1774)
    • 1832 – James Mackintosh, Scottish historian, jurist, and politician (b. 1765)
    • 1855 – Mary Reibey, Australian businesswoman, (b. 1777)
    • 1892 – Mary Hannah Gray Clarke, American author, correspondent, and poet (b. 1835)
    • 1865 – John Catron, American lawyer and judge (b. 1786)
    • 1901 – Victor D’Hondt, Belgian mathematician, lawyer, and jurist (b. 1841)
    • 1911 – Milton Bradley, American businessman, founded the Milton Bradley Company (b. 1836)
    • 1912 – Wilbur Wright, American pilot and businessman, co-founded the Wright Company (b. 1867)
    • 1918 – Georgi Plekhanov, Russian philosopher and theorist (b. 1856)
    • 1925 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian and author (b. 1876)
    • 1926 – Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician and physicist (b. 1864)
    • 1934 – Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (b. 1848)
    • 1939 – Floyd Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1904)
    • 1941 – Prajadhipok, Thai king (b. 1893)
    • 1946 – Louis Slotin, Canadian physicist and chemist (b. 1910)
    • 1947 – Georg von Trapp, Austrian captain (b. 1880)
    • 1948 – József Klekl, Slovene-Hungarian priest and politician (b. 1874)
    • 1949 – Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French cardinal (b. 1874)
    • 1951 – Hermann Broch, Austrian-American author (b. 1886)
    • 1953 – Dooley Wilson, American actor and singer (b. 1886)
    • 1955 – Bill Vukovich, American race car driver (b. 1918)
    • 1957 – Piero Carini, Italian race car driver (b. 1921)
    • 1960 – Boris Pasternak, Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
    • 1961 – Rafael Trujillo, Dominican soldier and politician, 36th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891)
    • 1964 – Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Nigerian king (b. 1882)
    • 1964 – Eddie Sachs, American race car driver (b. 1927)
    • 1964 – Leó Szilárd, Hungarian-American physicist and engineer (b. 1898)
    • 1965 – Louis Hjelmslev, Danish linguist and academic (b. 1899)
    • 1967 – Claude Rains, English-American actor (b. 1889)
    • 1967 – Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Austrian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
    • 1971 – Marcel Dupré, French organist and composer (b. 1886)
    • 1975 – Steve Prefontaine, American runner (b. 1951)
    • 1975 – Tatsuo Shimabuku, Japanese martial artist, founded Isshin-ryū (b. 1908)
    • 1975 – Michel Simon, Swiss-born French actor (b. 1895)
    • 1976 – Max Carey, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1890)
    • 1976 – Mitsuo Fuchida, Japanese captain (b. 1902)
    • 1978 – Jean Deslauriers, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1909)
    • 1980 – Carl Radle, American bass player and producer (b. 1942)
    • 1981 – Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1955)
    • 1981 – Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi general and politician, 7th President of Bangladesh (b. 1936)
    • 1982 – Albert Norden, German journalist and politician (b. 1904)
    • 1986 – Perry Ellis, American fashion designer, founded his own eponymous fashion brand (b. 1940)
    • 1993 – Sun Ra, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1914)
    • 1994 – Ezra Taft Benson, American religious leader, 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1899)
    • 1994 – Marcel Bich, Italian-French businessman, co-founded Société Bic (b. 1914)
    • 1994 – Agostino Di Bartolomei, Italian footballer (b. 1955)
    • 1995 – Ted Drake, English footballer and manager (b. 1912)
    • 1995 – Lofty England, English-Austrian engineer (b. 1911)
    • 1995 – Bobby Stokes, English footballer (b. 1951)
    • 1996 – Léon-Étienne Duval, French cardinal (b. 1903)
    • 1996 – Alo Mattiisen, Estonian composer (b. 1961)
    • 1999 – Kalju Lepik, Estonian poet and author (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Tex Beneke, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Denis Whitaker, Canadian general and historian (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Gérald Leblanc, Acadian poet (b. 1945)
    • 2005 – Tomasz Pacyński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1958)
    • 2005 – Alma Ziegler, American baseball player and stenographer (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Shohei Imamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2006 – David Lloyd, New Zealand biologist and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2006 – Robert Sterling, American actor (b. 1917)
    • 2007 – Jean-Claude Brialy, Algerian-French actor and director (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Birgit Dalland, Norwegian politician (b. 1907)
    • 2007 – Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, Indian poet and critic (b. 1927)
    • 2009 – Torsten Andersson, Swedish painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Susanna Haapoja, Finnish politician (b. 1966)
    • 2009 – Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (b. 1916)
    • 2010 – Yuri Chesnokov, Russian volleyball player and coach (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – Dufferin Roblin, Canadian commander and politician, 14th Premier of Manitoba (b. 1917)
    • 2011 – Isikia Savua, Fijian police officer and diplomat (b. 1952)
    • 2011 – Saleem Shahzad, Pakistani journalist (b. 1970)
    • 2011 – Marek Siemek, Polish philosopher and historian (b. 1942)
    • 2011 – Clarice Taylor, American actress (b. 1917)
    • 2011 – Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – John Fox, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Andrew Huxley, English physiologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Gerhard Pohl, German economist and politician (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Jack Twyman, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Jayalath Jayawardena, Sri Lankan physician and politician (b. 1953)
    • 2013 – Larry Jones, American football player and coach (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Hienadz Buraukin, Belarusian poet, journalist, and diplomat (b. 1936)
    • 2014 – Henning Carlsen, Danish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Joan Lorring, British actress (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Leonidas Vasilikopoulos, Greek admiral (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Beau Biden, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 44th Attorney General of Delaware (b. 1969)
    • 2015 – Joël Champetier, Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1957)
    • 2015 – L. Tom Perry, American religious leader and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Tom Lysiak, Polish-Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1953)
    • 2016 – Rick MacLeish, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1950)
    • 2019 – Jason Marcano, Trinidadian footballer (b. 1983)

    Holidays and observances on May 30

    • Anguilla Day, commemorates the beginning of the Anguillian Revolution in 1967. (Anguilla)
    • Canary Islands Day (Spain)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Earliest day on which Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary can fall, while July 3 is the latest; celebrated 20 days after Pentecost. (Catholic Church)
      • Ferdinand III of Castile
      • Isaac of Dalmatia
      • Joan of Arc
      • Joseph Marello
      • May 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Indian Arrival Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
    • Lod Massacre Remembrance Day (Puerto Rico)
    • Mother’s Day (Nicaragua)
    • Statehood Day (Croatia)

  • May 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 919 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as king of the East Frankish Kingdom.
    • 1218 – The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt.
    • 1276 – Magnus Ladulås is crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral.
    • 1487 – The ten-year-old Lambert Simnel is crowned in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland, with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII’s reign.
    • 1567 – Erik XIV of Sweden and his guards murder five incarcerated Swedish nobles.
    • 1595 – Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appears, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.
    • 1607 – One hundred English settlers disembark in Jamestown, the first permanent English colony in America.
    • 1621 – The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.
    • 1626 – Peter Minuit buys Manhattan.
    • 1667 – The French Royal Army crosses the border into the Spanish Netherlands, starting the War of Devolution opposing France to the Spanish Empire and the Triple Alliance.
    • 1683 – The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, opens as the world’s first university museum.
    • 1689 – The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration protecting dissenting Protestants but excluding Roman Catholics.
    • 1738 – John Wesley is converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day and a church service is generally held on the preceding Sunday.
    • 1798 – The Irish Rebellion of 1798 led by the United Irishmen against British rule begins.
    • 1813 – South American independence leader Simón Bolívar enters Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and is proclaimed El Libertador (“The Liberator”).
    • 1822 – Battle of Pichincha: Antonio José de Sucre secures the independence of the Presidency of Quito.
    • 1832 – The First Kingdom of Greece is declared in the London Conference.
    • 1844 – Samuel Morse sends the message “What hath God wrought” (a biblical quotation, Numbers 23:23) from a committee room in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate a commercial telegraph line between Baltimore and Washington D.C.
    • 1856 – John Brown and his men kill five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Union troops occupy Alexandria, Virginia.
    • 1883 – The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexes the Orange Free State.
    • 1915 – World War I: Italy declares war on Austria-Hungary, joining the conflict on the side of the Allies.
    • 1930 – Amy Johnson lands in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia (she left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight).
    • 1935 – The first night game in Major League Baseball history is played in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 at Crosley Field.
    • 1940 – Igor Sikorsky performs the first successful single-rotor helicopter flight.
    • 1940 – Acting on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, NKVD agent Iosif Grigulevich orchestrates an unsuccessful assassination attempt on exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in Coyoacán, Mexico.
    • 1941 – World War II: In the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Battleship Bismarck sinks then-pride of the Royal Navy, HMS Hood, killing all but three crewmen.
    • 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: Egypt captures the Israeli kibbutz of Yad Mordechai, but the five-day effort gives Israeli forces time to prepare enough to stop the Egyptian advance a week later.
    • 1956 – The first Eurovision Song Contest is held in Lugano, Switzerland.
    • 1958 – United Press International is formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.
    • 1960 – Following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded earthquake, Cordón Caulle begins to erupt.
    • 1961 – American civil rights movement: Freedom Riders are arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for “disturbing the peace” after disembarking from their bus.
    • 1962 – Project Mercury: American astronaut Scott Carpenter orbits the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule.
    • 1967 – Egypt imposes a blockade and siege of the Red Sea coast of Israel.
    • 1976 – The Judgment of Paris takes place in France, launching California as a worldwide force in the production of quality wine.
    • 1981 – Ecuadorian president Jaime Roldós Aguilera, his wife, and his presidential committee die in an aircraft accident while travelling from Quito to Zapotillo minutes after the president gave a famous speech regarding the 24 de mayo anniversary of the Battle of Pichincha.
    • 1982 – Liberation of Khorramshahr: Iranians recapture of the port city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqis during the Iran–Iraq War.
    • 1988 – Section 28 of the United Kingdom’s Local Government Act 1988, a controversial amendment stating that a local authority cannot intentionally promote homosexuality, is enacted.
    • 1991 – Israel conducts Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel.
    • 1992 – The last Thai dictator, General Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigns following pro-democracy protests.
    • 1992 – The ethnic cleansing in Kozarac, Bosnia and Herzegovina begins when Serbian militia and police forces enter the town.
    • 1993 – Eritrea gains its independence from Ethiopia.
    • 1993 – Roman Catholic Cardinal Juan Jesús Posadas Ocampo and five other people are assassinated in a shootout at Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport in Mexico.
    • 1994 – Four men convicted of bombing the World Trade Center in New York in 1993 are each sentenced to 240 years in prison.
    • 1995 – While attempting to return to Leeds Bradford Airport in the United Kingdom, Knight Air Flight 816 crashes in Harewood, North Yorkshire, killing all 12 people on board.
    • 1999 – The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo.
    • 2000 – Israeli troops withdraw from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation.
    • 2002 – Russia and the United States sign the Moscow Treaty.
    • 2014 – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurs in the Aegean Sea between Greece and Turkey, injuring 324 people.
    • 2014 – At least three people are killed in a shooting at Brussels’ Jewish Museum of Belgium.
    • 2019 – Twenty-two students die in a fire in Surat (India).
    • 2019 – Under pressure over her handling of Brexit, British Prime Minister Theresa May announces her resignation as Leader of the Conservative Party, effective as of June 7.

    Births on May 24

    • 15 BC – Germanicus, Roman general (d. 19)
    • 1335 – Margaret of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary (d. 1349)
    • 1494 – Pontormo, Italian painter (d. 1557)
    • 1522 – John Jewel, English bishop (d. 1571)
    • 1544 – William Gilbert, English physician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1603)
    • 1576 – Elizabeth Carey, Lady Berkeley, English courtier (d. 1635)
    • 1616 – John Maitland, 1st Duke of Lauderdale, Scottish politician, Secretary of State, Scotland (d. 1682)
    • 1628 – Marek Sobieski, Polish noble (d. 1652)
    • 1669 – Emerentia von Düben, Swedish royal favorite (d. 1743)
    • 1671 – Gian Gastone de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1737)
    • 1686 – Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, Polish-German physicist and engineer, developed the Fahrenheit scale (d. 1736)
    • 1689 – Daniel Finch, 8th Earl of Winchilsea, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1769)
    • 1743 – Jean-Paul Marat, Swiss-French physician, journalist, and politician (d. 1793)
    • 1789 – Cathinka Buchwieser, German operatic singer and actress (d.1828)
    • 1794 – William Whewell, English priest and philosopher (d. 1866)
    • 1803 – Alexander von Nordmann, Finnish biologist and paleontologist (d. 1866)
    • 1810 – Abraham Geiger, German rabbi and scholar (d. 1874)
    • 1816 – Emanuel Leutze, German-American painter (d. 1868)
    • 1819 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1901)
    • 1830 – Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter and academic (d. 1897)
    • 1855 – Arthur Wing Pinero, English actor, director, and playwright (d. 1934)
    • 1861 – Gerald Strickland, 1st Baron Strickland, Maltese lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1940)
    • 1863 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (d. 1938)
    • 1868 – Charlie Taylor, American engineer and mechanic (d. 1956)
    • 1870 – Benjamin N. Cardozo, American lawyer and judge (d. 1938)
    • 1870 – Jan Smuts, South African lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1950)
    • 1874 – Princess Marie of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1878)
    • 1875 – Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1961)
    • 1878 – Lillian Moller Gilbreth, American psychologist and engineer (d. 1972)
    • 1879 – H. B. Reese, American candy maker, created Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (d. 1956)
    • 1886 – Paul Paray, French organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1979)
    • 1887 – Mick Mannock, Irish soldier and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
    • 1891 – William F. Albright, American archaeologist, philologist, and scholar (d. 1971)
    • 1895 – Samuel Irving Newhouse Sr., American publisher, founded Advance Publications (d. 1979)
    • 1899 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (d. 1938)
    • 1899 – Henri Michaux, Belgian-French poet and painter (d. 1984)
    • 1900 – Eduardo De Filippo, Italian actor and screenwriter (d. 1984)
    • 1901 – José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer and manager (d. 1968)
    • 1902 – Lionel Conacher, Canadian football player and politician (d. 1954)
    • 1902 – Sylvia Daoust, Canadian sculptor (d. 2004)
    • 1905 – George Nakashima, American woodworker and architect(d. 1990)
    • 1905 – Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
    • 1909 – Wilbur Mills, American banker and politician (d. 1992)
    • 1910 – Jimmy Demaret, American golfer (d. 1983)
    • 1913 – Joe Abreu, American baseball player and soldier (d. 1993)
    • 1914 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (d. 1986)
    • 1916 – Roden Cutler, Australian lieutenant and politician, 32nd Governor of New South Wales (d. 2002)
    • 1917 – Alan Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway, English lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Coleman Young, American politician, 66th Mayor of Detroit (d. 1997)
    • 1923 – Siobhán McKenna, Irish actress (d. 1986)
    • 1924 – Philip Pearlstein, American soldier and painter
    • 1925 – Carmine Infantino, American illustrator and educator (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Mai Zetterling, Swedish actress and director (d. 1994)
    • 1926 – Stanley Baxter, Scottish actor and screenwriter
    • 1928 – William Trevor, Irish novelist, playwright and short story writer (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Arnold Wesker, English playwright and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Jane Byrne, American lawyer and politician, 50th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Réal Giguère, Canadian television host and actor
    • 1933 – Aharon Lichtenstein, French-Israeli rabbi and author (d. 2015)
    • 1935 – Joan Micklin Silver, American director and screenwriter
    • 1936 – Harold Budd, American composer and poet
    • 1937 – Maryvonne Dupureur, French runner and educator (d. 2008)
    • 1937 – Archie Shepp, American saxophonist and composer
    • 1938 – Prince Buster, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1938 – Tommy Chong, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1940 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
    • 1941 – Bob Dylan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, artist, writer, and producer; Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1941 – Patricia Hollis, Baroness Hollis of Heigham, English academic and politician
    • 1942 – Ali Bacher, South African cricketer and manager
    • 1942 – Hannu Mikkola, Finnish race car driver
    • 1942 – Ichirō Ozawa, Japanese lawyer and politician, Japanese Minister of Home Affairs
    • 1943 – Gary Burghoff, American actor
    • 1944 – Patti LaBelle, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1944 – Dominique Lavanant, French actress
    • 1945 – Terry Callier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
    • 1945 – Steven Norris, English engineer and politician
    • 1945 – Richard Ottaway, English lieutenant and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
    • 1945 – Priscilla Presley, American actress and businesswoman
    • 1946 – Tansu Çiller, Turkish economist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Turkey
    • 1946 – Jesualdo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer and manager
    • 1946 – Irena Szewińska, Russian-Polish sprinter
    • 1947 – Albert Bouchard, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer
    • 1947 – Mike De Leon, Filipino director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer
    • 1947 – Mike Reid, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and American football player
    • 1947 – Waddy Wachtel, American guitarist, singer-songwriter, and record producer
    • 1947 – Martin Winterkorn, German businessman
    • 1948 – Richard Dembo, French director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1949 – Jim Broadbent, English actor
    • 1949 – Roger Deakins , English cinematographer
    • 1953 – Alfred Molina, English actor
    • 1955 – Rosanne Cash, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Philippe Lafontaine, Belgian singer and songwriter
    • 1955 – Rajesh Roshan, Indian composer
    • 1956 – R. B. Bernstein, American constitutional historian
    • 1956 – Larry Blackmon, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1956 – Dominic Grieve, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales
    • 1956 – Michael Jackson, Irish archbishop
    • 1958 – Chip Ganassi, American race car driver, team owner and businessman
    • 1959 – Pelle Lindbergh, Swedish-American ice hockey player (d. 1985)
    • 1959 – Barry O’Farrell, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of New South Wales
    • 1960 – Guy Fletcher, English keyboard player, guitarist, and producer
    • 1960 – Bill Harrigan, Australian rugby league referee and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Kristin Scott Thomas, English actress
    • 1961 – Lorella Cedroni, Italian philosopher and theorist (d. 2013)
    • 1961 – Alain Lemieux, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1962 – Héctor Camacho, Puerto Rican-American boxer (d. 2012)
    • 1962 – Gene Anthony Ray, American actor, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2003)
    • 1963 – Ivan Capelli, Italian race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Michael Chabon, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter
    • 1963 – Joe Dumars, American basketball player
    • 1963 – Rich Rodriguez, American football player and coach
    • 1963 – Valerie Taylor, American computer scientist and educator
    • 1964 – Liz McColgan, Scottish educator and runner
    • 1964 – Adrian Moorhouse, English swimmer
    • 1964 – Isidro Pérez, Mexican boxer (d. 2013)
    • 1964 – Pat Verbeek, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
    • 1965 – John C. Reilly, American actor
    • 1965 – Shinichirō Watanabe, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Éric Cantona, French footballer, manager, and actor
    • 1966 – Ricky Craven, American race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1967 – Tamer Karadağlı, Turkish actor
    • 1967 – Andrey Borodin, Russian-English economist and businessman
    • 1967 – Eric Close, American actor
    • 1967 – Heavy D, Jamaican-American rapper, producer, and actor (d. 2011)
    • 1967 – Carlos Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
    • 1969 – Martin McCague, Northern Irish-English cricketer
    • 1969 – Jacob Rees-Mogg, English politician
    • 1969 – Rich Robinson, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1971 – Kris Draper, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
    • 1972 – Greg Berlanti, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Rodrigo, Argentinian singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
    • 1973 – Bartolo Colón, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1973 – Shirish Kunder, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Vladimír Šmicer, Czech footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Sébastien Foucan, French runner and actor
    • 1974 – Masahide Kobayashi, Japanese baseball player and coach
    • 1974 – Magnus Manske, German biochemist and computer programmer, developed MediaWiki
    • 1975 – Will Sasso, Canadian actor and comedian
    • 1975 – Marc Gagnon, Canadian speed skater
    • 1975 – Giannis Goumas, Greek footballer and coach
    • 1975 – Maria Lawson, English singer-songwriter
    • 1976 – Alessandro Cortini, Italian-American singer and keyboard player
    • 1976 – Catherine Cox, New Zealand-Australian netball player
    • 1976 – Silje Vige, Norwegian singer
    • 1977 – Jeet Gannguli, Indian score composer, music director and singer
    • 1978 – Elijah Burke, American wrestler
    • 1978 – Johan Holmqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Brad Penny, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Rose, French singer, songwriter and composer
    • 1979 – Tracy McGrady, American basketball player
    • 1979 – Kareem McKenzie, American football player
    • 1980 – Jason Babin, American football player
    • 1980 – Anthony Minichiello, Australian rugby league player
    • 1981 – Andy Lee, Australian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
    • 1982 – Issah Gabriel Ahmed, Ghanaian footballer
    • 1982 – Rian Wallace, American football player
    • 1983 – Custódio Castro, Portuguese footballer
    • 1983 – Pedram Javaheri, Iranian-American meteorologist and journalist
    • 1983 – Woo Seung-yeon, South Korean model and actress (d. 2009)
    • 1984 – Sarah Hagan, American actress
    • 1984 – Dmitri Kruglov, Estonian footballer
    • 1985 – Tim Bridgman, English race car driver
    • 1986 – Mark Ballas, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, dancer, and actor
    • 1986 – Giannis Kontoes, Greek footballer
    • 1987 – Guillaume Latendresse, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Artem Anisimov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Monica Lin Brown, American sergeant
    • 1988 – Billy Gilman, American musician
    • 1988 – Lucian Wintrich, American political artist and White House correspondent
    • 1989 – G-Eazy, American rapper
    • 1989 – Andrew Jordan, English race car driver
    • 1990 – Mattias Ekholm, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Aled Davies, Welsh discus thrower
    • 1991 – Cody Eakin, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Marcus Bettinelli, English footballer, goalkeeper
    • 1994 – Daiya Seto, Japanese swimmer
    • 1994 – Emily Nicholl, Scottish netball player
    • 1994 – Daiya Seto, Japanese swimmer
    • 1994 – Emily Temple Wood, American 2016 Wikipedian of the Year award
    • 1999 – Tarjei Sandvik Moe, Norwegian actor

    Deaths on May 24

    • 688 – Ségéne, bishop of Armagh (b. c. 610)
    • 1089 – Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury
    • 1136 – Hugues de Payens, first Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b. c. 1070)
    • 1153 – David I of Scotland (b. 1083)
    • 1201 – Theobald III, Count of Champagne (b. 1179)
    • 1351 – Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Othman, Moroccan sultan (b. 1297)
    • 1408 – Taejo of Joseon (b. 1335)
    • 1425 – Murdoch Stewart, 2nd Duke of Albany, Scottish politician (b. 1362)
    • 1456 – Ambroise de Loré, French commander (b. 1396)
    • 1543 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (b. 1473)
    • 1612 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1563)
    • 1627 – Luis de Góngora, Spanish poet and cleric (b. 1561)
    • 1632 – Robert Hues, English mathematician and geographer (b. 1553)
    • 1665 – Mary of Jesus of Ágreda, Spanish Franciscan abbess and mystic (b. 1602)
    • 1734 – Georg Ernst Stahl, German physician and chemist (b. 1660)
    • 1792 – George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, English admiral and politician, 16th Governor of Newfoundland (b. 1718)
    • 1806 – John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll, Scottish field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Argyllshire (b. 1723)
    • 1843 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician and academic (b. 1765)
    • 1848 – Annette von Droste-Hülshoff, German author and composer (b. 1797)
    • 1861 – Elmer E. Ellsworth, American colonel (b. 1837)
    • 1872 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter and illustrator (b. 1794)
    • 1879 – William Lloyd Garrison, American journalist and activist (b. 1805)
    • 1881 – Samuel Palmer, English painter and illustrator (b. 1805)
    • 1901 – Louis-Zéphirin Moreau, Canadian bishop (b. 1824)
    • 1908 – Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer and architect (b. 1821)
    • 1915 – John Condon, Irish-English soldier (b. 1896)
    • 1919 – Amado Nervo, Mexican poet, journalist, and educator (b. 1870)
    • 1929 – Nikolai von Meck, Russian engineer (b. 1863)
    • 1941 – Lancelot Holland, English admiral (b. 1887)
    • 1945 – Robert Ritter von Greim, German field marshal and pilot (b. 1892)
    • 1948 – Jacques Feyder, Belgian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
    • 1949 – Alexey Shchusev, Russian architect, designed Lenin’s Mausoleum and Moscow Kazanskaya railway station (b. 1873)
    • 1950 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English field marshal and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (b. 1883)
    • 1951 – Thomas N. Heffron, American actor, director, screenwriter (b. 1872)
    • 1956 – Martha Annie Whiteley, English chemist and mathematician (b. 1866)
    • 1958 – Frank Rowe, Australian public servant (b. 1895)
    • 1959 – John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (b. 1888)
    • 1963 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
    • 1965 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1908)
    • 1974 – Duke Ellington, American pianist and composer (b. 1899)
    • 1976 – Denise Pelletier, Canadian actress (b. 1923)
    • 1979 – Ernest Bullock, English organist, composer, and educator (b. 1890)
    • 1981 – Herbert Müller, Swiss race car driver (b. 1940)
    • 1984 – Vince McMahon Sr., American wrestling promoter and businessman, founded WWE (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Freddie Frith, English motorcycle road racer (b. 1909)
    • 1990 – Arthur Villeneuve, Canadian painter (b. 1910)
    • 1991 – Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
    • 1992 – Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese race car driver (b. 1956)
    • 1995 – Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
    • 1996 – Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (b. 1934)
    • 1996 – Joseph Mitchell, American journalist and author (b. 1908)
    • 1997 – Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (b. 1923)
    • 2000 – Kurt Schork, American journalist and scholar (b. 1947)
    • 2000 – Majrooh Sultanpuri, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1919)
    • 2002 – Wallace Markfield, American author (b. 1926)
    • 2003 – Rachel Kempson, English actress (b. 1910)
    • 2004 – Henry Ries, German-American photographer (b. 1917)
    • 2004 – Milton Shulman, Canadian author and critic (b. 1913)
    • 2004 – Edward Wagenknecht, American critic and educator (b. 1900)
    • 2005 – Carl Amery, German activist and author (b. 1922)
    • 2005 – Arthur Haulot, Belgian journalist and poet (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – Guy Tardif, Canadian academic and politician (b. 1935)
    • 2006 – Henry Bumstead, American art director and production designer (b. 1915)
    • 2006 – Claude Piéplu, French actor (b. 1923)
    • 2006 – Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician and educator (b. 1930)
    • 2008 – Dick Martin, American actor, comedian, and director (b. 1922)
    • 2008 – Jimmy McGriff, American organist and bandleader (b. 1936)
    • 2009 – Jay Bennett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1963)
    • 2010 – Ray Alan, English ventriloquist, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 2010 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1972)
    • 2010 – Raymond V. Haysbert, American businessman and activist (b. 1920)
    • 2010 – Petr Muk, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1965)
    • 2010 – Anneliese Rothenberger, German soprano and actress (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Huguette Clark, American heiress, painter, and philanthropist (b. 1906)
    • 2011 – Hakim Ali Zardari, Indian-Pakistani businessman and politician (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Klaas Carel Faber, Dutch-German SS officer (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Kathi Kamen Goldmark, American journalist and author (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Jacqueline Harpman, Belgian psychoanalyst and author (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Juan Francisco Lombardo, Argentinian footballer (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Lee Rich, American production manager and producer (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Ron Davies, Welsh footballer (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Gotthard Graubner, German painter (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Haynes Johnson, American journalist and author (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Pyotr Todorovsky, Ukrainian-Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – David Allen, English cricketer (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Stormé DeLarverie, known as the “Rosa Parks of the lesbian community” (b. 1920)
    • 2014 – Mahafarid Amir Khosravi, Iranian businessman (b. 1969)
    • 2014 – Knowlton Nash, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – John Vasconcellos, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Dean Carroll, English rugby player (b. 1962)
    • 2015 – Kenneth Jacobs, Australian lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Tanith Lee, English author (b. 1947)
    • 2018 – Gudrun Burwitz, daughter of Margarete Himmler and Heinrich Himmler (b. 1929)
    • 2018 – John Bain (TotalBiscuit), English gaming commentator and critic (b. 1984)

    Holidays and observances on May 24

    • Aldersgate Day/Wesley Day (Methodism)
    • Battle of Pichincha Day (Ecuador)
    • Bermuda Day (Bermuda), celebrated on the nearest weekday if May 24 falls on the weekend.
    • Christian feast day:
      • Anna Pak Agi (one of The Korean Martyrs)
      • Donatian and Rogatian
      • Jackson Kemper (Episcopal Church)
      • Joanna
      • Mary, Help of Christians
      • Sarah (celebrated by the Romani people of Camargue)
      • Vincent of Lérins
      • May 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Commonwealth Day (Belize)
    • Earliest day on which El Colacho tradition can fall, while June 27 is the latest; celebrated on Sunday after Corpus Christi. (Castrillo de Murcia, near Burgos)
    • Independence Day (Eritrea), celebrates the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1993.
    • Lubiri Memorial Day (Buganda)
    • Saints Cyril and Methodius Day (Eastern Orthodox Church, Julian Calendar) and its related observance:
      • Bulgarian Education and Culture and Slavonic Literature Day (Bulgaria)
      • Saints Cyril and Methodius, Slavonic Enlighteners’ Day (North Macedonia)
    • Victoria Day; celebrated on Monday on or before May 24. (Canada), and its related observance:
      • National Patriots’ Day or Journée nationale des patriotes (Quebec)

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

    • 330 – Constantinople is consecrated.
    • 868 – A copy of the Diamond Sutra is printed in China, making it the oldest known dated printed book.
    • 912 – Alexander becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
    • 1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch–Hanoverian army.
    • 1792 – Robert Gray commands the first expedition to sail into the Columbia River.
    • 1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons.
    • 1813 – William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth discover a route across the Blue Mountains, opening up inland Australia to settlement.
    • 1833 – The Lady of the Lake strikes an iceberg off Newfoundland and sinks with the loss of up to 265 passengers and crew.
    • 1846 – President James K. Polk asked for a Declaration of War against Mexico, starting the Mexican–American War.
    • 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British.
    • 1858 – Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd state of the United States.
    • 1880 – Seven people are killed in the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a gun battle in California.
    • 1889 – An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort results in the theft of over $28,000 and the award of two Medals of Honor.
    • 1894 – Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike.
    • 1910 – An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
    • 1943 – World War II: American troops invade Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
    • 1945 – World War II: Off the coast of Okinawa, the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill is hit by two kamikazes.
    • 1960 – Adolf Eichmann is captured by the Mossad in Argentina.
    • 1963 – Racist bombings in Birmingham, Alabama, disrupt nonviolence in the Birmingham campaign and precipitate a crisis involving federal troops.
    • 1970 – The 1970 Lubbock tornado kills 26 and causes $250 million in damage.
    • 1973 – Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg’s charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times are dismissed.
    • 1985 – Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in the Bradford City stadium fire.
    • 1987 – Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
    • 1996 – After the aircraft’s departure from Miami, a fire started by improperly handled chemical oxygen generators in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 on board.
    • 1997 – Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.
    • 1998 – India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran.
    • 2000 – Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia.
    • 2010 – David Cameron takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats form the country’s first coalition government since the Second World War.
    • 2011 – An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hits Lorca, Spain.
    • 2013 – Fifty-two people are killed in a bombing in Reyhanlı, Turkey.
    • 2014 – Fifteen people are killed and 46 injured in Kinshasa in a stampede caused by tear gas being thrown into soccer stands by police officers.
    • 2016 – One hundred and ten people are killed in an ISIL bombing in Baghdad.

    Births on May 11

    • 1571 – Niwa Nagashige, Japanese daimyō (d. 1637)
    • 1715 – Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach, German organist (d. 1739)
    • 1752 – Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German physician, physiologist, and anthropologist (d. 1840)
    • 1797 – José Mariano Salas, Mexican general and politician (d. 1867)
    • 1811 – Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, Swiss politician (d. 1893)
    • 1852 – Charles W. Fairbanks, American journalist and politician, 26th United States Vice President (d. 1918)
    • 1854 – Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (d. 1932)
    • 1869 – Archibald Warden, English tennis player (d. 1943)
    • 1871 – Frank Schlesinger, American astronomer and author (d. 1943)
    • 1875 – Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (d. 1912)
    • 1881 – Al Cabrera, Spanish-Cuban baseball player and manager (d. 1964)
    • 1881 – Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1944)
    • 1881 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (d. 1963)
    • 1888 – Irving Berlin, Belarusian-American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
    • 1888 – Willis Augustus Lee, American admiral (d. 1945)
    • 1889 – Paul Nash, British painter (d. 1946)
    • 1890 – Willie Applegarth, English-American sprinter (d. 1958)
    • 1890 – Helge Løvland, Norwegian decathlete (d. 1984)
    • 1894 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1991)
    • 1895 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (d. 1978)
    • 1895 – William Grant Still, American composer and conductor (d. 1978)
    • 1896 – Josip Štolcer-Slavenski, Croatian composer and academic (d. 1955)
    • 1897 – Robert E. Gross, American businessman (d. 1961)
    • 1901 – Rose Ausländer, Ukrainian-English poet and author (d. 1988):7
    • 1901 – Gladys Rockmore Davis, American painter (d. 1967)
    • 1902 – Edna Ernestine Kramer, American mathematician (d. 1984)
    • 1903 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (d. 1993)
    • 1904 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish artist (d. 1989)
    • 1905 – Lise de Baissac, Mauritian-born SOE agent, war hero (d. 2004)
    • 1905 – Catherine Bauer Wurster, American architect and public housing advocate (d. 1964)
    • 1907 – Rip Sewell, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989
    • 1911 – Mitchell Sharp, Canadian economist and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Finance (d. 2004)
    • 1911 – Phil Silvers, American actor and comedian (d. 1985)
    • 1912 – Saadat Hasan Manto, Indian-Pakistani author and screenwriter (d. 1955)
    • 1916 – Camilo José Cela, Spanish author and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
    • 1918 – Richard Feynman, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
    • 1921 – Robin Barbour, Scottish minister and author (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, German politician (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Antony Hewish, English astronomer and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1925 – Edward J. King, American football player and politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2006)
    • 1927 – Bernard Fox, British actor (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – Gene Savoy, American explorer, author, and scholar (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist and academic (d. 2002)
    • 1930 – Stanley Elkin, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1995)
    • 1932 – Valentino Garavani, Italian fashion designer
    • 1933 – Louis Farrakhan, American religious leader
    • 1934 – Jim Jeffords, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Jack Twyman, American basketball player (d. 2012)
    • 1935 – Francisco Umbral, Spanish journalist and author (d. 2007)
    • 1937 – Ildikó Újlaky-Rejtő, Hungarian Olympic and world champion foil fencer
    • 1938 – Narendra Patel, Baron Patel, Tanzanian-English obstetrician, academic, and politician
    • 1941 – Eric Burdon, English musician
    • 1941 – Ian Redpath, Australian cricketer and coach
    • 1943 – Nancy Greene, Canadian skier and politician
    • 1944 – John Benaud, Australian cricketer
    • 1948 – Jack Cantoni, French rugby player (d. 2013)
    • 1948 – Nirj Deva, Sri Lankan-English politician
    • 1950 – Jeremy Paxman, English journalist and author
    • 1950 – Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Indian actor (d. 2014)
    • 1951 – Ed Stelmach, Canadian farmer and politician, 13th Premier of Alberta
    • 1954 – John Gregory, English footballer and manager
    • 1955 – John DeStefano, Jr., American politician, 49th Mayor of New Haven
    • 1957 – Mike Nesbitt, Northern Irish journalist and politician
    • 1962 – Steve Bono, American football player
    • 1964 – Bobby Witt, American baseball player
    • 1964 – Floyd Youmans, American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1967 – Alberto García Aspe, Mexican footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Mitch Healey, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1969 – Simon Vroemen, Dutch runner
    • 1970 – Harold Ford, Jr., American lawyer and politician
    • 1970 – Jason Queally, English cyclist
    • 1972 – Tomáš Dvořák, Czech decathlete and coach
    • 1973 – Tsuyoshi Ogata, Japanese runner
    • 1974 – Darren Ward, English-Welsh footballer and coach
    • 1974 – Tony Warner, English born Trinidadian international footballer and coach
    • 1975 – Francisco Cordero, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1976 – Kardinal Offishall, American rapper and record producer/executive
    • 1977 – Pablo Gabriel García, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1977 – Victor Matfield, South African rugby player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Bobby Roode, Canadian professional wrestler
    • 1978 – Laetitia Casta, French model and actress
    • 1982 – Cory Monteith, Canadian actor and singer (d. 2013)
    • 1983 – Matt Leinart, American football player
    • 1983 – Steven Sotloff, American-Israeli journalist (d. 2014)
    • 1983 – Holly Valance, Australian actress, singer and model
    • 1984 – Andrés Iniesta, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Abou Diaby, French footballer
    • 1986 – Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer
    • 1987 – Lim Seul-ong, South Korean singer and actor
    • 1987 – Monica Roșu, Romanian gymnast
    • 1988 – Jeremy Maclin, American football player
    • 1988 – Brad Marchand, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Alyssa Brown, Canadian artistic gymnast
    • 1989 – Giovani dos Santos, Mexican international footballer
    • 1989 – Cam Newton, American football player
    • 1992 – Thibaut Courtois, Belgian footballer
    • 1992 – Pablo Sarabia, Spanish footballer
    • 1993 – Maurice Harkless, American-Puerto Rican basketball player
    • 1994 – Hagos Gebrhiwet, Ethiopian runner
    • 1995 – Gelson Martins, Portuguese footballer
    • 1999 – Sabrina Carpenter, American singer and actress
    • 1999 – Kaitlyn Dias, American actress and voice artist

    Deaths on May 11

    • 1610 – Matteo Ricci, Italian priest and mathematician (b. 1552)
    • 1686 – Otto von Guericke, German physicist and politician (b. 1602)
    • 1778 – William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1708)
    • 1779 – John Hart, American lawyer and politician (b. 1711)
    • 1812 – Spencer Perceval, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1762)
    • 1848 – Tom Cribb, English boxer (b. 1781)
    • 1849 – Juliette Récamier, French businesswoman (b. 1777)
    • 1882 – Frederick Innes, Scottish-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1816)
    • 1889 – John Cadbury, English businessman and philanthropist, founded the Cadbury Company (b. 1801)
    • 1908 – Charles Kingston, Australian politician, 20th Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
    • 1916 – Karl Schwarzschild, German astronomer and physicist (b. 1873):xix
    • 1918 – George Elmslie, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Victoria (b. 1861)
    • 1920 – James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1878)
    • 1920 – William Dean Howells, American novelist, literary critic, and playwright (b. 1837)
    • 1927 – Juan Gris, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1887)
    • 1929 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak-American priest, architect, botanist, and painter (b. 1864)
    • 1938 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (b. 1858)
    • 1955 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (b. 1874)
    • 1960 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1874)
    • 1963 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888):169
    • 1967 – James E. Brewton, American painter (b. 1930)
    • 1979 – Lester Flatt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1914)
    • 1981 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
    • 1981 – Bob Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
    • 1983 – Zenna Henderson, American writer (b. 1917)
    • 1985 – Chester Gould, American cartoonist, created Dick Tracy (b. 1900)
    • 1986 – Fritz Pollard, American football player and coach (b. 1894)
    • 1988 – Kim Philby, British-Soviet double agent (b. 1912)
    • 1994 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1928)
    • 2001 – Douglas Adams, English novelist and screenwriter (b. 1952)
    • 2002 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1912)
    • 2002 – Bill Peet, American animator and screenwriter (b. 1915)
    • 2003 – Noel Redding, English bass player (b. 1945)
    • 2005 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (b. 1908)
    • 2006 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer and actor (b. 1935)
    • 2007 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (b. 1913)
    • 2008 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (b. 1953)
    • 2009 – Abel Goumba, Central African physician and politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Claudio Huepe, Chilean economist and politician, Chilean Minister Secretary-General of Government (b. 1939)
    • 2009 – Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda, Indian admiral (b. 1915)
    • 2010 – Doris Eaton Travis, American dancer and vaudevillian (b. 1904)
    • 2011 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (b. 1977)

    Holidays and observances on May 11

    • Christian feast day:
      • Anthimus of Rome
      • Gangulphus of Burgundy
      • Majolus of Cluny
      • Mamertus, the first of the Ice Saints
      • May 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • National Technology Day (India)
    • Statehood Day (Minnesota)
    • Vietnam Human Rights Day (Vietnam)