Skip to content
-
July 23 in History
- 811 – Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I plunders the Bulgarian capital of Pliska and captures Khan Krum’s treasury.
- 1319 – A Knights Hospitaller fleet scores a crushing victory over an Aydinid fleet off Chios.
- 1632 – Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe, France.
- 1677 – Scanian War: Denmark–Norway captures the harbor town of Marstrand from Sweden.
- 1793 – Kingdom of Prussia re-conquers Mainz from France.
- 1813 – Sir Thomas Maitland is appointed as the first Governor of Malta, transforming the island from a British protectorate to a de facto colony.
- 1821 – While the Mora Rebellion continues, Greeks capture Monemvasia Castle. Turkish troops and citizens are transferred to Asia Minor’s coasts.
- 1829 – In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the typographer, a precursor to the typewriter.
- 1840 – The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Henry Halleck takes command of the Union Army.
- 1874 – Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos is appointed the Archbishop of the Portuguese colonial enclave of Goa, India.
- 1881 – The Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.
- 1885 – President Ulysses S. Grant dies of throat cancer.
- 1903 – The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
- 1908 – The Second Constitution accepted by the Ottomans.
- 1914 – Austria-Hungary issues a series of demands in an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia demanding Serbia to allow the Austrians to determine who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Serbia accepts all but one of those demands and Austria declares war on July 28.
- 1919 – Prince Regent Aleksander Karađorđević signs the decree establishing the University of Ljubljana
- 1921 – The Communist Party of China (CPC) is established at the founding National Congress.
- 1926 – Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
- 1927 – The first station of the Indian Broadcasting Company goes on the air in Bombay.
- 1936 – In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of Socialist and Communist parties.
- 1940 – The United States’ Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles issues a declaration on the U.S. non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
- 1942 – World War II: The German offensives Operation Edelweiss and Operation Braunschweig begin.
- 1942 – Bulgarian poet and Communist leader Nikola Vaptsarov is executed by firing squad.
- 1943 – The Rayleigh bath chair murder occurred in Rayleigh, Essex, England.
- 1943 – World War II: The British destroyers HMS Eclipse and HMS Laforey sink the Italian submarine Ascianghi in the Mediterranean after she torpedoes the cruiser HMS Newfoundland.
- 1945 – The post-war legal processes against Philippe Pétain begin.
- 1952 – General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the real power behind the coup) in overthrowing King Farouk of Egypt.
- 1961 – The Sandinista National Liberation Front is founded in Nicaragua.
- 1962 – Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite.
- 1962 – The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is signed.
- 1962 – Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1967 – Detroit Riots: In Detroit, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city. It ultimately kills 43 people, injures 342 and burns about 1,400 buildings.
- 1968 – Glenville shootout: In Cleveland, Ohio, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization and the Cleveland Police Department occurs. During the shootout, a riot begins and lasts for five days.
- 1968 – The only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft takes place when a Boeing 707 carrying ten crew and 38 passengers is taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The aircraft was en route from Rome, to Lod, Israel.
- 1970 – Qaboos bin Said al Said becomes Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Said bin Taimur initiating massive reforms, modernization programs and end to a decade long civil war.
- 1972 – The United States launches Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite.
- 1974 – The Greek military junta collapses, and former Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis is invited to lead the new government, beginning Greece’s metapolitefsi era.
- 1980 – Phạm Tuân becomes the first Vietnamese citizen and the first Asian in space when he flies aboard the Soyuz 37 mission as an Intercosmos Research Cosmonaut.
- 1982 – Outside Santa Clarita, California, actor Vic Morrow and two children are killed when a helicopter crashes onto them while shooting a scene from Twilight Zone: The Movie.
- 1983 – Thirteen Sri Lanka Army soldiers are killed after a deadly ambush by the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
- 1983 – Gimli Glider: Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba.
- 1988 – General Ne Win, effective ruler of Burma since 1962, resigns after pro-democracy protests.
- 1992 – A Vatican commission, led by Joseph Ratzinger, establishes that limiting certain rights of homosexual people and non-married couples is not equivalent to discrimination on grounds of race or gender.
- 1992 – Abkhazia declares independence from Georgia.
- 1995 – Comet Hale–Bopp is discovered; it becomes visible to the naked eye on Earth nearly a year later.
- 1997 – Digital Equipment Corporation files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.
- 1999 – ANA Flight 61 is hijacked in Tokyo, Japan by Yuji Nishizawa.
- 1999 – Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-93, with Eileen Collins becoming the first female space shuttle commander. The shuttle also carried and deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
- 2005 – Three bombs explode in the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people.
- 2014 – TransAsia Airways Flight 222 crashes in Xixi village near Huxi, Penghu, during approach to Phengu Airport. 48 of the 58 people on board are killed and five more people on the ground are injured.
- 2015 – NASA announces discovery of Kepler-452b by Kepler.
- 2016 – Kabul twin bombing occurred in the vicinity of Deh Mazang when protesters, mostly from the Shiite Hazara minority, were marching against route changing of the TUTAP power project. At least 80 people were killed and 260 were injured.
- 2018 – A wildfire in East Attica, Greece caused the death of 102 people. It was the deadliest wildfire in history of Greece and the second-deadliest in the world, in the 21st century, after the 2009 bushfires in Australia that killed 180.
Births on July 23
- 1301 – Otto, Duke of Austria (d. 1339)
- 1339 – Louis I, Duke of Anjou (d. 1384)
- 1370 – Pier Paolo Vergerio the Elder, humanist (d. 1444 or 1445)
- 1401 – Francesco I Sforza, Italian husband of Bianca Maria Visconti (d. 1466)
- 1441 – Danjong of Joseon, King of Joseon (d. 1457)
- 1503 – Anne of Bohemia and Hungary (d. 1547)
- 1614 – Bonaventura Peeters the Elder, Flemish painter (d. 1652)
- 1635 – Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, New France garrison commander (d. 1660)
- 1649 – Pope Clement XI (d. 1721)
- 1705 – Francis Blomefield, English historian and author (d. 1752)
- 1713 – Luís António Verney, Portuguese philosopher and pedagogue (d. 1792)
- 1773 – Thomas Brisbane, Scottish general and politician, 6th Governor of New South Wales (d. 1860)
- 1775 – Étienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1812)
- 1777 – Philipp Otto Runge, German painter and illustrator (d. 1810)
- 1796 – Franz Berwald, Swedish surgeon and composer (d. 1868)
- 1802 – Manuel María Lombardini, Mexican general and president (1853) (d. 1853)
- 1823 – Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian archbishop and missionary (d. 1894)
- 1838 – Édouard Colonne, French violinist and conductor (d. 1910)
- 1851 – Peder Severin Krøyer, Norwegian-Danish painter (d. 1909)
- 1856 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (d. 1920)
- 1864 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (d. 1903)
- 1865 – Henry Norris, English businessman and politician (d. 1934)
- 1866 – Francesco Cilea, Italian composer and academic (d. 1950)
- 1878 – James Thomas Milton Anderson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Saskatchewan (d. 1946)
- 1882 – Kâzım Karabekir, Turkish general and politician, 5th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (b. 1948)
- 1883 – Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, French-English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of the County of London (d. 1963)
- 1884 – Emil Jannings, Swiss-German actor (d. 1950)
- 1885 – Izaak Killam, Canadian financier and philanthropist (d. 1955)
- 1885 – Georges V. Matchabelli, Georgian-American businessman, created Prince Matchabelli perfume (d. 1935)
- 1886 – Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish historian and diplomat (d. 1978)
- 1886 – Walter H. Schottky, Swiss-German physicist and engineer (d. 1976)
- 1888 – Raymond Chandler, American crime novelist and screenwriter (d. 1959)
- 1891 – Louis T. Wright, American surgeon and civil rights activist (d. 1952)
- 1892 – Haile Selassie, Ethiopian emperor (d. 1975)
- 1894 – Arthur Treacher, English-American actor and television personality (d. 1975)
- 1895 – Aileen Pringle, American actress (d. 1989)
- 1898 – Daniel Cosío Villegas, Mexican historian, economist (d. 1976)
- 1898 – Bengt Djurberg, Swedish actor and singer (d. 1941)
- 1898 – Red Dutton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Herman Kruusenberg, Estonian wrestler (d. 1970)
- 1898 – Jacob Marschak, Ukrainian-American economist, journalist, and author (d. 1977)
- 1899 – Gustav Heinemann, German lawyer and politician, 3rd President of West Germany (d. 1976)
- 1900 – Julia Davis Adams, American author and journalist (d. 1993)
- 1900 – John Babcock, Canadian-American sergeant (d. 2010)
- 1900 – Inger Margrethe Boberg, Danish folklore researcher and writer (d. 1957)
- 1901 – Hank Worden, American actor and singer (d. 1992)
- 1901 – Isabel Luberza Oppenheimer, Puerto Rican brothel owner and madam in barrio Maragüez, Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 1974)
- 1905 – Leopold Engleitner, Austrian author and educator (d. 2013)
- 1906 – Vladimir Prelog, Croatian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- 1906 – Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian activist (d. 1931)
- 1912 – M. H. Abrams, American author, critic, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1912 – Michael Wilding, English actor (d. 1979)
- 1913 – Michael Foot, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Employment (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Nassos Daphnis, Greek-American painter (d.2010)
- 1914 – Virgil Finlay, American illustrator (d. 1971)
- 1914 – Elly Annie Schneider, German-American actress (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Laurel Martyn, Australian ballerina and choreographer (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Abraham Bueno de Mesquita, Dutch comedian and actor (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Ruth Duccini, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Calvert DeForest, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1922 – Damiano Damiani, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Jenny Pike, Canadian WWII servicewoman and photographer (d. 2004)
- 1923 – Luis Aloma, Cuban-American baseball player (d. 1997)
- 1923 – Morris Halle, Latvian-American linguist and academic (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (d. 2001)
- 1924 – Gavin Lambert, English-American screenwriter and author (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Gazanfer Bilge, Turkish wrestler (d. 2008)
- 1925 – Tajuddin Ahmad, Bangladeshi politician, 1st Prime Minister of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
- 1925 – Quett Masire, Botswana politician, the former Vice-President of Botswana (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Alain Decaux, French historian and author (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Gloria DeHaven, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
- 1926 – Ludvík Vaculík, Czech journalist and author (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Gérard Brach, French director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
- 1928 – Leon Fleisher, American pianist and conductor
- 1928 – Vera Rubin, American astronomer and academic (d. 2016)
- 1928 – Hubert Selby, Jr., American author and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1929 – Danny Barcelona, American drummer (d. 2007)
- 1929 – Lateef Jakande, Nigerian journalist and politician, 5th Governor of Lagos State
- 1931 – Te Atairangikaahu, Māori queen (d. 2006)
- 1931 – Claude Fournier, Canadian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
- 1931 – Guy Fournier, Canadian author and screenwriter
- 1933 – Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum (d. 2010)
- 1933 – Bert Convy, American actor, singer, and game show host (d. 1991)
- 1933 – Benedict Groeschel, American priest, psychologist, and talk show host (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Richard Rogers, Italian-English architect, designed the Millennium Dome and Lloyd’s building
- 1935 – Jim Hall, American race car driver
- 1936 – Don Drysdale, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1993)
- 1936 – Anthony Kennedy, American lawyer and jurist
- 1937 – Dave Webster, American football player and engineer
- 1938 – Juliet Anderson, American porn actress and producer (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Ronny Cox, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1938 – Charles Harrelson, American murderer (d. 2007)
- 1938 – Bert Newton, Australian actor and television host
- 1940 – Danielle Collobert, French author, poet, and journalist (d. 1978)
- 1940 – Don Imus, American radio host (d. 2019)
- 1940 – Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian economist and politician, Italian Minister of Finance (d. 2010)
- 1941 – Christopher Andrew, English historian and academic
- 1941 – Richie Evans, American race car driver (d. 1985)
- 1941 – Sergio Mattarella, Italian lawyer, judge, and politician, 12th President of Italy
- 1942 – Sallyanne Atkinson, Australian journalist and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane
- 1942 – Madeline Bell, American singer-songwriter
- 1942 – Richard E. Dauch, American businessman, co-founded American Axle (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Dimitris Liantinis, Greek philosopher and author (d. 1998)
- 1943 – Randall Forsberg, American scientist (d. 2007)
- 1943 – Tony Joe White, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
- 1944 – Dino Danelli, American drummer
- 1944 – Maria João Pires, Portuguese pianist
- 1945 – Edward Gregson, English composer and educator
- 1945 – Jon Sammels, English footballer
- 1946 – Andy Mackay, English oboe player and composer
- 1946 – René Ricard, American poet, painter, and critic (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Gardner Dozois, American journalist and author (d. 2018)
- 1947 – David Essex, English singer-songwriter, and actor
- 1947 – Torsten Palm, Swedish race car driver
- 1947 – Robin Simon, English historian, critic, and academic
- 1948 – Ross Cranston, Australian-English lawyer, judge, and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales
- 1948 – John Cushnahan, Northern Irish educator and politician
- 1948 – John Hall, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and politician
- 1948 – Stanisław Targosz, Polish general (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Clive Rice, South African cricketer and coach (d. 2015)
- 1950 – Alex Kozinski, Romanian-born American lawyer and judge
- 1950 – Ian Thomas, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1950 – Blair Thornton, Canadian guitarist and songwriter
- 1950 – Alan Turner, Australian cricketer
- 1952 – Paul Hibbert, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 2008)
- 1952 – Bill Nyrop, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1995)
- 1952 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (d. 2008)
- 1952 – Janis Siegel, American jazz singer (The Manhattan Transfer)
- 1953 – Graham Gooch, English cricketer and coach
- 1953 – Najib Razak, Malaysian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia
- 1957 – Jo Brand, English comedian, actress, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Nikos Galis, American basketball player
- 1957 – Theo van Gogh, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1957 – Quentin Willson, English TV presenter, Top Gear.
- 1958 – Ken Green, American golfer
- 1958 – Tomy Winata, Indonesian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Artha Graha Peduli Foundation
- 1959 – Nancy Savoca, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Gary Ella, Australian rugby player
- 1960 – Susan Graham, American soprano and educator
- 1960 – Al Perez, American wrestler
- 1961 – André Ducharme, Canadian comedian and author
- 1961 – Michael Durant, American pilot and author
- 1961 – Martin Gore, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1961 – Woody Harrelson, American actor and activist
- 1961 – Milind Gunaji, Indian actor, model, television show host, and author
- 1962 – Eriq La Salle, American actor, director, and producer
- 1962 – Mark Laurie, Australian rugby league player
- 1962 – Alain Lefèvre, Canadian pianist and composer
- 1963 – Slobodan Zivojinovic, Serbian tennis player
- 1964 – Uwe Barth, German politician
- 1964 – Nick Menza, German drummer and songwriter (d. 2016)
- 1965 – Rob Dickinson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1965 – Slash, English-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1967 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)
- 1968 – Elden Campbell, American basketball player
- 1968 – Gary Payton, American basketball player and actor
- 1968 – Stephanie Seymour, American model and actress
- 1969 – Andrew Cassels, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1970 – Charisma Carpenter, American actress
- 1970 – Thea Dorn, German author and playwright
- 1970 – Sam Watters, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1971 – Dalvin DeGrate, American rapper and producer
- 1971 – Alison Krauss, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
- 1971 – Joel Stein, American journalist
- 1972 – Suat Kılıç, Turkish journalist, lawyer, and politician, Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports
- 1972 – Floyd Reifer, Barbadian cricketer and coach
- 1972 – Marlon Wayans, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Nomar Garciaparra, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1973 – Fran Healy, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1973 – Himesh Reshammiya, Indian singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
- 1973 – Andrea Scanavacca, Italian rugby player and manager
- 1974 – Terry Glenn, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
- 1974 – Maurice Greene, American sprinter
- 1974 – Rik Verbrugghe, Belgian cyclist
- 1975 – Dan Rogerson, English politician
- 1976 – Judit Polgár, Hungarian chess player
- 1977 – Scott Clemmensen, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1977 – Gail Emms, English badminton player
- 1977 – Néicer Reasco, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1977 – Shawn Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer
- 1978 – Stefanie Sun, Singaporean singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1978 – Lauren Groff, American novelist and short story writer
- 1979 – Perro Aguayo Jr., Mexican wrestler and promoter (d. 2015)
- 1979 – Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Greek footballer
- 1979 – Richard Sims, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1979 – Ricardo Sperafico, Brazilian race car driver
- 1979 – Cathleen Tschirch, German sprinter
- 1980 – Sandeep Parikh, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1980 – Michelle Williams, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1981 – Steve Jocz, Canadian singer-songwriter, drummer, and director
- 1981 – Dmitriy Karpov, Kazakhstani decathlete
- 1981 – Aleksandr Kulik, Estonian footballer
- 1981 – Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player
- 1982 – Ömer Aysan Barış, Turkish footballer
- 1982 – Joe Mather, American baseball player
- 1982 – Gökhan Ünal, Turkish footballer
- 1982 – Gerald Wallace, American basketball player
- 1982 – Paul Wesley, American actor, director, and producer
- 1983 – Bec Hewitt, Australian actress
- 1983 – Aaron Peirsol, American swimmer
- 1983 – David Strettle, English rugby player
- 1984 – Walter Gargano, Uruguayan footballer
- 1984 – Matthew Murphy, English singer and guitarist
- 1984 – Brandon Roy, American basketball player
- 1984 – Celeste Thorson, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1985 – Luis Ángel Landín, Mexican footballer
- 1986 – Aya Uchida, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1986 – Nelson Philippe, French race car driver
- 1986 – Yelena Sokolova, Russian long jumper
- 1987 – Alessio Cerci, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Felipe Dylon, Brazilian singer
- 1987 – Serdar Kurtuluş, Turkish footballer
- 1989 – Daniel Radcliffe, English actor
- 1989 – Donald Young, American tennis player
- 1990 – Kevin Reynolds, Canadian figure skater
- 1991 – Lauren Mitchell, Australian gymnast
- 1991 – Jarrod Wallace, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1992 – Danny Ings, English footballer
- 1996 – Alexandra Andresen, Norwegian heiress and equestrian
Deaths on July 23
- 955 – He Ning, Chinese chancellor (b. 898)
- 997 – Nuh II, Samanid emir (b. 963)
- 1100 – Warner of Grez, French nobleman, relative of Godfrey of Bouillon
- 1227 – Qiu Chuji, Chinese religious leader, founded the Dragon Gate Taoism (b. 1148)
- 1298 – Thoros III, Armenian king (b. c. 1271)
- 1373 – Bridget of Sweden, Swedish mystic and saint, founded the Bridgettine Order (b. 1303)
- 1403 – Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, English rebel (b. 1343)
- 1531 – Louis de Brézé, French husband of Diane de Poitiers
- 1536 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1519)
- 1562 – Götz von Berlichingen, German knight and poet (b. 1480)
- 1584 – John Day, English printer (b. 1522)
- 1596 – Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (b. 1526)
- 1645 – Michael I, Russian tsar (b. 1596)
- 1692 – Gilles Ménage, French lawyer, philologist, and scholar (b. 1613)
- 1727 – Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, English politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1661)
- 1757 – Domenico Scarlatti, Italian harpsichord player and composer (b. 1685)
- 1773 – George Edwards, English biologist and ornithologist (b. 1693)
- 1781 – John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-American pastor and politician (b. 1724)
- 1793 – Roger Sherman, American lawyer and politician (b. 1721)
- 1833 – Anselmo de la Cruz, Chilean politician, Chilean Minister of Finance (b. 1777)
- 1853 – Andries Pretorius, South African general (b. 1798)
- 1875 – Isaac Singer, American businessman, founded the Singer Corporation (b. 1811)
- 1878 – Carl von Rokitansky, Bohemian physician, pathologist, and politician (b. 1804)
- 1885 – Ulysses S. Grant, American general and politician, 18th President of the United States (b. 1822)
- 1904 – John Douglas, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of Queensland (b. 1828)
- 1909 – Frederick Holder, Australian politician, 19th Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
- 1916 – William Ramsay, Scottish-English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
- 1919 – Spyridon Lambros, Greek historian and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1851)
- 1920 – Conrad Kohrs, German-American rancher and politician (b. 1835)
- 1924 – Frank Frost Abbott, American author and scholar (b. 1850)
- 1926 – Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter (b. 1848)
- 1927 – Reginald Dyer, British brigadier general (b. 1864)
- 1930 – Glenn Curtiss, American pilot and engineer (b. 1878)
- 1932 – Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (b. 1884)
- 1936 – Anna Abrikosova, Russian linguist (b. 1882)
- 1941 – George Lyman Kittredge, American scholar and educator (b. 1860)
- 1941 – José Quiñones Gonzales, Peruvian soldier and pilot (b. 1914)
- 1942 – Adam Czerniaków, Polish engineer and politician (b. 1880)
- 1942 – Andy Ducat, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1886)
- 1948 – D. W. Griffith, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1875)
- 1950 – Shigenori Tōgō, Japanese politician and diplomat, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1882)
- 1951 – Robert J. Flaherty, American director and producer (b. 1884)
- 1951 – Philippe Pétain, French general and politician, 119th Prime Minister of France (b. 1856)
- 1954 – Herman Groman, American runner (b. 1882)
- 1955 – Cordell Hull, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 47th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)
- 1957 – Bob Shiring, American football player and coach (b. 1870)
- 1966 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (b. 1920)
- 1968 – Henry Hallett Dale, English pharmacologist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
- 1971 – Van Heflin, American actor (b. 1910)
- 1972 – Esther Applin, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1895)
- 1973 – Eddie Rickenbacker, American pilot and race car driver, founded Rickenbacker Motors (b. 1890)
- 1979 – Joseph Kessel, French journalist and author (b. 1898)
- 1980 – Sarto Fournier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 38th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1908)
- 1980 – Keith Godchaux, American keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1948)
- 1980 – Mollie Steimer, Russian activist (b. 1897)
- 1982 – Vic Morrow, American actor (b. 1929)
- 1983 – Georges Auric, French composer (b. 1899)
- 1985 – Johnny Wardle, English cricketer and manager (b. 1923)
- 1989 – Donald Barthelme, American short story writer and novelist (b. 1931)
- 1990 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (b. 1899)
- 1996 – Jean Muir, American actress (b. 1911)
- 1997 – Chūhei Nambu, Japanese jumper and journalist (b. 1904)
- 1999 – Hassan II of Morocco (b. 1929)
- 2001 – Eudora Welty, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1909)
- 2002 – Leo McKern, Australian-English actor (b. 1920)
- 2002 – William Luther Pierce, American activist and author (b. 1933)
- 2002 – Chaim Potok, American novelist and rabbi (b. 1929)
- 2002 – Clark Gesner, American author and composer (b. 1938)
- 2003 – James E. Davis, American police officer and politician (b. 1962)
- 2004 – Mehmood Ali, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1932)
- 2004 – Carlos Paredes, Portuguese guitarist and composer (b. 1925)
- 2004 – Piero Piccioni, Italian pianist, conductor, and composer (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Ted Greene, American guitarist and journalist (b. 1946)
- 2006 – Jean-Paul Desbiens, Canadian journalist and academic (b. 1927)
- 2007 – Ron Miller, American songwriter and producer (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Mohammed Zahir Shah, Afghan king (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Kurt Furgler, Swiss lawyer and politician, 70th President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1924)
- 2009 – E. Lynn Harris, American author and screenwriter (b. 1955)
- 2010 – Daniel Schorr, American journalist and author (b. 1916)
- 2011 – Amy Winehouse, English singer-songwriter (b. 1983)
- 2012 – Margaret Mahy, New Zealand author (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Sally Ride, American physicist and astronaut (b. 1951)
- 2012 – Lakshmi Sahgal, Indian soldier and politician (b. 1914)
- 2012 – Esther Tusquets, Spanish publisher and author (b. 1936)
- 2012 – José Luis Uribarri, Spanish television host and director (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Dominguinhos, Brazilian singer-songwriter and accordion player (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Pauline Clarke, English author (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Arthur J. Collingsworth, American diplomat (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Emile Griffith, American boxer and trainer (b. 1938)
- 2013 – Kim Jong-hak, South Korean director and producer (b. 1951)
- 2013 – Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Dora Bryan, English actress and restaurateur (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Norman Leyden, American composer and conductor (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Ariano Suassuna, Brazilian author and playwright (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Jordan Tabor, English footballer (b. 1990)
- 2015 – Shigeko Kubota, Japanese-American sculptor and director (b. 1937)
- 2015 – Don Oberdorfer, American journalist, author, and academic (b. 1931)
- 2015 – William Wakefield Baum, American cardinal (b. 1926)
- 2017 – John Kundla, American basketball coach (b. 1916)
Holidays and observances on July 23
- Birthday of Haile Selassie (Rastafari)
- Children’s Day (Indonesia)
- Christian feast day:
- Bridget of Sweden
- Heiromartyr Phocas (Eastern Orthodox)
- John Cassian (Western Christianity)
- Liborius of Le Mans
- Margarita María
- Mercè Prat i Prat
- Rasyphus and Ravennus
- July 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- National Remembrance Day (Papua New Guinea)
- Renaissance Day (Oman)
- Revolution Day (Egypt)
-
July 11 in History
- 472 – After being besieged in Rome by his own generals, Western Roman Emperor Anthemius is captured in St. Peter’s Basilica and put to death.
- 813 – Byzantine emperor Michael I, under threat by conspiracies, abdicates in favor of his general Leo the Armenian, and becomes a monk (under the name Athanasius).
- 911 – Signing of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple and Rollo of Normandy.
- 1174 – Baldwin IV, 13, becomes King of Jerusalem, with Raymond III, Count of Tripoli as regent and William of Tyre as chancellor.
- 1302 – Battle of the Golden Spurs (Guldensporenslag in Dutch): A coalition around the Flemish cities defeats the king of France’s royal army.
- 1346 – Charles IV, Count of Luxembourg and King of Bohemia, is elected King of the Romans.
- 1405 – Ming admiral Zheng He sets sail to explore the world for the first time.
- 1476 – Giuliano della Rovere is appointed bishop of Coutances.
- 1576 – Martin Frobisher sights Greenland.
- 1616 – Samuel de Champlain returns to Quebec.
- 1735 – Mathematical calculations suggest that it is on this day that dwarf planet Pluto moved inside the orbit of Neptune for the last time before 1979.
- 1789 – Jacques Necker is dismissed as France’s Finance Minister sparking the Storming of the Bastille.
- 1796 – The United States takes possession of Detroit from Great Britain under terms of the Jay Treaty.
- 1798 – The United States Marine Corps is re-established; they had been disbanded after the American Revolutionary War.
- 1801 – French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons makes his first comet discovery. In the next 27 years he discovers another 36 comets, more than any other person in history.
- 1804 – A duel occurs in which the Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr mortally wounds former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton.
- 1833 – Noongar Australian aboriginal warrior Yagan, wanted for the murder of white colonists in Western Australia, is killed.
- 1848 – Waterloo railway station in London opens.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Fort Stevens; Confederate forces attempt to invade Washington, D.C.
- 1882 – The British Mediterranean Fleet begins the Bombardment of Alexandria in Egypt as part of the Anglo-Egyptian War.
- 1889 – Tijuana, Mexico, is founded.
- 1893 – The first cultured pearl is obtained by Kōkichi Mikimoto.
- 1893 – A revolution led by the liberal general and politician José Santos Zelaya takes over state power in Nicaragua.
- 1895 – Brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière demonstrate movie film technology to scientists.
- 1897 – Salomon August Andrée leaves Spitsbergen to attempt to reach the North Pole by balloon. He later crashes and dies.
- 1899 – Fiat founded by Giovanni Agnelli in Turin, Italy.
- 1906 – Murder of Grace Brown by Chester Gillette in the United States, inspiration for Theodore Dreiser’s An American Tragedy.
- 1914 – Babe Ruth makes his debut in Major League Baseball.
- 1914 – USS Nevada (BB-36) is launched.
- 1919 – The eight-hour day and free Sunday become law for workers in the Netherlands.
- 1920 – In the East Prussian plebiscite the local populace decides to remain with Weimar Germany.
- 1921 – A truce in the Irish War of Independence comes into effect.
- 1921 – The Red Army captures Mongolia from the White Army and establishes the Mongolian People’s Republic.
- 1921 – Former president of the United States William Howard Taft is sworn in as 10th chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, becoming the only person ever to hold both offices.
- 1922 – The Hollywood Bowl opens.
- 1924 – Eric Liddell won the gold medal in 400m at the 1924 Paris Olympics, after refusing to run in the heats for 100m, his favoured distance, on the Sunday.
- 1934 – Engelbert Zaschka of Germany flies his large human-powered aircraft, the Zaschka Human-Power Aircraft, about 20 meters at Berlin Tempelhof Airport without assisted take-off.
- 1936 – The Triborough Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic.
- 1940 – World War II: Vichy France regime is formally established. Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of the French State.
- 1941 – The Northern Rhodesian Labour Party holds its first congress in Nkana.
- 1943 – Massacres of Poles in Volhynia and Eastern Galicia by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army within the Reichskommissariat Ukraine (Volhynia) peak.
- 1943 – World War II: Allied invasion of Sicily: German and Italian troops launch a counter-attack on Allied forces in Sicily.
- 1947 – The Exodus 1947 heads to Palestine from France.
- 1950 – Pakistan joins the International Monetary Fund and the International Bank.
- 1957 – Prince Karim Husseini Aga Khan IV inherits the office of Imamat as the 49th Imam of Shia Imami Ismai’li worldwide, after the death of Sir Sultan Mahommed Shah Aga Khan III.
- 1960 – France legislates for the independence of Dahomey (later Benin), Upper Volta (later Burkina) and Niger.
- 1960 – Congo Crisis: The State of Katanga breaks away from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 1960 – To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first published, in the United States.
- 1962 – First transatlantic satellite television transmission.
- 1962 – Project Apollo: At a press conference, NASA announces lunar orbit rendezvous as the means to land astronauts on the Moon, and return them to Earth.
- 1971 – Copper mines in Chile are nationalized.
- 1972 – The first game of the World Chess Championship 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky starts.
- 1973 – Varig Flight 820 crashes near Paris, France on approach to Orly Airport, killing 123 of the 134 on board. In response, the FAA bans smoking in airplane lavatories.
- 1977 – Martin Luther King, Jr. is posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- 1978 – Los Alfaques disaster: A truck carrying liquid gas crashes and explodes at a coastal campsite in Tarragona, Spain killing 216 tourists.
- 1979 – America’s first space station, Skylab, is destroyed as it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean.
- 1983 – A TAME airline Boeing 737-200 crashes near Cuenca, Ecuador, killing all 119 passengers and crew on board.
- 1990 – Oka Crisis: First Nations land dispute in Quebec, Canada begins.
- 1991 – Nigeria Airways Flight 2120 crashes in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia killing all 261 passengers and crew on board.
- 1995 – Yugoslav Wars: Srebrenica massacre begins; lasts until 22 July.
- 2006 – Mumbai train bombings: Two hundred nine people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India.
- 2010 – The Islamist militia group Al-Shabaab carried out multiple suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, killing 74 people and injuring 85 others.
- 2011 – Ninety-eight containers of explosives self-detonate killing 13 people in Zygi, Cyprus.
Births on July 11
- 154 – Bardaisan, Syrian astrologer, scholar, and philosopher (d. 222)
- 1274 – Robert the Bruce, Scottish king (d. 1329)
- 1406 – William, Margrave of Hachberg-Sausenberg (d. 1482)
- 1459 – Kaspar, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken, German nobleman (d. 1527)
- 1558 – Robert Greene, English author and playwright (d. 1592)
- 1561 – Luis de Góngora, Spanish cleric and poet (d. 1627)
- 1603 – Kenelm Digby, English astrologer, courtier, and diplomat (d. 1665)
- 1628 – Tokugawa Mitsukuni, Japanese daimyō (d. 1701)
- 1653 – Sarah Good, American woman accused of witchcraft (d. 1692)
- 1657 – Frederick I of Prussia (d. 1713)
- 1662 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1726)
- 1709 – Johan Gottschalk Wallerius, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (d. 1785)
- 1723 – Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and author (d. 1799)
- 1751 – Caroline Matilda, British princess, queen consort of Denmark (d. 1775)
- 1754 – Thomas Bowdler, English physician and philanthropist (d. 1825)
- 1760 – Peggy Shippen, American wife of Benedict Arnold and American Revolutionary War spy (d. 1804)
- 1767 – John Quincy Adams, American lawyer and politician, 6th President of the United States (d. 1848)
- 1826 – Alexander Afanasyev, Russian ethnographer and author (d. 1871)
- 1832 – Charilaos Trikoupis, Greek lawyer and politician, 55th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1896)
- 1834 – James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American-English painter and illustrator (d. 1903)
- 1836 – Antônio Carlos Gomes, Brazilian composer (d. 1896)
- 1846 – Léon Bloy, French author and poet (d. 1917)
- 1849 – N. E. Brown, English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents (d. 1934)
- 1850 – Annie Armstrong, American missionary (d. 1938)
- 1866 – Princess Irene of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1953)
- 1875 – H. M. Brock, British painter and illustrator (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Friedrich Lahrs, German architect and academic (d. 1964)
- 1881 – Isabel Martin Lewis, American astronomer and author (d. 1966)
- 1882 – James Larkin White, American miner, explorer, and park ranger (d. 1946)
- 1886 – Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter and illustrator (d. 1939)
- 1888 – Carl Schmitt, German philosopher and jurist (d. 1985)
- 1892 – Thomas Mitchell, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1962)
- 1894 – Erna Mohr, German zoologist (d. 1968)
- 1895 – Dorothy Wilde, English author and poet (d. 1941)
- 1897 – Bull Connor, American police officer (d. 1973)
- 1899 – Wilfrid Israel, German businessman and philanthropist (d. 1943)
- 1899 – E. B. White, American essayist and journalist (d. 1985)
- 1901 – Gwendolyn Lizarraga, Belizean businesswoman, activist, and politician (d. 1975)
- 1903 – Rudolf Abel, English-Russian colonel (d. 1971)
- 1903 – Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (d. 1976)
- 1904 – Niño Ricardo, Spanish guitarist and composer (d. 1972)
- 1905 – Betty Allan, Australian statistician and biometrician (d. 1952)
- 1906 – Harry von Zell, American actor and announcer (d. 1981)
- 1906 – Herbert Wehner, German politician, Minister of Intra-German Relations (d. 1990)
- 1909 – Irene Hervey, American actress (d. 1998)
- 1909 – Jacques Clemens, Dutch catholic priest (d. 2018)
- 1910 – Sally Blane, American actress (d. 1997)
- 1911 – Erna Flegel, German Third Reich nurse (d. 2006)
- 1912 – Sergiu Celibidache, Romanian conductor and composer (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Peta Taylor, English cricketer (d. 1989)
- 1912 – William F. Walsh, American captain and politician, 48th Mayor of Syracuse (d. 2011)
- 1913 – Paul Gibb, English cricketer (d. 1977)
- 1913 – Cordwainer Smith, American sinologist, author, and academic (d. 1966)
- 1916 – Mortimer Caplin, American tax attorney, educator, and IRS Commissioner (d. 2019)
- 1916 – Hans Maier, Dutch water polo player (d. 2018)
- 1916 – Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
- 1916 – Reg Varney, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2008)
- 1916 – Gough Whitlam, Australian lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Venetia Burney, English educator, who named Pluto (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Yul Brynner, Russian actor and dancer (d. 1985)
- 1920 – Zecharia Sitchin, Russian-American author (d. 2010)
- 1922 – Gene Evans, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1922 – Fritz Riess, German-Swiss racing driver (d. 1991)
- 1923 – Richard Pipes, Polish-American historian and academic (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Tun Tun, Indian actress and comedian (d. 2003)
- 1924 – César Lattes, Brazilian physicist and academic (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Brett Somers, Canadian-American actress and singer (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Charlie Tully, Northern Irish footballer and manager (d. 1971)
- 1924 – Oscar Wyatt, American businessman
- 1925 – Charles Chaynes, French composer (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Nicolai Gedda, Swedish operatic tenor (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Peter Kyros, American lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Sid Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2004)
- 1926 – Frederick Buechner, American minister, theologian, and author
- 1927 – Theodore Maiman, American-Canadian physicist and engineer (d. 2007)
- 1927 – Chris Leonard, English footballer
- 1928 – Greville Janner, Baron Janner of Braunstone, Welsh-English lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Bobo Olson, American boxer (d. 2002)
- 1928 – Andrea Veneracion, Filipina choirmaster (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Danny Flores, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (d. 2006)
- 1929 – David Kelly, Irish actor (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Jack Alabaster, New Zealand cricketer
- 1930 – Harold Bloom, American literary critic (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Trevor Storer, English businessman, founded Pukka Pies (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Dick Gray, American baseball player (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Thurston Harris, American doo-wop singer (d. 1990)
- 1931 – Tab Hunter, American actor and singer (d. 2018)
- 1931 – Tullio Regge, Italian physicist and academic (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Alex Hassilev, French-born American folk singer and musician
- 1932 – Jean-Guy Talbot, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1933 – Jim Carlen, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1933 – Frank Kelso, American admiral and politician, United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer, founded the Armani Company
- 1935 – Frederick Hemke, American saxophonist and educator
- 1935 – Oliver Napier, Northern Irish lawyer and politician (d. 2011)
- 1937 – Pai Hsien-yung, Chinese-Taiwanese author
- 1941 – Bill Boggs, American journalist and producer
- 1941 – Henry Lowther, English trumpet player
- 1943 – Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (d. 2006)
- 1943 – Howard Gardner, American psychologist and academic
- 1943 – Tom Holland, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1943 – Peter Jensen, Australian metropolitan
- 1943 – Robert Malval, Haitian businessman and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Haiti
- 1943 – Rolf Stommelen, German racing driver (d. 1983)
- 1944 – Lou Hudson, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Michael Levy, Baron Levy, English philanthropist
- 1944 – Patricia Polacco, American author and illustrator
- 1946 – Martin Wong, American painter (d. 1999)
- 1947 – Jeff Hanna, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer
- 1947 – Norman Lebrecht, English author and critic
- 1947 – Bo Lundgren, Swedish politician
- 1950 – Pervez Hoodbhoy, Pakistani physicist and academic
- 1950 – J. R. Morgan, Welsh author and academic
- 1950 – Bonnie Pointer, American singer (d. 2020)
- 1951 – Ed Ott, American baseball player and coach
- 1952 – Bill Barber, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1952 – Stephen Lang, American actor and playwright
- 1953 – Piyasvasti Amranand, Thai businessman and politician, Thai Minister of Energy
- 1953 – Angélica Aragón, Mexican film, television, and stage actress and singer
- 1953 – Peter Brown, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1953 – Suresh Prabhu, Indian accountant and politician, Indian Minister of Railways
- 1953 – Patricia Reyes Spíndola, Mexican actress, director, and producer
- 1953 – Leon Spinks, American boxer
- 1953 – Mindy Sterling, American actress
- 1953 – Ivan Toms, South African physician and activist (d. 2008)
- 1953 – Bramwell Tovey, English-Canadian conductor and composer
- 1953 – Paul Weiland, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1954 – Julia King, English engineer and academic
- 1955 – Balaji Sadasivan, Singaporean neurosurgeon and politician, Singaporean Minister of Health (d. 2010)
- 1956 – Amitav Ghosh, Indian-American author and academic
- 1956 – Robin Renucci, French actor and director
- 1956 – Sela Ward, American actress
- 1957 – Johann Lamont, Scottish educator and politician
- 1957 – Peter Murphy, English singer-songwriter
- 1957 – Michael Rose, Jamaican singer-songwriter
- 1958 – Mark Lester, English actor
- 1958 – Hugo Sánchez, Mexican footballer, coach, and manager
- 1959 – Richie Sambora, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1959 – Suzanne Vega, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1960 – David Baerwald, American singer-songwriter, composer, and musician
- 1960 – Caroline Quentin, English actress
- 1961 – Antony Jenkins, English banker and businessman
- 1962 – Gaétan Duchesne, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1962 – Pauline McLynn, Irish actress and author
- 1962 – Fumiya Fujii, Japanese music artist
- 1963 – Al MacInnis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1963 – Dean Richards, English rugby player and coach
- 1963 – Lisa Rinna, American actress and talk show host
- 1965 – Tony Cottee, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
- 1965 – Ernesto Hoost, Dutch kick-boxer and sportscaster
- 1965 – Scott Shriner, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1966 – Nadeem Aslam, Pakistani-English author
- 1966 – Kentaro Miura, Japanese author and illustrator
- 1966 – Rod Strickland, American basketball player and coach
- 1966 – Ricky Warwick, Northern Irish musician
- 1967 – Andy Ashby, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1967 – Jhumpa Lahiri, Indian American novelist and short story writer
- 1968 – Michael Geist, Canadian journalist and academic
- 1968 – Daniel MacMaster, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
- 1968 – Esera Tuaolo, American football player
- 1969 – Ned Boulting, British sports journalist and television presenter
- 1970 – Justin Chambers, American actor
- 1970 – Sajjad Karim, English lawyer and politician
- 1970 – Eric Owens, American opera singer
- 1971 – Leisha Hailey, Japanese-American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1972 – Cormac Battle, English-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1973 – Konstantinos Kenteris, Greek runner
- 1974 – Alanas Chošnau, Lithuanian singer-songwriter
- 1974 – Hermann Hreiðarsson, Icelandic footballer and manager
- 1974 – André Ooijer, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1975 – Willie Anderson, American football player
- 1975 – Rubén Baraja, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1975 – Lil’ Kim, American rapper and producer
- 1976 – Eduardo Nájera, Mexican-American basketball player and coach
- 1977 – Brandon Short, American football player and sportscaster
- 1978 – Kathleen Edwards, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Massimiliano Rosolino, Italian swimmer
- 1979 – Raio Piiroja, Estonian footballer
- 1980 – Tyson Kidd, Canadian wrestler
- 1980 – Kevin Powers, American soldier and author
- 1981 – Andre Johnson, American football player
- 1982 – Chris Cooley, American football player
- 1983 – Engin Baytar, German-Turkish footballer
- 1983 – Peter Cincotti, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1983 – Marie Serneholt, Swedish singer and dancer
- 1984 – Yorman Bazardo, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1984 – Tanith Belbin, Canadian-American ice dancer
- 1984 – Jacoby Jones, American football player
- 1984 – Joe Pavelski, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Morné Steyn, South African rugby player
- 1985 – Robert Adamson, American actor, director, and producer
- 1985 – Orestis Karnezis, Greek footballer
- 1986 – Raúl García, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Yoann Gourcuff, French footballer
- 1986 – Ryan Jarvis, English footballer
- 1987 – Shigeaki Kato, Japanese singer
- 1988 – Étienne Capoue, French footballer
- 1988 – Natalie La Rose, Dutch singer, songwriter and dancer
- 1989 – Tobias Sana, Swedish footballer
- 1989 – Travis Waddell, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Mona Barthel, German tennis player
- 1990 – Connor Paolo, American actor
- 1990 – Adam Jezierski, Polish-Spanish actor and singer
- 1990 – Patrick Peterson, American football player
- 1990 – Caroline Wozniacki, Danish tennis player
- 1993 – Rebecca Bross, American gymnast
- 1993 – Heini Salonen, Finnish tennis player
- 1994 – Bartłomiej Kalinkowski, Polish footballer
- 1994 – Anthony Milford, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Nina Nesbitt, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1994 – Lucas Ocampos, Argentinian footballer
- 1995 – Joey Bosa, American football player
- 1995 – Tyler Medeiros, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1996 – Alessia Cara, Canadian singer-songwriter
Deaths on July 11
- 472 – Anthemius, Roman emperor (b. 420)
- 937 – Rudolph II of Burgundy (b. 880)
- 969 – Olga of Kiev (b. 890)
- 1174 – Amalric I of Jerusalem (b. 1136)
- 1183 – Otto I Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1117)
- 1302 – Robert II, Count of Artois (b. 1250)
- 1302 – Pierre Flotte, French politician and lawyer
- 1344 – Ulrich III, Count of Württemberg (b. c. 1286)
- 1362 – Anna von Schweidnitz, empress of Charles IV (b. 1339)
- 1382 – Nicole Oresme, French philosopher (b. 1325)
- 1451 – Barbara of Cilli, Slovenian noblewoman
- 1484 – Mino da Fiesole, Italian sculptor (b. c. 1429)
- 1535 – Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1484)
- 1581 – Peder Skram, Danish admiral and politician (b. 1503)
- 1593 – Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Italian painter (b. 1527)
- 1599 – Chōsokabe Motochika, Japanese daimyō (b.1539)
- 1688 – Narai, Thai king (b. 1629)
- 1774 – Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, Irish-English general (b. 1715)
- 1775 – Simon Boerum, American farmer and politician (b. 1724)
- 1797 – Ienăchiță Văcărescu, Romanian historian and philologist (b. 1740)
- 1806 – James Smith, Irish-American lawyer and politician (b. 1719)
- 1825 – Thomas P. Grosvenor, American soldier and politician (b. 1744)
- 1844 – Yevgeny Baratynsky, Russian philosopher and poet (b. 1800)
- 1897 – Patrick Jennings, Irish-Australian politician, 11th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1831)
- 1905 – Muhammad Abduh, Egyptian jurist and scholar (b. 1849)
- 1908 – Friedrich Traun, German sprinter and tennis player (b. 1876)
- 1909 – Simon Newcomb, Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician (b. 1835)
- 1929 – Billy Mosforth, English footballer and engraver (b. 1857)
- 1937 – George Gershwin, American pianist, songwriter, and composer (b. 1898)
- 1959 – Charlie Parker, English cricketer, coach, and umpire (b. 1882)
- 1966 – Delmore Schwartz, American poet and short story writer (b. 1913)
- 1967 – Guy Favreau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 28th Canadian Minister of Justice (b. 1917)
- 1971 – John W. Campbell, American journalist and author (b. 1910)
- 1971 – Pedro Rodríguez, Mexican racing driver (b. 1940)
- 1974 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
- 1976 – León de Greiff, Colombian poet and educator (b. 1895)
- 1979 – Claude Wagner, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1925)
- 1983 – Ross Macdonald, American-Canadian author (b. 1915)
- 1987 – Avi Ran, Israeli footballer (b. 1963)
- 1987 – Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman, American rabbi and scholar (b. 1901)
- 1989 – Laurence Olivier, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
- 1991 – Mokhtar Dahari, Malaysian footballer and coach (b. 1953)
- 1994 – Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research (b. 1942)
- 1998 – Panagiotis Kondylis, Greek philosopher and author (b. 1943)
- 1999 – Helen Forrest, American singer (b. 1917)
- 1999 – Jan Sloot, Dutch computer scientist and electronics technician (b. 1945)
- 2000 – Pedro Mir, Dominican lawyer, author, and poet (b. 1913)
- 2000 – Robert Runcie, English archbishop (b. 1921)
- 2001 – Herman Brood, Dutch musician and painter (b. 1946)
- 2003 – Zahra Kazemi, Iranian-Canadian freelance photographer (b. 1948)
- 2004 – Laurance Rockefeller, American financier and philanthropist (b. 1910)
- 2004 – Renée Saint-Cyr, French actress and producer (b. 1904)
- 2005 – Gretchen Franklin, English actress and dancer (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Jesús Iglesias, Argentinian racing driver (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Frances Langford, American actress and singer (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Barnard Hughes, American actor (b. 1915)
- 2006 – Bronwyn Oliver, Australian sculptor (b. 1959)
- 2006 – John Spencer, English snooker player and sportscaster (b. 1935)
- 2007 – Glenda Adams, Australian author and academic (b. 1939)
- 2007 – Lady Bird Johnson, American beautification activist; 43rd First Lady of the United States (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Alfonso López Michelsen, Colombian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Colombia (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Ed Mirvish, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist, founded Honest Ed’s (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Michael E. DeBakey, American surgeon and educator (b. 1908)
- 2009 – Reg Fleming, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer (b. 1972)
- 2009 – Ji Xianlin, Chinese linguist and paleographer (b. 1911)
- 2010 – Walter Hawkins, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and pastor (b. 1949)
- 2011 – Rob Grill, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Art Ceccarelli, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Marion Cunningham, American author (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Richard Scudder, American journalist and publisher, co-founded MediaNews Group (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Donald J. Sobol, American soldier and author (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Marvin Traub, American businessman and author (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Emik Avakian, Iranian-American inventor (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Egbert Brieskorn, German mathematician and academic (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Eugene P. Wilkinson, American admiral (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Charlie Haden, American bassist and composer (b. 1937)
- 2014 – Carin Mannheimer, Swedish author and screenwriter (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Bill McGill, American basketball player (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-American drummer and producer (b. 1949)
- 2014 – John Seigenthaler, American journalist and academic (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Randall Stout, American architect, designed the Taubman Museum of Art (b. 1958)
- 2015 – Giacomo Biffi, Italian cardinal (b. 1928)
- 2015 – James U. Cross, American general (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Satoru Iwata, Japanese game programmer and businessman (b. 1959)
- 2015 – Lawrence K. Karlton, American lawyer and judge (b. 1935)
- 2015 – André Leysen, Belgian businessman (b. 1927)
Holidays and observances on July 11
- Christian Feast Day:
- Benedict of Nursia
- Olga of Kiev
- Pope Pius I
- July 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- China National Maritime Day (China)
- Day of the Bandoneón (Argentina)
- Day of the Flemish Community (Flemish Community of Belgium)
- Eleventh Night (Northern Ireland)
- Free Slurpee Day (Participating stores of the 7-Eleven chain in North America)
- National Day of Remembrance of Victims of Genocide by Ukrainian Nationalists on Citizens of the Second Republic of Poland (Poland)
- Gospel Day (Kiribati)
- Imamat Day (Isma’ilism)
- National Day of Commemoration, held on the nearest Sunday to this date (Ireland)
- The first day of Naadam (July 11–15) (Mongolia)
- World Population Day (International)
-
June 23 in History
- 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 16 in History
- 363 – Emperor Julian marches back up the Tigris and burns his fleet of supply ships. During the withdrawal, Roman forces suffer several attacks from the Persians.
- 632 – Yazdegerd III ascends the throne as king (shah) of the Persian Empire. He becomes the last ruler of the Sasanian dynasty (modern Iran).
- 1407 – Ming–Hồ War: Retired King Hồ Quý Ly and his son King Hồ Hán Thương of Hồ dynasty are captured by the Ming armies.
- 1487 – Battle of Stoke Field: King Henry VII of England defeats the leaders of a Yorkist rebellion in the final engagement of the Wars of the Roses.
- 1586 – Mary, Queen of Scots, recognizes Philip II of Spain as her heir and successor.
- 1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: New England colonial troops under the command of William Pepperrell capture the Fortress of Louisbourg in Louisbourg, New France (Old Style date).
- 1746 – War of the Austrian Succession: Austria and Sardinia defeat a Franco-Spanish army at the Battle of Piacenza.
- 1755 – French and Indian War: The French surrender Fort Beauséjour to the British, leading to the expulsion of the Acadians.
- 1779 – Spain declares war on the Kingdom of Great Britain, and the Great Siege of Gibraltar begins.
- 1795 – French Revolutionary Wars: In what became known as Cornwallis’s Retreat, a British Royal Navy squadron led by Vice Admiral William Cornwallis strongly resists a much larger French Navy force and withdraws largely intact, setting up the French Navy defeat at the Battle of Groix six days later.
- 1811 – Survivors of an attack the previous day by Tla-o-qui-aht on board the Pacific Fur Company’s ship Tonquin, intentionally detonate a powder magazine on the ship, destroying it and killing about 100 attackers.
- 1815 – Battle of Ligny and Battle of Quatre Bras, two days before the Battle of Waterloo.
- 1819 – A major earthquake strikes the Kutch district of western India, killing over 1,543 people and raising a 6 m high, 6 km wide, ridge, extending for at least 80 km, that was known as the Allah Bund (“Dam of God”).
- 1836 – The formation of the London Working Men’s Association gives rise to the Chartist Movement.
- 1846 – The Papal conclave of 1846 elects Pope Pius IX, beginning the longest reign in the history of the papacy.
- 1858 – Abraham Lincoln delivers his House Divided speech in Springfield, Illinois.
- 1871 – The Universities Tests Act 1871 allows students to enter the universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Durham without religious tests (except for those intending to study theology).
- 1883 – The Victoria Hall theatre panic in Sunderland, England, kills 183 children.
- 1884 – The first purpose-built roller coaster, LaMarcus Adna Thompson’s “Switchback Railway”, opens in New York’s Coney Island amusement park.
- 1897 – A treaty annexing the Republic of Hawaii to the United States is signed; the Republic would not be dissolved until a year later.
- 1903 – The Ford Motor Company is incorporated.
- 1903 – Roald Amundsen leaves Oslo, Norway, to commence the first east-west navigation of the Northwest Passage.
- 1904 – Eugen Schauman assassinates Nikolay Bobrikov, Governor-General of Finland.
- 1904 – Irish author James Joyce begins a relationship with Nora Barnacle and subsequently uses the date to set the actions for his novel Ulysses; this date is now traditionally called “Bloomsday”.
- 1911 – IBM founded as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company in Endicott, New York.
- 1922 – General election in the Irish Free State: The pro-Treaty Sinn Féin party wins a large majority.
- 1925 – The most famous Young Pioneer camp of the Soviet Union, Artek, is established.
- 1930 – Sovnarkom establishes decree time in the USSR.
- 1933 – The National Industrial Recovery Act is passed in the United States, allowing businesses to avoid antitrust prosecution if they establish voluntary wage, price, and working condition regulations on an industry-wide basis.
- 1940 – World War II: Marshal Henri Philippe Pétain becomes Chief of State of Vichy France (Chef de l’État Français).
- 1940 – A Communist government is installed in Lithuania.
- 1944 – In a gross miscarriage of justice, George Junius Stinney Jr., age 14, becomes the youngest person executed in the United States in the 20th century after being convicted in a two-hour trial for the rape and murder of two teenage white girls.
- 1948 – Members of the Malayan Communist Party kill three British plantation managers in Sungai Siput; in response, British Malaya declares a state of emergency.
- 1955 – In a futile effort to topple Argentine President Juan Perón, rogue aircraft pilots of the Argentine Navy drop several bombs upon an unarmed crowd demonstrating in favor of Perón in Buenos Aires, killing 364 and injuring at least 800. At the same time on the ground, some soldiers attempt to stage a coup but are suppressed by loyal forces.
- 1958 – Imre Nagy, Pál Maléter and other leaders of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising are executed.
- 1961 – While on tour with the Kirov Ballet in Paris, Rudolf Nureyev defects from the Soviet Union.
- 1963 – Soviet Space Program: Vostok 6 mission: Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
- 1972 – The largest single-site hydroelectric power project in Canada is inaugurated at Churchill Falls Generating Station.
- 1976 – Soweto uprising: A non-violent march by 15,000 students in Soweto, South Africa, turns into days of rioting when police open fire on the crowd.
- 1977 – Oracle Corporation is incorporated in Redwood Shores, California, as Software Development Laboratories (SDL), by Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates.
- 1981 – US President Ronald Reagan awards the Congressional Gold Medal to Ken Taylor, Canada’s former ambassador to Iran, for helping six Americans escape from Iran during the hostage crisis of 1979–81; he is the first foreign citizen bestowed the honor.
- 1989 – Revolutions of 1989: Imre Nagy, the former Hungarian prime minister, is reburied in Budapest following the collapse of Communism in Hungary.
- 1997 – Fifty people are killed in the Daïat Labguer (M’sila) massacre in Algeria.
- 2000 – The Secretary-General of the UN reports that Israel has complied with United Nations Security Council Resolution 425, 22 years after its issuance, and completely withdrew from Lebanon. The Resolution does not encompass the Shebaa farms, which is claimed by Israel, Syria and Lebanon.
- 2010 – Bhutan becomes the first country to institute a total ban on tobacco.
- 2012 – China successfully launches its Shenzhou 9 spacecraft, carrying three astronauts, including the first female Chinese astronaut Liu Yang, to the Tiangong-1 orbital module.
- 2012 – The United States Air Force’s robotic Boeing X-37B spaceplane returns to Earth after a classified 469-day orbital mission
- 2013 – A multi-day cloudburst, centered on the North Indian state of Uttarakhand, causes devastating floods and landslides, becoming the country’s worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami.
- 2016 – Shanghai Disneyland Park, the first Disney Park in Mainland China, opens to the public.
- 2019 – Upwards of 2,000,000 people participate in the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, the largest in Hong Kong’s history.
Births on June 16
- 1139 – Emperor Konoe of Japan (d. 1155)
- 1332 – Isabella de Coucy, English daughter of Edward III of England (d. 1379)
- 1454 – Joanna of Aragon, Queen of Naples (d. 1517)
- 1514 – John Cheke, English academic and politician, English Secretary of State (d. 1557)
- 1516 – Yang Jisheng, Ming dynasty official and Confucian martyr (d. 1555)
- 1583 – Axel Oxenstierna, Swedish politician, Lord High Chancellor of Sweden (d. 1654)
- 1591 – Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, Greek-Italian physician, mathematician, and theorist (d. 1655)
- 1606 – Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier and politician (d. 1675)
- 1613 – John Cleveland, English poet and educator (d. 1658)
- 1625 – Samuel Chappuzeau, French scholar (d. 1701)
- 1633 – Jean de Thévenot, French linguist and botanist (d. 1667)
- 1644 – Henrietta Anne Stuart, Princess of Scotland, England and Ireland (d. 1670)
- 1653 – James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon, English nobleman (d. 1699)
- 1713 – Meshech Weare, American farmer, lawyer, and politician, 1st Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1786)
- 1723 – Adam Smith, Scottish philosopher and economist (d. 1790)
- 1738 – Mary Katherine Goddard, American publisher (d. 1816)
- 1754 – Salawat Yulayev, Russian poet (d. 1800)
- 1792 – John Linnell, English painter and engraver (d. 1882)
- 1801 – Julius Plücker, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1868)
- 1806 – Edward Davy, English physician and chemist (d. 1885)
- 1813 – Otto Jahn, German archaeologist and philologist (d. 1869)
- 1820 – Athanase Josué Coquerel, Dutch-French preacher and theologian (d. 1875)
- 1821 – Old Tom Morris, Scottish golfer and architect (d. 1908)
- 1826 – Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist and botanist (d. 1897)
- 1829 – Geronimo, American tribal leader (d. 1909)
- 1836 – Wesley Merritt, American general and politician, Military Governor of the Philippines (d. 1910)
- 1837 – Ernst Laas, German philosopher and academic (d. 1885)
- 1838 – Frederic Archer, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1901)
- 1838 – Cushman Kellogg Davis, American lieutenant and politician, 7th Governor of Minnesota (d. 1900)
- 1840 – Ernst Otto Schlick, German engineer and author (d. 1913)
- 1850 – Max Delbrück, German chemist and academic (d. 1919)
- 1857 – Arthur Arz von Straußenburg, Austrian-Hungarian general (d. 1935)
- 1858 – Gustaf V of Sweden (d. 1950)
- 1863 – Francisco León de la Barra, Mexican politician and diplomat (d. 1939)
- 1866 – Germanos Karavangelis, Greek-Austrian metropolitan (d. 1935)
- 1874 – Arthur Meighen, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Otto Eisenschiml, Austrian-American chemist and author (d. 1963)
- 1882 – Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iranian educator and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Iran (d. 1967)
- 1885 – Erich Jacoby, Estonian-Polish architect (d. 1941)
- 1888 – Alexander Friedmann, Russian physicist and mathematician (d. 1925)
- 1888 – Peter Stoner, American mathematician and astronomer (d. 1980)
- 1890 – Stan Laurel, English actor and comedian (d. 1965)
- 1896 – Murray Leinster, American author and screenwriter (d. 1976)
- 1897 – Georg Wittig, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1899 – Helen Traubel, American operatic soprano (d. 1972)
- 1902 – Barbara McClintock, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
- 1902 – George Gaylord Simpson, American paleontologist and author (d. 1984)
- 1906 – Alan Fairfax, Australian cricketer (d. 1955)
- 1907 – Jack Albertson, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1909 – Archie Carr, American ecologist and zoologist (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Juan Velasco Alvarado, Peruvian general and politician, 1st President of Peru (d. 1977)
- 1912 – Albert Chartier, Canadian illustrator (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Enoch Powell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health (d. 1998)
- 1914 – Eleanor Sokoloff, American pianist and teacher
- 1915 – John Tukey, American mathematician and academic (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Marga Faulstich, German glass chemist (d. 1998)
- 1917 – Phaedon Gizikis, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Katharine Graham, American publisher (d. 2001)
- 1917 – Aurelio Lampredi, Italian automobile and aircraft engine designer (d. 1989)
- 1917 – Irving Penn, American photographer (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Isabelle Holland, Swiss-American author (d. 2002)
- 1920 – Raymond Lemieux, Canadian chemist and academic (d. 2002)
- 1920 – José López Portillo, Mexican lawyer and politician, 31st President of Mexico (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Hemanta Mukharjee, Indian singer and music director
- 1922 – Ilmar Kullam, Estonian basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Ron Flockhart, Scottish race car driver (d. 1962)
- 1924 – Faith Domergue, American actress (d. 1999)
- 1925 – Jean d’Ormesson, French journalist and author (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Otto Muehl, Austrian-Portuguese painter and director (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Efraín Ríos Montt, Guatemalan general and politician, 26th President of Guatemala (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Tom Graveney, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Herbert Lichtenfeld, German author and screenwriter (d. 2001)
- 1927 – Ariano Suassuna, Brazilian author and playwright (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait
- 1930 – Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer and producer (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Eileen Atkins, English actress and screenwriter
- 1934 – Roger Neilson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2003)
- 1935 – Jim Dine, American painter and illustrator
- 1937 – Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Bulgarian politician, 48th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
- 1937 – Erich Segal, American author and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Thomas Boyd-Carpenter, English general
- 1938 – Torgny Lindgren, Swedish author and poet (d. 2017)
- 1938 – Joyce Carol Oates, American novelist, short story writer, critic, and poet
- 1939 – Billy “Crash” Craddock, American singer-songwriter
- 1940 – Māris Čaklais, Latvian poet, writer, and journalist (d. 2003)
- 1940 – Neil Goldschmidt, American lawyer and politician, 33rd Governor of Oregon
- 1941 – Rosalind Baker, Australian author
- 1941 – Lamont Dozier, American songwriter and producer
- 1941 – Tommy Horton, English golfer (d. 2017)
- 1941 – Mumtaz Hamid Rao, Pakistani journalist (d. 2011)
- 1942 – Giacomo Agostini, Italian motorcycle racer and manager
- 1942 – Eddie Levert, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
- 1944 – Henri Richelet, French painter and etcher
- 1945 – Claire Alexander, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1945 – Lucienne Robillard, Canadian social worker and politician, 59th Secretary of State for Canada
- 1946 – Rick Adelman, American basketball player and coach
- 1946 – John Astor, 3rd Baron Astor of Hever, English businessman and politician
- 1946 – Karen Dunnell, English statistician and academic
- 1946 – Tom Harrell, American trumpet player and composer
- 1946 – Neil MacGregor, Scottish historian and curator
- 1946 – Iain Matthews, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Jodi Rell, American politician, 87th Governor of Connecticut
- 1946 – Mark Ritts, American actor, puppeteer, and producer (d. 2009)
- 1946 – Derek Sanderson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1946 – Simon Williams, English actor and playwright
- 1947 – Tom Malone, American trombonist, composer, and producer
- 1947 – Buddy Roberts, American wrestler (d. 2012)
- 1947 – Al Cowlings, American ex-NFL player and close friend of O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson
- 1947 – Tom Wyner, English-American voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1948 – Ron LeFlore, American baseball player and manager
- 1949 – Paulo Cézar Caju, Brazilian footballer
- 1949 – Ralph Mann, American hurdler and author
- 1950 – Mithun Chakraborty, Indian actor and politician
- 1950 – Michel Clair, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Jerry Petrowski, American politician and farmer
- 1951 – Charlie Dominici, American singer and guitarist
- 1951 – Roberto Durán, Panamanian boxer
- 1952 – George Papandreou, Greek sociologist and politician, 182nd Prime Minister of Greece
- 1952 – Gino Vannelli, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Valerie Mahaffey, American actress
- 1953 – Ian Mosley, English drummer
- 1954 – Matthew Saad Muhammad, American boxer and trainer (d. 2014)
- 1954 – Garry Roberts, Irish guitarist
- 1955 – Grete Faremo, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Defence
- 1955 – Laurie Metcalf, American actress
- 1955 – Artemy Troitsky, Russian journalist and critic
- 1957 – Ian Buchanan, Scottish-American actor
- 1957 – Leeona Dorrian, Lady Dorrian, Scottish lawyer and judge
- 1958 – Darrell Griffith, American basketball player
- 1958 – Ulrike Tauber, German swimmer
- 1958 – Warren Rodwell, Australian soldier, educator and musician
- 1959 – The Ultimate Warrior, American wrestler (d. 2014)
- 1960 – Peter Sterling, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1961 – Can Dündar, Turkish journalist and author
- 1961 – Robbie Kerr, Australian cricketer
- 1961 – Steve Larmer, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 – Margus Metstak, Estonian basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Wally Joyner, American baseball player and coach
- 1962 – Arnold Vosloo, South African-American actor
- 1962 – Anthony Wong, Hong Kong singer
- 1963 – The Sandman, American wrestler
- 1964 – Danny Burstein, American actor and singer
- 1965 – Michael Richard Lynch, Irish computer scientist and entrepreneur; co-founded HP Autonomy
- 1965 – Richard Madaleno, American politician
- 1966 – Mark Occhilupo, Australian surfer
- 1966 – Olivier Roumat, French rugby player
- 1966 – Phil Vischer, American voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-created VeggieTales
- 1966 – Jan Železný, Czech javelin thrower and coach
- 1967 – Charalambos Andreou, Cypriot footballer
- 1967 – Jürgen Klopp, German footballer and manager
- 1968 – Adam Schmitt, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
- 1969 – Shami Chakrabarti, English lawyer and academic
- 1969 – Mark Crossley, English-Welsh footballer and manager
- 1970 – Younus AlGohar, Pakistani poet and academic, co-founded Messiah Foundation International
- 1970 – Clifton Collins Jr., American actor
- 1970 – Cobi Jones, American soccer player and manager
- 1970 – Phil Mickelson, American golfer
- 1971 – Tupac Shakur, American rapper and producer (d. 1996)
- 1972 – Kiko Loureiro, Brazilian guitarist
- 1973 – Eddie Cibrian, American actor
- 1974 – Glenicia James, Saint Lucian cricketer
- 1975 – Anthony Carter, American basketball player and coach
- 1977 – Craig Fitzgibbon, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1977 – Duncan Hames, English accountant and politician
- 1977 – Kerry Wood, American baseball player
- 1978 – Daniel Brühl, Spanish-German actor
- 1978 – Dainius Zubrus, Lithuanian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Fish Leong, Malaysian singer
- 1980 – Brandon Armstrong, American basketball player
- 1980 – Phil Christophers, German-English rugby player
- 1980 – Henry Perenara, New Zealand rugby league player and referee
- 1980 – Martin Stranzl, Austrian footballer
- 1980 – Joey Yung, Hong Kong singer
- 1981 – Benjamin Becker, German tennis player
- 1981 – Kevin Bieksa, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Alexandre Giroux, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Ola Kvernberg, Norwegian violinist
- 1981 – Miguel Villalta, Peruvian footballer
- 1982 – May Andersen, Danish model and actress
- 1982 – Missy Peregrym, Canadian model and actress
- 1983 – Armend Dallku, Albanian footballer
- 1984 – Rick Nash, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Dan Ryckert, American writer and entertainer
- 1984 – Steven Whittaker, Scottish footballer
- 1986 – Rodrigo Defendi, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Urby Emanuelson, Dutch footballer
- 1986 – Fernando Muslera, Uruguayan footballer
- 1987 – Diana DeGarmo, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Per Ciljan Skjelbred, Norwegian footballer
- 1987 – Christian Tshimanga Kabeya, Belgian footballer
- 1988 – Keshia Chante, Canadian singer
- 1988 – Jermaine Gresham, American football player
- 1990 – John Newman, English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer
- 1991 – Joe McElderry, English singer-songwriter
- 1991 – Siya Kolisi, South African rugby player
- 1991 – Matt Moylan, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Vladimir Morozov, Russian swimmer
- 1993 – Park Bo-gum, South Korean actor
- 1993 – Gnash, American singer, songwriter, rapper, DJ and record producer
- 1994 – Grete-Lilijane Küppas, Estonian footballer
- 1994 – Rezar, Albanian professional wrestler
- 1995 – Euan Aitken, Australian rugby league player
- 1995 – Joseph Schooling, Singaporean swimmer
- 1995 – Akira Ioane, New Zealand rugby Union player
- 2000 – Bianca Andreescu, Canadian tennis player
Deaths on June 16
- 840 – Rorgon I, Frankish nobleman (or 839)
- 924 – Li Cunshen, general of Later Tang (b. 862)
- 956 – Hugh the Great, Frankish nobleman (b. 898)
- 1185 – Richeza of Poland, queen of León (b. c. 1140)
- 1286 – Hugh de Balsham, English bishop
- 1332 – Adam de Brome, founder of Oriel College, Oxford
- 1361 – Johannes Tauler, German mystic theologian
- 1397 – Philip of Artois, Count of Eu, French soldier (b. 1358)
- 1424 – Johannes Ambundii, archbishop of Riga
- 1468 – Jean Le Fèvre de Saint-Remy, Burgundian historian and author (b. 1395)
- 1487 – John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln (b. c. 1463)
- 1540 – Konrad von Thüngen, German nobleman (b. c. 1466)
- 1622 – Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1555)
- 1626 – Christian, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, German Protestant military leader (b. 1599)
- 1666 – Sir Richard Fanshawe, 1st Baronet, English poet and diplomat, English Ambassador to Spain (b. 1608)
- 1722 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire (b. 1650)
- 1743 – Louise-Françoise de Bourbon, eldest daughter of King Louis XIV of France (b. 1673)
- 1752 – Joseph Butler, English bishop and philosopher (b. 1692)
- 1762 – Anne Russell, Countess of Jersey (formerly Duchess of Bedford) (b. c.1705)
- 1777 – Jean-Baptiste-Louis Gresset, French poet and playwright (b. 1709)
- 1779 – Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet, English lawyer and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1712)
- 1804 – Johann Adam Hiller, German composer and conductor (b. 1728)
- 1824 – Charles-François Lebrun, duc de Plaisance, French lawyer and politician (b. 1739)
- 1849 – Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de Wette, German theologian and scholar (b. 1780)
- 1850 – William Lawson, English-Australian explorer and politician (b. 1774)
- 1858 – John Snow, English epidemiologist and physician (b. 1813)
- 1862 – Hidenoyama Raigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 9th Yokozuna (b. 1808)
- 1869 – Charles Sturt, Indian-English botanist and explorer (b. 1795)
- 1872 – Norman MacLeod, Scottish minister and author (b. 1812)
- 1878 – Crawford Long, American surgeon and pharmacist (b. 1815)
- 1878 – Kikuchi Yōsai, Japanese painter (b. 1781)
- 1881 – Josiah Mason, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1795)
- 1885 – Wilhelm Camphausen, German painter and academic (b. 1818)
- 1886 – Alexander Stuart, Scottish-Australian politician, 9th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1824)
- 1902 – Ernst Schröder, German mathematician and academic (b. 1841)
- 1918 – Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer (b. 1860)
- 1925 – Chittaranjan Das, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1870)
- 1929 – Bramwell Booth, English 2nd General of The Salvation Army (b. 1856)
- 1929 – Vernon Louis Parrington, American historian and scholar (b. 1871)
- 1930 – Ezra Fitch, American lawyer and businessman, co-founded Abercrombie & Fitch (b. 1866)
- 1930 – Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American inventor, co-invented the gyrocompass (b. 1860)
- 1939 – Chick Webb, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1905)
- 1940 – DuBose Heyward, American author (b. 1885)
- 1944 – Marc Bloch, French historian and academic (b. 1886)
- 1945 – Aris Velouchiotis, Greek general (b. 1905)
- 1946 – Gordon Brewster, Irish cartoonist (b 1889)
- 1952 – Andrew Lawson, Scottish-American geologist and academic (b. 1861)
- 1953 – Margaret Bondfield, English politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (b. 1873)
- 1955 – Ozias Leduc, Canadian painter (b. 1864)
- 1958 – Pál Maléter, Hungarian general and politician, Minister of Defence of Hungary (b. 1917)
- 1958 – Imre Nagy, Hungarian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1895)
- 1959 – George Reeves, American actor and director (b. 1914)
- 1961 – Marcel Junod, Swiss physician and anesthesiologist (b. 1904)
- 1967 – Reginald Denny, English actor (b. 1891)
- 1969 – Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, English field marshal and politician, 17th Governor General of Canada (b. 1891)
- 1970 – Sydney Chapman, English mathematician and geophysicist (b. 1888)
- 1970 – Brian Piccolo, American football player (b. 1943)
- 1971 – John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, Scottish broadcaster, co-founded BBC (b. 1889)
- 1974 – Amalie Sara Colquhoun, Australian landscape and portrait painter (b. 1894)
- 1977 – Wernher von Braun, German-American physicist and engineer (b. 1912)
- 1979 – Ignatius Kutu Acheampong, Ghanaian general and politician, 6th Head of state of Ghana (b. 1931)
- 1979 – Nicholas Ray, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
- 1981 – Thomas Playford IV, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of South Australia (b. 1896)
- 1982 – James Honeyman-Scott, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1956)
- 1984 – Lew Andreas, American football player and coach (b. 1895)
- 1984 – Erni Krusten, Estonian author and poet (b. 1900)
- 1986 – Maurice Duruflé, French organist and composer (b. 1902)
- 1987 – Marguerite de Angeli, American author and illustrator (b. 1889)
- 1988 – Miguel Piñero, Puerto Rican-American actor and playwright (b. 1946)
- 1993 – Lindsay Hassett, Australian cricketer and soldier (b. 1913)
- 1994 – Kristen Pfaff, American bass player and songwriter (b. 1967)
- 1996 – Mel Allen, American sportscaster and game show host (b. 1913)
- 1997 – Dal Stivens, Australian soldier and author (b. 1911)
- 1998 – Fred Wacker, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1918)
- 1999 – Screaming Lord Sutch, English singer and activist (b. 1940)
- 2003 – Pierre Bourgault, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Georg Henrik von Wright, Finnish–Swedish philosopher and author (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Thanom Kittikachorn, Thai field marshal and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1911)
- 2004 – Jacques Miquelon, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Enrique Laguerre, Puerto Rican-American author and critic (b. 1906)
- 2008 – Mario Rigoni Stern, Italian soldier and author (b. 1921)
- 2010 – Marc Bazin, Haitian lawyer and politician, 49th President of Haiti (b. 1932)
- 2010 – Maureen Forrester, Canadian singer and academic (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Ronald Neame, English director, producer, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
- 2011 – Östen Mäkitalo, Swedish engineer and academic (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Nils Karlsson, Swedish skier (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Jorge Lankenau, Mexican banker and businessman (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Sławomir Petelicki, Polish general (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Susan Tyrrell, American actress (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Sam Farber, American businessman, co-founded OXO (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Hans Hass, Austrian biologist and diver (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (b. 1950)
- 2013 – Norman Ian MacKenzie, English journalist and author (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Ottmar Walter, German footballer (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Tony Gwynn, American baseball player and coach (b. 1960)
- 2014 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas (b. 1960), Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea
- 2015 – Charles Correa, Indian architect and urban planner (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Jean Vautrin, French director, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1933)
- 2016 – Jo Cox, English political activist and MP (b. 1974)
- 2017 – Helmut Kohl, German politician, 6th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1930)
- 2020 – Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. (b. 1935), Filipino businessman and politician
Holidays and observances on June 16
- Juneteenth (United States)
- Birthday of Leonard P. Howell (Rastafari)
- Bloomsday (Dublin, Ireland)
- Christian feast days:
- Aurelianus of Arles
- Aureus of Mainz (and his sister Justina)
- Benno
- Cettin of Oran
- Curig of Llanbadarn
- Ferreolus and Ferrutio
- George Berkeley and Joseph Butler (Episcopal Church)
- Lutgardis
- Quriaqos and Julietta
- June 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Engineer’s Day (Argentina)
- Father’s Day (Seychelles)
- International Day of the African Child (Organisation of African Unity)
- Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev (Sikhism)
- Sussex Day (Sussex)
- Youth Day (South Africa)
-
June 10 in History
- 671 – Emperor Tenji of Japan introduces a water clock (clepsydra) called Rokoku. The instrument, which measures time and indicates hours, is placed in the capital of Ōtsu.
- 1190 – Third Crusade: Frederick I Barbarossa drowns in the river Saleph while leading an army to Jerusalem.
- 1329 – The Battle of Pelekanon results in a Byzantine defeat by the Ottoman Empire.
- 1523 – Copenhagen is surrounded by the army of Frederick I of Denmark, as the city will not recognise him as the successor of Christian II of Denmark.
- 1539 – Council of Trent: Pope Paul III sends out letters to his bishops, delaying the Council due to war and the difficulty bishops had traveling to Venice.
- 1596 – Willem Barents and Jacob van Heemskerk discover Bear Island.
- 1619 – Thirty Years’ War: Battle of Záblatí, a turning point in the Bohemian Revolt.
- 1624 – Signing of the Treaty of Compiègne between France and the Netherlands.
- 1692 – Salem witch trials: Bridget Bishop is hanged at Gallows Hill near Salem, Massachusetts, for “certaine Detestable Arts called Witchcraft and Sorceries”.
- 1719 – Jacobite risings: Battle of Glen Shiel
- 1782 – King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) of Siam (modern day Thailand) is crowned.
- 1786 – A landslide dam on the Dadu River created by an earthquake ten days earlier collapses, killing 100,000 in the Sichuan province of China.
- 1793 – The Jardin des Plantes museum opens in Paris. A year later, it becomes the first public zoo.
- 1793 – French Revolution: Following the arrests of Girondin leaders, the Jacobins gain control of the Committee of Public Safety installing the revolutionary dictatorship.
- 1805 – First Barbary War: Yusuf Karamanli signs a treaty ending the hostilities between Tripolitania and the United States.
- 1829 – The first Boat Race between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge takes place on the Thames in London.
- 1838 – Myall Creek massacre: Twenty-eight Aboriginal Australians are murdered.
- 1854 – The United States Naval Academy graduates its first class of students.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Big Bethel: Confederate troops under John B. Magruder defeat a much larger Union force led by General Ebenezer W. Pierce in Virginia.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Brice’s Crossroads: Confederate troops under Nathan Bedford Forrest defeat a much larger Union force led by General Samuel D. Sturgis in Mississippi.
- 1868 – Mihailo Obrenović III, Prince of Serbia is assassinated.
- 1871 – Sinmiyangyo: Captain McLane Tilton leads 109 US Marines in a naval attack on Han River forts on Kanghwa Island, Korea.
- 1878 – League of Prizren is established, to oppose the decisions of the Congress of Berlin and the Treaty of San Stefano, as a consequence of which the Albanian lands in the Balkans were being partitioned and given to the neighbor states of Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece.
- 1886 – Mount Tarawera in New Zealand erupts, killing 153 people and burying the famous Pink and White Terraces. Eruptions continue for three months creating a large, 17 km long fissure across the mountain peak.
- 1898 – Spanish–American War: In the Battle of Guantánamo Bay, U.S. Marines begin the American invasion of Spanish-held Cuba.
- 1916 – The Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire was declared by Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca.
- 1918 – The Austro-Hungarian battleship SMS Szent István sinks off the Croatian coast after being torpedoed by an Italian MAS motorboat; the event is recorded by camera from a nearby vessel.
- 1924 – Fascists kidnap and kill Italian Socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti in Rome.
- 1935 – Dr. Robert Smith takes his last drink, and Alcoholics Anonymous is founded in Akron, Ohio, United States, by him and Bill Wilson.
- 1935 – Chaco War ends: A truce is called between Bolivia and Paraguay who had been fighting since 1932.
- 1940 – World War II: The Kingdom of Italy declares war on France and the United Kingdom.
- 1940 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt denounces Italy’s actions in his “Stab in the Back” speech at the graduation ceremonies of the University of Virginia.
- 1940 – World War II: Military resistance to the German occupation of Norway ends.
- 1942 – World War II: The Lidice massacre is perpetrated as a reprisal for the assassination of Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich.
- 1944 – World War II: Six hundred forty-two men, women and children massacred at Oradour-sur-Glane, France.
- 1944 – World War II: In Distomo, Boeotia, Greece, 218 men, women and children are massacred by German troops.
- 1944 – In baseball, 15-year-old Joe Nuxhall of the Cincinnati Reds becomes the youngest player ever in a major-league game.
- 1945 – Australian Imperial Forces land in Brunei Bay to liberate Brunei.
- 1947 – Saab produces its first automobile.
- 1957 – John Diefenbaker leads the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to a stunning upset in the 1957 Canadian federal election, ending 22 years of Liberal Party government.
- 1963 – The Equal Pay Act of 1963, aimed at abolishing wage disparity based on sex, was signed into law by John F. Kennedy as part of his New Frontier Program.
- 1964 – United States Senate breaks a 75-day filibuster against the Civil Rights Act of 1964, leading to the bill’s passage.
- 1967 – The Six-Day War ends: Israel and Syria agree to a cease-fire.
- 1977 – James Earl Ray escapes from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Petros, Tennessee. He is recaptured three days later.
- 1980 – The African National Congress in South Africa publishes a call to fight from their imprisoned leader Nelson Mandela.
- 1982 – Lebanon War: The Syrian Arab Army defeats the Israeli Defense Forces in the Battle of Sultan Yacoub.
- 1990 – British Airways Flight 5390 lands safely at Southampton Airport after a blowout in the cockpit causes the captain to be partially sucked from the cockpit. There are no fatalities.
- 1991 – Eleven-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard is kidnapped in South Lake Tahoe, California; she would remain a captive until 2009.
- 1994 – China conducts a nuclear test for DF-31 warhead at Area C (Beishan), Lop Nur, its prominence being due to the Cox Report.
- 1996 – Peace talks begin in Northern Ireland without the participation of Sinn Féin.
- 1997 – Before fleeing his northern stronghold, Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot orders the killing of his defense chief Son Sen and 11 of Sen’s family members.
- 1999 – Kosovo War: NATO suspends its airstrikes after Slobodan Milošević agrees to withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo.
- 2001 – Pope John Paul II canonizes Lebanon’s first female saint, Saint Rafqa.
- 2002 – The first direct electronic communication experiment between the nervous systems of two humans is carried out by Kevin Warwick in the United Kingdom.
- 2003 – The Spirit rover is launched, beginning NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover mission.
- 2009 – James Wenneker von Brunn, who was 88-years-old, opened fire inside the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and fatally shot Museum Special Police Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns. Other security guards returned fire, wounding von Brunn, who was apprehended.
- 2019 – An Agusta A109E Power crashed onto the AXA Equitable Center on Seventh Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, which sparked a fire on the top of the building. The pilot of the helicopter was killed.
Births on June 10
- 867 – Emperor Uda of Japan (d. 931)
- 940 – Abu al-Wafa’ Buzjani, Persian mathematician and astronomer (d. 998)
- 1213 – Fakhr-al-Din Iraqi, Persian poet and philosopher (d. 1289)
- 1465 – Mercurino Gattinara, Italian statesman and jurist (d. 1530)
- 1513 – Louis, Duke of Montpensier (1561–1582) (d. 1582)
- 1557 – Leandro Bassano, Italian painter (d. 1622)
- 1632 – Esprit Fléchier, French bishop and author (d. 1710)
- 1688 – James Francis Edward Stuart, claimant to the English and Scottish throne (d. 1766)
- 1713 – Princess Caroline of Great Britain (d. 1757)
- 1716 – Carl Gustaf Ekeberg, Swedish physician and explorer (d. 1784)
- 1753 – William Eustis, American physician and politician, 12th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
- 1804 – Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist and herpetologist (d. 1884)
- 1819 – Gustave Courbet, French-Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1877)
- 1825 – Sondre Norheim, Norwegian-American skier (d. 1897)
- 1832 – Edwin Arnold, English poet and journalist (d. 1904)
- 1832 – Nicolaus Otto, German engineer (d. 1891)
- 1832 – Stephen Mosher Wood, American lieutenant and politician (d. 1920)
- 1835 – Rebecca Latimer Felton, American educator and politician (d. 1930)
- 1839 – Ludvig Holstein-Ledreborg, Danish lawyer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1912)
- 1840 – Theodor Philipsen, Danish painter (d. 1920)
- 1843 – Heinrich von Herzogenberg, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1900)
- 1854 – Sarah Grand, Irish feminist writer (d. 1943)
- 1859 – Emanuel Nobel, Swedish-Russian businessman (d. 1932)
- 1862 – Mrs. Leslie Carter, American actress (d. 1937)
- 1863 – Louis Couperus, Dutch author and poet (d. 1923)
- 1864 – Ninian Comper, Scottish architect (d. 1960)
- 1865 – Frederick Cook, American physician and explorer (d. 1940)
- 1880 – André Derain, French painter and sculptor (d. 1954)
- 1882 – Nils Økland, Norwegian Esperantist and teacher (d. 1969)
- 1884 – Leone Sextus Tollemache, English captain (d. 1917)
- 1886 – Sessue Hayakawa, Japanese actor and producer (d. 1973)
- 1891 – Al Dubin, Swiss-American songwriter (d. 1945)
- 1895 – Hattie McDaniel, American actress (d. 1952)
- 1897 – Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1898 – Princess Marie-Auguste of Anhalt (d. 1983)
- 1899 – Stanisław Czaykowski, Polish race car driver (d. 1933)
- 1901 – Frederick Loewe, Austrian-American composer (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Lin Huiyin, Chinese architect and poet (d. 1955)
- 1907 – Fairfield Porter, American painter and critic (d. 1975)
- 1907 – Dicky Wells, American jazz trombonist (d. 1985)[n 1]
- 1909 – Lang Hancock, Australian soldier and businessman (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Frank Demaree, American baseball player and manager (d. 1958)
- 1910 – Howlin’ Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Ralph Kirkpatrick, American harpsichord player and musicologist (d. 1984)
- 1911 – Terence Rattigan, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 1977)
- 1912 – Jean Lesage, Canadian lawyer and politician, 11th Premier of Quebec (d. 1980)
- 1913 – Tikhon Khrennikov, Russian pianist and composer (d. 2007)
- 1913 – Benjamin Shapira, German-Israeli biochemist and academic (d. 1993)
- 1914 – Oktay Rıfat Horozcu, Turkish poet and playwright (d. 1988)
- 1915 – Saul Bellow, Canadian-American novelist, essayist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
- 1916 – Peride Celal, Turkish author (d. 2013)
- 1916 – William Rosenberg, American entrepreneur, founded Dunkin’ Donuts (d. 2002)
- 1918 – Patachou, French singer and actress (d. 2015)
- 1918 – Barry Morse, English-Canadian actor and director (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Haidar Abdel-Shafi, Palestinian physician and politician (d. 2007)
- 1919 – Kevin O’Flanagan, Irish footballer, rugby player, and physician (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
- 1921 – Jean Robic, French cyclist (d. 1980)
- 1922 – Judy Garland, American singer, actress, and vaudevillian (d. 1969)
- 1922 – Bill Kerr, South African-Australian actor (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Paul Brunelle, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Robert Maxwell, Czech-English captain, publisher, and politician (d. 1991)
- 1924 – Friedrich L. Bauer, German mathematician, computer scientist, and academic (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Leo Gravelle, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Nat Hentoff, American historian, author, and journalist (d. 2017)
- 1925 – James Salter, American novelist and short-story writer (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Bruno Bartoletti, Italian conductor (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Lionel Jeffries, English actor, screenwriter and film director (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Claudio Gilberto Froehlich, Brazilian zoologist
- 1927 – László Kubala, Hungarian footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2002)
- 1927 – Lin Yang-kang, Chinese politician, 29th Vice Premier of the Republic of China (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Johnny Orr, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Eugene Parker, American astrophysicist and academic
- 1928 – Maurice Sendak, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
- 1929 – James McDivitt, American general, pilot, and astronaut
- 1929 – Ian Sinclair, Australian farmer and politician, 42nd Australian Minister for Defence
- 1929 – Thomas Taylor, Baron Taylor of Blackburn, British Labour Party politician (d. 2016)
- 1929 – E. O. Wilson, American biologist, author, and academic
- 1930 – Aranka Siegal, Czech-American author and Holocaust survivor
- 1930 – Carmen Cozza, American baseball and football player (d. 2018)
- 1930 – Chen Xitong, Chinese politician, 8th Mayor of Beijing (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Bryan Cartledge, English academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia
- 1931 – João Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Pierre Cartier, French mathematician and academic
- 1933 – Chuck Fairbanks, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Peter Gibson, English lawyer and judge
- 1934 – Tom Pendry, Baron Pendry, English politician
- 1935 – Vic Elford, English race car driver
- 1935 – Lu Jiaxi, Chinese self-taught mathematician (d. 1983)
- 1935 – Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 2015)
- 1938 – Rahul Bajaj, Indian businessman and politician
- 1938 – Violetta Villas, Belgian-Polish singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2011)
- 1938 – Vasanti N. Bhat-Nayak, Indian mathematician and academic (d. 2009)
- 1940 – Augie Auer, American-New Zealand meteorologist (d. 2007)
- 1940 – John Stevens, English drummer (d. 1994)
- 1941 – Mickey Jones, American drummer (d. 2018)
- 1941 – Shirley Owens, American singer
- 1941 – Jürgen Prochnow, German actor
- 1941 – David Walker, Australian race car driver
- 1942 – Gordon Burns, Northern Irish journalist
- 1942 – Chantal Goya, French singer and actress
- 1942 – Arthur Hamilton, Lord Hamilton, Scottish lawyer and judge
- 1942 – Preston Manning, Canadian politician
- 1943 – Simon Jenkins, English journalist and author
- 1944 – Ze’ev Friedman, Polish-Israeli weightlifter (d. 1972)
- 1944 – Rick Price, English rock bass player
- 1947 – Michel Bastarache, Canadian businessman, lawyer, and jurist
- 1947 – Ken Singleton, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1947 – Robert Wright, English air marshal
- 1950 – Elías Sosa, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1951 – Dan Fouts, American football player and sportscaster
- 1951 – Tony Mundine, Australian boxer
- 1951 – Burglinde Pollak, German pentathlete
- 1952 – Kage Baker, American author (d. 2010)
- 1953 – Eileen Cooper, English painter and academic
- 1953 – John Edwards, American lawyer and politician
- 1953 – Garry Hynes, Irish director and producer
- 1953 – Christine St-Pierre, Canadian journalist and politician
- 1954 – Moya Greene, Canadian businesswoman
- 1954 – Rich Hall, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1955 – Annette Schavan, German theologian and politician
- 1955 – Andrew Stevens, American actor and producer
- 1958 – Yu Suzuki, Japanese game designer and producer
- 1959 – Carlo Ancelotti, Italian footballer and manager
- 1959 – Ernie C, American heavy metal guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1959 – Eliot Spitzer, American lawyer and politician, 54th Governor of New York
- 1960 – Nandamuri Balakrishna, Indian film actor and politician
- 1961 – Kim Deal, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1961 – Maxi Priest, English singer-songwriter
- 1962 – Gina Gershon, American actress, singer and author
- 1962 – Anderson Bigode Herzer, Brazilian poet and author (d. 1982)
- 1962 – Wong Ka Kui, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1993)
- 1962 – Tzi Ma, Hong Kong American character actor
- 1962 – Brent Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1963 – Brad Henry, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Oklahoma
- 1963 – Jeanne Tripplehorn, American actress
- 1965 – Susanne Albers, German computer scientist and academic
- 1965 – Elizabeth Hurley, English model, actress, and producer
- 1965 – Joey Santiago, American alternative rock musician
- 1966 – David Platt, English footballer and manager
- 1967 – Emma Anderson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Darren Robinson, American rapper (d. 1995)
- 1968 – Bill Burr, American comedian and actor
- 1968 – Derek Dooley, American football player and coach
- 1969 – Craig Hancock, Australian rugby league player
- 1969 – Ronny Johnsen, Norwegian footballer
- 1969 – Kate Snow, American journalist
- 1970 – Mike Doughty, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1970 – Katsuhiro Harada, Japanese game designer, director, and producer
- 1970 – Alex Santos, Filipino journalist
- 1970 – Shane Whereat, Australian rugby league player
- 1970 – Sarah Wixey, Welsh sport shooter
- 1971 – JoJo Hailey, American singer
- 1971 – Bobby Jindal, American journalist and politician, 55th Governor of Louisiana
- 1971 – Bruno N’Gotty, French footballer
- 1971 – Erik Rutan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1972 – Steven Fischer, American director and producer
- 1972 – Radmila Šekerinska, Macedonian politician, Prime Minister of the Republic of Macedonia
- 1972 – Eric Upashantha, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1973 – Faith Evans, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1973 – Flesh-n-Bone, American rapper and actor
- 1973 – Pokey Reese, American baseball player
- 1975 – Henrik Pedersen, Danish footballer
- 1976 – Alari Lell, Estonian footballer
- 1976 – Esther Ouwehand, Dutch politician
- 1976 – Stefan Postma, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1976 – Hadi Saei, Iranian martial artist
- 1977 – Adam Darski, Polish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1977 – Mike Rosenthal, American football player and coach
- 1978 – Raheem Brock, American football player
- 1979 – Evgeni Borounov, Russian ice dancer and coach
- 1979 – Kostas Louboutis, Greek footballer
- 1980 – Matuzalém, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 – Ovie Mughelli, American football player
- 1980 – Dmitri Uchaykin, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
- 1980 – Daniele Seccarecci, Italian bodybuilder (d. 2013)
- 1980 – James Walsh, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pianist
- 1981 – Mat Jackson, English race car driver
- 1981 – Albie Morkel, South African cricketer
- 1981 – Andrey Yepishin, Russian sprinter
- 1982 – Tara Lipinski, American figure skater
- 1982 – Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland
- 1982 – Ana Lúcia Souza, Brazilian ballerina and journalist
- 1983 – Jade Bailey, Barbadian athlete
- 1983 – Marion Barber III, American football player
- 1983 – Aaron Davey, Australian footballer
- 1983 – Leelee Sobieski, American actress and producer
- 1983 – Steve von Bergen, Swiss footballer
- 1984 – Johanna Kedzierski, German sprinter
- 1984 – Dirk Van Tichelt, Belgian martial artist
- 1985 – Richard Chambers, Irish rower
- 1985 – Kaia Kanepi, Estonian tennis player
- 1985 – Kristina Lundberg, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1985 – Dane Nielsen, Australian rugby league player
- 1985 – Andy Schleck, Luxembourger cyclist
- 1985 – Vasilis Torosidis, Greek footballer
- 1985 – Kreesha Turner, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1986 – Al Alburquerque, Dominican baseball player
- 1986 – Marco Andreolli, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Martin Harnik, German-Austrian footballer
- 1987 – Amobi Okoye, Nigerian-American football player
- 1988 – Jeff Teague, American basketball player
- 1989 – DeAndre Kane, American basketball player
- 1989 – David Miller, South African cricketer
- 1989 – Mustapha Carayol, Gambian footballer
- 1989 – Alexandra Stan, Romanian singer-songwriter, dancer, and model
- 1991 – Alexa Scimeca Knierim, American figure skater
- 1992 – Kate Upton, American model and actress
Deaths on June 10
- 323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (b. 356 BC)
- AD 38 – Julia Drusilla, Roman sister of Caligula (b. 16 AD)
- 223 – Liu Bei, Chinese emperor (b. 161)
- 779 – Emperor Daizong of Tang (b. 727)
- 754 – Abul Abbas al-Saffah, Muslim caliph (b. 721)
- 871 – Odo I, Frankish nobleman
- 903 – Cheng Rui, Chinese warlord
- 932 – Dong Zhang, Chinese general
- 942 – Liu Yan, emperor of Southern Han (b. 889)
- 1075 – Ernest, Margrave of Austria (b. 1027)
- 1141 – Richenza of Northeim (b. 1087)
- 1190 – Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1122)
- 1261 – Matilda of Brandenburg, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (b. 1210)
- 1338 – Kitabatake Akiie, Japanese governor (b. 1318)
- 1364 – Agnes of Austria (b. 1281)
- 1424 – Ernest, Duke of Austria (b. 1377)
- 1437 – Joan of Navarre, Queen of England (b. 1370)
- 1468 – Idris Imad al-Din, supreme leader of Tayyibi Isma’ilism, scholar and historian (b. 1392)
- 1552 – Alexander Barclay, English poet and author (b. 1476)
- 1556 – Martin Agricola, German composer and theorist (b. 1486)
- 1580 – Luís de Camões, Portuguese poet (b. 1524–25)
- 1604 – Isabella Andreini, Italian actress (b. 1562)
- 1607 – John Popham, English politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1531)
- 1654 – Alessandro Algardi, Italian sculptor (b. 1598)
- 1680 – Johan Göransson Gyllenstierna, Swedish lawyer and politician (b. 1635)
- 1692 – Bridget Bishop, Colonial Massachusetts woman hanged as a witch during the Salem witch trials (b. 1632)
- 1735 – Thomas Hearne, English historian and author (b. 1678)
- 1753 – Joachim Ludwig Schultheiss von Unfriedt, German architect (b. 1678)
- 1776 – Hsinbyushin, Burmese king (b. 1736)
- 1776 – Leopold Widhalm, Austrian instrument maker (b. 1722)
- 1791 – Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte, French admiral (b. 1720)
- 1799 – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Caribbean-French violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1745)
- 1811 – Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden (b. 1728)
- 1831 – Hans Karl von Diebitsch, German-Russian field marshal (b. 1785)
- 1836 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician (b. 1775)
- 1849 – Thomas Robert Bugeaud, French general and politician (b. 1784)
- 1849 – Robert Brown, Scottish botanist (b. 1773)
- 1868 – Mihailo Obrenović III, Prince of Serbia (b. 1823)
- 1899 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (b. 1855)
- 1901 – Robert Williams Buchanan, Scottish poet, author, and playwright (b. 1841)
- 1902 – Jacint Verdaguer, Catalan priest and poet (b. 1845)
- 1906 – Richard Seddon, English-New Zealand politician, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1845)
- 1909 – Edward Everett Hale, American minister, historian, and author (b. 1822)
- 1914 – Ödön Lechner, Hungarian architect (b. 1845)
- 1918 – Arrigo Boito, Italian author, poet, and composer (b. 1842)
- 1923 – Pierre Loti, French soldier and author (b. 1850)
- 1924 – Giacomo Matteotti, Italian lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
- 1926 – Antoni Gaudí, Spanish architect, designed the Park Güell (b. 1852)
- 1930 – Adolf von Harnack, German historian and theologian (b. 1851)
- 1934 – Frederick Delius, English composer and educator (b. 1862)
- 1936 – John Bowser, English-Australian politician, 26th Premier of Victoria (b. 1856)
- 1937 – Robert Borden, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1854)
- 1939 – Albert Ogilvie, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1890)
- 1940 – Marcus Garvey, Jamaican journalist and activist, founded the Black Star Line (b. 1887)
- 1944 – Willem Jacob van Stockum, Dutch mathematician and academic (b. 1910)
- 1946 – Jack Johnson, American boxer (b. 1878)
- 1947 – Alexander Bethune, Canadian businessman and politician, 12th Mayor of Vancouver (b. 1852)
- 1949 – Sigrid Undset, Danish-Norwegian novelist, essayist, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
- 1955 – Margaret Abbott, Indian-American golfer (b. 1876)
- 1958 – Angelina Weld Grimké, American journalist, poet, and playwright (b. 1880)
- 1959 – Zoltán Meskó, Hungarian politician (b. 1883)
- 1963 – Timothy Birdsall, English cartoonist (b. 1936)
- 1965 – Vahap Özaltay, Turkish footballer and manager (b. 1908)
- 1967 – Spencer Tracy, American actor (b. 1900)
- 1971 – Michael Rennie, English actor (b. 1909)
- 1973 – William Inge, American playwright and novelist (b. 1913)
- 1974 – Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1900)
- 1976 – Adolph Zukor, American film producer, co-founded Paramount Pictures (b. 1873)
- 1982 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1945)
- 1984 – Halide Nusret Zorlutuna, Turkish author and poet (b. 1901)
- 1986 – Merle Miller, American author and playwright (b. 1919)
- 1987 – Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (b. 1943)
- 1988 – Louis L’Amour, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1908)
- 1991 – Jean Bruller, French author and illustrator, co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit (b. 1902)
- 1992 – Hachidai Nakamura, Chinese-Japanese pianist and composer (b. 1931)
- 1993 – Les Dawson, English comedian, actor, writer and presenter (b. 1931)
- 1996 – George Hees, Canadian soldier, football player, and politician (b. 1910)
- 1996 – Jo Van Fleet, American actress (b. 1915)
- 1998 – Jim Hearn, American baseball player (b. 1921)
- 1998 – Hammond Innes, English soldier and author (b. 1914)
- 2000 – Hafez al-Assad, Syrian general and politician, 18th President of Syria (b. 1930)
- 2000 – Brian Statham, English cricketer (b. 1930)
- 2001 – Leila Pahlavi, Princess of Iran (b. 1970)
- 2002 – John Gotti, American mobster (b. 1940)
- 2003 – Donald Regan, American colonel and politician, 11th White House Chief of Staff (b. 1918)
- 2003 – Bernard Williams, English philosopher and academic (b. 1929)
- 2003 – Phil Williams, Welsh academic and politician (b. 1939)
- 2004 – Ray Charles, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (b. 1930)
- 2004 – Odette Laure, French actress and singer (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and politician, 177th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1904)
- 2005 – Curtis Pitts, American aircraft designer, designed the Pitts Special (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Augie Auer, American-New Zealand meteorologist (b. 1940)
- 2008 – Chinghiz Aitmatov, Kyrgyzstani author and diplomat (b. 1928)
- 2009 – Stelios Skevofilakas, Greek footballer (b. 1940)
- 2010 – Basil Schott, American archbishop (b. 1939)
- 2010 – Sigmar Polke, German painter and photographer (b. 1941)
- 2011 – Brian Lenihan Jnr, Irish lawyer and politician, 25th Irish Minister for Finance (b. 1959)
- 2012 – Piero Bellugi, Italian conductor (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Warner Fusselle, American sportscaster (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Will Hoebee, Dutch songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
- 2012 – Georges Mathieu, French painter and academic (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Joshua Orwa Ojode, Kenyan politician (b. 1958)
- 2012 – George Saitoti, Kenyan economist and politician, 6th Vice-President of Kenya (b. 1945)
- 2012 – Sudono Salim, Chinese-Indonesian businessman, founded Bank Central Asia (b. 1916)
- 2012 – Gordon West, English footballer (b. 1943)
- 2013 – Doug Bailey, American political consultant (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Enrique Orizaola, Spanish footballer and coach (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Barbara Vucanovich, American lawyer and politician (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Marcello Alencar, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 57th Governor of Rio de Janeiro (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Gary Gilmour, Australian cricketer and manager (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Robert M. Grant, American theologian and academic (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Jack Lee, American radio host and politician (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Robert Chartoff, American film producer and philanthropist (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Wolfgang Jeschke, German author and publisher (b. 1936)
- 2016 – Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1994)
- 2016 – Gordie Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1928)
- 2017 – Julia Perez, Indonesian singer and actress (b. 1980)
- 2018 – Neal E. Boyd, American singer, winner of the 2008 season of America’s Got Talent (b. 1975)
- 2020 – Claudell Washington, American baseball player (b. 1954)
Holidays and observances on June 10
- Abolition Day (French Guiana)
- Army Day (Jordan)
- World Art Nouveau Day (Worldwide)
- Christian feast day:
- Bardo
- Getulius, Amancius and Cerealus
- Guardian Angel of Portugal
- John of Tobolsk (Russian Orthodox Church)
- Landry of Paris
- Maurinus of Cologne
- Maximus of Aveia (or of Aquila)
- Maximus of Naples
- Olivia
- June 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Navy Day (Italy)
- Portugal Day, also Day of Camões (Portugal and the Portuguese communities)
- Reconciliation Day (Republic of the Congo)
-
June 7 in History
- 421 – Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia at Constantinople (Byzantine Empire).
- 879 – Pope John VIII recognizes the Duchy of Croatia under Duke Branimir as an independent state.
- 1002 – Henry II, a cousin of Emperor Otto III, is elected and crowned King of Germany.
- 1099 – First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins.
- 1420 – Troops of the Republic of Venice capture Udine, ending the independence of the Patria del Friuli.
- 1494 – Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas which divides the New World between the two countries.
- 1628 – The Petition of Right, a major English constitutional document, is granted the Royal Assent by Charles I and becomes law.
- 1654 – Louis XIV is crowned King of France.
- 1692 – Port Royal, Jamaica, is hit by a catastrophic earthquake; in just three minutes, 1,600 people are killed and 3,000 are seriously injured.
- 1776 – Richard Henry Lee presents the “Lee Resolution” to the Continental Congress. The motion is seconded by John Adams and will lead to the United States Declaration of Independence.
- 1788 – French Revolution: Day of the Tiles: Civilians in Grenoble toss roof tiles and various objects down upon royal troops.
- 1800 – David Thompson reaches the mouth of the Saskatchewan River in Manitoba.
- 1810 – The newspaper Gazeta de Buenos Ayres is first published in Argentina.
- 1832 – The Great Reform Act of England and Wales receives royal assent.
- 1832 – Asian cholera reaches Quebec, brought by Irish immigrants, and kills about 6,000 people in Lower Canada.
- 1862 – The United States and the United Kingdom agree in the Lyons–Seward Treaty to suppress the African slave trade.
- 1863 – During the French intervention in Mexico, Mexico City is captured by French troops.
- 1866 – One thousand eight hundred Fenian raiders are repelled back to the United States after looting and plundering the Saint-Armand and Frelighsburg areas of Canada East.
- 1880 – War of the Pacific: The Battle of Arica, the assault and capture of Morro de Arica (Arica Cape), ends the Campaña del Desierto (Desert Campaign).
- 1892 – Homer Plessy is arrested for refusing to leave his seat in the “whites-only” car of a train; he lost the resulting court case, Plessy v. Ferguson.
- 1899 – American Temperance crusader Carrie Nation begins her campaign of vandalizing alcohol-serving establishments by destroying the inventory in a saloon in Kiowa, Kansas.
- 1905 – Norway’s parliament dissolves its union with Sweden. The vote was confirmed by a national plebiscite on August 13 of that year.
- 1906 – Cunard Line’s RMS Lusitania is launched from the John Brown Shipyard, Glasgow (Clydebank), Scotland.
- 1917 – World War I: Battle of Messines: Allied soldiers detonate a series of mines underneath German trenches at Messines Ridge, killing 10,000 German troops.
- 1919 – Sette Giugno: Nationalist riots break out in Valletta, the capital of Malta. British soldiers fire into the crowd, killing four people.
- 1929 – The Lateran Treaty is ratified, bringing Vatican City into existence.
- 1938 – The Douglas DC-4E makes its first test flight.
- 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Nationalist government creates the 1938 Yellow River flood to halt Japanese forces. Five hundred to nine hundred thousand civilians are killed.
- 1940 – King Haakon VII, Crown Prince Olav and the Norwegian government leave Tromsø and go into exile in London. They return exactly five years later.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Midway ends in American victory.
- 1942 – World War II: Aleutian Islands Campaign: Imperial Japanese soldiers begin occupying the American islands of Attu and Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska.
- 1944 – World War II: The steamer Danae, carrying 350 Cretan Jews and 250 Cretan partisans, is sunk without survivors off the shore of Santorini.
- 1944 – World War II: Battle of Normandy: At Ardenne Abbey, members of the SS Division Hitlerjugend massacre 23 Canadian prisoners of war.
- 1945 – King Haakon VII of Norway returns from exactly five years in exile during World War II.
- 1946 – The United Kingdom’s BBC returns to broadcasting its television service, which has been off air for seven years because of the Second World War.
- 1948 – Anti-Jewish riots in Oujda and Jerada take place.
- 1948 – Edvard Beneš resigns as President of Czechoslovakia rather than signing the Ninth-of-May Constitution, making his nation a Communist state.
- 1955 – Lux Radio Theatre signs off the air permanently. The show launched in New York in 1934, and featured radio adaptations of Broadway shows and popular films.
- 1962 – The Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS) sets fire to the University of Algiers library building, destroying about 500,000 books.
- 1965 – The Supreme Court of the United States hands down its decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, prohibiting the states from criminalizing the use of contraception by married couples.
- 1967 – Six-Day War: Israeli soldiers enter Jerusalem.
- 1971 – The United States Supreme Court overturns the conviction of Paul Cohen for disturbing the peace, setting the precedent that vulgar writing is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- 1971 – The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Division of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service raids the home of Ken Ballew for illegal possession of hand grenades.
- 1977 – Five hundred million people watch the high day of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II begin on television.
- 1981 – The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq’s Osiraq nuclear reactor during Operation Opera.
- 1982 – Priscilla Presley opens Graceland to the public; the bathroom where Elvis Presley died five years earlier is kept off-limits.
- 1989 – Surinam Airways Flight 764 crashes on approach to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport in Suriname because of pilot error, killing 176 of 187 aboard.
- 1991 – Mount Pinatubo erupts, generating an ash column 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) high.
- 2000 – The United Nations defines the Blue Line as the border between Israel and Lebanon.
- 2013 – A bus catches fire in the Chinese city of Xiamen, killing at least 47 people and injuring more than 34 others.
- 2013 – A gunman opens fire at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, after setting a house on fire nearby, killing six people, including the suspect.
- 2014 – At least 37 people are killed in an attack in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s South Kivu province.
Births on June 7
- 1003 – Emperor Jingzong of Western Xia (d. 1048)
- 1402 – Ichijō Kaneyoshi, Japanese noble (d. 1481)
- 1422 – Federico da Montefeltro, Italian condottiero (d. 1482)
- 1502 – John III of Portugal (d. 1557)
- 1529 – Étienne Pasquier, French lawyer and jurist (d. 1615)
- 1687 – Gaetano Berenstadt, Italian actor and singer (d. 1734)
- 1702 – Louis George, Margrave of Baden-Baden (d. 1761)
- 1757 – Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1806)
- 1761 – John Rennie the Elder, Scottish engineer (d. 1821)
- 1770 – Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1828)
- 1778 – Beau Brummell, English cricketer and fashion designer (d. 1840)
- 1811 – James Young Simpson, Scottish obstetrician (d. 1870)
- 1831 – Amelia Edwards, English journalist and author (d. 1892)
- 1837 – Alois Hitler, Austrian civil servant (d. 1903)
- 1840 – Carlota of Mexico (d. 1927)
- 1845 – Leopold Auer, Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1930)
- 1847 – George Washington Ball, American legislator from Iowa (d. 1915)
- 1848 – Paul Gauguin, French painter and sculptor (d. 1903)
- 1851 – Ture Malmgren, Swedish journalist and politician (d. 1922)
- 1861 – Robina Nicol, New Zealand photographer and suffragist (d. 1942)
- 1862 – Philipp Lenard, Slovak-German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
- 1863 – Bones Ely, American baseball player and manager (d. 1952)
- 1868 – Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish painter and architect (d. 1928)
- 1877 – Roelof Klein, Dutch-American rower and engineer (d. 1960)
- 1879 – Knud Rasmussen, Danish anthropologist and explorer (d. 1933)
- 1879 – Joan Voûte, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 1963)
- 1884 – Ester Claesson, Swedish landscape architect (d. 1931)
- 1883 – Sylvanus Morley, American archaeologist and scholar (d. 1948)
- 1886 – Henri Coandă, Romanian engineer, designed the Coandă-1910 (d. 1972)
- 1888 – Clarence DeMar, American runner and educator (d. 1958)
- 1892 – Leo Reise, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1975)
- 1893 – Gillis Grafström, Swedish figure skater and architect (d. 1938)
- 1894 – Alexander P. de Seversky, Georgian-American pilot and engineer, co-designed the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (d. 1974)
- 1896 – Douglas Campbell, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1990)
- 1896 – Robert S. Mulliken, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
- 1896 – Imre Nagy, Hungarian soldier and politician, 44th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1958)
- 1897 – George Szell, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (d. 1970)
- 1899 – Elizabeth Bowen, Anglo-Irish author and critic (d. 1973)
- 1902 – Georges Van Parys, French composer (d. 1971)
- 1902 – Herman B Wells, American banker, author, and academic (d. 2000)
- 1905 – James J. Braddock, American lieutenant and boxer (d. 1974)
- 1906 – Glen Gray, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1963)
- 1907 – Sigvard Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (d. 2002)
- 1909 – Virginia Apgar, American anesthesiologist and pediatrician, developed the Apgar test (d. 1974)
- 1909 – Peter W. Rodino, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 2005)
- 1909 – Jessica Tandy, English-American actress (d. 1994)
- 1910 – Arthur Gardner, American actor and producer (d. 2014)
- 1910 – Mike Sebastian, American football player and coach (d. 1989)
- 1910 – Bradford Washburn, American mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer (d. 2007)
- 1910 – Marion Post Wolcott, American photographer (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Brooks Stevens, American engineer and designer, designed the Wienermobile (d. 1995)
- 1912 – Jacques Hélian, French bandleader (d. 1986)
- 1917 – Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet (d. 2000)
- 1917 – Dean Martin, American singer, actor, and producer (d. 1995)
- 1920 – Georges Marchais, French mechanic and politician (d. 1997)
- 1921 – Myrtle Edwards, Australian cricketer and softball player (d. 2010)
- 1921 – Brian Talboys, New Zealand politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Leo Reise, Jr., Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
- 1923 – Jules Deschênes, Canadian lawyer and judge (d. 2000)
- 1925 – Ernestina Herrera de Noble, Argentine publisher and executive (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Jean-Noël Tremblay, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2020)
- 1927 – Charles de Tornaco, Belgian race car driver (d. 1953)
- 1927 – Paul Salamunovich, American conductor and educator (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Dave Bowen, Welsh footballer and manager (d. 1995)
- 1928 – James Ivory, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1928 – Randolph Turpin, English boxer (d. 1966)
- 1929 – Ernie Roth, American wrestling manager (d. 1983)
- 1929 – John Turner, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Canada
- 1931 – Virginia McKenna, English actress and author
- 1932 – Per Maurseth, Norwegian historian, academic, and politician (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Romeo Galán, Argentine athlete
- 1935 – Harry Crews, American novelist, playwright, short story writer, and essayist (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Shyama, Indian actress (d. 2017)
- 1936 – Bert Sugar, American author and boxing historian (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Ian St John, Scottish international footballer, forward and manager
- 1939 – Yuli Turovsky, Russian-Canadian cellist, conductor and educator (d. 2013)
- 1940 – Tom Jones, Welsh singer and actor
- 1940 – Ronald Pickup, English actor
- 1944 – Annette Lu, Taiwanese lawyer and politician, 8th Vice President of the Republic of China
- 1944 – Clarence White, American guitarist and singer (d. 1973)
- 1945 – Gilles Marotte, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
- 1945 – John Olsen, Australian politician, 42nd Premier of South Australia
- 1945 – Wolfgang Schüssel, Austrian lawyer and politician, 26th Chancellor of Austria
- 1947 – Don Money, American baseball player and coach
- 1947 – Thurman Munson, American baseball player (d. 1979)
- 1948 – Jim Walton, American businessman
- 1952 – Liam Neeson, Irish-American actor
- 1952 – Orhan Pamuk, Turkish-American novelist, screenwriter, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1953 – Johnny Clegg, English- born South African singer-songwriter, guitarist and anthropologist (d. 2019)
- 1954 – Louise Erdrich, American novelist and poet
- 1955 – William Forsythe, American actor and producer
- 1955 – Tim Richmond, American race car driver (d. 1989)
- 1956 – L.A. Reid, American songwriter and producer, co-founded LaFace Records
- 1957 – Juan Luis Guerra, Dominican singer-songwriter and producer
- 1957 – Paddy McAloon, English singer-songwriter
- 1958 – Prince, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor (d. 2016)
- 1958 – Surakiart Sathirathai, Thai politician and diplomat
- 1959 – Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States, 50th Governor of Indiana
- 1960 – Hirohiko Araki, Japanese manga artist and creator of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
- 1960 – Bill Prady, American screenwriter and producer
- 1961 – Dave Catching, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1962 – Thierry Hazard, French singer-songwriter
- 1962 – Takuya Kurosawa, Japanese race car driver
- 1963 – Gordon Gano, American musician
- 1964 – Gia Carides, Australian actress
- 1964 – Graeme Labrooy, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1965 – Mick Foley, American wrestler, actor, and author
- 1965 – Jean-Pierre François, French footballer and singer
- 1965 – Damien Hirst, English painter and art collector
- 1966 – Eric Kretz, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
- 1966 – Tom McCarthy, American director, screenwriter and actor
- 1966 – Stéphane Richer, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967 – Dave Navarro, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1970 – Helen Baxendale, English actress
- 1970 – Cafu, Brazilian footballer
- 1970 – Andrei Kovalenko, Russian ice hockey player
- 1970 – Mike Modano, American ice hockey player
- 1972 – Karl Urban, New Zealand actor
- 1974 – Bear Grylls, English adventurer, author, and television host
- 1975 – Allen Iverson, American basketball player
- 1976 – Necro, American rapper, producer, and director
- 1976 – Mirsad Türkcan, Turkish basketball player
- 1977 – Marcin Baszczyński, Polish footballer
- 1978 – Mini Andén, Swedish-American model, actress, and producer
- 1978 – Bill Hader, Two-time Emmy winning American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
- 1979 – Kevin Hofland, Dutch footballer
- 1979 – Anna Torv, Australian actress
- 1980 – Ed Moses, American swimmer
- 1981 – Stephen Bywater, English footballer
- 1981 – Anna Kournikova, Russian tennis player
- 1981 – Kevin Kyle, Scottish footballer
- 1983 – Milan Jurčina, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1983 – Piotr Małachowski, Polish discus thrower
- 1984 – Ari Koivunen, Finnish singer-songwriter
- 1984 – Eri Yanetani, Japanese snowboarder
- 1985 – Arkadiusz Piech, Polish footballer
- 1985 – Charlie Simpson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1985 – Richard Thompson, Trinidadian sprinter
- 1986 – Keegan Bradley, American golfer
- 1988 – Michael Cera, Canadian actor
- 1988 – Milan Lucic, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Iggy Azalea, Australian rapper
- 1990 – T. J. Brodie, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Allison Schmitt, American swimmer
- 1991 – Cenk Tosun, Turkish professional footballer
- 1991 – Fetty Wap, American rapper
- 1992 – Sara Niemietz, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1992 – Mathias Gehrt, Danish professional footballer
- 1992 – Alípio, Brazilian footballer
- 1993 – George Ezra, English singer, songwriter and guitarist
Deaths on June 7
- 555 – Vigilius, Pope of the Catholic Church (b. 500)
- 862 – Al-Muntasir, Abbasid caliph (b. 837)
- 929 – Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders (b. 877)
- 940 – Qian Hongzun, heir apparent of Wuyue (b. 925)
- 951 – Lu Wenji, Chinese chancellor (b. 876)
- 1329 – Robert the Bruce, Scottish king (b. 1274)
- 1337 – William I, Count of Hainaut (b. 1286)
- 1341 – An-Nasir Muhammad, Egyptian sultan (b. 1285)
- 1358 – Ashikaga Takauji, Japanese shōgun (b. 1305)
- 1394 – Anne of Bohemia, English queen (b. 1366)
- 1492 – Casimir IV Jagiellon, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 (b. 1427)
- 1594 – Rodrigo Lopez, physician of Queen Elizabeth (b. 1525)
- 1618 – Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, English politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1577)
- 1660 – George II Rákóczi, Prince of Transylvania (b. 1621)
- 1711 – Henry Dodwell, Irish scholar and theologian (b. 1641)
- 1779 – William Warburton, English bishop and critic (b. 1698)
- 1792 – Benjamin Tupper, American general and surveyor (b. 1738)
- 1810 – Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian engraver and etcher (b. 1765)
- 1826 – Joseph von Fraunhofer, German optician, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1787)
- 1840 – Frederick William III of Prussia (b. 1770)
- 1843 – Friedrich Hölderlin, German lyric poet (b. 1770)
- 1853 – Norbert Provencher, Canadian missionary and bishop (b. 1787)
- 1854 – Charles Baudin, French admiral (b. 1792)
- 1859 – David Cox, English painter (b. 1783)
- 1861 – Patrick Brontë, Anglo-Irish priest and author (b. 1777)
- 1863 – Antonio Valero de Bernabé, Latin American liberator (b. 1790)
- 1866 – Chief Seattle, American tribal chief (b. 1780)
- 1879 – William Tilbury Fox, English dermatologist and academic (b. 1836)
- 1896 – Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer (b. 1829)
- 1911 – Maurice Rouvier, French politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1842)
- 1915 – Charles Reed Bishop, American banker and politician, founded the First Hawaiian Bank (b. 1822)
- 1916 – Émile Faguet, French author and critic (b. 1847)
- 1927 – Archie Birkin, English motorcycle racer (b. 1905)
- 1927 – Edmund James Flynn, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Premier of Quebec (b. 1847)
- 1932 – John Verran, English-Australian politician, 26th Premier of South Australia (b. 1856)
- 1933 – Dragutin Domjanić, Croatian lawyer, judge, and poet (b. 1875)
- 1936 – Stjepan Seljan, Croatian explorer (b. 1875)
- 1937 – Jean Harlow, American actress and singer (b. 1911)
- 1942 – Alan Blumlein, English engineer (b. 1903)
- 1945 – Kitaro Nishida, Japanese philosopher and academic (b. 1870)
- 1954 – Alan Turing, English mathematician and computer scientist (b. 1912)
- 1956 – John Willcock, Australian politician, 15th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1879)
- 1961 – Reginald Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster, English navy officer and politician, Secretary of State for Transport (b. 1885)
- 1963 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (b. 1894)
- 1965 – Judy Holliday, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
- 1966 – Jean Arp, German-French sculptor, painter, and poet (b. 1886)
- 1967 – Anatoly Maltsev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1909)
- 1967 – Dorothy Parker, American poet, short story writer, critic, and satirist (b. 1893)
- 1968 – Dan Duryea, American actor and singer (b. 1907)
- 1970 – E. M. Forster, English novelist, short story writer, essayist (b. 1879)
- 1978 – Charles Moran, American race car driver (b. 1906)
- 1978 – Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- 1979 – Asa Earl Carter, American Ku Klux Klan leader (b. 1925)
- 1980 – Elizabeth Craig, Scottish journalist and economist (b. 1883)
- 1980 – Philip Guston, Canadian-American painter and educator (b. 1913)
- 1980 – Henry Miller, American novelist and essayist (b. 1891)
- 1985 – Klaudia Taev, Estonian opera singer and educator (b. 1906)
- 1987 – Cahit Zarifoğlu, Turkish poet and author (b. 1940)
- 1988 – Martin Sommer, German SS officer (b. 1915)
- 1989 – Chico Landi, Brazilian race car driver (b. 1907)
- 1989 – William McLean Hamilton, Canadian politician, Postmaster General of Canada (b. 1919)
- 1992 – Bill France Sr., American race car driver and businessman, co-founded NASCAR (b. 1909)
- 1993 – Dražen Petrović, Croatian basketball player, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer 2002 (b. 1964)
- 1995 – Hsuan Hua, Chinese monk and educator (b. 1918)
- 1995 – Charles Ritchie, Canadian diplomat, High Commission of Canada to the United Kingdom (b. 1906)
- 1996 – Max Factor, Jr., American businessman (b. 1904)
- 1997 – Jacques Canetti, French music executive and talent agent (b. 1909)
- 2001 – Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Bolivian politician, 52nd President of Bolivia (b. 1907)
- 2001 – Carole Fredericks, French singer (Fredericks Goldman Jones) (b. 1952)
- 2001 – Betty Neels, English nurse and author (b. 1910)
- 2002 – Signe Hasso, Swedish-American actress (b. 1915)
- 2002 – B. D. Jatti, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th Vice President of India (b. 1912)
- 2002 – Lilian, Princess of Réthy (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Quorthon, Swedish musician (b. 1966)
- 2008 – Rudy Fernandez, Filipino actor and producer (b. 1953)
- 2008 – Jim McKay, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1921)
- 2008 – Dino Risi, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 2009 – Hugh Hopper, English bass player and songwriter (b. 1945)
- 2011 – Paul Dickson, American football player and coach (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Phillip V. Tobias, South African paleontologist and academic (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Bob Welch, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Pierre Mauroy, French educator and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Fernandão, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1978)
- 2014 – Dora Akunyili, Nigerian academic and politician (b. 1954)
- 2014 – Epainette Mbeki, South African activist (b. 1916)
- 2015 – Christopher Lee, English actor (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Sheikh Razzak Ali, Bangladeshi journalist and politician (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on June 7
- Anniversary of the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation (Slovakia)
- Birthday of Prince Joachim (Denmark)
- Christian feast day:
- Antonio Maria Gianelli
- Colmán of Dromore
- Landulf of Yariglia (Asti)
- Meriasek
- Paul I of Constantinople
- Robert of Newminster
- Chief Seattle (Lutheran Church)
- Blessed Marie-Thérèse de Soubiran La Louvière
- June 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commemoration Day of St John the Forerunner (Armenian Apostolic Church)
- Pioneers of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Battle of Arica Day (Arica y Parinacota Region, Chile)
- Flag Day (Peru)
- Journalist Day (Argentina)
- Sette Giugno (Malta)
- Union Dissolution Day (Independence Day of Norway)
-
June 2 in History
- 455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks.
- 1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later.
- 1615 – The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.
- 1676 – Franco-Dutch War: France ensured the supremacy of its naval fleet for the remainder of the war with its victory in the Battle of Palermo.
- 1692 – Bridget Bishop is the first person to be tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts; she was found guilty and later hanged.
- 1763 – Pontiac’s Rebellion: At what is now Mackinaw City, Michigan, Chippewas capture Fort Michilimackinac by diverting the garrison’s attention with a game of lacrosse, then chasing a ball into the fort.
- 1774 – Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act is enacted, allowing a governor in colonial America to house British soldiers in uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings if suitable quarters are not provided.
- 1793 – French Revolution: François Hanriot, leader of the Parisian National Guard, arrests 22 Girondists selected by Jean-Paul Marat, setting the stage for the Reign of Terror.
- 1805 – Napoleonic Wars: A Franco-Spanish fleet recaptures Diamond Rock, an uninhabited island at the entrance to the bay leading to Fort-de-France, from the British.
- 1835 – P. T. Barnum and his circus start their first tour of the United States.
- 1848 – The Slavic congress in Prague begins.
- 1866 – The Fenians defeat Canadian forces at Ridgeway and Fort Erie, but the raids end soon after.
- 1896 – Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph.
- 1909 – Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
- 1910 – Charles Rolls, a co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited, becomes the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane.
- 1919 – Anarchists simultaneously set off bombs in eight separate U.S. cities.
- 1924 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.
- 1941 – World War II: German paratroopers murder Greek civilians in the villages of Kondomari and Alikianos.
- 1946 – Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum, King Umberto II of Italy is exiled.
- 1953 – The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, who is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories & Head of the Commonwealth, the first major international event to be televised.
- 1955 – The USSR and Yugoslavia sign the Belgrade declaration and thus normalize relations between both countries, discontinued since 1948.
- 1962 – During the FIFA World Cup, police had to intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history.
- 1964 – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is formed.
- 1966 – Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.
- 1967 – Luis Monge is executed in Colorado’s gas chamber, in the last pre-Furman execution in the United States.
- 1967 – Protests in West Berlin against the arrival of the Shah of Iran turn into riots, during which Benno Ohnesorg is killed by a police officer. His death results in the founding of the terrorist group Movement 2 June.
- 1979 – Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.
- 1983 – After an emergency landing because of an in-flight fire, twenty-three passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 are killed when a flashover occurs as the plane’s doors open. Because of this incident, numerous new safety regulations are put in place.
- 1990 – The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 66 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12.
- 1997 – In Denver, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people died. He was executed four years later.
- 2003 – Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
- 2012 – Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
- 2014 – Telangana officially becomes the 29th state of India, formed from ten districts of northwestern Andhra Pradesh.
Births on June 2
- 1305 – Abu Sa’id Bahadur Khan, ruler of Ilkhanate (d. 1335)
- 1423 – Ferdinand I of Naples (d. 1494)
- 1489 – Charles, Duke of Vendôme (d. 1537)
- 1535 – Pope Leo XI (d. 1605)
- 1602 – Rudolf Christian, Count of East Frisia, Ruler of East Frisia (d. 1628)
- 1621 – Rutger von Ascheberg, Courland-born soldier in Swedish service (d. 1693)
- 1621 – (baptized) Isaac van Ostade, Dutch painter (d. 1649)
- 1638 – Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon (d. 1709)
- 1644 – William Salmon, English medical writer (d. 1713)
- 1739 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1815)
- 1740 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher and politician (d. 1814)
- 1743 – Alessandro Cagliostro, Italian occultist and explorer (d. 1795)
- 1773 – John Randolph of Roanoke, American planter and politician, 8th United States Ambassador to Russia (d. 1833)
- 1774 – William Lawson, English-Australian explorer and politician (d. 1850)
- 1813 – Daniel Pollen, Irish-New Zealand politician, 9th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1896)
- 1823 – Gédéon Ouimet, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Quebec (d. 1905)
- 1835 – Pope Pius X (d. 1914)
- 1838 – Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Oldenburg (d. 1900)
- 1840 – Thomas Hardy, English novelist and poet (d. 1928)
- 1840 – Émile Munier, French artist (d. 1895)
- 1857 – Edward Elgar, English composer and educator (d. 1934)
- 1857 – Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Danish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
- 1861 – Concordia Selander, Swedish actress and manager (d. 1935)
- 1863 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian-Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1942)
- 1865 – George Lohmann, English cricketer (d. 1901)
- 1865 – Adelaide Casely-Hayford, Sierra Leone Creole advocate and activist for cultural nationalism (d. 1960)
- 1869 – Jack O’Connor, American baseball player and manager (d. 1937)
- 1875 – Charles Stewart Mott, American businessman and politician, 50th Mayor of Flint, Michigan (d. 1973)
- 1878 – Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (d. 1912)
- 1881 – Walter Egan, American golfer (d. 1971)
- 1891 – Thurman Arnold, American lawyer and judge (d. 1969)
- 1891 – Takijirō Ōnishi, Japanese admiral and pilot (d. 1945)
- 1899 – Lotte Reiniger, German animator and director (d. 1981)
- 1899 – Edwin Way Teale, American environmentalist and photographer (d. 1980)
- 1904 – Frank Runacres, English painter and educator (d. 1974)
- 1904 – Johnny Weissmuller, Hungarian-American swimmer and actor (d. 1984)
- 1907 – Dorothy West, American journalist and author (d. 1998)
- 1907 – John Lehmann, English poet and publisher (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Hector Dyer, American sprinter (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Joe McCluskey, American runner (d. 2002)
- 1913 – Barbara Pym, English author (d. 1980)
- 1913 – Elsie Tu, English-Hong Kong educator and politician (d. 2015)
- 1914 – Johnny Bulla, American golfer (d. 2003)
- 1915 – Alexandru Nicolschi, Romanian spy (d. 1992)
- 1917 – Heinz Sielmann, German photographer and director (d. 2006)
- 1918 – Ruth Atkinson, Canadian-American illustrator (d. 1997)
- 1918 – Kathryn Tucker Windham, American journalist and author (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Nat Mayer Shapiro, American painter (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Frank G. Clement, American lawyer and politician, 41st Governor of Tennessee (d. 1969)
- 1920 – Yolande Donlan, American-English actress (d. 2014)
- 1920 – Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Polish-German author and critic (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Tex Schramm, American businessman (d. 2003)
- 1920 – Johnny Speight, English screenwriter and producer (d. 1998)
- 1921 – Betty Freeman, American photographer and philanthropist (d. 2009)
- 1921 – Ernie Royal, American trumpet player (d. 1983)
- 1921 – Sigmund Sternberg, Hungarian-English businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
- 1921 – András Szennay, Hungarian priest (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2002)
- 1922 – Carmen Silvera, Canadian-English actress (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Lloyd Shapley, American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
- 1924 – June Callwood, Canadian journalist, author, and activist (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Chiyonoyama Masanobu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 41st Yokozuna (d. 1977)
- 1926 – Milo O’Shea, Irish-American actor (d. 2013)
- 1927 – W. Watts Biggers, American author, screenwriter, and animator (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Colin Brittan, English footballer (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Christopher Slade, English lawyer and judge
- 1928 – Erzsi Kovács, Hungarian singer (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Rafael A. Lecuona, Cuban-American gymnast and academic (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Ron Reynolds, English footballer (d. 1999)
- 1929 – Norton Juster, American architect, author, and academic
- 1929 – Ken McGregor, Australian tennis player (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Pete Conrad, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1999)
- 1933 – Jerry Lumpe, American baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Lew “Sneaky Pete” Robinson, drag racer (d. 1971)
- 1934 – Johnny Carter, American singer (d. 2009)
- 1935 – Carol Shields, American-Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2003)
- 1935 – Dimitri Kitsikis, Greek poet and educator
- 1936 – Volodymyr Holubnychy, Ukrainian race walker
- 1937 – Rosalyn Higgins, English lawyer and judge
- 1937 – Sally Kellerman, American actress
- 1937 – Jimmy Jones, American singer-songwriter (d. 2012)
- 1937 – Robert Paul, Canadian figure skater and choreographer
- 1937 – Deric Washburn, American screenwriter and playwright
- 1938 – Kevin Brownlow, English historian and author
- 1938 – George William Penrose, Lord Penrose, Scottish lawyer and judge
- 1939 – Charles Miller, American musician (d. 1980)
- 1939 – John Schlee, American golfer (d. 2000)
- 1940 – Constantine II of Greece
- 1941 – Ünal Aysal, Turkish businessman
- 1941 – Stacy Keach, American actor
- 1941 – Lou Nanne, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
- 1941 – Charlie Watts, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
- 1942 – Mike Ahern, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of Queensland
- 1943 – Charles Haid, American actor and director
- 1943 – Crescenzio Sepe, Italian cardinal
- 1944 – Robert Elliott, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1944 – Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor (d. 2012)
- 1945 – Richard Long, English painter, sculptor, and photographer
- 1945 – Bonnie Newman, American businesswoman and politician
- 1946 – Lasse Hallström, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1946 – Peter Sutcliffe, UK serial killer
- 1948 – Jerry Mathers, American actor
- 1949 – Heather Couper, English astronomer and physicist (d. 2020)
- 1949 – Frank Rich, American journalist and critic
- 1950 – Jonathan Evans, Welsh lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Joanna Gleason, Canadian actress and singer
- 1950 – Anne Phillips, English theorist and academic
- 1950 – Momčilo Vukotić, Serbian footballer and manager
- 1951 – Gilbert Baker, American artist, gay rights activist, and designer of the rainbow flag (d. 2017)
- 1951 – Arnold Mühren, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1951 – Larry Robinson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1951 – Alexander Wylie, Lord Kinclaven, Scottish lawyer, judge, and educator
- 1952 – Gary Bettman, American commissioner of the National Hockey League
- 1953 – Vidar Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist
- 1953 – Craig Stadler, American golfer
- 1953 – Cornel West, American philosopher, author, and academic
- 1954 – Dennis Haysbert, American actor and producer
- 1955 – Dana Carvey, American comedian and actor
- 1955 – Nandan Nilekani, Indian businessman, co-founded Infosys
- 1955 – Mani Ratnam, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1955 – Michael Steele, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1956 – Jan Lammers, Dutch race car driver
- 1957 – Mark Lawrenson, English footballer and manager
- 1958 – Lex Luger, American wrestler and football player
- 1959 – Rineke Dijkstra, Dutch photographer
- 1959 – Lydia Lunch, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
- 1959 – Erwin Olaf, Dutch photographer
- 1960 – Olga Bondarenko, Russian runner
- 1960 – Tony Hadley, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1960 – Kyle Petty, American race car driver and sportscaster
- 1961 – Dez Cadena, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1962 – Mark Plaatjes, South African-American runner and coach
- 1963 – Anand Abhyankar, Indian actor (d. 2012)
- 1964 – Caroline Link, German director and screenwriter
- 1965 – Russ Courtnall, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 – Mark Waugh, Australian cricketer and journalist
- 1965 – Steve Waugh, Australian cricketer
- 1966 – Dayana Cadeau, Haitian born Canadian-American professional bodybuilder
- 1966 – Candace Gingrich, American activist
- 1966 – Pedro Guerra, Spanish singer-songwriter
- 1966 – Petra van Staveren, Dutch swimmer
- 1967 – Remigija Nazarovienė, Lithuanian heptathlete and coach
- 1967 – Mike Stanton, American baseball player
- 1968 – Merril Bainbridge, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1968 – Andy Cohen, American television host
- 1969 – Kurt Abbott, American baseball player
- 1969 – Paulo Sérgio, Brazilian footballer
- 1969 – David Wheaton, American tennis player, radio host, and author
- 1970 – B Real, American rapper and actor
- 1971 – Kateřina Jacques, Czech translator and politician
- 1972 – Wayne Brady, American actor, comedian, game show host, and singer
- 1972 – Raúl Ibañez, American baseball player
- 1972 – Wentworth Miller, American actor and screenwriter
- 1973 – Marko Kristal, Estonian footballer and manager
- 1973 – Neifi Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1974 – Gata Kamsky, Russian-American chess player
- 1974 – Matt Serra, American mixed martial artist
- 1975 – Salvatore Scibona, American author
- 1976 – Earl Boykins, American basketball player
- 1976 – Martin Čech, Czech ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1976 – Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brazilian mixed martial artist and boxer
- 1976 – Tim Rice-Oxley, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1977 – Teet Allas, Estonian footballer
- 1977 – A.J. Styles, American wrestler
- 1977 – Zachary Quinto, American actor and producer
- 1978 – Dominic Cooper, English actor
- 1978 – Nikki Cox, American actress
- 1978 – Justin Long, American actor
- 1978 – Yi So-yeon, biotechnologist and astronaut, the first Korean in space
- 1978 – Luke Williamson, Australian rugby league player
- 1979 – Morena Baccarin, Brazilian-American actress
- 1979 – Butterfly Boucher, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1979 – Natalia Rodríguez, Spanish runner
- 1980 – Fabrizio Moretti, Brazilian-American drummer
- 1980 – Bobby Simmons, American basketball player
- 1980 – Richard Skuse, English rugby player
- 1980 – Abby Wambach, American soccer player and coach
- 1980 – Tomasz Wróblewski, Polish bass player and songwriter
- 1981 – Nikolay Davydenko, Russian tennis player
- 1981 – Chin-hui Tsao, Taiwanese baseball player
- 1982 – Jewel Staite, Canadian actress
- 1983 – Chris Higgins, American ice hockey player
- 1983 – Leela James, American singer-songwriter
- 1983 – Toni Livers, Swiss skier
- 1983 – Brooke White, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1984 – Jack Afamasaga, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1984 – Max Boyer, Canadian wrestler
- 1984 – Feleti Mateo, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
- 1985 – Miyuki Sawashiro, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1985 – Maggie Thrash, American graphic novelist and writer
- 1986 – Todd Carney, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Maryka Holtzhausen, South African netball player
- 1987 – Yoann Huget, French rugby player
- 1987 – Matthew Koma, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1987 – Angelo Mathews, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1987 – Darin Zanyar, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1987 – Sonakshi Sinha, Indian actress
- 1988 – Sergio Agüero, Argentinian footballer
- 1988 – Patrik Berglund, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1988 – Staniliya Stamenova, Bulgarian canoeist
- 1989 – Freddy Adu, Ghanaian-American footballer
- 1989 – Steve Smith, Australian cricketer
- 1990 – Jack Lowden, Scottish actor
- 1992 – Pajtim Kasami, Swiss footballer
- 1993 – Adam Taggart, Australian footballer
- 1994 – Mike Grzesiek, Esports player and streamer
- 1999 – Campbell Graham, Australian rugby league player
- 2000 – Lilimar Hernandez, Venezuelan actress
Deaths on June 2
- 657 – Pope Eugene I
- 891 – Al-Muwaffaq, Abbasid general (b. 842)
- 910 – Richilde of Provence (b. 845)
- 1200 – Bishop John of Oxford
- 1258 – Peter I, Count of Urgell
- 1292 – Rhys ap Maredudd, Welsh nobleman and rebel leader
- 1418 – Katherine of Lancaster, queen of Henry III of Castile
- 1453 – Álvaro de Luna, Duke of Trujillo, Constable of Castile
- 1567 – Shane O’Neill, head of the O’Neill dynasty in Ireland (b. 1530)
- 1572 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (b. 1536)
- 1581 – James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, Scottish soldier and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1525)
- 1603 – Bernard of Wąbrzeźno, Roman Catholic priest (b. 1575)
- 1693 – John Wildman, English soldier and politician, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom (b. 1621)
- 1701 – Madeleine de Scudéry, French author (b. 1607)
- 1716 – Ogata Kōrin, Japanese painter and educator (b. 1658)
- 1754 – Ebenezer Erskine, Scottish minister and theologian (b. 1680)
- 1761 – Jonas Alströmer, Swedish businessman (b. 1685)
- 1785 – Jean Paul de Gua de Malves, French mathematician and academic (b. 1713)
- 1806 – William Tate, English painter (b. 1747)
- 1853 – Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, English general (b. 1777)
- 1865 – Ner Middleswarth, American judge and politician (b. 1783)
- 1875 – Józef Kremer, Polish psychologist, historian, and philosopher (b. 1806)
- 1881 – Émile Littré, French lexicographer and philosopher (b. 1801)
- 1882 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian general and politician (b. 1807)
- 1901 – George Leslie Mackay, Canadian missionary and author (b. 1844)
- 1927 – Hüseyin Avni Lifij, Turkish painter (b. 1886)
- 1929 – Enrique Gorostieta, Mexican general (b. 1889)
- 1933 – Frank Jarvis, American runner and triple jumper (b. 1878)
- 1937 – Louis Vierne, French organist and composer (b. 1870)
- 1941 – Lou Gehrig, American baseball player (b. 1903)
- 1942 – Bunny Berigan, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1908)
- 1947 – John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, English sailor and politician (b. 1867)
- 1948 – Viktor Brack, German physician (b. 1904)
- 1948 – Karl Brandt, German SS officer (b. 1904)
- 1948 – Karl Gebhardt, German physician (b. 1897)
- 1948 – Waldemar Hoven, German physician (b. 1903)
- 1948 – Wolfram Sievers, German SS officer (b. 1905)
- 1952 – Naum Torbov, Bulgarian architect, designed the Central Sofia Market Hall (b. 1880)
- 1956 – Jean Hersholt, Danish-American actor and director (b. 1886)
- 1959 – Lyda Borelli, Italian actress (b. 1884)
- 1961 – George S. Kaufman, American director, producer, and playwright (b. 1889)
- 1962 – Vita Sackville-West, English author and poet (b. 1892)
- 1967 – Benno Ohnesorg, German student and activist (b. 1940)
- 1968 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
- 1969 – Leo Gorcey, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1970 – Orhan Kemal, Turkish author (b. 1914)
- 1970 – Albert Lamorisse, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 1970 – Bruce McLaren, New Zealand race car driver and engineer, founded the McLaren racing team (b. 1937)
- 1970 – Giuseppe Ungaretti, Italian soldier, journalist, and academic (b. 1888)
- 1974 – Hiroshi Kazato, Japanese race car driver (b. 1949)
- 1976 – Kenneth Mason, English soldier and geographer (b. 1887)
- 1976 – Juan José Torres, Bolivian general and politician, 61st President of Bolivia (b. 1920)
- 1977 – Albert Bittlmayer, German footballer (b. 1952)
- 1977 – Stephen Boyd, Northern Irish-born American actor (b. 1931)
- 1978 – Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, Spanish footballer and coach (b. 1895)
- 1979 – Jim Hutton, American actor (b. 1934)
- 1982 – Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th President of Pakistan (b. 1904)
- 1983 – Stan Rogers, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
- 1983 – Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (b. 1913)
- 1986 – Aurèle Joliat, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1901)
- 1987 – Anthony de Mello, Indian-American priest and psychotherapist (b. 1931)
- 1987 – Sammy Kaye, American bandleader and songwriter (b. 1910)
- 1987 – Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (b. 1893)
- 1988 – Raj Kapoor, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1924)
- 1989 – Ted a’Beckett, Australian cricketer and footballer (b. 1907)
- 1990 – Jack Gilford, American actor and comedian (b. 1908)
- 1990 – Rex Harrison, English actor (b. 1908)
- 1991 – Ahmed Arif, Turkish poet and author (b. 1927)
- 1992 – Philip Dunne, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 1993 – Johnny Mize, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1913)
- 1993 – Tahar Djaout, Algerian journalist, writer and poet (b. 1954)
- 1994 – David Stove, Australian philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1927)
- 1996 – John Alton, Hungarian-American cinematographer and director (b. 1901)
- 1996 – Leon Garfield, English author (b. 1921)
- 1996 – Ray Combs, American game show host (b. 1956)
- 1997 – Doc Cheatham, American trumpet player, singer, and bandleader (b. 1905)
- 1999 – Junior Braithwaite, Jamaican singer (b. 1949)
- 2000 – Svyatoslav Fyodorov, Russian ophthalmologist, academic, and politician (b. 1927)
- 2000 – John Schlee, American golfer (b. 1939)
- 2000 – Gerald James Whitrow, English mathematician, cosmologist, and historian (b. 1912)
- 2001 – Imogene Coca, American actress and comedian (b. 1908)
- 2001 – Joey Maxim, American boxer (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Hugo van Lawick, Dutch director and photographer (b. 1937)
- 2003 – Freddie Blassie, American wrestler and manager (b. 1918)
- 2003 – Alma Ricard, Canadian broadcaster and philanthropist (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Lucien Cliche, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
- 2005 – Gunder Gundersen, Norwegian skier (b. 1930)
- 2005 – Samir Kassir, Lebanese journalist and educator (b. 1950)
- 2005 – Melita Norwood, English civil servant and spy (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Keith Smith, English rugby player and coach (b. 1952)
- 2007 – Kentarō Haneda, Japanese pianist and composer (b. 1949)
- 2007 – Huang Ju, Chinese engineer and politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Bo Diddley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
- 2008 – Mel Ferrer, American actor (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Cevher Özden, Turkish banker and businessman (b. 1933)
- 2009 – David Eddings, American author (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Avraham Botzer, Polish-Israeli commander (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Adolfo Calero, Nicaraguan businessman and political activist (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Richard Dawson, English-American soldier, actor, television personality, and game show host (b. 1932)
- 2012 – LeRoy Ellis, American basketball player (b. 1940)
- 2012 – Kathryn Joosten, American actress (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Jan Gmelich Meijling, Dutch commander and politician (b. 1943)
- 2013 – Mario Bernardi, Canadian pianist and conductor (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Chen Xitong, Chinese politician, 8th Mayor of Beijing (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Mandawuy Yunupingu, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1956)
- 2014 – Ivica Brzić, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Anjan Das, Indian director and producer (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Gennadi Gusarov, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1937)
- 2014 – Nikolay Khrenkov, Russian bobsledder (b. 1984)
- 2014 – Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, Indian cardinal (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Kuaima Riruako, Namibian politician (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Alexander Shulgin, American pharmacologist and chemist (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Fernando de Araújo, East Timorese politician, President of East Timor (b. 1963)
- 2015 – Irwin Rose, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Peter Sallis, English actor (b. 1921)
Holidays and observances on June 2
- Children’s Day (North Korea)
- Christian feast day:
- Alexander (martyr)
- Elmo
- Felix of Nicosia
- Marcellinus and Peter
- Martyrs of Lyon, including Blandina
- Pope Eugene I
- Pothinus
- June 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Civil Aviation Day (Azerbaijan)
- Coronation of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, also Social Forestry Day (Bhutan)
- Day of Hristo Botev (Bulgaria)
- Decoration Day (Canada)
- Festa della Repubblica (Italy)
- International Sex Workers Day
- Telangana Day (Telangana, India)
-
May 28 in History
- 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.
- 621 – Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin, the son of the Chinese emperor Gaozu, defeats the numerically superior forces of Dou Jiande near the Hulao Pass (Henan). This victory decides the outcome of the civil war that followed the Sui dynasty’s collapse in favour of the Tang dynasty.
- 1533 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid.
- 1588 – The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port.)
- 1644 – English Civil War: Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby.
- 1754 – French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.
- 1802 – In Guadeloupe, 400 rebellious slaves, led by Louis Delgrès, blow themselves up rather than submit to Napoleon’s troops.
- 1830 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which denies Native Americans their land rights and forcibly relocates them.
- 1871 – The Paris Commune falls after two months.
- 1892 – In San Francisco, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.
- 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and the Imperial Japanese Navy.
- 1907 – The first Isle of Man TT race was held.
- 1918 – The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence.
- 1926 – The 28 May 1926 coup d’état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic.
- 1932 – In the Netherlands, construction of the Afsluitdijk is completed and the Zuiderzee bay is converted to the freshwater IJsselmeer.
- 1934 – Near Callander, Ontario, Canada, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne; they will be the first quintuplets to survive infancy.
- 1936 – Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication.
- 1937 – Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer is founded.
- 1940 – World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.
- 1940 – World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first allied infantry victory of the War.
- 1948 – Daniel François Malan is elected as Prime Minister of South Africa. He later goes on to implement Apartheid.
- 1958 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.
- 1961 – Peter Benenson’s article The Forgotten Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
- 1974 – Northern Ireland’s power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists.
- 1975 – Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States.
- 1977 – In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 people inside.
- 1979 – Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community.
- 1987 – A West German pilot, Mathias Rust, who was 18 years old, evades Soviet Union air defences and lands a private plane in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia.
- 1991 – The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War.
- 1995 – The 7.0 Mw Neftegorsk earthquake shook the former Russian settlement of Neftegorsk with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Total damage was $64.1–300 million, with 1,989 deaths and 750 injured. The settlement was not rebuilt.
- 1996 – U.S. President Bill Clinton’s former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal, and the Governor of Arkansas Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud.
- 1998 – Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own codenamed Chagai-I, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions. Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbir annually.
- 1999 – In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display.
- 2002 – The last steel girder is removed from the original World Trade Center site. Cleanup duties officially end with closing ceremonies at Ground Zero in Manhattan, New York City.
- 2003 – Peter Hollingworth resigns as Governor-General of Australia following criticism of his handling of child sexual abuse allegations during his tenure as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane.
- 2004 – The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, as prime minister of Iraq’s interim government.
- 2008 – The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty.
- 2010 – In West Bengal, India, the Jnaneswari Express train derailment and subsequent collision kills 148 passengers.
- 2011 – Malta votes on the introduction of divorce; the proposal was approved by 53% of voters, resulting in a law allowing divorce under certain conditions being enacted later in the year.
Births on May 28
- 1140 – Xin Qiji, Chinese poet, general, and politician (d. 1207)
- 1371 – John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1419)
- 1524 – Selim II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1574)
- 1588 – Pierre Séguier, French politician, Lord Chancellor of France (d. 1672)
- 1589 – Robert Arnauld d’Andilly, French writer (d. 1674)
- 1663 – António Manoel de Vilhena, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (d. 1736)
- 1676 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1754)
- 1692 – Geminiano Giacomelli, Italian composer (d. 1740)
- 1738 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician (d. 1814)
- 1759 – William Pitt the Younger, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1806)
- 1763 – Manuel Alberti, Argentinian priest and journalist (d. 1811)
- 1764 – Edward Livingston, American jurist and politician, 11th United States Secretary of State (d. 1836)
- 1779 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet and composer (d. 1852)
- 1807 – Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American paleontologist and geologist (d. 1873)
- 1818 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (d. 1893)
- 1836 – Friedrich Baumfelder, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1916)
- 1836 – Alexander Mitscherlich, German chemist and academic (d. 1918)
- 1837 – George Ashlin, Irish architect, co-designed St Colman’s Cathedral (d. 1921)
- 1837 – Tony Pastor, American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner (d. 1908)
- 1841 – Sakaigawa Namiemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 14th Yokozuna (d. 1887)
- 1853 – Carl Larsson, Swedish painter and author (d. 1919)
- 1858 – Carl Richard Nyberg, Swedish inventor and businessman, developed the blow torch (d. 1939)
- 1872 – Marian Smoluchowski, Polish physicist and mountaineer (d. 1917)
- 1878 – Paul Pelliot, French sinologist and explorer (d. 1945)
- 1879 – Milutin Milanković, Serbian mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (d. 1958)
- 1883 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian poet and politician (d. 1966)
- 1883 – Clough Williams-Ellis, English-Welsh architect, designed the Portmeirion Village (d. 1978)
- 1884 – Edvard Beneš, Czech academic and politician, 2nd President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1948)
- 1886 – Santo Trafficante, Sr., Italian-American mobster (d. 1954)
- 1888 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
- 1888 – Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot, English author and educator (d. 1947)
- 1888 – Jim Thorpe, American decathlete, football player, and coach (d. 1953)
- 1889 – Richard Réti, Slovak-Czech chess player and author (d. 1929)
- 1892 – Minna Gombell, American actress (d. 1973)
- 1900 – Tommy Ladnier, American trumpet player (d. 1939)
- 1903 – S. L. Kirloskar, Indian businessman, founded Kirloskar Group (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Henry Thambiah, Sri Lankan lawyer, judge, and diplomat, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian journalist and politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2005)
- 1908 – Ian Fleming, English journalist and author, created James Bond (d. 1964)
- 1909 – Red Horner, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
- 1910 – Georg Gaßmann, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Rachel Kempson, English actress (d. 2003)
- 1910 – T-Bone Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
- 1911 – Bob Crisp, South African cricketer (d. 1994)
- 1911 – Thora Hird, English actress (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Fritz Hochwälder, Austrian playwright (d. 1986)
- 1912 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist, academic, and politician (d. 1992)
- 1912 – Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian physicist and astronomer (d. 1981)
- 1912 – Patrick White, Australian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
- 1914 – W. G. G. Duncan Smith, English captain and pilot (d. 1996)
- 1915 – Joseph Greenberg, American linguist and academic (d. 2001)
- 1916 – Walker Percy, American novelist and essayist (d. 1990)
- 1917 – Barry Commoner, American biologist, academic, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1918 – Johnny Wayne, Canadian comedian (d. 1990)
- 1921 – D. V. Paluskar, Indian Hindustani classical musician (d. 1955)
- 1921 – Heinz G. Konsalik, German journalist and author (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Tom Uren, Australian soldier, boxer, and politician (d. 2015)
- 1922 – Lou Duva, American boxer, trainer, and manager (d. 2017)
- 1922 – Roger Fisher, American author and academic (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Tuomas Gerdt, Finnish soldier
- 1923 – György Ligeti, Hungarian-Austrian composer and educator (d. 2006)
- 1923 – N. T. Rama Rao, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician, 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 1996)
- 1924 – Edward du Cann, English naval officer and politician (d. 2017)
- 1924 – Paul Hébert, Canadian actor (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Bülent Ecevit, Turkish journalist, scholar, and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Sally Forrest, American actress and dancer (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Patrick McNair-Wilson, English politician
- 1930 – Edward Seaga, American-Jamaican academic and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Carroll Baker, American actress
- 1931 – Gordon Willis, American cinematographer (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Tim Renton, Baron Renton of Mount Harry, English politician, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries
- 1933 – John Karlen, American actor
- 1933 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress and activist (d. 2010)
- 1936 – Claude Forget, Canadian academic and politician
- 1936 – Ole K. Sara, Norwegian politician (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Betty Shabazz, American educator and activist (d. 1997)
- 1938 – Jerry West, American basketball player, coach, and executive
- 1939 – Maeve Binchy, Irish novelist (d. 2012)
- 1940 – David William Brewer, English politician, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London
- 1940 – Shlomo Riskin, American rabbi and academic, founded the Lincoln Square Synagogue
- 1941 – Beth Howland, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Stanley B. Prusiner, American neurologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1943 – Terry Crisp, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1944 – Faith Brown, English actress and singer
- 1944 – Rudy Giuliani, American lawyer and politician, 107th mayor of New York City
- 1944 – Gladys Knight, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1944 – Rita MacNeil, Canadian singer and actress (d. 2013)
- 1944 – Gary Stewart, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1944 – Billy Vera, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1945 – Patch Adams, American physician and author, founded the Gesundheit! Institute
- 1945 – John N. Bambacus, American military veteran (USMC) and politician
- 1945 – John Fogerty, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1945 – Jean Perrault, Canadian politician, Mayor of Sherbrooke, Quebec
- 1945 – Helena Shovelton, English physician
- 1946 – Bruce Alexander, English actor
- 1946 – Skip Jutze, American baseball player
- 1946 – Janet Paraskeva, Welsh politician
- 1946 – K. Satchidanandan, Indian poet and critic
- 1946 – William Shawcross, English journalist and author
- 1947 – Zahi Hawass, Egyptian archaeologist and academic
- 1947 – Lynn Johnston, Canadian author and illustrator
- 1947 – Leland Sklar, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1948 – Michael Field, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Tasmania
- 1948 – Pierre Rapsat, Belgian singer and songwriter (d. 2002)
- 1949 – Martin Kelner, English journalist, author, comedian, singer, actor and radio presenter
- 1949 – Wendy O. Williams, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress (d. 1998)
- 1952 – Roger Briggs, American pianist, composer, conductor, and educator
- 1953 – Pierre Gauthier, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1954 – João Carlos de Oliveira, Brazilian jumper (d. 1999)
- 1954 – Youri Egorov, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1988)
- 1954 – Charles Saumarez Smith, English historian and academic
- 1954 – Péter Szilágyi, Hungarian conductor and politician (d. 2013)
- 1954 – John Tory, Canadian lawyer and politician, 65th Mayor of Toronto
- 1955 – Laura Amy Schlitz, American author and librarian
- 1955 – Mark Howe, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1956 – Jerry Douglas, American guitarist and producer
- 1956 – Jeff Dujon, Jamaican cricketer
- 1956 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (d. 1980)
- 1956 – Peter Wilkinson, English admiral
- 1957 – Colin Barnes, English footballer
- 1957 – Kirk Gibson, American baseball player and manager
- 1957 – Ben Howland, American basketball player and coach
- 1959 – Risto Mannisenmäki, Finnish racing driver
- 1960 – Mark Sanford, American military veteran (USAF) and politician, 115th Governor of South Carolina
- 1960 – Mary Portas, English journalist and author
- 1963 – Houman Younessi, Australian-American biologist and academic
- 1964 – Jeff Fenech, Australian boxer and trainer
- 1964 – Armen Gilliam, American basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
- 1964 – Zsa Zsa Padilla, Filipino singer and actress
- 1964 – Phil Vassar, American singer-songwriter
- 1965 – Chris Ballew, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1965 – Mary Coughlan, Irish politician
- 1966 – Roger Kumble, American director, screenwriter, and playwright
- 1966 – Miljenko Jergović, Bosnian novelist and journalist
- 1966 – Gavin Robertson, Australian cricketer
- 1967 – Glen Rice, American basketball player
- 1968 – Kylie Minogue, Australian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1969 – Mike DiFelice, American baseball player and manager
- 1969 – Rob Ford, Canadian politician, 64th Mayor of Toronto (d. 2016)
- 1970 – Glenn Quinn, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1971 – Isabelle Carré, French actress and singer
- 1971 – Ekaterina Gordeeva, Russian figure skater and sportscaster
- 1971 – Marco Rubio, American lawyer and politician
- 1972 – Doriva, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1972 – Michael Boogerd, Dutch cyclist and manager
- 1973 – Marco Paulo Faria Lemos, Portuguese footballer and manager
- 1974 – Hans-Jörg Butt, German footballer
- 1974 – Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer
- 1975 – Maura Johnston, American journalist, critic, and academic
- 1976 – Steven Bell, Australian rugby league player
- 1976 – Zaza Enden, Georgian-Turkish wrestler, basketball player, and coach
- 1976 – Roberto Goretti, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Glenn Morrison, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1977 – Elisabeth Hasselbeck, American talk show host and author
- 1978 – Jake Johnson, American actor
- 1979 – Abdulaziz al-Omari, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 11 (d. 2001)
- 1979 – Ronald Curry, American football player and coach
- 1980 – Miguel Pérez, Spanish footballer
- 1980 – Lucy Shuker, English tennis player
- 1981 – Daniel Cabrera, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1981 – Eric Ghiaciuc, American football player
- 1981 – Adam Green, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1982 – Alexa Davalos, French-American actress
- 1982 – Jhonny Peralta, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1983 – Steve Cronin, American soccer player
- 1983 – Humberto Sánchez, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1983 – Roman Atwood, American YouTube star
- 1985 – Colbie Caillat, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1985 – Pablo Andrés González, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Kostas Mendrinos, Greek footballer
- 1985 – Carey Mulligan, English actress and singer
- 1986 – Berrick Barnes, Australian rugby player
- 1986 – Seth Rollins, American wrestler
- 1986 – Ingmar Vos, Dutch decathlete
- 1987 – T.J. Yates, American football player
- 1988 – NaVorro Bowman, American football player
- 1988 – Percy Harvin, American football player
- 1988 – Craig Kimbrel, American baseball player
- 1990 – Kyle Walker, English international footballer, right-back
- 1991 – Sharrif Floyd, American football player
- 1991 – Alexandre Lacazette, French footballer
- 1991 – Kail Piho, Estonian skier
- 1992 – Tom Carroll, English footballer
- 1993 – Daniel Alvaro, Australian rugby league player
- 1993 – Bárbara Luz, Portuguese tennis player
- 1994 – John Stones, English footballer
- 1994 – Son Yeon-jae, South Korean gymnast
- 1998 – Dahyun, Korean singer
- 1999 – Cameron Boyce, American actor (d. 2019)
- 2000 – Phil Foden, English footballer
Deaths on May 28
- 576 – Germain of Paris, French bishop and saint (b. 496)
- 741 – Ucha’an K’in B’alam, Mayan king
- 926 – Kong Qian, official of Later Tang
- 926 – Li Jiji, prince of Later Tang
- 1023 – Wulfstan, English archbishop
- 1279 – William Wishart, English bishop
- 1327 – Robert Baldock, Lord Privy Seal and Lord Chancellor of England
- 1357 – Afonso IV of Portugal (b. 1291)
- 1427 – Henry IV, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (b. 1397)
- 1556 – Saitō Dōsan, Japanese samurai (b. 1494)
- 1626 – Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (b. 1561)
- 1651 – Henry Grey, 10th Earl of Kent, English politician (b. 1594)
- 1672 – John Trevor, Welsh politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1626)
- 1747 – Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, French author (b. 1715)
- 1750 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1720)
- 1787 – Leopold Mozart, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1719)
- 1805 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (b. 1743)
- 1808 – Richard Hurd, English bishop (b. 1720)
- 1811 – Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1742)
- 1831 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish-English admiral (b. 1756)
- 1843 – Noah Webster, American lexicographer (b. 1758)
- 1849 – Anne Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1820)
- 1864 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian and politician (b. 1808)
- 1878 – John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1792)
- 1904 – Kicking Bear, Native American tribal leader (b. 1846)
- 1916 – Ivan Franko, Ukrainian economist, journalist, and poet (b. 1856)
- 1927 – Boris Kustodiev, Russian painter and stage designer (b. 1878)
- 1937 – Alfred Adler, Austrian-Scottish ophthalmologist and psychologist (b. 1870)
- 1946 – Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1858)
- 1947 – August Eigruber, Austrian-German politician (b. 1907)
- 1952 – Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop (b. 1882)
- 1953 – Tatsuo Hori, Japanese author and poet (b. 1904)
- 1964 – Terry Dillon, American football player (b. 1941)
- 1968 – Fyodor Okhlopkov, Russian sergeant and sniper (b. 1908)
- 1971 – Audie Murphy, American soldier and actor, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1925)
- 1972 – Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
- 1975 – Ezzard Charles, American boxer (b. 1921)
- 1976 – Zainul Abedin, Bangladeshi painter and sculptor (b. 1914)
- 1980 – Rolf Nevanlinna, Finnish mathematician and academic (b. 1895)
- 1981 – Mary Lou Williams, American pianist and composer (b. 1910)
- 1981 – Stefan Wyszyński, Polish cardinal (b. 1901)
- 1982 – H. Jones, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1940)
- 1983 – Erastus Corning 2nd, American soldier and politician, 72nd Mayor of Albany (b. 1909)
- 1984 – Eric Morecambe, English actor and comedian (b. 1926)
- 1986 – Edip Cansever, Turkish poet and author (b. 1928)
- 1988 – Sy Oliver, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1910)
- 1990 – Julius Eastman, American composer (b. 1940)
- 1994 – Julius Boros, American golfer (b. 1920)
- 1994 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American author and academic (b. 1916)
- 1998 – Phil Hartman, Canadian-American actor and comedian (b. 1948)
- 1999 – Michael Barkai, Israeli commander (b. 1935)
- 1999 – B. Vittalacharya, Indian director and producer (b. 1920)
- 2000 – George Irving Bell, American physicist, biologist, and mountaineer (b. 1926)
- 2001 – Joe Moakley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
- 2001 – Francisco Varela, Chilean biologist and philosopher (b. 1946)
- 2002 – Mildred Benson, American journalist and author (b. 1905)
- 2003 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1933)
- 2003 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
- 2003 – Martha Scott, American actress (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Umberto Agnelli, Swiss-Italian businessman and politician (b. 1934)
- 2004 – Michael Buonauro, American author and illustrator (b. 1979)
- 2004 – John Tolos, Greek-Canadian wrestler (b. 1930)
- 2006 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (b. 1920)
- 2007 – Jörg Immendorff, German painter, sculptor, and academic (b. 1945)
- 2007 – Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Agriculture (b. 1945)
- 2008 – Beryl Cook, English painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
- 2010 – Gary Coleman, American actor (b. 1968)
- 2011 – Gino Valenzano, Italian racing driver (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Bob Edwards, English journalist (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Yuri Susloparov, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian commander (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Eddie Romero, Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Gerd Schmückle, German general (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Stan Crowther, English footballer (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Oscar Dystel, American publisher (b. 1912)
- 2014 – Malcolm Glazer, American businessman (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Bob Houbregs, Canadian-American basketball player and manager (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer (b. 1971)
- 2015 – Steven Gerber, American pianist and composer (b. 1948)
- 2015 – Johnny Keating, Scottish trombonist, composer, and producer (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1940)
- 2018 – Neale Cooper, Scottish footballer (b. 1963)
- 2018 – Jens Christian Skou, Danish medical doctor and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- 2018 – Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (b. 1941)
Holidays and observances on May 28
- Armed Forces Day (Croatia)
- Christian feast day:
- Bernard of Menthon
- Germain of Paris
- John Calvin (Episcopal Church)
- Lanfranc
- Margaret Pole
- William of Gellone
- May 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Downfall of the Derg Day (Ethiopia)
- Flag Day (Philippines)
- Menstrual Hygiene Day
- Republic Day (Nepal)
- TDFR Republic Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic in 1918. (Azerbaijan and Armenia)
- Youm-e-Takbir (Pakistan)
-
May 23 in History
- 1430 – Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to raise the Siege of Compiègne.
- 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
- 1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
- 1568 – Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years’ War.
- 1609 – Official ratification of the Second Virginia Charter takes place.
- 1618 – The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years’ War.
- 1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.
- 1706 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy at the Battle of Ramillies.
- 1788 – South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution as the eighth American state.
- 1793 – Battle of Famars during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
- 1829 – Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
- 1844 – Declaration of the Báb the evening before the 23rd: A merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá’í Faith; Bahá’ís celebrate the day as a holy day.
- 1846 – Mexican–American War: President Mariano Paredes of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.
- 1863 – The General German Workers’ Association, a precursor of the modern Social Democratic Party of Germany, is founded in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony.
- 1873 – The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
- 1900 – American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
- 1907 – The unicameral Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.
- 1911 – The New York Public Library is dedicated.
- 1915 – World War I: Italy joins the Allies, fulfilling its part of the Treaty of London.
- 1932 – In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, which resulted in the outbreak of the Constitutionalist Revolution several weeks later.
- 1934 – Infamous American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
- 1934 – The Auto-Lite strike culminates in the “Battle of Toledo”, a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
- 1939 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
- 1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
- 1945 – World War II: Germany’s Flensburg Government under Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are arrested by British forces.
- 1948 – Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.
- 1949 – Cold War: The Western occupying powers approve the Basic Law and establish a new German state, the Federal Republic of Germany.
- 1951 – Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement with China.
- 1960 – A tsunami caused by an earthquake in Chile the previous day kills 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii.
- 1992 – Italy’s most prominent anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards are killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. His friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than two months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of Italian Mafia prosecutions.
- 1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.
- 1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with roughly 75% voting yes.
- 2002 – The “55 parties” clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
- 2006 – Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.
- 2008 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
- 2013 – A freeway bridge carrying Interstate 5 over the Skagit River collapses in Mount Vernon, Washington.
- 2014 – Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed and another 14 injured in a killing spree near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara.
- 2015 – At least 46 people are killed as a result of floods caused by a tornado in Texas and Oklahoma.
- 2016 – Two suicide bombings, conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, killed at least 45 potential army recruits in Aden, Yemen.
- 2016 – Eight bombings were carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Jableh and Tartus, coastline cities in Syria. One hundred eighty-four people were killed and at least 200 people injured.
- 2017 – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao, following the Maute’s attack in Marawi.
Births on May 23
- 635 – K’inich Kan Bahlam II, Mayan king (d. 702)
- 675 – Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II, King of Mutharaiyar dynasty, Tamil Nadu, India
- 1052 – Philip I of France (d. 1108)
- 1100 – Emperor Qinzong of Song (d. 1161)
- 1127 – Uijong of Goryeo, Korean monarch of the Goryeo dynasty (d. 1173)
- 1330 – Gongmin of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 1374)
- 1586 – Paul Siefert, German composer and organist (d. 1666)
- 1606 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish mathematician and philosopher (d. 1682)
- 1614 – Bertholet Flemalle, Flemish Baroque painter (d. 1675)
- 1617 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (d. 1692)
- 1629 – William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, noble of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1663)
- 1707 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (d. 1778)
- 1718 – William Hunter, Scottish-English anatomist and physician (d. 1783)
- 1729 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet and educator (d. 1799)
- 1730 – Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, Prussian prince and general (d. 1813)
- 1734 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologer (d. 1815)
- 1741 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1801)
- 1789 – Franz Schlik, Austrian earl and general (d. 1862)
- 1790 – Jules Dumont d’Urville, French admiral and explorer (d. 1842)
- 1790 – James Pradier, French neoclassical sculptor (d. 1852)
- 1794 – Ignaz Moscheles, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1870)
- 1795 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed the Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (d. 1860)
- 1800 – Rómulo Díaz de la Vega, Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1877)
- 1810 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (d. 1850)
- 1817 – Manuel Robles Pezuela, Unconstitutional Mexican interim president (d. 1862)
- 1820 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (d. 1887)
- 1820 – Lorenzo Sawyer, American lawyer and judge (d. 1891)
- 1824 – Ambrose Burnside, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1881)
- 1834 – Jānis Frīdrihs Baumanis, Latvian architect (d. 1891)
- 1834 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (d. 1890)
- 1837 – Anatole Mallet, Swiss mechanical engineer and inventor (d. 1919)
- 1837 – Józef Wieniawski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1912)
- 1838 – Amaldus Nielsen, Norwegian painter (d. 1932)
- 1840 – George Throssell, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Western Australia (d. 1910)
- 1844 – `Abdu’l-Bahá, Iranian religious leader (d. 1921)
- 1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German pilot and engineer (d. 1896)
- 1855 – Isabella Ford, English author and activist (d. 1924)
- 1861 – József Rippl-Rónai, Hungarian painter (d. 1927)
- 1863 – Władysław Horodecki, Polish architect (d. 1930)
- 1864 – William O’Connor, American fencer (d. 1939)
- 1865 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian jurist and politician, 11th President of Brazil (d. 1942)
- 1875 – Alfred P. Sloan, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1966)
- 1882 – William Halpenny, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1960)
- 1883 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1939)
- 1884 – Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist and demographer (d. 1965)
- 1887 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1963)
- 1887 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian sailor and captain (d. 1951)
- 1888 – Adriaan Roland Holst, Dutch writer (d. 1976)
- 1888 – Zack Wheat, American baseball player and police officer (d. 1972)
- 1889 – Ernst Niekisch, German educator and politician (d. 1967)
- 1890 – Herbert Marshall, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
- 1891 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- 1892 – Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, British peer and grandfather of Diana Spencer (d. 1975)
- 1896 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (d. 1966)
- 1897 – Jimmie Guthrie, Scottish motorcycle racer (d. 1937)
- 1898 – Scott O’Dell, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1989)
- 1898 – Josef Terboven, German soldier and politician (d. 1945)
- 1899 – Jeralean Talley, American super-centenarian (d. 2015)
- 1900 – Hans Frank, German lawyer and politician (d. 1946)
- 1900 – Franz Leopold Neumann, German lawyer and theorist (d. 1954)
- 1908 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
- 1908 – Hélène Boucher, French pilot (d. 1934)
- 1910 – Margaret Wise Brown, American author and educator (d. 1952)
- 1910 – Hugh Casson, English architect and academic (d. 1999)
- 1910 – Scatman Crothers, American actor and comedian (d. 1986)
- 1910 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (d. 1962)
- 1910 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2004)
- 1911 – Lou Brouillard, Canadian boxer (d. 1984)
- 1911 – Paul Augustin Mayer, German cardinal (d. 2010)
- 1911 – Betty Nuthall, English tennis player (d. 1983)
- 1912 – Jean Françaix, French pianist and composer (d. 1997)
- 1912 – John Payne, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1914 – Harold Hitchcock, English visionary landscape artist (d. 2009)
- 1914 – Celestine Sibley, American journalist and author (d. 1999)
- 1914 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist, journalist, and prominent Catholic layperson (d. 1981)
- 1915 – S. Donald Stookey, American physicist and chemist, invented CorningWare (d. 2014)
- 1917 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1997)
- 1919 – Robert Bernstein, American author and playwright (d. 1988)
- 1919 – Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2011)
- 1920 – Helen O’Connell, American singer (d. 1993)
- 1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Catalan-Spanish pianist (d. 2009)
- 1923 – Irving Millman, American virologist and microbiologist (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Joshua Lederberg, American biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Basil Salvadore D’Souza, Indian bishop (d. 1996)
- 1926 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African activist and politician (d. 1995)
- 1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
- 1928 – Nigel Davenport, English actor (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish-Austrian actress (d. 1982)
- 1930 – Friedrich Achleitner, German poet and critic (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Barbara Barrie, American actress
- 1932 – Kevork Ajemian, Syrian-French journalist and author (d. 1998)
- 1933 – Joan Collins, English actress
- 1933 – Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer
- 1934 – Robert Moog, electronic engineer and inventor of the Moog synthesizer (d. 2005)
- 1935 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author (d. 2009)
- 1936 – Ingeborg Hallstein, German soprano and actress
- 1936 – Charles Kimbrough, American actor
- 1939 – Michel Colombier, French-American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
- 1939 – Reinhard Hauff, German director and screenwriter
- 1940 – Bjorn Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist (d. 2002)
- 1940 – Gérard Larrousse, French race car driver
- 1940 – Cora Sadosky, Argentinian mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
- 1941 – Zalman King, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1941 – Rod Thorn, American basketball player, coach, and executive
- 1942 – Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher, author, and academic
- 1942 – Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer
- 1943 – Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (d. 2016)
- 1944 – John Newcombe, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
- 1945 – Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 1991)
- 1946 – David Graham, Australian golfer
- 1947 – Jane Kenyon, American poet and translator (d. 1995)
- 1948 – Myriam Boyer, French actress, director, and producer
- 1949 – Daniel DiNardo, American cardinal
- 1949 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 61st and 64th President of Peru (d. 2019)
- 1950 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 2017)
- 1951 – Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
- 1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece
- 1952 – Martin Parr, English photographer and journalist
- 1954 – Gerry Armstrong, Northern Irish international footballer, striker
- 1954 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer and actor
- 1955 – Luka Bloom, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 – Andrea Pazienza, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 1988)
- 1956 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician and diplomat, Foreign Minister of Austria
- 1956 – Buck Showalter, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1958 – Mitch Albom, American journalist, author, and screenwriter
- 1958 – Drew Carey, American actor, game show host, and entrepreneur
- 1958 – Lea DeLaria, American actress and singer
- 1959 – Marcella Mesker, Dutch tennis player and sportscaster
- 1960 – Linden Ashby, American actor
- 1961 – Daniele Massaro, Italian footballer and manager
- 1961 – Norrie May-Welby, Scottish Australian gender activist
- 1962 – Karen Duffy, American actress
- 1963 – Viviane Baladi, Swiss mathematician
- 1964 – Ruth Metzler, Swiss lawyer and politician
- 1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer
- 1965 – Tom Tykwer, German director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
- 1965 – Melissa McBride, American actress
- 1965 – Paul Sironen, Australian rugby league player
- 1966 – Graeme Hick, Zimbabwean-English cricketer and coach
- 1966 – Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1967 – Luís Roberto Alves, Mexican footballer
- 1967 – Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician
- 1968 – Guinevere Turner, American actress and screenwriter
- 1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Bryan Herta Autosport
- 1971 – George Osborne, English journalist and politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer
- 1972 – Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian race car driver
- 1972 – Martin Saggers, English cricketer and umpire
- 1973 – Maxwell, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1974 – Jewel, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet
- 1974 – Manuela Schwesig, German politician, German Federal Minister of Family Affairs
- 1976 – Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1977 – Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
- 1978 – Scott Raynor, American drummer
- 1979 – Rasual Butler, American basketball player (d. 2018)
- 1979 – Brian Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer
- 1980 – Ben Ross, Australian rugby league player
- 1983 – Silvio Proto, Belgian-Italian footballer
- 1984 – Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer
- 1985 – Sebastián Fernández, Uruguayan footballer
- 1985 – Teymuraz Gabashvili, Russian tennis player
- 1985 – Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist
- 1985 – Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer
- 1986 – Ryan Coogler, American film director and screenwriter
- 1986 – Alexei Sitnikov, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
- 1986 – Alice Tait, Australian swimmer
- 1986 – Ruben Zadkovich, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Gracie Otto, Australian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1987 – Bray Wyatt, American wrestler
- 1988 – Rosanna Crawford, Canadian biathlete
- 1988 – Angelo Ogbonna, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Morgan Pressel, American golfer
- 1989 – Ezequiel Schelotto, Italian footballer
- 1990 – Dan Evans, British tennis player
- 1990 – Kristina Kucova, Slovakian tennis player
- 1990 – Oliver Venno, Estonian volleyball player
- 1991 – Aaron Donald, American football player
- 1991 – Lena Meyer-Landrut, German singer-songwriter
- 1991 – César Pinares, Chilean footballer
- 1996 – Katharina Althaus, German ski jumper
- 1996 – Emmanuel Boateng, Ghanaian footballer
- 1996 – Razvan Marin, Romanian footballer
- 1997 – Pedro Chirivella, Spanish footballer
- 1997 – Coy Craft, American footballer
- 1997 – Joe Gomez, English footballer
- 1997 – Gustaf Nilsson, Swedish footballer
- 1997 – Sam Timmins, New Zealand basketball player
- 1998 – Sérgio Sette Câmara, Brazilian race car driver
- 1998 – Ross Cunningham, Scottish footballer
- 1998 – Salwa Eid Naser, Bahraini track and field sprinter
- 1998 – Luca De La Torre, American footballer
- 1998 – Steve Lacy, American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer
- 2000 – Felipe Drugovich, Brazilian race car driver
- 2000 – Jaxson Hayes, American basketball player
Deaths on May 23
- 230 – Urban I, pope of the Catholic Church
- 922 – Li Sizhao, Chinese general and governor
- 962 – Guibert of Gembloux, Frankish abbot (b. 892)
- 1125 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1081)
- 1304 – Jehan de Lescurel, French poet and composer
- 1338 – Alice de Warenne, Countess of Arundel, English noble (b. 1287)
- 1370 – Toghon Temür, Mongol emperor (b. 1320)
- 1423 – Antipope Benedict XIII (b. 1328)
- 1498 – Girolamo Savonarola, Italian friar and preacher (b. 1452)
- 1523 – Ashikaga Yoshitane, Japanese shōgun (b. 1466)
- 1524 – Ismail I, First Emperor of Safavid Empire (b. 1487)
- 1591 – John Blitheman, English organist and composer (b. 1525)
- 1662 – John Gauden, English bishop (b. 1605)
- 1670 – Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1610)
- 1691 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (b. 1622)
- 1701 – William Kidd, Scottish pirate (b. 1645)
- 1749 – Abraham ben Abraham, Polish martyr (b. 1700)
- 1752 – William Bradford, English-American printer (b. 1663)
- 1754 – John Wood, the Elder, English architect, designed The Circus and Queen Square (b. 1704)
- 1783 – James Otis, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1725)
- 1813 – Géraud Duroc, French general and diplomat (b. 1772)
- 1815 – Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American clergyman and botanist (b. 1753)
- 1841 – Franz Xaver von Baader, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1765)
- 1855 – Charles Robert Malden, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1797)
- 1857 – Augustin-Louis Cauchy, French mathematician and academic (b. 1789)
- 1868 – Kit Carson, American general (b. 1809)
- 1886 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian and academic (b. 1795)
- 1893 – Anton von Schmerling, Austrian politician (b. 1805)
- 1895 – Franz Ernst Neumann, German mineralogist, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1798)
- 1906 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian director, playwright, and poet (b. 1828)
- 1908 – François Coppée, French poet and author (b. 1842)
- 1920 – Svetozar Boroević, Croatian-Austrian field marshal (b. 1856)
- 1921 – August Nilsson, Swedish shot putter and tug of war competitor (b. 1872)
- 1934 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (b. 1909)
- 1934 – Mihkel Martna, Estonian journalist and politician (b. 1860)
- 1934 – Bonnie Parker, American criminal (b. 1910)
- 1937 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company and Rockefeller University (b. 1839)
- 1938 – Frederick Ruple, Swiss-American painter (b. 1871)
- 1942 – Panagiotis Toundas, Greek composer and conductor (b. 1886)
- 1945 – Heinrich Himmler, German commander and politician, Reich Minister of the Interior (b. 1900)
- 1947 – Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz, Swiss author and poet (b. 1878)
- 1949 – Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter and illustrator (b. 1872)
- 1956 – Gustav Suits, Latvian-Estonian poet and politician (b. 1883)
- 1960 – Georges Claude, French engineer and inventor, created Neon lighting (b. 1870)
- 1962 – Louis Coatalen, French engineer (b. 1879)
- 1963 – August Jakobson, Estonian author and politician (b. 1904)
- 1965 – David Smith, American sculptor (b. 1906)
- 1975 – Moms Mabley, American comedian and actor (b. 1894)
- 1979 – S. Selvanayagam, Sri Lankan geographer and academic (b. 1932)
- 1981 – Gene Green, American baseball player (b. 1933)
- 1981 – Rayner Heppenstall, English author and poet (b. 1911)
- 1981 – George Jessel, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1898)
- 1981 – David Lewis, Belarusian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
- 1986 – Sterling Hayden, American actor (b. 1916)
- 1989 – Georgy Tovstonogov, Russian director and producer (b. 1915)
- 1989 – Karl Koch, German computer hacker (b. 1965)
- 1991 – Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (b. 1895)
- 1991 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1907)
- 1991 – Fletcher Markle, Canadian director, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1921)
- 1992 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (b. 1948)
- 1992 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (b. 1939)
- 1994 – Olav Hauge, Norwegian poet (b. 1908)
- 1996 – Kronid Lyubarsky, Russian journalist and activist (b. 1934)
- 1998 – Telford Taylor, American general and lawyer (b. 1908)
- 1999 – Owen Hart, Canadian-American wrestler (b. 1965)
- 2002 – Sam Snead, American golfer and journalist (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Lloyd Bentsen, American colonel and politician, 69th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1921)
- 2006 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and manager (b. 1921)
- 2008 – Iñaki Ochoa de Olza, Spanish mountaineer (b. 1967)
- 2008 – Utah Phillips, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1935)
- 2009 – Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean soldier and politician, 9th President of South Korea (b. 1946)
- 2010 – José Lima, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1972)
- 2010 – Simon Monjack, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1970)
- 2011 – Xavier Tondo, Spanish cyclist (b. 1978)
- 2012 – Paul Fussell, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Epy Guerrero, Dominican baseball player, coach, and scout (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Hayri Kozakçıoğlu, Turkish police officer and politician, 15th Governor of Istanbul Province (b. 1938)
- 2013 – Georges Moustaki, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Flynn Robinson, American basketball player (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Mikhail Egorovich Alekseev, Russian linguist and academic (b. 1949)
- 2014 – Madhav Mantri, Indian cricketer (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Anne Meara, American actress, comedian and playwright (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Aleksey Mozgovoy, Ukrainian sergeant (b. 1975)
- 2015 – Alicia Nash, Salvadoran-American physicist and engineer (b. 1933)
- 2015 – John Forbes Nash, Jr., American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1928)
- 2017 – Roger Moore, English actor (b. 1927)
- 2020 – Hana Kimura, Japanese professional wrestler (b. 1997)
Holidays and observances on May 23
- Christian feast day:
- Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
- Desiderius of Vienne
- Giovanni Battista de’ Rossi
- Julia of Corsica
- Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Quintian, Lucius and Julian
- William of Perth
- May 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Germany)
- Earliest day on which Declaration of the Báb can fall, while May 24 is the latest; observed on ‘Aẓamat 8 (Bahá’í Faith)
- Earliest day on which National Heroes’ Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on last Monday of May. (Turks and Caicos Islands)
- Labour Day (Jamaica)
- Students’ Day (Mexico)
- World Turtle Day
-
May 18 in History
- 332 – Emperor Constantine the Great announces free distributions of food to the citizens in Constantinople.
- 872 – Louis II of Italy is crowned for the second time as Roman Emperor at Rome, at the age of 47. His first coronation was 28 years earlier, in 844, during the reign of his father Lothair I.
- 1096 – First Crusade: Around 800 Jews are massacred in Worms, Germany.
- 1152 – The future Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. He would become king two years later, after the death of his cousin once removed King Stephen of England.
- 1268 – The Principality of Antioch, a crusader state, falls to the Mamluk Sultan Baibars in the Siege of Antioch.
- 1291 – Fall of Acre, the end of Crusader presence in the Holy Land.
- 1302 – Bruges Matins, the nocturnal massacre of the French garrison in Bruges by members of the local Flemish militia.
- 1388 – During the Battle of Buyur Lake, General Lan Yu leads a Chinese army forward to crush the Mongol hordes of Tögüs Temür, the Khan of Northern Yuan.
- 1499 – Alonso de Ojeda sets sail from Cádiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela.
- 1565 – The Great Siege of Malta begins, in which Ottoman forces attempt and fail to conquer Malta.
- 1593 – Playwright Thomas Kyd’s accusations of heresy lead to an arrest warrant for Christopher Marlowe.
- 1631 – In Dorchester, Massachusetts, John Winthrop takes the oath of office and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.
- 1652 – Slavery in Rhode Island is abolished, although the law is not rigorously enforced.
- 1756 – The Seven Years’ War begins when Great Britain declares war on France.
- 1783 – First United Empire Loyalists reach Parrtown (later called Saint John, New Brunswick), Canada, after leaving the United States.
- 1794 – Battle of Tourcoing during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
- 1803 – Napoleonic Wars: The United Kingdom revokes the Treaty of Amiens and declares war on France.
- 1804 – Napoleon Bonaparte is proclaimed Emperor of the French by the French Senate.
- 1811 – Battle of Las Piedras: The first great military triumph of the revolution of the Río de la Plata in Uruguay led by José Artigas.
- 1812 – John Bellingham is found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging for the assassination of British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval.
- 1843 – The Disruption in Edinburgh of the Free Church of Scotland from the Church of Scotland.
- 1848 – Opening of the first German National Assembly (Nationalversammlung) in Frankfurt, Germany.
- 1860 – Abraham Lincoln wins the Republican Party presidential nomination over William H. Seward, who later becomes the United States Secretary of State.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Siege of Vicksburg begins.
- 1896 – The United States Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson that the “separate but equal” doctrine is constitutional.
- 1896 – Khodynka Tragedy: A mass panic on Khodynka Field in Moscow during the festivities of the coronation of Russian Tsar Nicholas II results in the deaths of 1,389 people.
- 1900 – The United Kingdom proclaims a protectorate over Tonga.
- 1912 – The first Indian film, Shree Pundalik by Dadasaheb Torne, is released in Mumbai.
- 1917 – World War I: The Selective Service Act of 1917 is passed, giving the President of the United States the power of conscription.
- 1926 – Evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson disappears in Venice, California.
- 1927 – The Bath School disaster: Forty-five people, including many children, are killed by bombs planted by a disgruntled school-board member in Michigan.
- 1927 – After being founded for 20 years, the Government of the Republic of China approves Tongji University to be among the first national universities of the Republic of China.
- 1933 – New Deal: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an act creating the Tennessee Valley Authority.
- 1944 – World War II: Battle of Monte Cassino: Conclusion after seven days of the fourth battle as German paratroopers evacuate Monte Cassino.
- 1944 – Deportation of Crimean Tatars by the Soviet Union government.
- 1948 – The First Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China officially convenes in Nanking.
- 1953 – Jackie Cochran becomes the first woman to break the sound barrier.
- 1955 – Operation Passage to Freedom, the evacuation of 310,000 Vietnamese civilians, soldiers and non-Vietnamese members of the French Army from communist North Vietnam to South Vietnam following the end of the First Indochina War, ends.
- 1965 – Israeli spy Eli Cohen is hanged in Damascus, Syria.
- 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 10 is launched.
- 1973 – Aeroflot Flight 109 is hijacked mid-flight and the aircraft is subsequently destroyed when the hijacker’s bomb explodes, killing all 82 people on board.
- 1974 – Nuclear weapons testing: Under project Smiling Buddha, India successfully detonates its first nuclear weapon becoming the sixth nation to do so.
- 1977 – Likud party wins the 1977 Israeli legislative election, with Menachem Begin, its founder, as the sixth Prime Minister of Israel.
- 1980 – Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
- 1980 – Students in Gwangju, South Korea begin demonstrations calling for democratic reforms.
- 1990 – In France, a modified TGV train achieves a new rail world speed record of 515.3 km/h (320.2 mph).
- 1991 – Northern Somalia declares independence from the rest of Somalia as the Republic of Somaliland but is not recognized by the international community.
- 1993 – Riots in Nørrebro, Copenhagen, caused by the approval of the four Danish exceptions in the Maastricht Treaty referendum. Police open fire against civilians for the first time since World War II and injure 11 demonstrators.
- 1994 – Israeli troops finish withdrawing from the Gaza Strip, ceding the area to the Palestinian National Authority to govern.
- 2005 – A second photo from the Hubble Space Telescope confirms that Pluto has two additional moons, Nix and Hydra.
- 2006 – The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.
- 2009 – The LTTE are defeated by the Sri Lankan government, ending almost 26 years of fighting between the two sides.
- 2015 – At least 78 people die in a landslide caused by heavy rains in the Colombian town of Salgar.
- 2018 – A school shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas kills 10 people.
Births on May 18
- 1048 – Omar Khayyám, Persian mathematician, astronomer, and poet (d. 1131)
- 1186 – Konstantin of Rostov (d. 1218)
- 1450 – Piero Soderini, Italian politician and diplomat (d. 1513)
- 1537 – Guido Luca Ferrero, Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1585)
- 1631 – Stanislaus Papczyński, Polish priest (d. 1701)
- 1662 – George Smalridge, English bishop (d. 1719)
- 1692 – Joseph Butler, English bishop, theologian, and apologist (d. 1752)
- 1711 – Roger Joseph Boscovich, Ragusan physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (d. 1787)
- 1777 – John George Children, English chemist, mineralogist, and zoologist (d. 1852)
- 1778 – Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, Irish soldier and diplomat, British Ambassador to Austria (d. 1854)
- 1785 – John Wilson, Scottish author and critic (d. 1854)
- 1797 – Frederick Augustus II of Saxony (d. 1854)
- 1822 – Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (d. 1896)
- 1835 – Charles N. Sims, American Methodist preacher and 3rd chancellor of Syracuse University (d. 1908)
- 1850 – Oliver Heaviside, English engineer, mathematician, and physicist (d. 1925)
- 1851 – James Budd, American lawyer and politician, 19th Governor of California (d. 1908)
- 1852 – Gertrude Käsebier, American photographer (d. 1934)
- 1854 – Bernard Zweers, Dutch composer and educator (d. 1924)
- 1855 – Francis Bellamy, American minister and author (d. 1931)
- 1862 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1948)
- 1867 – Minakata Kumagusu, Japanese author, biologist, naturalist and ethnologist (d. 1941)
- 1868 – Nicholas II of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1869 – Lucy Beaumont, English-American actress (d. 1937)
- 1871 – Denis Horgan, Irish shot putter and weight thrower (d. 1922)
- 1872 – Bertrand Russell, British mathematician, historian, and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
- 1876 – Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1931)
- 1878 – Johannes Terwogt, Dutch rower (d. 1977)
- 1882 – Babe Adams, American baseball player, manager, and journalist (d. 1968)
- 1883 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian marshal and politician, 16th President of Brazil (d. 1974)
- 1883 – Walter Gropius, German-American architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building (d. 1969)
- 1886 – Jeanie MacPherson, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1946)
- 1889 – Thomas Midgley, Jr., American chemist and engineer (d. 1944)
- 1891 – Rudolf Carnap, German-American philosopher and academic (d. 1970)
- 1892 – Ezio Pinza, Italian-American actor and singer (d. 1957)
- 1895 – Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader (d. 1934)
- 1896 – Eric Backman, Swedish runner (d. 1965)
- 1897 – Frank Capra, Italian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1991)
- 1898 – Faruk Nafiz Çamlıbel, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (d. 1973)
- 1901 – Henri Sauguet, French composer (d. 1989)
- 1901 – Vincent du Vigneaud, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
- 1902 – Meredith Willson, American playwright and composer (d. 1984)
- 1904 – Shunryū Suzuki, Japanese-American monk and educator (d. 1971)
- 1904 – Jacob K. Javits, American colonel and politician, 58th New York Attorney General (d. 1986)
- 1905 – Ruth Alexander, pioneering American pilot (d. 1930)
- 1905 – Hedley Verity, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1943)
- 1907 – Irene Hunt, American author and educator (d. 2001)
- 1909 – Fred Perry, English-Australian tennis player and academic (d. 1995)
- 1910 – Ester Boserup, Danish economist and author (d. 1999)
- 1911 – Big Joe Turner, American blues/R&B singer (d. 1985)
- 1912 – Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1912 – Perry Como, American singer and television host (d. 2001)
- 1912 – Walter Sisulu, South African politician (d. 2003)
- 1913 – Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, Canadian-English publisher and politician (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer, founded Balmain (d. 1982)
- 1914 – Boris Christoff, Bulgarian-Italian opera singer (d. 1993)
- 1917 – Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (d. 1973)
- 1919 – Margot Fonteyn, British ballerina (d. 1991)
- 1920 – Pope John Paul II (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Michael A. Epstein, English pathologist and academic
- 1922 – Bill Macy, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1922 – Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (d. 1983)
- 1923 – Jean-Louis Roux, Canadian actor and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Priscilla Pointer, American actress
- 1924 – Jack Whitaker, American sportscaster (d. 2019)
- 1925 – Lillian Hoban, American author and illustrator (d. 1998)
- 1927 – Richard Body, English politician (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Pernell Roberts, American actor (d. 2010)
- 1929 – Jack Sanford, American baseball player and coach (d. 2000)
- 1929 – Norman St John-Stevas, Baron St John of Fawsley, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Warren Rudman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Fred Saberhagen, American soldier and author (d. 2007)
- 1931 – Don Martin, American cartoonist (d. 2000)
- 1931 – Robert Morse, American actor
- 1931 – Kalju Pitksaar, Estonian chess player (d. 1995)
- 1931 – Clément Vincent, Canadian farmer and politician (d. 2018)
- 1933 – Bernadette Chirac, French politician, First Lady of France
- 1933 – H. D. Deve Gowda, Indian farmer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of India
- 1933 – Don Whillans, English rock climber and mountaineer (d. 1985)
- 1934 – Dwayne Hickman, American actor and director
- 1936 – Leon Ashley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Türker İnanoğlu, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1936 – Michael Sandle, English sculptor and academic
- 1937 – Brooks Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1937 – Jacques Santer, Luxembourger jurist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Luxembourg
- 1938 – Janet Fish, American painter and academic
- 1939 – Patrick Cormack, Baron Cormack, English historian, journalist, and politician
- 1939 – Giovanni Falcone, Italian lawyer and judge (d. 1992)
- 1939 – Gordon O’Connor, Canadian general and politician, 38th Canadian Minister of Defence
- 1940 – Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1941 – Gino Brito, Canadian wrestler and promoter
- 1941 – Malcolm Longair, Scottish astronomer, physicist, and academic
- 1941 – Miriam Margolyes, English-Australian actress and singer
- 1942 – Nobby Stiles, English footballer, coach, and manager
- 1944 – Albert Hammond, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1944 – W. G. Sebald, German novelist, essayist, and poet (d. 2001)
- 1946 – Frank Hsieh, Taiwanese lawyer and politician, 40th Premier of the Republic of China
- 1946 – Reggie Jackson, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1946 – Gerd Langguth, German political scientist and author (d. 2013)
- 1947 – John Bruton, Irish politician, 10th Taoiseach of Ireland
- 1947 – Gail Strickland, American actress
- 1948 – Joe Bonsall, American country/gospel singer
- 1948 – Yi Mun-yol, South Korean author and academic
- 1948 – Richard Swedberg, Swedish sociologist and academic
- 1948 – Tom Udall, American lawyer and politician, 28th New Mexico Attorney General, United States Senator from New Mexico
- 1949 – Rick Wakeman, English progressive rock keyboardist and songwriter (Yes)
- 1949 – Walter Hawkins, American gospel music singer and pastor (d. 2010)
- 1950 – Rod Milburn, American hurdler and coach (d. 1997)
- 1950 – Mark Mothersbaugh, American singer-songwriter and painter
- 1951 – Richard Clapton, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Jim Sundberg, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1951 – Angela Voigt, German long jumper (d. 2013)
- 1952 – Diane Duane, American author and screenwriter
- 1952 – David Leakey, English general and politician
- 1952 – George Strait, American singer, guitarist and producer
- 1952 – Jeana Yeager, American pilot
- 1953 – Alan Kupperberg, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
- 1954 – Wreckless Eric, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Eric Gerets, Belgian footballer and manager
- 1955 – Chow Yun-fat, Hong Kong actor and screenwriter
- 1956 – Catherine Corsini, French director and screenwriter
- 1956 – John Godber, English playwright and screenwriter
- 1957 – Michael Cretu, Romanian-German keyboard player and producer
- 1957 – Henrietta Moore, English anthropologist and academic
- 1958 – Rubén Omar Romano, Argentinian-Mexican footballer and coach
- 1958 – Toyah Willcox, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1959 – Graham Dilley, English cricketer and coach (d. 2011)
- 1959 – Jay Wells, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1960 – Brent Ashton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1960 – Jari Kurri, Finnish ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1960 – Yannick Noah, French tennis player
- 1961 – Russell Senior, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1963 – Marty McSorley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1963 – Sam Vincent, American basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Ignasi Guardans, Spanish academic and politician
- 1966 – Renata Nielsen, Polish-Danish long jumper and coach
- 1966 – Michael Tait, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1967 – Nina Björk, Swedish journalist and author
- 1967 – Heinz-Harald Frentzen, German race car driver
- 1967 – Nancy Juvonen, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded Flower Films
- 1967 – Mimi Macpherson, Australian environmentalist, entrepreneur and celebrity
- 1968 – Philippe Benetton, French rugby player
- 1968 – Ralf Kelleners, German race car driver
- 1969 – Troy Cassar-Daley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1969 – Martika, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1969 – Antônio Carlos Zago, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1970 – Tina Fey, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1970 – Tim Horan, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Billy Howerdel, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1970 – Javier Cárdenas, Spanish singer, television and radio presenter
- 1970 – Vicky Sunohara, Canadian former ice hockey player
- 1971 – Brad Friedel, American international soccer player, goalkeeper, manager and sportscaster
- 1971 – Mark Menzies, Scottish politician
- 1971 – Nobuteru Taniguchi, Japanese race car driver
- 1972 – Turner Stevenson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1973 – Donyell Marshall, American basketball player and coach
- 1973 – Aleksandr Olerski, Estonian footballer (d. 2011)
- 1974 – Nelson Figueroa, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Jem, Welsh singer-songwriter and producer
- 1975 – John Higgins, Scottish snooker player
- 1975 – Jack Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 – Ron Mercer, American basketball player
- 1976 – Marko Tomasović, Croatian pianist and composer
- 1976 – Oleg Tverdovsky, Ukrainian-Russian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Lee Hendrie, English footballer
- 1977 – Danny Mills, English footballer and sportscaster
- 1977 – Li Tie, Chinese footballer and manager
- 1978 – Ricardo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer
- 1978 – Marcus Giles, American baseball player
- 1978 – Charles Kamathi, Kenyan runner
- 1979 – Jens Bergensten, Swedish video game designer, co-designed Minecraft
- 1979 – Mariusz Lewandowski, Polish footballer
- 1979 – Michal Martikán, Slovak slalom canoeist
- 1979 – Milivoje Novaković, Slovenian footballer
- 1979 – Julián Speroni, Argentinian footballer
- 1980 – Reggie Evans, American basketball player
- 1980 – Michaël Llodra, French tennis player
- 1980 – Diego Pérez, Uruguayan footballer
- 1981 – Mahamadou Diarra, Malian international footballer
- 1981 – Ashley Harrison, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Jason Brown, English footballer
- 1982 – Marie-Ève Pelletier, Canadian tennis player
- 1983 – Gary O’Neil, English footballer
- 1983 – Luis Terrero, Dominican baseball player
- 1983 – Vince Young, American football player
- 1984 – Ivet Lalova, Bulgarian sprinter
- 1984 – Simon Pagenaud, French race car driver
- 1984 – Darius Šilinskis, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1984 – Joakim Soria, Mexican baseball player
- 1984 – Niki Terpstra, Dutch cyclist
- 1985 – Oliver Sin, Hungarian painter
- 1985 – Henrique Sereno, Portuguese footballer
- 1986 – Ahmed Hamada, Egyptian race car driver
- 1986 – Kevin Anderson, South African tennis player
- 1988 – Taeyang, South Korean singer
- 1990 – Dimitri Daeseleire, Belgian footballer
- 1990 – Yuya Osako, Japanese footballer
- 1990 – Josh Starling, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Adwoa Aboah, British fashion model
- 1993 – Stuart Percy, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1993 – Jessica Watson, Australian sailor
- 1998 – Polina Edmunds, American figure skater
- 1999 – Laura Omloop, Belgian singer-songwriter
- 2000 – Ryan Sessegnon, English footballer
- 2000 – Steven Sessegnon, English footballer
- 2002 – Alina Zagitova, Russian figure skater
Deaths on May 18
- 526 – Pope John I (b. 470)
- 893 – Stephen I of Constantinople (b. 867)
- 932 – Ma Shaohong, general of Later Tang
- 947 – Emperor Taizong of the Liao Dynasty
- 978 – Frederick I, duke of Upper Lorraine
- 1065 – Frederick, Duke of Lower Lorraine (b. c. 1003)
- 1096 – Minna of Worms, Jewish martyr killed during the Worms massacre (1096)
- 1160 – Eric Jedvardsson (King Eric IX) of Sweden (since 1156); (b. circa 1120)
- 1297 – Nicholas Longespee, Bishop of Salisbury
- 1401 – Vladislaus II of Opole (b. 1332)
- 1410 – Rupert of Germany, Count Palatine of the Rhine (b. 1352)
- 1550 – Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (b. 1498)
- 1551 – Domenico di Pace Beccafumi, Italian painter (b. 1486)
- 1675 – Stanisław Lubieniecki, Polish astronomer, historian, and theologian (b. 1623)
- 1675 – Jacques Marquette, French-American missionary and explorer (b. 1637)
- 1692 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (b. 1617)
- 1721 – Maria Barbara Carillo, victim of the Spanish Inquisition (b.1625)
- 1733 – Georg Böhm, German organist and composer (b. 1761)
- 1780 – Charles Hardy, English-American admiral and politician, 29th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1714)
- 1781 – Túpac Amaru II, Peruvian-Indian rebel leader (b. 1742)
- 1792 – Levy Solomons, Canadian merchant and fur trader (b. 1730)
- 1795 – Robert Rogers, English colonel (b. 1731)
- 1799 – Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and publisher (b. 1732)
- 1800 – Alexander Suvorov, Russian general (b. 1729)
- 1807 – John Douglas, Scottish bishop and scholar (b. 1721)
- 1808 – Elijah Craig, American minister, inventor, and educator, invented Bourbon whiskey (b. 1738)
- 1844 – Richard McCarty, American lawyer and politician (b. 1780)
- 1853 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (b. 1806)
- 1867 – Clarkson Stanfield, English painter (b. 1793)
- 1889 – Isabella Glyn, Scottish-English actress (b. 1823)
- 1900 – Félix Ravaisson-Mollien, French archaeologist and philosopher (b. 1813)
- 1908 – Louis-Napoléon Casault, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1823)
- 1909 – Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1860)
- 1909 – George Meredith, English novelist and poet (b. 1828)
- 1910 – Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish author and publisher (b. 1841)
- 1910 – Pauline Viardot, French soprano and composer (b. 1821)
- 1911 – Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1860)
- 1922 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
- 1941 – Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (b. 1863)
- 1943 – Ōnishiki Daigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 28th Yokozuna (b. 1883)
- 1947 – Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (b. 1883)
- 1955 – Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator and activist (b. 1875)
- 1956 – Maurice Tate, English cricketer (b. 1895)
- 1958 – Jacob Fichman, Israeli poet and critic (b. 1881)
- 1963 – Ernie Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1939)
- 1968 – Frank Walsh, Australian politician, 34th Premier of South Australia (b. 1897)
- 1971 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (b. 1908)
- 1973 – Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (b. 1880)
- 1974 – Harry Ricardo, English engine designer and researcher (b. 1885)
- 1975 – Leroy Anderson, American composer and conductor (b. 1908)
- 1980 – Victims of Mount St. Helens eruption:
- Reid Blackburn, American photographer and journalist (b. 1952)
- David A. Johnston, American volcanologist and geologist (b. 1949)
- 1980 – Ian Curtis, English singer-songwriter (b. 1956)
- 1981 – Arthur O’Connell, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1981 – William Saroyan, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (b. 1908)
- 1987 – Mahdi Amel, Lebanese journalist, poet, and academic (b. 1936)
- 1989 – Dorothy Ruth, American horse breeder and author (b. 1921)
- 1990 – Jill Ireland, English actress (b. 1936)
- 1995 – Elisha Cook, Jr., American actor (b. 1903)
- 1995 – Alexander Godunov, Russian-American ballet dancer and actor (b. 1949)
- 1995 – Brinsley Le Poer Trench, 8th Earl of Clancarty, Irish ufologist and historian (b. 1911)
- 1995 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress (b. 1933)
- 1998 – Obaidullah Aleem, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (b. 1939)
- 1999 – Augustus Pablo, Jamaican singer, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1954)
- 1999 – Betty Robinson, American runner (b. 1911)
- 2000 – Stephen M. Wolownik, Russian-American composer and musicologist (b. 1946)
- 2001 – Irene Hunt, American author and illustrator (b. 1907)
- 2004 – Elvin Jones, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Jaan Eilart, Estonian geographer, ecologist, and historian (b. 1933)
- 2007 – Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Joseph Pevney, American actor and director (b. 1911)
- 2008 – Roberto García-Calvo Montiel, Spanish judge (b. 1942)
- 2009 – Velupillai Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader, founded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (b. 1954)
- 2012 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Peter Jones, English-Australian drummer and songwriter (b. 1967)
- 2012 – Alan Oakley, English bicycle designer, designed the Raleigh Chopper (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Aleksei Balabanov, Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1959)
- 2013 – Jo Benkow, Norwegian soldier and politician (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Steve Forrest, American actor (b. 1925)
- 2013 – David McMillan, American football player (b. 1981)
- 2013 – Lothar Schmid, German chess player (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Dobrica Ćosić, Serbian politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Hans-Peter Dürr, German physicist and academic (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Kaiketsu Masateru, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1948)
- 2014 – Chukwuedu Nwokolo, Nigerian physician and academic (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Wubbo Ockels, Dutch physicist and astronaut (b. 1946)
- 2015 – Halldór Ásgrímsson, Icelandic accountant and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Raymond Gosling, English physicist and academic (b. 1926)
- 2015 – T. J. Moran, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Jean-François Théodore, French businessman (b. 1946)
- 2017 – Roger Ailes, American businessman (b. 1940)
- 2017 – Jacque Fresco, American engineer and academic (b. 1916)
- 2017 – Chris Cornell, American singer (b. 1964)
- 2020 – Ken Osmond, American actor and the police officer (b. 1943)
Holidays and observances on May 18
- Christian feast day:
- Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury
- Eric IX of Sweden
- Felix of Cantalice
- Pope John I
- Venantius of Camerino
- May 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Victoria Day (Canada) (Earliest possible date of the last Monday preceding May 25)
- Baltic Fleet Day (Russia)
- Battle of Las Piedras Day (Uruguay)
- Day of Remembrance of Crimean Tatar genocide (Ukraine)
- Flag and Universities Day (Haiti)
- Independence Day (Somaliland) (unrecognized)
- International Museum Day
- Mullivaikkal Remembrance Day (Sri Lankan Tamils)
- Revival, Unity, and Poetry of Magtymguly Day (Turkmenistan)
- Teacher’s Day (Syria)
- Victory Day (Sri Lanka)
- World AIDS Vaccine Day