AD 70 – The armies of Titus attack the walls of Jerusalem after a six-month siege. Three days later they breach the walls, which enables the army to destroy the Second Temple.
927 – King Constantine II of Scotland, King Hywel Dda of Deheubarth, Ealdred of Bamburgh and King Owain of the Cumbrians accepted the overlordship of King Æthelstan of England, leading to seven years of peace in the north.
1191 – Third Crusade: Saladin’s garrison surrenders to Philip Augustus, ending the two-year siege of Acre.
1470 – The Ottomans capture Euboea.
1493 – Hartmann Schedel’s Nuremberg Chronicle, one of the best-documented early printed books, is published.
1527 – Lê Cung Hoàng ceded the throne to Mạc Đăng Dung, ending the Lê dynasty and starting the Mạc dynasty.
1543 – King Henry VIII of England marries his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace.
1562 – Fray Diego de Landa, acting Bishop of Yucatán, burns the sacred books of the Maya.
1576 – Mughal Empire annexes Bengal after defeating the Bengal Sultanate at the Battle of Raj Mahal.
1580 – The Ostrog Bible, one of the early printed Bibles in a Slavic language, is published.
1691 – Battle of Aughrim (Julian calendar): The decisive victory of William III of England’s forces in Ireland.
1776 – Captain James Cook begins his third voyage.
1789 – In response to the dismissal of the French finance minister Jacques Necker, the radical journalist Camille Desmoulins gives a speech which results in the storming of the Bastille two days later.
1790 – The Civil Constitution of the Clergy is passed in France by the National Constituent Assembly.
1799 – Ranjit Singh conquers Lahore and becomes Maharaja of the Punjab (Sikh Empire).
1801 – British ships inflict heavy damage on Spanish and French ships in the Second Battle of Algeciras.
1806 – At the insistence of Napoleon, Bavaria, Baden, Württemberg and thirteen minor principalities leave the Holy Roman Empire and form the Confederation of the Rhine.
1812 – The American Army of the Northwest briefly occupies the Upper Canadian settlement at what is now at Windsor, Ontario.
1862 – The Medal of Honor is authorized by the United States Congress.
1913 – Serbian forces begin their siege of the Bulgarian city of Vidin; the siege is later called off when the war ends.
1917 – The Bisbee Deportation occurs as vigilantes kidnap and deport nearly 1,300 striking miners and others from Bisbee, Arizona.
1918 – The Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Kawachi blows up at Shunan, western Honshu, Japan, killing at least 621.
1920 – The Soviet–Lithuanian Peace Treaty is signed, by which Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of Lithuania.
1943 – German and Soviet forces engage in one of the largest armored engagements of all time.
1948 – Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion orders the expulsion of Palestinians from the towns of Lod and Ramla.
1960 – Orlyonok, the main Young Pioneer camp of the Russian SFSR, is founded.
1961 – Indian city Pune floods due to failure of the Khadakwasla and Panshet dams, killing at least two thousand people.
1962 – The Rolling Stones perform their first concert, at London’s Marquee Club.
1963 – Pauline Reade, 16, disappears in Gorton, England, the first victim in the Moors murders.
1967 – Riots begin in Newark, New Jersey.
1971 – The Australian Aboriginal Flag is flown for the first time.
1973 – A fire destroys the entire sixth floor of the National Personnel Records Center of the United States.
1975 – São Tomé and Príncipe declare independence from Portugal.
1979 – The island nation of Kiribati becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
1998 – The Ulster Volunteer Force attacked a house in Ballymoney, County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a petrol bomb, killing the Quinn brothers.
2006 – The 2006 Lebanon War begins.
2007 – U.S. Army Apache helicopters engage in airstrikes against civilians in Baghdad, Iraq; footage from the cockpit is later leaked to the Internet.
2012 – Syrian Civil War: Government forces target the homes of rebels and activists in Tremseh and kill anywhere between 68 and 150 people.
2012 – A tank truck explosion kills more than 100 people in Okobie, Nigeria.
2013 – Six people are killed and 200 injured in a French passenger train derailment in Brétigny-sur-Orge.
Births on July 12
100 BC – Julius Caesar, Roman politician and general (d. 44 BC)
1394 – Ashikaga Yoshinori, Japanese shōgun (d. 1441)
1468 – Juan del Encina, Spanish poet, playwright, and composer (probable; d. 1530)
1477 – Jacopo Sadoleto, Italian cardinal (d. 1547)
1549 – Edward Manners, 3rd Earl of Rutland (d. 1587)
1628 – Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk (d. 1684)
1651 – Margaret Theresa of Spain (d. 1673)
1675 – Evaristo Felice Dall’Abaco, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1742)
1712 – Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet, Colonial governor of New Jersey and Massachusetts Bay (d. 1779)
1730 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (d. 1795)
1803 – Peter Chanel, French priest and saint (d. 1841)
1807 – Thomas Hawksley, English engineer and academic (d. 1893)
1813 – Claude Bernard, French physiologist and academic (d. 1878)
1817 – Henry David Thoreau, American essayist, poet, and philosopher (d. 1862)
1817 – Alvin Saunders, Territorial Governor and Senator from Nebraska (d. 1899)
1821 – D. H. Hill, American general and academic (d. 1889)
1824 – Eugène Boudin, French painter (d. 1898)
1828 – Nikolay Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (d. 1889)
1849 – William Osler, Canadian physician and author (d. 1919)
1850 – Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist and academic (d. 1912)
1852 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 19th President of Argentina (d. 1933)
1854 – George Eastman, American businessman, founded Eastman Kodak (d. 1933)
1855 – Ned Hanlan, Canadian rower, academic, and businessman (d. 1908)
1857 – George E. Ohr, American potter (d. 1918)
1861 – Anton Arensky, Russian pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1906)
1863 – Albert Calmette, French physician, bacteriologist, and immunologist (d. 1933)
1863 – Paul Drude, German physicist and academic (d. 1906)
1868 – Stefan George, German poet and translator (d. 1933)
1870 – Louis II, Prince of Monaco (d. 1949)
1872 – Emil Hácha, Czech lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1945)
1876 – Max Jacob, French poet, painter, and critic (d. 1944)
1876 – Alphaeus Philemon Cole, American artist, engraver and etcher (d. 1988)
1878 – Peeter Põld, Estonian scientist and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Education (d. 1930)
1879 – Margherita Piazzola Beloch, Italian mathematician (d. 1976)
1879 – Han Yong-un, Korean poet (d. 1944)
1880 – Tod Browning, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1962)
1884 – Louis B. Mayer, Russian-born American film producer, co-founded Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (d. 1957)
1884 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1920)
1886 – Jean Hersholt, Danish-American actor and director (d. 1956)
1892 – Bruno Schulz, Ukrainian-Polish author and painter (d. 1942)
1895 – Kirsten Flagstad, Norwegian soprano (d. 1962)
1895 – Buckminster Fuller, American architect and engineer, designed the Montreal Biosphère (d. 1983)
1895 – Oscar Hammerstein II, American director, producer, and songwriter (d. 1960)
1899 – E.D. Nixon, American civil rights leader (d. 1987)
1902 – Günther Anders, German philosopher and journalist (d. 1992)
1902 – Tony Lovink, Dutch politician; Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1995)
1902 – Vic Armbruster, Australian rugby league player (d. 1984)
1904 – Pablo Neruda, Chilean poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
1907 – Weary Dunlop, Australian colonel and surgeon (d. 1993)
1908 – Milton Berle, American comedian and actor (d. 2002)
1908 – Alain Cuny, French actor (d. 1994)
1908 – Paul Runyan, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2002)
1909 – Joe DeRita, American actor (d. 1993)
1909 – Motoichi Kumagai, Japanese photographer and illustrator (d. 2010)
1909 – Fritz Leonhardt, German engineer, designed Fernsehturm Stuttgart (d. 1999)
1909 – Herbert Zim, American naturalist, author, and educator (d. 1994)
1911 – Evald Mikson, Estonian footballer (d. 1993)
1913 – Willis Lamb, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
1914 – Mohammad Moin, Iranian linguist and lexicographer (d. 1971)
1915 – Emanuel Papper, American anesthesiologist, professor, and author (d. 2002)
1915 – Princess Catherine Ivanovna of Russia, (d. 2007)
1916 – Lyudmila Pavlichenko, Ukrainian-Russian soldier and sniper (d. 1974)
1917 – Luigi Gorrini, Italian soldier and pilot (d. 2014)
1917 – Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Indian statesman (d. 2006)
1917 – Andrew Wyeth, American artist (d. 2009)
1918 – Mary Glen-Haig, English fencer (d. 2014)
1918 – Vivian Mason, American actress (d. 2009)
1918 – Doris Grumbach, American novelist, memoirist, biographer, literary critic, and essayist
1918 – Rusty Dedrick, American swing and bebop jazz trumpeter (d. 2009)
1920 – Pierre Berton, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2004)
1920 – Bob Fillion, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 2015)
1920 – Paul Gonsalves, American saxophonist (d. 1974)
1920 – Randolph Quirk, Manx linguist and academic (d. 2017)
1920 – Beah Richards, American actress (d. 2000)
1922 – Mark Hatfield, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Oregon (d. 2011)
1923 – James E. Gunn, American science fiction author
1924 – Faidon Matthaiou, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
1925 – Albert Lance, Australian-French tenor (d. 2013)
1925 – Roger Smith, American businessman (d. 2007)
1927 – Françoys Bernier, Canadian pianist, conductor, and educator (d. 1993)
1927 – Conte Candoli, American trumpet player (d. 2001)
1927 – Jack Harshman, American baseball player (d. 2013)
1927 – Harley Hotchkiss, Canadian businessman (d. 2011)
1928 – Alastair Burnet, English journalist (d. 2012)
1928 – Elias James Corey, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1928 – Imero Fiorentino, American lighting designer (d. 2013)
1930 – Gordon Pinsent, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
1930 – Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, wife of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad
1931 – Eric Ives, English historian and academic (d. 2012)
1931 – Geeto Mongol, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (d. 2013)
1932 – Rene Goulet, Canadian retired professional wrestler (d. 2019)
1932 – Monte Hellman, American director and producer
1932 – Otis Davis, American sprinter
1933 – Victor Poor, American engineer, developed the Datapoint 2200 (d. 2012)
1933 – Donald E. Westlake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2008)
1934 – Thomas Charlton, American competition rower and Olympic champion
1934 – Van Cliburn, American pianist and composer (d. 2013)
1935 – Satoshi Ōmura, Japanese biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1936 – Jan Němec, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1937 – Bill Cosby, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
1937 – Mickey Edwards, American lawyer and politician
1937 – Lionel Jospin, French civil servant and politician, 165th Prime Minister of France
1937 – Robert McFarlane, American colonel and diplomat, 13th United States National Security Advisor
1937 – Guy Woolfenden, English composer and conductor (d. 2016)
1938 – Ron Fairly, American baseball player and sportscaster
1938 – Wieger Mensonides, Dutch swimmer
1938 – Eiko Ishioka, Japanese art director and graphic designer (d. 2012)
1939 – Phillip Adams, Australian journalist and producer
1939 – Arlen Ness, American motorcycle designer and entrepreneur
1941 – Benny Parsons, American race car driver and sportscaster (d. 2007)
1942 – Swamp Dogg, American R&B singer-songwriter and musician
1942 – Roy Palmer, English cricketer and umpire
1942 – Billy Smith, Australian rugby league player and coach
1942 – Steve Young, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
1943 – Christine McVie, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1943 – Paul Silas, American basketball player and coach
1944 – Simon Blackburn, English philosopher and academic
1944 – Delia Ephron, American author, playwright, and screenwriter
1944 – Pat Woodell, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
1945 – Butch Hancock, American country-folk singer-songwriter and musician
1947 – Gareth Edwards, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster
1947 – Wilko Johnson, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1947 – Richard C. McCarty, American psychologist and academic
1948 – Ben Burtt, American director, screenwriter, and sound designer
1948 – Walter Egan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1948 – Richard Simmons, American fitness trainer and actor
1949 – Simon Fox, English drummer
1949 – Rick Hendrick, American businessman, founded Hendrick Motorsports
1950 – Eric Carr, American drummer and songwriter (d. 1991)
1950 – Gilles Meloche, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1951 – Joan Bauer, American author
1951 – Brian Grazer, American screenwriter and producer, founded Imagine Entertainment
1951 – Cheryl Ladd, American actress
1951 – Piotr Pustelnik, Polish mountaineer
1951 – Jamey Sheridan, American actor
1952 – Voja Antonić, Serbian computer scientist and journalist, designed the Galaksija computer
1952 – Irina Bokova, Bulgarian politician, Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1952 – Philip Taylor Kramer, American bass player (d. 1995)
1954 – Eric Adams, American singer-songwriter
1954 – Robert Carl, American pianist and composer
1954 – Wolfgang Dremmler, German footballer and coach
1955 – Timothy Garton Ash, English historian and author
1955 – Jimmy LaFave, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
1956 – Mel Harris, American actress
1956 – Sandi Patty, American singer and pianist
1956 – Mario Soto, Dominican baseball player
1957 – Rick Husband, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
1957 – Dave Semenko, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 2017)
1958 – J. D. Hayworth, American politician and radio host
1958 – Tonya Lee Williams, English-Canadian actress and producer
1959 – David Brown, Australian meteorologist
1959 – Tupou VI, King of Tonga
1959 – Karl J. Friston, English psychiatrist and neuroscientist
1959 – Charlie Murphy, American actor and comedian (d. 2017)
1961 – Heikko Glöde, German footballer and manager
1961 – Shiva Rajkumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer
1962 – Julio César Chávez, Mexican boxer
1962 – Luc De Vos, Belgian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
1184 BC – Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes.
173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called “miracle of the rain”.
631 – Emperor Taizong of Tang sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of Chinese prisoners captured during the transition from Sui to Tang.
786 – A Hasanid Alid uprising in Mecca is crushed by the Abbasids at the Battle of Fakhkh.
980 – Vladimir the Great consolidates the Kievan realm from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea. He is proclaimed ruler (knyaz) of all Kievan Rus’.
1011 – Lombard Revolt: Greek citizens of Bari rise up against the Lombard rebels led by Melus and deliver the city to Basil Mesardonites, Byzantine governor (catepan) of the Catepanate of Italy.
1118 – Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, captures Azaz from the Seljuk Turks.
1157 – Albert I of Brandenburg, also called The Bear (Ger: Albrecht der Bär), becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany and the first margrave.
1345 – The megas doux Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners.
1429 – Hundred Years’ War: Start of the Battle of Jargeau.
1488 – Battle of Sauchieburn: Fought between rebel Lords and James III of Scotland, resulting in the death of the king.
1509 – Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.
1594 – Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paved way to the stabilization of the rule of the Principalía (an elite ruling class of native nobility in Spanish Philippines).
1748 – Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries.
1770 – British explorer Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
1775 – The American Revolutionary War’s first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel.
1776 – The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.
1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska.
1805 – A fire consumes large portions of Detroit in the Michigan Territory.
1825 – The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City.
1837 – The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between Yankees and Irish.
1865 – The Naval Battle of the Riachuelo is fought on the rivulet Riachuelo (Argentina), between the Paraguayan Navy on one side and the Brazilian Navy on the other. The Brazilian victory was crucial for the later success of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina) in the Paraguayan War.
1892 – The Limelight Department, one of the world’s first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia.
1895 – Paris–Bordeaux–Paris, sometimes called the first automobile race in history or the “first motor race”, takes place.
1898 – The Hundred Days’ Reform, a planned movement to reform social, political, and educational institutions in China, is started by the Guangxu Emperor, but is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days. (The failed reform led to the abolition of the Imperial examination in 1905.)
1901 – The boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand are extended by the UK to include the Cook Islands.
1903 – A group of Serbian officers stormed the royal palace and assassinated King Alexander Obrenović and his wife, Queen Draga.
1917 – King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father, Constantine I, abdicates under pressure from allied armies occupying Athens.
1919 – Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown.
1920 – During the U.S. Republican National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Republican Party leaders gathered in a room at the Blackstone Hotel to come to a consensus on their candidate for the U.S. presidential election, leading the Associated Press to coin the political phrase “smoke-filled room”.
1935 – Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States at Alpine, New Jersey.
1936 – The London International Surrealist Exhibition opens.
1937 – Great Purge: The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders.
1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan starts.
1940 – World War II: The Siege of Malta begins with a series of Italian air raids.
1942 – World War II: The United States agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
1942 – Free French Forces retreat from Bir Hakeim after having successfully delayed the Axis advance.
1944 – USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the United States Navy and future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, is commissioned.
1955 – Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports.
1956 – Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. The total number of deaths is reportedly 150.
1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
1963 – American Civil Rights Movement: Governor of Alabama George Wallace defiantly stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.
1963 – Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.
1963 – John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which would revolutionize American society by guaranteeing equal access to public facilities, ending segregation in education, and guaranteeing federal protection for voting rights.
1964 – World War II veteran Walter Seifert attacks an elementary school in Cologne, Germany, killing at least eight children and two teachers and seriously injuring several more with a home-made flamethrower and a lance.
1968 – Lloyd J. Old identified the first cell surface antigens that could differentiate among different cell types.
1970 – After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army Generals, becoming the first women to do so.
1971 – The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control.
1978 – Altaf Hussain founds the student political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University.
1981 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000.
1987 – Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black MPs in Great Britain.
1998 – Compaq Computer pays US$9 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation in the largest high-tech acquisition.
2001 – Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
2002 – Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
2004 – Cassini–Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe.
2007 – Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kill 130 people.
2008 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada’s First Nations in regard to abuses at a Canadian Indian residential school.
2008 – The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit.
2010 – The first African FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa.
2012 – More than 80 people die in a landslide triggered by two earthquakes in Afghanistan; an entire village is buried.
2013 – Greece’s public broadcaster ERT is shut down by then-prime minister Antonis Samaras. It reopened exactly two years later by then-prime minister Alexis Tsipras.
2018 – 3 World Trade Center officially opens.
Births on June 11
1403 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (d. 1427)
1431 – Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (d. 1456)
1456 – Anne Neville, Princess of Wales and Queen of England (d. 1485)
1540 – Barnabe Googe, English poet and translator (d. 1594)
1555 – Lodovico Zacconi, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1627)
1572 – Ben Jonson, English poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1637)
1585 – Evert Horn, Swedish soldier (d. 1615)
1588 – George Wither, English poet (d. 1667)
1620 – John Moore, English businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of London (d. 1702)
1655 – Antonio Cifrondi, Italian painter (d. 1730)
1662 – Tokugawa Ienobu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1712)
1672 – Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Italian priest and composer (d. 1749)
1690 – Giovanni Antonio Giay, Italian composer (d. 1764)
1696 – James Francis Edward Keith, Scottish-Prussian field marshal (d. 1758)
1697 – Francesco Antonio Vallotti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1780)
1704 – Carlos Seixas, Portuguese harpsichord player and composer (d. 1742)
1709 – Joachim Martin Falbe, German painter (d. 1782)
1712 – Benjamin Ingham, American missionary (d. 1772)
1723 – Johann Georg Palitzsch, German astronomer (d. 1788)
1726 – Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (d. 1746)
1741 – Joseph Warren, American physician and general (d. 1775)
1776 – John Constable, English painter and academic (d. 1837)
1797 – José Trinidad Reyes, Honduran philosopher and theorist (d. 1855)
1807 – James F. Schenck, American admiral (d. 1882)
1815 – Julia Margaret Cameron, Indian-Sri Lankan photographer (d. 1879)
1818 – Alexander Bain, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1903)
1829 – Edward Braddon, English-Australian politician, 18th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1904)
1832 – Lucy Pickens, American wife of Francis Wilkinson Pickens (d. 1899)
1842 – Carl von Linde, German engineer and academic (d. 1934)
1846 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (d. 1920)
1847 – Millicent Fawcett, English academic and activist (d. 1929)
1861 – Alexander Peacock, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Victoria (d. 1933)
1864 – Richard Strauss, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
1867 – Charles Fabry, French physicist and academic (d. 1945)
1871 – Stjepan Radić, Croatian lawyer and politician (d. 1928)
1876 – Alfred L. Kroeber, American-French anthropologist and ethnologist (d. 1960)
1877 – Renée Vivien, English-French poet and author (d. 1909)
1879 – Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player and manager (d. 1944)
1880 – Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (d. 1973)
1881 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (d. 1963)
1881 – Mordecai Kaplan, Lithuanian rabbi, founded Reconstructionist Judaism (d. 1983)
1888 – Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian-American anarchist and convicted criminal (d. 1927)
1889 – Hugo Wieslander, Swedish decathlete (d. 1976)
1894 – Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese businessman, founded Toyota (d. 1952)
1895 – Nikolai Bulganin, Soviet politician (d. 1975)
1897 – Ram Prasad Bismil, Indian activist, founded the Hindustan Republican Association (d. 1927)
1897 – Reg Latta, Australian rugby league player (d. 1970)
1899 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese novelist and short story writer Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
1901 – Cap Fear, Canadian football player and rower (d. 1978)
1901 – Benny Wearing, Australian rugby league player (d. 1968)
1902 – Eric Fraser, British illustrator and graphic designer (d. 1983)
1903 – Ernie Nevers, American football player and coach (d. 1976)
1908 – Karl Hein, German hammer thrower (d. 1982)
1908 – Francisco Marto, Portuguese saint (d. 1919)
1909 – Natascha Artin Brunswick, German-American mathematician and photographer (d. 2003)
1910 – Carmine Coppola, American flute player and composer (d. 1991)
1910 – Jacques Cousteau, French biologist, author, and inventor, co-developed the aqua-lung (d. 1997)
1912 – James Algar, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
1912 – William Baziotes, American painter and academic (d. 1963)
1912 – Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Iranian meteorologist and academic (d. 2012)
1913 – Vince Lombardi, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 1970)
1913 – Risë Stevens, American soprano and actress (d. 2013)
1914 – Jan Hendrik van den Berg, Dutch psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012)
1915 – Magda Gabor, Hungarian-American actress (d. 1997)
1915 – Nicholas Metropolis, American mathematician and physicist (d. 1999)
1917 – Joseph B. Wirthlin, American businessman and religious leader (d. 2008)
1918 – Ruth Aarons, American table tennis player and manager (d. 1980)
1919 – Suleiman Mousa, Jordanian historian and author (d. 2008)
1919 – Richard Todd, Irish-English actor (d. 2009)
1920 – Shelly Manne, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (d. 1984)
1920 – Hazel Scott, Trinidadian-American singer, actress, and pianist (d. 1981)
1920 – Keith Seaman, Australian lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of South Australia (d. 2013)
1922 – Jean Sutherland Boggs, Peruvian-Canadian historian, academic, and civil servant (d. 2014)
1922 – Michael Cacoyannis, Greek Cypriot director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
1925 – Johnny Esaw, Canadian sportscaster (d. 2013)
1925 – William Styron, American novelist and essayist (d. 2006)
1926 – Carlisle Floyd, American composer and educator
1927 – Beryl Grey, English ballerina
1927 – John W. O’Malley, American Catholic historian, academic and Jesuit priest
1927 – Kit Pedler, English parapsychologist and author (d. 1981)
1928 – Queen Fabiola of Belgium (d. 2014)
1929 – Ayhan Şahenk, Turkish businessman (d. 2001)
1930 – Charles Rangel, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
1932 – Athol Fugard, South African-American actor, director, and playwright
1932 – Tim Sainsbury, English businessman and politician, Minister of State for Trade
1933 – Gene Wilder, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1937 – Chad Everett, American actor and director (d. 2012)
1937 – Robin Warren, Australian pathologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1939 – Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, English cricketer and journalist (d. 2017)
1939 – Jackie Stewart, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster
1942 – Parris Glendening, American politician, 59th Governor of Maryland
1943 – Henry Hill, American mobster (d. 2012)
1945 – Adrienne Barbeau, American actress
1947 – Richard Palmer-James, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1948 – Dave Cash, American baseball player and coach
1948 – Lalu Prasad Yadav, Indian politician, 20th Chief Minister of Bihar
1949 – Frank Beard, American drummer and songwriter
1950 – Lynsey de Paul, English singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, cartoonist and actress (d. 2014)
1950 – Graham Russell, English-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1951 – Matthew Engel, English journalist and author
1951 – Yasumasa Morimura, Japanese painter and photographer
1952 – Yekaterina Podkopayeva, Russian runner
1952 – Donnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Steve Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton, English politician
1953 – José Bové, French farmer and politician
1953 – Barbara Minty, American model
1954 – John Dyson, Australian cricketer
1954 – Johnny Neel, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1955 – Yuriy Sedykh, Ukrainian hammer thrower
1955 – Duncan Steel, English-Australian astronomer and author
1956 – Joe Montana, American football player and sportscaster
1956 – Simon Plouffe, Canadian mathematician and academic
1956 – Arthur Porter, Canadian physician and academic (d. 2015)
1956 – Jamaaladeen Tacuma, American bass player and bandleader
1958 – Barry Adamson, English singer and bass player
1959 – Hugh Laurie, English actor and screenwriter
1960 – Mehmet Oz, American surgeon, author, and television host
1962 – Mano Menezes, Brazilian footballer and coach
1963 – Gioia Bruno, American singer-songwriter
1963 – Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler and sportscaster (d. 2000)
1964 – Jean Alesi, French race car driver
1964 – Kim Gallagher, American runner (d. 2002)
1965 – Georgios Bartzokas, Greek former professional basketball player
1965 – Gavin Hill, New Zealand rugby player
1966 – Bruce Robison, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
1967 – Graeme Bachop, New Zealand rugby player
1967 – João Garcia, Portuguese mountaineer
1968 – Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
1968 – Manoa Thompson, Fijian rugby player
1969 – Peter Dinklage, American actor and producer
1969 – Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2002)
1969 – Olaf Kapagiannidis, German footballer
1971 – Vladimir Gaidamașciuc, Moldovan footballer
1971 – Liz Kendall, British politician
1971 – Mark Richardson, New Zealand cricketer
1971 – Kenjiro Tsuda, Japanese voice actor
1972 – Stephen Kearney, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
1973 – José Manuel Abundis, Mexican footballer and coach
1974 – Fragiskos Alvertis, Greek basketball player, coach, and manager
1976 – Reiko Tosa, Japanese runner
1977 – Geoff Ogilvy, Australian golfer
1978 – Joshua Jackson, Canadian-American actor
1978 – Daryl Tuffey, New Zealand cricketer
1979 – Ali Boussaboun, Moroccan-Dutch footballer
1979 – Amy Duggan, Australian footballer and sportscaster
1980 – Yhency Brazoban, Dominican baseball player
1981 – Emiliano Moretti, Italian footballer
1981 – Kristo Tohver, Estonian footballer and referee
1982 – Vanessa Boslak, French pole vaulter
1982 – Jacques Freitag, South African high jumper
1982 – Joey Graham, American basketball player
1982 – Stephen Graham, American basketball player
1982 – Reni Maitua, Australian rugby league player
293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as Caesar to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy.
878 – Syracuse, Sicily, is captured by the Muslim Aghlabids after a nine-month siege.
879 – Pope John VIII gives blessings to Branimir of Croatia and to the Croatian people, considered to be international recognition of the Croatian state.
996 – Sixteen-year-old Otto III is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
1349 – Dušan’s Code, the constitution of the Serbian Empire, is enacted by Dušan the Mighty.
1403 – Henry III of Castile sends Ruy González de Clavijo as ambassador to Timur to discuss the possibility of an alliance between Timur and Castile against the Ottoman Empire.
1554 – Queen Mary I grants a royal charter to Derby School, as a grammar school for boys in Derby, England.
1659 – In the Concert of The Hague, the Dutch Republic, the Commonwealth of England and the Kingdom of France set out their views on how the Second Northern War should end.
1660 – The Battle of Long Sault concludes after five days in which French colonial militia, with their Huron and Algonquin allies, are defeated by the Iroquois Confederacy.
1674 – The nobility elect John Sobieski King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.
1703 – Daniel Defoe is imprisoned on charges of seditious libel.
1725 – The Order of St. Alexander Nevsky is instituted in Russia by Empress Catherine I. It would later be discontinued and then reinstated by the Soviet government in 1942 as the Order of Alexander Nevsky.
1758 – Ten-year-old Mary Campbell is abducted in Pennsylvania by Lenape during the French and Indian War. She is returned six and a half years later.
1792 – A lava dome collapses on Mount Unzen, near the city of Shimbara on the Japanese island of Kyūshū, creating a deadly tsunami that kills nearly 15,000 people.
1809 – The first day of the Battle of Aspern-Essling between the Austrian army led by Archduke Charles and the French army led by Napoleon I of France sees the French attack across the Danube held.
1851 – Slavery in Colombia is abolished.
1856 – Lawrence, Kansas is captured and burned by pro-slavery forces.
1863 – American Civil War: The Union Army succeeds in closing off the last escape route from Port Hudson, Louisiana, in preparation for the coming siege.
1864 – Russia declares an end to the Russo-Circassian War and many Circassians are forced into exile. The day is designated the Circassian Day of Mourning.
1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House ends.
1864 – The Ionian Islands reunite with Greece.
1871 – French troops invade the Paris Commune and engage its residents in street fighting. By the close of “Bloody Week”, some 20,000 communards have been killed and 38,000 arrested.
1871 – Opening of the first rack railway in Europe, the Rigi Bahnen on Mount Rigi.
1879 – War of the Pacific: Two Chilean ships blocking the harbor of Iquique (then belonging to Peru) battle two Peruvian vessels in the Battle of Iquique.
1881 – The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton in Washington, D.C.
1894 – The Manchester Ship Canal in the United Kingdom is officially opened by Queen Victoria, who later knights its designer Sir Edward Leader Williams.
1904 – The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is founded in Paris.
1911 – President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz and the revolutionary Francisco Madero sign the Treaty of Ciudad Juárez to put an end to the fighting between the forces of both men, concluding the initial phase of the Mexican Revolution.
1917 – The Imperial War Graves Commission is established through royal charter to mark, record, and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of the British Empire’s military forces.
1917 – The Great Atlanta fire of 1917 causes $5.5 million in damages, destroying some 300 acres including 2,000 homes, businesses and churches, displacing about 10,000 people but leading to only one fatality (due to heart attack).
1924 – University of Chicago students Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, Jr. murder 14-year-old Bobby Franks in a “thrill killing”.
1927 – Charles Lindbergh touches down at Le Bourget Field in Paris, completing the world’s first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
1932 – Bad weather forces Amelia Earhart to land in a pasture in Derry, Northern Ireland, and she thereby becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
1934 – Oskaloosa, Iowa, becomes the first municipality in the United States to fingerprint all of its citizens.
1936 – Sada Abe is arrested after wandering the streets of Tokyo for days with her dead lover’s severed genitals in her handbag. Her story soon becomes one of Japan’s most notorious scandals.
1937 – A Soviet station, North Pole-1, becomes the first scientific research settlement to operate on the drift ice of the Arctic Ocean.
1939 – The Canadian National War Memorial is unveiled by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
1946 – Physicist Louis Slotin is fatally irradiated in a criticality incident during an experiment with the demon core at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
1951 – The opening of the Ninth Street Show, otherwise known as the 9th Street Art Exhibition: A gathering of a number of notable artists, and the stepping-out of the post war New York avant-garde, collectively known as the New York School.
1961 – American civil rights movement: Alabama Governor John Malcolm Patterson declares martial law in an attempt to restore order after race riots break out.
1966 – The Ulster Volunteer Force declares war on the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland.
1969 – Civil unrest in Rosario, Argentina, known as Rosariazo, following the death of a 15-year-old student.
1972 – Michelangelo’s Pietà in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is damaged by a vandal, the mentally disturbed Hungarian geologist Laszlo Toth.
1976 – Twenty-nine people are killed in the Yuba City bus disaster in Martinez, California.
1979 – White Night riots in San Francisco following the manslaughter conviction of Dan White for the assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk.
1981 – The Italian government releases the membership list of Propaganda Due, an illegal pseudo-Masonic lodge that was implicated in numerous Italian crimes and mysteries.
1981 – Transamerica Corporation agrees to sell United Artists to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for $380 million after the box office failure of the 1980 film Heaven’s Gate.
1982 – Falklands War: A British amphibious assault during Operation Sutton leads to the Battle of San Carlos.
1991 – Former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a female suicide bomber near Madras.
1991 – Mengistu Haile Mariam, president of the People’s Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, flees Ethiopia, effectively bringing the Ethiopian Civil War to an end.
1992 – After 30 seasons Johnny Carson hosted his penultimate episode and last featuring guests (Robin Williams and Bette Midler) of The Tonight Show.
1994 – The Democratic Republic of Yemen unsuccessfully attempts to secede from the Republic of Yemen; a war breaks out.
1996 – The ferry MV Bukoba sinks in Tanzanian waters on Lake Victoria, killing nearly 1,000.
1998 – In Miami, five abortion clinics are attacked by a butyric acid attacker.
1998 – President Suharto of Indonesia resigns following the killing of students from Trisakti University earlier that week by security forces and growing mass protests in Jakarta against his ongoing corrupt rule.
2001 – French Taubira law is enacted, officially recognizing the Atlantic slave trade and slavery as crimes against humanity.
2003 – The 6.8 Mw Boumerdès earthquake shakes northern Algeria with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). More than 2,200 people were killed and a moderate tsunami sank boats at the Balearic Islands.
2005 – The tallest roller coaster in the world, Kingda Ka opens at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey.
2006 – The Republic of Montenegro holds a referendum proposing independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro; 55% of Montenegrins vote for independence.
2010 – JAXA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, launches the solar-sail spacecraft IKAROS aboard an H-IIA rocket. The vessel would make a Venus flyby late in the year.
2011 – Radio broadcaster Harold Camping predicted that the world would end on this date.
2012 – A bus accident near Himara, Albania kills 13 people and injures 21 others.
2012 – A suicide bombing kills more than 120 people in Sana’a, Yemen.
2017 – Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus performed their final show at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Births on May 21
1471 – Albrecht Dürer, German painter, engraver, and mathematician (d. 1528)
1497 – Al-Hattab, Muslim jurist (d. 1547)
1527 – Philip II of Spain (d. 1598)
1653 – Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland (d. 1697)
1688 – Alexander Pope, English poet, essayist, and translator (d. 1744)
1755 – Alfred Moore, American lawyer and judge (d. 1810)
1756 – William Babington, Irish-born, English physician and mineralogist (d. 1833)
1763 – Joseph Fouché, French lawyer and politician (d. 1820)
1775 – Lucien Bonaparte, French soldier and politician (d. 1840)
1780 – Elizabeth Fry, English prison reformer, philanthropist and Quaker (d. 1845)
1790 – William Cavendish, 6th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Lord Chamberlain of the Household (d. 1858)
1792 – Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1843)
1799 – Mary Anning, English paleontologist (d. 1847)
1801 – Princess Sophie of Sweden, Swedish princess (d. 1865)
1806 – Harriet Sutherland-Leveson-Gower, Duchess of Sutherland, English duchess (d. 1868)
1808 – David de Jahacob Lopez Cardozo, Dutch Talmudist (d. 1890)
1827 – William P. Sprague, American banker and politician (d. 1899)
1828 – Rudolf Koller, Swiss painter (d. 1905)
1835 – František Chvostek, Czech-Austrian physician and academic (d. 1884)
1837 – Itagaki Taisuke, Japanese soldier and politician (d. 1919)
1843 – Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss lawyer and politician, and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1914)
1843 – Louis Renault, French jurist, educator, and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1918)
1844 – Henri Rousseau, French painter (d. 1910)
1850 – Giuseppe Mercalli, Italian priest and volcanologist (d. 1914)
1851 – Léon Bourgeois, French police officer and politician, 64th Prime Minister of France, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
1853 – Jacques Marie Eugène Godefroy Cavaignac, French politician (d. 1905)
1856 – José Batlle y Ordóñez, Uruguayan journalist and politician, President of Uruguay (d. 1929)
1860 – Willem Einthoven, Indonesian-Dutch physician, physiologist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1927)
1861 – Abel Ayerza, Argentinian physician and academic (d. 1918)
1863 – Archduke Eugen of Austria (d. 1954)
1864 – Princess Stéphanie of Belgium (d. 1945)
1873 – Hans Berger, German neurologist and academic (d. 1941)
1878 – Glenn Curtiss, American cyclist and engineer (d. 1930)
1880 – Tudor Arghezi, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1967)
1884 – Manuel Pérez y Curis, Uruguayan poet and publisher (d. 1920)
1885 – Princess Sophie of Albania, (Princess Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg) (d. 1936)
1893 – Arthur Carr, English cricketer (d. 1963)
1893 – Giles Chippindall, Australian public servant (d. 1969)
1895 – Lázaro Cárdenas, Mexican general, president (1934–1940) and father of Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas (d. 1970)
1898 – Armand Hammer, American physician and businessman, founded Occidental Petroleum (d. 1990)
1898 – Charles Léon Hammes, Luxembourgian lawyer and judge (d. 1967)
1898 – Carl Johnson, American long jumper (d. 1932)
1898 – John McLaughlin, American painter and translator (d. 1976)
1901 – Regina M. Anderson, Multiracial playwright and librarian (d. 1993)
1901 – Horace Heidt, American pianist, bandleader, and radio host (d. 1986)
1901 – Sam Jaffe, American film producer and agent (d. 2000)
1901 – Suzanne Lilar, Belgian author and playwright (d. 1992)
1902 – Earl Averill, American baseball player (d. 1983)
1902 – Marcel Breuer, Hungarian-American architect and academic, designed the Ameritrust Tower (d. 1981)
1902 – Anatole Litvak, Ukrainian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1974)
1903 – Manly Wade Wellman, American author (d. 1986)
1904 – Robert Montgomery, American actor and director (d. 1981)
1904 – Fats Waller, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1943)
1907 – John C. Allen, American roller coaster designer (d. 1979)
1912 – Chen Dayu, Chinese painter and calligrapher (d. 2001)
1912 – John Curtis Gowan, American psychologist and academic (d. 1986)
1912 – Monty Stratton, American baseball player and coach (d. 1982)
1913 – Gina Bachauer, Greek pianist and composer (d. 1976)
1915 – Cathleen Cordell, American actress (d. 1997)
1915 – Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan, Indian Civil Service Officer and former Under Secretary-General of the UN (d. 2003)
1916 – Dennis Day, American singer and actor (d. 1988)
1916 – Tinus Osendarp, Dutch sprinter and police officer (d. 2002)
1916 – Harold Robbins, American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)
1917 – Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor and director (d. 1993)
1918 – Anthony Steel, English actor and singer (d. 2001)
1919 – George P. Mitchell, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
1920 – Bill Barber, American tuba player and educator (d. 2007)
1920 – Forrest White, American businessman, co-founded the Music Man Company (d. 1994)
1921 – Sandy Douglas, English computer scientist and academic, designed OXO (d. 2010)
1921 – Andrei Sakharov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
1923 – Vernon Biever, American photographer (d. 2010)
1923 – Armand Borel, Swiss-American mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
1923 – Ara Parseghian, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
1923 – Dorothy Hewett, Australian feminist poet, novelist and playwright (d. 2002)
1923 – Evelyn Ward, American actress (d. 2012)
1924 – Peggy Cass, American actress, comedian, and game show panelist (d. 1999)
1926 – Robert Creeley, American novelist, essayist, and poet (d. 2005)
1927 – Kay Kendall, English actress and comedian (d. 1959)
1927 – Péter Zwack, Hungarian businessman and diplomat (d. 2012)
1928 – Tom Donahue, American radio host and producer (d. 1975)
1928 – Alice Drummond, American actress (d. 2016)
1929 – Larance Marable, American drummer (d. 2012)
1929 – Robert Welch, English silversmith and industrial designer (d. 2000)
1930 – Tommy Bryant, American bassist (d. 1982)
1930 – Keith Davis, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2019)
1930 – Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2015)
1932 – Inese Jaunzeme, Latvian javelin thrower and surgeon (d. 2011)
1932 – Leonidas Vasilikopoulos, Greek admiral and intelligence chief (d. 2014)
1933 – Maurice André, French trumpet player (d. 2012)
1933 – Yevgeny Minayev, Russian weightlifter (d. 1993)
1934 – Jocasta Innes, Chinese-English journalist and author (d. 2013)
1934 – Bob Northern, American horn player and bandleader
1934 – Bengt I. Samuelsson, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1935 – Terry Lightfoot, English clarinet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
1936 – Günter Blobel, Polish-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
1938 – Lee “Shot” Williams, American singer (d. 2011)
1939 – Heinz Holliger, Swiss oboist, composer, and conductor
1940 – Tony Sheridan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1941 – Martin Carthy, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1941 – Bobby Cox, American baseball player and manager
1941 – Ambrose Greenway, 4th Baron Greenway, English photographer and politician
1941 – Ronald Isley, American singer-songwriter and producer
1942 – David Hunt, Baron Hunt of Wirral, English politician, Secretary of State for Wales
1942 – John Konrads, Australian swimmer
1942 – Danny Ongais, American race car driver
1943 – Vincent Crane, English pianist and composer (d. 1989)
1943 – John Dalton, English bass player
1943 – Hilton Valentine, English guitarist and songwriter
1944 – Haleh Afshar, Baroness Afshar, Iranian-English academic and politician
1944 – Marcie Blane, American singer
1944 – Janet Dailey, American author and entrepreneur (d. 2013)
1944 – Mary Robinson, Irish lawyer and politician, 7th President of Ireland
1945 – Ernst Messerschmid, German physicist and astronaut
1945 – Richard Hatch, American actor, writer, and producer (d. 2017)
1946 – Allan McKeown, English-American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
1946 – Wayne Roycroft, Australian equestrian rider and coach
1947 – Bill Champlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1947 – Linda Laubenstein, American physician and academic (d. 1992)
1947 – İlber Ortaylı, Turkish historian and academic
1948 – Elizabeth Buchan, English author and critic
1948 – Joe Camilleri, Maltese-Australian singer-songwriter and saxophonist
1948 – Jonathan Hyde, Australian-English actor
1948 – Denis MacShane, Scottish journalist and politician, UK Minister of State for Europe
1948 – Leo Sayer, English-Australian singer-songwriter and musician
1949 – Andrew Neil, Scottish journalist and academic
1949 – Denis O’Connor, British police officer
1949 – Rosalind Plowright, English soprano
1950 – Will Hutton, English economist and journalist
1951 – Al Franken, American actor, screenwriter, and politician
1951 – Adrian Hardiman, Irish lawyer and judge (d. 2016)
1952 – Mr. T, American actor and wrestler
1953 – Nora Aunor, Filipino actress and recording artist
1954 – D. B. S. Jeyaraj, Sri Lankan-Canadian journalist and blogger
1954 – Janice Karman, American film producer, record producer, singer, and voice actress
1954 – Marc Ribot, American guitarist and composer
1955 – Paul Barber, English field hockey player
1955 – Stan Lynch, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
1957 – James Bailey, American basketball player
1957 – Nadine Dorries, English nurse and politician
1957 – Judge Reinhold, American actor and producer
1957 – Renée Soutendijk, Dutch actress
1958 – Christian Audigier, French fashion designer (d. 2015)
1958 – Muffy Calder, Canadian-Scottish computer scientist and academic
1958 – Michael Crick, English journalist and author
1958 – Naeem Khan, Indian-American fashion designer
1958 – Jefery Levy, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1959 – Nick Cassavetes, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1959 – Abdulla Yameen, Maldivian politician, 6th President of the Maldives
1960 – Jeffrey Dahmer, American serial killer (d. 1994)
1960 – Kent Hrbek, American baseball player and sportscaster
1960 – Mohanlal, Indian actor
1960 – Mark Ridgway, Australian cricketer
1960 – Vladimir Salnikov, Russian swimmer
1962 – David Crumb, American composer and educator
1963 – Richard Appel, American screenwriter and producer
1963 – Patrick Grant, American musician and producer
1963 – David Lonsdale, English actor
1964 – Pete Sandoval, Salvadoran-American drummer
1963 – Kevin Shields, American-Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1963 – Dave Specter, American guitarist
1963 – Laurie Spina, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
1964 – Danny Bailey, English footballer and coach
1965 – Josh Richman, American actor and producer
1966 – Lisa Edelstein, American actress and playwright
1966 – Tatyana Ledovskaya, Belarusian hurdler
1967 – Chris Benoit, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 2007)
1968 – Ilmar Raag, Estonian director, producer, and screenwriter
1968 – Matthias Ungemach, German-Australian rower
1968 – Julie Vega, Filipino actress and singer (d. 1985)
1969 – Pierluigi Brivio, Italian footballer
1969 – Georgiy Gongadze, Georgian-Ukrainian journalist and director (d. 2000)
1969 – Masayo Kurata, Japanese voice actress and singer
1969 – George LeMieux, American lawyer and politician
1969 – Brian Statham, Rhodesian born English footballer, defender and manager
1970 – Brigita Bukovec, Slovenian hurdler
1970 – Dorsey Levens, American football player and sportscaster
1970 – Pauline Menczer, Australian surfer
1970 – Carl Veart, Australian footballer and coach
1972 – The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper (d. 1997)
1973 – Stewart Cink, American golfer
1973 – Noel Fielding, English comedian, musician and television presenter
1974 – Brad Arthur, Australian rugby league coach
1974 – Fairuza Balk, American actress
1974 – Aditi Gowitrikar, Indian model, actress, and physician, Mrs. World 2001
1974 – Havoc, American rapper and producer
1975 – Anthony Mundine, Australian rugby league player and boxer
1976 – Stuart Bingham, English snooker player
1976 – Abderrahim Goumri, Moroccan runner (d. 2013)
1976 – Deron Miller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Quinton Fortune, South African international footballer midfielder and coach
1977 – Michael Fuß, German footballer
1977 – Ricky Williams, American football player and coach
1978 – Max B, American rapper and songwriter
1978 – Briana Banks, German-American porn actress and model
1978 – Jamaal Magloire, Canadian basketball player and coach
2020 – Alan Merten, fifth President of George Mason University (b. 1941)
Holidays and observances on May 21
Afro-Colombian Day (Colombia)
Christian feast day:
Arcangelo Tadini
Blessed Adílio Daronch and Manuel Gómez González
Blessed Franz Jägerstätter
Earliest day on which Corpus Christi can fall, while June 24 is the latest; held on Thursday after Trinity Sunday (often locally moved to Sunday). (Roman Catholic Church)
Emperor Constantine I
Eugène de Mazenod
Helena of Constantinople, also known as “Feast of the Holy Great Sovereigns Constantine and Helen, Equal-to-the-Apostles.” (Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion)
John Elliot (Episcopal Church)
Saints of the Cristero War, including Christopher Magallanes
May 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Circassian Day of Mourning (Circassians)
Day of Patriots and Military (Hungary)
Independence Day, celebrates the Montenegrin independence referendum in 2006, celebrated until the next day. (Montenegro)
Navy Day (Chile)
Saint Helena Day, celebrates the discovery of Saint Helena in 1502. (Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha)
World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (International)
28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.
1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king.
1497 – Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World.
1503 – Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.
1534 – Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland.
1688 – King Narai nominates Phetracha as regent, leading to the revolution of 1688 in which Phetracha becomes king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
1768 – Rioting occurs in London after John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticizing King George III.
1773 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by reducing taxes on its tea and granting it the right to sell tea directly to North America. The legislation leads to the Boston Tea Party.
1774 – Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette become King and Queen of France.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: A small Colonial militia led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold captures Fort Ticonderoga.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Second Continental Congress takes place in Philadelphia.
1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon wins a victory against Austrian forces at Lodi bridge over the Adda River in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.
1801 – First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America.
1824 – The National Gallery in London opens to the public.
1837 – Panic of 1837: New York City banks suspend the payment of specie, triggering a national banking crisis and an economic depression whose severity was not surpassed until the Great Depression.
1849 – Astor Place Riot: A riot breaks out at the Astor Opera House in Manhattan, New York City over a dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Charles Macready, killing at least 22 and injuring over 120.
1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut.
1865 – American Civil War: In Kentucky, Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill, who lingers until his death on June 6.
1869 – The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah with the golden spike.
1872 – Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.
1876 – The Centennial Exposition is opened in Philadelphia.
1881 – Carol I is crowned the King of the Romanian Kingdom.
1904 – The Horch & Cir. Motorwagenwerke AG is founded. It would eventually become the Audi company.
1908 – Mother’s Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.
1916 – Sailing in the lifeboat James Caird, Ernest Shackleton arrives at South Georgia after a journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island.
1922 – The United States annexes the Kingman Reef.
1924 – J. Edgar Hoover is appointed first Director of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and remains so until his death in 1972.
1933 – Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.
1940 – World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.
1940 – World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. On the same day, Germany invades France, Belgium and Luxembourg.Meanwhile, the United Kingdom occupies Iceland.
1941 – World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
1941 – World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany.hai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign.
1946 – First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.
1962 – Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk.
1967 – The Northrop M2-F2 crashes on landing, becoming the inspiration for the novel Cyborg and TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.
1969 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.
1975 – Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder.
1993 – In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills over 200 workers.
1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president.
1996 – A blizzard strikes Mount Everest, killing eight climbers by the next day.
1997 – The 7.3 Mw Qayen earthquake strikes Iran’s Khorasan Province killing 1,567 people.
2002 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Russia for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
2005 – A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 60 feet from U.S. President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.
2012 – The Damascus bombings are carried out using a pair of car bombs detonated by suicide bombers outside of a military intelligence complex in Damascus, Syria, killing 55 people.
2013 – One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
Births on May 10
874 – Meng Zhixiang, Chinese general and emperor (d. 934)
955 – Al-Aziz Billah, Fatimid caliph (d. 996)
1491 – Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon (d. 1521)
1604 – Jean Mairet, French author and playwright (d. 1686)
1697 – Jean-Marie Leclair, French violinist and composer (d. 1764)
1727 – Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, French economist and politician (d. 1781)
1755 – Robert Gray, American captain and explorer (d. 1806)
1760 – Johann Peter Hebel, German author and poet (d. 1826)
1760 – Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French captain, engineer, and composer (d. 1836)
1770 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1823)
1788 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer (d. 1827)
1812 – William Henry Barlow, English engineer (d. 1902)
1813 – Montgomery Blair, American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (d. 1883)
1838 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1865)
1841 – James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American publisher and broadcaster (d. 1918)
1843 – Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1920)
1847 – Wilhelm Killing, German mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
1855 – Yukteswar Giri, Indian guru and educator (d. 1936)
1872 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist and anthropologist (d. 1950)
1876 – Ivan Cankar, Slovenian poet and playwright (d. 1918)
1878 – Konstantinos Parthenis, Greek painter (d. 1967)
1878 – Gustav Stresemann, German journalist and politician, Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
1879 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (d. 1926)
1886 – Karl Barth, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1968)
1888 – Max Steiner, Austrian-American composer and conductor (d. 1971)
1890 – Alfred Jodl, German general (d. 1946)
1891 – Mahmoud Mokhtar, Egyptian sculptor and academic (d. 1934)
1893 – Tonita Peña, San Ildefonso Pueblo (Native American) artist (d. 1949)
1894 – Dimitri Tiomkin, Ukrainian-American composer and conductor (d. 1979)
1897 – Einar Gerhardsen, Norwegian politician, Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1987)
1898 – Ariel Durant, American historian and author (d. 1981)
1899 – Fred Astaire, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)
1900 – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, English-American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1979)
1901 – John Desmond Bernal, Irish-English crystallographer and physicist (d. 1971)
1901 – Hildrus Poindexter, American bacteriologist (d. 1987)
1902 – David O. Selznick, American director and producer (d. 1965)
1903 – Otto Bradfisch, German economist, jurist, and SS officer (d. 1994)
1905 – Markos Vamvakaris, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1972)
1908 – Carl Albert, American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 2000)
1909 – Maybelle Carter, American autoharp player (d. 1978)
1911 – Bel Kaufman, American author and educator (d. 2014)
1915 – Denis Thatcher, English soldier and businessman, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2003)
1916 – Milton Babbitt, American composer and educator (d. 2011)
1918 – T. Berry Brazelton, American pediatrician and author (d. 2018)
1918 – Desmond MacNamara, Irish painter, sculptor, and author (d. 2008)
1919 – Ella T. Grasso, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1981)
1920 – Basil Kelly, Northern Irish barrister, judge and politician (d. 2008)
1920 – Bert Weedon, English guitarist (d. 2012)
1922 – David Azrieli, Polish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2014)
1922 – Nancy Walker, American actress, singer, and director (d. 1992)
1923 – Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan general and politician, President of Azerbaijan (d. 2003)
1923 – Otar Korkia, Georgian basketball player and coach (d. 2005)
1926 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian general and politician, President of Bolivia (d. 2002)
1927 – Nayantara Sahgal, Indian author
1928 – Arnold Rüütel, Estonian agronomist and politician, President of Estonia
1928 – Lothar Schmid, German chess player (d. 2013)
1929 – Audun Boysen, Norwegian runner (d. 2000)
1929 – George Coe, American actor and producer (d. 2015)
1929 – Antonine Maillet, Canadian author and playwright
1930 – George E. Smith, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
1931 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1933 – Jean Becker, French actor, director, and screenwriter
1935 – Larry Williams, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1980)
1937 – Tamara Press, Ukrainian shot putter and discus thrower
1938 – Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis player
1940 – Arthur Alexander, American country-soul singer-songwriter (d. 1993)
1940 – Wayne Dyer, American author and educator (d. 2015)
1942 – Jim Calhoun, American basketball player and coach
1944 – Jim Abrahams, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1944 – Marie-France Pisier, French actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
1946 – Donovan, Scottish singer-songwriter
1946 – Graham Gouldman, English guitarist and songwriter
1946 – Dave Mason, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1947 – Caroline B. Cooney, American author
1949 – Miuccia Prada, Italian fashion designer
1952 – Sly Dunbar, Jamaican drummer
1955 – Mark David Chapman, American murderer
1956 – Vladislav Listyev, Russian journalist (d. 1995)
1957 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
1958 – Gaétan Boucher, Canadian speed skater
1958 – Rick Santorum, American lawyer and politician, United States Senator from Pennsylvania
1959 – Victoria Rowell, American actress
1959 – Danny Schayes, American basketball player
1959 – Cindy Hyde-Smith, American politician, United States Senator from Mississippi, Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce
1960 – Bono, Irish singer-songwriter, musician and activist
1960 – Dean Heller, American lawyer and politician, United States Senator from Nevada, Secretary of State of Nevada
1960 – Merlene Ottey, Jamaican-Slovenian runner
1963 – Lisa Nowak, American commander and astronaut
1963 – Debbie Wiseman, English composer and conductor
1965 – Linda Evangelista, Canadian model
1966 – Jonathan Edwards, English triple jumper
1967 – Eion Crossan, New Zealand rugby player
1968 – Al Murray, English comedian and television host
453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.
413 – Emperor Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the Italian provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths.
589 – Reccared I opens the Third Council of Toledo, marking the entry of Visigothic Spain into the Catholic Church.
1429 – Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
1450 – Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
1516 – A group of imperial guards, led by Trịnh Duy Sản, murdered Emperor Lê Tương Dực and fled, leaving the capital Thăng Long undefended.
1541 – Hernando de Soto stops near present-day Walls, Mississippi, and sees the Mississippi River(then known by the Spanish as Río de Espíritu Santo, the name given to it by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda in 1519).
1788 – King Louis XVI of France attempts to impose the reforms of Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne by abolishing the parlements.
1794 – Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme générale, is tried, convicted and guillotined in one day in Paris.
1821 – Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks at the Battle of Gravia Inn.
1842 – A train derails and catches fire in Paris, killing between 52 and 200 people.
1846 – Mexican–American War: American forces led by Zachary Taylor defeat a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war.
1877 – At Gilmore’s Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens.
1886 – Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named “Coca-Cola” as a patent medicine.
1898 – The first games of the Italian football league system are played.
1899 – The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin produced its first play.
1902 – In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.
1912 – Paramount Pictures is founded.
1919 – Edward George Honey proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which ended World War I.
1921 – The creation of the Communist Party of Romania.
1924 – The Klaipėda Convention is signed formally incorporating Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) into Lithuania.
1927 – Attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York, French war heroes Charles Nungesser and François Coli disappear after taking off aboard The White Bird biplane.
1933 – Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast of self-purification and launched a one-year campaign to help the Harijan movement.
1941 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby.
1942 – World War II: The German 11th Army begins Operation Trappenjagd (Bustard Hunt) and destroys the bridgehead of the three Soviet armies defending the Kerch Peninsula.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end with Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attacking and sinking the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington.
1942 – World War II: Gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands rebel in the Cocos Islands Mutiny. Their mutiny is crushed and three of them are executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.
1945 – World War II: The German Instrument of Surrender signed at Reims comes into effect.
1945 – End of the Prague uprising, celebrated now as a national holiday in the Czech Republic.
1945 – Hundreds of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Sétif massacre.
1945 – The Halifax riot starts when thousands of civilians and servicemen rampage through Halifax, Nova Scotia.
1946 – Estonian schoolgirls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial which preceded the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn.
1963 – South Vietnamese soldiers under the Roman Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem open fire on Buddhists defying a ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesak, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.
1967 – The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
1972 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his order to place naval mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.
1973 – A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota ends with the surrender of the militants.
1976 – The rollercoaster The New Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
1978 – The first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen, by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler.
1980 – The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox.
1984 – Corporal Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three people and wounding 13. René Jalbert, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour.
1984 – The Thames Barrier is officially opened, preventing the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded except under extreme circumstances.
1987 – The SAS kills eight Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers and a civilian during an ambush in Loughgall, Northern Ireland.
1988 – A fire at Illinois Bell’s Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered to be the “worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history”.
1997 – China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 crashes on approach into Bao’an International Airport, killing 35 people.
2019 – British 17-year-old Isabelle Holdaway is reported to be the first patient ever to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection.
Births on May 8
1326 – Joan I, Countess of Auvergne (d. 1360)
1427 – John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1470)
1460 – Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1536)
1492 – Andrea Alciato, Italian jurist and writer (d. 1550)
1508 – Charles Wriothesley, English Officer of Arms (d. 1562)
1521 – Peter Canisius, Dutch-Swiss priest and saint (d. 1597)
1551 – Thomas Drury, English government informer and swindler (d. 1603)
1587 – Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1637)
1622 – Claes Rålamb, Swedish politician (d. 1698)
1628 – Angelo Italia, Sicilian Jesuit and architect (d. 1700)
1629 – Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (d. 1697)
1632 – Heino Heinrich Graf von Flemming, German field marshal and politician (d. 1706)
1639 – Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Italian artist (d. 1709)
1641 – Nicolaes Witsen, Mayor of Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1717)
1653 – Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1734)
1670 – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (d. 1726)
1698 – Henry Baker, English naturalist (d. 1774)
1720 – William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1764)
1735 – Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter and politician (d. 1811)
1737 – Edward Gibbon, English historian and politician (d. 1794)
1745 – Carl Stamitz, German violinist and composer (d. 1801)
1753 – Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest and rebel leader (d. 1811)
1786 – John Vianney, French priest and saint (d. 1859)
1815 – Edward Tompkins, American lawyer and politician (d. 1872)
1818 – Samuel Leonard Tilley, Canadian pharmacist and politician, 3rd Premier of New Brunswick (d. 1896)
1821 – William Henry Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1885)
1824 – William Walker, American physician, lawyer, journalist and mercenary (d. 1860)
1825 – George Bruce Malleson, English-Indian colonel and author (d. 1898)
1828 – Henry Dunant, Swiss businessman and activist, co-founded the Red Cross, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1910)
1828 – Charbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk and saint (d. 1898)
1829 – Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American pianist and composer (d. 1869)
1835 – Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter and academic (d. 1910)
1839 – Adolphe-Basile Routhier, Canadian judge, author, and songwriter (d. 1920)
1842 – Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist and mycologist (d. 1909)
1846 – Oscar Hammerstein I, American businessman and composer (d. 1919)
1850 – Ross Barnes, American baseball player and manager (d. 1915)
1853 – Dan Brouthers, American baseball player and manager (d. 1932)
1856 – Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician, president for 45 minutes on February 13, 1913. (d. 1952)
1858 – Heinrich Berté, Slovak-Austrian composer (d. 1924)
1858 – J. Meade Falkner, English author and poet (d. 1932)
1859 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician and engineer (d. 1925)
1867 – Margarete Böhme, German novelist (d. 1939)
1879 – Wesley Coe, American shot putter, discus thrower, and tug of war competitor (d. 1926)
1884 – Harry S. Truman, American colonel and politician, 33rd President of the United States (d. 1972)
1885 – Thomas B. Costain, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1965)
1892 – Adriaan Pelt, Dutch journalist and diplomat (d. 1981)
1893 – Francis Ouimet, American golfer (d. 1967)
1893 – Edd Roush, American baseball player and coach (d. 1988)
1893 – Teddy Wakelam, English rugby player and sportscaster (d. 1963)
1895 – James H. Kindelberger, American businessman (d. 1962)
1895 – Fulton J. Sheen, American archbishop (d. 1979)
1895 – Edmund Wilson, American critic, essayist, and editor (d. 1972)
1898 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (d. 1960)
1899 – Arthur Q. Bryan, American actor, voice actor, comedian and radio personality (d. 1959)
1899 – Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
1899 – Jacques Heim, French fashion designer (d. 1967)
1901 – Turkey Stearnes, American baseball player (d. 1979)
1902 – André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
1903 – Fernandel, French actor and singer (d. 1971)
1903 – Mary Stewart, Baroness Stewart of Alvechurch, British politician and educator (d. 1984)
1904 – John Snagge, English journalist (d. 1996)
1905 – Red Nichols, American cornet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1965)
1906 – Roberto Rossellini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1977)
1910 – George Male, English footballer (d. 1998)
1910 – Andrew E. Svenson, American author and publisher (d. 1975)
1910 – Mary Lou Williams, American pianist and composer (d. 1981)
1911 – Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman, Dutch jurist and politician, Dutch Minister of The Interior (d. 1997)
1911 – Robert Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1938)
1912 – George Woodcock, Canadian author and poet (d. 1995)
1913 – Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1984)
1913 – Sid James, South African-English actor and singer (d. 1976)
1915 – Milton Meltzer, American historian and author (d. 2009)
1916 – João Havelange, Brazilian water polo player, lawyer, and businessman (d. 2016)
1916 – Chinmayananda Saraswati, Indian spiritual leader and educator (d. 1993)
1916 – Ramananda Sengupta, Indian cinematographer (d. 2017)
1917 – John Anderson, Jr., American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Kansas (d. 2014)
1919 – Lex Barker, American actor (d. 1973)
1920 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (d. 1996)
1920 – Tom of Finland, Finnish illustrator (d. 1991)
1920 – Sloan Wilson, American author and poet (d. 2003)
1920 – Gordon McClymont, Australian ecologist and academic (d. 2000)
1922 – Mary Q. Steele, American naturalist and author (d. 1992)
1924 – S. Vithiananthan, Sri Lankan author and academic (d. 1989)
1925 – Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzanian politician, 2nd President of Tanzania
1926 – David Attenborough, English environmentalist and television host
1926 – David Hurst, German actor (d. 2019)
1926 – Don Rickles, American comedian and actor (d. 2017)
1927 – Chumy Chúmez, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
1927 – László Paskai, Hungarian cardinal (d. 2015)
1928 – Robert Conley, American journalist (d. 2013)
1928 – Ted Sorensen, American lawyer, 8th White House Counsel (d. 2010)
1929 – Ethel D. Allen, American physician and politician (d. 1981)
1929 – Girija Devi, Indian classical singer (d. 2017)
1929 – Claude Castonguay, Canadian banker and politician
1929 – Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-American actress and singer (d. 2007)
1930 – Heather Harper, Northern Irish soprano (d. 2019)
1930 – Doug Atkins, American football player (d. 2015)
1930 – René Maltête, French photographer and poet (d. 2000)
1930 – Gary Snyder, American poet, essayist, and translator
1932 – Julieta Campos, Cuban-Mexican author and translator (d. 2007)
1932 – Phyllida Law, Scottish actress
1932 – Harry Wells, Australian rugby league player
1934 – Leonard Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann, South African-English lawyer and judge
1934 – Maurice Norman, English footballer
1934 – David Williamson, Baron Williamson of Horton, English soldier and politician (d. 2015)
1935 – Lucius Cary, 15th Viscount Falkland, Scottish politician
1935 – Princess Elisabeth of Denmark (d. 2018)
1935 – Jack Charlton, English footballer and manager
1936 – Kazuo Koike, Japanese author
1936 – Haljand Udam, Estonian orientalist and academic (d. 2005)
1937 – Bernard Cleary, Canadian journalist, academic, and politician
1937 – Mike Cuellar, Cuban-American baseball player (d. 2010)
1937 – Carlos Gaviria Díaz, Colombian lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
1937 – Thomas Pynchon, American novelist
1938 – Javed Burki, Indian-Pakistani cricketer
1938 – Jean Giraud, French author and illustrator (d. 2012)
1939 – Paul Drayton, American sprinter (d. 2010)
1940 – Peter Benchley, American author and screenwriter (d. 2006)
1940 – James Blyth, Baron Blyth of Rowington, English businessman and academic
1940 – Irwin Cotler, Canadian lawyer and politician, 47th Canadian Minister of Justice
Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (Romania)
Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (United States and others)
Earliest day on which State Flag and State Emblem Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (Belarus)
Earliest day on which World Fair Trade Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Saturday of May (site of the WFTO) (International)
Emancipation Day (Columbus, Mississippi)
Furry Dance (Helston, UK)
Liberation Day (Czech Republic)
Miguel Hidalgo’s birthday (Mexico)
Parents’ Day (South Korea)
Truman Day (Missouri)
Veterans Day (Norway)
Victory in Europe Day, and its related observances (Europe):
Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War, continues to May 9
White Lotus Day (Theosophy)
World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day (International)
351 – The Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus breaks out after his arrival at Antioch.
558 – In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses, twenty years after its construction. Justinian I immediately orders that the dome be rebuilt.
1274 – In France, the Second Council of Lyon opens to regulate the election of the Pope.
1487 – The Siege of Málaga commences during the Spanish Reconquista.
1544 – The Burning of Edinburgh by an English army is the first action of the Rough Wooing.
1664 – Louis XIV of France begins construction of the Palace of Versailles.
1685 – Battle of Vrtijeljka between rebels and Ottoman forces.
1697 – Stockholm’s royal castle (dating back to medieval times) is destroyed by fire. It is replaced in the 18th century by the current Royal Palace.
1718 – The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
1763 – Pontiac’s War begins with Pontiac’s attempt to seize Fort Detroit from the British.
1794 – French Revolution: Robespierre introduces the Cult of the Supreme Being in the National Convention as the new state religion of the French First Republic.
1824 – World premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Vienna, Austria. The performance is conducted by Michael Umlauf under the composer’s supervision.
1832 – Greece’s independence is recognized by the Treaty of London.
1840 – The Great Natchez Tornado strikes Natchez, Mississippi killing 317 people. It is the second deadliest tornado in United States history.
1846 – The Cambridge Chronicle, America’s oldest surviving weekly newspaper, is published for the first time in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1864 – American Civil War: The Army of the Potomac, under General Ulysses S. Grant, breaks off from the Battle of the Wilderness and moves southwards.
1864 – The world’s oldest surviving clipper ship, the City of Adelaide is launched by William Pile, Hay and Co. in Sunderland, England, for transporting passengers and goods between Britain and Australia.
1895 – In Saint Petersburg, Russian scientist Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates to the Russian Physical and Chemical Society his invention, the Popov lightning detector—a primitive radio receiver. In some parts of the former Soviet Union the anniversary of this day is celebrated as Radio Day.
1915 – World War I: German submarine U-20 sinks RMS Lusitania, killing 1,198 people, including 128 Americans. Public reaction to the sinking turns many former pro-Germans in the United States against the German Empire.
1915 – The Republic of China accedes to 13 of the 21 Demands, extending the Empire of Japan‘s control over Manchuria and the Chinese economy.
1920 – Kiev Offensive: Polish troops led by Józef Piłsudski and Edward Rydz-Śmigły and assisted by a symbolic Ukrainian force capture Kiev only to be driven out by the Red Army counter-offensive a month later.
1920 – Treaty of Moscow: Soviet Russia recognizes the independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia only to invade the country six months later.
1920 – Morecambe Football Club was founded during a meeting at the West View Hotel on the town’s promenade.
1930 – The 7.1 Mw Salmas earthquake shakes northwestern Iran and southeastern Turkey with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to three-thousand people were killed.
1931 – The stand-off between criminal Francis Crowley and 300 members of the New York Police Department takes place in his fifth-floor apartment on West 91st Street, New York City.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: The German Condor Legion, equipped with Heinkel He 51 biplanes, arrives in Spain to assist Francisco Franco’s forces.
1940 – World War II: The Norway Debate in the British House of Commons begins, and leads to the replacement of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain with Winston Churchill three days later.
1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Coral Sea, United States Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attack and sink the Imperial Japanese Navy light aircraft carrier Shōhō; the battle marks the first time in naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
1945 – World War II: Last German U boat attack of the war, two freighters are sunk off the Firth of Forth, Scotland.
1945 – World War II: General Alfred Jodl signs unconditional surrender terms at Reims, France, ending Germany’s participation in the war. The document takes effect the next day.
1946 – Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering (later renamed Sony) is founded
1948 – The Council of Europe is founded during the Hague Congress.
1952 – The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey Dummer.
1954 – Indochina War: The Battle of Dien Bien Phu ends in a French defeat and a Viet Minh victory (the battle began on March 13).
1960 – Cold War: U-2 Crisis of 1960: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announces that his nation is holding American U-2 pilot Gary Powers.
1976 – The Honda Accord is officially launched.
1986 – Canadian Patrick Morrow becomes the first person to climb each of the Seven Summits.
1992 – Michigan ratifies a 203-year-old proposed amendment to the United States Constitution making the 27th Amendment law. This amendment bars the U.S. Congress from giving itself a mid-term pay raise.
1992 – Space Shuttle program: The Space Shuttle Endeavour is launched on its first mission, STS-49.
1992 – Three employees at a McDonald’s Restaurant in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada, are brutally murdered and a fourth permanently disabled after a botched robbery. It is the first “fast-food murder” in Canada.
1994 – Edvard Munch’s painting The Scream is recovered undamaged after being stolen from the National Gallery of Norway in February.
1998 – Mercedes-Benz buys Chrysler for US$40 billion and forms DaimlerChrysler in the largest industrial merger in history.
1999 – Pope John Paul II travels to Romania, becoming the first pope to visit a predominantly Eastern Orthodox country since the Great Schism in 1054.
1999 – Kosovo War: Three Chinese citizens are killed and 20 wounded when a NATO aircraft apparently inadvertently bombs the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, Serbia.
1999 – In Guinea-Bissau, President João Bernardo Vieira is ousted in a military coup.
2000 – Vladimir Putin is inaugurated as president of Russia.
2002 – An EgyptAir Boeing 737-500 crashes on approach to Tunis–Carthage International Airport, killing 14 people.
2002 – A China Northern Airlines MD-82 plunges into the Yellow Sea, killing 112 people.
2004 – American businessman Nick Berg is beheaded by Islamic militants. The act is recorded on videotape and released on the Internet.
Births on May 7
Before 160 – Julia Maesa, Roman noblewoman (d. 224)
1488 – John III of the Palatinate, archbishop of Regensburg (d. 1538)
1530 – Louis, Prince of Condé (d. 1569)
1553 – Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia (d. 1618)
1605 – Patriarch Nikon of Moscow (d. 1681)
1643 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician, 10th Mayor of New York City (d. 1700)
1700 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician (d. 1772)
1701 – Carl Heinrich Graun, German tenor and composer (d. 1759)
1711 – David Hume, Scottish economist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1776)
1724 – Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser, French-Austrian field marshal (d. 1797)
1740 – Nikolai Arkharov, Russian police officer and general (d. 1814)
1748 – Olympe de Gouges, French playwright and philosopher (d. 1793)
1763 – Józef Poniatowski, Polish general (d. 1813)
1767 – Princess Frederica Charlotte of Prussia (d. 1820)
1774 – William Bainbridge, American commodore (d. 1833)
1787 – Jacques Viger, Canadian archaeologist and politician, 1st mayor of Montreal (d. 1858)
1812 – Robert Browning, English poet and playwright (d. 1889)
1833 – Johannes Brahms, German pianist and composer (d. 1897)
1836 – Joseph Gurney Cannon, American lawyer and politician, 40th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1926)
1837 – Karl Mauch, German geographer and explorer (d. 1875)
1840 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer and educator (d. 1893)
1845 – Mary Eliza Mahoney, American nurse and activist (d. 1926)
1847 – Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1929)
1857 – William A. MacCorkle, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1930)
1860 – Tom Norman, English businessman (d. 1930)
1861 – Rabindranath Tagore, Indian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
1867 – Władysław Reymont, Polish novelist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1925)
1875 – Bill Hoyt, American pole vaulter (d. 1951)
1880 – Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (d. 1972)
1881 – George E. Wiley, American cyclist (d. 1954)
1882 – Willem Elsschot, Belgian author and poet (d. 1960)
1885 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American actor (d. 1969)
1889 – Viktor Puskar, Estonian colonel (d. 1943)
1891 – Harry McShane, Scottish engineer and activist (d. 1988)
1892 – Archibald MacLeish, American poet, playwright, and lawyer (d. 1982)
1892 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (d. 1980)
1893 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey coach and manager (d. 1985)
1896 – Kathleen McKane Godfree, English tennis and badminton player (d. 1992)
1899 – Alfred Gerrard, English sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
1901 – Gary Cooper, American actor (d. 1961)
1903 – Jimmy Ball, Canadian sprinter (d. 1988)
1904 – Kurt Weitzmann, German-American historian and author (d. 1993)
1906 – Eric Krenz, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1931)
1909 – Edwin H. Land, American scientist and inventor, co-founded the Polaroid Corporation (d. 1991)
1909 – Dorothy Sunrise Lorentino, Native American teacher (d. 2005)
1911 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
1911 – Rıfat Ilgaz, Turkish author, poet, and educator (d. 1993)
1912 – Pannalal Patel, Indian author (d. 1989)
1913 – John Spencer Hardy, American general (d. 2012)
1913 – Simon Ramo, American physicist and engineer (d. 2016)
1914 – Arthur Snelling, English civil servant and diplomat. British Ambassador to South Africa (d. 1996)
1916 – Huw Wheldon, Welsh-English broadcaster (d. 1986)
1916 – W. B. Young, Scottish rugby player and physician (d. 2013)
1917 – Domenico Bartolucci, Italian cardinal and composer (d. 2013)
1917 – Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (d. 2020)
1917 – David Tomlinson, English actor (d. 2000)
1919 – Eva Perón, Argentinian actress, 25th First Lady of Argentina (d. 1952)
1920 – Rendra Karno, Indonesian actor (d. 1985)
1921 – Asa Briggs, Baron Briggs, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
1921 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (d. 1985)
1922 – Darren McGavin, American actor and director (d. 2006)
1922 – Joe O’Donnell, American photographer and journalist (d. 2007)
1923 – Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
1923 – Jim Lowe, American singer-songwriter, disc jockey, and radio host (d. 2016)
1923 – Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2015)
1924 – Albert Band, French-American director and producer (d. 2002)
1925 – Lauri Vaska, Estonian-American chemist and academic (d. 2015)
1927 – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, German-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1929 – Dick Williams, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
1930 – Totie Fields, American comedian and author (d. 1978)
1930 – Babe Parilli, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
1930 – John Smith, Baron Kirkhill, English politician
1931 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (d. 2007)
1931 – Gene Wolfe, American author (d. 2019)
1932 – Jordi Bonet, Spanish-Canadian painter and sculptor (d. 1979)
1932 – Alan Cuthbert, English pharmacologist and academic (d. 2016)
1932 – Pete Domenici, American lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Albuquerque (d. 2017)
1932 – Derek Taylor, English journalist and author (d. 1997)
1933 – Johnny Unitas, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
1935 – Avraham Heffner, Israeli actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
1935 – Michael Hopkins, English architect
1936 – Robin Hanbury-Tenison, English explorer and author
1936 – Tony O’Reilly, Irish rugby player and businessman
1936 – Jimmy Ruffin, American soul singer (d. 2014)
1937 – Eddie Clayton, English footballer
1937 – Claude Raymond, Canadian baseball player and coach
1939 – Sidney Altman, Canadian-American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1939 – Ruggero Deodato, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter
1939 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch economist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2018)
1939 – Johnny Maestro, American pop/doo-wop singer (d. 2010)
1939 – Clive Soley, Baron Soley, English politician
1940 – Angela Carter, English novelist and short story writer (d. 1992)
1940 – Dave Chambers, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1941 – Lawrence Collins, Baron Collins of Mapesbury, English lawyer and judge
1943 – Terry Allen, American singer and painter
1943 – Harvey Andrews, English singer-songwriter and poet
1943 – John Bannon, Australian academic and politician, 39th Premier of South Australia (d. 2015)
1943 – Peter Carey, Australian novelist and short story writer
1945 – Christy Moore, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1945 – Robin Strasser, American actress
1946 – Thelma Houston, American R&B/disco singer and actress
1946 – Marv Hubbard, American football player (d. 2015)
1946 – Bill Kreutzmann, American drummer
1946 – Michael Rosen, English author and poet
1946 – Brian Turner, English chef and television host
1949 – Kathy Ahern, American golfer (d. 1996)
1949 – Deborah Butterfield, American sculptor
1950 – John Dowling Coates, Australian lawyer, sports administrator and businessman
1950 – Randall “Tex” Cobb, American boxer and actor
1950 – Tim Russert, American television journalist and lawyer (d. 2008)
1953 – Pat McInally, American football player and coach
1953 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
1954 – Philippe Geluck, Belgian cartoonist
1954 – Joanna Haigh, English meteorologist and physicist
1954 – Amy Heckerling, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1955 – Clément Gignac, Canadian politician
1955 – Ben Poquette, American basketball player
1955 – Axel Zwingenberger, German pianist and songwriter
1956 – Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch jurist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
1956 – Anne Dudley, English pianist and composer
1956 – Nicholas Hytner, English director and producer
1956 – Jean Lapierre, Canadian talk show host and politician
1956 – Calum MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician
1957 – Kristina M. Johnson, American business executive, engineer, academic and government official
1958 – Mikhail Biryukov, Russian footballer and manager
1958 – Mark G. Kuzyk, American physicist and academic
1958 – Anne Marie Rafferty, English nurse and academic
1959 – Michael E. Knight, American actor
1959 – Tony Sealy, English footballer, forward and manager
1959 – Heiki Valk, Estonian archeologist and academic
1960 – Adam Bernstein, American director and screenwriter
1960 – Ara Darzi, Baron Darzi of Denham, Iraqi-English surgeon and academic
1960 – Almudena Grandes, Spanish author
1961 – Hans-Peter Bartels, German politician
1961 – Sue Black, Scottish anthropologist and academic
1961 – Ivar Must, Estonian composer and producer
1962 – Tony Campbell, American basketball player and coach
1962 – Judith Donath, American computer scientist and academic
1963 – Johnny Lee Middleton, American bass player and songwriter
1964 – Ronnie Harmon, American football player
1964 – Denis Mandarino, Brazilian guitarist, composer, and painter
1964 – Leslie O’Neal, American football player
1965 – Reuben Davis, American football player
1965 – Owen Hart, Canadian wrestler (d. 1999)
1965 – Norman Whiteside, Northern Irish footballer and manager
1965 – Huang Zhihong, Chinese shot putter
1967 – Martin Bryant, Australian mass murderer
1967 – Adam Price, Danish chef and screenwriter
1967 – Joe Rice, American colonel and politician
1968 – Traci Lords, American actress and singer
1968 – Lisa Raitt, Canadian lawyer and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Transport
1969 – Eagle-Eye Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
1969 – Jun Falkenstein, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1969 – Katerina Maleeva, Bulgarian tennis player
1971 – Reidar Horghagen, Norwegian drummer
1971 – Dave Karpa, Canadian ice hockey player
1971 – Thomas Piketty, French economist
1972 – Peter Dubovský, Czech-Slovak footballer (d. 2000)
1972 – Frank Trigg, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
1973 – Kristian Lundin, Swedish songwriter and producer
1973 – Paolo Savoldelli, Italian cyclist
1974 – Ian Pearce, English footballer and assistant manager
1973 – Lawrence Johnson, American pole vaulter
1975 – Ashley Cowan, English cricketer
1976 – Calvin Booth, American basketball player
1976 – Berke Hatipoğlu, Turkish guitarist and songwriter
1976 – Stacey Jones, New Zealand rugby league player
1976 – Andrea Lo Cicero, Italian rugby player
1976 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2005)
1976 – Ayelet Shaked, Israeli Minister of Justice (2015-2019)
1977 – Elton Flatley, Australian rugby player
1978 – Stian Arnesen, Norwegian guitarist, drummer, and songwriter
1978 – James Carter, American hurdler
1978 – Shawn Marion, American basketball player
1979 – Katie Douglas, American basketball player
1983 – Phionah Atuhebwe, Ugandan vaccinologist and immunization expert
1984 – James Loney, American baseball player
1984 – Alex Smith, American football player
1984 – Kevin Owens, Canadian wrestler
1985 – Jarrad Hickey, Australian rugby league player
1985 – Drew Neitzel, American basketball player
1986 – Matt Helders, English drummer
1987 – Asami Konno, Japanese singer
1987 – Michael Maidens, English footballer (d. 2007)
1987 – Mark Reynolds, Scottish footballer
1987 – David Schlemko, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Eino Puri, Estonian footballer
1988 – Sander Puri, Estonian footballer
1989 – Earl Thomas, American football player
1995 – Seko Fofana, French born Ivorian international footballer
1997 – Daria Kasatkina, Russian tennis player
1998 – Jesse Puljujärvi, Finnish ice hockey player
Deaths on May 7
721 – John of Beverley, bishop of York
833 – Ibn Hisham, Egyptian Muslim historian
973 – Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 912)
1014 – Bagrat III, 1st King of Georgia (b. 960)
1092 – Remigius de Fécamp, English monk and bishop
1166 – William I of Sicily
1202 – Hamelin de Warenne, Earl of Surrey
1205 – Ladislaus III of Hungary (b. 1201)
1234 – Otto I, Duke of Merania (b. c. 1180)
1243 – Hugh d’Aubigny, 5th Earl of Arundel
1427 – Thomas la Warr, 5th Baron De La Warr, English priest (b. 1352)
1494 – Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1471)
1523 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (b. 1481)
1539 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (b. 1466)
1617 – David Fabricius, German astronomer and theologian (b. 1564)
1667 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (b. 1616)
1682 – Feodor III of Russia (b. 1661)
1685 – Bajo Pivljanin (b. 1630)
1718 – Mary of Modena (b. 1658)
1793 – Pietro Nardini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1722)
1800 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer (b. 1728)
1805 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English general and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1737)
1815 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1739)
1825 – Antonio Salieri, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1750)
1840 – Caspar David Friedrich, German painter and educator (b. 1774)
1868 – Henry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1778)
1872 – Alexander Loyd, American carpenter and politician, 4th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
1876 – William Buell Sprague, American clergyman, historian, and author (b. 1795)
1887 – C. F. W. Walther, German-American religious leader and theologian (b. 1811)
1896 – H. H. Holmes, American serial killer (b. 1861)
1902 – Agostino Roscelli, Italian priest and saint (b. 1818)
1917 – Albert Ball, English fighter pilot (b. 1896)
1922 – Max Wagenknecht, German pianist and composer (b. 1857)
1924 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (b. 1897/1898)
1925 – William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, English businessman and politician (b. 1851)
1937 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and author (b. 1886)
1938 – Octavian Goga, Romanian politician, former Prime Minister (b. 1881)
1940 – George Lansbury, English journalist and politician (b. 1859)
1941 – James George Frazer, Scottish-English anthropologist and academic (b. 1854)
1942 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
1943 – Fethi Okyar, Turkish colonel and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1880)
1946 – Herbert Macaulay, Nigerian journalist and politician (b. 1864)
1951 – Warner Baxter, American actor (b. 1889)
1967 – Margaret Larkin, American writer and poet (b. 1899)
1958 – Mihkel Lüdig, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1880)
1976 – Alison Uttley, English children’s book writer (b. 1884)
1978 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
1986 – Haldun Taner, Turkish playwright and author (b. 1915)
1987 – Colin Blakely, Northern Irish actor (b. 1930)
1987 – Paul Popham, American soldier and activist, co-founded Gay Men’s Health Crisis (b. 1941)
1990 – Sam Tambimuttu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
1994 – Clement Greenberg, American art critic (b. 1909)
1995 – Ray McKinley, American drummer, singer, and bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra) (b. 1910)
1998 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South African-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1924)
1998 – Eddie Rabbitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
2000 – Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., American captain, actor, and producer (b. 1909)
2001 – Jacques de Bourbon-Busset, French author and politician (b. 1912)
1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.
1478 – The Pazzi family attack Lorenzo de’ Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Florence Cathedral.
1564 – Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of actual birth is unknown).
1607 – English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia.
1721 – A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz.
1777 – Sybil Ludington, aged 16, rode 40 miles (64 km) to alert American colonial forces to the approach of the British regular forces
1794 – Battle of Beaumont during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France.
1803 – Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L’Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist.
1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon.
1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrenders his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina. Also the date of Confederate Memorial Day for two states.
1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, in Virginia.
1903 – Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded
1923 – The Duke of York weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey.
1925 – Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic.
1933 – The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
1942 – Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1549 Chinese miners dead.
1943 – The Easter Riots break out in Uppsala, Sweden.
1944 – Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt.
1944 – Heinrich Kreipe is captured by Allied commandos in occupied Crete.
1945 – World War II: Battle of Bautzen: Last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.
1945 – World War II: Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army are liberated in Baguio City and they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
1954 – The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.
1956 – SS Ideal X, the world’s first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey, for Houston, Texas.
1958 – Final run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
1960 – Forced out by the April Revolution, President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after 12 years of dictatorial rule.
1962 – NASA’s Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.
1963 – In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections.
1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.
1966 – The magnitude 5.1 Tashkent earthquake affects the largest city in Soviet Central Asia with a maximum MSK intensity of VII (Very strong). Tashkent is mostly destroyed and 15–200 are killed.
1966 – A new government is formed in the Republic of the Congo, led by Ambroise Noumazalaye.
1970 – The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force.
1981 – Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world’s first human open fetal surgery.
1982 – Fifty-seven people are killed by former police officer Woo Bum-kon in a shooting spree in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
1986 – A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union, creating the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
1989 – The deadliest known tornado strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.
1989 – People’s Daily publishes the April 26 Editorial which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests.
1991 – Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States. Before the outbreak’s end, Andover, Kansas, would record the year’s only F5 tornado.
1994 – China Airlines Flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board.
2002 – Robert Steinhäuser kills 16 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot.
2005 – Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country (Syrian occupation of Lebanon).
2018 – American comedian Bill Cosby is found guilty of sexual assault.
Births on April 26
121 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (d. 180)
757 – Hisham I of Córdoba (d. 796)
764 – Al-Hadi, Iranian caliph (d. 786)
1284 – Alice de Toeni, Countess of Warwick (d. 1324)
1319 – King John II of France (d. 1364)
1538 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter and academic (d. 1600)
1575 – Marie de’ Medici, queen of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)
1647 – William Ashhurst, English banker, Sheriff of London, Lord Mayor of London and politician (d. 1720)
1648 – Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)
1697 – Adam Falckenhagen, German lute player and composer (d. 1754)
1710 – Thomas Reid, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1796)
1718 – Esek Hopkins, American commander (d. 1802)
1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (d. 1853)
1782 – Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (d. 1866)
1785 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (d. 1851)
1787 – Ludwig Uhland, German poet, philologist, and historian (d. 1862)
1798 – Eugène Delacroix, French painter and lithographer (d. 1863)
1801 – Ambrose Dudley Mann, American politician and diplomat, 1st United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1889)
1804 – Charles Goodyear, American banker, lawyer, and politician (d. 1876)
1822 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American journalist and designer, co-designed Central Park (d. 1903)
1834 – Charles Farrar Browne, American author (d. 1867)
1856 – Joseph Ward, Australian-New Zealand businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
1862 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and educator (d. 1938)
1876 – Ernst Felle, German rower (d. 1959)
1877 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (d. 1950)
1878 – Rafael Guízar y Valencia, Mexican bishop and saint (d. 1938)
1879 – Eric Campbell, British actor (d. 1917)
1879 – Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
1886 – Ma Rainey, American singer (d. 1939)
1886 – Ğabdulla Tuqay, Russian poet and publicist (d. 1913)
1889 – Anita Loos, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
1889 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1951)
1894 – Rudolf Hess, Egyptian-German politician (d. 1987)
1896 – Ruut Tarmo, Estonian actor and director (d. 1967)
1896 – Ernst Udet, German colonel and pilot (d. 1941)
1897 – Eddie Eagan, American boxer and bobsledder (d. 1967)
1897 – Douglas Sirk, German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
1898 – Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
1898 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (d. 1972)
1899 – Oscar Rabin, Latvian-English saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1958)
1900 – Eva Aschoff, German bookbinder and calligrapher (d. 1969)
1900 – Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist and physicist (d. 1985)
1900 – Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948)
1904 – Paul-Émile Léger, Canadian cardinal (d. 1991)
1904 – Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and politician, 177th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2004)
1905 – Jean Vigo, French director and screenwriter (d. 1934)
1907 – Ilias Tsirimokos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1968)
1909 – Marianne Hoppe, German actress (d. 2002)
1910 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
1911 – Paul Verner, German soldier and politician (d. 1986)
1912 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-American author (d. 2000)
1914 – Bernard Malamud, Jewish American novelist and short story writer (d. 1986)
1914 – James Rouse, American real estate developer (d. 1996)
1916 – Eyvind Earle, American artist, author, and illustrator (d. 2000)
1916 – Ken Wallis, English commander, engineer, and pilot (d. 2013)
1916 – Morris West, Australian author and playwright (d. 1999)
1917 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player and coach (d. 1992)
1917 – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect, designed the National Gallery of Art and Bank of China Tower (d. 2019)
1917 – Virgil Trucks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
1918 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch sprinter and long jumper (d. 2004)
1921 – Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 2008)
1922 – J. C. Holt, English historian and academic (d. 2014)
1922 – Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Governor General of Canada (d. 1993)
1922 – Margaret Scott, South African-Australian ballerina and choreographer (d. 2019)
1924 – Browning Ross, American runner and soldier (d. 1998)
1925 – Vladimir Boltyansky, Russian mathematician, educator and author (d. 2019)
1925 – Gerard Cafesjian, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
1925 – Michele Ferrero, Italian entrepreneur (d. 2015)
1925 – Frank Hahn, British economist (d. 2013)
1926 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German soldier and illustrator (d. 2003)
1927 – Jack Douglas, English actor (d. 2008)
1927 – Harry Gallatin, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
1927 – Granny Hamner, American baseball player (d. 1993)
1929 – Richard Mitchell, American author and educator (d. 2002)
1930 – Roger Moens, Belgian runner and sportscaster
1931 – Paul Almond, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1931 – Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent and producer (d. 2008)
1931 – John Cain Jr., Australian politician, 41st Premier of Victoria (d. 2019)
1932 – Israr Ahmed, Indian-Pakistani theologian, philosopher, and scholar (d. 2010)
1932 – Shirley Cawley, English long jumper
1932 – Frank D’Rone, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
1932 – Francis Lai, French accordion player and composer (d. 2018)
1932 – Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
1933 – Carol Burnett, American actress, singer, and producer
1933 – Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican-American general (d. 2005)
1933 – Arno Allan Penzias, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1935 – Patricia Reilly Giff, American author and educator
1937 – Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
1938 – Duane Eddy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1938 – Maurice Williams, American doo-wop/R&B singer-songwriter
1940 – Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Indian cleric and politician (d. 2014)
1940 – Giorgio Moroder, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
1940 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league player (d. 2018)
1941 – Claudine Auger, French model and actress (d. 2019)
1942 – Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2014)
1942 – Sharon Carstairs, Canadian lawyer and politician, Leader of the Government in the Senate
1942 – Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
1942 – Bobby Rydell, American singer and actor
1942 – Jadwiga Staniszkis, Polish sociologist, political scientist, and academic
1943 – Gary Wright, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
1943 – Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect and academic, designed the Therme Vals
1944 – Richard Bradshaw, English conductor (d. 2007)
1945 – Howard Davies, English director and producer (d. 2016)
1945 – Dick Johnson, Australian race car driver
1945 – Sylvain Simard, Canadian academic and politician
1946 – Ralph Coates, English international footballer (d. 2010)
1946 – Marilyn Nelson, American poet and author
1946 – Alberto Quintano, Chilean footballer
1949 – Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer and manager
1949 – Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler (d. 1995)
1951 – John Battle, English politician
1954 – Tatyana Fomina, Estonian chess player
1954 – Alan Hinkes, English mountaineer and explorer
1955 – Kurt Bodewig, German politician
1956 – Koo Stark, American actress and photographer
1958 – John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, Scottish race car driver
1958 – Giancarlo Esposito, American actor, director, and producer
1958 – Georgios Kostikos, Greek footballer, coach, and manager
1959 – John Corabi, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1960 – Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player and coach
1960 – Roger Taylor, English drummer
1961 – Joan Chen, Chinese-American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
1961 – Chris Mars, American artist
1962 – Colin Anderson, English footballer
1962 – Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian
1963 – Jet Li, Chinese-Singaporean martial artist, actor, and producer
1963 – Colin Scotts, Australian-American football player
1963 – Cornelia Ullrich, German hurdler
1963 – Bill Wennington, Canadian basketball player
1965 – Susannah Harker, English actress
1965 – Kevin James, American actor and comedian
1967 – Glenn Thomas Jacobs, American professional wrestler, actor, businessman and politician
1967 – Marianne Jean-Baptiste, English actress and singer-songwriter
1967 – Toomas Tõniste, Estonian sailor and politician
1970 – Dean Austin, English footballer and manager
1970 – Melania Trump, Slovene-American model; 47th First Lady of the United States
1970 – Kristen R. Ghodsee, American ethnographer and academic
1970 – Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
1971 – Jay DeMarcus, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
1972 – Jason Bargwanna, Australian race car driver
1972 – Kiko, Spanish footballer
1972 – Natrone Means, American football player and coach
1972 – Avi Nimni, Israeli footballer and manager
1973 – Geoff Blum, American baseball player and sportscaster
1973 – Jules Naudet, French-American director and producer
1973 – Chris Perry, English footballer
1973 – Óscar García Junyent, Spanish footballer and coach
1975 – Joey Jordison, American musician, songwriter, record producer
1975 – Rahul Verma, Indian social worker and activist
1976 – Luigi Panarelli, Italian footballer
1976 – Václav Varaďa, Czech ice hockey player
1977 – Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian astronaut
1977 – Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player
1977 – Roxana Saberi, American journalist and author
AD 65 – The freedman Milichus betrays Piso’s plot to kill Emperor Nero and all the conspirators are arrested.
531 – Battle of Callinicum: A Byzantine army under Belisarius is defeated by the Persians at Raqqa (northern Syria).
797 – Empress Irene organizes a conspiracy against her son, the Byzantine emperor Constantine VI. He is deposed and blinded. Shortly after, Constantine dies of his wounds; Irene proclaims herself basileus.
1506 – The Lisbon Massacre begins, in which accused Jews are being slaughtered by Portuguese Catholics.
1529 – Beginning of the Protestant Reformation: After the Second Diet of Speyer bans Lutheranism, a group of rulers (German: Fürst) and independent cities protests the reinstatement of the Edict of Worms.
1539 – The Treaty of Frankfurt between Protestants and the Holy Roman Emperor is signed.
1608 – In Ireland: O’Doherty’s Rebellion is launched by the Burning of Derry.
1677 – The French army captures the town of Cambrai held by Spanish troops.
1713 – With no living male heirs, Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 to ensure that Habsburg lands and the Austrian throne would be inheritable by a female; his daughter and successor, Maria Theresa was not born until 1717.
1770 – Captain James Cook, still holding the rank of lieutenant, sights the eastern coast of what is now Australia.
1770 – Marie Antoinette marries Louis XVI of France in a proxy wedding.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: The war begins with an American victory in Concord during the battles of Lexington and Concord.
1782 – John Adams secures the Dutch Republic’s recognition of the United States as an independent government. The house which he had purchased in The Hague, Netherlands becomes the first American embassy.
1809 – An Austrian corps is defeated by the forces of the Duchy of Warsaw in the Battle of Raszyn, part of the struggles of the Fifth Coalition. On the same day the Austrian main army is defeated by a First French Empire Corps led by Louis-Nicolas Davout at the Battle of Teugen-Hausen in Bavaria, part of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory.
1810 – Venezuela achieves home rule: Vicente Emparán, Governor of the Captaincy General is removed by the people of Caracas and a junta is installed.
1818 – French physicist Augustin Fresnel signs his preliminary “Note on the Theory of Diffraction” (deposited on the following day). The document ends with what we now call the Fresnel integrals.
1839 – The Treaty of London establishes Belgium as a kingdom and guarantees its neutrality.
1861 – American Civil War: Baltimore riot of 1861: A pro-Secession mob in Baltimore attacks United States Army troops marching through the city.
1903 – The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Palestine and the Western world.
1927 – Mae West is sentenced to ten days in jail for obscenity for her play Sex.
1942 – World War II: In Poland, the Majdan-Tatarski ghetto is established, situated between the Lublin Ghetto and a Majdanek subcamp.
1943 – World War II: In Poland, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begins, after German troops enter the Warsaw Ghetto to round up the remaining Jews.
1943 – Albert Hofmann deliberately doses himself with LSD for the first time, three days after having discovered its effects on April 16.
1956 – Actress Grace Kelly marries Prince Rainier of Monaco.
1960 – Students in South Korea hold a nationwide pro-democracy protest against president Syngman Rhee, eventually forcing him to resign.
1971 – Sierra Leone becomes a republic, and Siaka Stevens the president.
1971 – Launch of Salyut 1, the first space station.
1971 – Charles Manson is sentenced to death (later commuted to life imprisonment) for conspiracy in the Tate–LaBianca murders.
1973 – The Portuguese Socialist Party is founded in the German town of Bad Münstereifel.
1975 – India’s first satellite Aryabhata launched in orbit from Kapustin Yar, Russia.
1984 – Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia’s national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours.
1985 – Two hundred ATF and FBI agents lay siege to the compound of the white supremacist survivalist group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord in Arkansas; the CSA surrenders two days later.
1987 – The Simpsons first appear as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show, first starting with Good Night.
1989 – A gun turret explodes on the USS Iowa, killing 47 sailors.
1993 – The 51-day FBI siege of the Branch Davidian building in Waco, Texas, USA, ends when a fire breaks out. 76 Davidians, including eighteen children under the age of ten, died in the fire.
1995 – Oklahoma City bombing: The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, USA, is bombed, killing 168 people including 19 children under the age of six.
1999 – The German Bundestag returns to Berlin.
2000 – Air Philippines Flight 541 crashes in Samal, Davao del Norte, killing all 131 people on board.
2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is elected to the papacy and becomes Pope Benedict XVI.
2011 – Fidel Castro resigns as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba after holding the title since July 1961.
2013 – Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev is killed in a shootout with police. His brother Dzhokhar is later captured hiding in a boat inside a backyard in the suburb of Watertown.
2020 – A killing spree in Nova Scotia, Canada, leaves 22 people and the perpetrator dead, making it the deadliest rampage in the country’s history.
Births on April 19
1452 – Frederick IV, King of Naples (d. 1504)
1593 – Sir John Hobart, 2nd Baronet, English politician (d. 1647)
1603 – Michel Le Tellier, French politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1685)
1613 – Christoph Bach, German musician (d. 1661)
1633 – Willem Drost, Dutch painter (d. 1659)
1655 – George St Lo(e), Royal Navy officer and administrator (d. 1718)
1658 – Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, German husband of Archduchess Maria Anna Josepha of Austria (d. 1716)
1665 – Jacques Lelong, French author (d. 1721)
1686 – Vasily Tatishchev, Russian ethnographer and politician (d. 1750)
1715 – James Nares, English organist and composer (d. 1783)
1721 – Roger Sherman, American lawyer and politician (d. 1793)
1734 – Karl von Ordóñez, Austrian violinist and composer (d. 1786)
1757 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, English admiral and politician (d. 1833)
1758 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish admiral (d. 1831)
1785 – Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, French pianist and composer (d. 1858)
1787 – Deaf Smith, American soldier (d. 1837)
1793 – Ferdinand I of Austria (d. 1875)
1806 – Sarah Bagley, American labor organizer (d. 1889)
1814 – Louis Amédée Achard, French journalist and author (d. 1875)
1832 – José Echegaray, Spanish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
1835 – Julius Krohn, Finnish poet and journalist (d. 1888)
1863 – Hemmo Kallio, Finnish actor (d. 1940)
1872 – Alice Salomon, German social reformer (d. 1948)
1873 – Sydney Barnes, English cricketer (d. 1967)
1874 – Ernst Rüdin, Swiss psychiatrist, geneticist, and eugenicist (d. 1952)
1877 – Ole Evinrude, Norwegian-American engineer, invented the outboard motor (d. 1934)
1879 – Arthur Robertson, Scottish runner (d. 1957)
1882 – Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 14th President of Brazil (d. 1954)
1883 – Henry Jameson, American soccer player (d. 1938)
1883 – Richard von Mises, Austrian-American mathematician and physicist (d. 1953)
1885 – Karl Tarvas, Estonian architect (d. 1975)
1889 – Otto Georg Thierack, German jurist and politician (d. 1946)
1891 – Françoise Rosay, French actress (d. 1974)
1892 – Germaine Tailleferre, French composer and educator (d. 1983)
1894 – Elizabeth Dilling, American author and activist (d. 1966)
1897 – Peter de Noronha, Indian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1970)
1897 – Jiroemon Kimura, Japanese super-centenarian, oldest verified man ever (d. 2013)
1898 – Constance Talmadge, American actress and producer (d. 1973)
1899 – George O’Brien, American actor (d. 1985)
1899 – Cemal Tollu, Turkish lieutenant and painter (d. 1968)
1900 – Iracema de Alencar, Brazilian film actress (d. 1978)
1900 – Richard Hughes, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1976)
1900 – Roland Michener, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Governor General of Canada (d. 1991)
1900 – Rhea Silberta, Yiddish songwriter and singing teacher (d. 1959)
1902 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author and screenwriter (d. 1989)
1903 – Eliot Ness, American law enforcement agent (d. 1957)
1907 – Alan Wheatley, English actor (d. 1991)
1908 – Irena Eichlerówna, Polish actress (d. 1990)
1912 – Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
1913 – Ken Carpenter, American discus thrower and coach (d. 1984)
1917 – Sven Hassel, Danish-German soldier and author (d. 2012)
1919 – Sol Kaplan, American pianist and composer (d. 1990)
1920 – Gene Leis, American guitarist, composer, and producer (d. 1993)
1920 – Marvin Mandel, American lawyer and politician, 56th Governor of Maryland (d. 2015)
1920 – John O’Neil, American baseball player and manager (d. 2012)
1920 – Julien Ries, Belgian cardinal (d. 2013)
1920 – Marian Winters, American actress (d. 1978)
1921 – Anna Lee Aldred, American jockey (d. 2006)
1921 – Leon Henkin, American logician (d. 2006)
1921 – Roberto Tucci, Italian Jesuit leader, cardinal, and theologian (d. 2015)
1922 – Erich Hartmann, German colonel and pilot (d. 1993)
1922 – David Smith, politician in Rhodesia and Zimbabwe (d. 1996)
1925 – John Kraaijkamp, Sr., Dutch actor (d. 2011)
1925 – Hugh O’Brian, American actor (d. 2016)
1926 – Rawya Ateya, Egyptian captain and politician (d. 1997)
1928 – John Horlock, English engineer and academic (d. 2015)
1928 – Azlan Shah of Perak, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 2014)
1931 – Walter Stewart, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2004)
1932 – Fernando Botero, Colombian painter and sculptor
1933 – Dickie Bird, English cricketer and umpire
1933 – Jayne Mansfield, American model and actress (d. 1967)
1933 – Philip Lavallin Wroughton, English captain and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire
1934 – Dickie Goodman, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1989)
1935 – Dudley Moore, English actor, comedian, and pianist (d. 2002)
1935 – Justin Francis Rigali, American cardinal
1936 – Wilfried Martens, Belgian politician, 60th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2013)
1936 – Jack Pardee, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
1937 – Antonio Carluccio, Italian-English chef and author (d. 2017)
1937 – Elinor Donahue, American actress
1937 – Joseph Estrada, Filipino politician, 13th President of the Philippines
1938 – Stanley Fish, American theorist, author, and scholar
1939 – E. Clay Shaw, Jr., American accountant, judge, and politician (d. 2013)
2016 – Milt Pappas, American baseball player (b. 1939)[42]
2017 – Aaron Hernandez, American football player (b. 1989)[43]
Holidays and observances on April 19
Christian feast day:
Ælfheah of Canterbury (Anglican, Catholic)
Conrad of Ascoli
Emma of Lesum
Expeditus
George of Antioch
Olaus and Laurentius Petri (Lutheran)
Pope Leo IX
Ursmar
April 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which First Day of Summer or Sumardagurinn fyrsti can fall, while April 25 is the latest; celebrated on the first Thursday after April 18. (Iceland)
Army Day (Brazil)
Beginning of the Independence Movement (Venezuela)
Bicycle Day[44]
Dutch-American Friendship Day (United States)
Holocaust Remembrance Day (Poland)
Indian Day (Brazil)
King Mswati III’s birthday (Eswatini)
Landing of the 33 Patriots Day (Uruguay)
Patriots’ Day (Massachusetts, Maine and Wisconsin, United States)
AD 73 – Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the First Jewish–Roman War.
1346 – Stefan Dušan, “the Mighty”, is crowned Emperor of the Serbs at Skopje, his empire occupying much of the Balkans.
1520 – The Revolt of the Comuneros begins in Spain against the rule of Charles V.
1582 – Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina.
1746 – The Battle of Culloden is fought between the French-supported Jacobites and the British Hanoverian forces commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, in Scotland.After the battle many highland traditions were banned and the Highlands of Scotland were cleared of inhabitants.
1780 – Franz Friedrich Wilhelm von Fürstenberg founds the University of Münster.
1799 – French Revolutionary Wars: The Battle of Mount Tabor: Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.
1818 – The United States Senate ratifies the Rush–Bagot Treaty, limiting naval armaments on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain.
1847 – Shooting of a Māori by an English sailor results in the opening of the Wanganui Campaign of the New Zealand Wars.
1853 – The Great Indian Peninsula Railway opens the first passenger rail in India, from Bori Bunder to Thane.
1858 – The Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is wound up.
1862 – American Civil War: Battle at Lee’s Mills in Virginia.
1862 – American Civil War: The District of Columbia Compensated Emancipation Act, a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia, becomes law.
1863 – American Civil War: During the Vicksburg Campaign, gunboats commanded by acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter run downriver past Confederate artillery batteries at Vicksburg.
1881 – In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
1908 – Natural Bridges National Monument is established in Utah.
1910 – The oldest existing indoor ice hockey arena still used for the sport in the 21st century, Boston Arena, opens for the first time.
1912 – Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
1917 – Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd, Russia, from exile in Switzerland.
1919 – Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of “prayer and fasting” in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Jallianwala Bagh massacre by the British colonial troops three days earlier.
1919 – Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army launches the Vilna offensive to capture Vilnius in modern Lithuania.
1922 – The Treaty of Rapallo, pursuant to which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations, is signed.
1925 – During the Communist St Nedelya Church assault in Sofia, Bulgaria, 150 are killed and 500 are wounded.
1941 – World War II: The Italian-German Tarigo convoy is attacked and destroyed by British ships.
1941 – World War II: The Nazi-affiliated Ustaše is put in charge of the Independent State of Croatia by the Axis powers after Operation 25 is effected.
1943 – Albert Hofmann accidentally discovers the hallucinogenic effects of the research drug LSD. He intentionally takes the drug three days later on April 19.
1944 – World War II: Allied forces start bombing Belgrade, killing about 1,100 people. This bombing fell on the Orthodox Christian Easter.
1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin, with nearly one million troops fighting in the Battle of the Seelow Heights.
1945 – The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) prisoner-of-war camp Oflag IV-C (better known as Colditz).
1945 – More than 7,000 die when the German refugee ship Goya is sunk by a Soviet submarine.
1947 – An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.
1947 – Bernard Baruch first applies the term “Cold War” to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.
1963 – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
1972 – Apollo program: The launch of Apollo 16 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
1990 – “Doctor Death”, Jack Kevorkian, participates in his first assisted suicide.
2001 – India and Bangladesh begin a five-day border conflict, but are unable to resolve the disputes about their border.
2003 – The Treaty of Accession is signed in Athens admitting ten new member states to the European Union.
2007 – Virginia Tech shooting: Seung-Hui Cho guns down 32 people and injures 17 before committing suicide.
2012 – The trial for Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the 2011 Norway attacks, begins in Oslo, Norway.
2012 – The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced, it was the first time since 1977 that no book won the Fiction Prize.
2013 – A 7.8-magnitude earthquake strikes Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran, killing at least 35 people and injuring 117 others.
2013 – The 2013 Baga massacre is started when Boko Haram militants engage government soldiers in Baga.
2014 – The South Korean ferry MV Sewol capsizes and sinks near Jindo Island, killing 304 passengers and crew and leading to widespread criticism of the South Korean government, media, and shipping authorities.
Births on April 16
1435 – Jan II the Mad, Duke of Żagań (1439–1449 and 1461–1468 and again in 1472) (d. 1504)
1488 – Jungjong of Joseon (d. 1544)
1495 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1557)
1516 – Tabinshwehti, Burmese king (d. 1550)
1569 – John Davies, English poet and lawyer (d. 1626)
1635 – Frans van Mieris the Elder, Dutch painter (d. 1681)
1646 – Jules Hardouin-Mansart, French architect, designed the Château de Dampierre and Grand Trianon (d. 1708)
1660 – Hans Sloane, Irish-English physician and academic (d. 1753)
1661 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician, First Lord of the Treasury (d. 1715)
1682 – John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (d. 1744)
1697 – Johann Gottlieb Görner, German organist and composer (d. 1778)
1728 – Joseph Black, French-Scottish physician and chemist (d. 1799)
1730 – Henry Clinton, English general and politician (d. 1795)
1755 – Louise Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, French painter (d. 1842)
1786 – John Franklin, English admiral and politician, 4th Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen’s Land (d. 1847)
1800 – George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, English field marshal and politician (d. 1888)
1808 – Caleb Blood Smith, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1864)
1821 – Ford Madox Brown, French-English soldier and painter (d. 1893)
1823 – Gotthold Eisenstein, German mathematician and academic (d. 1852)
1826 – Sir James Corry, 1st Baronet, British politician (d. 1891)
1827 – Octave Crémazie, Canadian poet and bookseller (d. 1879)
1839 – Antonio Starabba, Marchese di Rudinì, Italian politician, 12th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1908)
1834 – Charles Lennox Richardson, English merchant (d. 1862)
1844 – Anatole France, French journalist, novelist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
1847 – Hans Auer, Swiss-Austrian architect, designed the Federal Palace of Switzerland (d. 1906)
1848 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian author and activist (d. 1919)
1851 – Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 3rd Solicitor General of Sri Lanka (d. 1930)
1864 – Rose Talbot Bullard, American medical doctor and professor (d. 1915)
1865 – Harry Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
1866 – José de Diego, Puerto Rican journalist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1918)
1867 – Wilbur Wright, American inventor (d. 1912)
1871 – John Millington Synge, Irish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1909)
1874 – Jōtarō Watanabe, Japanese general (d. 1936)
1878 – R. E. Foster, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1914)
1882 – Seth Bingham, American organist and composer (d. 1972)
1884 – Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, journalist, and politician (d. 1963)
1885 – Leó Weiner, Hungarian composer and educator (d. 1960)
1886 – Michalis Dorizas, Greek-American football player and javelin thrower (d. 1957)
1886 – Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
1888 – Billy Minter, English footballer and manager (d. 1940)
1889 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor, director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (d. 1977)
1890 – Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1954)
1890 – Gertrude Chandler Warner, American author and educator (d. 1979)
1891 – Dorothy P. Lathrop, American author and illustrator (d. 1980)
1892 – Howard Mumford Jones, American author, critic, and academic (d. 1980)
1893 – Germaine Guèvremont, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1968)
1893 – John Norton, American hurdler (d. 1979)
1895 – Ove Arup, English-Danish engineer and businessman, founded Arup (d. 1988)
1896 – Robert Henry Best, American journalist (d. 1952)
1896 – Árpád Weisz, Hungarian footballer (d. 1944)
1899 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist and academic (d. 1988)
1900 – Polly Adler, Russian-American madam and author (d. 1962)
1903 – Paul Waner, American baseball player and manager (d. 1965)
1904 – Fifi D’Orsay, Canadian-American vaudevillian, actress, and singer (d. 1983)
1905 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
1907 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman, founded Bombardier Inc. (d. 1964)
1907 – August Eigruber, Austrian-German politician (d. 1947)
1908 – Ellis Marsalis, Sr., American businessman and activist (d. 2004)
1908 – Ray Ventura, French jazz bandleader (d. 1979)
1910 – Berton Roueché, American journalist and author (d. 1994)
1911 – Guy Burgess, English-Russian spy (d. 1963)
1913 – Les Tremayne, English actor (d. 2003)
1914 – John Hodiak, American actor (d. 1955)
1915 – Robert Speck, Canadian politician, 1st Mayor of Mississauga (d. 1972)
1916 – Behçet Necatigil, Turkish author, poet, and translator (d. 1979)
1917 – Victoria Eugenia Fernández de Córdoba, 18th Duchess of Medinaceli (d. 2013)
1917 – Barry Nelson, American actor (d. 2007)
1918 – Dick Gibson, English racing driver (d. 2010)
1918 – Hsuan Hua, Chinese-American monk and author (d. 1995)
1918 – Juozas Kazickas, Lithuanian-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2014)
1918 – Spike Milligan, Irish actor, comedian, and writer (d. 2002)
1919 – Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2009)
1919 – Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (d. 2011)
1919 – Pedro Ramírez Vázquez, Mexican architect, designed the Tijuana Cultural Center and National Museum of Anthropology (d. 2013)
1919 – Thomas Willmore, English geometer and academic (d. 2005)
1920 – Ananda Dassanayake, Sri Lankan politician (d. 2012)
1920 – Prince George Valdemar of Denmark (d. 1986)
1921 – Arlin M. Adams, American lawyer and judge (d. 2015)
1921 – Wolfgang Leonhard, German historian and author (d. 2014)
1921 – Peter Ustinov, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
1922 – Kingsley Amis, English novelist, poet, and critic (d. 1995)
1922 – John Christopher, English author (d. 2012)
1922 – Lawrence N. Guarino, American colonel (d. 2014)
1922 – Leo Tindemans, Belgian politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2014)
1923 – Warren Barker, American composer (d. 2006)
1923 – Arch A. Moore Jr., American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor of West Virginia (d. 2015)
1924 – John Harvey-Jones, English academic and businessman (d. 2008)
1924 – Henry Mancini, American composer and conductor (d. 1994)
1924 – Rudy Pompilli, American saxophonist (d. 1976)
1924 – Madanjeet Singh, Indian diplomat, author, and philanthropist (d. 2013)
1926 – Pierre Fabre, French pharmacist, founded Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (d. 2013)
1927 – Edie Adams, American actress and singer (d. 2008)
1927 – Pope Benedict XVI
1927 – Rolf Schult, German actor (d. 2013)
1928 – Dick Lane, American football player and soldier (d. 2002)
1929 – Roy Hamilton, American singer (d. 1969)
1929 – Ralph Slatyer, Australian biologist and ecologist (d. 2012)
1929 – Ed Townsend, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2003)
1930 – Doug Beasy, Australian footballer and educator (d. 2013)
1930 – Herbie Mann, American flute player and composer (d. 2003)
1932 – Maury Meyers, American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
1933 – Marcos Alonso Imaz, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
1933 – Joan Bakewell, English journalist and author
1933 – Perry Botkin Jr., American composer, arranger and musician
1933 – Vera Krepkina, Russian long jumper
1933 – Ike Pappas, American journalist and actor (d. 2008)
1934 – Vince Hill, English singer-songwriter
1934 – Robert Stigwood, Australian producer and manager (d. 2016)
1934 – Barrie Unsworth, Australian politician, 36th Premier of New South Wales
1934 – Vicar, Chilean cartoonist (d. 2012)
1935 – Marcel Carrière, Canadian director and screenwriter
1935 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet and author (d. 2013)
1935 – Lennart Risberg, Swedish boxer (d. 2013)
1935 – Dominique Venner, French journalist and historian (d. 2013)
1935 – Bobby Vinton, American singer
1936 – Vadim Kuzmin, Russian physicist and academic (d. 2015)
1937 – Gert Potgieter, South African hurdler and coach
1938 – Rich Rollins, American baseball player
1938 – Gordon Wilson, Scottish lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
1939 – John Amabile, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
1939 – Dusty Springfield, English singer and record producer (d. 1999)
1940 – Benoît Bouchard, Canadian academic and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Transport
1940 – David Holford, Barbadian cricketer
1940 – Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
1940 – Joan Snyder, American painter
1940 – Thomas Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys, English banker and politician, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom
1941 – Allan Segal, American director and producer (d. 2012)
1942 – Jim Lonborg, American baseball pitcher
1942 – Sir Frank Williams, English businessman, founded the Williams F1 Racing Team
1943 – Lonesome Dave Peverett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2000)
1943 – Petro Tyschtschenko, Austrian-German businessman
1943 – John Watkins, Australian cricketer
1945 – Tom Allen, American lawyer and politician
1946 – Margot Adler, American journalist and author (d. 2014)
1946 – Ernst Bakker, Dutch politician (d. 2014)
1946 – Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (d. 2015)
1946 – R. Carlos Nakai, American flute player
1947 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player and coach
1947 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
1948 – Reg Alcock, Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Canadian President of the Treasury Board (d. 2011)
1950 – David Graf, American actor (d. 2001)
1950 – Colleen Hewett, Australian singer and actress
1951 – Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian author and photographer
1951 – David Nutt, English psychiatrist and academic
1952 – Bill Belichick, American football player and coach
1952 – Michel Blanc, French actor and director
1952 – Esther Roth-Shahamorov, Israeli sprinter and hurdler
1952 – Billy West, American voice actor, singer-songwriter, and comedian
1953 – Peter Garrett, Australian singer-songwriter and politician
1953 – Jay O. Sanders, American actor
1954 – Ellen Barkin, American actress
1954 – John Bowe, Australian racing driver
1954 – Mike Zuke, Canadian ice hockey player
1955 – Bruce Bochy, American baseball player and manager
1955 – Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
1956 – David M. Brown, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
1956 – T Lavitz, American keyboard player, composer, and producer (d. 2010)
1956 – Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
1957 – Patricia De Martelaere, Belgian philosopher, author, and academic (d. 2009)
1958 – Tim Flach, English photographer and director
1958 – Ulf Wakenius, Swedish guitarist
1959 – Alison Ramsay, English-Scottish field hockey player and lawyer
1960 – Wahab Akbar, Filipino politician (d. 2007)
1960 – Rafael Benítez, Spanish footballer and manager
1960 – Pierre Littbarski, German footballer and manager
1961 – Jarbom Gamlin, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh (d. 2014)
1961 – Linda Ruth Williams, British film studies academic
1962 – Anna Dello Russo, Italian journalist
1962 – Douglas Elmendorf, American economist and politician
1962 – Ian MacKaye, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1963 – Saleem Malik, Pakistani cricketer
1963 – Jimmy Osmond, American singer
1964 – David Kohan, American screenwriter and producer
1964 – Dave Pirner, American singer, songwriter and producer
1964 – Esbjörn Svensson, Swedish pianist (d. 2008)
1965 – Yves-François Blanchet, Canadian politician
1965 – Jon Cryer, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1965 – Martin Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1966 – Jarle Vespestad, Norwegian drummer
1966 – Jeff Varner, American newscaster and reality television personality
1968 – Vickie Guerrero, American wrestler and manager
1968 – Rüdiger Stenzel, German runner
1969 – Patrik Järbyn, Swedish skier
1969 – Fernando Viña, American baseball player and sportscaster
1970 – Dero Goi, German singer-songwriter and drummer
1970 – Walt Williams, American basketball player
1971 – Cameron Blades, Australian rugby player
1971 – Selena, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer (d. 1995)
1971 – Seigo Yamamoto, Japanese racing driver
1971 – Natasha Zvereva, Belarusian tennis player
1972 – Conchita Martínez, Spanish-American tennis player
1972 – Tracy K. Smith, American poet and educator
1973 – Akon, Senegalese-American singer, rapper and songwriter
1973 – Charlotta Sörenstam, Swedish golfer
1973 – Teddy Cobeña, Spanish-Ecuadorian expressionist and representational sculptor
1975 – Keon Clark, American basketball player
1976 – Lukas Haas, American actor and musician
1976 – Kelli O’Hara, American actress and singer
1977 – Freddie Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
1979 – Christijan Albers, Dutch racing driver
1979 – Lars Börgeling, German pole vaulter
1979 – Daniel Browne, New Zealand rugby player
1981 – Anestis Agritis, Greek footballer
1981 – Maya Dunietz, Israeli singer-songwriter and pianist
1981 – Matthieu Proulx, Canadian football player
1982 – Gina Carano, American mixed martial artist and actress
1982 – Boris Diaw, French basketball player
1982 – Jonathan Vilma, American football player
1983 – Marié Digby, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
1983 – Cat Osterman, American softball player
1984 – Teddy Blass, American composer and producer
1984 – Claire Foy, English actress
1984 – Tucker Fredricks, American speed skater
1984 – Paweł Kieszek, Polish footballer
1984 – Kerron Stewart, Jamaican sprinter
1985 – Luol Deng, Sudanese-English basketball player
1985 – Brendon Leonard, New Zealand rugby player
1985 – Benjamín Rojas, Argentinian singer-songwriter and actor
1985 – Taye Taiwo, Nigerian footballer
1986 – Paul di Resta, Scottish racing driver
1986 – Shinji Okazaki, Japanese footballer
1986 – Peter Regin, Danish ice hockey player
1986 – Epke Zonderland, Dutch gymnast
1987 – Cenk Akyol, Turkish basketball player
1987 – Aaron Lennon, English international footballer
1988 – Kyle Okposo, American ice hockey player
1990 – Reggie Jackson, American basketball player
1990 – Vangelis Mantzaris, Greek basketball player
1990 – Tony McQuay, American sprinter
1990 – Travis Shaw, American baseball player
1991 – Nolan Arenado, American baseball player
1991 – Kim Kyung-jung, South Korean footballer
1993 – Mirai Nagasu, American figure skater
1993 – Chance the Rapper, American rapper
1994 – Albert Almora, American baseball player
1994 – Will Fuller, American football player
2002 – Sadie Sink, American actress
Deaths on April 16
AD 69 – Otho, Roman emperor (b. AD 32)
665 – Fructuosus of Braga, French archbishop and saint
1090 – Sikelgaita, duchess of Apulia (b. c. 1040)
1113 – Sviatopolk II of Kiev (b. 1050)
1118 – Adelaide del Vasto, regent of Sicily, mother of Roger II of Sicily, queen of Baldwin I of Jerusalem
1198 – Frederick I, Duke of Austria (b. 1175)
1234 – Richard Marshal, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (b. 1191)
1375 – John Hastings, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English nobleman and soldier (b. 1347)
1496 – Charles II, Duke of Savoy (b. 1489)
1587 – Anne Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (b. 1497)
1640 – Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau (b. 1579)
217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated. He is succeeded by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
632 – King Charibert II is assassinated at Blaye (Gironde), along with his infant son Chilperic.
876 – The Battle of Dayr al-‘Aqul saves Baghdad from the Saffarids.
1093 – The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin.
1139 – Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated.
1149 – Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum.
1232 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols begin their siege on Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty.
1271 – In Syria, sultan Baibars conquers the Krak des Chevaliers.
1665 – English colonial patents are granted for the establishment of the Monmouth Tract, for what would eventually become Monmouth County in northeastern New Jersey.
1730 – Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
1740 – War of Jenkins’ Ear: Three British ships capture the Spanish third-rate Princesa, taken into service as HMS Princess.
1808 – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore is promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.
1820 – The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
1832 – Black Hawk War: Around three-hundred United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield: Union forces are thwarted by the Confederate army at Mansfield, Louisiana.
1866 – Italy and Prussia ally against the Austrian Empire.
1886 – William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons.
1895 – In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
1904 – The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
1904 – Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times.
1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, dies.
1908 – H. H. Asquith of the Liberal Party takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, succeeding Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman.
1908 – Harvard University votes to establish the Harvard Business School.
1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
1916 – In Corona, California, race car driver Bob Burman crashes, killing three (including himself), and badly injuring five spectators.
1918 – World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York City’s financial district.
1924 – Sharia courts are abolished in Turkey, as part of Atatürk’s Reforms.
1929 – Indian independence movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest.
1935 – The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law.
1942 – World War II: Siege of Leningrad: Soviet forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
1942 – World War II: The Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines.
1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases by common carriers and public utilities.
1943 – Otto and Elise Hampel are executed in Berlin for their anti-Nazi activities.
1945 – World War II: After an air raid accidentally destroys a train carrying about 4,000 Nazi concentration camp internees in Prussian Hanover, the survivors are massacred by Nazis.
1946 – Électricité de France, the world’s largest utility company, is formed as a result of the nationalisation of a number of electricity producers, transporters and distributors.
1950 – India and Pakistan sign the Liaquat–Nehru Pact.
1952 – U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills in an attempt to prevent the 1952 steel strike.
1953 – Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by British Kenya’s rulers.
1954 – A Royal Canadian Air Force Canadair Harvard collides with a Trans-Canada Airlines Canadair North Star over Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, killing 37 people.
1954 – South African Airways Flight 201 A de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1 crashes into the sea during night killing 21 people.
1959 – A team of computer manufacturers, users, and university people led by Grace Hopper meets to discuss the creation of a new programming language that would be called COBOL.
1959 – The Organization of American States drafts an agreement to create the Inter-American Development Bank.
1960 – The Netherlands and West Germany sign an agreement to negotiate the return of German land annexed by the Dutch in return for 280 million German marks as Wiedergutmachung.
1961 – A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf kills 238.
1964 – The Gemini 1 test flight is conducted.
1968 – BOAC Flight 712 catches fire shortly after takeoff. As a result of her actions in the accident, Barbara Jane Harrison is awarded a posthumous George Cross, the only GC awarded to a woman in peacetime.
1970 – Bahr El-Baqar primary school bombing: Israeli bombers strike an Egyptian school. Forty-six children are killed.
1974 – At Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run to surpass Babe Ruth’s 39-year-old record.
1975 – Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball’s first African American manager.
1987 – Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racially charged remarks he had made while on Nightline.
1992 – Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
1993 – The Republic of North Macedonia joins the United Nations.
1999 – Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the Indian National Congress.
2004 – War in Darfur: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
2006 – Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.
2008 – The construction of the world’s first skyscraper to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain.
2013 – The Islamic State of Iraq enters the Syrian Civil War and begins by declaring a merger with the Al-Nusra Front under the name Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham.
Births on April 8
1320 – Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367)
1408 – Jadwiga of Lithuania, Polish princess (d. 1431)
1435 – John Clifford, 9th Baron de Clifford, English noble (d. 1461)
1533 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1604)
1536 – Barbara of Hesse (d. 1597)
1541 – Michele Mercati, Italian physician and archaeologist (d. 1593)
1580 – William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, English noble, courtier and patron of the arts (d. 1630)
1596 – Juan van der Hamen, Spanish artist (d. 1631)
1605 – Philip IV of Spain (d. 1665)
1605 – Mary Stuart, English-Scottish princess (d. 1607)
1641 – Henry Sydney, 1st Earl of Romney, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1704)
1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1770)
1726 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (d. 1798)
1732 – David Rittenhouse, American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1796)
1761 – William Joseph Chaminade, French priest, founded the Society of Mary (d. 1850)
1770 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian banker and politician (d. 1830)
1798 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and author (d. 1857)
1818 – Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906)
1818 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (d. 1892)
1826 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican soldier (d. 1890)
1827 – Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican ophthalmologist, journalist, and politician (d. 1898)
1842 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, American author and educator (d. 1933)
1859 – Edmund Husserl, German Jewish-Austrian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1938)
1864 – Carlos Deltour, French rower and rugby player (d. 1920)
1867 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter and educator (d. 1908)
1869 – Harvey Cushing, American surgeon and academic (d. 1939)
1871 – Clarence Hudson White, American photographer and educator (d. 1925)
1874 – Manuel Díaz, Cuban fencer (d. 1929)
1874 – Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960)
1875 – Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934)
1882 (O.S. 27 March) – Dmytro Doroshenko, Lithuanian-Ukrainian historian and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Prime Minister of Ukraine (d. 1951)
1883 – R. P. Keigwin, English cricketer and academic (d. 1972)
1883 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia (d. 1936)
1885 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier, composer, and educator (d. 1951)
1886 – Margaret Ayer Barnes, American author and playwright (d. 1967)
1888 – Dennis Chávez, American journalist and politician (d. 1962)
1889 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (d. 1983)
1892 – Richard Neutra, Austrian-American architect, designed the Los Angeles County Hall of Records (d. 1970)
1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded United Artists (d. 1979)
1896 – Yip Harburg, American composer (d. 1981)
1900 – Marie Byles, Australian solicitor (d. 1979)
1902 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1924)
1902 – Maria Maksakova Sr., Russian soprano (d. 1974)
1904 – John Hicks, English economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
1904 – Hirsch Jacobs, American horse trainer (d. 1970)
1905 – Joachim Büchner, German sprinter and graphic designer (d. 1978)
1905 – Helen Joseph, English-South African activist (d. 1992)
1905 – Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971)
1906 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (d. 1974)
1908 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
1909 – John Fante, American author and screenwriter (d. 1983)
1910 – George Musso, American football player and police officer (d. 2000)
1911 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
1911 – Emil Cioran, Romanian-French philosopher and academic (d. 1995)
1912 – Alois Brunner, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 2001 or 2010)
1912 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian-American figure skater and actress (d. 1969)
1914 – María Félix, Yaqui/Basque-Mexican actress (d. 2002)
1915 – Ivan Supek, Croatian physicist, philosopher and writer (d. 2007)
1917 – Winifred Asprey, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 2007)
1917 – Lloyd Bott, Australian public servant (d. 2004)
1917 – Hubertus Ernst, Dutch bishop (d. 2017)
1917 – Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer (d. 1988)
1918 – Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States (d. 2011)
1918 – Glendon Swarthout, American author and academic (d. 1992)
1919 – Ian Smith, Zimbabwean lieutenant and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Rhodesia (d. 2007)
1921 – Franco Corelli, Italian tenor and actor (d. 2003)
1921 – Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984)
1921 – Herman van Raalte, Dutch footballer (d. 2013)
1922 – Carmen McRae, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress (d. 1994)
1923 – George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003)
1923 – Edward Mulhare, Irish-American actor (d. 1997)
1924 – Frédéric Back, German-Canadian animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1924 – Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English general and historian (d. 2006)
1924 – Kumar Gandharva, Hindustani classical singer (d. 1992)
1924 – Sara Northrup Hollister, American occultist (d. 1997)
1926 – Henry N. Cobb, American architect and academic, co-founded Pei Cobb Freed & Partners (d. 2020)
1926 – Shecky Greene, American actor
1926 – Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian and academic
1927 – Tilly Armstrong, English author (d. 2010)
1927 – Ollie Mitchell, American trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2013)
1928 – Fred Ebb, American lyricist (d. 2004)
1929 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1978)
1929 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (d. 1996)
1930 – Carlos Hugo, Duke of Parma (d. 2010)
1931 – John Gavin, American actor and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Mexico (d. 2018)
1932 – Iskandar of Johor (d. 2010)
1933 – James Lockhart, American scholar of colonial Latin America, especially Nahua peoples (d. 2014)
1934 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower and Singapore Flyer (d. 2007)
1935 – Oscar Zeta Acosta, American lawyer and politician (d. 1974)
1935 – Albert Bustamante, American soldier, educator, and politician
1937 – Tony Barton, English footballer, outside right and manager (d. 1993)
1937 – Seymour Hersh, American journalist and author
1937 – Momo Kapor, Serbian author and painter (d. 2010)
1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian economist and diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 2018)
1938 – John Hamm, Canadian physician and politician, 25th Premier of Nova Scotia
1938 – Mary W. Gray, American mathematician, statistician, and lawyer
1939 – John Arbuthnott, Scottish microbiologist and academic
1939 – Trina Schart Hyman, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
1940 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (d. 2019)
1941 – J. J. Jackson, American soul/R&B singer, songwriter, and arranger
1941 – Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer
1942 – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Northern Irish politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics (d. 2006)
1942 – Roger Chapman, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1942 – Douglas Trumbull, American director, producer, and special effects artist
1943 – Michael Bennett, American dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 1987)
1943 – Miller Farr, American football player
1943 – James Herbert, English author and illustrator (d. 2013)
1943 – Chris Orr, English painter and illustrator
1944 – Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor (d. 2017)
1944 – Odd Nerdrum, Swedish-Norwegian painter and illustrator
1945 – Derrick Walker, Scottish businessman
1945 – Jang Yong, South Korean actor
1946 – Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999)
1946 – Tim Thomerson, American actor and producer
1947 – Tom DeLay, American lawyer and politician
1947 – Steve Howe, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1947 – Robert Kiyosaki, American businessman, co-founded Cashflow Technologies
1947 – Pascal Lamy, French businessman and politician, European Commissioner for Trade
1947 – Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter, and producer (d. 2008)
1948 – Barbara Young, Baroness Young of Old Scone, Scottish academic and politician
1949 – K. C. Kamalasabayson, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 39th Attorney General of Sri Lanka (d. 2007)
1949 – John Madden, English director and producer
1949 – Brenda Russell, African-American-Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1949 – John Scott, English sociologist and academic
1950 – Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer and coach
1951 – Gerd Andres, German politician
1951 – Geir Haarde, Icelandic economist, journalist, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Iceland
1951 – Mel Schacher, American bass player
1951 – Joan Sebastian, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2015)
1952 – Ahmet Piriştina, Turkish politician (d. 2004)
1954 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
1954 – Princess Lalla Amina of Morocco (d. 2012)
1954 – G.V. Loganathan, Indian-American engineer and academic (d. 2007)
1955 – Ricky Bell, American football player (d. 1984)
1955 – Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer
1955 – Ron Johnson, American businessman and politician
1955 – Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist, essayist and poet
1955 – David Wu, Taiwanese-American lawyer and politician
1956 – Michael Benton, Scottish-English paleontologist and academic
1956 – Christine Boisson, French actress
1956 – Roman Dragoun, Czech singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1956 – Jim Piddock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
1957 – Fred Smerlas, American football player and radio host
1958 – Detlef Bruckhoff, German footballer
1958 – Tom Petranoff, American javelin thrower and coach
1959 – Alain Bondue, French cyclist
1960 – John Schneider, American actor and country singer
1961 – Richard Hatch, American reality contestant
1961 – Brian McDermott, English footballer and manager
1962 – Paddy Lowe, English engineer
1962 – Izzy Stradlin, American guitarist and songwriter
1963 – Tine Asmundsen, Norwegian bassist
1963 – Julian Lennon, English singer-songwriter
1963 – Terry Porter, American basketball player and coach
1963 – Donita Sparks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1963 – Alec Stewart, English cricketer
1963 – Seth Tobias, American businessman (d. 2007)
1964 – Biz Markie, American rapper, producer, and actor
1964 – John McGinlay, Scottish footballer and manager
1965 – Steven Blaney, Canadian businessman and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of Public Safety
1965 – Michael Jones, New Zealand rugby player and coach
1966 – Iveta Bartošová, Czech singer and actress (d. 2014)
1966 – Mark Blundell, English race car driver
1966 – Andy Currier, English rugby league player
1966 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand-Australian television host (d. 2014)
1966 – Dalton Grant, English high jumper
1966 – Mazinho, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
1966 – Harri Rovanperä, Finnish race car driver
1966 – Evripidis Stylianidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for the Interior
1966 – Robin Wright, American actress, director, producer
1967 – Kenny Benjamin, Antiguan cricketer
1968 – Patricia Arquette, French-Canadian Russian/Polish Jewish-American actress and director
1968 – Patricia Girard, French runner and hurdler
1968 – Tracy Grammer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1971 – Darren Jessee, American singer-songwriter and drummer
1972 – Paul Gray, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2010)
1972 – Sergei Magnitsky, Russian lawyer and accountant (d. 2009)
1973 – Khaled Badra, Tunisian footballer
1973 – Emma Caulfield, American actress
1974 – Toutai Kefu, Tongan-Australian rugby player
1974 – Nnedi Okorafor, Nigerian-American author and educator
1975 – Anouk, Dutch singer
1975 – Francesco Flachi, Italian footballer
1975 – Timo Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
1975 – Funda Arar, Turkish singer
1977 – Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress
1977 – Mehran Ghassemi, Iranian journalist and author (d. 2008)
1977 – Mark Spencer, American computer programmer and engineer
1978 – Daigo, Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, and voice actor
1978 – Bernt Haas, Austrian-Swiss footballer
1978 – Rachel Roberts, Canadian model and actress
1978 – Jocelyn Robichaud, Canadian tennis player and coach
1978 – Evans Rutto, Kenyan runner
1979 – Alexi Laiho, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Amit Trivedi, Indian singer-songwriter
1980 – Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer
1980 – Katee Sackhoff, American actress
1980 – Mariko Seyama, Japanese announcer, photographer, and model
1981 – Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
1981 – Ofer Shechter, Israeli model, actor, and screenwriter
1982 – Gennady Golovkin, Kazakhstani boxer
1982 – Brett White, Australian rugby league player
1983 – Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova, Russian runner
1984 – Michelle Donelan, British politician
1984 – Ezra Koenig, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1984 – Pablo Portillo, Mexican singer and actor
1984 – Taran Noah Smith, American actor
1985 – Patrick Schliwa, German rugby player
1985 – Yemane Tsegay, Ethiopian runner
1986 – Igor Akinfeev, Russian footballer
1986 – Félix Hernández, Venezuelan-American baseball player
1987 – Royston Drenthe, Dutch footballer
1987 – Jeremy Hellickson, American baseball player
1987 – Sam Rapira, New Zealand rugby league player
1988 – Jenni Asserholt, Swedish ice hockey player
1988 – Kim Myung-sung, South Korean baseball player
1990 – Kim Jong-hyun, South Korean singer (d. 2017)
1993 – Viktor Arvidsson, Swedish ice hockey player
1993 – Zac Santo, Australian rugby league player
1994 – Josh Chudleigh, Australian rugby league player
1995 – Cedi Osman, Turkish professional basketball player
1997 – Saygrace, Australian singer and songwriter
1997 – Arno Verschueren, Belgian professional football player
Deaths on April 8
217 – Caracalla, Roman emperor (b. 188)
622 – Shōtoku, Japanese prince (b. 572)
632 – Charibert II, Frankish king (b. 607)
894 – Adalelm, Frankish nobleman
944 – Wang Yanxi, Chinese emperor
956 – Gilbert, Frankish nobleman
967 – Mu’izz al-Dawla, Buyid emir (b. 915)
1143 – John II Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1087)
1150 – Gertrude of Babenberg , duchess of Bohemia (b. 1118)
1321 – Thomas of Tolentino, Italian-Franciscan missionary (b. c. 1255)
1338 – Stephen Gravesend, bishop of London
1364 – John II, French king (b. 1319)
1450 – Sejong the Great, Korean king (b. 1397)
1461 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423)
1492 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1449)
1551 – Oda Nobuhide, Japanese warlord (b. 1510)
1586 – Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran theologian and reformer (b. 1522)
1608 – Magdalen Dacre, English noble (b. 1538)
1612 – Anne Catherine of Brandenburg (b. 1575)
1691 – Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect, designed the Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto (b. 1611)
