1750

  • June 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 618 – Li Yuan becomes Emperor Gaozu of Tang, initiating three centuries of Tang dynasty rule over China.
    • 656 – Ali becomes Caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate.
    • 860 – Byzantine–Rus’ War: A fleet of about 200 Rus’ vessels sails into the Bosphorus and starts pillaging the suburbs of the Byzantine capital Constantinople.
    • 1053 – Battle of Civitate: Three thousand horsemen of Norman Count Humphrey rout the troops of Pope Leo IX.
    • 1178 – Five Canterbury monks see what is possibly the Giordano Bruno crater being formed. It is believed that the current oscillations of the Moon’s distance from the Earth (on the order of meters) are a result of this collision.
    • 1264 – The Parliament of Ireland meets at Castledermot in County Kildare, the first definitively known meeting of this Irish legislature.
    • 1265 – A draft Byzantine–Venetian treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, but is not ratified by Doge Reniero Zeno.
    • 1429 – French forces under the leadership of Joan of Arc defeat the main English army under Sir John Fastolf at the Battle of Patay. This turns the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
    • 1633 – Charles I is crowned King of Scots at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh.
    • 1684 – The charter of the Massachusetts Bay Colony is revoked via a scire facias writ issued by an English court.
    • 1757 – Battle of Kolín between Prussian forces under Frederick the Great and an Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal Count Leopold Joseph von Daun in the Seven Years’ War.
    • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British troops abandon Philadelphia.
    • 1799 – Action of 18 June 1799: A frigate squadron under Rear-admiral Perrée is captured by the British fleet under Lord Keith.
    • 1812 – The United States declaration of war upon the United Kingdom is signed by President James Madison, beginning the War of 1812.
    • 1815 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Waterloo results in the defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte by the Duke of Wellington and Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher forcing him to abdicate the throne of France for the second and last time.
    • 1822 – Constantine Kanaris blows up the Ottoman navy’s flagship at Chios, killing the Kapudan Pasha Nasuhzade Ali Pasha.
    • 1858 – Charles Darwin receives a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin’s own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory.
    • 1859 – First ascent of Aletschhorn, second summit of the Bernese Alps.
    • 1873 – Susan B. Anthony is fined $100 for attempting to vote in the 1872 presidential election.
    • 1887 – The Reinsurance Treaty between Germany and Russia is signed.
    • 1900 – Empress Dowager Cixi of China orders all foreigners killed, including foreign diplomats and their families.
    • 1908 – Japanese immigration to Brazil begins when 781 people arrive in Santos aboard the ship Kasato-Maru.
    • 1908 – The University of the Philippines is established.
    • 1923 – Checker Taxi puts its first taxi on the streets.
    • 1928 – Aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean (she is a passenger; Wilmer Stultz is the pilot and Lou Gordon the mechanic).
    • 1935 – Police in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, clash with striking longshoremen, resulting in a total of 60 injuries and 24 arrests.
    • 1940 – Appeal of 18 June by Charles de Gaulle.
    • 1940 – The “Finest Hour” speech is delivered by Winston Churchill.
    • 1945 – William Joyce (“Lord Haw-Haw”) is charged with treason for his pro-German propaganda broadcasting during World War II.
    • 1946 – Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia, a Socialist, calls for a Direct Action Day against the Portuguese in Goa.
    • 1948 – Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album in a public demonstration at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.
    • 1953 – The Egyptian revolution of 1952 ends with the overthrow of the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the declaration of the Republic of Egypt.
    • 1953 – A United States Air Force C-124 crashes and burns near Tachikawa, Japan, killing 129.
    • 1954 – Carlos Castillo Armas leads an invasion force across the Guatemalan border, setting in motion the 1954 Guatemalan coup d’état.
    • 1965 – Vietnam War: The United States uses B-52 bombers to attack National Liberation Front guerrilla fighters in South Vietnam.
    • 1972 – Staines air disaster: One hundred eighteen people are killed when a BEA H.S. Trident crashes two minutes after take off from London’s Heathrow Airport.
    • 1979 – SALT II is signed by the United States and the Soviet Union.
    • 1981 – The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk, the first operational aircraft initially designed around stealth technology, makes its first flight.
    • 1982 – Italian banker Roberto Calvi’s body is discovered hanging beneath Blackfriars Bridge in London, England.
    • 1983 – Space Shuttle program: STS-7, Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
    • 1983 – Mona Mahmudnizhad, together with nine other Bahá’í women, is sentenced to death and hanged in Shiraz, Iran over her religious beliefs.
    • 1984 – A major clash between about 5,000 police and a similar number of miners takes place at Orgreave, South Yorkshire, during the 1984–85 UK miners’ strike.
    • 1994 – The Troubles: Members of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) attack a crowded pub with assault rifles in Loughinisland, Northern Ireland. Six Catholic civilians are killed and five wounded. It was crowded with people watching the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
    • 2006 – The first Kazakh space satellite, KazSat-1 is launched.
    • 2007 – The Charleston Sofa Super Store fire happened in Charleston, South Carolina, killing nine firefighters.
    • 2009 – The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a NASA robotic spacecraft is launched.
    • 2018 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.1 strikes northern Osaka.

    Births on June 18

    • 1269 – Eleanor of England, Countess of Bar (d. 1298)
    • 1318 – Eleanor of Woodstock (d. 1355)
    • 1332 – John V Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (d. 1391)
    • 1466 – Ottaviano Petrucci, Italian printer (d. 1539)
    • 1511 – Bartolomeo Ammannati, Italian architect and sculptor, designed the Ponte Santa Trinita (d. 1592)
    • 1517 – Emperor Ōgimachi of Japan (d. 1593)
    • 1521 – Maria of Portugal, Duchess of Viseu (d. 1577)
    • 1667 – Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshal (d. 1750)
    • 1673 – Antonio de Literes, Spanish composer (d. 1747)
    • 1677 – Antonio Maria Bononcini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1726)
    • 1716 – Joseph-Marie Vien, French painter and educator (d. 1809)
    • 1717 – Johann Stamitz, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1757)
    • 1757 – Ignaz Pleyel, Austrian-French pianist and composer (d. 1831)
    • 1757 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentinian lawyer and politician 1st Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (d. 1833)
    • 1769 – Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Irish-English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1822)
    • 1799 – William Lassell, English astronomer and merchant (d. 1880)
    • 1812 – Ivan Goncharov, Russian journalist and author (d. 1891)
    • 1815 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (d. 1881)
    • 1816 – Hélène Napoleone Bonaparte, French daughter of Napoleon (d. 1907)
    • 1816 – Jung Bahadur Rana, Nepali ruler (d. 1877)
    • 1833 – Manuel González Flores, Mexican general and President (1880-1884) (d. 1893)
    • 1834 – Auguste-Théodore-Paul de Broglie, French philosopher and academic (d. 1895)
    • 1839 – William H. Seward Jr., American general and banker (d. 1920)
    • 1845 – Charles Louis Alphonse Laveran, French physician and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1922)
    • 1850 – Richard Heuberger, Austrian composer and critic (d. 1914)
    • 1854 – E. W. Scripps, American publisher, founded the E. W. Scripps Company (d. 1926)
    • 1857 – Henry Clay Folger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Folger Shakespeare Library (d. 1930)
    • 1858 – Andrew Forsyth, Scottish-English mathematician and academic (d. 1942)
    • 1858 – Hector Rason, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1927)
    • 1862 – Carolyn Wells, American novelist and poet (d. 1942)
    • 1863 – George Essex Evans, English-Australian poet and author (d. 1909)
    • 1868 – Miklós Horthy, Hungarian admiral and politician, Regent of Hungary (d. 1957)
    • 1870 – Édouard Le Roy, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1954)
    • 1877 – James Montgomery Flagg, American painter and illustrator (d. 1960)
    • 1881 – Zoltán Halmay, Hungarian swimmer (d. 1956)
    • 1882 – Georgi Dimitrov, Bulgarian compositor and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Bulgaria (d. 1949)
    • 1884 – Édouard Daladier, French captain and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1970)
    • 1886 – George Mallory, English lieutenant and mountaineer (d. 1924)
    • 1886 – Alexander Wetmore, American ornithologist and paleontologist (d. 1978)
    • 1887 – Tancrède Labbé, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1956)
    • 1896 – Blanche Sweet, American actress (d. 1986)
    • 1897 – Martti Marttelin, Finnish runner (d. 1940)
    • 1900 – Vlasta Vraz, Czech-American relief worker, editor, and fundraiser (d. 1989)
    • 1901 – Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (d. 1918)
    • 1901 – Llewellyn Rees, English actor (d. 1994)
    • 1902 – Louis Alter, American musician (d. 1980)
    • 1902 – Paavo Yrjölä, Finnish decathlete (d. 1980)
    • 1903 – Jeanette MacDonald, American actress and singer (d. 1965)
    • 1903 – Raymond Radiguet, French author and poet (d. 1923)
    • 1904 – Keye Luke, Chinese-American actor (d. 1991)
    • 1904 – Manuel Rosenthal, French conductor and composer (d. 2003)
    • 1905 – Eduard Tubin, Estonian composer and conductor (d. 1982)
    • 1907 – Frithjof Schuon, Swiss-American metaphysicist, philosopher, and author (d. 1998)
    • 1908 – Bud Collyer, American actor and game show host (d. 1969)
    • 1908 – Stanley Knowles, American-Canadian academic and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1908 – Nedra Volz, American actress (d. 2003)
    • 1910 – Dick Foran, American actor and singer (d. 1979)
    • 1910 – Avon Long, American actor and singer (d. 1984)
    • 1910 – Ray McKinley, American singer, drummer, and bandleader (d. 1995)
    • 1912 – Glenn Morris, American decathlete (d. 1974)
    • 1913 – Wilfred Gordon Bigelow, Canadian soldier and surgeon (d. 2005)
    • 1913 – Sammy Cahn, American pianist and composer (d. 1993)
    • 1913 – Sylvia Porter, American economist and journalist (d. 1991)
    • 1913 – Françoise Loranger, Canadian playwright and producer (d. 1995)
    • 1913 – Robert Mondavi, American winemaker and philanthropist (d. 2008)
    • 1913 – Oswald Teichmüller, German mathematician (d. 1943)
    • 1914 – E. G. Marshall, American actor (d. 1998)
    • 1914 – Efraín Huerta, Mexican poet (d.1982)
    • 1915 – Red Adair, American firefighter (d. 2004)
    • 1915 – Robert Kanigher, American author (d. 2002)
    • 1915 – Alice T. Schafer, American mathematician (d. 2009)
    • 1916 – Julio César Turbay Ayala, Colombian lawyer and politician, 25th President of Colombia (d. 2005)
    • 1917 – Richard Boone, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1981)
    • 1917 – Jack Karnehm, English snooker player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
    • 1917 – Erik Ortvad, Danish painter and illustrator (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Alf Francis, West Prussia-born, English motor racing mechanic and race car constructor (d. 1983)
    • 1918 – Jerome Karle, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Franco Modigliani, Italian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
    • 1919 – Jüri Järvet, Estonian actor and screenwriter (d. 1995)
    • 1920 – Ian Carmichael, English actor and singer (d. 2010)
    • 1920 – Lode Van Den Bergh, Belgian author and academic
    • 1922 – Claude Helffer, French pianist and educator (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – George Mikan, American basketball player and coach (d. 2005)
    • 1925 – Robert Beadell, American composer and educator (d. 1994)
    • 1926 – Philip B. Crosby, American businessman and author (d. 2001)
    • 1926 – Allan Sandage, American astronomer and cosmologist (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – Tom Wicker, American journalist and author (d. 2011)
    • 1927 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-English actress (d. 1998)
    • 1927 – Paul Eddington, English actor (d. 1995)
    • 1928 – Michael Blakemore, Australian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1928 – David T. Lykken, American geneticist and academic (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Jürgen Habermas, German sociologist and philosopher
    • 1929 – Tibor Rubin, Hungarian-American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Brazilian sociologist, academic, and politician, 34th President of Brazil
    • 1932 – Dudley R. Herschbach, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1932 – Geoffrey Hill, English poet and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Colin Brumby, Australian composer and conductor (d. 2018)
    • 1933 – Tommy Hunt, American singer
    • 1934 – Brian Kenny, English general (d. 2017)
    • 1934 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 2004)
    • 1936 – Denny Hulme, New Zealand race car driver (d. 1992)
    • 1936 – Barack Obama Sr., Kenyan economist (d. 1982)
    • 1936 – Ronald Venetiaan, Surinamese politician, 6th President of Suriname
    • 1937 – Del Harris, American basketball player and coach
    • 1937 – Jay Rockefeller, American lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of West Virginia
    • 1937 – Bruce Trigger, Canadian archaeologist, anthropologist and historian (d. 2006)
    • 1937 – Vitaly Zholobov, Ukrainian colonel, engineer, and astronaut
    • 1938 – Kevin Murray, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1939 – Lou Brock, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1939 – Jean-Claude Germain, Canadian historian, author, and journalist
    • 1939 – Brooks Firestone, American businessman and politician
    • 1941 – Roger Lemerre, French footballer and manager
    • 1941 – Paul Mayersberg, English director and screenwriter
    • 1941 – Delia Smith, English chef and author
    • 1942 – John Bellany, Scottish painter and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Pat Hutchins, English author and illustrator
    • 1942 – Thabo Mbeki, South African politician, 23rd President of South Africa
    • 1942 – Paul McCartney, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1942 – Richard Perry, American record producer
    • 1942 – Carl Radle, American bass player and producer (d. 1980)
    • 1942 – Nick Tate, Australian actor and director
    • 1942 – Hans Vonk, Dutch conductor (d. 2004)
    • 1943 – Barry Evans, English actor (d. 1997)
    • 1943 – Raffaella Carrà, Italian singer, dancer, and actress
    • 1944 – Bruce DuMont, American broadcaster and political analyst
    • 1944 – Sandy Posey, American pop/country singer
    • 1946 – Russell Ash, English journalist and author (d. 2010)
    • 1946 – Bruiser Brody, American wrestler (d. 1988)
    • 1946 – Fabio Capello, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1946 – Maria Bethânia, Brazilian singer
    • 1947 – Ivonne Coll, Puerto Rican-American model and actress, Miss Puerto Rico 1967
    • 1947 – Bernard Giraudeau, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1947 – Linda Thorson, Canadian actress
    • 1948 – Philip Jackson, English actor
    • 1948 – Éva Marton, Hungarian soprano and actress
    • 1948 – Sherry Turkle, American academic, psychologist, and sociologist
    • 1949 – Chris Van Allsburg, American author and illustrator
    • 1949 – Jarosław Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Poland
    • 1949 – Lech Kaczyński, Polish lawyer and politician, 4th President of Poland (d. 2010)
    • 1949 – Lincoln Thompson, Jamaican singer-songwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1950 – Rod de’Ath, Welsh drummer and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1950 – Annelie Ehrhardt, German hurdler
    • 1950 – Mike Johanns, American lawyer and politician, 28th United States Secretary of Agriculture
    • 1950 – Jackie Leven, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
    • 1951 – Mohammed Al-Sager, Kuwaiti journalist and politician
    • 1951 – Miriam Flynn, American actress and comedian
    • 1951 – Ian Hargreaves, English-Welsh journalist and academic
    • 1951 – Stephen Hopper, Australian botanist and academic
    • 1951 – Gyula Sax, Hungarian chess player (d. 2014)
    • 1952 – Tiiu Aro, Estonian physician and politician, Estonian Minister of Social Affairs
    • 1952 – Denis Herron, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1952 – Carol Kane, American actress
    • 1952 – Isabella Rossellini, Italian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Lee Soo-man, South Korean singer and businessman, founded S.M. Entertainment
    • 1953 – Peter Donohoe, English pianist and educator
    • 1955 – Ed Fast, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1956 – Brian Benben, American actor and producer
    • 1956 – John Scott, English organist and conductor (d. 2015)
    • 1957 – Miguel Ángel Lotina, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1957 – Richard Powers, American novelist
    • 1958 – Peter Altmaier, German jurist and politician, Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany
    • 1958 – Gary Martin, British voice actor and actor
    • 1959 – Joe Ansolabehere, American animation screenwriter and producer
    • 1960 – Barbara Broccoli, American director and producer
    • 1960 – Steve Murphy, Canadian journalist
    • 1961 – Oz Fox, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1961 – Andrés Galarraga, Venezuelan-American baseball player
    • 1961 – Angela Johnson, American novelist and poet
    • 1961 – Alison Moyet, English singer-songwriter
    • 1962 – Lisa Randall, American physicist and academic
    • 1963 – Dizzy Reed, American keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1963 – Bruce Smith, American football player
    • 1964 – Uday Hussein, Iraqi commander (d. 2003)
    • 1964 – Patti Webster, American publicist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1966 – Kurt Browning, Canadian figure skater, choreographer, and sportscaster
    • 1966 – Troy Kemp, Bahamian high jumper
    • 1968 – Frank Müller, German decathlete
    • 1969 – Haki Doku, Albanian cyclist
    • 1969 – Christopher Largen, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
    • 1970 – Katie Derham, English journalist
    • 1970 – Ivan Kozák, Slovak footballer
    • 1970 – Greg Yaitanes, American director and producer
    • 1971 – Kerry Butler, American actress and singer
    • 1971 – Jason McAteer, English-Irish footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Nathan Morris, American soul singer
    • 1972 – Anu Tali, Estonian pianist and conductor
    • 1972 – Wikus du Toit, South African actor, director, and composer
    • 1973 – Julie Depardieu, French actress
    • 1973 – Stephen Thomas Erlewine, American author and music critic
    • 1973 – Ray LaMontagne, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1973 – Alexandra Meissnitzer, Austrian skier
    • 1973 – Matt Parsons, Australian rugby league player
    • 1973 – Gavin Wanganeen Australian footballer and coach
    • 1974 – Vincenzo Montella, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Sergey Sharikov, Russian fencer and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1975 – Marie Gillain, Belgian actress
    • 1975 – Aleksandrs Koļinko, Latvian footballer
    • 1975 – Martin St. Louis, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1976 – Blake Shelton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – Wang Liqin, Chinese table tennis player
    • 1979 – Yumiko Kobayashi, Japanese voice actress and singer
    • 1979 – Ivana Wong, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1980 – Antonio Gates, American football player
    • 1980 – Sergey Kirdyapkin, Russian race walker
    • 1980 – Craig Mottram, Australian runner
    • 1980 – Antero Niittymäki, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Tara Platt, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1981 – Clint Newton, American-Australian rugby league player
    • 1981 – Marco Streller, Swiss footballer
    • 1982 – Nadir Belhadj, French-Algerian footballer
    • 1982 – Marco Borriello, Italian footballer
    • 1982 – Nathan Cavaleri, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1983 – Billy Slater, Australian rugby league player
    • 1983 – Cameron Smith, Australian rugby league player
    • 1984 – Nanyak Dala, Canadian rugby player
    • 1985 – Chris Coghlan, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Alex Hirsch, American animator and television producer
    • 1986 – Edgars Eriņš, Latvian decathlete
    • 1986 – Richard Gasquet, French tennis player
    • 1987 – Omar Arellano, Mexican footballer
    • 1987 – Moeen Ali, English cricketer
    • 1988 – Elini Dimoutsos, Greek footballer
    • 1988 – Josh Dun, American musician
    • 1989 – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, French-born Gabonese footballer
    • 1989 – Chris Harris Jr., American football player
    • 1990 – Luke Adam, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Sandra Izbașa, Romanian gymnast
    • 1990 – Derek Stepan, American ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Christian Taylor, American triple jumper
    • 1993 – Dennis Lloyd, Israeli musician, producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist
    • 1994 – Sean McMahon, Australian rugby player
    • 1994 – Takeoff, American rapper
    • 1995 – Maxim Kovtun, Russian figure skater
    • 1996 – Alen Halilović, Croatian footballer
    • 1996 – Niki Wories, Dutch figure skater
    • 1997 – Katharina Hobgarski, German tennis player
    • 1997 – Latrell Mitchell, Australian rugby league player
    • 1999 – Trippie Redd, American rapper

    Deaths on June 18

    • 741 – Leo III the Isaurian, Byzantine emperor (b. 685)
    • 908 – Zhang Hao, general of Yang Wu
    • 1095 – Sophia of Hungary (b. c. 1050)
    • 1164 – Elisabeth of Schönau, German Benedictine visionary (b. c. 1129)
    • 1234 – Emperor Chūkyō of Japan (b. 1218)
    • 1250 – Theresa of Portugal, Queen of León
    • 1291 – Alfonso III of Aragon (b. 1265)
    • 1333 – Henry XV, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1312)
    • 1464 – Rogier van der Weyden, Flemish painter (b. 1400)
    • 1588 – Robert Crowley, English minister and poet (b. 1517)
    • 1629 – Piet Pieterszoon Hein, Dutch admiral (b. 1577)
    • 1650 – Christoph Scheiner, German priest, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1575)
    • 1673 – Jeanne Mance, French-Canadian nurse, founded the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal (b. 1606)
    • 1704 – Tom Brown, English author and translator (b. 1662)
    • 1726 – Michel Richard Delalande, French organist and composer (b. 1657)
    • 1742 – John Aislabie, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1670)
    • 1749 – Ambrose Philips, English poet and politician (b. 1674)
    • 1772 – Johann Ulrich von Cramer, German jurist and scholar (b. 1706)
    • 1772 – Gerard van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian physician and reformer (b. 1700)
    • 1788 – Adam Gib, Scottish religious leader (b. 1714)
    • 1794 – François Buzot, French lawyer and politician (b. 1760)
    • 1794 – James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, 20th Governor of the Province of Quebec (b. 1721)
    • 1815 – Thomas Picton, Welsh-English general and politician (b. 1758)
    • 1833 – Robert Hett Chapman, American minister, missionary, and academic (b. 1771)
    • 1835 – William Cobbett, English farmer and journalist (b. 1763)
    • 1860 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, German army officer and writer (b. 1783)
    • 1866 – Prince Sigismund of Prussia (b. 1864)
    • 1902 – Samuel Butler, English novelist, satirist, and critic (b. 1835)
    • 1905 – Carmine Crocco, Italian soldier (b. 1830)
    • 1916 – Max Immelmann, German lieutenant and pilot (b. 1890)
    • 1917 – Titu Maiorescu, Romanian critic and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1840)
    • 1922 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer and academic (b. 1851)
    • 1928 – Roald Amundsen, Norwegian pilot and explorer (b. 1872)
    • 1936 – Maxim Gorky, Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1868)
    • 1937 – Gaston Doumergue, French politician, 13th President of France (b. 1863)
    • 1942 – Arthur Pryor, American trombonist, bandleader, and politician (b. 1870)
    • 1943 – Elias Degiannis, Greek commander (b. 1912)
    • 1945 – Florence Bascom, American geologist and educator (b. 1862)[10]
    • 1945 – Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., American general (b. 1886)
    • 1947 – Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese admiral (b. 1898)
    • 1948 – Edward Brooker, English-Australian politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (b. 1891)
    • 1959 – Ethel Barrymore, American actress (b. 1879)
    • 1963 – Pedro Armendáriz, Mexican-American actor (b. 1912)
    • 1964 – Giorgio Morandi, Italian painter (b. 1890)
    • 1967 – Geki, Italian race car driver (b. 1937)
    • 1967 – Beat Fehr, Swiss race car driver (b. 1942)
    • 1971 – Thomas Gomez, American actor (b. 1905)
    • 1971 – Paul Karrer, Russian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
    • 1974 – Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian mathematician and academic (b. 1896)
    • 1974 – Georgy Zhukov, Russian marshal and politician, Minister of Defence for the Soviet Union (b. 1896)
    • 1975 – Hugo Bergmann, German-Israeli philosopher and author (b. 1883)
    • 1978 – Walter C. Alvarez, American physician and author (b. 1884)
    • 1980 – Terence Fisher, English director and screenwriter (b. 1904)
    • 1980 – André Leducq, French cyclist (b. 1904)
    • 1982 – Djuna Barnes, American novelist, journalist, and playwright (b. 1892)
    • 1982 – John Cheever, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1912)
    • 1982 – Curd Jürgens, German-Austrian actor and director (b. 1915)
    • 1984 – Alan Berg, American lawyer and radio host (b. 1934)
    • 1985 – Paul Colin, French illustrator (b. 1892)
    • 1986 – Frances Scott Fitzgerald, American journalist (b. 1921)
    • 1989 – I. F. Stone, American journalist and author (b. 1907)
    • 1992 – Kofoworola Abeni Pratt, the first black Chief Nursing Officer of Nigeria  (b. 1910)
    • 1992 – Peter Allen, Australian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1944)
    • 1992 – Mordecai Ardon, Polish-Israeli painter and educator (b. 1896)
    • 1993 – Craig Rodwell, American activist, founded the Oscar Wilde Bookshop (b. 1940)
    • 1996 – Endel Puusepp, Estonian-Soviet military pilot and politician (b. 1909)
    • 1997 – Lev Kopelev, Ukrainian-German author and academic (b. 1912)
    • 1998 – Felix Knight, American actor and tenor (b. 1908)
    • 2000 – Nancy Marchand, American actress (b. 1928)
    • 2003 – Larry Doby, American baseball player and manager (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (b. 1914)
    • 2005 – Manuel Sadosky, Argentinian mathematician and academic (b. 1914)
    • 2006 – Vincent Sherman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1906)
    • 2006 – Joseph Zobel, Martinique-French author (b. 1915)
    • 2007 – Bernard Manning, English comedian and actor (b. 1930)
    • 2007 – Hank Medress, American singer and producer (b. 1938)
    • 2007 – Georges Thurston, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
    • 2008 – Jean Delannoy, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 2008 – Tasha Tudor, American author and illustrator (b. 1915)
    • 2008 – Hans Steinbrenner, German sculptor (b. 1928)
    • 2010 – Trent Acid, American wrestler (b. 1980)
    • 2010 – José Saramago, Portuguese novelist Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Okan Demiriş, Turkish composer (b. 1942)
    • 2011 – Yelena Bonner, Russian activist (b. 1923)
    • 2011 – Frederick Chiluba, Zambian politician, 2nd President of Zambia (b. 1943)
    • 2011 – Clarence Clemons, American saxophonist (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Horacio Coppola, Argentinian photographer and director (b. 1906)
    • 2012 – Lina Haag, German author and activist (b. 1907)
    • 2012 – Tom Maynard, Welsh cricketer (b. 1989)
    • 2012 – Luis Edgardo Mercado Jarrín, Peruvian general and politician, 109th Prime Minister of Peru (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Alketas Panagoulias, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – William Van Regenmorter, American businessman and politician (b. 1939)
    • 2013 – Brent F. Anderson, American engineer and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Alastair Donaldson, Scottish bass player (b. 1955)
    • 2013 – Garde Gardom, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Michael Hastings, American journalist and author (b. 1980)
    • 2013 – David Wall, English ballet dancer (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Stephanie Kwolek, American chemist and engineer (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Johnny Mann, American singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Claire Martin, Canadian author (b. 1914)
    • 2014 – Vladimir Popovkin, Russian general (b. 1957)
    • 2014 – Horace Silver, American pianist and composer (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Phil Austin, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1941)
    • 2015 – Ralph J. Roberts, American businessman, co-founded Comcast (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Danny Villanueva, American football player and broadcaster, co-founded Univision (b. 1937)
    • 2015 – Allen Weinstein, American historian and academic (b. 1937)
    • 2016 – Jeppiaar, Indian educationist, founder and chancellor of Sathyabama University (b. 1931)
    • 2018 – XXXTentacion, American rapper (b. 1998)
    • 2018 – Big Van Vader (also known as Vader) American professional wrestler (b. 1955)
    • 2018 – Jimmy Wopo, American rapper (b. 1997)
    • 2020 – Vera Lynn, English singer who was the “Forces’ Sweetheart” in World War II (b. 1917)

    Holidays and observances on June 18

    • Autistic Pride Day (International)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Bernard Mizeki (Anglican and Episcopal Church)
      • Elisabeth of Schönau
      • Gregorio Barbarigo
      • Leontius, Hypatius and Theodulus
      • Marina the Monk (Maronite Church, Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria)
      • Mark and Marcellian
      • June 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Foundation Day (Benguet)
    • Human Rights Day (Azerbaijan)
    • National Day (Seychelles)
    • Queen Mother’s Birthday (Cambodia)
    • Waterloo Day (United Kingdom)

  • June 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1411 – King Charles VI granted a monopoly for the ripening of Roquefort cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as they had been doing for centuries.
    • 1561 – The steeple of St Paul’s, the medieval cathedral of London, is destroyed in a fire caused by lightning and is never rebuilt.
    • 1615 – Siege of Osaka: Forces under Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castle in Japan.
    • 1745 – Battle of Hohenfriedberg: Frederick the Great’s Prussian army decisively defeated an Austrian army under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine during the War of the Austrian Succession.
    • 1760 – Great Upheaval: New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada, taken from the Acadians.
    • 1783 – The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their montgolfière (hot air balloon).
    • 1784 – Élisabeth Thible becomes the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon. Her flight covers four kilometres in 45 minutes, and reached 1,500 metres altitude (estimated).
    • 1792 – Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for the Kingdom of Great Britain.
    • 1802 – King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia abdicates his throne in favor of his brother, Victor Emmanuel.
    • 1812 – Following Louisiana’s admittance as a U.S. state, the Louisiana Territory is renamed the Missouri Territory.
    • 1825 – General Lafayette, a French officer in the American Revolutionary War, speaks at what would become Lafayette Square, Buffalo, during his visit to the United States.
    • 1855 – Major Henry C. Wayne departs New York aboard the USS Supply to procure camels to establish the U.S. Camel Corps.
    • 1859 – Italian Independence wars: In the Battle of Magenta, the French army, under Louis-Napoleon, defeat the Austrian army.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuate Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee.
    • 1876 – An express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco, via the First Transcontinental Railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after leaving New York City.
    • 1878 – Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.
    • 1896 – Henry Ford completes the Ford Quadricycle, his first gasoline-powered automobile, and gives it a successful test run.
    • 1912 – Massachusetts becomes the first state of the United States to set a minimum wage.
    • 1913 – Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of King George V’s horse at The Derby. She is trampled, never regains consciousness, and dies four days later.
    • 1916 – World War I: Russia opens the Brusilov Offensive with an artillery barrage of Austro-Hungarian lines in Galicia.
    • 1917 – The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall receive the first Pulitzer for biography (for Julia Ward Howe). Jean Jules Jusserand receives the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days. Herbert B. Swope receives the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World.
    • 1919 – Women’s rights: The U.S. Congress approves the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification.
    • 1920 – Hungary loses 71% of its territory and 63% of its population when the Treaty of Trianon is signed in Paris.
    • 1928 – The President of the Republic of China, Zhang Zuolin, is assassinated by Japanese agents.
    • 1932 – Marmaduke Grove and other Chilean military officers lead a coup d’état establishing the short-lived Socialist Republic of Chile.
    • 1939 – The Holocaust: The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, in the United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later die in Nazi concentration camps.
    • 1940 – World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends: British forces complete evacuation of 338,000 troops from Dunkirk in France. To rally the morale of the country, Winston Churchill delivers, only to the House of Commons, his famous “We shall fight on the beaches” speech.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Midway begins. The Japanese Admiral Chūichi Nagumo orders a strike on Midway Island by much of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
    • 1943 – A military coup in Argentina ousts Ramón Castillo.
    • 1944 – World War II: A hunter-killer group of the United States Navy captures the German submarine U-505: The first time a U.S. Navy vessel had captured an enemy vessel at sea since the 19th century.
    • 1944 – World War II: The United States Fifth Army captures Rome, although much of the German Fourteenth Army is able to withdraw to the north.
    • 1961 – Cold War: In the Vienna summit, the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev sparks the Berlin Crisis by threatening to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany and ending American, British and French access to East Berlin.
    • 1967 – Seventy-two people are killed when a Canadair C-4 Argonaut crashes at Stockport in England.
    • 1970 – Tonga gains independence from the United Kingdom.
    • 1975 – The Governor of California Jerry Brown signs the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act into law, the first law in the U.S. giving farmworkers collective bargaining rights.
    • 1979 – Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown.
    • 1983 – Gordon Kahl, who killed two US Marshals in Medina, North Dakota on February 13, is killed in a shootout in Smithville, Arkansas, along with a local sheriff, after a four-month manhunt.
    • 1986 – Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel.
    • 1988 – Three cars on a train carrying hexogen to Kazakhstan explode in Arzamas, Gorky Oblast, USSR, killing 91 and injuring about 1,500.
    • 1989 – Ali Khamenei is elected as the new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts after the death and funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
    • 1989 – The Tiananmen Square protests are suppressed in Beijing by the People’s Liberation Army, with between 241 and 1,000 dead (an unofficial estimate).
    • 1989 – Solidarity’s victory in the first (somewhat) free parliamentary elections in post-war Poland sparks off a succession of peaceful anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe, leads to the creation of the so-called Contract Sejm and begins the Autumn of Nations.
    • 1989 – Ufa train disaster: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, kills 575 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.
    • 1996 – The first flight of Ariane 5 explodes after roughly 37 seconds. It was a Cluster mission.
    • 1998 – Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
    • 2010 – Falcon 9 Flight 1 is the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40.

    Births on June 4

    • 1394 – Philippa of England, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (d. 1430)
    • 1489 – Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1544)
    • 1563 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith (d. 1624)
    • 1604 – Claudia de’ Medici, Italian daughter of Christina of Lorraine (d. 1648)
    • 1665 – Zacharie Robutel de La Noue, Canadian captain (d. 1733)
    • 1694 – François Quesnay, French economist and physician (d. 1774)
    • 1704 – Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and businessman (d. 1776)
    • 1738 – George III of the United Kingdom (d. 1820)
    • 1744 – Patrick Ferguson, Scottish soldier, designed the Ferguson rifle (d. 1780)
    • 1754 – Miguel de Azcuénaga, Argentinian soldier (d. 1833)
    • 1754 – Franz Xaver von Zach, Slovak astronomer and academic (d. 1832)
    • 1787 – Constant Prévost, French geologist and academic (d. 1856)
    • 1801 – James Pennethorne, English architect, designed Victoria Park (d. 1871)
    • 1821 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1897)
    • 1829 – Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (d. 1903)
    • 1854 – Solko van den Bergh, Dutch target shooter (d. 1916)
    • 1860 – Alexis Lapointe, Canadian runner (d. 1924)
    • 1861 – William Propsting, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1937)
    • 1866 – Miina Sillanpää, Finnish journalist and politician (d. 1952)
    • 1867 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish general and politician, 6th President of Finland (d. 1951)
    • 1873 – Nictzin Dyalhis, American author (d.1942)
    • 1877 – Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
    • 1879 – Mabel Lucie Attwell, English author and illustrator (d. 1964)
    • 1880 – Clara Blandick, American actress (d. 1962)
    • 1885 – Arturo Rawson, Argentinian general and politician, 26th President of Argentina (d. 1952)
    • 1887 – Tom Longboat, Canadian runner and soldier (d. 1949)
    • 1889 – Beno Gutenberg, German-American seismologist (d. 1960)
    • 1903 – Yevgeny Mravinsky, Russian conductor (d. 1988)
    • 1904 – Bhagat Puran Singh, Indian publisher, environmentalist, and philanthropist (d. 1992)
    • 1907 – Jacques Roumain, Haitian journalist and politician (d. 1944)
    • 1907 – Rosalind Russell, American actress (d. 1976)
    • 1907 – Patience Strong, English poet and journalist (d. 1990)
    • 1910 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer, invented the hovercraft (d. 1999)
    • 1912 – Robert Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and painter (d. 1993)
    • 1915 – Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2006)
    • 1915 – Modibo Keïta, Malian educator and politician, 1st President of Mali (d. 1977)
    • 1915 – Nils Kihlberg, Swedish actor, singer, and director (d. 1965)
    • 1916 – Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
    • 1916 – Fernand Leduc, Canadian painter (d. 2014)
    • 1917 – Robert Merrill, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
    • 1921 – Milan Komar, Slovenian-Argentinian philosopher and academic (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Bobby Wanzer, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Elizabeth Jolley, English-Australian author and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1923 – Masutatsu Ōyama, Japanese karateka (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, Samoan politician, 5th Prime Minister of Samoa (d. 1999)
    • 1924 – Dennis Weaver, American actor and director (d. 2006)
    • 1925 – Antonio Puchades, Spanish footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Robert Earl Hughes, American who was the heaviest human being recorded in the history of the world during his lifetime (d. 1958)
    • 1926 – Ain Kaalep, Estonian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2020)
    • 1926 – Judith Malina, German-American actress and director, co-founded The Living Theatre (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Henning Carlsen, Danish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Geoffrey Palmer, English actor
    • 1928 – Ruth Westheimer, German-American therapist and author
    • 1929 – Karolos Papoulias, Greek lawyer and politician, 5th President of Greece
    • 1930 – George Chesworth, English air marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Moray (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – Morgana King, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
    • 1930 – Viktor Tikhonov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Gustav Nossal, Austrian-Australian biologist and academic
    • 1932 – John Drew Barrymore, American actor (d. 2004)
    • 1932 – Oliver Nelson, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1975)
    • 1932 – Maurice Shadbolt, New Zealand author and playwright (d. 2004)
    • 1934 – Monica Dacon, Vincentian educator and politician, 6th Governor-General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
    • 1934 – Daphne Sheldrick, Kenyan-British conservationist and author (d. 2018)
    • 1935 – Colette Boky, Canadian soprano and actress
    • 1935 – Berhanu Dinka, Ethiopian economist and diplomat (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Vince Camuto, American fashion designer and businessman, co-founded Nine West (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – Bruce Dern, American actor
    • 1937 – Freddy Fender, American singer and guitarist (d. 2006)
    • 1937 – Mortimer Zuckerman, Canadian-American businessman and publisher, founded Boston Properties
    • 1938 – John Harvard, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 2016)
    • 1938 – Art Mahaffey, American baseball player
    • 1939 – Jeremy Browne, 11th Marquess of Sligo, Anglo-Irish peer (d. 2014)
    • 1939 – Denis de Belleval, Canadian civil servant and politician
    • 1939 – Henri Pachard, American director and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1939 – George Reid, Scottish journalist and politician, 2nd Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
    • 1940 – Ludwig Schwarz, Slovak-Austrian bishop
    • 1941 – Kenneth G. Ross, Australian playwright and screenwriter
    • 1942 – Louis Reichardt, American mountaineer
    • 1942 – Bill Rowe, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1943 – John Burgess, Australian radio and television host
    • 1943 – Sandra Haynie, American golfer
    • 1943 – Tom Jaine, English author
    • 1944 – Roger Ball, Scottish saxophonist and songwriter
    • 1944 – Michelle Phillips, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1945 – Anthony Braxton, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer
    • 1945 – Daniel Topolski, English rower and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1945 – Gordon Waller, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
    • 1947 – Viktor Klima, Austrian businessman and politician, 25th Chancellor of Austria
    • 1948 – Bob Champion, English jockey
    • 1948 – Sandra Post, Canadian golfer and sportscaster
    • 1948 – Jürgen Sparwasser, German footballer and manager
    • 1949 – Gabriel Arcand, Canadian actor
    • 1949 – Mark B. Cohen, American lawyer and politician
    • 1950 – Raymond Dumais, Canadian bishop (d. 2012)
    • 1951 – Leigh Kennedy, American author
    • 1951 – Bronisław Malinowski, Polish runner (d. 1981)
    • 1951 – Melanie Phillips, English journalist and author
    • 1951 – Wendy Pini, American author and illustrator
    • 1951 – David Yip, English actor and playwright
    • 1952 – Bronisław Komorowski, Polish historian and politician, 5th President of Poland
    • 1952 – Dambudzo Marechera, Zimbabwean author and poet (d. 1987)
    • 1953 – Linda Lingle, American journalist and politician, 6th Governor of Hawaii
    • 1953 – Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish musician and songwriter (d. 1979)
    • 1953 – Susumu Ojima, Japanese businessman, founded Huser
    • 1953 – Paul Samson, English guitarist and producer (d. 2002)
    • 1954 – Raphael Ravenscroft, English saxophonist and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1954 – Kazuhiro Yamaji, Japanese actor and voice actor
    • 1955 – Val McDermid, Scottish author
    • 1955 – Mary Testa, American singer and actress
    • 1956 – Keith David, American actor
    • 1956 – John Hockenberry, American journalist and author
    • 1956 – Terry Kennedy, American baseball player and manager
    • 1956 – Joyce Sidman, American author and poet
    • 1957 – Neil McNab, Scottish footballer
    • 1959 – Juan Camacho, Bolivian runner
    • 1959 – Georgios Voulgarakis, Greek politician, 21st Greek Minister for Culture
    • 1960 – Miloš Đelmaš, Serbian footballer and manager
    • 1960 – Kristine Kathryn Rusch, American author
    • 1960 – Paul Taylor, American guitarist and keyboard player
    • 1960 – Bradley Walsh, English television presenter, comedian, singer and former footballer
    • 1961 – El DeBarge, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1961 – Ferenc Gyurcsány, Hungarian businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Hungary
    • 1962 – Krzysztof Hołowczyc, Polish race car driver
    • 1962 – Zenon Jaskuła, Polish cyclist
    • 1962 – John P. Kee, American singer-songwriter and pastor
    • 1962 – Junius Ho, Hong Kong solicitor and politician
    • 1963 – Sean Fitzpatrick, New Zealand rugby union player
    • 1963 – Jim Lachey, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Xavier McDaniel, American basketball player and coach
    • 1964 – Sean Pertwee, English actor
    • 1964 – Kōji Yamamura, Japanese animator, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Mick Doohan, Australian motorcycle racer
    • 1965 – Andrea Jaeger, American tennis player and preacher
    • 1966 – Cecilia Bartoli, Italian soprano and actress
    • 1966 – Vladimir Voevodsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2017)
    • 1966 – Bill Wiggin, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
    • 1967 – Robert S. Kimbrough, American colonel and astronaut
    • 1968 – Roger Lim, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1968 – Niurka Montalvo, Cuban-Spanish long jumper
    • 1968 – Al B. Sure!, American R&B singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1968 – Scott Wolf, American actor
    • 1969 – Horatio Sanz, Chilean-American actor and comedian
    • 1970 – Deborah Compagnoni, Italian skier
    • 1970 – Richie Hawtin, English-Canadian DJ and producer
    • 1970 – Dave Pybus, English bass player and songwriter
    • 1970 – Izabella Scorupco, Polish-Swedish actress and model
    • 1971 – Joseph Kabila, Congolese soldier and politician, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
    • 1971 – Mike Lee, American lawyer and politician
    • 1971 – Shoji Meguro, Japanese director and composer
    • 1971 – Karl Martin Sinijärv, Estonian journalist and poet
    • 1971 – Noah Wyle, American actor and producer
    • 1972 – Derian Hatcher, American ice hockey defenseman
    • 1972 – Rob Huebel, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Mikey Whipwreck, American wrestler and trainer
    • 1974 – Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni, Indian chef (d. 2012)
    • 1974 – Darin Erstad, American baseball player and coach
    • 1974 – Andrew Gwynne, English lawyer and politician
    • 1974 – Janette Husárová, Slovak tennis player
    • 1974 – Buddy Wakefield, American poet and author
    • 1975 – Russell Brand, English comedian and actor
    • 1975 – Henry Burris, American football player
    • 1975 – Angelina Jolie, American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian, and activist
    • 1975 – Dinanath Ramnarine, Trinidadian cricketer
    • 1975 – Alex Wharf, English cricketer
    • 1976 – Kasey Chambers, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1976 – Alexei Navalny, Russian lawyer and politician
    • 1976 – Nenad Zimonjić, Serbian tennis player
    • 1977 – Dionisis Chiotis, Greek footballer
    • 1977 – Alex Manninger, Austrian footballer
    • 1977 – Roman Miroshnichenko, Ukrainian guitarist and composer
    • 1977 – Roland G. Fryer Jr., American economist and professor
    • 1978 – Robin Lord Taylor, American actor
    • 1979 – Naohiro Takahara, Japanese footballer
    • 1979 – Daniel Vickerman, South African-Australian rugby player (d. 2017)
    • 1980 – François Beauchemin, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Jennifer Carroll, Canadian swimmer
    • 1981 – Giourkas Seitaridis, Greek footballer
    • 1981 – Natalia Vodopyanova, Russian basketball player
    • 1982 – Abel Kirui, Kenyan runner
    • 1982 – Ronnie Prude, American-Canadian football player
    • 1983 – Romaric, Ivorian footballer
    • 1983 – Emmanuel Eboué, Ivorian footballer
    • 1983 – Olha Saladuha, Ukrainian triple jumper
    • 1984 – Enrico Rossi Chauvenet, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – Rainie Yang, Taiwanese actress
    • 1984 – Ian White, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Leon Botha, South African painter and DJ (d. 2011)
    • 1985 – Anna-Lena Grönefeld, German tennis player
    • 1985 – Evan Lysacek, American figure skater
    • 1985 – Lukas Podolski, German footballer
    • 1985 – Oddvar Reiakvam, Norwegian politician
    • 1987 – Luisa Zissman, English businesswoman
    • 1987 – Mollie King, English singer-songwriter and model
    • 1988 – Matt Bartkowski, American ice hockey defenseman
    • 1988 – Kimberley Busteed, Australian model
    • 1989 – Federico Erba, Italian footballer
    • 1989 – Paweł Fajdek, Polish hammer thrower
    • 1990 – Zac Farro, American singer and drummer
    • 1990 – Evan Spiegel, American Internet entrepreneur
    • 1991 – Lorenzo Insigne, Italian footballer
    • 1991 – Matt McIlwrick, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1991 – Ben Stokes, New Zealand-English cricketer
    • 1993 – Jonathan Huberdeau, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1995 – Shiori Tamai, Japanese singer
    • 1999 – Kim So-hyun, South Korean actress
    • 2004 – Mackenzie Ziegler, American dancer, singer, actress and model

    Deaths on June 4

    • 756 – Shōmu, Japanese emperor (b. 701)
    • 863 – Charles, archbishop of Mainz
    • 895 – Li Xi, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
    • 946 – Guaimar II (Gybbosus), Lombard prince
    • 956 – Muhammad III of Shirvan, Muslim ruler
    • 1039 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 990)
    • 1102 – Władysław I Herman, Polish nobleman (b. c. 1044)
    • 1134 – Magnus I of Sweden (b. 1106)
    • 1135 – Emperor Huizong of Song (b. 1082)
    • 1206 – Adela of Champagne (b. 1140)
    • 1246 – Isabella of Angoulême (b. 1188)
    • 1257 – Przemysł I of Greater Poland (b. 1221)
    • 1394 – Mary de Bohun, wife of Henry IV of England (b.c. 1368)
    • 1453 – Andronikos Palaiologos Kantakouzenos, Byzantine commander
    • 1463 – Flavio Biondo, Italian historian and author (b. 1392)
    • 1472 – Nezahualcoyotl, Aztec poet (b. 1402)
    • 1585 – Muretus, French philosopher and author (b. 1526)
    • 1608 – Francis Caracciolo, Italian Catholic priest (b. 1563)
    • 1622 – Péter Révay, Hungarian soldier and historian (b. 1568)
    • 1647 – Canonicus, Grand Chief Sachem of the Narragansett (b. 1565)
    • 1663 – William Juxon, English archbishop and academic (b. 1582)
    • 1798 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and author (b. 1725)
    • 1801 – Frederick Muhlenberg, American minister and politician, 1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1750)
    • 1809 – Nicolai Abildgaard, Danish neoclassical and history painter, sculptor and architect (b. 1743)
    • 1830 – Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuelan general and politician, 2nd President of Bolivia (b. 1795)
    • 1872 – Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, Dutch historian, jurist, and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1798)
    • 1875 – Eduard Mörike, German pastor and poet (b. 1804)
    • 1876 – Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire, 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1830)
    • 1922 – W. H. R. Rivers, English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, and psychiatrist (b. 1864)
    • 1925 – Margaret Murray Washington, American Academic (b. 1865)
    • 1926 – Fred Spofforth, Australian-English cricketer and coach (b. 1853)
    • 1928 – Zhang Zuolin, Chinese warlord (b. 1873)
    • 1929 – Harry Frazee, American director, producer, and agent (b. 1881)
    • 1931 – Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, Sharif and Emir of Mecca, King of the Hejaz (b. 1853/54)
    • 1933 – Ahmet Haşim, Turkish poet and author (b. 1884)
    • 1939 – Tommy Ladnier, American trumpet player (b. 1900)
    • 1941 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (b. 1859)
    • 1942 – Reinhard Heydrich, German SS officer and politician (b. 1904)
    • 1951 – Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American bassist, composer, and conductor (b. 1874)
    • 1956 – Katherine MacDonald, American actress and producer (b. 1881)
    • 1962 – Clem McCarthy, American sportscaster (b. 1882)
    • 1967 – Linda Eenpalu, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1968 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (b. 1898)
    • 1970 – Sonny Tufts, American actor (b. 1911)
    • 1971 – György Lukács, Hungarian historian and philosopher (b. 1885)
    • 1973 – Maurice René Fréchet, French mathematician and academic (b. 1878)
    • 1973 – Murry Wilson, American songwriter, producer, and manager (b. 1917)
    • 1981 – Leslie Averill, New Zealand doctor and soldier (b. 1897)
    • 1989 – Dik Browne, American cartoonist (b. 1917)
    • 1990 – Stiv Bators, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1949)
    • 1992 – Carl Stotz, American businessman, founded Little League Baseball (b. 1910)
    • 1993 – Bernard Evslin, American writer (b. 1922)
    • 1994 – Derek Leckenby, English musician (b. 1943)
    • 1997 – Ronnie Lane, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1946)
    • 1998 – Josephine Hutchinson, American actress (b. 1903)
    • 2002 – Fernando Belaúnde Terry, Peruvian architect and politician, 42nd President of Peru (b. 1912)
    • 2004 – Steve Lacy, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1934)
    • 2004 – Nino Manfredi, Italian actor (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1937)
    • 2007 – Bill France, Jr., American businessman (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Craig L. Thomas, American captain and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – John Wooden, American basketball player and coach (b. 1910)
    • 2011 – Juan Francisco Luis, Virgin Islander sergeant and politician, 23rd Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (b. 1940)
    • 2011 – Andreas P. Nielsen, Danish author and composer (b. 1953)
    • 2012 – Peter Beaven, New Zealand architect, designed the Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Pedro Borbón, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1946)
    • 2012 – Rodolfo Quezada Toruño, Guatemalan cardinal (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Herb Reed, American violinist (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Walt Arfons, American race car driver (b. 1916)
    • 2013 – Joey Covington, American drummer (b. 1945)
    • 2013 – Hermann Gunnarsson, Icelandic footballer, handball player, and sportscaster (b. 1946)
    • 2013 – Will Wynn, American football player (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – George Ho, American-Hong Kong businessman (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Nathan Shamuyarira, Zimbabwean journalist and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Sydney Templeman, Baron Templeman, English lawyer and judge (b. 1920)
    • 2014 – Don Zimmer, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Marguerite Patten, English economist and author (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Leonid Plyushch, Ukrainian mathematician and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Jabe Thomas, American race car driver (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Anne Warburton, British academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to Denmark (b. 1927)
    • 2016 – Carmen Pereira, Bissau-Guinean politician (b. 1937)
    • 2017 – Juan Goytisolo, Spanish essayist, poet and novelist (b. 1931)

    Holidays and observances on June 4

    • Birthday of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim & Flag Day celebration of the Finnish Defence Forces (Finland)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Filippo Smaldone
      • Francis Caracciolo
      • Optatus
      • Petroc of Cornwall
      • Quirinus of Sescia
      • Saturnina
      • June 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Emancipation Day or Independence Day, commemorates the abolition of serfdom in Tonga by King George Tupou in 1862, and the independence of Tonga from the British protectorate in 1970. (Tonga)
    • Flag Day (Estonia)
    • International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression (International)
    • National Unity Day (Hungary)
    • Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 Memorial Day (International)

  • May 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 585 BC – A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of Halys, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated.
    • 621 – Battle of Hulao: Li Shimin, the son of the Chinese emperor Gaozu, defeats the numerically superior forces of Dou Jiande near the Hulao Pass (Henan). This victory decides the outcome of the civil war that followed the Sui dynasty’s collapse in favour of the Tang dynasty.
    • 1533 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Cranmer, declares the marriage of King Henry VIII of England to Anne Boleyn valid.
    • 1588 – The Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, heading for the English Channel. (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port.)
    • 1644 – English Civil War: Bolton Massacre by Royalist troops under the command of James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby.
    • 1754 – French and Indian War: In the first engagement of the war, Virginia militia under the 22-year-old Lieutenant colonel George Washington defeat a French reconnaissance party in the Battle of Jumonville Glen in what is now Fayette County in southwestern Pennsylvania.
    • 1802 – In Guadeloupe, 400 rebellious slaves, led by Louis Delgrès, blow themselves up rather than submit to Napoleon’s troops.
    • 1830 – U.S. President Andrew Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act which denies Native Americans their land rights and forcibly relocates them.
    • 1871 – The Paris Commune falls after two months.
    • 1892 – In San Francisco, John Muir organizes the Sierra Club.
    • 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima ends with the destruction of the Russian Baltic Fleet by Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō and the Imperial Japanese Navy.
    • 1907 – The first Isle of Man TT race was held.
    • 1918 – The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the First Republic of Armenia declare their independence.
    • 1926 – The 28 May 1926 coup d’état: Ditadura Nacional is established in Portugal to suppress the unrest of the First Republic.
    • 1932 – In the Netherlands, construction of the Afsluitdijk is completed and the Zuiderzee bay is converted to the freshwater IJsselmeer.
    • 1934 – Near Callander, Ontario, Canada, the Dionne quintuplets are born to Oliva and Elzire Dionne; they will be the first quintuplets to survive infancy.
    • 1936 – Alan Turing submits On Computable Numbers for publication.
    • 1937 – Volkswagen, the German automobile manufacturer is founded.
    • 1940 – World War II: Belgium surrenders to Nazi Germany to end the Battle of Belgium.
    • 1940 – World War II: Norwegian, French, Polish and British forces recapture Narvik in Norway. This is the first allied infantry victory of the War.
    • 1948 – Daniel François Malan is elected as Prime Minister of South Africa. He later goes on to implement Apartheid.
    • 1958 – Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro’s 26th of July Movement, heavily reinforced by Frank Pais Militia, overwhelm an army post in El Uvero.
    • 1961 – Peter Benenson’s article The Forgotten Prisoners is published in several internationally read newspapers. This will later be thought of as the founding of the human rights organization Amnesty International.
    • 1974 – Northern Ireland’s power-sharing Sunningdale Agreement collapses following a general strike by loyalists.
    • 1975 – Fifteen West African countries sign the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States.
    • 1977 – In Southgate, Kentucky, the Beverly Hills Supper Club is engulfed in fire, killing 165 people inside.
    • 1979 – Konstantinos Karamanlis signs the full treaty of the accession of Greece with the European Economic Community.
    • 1987 – A West German pilot, Mathias Rust, who was 18 years old, evades Soviet Union air defences and lands a private plane in the Red Square in Moscow, Russia.
    • 1991 – The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War.
    • 1995 – The 7.0 Mw  Neftegorsk earthquake shook the former Russian settlement of Neftegorsk with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Total damage was $64.1–300 million, with 1,989 deaths and 750 injured. The settlement was not rebuilt.
    • 1996 – U.S. President Bill Clinton’s former business partners in the Whitewater land deal, Jim McDougal and Susan McDougal, and the Governor of Arkansas Jim Guy Tucker, are convicted of fraud.
    • 1998 – Nuclear testing: Pakistan responds to a series of nuclear tests by India with five of its own codenamed Chagai-I, prompting the United States, Japan, and other nations to impose economic sanctions. Pakistan celebrates Youm-e-Takbir annually.
    • 1999 – In Milan, Italy, after 22 years of restoration work, Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper is put back on display.
    • 2002 – The last steel girder is removed from the original World Trade Center site. Cleanup duties officially end with closing ceremonies at Ground Zero in Manhattan, New York City.
    • 2003 – Peter Hollingworth resigns as Governor-General of Australia following criticism of his handling of child sexual abuse allegations during his tenure as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane.
    • 2004 – The Iraqi Governing Council chooses Ayad Allawi, a longtime anti-Saddam Hussein exile, as prime minister of Iraq’s interim government.
    • 2008 – The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal formally declares Nepal a republic, ending the 240-year reign of the Shah dynasty.
    • 2010 – In West Bengal, India, the Jnaneswari Express train derailment and subsequent collision kills 148 passengers.
    • 2011 – Malta votes on the introduction of divorce; the proposal was approved by 53% of voters, resulting in a law allowing divorce under certain conditions being enacted later in the year.

    Births on May 28

    • 1140 – Xin Qiji, Chinese poet, general, and politician (d. 1207)
    • 1371 – John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1419)
    • 1524 – Selim II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1574)
    • 1588 – Pierre Séguier, French politician, Lord Chancellor of France (d. 1672)
    • 1589 – Robert Arnauld d’Andilly, French writer (d. 1674)
    • 1663 – António Manoel de Vilhena, Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (d. 1736)
    • 1676 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1754)
    • 1692 – Geminiano Giacomelli, Italian composer (d. 1740)
    • 1738 – Joseph-Ignace Guillotin, French physician (d. 1814)
    • 1759 – William Pitt the Younger, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1806)
    • 1763 – Manuel Alberti, Argentinian priest and journalist (d. 1811)
    • 1764 – Edward Livingston, American jurist and politician, 11th United States Secretary of State (d. 1836)
    • 1779 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet and composer (d. 1852)
    • 1807 – Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American paleontologist and geologist (d. 1873)
    • 1818 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (d. 1893)
    • 1836 – Friedrich Baumfelder, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1916)
    • 1836 – Alexander Mitscherlich, German chemist and academic (d. 1918)
    • 1837 – George Ashlin, Irish architect, co-designed St Colman’s Cathedral (d. 1921)
    • 1837 – Tony Pastor, American impresario, variety performer and theatre owner (d. 1908)
    • 1841 – Sakaigawa Namiemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 14th Yokozuna (d. 1887)
    • 1853 – Carl Larsson, Swedish painter and author (d. 1919)
    • 1858 – Carl Richard Nyberg, Swedish inventor and businessman, developed the blow torch (d. 1939)
    • 1872 – Marian Smoluchowski, Polish physicist and mountaineer (d. 1917)
    • 1878 – Paul Pelliot, French sinologist and explorer (d. 1945)
    • 1879 – Milutin Milanković, Serbian mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (d. 1958)
    • 1883 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian poet and politician (d. 1966)
    • 1883 – Clough Williams-Ellis, English-Welsh architect, designed the Portmeirion Village (d. 1978)
    • 1884 – Edvard Beneš, Czech academic and politician, 2nd President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1948)
    • 1886 – Santo Trafficante, Sr., Italian-American mobster (d. 1954)
    • 1888 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
    • 1888 – Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot, English author and educator (d. 1947)
    • 1888 – Jim Thorpe, American decathlete, football player, and coach (d. 1953)
    • 1889 – Richard Réti, Slovak-Czech chess player and author (d. 1929)
    • 1892 – Minna Gombell, American actress (d. 1973)
    • 1900 – Tommy Ladnier, American trumpet player (d. 1939)
    • 1903 – S. L. Kirloskar, Indian businessman, founded Kirloskar Group (d. 1994)
    • 1906 – Henry Thambiah, Sri Lankan lawyer, judge, and diplomat, Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Canada (d. 1997)
    • 1908 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian journalist and politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2005)
    • 1908 – Ian Fleming, English journalist and author, created James Bond (d. 1964)
    • 1909 – Red Horner, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
    • 1910 – Georg Gaßmann, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (d. 1987)
    • 1910 – Rachel Kempson, English actress (d. 2003)
    • 1910 – T-Bone Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
    • 1911 – Bob Crisp, South African cricketer (d. 1994)
    • 1911 – Thora Hird, English actress (d. 2003)
    • 1911 – Fritz Hochwälder, Austrian playwright (d. 1986)
    • 1912 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian scientist, academic, and politician (d. 1992)
    • 1912 – Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian physicist and astronomer (d. 1981)
    • 1912 – Patrick White, Australian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
    • 1914 – W. G. G. Duncan Smith, English captain and pilot (d. 1996)
    • 1915 – Joseph Greenberg, American linguist and academic (d. 2001)
    • 1916 – Walker Percy, American novelist and essayist (d. 1990)
    • 1917 – Barry Commoner, American biologist, academic, and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1918 – Johnny Wayne, Canadian comedian (d. 1990)
    • 1921 – D. V. Paluskar, Indian Hindustani classical musician (d. 1955)
    • 1921 – Heinz G. Konsalik, German journalist and author (d. 1999)
    • 1921 – Tom Uren, Australian soldier, boxer, and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – Lou Duva, American boxer, trainer, and manager (d. 2017)
    • 1922 – Roger Fisher, American author and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Tuomas Gerdt, Finnish soldier
    • 1923 – György Ligeti, Hungarian-Austrian composer and educator (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – N. T. Rama Rao, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician, 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 1996)
    • 1924 – Edward du Cann, English naval officer and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1924 – Paul Hébert, Canadian actor (d. 2017)
    • 1925 – Bülent Ecevit, Turkish journalist, scholar, and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Turkey (d. 2006)
    • 1925 – Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, German opera singer and conductor (d. 2012)
    • 1928 – Sally Forrest, American actress and dancer (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Patrick McNair-Wilson, English politician
    • 1930 – Edward Seaga, American-Jamaican academic and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Carroll Baker, American actress
    • 1931 – Gordon Willis, American cinematographer (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Tim Renton, Baron Renton of Mount Harry, English politician, Minister for Culture, Communications and Creative Industries
    • 1933 – John Karlen, American actor
    • 1933 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress and activist (d. 2010)
    • 1936 – Claude Forget, Canadian academic and politician
    • 1936 – Ole K. Sara, Norwegian politician (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Betty Shabazz, American educator and activist (d. 1997)
    • 1938 – Jerry West, American basketball player, coach, and executive
    • 1939 – Maeve Binchy, Irish novelist (d. 2012)
    • 1940 – David William Brewer, English politician, Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London
    • 1940 – Shlomo Riskin, American rabbi and academic, founded the Lincoln Square Synagogue
    • 1941 – Beth Howland, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Stanley B. Prusiner, American neurologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1943 – Terry Crisp, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1944 – Faith Brown, English actress and singer
    • 1944 – Rudy Giuliani, American lawyer and politician, 107th mayor of New York City
    • 1944 – Gladys Knight, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1944 – Rita MacNeil, Canadian singer and actress (d. 2013)
    • 1944 – Gary Stewart, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1944 – Billy Vera, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1945 – Patch Adams, American physician and author, founded the Gesundheit! Institute
    • 1945 – John N. Bambacus, American military veteran (USMC) and politician
    • 1945 – John Fogerty, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1945 – Jean Perrault, Canadian politician, Mayor of Sherbrooke, Quebec
    • 1945 – Helena Shovelton, English physician
    • 1946 – Bruce Alexander, English actor
    • 1946 – Skip Jutze, American baseball player
    • 1946 – Janet Paraskeva, Welsh politician
    • 1946 – K. Satchidanandan, Indian poet and critic
    • 1946 – William Shawcross, English journalist and author
    • 1947 – Zahi Hawass, Egyptian archaeologist and academic
    • 1947 – Lynn Johnston, Canadian author and illustrator
    • 1947 – Leland Sklar, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1948 – Michael Field, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Tasmania
    • 1948 – Pierre Rapsat, Belgian singer and songwriter (d. 2002)
    • 1949 – Martin Kelner, English journalist, author, comedian, singer, actor and radio presenter
    • 1949 – Wendy O. Williams, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress (d. 1998)
    • 1952 – Roger Briggs, American pianist, composer, conductor, and educator
    • 1953 – Pierre Gauthier, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
    • 1954 – João Carlos de Oliveira, Brazilian jumper (d. 1999)
    • 1954 – Youri Egorov, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1988)
    • 1954 – Charles Saumarez Smith, English historian and academic
    • 1954 – Péter Szilágyi, Hungarian conductor and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1954 – John Tory, Canadian lawyer and politician, 65th Mayor of Toronto
    • 1955 – Laura Amy Schlitz, American author and librarian
    • 1955 – Mark Howe, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1956 – Jerry Douglas, American guitarist and producer
    • 1956 – Jeff Dujon, Jamaican cricketer
    • 1956 – Markus Höttinger, Austrian racing driver (d. 1980)
    • 1956 – Peter Wilkinson, English admiral
    • 1957 – Colin Barnes, English footballer
    • 1957 – Kirk Gibson, American baseball player and manager
    • 1957 – Ben Howland, American basketball player and coach
    • 1959 – Risto Mannisenmäki, Finnish racing driver
    • 1960 – Mark Sanford, American military veteran (USAF) and politician, 115th Governor of South Carolina
    • 1960 – Mary Portas, English journalist and author
    • 1963 – Houman Younessi, Australian-American biologist and academic
    • 1964 – Jeff Fenech, Australian boxer and trainer
    • 1964 – Armen Gilliam, American basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1964 – Zsa Zsa Padilla, Filipino singer and actress
    • 1964 – Phil Vassar, American singer-songwriter
    • 1965 – Chris Ballew, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1965 – Mary Coughlan, Irish politician
    • 1966 – Roger Kumble, American director, screenwriter, and playwright
    • 1966 – Miljenko Jergović, Bosnian novelist and journalist
    • 1966 – Gavin Robertson, Australian cricketer
    • 1967 – Glen Rice, American basketball player
    • 1968 – Kylie Minogue, Australian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1969 – Mike DiFelice, American baseball player and manager
    • 1969 – Rob Ford, Canadian politician, 64th Mayor of Toronto (d. 2016)
    • 1970 – Glenn Quinn, American actor (d. 2002)
    • 1971 – Isabelle Carré, French actress and singer
    • 1971 – Ekaterina Gordeeva, Russian figure skater and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Marco Rubio, American lawyer and politician
    • 1972 – Doriva, Brazilian footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Michael Boogerd, Dutch cyclist and manager
    • 1973 – Marco Paulo Faria Lemos, Portuguese footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Hans-Jörg Butt, German footballer
    • 1974 – Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1975 – Maura Johnston, American journalist, critic, and academic
    • 1976 – Steven Bell, Australian rugby league player
    • 1976 – Zaza Enden, Georgian-Turkish wrestler, basketball player, and coach
    • 1976 – Roberto Goretti, Italian footballer
    • 1976 – Glenn Morrison, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1977 – Elisabeth Hasselbeck, American talk show host and author
    • 1978 – Jake Johnson, American actor
    • 1979 – Abdulaziz al-Omari, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 11 (d. 2001)
    • 1979 – Ronald Curry, American football player and coach
    • 1980 – Miguel Pérez, Spanish footballer
    • 1980 – Lucy Shuker, English tennis player
    • 1981 – Daniel Cabrera, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1981 – Eric Ghiaciuc, American football player
    • 1981 – Adam Green, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1982 – Alexa Davalos, French-American actress
    • 1982 – Jhonny Peralta, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1983 – Steve Cronin, American soccer player
    • 1983 – Humberto Sánchez, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1983 – Roman Atwood, American YouTube star
    • 1985 – Colbie Caillat, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1985 – Pablo Andrés González, Argentinian footballer
    • 1985 – Kostas Mendrinos, Greek footballer
    • 1985 – Carey Mulligan, English actress and singer
    • 1986 – Berrick Barnes, Australian rugby player
    • 1986 – Seth Rollins, American wrestler
    • 1986 – Ingmar Vos, Dutch decathlete
    • 1987 – T.J. Yates, American football player
    • 1988 – NaVorro Bowman, American football player
    • 1988 – Percy Harvin, American football player
    • 1988 – Craig Kimbrel, American baseball player
    • 1990 – Kyle Walker, English international footballer, right-back
    • 1991 – Sharrif Floyd, American football player
    • 1991 – Alexandre Lacazette, French footballer
    • 1991 – Kail Piho, Estonian skier
    • 1992 – Tom Carroll, English footballer
    • 1993 – Daniel Alvaro, Australian rugby league player
    • 1993 – Bárbara Luz, Portuguese tennis player
    • 1994 – John Stones, English footballer
    • 1994 – Son Yeon-jae, South Korean gymnast
    • 1998 – Dahyun, Korean singer
    • 1999 – Cameron Boyce, American actor (d. 2019)
    • 2000 – Phil Foden, English footballer

    Deaths on May 28

    • 576 – Germain of Paris, French bishop and saint (b. 496)
    • 741 – Ucha’an K’in B’alam, Mayan king
    • 926 – Kong Qian, official of Later Tang
    • 926 – Li Jiji, prince of Later Tang
    • 1023 – Wulfstan, English archbishop
    • 1279 – William Wishart, English bishop
    • 1327 – Robert Baldock, Lord Privy Seal and Lord Chancellor of England
    • 1357 – Afonso IV of Portugal (b. 1291)
    • 1427 – Henry IV, Count of Holstein-Rendsburg (b. 1397)
    • 1556 – Saitō Dōsan, Japanese samurai (b. 1494)
    • 1626 – Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (b. 1561)
    • 1651 – Henry Grey, 10th Earl of Kent, English politician (b. 1594)
    • 1672 – John Trevor, Welsh politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1626)
    • 1747 – Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, French author (b. 1715)
    • 1750 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1720)
    • 1787 – Leopold Mozart, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1719)
    • 1805 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (b. 1743)
    • 1808 – Richard Hurd, English bishop (b. 1720)
    • 1811 – Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1742)
    • 1831 – William Carnegie, 7th Earl of Northesk, Scottish-English admiral (b. 1756)
    • 1843 – Noah Webster, American lexicographer (b. 1758)
    • 1849 – Anne Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1820)
    • 1864 – Simion Bărnuțiu, Romanian historian and politician (b. 1808)
    • 1878 – John Russell, 1st Earl Russell, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1792)
    • 1904 – Kicking Bear, Native American tribal leader (b. 1846)
    • 1916 – Ivan Franko, Ukrainian economist, journalist, and poet (b. 1856)
    • 1927 – Boris Kustodiev, Russian painter and stage designer (b. 1878)
    • 1937 – Alfred Adler, Austrian-Scottish ophthalmologist and psychologist (b. 1870)
    • 1946 – Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1858)
    • 1947 – August Eigruber, Austrian-German politician (b. 1907)
    • 1952 – Philippe Desranleau, Canadian archbishop (b. 1882)
    • 1953 – Tatsuo Hori, Japanese author and poet (b. 1904)
    • 1964 – Terry Dillon, American football player (b. 1941)
    • 1968 – Fyodor Okhlopkov, Russian sergeant and sniper (b. 1908)
    • 1971 – Audie Murphy, American soldier and actor, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1925)
    • 1972 – Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
    • 1975 – Ezzard Charles, American boxer (b. 1921)
    • 1976 – Zainul Abedin, Bangladeshi painter and sculptor (b. 1914)
    • 1980 – Rolf Nevanlinna, Finnish mathematician and academic (b. 1895)
    • 1981 – Mary Lou Williams, American pianist and composer (b. 1910)
    • 1981 – Stefan Wyszyński, Polish cardinal (b. 1901)
    • 1982 – H. Jones, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1940)
    • 1983 – Erastus Corning 2nd, American soldier and politician, 72nd Mayor of Albany (b. 1909)
    • 1984 – Eric Morecambe, English actor and comedian (b. 1926)
    • 1986 – Edip Cansever, Turkish poet and author (b. 1928)
    • 1988 – Sy Oliver, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1910)
    • 1990 – Julius Eastman, American composer (b. 1940)
    • 1994 – Julius Boros, American golfer (b. 1920)
    • 1994 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American author and academic (b. 1916)
    • 1998 – Phil Hartman, Canadian-American actor and comedian (b. 1948)
    • 1999 – Michael Barkai, Israeli commander (b. 1935)
    • 1999 – B. Vittalacharya, Indian director and producer (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – George Irving Bell, American physicist, biologist, and mountaineer (b. 1926)
    • 2001 – Joe Moakley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
    • 2001 – Francisco Varela, Chilean biologist and philosopher (b. 1946)
    • 2002 – Mildred Benson, American journalist and author (b. 1905)
    • 2003 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1933)
    • 2003 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
    • 2003 – Martha Scott, American actress (b. 1912)
    • 2004 – Umberto Agnelli, Swiss-Italian businessman and politician (b. 1934)
    • 2004 – Michael Buonauro, American author and illustrator (b. 1979)
    • 2004 – John Tolos, Greek-Canadian wrestler (b. 1930)
    • 2006 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (b. 1920)
    • 2007 – Jörg Immendorff, German painter, sculptor, and academic (b. 1945)
    • 2007 – Toshikatsu Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Agriculture (b. 1945)
    • 2008 – Beryl Cook, English painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 2010 – Gary Coleman, American actor (b. 1968)
    • 2011 – Gino Valenzano, Italian racing driver (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Bob Edwards, English journalist (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Yuri Susloparov, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager (b. 1958)
    • 2013 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian commander (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Eddie Romero, Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Gerd Schmückle, German general (b. 1917)
    • 2014 – Maya Angelou, American memoirist and poet (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Stan Crowther, English footballer (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Oscar Dystel, American publisher (b. 1912)
    • 2014 – Malcolm Glazer, American businessman (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Bob Houbregs, Canadian-American basketball player and manager (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer (b. 1971)
    • 2015 – Steven Gerber, American pianist and composer (b. 1948)
    • 2015 – Johnny Keating, Scottish trombonist, composer, and producer (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1940)
    • 2018 – Neale Cooper, Scottish footballer (b. 1963)
    • 2018 – Jens Christian Skou, Danish medical doctor and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
    • 2018 – Cornelia Frances, English-Australian actress (b. 1941)

    Holidays and observances on May 28

    • Armed Forces Day (Croatia)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Bernard of Menthon
      • Germain of Paris
      • John Calvin (Episcopal Church)
      • Lanfranc
      • Margaret Pole
      • William of Gellone
      • May 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Downfall of the Derg Day (Ethiopia)
    • Flag Day (Philippines)
    • Menstrual Hygiene Day
    • Republic Day (Nepal)
    • TDFR Republic Day, celebrates the declaration of independence of the First Republic of Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from the Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic in 1918. (Azerbaijan and Armenia)
    • Youm-e-Takbir (Pakistan)

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

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

    Births on May 7

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

    Deaths on May 7

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

    Holidays and observances on May 7

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

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

    This day marks the approximate midpoint of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere (starting the season at the March equinox).

    May 5 in History

    • 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins
    • 1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
    • 1260 – Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.
    • 1494 – Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Jamaica and claims it for Spain.
    • 1640 – King Charles I of England dissolves the Short Parliament.
    • 1654 – Cromwell’s Act of Grace, aimed at reconciliation with the Scots, proclaimed in Edinburgh.
    • 1672 – In preparation for the Franco-Dutch War, Louis XIV of France personally inspects his troops at Charleroi in one of the most magnificent displays of military power in the seventeenth century.
    • 1762 – Russia and Prussia sign the Treaty of St. Petersburg.
    • 1789 – In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time since 1614.
    • 1809 – Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a U.S. patent, for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
    • 1809 – The Swiss canton of Aargau allows citizenship to Jews.
    • 1811 – Peninsular War: In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, the British-Portuguese Army repels an attempt by the French Army of Portugal to relieve the besieged city of Almeida.
    • 1821 – Emperor Napoleon dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
    • 1835 – The first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen.
    • 1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi sets sail from Genoa, leading the expedition of the Thousand to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and giving birth to the Kingdom of Italy.
    • 1862 – Cinco de Mayo: Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla in Mexico.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate District of the Gulf surrenders about 4,000 men at Citronelle, Alabama.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate government was declared dissolved at Washington, Georgia.
    • 1866 – Memorial Day first celebrated in United States at Waterloo, New York.
    • 1877 – American Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles.
    • 1886 – The Bay View massacre: A militia fires into a crowd of protesters in Milwaukee, killing seven.
    • 1891 – The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
    • 1904 – Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
    • 1905 – The trial in the Stratton Brothers case begins in London, England; it marks the first time that fingerprint evidence is used to gain a conviction for murder.
    • 1912 – Pravda, the “voice” of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, begins publication in Saint Petersburg.
    • 1920 – Authorities arrest Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti for alleged robbery and murder.
    • 1925 – Scopes Trial: Serving of an arrest warrant on John T. Scopes for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
    • 1927 – To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf is first published.
    • 1936 – Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
    • 1940 – World War II: Norwegian refugees form a government-in-exile in London.
    • 1940 – World War II: Norwegian Campaign: Norwegian squads in Hegra Fortress and Vinjesvingen capitulate to German forces after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms.
    • 1941 – Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa; the country commemorates the date as Liberation Day or Patriots’ Victory Day.
    • 1945 – World War II: The German surrender at Lüneburg Heath becomes effective, encompassing all German armed forces opposing the 21st Army Group in northwestern Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
    • 1945 – World War II: Dönitz gives Löhr permission to seek an armistice with the Western Allies to preserve a communist free Austria and recognising first, from a German standpoint, the separation of Austria from Germany undoing the Anschluss.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Prague uprising begins as an attempt by the Czech resistance to free the city from German occupation.
    • 1945 – World War II: A Fu-Go balloon bomb launched by the Japanese Army kills six people near Bly, Oregon.
    • 1945 – World War II: Battle of Castle Itter, the only battle in which American and German troops fought cooperatively.
    • 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo with twenty-eight Japanese military and government officials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
    • 1950 – Bhumibol Adulyadej is crowned as King of Thailand.
    • 1955 – The General Treaty, by which France, Britain and the United States recognize the sovereignty of West Germany, comes into effect.
    • 1961 – Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight.
    • 1964 – The Council of Europe declares May 5 as Europe Day.
    • 1972 – Alitalia Flight 112 crashes into Mount Longa near Palermo, Sicily, killing all 115 aboard, making it the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy.
    • 1973 – Secretariat wins the 1973 Kentucky Derby in 1:59​2⁄5, an as-yet unbeaten record.
    • 1980 – Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege.
    • 1981 – Bobby Sands dies in the Long Kesh prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged 27.
    • 1985 – Ronald Reagan visits the military cemetery at Bitburg and the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where he makes a speech.
    • 1987 – Iran–Contra affair: Start of Congressional televised hearings in the United States of America
    • 1991 – A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after police shoot a Salvadoran man.
    • 1992 – Armand Césari Stadium disaster in Bastia (Corsica): Eighteen people are killed and 2,300 are injured when one of the terraces collapses before a football match between SC Bastia and Olympique de Marseille.
    • 1993 – Three eight-year-old boys are murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas, Ultimately leading to the conviction of the West Memphis Three.
    • 1994 – The signing of the Bishkek Protocol between Armenia and Azerbaijan effectively freezes the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
    • 1994 – American teenager Michael P. Fay is caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism.
    • 1998 – A Peruvian Air Force Boeing 737 operating for Occidental Petroleum crashes on approach to Alférez FAP Alfredo Vladimir Sara Bauer Airport in Andoas, Peru, killing 75 people.
    • 2006 – The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army.
    • 2007 – Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashes after takeoff from Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon, killing all 114 aboard, making it the deadliest aircraft disaster in Cameroon.
    • 2010 – Mass protests in Greece erupt in response to austerity measures imposed by the government as a result of the Greek government-debt crisis.
    • 2014 – Eleven people are missing after a Chinese cargo ship collides with a Marshall Islands registered container ship off the coast of Hong Kong.
    • 2014 – Twenty-two people die after two boats carrying refugees collide in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece.
    • 2019 – A Russian jet plane burst into flames while attempting an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow killing at least 41 people.
    • 2020 – The National Telecommunications Commission issued a Cease and desist order to ABS-CBN Corporation to stop the operation of it’s free TV and radio stations.

    Births on May 5

    • 1210 – Afonso III of Portugal (d. 1279)
    • 1282 – Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena (d. 1322)
    • 1310 – Preczlaw of Pogarell, Cardinal and Bishop of Wrocław (d. 1376)
    • 1352 – Rupert of Germany, Count Palatine of the Rhine (d. 1410)
    • 1479 – Guru Amar Das, Indian 3rd Sikh Guru (d. 1574)
    • 1504 – Stanislaus Hosius, Polish cardinal (d. 1579)
    • 1530 – Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, French nobleman (d. 1574)
    • 1542 – Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (d. 1623)
    • 1582 – John Frederick, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1628)
    • 1684 – Françoise Charlotte d’Aubigné, French wife of Adrien Maurice de Noailles (d. 1739)
    • 1747 – Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1792)
    • 1749 – Jean-Frédéric Edelmann, French pianist and composer (d. 1794)
    • 1764 – Robert Craufurd, Scottish general and politician (d. 1812)
    • 1800 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (d. 1864)
    • 1813 – Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and author (d. 1855)
    • 1818 – Karl Marx, German philosopher, sociologist, and journalist (d. 1883)
    • 1826 – Eugénie de Montijo, French wife of Napoleon III (d. 1920)
    • 1830 – John Batterson Stetson, American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company (d. 1906)
    • 1832 – Hubert Howe Bancroft, American ethnologist and historian (d. 1918)
    • 1833 – Ferdinand von Richthofen, German geographer and academic (d. 1905)
    • 1834 – Viktor Hartmann, Russian painter and architect (d. 1873)
    • 1843 – William George Beers, Canadian dentist and patriot (d. 1900)
    • 1846 – Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
    • 1858 – John L. Leal, American physician (d. 1914)
    • 1859 – Charles B. Hanford, American Shakespearean actor (d. 1926)
    • 1864 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (d. 1922)
    • 1865 – Helen Maud Merrill, American litterateur and poet (d. 1943)
    • 1866 – Thomas B. Thrige, Danish businessman (d. 1938)
    • 1869 – Fabián de la Rosa, Filipino painter and educator (d. 1937)
    • 1869 – Hans Pfitzner, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
    • 1874 – Thomas Bavin, New Zealand-Australian politician, 24th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1941)
    • 1882 – Sylvia Pankhurst, English women’s suffrage movement leader and socialist activist (d. 1960)
    • 1883 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English general and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (d. 1950)
    • 1883 – Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler, American mathematician (d. 1966)
    • 1884 – Chief Bender, American baseball player and coach (d. 1954)
    • 1885 – Kingsley Fairbridge, South African-Australian scholar and politician (d. 1924)
    • 1887 – Mervyn S. Bennion, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1941)
    • 1889 – Herbie Taylor, South African cricketer and soldier (d. 1973)
    • 1890 – Christopher Morley, American journalist and author (d. 1957)
    • 1892 – Dorothy Garrod, British archaeologist (d. 1968)
    • 1898 – Elsie Eaves, American engineer (d. 1983)
    • 1898 – Blind Willie McTell, American Piedmont blues singer and guitar player (d. 1959)
    • 1899 – Freeman Gosden, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1982)
    • 1900 – Helen Redfield, American geneticist (d. 1988)
    • 1903 – James Beard, American chef and author (d. 1985)
    • 1905 – Floyd Gottfredson, American author and illustrator (d. 1986)
    • 1906 – Charles Exbrayat, French author and screenwriter (d. 1989)
    • 1907 – Daryna Dmytrivna Polotniuk, Bukovinian (Ukrainian) journalist and author (d. 1982)
    • 1908 – Kurt Böhme, German opera singer (d. 1989)
    • 1909 – Miklós Radnóti, Hungarian poet and author (d. 1944)
    • 1910 – Leo Lionni, American author and illustrator (d. 1999)
    • 1911 – Gilles Grangier, French director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1911 – Andor Lilienthal, Russian-Hungarian chess player (d. 2010)
    • 1911 – Pritilata Waddedar, Indian educator and activist (d. 1932)
    • 1913 – Duane Carter, American race car driver (d. 1993)
    • 1914 – Tyrone Power, American actor (d. 1958)
    • 1915 – Alice Faye, American actress and singer (d. 1998)
    • 1916 – Zail Singh, Indian politician, 7th President of India (d. 1994)
    • 1917 – Pío Leyva, Cuban singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – Egidio Galea, Maltese Roman Catholic priest (d. 2005)
    • 1919 – Georgios Papadopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, 169th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1999)
    • 1921 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Irene Gut Opdyke, Polish nurse and humanitarian (d. 2003)
    • 1923 – William C. Campbell, American golfer (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – James Gilbert, Scottish television producer and director (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Cathleen Synge Morawetz, Canadian mathematician (d. 2017)
    • 1923 – Richard Wollheim, English philosopher and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Leo Ryan, American soldier, educator, and politician (d. 1978)
    • 1927 – Pat Carroll, American actress
    • 1929 – Ilene Woods, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1930 – Hans Abramson, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – Greg, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1999)
    • 1932 – Stan Goldberg, American illustrator (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Bob Said, American race car driver and bobsled racer (d. 2002)
    • 1933 – Igor Kashkarov, Russian high jumper
    • 1933 – Collie Smith, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1959)
    • 1934 – Henri Konan Bédié, Ivorian politician, 2nd President of Côte d’Ivoire
    • 1934 – Victor Garland, Australian accountant and politician, 26th Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
    • 1935 – Eddie Linden, Scottish poet and magazine editor
    • 1935 – Bernard Pivot, French journalist, talk show host, and producer
    • 1935 – Robert Rehme, American film producer
    • 1936 – Sandy Baron, American actor and comedian (d. 2001)
    • 1936 – Patrick Gowers, English composer and educator (d. 2014)
    • 1936 – Ervin Lázár, Hungarian author (d. 2006)
    • 1937 – Delia Derbyshire, English musician, arranger and composer (d. 2001)
    • 1938 – Michael Murphy, American actor
    • 1938 – Barbara Wagner, Canadian figure skater and coach
    • 1939 – Ray Gosling, English journalist, author, and activist (d. 2013)
    • 1940 – Lance Henriksen, American actor
    • 1940 – Michael Lindsay-Hogg, American director and producer
    • 1941 – Alexander Ragulin, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
    • 1942 – István Bujtor, Hungarian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1942 – Jean Corston, Baroness Corston, English lawyer and politician
    • 1942 – Hugh Courtenay, 18th Earl of Devon, English politician (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
    • 1943 – Michael Palin, English actor and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Ignacio Ramonet, Spanish journalist and author
    • 1944 – Bo Larsson, Swedish footballer
    • 1944 – John Rhys-Davies, Welsh actor and screenwriter
    • 1944 – Roger Rees, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 2015)
    • 1945 – Kurt Loder, American journalist, author, and critic
    • 1945 – Dianne Willcocks, English sociologist and academic
    • 1946 – Jim Kelly, American actor, athlete, and martial artist
    • 1946 – Aydın Menderes, Turkish politician (d. 2011)
    • 1948 – Bella van der Spiegel-Hage, Dutch cyclist
    • 1948 – Bill Ward, English drummer and songwriter
    • 1949 – Eppie Bleeker, Dutch speed skater
    • 1950 – Rex Caldwell, American golfer
    • 1950 – Maggie MacNeal, Dutch singer
    • 1951 – Rudolf Finsterer, German rugby player and coach
    • 1951 – Toomas Vilosius, Estonian physician and politician, 2nd Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia
    • 1952 – Ed Lee, American politician and attorney, 43rd Mayor of San Francisco (d. 2017)
    • 1952 – Jorge Llopart, Spanish race walker
    • 1952 – Willem Witteveen, Dutch scholar and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1955 – Jon Butcher, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and freelance multimedia producer
    • 1956 – Steve Scott, American runner and coach
    • 1957 – Richard E. Grant, Swazi-English actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Peter Howitt, English actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Aad van Mil, Dutch water polo player
    • 1958 – Ron Arad, Israeli colonel and pilot (d. 1986)
    • 1958 – Robert DiPierdomenico, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1958 – Vanessa Downing, Australian actress
    • 1958 – Jack Wishna, American businessman, co-founded Rockcityclub (d. 2012)
    • 1959 – Bobby Ellsworth, American singer and bass player
    • 1959 – Ian McCulloch, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1959 – Steve Stevens, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1959 – Brian Williams, American journalist
    • 1960 – Doug Hawkins, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Marg Downey, Australian actress
    • 1961 – Hiroshi Hase, Japanese wrestler and politician
    • 1961 – Rob Williams, American basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1962 – Kaoru Wada, Japanese composer and conductor
    • 1963 – James LaBrie, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Simon Rimmer, English chef and author
    • 1963 – Scott Westerfeld, American author and composer
    • 1964 – Jean-François Copé, French politician, French Minister of Budget
    • 1964 – Heike Henkel, German high jumper
    • 1964 – Don Payne, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1964 – Minami Takayama, Japanese voice actress and singer
    • 1964 – Efrat Mishori, Israeli poet and filmmaker
    • 1965 – Glenn Seton, Australian race car driver
    • 1966 – Shawn Drover, Canadian drummer
    • 1966 – Sergei Stanishev, Bulgarian politician, 46th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
    • 1966 – Josh Weinstein, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1967 – Adam Hughes, American author and illustrator
    • 1967 – Alexis Sinduhije, Burundian journalist and politician
    • 1969 – Pieter Muller, South African rugby player
    • 1970 – Kyan Douglas, American television host and author
    • 1970 – Todd Newton, American game show host
    • 1971 – Harold Miner, American basketball player
    • 1971 – Mike Redmond, American baseball player and manager
    • 1972 – James Cracknell, English rower
    • 1972 – Žigmund Pálffy, Slovakian ice hockey player
    • 1972 – Mikael Renberg, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Meb Keflezighi, American runner
    • 1976 – Dieter Brummer, Australian actor
    • 1976 – Jean-François Dumoulin, Canadian race car driver
    • 1976 – Anastasios Pantos, Greek footballer
    • 1976 – Juan Pablo Sorín, Argentinian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1978 – Morgan Pehme, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1979 – Vincent Kartheiser, American actor
    • 1980 – Yossi Benayoun, Israeli footballer
    • 1980 – Hank Green, American entrepreneur, educator, and vlogger
    • 1980 – DerMarr Johnson, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Craig David, English singer-songwriter, musician and producer
    • 1981 – Danielle Fishel, American actress
    • 1982 – Ferrie Bodde, Dutch footballer
    • 1982 – Wouter D’Haene, Belgian sprinter
    • 1982 – Randall Gay, American football player
    • 1982 – Corey Parker, Australian rugby league footballer
    • 1983 – James Anyon, English cricketer
    • 1983 – Henry Cavill, English actor
    • 1983 – Mabel Gay, Cuban triple jumper
    • 1983 – Annie Villeneuve, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Scott Ware, American football player
    • 1984 – Johanna Hedva, Korean-American artist and genderqueer activist
    • 1984 – Wade MacNeil, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1984 – Christian Valdez, Mexican footballer
    • 1985 – Shoko Nakagawa, Japanese actress and singer
    • 1985 – Emanuele Giaccherini, Italian footballer
    • 1985 – Tsepo Masilela, South African footballer
    • 1985 – Marcos Rogério Oliveira Duarte, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Terrence Wheatley, American football player
    • 1987 – Graham Dorrans, Scottish footballer
    • 1988 – Adele, English singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Mervyn Westfield, English cricketer
    • 1989 – Chris Brown, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
    • 1991 – Xenofon Fetsis, Greek footballer
    • 1991 – Raúl Jiménez, Mexican footballer
    • 1992 – Loïck Landre, French footballer
    • 1994 – Celeste, English singer
    • 1998 – Aryna Sabalenka, Belarusian tennis player
    • 1999 – Nathan Chen, American figure skater
    • 1999 – Justin Kluivert, Dutch footballer

    Deaths on May 5

    • 465 – Gerontius, Archbishop of Milan
    • 1194 – Casimir II the Just, Polish son of Bolesław III Wrymouth (b. 1138)
    • 1243 – Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent, English justiciar (b. c. 1160)
    • 1306 – Constantine Palaiologos, Byzantine general (b. 1261)
    • 1309 – Charles II of Naples (b. 1254)
    • 1316 – Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, daughter of King Edward I of England (b. 1282)
    • 1338 – Prince Tsunenaga, son of the Japanese Emperor (b. 1324)
    • 1380 – Saint Philotheos, Coptic martyr
    • 1432 – Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola, Italian adventurer
    • 1525 – Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (b. 1463)
    • 1582 – Charlotte of Bourbon, Princess consort of Orange, married to William I of Orange (b. 1547)
    • 1586 – Henry Sidney, Irish politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1529)
    • 1671 – Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, English general and politician, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom (b. 1602)
    • 1672 – Samuel Cooper, English painter and linguist (b. 1609)
    • 1700 – Angelo Italia, Italian architect (b. 1628)
    • 1705 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1640)
    • 1760 – Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, English politician (b. 1720)
    • 1766 – Jean Astruc, French physician and scholar (b. 1684)
    • 1808 – Pierre Jean George Cabanis, French physiologist and philosopher (b. 1757)
    • 1821 – Napoleon, French general and emperor (b. 1769)
    • 1827 – Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (b. 1750)
    • 1833 – Sophia Campbell, English-Australian painter (b. 1777)
    • 1855 – Sir Robert Inglis, 2nd Baronet, English politician (b. 1786)
    • 1859 – Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician and academic (b. 1805)
    • 1860 – Jean-Charles Prince, Canadian bishop (b. 1804)
    • 1883 – John O’Shanassy, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Victoria (b. 1818)
    • 1892 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (b. 1818)
    • 1896 – Silas Adams, American lawyer and politician (b. 1839)
    • 1902 – Bret Harte, American short story writer and poet (b. 1836)
    • 1907 – Şeker Ahmed Pasha, Turkish soldier and painter (b. 1841)
    • 1913 – Henry Moret, French painter (b. 1856)
    • 1916 – John MacBride, Irish soldier and rebel (b. 1865)
    • 1916 – Maurice Raoul-Duval, French polo player (b. 1866)
    • 1921 – Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian journalist and publicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
    • 1924 – A. Sabapathy, Sri Lankan journalist and politician (b. 1853)
    • 1931 – Glen Kidston, English pilot and race car driver (b. 1899)
    • 1942 – Qemal Stafa, Albanian politician (b. 1920)
    • 1947 – Ty LaForest, Canadian-American baseball player (b. 1917)
    • 1957 – Leopold Löwenheim, German mathematician and logician (b. 1878)
    • 1959 – Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentinian academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878)
    • 1962 – Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (b. 1889)
    • 1965 – Nikos Gounaris, Greek tenor and composer (b. 1915)
    • 1965 – John Waters, American director and screenwriter (b. 1893)
    • 1971 – Violet Jessop, Argentinean-English nurse (b. 1887)
    • 1973 – Zekai Özger, Turkish poet and academic (b. 1948)
    • 1977 – Ludwig Erhard, German economist and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
    • 1981 – Bobby Sands, PIRA volunteer and hunger striker (b. 1954)
    • 1983 – Horst Schumann, German physician (b. 1901)
    • 1983 – John Williams, English-American actor (b. 1903)
    • 1985 – Donald Bailey, English engineer, designed the Bailey bridge (b. 1901)
    • 1988 – Michael Shaara, American author and academic (b. 1928)
    • 1993 – Irving Howe, American literary and social critic (b. 1920)
    • 1994 – Mário Quintana, Brazilian poet and translator (b. 1906)
    • 1995 – Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian chess player and coach (b. 1911)
    • 1999 – Vasilis Diamantopoulos, Greek actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (b. 1914)
    • 2000 – Bill Musselman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1940)
    • 2001 – Morris Graves, American painter and educator (b. 1910)
    • 2001 – Clifton Hillegass, American publisher, created CliffsNotes (b. 1918)
    • 2002 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian general and politician, 62nd President of Bolivia (b. 1926)
    • 2002 – Paul Wilbur Klipsch, American engineer, founded Klipsch Audio Technologies (b. 1904)
    • 2002 – George Sidney, American director and producer (b. 1916)
    • 2003 – Sam Bockarie, Sierra Leonean commander (b. 1964)
    • 2003 – Walter Sisulu, South African activist and politician (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Naushad Ali, Indian composer and producer (b. 1919)
    • 2006 – Atıf Yılmaz, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Theodore Harold Maiman, American-Canadian physicist and engineer, created the laser (b. 1927)
    • 2008 – Irv Robbins, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded Baskin-Robbins (b. 1917)
    • 2008 – Jerry Wallace, American singer and guitarist (b. 1928)
    • 2010 – Giulietta Simionato, Italian soprano (b. 1910)
    • 2010 – Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Nigerian academic and politician, 13th President of Nigeria (b. 1951)
    • 2011 – Claude Choules, English-Australian soldier (b. 1901)
    • 2011 – Yosef Merimovich, Israeli footballer and manager (b. 1924)
    • 2011 – Dana Wynter, British actress (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Surendranath, Indian cricketer (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Carl Johan Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (b. 1916)
    • 2012 – Aatos Erkko, Finnish journalist and publisher (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – George Knobel, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Roy Padayachie, South African lawyer and politician, South African Minister of Communications (b. 1950)
    • 2013 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet and author (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Robert Ressler, American FBI agent and author (b. 1937)
    • 2014 – Michael Otedola, Nigerian journalist and politician, 9th Governor of Lagos State (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Jobst Brandt, American cyclist, engineer, and author (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Hans Jansen, Dutch linguist, academic, and politician (b. 1942)
    • 2017 – Binyamin Elon, Israeli Orthodox rabbi and politician (b. 1954)
    • 2017 – Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, Mauritanian politician (b. 1953)

    Holidays and observances on May 5

    • Children’s Day (Japan, South Korea)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Angelus of Jerusalem
      • Aventinus of Tours
      • Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice
      • Frederick the Wise (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod)
      • Hilary of Arles
      • Jutta of Kulmsee
      • Stanisław Kazimierczyk
      • May 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Cinco de Mayo (Mexico, United States)
    • Constitution Day (Kyrgyzstan)
    • Europe Day (Council of Europe)
    • Feast of al-Khadr or Saint George (Palestinian)
    • Indian Arrival Day (Guyana)
    • International Midwives’ Day (International)
    • Liberation Day (Denmark, Netherlands)
    • Lusophone Culture Day (Community of Portuguese Language Countries)
    • World Portuguese language day (International)
    • Martyrs’ Day (Albania)
    • Patriots’ Victory Day (Ethiopia)
    • Senior Citizens Day (Palau)
    • Tango no sekku (Japan)

  • May 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae.
    • 1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.
    • 1436 – Assassination of the Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
    • 1471 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury: Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales.
    • 1493 – Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.
    • 1626 – Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.
    • 1686 – The Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.
    • 1776 – Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.
    • 1799 – Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam: The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is invaded and Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris.
    • 1814 – Emperor Napoleon arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.
    • 1814 – King Ferdinand VII abolishes the Spanish Constitution of 1812, returning Spain to absolutism.
    • 1836 – Formation of Ancient Order of Hibernians
    • 1859 – The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking Devon and Cornwall in England.
    • 1869 – The Naval Battle of Hakodate is fought in Japan.
    • 1871 – The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
    • 1886 – Haymarket affair: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
    • 1904 – The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal.
    • 1910 – The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
    • 1912 – Italy occupies the Greek island of Rhodes.
    • 1919 – May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.
    • 1926 – The United Kingdom general strike begins.
    • 1927 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is incorporated.
    • 1932 – In Atlanta, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.
    • 1945 – World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army.
    • 1945 – World War II: The German surrender at Lüneburg Heath is signed, coming into effect the following day. It encompasses all Wehrmacht units in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany.
    • 1946 – In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Five people are killed in the riot.
    • 1949 – The entire Torino football team (except for two players who did not take the trip: Sauro Tomà, due to an injury and Renato Gandolfi, because of coach request) is killed in a plane crash.
    • 1953 – Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
    • 1959 – The 1st Annual Grammy Awards are held.
    • 1961 – American civil rights movement: The “Freedom Riders” begin a bus trip through the South.
    • 1961 – Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather attain a new altitude record for manned balloon flight ascending in the Strato-Lab V open gondola to 113,740 feet (34.67 km).
    • 1970 – Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: The Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opens fire killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the Cambodian Campaign of the United States and South Vietnam.
    • 1972 – The Don’t Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to “Greenpeace Foundation”.
    • 1978 – The South African Defence Force attacks a SWAPO base at Cassinga in southern Angola, killing about 600 people.
    • 1979 – Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
    • 1982 – Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
    • 1988 – The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of Space Shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.
    • 1989 – Iran–Contra affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges; the convictions are later overturned on appeal.
    • 1990 – Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.
    • 1994 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord, granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
    • 1998 – A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
    • 2000 – Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London (an office separate from that of the Lord Mayor of London).
    • 2007 – Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7-mile wide EF5 tornado. It was the first-ever tornado to be rated as such with the new Enhanced Fujita scale.
    • 2014 – Three people are killed and 62 injured in a pair of bombings on buses in Nairobi, Kenya.

    Births on May 4

    • 1006 – Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, Persian mystic and poet (d. 1088)
    • 1008 – Henry I, king of France (d. 1060)
    • 1559 – Alice Spencer, English noblewoman (d. 1637)
    • 1634 – Katherine Ferrers, English aristocrat and heiress (d. 1660)
    • 1649 – Chhatrasal, Indian ruler (d. 1731)
    • 1654 – Kangxi Emperor, Emperor of the Qing Dynasty
    • 1655 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the piano (d. 1731)
    • 1677 – Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, French noblewoman (d.1749)
    • 1715 – Richard Graves, English minister and author (d. 1804)
    • 1733 – Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (d. 1799)
    • 1752 – John Brooks, American soldier and politician, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
    • 1757 – Manuel Tolsá, Spanish sculptor and first director of the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City (d. 1816)
    • 1767 – Tyagaraja, Indian composer (d. 1847)
    • 1770 – François Gérard, French painter (d. 1837)
    • 1772 – Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (d. 1823)
    • 1796 – Horace Mann, American educator and politician (d. 1859)
    • 1796 – William Pennington, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of New Jersey, 23rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1862)
    • 1796 – William H. Prescott, American historian and scholar (d. 1859)
    • 1820 – Julia Gardiner Tyler, American wife of John Tyler, 11th First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)
    • 1820 – John Whiteaker, American soldier, judge, and politician, 1st Governor of Oregon (d. 1902)
    • 1822 – Charles Boucher de Boucherville, Canadian physician and politician, 3rd Premier of Quebec (d. 1915)
    • 1825 – Thomas Henry Huxley, English biologist, anatomist, and academic (d. 1895)
    • 1825 – Augustus Le Plongeon, English-American historian, photographer, and academic (d. 1908)
    • 1826 – Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (d. 1900)
    • 1827 – John Hanning Speke, English soldier and explorer (d. 1864)
    • 1851 – Thomas Dewing, American painter (d. 1938)
    • 1852 – Alice Liddell, English model (d. 1934)
    • 1855 – Greyfriars Bobby, faithful dog (d. 1872)
    • 1883 – Wang Jingwei, Chinese politician (d. 1944)
    • 1884 – Richard Baggallay, English army officer and cricketer (d. 1975)
    • 1887 – Andrew Dasburg, French-American painter (d. 1979)
    • 1889 – Francis Spellman, American cardinal (d. 1967)
    • 1890 – Franklin Carmichael, Canadian painter (d. 1945)
    • 1902 – Ronnie Aird, English cricketer and administrator (d. 1986)
    • 1902 – Cola Debrot, Dutch physician, lawyer, and politician (d. 1981)
    • 1903 – Luther Adler, American actor (d. 1984)
    • 1903 – Paul Demel, Czech actor (d. 1951)
    • 1905 – Al Dexter, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
    • 1906 – Gustav Bergmann, Austrian-American philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1987)
    • 1907 – Lincoln Kirstein, American soldier and playwright, co-founded the New York City Ballet (d. 1996)
    • 1907 – Walter Walsh, American target shooter and FBI agent (d. 2014)
    • 1908 – Wolrad Eberle, German decathlete (d. 1949)
    • 1911 – Evald Seepere, Estonian boxer (d. 1990)
    • 1913 – John Broome, American author (d. 1999)
    • 1913 – Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (d. 2007)
    • 1914 – Maedayama Eigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 39th Yokozuna (d. 1971)
    • 1916 – Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Richard Proenneke, American soldier, carpenter, and meteorologist (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – Edward T. Cone, American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
    • 1917 – Nick Joaquin, Filipino writer, journalist and historian (d. 2004)
    • 1918 – Tom Mead, Australian journalist and politician (d. 2004)
    • 1918 – Kakuei Tanaka, Japanese soldier and politician, 64th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1993)
    • 1919 – Dory Funk, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1973)
    • 1919 – Basil Yamey, South African-English economist and academic
    • 1921 – Patsy Garrett, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
    • 1921 – John van Kesteren, Dutch-American tenor and actor (d. 2008)
    • 1921 – Edo Murtić, Croatian painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2005)
    • 1922 – Paul-Émile Charbonneau, Canadian archbishop (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Eugenie Clark, American biologist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – Stanley Biber, American soldier and physician (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Ed Cassidy, American jazz and rock drummer (d. 2012)
    • 1923 – Assi Rahbani, Lebanese composer and producer (d. 1986)
    • 1923 – Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian (d. 2012)
    • 1923 – John Toner, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Jenő Buzánszky, Hungarian footballer and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Maurice R. Greenberg, American businessman and philanthropist
    • 1926 – David Stoddart, Baron Stoddart of Swindon, English politician
    • 1928 – Maynard Ferguson, Canadian trumpet player and bandleader (d. 2006)
    • 1928 – Thomas Kinsella, Irish poet, translator, and publisher
    • 1928 – Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian air marshal and politician, 4th President of Egypt (d. 2020)
    • 1928 – Betsy Rawls, American golfer
    • 1928 – Wolfgang von Trips, German race car driver (d. 1961)
    • 1929 – Manuel Contreras, Chilean general (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Audrey Hepburn, Belgian-British actress and humanitarian (d. 1993)
    • 1930 – Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the Jackson family
    • 1930 – Roberta Peters, American soprano (d. 2017)
    • 1931 – Jan Pesman, Dutch speed skater (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor and educator (d. 2018)
    • 1931 – Thomas Stuttaford, English physician, journalist, and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Harlon Hill, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1932 – Alexander MacAra, Scottish epidemiologist and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1933 – J. Fred Duckett, American journalist and educator (d. 2007)
    • 1936 – El Cordobés, Spanish bullfighter
    • 1936 – Med Hondo, Mauritanian filmmaker and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Ron Carter, American bassist and educator
    • 1937 – Dick Dale, American surf-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Wim Verstappen, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1938 – Tyrone Davis, American blues and soul singer (d. 2005)
    • 1938 – Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican journalist, author, and critic (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Gillian Tindall, English historian and author
    • 1939 – Neil Fox, English rugby league player and coach
    • 1939 – Amos Oz, Israeli journalist and author (d. 2018)
    • 1939 – Leon Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1940 – Robin Cook, American physician and author
    • 1940 – Peter Gregg, American race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)
    • 1941 – George Will, American journalist and author
    • 1942 – Nickolas Ashford, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1943 – Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer (d. 1971)
    • 1943 – Mihail Chemiakin, Russian painter and sculptor
    • 1943 – Prasanta Pattanaik, Indian economist and academic
    • 1944 – Steve Liebmann, Australian radio and television host
    • 1944 – Russi Taylor, American voice actress (d. 2019)
    • 1945 – Jan Mulder, Dutch footballer and journalist
    • 1946 – John Barnard, English car designer
    • 1946 – Gary Bauer, American political activist
    • 1946 – John Watson, British race car driver
    • 1947 – John Bosley, Canadian businessman and politician, 31st Canadian Speaker of the House of Commons
    • 1947 – Ronald Sørensen, Dutch historian and politician
    • 1947 – Trivimi Velliste, Estonian politician, 17th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1948 – Alison Britton, English sculptor and educator
    • 1948 – Hurley Haywood, American race car driver
    • 1948 – King George Tupou V of Tonga, (d. 2012)
    • 1949 – Graham Swift, English novelist and short story writer
    • 1950 – Darryl Hunt, English bass player
    • 1951 – Colin Bass, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1951 – Colleen Hanabusa, American lawyer and politician
    • 1951 – Jackie Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1952 – Belinda Green, Australian beauty queen and 1972 Miss World
    • 1953 – Pia Zadora, American actress and singer
    • 1954 – Ryan Cayabyab, Filipino pianist, composer, and conductor
    • 1956 – Michael L. Gernhardt, American astronaut and engineer
    • 1956 – David Guterson, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist
    • 1956 – Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player and coach
    • 1957 – Jaak Huimerind, Estonian architect
    • 1957 – Kathy Kreiner, Canadian skier
    • 1957 – Peter Sleep, Australian cricketer
    • 1957 – Marijke Vos, Dutch educator and politician
    • 1958 – Delbert Fowler, American football player
    • 1958 – Keith Haring, American painter (d. 1990)
    • 1958 – Jane Kennedy, English politician
    • 1958 – Caroline Spelman, English politician, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
    • 1959 – Valdemaras Chomičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
    • 1959 – Randy Travis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1959 – Bob Tway, American golfer
    • 1960 – Werner Faymann, Austrian politician, 28th Chancellor of Austria
    • 1961 – Jay Aston, English singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1964 – Silvia Costa, Cuban high jumper
    • 1966 – Gary Elkins, English footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Jane McGrath, English-Australian activist, co-founded the McGrath Foundation (d. 2008)
    • 1967 – Kate Garraway, English journalist
    • 1967 – Ana Gasteyer, American actress and singer
    • 1969 – Micah Aivazoff, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1969 – Franz Resch, Austrian footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Gregg Alexander, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1970 – Will Arnett, Canadian actor and producer
    • 1970 – Giovanni Mirabassi, Italian jazz musician
    • 1970 – Dawn Staley, American basketball player
    • 1970 – Paul Wiseman, New Zealand cricketer and coach
    • 1971 – Joe Borowski, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Miles Stewart, Australian triathlete
    • 1972 – Manny Aybar, Dominican baseball player
    • 1972 – Mike Dirnt, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1973 – Matthew Barnaby, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentinian footballer and coach
    • 1973 – John Madden, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1974 – Miguel Cairo, Venezuelan baseball player and coach
    • 1974 – Tony McCoy, Northern Irish jockey and sportscaster
    • 1976 – Ben Grieve, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Rory Hamill, Northern Irish international footballer
    • 1976 – Jason Michaels, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Indrek Visnapuu, Estonian basketball player and coach
    • 1977 – John Tripp, Canadian-German ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Erin Andrews, American sportscaster and journalist
    • 1978 – Igor Biscan, Croatian footballer
    • 1978 – Brett Burton, Australian footballer
    • 1978 – Vladimíra Uhlířová, Czech tennis player
    • 1979 – Lance Bass, American singer, dancer, and producer
    • 1979 – Kristin Harmel, American journalist and author
    • 1979 – Marie Poissonnier, French pole vaulter
    • 1979 – Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan rugby player
    • 1980 – Andrew Raycroft, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer
    • 1981 – Dallon Weekes, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1982 – Kleopas Giannou, Greek footballer
    • 1982 – Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
    • 1982 – Giorgos Tsiaras, Greek basketball player
    • 1983 – Dan Christian, Australian cricketer
    • 1983 – Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Robert Zwinkels, Dutch footballer
    • 1984 – Manjural Islam Rana, Bangladeshi cricketer (d. 2007)
    • 1984 – Brad Maddox, American wrestler and referee
    • 1984 – Sarah Meier, Swiss figure skater
    • 1984 – Montell Owens, American football player
    • 1984 – Kevin Slowey, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Ravi Bopara, English cricketer
    • 1985 – Anthony Fedorov, Ukrainian-born American singer and actor
    • 1985 – Fernandinho, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Lester “Bo” McCalebb, American-Macedonian professional basketball player
    • 1985 – Jamie Adenuga, English MC and rapper
    • 1986 – Devan Dubnyk, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – George Hill, American basketball player
    • 1987 – Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
    • 1988 – Radja Nainggolan, Belgian footballer
    • 1989 – Dániel Gyurta, Hungarian swimmer
    • 1989 – Henna Lindholm, Finnish figure skater
    • 1989 – Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer
    • 1989 – Aris Tatarounis, Greek basketball player
    • 1989 – James van Riemsdyk, American ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Irina Falconi, American tennis player
    • 1990 – Ryan Morgan, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Duvashen Padayachee, Australian race car driver
    • 1990 – Andrea Torres, Filipino actress and model
    • 1991 – Brianne Jenner, Canadian women’s ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Victor Oladipo, American basketball player
    • 1993 – Jānis Bērziņš, Latvian basketball player
    • 1994 – Abi Masatora, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1994 – Joseph Tapine, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1996 – Pelayo Roza, Spanish sprint canoeist

    Deaths on May 4

    • 408 – Venerius, archbishop of Milan
    • 784 – Arbeo, bishop of Freising
    • 1003 – Herman II, duke of Swabia
    • 1038 – Gotthard of Hildesheim, German bishop (b. 960)
    • 1406 – Coluccio Salutati, chancellor of Florence (b. 1331)
    • 1436 – Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish rebel leader
    • 1471 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, son and heir of Henry VI of England (b. 1453)
    • 1471 – Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset (b. 1438)
    • 1483 – George Neville, Duke of Bedford (b. 1457)
    • 1506 – Husayn Mirza Bayqara, Timurid ruler of Herat (b. 1438)
    • 1519 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, duke of Urbino (b. 1492)
    • 1535 – John Houghton, Carthusian monk and saint
    • 1562 – Lelio Sozzini, Italian Protestant theologian (b. 1525)
    • 1566 – Luca Ghini, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1490)
    • 1571 – Pierre Viret, Swiss theologian and reformer (b. 1511)
    • 1604 – Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (b. 1533)
    • 1605 – Ulisse Aldrovandi, Italian naturalist (b. 1522)
    • 1615 – Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish priest and mathematician (b. 1561)
    • 1626 – Arthur Lake, English bishop and scholar (b. 1569)
    • 1677 – Isaac Barrow, English mathematician and theologian (b. 1630)
    • 1684 – John Nevison, English criminal (b. 1639)
    • 1729 – Louis Antoine de Noailles, French cardinal (b. 1651)
    • 1734 – James Thornhill, English painter and politician (b. 1675)
    • 1737 – Eustace Budgell, English journalist and politician (b. 1686)
    • 1774 – Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick, Prussian nobleman (b. 1714)
    • 1776 – Jacques Saly, French painter and sculptor (b. 1717)
    • 1790 – Matthew Tilghman, American politician (b. 1718)
    • 1799 – Tipu, ruler of Mysore (b. 1750)
    • 1811 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (b. 1776)
    • 1816 – Samuel Dexter, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of War, 3rd United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1761)
    • 1824 – Joseph Joubert, French author (b. 1754)
    • 1826 – Sebastián Kindelán y O’Regan, colonial governor of East Florida, Santo Domingo and Cuba (b. 1757)
    • 1839 – Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (b. 1784)
    • 1858 – Aimé Bonpland, French botanist and explorer (b. 1773)
    • 1859 – Joseph Diaz Gergonne, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1771)
    • 1880 – Edward Clark, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
    • 1901 – John Jones Ross, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Premier of Quebec (b. 1831)
    • 1903 – Gotse Delchev, Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary IMRO (b. 1872)
    • 1912 – Nettie Stevens, American geneticist credited with discovering sex chromosomes (b. 1861)
    • 1916 – Ned Daly, Irish rebel commander (Easter Rising) (b. 1891)
    • 1916 – John Murray, Australian politician, 23rd Premier of Victoria (b. 1851)
    • 1916 – Joseph Plunkett, Irish rebel and writer (b. 1887)
    • 1916 – Willie Pearse, Irish rebel (b. 1891)
    • 1919 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak general and politician (b. 1880)
    • 1922 – Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian politician (b. 1888)
    • 1923 – Ralph McKittrick, American golfer and tennis player (b. 1877)
    • 1924 – E. Nesbit, English author and poet (b. 1858)
    • 1938 – Kanō Jigorō, Japanese founder of judo (b. 1860)
    • 1938 – Carl von Ossietzky, German journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
    • 1941 – Chris McKivat, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1880)
    • 1945 – Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (b. 1880)
    • 1953 – Alexandre Pharamond, French rugby player (b. 1876)
    • 1955 – George Enescu, Romanian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1881)
    • 1964 – Karl Robert Pusta, Estonian politician, 4th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Osbert Sitwell, English-Italian author and poet (b. 1892)
    • 1972 – Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
    • 1973 – Jane Bowles, American author and playwright (b. 1917)
    • 1975 – Moe Howard, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1897)
    • 1976 – Frank Strahan, Australian public servant (b. 1886)
    • 1980 – Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
    • 1981 – C. Loganathan, Sri Lankan banker (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Nino Sanzogno, Italian conductor and composer (b. 1911)
    • 1984 – Diana Dors, English actress (b. 1931)
    • 1985 – Fikri Sönmez, Turkish tailor and politician (b. 1938)
    • 1985 – Clarence Wiseman, English-Canadian 10th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1907)
    • 1987 – Paul Butterfield, American singer and harmonica player (b. 1942)
    • 1987 – Cathryn Damon, American actress (b. 1930)
    • 1988 – Lillian Estelle Fisher, American historian of Spanish America (b. 1891)
    • 1990 – Emily Remler, American guitarist (b. 1957)
    • 1991 – Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egyptian singer-songwriter and mandolin player (b. 1902)
    • 1992 – Gregor Mackenzie, Scottish politician (b. 1927)
    • 1993 – France Štiglic, Slovenian film director and screenwriter (b. 1919)
    • 1995 – Connie Wisniewski, American baseball player (b. 1922)
    • 2000 – Hendrik Casimir, Dutch physicist and academic (b. 1909)
    • 2001 – Bonnie Lee Bakley, American model, wife of Robert Blake (b. 1956)
    • 2004 – David Reimer, Canadian victim of a botched circumcision and transgender reassignment surgery (b. 1965)
    • 2005 – David Hackworth, American colonel and journalist (b. 1930)
    • 2008 – Fred Baur, American chemist and founder of Pringles (b. 1918)
    • 2009 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1933)
    • 2011 – Sammy McCrory, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Mort Lindsey, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Bob Stewart, American television producer, founded Stewart Tele Enterprises (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Adam Yauch, American rapper and director (b. 1964)
    • 2012 – Rashidi Yekini, Nigerian footballer (b. 1963)
    • 2013 – Otis R. Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Christian de Duve, English-Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Javier Diez Canseco, Peruvian sociologist and politician (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Mario Machado, Chinese-American journalist and actor (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Morgan Morgan-Giles, English admiral and politician (b. 1914)
    • 2013 – César Portillo de la Luz, Cuban guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Dick Ayers, American author and illustrator (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Elena Baltacha, Ukrainian-Scottish tennis player (b. 1983)
    • 2014 – Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Helga Königsdorf, German physicist and author (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Ross Lonsberry, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1947)
    • 2014 – Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, Central African politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1948)
    • 2015 – William Bast, American screenwriter and author (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Ellen Albertini Dow, American actress (b. 1913)
    • 2015 – Marv Hubbard, American football player (b. 1946)
    • 2016 – Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, Burundian politician (b. 1946)
    • 2020 – Don Shula, American football player and coach (b. 1930)
    • 2020 – Greg Zanis, American carpenter and activist (b. 1950)

    Holidays and observances on May 4

    • Anti-Bullying Day (United Nations)
    • Bird Day (United States)
    • Cassinga Day (Namibia)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla
      • Blessed Michal Giedroyc
      • English Saints and Martyrs of the Reformation Era (Church of England)
      • F. C. D. Wyneken (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod)
      • Florian
      • Gotthard of Hildesheim
      • José María Rubio
      • Judas Cyriacus
      • Monica of Hippo (1960 Roman Catholic Calendar)
      • Sacerdos of Limoges
      • Venerius of Milan
      • May 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Dave Brubeck Day
    • Death of Milan Rastislav Štefánik Day (Slovakia)
    • Greenery Day (Japan)
    • International Firefighters’ Day
    • May Fourth Movement commemorations:
      • Literary Day (Republic of China)
      • Youth Day (China)
    • Remembrance Day for Martyrs and Disabled (Afghanistan)
    • Remembrance of the Dead (Netherlands)
    • Restoration of Independence day (Latvia)
    • Star Wars Day (International observance)
    • World Give Day
    • World Naked Gardening Day
    • Youth Day (Fiji)

  • May 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 752 – Mayan king Bird Jaguar IV of Yaxchilan in modern-day Chiapas, Mexico assumes the throne.
    • 1294 – John II becomes Duke of Brabant, Lothier and Limburg.
    • 1481 – The largest of three earthquakes strikes the island of Rhodes and causes an estimated 30,000 casualties.
    • 1491 – Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptized by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João I.
    • 1616 – Treaty of Loudun ends French civil war.
    • 1715 – A total solar eclipse was visible across northern Europe, and northern Asia, as predicted by Edmond Halley to within 4 minutes accuracy.
    • 1791 – The Constitution of May 3 (the first modern constitution in Europe) is proclaimed by the Sejm of Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
    • 1802 – Washington, D.C. is incorporated as a city after Congress abolishes the Board of Commissioners, the District’s founding government. The “City of Washington” is given a mayor-council form of government.
    • 1808 – Finnish War: Sweden loses the fortress of Sveaborg to Russia.
    • 1808 – Peninsular War: The Madrid rebels who rose up on May 2 are executed near Príncipe Pío hill.
    • 1815 – Neapolitan War: Joachim Murat, King of Naples is defeated by the Austrians at the Battle of Tolentino, the decisive engagement of the war.
    • 1830 – The Canterbury and Whitstable Railway is opened; it is the first steam-hauled passenger railway to issue season tickets and include a tunnel.
    • 1837 – The University of Athens is founded in Athens, Greece.
    • 1848 – The boar-crested Anglo-Saxon Benty Grange helmet is discovered in a barrow on the Benty Grange farm in Derbyshire.
    • 1849 – The May Uprising in Dresden begins: The last of the German revolutions of 1848–49.
    • 1855 – American adventurer William Walker departs from San Francisco with about 60 men to conquer Nicaragua.
    • 1860 – Charles XV of Sweden–Norway is crowned king of Sweden.
    • 1867 – The Hudson’s Bay Company gives up all claims to Vancouver Island.
    • 1901 – The Great Fire of 1901 begins in Jacksonville, Florida.
    • 1913 – Raja Harishchandra, the first full-length Indian feature film, is released, marking the beginning of the Indian film industry.
    • 1920 – A Bolshevik coup fails in the Democratic Republic of Georgia.
    • 1921 – West Virginia becomes the first state to legislate a broad sales tax, but does not implement it until a number of years later due to enforcement issues.
    • 1921 – The Government of Ireland Act 1920 is passed, dividing Ireland into Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland.
    • 1928 – The Jinan incident begins with the deaths of twelve Japanese civilians by Chinese forces in Jinan, China, which leads to Japanese retaliation and the deaths of over 2,000 Chinese civilians in the following days.
    • 1939 – The All India Forward Bloc is formed by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japanese naval troops invade Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands during the first part of Operation Mo that results in the Battle of the Coral Sea between Japanese forces and forces from the United States and Australia.
    • 1945 – World War II: Sinking of the prison ships Cap Arcona, Thielbek and Deutschland by the Royal Air Force in Lübeck Bay.
    • 1947 – New post-war Japanese constitution goes into effect.
    • 1948 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Shelley v. Kraemer that covenants prohibiting the sale of real estate to blacks and other minorities are legally unenforceable.
    • 1951 – London’s Royal Festival Hall opens with the Festival of Britain.
    • 1951 – The United States Senate Committee on Armed Services and United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations begin their closed door hearings into the relief of Douglas MacArthur by U.S. President Harry Truman.
    • 1952 – Lieutenant Colonels Joseph O. Fletcher and William P. Benedict of the United States land a plane at the North Pole.
    • 1952 – The Kentucky Derby is televised nationally for the first time, on the CBS network.
    • 1957 – Walter O’Malley, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, agrees to move the team from Brooklyn to Los Angeles.
    • 1960 – The Off-Broadway musical comedy The Fantasticks opens in New York City’s Greenwich Village, eventually becoming the longest-running musical of all time.
    • 1960 – The Anne Frank House museum opens in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
    • 1963 – The police force in Birmingham, Alabama switches tactics and responds with violent force to stop the “Birmingham campaign” protesters. Images of the violent suppression are transmitted worldwide, bringing new-found attention to the civil rights movement.
    • 1971 – Erich Honecker becomes First Secretary of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany, remaining in power until 1989
    • 1973 – The 108-story Sears Tower in Chicago is topped out at 1,451 feet as the world’s tallest building.
    • 1978 – The first unsolicited bulk commercial email (which would later become known as “spam”) is sent by a Digital Equipment Corporation marketing representative to every ARPANET address on the west coast of the United States.
    • 1986 – Twenty-one people are killed and forty-one are injured after a bomb explodes on Air Lanka Flight 512 at Colombo airport in Sri Lanka.
    • 1987 – A crash by Bobby Allison at the Talladega Superspeedway, Alabama fencing at the start-finish line would lead NASCAR to develop the restrictor plate for the following season both at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega.
    • 1999 – The southwestern portion of Oklahoma City is devastated by an F5 tornado, killing forty-five people, injuring 665, and causing $1 billion in damage. The tornado is one of 66 from the 1999 Oklahoma tornado outbreak. This tornado also produces the highest wind speed ever recorded, measured at 301 +/- 20 mph (484 +/- 32 km/h).
    • 1999 – Infiltration of Pakistani soldiers on Indian side resulted into the kargil war.
    • 2000 – The sport of geocaching begins, with the first cache placed and the coordinates from a GPS posted on Usenet.
    • 2001 – The United States loses its seat on the U.N. Human Rights Commission for the first time since the commission was formed in 1947.
    • 2002 – An Indian Air Force MiG-21 crashes into a bank in Jalandhar, killing eight and injuring 17.
    • 2007 – The 3-year-old British girl Madeleine McCann disappears in Praia da Luz, Portugal, starting “the most heavily reported missing-person case in modern history”.
    • 2015 – Two gunmen launch an attempted attack on an anti-Islam event in Garland, Texas, which was held in response to the Charlie Hebdo shooting.
    • 2016 – Eighty-eight thousand people were evacuated from their homes in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada as a wildfire ripped through the community, destroying approximately 2,400 homes and buildings.

    Births on May 3

    • 490 – K’an Joy Chitam I, ruler of Palenque (d. 565)
    • 612 – Constantine III, Byzantine emperor (d. 641)
    • 1238 – Emilia Bicchieri, Italian saint (d. 1314)
    • 1276 – Louis, Count of Évreux, son of King Philip III of France (d. 1319)
    • 1415 – Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (d. 1495)
    • 1428 – Pedro González de Mendoza, Spanish cardinal (d. 1495)
    • 1446 – Margaret of York (d. 1503)
    • 1461 – Raffaele Riario, Italian cardinal (d. 1521)
    • 1469 – Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian historian and philosopher (d. 1527)
    • 1479 – Henry V, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1552)
    • 1481 – Juana de la Cruz Vázquez Gutiérrez, Spanish abbess of the Franciscan Third Order Regular (d. 1534)
    • 1536 – Stephan Praetorius, German theologian (d. 1603)
    • 1632 – Catherine of St. Augustine, French-Canadian nurse and saint, founded the Hôtel-Dieu de Québec (d. 1668)
    • 1662 – Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, German architect, designed the Pillnitz Castle (d. 1736)
    • 1678 – Amaro Pargo, Spanish corsair (d. 1747)
    • 1695 – Henri Pitot, French physicist and engineer, invented the Pitot tube (d. 1771)
    • 1729 – Florian Leopold Gassmann, Czech composer (d. 1774)
    • 1761 – August von Kotzebue, German playwright and author (d. 1819)
    • 1764 – Princess Élisabeth of France (d. 1794)
    • 1768 – Charles Tennant, Scottish chemist and businessman (d. 1838)
    • 1783 – José de la Riva Agüero, Peruvian soldier and politician, 1st President of Peru and 2nd President of North Peru (d. 1858)
    • 1814 – Adams George Archibald, Canadian lawyer and politician, 4th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (d. 1892)
    • 1826 – Charles XV of Sweden (d. 1872)
    • 1844 – Richard D’Oyly Carte, English talent agent and composer (d. 1901)
    • 1849 – Jacob Riis, Danish-American journalist and photographer (d. 1914)
    • 1849 – Bernhard von Bülow, German soldier and politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1929)
    • 1854 – George Gore, American baseball player and manager (d. 1933)
    • 1859 – August Herrmann, American executive in Major League Baseball (d.1931)
    • 1860 – Vito Volterra, Italian mathematician and physicist (d. 1940)
    • 1867 – Andy Bowen, American boxer (d. 1894)
    • 1867 – J. T. Hearne, English cricketer (d. 1944)
    • 1870 – Princess Helena Victoria of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1948)
    • 1871 – Emmett Dalton, American criminal (d. 1937)
    • 1873 – Pavlo Skoropadskyi, German-Ukrainian general and politician, Hetman of Ukraine (d. 1945)
    • 1874 – François Coty, French businessman and publisher, founded Coty, Inc. (d. 1934)
    • 1874 – Vagn Walfrid Ekman, Swedish oceanographer and academic (d. 1954)
    • 1877 – Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst and author (d. 1925)
    • 1879 – Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman and soldier, co-founded Qantas (d. 1950)
    • 1886 – Marcel Dupré, French organist and composer (d. 1971)
    • 1887 – Marika Kotopouli, Greek actress (d. 1954)
    • 1889 – Beulah Bondi, American actress (d. 1981)
    • 1889 – Gottfried Fuchs, German-Canadian Olympic soccer player (d. 1972)
    • 1891 – Tadeusz Peiper, Polish poet and critic (d. 1969)
    • 1891 – Eppa Rixey, American baseball pitcher (d. 1963)
    • 1892 – George Paget Thomson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
    • 1892 – Jacob Viner, Canadian-American economist and academic (d. 1970)
    • 1893 – Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Georgian author (d. 1975)
    • 1895 – Cornelius Van Til, Dutch philosopher, theologian, and apologist (d. 1987)
    • 1896 – Karl Allmenröder, German soldier and pilot (d. 1917)
    • 1896 – V. K. Krishna Menon, Indian lawyer, jurist, and politician, Indian Minister of Defence (d. 1974)
    • 1896 – Dodie Smith, English author and playwright (d. 1990)
    • 1897 – William Joseph Browne, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Solicitor General of Canada (d. 1989)
    • 1898 – Septima Poinsette Clark, American educator and activist (d. 1987)
    • 1898 – Golda Meir, Ukrainian-Israeli educator and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1978)
    • 1902 – Alfred Kastler, German-French physicist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
    • 1903 – Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (d. 1977)
    • 1905 – Edmund Black, American hammer thrower (d. 1996)
    • 1905 – Werner Fenchel, German-Danish mathematician and academic (d. 1988)
    • 1905 – Red Ruffing, American baseball pitcher and coach (d. 1986)
    • 1906 – Mary Astor, American actress (d. 1987)
    • 1906 – René Huyghe, French historian and author (d. 1997)
    • 1906 – Anna Roosevelt Halsted, American journalist and author (d. 1975)
    • 1906 – Enrique Laguerre, Puerto Rican journalist, author, and playwright (d. 2005)
    • 1910 – Norman Corwin, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1912 – Virgil Fox, American organist and composer (d. 1980)
    • 1912 – May Sarton, American poet, novelist and memoirist (d. 1995)
    • 1913 – William Inge, American playwright and novelist (d. 1973)
    • 1914 – Georges-Emmanuel Clancier, French journalist, author, and poet (d. 2018)
    • 1915 – Stu Hart, Canadian wrestler and trainer, founded Stampede Wrestling (d. 2003)
    • 1915 – Richard Lippold, American sculptor and academic (d. 2002)
    • 1916 – Léopold Simoneau, Canadian tenor and actor (d. 2006)
    • 1917 – Betty Comden, American screenwriter and librettist (d. 2006)
    • 1917 – George Gaynes, Finnish-American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1918 – Ted Bates, English footballer and manager (d. 2003)
    • 1919 – John Cullen Murphy, American soldier and illustrator (d. 2004)
    • 1919 – Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist (d. 2014)
    • 1920 – John Lewis, American pianist and composer (d. 2001)
    • 1921 – Sugar Ray Robinson, American boxer (d. 1989)
    • 1922 – Len Shackleton, English footballer and journalist (d. 2000)
    • 1923 – George Hadjinikos, Greek pianist, conductor, and educator (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – Ralph Hall, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (d. 2019)
    • 1924 – Yehuda Amichai, German-Israeli author and poet (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Ken Tyrrell, English race car driver, founded Tyrrell Racing (d. 2001)
    • 1925 – Jean Séguy, French sociologist and author (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Matt Baldwin, Canadian curler and engineer
    • 1928 – Dave Dudley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1928 – Jacques-Louis Lions, French mathematician (d. 2001)
    • 1929 – Denise Lor, American singer and actress (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Juan Gelman, Argentinian poet and author (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – David Harrison, English chemist and academic
    • 1931 – Vasily Rudenkov, Belarusian hammer thrower (d. 1982)
    • 1931 – Sait Maden, Turkish translator, poet, painter and graphic designer (d. 2013)
    • 1932 – Robert Osborne, American actor and historian (d. 2017)
    • 1933 – James Brown, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2006)
    • 1933 – Steven Weinberg, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1934 – Henry Cooper, English boxer and sportscaster (d. 2011)
    • 1934 – Georges Moustaki, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Frankie Valli, American singer and actor
    • 1935 – Ron Popeil, American businessman, founded the Ronco Company
    • 1937 – Nélida Piñon, Brazilian author and academic
    • 1938 – Omar Abdel-Rahman, Egyptian terrorist
    • 1938 – Chris Cannizzaro, American baseball player
    • 1938 – Napoleon XIV, American singer, songwriter and record producer
    • 1939 – Jonathan Harvey, English composer and educator (d. 2012)
    • 1940 – David Koch, American engineer, businessman, and philanthropist (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Clemens Westerhof, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1941 – Alexander Harley, English general
    • 1941 – Edward Malloy, American priest and academic
    • 1942 – Věra Čáslavská, Czech gymnast and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1942 – Dave Marash, American journalist and sportscaster
    • 1942 – Butch Otter, American soldier and politician, 32nd Governor of Idaho
    • 1943 – Yukio Hashi, Japanese singer and actor
    • 1943 – Jim Risch, American lawyer and politician, 31st Governor of Idaho
    • 1943 – Vicente Saldivar, Mexican boxer (d. 1985)
    • 1944 – Peter Doyle, English bishop
    • 1944 – Pete Staples, English bass player
    • 1945 – Jörg Drehmel, German triple jumper and coach
    • 1945 – Davey Lopes, American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1946 – Norm Chow, American football player and coach
    • 1946 – Silvino Francisco, South African snooker player
    • 1946 – Greg Gumbel, American sportscaster
    • 1947 – Doug Henning, Canadian magician (d. 2000)
    • 1948 – Denis Cosgrove, British-American academic and geographer (d. 2008)
    • 1948 – Chris Mulkey, American actor
    • 1949 – Liam Donaldson, English physician and academic
    • 1949 – Ruth Lister, Baroness Lister of Burtersett, English academic and politician
    • 1949 – Ron Wyden, American academic and politician
    • 1950 – Mary Hopkin, Welsh singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Dag Arnesen, Norwegian pianist and composer
    • 1951 – Alan Clayson, English singer-songwriter and journalist
    • 1951 – Christopher Cross, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1951 – Ashok Gehlot, Indian politician, 21st Chief Minister of Rajasthan
    • 1951 – Tatyana Tolstaya, Russian author and publicist
    • 1952 – Chuck Baldwin, American pastor and politician
    • 1952 – Caitlin Clarke, American actress (d. 2004)
    • 1952 – Joseph W. Tobin, American cardinal
    • 1953 – Bruce Hall, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
    • 1953 – Jake Hooker, Israeli-American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1954 – Angela Bofill, American singer-songwriter
    • 1954 – Jean-Marc Roberts, French author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1955 – Stephen D. M. Brown, British geneticist
    • 1955 – Colin Deans, Scottish rugby player
    • 1955 – David Hookes, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2004)
    • 1955 – Seishirō Nishida, Japanese actor
    • 1956 – Marc Bellemare, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1957 – Alain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1957 – Rod Langway, Taiwanese-American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1958 – Bill Sienkiewicz, American author and illustrator
    • 1958 – Sandi Toksvig, Danish-English comedian, writer, and broadcaster
    • 1959 – David Ball, English keyboard player and producer
    • 1959 – Uma Bharti, Indian activist and politician, 16th Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh
    • 1959 – Ben Elton, English actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Kathy Smallwood-Cook, English sprinter and educator
    • 1961 – Steve McClaren, English footballer and manager
    • 1961 – David Vitter, American lawyer and politician
    • 1961 – Leyla Zana, Kurdish activist and politician
    • 1962 – Anders Graneheim, Swedish bodybuilder
    • 1963 – Jeff Hornacek, American basketball player and coach
    • 1963 – Mona Siddiqui, Pakistani-Scottish journalist and academic
    • 1964 – Sterling Campbell, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1964 – Ron Hextall, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
    • 1965 – Ignatius Aphrem II, Syrian patriarch
    • 1965 – Mark Cousins, Northern Irish director, writer, cinematographer
    • 1965 – John Jensen, Danish footballer and coach
    • 1965 – Mikhail Prokhorov, Russian businessman
    • 1966 – Giorgos Agorogiannis, Greek footballer
    • 1966 – Frank Dietrich, German politician (d. 2011)
    • 1967 – Daniel Anderson, Australian rugby league coach and manager
    • 1967 – Kenneth Joel Hotz, Canadian producer, writer, director, actor, and comedian
    • 1968 – Viliami Ofahengaue, Tongan-Australian rugby player
    • 1971 – Douglas Carswell, British politician, the first elected MP for the UK Independence Party
    • 1972 – Stephen Barclay, English lawyer and politician
    • 1973 – Jamie Baulch, Welsh sprinter and television host
    • 1975 – Willie Geist, American television journalist and host
    • 1976 – Jeff Halpern, American ice hockey player
    • 1976 – Brad Scott, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1976 – Chris Scott, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1977 – Eric Church, American country music singer-songwriter
    • 1977 – Ryan Dempster, Canadian baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Tyronn Lue, American basketball player and coach
    • 1977 – Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (d. 2017)
    • 1977 – Ben Olsen, American soccer player and coach
    • 1978 – Christian Annan, Ghanaian-Hong Kong footballer
    • 1978 – Paul Banks, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – Dai Tamesue, Japanese hurdler
    • 1978 – Lawrence Tynes, American football player
    • 1979 – Steve Mack, American wrestler
    • 1979 – Anastasiya Shvedova, Belarusian pole vaulter
    • 1980 – Zuzana Ondrášková, Czech tennis player
    • 1982 – Igor Olshansky, Ukrainian-American football player
    • 1982 – Nick Stavinoha, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Joseph Addai, American football player
    • 1983 – Romeo Castelen, Dutch footballer
    • 1983 – Jérôme Clavier, French pole vaulter
    • 1983 – Márton Fülöp, Hungarian footballer (d. 2015)
    • 1985 – Ezequiel Lavezzi, Argentinian footballer
    • 1985 – Kadri Lehtla, Estonian biathlete
    • 1985 – Miko Mälberg, Estonian swimmer
    • 1986 – Moon Byung-woo, South Korean footballer
    • 1987 – Lina Grinčikaitė, Lithuanian sprinter
    • 1988 – Ben Revere, American baseball player
    • 1988 – Paddy Holohan, Irish mixed martial artist
    • 1989 – Jesse Bromwich, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1989 – Katinka Hosszú, Hungarian swimmer
    • 1990 – Brooks Koepka, American golfer
    • 1991 – Samuel Seo, South Korean musician
    • 1992 – Aaron Whitchurch, Australian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Ivan Bukavshin, Russian chess player (d. 2016)
    • 1996 – Mary Cain, American runner
    • 1996 – Alex Iwobi, Nigerian football player
    • 1996 – Domantas Sabonis, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1997 – Desiigner, American rapper
    • 1997 – Dwayne Haskins, American football player
    • 1997 – Ivana Jorović, Serbian tennis player

    Deaths on May 3

    • 678 – Tōchi, Japanese princess
    • 738 – Uaxaclajuun Ub’aah K’awiil, Mayan ruler (ajaw)
    • 1152 – Matilda of Boulogne (b. 1105)
    • 1270 – Béla IV of Hungary (b. 1206)
    • 1294 – John I, Duke of Brabant (b. 1252)
    • 1330 – Alexios II Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1282)
    • 1410 – Antipope Alexander V
    • 1481 – Mehmed the Conqueror, Ottoman sultan (b. 1432)
    • 1501 – John Devereux, 8th Baron Ferrers of Chartley, English Baron (b. 1463)
    • 1524 – Richard Grey, 3rd Earl of Kent, English peer (b. 1481)
    • 1534 – Juana de la Cruz Vazquez Gutierrez, Spanish Roman Catholic nun and venerable (b. 1481)
    • 1589 – Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (b. 1528)
    • 1606 – Henry Garnet, English priest and author (b. 1555)
    • 1621 – Elizabeth Bacon, English Tudor gentlewoman (b. 1541)
    • 1679 – James Sharp, Scottish archbishop (b. 1613)
    • 1693 – Claude de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French courtier (b. 1607)
    • 1704 – Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, Czech-Austrian violinist and composer (b. 1644)
    • 1724 – John Leverett the Younger, American lawyer, academic, and politician (b. 1662)
    • 1750 – John Willison, Scottish minister and author (b. 1680)
    • 1752 – Samuel Ogle, English-American captain and politician, 5th Governor of Restored Proprietary Government (b. 1692)
    • 1758 – Pope Benedict XIV (b. 1675)
    • 1763 – George Psalmanazar, French-English author (b. 1679)
    • 1764 – Francesco Algarotti, Italian philosopher, poet, and critic (b. 1712)
    • 1779 – John Winthrop, American mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1714)
    • 1793 – Martin Gerbert, German historian and theologian (b. 1720)
    • 1839 – Ferdinando Paer, Italian composer (b. 1771)
    • 1856 – Adolphe Adam, French composer and critic (b. 1803)
    • 1856 – Louis-Étienne Saint-Denis, Arab-French servant to Napoleon I (b. 1788)
    • 1882 – Leonidas Smolents, Austrian–Greek general and army minister (b. 1806)
    • 1910 – Howard Taylor Ricketts, American pathologist (b. 1871)
    • 1916 – Tom Clarke, Irish rebel (b. 1858)
    • 1916 – Thomas MacDonagh, Irish poet and rebel (b. 1878)
    • 1916 – Patrick Pearse, Irish teacher and rebel leader (b. 1879)
    • 1918 – Charlie Soong, Chinese businessman and missionary (b. 1863)
    • 1919 – Elizabeth Almira Allen, American educator (b. 1854)
    • 1921 – Théodore Pilette, Belgian race car driver (b. 1883)
    • 1925 – Clément Ader, French engineer, designed the Ader Avion III (b. 1841)
    • 1932 – Charles Fort, American journalist and author (b. 1874)
    • 1935 – Jessie Willcox Smith, American illustrator (b. 1863)
    • 1939 – Madeleine Desroseaux, French author and poet (b. 1873)
    • 1942 – Thorvald Stauning, Danish politician, 24th Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1873)
    • 1943 – Harry Miller, American engineer (b. 1875)
    • 1948 – Ernst Tandefelt, Finnish assassin of Heikki Ritavuori (b. 1876)
    • 1949 – Fanny Walden, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1888)
    • 1958 – Frank Foster, English cricketer (b. 1889)
    • 1969 – Zakir Husain, Indian academic and politician, 3rd President of India (b. 1897)
    • 1970 – Cemil Gürgen Erlertürk, Turkish footballer, coach, and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 1972 – Kenneth Bailey, Australian lawyer and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to Canada (b. 1898)
    • 1972 – Emil Breitkreutz, American runner and coach (b. 1883)
    • 1972 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (b. 1904)
    • 1978 – Bill Downs, American journalist (b. 1914)
    • 1981 – Nargis, Indian actress (b. 1929)
    • 1986 – Robert Alda, American actor (b. 1914)
    • 1987 – Dalida, Italian singer, actress, dancer, and model (b. 1933)
    • 1988 – Lev Pontryagin, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1908)
    • 1989 – Christine Jorgensen, American trans woman (b. 1926)
    • 1991 – Jerzy Kosiński, Polish-American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1933)
    • 1992 – George Murphy, American actor, dancer, and politician (b. 1902)
    • 1996 – Dimitri Fampas, Greek guitarist, composer, and educator (b. 1921)
    • 1996 – Alex Kellner, American baseball player (b. 1924)
    • 1996 – Jack Weston, American actor (b. 1924)
    • 1997 – Sébastien Enjolras, French race car driver (b. 1976)
    • 1997 – Narciso Yepes, Spanish guitarist and composer (b. 1927)
    • 1998 – Gene Raymond, American actor (b. 1908)
    • 1999 – Joe Adcock, American baseball player and manager (b. 1927)
    • 1999 – Steve Chiasson, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1967)
    • 1999 – Godfrey Evans, English cricketer (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Júlia Báthory, Hungarian glass designer (b. 1901)
    • 2000 – John Joseph O’Connor, American cardinal (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Barbara Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, English politician, First Secretary of State (b. 1910)
    • 2002 – Yevgeny Svetlanov, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1928)
    • 2003 – Suzy Parker, American model and actress (b. 1932)
    • 2004 – Ken Downing, English race car driver (b. 1917)
    • 2004 – Darrell Johnson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1928)
    • 2006 – Karel Appel, Dutch painter, sculptor, and poet (b. 1921)
    • 2006 – Pramod Mahajan, Indian politician (b. 1949)
    • 2006 – Earl Woods, American colonel, baseball player, and author (b. 1932)
    • 2007 – Warja Honegger-Lavater, Swiss illustrator (b. 1913)
    • 2007 – Wally Schirra, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Knock Yokoyama, Japanese politician (b. 1932)
    • 2008 – Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, Spanish engineer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Renée Morisset, Canadian pianist (b. 1928)
    • 2009 – Ram Balkrushna Shewalkar, Indian author and critic (b. 1931)
    • 2010 – Roy Carrier, American accordion player (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Peter O’Donnell, English soldier and author (b. 1920)
    • 2010 – Guenter Wendt, German-American engineer (b. 1923)
    • 2011 – Jackie Cooper, American actor, television director, producer and executive (b. 1922)
    • 2011 – Sergo Kotrikadze, Georgian footballer and manager (b. 1936)
    • 2011 – Thanasis Veggos, Greek actor and director (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Jorge Illueca, Panamanian politician, 30th President of Panama (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Felix Werder, German-Australian composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Joe Astroth, American baseball player (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Herbert Blau, American engineer and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Cedric Brooks, Jamaican-American saxophonist and flute player (b. 1943)
    • 2013 – Keith Carter, American swimmer and soldier (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Brad Drewett, Australian tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1958)
    • 2013 – David Morris Kern, American pharmacist, co-invented Orajel (b. 1909)
    • 2013 – Curtis Rouse, American football player (b. 1960)
    • 2013 – Branko Vukelić, Croatian politician, 11th Minister of Defence for Croatia (b. 1958)
    • 2014 – Gary Becker, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Francisco Icaza, Mexican painter (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Jim Oberstar, American educator and politician (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Revaz Chkheidze, Georgian director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Danny Jones, Welsh rugby player (b. 1986)
    • 2015 – Warren Smith, American golfer and coach (b. 1915)
    • 2016 – Ian Deans, Canadian politician (b. 1937)
    • 2016 – Jadranka Stojaković, Yugoslav singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
    • 2017 – Daliah Lavi, Israeli actress, singer and model (b. 1942)

    Holidays and observances on May 3

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abhai (Syriac Orthodox Church)
      • Antonia and Alexander
      • Juvenal of Narni
      • Moura (Coptic Church)
      • Philip and James the Lesser
      • Pope Alexander I
      • Sarah the Martyr (Coptic Church)
      • The Most Holy Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland
      • Theodosius of Kiev (Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • May 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Constitution Memorial Day (Japan)
    • Constitution Day (Poland)
    • Finding of the Holy Cross-related observances:
      • Fiesta de las Cruces (Spain and Hispanic America)
      • Roodmas, or Feast of the Finding of the Holy Cross (Gallican Rite of the Catholic Church)
    • Sun Day (International)
    • World Press Freedom Day

  • May 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    May 2 in History

    • 1194 – King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter
    • 1230 – William de Braose is hanged by Prince Llywelyn the Great.
    • 1335 – Otto the Merry, Duke of Austria, becomes Duke of Carinthia.
    • 1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
    • 1559 – John Knox returns from exile to Scotland to become the leader of the nascent Scottish Reformation.
    • 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, escapes from Loch Leven Castle.
    • 1611 – The King James Version of the Bible is published for the first time in London, England, by printer Robert Barker.
    • 1625 – Afonso Mendes, appointed by Pope Gregory XV as Latin Patriarch of Ethiopia, arrives at Beilul from Goa.
    • 1670 – King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company to open up the fur trade in North America.
    • 1672 – John Maitland becomes Duke of Lauderdale and Earl of March.
    • 1808 – Outbreak of the Peninsular War: The people of Madrid rise up in rebellion against French occupation. Francisco de Goya later memorializes this event in his painting The Second of May 1808.
    • 1812 – The Siege of Cuautla during the Mexican War of Independence ends with both sides claiming victory after Mexican rebels under José María Morelos y Pavón abandon the city after 72 days under siege by royalist Spanish troops under Félix María Calleja.
    • 1816 – Marriage of Léopold of Saxe-Coburg and Princess Charlotte of Wales.
    • 1829 – After anchoring nearby, Captain Charles Fremantle of HMS Challenger, declares the Swan River Colony in Australia.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson is wounded by friendly fire while returning to camp after reconnoitering during the Battle of Chancellorsville. He succumbs to pneumonia eight days later.
    • 1866 – Peruvian defenders fight off the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Callao.
    • 1876 – The April Uprising breaks out in Ottoman Bulgaria.
    • 1879 – The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party is founded in Madrid by Pablo Iglesias.
    • 1885 – Cree and Assiniboine warriors win the Battle of Cut Knife, their largest victory over Canadian forces during the North-West Rebellion.
    • 1889 – Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs the Treaty of Wuchale, giving Italy control over Eritrea.
    • 1906 – Closing ceremony of the Intercalated Games in Athens, Greece.
    • 1918 – General Motors acquires the Chevrolet Motor Company of Delaware.
    • 1920 – The first game of the Negro National League baseball is played in Indianapolis.
    • 1933 – Germany’s independent labor unions are replaced by the German Labour Front.
    • 1941 – Following the coup d’état against Iraq Crown Prince ‘Abd al-Ilah earlier that year, the United Kingdom launches the Anglo-Iraqi War to restore him to power.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Soviet Union announces the fall of Berlin.
    • 1945 – World War II: The surrender of Caserta comes into effect, by which German troops in Italy cease fighting.
    • 1945 – World War II: The US 82nd Airborne Division liberates Wöbbelin concentration camp finding 1000 dead prisoners, most of whom starved to death.
    • 1945 – World War II: A death march from Dachau to the Austrian border is halted by the segregated, all-Nisei 522nd Field Artillery Battalion of the U.S. Army in southern Bavaria, saving several hundred prisoners.
    • 1952 – A De Havilland Comet makes the first jetliner flight with fare-paying passengers, from London to Johannesburg.
    • 1955 – Tennessee Williams wins the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
    • 1963 – Berthold Seliger launches a rocket with three stages and a maximum flight altitude of more than 100 kilometres near Cuxhaven. It is the only sounding rocket developed in Germany.
    • 1964 – Vietnam War: An explosion sinks the American aircraft carrier USNS Card while it is docked at Saigon. Two Viet Cong combat swimmers had placed explosives on the ship’s hull. She is raised and returned to service less than seven months later.
    • 1964 – First ascent of Shishapangma, the fourteenth highest mountain in the world and the lowest of the Eight-thousanders.
    • 1969 – The British ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 departs on her maiden voyage to New York City.
    • 1972 – In the early morning hours a fire breaks out at the Sunshine Mine located between Kellogg and Wallace, Idaho, killing 91 workers.
    • 1982 – Falklands War: The British nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano.
    • 1986 – Chernobyl disaster: The City of Chernobyl is evacuated six days after the disaster.
    • 1989 – Cold War: Hungary begins dismantling its border fence with Austria, which allows a number of East Germans to defect.
    • 1994 – A bus crashes in Gdańsk, Poland killing 32 people.
    • 1995 – During the Croatian War of Independence, the Army of the Republic of Serb Krajina fires cluster bombs at Zagreb, killing seven and wounding over 175 civilians.
    • 1998 – The European Central Bank is founded in Brussels in order to define and execute the European Union’s monetary policy.
    • 1999 – Panamanian general election, 1999: Mireya Moscoso becomes the first woman to be elected President of Panama.
    • 2000 – President Bill Clinton announces that accurate GPS access would no longer be restricted to the United States military.
    • 2004 – The Yelwa massacre concludes. It began on 4 February 2004 when armed Muslims killed 78 Christians at Yelwa. In response, about 630 Muslims were killed by Christians on May 2nd.
    • 2008 – Cyclone Nargis makes landfall in Burma killing over 138,000 people and leaving millions of people homeless.
    • 2008 – Chaitén Volcano begins erupting in Chile, forcing the evacuation of more than 4,500 people.
    • 2011 – Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the September 11 attacks and the FBI’s most wanted man, is killed by the United States special forces in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
    • 2011 – An E. coli outbreak strikes Europe, mostly in Germany, leaving more than 30 people dead and many others sick from the bacteria outbreak.
    • 2012 – A pastel version of The Scream, by Norwegian painter Edvard Munch, sells for $120 million in a New York City auction, setting a new world record for a work of art at auction.
    • 2014 – Two mudslides in Badakhshan, Afghanistan, leave up to 2,500 people missing.

    Births on May 2

    • 1360 – Yongle Emperor of China (d. 1424)
    • 1402 – Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (d. 1445)
    • 1451 – René II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1508)
    • 1458 – Eleanor of Viseu (d. 1525)
    • 1476 – Charles I, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels, Count of Kladsko, Governor of Bohemia and Silesia (d. 1536)
    • 1533 – Philip II, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (d. 1596)
    • 1551 – William Camden, English historian and topographer (d. 1623)
    • 1567 – Sebald de Weert, Dutch captain, vice-admiral of the Dutch East India Company (d. 1603)
    • 1579 – Tokugawa Hidetada, Japanese shōgun (d. 1632)
    • 1601 – Athanasius Kircher, German priest and scholar (d. 1680)
    • 1660 – Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1725)
    • 1695 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French painter and architect (d. 1766)
    • 1702 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and theosopher (d. 1782)
    • 1707 – Jean-Baptiste Barrière, French cellist and composer (d. 1747)
    • 1729 – Catherine the Great of Russia (d. 1796)
    • 1737 – William Petty, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, Irish-English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1805)
    • 1740 – Elias Boudinot, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1821)
    • 1750 – John André, English soldier and spy (d. 1780)
    • 1752 – Ludwig August Lebrun, German oboe player and composer (d. 1790)
    • 1754 – Vicente Martín y Soler, Spanish composer (d. 1806)
    • 1772 – Novalis, German author and poet (d. 1801)
    • 1773 – Henrik Steffens, Norwegian philosopher and poet (d. 1845)
    • 1797 – Abraham Pineo Gesner, Canadian physician and geologist (d. 1864)
    • 1802 – Heinrich Gustav Magnus, German chemist and physicist (d. 1870)
    • 1806 – Catherine Labouré, French nun and saint (d. 1876)
    • 1810 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (d. 1874)
    • 1813 – Caroline Leigh Gascoigne, English novelist and poet (d. 1883)
    • 1815 – William Buell Richards, Canadian lawyer and judge, 1st Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1889)
    • 1822 – Jane Miller Thengberg, Scottish-Swedish governess and educator (d. 1902)
    • 1828 – Désiré Charnay, French archaeologist and photographer (d. 1915)
    • 1830 – Otto Staudinger, German entomologist and author (d. 1900)
    • 1843 – Elijah McCoy, Canadian-American engineer (d. 1929)
    • 1859 – Jerome K. Jerome, English author and playwright (d. 1927)
    • 1860 – John Scott Haldane, Scottish physiologist, physician, and academic (d. 1936)
    • 1860 – Theodor Herzl, Austro-Hungarian Zionist philosopher, journalist and author (d. 1904)
    • 1865 – Clyde Fitch, American playwright (d. 1909)
    • 1867 – Giuseppe Morello, Italian-American mobster (d. 1930)
    • 1873 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (d. 1944)
    • 1879 – James F. Byrnes, American stenographer and politician, 49th United States Secretary of State (d. 1972)
    • 1880 – Bill Horr, American football player, discus thrower, and coach (d. 1955)
    • 1882 – Isabel González, Puerto Rican activist who helped pave the way for Puerto Ricans’ American citizenship (d. 1971)
    • 1885 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and gossip columnist (d. 1966)
    • 1886 – Gottfried Benn, German author and poet (d. 1956)
    • 1887 – Vernon Castle, English-American dancer (d. 1918)
    • 1887 – Eddie Collins, American baseball player and manager (d. 1951)
    • 1889 – Ki Hajar Dewantara, Indonesian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1959)
    • 1890 – E. E. Smith, American engineer and author (d. 1965)
    • 1892 – Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (d. 1918)
    • 1894 – Norma Talmadge, leading US actress of the silent era (d. 1957)
    • 1894 – Joseph Henry Woodger, English biologist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – Lorenz Hart, American playwright and lyricist (d. 1943)
    • 1897 – John Frederick Coots, American songwriter (d. 1985)
    • 1898 – Henry Hall, English bandleader, composer, and actor (d. 1989)
    • 1901 – Bob Wyatt, English cricketer (d. 1995)
    • 1901 – Edouard Zeckendorf, Belgian doctor, army officer and mathematician (d. 1983)
    • 1901 – Willi Bredel, German writer (d. 1964)
    • 1902 – Brian Aherne, English actor (d. 1986)
    • 1902 – Werner Finck, German Kabarett comedian, actor and author (d. 1978)
    • 1903 – Benjamin Spock, American rower, pediatrician, and author (d. 1998)
    • 1904 – Bill Brandt, German-English photographer and journalist (d. 1983)
    • 1905 – Alan Rawsthorne, British composer (d. 1971)
    • 1905 – Charlotte Armstrong, American author (d. 1969)
    • 1906 – Philippe Halsman, Latvian-American photographer (d. 1979)
    • 1907 – Pinky Lee, American comedian and television host (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – Frank Rowlett, American cryptologist (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – Teddy Stauffer, Swiss bandleader, musician, and actor (d. 1991)
    • 1910 – Alexander Bonnyman, Jr., American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1943)
    • 1910 – Edmund Bacon, American urban planner, architect, educator, and author (d. 2005)
    • 1912 – Axel Springer, German journalist and publisher, founded Axel Springer AG (d. 1985)
    • 1912 – Karl Adam, German rowing coaches (d. 1976)
    • 1912 – Marten Toonder, Dutch comic strip creator (d. 2005)
    • 1912 – Nigel Patrick, English actor and director (d. 1981)
    • 1913 – Pietro Frua, Italian coachbuilder and car designer (d. 1983)
    • 1913 – Aydın Sayılı, Turkish historian and academic (d. 1993)
    • 1915 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1915 – Peggy Mount, English actress (d. 2001)
    • 1917 – Albert Castelyns, Belgian water polo player and bobsledder
    • 1917 – Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (d. 2002)
    • 1920 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian-Brazilian journalist and activist (d. 2000)
    • 1920 – Vasantrao Deshpande, Indian singer and sitar player (d. 1983)
    • 1920 – Guinn Smith, American pole vaulter, soldier, and pilot (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Jacob Gilboa, Israeli composer (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – B. B. Lal, Indian archaeologist
    • 1921 – Satyajit Ray, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1922 – Roscoe Lee Browne, American actor and director (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-born American journalist and author (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Serge Reggiani, Italian-born French singer and actor (d. 2004)
    • 1923 – Patrick Hillery, Irish physician and politician, 6th President of Ireland (d. 2008)
    • 1923 – Albert Nordengen, Norwegian banker and politician (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Jamal Abro, Pakistani lawyer and author (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Theodore Bikel, Austrian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – Arthur Clues, Australian rugby league player (d. 1998)
    • 1924 – Hugh Cortazzi, English soldier, historian, and diplomat, British Ambassador to Japan (d. 2018)
    • 1925 – John Neville, English-Canadian actor (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Gérard D. Levesque, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1993)
    • 1927 – Ray Barrett, Australian actor and singer (d. 2009)
    • 1927 – Amos Kenan, Israeli columnist, painter, sculptor, playwright and novelist (d. 2009)
    • 1927 – Michael Broadbent, British wine critic and writer (d. 2020)
    • 1928 – Hans Trass, Estonian ecologist and botanist (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Georges-Arthur Goldschmidt, French writer and translator of German origin
    • 1928 – Horst Stein, German conductor (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Édouard Balladur, Turkish-French economist and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of France
    • 1929 – James Dillion, American discus thrower (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Link Wray, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
    • 1929 – Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan (d. 1972)
    • 1930 – Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter and critic (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Marco Pannella, Italian journalist and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1931 – Phil Bruns, American actor and stuntman (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – Martha Grimes, American author and poet
    • 1932 – Maury Allen, American journalist, actor, and author (d. 2010)
    • 1933 – Bunk Gardner, American musician
    • 1933 – Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
    • 1934 – Manfred Durniok, German film producer, director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1935 – Luis Suárez Miramontes, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1935 – Faisal II of Iraq, the last King of Iraq (d.1958)
    • 1936 – Norma Aleandro, Argentinian actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1936 – Engelbert Humperdinck, English singer and pianist
    • 1936 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (d. 1972)
    • 1937 – Klaus Enders, German motorcycle sidecar racer (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Lorenzo Music, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1937 – Gisela Elsner, German writer (d. 1992)
    • 1938 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (d. 1996)
    • 1939 – Sumio Iijima, Japanese physicist and engineer
    • 1939 – Ernesto Castano, Italian football player
    • 1940 – Jules Albert Wijdenbosch, Surinamese politician
    • 1941 – Tony Adamowicz, American race car driver (d. 2016)
    • 1941 – Bruce Cameron, Scottish bishop
    • 1941 – Clay Carroll, American baseball player
    • 1941 – Eddy Louiss, French jazz musician (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Jacques Rogge, Belgian businessman
    • 1942 – Wojciech Pszoniak, Polish film and theater actor
    • 1944 – Robert G. W. Anderson, English chemist, historian, and curator
    • 1945 – Randy Cain, American soul singer (d. 2009)
    • 1945 – Judge Dread, English singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
    • 1945 – Bianca Jagger, Nicaraguan-American model, actress, and activist
    • 1945 – Goldy McJohn, Canadian keyboard player (d. 2017)
    • 1946 – Peter L. Benson, American psychologist and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1946 – Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1946 – David Suchet, English actor
    • 1947 – James Dyson, English businessman, founded the Dyson Company
    • 1947 – Lynda Myles, English screenwriter and producer
    • 1947 – Philippe Herreweghe, Belgian conductor
    • 1948 – Larry Gatlin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1949 – Alan Titchmarsh, English gardener and author
    • 1949 – Alfons Schuhbeck, German celebrity chef, author and businessman
    • 1950 – Simon Gaskell, English chemist and academic
    • 1950 – Duncan Gay, Australian businessman and politician
    • 1950 – Lou Gramm, American singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Richard Ground, English lawyer and judge (d. 2014)
    • 1950 – Fausto Silva, Brazilian television presenter
    • 1951 – John Glascock, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
    • 1952 – Chris Anderson, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1952 – Christine Baranski, American actress and singer
    • 1952 – Isla St Clair, Scottish singer and actress
    • 1953 – Valery Gergiev, Russian conductor and director
    • 1953 – Jamaal Wilkes, American basketball player
    • 1954 – Elliot Goldenthal, American composer and conductor
    • 1954 – Dawn Primarolo, English politician
    • 1954 – Stephen Venables, English mountaineer and author
    • 1955 – Willie Miller, Scottish footballer
    • 1955 – Donatella Versace, Italian fashion designer
    • 1956 – Régis Labeaume, Canadian businessman and politician, 41st Mayor of Quebec City
    • 1958 – Yasushi Akimoto, Japanese songwriter and producer
    • 1958 – Stanislav Levý, Czech footballer and manager
    • 1958 – David O’Leary, English-Irish footballer and manager
    • 1959 – Alan Best, Canadian animator, director, and producer
    • 1959 – Tony Wakeford, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1960 – Stephen Daldry, English director and producer
    • 1961 – Steve James, English snooker player
    • 1961 – Sophie Thibault, Canadian journalist
    • 1961 – Phil Vickery, English chef and author
    • 1962 – Elizabeth Berridge, American actress
    • 1962 – Michael Grandage, English director and producer
    • 1962 – Jimmy White, English snooker player
    • 1965 – Félix José, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1966 – Uwe Freiler, German footballer
    • 1966 – Margus Kolga, Estonian diplomat
    • 1966 – Belinda Stronach, Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, and politician
    • 1967 – Bengt Åkerblom, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1995)
    • 1967 – Mika Brzezinski, American journalist and author
    • 1967 – David Rocastle, English footballer (d. 2001)
    • 1968 – Jeff Agoos, Swiss-American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Julia Hartley-Brewer, English broadcaster and columnist
    • 1968 – Ziana Zain, Malaysian singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1969 – Brian Lara, Trinidadian cricketer
    • 1970 – Marco Walker, Swiss footballer and coach
    • 1971 – Musashimaru Kōyō, Samoan-American sumo wrestler, the 67th Yokozuna
    • 1971 – Fatima Yusuf, Nigerian sprinter
    • 1972 – Paul Adcock, English footballer
    • 1972 – Ahti Heinla, Estonian programmer and businessman, co-developed Skype
    • 1972 – Dwayne Johnson, American-Canadian wrestler, actor, and producer
    • 1973 – Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, German director and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Horacio Carbonari, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Andy Johnson, English-Welsh footballer
    • 1974 – Janek Meet, Estonian footballer
    • 1975 – David Beckham, English footballer, coach, and model
    • 1975 – Joe Wilkinson, English comedian, actor and writer
    • 1976 – Jeff Gutt, American singer-songwriter
    • 1977 – Brian Cardinal, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Jan Fitschen, German runner
    • 1977 – Luke Hudson, American baseball player
    • 1977 – Fredrik Malm, Swedish journalist and politician
    • 1977 – Jenna von Oÿ, American actress and singer
    • 1977 – Kalle Palander, Finnish skier
    • 1978 – Melvin Ely, American basketball player
    • 1978 – Mike Weaver, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Jason Chimera, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Ioannis Kanotidis, Greek footballer
    • 1979 – Defne Joy Foster, Turkish-American actress, presenter and VJ (d. 2011)
    • 1980 – Tim Borowski, German footballer
    • 1980 – Pierre-Luc Gagnon, Canadian skateboarder
    • 1980 – Ellie Kemper, American actress, comedian and writer
    • 1980 – Zat Knight, English footballer
    • 1980 – Artūras Masiulis, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1980 – Troy Murphy, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Lassaâd Ouertani, Tunisian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1980 – Brad Richards, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Vincent Tong, Canadian actor, singer, voice actor and director
    • 1981 – Robert Buckley, American actor
    • 1981 – Chris Kirkland, English footballer
    • 1981 – Tiago Mendes, Portuguese footballer
    • 1981 – Matt Murray, English footballer
    • 1981 – Rina Satō, Japanese voice actress and singer
    • 1982 – Timothy Benjamin, Welsh sprinter
    • 1982 – Johan Botha, South African cricketer
    • 1983 – Alessandro Diamanti, Italian footballer
    • 1983 – Maynor Figueroa, Honduran footballer
    • 1983 – Tina Maze, Slovenian skier
    • 1983 – Daniel Sordo, Spanish race car driver
    • 1983 – Ove Vanebo, Norwegian politician
    • 1984 – Saulius Mikoliūnas, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1984 – Thabo Sefolosha, Swiss basketball player
    • 1985 – Lily Allen, English singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1985 – Kyle Busch, American race car driver
    • 1985 – Ashley Harkleroad, American tennis player
    • 1985 – Sarah Hughes, American figure skater
    • 1987 – Saara Aalto, Finnish singer and actress
    • 1987 – Nana Kitade, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1987 – Pat McAfee, American football player
    • 1987 – Kris Russell, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Justin Young, English singer and songwriter
    • 1988 – Neftalí Feliz, Dominican baseball player
    • 1988 – Stephen Henderson, Irish footballer
    • 1989 – Jeanette Pohlen, American basketball player
    • 1990 – Kay Panabaker, American actress
    • 1990 – Paul George, American basketball player
    • 1991 – Jeong Jinwoon, South Korean actor and singer
    • 1992 – Sunmi, South Korean singer
    • 1992 – María Teresa Torró Flor, Spanish tennis player
    • 1993 – Owain Doull, Welsh track cyclist
    • 1993 – Isyana Sarasvati, Indonesian singer
    • 1993 – Huang Zitao, Chinese singer and rapper
    • 1996 – Cherprang Areekul, Thai singer
    • 1996 – Julian Brandt, German footballer
    • 1996 – Schuyler Bailar, American swimmer
    • 2015 – Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, British royal, and fourth in line to the British throne

    Deaths on May 2

    • 373 – Athanasius of Alexandria, Egyptian bishop and saint (b. 298)
    • 649 – Marutha of Tikrit, Persian theologian of the Syriac Orthodox Church (b. 565)
    • 821 – Liu Zong, general of the Tang Dynasty
    • 907 – Boris I of Bulgaria
    • 1219 – Leo I, King of Armenia (b. 1150)
    • 1230 – William de Braose, English son of Reginald de Braose (b. 1197)
    • 1293 – Meir of Rothenburg, German rabbi (b. c.1215)
    • 1300 – Blanche of Artois (b. 1248)
    • 1450 – William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English admiral (b. 1396)
    • 1519 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1452)
    • 1564 – Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian cardinal (b. 1500)
    • 1627 – Lodovico Grossi da Viadana, Italian composer and educator (b. 1560)
    • 1667 – George Wither, English poet and author (b. 1588)
    • 1683 – Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and mathematician (b. 1613)
    • 1711 – Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1641)
    • 1799 – Juan Vicente de Güemes, 2nd Count of Revillagigedo (b. 1740)
    • 1802 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch Gold Coast (b. 1762)
    • 1810 – Henry Jerome de Salis, English priest (b. 1740)
    • 1819 – Mary Moser, English painter and academic (b. 1744)
    • 1857 – Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (b. 1810)
    • 1864 – Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer and educator (b. 1791)
    • 1880 – Eberhard Anheuser, German-American businessman, co-founded Anheuser-Busch (b. 1805)
    • 1880 – Tom Wills, Australian cricketer, co-created Australian rules football (b. 1835)
    • 1885 – Terézia Zakoucs, Hungarian-Slovene author (b. 1817)
    • 1915 – Clara Immerwahr, German chemist (b. 1870)
    • 1918 – Jüri Vilms, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1889)
    • 1925 – Antun Branko Šimić, Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian poet (b. 1898)
    • 1927 – Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (b. 1866)
    • 1929 – Charalambos Tseroulis, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister for Military Affairs (b. 1879)
    • 1941 – Penelope Delta, Greek author (b. 1874)
    • 1945 – Martin Bormann, German politician (b. 1900)
    • 1945 – Joe Corbett, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1875)
    • 1947 – Dorothea Binz, German SS officer (b. 1920)
    • 1953 – Wallace Bryant, American archer (b. 1863)
    • 1957 – Joseph McCarthy, American captain, lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1908)
    • 1963 – Ronald Barnes, 3rd Baron Gorell, English cricketer, peer, politician, poet, author and newspaper editor (b. 1884)
    • 1964 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (b. 1879)
    • 1969 – Franz von Papen, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1879)
    • 1972 – J. Edgar Hoover, American 1st director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (b. 1895)
    • 1974 – James O. Richardson, American admiral (b. 1878)
    • 1977 – Nicholas Magallanes, American principal dancer and charter member of the New York City Ballet (b. 1922)
    • 1979 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1980 – Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (b. 1891)
    • 1980 – George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (b. 1908)
    • 1983 – Norm Van Brocklin, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
    • 1984 – Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (b. 1918)
    • 1984 – Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1913)
    • 1985 – Attilio Bettega, Italian race car driver (b. 1951)
    • 1985 – Larry Clinton, American trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1909)
    • 1986 – Sergio Cresto, American race car driver (b. 1956)
    • 1986 – Henri Toivonen, Finnish race car driver (b. 1956)
    • 1989 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian author (b. 1902)
    • 1989 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (b. 1906)
    • 1990 – David Rappaport, English-American actor (b. 1951)
    • 1991 – Gauri Shankar Rai, Indian Politician(b.1924)
    • 1991 – Ronald McKie, Australian journalist and author (b. 1909)
    • 1992 – Wilbur Mills, American lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
    • 1993 – André Moynet, French race car driver, pilot, and politician (b. 1921)
    • 1994 – Dorothy Marie Donnelly, American poet and author (b. 1903)
    • 1995 – John Bunting, Australian public servant and diplomat, (b. 1918)
    • 1995 – Michael Hordern, English actor (b. 1911)
    • 1997 – John Eccles, Australian neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1997 – Paulo Freire, Brazilian philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
    • 1998 – hide, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1964)
    • 1998 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (b. 1961)
    • 1998 – Gene Raymond, American actor (b. 1908)
    • 1998 – Lord Voldemort, English wizard and terrorist (b. 1926)
    • 1999 – Douglas Harkness, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1903)
    • 1999 – Oliver Reed, English actor (b. 1938)
    • 2000 – Sundar Popo, Indo-Trinidadian musician (b. 1943)
    • 2002 – W. T. Tutte, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Wee Kim Wee, Singaporean journalist and politician, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
    • 2006 – Louis Rukeyser, American journalist and author (b. 1933)
    • 2007 – Brad McGann, New Zealand director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
    • 2008 – Beverlee McKinsey, American actress (b. 1940)
    • 2008 – Izold Pustõlnik, Ukrainian-Estonian astronomer and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2009 – Marilyn French, American author and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2009 – Kiyoshiro Imawano, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1951)
    • 2009 – Jack Kemp, American football player and politician, 9th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (b. 1935)
    • 2010 – Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (b. 1943)
    • 2011 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founder of Al-Qaeda (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Fernando Lopes, Portuguese director and screenwriter (b. 1935)
    • 2012 – Zenaida Manfugás, Cuban-born American-naturalized pianist (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Tufan Miñnullin, Russian playwright and politician (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, Indonesian physician and politician, Indonesian Minister of Health (b. 1955)
    • 2012 – Akira Tonomura, Japanese physicist, author, and academic (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Ernie Field, English boxer (b. 1943)
    • 2013 – Jeff Hanneman, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1964)
    • 2013 – Joseph P. McFadden, American bishop (b. 1947)
    • 2013 – Dvora Omer, Israeli author and educator (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer (b. 1980)
    • 2013 – Charles Banks Wilson, American painter and illustrator (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Tomás Balduino, Brazilian bishop (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Žarko Petan, Slovenian director, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., American actor (b. 1918)
    • 2015 – Stuart Archer, English colonel and architect (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (b. 1945)
    • 2015 – Guy Carawan, American singer and musicologist (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Maya Plisetskaya, Russian-Lithuanian ballerina, choreographer, actress, and director (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Ruth Rendell, English author (b. 1930)
    • 2016 – Afeni Shakur, American music businesswoman, activist, and Black Panther (b. 1947)
    • 2020 – Arif Wazir, Pakistani politician, leader of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (b. 1982)

    Holidays and observances on May 2

    • Christian feast day:
      • Athanasius of Alexandria (Western Christianity)
      • Boris I of Bulgaria (Bulgarian Orthodox Church)
      • Germanus of Normandy
      • May 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • International Harry Potter Day
    • The last day of the Festival of Ridván (Bahá’í Faith) (Note that this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March equinox, see List of observances set by the Baháʼí calendar)
    • Anniversary of the Dos de Mayo Uprising (Community of Madrid, Spain)
    • Birth Anniversary of Third Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan)
    • Flag Day (Poland)
    • Indonesia National Education Day
    • Teachers’ Day (Iran) (Note that this date is non-Gregorian and may change according to the March Equinox, see List of observances set by the Solar Hijri calendar)

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

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

    Births on April 19

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

    Deaths April 19

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

    Holidays and observances on April 19

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

  • April 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1080 – Harald III of Denmark dies and is succeeded by Canute IV, who would later be the first Dane to be canonized.
    • 1349 – The rule of the Bavand dynasty in Mazandaran is brought to an end by the murder of Hasan II.
    • 1362 – Kaunas Castle falls to the Teutonic Order after a month-long siege.
    • 1492 – Spain and Christopher Columbus sign the Capitulations of Santa Fe for his voyage to Asia to acquire spices.
    • 1521 – Trial of Martin Luther over his teachings begins during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. Initially intimidated, he asks for time to reflect before answering and is given a stay of one day.
    • 1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano reaches New York harbor.
    • 1797 – Sir Ralph Abercromby attacks San Juan, Puerto Rico, in what would be one of the largest invasions of the Spanish territories in the Americas.
    • 1797 – Citizens of Verona begin an unsuccessful eight-day rebellion against the French occupying forces.
    • 1861 – The state of Virginia’s secession convention votes to secede from the United States, later becoming the eighth state to join the Confederate States of America.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Grierson’s Raid begins: Troops under Union Army Colonel Benjamin Grierson attack central Mississippi.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Plymouth begins: Confederate forces attack Plymouth, North Carolina.
    • 1869 – Morelos is admitted as the 27th state of Mexico.
    • 1876 – Catalpa rescue: The rescue of six Fenian prisoners from Fremantle Prison in Western Australia.
    • 1895 – The Treaty of Shimonoseki between China and Japan is signed. This marks the end of the First Sino-Japanese War, and the defeated Qing Empire is forced to renounce its claims on Korea and to concede the southern portion of the Fengtien province, Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands to Japan.
    • 1905 – The Supreme Court of the United States decides Lochner v. New York, which holds that the “right to free contract” is implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
    • 1907 – The Ellis Island immigration center processes 11,747 people, more than on any other day.
    • 1912 – Russian troops open fire on striking goldfield workers in northeast Siberia, killing at least 150.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Kingdom of Yugoslavia surrenders to Germany.
    • 1942 – French prisoner of war General Henri Giraud escapes from his castle prison in Königstein Fortress.
    • 1944 – Forces of the Communist-controlled Greek People’s Liberation Army attack the smaller National and Social Liberation resistance group, which surrenders. Its leader Dimitrios Psarros is murdered.
    • 1945 – World War II: Montese, Italy, is liberated from Nazi forces.
    • 1946 – The last French troops are withdrawn from Syria.
    • 1951 – The Peak District becomes the United Kingdom’s first National Park.
    • 1961 – Bay of Pigs Invasion: A group of Cuban exiles financed and trained by the CIA lands at the Bay of Pigs in Cuba with the aim of ousting Fidel Castro.
    • 1969 – Sirhan Sirhan is convicted of assassinating Robert F. Kennedy.
    • 1969 – Communist Party of Czechoslovakia chairman Alexander Dubček is deposed.
    • 1970 – Apollo program: The ill-fated Apollo 13 spacecraft returns to Earth safely.
    • 1971 – The Provisional Government of Bangladesh is formed.
    • 1975 – The Cambodian Civil War ends. The Khmer Rouge captures the capital Phnom Penh and Cambodian government forces surrender.
    • 1978 – Mir Akbar Khyber is assassinated, provoking a communist coup d’état in Afghanistan.
    • 1982 – Constitution Act, 1982 Patriation of the Canadian constitution in Ottawa by Proclamation of Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada.
    • 1992 – The Katina P is deliberately run aground off of Maputo, Mozambique and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
    • 2006 – A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates an explosive device in a Tel Aviv restaurant, killing 11 people and injuring 70.
    • 2013 – An explosion at a fertilizer plant in the city of West, Texas, kills 15 people and injures 160 others.
    • 2014 – NASA’s Kepler space telescope confirms the discovery of the first Earth-size planet in the habitable zone of another star.

    Births on April 17

    • 44 – Pope Evaristus (d. 107)
    • 1277 – Michael IX Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1320)
    • 1455 – Andrea Gritti, Doge of Venice (d. 1538)
    • 1497 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador, conquered northern Chile (d. 1553)
    • 1573 – Maximilian I, Elector of Bavaria (d. 1651)
    • 1586 – John Ford, English poet and playwright (d. 1639)
    • 1598 – Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Italian priest and astronomer (d. 1671)
    • 1620 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal (d. 1700)
    • 1635 – Edward Stillingfleet, British theologian and scholar (d. 1699)
    • 1676 – Frederick I of Sweden (d. 1751)
    • 1683 – Johann David Heinichen, German composer and theorist (d. 1729)
    • 1710 – Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, Scottish politician (d. 1767)
    • 1734 – Taksin, King of Thailand (d. 1782)
    • 1741 – Samuel Chase, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1811)
    • 1750 – François de Neufchâteau, French academic and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1828)
    • 1756 – Dheeran Chinnamalai, Indian commander (d. 1805)
    • 1766 – Collin McKinney, American surveyor, merchant, and politician (d. 1861)
    • 1794 – Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, German botanist and explorer (d. 1868)
    • 1798 – Étienne Bobillier, French mathematician and academic (d. 1840)
    • 1814 – Josif Pančić, Serbian botanist and academic (d. 1888)
    • 1816 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English architect and philanthropist (d. 1876)
    • 1820 – Alexander Cartwright, American firefighter and inventor of baseball (d. 1892)
    • 1833 – Jean-Baptiste Accolay, Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1900)
    • 1837 – J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier, founded J.P. Morgan & Co. (d. 1913)
    • 1842 – Maurice Rouvier, French businessman and politician, 53rd Prime Minister of France (d. 1911)
    • 1849 – William R. Day, American jurist and politician, 36th United States Secretary of State (d. 1923)
    • 1852 – Cap Anson, American baseball player and manager (d. 1922)
    • 1863 – Augustus Edward Hough Love, English mathematician and theorist (d. 1940)
    • 1865 – Ursula Ledóchowska, Polish-Austrian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (d. 1939)
    • 1866 – Ernest Starling, English physiologist and academic (d. 1927)
    • 1875 – Aleksander Tõnisson, Estonian general and politician, 5th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1941)
    • 1877 – Matsudaira Tsuneo, Japanese diplomat (d. 1949)
    • 1878 – Emil Fuchs, German-American lawyer and businessman (d. 1961)
    • 1878 – Demetrios Petrokokkinos, Greek tennis player (d. 1942)
    • 1879 – Henri Tauzin, French hurdler (d. 1918)
    • 1882 – Artur Schnabel, Jewish-Polish pianist and composer (d. 1951)
    • 1888 – Herms Niel, German soldier, trombonist, and composer (d. 1954)
    • 1891 – George Adamski, Polish-American ufologist and author (d. 1965)
    • 1895 – Robert Dean Frisbie, American soldier and author (d. 1948)
    • 1896 – Señor Wences, Spanish-American ventriloquist (d. 1999)
    • 1897 – Nisargadatta Maharaj, Indian philosopher and educator (d. 1981)
    • 1897 – Thornton Wilder, American novelist and playwright (d. 1975)
    • 1897 – Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Swiss physician and mountaineer (d. 1983)
    • 1899 – Aleksander Klumberg, Estonian decathlete and coach (d. 1958)
    • 1903 – Nicolas Nabokov, Russian-American composer and educator (d. 1978)
    • 1903 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Ukrainian-American cellist and educator (d. 1976)
    • 1903 – Morgan Taylor, American hurdler and coach (d. 1975)
    • 1905 – Louis Jean Heydt, American journalist and actor (d. 1960)
    • 1905 – Arthur Lake, American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1906 – Sidney Garfield, American physician, co-founded Kaiser Permanente (d. 1984)
    • 1909 – Alain Poher, French politician, President of France (d. 1996)
    • 1910 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister of Defence (d. 1990)
    • 1910 – Ivan Goff, Australian screenwriter and producer (d. 1999)
    • 1910 – Helenio Herrera, French footballer and manager (d. 1997)
    • 1911 – Hervé Bazin, French author and poet (d. 1996)
    • 1911 – Lester Rodney, American soldier and journalist (d. 2009)
    • 1912 – Marta Eggerth, Jewish-Hungarian-American actress and singer (d. 2013)
    • 1914 – George Davis, American art director (d. 1984)
    • 1914 – Mac Raboy, American illustrator (d. 1967)
    • 1915 – Martin Clemens, Scottish soldier (d. 2009)
    • 1915 – Joe Foss, American general and politician, 20th Governor of South Dakota (d. 2003)
    • 1915 – Regina Ghazaryan, Armenian painter (d. 1999)
    • 1916 – Win Maung, 3rd President of Union of Myanmar (d. 1989)
    • 1916 – A. Thiagarajah, Sri Lankan educator and politician (d. 1981)
    • 1916 – Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, world’s first female prime minister (d. 2000)
    • 1918 – William Holden, American actor (d. 1981)
    • 1919 – Gilles Lamontagne, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 24th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2016)
    • 1919 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Lindsay Anderson, English actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
    • 1923 – Solly Hemus, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2017)
    • 1923 – Neville McNamara, Australian air marshal (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Gianni Raimondi, Italian lyric tenor (d. 2008)
    • 1923 – Harry Reasoner, American soldier and journalist (d. 1991)
    • 1924 – Kenneth Norman Jones, Australian public servant
    • 1924 – Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – René Moawad, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 13th President of Lebanon (d. 1989)
    • 1926 – Joan Lorring, British actress (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1927 – Margot Honecker, East German politician and First Lady (d. 2016)
    • 1928 – Victor Lownes, American businessman (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Cynthia Ozick, American short story writer, novelist, and essayist
    • 1928 – Heinz Putzl, Austrian fencer
    • 1928 – Fabien Roy, Canadian accountant and politician
    • 1929 – James Last, German-American bassist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Chris Barber, English trombonist and bandleader
    • 1931 – John Barrett, English tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1931 – Malcolm Browne, American journalist and photographer (d. 2012)
    • 1934 – Don Kirshner, American songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1934 – Peter Morris, Australian-English surgeon and academic
    • 1935 – Bud Paxson, American broadcaster, founded Home Shopping Network and Pax TV (d. 2015)
    • 1937 – Ronald Hamowy, Canadian historian and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1937 – Ferdinand Piëch, Austrian-German engineer and businessman (d. 2019)
    • 1938 – Ben Barnes, American businessman and politician, 36th Lieutenant Governor of Texas
    • 1938 – Doug Lewis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 41st Canadian Minister of Justice
    • 1938 – Ronald H. Miller, American theologian, author, and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1938 – Kerry Wendell Thornley, American theorist and author (d. 1988)
    • 1939 – Robert Miller, American art dealer (d. 2011)
    • 1940 – Eric Dancer, English businessman and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Devon
    • 1940 – Billy Fury, English singer-songwriter (d. 1983)
    • 1940 – John McCririck, English journalist (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Chuck Menville, American animator and screenwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1940 – Anja Silja, German soprano and actress
    • 1940 – Agostino Vallini, Italian cardinal and vicar general of Rome
    • 1941 – Lagle Parek, Estonian architect and politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior
    • 1942 – Buster Williams, American jazz bassist
    • 1943 – Richard Allen Epstein, American lawyer, author, and academic
    • 1946 – Clare Francis, English sailor and author
    • 1947 – Nigel Emslie, Lord Emslie, Scottish lawyer and judge
    • 1947 – Richard Field, English lawyer and judge
    • 1947 – Sherrie Levine, American photographer
    • 1947 – Tsutomu Wakamatsu, Japanese baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1948 – Jan Hammer, Czech pianist, composer, and producer
    • 1948 – Alice Harden, American educator and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1948 – Pekka Vasala, Finnish runner
    • 1951 – Olivia Hussey, Argentinian-English actress
    • 1951 – Börje Salming, Swedish ice hockey player and businessman
    • 1952 – Joe Alaskey, American voice actor (d. 2016)
    • 1952 – Pierre Guité, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1952 – John McColl, English general and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
    • 1952 – Željko Ražnatović, Serbian commander (d. 2000)
    • 1952 – John Robertson, Scottish businessman and politician
    • 1954 – Riccardo Patrese, Italian race car driver
    • 1954 – Roddy Piper, Canadian professional wrestler and actor (d. 2015)
    • 1954 – Michael Sembello, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Todd Lickliter, American basketball player and coach
    • 1955 – Pete Shelley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
    • 1955 – Mike Stroud, English physician and explorer
    • 1956 – Colin Tyre, Lord Tyre, Scottish lawyer and judge
    • 1957 – Teri Austin, Canadian actress
    • 1957 – Afrika Bambaataa, American disc jockey
    • 1957 – Nick Hornby, English novelist, essayist, lyricist, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Julia Macur, English lawyer and judge
    • 1957 – Frank McDonough, British historian
    • 1958 – Laslo Babits, Canadian javelin thrower (d. 2013)
    • 1959 – Sean Bean, English actor
    • 1959 – Jimmy Mann, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1959 – Li Meisu, Chinese shot putter
    • 1960 – Vladimir Polyakov, Russian pole vaulter
    • 1961 – Frank J. Christensen, American labor union leader
    • 1961 – Norman Cowans, Jamaican-English cricketer
    • 1961 – Boomer Esiason, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Bella Freud, English fashion designer
    • 1962 – Paul Nicholls, English jockey and trainer
    • 1964 – Ken Daneyko, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Maynard James Keenan, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1964 – Rachel Notley, Canadian politician
    • 1964 – Lela Rochon, American actress
    • 1966 – Vikram, Indian actor and singer
    • 1967 – Kimberly Elise, American actress
    • 1967 – Marquis Grissom, American baseball player and coach
    • 1967 – Ian Jones, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1967 – Barnaby Joyce, Australian politician, 17th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
    • 1967 – Liz Phair, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1968 – Julie Fagerholt, Danish fashion designer
    • 1968 – Phil Henderson, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1968 – Eric Lamaze, Canadian jockey
    • 1968 – Roger Twose, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1968 – Richie Woodhall, English boxer and trainer
    • 1970 – Redman, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1971 – Claire Sweeney, English actress
    • 1972 – Gary Bennett, American baseball player
    • 1972 – Tony Boselli, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Jennifer Garner, American actress
    • 1972 – Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lankan cricketer
    • 1972 – Yuichi Nishimura, Japanese footballer and referee
    • 1972 – Terran Sandwith, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Katrin Koov, Estonian architect
    • 1973 – Brett Maher, Australian basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Theo Ratliff, American basketball player
    • 1974 – Mikael Åkerfeldt, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1974 – Victoria Beckham, English singer and fashion designer
    • 1975 – Heidi Alexander, English politician
    • 1975 – Travis Roy, American ice hockey player
    • 1976 – Maurice Wignall, Jamaican hurdler and long jumper
    • 1977 – Chad Hedrick, American speed skater
    • 1977 – Frederik Magle, Danish composer, organist, and pianist
    • 1978 – Monika Bergmann-Schmuderer, German skier
    • 1978 – Lindsay Hartley, American actress
    • 1978 – Jason White, Scottish rugby player
    • 1979 – Eric Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Marija Šestak, Serbian-Slovenian triple jumper
    • 1980 – Fabián Vargas, Colombian footballer
    • 1980 – Curtis Woodhouse, English footballer, boxer, and manager
    • 1981 – Jenny Meadows, English runner
    • 1981 – Hanna Pakarinen, Finnish singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Ryan Raburn, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Chris Thompson, English runner
    • 1981 – Zhang Yaokun, Chinese footballer
    • 1982 – Brad Boyes, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Chuck Kobasew, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Stanislav Chistov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Roberto Jiménez, Peruvian footballer
    • 1983 – Andrea Marcato, Italian rugby player
    • 1984 – Pablo Sebastián Álvarez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1984 – Jed Lowrie, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Raffaele Palladino, Italian footballer
    • 1985 – Rooney Mara, American actress
    • 1985 – Luke Mitchell, Australian actor and model
    • 1985 – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, French tennis player
    • 1986 – Romain Grosjean, French race car driver
    • 1988 – Takahiro Moriuchi, Japanese singer-songwriter
    • 1989 – Paraskevi Papachristou, Greek triple jumper
    • 1989 – Avi Kaplan, singer and songwriter
    • 1990 – Jonathan Brown, Welsh footballer
    • 1992 – Lachlan Maranta, Australian rugby league footballer
    • 1994 – Alanna Goldie, Canadian fencer
    • 1996 – Lorna Fitzgerald, British actress

    Deaths on April 17

    • 485 – Proclus, Greek mathematician and philosopher (b. 412)
    • 617 – Donnán of Eigg, Irish priest and saint
    • 648 – Xiao, empress of the Sui Dynasty
    • 744 – Al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph (b. 706)
    • 818 – Bernard of Italy, Frankish king (b. 797)
    • 858 – Benedict III, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 1071 – Manuel Komnenos, Byzantine military commander (b. c. 1045)
    • 1080 – Harald III of Denmark (b. 1041)
    • 1111 – Robert of Molesme, Christian saint and abbot (b. 1027)
    • 1298 – Árni Þorláksson, Icelandic bishop (b. 1237)
    • 1321 – Infanta Branca of Portugal, daughter of King Afonso III of Portugal (b. 1259)
    • 1331 – Robert de Vere, 6th Earl of Oxford, English nobleman (b. 1257)
    • 1344 – Constantine II, King of Armenia
    • 1355 – Marin Falier, Doge of Venice (b. 1285)
    • 1427 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (b. 1403)
    • 1539 – George, Duke of Saxony (b. 1471)
    • 1574 – Joachim Camerarius, German scholar and translator (b. 1500)
    • 1669 – Antonio Bertali, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1605)
    • 1680 – Kateri Tekakwitha, Mohawk-born Native American saint (b. 1656)
    • 1695 – Juana Inés de la Cruz, Mexican poet and scholar (b. 1651)
    • 1696 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (b. 1626)
    • 1711 – Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1678)
    • 1713 – David Hollatz, Polish pastor and theologian (b. 1648)
    • 1764 – Johann Mattheson, German lexicographer and composer (b. 1681)
    • 1790 – Benjamin Franklin, American inventor, publisher, and politician, 6th President of Pennsylvania (b. 1706)
    • 1799 – Richard Jupp, English surveyor and architect (b. 1728)
    • 1840 – Hannah Webster Foster, American journalist and author (b. 1758)
    • 1843 – Samuel Morey, American engineer (b. 1762)
    • 1882 – George Jennings, English engineer and plumber, invented the Flush toilet (b. 1810)
    • 1888 – E. G. Squier, American archaeologist and journalist (b. 1821)
    • 1892 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian journalist and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1822)
    • 1921 – Manwel Dimech, Maltese journalist, author, and philosopher (b. 1860)
    • 1923 – Laurence Ginnell, Irish lawyer and politician (b. 1852)
    • 1930 – Alexander Golovin, Russian painter and stage designer (b. 1863)
    • 1933 – Kote Marjanishvili, Georgian director and playwright (b. 1872)
    • 1936 – Charles Ruijs de Beerenbrouck, Dutch lawyer and politician, 28th Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1873)
    • 1942 – Jean Baptiste Perrin, French-American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1870)
    • 1944 – J. T. Hearne, English cricketer and coach (b. 1867)
    • 1944 – Dimitrios Psarros, Greek lieutenant, founded the National and Social Liberation (b. 1893)
    • 1946 – Juan Bautista Sacasa, Nicaraguan medical doctor, politician and 20th President of Nicaragua (b. 1874)
    • 1948 – Suzuki Kantarō, Japanese admiral and politician, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1868)
    • 1954 – Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, Romanian lawyer and politician, Romanian Minister of Justice (b. 1900)
    • 1960 – Eddie Cochran, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1938)
    • 1961 – Elda Anderson, American physicist and health researcher (b. 1899)
    • 1967 – Red Allen, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1908)
    • 1975 – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of India (b. 1888)
    • 1976 – Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
    • 1977 – William Conway, Irish cardinal (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Felix Pappalardi, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (b. 1939)
    • 1984 – Claude Provost, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1933)
    • 1987 – Cecil Harmsworth King, English publisher (b. 1901)
    • 1987 – Dick Shawn, American actor (b. 1923)
    • 1988 – Louise Nevelson, Ukrainian-American sculptor and educator (b. 1900)
    • 1990 – Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (b. 1936)
    • 1993 – Turgut Özal, Turkish engineer and politician, 8th president of Turkey (b. 1927)
    • 1994 – Roger Wolcott Sperry, American psychologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
    • 1995 – Frank E. Resnik, American sergeant and businessman (b. 1928)
    • 1996 – Piet Hein, Danish poet and mathematician (b. 1905)
    • 1997 – Chaim Herzog, Israeli general, lawyer, and politician, 6th President of Israel (b. 1918)
    • 1998 – Linda McCartney, American photographer, activist, and musician (b. 1941)
    • 2003 – Robert Atkins, American physician and cardiologist, created the Atkins diet (b. 1930)
    • 2003 – H. B. Bailey, American race car driver (b. 1936)
    • 2003 – John Paul Getty, Jr., American-English philanthropist (b. 1932)
    • 2003 – Earl King, American blues singer, guitarist and songwriter (b. 1934)
    • 2003 – Yiannis Latsis, Greek businessman (b. 1910)
    • 2004 – Edmond Pidoux, Swiss author and poet (b. 1908)
    • 2006 – Jean Bernard, French physician and haematologist (b. 1907)
    • 2006 – Scott Brazil, American director and producer (b. 1955)
    • 2006 – Henderson Forsythe, American actor (b. 1917)
    • 2007 – Kitty Carlisle, American actress, singer, socialite and game show panelist (b. 1910)
    • 2008 – Aimé Césaire, Caribbean-French poet and politician (b. 1913)
    • 2008 – Danny Federici, American organist and accordion player (b. 1950)
    • 2011 – Eric Gross, Austrian-Australian pianist and composer (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Michael Sarrazin, Canadian actor (b. 1940)
    • 2011 – Robert Vickrey, American artist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Leila Berg, English journalist and author (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – J. Quinn Brisben, American educator and politician (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Dimitris Mitropanos, Greek singer (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Nityananda Mohapatra, Indian journalist, poet, and politician (b. 1912)
    • 2012 – Jonathan V. Plaut, American rabbi and author (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Stanley Rogers Resor, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 9th United States Secretary of the Army (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Carlos Graça, São Toméan politician, Prime Minister of São Tomé and Príncipe (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Bi Kidude, Tanzanian Taarab singer (b. ≈1910)
    • 2013 – Yngve Moe, Norwegian bass player and songwriter (b. 1957)
    • 2013 – V. S. Ramadevi, Indian politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (b. 1934)
    • 2014 – Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Bernat Klein, Serbian-Scottish fashion designer and painter (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Wojciech Leśnikowski, Polish–American architect and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Karpal Singh, Malaysian lawyer and politician (b. 1940)
    • 2015 – Robert P. Griffin, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Scotty Probasco, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Jeremiah J. Rodell, American general (b. 1921)
    • 2015 – A. Alfred Taubman, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Chyna, American wrestler (b. 1969)
    • 2016 – Doris Roberts, American actress (b. 1925)
    • 2018 – Barbara Bush, former First Lady of the United States (b. 1925)
    • 2018 – Carl Kasell, American radio personality (b. 1934)
    • 2019 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 61st and 64th President of Peru (b. 1949)

    Holidays and observances on April 17

    • Christian feast day:
      • Kateri Tekakwitha (Canada)
      • Stephen Harding
      • April 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Store Bededag or General Prayer Day can fall, while May 13 is the latest; observed on the 4th Friday after Easter. (Denmark)
    • Evacuation Day (Syria), celebrates the recognition of the independence of Syria from France in 1946.
    • FAO Day (Iraq)
    • Flag Day (American Samoa)
    • Malbec World Day
    • Women’s Day (Gabon)
    • World Hemophilia Day