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

  • 811 – Byzantine emperor Nikephoros I plunders the Bulgarian capital of Pliska and captures Khan Krum’s treasury.
  • 1319 – A Knights Hospitaller fleet scores a crushing victory over an Aydinid fleet off Chios.
  • 1632 – Three hundred colonists bound for New France depart from Dieppe, France.
  • 1677 – Scanian War: Denmark–Norway captures the harbor town of Marstrand from Sweden.
  • 1793 – Kingdom of Prussia re-conquers Mainz from France.
  • 1813 – Sir Thomas Maitland is appointed as the first Governor of Malta, transforming the island from a British protectorate to a de facto colony.
  • 1821 – While the Mora Rebellion continues, Greeks capture Monemvasia Castle. Turkish troops and citizens are transferred to Asia Minor’s coasts.
  • 1829 – In the United States, William Austin Burt patents the typographer, a precursor to the typewriter.
  • 1840 – The Province of Canada is created by the Act of Union.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: Henry Halleck takes command of the Union Army.
  • 1874 – Aires de Ornelas e Vasconcelos is appointed the Archbishop of the Portuguese colonial enclave of Goa, India.
  • 1881 – The Boundary Treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina is signed in Buenos Aires.
  • 1885 – President Ulysses S. Grant dies of throat cancer.
  • 1903 – The Ford Motor Company sells its first car.
  • 1908 – The Second Constitution accepted by the Ottomans.
  • 1914 – Austria-Hungary issues a series of demands in an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia demanding Serbia to allow the Austrians to determine who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Serbia accepts all but one of those demands and Austria declares war on July 28.
  • 1919 – Prince Regent Aleksander Karađorđević signs the decree establishing the University of Ljubljana
  • 1921 – The Communist Party of China (CPC) is established at the founding National Congress.
  • 1926 – Fox Film buys the patents of the Movietone sound system for recording sound onto film.
  • 1927 – The first station of the Indian Broadcasting Company goes on the air in Bombay.
  • 1936 – In Catalonia, Spain, the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia is founded through the merger of Socialist and Communist parties.
  • 1940 – The United States’ Under Secretary of State Sumner Welles issues a declaration on the U.S. non-recognition policy of the Soviet annexation and incorporation of three Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
  • 1942 – World War II: The German offensives Operation Edelweiss and Operation Braunschweig begin.
  • 1942 – Bulgarian poet and Communist leader Nikola Vaptsarov is executed by firing squad.
  • 1943 – The Rayleigh bath chair murder occurred in Rayleigh, Essex, England.
  • 1943 – World War II: The British destroyers HMS Eclipse and HMS Laforey sink the Italian submarine Ascianghi in the Mediterranean after she torpedoes the cruiser HMS Newfoundland.
  • 1945 – The post-war legal processes against Philippe Pétain begin.
  • 1952 – General Muhammad Naguib leads the Free Officers Movement (formed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the real power behind the coup) in overthrowing King Farouk of Egypt.
  • 1961 – The Sandinista National Liberation Front is founded in Nicaragua.
  • 1962 – Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite.
  • 1962 – The International Agreement on the Neutrality of Laos is signed.
  • 1962 – Jackie Robinson becomes the first African American to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
  • 1967 – Detroit Riots: In Detroit, one of the worst riots in United States history begins on 12th Street in the predominantly African American inner city. It ultimately kills 43 people, injures 342 and burns about 1,400 buildings.
  • 1968 – Glenville shootout: In Cleveland, Ohio, a violent shootout between a Black Militant organization and the Cleveland Police Department occurs. During the shootout, a riot begins and lasts for five days.
  • 1968 – The only successful hijacking of an El Al aircraft takes place when a Boeing 707 carrying ten crew and 38 passengers is taken over by three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The aircraft was en route from Rome, to Lod, Israel.
  • 1970 – Qaboos bin Said al Said becomes Sultan of Oman after overthrowing his father, Said bin Taimur initiating massive reforms, modernization programs and end to a decade long civil war.
  • 1972 – The United States launches Landsat 1, the first Earth-resources satellite.
  • 1974 – The Greek military junta collapses, and former Prime Minister Konstantinos Karamanlis is invited to lead the new government, beginning Greece’s metapolitefsi era.
  • 1980 – Phạm Tuân becomes the first Vietnamese citizen and the first Asian in space when he flies aboard the Soyuz 37 mission as an Intercosmos Research Cosmonaut.
  • 1982 – Outside Santa Clarita, California, actor Vic Morrow and two children are killed when a helicopter crashes onto them while shooting a scene from Twilight Zone: The Movie.
  • 1983 – Thirteen Sri Lanka Army soldiers are killed after a deadly ambush by the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
  • 1983 – Gimli Glider: Air Canada Flight 143 runs out of fuel and makes a deadstick landing at Gimli, Manitoba.
  • 1988 – General Ne Win, effective ruler of Burma since 1962, resigns after pro-democracy protests.
  • 1992 – A Vatican commission, led by Joseph Ratzinger, establishes that limiting certain rights of homosexual people and non-married couples is not equivalent to discrimination on grounds of race or gender.
  • 1992 – Abkhazia declares independence from Georgia.
  • 1995 – Comet Hale–Bopp is discovered; it becomes visible to the naked eye on Earth nearly a year later.
  • 1997 – Digital Equipment Corporation files antitrust charges against chipmaker Intel.
  • 1999 – ANA Flight 61 is hijacked in Tokyo, Japan by Yuji Nishizawa.
  • 1999 – Space Shuttle Columbia launches on STS-93, with Eileen Collins becoming the first female space shuttle commander. The shuttle also carried and deployed the Chandra X-ray Observatory.
  • 2005 – Three bombs explode in the Naama Bay area of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing 88 people.
  • 2014 – TransAsia Airways Flight 222 crashes in Xixi village near Huxi, Penghu, during approach to Phengu Airport. 48 of the 58 people on board are killed and five more people on the ground are injured.
  • 2015 – NASA announces discovery of Kepler-452b by Kepler.
  • 2016 – Kabul twin bombing occurred in the vicinity of Deh Mazang when protesters, mostly from the Shiite Hazara minority, were marching against route changing of the TUTAP power project. At least 80 people were killed and 260 were injured.
  • 2018 – A wildfire in East Attica, Greece caused the death of 102 people. It was the deadliest wildfire in history of Greece and the second-deadliest in the world, in the 21st century, after the 2009 bushfires in Australia that killed 180.

Births on July 23

  • 1301 – Otto, Duke of Austria (d. 1339)
  • 1339 – Louis I, Duke of Anjou (d. 1384)
  • 1370 – Pier Paolo Vergerio the Elder, humanist (d. 1444 or 1445)
  • 1401 – Francesco I Sforza, Italian husband of Bianca Maria Visconti (d. 1466)
  • 1441 – Danjong of Joseon, King of Joseon (d. 1457)
  • 1503 – Anne of Bohemia and Hungary (d. 1547)
  • 1614 – Bonaventura Peeters the Elder, Flemish painter (d. 1652)
  • 1635 – Adam Dollard des Ormeaux, New France garrison commander (d. 1660)
  • 1649 – Pope Clement XI (d. 1721)
  • 1705 – Francis Blomefield, English historian and author (d. 1752)
  • 1713 – Luís António Verney, Portuguese philosopher and pedagogue (d. 1792)
  • 1773 – Thomas Brisbane, Scottish general and politician, 6th Governor of New South Wales (d. 1860)
  • 1775 – Étienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1812)
  • 1777 – Philipp Otto Runge, German painter and illustrator (d. 1810)
  • 1796 – Franz Berwald, Swedish surgeon and composer (d. 1868)
  • 1802 – Manuel María Lombardini, Mexican general and president (1853) (d. 1853)
  • 1823 – Alexandre-Antonin Taché, Canadian archbishop and missionary (d. 1894)
  • 1838 – Édouard Colonne, French violinist and conductor (d. 1910)
  • 1851 – Peder Severin Krøyer, Norwegian-Danish painter (d. 1909)
  • 1856 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (d. 1920)
  • 1864 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (d. 1903)
  • 1865 – Henry Norris, English businessman and politician (d. 1934)
  • 1866 – Francesco Cilea, Italian composer and academic (d. 1950)
  • 1878 – James Thomas Milton Anderson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Saskatchewan (d. 1946)
  • 1882 – Kâzım Karabekir, Turkish general and politician, 5th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (b. 1948)
  • 1883 – Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke, French-English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of the County of London (d. 1963)
  • 1884 – Emil Jannings, Swiss-German actor (d. 1950)
  • 1885 – Izaak Killam, Canadian financier and philanthropist (d. 1955)
  • 1885 – Georges V. Matchabelli, Georgian-American businessman, created Prince Matchabelli perfume (d. 1935)
  • 1886 – Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish historian and diplomat (d. 1978)
  • 1886 – Walter H. Schottky, Swiss-German physicist and engineer (d. 1976)
  • 1888 – Raymond Chandler, American crime novelist and screenwriter (d. 1959)
  • 1891 – Louis T. Wright, American surgeon and civil rights activist (d. 1952)
  • 1892 – Haile Selassie, Ethiopian emperor (d. 1975)
  • 1894 – Arthur Treacher, English-American actor and television personality (d. 1975)
  • 1895 – Aileen Pringle, American actress (d. 1989)
  • 1898 – Daniel Cosío Villegas, Mexican historian, economist (d. 1976)
  • 1898 – Bengt Djurberg, Swedish actor and singer (d. 1941)
  • 1898 – Red Dutton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1987)
  • 1898 – Herman Kruusenberg, Estonian wrestler (d. 1970)
  • 1898 – Jacob Marschak, Ukrainian-American economist, journalist, and author (d. 1977)
  • 1899 – Gustav Heinemann, German lawyer and politician, 3rd President of West Germany (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Julia Davis Adams, American author and journalist (d. 1993)
  • 1900 – John Babcock, Canadian-American sergeant (d. 2010)
  • 1900 – Inger Margrethe Boberg, Danish folklore researcher and writer (d. 1957)
  • 1901 – Hank Worden, American actor and singer (d. 1992)
  • 1901 – Isabel Luberza Oppenheimer, Puerto Rican brothel owner and madam in barrio Maragüez, Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 1974)
  • 1905 – Leopold Engleitner, Austrian author and educator (d. 2013)
  • 1906 – Vladimir Prelog, Croatian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
  • 1906 – Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian activist (d. 1931)
  • 1912 – M. H. Abrams, American author, critic, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1912 – Michael Wilding, English actor (d. 1979)
  • 1913 – Michael Foot, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Employment (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Nassos Daphnis, Greek-American painter (d.2010)
  • 1914 – Virgil Finlay, American illustrator (d. 1971)
  • 1914 – Elly Annie Schneider, German-American actress (d. 2004)
  • 1916 – Laurel Martyn, Australian ballerina and choreographer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Abraham Bueno de Mesquita, Dutch comedian and actor (d. 2005)
  • 1918 – Ruth Duccini, American actress (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – Calvert DeForest, American actor (d. 2007)
  • 1922 – Damiano Damiani, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Jenny Pike, Canadian WWII servicewoman and photographer (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – Luis Aloma, Cuban-American baseball player (d. 1997)
  • 1923 – Morris Halle, Latvian-American linguist and academic (d. 2018)
  • 1923 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (d. 2001)
  • 1924 – Gavin Lambert, English-American screenwriter and author (d. 2005)
  • 1924 – Gazanfer Bilge, Turkish wrestler (d. 2008)
  • 1925 – Tajuddin Ahmad, Bangladeshi politician, 1st Prime Minister of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
  • 1925 – Quett Masire, Botswana politician, the former Vice-President of Botswana (d. 2017)
  • 1925 – Alain Decaux, French historian and author (d. 2016)
  • 1925 – Gloria DeHaven, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
  • 1926 – Ludvík Vaculík, Czech journalist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Gérard Brach, French director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1928 – Leon Fleisher, American pianist and conductor
  • 1928 – Vera Rubin, American astronomer and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Hubert Selby, Jr., American author and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1929 – Danny Barcelona, American drummer (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Lateef Jakande, Nigerian journalist and politician, 5th Governor of Lagos State
  • 1931 – Te Atairangikaahu, Māori queen (d. 2006)
  • 1931 – Claude Fournier, Canadian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
  • 1931 – Guy Fournier, Canadian author and screenwriter
  • 1933 – Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum (d. 2010)
  • 1933 – Bert Convy, American actor, singer, and game show host (d. 1991)
  • 1933 – Benedict Groeschel, American priest, psychologist, and talk show host (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Richard Rogers, Italian-English architect, designed the Millennium Dome and Lloyd’s building
  • 1935 – Jim Hall, American race car driver
  • 1936 – Don Drysdale, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1993)
  • 1936 – Anthony Kennedy, American lawyer and jurist
  • 1937 – Dave Webster, American football player and engineer
  • 1938 – Juliet Anderson, American porn actress and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Ronny Cox, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1938 – Charles Harrelson, American murderer (d. 2007)
  • 1938 – Bert Newton, Australian actor and television host
  • 1940 – Danielle Collobert, French author, poet, and journalist (d. 1978)
  • 1940 – Don Imus, American radio host (d. 2019)
  • 1940 – Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian economist and politician, Italian Minister of Finance (d. 2010)
  • 1941 – Christopher Andrew, English historian and academic
  • 1941 – Richie Evans, American race car driver (d. 1985)
  • 1941 – Sergio Mattarella, Italian lawyer, judge, and politician, 12th President of Italy
  • 1942 – Sallyanne Atkinson, Australian journalist and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane
  • 1942 – Madeline Bell, American singer-songwriter
  • 1942 – Richard E. Dauch, American businessman, co-founded American Axle (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Dimitris Liantinis, Greek philosopher and author (d. 1998)
  • 1943 – Randall Forsberg, American scientist (d. 2007)
  • 1943 – Tony Joe White, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
  • 1944 – Dino Danelli, American drummer
  • 1944 – Maria João Pires, Portuguese pianist
  • 1945 – Edward Gregson, English composer and educator
  • 1945 – Jon Sammels, English footballer
  • 1946 – Andy Mackay, English oboe player and composer
  • 1946 – René Ricard, American poet, painter, and critic (d. 2014)
  • 1947 – Gardner Dozois, American journalist and author (d. 2018)
  • 1947 – David Essex, English singer-songwriter, and actor
  • 1947 – Torsten Palm, Swedish race car driver
  • 1947 – Robin Simon, English historian, critic, and academic
  • 1948 – Ross Cranston, Australian-English lawyer, judge, and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales
  • 1948 – John Cushnahan, Northern Irish educator and politician
  • 1948 – John Hall, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and politician
  • 1948 – Stanisław Targosz, Polish general (d. 2013)
  • 1949 – Clive Rice, South African cricketer and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1950 – Alex Kozinski, Romanian-born American lawyer and judge
  • 1950 – Ian Thomas, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Blair Thornton, Canadian guitarist and songwriter
  • 1950 – Alan Turner, Australian cricketer
  • 1952 – Paul Hibbert, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 2008)
  • 1952 – Bill Nyrop, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1995)
  • 1952 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (d. 2008)
  • 1952 – Janis Siegel, American jazz singer (The Manhattan Transfer)
  • 1953 – Graham Gooch, English cricketer and coach
  • 1953 – Najib Razak, Malaysian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Malaysia
  • 1957 – Jo Brand, English comedian, actress, and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Nikos Galis, American basketball player
  • 1957 – Theo van Gogh, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1957 – Quentin Willson, English TV presenter, Top Gear.
  • 1958 – Ken Green, American golfer
  • 1958 – Tomy Winata, Indonesian businessman and philanthropist, founded the Artha Graha Peduli Foundation
  • 1959 – Nancy Savoca, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Gary Ella, Australian rugby player
  • 1960 – Susan Graham, American soprano and educator
  • 1960 – Al Perez, American wrestler
  • 1961 – André Ducharme, Canadian comedian and author
  • 1961 – Michael Durant, American pilot and author
  • 1961 – Martin Gore, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1961 – Woody Harrelson, American actor and activist
  • 1961 – Milind Gunaji, Indian actor, model, television show host, and author
  • 1962 – Eriq La Salle, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1962 – Mark Laurie, Australian rugby league player
  • 1962 – Alain Lefèvre, Canadian pianist and composer
  • 1963 – Slobodan Zivojinovic, Serbian tennis player
  • 1964 – Uwe Barth, German politician
  • 1964 – Nick Menza, German drummer and songwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1965 – Rob Dickinson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Slash, English-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1967 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1968 – Elden Campbell, American basketball player
  • 1968 – Gary Payton, American basketball player and actor
  • 1968 – Stephanie Seymour, American model and actress
  • 1969 – Andrew Cassels, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1970 – Charisma Carpenter, American actress
  • 1970 – Thea Dorn, German author and playwright
  • 1970 – Sam Watters, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1971 – Dalvin DeGrate, American rapper and producer
  • 1971 – Alison Krauss, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
  • 1971 – Joel Stein, American journalist
  • 1972 – Suat Kılıç, Turkish journalist, lawyer, and politician, Turkish Minister of Youth and Sports
  • 1972 – Floyd Reifer, Barbadian cricketer and coach
  • 1972 – Marlon Wayans, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Nomar Garciaparra, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Fran Healy, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1973 – Himesh Reshammiya, Indian singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
  • 1973 – Andrea Scanavacca, Italian rugby player and manager
  • 1974 – Terry Glenn, American football player and coach (d. 2017)
  • 1974 – Maurice Greene, American sprinter
  • 1974 – Rik Verbrugghe, Belgian cyclist
  • 1975 – Dan Rogerson, English politician
  • 1976 – Judit Polgár, Hungarian chess player
  • 1977 – Scott Clemmensen, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1977 – Gail Emms, English badminton player
  • 1977 – Néicer Reasco, Ecuadorian footballer
  • 1977 – Shawn Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Stuart Elliott, Northern Irish footballer
  • 1978 – Stefanie Sun, Singaporean singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1978 – Lauren Groff, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1979 – Perro Aguayo Jr., Mexican wrestler and promoter (d. 2015)
  • 1979 – Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Greek footballer
  • 1979 – Richard Sims, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1979 – Ricardo Sperafico, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1979 – Cathleen Tschirch, German sprinter
  • 1980 – Sandeep Parikh, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Michelle Williams, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1981 – Steve Jocz, Canadian singer-songwriter, drummer, and director
  • 1981 – Dmitriy Karpov, Kazakhstani decathlete
  • 1981 – Aleksandr Kulik, Estonian footballer
  • 1981 – Jarkko Nieminen, Finnish tennis player
  • 1982 – Ömer Aysan Barış, Turkish footballer
  • 1982 – Joe Mather, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Gökhan Ünal, Turkish footballer
  • 1982 – Gerald Wallace, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Paul Wesley, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1983 – Bec Hewitt, Australian actress
  • 1983 – Aaron Peirsol, American swimmer
  • 1983 – David Strettle, English rugby player
  • 1984 – Walter Gargano, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1984 – Matthew Murphy, English singer and guitarist
  • 1984 – Brandon Roy, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Celeste Thorson, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1985 – Luis Ángel Landín, Mexican footballer
  • 1986 – Aya Uchida, Japanese voice actress and singer
  • 1986 – Nelson Philippe, French race car driver
  • 1986 – Yelena Sokolova, Russian long jumper
  • 1987 – Alessio Cerci, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Felipe Dylon, Brazilian singer
  • 1987 – Serdar Kurtuluş, Turkish footballer
  • 1989 – Daniel Radcliffe, English actor
  • 1989 – Donald Young, American tennis player
  • 1990 – Kevin Reynolds, Canadian figure skater
  • 1991 – Lauren Mitchell, Australian gymnast
  • 1991 – Jarrod Wallace, Australian rugby league footballer
  • 1992 – Danny Ings, English footballer
  • 1996 – Alexandra Andresen, Norwegian heiress and equestrian

Deaths on July 23

  • 955 – He Ning, Chinese chancellor (b. 898)
  • 997 – Nuh II, Samanid emir (b. 963)
  • 1100 – Warner of Grez, French nobleman, relative of Godfrey of Bouillon
  • 1227 – Qiu Chuji, Chinese religious leader, founded the Dragon Gate Taoism (b. 1148)
  • 1298 – Thoros III, Armenian king (b. c. 1271)
  • 1373 – Bridget of Sweden, Swedish mystic and saint, founded the Bridgettine Order (b. 1303)
  • 1403 – Thomas Percy, 1st Earl of Worcester, English rebel (b. 1343)
  • 1531 – Louis de Brézé, French husband of Diane de Poitiers
  • 1536 – Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Richmond and Somerset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1519)
  • 1562 – Götz von Berlichingen, German knight and poet (b. 1480)
  • 1584 – John Day, English printer (b. 1522)
  • 1596 – Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (b. 1526)
  • 1645 – Michael I, Russian tsar (b. 1596)
  • 1692 – Gilles Ménage, French lawyer, philologist, and scholar (b. 1613)
  • 1727 – Simon Harcourt, 1st Viscount Harcourt, English politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1661)
  • 1757 – Domenico Scarlatti, Italian harpsichord player and composer (b. 1685)
  • 1773 – George Edwards, English biologist and ornithologist (b. 1693)
  • 1781 – John Joachim Zubly, Swiss-American pastor and politician (b. 1724)
  • 1793 – Roger Sherman, American lawyer and politician (b. 1721)
  • 1833 – Anselmo de la Cruz, Chilean politician, Chilean Minister of Finance (b. 1777)
  • 1853 – Andries Pretorius, South African general (b. 1798)
  • 1875 – Isaac Singer, American businessman, founded the Singer Corporation (b. 1811)
  • 1878 – Carl von Rokitansky, Bohemian physician, pathologist, and politician (b. 1804)
  • 1885 – Ulysses S. Grant, American general and politician, 18th President of the United States (b. 1822)
  • 1904 – John Douglas, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of Queensland (b. 1828)
  • 1909 – Frederick Holder, Australian politician, 19th Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
  • 1916 – William Ramsay, Scottish-English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
  • 1919 – Spyridon Lambros, Greek historian and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1851)
  • 1920 – Conrad Kohrs, German-American rancher and politician (b. 1835)
  • 1924 – Frank Frost Abbott, American author and scholar (b. 1850)
  • 1926 – Viktor Vasnetsov, Russian painter (b. 1848)
  • 1927 – Reginald Dyer, British brigadier general (b. 1864)
  • 1930 – Glenn Curtiss, American pilot and engineer (b. 1878)
  • 1932 – Tenby Davies, Welsh runner (b. 1884)
  • 1936 – Anna Abrikosova, Russian linguist (b. 1882)
  • 1941 – George Lyman Kittredge, American scholar and educator (b. 1860)
  • 1941 – José Quiñones Gonzales, Peruvian soldier and pilot (b. 1914)
  • 1942 – Adam Czerniaków, Polish engineer and politician (b. 1880)
  • 1942 – Andy Ducat, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1886)
  • 1948 – D. W. Griffith, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1875)
  • 1950 – Shigenori Tōgō, Japanese politician and diplomat, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1882)
  • 1951 – Robert J. Flaherty, American director and producer (b. 1884)
  • 1951 – Philippe Pétain, French general and politician, 119th Prime Minister of France (b. 1856)
  • 1954 – Herman Groman, American runner (b. 1882)
  • 1955 – Cordell Hull, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 47th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1871)
  • 1957 – Bob Shiring, American football player and coach (b. 1870)
  • 1966 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 1968 – Henry Hallett Dale, English pharmacologist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1875)
  • 1971 – Van Heflin, American actor (b. 1910)
  • 1972 – Esther Applin, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1895)
  • 1973 – Eddie Rickenbacker, American pilot and race car driver, founded Rickenbacker Motors (b. 1890)
  • 1979 – Joseph Kessel, French journalist and author (b. 1898)
  • 1980 – Sarto Fournier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 38th Mayor of Montreal (b. 1908)
  • 1980 – Keith Godchaux, American keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1948)
  • 1980 – Mollie Steimer, Russian activist (b. 1897)
  • 1982 – Vic Morrow, American actor (b. 1929)
  • 1983 – Georges Auric, French composer (b. 1899)
  • 1985 – Johnny Wardle, English cricketer and manager (b. 1923)
  • 1989 – Donald Barthelme, American short story writer and novelist (b. 1931)
  • 1990 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (b. 1899)
  • 1996 – Jean Muir, American actress (b. 1911)
  • 1997 – Chūhei Nambu, Japanese jumper and journalist (b. 1904)
  • 1999 – Hassan II of Morocco (b. 1929)
  • 2001 – Eudora Welty, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1909)
  • 2002 – Leo McKern, Australian-English actor (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – William Luther Pierce, American activist and author (b. 1933)
  • 2002 – Chaim Potok, American novelist and rabbi (b. 1929)
  • 2002 – Clark Gesner, American author and composer (b. 1938)
  • 2003 – James E. Davis, American police officer and politician (b. 1962)
  • 2004 – Mehmood Ali, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1932)
  • 2004 – Carlos Paredes, Portuguese guitarist and composer (b. 1925)
  • 2004 – Piero Piccioni, Italian pianist, conductor, and composer (b. 1921)
  • 2005 – Ted Greene, American guitarist and journalist (b. 1946)
  • 2006 – Jean-Paul Desbiens, Canadian journalist and academic (b. 1927)
  • 2007 – Ron Miller, American songwriter and producer (b. 1933)
  • 2007 – Mohammed Zahir Shah, Afghan king (b. 1914)
  • 2008 – Kurt Furgler, Swiss lawyer and politician, 70th President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1924)
  • 2009 – E. Lynn Harris, American author and screenwriter (b. 1955)
  • 2010 – Daniel Schorr, American journalist and author (b. 1916)
  • 2011 – Amy Winehouse, English singer-songwriter (b. 1983)
  • 2012 – Margaret Mahy, New Zealand author (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Sally Ride, American physicist and astronaut (b. 1951)
  • 2012 – Lakshmi Sahgal, Indian soldier and politician (b. 1914)
  • 2012 – Esther Tusquets, Spanish publisher and author (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – José Luis Uribarri, Spanish television host and director (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Dominguinhos, Brazilian singer-songwriter and accordion player (b. 1941)
  • 2013 – Pauline Clarke, English author (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Arthur J. Collingsworth, American diplomat (b. 1944)
  • 2013 – Emile Griffith, American boxer and trainer (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Kim Jong-hak, South Korean director and producer (b. 1951)
  • 2013 – Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Dora Bryan, English actress and restaurateur (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Norman Leyden, American composer and conductor (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Ariano Suassuna, Brazilian author and playwright (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Jordan Tabor, English footballer (b. 1990)
  • 2015 – Shigeko Kubota, Japanese-American sculptor and director (b. 1937)
  • 2015 – Don Oberdorfer, American journalist, author, and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – William Wakefield Baum, American cardinal (b. 1926)
  • 2017 – John Kundla, American basketball coach (b. 1916)

Holidays and observances on July 23

  • Birthday of Haile Selassie (Rastafari)
  • Children’s Day (Indonesia)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Bridget of Sweden
    • Heiromartyr Phocas (Eastern Orthodox)
    • John Cassian (Western Christianity)
    • Liborius of Le Mans
    • Margarita María
    • Mercè Prat i Prat
    • Rasyphus and Ravennus
    • July 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • National Remembrance Day (Papua New Guinea)
  • Renaissance Day (Oman)
  • Revolution Day (Egypt)

July 23 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

  • 180 – Twelve inhabitants of Scillium (near Kasserine, modern-day Tunisia) in North Africa are executed for being Christians. This is the earliest record of Christianity in that part of the world.
  • 1048 – Damasus II is elected pope.
  • 1203 – The Fourth Crusade captures Constantinople by assault. The Byzantine emperor Alexios III Angelos flees from his capital into exile.
  • 1402 – Zhu Di, better known by his era name as the Yongle Emperor, assumes the throne over the Ming dynasty of China.
  • 1429 – Hundred Years’ War: Charles VII of France is crowned the King of France in the Reims Cathedral after a successful campaign by Joan of Arc.
  • 1453 – Battle of Castillon: The last battle of Hundred Years’ War, the French under Jean Bureau defeat the English under the Earl of Shrewsbury, who is killed in the battle in Gascony.
  • 1717 – King George I of Great Britain sails down the River Thames with a barge of 50 musicians, where George Frideric Handel’s Water Music is premiered.
  • 1762 – Catherine II becomes tsar of Russia upon the murder of Peter III of Russia.
  • 1771 – Bloody Falls massacre: Chipewyan chief Matonabbee, traveling as the guide to Samuel Hearne on his Arctic overland journey, massacres a group of unsuspecting Inuit.
  • 1791 – Members of the French National Guard under the command of General Lafayette open fire on a crowd of radical Jacobins at the Champ de Mars, Paris, during the French Revolution, killing scores of people.
  • 1794 – The 16 Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne are executed ten days prior to the end of the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror.
  • 1867 – Harvard School of Dental Medicine is established in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the first dental school in the U.S. that is affiliated with a university.
  • 1821: The Kingdom of Spain cedes the territory of Florida to the United States.
  • 1899 – NEC Corporation is organized as the first Japanese joint venture with foreign capital.
  • 1902 – Willis Carrier creates the first air conditioner in Buffalo, New York.
  • 1917 – King George V issues a Proclamation stating that the male line descendants of the British Royal Family will bear the surname Windsor.
  • 1918 – Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his immediate family and retainers are executed by Bolshevik Chekists at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
  • 1918 – The RMS Carpathia, the ship that rescued the 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic, is sunk off Ireland by the German SM U-55; five lives are lost.
  • 1932 – Altona Bloody Sunday: A riot between the Nazi Party paramilitary forces, the SS and SA, and the German Communist Party ensues.
  • 1936 – Spanish Civil War: An Armed Forces rebellion against the recently elected leftist Popular Front government of Spain starts the civil war.
  • 1938 – Douglas Corrigan takes off from Brooklyn to fly the “wrong way” to Ireland and becomes known as “Wrong Way” Corrigan.
  • 1944 – Port Chicago disaster: Near the San Francisco Bay, two ships laden with ammunition for the war explode in Port Chicago, California, killing 320.
  • 1944 – World War II: At Sainte-Foy-de-Montgommery. in Normandy Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was strafed by allied aircraft while returning to his headquarters.
  • 1945 – World War II: The main three leaders of the Allied nations, Winston Churchill, Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin, meet in the German city of Potsdam to decide the future of a defeated Germany.
  • 1953 – The largest number of United States midshipman casualties in a single event results from an aircraft crash in Florida, killing 44.
  • 1955 – Disneyland is dedicated and opened by Walt Disney in Anaheim, California.
  • 1962 – Nuclear weapons testing: The “Small Boy” test shot Little Feller I becomes the last atmospheric test detonation at the Nevada National Security Site.
  • 1968 – Abdul Rahman Arif is overthrown and the Ba’ath Party is installed as the governing power in Iraq with Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as the new Iraqi President.
  • 1973 – King Mohammed Zahir Shah of Afghanistan, while having surgery in Italy, is deposed by his cousin Mohammed Daoud Khan.
  • 1975 – Apollo–Soyuz Test Project: An American Apollo and a Soviet Soyuz spacecraft dock with each other in orbit marking the first such link-up between spacecraft from the two nations.
  • 1976 – East Timor is annexed, and becomes the 27th province of Indonesia.
  • 1976 – The opening of the Summer Olympics in Montreal is marred by 25 African teams boycotting the games because of New Zealand’s participation. Contrary to rulings by other international sports organizations, the IOC had declined to exclude New Zealand because of their participation in South African sporting events during apartheid.
  • 1979 – Nicaraguan dictator General Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigns and flees to Miami, Florida, United States.
  • 1981 – A structural failure leads to the collapse of a walkway at the Hyatt Regency in Kansas City, Missouri, killing 114 people and injuring more than 200.
  • 1984 – The national drinking age in the United States was changed from 18 to 21.
  • 1985 – Founding of the EUREKA Network by former head of states François Mitterrand (France) and Helmut Kohl (Germany).
  • 1989 – First flight of the B-2 Spirit Stealth Bomber.
  • 1989 – Holy See–Poland relations are restored.
  • 1996 – TWA Flight 800: Off the coast of Long Island, New York, a Paris-bound TWA Boeing 747 explodes, killing all 230 on board.
  • 1998 – The 7.0 Mw  Papua New Guinea earthquake triggers a tsunami that destroys ten villages in Papua New Guinea, killing up to 2,700 people, and leaving several thousand injured.
  • 1998 – A diplomatic conference adopts the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, establishing a permanent international court to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
  • 2000 – During approach to Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport, Alliance Air Flight 7412 suddenly crashes into a residential neighborhood in Patna, killing 60 people.
  • 2001 – Concorde is brought back into service nearly a year after the July 2000 crash.
  • 2006 – The 7.7 Mw  Pangandaran tsunami earthquake severely affects the Indonesian island of Java, killing 668 people, and leaving more than 9,000 injured.
  • 2007 – TAM Airlines Flight 3054, an Airbus A320, crashes into a warehouse after landing too fast and missing the end of the São Paulo–Congonhas Airport runway, killing 199 people.
  • 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, a Boeing 777, crashes near the border of Ukraine and Russia after being shot down. All 298 people on board are killed.
  • 2014 – A French regional train on the Pau-Bayonne line crashes into a high-speed train near the town of Denguin, resulting in at least 25 injuries.
  • 2015 – At least 120 people are killed and 130 injured by a suicide bombing in Diyala Governorate, Iraq.
  • 2018 – 12 new moons are discovered orbiting. Jupiter

Births on July 17

  • 1487 – Ismail I of Iran (d. 1524)
  • 1499 – Maria Salviati, Italian noblewoman (d. 1543)
  • 1531 – Antoine de Créqui Canaples, Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1574)
  • 1674 – Isaac Watts, English hymnwriter and theologian (d. 1748)
  • 1695 – Christian Karl Reinhard of Leiningen-Dachsburg-Falkenburg-Heidesheim (d. 1766)
  • 1698 – Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1759)
  • 1708 – Frederick Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (d. 1769)
  • 1714 – Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten, German philosopher and academic (d. 1762)
  • 1744 – Elbridge Gerry, American merchant and politician, 5th Vice President of the United States (d. 1814)
  • 1763 – John Jacob Astor, German-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1848)
  • 1774 – John Wilbur, American minister and theologian (d. 1856)
  • 1797 – Paul Delaroche, French painter and academic (d. 1856)
  • 1823 – Leander Clark, American businessman, judge, and politician (d. 1910)
  • 1831 – Xianfeng Emperor of China (d. 1861)
  • 1837 – Joseph-Alfred Mousseau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 7th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1886)
  • 1839 – Ephraim Shay, American engineer, invented the Shay locomotive (d. 1916)
  • 1853 – Alexius Meinong, Ukrainian-Austrian philosopher and academic (d. 1920)
  • 1868 – Henri Nathansen, Danish director and playwright (d. 1944)
  • 1870 – Charles Davidson Dunbar, Scottish soldier and bagpipe player (d. 1939)
  • 1871 – Lyonel Feininger, German-American painter and illustrator (d. 1956)
  • 1879 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 1960)
  • 1882 – James Somerville, English admiral and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset (d. 1949)
  • 1888 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Ukrainian-Israeli novelist, short story writer, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)
  • 1889 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (d. 1970)
  • 1894 – Georges Lemaître, Belgian priest, astronomer, and cosmologist (d. 1966)
  • 1896 – Rupert Atkinson, English RAF officer (d. 1919)
  • 1898 – Berenice Abbott, American photographer (d. 1991)
  • 1898 – Osmond Borradaile, Canadian soldier and cinematographer (d. 1999)
  • 1899 – James Cagney, American actor and dancer (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Marcel Dalio, French actor (d. 1983)
  • 1901 – Luigi Chinetti, Italian-American race car driver (d. 1994)
  • 1901 – Bruno Jasieński, Polish poet and author (d. 1938)
  • 1901 – Patrick Smith, Irish farmer and politician, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (d. 1982)
  • 1902 – Christina Stead, Australian author and academic (d. 1983)
  • 1905 – William Gargan, American actor (d. 1979)
  • 1910 – James Coyne, Canadian lawyer and banker, 2nd Governor of the Bank of Canada (d. 2012)
  • 1910 – Frank Olson, American chemist and microbiologist (d. 1953)
  • 1911 – Lionel Ferbos, American trumpet player (d. 2014)
  • 1911 – Heinz Lehmann, German-Canadian psychiatrist and academic (d. 1999)
  • 1912 – Erwin Bauer, German race car driver (d. 1958)
  • 1912 – Art Linkletter, Canadian-American radio and television host (d. 2010)
  • 1913 – Bertrand Goldberg, American architect, designed the Marina City Building (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Eleanor Steber, American soprano and educator (d. 1990)
  • 1915 – Bijon Bhattacharya, Indian actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1978)
  • 1915 – Arthur Rothstein, American photographer and educator (d. 1985)
  • 1917 – Lou Boudreau, American baseball player and manager (d. 2001)
  • 1917 – Phyllis Diller, American actress, comedian, and voice artist (d. 2012)
  • 1917 – Kenan Evren, Turkish general and politician, 7th President of Turkey (d. 2015)
  • 1917 – Christiane Rochefort, French author (d. 1998)
  • 1918 – Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, Guatemalan soldier and politician, President of Guatemala (d. 2003)
  • 1918 – Red Sovine, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1980)
  • 1920 – Gordon Gould, American physicist and academic, invented the laser (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish businessman, 7th President of the International Olympic Committee (d. 2010)
  • 1921 – George Barnes, American guitarist, producer, and songwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1921 – Louis Lachenal, French mountaineer (d. 1955)
  • 1921 – Mary Osborne, American guitarist (d. 1992)
  • 1921 – Toni Stone, American baseball player (d. 1996)
  • 1921 – František Zvarík, Slovak actor (d. 2008)
  • 1923 – Jeanne Block, American psychologist (d. 1981)
  • 1923 – John Cooper, English car designer, co-founded the Cooper Car Company (d. 2000)
  • 1924 – Garde Gardom, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Jimmy Scott, American singer and actor (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Mohammad Hasan Sharq, Afghan politician
  • 1926 – Édouard Carpentier, French-Canadian wrestler (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Willis Carto, American activist and theorist (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Vince Guaraldi, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1976)
  • 1929 – Sergei K. Godunov, Russian mathematician and academic
  • 1932 – Niccolò Castiglioni, Italian composer (d. 1996)
  • 1932 – Red Kerr, American basketball player and coach (d. 2009)
  • 1932 – Wojciech Kilar, Polish pianist and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1932 – Karla Kuskin, American author and illustrator (d. 2009)
  • 1932 – Slick Leonard, American basketball player and coach
  • 1932 – Quino, Spanish-Argentinian cartoonist
  • 1932 – Hal Riney, American businessman, founded Publicis & Hal Riney (d. 2008)
  • 1933 – Keiko Awaji, Japanese actress (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici, Maltese politician, 9th Prime Minister of Malta
  • 1933 – Tony Pithey, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (d. 2006)
  • 1934 – Lucio Tan, Chinese-Filipino billionaire businessman and educator
  • 1935 – Diahann Carroll, American actress and singer (d. 2019)
  • 1935 – Peter Schickele, American composer and educator
  • 1935 – Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor and producer
  • 1938 – Hermann Huppen, Belgian author and illustrator
  • 1939 – Andrée Champagne, Canadian actress and politician
  • 1939 – Spencer Davis, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1939 – Ali Khamenei, Iranian cleric and politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of Iran
  • 1940 – Tim Brooke-Taylor, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2020)
  • 1941 – Daryle Lamonica, American football player
  • 1941 – Bob Taylor, English cricketer
  • 1941 – Achim Warmbold, German race car driver and manager
  • 1942 – Don Kessinger, American baseball player and manager
  • 1942 – Gale Garnett, New Zealand–born Canadian singer
  • 1942 – Connie Hawkins, American basketball player (d. 2017)
  • 1942 – Zoot Money, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1943 – LaVyrle Spencer, American author and educator
  • 1944 – Mark Burgess, New Zealand cricketer and footballer
  • 1944 – Catherine Schell, Hungarian-English actress
  • 1944 – Carlos Alberto Torres, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2016)
  • 1945 – Alexander, Crown Prince of Yugoslavia
  • 1945 – John Patten, Baron Patten, English politician, Secretary of State for Education
  • 1946 – Chris Crutcher, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1946 – Ted Sampley, American POW/MIA activist (d. 2009)
  • 1947 – Joyce Anelay, Baroness Anelay of St John’s, English educator and politician
  • 1947 – Robert Begerau, German footballer and manager
  • 1947 – Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
  • 1947 – Wolfgang Flür, German musician (Kraftwerk)
  • 1947 – Mick Tucker, English rock drummer (Sweet) (d. 2002)
  • 1948 – Ron Asheton, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1948 – Luc Bondy, Swiss director and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1949 – Geezer Butler, English bass player and songwriter
  • 1949 – Charley Steiner, American journalist and sportscaster
  • 1950 – Phoebe Snow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
  • 1950 – Tengku Sulaiman Shah, Malaysian corporate figure
  • 1950 – Sadhan Chandra Majumder, Bangladeshi politician
  • 1951 – Lucie Arnaz, American actress and singer
  • 1951 – Mark Bowden, American journalist and author
  • 1951 – Andrew Robathan, English soldier and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
  • 1952 – David Hasselhoff, American actor, singer, and producer
  • 1952 – Nicolette Larson, American singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1952 – Thé Lau, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2015)
  • 1952 – Robert R. McCammon, American author
  • 1954 – António Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal
  • 1954 – Angela Merkel, German chemist and politician, 8th Chancellor of Germany
  • 1954 – Edward Natapei, Vanuatuan politician, 6th Prime Minister of Vanuatu (d. 2015)
  • 1954 – J. Michael Straczynski, American author, screenwriter, and producer
  • 1955 – Sylvie Léonard, Canadian actress and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Paul Stamets, American mycologist and author
  • 1956 – Julie Bishop, Australian lawyer and politician, 38th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs
  • 1956 – Bryan Trottier, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1957 – Bruce Crump, American drummer and songwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1957 – Wendy Freedman, Canadian-American cosmologist and astronomer
  • 1958 – Wong Kar-wai, Chinese director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Suzanne Moore, English journalist
  • 1958 – Susan Silver, American music manager
  • 1958 – Thérèse Rein, Australian businesswoman, founded Ingeus
  • 1959 – Pola Uddin, Baroness Uddin, Bangladeshi-English politician
  • 1960 – Kim Barnett, English cricketer and coach
  • 1960 – Mark Burnett, English-American screenwriter and producer
  • 1960 – Nancy Giles, American journalist and actress
  • 1960 – Robin Shou, Hong Kong martial artist and actor
  • 1960 – Dawn Upshaw, American soprano
  • 1960 – Jan Wouters, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1961 – António Costa, Portuguese politician, 119th Prime Minister of Portugal
  • 1961 – Jeremy Hardy, English comedian and actor (d. 2019)
  • 1963 – Regina Belle, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1963 – Letsie III of Lesotho
  • 1963 – Matti Nykänen, Finnish ski jumper and singer (d. 2019)
  • 1965 – Craig Morgan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Alex Winter, English-American actor, film director and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Lou Barlow, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1966 – Sten Tolgfors, Swedish lawyer and politician, 30th Swedish Minister of Defence
  • 1969 – Scott Johnson, American cartoonist
  • 1969 – Jaan Kirsipuu, Estonian cyclist
  • 1971 – Calbert Cheaney, American basketball player and coach
  • 1971 – Cory Doctorow, Canadian author and activist
  • 1971 – Nico Mattan, Belgian cyclist
  • 1972 – Elizabeth Cook, American singer and guitarist
  • 1972 – Donny Marshall, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Jason Rullo, American drummer
  • 1972 – Jaap Stam, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Eric Williams, American basketball player
  • 1973 – Eric Moulds, American football player
  • 1974 – Claudio López, Argentine footballer
  • 1975 – Andre Adams, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1975 – Elena Anaya, Spanish actress
  • 1975 – Darude, Finnish DJ and producer
  • 1975 – Harlette, Australian-English fashion designer
  • 1975 – Loretta Harrop, Australian triathlete
  • 1976 – Luke Bryan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Gino D’Acampo, Italian chef and author
  • 1976 – Dagmara Domińczyk, Polish-American actress
  • 1976 – Marcos Senna, Brazilian-Spanish footballer
  • 1976 – Anders Svensson, Swedish footballer and sportscaster
  • 1977 – Andrew Downton, Australian cricketer
  • 1977 – Leif Hoste, Belgian cyclist
  • 1977 – Marc Savard, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Ricardo Arona, Brazilian mixed martial artist
  • 1978 – Panda Bear, American musician and songwriter
  • 1978 – Jason Jennings, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Mike Vogel, American actor
  • 1980 – Javier Camuñas, Spanish footballer
  • 1980 – Ryan Miller, American ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Hely Ollarves, Venezuelan runner
  • 1982 – Omari Banks, Anguillan cricketer
  • 1982 – Natasha Hamilton, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
  • 1983 – Ryan Guettler, Australian motocross racer
  • 1983 – Adam Lind, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Loui Eriksson, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Tom Fletcher, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1985 – Neil McGregor, Scottish footballer
  • 1986 – DeAngelo Smith, American football player
  • 1986 – Lacey Von Erich, American wrestler
  • 1987 – Darius Boyd, Australian rugby league player
  • 1987 – Jan Charouz, Czech race car driver
  • 1987 – Jeremih, American singer, songwriter, and record producer
  • 1994 – Benjamin Mendy, French footballer
  • 1994 – Kali Uchis, American singer-songwriter
  • 1998 – Rosana Serrano, Cuban rower

Deaths on July 17

  • 521 – Magnus Felix Ennodius, Gallo-Roman bishop
  • 855 – Leo IV, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 790)
  • 924 – Edward the Elder, English king (b. 877)
  • 952 – Wu Hanyue, Chinese noblewoman (b. 913)
  • 961 – Du, empress dowager of the Song Dynasty
  • 1070 – Baldwin VI, count of Flanders (b. 1030)
  • 1085 – Robert Guiscard, Norman adventurer
  • 1119 – Baldwin VII, count of Flanders (b. 1093)
  • 1210 – Sverker II, king of Sweden (b. 1210)
  • 1304 – Edmund Mortimer, 2nd Baron Mortimer (b. 1251)
  • 1399 – Jadwiga, queen of Poland (b. 1374)
  • 1453 – Dmitry Shemyaka, Grand Prince of Moscow
  • 1453 – John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, English commander and politician (b. 1387)
  • 1531 – Hosokawa Takakuni, Japanese commander (b. 1484)
  • 1571 – Georg Fabricius, German poet and historian (b. 1516)
  • 1588 – Mimar Sinan, Ottoman architect and engineer, designed the Sokollu Mehmet Pasha Mosque and Süleymaniye Mosque (b. 1489)
  • 1603 – Mózes Székely, Hungarian noble (b. 1553)
  • 1645 – Robert Carr, 1st Earl of Somerset, English-Scottish politician, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom (b. 1587)
  • 1704 – Pierre-Charles Le Sueur, French fur trader and explorer (b. 1657)
  • 1709 – Robert Bolling, English planter and merchant (b. 1646)
  • 1725 – Thomas King, English and British soldier, MP for Queenborough, lieutenant-governor of Sheerness (b. before 1660?).
  • 1762 – Peter III of Russia (b. 1728)
  • 1790 – Adam Smith, Scottish economist and philosopher (b. 1723)
  • 1791 – Martin Dobrizhoffer, Austrian missionary and author (b. 1717)
  • 1793 – Charlotte Corday, French murderer (b. 1768)
  • 1794 – John Roebuck, English chemist and businessman (b. 1718)
  • 1845 – Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1764)
  • 1871 – Karl Tausig, Polish virtuoso pianist, arranger and composer (b. 1841)
  • 1878 – Aleardo Aleardi, Italian poet and politician (b. 1812)
  • 1879 – Maurycy Gottlieb, Ukrainian-Polish painter (b. 1856)
  • 1881 – Jim Bridger, American scout and explorer (b. 1804)
  • 1883 – Tự Đức, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1829)
  • 1885 – Jean-Charles Chapais, Canadian farmer and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1811)
  • 1887 – Dorothea Dix, American nurse and activist (b. 1802)
  • 1893 – Frederick A. Johnson, American banker and politician (b. 1833)
  • 1894 – Leconte de Lisle, French poet and translator (b. 1818)
  • 1894 – Josef Hyrtl, Austrian anatomist and biologist (b. 1810)
  • 1900 – Thomas McIlwraith, Scottish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Queensland (b. 1835)
  • 1907 – Hector Malot, French author and critic (b. 1830)
  • 1912 – Henri Poincaré, French mathematician, physicist, and engineer (b. 1854)
  • 1918 – Victims of the Shooting of the Romanov family
    • Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1901)
    • Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1899)
    • Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1895)
    • Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1897)
    • Alexandra Fyodorovna of Russia (b. 1872)
    • Aleksei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia (b. 1904)
    • Nikolai II of Russia (b. 1868)
    • Anna Demidova (b. 1878)
    • Ivan Kharitonov (b. 1872)
    • Alexei Trupp (b. 1858)
    • Yevgeny Botkin (b. 1865)
  • 1925 – Lovis Corinth, German painter (b. 1858)
  • 1928 – Giovanni Giolitti, Italian politician, 13th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1842)
  • 1928 – Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and politician, 39th President of Mexico (b. 1880)
  • 1932 – Rasmus Rasmussen, Norwegian actor, singer, and director (b. 1862)
  • 1935 – George William Russell, Irish poet and painter (b. 1867)
  • 1942 – Robina Nicol, New Zealand photographer and suffragist (b. 1861)
  • 1944 – William James Sidis, American mathematician and anthropologist (b. 1898)
  • 1945 – Ernst Busch, German field marshal (b. 1885)
  • 1946 – Florence Fuller, South African-born Australian artist (b. 1867)
  • 1946 – Draža Mihailović, Serbian general (b. 1893)
  • 1950 – Evangeline Booth, English 4th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1865)
  • 1950 – Antonie Nedošinská, Czech actress (b. 1885)
  • 1959 – Billie Holiday, American singer (b. 1915)
  • 1959 – Eugene Meyer, American businessman and publisher (b. 1875)
  • 1960 – Maud Menten, Canadian physician and biochemist (b. 1879)
  • 1961 – Ty Cobb, American baseball player and manager (b. 1886)
  • 1961 – Emin Halid Onat, Turkish architect and academic (b. 1908)
  • 1967 – John Coltrane, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1926)
  • 1974 – Dizzy Dean, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1910)
  • 1975 – Konstantine Gamsakhurdia, Georgian author (b. 1893)
  • 1980 – Don “Red” Barry, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 1980 – Boris Delaunay, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1890)
  • 1988 – Bruiser Brody, American football player and wrestler (b. 1946)
  • 1989 – Itubwa Amram, Nauruan pastor and politician (b. 1922)
  • 1991 – John Patrick Spiegel, American psychiatrist and academic (b. 1911)
  • 1994 – Jean Borotra, French tennis player (b. 1898)
  • 1995 – Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1911)
  • 1996 – Victims of TWA Flight 800
    • Michel Breistroff, French ice hockey player (b. 1971)
    • Marcel Dadi, Tunisian-French guitarist (b. 1951)
    • David Hogan, American composer (b. 1949)
    • Jed Johnson, American interior designer and director (b. 1948)
  • 1996 – Chas Chandler, American bass player and producer (b. 1938)
  • 1998 – Lillian Hoban, American author and illustrator (b. 1925)
  • 2001 – Katharine Graham, American publisher (b. 1917)
  • 2002 – Joseph Luns, Dutch politician and Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1911)
  • 2003 – David Kelly, Welsh weapons inspector (b. 1944)
  • 2003 – Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichord player (b. 1914)
  • 2003 – Walter Zapp, Latvian-Swiss inventor, invented the Minox (b. 1905)
  • 2005 – Geraldine Fitzgerald, Irish-American actress (b. 1913)
  • 2005 – Edward Heath, English colonel and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
  • 2005 – Joe Vialls, Australian journalist and theorist (b. 1944)
  • 2006 – Sam Myers, American singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
  • 2006 – Mickey Spillane, American crime novelist (b. 1918)
  • 2007 – Grant Forsberg, American actor and businessman (b. 1959)
  • 2007 – Júlio Redecker, Brazilian politician (b. 1956)
  • 2007 – Paulo Rogério Amoretty Souza, Brazilian lawyer and businessman (b. 1945)
  • 2009 – Walter Cronkite, American journalist and actor (b. 1916)
  • 2009 – Leszek Kołakowski, Polish historian and philosopher (b. 1927)
  • 2010 – Larry Keith, American actor (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – David Ngoombujarra, Australian actor (b. 1967)
  • 2012 – Richard Evatt, English boxer (b. 1973)
  • 2012 – Forrest S. McCartney, American general (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – İlhan Mimaroğlu, Turkish-American composer and producer (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – William Raspberry, American journalist and academic (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – Marsha Singh, Indian-English politician (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – Henri Alleg, English-French journalist and author (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Peter Appleyard, English-Canadian vibraphone player and composer (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Vincenzo Cerami, Italian screenwriter and producer (b. 1940)
  • 2013 – Don Flye, American tennis player (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Ian Gourlay, English general (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – David White, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1933)[18]
  • 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 victims:
    • Liam Davison, Australian author and critic (b. 1957)
    • Shuba Jay, Malaysian actress (b. 1976)
    • Joep Lange, Dutch physician and academic (b. 1954)
    • Willem Witteveen, Dutch scholar and politician (b. 1952)
  • 2014 – Henry Hartsfield, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Otto Piene, German sculptor and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Bill Arnsparger, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Jules Bianchi, French race car driver (b. 1989)
  • 2015 – Owen Chadwick, English rugby player, historian, and academic (b. 1916)
  • 2015 – Van Miller, American sportscaster (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – John Taylor, English pianist and educator (b. 1942)

Holidays and observances on July 17

  • Christian feast day:
    • Alexius of Rome (Western Church)
    • Andrew Zorard
    • Cynehelm
    • Cynllo
    • Inácio de Azevedo
    • Jadwiga of Poland
    • Magnus Felix Ennodius
    • Marcellina
    • Martyrs of Compiègne
    • Blessed Pavel Peter Gojdič (Greek Catholic Church)
    • Pope Leo IV
    • Romanov sainthood (Russian Orthodox Church)
    • Speratus and companions
    • William White (Episcopal Church))
    • July 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (South Korea)
  • Gion Matsuri (Yasaka Shrine, Kyoto)
  • Independence Day (Slovakia)
  • International Firgun Day (international)
  • King’s Birthday (Lesotho)
  • U Tirot Sing Day (Meghalaya, India)
  • World Day for International Justice (International)
  • World Emoji Day (International)

July 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

The Aphelion, the point in the year when the Earth is farthest from the Sun, occurs around this date.

July 4 in History

  • 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
  • 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.
  • 836 – Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed.
  • 993 – Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint.
  • 1054 – A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.
  • 1120 – Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew’s death.
  • 1187 – The Crusades: Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem.
  • 1253 – Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.
  • 1359 – Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
  • 1456 – Ottoman–Hungarian wars: The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins.
  • 1534 – Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye.
  • 1584 – Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island
  • 1610 – The Battle of Klushino is fought between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia during the Polish–Muscovite War.
  • 1634 – The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (now Quebec, Canada).
  • 1744 – The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cede lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
  • 1774 – Orangetown Resolutions are adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament’s Coercive Acts.
  • 1776 – American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress.
  • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: U.S. forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.
  • 1802 – At West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy opens.
  • 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
  • 1817 – In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
  • 1826 – John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, respectively the second and third presidents of the United States, die the same day, on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives.”
  • 1827 – Slavery is abolished in the State of New York.
  • 1831 – Samuel Francis Smith writes “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” for the Boston, Massachusetts July 4 festivities.
  • 1837 – Grand Junction Railway, the world’s first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.
  • 1838 – The Iowa Territory is organized.
  • 1845 – Henry David Thoreau moves into a small cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau’s account of his two years there, Walden, will become a touchstone of the environmental movement.
  • 1855 – The first edition of Walt Whitman’s book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published In Brooklyn.
  • 1862 – Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg: Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to U.S. forces under Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege. One hundred fifty miles up the Mississippi River, a Confederate army is repulsed at the Battle of Helena, Arkansas.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia withdraws from the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg, signalling an end to the Confederate invasion of U.S. territory.
  • 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: The Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burned to the ground, ending the war and forcing King Cetshwayo to flee.
  • 1881 – In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
  • 1886 – The Canadian Pacific Railway’s first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel.
  • 1887 – The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joins Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.
  • 1892 – Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, causing Monday (July 4) to occur twice, resulting in a year with 367 days.
  • 1894 – The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
  • 1898 – En route from New York to Le Havre, the SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks off the coast of Sable Island, with the loss of 549 lives.
  • 1901 – William Howard Taft becomes American governor of the Philippines.
  • 1903 – The Philippine–American War is officially concluded.
  • 1910 – The Johnson–Jeffries riots occur after African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in the 15th round. Between 11 and 26 people are killed and hundreds more injured.
  • 1911 – A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.
  • 1913 – President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913.
  • 1914 – The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie takes place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo.
  • 1918 – Mehmed V died at the age of 73 and Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.
  • 1918 – World War I: The Battle of Hamel, a successful attack by the Australian Corps against German positions near the town of Le Hamel on the Western Front.
  • 1918 – Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
  • 1927 – First flight of the Lockheed Vega.
  • 1939 – Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself “The luckiest man on the face of the earth”, then announces his retirement from major league baseball.
  • 1941 – Nazi crimes against the Polish nation: Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Burning of the Riga synagogues: The Great Choral Synagogue in German occupied Riga is burnt with 300 Jews locked in the basement.
  • 1942 – World War II: The 250-day Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea ends when the city falls to Axis forces.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world’s largest tank battle, begins in the village of Prokhorovka.
  • 1943 – World War II: In Gibraltar, a Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into the sea in an apparent accident moments after takeoff, killing sixteen passengers on board, including general Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile; only the pilot survives.
  • 1946 – The Kielce pogrom against Jewish Holocaust survivors in Poland.
  • 1946 – After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.
  • 1947 – The “Indian Independence Bill” is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan.
  • 1950 – Cold War: Radio Free Europe first broadcasts.
  • 1951 – Cold War: A court in Czechoslovakia sentences American journalist William N. Oatis to ten years in prison on charges of espionage.
  • 1951 – William Shockley announces the invention of the junction transistor.
  • 1954 – Rationing ends in the United Kingdom.
  • 1960 – Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Acts (United States)).
  • 1961 – On its maiden voyage, the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-19 suffers a complete loss of coolant to its reactor. The crew are able to effect repairs, but 22 of them die of radiation poisoning over the following two years.
  • 1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year.
  • 1976 – Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.
  • 1976 – The U.S. celebrates its Bicentennial.
  • 1977 – The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit.
  • 1982 – Three Iranian diplomats and a journalist are kidnapped in Lebanon by Phalange forces, and their fate remains unknown.
  • 1987 – In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (a.k.a. the “Butcher of Lyon”) is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.
  • 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city.
  • 1997 – NASA’s Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
  • 1998 – Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.
  • 2001 – Vladivostock Air Flight 352 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Airport killing all 145 people on board.
  • 2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City.
  • 2004 – Greece beats Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final and becomes European Champion for first time in its history.
  • 2005 – The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
  • 2006 – Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station. The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program’s history to occur on the United States’ Independence Day.
  • 2009 – The Statue of Liberty’s crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
  • 2009 – The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao.
  • 2012 – The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.
  • 2015 – Chile claims its first title in international soccer by defeating Argentina in the 2015 Copa América Final.

Births on July 4

  • AD 68 – Salonina Matidia, Roman daughter of Ulpia Marciana (d. 119)
  • 1095 – Usama ibn Munqidh, Muslim poet, author and faris (Knight) (d. 1188)
  • 1330 – Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shōgun (d. 1367)
  • 1477 – Johannes Aventinus, Bavarian historian and philologist (d. 1534)
  • 1546 – Murad III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1595)
  • 1656 – John Leake, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1720)
  • 1694 – Louis-Claude Daquin, French organist and composer (d. 1772)
  • 1715 – Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet and academic (d. 1769)
  • 1719 – Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright (d. 1797)
  • 1729 – George Leonard, American lawyer, jurist and politician (d. 1819)
  • 1753 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard, French inventor, best known as a pioneer in balloon flight (d. 1809)
  • 1790 – George Everest, Welsh geographer and surveyor (d. 1866)
  • 1799 – Oscar I of Sweden (d. 1859)
  • 1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1864)
  • 1807 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian general and politician (d. 1882)
  • 1816 – Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club whisky (d. 1899)
  • 1826 – Stephen Foster, American songwriter and composer (d. 1864)
  • 1842 – Hermann Cohen, German philosopher (d. 1918)
  • 1845 – Thomas John Barnardo, Irish philanthropist and humanitarian (d. 1905)
  • 1847 – James Anthony Bailey, American circus ringmaster, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1906)
  • 1854 – Victor Babeș, Romanian physician and biologist (d. 1926)
  • 1868 – Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer and academic (d. 1921)
  • 1871 – Hubert Cecil Booth, English engineer (d. 1955)
  • 1872 – Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (d. 1933)
  • 1874 – John McPhee, Australian journalist and politician, 27th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1952)
  • 1880 – Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1975)
  • 1881 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American general (d. 1968)
  • 1883 – Rube Goldberg, American sculptor, cartoonist, and engineer (d. 1970)
  • 1887 – Pio Pion, Italian engineer and businessman (d. 1965)
  • 1888 – Henry Armetta, Italian-American actor and singer (d. 1945)
  • 1895 – Irving Caesar, American songwriter and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1896 – Mao Dun, Chinese journalist, author, and critic (d. 1981)
  • 1897 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (d. 1924)
  • 1898 – Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican-American historian and activist (d. 1997)
  • 1898 – Gertrude Lawrence, British actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1952)
  • 1898 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian politician (d. 1998)
  • 1898 – Gertrude Weaver, American supercentenarian (d. 2015)
  • 1900 – Belinda Dann, Indigenous Australian who was one of the Stolen Generation, reunited with family aged 107 (d. 2007)
  • 1900 – Nellie Mae Rowe, American folk artist (d. 1982)
  • 1902 – Meyer Lansky, American gangster (d. 1983)
  • 1902 – George Murphy, American actor and politician (d. 1992)
  • 1903 – Flor Peeters, Belgian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1986)
  • 1904 – Angela Baddeley, English actress (d. 1976)
  • 1905 – Irving Johnson, American sailor and author (d. 1991)
  • 1905 – Robert Hankey, 2nd Baron Hankey, British diplomat and public servant (d. 1996)
  • 1905 – Lionel Trilling, American critic, essayist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1975)
  • 1906 – Vincent Schaefer, American chemist and meteorologist (d. 1993)
  • 1907 – John Anderson, American discus thrower (d. 1948)
  • 1907 – Howard Taubman, American author and critic (d. 1996)
  • 1909 – Alec Templeton, Welsh composer, pianist and satirist (d. 1963)
  • 1910 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and scholar (d. 2003)
  • 1910 – Gloria Stuart, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1911 – Bruce Hamilton, Australian public servant (d. 1989)
  • 1911 – Mitch Miller, American singer and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Nuccio Bertone, Italian automobile designer (d. 1997)
  • 1915 – Timmie Rogers, American actor and singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1916 – Iva Toguri D’Aquino, American typist and broadcaster (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Eppie Lederer, American journalist and radio host (d. 2002)
  • 1918 – Johnnie Parsons, American race car driver (d. 1984)
  • 1918 – King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV of Tonga, (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Alec Bedser, English cricketer (d. 2010)
  • 1918 – Eric Bedser, English cricketer (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Norm Drucker, American basketball player and referee (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Leona Helmsley, American businesswoman (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Fritz Wilde, German footballer and manager (d. 1977)
  • 1920 – Paul Bannai, American politician (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – Gérard Debreu, French economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – Nasser Sharifi, Iranian sports shooter
  • 1921 – Metropolitan Mikhail of Asyut (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Philip Rose, American actor, playwright, and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1921 – Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and conductor (d. 2003)
  • 1922 – R. James Harvey, American politician (d. 2019)
  • 1923 – Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Eva Marie Saint, American actress
  • 1924 – Delia Fiallo, Cuban author and screenwriter
  • 1925 – Ciril Zlobec, Slovene poet, writer, translator, journalist and politician (d. 2018)
  • 1925 – Dorothy Head Knode, American tennis player (d. 2015)
  • 1926 – Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentinian-Spanish footballer and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Lake Underwood, American race car driver and businessman (d. 2008)
  • 1927 – Gina Lollobrigida, Italian actress and photographer
  • 1927 – Neil Simon, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Giampiero Boniperti, Italian footballer and politician
  • 1928 – Teofisto Guingona Jr., Filipino politician; 11th Vice President of the Philippines
  • 1928 – Jassem Alwan, Syrian Army Officer (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Shan Ratnam, Sri Lankan physician and academic (d. 2001)
  • 1928 – Chuck Tanner, American baseball player and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Ron Casey, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2018)
  • 1929 – Al Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Bill Tuttle, American baseball player (d. 1998)
  • 1930 – George Steinbrenner, American businessman (d. 2010)
  • 1931 – Stephen Boyd, Northern Ireland-born American actor (d. 1977)
  • 1931 – Rick Casares, American football player and soldier (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1931 – Peter Richardson, English cricketer (d. 2017)
  • 1932 – Aurèle Vandendriessche, Belgian runner
  • 1934 – Yvonne B. Miller, American academic and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1934 – Colin Welland, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Paul Scoon, Grenadian politician, 2nd Governor-General of Grenada (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Zdzisława Donat, Polish soprano and actress
  • 1937 – Thomas Nagel, American philosopher and academic
  • 1937 – Queen Sonja of Norway
  • 1937 – Richard Rhodes, American journalist and historian
  • 1937 – Eric Walters, Australian journalist (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Steven Rose, English biologist and academic
  • 1938 – Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2020)
  • 1940 – Pat Stapleton, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2020)
  • 1941 – Sam Farr, American politician
  • 1941 – Tomaž Šalamun, Croatian-Slovenian poet and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1941 – Pavel Sedláček, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1941 – Brian Willson, American soldier, lawyer, and activist
  • 1942 – Hal Lanier, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1942 – Floyd Little, American football player and coach
  • 1942 – Stefan Meller, French-Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2008)
  • 1942 – Prince Michael of Kent
  • 1942 – Peter Rowan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Conny Bauer, German trombonist
  • 1943 – Emerson Boozer, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1943 – Adam Hart-Davis, English historian, author, and photographer
  • 1943 – Geraldo Rivera, American lawyer, journalist, and author
  • 1943 – Fred Wesley, American jazz and funk trombonist
  • 1943 – Alan Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1970)
  • 1945 – Andre Spitzer, Romanian-Israeli fencer and coach (d. 1972)
  • 1946 – Ron Kovic, American author and activist
  • 1946 – Michael Milken, American businessman and philanthropist
  • 1947 – Lembit Ulfsak, Estonian actor and director (d. 2017)
  • 1948 – René Arnoux, French race car driver
  • 1948 – Tommy Körberg, Swedish singer and actor
  • 1948 – Jeremy Spencer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Philip Craven, English basketball player and swimmer
  • 1950 – David Jensen, Canadian-English radio and television host
  • 1951 – John Alexander, Australian tennis player and politician
  • 1951 – Ralph Johnson, American R&B drummer and percussionist
  • 1951 – Vladimir Tismăneanu, Romanian-American political scientist, sociologist, and academic
  • 1951 – Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American lawyer and politician, 6th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
  • 1952 – Álvaro Uribe, Colombian lawyer and politician, 39th President of Colombia
  • 1952 – Carol MacReady, English actress
  • 1952 – John Waite, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – Paul Rogat Loeb, American author and activist
  • 1953 – Francis Maude, English lawyer and politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office
  • 1954 – Jim Beattie, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1954 – Morganna, American model, actress, and dancer
  • 1954 – Devendra Kumar Joshi, 21st Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy
  • 1955 – Kevin Nichols, Australian cyclist
  • 1956 – Robert Sinclair MacKay, British academic and educator
  • 1957 – Rein Lang, Estonian politician and diplomat, 25th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1958 – Vera Leth, Greenlandic Ombudsman
  • 1958 – Kirk Pengilly, Australian guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
  • 1958 – Carl Valentine, English-Canadian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1959 – Victoria Abril, Spanish actress and singer
  • 1960 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (d. 1994)
  • 1961 – Richard Garriott, English-American video game designer, created the Ultima series
  • 1962 – Pam Shriver, American tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Henri Leconte, French tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Laureano Márquez, Spanish-Venezuelan political scientist and journalist
  • 1963 – José Oquendo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
  • 1963 – Sonia Pierre, Hatian-Dominican human rights activist (d. 2011)
  • 1964 – Cle Kooiman, American soccer player and manager
  • 1964 – Elie Saab, Lebanese fashion designer
  • 1964 – Edi Rama, Albanian politician
  • 1964 – Mark Slaughter, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1964 – Mark Whiting, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Harvey Grant, American basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Horace Grant, American basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Kiriakos Karataidis, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Gérard Watkins, English actor and playwright
  • 1966 – Ronni Ancona, Scottish actress and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Minas Hantzidis, German-Greek footballer
  • 1966 – Lee Reherman, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1967 – Vinny Castilla, Mexican baseball player and manager
  • 1967 – Sébastien Deleigne, French athlete
  • 1969 – Al Golden, American football player and coach
  • 1969 – Todd Marinovich, American football player and coach
  • 1969 – Wilfred Mugeyi, Zimbabwean footballer and coach
  • 1972 – Stephen Giles, Canadian canoe racer and engineer
  • 1972 – Mike Knuble, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1973 – Keiko Ihara, Japanese race car driver
  • 1973 – Gackt, Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor
  • 1973 – Michael Johnson, English-Jamaican footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Anjelika Krylova, Russian ice dancer and coach
  • 1973 – Jan Magnussen, Danish race car driver
  • 1973 – Tony Popovic, Australian footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Jill Craybas, American tennis player
  • 1974 – La’Roi Glover, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1974 – Adrian Griffin, American basketball player and coach
  • 1976 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (d. 2003)
  • 1976 – Yevgeniya Medvedeva, Russian skier
  • 1978 – Marcos Daniel, Brazilian tennis player
  • 1978 – Émile Mpenza, Belgian footballer
  • 1979 – Siim Kabrits, Estonian politician
  • 1979 – Josh McCown, American football player
  • 1979 – Renny Vega, Venezuelan footballer
  • 1980 – Kwame Steede, Bermudan footballer
  • 1981 – Dedé, Angolan footballer
  • 1981 – Brock Berlin, American football player
  • 1981 – Christoph Preuß, German footballer
  • 1981 – Francisco Cruceta, Dominican baseball player
  • 1981 – Will Smith, American football player (d. 2016)
  • 1982 – Vladimir Boisa, Georgian basketball player
  • 1982 – Vladimir Gusev, Russian cyclist
  • 1982 – Jeff Lima, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1982 – Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, American model, author and television personality
  • 1983 – Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1983 – Amantle Montsho, Botswanan sprinter
  • 1983 – Miguel Pinto, Chilean footballer
  • 1983 – Amol Rajan, Indian-English journalist
  • 1983 – Mattia Serafini, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Jin Akanishi, Japanese singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Miguel Santos Soares, Timorese footballer
  • 1985 – Kane Tenace, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – Dimitrios Mavroeidis, Greek basketball player
  • 1985 – Wason Rentería, Colombian footballer
  • 1986 – Ömer Aşık, Turkish basketball player
  • 1986 – Nguyen Ngoc Duy, Vietnamese footballer
  • 1986 – Rafael Arévalo, Salvadoran tennis player
  • 1986 – Willem Janssen, Dutch footballer
  • 1986 – Terrance Knighton, American football player
  • 1986 – Marte Elden, Norwegian skier
  • 1987 – Wude Ayalew, Ethiopian runner
  • 1987 – Guram Kashia, Georgian footballer
  • 1988 – Angelique Boyer, French-Mexican actress
  • 1989 – Benjamin Büchel, Liechtensteiner footballer
  • 1990 – Jake Gardiner, American ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Richard Mpong, Ghanaian footballer
  • 1990 – Naoki Yamada, Japanese footballer
  • 1990 – Ihar Yasinski, Belarusian footballer
  • 1992 – Ángel Romero, Paraguayan footballer
  • 1992 – Óscar Romero, Paraguayan footballer
  • 1993 – Tom Barkhuizen, English footballer
  • 1995 – Post Malone, American singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer
  • 1999 – Moa Kikuchi, Japanese musician
  • 2003 – Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer

Deaths on July 4

  • 673 – Ecgberht, king of Kent
  • 907 – Luitpold, margrave of Bavaria
  • 907 – Dietmar I, archbishop of Salzburg
  • 910 – Luo Shaowei, Chinese warlord (b. 877)
  • 940 – Wang Jianli, Chinese general (b. 871)
  • 943 – Taejo of Goryeo, Korean king (b. 877)
  • 945 – Zhuo Yanming, Chinese Buddhist monk and emperor
  • 965 – Benedict V, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 973 – Ulrich of Augsburg, German bishop and saint (b. 890)
  • 975 – Gwangjong of Goryeo, Korean king (b. 925)
  • 1187 – Raynald of Châtillon, French knight (b. 1125)
  • 1307 – Rudolf I of Bohemia (b. 1281)
  • 1336 – Saint Elizabeth of Portugal (b. 1271)
  • 1429 – Carlo I Tocco, ruler of Epirus (b. 1372)
  • 1533 – John Frith, English priest, writer, and martyr (b. 1503)
  • 1541 – Pedro de Alvarado, Spanish general and explorer (b. 1495)
  • 1546 – Hayreddin Barbarossa, Ottoman admiral (b. 1478)
  • 1551 – Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell, English politician (b. 1514)
  • 1603 – Philippe de Monte, Flemish composer and educator (b. 1521)
  • 1623 – William Byrd, English composer (b. c. 1540)
  • 1644 – Brian Twyne, English academic, antiquarian and archivist (b. 1581)
  • 1648 – Antoine Daniel, French missionary and saint, one of the eight Canadian Martyrs (b. 1601)
  • 1742 – Luigi Guido Grandi, Italian monk, mathematician, and engineer (b. 1671)
  • 1754 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French playwright and author (b. 1680)
  • 1761 – Samuel Richardson, English author and painter (b. 1689)
  • 1780 – Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (b. 1712)
  • 1787 – Charles, Prince of Soubise, Marshal of France (b. 1715)
  • 1821 – Richard Cosway, English painter and academic (b. 1742)
  • 1826 – John Adams, American lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the United States (b. 1735)
  • 1826 – Thomas Jefferson, American architect, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of the United States (b. 1743)
  • 1831 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (b. 1758)
  • 1848 – François-René de Chateaubriand, French historian and politician (b. 1768)
  • 1850 – William Kirby, English entomologist and author (b. 1759)
  • 1854 – Karl Friedrich Eichhorn, German academic and jurist (b. 1781)
  • 1857 – William L. Marcy, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 21st United States Secretary of State (b. 1786)
  • 1881 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish philosopher and politician (b. 1806)
  • 1882 – Joseph Brackett, American composer and author (b. 1797)
  • 1886 – Poundmaker, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1797)
  • 1891 – Hannibal Hamlin, American lawyer and politician, 15th Vice President of the United States (b. 1809)
  • 1901 – Johannes Schmidt, German linguist and academic (b. 1843)
  • 1902 – Vivekananda, Indian monk and saint (b. 1863)
  • 1905 – Élisée Reclus, French geographer and author (b. 1830)
  • 1910 – Melville Fuller, American lawyer and jurist, Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1833)
  • 1910 – Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer and historian (b. 1835)
  • 1916 – Alan Seeger, American soldier and poet (b. 1888)
  • 1922 – Lothar von Richthofen, German lieutenant and pilot (b. 1894)
  • 1926 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian activist and saint (b. 1901)
  • 1934 – Marie Curie, French-Polish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
  • 1938 – Otto Bauer, Austrian philosopher and politician, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1881)
  • 1938 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (b. 1899)
  • 1941 – Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician and academic (b. 1881)
  • 1943 – Władysław Sikorski, Polish general and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Poland (b. 1881)
  • 1946 – Taffy O’Callaghan, Welsh footballer and coach (b. 1906)
  • 1948 – Monteiro Lobato, Brazilian journalist and author (b. 1882)
  • 1949 – François Brandt, Dutch rower and engineer (b. 1874)
  • 1963 – Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, New Zealand general and politician, 7th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1889)
  • 1963 – Clyde Kennard, American activist and martyr (b. 1927)
  • 1963 – Pingali Venkayya, Indian activist, designed the Flag of India (b. 1876)
  • 1964 – Gaby Morlay, French actress and singer (b. 1893)
  • 1969 – Henri Decoin, French director and screenwriter (b. 1890)
  • 1970 – Barnett Newman, American painter and illustrator (b. 1905)
  • 1970 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American sailor and businessman (b. 1884)
  • 1971 – August Derleth, American anthologist and author (b. 1909)
  • 1971 – Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1974 – Georgette Heyer, English author (b. 1902)
  • 1974 – André Randall, French actor (b. 1892)
  • 1976 – Yonatan Netanyahu, Israeli colonel (b. 1946)
  • 1976 – Antoni Słonimski, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1895)
  • 1977 – Gersh Budker, Ukrainian physicist and academic (b. 1918)
  • 1979 – Lee Wai Tong, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1905)
  • 1980 – Maurice Grevisse, Belgian linguist and author (b. 1895)
  • 1984 – Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
  • 1986 – Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critique musical and physicist (b. 1933)
  • 1986 – Flor Peeters, Belgian organist and composer (b. 1903)
  • 1986 – Oscar Zariski, Belarusian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1899)
  • 1988 – Adrian Adonis, American wrestler (b. 1954)
  • 1990 – Olive Ann Burns, American journalist and author (b. 1924)
  • 1991 – Victor Chang, Chinese-Australian surgeon and physician (b. 1936)
  • 1991 – Art Sansom, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
  • 1992 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentinian bandoneon player and composer (b. 1921)
  • 1993 – Bona Arsenault, Canadian historian, genealogist, and politician (b. 1903)
  • 1994 – Joey Marella, American wrestling referee (b. 1964)
  • 1995 – Eva Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and singer (b. 1919)
  • 1995 – Bob Ross, American painter and television host (b. 1942)
  • 1997 – Charles Kuralt, American journalist (b. 1934)
  • 1997 – John Zachary Young, English zoologist and neurophysiologist (b. 1907)
  • 1999 – Leo Garel, American illustrator and educator (b. 1917)
  • 2000 – Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1919)
  • 2002 – Gerald Bales, Canadian organist and composer (b. 1919)
  • 2002 – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American general (b. 1912)
  • 2003 – Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (b. 1939)
  • 2003 – André Claveau, French singer (b. 1915)
  • 2003 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1944)
  • 2004 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Cliff Goupille, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Hank Stram, American football player and coach (b. 1923)
  • 2007 – Bill Pinkney, American singer (b. 1925)
  • 2008 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (b. 1940)
  • 2008 – Jesse Helms, American politician (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Evelyn Keyes, American actress (b. 1916)
  • 2008 – Terrence Kiel, American football player (b. 1980)
  • 2008 – Charles Wheeler, German-English soldier and journalist (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Brenda Joyce, American actress (b. 1917)
  • 2009 – Allen Klein, American businessman and talent agent, founded ABKCO Records (b. 1931)
  • 2009 – Drake Levin, American guitarist (b. 1946)
  • 2009 – Steve McNair, American football player (b. 1973)
  • 2009 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author and actor (b. 1935)
  • 2009 – Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, Congolese poet and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2010 – Robert Neil Butler, American physician and author (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Hiren Bhattacharyya, Indian poet and author (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Jimmy Bivins, American boxer (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Jeong Min-hyeong, South Korean footballer (b. 1987)
  • 2012 – Eric Sykes, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Onllwyn Brace, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Jack Crompton, English footballer and manager (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – James Fulton, American dermatologist and academic (b. 1940)
  • 2013 – Charles A. Hines, American general (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer (b. 1960)
  • 2014 – Giorgio Faletti, Italian author, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1950)
  • 2014 – C. J. Henderson, American author and critic (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Earl Robinson, American baseball player (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Nedelcho Beronov, Bulgarian judge and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – William Conrad Gibbons, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer (b. 1940)
  • 2017 – John Blackwell, American R&B, funk, and jazz drummer (b. 1973)
  • 2017 – Daniil Granin, Soviet and Russian author (b. 1919)
  • 2018 – Henri Dirickx, Belgian footballer (b. 1927)
  • 2018 – Robby Müller, Dutch cinematographer (b. 1940)

Holidays and observances on July 4

  • Christian feast day:
    • Andrew of Crete
    • Bertha of Artois
    • Blessed Catherine Jarrige
    • Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
    • Elizabeth of Aragon (or of Portugal)
    • Oda of Canterbury
    • Ulrich of Augsburg
    • July 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Birthday of Queen Sonja (Norway)
  • The first evening of Dree Festival, celebrated until July 7 (Apatani people, Arunachal Pradesh, India)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the Declaration of Independence of the United States from Great Britain in 1776. (United States and its dependencies)
  • Liberation Day (Northern Mariana Islands)
  • Liberation Day (Rwanda)
  • Republic Day (Philippines)

July 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

July 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

It is the last day of the first half of the year. The end of this day marks the halfway point of a leap year. It also falls on the same day of the week as New Year’s Day in a leap year. The midpoint of the year for southern hemisphere DST countries occurs at 11:00 p.m.

  • AD 69 – Tiberius Julius Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to Vespasian as Emperor.
  • 552 – Battle of Taginae: Byzantine forces under Narses defeat the Ostrogoths in Italy, and the Ostrogoth king, Totila, is mortally wounded.
  • 1097 – Battle of Dorylaeum: Crusaders led by prince Bohemond of Taranto defeat a Seljuk army led by sultan Kilij Arslan I.
  • 1431 – The Battle of La Higueruela takes place in Granada, leading to a modest advance of the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista.
  • 1520 – Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés fight their way out of Tenochtitlan after nightfall.
  • 1523 – Jan van Essen and Hendrik Vos become the first Lutheran martyrs, burned at the stake by Roman Catholic authorities in Brussels.
  • 1569 – Union of Lublin: The Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania confirm a real union; the united country is called the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth or the Republic of Both Nations.
  • 1643 – First meeting of the Westminster Assembly, a council of theologians (“divines”) and members of the Parliament of England appointed to restructure the Church of England, at Westminster Abbey in London.
  • 1690 – Glorious Revolution: Battle of the Boyne in Ireland (as reckoned under the Julian calendar).
  • 1766 – François-Jean de la Barre, a young French nobleman, is tortured and beheaded before his body is burnt on a pyre along with a copy of Voltaire’s Dictionnaire philosophique nailed to his torso for the crime of not saluting a Roman Catholic religious procession in Abbeville, France.
  • 1770 – Lexell’s Comet is seen closer to the Earth than any other comet in recorded history, approaching to a distance of 0.0146 astronomical units (2,180,000 km; 1,360,000 mi).
  • 1782 – Raid on Lunenburg: American privateers attack the British settlement of Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.
  • 1819 – Johann Georg Tralles discovers the Great Comet of 1819, (C/1819 N1). It was the first comet analyzed using polarimetry, by François Arago.
  • 1837 – A system of civil registration of births, marriages and deaths is established in England and Wales.
  • 1855 – Signing of the Quinault Treaty: The Quinault and the Quileute cede their land to the United States.
  • 1858 – Joint reading of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace’s papers on evolution to the Linnean Society of London.
  • 1862 – The Russian State Library is founded as the Library of the Moscow Public Museum.
  • 1862 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, second daughter of Queen Victoria, marries Prince Louis of Hesse, the future Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Malvern Hill takes place. It is the last of the Seven Days Battles, part of George B. McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign.
  • 1863 – Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) in Suriname, marking the abolition of slavery by the Netherlands.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Gettysburg begins.
  • 1867 – The British North America Act takes effect as the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia join into confederation to create the modern nation of Canada. Sir John A. Macdonald is sworn in as the first Prime Minister of Canada. This date is commemorated annually in Canada as Canada Day, a national holiday.
  • 1870 – The United States Department of Justice formally comes into existence.
  • 1873 – Prince Edward Island joins into Canadian Confederation.
  • 1874 – The Sholes and Glidden typewriter, the first commercially successful typewriter, goes on sale.
  • 1878 – Canada joins the Universal Postal Union.
  • 1879 – Charles Taze Russell publishes the first edition of the religious magazine The Watchtower.
  • 1881 – The world’s first international telephone call is made between St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada, and Calais, Maine, United States.
  • 1881 – General Order 70, the culmination of the Cardwell and Childers reforms of the British Army, comes into effect.
  • 1885 – The United States terminates reciprocity and fishery agreement with Canada.
  • 1885 – The Congo Free State is established by King Leopold II of Belgium.
  • 1890 – Canada and Bermuda are linked by telegraph cable.
  • 1898 – Spanish–American War: The Battle of San Juan Hill is fought in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba.
  • 1903 – Start of first Tour de France bicycle race.
  • 1908 – SOS is adopted as the international distress signal.
  • 1911 – Germany despatches the gunship SMS Panther to Morocco, sparking the Agadir Crisis.
  • 1915 – Leutnant Kurt Wintgens of the then-named German Deutsches Heer’s Fliegertruppe army air service achieves the first known aerial victory with a synchronized machine-gun armed fighter plane, the Fokker M.5K/MG Eindecker.
  • 1916 – World War I: First day on the Somme: On the first day of the Battle of the Somme 19,000 soldiers of the British Army are killed and 40,000 wounded.
  • 1922 – The Great Railroad Strike of 1922 begins in the United States.
  • 1923 – The Parliament of Canada suspends all Chinese immigration.
  • 1931 – United Airlines begins service (as Boeing Air Transport).
  • 1931 – Wiley Post and Harold Gatty become the first people to circumnavigate the globe in a single-engined monoplane aircraft.
  • 1932 – Australia’s national broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, was formed.
  • 1935 – Regina, Saskatchewan police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police ambush strikers participating in the On-to-Ottawa Trek.
  • 1942 – World War II: First Battle of El Alamein.
  • 1942 – The Australian Federal Government becomes the sole collector of income tax in Australia as State Income Tax is abolished.
  • 1943 – The City of Tokyo and the Prefecture of Tokyo are both replaced by the Tokyo Metropolis.
  • 1947 – The Philippine Air Force is established.
  • 1948 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Quaid-i-Azam) inaugurates Pakistan’s central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan.
  • 1949 – The merger of two princely states of India, Cochin and Travancore, into the state of Thiru-Kochi (later re-organized as Kerala) in the Indian Union ends more than 1,000 years of princely rule by the Cochin royal family.
  • 1957 – The International Geophysical Year begins.
  • 1958 – The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation links television broadcasting across Canada via microwave.
  • 1958 – Flooding of Canada’s Saint Lawrence Seaway begins.
  • 1959 – Specific values for the international yard, avoirdupois pound and derived units (e.g. inch, mile and ounce) are adopted after agreement between the US, the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries.
  • 1960 – Independence of Somalia.
  • 1960 – Ghana becomes a republic and Kwame Nkrumah becomes its first President as Queen Elizabeth II ceases to be its head of state.
  • 1962 – Independence of Rwanda and Burundi.
  • 1963 – ZIP codes are introduced for United States mail.
  • 1963 – The British Government admits that former diplomat Kim Philby had worked as a Soviet agent.
  • 1966 – The first color television transmission in Canada takes place from Toronto.
  • 1967 – Merger Treaty: The European Community is formally created out of a merger with the Common Market, the European Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Commission.
  • 1968 – The United States Central Intelligence Agency’s Phoenix Program is officially established.
  • 1968 – The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is signed in Washington, D.C., London and Moscow by sixty-two countries.
  • 1968 – Formal separation of the United Auto Workers from the AFL–CIO in the United States.
  • 1972 – The first Gay pride march in England takes place.
  • 1976 – Portugal grants autonomy to Madeira.
  • 1978 – The Northern Territory in Australia is granted self-government.
  • 1979 – Sony introduces the Walkman.
  • 1980 – “O Canada” officially becomes the national anthem of Canada.
  • 1983 – A North Korean Ilyushin Il-62M jet en route to Conakry Airport in Guinea crashes into the Fouta Djallon mountains in Guinea-Bissau, killing all 23 people on board.
  • 1984 – The PG-13 rating is introduced by the MPAA.
  • 1987 – The American radio station WFAN in New York City is launched as the world’s first all-sports radio station.
  • 1990 – German reunification: East Germany accepts the Deutsche Mark as its currency, thus uniting the economies of East and West Germany.
  • 1991 – Cold War: The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved at a meeting in Prague.
  • 1997 – China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. The handover ceremony is attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Charles, Prince of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
  • 1999 – The Scottish Parliament is officially opened by Elizabeth II on the day that legislative powers are officially transferred from the old Scottish Office in London to the new devolved Scottish Executive in Edinburgh. In Wales, the powers of the Welsh Secretary are transferred to the National Assembly.
  • 2002 – The International Criminal Court is established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
  • 2002 – Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937, a Tupolev Tu-154, and DHL Flight 611, a Boeing 757, collide in mid-air over Überlingen, southern Germany, killing all 71 on board both planes.
  • 2003 – Over 500,000 people protest against efforts to pass anti-sedition legislation in Hong Kong.
  • 2004 – Saturn orbit insertion of Cassini–Huygens begins at 01:12 UTC and ends at 02:48 UTC.
  • 2006 – The first operation of Qinghai–Tibet Railway is conducted in China.
  • 2007 – Smoking in England is banned in all public indoor spaces.
  • 2008 – Riots erupt in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections.
  • 2013 – Croatia becomes the 28th member of the European Union.

Births on July 1

  • 1311 – Liu Bowen, Chinese military strategist, statesman and poet (d. 1375)
  • 1464 – Clara Gonzaga, Italian noble (d. 1503)
  • 1481 – Christian II of Denmark (d. 1559)
  • 1506 – Louis II of Hungary (d. 1526)
  • 1534 – Frederick II of Denmark (d. 1588)
  • 1553 – Peter Street, English carpenter and builder (d. 1609)
  • 1574 – Joseph Hall, English bishop and mystic (d. 1656)
  • 1586 – Claudio Saracini, Italian lute player and composer (d. 1630)
  • 1633 – Johann Heinrich Heidegger, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1698)
  • 1646 – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1716)
  • 1663 – Franz Xaver Murschhauser, German composer and theorist (d. 1738)
  • 1725 – Rhoda Delaval, English painter and aristrocrat (d. 1757)
  • 1725 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general (d. 1807)
  • 1731 – Adam Duncan, 1st Viscount Duncan, Scottish-English admiral (d. 1804)
  • 1742 – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist and academic (d. 1799)
  • 1771 – Ferdinando Paer, Italian composer and conductor (d. 1839)
  • 1788 – Jean-Victor Poncelet, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1867)
  • 1804 – Charles Gordon Greene, American journalist and politician (d. 1886)
  • 1804 – George Sand, French author and playwright (d. 1876)
  • 1807 – Thomas Green Clemson, American politician and educator, founded Clemson University (d. 1888)
  • 1808 – Ygnacio del Valle, Mexican-American landowner (d. 1880)
  • 1814 – Robert Torrens, Irish-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1884)
  • 1818 – Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian-Austrian physician and obstetrician (d. 1865)
  • 1818 – Karl von Vierordt, German physician, psychologist and academic (d. 1884)
  • 1822 – Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Vietnamese poet and activist (d. 1888)
  • 1834 – Jadwiga Łuszczewska, Polish poet and author (d. 1908)
  • 1850 – Florence Earle Coates, American poet (d. 1927)
  • 1858 – Willard Metcalf, American painter (d. 1925)
  • 1858 – Velma Caldwell Melville, American editor and writer of prose and poetry (d. 1924)
  • 1863 – William Grant Stairs, Canadian-English captain and explorer (d. 1892)
  • 1869 – William Strunk Jr., American author and educator (d. 1946)
  • 1872 – Louis Blériot, French pilot and engineer (d. 1936)
  • 1872 – William Duddell, English physicist and engineer (d. 1917)
  • 1873 – Alice Guy-Blaché, French-American film director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1873 – Andrass Samuelsen, Faroese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 1954)
  • 1875 – Joseph Weil, American con man (d. 1976)
  • 1876 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (d. 1921)
  • 1878 – Jacques Rosenbaum, Estonian-German architect (d. 1944)
  • 1879 – Léon Jouhaux, French union leader, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
  • 1881 – Edward Battersby Bailey, English geologist (d. 1965)
  • 1882 – Bidhan Chandra Roy, Indian physician and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1962)
  • 1883 – Arthur Borton, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1933)
  • 1885 – Dorothea Mackellar, Australian author and poet (d. 1968)
  • 1887 – Amber Reeves, New Zealand-English author and scholar (d. 1981)
  • 1892 – James M. Cain, American author and journalist (d. 1977)
  • 1892 – László Lajtha, Hungarian composer and conductor (d. 1963)
  • 1899 – Thomas A. Dorsey, American pianist and composer (d. 1993)
  • 1899 – Charles Laughton, English-American actor and director (d. 1962)
  • 1899 – Konstantinos Tsatsos, Greek scholar and politician, President of Greece (d. 1987)
  • 1901 – Irna Phillips, American screenwriter (d. 1973)
  • 1902 – William Wyler, French-American film director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1981)
  • 1903 – Amy Johnson, English pilot (d. 1941)
  • 1903 – Beatrix Lehmann, English actress (d. 1979)
  • 1906 – Jean Dieudonné, French mathematician and academic (d. 1992)
  • 1906 – Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founded the Estée Lauder Companies (d. 2004)
  • 1907 – Norman Pirie, Scottish-English biochemist and virologist (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – Emmett Toppino, American sprinter (d. 1971)
  • 1910 – Glenn Hardin, American hurdler (d. 1975)
  • 1911 – Arnold Alas, Estonian landscape architect and artist (d. 1990)
  • 1911 – Sergey Sokolov, Russian marshal and politician, Soviet Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
  • 1912 – David Brower, American environmentalist, founded Sierra Club Foundation (d. 2000)
  • 1912 – Sally Kirkland, American journalist (d. 1989)
  • 1913 – Frank Barrett, American baseball player (d. 1998)
  • 1913 – Lee Guttero, American basketball player (d. 2004)
  • 1913 – Vasantrao Naik, Indian politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 1979)
  • 1914 – Thomas Pearson, British Army officer (d. 2019)
  • 1914 – Christl Cranz, German alpine skier (d. 2004)
  • 1914 – Bernard B. Wolfe, American politician (d. 2016)
  • 1915 – Boots Poffenberger, American baseball player (d. 1999)
  • 1915 – Willie Dixon, American singer-songwriter, bass player, guitarist and producer (d. 1992)
  • 1915 – Joseph Ransohoff, American soldier and neurosurgeon (d. 2001)
  • 1915 – Philip Lever, 3rd Viscount Leverhulme, British peer (d. 2000)
  • 1915 – Nguyễn Văn Linh, Vietnamese politician (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – Olivia de Havilland, British-American actress
  • 1916 – Iosif Shklovsky, Ukrainian astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1985)
  • 1916 – George C. Stoney, American director and producer (d. 2012)
  • 1917 – Humphry Osmond, English-American lieutenant and psychiatrist (d. 2004)
  • 1917 – Álvaro Domecq y Díez, Spanish aristocrat (d. 2005)
  • 1918 – Ralph Young, American singer and actor (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Ahmed Deedat, South African writer and public speaker (d. 2005)
  • 1918 – Pedro Yap, Filipino lawyer (d. 2003)
  • 1919 – Arnold Meri, Estonian colonel (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Malik Dohan al-Hassan, Iraqi politician
  • 1919 – Gerald E. Miller, American vice admiral (d. 2014)
  • 1920 – Henri Amouroux, French historian and journalist (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Harold Sakata, Japanese-American wrestler and actor (d. 1982)
  • 1920 – Joseph G. Williams, American musician
  • 1920 – George I. Fujimoto, American-Japanese chemist
  • 1921 – Seretse Khama, Batswana lawyer and politician, 1st President of Botswana (d. 1980)
  • 1921 – Michalina Wisłocka, Polish gynecologist and sexologist (d. 2005)
  • 1921 – Arthur Johnson, Canadian canoeist (d. 2003)
  • 1922 – Toshi Seeger, German-American activist, co-founded the Clearwater Festival (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Mordechai Bibi, Israeli politician
  • 1923 – Scotty Bowers, American Marine, author and pimp (d. 2019)
  • 1924 – Antoni Ramallets, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Florence Stanley, American actress (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Georges Rivière, French actor
  • 1925 – Farley Granger, American actor (d. 2011)
  • 1925 – Art McNally, American football referee
  • 1926 – Robert Fogel, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Carl Hahn, German businessman
  • 1926 – Mohamed Abshir Muse, Somali general (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Hans Werner Henze, German composer and educator (d. 2012)
  • 1927 – Alan J. Charig, English paleontologist and author (d. 1997)
  • 1927 – Joseph Martin Sartoris, American bishop
  • 1927 – Chandra Shekhar, 8th Prime Minister of India (d. 2007)[27]
  • 1929 – Gerald Edelman, American biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Moustapha Akkad, Syrian-American director and producer (d. 2005)
  • 1930 – Carol Chomsky, American linguist and academic (d. 2008)
  • 1931 – Leslie Caron, French actress and dancer
  • 1932 – Ze’ev Schiff, French-Israeli journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1933 – C. Scott Littleton, American anthropologist and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Claude Berri, French actor, director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1934 – Jamie Farr, American actor
  • 1934 – Jean Marsh, English actress and screenwriter
  • 1934 – Sydney Pollack, American actor, director and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1935 – James Cotton, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 2017)
  • 1935 – David Prowse, English actor
  • 1936 – Wally Amos, American entrepreneur and founder of Famous Amos
  • 1938 – Craig Anderson, American baseball player and coach
  • 1938 – Hariprasad Chaurasia, Indian flute player and composer
  • 1939 – Karen Black, American actress (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Delaney Bramlett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1940 – Craig Brown, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1940 – Ela Gandhi, South African activist and politician
  • 1940 – Cahit Zarifoğlu, Turkish poet and author (d. 1987)
  • 1941 – Rod Gilbert, Canadian-American ice hockey player
  • 1941 – Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
  • 1941 – Myron Scholes, Canadian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – Twyla Tharp, American dancer and choreographer
  • 1942 – Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Iraqi field marshal and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Geneviève Bujold, Canadian actress
  • 1942 – Andraé Crouch, American singer-songwriter, producer and pastor (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Julia Higgins, English chemist and academic
  • 1943 – Philip Brunelle, American conductor and organist
  • 1943 – Peeter Lepp, Estonian politician, 37th Mayor of Tallinn
  • 1943 – Jeff Wayne, American composer, musician and lyricist
  • 1945 – Mike Burstyn, American actor and singer
  • 1945 – Debbie Harry, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1946 – Mick Aston, English archaeologist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1946 – Erkki Tuomioja, Finnish sergeant and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs
  • 1947 – Kazuyoshi Hoshino, Japanese race car driver
  • 1947 – Malcolm Wicks, English academic and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1948 – John Ford, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1949 – Néjia Ben Mabrouk, Tunisian-Belgian director and screenwriter
  • 1949 – John Farnham, English-Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1949 – David Hogan, American composer and educator (d. 1996)
  • 1949 – Venkaiah Naidu, Indian lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – David Duke, American white supremacist, politician and former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard
  • 1951 – Trevor Eve, English actor and producer
  • 1951 – Anne Feeney, American singer-songwriter and activist
  • 1951 – Julia Goodfellow, English physicist and academic
  • 1951 – Klaus-Peter Justus, German runner
  • 1951 – Tom Kozelko, American basketball player
  • 1951 – Terrence Mann, American actor, singer and dancer
  • 1951 – Fred Schneider, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1951 – Victor Willis, American singer-songwriter, pianist and actor
  • 1952 – Dan Aykroyd, Canadian actor, producer and screenwriter
  • 1952 – David Arkenstone, American composer and performer
  • 1952 – David Lane, English oncologist and academic
  • 1952 – Steve Shutt, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1952 – Timothy J. Tobias, American pianist and composer (d. 2006)
  • 1953 – Lawrence Gonzi, Maltese lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Malta
  • 1953 – Jadranka Kosor, Croatian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Croatia
  • 1954 – Keith Whitley, American singer and guitarist (d. 1989)
  • 1955 – Nikolai Demidenko, Russian pianist and educator
  • 1955 – Li Keqiang, Chinese economist and politician, 7th Premier of the People’s Republic of China
  • 1955 – Lisa Scottoline, American lawyer and author
  • 1957 – Lisa Blount, American actress and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1957 – Hannu Kamppuri, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1957 – Sean O’Driscoll, English footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Jack Dyer Crouch II, American diplomat, United States Deputy National Security Advisor
  • 1960 – Michael Beattie, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1960 – Lynn Jennings, American runner
  • 1960 – Evelyn “Champagne” King, American soul/disco singer
  • 1960 – Kevin Swords, American rugby player
  • 1961 – Malcolm Elliott, English cyclist
  • 1961 – Ivan Kaye, English actor
  • 1961 – Carl Lewis, American long jumper and runner
  • 1961 – Diana, Princess of Wales (d. 1997)
  • 1961 – Michelle Wright, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Andre Braugher, American actor and producer
  • 1962 – Mokhzani Mahathir, Malaysian businessman
  • 1963 – Roddy Bottum, American singer and keyboard player
  • 1963 – Nick Giannopoulos, Australian actor
  • 1963 – David Wood, American lawyer and environmentalist (d. 2006)
  • 1964 – Bernard Laporte, French rugby player and coach
  • 1965 – Carl Fogarty, English motorcycle racer
  • 1965 – Garry Schofield, English rugby player and coach
  • 1965 – Harald Zwart, Norwegian director and producer
  • 1966 – Enrico Annoni, Italian footballer and coach
  • 1966 – Shawn Burr, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2013)
  • 1967 – Pamela Anderson, Canadian-American model and actress
  • 1969 – Séamus Egan, American-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1971 – Missy Elliott, American rapper, producer, dancer and actress
  • 1971 – Julianne Nicholson, American actress
  • 1974 – Jefferson Pérez, Ecuadorian race walker
  • 1975 – Sean Colson, American basketball player and coach
  • 1975 – Sufjan Stevens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Patrick Kluivert, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1976 – Hannu Tihinen, Finnish footballer
  • 1976 – Albert Torrens, Australian rugby league player
  • 1976 – Ruud van Nistelrooy, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Szymon Ziółkowski, Polish hammer thrower
  • 1977 – Tom Frager, Senegalese-French singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1977 – Keigo Hayashi, Japanese musician
  • 1977 – Jarome Iginla, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Forrest Griffin, American mixed martial artist and actor
  • 1981 – Carlo Del Fava, South African-Italian rugby player
  • 1981 – Tadhg Kennelly, Irish-Australian footballer
  • 1982 – Justin Huber, Australian baseball player
  • 1982 – Joachim Johansson, Swedish tennis player
  • 1982 – Adrian Ward, American football player
  • 1982 – Hilarie Burton, American actress
  • 1984 – Donald Thomas, Bahamian high jumper
  • 1985 – Chris Perez, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Charlie Blackmon, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Andrew Lee, Australian footballer
  • 1986 – Julian Prochnow, German footballer
  • 1987 – Michael Schrader, German decathlete
  • 1988 – Dedé, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Aleksander Lesun, Russian modern pentathlete
  • 1989 – Kent Bazemore, American basketball player
  • 1989 – Daniel Ricciardo, Australian race car driver
  • 1990 – Ben Coker, English footballer
  • 1991 – Michael Wacha, American baseball player
  • 1992 – Aaron Sanchez, American baseball player
  • 1995 – Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, Belgian footballer
  • 1995 – Savvy Shields, Miss America 2017
  • 1996 – Adelina Sotnikova, Russian figure skater
  • 1998 – Aleksandra Golovkina, Lithuanian figure skater
  • 2000 – Lalu Muhammad Zohri, Indonesian sprinter
  • 2001 – Chosen Jacobs, American entertainer

Deaths on July 1

  • 552 – Totila, Ostrogoth king
  • 992 – Heonjeong, Korean queen (b. 966)
  • 1109 – Alfonso VI, king of León and Castile (b. 1040)
  • 1224 – Hōjō Yoshitoki, regent of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan (b. 1163)
  • 1242 – Chagatai Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1183)
  • 1277 – Baibars, Egyptian sultan (b. 1223)
  • 1321 – María de Molina, queen of Castile and León
  • 1348 – Joan, English princess
  • 1555 – John Bradford, English reformer, prebendary of St. Paul’s (b. 1510)
  • 1589 – Lady Saigō, Japanese concubine (b. 1552)
  • 1592 – Marc’Antonio Ingegneri, Italian composer and educator (b. 1535)
  • 1614 – Isaac Casaubon, French philologist and scholar (b. 1559)
  • 1622 – William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, English politician (b. 1575)
  • 1681 – Oliver Plunkett, Irish archbishop and saint (b. 1629)
  • 1736 – Ahmed III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1673)
  • 1774 – Henry Fox, 1st Baron Holland, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1705)
  • 1782 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English admiral and politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (b. 1730)
  • 1784 – Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, German organist and composer (b. 1710)
  • 1787 – Charles de Rohan, French marshal (b. 1715)
  • 1819 – the Public Universal Friend, American evangelist (b. 1752)
  • 1839 – Mahmud II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1785)
  • 1860 – Charles Goodyear, American chemist and engineer (b. 1800)
  • 1863 – John F. Reynolds, American general (b. 1820)
  • 1884 – Allan Pinkerton, Scottish-American detective and spy (b. 1819)
  • 1896 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author and activist (b. 1811)
  • 1905 – John Hay, American journalist and politician, 37th United States Secretary of State (b. 1838)
  • 1912 – Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (b. 1875)
  • 1925 – Erik Satie, French pianist and composer (b. 1866)
  • 1934 – Ernst Röhm, German paramilitary commander (b. 1887)
  • 1942 – Peadar Toner Mac Fhionnlaoich, Irish writer (b. 1857)
  • 1943 – Willem Arondeus, Dutch artist, author, and anti-Nazi resistance fighter (b. 1894)
  • 1944 – Carl Mayer, Austrian-English screenwriter (b. 1894)
  • 1944 – Tanya Savicheva, Russian author (b. 1930)
  • 1948 – Achille Varzi, Italian race car driver (b. 1904)
  • 1950 – Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss composer and educator (b. 1865)
  • 1950 – Eliel Saarinen, Finnish-American architect, co-designed the National Museum of Finland (b. 1873)
  • 1951 – Tadeusz Borowski, Polish poet, novelist and journalist (b. 1922)
  • 1961 – Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French physician and author (b. 1894)
  • 1962 – Purushottam Das Tandon, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1882)
  • 1962 – Bidhan Chandra Roy, Indian physician and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1882)
  • 1964 – Pierre Monteux, French-American viola player and conductor (b. 1875)
  • 1965 – Wally Hammond, English cricketer (b. 1903)
  • 1965 – Robert Ruark, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 1966 – Frank Verner, American runner (b. 1883)
  • 1967 – Gerhard Ritter, German historian and academic (b. 1888)
  • 1968 – Fritz Bauer, German judge and politician (b. 1903)
  • 1971 – William Lawrence Bragg, Australian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
  • 1971 – Learie Constantine, Trinidadian-English cricketer, lawyer, and politician (b. 1901)
  • 1974 – Juan Perón, Argentinian general and politician, President of Argentina (b. 1895)
  • 1978 – Kurt Student, German general and pilot (b. 1890)
  • 1981 – Carlos de Oliveira, Portuguese author and poet (b. 1921)
  • 1983 – Buckminster Fuller, American architect, designed the Montreal Biosphère (b. 1895)
  • 1984 – Moshé Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (b. 1904)
  • 1991 – Michael Landon, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1936)
  • 1992 – Franco Cristaldi, Italian screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
  • 1994 – Merriam Modell, American author (b. 1908)
  • 1995 – Wolfman Jack, American radio host (b. 1938)
  • 1995 – Ian Parkin, English guitarist (Be-Bop Deluxe) (b. 1950)
  • 1996 – William T. Cahill, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of New Jersey (b. 1904)
  • 1996 – Margaux Hemingway, American model and actress (b. 1954)
  • 1996 – Steve Tesich, Serbian-American author and screenwriter (b. 1942)
  • 1997 – Robert Mitchum, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 1997 – Charles Werner, American cartoonist (b. 1909)
  • 1999 – Edward Dmytryk, Canadian-American director and producer (b. 1908)
  • 1999 – Forrest Mars Sr., American businessman, created M&M’s and the Mars bar (b. 1904)
  • 1999 – Sylvia Sidney, American actress (b. 1910)
  • 1999 – Sola Sierra, Chilean human rights activist (b. 1935)
  • 2000 – Walter Matthau, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2001 – Nikolay Basov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
  • 2001 – Jean-Louis Rosier, French race car driver (b. 1925)
  • 2003 – Herbie Mann, American flute player and saxophonist (b. 1930)
  • 2004 – Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1931)
  • 2004 – Marlon Brando, American actor and director (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (b. 1909)
  • 2005 – Renaldo Benson, American singer-songwriter (Four Tops) (b. 1936)
  • 2005 – Gus Bodnar, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter and producer (Change) (b. 1951)
  • 2006 – Ryutaro Hashimoto, Japanese politician, 53rd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1937)
  • 2006 – Robert Lepikson, Estonian race car driver and politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior (b. 1952)
  • 2006 – Fred Trueman, English cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1931)
  • 2008 – Mel Galley, English guitarist (b. 1948)
  • 2009 – Karl Malden, American actor (b. 1912)
  • 2009 – Onni Palaste, Finnish soldier and author (b. 1917)
  • 2009 – Mollie Sugden, English actress (b. 1922)
  • 2010 – Don Coryell, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
  • 2010 – Arnold Friberg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1913)
  • 2010 – Ilene Woods, American actress and singer (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – Peter E. Gillquist, American priest and author (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – Ossie Hibbert, Jamaican-American keyboard player and producer (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Evelyn Lear, American operatic soprano (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Alan G. Poindexter, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1961)
  • 2012 – Jack Richardson, American author and playwright (b. 1934)
  • 2013 – Sidney Bryan Berry, American general (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Charles Foley, American game designer, co-created Twister (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – William H. Gray, American minister and politician (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Jean Garon, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Stephen Gaskin, American activist, co-founded The Farm (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Bob Jones, English lawyer and politician (b. 1955)
  • 2014 – Anatoly Kornukov, Ukrainian-Russian general (b. 1942)
  • 2014 – Walter Dean Myers, American author and poet (b. 1937)
  • 2015 – Val Doonican, Irish singer and television host (b. 1927)
  • 2015 – Czesław Olech, Polish mathematician and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Nicholas Winton, English lieutenant and humanitarian (b. 1909)
  • 2016 – Robin Hardy, English author and film director (b. 1929)
  • 2020 – Georg Ratzinger, German Roman Catholic priest and musician (b. 1924)

Holidays and observances on July 1

  • Christian feast day:
    • Aaron (Syriac Christianity)
    • Blessed Antonio Rosmini-Serbati
    • Felix of Como
    • Junípero Serra
    • Julius and Aaron
    • Leontius of Autun
    • Servanus
    • Veep
    • July 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Feast of the Most Precious Blood (removed from official Roman Catholic calendar since 1969)
  • Earliest day on which Alexanderson Day can fall, celebrated on the Sunday closest to July 2. (Sweden)
  • Earliest day on which CARICOM Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Guyana)
  • Earliest day on which Constitution Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Cayman Islands)
  • Earliest day on which Día del Amigo can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July. (Peru)
  • Earliest day on which Fishermen’s Holiday, celebrated on the first Friday of July (Marshall Islands)
  • Earliest day on which Heroes’ Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in July. (Zambia)
  • Earliest day on which International Co-operative Day, can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July.
  • Earliest day on which International Free Hugs Day, can fall, celebrated on the first Saturday of July.
  • Earliest day on which Navy Day can fall, celebrated on the first Sunday in July. (Ukraine)
  • Earliest day on which Navy Days can fall, celebrated First Saturday and Sunday. (Netherlands)
  • Earliest day on which Youth Day can fall, while July 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in July. (Singapore)
  • Armed Forces Day (Singapore)
  • Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day (Canada)
  • Children’s Day (Pakistan)
  • Communist Party of China Founding Day (China)
  • Day of Officials and Civil Servants (Hungary)
  • Doctors’ Day (India)
  • Emancipation Day (Netherlands Antilles)
  • Engineer’s Day (Bahrain, Mexico)
  • Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day (Hong Kong, China)
  • Independence Day (Burundi), celebrates the independence of Burundi from Belgium in 1962.
  • Independence Day (Rwanda)
  • Independence Day (Somalia)
  • International Tartan Day
  • July Morning (Bulgaria)
  • Keti Koti (Emancipation Day) (Suriname)
  • Madeira Day (Madeira, Portugal)
  • Moving Day (Quebec) (Canada)
  • Newfoundland and Labrador Memorial Day
  • Republic Day (Ghana)
  • Sir Seretse Khama Day (Botswana)
  • Territory Day (British Virgin Islands)
  • The first day of Van Mahotsav, celebrated until July 7. (India)

July 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on June 12

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

Deaths on June 12

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

Holidays and observances on June 12

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

June 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

  • 350 – The Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman emperor, entering Rome at the head of a group of gladiators.
  • 713 – The Byzantine emperor Philippicus is blinded, deposed and sent into exile by conspirators of the Opsikion army in Thrace. He is succeeded by Anastasios II, who begins the reorganization of the Byzantine army.
  • 1140 – The French scholar Peter Abelard is found guilty of heresy.
  • 1326 – The Treaty of Novgorod delineates borders between Russia and Norway in Finnmark.
  • 1539 – Hernando de Soto claims Florida for Spain.
  • 1608 – Samuel de Champlain completes his third voyage to New France at Tadoussac, Quebec.
  • 1621 – The Dutch West India Company receives a charter for New Netherland.
  • 1658 – Pope Alexander VII appoints François de Laval vicar apostolic in New France.
  • 1665 – James Stuart, Duke of York (later to become King James II of England), defeats the Dutch fleet off the coast of Lowestoft.
  • 1781 – Jack Jouett begins his midnight ride to warn Thomas Jefferson and the Virginia legislature of an impending raid by Banastre Tarleton.
  • 1839 – In Humen, China, Lin Tse-hsü destroys 1.2 million kilograms of opium confiscated from British merchants, providing Britain with a casus belli to open hostilities, resulting in the First Opium War.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Philippi (also called the Philippi Races): Union forces rout Confederate troops in Barbour County, Virginia, now West Virginia.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Cold Harbor: Union forces attack Confederate troops in Hanover County, Virginia.
  • 1866 – The Fenians are driven out of Fort Erie, Ontario back into the United States.
  • 1885 – In the last military engagement fought on Canadian soil, the Cree leader, Big Bear, escapes the North-West Mounted Police.
  • 1889 – The first long-distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.
  • 1916 – The National Defense Act is signed into law, increasing the size of the United States National Guard by 450,000 men.
  • 1935 – One thousand unemployed Canadian workers board freight cars in Vancouver, beginning a protest trek to Ottawa.
  • 1937 – The Duke of Windsor marries Wallis Simpson.
  • 1940 – World War II: The Luftwaffe bombs Paris.
  • 1940 – World War II: The Battle of Dunkirk ends with a German victory and with Allied forces in full retreat.
  • 1940 – Franz Rademacher proposes plans to make Madagascar the “Jewish homeland”, an idea that had first been considered by 19th century journalist Theodor Herzl.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Wehrmacht razes the Greek village of Kandanos to the ground and murders 180 of its inhabitants.
  • 1942 – World War II: Japan begins the Aleutian Islands Campaign by bombing Unalaska Island.
  • 1943 – In Los Angeles, California, white U.S. Navy sailors and Marines clash with Latino youths in the Zoot Suit Riots.
  • 1950 – Herzog and Lachenal of the French Annapurna expedition become the first climbers to reach the summit of an 8,000-metre peak.
  • 1962 – At Paris Orly Airport, Air France Flight 007 overruns the runway and explodes when the crew attempts to abort takeoff, killing 130.
  • 1963 – Soldiers of the South Vietnamese Army attack protesting Buddhists in Huế with liquid chemicals from tear-gas grenades, causing 67 people to be hospitalized for blistering of the skin and respiratory ailments.
  • 1965 – The launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew. Ed White, a crew member, performs the first American spacewalk.
  • 1969 – Melbourne–Evans collision: off the coast of South Vietnam, the Australian aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne cuts the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in half.
  • 1973 – A Soviet supersonic Tupolev Tu-144 crashes near Goussainville, France, killing 14, the first crash of a supersonic passenger aircraft.
  • 1979 – A blowout at the Ixtoc I oil well in the southern Gulf of Mexico causes at least 3,000,000 barrels (480,000 m3) of oil to be spilled into the waters, the second-worst accidental oil spill ever recorded.
  • 1980 – An explosive device is detonated at the Statue of Liberty. The FBI suspects Croatian nationalists.
  • 1980 – The 1980 Grand Island tornado outbreak hits Nebraska, causing five deaths and $300 million (equivalent to $931 million in 2019) worth of damage.
  • 1982 – The Israeli ambassador to the United Kingdom, Shlomo Argov, is shot on a London street; he survives but is left paralysed.
  • 1984 – Operation Blue Star, a military offensive, is launched by the Indian government at Harmandir Sahib, also known as the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs, in Amritsar. The operation continues until June 6, with casualties, most of them civilians, in excess of 5,000.
  • 1989 – The government of China sends troops to force protesters out of Tiananmen Square after seven weeks of occupation.
  • 1991 – Mount Unzen erupts in Kyūshū, Japan, killing 43 people, all of them either researchers or journalists.
  • 1992 – Aboriginal land rights are granted in Australia in Mabo v Queensland (No 2), a case brought by Eddie Mabo.
  • 1998 – After suffering a mechanical failure, a high speed train derails at Eschede, Germany, killing 101 people.
  • 2006 – The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro’s formal declaration of independence.
  • 2012 – A plane carrying 153 people on board crashes in a residential neighborhood in Lagos, Nigeria, killing everyone on board and 10 people on the ground.
  • 2012 – The pageant for the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II takes place on the River Thames.
  • 2013 – The trial of United States Army private Chelsea Manning for leaking classified material to WikiLeaks begins in Fort Meade, Maryland.
  • 2013 – At least 119 people are killed in a fire at a poultry farm in Jilin Province in northeastern China.
  • 2015 – An explosion at a gasoline station in Accra, Ghana, killing more than 200 people.
  • 2017 – London Bridge attack: Eight people are murdered and dozens of civilians are wounded by Islamist terrorists. Three of the attackers are shot dead by the police.
  • 2019 – Khartoum massacre: In Sudan, over 100 people are killed when security forces accompanied by Janjaweed militiamen storm and open fire on a sit-in protest.

Births on June 3

  • 20 BC – Sejanus, Roman soldier and bodyguard (d. 31 AD)
  • 1139 – Conon of Naso, Basilian abbot (d. 1236)
  • 1421 – Giovanni di Cosimo de’ Medici, Italian noble (d. 1463)
  • 1454 – Bogislaw X, Duke of Pomerania (1474–1523) (d. 1523)
  • 1537 – João Manuel, Prince of Portugal (d. 1554)
  • 1540 – Charles II, Archduke of Austria (d. 1590)
  • 1554 – Pietro de’ Medici, Italian noble (d. 1604)
  • 1576 – Giovanni Diodati, Swiss-Italian minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1649)
  • 1594 – César, Duke of Vendôme, French nobleman (d. 1665)
  • 1603 – Pietro Paolini, Italian painter (d. 1681)
  • 1635 – Philippe Quinault, French playwright and composer (d. 1688)
  • 1636 – John Hale, American minister (d. 1700)
  • 1659 – David Gregory, Scottish-English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1708)
  • 1662 – Willem van Mieris, Dutch painter (d. 1747)
  • 1723 – Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician, geologist, and botanist (d. 1788)
  • 1726 – James Hutton, Scottish geologist and physician (d. 1797)
  • 1736 – Ignaz Fränzl, German violinist and composer (d. 1811)
  • 1770 – Manuel Belgrano, Argentinian economist, lawyer, and politician (d. 1820)
  • 1808 – Jefferson Davis, American colonel and politician, President of the Confederate States of America (d. 1889)
  • 1818 – Louis Faidherbe, French general and politician, Governor of Senegal (d. 1889)
  • 1819 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss religious leader, 23rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus (d. 1892)
  • 1819 – Johan Jongkind, Dutch painter (d. 1891)
  • 1832 – Charles Lecocq, French pianist and composer (d. 1918)
  • 1843 – Frederick VIII of Denmark (d. 1912)
  • 1844 – Garret Hobart, American lawyer and politician, 24th Vice President of the United States (d. 1899)
  • 1844 – Detlev von Liliencron, German poet and author (d. 1909)
  • 1852 – Theodore Robinson, American painter and academic (d. 1896)
  • 1853 – Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic (d. 1942)
  • 1864 – Otto Erich Hartleben, German poet and playwright (d. 1905)
  • 1864 – Ransom E. Olds, American businessman, founded Oldsmobile and REO Motor Car Company (d. 1950)
  • 1865 – George V of the United Kingdom (d. 1936)
  • 1866 – George Howells Broadhurst, English-American director and manager (d. 1952)
  • 1873 – Otto Loewi, German-American pharmacologist and psychobiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
  • 1877 – Raoul Dufy, French painter and illustrator (d. 1953)
  • 1879 – Alla Nazimova, Ukrainian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1945)
  • 1879 – Raymond Pearl, American biologist and botanist (d. 1940)
  • 1879 – Vivian Woodward, English footballer and soldier (d. 1954)
  • 1881 – Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter and set designer (d. 1964)
  • 1890 – Baburao Painter, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1954)
  • 1897 – Memphis Minnie, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
  • 1899 – Georg von Békésy, Hungarian-American biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – Adelaide Ames, American astronomer and academic (d. 1932)
  • 1900 – Leo Picard, German-Israeli geologist and academic (d. 1997)
  • 1901 – Maurice Evans, English actor (d. 1989)
  • 1901 – Zhang Xueliang, Chinese general and warlord (d. 2001)
  • 1903 – Eddie Acuff, American actor (d. 1956)
  • 1904 – Charles R. Drew, American physician and surgeon (d. 1950)
  • 1904 – Jan Peerce, American tenor and actor (d. 1984)
  • 1905 – Martin Gottfried Weiss, German SS officer (d. 1946)
  • 1906 – R. G. D. Allen, English economist, mathematician, and statistician (d. 1983)
  • 1906 – Josephine Baker, French actress, singer, and dancer; French Resistance operative (d. 1975)
  • 1906 – Walter Robins, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1968)
  • 1907 – Paul Rotha, English director and producer (d. 1984)
  • 1910 – Paulette Goddard, American actress and model (d. 1990)
  • 1911 – Ellen Corby, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1913 – Pedro Mir, Dominican poet and author (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – Ignacio Ponseti, Spanish physician and orthopedist (d. 2009)
  • 1917 – Leo Gorcey, American actor (d. 1969)
  • 1918 – Patrick Cargill, English actor and producer (d. 1996)
  • 1918 – Lili St. Cyr, American dancer (d. 1999)
  • 1921 – Forbes Carlile, Australian pentathlete and coach (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Jean Dréjac, French singer and composer (d. 2003)
  • 1922 – Alain Resnais, French director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Igor Shafarevich, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 2017)
  • 1924 – Karunanidhi, Indian screenwriter and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (d. 2018)
  • 1924 – Colleen Dewhurst, Canadian-American actress (d. 1991)
  • 1924 – Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Jimmy Rogers, American singer and guitarist (d. 1997)
  • 1924 – Torsten Wiesel, Swedish neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1925 – Tony Curtis, American actor (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Thomas Winning, Scottish cardinal (d. 2001)
  • 1926 – Allen Ginsberg, American poet (d. 1997)
  • 1926 – Flora MacDonald, Canadian banker and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2007)
  • 1928 – Donald Judd, American sculptor and painter (d. 1994)
  • 1928 – John Richard Reid, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1929 – Werner Arber, Swiss microbiologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1929 – Chuck Barris, American game show host and producer (d. 2017)
  • 1930 – Marion Zimmer Bradley, American author and poet (d. 1999)
  • 1930 – George Fernandes, Indian journalist and politician, Minister of Defence for India (d. 2019)
  • 1930 – Dakota Staton, American singer (d. 2007)
  • 1930 – Abbas Zandi, Iranian wrestler (d. 2017)
  • 1930 – Ben Wada, Japanese director and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1930 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe’s (d. 2020)
  • 1931 – Françoise Arnoul, Algerian-French actress
  • 1931 – Raúl Castro, Cuban commander and politician, 18th President of Cuba
  • 1931 – John Norman, American philosopher and author
  • 1931 – Lindy Remigino, American runner and coach (d. 2018)
  • 1933 – Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahranian king (d. 1999)
  • 1936 – Larry McMurtry, American novelist and screenwriter
  • 1936 – Colin Meads, New Zealand rugby player and coach (d. 2017)
  • 1937 – Jean-Pierre Jaussaud, French race car driver
  • 1939 – Frank Blevins, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Premier of South Australia (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Steve Dalkowski, American baseball player (d. 2020)
  • 1939 – Ian Hunter, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1942 – Curtis Mayfield, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1999)
  • 1943 – Billy Cunningham, American basketball player and coach
  • 1944 – Thomas Burns, British bishop
  • 1944 – Edith McGuire, American sprinter and educator
  • 1944 – Eddy Ottoz, Italian hurdler and coach
  • 1945 – Hale Irwin, American golfer and architect
  • 1945 – Ramon Jacinto, Filipino singer, guitarist, and businessman, founded the Rajah Broadcasting Network
  • 1945 – Bill Paterson, Scottish actor
  • 1946 – Michael Clarke, American drummer (d. 1993)
  • 1946 – Eddie Holman, American pop/R&B/gospel singer
  • 1946 – Penelope Wilton, English actress
  • 1947 – John Dykstra, American special effects artist and producer
  • 1947 – Mickey Finn, English drummer (d. 2003)
  • 1948 – Jan Reker, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1950 – Frédéric François, Belgian-Italian singer-songwriter
  • 1950 – Melissa Mathison, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1950 – Juan José Muñoz, Argentinian businessman (d. 2013)
  • 1950 – Larry Probst, American businessman
  • 1950 – Suzi Quatro, American-English singer-songwriter, bass player, producer, and actress
  • 1950 – Christos Verelis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of Transport and Communications
  • 1950 – Deniece Williams, American singer-songwriter
  • 1952 – Billy Powell, American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1952 – David Richards, Welsh entrepreneur and businessman
  • 1954 – Dan Hill, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1954 – Susan Landau, American mathematician and engineer
  • 1956 – George Burley, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1956 – Danny Wilde, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1957 – Horst-Ulrich Hänel, German field hockey player
  • 1959 – Imbi Paju, Estonian-Finnish journalist and author
  • 1960 – Catherine Davani, first female Papua New Guinean judge (d. 2016)
  • 1960 – Tracy Grimshaw, Australian television host
  • 1960 – Carl Rackemann, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1961 – Lawrence Lessig, American lawyer, academic, and author, founded the Creative Commons
  • 1961 – Peter Vidmar, American gymnast
  • 1961 – Ed Wynne, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1962 – Susannah Constantine, English fashion designer, journalist, and author
  • 1962 – Dagmar Neubauer, German sprinter
  • 1963 – Rudy Demotte, Belgian politician, 8th Minister-President of the Walloon Region
  • 1963 – Toshiaki Karasawa, Japanese actor
  • 1964 – André Bellavance, Canadian politician
  • 1964 – Kerry King, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1964 – James Purefoy, English actor
  • 1965 – Hans Kroes, Dutch swimmer
  • 1965 – Michael Moore, British accountant and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
  • 1966 – Wasim Akram, Pakistani cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Anderson Cooper, American journalist and author
  • 1967 – Tamás Darnyi, Hungarian swimmer
  • 1969 – Takako Minekawa, Japanese singer-songwriter
  • 1969 – Dean Pay, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1971 – Luigi Di Biagio, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Mary Grigson, Australian cross-country mountain biker
  • 1972 – Julie Gayet, French actress
  • 1974 – Kelly Jones, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Serhiy Rebrov, Ukrainian international footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Jose Molina, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1976 – Nikos Chatzis, Greek basketball player
  • 1976 – Jamie McMurray, American race car driver
  • 1977 – Cris, Brazilian footballer
  • 1978 – Lyfe Jennings, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1979 – Luis Fernando López, Colombian race walker
  • 1979 – Christian Malcolm, Welsh sprinter
  • 1980 – Amauri, Brazilian-Italian footballer
  • 1981 – Sosene Anesi, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1982 – Yelena Isinbayeva, Russian pole vaulter
  • 1982 – Manfred Mölgg, Italian skier
  • 1983 – Pasquale Foggia, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Todd Reid, Australian tennis player (d. 2018)
  • 1985 – Papiss Cissé, Senegalese footballer
  • 1985 – Łukasz Piszczek, Polish footballer
  • 1986 – Al Horford, Dominican basketball player
  • 1986 – Micah Kogo, Kenyan runner
  • 1986 – Rafael Nadal, Spanish tennis player
  • 1986 – Adrián Vallés, Spanish race car driver
  • 1986 – Tomáš Verner, Czech ice skater
  • 1987 – Masami Nagasawa, Japanese actress
  • 1989 – Katie Hoff, American swimmer
  • 1991 – Lukasz Teodorczyk, Polish footballer
  • 1991 – Sami Vatanen, Finnish ice hockey defenceman
  • 1991 – Yordano Ventura, Dominican baseball player (d. 2017)
  • 1992 – Mario Götze, German footballer

Deaths on June 3

  • 628 – Liang Shidu, Chinese rebel leader
  • 800 – Staurakios, Byzantine general
  • 1052 – Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno
  • 1395 – Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria (b. 1350)
  • 1397 – William de Montagu, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (b. 1328)
  • 1411 – Leopold IV, Duke of Austria (b. 1371)
  • 1453 – Loukas Notaras, last megas doux of the Byzantine Empire
  • 1511 – Ahmad ibn Abi Jum’ah, Islamic scholar, author of the Oran fatwa
  • 1548 – Juan de Zumárraga, Spanish-Mexican archbishop (b. 1468)
  • 1553 – Wolf Huber, Austrian painter, printmaker and architect (b. 1485)
  • 1594 – John Aylmer, English bishop and scholar (b. 1521)
  • 1605 – Jan Zamoyski, Polish nobleman (b. 1542)
  • 1615 – Sanada Yukimura, Japanese samurai (b. 1567)
  • 1640 – Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1584)
  • 1649 – Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (b. 1590)
  • 1657 – William Harvey, English physician and academic (b. 1578)
  • 1659 – Morgan Llwyd, Welsh minister and poet (b. 1619)
  • 1665 – Charles Weston, 3rd Earl of Portland, English noble (b. 1639)
  • 1780 – Thomas Hutchinson, American businessman and politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1711)
  • 1826 – Nikolay Karamzin, Russian historian and poet (b. 1766)
  • 1858 – Julius Reubke, German pianist and composer (b. 1834)
  • 1861 – Stephen A. Douglas, American lawyer and politician, 7th Secretary of State of Illinois (b. 1813)
  • 1865 – Okada Izō, Japanese samurai (b. 1838)
  • 1875 – Georges Bizet, French pianist and composer (b. 1838)
  • 1877 – Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, Austrian botanist, composer, and publisher (b. 1800)
  • 1882 – Christian Wilberg, German painter and illustrator (b. 1839)
  • 1894 – Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1812)
  • 1899 – Johann Strauss II, Austrian composer and educator (b. 1825)
  • 1900 – Mary Kingsley, English explorer and author (b. 1862)
  • 1902 – Vital-Justin Grandin, French-Canadian bishop and missionary (b. 1829)
  • 1906 – John Maxwell, American golfer (b. 1871)
  • 1921 – Coenraad Hiebendaal, Dutch rower and physician (b. 1879)
  • 1924 – Franz Kafka, Czech-Austrian lawyer and author (b. 1883)
  • 1928 – Li Yuanhong, Chinese general and politician, 2nd President of the Republic of China (b. 1864)
  • 1933 – William Muldoon, American wrestler (b. 1852)
  • 1938 – John Flanagan, Irish-American hammer thrower and tug of war competitor (b. 1873)
  • 1946 – Mikhail Kalinin, Russian civil servant and politician (b. 1875)
  • 1963 – Edmond Decottignies, French weightlifter (b. 1893)
  • 1963 – Pope John XXIII (b. 1881)
  • 1963 – Nâzım Hikmet Ran, Turkish poet, author, and playwright (b. 1902)
  • 1964 – Kâzım Orbay, Turkish general and politician, 9th Turkish Speaker of the Parliament (b. 1887)
  • 1964 – Frans Eemil Sillanpää, Finnish author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
  • 1969 – George Edwin Cooke, American soccer player (b. 1883)
  • 1970 – Hjalmar Schacht, Danish-German economist, banker, and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1971 – Heinz Hopf, German-Swiss mathematician and academic (b. 1894)
  • 1973 – Jean Batmale, French footballer and manager (b. 1895)
  • 1975 – Ozzie Nelson, American actor and bandleader (b. 1906)
  • 1975 – Eisaku Satō, Japanese lawyer and politician, 39th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1901)
  • 1977 – Archibald Hill, English physiologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
  • 1977 – Roberto Rossellini, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
  • 1981 – Carleton S. Coon, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1904)
  • 1986 – Anna Neagle, English actress and singer (b. 1904)
  • 1987 – Will Sampson, American actor and painter (b. 1933)
  • 1989 – Ruhollah Khomeini, Iranian religious leader and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of Iran (b. 1902)
  • 1990 – Robert Noyce, American physicist and businessman, co-founded the Intel Corporation (b. 1927)
  • 1991 – Brian Bevan, Australian rugby league player (b. 1924)
  • 1991 – Katia Krafft, French volcanologist and geologist (b. 1942)
  • 1991 – Maurice Krafft, French volcanologist and geologist (b. 1946)
  • 1991 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician and academic (b. 1918)
  • 1992 – Robert Morley, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1908)
  • 1994 – Puig Aubert, German-French rugby player and coach (b. 1925)
  • 1997 – Dennis James, American actor and game show host (b. 1917)
  • 2001 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor and producer (b. 1915)
  • 2002 – Lew Wasserman, American talent agent and manager (b. 1913)
  • 2003 – Felix de Weldon, Austrian-American sculptor, designed the Marine Corps War Memorial (b. 1907)
  • 2005 – Harold Cardinal, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1945)
  • 2009 – David Carradine, American actor (b. 1936)
  • 2009 – Koko Taylor, American singer (b. 1928)
  • 2010 – John Hedgecoe, English photographer and author (b. 1932)
  • 2010 – Rue McClanahan, American actress (b. 1934)
  • 2011 – James Arness, American actor and producer (b. 1923)
  • 2011 – Andrew Gold, American singer, songwriter, musician and arranger (b. 1951)
  • 2011 – Bhajan Lal, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of Haryana (b. 1930)
  • 2011 – Jack Kevorkian, American pathologist, author, and activist (b. 1928)
  • 2011 – Jan van Roessel, Dutch footballer (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Carol Ann Abrams, American producer, author, and academic (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – Rajsoomer Lallah, Mauritian lawyer and judge (b. 1933)
  • 2012 – Roy Salvadori, English race car driver and manager (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Brian Talboys, New Zealand journalist and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Atul Chitnis, German-Indian technologist and journalist (b. 1962)
  • 2013 – Józef Czyrek, Polish economist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Frank Lautenberg, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic (b. 1942)
  • 2014 – Gopinath Munde, Indian politician, 3rd Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1949)
  • 2015 – Avi Beker, Israeli political scientist and academic (b. 1951)
  • 2016 – Muhammad Ali, American boxer (b. 1942)

Holidays and observances on June 3

  • Christian feast day:
    • Charles Lwanga and Companions (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances:
      • Martyrs’ Day (Uganda)
    • Clotilde
    • Kevin of Glendalough
    • Ovidius
    • Vladimirskaya (Russian Orthodox)
    • June 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Confederate Memorial Day (Kentucky, Louisiana, and Tennessee, United States)
  • Economist day (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
  • Mabo Day (Australia)
  • Opium Suppression Movement Day (Taiwan)
  • World Bicycle Day

June 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 1336 – Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascends Mont Ventoux.
  • 1478 – The Pazzi family attack Lorenzo de’ Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in Florence Cathedral.
  • 1564 – Playwright William Shakespeare is baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England (date of actual birth is unknown).
  • 1607 – English colonists make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia.
  • 1721 – A massive earthquake devastates the Iranian city of Tabriz.
  • 1777 – Sybil Ludington, aged 16, rode 40 miles (64 km) to alert American colonial forces to the approach of the British regular forces
  • 1794 – Battle of Beaumont during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
  • 1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France.
  • 1803 – Thousands of meteor fragments fall from the skies of L’Aigle, France; the event convinces European scientists that meteors exist.
  • 1805 – First Barbary War: United States Marines captured Derne under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston surrenders his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham, North Carolina. Also the date of Confederate Memorial Day for two states.
  • 1865 – Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, assassin of President Abraham Lincoln, in Virginia.
  • 1903 – Atlético Madrid Association football club is founded
  • 1923 – The Duke of York weds Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey.
  • 1925 – Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic.
  • 1933 – The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established.
  • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain, is bombed by German Luftwaffe.
  • 1942 – Benxihu Colliery accident in Manchukuo leaves 1549 Chinese miners dead.
  • 1943 – The Easter Riots break out in Uppsala, Sweden.
  • 1944 – Georgios Papandreou becomes head of the Greek government-in-exile based in Egypt.
  • 1944 – Heinrich Kreipe is captured by Allied commandos in occupied Crete.
  • 1945 – World War II: Battle of Bautzen: Last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht.
  • 1945 – World War II: Filipino troops of the 66th Infantry Regiment, Philippine Commonwealth Army, USAFIP-NL and the American troops of the 33rd and 37th Infantry Division, United States Army are liberated in Baguio City and they fight against the Japanese forces under General Tomoyuki Yamashita.
  • 1954 – The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins.
  • 1956 – SS Ideal X, the world’s first successful container ship, leaves Port Newark, New Jersey, for Houston, Texas.
  • 1958 – Final run of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s Royal Blue from Washington, D.C., to New York City after 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives.
  • 1960 – Forced out by the April Revolution, President of South Korea Syngman Rhee resigns after 12 years of dictatorial rule.
  • 1962 – NASA’s Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon.
  • 1963 – In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections.
  • 1964 – Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania.
  • 1966 – The magnitude 5.1 Tashkent earthquake affects the largest city in Soviet Central Asia with a maximum MSK intensity of VII (Very strong). Tashkent is mostly destroyed and 15–200 are killed.
  • 1966 – A new government is formed in the Republic of the Congo, led by Ambroise Noumazalaye.
  • 1970 – The Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization enters into force.
  • 1981 – Dr. Michael R. Harrison of the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center performs the world’s first human open fetal surgery.
  • 1982 – Fifty-seven people are killed by former police officer Woo Bum-kon in a shooting spree in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
  • 1986 – A nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union, creating the world’s worst nuclear disaster.
  • 1989 – The deadliest known tornado strikes Central Bangladesh, killing upwards of 1,300, injuring 12,000, and leaving as many as 80,000 homeless.
  • 1989 – People’s Daily publishes the April 26 Editorial which inflames the nascent Tiananmen Square protests.
  • 1991 – Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States. Before the outbreak’s end, Andover, Kansas, would record the year’s only F5 tornado.
  • 1994 – China Airlines Flight 140 crashes at Nagoya Airport in Japan, killing 264 of the 271 people on board.
  • 2002 – Robert Steinhäuser kills 16 at Gutenberg-Gymnasium in Erfurt, Germany before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot.
  • 2005 – Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country (Syrian occupation of Lebanon).
  • 2018 – American comedian Bill Cosby is found guilty of sexual assault.

Births on April 26

  • 121 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (d. 180)
  • 757 – Hisham I of Córdoba (d. 796)
  • 764 – Al-Hadi, Iranian caliph (d. 786)
  • 1284 – Alice de Toeni, Countess of Warwick (d. 1324)
  • 1319 – King John II of France (d. 1364)
  • 1538 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter and academic (d. 1600)
  • 1575 – Marie de’ Medici, queen of Henry IV of France (d. 1642)
  • 1647 – William Ashhurst, English banker, Sheriff of London, Lord Mayor of London and politician (d. 1720)
  • 1648 – Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706)
  • 1697 – Adam Falckenhagen, German lute player and composer (d. 1754)
  • 1710 – Thomas Reid, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1796)
  • 1718 – Esek Hopkins, American commander (d. 1802)
  • 1774 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (d. 1853)
  • 1782 – Maria Amalia of Naples and Sicily (d. 1866)
  • 1785 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (d. 1851)
  • 1787 – Ludwig Uhland, German poet, philologist, and historian (d. 1862)
  • 1798 – Eugène Delacroix, French painter and lithographer (d. 1863)
  • 1801 – Ambrose Dudley Mann, American politician and diplomat, 1st United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1889)
  • 1804 – Charles Goodyear, American banker, lawyer, and politician (d. 1876)
  • 1822 – Frederick Law Olmsted, American journalist and designer, co-designed Central Park (d. 1903)
  • 1834 – Charles Farrar Browne, American author (d. 1867)
  • 1856 – Joseph Ward, Australian-New Zealand businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
  • 1862 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and educator (d. 1938)
  • 1876 – Ernst Felle, German rower (d. 1959)
  • 1877 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (d. 1950)
  • 1878 – Rafael Guízar y Valencia, Mexican bishop and saint (d. 1938)
  • 1879 – Eric Campbell, British actor (d. 1917)
  • 1879 – Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
  • 1886 – Ma Rainey, American singer (d. 1939)
  • 1886 – Ğabdulla Tuqay, Russian poet and publicist (d. 1913)
  • 1889 – Anita Loos, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
  • 1889 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1951)
  • 1894 – Rudolf Hess, Egyptian-German politician (d. 1987)
  • 1896 – Ruut Tarmo, Estonian actor and director (d. 1967)
  • 1896 – Ernst Udet, German colonel and pilot (d. 1941)
  • 1897 – Eddie Eagan, American boxer and bobsledder (d. 1967)
  • 1897 – Douglas Sirk, German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
  • 1898 – Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
  • 1898 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (d. 1972)
  • 1899 – Oscar Rabin, Latvian-English saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1958)
  • 1900 – Eva Aschoff, German bookbinder and calligrapher (d. 1969)
  • 1900 – Charles Francis Richter, American seismologist and physicist (d. 1985)
  • 1900 – Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948)
  • 1904 – Paul-Émile Léger, Canadian cardinal (d. 1991)
  • 1904 – Xenophon Zolotas, Greek economist and politician, 177th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2004)
  • 1905 – Jean Vigo, French director and screenwriter (d. 1934)
  • 1907 – Ilias Tsirimokos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1968)
  • 1909 – Marianne Hoppe, German actress (d. 2002)
  • 1910 – Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
  • 1911 – Paul Verner, German soldier and politician (d. 1986)
  • 1912 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-American author (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – Bernard Malamud, Jewish American novelist and short story writer (d. 1986)
  • 1914 – James Rouse, American real estate developer (d. 1996)
  • 1916 – Eyvind Earle, American artist, author, and illustrator (d. 2000)
  • 1916 – Ken Wallis, English commander, engineer, and pilot (d. 2013)
  • 1916 – Morris West, Australian author and playwright (d. 1999)
  • 1917 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player and coach (d. 1992)
  • 1917 – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect, designed the National Gallery of Art and Bank of China Tower (d. 2019)
  • 1917 – Virgil Trucks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch sprinter and long jumper (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 2008)
  • 1922 – J. C. Holt, English historian and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Governor General of Canada (d. 1993)
  • 1922 – Margaret Scott, South African-Australian ballerina and choreographer (d. 2019)
  • 1924 – Browning Ross, American runner and soldier (d. 1998)
  • 1925 – Vladimir Boltyansky, Russian mathematician, educator and author (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Gerard Cafesjian, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Michele Ferrero, Italian entrepreneur (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Frank Hahn, British economist (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Michael Mathias Prechtl, German soldier and illustrator (d. 2003)
  • 1927 – Jack Douglas, English actor (d. 2008)
  • 1927 – Harry Gallatin, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Granny Hamner, American baseball player (d. 1993)
  • 1929 – Richard Mitchell, American author and educator (d. 2002)
  • 1930 – Roger Moens, Belgian runner and sportscaster
  • 1931 – Paul Almond, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Bernie Brillstein, American talent agent and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1931 – John Cain Jr., Australian politician, 41st Premier of Victoria (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Israr Ahmed, Indian-Pakistani theologian, philosopher, and scholar (d. 2010)
  • 1932 – Shirley Cawley, English long jumper
  • 1932 – Frank D’Rone, American singer and guitarist (d. 2013)
  • 1932 – Francis Lai, French accordion player and composer (d. 2018)
  • 1932 – Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
  • 1933 – Carol Burnett, American actress, singer, and producer
  • 1933 – Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican-American general (d. 2005)
  • 1933 – Arno Allan Penzias, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1935 – Patricia Reilly Giff, American author and educator
  • 1937 – Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
  • 1938 – Duane Eddy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1938 – Maurice Williams, American doo-wop/R&B singer-songwriter
  • 1940 – Molvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari, Indian cleric and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1940 – Giorgio Moroder, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1940 – Cliff Watson, English rugby league player (d. 2018)
  • 1941 – Claudine Auger, French model and actress (d. 2019)
  • 1942 – Svyatoslav Belza, Russian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2014)
  • 1942 – Sharon Carstairs, Canadian lawyer and politician, Leader of the Government in the Senate
  • 1942 – Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
  • 1942 – Bobby Rydell, American singer and actor
  • 1942 – Jadwiga Staniszkis, Polish sociologist, political scientist, and academic
  • 1943 – Gary Wright, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1943 – Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect and academic, designed the Therme Vals
  • 1944 – Richard Bradshaw, English conductor (d. 2007)
  • 1945 – Howard Davies, English director and producer (d. 2016)
  • 1945 – Dick Johnson, Australian race car driver
  • 1945 – Sylvain Simard, Canadian academic and politician
  • 1946 – Ralph Coates, English international footballer (d. 2010)
  • 1946 – Marilyn Nelson, American poet and author
  • 1946 – Alberto Quintano, Chilean footballer
  • 1949 – Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1949 – Jerry Blackwell, American wrestler (d. 1995)
  • 1951 – John Battle, English politician
  • 1954 – Tatyana Fomina, Estonian chess player
  • 1954 – Alan Hinkes, English mountaineer and explorer
  • 1955 – Kurt Bodewig, German politician
  • 1956 – Koo Stark, American actress and photographer
  • 1958 – John Crichton-Stuart, 7th Marquess of Bute, Scottish race car driver
  • 1958 – Giancarlo Esposito, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1958 – Georgios Kostikos, Greek footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1959 – John Corabi, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1960 – Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player and coach
  • 1960 – Roger Taylor, English drummer
  • 1961 – Joan Chen, Chinese-American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Chris Mars, American artist
  • 1962 – Colin Anderson, English footballer
  • 1962 – Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian
  • 1963 – Jet Li, Chinese-Singaporean martial artist, actor, and producer
  • 1963 – Colin Scotts, Australian-American football player
  • 1963 – Cornelia Ullrich, German hurdler
  • 1963 – Bill Wennington, Canadian basketball player
  • 1965 – Susannah Harker, English actress
  • 1965 – Kevin James, American actor and comedian
  • 1967 – Glenn Thomas Jacobs, American professional wrestler, actor, businessman and politician
  • 1967 – Marianne Jean-Baptiste, English actress and singer-songwriter
  • 1967 – Toomas Tõniste, Estonian sailor and politician
  • 1970 – Dean Austin, English footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Melania Trump, Slovene-American model; 47th First Lady of the United States
  • 1970 – Kristen R. Ghodsee, American ethnographer and academic
  • 1970 – Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
  • 1971 – Jay DeMarcus, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1972 – Jason Bargwanna, Australian race car driver
  • 1972 – Kiko, Spanish footballer
  • 1972 – Natrone Means, American football player and coach
  • 1972 – Avi Nimni, Israeli footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Geoff Blum, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Jules Naudet, French-American director and producer
  • 1973 – Chris Perry, English footballer
  • 1973 – Óscar García Junyent, Spanish footballer and coach
  • 1975 – Joey Jordison, American musician, songwriter, record producer
  • 1975 – Rahul Verma, Indian social worker and activist
  • 1976 – Luigi Panarelli, Italian footballer
  • 1976 – Václav Varaďa, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Samantha Cristoforetti, Italian astronaut
  • 1977 – Kosuke Fukudome, Japanese baseball player
  • 1977 – Roxana Saberi, American journalist and author
  • 1977 – Tom Welling, American actor
  • 1978 – Joe Crede, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Stana Katic, Canadian actress
  • 1978 – Peter Madsen, Danish footballer
  • 1980 – Jordana Brewster, Panamanian-American actress
  • 1980 – Marlon King, English footballer
  • 1980 – Anna Mucha, Polish actress and journalist
  • 1980 – Channing Tatum, American actor and producer
  • 1981 – Caro Emerald, Dutch pop and jazz singer
  • 1981 – Ms. Dynamite, English rapper and producer
  • 1981 – Sandra Schmitt, German skier (d. 2000)
  • 1982 – Novlene Williams-Mills, Jamaican sprinter
  • 1983 – José María López, Argentinian race car driver
  • 1983 – Jessica Lynch, American soldier
  • 1984 – Emily Wickersham, American actress
  • 1985 – John Isner, American tennis player
  • 1985 – Andrea Koch Benvenuto, Chilean tennis player
  • 1986 – Lior Refaelov, Israeli footballer
  • 1986 – Sean Evans, American YouTuber and producer
  • 1986 – Yuliya Zaripova, Russian runner
  • 1987 – Jorge Andújar Moreno, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Ben Spina, Australian rugby league player
  • 1988 – Manuel Viniegra, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 – Gareth Evans, English footballer
  • 1989 – Melvin Ingram, American football player
  • 1990 – Mitch Rein, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Nevin Spence, Northern Irish rugby player (d. 2012)
  • 1991 – Lazaros Fotias, Greek footballer
  • 1991 – Peter Handscomb, Australian cricketer
  • 1991 – Will Heard, British singer and songwriter
  • 1991 – Isaac Liu, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1991 – Ignacio Lores Varela, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1991 – Srdjan Pejicic, Canadian/Bosnian basketball player
  • 1991 – Wojciech Pszczolarski, Polish bicycle racer
  • 1992 – Aaron Judge, American baseball player
  • 1994 – Daniil Kvyat, Russian race car driver

Deaths on  April 26

  • 499 – Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei (b. 467)
  • 645 – Richarius, Frankish monk and saint (b. 560)
  • 680 – Muawiyah I, Umayyad caliph (b. 602)
  • 757 – Pope Stephen II (b. 715)
  • 893 – Chen Jingxuan, general of the Tang Dynasty
  • 962 – Adalbero I, bishop of Metz
  • 1192 – Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1127)
  • 1366 – Simon Islip, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • 1392 – Jeong Mong-ju, Korean civil minister, diplomat and scholar (b. 1338)
  • 1444 – Robert Campin, Flemish painter (b. 1378)
  • 1478 – Giuliano de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1453)
  • 1489 – Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shōgun (b. 1465)
  • 1558 – Jean Fernel, French physician (b. 1497)
  • 1686 – Magnus Gabriel De la Gardie, Swedish statesman and military man (b. 1622)
  • 1716 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English jurist and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1651)
  • 1784 – Nano Nagle, Irish nun and educator, founded the Presentation Sisters (b. 1718)
  • 1789 – Petr Ivanovich Panin, Russian general (b. 1721)
  • 1809 – Bernhard Schott, German music publisher (b. 1748)
  • 1865 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1838)
  • 1881 – Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (b. 1815)
  • 1895 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian-English author and poet (b. 1860)
  • 1910 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian-French author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1832)
  • 1915 – John Bunny, American actor (b. 1863)
  • 1920 – Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician and theorist (b. 1887)
  • 1932 – William Lockwood, English cricketer (b. 1868)
  • 1934 – Arturs Alberings, Latvian politician, former Prime Minister of Latvia (b. 1876)
  • 1940 – Carl Bosch, German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
  • 1944 – Violette Morris, French footballer, shot putter, and discus thrower (b. 1893)
  • 1945 – Sigmund Rascher, German physician (b. 1909)
  • 1945 – Pavlo Skoropadskyi, German-Ukrainian general and politician, Hetman of Ukraine (b. 1871)
  • 1946 – James Larkin White, American miner, explorer, and park ranger (b. 1882)
  • 1950 – George Murray Hulbert, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1881)
  • 1951 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist and academic (b. 1868)
  • 1956 – Edward Arnold, American actor (b. 1890)
  • 1957 – Gichin Funakoshi, Japanese martial artist, founded Shotokan (b. 1868)
  • 1964 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet and author (b. 1882)
  • 1968 – John Heartfield, German illustrator and photographer (b. 1891)
  • 1969 – Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist, founded aikido (b. 1883)
  • 1970 – Erik Bergman, Swedish minister and author (b. 1886)
  • 1970 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress, striptease dancer, and writer (b. 1911)
  • 1973 – Irene Ryan, American actress and philanthropist (b. 1902)
  • 1976 – Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (b. 1903)
  • 1976 – Sid James, South African-English actor (b. 1913)
  • 1976 – Armstrong Sperry, American author and illustrator (b. 1897)
  • 1980 – Cicely Courtneidge, Australian-born British actress, comedian and singer (b. 1893)
  • 1981 – Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909)
  • 1984 – Count Basie, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1904)
  • 1986 – Broderick Crawford, American actor (b. 1911)
  • 1986 – Bessie Love, American actress (b. 1898)
  • 1986 – Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (b. 1899)
  • 1987 – Shankar, Indian composer and conductor (b. 1922)
  • 1987 – John Silkin, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons (b. 1923)
  • 1989 – Lucille Ball, American model, actress, comedian, and producer (b. 1911)
  • 1991 – Leo Arnaud, French-American composer and conductor (b. 1904)
  • 1991 – Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (b. 1910)
  • 1991 – A. B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist and historian, (b. 1901)
  • 1991 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1931)
  • 1994 – Masutatsu Ōyama, Japanese martial artist, founded Kyokushin kaikan (b. 1923)
  • 1996 – Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)
  • 1999 – Adrian Borland, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1957)
  • 1999 – Jill Dando, English journalist and television personality (b. 1961)
  • 2003 – Rosemary Brown, Jamaican-Canadian academic and politician (b. 1930)
  • 2003 – Yun Hyon-seok, South Korean poet and author (b. 1984)
  • 2003 – Edward Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (b. 1904)
  • 2004 – Hubert Selby, Jr., American author, poet, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
  • 2005 – Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 2005 – Elisabeth Domitien, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (b. 1926)
  • 2005 – Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan journalist, author, and academic (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – Jack Valenti, American businessman, created the MPAA film rating system (b. 1921)
  • 2009 – Hans Holzer, Austrian-American paranormal investigator and author (b. 1920)
  • 2010 – Mariam A. Aleem, Egyptian graphic designer and academic (b. 1930)
  • 2010 – Urs Felber, Swiss engineer and businessman (b. 1942)
  • 2011 – Phoebe Snow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Terence Spinks, English boxer and trainer (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Jacqueline Brookes, American actress and educator (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – George Jones, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Gerald Guralnik, American physicist and academic (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Paul Robeson, Jr., American historian and author (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – DJ Rashad, American electronic musician, producer and DJ (b. 1979)
  • 2015 – Jayne Meadows, American actress (b. 1919)
  • 2015 – Marcel Pronovost, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1930)
  • 2016 – Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (b. 1937)
  • 2017 – Jonathan Demme, American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances on April 26

  • Chernobyl disaster related observances:
    • Day of Remembrance of the Chernobyl tragedy (Belarus)
    • Memorial Day of Radiation Accidents and Catastrophes (Russia)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Aldobrandesca (or Alda)
    • Franca Visalta
    • Lucidius of Verona
    • Our Lady of Good Counsel
    • Pope Anacletus and Marcellinus
    • Riquier
    • Paschasius Radbertus
    • Peter of Rates (or of Braga)
    • Robert Hunt (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Stephen of Perm, see also Old Permic Alphabet Day
    • Trudpert
    • April 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Confederate Memorial Day (Florida, United States)
  • Union Day (Tanzania)
  • World Intellectual Property Day

April 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 9 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 190 – Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground.
  • 475 – Byzantine Emperor Basiliscus issues a circular letter (Enkyklikon) to the bishops of his empire, supporting the Monophysite Christological position.
  • 537 – Siege of Rome: The Byzantine general Belisarius receives his promised reinforcements, 1,600 cavalry, mostly of Hunnic or Slavic origin and expert bowmen. He starts, despite shortages, raids against the Gothic camps and Vitiges is forced into a stalemate.
  • 1241 – Battle of Liegnitz: Mongol forces defeat the Polish and German armies.
  • 1288 – Mongol invasions of Vietnam: Yuan forces are defeated by Trần forces in the Battle of Bach Dang in present-day northern Vietnam.
  • 1388 – Despite being outnumbered 16 to 1, forces of the Old Swiss Confederacy are victorious over the Archduchy of Austria in the Battle of Näfels.
  • 1413 – Henry V is crowned King of England.
  • 1440 – Christopher of Bavaria is appointed King of Denmark.
  • 1454 – The Treaty of Lodi is signed, establishing a balance of power among northern Italian city-states for almost 50 years.
  • 1511 – St John’s College, Cambridge, England, founded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, receives its charter.
  • 1585 – The expedition organised by Sir Walter Raleigh departs England for Roanoke Island (now in North Carolina) to establish the Roanoke Colony.
  • 1609 – Eighty Years’ War: Spain and the Dutch Republic sign the Treaty of Antwerp to initiate twelve years of truce.
  • 1609 – Philip III of Spain issues the decree of the “Expulsion of the Moriscos”.
  • 1682 – Robert Cavelier de La Salle discovers the mouth of the Mississippi River, claims it for France and names it Louisiana.
  • 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of the Saintes begins.
  • 1784 – The Treaty of Paris, ratified by the United States Congress on January 14, 1784, is ratified by King George III of the Kingdom of Great Britain, ending the American Revolutionary War. Copies of the ratified documents are exchanged on May 12, 1784.
  • 1860 – On his phonautograph machine, Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville makes the oldest known recording of an audible human voice.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (26,765 troops) to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the war.
  • 1909 – The U.S. Congress passes the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act.
  • 1914 – Mexican Revolution: One of the world’s first naval/air skirmishes takes place off the coast of western Mexico.
  • 1916 – World War I: The Battle of Verdun: German forces launch their third offensive of the battle.
  • 1917 – World War I: The Battle of Arras: The battle begins with Canadian Corps executing a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
  • 1918 – World War I: The Battle of the Lys: The Portuguese Expeditionary Corps is crushed by the German forces during what is called the Spring Offensive on the Belgian region of Flanders.
  • 1937 – The Kamikaze arrives at Croydon Airport in London. It is the first Japanese-built aircraft to fly to Europe.
  • 1939 – African-American singer Marian Anderson gives a concert at the Lincoln Memorial after being denied the use of Constitution Hall by the Daughters of the American Revolution.
  • 1940 – World War II: Operation Weserübung: Germany invades Denmark and Norway.
  • 1940 – Vidkun Quisling seizes power in Norway.
  • 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Bataan ends. An Indian Ocean raid by Japan’s 1st Air Fleet sinks the British aircraft carrier HMS Hermes and the Australian destroyer HMAS Vampire.
  • 1945 – Execution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, anti-Nazi dissident and spy, by the Nazi regime.
  • 1945 – World War II: The German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer is sunk by the Royal Air Force.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Königsberg, in East Prussia, ends.
  • 1945 – The United States Atomic Energy Commission is formed.
  • 1947 – The Glazier–Higgins–Woodward tornadoes kill 181 and injure 970 in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.
  • 1947 – The Journey of Reconciliation, the first interracial Freedom Ride begins through the upper South in violation of Jim Crow laws. The riders wanted enforcement of the United States Supreme Court’s 1946 Irene Morgan decision that banned racial segregation in interstate travel.
  • 1947 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 22 relating to Corfu Channel incident is adopted.
  • 1948 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán’s assassination provokes a violent riot in Bogotá (the Bogotazo), and a further ten years of violence in Colombia.
  • 1948 – Fighters from the Irgun and Lehi Zionist paramilitary groups attacked Deir Yassin near Jerusalem, killing over 100.
  • 1952 – Hugo Ballivián’s government is overthrown by the Bolivian National Revolution, starting a period of agrarian reform, universal suffrage and the nationalization of tin mines
  • 1957 – The Suez Canal in Egypt is cleared and opens to shipping following the Suez Crisis.
  • 1959 – Project Mercury: NASA announces the selection of the United States’ first seven astronauts, whom the news media quickly dub the “Mercury Seven”.
  • 1960 – Dr Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa and architect of apartheid, narrowly survives an assassination attempt by a white farmer, David Pratt in Johannesburg.
  • 1961 – The Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles, once the largest electric railway in the world, ends operations.
  • 1965 – Astrodome opens. First indoor baseball game is played.
  • 1967 – The first Boeing 737 (a 100 series) makes its maiden flight.
  • 1969 – The first British-built Concorde 002 makes its maiden flight from Filton to RAF Fairford.
  • 1975 – The first game of the Philippine Basketball Association, the second oldest professional basketball league in the world.
  • 1976 – The EMD F40PH diesel locomotive enters revenue service with Amtrak.
  • 1980 – The Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein kills philosopher Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr and his sister Bint al-Huda after three days of torture.
  • 1981 – The U.S. Navy nuclear submarine USS George Washington accidentally collides with the Nissho Maru, a Japanese cargo ship, sinking it.
  • 1989 – Tbilisi massacre: an anti-Soviet peaceful demonstration and hunger strike in Tbilisi, demanding restoration of Georgian independence, is dispersed by the Soviet Army, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
  • 1990 – An IRA bombing in County Down, Northern Ireland, kills three members of the UDR.
  • 1990 – Thirteen thousand members of the Dene and Métis tribes sign a land claim agreement for 180,000 square kilometres (69,000 sq mi) in the Mackenzie Valley of the western Arctic.
  • 1991 – Georgia declares independence from the Soviet Union.
  • 1992 – A U.S. Federal Court finds former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega guilty of drug and racketeering charges. He is sentenced to 30 years in prison.
  • 1999 – Kosovo War: The Battle of Košare begins.
  • 2003 – Iraq War: Baghdad falls to American forces.
  • 2005 – Charles, Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor’s Guildhall.
  • 2009 – In Tbilisi, Georgia, up to 60,000 people protest against the government of Mikheil Saakashvili.
  • 2013 – A 6.1–magnitude earthquake strikes Iran killing 32 people and injuring over 850 people.
  • 2013 – At least 13 people are killed and another three injured after a man goes on a spree shooting in the Serbian village of Velika Ivanča.
  • 2014 – A student stabs 20 people at Franklin Regional High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania.
  • 2017 – The Palm Sunday church bombings at Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, Egypt, take place.
  • 2017 – After refusing to give up his seat on an overbooked United Airlines flight, Dr. David Dao Duy Anh is forcibly dragged off the flight by aviation security officers, leading to major criticism of United Airlines.

Births on April 9

  • 1285 – Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan, Emperor Renzong of Yuan (d. 1320)
  • 1458 – Camilla Battista da Varano, Italian saint (d. 1524)
  • 1498 – Jean, Cardinal of Lorraine (d. 1550)
  • 1586 – Julius Henry, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. 1665)
  • 1597 – John Davenport, English minister, co-founded the New Haven Colony (d. 1670)
  • 1598 – Johann Crüger, Sorbian-German composer and theorist (d. 1662)
  • 1624 – Henrik Rysensteen, Dutch military engineer (d. 1679)
  • 1627 – Johann Caspar Kerll, German organist and composer (d. 1693)
  • 1634 – Countess Albertine Agnes of Nassau (d. 1696)
  • 1648 – Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1720)
  • 1649 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire (d. 1685)
  • 1654 – Samuel Fritz, Czech Jesuit missionary to South America (d. 1725?)
  • 1680 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French playwright (d. 1754)
  • 1686 – James Craggs the Younger, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (d. 1721)
  • 1691 – Johann Matthias Gesner, German scholar and academic (d. 1761)
  • 1717 – Georg Matthias Monn, Austrian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1750)
  • 1770 – Thomas Johann Seebeck, German physicist and academic (d. 1831)
  • 1773 – Étienne Aignan, French author and academic (d. 1824)
  • 1794 – Theobald Boehm, German flute player and composer (d. 1881)
  • 1802 – Elias Lönnrot, Finnish physician and philologist (d. 1884)
  • 1806 – Isambard Kingdom Brunel, English engineer, designed the Clifton Suspension Bridge (d. 1859)
  • 1807 – James Bannerman, Scottish theologian and academic (d. 1868)
  • 1821 – Charles Baudelaire, French poet and critic (d. 1867)
  • 1830 – Eadweard Muybridge, English photographer and cinematographer (d. 1904)
  • 1835 – Leopold II of Belgium (d. 1909)
  • 1835 – Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl Belmore (d. 1913)
  • 1846 – Paolo Tosti, Italian-English composer and educator (d. 1916)
  • 1848 – Ezequiél Moreno y Díaz, Spanish Augustinian Recollect priest and saint (d. 1906)
  • 1865 – Erich Ludendorff, German general and politician (d. 1937)
  • 1865 – Charles Proteus Steinmetz, Polish-American mathematician and engineer (d. 1923)
  • 1867 – Chris Watson, Chilean-Australian journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1941)
  • 1867 – Charles Winckler, Danish tug of war competitor, discus thrower, and shot putter (d. 1932)
  • 1872 – Léon Blum, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1950)
  • 1875 – Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (d. 1912)
  • 1880 – Jan Letzel, Czech architect (d. 1925)
  • 1882 – Frederick Francis IV, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (d. 1946)
  • 1882 – Otz Tollen, German actor (d. 1965)
  • 1883 – Frank King, American cartoonist (d. 1969)
  • 1887 – Konrad Tom, Polish actor, writer, singer, and director (d. 1957)
  • 1888 – Sol Hurok, Ukrainian-American talent manager (d. 1974)
  • 1893 – Charles E. Burchfield, American painter (d.1967)
  • 1893 – Victor Gollancz, English publisher, founded Victor Gollancz Ltd (d. 1967)
  • 1893 – Rahul Sankrityayan, Indian linguist, author, and scholar (d. 1963)
  • 1895 – Mance Lipscomb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
  • 1895 – Michel Simon, Swiss-French actor (d. 1975)
  • 1897 – John B. Gambling, American radio host (d. 1974)
  • 1898 – Curly Lambeau, American football player and coach (d. 1965)
  • 1898 – Paul Robeson, American singer, actor, and activist (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Allen Jenkins, American actor and singer (d. 1974)
  • 1901 – Jean Bruchési, Canadian historian and author (d. 1979)
  • 1901 – Paul Willis, American actor and director (d. 1960)
  • 1902 – Théodore Monod, French explorer and scholar (d. 2000)
  • 1903 – Ward Bond, American actor (d. 1960)
  • 1904 – Sharkey Bonano, American singer, trumpet player, and bandleader (d. 1972)
  • 1905 – J. William Fulbright, American lawyer and politician (d. 1995)
  • 1906 – Rafaela Aparicio, Spanish actress (d. 1996)
  • 1906 – Antal Doráti, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (d. 1988)
  • 1906 – Hugh Gaitskell, British politician and leader of the Labour Party (d. 1963)
  • 1906 – Victor Vasarely, Hungarian-French painter (d. 1997)
  • 1908 – Joseph Krumgold, American author and screenwriter (d. 1980)
  • 1909 – Robert Helpmann, Australian dancer, actor, and choreographer (d. 1986)
  • 1910 – Abraham A. Ribicoff, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. 1998)
  • 1912 – Lev Kopelev, Ukrainian-German author and academic (d. 1997)
  • 1915 – Daniel Johnson Sr., Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Quebec (d. 1968)
  • 1916 – Julian Dash, American swing music jazz tenor saxophonist (d. 1974)
  • 1916 – Heinz Meyer, German Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) during World War II (d. 1987)
  • 1916 – Bill Leonard, American journalist (d. 1994)
  • 1917 – Johannes Bobrowski, German songwriter and poet (d. 1965)
  • 1917 – Ronnie Burgess, Welsh international footballer left-half and manager (d. 2005)
  • 1917 – Brad Dexter, American actor (d. 2002)
  • 1917 – Henry Hewes, American theater writer (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Jørn Utzon, Danish architect, designed the Sydney Opera House (d. 2008)
  • 1919 – J. Presper Eckert, American engineer, invented the ENIAC (d. 1995)
  • 1921 – Jean-Marie Balestre, French businessman (d. 2008)
  • 1921 – Yitzhak Navon, Israeli politician (d. 2015)
  • 1921 – Frankie Thomas, American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Mary Jackson, African-American mathematician and aerospace engineer (d. 2005)
  • 1922 – Carl Amery, German author and activist (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – Leonard Levy, American historian and author (d. 2006)
  • 1924 – Arthur Shaw, English professional footballer (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Virginia Gibson, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Art Kane, American photographer (d. 1995)
  • 1926 – Gerry Fitt, Northern Irish soldier and politician; British life peer (d. 2005)
  • 1926 – Hugh Hefner, American publisher, founded Playboy Enterprises (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Harris Wofford, American politician, author and civil rights activist (d. 2019)
  • 1927 – Tiny Hill, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2019)
  • 1928 – Paul Arizin, American basketball player (d. 2006)
  • 1928 – Tom Lehrer, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and mathematician
  • 1929 – Sharan Rani Backliwal, Indian sarod player and scholar (d. 2008)
  • 1929 – Fred Hollows, New Zealand-Australian ophthalmologist (d. 1993)
  • 1929 – Paule Marshall, American author and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1930 – Nathaniel Branden, Canadian-American psychotherapist and author (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – F. Albert Cotton, American chemist and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1930 – Jim Fowler, American zoologist and television host (d. 2019)
  • 1930 – Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, founded McCain Foods (d. 2011)
  • 1931 – Richard Hatfield, Canadian lawyer and politician, 26th Premier of New Brunswick (d. 1991)
  • 1932 – Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (d. 2006)
  • 1932 – Peter Moores, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Carl Perkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
  • 1933 – Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor and producer
  • 1933 – René Burri, Swiss photographer and journalist (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Fern Michaels, American author
  • 1933 – Richard Rose, American political scientist and academic
  • 1933 – Gian Maria Volonté, Italian actor (d. 1994)
  • 1934 – Bill Birch, New Zealand surveyor and politician, 38th New Zealand Minister of Finance
  • 1934 – Tom Phillis, Australian motorcycle racer (d. 1962)
  • 1934 – Mariya Pisareva, Russian high jumper
  • 1935 – Aulis Sallinen, Finnish composer and academic
  • 1935 – Avery Schreiber, American actor and comedian (d. 2002)
  • 1936 – Jerzy Maksymiuk, Polish pianist, composer, and conductor
  • 1936 – Valerie Solanas, American radical feminist author, attempted murderer (d. 1988)
  • 1937 – Simon Brown, Baron Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood, English lieutenant, lawyer, and judge
  • 1937 – Marty Krofft, Canadian screenwriter and producer
  • 1937 – Valerie Singleton, English television and radio host
  • 1938 – Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russian businessman and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Russia (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Michael Learned, American actress
  • 1940 – Hans-Joachim Reske, German sprinter
  • 1940 – Jim Roberts, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1941 – Kay Adams, American singer-songwriter
  • 1942 – Brandon deWilde, American actor (d. 1972)
  • 1942 – Margo Smith, American singer-songwriter
  • 1943 – Leila Khaled, Palestinian activist
  • 1943 – Terry Knight, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
  • 1944 – Joe Brinkman, American baseball player and umpire
  • 1944 – Heinz-Joachim Rothenburg, German shot putter
  • 1945 – Steve Gadd, American drummer and percussionist[9]
  • 1946 – Nate Colbert, American baseball player[10]
  • 1946 – Alan Knott, English cricketer[11]
  • 1946 – Sara Parkin, Scottish activist and politician[12]
  • 1946 – David Webb, English footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1947 – Giovanni Andrea Cornia, Italian economist and academic
  • 1948 – Jaya Bachchan, Indian actress and politician
  • 1948 – Michel Parizeau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1948 – Patty Pravo, Italian singer
  • 1949 – Tony Cragg, English sculptor
  • 1952 – Robert Clark, American author
  • 1952 – Bruce Robertson, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1952 – Tania Tsanaklidou, Greek singer and actress
  • 1953 – John Howard, English singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1953 – Hal Ketchum, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1953 – Stephen Paddock, American mass murderer responsible for the 2017 Las Vegas shooting (d. 2017)
  • 1954 – Ken Kalfus, American journalist and author
  • 1954 – Dennis Quaid, American actor
  • 1954 – Iain Duncan Smith, British soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
  • 1955 – Yamina Benguigui, Algerian-French director and politician
  • 1955 – Joolz Denby, English poet and author
  • 1956 – Miguel Ángel Russo, Argentinian footballer and coach
  • 1956 – Nigel Shadbolt, English computer scientist and academic
  • 1956 – Vahur Sova, Estonian architect
  • 1956 – Marina Zoueva, Russian ice dancer and coach
  • 1957 – Seve Ballesteros, Spanish golfer and architect (d. 2011)
  • 1957 – Martin Margiela, Belgian fashion designer
  • 1957 – Jamie Redfern, English-born Australian television presenter, and pop singer
  • 1958 – Tony Sibson, English boxer
  • 1958 – Nigel Slater, English food writer and author
  • 1959 – Bernard Jenkin, English businessman and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
  • 1960 – Jaak Aab, Estonian educator and politician, Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia
  • 1961 – Mark Kelly, Irish keyboard player
  • 1961 – Kirk McCaskill, Canadian-American baseball and hockey player
  • 1962 – John Eaves, American production designer and illustrator
  • 1962 – Ihor Podolchak, Ukrainian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Imran Sherwani, English field hockey player
  • 1962 – Jeff Turner, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Marc Jacobs, American-French fashion designer
  • 1963 – Joe Scarborough, American journalist, lawyer, and politician
  • 1964 – Rob Awalt, German-American football player
  • 1964 – Juliet Cuthbert, Jamaican sprinter
  • 1964 – Peter Penashue, Canadian businessman and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
  • 1964 – Margaret Peterson Haddix, American author
  • 1964 – Rick Tocchet, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1965 – Helen Alfredsson, Swedish golfer
  • 1965 – Paulina Porizkova, Czech-born Swedish-American model and actress
  • 1965 – Jeff Zucker, American businessman
  • 1966 – John Hammond, English weather forecaster
  • 1966 – Cynthia Nixon, American actress
  • 1967 – Natascha Engel, German-English translator and politician
  • 1967 – Sam Harris, American author, philosopher, and neuroscientist
  • 1968 – Jay Chandrasekhar, American actor, comedian, writer and director
  • 1969 – Barnaby Kay, English actor
  • 1969 – Linda Kisabaka, German runner
  • 1970 – Chorão, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1971 – Peter Canavan, Irish footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Leo Fortune-West, English footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Austin Peck, American actor
  • 1971 – Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver
  • 1972 – Bernard Ackah, German-Japanese martial artist and kick-boxer
  • 1972 – Siiri Vallner, Estonian architect
  • 1974 – Megan Connolly, Australian actress (d. 2001)
  • 1974 – Jenna Jameson, American actress and pornographic performer
  • 1975 – Robbie Fowler, English footballer and manager
  • 1975 – David Gordon Green, American director and screenwriter
  • 1976 – Kyle Peterson, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1977 – Gerard Way, American singer-songwriter and comic book writer
  • 1978 – Kousei Amano, Japanese actor
  • 1978 – Jorge Andrade, Portuguese footballer
  • 1978 – Rachel Stevens, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
  • 1979 – Jeff Reed, American football player
  • 1979 – Keshia Knight Pulliam, American actress
  • 1980 – Sarah Ayton, English sailor
  • 1980 – Luciano Galletti, Argentinian footballer
  • 1980 – Albert Hammond Jr., American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1981 – Milan Bartovič, Slovak ice hockey player
  • 1981 – A. J. Ellis, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Ireneusz Jeleń, Polish footballer
  • 1981 – Dennis Sarfate, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Eric Harris, American mass murderer, responsible for the Columbine High School massacre (d. 1999)
  • 1982 – Jay Baruchel, Canadian actor
  • 1982 – Carlos Hernández, Costa Rican footballer
  • 1982 – Kathleen Munroe, Canadian-American actress
  • 1983 – Ryan Clark, Australian actor
  • 1984 – Habiba Ghribi, Tunisian runner[13]
  • 1984 – Adam Loewen, Canadian baseball player
  • 1984 – Óscar Razo, Mexican footballer
  • 1985 – Antonio Nocerino, Italian footballer
  • 1985 – David Robertson, American baseball player
  • 1986 – Mike Hart, American football player
  • 1986 – Leighton Meester, American actress
  • 1987 – Kassim Abdallah, French-Comorian footballer
  • 1987 – Graham Gano, American football player
  • 1987 – Craig Mabbitt, American singer
  • 1987 – Jesse McCartney, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1987 – Jarrod Mullen, Australian rugby league player
  • 1987 – Jazmine Sullivan, American singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Michel Alves Baroni, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Jeremy Metcalfe, English racing driver
  • 1989 – Danielle Kahle, American figure skater
  • 1990 – Kristen Stewart, American actress
  • 1990 – Ryan Williams, American football player
  • 1991 – Ryan Kelly, American basketball player
  • 1991 – Mary Killman, American synchronized swimmer
  • 1992 – Joshua Ledet, American singer
  • 1994 – Joey Pollari, American actor
  • 1995 – Domagoj Bošnjak, Croatian basketball player
  • 1995 – Robert Bauer, German-Kazakhstani footballer
  • 1996 – Jayden Brailey, Australian rugby league player[14]
  • 1996 – Giovani Lo Celso, Argentinian international footballer, midfielder[15]
  • 1998 – Elle Fanning, American actress[16]
  • 1999 – Montero Lamar Hill, American rapper[17]
  • 2000 – Jackie Evancho, American singer[18]

Deaths on April 9

  • 585 BC – Jimmu, emperor of Japan (b. 711 BC)
  • AD 93 – Yuan An, Chinese scholar and politician
  • 436 – Tan Daoji, Chinese general and politician
  • 491 – Zeno, emperor of the Byzantine Empire (b. 425)
  • 682 – Maslama ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari, Egyptian politician, Governor of Egypt (b. 616)
  • 715 – Constantine, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 664)
  • 1024 – Benedict VIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 980)
  • 1137 – William X, duke of Aquitaine (b. 1099)
  • 1241 – Henry II, High Duke of Poland (b. 1196)
  • 1283 – Margaret of Scotland, queen of Norway (b. 1261)
  • 1327 – Walter Stewart, 6th High Steward of Scotland, Scottish nobleman (ca. 1296)
  • 1483 – Edward IV, king of England (b. 1442)
  • 1484 – Edward of Middleheim, prince of Wales (b. 1473)
  • 1550 – Alqas Mirza, Safavid prince (b. 1516)[19]
  • 1553 – François Rabelais, French monk and scholar (b. 1494)
  • 1557 – Mikael Agricola, Finnish priest and scholar (b. 1510)
  • 1626 – Francis Bacon, English jurist and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1561)
  • 1654 – Matei Basarab, Romanian prince (b. 1588)
  • 1693 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French author (b. 1618)
  • 1747 – Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, Scottish soldier and politician (b. 1667)
  • 1754 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (b. 1679)
  • 1761 – William Law, English priest and theologian (b. 1686)
  • 1768 – Sarah Fielding, English author (b. 1710)
  • 1804 – Jacques Necker, Swiss-French politician, Chief Minister to the French Monarch (b. 1732)
  • 1806 – William V, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic (b. 1748)
  • 1872 – Erastus Corning, American businessman and politician (b. 1794)
  • 1876 – Charles Goodyear, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1804)
  • 1882 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (b. 1828)
  • 1889 – Michel Eugène Chevreul, French chemist and academic (b. 1786)
  • 1909 – Helena Modjeska, Polish-American actress (b. 1840)
  • 1915 – Raymond Whittindale, English rugby player (b. 1883)
  • 1917 – James Hope Moulton, English philologist and scholar (b. 1863)
  • 1922 – Hans Fruhstorfer, German entomologist and explorer (b. 1866)
  • 1926 – Zip the Pinhead, American freak show performer (b. 1857)
  • 1936 – Ferdinand Tönnies, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1855)
  • 1940 – Mrs Patrick Campbell, English actress (b. 1865)
  • 1944 – Yevgeniya Rudneva, Ukrainian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1920)
  • 1945 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (b. 1906)
  • 1945 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (b. 1887)
  • 1945 – Johann Georg Elser, German carpenter (b. 1903)
  • 1945 – Hans Oster, German general (b. 1887)
  • 1945 – Karl Sack, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1896)
  • 1945 – Hans von Dohnányi, Austrian-German lawyer and jurist (b. 1902)
  • 1948 – George Carpenter, Australian 5th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1872)
  • 1948 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Colombian Minister of National Education (b. 1903)
  • 1951 – Vilhelm Bjerknes, Norwegian physicist and meteorologist (b. 1862)
  • 1953 – Eddie Cochems, American football player and coach (b. 1877)
  • 1953 – C. E. M. Joad, English philosopher and television host (b. 1891)
  • 1953 – Hans Reichenbach, German philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1891)
  • 1959 – Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (b. 1867)
  • 1961 – Zog I of Albania (b. 1895)
  • 1963 – Eddie Edwards, American trombonist (b. 1891)
  • 1963 – Xul Solar, Argentinian painter and sculptor (b. 1887)
  • 1970 – Gustaf Tenggren, Swedish-American illustrator and animator (b. 1896)
  • 1976 – Dagmar Nordstrom, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1903)
  • 1976 – Phil Ochs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
  • 1976 – Renato Petronio, Italian rower (b. 1891)
  • 1978 – Clough Williams-Ellis, English-Welsh architect, designed Portmeirion (b. 1883)
  • 1980 – Muhammad Baqir al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric and philosopher (b. 1935)
  • 1982 – Wilfrid Pelletier, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1896)
  • 1988 – Brook Benton, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1931)
  • 1988 – Hans Berndt, German footballer (b. 1913)
  • 1988 – Dave Prater, American singer (b. 1937)
  • 1991 – Forrest Towns, American hurdler and coach (b. 1914)
  • 1993 – Joseph B. Soloveitchik, American rabbi and philosopher (b. 1903)
  • 1996 – Richard Condon, American author and publicist (b. 1915)
  • 1997 – Mae Boren Axton, American singer-songwriter (b. 1914)
  • 1997 – Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter (b. 1916)
  • 1998 – Tom Cora, American cellist and composer (b. 1953)
  • 1999 – Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara, Nigerien general and politician, President of Niger (b. 1949)
  • 2001 – Willie Stargell, American baseball player and coach (b. 1940)
  • 2002 – Pat Flaherty, American race car driver (b. 1926)
  • 2002 – Leopold Vietoris, Austrian soldier, mathematician, and academic (b. 1891)
  • 2003 – Jerry Bittle, American cartoonist (b. 1949)
  • 2006 – Billy Hitchcock, American baseball player, coach, manager (b. 1916)
  • 2006 – Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish director and screenwriter (b. 1924)
  • 2007 – Egon Bondy, Czech philosopher and poet (b. 1930)
  • 2007 – Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer and academic (b. 1907)
  • 2009 – Nick Adenhart, American baseball player (b. 1986)
  • 2010 – Zoltán Varga, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1945)
  • 2011 – Zakariya Rashid Hassan al-Ashiri, Bahraini journalist (b. 1971)
  • 2011 – Sidney Lumet, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Malcolm Thomas, Welsh rugby player and cricketer (b. 1929)
  • 2013 – David Hayes, American sculptor and painter (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Greg McCrary, American football player (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Mordechai Mishani, Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1945)
  • 2013 – McCandlish Phillips, American journalist and author (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Paolo Soleri, Italian-American architect, designed the Cosanti (b. 1919)
  • 2014 – Gil Askey, American trumpet player, composer, and producer (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Chris Banks, American football player (b. 1973)
  • 2014 – Rory Ellinger, American lawyer and politician (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Norman Girvan, Jamaican economist, academic, and politician (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Aelay Narendra, Indian politician (b. 1946)
  • 2014 – A. N. R. Robinson, Trinbagonian politician, 3rd President of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Svetlana Velmar-Janković, Serbian author (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Paul Almond, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Margaret Rule, British marine archaeologist (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Nina Companeez, French director and screenwriter (b. 1937)
  • 2015 – Alexander Dalgarno, English physicist and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Ivan Doig, American journalist and author (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Tsien Tsuen-hsuin, Chinese-American academic (b. 1909)
  • 2016 – Duane Clarridge, American spy (b. 1932)
  • 2016 – Will Smith, American football player (b. 1981)
  • 2017 – John Clarke, New Zealand-Australian comedian, writer, and satirist (b. 1948)

Holidays and observances on April 9

  • Christian feast day:
    • Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Anglicanism, Lutheranism)
    • Gaucherius
    • Materiana
    • Waltrude
    • April 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Anniversary of the German Invasion of Denmark (Denmark)
  • Baghdad Liberation Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
  • Bataan Day or Araw ng Kagitingan (Philippines)
  • Constitution Day (Kosovo)
  • Day of National Unity (Georgia)
  • Day of the Finnish Language (Finland)
  • Feast of the Second Day of the Writing of the Book of the Law (Thelema)
  • Martyr’s Day (Tunisia)
  • National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day (United States)
  • Remembrance for Haakon Sigurdsson (The Troth)
  • Vimy Ridge Day (Canada)

April 9 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 21- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

In astrology, the day of the equinox is the first full day of the sign of Aries. It is also the traditional first day of the astrological year. In the 21st century, the equinox usually occurs on March 19 or 20; it occurred on March 21 only in 2003 and 2007. The next year in which the equinox occurs on March 21 will be 2102.

March 21 in History

  • 537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius.
  • 630 – Emperor Heraclius returns the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem.
  • 717 – Battle of Vincy between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid.
  • 1152 – Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine.
  • 1188 – Emperor Antoku accedes to the throne of Japan.
  • 1556 – On the day of his execution in Oxford, former Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer deviates from the scripted sermon by renouncing the recantations he has made and adds, “And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ’s enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine.”
  • 1788 – A fire in New Orleans leaves most of the town in ruins.
  • 1800 – With the church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII is crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché.
  • 1801 – The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis near Alexandria in Egypt.
  • 1804 – Code Napoléon is adopted as French civil law.
  • 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: Austrian forces repel French troops in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube.
  • 1844 – The Bahá’í calendar begins. This is the first day of the first year of the Bahá’í calendar. It is annually celebrated by members of the Bahá’í Faith as the Bahá’í New Year or Náw-Rúz.
  • 1861 – Alexander Stephens gives the Cornerstone Speech.
  • 1871 – Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Chancellor of the German Empire.
  • 1871 – Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone.
  • 1913 – Over 360 are killed and 20,000 homes destroyed in the Great Dayton Flood in Dayton, Ohio.
  • 1918 – World War I: The first phase of the German Spring Offensive, Operation Michael, begins.
  • 1919 – The Hungarian Soviet Republic is established becoming the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia.
  • 1921 – The New Economic Policy is implemented by the Bolshevik Party in response to the economic failure as a result of war communism.
  • 1925 – The Butler Act prohibits the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee.
  • 1925 – Syngman Rhee is removed from office after being impeached as the President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea.
  • 1928 – Charles Lindbergh is presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic flight.
  • 1935 – Shah of Iran Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran.
  • 1937 – Ponce massacre: Nineteen people in Ponce, Puerto Rico are gunned down by police acting on orders of the US-appointed Governor, Blanton C. Winship.
  • 1943 – Wehrmacht officer Rudolf von Gersdorff plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler by using a suicide bomb, but the plan falls through; von Gersdorff is able to defuse the bomb in time and avoid suspicion.
  • 1945 – World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma.
  • 1945 – World War II: Operation Carthage: Royal Air Force planes bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also accidentally hit a school, killing 125 civilians.
  • 1945 – World War II: Bulgaria and the Soviet Union successfully complete their defense of the north bank of the Drava River as the Battle of the Transdanubian Hills concludes.
  • 1946 – The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in professional American football since 1933.
  • 1952 – Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • 1960 – Apartheid: Sharpeville massacre, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180.
  • 1963 – Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (in California) closes.
  • 1965 – Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9, the last in a series of unmanned lunar space probes.
  • 1965 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. leads 3,200 people on the start of the third and finally successful civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
  • 1968 – Battle of Karameh in Jordan between the Israel Defense Forces and the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and PLO.
  • 1970 – The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco.
  • 1980 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet–Afghan War.
  • 1983 – The first cases of the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic begin; Israelis and Palestinians accuse each other of poison gas, but the cause is later determined mostly to be psychosomatic.
  • 1986 – Debi Thomas became the first African American to win the World Figure Skating Championships
  • 1990 – Namibia becomes independent after 75 years of South African rule.
  • 1994 – The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change enters into force.
  • 1999 – Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon.
  • 2000 – Pope John Paul II makes his first ever pontifical visit to Israel.
  • 2006 – The social media site Twitter is founded.
  • 2009 – Four police officers are shot and killed and a fifth is wounded in two shootings at Oakland, California.
  • 2019 – The 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion occurs, killing at least 47 people and injuring 640 others.

Births on March 21

  • 927 – Emperor Taizu of Song (d. 976)
  • 1474 – Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint (d. 1540)
  • 1501 – Anne Brooke, Baroness Cobham, English noble (d. 1558)
  • 1521 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (d. 1553)
  • 1527 – Hermann Finck, German composer and educator (d. 1558)
  • 1555 – John Leveson, English politician (d. 1615)
  • 1557 – Anne Howard, Countess of Arundel, English countess and poet (d. 1630)
  • 1626 – Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, Spanish saint and missionary (d. 1667)
  • 1672 – Stefano Benedetto Pallavicino, Italian poet and translator (d. 1742)
  • 1685 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German Baroque composer and musician (d. 1750)
  • 1713 – Francis Lewis, Welsh-American merchant and politician (d. 1803)
  • 1716 – Josef Seger, Bohemian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1782)
  • 1752 – Mary Dixon Kies, American inventor (d. 1837)
  • 1763 – Jean Paul, German journalist and author (d. 1825)
  • 1768 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1830)
  • 1806 – Benito Juárez, Mexican lawyer and politician, 25th President of Mexico (d. 1872)
  • 1811 – Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (d. 1891)
  • 1825 – Alexander Mozhaysky, Russian soldier and engineer (d. 1890)
  • 1835 – Thomas Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1876)
  • 1839 – Modest Mussorgsky, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1881)
  • 1854 – Alick Bannerman, Australian cricketer and coach (d. 1924)
  • 1857 – Alice Henry, Australian journalist and activist (d. 1943)
  • 1859 – Daria Pratt, American golfer (d. 1938)
  • 1865 – George Owen Squier, American general (d. 1934)
  • 1866 – Antonia Maury, American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1952)
  • 1867 – Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., American director and producer (d. 1932)
  • 1869 – David Robertson, Scottish-English golfer and rugby player (d. 1937)
  • 1874 – Alfred Tysoe, English runner (d. 1901)
  • 1876 – Walter Tewksbury, American runner and hurdler (d. 1968)
  • 1877 – Maurice Farman, French race car driver and pilot (d. 1964)
  • 1878 – Morris H. Whitehouse, American architect (d. 1944)
  • 1880 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1971)
  • 1880 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter and academic (d. 1966)
  • 1882 – Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician (d. 1963)
  • 1884 – George David Birkhoff, American mathematician (d. 1944)
  • 1885 – Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (d. 1952)
  • 1886 – Walter Dray, American pole vaulter (d. 1973)
  • 1887 – Clarice Beckett, Australian painter (d. 1935)
  • 1887 – Lajos Kassák, Hungarian poet, novelist and painter (d. 1967)
  • 1887 – M. N. Roy, Indian philosopher and politician (d. 1954)
  • 1889 – Jock Sutherland, American football player and coach (d. 1948)
  • 1896 – Friedrich Waismann, Austrian mathematician, physicist, and philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1959)
  • 1897 – Sim Gokkes, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1943)
  • 1897 – Salvador Lutteroth, Mexican wrestling promoter, founded Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (d. 1987)
  • 1899 – Panagiotis Pipinelis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1970)
  • 1901 – Karl Arnold, German businessman and politician, President of the German Bundesrat (d. 1958)
  • 1902 – Son House, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1988)
  • 1904 – Jehane Benoît, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1987)
  • 1904 – Forrest Mars, Sr., American candy maker, created M&M’s and Mars bar (d. 1999)
  • 1904 – Nikos Skalkottas, Greek violinist and composer (d. 1949)
  • 1905 – Phyllis McGinley, American author and poet (d. 1978)
  • 1906 – John D. Rockefeller III, American philanthropist (d. 1978)
  • 1906 – Jim Thompson, American businessman (d. 1967)
  • 1906 – André Filho, Brazilian musician and songwriter (d. 1974)
  • 1907 – Zoltán Kemény, Hungarian sculptor (d. 1965)
  • 1909 – Harry Lane, English footballer (d. 1977)
  • 1910 – Julio Gallo, American businessman, co-founded E & J Gallo Winery (d. 1993)
  • 1910 – Muhammad Siddiq Khan, Bangladeshi librarian and educator (d. 1978)
  • 1911 – Walter Lincoln Hawkins, African-American scientist and inventor (d. 1992)
  • 1912 – André Laurendeau, Canadian journalist, playwright, and politician (d. 1968)
  • 1913 – George Abecassis, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1991)
  • 1913 – Guillermo Haro, Mexican astronomer (d. 1988)
  • 1914 – Paul Tortelier, French cellist and composer (d. 1990)
  • 1916 – Bismillah Khan, Indian shehnai player (d. 2006)
  • 1916 – Ken Wharton, English race car driver (d. 1957)
  • 1917 – Frank Hardy, Australian journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1994)
  • 1918 – Patrick Lucey, American captain and politician, 38th Governor of Wisconsin (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Charles Thompson, American pianist and composer (d. 2016)
  • 1919 – Douglas Warren, Australian bishop (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1970)
  • 1920 – Éric Rohmer, French director, film critic, journalist, novelist and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1921 – Arthur Grumiaux, Belgian violinist and pianist (d. 1986)
  • 1921 – Antony Hopkins, English pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Russ Meyer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – Louis-Edmond Hamelin, Canadian geographer, author, and academic (d. 2020)
  • 1923 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian poet, publisher, and diplomat (d. 1998)
  • 1923 – Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious leader, founded Sahaja Yoga (d. 2011)
  • 1923 – Rezső Nyers, Hungarian politician (d. 2018)
  • 1924 – Philip Abbott, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1924 – Dov Shilansky, Lithuanian-Israeli lawyer and politician (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Harold Ashby, American saxophonist (d. 2003)
  • 1925 – Peter Brook, English-French director and producer
  • 1925 – Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (d. 1964)
  • 1926 – André Delvaux, Belgian director and screenwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1927 – Halton Arp, American-German astronomer and critic (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Hans-Dietrich Genscher, German soldier and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Maurice Catarcio, American wrestler (d. 2005)
  • 1930 – James Coco, American actor (d. 1987)
  • 1930 – Otis Spann, American blues pianist, singer and composer (d. 1970)
  • 1931 – Toyonobori, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1998)
  • 1931 – Clark L. Brundin, American-English engineer and academic
  • 1931 – Catherine Gibson, Scottish swimmer (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Al Williamson, American illustrator (d. 2010)
  • 1932 – Walter Gilbert, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1932 – Joseph Silverstein, American violinist and conductor (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – John Hall, English businessman
  • 1933 – Michael Heseltine, Welsh businessman and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • 1934 – Al Freeman, Jr., American actor and director (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Brian Clough, English footballer and manager (d. 2004)
  • 1936 – Ed Broadbent, Canadian pilot and politician
  • 1936 – Mike Westbrook, English pianist and composer
  • 1937 – Ann Clwyd, Welsh journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
  • 1937 – Tom Flores, American football player and coach
  • 1937 – Pierre-Jean Rémy, French diplomat and author (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Michael Foreman, English author and illustrator
  • 1938 – Grahame Thomas, Australian cricketer
  • 1939 – Kathleen Widdoes, American actress
  • 1940 – Solomon Burke, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1940 – Andrea Elle, German bicyclist
  • 1942 – Françoise Dorléac, French actress (d. 1967)
  • 1942 – Kostas Politis, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2018)
  • 1942 – Amina Claudine Myers, African-American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1942 – Patcha Ramachandra Rao, India metallurgist, educator and administrator (d. 2010)
  • 1943 – István Gyulai, Hungarian sprinter and sportscaster (d. 2006)
  • 1943 – Hartmut Haenchen, German conductor
  • 1943 – Vivian Stanshall, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter (d. 1995)
  • 1944 – Marie-Christine Barrault, French actress
  • 1944 – Janet Daley, American-English journalist and author
  • 1944 – Hideki Ishima, Japanese guitarist
  • 1944 – Mike Jackson, English general
  • 1944 – David Lindley, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1944 – Gaye Adegbalola, African-American singer and guitarist
  • 1945 – Anthony Grabiner, Baron Grabiner, English lawyer
  • 1945 – Charles Greene, American sprinter and coach
  • 1945 – Rose Stone, African-American R&B singer and keyboard player
  • 1946 – Timothy Dalton, Welsh-English actor
  • 1946 – Ray Dorset, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1946 – Joseph Mitsuaki Takami, Japanese cardinal
  • 1947 – George Johnston. Scottish footballer, forward
  • 1948 – Scott Fahlman, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1949 – Alvin Kallicharran, Guyanese cricketer and coach
  • 1949 – Andy Love, Scottish-English politician
  • 1949 – Eddie Money, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
  • 1949 – Slavoj Žižek, Slovenian sociologist, philosopher, and academic
  • 1950 – Roger Hodgson, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1950 – Ron Oden, American minister and politician, 19th Mayor of Palm Springs
  • 1950 – Sergey Lavrov, Russian politician and diplomat, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1951 – Conrad Lozano, American bass player
  • 1951 – Russell Thompkins Jr., American soul singer
  • 1953 – Steve Furber, English computer scientist and academic
  • 1953 – Paul Martin Lester, American photographer, author, and educator
  • 1953 – David Wisniewski, English-American author and illustrator (d. 2002)
  • 1955 – Fadi Abboud, Lebanese economist and politician
  • 1955 – Jair Bolsonaro, Brazilian politician and retired military officer, 38th President of Brazil
  • 1955 – Bob Bennett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1955 – Dimitrios Papadimoulis, Greek politician
  • 1955 – Bärbel Wöckel, East German sprinter
  • 1956 – Dick Beardsley, American runner
  • 1956 – Guy Chadwick, German-English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1956 – Richard H. Kirk, English guitarist, keyboard player, composer, and producer
  • 1956 – Ingrid Kristiansen, Norwegian runner
  • 1958 – Marlies Göhr, German sprinter
  • 1958 – Brad Hall, American comedian, director, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Gary Oldman, English actor, filmmaker, musician and author
  • 1959 – Sarah Jane Morris, English singer-songwriter
  • 1959 – Yuval Rotem, Israeli diplomat
  • 1959 – Nobuo Uematsu, Japanese keyboard player and composer
  • 1960 – Marwan Farhat, Syrian actor and voice actor
  • 1960 – Benito T. de Leon, Filipino general
  • 1960 – Raivo Puusepp, Estonian architect
  • 1960 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (d. 1994)
  • 1960 – Robert Sweet, American drummer and producer
  • 1961 – Lothar Matthäus, German footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Gary O’Reilly, English footballer, defender
  • 1961 – Kassie DePaiva, American actress
  • 1961 – Slim Jim Phantom, American rock drummer
  • 1961 – Kim Turner, American hurdler
  • 1962 – Matthew Broderick, American actor
  • 1962 – Kathy Greenwood, Canadian actress and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Rosie O’Donnell, American actress, producer, and talk show host
  • 1962 – Mark Waid, American author
  • 1963 – Shawon Dunston, American baseball player
  • 1963 – Ronald Koeman, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1963 – Shawn Lane, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 2003)
  • 1963 – Share Pedersen, American bass player
  • 1964 – Ieuan Evans, Welsh rugby player
  • 1964 – Jesper Skibby, Danish cyclist
  • 1965 – Xavier Bertrand, French businessman and politician, French Minister of Social Affairs
  • 1965 – Thomas Frank, American author, historian and political analyst
  • 1966 – Benito Archundia, Mexican footballer, referee, lawyer, and economist
  • 1966 – Hauke Fuhlbrügge, German runner
  • 1966 – Matthew Maynard, English cricketer and coach
  • 1966 – Moa Matthis, Swedish author
  • 1967 – Carwyn Jones, Welsh lawyer and politician, First Minister of Wales
  • 1967 – Mirela Rupic, American costume and fashion designer
  • 1968 – Cameron Clyne, Australian businessman
  • 1968 – Andrew Copeland, American singer and guitarist
  • 1968 – Gary Walsh, English football coach and former footballer
  • 1968 – Greg Ellis, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Tolunay Kafkas, Turkish footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Scott Williams, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Jonah Goldberg, American journalist and author
  • 1970 – Shiho Niiyama, Japanese voice actress (d. 2000)
  • 1970 – Cenk Uygur, Turkish-American political activist
  • 1971 – Zsolt Kürtösi, Hungarian decathlete
  • 1972 – Chris Candido, American wrestler (d. 2005)
  • 1972 – Balázs Kiss, Hungarian hammer thrower
  • 1972 – Derartu Tulu, Ethiopian runner
  • 1972 – Graeme Welch, English cricketer
  • 1973 – Ananda Lewis, American television host
  • 1973 – Stuart Nethercott, English footballer, defender and manager
  • 1973 – Large Professor, American rapper and producer
  • 1974 – Rhys Darby, New Zealand comedian and actor
  • 1974 – Dejima Takeharu, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1974 – Edsel Dope, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1974 – Ted Kravitz, British presenter and Formula One pit-lane reporter
  • 1974 – Kevin Leahy, American drummer
  • 1974 – Conor Woodman, Irish journalist and author
  • 1975 – Yacoub Al-Mohana, Kuwaiti director and producer
  • 1975 – Corne Krige, South African rugby player
  • 1975 – Fabricio Oberto, Argentinian-Italian basketball player
  • 1975 – Vitaly Potapenko, Ukrainian basketball player and coach
  • 1975 – Mark Williams, Welsh snooker player
  • 1976 – Rachael MacFarlane, American voice actress and singer
  • 1976 – Bamboo Mañalac, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1976 – Tekin Sazlog, German-Turkish footballer
  • 1977 – Bruno Cirillo, Italian footballer
  • 1977 – Jamie Delgado, English tennis player
  • 1978 – Sally Barsosio, Kenyan runner
  • 1978 – Joyce Jimenez, Filipino movie and TV actress
  • 1978 – Charmaine Dragun, Australian journalist (d. 2007)
  • 1978 – Cristian Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
  • 1978 – Mohammad Rezaei, Iranian wrestler
  • 1980 – Ronaldinho, Brazilian footballer
  • 1980 – Marit Bjørgen, Norwegian skier
  • 1980 – Lee Jin, South Korean singer and actress
  • 1980 – Deryck Whibley, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1981 – Germano Borovicz Cardoso Schweger, Brazilian footballer
  • 1981 – Sébastien Chavanel, French cyclist
  • 1981 – Glenn Hall, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Jason King, Australian rugby league player
  • 1981 – Todd Polglase, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Maria Elena Camerin, Italian tennis player
  • 1982 – Ejegayehu Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
  • 1982 – Aaron Hill, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Colin Turkington, Northern Irish race car driver
  • 1983 – Lucila Pascua, Spanish basketball player
  • 1983 – Jean Ondoa, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1984 – Tiago dos Santos Roberto, Brazilian footballer
  • 1984 – Guillermo Daniel Rodríguez, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1985 – Ryan Callahan, American ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Adrian Peterson, American football player
  • 1986 – Scott Eastwood, American actor
  • 1986 – Michu, Spanish footballer
  • 1986 – Romanos Alyfantis, Greek swimmer
  • 1986 – Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou, Greek pole vaulter
  • 1987 – Carlos Carrasco, Venezuelan baseball pitcher
  • 1988 – Kateřina Čechová, Czech sprinter
  • 1988 – Erik Johnson, American ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Eric Krüger, German sprinter
  • 1988 – Michael Madl, Austrian footballer, defender
  • 1989 – Jordi Alba, Spanish footballer
  • 1989 – Nicolás Lodeiro, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1990 – Mandy Capristo, German singer-songwriter and dancer
  • 1990 – Ryann Krais, American runner and heptathlete
  • 1990 – Alex Nimo, Liberian-American soccer player
  • 1991 – Luke Chapman, English footballer
  • 1991 – Antoine Griezmann, French footballer
  • 1992 – Lehlogonolo Masalesa, South African footballer
  • 1992 – Karolína Plíšková, Czech tennis player
  • 1993 – Jake Bidwell, English footballer
  • 1993 – Jesse Joronen, Finnish footballer
  • 1994 – Margaret Lu, American fencer
  • 1997 – Martina Stoessel, Argentine actress
  • 2000 – Jace Norman, American actor

Deaths on March 21

  • 543 or 547 – Benedict of Nursia, Italian saint (b. 480)
  • 867 – Ælla, king of Northumbria
  • 867 – Osberht, king of Northumbria
  • 1034 – Ezzo, Count Palatine of Lotharingia (b. 955)
  • 1063 – Richeza of Lotharingia (b. 995)
  • 1076 – Robert I, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1011)
  • 1201 – Absalon, Danish archbishop (b. c. 1128)
  • 1306 – Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1248)
  • 1372 – Rudolf VI, Margrave of Baden
  • 1487 – Nicholas of Flüe, Swiss monk and saint (b. 1417)
  • 1540 – John de Vere, 15th Earl of Oxford, English peer and courtier (b. c. 1482)
  • 1556 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop (b. 1489)
  • 1571 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal and Protestant (b. 1517)
  • 1617 – Pocahontas, Algonquian Indigenous princess (b. c. 1595)
  • 1653 – Tarhoncu Ahmed Pasha, Albanian politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
  • 1656 – James Ussher, Irish archbishop (b. 1581)
  • 1676 – Henri Sauval, French historian and author (b. 1623)
  • 1729 – John Law, Scottish-French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1671)
  • 1729 – Elżbieta Sieniawska, politically influential Polish magnate (b. 1669)
  • 1734 – Robert Wodrow, Scottish historian and author (b. 1679)
  • 1751 – Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (b. 1706)
  • 1752 – Gio Nicola Buhagiar, Maltese painter (b. 1698)
  • 1762 – Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, French priest, astronomer, and academic (b. 1713)
  • 1772 – Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, French geographer and cartographer (b. 1703)
  • 1795 – Giovanni Arduino, Italian miner and geologist (b. 1714)
  • 1801 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian composer and educator (b. 1741)
  • 1804 – Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien (b. 1772)
  • 1843 – Robert Southey, English poet, historian, and translator (b. 1774)
  • 1843 – Guadalupe Victoria, Mexican general and politician, 1st President of Mexico (b. 1786)
  • 1854 – Pedro María de Anaya, Mexican soldier. President (1847-1848) (b. 1795)
  • 1863 – Edwin Vose Sumner, American general (b. 1797)
  • 1869 – Juan Almonte, son of José María Morelos, was a Mexican soldier and diplomat who served as a regent in the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (b. 1803)
  • 1884 – Ezra Abbot, American scholar and academic (b. 1819)
  • 1891 – Joseph E. Johnston, American general (b. 1807)
  • 1915 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American golfer, tennis player, and engineer (b. 1856)
  • 1920 – Evelina Haverfield, British suffragette and aid worker (b. 1867)
  • 1932 – Frantz Reichel, French rugby player and hurdler (b. 1871)
  • 1934 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1878)
  • 1934 – Lilyan Tashman, American actress (b. 1896)
  • 1936 – Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1865)
  • 1939 – Evald Aav, Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1900)
  • 1939 – Ali Hikmet Ayerdem, Turkish general and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1943 – Cornelia Fort, American soldier and pilot (b. 1919)
  • 1945 – Arthur Nebe, German SS officer (b. 1894)
  • 1951 – Willem Mengelberg, Dutch conductor and composer (b. 1871)
  • 1953 – Ed Voss, American basketball player (b. 1922)
  • 1956 – Hatı Çırpan, Turkish politician (b. 1890)
  • 1958 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American soldier and author (b. 1923)
  • 1970 – Manolis Chiotis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1920)
  • 1975 – Joe Medwick, American baseball player and coach (b. 1911)
  • 1978 – Cearbhall Ó Dálaigh, President of Ireland (b. 1911)
  • 1980 – Peter Stoner, American mathematician and astronomer (b. 1888)
  • 1985 – Michael Redgrave, English actor, director, and manager (b. 1908)
  • 1987 – Walter L. Gordon, Canadian accountant, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Finance (b. 1906)
  • 1987 – Robert Preston, American captain, actor, and singer (b. 1918)
  • 1991 – Vedat Dalokay, Turkish architect and politician, Mayor of Ankara (b. 1927)
  • 1991 – Leo Fender, American businessman, founded Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (b. 1909)
  • 1992 – John Ireland, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914)
  • 1992 – Natalie Sleeth, American pianist and composer (b. 1930)
  • 1994 – Macdonald Carey, American actor (b. 1913)
  • 1994 – Lili Damita, French-American actress and singer (b. 1904)
  • 1994 – Aleksandrs Laime, Latvian-born explorer (b. 1911)
  • 1997 – Wilbert Awdry, English cleric and author, created Thomas the Tank Engine (b. 1911)
  • 1998 – Galina Ulanova, Russian ballerina (b. 1910)
  • 1999 – Jean Guitton, French philosopher and author (b. 1905)
  • 1999 – Ernie Wise, English comedian and actor (b. 1925)
  • 2001 – Chung Ju-yung, South Korean businessman, founded Hyundai (b. 1915)
  • 2001 – Anthony Steel, English actor and singer (b. 1920)
  • 2002 – Herman Talmadge, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 70th Governor of Georgia (b. 1913)
  • 2003 – Shivani, Indian author (b. 1923)
  • 2003 – Umar Wirahadikusumah, Indonesian general and politician, 4th Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1924)
  • 2004 – Ludmilla Tchérina, French actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Barney Martin, American police officer and actor (b. 1923)
  • 2005 – Bobby Short, American singer and pianist (b. 1924)
  • 2007 – Drew Hayes, American author and illustrator (b. 1969)
  • 2007 – Sven O. Høiby, Norwegian hurdler and journalist (b. 1936)
  • 2008 – Denis Cosgrove, English-American geographer and academic (b. 1948)
  • 2008 – Guillermo Jullian de la Fuente, Chilean architect and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2009 – Walt Poddubny, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1960)
  • 2010 – Wolfgang Wagner, German director and manager (b. 1919)
  • 2011 – Loleatta Holloway, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
  • 2011 – Gerd Klier, German footballer (b. 1944)
  • 2011 – Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer and manager (b. 1931)
  • 2011 – Pinetop Perkins, American singer and pianist (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – Albrecht Dietz, German economist and businessman (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Ron Erhardt, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Robert Fuest, English director, screenwriter, and production designer (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Tonino Guerra, Italian poet and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Irving Louis Horowitz, American sociologist, author, and academic (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – Yuri Razuvaev, Russian chess player and trainer (b. 1945)
  • 2012 – Marina Salye, Russian geologist and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2013 – Chinua Achebe, Nigerian novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Rick Hautala, American author and screenwriter (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Harlon Hill, American football player and coach (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter and politician (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Giancarlo Zagni, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Qoriniasi Bale, Fijian lawyer and politician, 25th Attorney-General of Fiji (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Bill Boedeker, American football player and soldier (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Jack Fleck, American golfer (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Simeon Oduoye, Nigerian police officer and politician (b. 1945)
  • 2014 – James Rebhorn, American actor (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Iraqi patriarch (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Ishaya Bakut, Nigerian general and politician, Governor of Benue State (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – James C. Binnicker, American sergeant (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Hans Erni, Swiss painter, sculptor, and illustrator (b. 1909)
  • 2015 – Jørgen Ingmann, Danish singer and guitarist (Grethe and Jørgen Ingmann) (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (b. 1955)
  • 2017 – Chuck Barris, American game show host and producer (b. 1929)
  • 2017 – Colin Dexter, English author (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (2007–2017) (b. 1950)
  • 2017 – Mike Hall, British cyclist (b. 1981)
  • 2019 – Victor Hochhauser CBE, British music promoter (b. 1923)[21]
  • 2019 – Gonzalo Portocarrero, Peruvian sociologist (b. 1949)

Holidays and observances on March 21

  • Arbor Day (Portugal)
  • Birth of Benito Juárez, a Fiestas Patrias (Mexico)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Benedetta Cambiagio Frassinello
    • Passing of Saint Benedict (Order of Saint Benedict)
    • Birillus
    • Enda of Aran
    • Nicholas of Flüe
    • Serapion of Thmuis
    • Thomas Cranmer (Anglicanism)
    • March 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Holy Saturday can fall, while April 24 is the latest; celebrated on the Saturday before Easter (Christianity)
  • Education Freedom Day
  • Harmony Day (Australia)
  • Human Rights Day (South Africa)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Namibia from South African mandate in 1990
  • International Colour Day (International)
  • International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (International)
  • International Day of Forests (International), by proclamation of the United Nations General Assembly
  • Mother’s Day (most of the Arab world)
  • National Tree Planting Day (Lesotho)
  • Newroz (Iran, Kurdistan, Mesopotamia)
  • Truant’s Day (Poland, Faroe Islands)
  • Vernal equinox related observances (see March 20)
  • World Down Syndrome Day (International)
  • World Poetry Day (International)
  • World Puppetry Day (International)
  • Youth Day (Tunisia)

March 21- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

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