1804

  • May 16 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 946 – Emperor Suzaku abdicates the throne in favor of his brother Murakami who becomes the 62nd emperor of Japan.
    • 1204 – Having been elected on May 9, Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders is crowned as the first Emperor of the Latin Empire.
    • 1426 – Gov. Thado of Mohnyin becomes king of Ava.
    • 1527 – The Florentines drive out the Medici for a second time and Florence re-establishes itself as a republic.
    • 1532 – Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England.
    • 1568 – Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England.
    • 1584 – Santiago de Vera becomes sixth Governor-General of the Spanish colony of the Philippines.
    • 1739 – The Battle of Vasai concludes as the Marathas defeat the Portuguese army.
    • 1770 – The 14-year-old Marie Antoinette marries 15-year-old Louis-Auguste, who later becomes king of France.
    • 1771 – The Battle of Alamance, a pre-American Revolutionary War battle between local militia and a group of rebels called The “Regulators”, occurs in present-day Alamance County, North Carolina.
    • 1811 – Peninsular War: The allies Spain, Portugal and United Kingdom, defeat the French at the Battle of Albuera.
    • 1812 – Imperial Russia signs the Treaty of Bucharest, ending the Russo-Turkish War. The Ottoman Empire cedes Bessarabia to Russia.
    • 1822 – Greek War of Independence: The Turks capture the Greek town of Souli.
    • 1832 – Juan Godoy discovers the rich silver outcrops of Chañarcillo sparking the Chilean silver rush.
    • 1834 – The Battle of Asseiceira is fought, the last and decisive engagement of the Liberal Wars in Portugal.
    • 1842 – The first major wagon train heading for the Pacific Northwest sets out on the Oregon Trail from Elm Grove, Missouri, with 100 pioneers.
    • 1866 – The United States Congress establishes the nickel.
    • 1868 – The United States Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson by one vote.
    • 1874 – A flood on the Mill River in Massachusetts destroys much of four villages and kills 139 people.
    • 1877 – The 16 May 1877 crisis occurs in France, ending with the dissolution of the National Assembly 22 June and affirming the interpretation of the Constitution of 1875 as a parliamentary rather than presidential system. The elections held in October 1877 led to the defeat of the royalists as a formal political movement in France.
    • 1888 – Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
    • 1891 – The International Electrotechnical Exhibition opens in Frankfurt, Germany, and will feature the world’s first long-distance transmission of high-power, three-phase electric current (the most common form today).
    • 1916 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the French Third Republic sign the secret wartime Sykes-Picot Agreement partitioning former Ottoman territories such as Iraq and Syria.
    • 1918 – The Sedition Act of 1918 is passed by the U.S. Congress, making criticism of the government during wartime an imprisonable offense. It will be repealed less than two years later.
    • 1919 – A naval Curtiss NC-4 aircraft commanded by Albert Cushing Read leaves Trepassey, Newfoundland, for Lisbon via the Azores on the first transatlantic flight.
    • 1920 – In Rome, Pope Benedict XV canonizes Joan of Arc.
    • 1929 – In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony takes place.
    • 1943 – The Holocaust: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising ends.
    • 1951 – The first regularly scheduled transatlantic flights begin between Idlewild Airport (now John F Kennedy International Airport) in New York City and Heathrow Airport in London, operated by El Al Israel Airlines.
    • 1959 – The Triton Fountain in Valletta, Malta is turned on for the first time.
    • 1960 – Theodore Maiman operates the first optical laser (a ruby laser), at Hughes Research Laboratories in Malibu, California.
    • 1961 – Park Chung-hee leads a coup d’état to overthrow the Second Republic of South Korea.
    • 1966 – The Communist Party of China issues the “May 16 Notice”, marking the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
    • 1969 – Venera program: Venera 5, a Soviet space probe, lands on Venus.
    • 1974 – Josip Broz Tito is elected president for life of Yugoslavia.
    • 1988 – A report by the Surgeon General of the United States C. Everett Koop states that the addictive properties of nicotine are similar to those of heroin and cocaine.
    • 1991 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom addresses a joint session of the United States Congress. She is the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress.
    • 1997 – Mobutu Sese Seko, the President of Zaire, flees the country.
    • 2003 – In Morocco, 33 civilians are killed and more than 100 people are injured in the Casablanca terrorist attacks.
    • 2005 – Kuwait permits women’s suffrage in a 35–23 National Assembly vote.
    • 2011 – STS-134 (ISS assembly flight ULF6), launched from the Kennedy Space Center on the 25th and final flight for Space Shuttle Endeavour.
    • 2014 – Twelve people are killed in two explosions in the Gikomba market area of Nairobi, Kenya.

    Births on May 16

    • 1418 – John II of Cyprus, King of Cyprus and Armenia and also titular King of Jerusalem from 1432 to 1458 (probable; d. 1458)
    • 1455 – Wolfgang I of Oettingen, German count (d. 1522)
    • 1542 – Anna Sibylle of Hanau-Lichtenberg, German noblewoman (d. 1580)
    • 1606 – John Bulwer, British doctor (d. 1656)
    • 1611 – Pope Innocent XI (d. 1689)
    • 1641 – Dudley North, English economist and politician (d. 1691)
    • 1710 – William Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot, English politician, Lord Steward of the Household (d. 1782)
    • 1718 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician and philosopher (d. 1799)
    • 1763 – Louis Nicolas Vauquelin, French pharmacist and chemist (d. 1829)
    • 1788 – Friedrich Rückert, German poet and translator (d. 1866)
    • 1801 – William H. Seward, American lawyer and politician, 24th United States Secretary of State (d. 1872)
    • 1804 – Elizabeth Palmer Peabody, American educator who founded the first U.S. kindergarten (d. 1894)
    • 1819 – Johann Voldemar Jannsen, Estonian journalist and poet (d. 1890)
    • 1821 – Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician and statistician (d. 1894)
    • 1824 – Levi P. Morton, American banker and politician, 22nd United States Vice President (d. 1920)
    • 1824 – Edmund Kirby Smith, American general (d. 1893)
    • 1827 – Pierre Cuypers, Dutch architect, designed the Amsterdam Centraal railway station and Rijksmuseum (d. 1921)
    • 1831 – David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, co-invented the microphone (d. 1900)
    • 1862 – Margaret Fountaine, English lepidopterist and diarist (d.1940)
    • 1876 – Fred Conrad Koch, American biochemist and endocrinologist (d. 1948)
    • 1879 – Pierre Gilliard, Swiss author and academic (d. 1962)
    • 1882 – Simeon Price, American golfer (d. 1945)
    • 1883 – Celâl Bayar, Turkish politician, 3rd President of Turkey (d. 1986)
    • 1888 – Royal Rife, American microbiologist and instrument maker (d. 1971)
    • 1890 – Edith Grace White, American ichthyologist (d. 1975)
    • 1892 – Osgood Perkins, American actor (d. 1937)
    • 1894 – Walter Yust, American journalist and writer (d. 1960)
    • 1897 – Zvi Sliternik, Israeli entomologist and academic (d. 1994)
    • 1898 – Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-American painter (d. 1980)
    • 1898 – Desanka Maksimović, Serbian poet and academic (d. 1993)
    • 1898 – Kenji Mizoguchi, Japanese director and screenwriter (d. 1956)
    • 1903 – Charles F. Brannock, American inventor and manufacturer (d. 1992)
    • 1905 – Henry Fonda, American actor (d. 1982)
    • 1906 – Ernie McCormick, Australian cricketer (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Alfred Pellan, Canadian painter and educator (d. 1988)
    • 1906 – Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan lawyer, journalist, and author (d. 2001)
    • 1906 – Margret Rey, German author and illustrator (d. 1996)
    • 1907 – Bob Tisdall, Irish hurdler (d. 2004)
    • 1909 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress and singer (d. 1960)
    • 1909 – Luigi Villoresi, Italian race car driver (d. 1997)
    • 1910 – Olga Bergholz, Russian poet and author (d. 1975)
    • 1910 – Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (d. 2014)
    • 1910 – Aleksandr Ivanovich Laktionov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1972)
    • 1912 – Studs Terkel, American historian and author (d. 2008)
    • 1913 – Gordon Chalk, Australian politician, 30th Premier of Queensland (d. 1991)
    • 1913 – Woody Herman, American singer, saxophonist, and clarinet player (d. 1987)
    • 1914 – Edward T. Hall, American anthropologist and author (d. 2009)
    • 1915 – Mario Monicelli, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1916 – Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (d. 2009)
    • 1917 – Ben Kuroki, American sergeant and pilot (d. 2015)
    • 1917 – James C. Murray, American lawyer and politician (d. 1999)
    • 1917 – Juan Rulfo, Mexican author and photographer (d. 1986)
    • 1918 – Wilf Mannion, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
    • 1919 – Liberace, American pianist and entertainer (d. 1987)
    • 1919 – Ramon Margalef, Spanish ecologist and biologist (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Martine Carol, French actress (d. 1967)
    • 1921 – Harry Carey, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1923 – Victoria Fromkin, American linguist and academic (d. 2000)
    • 1923 – Merton Miller, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
    • 1923 – Peter Underwood, English parapsychologist and author (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Dawda Jawara, 1st President of the Gambia (d. 2019)
    • 1925 – Nancy Roman, American astronomer (d. 2018)
    • 1925 – Ola Vincent, Nigerian banker and economist (d. 2012)
    • 1925 – Nílton Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Billy Martin, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989)
    • 1929 – Betty Carter, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
    • 1929 – John Conyers, American lawyer and politician (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Claude Morin, Canadian academic and politician
    • 1929 – Adrienne Rich, American poet, essayist, and feminist (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 2000)
    • 1931 – Vujadin Boškov, Serbian footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Hana Brady, Jewish-Czech Holocaust victim (d.1944)
    • 1931 – K. Natwar Singh, Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs
    • 1931 – Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., American soldier and politician, 85th Governor of Connecticut
    • 1934 – Kenneth O. Morgan, Welsh historian and author
    • 1934 – Antony Walker, English general
    • 1935 – Floyd Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1936 – Karl Lehmann, German cardinal (d. 2018)
    • 1937 – Yvonne Craig, American ballet dancer and actress (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Stuart Bell, English lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Ivan Sutherland, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1938 – Marco Aurelio Denegri, Peruvian television host and sexologist (d. 2018)
    • 1941 – Denis Hart, Australian archbishop
    • 1942 – David Penry-Davey, English lawyer and judge (d. 2015)
    • 1943 – Kay Andrews, Baroness Andrews, English politician
    • 1943 – Dan Coats, American politician and diplomat, 29th United States Ambassador to Germany
    • 1943 – Wieteke van Dort, Dutch actress, comedian, singer, writer and artist
    • 1944 – Billy Cobham, Panamanian-American drummer, composer, and bandleader
    • 1944 – Antal Nagy, Hungarian footballer
    • 1944 – Danny Trejo, American actor
    • 1946 – John Law, English sociologist and academic
    • 1946 – Robert Fripp, English guitarist, songwriter and producer
    • 1947 – Cheryl Clarke, American writer
    • 1947 – Darrell Sweet, Scottish drummer (d. 1999)
    • 1947 – Roch Thériault, Canadian religious leader (d. 2011)
    • 1948 – Jesper Christensen, Danish actor, director, and producer
    • 1948 – Judy Finnigan, English talk show host and author
    • 1948 – Enrico Fumia, Italian automobile and product designer
    • 1948 – Emma Georgina Rothschild, English historian and academic
    • 1948 – Staf Van Roosbroeck, Belgian cyclist
    • 1949 – Rick Reuschel, American baseball player
    • 1950 – Georg Bednorz, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1950 – Ray Condo, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2004)
    • 1950 – Bruce Coville, American author
    • 1951 – Christian Lacroix, French fashion designer
    • 1951 – Jonathan Richman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – Janet Soskice, Canadian philosopher and theologian
    • 1952 – James Herndon, American psychologist and academic
    • 1953 – Pierce Brosnan, Irish-American actor and producer
    • 1953 – Peter Onorati, American actor
    • 1953 – Richard Page, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1953 – Kitanoumi Toshimitsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 55th Yokozuna (d. 2015)
    • 1953 – David Maclean, Scottish politician
    • 1953 – Stephen Woolman, Lord Woolman, Scottish judge and academic
    • 1954 – Dafydd Williams, Canadian physician and astronaut
    • 1955 – Olga Korbut, Soviet gymnast
    • 1955 – Jack Morris, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1955 – Hazel O’Connor, English-born Irish singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1955 – Páidí Ó Sé, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1955 – Debra Winger, American actress
    • 1956 – Loretta Schrijver, Dutch television host, news anchor
    • 1957 – Joan Benoit, American runner
    • 1957 – Benjamin Mancroft, 3rd Baron Mancroft, English politician
    • 1957 – Yuri Shevchuk, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Anthony St John, 22nd Baron St John of Bletso, English lawyer and businessman
    • 1957 – Bob Suter, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1959 – Mitch Webster, American baseball player
    • 1959 – Mare Winningham, American actress and singer-songwriter
    • 1960 – Landon Deireragea, Nauruan politician, Nauruan Speaker of Parliament
    • 1960 – S. Shanmuganathan, Sri Lankan commander and politician (d. 1998)
    • 1961 – Kevin McDonald, Canadian actor and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Charles Wright, American wrestler
    • 1962 – Jimmy Hood, Scottish engineer and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1962 – Helga Radtke, German long jumper
    • 1963 – Rachel Griffith, Anglo-American economist
    • 1963 – David Wilkinson, English theologian and academic
    • 1964 – John Salley, American basketball player and actor
    • 1964 – Boyd Tinsley, American singer-songwriter and violinist
    • 1964 – Milton Jones, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Krist Novoselic, American bass player, songwriter, author, and activist
    • 1965 – Tanel Tammet, Estonian computer scientist, engineer, and academic
    • 1966 – Janet Jackson, American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actress
    • 1966 – Scott Reeves, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1966 – Thurman Thomas, American football player
    • 1967 – Doug Brocail, American baseball player and coach
    • 1967 – Susan Williams, Baroness Williams of Trafford, British politician
    • 1968 – Ralph Tresvant, American singer and producer
    • 1969 – David Boreanaz, American actor
    • 1969 – Tucker Carlson, American journalist, co-founded The Daily Caller
    • 1969 – Steve Lewis, American sprinter
    • 1970 – Gabriela Sabatini, Argentinian tennis player
    • 1970 – Danielle Spencer, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1971 – Phil Clarke, English rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Rachel Goswell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1972 – Christian Califano, French rugby player
    • 1972 – Matthew Hart, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1973 – Tori Spelling, American actress, reality television personality, and author
    • 1974 – Laura Pausini, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1974 – Sonny Sandoval, American singer-songwriter and rapper
    • 1975 – Tony Kakko, Finnish musician, composer, and vocalist
    • 1975 – Simon Whitfield, Canadian triathlete
    • 1976 – Dirk Nannes, Australian-Dutch cricketer
    • 1977 – Melanie Lynskey, New Zealand actress
    • 1977 – Emilíana Torrini, Icelandic singer-songwriter
    • 1978 – Scott Nicholls, English motorcycle racer
    • 1978 – Lionel Scaloni, Argentinian footballer
    • 1980 – Nuria Llagostera Vives, Spanish tennis player
    • 1981 – Ricardo Costa, Portuguese footballer
    • 1982 – Łukasz Kubot, Polish tennis player
    • 1983 – Daniel Kerr, Australian footballer
    • 1983 – Kyle Wellwood, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Darío Cvitanich, Argentinian footballer
    • 1984 – Tomáš Fleischmann, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Jensen Lewis, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Rick Rypien, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
    • 1985 – Anja Mittag, German footballer
    • 1985 – Rodrigo Peters Marques, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Corey Perry, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Megan Fox, American actress
    • 1986 – Andy Keogh, Irish footballer
    • 1986 – Shamcey Supsup, Filipino model and architect
    • 1987 – Tom Onslow-Cole, English race car driver
    • 1988 – Jesús Castillo, Mexican footballer
    • 1988 – Martynas Gecevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1988 – Jaak Põldma, Estonian tennis player
    • 1989 – Behati Prinsloo, Namibian model
    • 1990 – Amanda Carreras, Gibraltarian tennis player
    • 1990 – Thomas Brodie-Sangster, English actor
    • 1990 – Darko Šarović, Serbian sprinter
    • 1990 – Omar Strong, American basketball player
    • 1991 – Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgarian tennis player
    • 1991 – Joey Graceffa, American internet celebrity
    • 1991 – Ashley Wagner, American figure skater
    • 1992 – Jeff Skinner, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Kirstin Maldonado, American singer and songwriter
    • 1993 – Johannes Thingnes Bø, Norwegian biathlete
    • 1993 – Karol Mets, Estonian footballer
    • 1993 – IU, Korean singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1995 – Elizabeth Ralston, Australian footballer
    • 1996 – Louisa Chirico, an American tennis player

    Deaths on May 16

    • 290 – Emperor Wu of Jin, Chinese emperor (b. 236)
    • 895 – Qian Kuan, Chinese nobleman
    • 934 – Meng Hanqiong, eunuch official of Later Tang
    • 995 – Fujiwara no Michitaka, Japanese nobleman (b. 953)
    • 1182 – John Komnenos Vatatzes, Byzantine general (b. 1132)
    • 1265 – Simon Stock, English-French saint (b. 1165)
    • 1375 – Liu Bowen, Chinese military strategist, officer, statesman and poet (b. 1311)
    • 1412 – Gian Maria Visconti, Duke of Milan (b. 1388)
    • 1561 – Jan Tarnowski, Polish noble and statesman (b. 1488)
    • 1620 – William Adams, English sailor and navigator (b. 1564)
    • 1657 – Andrew Bobola, Polish missionary and martyr (b. 1591)
    • 1667 – Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1607)
    • 1669 – Pietro da Cortona, Italian painter and architect, designed the Santi Luca e Martina (b. 1596)
    • 1691 – Jacob Leisler, German-American politician, 8th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1640)
    • 1696 – Mariana of Austria, Queen consort of Spain (b. 1634)
    • 1703 – Charles Perrault, French author and academic (b. 1628)
    • 1778 – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1718)
    • 1790 – Philip Yorke, 2nd Earl of Hardwicke, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire (b. 1720)
    • 1818 – Matthew Lewis, English author and playwright (b. 1775)
    • 1823 – Grace Elliott, Scottish courtesan and spy (b. c.1754)
    • 1830 – Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1768)
    • 1862 – Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (b. 1796)
    • 1882 – Reuben Chapman, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of Alabama (b. 1799)
    • 1890 – Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet, linguist and theologist (b. 1843)
    • 1891 – Ion C. Brătianu, Romanian politician, 14th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1821)
    • 1910 – Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (b. 1856)
    • 1913 – Louis Perrier, Swiss architect and politician (b. 1849)
    • 1920 – Levi P. Morton, American politician, 22nd United States Vice President (b. 1824)
    • 1926 – Mehmed VI, Ottoman sultan (b. 1861)
    • 1936 – Leonidas Paraskevopoulos, Greek general and politician (b. 1860)
    • 1938 – Joseph Strauss, American engineer, co designed The Golden Gate Bridge (b. 1870)
    • 1943 – Alfred Hoche, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1865)
    • 1944 – George Ade, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1866)
    • 1946 – Bruno Tesch, German chemist and businessman (b. 1890)
    • 1947 – Frederick Gowland Hopkins, English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
    • 1947 – Zhang Lingfu, Chinese general (b. 1903)
    • 1953 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (b. 1910)
    • 1954 – Clemens Krauss, Austrian conductor and manager (b. 1893)
    • 1955 – James Agee, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic(b. 1909)
    • 1955 – Manny Ayulo, American race car driver (b. 1921)
    • 1956 – H. B. Reese, American candy-maker and businessman, created Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (b. 1876)
    • 1957 – Eliot Ness, American federal agent (b. 1903)
    • 1961 – George A. Malcolm, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1881)
    • 1973 – Jacques Lipchitz, Lithuanian-American sculptor (b. 1891)
    • 1977 – Modibo Keïta, Malian politician, 1st President of Mali (b. 1915)
    • 1979 – A. Philip Randolph, American union leader and activist (b. 1889)
    • 1981 – Ernie Freeman, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1922)
    • 1981 – Willy Hartner, German physician and academic (b. 1905)
    • 1984 – Andy Kaufman, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1949)
    • 1984 – Irwin Shaw, American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1913)
    • 1985 – Margaret Hamilton, American actress (b. 1902)
    • 1989 – Leila Kasra, Iranian poet and songwriter (b. 1939)
    • 1990 – Sammy Davis Jr., American singer, dancer, and actor (b. 1925)
    • 1990 – Jim Henson, American puppeteer, director, producer, and screenwriter, created The Muppets (b. 1936)
    • 1993 – Marv Johnson, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1938)
    • 1994 – Alain Cuny, French actor (b. 1908)
    • 1996 – Jeremy Michael Boorda, American admiral (b. 1939)
    • 1997 – Elbridge Durbrow, American diplomat (b. 1903)
    • 2002 – Alec Campbell, Australian soldier (b. 1899)
    • 2003 – Mark McCormack, American lawyer and sports agent, founded IMG (b. 1930)
    • 2005 – Andrew Goodpaster, American general (b. 1915)
    • 2008 – Robert Mondavi, American winemaker, co-founded the Opus One Winery (b. 1913)
    • 2010 – Ronnie James Dio, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1942)
    • 2010 – Hank Jones, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1918)
    • 2011 – Ralph Barker, English author (b. 1917)
    • 2011 – Bob Davis, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1928)
    • 2011 – Edward Hardwicke, English actor (b. 1932)
    • 2011 – Kiyoshi Kodama, Japanese actor (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Patricia Aakhus, American author and academic (b. 1952)
    • 2012 – James Abdnor, American soldier and politician, 30th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Chuck Brown, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Ernie Chan, Filipino-American illustrator (b. 1940)
    • 2012 – Kevin Hickey, American baseball player (b. 1956)
    • 2013 – Angelo Errichetti, American politician (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Bryan Illerbrun, Canadian football player (b. 1957)
    • 2013 – Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Dick Trickle, American race car driver (b. 1941)
    • 2013 – Bernard Waber, American author and illustrator (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Chris Duckworth, Zimbabwean-South African cricketer (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Vito Favero, Italian cyclist (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Bud Hollowell, American baseball player and manager (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Clyde Snow, American anthropologist and author (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Prashant Bhargava, American director and producer (b. 1973)
    • 2015 – Moshe Levinger, Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Flora MacNeil, Scottish Gaelic singer (b. 1928)
    • 2019 – Piet Blauw, Dutch politician (b. 1937)
    • 2019 – Bob Hawke, Australian politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1929)
    • 2019 – I. M. Pei, Chinese-American architect (b. 1917)

    Holidays and observances on May 16

    • Christian feast day:
      • Aaron (Coptic Church)
      • Abda and Abdjesus, and companions:
        • Abdas of Susa
      • Andrew Bobola
      • Brendan the Navigator (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • Caroline Chisholm (Church of England)
      • Gemma Galgani (Passionists Calendar)
      • Germerius
      • Honoratus of Amiens
      • John of Nepomuk
      • Margaret of Cortona
      • Peregrine of Auxerre
      • Simon Stock
      • Ubald (see Saint Ubaldo Day)
    • Martyrs of Sudan (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Mass Graves Day (Iraq)
    • National Day, declared by Salva Kiir Mayardit (South Sudan)
    • Teachers’ Day (Malaysia)

  • May 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1097 – The Siege of Nicaea begins during the First Crusade.
    • 1264 – Battle of Lewes: Henry III of England is captured and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the effective ruler of England.
    • 1509 – Battle of Agnadello: In northern Italy, French forces defeat the Republic of Venice.
    • 1607 – Jamestown, Virginia is settled as an English colony.
    • 1608 – The Protestant Union, a coalition of Protestant German states, is founded to defend the rights, land and safety of each member against the Catholic Church and Catholic German states.
    • 1610 – Henry IV of France is assassinated by Catholic zealot François Ravaillac, and Louis XIII ascends the throne.
    • 1643 – Four-year-old Louis XIV becomes King of France upon the death of his father, Louis XIII.
    • 1747 – War of the Austrian Succession: A British fleet under Admiral George Anson defeats the French at the First Battle of Cape Finisterre.
    • 1796 – Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox inoculation.
    • 1800 – The 6th United States Congress recesses, and the process of moving the U.S. Government from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., begins the following day.
    • 1804 – William Clark and 42 men depart from Camp Dubois to join Meriwether Lewis at St. Charles, Missouri, marking the beginning of the Lewis and Clark Expedition‘s historic journey up the Missouri River.
    • 1811 – Paraguay: Pedro Juan Caballero, Fulgencio Yegros and José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia start actions to depose the Spanish governor.
    • 1836 – The Treaties of Velasco are signed in Velasco, Texas.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Jackson takes place.
    • 1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Utsunomiya Castle ends as former Tokugawa shogunate forces withdraw northward.
    • 1870 – The first game of rugby in New Zealand is played in Nelson between Nelson College and the Nelson Rugby Football Club.
    • 1878 – The last witchcraft trial held in the United States begins in Salem, Massachusetts, after Lucretia Brown, an adherent of Christian Science, accused Daniel Spofford of attempting to harm her through his mental powers.
    • 1879 – The first group of 463 Indian indentured laborers arrives in Fiji aboard the Leonidas.
    • 1913 – Governor of New York William Sulzer approves the charter for the Rockefeller Foundation, which begins operations with a $100 million donation from John D. Rockefeller.
    • 1918 – Cape Town Mayor, Sir Harry Hands, inaugurates the Two-minute silence.
    • 1925 – Virginia Woolf’s novel Mrs Dalloway is published.
    • 1931 – Five unarmed civilians are killed in the Ådalen shootings, as the Swedish military is called in to deal with protesting workers.
    • 1935 – The Constitution of the Philippines is ratified by a popular vote.
    • 1939 – Lina Medina becomes the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.
    • 1940 – World War II: Rotterdam, Netherlands is bombed by the Luftwaffe of Nazi Germany despite a ceasefire, killing about 900 people and destroying the historic city center.
    • 1943 – World War II: A Japanese submarine sinks AHS Centaur off the coast of Queensland.
    • 1948 – Israel is declared to be an independent state and a provisional government is established. Immediately after the declaration, Israel is attacked by the neighboring Arab states, triggering the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
    • 1951 – Trains run on the Talyllyn Railway in Wales for the first time since preservation, making it the first railway in the world to be operated by volunteers.
    • 1955 – Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact.
    • 1961 – Civil rights movement: A white mob twice attacks a Freedom Riders bus near Anniston, Alabama, before fire-bombing the bus and attacking the civil rights protesters who flee the burning vehicle.
    • 1970 – Andreas Baader is freed from custody by Ulrike Meinhof, Gudrun Ensslin and others, a pivotal moment in the formation of the Red Army Faction.
    • 1973 – Skylab, the United States’ first space station, is launched.
    • 1977 – A Dan-Air Boeing 707 leased to IAS Cargo Airlines crashes on approach to Lusaka International Airport (now Kenneth Kaunda International Airport) in Lusaka, Zambia, killing six people.
    • 1980 – Salvadoran Civil War: the Sumpul River massacre occurs in Chalatenango, El Salvador.
    • 1988 – Carrollton bus collision: A drunk driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 71 near Carrollton, Kentucky hits a converted school bus carrying a church youth group. Twenty-seven die in the crash and ensuing fire.
    • 2004 – The Constitutional Court of South Korea overturns the impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.
    • 2004 – Rico Linhas Aéreas Flight 4815 crashes into the Amazon rainforest during approach to Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus, Brazil, killing 33 people.
    • 2010 – Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on the STS-132 mission to deliver the first shuttle-launched Russian ISS component — Rassvet. This was originally slated to be the final launch of Atlantis, before Congress approved STS-135.
    • 2012 – Agni Air Flight CHT crashes in Nepal after a failed go-around, killing 15 people.

    Births on May 14

    • 1316 – Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1378)
    • 1553 – Margaret of Valois (d. 1615)
    • 1574 – Francesco Rasi, Italian singer-songwriter, theorbo player, and poet (d. 1621)
    • 1592 – Alice Barnham, wife of statesman Francis Bacon (d. 1650)
    • 1630 – Katakura Kagenaga, Japanese samurai (d. 1681)
    • 1652 – Johann Philipp Förtsch, German composer (d. 1732)
    • 1657 – Sambhaji, Indian emperor (d. 1689)
    • 1666 – Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia (d. 1732)
    • 1679 – Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer and mathematician (d. 1764)
    • 1699 – Hans Joachim von Zieten, Prussian general (d. 1786)
    • 1701 – William Emerson, English mathematician and academic (d. 1782)
    • 1710 – Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (d. 1771)
    • 1725 – Ludovico Manin, the last Doge of Venice (d. 1802)
    • 1727 – Thomas Gainsborough, English painter (d. 1788)
    • 1737 – George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney, Irish-English politician and diplomat, Governor of Grenada (d. 1806)
    • 1752 – Timothy Dwight IV, American minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1817)
    • 1752 – Albrecht Thaer, German agronomist and author (d. 1828)
    • 1761 – Samuel Dexter, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of War, 3rd United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1816)
    • 1771 – Robert Owen, Welsh businessman and social reformer (d. 1858)
    • 1771 – Thomas Wedgwood, English photographer (d. 1805)
    • 1781 – Friedrich Ludwig Georg von Raumer, German historian and academic (d. 1873)
    • 1794 – Fanny Imlay, daughter of British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (d. 1816)
    • 1814 – Charles Beyer, German-English engineer, co-founded Beyer, Peacock and Company (d. 1876)
    • 1817 – Alexander Kaufmann, German poet and educator (d. 1893)
    • 1820 – James Martin, Irish-Australian politician, 6th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1886)
    • 1830 – Antonio Annetto Caruana, Maltese archaeologist and author (d. 1905)
    • 1832 – Rudolf Lipschitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1903)
    • 1851 – Anna Laurens Dawes, American author and suffragist (d. 1938)
    • 1852 – Henri Julien, Canadian illustrator (d. 1908)
    • 1863 – John Charles Fields, Canadian mathematician, founder of the Fields Medal (d. 1932)
    • 1867 – Kurt Eisner, German journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Bavaria (d. 1919)
    • 1868 – Magnus Hirschfeld, German physician and sexologist (d. 1935)
    • 1869 – Arthur Rostron, English captain (d. 1940)
    • 1872 – Elia Dalla Costa, Italian cardinal (d. 1961)
    • 1878 – J. L. Wilkinson, American baseball player and manager (d. 1964)
    • 1879 – Fred Englehardt, American jumper (d. 1942)
    • 1880 – Wilhelm List, German field marshal (d. 1971)
    • 1881 – Lionel Hill, Australian politician, 30th Premier of South Australia (d. 1963)
    • 1881 – George Murray Hulbert, American judge and politician (d. 1950)
    • 1885 – Otto Klemperer, German composer and conductor (d. 1973)
    • 1887 – Ants Kurvits, Estonian general and politician, 10th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1943)
    • 1888 – Archie Alexander, American mathematician and engineer (d. 1958)
    • 1893 – Louis Verneuil, French actor and playwright (d. 1952)
    • 1897 – Sidney Bechet, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (d. 1959)
    • 1897 – Ed Ricketts, American biologist and ecologist (d. 1948)
    • 1899 – Charlotte Auerbach, German-Jewish Scottish folklorist, geneticist, and zoologist. (d.1994)
    • 1899 – Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist and academic (d. 1993)
    • 1899 – Earle Combs, American baseball player and coach (d. 1976)
    • 1900 – Hal Borland, American journalist and author (d. 1978)
    • 1900 – Walter Rehberg, Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1957)
    • 1900 – Cai Chang, Chinese first leader of All-China Women’s Federation (d. 1990)
    • 1900 – Leo Smit, Dutch pianist and composer (d. 1943)
    • 1900 – Edgar Wind, German-English historian, author, and academic (d. 1971)
    • 1901 – Robert Ritter, German psychologist and physician (d. 1951)
    • 1903 – Billie Dove, American actress (d. 1997)
    • 1904 – Hans Albert Einstein, Swiss-American engineer and educator (d. 1973)
    • 1904 – Marcel Junod, Swiss physician and anesthesiologist (d. 1961)
    • 1905 – Jean Daniélou, French cardinal and theologian (d. 1974)
    • 1905 – Herbert Morrison, American soldier and journalist (d. 1989)
    • 1905 – Antonio Berni, Argentinian painter, illustrator, and engraver (d. 1981)
    • 1907 – Ayub Khan, Pakistani general and politician, 2nd President of Pakistan (d. 1974)
    • 1907 – Hans von der Groeben, German journalist and diplomat (d. 2005)
    • 1908 – Betty Jeffrey, Australian nurse and author (d. 2000)
    • 1909 – Godfrey Rampling, English sprinter and colonel (d. 2009)
    • 1910 – Ken Viljoen, South African cricketer (d. 1974)
    • 1910 – Ne Win, Prime Minister and President of Burma (d. 2002)
    • 1914 – Gul Khan Nasir, Pakistani journalist, poet, and politician (d. 1983)
    • 1914 – William Thomas Tutte, British codebreaker and mathematician (d. 2002)
    • 1916 – Robert F. Christy, Canadian-American physicist and astronomer (d. 2012)
    • 1916 – Lance Dossor, English-Australian pianist and educator (d. 2005)
    • 1916 – Marco Zanuso, Italian architect and designer (d. 2001)
    • 1917 – Lou Harrison, American composer and critic (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – Norman Luboff, American composer and conductor (d. 1987)
    • 1919 – Solange Chaput-Rolland, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2001)
    • 1919 – John Hope, American soldier and meteorologist (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Richard Deacon, American actor (d. 1984)
    • 1922 – Franjo Tuđman, Yugoslav historian; later 1st President of Croatia (d. 1999)
    • 1923 – Adnan Pachachi, Iraqi politician, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2019)
    • 1923 – Mrinal Sen, Bangladeshi-Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1925 – Sophie Kurys, American baseball player (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Patrice Munsel, American soprano and actress (d. 2016)
    • 1925 – Boris Parsadanian, Armenian-Estonian violinist and composer (d. 1997)
    • 1925 – Al Porcino, American trumpet player (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Ninian Sanderson, Scottish race car driver (d. 1985)
    • 1926 – Eric Morecambe, English comedian and actor (d. 1984)
    • 1927 – Herbert W. Franke, Austrian scientist and author
    • 1928 – Dub Jones, American R&B bass singer (d. 2000)
    • 1928 – Frederik H. Kreuger, Dutch engineer, author, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Brian Macdonald, Canadian dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Barbara Branden, Canadian-American author (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Henry McGee, English actor and singer (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – William James, Australian general and physician (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Alvin Lucier, American composer and academic
    • 1932 – Robert Bechtle, American lithographer and painter
    • 1933 – Siân Phillips, Welsh actress and singer
    • 1935 – Ethel Johnson, American professional wrestler (d. 2018)
    • 1935 – Rudi Šeligo, Slovenian playwright and politician (d. 2004)
    • 1936 – Bobby Darin, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1973)
    • 1936 – Dick Howser, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1987)
    • 1938 – Robert Boyd, English pediatrician and academic
    • 1939 – Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (d. 2016)
    • 1939 – Troy Shondell, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1940 – Chay Blyth, Scottish sailor and rower
    • 1940 – H. Jones, English colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1982)
    • 1940 – George Mathewson, Scottish banker and businessman
    • 1941 – Ada den Haan, Dutch swimmer
    • 1942 – Valeriy Brumel, Russian high jumper (d. 2003)
    • 1942 – Byron Dorgan, American lawyer and politician
    • 1942 – Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green, English businessman and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1942 – Tony Pérez, Cuban-American baseball player and manager
    • 1942 – Malise Ruthven, Irish author and academic
    • 1943 – Jack Bruce, Scottish-English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2014)
    • 1943 – L. Denis Desautels, Canadian accountant and civil servant
    • 1943 – Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Icelandic academic and politician, 5th President of Iceland
    • 1943 – Derek Leckenby, English pop-rock guitarist (d. 1994)
    • 1943 – Richard Peto, English statistician and epidemiologist
    • 1944 – Gene Cornish, Canadian-American guitarist
    • 1944 – George Lucas, American director, producer, and screenwriter, founded Lucasfilm
    • 1944 – David Kelly, Welsh scientist (d. 2003)
    • 1945 – Francesca Annis, English actress
    • 1945 – George Nicholls, English rugby player
    • 1945 – Yochanan Vollach, Israeli footballer
    • 1946 – Sarah Hogg, Viscountess Hailsham, English economist and journalist
    • 1947 – Al Ciner, American pop-rock guitarist
    • 1947 – Ana Martín, Mexican actress, singer producer and former model (Miss Mexico 1963)
    • 1948 – Timothy Stevenson, English lawyer and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire
    • 1948 – Bob Woolmer, Indian-English cricketer and coach (d. 2007)
    • 1949 – Sverre Årnes, Norwegian author, screenwriter, and director
    • 1949 – Walter Day, American game designer and businessman, founded Twin Galaxies
    • 1949 – Johan Schans, Dutch swimmer
    • 1949 – Klaus-Peter Thaler, German cyclist
    • 1951 – Jay Beckenstein, American saxophonist
    • 1952 – David Byrne, Scottish singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1952 – Michael Fallon, Scottish politician, Secretary of State for Defence
    • 1952 – Orna Grumberg, Israeli computer scientist and academic
    • 1952 – Raul Mälk, Estonian politician, 22nd Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1952 – Wim Mertens, Belgian composer, countertenor vocalist, pianist, guitarist, and musicologist.
    • 1952 – Donald R. McMonagle, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1952 – Robert Zemeckis, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1953 – Tom Cochrane, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1953 – Hywel Williams, Welsh politician
    • 1955 – Marie Chouinard, Canadian dancer and choreographer
    • 1955 – Alasdair Fraser, Scottish fiddler
    • 1955 – Peter Kirsten, South African cricketer and rugby player
    • 1955 – Dennis Martínez, Nicaraguan baseball player and coach
    • 1955 – Jens Sparschuh, German author and playwright
    • 1956 – Hazel Blears, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
    • 1956 – Steve Hogarth, English singer-songwriter and keyboardist
    • 1958 – Christine Brennan, American journalist and author
    • 1958 – Chris Evans, English-Australian politician, 26th Australian Minister for Employment
    • 1958 – Rudy Pérez, Cuban-born American composer and music producer
    • 1958 – Wilma Rusman, Dutch runner
    • 1959 – Carlisle Best, Barbadian cricketer
    • 1959 – Patrick Bruel, French actor, singer, and poker player
    • 1959 – Markus Büchel, Liechtensteiner politician, 9th Prime Minister of Liechtenstein (d. 2013)
    • 1959 – Robert Greene, American author and translator
    • 1959 – John Holt, American football player (d. 2013)
    • 1959 – Rick Vaive, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1959 – Heather Wheeler, English politician
    • 1960 – Anne Clark, English singer-songwriter and poet
    • 1960 – Alec Dankworth, English bassist and composer
    • 1960 – Frank Nobilo, New Zealand golfer
    • 1960 – Ronan Tynan, Irish tenor
    • 1961 – David Quantick, English journalist and critic
    • 1961 – Tommy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 2015)
    • 1961 – Tim Roth, English actor and director
    • 1961 – Alain Vigneault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1962 – Ian Astbury, English-Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1962 – C.C. DeVille, American guitarist, songwriter, and actor
    • 1962 – Danny Huston, Italian-American actor and director
    • 1963 – Pat Borders, American baseball player and coach
    • 1963 – David Yelland, English journalist and author
    • 1964 – James M. Kelly, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1964 – Suzy Kolber, American sportscaster and producer
    • 1964 – Alan McIndoe, Australian rugby league player
    • 1964 – Eric Peterson, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1965 – Eoin Colfer, Irish author
    • 1966 – Marianne Denicourt, French actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1966 – Mike Inez, American rock bass player and songwriter
    • 1966 – Fab Morvan, French singer-songwriter, dancer and model
    • 1966 – Raphael Saadiq, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1967 – Natasha Kaiser-Brown, American sprinter and coach
    • 1967 – Tony Siragusa, American football player and journalist
    • 1968 – Mary DePiero, Canadian diver
    • 1969 – Cate Blanchett, Australian actress
    • 1969 – Sabine Schmitz, German race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Henry Smith, English politician
    • 1969 – Danny Wood, American singer-songwriter, record producer, and choreographer
    • 1971 – Deanne Bray, American actress
    • 1971 – Sofia Coppola, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Martin Reim, Estonian footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Kirstjen Nielsen, American attorney, 6th United States Secretary of Homeland Security
    • 1973 – Natalie Appleton, Canadian singer and actress
    • 1973 – Voshon Lenard, American basketball player
    • 1973 – Fraser Nelson, Scottish journalist
    • 1973 – Hakan Ünsal, Turkish footballer and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Julian White, English rugby player
    • 1974 – Anu Välba, Estonian journalist
    • 1975 – Nicki Sørensen, Danish cyclist
    • 1976 – Hunter Burgan, American bass player
    • 1976 – Brian Lawrence, American baseball player and coach
    • 1976 – Martine McCutcheon, English actress and singer
    • 1977 – Sophie Anderton, English model and actress
    • 1977 – Roy Halladay, American baseball player (d. 2017)
    • 1977 – Ada Nicodemou, Cypriot-Australian actress
    • 1978 – Brent Harvey, Australian footballer
    • 1978 – Eddie House, American basketball player
    • 1978 – André Macanga, Angolan footballer and manager
    • 1978 – Gustavo Varela, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1979 – Dan Auerbach, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1979 – Edwige Lawson-Wade, French basketball player
    • 1979 – Clinton Morrison, English-Irish footballer
    • 1979 – Carlos Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer
    • 1980 – Zdeněk Grygera, Czech footballer
    • 1980 – Pavel Londak, Estonian footballer
    • 1980 – Eugene Martineau, Dutch decathlete
    • 1980 – Júlia Sebestyén, Hungarian figure skater
    • 1980 – Hugo Southwell, English-Scottish rugby player
    • 1980 – Joe van Niekerk, South African rugby player
    • 1981 – Pranav Mistry, Indian computer scientist, invented SixthSense
    • 1983 – Anahí, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1983 – Keeley Donovan, English journalist
    • 1983 – Frank Gore, American football player
    • 1983 – Uroš Slokar, Slovenian basketball player
    • 1983 – Tatenda Taibu, Zimbabwean cricketer
    • 1983 – Amber Tamblyn, American actress, author, model, director
    • 1984 – Gary Ablett, Jr., Australian footballer
    • 1984 – Luke Gregerson, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Olly Murs, English singer-songwriter
    • 1984 – Michael Rensing, German footballer
    • 1984 – Indrek Siska, Estonian footballer
    • 1984 – Mark Zuckerberg, American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Facebook
    • 1985 – Dustin Lynch, American singer-songwriter
    • 1985 – Sam Perrett, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1985 – Simona Peycheva, Bulgarian gymnast
    • 1985 – Zack Ryder, American wrestler
    • 1986 – Andrea Bovo, Italian footballer
    • 1986 – Clay Matthews III, American football player
    • 1986 – Marco Motta, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Jeong Min-hyeong, South Korean footballer (d. 2012)
    • 1987 – Franck Songo’o, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1987 – François Steyn, South African rugby player
    • 1988 – Jayne Appel, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Rob Gronkowski, American football player
    • 1989 – Alina Talay, Belorussian hurdler
    • 1993 – Miranda Cosgrove, American actress and singer
    • 1993 – Kristina Mladenovic, French tennis player
    • 1993 – Bence Rakaczki, Hungarian footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1994 – Marcos Aoás Corrêa, Brazilian footballer
    • 1994 – Pernille Blume, Danish swimmer
    • 1994 – Bronte Campbell, Australian swimmer
    • 1994 – Dennis Praet, Belgian footballer
    • 1995 – Bernardo Fernandes da Silva Junior, Brazilian footballer
    • 1995 – Jonah Placid, Australian rugby player
    • 1996 – Martin Garrix, Dutch DJ
    • 2001 – Jack Hughes, American hockey player

    Deaths on May 14

    • 649 – Pope Theodore I
    • 934 – Zhu Hongzhao, Chinese general and governor
    • 964 – Pope John XII (b. 927)
    • 1080 – William Walcher, Bishop of Durham
    • 1219 – William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, English soldier and politician (b. 1147)
    • 1470 – Charles VIII of Sweden (b. 1409)
    • 1576 – Tahmasp I, Shah of Persia (b. 1514)
    • 1603 – Magnus II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1543)
    • 1608 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1543)
    • 1610 – Henry IV of France (b. 1553)
    • 1643 – Louis XIII of France (b. 1601)
    • 1649 – Friedrich Spanheim, Swiss theologian and academic (b. 1600)
    • 1667 – Georges de Scudéry, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1601)
    • 1688 – Antoine Furetière, French scholar, lexicographer, and author (b. 1619)
    • 1754 – Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French playwright and producer (b. 1692)
    • 1761 – Thomas Simpson, English mathematician and academic (b. 1710)
    • 1847 – Fanny Mendelssohn, German pianist and composer (b. 1805)
    • 1860 – Ludwig Bechstein, German author (b. 1801)
    • 1873 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician and author (b. 1797)
    • 1878 – Ōkubo Toshimichi, Japanese samurai and politician (b. 1830)
    • 1881 – Mary Seacole, Jamaican-English nurse and author (b. 1805)
    • 1889 – Volney Howard, American lawyer, jurist, and politician (b. 1809)
    • 1893 – Ernst Kummer, German mathematician and academic (b. 1810)
    • 1906 – Carl Schurz, German-American general, journalist, and politician, 13th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1829)
    • 1912 – Frederick VIII of Denmark (b. 1843)
    • 1912 – August Strindberg, Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist (b. 1849)
    • 1918 – James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American journalist and publisher (b. 1841)
    • 1919 – Henry J. Heinz, American businessman, founded the H. J. Heinz Company (b. 1844)
    • 1923 – N. G. Chandavarkar, Indian jurist and politician (b. 1855)
    • 1923 – Charles de Freycinet, French engineer and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of France (b. 1828)
    • 1931 – David Belasco, American director, producer, and playwright (b. 1853)
    • 1934 – Lou Criger, American baseball player and manager (b. 1872)
    • 1935 – Magnus Hirschfeld, German physician and sexologist (b. 1868)
    • 1936 – Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby, English field marshal and diplomat, British High Commissioner in Egypt (b. 1861)
    • 1940 – Emma Goldman, Lithuanian author and activist (b. 1869)
    • 1940 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (b. 1902)
    • 1943 – Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)
    • 1945 – Heber J. Grant, American religious leader, 7th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1856)
    • 1945 – Wolfgang Lüth, Latvian-German captain (b. 1913)
    • 1945 – Isis Pogson, English astronomer and meteorologist (b. 1852)
    • 1953 – Yasuo Kuniyoshi, American painter and photographer (b. 1893)
    • 1954 – Heinz Guderian, Prussian-German general (b. 1888)
    • 1956 – Joan Malleson, English physician (b. 1889)
    • 1957 – Marie Vassilieff, Russian-French painter (b. 1884)
    • 1959 – Sidney Bechet, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer (b. 1897)
    • 1959 – Infanta Maria Antonia of Portugal (b. 1862)
    • 1960 – Lucrezia Bori, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1887)
    • 1962 – Florence Auer, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1880)
    • 1968 – Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (b. 1882)
    • 1969 – Enid Bennett, Australian-American actress (b. 1893)
    • 1969 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (b. 1888)
    • 1970 – Billie Burke, American actress and singer (b. 1884)
    • 1973 – Jean Gebser, German linguist, philosopher, and poet (b. 1905)
    • 1976 – Keith Relf, English singer-songwriter, harmonica player, and producer (b. 1943)
    • 1979 – Jean Rhys, Dominican-English novelist (b. 1890)
    • 1980 – Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (b. 1912)
    • 1982 – Hugh Beaumont, American actor (b. 1909)
    • 1983 – Roger J. Traynor, American academic and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of California (b. 1900)
    • 1983 – Miguel Alemán Valdés, Mexican politician, 46th President of Mexico (b. 1900)
    • 1984 – Ted Hicks, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand (b. 1910)
    • 1984 – Walter Rauff, German SS officer (b. 1906)
    • 1987 – Rita Hayworth, American actress and dancer (b. 1918)
    • 1987 – Vitomil Zupan, Slovenian poet and playwright (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) (b. 1886)
    • 1991 – Aladár Gerevich, Hungarian fencer (b. 1910)
    • 1992 – Nie Rongzhen, Chinese general and politician, Mayor of Beijing (b. 1899)
    • 1993 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (b. 1908)
    • 1994 – Cihat Arman, Turkish footballer and manager (b. 1915)
    • 1994 – W. Graham Claytor Jr., American businessman, lieutenant, and politician, 15th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1914)
    • 1995 – Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
    • 1997 – Harry Blackstone Jr., American magician and author (b. 1934)
    • 1997 – Boris Parsadanian, Armenian-Estonian violinist and composer (b. 1925)
    • 1998 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas, American journalist and environmentalist (b. 1890)
    • 1998 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Keizō Obuchi, Japanese politician, 84th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1937)
    • 2001 – Paul Bénichou, French writer, intellectual, critic, and literary historian (b. 1908)
    • 2001 – Gil Langley, Australian cricketer, footballer, and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2003 – Dave DeBusschere, American basketball player and coach (b. 1940)
    • 2003 – Wendy Hiller, English actress (b. 1912)
    • 2003 – Robert Stack, American actor and producer (b. 1919)
    • 2004 – Anna Lee, English-American actress (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – Jimmy Martin, American musician (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Lew Anderson, American actor and saxophonist (b. 1922)
    • 2006 – Stanley Kunitz, American poet and translator (b. 1905)
    • 2006 – Eva Norvind, Mexican actress, director, and producer (b. 1944)
    • 2007 – Mary Scheier, American sculptor and educator (b. 1908)
    • 2007 – Ülo Jõgi, Estonian historian and author (b. 1921)
    • 2010 – Frank J. Dodd, American businessman and politician, president of the New Jersey Senate (b. 1938)
    • 2010 – Norman Hand, American football player (b. 1972)
    • 2010 – Goh Keng Swee, Singaporean soldier and politician, 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Mario Trejo, Argentinian poet, playwright, and journalist (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Wayne Brown, American accountant and politician, 14th Mayor of Mesa (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Arsen Chilingaryan, Armenian footballer and manager (b. 1962)
    • 2013 – Asghar Ali Engineer, Indian author and activist (b. 1939)
    • 2013 – Ray Guy, Canadian journalist (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Jeffrey Kruger, English-American businessman (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Emanuel Raymond Lewis, American librarian and author (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Morvin Simon, New Zealand historian, composer, and conductor (b. 1944)
    • 2015 – B.B. King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Micheál O’Brien, Irish footballer and hurler (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Stanton J. Peale, American astrophysicist and academic (b. 1937)
    • 2015 – Franz Wright, Austrian-American poet and translator (b. 1953)
    • 2016 – Darwyn Cooke, American comic book writer and artist (b. 1962)
    • 2017 – Powers Boothe, American actor (b. 1948)
    • 2018 – Tom Wolfe, American author (b. 1931)
    • 2019 – Tim Conway, American actor, writer (b. 1933)

    Holidays and observances on May 14

    • Christian feast day:
      • Boniface of Tarsus
      • Engelmund of Velsen
      • Matthias the Apostle (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion)
      • Michael Garicoïts
      • Mo Chutu of Lismore (Roman Catholic Church)
      • Victor and Corona
      • May 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which the first day of Sanja Matsuri can fall, while May 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third weekend of May. (Sensō-ji, Tokyo)
    • Flag Day (Paraguay)
    • Hastings Banda’s Birthday (Malawi)
    • National Unification Day (Liberia)
    • The first day of Izumo-taisha Shrine Grand Festival. (Izumo-taisha)

  • May 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1373 – Julian of Norwich has visions of Jesus while suffering from a life-threatening illness, visions which are later described and interpreted in her book Revelations of Divine Love.
    • 1515 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France, and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, are officially married at Greenwich.
    • 1568 – Battle of Langside: The forces of Mary, Queen of Scots, are defeated by a confederacy of Scottish Protestants under James Stewart, Earl of Moray, her half-brother.
    • 1619 – Dutch statesman Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is executed in The Hague after being convicted of treason.
    • 1779 – War of the Bavarian Succession: Russian and French mediators at the Congress of Teschen negotiate an end to the war. In the agreement Austria receives the part of its territory that was taken from it (the Innviertel).
    • 1780 – The Cumberland Compact is signed by leaders of the settlers in the Cumberland River area of what would become the U.S. state of Tennessee, providing for democratic government and a formal system of justice.
    • 1787 – Captain Arthur Phillip leaves Portsmouth, England, with eleven ships full of convicts (the “First Fleet”) to establish a penal colony in Australia.
    • 1804 – Forces sent by Yusuf Karamanli of Tripoli to retake Derna from the Americans attack the city.
    • 1830 – Ecuador gains its independence from Gran Colombia.
    • 1846 – Mexican–American War: The United States declares war on the Federal Republic of Mexico following a dispute over the American annexation of the Republic of Texas and a Mexican military incursion.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom issues a “proclamation of neutrality” which recognizes the Confederacy as having belligerent rights.
    • 1861 – The Great Comet of 1861 is discovered by John Tebbutt of Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
    • 1861 – Pakistan’s (then a part of British India) first railway line opens, from Karachi to Kotri.
    • 1862 – The USS Planter, a steamer and gunship, steals through Confederate lines and is passed to the Union, by a southern slave, Robert Smalls, who later was officially appointed as captain, becoming the first black man to command a United States ship.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Resaca: The battle begins with Union General Sherman fighting toward Atlanta.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: Battle of Palmito Ranch: In far south Texas, the last land battle of the Civil War ends with a Confederate victory.
    • 1880 – In Menlo Park, New Jersey, Thomas Edison performs the first test of his electric railway.
    • 1888 – With the passage of the Lei Áurea (“Golden Law”), Empire of Brazil abolishes slavery.
    • 1909 – The first Giro d’Italia starts from Milan. Italian cyclist Luigi Ganna will be the winner.
    • 1912 – The Royal Flying Corps, the forerunner of the Royal Air Force, is established in the United Kingdom.
    • 1917 – Three children report the first apparition of Our Lady of Fátima in Fátima, Portugal.
    • 1940 – World War II: Germany’s conquest of France begins as the German army crosses the Meuse. Winston Churchill makes his “blood, toil, tears, and sweat” speech to the House of Commons.
    • 1940 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands flees her country to Great Britain after the German invasion. Princess Juliana takes her children to Canada for their safety.
    • 1941 – World War II: Yugoslav royal colonel Dragoljub Mihailović starts fighting against German occupation troops, beginning the Serbian resistance.
    • 1943 – World War II: Operations Vulcan and Strike force the surrender of the last Axis troops in Tunisia.
    • 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: The Kfar Etzion massacre is committed by Arab irregulars, the day before the declaration of independence of the state of Israel on May 14.
    • 1950 – The first round of the Formula One World Championship is held at Silverstone.
    • 1951 – The 400th anniversary of the founding of the National University of San Marcos is commemorated by the opening of the first large-capacity stadium in Peru.
    • 1952 – The Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India, holds its first sitting.
    • 1954 – The anti-National Service Riots, by Chinese middle school students in Singapore, take place.
    • 1954 – The original Broadway production of The Pajama Game opens and runs for another 1,063 performances. Later received three Tony Awards for Best Musical, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical, and Best Choreography.
    • 1958 – During a visit to Caracas, Venezuela, Vice President Richard Nixon’s car is attacked by anti-American demonstrators.
    • 1958 – May 1958 crisis: A group of French military officers lead a coup in Algiers demanding that a government of national unity be formed with Charles de Gaulle at its head in order to defend French control of Algeria.
    • 1958 – Ben Carlin becomes the first (and only) person to circumnavigate the world by amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 17,000 kilometres (11,000 mi) by sea and 62,000 kilometres (39,000 mi) by land during a ten-year journey.
    • 1960 – Hundreds of University of California, Berkeley students congregate for the first day of protest against a visit by the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
    • 1967 – Dr. Zakir Husain becomes the third President of India. He is the first Muslim President of the Indian Union. He holds this position until August 24, 1969.
    • 1969 – May 13 Incident involving sectarian violence in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
    • 1971 – Over 900 unarmed Bengali Hindus are murdered in the Demra massacre.
    • 1972 – Faulty electrical wiring ignites a fire underneath the Playtown Cabaret in Osaka, Japan. Blocked exits and non-functional elevators lead to 118 fatalities, with many victims leaping to their deaths.
    • 1972 – The Troubles: A car bombing outside a crowded pub in Belfast sparks a two-day gun battle involving the Provisional IRA, Ulster Volunteer Force and British Army. Seven people are killed and over 66 injured.
    • 1980 – An F3 tornado hits Kalamazoo County, Michigan. President Jimmy Carter declares it a federal disaster area.
    • 1981 – Mehmet Ali Ağca attempts to assassinate Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. The Pope is rushed to the Agostino Gemelli University Polyclinic to undergo emergency surgery and survives.
    • 1985 – Police bombed MOVE headquarters in Philadelphia to end a stand-off, killing six adults and five children, and destroying the homes of 250 city residents.
    • 1989 – Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.
    • 1990 – The Dinamo–Red Star riot took place at Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, Croatia between the Bad Blue Boys (fans of Dinamo Zagreb) and the Delije (fans of Red Star Belgrade).
    • 1992 – Li Hongzhi gives the first public lecture on Falun Gong in Changchun, People’s Republic of China.
    • 1995 – Alison Hargreaves, a 33-year-old British mother, becomes the first woman to conquer Everest without oxygen or the help of sherpas.
    • 1996 – Severe thunderstorms and a tornado in Bangladesh kill 600 people.
    • 1998 – Race riots break out in Jakarta, Indonesia, where shops owned by Indonesians of Chinese descent are looted and women raped.
    • 1998 – India carries out two nuclear weapon tests at Pokhran, following the three conducted on May 11. The United States and Japan impose economic sanctions on India.
    • 2005 – Andijan uprising, Uzbekistan; Troops open fire on crowds of protestors after a prison break; at least 187 people were killed according to official estimates.
    • 2006 – São Paulo violence: Rebellions occur in several prisons in Brazil.
    • 2011 – Two bombs explode in the Charsadda District of Pakistan killing 98 people and wounding 140 others.
    • 2012 – Forty-nine dismembered bodies are discovered by Mexican authorities on Mexican Federal Highway 40.
    • 2013 – American physician Kermit Gosnell is found guilty in Pennsylvania of murdering three infants born alive during attempted abortions, involuntary manslaughter of a woman during an abortion procedure, and other charges.
    • 2014 – An explosion at an underground coal mine in southwest Turkey kills 301 miners.

    Births on  May 13

    • 1024 – Hugh of Cluny, French abbot and saint (d. 1109)
    • 1179 – Theobald III, Count of Champagne (d. 1201)
    • 1221 – Alexander Nevsky, Russian prince and saint (d. 1263)
    • 1254 – Marie of Brabant, Queen of France (d. 1321)
    • 1453 – Mary Stewart, Countess of Arran, Scottish princess (d. 1488)
    • 1588 – Ole Worm, Danish physician and historian (d. 1654)
    • 1597 – Cornelis Schut, Flemish painter, draughtsman and engraver (d. 1655)
    • 1638 – Richard Simon, French priest and scholar (d. 1712)
    • 1699 – Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1782)
    • 1712 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician and diplomat (d. 1772)
    • 1713 – Alexis Clairaut, French mathematician, astronomer, and geophysicist (d. 1765)
    • 1717 – Maria Theresa, Archduchess, Queen, and Empress; Austrian wife of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1780)
    • 1730 – Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1782)
    • 1735 – Horace Coignet, French violinist and composer (d. 1821)
    • 1742 – Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen (d. 1798)
    • 1753 – Lazare Carnot, French general, mathematician, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1823)
    • 1792 – Pope Pius IX (d. 1878)
    • 1794 – Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (d. 1835)
    • 1795 – Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist and chronologist (d. 1875)
    • 1811 – Juan Bautista Ceballos, President of Mexico (1853) (b. 1859)
    • 1822 – Francis, Duke of Cádiz (d. 1902)
    • 1830 – Zebulon Baird Vance, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of North Carolina (d. 1894)
    • 1832 – Juris Alunāns, Latvian philologist and author (d. 1864)
    • 1840 – Alphonse Daudet, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1897)
    • 1842 – Arthur Sullivan, English composer (d. 1900)
    • 1853 – Vaiben Louis Solomon, Australian politician, 21st Premier of South Australia (d. 1908)
    • 1856 – Tom O’Rourke, American boxer and manager (d. 1938)
    • 1857 – Ronald Ross, Indian-English physician and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1932)
    • 1868 – Sumner Paine, American target shooter (d. 1904)
    • 1869 – Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Turkish writer (d. 1944)
    • 1877 – Robert Hamilton, Scottish international footballer (d. 1948)
    • 1881 – Lima Barreto, Brazilian journalist and author (d. 1922)
    • 1881 – Joe Forshaw, American runner (d. 1964)
    • 1882 – Georges Braque, French painter and sculptor (d. 1963)
    • 1883 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the pap smear (d. 1962)
    • 1884 – Oskar Rosenfeld, Jewish-Austrian writer and Holocaust victim (d.1944)
    • 1885 – Mikiel Gonzi, Maltese archbishop (d. 1984)
    • 1887 – Lorna Hodgkinson, Australian educator and educational psychologist (d. 1951)
    • 1888 – Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist and geophysicist (d. 1993)
    • 1894 – Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, Icelandic politician, 2nd President of Iceland (d. 1972)
    • 1895 – Nandor Fodor, Hungarian-American psychologist, parapsychologist, and author (d. 1964)
    • 1901 – Murilo Mendes, Brazilian poet and telegrapher (d. 1975)
    • 1904 – Louis Duffus, Australian-South African cricketer and journalist (d. 1984)
    • 1905 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th President of India (d. 1977)
    • 1907 – Daphne du Maurier, English novelist and playwright (d. 1989)
    • 1908 – Eugen Kapp, Estonian composer and educator (d. 1996)
    • 1909 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (d. 1992)
    • 1911 – Robert Middleton, American actor (d. 1977)
    • 1911 – Maxine Sullivan, American singer and actress (d. 1987)
    • 1912 – Gil Evans, Canadian-American pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1988)
    • 1912 – Judah Nadich, American colonel and rabbi (d. 2007)
    • 1913 – Robert Dorning, English actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1989)
    • 1913 – Theo Helfrich, German racing driver (d. 1978)
    • 1913 – William R. Tolbert, Jr., Liberian politician, 20th President of Liberia (d. 1980)
    • 1914 – Joe Louis, American boxer (d. 1981)
    • 1914 – Johnnie Wright, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
    • 1914 – Antonia Ferrín Moreiras, Spanish mathematician, academic, and astronomer (d. 2009)
    • 1916 – Sachidananda Routray, Indian Oriya-language poet (d. 2004)
    • 1918 – Balasaraswati, Indian dancer and instructor (d. 1984)
    • 1918 – Gwyn Howells, Australian public servant (d. 1997)
    • 1920 – Gareth Morris, English flute player (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Michael Ainsworth, English cricketer (d. 1978)
    • 1922 – Otl Aicher, German graphic designer and typographer (d. 1991)
    • 1922 – Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (d. 2009)
    • 1923 – Ruth Adler Schnee, German-American textile designer and interior designer
    • 1924 – Theodore Mann, American director and producer (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Harry Schwarz, South African anti-apartheid leader, lawyer, and Ambassador (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Archie Scott Brown, Scottish race car driver (d. 1958)
    • 1927 – Fred Hellerman, American folk singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – Herbert Ross, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2001)
    • 1928 – Enrique Bolaños, Nicaraguan politician, President of Nicaragua
    • 1928 – Édouard Molinaro, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – John Galvin, American general (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Mike Gravel, American lieutenant and politician
    • 1930 – José Jiménez Lozano, Spanish journalist and author
    • 1930 – Vernon Shaw, Dominican politician, 5th President of Dominica (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Jim Jones, American cult leader, founder of the Peoples Temple (d. 1978)
    • 1931 – Sydney Lipworth, South African-English lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist
    • 1933 – John Roseboro, American baseball player and coach (d. 2002)
    • 1934 – Ehud Netzer, Israeli archaeologist, architect, and academic (d. 2010)
    • 1934 – Leon Wagner, American baseball player and actor (d. 2004)
    • 1935 – Dominic Cossa, American opera singer
    • 1935 – Jan Saudek, Czech photographer and painter
    • 1935 – Kája Saudek, Czech author and illustrator (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – Bill Rompkey, Canadian educator and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1937 – Trevor Baylis, English inventor, invented the wind-up radio (d. 2018)
    • 1937 – Roch Carrier, Canadian librarian and author
    • 1937 – Zohra Lampert, American actress
    • 1937 – Beverley Owen, American actress (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Roger Zelazny, American author and poet (d. 1995)
    • 1938 – Giuliano Amato, Italian academic and politician, 48th Prime Minister of Italy
    • 1938 – Laurent Beaudoin, Canadian businessman
    • 1938 – Anna Cropper, British actress (d. 2007)
    • 1938 – Francine Pascal, American author and playwright
    • 1938 – Buck Taylor, American actor
    • 1939 – Hildrun Claus, German long jumper
    • 1939 – Peter Frenkel, German race walker and coach
    • 1939 – Harvey Keitel, American actor
    • 1940 – Bruce Chatwin, English author (d. 1989)
    • 1940 – Kōkichi Tsuburaya, Japanese runner (d. 1968)
    • 1941 – Senta Berger, Austrian actress
    • 1941 – Joe Brown, English singer and musician
    • 1941 – Jody Conradt, American basketball player and coach
    • 1941 – Ritchie Valens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1959)
    • 1942 – Leighton Gage, American author (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Roger Young, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Anthony Clarke, Baron Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, English lawyer and judge
    • 1943 – Kurt Trampedach, Danish painter and sculptor (d. 2013)
    • 1943 – Mary Wells, American singer-songwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1944 – Sir Crispin Agnew, 11th Baronet, Scottish explorer, lawyer, and judge
    • 1944 – Robert L. Crawford Jr., American actor
    • 1944 – Carolyn Franklin, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
    • 1944 – Armistead Maupin, American author, screenwriter, and actor
    • 1945 – Lasse Berghagen, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1945 – Magic Dick, American blues-rock harmonica, trumpet, and saxophone player
    • 1945 – Lou Marini, American saxophonist and composer
    • 1946 – Tim Pigott-Smith, English actor and author (d. 2017)
    • 1946 – Jean Rondeau, French race car driver and constructor (d. 1985)
    • 1946 – Marv Wolfman, American author
    • 1947 – Charles Baxter, American novelist, essayist, and poet
    • 1947 – Edgar Burcksen, Dutch-American film editor
    • 1948 – Sheila Jeffreys, English-Australian political scientist, author, and academic
    • 1948 – Dean Meminger, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1949 – Jane Glover, English conductor and scholar
    • 1949 – Zoë Wanamaker, American-British actress
    • 1949 – Philip Kruse, Norwegian trumpeter and orchestra leader
    • 1950 – Andy Cunningham, English actor (d. 2011)
    • 1950 – Danny Kirwan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
    • 1950 – Joe Johnston, American film director and effects artist
    • 1950 – Manning Marable, American author and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1950 – Bobby Valentine, American baseball player and manager
    • 1950 – Stevie Wonder, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1951 – Rosie Boycott, English journalist and author
    • 1951 – Sharon Sayles Belton, American politician, 45th Mayor of Minneapolis
    • 1951 – Anand Modak, Indian composer and director (d. 2014)
    • 1951 – Herman Philipse, Dutch philosopher and academic
    • 1951 – Selina Scott, English journalist, producer, and author
    • 1951 – Paul Thompson, English drummer
    • 1952 – John Kasich, American politician, 69th Governor of Ohio
    • 1952 – Mary Walsh, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Londa Schiebinger, American academic and author
    • 1953 – Zlatko Burić, Croat-Danish actor
    • 1953 – Gerry Sutcliffe, English politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
    • 1953 – David Voelker, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
    • 1953 – Harm Wiersma, Dutch draughts player and politician
    • 1953 – Ruth A. David, American electrical engineer
    • 1954 – Johnny Logan, Australian-Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1956 – Richard Madeley, English journalist and author
    • 1956 – Fred Melamed, American actor
    • 1956 – Kailash Vijayvargiya, National General Secretary of Bhartiya Janta Party
    • 1957 – Alan Ball, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Frances Barber, English actress
    • 1957 – Mark Heap, English actor
    • 1957 – David Hill, English organist and conductor
    • 1957 – Mar Roxas, Filipino economist and politician, 24th Filipino Secretary of the Interior
    • 1957 – Koji Suzuki, Japanese author and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Anthony Ray Parker, American actor
    • 1961 – Siobhan Fallon Hogan, American actress
    • 1961 – Dennis Rodman, American basketball player, wrestler, and actor
    • 1962 – Paul Burstow, English politician
    • 1962 – Nick Hurd, English businessman and politician, Minister for Civil Society
    • 1963 – Andrea Leadsom, English politician
    • 1963 – Wally Masur, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Stephen Colbert, American comedian and talk show host
    • 1964 – Chris Maitland, English drummer
    • 1964 – Tom Verica, American actor, television director, and producer
    • 1965 – José Antonio Delgado, Venezuelan mountaineer (d. 2006)
    • 1965 – Tasmin Little, English violinist and educator
    • 1965 – János Marozsán, Hungarian footballer
    • 1965 – Hikari Ōta, Japanese comedian and actor
    • 1965 – José Rijo, Dominican baseball player
    • 1965 – Lari White, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (d. 2018)
    • 1966 – Alison Goldfrapp, English singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1966 – Darius Rucker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1967 – Tish Cyrus, American actress and film producer
    • 1967 – Shon Greenblatt, American actor
    • 1967 – Tommy Gunn, pornographic actor
    • 1967 – Chuck Schuldiner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
    • 1967 – Melanie Thornton, American-German singer (d. 2001)
    • 1968 – Miguel Ángel Blanco, Spanish politician (d. 1997)
    • 1968 – Susan Floyd, American actress
    • 1968 – Scott Morrison, Australian politician, 30th Prime Minister of Australia
    • 1968 – PMD, American rapper
    • 1968 – Dmitriy Shevchenko, Russian discus thrower and coach
    • 1969 – Buckethead, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1969 – Nikos Aliagas, French-Greek journalist and television host
    • 1970 – Doug Evans, American football player
    • 1970 – Robert Maćkowiak, Polish sprinter
    • 1971 – Imogen Boorman, English actress and martial artist
    • 1971 – Rob Fredrickson, American football player
    • 1971 – Espen Lind, Norwegian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1971 – Tom Nalen, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Stefaan Maene, Belgian swimmer
    • 1972 – Darryl Sydor, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1972 – Pieta van Dishoeck, Dutch rower
    • 1973 – Eric Lewis, American pianist
    • 1973 – Bridgett Riley, American boxer and stuntwoman
    • 1975 – Jamie Allison, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Cristian Bezzi, Italian rugby player and coach
    • 1975 – Brian Geraghty, American actor
    • 1976 – Mark Delaney, Welsh footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Trajan Langdon, American basketball player and scout
    • 1976 – Ana Popović, Serbian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1976 – Magdalena Walach, Polish actress
    • 1977 – Ilse DeLange, Dutch singer-songwriter
    • 1977 – Anthony Q. Farrell, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter
    • 1977 – Robby Hammock, American baseball player and coach
    • 1977 – Neil Hopkins, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1977 – James Middlebrook, English cricketer
    • 1977 – Samantha Morton, English actress and director
    • 1977 – Brian Thomas Smith, American actor and producer
    • 1977 – Pusha T, American rapper
    • 1978 – Brooke Anderson, American journalist
    • 1978 – Mike Bibby, American basketball player and coach
    • 1978 – Ryan Bukvich, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Germán Magariños, Argentinian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1978 – Dilshan Vitharana, Sri Lankan cricketer
    • 1978 – Barry Zito, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Nuwan Zoysa, Sri Lankan cricketer
    • 1979 – Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
    • 1979 – Steve Mildenhall, English footballer
    • 1979 – Vyacheslav Shevchuk, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1980 – L. J. Smith, American football player
    • 1981 – Luciana Berger, English politician
    • 1981 – Nicolas Jeanjean, French rugby player
    • 1981 – Sunny Leone, Canadian American actress, model, and pornstar
    • 1981 – Michael Mantenuto, American actor (d. 2017)
    • 1981 – Shaun Phillips, American football player
    • 1981 – Ryan Piers Williams, American actor and film director
    • 1982 – Albert Crusat, Spanish footballer
    • 1982 – Larry Fonacier, Filipino basketball player
    • 1982 – Oguchi Onyewu, American soccer player
    • 1983 – Natalie Cassidy, English actress and singer
    • 1983 – Anita Görbicz, Hungarian handball player
    • 1983 – Johnny Hoogerland, Dutch cyclist
    • 1983 – Grégory Lemarchal, French singer (d. 2007)
    • 1983 – Jacob Reynolds, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Yaya Touré, Ivorian footballer
    • 1984 – J. B. Cox, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Benny Dayal, Indian singer
    • 1984 – Dawn Harper, American hurdler
    • 1984 – Caroline Rotich, Kenyan runner
    • 1985 – Javier Balboa, Spanish-Equatoguinean footballer
    • 1985 – Jaroslav Halák, Slovak ice hockey player
    • 1985 – David Hernandez, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Carolina Luján, Argentine chess player
    • 1985 – Iwan Rheon, Welsh actor and singer
    • 1985 – Travis Zajac, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Lena Dunham, American actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1986 – Eun-Hee Ji, South Korean golfer
    • 1986 – Robert Pattinson, English actor
    • 1986 – Alexander Rybak, Belarusian-Norwegian singer-songwriter, violinist, and actor
    • 1986 – Scott Sutter, English footballer
    • 1986 – Nino Schurter, Swiss cyclist
    • 1986 – Kris Versteeg, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Antonio Adán, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Hugo Becker, French actor
    • 1987 – Matt Doyle, American actor and singer
    • 1987 – Laura Izibor, Irish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1987 – Candice King, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1987 – Sandro Mareco, Argentine chess player
    • 1987 – Hunter Parrish, American actor and singer
    • 1987 – Marianne Vos, Dutch cyclist
    • 1987 – Charlotte Wessels, Dutch singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Bobby Shuttleworth, American soccer player
    • 1988 – Paulo Avelino, Filipino actor and singer
    • 1988 – Didier Cohen, Australian DJ, producer and media personality
    • 1988 – Casey Donovan, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1989 – P. K. Subban, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Mychal Givens, American baseball player
    • 1991 – Jennifer Beattie, Scottish footballer
    • 1991 – Anders Fannemel, Norwegian ski jumper
    • 1992 – Bill Arnold, American ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Willson Contreras, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1992 – Josh Papalii, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Georgina García Pérez, Spanish tennis player
    • 1993 – Stefan Kraft, Austrian ski jumper
    • 1993 – Debby Ryan, American actress and singer
    • 1993 – Romelu Lukaku, Belgian footballer
    • 1993 – Siim-Tanel Sammelselg, Estonian ski jumper
    • 1993 – Tones and I, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1994 – Łukasz Moneta, Polish footballer
    • 1997 – Reimis Smith, Australian rugby league player

    Deaths on May 13

    • 189 – Emperor Ling of Han, Chinese emperor (b. 156)
    • 1112 – Ulric II, Margrave of Carniola
    • 1176 – Matthias I, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1119)
    • 1285 – Robert de Ros, 1st Baron de Ros
    • 1312 – Theobald II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1263)
    • 1573 – Takeda Shingen, Japanese daimyō (b. 1521)
    • 1619 – Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch politician (b. 1547)
    • 1704 – Louis Bourdaloue, French preacher and author (b. 1632)
    • 1726 – Francesco Antonio Pistocchi, Italian singer (b. 1659)
    • 1782 – Daniel Solander, Swedish-English botanist and phycologist (b. 1736)
    • 1807 – Eliphalet Dyer, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1721)
    • 1809 – Beilby Porteus, English bishop (b. 1731)
    • 1832 – Georges Cuvier, French zoologist and academic (b. 1769)
    • 1835 – John Nash, English architect, designed the Royal Pavilion (b. 1752)
    • 1866 – Nikolai Brashman, Czech-Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1796)
    • 1878 – Joseph Henry, American physicist and academic (b. 1797)
    • 1884 – Cyrus McCormick, American businessman, co-founded the International Harvester Company (b. 1809)
    • 1885 – Friedrich Gustav Jakob Henle, German physician, pathologist, and anatomist (b. 1809)
    • 1903 – Apolinario Mabini, Filipino lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Philippines (b. 1864)
    • 1916 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (b. 1859)
    • 1921 – Jean Aicard, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1848)
    • 1926 – Libert H. Boeynaems, Belgian-American bishop (b. 1857)
    • 1929 – Arthur Scherbius, German electrical engineer, invented the Enigma machine (b. 1878)
    • 1930 – Fridtjof Nansen, Norwegian scientist, explorer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
    • 1938 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1861)
    • 1941 – Frederick Christian, English cricketer (b. 1877)
    • 1941 – Ōnishiki Uichirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 26th Yokozuna (b. 1891)
    • 1945 – Tubby Hall, American drummer (b. 1895)
    • 1946 – Zara DuPont, American suffragist (b. 1869)
    • 1947 – Sukanta Bhattacharya, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1926)
    • 1948 – Kathleen Cavendish, Marchioness of Hartington (b. 1920)
    • 1957 – Michael Fekete, Hungarian-Israeli mathematician and academic (b. 1886)
    • 1961 – Gary Cooper, American actor (b. 1901)
    • 1962 – Henry Trendley Dean, American dentist (b. 1893)
    • 1962 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (b. 1910)
    • 1963 – Alois Hudal, Austrian-Italian bishop (b. 1885)
    • 1972 – Dan Blocker, American actor (b. 1928)
    • 1974 – Jaime Torres Bodet, Mexican poet and diplomat (b. 1902)
    • 1974 – Arthur J. Burks, American colonel and author (b. 1898)
    • 1975 – Bob Wills, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1905)
    • 1977 – Mickey Spillane, American mobster (b. 1934)
    • 1985 – Leatrice Joy, American actress (b. 1893)
    • 1985 – Richard Ellmann, American literary critic and biographer (b. 1918)
    • 1988 – Chet Baker, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1929)
    • 1992 – F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor (b. 1909)
    • 1994 – Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver (b. 1920)
    • 1994 – John Swainson, Canadian-American jurist and politician, 42nd Governor of Michigan (b. 1925)
    • 1995 – Hao Wang, Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (b. 1921)
    • 1999 – Abd al-Aziz ibn Baz, Saudi Arabian scholar and academic (b. 1910)
    • 1999 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer and journalist (b. 1902)
    • 2000 – Paul Bartel, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
    • 2000 – Jumbo Tsuruta, Japanese wrestler (b. 1951)
    • 2001 – Jason Miller, American actor and playwright (b. 1939)
    • 2002 – Ruth Cracknell, Australian actress and author (b. 1925)
    • 2002 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
    • 2005 – Eddie Barclay, French record producer, founded Barclay Records (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – George Dantzig, American mathematician and academic (b. 1914)
    • 2006 – Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian and scholar (b. 1923)
    • 2006 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (b. 1949)
    • 2008 – Saad Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1930)
    • 2008 – Ron Stone, American journalist and author (b. 1936)
    • 2009 – Frank Aletter, American actor (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Meir Brandsdorfer, Belgian rabbi (b. 1934)
    • 2009 – Achille Compagnoni, Italian skier and mountaineer (b. 1914)
    • 2011 – Derek Boogaard, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1982)
    • 2011 – Stephen De Staebler, American sculptor and educator (b. 1933)
    • 2011 – Wallace McCain, Canadian businessman, co-founded McCain Foods (b. 1930)
    • 2011 – Bruce Ricker, American director and producer (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Arsala Rahmani Daulat, Afghan politician (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Donald “Duck” Dunn, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (b. 1941)
    • 2012 – Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Cuban-American theologian, author, and academic (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Lee Richardson, English speedway rider (b. 1979)
    • 2012 – Don Ritchie, Australian humanitarian (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Nguyễn Văn Thiện, Vietnamese bishop (b. 1906)
    • 2013 – Joyce Brothers, American psychologist, author, and actress (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Otto Herrigel, Namibian lawyer and politician (b. 1937)
    • 2013 – Jagdish Mali, Indian photographer (b. 1954)
    • 2013 – Chuck Muncie, American football player (b. 1953)
    • 2013 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (b. 1973)
    • 2013 – Lynne Woolstencroft, Canadian politician (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – David Malet Armstrong, Australian philosopher and author (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Malik Bendjelloul, Swedish director and producer (b. 1977)
    • 2014 – J. F. Coleman, American soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Ron Stevens, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (b. 1948)
    • 2015 – Earl Averill, Jr., American baseball player (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Robert Drasnin, American clarinet player and composer (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – David Sackett, American-Canadian physician and academic (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Gainan Saidkhuzhin, Russian cyclist (b. 1937)
    • 2018 – Margot Kidder, Canadian-American actress (b. 1948)
    • 2019 – Doris Day, American singer and actress (b. 1922)
    • 2019 – Unita Blackwell, American civil rights activist, and politician (b. 1933)

    Holidays and observances on May 13

    • Abbotsbury Garland Day (Dorset, England)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Our Lady of Fátima
      • Gerard of Villamagna
      • Glyceria
      • John the Silent (Roman Catholic)
      • Julian of Norwich (Roman Catholic)
      • Frances Perkins (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Servatius
      • May 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Rotuma Day (Rotuma)

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

    • 254 – Pope Stephen I succeeds Pope Lucius I, becoming the 23rd pope of the Catholic Church.
    • 907 – Zhu Wen forces Emperor Ai into abdicating, ending the Tang dynasty after nearly three hundred years of rule.
    • 1191 – Richard I of England marries Berengaria of Navarre in Cyprus; she is crowned Queen consort of England the same day.
    • 1328 – Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome by the Bishop of Venice.
    • 1364 – Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland, is founded in Kraków.
    • 1510 – The Prince of Anhua rebellion begins when Zhu Zhifan kills all the officials invited to a banquet and declares his intent on ousting the powerful Ming dynasty eunuch Liu Jin during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor.
    • 1551 – National University of San Marcos, the oldest university in the Americas, is founded in Lima, Peru.
    • 1588 – French Wars of Religion: Henry III of France flees Paris after Henry I, Duke of Guise, enters the city and a spontaneous uprising occurs.
    • 1593 – London playwright Thomas Kyd is arrested and tortured by the Privy Council for libel.
    • 1743 – Maria Theresa of Austria is crowned Queen of Bohemia after defeating her rival, Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1778 – Heinrich XI, count of the Principality of Reuss-Greiz, is elevated to Prince by Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1780 – American Revolutionary War: In the largest defeat of the Continental Army, Charleston, South Carolina is taken by British forces.
    • 1797 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon I of France conquers Venice.
    • 1821 – The first major battle of the Greek War of Independence against the Turks is fought in Valtetsi.
    • 1846 – The Donner Party of pioneers departs Independence, Missouri for California, on what will become a year-long journey of hardship and cannibalism.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: U.S. federal troops occupy Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Raymond: Two divisions of James B. McPherson’s XVII Corps turn the left wing of Confederate General John C. Pemberton’s defensive line on Fourteen Mile Creek, opening up the interior of Mississippi to the Union Army during the Vicksburg Campaign.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House: Union troops assault a Confederate salient known as the “Mule Shoe”, with the fiercest fighting of the war, much of it hand-to-hand combat, occurring at “the Bloody Angle” on the northwest.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Palmito Ranch: The first day of the last major land action to take place during the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.
    • 1870 – The Manitoba Act is given the Royal Assent, paving the way for Manitoba to become a province of Canada on July 15.
    • 1881 – In North Africa, Tunisia becomes a French protectorate.
    • 1885 – North-West Rebellion: The four-day Battle of Batoche, pitting rebel Métis against the Canadian government, comes to an end with a decisive rebel defeat.
    • 1888 – In Southeast Asia, the North Borneo Chartered Company’s territories become the British protectorate of North Borneo.
    • 1926 – The Italian-built airship Norge becomes the first vessel to fly over the North Pole.
    • 1932 – Ten weeks after his abduction, Charles Jr., the infant son of Charles Lindbergh, is found dead near Hopewell, New Jersey, just a few miles from the Lindberghs’ home.
    • 1933 – The Agricultural Adjustment Act, which restricts agricultural production through government purchase of livestock for slaughter and paying subsidies to farmers when they remove land from planting, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
    • 1937 – The Duke and Duchess of York are crowned as King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Westminster Abbey.
    • 1941 – Konrad Zuse presents the Z3, the world’s first working programmable, fully automatic computer, in Berlin.
    • 1942 – World War II: Second Battle of Kharkov: In eastern Ukraine, Red Army forces under Marshal Semyon Timoshenko launch a major offensive from the Izium bridgehead, only to be encircled and destroyed by the troops of Army Group South two weeks later.
    • 1942 – World War II: The U.S. tanker SS Virginia is torpedoed in the mouth of the Mississippi River by the German submarine U-507.
    • 1948 – Wilhelmina, Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, cedes the throne.
    • 1949 – Cold War: The Soviet Union lifts its blockade of Berlin.
    • 1965 – The Soviet spacecraft Luna 5 crashes on the Moon.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces attack Australian troops defending Fire Support Base Coral.
    • 1978 – In Zaire, rebels occupy the city of Kolwezi, the mining center of the province of Shaba (now known as Katanga); the local government asks the US, France and Belgium to restore order.
    • 1981 – Francis Hughes, Provisional IRA hunger striker, dies in the Maze Prison, Northern Ireland.
    • 1982 – During a procession outside the shrine of the Virgin Mary in Fátima, Portugal, security guards overpower Juan María Fernández y Krohn before he can attack Pope John Paul II with a bayonet.
    • 1989 – The San Bernardino train disaster kills four people. A week later an underground gasoline pipeline explodes killing two more people.
    • 1998 – Four students are shot at Trisakti University, leading to widespread riots and the fall of Suharto.
    • 2002 – Former US President Jimmy Carter arrives in Cuba for a five-day visit with Fidel Castro, becoming the first President of the United States, in or out of office, to visit the island since Castro’s 1959 revolution.
    • 2003 – The Riyadh compound bombings, carried out by al-Qaeda, kill 26 people.
    • 2006 – Mass unrest by the Primeiro Comando da Capital begins in São Paulo (Brazil), leaving at least 150 dead.
    • 2006 – Iranian Azeris interpret a cartoon published in an Iranian magazine as insulting, resulting in massive riots throughout the country.
    • 2008 – An earthquake (measuring around 8.0 magnitude) occurs in Sichuan, China, killing over 69,000 people.
    • 2008 – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducts the largest-ever raid of a workplace in Postville, Iowa, arresting nearly 400 immigrants for identity theft and document fraud.
    • 2010 – Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashes on final approach to Tripoli International Airport in Tripoli, Libya, killing 103 out of the 104 people on board.
    • 2015 – A train derailment in Philadelphia kills eight people and injures more than 200.
    • 2015 – Massive Nepal earthquake kills 218 people and injures more than 3500.
    • 2017 – The WannaCry ransomware attack impacts over 400 thousand computers worldwide, targeting computers of the United Kingdom’s National Health Services and Telefónica computers.
    • 2018 – Paris knife attack: A man was fatally shot by police in Paris after killing one and injuring several others.

    Births on May 13

    1401 – Emperor Shōkō of Japan (d. 1428)

    • 1479 – Pompeo Colonna, Catholic cardinal (d. 1532)
    • 1496 – Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1560)
    • 1590 – Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1621)
    • 1606 – Joachim von Sandrart, German art-historian and painter (d. 1688)
    • 1622 – Louis de Buade de Frontenac, French-Canadian soldier and politician, 3rd Governor General of New France (d. 1698)
    • 1626 – Louis Hennepin, Flemish priest and missionary (d. 1705)
    • 1670 – Augustus II the Strong, Polish king (d. 1733)
    • 1700 – Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect and engineer, designed the Palace of Caserta and Royal Palace of Milan (d. 1773)
    • 1725 – Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans (d. 1785)
    • 1739 – Johann Baptist Wanhal, Czech-Austrian organist and composer (d. 1813)
    • 1754 – Franz Anton Hoffmeister, German composer and publisher (d. 1812)
    • 1755 – Giovanni Battista Viotti, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1824)
    • 1767 – Manuel Godoy, Spanish field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1851)
    • 1774 – Ellis Cunliffe Lister, English politician (d. 1853)
    • 1777 – Mary Reibey, Australian businesswoman (d. 1855)
    • 1803 – Justus von Liebig, German chemist and academic (d. 1873)
    • 1804 – Robert Baldwin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Premier of West Canada (d. 1858)
    • 1806 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish philosopher and politician (d. 1881)
    • 1812 – Edward Lear, English poet and illustrator (d. 1888)
    • 1814 – Adolf von Henselt, German pianist and composer (d. 1889)
    • 1820 – Florence Nightingale, Italian-English nurse, social reformer, and statistician (d. 1910)
    • 1825 – Orélie-Antoine de Tounens, French lawyer and explorer (d. 1878)
    • 1828 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet and painter (d. 1882)
    • 1829 – Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer and educator (d. 1896)
    • 1839 – Tôn Thất Thuyết, Vietnamese mandarin (d. 1913)
    • 1840 – Alejandro Gorostiaga, Chilean colonel (d. 1912)
    • 1842 – Jules Massenet, French composer (d. 1912)
    • 1845 – Gabriel Fauré, French pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1924)
    • 1850 – Henry Cabot Lodge, American historian and politician (d. 1924)
    • 1850 – Frederick Holder, Australian politician, 19th Premier of South Australia (d. 1909)
    • 1859 – William Alden Smith, American lawyer and politician (d. 1932)
    • 1859 – Frank Wilson, English-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1918)
    • 1863 – Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Bengali writer, painter, violin player and composer, technologist and entrepreneur. (d. 1915)
    • 1867 – Hugh Trumble, Australian cricketer and accountant (d. 1938)
    • 1869 – Carl Schuhmann, German gymnast, wrestler, and weightlifter (d. 1946)
    • 1872 – Anton Korošec, Slovenian priest and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 1940)
    • 1873 – J. E. H. MacDonald, English-Canadian painter (d. 1932)
    • 1874 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian pediatrician and immunologist (d. 1929)
    • 1875 – Charles Holden, English architect, designed the Bristol Central Library (d. 1960)
    • 1880 – Lincoln Ellsworth, American explorer (d. 1951)
    • 1885 – Paltiel Daykan, Lithuanian-Israeli lawyer and jurist (d. 1969)
    • 1885 – Saneatsu Mushanokōji, Japanese author (d. 1976)
    • 1886 – Ernst A. Lehmann, German captain and pilot (d. 1937)
    • 1899 – Abelardo L. Rodríguez, substitute president of Mexico (d. 1967)
    • 1889 – Otto Frank, German-Swiss businessman and Holocaust survivor; father of diarist Anne Frank (d. 1980)
    • 1892 – Fritz Kortner, Austrian-German actor and director (d. 1970)
    • 1895 – William Giauque, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
    • 1895 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (d. 1986)
    • 1900 – Helene Weigel, Austrian-German actress (d. 1971)
    • 1901 – The Duke of Paducah, American country comedian, radio host and banjo player (d. 1986)
    • 1903 – Faith Bennett, British actress and ATA pilot during WWII (d. 1969)
    • 1903 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, English actor (d. 1991)
    • 1905 – Édouard Rinfret, Canadian lawyer and politician, Postmaster General of Canada (d. 1994)
    • 1907 – Leslie Charteris, English author and screenwriter (d. 1993)
    • 1907 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (d. 2003)
    • 1908 – Nicholas Kaldor, Hungarian-English economist (d. 1986)
    • 1910 – James Dudley, American baseball player, wrestling manager and executive (d. 2004)
    • 1910 – Johan Ferrier, Surinamese educator and politician, 1st President of Suriname (d. 2010)
    • 1910 – Dorothy Hodgkin, English biochemist, crystallographer, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
    • 1910 – Gordon Jenkins, American pianist and composer (d. 1984)
    • 1911 – Charles Biro, American author and illustrator (d. 1972)
    • 1912 – Henry Jonsson, Swedish runner (d. 2001)
    • 1912 – Marshal Royal, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1995)
    • 1914 – Bertus Aafjes, Dutch poet and author (d. 1993)
    • 1914 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist and actor (d. 2002)
    • 1915 – Tony Strobl, American comics artist and animator (d. 1991)
    • 1916 – Albert Murray, American author and critic (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Mary Kay Ash, American businesswoman, founded Mary Kay Cosmetics (d. 2001)
    • 1918 – Julius Rosenberg, American spy (d. 1953)
    • 1921 – Joseph Beuys, German sculptor and illustrator (d. 1986)
    • 1921 – Farley Mowat, Canadian environmentalist and author (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Marco Denevi, Argentinian lawyer and author (d. 1998)
    • 1922 – Murray Gershenz, American actor and businessman (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Bob Goldham, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 1991)
    • 1922 – Roy Salvadori, English race car driver and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Maxine Cooper, American actress and photographer (d. 2009)
    • 1924 – Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian-American mathematician and poet (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Tony Hancock, English actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1968)
    • 1925 – Yogi Berra, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2015)
    • 1926 – Paulette Poujol-Oriol, Hatian educator and writer (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Viren J. Shah, Indian politician, 21st Governor of West Bengal (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Burt Bacharach, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1929 – Sam Nujoma, Namibian politician, 1st President of Namibia
    • 1929 – Dollard St. Laurent, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Jesús Franco, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1932 – Joel Joffe, Baron Joffe, South African-English lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1933 – Andrei Voznesensky, Russian poet (d. 2010)
    • 1935 – Felipe Alou, Dominican-American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1935 – Johnny Bucyk, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1936 – Guillermo Endara, Panamanian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Panama (d. 2009)
    • 1936 – Tom Snyder, American journalist and talk show host (d. 2007)
    • 1936 – Frank Stella, American painter and sculptor
    • 1937 – Beryl Burton, English cyclist (d. 1996)
    • 1937 – George Carlin, American comedian, actor, and author (d. 2008)
    • 1937 – Susan Hampshire, English actress
    • 1937 – Miriam Stoppard, English physician and author
    • 1938 – Millie Perkins, American actress
    • 1939 – Cyril Chantler, English pediatrician and academic
    • 1939 – Jalal Dabagh, Kurdish journalist and politician
    • 1939 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek minister and politician, 69th Mayor of Athens (d. 2011)
    • 1939 – Reg Gasnier, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2014)
    • 1939 – Ron Ziegler, American politician, White House Press Secretary (d. 2003)
    • 1940 – Lill Lindfors, Swedish singer
    • 1940 – Norman Whitfield, American songwriter and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1941 – Ruud de Wolff, Dutch singer (d. 2000)
    • 1942 – Ian Dury, English singer-songwriter (d. 2000)
    • 1942 – Michel Fugain, French singer-songwriter
    • 1942 – Billy Swan, American country singer-songwriter
    • 1942 – Dragoljub Velimirović, Serbian chess player and theoretician (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Chris Patten, English academic and politician, 28th Governor of Hong Kong
    • 1945 – Alan Ball, Jr., English footballer and manager (d. 2007)
    • 1945 – Ian McLagan, English keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1945 – Patrick Ricard, French businessman (d. 2012)
    • 1946 – Daniel Libeskind, American architect, designed the Imperial War Museum North and Jewish Museum
    • 1947 – Michael Ignatieff, Canadian journalist and politician
    • 1948 – Lindsay Crouse, American actress
    • 1948 – Dave Heineman, American captain and politician, 39th Governor of Nebraska
    • 1948 – Richard Riehle, American actor
    • 1948 – Steve Winwood, English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
    • 1949 – Ross Bleckner, American painter
    • 1950 – Bruce Boxleitner, American actor and author
    • 1950 – Gabriel Byrne, Irish actor, director, and producer
    • 1950 – Helena Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, Scottish lawyer, academic, and politician
    • 1950 – Billy Squier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – George Karl, American basketball player and coach
    • 1955 – Kix Brooks, American country music singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1956 – Bernie Federko, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
    • 1956 – Sergio Marchi, Argentinean-Canadian urban planner and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of International Trade
    • 1956 – Greg Phillinganes, American keyboardist
    • 1956 – Asad Rauf, Pakistani cricketer and umpire
    • 1957 – Ziya Onis, Turkish economist and academic
    • 1958 – Kim Greist, American actress
    • 1958 – Andreas Petroulakis, Greek cartoonist
    • 1958 – Dries van Noten, Belgian fashion designer
    • 1959 – Dave Christian, American ice hockey player
    • 1959 – Ray Gillen, American rock singer-songwriter (d. 1993)
    • 1959 – Ving Rhames, American actor
    • 1960 – Lisa Martin, Australian runner
    • 1961 – Thomas Dooley, German-American soccer player and manager
    • 1961 – Billy Duffy, English rock guitarist and songwriter
    • 1961 – Bruce McCulloch, Canadian actor and comedian
    • 1962 – Emilio Estevez, American actor
    • 1962 – Brett Gurewitz, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1962 – Gregory H. Johnson, English-born American astronaut
    • 1963 – Panagiotis Fasoulas, Greek basketball player and politician
    • 1963 – Gavin Hood, South African actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1963 – Stefano Modena, Italian race car driver
    • 1963 – Vanessa A. Williams, American actress and producer
    • 1964 – Pierre Morel, French director and cinematographer
    • 1965 – Renée Simonsen, Danish model and writer
    • 1965 – Stacy Wilson, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1966 – Stephen Baldwin, American actor
    • 1966 – Bebel Gilberto, American-Brazilian singer-songwriter
    • 1966 – Deborah Kara Unger, Canadian actress
    • 1967 – Mireille Bousquet-Mélou, French mathematician
    • 1967 – Bill Shorten, Australian politician
    • 1968 – Tony Hawk, American skateboarder and actor
    • 1968 – Catherine Tate, English actress and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Suzanne Clément, Canadian actress
    • 1969 – Kim Fields, American actress
    • 1970 – Mark Foster, English swimmer
    • 1970 – Jim Furyk, American golfer
    • 1970 – Samantha Mathis, American actress
    • 1970 – Mike Weir, Canadian golfer
    • 1970 – David A. R. White, American actor and producer
    • 1971 – Doug Basham, American wrestler
    • 1971 – Jamie Luner, American actress
    • 1972 – Christian Campbell, Canadian-American actor, writer and photographer
    • 1973 – Mackenzie Astin, American actor
    • 1973 – Lutz Pfannenstiel, German footballer and manager
    • 1975 – Jonah Lomu, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2015)
    • 1975 – Ricky Ortiz, American professional wrestler and football player
    • 1976 – Kardinal Offishall, Canadian rap musician and producer
    • 1977 – Graeme Dott, Scottish snooker player and coach
    • 1977 – Maryam Mirzakhani, Iranian mathematician (d. 2017)
    • 1977 – Onur Saylak, Turkish actor, filmmaker and director
    • 1977 – Rachel Wilson, Canadian actress and voice actress
    • 1978 – Aaron Abrams, Canadian actor
    • 1978 – Malin Åkerman, Swedish-Canadian model, actress, and singer
    • 1978 – Jason Biggs, American actor and comedian
    • 1978 – Aya Ishiguro, Japanese singer and fashion designer
    • 1979 – Adrian Serioux,Canadian soccer player
    • 1979 – Aaron Yoo, American actor
    • 1980 – Keith Bogans, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Rami Malek, American actor
    • 1981 – Kentaro Sato, Japanese-American composer and conductor
    • 1981 – Dennis Trillo, Filipino actor and singer
    • 1982 – Donnie Nietes, Filipino boxer
    • 1983 – Domhnall Gleeson, Irish actor
    • 1983 – Alina Kabaeva, Russian gymnast and politician
    • 1983 – Yujiro Kushida, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
    • 1983 – Charilaos Pappas, Greek footballer
    • 1983 – Virginie Razzano, French tennis player
    • 1983 – Francisco Javier Torres, Mexican footballer
    • 1984 – Clare Bowen, Australian actress and singer
    • 1985 – Paolo Goltz, Argentinian footballer
    • 1985 – Andrew Howe, Italian long jumper and sprinter
    • 1985 – Jeroen Simaeys, Belgian footballer
    • 1986 – Jonathan Orozco, Mexican footballer
    • 1986 – Emily VanCamp, Canadian actress
    • 1987 – Kieron Pollard, Trinidadian cricketer
    • 1988 – Marcelo, Brazilian footballer
    • 1989 – Eleftheria Eleftheriou, Greek Cypriot singer, musician, and actress
    • 1990 – Florent Amodio, French figure skater
    • 1992 – Volha Khudzenka, Belarusian kayaker
    • 1995 – Luke Benward, American actor and singer
    • 1995 – Irina Khromacheva, Russian tennis player
    • 1997 – Morgan Lake, English athlete

    Deaths on May 12

    • 805 – Æthelhard, archbishop of Canterbury
    • 940 – Eutychius, patriarch of Alexandria (b. 877)
    • 1003 – Sylvester II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 946)
    • 1012 – Sergius IV, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 970)
    • 1090 – Liutold of Eppenstein, duke of Carinthia
    • 1161 – Fergus of Galloway, Scottish nobleman
    • 1182 – Valdemar I, king of Denmark (b. 1131)
    • 1331 – Engelbert of Admont, Benedictine abbot and scholar
    • 1382 – Joanna I, queen of Naples (b. 1328)
    • 1465 – Thomas Palaiologos, Despot of Morea (b. 1409)
    • 1490 – Joanna, Portuguese princess and regent (b. 1452)
    • 1529 – Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington, English noblewoman (b. 1460)
    • 1599 – Murad Mirza, Mughal prince (b. 1570)
    • 1634 – George Chapman, English poet and playwright (b. 1559)
    • 1641 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1593)
    • 1684 – Edme Mariotte, French physicist and priest (b. 1620)
    • 1699 – Lucas Achtschellinck, Flemish painter (b. 1626)
    • 1700 – John Dryden, English poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1631)
    • 1708 – Adolphus Frederick II, duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1658)
    • 1748 – Thomas Lowndes, English astronomer and academic (b. 1692)
    • 1759 – Lambert-Sigisbert Adam, French sculptor (b. 1700)
    • 1784 – Abraham Trembley, Swiss zoologist and academic (b. 1710)
    • 1792 – Charles Simon Favart, French playwright and composer (b. 1710)
    • 1796 – Johann Uz, German poet and author (b. 1720)
    • 1801 – Nicholas Repnin, Russian general and politician, Governor-General of Baltic provinces (b. 1734)
    • 1842 – Walenty Wańkowicz, Belarusian-Polish painter (b. 1799)
    • 1845 – János Batsányi, Hungarian poet and academic (b. 1763)
    • 1856 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1786)
    • 1859 – Sergey Aksakov, Russian author and academic (b. 1791)
    • 1860 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed Upper Brook Street Chapel and the Palace of Westminster (b. 1795)
    • 1864 – J. E. B. Stuart, American general (b. 1833)
    • 1867 – Friedrich Wilhelm Eduard Gerhard, German archaeologist and academic (b. 1795)
    • 1878 – Anselme Payen, French chemist and academic (b. 1795)
    • 1876 – Georgi Benkovski, Bulgarian activist (b. 1843)
    • 1884 – Bedřich Smetana, Czech composer and educator (b. 1824)
    • 1907 – Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author and critic (b. 1848)
    • 1916 – James Connolly, Scottish-born Irish socialist and rebel leader (b. 1868)
    • 1925 – Amy Lowell, American poet and critic (b. 1874)
    • 1931 – Eugène Ysaÿe, Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1858)
    • 1935 – Józef Piłsudski, Polish field marshal and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1867)
    • 1944 – Max Brand, American journalist and author (b. 1892)
    • 1944 – Arthur Quiller-Couch, English author, poet, and critic (b. 1863)
    • 1956 – Louis Calhern, American actor and singer (b. 1895)
    • 1957 – Alfonso de Portago, Spanish bobsledder and race car driver (b. 1928)
    • 1957 – Erich von Stroheim, Austrian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1885)
    • 1963 – Richard Girulatis, German footballer and manager (b. 1878)
    • 1963 – Robert Kerr, Irish-Canadian sprinter and coach (b. 1882)
    • 1964 – Agnes Forbes Blackadder, Scottish medical doctor (b. 1875)
    • 1966 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (b. 1896)
    • 1967 – John Masefield, English poet and author (b. 1878)
    • 1970 – Nelly Sachs, German poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
    • 1971 – Heinie Manush, American baseball player and coach (b. 1901)
    • 1973 – Frances Marion, American screenwriter, novelist and journalist (b. 1888)
    • 1973 – Art Pollard, American race car driver (b. 1927)
    • 1974 – Wayne Maki, Canadian National Hockey League player (b. 1944)
    • 1980 – Lillian Roth, American actress 9b. 1910)
    • 1985 – Jean Dubuffet, French painter and sculptor (b. 1901)
    • 1986 – Elisabeth Bergner, German actress (b. 1897)
    • 1992 – Nikos Gatsos, Greek poet and songwriter (b. 1911)
    • 1992 – Robert Reed, American actor (b. 1932)
    • 1993 – Zeno Colò, Italian Olympic alpine skier (b.1920)
    • 1994 – Erik Erikson, German-American psychologist and psychoanalyst (b. 1902)
    • 1994 – John Smith, Scottish-English lawyer and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1938)
    • 1995 – Ștefan Kovács, Romanian football player and coach (b. 1920)
    • 1999 – Saul Steinberg, Romanian-American illustrator (b. 1914)
    • 2000 – Adam Petty, American race car driver (b. 1980)
    • 2001 – Perry Como, American singer and television host (b. 1912)
    • 2001 – Alexei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-144 (b. 1925)
    • 2003 – Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French-American diplomat (b. 1933)
    • 2005 – Ömer Kavur, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
    • 2005 – Martin Lings, English author and scholar (b. 1909)
    • 2005 – Monica Zetterlund, Swedish actress (b. 1937)
    • 2006 – Hussein Maziq, Libyan politician, Prime Minister of Libya (b. 1918)
    • 2008 – Robert Rauschenberg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1925)
    • 2008 – Irena Sendler, Polish nurse and humanitarian (b. 1910)
    • 2009 – Antonio Vega, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Jan Bens, Dutch footballer and coach (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Eddy Paape, Belgian illustrator (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Gerd Langguth, German political scientist, author, and academic (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Cornell Borchers, Lithuanian-German actress and singer (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Marco Cé, Italian cardinal (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – H. R. Giger, Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Sarat Pujari, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
    • 2014 – Lorenzo Zambrano, Mexican businessman and philanthropist (b. 1944)
    • 2015 – Peter Gay, German-American historian, author, and academic (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – William Zinsser American journalist and critic (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (b. 1935)
    • 2017 – Mauno Koivisto, Finnish banker and politician, 9th President of Finland (b. 1923)
    • 2018 – Dennis Nilsen, Scottish serial killer (b. 1945)

    Holidays and observances on May 12

    • 2nd Amendment Day (Pennsylvania, United States)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Blessed Imelda
      • Blessed Joan of Portugal
      • Crispoldus
      • Dominic de la Calzada
      • Epiphanius of Salamis
      • Gregory Dix (Church of England)
      • Modoald
      • Nereus, Achilleus, Domitilla, and Pancras
      • Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople (Eastern Church)
      • Philip of Agira
      • May 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the Finnish Identity (Finland)
    • International Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Awareness Day
    • International Nurses Day
    • Saint Andrea the First Day (Georgia)

  • May 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; many scholars consider this the end of the Renaissance.
    • 1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanish.
    • 1536 – King Henry VIII orders English-language Bibles be placed in every church. In 1539 the Great Bible would be provided for this purpose.
    • 1542 – Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time.
    • 1659 – English Restoration: A faction of the British Army removes Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and reinstalls the Rump Parliament.
    • 1682 – Louis XIV of France moves his court to the Palace of Versailles.
    • 1757 – Battle of Prague: A Prussian army fights an Austrian army in Prague during the Seven Years’ War.
    • 1757 – The end of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, and the end of Burmese Civil War (1740–1757).
    • 1757 – English poet Christopher Smart is admitted into St Luke’s Hospital for Lunatics in London, beginning his six-year confinement to mental asylums.
    • 1782 – Construction begins on the Grand Palace, the royal residence of the King of Siam in Bangkok, at the command of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
    • 1801 – Captain Thomas Cochrane in the 14-gun HMS Speedy captures the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo.
    • 1835 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr. publishes the first issue of the New York Herald.
    • 1840 – The Penny Black postage stamp becomes valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
    • 1857 – The East India Company disbands the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry whose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British in the lead up to the War of Indian Independence.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with the defeat of the Army of the Potomac by the Army of Northern Virginia.
    • 1877 – Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Lakota surrenders to United States troops in Nebraska.
    • 1882 – Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish are stabbed to death by Fenian assassins in Phoenix Park, Dublin.
    • 1882 – The United States Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act.
    • 1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
    • 1906 – The Russian Constitution of 1906 is adopted (on April 23 by the Julian calendar).
    • 1910 – George V becomes King of Great Britain, Ireland, and many overseas territories, on the death of his father, Edward VII.
    • 1915 – Babe Ruth, then a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, hits his first major league home run.
    • 1916 – Twenty-one Lebanese nationalists are executed in Martyrs’ Square, Beirut by Djemal Pasha.
    • 1916 – Vietnamese Emperor Duy Tân is captured while calling upon the people to rise up against the French, and is later deposed and exiled to Réunion island.
    • 1933 – The Deutsche Studentenschaft attacked Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, later burning many of its books.
    • 1935 – New Deal: Under the authority of the newly-enacted Federal Emergency Relief Administration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues Executive Order 7034 to create the Works Progress Administration.
    • 1937 – Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed.
    • 1940 – John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.
    • 1941 – At California’s March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO show.
    • 1941 – The first flight of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
    • 1942 – World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrender to the Japanese.
    • 1945 – World War II: Axis Sally delivers her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Prague Offensive, the last major battle of the Eastern Front, begins.
    • 1949 – EDSAC, the first practical electronic digital stored-program computer, runs its first operation.
    • 1954 – Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
    • 1960 – More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.
    • 1966 – Myra Hindley and Ian Brady are sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors murders in England.
    • 1972 – Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin İnan are executed in Ankara after being convicted of attempting to overthrow the Constitutional order.
    • 1975 – During a lull in fighting, 100,000 Armenians gather in Beirut for the 60th anniversary commemorations of the Armenian Genocide.
    • 1976 – The 6.5 Mw  Friuli earthquake affected Northern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 900–978 dead and 1,700–2,400 injured.
    • 1983 – The Hitler Diaries are revealed as a hoax after being examined by new experts.
    • 1984 – One hundred three Korean Martyrs are canonized by Pope John Paul II in Seoul.
    • 1988 – All thirty-six passengers and crew were killed when Widerøe Flight 710 crashed into Mt. Torghatten in Brønnøy.
    • 1994 – Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiate at the opening of the Channel Tunnel.
    • 1996 – The body of former CIA director William Colby is found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he disappeared.
    • 1997 – The Bank of England is given independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank’s 300-year history.
    • 1998 – Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his fifth career start.
    • 1998 – Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. unveils the first iMac.
    • 1999 – The first elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are held.
    • 2001 – During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque.
    • 2002 – Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated following a radio-interview at the Mediapark in Hilversum.
    • 2010 – In just 36 minutes, the Dow-Jones average plunged nearly 1000 points in what is known as the 2010 Flash Crash.
    • 2013 – Three women, kidnapped and missing for more than a decade, are found alive in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

    Births on May 6

    • 973 – Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1024)
    • 1464 – Sophia Jagiellon, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Polish princess (d. 1512)
    • 1493 – Girolamo Seripando, Italian theologian and cardinal (d. 1563)
    • 1501 – Marcellus II, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1555)
    • 1574 – Innocent X, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1655)
    • 1580 – Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat, French noble (d. 1637)
    • 1635 – Johann Joachim Becher, German physician and alchemist (d. 1682)
    • 1668 – Alain-René Lesage, French author and playwright (d. 1747)
    • 1680 – Jean-Baptiste Stuck, Italian-French cellist and composer (d. 1755)
    • 1713 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher and academic (d. 1780)
    • 1714 – Anton Raaff, German tenor (d. 1797)
    • 1742 – Jean Senebier, Swiss pastor and physiologist (d. 1809)
    • 1758 – André Masséna, French general (d. 1817)
    • 1758 – Maximilien Robespierre, French lawyer and politician (d. 1794)
    • 1769 – Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1824)
    • 1769 – Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician and academic (d. 1834)
    • 1781 – Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher and author (d. 1832)
    • 1797 – Joseph Brackett, American religious leader and composer (d. 1882)
    • 1800 – Roman Sanguszko, Polish general (d. 1881)
    • 1827 – Hermann Raster, German-American journalist and politician (d. 1891)
    • 1836 – Max Eyth, German engineer and author (d. 1906)
    • 1843 – Grove Karl Gilbert, American geologist and academic (d. 1918)
    • 1848 – Henry Edward Armstrong, English chemist and academic (d. 1937)
    • 1851 – Aristide Bruant, French singer and actor (d. 1925)
    • 1856 – Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst (d. 1939)
    • 1856 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (d. 1920)
    • 1861 – Motilal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (d. 1931)
    • 1868 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (d. 1927)
    • 1869 – Junnosuke Inoue, Japanese businessman and central banker, 8th and 11th Governor of the Bank of Japan (d. 1932)
    • 1870 – Walter Rutherford, Scottish golfer (d. 1936)
    • 1871 – Victor Grignard, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)
    • 1871 – Christian Morgenstern, German author and poet (d. 1914)
    • 1872 – Willem de Sitter, Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1934)
    • 1872 – Djemal Pasha, Ottoman general (d. 1922)
    • 1879 – Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist (d. 1952)
    • 1879 – Hendrik van Heuckelum, Dutch footballer (d. 1929)
    • 1880 – Winifred Brunton, English-South African painter and illustrator (d. 1959)
    • 1880 – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German-Swiss painter (d. 1938)
    • 1883 – Alberto Collo, Italian actor (d. 1955)
    • 1895 – Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian mathematician and author (d. 1974)
    • 1895 – Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian soldier and politician, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture (d. 1946)
    • 1895 – Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (d. 1926)
    • 1896 – Rolf Maximilian Sievert, Swedish physicist and academic (d. 1966)
    • 1897 – Paul Alverdes, German author and poet (d. 1979)
    • 1898 – Konrad Henlein, Czech soldier and politician (d. 1945)
    • 1902 – Harry Golden, Ukrainian-American journalist and author (d. 1981)
    • 1902 – Max Ophüls, German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1957)
    • 1903 – Toots Shor, American businessman, founded Toots Shor’s Restaurant (d. 1977)
    • 1904 – Moshé Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (d. 1984)
    • 1904 – Catherine Lacey, English actress (d. 1979)
    • 1904 – Harry Martinson, Swedish novelist, essayist, and poet Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
    • 1905 – Philip N. Krasne, American lawyer and producer (d. 1999)
    • 1906 – André Weil, French mathematician and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1907 – Weeb Ewbank, American football player and coach (d. 1998)
    • 1911 – Guy des Cars, French journalist and author (d. 1993)
    • 1913 – Carmen Cavallaro, American pianist (d. 1989)
    • 1913 – Stewart Granger, English-American actor (d. 1993)
    • 1915 – Orson Welles, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1985)
    • 1915 – Theodore H. White, American historian, journalist, and author (d. 1986)
    • 1916 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (d. 1997)
    • 1917 – Kal Mann, American songwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1918 – Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, emir of Abu Dhabi and first president of the United Arab Emirates (d. 2004)
    • 1919 – André Guelfi, French race car driver (d. 2016)
    • 1920 – Kamisese Mara, Fijian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Fiji (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Marguerite Piazza, American soprano and actress (d. 2012)
    • 1921 – Erich Fried, Austrian-German author, poet, and translator (d. 1988)
    • 1922 – Camille Laurin, Canadian psychiatrist and politician, 7th Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1999)
    • 1923 – Harry Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2002)
    • 1924 – Nestor Basterretxea, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Patricia Helen Kennedy, American socialite, activist, and author (d. 2006)
    • 1924 – Denny Wright, English guitarist, composer, and producer (d. 1992)
    • 1926 – Gilles Grégoire, Canadian politician, co-founded the Parti Québécois (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Rosemary Cramp, English archaeologist and academic
    • 1929 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
    • 1929 – John Taylor, English bishop and theologian (d. 2016)
    • 1931 – Willie Mays, American baseball player and coach
    • 1931 – Louis Gambaccini, American government official (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Ahmet Haxhiu, Kosovan activist (d. 1994)
    • 1932 – Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, English lieutenant and politician (d. 2020)
    • 1934 – Richard Shelby, American lawyer and politician
    • 1937 – Rubin Carter, American-Canadian boxer (d. 2014)
    • 1938 – Jean Garon, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1939 – Eddie C. Campbell, American singer and guitarist (d. 2018)
    • 1939 – Chet Allen, American child actor (d. 1984)
    • 1942 – Ariel Dorfman, Argentinian author, playwright, and academic
    • 1943 – Andreas Baader, German terrorist, co-founded the Red Army Faction (d. 1977)
    • 1943 – Milton William Cooper, American theorist and author (d. 2001)
    • 1943 – Wolfgang Reinhardt, German pole vaulter (d. 2011)
    • 1943 – James Turrell, American sculptor and illustrator
    • 1944 – Anton Furst, English-American production designer and art director (d. 1991)
    • 1944 – Masanori Murakami, Japanese baseball player and coach
    • 1945 – Jimmie Dale Gilmore, American country singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and producer
    • 1945 – Bob Seger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Alan Dale, New Zealand actor
    • 1947 – Martha Nussbaum, American philosopher and author
    • 1947 – Ljubomir Vračarević, Serbian martial artist, founded Real Aikido (d. 2013)
    • 1948 – Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 2013)
    • 1950 – Jeffery Deaver, American journalist and author
    • 1951 – Samuel Doe, Liberian sergeant and politician, 21st President of Liberia (d. 1990)
    • 1952 – Gerrit Zalm, Dutch economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
    • 1953 – Alexander Akimov, Ukrainian Chernobyl worker (d. 1986)
    • 1953 – Tony Blair, British politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    • 1953 – Michelle Courchesne, Canadian urban planner and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
    • 1953 – Ülle Rajasalu, Estonian politician
    • 1953 – Graeme Souness, Scottish international footballer and manager
    • 1953 – Lynn Whitfield, American actress and producer
    • 1954 – Tom Abernethy, American basketball player
    • 1954 – Dora Bakoyannis, Greek politician, 120th Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs
    • 1954 – Angela Hernández Nuñez, Dominican author and poet
    • 1954 – Ain Lutsepp, Estonian actor and politician
    • 1955 – Nicholas Alexander, 7th Earl of Caledon, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Armagh
    • 1955 – Tom Bergeron, American television host
    • 1955 – John Hutton, Baron Hutton of Furness, English academic and politician, Secretary of State for Defence
    • 1956 – Lakis Lazopoulos, Greek actor and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Cindy Lovell, American educator and writer
    • 1956 – Roland Wieser, German race walker and coach
    • 1958 – Randall Stout, American architect, designed the Taubman Museum of Art (d. 2014)
    • 1959 – Andreas Busse, German runner
    • 1959 – Charles Hendry, English politician
    • 1960 – Lyudmila Andonova, Bulgarian high jumper
    • 1960 – Keith Dowding, English political scientist, philosopher, and academic
    • 1960 – Roma Downey, Irish-American actress and producer
    • 1960 – John Flansburgh, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1960 – Aleksei Lotman, Estonian biologist and politician
    • 1960 – Anne Parillaud, French actress
    • 1961 – Oleksandr Apaychev, Ukrainian decathlete and coach
    • 1961 – George Clooney, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Tom Hunter, Scottish businessman and philanthropist
    • 1961 – Gina Riley, Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Frans Timmermans, Dutch politician and diplomat, First Vice President of the European Commission
    • 1962 – Tom Brake, English politician
    • 1962 – Brad Izzard, Australian rugby league player
    • 1963 – Alessandra Ferri, Italian ballerina
    • 1965 – Leslie Hope, Canadian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1968 – Worku Bikila, Ethiopian runner
    • 1968 – Lætitia Sadier, French singer and keyboard player
    • 1969 – Jim Magilton, Northern Irish footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Roland Kun, Nauruan politician
    • 1970 – Kavan Smith, Canadian actor
    • 1971 – Chris Shiflett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1972 – Martin Brodeur, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1972 – Naoko Takahashi, Japanese runner
    • 1974 – Bernard Barmasai, Kenyan runner
    • 1974 – Daniela Bártová, Czech pole vaulter and gymnast
    • 1975 – Alan Richardson, English cricketer and coach
    • 1976 – Dean Chandler, English footballer
    • 1976 – Iván de la Peña, Spanish footballer
    • 1977 – Christophe Brandt, Belgian cyclist
    • 1977 – Marc Chouinard, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Mark Eaton, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1977 – Chantelle Newbery, Australian diver
    • 1978 – John Abraham, American football player
    • 1978 – Tony Estanguet, French slalom canoeist
    • 1978 – Fredrick Federley, Swedish journalist and politician
    • 1978 – Alexandr Fedorov, Russian bodybuilder
    • 1979 – Gerd Kanter, Estonian discus thrower
    • 1979 – Jan Erik Mikalsen, Norwegian composer
    • 1979 – Jon Montgomery, Canadian skeleton racer and television host
    • 1980 – Brooke Bennett, American swimmer
    • 1980 – Dimitris Diamantidis, Greek professional basketball player
    • 1980 – Ricardo Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
    • 1980 – Matthew Whiley, English cricketer
    • 1982 – Jason Witten, American football player
    • 1983 – Dani Alves, Brazilian footballer
    • 1983 – Ingrid Jonach, Australian author
    • 1983 – Gabourey Sidibe, American actress
    • 1983 – Trinley Thaye Dorje, Tibetan religious leader, the 17th Karmapa Lama
    • 1983 – Fredrik Sjöström, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Anton Babchuk, Ukrainian ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Juan Pablo Carrizo, Argentinian footballer
    • 1985 – Chris Paul, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Goran Dragic, Slovenian basketball player
    • 1987 – Dries Mertens, Belgian footballer
    • 1987 – Meek Mill, American rapper
    • 1987 – Adrienne Warren, American actress
    • 1988 – Ryan Anderson, American basketball player
    • 1988 – Dakota Kai, New Zealander profesional wrestler
    • 1989 – Dominika Cibulková, Slovak tennis player
    • 1989 – Jesse Hughes, Canadian DJ and producer
    • 1990 – José Altuve, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1992 – Brendan Gallagher, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Byun Baekhyun, South Korean musician and actor
    • 1992 – Jonas Valančiūnas, Lithuanian professional basketball player
    • 1993 – Gustavo Gómez, Paraguayan footballer
    • 1994 – Mateo Kovačić, Austrian-Croatian footballer
    • 1997 – Duncan Scott, Scottish swimmer
    • 2019 – Archie Mountbatten-Windsor, British royal

    Deaths on May 6

    • 698 – Eadberht, bishop of Lindisfarne
    • 850 – Ninmyō, Japanese emperor (b. 808)
    • 932 – Qian Liu, Chinese warlord and king (b. 852)
    • 988 – Dirk II, count of Frisia and Holland
    • 1002 – Ealdwulf, Archbishop of York, Abbot of Peterborough and Bishop of Worcester
    • 1187 – Ruben III, Prince of Armenia (b. 1145)
    • 1236 – Roger of Wendover, Benedictine monk and chronicler
    • 1471 – Edmund Beaufort, English commander (b. 1438)
    • 1471 – Thomas Tresham, Speaker of the House of Commons
    • 1475 – Dieric Bouts, Flemish painter (b. 1415)
    • 1483 – Queen Jeonghui, Korean regent (b. 1418)
    • 1502 – James Tyrrell, English knight (b. 1450)
    • 1527 – Charles III, Duke of Bourbon, Count of Montpensier and Dauphin of Auvergne (b.1490)
    • 1540 – Juan Luís Vives, Spanish scholar (b. 1492)
    • 1596 – Giaches de Wert, Flemish-Italian composer (b. 1535)
    • 1631 – Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, English historian and politician, founded the Cotton library (b. 1570)
    • 1638 – Cornelius Jansen, Dutch-French bishop and theologian (b. 1585)
    • 1708 – François de Laval, French-Canadian bishop (b. 1623)
    • 1757 – Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1683)
    • 1757 – Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, Prussian field marshal (b. 1684)
    • 1782 – Christine Kirch, German astronomer and academic (b. 1696)
    • 1840 – Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombian general and politician, 4th President of the Republic of the New Granada (b. 1792)
    • 1859 – Alexander von Humboldt, German geographer and explorer (b. 1769)
    • 1862 – Henry David Thoreau, American essayist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1817)
    • 1877 – Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Swedish-Finnish poet and hymn-writer (b. 1804)
    • 1882 – Thomas Henry Burke, Irish civil servant (b. 1829)
    • 1882 – Lord Frederick Cavendish, British politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1836)
    • 1902 – Bret Harte, American author and poet (b. 1836)
    • 1905 – Robert Herbert, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Queensland (b. 1831)
    • 1907 – Emanuele Luigi Galizia, Maltese architect and civil engineer (b. 1830)
    • 1910 – Edward VII of the United Kingdom (b. 1841)
    • 1919 – L. Frank Baum, American novelist (b. 1856)
    • 1939 – Konstantin Somov, Russian-French painter and illustrator (b. 1869)
    • 1949 – Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian-French poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
    • 1951 – Élie Cartan, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1869)
    • 1952 – Maria Montessori, Italian-Dutch physician and educator (b. 1870)
    • 1959 – Maria Dulęba, Polish actress (b. 1881)
    • 1959 – Ragnar Nurkse, Estonian-American economist and academic (b. 1907)
    • 1961 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (b. 1895)
    • 1963 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (b. 1881)
    • 1963 – Ted Weems, American violinist, trombonist, and bandleader (b. 1901)
    • 1963 – Monty Woolley, American raconteur, actor, and director (b. 1888)
    • 1967 – Zhou Zuoren, Chinese author and translator (b. 1885)
    • 1970 – Alexander Rodzyanko, Russian general (b. 1879)
    • 1973 – Ernest MacMillan, Canadian conductor and composer (b. 1893)
    • 1975 – József Mindszenty, Hungarian cardinal (b. 1892)
    • 1980 – María Luisa Bombal, Chilean writer (b. 1910)
    • 1983 – Ezra Jack Keats, American author and illustrator (b. 1916)
    • 1983 – Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (b. 1922)
    • 1984 – Mary Cain, American journalist and politician (b. 1904)
    • 1984 – Bonner Pink, English politician (b. 1912)
    • 1987 – William J. Casey, American politician, 13th Director of Central Intelligence (b. 1913)
    • 1989 – Earl Blaik, American football player and coach (b. 1897)
    • 1990 – Charles Farrell, American actor (b. 1901)
    • 1991 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, English actor (b. 1903)
    • 1992 – Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer (b. 1901)
    • 1993 – Ann Todd, English actress and producer (b. 1909)
    • 1995 – Noel Brotherston, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1956)
    • 2000 – Gordon McClymont, Australian ecologist and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Murray Adaskin, Canadian violinist, composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1906)
    • 2002 – Otis Blackwell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1932)
    • 2002 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (b. 1948)
    • 2002 – Bjørn Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist (b. 1940)
    • 2003 – Art Houtteman, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1927)
    • 2004 – Virginia Capers, American actress and singer (b. 1925)
    • 2004 – Philip Kapleau, American monk and educator (b. 1912)
    • 2004 – Barney Kessel, American guitarist and composer (b. 1923)
    • 2006 – Grant McLennan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1958)
    • 2006 – Lorne Saxberg, Canadian journalist (b. 1958)
    • 2007 – Enéas Carneiro, Brazilian physician and politician (b. 1938)
    • 2007 – Curtis Harrington, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Kevin Grubb, American race car driver (b. 1978)
    • 2010 – Robin Roberts, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – James R. Browning, American lieutenant, lawyer, and judge (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – James Isaac, American director and producer (b. 1960)
    • 2012 – Jean Laplanche, French psychoanalyst and author (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Giulio Andreotti, Italian journalist and politician, 41st Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1919)
    • 2013 – Severo Aparicio Quispe, Peruvian bishop (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Michelangelo Spensieri, Italian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – Wil Albeda, Dutch economist and politician, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – William H. Dana, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Jimmy Ellis, American boxer (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Billy Harrell, American baseball player and scout (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Antony Hopkins, English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Maria Lassnig, Austrian painter and academic (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Farley Mowat, Canadian environmentalist and author (b. 1921)
    • 2015 – Novera Ahmed, Bangladeshi sculptor (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Denise McCluggage, American race car driver and journalist (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Jim Wright, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Patrick Ekeng, Cameroonian footballer (b. 1990)
    • 2016 – Reg Grundy, Australian businessman (b. 1923)

    Holidays and observances on May 6

    • Christian Feast Day:
      • Dominic Savio
      • Evodius of Antioch (Roman Catholic Church)
      • François de Laval
      • Gerard of Lunel
      • Lucius of Cyrene
      • Petronax of Monte Cassino
      • St George’s Day related observances (Eastern Orthodox Church):
        • Day of Bravery, also known as Gergyovden (Bulgaria)
        • Đurđevdan (Gorani, Roma)
        • Police Day (Georgia)
        • Yuri’s Day in the Spring (Russian Orthodox Church)
      • St John before the Latin Gate
      • May 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Military Spouse Day can fall, while May 12 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Mother’s Day (United States)
    • International No Diet Day
    • Martyrs’ Day (Gabon)
    • Martyrs’ Day (Lebanon and Syria)
    • Teachers’ Day (Jamaica)
    • The first day of Hıdırellez (Turkey)

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

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

    May 5 in History

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

    Births on May 5

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

    Deaths on May 5

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

    Holidays and observances on May 5

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

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

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

    Births on May 4

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

    Deaths on May 4

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

    Holidays and observances on May 4

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

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

    • 311 – The Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire ends.
    • 313 – Battle of Tzirallum: Emperor Licinius defeats Maximinus II and unifies the Eastern Roman Empire.
    • 642 – Chindasuinth is proclaimed king by the Visigothic nobility and bishops.
    • 1315 – Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged at the instigation of Charles, Count of Valois.
    • 1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.
    • 1513 – Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is executed on the orders of Henry VIII.
    • 1557 – Mapuche leader Lautaro is killed by Spanish forces at the Battle of Mataquito in Chile.
    • 1598 – Juan de Oñate begins the conquest of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
    • 1598 – Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots.
    • 1636 – Eighty Years’ War: Dutch Republic forces recapture a strategically important fort from Spain after a nine-month siege.
    • 1671 – Petar Zrinski, the Croatian Ban from the Zrinski family, is executed.
    • 1789 – On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
    • 1803 – Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation.
    • 1812 – The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.
    • 1838 – Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation.
    • 1863 – A 65-man French Foreign Legion infantry patrol fights a force of nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers to nearly the last man in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.
    • 1871 – The Camp Grant massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.
    • 1885 – Governor of New York David B. Hill signs legislation creating the Niagara Reservation, New York’s first state park, ensuring that Niagara Falls will not be devoted solely to industrial and commercial use.
    • 1897 – J. J. Thomson of the Cavendish Laboratory announces his discovery of the electron as a subatomic particle, over 1,800 times smaller than a proton (in the atomic nucleus), at a lecture at the Royal Institution in London.
    • 1900 – Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
    • 1904 – The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
    • 1905 – Albert Einstein completes his doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich.
    • 1925 – Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Co. for US$146 million plus $50 million for charity.
    • 1927 – The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women’s federal prison in the United States.
    • 1927 – Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
    • 1937 – The Commonwealth of the Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative.
    • 1938 – The animated cartoon short Porky’s Hare Hunt debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit, an early version of Bugs Bunny.
    • 1939 – The 1939–40 New York World’s Fair opens.
    • 1939 – NBC inaugurates its regularly scheduled television service in New York City, broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s N.Y. World’s Fair opening day ceremonial address.
    • 1943 – World War II: The British submarine HMS Seraph surfaces near Huelva to cast adrift a dead man dressed as a courier and carrying false invasion plans.
    • 1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for less than 40 hours. Soviet soldiers raise the Victory Banner over the Reichstag building.
    • 1945 – World War II: Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp near Barth, Germany is liberated by Soviet soldiers, freeing nearly 9000 American and British airmen.
    • 1947 – In Nevada, Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam.
    • 1948 – In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.
    • 1956 – Former Vice President and Democratic Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia.
    • 1957 – Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery entered into force.
    • 1961 – K-19, the first Soviet nuclear submarine equipped with nuclear missiles, is commissioned.
    • 1963 – The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company’s refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
    • 1966 – The Church of Satan is formed in The Black House, San Francisco.
    • 1973 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that White House Counsel John Dean has been fired and that other top aides, most notably H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, have resigned.
    • 1975 – Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Dương Văn Minh.
    • 1980 – Beatrix is inaugurated as Queen of the Netherlands following the abdication of Juliana.
    • 1980 – The Iranian Embassy siege begins in London.
    • 1982 – The Bijon Setu massacre occurs in Calcutta, India.
    • 1993 – CERN announces World Wide Web protocols will be free.
    • 1994 – Formula One racing driver Roland Ratzenberger is killed in a crash during the qualifying session of the San Marino Grand Prix run at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari outside Imola, Italy.
    • 2000 – Canonization of Faustina Kowalska in the presence of 200,000 people and the first Divine Mercy Sunday celebrated worldwide.
    • 2004 – U.S. media release graphic photos of American soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
    • 2008 – Two skeletal remains found near Yekaterinburg, Russia are confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei and Anastasia, two of the children of the last Tsar of Russia, whose entire family was executed at Yekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks.
    • 2009 – Chrysler files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
    • 2009 – Seven civilians and the perpetrator are killed and another ten injured at a Queen’s Day parade in Apeldoorn, Netherlands in an attempted assassination on Queen Beatrix.
    • 2012 – An overloaded ferry capsizes on the Brahmaputra River in India killing at least 103 people.
    • 2013 – Willem-Alexander is inaugurated as King of the Netherlands following the abdication of Beatrix.
    • 2014 – A bomb blast in Ürümqi, China kills three people and injures 79 others.

    Births on April 30

    • 1245 – Philip III of France (d. 1285)
    • 1310 – King Casimir III of Poland (d. 1368)
    • 1331 – Gaston III, Count of Foix (d. 1391)
    • 1383 – Anne of Gloucester, English countess, granddaughter of King Edward III of England (d. 1438)
    • 1425 – William III, Landgrave of Thuringia (d. 1482)
    • 1504 – Francesco Primaticcio, Italian painter (d. 1570)
    • 1553 – Louise of Lorraine (d. 1601)
    • 1623 – François de Laval, French-Canadian bishop and saint (d. 1708)
    • 1651 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, French priest and saint (d. 1719)
    • 1662 – Mary II of England (d. 1694)
    • 1664 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (d. 1709)
    • 1710 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795)
    • 1723 – Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French zoologist and philosopher (d. 1806)
    • 1758 – Emmanuel Vitale, Maltese commander and politician (d. 1802)
    • 1770 – David Thompson, English-Canadian cartographer and explorer (d. 1857)
    • 1777 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1855)
    • 1803 – Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and politician, 10th Minister President of Prussia (d. 1879)
    • 1829 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist and academic (d. 1884)
    • 1857 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist and eugenicist (d. 1940)
    • 1857 – Walter Simon, German banker and philanthropist (d. 1920)
    • 1865 – Max Nettlau, German historian and academic (d. 1944)
    • 1866 – Mary Haviland Stilwell Kuesel, American pioneer dentist (d. 1936)
    • 1869 – Hans Poelzig, German architect, designed the IG Farben Building and Großes Schauspielhaus (d. 1936)
    • 1870 – Franz Lehár, Hungarian composer (d. 1948)
    • 1870 – Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1944)
    • 1874 – Cyriel Verschaeve, Flemish priest and author (d. 1949)
    • 1876 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (d. 1937)
    • 1877 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist (d. 1917)
    • 1877 – Alice B. Toklas, American memoirist (d. 1967)
    • 1878 – Władysław Witwicki, Polish psychologist, philosopher, translator, historian (of philosophy and art) and artist (d. 1948)
    • 1880 – Charles Exeter Devereux Crombie, Scottish cartoonist (d. 1967)
    • 1883 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech soldier and author (d. 1923)
    • 1883 – Luigi Russolo, Italian painter and composer (d. 1947)
    • 1884 – Olof Sandborg, Swedish actor (d. 1965)
    • 1888 – John Crowe Ransom, American poet, critic, and academic (d. 1974)
    • 1893 – Harold Breen, Australian public servant (d. 1966)
    • 1893 – Joachim von Ribbentrop, German soldier and politician, 14th German Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1946)
    • 1895 – Philippe Panneton, Canadian physician, academic, and diplomat (d. 1960)
    • 1896 – Reverend Gary Davis, American singer and guitarist (d. 1972)
    • 1896 – Hans List, Austrian scientist and businessman, founded the AVL Engineering Company (d. 1996)
    • 1897 – Humberto Mauro, Brazilian director and screenwriter (d. 1983)
    • 1900 – Erni Krusten, Estonian author and poet (d. 1984)
    • 1901 – Simon Kuznets, Belarusian-American economist, statistician, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
    • 1902 – Theodore Schultz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
    • 1905 – Sergey Nikolsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1908 – Eve Arden, American actress (d. 1990)
    • 1908 – Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic professor of law and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1970)
    • 1908 – Frank Robert Miller, Canadian air marshal and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1909 – F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor and educator (d. 1992)
    • 1909 – Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)
    • 1910 – Levi Celerio, Filipino pianist, violinist, and composer (d. 2002)
    • 1914 – Charles Beetham, American middle-distance runner (d. 1997)
    • 1914 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer-songwriter, actor, and painter (d. 2008)
    • 1916 – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (d. 2003)
    • 1916 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician and engineer (d. 2001)
    • 1916 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)
    • 1917 – Bea Wain, American singer (d. 2017)
    • 1920 – Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver and pilot (d. 1994)
    • 1920 – Tom Moore, British army officer and fundraiser
    • 1921 – Roger L. Easton, American scientist, co-invented the GPS (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Anton Murray, South African cricketer (d. 1995)
    • 1923 – Percy Heath, American bassist (d. 2005)
    • 1923 – Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 42nd Yokozuna (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Uno Laht, Estonian KGB officer and author (d. 2008)
    • 1925 – Corinne Calvet, French actress (d. 2001)
    • 1925 – Johnny Horton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1960)
    • 1926 – Shrinivas Khale, Indian composer (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Cloris Leachman, American actress and comedian
    • 1928 – Hugh Hood, Canadian author and academic (d. 2000)
    • 1928 – Orlando Sirola, Italian tennis player (d. 1995)
    • 1930 – Félix Guattari, French psychotherapist and philosopher (d. 1992)
    • 1933 – Charles Sanderson, Baron Sanderson of Bowden, English politician
    • 1934 – Jerry Lordan, English singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
    • 1934 – Don McKenney, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1937 – Tony Harrison, English poet and playwright
    • 1938 – Gary Collins, American actor and talk show host (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Juraj Jakubisko, Slovak director and screenwriter
    • 1938 – Larry Niven, American author and screenwriter
    • 1940 – Jeroen Brouwers, Dutch journalist and writer
    • 1940 – Michael Cleary, Australian rugby player and politician
    • 1941 – Stavros Dimas, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1941 – Max Merritt, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1942 – Sallehuddin of Kedah, Sultan of Kedah
    • 1943 – Frederick Chiluba, Zambian politician, 2nd President of Zambia (d. 2011)
    • 1943 – Bobby Vee, American pop singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1944 – Jon Bing, Norwegian author, scholar, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1945 – J. Michael Brady, British radiologist
    • 1945 – Annie Dillard, American novelist, essayist, and poet
    • 1945 – Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist (d. 2001)
    • 1945 – Michael J. Smith, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1986)
    • 1946 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
    • 1946 – Bill Plympton, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1946 – Don Schollander, American swimmer
    • 1947 – Paul Fiddes, English theologian and academic
    • 1947 – Finn Kalvik, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Tom Køhlert, Danish footballer and manager
    • 1947 – Mats Odell, Swedish economist and politician, Swedish Minister for Financial Markets
    • 1948 – Wayne Kramer, American guitarist and singer-songwriter
    • 1948 – Pierre Pagé, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1948 – Margit Papp, Hungarian athlete
    • 1949 – Phil Garner, American baseball player and manager
    • 1949 – António Guterres, Portuguese academic and politician, 114th Prime Minister of Portugal and 9th Secretary-General of the United Nations
    • 1949 – Karl Meiler, German tennis player (d. 2014)
    • 1952 – Jacques Audiard, French director and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Jack Middelburg, Dutch motorcycle racer (d. 1984)
    • 1953 – Merrill Osmond, American singer and bass player
    • 1954 – Jane Campion, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Kim Darroch, English diplomat, UK Permanent Representative to the European Union
    • 1954 – Frank-Michael Marczewski, German footballer
    • 1955 – Nicolas Hulot, French journalist and environmentalist
    • 1955 – David Kitchin, English lawyer and judge
    • 1955 – Zlatko Topčić, Bosnian writer and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Lars von Trier, Danish director and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Wonder Mike, American rapper and songwriter
    • 1958 – Charles Berling, French actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1959 – Stephen Harper, Canadian economist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Canada
    • 1960 – Geoffrey Cox, English lawyer and politician
    • 1960 – Kerry Healey, American academic and politician, 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
    • 1961 – Arnór Guðjohnsen, Icelandic footballer
    • 1961 – Isiah Thomas, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Andrew Carwood, English tenor and conductor
    • 1963 – Michael Waltrip, American race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Tony Fernandes, Malaysian-Indian businessman, co-founded Tune Group
    • 1964 – Ian Healy, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Lorenzo Staelens, Belgian footballer and manager
    • 1964 – Abhishek Chatterjee, Indian actor
    • 1965 – Daniela Costian, Romanian-Australian discus thrower
    • 1965 – Adrian Pasdar, American actor
    • 1966 – Jeff Brown, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1966 – Dave Meggett, American football player and coach
    • 1967 – Phil Chang, Taiwanese singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1969 – Warren Defever, American bass player and producer
    • 1969 – Justine Greening, English accountant and politician, Secretary of State for International Development
    • 1969 – Paulo Jr., Brazilian bass player
    • 1972 – Takako Tokiwa, Japanese actress
    • 1973 – Leigh Francis, English comedian and actor
    • 1974 – Christian Tamminga, Dutch athlete
    • 1975 – Johnny Galecki, American actor
    • 1976 – Davian Clarke, Jamaican sprinter
    • 1976 – Amanda Palmer, American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1976 – Daniel Wagon, Australian rugby league player
    • 1977 – Jeannie Haddaway, American politician
    • 1977 – Meredith L. Patterson, American technologist, journalist, and author
    • 1978 – Liljay, Taiwanese singer
    • 1979 – Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer
    • 1980 – Luis Scola, Argentinian basketball player
    • 1980 – Jeroen Verhoeven, Dutch footballer
    • 1981 – Nicole Kaczmarski, American basketball player
    • 1981 – John O’Shea, Irish footballer
    • 1981 – Kunal Nayyar, British-Indian actor
    • 1981 – Justin Vernon, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer
    • 1982 – Kirsten Dunst, American actress
    • 1982 – Drew Seeley, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
    • 1983 – Chris Carr, American football player
    • 1983 – Tatjana Hüfner, German luger
    • 1983 – Marina Tomić, Slovenian hurdler
    • 1983 – Troy Williamson, American football player
    • 1984 – Seimone Augustus, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Shawn Daivari, American wrestler and manager
    • 1984 – Risto Mätas, Estonian javelin thrower
    • 1984 – Lee Roache, English footballer
    • 1985 – Brandon Bass, American basketball player
    • 1985 – Gal Gadot, Israeli actress and model
    • 1985 – Ashley Alexandra Dupré, American journalist, singer, and prostitute
    • 1986 – Dianna Agron, American actress and singer
    • 1986 – Martten Kaldvee, Estonian biathlete
    • 1987 – Alipate Carlile, Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Chris Morris, South African cricketer
    • 1987 – Rohit Sharma, Indian cricketer
    • 1988 – Andy Allen, Australian chef
    • 1988 – Sander Baart, Dutch field hockey player
    • 1988 – Liu Xijun, Chinese singer
    • 1988 – Oh Hye-ri, South Korean taekwondo athlete
    • 1989 – Jang Wooyoung, South Korean singer and actor
    • 1990 – Jonny Brownlee, English triathlete
    • 1990 – Mac DeMarco, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1990 – Kaarel Kiidron, Estonian footballer
    • 1991 – Chris Kreider, American ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Travis Scott, American rapper and producer
    • 1992 – Marc-André ter Stegen, German footballer
    • 1993 – Dion Dreesens, Dutch swimmer
    • 1993 – Martin Fuksa, Czech canoeist
    • 1994 – Chae Seo-jin, South Korean actress
    • 1994 – Wang Yafan, Chinese tennis player
    • 1996 – Luke Friend, English singer
    • 1997 – Adam Ryczkowski, Polish footballer
    • 1999 – Jorden van Foreest, Dutch chess grandmaster
    • 2000 – Yui Hiwatashi, Japanese singer
    • 2003 – Jung Yun-Seok, South Korean actor

    Deaths on April 30

    • AD 65 – Lucan, Roman poet (b. 39)
    • 125 – An, Chinese emperor (b. 94)
    • 535 – Amalasuntha, Ostrogothic queen and regent
    • 783 – Hildegard of the Vinzgau, Frankish queen
    • 1002 – Eckard I, German nobleman
    • 1030 – Mahmud of Ghazni, Ghaznavid emir (b. 971)
    • 1063 – Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1010)
    • 1131 – Adjutor, French knight and saint
    • 1305 – Roger de Flor, Italian military adventurer (b. 1267)
    • 1341 – John III, duke of Brittany (b. 1286)
    • 1439 – Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, English commander (b. 1382)
    • 1524 – Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, French soldier (b. 1473)
    • 1544 – Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1488)
    • 1550 – Tabinshwehti, Burmese king (b. 1516)
    • 1632 – Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, Bavarian general (b. 1559)
    • 1632 – Sigismund III Vasa, Swedish-Polish son of John III of Sweden (b. 1566)
    • 1637 – Niwa Nagashige, Japanese daimyō (b. 1571)
    • 1655 – Eustache Le Sueur, French painter (b. 1617)
    • 1660 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch historian and scholar (b. 1576)
    • 1672 – Marie of the Incarnation, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Ursulines of Quebec (b. 1599)
    • 1696 – Robert Plot, English chemist and academic (b. 1640)
    • 1712 – Philipp van Limborch, Dutch theologian and author (b. 1633)
    • 1736 – Johann Albert Fabricius, German scholar and author (b. 1668)
    • 1758 – François d’Agincourt, French organist and composer (b. 1684)
    • 1792 – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1718)
    • 1795 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and author (b. 1716)
    • 1806 – Onogawa Kisaburō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 5th Yokozuna (b. 1758)
    • 1841 – Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish philologist and author (b. 1758)
    • 1847 – Charles, Austrian commander and duke of Teschen (b. 1771)
    • 1863 – Jean Danjou, French captain (b. 1828)
    • 1865 – Robert FitzRoy, English admiral, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (b. 1805)
    • 1870 – Thomas Cooke, Canadian bishop and missionary (b. 1792)
    • 1875 – Jean-Frédéric Waldeck, French explorer, lithographer, and cartographer (b. 1766)
    • 1879 – Emma Smith, American religious leader (b. 1804)
    • 1883 – Édouard Manet, French painter (b. 1832)
    • 1891 – Joseph Leidy, American paleontologist and author (b. 1823)
    • 1900 – Casey Jones, American engineer (b. 1863)
    • 1903 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and activist (b. 1831)
    • 1910 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic (b. 1856)
    • 1936 – A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar (b. 1859)
    • 1939 – Frank Haller, American boxer (b. 1883)
    • 1943 – Otto Jespersen, Danish linguist and academic (b. 1860)
    • 1943 – Beatrice Webb, English sociologist and economist (b. 1858)
    • 1953 – Jacob Linzbach, Estonian linguist and author (b. 1874)
    • 1956 – Alben W. Barkley, American lawyer and politician, 35th Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)
    • 1970 – Jacques Presser, Dutch historian, writer and poet (b. 1899)
    • 1970 – Inger Stevens, Swedish-American actress (b. 1934)
    • 1972 – Gia Scala, English-American model and actress (b. 1934)
    • 1973 – Václav Renč, Czech poet and playwright (b. 1911)
    • 1974 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (b. 1900)
    • 1980 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican journalist and politician, 1st Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1898)
    • 1982 – Lester Bangs, American journalist and author (b. 1949)
    • 1983 – George Balanchine, Russian dancer and choreographer (b. 1904)
    • 1983 – Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Swiss physician and mountaineer (b. 1897)
    • 1986 – Robert Stevenson, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905)
    • 1989 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 1993 – Tommy Caton, English footballer (b. 1962)
    • 1994 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (b. 1960)
    • 1994 – Richard Scarry, American author and illustrator (b. 1919)
    • 1995 – Maung Maung Kha, Burmese colonel and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1920)
    • 1998 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian-English poet, publisher, and diplomat (b. 1926)
    • 2000 – Poul Hartling, Danish politician, 36th Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, German philanthropist, founded the Gründerzeit Museum (b. 1928)
    • 2003 – Mark Berger, American economist and academic (b. 1955)
    • 2003 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1956)
    • 2005 – Phil Rasmussen, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Jean-François Revel, French philosopher (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesian author and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Kevin Mitchell, American football player (b. 1971)
    • 2007 – Tom Poston, American actor, comedian, and game show panelist (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – Gordon Scott, American film and television actor (b. 1926)
    • 2008 – John Cargher, English-Australian journalist and author (b. 1919)
    • 2008 – Juancho Evertsz, Dutch Antillean politician (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Henk Nijdam, Dutch cyclist (b. 1935)
    • 2011 – Dorjee Khandu, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh (b. 1955)
    • 2011 – Evald Okas, Estonian painter (b. 1915)
    • 2011 – Ernesto Sabato, Argentinian physicist, author, and painter (b. 1911)
    • 2012 – Tomás Borge, Nicaraguan poet and politician, co-founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer (b. 1985)
    • 2012 – Giannis Gravanis, Greek footballer (b. 1958)
    • 2012 – Benzion Netanyahu, Russian-Israeli historian and academic (b. 1910)
    • 2012 – Sicelo Shiceka, South African politician (b. 1966)
    • 2013 – Roberto Chabet, Filipino painter and sculptor (b. 1937)
    • 2013 – Shirley Firth, Canadian skier (b. 1953)
    • 2013 – Viviane Forrester, French author and critic (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Mike Gray, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Khaled Choudhury, Indian painter and set designer (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Julian Lewis, English biologist and academic (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Carl E. Moses, American businessman and politician (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Ian Ross, Australian journalist (b. 1940)
    • 2015 – Lennart Bodström, Swedish politician (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Steven Goldmann, Canadian director and producer (b. 1961)
    • 2016 – Daniel Berrigan, American priest and activist (b. 1921)
    • 2016 – Harry Kroto, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1939)
    • 2019 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor (b. 1944)
    • 2020 – Tony Allen, Nigerian drummer and composer (b. 1940)

    Holidays and observances on April 30

    • Armed Forces Day (Georgia)
    • Birthday of the King Carl XVI Gustaf, one of the official flag days of Sweden.
    • Camarón Day (French Foreign Legion)
    • Children’s Day (Mexico)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Adjutor
      • Aimo
      • Amator, Peter and Louis
      • Donatus of Evorea
      • Eutropius of Saintes
      • Marie Guyart (Anglican Church of Canada)
      • Marie of the Incarnation (Ursuline)
      • Maximus of Rome
      • Blessed Miles Gerard
      • Pomponius of Naples
      • Pope Pius V
      • Quirinus of Neuss
      • Sarah Josepha Hale (Episcopal Church)
      • Suitbert the Younger
      • April 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Consumer Protection Day (Thailand)
    • Earliest day on which Ascension Day can fall, while June 3 is the latest; celebrated 40 days after Easter (Christianity), and its related observances:
      • Festa della Sensa (Venice)
      • Global Day of Prayer (Western Christianity)
      • Sheep Festival (Cameroon)
    • Honesty Day (United States)
    • International Jazz Day (UNESCO)
    • Martyrs’ Day (Pakistan)
    • May Eve, the eve of the first day of summer in the Northern hemisphere (see May 1):
      • Beltane begins at sunset in the Northern hemisphere, Samhain begins at sunset in the Southern hemisphere. (Neo-Druidic Wheel of the Year)
      • Carodejnice (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
      • Walpurgis Night (Central and Northern Europe)
    • National Persian Gulf Day (Iran)
    • Reunification Day (Vietnam)
    • Russian State Fire Service Day (Russia)
    • Teachers’ Day (Paraguay)

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

    • 404 BC – Admiral Lysander and King Pausanias of Sparta blockade Athens and bring the Peloponnesian War to a successful conclusion.
    • 775 – The Battle of Bagrevand puts an end to an Armenian rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate. Muslim control over Transcaucasia is solidified and its Islamization begins, while several major Armenian nakharar families lose power and their remnants flee to the Byzantine Empire.
    • 799 – After mistreatment and disfigurement by the citizens of Rome, pope Leo III flees to the Frankish court of king Charlemagne at Paderborn for protection.
    • 1134 – The name Zagreb was mentioned for the first time in the Felician Charter relating to the establishment of the Zagreb Bishopric around 1094.
    • 1607 – Eighty Years’ War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.
    • 1644 – The Chongzhen Emperor, the last Emperor of Ming dynasty China, commits suicide during a peasant rebellion led by Li Zicheng.
    • 1707 – A coalition of Britain, the Netherlands and Portugal is defeated by a Franco-Spanish army at Almansa (Spain) in the War of the Spanish Succession.
    • 1792 – Highwayman Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.
    • 1792 – “La Marseillaise” (the French national anthem) is composed by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle.
    • 1804 – The western Georgian kingdom of Imereti accepts the suzerainty of the Russian Empire.
    • 1829 – Charles Fremantle arrives in HMS Challenger off the coast of modern-day Western Australia prior to declaring the Swan River Colony for the United Kingdom.
    • 1846 – Thornton Affair: Open conflict begins over the disputed border of Texas, triggering the Mexican–American War.
    • 1849 – The Governor General of Canada, Lord Elgin, signs the Rebellion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal’s English population and triggering the Montreal Riots.
    • 1859 – British and French engineers break ground for the Suez Canal.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Forces under U.S. Admiral David Farragut demand the surrender of the Confederate city of New Orleans, Louisiana.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Marks’ Mills.
    • 1882 – French and Vietnamese troops clashed in Tonkin, when Commandant Henri Rivière seized the citadel of Hanoi with a small force of marine infantry.
    • 1898 – Spanish–American War: The United States declares war on Spain.
    • 1901 – New York becomes the first U.S. state to require automobile license plates.
    • 1915 – World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli begins: The invasion of the Turkish Gallipoli Peninsula by British, French, Indian, Newfoundland, Australian and New Zealand troops, begins with landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles.
    • 1916 – Anzac Day is commemorated for the first time on the first anniversary of the landing at ANZAC Cove.
    • 1920 – At the San Remo conference, the principal Allied Powers of World War I adopt a resolution to determine the allocation of Class “A” League of Nations mandates for administration of the former Ottoman-ruled lands of the Middle East.
    • 1938 – U.S. Supreme Court delivers its opinion in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins and overturns a century of federal common law.
    • 1940 – Merkið, the flag of the Faroe Islands is approved by the British occupation government.
    • 1944 – The United Negro College Fund is incorporated.
    • 1945 – Elbe Day: United States and Soviet troops meet in Torgau along the River Elbe, cutting the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany in two.
    • 1945 – Liberation Day (Italy): The Nazi occupation army surrenders and leaves Northern Italy after a general partisan insurrection by the Italian resistance movement; the puppet fascist regime dissolves and Benito Mussolini is captured after trying to escape. This day was set as a public holiday to celebrate the Liberation of Italy.
    • 1945 – United Nations Conference on International Organization: Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco.
    • 1945 – The last German troops retreat from Finland’s soil in Lapland, ending the Lapland War. Military acts of Second World War end in Finland.
    • 1951 – Korean War: Assaulting Chinese forces are forced to withdraw after heavy fighting with UN forces, primarily made up of Australian and Canadian troops, at the Battle of Kapyong.
    • 1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson publish “Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid” describing the double helix structure of DNA.
    • 1954 – The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories.
    • 1959 – The Saint Lawrence Seaway, linking the North American Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean, officially opens to shipping.
    • 1960 – The United States Navy submarine USS Triton completes the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
    • 1961 – Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit.
    • 1972 – Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive: The North Vietnamese 320th Division forces 5,000 South Vietnamese troops to retreat and traps about 2,500 others northwest of Kontum.
    • 1974 – Carnation Revolution: A leftist military coup in Portugal overthrows the authoritarian-conservative Estado Novo regime and establishes a democratic government.
    • 1975 – As North Vietnamese forces close in on the South Vietnamese capital Saigon, the Australian Embassy is closed and evacuated, almost ten years to the day since the first Australian troop commitment to South Vietnam.
    • 1981 – More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.
    • 1982 – Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords.
    • 1983 – Cold War: American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.
    • 1983 – Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto’s orbit.
    • 1986 – Mswati III is crowned King of Swaziland, succeeding his father Sobhuza II.
    • 1988 – In Israel, John Demjanjuk is sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II.
    • 1990 – Violeta Chamorro takes office as the President of Nicaragua, the first woman to hold the position.
    • 2001 – Michele Alboreto is killed while testing an Audi R8 at the Lausitzring in Germany.
    • 2004 – The March for Women’s Lives brings between 500,000 and 800,000 protesters, mostly pro-choice, to Washington D.C. to protest the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, and other restrictions on abortion.
    • 2005 – The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937.
    • 2005 – Bulgaria and Romania sign accession treaties to join the European Union.
    • 2007 – Boris Yeltsin’s funeral: The first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894.
    • 2015 – Nearly 9,100 are killed after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Nepal.

    Births on April 25

    • 1214 – Louis IX of France (d. 1270)
    • 1228 – Conrad IV of Germany (d. 1254)
    • 1284 – Edward II of England (d. 1327)
    • 1287 – Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1330)
    • 1502 – Georg Major, German theologian and academic (d. 1574)
    • 1529 – Francesco Patrizi, Italian philosopher and scientist (d. 1597)
    • 1599 – Oliver Cromwell, English general and politician, Lord Protector of Great Britain (d. 1658)
    • 1621 – Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, English soldier and politician (d. 1679)
    • 1666 – Johann Heinrich Buttstett, German organist and composer (d. 1727)
    • 1694 – Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect and politician, Lord High Treasurer of Ireland (d. 1753)
    • 1710 – James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer and author (d. 1776)
    • 1723 – Giovanni Marco Rutini, Italian composer (d. 1797)
    • 1725 – Augustus Keppel, 1st Viscount Keppel, English admiral and politician (d. 1786)
    • 1767 – Nicolas Oudinot, French general (d. 1847)
    • 1770 – Georg Sverdrup, Norwegian philologist and academic (d. 1850)
    • 1776 – Princess Mary, Duchess of Gloucester and Edinburgh (d. 1857)
    • 1843 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (d. 1878)
    • 1849 – Felix Klein, German mathematician and academic (d. 1925)
    • 1850 – Luise Adolpha Le Beau, German composer and educator (d. 1927)
    • 1851 – Leopoldo Alas, Spanish author, critic, and academic (d. 1901)
    • 1854 – Charles Sumner Tainter, American engineer and inventor (d. 1940)
    • 1862 – Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, English ornithologist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1933)
    • 1868 – John Moisant, American pilot and engineer (d. 1910)
    • 1871 – Lorne Currie, French-English sailor (d. 1926)
    • 1872 – C. B. Fry, English cricketer, footballer, educator, and politician (d. 1956)
    • 1873 – Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer, and novelist (d. 1956)
    • 1873 – Howard Garis, American author, creator of the Uncle Wiggily series of children’s stories (d. 1962)
    • 1874 – Guglielmo Marconi, Italian businessman and inventor, developed Marconi’s law, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
    • 1874 – Ernest Webb, English-Canadian race walker (d. 1937)
    • 1876 – Jacob Nicol, Canadian publisher, lawyer, and politician (d. 1958)
    • 1878 – William Merz, American gymnast and triathlete (d. 1946)
    • 1882 – Fred McLeod, Scottish golfer (d. 1976)
    • 1887 – Kojo Tovalou Houénou, Beninese lawyer and critic (d. 1936)
    • 1892 – Maud Hart Lovelace, American author (d. 1980)
    • 1896 – Fred Haney, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1977)
    • 1897 – Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood (d. 1965)
    • 1900 – Gladwyn Jebb, English politician and diplomat, Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 1996)
    • 1900 – Wolfgang Pauli, Austrian-Swiss-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
    • 1902 – Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist and academic (d. 1964)
    • 1902 – Mary Miles Minter, American actress (d. 1984)
    • 1903 – Andrey Kolmogorov, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1987)
    • 1905 – George Nepia, New Zealand rugby player and referee (d. 1986)
    • 1906 – William J. Brennan Jr., American colonel and Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (d. 1997)
    • 1908 – Edward R. Murrow, American journalist (d. 1965)
    • 1909 – William Pereira, American architect, designed the Transamerica Pyramid (d. 1985)
    • 1910 – Arapeta Awatere, New Zealand interpreter, military leader, politician, and murderer (d. 1976)
    • 1911 – Connie Marrero, Cuban baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1912 – Earl Bostic, African-American saxophonist (d. 1965)
    • 1913 – Nikolaos Roussen, Greek captain (d. 1944)
    • 1914 – Ross Lockridge Jr., American author and academic (d. 1948)
    • 1915 – Mort Weisinger, American journalist and author (d. 1978)
    • 1916 – Jerry Barber, American golfer (d. 1994)
    • 1917 – Ella Fitzgerald, American singer (d. 1996)
    • 1917 – Jean Lucas, French racing driver (d. 2003)
    • 1918 – Graham Payn, South African-born English actor and singer (d. 2005)
    • 1918 – Gérard de Vaucouleurs, French-American astronomer and academic (d. 1995)
    • 1918 – Astrid Varnay, Swedish-American soprano and actress (d. 2006)
    • 1919 – Finn Helgesen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 2011)
    • 1921 – Karel Appel, Dutch painter and sculptor (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Francis Graham-Smith, English astronomer and academic
    • 1923 – Melissa Hayden, Canadian ballerina (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Albert King, African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1992)
    • 1924 – Ingemar Johansson, Swedish race walker (d. 2009)
    • 1924 – Franco Mannino, Italian pianist, composer, director, and playwright (d. 2005)
    • 1924 – Paulo Vanzolini, Brazilian singer-songwriter and zoologist (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Tony Christopher, Baron Christopher, English trade union leader and businessman
    • 1925 – Sammy Drechsel, German comedian and journalist (d. 1986)
    • 1925 – Louis O’Neil, Canadian academic and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1926 – Johnny Craig, American author and illustrator (d. 2001)
    • 1926 – Gertrude Fröhlich-Sandner, Austrian politician (d. 2008)
    • 1926 – Patricia Castell, Argentine actress (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Corín Tellado, Spanish author (d. 2009)
    • 1927 – Albert Uderzo, French author and illustrator (d. 2020)
    • 1928 – Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 2011)
    • 1929 – Yvette Williams, New Zealand long jumper, shot putter, and discus thrower (d. 2019)
    • 1930 – Paul Mazursky, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Godfrey Milton-Thompson, English admiral and surgeon (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Peter Schulz, German lawyer and politician, Mayor of Hamburg (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Felix Berezin, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1980)
    • 1931 – David Shepherd, English painter and author (d. 2017)
    • 1932 – Nikolai Kardashev, Russian astrophysicist (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Meadowlark Lemon, African-American basketball player and minister (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Lia Manoliu, Romanian discus thrower and politician (d. 1998)
    • 1933 – Jerry Leiber, American songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1933 – Joyce Ricketts, American baseball player (d. 1992)
    • 1934 – Peter McParland, Northern Irish footballer and manager
    • 1935 – Bob Gutowski, American pole vaulter (d. 1960)
    • 1935 – Reinier Kreijermaat, Dutch footballer (d. 2018)
    • 1936 – Henck Arron, Surinamese banker and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Suriname (d. 2000)
    • 1938 – Roger Boisjoly, American aerodynamicist and engineer (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Ton Schulten, Dutch painter and graphic designer
    • 1939 – Tarcisio Burgnich, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1939 – Michael Llewellyn-Smith, English academic and diplomat
    • 1939 – Robert Skidelsky, Baron Skidelsky, English historian and academic
    • 1939 – Veronica Sutherland, English academic and British diplomat
    • 1940 – Al Pacino, American actor and director
    • 1941 – Bertrand Tavernier, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1942 – Jon Kyl, American lawyer and politician
    • 1943 – Tony Christie, English singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1944 – Len Goodman, English dancer
    • 1944 – Mike Kogel, German singer-songwriter
    • 1944 – Stephen Nickell, English economist and academic
    • 1944 – Bruce Ponder, English geneticist and cancer researcher
    • 1945 – Stu Cook, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1945 – Richard C. Hoagland, American theorist and author
    • 1945 – Björn Ulvaeus, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1946 – Talia Shire, American actress
    • 1946 – Peter Sutherland, Irish lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Ireland
    • 1946 – Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian colonel, lawyer, and politician
    • 1947 – Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2016)
    • 1947 – Jeffrey DeMunn, American actor
    • 1948 – Mike Selvey, English cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1948 – Yu Shyi-kun, Taiwanese politician, 39th Premier of the Republic of China
    • 1949 – Vicente Pernía, Argentinian footballer and race car driver
    • 1949 – Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French economist, lawyer, and politician, French Minister of Finance
    • 1949 – James Fenton, English poet, journalist and literary critic
    • 1950 – Donnell Deeny, Northern Irish lawyer and judge
    • 1950 – Steve Ferrone, English drummer
    • 1950 – Peter Hintze, German politician (d. 2016)
    • 1950 – Valentyna Kozyr, Ukrainian high jumper
    • 1951 – Ian McCartney, Scottish politician, Minister of State for Trade
    • 1952 – Ketil Bjørnstad, Norwegian pianist and composer
    • 1952 – Vladislav Tretiak, Russian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1952 – Jacques Santini, French footballer and coach
    • 1953 – Ron Clements, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1953 – Gary Cosier, Australian cricketer
    • 1953 – Anthony Venables, English economist, author, and academic
    • 1954 – Melvin Burgess, English author
    • 1954 – Randy Cross, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1954 – Róisín Shortall, Irish educator and politician
    • 1955 – Américo Gallego, Argentinian footballer and coach
    • 1955 – Parviz Parastui, Iranian actor and singer
    • 1955 – Zev Siegl, American businessman, co-founded Starbucks
    • 1956 – Dominique Blanc, French actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Abdalla Uba Adamu, Nigerian professor, media scholar
    • 1957 – Theo de Rooij, Dutch cyclist and manager
    • 1958 – Fish, Scottish singer-songwriter
    • 1958 – Misha Glenny, British journalist
    • 1959 – Paul Madden, English diplomat, British High Commissioner to Australia
    • 1959 – Daniel Kash, Canadian actor and director
    • 1959 – Tony Phillips, American baseball player (d. 2016)
    • 1960 – Paul Baloff, American singer (d. 2002)
    • 1960 – Robert Peston, English journalist
    • 1960 – Bruce Redman, Australian director, producer, and critic
    • 1961 – Dinesh D’Souza, Indian-American journalist and author
    • 1961 – Miran Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper
    • 1962 – Foeke Booy, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1963 – Joy Covey, American businesswoman (d. 2013)
    • 1963 – Dave Martin, English footballer
    • 1963 – David Moyes, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1963 – Bernd Müller, German footballer and manager
    • 1963 – Paul Wassif, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1964 – Hank Azaria, American actor, voice artist, comedian and producer
    • 1964 – Andy Bell, English singer-songwriter
    • 1965 – Eric Avery, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1965 – Mark Bryant, American basketball player and coach
    • 1965 – John Henson, American puppeteer and voice actor (d. 2014)
    • 1966 – Diego Domínguez, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
    • 1966 – Femke Halsema, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician
    • 1966 – Darren Holmes, American baseball player and coach
    • 1966 – Erik Pappas, American baseball player and coach
    • 1967 – Angel Martino, American swimmer
    • 1968 – Vitaliy Kyrylenko, Ukrainian long jumper
    • 1968 – Thomas Strunz, German footballer
    • 1969 – Joe Buck, American sportscaster
    • 1969 – Martin Koolhoven, Dutch director and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Jon Olsen, American swimmer
    • 1969 – Darren Woodson, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Renée Zellweger, American actress and producer
    • 1970 – Jason Lee, American skateboarder, actor, comedian and producer
    • 1971 – Sara Baras, Spanish dancer
    • 1971 – Brad Clontz, American baseball player
    • 1973 – Carlota Castrejana, Spanish triple jumper
    • 1973 – Fredrik Larzon, Swedish drummer
    • 1973 – Barbara Rittner, German tennis player
    • 1975 – Jacque Jones, American baseball player and coach
    • 1976 – Gilberto da Silva Melo, Brazilian footballer
    • 1976 – Tim Duncan, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Breyton Paulse, South African rugby player
    • 1976 – Rainer Schüttler, German tennis player and coach
    • 1977 – Constantinos Christoforou, Cypriot singer-songwriter
    • 1977 – Ilias Kotsios, Greek footballer
    • 1977 – Marguerite Moreau, American actress and producer
    • 1977 – Matthew West, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1978 – Matt Walker, English swimmer
    • 1980 – Ben Johnston, Scottish drummer and songwriter
    • 1980 – James Johnston, Scottish bass player and songwriter
    • 1980 – Daniel MacPherson, Australian actor and television host
    • 1980 – Bruce Martin, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1980 – Kazuhito Tadano, Japanese baseball player
    • 1980 – Alejandro Valverde, Spanish cyclist
    • 1981 – Dwone Hicks, American football player
    • 1981 – Felipe Massa, Brazilian racing driver
    • 1981 – John McFall, English sprinter
    • 1981 – Anja Pärson, Swedish skier
    • 1982 – Brian Barton, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Monty Panesar, English cricketer
    • 1982 – Marco Russo, Italian footballer
    • 1983 – Johnathan Thurston, Australian rugby league player
    • 1983 – DeAngelo Williams, American football player
    • 1984 – Robert Andino, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Isaac Kiprono Songok, Kenyan runner
    • 1985 – Giedo van der Garde, Dutch racing driver
    • 1986 – Alexei Emelin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Thin Seng Hon, Cambodian Paralympic athlete
    • 1986 – Gwen Jorgensen, American triathlete
    • 1986 – Claudia Rath, German heptathlete
    • 1987 – Razak Boukari, Togolese footballer
    • 1987 – Jay Park, American-South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1987 – Johann Smith, American soccer player
    • 1988 – James Sheppard, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Marie-Michèle Gagnon, Canadian skier
    • 1989 – Michael van Gerwen, Dutch darts player
    • 1989 – Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, the 11th Panchen Lama, one of the highest-ranking spiritual leaders in Tibet
    • 1990 – Jean-Éric Vergne, French racing driver
    • 1990 – Taylor Walker, Australian footballer
    • 1991 – Alex Shibutani, American ice dancer
    • 1993 – Alex Bowman, American race car driver
    • 1993 – Daniel Norris, American baseball player
    • 1994 – Omar McLeod, Jamaican hurdler
    • 1995 – Lewis Baker, English footballer
    • 1996 – Mack Horton, Australian swimmer
    • 1997 – Julius Ertlthaler, Austrian footballer

    Deaths on April 25

    • 501 – Rusticus, saint and archbishop of Lyon (b. 455)
    • 775 – Smbat VII Bagratuni, Armenian prince
    • 775 – Mushegh VI Mamikonian, Armenian prince
    • 908 – Zhang Wenwei, Chinese chancellor
    • 1074 – Herman I, Margrave of Baden
    • 1077 – Géza I of Hungary (b. 1040)
    • 1185 – Emperor Antoku of Japan (b. 1178)
    • 1217 – Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia
    • 1228 – Queen Isabella II of Jerusalem (b. 1212)
    • 1243 – Boniface of Valperga, Bishop of Aosta
    • 1264 – Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, medieval English nobleman; Earl of Winchester (b. 1195)
    • 1295 – Sancho IV of Castile (b. 1258)
    • 1342 – Pope Benedict XII (b. 1285)
    • 1397 – Thomas Holland, 2nd Earl of Kent, English nobleman
    • 1472 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian author, poet, and philosopher (b. 1404)
    • 1516 – John Yonge, English diplomat (b. 1467)
    • 1566 – Louise Labé, French poet and author (b. 1520)
    • 1566 – Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II of France (b. 1499)
    • 1595 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and songwriter (b. 1544)
    • 1605 – Naresuan, Siamese King of Ayutthaya Kingdom (b. c. 1555)
    • 1644 – Chongzhen Emperor of China (b. 1611)
    • 1660 – Henry Hammond, English cleric and theologian (b. 1605)
    • 1690 – David Teniers the Younger, Flemish painter and educator (b. 1610)
    • 1744 – Anders Celsius, Swedish astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (b. 1701)
    • 1770 – Jean-Antoine Nollet, French minister, physicist, and academic (b. 1700)
    • 1800 – William Cowper, English poet (b. 1731)
    • 1840 – Siméon Denis Poisson, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1781)
    • 1873 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1783)
    • 1875 – 12th Dalai Lama (b. 1857)
    • 1878 – Anna Sewell, English author (b. 1820)
    • 1890 – Crowfoot, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1830)
    • 1891 – Nathaniel Woodard, English priest and educator (b. 1811)
    • 1892 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (b. 1840)
    • 1892 – Karl von Ditmar, Estonian-German geologist and explorer (b. 1822)
    • 1906 – John Knowles Paine, American composer and educator (b. 1839)
    • 1911 – Emilio Salgari, Italian journalist and author (b. 1862)
    • 1913 – Joseph-Alfred Archambeault, Canadian bishop (b. 1859)
    • 1915 – Frederick W. Seward, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 6th United States Assistant Secretary of State (b. 1830)
    • 1919 – Augustus D. Juilliard, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1836)
    • 1923 – Louis-Olivier Taillon, Canadian lawyer and politician, 8th Premier of Quebec (b. 1840)
    • 1928 – Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel, Russian general (b. 1878)
    • 1941 – Salih Bozok, Turkish commander and politician (b. 1881)
    • 1943 – Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian director, producer, and playwright (b. 1858)
    • 1944 – George Herriman, American cartoonist (b. 1880)
    • 1944 – Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player (b. 1859)
    • 1944 – William Stephens, American engineer and politician, 24th Governor of California (b. 1859)
    • 1945 – Huldreich Georg Früh, Swiss composer (b. 1903)
    • 1961 – Robert Garrett, American discus thrower and shot putter (b. 1875)
    • 1970 – Anita Louise, American actress (b. 1915)
    • 1972 – George Sanders, English actor (b. 1906)
    • 1973 – Olga Grey, Hungarian-American actress (b. 1896)
    • 1974 – Gustavo R. Vincenti, Maltese architect and developer (b. 1888)
    • 1975 – Mike Brant, Israeli singer and songwriter (b.1947)
    • 1976 – Carol Reed, English director and producer (b. 1906)
    • 1976 – Markus Reiner, Israeli engineer and educator (b. 1886)
    • 1982 – John Cody, American cardinal (b. 1907)
    • 1983 – William S. Bowdern, American priest and author (b. 1897)
    • 1988 – Carolyn Franklin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
    • 1988 – Clifford D. Simak, American journalist and author (b. 1904)
    • 1990 – Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist, composer, and actor (b. 1923)
    • 1992 – Yutaka Ozaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1965)
    • 1995 – Art Fleming, American game show host (b. 1925)
    • 1995 – Ginger Rogers, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
    • 1995 – Lev Shankovsky, Ukrainian military historian (b. 1903)
    • 1996 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (b. 1920)
    • 1998 – Wright Morris, American author and photographer (b. 1910)
    • 1999 – Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, Irish journalist and author (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – Roger Troutman, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1951)
    • 2000 – Lucien Le Cam, French mathematician and statistician (b. 1924)
    • 2000 – David Merrick, American director and producer (b. 1911)
    • 2001 – Michele Alboreto, Italian racing driver (b. 1956)
    • 2002 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper and dancer (b. 1971)
    • 2003 – Samson Kitur, Kenyan runner (b. 1966)
    • 2004 – Thom Gunn, English-American poet and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2005 – Jim Barker, American politician (b. 1935)
    • 2005 – Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk and educator (b. 1908)
    • 2006 – Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1916)
    • 2006 – Peter Law, Welsh politician and independent member of parliament (b. 1948)
    • 2007 – Alan Ball Jr., English footballer and manager (b. 1945)
    • 2007 – Arthur Milton, English footballer and cricketer (b. 1928)
    • 2007 – Bobby Pickett, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
    • 2008 – Humphrey Lyttelton, English trumpet player, composer, and radio host (b. 1921)
    • 2009 – Bea Arthur, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Dorothy Provine, American actress and singer (b. 1935)
    • 2010 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (b. 1928)
    • 2011 – Poly Styrene, British musician (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Gerry Bahen, Australian footballer (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Denny Jones, American rancher and politician (b. 1910)
    • 2012 – Moscelyne Larkin, American ballerina and educator (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Louis le Brocquy, Irish painter and illustrator (b. 1916)
    • 2013 – Brian Adam, Scottish biochemist and politician (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Jacob Avshalomov, American composer and conductor (b. 1919)
    • 2013 – György Berencsi, Hungarian virologist and academic (b. 1941)
    • 2013 – Rick Camp, American baseball player (b. 1953)
    • 2014 – Dan Heap, Canadian priest and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – William Judson Holloway Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and judge (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Earl Morrall, American football player and coach (b. 1934)
    • 2014 – Tito Vilanova, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1968)
    • 2014 – Stefanie Zweig, German journalist and author (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Jim Fanning, American-Canadian baseball player and manager (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (b. 1948)
    • 2015 – Don Mankiewicz, American screenwriter and novelist (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – Mike Phillips, American basketball player (b. 1956)
    • 2016 – Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1922)
    • 2018 – Madeeha Gauhar, Pakistani actress, playwright and director of social theater, and women’s rights activist (b. 1956)
    • 2019 – John Havlicek, American basketball player (b. 1940)

    Holidays and observances on April 25

    • Anniversary of the First Cabinet of Kurdish Government (Iraqi Kurdistan)
    • Anzac Day (Australia, New Zealand)
    • Arbor Day (Germany)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Giovanni Battista Piamarta
      • Major Rogation (Western Christianity)
      • Mark the Evangelist
      • Maughold
      • Philo and Agathopodes
      • Anianus of Alexandria
      • April 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • DNA Day
    • Flag Day (Faroe Islands)
    • Freedom Day (Portugal)
    • Liberation Day (Italy)
    • Liberation Day (South Georgia)
    • Military Foundation Day (North Korea)
    • Parental Alienation Awareness Day
    • Red Hat Society Day
    • Sinai Liberation Day (Egypt)
    • World Malaria Day