325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.
491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed Augusta is able to choose her successor for the Byzantine throne, after Zeno (late emperor) dies of dysentery.
685 – The Battle of Dun Nechtain is fought between a Pictish army under King Bridei III and the invading Northumbrians under King Ecgfrith, who are decisively defeated.
794 – While visiting the royal Mercian court at Sutton Walls with a view to marrying princess Ælfthryth, King Æthelberht II of East Anglia is taken captive and beheaded.
1217 – The Second Battle of Lincoln is fought near Lincoln, England, resulting in the defeat of Prince Louis of France by William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke.
1293 – King Sancho IV of Castile creates the Estudio de Escuelas de Generales in Alcalá de Henares.
1449 – The Battle of Alfarrobeira is fought, establishing the House of Braganza as a principal royal family of Portugal.
1497 – John Cabot sets sail from Bristol, England, on his ship Matthew looking for a route to the west (other documents give a May 2 date).
1498 – Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovers the sea route to India when he arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Calicut), India.
1521 – Ignatius of Loyola is seriously wounded in the Battle of Pampeluna.
1570 – Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas.
1609 – Shakespeare’s sonnets are first published in London, perhaps illicitly, by the publisher Thomas Thorpe.
1631 – The city of Magdeburg in Germany is seized by forces of the Holy Roman Empire and most of its inhabitants massacred, in one of the bloodiest incidents of the Thirty Years’ War.
1645 – Yangzhou massacre: The ten day massacre of 800,000 residents of the city of Yangzhou, part of the Transition from Ming to Qing.
1741 – The Battle of Cartagena de Indias ends in a Spanish victory and the British begin withdrawal towards Jamaica with substantial losses.
1775 – The Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence is allegedly signed in Charlotte, North Carolina.
1802 – By the Law of 20 May 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte reinstates slavery in the French colonies, revoking its abolition in the French Revolution.
1813 – Napoleon Bonaparte leads his French troops into the Battle of Bautzen in Saxony, Germany, against the combined armies of Russia and Prussia. The battle ends the next day with a French victory.
1840 – York Minster is badly damaged by fire.
1861 – American Civil War: The state of Kentucky proclaims its neutrality, which will last until September 3 when Confederate forces enter the state. Meanwhile, the State of North Carolina secedes from the Union.
1862 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the Homestead Act into law, opening 84 million acres of public land to settlers.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ware Bottom Church: In the Virginia Bermuda Hundred campaign, 10,000 troops fight in this Confederate victory.
1873 – Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis receive a U.S. patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.
1875 – Signing of the Metre Convention by 17 nations leading to the establishment of the International System of Units.
1882 – The Triple Alliance between the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Italy is formed.
1883 – Krakatoa begins to erupt; the volcano explodes three months later, killing more than 36,000 people.
1891 – History of cinema: The first public display of Thomas Edison’s prototype kinetoscope.
1902 – Cuba gains independence from the United States. Tomás Estrada Palma becomes the country’s first President.
1927 – Treaty of Jeddah: The United Kingdom recognizes the sovereignty of King Ibn Saud in the Kingdoms of Hejaz and Nejd, which later merge to become the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
1932 – Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland to begin the world’s first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean by a female pilot, landing in Ireland the next day.
1940 – The Holocaust: The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
1941 – World War II: Battle of Crete: German paratroops invade Crete.
1948 – Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek wins the 1948 Republic of China presidential election and is sworn in as the first President of the Republic of China at Nanjing.
1949 – In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, is established.
1956 – In Operation Redwing, the first United States airborne hydrogen bomb is dropped over Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean.
1964 – Discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation by Robert Woodrow Wilson and Arno Penzias.
1967 – The Popular Movement of the Revolution political party is established in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
1969 – The Battle of Hamburger Hill in Vietnam ends.
1971 – In the Chuknagar massacre, Pakistani forces massacre thousands, mostly Bengali Hindus.
1980 – In a referendum in Quebec, the population rejects, by 60% of the vote, a government proposal to move towards independence from Canada.
1983 – First publications of the discovery of the HIV virus that causes AIDS in the journal Science by Luc Montagnier.
1983 – Church Street bombing: A car bomb planted by Umkhonto we Sizwe explodes on Church Street in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria, killing 19 people and injuring 217 others.
1985 – Radio Martí, part of the Voice of America service, begins broadcasting to Cuba.
1989 – The Chinese authorities declare martial law in the face of pro-democracy demonstrations, setting the scene for the Tiananmen Square massacre.
1990 – The first post-Communist presidential and parliamentary elections are held in Romania.
1996 – Civil rights: The Supreme Court of the United States rules in Romer v. Evans against a law that would have prevented any city, town or county in the state of Colorado from taking any legislative, executive, or judicial action to protect the rights of gays and lesbians.
2002 – The independence of East Timor is recognized by Portugal, formally ending 23 years of Indonesian rule and three years of provisional UN administration (Portugal itself is the former colonizer of East Timor until 1976).
2012 – At least 27 people are killed and 50 others injured when a 6.0-magnitude earthquake strikes northern Italy.
2013 – An EF5 tornado strikes the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, killing 24 people and injuring 377 others.
2019 – The International System of Units (SI): The base units are redefined, making the international prototype of the kilogram obsolete.
Births on May 20
1315 – Bonne of Luxembourg, first wife of John II of France (d. 1349)
1470 – Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal, poet, and scholar (d. 1547)
1505 – Levinus Lemnius, Dutch writer (d. 1568)
1531 – Thado Minsaw of Ava, Viceroy of Ava (d. 1584)
1537 – Hieronymus Fabricius, Italian anatomist (d. 1619)
1575 – Robert Heath, English judge and politician (d. 1649)
1664 – Andreas Schlüter, German sculptor and architect (d. 1714)
1726 – Francis Cotes, English painter and academic (d. 1770)
1743 – Toussaint Louverture, Haitian revolutionary, general, and president (d. 1803)
1759 – William Thornton, Virgin Islander-American architect, designed the United States Capitol (d. 1828)
1769 – Andreas Vokos Miaoulis, Greek admiral and politician (d. 1835)
1772 – Sir William Congreve, 2nd Baronet, English inventor and politician, developed Congreve rockets (d. 1828)
1776 – Simon Fraser, American-Canadian fur trader and explorer (d. 1862)
1795 – Pedro María de Anaya, Mexican soldier. President (1847-1848) (d. 1854)
1799 – Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (d. 1850)
1806 – John Stuart Mill, English economist, civil servant, and philosopher (d. 1873)
1811 – Alfred Domett, English-New Zealand poet and politician, 4th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1887)
1818 – William Fargo, American businessman and politician, co-founded Wells Fargo and American Express (d. 1881)
1822 – Frédéric Passy, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1912)
1824 – Cadmus M. Wilcox, Confederate States Army general (d. 1890)
1825 – Antoinette Brown Blackwell, the first woman to be ordained as a mainstream Protestant minister in the U.S. (d. 1921)
1830 – Hector Malot, French author (d. 1907)
1838 – Jules Méline, French lawyer and politician, 65th Prime Minister of France (d. 1925)
1851 – Emile Berliner, German-American inventor, invented the Gramophone record (d. 1929)
1854 – George Prendergast, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Victoria (d. 1937)
1856 – Henri-Edmond Cross, French Neo-Impressionist painter (d. 1910)
1860 – Eduard Buchner, German chemist, zymologist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1917)
1875 – Hendrik Offerhaus, Dutch rower (d. 1953)
1877 – Pat Leahy, Irish-American jumper (d. 1927)
1879 – Hans Meerwein, German chemist (d. 1965)
1882 – Sigrid Undset, Danish-Norwegian novelist, essayist, and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1949)
1883 – Faisal I of Iraq (d. 1933)
1886 – Ali Sami Yen, Turkish footballer and manager, founded the Galatasaray Sports Club (d. 1951)
1894 – Chandrashekarendra Saraswati, Indian guru and scholar (d. 1994)
1895 – R. J. Mitchell, English engineer, designed the Supermarine Spitfire and Supermarine S.6B (d. 1937)
1897 – Diego Abad de Santillán, Spanish economist and author (d. 1983)
1897 – Malcolm Nokes, English hammer and discus thrower (d. 1986)
1898 – Eduard Ole, Estonian painter (d. 1995)
1899 – Aleksandr Deyneka, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1969)
1899 – John Marshall Harlan II, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1971)
1900 – Sumitranandan Pant, Indian poet and author (d. 1977)
1901 – Max Euwe, Dutch chess player, mathematician, and author (d. 1981)
1901 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (d. 1970)
1904 – Margery Allingham, English author of detective fiction (d. 1966)
1906 – Giuseppe Siri, Italian cardinal (d. 1989)
1907 – Carl Mydans, American photographer and journalist (d. 2004)
1908 – Henry Bolte, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Victoria (d. 1990)
1908 – Louis Daquin, French actor and director (d. 1980)
1908 – Francis Raymond Fosberg, American botanist and author (d. 1993)
1908 – James Stewart, American actor (d. 1997)
1911 – Gardner Fox, American author (d. 1986)
1911 – Annie M. G. Schmidt, Dutch author and playwright (d. 1995)
1913 – Teodoro Fernández, Peruvian footballer (d. 1996)
1913 – William Redington Hewlett, American engineer, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (d. 2001)
1915 – Peter Copley, English actor (d. 2008)
1915 – Moshe Dayan, Israeli general and politician, 5th Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1981)
1915 – Joff Ellen, Australian comedian and actor (d. 1999)
1916 – Owen Chadwick, English rugby player, historian, and academic (d. 2015)
1916 – Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (d. 2001)
1916 – Ondina Valla, Italian sprinter and hurdler (d. 2006)
1917 – Tony Cliff, Israeli-English author and activist (d. 2000)
1917 – Guy Favreau, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician, 28th Canadian Minister of Justice (d. 1967)
1918 – Alexandra Boyko, Russian tank commander (d. 1996)
1918 – Edward B. Lewis, American biologist, geneticist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
1919 – George Gobel, American comedian (d. 1991)
1920 – John Cruickshank, Scottish lieutenant and banker, Victoria Cross recipient
1921 – Wolfgang Borchert, German author and playwright (d. 1947)
1921 – Hal Newhouser, American baseball player and scout (d. 1998)
1921 – Hao Wang, Chinese-American logician, philosopher, and mathematician (d. 1995)
1922 – Ted Hinton, Northern Irish international footballer (d. 1988)
1923 – Edith Fellows, American actress (d. 2011)
1923 – Sam Selvon, Trinidad-born writer (d. 1994)
1924 – David Chavchavadze, English-American CIA officer and author (d. 2014)
1924 – Zelmar Michelini, Uruguayan journalist and politician (d. 1976)
1925 – Alexei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-144 (d. 2001)
1926 – Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (d. 1956)
1927 – Bud Grant, American football player and coach
1927 – David Hedison, American actor (d. 2019)
1927 – Franciszek Macharski, Polish cardinal (d. 2016)
1929 – Gilles Loiselle, Canadian politician and diplomat, 33rd Canadian Minister of Finance
1930 – Sam Etcheverry, American football player and coach (d. 2009)
1931 – Ken Boyer, American baseball player and manager (d. 1982)
1931 – Louis Smith, American trumpeter (d. 2016)
1933 – Constance Towers, American actress and singer
1935 – José Mujica, Uruguayan guerrilla leader and politician, 40th President of Uruguay
1936 – Anthony Zerbe, American actor
1937 – Dave Hill, American golfer (d. 2011)
1937 – Derek Lampe, English footballer
1939 – Balu Mahendra, Sri Lankan-Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
1940 – Shorty Long, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1969)
1940 – Stan Mikita, Slovak-Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (d. 2018)
1940 – Sadaharu Oh, Japanese-Taiwanese baseball player and manager
1941 – Goh Chok Tong, Singaporean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Singapore
1941 – John Strasberg, American actor and teacher
1942 – Raymond Chrétien, Canadian lawyer and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States
1942 – Lynn Davies, Welsh sprinter and long jumper
1942 – Carlos Hathcock, American sergeant and sniper (d. 1999)
1942 – Frew McMillan, South African tennis player
1943 – Albano Carrisi, Italian singer, actor, and winemaker
1943 – Deryck Murray, Trinidadian cricketer
1944 – Joe Cocker, English singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
1944 – Boudewijn de Groot, Indonesian-Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
1944 – Keith Fletcher, English cricketer and manager
1944 – Dietrich Mateschitz, Austrian businessman, co-founded Red Bull GmbH
639 – Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Taizong at Jiucheng Palace.
715 – Pope Gregory II is elected.
1051 – Henry I of France marries the Russian princess, Anne of Kiev.
1445 – John II of Castile defeats the Infantes of Aragon at the First Battle of Olmedo.
1499 – Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur, Prince of Wales. Catherine is 13 and Arthur is 12.
1535 – French explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on his second voyage to North America with three ships, 110 men, and Chief Donnacona’s two sons (whom Cartier had kidnapped during his first voyage).
1536 – Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII of England, is beheaded for adultery, treason, and incest.
1542 – The Prome Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in present-day Myanmar.
1568 – Queen Elizabeth I of England orders the arrest of Mary, Queen of Scots.
1643 – Thirty Years’ War: French forces under the duc d’Enghien decisively defeat Spanish forces at the Battle of Rocroi, marking the symbolic end of Spain as a dominant land power.
1649 – An Act of Parliament declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament. England would be a republic for the next eleven years.
1655 – The Invasion of Jamaica begins during the Anglo-Spanish War.
1743 – Jean-Pierre Christin developed the centigrade temperature scale.
1749 – King George II of Great Britain grants the Ohio Company a charter of land around the forks of the Ohio River.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: A Continental Army garrison surrenders in the Battle of The Cedars.
1780 – New England’s Dark Day, an unusual darkening of the day sky, was observed over the New England states and parts of Canada.
1802 – Napoleon Bonaparte founds the Legion of Honour.
1828 – U.S. President John Quincy Adams signs the Tariff of 1828 into law, protecting wool manufacturers in the United States.
1845 – Captain Sir John Franklin and his ill-fated Arctic expedition depart from Greenhithe, England.
1848 – Mexican–American War: Mexico ratifies the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo thus ending the war and ceding California, Nevada, Utah and parts of four other modern-day U.S. states to the United States for US$15 million.
1911 – Parks Canada, the world’s first national park service, is established as the Dominion Parks Branch under the Department of the Interior.
1917 – The Norwegian football club Rosenborg BK is founded.
1919 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk lands at Samsun on the Anatolian Black Sea coast, initiating what is later termed the Turkish War of Independence.
1921 – The United States Congress passes the Emergency Quota Act establishing national quotas on immigration.
1922 – The Young Pioneer Organization of the Soviet Union is established.
1934 – Zveno and the Bulgarian Army engineer a coup d’état and install Kimon Georgiev as the new Prime Minister of Bulgaria.
1942 – World War II: In the aftermath of the Battle of the Coral Sea, Task Force 16 heads to Pearl Harbor.
1950 – A barge containing munitions destined for Pakistan explodes in the harbor at South Amboy, New Jersey, devastating the city.
1950 – Egypt announces that the Suez Canal is closed to Israeli ships and commerce.
1959 – The North Vietnamese Army establishes Group 559, whose responsibility is to determine how to maintain supply lines to South Vietnam; the resulting route is the Ho Chi Minh trail.
1961 – Venera program: Venera 1 becomes the first man-made object to fly by another planet by passing Venus (the probe had lost contact with Earth a month earlier and did not send back any data).
1961 – At Silchar Railway Station, Assam, 11 Bengalis die when police open fire on protesters demanding state recognition of Bengali language in the Bengali Language Movement.
1962 – A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe’s rendition of “Happy Birthday”.
1963 – The New York Post Sunday Magazine publishes Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail.
1971 – Mars probe program: Mars 2 is launched by the Soviet Union.
1986 – The Firearm Owners Protection Act is signed into law by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
1991 – Croatians vote for independence in a referendum.
1997 – The Sierra Gorda biosphere, the most ecologically diverse region in Mexico, is established as a result of grassroots efforts.
2007 – President of Romania Traian Băsescu survives an impeachment referendum and returns to office from suspension.
2010 – The Royal Thai Armed Forces concludes its crackdown on protests by forcing the surrender of United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship leaders.
2012 – Three gas cylinder bombs explode in front of a vocational school in the Italian city of Brindisi, killing one person and injuring five others.
2012 – A car bomb explodes near a military complex in the Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor, killing nine people.
2015 – The Refugio oil spill deposited 142,800 U.S. gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil onto an area in California considered one of the most biologically diverse coastlines of the west coast.
2016 – EgyptAir Flight 804 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea while traveling from Paris to Cairo, killing all on board.
2018 – The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is held at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.
Births on May 19
1400 – John Stourton, 1st Baron Stourton, English soldier and politician (d. 1462)
1462 – Baccio D’Agnolo, Italian woodcarver, sculptor and architect (d. 1543)
1476 (or 1474) – Helena of Moscow, Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania and Queen consort of Poland (d. 1513)
1593 – Claude Vignon, French painter (d. 1670)
1616 – Johann Jakob Froberger, German organist and composer (d. 1667)
1639 – Charles Weston, 3rd Earl of Portland, English soldier and noble (d. 1665)
1700 – José de Escandón, 1st Count of Sierra Gorda, Spanish sergeant and politician (d. 1770)
1724 – Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, English admiral and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (d. 1779)
1744 – Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, German-born Queen to George III of the United Kingdom (d. 1818)
1762 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (d. 1814)
1773 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (d. 1854)
1795 – Johns Hopkins, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1873)
1827 – Paul-Armand Challemel-Lacour, French academic and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1896)
1832 – James Watney, Jr., English politician, brewer and cricketer (d. 1886)
1857 – John Jacob Abel, American biochemist and pharmacologist (d. 1938)
1861 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (d. 1931)
1871 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (d. 1963)
1874 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1955)
1878 – Alfred Laliberté, Canadian sculptor and painter (d. 1953)
1879 – Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-English politician (d. 1964)
1880 – Albert Richardson, English architect and educator, designed the Manchester Opera House (d. 1964)
1881 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (official birthday), Turkish field marshal and statesman, 1st President of Turkey (d. 1938)
1884 – David Munson, American runner (d. 1953)
1886 – Francis Biddle, American lawyer and judge, 58th United States Attorney General (d. 1968)
1887 – Ion Jalea, Romanian soldier and sculptor (d. 1983)
1889 – Tản Đà, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1939)
1889 – Henry B. Richardson, American archer (d. 1963)
1890 – Eveline Adelheid von Maydell, German-American illustrator (d. 1962)
1890 – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnamese politician, 1st President of Vietnam (d. 1969)
1891 – Oswald Boelcke, German captain and pilot (d. 1916)
1893 – H. Bonciu, Romanian author, poet, and journalist (d. 1950)
1897 – Frank Luke, American lieutenant and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1918)
1898 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and painter (d. 1974)
1899 – Lothar Rădăceanu, Romanian journalist, linguist, and politician (d. 1955)
1902 – Lubka Kolessa, Ukrainian-Canadian pianist and educator (d. 1997)
1903 – Ruth Ella Moore, American scientist (d. 1994)
1906 – Bruce Bennett, American shot putter and actor (d. 2007)
1908 – Manik Bandopadhyay, Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1956)
1908 – Merriam Modell, American author (d. 1994)
1908 – Percy Williams, Canadian sprinter (d. 1982)
1909 – Nicholas Winton, English banker and humanitarian (d. 2015)
1910 – Alan Melville, South African cricketer (d. 1983)
1913 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th President of India (d. 1996)
1914 – Max Perutz, Austrian-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
1914 – Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
1914 – John Vachon, American photographer and journalist (d. 1975)
1915 – Renée Asherson, English actress (d. 2014)
1918 – Abraham Pais, Dutch-American physicist, historian, and academic (d. 2000)
1919 – Georgie Auld, Canadian-American saxophonist, clarinet player, and bandleader (d. 1990)
1919 – Mitja Ribičič, Italian-Slovenian soldier and politician, 25th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
1920 – Tina Strobos, Dutch psychiatrist known for rescuing Jews during World War II (d. 2012)
1921 – Leslie Broderick, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 2013)
1921 – Harry W. Brown, American colonel and pilot (d. 1991)
1921 – Daniel Gélin, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
1921 – Yuri Kochiyama, American activist (d. 2014)
1921 – Karel van het Reve, Dutch historian and author (d. 1999)
1922 – Arthur Gorrie, Australian hobby shop proprietor (d. 1992)
1924 – Sandy Wilson, English composer and songwriter (d. 2014)
1925 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (d. 1998)
1925 – Malcolm X, American minister and activist (d. 1965)
1926 – Edward Parkes, English engineer and academic (d. 2019)
1926 – Peter Zadek, German director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
1927 – Serge Lang, French-American mathematician, author and academic (d. 2005)
1928 – Colin Chapman, English engineer and businessman, founded Lotus Cars (d. 1982)
1928 – Thomas Kennedy, English air marshal (d. 2013)
1928 – Gil McDougald, American baseball player and coach (d. 2010)
1928 – Dolph Schayes, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
1929 – Helmut Braunlich, German-American violinist and composer (d. 2013)
1929 – Richard Larter, Australian painter (d. 2014)
1929 – John Stroger, American politician (d. 2008)
1930 – Eugene Genovese, American historian and author (d. 2012)
1930 – Lorraine Hansberry, American playwright and director (d. 1965)
1931 – Bob Anderson, English race car driver (d. 1967)
1931 – Trevor Peacock, English actor, screenwriter and songwriter
1932 – Alma Cogan, English singer (d. 1966)
1932 – Paul Erdman, American economist and author (d. 2007)
1932 – Bill Fitch, American basketball player and coach
1932 – Elena Poniatowska, Mexican intellectual and journalist
1933 – Edward de Bono, Maltese physician, author, and academic
1934 – Ruskin Bond, Indian author and poet
1934 – Jim Lehrer, American journalist and author (d. 2020)
1935 – David Hartman, American journalist and television personality
1937 – Pat Roach, English wrestler (d. 2004)
1938 – Moisés da Costa Amaral, East Timorese politician (d. 1989)
1938 – Herbie Flowers, English musician
1938 – Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, Ukrainian long jumper and coach
1939 – Livio Berruti, Italian sprinter
1939 – James Fox, English actor
1939 – Nancy Kwan, Hong Kong-American actress and makeup artist
1939 – Jānis Lūsis, Latvian javelin thrower and coach (d. 2020)
1939 – Dick Scobee, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1986)
1940 – Jan Janssen, Dutch cyclist
1940 – Mickey Newbury, American country/pop singer-songwriter (d. 2002)
1941 – Nora Ephron, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1941 – Igor Judge, Baron Judge, Maltese-English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
1942 – Gary Kildall, American computer scientist, founded Digital Research Inc. (d. 1994)
1942 – Robert Kilroy-Silk, English television host and politician
1943 – Eddie May, English footballer and manager (d. 2012)
1943 – Shirrel Rhoades, American author, publisher, and academic
1944 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor (d. 2019)
1945 – Pete Townshend, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1946 – Claude Lelièvre, Belgian activist
1946 – Michele Placido, Italian actor and director
1946 – André the Giant, French-American wrestler and actor (d. 1993)
1947 – Paul Brady, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1947 – Christopher Chope, English lawyer and politician
1947 – David Helfgott, Australian pianist
1948 – Grace Jones, Jamaican-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1949 – Dusty Hill, American singer-songwriter and bass player
1949 – Philip Hunt, Baron Hunt of Kings Heath, English politician
1949 – Archie Manning, American football player
1950 – Tadeusz Ślusarski, Polish pole vaulter (d. 1998)
1951 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
1951 – Dick Slater, American wrestler
1952 – Charlie Spedding, English runner
1952 – Bert van Marwijk, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager
1953 – Patrick Hodge, Lord Hodge, Scottish lawyer and judge
1953 – Shavarsh Karapetyan, Armenian finswimmer
1953 – Florin Marin, Romanian footballer and manager
1953 – Victoria Wood, English actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1954 – Rick Cerone, American baseball player and sportscaster
1954 – Hōchū Ōtsuka, Japanese voice actor
1954 – Phil Rudd, Australian-New Zealand drummer
1955 – James Gosling, Canadian-American computer scientist, created Java
1956 – Oliver Letwin, English philosopher and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1956 – Martyn Ware, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
1957 – Bill Laimbeer, American basketball player and coach
1957 – James Reyne, Nigerian-Australian singer-songwriter
1961 – Vadim Cojocaru, Moldovan politician
1961 – Gregory Poirier, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1961 – Wayne Van Dorp, Canadian ice hockey player
1963 – Filippo Galli, Italian footballer and manager
1964 – Peter Jackson, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster (d. 1997)
1964 – John Lee, South Korean-American football player
1964 – Miloslav Mečíř, Slovak tennis player
1965 – Maile Flanagan, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
1966 – Marc Bureau, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1966 – Jodi Picoult, American author and educator
1966 – Polly Walker, English actress
1967 – Alexia, Italian singer
1967 – Geraldine Somerville, Irish-born English actress
1968 – Kyle Eastwood, American actor and bass player
1970 – Stuart Cable, Welsh drummer (d. 2010)
1970 – K. J. Choi, South Korean golfer
1970 – Regina Narva, Estonian chess player
1970 – Nia Zulkarnaen, Indonesian actress, singer and producer
1971 – Ross Katz, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1971 – Andres Salumets, Estonian biologist, biochemist, and educator
1972 – Jenny Berggren, Swedish singer-songwriter
1972 – Claudia Karvan, Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
1973 – Dario Franchitti, Scottish race car driver
1974 – Andrew Johns, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
1974 – Emma Shapplin, French soprano
1974 – Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Indian actor
1975 – Pretinha, Brazilian footballer
1975 – London Fletcher, American football player
1975 – Josh Paul, American baseball player and manager
1975 – Jonas Renkse, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1976 – Ed Cota, American basketball player
1976 – Kevin Garnett, American basketball player
1977 – Manuel Almunia, Spanish footballer
1977 – Wouter Hamel, Dutch singer and guitarist
1977 – Brandon Inge, American baseball player
1977 – Natalia Oreiro, Uruguayan singer-songwriter and actress
1978 – Marcus Bent, English footballer
1978 – Dave Bus, Dutch footballer
1979 – Andrea Pirlo, Italian footballer
1979 – Diego Forlan, Uruguayan footballer
1980 – Tony Hackworth, English footballer
1981 – Luciano Figueroa, Argentinian footballer
1981 – Yo Gotti, American rapper
1981 – Michael Leighton, Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – Sina Schielke, German sprinter
1981 – Klaas-Erik Zwering, Dutch swimmer
1982 – Kevin Amankwaah, English footballer
1982 – Pål Steffen Andresen, Norwegian footballer
1982 – Klaas Vantornout, Belgian cyclist
1983 – Michael Che, American comedian
1983 – Jessica Fox, English actress
1984 – Marcedes Lewis, American football player
1985 – Aleister Black, Dutch professional wrestler
1986 – Mario Chalmers, American basketball player
1987 – Michael Angelakos, American singer-songwriter and producer
1987 – David Edgar, Canadian soccer player
1987 – Mariano Torres, Argentinian footballer
1987 – Jayne Wisener, Northern Irish actress
1991 – Jordan Pruitt, American singer-songwriter
1992 – Marshmello, American electronic music producer and DJ
1992 – Michele Camporese, Italian footballer
1992 – Ola John, Dutch footballer
1992 – Felise Kaufusi, New Zealand-Tongan rugby league player
1992 – Evgeny Kuznetsov, Russian ice hockey player
1992 – Sam Smith, English singer-songwriter
1994 – Carlos Guzmán, Mexican footballer
1995 – Taane Milne, New Zealand rugby league player
Deaths on May 19
804 – Alcuin, English monk and scholar (b. 735)
956 – Robert, archbishop of Trier
988 – Dunstan, English archbishop and saint (b. 909)
1102 – Stephen, Count of Blois (b. 1045)
1125 – Vladimir II Monomakh, Grand Duke of Kiev
1164 – Saint Bashnouna, Egyptian saint and martyr
1218 – Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor
1296 – Pope Celestine V (b. 1215)
1303 – Saint Ivo of Kermartin, French canon lawyer (b. 1253)
1319 – Louis, Count of Évreux (b. 1276)
1389 – Dmitry Donskoy, Grand Prince of Muscovy (b. 1350)
1396 – John I of Aragon (b. 1350)
1526 – Emperor Go-Kashiwabara of Japan (b. 1464)
1531 – Jan Łaski, Polish archbishop and diplomat (b. 1456)
1536 – Anne Boleyn, Queen of England (1533–1536); second wife of Henry VIII of England (b. c. 1501)
1601 – Costanzo Porta, Italian composer (b. 1528)
1609 – García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete (b. 1535)
1610 – Thomas Sanchez, Spanish priest and theologian (b. 1550)
1623 – Mariam-uz-Zamani, Empress of the Mughal Empire (b. 1542)
1637 – Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and philosopher (b. 1588)
1715 – Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1661)
1786 – John Stanley, English organist and composer (b. 1712)
1795 – Josiah Bartlett, American physician and politician, 4th Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1729)
1795 – James Boswell, Scottish biographer (b. 1740)
1798 – William Byron, 5th Baron Byron, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1722)
1821 – Camille Jordan, French lawyer and politician (b. 1771)
1825 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French philosopher and theorist (b. 1760)
1831 – Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz, Estonian-German physician, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1793)
1864 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1804)
1865 – Sengge Rinchen, Mongolian general (b. 1811)
1872 – John Baker, English-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of South Australia (b. 1813)
1876 – Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer, Dutch historian and politician (b. 1801)
1885 – Peter W. Barlow, English engineer (b. 1809)
1895 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1853)
1898 – William Ewart Gladstone, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1809)
1901 – Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, South African general and politician, 1st President of the South African Republic (b. 1819)
1903 – Arthur Shrewsbury, English cricketer (b. 1856)
1904 – Auguste Molinier, French librarian and historian (b. 1851)
1904 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (b. 1839)
1906 – Gabriel Dumont, Canadian Métis leader (b. 1837)
1907 – Benjamin Baker, English engineer, designed the Forth Bridge (b. 1840)
1912 – Bolesław Prus, Polish journalist and author (b. 1847)
1915 – John Simpson Kirkpatrick, English-Australian soldier (b. 1892)
1918 – Gervais Raoul Lufbery, French-American soldier and pilot (b. 1885)
1935 – T. E. Lawrence, British colonel and archaeologist (b. 1888)
1936 – Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, British Islamic scholar (b. 1875)
1939 – Ahmet Ağaoğlu, Azerbaijani-Turkish journalist and publicist (b. 1869)
1943 – Kristjan Raud, Estonian painter and illustrator (b. 1865)
1945 – Philipp Bouhler, German soldier and politician (b. 1889)
1946 – Booth Tarkington, American novelist and dramatist (b. 1869)
1950 – Daniel Ciugureanu, Romanian physician and politician, Prime Minister of Moldova (b. 1884)
1954 – Charles Ives, American composer and educator (b. 1874)
1958 – Jadunath Sarkar, Indian historian (b. 1870)
1958 – Archie Scott Brown, Scottish race car driver (b. 1927)
1958 – Ronald Colman, English actor (b. 1891)
1963 – Walter Russell, American painter, sculptor, and author (b. 1871)
1969 – Coleman Hawkins, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1901)
1971 – Ogden Nash, American poet (b. 1902)
1978 – Albert Kivikas, Estonian-Swedish journalist and author (b. 1898)
1980 – Joseph Schull, Canadian playwright and historian (b. 1906)
1983 – Jean Rey, Belgian lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the European Commission (b. 1902)
1984 – John Betjeman, English poet and academic (b. 1906)
1986 – Jimmy Lyons, American saxophonist (b. 1931)
1987 – James Tiptree, Jr., American psychologist and author (b. 1915)
1989 – Yiannis Papaioannou, Greek composer and educator (b. 1910)
1994 – Jacques Ellul, French sociologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1912)
1994 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist, 37th First Lady of the United States (b. 1929)
1994 – Luis Ocaña, Spanish cyclist (b. 1945)
1996 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (b. 1917)
1998 – Sōsuke Uno, Japanese soldier and politician, 75th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1922)
2001 – Alexey Maresyev, Russian soldier and pilot (b. 1916)
2001 – Susannah McCorkle, American singer (b. 1946)
2002 – John Gorton, Australian lieutenant and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1911)
2002 – Walter Lord, American historian and author (b. 1917)
2004 – Mary Dresselhuys, Dutch actress and screenwriter (b. 1907)
2007 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (b. 1940)
2007 – Dean Eyre, New Zealand politician (b. 1914)
2008 – Vijay Tendulkar, Indian playwright and screenwriter (b. 1928)
2009 – Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
2009 – Nicholas Maw, English composer and academic (b. 1935)
2009 – Clint Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1913)
2011 – Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 8th Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1926)
2011 – Jeffrey Catherine Jones, American artist (b.1944)
2012 – Bob Boozer, American basketball player (b. 1937)
2012 – Tamara Brooks, American conductor and educator (b. 1941)
2012 – Ian Burgess, English race car driver (b. 1930)
2012 – Gerhard Hetz, German-Mexican swimmer (b. 1942)
2012 – Phil Lamason, New Zealand soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
2013 – G. Sarsfield Ford, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1933)
2013 – Robin Harrison, English-Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1932)
2013 – Neil Reynolds, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1940)
2014 – Simon Andrews, English motorcycle racer (b. 1982)
2014 – Jack Brabham, Australian race car driver (b. 1926)
2014 – Terry W. Gee, American businessman and politician (b. 1940)
2014 – Sam Greenlee, American author and poet (b. 1930)
2014 – Vincent Harding, American historian and scholar (b. 1931)
2014 – Gabriel Kolko, American historian and author (b. 1932)
2014 – Zbigniew Pietrzykowski, Polish boxer (b. 1934)
2015 – Bruce Lundvall, American businessman (b. 1935)
2015 – Ted McWhinney, Australian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
2015 – Happy Rockefeller, American philanthropist, socialite; 31st Second Lady of the United States (b. 1926)
2015 – Robert S. Wistrich, English historian, author, and academic (b. 1945)
2016 – Alan Young, English-born Canadian-American actor (b. 1919)
2016 – Morley Safer, Canadian-born American journalist (b. 1931)
2017 – Nawshirwan Mustafa, General coordinator of the Movement for Change (Gorran) (b. 1944)
2018 – Zhengzhang Shangfang, Chinese linguist (b. 1933)
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 ShuttleEndeavour.
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
453 BC – Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.
413 – Emperor Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the Italian provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths.
589 – Reccared I opens the Third Council of Toledo, marking the entry of Visigothic Spain into the Catholic Church.
1429 – Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the Hundred Years’ War.
1450 – Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
1516 – A group of imperial guards, led by Trịnh Duy Sản, murdered Emperor Lê Tương Dực and fled, leaving the capital Thăng Long undefended.
1541 – Hernando de Soto stops near present-day Walls, Mississippi, and sees the Mississippi River(then known by the Spanish as Río de Espíritu Santo, the name given to it by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda in 1519).
1788 – King Louis XVI of France attempts to impose the reforms of Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne by abolishing the parlements.
1794 – Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme générale, is tried, convicted and guillotined in one day in Paris.
1821 – Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks at the Battle of Gravia Inn.
1842 – A train derails and catches fire in Paris, killing between 52 and 200 people.
1846 – Mexican–American War: American forces led by Zachary Taylor defeat a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war.
1877 – At Gilmore’s Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens.
1886 – Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named “Coca-Cola” as a patent medicine.
1898 – The first games of the Italian football league system are played.
1899 – The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin produced its first play.
1902 – In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.
1912 – Paramount Pictures is founded.
1919 – Edward George Honey proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which ended World War I.
1921 – The creation of the Communist Party of Romania.
1924 – The Klaipėda Convention is signed formally incorporating Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) into Lithuania.
1927 – Attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York, French war heroes Charles Nungesser and François Coli disappear after taking off aboard The White Bird biplane.
1933 – Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast of self-purification and launched a one-year campaign to help the Harijan movement.
1941 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby.
1942 – World War II: The German 11th Army begins Operation Trappenjagd (Bustard Hunt) and destroys the bridgehead of the three Soviet armies defending the Kerch Peninsula.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end with Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attacking and sinking the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington.
1942 – World War II: Gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands rebel in the Cocos Islands Mutiny. Their mutiny is crushed and three of them are executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.
1945 – World War II: The German Instrument of Surrender signed at Reims comes into effect.
1945 – End of the Prague uprising, celebrated now as a national holiday in the Czech Republic.
1945 – Hundreds of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Sétif massacre.
1945 – The Halifax riot starts when thousands of civilians and servicemen rampage through Halifax, Nova Scotia.
1946 – Estonian schoolgirls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial which preceded the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn.
1963 – South Vietnamese soldiers under the Roman Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem open fire on Buddhists defying a ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesak, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.
1967 – The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
1972 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his order to place naval mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.
1973 – A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota ends with the surrender of the militants.
1976 – The rollercoaster The New Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
1978 – The first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen, by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler.
1980 – The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox.
1984 – Corporal Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three people and wounding 13. René Jalbert, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour.
1984 – The Thames Barrier is officially opened, preventing the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded except under extreme circumstances.
1987 – The SAS kills eight Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers and a civilian during an ambush in Loughgall, Northern Ireland.
1988 – A fire at Illinois Bell’s Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered to be the “worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history”.
1997 – China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 crashes on approach into Bao’an International Airport, killing 35 people.
2019 – British 17-year-old Isabelle Holdaway is reported to be the first patient ever to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection.
Births on May 8
1326 – Joan I, Countess of Auvergne (d. 1360)
1427 – John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1470)
1460 – Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1536)
1492 – Andrea Alciato, Italian jurist and writer (d. 1550)
1508 – Charles Wriothesley, English Officer of Arms (d. 1562)
1521 – Peter Canisius, Dutch-Swiss priest and saint (d. 1597)
1551 – Thomas Drury, English government informer and swindler (d. 1603)
1587 – Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1637)
1622 – Claes Rålamb, Swedish politician (d. 1698)
1628 – Angelo Italia, Sicilian Jesuit and architect (d. 1700)
1629 – Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (d. 1697)
1632 – Heino Heinrich Graf von Flemming, German field marshal and politician (d. 1706)
1639 – Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Italian artist (d. 1709)
1641 – Nicolaes Witsen, Mayor of Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1717)
1653 – Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1734)
1670 – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (d. 1726)
1698 – Henry Baker, English naturalist (d. 1774)
1720 – William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1764)
1735 – Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter and politician (d. 1811)
1737 – Edward Gibbon, English historian and politician (d. 1794)
1745 – Carl Stamitz, German violinist and composer (d. 1801)
1753 – Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest and rebel leader (d. 1811)
1786 – John Vianney, French priest and saint (d. 1859)
1815 – Edward Tompkins, American lawyer and politician (d. 1872)
1818 – Samuel Leonard Tilley, Canadian pharmacist and politician, 3rd Premier of New Brunswick (d. 1896)
1821 – William Henry Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1885)
1824 – William Walker, American physician, lawyer, journalist and mercenary (d. 1860)
1825 – George Bruce Malleson, English-Indian colonel and author (d. 1898)
1828 – Henry Dunant, Swiss businessman and activist, co-founded the Red Cross, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1910)
1828 – Charbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk and saint (d. 1898)
1829 – Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American pianist and composer (d. 1869)
1835 – Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter and academic (d. 1910)
1839 – Adolphe-Basile Routhier, Canadian judge, author, and songwriter (d. 1920)
1842 – Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist and mycologist (d. 1909)
1846 – Oscar Hammerstein I, American businessman and composer (d. 1919)
1850 – Ross Barnes, American baseball player and manager (d. 1915)
1853 – Dan Brouthers, American baseball player and manager (d. 1932)
1856 – Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician, president for 45 minutes on February 13, 1913. (d. 1952)
1858 – Heinrich Berté, Slovak-Austrian composer (d. 1924)
1858 – J. Meade Falkner, English author and poet (d. 1932)
1859 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician and engineer (d. 1925)
1867 – Margarete Böhme, German novelist (d. 1939)
1879 – Wesley Coe, American shot putter, discus thrower, and tug of war competitor (d. 1926)
1884 – Harry S. Truman, American colonel and politician, 33rd President of the United States (d. 1972)
1885 – Thomas B. Costain, Canadian journalist and author (d. 1965)
1892 – Adriaan Pelt, Dutch journalist and diplomat (d. 1981)
1893 – Francis Ouimet, American golfer (d. 1967)
1893 – Edd Roush, American baseball player and coach (d. 1988)
1893 – Teddy Wakelam, English rugby player and sportscaster (d. 1963)
1895 – James H. Kindelberger, American businessman (d. 1962)
1895 – Fulton J. Sheen, American archbishop (d. 1979)
1895 – Edmund Wilson, American critic, essayist, and editor (d. 1972)
1898 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (d. 1960)
1899 – Arthur Q. Bryan, American actor, voice actor, comedian and radio personality (d. 1959)
1899 – Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
1899 – Jacques Heim, French fashion designer (d. 1967)
1901 – Turkey Stearnes, American baseball player (d. 1979)
1902 – André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
1903 – Fernandel, French actor and singer (d. 1971)
1903 – Mary Stewart, Baroness Stewart of Alvechurch, British politician and educator (d. 1984)
1904 – John Snagge, English journalist (d. 1996)
1905 – Red Nichols, American cornet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1965)
1906 – Roberto Rossellini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1977)
1910 – George Male, English footballer (d. 1998)
1910 – Andrew E. Svenson, American author and publisher (d. 1975)
1910 – Mary Lou Williams, American pianist and composer (d. 1981)
1911 – Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman, Dutch jurist and politician, Dutch Minister of The Interior (d. 1997)
1911 – Robert Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1938)
1912 – George Woodcock, Canadian author and poet (d. 1995)
1913 – Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (d. 1984)
1913 – Sid James, South African-English actor and singer (d. 1976)
1915 – Milton Meltzer, American historian and author (d. 2009)
1916 – João Havelange, Brazilian water polo player, lawyer, and businessman (d. 2016)
1916 – Chinmayananda Saraswati, Indian spiritual leader and educator (d. 1993)
1916 – Ramananda Sengupta, Indian cinematographer (d. 2017)
1917 – John Anderson, Jr., American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Kansas (d. 2014)
1919 – Lex Barker, American actor (d. 1973)
1920 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (d. 1996)
1920 – Tom of Finland, Finnish illustrator (d. 1991)
1920 – Sloan Wilson, American author and poet (d. 2003)
1920 – Gordon McClymont, Australian ecologist and academic (d. 2000)
1922 – Mary Q. Steele, American naturalist and author (d. 1992)
1924 – S. Vithiananthan, Sri Lankan author and academic (d. 1989)
1925 – Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzanian politician, 2nd President of Tanzania
1926 – David Attenborough, English environmentalist and television host
1926 – David Hurst, German actor (d. 2019)
1926 – Don Rickles, American comedian and actor (d. 2017)
1927 – Chumy Chúmez, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
1927 – László Paskai, Hungarian cardinal (d. 2015)
1928 – Robert Conley, American journalist (d. 2013)
1928 – Ted Sorensen, American lawyer, 8th White House Counsel (d. 2010)
1929 – Ethel D. Allen, American physician and politician (d. 1981)
1929 – Girija Devi, Indian classical singer (d. 2017)
1929 – Claude Castonguay, Canadian banker and politician
1929 – Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-American actress and singer (d. 2007)
1930 – Heather Harper, Northern Irish soprano (d. 2019)
1930 – Doug Atkins, American football player (d. 2015)
1930 – René Maltête, French photographer and poet (d. 2000)
1930 – Gary Snyder, American poet, essayist, and translator
1932 – Julieta Campos, Cuban-Mexican author and translator (d. 2007)
1932 – Phyllida Law, Scottish actress
1932 – Harry Wells, Australian rugby league player
1934 – Leonard Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann, South African-English lawyer and judge
1934 – Maurice Norman, English footballer
1934 – David Williamson, Baron Williamson of Horton, English soldier and politician (d. 2015)
1935 – Lucius Cary, 15th Viscount Falkland, Scottish politician
1935 – Princess Elisabeth of Denmark (d. 2018)
1935 – Jack Charlton, English footballer and manager
1936 – Kazuo Koike, Japanese author
1936 – Haljand Udam, Estonian orientalist and academic (d. 2005)
1937 – Bernard Cleary, Canadian journalist, academic, and politician
1937 – Mike Cuellar, Cuban-American baseball player (d. 2010)
1937 – Carlos Gaviria Díaz, Colombian lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
1937 – Thomas Pynchon, American novelist
1938 – Javed Burki, Indian-Pakistani cricketer
1938 – Jean Giraud, French author and illustrator (d. 2012)
1939 – Paul Drayton, American sprinter (d. 2010)
1940 – Peter Benchley, American author and screenwriter (d. 2006)
1940 – James Blyth, Baron Blyth of Rowington, English businessman and academic
1940 – Irwin Cotler, Canadian lawyer and politician, 47th Canadian Minister of Justice
Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (Romania)
Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (United States and others)
Earliest day on which State Flag and State Emblem Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Sunday of May. (Belarus)
Earliest day on which World Fair Trade Day can fall, while May 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Saturday of May (site of the WFTO) (International)
Emancipation Day (Columbus, Mississippi)
Furry Dance (Helston, UK)
Liberation Day (Czech Republic)
Miguel Hidalgo’s birthday (Mexico)
Parents’ Day (South Korea)
Truman Day (Missouri)
Veterans Day (Norway)
Victory in Europe Day, and its related observances (Europe):
Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War, continues to May 9
White Lotus Day (Theosophy)
World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day (International)
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
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)
475 BC – Roman consul Publius Valerius Poplicola celebrates a Roman triumph for his victory over Veii and the Sabines.
305 – Diocletian and Maximian retire from the office of Roman emperor.
524 – King Sigismund of Burgundy is executed at Orléans after an eight-year reign and is succeeded by his brother Godomar.
880 – The Nea Ekklesia is inaugurated in Constantinople, setting the model for all later cross-in-square Orthodox churches.
1169 – Norman mercenaries land at Bannow Bay in Leinster, marking the beginning of the Norman invasion of Ireland.
1328 – Wars of Scottish Independence end: By the Treaty of Edinburgh–Northampton, England recognises Scotland as an independent state.
1455 – Battle of Arkinholm, Royal forces end the Black Douglas hegemony in Scotland.
1576 – Stephen Báthory, the reigning Prince of Transylvania, marries Anna Jagiellon and they become co-rulers of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
1707 – The Act of Union joining England and Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain takes effect.
1753 – Publication of Species Plantarum by Linnaeus, and the formal start date of plant taxonomy adopted by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature.
1759 – Josiah Wedgwood founds the Wedgwood pottery company in Great Britain
1776 – Establishment of the Illuminati in Ingolstadt, Upper Bavaria, by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt.
1778 – American Revolution: The Battle of Crooked Billet begins in Hatboro, Pennsylvania.
1786 – In Vienna, Austria, Mozart’s opera The Marriage of Figaro is performed for the first time.
1794 – War of the Pyrenees: The Battle of Boulou ends, in which French forces defeat the Spanish and regain nearly all the land they lost to Spain in 1793.
1820 – Execution of the Cato Street Conspirators, who plotted to kill the British Cabinet and Prime Minister Lord Liverpool.
1840 – The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom.
1844 – Hong Kong Police Force, the world’s second modern police force and Asia’s first, is established.
1846 – The few remaining Mormons left in Nauvoo, Illinois, formally dedicate the Nauvoo Temple.
1851 – Queen Victoria opens The Great Exhibition at The Crystal Palace in London.
1856 – The Province of Isabela was created in the Philippines in honor of Queen Isabela II.
1862 – American Civil War: The Union Army completes its capture of New Orleans.
1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville begins.
1865 – The Empire of Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay sign the Treaty of the Triple Alliance.
1866 – The Memphis Race Riots begin. In three days time, 46 blacks and two whites were killed. Reports of the atrocities influenced passage of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
1875 – Alexandra Palace reopens after being burned down in a fire in 1873.
1884 – The Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions demands the eight-hour work day in the United States.
1884 – Moses Fleetwood Walker becomes the first black person to play in a professional baseball game in the United States.
1885 – The original Chicago Board of Trade Building opens for business.
1886 – Rallies are held throughout the United States demanding the eight-hour work day, culminating in the Haymarket affair in Chicago, in commemoration of which May 1 is celebrated as International Workers’ Day in many countries.
1893 – The World’s Columbian Exposition opens in Chicago.
1894 – Coxey’s Army, the first significant American protest march, arrives in Washington, D.C.
1898 – Spanish–American War: Battle of Manila Bay: The Asiatic Squadron of the United States Navy destroys the Pacific Squadron of the Spanish Navy after a seven-hour battle. Spain loses all seven of its ships, and 381 Spanish sailors die. There are no American vessel losses or combat deaths.
1900 – The Scofield Mine disaster kills over 200 men in Scofield, Utah in what is to date the fifth-worst mining accident in United States history.
1915 – The RMS Lusitania departs from New York City on her 202nd, and final, crossing of the North Atlantic. Six days later, the ship is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland with the loss of 1,198 lives.
1919 – German troops enter Munich to suppress the Bavarian Soviet Republic.
1925 – The All-China Federation of Trade Unions is officially founded. Today it is the largest trade union in the world, with 134 million members.
1927 – The Union Labor Life Insurance Company is founded by the American Federation of Labor.
1929 – The 7.2 Mw Kopet Dag earthquake shakes the Iran–Turkmenistan border region with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), killing up to 3,800 and injuring 1,121.
1930 – “Pluto” is officially proposed for the name of the newly-discovered dwarf planet Pluto by Vesto Slipher in the Lowell Observatory Observation Circular. The name quickly catches on.
1931 – The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.
1941 – World War II: German forces launch a major attack during the siege of Tobruk.
1944 – World War II: Two hundred Communist prisoners are shot by the Germans at Kaisariani, Athens in reprisal for the killing of General Franz Krech by partisans at Molaoi.
1945 – World War II: A German newsreader officially announces that Adolf Hitler has “fallen at his command post in the Reich Chancellery fighting to the last breath against Bolshevism and for Germany”. The Soviet flag is raised over the Reich Chancellery, by order of Stalin.
1945 – World War II: Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda commit suicide in the Reich Garden outside the Führerbunker. Their children are also killed by having cyanide pills inserted into their mouths by their mother, Magda.
1945 – World War II: Forces of the Soviet Red Army liberate Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at Stalag Luft I near Barth, Germany.
1945 – World War II: Up to 2,500 people die in a mass suicide in Demmin following the advance of the Red Army.
1945 – World War II: Yugoslav Partisans liberate Trieste.
1946 – Start of three-year Pilbara strike of Indigenous Australians.
1946 – The Paris Peace Conference concludes that the islands of the Dodecanese should be returned to Greece by Italy.
1947 – Portella della Ginestra massacre against May Day celebrations in Sicily by the bandit and separatist leader Salvatore Giuliano where 11 persons are killed and 33 wounded.
1956 – The polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk is made available to the public.
1956 – A doctor in Japan reports an “epidemic of an unknown disease of the central nervous system”, marking the official discovery of Minamata disease.
1957 – Thirty-four people are killed when a Vickers Viking airliner crashes in Hampshire, England.
1960 – Formation of the western Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra; also known as “Maharashtra Day”.
1960 – Cold War: U-2 incident: Francis Gary Powers, in a Lockheed U-2 spyplane, is shot down over the Sverdlovsk Oblast, Soviet Union, sparking a diplomatic crisis.
1961 – The Prime Minister of Cuba, Fidel Castro, proclaims Cuba a socialist nation and abolishes elections.
1965 – Cross-Strait relations: Battle of Dong-Yin, a naval conflict between the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China, takes place.
1967 – Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu are married in Las Vegas.
1970 – Vietnam War: Protests erupt following the announcement by Richard Nixon that the U.S. and South Vietnamese forces would attack Vietnamese communists in a Cambodian Campaign.
1971 – Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) takes over operation of U.S. passenger rail service.
1974 – The Argentine terrorist organization Montoneros is expelled from Plaza de Mayo by president Juan Perón.
1977 – Thirty-six people are killed in Taksim Square, Istanbul, during the Labour Day celebrations.
1978 – Japan’s Naomi Uemura, travelling by dog sled, becomes the first person to reach the North Pole alone.
1982 – Operation Black Buck: The Royal Air Force attacks the Argentine Air Force during Falklands War.
1983 – The Sydney Entertainment Centre is opened.
1987 – Pope John Paul II beatifies Edith Stein, a Jewish-born Carmelite nun who was gassed in the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz.
1989 – Disney-MGM Studios opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.
1990 – The former Philippine Episcopal Church (supervised by the Episcopal Church of the United States of America) is granted full autonomy and raised to the status of an Autocephalous Anglican Province and renamed the Episcopal Church in the Philippines.
1993 – Dingiri Banda Wijetunga became president of Sri Lanka automatically after killing of R Premadasa in LTTE bomb explosion.
1994 – Three-time Formula One world champion Ayrton Senna is killed in an accident whilst leading the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.
1995 – Croatian War of Independence: Croatian forces launch Operation Flash.
1999 – The body of British climber George Mallory is found on Mount Everest, 75 years after his disappearance in 1924
1999 – SpongeBob SquarePants premieres on Nickelodeon.
2001 – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares the existence of “a state of rebellion”, hours after thousands of supporters of her arrested predecessor, Joseph Estrada, storm towards the presidential palace at the height of the EDSA III rebellion.
2002 – OpenOffice.org released version 1.0, the first stable version of the software.
2003 – Invasion of Iraq: In what becomes known as the “Mission Accomplished” speech, on board the USS Abraham Lincoln (off the coast of California), U.S. President George W. Bush declares that “major combat operations in Iraq have ended”.
2004 – Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia join the European Union, celebrated at the residence of the Irish President in Dublin.
2009 – Same-sex marriage is legalized in Sweden.
2011 – Pope John Paul II is beatified by his successor, Pope Benedict XVI.
2019 – Naxalite attack in Gadchiroli district of India: Sixteen army soldiers, including a driver, killed in an IED blast. Naxals targeted an anti-Naxal operations team.
Births on May 1
1218 – John I, Count of Hainaut (d. 1257)
1218 – Rudolf I of Germany (d. 1291)
1285 – Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, English politician (d. 1326)
1326 – Rinchinbal Khan, Mongolian emperor (d. 1332)
1488 – Sidonie of Bavaria, eldest daughter of Duke Albrecht IV of Bavaria-Munich (d. 1505)
1527 – Johannes Stadius, German astronomer, astrologer, mathematician (d. 1579)
1545 – Franciscus Junius, French theologian (d. 1602)
1579 – Wolphert Gerretse, Dutch-American farmer, co-founded New Netherland (d. 1662)
1582 – Marco da Gagliano, Italian composer (d. 1643)
1585 – Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (d. 1612)
1591 – Johann Adam Schall von Bell, German missionary and astronomer (d. 1666)
1594 – John Haynes, English-American politician, 1st Governor of the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1653)
1602 – William Lilly, English astrologer (d. 1681)
1672 – Joseph Addison, English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician (d. 1719)
1730 – Joshua Rowley, English admiral (d. 1790)
1735 – Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen, Dutch admiral and philanthropist (d. 1819)
1751 – Judith Sargent Murray, American poet and playwright (d. 1820)
1764 – Benjamin Henry Latrobe, English-American architect, designed the United States Capitol (d. 1820)
1769 – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Irish-English field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1852)
1783 – Phoebe Hinsdale Brown, American hymnwriter (d. 1861)
1803 – James Clarence Mangan, Irish poet and author (d. 1849)
1821 – Henry Ayers, English-Australian politician, 8th Premier of South Australia (d. 1897)
1824 – Alexander William Williamson, English chemist and academic (d. 1904)
1825 – Johann Jakob Balmer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1898)
1825 – George Inness, American painter and educator (d. 1894)
1827 – Jules Breton, French painter (d. 1906)
1829 – José de Alencar, Brazilian author and playwright (d. 1877)
1829 – Frederick Sandys, English painter and illustrator (d. 1904)
1830 – Guido Gezelle, Belgian priest and poet (d. 1899)
1831 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and activist (d. 1903)
1847 – Henry Demarest Lloyd, American journalist and politician (d. 1903)
1848 – Adelsteen Normann, Norwegian painter (d. 1919)
1850 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (d. 1942)
1851 – Laza Lazarević, Serbian psychiatrist and neurologist (d. 1891)
1852 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and professional scout (d. 1903)
1852 – Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish neuroscientist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1934)
1853 – Jacob Mikhailovich Gordin, Jewish Ukrainian-American journalist, actor, and playwright (d. 1909)
1855 – Cecilia Beaux, American painter and academic (d. 1942)
1857 – Theo van Gogh, Dutch art dealer (d. 1891)
1859 – Jacqueline Comerre-Paton, French painter and sculptor (d. 1955)
1862 – Marcel Prévost, French novelist and playwright (d. 1941)
1864 – Anna Jarvis, American founder of Mother’s Day (d. 1948)
1871 – Seakle Greijdanus, Dutch theologian and scholar (d. 1948)
1871 – Emiliano Chamorro Vargas, President of Nicaragua (d. 1966)
1872 – Hugo Alfvén, Swedish composer, conductor, violinist, and painter (d. 1960)
1872 – Sidónio Pais, Portuguese soldier and politician, 4th President of Portugal (d. 1918)
1874 – Romaine Brooks, American-French painter and illustrator (d. 1970)
1874 – Paul Van Asbroeck, Belgian target shooter (d. 1959)
1875 – Dave Hall, American runner (d. 1972)
1881 – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French priest, palaeontologist, and philosopher (d. 1955)
1884 – Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, English race car driver and politician (d. 1964)
1885 – Clément Pansaers, Belgian poet (d. 1922)
1885 – Ralph Stackpole, American sculptor and painter (d. 1973)
1887 – Alan Cunningham, Anglo-Irish general and diplomat, High Commissioners for Palestine and Transjordan (d. 1983)
1890 – Clelia Lollini, Italian physician (d. 1963 or 1964)
1891 – Lillian Estelle Fisher, American historian of Spanish America (d. 1988)
1895 – Nikolai Yezhov, Soviet secret police official, head of the NKVD (d. 1940)
1895 – May Hollinworth, Australian theatre producer and director (d. 1968)
1896 – Herbert Backe, German agronomist and politician (d. 1947)
1896 – Mark W. Clark, American general (d. 1984)
1896 – J. Lawton Collins, American general (d. 1987)
1898 – Alfred Schmidt, Estonian weightlifter (d. 1972)
1900 – Ignazio Silone, Italian journalist and politician (d. 1978)
1900 – Aleksander Wat, Polish poet and writer (d. 1967)
1901 – Sterling Allen Brown, American poet, academic, and critic (d. 1989)
1901 – Heinz Eric Roemheld, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1985)
1901 – Antal Szerb, Hungarian scholar and author (d. 1945)
1905 – Henry Koster, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1988)
1906 – Horst Schumann, German SS officer and physician (d. 1983)
1907 – Hayes Alvis, American bassist (d. 1972)
1907 – Kate Smith, American singer and actress (d. 1986)
1908 – Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist and author (d. 1968)
1908 – Morris Kline, American mathematician and academic (d. 1992)
1909 – Endel Puusepp, Estonian-Soviet military pilot and politician (d. 1996)
1909 – Yiannis Ritsos, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1990)
1910 – Behice Boran, Turkish sociologist and politician (d. 1987)
1910 – Raya Dunayevskaya, Ukrainian-American philosopher and activist (d. 1987)
1910 – Dirk Andries Flentrop, Dutch organ builder (d. 2003)
1910 – J. Allen Hynek, American astronomer and ufologist (d. 1986)
1910 – Nejdet Sançar, Turkish literature teacher (d. 1975)
1911 – Wilfred Watson, English-Canadian poet, playwright and educator (d. 1998)
1912 – Otto Kretschmer, German admiral (d. 1998)
1913 – Louis Nye, American actor (d. 2005)
1913 – Walter Susskind, Czech-English pianist, conductor, and educator (d. 1980)
1914 – Jaap van der Poll, Dutch javelin thrower (d. 2010)
1915 – Hanns Martin Schleyer, German businessman (d. 1977)
1916 – Antoni Bazaniak, Polish sprint canoeist (d. 1979)
1916 – Glenn Ford, Canadian-American actor and producer (d. 2006)
1917 – John Beradino, American baseball player and actor (d. 1996)
1917 – Ulric Cross, Trinidadian navigator, judge, and diplomat (d. 2013)
1917 – Danielle Darrieux, French actress and singer (d. 2017)
1917 – Ahron Soloveichik, Russian rabbi and scholar (d. 2001)
1918 – Gersh Budker, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (d. 1977)
1918 – Jack Paar, American comedian, author and talk show host (d. 2004)
1919 – Manna Dey, Indian singer and composer (d. 2013)
1919 – Mohammed Karim Lamrani, Moroccan businessman and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Morocco (d. 2018)
1919 – Dan O’Herlihy, Irish-American actor (d. 2005)
1921 – Vladimir Colin, Romanian journalist and author (d. 1991)
1922 – Alastair Gillespie, Canadian scholar and politician (d. 2018)
1923 – Joseph Heller, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1999)
1923 – Antônio Maria Mucciolo, Italian-Brazilian archbishop (d. 2012)
1923 – Marcel Rayman, Polish soldier (d. 1944)
1924 – Evelyn Boyd Granville, American mathematician, computer scientist, and academic
1924 – Karel Kachyňa, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2004)
1924 – Terry Southern, American novelist, essayist, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
1925 – Chuck Bednarik, American lieutenant and football player (d. 2015)
1925 – Scott Carpenter, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2013)
1925 – Sardar Fazlul Karim, Bangladeshi philosopher, scholar, and academic (d. 2014)
1926 – Peter Lax, Hungarian-American mathematician and academic
1927 – Gary Bertini, Israeli conductor and composer (d. 2005)
1927 – Laura Betti, Italian actress (d. 2004)
1927 – Albert Zafy, Malagasy politician, 3rd President of Madagascar (d. 2017)
1927 – Bernard Vukas, Yugoslav-Croatian footballer (d. 1983)
1928 – Sonny James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
1928 – Delfim Netto, Brazilian economist
1929 – Ralf Dahrendorf, German-English sociologist and politician (d. 2009)
1929 – Sonny Ramadhin, Trinidadian cricketer
1930 – Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (d. 2011)
1930 – Richard Riordan, American lieutenant and politician, 39th Mayor of Los Angeles and publisher
1930 – Little Walter Jacobs, American blues harp player and singer (d. 1968)
1931 – Naim Attallah, Palestinian author
1932 – Sandy Woodward, English admiral (d. 2013)
1932 – Tabibar Rahman Sarder, Bangladeshi politician. (d. 2010)
1934 – Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas, Mexican politician
1934 – Tang Chang, Thai artist (d. 1990)
1934 – Shirley Horn, American singer and pianist (d. 2005)
1934 – Phillip King, Tunisian-English sculptor
1934 – John Meillon, Australian actor (d. 1989)
1936 – Danièle Huillet, French filmmaker (d. 2006)
1936 – Hans E. Wallman, Swedish director, producer, and composer (d. 2014)
1937 – Una Stubbs, English actress and dancer
1939 – Judy Collins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1939 – Wilhelmina Cooper, Dutch model (d. 1980)
1939 – Victor Davies, Canadian pianist, composer, and conductor
1943 – Vassal Gadoengin, Nauruan politician (d. 2004)
1943 – Joe Walsh, Irish politician, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (d. 2014)
1945 – Rita Coolidge, American singer-songwriter
1945 – Carson Whitsett, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (d. 2007)
1946 – Joanna Lumley, English actress, voice-over artist, author, and activist
1946 – John Woo, Hong Kong director, producer, and screenwriter
1947 – Jacob Bekenstein, Mexican-born Israeli-American theoretical physicist (d. 2015)
1947 – Sergio Infante, Chilean-Swedish poet and author
1948 – Györgyi Balogh, Hungarian sprinter
1948 – Patricia Hill Collins, American sociologist and scholar
1949 – Jim Clench, Canadian bass player (d. 2010)
1949 – Tim Hodgkinson, English saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer
1949 – Paul Teutul, Sr., American motorcycle designer, co-founded Orange County Choppers
1950 – Dann Florek, American actor and director
1950 – Danny McGrain, Scottish footballer and coach
1951 – Gordon Greenidge, Barbadian cricketer and coach
1951 – Geoff Lees, English race car driver
1951 – Sally Mann, American photographer
1952 – Richard Blundell, English economist and academic
1952 – Kim Lewison, English lawyer and judge
1952 – Peter Smith, Malaysian-born English academic and judge
1953 – Glen Ballard, American songwriter and producer
1954 – Ray Parker, Jr., American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1954 – Joel Rosenberg, Canadian-American author and activist (d. 2011)
1955 – Alex Cunningham, Scottish politician
1955 – Martin O’Donnell, American composer
1955 – Ray Searage, American baseball player and coach
1956 – Catherine Frot, French actress
1956 – Phil Foglio, American illustrator
1957 – Rick Darling, Australian cricketer
1957 – Uberto Pasolini, Italian banker, director, and producer
1959 – Yasmina Reza, French actress and playwright
1959 – Lawrence Seeff, South African cricketer and basket weaver
1960 – Steve Cauthen, American jockey and sportscaster
1961 – Sultan Günal-Gezer, Dutch politician
1961 – Clint Malarchuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1961 – Marilyn Milian, American judge
1961 – Vasiliy Sidorenko, Russian hammer thrower
1962 – Maia Morgenstern, Romanian actress
1962 – Ted Sundquist, American football player, coach, and manager
1964 – Yvonne van Gennip, Dutch speed skater
1966 – Olaf Thon, German footballer and manager
1967 – Tim McGraw, American singer-songwriter and actor
1968 – Oliver Bierhoff, German footballer and manager
1968 – D’arcy Wretzky, American bass player and singer
1969 – Wes Anderson, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1969 – Mary Lou McDonald, Irish politician
1969 – Billy Owens, American basketball player
1970 – Bernard Butler, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1971 – Ethan Albright, American football player
1971 – Stuart Appleby, Australian golfer
1971 – Kim Grant, South African tennis player
1971 – Artur Kohutek, Polish hurdler and soldier
1971 – Ajith Kumar, Indian film actor in Tamil cinema and race car driver
1972 – Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Yemeni terrorist
1972 – Julie Benz, American actress
1972 – Yoon Hae-young, South Korean actress
1973 – Peter Baah, English footballer and manager
1973 – Mike Jesse, German footballer
1973 – Curtis Martin, American football player
1973 – Oliver Neuville, German footballer
1975 – Austin Croshere, American basketball player and sportscaster
1975 – Marc-Vivien Foé, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2003)
1975 – Nina Hossain, English journalist
1975 – Alexey Smertin, Russian international footballer
1976 – Patricia Stokkers, Dutch swimmer
1977 – Vera Lischka, Austrian swimmer and politician
1978 – James Badge Dale, American actor
1979 – Mauro Bergamasco, Italian rugby player
1979 – Roman Lyashenko, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
1980 – Marvin Cabrera, Mexican footballer
1980 – Rob Davison, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1980 – Inês Henriques, Portuguese race walker
1980 – Jan Heylen, Belgian race car driver
1980 – Jay Reatard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
1980 – Yuliya Tabakova, Russian athlete
1981 – Manny Acosta, Panamanian baseball player
1981 – Derek Asamoah, Ghanaian footballer
1981 – Alexander Hleb, Belarusian footballer
1981 – Wes Welker, American football player
1982 – Beto, Portuguese footballer
1982 – Jamie Dornan, Northern Irish model and actor
1982 – Mark Farren, Irish footballer (d. 2016)
1982 – Katya Zamolodchikova, American drag queen
1982 – Tommy Robredo, Spanish tennis player
1982 – Darijo Srna, Croatian footballer
1983 – Alain Bernard, French swimmer
1983 – Human Tornado, American wrestler
1983 – Park Hae-jin, South Korean actor
1984 – David Backes, American ice hockey player
1984 – Mišo Brečko, Slovenian footballer
1984 – Patrick Eaves, American ice hockey player
1984 – Alexander Farnerud, Swedish footballer
1984 – Farah Fath, American actress
1984 – Keiichiro Koyama, Japanese singer and actor
1984 – Víctor Montaño, Colombian footballer
1984 – Mark Seaby, Australian footballer
1985 – Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricketer
1986 – Christian Benítez, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2013)
1986 – Adam Casey, Australian footballer
1986 – Cassie Jaye, American actress and film director
1986 – Jesse Klaver, Dutch politician
1986 – Lee Chang-min, South Korean singer
1986 – Brent Stanton, Australian footballer
1987 – Leonardo Bonucci, Italian footballer
1987 – Glen Coffee, American football player
1987 – Iván DeJesús Jr., Puerto Rican baseball player
1987 – Marcus Drum, Australian footballer
1987 – Amir Johnson, American basketball player
1987 – Ryan Mathews, American football player
1987 – Saidi Ntibazonkiza, Burundian footballer
1987 – Shahar Pe’er, Israeli tennis player
1988 – Maria Balaba, Latvian figure skater
1988 – Maxim Gustik, Belarusian freestyle skier
1988 – Teodor Peterson, Swedish cross-country skier
1989 – Alejandro Arribas, Spanish footballer
1989 – Poļina Jeļizarova, Latvian runner
1990 – Uriel Álvarez, Mexican footballer
1990 – Caitlin Stasey, Australian actress
1990 – Diego Contento, German footballer
1990 – Scooter Gennett, American baseball player
1991 – Marcus Stroman, American baseball player
1991 – Daniel Talbot, British sprinter
1992 – Trevor Philp, Canadian alpine skier
1992 – Bradley Roby, American football player
1993 – Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, French footballer
1993 – Ifeoma Nwoye, Nigerian wrestler
1994 – Wallace Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
1995 – Collin Seedorf, Dutch footballer
1996 – Christopher J. Alexis Jr., Grenadian road cyclist
1996 – Daniel Saifiti, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
1996 – Jacob Saifiti, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
1996 – Michael Seaton, Jamaican footballer
2004 – Charli D’Amelio, American social media influencer and dancer
Deaths on May 1
408 – Arcadius, Byzantine emperor (b. 377)
558 – Marcouf, missionary and saint
908 – Wang Zongji, Chinese prince and pretender
1118 – Matilda of Scotland (b. 1080)
1171 – Diarmait Mac Murchada, King of Leinster (b. 1110)
1187 – Roger de Moulins, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
1255 – Walter de Gray, English prelate and statesman
1277 – Stefan Uroš I of Serbia (b. 1223)
1278 – William II of Villehardouin
1308 – Albert I of Germany (b. 1255)
1312 – Paul I Šubić of Bribir
1539 – Isabella of Portugal (b. 1503)
1555 – Pope Marcellus II (b. 1501)
1572 – Pope Pius V (b. 1504)
1668 – Frans Luycx, Flemish painter (b. 1604)
1730 – François de Troy, French painter and engraver (b. 1645)
1731 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German violinist and composer (b. 1677)
1738 – Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, English politician, First Lord of the Treasury (b. 1669)
1772 – Gottfried Achenwall, Polish-German historian, economist, and jurist (b. 1719)
1813 – Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French general (b. 1768)
1838 – Antoine Louis Dugès, French obstetrician and naturalist (b. 1797)
1856 – John Wilbur, American minister and theologian (b. 1774)
1873 – David Livingstone, Scottish-English missionary and explorer (b. 1813)
1899 – Ludwig Büchner, German physiologist and physician (b. 1824)
1904 – Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer and academic (b. 1841)
1913 – John Barclay Armstrong, American lieutenant (b. 1850)
1920 – Princess Margaret of Connaught (b. 1882)
1935 – Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (b. 1889)
1943 – Johan Oscar Smith, Norwegian religious leader, founded the Brunstad Christian Church (b. 1871)
1945 – Joseph Goebbels, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
1945 – Magda Goebbels, German wife of Joseph Goebbels (b. 1901)
1953 – Everett Shinn, American painter and illustrator (b. 1876)
1956 – LeRoy Samse, American pole vaulter (b. 1883)
1960 – Charles Holden, English architect, designed the Bristol Central Library (b. 1875)
1963 – Lope K. Santos, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1879)
1965 – Spike Jones, American singer and bandleader (b. 1911)
1968 – Jack Adams, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1895)
1968 – Harold Nicolson, English author and politician (b. 1886)
1970 – Yi Un, Korean prince (b. 1897)
1973 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter and sculptor (b. 1914)
1976 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (b. 1908)
1976 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (b. 1939)
1978 – Aram Khachaturian, Armenian composer and conductor (b. 1903)
1982 – William Primrose, Scottish viola player and educator (b. 1903)
1984 – Jüri Lossmann, Estonian-Swedish runner (b. 1891)
1985 – Denise Robins, English journalist and author (b. 1897)
1986 – Hylda Baker, English comedian, actress and music hall performer (b. 1905)
1986 – Hugo Peretti, American songwriter and producer (b. 1916)
1988 – Ben Lexcen, Australian sailor and architect (b. 1936)
1989 – Sally Kirkland, American journalist (b. 1912)
1989 – V. M. Panchalingam, Sri Lankan civil servant (b. 1930)
1989 – Patrice Tardif, Canadian farmer and politician (b. 1904)
1990 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-American tenor and actor (b. 1926)
1991 – Richard Thorpe, American director and screenwriter (b. 1896)
1993 – Pierre Bérégovoy, French metallurgist and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1925)
1993 – Ranasinghe Premadasa, Sri Lankan politician, 3rd President of Sri Lanka (b. 1924)
1994 – Ayrton Senna, Brazilian race car driver (b. 1960)
1995 – Antonio Salemme, Italian-American painter (b. 1892)
1997 – Fernand Dumont, Canadian sociologist, philosopher, and poet (b. 1927)
1998 – Eldridge Cleaver, American author and activist (b. 1935)
2000 – Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder and actor (b. 1926)
2002 – Ebrahim Al-Arrayedh, Indian poet and author (b. 1908)
2003 – Miss Elizabeth, American wrestler and manager (b. 1960)
2003 – Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)
2005 – Kenneth Clark, American psychologist and academic (b. 1914)
2008 – Anthony Mamo, Maltese judge and politician, 1st President of Malta (b. 1909)
2008 – Philipp von Boeselager, German soldier and economist (b. 1917)
2010 – Helen Wagner, American actress (b. 1918)
2011 – Henry Cooper, English boxer (b. 1934)
2011 – Ted Lowe, English sportscaster (b. 1920)
2012 – James Kinley, Canadian engineer and politician, 29th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (b. 1925)
2012 – Mordechai Virshubski, German-Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1930)
2013 – Chris Kelly, American rapper (b. 1978)
2013 – Pierre Pleimelding, French footballer and manager (b. 1952)
2014 – Adamu Atta, Nigerian lawyer and politician, 5th Governor of Kwara State (b. 1927)
2015 – Vafa Guluzade, Azerbaijani political scientist, academic, and diplomat (b. 1940)
2015 – María Elena Velasco, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
2015 – Grace Lee Whitney, American actress (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances on May 1
Christian feast day:
Andeolus
Augustin Schoeffler, Jean-Louis Bonnard (part of Vietnamese Martyrs)
Benedict of Szkalka
Brioc
James the Less (Anglican Communion)
Joseph the Worker (Roman Catholic)
Blessed Klymentiy Sheptytsky (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
Marcouf
Philip the Apostle (Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church)
Richard Pampuri
Sigismund of Burgundy
Ultan
May 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in May. (Samoa)
Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in May. (Hong Kong, Hungary, Lithuania, Mozambique, Portugal, Spain, Romania)
Earliest day on which National Day of Prayer can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Thursday in May. (United States)
Earliest day on which World Asthma Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Tuesday in May. (International)
Armed Forces Day (Mauritania)
Constitution Day (Argentina, Latvia, Marshall Islands)
Commemoration of the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat following the foundation of Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti (India):
Maharashtra Day
International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day
Lei Day (Hawaii)
International Workers’ Day or Labour Day (International), and its related observances:
Earliest day on which Labour Day can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of May. (Barbados, Dominica)
Law Day (United States), formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States)
Loyalty Day, formerly intended to counterbalance the celebration of Labour Day. (United States)
May Day (beginning of Summer) observances in the Northern hemisphere (see April 30):
Beltane (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, Celtic neopagans and Wiccans in the Northern hemisphere)
Earliest day on which Beltane can fall, while May 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in May. (Ireland, Scotland)
Calan Mai (Wales)
Samhain (Celtic neopagans and Wiccans in the Southern Hemisphere)
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
224 – The Battle of Hormozdgan is fought. Ardashir I defeats and kills Artabanus V effectively ending the Parthian Empire.
357 – Emperor Constantius II enters Rome for the first time to celebrate his victory over Magnus Magnentius.
1192 – Assassination of Conrad of Montferrat (Conrad I), King of Jerusalem, in Tyre, two days after his title to the throne is confirmed by election. The killing is carried out by Hashshashin.
1253 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, propounds Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō for the very first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism, in effect founding Nichiren Buddhism.
1503 – The Battle of Cerignola is fought. It is noted as one of the first European battles in history won by small arms fire using gunpowder.
1611 – Establishment of the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines, the largest Catholic university in the world.
1758 – The Marathas defeat the Afghans in the Battle of Attock and capture the city.
1788 – Maryland becomes the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1789 – Mutiny on the Bounty: Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift and the rebel crew returns to Tahiti briefly and then sets sail for Pitcairn Island.
1792 – France invades the Austrian Netherlands (present day Belgium and Luxembourg), beginning the French Revolutionary Wars.
1794 – Sardinians, headed by Giovanni Maria Angioy, start a revolution against Savoy domination, expelling Viceroy Balbiano and his officials from Cagliari, the capital and largest city of the island.
1796 – The Armistice of Cherasco is signed by Napoleon Bonaparte and Vittorio Amedeo III, King of Sardinia, expanding French territory along the Mediterranean coast.
1869 – Chinese and Irish laborers for the Central Pacific Railroad working on the First Transcontinental Railroad lay ten miles of track in one day, a feat which has never been matched.
1881 – Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.
1887 – A week after being arrested by the Prussian Secret Police, French police inspector Guillaume Schnaebelé is released on order of William I, German Emperor, defusing a possible war.
1910 – Frenchman Louis Paulhan wins the 1910 London to Manchester air race, the first long-distance aeroplane race in England.
1920 – Azerbaijan is added to the Soviet Union.
1923 – Wembley Stadium is opened, named initially as the Empire Stadium.
1930 – The Independence Producers hosted the first night game in the history of Organized Baseball in Independence, Kansas.
1941 – The Ustaše massacre nearly 200 Serbs in the village of Gudovac, the first massacre of their genocidal campaign against Serbs of the Independent State of Croatia.
1944 – World War II: Nine German E-boats attacked US and UK units during Exercise Tiger, the rehearsal for the Normandy landings, killing 946.
1945 – Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are shot dead by Walter Audisio, a member of the Italian resistance movement.
1947 – Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to demonstrate that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia.
1948 – Igor Stravinsky conducted the premiere of his American ballet, Orpheus at the New York City Center.
1949 – The Hukbalahap are accused of assassinating former First Lady of the Philippines Aurora Quezon, while she is en route to dedicate a hospital in memory of her late husband; her daughter and ten others are also killed.
1952 – Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.
1952 – The Treaty of San Francisco comes into effect, restoring Japanese sovereignty and ending its state of war with most of the Allies of World War II.
1952 – The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty (Treaty of Taipei) is signed in Taipei, Taiwan between Japan and the Republic of China to officially end the Second Sino-Japanese War.
1965 – United States occupation of the Dominican Republic: American troops land in the Dominican Republic to “forestall establishment of a Communist dictatorship” and to evacuate U.S. Army troops.
1967 – Vietnam War: Boxer Muhammad Ali refuses his induction into the United States Army and is subsequently stripped of his championship and license.
1969 – Charles de Gaulle resigns as President of France.
1970 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon formally authorizes American combat troops to take part in the Cambodian campaign.
1973 – The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, recorded in Abbey Road Studios goes to number one on the US Billboard chart, beginning a record-breaking 741-week chart run.
1975 – General Cao Văn Viên, chief of the South Vietnamese military, departs for the US as the North Vietnamese Army closed in on victory.
1977 – The Red Army Faction trial ends, with Andreas Baader, Gudrun Ensslin and Jan-Carl Raspe found guilty of four counts of murder and more than 30 counts of attempted murder.
1978 – President of Afghanistan, Mohammed Daoud Khan, is overthrown and assassinated in a coup led by pro-communist rebels.
1986 – The United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise becomes the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to transit the Suez Canal, navigating from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea to relieve the USS Coral Sea.
1986 – High levels of radiation resulting from the Chernobyl disaster are detected at a nuclear power plant in Sweden, leading Soviet authorities to publicly announce the accident.
1988 – Near Maui, Hawaii, flight attendant Clarabelle “C.B.” Lansing is blown out of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, a Boeing 737, and falls to her death when part of the plane’s fuselage rips open in mid-flight.
1993 – A Zambia Air Force DHC-5 Buffalo crashes off the coast of Libreville, Gabon, killing all 30 passengers, which included the entire Zambia national football team.
1994 – Former Central Intelligence Agency counterintelligence officer and analyst Aldrich Ames pleads guilty to giving U.S. secrets to the Soviet Union and later Russia.
1996 – Whitewater controversy: President Bill Clinton gives a 4½ hour videotaped testimony for the defense.
1996 – Port Arthur massacre, Tasmania: A gunman, Martin Bryant, opens fire at the Broad Arrow Cafe in Port Arthur, Tasmania, killing 35 people and wounding 23 others.
2004 – CBS News released evidence of the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse. The photographs show rape and abuse from the American troops over Iraqi detainees.
Births on April 28
AD 32 – Otho, Roman emperor (d. 69 AD)
1402 – Nezahualcoyotl, Acolhuan philosopher, warrior, poet and ruler (d. 1472)
1442 – Edward IV, king of England (d. 1483)
1545 – Yi Sun-sin, Korean commander (d. 1598)
1573 – Charles de Valois, Duke of Angoulême, son of Charles IX (d. 1650)
1604 – Joris Jansen Rapelje, Dutch settler in colonial North America (d. 1662)
1623 – Wilhelmus Beekman, Dutch politician (d. 1707)
1630 – Charles Cotton, English poet and author (d. 1687)
1676 – Frederick I, prince consort and king of Sweden (d. 1751)
1715 – Franz Sparry, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1767)
1758 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (d. 1831)
1761 – Marie Harel, French cheesemaker (d. 1844)
1765 – Sylvestre François Lacroix, French mathematician and academic (d. 1834)
1819 – Ezra Abbot, American scholar and academic (d. 1884)
1827 – William Hall, Canadian soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1904)
1838 – Tobias Asser, Dutch lawyer and scholar, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1913)
1848 – Ludvig Schytte, Danish pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1909)
1854 – Hertha Marks Ayrton, Polish-British engineer, mathematician, and physicist. (d. 1923)
1855 – José Malhoa, Portuguese painter (d. 1933)
1863 – Josiah Thomas, English-Australian miner and politician, 7th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1933)
1863 – Nikolai von Meck, Russian engineer (d. 1929)
1865 – Charles W. Woodworth, American entomologist and academic (d. 1940)
1868 – Lucy Booth, English composer (d. 1953)
1868 – Georgy Voronoy, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1908)
1874 – Karl Kraus, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1936)
1874 – Sidney Toler, American actor and director (d. 1947)
1876 – Nicola Romeo, Italian engineer and businessman (d. 1938)
1878 – Lionel Barrymore, American actor and director (d. 1954)
1886 – Erich Salomon, German-born news photographer (d. 1944)
1886 – Art Shaw, American hurdler (d. 1955)
1888 – Walter Tull, English footballer and soldier (d. 1918)
1889 – António de Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese economist and politician, 100th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1970)
1896 – Na Hye-sok, South Korean journalist, poet, and painter (d. 1948)
1896 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian-French poet and critic (d. 1963)
1897 – Ye Jianying, Chinese general and politician, Head of State of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1986)
1900 – Alice Berry, Australian activist (d. 1978)
1900 – Heinrich Müller, German SS officer (d. 1945)
1900 – Jan Oort, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 1992)
1901 – H. B. Stallard, English runner and surgeon (d. 1973)
1902 – Johan Borgen, Norwegian author and critic (d. 1979)
1906 – Kurt Gödel, Czech-American mathematician, philosopher, and academic (d. 1978)
1906 – Paul Sacher, Swiss conductor and philanthropist (d. 1999)
1908 – Ethel Catherwood, American-Canadian high jumper and javelin thrower (d. 1987)
1908 – Jack Fingleton, Australian cricketer, journalist, and sportscaster (d. 1981)
1908 – Oskar Schindler, Czech-German businessman (d. 1974)
1909 – Arthur Võõbus, Estonian-American theologist and orientalist (d. 1988)
1910 – Sam Merwin, Jr., American author (d. 1996)
1911 – Lee Falk, American director, producer, and playwright (d. 1999)
1912 – Odette Hallowes, French soldier and spy (d. 1995)
1912 – Kaneto Shindō, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1913 – Rose Murphy, American singer (d. 1989)
1914 – Michel Mohrt, French author, historian (d. 2011)
1916 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, created Lamborghini (d. 1993)
1917 – Robert Cornthwaite, American actor (d. 2006)
1921 – Rowland Evans, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 2001)
1921 – Simin Daneshvar, Iranian author and academic (d. 2012)
1923 – Carolyn Cassady, American author (d. 2013)
1923 – William Guarnere, American sergeant (d. 2014)
1924 – Dick Ayers, American author and illustrator (d. 2014)
1924 – Blossom Dearie, American singer and pianist (d. 2009)
1924 – Kenneth Kaunda, Zambian educator and politician, 1st President of Zambia
1925 – T. John Lesinski, American judge and politician, 51st Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (d. 1996)
1925 – John Leonard Thorn, English lieutenant, author, and academic
1926 – James Bama, American artist and illustrator
1926 – Bill Blackbeard, American historian and author (d. 2011)
1926 – Harper Lee, American novelist (d. 2016)
1926 – Hulusi Sayın, Turkish general (d. 1991)
1928 – Yves Klein, French painter (d. 1962)
1928 – Eugene Merle Shoemaker, American geologist and astronomer (d. 1997)
1930 – James Baker, American lawyer and politician, 61st United States Secretary of State
1930 – Carolyn Jones, American actress (d. 1983)
1933 – Miodrag Radulovacki, Serbian-American neuropharmacologist and academic (d. 2014)
1934 – Lois Duncan, American journalist and author (d. 2016)
1935 – Pedro Ramos, Cuban baseball player
1935 – Jimmy Wray, Scottish boxer and politician (d. 2013)
1936 – Tariq Aziz, Iraqi journalist and politician, Iraqi Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
1937 – Saddam Hussein, Iraqi general and politician, 5th President of Iraq (d. 2006)
1937 – Jean Redpath, Scottish singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
1937 – John White, Scottish international footballer(d. 1964)
1938 – Madge Sinclair, Jamaican-American actress (d. 1995)
1941 – Ann-Margret, Swedish-American actress, singer, and dancer
1941 – Lucien Aimar, French cyclist
1941 – John Madejski, English businessman and academic
1941 – Karl Barry Sharpless, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1941 – Iryna Zhylenko, Ukrainian poet and author (d. 2013)
1942 – Mike Brearley, English cricketer and psychoanalyst
1943 – Aryeh Bibi, Iraqi-born Israeli politician
1944 – Elizabeth LeCompte, American director and producer
1944 – Jean-Claude Van Cauwenberghe, Belgian politician, 10th Minister-President of the Walloon Region
1944 – Alice Waters, American chef and author
1946 – Nour El-Sherif, Egyptian actor and producer (d. 2015)
1946 – Ginette Reno, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
1946 – Larissa Grunig, American theorist and activist
1947 – Christian Jacq, French historian and author
1947 – Nicola LeFanu, English composer and academic
1947 – Steve Khan, American jazz guitarist
1948 – Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1948 – Marcia Strassman, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
1949 – Jeremy Cooke, English lawyer and judge
1949 – Paul Guilfoyle, American actor
1949 – Bruno Kirby, American actor and director (d. 2006)
1950 – Willie Colón, Puerto Rican-American trombonist and producer
1950 – Jay Leno, American comedian, talk show host, and producer
1950 – Steve Rider, English journalist and sportscaster
1951 – Tim Congdon, English economist and politician
1951 – Larry Smith, Canadian football player and politician
1952 – Chuck Leavell, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1952 – Mary McDonnell, American actress
1953 – Roberto Bolaño, Chilean novelist, short-story writer, poet, and essayist (d. 2003)
1953 – Kim Gordon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1953 – Brian Greenhoff, English footballer and coach (d. 2013)
1954 – Timothy Curley, American educator
1954 – Michael P. Jackson, American politician, 3rd Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security
1954 – Vic Sotto, Filipino actor-producer, singer-songwriter, comedian and television personality
1954 – Ron Zook, American football player and coach
1955 – Eddie Jobson, English keyboard player and violinist
1955 – Dieter Rubach, German bass player
1956 – Jimmy Barnes, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1957 – Wilma Landkroon, Dutch singer
1958 – Hal Sutton, American golfer
1960 – Tom Browning, American baseball player
1960 – Elena Kagan, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
1960 – Phil King, English bass player
1960 – Ian Rankin, Scottish author
1960 – Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strongman and weightlifter (d. 1993)
1960 – Walter Zenga, Italian footballer and manager
1963 – Sandrine Dumas, French actress, director, and screenwriter
1963 – Lloyd Eisler, Canadian figure skater and coach
1963 – Marc Lacroix, Belgian biochemist and academic
1964 – Stephen Ames, Trinidadian golfer
1964 – Noriyuki Iwadare, Japanese composer
1964 – Ajay Kakkar, Baron Kakkar, English surgeon and academic
1964 – Barry Larkin, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
1964 – L’Wren Scott, American model and fashion designer (d. 2014)
1965 – Jennifer Rardin, American author (d. 2010)
1966 – John Daly, American golfer
1966 – Too Short, American rapper, producer and actor
1967 – Chris White, English engineer and politician
1968 – Howard Donald, English singer-songwriter and producer
1968 – Andy Flower, South-African-Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
1969 – LeRon Perry Ellis, American basketball player
1970 – Richard Fromberg, Australian tennis player
1970 – Nicklas Lidström, Swedish ice hockey player and scout
1970 – Diego Simeone, Argentinian footballer and manager
1971 – Brad McEwan, Australian journalist
1972 – Violent J, American rapper
1972 – Helena Tulve, Estonian composer
1972 – Jean-Paul van Gastel, Dutch footballer and manager
1973 – Jorge Garcia, American actor and producer
1973 – Earl Holmes, American football player and coach
1973 – Andrew Mehrtens, South African-New Zealand rugby player
1974 – Penélope Cruz, Spanish actress and producer
1974 – Margo Dydek, Polish basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
1974 – Richel Hersisia, Dutch boxer
1974 – Vernon Kay, English radio and television host
1974 – Dominic Matteo, Scottish footballer and journalist
1975 – Michael Walchhofer, Austrian skier
1976 – Shane Jurgensen, Australian cricketer
1978 – Lauren Laverne, English singer and television host
1978 – Robert Oliveri, American actor
1978 – Nate Richert, American actor
1979 – Scott Fujita, American football player and sportscaster
1980 – Bradley Wiggins, English cyclist
1981 – Jessica Alba, American model and actress
1981 – Pietro Travagli, Italian rugby player
1982 – Nikki Grahame, English model and journalist
1982 – Chris Kaman, American basketball player
1983 – Josh Brookes, Australian motorcycle racer
1983 – David Freese, American baseball player
1983 – Roger Johnson, English footballer
1983 – Graham Wagg, English cricketer
1983 – Thomas Waldrom, New Zealand-English rugby player
1984 – Dmitri Torbinski, Russian footballer
1985 – Lucas Jakubczyk, German sprinter and long jumper
1985 – Deividas Stagniūnas, Lithuanian ice dancer
1986 – Roman Polák, Czech ice hockey player
1986 – Jenna Ushkowitz, Korean-American actress, singer, and dancer
1987 – Ryan Conroy, Scottish footballer
1987 – Samantha Akkineni, Indian actress and model
1987 – Bradley Johnson, English footballer
1987 – Zoran Tošić, Serbian footballer
1988 – Jonathan Biabiany, French footballer
1988 – Juan Manuel Mata, Spanish footballer
1988 – Katariina Tuohimaa, Finnish tennis player
1989 – Emil Salomonsson, Swedish footballer
1989 – Kim Sung-kyu, South Korean singer
1990 – Niels-Peter Mørck, Danish footballer
1992 – Blake Bortles, American football player
1992 – DeMarcus Lawrence, American football player
1993 – Craig Garvey, Australian rugby league player
1993 – Eva Samková, Czech snowboarder
1995 – Jonathan Benteke, Belgian footballer
1995 – Melanie Martinez, American singer
Deaths on April 28
224 – Artabanus V of Parthia (b. 191)
948 – Hu Jinsi, Chinese general and prefect
988 – Adaldag, archbishop of Bremen
1109 – Abbot Hugh of Cluny (b. 1024)
1192 – Conrad of Montferrat (b. 1140)
1197 – Rhys ap Gruffydd, prince of Deheubarth (b. 1132)
1257 – Shajar al-Durr, sovereign sultana of Egypt
1260 – Luchesius Modestini, founding member of the Third Order of St. Francis
1400 – Baldus de Ubaldis, Italian jurist (b. 1327)
1489 – Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland, English politician (b. 1449)
1533 – Nicholas West, English bishop and diplomat (b. 1461)
1643 – Francisco de Lucena, Portuguese politician (b. 1578)
1710 – Thomas Betterton, English actor and manager (b. 1630)
1716 – Louis de Montfort, French priest and saint (b. 1673)
1726 – Thomas Pitt, English merchant and politician (b. 1653)
1741 – Magnus Julius De la Gardie, Swedish general and politician (b. 1668)
1772 – Johann Friedrich Struensee, German physician and politician (b. 1737)
1781 – Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (b. 1723)
1813 – Mikhail Kutuzov, Russian field marshal (b. 1745)
1816 – Johann Heinrich Abicht, German philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1762)
1841 – Peter Chanel, French priest, missionary, and martyr (b. 1803)
1853 – Ludwig Tieck, German author and poet (b. 1773)
1858 – Johannes Peter Müller, German physiologist and anatomist (b. 1801)
1865 – Samuel Cunard, Canadian-English businessman, founded Cunard Line (b. 1787)
1881 – Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon, French sculptor and photographer (b. 1818)
1883 – John Russell, English hunter and dog breeder (b. 1795)
1902 – Cyprien Tanguay, Canadian priest and historian (b. 1819)
1903 – Josiah Willard Gibbs, American scientist (b. 1839)
1905 – Fitzhugh Lee, American general and politician, 40th Governor of Virginia (b. 1835)
1925 – Richard Butler, English-Australian politician, 23rd Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
1928 – May Jordan McConnel, Australian trade unionist and suffragist (b. 1860)
1929 – Hendrik van Heuckelum, Dutch footballer (b. 1879)
1936 – Fuad I of Egypt (b. 1868)
1944 – Mohammed Alim Khan, Manghud ruler (b. 1880)
1944 – Frank Knox, American journalist and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1874)
1945 – Roberto Farinacci, Italian soldier and politician (b. 1892)
1945 – Hermann Fegelein, German general (b. 1906)
1945 – Benito Mussolini, Italian journalist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1883)
1946 – Louis Bachelier, French mathematician and academic (b. 1870)
1954 – Léon Jouhaux, French union leader, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
1956 – Fred Marriott, American race car driver (b. 1872)
1957 – Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot (b. 1913)
1962 – Bennie Osler, South African rugby player (b. 1901)
1303 – The Sapienza University of Rome is instituted by a bull of Pope Boniface VIII.
1453 – Three Genoese galleys and a Byzantine blockade runner fight their way through an Ottoman blockading fleet a few weeks before the fall of Constantinople.
1534 – Jacques Cartier begins his first voyage to what is today the east coast of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador.
1535 – The sun dog phenomenon is observed over Stockholm, as later depicted in the famous painting Vädersolstavlan.
1653 – Oliver Cromwell dissolves the Rump Parliament.
1657 – Admiral Robert Blake destroys a Spanish silver fleet under heavy fire at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
1657 – Freedom of religion is granted to the Jews of New Amsterdam (later New York City).
1689 – Deposed monarch James II of England lays siege to Derry.
1752 – Start of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, a new phase in the Burmese Civil War (1740–57).
1770 – The Georgian king, Erekle II, abandoned by his Russian ally Count Totleben, wins a victory over Ottoman forces at Aspindza.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Siege of Boston begins, following the battles at Lexington and Concord.
1789 – George Washington arrives at Grays Ferry, Philadelphia while en route to Manhattan for his inauguration.
1792 – France declares war against the “King of Hungary and Bohemia”, the beginning of French Revolutionary Wars.
1800 – The Septinsular Republic is established.
1809 – Two Austrian army corps in Bavaria are defeated by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon at the Battle of Abensberg on the second day of a four-day campaign that ended in a French victory.
1810 – The governor of Caracas, Venezuela declares independence from Spain.
1818 – The case of Ashford v Thornton ends, with Abraham Thornton allowed to go free rather than face a retrial for murder, after his demand for trial by battle is upheld.
1828 – René Caillié becomes the second non-Muslim to enter (and the first to return from) Timbuktu, following Major Gordon Laing.
1836 – U.S. Congress passes an act creating the Wisconsin Territory.
1861 – American Civil War: Robert E. Lee resigns his commission in the United States Army in order to command the forces of the state of Virginia.
1862 – Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard complete the experiment disproving the theory of spontaneous generation.
1865 – Astronomer Angelo Secchi demonstrates the Secchi disk, which measures water clarity, aboard Pope Pius IX’s yacht, the L’Immaculata Concezion.
1876 – The April Uprising begins. Its suppression shocks European opinion, and Bulgarian independence becomes a condition for ending the Russo-Turkish War.
1884 – Pope Leo XIII publishes the encyclical Humanum genus.
1898 – U.S. President William McKinley signed a joint resolution to Congress for declaration of war against Spain, beginning the Spanish–American War.
1902 – Pierre and Marie Curie refine radium chloride.
1908 – Opening day of competition in the New South Wales Rugby League.
1912 – Opening day for baseball’s Tiger Stadium in Detroit, and Fenway Park in Boston.
1914 – Nineteen men, women, and children die in the Ludlow Massacre during a Colorado coal-miners’ strike.
1916 – The Chicago Cubs play their first game at Weeghman Park (currently Wrigley Field), defeating the Cincinnati Reds 7–6 in 11 innings.
1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, a.k.a. The Red Baron, shoots down his 79th and 80th victims, his final victories before his death the following day.
1922 – The Soviet government creates South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within Georgian SSR.
1939 – Adolf Hitler’s 50th birthday’s celebrations in Germany
1945 – World War II: U.S. troops capture Leipzig, Germany, only to later cede the city to the Soviet Union.
1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: On his 56th birthday Adolf Hitler makes his last trip to the surface to award Iron Crosses to boy soldiers of the Hitler Youth.
1945 – Twenty Jewish children used in medical experiments at Neuengamme are killed in the basement of the Bullenhuser Damm school.
1946 – The League of Nations officially dissolves, giving most of its power to the United Nations.
1961 – Cold War: Failure of the Bay of Pigs Invasion of US-backed Cuban exiles against Cuba.
1968 – English politician Enoch Powell makes his controversial “Rivers of Blood” speech.
1972 – Apollo program: Apollo 16 lunar module, commanded by John Young and piloted by Charles Duke, lands on the moon.
1998 – Air France Flight 422 crashes after taking off from El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia, killing all 53 people on board.
1999 – Columbine High School massacre: Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before committing suicide at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado.
2007 – Johnson Space Center shooting: William Phillips with a handgun barricade himself in NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas before killing a male hostage and himself.
2008 – Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.
2010 – The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers and beginning an oil spill that would last six months.
2012 – One hundred twenty-seven people are killed when a plane crashes in a residential area near the Benazir Bhutto International Airport near Islamabad, Pakistan.
2013 – A 6.6-magnitude earthquake strikes Lushan County, Ya’an, in China’s Sichuan province, killing more than 150 people and injuring thousands.
2015 – Ten people are killed in a bomb attack on a convoy carrying food supplies to a United Nations compound in Garowe in the Somali region of Puntland.
Births on April 20
1494 – Johannes Agricola, German theologian and reformer (d. 1566)
1544 – Renata of Lorraine, Duchess consort of Bavaria (d. 1602)
1586 – Rose of Lima, Peruvian mystic and saint (d. 1617)
1633 – Emperor Go-Kōmyō of Japan (d. 1654)
1646 – Charles Plumier, French botanist and author (d. 1704)
1650 – William Bedloe, English spy (d. 1680)
1718 – David Brainerd, American missionary (d. 1747)
1723 – Cornelius Harnett, American merchant, farmer, and politician (d. 1781)
1727 – Florimond Claude, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau, Belgian-Austrian minister and diplomat (d. 1794)
1745 – Philippe Pinel, French physician and psychiatrist (d. 1826)
1748 – Georg Michael Telemann, German composer and theologian (d. 1831)
1772 – William Lawless, Irish revolutionary and French general (d. 1824)
1808 – Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France (d. 1873)
1816 – Bogoslav Šulek, Croatian philologist, historian, and lexicographer (d. 1895)
1818 – Heinrich Göbel, German-American mechanic and engineer (d. 1893)
1826 – Dinah Craik, English author and poet (d. 1887)
1836 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American scientist and academic (d. 1895)
1839 – Carol I of Romania, King of Romania (d. 1914)
1840 – Odilon Redon, French painter and illustrator (d. 1916)
1850 – Daniel Chester French, American sculptor, designed the Lincoln statue (d. 1931)
1851 – Alexander Dianin, Russian chemist (d. 1918)
1851 – Siegmund Lubin, Polish-American businessman, founded the Lubin Manufacturing Company (d. 1923)
1860 – Justinien de Clary, French target shooter (d. 1933)
1871 – Sydney Chapman, English economist and civil servant (d. 1951)
1873 – James Harcourt, English character actor (d. 1951)
1875 – Vladimir Vidrić, Croatian poet and lawyer (d. 1909)
1879 – Paul Poiret, French fashion designer (d. 1944)
1882 – Holland Smith, American general (d. 1967)
1884 – Princess Beatrice of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1966)
1884 – Oliver Kirk, American boxer (d. 1960)
1884 – Daniel Varoujan, Armenian poet and educator (d. 1915)
1889 – Albert Jean Amateau, Turkish rabbi, lawyer, and activist (d. 1996)
1889 – Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland (d. 1918)
1889 – Marie-Antoinette de Geuser, French mystic (d. 1918)
1889 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian born German politician, Führer of Nazi Germany (d. 1945)
1889 – Tonny Kessler, Dutch footballer (d. 1960)
1890 – Maurice Duplessis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Premier of Quebec (d. 1959)
1890 – Adolf Schärf, Austrian soldier and politician, 6th President of Austria (d. 1965)
1891 – Dave Bancroft, American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)
1893 – Harold Lloyd, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1971)
1893 – Joan Miró, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 1983)
1895 – Emile Christian, American trombonist and composer (d. 1973)
1895 – Henry de Montherlant, French essayist, novelist, and dramatist (d. 1972)
1896 – Wop May, Canadian captain and pilot (d. 1952)
1899 – Alan Arnett McLeod, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
1904 – Bruce Cabot, American actor (d. 1972)
1907 – Miran Bux, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1991)
1907 – Augoustinos Kantiotes, Greek bishop (d. 2010)
1908 – Lionel Hampton, American vibraphone player, pianist, bandleader, and actor (d. 2002)
1910 – Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, Turkish diplomat and politician (d. 1961)
1913 – Mimis Fotopoulos, Greek actor and poet (d. 1986)
1913 – Willi Hennig, German biologist and entomologist (d. 1976)
1913 – Roger Rochard, French runner (d. 1993)
1914 – Betty Lou Gerson, American actress (d. 1999)
1915 – Joseph Wolpe, South African psychotherapist and physician (d. 1997)
1916 – Nasiba Zeynalova, Azerbaijani actress (d. 2004)
1918 – Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
1919 – Richard Hillary, Australian lieutenant and pilot (d. 1943)
1920 – Frances Ames, South African neurologist, psychiatrist, and human rights activist (d. 2002)
1920 – Clement Isong, Nigerian banker and politician, Governor of Cross River State (d. 2000)
1920 – Ronald Speirs, American colonel (d. 2007)
1920 – John Paul Stevens, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2019)
1923 – Mother Angelica, American nun and broadcaster, founded Eternal Word Television Network (d. 2016)
1923 – Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter and illustrator (d. 2008)
1923 – Tito Puente, American drummer and producer (d. 2000)
1924 – Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (d. 2008)
1924 – Leslie Phillips, English actor and producer
1924 – Guy Rocher, Canadian sociologist and academic
1925 – Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (d. 2006)
1925 – Elena Verdugo, American actress (d. 2017)
1927 – Bud Cullen, Canadian judge and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Employment and Immigration (d. 2005)
1927 – Phil Hill, American race car driver (d. 2008)
1927 – K. Alex Müller, Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1928 – Robert Byrne, American chess player and author (d. 2013)
1928 – Johnny Gavin, Irish international footballer (d. 2007)
1929 – Harry Agganis, American baseball and football player (d. 1955)
1929 – Bobby Hollander, American film director, actor, and magazine publisher (d. 2002)
1930 – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (d. 2014)
1930 – Antony Jay, English director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1931 – Michael Allenby, 3rd Viscount Allenby, English lieutenant and politician (d. 2014)
1931 – John Eccles, 2nd Viscount Eccles, English businessman and politician
1932 – Myriam Bru, French actress
1933 – Kristaq Dhamo, Albanian actor and film director
1936 – Lisa Davis, English and American former child and adult actress
1936 – Pauli Ellefsen, Faroese technician, surveyor, and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 2012)
1936 – Pat Roberts, American captain, journalist, and politician
1936 – Christopher Robinson, English organist and conductor
1937 – Jiří Dienstbier, Czech journalist and politician, Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2011)
1937 – Antonios Kounadis, Greek discus thrower
1937 – Harvey Quaytman, American painter and educator (d. 2002)
1937 – George Takei, American actor
1938 – Betty Cuthbert, Australian sprinter
1938 – Manfred Kinder, German runner
1938 – Peter Snow, British historian and journalist
1938 – Eszter Tamási, Hungarian actress (d. 1991)
1939 – Elspeth Ballantyne, Australian actress
1939 – Peter S. Beagle, American author and screenwriter
1939 – Gro Harlem Brundtland, Norwegian physician and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Norway
1939 – Johnny Tillotson, American singer-songwriter
1940 – James Gammon, American actor (d. 2010)
1941 – Ryan O’Neal, American actor
1942 – Giles Henderson, English lawyer and academic
1942 – Arto Paasilinna, Finnish journalist and author
1943 – Alan Beith, English academic and politician
1943 – John Eliot Gardiner, English conductor and director
1943 – Edie Sedgwick, American model and actress (d. 1971)
1944 – Toivo Aare, Estonian journalist and author (d. 1999)
1945 – Michael Brandon, American actor and director
1945 – Olga Karlatos, Greek actress and Bermudian lawyer
1945 – Thein Sein, Burmese general and politician, 8th President of Burma
1945 – Naftali Temu, Kenyan runner (d. 2003)
1945 – Steve Spurrier, American football player and head coach, 1966 Heisman Trophy winner
1946 – Sandro Chia, Italian painter and sculptor
1946 – Julien Poulin, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1946 – Gordon Smiley, American race car driver (d. 1982)
1947 – Rita Dionne-Marsolais, Canadian economist and politician
1947 – David Leland, English actor, director, and screenwriter
1947 – Viktor Suvorov, Russian intelligence officer, historian, and author
1948 – Gregory Itzin, American actor
1948 – Matthias Kuhle, German geographer and academic (d. 2015)
