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1848

June 11- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1184 BC – Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned, according to calculations by Eratosthenes.
  • 173 – Marcomannic Wars: The Roman army in Moravia is encircled by the Quadi, who have broken the peace treaty (171). In a violent thunderstorm emperor Marcus Aurelius defeats and subdues them in the so-called “miracle of the rain”.
  • 631 – Emperor Taizong of Tang sends envoys to the Xueyantuo bearing gold and silk in order to seek the release of Chinese prisoners captured during the transition from Sui to Tang.
  • 786 – A Hasanid Alid uprising in Mecca is crushed by the Abbasids at the Battle of Fakhkh.
  • 980 – Vladimir the Great consolidates the Kievan realm from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea. He is proclaimed ruler (knyaz) of all Kievan Rus’.
  • 1011 – Lombard Revolt: Greek citizens of Bari rise up against the Lombard rebels led by Melus and deliver the city to Basil Mesardonites, Byzantine governor (catepan) of the Catepanate of Italy.
  • 1118 – Roger of Salerno, Prince of Antioch, captures Azaz from the Seljuk Turks.
  • 1157 – Albert I of Brandenburg, also called The Bear (Ger: Albrecht der Bär), becomes the founder of the Margraviate of Brandenburg, Germany and the first margrave.
  • 1345 – The megas doux Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire, is lynched by political prisoners.
  • 1429 – Hundred Years’ War: Start of the Battle of Jargeau.
  • 1488 – Battle of Sauchieburn: Fought between rebel Lords and James III of Scotland, resulting in the death of the king.
  • 1509 – Henry VIII of England marries Catherine of Aragon.
  • 1594 – Philip II recognizes the rights and privileges of the local nobles and chieftains in the Philippines, which paved way to the stabilization of the rule of the Principalía (an elite ruling class of native nobility in Spanish Philippines).
  • 1748 – Denmark adopts the characteristic Nordic Cross flag later taken up by all other Scandinavian countries.
  • 1770 – British explorer Captain James Cook runs aground on the Great Barrier Reef.
  • 1775 – The American Revolutionary War’s first naval engagement, the Battle of Machias, results in the capture of a small British naval vessel.
  • 1776 – The Continental Congress appoints Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston to the Committee of Five to draft a declaration of independence.
  • 1788 – Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov reaches Alaska.
  • 1805 – A fire consumes large portions of Detroit in the Michigan Territory.
  • 1825 – The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in New York City.
  • 1837 – The Broad Street Riot occurs in Boston, fueled by ethnic tensions between Yankees and Irish.
  • 1865 – The Naval Battle of the Riachuelo is fought on the rivulet Riachuelo (Argentina), between the Paraguayan Navy on one side and the Brazilian Navy on the other. The Brazilian victory was crucial for the later success of the Triple Alliance (Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina) in the Paraguayan War.
  • 1892 – The Limelight Department, one of the world’s first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia.
  • 1895 – Paris–Bordeaux–Paris, sometimes called the first automobile race in history or the “first motor race”, takes place.
  • 1898 – The Hundred Days’ Reform, a planned movement to reform social, political, and educational institutions in China, is started by the Guangxu Emperor, but is suspended by Empress Dowager Cixi after 104 days. (The failed reform led to the abolition of the Imperial examination in 1905.)
  • 1901 – The boundaries of the Colony of New Zealand are extended by the UK to include the Cook Islands.
  • 1903 – A group of Serbian officers stormed the royal palace and assassinated King Alexander Obrenović and his wife, Queen Draga.
  • 1917 – King Alexander assumes the throne of Greece after his father, Constantine I, abdicates under pressure from allied armies occupying Athens.
  • 1919 – Sir Barton wins the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse to win the U.S. Triple Crown.
  • 1920 – During the U.S. Republican National Convention in Chicago, U.S. Republican Party leaders gathered in a room at the Blackstone Hotel to come to a consensus on their candidate for the U.S. presidential election, leading the Associated Press to coin the political phrase “smoke-filled room”.
  • 1935 – Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States at Alpine, New Jersey.
  • 1936 – The London International Surrealist Exhibition opens.
  • 1937 – Great Purge: The Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin executes eight army leaders.
  • 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Battle of Wuhan starts.
  • 1940 – World War II: The Siege of Malta begins with a series of Italian air raids.
  • 1942 – World War II: The United States agrees to send Lend-Lease aid to the Soviet Union.
  • 1942 – Free French Forces retreat from Bir Hakeim after having successfully delayed the Axis advance.
  • 1944 – USS Missouri, the last battleship built by the United States Navy and future site of the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, is commissioned.
  • 1955 – Eighty-three spectators are killed and at least 100 are injured after an Austin-Healey and a Mercedes-Benz collide at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the deadliest ever accident in motorsports.
  • 1956 – Start of Gal Oya riots, the first reported ethnic riots that target minority Sri Lankan Tamils in the Eastern Province. The total number of deaths is reportedly 150.
  • 1962 – Frank Morris, John Anglin and Clarence Anglin allegedly become the only prisoners to escape from the prison on Alcatraz Island.
  • 1963 – American Civil Rights Movement: Governor of Alabama George Wallace defiantly stands at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in an attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from attending that school. Later in the day, accompanied by federalized National Guard troops, they are able to register.
  • 1963 – Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burns himself with gasoline in a busy Saigon intersection to protest the lack of religious freedom in South Vietnam.
  • 1963 – John F. Kennedy addresses Americans from the Oval Office proposing the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which would revolutionize American society by guaranteeing equal access to public facilities, ending segregation in education, and guaranteeing federal protection for voting rights.
  • 1964 – World War II veteran Walter Seifert attacks an elementary school in Cologne, Germany, killing at least eight children and two teachers and seriously injuring several more with a home-made flamethrower and a lance.
  • 1968 – Lloyd J. Old identified the first cell surface antigens that could differentiate among different cell types.
  • 1970 – After being appointed on May 15, Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington officially receive their ranks as U.S. Army Generals, becoming the first women to do so.
  • 1971 – The U.S. Government forcibly removes the last holdouts to the Native American Occupation of Alcatraz, ending 19 months of control.
  • 1978 – Altaf Hussain founds the student political movement All Pakistan Muhajir Students Organisation (APMSO) in Karachi University.
  • 1981 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake at Golbaf, Iran, kills at least 2,000.
  • 1987 – Diane Abbott, Paul Boateng and Bernie Grant are elected as the first black MPs in Great Britain.
  • 1998 – Compaq Computer pays US$9 billion for Digital Equipment Corporation in the largest high-tech acquisition.
  • 2001 – Timothy McVeigh is executed for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
  • 2002 – Antonio Meucci is acknowledged as the first inventor of the telephone by the United States Congress.
  • 2004 – Cassini–Huygens makes its closest flyby of the Saturn moon Phoebe.
  • 2007 – Mudslides in Chittagong, Bangladesh, kill 130 people.
  • 2008 – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper makes a historic official apology to Canada’s First Nations in regard to abuses at a Canadian Indian residential school.
  • 2008 – The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched into orbit.
  • 2010 – The first African FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa.
  • 2012 – More than 80 people die in a landslide triggered by two earthquakes in Afghanistan; an entire village is buried.
  • 2013 – Greece’s public broadcaster ERT is shut down by then-prime minister Antonis Samaras. It reopened exactly two years later by then-prime minister Alexis Tsipras.
  • 2018 – 3 World Trade Center officially opens.

Births on June 11

  • 1403 – John IV, Duke of Brabant (d. 1427)
  • 1431 – Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond (d. 1456)
  • 1456 – Anne Neville, Princess of Wales and Queen of England (d. 1485)
  • 1540 – Barnabe Googe, English poet and translator (d. 1594)
  • 1555 – Lodovico Zacconi, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1627)
  • 1572 – Ben Jonson, English poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1637)
  • 1585 – Evert Horn, Swedish soldier (d. 1615)
  • 1588 – George Wither, English poet (d. 1667)
  • 1620 – John Moore, English businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of London (d. 1702)
  • 1655 – Antonio Cifrondi, Italian painter (d. 1730)
  • 1662 – Tokugawa Ienobu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1712)
  • 1672 – Francesco Antonio Bonporti, Italian priest and composer (d. 1749)
  • 1690 – Giovanni Antonio Giay, Italian composer (d. 1764)
  • 1696 – James Francis Edward Keith, Scottish-Prussian field marshal (d. 1758)
  • 1697 – Francesco Antonio Vallotti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1780)
  • 1704 – Carlos Seixas, Portuguese harpsichord player and composer (d. 1742)
  • 1709 – Joachim Martin Falbe, German painter (d. 1782)
  • 1712 – Benjamin Ingham, American missionary (d. 1772)
  • 1723 – Johann Georg Palitzsch, German astronomer (d. 1788)
  • 1726 – Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain (d. 1746)
  • 1741 – Joseph Warren, American physician and general (d. 1775)
  • 1776 – John Constable, English painter and academic (d. 1837)
  • 1797 – José Trinidad Reyes, Honduran philosopher and theorist (d. 1855)
  • 1807 – James F. Schenck, American admiral (d. 1882)
  • 1815 – Julia Margaret Cameron, Indian-Sri Lankan photographer (d. 1879)
  • 1818 – Alexander Bain, Scottish philosopher and academic (d. 1903)
  • 1829 – Edward Braddon, English-Australian politician, 18th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1904)
  • 1832 – Lucy Pickens, American wife of Francis Wilkinson Pickens (d. 1899)
  • 1842 – Carl von Linde, German engineer and academic (d. 1934)
  • 1846 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (d. 1920)
  • 1847 – Millicent Fawcett, English academic and activist (d. 1929)
  • 1861 – Alexander Peacock, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Victoria (d. 1933)
  • 1864 – Richard Strauss, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
  • 1867 – Charles Fabry, French physicist and academic (d. 1945)
  • 1871 – Stjepan Radić, Croatian lawyer and politician (d. 1928)
  • 1876 – Alfred L. Kroeber, American-French anthropologist and ethnologist (d. 1960)
  • 1877 – Renée Vivien, English-French poet and author (d. 1909)
  • 1879 – Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player and manager (d. 1944)
  • 1880 – Jeannette Rankin, American social worker and politician (d. 1973)
  • 1881 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (d. 1963)
  • 1881 – Mordecai Kaplan, Lithuanian rabbi, founded Reconstructionist Judaism (d. 1983)
  • 1888 – Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian-American anarchist and convicted criminal (d. 1927)
  • 1889 – Hugo Wieslander, Swedish decathlete (d. 1976)
  • 1894 – Kiichiro Toyoda, Japanese businessman, founded Toyota (d. 1952)
  • 1895 – Nikolai Bulganin, Soviet politician (d. 1975)
  • 1897 – Ram Prasad Bismil, Indian activist, founded the Hindustan Republican Association (d. 1927)
  • 1897 – Reg Latta, Australian rugby league player (d. 1970)
  • 1899 – Yasunari Kawabata, Japanese novelist and short story writer Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
  • 1901 – Cap Fear, Canadian football player and rower (d. 1978)
  • 1901 – Benny Wearing, Australian rugby league player (d. 1968)
  • 1902 – Eric Fraser, British illustrator and graphic designer (d. 1983)
  • 1903 – Ernie Nevers, American football player and coach (d. 1976)
  • 1908 – Karl Hein, German hammer thrower (d. 1982)
  • 1908 – Francisco Marto, Portuguese saint (d. 1919)
  • 1909 – Natascha Artin Brunswick, German-American mathematician and photographer (d. 2003)
  • 1910 – Carmine Coppola, American flute player and composer (d. 1991)
  • 1910 – Jacques Cousteau, French biologist, author, and inventor, co-developed the aqua-lung (d. 1997)
  • 1912 – James Algar, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1998)
  • 1912 – William Baziotes, American painter and academic (d. 1963)
  • 1912 – Mohammad Hassan Ganji, Iranian meteorologist and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1913 – Vince Lombardi, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 1970)
  • 1913 – Risë Stevens, American soprano and actress (d. 2013)
  • 1914 – Jan Hendrik van den Berg, Dutch psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012)
  • 1915 – Magda Gabor, Hungarian-American actress (d. 1997)
  • 1915 – Nicholas Metropolis, American mathematician and physicist (d. 1999)
  • 1917 – Joseph B. Wirthlin, American businessman and religious leader (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – Ruth Aarons, American table tennis player and manager (d. 1980)
  • 1919 – Suleiman Mousa, Jordanian historian and author (d. 2008)
  • 1919 – Richard Todd, Irish-English actor (d. 2009)
  • 1920 – Shelly Manne, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (d. 1984)
  • 1920 – Hazel Scott, Trinidadian-American singer, actress, and pianist (d. 1981)
  • 1920 – Keith Seaman, Australian lawyer and politician, 29th Governor of South Australia (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Jean Sutherland Boggs, Peruvian-Canadian historian, academic, and civil servant (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Michael Cacoyannis, Greek Cypriot director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
  • 1925 – Johnny Esaw, Canadian sportscaster (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – William Styron, American novelist and essayist (d. 2006)
  • 1926 – Carlisle Floyd, American composer and educator
  • 1927 – Beryl Grey, English ballerina
  • 1927 – John W. O’Malley, American Catholic historian, academic and Jesuit priest
  • 1927 – Kit Pedler, English parapsychologist and author (d. 1981)
  • 1928 – Queen Fabiola of Belgium (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Ayhan Şahenk, Turkish businessman (d. 2001)
  • 1930 – Charles Rangel, American soldier, lawyer, and politician
  • 1932 – Athol Fugard, South African-American actor, director, and playwright
  • 1932 – Tim Sainsbury, English businessman and politician, Minister of State for Trade
  • 1933 – Gene Wilder, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1937 – Chad Everett, American actor and director (d. 2012)
  • 1937 – Robin Warren, Australian pathologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1939 – Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, English cricketer and journalist (d. 2017)
  • 1939 – Jackie Stewart, Scottish race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1942 – Parris Glendening, American politician, 59th Governor of Maryland
  • 1943 – Henry Hill, American mobster (d. 2012)
  • 1945 – Adrienne Barbeau, American actress
  • 1947 – Richard Palmer-James, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1948 – Dave Cash, American baseball player and coach
  • 1948 – Lalu Prasad Yadav, Indian politician, 20th Chief Minister of Bihar
  • 1949 – Frank Beard, American drummer and songwriter
  • 1950 – Lynsey de Paul, English singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, cartoonist and actress (d. 2014)
  • 1950 – Graham Russell, English-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – Matthew Engel, English journalist and author
  • 1951 – Yasumasa Morimura, Japanese painter and photographer
  • 1952 – Yekaterina Podkopayeva, Russian runner
  • 1952 – Donnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1953 – Steve Bassam, Baron Bassam of Brighton, English politician
  • 1953 – José Bové, French farmer and politician
  • 1953 – Barbara Minty, American model
  • 1954 – John Dyson, Australian cricketer
  • 1954 – Johnny Neel, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1955 – Yuriy Sedykh, Ukrainian hammer thrower
  • 1955 – Duncan Steel, English-Australian astronomer and author
  • 1956 – Joe Montana, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Simon Plouffe, Canadian mathematician and academic
  • 1956 – Arthur Porter, Canadian physician and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1956 – Jamaaladeen Tacuma, American bass player and bandleader
  • 1958 – Barry Adamson, English singer and bass player
  • 1959 – Hugh Laurie, English actor and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Mehmet Oz, American surgeon, author, and television host
  • 1962 – Mano Menezes, Brazilian footballer and coach
  • 1963 – Gioia Bruno, American singer-songwriter
  • 1963 – Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler and sportscaster (d. 2000)
  • 1964 – Jean Alesi, French race car driver
  • 1964 – Kim Gallagher, American runner (d. 2002)
  • 1965 – Georgios Bartzokas, Greek former professional basketball player
  • 1965 – Gavin Hill, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1966 – Bruce Robison, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1967 – Graeme Bachop, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1967 – João Garcia, Portuguese mountaineer
  • 1968 – Alois, Hereditary Prince of Liechtenstein
  • 1968 – Manoa Thompson, Fijian rugby player
  • 1969 – Peter Dinklage, American actor and producer
  • 1969 – Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2002)
  • 1969 – Olaf Kapagiannidis, German footballer
  • 1971 – Vladimir Gaidamașciuc, Moldovan footballer
  • 1971 – Liz Kendall, British politician
  • 1971 – Mark Richardson, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1971 – Kenjiro Tsuda, Japanese voice actor
  • 1972 – Stephen Kearney, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
  • 1973 – José Manuel Abundis, Mexican footballer and coach
  • 1974 – Fragiskos Alvertis, Greek basketball player, coach, and manager
  • 1976 – Reiko Tosa, Japanese runner
  • 1977 – Geoff Ogilvy, Australian golfer
  • 1978 – Joshua Jackson, Canadian-American actor
  • 1978 – Daryl Tuffey, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1979 – Ali Boussaboun, Moroccan-Dutch footballer
  • 1979 – Amy Duggan, Australian footballer and sportscaster
  • 1980 – Yhency Brazoban, Dominican baseball player
  • 1981 – Emiliano Moretti, Italian footballer
  • 1981 – Kristo Tohver, Estonian footballer and referee
  • 1982 – Vanessa Boslak, French pole vaulter
  • 1982 – Jacques Freitag, South African high jumper
  • 1982 – Joey Graham, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Stephen Graham, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Reni Maitua, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Eldar Rønning, Norwegian skier
  • 1982 – Diana Taurasi, American basketball player
  • 1983 – Chuck Hayes, American basketball player
  • 1983 – José Reyes, Dominican baseball player
  • 1984 – Andy Lee, Irish boxer
  • 1984 – Vágner Love, Brazilian footballer
  • 1985 – Tim Hoogland, German footballer
  • 1986 – Sebastian Bayer, German long jumper
  • 1986 – Shia LaBeouf, American actor
  • 1987 – Marsel İlhan, Turkish tennis player
  • 1987 – Didrik Solli-Tangen, Norwegian singer
  • 1988 – Jesús Fernández Collado, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Yui Aragaki, Japanese actress, voice actress, singer-songwriter, model, radio host
  • 1989 – Maya Moore, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Christophe Lemaitre, French sprinter
  • 1991 – Daniel Howell, English internet celebrity
  • 1993 – Brittany Boyd, American basketball player
  • 1994 – Ivana Baquero, Spanish actress
  • 1996 – Ayaka Sasaki, Japanese singer
  • 1998 – Charlie Tahan, American actor
  • 1999 – Eartha Cumings, Scottish footballer

Deaths on June 11

  • 323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (b. 356 BC)
  • 573 – Emilian of Cogolla, Iberic saint (b. 472)
  • 840 – Junna, emperor of Japan (b. 785)
  • 884 – Shi Jingsi, general of the Tang Dynasty
  • 888 – Rimbert, archbishop of Bremen (b. 830)
  • 1183 – Henry the Young King of England (b. 1155)
  • 1216 – Henry of Flanders, emperor of the Latin Empire (b. c. 1174)
  • 1248 – Adachi Kagemori, Japanese samurai
  • 1253 – Amadeus IV, count of Savoy (b. 1197)
  • 1298 – Yolanda of Poland (b. 1235)
  • 1323 – Bérenger Fredoli, French lawyer and bishop (b. 1250)
  • 1345 – Alexios Apokaukos, chief minister of the Byzantine Empire
  • 1347 – Bartholomew of San Concordio, Italian Dominican canonist and man of letters (b. 1260)
  • 1446 – Henry de Beauchamp, 1st Duke of Warwick (b. 1425)
  • 1479 – John of Sahagun, hermit and saint (b. 1419)
  • 1488 – James III of Scotland (b. 1451)
  • 1557 – John III of Portugal (b. 1502)
  • 1560 – Mary of Guise, queen of James V of Scotland (b. 1515)
  • 1683 – Nikita Pustosvyat, a leader of the Russian Old Believers, beheaded (b. unknown)
  • 1695 – André Félibien, French historian and author (b. 1619)
  • 1712 – Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme (b. 1654)
  • 1727 – George I of Great Britain (b. 1660)
  • 1748 – Felice Torelli, Italian painter (b. 1667)
  • 1796 – Samuel Whitbread, English brewer and politician, founded the Whitbread Company (b. 1720)
  • 1847 – John Franklin, English admiral and politician (b. 1786)
  • 1852 – Karl Bryullov, Russian painter (b. 1799)
  • 1859 – Klemens von Metternich, German-Austrian politician, 1st State Chancellor of the Austrian Empire (b. 1773)
  • 1879 – William, Prince of Orange (b. 1840)
  • 1882 – Louis Désiré Maigret, French bishop (b. 1804)
  • 1885 – Matías Ramos Mejía, Argentinian colonel (b. 1810)
  • 1897 – Henry Ayers, English-Australian politician, 8th Premier of South Australia (b. 1821)
  • 1903 – Nikolai Bugaev, Russian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1837)
  • 1903 – Alexander I of Serbia (b. 1876)
  • 1903 – Draga Mašin, Serbian wife of Alexander I of Serbia (b. 1864)
  • 1911 – James Curtis Hepburn, American physician and missionary (b. 1815)
  • 1913 – Mahmud Shevket Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 279th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1856)
  • 1914 – Adolphus Frederick V, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1848)
  • 1920 – William F. Halsey, Sr., American captain (b. 1853)
  • 1924 – Théodore Dubois, French organist, composer, and educator (b. 1837)
  • 1927 – William Attewell, English cricketer (b. 1861)
  • 1934 – Lev Vygotsky, Belarusian-Russian psychologist and theorist (b. 1896)
  • 1936 – Robert E. Howard, American author and poet (b. 1906)
  • 1937 – R. J. Mitchell, English engineer, designed the Supermarine Spitfire (b. 1895)
  • 1941 – Daniel Carter Beard, American author and illustrator, founded the Boy Scouts of America (b. 1850)
  • 1955 – Pierre Levegh, French race car driver (b. 1905)
  • 1962 – Chhabi Biswas, Indian actor and director (b. 1900)
  • 1963 – Thích Quảng Đức, Vietnamese monk and martyr (b. 1897)
  • 1965 – Paul B. Coremans, Belgian chemist and academic (b. 1908)
  • 1965 – José Mendes Cabeçadas, Portuguese admiral and politician, 9th President of Portugal (b. 1883)
  • 1970 – Frank Laubach, American missionary and mystic (b. 1884)
  • 1974 – Eurico Gaspar Dutra, Brazilian general and politician, 16th President of Brazil (b. 1883)
  • 1974 – Julius Evola, Italian philosopher and author (b. 1898)
  • 1976 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player (b. 1917)
  • 1979 – Alice Dalgliesh, Trinidadian-American author and publisher (b. 1893)
  • 1979 – John Wayne, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
  • 1983 – Ghanshyam Das Birla, Indian businessman and politician (b. 1894)
  • 1984 – Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (b. 1922)
  • 1986 – Chesley Bonestell, American painter and illustrator (b. 1888)
  • 1991 – Cromwell Everson, South African composer (b. 1925)
  • 1993 – Ray Sharkey, American actor (b. 1952)
  • 1994 – A. Thurairajah, Sri Lankan engineer and academic (b. 1934)
  • 1995 – Rodel Naval, Filipino singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1953)
  • 1996 – George Hees, Canadian politician (b. 1910)
  • 1996 – Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (b. 1908)
  • 1998 – Catherine Cookson, English author (b. 1906)
  • 1999 – DeForest Kelley, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2001 – Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist (b. 1968)
  • 2001 – Amalia Mendoza, Mexican singer and actress (b. 1923)
  • 2003 – David Brinkley, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
  • 2004 – Egon von Fürstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (b. 1946)
  • 2005 – Vasco Gonçalves, Portuguese general and politician, 103rd Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1922)
  • 2005 – Anne-Marie Alonzo, Canadian playwright, poet, novelist, critic and publisher (b. 1951)
  • 2006 – Neroli Fairhall, New Zealand archer (b. 1944)
  • 2006 – Bruce Shand, English soldier (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – Imre Friedmann, American biologist and academic (b. 1921)
  • 2007 – Mala Powers, American actress (b. 1931)
  • 2008 – Ove Andersson, Swedish race car driver (b. 1938)
  • 2008 – Võ Văn Kiệt, Vietnamese soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1922)
  • 2011 – Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Israeli physicist and engineer (b. 1947)
  • 2011 – Seth Putnam, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1968)
  • 2012 – Ann Rutherford, Canadian-American actress (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer and engineer (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Miller Barber, American golfer (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Carl W. Bauer, American lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Robert Fogel, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – James Grimsley, Jr., American general (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Rory Morrison, English journalist (b. 1964)
  • 2013 – Kristiāns Pelšs, Latvian ice hockey player (b. 1992)
  • 2013 – Vidya Charan Shukla, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Ruby Dee, American actress (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Spanish conductor and composer (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Susan B. Horwitz, American computer scientist, engineer, and academic (b. 1955)
  • 2014 – Mipham Chokyi Lodro, Tibetan lama and educator (b. 1952)
  • 2014 – Benjamin Mophatlane, South African businessman (b. 1973)
  • 2014 – Carlton Sherwood, American soldier and journalist (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Jim Ed Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Ian McKechnie, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1941)
  • 2015 – Ron Moody, English actor and singer (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Dusty Rhodes, American wrestler (b. 1945)
  • 2016 – Rudi Altig, German track and road racing cyclist (b. 1937)
  • 2020 – Stella Pevsner, children’s author (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances on June 11

  • American Evacuation Day (Libya)
  • Brazilian Navy commemorative day (Brazil)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Barnabas the Apostle
    • Bartholomew the Apostle (Eastern Christianity)
    • Blessed Ignatius Maloyan (Armenian Catholic Church)
    • Paula Frassinetti
    • Riagail of Bangor
    • June 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Davis Day (Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada)
  • Kamehameha Day (Hawaii, United States)
  • Student Day (Honduras)

June 11- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 9- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 411 BC – The Athenian coup succeeds, forming a short-lived oligarchy.
  • AD 53 – The Roman emperor Nero marries Claudia Octavia.
  • AD 68 – Nero commits suicide, after quoting Homer’s Iliad, thus ending the Julio-Claudian dynasty and starting the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
  • 721 – Odo of Aquitaine defeats the Moors in the Battle of Toulouse.
  • 747 – Abbasid Revolution: Abu Muslim Khorasani begins an open revolt against Umayyad rule, which is carried out under the sign of the Black Standard.
  • 1311 – Duccio’s Maestà, a seminal artwork of the early Italian Renaissance, is unveiled and installed in Siena Cathedral in Siena, Italy.
  • 1523 – The Parisian Faculty of Theology fines Simon de Colines for publishing the Biblical commentary Commentarii initiatorii in quatuor Evangelia by Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples.
  • 1534 – Jacques Cartier is the first European to describe and map the Saint Lawrence River.
  • 1667 – Second Anglo-Dutch War: The Raid on the Medway by the Dutch fleet begins. It lasts for five days and results in the worst ever defeat of the Royal Navy.
  • 1732 – James Oglethorpe is granted a royal charter for the colony of the future U.S. state of Georgia.
  • 1772 – The British schooner Gaspee is burned in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island.
  • 1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798: Battles of Arklow and Saintfield.
  • 1815 – End of the Congress of Vienna: The new European political situation is set.
  • 1856 – Five hundred Mormons leave Iowa City, Iowa for the Mormon Trail.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: Stonewall Jackson concludes his successful Shenandoah Valley Campaign with a victory in the Battle of Port Republic; his tactics during the campaign are now studied by militaries around the world.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Brandy Station, Virginia.
  • 1885 – Treaty of Tientsin is signed to end the Sino-French War, with China eventually giving up Tonkin and Annam – most of present-day Vietnam – to France.
  • 1900 – Indian nationalist Birsa Munda dies of cholera in a British prison.
  • 1915 – William Jennings Bryan resigns as Woodrow Wilson’s Secretary of State over a disagreement regarding the United States’ handling of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania.
  • 1923 – Bulgaria’s military takes over the government in a coup.
  • 1928 – Charles Kingsford Smith completes the first trans-Pacific flight in a Fokker Trimotor monoplane, the Southern Cross.
  • 1930 – A Chicago Tribune reporter, Jake Lingle, is killed during rush hour at the Illinois Central train station by Leo Vincent Brothers, allegedly over a $100,000 gambling debt owed to Al Capone.
  • 1944 – World War II: Ninety-nine civilians are hanged from lampposts and balconies by German troops in Tulle, France, in reprisal for maquisards attacks.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Soviet Union invades East Karelia and the previously Finnish part of Karelia, occupied by Finland since 1941.
  • 1948 – Foundation of the International Council on Archives under the auspices of the UNESCO.
  • 1953 – The Flint–Worcester tornado outbreak sequence kills 94 people in Massachusetts.
  • 1954 – Joseph Welch, special counsel for the United States Army, lashes out at Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Army–McCarthy hearings, giving McCarthy the famous rebuke, “You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?”
  • 1957 – First ascent of Broad Peak by Fritz Wintersteller, Marcus Schmuck, Kurt Diemberger, and Hermann Buhl.
  • 1959 – The USS George Washington is launched. It is the first nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
  • 1965 – The civilian Prime Minister of South Vietnam, Phan Huy Quát, resigns after being unable to work with a junta led by Nguyễn Cao Kỳ.
  • 1965 – Vietnam War: The Viet Cong commences combat with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in the Battle of Đồng Xoài, one of the largest battles in the war.
  • 1967 – Six-Day War: Israel captures the Golan Heights from Syria.
  • 1968 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a national day of mourning following the assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
  • 1972 – Severe rainfall causes a dam in the Black Hills of South Dakota to burst, creating a flood that kills 238 people and causes $160 million in damage.
  • 1973 – In horse racing, Secretariat wins the U.S. Triple Crown.
  • 1978 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opens its priesthood to “all worthy men”, ending a 148-year-old policy of excluding black men.
  • 1979 – The Ghost Train fire at Luna Park Sydney, Australia, kills seven.
  • 1999 – Kosovo War: The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and NATO sign a peace treaty.
  • 2008 – Two bombs explode at a train station near Algiers, Algeria, killing at least 13 people.
  • 2009 – An explosion kills 17 people and injures at least 46 at a hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan.
  • 2010 – At least 40 people are killed and more than 70 wounded in a suicide bombing at a wedding party in Arghandab, Kandahar.

Births on June 9

  • 1016 – Deokjong of Goryeo, ruler of Korea (d. 1034)
  • 1424 – Blanche II of Navarre (d. 1464)
  • 1580 – Daniel Heinsius, Belgian poet and scholar (d. 1655)
  • 1588 – Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer and theorist (d. 1666)
  • 1595 – Władysław IV Vasa, Polish king (d. 1648)
  • 1597 – Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, Dutch painter (d. 1665)
  • 1640 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1705)
  • 1661 – Feodor III of Russia (d. 1682)
  • 1672 – Peter the Great, Russian emperor (d. 1725)
  • 1686 – Andrey Osterman, German-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1747)
  • 1696 – Shiva Rajaram, infant Chattrapati of the Maratha Empire (d. 1726)
  • 1732 – Giuseppe Demachi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1791)
  • 1754 – Francis Mackenzie, 1st Baron Seaforth, English general and politician, Governor of Barbados (d. 1815)
  • 1768 – Samuel Slater, English-American engineer and businessman (d. 1835)
  • 1781 – George Stephenson, English engineer, designed the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (d. 1848)
  • 1810 – Otto Nicolai, German composer and conductor (d. 1849)
  • 1812 – Johann Gottfried Galle, German astronomer and academic (d. 1910)
  • 1836 – Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, English physician and politician (d. 1917)
  • 1837 – Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie, English author (d. 1919)
  • 1842 – Hazard Stevens, American military officer, mountaineer, politician and writer (d. 1918)
  • 1843 – Bertha von Suttner, Austrian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1914)
  • 1845 – Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, English soldier, academic, and politician, 36th Governor-General of India (d. 1914)
  • 1845 – Frank Norton, American baseball player (d. 1920)
  • 1849 – Michael Ancher, Danish painter and academic (d. 1927)
  • 1851 – Charles Joseph Bonaparte, American lawyer and politician, 46th United States Attorney General (d. 1921)
  • 1861 – Pierre Duhem, French physicist, mathematician, and historian (d. 1916)
  • 1861 – Gustav Heinrich Johann Apollon Tammann, Russian-German chemist and physicist (d. 1938)
  • 1864 – Jeanne Bérangère, French actress (d. 1928)
  • 1865 – Albéric Magnard, French composer and educator (d. 1914)
  • 1865 – Carl Nielsen, Danish violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1931)
  • 1868 – Jane Avril, French model and dancer (d. 1943)
  • 1874 – Launceston Elliot, Scottish weightlifter and wrestler (d. 1930)
  • 1875 – Henry Hallett Dale, English pharmacologist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
  • 1879 – Harry DeBaecke, American rower (d. 1961)
  • 1882 – Robert Kerr, Irish-Canadian sprinter and coach (d. 1963)
  • 1885 – Felicjan Sławoj Składkowski, Polish general and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Poland (d. 1962)
  • 1890 – Leslie Banks, English actor, director, and producer (d. 1952)
  • 1891 – Cole Porter, American composer and songwriter (d. 1964)
  • 1893 – Irish Meusel, American baseball player and coach (d. 1963)
  • 1895 – Archie Weston, American football player and journalist (d. 1981)
  • 1898 – Luigi Fagioli, Italian race car driver (d. 1952)
  • 1900 – Fred Waring, American singer, bandleader, and television host (d. 1984)
  • 1902 – Skip James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1969)
  • 1903 – Felice Bonetto, Italian race car driver (d. 1953)
  • 1903 – Marcia Davenport, American author and critic (d. 1996)
  • 1906 – Robert Klark Graham, American eugenicist and businessman, founded Repository for Germinal Choice (d. 1997)
  • 1908 – Luis Kutner, American lawyer, author, and activist (d. 1993)
  • 1908 – Branch McCracken, American basketball player and coach (d. 1970)
  • 1910 – Robert Cummings, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1990)
  • 1910 – Ted Hicks, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand (d. 1984)
  • 1912 – Ingolf Dahl, German-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1970)
  • 1915 – Jim McDonald, American football player and coach (d. 1997)
  • 1915 – Les Paul, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1916 – Jurij Brězan, German soldier and author (d. 2006)
  • 1916 – Siegfried Graetschus, German SS officer (d. 1943)
  • 1916 – Robert McNamara, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 2009)
  • 1917 – Eric Hobsbawm, Egyptian-English historian and author (d. 2012)
  • 1918 – John Hospers, American philosopher and politician (d. 2011)
  • 1921 – Arthur Hertzberg, American rabbi and scholar (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Jean Lacouture, French journalist, historian, and author (d. 2015)
  • 1922 – George Axelrod, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1922 – John Gillespie Magee, Jr., Anglo-American pilot and poet (d. 1941)
  • 1922 – Fernand Seguin, Canadian biochemist and academic (d. 1988)
  • 1923 – Gerald Götting, German politician (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Ed Farhat, American wrestler and manager (d. 2003)
  • 1925 – Keith Laumer, American soldier and author (d. 1993)
  • 1925 – Herman Sarkowsky, German-American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded the Seattle Seahawks (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Calvin “Fuzz” Jones, American singer and bass player (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Happy Rockefeller, American philanthropist, 31st Second Lady of the United States (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Jim Nolan, American basketball player (d. 1983)
  • 1928 – R. Geraint Gruffydd, Welsh critic and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Johnny Ace, American singer and pianist (d. 1954)
  • 1930 – Barbara, French singer (d. 1997)
  • 1930 – Jordi Pujol, Spanish physician and politician, 126th President of the Generalitat de Catalunya
  • 1931 – Jackie Mason, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1931 – Nandini Satpathy, Indian author and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Odisha (d. 2006)
  • 1931 – Bill Virdon, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1933 – Al Cantello, American javelin thrower and coach
  • 1934 – Michael Mates, English colonel and politician
  • 1934 – Jackie Wilson, American singer-songwriter (d. 1984)
  • 1935 – Dutch Savage, American wrestler and promoter (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Nell Dunn, English playwright, screenwriter and author
  • 1936 – Mick O’Dwyer, Irish Gaelic footballer and manager
  • 1936 – George Radda, Hungarian chemist and academic
  • 1937 – Harald Rosenthal, German hydrobiologist and academic
  • 1938 – Jeremy Hardie, English economist and businessman
  • 1938 – Giles Havergal, Scottish actor, director, and playwright
  • 1938 – Charles Wuorinen, American composer and educator (d. 2020)
  • 1939 – Ileana Cotrubaș, Romanian soprano and actress
  • 1939 – Eric Fernie, Scottish historian and academic
  • 1939 – David Hobbs, English race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1939 – Dick Vitale, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1939 – Charles Webb, American author
  • 1940 – André Vallerand, Canadian businessman and politician
  • 1941 – Jon Lord, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2012)
  • 1942 – Anton Burghardt, German footballer and manager
  • 1942 – Nicholas Lloyd, English journalist
  • 1943 – John Fitzpatrick, English race car driver
  • 1943 – Charles Saatchi, Iraqi-English businessman, co-founded Saatchi & Saatchi
  • 1944 – Janric Craig, 3rd Viscount Craigavon, English accountant and politician
  • 1944 – Wally Gabler, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1946 – Deyda Hydara, Gambian journalist and publisher, co-founded The Point (d. 2004)
  • 1946 – James Kelman, Scottish author and playwright
  • 1946 – Peter Kilfoyle, English politician
  • 1946 – Giulio Terzi di Sant’Agata, Italian politician and diplomat, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1947 – Robert Indermaur, Swiss painter
  • 1947 – Robbie Vincent, UK disc jockey and radio presenter
  • 1948 – Jim Bailey, American football player
  • 1948 – Gudrun Schyman, Swedish social worker and politician
  • 1949 – Kiran Bedi, Indian police officer and activist
  • 1950 – Trevor Bolder, English bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1950 – Fred Jackson, American football player and coach
  • 1950 – Giorgos Kastrinakis, Greek-American basketball player
  • 1951 – Michael Patrick Cronan, American graphic designer and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1951 – James Newton Howard, American composer, conductor, and producer
  • 1951 – Dave Parker, American baseball player and coach
  • 1951 – Brian Taylor, American basketball player
  • 1952 – Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1952 – Billy Knight, American basketball player
  • 1953 – Ken Navarro, Italian-American guitarist and composer
  • 1954 – Pete Byrne, English singer-songwriter
  • 1954 – Paul Chapman, Welsh guitarist and songwriter
  • 1954 – Gregory Maguire, American author
  • 1954 – Elizabeth May, American-Canadian environmentalist, lawyer, and politician
  • 1954 – George Pérez, American author and illustrator
  • 1956 – Berit Aunli, Norwegian skier
  • 1956 – Patricia Cornwell, American journalist and author
  • 1956 – Marek Gazdzicki, Polish nuclear physicist
  • 1956 – Joaquín, Spanish footballer
  • 1956 – John Le Lievre, British squash player
  • 1956 – Kayhan Mortezavi, Iranian director
  • 1956 – Francine Raymond, French Canadian singer songwriter
  • 1956 – Nikolai Tsonev, Bulgarian politician
  • 1956 – Rudolf Wojtowicz, Polish footballer
  • 1957 – Randy Read, English crystallographer and academic
  • 1958 – David Ancrum, American basketball player and coach
  • 1959 – Peter Fowler, Australian golfer
  • 1960 – Steve Paikin, Canadian journalist and author
  • 1961 – Thomas Benson, American football player
  • 1961 – Michael J. Fox, Canadian-American actor, producer, and author
  • 1961 – Aaron Sorkin, American screenwriter, producer, and playwright
  • 1962 – Yuval Banay, Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Ken Rose, American football player
  • 1962 – David Trewhella, Australian rugby league player
  • 1963 – Gilad Atzmon, Israeli-English saxophonist, author, and activist
  • 1963 – Johnny Depp, American actor
  • 1963 – David Koepp, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Gloria Reuben, Canadian-American actress
  • 1964 – Wayman Tisdale, American basketball player and bass player (d. 2009)
  • 1967 – Rubén Maza, Venezuelan runner
  • 1968 – Niki Bakoyianni, Greek high jumper and coach
  • 1969 – André Racicot, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1969 – Eric Wynalda, American soccer player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Gilles De Bilde, Belgian footballer and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Jean Galfione, French pole vaulter and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Jackie McKeown, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1972 – Matt Horsley, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1973 – Aigars Apinis, Latvian discus thrower and shot putter
  • 1973 – Tedy Bruschi, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Frédéric Choffat, Swiss director, producer, and cinematographer
  • 1973 – Grant Marshall, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1974 – Samoth, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1975 – Otto Addo, German-Ghanaian footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Ameesha Patel, Indian actress and model
  • 1975 – Andrew Symonds, English-Australian cricketer
  • 1977 – Usman Afzaal, Pakistani-English cricketer
  • 1977 – Paul Hutchison, English cricketer
  • 1977 – Olin Kreutz, American football player
  • 1977 – Peja Stojaković, Serbian basketball player
  • 1978 – Matt Bellamy, English singer, musician and songwriter
  • 1978 – Shandi Finnessey, American model and actress, Miss USA 2004
  • 1978 – Miroslav Klose, German footballer
  • 1978 – Heather Mitts, American soccer player
  • 1978 – Hayden Schlossberg, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1979 – Dario Dainelli, Italian footballer
  • 1979 – Amanda Lassiter, American basketball player
  • 1980 – D’banj, Nigerian singer-songwriter and harmonica player
  • 1980 – Mike Fontenot, American baseball player
  • 1980 – Udonis Haslem, American basketball player
  • 1980 – Lehlohonolo Seema, South African footballer
  • 1981 – Natalie Portman, Israeli-American actress
  • 1982 – Parinya Charoenphol, Thai boxer, model, and actress
  • 1982 – Yoshito Ōkubo, Japanese footballer
  • 1982 – Christina Stürmer, Austrian singer-songwriter
  • 1983 – Firas Al-Khatib, Syrian footballer
  • 1983 – Josh Cribbs, American football player
  • 1983 – Dwayne Jones, American basketball player
  • 1983 – Danny Richar, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1984 – Yulieski Gourriel, Cuban baseball player
  • 1984 – Jake Newton, Guyanese footballer
  • 1984 – Asko Paade, Estonian basketball player
  • 1984 – Masoud Shojaei, Iranian footballer
  • 1984 – Wesley Sneijder, Dutch footballer
  • 1985 – Richard Kahui, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1985 – Sonam Kapoor, Indian model and actress
  • 1985 – Sebastian Telfair, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Doug Legursky, American football player
  • 1986 – Yadier Pedroso, Cuban baseball player (d. 2013)
  • 1986 – Ashley Postell, American gymnast
  • 1987 – Jaan Mölder, Estonian race car driver
  • 1988 – Jason Demers, Canadian ice hockey defenseman
  • 1988 – Sara Isaković, Slovenian swimmer
  • 1989 – Dídac Vilà, Spanish footballer
  • 1990 – Matthias Mayer, Austrian skier
  • 1992 – Zach Hyman, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Yannick Agnel, French swimmer
  • 1992 – Boyd Cordner, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – George Jennings, Australian rugby league player

Deaths on June 9

  • AD 68 – Nero, Roman emperor (b. 37)
  • 373 – Ephrem the Syrian, hymnographer and theologian (b. 306)
  • 597 – Columba, Irish missionary and saint (b. 521)
  • 630 – Shahrbaraz, king of the Persian Empire
  • 889 – Aimoin, Frankish monk and archivist
  • 908 – Yang Wo, Prince of Hongnong
  • 1075 – Gebhard of Supplinburg, Saxon count
  • 1087 – Otto I of Olomouc (b. 1045)
  • 1238 – Peter des Roches, bishop of Winchester
  • 1252 – Otto I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
  • 1348 – Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Sienese painter (b. 1290)
  • 1361 – Philippe de Vitry, French composer and poet (b. 1291)
  • 1563 – William Paget, 1st Baron Paget, English accountant and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1506)
  • 1572 – Jeanne d’Albret, Navarrese queen and Huguenot leader (b. 1528)
  • 1583 – Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1525)
  • 1597 – José de Anchieta, Spanish Jesuit missionary (b. 1534)
  • 1647 – Leonard Calvert, Colonial governor of Maryland (b. 1606)
  • 1656 – Thomas Tomkins, Welsh-English composer (b. 1572)
  • 1716 – Banda Singh Bahadur, Indian commander (b. 1670)
  • 1717 – Jeanne Guyon, French mystic and author (b. 1648)
  • 1834 – William Carey, English minister and missionary (b. 1761)
  • 1870 – Charles Dickens, English novelist and critic (b. 1812)
  • 1875 – Gérard Paul Deshayes, French geologist and conchologist (b. 1795)
  • 1889 – Mike Burke, American baseball player (b. 1854)
  • 1892 – William Grant Stairs, Canadian-English captain and explorer (b. 1863)
  • 1901 – Adolf Bötticher, German historian and author (b. 1842)
  • 1923 – Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (b. 1846)
  • 1927 – Victoria Woodhull, American activist for women’s rights (b. 1838)
  • 1929 – Louis Bennison, American stage and silent film actor (b. 1884)
  • 1929 – Margaret Lawrence, American stage actress (b. 1889)
  • 1942 – František Erben, Czech gymnast (b. 1874)
  • 1952 – Adolf Busch, German-Austrian violinist and composer (b. 1891)
  • 1953 – Ernest Graves, Sr., American football player, coach, and general (b. 1880)
  • 1956 – Chandrashekhar Agashe, Indian industrialist and lawyer (b. 1888)
  • 1956 – Hans Bergsland, Norwegian fencer (b. 1878)
  • 1956 – Thomas Hicks, Australian tennis player (b. 1869)
  • 1956 – Ferdinand Jodl, German general (b. 1896)
  • 1958 – Robert Donat, English actor (b. 1905)
  • 1959 – Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
  • 1960 – Harry S. Hammond, American football player and businessman (b. 1884)
  • 1961 – Camille Guérin, French veterinarian, bacteriologist and immunologist (b. 1872)
  • 1963 – Jacques Villon, French painter (b.1875)
  • 1964 – Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook, British businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1879)
  • 1968 – Bernard Cronin, Australian author and journalist (b. 1884)
  • 1972 – Gilberto Parlotti, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1940)
  • 1973 – Chuck Bennett, American football player and coach (b. 1907)
  • 1973 – John Creasey, English author and politician (b. 1908)
  • 1973 – Erich von Manstein, German general (b. 1887)
  • 1974 – Miguel Ángel Asturias, Guatemalan journalist, author, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
  • 1979 – Cyclone Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player and civil servant (b. 1884)
  • 1981 – Allen Ludden, American game show host (b. 1917)
  • 1984 – Helen Hardin, American painter (b. 1943)
  • 1989 – George Wells Beadle, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
  • 1991 – Claudio Arrau, Chilean-American pianist and educator (b. 1903)
  • 1993 – Alexis Smith, Canadian-born American actress (b. 1921)
  • 1994 – Jan Tinbergen, Dutch economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
  • 1997 – Stanley Knowles, American-Canadian academic and politician (b. 1908)
  • 1998 – Lois Mailou Jones, American painter and academic (b. 1905)
  • 2000 – John Abramovic, American basketball player (b. 1919)
  • 2000 – Jacob Lawrence, American painter and academic (b. 1917)
  • 2004 – Rosey Brown, American football player and coach (b. 1932)
  • 2004 – Brian Williamson, Jamaican activist, co-founded J-FLAG (b. 1945)
  • 2006 – Drafi Deutscher, German singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
  • 2007 – Frankie Abernathy, American purse designer, cast-member on The Real World: San Diego (b. 1981)
  • 2008 – Algis Budrys, Lithuanian-American author and critic (b. 1931)
  • 2008 – Suleiman Mousa, Jordanian historian and author (b. 1919)
  • 2009 – Dick May, American race car driver (b. 1930)
  • 2010 – Ken Brown, British Guitarist who was a member of The Quarrymen (b. 1940)
  • 2011 – M. F. Husain, Indian painter and director (b. 1915)
  • 2011 – Tomoko Kawakami, Japanese voice actress (b. 1970)
  • 2011 – Mike Mitchell, American basketball player (b. 1956)
  • 2012 – Régis Clère, French cyclist (b. 1956)
  • 2012 – John Maples, Baron Maples, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence (b. 1943)
  • 2012 – Ivan Minatti, Slovene poet and translator (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Hawk Taylor, American baseball player and coach (b. 1939)
  • 2012 – Abram Wilson, American-English trumpet player and educator (b. 1973)
  • 2013 – Iain Banks, Scottish author (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – Bruno Bartoletti, Italian conductor (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – John Burke, English rugby player (b. 1948)
  • 2013 – Walter Jens, German philologist, historian, and academic (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Zdeněk Rotrekl, Czech poet and historian (b. 1920)
  • 2014 – Bernard Agré, Ivorian cardinal (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Rik Mayall, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1958)
  • 2014 – Elsie Quarterman, American ecologist and academic (b. 1910)
  • 2014 – Alicemarie Huber Stotler, American lawyer and judge (b. 1942)
  • 2014 – Gustave Tassell, American fashion designer (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Bob Welch, American baseball player and coach (b. 1956)
  • 2015 – Pumpkinhead, American rapper (b. 1975)
  • 2015 – Pedro Zerolo, Spanish lawyer and politician (b. 1960)
  • 2017 – Adam West, American actor and investor (b. 1928)
  • 2018 – Fadil Vokrri, Kosovo Albanian football administrator and player (b. 1960)
  • 2019 – Bushwick Bill, Jamaican-American rapper (b. 1966)

Holidays and observances on June 9

  • Anniversary of the Accession of King Abdullah II (Jordan)
  • Autonomy Day (Åland Islands)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Aidan of Lindisfarne (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
    • Bede (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America)
    • Columba
    • Ephrem the Syrian (Roman Catholic Church and Church of England)
    • José de Anchieta
    • Primus and Felician
    • June 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Coral Triangle Day
  • La Rioja Day (La Rioja)
  • Murcia Day (Murcia)
  • National Heroes’ Day (Uganda)

June 9- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

June 7- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 421 – Emperor Theodosius II marries Aelia Eudocia at Constantinople (Byzantine Empire).
  • 879 – Pope John VIII recognizes the Duchy of Croatia under Duke Branimir as an independent state.
  • 1002 – Henry II, a cousin of Emperor Otto III, is elected and crowned King of Germany.
  • 1099 – First Crusade: The Siege of Jerusalem begins.
  • 1420 – Troops of the Republic of Venice capture Udine, ending the independence of the Patria del Friuli.
  • 1494 – Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas which divides the New World between the two countries.
  • 1628 – The Petition of Right, a major English constitutional document, is granted the Royal Assent by Charles I and becomes law.
  • 1654 – Louis XIV is crowned King of France.
  • 1692 – Port Royal, Jamaica, is hit by a catastrophic earthquake; in just three minutes, 1,600 people are killed and 3,000 are seriously injured.
  • 1776 – Richard Henry Lee presents the “Lee Resolution” to the Continental Congress. The motion is seconded by John Adams and will lead to the United States Declaration of Independence.
  • 1788 – French Revolution: Day of the Tiles: Civilians in Grenoble toss roof tiles and various objects down upon royal troops.
  • 1800 – David Thompson reaches the mouth of the Saskatchewan River in Manitoba.
  • 1810 – The newspaper Gazeta de Buenos Ayres is first published in Argentina.
  • 1832 – The Great Reform Act of England and Wales receives royal assent.
  • 1832 – Asian cholera reaches Quebec, brought by Irish immigrants, and kills about 6,000 people in Lower Canada.
  • 1862 – The United States and the United Kingdom agree in the Lyons–Seward Treaty to suppress the African slave trade.
  • 1863 – During the French intervention in Mexico, Mexico City is captured by French troops.
  • 1866 – One thousand eight hundred Fenian raiders are repelled back to the United States after looting and plundering the Saint-Armand and Frelighsburg areas of Canada East.
  • 1880 – War of the Pacific: The Battle of Arica, the assault and capture of Morro de Arica (Arica Cape), ends the Campaña del Desierto (Desert Campaign).
  • 1892 – Homer Plessy is arrested for refusing to leave his seat in the “whites-only” car of a train; he lost the resulting court case, Plessy v. Ferguson.
  • 1899 – American Temperance crusader Carrie Nation begins her campaign of vandalizing alcohol-serving establishments by destroying the inventory in a saloon in Kiowa, Kansas.
  • 1905 – Norway’s parliament dissolves its union with Sweden. The vote was confirmed by a national plebiscite on August 13 of that year.
  • 1906 – Cunard Line’s RMS Lusitania is launched from the John Brown Shipyard, Glasgow (Clydebank), Scotland.
  • 1917 – World War I: Battle of Messines: Allied soldiers detonate a series of mines underneath German trenches at Messines Ridge, killing 10,000 German troops.
  • 1919 – Sette Giugno: Nationalist riots break out in Valletta, the capital of Malta. British soldiers fire into the crowd, killing four people.
  • 1929 – The Lateran Treaty is ratified, bringing Vatican City into existence.
  • 1938 – The Douglas DC-4E makes its first test flight.
  • 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese Nationalist government creates the 1938 Yellow River flood to halt Japanese forces. Five hundred to nine hundred thousand civilians are killed.
  • 1940 – King Haakon VII, Crown Prince Olav and the Norwegian government leave Tromsø and go into exile in London. They return exactly five years later.
  • 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Midway ends in American victory.
  • 1942 – World War II: Aleutian Islands Campaign: Imperial Japanese soldiers begin occupying the American islands of Attu and Kiska, in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska.
  • 1944 – World War II: The steamer Danae, carrying 350 Cretan Jews and 250 Cretan partisans, is sunk without survivors off the shore of Santorini.
  • 1944 – World War II: Battle of Normandy: At Ardenne Abbey, members of the SS Division Hitlerjugend massacre 23 Canadian prisoners of war.
  • 1945 – King Haakon VII of Norway returns from exactly five years in exile during World War II.
  • 1946 – The United Kingdom’s BBC returns to broadcasting its television service, which has been off air for seven years because of the Second World War.
  • 1948 – Anti-Jewish riots in Oujda and Jerada take place.
  • 1948 – Edvard Beneš resigns as President of Czechoslovakia rather than signing the Ninth-of-May Constitution, making his nation a Communist state.
  • 1955 – Lux Radio Theatre signs off the air permanently. The show launched in New York in 1934, and featured radio adaptations of Broadway shows and popular films.
  • 1962 – The Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS) sets fire to the University of Algiers library building, destroying about 500,000 books.
  • 1965 – The Supreme Court of the United States hands down its decision in Griswold v. Connecticut, prohibiting the states from criminalizing the use of contraception by married couples.
  • 1967 – Six-Day War: Israeli soldiers enter Jerusalem.
  • 1971 – The United States Supreme Court overturns the conviction of Paul Cohen for disturbing the peace, setting the precedent that vulgar writing is protected under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
  • 1971 – The Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Division of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service raids the home of Ken Ballew for illegal possession of hand grenades.
  • 1977 – Five hundred million people watch the high day of the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II begin on television.
  • 1981 – The Israeli Air Force destroys Iraq’s Osiraq nuclear reactor during Operation Opera.
  • 1982 – Priscilla Presley opens Graceland to the public; the bathroom where Elvis Presley died five years earlier is kept off-limits.
  • 1989 – Surinam Airways Flight 764 crashes on approach to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport in Suriname because of pilot error, killing 176 of 187 aboard.
  • 1991 – Mount Pinatubo erupts, generating an ash column 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) high.
  • 2000 – The United Nations defines the Blue Line as the border between Israel and Lebanon.
  • 2013 – A bus catches fire in the Chinese city of Xiamen, killing at least 47 people and injuring more than 34 others.
  • 2013 – A gunman opens fire at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, after setting a house on fire nearby, killing six people, including the suspect.
  • 2014 – At least 37 people are killed in an attack in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s South Kivu province.

Births on June 7

  • 1003 – Emperor Jingzong of Western Xia (d. 1048)
  • 1402 – Ichijō Kaneyoshi, Japanese noble (d. 1481)
  • 1422 – Federico da Montefeltro, Italian condottiero (d. 1482)
  • 1502 – John III of Portugal (d. 1557)
  • 1529 – Étienne Pasquier, French lawyer and jurist (d. 1615)
  • 1687 – Gaetano Berenstadt, Italian actor and singer (d. 1734)
  • 1702 – Louis George, Margrave of Baden-Baden (d. 1761)
  • 1757 – Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1806)
  • 1761 – John Rennie the Elder, Scottish engineer (d. 1821)
  • 1770 – Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1828)
  • 1778 – Beau Brummell, English cricketer and fashion designer (d. 1840)
  • 1811 – James Young Simpson, Scottish obstetrician (d. 1870)
  • 1831 – Amelia Edwards, English journalist and author (d. 1892)
  • 1837 – Alois Hitler, Austrian civil servant (d. 1903)
  • 1840 – Carlota of Mexico (d. 1927)
  • 1845 – Leopold Auer, Hungarian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1930)
  • 1847 – George Washington Ball, American legislator from Iowa (d. 1915)
  • 1848 – Paul Gauguin, French painter and sculptor (d. 1903)
  • 1851 – Ture Malmgren, Swedish journalist and politician (d. 1922)
  • 1861 – Robina Nicol, New Zealand photographer and suffragist (d. 1942)
  • 1862 – Philipp Lenard, Slovak-German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1947)
  • 1863 – Bones Ely, American baseball player and manager (d. 1952)
  • 1868 – Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish painter and architect (d. 1928)
  • 1877 – Roelof Klein, Dutch-American rower and engineer (d. 1960)
  • 1879 – Knud Rasmussen, Danish anthropologist and explorer (d. 1933)
  • 1879 – Joan Voûte, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 1963)
  • 1884 – Ester Claesson, Swedish landscape architect (d. 1931)
  • 1883 – Sylvanus Morley, American archaeologist and scholar (d. 1948)
  • 1886 – Henri Coandă, Romanian engineer, designed the Coandă-1910 (d. 1972)
  • 1888 – Clarence DeMar, American runner and educator (d. 1958)
  • 1892 – Leo Reise, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1975)
  • 1893 – Gillis Grafström, Swedish figure skater and architect (d. 1938)
  • 1894 – Alexander P. de Seversky, Georgian-American pilot and engineer, co-designed the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (d. 1974)
  • 1896 – Douglas Campbell, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1990)
  • 1896 – Robert S. Mulliken, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
  • 1896 – Imre Nagy, Hungarian soldier and politician, 44th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1958)
  • 1897 – George Szell, Hungarian-American conductor and composer (d. 1970)
  • 1899 – Elizabeth Bowen, Anglo-Irish author and critic (d. 1973)
  • 1902 – Georges Van Parys, French composer (d. 1971)
  • 1902 – Herman B Wells, American banker, author, and academic (d. 2000)
  • 1905 – James J. Braddock, American lieutenant and boxer (d. 1974)
  • 1906 – Glen Gray, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 1963)
  • 1907 – Sigvard Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (d. 2002)
  • 1909 – Virginia Apgar, American anesthesiologist and pediatrician, developed the Apgar test (d. 1974)
  • 1909 – Peter W. Rodino, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 2005)
  • 1909 – Jessica Tandy, English-American actress (d. 1994)
  • 1910 – Arthur Gardner, American actor and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1910 – Mike Sebastian, American football player and coach (d. 1989)
  • 1910 – Bradford Washburn, American mountaineer, photographer, and cartographer (d. 2007)
  • 1910 – Marion Post Wolcott, American photographer (d. 1990)
  • 1911 – Brooks Stevens, American engineer and designer, designed the Wienermobile (d. 1995)
  • 1912 – Jacques Hélian, French bandleader (d. 1986)
  • 1917 – Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet (d. 2000)
  • 1917 – Dean Martin, American singer, actor, and producer (d. 1995)
  • 1920 – Georges Marchais, French mechanic and politician (d. 1997)
  • 1921 – Myrtle Edwards, Australian cricketer and softball player (d. 2010)
  • 1921 – Brian Talboys, New Zealand politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Leo Reise, Jr., Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – Jules Deschênes, Canadian lawyer and judge (d. 2000)
  • 1925 – Ernestina Herrera de Noble, Argentine publisher and executive (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Jean-Noël Tremblay, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2020)
  • 1927 – Charles de Tornaco, Belgian race car driver (d. 1953)
  • 1927 – Paul Salamunovich, American conductor and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Dave Bowen, Welsh footballer and manager (d. 1995)
  • 1928 – James Ivory, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1928 – Randolph Turpin, English boxer (d. 1966)
  • 1929 – Ernie Roth, American wrestling manager (d. 1983)
  • 1929 – John Turner, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Canada
  • 1931 – Virginia McKenna, English actress and author
  • 1932 – Per Maurseth, Norwegian historian, academic, and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1933 – Romeo Galán, Argentine athlete
  • 1935 – Harry Crews, American novelist, playwright, short story writer, and essayist (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Shyama, Indian actress (d. 2017)
  • 1936 – Bert Sugar, American author and boxing historian (d. 2012)
  • 1938 – Ian St John, Scottish international footballer, forward and manager
  • 1939 – Yuli Turovsky, Russian-Canadian cellist, conductor and educator (d. 2013)
  • 1940 – Tom Jones, Welsh singer and actor
  • 1940 – Ronald Pickup, English actor
  • 1944 – Annette Lu, Taiwanese lawyer and politician, 8th Vice President of the Republic of China
  • 1944 – Clarence White, American guitarist and singer (d. 1973)
  • 1945 – Gilles Marotte, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2005)
  • 1945 – John Olsen, Australian politician, 42nd Premier of South Australia
  • 1945 – Wolfgang Schüssel, Austrian lawyer and politician, 26th Chancellor of Austria
  • 1947 – Don Money, American baseball player and coach
  • 1947 – Thurman Munson, American baseball player (d. 1979)
  • 1948 – Jim Walton, American businessman
  • 1952 – Liam Neeson, Irish-American actor
  • 1952 – Orhan Pamuk, Turkish-American novelist, screenwriter, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1953 – Johnny Clegg, English- born South African singer-songwriter, guitarist and anthropologist (d. 2019)
  • 1954 – Louise Erdrich, American novelist and poet
  • 1955 – William Forsythe, American actor and producer
  • 1955 – Tim Richmond, American race car driver (d. 1989)
  • 1956 – L.A. Reid, American songwriter and producer, co-founded LaFace Records
  • 1957 – Juan Luis Guerra, Dominican singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1957 – Paddy McAloon, English singer-songwriter
  • 1958 – Prince, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor (d. 2016)
  • 1958 – Surakiart Sathirathai, Thai politician and diplomat
  • 1959 – Mike Pence, 48th Vice President of the United States, 50th Governor of Indiana
  • 1960 – Hirohiko Araki, Japanese manga artist and creator of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure
  • 1960 – Bill Prady, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1961 – Dave Catching, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1962 – Thierry Hazard, French singer-songwriter
  • 1962 – Takuya Kurosawa, Japanese race car driver
  • 1963 – Gordon Gano, American musician
  • 1964 – Gia Carides, Australian actress
  • 1964 – Graeme Labrooy, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1965 – Mick Foley, American wrestler, actor, and author
  • 1965 – Jean-Pierre François, French footballer and singer
  • 1965 – Damien Hirst, English painter and art collector
  • 1966 – Eric Kretz, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
  • 1966 – Tom McCarthy, American director, screenwriter and actor
  • 1966 – Stéphane Richer, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1967 – Dave Navarro, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1970 – Helen Baxendale, English actress
  • 1970 – Cafu, Brazilian footballer
  • 1970 – Andrei Kovalenko, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1970 – Mike Modano, American ice hockey player
  • 1972 – Karl Urban, New Zealand actor
  • 1974 – Bear Grylls, English adventurer, author, and television host
  • 1975 – Allen Iverson, American basketball player
  • 1976 – Necro, American rapper, producer, and director
  • 1976 – Mirsad Türkcan, Turkish basketball player
  • 1977 – Marcin Baszczyński, Polish footballer
  • 1978 – Mini Andén, Swedish-American model, actress, and producer
  • 1978 – Bill Hader, Two-time Emmy winning American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
  • 1979 – Kevin Hofland, Dutch footballer
  • 1979 – Anna Torv, Australian actress
  • 1980 – Ed Moses, American swimmer
  • 1981 – Stephen Bywater, English footballer
  • 1981 – Anna Kournikova, Russian tennis player
  • 1981 – Kevin Kyle, Scottish footballer
  • 1983 – Milan Jurčina, Slovak ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Piotr Małachowski, Polish discus thrower
  • 1984 – Ari Koivunen, Finnish singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Eri Yanetani, Japanese snowboarder
  • 1985 – Arkadiusz Piech, Polish footballer
  • 1985 – Charlie Simpson, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1985 – Richard Thompson, Trinidadian sprinter
  • 1986 – Keegan Bradley, American golfer
  • 1988 – Michael Cera, Canadian actor
  • 1988 – Milan Lucic, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Iggy Azalea, Australian rapper
  • 1990 – T. J. Brodie, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Allison Schmitt, American swimmer
  • 1991 – Cenk Tosun, Turkish professional footballer
  • 1991 – Fetty Wap, American rapper
  • 1992 – Sara Niemietz, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1992 – Mathias Gehrt, Danish professional footballer
  • 1992 – Alípio, Brazilian footballer
  • 1993 – George Ezra, English singer, songwriter and guitarist

Deaths on June 7

  • 555 – Vigilius, Pope of the Catholic Church (b. 500)
  • 862 – Al-Muntasir, Abbasid caliph (b. 837)
  • 929 – Ælfthryth, Countess of Flanders (b. 877)
  • 940 – Qian Hongzun, heir apparent of Wuyue (b. 925)
  • 951 – Lu Wenji, Chinese chancellor (b. 876)
  • 1329 – Robert the Bruce, Scottish king (b. 1274)
  • 1337 – William I, Count of Hainaut (b. 1286)
  • 1341 – An-Nasir Muhammad, Egyptian sultan (b. 1285)
  • 1358 – Ashikaga Takauji, Japanese shōgun (b. 1305)
  • 1394 – Anne of Bohemia, English queen (b. 1366)
  • 1492 – Casimir IV Jagiellon, Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 (b. 1427)
  • 1594 – Rodrigo Lopez, physician of Queen Elizabeth (b. 1525)
  • 1618 – Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, English politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1577)
  • 1660 – George II Rákóczi, Prince of Transylvania (b. 1621)
  • 1711 – Henry Dodwell, Irish scholar and theologian (b. 1641)
  • 1779 – William Warburton, English bishop and critic (b. 1698)
  • 1792 – Benjamin Tupper, American general and surveyor (b. 1738)
  • 1810 – Luigi Schiavonetti, Italian engraver and etcher (b. 1765)
  • 1826 – Joseph von Fraunhofer, German optician, physicist, and astronomer (b. 1787)
  • 1840 – Frederick William III of Prussia (b. 1770)
  • 1843 – Friedrich Hölderlin, German lyric poet (b. 1770)
  • 1853 – Norbert Provencher, Canadian missionary and bishop (b. 1787)
  • 1854 – Charles Baudin, French admiral (b. 1792)
  • 1859 – David Cox, English painter (b. 1783)
  • 1861 – Patrick Brontë, Anglo-Irish priest and author (b. 1777)
  • 1863 – Antonio Valero de Bernabé, Latin American liberator (b. 1790)
  • 1866 – Chief Seattle, American tribal chief (b. 1780)
  • 1879 – William Tilbury Fox, English dermatologist and academic (b. 1836)
  • 1896 – Pavlos Carrer, Greek composer (b. 1829)
  • 1911 – Maurice Rouvier, French politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1842)
  • 1915 – Charles Reed Bishop, American banker and politician, founded the First Hawaiian Bank (b. 1822)
  • 1916 – Émile Faguet, French author and critic (b. 1847)
  • 1927 – Archie Birkin, English motorcycle racer (b. 1905)
  • 1927 – Edmund James Flynn, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Premier of Quebec (b. 1847)
  • 1932 – John Verran, English-Australian politician, 26th Premier of South Australia (b. 1856)
  • 1933 – Dragutin Domjanić, Croatian lawyer, judge, and poet (b. 1875)
  • 1936 – Stjepan Seljan, Croatian explorer (b. 1875)
  • 1937 – Jean Harlow, American actress and singer (b. 1911)
  • 1942 – Alan Blumlein, English engineer (b. 1903)
  • 1945 – Kitaro Nishida, Japanese philosopher and academic (b. 1870)
  • 1954 – Alan Turing, English mathematician and computer scientist (b. 1912)
  • 1956 – John Willcock, Australian politician, 15th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1879)
  • 1961 – Reginald Fletcher, 1st Baron Winster, English navy officer and politician, Secretary of State for Transport (b. 1885)
  • 1963 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (b. 1894)
  • 1965 – Judy Holliday, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
  • 1966 – Jean Arp, German-French sculptor, painter, and poet (b. 1886)
  • 1967 – Anatoly Maltsev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1909)
  • 1967 – Dorothy Parker, American poet, short story writer, critic, and satirist (b. 1893)
  • 1968 – Dan Duryea, American actor and singer (b. 1907)
  • 1970 – E. M. Forster, English novelist, short story writer, essayist (b. 1879)
  • 1978 – Charles Moran, American race car driver (b. 1906)
  • 1978 – Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
  • 1979 – Asa Earl Carter, American Ku Klux Klan leader (b. 1925)
  • 1980 – Elizabeth Craig, Scottish journalist and economist (b. 1883)
  • 1980 – Philip Guston, Canadian-American painter and educator (b. 1913)
  • 1980 – Henry Miller, American novelist and essayist (b. 1891)
  • 1985 – Klaudia Taev, Estonian opera singer and educator (b. 1906)
  • 1987 – Cahit Zarifoğlu, Turkish poet and author (b. 1940)
  • 1988 – Martin Sommer, German SS officer (b. 1915)
  • 1989 – Chico Landi, Brazilian race car driver (b. 1907)
  • 1989 – William McLean Hamilton, Canadian politician, Postmaster General of Canada (b. 1919)
  • 1992 – Bill France Sr., American race car driver and businessman, co-founded NASCAR (b. 1909)
  • 1993 – Dražen Petrović, Croatian basketball player, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer 2002 (b. 1964)
  • 1995 – Hsuan Hua, Chinese monk and educator (b. 1918)
  • 1995 – Charles Ritchie, Canadian diplomat, High Commission of Canada to the United Kingdom (b. 1906)
  • 1996 – Max Factor, Jr., American businessman (b. 1904)
  • 1997 – Jacques Canetti, French music executive and talent agent (b. 1909)
  • 2001 – Víctor Paz Estenssoro, Bolivian politician, 52nd President of Bolivia (b. 1907)
  • 2001 – Carole Fredericks, French singer (Fredericks Goldman Jones) (b. 1952)
  • 2001 – Betty Neels, English nurse and author (b. 1910)
  • 2002 – Signe Hasso, Swedish-American actress (b. 1915)
  • 2002 – B. D. Jatti, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th Vice President of India (b. 1912)
  • 2002 – Lilian, Princess of Réthy (b. 1916)
  • 2004 – Quorthon, Swedish musician (b. 1966)
  • 2008 – Rudy Fernandez, Filipino actor and producer (b. 1953)
  • 2008 – Jim McKay, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Dino Risi, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1916)
  • 2009 – Hugh Hopper, English bass player and songwriter (b. 1945)
  • 2011 – Paul Dickson, American football player and coach (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Phillip V. Tobias, South African paleontologist and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Bob Welch, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
  • 2013 – Pierre Mauroy, French educator and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Fernandão, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1978)
  • 2014 – Dora Akunyili, Nigerian academic and politician (b. 1954)
  • 2014 – Epainette Mbeki, South African activist (b. 1916)
  • 2015 – Christopher Lee, English actor (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Sheikh Razzak Ali, Bangladeshi journalist and politician (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on June 7

  • Anniversary of the Memorandum of the Slovak Nation (Slovakia)
  • Birthday of Prince Joachim (Denmark)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Antonio Maria Gianelli
    • Colmán of Dromore
    • Landulf of Yariglia (Asti)
    • Meriasek
    • Paul I of Constantinople
    • Robert of Newminster
    • Chief Seattle (Lutheran Church)
    • Blessed Marie-Thérèse de Soubiran La Louvière
    • June 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Commemoration Day of St John the Forerunner (Armenian Apostolic Church)
    • Pioneers of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Battle of Arica Day (Arica y Parinacota Region, Chile)
  • Flag Day (Peru)
  • Journalist Day (Argentina)
  • Sette Giugno (Malta)
  • Union Dissolution Day (Independence Day of Norway)

June 7- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 455 – Sack of Rome: Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks.
  • 1098 – First Crusade: The first Siege of Antioch ends as Crusader forces take the city; the second siege began five days later.
  • 1615 – The first Récollet missionaries arrive at Quebec City, from Rouen, France.
  • 1676 – Franco-Dutch War: France ensured the supremacy of its naval fleet for the remainder of the war with its victory in the Battle of Palermo.
  • 1692 – Bridget Bishop is the first person to be tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts; she was found guilty and later hanged.
  • 1763 – Pontiac’s Rebellion: At what is now Mackinaw City, Michigan, Chippewas capture Fort Michilimackinac by diverting the garrison’s attention with a game of lacrosse, then chasing a ball into the fort.
  • 1774 – Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act is enacted, allowing a governor in colonial America to house British soldiers in uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns, or other buildings if suitable quarters are not provided.
  • 1793 – French Revolution: François Hanriot, leader of the Parisian National Guard, arrests 22 Girondists selected by Jean-Paul Marat, setting the stage for the Reign of Terror.
  • 1805 – Napoleonic Wars: A Franco-Spanish fleet recaptures Diamond Rock, an uninhabited island at the entrance to the bay leading to Fort-de-France, from the British.
  • 1835 – P. T. Barnum and his circus start their first tour of the United States.
  • 1848 – The Slavic congress in Prague begins.
  • 1866 – The Fenians defeat Canadian forces at Ridgeway and Fort Erie, but the raids end soon after.
  • 1896 – Guglielmo Marconi applies for a patent for his wireless telegraph.
  • 1909 – Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the third time.
  • 1910 – Charles Rolls, a co-founder of Rolls-Royce Limited, becomes the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane.
  • 1919 – Anarchists simultaneously set off bombs in eight separate U.S. cities.
  • 1924 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.
  • 1941 – World War II: German paratroopers murder Greek civilians in the villages of Kondomari and Alikianos.
  • 1946 – Birth of the Italian Republic: In a referendum, Italians vote to turn Italy from a monarchy into a Republic. After the referendum, King Umberto II of Italy is exiled.
  • 1953 – The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, who is crowned Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Her Other Realms and Territories & Head of the Commonwealth, the first major international event to be televised.
  • 1955 – The USSR and Yugoslavia sign the Belgrade declaration and thus normalize relations between both countries, discontinued since 1948.
  • 1962 – During the FIFA World Cup, police had to intervene multiple times in fights between Chilean and Italian players in one of the most violent games in football history.
  • 1964 – The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is formed.
  • 1966 – Surveyor program: Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon, becoming the first U.S. spacecraft to soft-land on another world.
  • 1967 – Luis Monge is executed in Colorado’s gas chamber, in the last pre-Furman execution in the United States.
  • 1967 – Protests in West Berlin against the arrival of the Shah of Iran turn into riots, during which Benno Ohnesorg is killed by a police officer. His death results in the founding of the terrorist group Movement 2 June.
  • 1979 – Pope John Paul II starts his first official visit to his native Poland, becoming the first Pope to visit a Communist country.
  • 1983 – After an emergency landing because of an in-flight fire, twenty-three passengers aboard Air Canada Flight 797 are killed when a flashover occurs as the plane’s doors open. Because of this incident, numerous new safety regulations are put in place.
  • 1990 – The Lower Ohio Valley tornado outbreak spawns 66 confirmed tornadoes in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, killing 12.
  • 1997 – In Denver, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people died. He was executed four years later.
  • 2003 – Europe launches its first voyage to another planet, Mars. The European Space Agency’s Mars Express probe launches from the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan.
  • 2012 – Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the killing of demonstrators during the 2011 Egyptian revolution.
  • 2014 – Telangana officially becomes the 29th state of India, formed from ten districts of northwestern Andhra Pradesh.

Births on June 2 

  • 1305 – Abu Sa’id Bahadur Khan, ruler of Ilkhanate (d. 1335)
  • 1423 – Ferdinand I of Naples (d. 1494)
  • 1489 – Charles, Duke of Vendôme (d. 1537)
  • 1535 – Pope Leo XI (d. 1605)
  • 1602 – Rudolf Christian, Count of East Frisia, Ruler of East Frisia (d. 1628)
  • 1621 – Rutger von Ascheberg, Courland-born soldier in Swedish service (d. 1693)
  • 1621 – (baptized) Isaac van Ostade, Dutch painter (d. 1649)
  • 1638 – Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon (d. 1709)
  • 1644 – William Salmon, English medical writer (d. 1713)
  • 1739 – Jabez Bowen, American colonel and politician, 45th Deputy Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1815)
  • 1740 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher and politician (d. 1814)
  • 1743 – Alessandro Cagliostro, Italian occultist and explorer (d. 1795)
  • 1773 – John Randolph of Roanoke, American planter and politician, 8th United States Ambassador to Russia (d. 1833)
  • 1774 – William Lawson, English-Australian explorer and politician (d. 1850)
  • 1813 – Daniel Pollen, Irish-New Zealand politician, 9th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1896)
  • 1823 – Gédéon Ouimet, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Quebec (d. 1905)
  • 1835 – Pope Pius X (d. 1914)
  • 1838 – Duchess Alexandra Petrovna of Oldenburg (d. 1900)
  • 1840 – Thomas Hardy, English novelist and poet (d. 1928)
  • 1840 – Émile Munier, French artist (d. 1895)
  • 1857 – Edward Elgar, English composer and educator (d. 1934)
  • 1857 – Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Danish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
  • 1861 – Concordia Selander, Swedish actress and manager (d. 1935)
  • 1863 – Felix Weingartner, Croatian-Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1942)
  • 1865 – George Lohmann, English cricketer (d. 1901)
  • 1865 – Adelaide Casely-Hayford, Sierra Leone Creole advocate and activist for cultural nationalism (d. 1960)
  • 1869 – Jack O’Connor, American baseball player and manager (d. 1937)
  • 1875 – Charles Stewart Mott, American businessman and politician, 50th Mayor of Flint, Michigan (d. 1973)
  • 1878 – Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (d. 1912)
  • 1881 – Walter Egan, American golfer (d. 1971)
  • 1891 – Thurman Arnold, American lawyer and judge (d. 1969)
  • 1891 – Takijirō Ōnishi, Japanese admiral and pilot (d. 1945)
  • 1899 – Lotte Reiniger, German animator and director (d. 1981)
  • 1899 – Edwin Way Teale, American environmentalist and photographer (d. 1980)
  • 1904 – Frank Runacres, English painter and educator (d. 1974)
  • 1904 – Johnny Weissmuller, Hungarian-American swimmer and actor (d. 1984)
  • 1907 – Dorothy West, American journalist and author (d. 1998)
  • 1907 – John Lehmann, English poet and publisher (d. 1987)
  • 1910 – Hector Dyer, American sprinter (d. 1990)
  • 1911 – Joe McCluskey, American runner (d. 2002)
  • 1913 – Barbara Pym, English author (d. 1980)
  • 1913 – Elsie Tu, English-Hong Kong educator and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1914 – Johnny Bulla, American golfer (d. 2003)
  • 1915 – Alexandru Nicolschi, Romanian spy (d. 1992)
  • 1917 – Heinz Sielmann, German photographer and director (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Ruth Atkinson, Canadian-American illustrator (d. 1997)
  • 1918 – Kathryn Tucker Windham, American journalist and author (d. 2011)
  • 1919 – Nat Mayer Shapiro, American painter (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Frank G. Clement, American lawyer and politician, 41st Governor of Tennessee (d. 1969)
  • 1920 – Yolande Donlan, American-English actress (d. 2014)
  • 1920 – Marcel Reich-Ranicki, Polish-German author and critic (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Tex Schramm, American businessman (d. 2003)
  • 1920 – Johnny Speight, English screenwriter and producer (d. 1998)
  • 1921 – Betty Freeman, American photographer and philanthropist (d. 2009)
  • 1921 – Ernie Royal, American trumpet player (d. 1983)
  • 1921 – Sigmund Sternberg, Hungarian-English businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – András Szennay, Hungarian priest (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Juan Antonio Bardem, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2002)
  • 1922 – Carmen Silvera, Canadian-English actress (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Lloyd Shapley, American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
  • 1924 – June Callwood, Canadian journalist, author, and activist (d. 2007)
  • 1926 – Chiyonoyama Masanobu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 41st Yokozuna (d. 1977)
  • 1926 – Milo O’Shea, Irish-American actor (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – W. Watts Biggers, American author, screenwriter, and animator (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Colin Brittan, English footballer (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Christopher Slade, English lawyer and judge
  • 1928 – Erzsi Kovács, Hungarian singer (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Rafael A. Lecuona, Cuban-American gymnast and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Ron Reynolds, English footballer (d. 1999)
  • 1929 – Norton Juster, American architect, author, and academic
  • 1929 – Ken McGregor, Australian tennis player (d. 2007)
  • 1930 – Pete Conrad, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1999)
  • 1933 – Jerry Lumpe, American baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Lew “Sneaky Pete” Robinson, drag racer (d. 1971)
  • 1934 – Johnny Carter, American singer (d. 2009)
  • 1935 – Carol Shields, American-Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2003)
  • 1935 – Dimitri Kitsikis, Greek poet and educator
  • 1936 – Volodymyr Holubnychy, Ukrainian race walker
  • 1937 – Rosalyn Higgins, English lawyer and judge
  • 1937 – Sally Kellerman, American actress
  • 1937 – Jimmy Jones, American singer-songwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1937 – Robert Paul, Canadian figure skater and choreographer
  • 1937 – Deric Washburn, American screenwriter and playwright
  • 1938 – Kevin Brownlow, English historian and author
  • 1938 – George William Penrose, Lord Penrose, Scottish lawyer and judge
  • 1939 – Charles Miller, American musician (d. 1980)
  • 1939 – John Schlee, American golfer (d. 2000)
  • 1940 – Constantine II of Greece
  • 1941 – Ünal Aysal, Turkish businessman
  • 1941 – Stacy Keach, American actor
  • 1941 – Lou Nanne, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
  • 1941 – Charlie Watts, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
  • 1942 – Mike Ahern, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of Queensland
  • 1943 – Charles Haid, American actor and director
  • 1943 – Crescenzio Sepe, Italian cardinal
  • 1944 – Robert Elliott, American actor (d. 2004)
  • 1944 – Marvin Hamlisch, American composer and conductor (d. 2012)
  • 1945 – Richard Long, English painter, sculptor, and photographer
  • 1945 – Bonnie Newman, American businesswoman and politician
  • 1946 – Lasse Hallström, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1946 – Peter Sutcliffe, UK serial killer
  • 1948 – Jerry Mathers, American actor
  • 1949 – Heather Couper, English astronomer and physicist (d. 2020)
  • 1949 – Frank Rich, American journalist and critic
  • 1950 – Jonathan Evans, Welsh lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – Joanna Gleason, Canadian actress and singer
  • 1950 – Anne Phillips, English theorist and academic
  • 1950 – Momčilo Vukotić, Serbian footballer and manager
  • 1951 – Gilbert Baker, American artist, gay rights activist, and designer of the rainbow flag (d. 2017)
  • 1951 – Arnold Mühren, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1951 – Larry Robinson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1951 – Alexander Wylie, Lord Kinclaven, Scottish lawyer, judge, and educator
  • 1952 – Gary Bettman, American commissioner of the National Hockey League
  • 1953 – Vidar Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist
  • 1953 – Craig Stadler, American golfer
  • 1953 – Cornel West, American philosopher, author, and academic
  • 1954 – Dennis Haysbert, American actor and producer
  • 1955 – Dana Carvey, American comedian and actor
  • 1955 – Nandan Nilekani, Indian businessman, co-founded Infosys
  • 1955 – Mani Ratnam, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Michael Steele, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1956 – Jan Lammers, Dutch race car driver
  • 1957 – Mark Lawrenson, English footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Lex Luger, American wrestler and football player
  • 1959 – Rineke Dijkstra, Dutch photographer
  • 1959 – Lydia Lunch, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
  • 1959 – Erwin Olaf, Dutch photographer
  • 1960 – Olga Bondarenko, Russian runner
  • 1960 – Tony Hadley, English singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1960 – Kyle Petty, American race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1961 – Dez Cadena, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1962 – Mark Plaatjes, South African-American runner and coach
  • 1963 – Anand Abhyankar, Indian actor (d. 2012)
  • 1964 – Caroline Link, German director and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Russ Courtnall, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1965 – Mark Waugh, Australian cricketer and journalist
  • 1965 – Steve Waugh, Australian cricketer
  • 1966 – Dayana Cadeau, Haitian born Canadian-American professional bodybuilder
  • 1966 – Candace Gingrich, American activist
  • 1966 – Pedro Guerra, Spanish singer-songwriter
  • 1966 – Petra van Staveren, Dutch swimmer
  • 1967 – Remigija Nazarovienė, Lithuanian heptathlete and coach
  • 1967 – Mike Stanton, American baseball player
  • 1968 – Merril Bainbridge, Australian singer-songwriter
  • 1968 – Andy Cohen, American television host
  • 1969 – Kurt Abbott, American baseball player
  • 1969 – Paulo Sérgio, Brazilian footballer
  • 1969 – David Wheaton, American tennis player, radio host, and author
  • 1970 – B Real, American rapper and actor
  • 1971 – Kateřina Jacques, Czech translator and politician
  • 1972 – Wayne Brady, American actor, comedian, game show host, and singer
  • 1972 – Raúl Ibañez, American baseball player
  • 1972 – Wentworth Miller, American actor and screenwriter
  • 1973 – Marko Kristal, Estonian footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Neifi Pérez, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1974 – Gata Kamsky, Russian-American chess player
  • 1974 – Matt Serra, American mixed martial artist
  • 1975 – Salvatore Scibona, American author
  • 1976 – Earl Boykins, American basketball player
  • 1976 – Martin Čech, Czech ice hockey player (d. 2007)
  • 1976 – Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Brazilian mixed martial artist and boxer
  • 1976 – Tim Rice-Oxley, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1977 – Teet Allas, Estonian footballer
  • 1977 – A.J. Styles, American wrestler
  • 1977 – Zachary Quinto, American actor and producer
  • 1978 – Dominic Cooper, English actor
  • 1978 – Nikki Cox, American actress
  • 1978 – Justin Long, American actor
  • 1978 – Yi So-yeon, biotechnologist and astronaut, the first Korean in space
  • 1978 – Luke Williamson, Australian rugby league player
  • 1979 – Morena Baccarin, Brazilian-American actress
  • 1979 – Butterfly Boucher, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1979 – Natalia Rodríguez, Spanish runner
  • 1980 – Fabrizio Moretti, Brazilian-American drummer
  • 1980 – Bobby Simmons, American basketball player
  • 1980 – Richard Skuse, English rugby player
  • 1980 – Abby Wambach, American soccer player and coach
  • 1980 – Tomasz Wróblewski, Polish bass player and songwriter
  • 1981 – Nikolay Davydenko, Russian tennis player
  • 1981 – Chin-hui Tsao, Taiwanese baseball player
  • 1982 – Jewel Staite, Canadian actress
  • 1983 – Chris Higgins, American ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Leela James, American singer-songwriter
  • 1983 – Toni Livers, Swiss skier
  • 1983 – Brooke White, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1984 – Jack Afamasaga, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1984 – Max Boyer, Canadian wrestler
  • 1984 – Feleti Mateo, Australian-Tongan rugby league player
  • 1985 – Miyuki Sawashiro, Japanese voice actress and singer
  • 1985 – Maggie Thrash, American graphic novelist and writer
  • 1986 – Todd Carney, Australian rugby league player
  • 1987 – Maryka Holtzhausen, South African netball player
  • 1987 – Yoann Huget, French rugby player
  • 1987 – Matthew Koma, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1987 – Angelo Mathews, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1987 – Darin Zanyar, Swedish singer-songwriter
  • 1987 – Sonakshi Sinha, Indian actress
  • 1988 – Sergio Agüero, Argentinian footballer
  • 1988 – Patrik Berglund, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1988 – Staniliya Stamenova, Bulgarian canoeist
  • 1989 – Freddy Adu, Ghanaian-American footballer
  • 1989 – Steve Smith, Australian cricketer
  • 1990 – Jack Lowden, Scottish actor
  • 1992 – Pajtim Kasami, Swiss footballer
  • 1993 – Adam Taggart, Australian footballer
  • 1994 – Mike Grzesiek, Esports player and streamer
  • 1999 – Campbell Graham, Australian rugby league player
  • 2000 – Lilimar Hernandez, Venezuelan actress

Deaths on June 2 

  • 657 – Pope Eugene I
  • 891 – Al-Muwaffaq, Abbasid general (b. 842)
  • 910 – Richilde of Provence (b. 845)
  • 1200 – Bishop John of Oxford
  • 1258 – Peter I, Count of Urgell
  • 1292 – Rhys ap Maredudd, Welsh nobleman and rebel leader
  • 1418 – Katherine of Lancaster, queen of Henry III of Castile
  • 1453 – Álvaro de Luna, Duke of Trujillo, Constable of Castile
  • 1567 – Shane O’Neill, head of the O’Neill dynasty in Ireland (b. 1530)
  • 1572 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk (b. 1536)
  • 1581 – James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, Scottish soldier and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1525)
  • 1603 – Bernard of Wąbrzeźno, Roman Catholic priest (b. 1575)
  • 1693 – John Wildman, English soldier and politician, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom (b. 1621)
  • 1701 – Madeleine de Scudéry, French author (b. 1607)
  • 1716 – Ogata Kōrin, Japanese painter and educator (b. 1658)
  • 1754 – Ebenezer Erskine, Scottish minister and theologian (b. 1680)
  • 1761 – Jonas Alströmer, Swedish businessman (b. 1685)
  • 1785 – Jean Paul de Gua de Malves, French mathematician and academic (b. 1713)
  • 1806 – William Tate, English painter (b. 1747)
  • 1853 – Henry Trevor, 21st Baron Dacre, English general (b. 1777)
  • 1865 – Ner Middleswarth, American judge and politician (b. 1783)
  • 1875 – Józef Kremer, Polish psychologist, historian, and philosopher (b. 1806)
  • 1881 – Émile Littré, French lexicographer and philosopher (b. 1801)
  • 1882 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian general and politician (b. 1807)
  • 1901 – George Leslie Mackay, Canadian missionary and author (b. 1844)
  • 1927 – Hüseyin Avni Lifij, Turkish painter (b. 1886)
  • 1929 – Enrique Gorostieta, Mexican general (b. 1889)
  • 1933 – Frank Jarvis, American runner and triple jumper (b. 1878)
  • 1937 – Louis Vierne, French organist and composer (b. 1870)
  • 1941 – Lou Gehrig, American baseball player (b. 1903)
  • 1942 – Bunny Berigan, American singer and trumpet player (b. 1908)
  • 1947 – John Gretton, 1st Baron Gretton, English sailor and politician (b. 1867)
  • 1948 – Viktor Brack, German physician (b. 1904)
  • 1948 – Karl Brandt, German SS officer (b. 1904)
  • 1948 – Karl Gebhardt, German physician (b. 1897)
  • 1948 – Waldemar Hoven, German physician (b. 1903)
  • 1948 – Wolfram Sievers, German SS officer (b. 1905)
  • 1952 – Naum Torbov, Bulgarian architect, designed the Central Sofia Market Hall (b. 1880)
  • 1956 – Jean Hersholt, Danish-American actor and director (b. 1886)
  • 1959 – Lyda Borelli, Italian actress (b. 1884)
  • 1961 – George S. Kaufman, American director, producer, and playwright (b. 1889)
  • 1962 – Vita Sackville-West, English author and poet (b. 1892)
  • 1967 – Benno Ohnesorg, German student and activist (b. 1940)
  • 1968 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
  • 1969 – Leo Gorcey, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 1970 – Orhan Kemal, Turkish author (b. 1914)
  • 1970 – Albert Lamorisse, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 1970 – Bruce McLaren, New Zealand race car driver and engineer, founded the McLaren racing team (b. 1937)
  • 1970 – Giuseppe Ungaretti, Italian soldier, journalist, and academic (b. 1888)
  • 1974 – Hiroshi Kazato, Japanese race car driver (b. 1949)
  • 1976 – Kenneth Mason, English soldier and geographer (b. 1887)
  • 1976 – Juan José Torres, Bolivian general and politician, 61st President of Bolivia (b. 1920)
  • 1977 – Albert Bittlmayer, German footballer (b. 1952)
  • 1977 – Stephen Boyd, Northern Irish-born American actor (b. 1931)
  • 1978 – Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, Spanish footballer and coach (b. 1895)
  • 1979 – Jim Hutton, American actor (b. 1934)
  • 1982 – Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th President of Pakistan (b. 1904)
  • 1983 – Stan Rogers, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
  • 1983 – Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (b. 1913)
  • 1986 – Aurèle Joliat, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1901)
  • 1987 – Anthony de Mello, Indian-American priest and psychotherapist (b. 1931)
  • 1987 – Sammy Kaye, American bandleader and songwriter (b. 1910)
  • 1987 – Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (b. 1893)
  • 1988 – Raj Kapoor, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1924)
  • 1989 – Ted a’Beckett, Australian cricketer and footballer (b. 1907)
  • 1990 – Jack Gilford, American actor and comedian (b. 1908)
  • 1990 – Rex Harrison, English actor (b. 1908)
  • 1991 – Ahmed Arif, Turkish poet and author (b. 1927)
  • 1992 – Philip Dunne, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
  • 1993 – Johnny Mize, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1913)
  • 1993 – Tahar Djaout, Algerian journalist, writer and poet (b. 1954)
  • 1994 – David Stove, Australian philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1927)
  • 1996 – John Alton, Hungarian-American cinematographer and director (b. 1901)
  • 1996 – Leon Garfield, English author (b. 1921)
  • 1996 – Ray Combs, American game show host (b. 1956)
  • 1997 – Doc Cheatham, American trumpet player, singer, and bandleader (b. 1905)
  • 1999 – Junior Braithwaite, Jamaican singer (b. 1949)
  • 2000 – Svyatoslav Fyodorov, Russian ophthalmologist, academic, and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2000 – John Schlee, American golfer (b. 1939)
  • 2000 – Gerald James Whitrow, English mathematician, cosmologist, and historian (b. 1912)
  • 2001 – Imogene Coca, American actress and comedian (b. 1908)
  • 2001 – Joey Maxim, American boxer (b. 1922)
  • 2002 – Hugo van Lawick, Dutch director and photographer (b. 1937)
  • 2003 – Freddie Blassie, American wrestler and manager (b. 1918)
  • 2003 – Alma Ricard, Canadian broadcaster and philanthropist (b. 1906)
  • 2005 – Lucien Cliche, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
  • 2005 – Gunder Gundersen, Norwegian skier (b. 1930)
  • 2005 – Samir Kassir, Lebanese journalist and educator (b. 1950)
  • 2005 – Melita Norwood, English civil servant and spy (b. 1912)
  • 2006 – Keith Smith, English rugby player and coach (b. 1952)
  • 2007 – Kentarō Haneda, Japanese pianist and composer (b. 1949)
  • 2007 – Huang Ju, Chinese engineer and politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1938)
  • 2008 – Bo Diddley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
  • 2008 – Mel Ferrer, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 2008 – Cevher Özden, Turkish banker and businessman (b. 1933)
  • 2009 – David Eddings, American author (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Avraham Botzer, Polish-Israeli commander (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – Adolfo Calero, Nicaraguan businessman and political activist (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Richard Dawson, English-American soldier, actor, television personality, and game show host (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – LeRoy Ellis, American basketball player (b. 1940)
  • 2012 – Kathryn Joosten, American actress (b. 1939)
  • 2012 – Jan Gmelich Meijling, Dutch commander and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2013 – Mario Bernardi, Canadian pianist and conductor (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Chen Xitong, Chinese politician, 8th Mayor of Beijing (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Mandawuy Yunupingu, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1956)
  • 2014 – Ivica Brzić, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Anjan Das, Indian director and producer (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Gennadi Gusarov, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1937)
  • 2014 – Nikolay Khrenkov, Russian bobsledder (b. 1984)
  • 2014 – Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, Indian cardinal (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Kuaima Riruako, Namibian politician (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Alexander Shulgin, American pharmacologist and chemist (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Fernando de Araújo, East Timorese politician, President of East Timor (b. 1963)
  • 2015 – Irwin Rose, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
  • 2017 – Peter Sallis, English actor (b. 1921)

Holidays and observances on June 2 

  • Children’s Day (North Korea)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Alexander (martyr)
    • Elmo
    • Felix of Nicosia
    • Marcellinus and Peter
    • Martyrs of Lyon, including Blandina
    • Pope Eugene I
    • Pothinus
    • June 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Civil Aviation Day (Azerbaijan)
  • Coronation of King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, also Social Forestry Day (Bhutan)
  • Day of Hristo Botev (Bulgaria)
  • Decoration Day (Canada)
  • Festa della Repubblica (Italy)
  • International Sex Workers Day
  • Telangana Day (Telangana, India)

June 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 1215 – Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu.
  • 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León.
  • 1298 – Residents of Riga and Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida.
  • 1495 – A monk, John Cor, records the first known batch of Scotch whisky
  • 1533 – Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England.
  • 1535 – Combined forces loyal to Charles V attack and expel the Ottomans from Tunis during the Conquest of Tunis.
  • 1648 – The Roundheads defeat the Cavaliers at the Battle of Maidstone in the Second English Civil War.
  • 1649 – Start of the Sumuroy Revolt: Filipinos in Northern Samar led by Agustin Sumuroy revolt against Spanish colonial authorities.
  • 1670 – In Dover, England, Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover, which will force England into the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
  • 1676 – Battle of Öland: allied Danish-Dutch forces defeat the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, during the Scanian War (1675–79).
  • 1679 – The Scottish Covenanters defeat John Graham of Claverhouse at the Battle of Drumclog.
  • 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade rescues 14 sailors at the Cape of Good Hope from the sinking ship De Jonge Thomas by riding his horse into the sea seven times. He drowned on his eighth attempt.
  • 1779 – The court-martial for malfeasance of Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, begins.
  • 1792 – Kentucky is admitted as the 15th state of the United States.
  • 1794 – The battle of the Glorious First of June is fought, the first naval engagement between Britain and France during the French Revolutionary Wars.
  • 1796 – Tennessee is admitted as the 16th state of the United States.
  • 1812 – War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.
  • 1813 – Capture of USS Chesapeake.
  • 1815 – Napoleon promulgates a revised Constitution after it passes a plebiscite.
  • 1831 – James Clark Ross becomes the first European at the North Magnetic Pole.
  • 1849 – Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey declared the Territory of Minnesota officially established.
  • 1855 – The American adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua.
  • 1857 – Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal is published.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fairfax Court House is fought.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: The Battle of Seven Pines (or the Battle of Fair Oaks) ends inconclusively, with both sides claiming victory.
  • 1868 – The Treaty of Bosque Redondo is signed, allowing the Navajo to return to their lands in Arizona and New Mexico.
  • 1879 – Napoléon Eugène, the last dynastic Bonaparte, is killed in the Anglo-Zulu War.
  • 1890 – The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith’s tabulating machine to count census returns.
  • 1913 – The Greek–Serbian Treaty of Alliance is signed, paving the way for the Second Balkan War.
  • 1916 – Louis Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
  • 1918 – World War I: Western Front: Battle of Belleau Wood: Allied Forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord engage Imperial German Forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince.
  • 1922 – The Royal Ulster Constabulary is founded.
  • 1929 – The 1st Conference of the Communist Parties of Latin America is held in Buenos Aires.
  • 1930 – The Deccan Queen is introduced as first intercity train between Bombay VT (Now Mumbai CST) and Poona (Pune) to run on electric locomotives.
  • 1939 – First flight of the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Battle of Crete ends as Crete capitulates to Germany.
  • 1941 – The Farhud, a massive pogrom in Iraq, starts and as a result, many Iraqi Jews are forced to leave their homes.
  • 1943 – BOAC Flight 777 is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s, killing British actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that it was actually an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
  • 1946 – Ion Antonescu, “Conducator” (“Leader”) of Romania during World War II, is executed.
  • 1950 – The Chinchaga fire ignites. By September, it would become the largest single fire on record in North America.
  • 1958 – Charles de Gaulle comes out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months.
  • 1961 – The Canadian Bank of Commerce and Imperial Bank of Canada merge to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the largest bank merger in Canadian history.
  • 1962 – Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel.
  • 1964 – Kenya becomes a republic with Jomo Kenyatta (1897 – 22 August 1978) as its first President (1964 to 1978).
  • 1974 – The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine.
  • 1975 – The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded by Jalal Talabani, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Fuad Masum and others.
  • 1978 – The first international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty are filed.
  • 1979 – The first black-led government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 90 years takes power.
  • 1980 – Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.
  • 1988 – European Central Bank is founded in Brussels.
  • 1988 – The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty comes into effect.
  • 1990 – Cold War: George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production.
  • 1993 – Dobrinja mortar attack: Thirteen are killed and 133 wounded when Serb mortar shells are fired at a soccer game in Dobrinja, west of Sarajevo.
  • 1994 – Republic of South Africa becomes a Commonwealth republic.
  • 1999 – American Airlines Flight 1420 slides and crashes while landing at Little Rock National Airport, killing 11 people on a flight from Dallas to Little Rock.
  • 2001 – Nepalese royal massacre: Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal shoots and kills several members of his family including his father and mother.
  • 2001 – Dolphinarium discotheque massacre: A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21 at a disco in Tel Aviv.
  • 2004 – Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of a parole, breaking a Guinness World Record.
  • 2008 – A fire on the back lot of Universal Studios breaks out, destroying the attraction King Kong Encounter and a large archive of master tapes for music and film, the full extent of which was not revealed until 2019.
  • 2009 – Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew are killed.
  • 2009 – General Motors files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth largest United States bankruptcy in history.
  • 2011 – A rare tornado outbreak occurs in New England; a strong EF3 tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts, during the event, killing four people.
  • 2011 – Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its final landing after 25 flights.
  • 2015 – A ship carrying 458 people capsizes on Yangtze river in China’s Hubei province, killing 400 people.

Births on June 1

  • 1134 – Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (d. 1158)
  • 1300 – Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, English politician, Lord Marshal of England (d. 1338)
  • 1451 – Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney (d. 1508)
  • 1460 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1491)
  • 1480 – Tiedemann Giese, Polish bishop (d. 1550)
  • 1498 – Maarten van Heemskerck, Dutch painter (d. 1574)
  • 1522 – Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert, Dutch writer and scholar (d. 1590)
  • 1563 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Secretary of State for England (d. 1612)
  • 1612 – Frans Post, Dutch painter (d. 1680)
  • 1633 – Geminiano Montanari, Italian astronomer and academic (d. 1687)
  • 1637 – Jacques Marquette, French missionary and explorer (d. 1675)
  • 1653 – Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (d. 1704)
  • 1675 – Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist and playwright (d. 1755)
  • 1762 – Edmund Ignatius Rice, Irish priest and missionary, founded the Irish Christian Brothers (d. 1844)
  • 1765 – Christiane Vulpius, mistress and wife of Johann Wolfgang Goethe (d. 1816)
  • 1770 – Friedrich Laun, German author (d. 1849)
  • 1790 – Ferdinand Raimund, Austrian actor and playwright (d. 1836)
  • 1796 – Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, French physicist and engineer (d. 1832)
  • 1800 – Edward Deas Thomson, Australian educator and politician, Chief Secretary of New South Wales (d. 1879)
  • 1801 – Brigham Young, American religious leader, 2nd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1877)
  • 1804 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (d. 1857)
  • 1808 – Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1881)
  • 1815 – Otto of Greece (d. 1862)
  • 1819 – Francis V, Duke of Modena (d. 1875)
  • 1822 – Clementina Maude, Viscountess Hawarden, English portrait photographer (d. 1865)
  • 1825 – John Hunt Morgan, American general (d. 1864)
  • 1831 – John Bell Hood, American general (d. 1879)
  • 1833 – John Marshall Harlan, American lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General of Kentucky (d. 1911)
  • 1843 – Henry Faulds, Scottish physician and missionary, developed fingerprinting (d. 1930)
  • 1844 – John J. Toffey, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1911)
  • 1869 – Richard Wünsch, German philologist (d. 1915)
  • 1873 – Elena Alistar, Bessarabian politician (d. 1955)
  • 1874 – Yury Nikolaevich Voronov, Russian botanist (d. 1931)
  • 1878 – John Masefield, English author and poet (d. 1967)
  • 1879 – Max Emmerich, American triathlete and gymnast (d. 1956)
  • 1882 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan businessman and politician, Mayor of Chișinău (d. 1940)
  • 1887 – Clive Brook, English actor (d. 1974)
  • 1889 – James Daugherty, American author, illustrator, and painter (d. 1974)
  • 1889 – Charles Kay Ogden, English linguist and philosopher (d. 1957)
  • 1890 – Frank Morgan, American actor (d. 1949)
  • 1892 – Amanullah Khan, sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, (d. 1960)
  • 1899 – Edward Charles Titchmarsh, English mathematician and academic (d. 1963)
  • 1901 – Hap Day, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and manager (d. 1990)
  • 1901 – Tom Gorman, Australian rugby league player (d. 1978)
  • 1901 – John Van Druten, English-American playwright and director (d. 1957)
  • 1903 – Vasyl Velychkovsky, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop and martyr (d. 1973)
  • 1903 – Hans Vogt, Norwegian linguist and academic (d. 1986)
  • 1905 – Robert Newton, English-American actor (d. 1956)
  • 1907 – Jan Patočka, Czech philosopher (d. 1977)
  • 1907 – Frank Whittle, English airman and engineer, developed the jet engine (d. 1996)
  • 1908 – Julie Campbell Tatham, American author (d. 1999)
  • 1909 – Yechezkel Kutscher, Slovakian-Israeli philologist and linguist (d. 1971)
  • 1910 – Gyula Kállai, Hungarian communist leader, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People’s Republic of Hungary (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – Herbert Tichy, Austrian geologist, author, and mountaineer (d. 1987)
  • 1913 – Bill Deedes, English journalist and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1915 – John Randolph, American actor (d. 2004)
  • 1916 – Jean Jérôme Hamer, Belgian Cardinal (d. 1996)
  • 1917 – William Standish Knowles, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
  • 1920 – Robert Clarke, American actor and producer (d. 2005)
  • 1921 – Nelson Riddle, American composer and bandleader (d. 1985)
  • 1922 – Joan Caulfield, American model and actress (d. 1991)
  • 1922 – Povel Ramel, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (d. 2006)
  • 1925 – Dilia Díaz Cisneros, Venezuelan teacher (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Johnny Berry, English footballer (d. 1994)
  • 1926 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1926 – Marilyn Monroe, American model and actress (d. 1962)
  • 1926 – George Robb, English international footballer and teacher (d. 2011)
  • 1926 – Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. 2015)
  • 1928 – Georgy Dobrovolsky, Ukrainian pilot and astronaut (d. 1971)
  • 1928 – Steve Dodd, Australian actor and composer (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Bob Monkhouse, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1929 – Nargis, Indian actress (d. 1981)<ref”>Dilip Kumar (28 July 2014). Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow. Hay House, Inc. p. 137. ISBN 978-93-81398-96-8.</ref>
  • 1929 – James H. Billington, American academic and Thirteenth Librarian of Congress (d. 2018)
  • 1930 – John Lemmon, English logician and philosopher (d. 1966)
  • 1930 – Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (d. 2016)
  • 1930 – Matt Poore, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2020)
  • 1930 – Edward Woodward, English actor (d. 2009)
  • 1931 – Walter Horak, Austrian footballer (d. 2019)
  • 1932 – Frank Cameron, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1932 – Christopher Lasch, American historian and critic (d. 1994)
  • 1933 – Haruo Remeliik, Palauan politician, 1st President of Palau (d. 1985)
  • 1933 – Charles Wilson, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Pat Boone, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1934 – Peter Masterson, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1934 – Doris Buchanan Smith, American author (d. 2002)
  • 1935 – Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, English architect, founded Foster and Partners
  • 1935 – Reverend Ike, American minister and television host (d. 2009)
  • 1935 – Jack Kralick, American baseball player (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Percy Adlon, German director, screenwriter and producer
  • 1935 – John C. Reynolds, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Anatoly Albul, Soviet and Russian wrestler (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – André Bourbeau, Canadian politician (d. 2018)
  • 1936 – Bekim Fehmiu, Bosnian actor (d. 2010)
  • 1936 – Gerald Scarfe, English illustrator and animator
  • 1937 – Morgan Freeman, American actor and producer
  • 1937 – Rosaleen Linehan, Irish actress
  • 1937 – Colleen McCullough, Australian neuroscientist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1939 – Cleavon Little, American actor and comedian (d. 1992)
  • 1940 – René Auberjonois, American actor (d. 2019)
  • 1940 – Katerina Gogou, Greek writer and actress (d. 1993)
  • 1940 – Kip Thorne, American physicist, astronomer, and academic
  • 1941 – Dean Chance, American baseball player and manager (d. 2015)
  • 1941 – Toyo Ito, Japanese architect, designed the Torre Realia BCN and Hotel Porta Fira
  • 1941 – Alexander V. Zakharov, Russian physicist and astronomer
  • 1942 – Parveen Kumar, Pakistani-English physician and academic
  • 1943 – Orietta Berti, Italian singer and actress
  • 1943 – Richard Goode, American pianist
  • 1943 – Lorrie Wilmot, South African cricketer (d. 2004)
  • 1944 – Colin Blakemore, British neurobiologist
  • 1944 – Robert Powell, English actor
  • 1945 – Jim McCarty, American blues rock guitarist
  • 1945 – Linda Scott, American singer
  • 1945 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress (d. 2008)
  • 1945 – Kerry Vincent, Australian chef and author
  • 1945 – Frederica von Stade, American soprano and actress
  • 1946 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
  • 1947 – Ron Dennis, English businessman, founded the McLaren Group
  • 1947 – Jonathan Pryce, Welsh actor and singer
  • 1947 – Ronnie Wood, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1948 – Powers Boothe, American actor (d. 2017)
  • 1948 – Tomáš Halík, Czech Roman Catholic priest, philosopher, theologian and scholar
  • 1948 – Michel Plasse, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2006)
  • 1948 – Juhan Viiding, Estonian poet and actor (d. 1995)
  • 1950 – Perrin Beatty, Canadian businessman and politician
  • 1950 – Charlene, American singer-songwriter
  • 1950 – Jean Lambert, English educator and politician
  • 1950 – Michael McDowell, American author and screenwriter (d. 1999)
  • 1952 – Şenol Güneş, Turkish footballer and manager
  • 1952 – David Lan, South African-English director and playwright
  • 1952 – Mihaela Loghin, Romanian shot putter
  • 1953 – Ronnie Dunn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1953 – Ted Field, American entrepreneur and race car driver
  • 1954 – Jill Black, English lawyer and judge
  • 1955 – Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 2016)
  • 1955 – Lorraine Moller, New Zealand runner
  • 1955 – Tony Snow, American journalist, 26th White House Press Secretary (d. 2008)
  • 1956 – Patrick Besson, French writer and journalist
  • 1956 – Lisa Hartman Black, American actress
  • 1956 – Petra Morsbach, German author
  • 1958 – Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Mongolian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Mongolia
  • 1958 – Gennadiy Valyukevich, Belarusian triple jumper (d. 2019)
  • 1959 – Martin Brundle, English racing driver and sportscaster
  • 1959 – Alan Wilder, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1960 – Simon Gallup, English musician (The Cure)
  • 1960 – Vladimir Krutov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1960 – Sergey Kuznetsov, Russian footballer and manager
  • 1960 – Giorgos Lillikas, Cypriot politician, 8th Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1960 – Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (d. 2006)
  • 1961 – Paul Coffey, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1961 – Mark Curry, American actor
  • 1961 – Werner Günthör, Swiss shot putter and bobsledder
  • 1961 – John Huston, American golfer
  • 1961 – Peter Machajdík, Slovakian-German pianist and composer
  • 1963 – Vital Borkelmans, Belgian footballer
  • 1963 – Miles J. Padgett, Scottish physicist and academic
  • 1963 – David Westhead, English actor and producer
  • 1965 – Larisa Lazutina, Russian skier
  • 1965 – Olga Nazarova, Russian sprinter
  • 1965 – Nigel Short, English chess player and journalist
  • 1966 – Greg Schiano, American football player and coach
  • 1968 – Jason Donovan, Australian actor and singer
  • 1968 – Jeff Hackett, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1968 – Mathias Rust, German aviator
  • 1969 – Luis García Postigo, former Mexican footballer
  • 1969 – Teri Polo, American actress
  • 1970 – Georgie Gardner, Australian journalist and television host
  • 1970 – Alexi Lalas, American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Mario Cimarro, Cuban-American actor and singer
  • 1973 – Frédérik Deburghgraeve, Belgian swimmer
  • 1973 – Adam Garcia, Australian actor
  • 1973 – Derek Lowe, American baseball player
  • 1973 – Heidi Klum, German-American model, fashion designer, and producer
  • 1974 – Alanis Morissette, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actress
  • 1974 – Michael Rasmussen, Danish cyclist
  • 1974 – Sarah Teather, English politician
  • 1974 – Akis Zikos, Greek footballer and coach
  • 1975 – Michal Grošek, Czech-Swiss ice hockey player and coach
  • 1975 – Frauke Petry, German politician
  • 1975 – Ēriks Rags, Latvian javelin thrower
  • 1976 – Marlon Devonish, English sprinter and coach
  • 1976 – Kōhei Murakami, Japanese actor
  • 1977 – Andrea Bogart, American actress
  • 1977 – Arsen Gitinov, Russian and Kyrgyzstani freestyle wrestler
  • 1977 – Danielle Harris, American actress
  • 1977 – Brad Wilkerson, American baseball player and coach
  • 1977 – Sarah Wayne Callies, American actress
  • 1978 – Antonietta Di Martino, Italian high jumper
  • 1978 – Matthew Hittinger, American poet and author
  • 1979 – Santana Moss, American football player
  • 1979 – Markus Persson, Swedish game designer, founded Mojang
  • 1981 – Brandi Carlile, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1981 – Amy Schumer, American actress
  • 1981 – Carlos Zambrano, Venezuelan-American baseball player
  • 1981 – Aleksei Mikhailovich Uvarov, Russian footballer
  • 1982 – Justine Henin, Belgian tennis player
  • 1983 – Tetyana Hamera-Shmyrko, Ukrainian runner
  • 1983 – Tõnis Sahk, Estonian long jumper
  • 1984 – Jean Beausejour, Chilean footballer
  • 1984 – Olivier Tielemans, Dutch racing driver
  • 1985 – Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
  • 1985 – Mário Hipólito, Angolan footballer
  • 1985 – Dinesh Karthik, Indian cricketer
  • 1985 – Nick Young, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Sam Young, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Moses Ndiema Masai, Kenyan runner
  • 1986 – Chinedu Obasi, Nigerian footballer
  • 1986 – Ben Smith, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1987 – Zoltán Harsányi, Slovakian footballer
  • 1987 – Jerel McNeal, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Yarisley Silva, Cuban pole vaulter
  • 1988 – Javier Hernández, Mexican footballer
  • 1989 – Nataliya Goncharova, Ukrainian/Russian volleyball player
  • 1989 – Sammy Alex Mutahi, Kenyan runner
  • 1990 – Miller Bolaños, Ecuadoran footballer
  • 1990 – Kennie Chopart, Danish footballer
  • 1990 – Carlota Ciganda, Spanish golfer
  • 1990 – Martin Pembleton, English footballer
  • 1990 – Bianca Perie, Romanian hammer thrower
  • 1991 – Tyrone Roberts, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Sam Anas, American ice hockey player
  • 1994 – Kagayaki Taishi, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1996 – Edvinas Gertmonas, Lithuanian footballer
  • 1996 – Tom Holland, English actor
  • 1999 – Dmitri Aliev, Russian figure skater

Deaths on June 1

  • 195 BC – Emperor Gaozu of Han (b. 256 BC)
  • 193 – Didius Julianus, Roman Emperor (b. 133)
  • 352 – Ran Min, “Heavenly Prince” (Tian Wang) during the Sixteen Kingdoms
  • 654 – Pyrrhus, patriarch of Constantinople
  • 829 – Li Tongjie, general of the Tang Dynasty
  • 847 – Xiao, empress of the Tang Dynasty
  • 896 – Theodosius Romanus, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
  • 932 – Thietmar, duke of Saxony
  • 1146 – Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess regent of Brittany (b. 1068)
  • 1186 – Minamoto no Yukiie, Japanese warlord
  • 1220 – Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford (b. 1176)
  • 1310 – Marguerite Porete, French mystic
  • 1354 – Kitabatake Chikafusa (b. 1293)
  • 1434 – King Wladislaus II of Poland
  • 1571 – John Story, English martyr (b. 1504)
  • 1616 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shogun (b. 1543)
  • 1625 – Honoré d’Urfé, French author and poet (b. 1568)
  • 1639 – Melchior Franck, German composer (b. 1579)
  • 1660 – Mary Dyer, English-American martyr (b. 1611)
  • 1662 – Zhu Youlang, Chinese emperor (b. 1623)
  • 1681 – Cornelis Saftleven, Dutch genre painter (b. 1607)
  • 1710 – David Mitchell, Scottish admiral and politician (b. 1642)
  • 1740 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian (b. 1657)
  • 1769 – Edward Holyoke, American pastor and academic (b. 1689)
  • 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade, South African folk hero (b. 1708)
  • 1795 – Pierre-Joseph Desault, French anatomist and surgeon (b. 1744)
  • 1815 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1753)
  • 1823 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1770)
  • 1826 – J. F. Oberlin, French pastor and philanthropist (b. 1740)
  • 1830 – Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader (b. 1781)
  • 1833 – Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut (b. 1760)
  • 1841 – David Wilkie, Scottish painter and academic (b. 1785)
  • 1846 – Pope Gregory XVI (b. 1765)
  • 1861 – John Quincy Marr, American captain (b. 1825)
  • 1864 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebel, led the Taiping Rebellion (b. 1812)
  • 1868 – James Buchanan, American lawyer and politician, 15th President of the United States (b. 1791)
  • 1872 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr., American publisher, founded the New York Herald (b. 1795)
  • 1873 – Joseph Howe, Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1804)
  • 1876 – Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and journalist (b. 1848)
  • 1879 – Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France (b. 1856)
  • 1908 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter (b. 1867)
  • 1927 – Lizzie Borden, American accused murderer (b. 1860)
  • 1927 – J. B. Bury, Irish historian, philologist, and scholar (b. 1861)
  • 1934 – Sir Alfred Rawlinson, 3rd Baronet, English colonel and polo player (b. 1867)
  • 1935 – Arthur Arz von Straußenburg, Romanian-Hungarian general (d. 1857)
  • 1938 – Ödön von Horváth, Croatian-French author and playwright (b. 1901)
  • 1941 – Hans Berger, German neurologist and academic (b. 1873)
  • 1941 – Hugh Walpole, New Zealand-English author (b. 1884)
  • 1943 – Leslie Howard, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
  • 1943 – Wilfrid Israel, English-German businessman and philanthropist (b. 1899)
  • 1946 – Ion Antonescu, Romanian marshal and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1882)
  • 1948 – Alex Gard, Russian-American cartoonist (b. 1900)
  • 1952 – John Dewey, American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1859)
  • 1953 – Emanuel Vidović, Croatian painter and illustrator (b. 1870)
  • 1954 – Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish-German journalist and author (b. 1869)
  • 1960 – Lester Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1883)
  • 1960 – Paula Hitler, German-Austrian sister of Adolf Hitler (b. 1896)
  • 1962 – Adolf Eichmann, a German Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer (b. 1906)
  • 1963 – Walter Lee, Australian politician, 24th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1874)
  • 1965 – Curly Lambeau, American football player and coach, founded the Green Bay Packers (b. 1898)
  • 1966 – Papa Jack Laine, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1873)
  • 1968 – Helen Keller, American author and activist (b. 1880)
  • 1968 – André Laurendeau, Canadian playwright, journalist, and politician (b. 1912)
  • 1969 – Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1904)
  • 1971 – Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologian and academic (b. 1892)
  • 1979 – Werner Forssmann, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
  • 1980 – Arthur Nielsen, American businessman, founded the ACNielsen company (b. 1897)
  • 1981 – Carl Vinson, American lawyer and politician (b. 1883)
  • 1983 – Prince Charles, Count of Flanders (b. 1903)
  • 1985 – Richard Greene, English actor and soldier (b. 1918)
  • 1986 – Jo Gartner, Austrian racing driver (b. 1958)
  • 1987 – Rashid Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1921)
  • 1988 – Herbert Feigl, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1902)
  • 1989 – Aurelio Lampredi, Italian engineer, designed the Ferrari Lampredi engine (b. 1917)
  • 1991 – David Ruffin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
  • 1996 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian politician, 6th President of India (b. 1913)
  • 1999 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer, invented the hovercraft (b. 1910)
  • 2000 – Tito Puente, American drummer, composer, and producer (b. 1923)
  • 2001 – Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist, created Dennis the Menace (b. 1920)
  • 2001 – notable victims of the Nepalese royal massacre
    • Aishwarya of Nepal (b. 1949)
    • Birendra of Nepal (b. 1945)
    • Dhirendra of Nepal (b. 1950)
    • Prince Nirajan of Nepal (b. 1978)
    • Princess Shruti of Nepal (b. 1976)
  • 2002 – Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (b. 1969)
  • 2004 – William Manchester, American historian and author (b. 1922)
  • 2005 – Hilda Crosby Standish, American physician (b. 1902)
  • 2005 – George Mikan, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
  • 2007 – Tony Thompson, American singer and songwriter (Hi-Five) (b. 1975)
  • 2008 – Tommy Lapid, Israeli journalist and politician, 17th Justice Minister of Israel (b. 1931)
  • 2008 – Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion designer, founded Saint Laurent Paris (b. 1936)
  • 2009 – Bob Christie, American race car driver (b. 1924)
  • 2009 – Vincent O’Brien, Irish horse trainer (b. 1917)
  • 2010 – Kazuo Ohno, Japanese dancer (b. 1906)
  • 2010 – Andrei Voznesensky, Russian poet (b. 1933)
  • 2011 – Haleh Sahabi, Iranian humanitarian and activist (b. 1957)
  • 2012 – Faruq Z. Bey, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1942)
  • 2012 – Pádraig Faulkner, Irish educator and politician, 19th Irish Minister of Defence (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Milan Gaľa, Slovak politician (b. 1953)
  • 2013 – James Kelleher, Canadian lawyer and politician, 33rd Solicitor General of Canada (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Ann B. Davis, American actress (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian sailor (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Charles Kennedy, Scottish journalist and politician (b. 1959)
  • 2015 – Joan Kirner, Australian educator and politician, 42nd Premier of Victoria (b. 1938)
  • 2015 – Nicholas Liverpool, Dominican lawyer and politician, 6th President of Dominica (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Jacques Parizeau, Canadian economist and politician, 26th Premier of Quebec (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Jean Ritchie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2018 – Sinan Sakić, Serbian pop-folk singer (b. 1956)
  • 2019 – Ani Yudhoyono, Indonesian politician, 6th First Lady of Indonesia. (b. 1952)

Holidays and observances on June 1

  • Children’s Day (International), and its related observances:
    • The Day of Protection of Children Rights (Armenia)
    • Mothers’ and Children’s Day (Mongolia)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Annibale Maria di Francia
    • Crescentinus
    • Fortunatus of Spoleto
    • Herculanus of Piegaro
    • Íñigo of Oña
    • Justin Martyr (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran)
    • Ronan of Locronan
    • June 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Canadian Forces Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Canada)
  • Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Lithuania)
  • Earliest day on which June Holiday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (Ireland)
  • Earliest day on which Labour Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday in June. (The Bahamas)
  • Earliest day on which Teacher’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Hungary)
  • Earliest day on which the Queen’s Birthday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji)
  • Earliest day on which Seamen’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Iceland)
  • Earliest day on which Western Australia Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Western Australia)
  • Global Day of Parents (International)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Samoa from New Zealand in 1962.
  • Madaraka Day (Kenya)
  • National Maritime Day (Mexico)
  • National Tree Planting Day (Cambodia)
  • Pancasila Day (Indonesia)
  • President’s Day (Palau)
  • The beginning of Crop over, celebrated until the first Monday of August. (Barbados)
  • Victory Day (Tunisia)
  • World Milk Day (International)

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

On This Day

May 31- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day, Uncategorized /
  • 455 – Emperor Petronius Maximus is stoned to death by an angry mob while fleeing Rome.
  • 1223 – Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River: Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus’ and Cumans.
  • 1293 – Mongol invasion of Java was a punitive expedition against King Kertanegara of Singhasari, who had refused to pay tribute to the Yuan and maimed one of its ministers. However, it ended with failure for the Mongols. Regarded as establish City of Surabaya
  • 1578 – King Henry III lays the first stone of the Pont Neuf (New Bridge), the oldest bridge of Paris, France.
  • 1669 – Citing poor eyesight as a reason, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.
  • 1775 – American Revolution: The Mecklenburg Resolves are adopted in the Province of North Carolina.
  • 1790 – Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
  • 1790 – The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.
  • 1795 – French Revolution: The Revolutionary Tribunal is suppressed.
  • 1805 – French and Spanish forces begin the assault against British forces occupying Diamond Rock.
  • 1813 – In Australia, William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth reach Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains.
  • 1859 – The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston and G.W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: The Army of Northern Virginia engages the Army of the Potomac.
  • 1879 – Gilmore’s Garden in New York City is renamed Madison Square Garden by William Henry Vanderbilt and is opened to the public at 26th Street and Madison Avenue.
  • 1884 – The arrival at Plymouth of Tāwhiao, King of Maoris, to claim the protection of Queen Victoria.
  • 1889 – Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam fails and sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
  • 1902 – Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.
  • 1909 – The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), convenes for the first time.
  • 1910 – The South Africa Act comes into force, establishing the Union of South Africa.
  • 1911 – The RMS Titanic is launched in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
  • 1911 – The President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz flees the country during the Mexican Revolution.
  • 1916 – World War I: Battle of Jutland: The British Grand Fleet engages the High Seas Fleet in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.
  • 1921 – The Tulsa race massacre kills at least 39, but other estimates of black fatalities vary from 55 to about 300.
  • 1935 – A 7.7 Mw  earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan killing 40,000.
  • 1941 – Anglo-Iraqi War: The United Kingdom completes the re-occupation of Iraq and returns ‘Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II.
  • 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.
  • 1947 – Ferenc Nagy, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Hungary, resigns from office after blackmail from the Hungarian Communist Party accusing him of being part of a plot against the state. This grants the Communists effective control of the Hungarian government.
  • 1961 – The South African Constitution of 1961 becomes effective, thus creating the Republic of South Africa, which remains outside the Commonwealth of Nations until 1 June 1994, when South Africa is returned to Commonwealth membership.
  • 1961 – In Moscow City Court, the Rokotov–Faibishenko show trial begins, despite the Khrushchev Thaw to reverse Stalinist elements in Soviet society.
  • 1962 – The West Indies Federation dissolves.
  • 1970 – The 7.9 Mw  Ancash earthquake shakes Peru with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe) and a landslide buries the town of Yungay, Peru. Between 66,794–70,000 were killed and 50,000 were injured.
  • 1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.
  • 1973 – The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War.
  • 1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is completed.
  • 1985 – United States–Canada tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.
  • 1991 – Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations’ UNAVEM II mission.
  • 2005 – Vanity Fair reveals that Mark Felt was “Deep Throat”.
  • 2008 – Usain Bolt breaks the world record in the 100m sprint, with a wind-legal (+1.7 m/s) 9.72 seconds
  • 2010 – Israeli Shayetet 13 commandos boarded the Gaza Freedom Flotilla while still in international waters trying to break the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip; nine Turkish citizens on the flotilla were killed in the ensuing violent affray.
  • 2013 – The asteroid 1998 QE2 and its moon make their closest approach to Earth for the next two centuries.
  • 2013 – A record breaking 2.6 mile wide tornado strikes El Reno, Oklahoma, United States, causing eight fatalities and over 150 injuries.
  • 2017 – A car bomb explodes in a crowded intersection in Kabul near the German embassy during rush hour, killing over 90 and injuring 463.
  • 2017 – U.S. President Donald Trump tweets the word “covfefe” and quickly becomes a worldwide viral phenomenon.
  • 2019 – A shooting occurs inside a municipal building at Virginia Beach, Virginia, leaving 13 people dead, including the shooter, and four others injured.

Births on May 31

  • 1443 (or 1441) – Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (d. 1509)
  • 1462 – Philipp II, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1504)
  • 1469 – Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)
  • 1535 – Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)
  • 1556 – Jerzy Radziwiłł, Catholic cardinal (d. 1600)
  • 1577 – Nur Jahan, Empress consort of the Mughal Empire (d. 1645)
  • 1613 – John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)
  • 1640 – Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki, King of Poland (d. 1673)
  • 1641 – Patriarch Dositheos II of Jerusalem (d. 1707)
  • 1725 – Ahilyabai Holkar, Queen of the Malwa Kingdom under the Maratha Empire (d. 1795)
  • 1732 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Austrian archbishop (d. 1812)
  • 1753 – Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French lawyer and politician (d. 1793)
  • 1754 – Andrea Appiani, Italian painter and educator (d. 1817)
  • 1773 – Ludwig Tieck, German poet, author, and critic (d. 1853)
  • 1801 – Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1887)
  • 1815 – Adye Douglas, English-Australian cricketer and politician, 15th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1906)
  • 1818 – John Albion Andrew, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1867)
  • 1819 – Walt Whitman, American poet, essayist, and journalist (d. 1892)
  • 1827 – Kusumoto Ine, first Japanese female doctor of Western medicine (d. 1903)
  • 1835 – Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese commander (d. 1869)
  • 1838 – Henry Sidgwick, English economist and philosopher (d. 1900)
  • 1842 – John Cox Bray, Australian politician, 15th Premier of South Australia (d. 1894)
  • 1847 – William Pirrie, 1st Viscount Pirrie, Canadian-Irish businessman and politician, Lord Mayor of Belfast (d. 1924)
  • 1852 – Francisco Moreno, Argentinian explorer and academic (d. 1919)
  • 1852 – Julius Richard Petri, German microbiologist, invented the Petri dish (d. 1921)
  • 1857 – Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)
  • 1858 – Graham Wallas, English socialist, social psychologist, and educationalist (d. 1932)
  • 1860 – Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)
  • 1863 – Francis Younghusband, Indian-English captain and explorer (d. 1942)
  • 1866 – John Ringling, American entrepreneur; one of the founders of the Ringling Brothers Circus (d. 1936)
  • 1875 – Rosa May Billinghurst, British suffragette and women’s rights activist (d.1953)
  • 1879 – Frances Alda, New Zealand-Australian soprano (d. 1952)
  • 1882 – Sándor Festetics, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of War (d. 1956)
  • 1883 – Lauri Kristian Relander, Finnish politician, 2nd President of Finland (d. 1942)
  • 1885 – Robert Richards, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of South Australia (d. 1967)
  • 1887 – Saint-John Perse, French poet and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
  • 1892 – Michel Kikoine, Belarusian-French painter (d. 1968)
  • 1892 – Erich Neumann, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1951)
  • 1892 – Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian poet and author (d. 1968)
  • 1892 – Gregor Strasser, German lieutenant and politician (d. 1934)
  • 1894 – Fred Allen, American comedian, radio host, game show panelist, and author (d. 1956)
  • 1898 – Norman Vincent Peale, American minister and author (d. 1993)
  • 1900 – Lucile Godbold, American Olympic athlete (d. 1981)
  • 1901 – Alfredo Antonini, Italian-American conductor and composer (d. 1983)
  • 1908 – Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)
  • 1909 – Art Coulter, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2000)
  • 1911 – Maurice Allais, French economist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
  • 1912 – Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American experimental physicist (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer and educator (d. 2006)
  • 1916 – Bert Haanstra, Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
  • 1918 – Robert Osterloh, American actor (d. 2001)
  • 1918 – Lloyd Quarterman, African American chemist (d. 1982)
  • 1919 – Robie Macauley, American editor, novelist and critic (d. 1995)
  • 1921 – Edna Doré, English actress (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Andrew Grima, Anglo-Italian jewellery designer (d. 2007)
  • 1921 – Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer (d. 2008)
  • 1921 – Alida Valli, Austrian-Italian actress and singer (d. 2006)
  • 1922 – Denholm Elliott, English-Spanish actor (d. 1992)
  • 1923 – Ellsworth Kelly, American painter and sculptor (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)
  • 1925 – Julian Beck, American actor and director (d. 1986)
  • 1927 – James Eberle, English admiral (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – Michael Sandberg, Baron Sandberg, English lieutenant and banker (d. 2017)
  • 1928 – Pankaj Roy, Indian cricketer (d. 2001)
  • 1929 – Menahem Golan, Israeli director and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Clint Eastwood, American actor, director, musician, and producer
  • 1931 – John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Shirley Verrett, American soprano and actress (d. 2010)
  • 1932 – Ed Lincoln, Brazilian pianist, bassist, and composer (d. 2012)
  • 1932 – Jay Miner, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 1994)
  • 1933 – Henry B. Eyring, American religious leader, educator, and author
  • 1934 – Jim Hutton, American actor (d. 1979)
  • 1935 – Jim Bolger, New Zealand businessman and politician, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand
  • 1938 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
  • 1938 – John Prescott, British sailor and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • 1938 – Peter Yarrow, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1939 – Terry Waite, English humanitarian and author
  • 1940 – Anatoliy Bondarchuk, Ukrainian hammer thrower and coach
  • 1940 – Augie Meyers, American musician and singer-songwriter
  • 1940 – Gilbert Shelton, American illustrator
  • 1941 – June Clark, Welsh nurse and educator
  • 1941 – Louis Ignarro, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – William Nordhaus, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1943 – Sharon Gless, American actress
  • 1943 – Joe Namath, American football player, sportscaster, and actor
  • 1945 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
  • 1945 – Laurent Gbagbo, Ivorian academic and politician, 4th President of Côte d’Ivoire
  • 1945 – Bernard Goldberg, American journalist and author
  • 1946 – Ted Baehr, American publisher and critic
  • 1946 – Steve Bucknor, Jamaican cricketer and umpire
  • 1946 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician, and diplomat (d. 2009)
  • 1946 – Debbie Moore, English model and businesswoman
  • 1947 – Junior Campbell, Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1947 – Gabriele Hinzmann, German discus thrower
  • 1948 – Svetlana Alexievich, Belarusian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1948 – John Bonham, English musician, songwriter and drummer (d. 1980)
  • 1948 – Martin Hannett, English bass player, guitarist, and record producer (d. 1991)
  • 1948 – Duncan Hunter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician
  • 1949 – Tom Berenger, American actor, film producer and television writer
  • 1950 – Jean Chalopin, French director, producer, and screenwriter, founded DIC Entertainment
  • 1950 – Gregory Harrison, American actor
  • 1950 – Edgar Savisaar, Estonian politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior
  • 1951 – Karl-Hans Riehm, German hammer thrower
  • 1952 – Karl Bartos, German singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1953 – Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor and screenwriter
  • 1954 – Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer
  • 1954 – Vicki Sue Robinson, American actress and singer (d. 2000)
  • 1955 – Tommy Emmanuel, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1955 – Susie Essman, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter
  • 1956 – Fritz Hilpert, German drummer and composer
  • 1956 – John Young, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1957 – Jim Craig, American ice hockey player
  • 1959 – Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver (d. 2014)
  • 1959 – Phil Wilson, English politician
  • 1960 – Greg Adams, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman
  • 1960 – Chris Elliott, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Peter Winterbottom, English rugby player
  • 1961 – Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1961 – Justin Madden, Australian footballer and politician
  • 1961 – Lea Thompson, American actress, director, and producer
  • 1962 – Corey Hart, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1963 – David Leigh, holder of the Sir Samuel Hall Chair of Chemistry at the University of Manchester
  • 1963 – Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician, 38th Prime Minister of Hungary
  • 1963 – Wesley Willis, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2003)
  • 1964 – Leonard Asper, Canadian lawyer and businessman
  • 1964 – Stéphane Caristan, French hurdler and coach
  • 1964 – Yukio Edano, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs
  • 1964 – Darryl “D.M.C.” McDaniels, American rapper and producer
  • 1965 – Brooke Shields, American model, actress, and producer
  • 1966 – Roshan Mahanama, Sri Lankan cricketer and referee
  • 1967 – Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television host and producer
  • 1967 – Kenny Lofton, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Arun Luthra, Indo-Anglo-American saxophonist, konnakol artist, composer, and arranger
  • 1972 – Christian McBride, American bassist and record producer
  • 1972 – Archie Panjabi, Indo-British actress
  • 1972 – Frode Estil, Norwegian skier
  • 1972 – Antti Niemi, Finnish international footballer, goalkeeper and coach
  • 1972 – Dave Roberts, American baseball player and coach
  • 1974 – Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Japanese comedian and singer
  • 1974 – Chad Campbell, American golfer
  • 1975 – Mac Suzuki, Japanese baseball player
  • 1976 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor
  • 1976 – Matt Harpring, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1977 – Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-Greek volleyball player
  • 1977 – Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer
  • 1977 – Eric Christian Olsen, American actor
  • 1977 – Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer
  • 1977 – Petr Tenkrát, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Jean-François Gillet, Belgian footballer
  • 1981 – Mikael Antonsson, Swedish footballer
  • 1981 – Daniele Bonera, Italian footballer
  • 1981 – Jake Peavy, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Marlies Schild, Austrian skier
  • 1984 – Andrew Bailey, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Milorad Čavić, Serbian swimmer
  • 1984 – Nate Robinson, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Jordy Nelson, American football player
  • 1986 – Robert Gesink, Dutch cyclist
  • 1989 – Marco Reus, German footballer
  • 1990 – Erik Karlsson, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Michaël Bournival, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Laura Ikauniece, Latvian heptathlete
  • 1996 – Normani Korde, American singer
  • 1998 – Santino Ferrucci, American race car driver

Deaths on May 31

  • 455 – Petronius Maximus, Roman emperor (b. 396)
  • 930 – Liu Hua, princess of Southern Han (b. 896)
  • 960 – Fujiwara no Morosuke, Japanese statesman (b. 909)
  • 1076 – Waltheof, Earl of Northumbria, English politician (b. 1050)
  • 1089 – Sigwin von Are, archbishop of Cologne
  • 1162 – Géza II, king of Hungary (b. 1130)
  • 1321 – Birger, king of Sweden (b. 1280)
  • 1326 – Maurice de Berkeley, 2nd Baron Berkeley (b. 1271)
  • 1329 – Albertino Mussato, Italian statesman and writer (b. 1261)
  • 1349 – Thomas Wake, English politician (b. 1297)
  • 1370 – Vitalis of Assisi, Italian hermit and monk (b. 1295)
  • 1408 – Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1358)
  • 1410 – Martin of Aragon, Spanish king (b. 1356)
  • 1504 – Engelbert II of Nassau (b. 1451)
  • 1558 – Philip Hoby, English general and diplomat (b. 1505)
  • 1567 – Guido de Bres, Belgian pastor and theologian (b. 1522)
  • 1594 – Tintoretto, Italian painter and educator (b. 1518)
  • 1601 – Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, Archbishop-Elector of Cologne (b. 1547)
  • 1640 – Zeynab Begum, Safavid princess (date of birth unknown)
  • 1665 – Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, Dutch painter (b. 1597)
  • 1680 – Joachim Neander, German theologian and educator (b. 1650)
  • 1740 – Frederick William I of Prussia (b. 1688)
  • 1747 – Andrey Osterman, German-Russian politician, Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1686)
  • 1809 – Joseph Haydn, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1732)
  • 1809 – Jean Lannes, French general (b. 1769)
  • 1831 – Samuel Bentham, English architect and engineer (b. 1757)
  • 1832 – Évariste Galois, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1811)
  • 1837 – Joseph Grimaldi, English actor, comedian and dancer, (b. 1779)
  • 1846 – Philip Marheineke, German pastor and philosopher (b. 1780)
  • 1847 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish minister and economist (b. 1780)
  • 1848 – Eugénie de Guérin, French author (b. 1805)
  • 1899 – Stefanos Koumanoudis, Greek archaeologist, teacher and writer (b. 1818)
  • 1908 – Louis-Honoré Fréchette, Canadian author, poet, and politician (b. 1839)
  • 1909 – Thomas Price, Welsh-Australian politician, 24th Premier of South Australia (b. 1852)
  • 1910 – Elizabeth Blackwell, English-American physician and educator (b. 1821)
  • 1931 – Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, Canadian cardinal (b. 1866)
  • 1931 – Willy Stöwer, German author and illustrator (b. 1864)
  • 1945 – Odilo Globocnik, Italian-Austrian SS officer (b. 1904)
  • 1954 – Antonis Benakis, Greek art collector and philanthropist, founded the Benaki Museum (b. 1873)
  • 1957 – Stefanos Sarafis, Greek general and politician (b. 1890)
  • 1957 – Leopold Staff, Polish poet and academic (b. 1878)
  • 1960 – Willem Elsschot, Flemish author and poet (b. 1882)
  • 1960 – Walther Funk, German economist, journalist, and politician, German Minister of Economics (b. 1890)
  • 1962 – Henry F. Ashurst, American lawyer and politician (b. 1874)
  • 1967 – Billy Strayhorn, American pianist and composer (b. 1915)
  • 1970 – Terry Sawchuk, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1929)
  • 1976 – Jacques Monod, French biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
  • 1977 – William Castle, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1914)
  • 1978 – József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1925)
  • 1981 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist and journalist (b. 1914)
  • 1982 – Carlo Mauri, Italian mountaineer and explorer (b. 1930)
  • 1983 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer and lieutenant (b. 1895)
  • 1985 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer and author (b. 1921)
  • 1986 – Jane Frank, American painter and sculptor (b. 1918)
  • 1986 – James Rainwater, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
  • 1987 – John Abraham, Indian director and screenwriter (b. 1937)
  • 1989 – Owen Lattimore, American author and academic (b. 1900)
  • 1989 – C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and historian (b. 1901)
  • 1993 – Honey Tree Evil Eye, or, Spud Mackenzie, a Bull Terrier, dies of kidney failure.
  • 1994 – Uzay Heparı, Turkish actor, producer, and composer (b. 1969)
  • 1994 – Herva Nelli, Italian-American soprano (b. 1909)
  • 1995 – Stanley Elkin, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1930)
  • 1996 – Timothy Leary, American psychologist and author (b. 1920)
  • 1998 – Charles Van Acker, Belgian-American race car driver (b. 1912)
  • 2000 – Petar Mladenov, Bulgarian diplomat, 1st President of Bulgaria (b. 1936)
  • 2000 – Tito Puente, American jazz musician (b. 1923)
  • 2000 – A. Jeyaratnam Wilson, Sri Lankan historian, author, and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2001 – Arlene Francis, American actress, talk show host, game show panelist, and television personality (b. 1907)
  • 2002 – Subhash Gupte, Indian cricketer (b. 1929)
  • 2004 – Aiyathurai Nadesan, Sri Lankan journalist (b. 1954)
  • 2004 – Robert Quine, American guitarist (b. 1941)
  • 2004 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French screenwriter and composer (b. 1941)
  • 2006 – Miguel Ortiz Berrocal, Spanish sculptor (b. 1933)
  • 2006 – Raymond Davis, Jr., American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
  • 2009 – Danny La Rue, Irish-British drag queen performer and singer (b. 1927)
  • 2009 – George Tiller, American physician (b. 1941)
  • 2010 – Louise Bourgeois, French-American sculptor and painter (b. 1911)
  • 2010 – Brian Duffy, English photographer and producer (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – William A. Fraker, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1923)
  • 2010 – Rubén Juárez, Argentinian singer-songwriter and bandoneón player (b. 1947)
  • 2010 – Merata Mita, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
  • 2011 – Pauline Betz, American tennis player (b. 1919)
  • 2011 – Jonas Bevacqua, American fashion designer, co-founded the Lifted Research Group (b. 1977)
  • 2011 – Derek Hodge, Virgin Islander lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (b. 1941)
  • 2011 – Hans Keilson, German-Dutch psychoanalyst and author (b. 1909)
  • 2011 – John Martin, English admiral and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey (b. 1918)
  • 2011 – Andy Robustelli, American football player and manager (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Christopher Challis, English cinematographer (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Randall B. Kester, American lawyer and judge (b. 1916)
  • 2012 – Paul Pietsch, German racing driver and publisher (b. 1911)
  • 2012 – Orlando Woolridge, American basketball player and coach (b. 1959)
  • 2013 – Gerald E. Brown, American physicist and academic (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Frederic Lindsay, Scottish author and educator (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Miguel Méndez, American author and poet (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Tim Samaras, American engineer and storm chaser (b. 1957)
  • 2013 – Jairo Mora Sandoval, Costa Rican environmentalist (b. 1987)
  • 2013 – Jean Stapleton, American actress (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Marilyn Beck, American journalist (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1952)
  • 2014 – Hoss Ellington, American race car driver (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Martha Hyer, American actress (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Lewis Katz, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1942)
  • 2014 – Mary Soames, Baroness Soames, English author (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Gladys Taylor, Canadian author and publisher (b. 1917)
  • 2016 – Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (1976–2016) (b. 1947)
  • 2016 – Jan Crouch, American televangelist, co-founder of the Trinity Broadcasting Network (b. 1938)
  • 2016 – Carla Lane, English television writer (b. 1928)
  • 2016 – Rupert Neudeck, German journalist and humanitarian (b. 1939)

Holidays and observances on May 31

  • Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Camilla Battista da Varano
    • Hermias
    • Petronella
    • Visitation of Mary (Western Christianity)
    • May 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • The beginning of Gawai Dayak (Dayaks in Sarawak, Malaysia and West Kalimantan, Indonesia)
  • World No Tobacco Day (International)

May 31- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day, Uncategorized

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

On This Day /
  • AD 70 – Siege of Jerusalem: Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem. Jewish defenders retreat to the First Wall. The Romans build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometers.
  • 1381 – Beginning of the Peasants’ Revolt in England.
  • 1416 – The Council of Constance, called by Emperor Sigismund, a supporter of Antipope John XXIII, burns Jerome of Prague following a trial for heresy.
  • 1431 – Hundred Years’ War: In Rouen, France, the 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake by an English-dominated tribunal. The Roman Catholic Church remembers this day as the celebration of Saint Joan of Arc.
  • 1434 – Hussite Wars: Battle of Lipany: Effectively ending the war, Utraquist forces led by Diviš Bořek of Miletínek defeat and almost annihilate Taborite forces led by Prokop the Great.
  • 1510 – During the reign of the Zhengde Emperor, Ming dynasty rebel leader Zhu Zhifan is defeated by commander Qiu Yue, ending the Prince of Anhua rebellion.
  • 1536 – King Henry VIII of England marries Jane Seymour, a lady-in-waiting to his first two wives.
  • 1539 – In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.
  • 1574 – Henry III becomes King of France.
  • 1588 – The last ship of the Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel.
  • 1631 – Publication of Gazette de France, the first French newspaper.
  • 1635 – Thirty Years’ War: The Peace of Prague is signed.
  • 1642 – From this date all honors granted by Charles I of England are retroactively annulled by Parliament.
  • 1806 – Future U.S. President Andrew Jackson kills Charles Dickinson in a duel.
  • 1814 – The First Treaty of Paris is signed, returning the French frontiers to their 1792 extent, and restoring the House of Bourbon to power.
  • 1815 – The East Indiaman Arniston is wrecked during a storm at Waenhuiskrans, near Cape Agulhas, in present-day South Africa, with the loss of 372 lives.
  • 1834 – Minister of Justice Joaquim António de Aguiar issues a law seizing “all convents, monasteries, colleges, hospices and any other houses” from the Catholic religious orders in Portugal, earning him the nickname of “The Friar-Killer”.
  • 1842 – John Francis attempts to murder Queen Victoria as she drives down Constitution Hill in London with Prince Albert.
  • 1845 – The Fatel Razack coming from India, lands in the Gulf of Paria in Trinidad and Tobago carrying the first Indians to the country.
  • 1854 – The Kansas–Nebraska Act becomes law establishing the US territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
  • 1868 – Decoration Day (the predecessor of the modern “Memorial Day”) is observed in the United States for the first time after a proclamation by John A. Logan, head of the Grand Army of the Republic (a veterans group).
  • 1876 – Ottoman sultan Abdülaziz is deposed and succeeded by his nephew Murad V.
  • 1883 – In New York City, a stampede on the recently opened Brooklyn Bridge killed twelve people.
  • 1899 – Pearl Hart, a female outlaw of the Old West, robs a stage coach 30 miles southeast of Globe, Arizona.
  • 1911 – At the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the first Indianapolis 500 ends with Ray Harroun in his Marmon Wasp becoming the first winner of the 500-mile auto race.
  • 1913 – The Treaty of London is signed, ending the First Balkan War; Albania becomes an independent nation.
  • 1914 – The new, and then the largest, Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, 45,647 tons, sets sails on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England, to New York City.
  • 1922 – The Lincoln Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C..
  • 1925 – May Thirtieth Movement: Shanghai Municipal Police Force shoot and kill 13 protesting workers.
  • 1937 – Memorial Day massacre: Chicago police shoot and kill ten labor demonstrators.
  • 1941 – World War II: Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas climb the Athenian Acropolis and tear down the German flag.
  • 1942 – World War II: One thousand British bombers launch a 90-minute attack on Cologne, Germany.
  • 1943 – The Holocaust: Josef Mengele becomes chief medical officer of the Zigeunerfamilienlager (Romani family camp) at Auschwitz concentration camp.
  • 1948 – A dike along the flooding Columbia River breaks, obliterating Vanport, Oregon within minutes. Fifteen people die and tens of thousands are left homeless.
  • 1958 – Memorial Day: The remains of two unidentified American servicemen, killed in action during World War II and the Korean War respectively, are buried at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.
  • 1959 – The Auckland Harbour Bridge, crossing the Waitematā Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, is officially opened by Governor-General Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham.
  • 1961 – The long-time Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
  • 1963 – A protest against pro-Catholic discrimination during the Buddhist crisis is held outside South Vietnam’s National Assembly, the first open demonstration during the eight-year rule of Ngo Dinh Diem.
  • 1966 – Former Congolese Prime Minister, Évariste Kimba, and several other politicians are publicly executed in Kinshasa on the orders of President Joseph Mobutu.
  • 1967 – The Nigerian Eastern Region declares independence as the Republic of Biafra, sparking a civil war.
  • 1968 – Charles de Gaulle reappears publicly after his flight to Baden-Baden, Germany, and dissolves the French National Assembly by a radio appeal. Immediately after, less than one million of his supporters march on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. This is the turning point of May 1968 events in France.
  • 1971 – Mariner program: Mariner 9 is launched to map 70% of the surface, and to study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface, of Mars.
  • 1972 – The Angry Brigade goes on trial over a series of 25 bombings throughout the United Kingdom.
  • 1972 – In Ben Gurion Airport (at the time: Lod Airport), Israel, members of the Japanese Red Army carry out the Lod Airport massacre, killing 24 people and injuring 78 others.
  • 1974 – The Airbus A300 passenger aircraft first enters service.
  • 1979 – Downeast Flight 46 crashes on approach to Knox County Regional Airport in Rockland, Maine, killing 17.
  • 1975 – European Space Agency is established.
  • 1982 – Cold War: Spain joins NATO.
  • 1989 – Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: The 10-metre high “Goddess of Democracy” statue is unveiled in Tiananmen Square by student demonstrators.
  • 1990 – Croatian Parliament is constituted after the first free, multi-party elections, today celebrated as the National Day of Croatia.
  • 1998 – The 6.5 Mw  Afghanistan earthquake shook the Takhar Province of northern Afghanistan with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), killing around 4,000–4,500.
  • 1998 – Nuclear Testing: Pakistan conducts an underground test in the Kharan Desert. It is reported to be a plutonium device with yield of 20kt TNT equivalent.
  • 2003 – Depayin massacre: At least 70 people associated with the National League for Democracy are killed by government-sponsored mob in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi flees the scene, but is arrested soon afterwards.
  • 2008 – Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted.
  • 2008 – TACA Flight 390 overshoots the runway at Toncontín International Airport, killing five people.
  • 2012 – Former Liberian president Charles Taylor is sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in atrocities committed during the Sierra Leone Civil War.
  • 2013 – Nigeria passes a law banning same-sex marriage.
  • 2020 – The Crew Dragon Demo-2 launches from the Kennedy Space Center, becoming the first crewed rocket to launch from the United States since 2011.

Births on May 30

  • 1010 – Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1063)
  • 1201 – Theobald IV, count of Champagne (d. 1253)
  • 1423 – Georg von Peuerbach, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1461)
  • 1464 – Barbara of Brandenburg, Bohemian queen (d. 1515)
  • 1580 – Fadrique de Toledo, 1st Marquis of Villanueva de Valdueza (d. 1634)
  • 1599 – Samuel Bochart, French Protestant biblical scholar (d. 1667)
  • 1623 – John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (d. 1686)
  • 1686 – Antonina Houbraken, Dutch illustrator (d. 1736)
  • 1718 – Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1793)
  • 1719 – Roger Newdigate, English politician (d. 1806)
  • 1757 – Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1844)
  • 1768 – Étienne Marie Antoine Champion de Nansouty, French general (d. 1815)
  • 1797 – Georg Amadeus Carl Friedrich Naumann, German mineralogist and geologist (d. 1873)
  • 1800 – Henri-Marie-Gaston Boisnormand de Bonnechose, French cardinal (d. 1883)
  • 1814 – Mikhail Bakunin, Russian philosopher and theorist (d. 1876)
  • 1814 – Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (d. 1894)
  • 1819 – William McMurdo, English general (d. 1894)
  • 1820 – Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Quebec (d. 1890)
  • 1835 – Alfred Austin, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1913)
  • 1844 – Félix Arnaudin, French poet and photographer (d. 1921)
  • 1845 – Amadeo I, Spanish king (d. 1890)
  • 1846 – Peter Carl Fabergé, Russian goldsmith and jeweler (d. 1920)
  • 1862 – Mirza Alakbar Sabir, Azerbaijani philosopher and poet (d. 1911)
  • 1869 – Grace Andrews, American mathematician (d. 1951)
  • 1874 – Ernest Duchesne, French physician (d. 1912)
  • 1875 – Giovanni Gentile, Italian philosopher and academic (d. 1944)
  • 1879 – Colin Blythe, English cricketer and soldier (d. 1917)
  • 1879 – Konstantin Ramul, Estonian psychologist and academic (d. 1975)
  • 1881 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (d. 1968)
  • 1882 – Wyndham Halswelle, English runner and soldier (d. 1915)
  • 1883 – Sandy Pearce, Australian rugby league player (d. 1930)
  • 1884 – Siegmund Glücksmann, German soldier and politician (d. 1942)
  • 1885 – Villem Grünthal-Ridala, Estonian poet and linguist (d. 1942)
  • 1886 – Laurent Barré, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1964)
  • 1886 – Randolph Bourne, American theorist and author (d. 1918)
  • 1887 – Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian-American sculptor and illustrator (d. 1964)
  • 1887 – Emil Reesen, Danish pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1964)
  • 1890 – Roger Salengro, French soldier and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1936)
  • 1892 – Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (d. 1972)
  • 1894 – Hubertus van Mook, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1965)
  • 1895 – Maurice Tate, English cricketer (d. 1956)
  • 1896 – Howard Hawks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1897 – Frank Wise, Australian politician, 16th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1986)
  • 1898 – John Gilroy, English artist and illustrator (d. 1985)
  • 1899 – Irving Thalberg, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1936)
  • 1901 – Alfred Karindi, Estonian pianist and composer (d. 1969)
  • 1901 – Cornelia Otis Skinner, American actress and author (d. 1979)
  • 1902 – Stepin Fetchit, American actor and dancer (d. 1985)
  • 1903 – Countee Cullen, American poet and author (d. 1946)
  • 1906 – Bruno Gröning, German mystic and author (d. 1959)
  • 1907 – Germaine Tillion, French anthropologist and academic (d. 2008)
  • 1908 – Hannes Alfvén, Swedish physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
  • 1908 – Mel Blanc, American voice actor (d. 1989)
  • 1909 – Jacques Canetti, French music executive and talent agent (d. 1997)
  • 1909 – Freddie Frith, English motorcycle road racer (d. 1988)
  • 1909 – Benny Goodman, American clarinet player, songwriter, and bandleader (d. 1986)
  • 1910 – Harry Bernstein, English-American journalist and author (d. 2011)
  • 1912 – Julius Axelrod, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
  • 1912 – Erich Bagge, German physicist and academic (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – Hugh Griffith, Welsh actor (d. 1980)
  • 1912 – Millicent Selsam, American author and academic (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – Joseph Stein, American playwright and author (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Akinoumi Setsuo, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 37th Yokozuna (d. 1979)
  • 1915 – Len Carney, English footballer and soldier (d. 1996)
  • 1916 – Justin Catayée, French soldier and politician (d. 1962)
  • 1916 – Mort Meskin, American illustrator (d. 1995)
  • 1918 – Pita Amor, Mexican poet and author (d. 2000)
  • 1918 – Bob Evans, American businessman, founded Bob Evans Restaurants (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – René Barrientos, Bolivian general and politician, 55th President of Bolivia (d. 1969)
  • 1920 – Franklin J. Schaffner, Japanese-American director and producer (d. 1989)
  • 1922 – Hal Clement, American author and educator (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Anthony Dryden Marshall, American CIA officer and diplomat (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – John Henry Marks, English physician and author
  • 1926 – Johnny Gimble, American country/western swing musician (Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys) (d. 2015)
  • 1927 – Joan Birman, American mathematician
  • 1927 – Clint Walker, American actor and singer (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – Billy Wilson, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1993)
  • 1928 – Pro Hart, Australian painter (d. 2006)
  • 1928 – Agnès Varda, Belgian-French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Georges Gilson, French archbishop
  • 1930 – Mark Birley, English businessman, founded Annabel’s (d. 2007)
  • 1930 – Robert Ryman, American painter (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Larry Silverstein, American real estate magnate
  • 1932 – Ray Cooney, English actor and playwright
  • 1932 – Pauline Oliveros, American accordion player and composer (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Ivor Richard, Baron Richard, Welsh politician and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2018)
  • 1934 – Alexei Leonov, Russian general, pilot, and cosmonaut (d. 2019)
  • 1934 – Alketas Panagoulias, Greek footballer and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Ruta Lee, Canadian-American actress and dancer
  • 1935 – Guy Tardif, Canadian academic and politician (d. 2005)
  • 1936 – Keir Dullea, American actor
  • 1937 – Christopher Haskins, Anglo-Irish businessman, life peer, and British politician
  • 1937 – Rick Mather, American-English architect (d. 2013)
  • 1938 – Billie Letts, American author and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Michael J. Pollard, American actor (d. 2019)
  • 1939 – Dieter Quester, Austrian race car driver
  • 1939 – Tim Waterstone, Scottish businessman, founded Waterstones
  • 1940 – Jagmohan Dalmiya, Indian cricket administrator (d. 2015)
  • 1940 – Gilles Villemure, Canadian-American ice hockey player
  • 1942 – John Gladwin, English bishop
  • 1942 – Carole Stone, English journalist and author
  • 1943 – Anders Michanek, Swedish motorcycle racer
  • 1943 – Gale Sayers, American football player and philanthropist
  • 1944 – Lenny Davidson, English guitarist and songwriter (The Dave Clark Five)
  • 1944 – Meredith MacRae, American actress (d. 2000)
  • 1944 – Stav Prodromou, Greek-American engineer and businessman
  • 1945 – Gladys Horton, American singer (d. 2011)
  • 1946 – Allan Chapman, English historian and author
  • 1946 – Dragan Džajić, Serbian and Yugoslav footballer
  • 1947 – Jocelyne Bourassa, Canadian golfer
  • 1948 – Johan De Muynck, Belgian former professional road racing cyclist
  • 1948 – Michael Piller, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2005)
  • 1948 – David Thorpe, Australian rules footballer
  • 1949 – P.J. Carlesimo, American basketball player and coach
  • 1949 – Paul Coleridge, English lawyer and judge
  • 1949 – Bob Willis, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2019)
  • 1950 – Bertrand Delanoë, French politician, 14th Mayor of Paris
  • 1950 – Paresh Rawal, Indian actor, producer, and politician
  • 1950 – Joshua Rozenberg, English lawyer, journalist, and author
  • 1951 – Zdravko Čolić, Bosnian Serb singer-songwriter
  • 1951 – Fernando Lugo, Paraguayan bishop and politician, President of Paraguay
  • 1951 – Stephen Tobolowsky, American actor, singer, and director
  • 1952 – Daniel Grodnik, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1952 – Kerry Fraser, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and sportscaster
  • 1953 – Jim Hunter, Canadian skier
  • 1953 – Colm Meaney, Irish actor
  • 1955 – Topper Headon, English drummer and songwriter (The Clash)
  • 1955 – Jacqueline McGlade, English-Canadian biologist, ecologist, and academic
  • 1955 – Caroline Swift, English lawyer and judge
  • 1955 – Colm Tóibín, Irish novelist, poet, playwright, and critic
  • 1956 – Tim Lucas, American author, screenwriter, and critic
  • 1957 – Michael Clayton, Australian golfer
  • 1958 – Eugene Belliveau, Canadian football player
  • 1958 – Marie Fredriksson, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2019)
  • 1958 – Steve Israel, American lawyer and politician
  • 1958 – Michael López-Alegría, Spanish-American captain, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1958 – Ted McGinley, American actor
  • 1959 – Phil Brown, English footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1959 – Randy Ferbey, Canadian curler
  • 1959 – Frank Vanhecke, Belgian politician
  • 1961 – Harry Enfield, English actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – Bob Yari, Iranian-American director and producer
  • 1962 – Kevin Eastman, American author and illustrator, co-created the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • 1962 – Richard Fuller, English lawyer and politician
  • 1962 – Tim Loughton, English businessman and politician
  • 1962 – Tonya Pinkins, American actress and singer
  • 1963 – Michel Langevin, Canadian drummer and songwriter
  • 1963 – Élise Lucet, French journalist
  • 1963 – Helen Sharman, English chemist and astronaut
  • 1964 – Wynonna Judd, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
  • 1964 – Andrea Montermini, Italian race car driver
  • 1964 – Tom Morello, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1965 – Troy Coker, Australian rugby player
  • 1965 – Billy Donovan, American basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Iginio Straffi, Italian animator and producer, founded Rainbow S.r.l.
  • 1966 – Thomas Häßler, German footballer and manager
  • 1966 – Stephen Malkmus, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1967 – Tim Burgess, English singer-songwriter
  • 1967 – Rechelle Hawkes, Australian hockey player
  • 1967 – Sven Pipien, German-American bass player
  • 1968 – Jason Kenney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 40th Canadian Minister of National Defence
  • 1968 – Zacarias Moussaoui, French citizen, sentenced to life in prison related to September 11 attacks
  • 1969 – Naomi Kawase, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Ryuhei Kitamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Paul Grayson, English rugby player and coach
  • 1971 – Duncan Jones, English director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Idina Menzel, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1971 – Jiří Šlégr, Czech ice hockey player and politician
  • 1971 – Adrian Vowles, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Manny Ramirez, Dominican-American baseball player and coach
  • 1974 – Big L, American rapper (d. 1999)
  • 1974 – Kostas Chalkias, Greek footballer
  • 1974 – CeeLo Green, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor
  • 1974 – David Wilkie, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1975 – Evan Eschmeyer, American basketball player
  • 1975 – Brian Fair, American singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Andy Farrell, English rugby player and coach
  • 1975 – Marissa Mayer, American computer scientist and businesswoman
  • 1976 – Radoslav Nesterović, Slovenian-Greek basketball player
  • 1976 – Magnus Norman, Swedish tennis player and coach
  • 1976 – Margaret Okayo, Kenyan runner
  • 1977 – Rachael Stirling, English actress
  • 1977 – Federico Vilar, Argentinian-Italian footballer
  • 1979 – Mike Bishai, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Clint Bowyer, American race car driver
  • 1979 – Francis Lessard, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Steven Gerrard, English international footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1980 – Ilona Korstin, Russian basketball player
  • 1980 – Ryōgo Narita, Japanese author
  • 1981 – Devendra Banhart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1981 – Gianmaria Bruni, Italian race car driver
  • 1981 – Ahmad Elrich, Australian footballer
  • 1981 – Remy Ma, American rapper
  • 1981 – Lars Møller Madsen, Danish handball player
  • 1981 – Hisanori Takada, Japanese footballer
  • 1982 – Eddie Griffin, American basketball player (d. 2007)
  • 1982 – James Simpson-Daniel, English rugby player
  • 1984 – Sham Kwok Fai, Hong Kong footballer
  • 1984 – Matt Maguire, Australian footballer
  • 1984 – Alexander Sulzer, German ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Igor Kurnosov, Russian chess player (d. 2013)
  • 1985 – Igor Lewczuk, Polish footballer
  • 1985 – Aaron Volpatti, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1986 – Nikolay Bodurov, Bulgarian international footballer, centre-back
  • 1989 – Ailee, Korean-American singer and songwriter
  • 1989 – Lesia Tsurenko, Ukrainian tennis player
  • 1990 – Andrei Loktionov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1991 – Jonathan Fox, English swimmer
  • 1992 – Harrison Barnes, American basketball player
  • 1992 – Danielle Harold, English actress
  • 1994 – Scott Laughton, Canadian ice hockey player

Deaths on May 30

  • 531 – Xiao Tong, prince of the Liang Dynasty (b. 501)
  • 727 – Hubertus, bishop Liège
  • 947 – Ma Xifan, king of Chu (b. 899)
  • 1035 – Baldwin IV, count of Flanders (b. 980)
  • 1159 – Władysław II the Exile, High Duke of Poland and Duke of Silesia (b. 1105)
  • 1252 – Ferdinand III, king of Castile and León (b. 1199)
  • 1347 – John Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy de Knayth, English peer (b. 1290)
  • 1376 – Joan of Ponthieu, Dame of Epernon, French noblewoman
  • 1416 – Jerome of Prague, Czech martyr and theologian (b. 1379)
  • 1431 – Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (b. 1412)
  • 1434 – Prokop the Great, Czech general (b. 1380)
  • 1469 – Lope de Barrientos, Castilian bishop (b. 1389)
  • 1472 – Jacquetta of Luxembourg, daughter of Pierre de Luxembourg (b. 1416)
  • 1574 – Charles IX of France (b. 1550)
  • 1593 – Christopher Marlowe, English poet and playwright (b. 1564)
  • 1606 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth of the Sikh gurus (executed) (b. 1563)
  • 1640 – Peter Paul Rubens, German-Belgian painter (b. 1577)
  • 1696 – Henry Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Tewkesbury, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1638)
  • 1670 – John Davenport, English minister, co-founded the New Haven Colony (b. 1597)
  • 1712 – Andrea Lanzani, Italian painter (b. 1645)
  • 1718 – Arnold van Keppel, 1st Earl of Albemarle, Dutch-English general (b. 1670)
  • 1744 – Alexander Pope, English poet, essayist, and translator (b. 1688)
  • 1770 – François Boucher, French painter and set designer (b. 1703)
  • 1778 – Voltaire, French philosopher and author (b. 1694)
  • 1778 – José de la Borda, French/Spanish mining magnate in colonial Mexico (b. ca. 1700)
  • 1829 – Philibert Jean-Baptiste Curial, French general (b. 1774)
  • 1832 – James Mackintosh, Scottish historian, jurist, and politician (b. 1765)
  • 1855 – Mary Reibey, Australian businesswoman, (b. 1777)
  • 1892 – Mary Hannah Gray Clarke, American author, correspondent, and poet (b. 1835)
  • 1865 – John Catron, American lawyer and judge (b. 1786)
  • 1901 – Victor D’Hondt, Belgian mathematician, lawyer, and jurist (b. 1841)
  • 1911 – Milton Bradley, American businessman, founded the Milton Bradley Company (b. 1836)
  • 1912 – Wilbur Wright, American pilot and businessman, co-founded the Wright Company (b. 1867)
  • 1918 – Georgi Plekhanov, Russian philosopher and theorist (b. 1856)
  • 1925 – Arthur Moeller van den Bruck, German historian and author (b. 1876)
  • 1926 – Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician and physicist (b. 1864)
  • 1934 – Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (b. 1848)
  • 1939 – Floyd Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1904)
  • 1941 – Prajadhipok, Thai king (b. 1893)
  • 1946 – Louis Slotin, Canadian physicist and chemist (b. 1910)
  • 1947 – Georg von Trapp, Austrian captain (b. 1880)
  • 1948 – József Klekl, Slovene-Hungarian priest and politician (b. 1874)
  • 1949 – Emmanuel Célestin Suhard, French cardinal (b. 1874)
  • 1951 – Hermann Broch, Austrian-American author (b. 1886)
  • 1953 – Dooley Wilson, American actor and singer (b. 1886)
  • 1955 – Bill Vukovich, American race car driver (b. 1918)
  • 1957 – Piero Carini, Italian race car driver (b. 1921)
  • 1960 – Boris Pasternak, Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1890)
  • 1961 – Rafael Trujillo, Dominican soldier and politician, 36th President of the Dominican Republic (b. 1891)
  • 1964 – Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Nigerian king (b. 1882)
  • 1964 – Eddie Sachs, American race car driver (b. 1927)
  • 1964 – Leó Szilárd, Hungarian-American physicist and engineer (b. 1898)
  • 1965 – Louis Hjelmslev, Danish linguist and academic (b. 1899)
  • 1967 – Claude Rains, English-American actor (b. 1889)
  • 1967 – Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Austrian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
  • 1971 – Marcel Dupré, French organist and composer (b. 1886)
  • 1975 – Steve Prefontaine, American runner (b. 1951)
  • 1975 – Tatsuo Shimabuku, Japanese martial artist, founded Isshin-ryū (b. 1908)
  • 1975 – Michel Simon, Swiss-born French actor (b. 1895)
  • 1976 – Max Carey, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1890)
  • 1976 – Mitsuo Fuchida, Japanese captain (b. 1902)
  • 1978 – Jean Deslauriers, Canadian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1909)
  • 1980 – Carl Radle, American bass player and producer (b. 1942)
  • 1981 – Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1955)
  • 1981 – Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi general and politician, 7th President of Bangladesh (b. 1936)
  • 1982 – Albert Norden, German journalist and politician (b. 1904)
  • 1986 – Perry Ellis, American fashion designer, founded his own eponymous fashion brand (b. 1940)
  • 1993 – Sun Ra, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1914)
  • 1994 – Ezra Taft Benson, American religious leader, 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1899)
  • 1994 – Marcel Bich, Italian-French businessman, co-founded Société Bic (b. 1914)
  • 1994 – Agostino Di Bartolomei, Italian footballer (b. 1955)
  • 1995 – Ted Drake, English footballer and manager (b. 1912)
  • 1995 – Lofty England, English-Austrian engineer (b. 1911)
  • 1995 – Bobby Stokes, English footballer (b. 1951)
  • 1996 – Léon-Étienne Duval, French cardinal (b. 1903)
  • 1996 – Alo Mattiisen, Estonian composer (b. 1961)
  • 1999 – Kalju Lepik, Estonian poet and author (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – Tex Beneke, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1914)
  • 2001 – Denis Whitaker, Canadian general and historian (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Gérald Leblanc, Acadian poet (b. 1945)
  • 2005 – Tomasz Pacyński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1958)
  • 2005 – Alma Ziegler, American baseball player and stenographer (b. 1918)
  • 2006 – Shohei Imamura, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2006 – David Lloyd, New Zealand biologist and academic (b. 1938)
  • 2006 – Robert Sterling, American actor (b. 1917)
  • 2007 – Jean-Claude Brialy, Algerian-French actor and director (b. 1933)
  • 2007 – Birgit Dalland, Norwegian politician (b. 1907)
  • 2007 – Gunturu Seshendra Sarma, Indian poet and critic (b. 1927)
  • 2009 – Torsten Andersson, Swedish painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
  • 2009 – Susanna Haapoja, Finnish politician (b. 1966)
  • 2009 – Ephraim Katzir, Israeli biophysicist and politician, 4th President of Israel (b. 1916)
  • 2010 – Yuri Chesnokov, Russian volleyball player and coach (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – Dufferin Roblin, Canadian commander and politician, 14th Premier of Manitoba (b. 1917)
  • 2011 – Isikia Savua, Fijian police officer and diplomat (b. 1952)
  • 2011 – Saleem Shahzad, Pakistani journalist (b. 1970)
  • 2011 – Marek Siemek, Polish philosopher and historian (b. 1942)
  • 2011 – Clarice Taylor, American actress (b. 1917)
  • 2011 – Rosalyn Sussman Yalow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – John Fox, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1957)
  • 2012 – Andrew Huxley, English physiologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – Gerhard Pohl, German economist and politician (b. 1937)
  • 2012 – Jack Twyman, American basketball player and sportscaster (b. 1934)
  • 2013 – Jayalath Jayawardena, Sri Lankan physician and politician (b. 1953)
  • 2013 – Larry Jones, American football player and coach (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Hienadz Buraukin, Belarusian poet, journalist, and diplomat (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Henning Carlsen, Danish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Joan Lorring, British actress (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Leonidas Vasilikopoulos, Greek admiral (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Beau Biden, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 44th Attorney General of Delaware (b. 1969)
  • 2015 – Joël Champetier, Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1957)
  • 2015 – L. Tom Perry, American religious leader and member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Tom Lysiak, Polish-Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1953)
  • 2016 – Rick MacLeish, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1950)
  • 2019 – Jason Marcano, Trinidadian footballer (b. 1983)

Holidays and observances on May 30

  • Anguilla Day, commemorates the beginning of the Anguillian Revolution in 1967. (Anguilla)
  • Canary Islands Day (Spain)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Earliest day on which Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary can fall, while July 3 is the latest; celebrated 20 days after Pentecost. (Catholic Church)
    • Ferdinand III of Castile
    • Isaac of Dalmatia
    • Joan of Arc
    • Joseph Marello
    • May 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Indian Arrival Day (Trinidad and Tobago)
  • Lod Massacre Remembrance Day (Puerto Rico)
  • Mother’s Day (Nicaragua)
  • Statehood Day (Croatia)

May 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 363 – The Roman emperor Julian defeats the Sasanian army in the Battle of Ctesiphon, under the walls of the Sasanian capital, but is unable to take the city.
  • 1108 – Battle of Uclés: Almoravid troops under the command of Tamim ibn Yusuf defeat a Castile and León alliance under the command of Prince Sancho Alfónsez.
  • 1167 – Battle of Monte Porzio: A Roman army supporting Pope Alexander III is defeated by Christian of Buch and Rainald of Dassel.
  • 1176 – Battle of Legnano: The Lombard League defeats Emperor Frederick I.
  • 1328 – Philip VI is crowned King of France.
  • 1416 – Battle of Gallipoli: The Venetians under Pietro Loredan defeat a much larger Ottoman fleet off Gallipoli.
  • 1453 – Fall of Constantinople: Ottoman armies under Sultan Mehmed II Fatih capture Constantinople after a 53-day siege, ending the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1658 – Battle of Samugarh: decisive battle in the struggle for the throne during the Mughal war of succession (1658–1659).
  • 1660 – English Restoration: Charles II is restored to the throne of England, Scotland and Ireland.
  • 1733 – The right of settlers in New France to enslave natives is upheld at Quebec City.
  • 1780 – American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Waxhaws, the British continue attacking after the Continentals lay down their arms, killing 113 and critically wounding all but 53 that remained.
  • 1790 – Rhode Island becomes the last of North America’s original Thirteen Colonies to ratify the Constitution and become one of the United States.
  • 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Between 300 and 500 United Irishmen are executed as rebels by the British Army in County Kildare, Ireland.
  • 1807 – Mustafa IV became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
  • 1848 – Wisconsin is admitted as the 30th U.S. state.
  • 1852 – Jenny Lind leaves New York after her two-year American tour.
  • 1861 – The Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce is founded, in Hong Kong.
  • 1864 – Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico arrives in Mexico for the first time.
  • 1867 – The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (“the Compromise”) is born through Act 12, which establishes the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
  • 1868 – Mihailo Obrenović III, Prince of Serbia is assassinated.
  • 1886 – The pharmacist John Pemberton places his first advertisement for Coca-Cola, which appeared in The Atlanta Journal.
  • 1900 – N’Djamena is founded as Fort-Lamy by the French commander Émile Gentil.
  • 1903 – In the May Coup, Alexander I, King of Serbia, and Queen Draga, are assassinated in Belgrade by the Black Hand (Crna Ruka) organization.
  • 1913 – Igor Stravinsky’s ballet score The Rite of Spring receives its premiere performance in Paris, France, provoking a riot.
  • 1914 – The Ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sinks in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence with the loss of 1,012 lives.
  • 1918 – Armenia defeats the Ottoman Army in the Battle of Sardarabad.
  • 1919 – Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity is tested (later confirmed) by Arthur Eddington and Andrew Claude de la Cherois Crommelin
  • 1920 – The Louth flood of 1920 was a severe flash flooding in the Lincolnshire market town of Louth which occurred 29 May 1920, resulting in 23 fatalities in 20 minutes. It has been described as one of the most significant flood disasters in Britain during the 20th century.
  • 1931 – Michele Schirru, a citizen of the United States, is executed by Italian military firing squad for intent to kill Benito Mussolini.
  • 1932 – World War I veterans begin to assemble in Washington, D.C., in the Bonus Army to request cash bonuses promised to them to be paid in 1945.
  • 1935 – First flight of the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter aeroplane.
  • 1945 – First combat mission of the Consolidated B-32 Dominator heavy bomber.
  • 1948 – United Nations Truce Supervision Organization is founded.
  • 1950 – The St. Roch, the first ship to circumnavigate North America, arrives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  • 1953 – Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay’s (adopted) 39th birthday.
  • 1964 – The Arab League meets in East Jerusalem to discuss the Palestinian question, leading to the formation of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
  • 1973 – Tom Bradley is elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, California.
  • 1982 – Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit Canterbury Cathedral.
  • 1982 – Falklands War: British forces defeat the Argentines at the Battle of Goose Green.
  • 1985 – Heysel Stadium disaster: Thirty-nine association football fans die and hundreds are injured when a dilapidated retaining wall collapses.
  • 1985 – Amputee Steve Fonyo completes cross-Canada marathon at Victoria, British Columbia, after 14 months.
  • 1988 – The U.S. President Ronald Reagan begins his first visit to the Soviet Union when he arrives in Moscow for a superpower summit with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
  • 1989 – Signing of an agreement between Egypt and the United States, allowing the manufacture of parts of the F-16 jet fighter plane in Egypt.
  • 1990 – The Russian parliament elects Boris Yeltsin as president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
  • 1993 – The Miss Sarajevo beauty pageant is held in war-torn Sarajevo drawing global attention to the plight of its citizens.
  • 1999 – Olusegun Obasanjo takes office as President of Nigeria, the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule.
  • 1999 – Space Shuttle Discovery completes the first docking with the International Space Station.
  • 2001 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the disabled golfer Casey Martin can use a cart to ride in tournaments.
  • 2004 – The National World War II Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.
  • 2008 – A doublet earthquake, of combined magnitude 6.1, strikes Iceland near the town of Selfoss, injuring 30 people.
  • 2012 – A 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits northern Italy near Bologna, killing at least 24 people.
  • 2015 – One World Observatory at One World Trade Center opens.

Births on May 29

  • 1421 – Charles, Prince of Viana (d. 1461)
  • 1439 – Pope Pius III (d. 1503)
  • 1443 – Victor, Duke of Münsterberg, Reichsgraf, Duke of Münsterberg and Opava, Count of Glatz (d. 1500)
  • 1504 – Antun Vrančić, Croatian archbishop (d. 1573)
  • 1555 – George Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes, English Earl, general and administrator (d. 1629)
  • 1568 – Virginia de’ Medici, Italian princess (d. 1615)
  • 1594 – Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, Bavarian field marshal (d. 1632)
  • 1627 – Anne, Duchess of Montpensier, French princess (d. 1693)
  • 1630 – Charles II of England (d. 1685)
  • 1675 – Humphry Ditton, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1715)
  • 1716 – Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, French zoologist and mineralogist (d. 1800)
  • 1722 – James FitzGerald, 1st Duke of Leinster, Irish soldier and politician (d. 1773)
  • 1730 – Jackson of Exeter, English organist and composer (d. 1803)
  • 1736 – Patrick Henry, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Virginia (d. 1799)
  • 1780 – Henri Braconnot, French chemist and pharmacist (d. 1855)
  • 1794 – Johann Heinrich von Mädler, German astronomer and selenographer (d. 1874)
  • 1797 – Louise-Adéone Drölling, French painter (d. 1836)
  • 1823 – John H. Balsley, American carpenter and inventor (d. 1895)
  • 1860 – Isaac Albéniz, Spanish pianist and composer (d. 1909)
  • 1871 – Clark Voorhees, American painter (d. 1933)
  • 1873 – Rudolf Tobias, Estonian organist and composer (d. 1918)
  • 1874 – G. K. Chesterton, English essayist, poet, and playwright (d. 1936)
  • 1880 – Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (d. 1936)
  • 1892 – Alfonsina Storni, Swiss-Argentinian poet and author (d. 1938)
  • 1893 – Max Brand, American journalist and author (d. 1944)
  • 1894 – Beatrice Lillie, Canadian-English actress, singer and writer (d. 1989)
  • 1894 – Josef von Sternberg, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1969)
  • 1897 – Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Czech-American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1957)
  • 1899 – Douglas Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 10th Canadian Minister of Defence (d. 1987)
  • 1902 – Harry Kadwell, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1999)
  • 1903 – Bob Hope, English-American actor, singer, and producer (d. 2003)
  • 1904 – Hubert Opperman, Australian cyclist and politician (d. 1996)
  • 1905 – Sebastian Shaw, English actor, director, and playwright (d. 1994)
  • 1906 – T. H. White, Indian-English author (d. 1964)
  • 1907 – Hartland Molson, Canadian captain and politician (d. 2002)
  • 1908 – Diana Morgan, Welsh-English playwright and screenwriter (d. 1996)
  • 1910 – Ralph Metcalfe, American sprinter and politician (d. 1978)
  • 1913 – Tony Zale, American boxer (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Stacy Keach Sr., American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1914 – Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese-Indian mountaineer (d. 1986)
  • 1915 – Karl Münchinger, German conductor and composer (d. 1990)
  • 1917 – John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States (d. 1963)
  • 1917 – Marcel Trudel, Canadian historian, author, and academic (d. 2011)
  • 1919 – Jacques Genest, Canadian physician and academic (d. 2018)
  • 1920 – John Harsanyi, Hungarian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
  • 1920 – Clifton James, American actor (d. 2017)
  • 1921 – Norman Hetherington, Australian cartoonist and puppeteer (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – Joe Weatherly, American race car driver (d. 1964)
  • 1922 – Iannis Xenakis, Greek-French composer, engineer, and theorist (d. 2001)
  • 1923 – Bernard Clavel, French author (d. 2010)
  • 1923 – John Parker, 6th Earl of Morley, English colonel and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Devon (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – Eugene Wright, American jazz bassist
  • 1924 – Lars Bo, Danish author and illustrator (d. 1999)
  • 1924 – Miloslav Kříž, Czech basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Pepper Paire, American baseball player (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Katie Boyle, Italian-English actress and television host (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – Halaevalu Mataʻaho ʻAhomeʻe, Queen Consort of Tonga (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Abdoulaye Wade, Senegalese academic and politician, 3rd President of Senegal
  • 1927 – Jean Coutu, Canadian pharmacist and businessman, founded the Jean Coutu Group
  • 1929 – Harry Frankfurt, American philosopher and academic
  • 1929 – Peter Higgs, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1929 – Roberto Vargas, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Paul R. Ehrlich, American biologist and author
  • 1932 – Richie Guerin, American basketball player and coach
  • 1933 – Helmuth Rilling, German conductor and educator
  • 1933 – Tarquinio Provini, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2005)
  • 1934 – Bill Vander Zalm, Dutch-Canadian businessman and politician, 28th Premier of British Columbia
  • 1935 – André Brink, South African author and playwright (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Sylvia Robinson, American singer and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1937 – Charles W. Pickering, American lawyer and judge
  • 1937 – Irmin Schmidt, German keyboard player and composer
  • 1937 – Alwin Schockemöhle, German show-jumper
  • 1937 – Harry Statham, American basketball player and coach
  • 1938 – Christopher Bland, English businessman and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1938 – Fay Vincent, American lawyer and businessman
  • 1939 – Pete Smith, Australian radio and television announcer
  • 1939 – Al Unser, American race car driver
  • 1940 – Taihō Kōki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 48th Yokozuna (d. 2013)
  • 1940 – Farooq Leghari, Pakistani politician, 8th President of Pakistan (d. 2010)
  • 1941 – Doug Scott, English mountaineer and author
  • 1941 – Bob Simon, American journalist (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Pierre Bourque, Canadian businessman and politician, 40th Mayor of Montreal
  • 1942 – Kevin Conway, American actor and director (d. 2020)
  • 1943 – Robert W. Edgar, American educator and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1944 – Bob Benmosche, American businessman (d. 2015)
  • 1944 – Quentin Davies, English soldier and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
  • 1945 – Gary Brooker, English singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1945 – Peter Fraser, Baron Fraser of Carmyllie, Scottish lawyer and politician, Solicitor General for Scotland (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Julian Le Grand, English economist and author
  • 1945 – Martin Pipe, English jockey and trainer
  • 1945 – Joyce Tenneson, American photographer
  • 1945 – Jean-Pierre Van Rossem, Belgian scholar and author (d. 2018)
  • 1946 – Fernando Buesa, Spanish politician (d. 2000)
  • 1947 – Anthony Geary, American actor
  • 1948 – Michael Berkeley, English composer and radio host
  • 1948 – Keith Gull, English microbiologist and academic
  • 1949 – Robert Axelrod, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2019)
  • 1949 – Brian Kidd, English footballer and manager
  • 1949 – Francis Rossi, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Rebbie Jackson, American singer and actress
  • 1953 – Danny Elfman, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1954 – Robert Beaser, American composer and educator
  • 1954 – Jerry Moran, American lawyer and politician
  • 1955 – Frank Baumgartl, German runner (d. 2010)
  • 1955 – John Hinckley Jr., American attempted assassin of Ronald Reagan
  • 1955 – David Kirschner, American animator, producer, and author
  • 1955 – Gordon Rintoul, Scottish historian and curator
  • 1955 – Ken Schrader, American race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Mark Lyall Grant, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United Nations
  • 1956 – La Toya Jackson, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1957 – Steven Croft, English bishop and theologian
  • 1957 – Jeb Hensarling, American lawyer and politician
  • 1957 – Mohsen Makhmalbaf, Iranian film director
  • 1958 – Annette Bening, American actress
  • 1958 – Juliano Mer-Khamis, Israeli actor, director, and activist (d. 2011)
  • 1958 – Uwe Rapolder, German footballer and coach
  • 1958 – Mike Stenhouse, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1959 – Rupert Everett, English actor and novelist
  • 1959 – Mel Gaynor, English drummer
  • 1959 – Steve Hanley, Irish-English bass player and songwriter
  • 1960 – Thomas Baumer, Swiss economist and academic
  • 1960 – Mike Freer, English politician
  • 1961 – Melissa Etheridge, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist
  • 1961 – John Miceli, American drummer
  • 1962 – Fandi Ahmad, Singaporean footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1962 – Eric Davis, American baseball player
  • 1962 – Carol Kirkwood, Scottish journalist
  • 1962 – Chloé Sainte-Marie, Canadian actress and singer
  • 1963 – Blaze Bayley, English singer-songwriter
  • 1963 – Zhu Jianhua, Chinese high jumper
  • 1963 – Ukyo Katayama, Japanese race car driver
  • 1963 – Claude Loiselle, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1964 – Howard Mills III, American academic and politician
  • 1964 – Oswaldo Negri Jr., Brazilian race car driver
  • 1966 – Natalie Nougayrède, French journalist
  • 1967 – Noel Gallagher, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1967 – Mike Keane, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1967 – Steven Levitt, American economist, author, and academic
  • 1968 – Torquhil Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll, Scottish politician
  • 1968 – Tate George, American basketball player
  • 1968 – Jessica Morden, English politician
  • 1968 – Hida Viloria, American activist
  • 1970 – Natarsha Belling, Australian journalist
  • 1970 – Roberto Di Matteo, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Éric Lucas, Canadian boxer
  • 1971 – Bernd Mayländer, German race car driver
  • 1971 – Jo Beth Taylor, Australian television host and actress
  • 1971 – Rob Womack, English shot putter and discus thrower
  • 1972 – Bill Curley, American basketball player and coach
  • 1972 – Simon Jones, English singer and bass player
  • 1973 – Tomoko Kaneda, Japanese voice actress, singer, and radio personality
  • 1973 – Mark Lee, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1973 – Alpay Özalan, Turkish footballer
  • 1974 – Steve Cardenas, American martial artist and retired actor
  • 1974 – Stephen Larkham, Australian rugby player and coach
  • 1974 – Aaron McGruder, American author and cartoonist
  • 1974 – Myf Warhurst, Australian radio and television host
  • 1974 – Jenny Willott, English politician
  • 1975 – Jason Allison, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Mel B, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
  • 1975 – Sven Kubis, German footballer
  • 1975 – Sarah Millican, English comedian
  • 1975 – Anthony Wall, English golfer
  • 1975 – Daniel Tosh, American comedian, television host, actor, writer, and executive producer
  • 1976 – Caçapa, Brazilian footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Jerry Hairston Jr., American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1976 – Raef LaFrentz, American basketball player
  • 1976 – Yegor Titov, Russian footballer
  • 1977 – Massimo Ambrosini, Italian footballer
  • 1977 – Marco Cassetti, Italian footballer
  • 1977 – António Lebo Lebo, Angolan footballer
  • 1978 – Pelle Almqvist, Swedish singer-songwriter
  • 1978 – Sébastien Grosjean, French tennis player
  • 1978 – Lorenzo Odone, Italian-American adrenoleukodystrophy patient who inspired the 1992 film, Lorenzo’s Oil (d. 2008)
  • 1978 – Adam Rickitt, English singer
  • 1979 – Arne Friedrich, German footballer
  • 1979 – Brian Kendrick, American wrestler
  • 1979 – John Rheinecker, American baseball player (d. 2017)
  • 1980 – Ernesto Farías, Argentinian footballer
  • 1981 – Andrey Arshavin, Russian footballer
  • 1982 – Nataliya Dobrynska, Ukrainian heptathlete
  • 1982 – Matt Macri, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Kim Tae-kyun, South Korean baseball player
  • 1984 – Carmelo Anthony, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Nia Jax, Australian-American professional wrestler
  • 1984 – Funmi Jimoh, American long jumper
  • 1984 – Andreas Schäffer, German footballer
  • 1984 – Ina Wroldsen, Norwegian singer and songwriter
  • 1985 – Nathan Horton, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Lina Andrijauskaitė, Lithuanian long jumper
  • 1987 – Issac Luke, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1987 – Kelvin Maynard, Dutch footballer (d. 2019)
  • 1987 – Noah Reid, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1987 – Rui Sampaio, Portuguese footballer
  • 1988 – Muath Al-Kasasbeh, Jordanian captain and pilot (d. 2015)
  • 1988 – Cheng Fei, Chinese gymnast
  • 1988 – Steve Mason, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Ezekiel Ansah, Ghanaian-American football player
  • 1989 – Diego Barisone, Argentinian footballer (d. 2015)
  • 1989 – Riley Keough, American model and actress
  • 1990 – Joe Biagini, American baseball pitcher
  • 1992 – Sarah Moundir, Swiss tennis player
  • 1993 – Jana Čepelová, Slovak tennis player
  • 1993 – Maika Monroe, American actress and kiteboarder
  • 1993 – Grete Šadeiko, Estonian heptathlete
  • 1998 – Markelle Fultz, American basketball player
  • 1999 – Park Ji-hoon, South Korean singer and actor

Deaths on May 29

  • 931 – Jimeno Garcés of Pamplona
  • 1040 – Renauld I, Count of Nevers
  • 1259 – Christopher I of Denmark (b. 1219)
  • 1311 – James II of Majorca (b. 1243)
  • 1320 – Pope John VIII of Alexandria, Coptic pope
  • 1327 – Jens Grand, Danish archbishop (b. c. 1260)
  • 1379 – Henry II of Castile (b. 1334)
  • 1405 – Philippe de Mézières, French soldier and author (b. 1327)
  • 1425 – Hongxi Emperor of China (b. 1378)
  • 1453 – Ulubatlı Hasan, Ottoman commander (b. 1428)
  • 1453 – Constantine XI Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1404)
  • 1500 – Bartolomeu Dias, Portuguese explorer and navigator (b. 1451)
  • 1500 – Thomas Rotherham, English cleric and minister (b. 1423)
  • 1546 – David Beaton, Scottish cardinal and politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1494)
  • 1593 – John Penry, Welsh martyr (b. 1559)
  • 1660 – Frans van Schooten, Dutch mathematician and academic (b. 1615)
  • 1691 – Cornelis Tromp, Dutch admiral (b. 1629)
  • 1790 – Israel Putnam, American general (b. 1718)
  • 1796 – Carl Fredrik Pechlin, Swedish general and politician (b. 1720)
  • 1814 – Joséphine de Beauharnais, first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte (b. 1763)
  • 1829 – Humphry Davy, English-Swiss chemist and academic (b. 1778)
  • 1847 – Emmanuel de Grouchy, Marquis de Grouchy, French general (b. 1766)
  • 1862 – Franz Mirecki, Polish composer, music conductor, and music teacher (b. 1791)
  • 1866 – Winfield Scott, American general, lawyer, and politician (b. 1786)
  • 1873 – Prince Friedrich of Hesse and by Rhine (b. 1870)
  • 1892 – Bahá’u’lláh, Persian religious leader, founded the Bahá’í Faith (b. 1817)
  • 1896 – Gabriel Auguste Daubrée, French geologist and academic (b. 1814)
  • 1903 – Bruce Price, American architect, designed the Château Frontenac and American Surety Building (b. 1845)
  • 1910 – Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1837)
  • 1911 – W. S. Gilbert, English playwright and poet (b. 1836)
  • 1914 – Laurence Sydney Brodribb Irving, English author and playwright (b. 1871)
  • 1914 – Henry Seton-Karr, English explorer, hunter, and author (b. 1853)
  • 1917 – Kate Harrington, American poet and educator (b. 1831)
  • 1919 – Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (b. 1860)
  • 1920 – Carlos Deltour, French rower (b. 1864)
  • 1921 – Abbott Handerson Thayer, American painter and educator (b. 1849)
  • 1935 – Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1874)
  • 1939 – Ursula Ledóchowska, Austrian-Polish nun and saint, founded the Congregation of the Ursulines of the Agonizing Heart of Jesus (b. 1865)
  • 1941 – Léo-Pol Morin, Canadian pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1892)
  • 1942 – John Barrymore, American actor (b. 1882)
  • 1946 – Martin Gottfried Weiss, German SS officer (b. 1905)
  • 1948 – May Whitty, English actress (b. 1865)
  • 1951 – Fanny Brice, American singer and comedian (b. 1891)
  • 1951 – Dimitrios Levidis, Greek-French soldier and composer (b. 1885)
  • 1953 – Morgan Russell, American painter and educator (b. 1886)
  • 1957 – James Whale, English director (b. 1889)
  • 1958 – Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
  • 1963 – Netta Muskett, English author (b. 1887)
  • 1966 – Ignace Lepp, Estonian-French priest and psychologist (b. 1909)
  • 1968 – Arnold Susi, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (b. 1896)
  • 1970 – John Gunther, American journalist and author (b. 1901)
  • 1970 – Eva Hesse, American artist (b. 1936)
  • 1972 – Moe Berg, American baseball player, coach, and spy (b. 1902)
  • 1972 – Stephen Timoshenko, Ukrainian-American engineer and academic (b. 1878)
  • 1973 – George Harriman, English businessman (b. 1908)
  • 1977 – Ba Maw, Burmese politician, Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1893)
  • 1979 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded United Artists (b. 1892)
  • 1979 – John H. Wood Jr., American lawyer and judge (b. 1916)
  • 1982 – Romy Schneider, Austrian actress (b. 1938)
  • 1983 – Arvīds Pelše, Latvian-Russian historian and politician (b. 1899)
  • 1987 – Charan Singh, Indian politician, 5th Prime Minister of India (b. 1902)
  • 1988 – Salem bin Laden, Saudi Arabian businessman (b. 1946)
  • 1989 – George C. Homans, American sociologist and academic (b. 1910)
  • 1991 – Margaret Barr (choreographer), Australian choreographer and teacher of dance-drama (b. 1904)
  • 1993 – Billy Conn, American boxer (b. 1917)
  • 1994 – Erich Honecker, German lawyer and politician (b. 1912)
  • 1994- Lady May Abel Smith, member of the British Royal Family (b. 1906)
  • 1996 – Tamara Toumanova, American ballerina and actress (b. 1919)
  • 1997 – Jeff Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1966)
  • 1998 – Barry Goldwater, American general, activist, and politician (b. 1909)
  • 2003 – David Jefferies, English motorcycle racer (b. 1972)
  • 2004 – Archibald Cox, American lawyer and politician, 31st United States Solicitor General (b. 1912)
  • 2004 – Samuel Dash, American academic and politician (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – John D’Amico, Canadian ice hockey player and referee (b. 1937)
  • 2005 – Hamilton Naki, South African surgeon (b. 1926)
  • 2005 – George Rochberg, American soldier and composer (b. 1918)
  • 2006 – Jacques Bouchard, Canadian businessman (b. 1930)
  • 2007 – Dave Balon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1938)
  • 2007 – Lois Browne-Evans, Bermudian lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2008 – Paula Gunn Allen, Native American writer (b. 1939)
  • 2008 – Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1987)
  • 2008 – Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian (b. 1927)
  • 2010 – Dennis Hopper, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
  • 2011 – Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian politician, 2nd President of Abkhazia (b. 1949)
  • 2011 – Bill Clements, American soldier and politician, 42nd Governor of Texas (b. 1917)
  • 2011 – Ferenc Mádl, Hungarian academic and politician, 14th President of Hungary (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Mark Minkov, Russian composer (b. 1944)
  • 2012 – Kaneto Shindo, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 2012 – Doc Watson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Richard Ballantine, American-English journalist and author (b. 1940)
  • 2013 – Françoise Blanchard, French actress (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – Andrew Greeley, American priest, sociologist, and author (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Mulgrew Miller, American pianist and composer (b. 1955)
  • 2013 – Henry Morgentaler, Polish-Canadian physician and activist (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Franca Rame, Italian actress and playwright (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Ludwig G. Strauss, German physician and academic (b. 1949)
  • 2013 – Wali-ur-Rehman, Pakistani commander (b. 1970)
  • 2014 – Christine Charbonneau, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
  • 2014 – Walter Jakob Gehring, Swiss biologist and academic (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Peter Glaser, Czech-American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Miljenko Prohaska, Croatian composer and conductor (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – William M. Roth, American businessman (b. 1916)
  • 2015 – Henry Carr, American football player and sprinter (b. 1942)
  • 2015 – Doris Hart, American tennis player (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Betsy Palmer, American actress (b. 1926)
  • 2017 – Manuel Noriega, Panamanian general and politician, Military Leader of Panama (b. 1934)
  • 2017 – Mordechai Tzipori, Israeli Lieutenant General and minister (b. 1924)
  • 2017 – Konstantinos Mitsotakis, Greek politician and prime minister (b. 1918)
  • 2020 – Maikanti Baru, Nigerian engineer, former chief of state oil firm. (b. 1959)

Holidays and observances on May 29

  • Army Day (Argentina)
  • Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh (Bahá’í Faith) (Only if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz falls on March 21 of the Gregorian calendar)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Bona of Pisa
    • Hypomone (Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • Maximin of Trier
    • Pope Alexander of Alexandria (Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • Theodosia of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • Ursula Ledóchowska
    • May 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Feast of the Sacred Heart can fall, while July 2 is the latest; celebrated 19 days after Pentecost. (Catholic Church)
  • International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers (International)
  • National Elderly Day (Indonesia)
  • Oak Apple Day (England), and its related observance:
    • Castleton Garland Day (Castleton)
  • Statehood Day (Rhode Island and Wisconsin)
  • Veterans Day (Sweden)
  • World Digestive Health Day

May 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1096 – Count Emicho enters Mainz, where his followers massacre Jewish citizens.At least 600 Jews are killed.
  • 1120 – Richard III of Capua is anointed as Prince two weeks before his untimely death.
  • 1153 – Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland.
  • 1199 – John is crowned King of England.
  • 1257 – Richard of Cornwall, and his wife, Sanchia of Provence, are crowned King and Queen of the Germans at Aachen Cathedral.
  • 1644 – Manchu regent Dorgon defeats rebel leader Li Zicheng of the Shun dynasty at the Battle of Shanhai Pass, allowing the Manchus to enter and conquer the capital city of Beijing.
  • 1703 – Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.
  • 1798 – The Battle of Oulart Hill takes place in Wexford, Ireland; Irish rebel leaders defeat and kill a detachment of militia.
  • 1799 – War of the Second Coalition: Austrian forces defeat the French at Winterthur, Switzerland.
  • 1813 – War of 1812: In Canada, American forces capture Fort George.
  • 1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi begins his attack on Palermo, Sicily, as part of the Italian unification.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: First Assault on the Confederate works at the Siege of Port Hudson.
  • 1874 – The first group of Dorsland trekkers under the leadership of Gert Alberts leaves Pretoria.
  • 1883 – Alexander III is crowned Tsar of Russia.
  • 1896 – The F4-strength St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado hits in St. Louis, Missouri, and East St. Louis, Illinois, killing at least 255 people and causing over $10–million in damage.
  • 1905 – Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima begins.
  • 1917 – Pope Benedict XV promulgates the 1917 Code of Canon Law, the first comprehensive codification of Catholic canon law in the legal history of the Catholic Church.
  • 1919 – The NC-4 aircraft arrives in Lisbon after completing the first transatlantic flight.
  • 1927 – The Ford Motor Company ceases manufacture of the Ford Model T and begins to retool plants to make the Ford Model A.
  • 1930 – The 1,046 feet (319 m) Chrysler Building in New York City, the tallest man-made structure at the time, opens to the public.
  • 1933 – New Deal: The U.S. Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission.
  • 1933 – The Walt Disney Company releases the cartoon Three Little Pigs, with its hit song “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?”
  • 1935 – New Deal: The Supreme Court of the United States declares the National Industrial Recovery Act to be unconstitutional in A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, (295 U.S. 495).
  • 1937 – In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County, California.
  • 1940 – World War II: In the Le Paradis massacre, 99 soldiers from a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are shot after surrendering to German troops; two survive.
  • 1941 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims an “unlimited national emergency”.
  • 1941 – World War II: The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic killing almost 2,100 men.
  • 1942 – World War II: In Operation Anthropoid, Reinhard Heydrich is fatally wounded in Prague; he dies of his injuries eight days later.
  • 1958 – First flight of the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.
  • 1960 – In Turkey, a military coup removes President Celâl Bayar and the rest of the democratic government from office.
  • 1962 – The Centralia mine fire is ignited in the town’s landfill above a coal mine.
  • 1965 – Vietnam War: American warships begin the first bombardment of National Liberation Front targets within South Vietnam.
  • 1967 – Australians vote in favor of a constitutional referendum granting the Australian government the power to make laws to benefit Indigenous Australians and to count them in the national census.
  • 1967 – The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy is launched by Jacqueline Kennedy and her daughter Caroline.
  • 1971 – The Dahlerau train disaster, the worst railway accident in West Germany, kills 46 people and injures 25 near Wuppertal.
  • 1971 – Pakistani forces massacre over 200 civilians, mostly Bengali Hindus, in the Bagbati massacre.
  • 1975 – Dibbles Bridge coach crash near Grassington, in North Yorkshire, England, kills 33 – the highest ever death toll in a road accident in the United Kingdom.
  • 1980 – The Gwangju Massacre: Airborne and army troops of South Korea retake the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at least 207 and possibly many more.
  • 1984 – The Danube-Black Sea canal is opened, in a ceremony attended by the Ceaușescus. It had been under construction since the 1950s.
  • 1996 – First Chechen War: the Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire.
  • 1997 – The 1997 Central Texas tornado outbreak occurs, spawning multiple tornadoes in Central Texas, including the F5 that killed 27 in Jarrell.
  • 1998 – Oklahoma City bombing: Michael Fortier is sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 for failing to warn authorities about the terrorist plot.
  • 2001 – Members of the Islamist separatist group Abu Sayyaf seize twenty hostages from an affluent island resort on Palawan in the Philippines; the hostage crisis would not be resolved until June 2002.
  • 2006 – The 6.4 Mw  Yogyakarta earthquake shakes central Java with an MSK intensity of VIII (Damaging), leaving more than 5,700 dead and 37,000 injured.
  • 2016 – Barack Obama is the first president of United States to visit Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and meet Hibakusha.
  • 2017 – Andrew Scheer takes over after Rona Ambrose as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
  • 2018 – Maryland Flood Event: A flood occurs throughout the Patapsco Valley causing one death and destroying the entire first floors of buildings on Main Street in Ellicott City and causing cars to overturn.

Births on May 27

  • 742 – Emperor Dezong of Tang (d. 805)
  • 1332 – Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian historian and theologian (d. 1406)
  • 1378 – Zhu Quan, Chinese military commander, historian and playwright (d. 1448)
  • 1519 – Girolamo Mei, Italian historian and theorist (d. 1594)
  • 1537 – Louis IV, Landgrave of Hesse-Marburg (d. 1604)
  • 1576 – Caspar Schoppe, German author and scholar (d. 1649)
  • 1584 – Michael Altenburg, German theologian and composer (d. 1640)
  • 1601 – Antoine Daniel, French-Canadian missionary and saint (d. 1648)
  • 1626 – William II, Prince of Orange (d. 1650)
  • 1627 – Anne Marie Louise d’Orléans, Duchess of Montpensier (d. 1693)
  • 1651 – Louis Antoine de Noailles, French cardinal (d. 1729)
  • 1652 – Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine of Germany (d. 1722)
  • 1738 – Nathaniel Gorham, American merchant and politician, 14th President of the Continental Congress (d. 1796)
  • 1756 – Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (d. 1825)
  • 1774 – Francis Beaufort, Irish hydrographer and officer in the Royal Navy (d. 1857)
  • 1794 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1877)
  • 1814 – John Rudolph Niernsee, Viennese-born American architect (d.1885)
  • 1815 – Henry Parkes, English-Australian politician, 7th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1896)
  • 1818 – Amelia Bloomer, American journalist and activist (d. 1894)
  • 1819 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet and songwriter (d. 1910)
  • 1827 – Samuel F. Miller, American lawyer and politician (d. 1892)
  • 1832 – Zenas Ferry Moody, American surveyor and politician, 7th Governor of Oregon (d. 1917)
  • 1836 – Jay Gould, American businessman and financier (d. 1892)
  • 1837 – Wild Bill Hickok, American police officer (d. 1876)
  • 1852 – Billy Barnes, English cricketer (d. 1899)
  • 1857 – Theodor Curtius, German chemist (d. 1928)
  • 1860 – Manuel Teixeira Gomes, Portuguese politician, 7th President of Portugal (d. 1941)
  • 1863 – Arthur Mold, English cricketer (d. 1921)
  • 1867 – Arnold Bennett, English author and playwright (d. 1931)
  • 1868 – Aleksa Šantić, Bosnian poet and author (d. 1924)
  • 1871 – Georges Rouault, French painter and illustrator (d. 1958)
  • 1875 – Frederick Cuming, English cricketer (d. 1942)
  • 1876 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and author (d. 1945)
  • 1876 – William Stanier, English engineer (d. 1965)
  • 1878 – Anna Cervin, Swedish artist (d. 1972)
  • 1879 – Karl Bühler, German-American linguist and psychologist (d. 1963)
  • 1879 – Hans Lammers, German judge and politician (d. 1962)
  • 1883 – Jessie Arms Botke, American painter (d. 1971)
  • 1884 – Max Brod, Czech journalist, author, and composer (d. 1968)
  • 1887 – Frank Woolley, English cricketer (d. 1978)
  • 1888 – Louis Durey, French composer (d. 1979)
  • 1891 – Claude Champagne, Canadian violinist, pianist, and composer (d. 1965)
  • 1891 – Jaan Kärner, Estonian poet and author (d. 1958)
  • 1894 – Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French physician and author (d. 1961)
  • 1894 – Dashiell Hammett, American detective novelist and screenwriter (d. 1961)
  • 1895 – Douglas Lloyd Campbell, Canadian educator and politician, 13th Premier of Manitoba (d. 1995)
  • 1897 – John Cockcroft, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
  • 1897 – Dink Templeton, American rugby player and coach (d. 1962)
  • 1898 – David Crosthwait, American engineer, inventor and writer (d. 1976)
  • 1899 – Johannes Türn, Estonian chess and draughts player (d. 1993)
  • 1900 – Lotte Toberentz, German overseer of the Nazi Uckermark concentration camp (d. 1964)
  • 1900 – Uładzimir Žyłka, Belarusian poet and translator (d. 1933)
  • 1904 – Chūhei Nambu, Japanese jumper and journalist (d. 1997)
  • 1906 – Buddhadasa, Thai monk and philosopher (d. 1993)
  • 1906 – Harry Hibbs, English footballer (d. 1984)
  • 1906 – Antonio Rosario Mennonna, Italian bishop (d. 2009)
  • 1907 – Nicolas Calas, Greek-American poet and critic (d. 1988)
  • 1907 – Rachel Carson, American biologist, environmentalist, and author (d. 1964)
  • 1909 – Dolores Hope, American singer and philanthropist (d. 2011)
  • 1911 – Hubert Humphrey, American journalist and politician, 38th Vice President of the United States (d. 1978)
  • 1911 – Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (d. 2007)
  • 1911 – Vincent Price, American actor (d. 1993)
  • 1912 – John Cheever, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1982)
  • 1912 – Sam Snead, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2002)
  • 1912 – Terry Moore, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1995)
  • 1915 – Ester Soré, Chilean singer-songwriter (d. 1996)
  • 1915 – Herman Wouk, American novelist (d. 2019)
  • 1917 – Harry Webster, English engineer (d. 2007)
  • 1918 – Yasuhiro Nakasone, Japanese commander and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – Bob Godfrey, Australian-English animator, director, and voice actor (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (d. 2015)
  • 1922 – Christopher Lee, English actor (d. 2015)
  • 1922 – John D. Vanderhoof, American banker and politician, 37th Governor of Colorado (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Henry Kissinger, German-American political scientist and politician, 56th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1923 – Sumner Redstone, American businessman and philanthropist
  • 1924 – Jaime Lusinchi, Venezuelan physician and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – John Sumner, English-Australian director, founded the Melbourne Theatre Company (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Tony Hillerman, American journalist and author (d. 2008)
  • 1927 – Jüri Randviir, Estonian chess player and journalist (d. 1996)
  • 1928 – Thea Musgrave, Scottish-American composer and educator
  • 1930 – John Barth, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1930 – William S. Sessions, American civil servant and judge, 8th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • 1930 – Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer and educator (d. 2010)
  • 1931 – André Barbeau, French-Canadian neurologist (d. 1986)
  • 1931 – John Chapple, English field marshal and politician, Governor of Gibraltar
  • 1931 – Bernard Fresson, French actor (d. 2002)
  • 1931 – Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Philip Kotler, American author and professor
  • 1933 – Edward Samuel Rogers, Canadian businessman (d. 2008)
  • 1933 – Manfred Sommer, Spanish author and illustrator (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Ray Daviault, Canadian-American baseball player
  • 1934 – Harlan Ellison, American author and screenwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1935 – Daniel Colchico, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Mal Evans, British road manager of The Beatles (d. 1976)
  • 1935 – Jerry Kindall, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
  • 1935 – Ramsey Lewis, American jazz pianist and composer
  • 1935 – Lee Meriwether, American model and actress, Miss America 1955
  • 1936 – Benjamin Bathurst, English admiral
  • 1936 – Louis Gossett, Jr., American actor and producer
  • 1936 – Marcel Masse, Canadian educator and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2014)
  • 1937 – Allan Carr, American playwright and producer (d. 1999)
  • 1939 – Simon Cairns, 6th Earl Cairns, English courtier and businessman
  • 1939 – Yves Duhaime, Canadian captain and politician
  • 1939 – Sokratis Kokkalis, Greek businessman
  • 1939 – Gerald Ronson, English businessman and philanthropist
  • 1939 – Lionel Sosa, Mexican-American advertising and marketing executive
  • 1939 – Don Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
  • 1940 – Mike Gibson, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Lee Baca, American police officer
  • 1942 – Piers Courage, English racing driver (d. 1970)
  • 1942 – Roger Freeman, Baron Freeman, English accountant and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  • 1942 – Robin Widdows, English racing driver
  • 1943 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (d. 2015)
  • 1943 – Bruce Weitz, American actor
  • 1944 – Chris Dodd, American lawyer and politician
  • 1944 – Ingrid Roscoe, English historian and politician, Lord Lieutenant of West Yorkshire
  • 1944 – Alain Souchon, French singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1945 – Bruce Cockburn, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1946 – Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish bassist and composer (d. 2005)
  • 1946 – John Williams, English motorcycle racer (d. 1978)
  • 1947 – Peter DeFazio, American politician
  • 1947 – Marty Kristian, German-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
  • 1947 – Branko Oblak, Slovenian footballer and coach
  • 1947 – Riivo Sinijärv, Estonian politician, 19th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1948 – Wubbo de Boer, Dutch civil servant (d. 2017)
  • 1948 – Pete Sears, English bass player
  • 1948 – Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, American occultist and author (d. 2014)
  • 1949 – Hugh Lowther, 8th Earl of Lonsdale, English politician
  • 1949 – Christa Vahlensieck, German runner
  • 1950 – Dee Dee Bridgewater, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1950 – Makis Dendrinos, Greek basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1951 – John Conteh, English boxer
  • 1954 – Pauline Hanson, Australian businesswoman, activist, and politician
  • 1954 – Jackie Slater, American football player and coach
  • 1955 – Eric Bischoff, American wrestler, manager, and producer
  • 1955 – Richard Schiff, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1955 – Ian Tracey, English organist and conductor
  • 1956 – Cynthia McFadden, American journalist
  • 1956 – Rosemary Squire, English producer and manager, co-founded Ambassador Theatre Group
  • 1956 – Giuseppe Tornatore, Italian director and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Dag Terje Andersen, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of Labour
  • 1957 – Nitin Gadkari, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Transport
  • 1957 – Eddie Harsch, Canadian-American keyboard player and bass player (d. 2016)
  • 1957 – Siouxsie Sioux, English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer
  • 1958 – Nick Anstee, English accountant and politician, 682nd Lord Mayor of London
  • 1958 – Neil Finn, New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1958 – Jesse Robredo, Filipino politician, 23rd Filipino Secretary of the Interior (d. 2012)
  • 1960 – Gaston Therrien, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1961 – José Luíz Barbosa, Brazilian runner and coach
  • 1961 – Peri Gilpin, American actress
  • 1962 – Marcelino Bernal, Mexican footballer
  • 1962 – Ray Borner, Australian basketball player
  • 1962 – Steven Brill, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Anthony A. Hyman, Israeli-English biologist and academic
  • 1962 – David Mundell, Scottish lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland
  • 1962 – Ravi Shastri, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Cuban pianist and composer
  • 1963 – Maria Walliser, Swiss skier
  • 1964 – Adam Carolla, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Pat Cash, Australian-English tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Heston Blumenthal, English chef and author
  • 1967 – Paul Gascoigne, English international footballer, midfielder, coach, and manager
  • 1967 – Eddie McClintock, American actor
  • 1968 – Jeff Bagwell, American baseball player and coach
  • 1968 – Rebekah Brooks, English journalist
  • 1968 – Harun Erdenay, Turkish basketball player and coach
  • 1968 – Frank Thomas, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Todd Hundley, American baseball player
  • 1969 – Jeremy Mayfield, American race car driver
  • 1969 – Craig Federighi, American computer scientist and engineer
  • 1970 – Michele Bartoli, Italian cyclist
  • 1970 – Tim Farron, English educator and politician
  • 1970 – Joseph Fiennes, English actor
  • 1970 – Alex Archer, American-born Australian musician
  • 1971 – Mathew Batsiua, Nauruan politician
  • 1971 – Paul Bettany, English actor
  • 1971 – Wayne Carey, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1971 – Kaur Kender, Estonian author
  • 1971 – Lisa Lopes, American rapper and dancer (d. 2002)
  • 1971 – Lee Sharpe, English footballer
  • 1971 – Grant Stafford, South African tennis player
  • 1971 – Sophie Walker, British politician, leader of the Women’s Equality Party
  • 1971 – Petroc Trelawny, British radio and television broadcaster
  • 1972 – Todd Demsey, American golfer
  • 1972 – Antonio Freeman, American football player
  • 1972 – Maxim Sokolov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Jack McBrayer, American actor and comedian
  • 1973 – Tana Umaga, New Zealand rugby player and coach
  • 1973 – Yorgos Lanthimos, Greek film video, and theatre director, producer and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Skye Edwards, British singer-songwriter
  • 1974 – Denise van Outen, English actress, singer, and television host
  • 1974 – Derek Webb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Danny Wuerffel, American football player
  • 1975 – André 3000, American rapper
  • 1975 – Michael Hussey, Australian cricketer
  • 1975 – Jamie Oliver, English chef and author
  • 1975 – Feryal Özel, Turkish astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
  • 1976 – Marcel Fässler, Swiss racing driver
  • 1977 – Abderrahmane Hammad, Algerian high jumper
  • 1977 – Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lankan cricketer
  • 1978 – Adin Brown, American soccer player
  • 1979 – Michael Buonauro, American author and illustrator (d. 2004)
  • 1979 – Mile Sterjovski, Australian footballer
  • 1980 – Craig Buntin, Canadian figure skater
  • 1981 – Alina Cojocaru, Romanian ballerina
  • 1981 – Johan Elmander, Swedish footballer
  • 1984 – Blake Ahearn, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Miguel González, Mexican baseball pitcher
  • 1985 – Chiang Chien-ming, Taiwanese baseball player
  • 1985 – Roberto Soldado, Spanish footballer
  • 1986 – Conor Cummins, Manx motorcycle racer
  • 1986 – Bamba Fall, Senegalese basketball player
  • 1986 – Lasse Schöne, Danish footballer
  • 1987 – Gervinho, Ivorian footballer
  • 1987 – Bella Heathcote, Australian actress
  • 1987 – Eric Kolelas, French-English actor and director
  • 1987 – Bora Paçun, Turkish basketball player
  • 1987 – Matt Prior, Australian rugby league player
  • 1987 – Martina Sablikova, Czech speed skater and cyclist
  • 1988 – Vontae Davis, American football player
  • 1988 – Irina Davydova, Russian hurdler
  • 1988 – Garrett Richards, American baseball pitcher
  • 1988 – Tyler Sash, American football player (d. 2015)
  • 1989 – Igor Morozov, Estonian footballer
  • 1990 – Yenew Alamirew, Ethiopian runner
  • 1990 – Chris Colfer, American actor and singer
  • 1990 – Marcus Kruger, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1991 – Sebastien Dewaest, Belgian footballer
  • 1991 – Tim Lafai, Samoan rugby league player
  • 1991 – Ksenia Pervak, Russian tennis player
  • 1991 – Eneli Vals, Estonian footballer
  • 1992 – Aaron Brown, Canadian sprinter
  • 1992 – Laurence Vincent-Lapointe, Canadian canoer

Deaths on May 27

  • 366 – Procopius, Roman usurper (b. 325)
  • 398 – Murong Bao, emperor of the Xianbei state Later Yan (b. 355)
  • 475 – Eutropius, bishop of Orange
  • 866 – Ordoño I of Asturias (b. 831)
  • 927 – Simeon I of Bulgaria first Bulgarian Emperor (b. 864)
  • 1039 – Dirk III, Count of Holland (b. 981)
  • 1045 – Bruno of Würzburg, imperial chancellor of Italy (b. c. 1005)
  • 1178 – Godfrey van Rhenen, bishop of Utrecht
  • 1240 – William de Warenne, 5th Earl of Surrey (b. 1166)
  • 1444 – John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1404)
  • 1508 – Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1452)
  • 1508 – Lucrezia Crivelli, mistress of Ludovico Sforza (b. 1452)
  • 1525 – Thomas Müntzer, German mystic and theologian (b. 1488)
  • 1541 – Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (b. 1473)
  • 1564 – John Calvin, French pastor and theologian (b. 1509)
  • 1610 – François Ravaillac, French assassin of Henry IV of France (b. 1578)
  • 1624 – Diego Ramírez de Arellano, Spanish sailor and cosmographer (b. c. 1580)
  • 1637 – John Boteler, 1st Baron Boteler of Brantfield, English politician (b. c. 1566)
  • 1661 – Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess of Argyll, Scottish general and politician (b. 1607)
  • 1675 – Gaspard Dughet, Italian-French painter (b. 1613)
  • 1690 – Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1626)
  • 1702 – Dominique Bouhours, French priest and critic (b. 1628)
  • 1707 – Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan, French mistress of Louis XIV of France (b. 1640)
  • 1781 – Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1716)
  • 1797 – François-Noël Babeuf, French journalist (b. 1760)
  • 1831 – Jedediah Smith, American hunter, explorer, and author (b. 1799)
  • 1840 – Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1782)
  • 1867 – Thomas Bulfinch American mythologist (b. 1796)
  • 1896 – Aleksandr Stoletov, Russian physicist, engineer, and academic (b. 1839)
  • 1910 – Robert Koch, German physician and microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
  • 1918 – Ōzutsu Man’emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 18th Yokozuna (b. 1869)
  • 1919 – Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian author and activist (b. 1848)
  • 1933 – Achille Paroche, French target shooter (b. 1868)
  • 1939 – Joseph Roth, Austrian-French journalist and author (b. 1894)
  • 1941 – Ernst Lindemann, German captain (b. 1894)
  • 1941 – Günther Lütjens, German admiral (b. 1889)
  • 1942 – Muhammed Hamdi Yazır, Turkish theologian, logician, and translator (b. 1878)
  • 1943 – Gordon Coates, New Zealand soldier and politician, 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1878)
  • 1945 – Enno Lolling, German physician (b. 1888)
  • 1947 – Ed Konetchy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1885)
  • 1949 – Robert Ripley, American cartoonist, publisher, and businessman, founded Ripley’s Believe It or Not! (b. 1890)
  • 1953 – Jesse Burkett, American baseball player and manager (b. 1868)
  • 1960 – James Montgomery Flagg, American painter and illustrator (b. 1877)
  • 1963 – Grigoris Lambrakis, Greek physician and politician (b. 1912)
  • 1964 – Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of India (b. 1889)
  • 1967 – W. Otto Miessner, American composer and educator (b. 1880)
  • 1967 – Ernst Niekisch, German academic and politician (b. 1889)
  • 1969 – Jeffrey Hunter, American actor and producer (b. 1926)
  • 1971 – Béla Juhos, Hungarian-Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1901)
  • 1971 – Armando Picchi, Italian footballer and coach (b. 1935)
  • 1980 – Gün Sazak, Turkish agronomist and politician (b. 1932)
  • 1984 – Vasilije Mokranjac, Serbian composer (b. 1923)
  • 1986 – Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher and academic (b. 1921)
  • 1986 – Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1901)
  • 1986 – Giorgos Tzifos, Greek actor and cinematographer (b. 1918)
  • 1987 – John Howard Northrop, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
  • 1988 – Hjördis Petterson, Swedish actress (b. 1908)
  • 1988 – Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
  • 1989 – Arseny Tarkovsky, Russian poet and translator (b. 1907)
  • 1990 – Robert B. Meyner, American lawyer and politician, 44th Governor of New Jersey (b. 1908)
  • 1991 – Leopold Nowak, Austrian musicologist and theorist (b. 1904)
  • 1992 – Uncle Charlie Osborne, American fiddler (b. 1890)
  • 1998 – Minoo Masani, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
  • 2000 – Kazimierz Leski, Polish engineer and pilot (b. 1912)
  • 2000 – Murray MacLehose, Baron MacLehose of Beoch, Scottish politician and diplomat, 25th Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1917)
  • 2000 – Maurice Richard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1921)
  • 2003 – Luciano Berio, Italian composer and educator (b. 1925)
  • 2006 – Rob Borsellino, American journalist (b. 1949)
  • 2006 – Paul Gleason, American actor (b. 1939)
  • 2006 – Craig Heyward, American football player (b. 1966)
  • 2007 – Izumi Sakai, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1967)
  • 2007 – Gretchen Wyler, American actress and dancer (b. 1932)
  • 2007 – Ed Yost, American inventor, created the hot air balloon (b. 1919)
  • 2008 – Franz Künstler, Hungarian soldier (b. 1900)
  • 2009 – Thomas M. Franck, American lawyer and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2009 – Clive Granger, Welsh-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1934)
  • 2009 – Mona Grey, British nursing administrator; Northern Ireland’s first Chief Nursing Officer
  • 2009 – Abram Hoffer, Canadian biochemist, physician, and psychiatrist (b. 1917)
  • 2009 – Gérard Jean-Juste, Haitian-American priest and theologian (b. 1946)
  • 2009 – Carol Anne O’Marie, American nun and author (b. 1933)
  • 2009 – William Refshauge, Australian soldier and physician (b. 1913)
  • 2009 – Paul Sharratt, English-American television host (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – Payut Ngaokrachang, Thai animator and director (b. 1929)
  • 2011 – Jeff Conaway, American actor and singer (b. 1950)
  • 2011 – Margo Dydek, Polish-American basketball player (b. 1974)
  • 2011 – Gil Scott-Heron, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1949)
  • 2012 – Simeon Daniel, Nevisian educator and politician, 1st Premier of Nevis (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Friedrich Hirzebruch, German mathematician and academic (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Anahit Perikhanian, Russian-born Armenian Iranologist (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – David Rimoin, Canadian-American geneticist and academic (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Jagjit Singh Lyallpuri, Indian politician (b. 1917)
  • 2013 – Bill Pertwee, English actor (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Abdoulaye Sékou Sow, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Robert Genn, Canadian painter and author (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Helma Sanders-Brahms, German director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1940)
  • 2014 – Roberto Vargas, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Massimo Vignelli, Italian-American graphic designer (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Erik Carlsson, Swedish rally driver (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Nils Christie, Norwegian sociologist, criminologist, and author (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Andy King, English footballer and manager (b. 1956)
  • 2015 – Michael Martin, American philosopher and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2017 – Gregg Allman, American musician, singer and songwriter (b. 1947)
  • 2020 – Larry Kramer, American playwright, public health advocate and LGBT rights activist (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances on May 27

  • Armed Forces Day (Nicaragua)
  • Children’s Day (Nigeria)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Augustine of Canterbury
    • Blessed Lojze Grozde
    • Bede (commemoration, Anglican Communion)
    • Bruno of Würzburg
    • Eutropius of Orange
    • Hildebert
    • Julius the Veteran
    • May 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Mother’s Day (Bolivia)
  • Navy Day (Japan)
  • Slavery Abolition Day (Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin)
  • Start of National Reconciliation Week (Australia)

May 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 567 BC – Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
  • 240 BC – First recorded perihelion passage of Halley’s Comet.
  • 1085 – Alfonso VI of Castile takes Toledo, Spain, back from the Moors.
  • 1420 – Henry the Navigator is appointed governor of the Order of Christ.
  • 1521 – The Diet of Worms ends when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, issues the Edict of Worms, declaring Martin Luther an outlaw.
  • 1644 – Ming general Wu Sangui forms an alliance with the invading Manchus and opens the gates of the Great Wall of China at Shanhaiguan pass, letting the Manchus through towards the capital Beijing.
  • 1659 – Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector of England following the restoration of the Long Parliament, beginning a second brief period of the republican government called the Commonwealth of England.
  • 1660 – Charles II lands at Dover at the invitation of the Convention Parliament, which marks the end of the Cromwell-proclaimed Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and begins the Restoration of the British monarchy.
  • 1738 – A treaty between Pennsylvania and Maryland ends the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners.
  • 1787 – After a delay of 11 days, the United States Constitutional Convention formally convenes in Philadelphia after a quorum of seven states is secured.
  • 1798 – United Irishmen Rebellion: Battle of Carlow begins; executions of suspected rebels at Carnew and at Dunlavin Green take place.
  • 1809 – Chuquisaca Revolution: Patriot revolt in Chuquisaca (modern-day Sucre) against the Spanish Empire, sparking the Latin American wars of independence.
  • 1810 – May Revolution: Citizens of Buenos Aires expel Viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros during the “May Week”, starting the Argentine War of Independence.
  • 1819 – The Argentine Constitution of 1819 is promulgated.
  • 1833 – The Chilean Constitution of 1833 is promulgated.
  • 1865 – In Mobile, Alabama, around 300 people are killed when an ordnance depot explodes.
  • 1878 – Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore opens at the Opera Comique in London.
  • 1895 – Playwright, poet and novelist Oscar Wilde is convicted of “committing acts of gross indecency with other male persons” and sentenced to serve two years in prison.
  • 1895 – The Republic of Formosa is formed, with Tang Jingsong as its president.
  • 1914 – The House of Commons of the United Kingdom passes the Home Rule Bill for devolution in Ireland.
  • 1925 – Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching human evolution in Tennessee.
  • 1926 – Sholom Schwartzbard assassinates Symon Petliura, the head of the government of the Ukrainian People’s Republic, which is in government-in-exile in Paris.
  • 1935 – Jesse Owens of Ohio State University breaks three world records and ties a fourth at the Big Ten Conference Track and Field Championships in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • 1938 – Spanish Civil War: The bombing of Alicante kills 313 people.
  • 1940 – World War II: The German 2nd Panzer Division captures the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer; the surrender of the last French and British troops marks the end of the Battle of Boulogne.
  • 1946 – The parliament of Transjordan makes Abdullah I of Jordan their Emir.
  • 1953 – Nuclear weapons testing: At the Nevada Test Site, the United States conducts its first and only nuclear artillery test.
  • 1953 – The first public television station in the United States officially begins broadcasting as KUHT from the campus of the University of Houston.
  • 1955 – In the United States, a night-time F5 tornado strikes the small city of Udall, Kansas, killing 80 and injuring 273. It is the deadliest tornado to ever occur in the state and the 23rd deadliest in the U.S.
  • 1955 – First ascent of Mount Kangchenjunga: A British expedition led by Charles Evans, Joe Brown and George Band reaches the summit of the third-highest mountain in the world (8,586 meters); Norman Hardie and Tony Streather join them the following day.
  • 1961 – Apollo program: U.S. President John F. Kennedy announces, before a special joint session of the U.S. Congress, his goal to initiate a project to put a “man on the Moon” before the end of the decade.
  • 1963 – The Organisation of African Unity is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
  • 1966 – Explorer program: Explorer 32 launches.
  • 1968 – The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, is dedicated.
  • 1973 – In protest against the dictatorship in Greece, the captain and crew on Greek naval destroyer Velos mutiny and refuse to return to Greece, instead anchoring at Fiumicino, Italy.
  • 1977 – Star Wars (retroactively titled Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope) is released in theaters.
  • 1977 – The Chinese government removes a decade-old ban on William Shakespeare’s work, effectively ending the Cultural Revolution started in 1966.
  • 1978 – The first of a series of bombings orchestrated by the Unabomber detonates at Northwestern University resulting in minor injuries.
  • 1979 – John Spenkelink, a convicted murderer, is executed in Florida; he is the first person to be executed in the state after the reintroduction of capital punishment in 1976.
  • 1979 – American Airlines Flight 191: A McDonnell Douglas DC-10 crashes during takeoff at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, killing all 271 on board and two people on the ground.
  • 1981 – In Riyadh, the Gulf Cooperation Council is created between Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
  • 1982 – Falklands War: HMS Coventry is sunk by Argentine Air Force A-4 Skyhawks.
  • 1985 – Bangladesh is hit by a tropical cyclone and storm surge, which kills approximately 10,000 people.
  • 1986 – The Hands Across America event takes place.
  • 1997 – A military coup in Sierra Leone replaces President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah with Major Johnny Paul Koroma.
  • 1999 – The United States House of Representatives releases the Cox Report which details the People’s Republic of China’s nuclear espionage against the U.S. over the prior two decades.
  • 2000 – Liberation Day of Lebanon: Israel withdraws its army from Lebanese territory (with the exception of the disputed Shebaa farms zone) 18 years after the invasion of 1982.
  • 2001 – Erik Weihenmayer becomes the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest, in the Himalayas, with Dr. Sherman Bull.
  • 2002 – China Airlines Flight 611 disintegrates in mid-air and crashes into the Taiwan Strait, with the loss of all 225 people on board.
  • 2008 – NASA’s Phoenix lander touches down in the Green Valley region of Mars to search for environments suitable for water and microbial life.
  • 2009 – North Korea allegedly tests its second nuclear device, after which Pyongyang also conducts several missile tests, building tensions in the international community.
  • 2011 – Oprah Winfrey airs her last show, ending her 25-year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show.
  • 2012 – The SpaceX Dragon becomes the first commercial spacecraft to successfully rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station.
  • 2013 – Suspected Maoist rebels kill at least 28 people and injure 32 others in an attack on a convoy of Indian National Congress politicians in Chhattisgarh, India.
  • 2013 – A gas cylinder explodes on a school bus in the Pakistani city of Gujrat, killing at least 18 people.
  • 2018 – The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) becomes enforceable in the European Union.
  • 2018 – Ireland votes to repeal the Eighth Amendment of their constitution that prohibits abortion in all but a few cases, choosing to replace it with the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland.
  • 2020 – George Floyd, a black man, is killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest when he is restrained in a prone position face-down on the ground for several minutes, provoking protests across the United States and elsewhere around the world.

Births on May 25

  • 1048 – Emperor Shenzong of Song (d. 1085)
  • 1320 – Toghon Temür, Mongolian emperor (d. 1370)
  • 1334 – Emperor Sukō of Japan (d. 1398)
  • 1416 – Jakobus (“James”), Count of Lichtenburg (d. 1480)
  • 1417 – Catherine of Cleves, Duchess consort regent of Guelders (d. 1479)
  • 1550 – Camillus de Lellis, Italian saint and nurse (d. 1614)
  • 1606 – Charles Garnier, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)
  • 1661 – Claude Buffier, Polish-French historian and philosopher (d. 1737)
  • 1713 – John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
  • 1725 – Samuel Ward, American politician, 31st Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island (d. 1776)
  • 1783 – Philip Pendleton Barbour, American farmer and politician, 12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1841)
  • 1791 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1841)
  • 1803 – Edward Bulwer-Lytton, English author, playwright, and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1873)
  • 1803 – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet and philosopher (d. 1882)
  • 1818 – Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss historian and academic (d. 1897)
  • 1818 – Louise de Broglie, Countess d’Haussonville, French essayist and biographer (d. 1882)
  • 1830 – Trebor Mai (né Robert Williams), Welsh poet (d. 1877)
  • 1846 – Naim Frashëri, Albanian-Turkish poet and translator (d. 1900)
  • 1848 – Johann Baptist Singenberger, Swiss composer, educator, and publisher (d. 1924)
  • 1852 – William Muldoon, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1933)
  • 1856 – Louis Franchet d’Espèrey, Algerian-French general (d. 1942)
  • 1860 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (d. 1944)
  • 1865 – John Mott, American evangelist and saint, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1955)
  • 1865 – Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
  • 1867 – Anders Peter Nielsen, Danish target shooter (d. 1950)
  • 1869 – Robbie Ross, Canadian journalist and art critic (d. 1918)
  • 1869 – Mathilde Verne, English pianist and educator (d. 1936)
  • 1878 – Bill Robinson, American actor and dancer (d. 1949)
  • 1879 – Max Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, Canadian-English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 1964)
  • 1879 – William Stickney, American golfer (d. 1944)
  • 1880 – Jean Alexandre Barré, French neurologist and academic (d. 1967)
  • 1882 – Marie Doro, American actress (d. 1956)
  • 1883 – Carl Johan Lind, Swedish hammer thrower (d. 1965)
  • 1886 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian soldier and activist (d. 1945)
  • 1886 – Philip Murray, Scottish-American miner and labor leader (d. 1952)
  • 1887 – Padre Pio, Italian priest and saint (d. 1968)
  • 1888 – Miles Malleson, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1969)
  • 1889 – Günther Lütjens, German admiral (d. 1941)
  • 1889 – Igor Sikorsky, Russian-American aircraft designer, founded Sikorsky Aircraft (d. 1972)
  • 1893 – Ernest “Pop” Stoneman, American country musician (d. 1968)
  • 1897 – Alan Kippax, Australian cricketer (d. 1972)
  • 1897 – Gene Tunney, American boxer and soldier (d. 1978)
  • 1898 – Bennett Cerf, American publisher and television game show panelist; co-founded Random House (d. 1971)
  • 1899 – Kazi Nazrul Islam, Bengali poet, author, and flute player (d. 1976)
  • 1900 – Alain Grandbois, Canadian poet and author (d. 1975)
  • 1907 – U Nu, Burmese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (d. 1995)
  • 1908 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (d. 1963)
  • 1909 – Alfred Kubel, German politician, 5th Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (d. 1999)
  • 1912 – Dean Rockwell, American commander, wrestler, and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Heinrich Bär, German colonel and pilot (d. 1957)
  • 1913 – Richard Dimbleby, English journalist and producer (d. 1965)
  • 1916 – Brian Dickson, Canadian captain, lawyer, and politician, 15th Chief Justice of Canada (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – Giuseppe Tosi, Italian discus thrower (d. 1981)
  • 1917 – Steve Cochran, American film, television and stage actor (d. 1965)
  • 1917 – Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Arthur Wint, Jamaican runner and diplomat (d. 1992)
  • 1921 – Hal David, American songwriter and composer (d. 2012)
  • 1921 – Kitty Kallen, American singer (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Jack Steinberger, German-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1922 – Enrico Berlinguer, Italian politician (d. 1984)
  • 1924 – István Nyers, French-Hungarian footballer (d. 2005)
  • 1925 – Rosario Castellanos, Mexican poet and author (d. 1974)
  • 1925 – Jeanne Crain, American actress (d. 2003)
  • 1925 – Eldon Griffiths, English journalist and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Don Liddle, American baseball player (d. 2000)
  • 1925 – Claude Pinoteau, French film director and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1926 – Claude Akins, American actor (d. 1994)
  • 1926 – William Bowyer, English painter and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1926 – Phyllis Gotlieb, Canadian author and poet (d. 2009)
  • 1926 – Bill Sharman, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – David Wynne, English sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Robert Ludlum, American soldier and author (d. 2001)
  • 1927 – Norman Petty, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1984)
  • 1929 – Beverly Sills, American soprano and actress (d. 2007)
  • 1930 – Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer (d. 2016)
  • 1931 – Herb Gray, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2014)
  • 1931 – Georgy Grechko, Russian engineer and astronaut (d. 2017)
  • 1931 – Irwin Winkler, American director and producer
  • 1932 – John Gregory Dunne, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2003)
  • 1932 – K. C. Jones, American basketball player and coach
  • 1933 – Sarah Marshall, English-American actress (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Basdeo Panday, Trinidadian lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
  • 1933 – Ray Spencer, English footballer (d. 2016)
  • 1933 – Jógvan Sundstein, Faroese accountant and politician, 7th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands
  • 1935 – John Ffowcs Williams, Welsh engineer and academic
  • 1935 – Cookie Gilchrist, American football player (d. 2011)
  • 1935 – W. P. Kinsella, Canadian novelist and short story writer (d. 2016)
  • 1935 – Victoria Shaw, Australian-born American actress (d. 1988)
  • 1936 – Tom T. Hall, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1936 – Rusi Surti, Indian cricketer (d. 2013)
  • 1937 – Tom Phillips, English painter and academic
  • 1938 – Raymond Carver, American short story writer and poet (d. 1988)
  • 1938 – Margaret Forster, English historian, author, and critic (d. 2016)
  • 1938 – Geoffrey Robinson, English businessman and politician
  • 1939 – Dixie Carter, American actress and singer (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Ian McKellen, English actor
  • 1940 – Nobuyoshi Araki, Japanese photographer
  • 1941 – Rudolf Adler, Czech filmmaker:88
  • 1941 – Uta Frith, German developmental psychologist
  • 1941 – Vladimir Voronin, Moldovan economist and politician, 3rd President of Moldova
  • 1943 – Jessi Colter, American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1943 – John Palmer, English keyboard player
  • 1943 – Leslie Uggams, American actress and singer
  • 1944 – Digby Anderson, English journalist and philosopher
  • 1944 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
  • 1944 – Charlie Harper, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1944 – Robert MacPherson, American mathematician and academic
  • 1944 – Frank Oz, English-born American puppeteer, filmmaker, and actor
  • 1944 – Chris Ralston, English rugby player
  • 1946 – Bill Adam, Scottish-Canadian racing driver
  • 1946 – David A. Hargrave, American game designer, created Arduin (d. 1988)
  • 1947 – Karen Valentine, American actress
  • 1947 – Catherine G. Wolf, American psychologist and computer scientist
  • 1948 – Bülent Arınç, Turkish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
  • 1948 – Marianne Elliott, Northern Irish historian, author, and academic
  • 1948 – Klaus Meine, German rock singer-songwriter
  • 1949 – Jamaica Kincaid, Antiguan-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist
  • 1949 – Barry Windsor-Smith, English painter and illustrator
  • 1950 – Robby Steinhardt, American rock violinist and singer
  • 1951 – Bob Gale, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Jeffrey Bewkes, American businessman
  • 1952 – Nick Fotiu, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1952 – David Jenkins, Trinidadian-Scottish runner
  • 1952 – Al Sarrantonio, American author and publisher
  • 1952 – Gordon H. Smith, American businessman and politician
  • 1953 – Eve Ensler, American playwright and producer
  • 1953 – Daniel Passarella, Argentinian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1953 – Stan Sakai, Japanese-American author and illustrator
  • 1953 – Gaetano Scirea, Italian footballer (d. 1989)
  • 1954 – John Beck, English footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1954 – Murali, Indian actor, producer, and politician (d. 2009)
  • 1955 – Alistair Burt, English lawyer and politician
  • 1956 – Stavros Arnaoutakis, Greek politician
  • 1956 – Larry Hogan, American politician, 62nd Governor of Maryland
  • 1956 – David P. Sartor, American composer and conductor
  • 1957 – Alastair Campbell, English journalist and author
  • 1957 – Edward Lee, American author
  • 1957 – Robert Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1958 – Dorothy Straight, American children’s author
  • 1958 – Paul Weller, English singer, songwriter and musician
  • 1959 – Julian Clary, English comedian, actor, and author
  • 1959 – Manolis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician
  • 1959 – Rick Wamsley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1960 – Amy Klobuchar, American lawyer and politician
  • 1960 – Anthea Turner, English journalist and television host
  • 1962 – Ric Nattress, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1963 – George Hickenlooper, American director and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1963 – Mike Myers, Canadian-American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Ludovic Orban, Romanian engineer, and politician, 68th Prime Minister of Romania
  • 1964 – David Shaw, Canadian-American ice hockey player
  • 1965 – Yahya Jammeh, Gambian colonel and politician, President of the Gambia
  • 1967 – Luc Nilis, Belgian footballer and manager
  • 1967 – Mark Rosewater, Head designer of Magic: the Gathering
  • 1968 – Kendall Gill, American basketball player, boxer, and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Glen Drover, Canadian guitarist and songwriter
  • 1969 – Anne Heche, American actress
  • 1969 – Karen Bernstein, Canadian voice actress
  • 1969 – Stacy London, American journalist and author
  • 1970 – Robert Croft, Welsh-English cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1970 – Jamie Kennedy, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Stefano Baldini, Italian runner
  • 1971 – Marco Cappato, Italian politician
  • 1972 – Karan Johar, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1972 – Octavia Spencer, American actress and author
  • 1973 – Daz Dillinger, American rapper and producer
  • 1973 – Molly Sims, American model and actress
  • 1974 – Dougie Freedman, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Frank Klepacki, American drummer and composer
  • 1974 – Miguel Tejada, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1975 – Blaise Nkufo, Congolese-Swiss footballer
  • 1976 – Stefan Holm, Swedish high jumper
  • 1976 – Erki Pütsep, Estonian cyclist
  • 1976 – Ethan Suplee, American actor
  • 1976 – Cillian Murphy, Irish actor
  • 1976 – Miguel Zepeda, Mexican footballer
  • 1977 – Andre Anis, Estonian footballer
  • 1977 – Alberto Del Rio, Mexican-American mixed martial artist and wrestler
  • 1978 – Adam Gontier, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Brian Urlacher, American football player
  • 1979 – Carlos Bocanegra, American international soccer player, defender and Sports Executive
  • 1979 – Sayed Moawad, Egyptian footballer
  • 1979 – Caroline Ouellette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1979 – Sam Sodje, English-Nigerian footballer
  • 1979 – Jonny Wilkinson, English rugby player
  • 1979 – Chris Young, American baseball pitcher
  • 1980 – David Navarro, Spanish footballer
  • 1981 – Michalis Pelekanos, Greek basketball player
  • 1981 – Matt Utai, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1982 – Adam Boyd, English footballer
  • 1982 – Daniel Braaten, Norwegian footballer
  • 1982 – Ryan Gallant, American skateboarder
  • 1982 – Roger Guerreiro, Polish footballer
  • 1982 – Justin Hodges, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Ezekiel Kemboi, Kenyan runner
  • 1982 – Jason Kubel, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Stacey Pensgen, American figure skater and meteorologist
  • 1982 – Luke Webster, Australian footballer
  • 1984 – Luke Ball, Australian footballer
  • 1984 – Kyle Brodziak, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1984 – A. J. Foyt IV, American race car driver
  • 1984 – Shawne Merriman, American football player
  • 1985 – Luciana Abreu, Portuguese singer and actress
  • 1985 – Demba Ba, French footballer
  • 1985 – Gert Kams, Estonian footballer
  • 1985 – Roman Reigns, American football player and wrestler
  • 1986 – Edewin Fanini, Brazilian footballer
  • 1986 – Yoan Gouffran, French footballer
  • 1986 – Takahiro Hōjō, Japanese actor and musician
  • 1986 – Geraint Thomas, Welsh cyclist
  • 1987 – Timothy Derijck, Belgian footballer
  • 1987 – Yves De Winter, Belgian footballer
  • 1987 – Moritz Stehling, German footballer
  • 1987 – Kamil Stoch, Polish ski jumper
  • 1988 – Dávid Škutka, Slovak footballer
  • 1988 – Cameron van der Burgh, South African swimmer
  • 1990 – Bo Dallas, American wrestler
  • 1990 – Nikita Filatov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1993 – James Porter, English cricketer
  • 1994 – Matt Murray, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1994 – Aly Raisman, American gymnast
  • 1995 – Kagiso Rabada, South African cricketer
  • 1996 – David Pastrňák, Czech ice hockey player

Deaths on May 25

  • 675 – Li Hong, Chinese prince (b. 652)
  • 709 – Aldhelm, English-Latin bishop, poet, and scholar (b. 639)
  • 803 – Higbald of Lindisfarne, English bishop
  • 912 – Xue Yiju, chancellor of Later Liang
  • 916 – Flann Sinna, king of Meath
  • 939 – Yao Yanzhang, general of Chu
  • 986 – Abd al-Rahman al-Sufi, Muslim astronomer (b. 903)
  • 992 – Mieszko I of Poland (b. 935)
  • 1085 – Pope Gregory VII (b. 1020)
  • 1261 – Pope Alexander IV (b. 1185)
  • 1452 – John Stafford, English archbishop and politician
  • 1555 – Gemma Frisius, Dutch physician, mathematician, and cartographer (b. 1508)
  • 1555 – Henry II of Navarre (b. 1503)
  • 1595 – Valens Acidalius, German poet and critic (b. 1567)
  • 1595 – Philip Neri, Italian priest and saint (b. 1515)
  • 1607 – Mary Magdalene de’ Pazzi, Italian Carmelite nun and mystic (b. 1566)
  • 1632 – Adam Tanner, Austrian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1572)
  • 1667 – Gustaf Bonde, Finnish-Swedish politician, 5th Lord High Treasurer of Sweden (b. 1620)
  • 1681 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1600)
  • 1741 – Daniel Ernst Jablonski, German bishop and theologian (b. 1660)
  • 1786 – Peter III of Portugal (b. 1717)
  • 1789 – Anders Dahl, Swedish botanist and physician (b. 1751)
  • 1797 – John Griffin, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (b. 1719)
  • 1805 – William Paley, English priest and philosopher (b. 1743)
  • 1849 – Benjamin D’Urban, English general and politician, Governor of British Guiana (b. 1777)
  • 1895 – Ahmed Cevdet Pasha, Ottoman sociologist, historian, and jurist (b. 1822)
  • 1899 – Rosa Bonheur, French painter and sculptor (b. 1822)
  • 1912 – Austin Lane Crothers, American educator and politician, 46th Governor of Maryland (b. 1860)
  • 1917 – Maksim Bahdanovič, Belarusian poet and critic (b. 1891)
  • 1919 – Eliza Pollock, American archer (b. 1840)
  • 1919 – Madam C. J. Walker, American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded the Madame C.J. Walker Manufacturing Company (b. 1867)
  • 1924 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter and illustrator (b. 1889)
  • 1926 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (b. 1879)
  • 1927 – Payne Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1876)
  • 1930 – Randall Davidson, Scottish-English archbishop (b. 1848)
  • 1934 – Gustav Holst, English trombonist, composer, and educator (b. 1874)
  • 1937 – Henry Ossawa Tanner, American-French painter and illustrator (b. 1859)
  • 1939 – Frank Watson Dyson, English astronomer and academic (b. 1868)
  • 1942 – Emanuel Feuermann, Ukrainian-American cellist and educator (b. 1902)
  • 1943 – Nils von Dardel, Swedish painter (b. 1888)
  • 1948 – Witold Pilecki, Polish officer and Resistance leader (b. 1901)
  • 1951 – Paula von Preradović, Croatian poet and author (b. 1887)
  • 1954 – Robert Capa, Hungarian photographer and journalist (b. 1913)
  • 1957 – Leo Goodwin, American swimmer, diver, and water polo player (b. 1883)
  • 1968 – Georg von Küchler, German field marshal (b. 1881)
  • 1970 – Tom Patey, Scottish mountaineer and author (b. 1932)
  • 1977 – Yevgenia Ginzburg, Russian author (b. 1904)
  • 1979 – Itzhak Bentov, Czech-Israeli engineer, mystic, and author (b. 1923)
  • 1979 – Amédée Gordini, Italian-born French racing driver and sports car manufacturer (b. 1899)
  • 1981 – Ruby Payne-Scott, Australian physicist and astronomer (b. 1912)
  • 1981 – Fredric Warburg, English author and publisher (b. 1898)
  • 1983 – Necip Fazıl Kısakürek, Turkish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1904)
  • 1983 – Idris of Libya (b. 1889)
  • 1983 – Jack Stewart, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1917)
  • 1986 – Chester Bowles, American journalist and politician, 22nd Under Secretary of State (b. 1901)
  • 1990 – Vic Tayback, American actor (b. 1930)
  • 1995 – Élie Bayol, French racing driver (b. 1914)
  • 1995 – Krešimir Ćosić, Croatian basketball player and coach, Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer 1996 (b. 1948)
  • 1995 – Dany Robin, French actress (b. 1927)
  • 1996 – Renzo De Felice, Italian historian and author (b. 1929)
  • 2003 – Sloan Wilson, American author and poet (b. 1920)
  • 2004 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux Publishing Company (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Sunil Dutt, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician (b. 1929)
  • 2005 – Robert Jankel, English businessman, founded Panther Westwinds (b. 1938)
  • 2005 – Graham Kennedy, Australian television host and actor (b. 1934)
  • 2005 – Ismail Merchant, Indian-born film producer and director (b. 1936)
  • 2005 – Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter and illustrator (b. 1909)
  • 2007 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, and director (b. 1931)
  • 2008 – J. R. Simplot, American businessman, founded Simplot (b. 1909)
  • 2009 – Haakon Lie, Norwegian politician (b. 1905)
  • 2010 – Alexander Belostenny, Ukrainian basketball player (b. 1959)
  • 2010 – Michael H. Jordan, American businessman (b. 1936)
  • 2010 – Alan Hickinbotham, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1925)
  • 2010 – Gabriel Vargas, Mexican painter and illustrator (b. 1915)
  • 2010 – Jarvis Williams, American football player and coach (b. 1965)
  • 2011 – Terry Jenner, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1944)
  • 2012 – William Hanley, American author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
  • 2012 – Peter D. Sieruta, American author and critic (b. 1958)
  • 2012 – Lou Watson, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Mahendra Karma, Indian politician (b. 1950)
  • 2013 – Nand Kumar Patel, Indian politician (b. 1953)
  • 2014 – David Allen, English cricketer (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Marcel Côté, Canadian economist and politician (b. 1942)
  • 2014 – Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Herb Jeffries, American singer and actor (b. 1913)
  • 2014 – Toaripi Lauti, Tuvaluan educator and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Tuvalu (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Matthew Saad Muhammad, American boxer and trainer (b. 1954)
  • 2015 – George Braden, Canadian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of the Northwest Territories (b. 1949)
  • 2015 – Robert Lebel, Canadian bishop (b. 1924)
  • 2019 – Claus von Bülow, Danish-British socialite (b.1926)

Holidays and observances on May 25

  • Africa Day (African Union)
  • African Liberation Day (African Union, Rastafari)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Aldhelm
    • Bede
    • Canius
    • Dionysius of Milan
    • Dúnchad mac Cinn Fáelad
    • Gerard of Lunel
    • Madeleine Sophie Barat
    • Mary Magdalene de Pazzi
    • Maximus (Mauxe) of Évreux
    • Pope Boniface IV
    • Pope Gregory VII
    • Pope Urban I
    • Zenobius of Florence
    • May 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Arbor Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Venezuela)
  • Earliest day on which Children’s Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Hungary)
  • Earliest day on which Holiday of Saint Etchmiadzin can fall, while July 27 is the latest; celebrated on the 64th day after Easter. (Armenia)
  • Earliest day on which Memorial Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Monday in May. (United States)
  • Earliest day on which Mother’s Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Algeria, Dominican Republic, France (First Sunday of June, if Pentecost occurs on this day), Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia)
  • Earliest day on which Turkmen Carpet Day can fall, while May 31 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in May. (Turkmenistan)
  • First National Government / National Day (Argentina)
  • Geek Pride Day (geek culture)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Jordan from the United Kingdom in 1946.
  • Last bell (Russia, post-Soviet countries)
  • Liberation Day (Lebanon)
  • International Missing Children’s Day and its related observances:
    • National Missing Children’s Day (United States),
  • National Tap Dance Day (United States)
  • Towel Day in honour of the work of the writer Douglas Adams

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