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1889

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

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

Births on May 16

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

Deaths on May 16

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

Holidays and observances on May 16

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

May 16 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on May 14

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

Deaths on May 14

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

Holidays and observances on May 14

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

May 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on May 13

1401 – Emperor Shōkō of Japan (d. 1428)

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

Deaths on May 12

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

Holidays and observances on May 12

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

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

On This Day

May 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 330 – Constantinople is consecrated.
  • 868 – A copy of the Diamond Sutra is printed in China, making it the oldest known dated printed book.
  • 912 – Alexander becomes Emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1745 – War of the Austrian Succession: French forces defeat an Anglo-Dutch–Hanoverian army.
  • 1792 – Robert Gray commands the first expedition to sail into the Columbia River.
  • 1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the British House of Commons.
  • 1813 – William Lawson, Gregory Blaxland and William Wentworth discover a route across the Blue Mountains, opening up inland Australia to settlement.
  • 1833 – The Lady of the Lake strikes an iceberg off Newfoundland and sinks with the loss of up to 265 passengers and crew.
  • 1846 – President James K. Polk asked for a Declaration of War against Mexico, starting the Mexican–American War.
  • 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British.
  • 1858 – Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd state of the United States.
  • 1880 – Seven people are killed in the Mussel Slough Tragedy, a gun battle in California.
  • 1889 – An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort results in the theft of over $28,000 and the award of two Medals of Honor.
  • 1894 – Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike.
  • 1910 – An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
  • 1943 – World War II: American troops invade Attu Island in the Aleutian Islands in an attempt to expel occupying Japanese forces.
  • 1945 – World War II: Off the coast of Okinawa, the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill is hit by two kamikazes.
  • 1960 – Adolf Eichmann is captured by the Mossad in Argentina.
  • 1963 – Racist bombings in Birmingham, Alabama, disrupt nonviolence in the Birmingham campaign and precipitate a crisis involving federal troops.
  • 1970 – The 1970 Lubbock tornado kills 26 and causes $250 million in damage.
  • 1973 – Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg’s charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times are dismissed.
  • 1985 – Fifty-six spectators die and more than 200 are injured in the Bradford City stadium fire.
  • 1987 – Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
  • 1996 – After the aircraft’s departure from Miami, a fire started by improperly handled chemical oxygen generators in the cargo hold of Atlanta-bound ValuJet Flight 592 causes the Douglas DC-9 to crash in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 on board.
  • 1997 – Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.
  • 1998 – India conducts three underground atomic tests in Pokhran.
  • 2000 – Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia.
  • 2010 – David Cameron takes office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats form the country’s first coalition government since the Second World War.
  • 2011 – An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 hits Lorca, Spain.
  • 2013 – Fifty-two people are killed in a bombing in Reyhanlı, Turkey.
  • 2014 – Fifteen people are killed and 46 injured in Kinshasa in a stampede caused by tear gas being thrown into soccer stands by police officers.
  • 2016 – One hundred and ten people are killed in an ISIL bombing in Baghdad.

Births on May 11

  • 1571 – Niwa Nagashige, Japanese daimyō (d. 1637)
  • 1715 – Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach, German organist (d. 1739)
  • 1752 – Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German physician, physiologist, and anthropologist (d. 1840)
  • 1797 – José Mariano Salas, Mexican general and politician (d. 1867)
  • 1811 – Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, Swiss politician (d. 1893)
  • 1852 – Charles W. Fairbanks, American journalist and politician, 26th United States Vice President (d. 1918)
  • 1854 – Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (d. 1932)
  • 1869 – Archibald Warden, English tennis player (d. 1943)
  • 1871 – Frank Schlesinger, American astronomer and author (d. 1943)
  • 1875 – Harriet Quimby, American pilot and screenwriter (d. 1912)
  • 1881 – Al Cabrera, Spanish-Cuban baseball player and manager (d. 1964)
  • 1881 – Jan van Gilse, Dutch composer and conductor (d. 1944)
  • 1881 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (d. 1963)
  • 1888 – Irving Berlin, Belarusian-American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
  • 1888 – Willis Augustus Lee, American admiral (d. 1945)
  • 1889 – Paul Nash, British painter (d. 1946)
  • 1890 – Willie Applegarth, English-American sprinter (d. 1958)
  • 1890 – Helge Løvland, Norwegian decathlete (d. 1984)
  • 1894 – Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1991)
  • 1895 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (d. 1978)
  • 1895 – William Grant Still, American composer and conductor (d. 1978)
  • 1896 – Josip Štolcer-Slavenski, Croatian composer and academic (d. 1955)
  • 1897 – Robert E. Gross, American businessman (d. 1961)
  • 1901 – Rose Ausländer, Ukrainian-English poet and author (d. 1988):7
  • 1901 – Gladys Rockmore Davis, American painter (d. 1967)
  • 1902 – Edna Ernestine Kramer, American mathematician (d. 1984)
  • 1903 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (d. 1993)
  • 1904 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish artist (d. 1989)
  • 1905 – Lise de Baissac, Mauritian-born SOE agent, war hero (d. 2004)
  • 1905 – Catherine Bauer Wurster, American architect and public housing advocate (d. 1964)
  • 1907 – Rip Sewell, American baseball player and coach (d. 1989
  • 1911 – Mitchell Sharp, Canadian economist and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Finance (d. 2004)
  • 1911 – Phil Silvers, American actor and comedian (d. 1985)
  • 1912 – Saadat Hasan Manto, Indian-Pakistani author and screenwriter (d. 1955)
  • 1916 – Camilo José Cela, Spanish author and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
  • 1918 – Richard Feynman, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
  • 1921 – Robin Barbour, Scottish minister and author (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Hildegard Hamm-Brücher, German politician (d. 2016)
  • 1924 – Antony Hewish, English astronomer and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1925 – Edward J. King, American football player and politician, 66th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2006)
  • 1927 – Bernard Fox, British actor (d. 2016)
  • 1927 – Gene Savoy, American explorer, author, and scholar (d. 2007)
  • 1930 – Edsger W. Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist and academic (d. 2002)
  • 1930 – Stanley Elkin, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1995)
  • 1932 – Valentino Garavani, Italian fashion designer
  • 1933 – Louis Farrakhan, American religious leader
  • 1934 – Jim Jeffords, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Jack Twyman, American basketball player (d. 2012)
  • 1935 – Francisco Umbral, Spanish journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1937 – Ildikó Újlaky-Rejtő, Hungarian Olympic and world champion foil fencer
  • 1938 – Narendra Patel, Baron Patel, Tanzanian-English obstetrician, academic, and politician
  • 1941 – Eric Burdon, English musician
  • 1941 – Ian Redpath, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1943 – Nancy Greene, Canadian skier and politician
  • 1944 – John Benaud, Australian cricketer
  • 1948 – Jack Cantoni, French rugby player (d. 2013)
  • 1948 – Nirj Deva, Sri Lankan-English politician
  • 1950 – Jeremy Paxman, English journalist and author
  • 1950 – Sadashiv Amrapurkar, Indian actor (d. 2014)
  • 1951 – Ed Stelmach, Canadian farmer and politician, 13th Premier of Alberta
  • 1954 – John Gregory, English footballer and manager
  • 1955 – John DeStefano, Jr., American politician, 49th Mayor of New Haven
  • 1957 – Mike Nesbitt, Northern Irish journalist and politician
  • 1962 – Steve Bono, American football player
  • 1964 – Bobby Witt, American baseball player
  • 1964 – Floyd Youmans, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1967 – Alberto García Aspe, Mexican footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Mitch Healey, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1969 – Simon Vroemen, Dutch runner
  • 1970 – Harold Ford, Jr., American lawyer and politician
  • 1970 – Jason Queally, English cyclist
  • 1972 – Tomáš Dvořák, Czech decathlete and coach
  • 1973 – Tsuyoshi Ogata, Japanese runner
  • 1974 – Darren Ward, English-Welsh footballer and coach
  • 1974 – Tony Warner, English born Trinidadian international footballer and coach
  • 1975 – Francisco Cordero, Dominican-American baseball player
  • 1976 – Kardinal Offishall, American rapper and record producer/executive
  • 1977 – Pablo Gabriel García, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1977 – Victor Matfield, South African rugby player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1977 – Bobby Roode, Canadian professional wrestler
  • 1978 – Laetitia Casta, French model and actress
  • 1982 – Cory Monteith, Canadian actor and singer (d. 2013)
  • 1983 – Matt Leinart, American football player
  • 1983 – Steven Sotloff, American-Israeli journalist (d. 2014)
  • 1983 – Holly Valance, Australian actress, singer and model
  • 1984 – Andrés Iniesta, Spanish footballer
  • 1986 – Abou Diaby, French footballer
  • 1986 – Miguel Veloso, Portuguese footballer
  • 1987 – Lim Seul-ong, South Korean singer and actor
  • 1987 – Monica Roșu, Romanian gymnast
  • 1988 – Jeremy Maclin, American football player
  • 1988 – Brad Marchand, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Alyssa Brown, Canadian artistic gymnast
  • 1989 – Giovani dos Santos, Mexican international footballer
  • 1989 – Cam Newton, American football player
  • 1992 – Thibaut Courtois, Belgian footballer
  • 1992 – Pablo Sarabia, Spanish footballer
  • 1993 – Maurice Harkless, American-Puerto Rican basketball player
  • 1994 – Hagos Gebrhiwet, Ethiopian runner
  • 1995 – Gelson Martins, Portuguese footballer
  • 1999 – Sabrina Carpenter, American singer and actress
  • 1999 – Kaitlyn Dias, American actress and voice artist

Deaths on May 11

  • 1610 – Matteo Ricci, Italian priest and mathematician (b. 1552)
  • 1686 – Otto von Guericke, German physicist and politician (b. 1602)
  • 1778 – William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1708)
  • 1779 – John Hart, American lawyer and politician (b. 1711)
  • 1812 – Spencer Perceval, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1762)
  • 1848 – Tom Cribb, English boxer (b. 1781)
  • 1849 – Juliette Récamier, French businesswoman (b. 1777)
  • 1882 – Frederick Innes, Scottish-Australian politician, 9th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1816)
  • 1889 – John Cadbury, English businessman and philanthropist, founded the Cadbury Company (b. 1801)
  • 1908 – Charles Kingston, Australian politician, 20th Premier of South Australia (b. 1850)
  • 1916 – Karl Schwarzschild, German astronomer and physicist (b. 1873):xix
  • 1918 – George Elmslie, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Victoria (b. 1861)
  • 1920 – James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1878)
  • 1920 – William Dean Howells, American novelist, literary critic, and playwright (b. 1837)
  • 1927 – Juan Gris, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1887)
  • 1929 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak-American priest, architect, botanist, and painter (b. 1864)
  • 1938 – George Lyon, Canadian golfer and cricketer (b. 1858)
  • 1955 – Gilbert Jessop, English cricketer (b. 1874)
  • 1960 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1874)
  • 1963 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888):169
  • 1967 – James E. Brewton, American painter (b. 1930)
  • 1979 – Lester Flatt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1914)
  • 1981 – Odd Hassel, Norwegian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
  • 1981 – Bob Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
  • 1983 – Zenna Henderson, American writer (b. 1917)
  • 1985 – Chester Gould, American cartoonist, created Dick Tracy (b. 1900)
  • 1986 – Fritz Pollard, American football player and coach (b. 1894)
  • 1988 – Kim Philby, British-Soviet double agent (b. 1912)
  • 1994 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1928)
  • 2001 – Douglas Adams, English novelist and screenwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2002 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1912)
  • 2002 – Bill Peet, American animator and screenwriter (b. 1915)
  • 2003 – Noel Redding, English bass player (b. 1945)
  • 2005 – Léo Cadieux, Canadian politician, 17th Canadian Minister of National Defence (b. 1908)
  • 2006 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer and actor (b. 1935)
  • 2007 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (b. 1913)
  • 2008 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (b. 1953)
  • 2009 – Abel Goumba, Central African physician and politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1926)
  • 2009 – Claudio Huepe, Chilean economist and politician, Chilean Minister Secretary-General of Government (b. 1939)
  • 2009 – Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda, Indian admiral (b. 1915)
  • 2010 – Doris Eaton Travis, American dancer and vaudevillian (b. 1904)
  • 2011 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (b. 1977)

Holidays and observances on May 11

  • Christian feast day:
    • Anthimus of Rome
    • Gangulphus of Burgundy
    • Majolus of Cluny
    • Mamertus, the first of the Ice Saints
    • May 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • National Technology Day (India)
  • Statehood Day (Minnesota)
  • Vietnam Human Rights Day (Vietnam)

May 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

May 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 28 BC – A sunspot is observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.
  • 1291 – Scottish nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England pending the selection of a king.
  • 1497 – Amerigo Vespucci allegedly leaves Cádiz for his first voyage to the New World.
  • 1503 – Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there.
  • 1534 – Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland.
  • 1688 – King Narai nominates Phetracha as regent, leading to the revolution of 1688 in which Phetracha becomes king of the Ayutthaya Kingdom.
  • 1768 – Rioting occurs in London after John Wilkes is imprisoned for writing an article for The North Briton severely criticizing King George III.
  • 1773 – The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by reducing taxes on its tea and granting it the right to sell tea directly to North America. The legislation leads to the Boston Tea Party.
  • 1774 – Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette become King and Queen of France.
  • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: A small Colonial militia led by Ethan Allen and Colonel Benedict Arnold captures Fort Ticonderoga.
  • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The Second Continental Congress takes place in Philadelphia.
  • 1796 – War of the First Coalition: Napoleon wins a victory against Austrian forces at Lodi bridge over the Adda River in Italy. The Austrians lose some 2,000 men.
  • 1801 – First Barbary War: The Barbary pirates of Tripoli declare war on the United States of America.
  • 1824 – The National Gallery in London opens to the public.
  • 1837 – Panic of 1837: New York City banks suspend the payment of specie, triggering a national banking crisis and an economic depression whose severity was not surpassed until the Great Depression.
  • 1849 – Astor Place Riot: A riot breaks out at the Astor Opera House in Manhattan, New York City over a dispute between actors Edwin Forrest and William Charles Macready, killing at least 22 and injuring over 120.
  • 1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: In India, the first war of Independence begins. Sepoys mutiny against their commanding officers at Meerut.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: In Kentucky, Union soldiers ambush and mortally wound Confederate raider William Quantrill, who lingers until his death on June 6.
  • 1869 – The First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, is completed at Promontory Summit, Utah with the golden spike.
  • 1872 – Victoria Woodhull becomes the first woman nominated for President of the United States.
  • 1876 – The Centennial Exposition is opened in Philadelphia.
  • 1881 – Carol I is crowned the King of the Romanian Kingdom.
  • 1904 – The Horch & Cir. Motorwagenwerke AG is founded. It would eventually become the Audi company.
  • 1908 – Mother’s Day is observed for the first time in the United States, in Grafton, West Virginia.
  • 1916 – Sailing in the lifeboat James Caird, Ernest Shackleton arrives at South Georgia after a journey of 800 nautical miles from Elephant Island.
  • 1922 – The United States annexes the Kingman Reef.
  • 1924 – J. Edgar Hoover is appointed first Director of the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and remains so until his death in 1972.
  • 1933 – Censorship: In Germany, the Nazis stage massive public book burnings.
  • 1940 – World War II: German fighters accidentally bomb the German city of Freiburg.
  • 1940 – World War II: Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain. On the same day, Germany invades France, Belgium and Luxembourg.Meanwhile, the United Kingdom occupies Iceland.
  • 1941 – World War II: The House of Commons in London is damaged by the Luftwaffe in an air raid.
  • 1941 – World War II: Rudolf Hess parachutes into Scotland to try to negotiate a peace deal between the United Kingdom and Nazi Germany.hai Phayap Army invades the Shan States during the Burma Campaign.
  • 1946 – First successful launch of an American V-2 rocket at White Sands Proving Ground.
  • 1962 – Marvel Comics publishes the first issue of The Incredible Hulk.
  • 1967 – The Northrop M2-F2 crashes on landing, becoming the inspiration for the novel Cyborg and TV series The Six Million Dollar Man.
  • 1969 – Vietnam War: The Battle of Dong Ap Bia begins with an assault on Hill 937. It will ultimately become known as Hamburger Hill.
  • 1975 – Sony introduces the Betamax videocassette recorder.
  • 1993 – In Thailand, a fire at the Kader Toy Factory kills over 200 workers.
  • 1994 – Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as South Africa’s first black president.
  • 1996 – A blizzard strikes Mount Everest, killing eight climbers by the next day.
  • 1997 – The 7.3 Mw Qayen earthquake strikes Iran’s Khorasan Province killing 1,567 people.
  • 2002 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling United States secrets to Russia for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
  • 2005 – A hand grenade thrown by Vladimir Arutyunian lands about 60 feet from U.S. President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but it malfunctions and does not detonate.
  • 2012 – The Damascus bombings are carried out using a pair of car bombs detonated by suicide bombers outside of a military intelligence complex in Damascus, Syria, killing 55 people.
  • 2013 – One World Trade Center becomes the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.

Births on May 10

  • 874 – Meng Zhixiang, Chinese general and emperor (d. 934)
  • 955 – Al-Aziz Billah, Fatimid caliph (d. 996)
  • 1491 – Suzanne, Duchess of Bourbon (d. 1521)
  • 1604 – Jean Mairet, French author and playwright (d. 1686)
  • 1697 – Jean-Marie Leclair, French violinist and composer (d. 1764)
  • 1727 – Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune, French economist and politician (d. 1781)
  • 1755 – Robert Gray, American captain and explorer (d. 1806)
  • 1760 – Johann Peter Hebel, German author and poet (d. 1826)
  • 1760 – Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle, French captain, engineer, and composer (d. 1836)
  • 1770 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1823)
  • 1788 – Augustin-Jean Fresnel, French physicist and engineer (d. 1827)
  • 1812 – William Henry Barlow, English engineer (d. 1902)
  • 1813 – Montgomery Blair, American lieutenant and politician, 20th United States Postmaster General (d. 1883)
  • 1838 – John Wilkes Booth, American actor, assassin of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1865)
  • 1841 – James Gordon Bennett, Jr., American publisher and broadcaster (d. 1918)
  • 1843 – Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1920)
  • 1847 – Wilhelm Killing, German mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
  • 1855 – Yukteswar Giri, Indian guru and educator (d. 1936)
  • 1872 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist and anthropologist (d. 1950)
  • 1876 – Ivan Cankar, Slovenian poet and playwright (d. 1918)
  • 1878 – Konstantinos Parthenis, Greek painter (d. 1967)
  • 1878 – Gustav Stresemann, German journalist and politician, Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1929)
  • 1879 – Symon Petliura, Ukrainian journalist and politician (d. 1926)
  • 1886 – Karl Barth, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1968)
  • 1888 – Max Steiner, Austrian-American composer and conductor (d. 1971)
  • 1890 – Alfred Jodl, German general (d. 1946)
  • 1891 – Mahmoud Mokhtar, Egyptian sculptor and academic (d. 1934)
  • 1893 – Tonita Peña, San Ildefonso Pueblo (Native American) artist (d. 1949)
  • 1894 – Dimitri Tiomkin, Ukrainian-American composer and conductor (d. 1979)
  • 1897 – Einar Gerhardsen, Norwegian politician, Prime Minister of Norway (d. 1987)
  • 1898 – Ariel Durant, American historian and author (d. 1981)
  • 1899 – Fred Astaire, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)
  • 1900 – Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, English-American astronomer and astrophysicist (d. 1979)
  • 1901 – John Desmond Bernal, Irish-English crystallographer and physicist (d. 1971)
  • 1901 – Hildrus Poindexter, American bacteriologist (d. 1987)
  • 1902 – David O. Selznick, American director and producer (d. 1965)
  • 1903 – Otto Bradfisch, German economist, jurist, and SS officer (d. 1994)
  • 1905 – Markos Vamvakaris, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1972)
  • 1908 – Carl Albert, American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 2000)
  • 1909 – Maybelle Carter, American autoharp player (d. 1978)
  • 1911 – Bel Kaufman, American author and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1915 – Denis Thatcher, English soldier and businessman, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2003)
  • 1916 – Milton Babbitt, American composer and educator (d. 2011)
  • 1918 – T. Berry Brazelton, American pediatrician and author (d. 2018)
  • 1918 – Desmond MacNamara, Irish painter, sculptor, and author (d. 2008)
  • 1919 – Ella T. Grasso, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1981)
  • 1920 – Basil Kelly, Northern Irish barrister, judge and politician (d. 2008)
  • 1920 – Bert Weedon, English guitarist (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – David Azrieli, Polish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Nancy Walker, American actress, singer, and director (d. 1992)
  • 1923 – Heydar Aliyev, Azerbaijan general and politician, President of Azerbaijan (d. 2003)
  • 1923 – Otar Korkia, Georgian basketball player and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1926 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian general and politician, President of Bolivia (d. 2002)
  • 1927 – Nayantara Sahgal, Indian author
  • 1928 – Arnold Rüütel, Estonian agronomist and politician, President of Estonia
  • 1928 – Lothar Schmid, German chess player (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Audun Boysen, Norwegian runner (d. 2000)
  • 1929 – George Coe, American actor and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Antonine Maillet, Canadian author and playwright
  • 1930 – George E. Smith, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1931 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1933 – Jean Becker, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1935 – Larry Williams, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1980)
  • 1937 – Tamara Press, Ukrainian shot putter and discus thrower
  • 1938 – Manuel Santana, Spanish tennis player
  • 1940 – Arthur Alexander, American country-soul singer-songwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1940 – Wayne Dyer, American author and educator (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Jim Calhoun, American basketball player and coach
  • 1944 – Jim Abrahams, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Marie-France Pisier, French actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
  • 1946 – Donovan, Scottish singer-songwriter
  • 1946 – Graham Gouldman, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1946 – Dave Mason, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Caroline B. Cooney, American author
  • 1949 – Miuccia Prada, Italian fashion designer
  • 1952 – Sly Dunbar, Jamaican drummer
  • 1955 – Mark David Chapman, American murderer
  • 1956 – Vladislav Listyev, Russian journalist (d. 1995)
  • 1957 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (d. 1979)
  • 1958 – Gaétan Boucher, Canadian speed skater
  • 1958 – Rick Santorum, American lawyer and politician, United States Senator from Pennsylvania
  • 1959 – Victoria Rowell, American actress
  • 1959 – Danny Schayes, American basketball player
  • 1959 – Cindy Hyde-Smith, American politician, United States Senator from Mississippi, Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce
  • 1960 – Bono, Irish singer-songwriter, musician and activist
  • 1960 – Dean Heller, American lawyer and politician, United States Senator from Nevada, Secretary of State of Nevada
  • 1960 – Merlene Ottey, Jamaican-Slovenian runner
  • 1963 – Lisa Nowak, American commander and astronaut
  • 1963 – Debbie Wiseman, English composer and conductor
  • 1965 – Linda Evangelista, Canadian model
  • 1966 – Jonathan Edwards, English triple jumper
  • 1967 – Eion Crossan, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1968 – Al Murray, English comedian and television host
  • 1968 – Tatyana Shikolenko, Russian javelin thrower
  • 1969 – Dennis Bergkamp, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1969 – John Scalzi, American author and blogger
  • 1970 – Gabriela Montero, Venezuelan-American pianist
  • 1970 – David Weir, Scottish footballer
  • 1971 – Ådne Søndrål, Norwegian speed skater
  • 1972 – Christian Wörns, German footballer
  • 1973 – Joshua Eagle, Australian tennis player
  • 1973 – Ollie le Roux, South African rugby player
  • 1974 – Sylvain Wiltord, French footballer
  • 1975 – Hélio Castroneves, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1975 – Adam Deadmarsh, Canadian-American ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Bruno Cheyrou, French footballer
  • 1981 – Samuel Dalembert, Haitian-Canadian basketball player
  • 1981 – Humberto Suazo, Chilean footballer
  • 1983 – Gustav Fridolin, Swedish journalist and politician, Swedish Minister of Education
  • 1984 – Edward Mujica, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1985 – Ryan Getzlaf, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Jon Schofield, English canoe racer
  • 1987 – Wilson Chandler, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Salvador Pérez, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1990 – Ivana Španović, Serbian long jumper
  • 1995 – Missy Franklin, American swimmer1995 – Gabriella Papadakis, French ice dancer
  • 1996 – Tyus Jones, American basketball player
  • 1996 – Kateřina Siniaková, Czech tennis player

Deaths on May 10

  • 1299 – Theingapati, heir to the Pagan Kingdom
  • 1403 – Katherine Swynford, widow of John of Gaunt
  • 1482 – Paolo dal Pozzo Toscanelli, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1397)
  • 1493 – Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll, Scottish politician, Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1433)
  • 1521 – Sebastian Brant, German author (b. 1457)
  • 1566 – Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (b. 1501)
  • 1569 – John of Ávila, Spanish mystic and saint (b. 1500)
  • 1641 – Johan Banér, Swedish field marshal (b. 1596)
  • 1717 – John Hathorne, American merchant and politician (b. 1641)
  • 1726 – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (b. 1670)
  • 1774 – Louis XV of France (b. 1710)
  • 1787 – William Watson, English physician, physicist, and botanist (b. 1715)
  • 1794 – Élisabeth of France, French princess and youngest sibling of Louis XVI (b.1764)
  • 1798 – George Vancouver, English navigator and explorer (b. 1757)
  • 1807 – Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, French general (b. 1725)
  • 1818 – Paul Revere, American engraver and soldier (b. 1735)
  • 1829 – Thomas Young, English physician and linguist (b. 1773)
  • 1849 – Hokusai, Japanese painter and illustrator (b. 1760)
  • 1863 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (b. 1824)
  • 1868 – Henry Bennett, American lawyer and politician (b. 1808)
  • 1889 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1826)
  • 1891 – Carl Nägeli, Swiss botanist and mycologist (b. 1817)
  • 1897 – Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino soldier and politician, President of the Philippines (b. 1863)
  • 1910 – Stanislao Cannizzaro, Italian chemist and academic (b. 1826)
  • 1945 – Richard Glücks, German SS officer (b. 1889)
  • 1945 – Konrad Henlein, Czech soldier and politician (b. 1898)
  • 1960 – Yury Olesha, Russian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1899)
  • 1964 – Mikhail Larionov, Russian painter, illustrator, and set designer (b. 1881)
  • 1965 – Hubertus van Mook, Dutch politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1894)
  • 1968 – Scotty Beckett, American actor and singer (b. 1929)
  • 1974 – Hal Mohr, American director and cinematographer (b. 1894)
  • 1977 – Joan Crawford, American actress (year of birth disputed)
  • 1982 – Peter Weiss, German playwright and painter (b. 1916)
  • 1988 – Shen Congwen, Chinese author and academic (b. 1902)
  • 1990 – Walker Percy, American novelist and essayist (b. 1916)
  • 1994 – John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer (b. 1942)
  • 1999 – Shel Silverstein, American poet, author, and illustrator
  • 2000 – Jules Deschênes, Canadian lawyer and judge (b. 1923)
  • 2000 – Dick Sprang, American illustrator (b. 1915)
  • 2001 – Sudhakarrao Naik, Indian politician, Governor of Himachal Pradesh (b. 1934)
  • 2002 – Kaifi Azmi, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1919)
  • 2002 – Yves Robert, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
  • 2003 – Milan Vukcevich, Serbian-American chemist and chess player (b. 1937)
  • 2006 – Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1969)
  • 2008 – Leyla Gencer, Turkish soprano (b. 1928)
  • 2010 – Frank Frazetta, American illustrator and painter (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Horst Faas, German photographer and journalist (b. 1933)
  • 2012 – Carroll Shelby, American race car driver and designer (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Gunnar Sønsteby, Norwegian captain and author (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Chris Burden, American sculptor, illustrator, and academic (b. 1946)
  • 2018 – David Goodall, Australian botanist and ecologist (b. 1914)
  • 2019 – Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, Spanish politician and chemist (b. 1951)

Holidays and observances on May 10

  • Children’s Day (Maldives)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Alphius, Philadelphus and Cyrinus
    • Calepodius
    • Catald
    • Comgall
    • Damien of Molokai
    • Gordianus and Epimachus
    • Job (Roman Catholic Church, pre-1969 calendar)
    • John of Ávila
    • May 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Confederate Memorial Day (North Carolina and South Carolina)
  • Constitution Day (Micronesia)
  • Earliest possible day on which Pentecost can fall, while June 13 is the latest; celebrated 50 days after Easter Day.(Christianity)
  • Golden Spike Day (Promontory, Utah)
  • Mother’s Day (Guatemala, and Mexico)

May 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 1009 – Lombard Revolt: Lombard forces led by Melus revolt in Bari against the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy.
  • 1271 – Ninth Crusade, Edward I of England disembarks at Acre.
  • 1386 – England and Portugal formally ratify their alliance with the signing of the Treaty of Windsor, making it the oldest diplomatic alliance in the world which is still in force.
  • 1450 – ‘Abd al-Latif (Timurid monarch) is assassinated.
  • 1540 – Hernando de Alarcón sets sail on an expedition to the Gulf of California.
  • 1662 – The figure who later became Mr. Punch makes his first recorded appearance in England.
  • 1671 – Thomas Blood, disguised as a clergyman, attempts to steal England’s Crown Jewels from the Tower of London.
  • 1726 – Five men arrested during a raid on Mother Clap’s molly house in London are executed at Tyburn.
  • 1763 – The Siege of Fort Detroit begins during Pontiac’s War against British forces.
  • 1864 – Second Schleswig War: The Danish navy defeats the Austrian and Prussian fleets in the Battle of Heligoland.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Nathan Bedford Forrest surrenders his forces at Gainesville, Alabama.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: President Andrew Johnson issues a proclamation ending belligerent rights of the rebels and enjoining foreign nations to intern or expel Confederate ships.
  • 1873 – Der Krach: Vienna stock market crash heralds the Long Depression.
  • 1874 – The first horsebus makes its début in the city of Mumbai, traveling two routes.
  • 1877 – Mihail Kogălniceanu reads, in the Chamber of Deputies, the Declaration of Independence of Romania. This day became the Independence Day of Romania.
  • 1877 – A magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the coast of Peru kills 2,541, including some as far away as Hawaii and Japan.
  • 1887 – Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show opens in London.
  • 1901 – Australia opens its first national parliament in Melbourne.
  • 1904 – The steam locomotive City of Truro becomes the first steam engine in Europe to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h).
  • 1911 – The works of Gabriele D’Annunzio are placed in the Index of Forbidden Books by the Vatican.
  • 1915 – World War I: Second Battle of Artois between German and French forces.
  • 1918 – World War I: Germany repels Britain’s second attempt to blockade the port of Ostend, Belgium.
  • 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: The Polish army under General Edward Rydz-Śmigły celebrates its capture of Kiev with a victory parade on Khreshchatyk.
  • 1926 – Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Floyd Bennett claim to have flown over the North Pole (later discovery of Byrd’s diary appears to cast some doubt on the claim.)
  • 1927 – Old Parliament House, Canberra officially opens.
  • 1936 – Italy formally annexes Ethiopia after taking the capital Addis Ababa on May 5.
  • 1940 – World War II: The German submarine U-9 sinks the French coastal submarine Doris near Den Helder.
  • 1941 – World War II: The German submarine U-110 is captured by the Royal Navy. On board is the latest Enigma machine which Allied cryptographers later use to break coded German messages.
  • 1942 – Holocaust: The SS executes 588 Jewish residents of the Podolian town of Zinkiv (Khmelnytska oblast, Ukraine). The Zoludek Ghetto (in Belarus) is destroyed and all its inhabitants executed or deported.
  • 1945 – World War II: The final German Instrument of Surrender is signed at the Soviet headquarters in Berlin-Karlshorst.
  • 1945 – World War II: The German occupation of the Channel Islands comes to an end.
  • 1946 – King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy abdicates and is succeeded by Umberto II.
  • 1948 – Czechoslovakia’s Ninth-of-May Constitution comes into effect.
  • 1949 – Rainier III becomes Prince of Monaco.
  • 1950 – Robert Schuman presents his proposal on the creation of an organized Europe, which according to him was indispensable to the maintenance of peaceful relations. This proposal, known as the “Schuman Declaration”, is considered by some people to be the beginning of the creation of what is now the European Union.
  • 1955 – Cold War: West Germany joins NATO.
  • 1958 – Alfred Hitchcock’s film Vertigo has world premiere in San Francisco.
  • 1960 – The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle’s Enovid, making Enovid the world’s first approved oral contraceptive pill.
  • 1961 – FCC Chairman Newton N. Minow gives his Wasteland Speech.
  • 1964 – Ngô Đình Cẩn, de facto ruler of central Vietnam under his brother President Ngô Đình Diệm before the family’s toppling, is executed.
  • 1969 – Carlos Lamarca leads the first urban guerrilla action against the military dictatorship of Brazil in São Paulo, by robbing two banks.
  • 1970 – Vietnam War: In Washington, D.C., 75,000 to 100,000 war protesters demonstrate in front of the White House.
  • 1974 – Watergate scandal: The United States House Committee on the Judiciary opens formal and public impeachment hearings against President Richard Nixon.
  • 1977 – Hotel Polen fire: A disastrous fire burns down the Hotel Polen in Amsterdam causing 33 deaths and 21 severe injuries.
  • 1979 – Iranian Jewish businessman Habib Elghanian is executed by firing squad in Tehran, prompting the mass exodus of the once 100,000-strong Jewish community of Iran.
  • 1980 – In Florida, Liberian freighter MV Summit Venture collides with the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay, making a 1,400-ft. section of the southbound span collapse. Thirty-five people in six cars and a Greyhound bus fall 150 ft. into the water and die.
  • 1980 – In Norco, California, five masked gunmen hold up a Security Pacific bank, leading to a violent shoot-out and one of the largest pursuits in California history. Two of the gunmen and one police officer are killed and thirty-three police and civilian vehicles are destroyed in the chase.
  • 1987 – LOT Flight 5055 Tadeusz Kościuszko crashes after takeoff in Warsaw, Poland, killing all 183 people on board.
  • 1988 – New Parliament House, Canberra officially opens.
  • 1992 – Armenian forces capture Shusha, marking a major turning point in the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
  • 1992 – Westray Mine disaster kills 26 workers in Nova Scotia, Canada.
  • 1994 – Disappearance of Cleashindra Hall in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
  • 2001 – In Ghana, 129 football fans die in what became known as the Accra Sports Stadium disaster. The deaths are caused by a stampede (caused by the firing of tear gas by police personnel at the stadium) that followed a controversial decision by the referee.
  • 2002 – The 38-day stand-off in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem comes to an end when the Palestinians inside agree to have 13 suspected terrorists among them deported to several different countries.
  • 2012 – A Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft crashes into Mount Salak in West Java, Indonesia, killing 45 people.
  • 2015 – An Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft crashes near the Spanish city of Seville with three people on board killed.
  • 2015 – Russia stages its biggest ever military parade in Moscow’s Red Square to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory Day.
  • 2018 – The historic defeat for Barisan Nasional, the governing coalition of Malaysia since the country’s independence in 1957 in 2018 Malaysian general election.
  • 2018 – At the height of the 2018 East Africa floods, the Patel dam breaks in Solai, Kenya, killing 48 people and displacing another 2000.

Births on May 9

  • 1147 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shōgun (d. 1199)
  • 1170 – Valdemar II of Denmark (d. 1241)
  • 1540 – Maharana Pratap, Indian ruler (d. 1597)
  • 1555 – Jerónima de la Asunción, Spanish Catholic nun and founder of the first monastery in Manila (d. 1630)
  • 1594 – Louis Henry, Prince of Nassau-Dillenburg, military leader in the Thirty Years’ War (d. 1662)
  • 1617 – Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse-Eschwege (d. 1655)
  • 1740 – Giovanni Paisiello, Italian composer and educator (probable; d. 1816)
  • 1746 – Gaspard Monge, French mathematician and engineer (d. 1818)
  • 1763 – János Batsányi, Hungarian-Austrian poet and author (d. 1845)
  • 1800 – John Brown, American activist (d. 1859)
  • 1801 – Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood, English politician, founded the town of Fleetwood (d. 1866)
  • 1814 – John Brougham, Irish-American actor and playwright (d. 1880)
  • 1823 – Frederick Weld, English-New Zealand politician, 6th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1891)
  • 1824 – Jacob ben Moses Bachrach, Polish apologist and author (d. 1896)
  • 1825 – James Collinson, Victorian painter (d. 1881)
  • 1836 – Ferdinand Monoyer, French ophthalmologist, invented the Monoyer chart (d. 1912)
  • 1837 – Adam Opel, German engineer, founded the Opel Company (d. 1895)
  • 1845 – Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer and businessman (d. 1913)
  • 1850 – Edward Weston, English-American chemist (d. 1936)
  • 1855 – Julius Röntgen, German-Dutch composer (d. 1932)
  • 1860 – J. M. Barrie, Scottish novelist and playwright (d. 1937)
  • 1866 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian economist and politician (d. 1915)
  • 1870 – Harry Vardon, British golfer (d. 1937)
  • 1873 – Anton Cermak, Czech-American captain and politician, 44th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1933)
  • 1874 – Howard Carter, English archaeologist and historian (d. 1939)
  • 1882 – George Barker, American painter (d. 1965)
  • 1882 – Henry J. Kaiser, American shipbuilder and businessman, founded Kaiser Shipyards (d. 1967)
  • 1883 – José Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher, author, and critic (d. 1955)
  • 1884 – Valdemar Psilander, Danish actor (d. 1917)
  • 1885 – Gianni Vella, Maltese artist (d. 1977)
  • 1888 – Francesco Baracca, Italian fighter pilot (d. 1918)
  • 1888 – Rolf de Maré, Swedish art collector (d. 1964)
  • 1892 – Zita of Bourbon-Parma, last Empress of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 1989)
  • 1893 – William Moulton Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1947)
  • 1895 – Richard Barthelmess, American actor (d. 1963)
  • 1895 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (d. 1961)
  • 1895 – Frank Foss, American pole vaulter (d. 1989)
  • 1896 – Richard Day, Canadian-American art director and set decorator (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – Maria Malicka, Polish stage and film actress (d. 1992)
  • 1904 – Conrad Bernier, Canadian-American organist, composer, and educator (d. 1988)
  • 1905 – Lilí Álvarez, Spanish tennis player, author, and feminist (d. 1998)
  • 1906 – Eleanor Estes, American librarian, author, and illustrator (d. 1988)
  • 1907 – Jackie Grant, Trinidadian cricketer (d. 1978)
  • 1907 – Kathryn Kuhlman, American evangelist and author (d. 1976)
  • 1907 – Baldur von Schirach, German politician (d. 1974)
  • 1909 – Don Messer, Canadian violinist (d. 1973)
  • 1909 – Gordon Bunshaft, American architect, designed the Solow Building (d. 1990)
  • 1911 – Harry Simeone, American music arranger, conductor, and composer (d. 2005)
  • 1912 – Pedro Armendáriz, Mexican-American actor (d. 1963)
  • 1912 – Per Imerslund, Norwegian-German soldier and author (d. 1943)
  • 1912 – Géza Ottlik, Hungarian mathematician and theorist (d. 1990)
  • 1914 – Patricia Swift Blalock, American librarian (d.2011)
  • 1914 – Denham Fouts, American prostitute (d. 1948)
  • 1914 – Thanat Khoman, Thai politician and diplomat (d. 2016)
  • 1914 – Carlo Maria Giulini, Italian conductor and director (d. 2005)
  • 1914 – Hank Snow, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
  • 1916 – William Pène du Bois, American author and illustrator (d. 1993)
  • 1917 – Fay Kanin, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Moisis Michail Bourlas, Greek soldier and educator (d. 2011)
  • 1918 – Orville Freeman, American soldier and politician, 16th United States Secretary of Agriculture (d. 2003)
  • 1918 – Mike Wallace, American journalist, media personality and one-time game show host (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Clifford Chadderton, Canadian soldier and journalist (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – William Tenn, English-American author and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1920 – Richard Adams, English novelist (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Daniel Berrigan, American priest, poet, and activist (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Sophie Scholl, German activist (d. 1943)
  • 1921 – Mona Van Duyn, American poet and academic (d. 2004)
  • 1923 – Johnny Grant, American radio host and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1924 – Bulat Okudzhava, Russian singer, poet, and author (d. 1997)
  • 1926 – John Middleton Murry, Jr., English soldier, pilot, and author (d. 2002)
  • 1927 – Manfred Eigen, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
  • 1928 – Ralph Goings, American painter (d. 2016)
  • 1928 – Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (d. 1995)
  • 1928 – Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian figure skater (d. 2012)
  • 1930 – Joan Sims, English actress (d. 2001)
  • 1930 – Kalifa Tillisi, Libyan historian and linguist (d. 2010)
  • 1931 – Vance D. Brand, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut
  • 1932 – Conrad Hunte, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1999)
  • 1934 – Alan Bennett, English screenwriter, playwright, and novelist
  • 1935 – Nokie Edwards, American guitarist (d. 2018)
  • 1935 – Roger Hargreaves, English author and illustrator (d. 1988)
  • 1936 – Terry Downes, British boxer and former world middle-weight champion (d. 2017)
  • 1936 – Albert Finney, English actor (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – Glenda Jackson, English actress and politician
  • 1937 – Sonny Curtis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1937 – Rafael Moneo, Spanish architect, designed the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels and Valladolid Science Museum
  • 1937 – Dave Prater, American singer (d. 1988)
  • 1938 – Charles Simić, Serbian-American poet and editor
  • 1939 – Ralph Boston, American long jumper
  • 1939 – Ion Țiriac, Romanian tennis player and manager
  • 1939 – Ken Warby, Australian motorboat racer
  • 1939 – Giorgio Zancanaro, Italian baritone
  • 1939 – John Ogbu, Nigerian-American anthropologist and professor (d. 2003)
  • 1940 – James L. Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1941 – Dorothy Hyman, English sprinter
  • 1941 – Danny Rapp, American musician (d. 1983)
  • 1942 – John Ashcroft, American lawyer and politician, 79th United States Attorney General
  • 1942 – Tommy Roe, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Vince Cable, English economist and politician, former Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
  • 1943 – Anders Isaksson, Swedish historian and journalist (d. 2009)
  • 1943 – Colin Pillinger, English astronomer, chemist, and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1944 – Richie Furay, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1945 – Gamal El-Ghitani, Egyptian journalist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1945 – Jupp Heynckes, German footballer and manager
  • 1945 – Steve Katz, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1946 – Candice Bergen, American actress and producer
  • 1946 – Ayşe Nur Zarakolu, Turkish author and activist (d. 2002)
  • 1947 – Yukiya Amano, Japanese diplomat (d. 2019)
  • 1948 – Hans Georg Bock, German mathematician, computer scientist, and academic
  • 1948 – John Mahaffey, American golfer
  • 1948 – Steven W. Mosher, American social scientist and author
  • 1948 – Calvin Murphy, American basketball player and radio host
  • 1949 – Billy Joel, American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1949 – Richard S. Williamson, American lawyer and diplomat, 17th Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (d. 2013)
  • 1951 – Alley Mills, American actress
  • 1953 – Bruno Brokken, Belgian high jumper
  • 1955 – Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (d. 2012)
  • 1955 – Anne Sofie von Otter, Swedish soprano and actress
  • 1956 – Wendy Crewson, Canadian actress and producer
  • 1956 – Jana Wendt, Australian television host
  • 1958 – Graham Smith, Canadian swimmer
  • 1959 – Andrew Jones, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1960 – Tony Gwynn, American baseball player and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1961 – Sean Altman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1961 – John Corbett, American actor
  • 1962 – Dave Gahan, English singer-songwriter
  • 1962 – Paul Heaton, English singer-songwriter
  • 1963 – Joe Cirella, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1965 – Ken Nomura, Japanese race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1965 – Steve Yzerman, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1966 – Mark Tinordi, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1968 – Masahiko Harada, Japanese ski jumper
  • 1968 – Graham Harman, American philosopher and academic
  • 1968 – Ruth Kelly, British economist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
  • 1968 – Marie-José Pérec, French sprinter
  • 1968 – Neil Ruddock, English international footballer and television personality
  • 1970 – Doug Christie, American basketball player
  • 1970 – Hao Haidong, Chinese footballer & all time top scorer for Chinese national team
  • 1970 – Ghostface Killah, American rapper and actor
  • 1971 – Jason Lee, English footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Dan Chiasson, American poet and critic
  • 1972 – Megumi Odaka, Japanese actress and singer
  • 1973 – Tegla Loroupe, Kenyan runner
  • 1973 – Leonard Myles-Mills, Ghanaian sprinter
  • 1975 – Tamia, Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1975 – Brian Deegan, American motocross rider
  • 1977 – Averno, Mexican wrestler
  • 1977 – Marek Jankulovski, Czech footballer
  • 1977 – Svein Tuft, Canadian cyclist
  • 1978 – Leandro Cufré, Argentinian footballer
  • 1978 – Santiago Dellapè, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
  • 1978 – Aaron Harang, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Marwan al-Shehhi, Emirati terrorist (d. 2001)
  • 1979 – Pierre Bouvier, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1979 – Rosario Dawson, American actress
  • 1979 – Andrew W.K., American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, motivational speaker, and music producer
  • 1980 – Grant Hackett, Australian swimmer
  • 1980 – Angela Nikodinov, American figure skater
  • 1980 – Tony Schmidt, German race car driver
  • 1980 – Jo Hyun-jae, South Korean actor
  • 1981 – Bill Murphy, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Evangelos Tsiolis, Greek footballer
  • 1983 – Giacomo Brichetto, Italian footballer
  • 1983 – Alan Campbell, British sculler
  • 1983 – Christos Marangos, Cypriot footballer
  • 1983 – Ryuhei Matsuda, Japanese actor
  • 1983 – Gilles Müller, Luxembourgian tennis player
  • 1983 – Tyler Lumsden, American baseball player
  • 1983 – Leandro Rinaudo, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Prince Fielder, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Chase Headley, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Jake Long, American football player
  • 1985 – Henrique Andrade Silva, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Scott Bolton, Australian rugby league player
  • 1987 – Kevin Gameiro, French footballer
  • 1987 – Vitaliy Pushkar, Ukrainian race car driver
  • 1988 – J. R. Fitzpatrick, Canadian race car driver
  • 1989 – Ellen White, English footballer
  • 1991 – Majlinda Kelmendi, Kosovar judoka
  • 1992 – Dan Burn, English footballer
  • 1996 – Saron Läänmäe, Estonian footballer
  • 1996 – Grace Reid, Scottish diver

Deaths on May 9

  • 729 – Osric, king of Northumbria
  • 893 – Shi Pu, warlord of the Tang Dynasty
  • 909 – Adalgar, archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen
  • 934 – Wang Sitong, Chinese general and governor (b. 892)
  • 1280 – Magnus VI of Norway
  • 1315 – Hugh V, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1282)
  • 1329 – John Drokensford, Bishop of Bath and Wells
  • 1443 – Niccolò Albergati, Italian Cardinal and diplomat (b. 1373)
  • 1446 – Mary of Enghien (b. 1368)
  • 1590 – Charles de Bourbon French cardinal and pretender to the throne (b. 1523)
  • 1657 – William Bradford, English-American politician, 2nd Governor of Plymouth Colony (b. 1590)
  • 1707 – Dieterich Buxtehude, German-Danish organist and composer (b. 1637)
  • 1736 – Diogo de Mendonça Corte-Real, Portuguese judge and politician (b. 1658)
  • 1745 – Tomaso Antonio Vitali, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1663)
  • 1747 – John Dalrymple, 2nd Earl of Stair, Scottish field marshal and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (b. 1673)
  • 1760 – Nicolaus Zinzendorf, German bishop and saint (b. 1700)
  • 1789 – Jean-Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval, French general and engineer (b. 1715)
  • 1790 – William Clingan, American politician (b. 1721)
  • 1791 – Francis Hopkinson, American judge and politician (b. 1737)
  • 1805 – Friedrich Schiller, German poet, playwright, and historian (b. 1759)
  • 1850 – Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, French chemist and physicist (b. 1778)
  • 1850 – Garlieb Merkel, Estonian author and activist (b. 1769)
  • 1861 – Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, German philologist and politician (b. 1805)
  • 1864 – John Sedgwick, American general and educator (b. 1813)
  • 1889 – William S. Harney, American general (b. 1800)
  • 1906 – Oscar von Gebhardt, German theologian and academic (b. 1844)
  • 1914 – C. W. Post, American businessman, founded Post Foods (b. 1854)
  • 1915 – François Faber, Luxembourgian-French cyclist and soldier (b. 1887)
  • 1915 – Anthony Wilding, New Zealand tennis player and cricketer (b. 1883)
  • 1918 – George Coșbuc, Romanian journalist and poet (b. 1866)
  • 1931 – Albert Abraham Michelson, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
  • 1933 – John Arthur Jarvis, English swimmer (b. 1872)
  • 1935 – Ernst Bresslau, German zoologist (b. 1877)
  • 1938 – Thomas B. Thrige, Danish businessman (b. 1866)
  • 1942 – Józef Cebula, Polish priest and saint (b. 1902)
  • 1944 – Han Yong-un, Korean poet and social reformer (b. 1879)
  • 1949 – Louis II, Prince of Monaco (b. 1870)
  • 1950 – Esteban Terradas i Illa, Spanish mathematician and engineer (b. 1883)
  • 1957 – Ernest de Silva, Sri Lankan banker and businessman (b. 1887)
  • 1957 – Ezio Pinza, Italian actor and singer (b. 1892)
  • 1959 – Bhaurao Patil, Indian activist and educator (b. 1887)
  • 1965 – Leopold Figl, Austrian engineer and politician, 18th Chancellor of Austria (b. 1902)
  • 1968 – Mercedes de Acosta, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1893)
  • 1968 – Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (b. 1894)
  • 1968 – Marion Lorne, American actress (b. 1883)
  • 1968 – Finlay Currie, British actor (b. 1878)
  • 1970 – Walter Reuther, American union leader (b. 1907)
  • 1976 – Jens Bjørneboe, Norwegian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1920)
  • 1976 – Ulrike Meinhof, German militant, co-founded the Red Army Faction (b. 1934)
  • 1977 – James Jones, American novelist (b. 1921)
  • 1978 – Giuseppe Impastato, Italian journalist and activist (b. 1948)
  • 1978 – Aldo Moro, Italian lawyer and politician, 38th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1916)
  • 1979 – Cyrus S. Eaton, Canadian-American banker, businessman, and philanthropist (b. 1883)
  • 1979 – Eddie Jefferson, American singer and lyricist (b. 1918)
  • 1980 – Kate Molale, South African activist (b. 1928)
  • 1981 – Nelson Algren, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1909)
  • 1983 – Henry Bachtold, Australian soldier and railway engineer (b. 1891)
  • 1985 – Edmond O’Brien, American actor and director (b. 1915)
  • 1986 – Tenzing Norgay, Nepalese mountaineer (b. 1914)
  • 1987 – Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian lawyer and politician (b. 1909)
  • 1993 – Penelope Gilliatt, English novelist, short story writer, and critic (b. 1932)
  • 1994 – Elias Motsoaledi, South African activist (b. 1924)
  • 1997 – Rawya Ateya, Egyptian captain and politician (b. 1926)
  • 1997 – Marco Ferreri, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
  • 1998 – Alice Faye, American actress and singer (b. 1915)
  • 1998 – Talat Mahmood, Indian singer and actor (b. 1924)
  • 2003 – Russell B. Long, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1918)
  • 2004 – Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen cleric and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic (b. 1951)
  • 2004 – Alan King, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1927)
  • 2004 – Brenda Fassie, South African singer (b. 1964)
  • 2007 – Dwight Wilson, Canadian soldier (b. 1901)
  • 2008 – Jack Gibson, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1929)
  • 2008 – Baptiste Manzini, American football player (b. 1920)
  • 2008 – Nuala O’Faolain, Irish journalist and producer (b. 1942)
  • 2008 – Pascal Sevran, French singer, television host, and author (b. 1945)
  • 2009 – Chuck Daly, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
  • 2010 – Lena Horne, American singer, actress, and activist (b. 1917)
  • 2010 – Otakar Motejl, Czech lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2011 – Wouter Weylandt, Belgian cyclist (b. 1984)
  • 2012 – Bertram Cohler, American psychologist, psychoanalyst, and academic (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – Geoffrey Henry, Cook Islander lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1940)
  • 2012 – Vidal Sassoon, English-American hairdresser and businessman (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Ramón Blanco Rodríguez, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – George M. Leader, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Humberto Lugo Gil, Mexican lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Hidalgo (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Ottavio Missoni, Italian hurdler and fashion designer, founded Missoni (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Giacomo Bini, Italian priest and missionary (b. 1938)
  • 2014 – Harlan Mathews, American lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Nedurumalli Janardhana Reddy, Indian politician, 12th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Mary Stewart, English-Scottish author and poet (b. 1916)
  • 2015 – Edward W. Estlow, American football player and journalist (b. 1920)
  • 2015 – Kenan Evren, Turkish general and politician, 7th President of Turkey (b. 1917)
  • 2015 – Elizabeth Wilson, American actress (b. 1921)
  • 2017 – Robert Miles, a Swiss-born Italian record producer, composer, musician and DJ (b. 1969)
  • 2018 – Per Kirkeby, Danish painter, poet, film maker and sculptor (b. 1938)
  • 2019 – Freddie Starr, English comedian, impressionist, singer and actor (1943)
  • 2020 – Little Richard, American singer, songwriter, and pianist (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances on May 9

  • Anniversary of Dianetics (Church of Scientology)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Beatus of Lungern
    • Beatus of Vendome
    • Christopher (Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • George Preca
    • Gerontius of Cervia
    • Gregory of Nazianzen (The Episcopal Church (US) and traditional Roman Catholic calendar)
    • Nicolaus Zinzendorf (Lutheran)
    • Pachomius the Great
    • Tudy of Landevennec
    • May 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Commemoration of the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands related observances:
    • Liberation Day, commemorating the end of the German occupation of the Channel Islands during World War II. (Guernsey and Jersey)
    • National Day (Alderney)
  • Europe Day, commemorating the Schuman Declaration. (European Union)
  • Victory Day observances, celebration of the Soviet Union victory over Nazi Germany (Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan)
    • Victory and Peace Day, marks the capture of Shusha (1992) in the Nagorno-Karabakh War, and the end of World War II. (Armenia)
    • Victory Day over Nazism in World War II (Ukraine)

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

On This Day

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

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

Births on May 7

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

Deaths on May 7

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

Holidays and observances on May 7

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

May 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on May 6

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

Deaths on May 6

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

Holidays and observances on May 6

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

May 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /

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

May 5 in History

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

Births on May 5

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

Deaths on May 5

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

Holidays and observances on May 5

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

May 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on May 4

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

Deaths on May 4

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

Holidays and observances on May 4

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

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