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July 28 in History
- 1364 – Troops of the Republic of Pisa and the Republic of Florence clash in the Battle of Cascina.
- 1540 – Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of treason. Henry marries his fifth wife, Catherine Howard, on the same day.
- 1571 – La Laguna encomienda, known today as the Laguna province in the Philippines is founded by the Spaniards as one of the oldest encomiendas (provinces) in the country.
- 1635 – In the Eighty Years’ War the Spanish capture the strategic Dutch fortress of Schenkenschans.
- 1656 – Second Northern War: Battle of Warsaw begins.
- 1778 – Constitution of the province of Cantabria ratified at the Assembly Hall in Bárcena la Puente, Reocín, Spain.
- 1794 – French Revolution: Maximilien Robespierre and Louis Antoine de Saint-Just are executed by guillotine in Paris, France.
- 1808 – Mahmud II became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
- 1809 – Peninsular War: Battle of Talavera: Sir Arthur Wellesley’s British, Portuguese and Spanish army defeats a French force led by Joseph Bonaparte.
- 1821 – José de San Martín declares the independence of Peru from Spain.
- 1854 – USS Constellation (1854), the last all-sail warship built by the United States Navy, is commissioned.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Ezra Church: Confederate troops make a third unsuccessful attempt to drive Union forces from Atlanta, Georgia.
- 1866 – At the age of 18, Vinnie Ream becomes the first and youngest female artist to receive a commission from the United States government for a statue (of Abraham Lincoln).
- 1868 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is certified, establishing African American citizenship and guaranteeing due process of law.
- 1896 – The city of Miami, Florida is incorporated.
- 1914 – In the culmination of the July Crisis, Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, igniting World War I.
- 1915 – The United States begins a 19-year occupation of Haiti.
- 1917 – The Silent Parade took place in New York City, in protest to murders, lynchings, and other violence directed towards African Americans.
- 1932 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover orders the United States Army to forcibly evict the “Bonus Army” of World War I veterans gathered in Washington, D.C.
- 1935 – First flight of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
- 1938 – Hawaii Clipper disappears between Guam and Manila as the first loss of an airliner in trans-Pacific China Clipper service.
- 1939 – The Sutton Hoo helmet is discovered.
- 1942 – World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin issues Order No. 227. In response to alarming German advances, all those who retreat or otherwise leave their positions without orders to do so are to be tried in a military court, with punishment ranging from duty in a shtrafbat battalion, imprisonment in a Gulag, or execution.
- 1943 – World War II: Operation Gomorrah: The Royal Air Force bombs Hamburg, Germany causing a firestorm that kills 42,000 German civilians.
- 1945 – A U.S. Army B-25 bomber crashes into the 79th floor of the Empire State Building killing 14 and injuring 26.
- 1957 – Heavy rain and a mudslide in Isahaya, western Kyushu, Japan, kills 992.
- 1960 – The German Volkswagen Act came into force.
- 1965 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson announces his order to increase the number of United States troops in South Vietnam from 75,000 to 125,000.
- 1973 – Summer Jam at Watkins Glen: Nearly 600,000 people attend a rock festival at the Watkins Glen International Raceway.
- 1974 – Spetsgruppa A, Russia’s elite special force, was formed.
- 1976 – The Tangshan earthquake measuring between 7.8 and 8.2 moment magnitude flattens Tangshan in the People’s Republic of China, killing 242,769 and injuring 164,851.
- 1984 – The Summer Olympics officially known as the games of the XXIII were opened in Los Angeles.
- 1996 – The remains of a prehistoric man are discovered near Kennewick, Washington. Such remains will be known as the Kennewick Man.
- 2001 – Australian Ian Thorpe becomes the first swimmer to win six gold medals at a single World Championship.
- 2002 – Nine coal miners trapped in the flooded Quecreek Mine in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, are rescued after 77 hours underground.
- 2002 – Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 9560 crashes after takeoff from Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, killing 14 of the 16 people on board.
- 2005 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army calls an end to its thirty-year-long armed campaign in Northern Ireland.
- 2010 – Airblue Flight 202 crashes into the Margalla Hills north of Islamabad, Pakistan, killing all 152 people aboard. It is the deadliest aviation accident in Pakistan history and the first involving an Airbus A321.
- 2011 – While flying from Seoul, South Korea to Shanghai, China, Asiana Airlines Flight 991 develops an in-flight fire in the cargo hold. The Boeing 747-400F freighter attempts to divert to Jeju International Airport, but crashes into the sea South-West of Jeju island, killing both crew members on board.
- 2017 – Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif was disqualified for lifetime by Supreme Court of Pakistan founding him guilty of corruption charges.
- 2018 – Australian Wendy Tuck becomes the first woman skipper to win the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Births on July 28
- 1347 – Margaret of Durazzo, Queen of Naples and Hungary (d. 1412)
- 1516 – William, Duke of Jülich-Cleves-Berg, German nobleman (d. 1592)
- 1609 – Judith Leyster, Dutch painter (d. 1660)
- 1635 – Robert Hooke, English physicist and chemist (d. 1703)
- 1645 – Marguerite Louise d’Orléans, French princess (d. 1721)
- 1659 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (d. 1715)
- 1746 – Thomas Heyward, Jr., American judge and politician (d. 1809)
- 1750 – Fabre d’Églantine, French actor, playwright, and politician (d. 1794)
- 1783 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Bismarck, German army officer and writer (d. 1860)
- 1796 – Ignaz Bösendorfer, Austrian businessman, founded the Bösendorfer Company (d. 1859)
- 1804 – Ludwig Feuerbach, German anthropologist and philosopher (d. 1872)
- 1815 – Stefan Dunjov, Bulgarian colonel (d. 1889)
- 1844 – Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (d. 1889)
- 1857 – Ballington Booth, English-American activist, co-founded Volunteers of America (d. 1940)
- 1860 – Elias M. Ammons, American businessman and politician, 19th Governor of Colorado (d. 1925)
- 1860 – Grand Duchess Anastasia Mikhailovna of Russia (d. 1922)
- 1863 – Huseyn Khan Nakhchivanski, Russian general (d. 1919)
- 1866 – Beatrix Potter, English children’s book writer and illustrator (d. 1943)
- 1866 – Albertson Van Zo Post, American fencer (d. 1938)
- 1867 – Charles Dillon Perrine, American-Argentinian astronomer (d. 1951)
- 1872 – Albert Sarraut, French journalist and politician, 106th Prime Minister of France (d. 1962)
- 1874 – Ernst Cassirer, Polish-American philosopher and academic (d. 1945)
- 1879 – Lucy Burns, American activist, co-founded the National Woman’s Party (d. 1966)
- 1879 – Stefan Filipkiewicz, Polish painter (d. 1944)
- 1887 – Marcel Duchamp, French-American painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
- 1887 – Willard Price, Canadian-American journalist and author (d. 1983)
- 1893 – Rued Langgaard, Danish organist and composer (d. 1952)
- 1896 – Barbara La Marr, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1926)
- 1898 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1901 – Freddie Fitzsimmons, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1979)
- 1901 – Rudy Vallée, American actor, singer, and saxophonist (d. 1986)
- 1902 – Albert Namatjira, Australian painter (d. 1959)
- 1902 – Sir Karl Popper, Austrian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
- 1907 – Earl Tupper, American inventor and businessman, founded Tupperware Brands (d. 1983)
- 1909 – Aenne Burda, German publisher (d. 2005)
- 1909 – Malcolm Lowry, English novelist and poet (d. 1957)
- 1914 – Carmen Dragon, American conductor and composer (d. 1984)
- 1915 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
- 1915 – Dick Sprang, American illustrator (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Frankie Yankovic, American polka musician (d. 1998)
- 1916 – David Brown, American journalist and producer (d. 2010)
- 1920 – Andrew V. McLaglen, English-American director and producer (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Jacques Piccard, Belgian-Swiss oceanographer and engineer (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Ray Ellis, American conductor and producer (d. 2008)
- 1924 – Luigi Musso, Italian race car driver (d. 1958)
- 1924 – C. T. Vivian, American minister, author, and activist
- 1925 – Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Charlie Biddle, American-Canadian bassist (d. 2003)
- 1927 – John Ashbery, American poet (d. 2017)
- 1929 – Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, American journalist and socialite, 37th First Lady of the United States (d. 1994)
- 1929 – Shirley Ann Grau, American novelist and short story writer
- 1930 – Firoza Begum, Bangladeshi singer (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Junior Kimbrough, American singer and guitarist (d. 1998)
- 1930 – Jean Roba, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 2006)
- 1930 – Ramsey Muir Withers, Canadian general (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Alan Brownjohn, English poet and author
- 1931 – Johnny Martin, Australian cricketer (d. 1992)
- 1932 – Natalie Babbitt, American author and illustrator (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, Brazilian colonel (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Charlie Hodge, Canadian ice hockey player and scout (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Jacques d’Amboise, American dancer and choreographer
- 1935 – Neil McKendrick, English historian and academic
- 1936 – Russ Jackson, Canadian football player and coach
- 1936 – Garfield Sobers, Barbadian cricketer
- 1937 – Francis Veber, French director and screenwriter
- 1938 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
- 1938 – Arsen Dedić, Croatian singer-songwriter and poet (d. 2015)
- 1938 – Alberto Fujimori, Peruvian engineer, academic, and politician, 90th President of Peru
- 1938 – Chuan Leekpai, Thai lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Thailand
- 1939 – Richard Johns, English air marshal
- 1940 – Philip Proctor, American voice actor and screenwriter
- 1941 – Riccardo Muti, Italian conductor and educator
- 1941 – Susan Roces, Filipino actress and producer
- 1942 – Marty Brennaman, American sportscaster
- 1942 – Tonia Marketaki, Greek director and screenwriter (d. 1994)
- 1943 – Mike Bloomfield, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1981)
- 1943 – Bill Bradley, American basketball player and politician
- 1943 – Richard Wright, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player (d. 2008)
- 1945 – Jim Davis, American cartoonist, created Garfield
- 1946 – Jonathan Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Linda Kelsey, American actress
- 1946 – Fahmida Riaz, Pakistani poet and activist
- 1947 – Peter Cosgrove, Australian general and politician, 26th Governor General of Australia
- 1947 – Sally Struthers, American actress
- 1948 – Gerald Casale, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director
- 1948 – Eiichi Ohtaki, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Vida Blue, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1949 – Peter Doyle, Australian singer and guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1949 – Simon Kirke, English drummer
- 1949 – Steve Peregrin Took, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1980)
- 1949 – Randall Wallace, American screenwriter and producer
- 1950 – Shahyar Ghanbari, Iranian singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Tapley Seaton, Kittitian politician, 4th Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis
- 1951 – Santiago Calatrava, Spanish architect and engineer, designed the Athens Olympic Sports Complex
- 1951 – Doug Collins, American basketball player and coach
- 1951 – Gregg Giuffria, American rock musician and businessman
- 1951 – Ray Kennedy, English footballer
- 1952 – Vajiralongkorn, King of Thailand
- 1954 – Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan colonel and politician, President of Venezuela (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Gerd Faltings, German mathematician and academic
- 1954 – Steve Morse, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Mikey Sheehy, Irish footballer
- 1955 – Nikolay Zimyatov, Russian skier
- 1956 – John Feinstein, American journalist and author
- 1956 – Robert Swan, English explorer
- 1958 – Terry Fox, Canadian runner and activist (d. 1981)
- 1958 – Michael Hitchcock, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1959 – William T. Vollmann, American novelist, short story writer and journalist
- 1960 – Luiz Fernando Carvalho, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Jon J. Muth, American author and illustrator
- 1960 – Yōichi Takahashi, Japanese illustrator
- 1961 – Yannick Dalmas, French race car driver
- 1962 – Rachel Sweet, American singer, television writer, and actress
- 1964 – Lori Loughlin, American actress
- 1965 – Priscilla Chan, Hong Kong singer
- 1966 – Sossina M. Haile, Ethiopian American chemist
- 1966 – Miguel Ángel Nadal, Spanish footballer
- 1966 – Jimmy Pardo, American stand-up comedian, actor, and host
- 1966 – Shikao Suga, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Taka Hirose, Japanese bass player
- 1969 – Garth Snow, American ice hockey player and manager
- 1969 – Alexis Arquette, American actress (d. 2016)
- 1970 – Michael Amott, Swedish guitarist and songwriter
- 1970 – Isabelle Brasseur, Canadian figure skater
- 1970 – Paul Strang, Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
- 1971 – Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Iraqi leader of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
- 1971 – Ludmilla Lacueva Canut, Andorran writer
- 1971 – Stephen Lynch, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1971 – Annie Perreault, Canadian speed skater
- 1972 – Robert Chapman, English cricketer
- 1973 – Marc Dupré, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1973 – Steve Staios, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 – Alexis Tsipras, Greek engineer and politician, 186th Prime Minister of Greece
- 1974 – Elizabeth Berkley, American actress
- 1975 – Leonor Watling, Spanish actress
- 1976 – Jacoby Shaddix, American singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Aki Berg, Finnish-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Manu Ginóbili, Argentinian basketball player
- 1977 – Miyabiyama Tetsushi, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1978 – Kārlis Vērdiņš, Latvian poet
- 1978 – Hitomi Yaida, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Henrik Hansen, Danish footballer
- 1979 – Birgitta Haukdal, Icelandic singer-songwriter and producer
- 1979 – Lee Min-woo, South Korean singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1979 – Alena Popchanka, Belarusian-French swimmer and coach
- 1980 – Stephen Christian, American singer-songwriter
- 1980 – Anthony Weaver, American football player
- 1981 – Michael Carrick, English footballer
- 1983 – Sam Dastyari, Iranian-Australian politician
- 1983 – Cody Hay, Canadian figure skater
- 1984 – Zach Parise, American ice hockey player
- 1985 – Mathieu Debuchy, French footballer
- 1985 – Dustin Milligan, Canadian actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1985 – Darren Murphy, Irish footballer
- 1986 – Alexandra Chando, American actress
- 1986 – Lauri Korpikoski, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1986 – Dulquer Salmaan, Indian actor
- 1987 – Yasser Corona, Mexican footballer
- 1987 – Yevhen Khacheridi, Ukrainian-Greek footballer
- 1987 – Pedro, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Greg Hardy, American football player
- 1989 – Felipe Kitadai, Brazilian martial artist
- 1990 – Soulja Boy, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1990 – Simone Pizzuti, Italian footballer
- 1993 – Harry Kane, English footballer
- 1993 – Moses Odubajo, English footballer
- 1993 – Cher Lloyd, English singer-songwriter
- 1995 – Josh Addo-Carr, Australian rugby league player
Deaths on July 28
- 450 – Theodosius II, Roman emperor (b. 401)
- 938 – Thankmar, half-brother of Otto I (during Siege of Eresburg) (b. c. 908)
- 942 – Shi Jingtang, emperor of Later Jin (b. 892)
- 1057 – Victor II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1018)
- 1128 – William Clito, English son of Sybilla of Conversano (b. 1102)
- 1230 – Leopold VI, Duke of Austria (b. 1176)
- 1271 – Walter de Burgh, 1st Earl of Ulster (b. 1220)
- 1285 – Keran, Queen of Armenia
- 1333 – Guy VIII of Viennois, Dauphin of Vienne (b. 1309)
- 1345 – Sancia of Majorca, queen regent of Naples (b. c. 1285)
- 1458 – John II, king of Cyprus and Armenia
- 1488 – Edward Woodville, Lord Scales (at the Battle of St. Aubin-du-Cormier)
- 1508 – Robert Blackadder, bishop of Glasgow
- 1527 – Rodrigo de Bastidas, Spanish explorer, founded the city of Santa Marta (b. 1460)
- 1540 – Thomas Cromwell, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1495)
- 1585 – Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (b. 1527)
- 1631 – Guillén de Castro y Bellvis, Spanish playwright (b. 1569)
- 1655 – Cyrano de Bergerac, French poet and playwright (b. 1619)
- 1667 – Abraham Cowley, English poet and author (b. 1618)
- 1675 – Bulstrode Whitelocke, English lawyer and politician (b. 1605)
- 1685 – Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, English politician and diplomat, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1618)
- 1718 – Étienne Baluze, French scholar and academic (b. 1630)
- 1741 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1678)
- 1750 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German organist and composer (b. 1685)
- 1762 – George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Somerset (b. 1691)
- 1794 – Maximilien Robespierre, French lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the Committee of Public Safety (b. 1758)
- 1794 – Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, French soldier and politician (b. 1767)
- 1808 – Selim III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1761)
- 1809 – Richard Beckett, English cricketer and captain (b.1772)
- 1818 – Gaspard Monge, French mathematician and engineer (b. 1746)
- 1835 – Édouard Mortier, duc de Trévise, French general and politician, 15th Prime Minister of France (b. 1768)
- 1836 – Nathan Mayer Rothschild, German-English banker and financier (b. 1777)
- 1842 – Clemens Brentano, German author and poet (b. 1778)
- 1844 – Joseph Bonaparte, French diplomat and brother of Napoleon (b. 1768)
- 1849 – Charles Albert of Sardinia (b. 1798)
- 1869 – Jan Evangelista Purkyně, Czech anatomist and physiologist (b. 1787)
- 1878 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician (b. 1820)
- 1885 – Moses Montefiore, British philanthropist, sheriff and banker (b. 1784)
- 1895 – Edward Beecher, American minister and theologian (b. 1803)
- 1930 – John DeWitt, American hammer thrower (b. 1881)
- 1930 – Allvar Gullstrand, Swedish ophthalmologist and optician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
- 1933 – Nishinoumi Kajirō III, Japanese sumo wrestler, 30th yokozuna (b. 1890)
- 1934 – Marie Dressler, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1868)
- 1934 – Louis Tancred, South African cricketer and pilot (b. 1876)
- 1935 – Meletius IV of Constantinople (b. 1871)
- 1942 – Flinders Petrie, English archaeologist and academic (b. 1853)
- 1946 – Saint Alphonsa, first woman of Indian origin to be Canonization as a saint by the Catholic Church (b. 1910)
- 1957 – Edith Abbott, American economist, social worker, and educator (b. 1876)
- 1957 – Isaac Heinemann, German-Israeli scholar and academic (b. 1876)
- 1965 – Edogawa Ranpo, Japanese author and critic (b. 1894)
- 1965 – Attallah Suheimat, Jordanian politician (b. 1875)
- 1967 – Karl W. Richter, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1942)
- 1968 – Otto Hahn, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
- 1969 – Ramón Grau, Cuban physician and politician, 6th President of Cuba (b. 1882)
- 1969 – Frank Loesser, American composer (b. 1910)
- 1971 – Lawrence Moore Cosgrave, Canadian colonel and diplomat (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Myril Hoag, American baseball player (b. 1908)
- 1971 – Charles E. Pont, French-American minister and painter (b. 1898)
- 1972 – Helen Traubel, American soprano and actress (b. 1903)
- 1979 – Don Miller, American football player and coach (b. 1902)
- 1979 – Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader (b. 1898)
- 1980 – Rose Rand, Austrian-born American logician and philosopher (b. 1903)
- 1981 – Stanley Rother, American priest and missionary (b. 1935)
- 1982 – Keith Green, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1953)
- 1987 – Jack Renshaw, Australian politician, 31st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1909)
- 1990 – Jill Esmond, English actress (b. 1908)
- 1992 – Sulev Nõmmik, Estonian actor and director (b. 1931)
- 1993 – Stanley Woods, Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Roger Tory Peterson, American ornithologist and academic (b. 1908)
- 1997 – Rosalie Crutchley, English actress (b. 1920)
- 1997 – Seni Pramoj, Thai lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1905)
- 1998 – Zbigniew Herbert, Polish poet and author (b. 1924)
- 1998 – Lenny McLean, English boxer, actor, and author (b. 1949)
- 1998 – Consalvo Sanesi, Italian race car driver (b. 1911)
- 1999 – Trygve Haavelmo, Norwegian economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- 2000 – Abraham Pais, Dutch-American physicist and historian (b. 1918)
- 2001 – Ahmed Sofa, Bangladeshi poet, author, and critic (b. 1943)
- 2002 – Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
- 2003 – Valerie Goulding, Irish activist and politician (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Francis Crick, English biologist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Tiziano Terzani, Italian journalist and author (b. 1938)
- 2006 – David Gemmell, English author (b. 1948)
- 2007 – Karl Gotch, Belgian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Jim LeRoy, American soldier and pilot (b. 1961)
- 2009 – Jim Johnson, American football player and coach (b. 1941)
- 2011 – Abdul Fatah Younis, Libyan general (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Colin Horsley, New Zealand-English pianist and educator (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Sepp Mayerl, Austrian mountaineer (b. 1937)
- 2012 – William F. Milliken Jr., American race car driver and engineer (b. 1911)
- 2013 – Mustafa Adrisi, Ugandan general and politician, 3rd Vice President of Uganda (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Eileen Brennan, American actress and singer (b. 1932)
- 2013. – Rita Reys, Dutch jazz singer (b. 1924)
- 2013 – William Scranton, American captain and politician, 13th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Ersilio Tonini, Italian cardinal (b. 1914)
- 2014 – Margot Adler, American journalist and author (b. 1946)
- 2014 – Alex Forbes, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Alakbar Mammadov, Azerbaijani footballer and manager (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Theodore Van Kirk, American soldier, pilot, and navigator (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Jan Kulczyk, Polish businessman (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Edward Natapei, Vanuatuan politician, 6th Prime Minister of Vanuatu (b. 1954)
- 2015 – Clive Rice, South African cricketer and coach (b. 1949)
- 2016 – Émile Derlin Zinsou, Beninese politician (b. 1918)
- 2016 – Mahasweta Devi, Indian Bengali fiction writer and socio-political activist (b. 1926)
- 2018 – Wanny van Gils, Dutch footballer (b. 1959)
Holidays and observances on July 28
- Christian feast day:
- Alphonsa Muttathupadathu (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)
- Botvid
- Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel, Henry Purcell (Episcopal Church commemoration)
- Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Schütz, George Frederick Handel (Lutheran commemoration)
- Nazarius and Celsus
- Pedro Poveda Castroverde
- Pope Innocent I
- Pope Victor I
- Samson of Dol
- July 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of Commemoration of the Great Upheaval (Canada)
- Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, while August 3 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before the first Monday in August (Bermuda)
- Fiestas Patrias, celebrates the independence of Peru from Spain by General José de San Martín in 1821.
- Liberation Day (San Marino)
- Ólavsøka Eve (Faroe Islands)
- World Hepatitis Day
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July 3 in History
- 324 – Battle of Adrianople: Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium.
- 987 – Hugh Capet is crowned King of France, the first of the Capetian dynasty that would rule France until the French Revolution in 1792.
- 1035 – William the Conqueror becomes the Duke of Normandy, reigns until 1087.
- 1608 – Québec City is founded by Samuel de Champlain.
- 1754 – French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French forces.
- 1767 – Pitcairn Island is discovered by Midshipman Robert Pitcairn on an expeditionary voyage commanded by Philip Carteret.
- 1767 – Norway’s oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded and the first edition is published.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington takes command of the Continental Army at Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 1778 – American Revolutionary War: Iroquois allied to Britain kill 360 people in the Wyoming Valley massacre.
- 1819 – The Bank for Savings in the City of New-York, the first savings bank in the United States, opens.
- 1839 – The first state normal school in the United States, the forerunner to today’s Framingham State University, opens in Lexington, Massachusetts with three students.
- 1844 – The last pair of great auks is killed.
- 1848 – Governor-General Peter von Scholten emancipates all remaining slaves in the Danish West Indies.
- 1849 – France invades the Roman Republic and restores the Papal States.
- 1852 – Congress establishes the United States’ 2nd mint in San Francisco.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The final day of the Battle of Gettysburg culminates with Pickett’s Charge.
- 1866 – Austro-Prussian War is decided at the Battle of Königgrätz, resulting in Prussia taking over as the prominent German nation from Austria.
- 1884 – Dow Jones & Company publishes its first stock average.
- 1886 – Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, the first purpose-built automobile.
- 1886 – The New-York Tribune becomes the first newspaper to use a linotype machine, eliminating typesetting by hand.
- 1890 – Idaho is admitted as the 43rd U.S. state.
- 1898 – A Spanish squadron, led by Pascual Cervera y Topete, is defeated by an American squadron under William T. Sampson in the Battle of Santiago de Cuba.
- 1913 – Confederate veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913 reenact Pickett’s Charge; upon reaching the high-water mark of the Confederacy they are met by the outstretched hands of friendship from Union survivors.
- 1938 – World speed record for a steam locomotive is set in England, by the Mallard, which reaches a speed of 125.88 miles per hour (202.58 km/h).
- 1938 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and lights the eternal flame at Gettysburg Battlefield.
- 1940 – World War II: The Royal Navy attacks the French naval squadron in Algeria, to ensure that it will not fall under German control. Of the four French battleships present, one is sunk, two are damaged, and one escapes back to France.
- 1944 – World War II: The Minsk Offensive clears German troops from the city.
- 1952 – The Constitution of Puerto Rico is approved by the United States Congress.
- 1952 – The SS United States sets sail on her maiden voyage to Southampton. During the voyage, the ship takes the Blue Riband away from the RMS Queen Mary.
- 1967 – The Aden Emergency: The Battle of the Crater in which the British Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders retake the Crater district following the Arab Police mutiny.
- 1969 – Space Race: The biggest explosion in the history of rocketry occurs when the Soviet N-1 rocket explodes and subsequently destroys its launchpad.
- 1970 – The Troubles: The “Falls Curfew” begins in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- 1970 – Dan-Air Flight 1903 crashes into the Les Agudes mountain in the Montseny Massif near the village of Arbúcies in Catalonia, Spain, killing all 112 people aboard.
- 1979 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs the first directive for secret aid to the opponents of the pro-Soviet regime in Kabul.
- 1988 – United States Navy warship USS Vincennes shoots down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf, killing all 290 people aboard.
- 1988 – The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, providing the second connection between the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus.
- 1996 – British Prime Minister John Major announced the Stone of Scone would be returned to Scotland.
- 2013 – Egyptian coup d’état: President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi is overthrown by the military after four days of protests all over the country calling for Morsi’s resignation, to which he did not respond. President of the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt Adly Mansour is declared acting president.
Births on July 3
- 321 – Valentinian I, Roman emperor (d. 375)
- 1423 – Louis XI of France (d. 1483)
- 1442 – Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1500)
- 1518 – Li Shizhen, Chinese physician and mineralogist (d. 1593)
- 1530 – Claude Fauchet, French historian and author (d. 1601)
- 1534 – Myeongjong of Joseon, Ruler of Korea (d. 1567)
- 1550 – Jacobus Gallus, Slovenian composer (d. 1591)
- 1569 – Thomas Richardson, English politician and judge (d. 1635)
- 1683 – Edward Young, English poet, dramatist and literary critic (Night-Thoughts) (d. 1765)
- 1685 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal and politician (d. 1768)
- 1728 – Robert Adam, Scottish-English architect, designed Culzean Castle (d. 1792)
- 1738 – John Singleton Copley, American painter (d. 1815)
- 1778 – Carl Ludvig Engel, German architect (d. 1840)
- 1789 – Johann Friedrich Overbeck, German-Italian painter and engraver (d. 1869)
- 1814 – Ferdinand Didrichsen, Danish botanist and physicist (d. 1887)
- 1823 – Ahmed Vefik Pasha, Greek-Ottoman statesman, diplomat, playwright, and translator (d. 1891)
- 1844 – Dankmar Adler, German-born American architect and engineer (d. 1900)
- 1846 – Achilles Alferaki, Russian composer and politician, Governor of Taganrog (d. 1919)
- 1851 – Charles Bannerman, English-Australian cricketer and umpire (d. 1930)
- 1854 – Leoš Janáček, Czech composer and theorist (d. 1928)
- 1860 – Charlotte Perkins Gilman, American sociologist and author (d. 1935)
- 1866 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (d. 1906)
- 1869 – Svend Kornbeck, Danish actor (d. 1933)
- 1870 – R. B. Bennett, Canadian lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1947)
- 1871 – William Henry Davies, Welsh poet and writer (d.1940)
- 1874 – Jean Collas, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1928)
- 1875 – Ferdinand Sauerbruch, German surgeon and academic (d. 1951)
- 1876 – Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher and academic (d. 1957)
- 1878 – George M. Cohan, American songwriter, actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1942)
- 1879 – Alfred Korzybski, Polish-American mathematician, linguist, and philosopher (d. 1950)
- 1880 – Carl Schuricht, Polish-German conductor (d. 1967)
- 1883 – Franz Kafka, Czech-Austrian author (d. 1924)
- 1886 – Raymond A. Spruance, American admiral and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Philippines (d. 1969)
- 1888 – Ramón Gómez de la Serna, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1963)
- 1889 – Richard Cramer, American actor (d. 1960)
- 1893 – Sándor Bortnyik, Hungarian painter and graphic designer (d. 1976)
- 1896 – Doris Lloyd, English actress (d. 1968)
- 1897 – Jesse Douglas, American mathematician and academic (d. 1965)
- 1898 – Stefanos Stefanopoulos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1982)
- 1900 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
- 1901 – Ruth Crawford Seeger, American composer (d. 1953)
- 1903 – Ace Bailey, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1992)
- 1905 – Johnny Gibson, American hurdler and coach (d. 2006)
- 1906 – George Sanders, Russian-born British actor (d. 1972)
- 1908 – M. F. K. Fisher, American author (d. 1992)
- 1908 – Robert B. Meyner, American lawyer and politician, 44th Governor of New Jersey (d. 1990)
- 1909 – Stavros Niarchos, Greek shipping magnate (d.1996)
- 1910 – Fritz Kasparek, Austrian mountaineer (d. 1954)
- 1911 – Joe Hardstaff Jr., English cricketer (d. 1990)
- 1913 – Dorothy Kilgallen, American journalist, actress, and author (d. 1965)
- 1916 – John Kundla, American basketball player and coach (d. 2017)
- 1917 – João Saldanha, Brazilian footballer, manager, and journalist (d. 1990)
- 1918 – S. V. Ranga Rao, Indian actor, director, and producer (d. 1974)
- 1918 – Johnny Palmer, American golfer (d. 2006)
- 1919 – Cecil FitzMaurice, 8th Earl of Orkney (d. 1998)
- 1919 – Gerald W. Thomas, American soldier and academic (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Eddy Paape, Belgian illustrator (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Paul O’Dea, American baseball player and manager (d. 1978)
- 1921 – Susan Peters, American actress (d. 1952)
- 1921 – François Reichenbach, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
- 1922 – Guillaume Cornelis van Beverloo, Belgian painter and sculptor (d. 2010)
- 1922 – Theo Brokmann Jr., Dutch football player (d. 2003)
- 1924 – Amalia Aguilar, Cuban-Mexican film actress and dancer
- 1924 – S. R. Nathan, 6th President of Singapore (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Terry Moriarty, Australian rules footballer (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Danny Nardico, American professional boxer (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Philip Jamison, American artist
- 1926 – Johnny Coles, American trumpet player (d. 1997)
- 1926 – Rae Allen, American actress, singer, and director
- 1926 – Laurence Street, Australian jurist and former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (d. 2018)
- 1927 – Ken Russell, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2011)
- 1927 – Tim O’Connor, American actor (d. 2018)
- 1928 – Evelyn Anthony, English author (d. 2018)
- 1929 – Clément Perron, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1929 – Joanne Herring, American socialite, businesswoman, political activist, philanthropist, diplomat, and television talk show host
- 1930 – Pete Fountain, American clarinet player (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Carlos Kleiber, German-Austrian conductor (d. 2004)
- 1930 – Tommy Tedesco, American guitarist (d. 1997)
- 1932 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (d. 2014)
- 1933 – Edward Brandt, Jr., American physician and mathematician (d. 2007)
- 1935 – Cheo Feliciano, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Harrison Schmitt, American geologist, astronaut, and politician
- 1936 – Anthony Lester, Baron Lester of Herne Hill, English lawyer and politician
- 1936 – Baard Owe, Norwegian-Danish actor
- 1937 – Nicholas Maxwell, English philosopher and academic
- 1937 – Tom Stoppard, Czech-English playwright and screenwriter
- 1938 – Jean Aitchison, English linguist and academic
- 1939 – Brigitte Fassbaender, German soprano and director
- 1939 – László Kovács, Hungarian politician and diplomat, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1939 – Coco Laboy, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1940 – Lamar Alexander, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Education
- 1940 – Jerzy Buzek, Polish engineer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1940 – Lance Larson, American swimmer
- 1940 – César Tovar, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1994)
- 1941 – Gloria Allred, American lawyer and activist
- 1941 – Liamine Zéroual, Algerian politician, 4th President of Algeria
- 1942 – Eddy Mitchell, French singer-songwriter
- 1943 – Gary Waldhorn, British actor
- 1943 – Judith Durham, Australian folk-pop singer-songwriter and musician
- 1943 – Kurtwood Smith, American actor
- 1943 – Norman E. Thagard, American astronaut
- 1945 – Michael Cole, American actor
- 1945 – Michael Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn, Scottish politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (d. 2018)
- 1946 – Johnny Lee, American singer and guitarist
- 1946 – Leszek Miller, Polish political scientist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Poland
- 1946 – Michael Shea, American author (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Dave Barry, American journalist and author
- 1947 – Betty Buckley, American actress and singer
- 1947 – Mike Burton, American swimmer
- 1948 – Paul Barrere, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1948 – Tarmo Koivisto, Finnish author and illustrator
- 1949 – Susan Penhaligon, English actress
- 1949 – John Verity, English guitarist
- 1949 – Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American singer (d. 2006)
- 1949 – Bo Xilai, Chinese politician, Chinese Minister of Commerce
- 1950 – Ewen Chatfield, New Zealand cricketer
- 1950 – James Hahn, American judge and politician, 40th Mayor of Los Angeles
- 1951 – Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian politician, 41st President of Haiti (d. 2014)
- 1951 – Richard Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer and footballer
- 1952 – Laura Branigan, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
- 1952 – Lu Colombo, Italian singer
- 1952 – Andy Fraser, English singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2015)
- 1952 – Carla Olson, American singer-songwriter and music producer
- 1952 – Wasim Raja, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2006)
- 1952 – Amit Kumar, Indian film playback singer, actor, director, music director and musician
- 1953 – Lotta Sollander, Swedish alpine skier
- 1954 – Les Cusworth, English rugby player
- 1955 – Claude Rajotte, Canadian radio and television host
- 1956 – Montel Williams, American talk show host and television personality
- 1957 – Poly Styrene, British musician (d. 2011)
- 1958 – Matthew Fraser, Canadian-English journalist and academic
- 1958 – Charlie Higson, English actor, singer, and author
- 1958 – Siân Lloyd, Welsh meteorologist and journalist
- 1958 – Didier Mouron, Swiss-Canadian painter
- 1958 – Aaron Tippin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1959 – Julie Burchill, English journalist and author
- 1959 – Ian Maxtone-Graham, American screenwriter and producer
- 1959 – Stephen Pearcy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1959 – David Shore, Canadian screenwriter and producer
- 1960 – Vince Clarke, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1962 – Scott Borchetta, American record executive and entrepreneur
- 1962 – Tom Cruise, American actor and producer
- 1964 – Yeardley Smith, American actress, voice actress, comedian and writer
- 1965 – Shinya Hashimoto, Japanese wrestler (d. 2005)
- 1965 – Connie Nielsen, Danish-American actress
- 1965 – Komsan Pohkong, Thai lawyer and academic
- 1965 – Christophe Ruer, French pentathlete (d. 2007)
- 1966 – Moisés Alou, American baseball player
- 1967 – Katy Clark, Scottish lawyer and politician
- 1968 – Ramush Haradinaj, Kosovo-Albanian soldier and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Kosovo
- 1970 – Serhiy Honchar, Ukrainian cyclist
- 1970 – Audra McDonald, American actress and singer
- 1970 – Teemu Selänne, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1971 – Julian Assange, Australian journalist, publisher, and activist, founded WikiLeaks
- 1973 – Paul Rauhihi, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1973 – Ólafur Stefánsson, Icelandic handball player
- 1973 – Fyodor Tuvin, Russian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1976 – Wade Belak, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2011)
- 1976 – Henry Olonga, Zimbabwean cricketer and sportscaster
- 1976 – Wanderlei Silva, Brazilian-American mixed martial artist
- 1976 – Bobby Skinstad, Zimbabwean-South African rugby union player
- 1977 – David Bowens, American football player
- 1978 – Mizuki Noguchi, Japanese runner
- 1979 – Jamie Grove, English cricketer
- 1980 – Mazharul Haque, Bangladeshi cricketer (d. 2013)
- 1980 – Roland Schoeman, South African swimmer
- 1980 – Harbhajan Singh, Indian cricketer
- 1983 – Edinson Vólquez, Dominican baseball player
- 1984 – Manny Lawson, American football player
- 1984 – Churandy Martina, Dutch sprinter
- 1984 – Corey Sevier, Canadian actor and producer
- 1986 – Marco Antônio de Mattos Filho, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Kisenosato Yutaka, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1987 – Sebastian Vettel, German race car driver
- 1988 – Winston Reid, New Zealand-Danish footballer
- 1988 – Vladislav Sesganov, Russian figure skater
- 1988 – James Troisi, Australian footballer
- 1989 – Mitchell Dodds, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Elle King, American singer, songwriter, and actress
- 1990 – Nathan Gardner, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Bobby Hopkinson, English footballer
- 1990 – Lucas Mendes, Brazilian footballer
- 1991 – Alison Howie, Scottish field hockey player
- 1991 – Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russian tennis player
- 1992 – Will Smith, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Ben Winchell, American actor
Deaths on July 3
- 458 – Anatolius of Constantinople, Byzantine patriarch and saint (b. 449)
- 710 – Emperor Zhongzong of Tang (b. 656)
- 896 – Dong Chang, Chinese warlord
- 964 – Henry I, Frankish nobleman and archbishop
- 1090 – Egbert II, Margrave of Meissen (b. c. 1060)
- 1288 – Stephen de Fulbourn, English-born Irish cleric and politician
- 1503 – Pierre d’Aubusson, Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes (b. 1423)
- 1570 – Aonio Paleario, Italian academic and reformer (b. 1500)
- 1642 – Marie de’ Medici, French queen consort and regent (b. 1573)
- 1672 – Francis Willughby, English ornithologist and ichthyologist (b. 1635)
- 1749 – William Jones, Welsh-English mathematician and academic (b. 1675)
- 1790 – Jean-Baptiste L. Romé de l’Isle, French geologist and mineralogist (b. 1736)
- 1795 – Louis-Georges de Bréquigny, French scholar and author (b. 1714)
- 1795 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general, astronomer, and politician, 1st Colonial Governor of Louisiana (b. 1716)
- 1809 – Joseph Quesnel, French-Canadian composer and playwright (b. 1746)
- 1863 – George Hull Ward, American general (b. 1826)
- 1863 – Little Crow, American tribal leader (b. 1810)
- 1881 – Hasan Tahsini, Albanian astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1811)
- 1887 – Clay Allison, American rancher (b. 1841)
- 1888 – Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, Vietnamese poet and author (b. 1822)
- 1904 – Édouard Beaupré, Canadian giant and strongman (b. 1881)
- 1904 – Theodor Herzl, Austrian journalist and playwright (b. 1860)
- 1908 – Joel Chandler Harris, American journalist and author (b. 1845)
- 1916 – Hetty Green, American businesswoman and financier (b. 1834)
- 1918 – Mehmed V, Ottoman sultan (b. 1844)
- 1921 – James Mitchel, Irish-American weight thrower (b. 1864)
- 1927 – Gérard de Courcelles, French race car driver
- 1933 – Hipólito Yrigoyen, Argentinian educator and politician, 19th President of Argentina (b. 1852)
- 1935 – André Citroën, French engineer and businessman, founded the Citroën Company (b. 1878)
- 1937 – Jacob Schick, American-Canadian captain and businessman, invented the electric razor (b. 1877)
- 1940 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan businessman and politician, Mayor of Chișinău (b. 1882)
- 1941 – Friedrich Akel, Estonian physician and politician, Head of State of Estonia (b. 1871)
- 1954 – Siegfried Handloser, German physician and general (b. 1895)
- 1954 – Reginald Marsh, French-American painter, illustrator, and academic (b. 1898)
- 1957 – Dolf Luque, Cuban baseball player and manager (b. 1890)
- 1957 – Richard Mohaupt, German composer and Kapellmeister (b. 1904)
- 1958 – Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe, English politician, 4th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1867)
- 1969 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1942)
- 1971 – Jim Morrison, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
- 1974 – John Crowe Ransom, American poet and critic (b. 1888)
- 1977 – Alexander Volkov, Russian mathematician and author (b. 1891)
- 1978 – James Daly, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1979 – Louis Durey, French pianist and composer (b. 1888)
- 1981 – Ross Martin, American actor and director (b. 1920)
- 1985 – Frank J. Selke, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1893)
- 1986 – Rudy Vallée, American singer, saxophonist, and actor (b. 1901)
- 1989 – Jim Backus, American actor and voice artist (b. 1913)
- 1993 – Don Drysdale, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1936)
- 1994 – Lew Hoad, Australian tennis player and coach (b. 1934)
- 1995 – Pancho Gonzales, American tennis player (b. 1928)
- 1995 – Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
- 1998 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (b. 1949)
- 1999 – Mark Sandman, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1952)
- 1999 – Pelageya Polubarinova-Kochina, Russian mathematician (b. 1899)
- 1999 – Manoj Kumar Pandey,Param Vir ChakraIndian army personnel
- 2001 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2001 – Johnny Russell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
- 2004 – Andriyan Nikolayev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Alberto Lattuada, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1914)
- 2005 – Gaylord Nelson, American lawyer and politician, 35th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist, developed the OBJ programming language (b. 1941)
- 2007 – Boots Randolph, American saxophonist (b. 1927)
- 2008 – Clive Hornby, English actor and drummer (b. 1944)
- 2008 – Oliver Schroer, Canadian fiddler, composer, and producer (b. 1956)
- 2009 – Alauddin Al-Azad, Bangladeshi author and poet (b.1932)
- 2009 – John Keel, American journalist and author (b. 1930)
- 2010 – Abu Daoud, Palestinian terrorist, planned the Munich massacre (b. 1937)
- 2011 – Ali Bahar, Bahraini singer and guitarist (b. 1960)
- 2012 – Nguyễn Hữu Có, Vietnamese general and politician (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Yvonne B. Miller, American educator and politician (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Sergio Pininfarina, Italian engineer and politician (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Richard Alvin Tonry, American lawyer and politician (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Roman Bengez, Slovenian footballer and manager (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Francis Ray, American author (b. 1944)
- 2013 – PJ Torokvei, Canadian actress and screenwriter (b. 1951)
- 2013 – Radu Vasile, Romanian historian and politician, 57th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Bernard Vitet, French trumpet player and composer (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Snoo Wilson, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1948)
- 2014 – Jini Dellaccio, American photographer (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Tim Flood, Irish hurler and coach (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Volkmar Groß, German footballer (b. 1948)
- 2014 – Ira Ruskin, American politician (b. 1943)
- 2014 – Zalman Schachter-Shalomi, Ukrainian-American rabbi and author (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Diana Douglas, British-American actress (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Boyd K. Packer, American religious leader and educator (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Wayne Townsend, American farmer and politician (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Phil Walsh, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1960)
- 2020 – Saroj Khan, Indian dance choreographer, known as “The Mother of Dance/Choreography in India”.(b. 1948)
Holidays and observances on July 3
- Christian feast day:
- Anatolius of Constantinople
- Anatolius of Laodicea
- Dathus
- Germanus of Man
- Gurthiern
- Heliodorus of Altino
- Mucian
- Peregrina Mogas Fontcuberta
- Pope Leo II
- Thomas the Apostle
- July 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Emancipation Day (United States Virgin Islands)
- Independence Day, celebrates the liberation of Minsk from Nazi occupation by Soviet troops in 1944 (Belarus)
- The start of the Dog Days according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac but not according to established meaning in most European cultures
- Women’s Day (Myanmar)
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June 28 in History
- 1098 – Fighters of the First Crusade defeat Kerbogha of Mosul.
- 1360 – Muhammed VI becomes the tenth Nasrid king of Granada after killing his brother-in-law Ismail II.
- 1461 – Edward, Earl of March, is crowned King Edward IV of England.
- 1519 – Charles V is elected Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1575 – Sengoku period of Japan: The combined forces of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu are victorious in the Battle of Nagashino.
- 1635 – Guadeloupe becomes a French colony.
- 1651 – The Battle of Berestechko between Poland and Ukraine starts.
- 1709 – Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava.
- 1745 – A New England colonial army captures the French fortifications at Louisbourg (New Style).
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Sullivan’s Island ends with the American victory, leading to the commemoration of Carolina Day.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Thomas Hickey, Continental Army private and bodyguard to General George Washington, is hanged for mutiny and sedition.
- 1778 – American Revolutionary War: The American Continentals engage the British in the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse resulting in standstill and British withdrawal under cover of darkness.
- 1797 – French troops disembark in Corfu, beginning the French rule in the Ionian Islands.
- 1807 – Second British invasion of the Río de la Plata; John Whitelocke lands at Ensenada on an attempt to recapture Buenos Aires and is defeated by the locals.
- 1838 – Coronation of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.
- 1841 – The Paris Opera Ballet premieres Giselle in the Salle Le Peletier.
- 1846 – Adolphe Sax patents the saxophone.
- 1855 – Sigma Chi fraternity is founded in North America.
- 1859 – The first conformation dog show is held in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
- 1865 – The Army of the Potomac is disbanded.
- 1880 – Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is captured at Glenrowan.
- 1881 – The Austro–Serbian Alliance of 1881 is secretly signed.
- 1882 – The Anglo-French Convention of 1882 marks the territorial boundaries between Guinea and Sierra Leone.
- 1894 – Labor Day becomes an official US holiday.
- 1895 – The United States Court of Private Land Claims rules James Reavis’s claim to Barony of Arizona is “wholly fictitious and fraudulent.”
- 1896 – An explosion in the Newton Coal Company’s Twin Shaft Mine in Pittston, Pennsylvania results in a massive cave-in that kills 58 miners.
- 1902 – The U.S. Congress passes the Spooner Act, authorizing President Theodore Roosevelt to acquire rights from Colombia for the Panama Canal.
- 1904 – The SS Norge runs aground on Hasselwood Rock in the North Atlantic 430 kilometres (270 mi) northwest of Ireland. More than 635 people die during the sinking.
- 1911 – The Nakhla meteorite, the first one to suggest signs of aqueous processes on Mars, falls to Earth, landing in Egypt.
- 1914 – Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo; this is the casus belli of World War I.
- 1917 – World War I: Greece joins the Allied powers.
- 1919 – The Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending the state of war between Germany and the Allies of World War I.
- 1921 – Serbian King Alexander I proclaims the new constitution of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, known thereafter as the Vidovdan Constitution.
- 1922 – The Irish Civil War begins with the shelling of the Four Courts in Dublin by Free State forces.
- 1926 – Mercedes-Benz is formed by Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz merging their two companies.
- 1936 – The Japanese puppet state of Mengjiang is formed in northern China.
- 1940 – Romania cedes Bessarabia (current-day Moldova) to the Soviet Union after facing an ultimatum.
- 1942 – World War II: Nazi Germany starts its strategic summer offensive against the Soviet Union, codenamed Case Blue.
- 1945 – Poland’s Soviet-allied Provisional Government of National Unity is formed over a month after V-E Day.
- 1948 – Cold War: The Tito–Stalin Split results in the expulsion of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia from the Cominform.
- 1948 – Boxer Dick Turpin beats Vince Hawkins at Villa Park in Birmingham to become the first black British boxing champion in the modern era.
- 1950 – Korean War: Suspected communist sympathizers (between 60,000 to 200,000) are executed in the Bodo League massacre.
- 1950 – Korean War: Packed with its own refugees fleeing Seoul and leaving their 5th Division stranded, South Korean forces blow up the Hangang Bridge in an attempt to slow North Korea’s offensive. The city falls later that day.
- 1950 – Korean War: North Korean Army conducts the Seoul National University Hospital massacre.
- 1956 – in Poznań, workers from HCP factory go to the streets, sparking one of the first major protests against communist government both in Poland and Europe.
- 1964 – Malcolm X forms the Organization of Afro-American Unity.
- 1969 – Stonewall riots begin in New York City, marking the start of the Gay Rights Movement.
- 1973 – Elections are held for the Northern Ireland Assembly, which will lead to power-sharing between unionists and nationalists in Northern Ireland for the first time.
- 1976 – The Angolan court sentences US and UK mercenaries to death sentences and prison terms in the Luanda Trial.
- 1978 – The United States Supreme Court, in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke bars quota systems in college admissions.
- 1981 – A powerful bomb explodes in Tehran, killing 73 officials of the Islamic Republican Party.
- 1987 – For the first time in military history, a civilian population is targeted for chemical attack when Iraqi warplanes bombed the Iranian town of Sardasht.
- 1989 – On the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo, Slobodan Milošević delivers the Gazimestan speech at the site of the historic battle.
- 1997 – Holyfield–Tyson II: Mike Tyson is disqualified in the third round for biting a piece off Evander Holyfield’s ear.
- 2001 – Slobodan Milošević is extradited to the ICTY in The Hague to stand trial.
- 2004 – Iraq War: Sovereign power is handed to the interim government of Iraq by the Coalition Provisional Authority, ending the U.S.-led rule of that nation.
- 2009 – Honduran president Manuel Zelaya is ousted by a local military coup following a failed request to hold a referendum to rewrite the Honduran Constitution. This was the start of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis.
- 2016 – A terrorist attack in Turkey’s Istanbul Atatürk Airport kills 42 people and injures more than 230 others.
Births on June 28
- 751 – Carloman I, king of the Franks (d. 771)
- 1243 – Emperor Go-Fukakusa of Japan (d. 1304)
- 1444 – Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus (d. 1487)
- 1476 – Pope Paul IV (d. 1559)
- 1490 – Albert of Brandenburg, German archbishop (d. 1545)
- 1491 – Henry VIII of England (d. 1547)
- 1503 – Giovanni della Casa, Italian author and poet (d. 1556)
- 1547 – Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1599)
- 1557 – Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel, English nobleman (d. 1595)
- 1560 – Giovanni Paolo Lascaris, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (d. 1657)
- 1573 – Henry Danvers, 1st Earl of Danby, English noble (d. 1644)
- 1577 – Peter Paul Rubens, Flemish painter and diplomat (d. 1640)
- 1582 – William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele, English politician (d. 1662)
- 1604 – Heinrich Albert, German composer and poet (d. 1651)
- 1641 – Marie Casimire Louise de La Grange d’Arquien, consort to King John III Sobieski (d. 1716)
- 1653 – Muhammad Azam Shah, Mughal emperor (d. 1707)
- 1703 – John Wesley, English cleric and theologian (d. 1791)
- 1712 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher and polymath (d. 1778)
- 1719 – Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1785)
- 1734 – Jean-Jacques Beauvarlet-Charpentier, French organist and composer (d. 1794)
- 1742 – William Hooper, American physician, lawyer, and politician (d. 1790)
- 1824 – Paul Broca, French physician, anatomist, and anthropologist (d. 1880)
- 1825 – Emil Erlenmeyer, German chemist (d. 1909)
- 1831 – Joseph Joachim, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1907)
- 1836 – Emmanuel Rhoides, Greek journalist and author (d. 1904)
- 1844 – John Boyle O’Reilly, Irish-born poet, journalist and fiction writer (d. 1890)
- 1852 – Charles Cruft, English showman, founded Crufts Dog Show (d. 1938)
- 1867 – Luigi Pirandello, Italian dramatist, novelist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1936)
- 1873 – Alexis Carrel, French surgeon and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1944)
- 1875 – Henri Lebesgue, French mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
- 1879 – Wilhelm Steinkopf, German chemist (d. 1949)
- 1880 – John Meyers, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1971)
- 1883 – Pierre Laval, French soldier and politician, 101st Prime Minister of France (d. 1945)
- 1884 – Lamina Sankoh, Sierra Leonean banker and politician (d. 1964)
- 1888 – George Challenor, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1947)
- 1888 – Stefi Geyer, Hungarian violinist and educator (d. 1956)
- 1891 – Esther Forbes, American historian and author (d. 1968)
- 1891 – Carl Spaatz, American general (d. 1974)
- 1892 – Carl Panzram, American serial killer (d. 1930)
- 1893 – August Zamoyski, Polish-French sculptor (d. 1970)
- 1894 – Francis Hunter, American tennis player (d. 1981)
- 1902 – Richard Rodgers, American playwright and composer (d. 1979)
- 1906 – Maria Goeppert Mayer, Polish-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
- 1907 – Jimmy Mundy, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1983)
- 1907 – Yvonne Sylvain, First female Haitian physician (d. 1989)
- 1909 – Eric Ambler, English author and screenwriter (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker, German physicist and philosopher (d. 2007)
- 1913 – Franz Antel, Austrian director and producer (d. 2007)
- 1913 – George Lloyd, English soldier and composer (d. 1998)
- 1913 – Walter Oesau, German colonel and pilot (d. 1944)
- 1914 – Aribert Heim, Austrian SS physician and Nazi war criminal (d. 1992)
- 1917 – A. E. Hotchner, American author and playwright (d. 2020)
- 1918 – William Whitelaw, 1st Viscount Whitelaw, Scottish-English politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1999)
- 1919 – Joseph P. Lordi, American government official (d. 1983)
- 1920 – Clarissa Eden, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1921 – P. V. Narasimha Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of India (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Hans Frauenfelder, American physicist and biophysicist
- 1923 – Pete Candoli, American trumpet player (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Adolfo Schwelm Cruz, Argentinian racing driver (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Gaye Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2010)
- 1926 – George Booth, American cartoonist
- 1926 – Mel Brooks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1926 – Robert Ledley, American academic and inventor (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Correlli Barnett, English historian and author
- 1927 – Frank Sherwood Rowland, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Hans Blix, Swedish politician and diplomat, 33rd Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1928 – Patrick Hemingway, American writer
- 1928 – Harold Evans, English-American historian and journalist
- 1928 – Peter Heine, South African cricketer (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Cyril Smith, English politician (d. 2010)
- 1929 – Alfred Miodowicz, Polish politician
- 1930 – William C. Campbell, Irish-American biologist and parasitologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1930 – Itamar Franco, Brazilian engineer and politician, 33rd President of Brazil (d. 2011)
- 1930 – Jack Gold, English director and producer (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Hans Alfredson, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1931 – Junior Johnson, American race car driver (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Lucien Victor, Belgian cyclist (d. 1995)
- 1932 – Pat Morita, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1933 – Gusty Spence, Northern Irish loyalist and politician (d. 2011)
- 1934 – Robert Carswell, Baron Carswell, Northern Irish lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
- 1934 – Roy Gilchrist, Jamaican cricketer (d. 2001)
- 1934 – Bette Greene, American journalist and author
- 1934 – Carl Levin, American lawyer and politician
- 1934 – Georges Wolinski, Tunisian-French journalist and cartoonist (d. 2015)
- 1935 – John Inman, English actor (d. 2007)
- 1936 – Chuck Howley, American football player
- 1937 – George Knudson, Canadian golfer (d. 1989)
- 1937 – Fernand Labrie, Canadian endocrinologist and academic
- 1937 – Ron Luciano, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1995)
- 1938 – John Byner, American actor and comedian
- 1938 – Leon Panetta, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of Defense
- 1938 – S. Sivamaharajah, Sri Lankan Tamil newspaper publisher and politician (d. 2006)
- 1938 – Simon Douglas-Pennant, 7th Baron Penrhyn, British baron
- 1939 – Klaus Schmiegel, German chemist
- 1940 – Karpal Singh, Malaysian lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Muhammad Yunus, Bangladeshi economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 – Al Downing, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1941 – Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist and academic, developed the OBJ language (d. 2006)
- 1941 – David Johnston, Canadian academic, lawyer, and politician, 28th Governor General of Canada
- 1942 – Chris Hani, South African politician (d. 1993)
- 1942 – Hans-Joachim Walde, German decathlete (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Frank Zane, American professional bodybuilder and author
- 1943 – Jens Birkemose, Danish painter
- 1943 – Donald Johanson, American paleontologist and academic
- 1943 – Klaus von Klitzing, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1945 – Ken Buchanan, Scottish boxer
- 1945 – David Knights, English bass player and producer
- 1945 – Raul Seixas, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1989)
- 1945 – Türkan Şoray, Turkish actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1946 – Robert Asprin, American soldier and author (d. 2008)
- 1946 – Bruce Davison, American actor and director
- 1946 – David Duckham, English rugby player
- 1946 – Robert Xavier Rodríguez, American classical composer
- 1946 – Jaime Guzmán, Chilean lawyer and politician (d. 1991)
- 1946 – Gilda Radner, American actress and comedian (d. 1989)
- 1947 – Mark Helprin, American novelist and journalist
- 1947 – Laura Tyson, American economist and academic
- 1948 – Kathy Bates, American actress
- 1948 – Sergei Bodrov, Russian-American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1948 – Deborah Moggach, English author and screenwriter
- 1948 – Daniel Wegner, Canadian-American psychologist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Don Baylor, American baseball player and coach (d. 2017)
- 1950 – Philip Fowke, English pianist and educator
- 1950 – Mauricio Rojas, Chilean-Swedish economist and politician
- 1950 – Chris Speier, American baseball player and coach
- 1951 – Mick Cronin, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1951 – Mark Shand, English conservationist and author (d. 2014)
- 1951 – Lalla Ward, English actress and author
- 1952 – Enis Batur, Turkish poet and author
- 1952 – Pietro Mennea, Italian sprinter and politician (d. 2013)
- 1952 – Jean-Christophe Rufin, French physician and author
- 1954 – A. A. Gill, Scottish author and critic (d. 2016)
- 1954 – Alice Krige, South African actress
- 1955 – Shirley Cheriton, British actress
- 1956 – Amira Hass, Israeli journalist and author
- 1956 – Noel Mugavin, Australian footballer and coach
- 1957 – Lance Nethery, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1957 – Georgi Parvanov, Bulgarian historian and politician, 4th President of Bulgaria
- 1957 – Mike Skinner, American race car driver
- 1957 – Jim Spanarkel, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1958 – Donna Edwards, American lawyer and politician
- 1958 – Félix Gray, Tunisian-French singer-songwriter
- 1959 – Clint Boon, English singer and keyboard player
- 1959 – John Shelley, British illustrator
- 1960 – John Elway, American football player and manager
- 1960 – Roland Melanson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Jeff Malone, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Anișoara Cușmir-Stanciu, Romanian long jumper
- 1962 – Artur Hajzer, Polish mountaineer (d. 2013)
- 1962 – Ann-Louise Skoglund, Swedish hurdler
- 1963 – Peter Baynham, Welsh actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1963 – Charlie Clouser, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
- 1964 – Christina Ashcroft, Canadian sport shooter
- 1964 – Mark Grace, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1964 – Bernie McCahill, New Zealand rugby player
- 1964 – Dan Stains, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1964 – Steve Williamson, English saxophonist and composer
- 1965 – Jessica Hecht, American actress
- 1965 – Tiaan Strauss, South African rugby player
- 1966 – Peeter Allik, Estonian painter and illustrator (d. 2019)
- 1966 – Bobby Bare Jr., American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1966 – John Cusack, American actor and screenwriter
- 1966 – Mary Stuart Masterson, American actress
- 1967 – Leona Aglukkaq, Canadian politician, 7th Canadian Minister of Health
- 1967 – Gil Bellows, Canadian actor and producer
- 1967 – Zhong Huandi, Chinese runner
- 1967 – Lars Riedel, German discus thrower
- 1968 – Chayanne, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1969 – Tichina Arnold, American actress and singer
- 1969 – Stéphane Chapuisat, Swiss footballer
- 1969 – Fabrizio Mori, Italian hurdler
- 1970 – Mushtaq Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer and coach
- 1970 – Tom Merritt, American journalist
- 1970 – Mike White, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Lorenzo Amoruso, Italian footballer
- 1971 – Fabien Barthez, French footballer
- 1971 – Bobby Hurley, American basketball player and coach
- 1971 – Ron Mahay, American baseball player and scout
- 1971 – Elon Musk, South African-born American businessman
- 1971 – Aileen Quinn, American actress and singer
- 1972 – Ngô Bảo Châu, Vietnamese-French mathematician and academic
- 1972 – Chris Leslie, English politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
- 1972 – Geeta Tripathee, Nepali poet, lyricist and literary critic
- 1972 – Alessandro Nivola, American actor
- 1973 – Adrián Annus, Hungarian hammer thrower
- 1973 – Corey Koskie, Canadian baseball player
- 1974 – Rob Dyrdek, American skateboarder, entrepreneur, and reality television star
- 1975 – Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish singer-songwriter, and guitarist (d. 2006)
- 1976 – Shinobu Asagoe, Japanese tennis player
- 1976 – Seth Wescott, American snowboarder
- 1977 – Chris Spurling, American baseball player
- 1977 – Mark Stoermer, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1977 – Harun Tekin, Turkish singer and guitarist
- 1978 – Simon Larose, Canadian tennis player
- 1979 – Randy McMichael, American football player
- 1979 – Neil Shanahan, Irish racing driver (d. 1999)
- 1979 – Florian Zeller, French author and playwright
- 1980 – Jevgeni Novikov, Estonian footballer
- 1981 – Savage, New Zealand rapper
- 1981 – Michael Crafter, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Guillermo Martínez, Cuban javelin thrower
- 1981 – Brandon Phillips, American baseball player
- 1982 – Ibrahim Camejo, Cuban long jumper
- 1985 – Phil Bardsley, English footballer
- 1985 – Colt Hynes, American baseball player
- 1986 – Kellie Pickler, American singer-songwriter
- 1987 – Sonata Tamošaitytė, Lithuanian hurdler
- 1987 – Terrence Williams, American basketball player
- 1989 – Jason Clark, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Andrew Fifita, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – David Fifita, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Julia Zlobina, Russian-Azerbaijani figure skater
- 1989 – Markiplier, American internet personality
- 1989 – Nicole Rottmann, Austrian tennis player
- 1991 – Seohyun, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress
- 1991 – Kevin De Bruyne, Belgian footballer
- 1991 – Kang Min-hyuk, South Korean singer, drummer, and actor
- 1992 – Oscar Hiljemark, Swedish footballer
- 1992 – Elaine Thompson, Jamaican sprinter
- 1993 – Bradley Beal, American basketball player
- 1994 – Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan
- 1994 – Emily Blue, American singer-songwriter
- 1996 – Donna Vekić, Croatian tennis player
- 1996 – Larissa Werbicki, Canadian rower
- 1999 – Markéta Vondroušová, Czech tennis player
- 2002 – Marta Kostyuk, Ukrainian tennis player
Deaths on June 28
- 202 – Yuan Shao, Chinese warlord
- 548 – Theodora I, Byzantine empress
- 572 – Alboin, King of the Lombards
- 683 – Leo II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 611)
- 767 – Paul I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 700)
- 928 – Louis the Blind, Holy Roman emperor (b. 880)
- 975 – Cyneweard, bishop of Wells
- 1031 – Taira no Tadatsune, Japanese governor
- 1061 – Floris I, count of Holland
- 1175 – Andrey Bogolyubsky, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1111)
- 1189 – Matilda of England, Duchess of Saxony, (b. 1156)
- 1194 – Xiao Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1127)
- 1385 – Andronikos IV, Byzantine emperor (b. 1348)
- 1497 – James Tuchet, 7th Baron Audley, English rebel leader (b. c. 1463)
- 1575 – Yonekura Shigetsugu, Japanese samurai
- 1586 – Primož Trubar, Slovenian author and reformer (b. 1508)
- 1598 – Abraham Ortelius, Flemish cartographer and geographer (b. 1527)
- 1607 – Domenico Fontana, Italian architect (b. 1543)
- 1716 – George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (b. 1665)
- 1757 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Frederick William I (b. 1687)
- 1798 – John Henry Colclough, Irish revolutionary (b. c. 1769)
- 1813 – Gerhard von Scharnhorst, Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (b. 1755)
- 1834 – Joseph Bové, Russian architect, designed the Triumphal Arch of Moscow (b. 1784)
- 1836 – James Madison, American academic and politician, 4th President of the United States (b. 1751)
- 1880 – Texas Jack Omohundro, American soldier and hunter (b. 1846)
- 1881 – Jules Armand Dufaure, French politician, 33rd Prime Minister of France (b. 1798)
- 1889 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (b. 1818)
- 1892 – Alexandros Rizos Rangavis, Greek poet and politician, Greek Foreign Minister (b. 1810)
- 1913 – Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Brazil (b. 1841)
- 1914 – Sophie, duchess of Hohenberg (b. 1868)
- 1914 – Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria (b. 1863)
- 1915 – Victor Trumper, Australian cricketer (b. 1877)
- 1917 – Ștefan Luchian, Romanian painter and educator (b. 1868)
- 1922 – Velimir Khlebnikov, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1885)
- 1929 – Edward Carpenter, English poet and philosopher (b. 1844)
- 1936 – Alexander Berkman, American author and activist (d. 1870)
- 1939 – Douglas H. Johnston, governor of the Chickasaw Nation (b. 1856)
- 1940 – Italo Balbo, Italian air marshal and politician (b. 1896)
- 1944 – Friedrich Dollmann, German general (b. 1882)
- 1945 – Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu, Turkish journalist (b. 1879)
- 1947 – Stanislav Kostka Neumann, Czech writer, poet and journalist (b. 1875)
- 1960 – Jake Swirbul, American businessman, co-founded the Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation (b. 1898)
- 1962 – Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player and manager (b. 1903)
- 1962 – Cy Morgan, American baseball player (b. 1878)
- 1965 – Red Nichols, American cornet player, bandleader, and composer (b. 1905)
- 1966 – Mehmet Fuat Köprülü, Turkish historian and politician, 21st Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Franz Stangl, Austrian SS officer (b. 1908)
- 1974 – Vannevar Bush, American engineer and academic (b. 1890)
- 1975 – Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis, Greek architect (b. 1913)
- 1975 – Rod Serling, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
- 1978 – Clifford Dupont, English-Rhodesian lawyer and politician, 1st President of Rhodesia (b. 1905)
- 1980 – José Iturbi, Spanish pianist and conductor (b. 1895)
- 1981 – Terry Fox, Canadian runner and activist (b. 1958)
- 1983 – Alf Francis, German-English motor racing mechanic and racing car constructor (b. 1918)
- 1984 – Yigael Yadin, Israeli archaeologist, general, and politician (b. 1917)
- 1985 – Lynd Ward, American author and illustrator (b. 1905)
- 1989 – Joris Ivens, Dutch journalist, director, and producer (b. 1898)
- 1992 – Guy Nève, Belgian racing driver (b. 1955)
- 1992 – Mikhail Tal, Latvian chess player (b. 1936)
- 1995 – Petri Walli, Finnish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1969)
- 2000 – Jane Birdwood, Baroness Birdwood, Canadian-English publisher and politician (b. 1913)
- 2000 – Nils Poppe, Swedish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 2001 – Mortimer J. Adler, American philosopher and author (b. 1902)
- 2003 – Joan Lowery Nixon, American journalist and author (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Anthony Buckeridge, English author (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Brenda Howard, American activist (b. 1946)
- 2005 – Michael P. Murphy, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1976)
- 2006 – Jim Baen, American publisher, founded Baen Books (b. 1943)
- 2006 – Peter Rawlinson, Baron Rawlinson of Ewell, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1919)
- 2006 – George Unwin, English pilot and commander (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Eugene B. Fluckey, American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Kiichi Miyazawa, Japanese lawyer and politician, 78th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1919)
- 2009 – A. K. Lohithadas, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1955)
- 2009 – Billy Mays, American TV personality (b. 1958)
- 2010 – Robert Byrd, American lawyer and politician (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Richard Isay, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Leontine T. Kelly, American bishop (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Robert Sabatier, French author and poet (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Doris Sams, American baseball player (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Ted Hood, American sailor and architect (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Tamás Katona, Hungarian historian and politician (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Kenneth Minogue, New Zealand-Australian political scientist and academic (b. 1930)
- 2013 – F. D. Reeve, American author and academic (b. 1928)
- 2013 – David Rubitsky, American sergeant (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Seymour Barab, American cellist and composer (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Jim Brosnan, American baseball player (b. 1929)
- 2014 – On Kawara, Japanese painter (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Meshach Taylor, American actor (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Jack Carter, American actor and comedian (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Jope Seniloli, Fijian politician, Vice-President of Fiji (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Wally Stanowski, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1919)
- 2016 – Scotty Moore, American guitarist (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Pat Summitt, American women’s college basketball head coach (b. 1952)
- 2016 – Buddy Ryan, American football coach (b. 1931)
- 2018 – Harlan Ellison, American writer (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances on June 28
- Christian feast day:
- Basilides and Potamiana
- Irenaeus of Lyon (Western Christianity)
- Heimerad
- Blessed Maria Pia Mastena
- Paulus I
- Vincenza Gerosa
- June 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Ukraine)
- Earliest day on which Vardavar can fall, while August 1 is the latest; celebrated on the 14th weeks after Easter (Armenia)
- Family Day (Vietnam)
- Poznań Remembrance Day (Poland)
- Vidovdan, celebrating St. Vitus and an important day in Serbian history. (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Tau Day, a day similar to Pi Day celebrating the number Tau, which is equivalent to 2*Pi.
-
June 12 in History
- 910 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under King Louis the Child, using the famous feigned retreat tactic of the nomadic warriors.
- 1240 – At the instigation of Louis IX of France, an inter-faith debate, known as the Disputation of Paris, starts between a Christian monk and four rabbis.
- 1381 – Peasants’ Revolt: In England, rebels assemble at Blackheath, just outside London.
- 1418 – Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War: Parisians slaughter Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac and his suspected sympathizers, along with all prisoners, foreign bankers, and students and faculty of the College of Navarre.
- 1429 – Hundred Years’ War: On the second day of the Battle of Jargeau, Joan of Arc leads the French army in their capture of the city and the English commander, William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk.
- 1550 – The city of Helsinki, Finland (belonging to Sweden at the time) is founded by King Gustav I of Sweden.
- 1653 – First Anglo-Dutch War: The Battle of the Gabbard begins, lasting until the following day.
- 1665 – Thomas Willett is appointed the first mayor of New York City.
- 1758 – French and Indian War: Siege of Louisbourg: James Wolfe’s attack at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia, commences
- 1772 – French explorer Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne and 25 of his men killed by Māori in New Zealand.
- 1775 – American Revolution: British general Thomas Gage declares martial law in Massachusetts. The British offer a pardon to all colonists who lay down their arms. There would be only two exceptions to the amnesty: Samuel Adams and John Hancock, if captured, were to be hanged.
- 1776 – The Virginia Declaration of Rights is adopted.
- 1798 – Irish Rebellion of 1798: Battle of Ballynahinch.
- 1817 – The earliest form of bicycle, the dandy horse, is driven by Karl von Drais.
- 1821 – Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Isma’il Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, ending the existence of that Sudanese kingdom.
- 1830 – Beginning of the Invasion of Algiers: Thiry-four thousand French soldiers land 27 kilometers west of Algiers, at Sidi Ferruch.
- 1864 – American Civil War, Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor: Ulysses S. Grant gives the Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee a victory when he pulls his Union troops from their position at Cold Harbor, Virginia and moves south.
- 1898 – Philippine Declaration of Independence: General Emilio Aguinaldo declares the Philippines’ independence from Spain.
- 1899 – New Richmond tornado: The eighth deadliest tornado in U.S. history kills 117 people and injures around 200.
- 1914 – Massacre of Phocaea: Turkish irregulars slaughter 50 to 100 Greeks and expel thousands of others in an ethnic cleansing operation in the Ottoman Empire.
- 1921 – Mikhail Tukhachevsky orders the use of chemical weapons against the Tambov Rebellion, bringing an end to the peasant uprising.
- 1935 – A ceasefire is negotiated between Bolivia and Paraguay, ending the Chaco War.
- 1939 – Shooting begins on Paramount Pictures’ Dr. Cyclops, the first horror film photographed in three-strip Technicolor.
- 1939 – The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, New York.
- 1940 – World War II: Thirteen thousand British and French troops surrender to Major General Erwin Rommel at Saint-Valery-en-Caux.
- 1942 – Anne Frank receives a diary for her thirteenth birthday.
- 1943 – The Holocaust: Germany liquidates the Jewish Ghetto in Brzeżany, Poland (now Berezhany, Ukraine). Around 1,180 Jews are led to the city’s old Jewish graveyard and shot.
- 1944 – World War II: Operation Overlord: American paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division secure the town of Carentan, Normandy, France.
- 1954 – Pope Pius XII canonises Dominic Savio, who was 14 years old at the time of his death, as a saint, making him at the time the youngest unmartyred saint in the Roman Catholic Church. In 2017, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, aged ten and nine at the time of their deaths, are declared saints.
- 1963 – NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers is murdered in front of his home in Jackson, Mississippi by Ku Klux Klan member Byron De La Beckwith during the civil rights movement.
- 1964 – Anti-apartheid activist and ANC leader Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life in prison for sabotage in South Africa.
- 1967 – The United States Supreme Court in Loving v. Virginia declares all U.S. state laws which prohibit interracial marriage to be unconstitutional.
- 1975 – India, Judge Jagmohanlal Sinha of the city of Allahabad ruled that India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had used corrupt practices to win her seat in the Indian Parliament, and that she should be banned from holding any public office. Mrs. Gandhi sent word that she refused to resign.
- 1979 – Bryan Allen wins the second Kremer prize for a man powered flight across the English Channel in the Gossamer Albatross.
- 1987 – The Central African Republic’s former emperor Jean-Bédel Bokassa is sentenced to death for crimes he had committed during his 13-year rule.
- 1987 – Cold War: At the Brandenburg Gate, U.S. President Ronald Reagan publicly challenges Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall.
- 1988 – Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 46, a McDonnell Douglas MD-81, crashes short of the runway at Libertador General José de San Martín Airport, killing all 22 people on board.
- 1990 – Russia Day: The parliament of the Russian Federation formally declares its sovereignty.
- 1991 – Russians first democratically elected Boris Yeltsin as the President of Russia.
- 1991 – Kokkadichcholai massacre: The Sri Lankan Army massacres 152 minority Tamil civilians in the village of Kokkadichcholai near the eastern province town of Batticaloa.
- 1993 – An election takes place in Nigeria and is won by Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola. Its results are later annulled by the military Government of Ibrahim Babangida.
- 1994 – Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman are murdered outside Simpson’s home in Los Angeles. Her estranged husband, O.J. Simpson is later charged with the murders, but is acquitted by a jury.
- 1997 – Queen Elizabeth II reopens the Globe Theatre in London.
- 1999 – Kosovo War: Operation Joint Guardian begins when a NATO-led United Nations peacekeeping force (KFor) enters the province of Kosovo in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- 2009 – Analog television stations (excluding low-powered stations) switch to digital television following the DTV Delay Act.
- 2009 – A disputed presidential election in Iran leads to wide-ranging local and international protests.
- 2016 – Forty-nine civilians are killed and 58 others injured in an attack on a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida; the gunman, Omar Mateen, is killed in a gunfight with police.
- 2017 – American student Otto Warmbier returns home in a coma after spending 17 months in a North Korean prison and dies a week later.
- 2018 – United States President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un of North Korea held the first meeting between leaders of their two countries in Singapore.
Births on June 12
- 950 – Reizei, Japanese emperor (d. 1011)
- 1107 – Gao Zong, Chinese emperor (d. 1187)
- 1161 – Constance, Duchess of Brittany (d. 1201)
- 1519 – Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1574)
- 1561 – Anna of Württemberg, German princess (d. 1616)
- 1564 – John Casimir, Duke of Saxe-Coburg (d. 1633)
- 1573 – Robert Radclyffe, 5th Earl of Sussex, soldier (d. 1629)
- 1577 – Paul Guldin, Swiss astronomer and mathematician (d. 1643)
- 1580 – Adriaen van Stalbemt, Flemish painter (d. 1662)
- 1653 – Maria Amalia of Courland, Landgravine of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1711)
- 1686 – Marie-Catherine Homassel Hecquet, French writer (d. 1764)
- 1711 – Louis Legrand, French priest and theologian (d. 1780)
- 1760 – Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai, French author, playwright, journalist, and politician (d. 1797)
- 1771 – Patrick Gass, American sergeant (Lewis and Clark Expedition) and author (d. 1870)
- 1775 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (d. 1851)
- 1777 – Robert Clark, American physician and politician (d. 1837)
- 1795 – John Marston, American sailor (d. 1885)
- 1798 – Samuel Cooper, American general (d. 1876)
- 1800 – Samuel Wright Mardis, American politician (d. 1836)
- 1802 – Harriet Martineau, English sociologist and author (d. 1876)
- 1806 – John A. Roebling, German-American engineer, designed the Brooklyn Bridge (d. 1869)
- 1807 – Ante Kuzmanić, Croatian physician and journalist (d. 1879)
- 1812 – Edmond Hébert, French geologist and academic (d. 1890)
- 1819 – Charles Kingsley, English priest, historian, and author (d. 1875)
- 1827 – Johanna Spyri, Swiss author, best known for Heidi (d. 1901)
- 1831 – Robert Herbert, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Queensland (d. 1905)
- 1841 – Watson Fothergill, English architect, designed the Woodborough Road Baptist Church (d. 1928)
- 1843 – David Gill, Scottish-English astronomer and author (d. 1914)
- 1851 – Oliver Lodge, English physicist and academic (d. 1940)
- 1857 – Maurice Perrault, Canadian architect, engineer, and politician, 15th Mayor of Longueuil (d. 1909)
- 1858 – Harry Johnston, English botanist and explorer (d. 1927)
- 1858 – Henry Scott Tuke, English painter and photographer (d. 1929)
- 1861 – William Attewell, English cricketer and umpire (d. 1927)
- 1864 – Frank Chapman, American ornithologist, photographer, and author (d. 1945)
- 1877 – Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (d. 1971)
- 1883 – Fernand Gonder, French pole vaulter (d. 1969)
- 1883 – Robert Lowie, Austrian-American anthropologist and academic (d. 1957)
- 1888 – Zygmunt Janiszewski, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1920)
- 1890 – Egon Schiele, Austrian soldier and painter (d. 1918)
- 1892 – Djuna Barnes, American novelist, journalist, and playwright (d. 1982)
- 1895 – Eugénie Brazier, French chef (d. 1977)
- 1897 – Anthony Eden, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1977)
- 1899 – Fritz Albert Lipmann, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
- 1899 – Weegee, Ukrainian-American photographer and journalist (d. 1968)
- 1902 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian lawyer and politician, Mayor of Ghent (d. 1973)
- 1905 – Ray Barbuti, American sprinter and football player (d. 1988)
- 1906 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet (d. 1977)
- 1908 – Alphonse Ouimet, Canadian broadcaster (d. 1988)
- 1908 – Marina Semyonova, Russian ballerina and educator (d. 2010)
- 1908 – Otto Skorzeny, German SS officer (d. 1975)
- 1910 – Bill Naughton, Irish-English playwright and author (d. 1992)
- 1912 – Bill Cowley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1993)
- 1912 – Carl Hovland, American psychologist and academic (d. 1961)
- 1913 – Jean Victor Allard, Canadian general (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Desmond Piers, Canadian admiral (d. 2005)
- 1914 – William Lundigan, American actor (d. 1975)
- 1914 – Go Seigen, Chinese-Japanese Go player (d. 2014)
- 1915 – Priscilla Lane, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1915 – Christopher Mayhew, English soldier and politician (d. 1997)
- 1915 – David Rockefeller, American banker and businessman (d. 2017)
- 1916 – Irwin Allen, American director and producer (d. 1991)
- 1916 – Raúl Héctor Castro, Mexican-American politician and diplomat, 14th Governor of Arizona (d. 2015)
- 1918 – Samuel Z. Arkoff, American film producer (d. 2001)
- 1918 – Georgia Louise Harris Brown, American architect (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Christie Jayaratnam Eliezer, Sri Lankan-Australian mathematician and academic (d. 2001)
- 1919 – Uta Hagen, German-American actress and educator (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Dave Berg, American soldier and cartoonist (d. 2002)
- 1920 – Peter Jones, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2000)
- 1921 – Luis García Berlanga, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1921 – Christopher Derrick, English author, critic, and academic (d. 2007)
- 1921 – James Archibald Houston, Canadian author and illustrator (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Margherita Hack, Italian astrophysicist and author (d. 2013)
- 1924 – George H. W. Bush, American lieutenant and politician, 41st President of the United States (d. 2018)
- 1924 – Grete Dollitz, German-American guitarist and radio host (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Vic Damone, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2018)
- 1928 – Petros Molyviatis, Greek politician and diplomat, Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs
- 1928 – Richard M. Sherman, American composer and director
- 1929 – Brigid Brophy, English author and critic (d. 1995)
- 1929 – Anne Frank, German-Dutch diarist; victim of the Holocaust (d. 1945)
- 1929 – Jameel Jalibi, Pakistani linguist and academic
- 1929 – John McCluskey, Baron McCluskey, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Solicitor General for Scotland (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Jim Burke, Australian cricketer (d. 1979)
- 1930 – Donald Byrne, American chess player (d. 1976)
- 1930 – Innes Ireland, Scottish race car driver and engineer (d. 1993)
- 1930 – Jim Nabors, American actor and singer (d. 2017)
- 1931 – Trevanian, American author and scholar (d. 2005)
- 1931 – Rona Jaffe, American novelist (d. 2005)
- 1932 – Mimi Coertse, South African soprano and producer
- 1932 – Mamo Wolde, Ethiopian runner (d. 2002)
- 1933 – Eddie Adams, American photographer and journalist (d. 2004)
- 1934 – John A. Alonzo, American actor and cinematographer (d. 2001)
- 1934 – Kevin Billington, English director and producer
- 1935 – Ian Craig, Australian cricketer (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Paul Kennedy, English lawyer and judge
- 1937 – Vladimir Arnold, Russian-French mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
- 1937 – Klaus Basikow, German footballer and manager (d. 2015)
- 1937 – Antal Festetics, Hungarian-Austrian biologist and zoologist
- 1937 – Chips Moman, American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter (d. 2016)
- 1938 – Jean-Marie Doré, Guinean lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Guinea (d. 2016)
- 1938 – Tom Oliver, English-Australian actor
- 1939 – Ron Lynch, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1939 – Frank McCloskey, American sergeant and politician (d. 2003)
- 1940 – Jacques Brassard, Canadian educator and politician
- 1941 – Marv Albert, American sportscaster
- 1941 – Chick Corea, American pianist and composer
- 1941 – Roy Harper, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1941 – Reg Presley, English singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Lucille Roybal-Allard, American politician
- 1942 – Len Barry, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1942 – Bert Sakmann, German physiologist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1945 – Pat Jennings, Irish footballer and coach
- 1946 – Michel Bergeron, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1946 – Bobby Gould, English footballer and manager
- 1946 – Catherine Bréchignac, French physicist and academic
- 1948 – Hans Binder, Austrian race car driver
- 1948 – Herbert Meyer, German footballer
- 1948 – Len Wein, American comic book writer and editor (d. 2017)
- 1949 – Jens Böhrnsen, German judge and politician
- 1949 – Marc Tardif, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1949 – John Wetton, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (d. 2017)
- 1950 – Oğuz Abadan, Turkish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1950 – Michael Fabricant, English politician
- 1950 – Sonia Manzano, American actress of Puerto Rican descent, noted for playing Maria on Sesame Street
- 1950 – Bun E. Carlos, American drummer
- 1951 – Brad Delp, American musician and singer (d. 2007)
- 1951 – Andranik Margaryan, Armenian engineer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 2007)
- 1952 – Spencer Abraham, American academic and politician, 10th United States Secretary of Energy
- 1952 – Junior Brown, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1952 – Pete Farndon, English bass player and songwriter (d. 1983)
- 1953 – Rocky Burnette, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Tim Razzall, Baron Razzall, English lawyer and politician
- 1956 – Terry Alderman, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1957 – Timothy Busfield, American actor, director, and producer
- 1957 – Javed Miandad, Pakistani cricketer and coach
- 1958 – Meredith Brooks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1959 – John Linnell, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1959 – Scott Thompson, Canadian actor and comedian
- 1960 – Joe Kopicki, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Jordan Peterson, Canadian psychologist, professor and cultural critic
- 1963 – Philippe Bugalski, French race car driver (d. 2012)
- 1963 – Warwick Capper, Australian footballer, coach, and actor
- 1963 – Tim DeKay, American actor
- 1963 – Jerry Lynn, American wrestler
- 1964 – Derek Higgins, Irish race car driver
- 1964 – Kent Jones, American journalist
- 1964 – Paula Marshall, American actress
- 1964 – Peter Such, Scottish-born, English cricketer
- 1965 – Adrian Toole, Australian rugby league player
- 1965 – Gwen Torrence, American sprinter
- 1965 – Cathy Tyson, English actress
- 1966 – Marc Glanville, Australian rugby league player
- 1966 – Tom Misteli, Swiss cell biologist
- 1967 – Aivar Kuusmaa, Estonian basketball player and coach
- 1967 – Frances O’Connor, English-Australian actress
- 1968 – Scott Aldred, American baseball player and coach
- 1968 – Htay Kywe, Burmese activist
- 1968 – Bobby Sheehan, American bass player and songwriter (d. 1999)
- 1969 – Zsolt Daczi, Hungarian guitarist (d. 2007)
- 1969 – Héctor Garza, Mexican wrestler (d. 2013)
- 1969 – Mathieu Schneider, American ice hockey player
- 1969 – Heinz-Christian Strache, Austrian politician
- 1971 – Mark Henry, American weightlifter and wrestler
- 1971 – Ryan Klesko, American baseball player
- 1971 – Jérôme Romain, Caribbean-Dominican triple jumper and coach
- 1973 – Jason Caffey, American basketball player and coach
- 1973 – Darryl White, Australian footballer
- 1974 – Flávio Conceição, Brazilian footballer
- 1974 – Hideki Matsui, Japanese baseball player
- 1974 – Jason Mewes, American actor and producer
- 1974 – Kerry Kittles, American basketball player
- 1975 – Bryan Alvarez, American wrestler and journalist
- 1975 – Stéphanie Szostak, French-American actress
- 1976 – Antawn Jamison, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1976 – Ray Price, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1976 – Thomas Sørensen, Danish footballer
- 1977 – Wade Redden, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Kenny Wayne Shepherd, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Lewis Moody, English rugby player
- 1979 – Dallas Clark, American football player
- 1979 – Martine Dugrenier, Canadian wrestler
- 1979 – Diego Milito, Argentine footballer
- 1979 – Robyn, Swedish singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer
- 1979 – Earl Watson, American basketball player and coach
- 1980 – Marco Bortolami, Italian rugby player
- 1980 – Larry Foote, American football player
- 1980 – Ifet Taljević, German footballer
- 1981 – Raitis Grafs, Latvian basketball player
- 1981 – Paul Hasleby, Australian footballer
- 1981 – Adriana Lima, Brazilian model and actress
- 1982 – Ben Blackwell, American drummer
- 1982 – Diem Brown, German-American journalist and activist (d. 2014)
- 1982 – Jason David, American football player
- 1982 – Shailaja Pujari, Indian weightlifter
- 1982 – James Tomlinson, English cricketer
- 1983 – Bryan Habana, South African rugby player
- 1983 – Alexander Pipa, German rugby player
- 1983 – Christine Sinclair, Canadian soccer player
- 1984 – James Kwalia, Kenyan-Qatari runner
- 1984 – Bruno Soriano, Spanish footballer
- 1985 – Blake Ross, American computer programmer, co-created Mozilla Firefox
- 1985 – Sam Thaiday, Australian rugby league player
- 1985 – Kendra Wilkinson, American model, actress, and author
- 1985 – Chris Young, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1986 – Salim Mehajer, Australian politician
- 1986 – Harry Taylor, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Seyi Ajirotutu, American football player
- 1987 – Antonio Barragán, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Artūrs Bērziņš, Latvian basketball player
- 1988 – Eren Derdiyok, Swiss footballer
- 1988 – Mauricio Isla, Chilean footballer
- 1988 – Dave Melillo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1988 – Dakota Morton, Canadian actor and radio host
- 1989 – Emma Eliasson, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1989 – Ibrahim Jeilan, Ethiopian runner
- 1990 – Jrue Holiday, American basketball player
- 1990 – Kevin López, Spanish runner
- 1990 – David Worrall, English footballer
- 1991 – Avisail García, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1992 – Philippe Coutinho, Brazilian footballer
Deaths on June 12
- 796 – Hisham I, Muslim emir (b. 757)
- 816 – Pope Leo III (b. 750)
- 918 – Æthelflæd, Mercian daughter of Alfred the Great (b. 870)
- 1020 – Lyfing, English archbishop (b. 999)
- 1036 – Tedald, Italian bishop (b. 990)
- 1144 – Al-Zamakhshari, Persian theologian (b. 1075)
- 1152 – Henry of Scotland, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon (b. 1114)
- 1266 – Henry II, Prince of Anhalt-Aschersleben (b. 1215)
- 1294 – John I of Brienne, Count of Eu
- 1418 – Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac (b. 1360)
- 1435 – John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel, English commander (b. 1408)
- 1478 – Ludovico III Gonzaga, Marquis of Mantua (b. 1412)
- 1524 – Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, Spanish conquistador (b. 1465)
- 1560 – Ii Naomori, Japanese warrior (b. 1506)
- 1560 – Imagawa Yoshimoto, Japanese daimyō (b. 1519)
- 1565 – Adrianus Turnebus, French philologist and scholar (b. 1512)
- 1567 – Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich, English politician, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1490)
- 1647 – Thomas Farnaby, English scholar and educator (b. 1575)
- 1668 – Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge, English politician (b. 1599)
- 1675 – Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy (b. 1634)
- 1734 – James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, French-English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (b. 1670)
- 1758 – Prince Augustus William of Prussia (b. 1722)
- 1772 – Marc-Joseph Marion du Fresne, French explorer (b. 1724)
- 1778 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (b. 1716)
- 1816 – Pierre Augereau, French general (b. 1757)
- 1818 – Egwale Seyon, Ethiopian emperor
- 1841 – Konstantinos Nikolopoulos, Greek composer, archaeologist, and philologist (b. 1786)
- 1900 – Lucretia Peabody Hale, American journalist and author (b. 1820)
- 1904 – Camille of Renesse-Breidbach (b. 1836)
- 1912 – Frédéric Passy, French economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1822)
- 1917 – Teresa Carreño, Venezuelan-American singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (b. 1853)
- 1932 – Theo Heemskerk, Dutch lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1852)
- 1937 – Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Russian general (b. 1893)
- 1944 – Erich Marcks, German general (b. 1891)
- 1946 – Médéric Martin, Canadian politician, mayor of Montreal (b. 1869)
- 1952 – Harry Lawson, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Victoria (b. 1875)
- 1957 – Jimmy Dorsey, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (The Dorsey Brothers and The California Ramblers) (b. 1904)
- 1962 – John Ireland, English composer and educator (b. 1879)
- 1963 – Medgar Evers, American soldier and activist (b. 1925)
- 1966 – Hermann Scherchen, German viola player and conductor (b. 1891)
- 1968 – Herbert Read, English poet and critic (b. 1893)
- 1969 – Aleksandr Deyneka, Ukrainian-Russian painter and sculptor (b. 1899)
- 1972 – Edmund Wilson, American critic, essayist, and editor (b. 1895)
- 1972 – Dinanath Gopal Tendulkar, Indian writer and documentary filmmaker (b. 1909)
- 1976 – Gopinath Kaviraj, Indian philosopher and scholar (b. 1887)
- 1978 – Guo Moruo, Chinese historian, author, and poet (b. 1892)
- 1978 – Georg Siimenson, Estonian footballer (b. 1912)
- 1980 – Billy Butlin, South African-English businessman, founded the Butlins Company (b. 1899)
- 1980 – Masayoshi Ōhira, Japanese politician, 68th Prime minister of Japan (b. 1910)
- 1980 – Milburn Stone, American actor (b. 1904)
- 1982 – Ian McKay, English sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1953)
- 1982 – Karl von Frisch, Austrian-German ethologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
- 1983 – Norma Shearer, Canadian-American actress (b. 1902)
- 1989 – Bruce Hamilton, Australian public servant (b. 1911)
- 1990 – Terence O’Neill, Baron O’Neill of the Maine, English captain and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (b. 1914)
- 1994 – Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Russian-French rabbi and author (b. 1902)
- 1995 – Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist (b. 1920)
- 1995 – Pierre Russell, American basketball player (b. 1949)
- 1997 – Bulat Okudzhava, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1924)
- 1998 – Leo Buscaglia, American author and educator (b. 1924)
- 1998 – Theresa Merritt, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
- 1999 – J. F. Powers, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1917)
- 2000 – Purushottam Laxman Deshpande, Indian actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
- 2000 – Sandro Rosa do Nascimento, Brazilian criminal (b. 1978)
- 2002 – Bill Blass, American fashion designer, founded Bill Blass Limited (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Zena Sutherland, American reviewer of children’s literature (b. 1915)
- 2003 – Gregory Peck, American actor and political activist (b. 1916)
- 2005 – Scott Young, Canadian journalist and author (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Nicky Barr, Australian rugby player and fighter pilot (b. 1915)
- 2006 – György Ligeti, Romanian-Hungarian composer and educator (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian businessman and art collector (b. 1923)
- 2008 – Miroslav Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player (b. 1951)
- 2008 – Derek Tapscott, Welsh footballer and manager (b. 1932)
- 2010 – Al Williamson, American illustrator (b. 1931)
- 2011 – René Audet, Canadian bishop (b. 1920)
- 2011 – Carl Gardner, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Hector Bianciotti, Argentinian-French journalist and author (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Henry Hill, American mobster (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Margarete Mitscherlich-Nielsen, Danish-German psychoanalyst and author (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Medin Zhega, Albanian footballer and manager (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Elinor Ostrom, American political scientist and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Pahiño, Spanish footballer (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Frank Walker, Australian judge and politician, 41st Attorney General of New South Wales (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Teresita Barajuen, Spanish nun (b. 1908)
- 2013 – Jason Leffler, American race car driver (b. 1975)
- 2013 – Joseph A. Unanue, American sergeant and businessman (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Nabil Hemani, Algerian footballer (b. 1979)
- 2014 – Dan Jacobson, South African-English author and critic (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Frank Schirrmacher, German journalist (b. 1959)
- 2015 – Fernando Brant, Brazilian journalist, poet, and composer (b. 1946)
- 2015 – Frederick Pei Li, Chinese-American physician and academic (b. 1940)
- 2015 – Patrick Lennox Tierney, American historian and academic (b. 1914)
- 2016 – Omar Mateen, American mass murderer (b. 1986)
- 2016 – George Voinovich, American politician (b. 1936)
- 2016 – Janet Waldo, American actress and voice artist (b. 1920)
Holidays and observances on June 12
- Chaco Armistice Day (Paraguay)
- Christian feast day:
- 108 Martyrs of World War II
- Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor and Nazarius
- Blessed Hildegard Burjan
- Enmegahbowh (Episcopal Church)
- Eskil
- First Ecumenical Council (Lutheran)
- Gaspar Bertoni
- John of Sahagún
- Onuphrius
- Pope Leo III
- Ternan
- June 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Dia dos Namorados (Brazil)
- Helsinki Day (Finland)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Philippines from Spain in 1898.
- June 12 Commemoration (Lagos State)
- Loving Day (United States)
- Russia Day (Russia)
- World Day Against Child Labour, and its related observances:
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February 28 in History
- 202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
- 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
- 1246 – The siege of Jaén ends in the context of the Spanish Reconquista resulting in the Castilian takeover of the city from the Taifa of Jaen.
- 1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.
- 1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
- 1700 – Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.
- 1710 – Battle of Helsingborg: 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock. This is the last time Swedish and Danish troops meet on Swedish soil.
- 1728 – Peshwa Bajirao I of the Maratha Empire defeats Asaf Jah I in the Battle of Palkhed.
- 1827 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
- 1838 – Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Quebec).
- 1844 – A gun on USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing six people, including two United States Cabinet members.
- 1847 – The Battle of the Sacramento River during the Mexican–American War is a decisive victory for the United States leading to the capture of Chihuahua.
- 1849 – Regular steamship service from the east to the west coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, four months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor.
- 1867 – Seventy years of Holy See–United States relations are ended by a Congressional ban on federal funding of diplomatic envoys to the Vatican and are not restored until January 10, 1984.
- 1870 – The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire.
- 1874 – One of the longest cases ever heard in an English court ends when the defendant is convicted of perjury for attempting to assume the identity of the heir to the Tichborne baronetcy.
- 1893 – The USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, is launched.
- 1897 – Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force.
- 1900 – The Second Boer War: The 118-day “Siege of Ladysmith” is lifted.
- 1904 – S.L. Benfica is founded in Portugal.
- 1922 – The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
- 1925 – The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
- 1933 – Gleichschaltung: The Reichstag Fire Decree is passed in Germany a day after the Reichstag fire.
- 1935 – DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents nylon.
- 1939 – The erroneous word “dord” is discovered in the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation.
- 1940 – Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
- 1942 – The heavy cruiser USS Houston is sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait with 693 crew members killed, along with HMAS Perth which lost 375 men.
- 1947 – February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians.
- 1948 – Christiansborg Cross-Roads shooting in the Gold Coast, when a British police officer opens fire on a march of ex-servicemen, killing three of them and sparking major riots and looting in Accra.
- 1953 – James Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April’s Nature (pub. April 2).
- 1954 – The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public.
- 1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork river. The driver and 26 children die in what remains one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history.
- 1959 – Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
- 1966 – A NASA T-38 Talon crashes into the McDonnell Aircraft factory while attempting a poor-visibility landing at Lambert Field, St. Louis, killing astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett.
- 1972 – China–United States relations: The United States and China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
- 1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
- 1980 – Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum.
- 1983 – The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 106 million viewers. It still holds the record for the highest viewership of a season finale.
- 1985 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers in the highest loss of life for the RUC on a single day.
- 1986 – Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
- 1991 – The first Gulf War ends.
- 1993 – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group’s leader David Koresh. Four ATF agents and six Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.
- 1995 – Former Australian Liberal party leader John Hewson resigns from the Australian parliament almost two years after losing the 1993 Australian federal election.
- 1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 3,000 deaths.
- 1997 – GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way.
- 1998 – First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace.
- 1998 – Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.
- 2002 – During the religious violence in Gujarat, the 97 people killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in Gulbarg Society massacre.
- 2004 – Over one million Taiwanese participate in the 228 Hand-in-Hand rally form a 500-kilometre (310 mi) long human chain to commemorate the February 28 Incident in 1947.
- 2005 – A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127.
- 2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since Pope Gregory XII, in 1415.
Births on February 28
- 1119 – Emperor Xizong of Jin (d. 1150)
- 1155 – Henry the Young King, son and heir of Henry II of England (d. 1183)
- 1261 – Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway (d. 1283)
- 1518 – Francis III, Duke of Brittany, Duke of Brittany (d. 1536)
- 1533 – Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and author (d. 1592)
- 1535 – Cornelius Gemma, Dutch astronomer and astrologer (d. 1578)
- 1552 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss mathematician and clockmaker (d. 1632)
- 1612 – John Pearson, English bishop, theologian, and scholar (d. 1686)
- 1627 – Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (d. 1703)
- 1675 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (d. 1726)
- 1683 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (d. 1757)
- 1704 – Louis Godin, French astronomer and academic (d. 1760)
- 1712 – Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French general (d. 1759)
- 1724 – George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1807)
- 1792 – Karl Ernst von Baer, German biologist, meteorologist, and geographer (d. 1876)
- 1812 – Berthold Auerbach, German poet and author (d. 1882)
- 1820 – John Tenniel, English illustrator (d. 1914)
- 1833 – Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal (d. 1913)
- 1840 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (d. 1892)
- 1848 – Arthur Giry, French historian and academic (d. 1899)
- 1851 – Samuel W. McCall, American journalist and politician, 47th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1923)
- 1858 – Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (d. 1941)
- 1865 – Wilfred Grenfell, English physician and missionary (d. 1940)
- 1866 – Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1949)
- 1873 – William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish sailor (d. 1912)
- 1878 – Pierre Fatou, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1929)
- 1882 – Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
- 1882 – José Vasconcelos, Mexican philosopher, lawyer, and politician, Mexican Secretary of Public Education (d. 1959)
- 1883 – Seán Mac Diarmada, Irish rebel leader (d. 1916)
- 1884 – Ants Piip, Estonian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
- 1887 – William Zorach, Lithuanian-American sculptor and painter (d. 1966)
- 1894 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1964)
- 1895 – Marcel Pagnol, French author, playwright and director (d. 1974)
- 1896 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
- 1898 – Zeki Rıza Sporel, Turkish footballer (d. 1969)
- 1900 – Wolf Hirth, German pilot and engineer, co-founded Schempp-Hirth (d. 1959)
- 1901 – Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
- 1903 – Vincente Minnelli, American director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
- 1906 – Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (d. 1947)
- 1907 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (d. 1988)
- 1908 – Billie Bird, American actress (d. 2002)
- 1909 – Stephen Spender, English author and poet (d. 1995)
- 1911 – Otakar Vávra, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2011)
- 1915 – Ketti Frings, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
- 1915 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1915 – Zero Mostel, American actor and comedian (d. 1977)
- 1916 – Cesar Climaco, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Mayor of Zamboanga City (d. 1984)
- 1917 – Ernesto Alonso, Mexican actor, director, and producer (d. 2007)
- 1919 – Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Brian Urquhart, English soldier and diplomat, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
- 1920 – Jadwiga Piłsudska, Polish soldier, pilot, and architect (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Pierre Clostermann, French pilot, engineer, and author (d. 2006)
- 1922 – Yuri Lotman, Russian-Estonian historian and scholar (d. 1993)
- 1923 – Charles Durning, American soldier and actor (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Uno Prii, Estonian-Canadian architect (d. 2000)
- 1924 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (d. 1982)
- 1926 – Svetlana Alliluyeva, Russian-American author and educator (d. 2011)
- 1928 – Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (d. 1976)
- 1928 – Tom Aldredge, American actor (d. 2011)
- 1928 – Sylvia del Villard, actress, dancer, choreographer and Afro-Puerto Rican activist (d. 1990)
- 1929 – Hayden Fry, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect, designed 8 Spruce Street and Walt Disney Concert Hall
- 1929 – John Montague, American-Irish poet and academic (d. 2016)
- 1929 – Rangaswamy Srinivasan, Indian-American physical chemist and inventor
- 1930 – Leon Cooper, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1931 – Iajuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi academic and politician, 14th President of Bangladesh (d. 2012)
- 1931 – Peter Alliss, English golfer and sportscaster
- 1931 – Gavin MacLeod, American actor
- 1931 – Len Newcombe, Welsh footballer, outside forward and scout (d. 1996)
- 1931 – Dean Smith, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1932 – Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer, and jazz musician (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Rein Taagepera, Estonian political scientist and politician
- 1934 – Willie Bobo, American Latin Jazz/Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist (d. 1983)
- 1937 – Jeff Farrell, American swimmer
- 1938 – Foge Fazio, American football player and coach (d. 2009)
- 1939 – John Fahey, American guitarist (d. 2001)
- 1939 – Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan philosopher and scholar (d. 1987)
- 1939 – Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1939 – Tommy Tune, American actor, singer, dancer, and director
- 1940 – Aldo Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
- 1940 – Mario Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
- 1940 – Joe South, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer (d. 2012)
- 1942 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1969)
- 1942 – Dino Zoff, Italian footballer and manager
- 1943 – Barbara Acklin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
- 1943 – Hans Dijkstal, Egyptian-Dutch educator and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2010)
- 1943 – Donnie Iris, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1944 – Kelly Bishop, American actress and dancer
- 1944 – Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Sepp Maier, German footballer and manager
- 1944 – Storm Thorgerson, English graphic designer (d. 2013)
- 1945 – Mimsy Farmer, American-French actress and sculptor
- 1945 – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (d. 2011)
- 1945 – Linda Preiss Rothschild, American mathematician and academic
- 1946 – Philip Bailhache, English lawyer and politician
- 1946 – Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2005)
- 1946 – Syreeta Wright, African-American singer songwriter (d. 2004)
- 1947 – Stephanie Beacham, English actress
- 1948 – Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1948 – Mike Figgis, English director, screenwriter, and composer
- 1948 – Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author
- 1948 – Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
- 1948 – Alfred Sant, Maltese politician, 11th Prime Minister of Malta
- 1951 – Bill Cratty, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1998)
- 1951 – Debora Green, American physician convicted of murder
- 1953 – Ingo Hoffmann, Brazilian race car driver
- 1953 – Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1953 – Ricky Steamboat, American wrestler, referee, and trainer
- 1954 – Brian Billick, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1955 – Adrian Dantley, American basketball player and coach
- 1955 – Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer
- 1956 – Terry Leahy, English businessman
- 1956 – Guy Maddin, Canadian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
- 1957 – Paul Delph, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 1996)
- 1957 – Ainsley Harriott, English chef and author
- 1957 – Ian Smith, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
- 1957 – John Turturro, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Cindy Wilson, American singer-songwriter
- 1958 – Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican criminal and narcotics trafficker (d. 2012)
- 1958 – Natalya Estemirova, Russian journalist and activist (d. 2009)
- 1958 – Jeanne Mas, Spanish-French singer-songwriter and actress
- 1958 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (d. 2010)
- 1959 – Jack Abramoff, American businessman and lobbyist
- 1959 – Megan McDonald, American librarian and author
- 1961 – Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian-American actress
- 1961 – Mark Latham, Australian politician
- 1961 – Barry McGuigan, Irish-British boxer
- 1962 – Gary Belcher, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1963 – Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
- 1964 – Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Uzbekistan sprinter and cyclist
- 1965 – Colum McCann, Irish-American author and academic
- 1965 – Norman Smiley, English-American wrestler and trainer
- 1966 – Vincent Askew, American basketball player and coach
- 1966 – Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer
- 1966 – Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid
- 1967 – Colin Cooper, English footballer and manager
- 1967 – Martin Tielli, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1969 – Sean Farrel, English footballer, forward
- 1969 – Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver
- 1969 – Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
- 1969 – Patrick Monahan, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1970 – Daniel Handler, American journalist, author, and accordion player
- 1970 – Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner
- 1971 – Junya Nakano, Japanese pianist and composer
- 1971 – Peter Stebbings, Canadian actor and director
- 1972 – Rory Cochrane, American actor
- 1972 – Ville Haapasalo, Finnish actor and screenwriter
- 1973 – Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973 – Scott McLeod, New Zealand rugby player
- 1973 – Nicolas Minassian, French race car driver
- 1973 – Masato Tanaka, Japanese wrestler
- 1974 – Lee Carsley, English-Irish footballer and manager
- 1974 – Alexander Zickler, German footballer and manager
- 1975 – Mike Rucker, American football player
- 1976 – Ali Larter, American actress
- 1977 – Jason Aldean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1977 – Lance Hoyt, American football player and wrestler
- 1978 – Jeanne Cherhal, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
- 1978 – Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player
- 1978 – Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player
- 1979 – Sébastien Bourdais, French race car driver
- 1979 – Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player
- 1979 – Primož Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper
- 1980 – Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer
- 1980 – Lucian Bute, Romanian-Canadian boxer
- 1980 – Christian Poulsen, Danish footballer
- 1980 – Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
- 1981 – Brian Bannister, American baseball player and scout
- 1982 – Natalia Vodianova, Russian-French model and actress
- 1984 – Noureen DeWulf, American actress
- 1984 – Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress
- 1985 – Tim Bresnan, English cricketer
- 1985 – Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player
- 1985 – Diego Ribas da Cunha, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Travis Stevens, American judoka
- 1987 – Antonio Candreva, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player
- 1988 – Markéta Irglová, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
- 1989 – Carlos Dunlap, American football player
- 1989 – Charles Jenkins, American basketball player
- 1989 – Kevin Proctor, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1989 – Angelababy, Chinese actress
- 1990 – Takayasu Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1994 – Jake Bugg, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1994 – Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer
- 1999 – Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player
Deaths on February 28
- 628 – Khosrow II, Shah of Iran – Sasanian Empire (b. c. 570)
- 911 – Abu Abdallah al-Shi’i, Muslim Shia imam
- 1105 – Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse (b. c. 1042)
- 1261 – Henry III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1230)
- 1326 – Leopold I, Duke of Austria (b. 1290)
- 1453 – Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine (b. 1400)
- 1510 – Juan de la Cosa, Spanish cartographer and explorer (b. 1450)
- 1551 – Martin Bucer, German Protestant reformer (b. 1491)
- 1572 – Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian and author (b. 1505)
- 1621 – Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1590)
- 1648 – Christian IV of Denmark (b. 1577)
- 1786 – John Gwynn, English architect and engineer (b. 1713)
- 1788 – Thomas Cushing, American lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1725)
- 1857 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (b. 1809)
- 1869 – Alphonse de Lamartine, French author and poet (b. 1790)
- 1879 – Hortense Allart, Italian-French author (b. 1801)
- 1891 – George Hearst, American businessman and politician (b. 1820)
- 1916 – Henry James, American novelist, short writer, and critic (b. 1843)
- 1925 – Friedrich Ebert, German politician, 1st President of Germany (b. 1871)
- 1929 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician and immunologist (b. 1874)
- 1932 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (b. 1851)
- 1935 – Chiquinha Gonzaga, Brazilian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1847)
- 1936 – Charles Nicolle, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
- 1941 – Alfonso XIII of Spain (b. 1886)
- 1942 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (b. 1889)
- 1959 – Maxwell Anderson, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1888)
- 1963 – Rajendra Prasad, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st President of India (b. 1884)
- 1966 – Charles Bassett, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1931)
- 1966 – Elliot See, American commander, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)
- 1967 – Henry Luce, American publisher, co-founded Time Magazine (b. 1898)
- 1977 – Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, American actor and comedian (b. 1905)
- 1978 – Zara Cully, American actress (b. 1892)
- 1978 – Eric Frank Russell, English author (b. 1905)
- 1983 – Winifred Atwell, Trinidadian pianist (b. 1910 or 1914)
- 1987 – Stephen Tennant, English author (b. 1906)
- 1991 – Wassily Hoeffding, Finnish-American statistician and theorist (b. 1914)
- 1993 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
- 1993 – Ruby Keeler, Canadian-American actress and dancer (b. 1909)
- 1998 – Dermot Morgan, Irish comedian and actor (b. 1952)
- 1998 – Arkady Shevchenko, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1930)
- 2002 – Mary Stuart, American actress and singer (b. 1926)
- 2002 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Chris Brasher, Guyanese-English runner and journalist, co-founded the London Marathon (b. 1928)
- 2003 – Fidel Sánchez Hernández, Salvadorian general and politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1917)
- 2004 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and librarian (b. 1914)
- 2004 – Carmen Laforet, Spanish author (b. 1921)
- 2004 – Andres Nuiamäe, Estonian sergeant (b. 1982)
- 2005 – Chris Curtis, English singer and drummer (b. 1941)
- 2006 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
- 2007 – Charles Forte, Baron Forte, Italian-English businessman, founded the Forte Group (b. 1908)
- 2007 – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Billy Thorpe, English-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1946)
- 2008 – Joseph M. Juran, Romanian-American engineer and businessman (b. 1904)
- 2009 – Paul Harvey, American radio host (b. 1918)
- 2011 – Annie Girardot, French actress (b. 1931)
- 2011 – Jane Russell, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Frisner Augustin, Haitian drummer and composer (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Jim Green, American-Canadian educator and politician (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Hal Roach, Irish comedian and author (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Neil McCorkell, English cricketer and coach (b. 1912)
- 2014 – Hugo Brandt Corstius, Dutch linguist and author (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Lee Lorch, American mathematician and activist (b. 1915)
- 2015 – Alex Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1942)
- 2015 – Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1923)
- 2016 – George Kennedy, American actor (b. 1925)
- 2017 – Pierre Pascau, Mauritian-Canadian journalist (b. 1938)
- 2019 – André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (b. 1929)
- 2020 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe’s (b. 1930)
- 2020 – Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (b. 1923)
- 2020 – Sir Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (b. 1917)
Holidays and observances on February 28
- Christian feast day:
- Abercius (martyr)
- Anna Julia Cooper and Elizabeth Evelyn Wright (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Hilarius
- Mar Abba
- Oswald of Worcester
- Romanus of Condat
- Rufinus
- February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Rare Disease Day can fall, while February 29 is the latest; observed on the last day of February (international)
- The third day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (Please note that this observance is only locked into this date the Gregorian calendar on this date if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it doesn’t in all years)
- Día de Andalucía (Andalusia, Spain)
- Kalevala Day, the day of Finnish culture. (Finland)
- National Science Day (India)
- Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)
- Teachers’ Day (Arab states)