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

  • 306 – Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops.
  • 315 – The Arch of Constantine is completed near the Colosseum in Rome to commemorate Constantine I’s victory over Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge.
  • 677 – Climax of the Siege of Thessalonica by the Slavs in a three-day assault on the city walls.
  • 864 – The Edict of Pistres of Charles the Bald orders defensive measures against the Vikings.
  • 1137 – Eleanor of Aquitaine marries Prince Louis, later King Louis VII of France, at the Cathedral of Saint-André in Bordeaux.
  • 1139 – Battle of Ourique: The Almoravids, led by Ali ibn Yusuf, are defeated by Prince Afonso Henriques who is proclaimed King of Portugal.
  • 1261 – The city of Constantinople is recaptured by Nicaean forces under the command of Alexios Strategopoulos, re-establishing the Byzantine Empire.
  • 1278 – The naval Battle of Algeciras takes place in the context of the Spanish Reconquista resulting in a victory for the Emirate of Granada and the Maranid Dynasty over the Kingdom of Castile.
  • 1467 – The Battle of Molinella: The first battle in Italy in which firearms are used extensively.
  • 1536 – Sebastián de Belalcázar on his search of El Dorado founds the city of Santiago de Cali.
  • 1538 – The city of Guayaquil is founded by the Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Orellana and given the name Muy Noble y Muy Leal Ciudad de Santiago de Guayaquil.
  • 1547 – Henry II of France is crowned.
  • 1554 – Mary I marries Philip II of Spain at Winchester Cathedral.
  • 1567 – Don Diego de Losada founds the city of Santiago de Leon de Caracas, modern-day Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela.
  • 1593 – Henry IV of France publicly converts from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism.
  • 1603 – James VI of Scotland is crowned king of England (James I of England), bringing the Kingdom of England and Kingdom of Scotland into personal union. Political union would occur in 1707.
  • 1609 – The English ship Sea Venture, en route to Virginia, is deliberately driven ashore during a storm at Bermuda to prevent its sinking; the survivors go on to found a new colony there.
  • 1693 – Ignacio de Maya founds the Real Santiago de las Sabinas, now known as Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, Mexico.
  • 1722 – Dummer’s War begins along the Maine-Massachusetts border.
  • 1755 – British governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council order the deportation of the Acadians.
  • 1759 – French and Indian War: In Western New York, British forces capture Fort Niagara from the French, who subsequently abandon Fort Rouillé.
  • 1783 – American Revolutionary War: The war’s last action, the Siege of Cuddalore, is ended by a preliminary peace agreement.
  • 1788 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completes his Symphony No. 40 in G minor (K550).
  • 1792 – The Brunswick Manifesto is issued to the population of Paris promising vengeance if the French royal family is harmed.
  • 1797 – Horatio Nelson loses more than 300 men and his right arm during the failed conquest attempt of Tenerife (Spain).
  • 1799 – At Abu Qir in Egypt, Napoleon I of France defeats 10,000 Ottomans under Mustafa Pasha.
  • 1814 – War of 1812: An American attack on Canada is repulsed.
  • 1824 – Costa Rica annexes Guanacaste from Nicaragua.
  • 1837 – The first commercial use of an electrical telegraph is successfully demonstrated in London by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone.
  • 1853 – Joaquin Murrieta, the famous Californio bandit known as the “Robin Hood of El Dorado”, is killed.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Crittenden–Johnson Resolution, stating that the war is being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.
  • 1866 – The United States Congress passes legislation authorizing the rank of General of the Army. Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant becomes the first to be promoted to this rank.
  • 1868 – The Wyoming Territory is established.
  • 1869 – The Japanese daimyōs begin returning their land holdings to the emperor as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms. (Traditional Japanese Date: June 17, 1869).
  • 1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War begins when the Japanese fire upon a Chinese warship.
  • 1898 – In the Puerto Rican Campaign, the United States seizes Puerto Rico from Spain.
  • 1908 – Ajinomoto is founded. Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University discovers that a key ingredient in kombu soup stock is monosodium glutamate (MSG), and patents a process for manufacturing it.
  • 1909 – Louis Blériot makes the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air machine from Calais to Dover, England, United Kingdom in 37 minutes.
  • 1915 – RFC Captain Lanoe Hawker becomes the first British pursuit aviator to earn the Victoria Cross.
  • 1917 – Sir Robert Borden introduces the first income tax in Canada as a “temporary” measure (lowest bracket is 4% and highest is 25%).
  • 1925 – Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) is established.
  • 1934 – The Nazis assassinate Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss in a failed coup attempt.
  • 1940 – General Henri Guisan orders the Swiss Army to resist German invasion and makes surrender illegal.
  • 1942 – The Norwegian Manifesto calls for nonviolent resistance to the German occupation.
  • 1943 – World War II: Benito Mussolini is forced out of office by the Grand Council of Fascism and is replaced by Pietro Badoglio.
  • 1944 – World War II: Operation Spring is one of the bloodiest days for the First Canadian Army during the war.
  • 1946 – Nuclear weapons testing: Operation Crossroads: An atomic bomb is detonated underwater in the lagoon of Bikini Atoll.
  • 1956 – Forty-five miles south of Nantucket Island, the Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collides with the MS Stockholm in heavy fog and sinks the next day, killing 51.
  • 1957 – The Republic of Tunisia is proclaimed, under President Habib Bourguiba.
  • 1958 – The African Regroupment Party (PRA) holds its first congress in Cotonou.
  • 1961 – Cold War: In a speech John F. Kennedy emphasizes that any attack on Berlin is an attack on NATO.
  • 1965 – Bob Dylan goes electric at the Newport Folk Festival, signaling a major change in folk and rock music.
  • 1969 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon declares the Nixon Doctrine, stating that the United States now expects its Asian allies to take care of their own military defense. This is the start of the “Vietnamization” of the war.
  • 1973 – Soviet Mars 5 space probe is launched.
  • 1976 – Viking program: Viking 1 takes the famous Face on Mars photo.
  • 1978 – Puerto Rican police shoot two nationalists in the Cerro Maravilla murders.
  • 1978 – Birth of Louise Joy Brown, the first human to have been born after conception by in vitro fertilisation, or IVF.
  • 1979 – Another section of the Sinai Peninsula is peacefully returned by Israel to Egypt.
  • 1983 – Black July: Thirty-seven Tamil political prisoners at the Welikada high security prison in Colombo are massacred by the fellow Sinhalese prisoners.
  • 1984 – Salyut 7 cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becomes the first woman to perform a space walk.
  • 1993 – Israel launches a massive attack against Lebanon in what the Israelis call Operation Accountability, and the Lebanese call the Seven-Day War.
  • 1993 – The Saint James Church massacre occurs in Kenilworth, Cape Town, South Africa.
  • 1994 – Israel and Jordan sign the Washington Declaration, that formally ends the state of war that had existed between the nations since 1948.
  • 1995 – A gas bottle explodes in Saint Michel station of line B of the RER (Paris regional train network). Eight are killed and 80 wounded.
  • 1996 – In a military coup in Burundi, Pierre Buyoya deposes Sylvestre Ntibantunganya.
  • 2000 – Concorde Air France Flight 4590 crashes at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport, killing 113 people.
  • 2007 – Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India’s first female president.
  • 2010 – WikiLeaks publishes classified documents about the War in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history.
  • 2018 – As-Suwayda attacks: Coordinated attacks occur in Syria.
  • 2019 – National extreme heat records set this day in the UK, Belgium and Germany during the July 2019 European heatwave.

Births on July 25

  • 975 – Thietmar, bishop of Merseburg (d. 1018)
  • 1016 – Casimir I the Restorer, duke of Poland (d. 1058)
  • 1109 – Afonso I, king of Portugal (d. 1185)
  • 1165 – Ibn Arabi, Andalusian Sufi mystic, poet, and philosopher (d. 1240)
  • 1261 – Arthur II, Duke of Brittany (d. 1312)
  • 1291 – Hawys Gadarn, Welsh noblewoman (d. 1353)
  • 1336 – Albert I, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1404)
  • 1394 – James I, king of Scotland (d. 1437)
  • 1404 – Philip I, Duke of Brabant (d. 1430)
  • 1421 – Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, English politician (d. 1461)
  • 1450 – Jakob Wimpfeling, Renaissance humanist (d. 1528)
  • 1486 – Albrecht VII, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1547)
  • 1498 – Hernando de Aragón, Archbishop of Zaragoza (d. 1575)
  • 1532 – Alphonsus Rodriguez, Jesuit lay brother and saint (d. 1617)
  • 1556 – George Peele, English translator, poet, and dramatist (d. 1596)
  • 1562 – Katō Kiyomasa, Japanese warlord (d. 1611)
  • 1573 – Christoph Scheiner, German astronomer and Jesuit (d. 1650)
  • 1581 – Brian Twyne, English archivist (d. 1644)
  • 1605 – Theodore Haak, German scholar (d. 1690)
  • 1633 – Joseph Williamson, English politician (d. 1701)
  • 1654 – Agostino Steffani, Italian composer and diplomat (d. 1728)
  • 1657 – Philipp Heinrich Erlebach, German composer (d. 1714)
  • 1658 – Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll, Scottish general (d. 1703)
  • 1683 – Pieter Langendijk, Dutch playwright and poet (d. 1756)
  • 1750 – Henry Knox, American general and politician, 1st United States Secretary of War (d. 1806)
  • 1753 – Santiago de Liniers, 1st Count of Buenos Aires, French-Spanish captain and politician, 10th Viceroy of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata (d. 1810)
  • 1797 – Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1889)
  • 1806 – Maria Weston Chapman, American abolitionist (d. 1885)
  • 1839 – Francis Garnier, French captain and explorer (d. 1873)
  • 1844 – Thomas Eakins, American painter, sculptor, and photographer (d. 1916)
  • 1847 – Paul Langerhans, German pathologist, physiologist and biologist (d. 1888)
  • 1848 – Arthur Balfour, Scottish-English lieutenant and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1930)
  • 1857 – Frank J. Sprague, American naval officer and inventor (d. 1934)
  • 1865 – Jac. P. Thijsse, Dutch botanist and conservationist (d. 1945)
  • 1866 – Frederick Blackman, English physiologist and academic (d. 1947)
  • 1867 – Max Dauthendey, German author and painter (d. 1918)
  • 1867 – Alexander Rummler, American painter (d. 1959)
  • 1869 – Platon, Estonian bishop and saint (d. 1919)
  • 1870 – Maxfield Parrish, American painter and illustrator (d. 1966)
  • 1875 – Jim Corbett, Indian hunter, environmentalist, and author (d. 1955)
  • 1878 – Masaharu Anesaki, Japanese philosopher and scholar (d. 1949)
  • 1882 – George S. Rentz, American commander (d. 1942)
  • 1883 – Alfredo Casella, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1947)
  • 1886 – Edward Cummins, American golfer (d. 1926)
  • 1894 – Walter Brennan, American actor (d. 1974)
  • 1894 – Gavrilo Princip, Bosnian Serb revolutionary (d. 1918)
  • 1895 – Ingeborg Spangsfeldt, Danish actress (d. 1968)
  • 1896 – Jack Perrin, American actor and stuntman (d. 1967)
  • 1896 – Josephine Tey, Scottish author and playwright (d. 1952)
  • 1901 – Ruth Krauss, American author and poet (d. 1993)
  • 1901 – Mohammed Helmy, Egyptian physician and Righteous Among the Nations (d.1982)
  • 1901 – Lila Lee, American actress and singer (d. 1973)
  • 1902 – Eric Hoffer, American philosopher and author (d. 1983)
  • 1905 – Elias Canetti, Bulgarian-Swiss novelist, playwright, and memoirist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
  • 1905 – Georges Grignard, French race car driver (d. 1977)
  • 1905 – Denys Watkins-Pitchford, English author and illustrator (d. 1990)
  • 1906 – Johnny Hodges, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 1970)
  • 1908 – Bill Bowes, English cricketer (d. 1987)
  • 1908 – Ambroise-Marie Carré, French priest and author (d. 2004)
  • 1908 – Jack Gilford, American actor (d. 1990)
  • 1914 – Woody Strode, American football player and actor (d. 1994)
  • 1915 – S. U. Ethirmanasingham, Sri Lankan businessman and politician
  • 1915 – Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1944)
  • 1916 – Lucien Saulnier, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
  • 1917 – Fritz Honegger, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 1999)
  • 1918 – Jane Frank, American painter and sculptor (d. 1986)
  • 1920 – Rosalind Franklin, English biophysicist, chemist, and academic (d. 1958)
  • 1921 – Adolph Herseth, American soldier and trumpet player (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Lionel Terray, French mountaineer (d. 1965)
  • 1923 – Estelle Getty, American actress (d. 2008)
  • 1923 – Edgar Gilbert, American mathematician and theorist (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Frank Church, American lawyer and politician (d. 1984)
  • 1924 – Scotch Taylor, South African cricketer and hockey player (d. 2004)
  • 1925 – Benny Benjamin, American R&B drummer (The Funk Brothers) (d. 1969)
  • 1925 – Jerry Paris, American actor and director (d. 1986)
  • 1925 – Dick Passwater, American race car driver
  • 1925 – Jutta Zilliacus, Finnish journalist and politician
  • 1926 – Whitey Lockman, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2009)
  • 1926 – Bernard Thompson, British television producer and director (d. 1998)
  • 1926 – Beatriz Segall, Brazilian actress (d. 2018)
  • 1927 – Daniel Ceccaldi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1927 – Midge Decter, American journalist and author
  • 1927 – Sadiq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani politician, 10th Governor of Punjab (d. 2000)
  • 1927 – Jean-Marie Seroney, Kenyan activist and politician (d. 1982)
  • 1928 – Dolphy, Filipino actor, singer, and producer (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Mario Montenegro, Filipino actor (d. 1988)
  • 1928 – Nils Taube, Estonian-English businessman (d. 2008)
  • 1929 – Judd Buchanan, Canadian businessman and politician, 36th Canadian Minister of Public Works
  • 1929 – Somnath Chatterjee, Indian lawyer and politician, 14th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (d. 2018)
  • 1929 – Eddie Mazur, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1995)
  • 1930 – Murray Chapple, New Zealand cricketer and manager (d. 1985)
  • 1930 – Maureen Forrester, Canadian actress and singer (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Alice Parizeau, Polish-Canadian journalist and criminologist (d. 1990)
  • 1930 – Herbert Scarf, American economist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – Annie Ross, Scottish-American singer and actress
  • 1931 – James Butler, English sculptor and educator
  • 1932 – Paul J. Weitz, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2017)
  • 1934 – Don Ellis, American trumpet player and composer (d. 1978)
  • 1934 – Claude Zidi, French director and screenwriter
  • 1935 – Barbara Harris, American actress and singer (d. 2018)
  • 1935 – Adnan Khashoggi, Saudi Arabian businessman (d. 2017)
  • 1935 – Gilbert Parent, Canadian educator and politician, 33rd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (d. 2009)
  • 1935 – John Robinson, American football player and coach
  • 1935 – Larry Sherry, American baseball player and coach (d. 2006)
  • 1935 – Lars Werner, Swedish lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Gerry Ashmore, English race car driver
  • 1936 – Glenn Murcutt, English-Australian architect and academic
  • 1937 – Colin Renfrew, Baron Renfrew of Kaimsthorn, English archaeologist and academic
  • 1940 – Richard Ballantine, American-English journalist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1941 – Manny Charlton, Spanish-born Scottish rock musician and songwriter
  • 1941 – Nate Thurmond, American basketball player (d. 2016)
  • 1941 – Emmett Till, American lynching victim (d. 1955)
  • 1942 – Bruce Woodley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Jim McCarty, English singer and drummer
  • 1943 – Erika Steinbach, Polish-German politician
  • 1944 – Sally Beauman, English journalist and author (d. 2016)
  • 1946 – José Areas, Nicaraguan drummer
  • 1946 – Nicole Farhi, French fashion designer and sculptor
  • 1946 – John Gibson, American radio host
  • 1946 – Rita Marley, Cuban-Jamaican singer
  • 1946 – P. Selvarasa, Sri Lankan politician
  • 1946 – Ljupka Dimitrovska, Macedonian-Croatian pop singer (d. 2016)
  • 1948 – Steve Goodman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
  • 1950 – Mark Clarke, English singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1951 – Jack Thompson, American lawyer and activist
  • 1951 – Verdine White, American bass player and producer
  • 1952 – Eduardo Souto de Moura, Portuguese architect, designed the Estádio Municipal de Braga
  • 1953 – Joseph A. Tunzi, Chicago based author, foremost expert on Elvis Presley
  • 1953 – Robert Zoellick, American banker and politician, 14th United States Deputy Secretary of State
  • 1954 – Ken Greer, Canadian guitarist, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1954 – Sheena McDonald, Scottish journalist
  • 1954 – Walter Payton, American football player and race car driver (d. 1999)
  • 1954 – Jochem Ziegert, German footballer and manager
  • 1955 – Iman, Somalian-English model and actress
  • 1955 – Randall Bewley, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1956 – Andy Goldsworthy, English-Scottish sculptor and photographer
  • 1956 – Frances Arnold, American scientist and engineer
  • 1957 – Mark Hunter, English politician
  • 1957 – Steve Podborski, Canadian skier
  • 1958 – Alexei Filippenko, American astrophysicist and academic
  • 1958 – Thurston Moore, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1959 – Fyodor Cherenkov, Russian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1959 – Geoffrey Zakarian, American chef and author
  • 1960 – Alain Robidoux, Canadian snooker player
  • 1960 – Justice Howard, American photographer
  • 1960 – Māris Martinsons, Latvian film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor
  • 1962 – Carin Bakkum, Dutch tennis player
  • 1962 – Doug Drabek, American baseball player and coach
  • 1963 – Denis Coderre, Canadian politician, 44th Mayor of Montreal
  • 1963 – Julian Hodgson, Welsh chess player
  • 1964 – Anne Applebaum, American journalist and author
  • 1964 – Tony Granato, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1964 – Breuk Iversen, American designer and journalist
  • 1965 – Marty Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Illeana Douglas, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Dale Shearer, Australian rugby league player
  • 1966 – Daryl Halligan, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster
  • 1966 – Maureen Herman, American bass player
  • 1966 – Diana Johnson, English politician
  • 1967 – Matt LeBlanc, American actor and producer
  • 1967 – Ruth Peetoom, Dutch minister and politician
  • 1967 – Tommy Skjerven, Norwegian footballer and referee
  • 1968 – Rudi Bryson, South African cricketer
  • 1968 – Shi Tao, Chinese journalist and poet
  • 1969 – Jon Barry, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Annastacia Palaszczuk, Australian politician, 39th Premier of Queensland
  • 1971 – Roger Creager, American singer-songwriter
  • 1971 – Tracy Murray, American basketball player
  • 1971 – Billy Wagner, American baseball player and coach
  • 1972 – David Penna, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1973 – Dani Filth, English singer-songwriter
  • 1973 – Kevin Phillips, English footballer
  • 1973 – Igli Tare, Albanian footballer
  • 1974 – Lauren Faust, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Julia Laffranque, Estonian lawyer and judge
  • 1974 – Kenzo Suzuki, Japanese rugby player and wrestler
  • 1975 – Jody Craddock, English footballer and coach
  • 1975 – Jean-Claude Darcheville, Guianan-French footballer
  • 1975 – El Zorro, Mexican wrestler
  • 1975 – Brian Gibson, American bass player
  • 1975 – Evgeni Nabokov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Marcos Assunção, Brazilian footballer
  • 1976 – Jovica Tasevski-Eternijan, Macedonian poet and critic
  • 1976 – Javier Vázquez, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1977 – Kenny Thomas, American basketball player
  • 1978 – Gerard Warren, American football player
  • 1978 – Louise Brown, first human to be born via IVF
  • 1979 – Ali Carter, English snooker player
  • 1979 – Tom Lungley, English cricketer and umpire
  • 1980 – Shawn Riggans, American baseball player
  • 1980 – Toni Vilander, Finnish race car driver
  • 1980 – David Wachs, American actor and producer
  • 1980 – Scott Waldrom, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1981 – Conor Casey, American soccer player
  • 1981 – Constantinos Charalambidis, Cypriot footballer
  • 1981 – Yūichi Komano, Japanese footballer
  • 1981 – Mac Lethal, American rapper and producer
  • 1981 – Jani Rita, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Brad Renfro, American actor and musician (d. 2008)
  • 1982 – Jason Dundas, Australian TV host
  • 1983 – Nenad Krstić, Serbian basketball player
  • 1984 – Loukas Mavrokefalidis, Greek basketball player
  • 1985 – James Lafferty, American actor and athlete
  • 1985 – Nelson Piquet Jr., Brazilian race car driver
  • 1985 – Hugo Rodallega, Colombian footballer
  • 1986 – Abraham Gneki Guié, Ivorian footballer
  • 1986 – Hulk, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Richard Bachman, American ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Mitchell Burgzorg, Dutch footballer and rapper
  • 1987 – Fernando, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Jax Jones, English DJ, singer and songwriter
  • 1987 – Eran Zahavi, Israeli footballer
  • 1988 – John Goossens, Dutch footballer
  • 1988 – Tom Hiariej, Dutch footballer
  • 1988 – Stacey Kemp, English skater
  • 1988 – Paulinho, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Anthony Stokes, Irish footballer
  • 1989 – Natalia Vieru, Russian basketball player
  • 1990 – Thodoris Karapetsas, Greek footballer
  • 1991 – Toni Duggan, English footballer
  • 1992 – Sergei Simonov, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
  • 1997 – Nat Butcher, Australian rugby league player

Deaths on July 25

  • 306 – Constantius Chlorus, Roman emperor (b. 250)
  • 885 – Ragenold, margrave of Neustria
  • 1011 – Ichijō, emperor of Japan (b. 980)
  • 1190 – Sibylla, queen of Jerusalem
  • 1409 – Martin I, king of Sicily (b. 1376)
  • 1471 – Thomas à Kempis, German priest and mystic
  • 1472 – Charles of Artois, French nobleman (b. 1394)
  • 1492 – Innocent VIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1432)
  • 1564 – Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1503)
  • 1572 – Isaac Luria, Ottoman rabbi and mystic (b. 1534)
  • 1608 – Pomponio Nenna, Italian composer (b. 1556)
  • 1616 – Andreas Libavius, German physician and chemist (b. 1550)
  • 1643 – Robert Pierrepont, 1st Earl of Kingston-upon-Hull, English general and politician (b. 1584)
  • 1681 – Urian Oakes, English-American minister and educator (b. 1631)
  • 1790 – Johann Bernhard Basedow, German educator and reformer (b. 1723)
  • 1790 – William Livingston, American soldier and politician, 1st Governor of New Jersey (b. 1723)
  • 1791 – Isaac Low, American merchant and politician (b. 1735)
  • 1794 – André Chénier, Greek-French poet and author (b. 1762)
  • 1794 – Jean-Antoine Roucher, French poet and author (b. 1745)
  • 1794 – Friedrich von der Trenck, Prussian adventurer and author (b. 1726)
  • 1826 – Kondraty Ryleyev, Russian poet and publisher (b. 1795)
  • 1831 – Maria Szymanowska, Polish composer and pianist (b. 1789)
  • 1834 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English philosopher, poet, and critic (b. 1772)
  • 1842 – Dominique Jean Larrey, French physician and surgeon (b. 1766)
  • 1843 – Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and engineer (b. 1766)
  • 1861 – Jonas Furrer, Swiss lawyer and politician, President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1805)
  • 1865 – James Barry, English soldier and surgeon (b. 1799)
  • 1887 – John Taylor, American religious leader, 3rd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1808)
  • 1934 – François Coty, French businessman, founded Coty, Inc. (b. 1874)
  • 1934 – Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian politician, 14th Chancellor of Austria (b. 1892)
  • 1942 – Fred Englehardt, American triple jumper (b. 1879)
  • 1952 – Herbert Murrill, English organist and composer (b. 1909)
  • 1958 – Otto Lasanen, Finnish wrestler (b. 1891)
  • 1959 – Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, Polish-born Irish rabbi and author (b. 1888)
  • 1962 – Thibaudeau Rinfret, Canadian lawyer and jurist, 9th Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1879)
  • 1963 – Ugo Cerletti, Italian neurologist and academic (b. 1877)
  • 1966 – Frank O’Hara, American poet and critic (b. 1926)
  • 1967 – Konstantinos Parthenis, Egyptian-Greek painter (b. 1878)
  • 1971 – John Meyers, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1880)
  • 1971 – Leroy Robertson, American composer and educator (b. 1896)
  • 1973 – Amy Jacques Garvey, Jamaican-American journalist and activist (b. 1895)
  • 1973 – Louis St. Laurent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1882)
  • 1980 – Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1938)
  • 1981 – Rosa A. González, Puerto Rican nurse, author, feminist, and activist (b. 1889)
  • 1982 – Hal Foster, Canadian-American author and illustrator (b. 1892)
  • 1984 – Bryan Hextall, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1913)
  • 1984 – Big Mama Thornton, American singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
  • 1986 – Vincente Minnelli, American director and screenwriter (b. 1903)
  • 1988 – Judith Barsi, American child actress (b. 1978)
  • 1989 – Steve Rubell, American businessman, co-owner of Studio 54 (b. 1943)
  • 1991 – Lazar Kaganovich, Soviet politician (b. 1893)
  • 1992 – Alfred Drake, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
  • 1995 – Charlie Rich, American singer-songwriter (b. 1932)
  • 1997 – Ben Hogan, American golfer (b. 1912)
  • 1998 – Evangelos Papastratos, Greek businessman, co-founded Papastratos (b. 1910)
  • 2000 – Rudi Faßnacht, German footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1934)
  • 2002 – Abdel Rahman Badawi, Egyptian philosopher and poet (b. 1917)
  • 2003 – Ludwig Bölkow, German engineer (b. 1912)
  • 2003 – John Schlesinger, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2004 – John Passmore, Australian philosopher and academic (b. 1914)
  • 2005 – Albert Mangelsdorff, German trombonist (b. 1928)
  • 2006 – Ezra Fleischer, Romanian-Israeli poet and philologist (b. 1928)
  • 2007 – Bernd Jakubowski, German footballer and manager (b. 1952)
  • 2008 – Jeff Fehring, Australian footballer (b. 1955)
  • 2008 – Tracy Hall, American chemist and academic (b. 1919)
  • 2008 – Randy Pausch, American computer scientist and educator (b. 1960)
  • 2009 – Vernon Forrest, American boxer (b. 1971)
  • 2009 – Stanley Middleton, English author (b. 1919)
  • 2009 – Harry Patch, English soldier (b. 1898)
  • 2011 – Michael Cacoyannis, Cypriot-Greek director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – B. R. Ishara, Indian director and screenwriter (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Barry Langford, English director and producer (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Greg Mohns, American-Canadian football player and coach (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Franz West, Austrian painter and sculptor (b. 1947)
  • 2013 – Walter De Maria, American sculptor, illustrator, and composer (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – William J. Guste, American lawyer and politician (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Hugh Huxley, English-American biologist and academic (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Bel Kaufman, German-American author and academic (b. 1911)
  • 2014 – Richard Larter, Australian painter and illustrator (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Jacques Andreani, French diplomat, French ambassador to the United States (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – R. S. Gavai, Indian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor of Kerala (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Bob Kauffman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1946)
  • 2017 – Michael Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
  • 2018 – Sergio Marchionne, Italian-Canadian businessman(b. 1952)
  • 2019 – Beji Caid Essebsi , 4th President and 9th Prime Minister of Tunisia (b. 1926)

Holidays and observances on July 25

  • Christian feast day:
    • Anne (Eastern Christianity)
    • Christopher (Western Christianity)
    • Cucuphas
    • Glodesind
    • James the Great (Western Christianity)
    • John I Agnus
    • Julian of Le Mans (translation)
    • Magnerich of Trier
    • July 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while July 31 is the latest; celebrated on last Sunday in July. (Dominican Republic)
  • Earliest day on which National Tree Planting Day can fall, while July 31 is the latest; celebrated on last Sunday in July. (Australia)
  • Earliest day on which Navy Day can fall, while July 31 is the latest; celebrated on last Sunday in July. (Russia)
  • Guanacaste Day (Costa Rica)
  • National Baha’i Day (Jamaica)
  • National Day of Galicia (Galicia)
  • Puerto Rico Constitution Day (Puerto Rico)
  • Republic Day (Tunisia)

July 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

The Aphelion, the point in the year when the Earth is farthest from the Sun, occurs around this date.

July 4 in History

  • 362 BC – Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.
  • 414 – Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.
  • 836 – Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed.
  • 993 – Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint.
  • 1054 – A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.
  • 1120 – Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew’s death.
  • 1187 – The Crusades: Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem.
  • 1253 – Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.
  • 1359 – Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
  • 1456 – Ottoman–Hungarian wars: The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins.
  • 1534 – Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye.
  • 1584 – Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island
  • 1610 – The Battle of Klushino is fought between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia during the Polish–Muscovite War.
  • 1634 – The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (now Quebec, Canada).
  • 1744 – The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cede lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
  • 1774 – Orangetown Resolutions are adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament’s Coercive Acts.
  • 1776 – American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress.
  • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: U.S. forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.
  • 1802 – At West Point, New York, the United States Military Academy opens.
  • 1803 – The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
  • 1817 – In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
  • 1826 – John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, respectively the second and third presidents of the United States, die the same day, on the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence. Adams’ last words were, “Thomas Jefferson survives.”
  • 1827 – Slavery is abolished in the State of New York.
  • 1831 – Samuel Francis Smith writes “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” for the Boston, Massachusetts July 4 festivities.
  • 1837 – Grand Junction Railway, the world’s first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.
  • 1838 – The Iowa Territory is organized.
  • 1845 – Henry David Thoreau moves into a small cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau’s account of his two years there, Walden, will become a touchstone of the environmental movement.
  • 1855 – The first edition of Walt Whitman’s book of poems, Leaves of Grass, is published In Brooklyn.
  • 1862 – Lewis Carroll tells Alice Liddell a story that would grow into Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its sequels.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg: Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to U.S. forces under Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege. One hundred fifty miles up the Mississippi River, a Confederate army is repulsed at the Battle of Helena, Arkansas.
  • 1863 – American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia withdraws from the battlefield after losing the Battle of Gettysburg, signalling an end to the Confederate invasion of U.S. territory.
  • 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: The Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burned to the ground, ending the war and forcing King Cetshwayo to flee.
  • 1881 – In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
  • 1886 – The Canadian Pacific Railway’s first scheduled train from Montreal arrives in Port Moody on the Pacific coast, after six days of travel.
  • 1887 – The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joins Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.
  • 1892 – Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, causing Monday (July 4) to occur twice, resulting in a year with 367 days.
  • 1894 – The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
  • 1898 – En route from New York to Le Havre, the SS La Bourgogne collides with another ship and sinks off the coast of Sable Island, with the loss of 549 lives.
  • 1901 – William Howard Taft becomes American governor of the Philippines.
  • 1903 – The Philippine–American War is officially concluded.
  • 1910 – The Johnson–Jeffries riots occur after African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in the 15th round. Between 11 and 26 people are killed and hundreds more injured.
  • 1911 – A massive heat wave strikes the northeastern United States, killing 380 people in eleven days and breaking temperature records in several cities.
  • 1913 – President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913.
  • 1914 – The funeral of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie takes place in Vienna, six days after their assassinations in Sarajevo.
  • 1918 – Mehmed V died at the age of 73 and Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.
  • 1918 – World War I: The Battle of Hamel, a successful attack by the Australian Corps against German positions near the town of Le Hamel on the Western Front.
  • 1918 – Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
  • 1927 – First flight of the Lockheed Vega.
  • 1939 – Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, informs a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself “The luckiest man on the face of the earth”, then announces his retirement from major league baseball.
  • 1941 – Nazi crimes against the Polish nation: Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv.
  • 1941 – World War II: The Burning of the Riga synagogues: The Great Choral Synagogue in German occupied Riga is burnt with 300 Jews locked in the basement.
  • 1942 – World War II: The 250-day Siege of Sevastopol in the Crimea ends when the city falls to Axis forces.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world’s largest tank battle, begins in the village of Prokhorovka.
  • 1943 – World War II: In Gibraltar, a Royal Air Force B-24 Liberator bomber crashes into the sea in an apparent accident moments after takeoff, killing sixteen passengers on board, including general Władysław Sikorski, the commander-in-chief of the Polish Army and the Prime Minister of the Polish government-in-exile; only the pilot survives.
  • 1946 – The Kielce pogrom against Jewish Holocaust survivors in Poland.
  • 1946 – After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.
  • 1947 – The “Indian Independence Bill” is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the independence of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries: India and Pakistan.
  • 1950 – Cold War: Radio Free Europe first broadcasts.
  • 1951 – Cold War: A court in Czechoslovakia sentences American journalist William N. Oatis to ten years in prison on charges of espionage.
  • 1951 – William Shockley announces the invention of the junction transistor.
  • 1954 – Rationing ends in the United Kingdom.
  • 1960 – Due to the post-Independence Day admission of Hawaii as the 50th U.S. state on August 21, 1959, the 50-star flag of the United States debuts in Philadelphia, almost ten and a half months later (see Flag Acts (United States)).
  • 1961 – On its maiden voyage, the Soviet nuclear-powered submarine K-19 suffers a complete loss of coolant to its reactor. The crew are able to effect repairs, but 22 of them die of radiation poisoning over the following two years.
  • 1966 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act went into effect the next year.
  • 1976 – Israeli commandos raid Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing all but four of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by Palestinian terrorists.
  • 1976 – The U.S. celebrates its Bicentennial.
  • 1977 – The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia, in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit.
  • 1982 – Three Iranian diplomats and a journalist are kidnapped in Lebanon by Phalange forces, and their fate remains unknown.
  • 1987 – In France, former Gestapo chief Klaus Barbie (a.k.a. the “Butcher of Lyon”) is convicted of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment.
  • 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is captured by the Rwandan Patriotic Front, ending the genocide in the city.
  • 1997 – NASA’s Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
  • 1998 – Japan launches the Nozomi probe to Mars, joining the United States and Russia as a space exploring nation.
  • 2001 – Vladivostock Air Flight 352 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Airport killing all 145 people on board.
  • 2004 – The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the World Trade Center site in New York City.
  • 2004 – Greece beats Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2004 Final and becomes European Champion for first time in its history.
  • 2005 – The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
  • 2006 – Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station. The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program’s history to occur on the United States’ Independence Day.
  • 2009 – The Statue of Liberty’s crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
  • 2009 – The first of four days of bombings begins on the southern Philippine island group of Mindanao.
  • 2012 – The discovery of particles consistent with the Higgs boson at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.
  • 2015 – Chile claims its first title in international soccer by defeating Argentina in the 2015 Copa América Final.

Births on July 4

  • AD 68 – Salonina Matidia, Roman daughter of Ulpia Marciana (d. 119)
  • 1095 – Usama ibn Munqidh, Muslim poet, author and faris (Knight) (d. 1188)
  • 1330 – Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shōgun (d. 1367)
  • 1477 – Johannes Aventinus, Bavarian historian and philologist (d. 1534)
  • 1546 – Murad III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1595)
  • 1656 – John Leake, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1720)
  • 1694 – Louis-Claude Daquin, French organist and composer (d. 1772)
  • 1715 – Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet and academic (d. 1769)
  • 1719 – Michel-Jean Sedaine, French playwright (d. 1797)
  • 1729 – George Leonard, American lawyer, jurist and politician (d. 1819)
  • 1753 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard, French inventor, best known as a pioneer in balloon flight (d. 1809)
  • 1790 – George Everest, Welsh geographer and surveyor (d. 1866)
  • 1799 – Oscar I of Sweden (d. 1859)
  • 1804 – Nathaniel Hawthorne, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1864)
  • 1807 – Giuseppe Garibaldi, Italian general and politician (d. 1882)
  • 1816 – Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club whisky (d. 1899)
  • 1826 – Stephen Foster, American songwriter and composer (d. 1864)
  • 1842 – Hermann Cohen, German philosopher (d. 1918)
  • 1845 – Thomas John Barnardo, Irish philanthropist and humanitarian (d. 1905)
  • 1847 – James Anthony Bailey, American circus ringmaster, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1906)
  • 1854 – Victor Babeș, Romanian physician and biologist (d. 1926)
  • 1868 – Henrietta Swan Leavitt, American astronomer and academic (d. 1921)
  • 1871 – Hubert Cecil Booth, English engineer (d. 1955)
  • 1872 – Calvin Coolidge, American lawyer and politician, 30th President of the United States (d. 1933)
  • 1874 – John McPhee, Australian journalist and politician, 27th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1952)
  • 1880 – Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1975)
  • 1881 – Ulysses S. Grant III, American general (d. 1968)
  • 1883 – Rube Goldberg, American sculptor, cartoonist, and engineer (d. 1970)
  • 1887 – Pio Pion, Italian engineer and businessman (d. 1965)
  • 1888 – Henry Armetta, Italian-American actor and singer (d. 1945)
  • 1895 – Irving Caesar, American songwriter and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1896 – Mao Dun, Chinese journalist, author, and critic (d. 1981)
  • 1897 – Alluri Sitarama Raju, Indian activist (d. 1924)
  • 1898 – Pilar Barbosa, Puerto Rican-American historian and activist (d. 1997)
  • 1898 – Gertrude Lawrence, British actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1952)
  • 1898 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian politician (d. 1998)
  • 1898 – Gertrude Weaver, American supercentenarian (d. 2015)
  • 1900 – Belinda Dann, Indigenous Australian who was one of the Stolen Generation, reunited with family aged 107 (d. 2007)
  • 1900 – Nellie Mae Rowe, American folk artist (d. 1982)
  • 1902 – Meyer Lansky, American gangster (d. 1983)
  • 1902 – George Murphy, American actor and politician (d. 1992)
  • 1903 – Flor Peeters, Belgian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1986)
  • 1904 – Angela Baddeley, English actress (d. 1976)
  • 1905 – Irving Johnson, American sailor and author (d. 1991)
  • 1905 – Robert Hankey, 2nd Baron Hankey, British diplomat and public servant (d. 1996)
  • 1905 – Lionel Trilling, American critic, essayist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1975)
  • 1906 – Vincent Schaefer, American chemist and meteorologist (d. 1993)
  • 1907 – John Anderson, American discus thrower (d. 1948)
  • 1907 – Howard Taubman, American author and critic (d. 1996)
  • 1909 – Alec Templeton, Welsh composer, pianist and satirist (d. 1963)
  • 1910 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and scholar (d. 2003)
  • 1910 – Gloria Stuart, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1911 – Bruce Hamilton, Australian public servant (d. 1989)
  • 1911 – Mitch Miller, American singer and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1914 – Nuccio Bertone, Italian automobile designer (d. 1997)
  • 1915 – Timmie Rogers, American actor and singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1916 – Iva Toguri D’Aquino, American typist and broadcaster (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Eppie Lederer, American journalist and radio host (d. 2002)
  • 1918 – Johnnie Parsons, American race car driver (d. 1984)
  • 1918 – King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV of Tonga, (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Alec Bedser, English cricketer (d. 2010)
  • 1918 – Eric Bedser, English cricketer (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Norm Drucker, American basketball player and referee (d. 2015)
  • 1920 – Leona Helmsley, American businesswoman (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Fritz Wilde, German footballer and manager (d. 1977)
  • 1920 – Paul Bannai, American politician (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – Gérard Debreu, French economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – Nasser Sharifi, Iranian sports shooter
  • 1921 – Metropolitan Mikhail of Asyut (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Philip Rose, American actor, playwright, and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1921 – Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and conductor (d. 2003)
  • 1922 – R. James Harvey, American politician (d. 2019)
  • 1923 – Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Eva Marie Saint, American actress
  • 1924 – Delia Fiallo, Cuban author and screenwriter
  • 1925 – Ciril Zlobec, Slovene poet, writer, translator, journalist and politician (d. 2018)
  • 1925 – Dorothy Head Knode, American tennis player (d. 2015)
  • 1926 – Alfredo Di Stéfano, Argentinian-Spanish footballer and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Lake Underwood, American race car driver and businessman (d. 2008)
  • 1927 – Gina Lollobrigida, Italian actress and photographer
  • 1927 – Neil Simon, American playwright and screenwriter (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Giampiero Boniperti, Italian footballer and politician
  • 1928 – Teofisto Guingona Jr., Filipino politician; 11th Vice President of the Philippines
  • 1928 – Jassem Alwan, Syrian Army Officer (d. 2018)
  • 1928 – Shan Ratnam, Sri Lankan physician and academic (d. 2001)
  • 1928 – Chuck Tanner, American baseball player and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Ron Casey, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2018)
  • 1929 – Al Davis, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Bill Tuttle, American baseball player (d. 1998)
  • 1930 – George Steinbrenner, American businessman (d. 2010)
  • 1931 – Stephen Boyd, Northern Ireland-born American actor (d. 1977)
  • 1931 – Rick Casares, American football player and soldier (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, director, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1931 – Peter Richardson, English cricketer (d. 2017)
  • 1932 – Aurèle Vandendriessche, Belgian runner
  • 1934 – Yvonne B. Miller, American academic and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1934 – Colin Welland, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Paul Scoon, Grenadian politician, 2nd Governor-General of Grenada (d. 2013)
  • 1936 – Zdzisława Donat, Polish soprano and actress
  • 1937 – Thomas Nagel, American philosopher and academic
  • 1937 – Queen Sonja of Norway
  • 1937 – Richard Rhodes, American journalist and historian
  • 1937 – Eric Walters, Australian journalist (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Steven Rose, English biologist and academic
  • 1938 – Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2020)
  • 1940 – Pat Stapleton, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2020)
  • 1941 – Sam Farr, American politician
  • 1941 – Tomaž Šalamun, Croatian-Slovenian poet and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1941 – Pavel Sedláček, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1941 – Brian Willson, American soldier, lawyer, and activist
  • 1942 – Hal Lanier, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1942 – Floyd Little, American football player and coach
  • 1942 – Stefan Meller, French-Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2008)
  • 1942 – Prince Michael of Kent
  • 1942 – Peter Rowan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1943 – Conny Bauer, German trombonist
  • 1943 – Emerson Boozer, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1943 – Adam Hart-Davis, English historian, author, and photographer
  • 1943 – Geraldo Rivera, American lawyer, journalist, and author
  • 1943 – Fred Wesley, American jazz and funk trombonist
  • 1943 – Alan Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1970)
  • 1945 – Andre Spitzer, Romanian-Israeli fencer and coach (d. 1972)
  • 1946 – Ron Kovic, American author and activist
  • 1946 – Michael Milken, American businessman and philanthropist
  • 1947 – Lembit Ulfsak, Estonian actor and director (d. 2017)
  • 1948 – René Arnoux, French race car driver
  • 1948 – Tommy Körberg, Swedish singer and actor
  • 1948 – Jeremy Spencer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Philip Craven, English basketball player and swimmer
  • 1950 – David Jensen, Canadian-English radio and television host
  • 1951 – John Alexander, Australian tennis player and politician
  • 1951 – Ralph Johnson, American R&B drummer and percussionist
  • 1951 – Vladimir Tismăneanu, Romanian-American political scientist, sociologist, and academic
  • 1951 – Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American lawyer and politician, 6th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
  • 1952 – Álvaro Uribe, Colombian lawyer and politician, 39th President of Colombia
  • 1952 – Carol MacReady, English actress
  • 1952 – John Waite, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – Paul Rogat Loeb, American author and activist
  • 1953 – Francis Maude, English lawyer and politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office
  • 1954 – Jim Beattie, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1954 – Morganna, American model, actress, and dancer
  • 1954 – Devendra Kumar Joshi, 21st Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy
  • 1955 – Kevin Nichols, Australian cyclist
  • 1956 – Robert Sinclair MacKay, British academic and educator
  • 1957 – Rein Lang, Estonian politician and diplomat, 25th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • 1958 – Vera Leth, Greenlandic Ombudsman
  • 1958 – Kirk Pengilly, Australian guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
  • 1958 – Carl Valentine, English-Canadian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1959 – Victoria Abril, Spanish actress and singer
  • 1960 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (d. 1994)
  • 1961 – Richard Garriott, English-American video game designer, created the Ultima series
  • 1962 – Pam Shriver, American tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Henri Leconte, French tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Laureano Márquez, Spanish-Venezuelan political scientist and journalist
  • 1963 – José Oquendo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
  • 1963 – Sonia Pierre, Hatian-Dominican human rights activist (d. 2011)
  • 1964 – Cle Kooiman, American soccer player and manager
  • 1964 – Elie Saab, Lebanese fashion designer
  • 1964 – Edi Rama, Albanian politician
  • 1964 – Mark Slaughter, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1964 – Mark Whiting, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1965 – Harvey Grant, American basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Horace Grant, American basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Kiriakos Karataidis, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Gérard Watkins, English actor and playwright
  • 1966 – Ronni Ancona, Scottish actress and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Minas Hantzidis, German-Greek footballer
  • 1966 – Lee Reherman, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1967 – Vinny Castilla, Mexican baseball player and manager
  • 1967 – Sébastien Deleigne, French athlete
  • 1969 – Al Golden, American football player and coach
  • 1969 – Todd Marinovich, American football player and coach
  • 1969 – Wilfred Mugeyi, Zimbabwean footballer and coach
  • 1972 – Stephen Giles, Canadian canoe racer and engineer
  • 1972 – Mike Knuble, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1973 – Keiko Ihara, Japanese race car driver
  • 1973 – Gackt, Japanese musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor
  • 1973 – Michael Johnson, English-Jamaican footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Anjelika Krylova, Russian ice dancer and coach
  • 1973 – Jan Magnussen, Danish race car driver
  • 1973 – Tony Popovic, Australian footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Jill Craybas, American tennis player
  • 1974 – La’Roi Glover, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1974 – Adrian Griffin, American basketball player and coach
  • 1976 – Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (d. 2003)
  • 1976 – Yevgeniya Medvedeva, Russian skier
  • 1978 – Marcos Daniel, Brazilian tennis player
  • 1978 – Émile Mpenza, Belgian footballer
  • 1979 – Siim Kabrits, Estonian politician
  • 1979 – Josh McCown, American football player
  • 1979 – Renny Vega, Venezuelan footballer
  • 1980 – Kwame Steede, Bermudan footballer
  • 1981 – Dedé, Angolan footballer
  • 1981 – Brock Berlin, American football player
  • 1981 – Christoph Preuß, German footballer
  • 1981 – Francisco Cruceta, Dominican baseball player
  • 1981 – Will Smith, American football player (d. 2016)
  • 1982 – Vladimir Boisa, Georgian basketball player
  • 1982 – Vladimir Gusev, Russian cyclist
  • 1982 – Jeff Lima, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1982 – Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, American model, author and television personality
  • 1983 – Melanie Fiona, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1983 – Amantle Montsho, Botswanan sprinter
  • 1983 – Miguel Pinto, Chilean footballer
  • 1983 – Amol Rajan, Indian-English journalist
  • 1983 – Mattia Serafini, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Jin Akanishi, Japanese singer-songwriter
  • 1984 – Miguel Santos Soares, Timorese footballer
  • 1985 – Kane Tenace, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – Dimitrios Mavroeidis, Greek basketball player
  • 1985 – Wason Rentería, Colombian footballer
  • 1986 – Ömer Aşık, Turkish basketball player
  • 1986 – Nguyen Ngoc Duy, Vietnamese footballer
  • 1986 – Rafael Arévalo, Salvadoran tennis player
  • 1986 – Willem Janssen, Dutch footballer
  • 1986 – Terrance Knighton, American football player
  • 1986 – Marte Elden, Norwegian skier
  • 1987 – Wude Ayalew, Ethiopian runner
  • 1987 – Guram Kashia, Georgian footballer
  • 1988 – Angelique Boyer, French-Mexican actress
  • 1989 – Benjamin Büchel, Liechtensteiner footballer
  • 1990 – Jake Gardiner, American ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Richard Mpong, Ghanaian footballer
  • 1990 – Naoki Yamada, Japanese footballer
  • 1990 – Ihar Yasinski, Belarusian footballer
  • 1992 – Ángel Romero, Paraguayan footballer
  • 1992 – Óscar Romero, Paraguayan footballer
  • 1993 – Tom Barkhuizen, English footballer
  • 1995 – Post Malone, American singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer
  • 1999 – Moa Kikuchi, Japanese musician
  • 2003 – Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer

Deaths on July 4

  • 673 – Ecgberht, king of Kent
  • 907 – Luitpold, margrave of Bavaria
  • 907 – Dietmar I, archbishop of Salzburg
  • 910 – Luo Shaowei, Chinese warlord (b. 877)
  • 940 – Wang Jianli, Chinese general (b. 871)
  • 943 – Taejo of Goryeo, Korean king (b. 877)
  • 945 – Zhuo Yanming, Chinese Buddhist monk and emperor
  • 965 – Benedict V, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 973 – Ulrich of Augsburg, German bishop and saint (b. 890)
  • 975 – Gwangjong of Goryeo, Korean king (b. 925)
  • 1187 – Raynald of Châtillon, French knight (b. 1125)
  • 1307 – Rudolf I of Bohemia (b. 1281)
  • 1336 – Saint Elizabeth of Portugal (b. 1271)
  • 1429 – Carlo I Tocco, ruler of Epirus (b. 1372)
  • 1533 – John Frith, English priest, writer, and martyr (b. 1503)
  • 1541 – Pedro de Alvarado, Spanish general and explorer (b. 1495)
  • 1546 – Hayreddin Barbarossa, Ottoman admiral (b. 1478)
  • 1551 – Gregory Cromwell, 1st Baron Cromwell, English politician (b. 1514)
  • 1603 – Philippe de Monte, Flemish composer and educator (b. 1521)
  • 1623 – William Byrd, English composer (b. c. 1540)
  • 1644 – Brian Twyne, English academic, antiquarian and archivist (b. 1581)
  • 1648 – Antoine Daniel, French missionary and saint, one of the eight Canadian Martyrs (b. 1601)
  • 1742 – Luigi Guido Grandi, Italian monk, mathematician, and engineer (b. 1671)
  • 1754 – Philippe Néricault Destouches, French playwright and author (b. 1680)
  • 1761 – Samuel Richardson, English author and painter (b. 1689)
  • 1780 – Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine (b. 1712)
  • 1787 – Charles, Prince of Soubise, Marshal of France (b. 1715)
  • 1821 – Richard Cosway, English painter and academic (b. 1742)
  • 1826 – John Adams, American lawyer and politician, 2nd President of the United States (b. 1735)
  • 1826 – Thomas Jefferson, American architect, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of the United States (b. 1743)
  • 1831 – James Monroe, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th President of the United States (b. 1758)
  • 1848 – François-René de Chateaubriand, French historian and politician (b. 1768)
  • 1850 – William Kirby, English entomologist and author (b. 1759)
  • 1854 – Karl Friedrich Eichhorn, German academic and jurist (b. 1781)
  • 1857 – William L. Marcy, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 21st United States Secretary of State (b. 1786)
  • 1881 – Johan Vilhelm Snellman, Finnish philosopher and politician (b. 1806)
  • 1882 – Joseph Brackett, American composer and author (b. 1797)
  • 1886 – Poundmaker, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1797)
  • 1891 – Hannibal Hamlin, American lawyer and politician, 15th Vice President of the United States (b. 1809)
  • 1901 – Johannes Schmidt, German linguist and academic (b. 1843)
  • 1902 – Vivekananda, Indian monk and saint (b. 1863)
  • 1905 – Élisée Reclus, French geographer and author (b. 1830)
  • 1910 – Melville Fuller, American lawyer and jurist, Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1833)
  • 1910 – Giovanni Schiaparelli, Italian astronomer and historian (b. 1835)
  • 1916 – Alan Seeger, American soldier and poet (b. 1888)
  • 1922 – Lothar von Richthofen, German lieutenant and pilot (b. 1894)
  • 1926 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian activist and saint (b. 1901)
  • 1934 – Marie Curie, French-Polish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
  • 1938 – Otto Bauer, Austrian philosopher and politician, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1881)
  • 1938 – Suzanne Lenglen, French tennis player (b. 1899)
  • 1941 – Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician and academic (b. 1881)
  • 1943 – Władysław Sikorski, Polish general and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Second Republic of Poland (b. 1881)
  • 1946 – Taffy O’Callaghan, Welsh footballer and coach (b. 1906)
  • 1948 – Monteiro Lobato, Brazilian journalist and author (b. 1882)
  • 1949 – François Brandt, Dutch rower and engineer (b. 1874)
  • 1963 – Bernard Freyberg, 1st Baron Freyberg, New Zealand general and politician, 7th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1889)
  • 1963 – Clyde Kennard, American activist and martyr (b. 1927)
  • 1963 – Pingali Venkayya, Indian activist, designed the Flag of India (b. 1876)
  • 1964 – Gaby Morlay, French actress and singer (b. 1893)
  • 1969 – Henri Decoin, French director and screenwriter (b. 1890)
  • 1970 – Barnett Newman, American painter and illustrator (b. 1905)
  • 1970 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American sailor and businessman (b. 1884)
  • 1971 – August Derleth, American anthologist and author (b. 1909)
  • 1971 – Thomas C. Hart, American admiral and politician (b. 1877)
  • 1974 – Georgette Heyer, English author (b. 1902)
  • 1974 – André Randall, French actor (b. 1892)
  • 1976 – Yonatan Netanyahu, Israeli colonel (b. 1946)
  • 1976 – Antoni Słonimski, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1895)
  • 1977 – Gersh Budker, Ukrainian physicist and academic (b. 1918)
  • 1979 – Lee Wai Tong, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1905)
  • 1980 – Maurice Grevisse, Belgian linguist and author (b. 1895)
  • 1984 – Jimmie Spheeris, American singer-songwriter (b. 1949)
  • 1986 – Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critique musical and physicist (b. 1933)
  • 1986 – Flor Peeters, Belgian organist and composer (b. 1903)
  • 1986 – Oscar Zariski, Belarusian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1899)
  • 1988 – Adrian Adonis, American wrestler (b. 1954)
  • 1990 – Olive Ann Burns, American journalist and author (b. 1924)
  • 1991 – Victor Chang, Chinese-Australian surgeon and physician (b. 1936)
  • 1991 – Art Sansom, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
  • 1992 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentinian bandoneon player and composer (b. 1921)
  • 1993 – Bona Arsenault, Canadian historian, genealogist, and politician (b. 1903)
  • 1994 – Joey Marella, American wrestling referee (b. 1964)
  • 1995 – Eva Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and singer (b. 1919)
  • 1995 – Bob Ross, American painter and television host (b. 1942)
  • 1997 – Charles Kuralt, American journalist (b. 1934)
  • 1997 – John Zachary Young, English zoologist and neurophysiologist (b. 1907)
  • 1999 – Leo Garel, American illustrator and educator (b. 1917)
  • 2000 – Gustaw Herling-Grudziński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1919)
  • 2002 – Gerald Bales, Canadian organist and composer (b. 1919)
  • 2002 – Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., American general (b. 1912)
  • 2003 – Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (b. 1939)
  • 2003 – André Claveau, French singer (b. 1915)
  • 2003 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1944)
  • 2004 – Jean-Marie Auberson, Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Cliff Goupille, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Hank Stram, American football player and coach (b. 1923)
  • 2007 – Bill Pinkney, American singer (b. 1925)
  • 2008 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (b. 1940)
  • 2008 – Jesse Helms, American politician (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Evelyn Keyes, American actress (b. 1916)
  • 2008 – Terrence Kiel, American football player (b. 1980)
  • 2008 – Charles Wheeler, German-English soldier and journalist (b. 1923)
  • 2009 – Brenda Joyce, American actress (b. 1917)
  • 2009 – Allen Klein, American businessman and talent agent, founded ABKCO Records (b. 1931)
  • 2009 – Drake Levin, American guitarist (b. 1946)
  • 2009 – Steve McNair, American football player (b. 1973)
  • 2009 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author and actor (b. 1935)
  • 2009 – Jean-Baptiste Tati Loutard, Congolese poet and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2010 – Robert Neil Butler, American physician and author (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Hiren Bhattacharyya, Indian poet and author (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Jimmy Bivins, American boxer (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Jeong Min-hyeong, South Korean footballer (b. 1987)
  • 2012 – Eric Sykes, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Onllwyn Brace, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Jack Crompton, English footballer and manager (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – James Fulton, American dermatologist and academic (b. 1940)
  • 2013 – Charles A. Hines, American general (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer (b. 1960)
  • 2014 – Giorgio Faletti, Italian author, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1950)
  • 2014 – C. J. Henderson, American author and critic (b. 1951)
  • 2014 – Earl Robinson, American baseball player (b. 1936)
  • 2014 – Richard Mellon Scaife, American businessman (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Nedelcho Beronov, Bulgarian judge and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – William Conrad Gibbons, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Abbas Kiarostami, Iranian film director, screenwriter, poet, and photographer (b. 1940)
  • 2017 – John Blackwell, American R&B, funk, and jazz drummer (b. 1973)
  • 2017 – Daniil Granin, Soviet and Russian author (b. 1919)
  • 2018 – Henri Dirickx, Belgian footballer (b. 1927)
  • 2018 – Robby Müller, Dutch cinematographer (b. 1940)

Holidays and observances on July 4

  • Christian feast day:
    • Andrew of Crete
    • Bertha of Artois
    • Blessed Catherine Jarrige
    • Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati
    • Elizabeth of Aragon (or of Portugal)
    • Oda of Canterbury
    • Ulrich of Augsburg
    • July 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Birthday of Queen Sonja (Norway)
  • The first evening of Dree Festival, celebrated until July 7 (Apatani people, Arunachal Pradesh, India)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the Declaration of Independence of the United States from Great Britain in 1776. (United States and its dependencies)
  • Liberation Day (Northern Mariana Islands)
  • Liberation Day (Rwanda)
  • Republic Day (Philippines)

July 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on June 7

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

Deaths on June 7

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

Holidays and observances on June 7

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

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

On This Day

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

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

Births on  May 13

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

Deaths on May 13

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

Holidays and observances on May 13

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

May 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on May 11

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

Deaths on May 11

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

Holidays and observances on May 11

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

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

On This Day

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

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

Births on April 25

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

Deaths on April 25

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

Holidays and observances on April 25

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

April 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 1479 BC – Thutmose III ascends to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th dynasty).
  • 1183 BC – Traditional reckoning of the Fall of Troy marking the end of the legendary Trojan War, given by chief librarian of the Library of Alexandria Erastothenes, among others.
  • 1547 – Battle of Mühlberg. Duke of Alba, commanding Spanish-Imperial forces of Charles I of Spain, defeats the troops of Schmalkaldic League.
  • 1558 – Mary, Queen of Scots, marries the Dauphin of France, François, at Notre Dame de Paris.
  • 1704 – The first regular newspaper in British Colonial America, The Boston News-Letter, is published.
  • 1800 – The United States Library of Congress is established when President John Adams signs legislation to appropriate $5,000 to purchase “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress”.
  • 1877 – Russo-Turkish War: Russian Empire declares war on Ottoman Empire.
  • 1885 – American sharpshooter Annie Oakley is hired by Nate Salsbury to be a part of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.
  • 1895 – Joshua Slocum, the first person to sail single-handedly around the world, sets sail from Boston, Massachusetts aboard the sloop “Spray”.
  • 1913 – The Woolworth Building, a skyscraper in New York City, is opened.
  • 1914 – The Franck–Hertz experiment, a pillar of quantum mechanics, is presented to the German Physical Society.
  • 1915 – The arrest of 250 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Istanbul marks the beginning of the Armenian Genocide.
  • 1916 – Easter Rising: Irish rebels, led by Patrick Pearse and James Connolly, launch an uprising in Dublin against British rule and proclaim an Irish Republic.
  • 1916 – Ernest Shackleton and five men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition launch a lifeboat from uninhabited Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean to organise a rescue for the crew of the sunken Endurance.
  • 1918 – World War I: First tank-to-tank combat, during the second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux. Three British Mark IVs meet three German A7Vs.
  • 1922 – The first segment of the Imperial Wireless Chain providing wireless telegraphy between Leafield in Oxfordshire, England, and Cairo, Egypt, comes into operation.
  • 1926 – The Treaty of Berlin is signed. Germany and the Soviet Union each pledge neutrality in the event of an attack on the other by a third party for the next five years.
  • 1932 – Benny Rothman leads the mass trespass of Kinder Scout, leading to substantial legal reforms in the United Kingdom.
  • 1933 – Nazi Germany begins its persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses by shutting down the Watch Tower Society office in Magdeburg.
  • 1944 – World War II: The SBS launches a raid against the garrison of Santorini in Greece.
  • 1953 – Winston Churchill is knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
  • 1955 – The Bandung Conference ends: Twenty-nine non-aligned nations of Asia and Africa finish a meeting that condemns colonialism, racism, and the Cold War.
  • 1957 – Suez Crisis: The Suez Canal is reopened following the introduction of UNEF peacekeepers to the region.
  • 1963 – Marriage of Princess Alexandra of Kent to Angus Ogilvy at Westminster Abbey in London.
  • 1965 – Civil war breaks out in the Dominican Republic when Colonel Francisco Caamaño overthrows the triumvirate that had been in power since the coup d’état against Juan Bosch.
  • 1967 – Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov dies in Soyuz 1 when its parachute fails to open. He is the first human to die during a space mission.
  • 1967 – Vietnam War: American General William Westmoreland says in a news conference that the enemy had “gained support in the United States that gives him hope that he can win politically that which he cannot win militarily”.
  • 1970 – China launches Dong Fang Hong I, becoming the fifth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.
  • 1970 – The Gambia becomes a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations, with Dawda Jawara as its first President.
  • 1980 – Eight U.S. servicemen die in Operation Eagle Claw as they attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis.
  • 1990 – STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery.
  • 1990 – Gruinard Island, Scotland, is officially declared free of the anthrax disease after 48 years of quarantine.
  • 1993 – An IRA bomb devastates the Bishopsgate area of London.
  • 1996 – In the United States, the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 is passed into law.
  • 2004 – The United States lifts economic sanctions imposed on Libya 18 years previously, as a reward for its cooperation in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.
  • 2005 – Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger is inaugurated as the 265th Pope of the Catholic Church taking the name Pope Benedict XVI.
  • 2011 – WikiLeaks starts publishing the Guantanamo Bay files leak.
  • 2013 – A building collapses near Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing 1,129 people and injuring 2,500 others.
  • 2013 – Violence in Bachu County, Kashgar Prefecture, of China’s Xinjiang results in death of 21 people.

Births on April 24

  • 1086 – Ramiro II of Aragon (d. 1157)
  • 1492 – Sabina of Bavaria, Bavarian duchess and noblewoman (d. 1564)
  • 1532 – Thomas Lucy, English politician (d. 1600)
  • 1533 – William I of Orange, founding father of the Netherlands (d. 1584)
  • 1538 – Guglielmo Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua (d. 1587)
  • 1545 – Henry Wriothesley, 2nd Earl of Southampton, English Earl (d. 1581)
  • 1562 – Xu Guangqi, Ming Dynasty Chinese politician, scholar and lay Catholic leader (d. 1633)
  • 1581 – Vincent de Paul, French priest and saint (d. 1660)
  • 1608 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans, third son of King Henry IV of France (d. 1660)
  • 1620 – John Graunt, English demographer and statistician (d. 1674)
  • 1706 – Giovanni Battista Martini, Italian pianist and composer (d. 1780)
  • 1718 – Nathaniel Hone the Elder, Irish-English painter and educator (d. 1784)
  • 1743 – Edmund Cartwright, English clergyman and engineer, invented the power loom (d. 1823)
  • 1784 – Peter Vivian Daniel, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1860)
  • 1815 – Anthony Trollope, English novelist, essayist, and short story writer (d. 1882)
  • 1823 – Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Mexican politician, President of Mexico (d. 1889)
  • 1845 – Carl Spitteler, Swiss poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
  • 1856 – Philippe Pétain, French general and politician, 119th Prime Minister of France (d. 1951)
  • 1860 – Queen Marau, last Queen of Tahiti (d.1935)
  • 1862 – Tomitaro Makino, Japanese botanist (d. 1957)
  • 1868 – Sandy Herd, Scottish golfer (d. 1944)
  • 1876 – Erich Raeder, German admiral (d. 1960)
  • 1878 – Jean Crotti, Swiss-French painter (d. 1958)
  • 1879 – Susanna Bokoyni, Hungarian-American circus performer (d. 1984)
  • 1880 – Gideon Sundback, Swedish-American engineer and businessman, developed the zipper (d. 1954)
  • 1880 – Josef Müller, Croatian entomologist (d. 1964)
  • 1882 – Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, Scottish-English air marshal (d. 1970)
  • 1885 – Thomas Cronan, American triple jumper (d. 1962)
  • 1885 – Con Walsh, Irish-Canadian hammer thrower and footballer (d. 1961)
  • 1887 – Denys Finch Hatton, English hunter (d. 1931)
  • 1888 – Pe Maung Tin, Burma-based scholar and educator (d. 1973)
  • 1889 – Stafford Cripps, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1952)
  • 1889 – Lyubov Popova, Russian painter and academic (d. 1924)
  • 1897 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, Mexican colonel and politician, 45th President of Mexico (d. 1955)
  • 1897 – Benjamin Lee Whorf, American linguist, anthropologist, and engineer (d. 1941)
  • 1899 – Oscar Zariski, Russian-American mathematician and academic (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Elizabeth Goudge, English author and educator (d. 1984)
  • 1903 – José Antonio Primo de Rivera, Spanish lawyer and politician, founded the Falange (d. 1936)
  • 1904 – Willem de Kooning, Dutch-American painter and educator (d. 1997)
  • 1905 – Al Bates, American long jumper (d. 1999)
  • 1905 – Robert Penn Warren, American novelist, poet, and literary critic (d. 1989)
  • 1906 – William Joyce, American-born Irish-British Nazi propaganda broadcaster (d. 1946)
  • 1906 – Mimi Smith, English nurse (d. 1991)
  • 1907 – Gabriel Figueroa, Mexican cinematographer (d. 1997)
  • 1908 – Marceline Day, American actress (d. 2000)
  • 1908 – Inga Gentzel, Swedish runner (d. 1991)
  • 1908 – Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor (d. 1963)
  • 1912 – Ruth Osburn, American discus thrower (d. 1994)
  • 1913 – Dieter Grau, German-American scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
  • 1914 – William Castle, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1914 – Phil Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1991)
  • 1914 – Justin Wilson, American chef and author (d. 2001)
  • 1916 – Lou Thesz, American wrestler and trainer (d. 2002)
  • 1919 – David Blackwell, American mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1919 – Glafcos Clerides, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 4th President of Cyprus (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Gino Valenzano, Italian race car driver (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Marc-Adélard Tremblay, Canadian anthropologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Gus Bodnar, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – Doris Burn, American author and illustrator (d. 2011)
  • 1924 – Clement Freud, German-English radio host, academic, and politician (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Ruth Kobart, American actress and singer (d. 2002)
  • 1925 – Franco Leccese, Italian sprinter (d. 1992)
  • 1926 – Marilyn Erskine, American actress
  • 1926 – Thorbjörn Fälldin, Swedish farmer and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 2016)
  • 1927 – Josy Barthel, Luxembourgian runner and politician, Luxembourgian Minister for Energy (d. 1992)
  • 1928 – Tommy Docherty, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1928 – Johnny Griffin, American saxophonist (d. 2008)
  • 1928 – Anahit Perikhanian, Russian-born Armenian Iranologist (d. 2012)
  • 1929 – Dr. Rajkumar, Indian actor and singer (d. 2006)
  • 1930 – Jerome Callet, American instrument designer, educator, and author (d. 2019)
  • 1930 – Richard Donner, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1930 – José Sarney, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 31st President of Brazil
  • 1931 – Abdelhamid Kermali, Algerian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Bridget Riley, English painter and illustrator
  • 1934 – Jayakanthan, Indian journalist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1934 – Shirley MacLaine, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1936 – David Crombie, Canadian educator and politician, 56th Mayor of Toronto
  • 1936 – Jill Ireland, English actress (d. 1990)
  • 1937 – Joe Henderson, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2001)
  • 1940 – Sue Grafton, American author (d. 2017)
  • 1941 – Richard Holbrooke, American journalist, banker, and diplomat, 22nd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2010)
  • 1941 – John Williams, Australian-English guitarist and composer
  • 1942 – Richard M. Daley, American lawyer and politician, 54th Mayor of Chicago
  • 1942 – Barbra Streisand, American singer, actress, activist, and producer
  • 1943 – Richard Sterban, American country & gospel bass singer
  • 1943 – Gordon West, English footballer (d. 2012)
  • 1944 – Peter Cresswell, English judge
  • 1944 – Maarja Nummert, Estonian architect
  • 1944 – Tony Visconti, American record producer, musician and singer
  • 1945 – Doug Clifford, American drummer and songwriter
  • 1946 – Doug Christie, Canadian lawyer and activist (d. 2013)
  • 1947 – Josep Borrell, Spanish engineer and politician, 22nd President of the European Parliament
  • 1947 – João Braz de Aviz, Brazilian cardinal
  • 1947 – Claude Dubois, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Denise Kingsmill, Baroness Kingsmill, New Zealand-English lawyer and politician
  • 1947 – Roger D. Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1948 – Paul Cellucci, American soldier and politician, 69th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 2013)
  • 1948 – Eliana Gil, Ecuadorian-American psychiatrist, therapist, and author
  • 1949 – Eddie Hart, American sprinter
  • 1949 – Véronique Sanson, French singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1950 – Rob Hyman, American singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1951 – Ron Arad, Israeli architect and academic
  • 1951 – Christian Bobin, French author and poet
  • 1951 – Nigel Harrison, English bass player and songwriter
  • 1951 – Enda Kenny, Irish educator and politician, 13th Taoiseach of Ireland
  • 1952 – Jean Paul Gaultier, French fashion designer
  • 1952 – Ralph Winter, American film producer
  • 1953 – Eric Bogosian, American actor and writer
  • 1954 – Mumia Abu-Jamal, American journalist, activist, and convicted murderer
  • 1954 – Jack Blades, American singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1955 – Marion Caspers-Merk, German politician
  • 1955 – John de Mol Jr., Dutch businessman, co-founded Endemol
  • 1955 – Eamon Gilmore, Irish trade union leader and politician, 25th Tánaiste of Ireland
  • 1955 – Margaret Moran, British politician and criminal
  • 1955 – Guy Nève, Belgian race car driver (d. 1992)
  • 1955 – Michael O’Keefe, American actor
  • 1955 – Bill Osborne, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1956 – James A. Winnefeld, Jr., American admiral
  • 1957 – Nazir Ahmed, Baron Ahmed, Pakistani-English businessman and politician
  • 1958 – Brian Paddick, English police officer and politician
  • 1959 – Paula Yates, British-Australian television host and author (d. 2000)
  • 1961 – Andrew Murrison, English physician and politician, Minister for International Security Strategy
  • 1962 – Clemens Binninger, German politician
  • 1962 – Stuart Pearce, English footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1962 – Steve Roach, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Paula Frazer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1963 – Billy Gould, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1963 – Mano Solo, French singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1964 – Helga Arendt, German sprinter (d. 2013)
  • 1964 – Cedric the Entertainer, American comedian, actor, and producer
  • 1964 – Djimon Hounsou, Beninese-American actor and producer
  • 1964 – Witold Smorawiński, Polish guitarist, composer, and educator
  • 1965 – Jeff Jackson, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1966 – Pierre Brassard, Canadian comedian and actor
  • 1966 – Alessandro Costacurta, Italian footballer, coach, and manager
  • 1966 – David Usher, English-Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1967 – Dino Rađa, Croatian basketball player
  • 1967 – Omar Vizquel, Venezuelan-American baseball player and coach
  • 1968 – Aidan Gillen, Irish actor
  • 1968 – Todd Jones, American baseball player
  • 1968 – Roxanna Panufnik, English composer
  • 1968 – Hashim Thaçi, Kosovan soldier and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Kosovo
  • 1969 – Elias Atmatsidis, Greek footballer
  • 1969 – Rory McCann, Scottish actor
  • 1969 – Eilidh Whiteford, Scottish academic and politician
  • 1970 – Damien Fleming, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Kumar Dharmasena, Sri Lankan cricketer and umpire
  • 1971 – Mauro Pawlowski, Belgian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1972 – Rab Douglas, Scottish footballer
  • 1972 – Chipper Jones, American baseball player
  • 1972 – Jure Košir, Slovenian skier and singer
  • 1973 – Gabby Logan, English gymnast, television and radio host
  • 1973 – Damon Lindelof, American screenwriter and producer
  • 1973 – Brian Marshall, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1973 – Eric Snow, American basketball player and coach
  • 1973 – Sachin Tendulkar, Indian cricketer
  • 1973 – Toomas Tohver, Estonian footballer
  • 1973 – Lee Westwood, English golfer
  • 1974 – Eric Kripke, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Stephen Wiltshire, English illustrator
  • 1975 – Dejan Savić, Yugoslavian and Serbian water polo player
  • 1976 – Steve Finnan, Irish international footballer
  • 1976 – Frédéric Niemeyer, Canadian tennis player and coach
  • 1977 – Carlos Beltrán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1977 – Diego Placente, Argentine footballer
  • 1978 – Diego Quintana, Argentine footballer
  • 1980 – Fernando Arce, Mexican footballer
  • 1980 – Karen Asrian, Armenian chess player (d. 2008)
  • 1981 – Taylor Dent, American tennis player
  • 1981 – Yuko Nakanishi, Japanese swimmer
  • 1982 – Kelly Clarkson, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1982 – David Oliver, American hurdler
  • 1982 – Simon Tischer, German volleyball player
  • 1983 – Hanna Melnychenko, Ukrainian heptathlete
  • 1985 – Mike Rodgers, American sprinter
  • 1986 – Aaron Cunningham, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Ben Howard, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1987 – Kris Letang, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Rein Taaramäe, Estonian cyclist
  • 1987 – Jan Vertonghen, Belgian international footballer
  • 1987 – Varun Dhawan, Indian actor
  • 1989 – Elīna Babkina, Latvian basketball player
  • 1989 – David Boudia, American diver
  • 1989 – Taja Mohorčič, Slovenian tennis player
  • 1990 – Kim Tae-ri, South Korean actress
  • 1990 – Jan Veselý, Czech basketball player
  • 1991 – Sigrid Agren, French-Swedish model
  • 1991 – Morgan Ciprès, French figure skater
  • 1991 – Batuhan Karadeniz, Turkish footballer
  • 1992 – Joe Keery, American actor
  • 1992 – Laura Kenny, English cyclist
  • 1993 – Ben Davies, Welsh international footballer
  • 1994 – Jordan Fisher, American singer, dancer, and actor
  • 1994 – Caspar Lee, British-South African Youtuber
  • 1996 – Ashleigh Barty, Australian tennis player
  • 1997 – Lydia Ko, New Zealand golfer
  • 1997 – Veronika Kudermetova, Russian tennis player
  • 1998 – Ryan Newman, American actress
  • 1999 – Jerry Jeudy, American football player

Deaths on April 24

  • 624 – Mellitus, saint, and archbishop of Canterbury
  • 1149 – Petronille de Chemillé, abbess of Fontevrault
  • 1288 – Gertrude of Austria (b. 1226)
  • 1338 – Theodore I, Marquess of Montferrat (b. 1291)
  • 1479 – Jorge Manrique, Spanish poet (b. 1440)
  • 1513 – Şehzade Ahmet, Ottoman prince (b. 1465)
  • 1617 – Concino Concini, Italian-French politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1575)
  • 1622 – Fidelis of Sigmaringen, German friar and saint (b. 1577)
  • 1656 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
  • 1731 – Daniel Defoe, English journalist, novelist, and spy (b. 1660)
  • 1748 – Anton thor Helle, German-Estonian clergyman and translator (b. 1683)
  • 1779 – Eleazar Wheelock, American minister and academic, founded Dartmouth College (b. 1711)
  • 1794 – Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish field marshal and politician (b. 1719)
  • 1852 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet and translator (b. 1783)
  • 1889 – Zulma Carraud, French author (b. 1796)
  • 1891 – Helmuth von Moltke the Elder, German field marshal (b. 1800)
  • 1924 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist and academic (b. 1844)
  • 1931 – David Kldiashvili, Georgian author and playwright (b. 1862)
  • 1935 – Anastasios Papoulas, Greek general (b. 1857)
  • 1938 – George Grey Barnard, American sculptor (b. 1863)
  • 1939 – Louis Trousselier, French cyclist (b. 1881)
  • 1941 – Karin Boye, Swedish author and poet (b. 1900)
  • 1942 – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author (b. 1874)
  • 1944 – Charles Jordan, American magician (b. 1888)
  • 1945 – Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician (b. 1899)
  • 1947 – Hans Biebow, German SS officer (b. 1902)
  • 1947 – Willa Cather, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (b. 1873)
  • 1948 – Jāzeps Vītols, Latvian composer (b. 1863)
  • 1954 – Guy Mairesse, French race car driver (b. 1910)
  • 1960 – Max von Laue, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
  • 1961 – Lee Moran, American actor, director and screenwriter (b. 1888)
  • 1962 – Milt Franklyn, American composer (b. 1897)
  • 1964 – Gerhard Domagk, German pathologist and bacteriologist (b. 1895)
  • 1965 – Louise Dresser, American actress (b. 1878)
  • 1966 – Simon Chikovani, Georgian poet and author (b. 1902)
  • 1967 – Vladimir Komarov, Russian pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)
  • 1967 – Robert Richards, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of South Australia (b. 1885)
  • 1968 – Walter Tewksbury, American athlete (b. 1876)
  • 1970 – Otis Spann, American singer and pianist (b. 1930)
  • 1972 – Fernando Amorsolo, Filipino painter (b. 1892)
  • 1974 – Bud Abbott, American comedian and producer (b. 1895)
  • 1975 – Pete Ham, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1947)
  • 1976 – Mark Tobey, American-Swiss painter and educator (b. 1890)
  • 1980 – Alejo Carpentier, Swiss-Cuban musicologist and author (b. 1904)
  • 1982 – Ville Ritola, Finnish runner (b. 1896)
  • 1983 – Erol Güngör, Turkish sociologist, psychologist, and academic (b. 1938)
  • 1983 – Rolf Stommelen, German race car driver (b. 1943)
  • 1984 – Rafael Pérez y Pérez, Spanish author (b. 1891)
  • 1993 – Oliver Tambo, South African lawyer and activist (b. 1917)
  • 1993 – Tran Duc Thao, Vietnamese philosopher and theorist (b. 1917)
  • 1995 – Lodewijk Bruckman, Dutch painter (b. 1903)
  • 1997 – Allan Francovich, American director and producer (b. 1941)
  • 1997 – Pat Paulsen, American comedian and activist (b. 1927)
  • 1997 – Eugene Stoner, American engineer, designed the AR-15 rifle (b. 1922)
  • 2001 – Josef Peters, German race car driver (b. 1914)
  • 2001 – Johnny Valentine, American wrestler (b. 1928)
  • 2002 – Lucien Wercollier, Luxembourgian sculptor (b. 1908)
  • 2004 – José Giovanni, French-Swiss director and producer (b. 1923)
  • 2004 – Estée Lauder, American businesswoman, co-founded Estée Lauder Companies (b. 1906)
  • 2005 – Ezer Weizman, Israeli general and politician, 7th President of Israel (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Fei Xiaotong, Chinese sociologist and academic (b. 1910)
  • 2006 – Brian Labone, English footballer (b. 1940)
  • 2006 – Moshe Teitelbaum, Romanian-American rabbi and author (b. 1914)
  • 2008 – Jimmy Giuffre, American clarinet player, and saxophonist, and composer (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Sathya Sai Baba, Indian guru and philanthropist (b. 1926)
  • 2014 – Hans Hollein, Austrian architect, designed Haas House (b. 1934)
  • 2014 – Sandy Jardine, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Shobha Nagi Reddy, Indian politician (b. 1968)
  • 2014 – Tadeusz Różewicz, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1921)
  • 2015 – Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1922)
  • 2016 – Tommy Kono, American weightlifter and coach (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Robert Pirsig, American author and philosopher (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on April 24

  • Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day (Armenia, France)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Benedict Menni
    • Dermot of Armagh
    • Dyfnan of Anglesey
    • Ecgberht of Ripon
    • Fidelis of Sigmaringen
    • Gregory of Elvira
    • Ivo of Ramsey
    • Johann Walter (Lutheran)
    • Mary of Clopas
    • Mary Euphrasia Pelletier
    • Mellitus
    • Peter of Saint Joseph de Betancur
    • Salome (disciple)
    • Wilfrid (Church of England)
    • William Firmatus
    • April 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Concord Day (Niger)
  • Democracy Day (Nepal)
  • Earliest day on which Arbor Day can fall, while April 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Friday in April. (United States)
  • Earliest day on which Turkmen Racing Horse Festival can fall, while April 30 is the latest; celebrated on the last Sunday in April. (Turkmenistan)
  • Fashion Revolution Day, and its related observances:
    • Labour Safety Day (Bangladesh, proposed)
  • Kapyong Day (Australia, Canada)
  • National Panchayati Raj Day (India)
  • St Mark’s Eve
  • Republic Day (The Gambia)
  • World Day for Laboratory Animals

April 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

April 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

  • 238 – Year of the Six Emperors: The Roman Senate outlaws emperor Maximinus Thrax for his bloodthirsty proscriptions in Rome and nominates two of its members, Pupienus and Balbinus, to the throne.
  • 1500 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral lands in Brazil.
  • 1519 – Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés establishes a settlement at Veracruz, Mexico.
  • 1529 – Treaty of Zaragoza divides the eastern hemisphere between Spain and Portugal along a line 297.5 leagues (1,250 kilometres (780 mi)) east of the Moluccas.
  • 1622 – The Capture of Ormuz by the East India Company ends Portuguese control of Hormuz Island.
  • 1809 – The second day of the Battle of Eckmühl: The Austrian army is defeated by the First French Empire army led by Napoleon and driven over the Danube in Regensburg.
  • 1836 – Texas Revolution: A day after the Battle of San Jacinto, forces under Texas General Sam Houston identify Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna among the captives of the battle when some of his fellow soldiers mistakenly give away his identity.
  • 1864 – The U.S. Congress passes the Coinage Act of 1864 that mandates that the inscription In God We Trust be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.
  • 1876 – The first game in the history of the National League was played at the Jefferson Street Grounds in Philadelphia. This game is often pointed to as the beginning of Major League Baseball.
  • 1889 – At noon, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Rush of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed with populations of at least 10,000.
  • 1898 – Spanish–American War: The USS Nashville captures a Spanish merchant ship.
  • 1906 – The 1906 Intercalated Games, now recognized as part of the official Olympic Games, open in Athens.
  • 1915 – The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres.
  • 1930 – The United Kingdom, Japan and the United States sign the London Naval Treaty regulating submarine warfare and limiting shipbuilding.
  • 1944 – The 1st Air Commando Group using Sikorsky R-4 helicopters stage the first use of helicopters in combat with combat search and rescue operations in the China Burma India Theater.
  • 1944 – World War II: Operation Persecution is initiated: Allied forces land in the Hollandia (currently known as Jayapura) area of New Guinea.
  • 1944 – World War II: In Greenland, the Allied Sledge Patrol attack the German Bassgeiger weather station.
  • 1945 – World War II: Prisoners at the Jasenovac concentration camp revolt. Five hundred twenty are killed and around eighty escape.
  • 1948 – Arab–Israeli War: The port city of Haifa is captured by Jewish forces.
  • 1951 – Korean War: The Chinese People’s Volunteer Army begin assaulting positions defended by the Royal Australian Regiment and the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry at the Battle of Kapyong.
  • 1954 – Red Scare: Witnesses begin testifying and live television coverage of the Army–McCarthy hearings begins.
  • 1969 – British yachtsman Sir Robin Knox-Johnston wins the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race and completes the first solo non-stop circumnavigation of the world.
  • 1969 – The formation of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) is announced at a mass rally in Calcutta.
  • 1970 – The first Earth Day is celebrated.
  • 1972 – Increased American bombing in Vietnam prompts anti-war protests in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco.
  • 1977 – Optical fiber is first used to carry live telephone traffic.
  • 1983 – The German magazine Stern claims the “Hitler Diaries” had been found in wreckage in East Germany; the diaries are subsequently revealed to be forgeries.
  • 1992 – In a series of explosions in Guadalajara, Mexico, 206 people are killed, nearly 500 injured and 15,000 left homeless.
  • 1993 – Eighteen-year-old Stephen Lawrence is murdered in a racially motivated attack while waiting for a bus in Well Hall, Eltham.
  • 1997 – Haouch Khemisti massacre in Algeria where 93 villagers are killed.
  • 2000 – In a pre-dawn raid, federal agents seize six-year-old Elián González from his relatives’ home in Miami.
  • 2004 – Two fuel trains collide in Ryongchon, North Korea, killing up to 150 people.
  • 2005 – Japan’s Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi apologizes for Japan’s war record.
  • 2008 – The United States Air Force retires the remaining F-117 Nighthawk aircraft in service.
  • 2013 – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrest and charge two men with plotting to disrupt a Toronto area train service in a plot claimed to be backed by Al-Qaeda elements.
  • 2014 – More than 60 people are killed and 80 are seriously injured in a train crash in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Katanga Province.
  • 2016 – The Paris Agreement is signed, an agreement to help fight global warming.
  • 2019 – The 2019 Luzon earthquake kills at least 18 people in the Philippines.

Births on April 22

  • 1412 – Reinhard III, Count of Hanau (1451–1452) (d. 1452)
  • 1444 – Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk (d. 1503)
  • 1451 – Isabella I of Castile (d. 1504)
  • 1518 – Antoine of Navarre (d. 1562)
  • 1592 – Wilhelm Schickard, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1635)
  • 1610 – Pope Alexander VIII (d. 1691)
  • 1658 – Giuseppe Torelli, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1709)
  • 1690 – John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1763)
  • 1707 – Henry Fielding, English novelist and playwright (d. 1754)
  • 1711 – Paul II Anton, Prince Esterházy, Austrian soldier (d. 1762)
  • 1724 – Immanuel Kant, German anthropologist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1804)
  • 1732 – John Johnson, English architect and surveyor (d. 1814)
  • 1744 – James Sullivan, American lawyer and politician, 7th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1808)
  • 1757 – Alessandro Rolla, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1841)
  • 1766 – Germaine de Staël, French author and political philosopher (d. 1817)
  • 1812 – Solomon Caesar Malan, Swiss-English orientalist (d. 1894)
  • 1816 – Charles-Denis Bourbaki, French general (d. 1897)
  • 1830 – Emily Davies, British suffragist and educator, co-founder and an early Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge University
  • 1832 – Julius Sterling Morton, American journalist and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Agriculture (d. 1902)
  • 1844 – Lewis Powell, American soldier, attempted assassin of William H. Seward (d. 1865)
  • 1852 – William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (d. 1912)
  • 1858 – Ethel Smyth, English composer (d. 1944)
  • 1854 – Henri La Fontaine, Belgian lawyer and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
  • 1860 – Ada Rehan, Irish-American actress (d. 1916)
  • 1870 – Vladimir Lenin, Russian revolutionary and founder of Soviet Russia (d. 1924)
  • 1872 – Princess Margaret of Prussia (d. 1954)
  • 1873 – Ellen Glasgow, American author (d. 1945)
  • 1876 – Róbert Bárány, Austrian-Swedish otologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1936)
  • 1876 – Georg Lurich, Estonian wrestler and strongman (d. 1920)
  • 1879 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (d. 1939)
  • 1884 – Otto Rank, Austrian-American psychologist and academic (d. 1939)
  • 1886 – Izidor Cankar, Slovenian historian, author, and diplomat (d. 1958)
  • 1889 – Richard Glücks, German SS officer (d. 1945)
  • 1891 – Laura Gilpin, American photographer (d. 1979)
  • 1891 – Vittorio Jano, Italian engineer (d. 1965)
  • 1891 – Harold Jeffreys, English mathematician, geophysicist, and astronomer (d. 1989)
  • 1891 – Nicola Sacco, Italian-American anarchist (d. 1927)
  • 1892 – Vernon Johns, African-American minister and activist (d. 1965)
  • 1899 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born novelist and critic (d. 1977)
  • 1900 – Nellie Beer, British politician, Lord Mayor of Manchester from 1966–67 (d. 1988)
  • 1904 – J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (d. 1967)
  • 1905 – Robert Choquette, American-Canadian author, poet, and diplomat (d. 1991)
  • 1906 – Eric Fenby, English composer and educator (d. 1997)
  • 1906 – Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten (d. 1947)
  • 1908 – Ivan Yefremov, Russian paleontologist and author (d. 1972)
  • 1909 – Rita Levi-Montalcini, Sephardic Jewish-Italian neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
  • 1909 – Indro Montanelli, Italian journalist and historian (d. 2001)
  • 1909 – Spyros Markezinis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2000)
  • 1910 – Norman Steenrod, American mathematician and academic (d. 1971)
  • 1912 – Kathleen Ferrier, English operatic singer (d. 1953)
  • 1912 – Kaneto Shindo, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1914 – Baldev Raj Chopra, Indian director and producer (d. 2008)
  • 1914 – Jan de Hartog, Dutch-American author and playwright (d. 2002)
  • 1914 – José Quiñones Gonzales, Peruvian soldier and pilot (d. 1941)
  • 1914 – Michael Wittmann, German SS officer (d. 1944)
  • 1916 – Hanfried Lenz, German mathematician and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1916 – Yehudi Menuhin, American-Swiss violinist and conductor (d. 1999)
  • 1917 – Yvette Chauviré, French ballerina (d. 2016)
  • 1917 – Sidney Nolan, Australian painter (d. 1992)
  • 1918 – William Jay Smith, American poet and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1918 – Mickey Vernon, American baseball player and coach (d. 2008)
  • 1919 – Donald J. Cram, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
  • 1919 – Carl Lindner, Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2011)
  • 1922 – Richard Diebenkorn, American soldier and painter (d. 1993)
  • 1922 – Charles Mingus, American bassist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1979)
  • 1922 – Wolf V. Vishniac, American microbiologist and academic (d. 1973)
  • 1923 – Peter Kane Dufault, American soldier, pilot, and poet (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Bettie Page, American model and actress (d. 2008)
  • 1923 – Aaron Spelling, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1924 – Nam Duck-woo, South Korean politician, 12th Prime Minister of South Korea (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Charlotte Rae, American actress and singer (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – James Stirling, Scottish architect, designed the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart and Seeley Historical Library (d. 1992)
  • 1927 – Laurel Aitken, Cuban-Jamaican singer (d. 2005)
  • 1929 – Michael Atiyah, English-Lebanese mathematician and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Robert Wade-Gery, English diplomat, British High Commissioner to India (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – Enno Penno, Estonian politician, Prime Minister of Estonia in exile (d. 2016)
  • 1931 – John Buchanan, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Ronald Hynd, English dancer and choreographer
  • 1933 – Anthony Llewellyn, Welsh-American chemist and astronaut (d. 2013)
  • 1935 – Christopher Ball, English linguist and academic
  • 1935 – Paul Chambers, African-American bassist and composer (d. 1969)
  • 1935 – Bhama Srinivasan, Indian-American mathematician and academic
  • 1936 – Glen Campbell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2017)
  • 1936 – Pierre Hétu, Canadian pianist and conductor (d. 1998)
  • 1937 – Jack Nicholson, American actor and producer
  • 1937 – Jack Nitzsche, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (d. 2000)
  • 1938 – Alan Bond, English-Australian businessman (d. 2015)
  • 1938 – Gani Fawehinmi, Nigerian lawyer and activist (d. 2009)
  • 1938 – Issey Miyake, Japanese fashion designer
  • 1938 – Adam Raphael, English journalist and author
  • 1939 – Mel Carter, American singer and actor
  • 1939 – John Foley, English general and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Guernsey
  • 1939 – Ray Guy, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Jason Miller, American actor and playwright (d. 2001)
  • 1939 – Theodor Waigel, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of Finance
  • 1941 – Greville Howard, Baron Howard of Rising, English politician
  • 1942 – Giorgio Agamben, Italian philosopher and academic
  • 1942 – Mary Prior, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Bristol
  • 1943 – Keith Crisco, American businessman and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1943 – Janet Evanovich, American author
  • 1943 – Louise Glück, American poet
  • 1943 – John Maples, Baron Maples, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence (d. 2012)
  • 1943 – Scott W. Williams, American mathematician and professor
  • 1944 – Steve Fossett, American businessman, pilot, and sailor (d. 2007)
  • 1944 – Doug Jarrett, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2014)
  • 1944 – Joshua Rifkin, American conductor and musicologist
  • 1945 – Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Indian civil servant and politician, 22nd Governor of West Bengal
  • 1945 – Demetrio Stratos, Egyptian-Italian singer-songwriter (d. 1979)
  • 1946 – Steven L. Bennett, American captain and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1972)
  • 1946 – Paul Davies, English physicist and author
  • 1946 – Louise Harel, Canadian lawyer and politician
  • 1946 – Archy Kirkwood, Baron Kirkwood of Kirkhope, Scottish lawyer and politician
  • 1946 – Nicholas Stern, Baron Stern of Brentford, English economist and academic
  • 1946 – John Waters, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1948 – John Pritchard, English bishop
  • 1949 – Spencer Haywood, American basketball player
  • 1950 – Peter Frampton, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1950 – Jancis Robinson, English journalist and critic
  • 1951 – Paul Carrack, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – Aivars Kalējs, Latvian organist, composer, and pianist
  • 1951 – Ana María Shua, Argentinian author and poet
  • 1952 – François Berléand, French actor
  • 1952 – Dave Loveridge, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1952 – Phil Smith, American basketball player (d. 2002)
  • 1953 – Valeri Bondarenko, Estonian footballer and coach
  • 1953 – Richard Broadbent, English businessman
  • 1955 – David Collier, English businessman
  • 1957 – Donald Tusk, Polish journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Poland
  • 1959 – Keith Boanas, English footballer and manager
  • 1959 – Terry Francona, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1959 – Catherine Mary Stewart, Canadian actress
  • 1959 – Ryan Stiles, American-Canadian actor and producer
  • 1960 – Lloyd Honeyghan, Jamaican-English boxer
  • 1960 – Mart Laar, Estonian historian and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Estonia
  • 1960 – Randall L. Stephenson, American businessman
  • 1961 – Alo Mattiisen, Estonian composer (d. 1996)
  • 1961 – Ann McKechin, Scottish lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
  • 1961 – Dewey Nicks, American photographer and director
  • 1962 – Danièle Sauvageau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1963 – Rosalind Gill, English sociologist and academic
  • 1963 – Magnús Ver Magnússon, Icelandic weightlifter and strongman
  • 1964 – Paul Baxter, English footballer
  • 1965 – Miguel Leal, Portuguese footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Peter Zezel, Canadian ice hockey and soccer player (d. 2009)
  • 1966 – Mickey Morandini, American baseball player and manager
  • 1966 – Jeffrey Dean Morgan, American actor
  • 1967 – David J. C. MacKay, English physicist, engineer, and academic
  • 1967 – Sherri Shepherd, American actress and talk show panelist
  • 1967 – Harvey Williams, American football player
  • 1968 – Jo Angel, Australian cricketer
  • 1968 – Bimbo Coles, American basketball player and coach
  • 1968 – Zarley Zalapski, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1969 – Dion Dublin, English footballer and sportscaster
  • 1970 – Erkki Bahovski, Estonian journalist
  • 1971 – Eric Mabius, American actor
  • 1971 – Spencer Prior, English footballer
  • 1972 – Sabine Appelmans, Belgian tennis player
  • 1972 – Owen Finegan, Australian rugby player and coach
  • 1972 – Milka Duno, Venezuelan race car driver and engineer
  • 1972 – Sergei Hohlov-Simson, Estonian footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Willie Robertson, American hunter and businessman
  • 1973 – Adem Poric, English-Australian footballer
  • 1973 – Ofer Talker, Israeli footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Shavo Odadjian, Armenian-American bass player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1975 – Greg Moore, Canadian race car driver (d. 1999)
  • 1975 – Carlos Sastre, Spanish cyclist
  • 1975 – Anders Nyström, Swedish guitarist and songwriter
  • 1976 – Dan Cloutier, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1976 – Paul Henderson, Australian footballer
  • 1976 – Michał Żewłakow, Polish footballer
  • 1977 – Mark van Bommel, Dutch footballer
  • 1978 – Paul Malakwen Kosgei, Kenyan runner and coach
  • 1978 – David Masters, English cricketer
  • 1978 – Matt Orford, Australian rugby league player
  • 1978 – Jason Stollsteimer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1978 – Esteban Tuero, Argentinian race car driver
  • 1979 – Zoltán Gera, Hungarian international footballer and manager
  • 1979 – Daniel Johns, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1980 – Igor Budan, Croatian footballer
  • 1980 – Clarke Dermody, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1980 – Nicolas Douchez, French footballer
  • 1980 – Courtney Friel, American journalist
  • 1980 – Carlos Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1980 – Quincy Timberlake, Kenyan-Australian activist, engineer, and politician
  • 1980 – Rutledge Wood, American racing analyst and television personality
  • 1981 – Madis Kallas, Estonian decathlete and activist
  • 1981 – Rafael Sperafico, Brazilian race car driver (d. 2007)
  • 1981 – Jonathan Trott, South African-English cricketer
  • 1982 – Kaká, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Cassidy Freeman, American actress and musician
  • 1982 – Joel Monaghan, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – David Purcey, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Aidas Reklys, Lithuanian figure skater
  • 1982 – Aleksander Saharov, Estonian footballer
  • 1982 – Noriko Shitaya, Japanese voice actress
  • 1983 – Remi Ayodele, American football player
  • 1983 – Sam W. Heads, English-American entomologist and palaeontologist
  • 1983 – Jos Hooiveld, Dutch footballer
  • 1983 – Matt Jones, American football player
  • 1983 – Vangelis Mantzios, Greek footballer
  • 1984 – Amelle Berrabah, English singer-songwriter
  • 1985 – Kristin Fairlie, Canadian actress
  • 1986 – Amber Heard, American actress and producer
  • 1986 – Marshawn Lynch, American football player
  • 1986 – Dušan Šakota, Serbian-Greek basketball player
  • 1987 – David Luiz, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – David Mateos, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Dee Gordon, American baseball player
  • 1989 – DeJuan Blair, American basketball player
  • 1989 – Jasper Cillessen, Dutch footballer
  • 1989 – Aron Gunnarsson, Icelandic footballer
  • 1990 – Óscar González, Mexican boxer (d. 2014)
  • 1990 – Machine Gun Kelly, American rapper and actor
  • 1991 – Jordi Murphy, Irish international rugby player
  • 1991 – Braydon Smith, Australian boxer (d. 2015)
  • 1992 – Kenny Stills, American football player
  • 1992 – Joonas Vaino, Estonian basketball player
  • 1993 – Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Australian footballer
  • 1993 – Ngani Laumape, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1993 – Marcel Ritzmaier, Austrian footballer

Deaths on April 22

  • 296 – Pope Caius
  • 536 – Pope Agapetus I
  • 591 – Peter III of Raqqa
  • 613 – Saint Theodore of Sykeon
  • 846 – Wuzong, Chinese emperor (b. 814)
  • 1208 – Philip of Poitou, Prince-Bishop of Durham
  • 1322 – Francis of Fabriano, Italian writer (b. 1251)
  • 1355 – Eleanor of Woodstock, countess regent of Guelders, eldest daughter of King Edward II of England (b. 1318)
  • 1585 – Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück and Paderborn (b. 1550)
  • 1616 – Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1547)
  • 1672 – Georg Stiernhielm, Swedish linguist and poet (b. 1598)
  • 1699 – Hans Erasmus Aßmann, German poet (b. 1646)
  • 1758 – Antoine de Jussieu, French botanist and physician (b. 1686)
  • 1778 – James Hargreaves, British inventor (b. 1720)
  • 1806 – Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, French admiral (b. 1763)
  • 1821 – Gregory V of Constantinople, Greek patriarch and saint (b. 1746)
  • 1833 – Richard Trevithick, English engineer and explorer (b. 1771)
  • 1850 – Friedrich Robert Faehlmann, Estonian philologist and physician (b. 1798)
  • 1854 – Nicolás Bravo, Mexican general and politician, 11th President of Mexico (b. 1786)
  • 1871 – Martín Carrera, Mexican general and president (1855) (b. 1806)
  • 1877 – James P. Kirkwood, Scottish-American engineer (b. 1807)
  • 1892 – Édouard Lalo, French violinist and composer (b. 1823)
  • 1893 – Chaim Aronson, Lithuanian businessman and author (b. 1825)
  • 1894 – Kostas Krystallis, Greek author and poet (b. 1868)
  • 1896 – Thomas Meik, English engineer, founded Halcrow Group (b. 1812)
  • 1908 – Henry Campbell-Bannerman, Scottish-English merchant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1836)
  • 1925 – André Caplet, French composer and conductor (b. 1878)
  • 1929 – Henry Lerolle, French painter and art collector (b. 1848)
  • 1932 – Ferenc Oslay, Hungarian-Slovene historian and author (b. 1883)
  • 1933 – Henry Royce, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Rolls-Royce Limited (b. 1863)
  • 1944 – Nikolaos Roussen, Greek captain (b. 1913)
  • 1945 – Wilhelm Cauer, German mathematician and academic (b. 1900)
  • 1945 – Käthe Kollwitz, German painter and sculptor (b. 1867)
  • 1946 – Lionel Atwill, English-American actor (b. 1885)
  • 1946 – Harlan F. Stone, American lawyer and jurist, 12th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1872)
  • 1949 – Charles Middleton, American actor (b. 1874)
  • 1950 – Charles Hamilton Houston, American lawyer and academic (b. 1895)
  • 1951 – Horace Donisthorpe, English myrmecologist and coleopterist (b. 1870)
  • 1956 – Walt Faulkner, American race car driver (b. 1918)
  • 1968 – Stephen H. Sholes, American record producer (b. 1911)
  • 1978 – Will Geer, American actor (b. 1902)
  • 1980 – Jane Froman, American actress and singer (b. 1907)
  • 1980 – Fritz Strassmann, German chemist and physicist (b. 1902)
  • 1983 – Earl Hines, American pianist and bandleader (b. 1903)
  • 1984 – Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (b. 1902)
  • 1985 – Paul Hugh Emmett, American chemist and academic (b. 1900)
  • 1985 – Jacques Ferron, Canadian physician and author (b. 1921)
  • 1986 – Mircea Eliade, Romanian historian and author (b. 1907)
  • 1987 – Erika Nõva, Estonian architect (b. 1905)
  • 1988 – Grigori Kuzmin, Russian-Estonian astronomer and academic (b. 1917)
  • 1988 – Irene Rich, American actress (b. 1891)
  • 1989 – Emilio G. Segrè, Italian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
  • 1990 – Albert Salmi, American actor (b. 1928)
  • 1994 – Richard Nixon, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 37th President of the United States (b. 1913)
  • 1995 – Jane Kenyon, American poet and author (b. 1947)
  • 1996 – Erma Bombeck, American journalist and author (b. 1927)
  • 1996 – Jug McSpaden, American golfer and architect (b. 1908)
  • 1998 – Kitch Christie, South African rugby player and coach (b. 1940)
  • 1999 – Chan Canasta, Polish-English magician (b. 1920)
  • 1999 – Munir Ahmad Khan, Pakistani nuclear engineer (b. 1926)
  • 2002 – Linda Lovelace, American porn actress and activist (b. 1949)
  • 2003 – Felice Bryant, American songwriter (b. 1925)
  • 2003 – James H. Critchfield, American CIA officer (b. 1917)
  • 2003 – Martha Griffiths, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 58th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (b. 1912)
  • 2003 – Mike Larrabee, American runner (b. 1933)
  • 2004 – Jason Dunham, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1981)
  • 2004 – Pat Tillman, American football player and soldier (b. 1976)
  • 2005 – Erika Fuchs, German translator (b. 1906)
  • 2005 – Philip Morrison, American physicist and academic (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Eduardo Paolozzi, Scottish sculptor and artist (b. 1924)
  • 2006 – Henriette Avram, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1919)
  • 2006 – D’Iberville Fortier, Canadian diplomat (b. 1926)
  • 2006 – Alida Valli, Italian actress (b. 1921)
  • 2007 – Juanita Millender-McDonald, American educator and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2008 – Cameron Argetsinger, American race car driver and lawyer (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Ed Chynoweth, Canadian businessman (b. 1941)
  • 2009 – Jack Cardiff, British cinematographer, director and photographer (b. 1914)
  • 2010 – Richard Barrett, American lawyer and activist (b. 1943)
  • 2011 – Hazel Dickens, American singer-songwriter, bassist and guitarist (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – John Amabile, American football player and coach (b. 1939)
  • 2012 – Bill Granger, American author (b. 1941)
  • 2012 – Buzz Potamkin, American director and producer (b. 1945)
  • 2012 – George Rathmann, American chemist, biologist, and businessman (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Dave Gold, American businessman, founded 99 Cents Only Stores (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – George Stanley Gordon, American businessman (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
  • 2013 – Lalgudi Jayaraman, Indian violinist and composer (b. 1930)
  • 2013 – Mike Smith, English footballer (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Robert Suderburg, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – J. S. Verma, Indian judge, 27th Chief Justice of India (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Allen Jacobs, American football player and coach (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Jovan Krkobabić, Serbian politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Mohammad Naseem, Pakistani-English activist (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Werner Potzernheim, German cyclist (b. 1927)
  • 2014 – Oswaldo Vigas, Venezuelan painter (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Dick Balharry, Scottish environmentalist and photographer (b. 1937)
  • 2015 – Gennadi Vengerov, Belarusian-Russian actor (b. 1959)
  • 2017 – Erin Moran, American actress (b. 1960)
  • 2017 – Donna Leanne Williams, Australian writer, artist, activist (b. 1963)

Holidays and observances on April 22

  • Christian feast day:
    • Acepsimas of Hnaita and companions (Catholic Church)
    • Arwald
    • Epipodius and Alexander
    • Hudson Stuck (Episcopal Church)
    • John Muir (Episcopal Church)
    • Opportuna of Montreuil
    • Pope Caius
    • Pope Soter
    • St Senorina
    • April 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Discovery Day (Brazil)
  • Earth Day (International observance) and its related observance:
    • International Mother Earth Day
  • Holocaust Remembrance Day (Serbia)
  • From 2018 onwards, a national day of commemoration for the murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence (United Kingdom)

April 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

March 24th is the 365th and last day of the year in many European implementations of the Julian calendar.

March 24 in History

  • 1199 – King Richard I of England is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting in France, leading to his death on April 6.
  • 1387 – English victory over a Franco-Castilian-Flemish fleet in the Battle of Margate off the coast of Margate.
  • 1401 – Turco-Mongol emperor Timur sacks Damascus.
  • 1603 – James VI of Scotland is proclaimed King James I of England and Ireland, upon the death of Elizabeth I.
  • 1603 – Tokugawa Ieyasu is granted the title of shōgun from Emperor Go-Yōzei, and establishes the Tokugawa shogunate in Edo, Japan.
  • 1663 – The Province of Carolina is granted by charter to eight Lords Proprietor in reward for their assistance in restoring Charles II of England to the throne.
  • 1720 – Count Frederick of Hesse-Kassel is elected King of Sweden by the Riksdag of the Estates, after his consort Ulrika Eleonora abdicated the throne on 29 February
  • 1721 – Johann Sebastian Bach dedicated six concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig of Brandenburg-Schwedt, now commonly called the Brandenburg Concertos, BWV 1046–1051.
  • 1731 – Naturalization of Hieronimus de Salis Parliamentary Act is passed.
  • 1765 – Great Britain passes the Quartering Act, which requires the Thirteen Colonies to house British troops.
  • 1794 – In Kraków, Tadeusz Kościuszko announces a general uprising against Imperial Russia and the Kingdom of Prussia, and assumes the powers of the Commander in Chief of all of the Polish forces.
  • 1829 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829, allowing Catholics to serve in Parliament.
  • 1832 – In Hiram, Ohio, a group of men beat and tar and feather Mormon leader Joseph Smith.
  • 1854 – President José Gregorio Monagas abolishes slavery in Venezuela.
  • 1860 – Sakuradamon Incident: Assassination of Japanese Chief Minister (Tairō) Ii Naosuke.
  • 1869 – The last of Titokowaru’s forces surrendered to the New Zealand government, ending his uprising.
  • 1878 – The British frigate HMS Eurydice sinks, killing more than 300.
  • 1882 – Robert Koch announces the discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis.
  • 1885 – Sino-French War: Chinese victory in the Battle of Bang Bo on the Tonkin–Guangxi border.
  • 1900 – Mayor of New York City Robert Anderson Van Wyck breaks ground for a new underground “Rapid Transit Railroad” that would link Manhattan and Brooklyn.
  • 1907 – The first issue of the Georgian Bolshevik newspaper Dro is published.
  • 1921 – The 1921 Women’s Olympiad begins in Monte Carlo, first international women’s sports event.
  • 1927 – Nanking Incident: Foreign warships bombard Nanjing, China, in defense of the foreign citizens within the city.
  • 1934 – United States Congress passes the Tydings–McDuffie Act, allowing the Philippines to become a self-governing commonwealth.
  • 1944 – Ardeatine massacre: German troops murder 335 Italian civilians in Rome.
  • 1944 – World War II: In an event later dramatized in the movie The Great Escape, 76 Allied prisoners of war begin breaking out of the German camp Stalag Luft III.
  • 1946 – A British Cabinet Mission arrives in India to discuss and plan for the transfer of power from the British Raj to Indian leadership.
  • 1958 – Rock ‘n’ roll teen idol Elvis Presley is drafted in the U.S. Army.
  • 1961 – Quebec Board of the French Language is established.
  • 1965 – Images from the Ranger 9 lunar probe are broadcast live on network television.
  • 1973 – Kenyan athlete Kip Keino defeats Jim Ryun at the first-ever professional track meet in Los Angeles.
  • 1976 – In Argentina, the armed forces overthrow the constitutional government of President Isabel Perón and start a 7-year dictatorial period self-styled the National Reorganization Process.
  • 1977 – Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister of India, the first Prime Minister not to belong to Indian National Congress.
  • 1980 – El Salvadorian Archbishop Óscar Romero is assassinated while celebrating Mass in San Salvador.
  • 1986 – The Loscoe gas explosion leads to new UK laws on landfill gas migration and gas protection on landfill sites.
  • 1989 – In Prince William Sound in Alaska, the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of crude oil after running aground.
  • 1993 – Discovery of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9.
  • 1998 – Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden, aged 11 and 13 respectively, fire upon teachers and students at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas; five people are killed and ten are wounded.
  • 1998 – A tornado sweeps through Dantan in India, killing 250 people and injuring 3,000 others.
  • 1998 – First computer-assisted Bone Segment Navigation, performed at the University of Regensburg, Germany
  • 1999 – Kosovo war: NATO began attacks on Yugoslavia without United Nations Security Council (UNSC) approval, marking the first time NATO has attacked a sovereign country.
  • 1999 – A lorry carrying margarine and flour catches fire inside the Mont Blanc Tunnel. The resulting inferno kills 38 people.
  • 2003 – The Arab League votes 21–1 in favor of a resolution demanding the immediate and unconditional removal of U.S. and British soldiers from Iraq.
  • 2008 – Bhutan officially becomes a democracy, with its first ever general election.
  • 2015 – Germanwings Flight 9525 crashes in the French Alps in an apparent pilot mass murder-suicide, killing all 150 people on board.

Births on March 24

  • 1103 – Yue Fei, Chinese military general (d. 1142)
  • 1441 – Ernest, Elector of Saxony, German ruler of Saxony (d. 1486)
  • 1494 – Georgius Agricola, German mineralogist and scholar (d. 1555)
  • 1577 – Francis, Duke of Pomerania-Stettin, Bishop of Cammin (d. 1620)
  • 1607 – Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral (d. 1667)
  • 1628 – Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1685)
  • 1657 – Arai Hakuseki, Japanese academic and politician (d. 1725)
  • 1693 – John Harrison, English carpenter and clock-maker, invented the Marine chronometer (d. 1776)
  • 1725 – Samuel Ashe, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of North Carolina (d. 1813)
  • 1725 – Thomas Cushing, American lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1788)
  • 1755 – Rufus King, American lawyer and politician, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (d. 1827)
  • 1762 – Marcos Portugal, Portuguese organist and composer (d. 1830)
  • 1775 – Muthuswami Dikshitar, Indian poet and composer (d. 1835)
  • 1782 – Orest Kiprensky, Russian-Italian painter (d. 1836)
  • 1796 – Zulma Carraud, French author (d. 1889)
  • 1796 – John Corry Wilson Daly, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1878)
  • 1803 – Egerton Ryerson, Canadian minister, educator, and politician (d. 1882)
  • 1808 – Maria Malibran, Spanish-French soprano (d. 1836)
  • 1809 – Mariano José de Larra, Spanish journalist and author (d. 1837)
  • 1809 – Joseph Liouville, French mathematician and academic (d. 1882)
  • 1816 – Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Dávalos, Roman Catholic archbishop and Mexican politician who served as regent during the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (d. 1891)
  • 1820 – Edmond Becquerel, French physicist and academic (d. 1891)
  • 1820 – Fanny Crosby, American poet and composer (d. 1915)
  • 1823 – Thomas Spencer Baynes, English philosopher and critic (d. 1887)
  • 1826 – Matilda Joslyn Gage, American activist and author (d. 1898)
  • 1828 – Horace Gray, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1902)
  • 1829 – George Francis Train, American businessman (d. 1904)
  • 1829 – Ignacio Zaragoza, Mexican general (d. 1862)
  • 1830 – Robert Hamerling, Austrian poet and playwright (d. 1889)
  • 1834 – William Morris, English textile designer, poet, and author (d. 1896)
  • 1834 – John Wesley Powell, American soldier, geologist, and explorer (d. 1902)
  • 1835 – Joseph Stefan, Austrian physicist, mathematician, and poet (d. 1893)
  • 1848 – Honoré Beaugrand, Canadian journalist and politician, 18th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1906)
  • 1850 – Silas Hocking, English minister and author (d. 1935)
  • 1854 – Henry Lefroy, Australian politician, 11th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1930)
  • 1855 – Andrew W. Mellon, American banker, financier, and diplomat, 49th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1937)
  • 1855 – Olive Schreiner, South African author and activist (d. 1920)
  • 1862 – Frank Weston Benson, American painter and educator (d. 1951)
  • 1869 – Émile Fabre, French author and playwright (d. 1955)
  • 1871 – Alec Hurley, English music hall singer (d. 1913)
  • 1874 – Luigi Einaudi, Italian economist and politician, 2nd President of the Italian Republic (d. 1961)
  • 1874 – Harry Houdini, Hungarian-Jewish American magician and actor (d. 1926)
  • 1875 – William Burns, Canadian lacrosse player (d. 1953)
  • 1879 – Neyzen Tevfik, Turkish philosopher, poet, and composer (d. 1953)
  • 1882 – Marcel Lalu, French gymnast (d. 1951)
  • 1882 – George Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway, English politician, 5th Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 1943)
  • 1883 – Dorothy Campbell, Scottish-American golfer (d. 1945)
  • 1884 – Peter Debye, Dutch-American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
  • 1884 – Chika Kuroda, Japanese chemist (d. 1968)
  • 1884 – Eugène Tisserant, French cardinal (d. 1972)
  • 1885 – Charles Daniels, American swimmer (d. 1973)
  • 1885 – Dimitrie Cuclin, Romanian violinist and composer (d. 1978)
  • 1886 – Edward Weston, American photographer (d. 1958)
  • 1886 – Robert Mallet-Stevens, French architect and designer (d. 1945)
  • 1887 – Roscoe Arbuckle, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1933)
  • 1888 – Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian politician (d. 1922)
  • 1889 – Albert Hill, English-Canadian runner (d. 1969)
  • 1890 – Agnes Macphail, Canadian educator and politician (d. 1954)
  • 1891 – Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1951)
  • 1892 – Marston Morse, American mathematician and academic (d. 1977)
  • 1893 – Walter Baade, German astronomer and author (d. 1960)
  • 1893 – George Sisler, American baseball player and scout (d. 1973)
  • 1897 – Wilhelm Reich, Austrian-American psychotherapist and academic (d. 1957)
  • 1901 – Ub Iwerks, American animator, director, and producer, co-created Mickey Mouse (d. 1971)
  • 1902 – Thomas E. Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of New York (d. 1971)
  • 1903 – Adolf Butenandt, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
  • 1903 – Malcolm Muggeridge, English journalist, author, and scholar (d. 1990)
  • 1905 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino author and diplomat (d. 2007)
  • 1907 – Paul Sauvé, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Quebec (d. 1960)
  • 1909 – Clyde Barrow, American criminal (d. 1934)
  • 1909 – Richard Wurmbrand, Romanian Pastor and Evangelist (d. 2001)
  • 1910 – Richard Conte, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1975)
  • 1911 – Joseph Barbera, American animator, director, and producer, co-founded Hanna-Barbera (d. 2006)
  • 1912 – Dorothy Height, African-American educator and activist (d. 2010)
  • 1915 – Eugène Martin, French racing driver (d. 2006)
  • 1916 – Donald Hamilton, Swedish-American soldier and author (d. 2006)
  • 1916 – Harry B. Whittington, English palaeontologist and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1917 – John Kendrew, English biochemist and crystallographer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
  • 1919 – Lawrence Ferlinghetti, American poet and publisher, co-founded City Lights Bookstore
  • 1919 – Robert Heilbroner, American economist and historian (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Gene Nelson, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1996)
  • 1920 – Mary Stolz, American author (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Vasily Smyslov, Russian chess player (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – Onna White, Canadian dancer and choreographer (d. 2005)
  • 1923 – Murray Hamilton, American actor (d. 1986)
  • 1923 – Michael Legat, English author and publisher (d. 2011)
  • 1924 – Norman Fell, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1925 – Puig Aubert, German-French rugby league player and coach (d. 1994)
  • 1926 – Desmond Connell, Irish cardinal (d. 2017)
  • 1926 – Dario Fo, Italian playwright, actor, director, and composer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
  • 1926 – William Porter, American hurdler (d. 2000)
  • 1927 – John Woodland Hastings, American biochemist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Martin Walser, German author and playwright
  • 1928 – Byron Janis, American pianist and composer
  • 1929 – Pat Renella, Italian-American actor (d. 2012)
  • 1930 – David Dacko, Central African politician, 1st President of the Central African Republic (d. 2003)
  • 1930 – Steve McQueen, American actor and producer (d. 1980)
  • 1931 – Hanno Drechsler, German educator and politician, Mayor of Marburg (d. 2003)
  • 1933 – Stephen De Staebler, American sculptor and educator (d. 2011)
  • 1933 – Lee Mendelson, American television producer (d. 2019)
  • 1936 – Don Covay, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1936 – Alex Olmedo, Peruvian-American tennis player
  • 1937 – Billy Stewart, American singer and pianist (d. 1970)
  • 1938 – David Irving, English historian and author
  • 1940 – Bob Mackie, American fashion designer
  • 1941 – Michael Masser, American songwriter, composer and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1944 – R. Lee Ermey, American sergeant and actor (d. 2018)
  • 1944 – Vojislav Koštunica, Serbian academic and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Serbia
  • 1945 – Robert T. Bakker, American paleontologist and academic
  • 1945 – Curtis Hanson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1945 – Patrick Malahide, English actor and screenwriter
  • 1946 – Klaus Dinger, German guitarist and songwriter (d. 2008)
  • 1946 – Kitty O’Neil, American stuntwoman (d. 2018)
  • 1947 – Dennis Erickson, American football player and coach
  • 1947 – Christine Gregoire, American lawyer and politician, 22nd Governor of Washington
  • 1947 – Mick Jones, English footballer and coach
  • 1947 – Alan Sugar, English businessman
  • 1948 – Javier Diez Canseco, Peruvian sociologist and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1948 – Jerzy Kukuczka, Polish mountaineer (d. 1989)
  • 1948 – Lee Oskar, Jewish-Danish musician
  • 1949 – Tabitha King, American author and poet
  • 1949 – Ruud Krol, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1949 – Steve Lang, Canadian bass player (April Wine) (d. 2017)
  • 1949 – Nick Lowe, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
  • 1949 – Ali Akbar Salehi, Iranian academic and politician, 36th Foreign Affairs Minister of Iran
  • 1949 – Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka
  • 1950 – Gary Wichard, American football player and agent (d. 2011)
  • 1951 – Peter Boyle, Scottish-Australian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1951 – Pat Bradley, American golfer
  • 1951 – Tommy Hilfiger, American fashion designer, founded the Tommy Hilfiger Corporation
  • 1951 – Dougie Thomson, Scottish bass player
  • 1951 – Anna Włodarczyk, Polish long jumper and coach
  • 1952 – Greg McCrary, American football player (d. 2013)
  • 1953 – Anita L. Allen, African-American lawyer, philosopher, and academic
  • 1953 – Louie Anderson, American actor and comedian
  • 1955 – Doug Jarvis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1955 – Pat Price, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1956 – Steve Ballmer, American businessman
  • 1956 – Bill Wray, American cartoonist and painter
  • 1957 – Pierre Harvey, Canadian cyclist and skier
  • 1957 – Pat Jarvis, Australian rugby league player
  • 1958 – Mike Woodson, American basketball player and coach
  • 1959 – Emmit King, American sprinter
  • 1959 – Renaldo Nehemiah, American hurdler and football player
  • 1959 – Derek Statham, English footballer
  • 1960 – Jan Berglin, Swedish cartoonist
  • 1960 – Barry Horowitz, American wrestler
  • 1960 – Kelly Le Brock, English-American actress and model
  • 1960 – Nena, German singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1960 – Scott Pruett, American race car driver
  • 1960 – Annabella Sciorra, American actress
  • 1961 – Dean Jones, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1961 – Yanis Varoufakis, Greek economist and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
  • 1962 – Angèle Dubeau, Canadian violinist
  • 1962 – Star Jones, African-American lawyer, journalist, and talk show host
  • 1962 – Irina Meszynski, German discus thrower
  • 1963 – Raimond van der Gouw, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1963 – Vadym Tyshchenko, Ukrainian footballer and manager (d. 2015)
  • 1963 – Torsten Voss, German decathlete and bobsledder
  • 1965 – The Undertaker, American wrestler and actor
  • 1966 – Floyd Heard, American sprinter and coach
  • 1967 – Diann Roffe, American skier
  • 1968 – Minarti Timur, Indonesian badminton player
  • 1969 – Stephan Eberharter, Austrian skier
  • 1970 – Lara Flynn Boyle, American actress
  • 1970 – Sharon Corr, Irish singer-songwriter and violinist
  • 1970 – Judith Draxler, Austrian swimmer
  • 1970 – Erica Kennedy, African-American journalist and author (d. 2012)
  • 1970 – Mike Vanderjagt, Canadian-American football player
  • 1971 – Tig Notaro, American comedian and actor
  • 1972 – Christophe Dugarry, French footballer
  • 1972 – Steve Karsay, American baseball player and coach
  • 1973 – Jacek Bąk, Polish footballer
  • 1973 – Philippe Boucher, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1973 – Steve Corica, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1973 – Jure Ivanušič, Slovenian actor, concert pianist and chansonnier
  • 1973 – Mette Jacobsen, Danish swimmer
  • 1973 – Glen Jakovich, Australian footballer
  • 1973 – Jim Parsons, American actor
  • 1974 – Alyson Hannigan, American actress
  • 1974 – Sergey Klyugin, Russian high jumper
  • 1974 – Tado, Filipino comedian and activist (d. 2014)
  • 1975 – Thomas Johansson, Swedish-Monacan tennis player
  • 1976 – Aaron Brooks, American football player
  • 1976 – Aliou Cissé, Senegalese footballer and coach
  • 1976 – Athanasios Kostoulas, Greek footballer
  • 1976 – Peyton Manning, American football player and entrepreneur
  • 1977 – Jessica Chastain, American actress
  • 1977 – Maxim Kuznetsov, Russian ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Darren Lockyer, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
  • 1978 – Michael Braun, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1978 – Tomáš Ujfaluši, Czech footballer and manager
  • 1978 – José Valverde, Dominican baseball player
  • 1979 – Lake Bell, Jewish-American actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1979 – Norris Hopper, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Periklis Iakovakis, Greek hurdler
  • 1979 – Graeme Swann, English cricketer
  • 1980 – Tassos Venetis, Greek footballer
  • 1981 – Mike Adams, American football player
  • 1981 – Ron Hainsey, American ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Dirk Hayhurst, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Mark Looms, Dutch footballer
  • 1981 – Gary Paffett, English racing driver
  • 1982 – Corey Hart, American baseball player
  • 1982 – Jack Swagger, American mixed martial artist and professional wrestler
  • 1982 – Epico Colon, Puerto Rican professional wrestler
  • 1982 – Jimmy Hempte, Belgian footballer
  • 1982 – Dustin McGowan, American baseball player
  • 1983 – Luca Ceccarelli, Italian footballer
  • 1983 – Riccardo Musetti, Italian footballer
  • 1983 – Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – T.J. Ford, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Benoît Assou-Ekotto, French born Cameroonian international footballer, left-back
  • 1984 – Chris Bosh, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Adrian D’Souza, Indian field hockey player
  • 1984 – Lucy Wangui Kabuu, Kenyan runner
  • 1984 – Park Bom, South Korean singer
  • 1984 – Philipp Petzschner, German tennis player
  • 1985 – Lana, American wrestler and manager
  • 1985 – Haruka Ayase, Japanese actress and singer
  • 1987 – Ramires, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladeshi cricketer
  • 1987 – Billy Jones, English footballer
  • 1987 – Yuma Asami, Japanese actress and singer
  • 1988 – Aiga Grabuste, Latvian heptathlete
  • 1988 – Ryan Higgins, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1988 – Matías Martínez, Argentinian footballer
  • 1988 – Kardo Ploomipuu, Estonian swimmer
  • 1988 – Matt Todd, New Zealand rugby union player
  • 1990 – Starlin Castro, American baseball player
  • 1990 – Aljur Abrenica, Filipino actor
  • 1990 – Keisha Castle-Hughes, Australian-New Zealand actress
  • 1990 – Lacey Evans, American wrestler
  • 1991 – Nick Browne, English cricketer
  • 1991 – Dalila Jakupovic, Slovenian tennis player
  • 1995 – Enzo Fernandez, French-Spanish footballer

Deaths on March 24

  • 809 – Harun al-Rashid, Arab caliph (b. 763)
  • 832 – Wulfred, archbishop of Canterbury
  • 1284 – Hugh III of Cyprus (b. 1235)
  • 1296 – Odon de Pins, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller
  • 1381 – Catherine of Vadstena, Swedish saint (b. 1332)
  • 1394 – Constance of Castile, claimant to the throne of Castile
  • 1396 – Walter Hilton, English mystic and saint (b. 1340)
  • 1399 – Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk (b.c. 1320)
  • 1443 – James Douglas, 7th Earl of Douglas (b. 1371)
  • 1455 – Pope Nicholas V (b. 1397)
  • 1499 – Edward Stafford, 2nd Earl of Wiltshire, English nobleman (b. 1470)
  • 1563 – Hosokawa Harumoto, Japanese daimyō (b. 1514)
  • 1575 – Joseph ben Ephraim Karo, Spanish-Portuguese rabbi and author (b. 1488)
  • 1603 – Elizabeth I of England (b. 1533)
  • 1653 – Samuel Scheidt, German organist and composer (b. 1587)
  • 1684 – Pieter de Hooch, Dutch painter (b. 1629)
  • 1684 – Elizabeth Ridgeway, English woman convicted of poisoning her husband
  • 1773 – Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, English politician, Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard (b. 1694)
  • 1776 – John Harrison, English carpenter and clockmaker, invented the Marine chronometer (b. 1693)
  • 1824 – Louis Marie de La Révellière-Lépeaux, French lawyer (b. 1753)
  • 1838 – Abraham Hume, English floriculturist and Tory politician (b. 1748/49)
  • 1869 – Antoine-Henri Jomini, French-Russian general (b. 1779)
  • 1881 – Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse, French geologist and mineralogist (b. 1817)
  • 1882 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet and educator (b. 1807)
  • 1887 – Ivan Kramskoi, Russian painter and critic (b. 1837)
  • 1888 – Vsevolod Garshin, Russian author (b. 1855)
  • 1905 – Jules Verne, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1828)
  • 1909 – John Millington Synge, Irish playwright and poet (b. 1871)
  • 1915 – Margaret Lindsay Huggins, Anglo-Irish astronomer (b. 1848)
  • 1915 – Karol Olszewski, Polish chemist, mathematician, and physicist (b. 1846)
  • 1916 – Enrique Granados, Spanish pianist and composer (b. 1867)
  • 1926 – Phan Châu Trinh, Vietnamese activist (b. 1872)
  • 1940 – Édouard Branly, French physicist and academic (b. 1844)
  • 1944 – Orde Wingate, Indian-English general (b. 1903)
  • 1946 – Alexander Alekhine, Russian chess player (b. 1892)
  • 1946 – Carl Schuhmann, German gymnast, shot putter, and jumper (b. 1869)
  • 1948 – Sigrid Hjertén, Swedish painter and illustrator (b. 1885)
  • 1950 – James Rudolph Garfield, American lawyer and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1865)
  • 1951 – Lorna Hodgkinson, Australian educator and educational psychologist (b. 1887)
  • 1953 – Mary of Teck (b. 1867)
  • 1962 – Jean Goldkette, French-American pianist and bandleader (b. 1899)
  • 1962 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist and explorer (b. 1884)
  • 1968 – Alice Guy-Blaché, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1873)
  • 1971 – Arne Jacobsen, Danish architect, designed the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel and Aarhus City Hall (b. 1902)
  • 1971 – Arthur Metcalfe, Australian public servant (b. 1895)
  • 1976 – Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, English field marshal (b. 1887)
  • 1978 – Park Mok-wol, influential Korean poet and academic (b. 1916)
  • 1980 – Óscar Romero, Salvadoran archbishop (b. 1917)
  • 1984 – Sam Jaffe, American actor (b. 1891)
  • 1985 – Raoul Ubac, French painter, sculptor, photographer and engraver (b. 1910)
  • 1988 – Turhan Feyzioğlu, Turkish academic and politician, 27th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1922)
  • 1990 – Ray Goulding, American comedian and radio host (b. 1922)
  • 1991 – John Kerr, Australian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1914)
  • 1993 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor, and playwright (b. 1905)
  • 1993 – John Hersey, American journalist and author (b. 1914)
  • 1995 – Joseph Needham, English historian and academic (b. 1900)
  • 1999 – Gertrud Scholtz-Klink, German politician (b. 1902)
  • 1999 – Birdie Tebbetts, American baseball player and manager (b. 1912)
  • 2001 – Muriel Young, English television host and producer (b. 1928)
  • 2002 – César Milstein, Argentinian-English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
  • 2002 – Bob Said, American race car driver and bobsledder (b. 1932)
  • 2003 – Hans Hermann Groër, Austrian cardinal (b. 1919)
  • 2006 – Rudra Rajasingham, Sri Lankan police officer and diplomat (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Shripad Narayan Pendse, Indian Marathi novelist (b. 1913)
  • 2008 – Chalmers Alford, American guitarist (b. 1955)
  • 2008 – Neil Aspinall, Welsh-English record producer and manager (b. 1941)
  • 2008 – Rafael Azcona, Spanish author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2008 – Richard Widmark, American actor (b. 1914)
  • 2009 – George Kell, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1922)
  • 2009 – Hans Klenk, German racing driver (b. 1919)
  • 2009 – Gábor Ocskay, Hungarian ice hockey player (b. 1975)
  • 2010 – Robert Culp, American actor (b. 1930)
  • 2010 – Jim Marshall, American photographer (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Paul Callaghan, New Zealand physicist and academic (b. 1947)
  • 2012 – Nick Noble, American singer-songwriter (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Barbara Anderson, New Zealand author (b. 1926)
  • 2013 – Inge Lønning, Norwegian theologian, academic, and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Gury Marchuk, Russian physicist, mathematician, and academic (b. 1925)
  • 2013 – Paolo Ponzo, Italian footballer (b. 1972)
  • 2013 – Mohamed Yousri Salama, Egyptian dentist and politician (b. 1974)
  • 2013 – Francis Hovell-Thurlow-Cumming-Bruce, 8th Baron Thurlow, English diplomat (b. 1912)
  • 2014 – Oleksandr Muzychko, Ukrainian activist (b. 1962)
  • 2014 – John Rowe Townsend, English author and scholar (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – David A. Trampier, American illustrator (b. 1954)
  • 2015 – Yehuda Avner, English-Israeli diplomat (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – notable deaths of the Germanwings Flight 9525 crash:
    • Oleg Bryjak, Kazakhstani-German opera singer (b. 1960)
    • Maria Radner, German opera singer (b. 1981)
  • 2016 – Johan Cruyff, Dutch footballer (b. 1947)
  • 2016 – Garry Shandling, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1949)
  • 2018 – Lys Assia, Swiss singer and First Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest (b. 1924)
  • 2019 – Joseph Pilato, American film and voice actor (b.1949)
  • 2020 – Albert Uderzo, French comic book artist (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances on March 24

  • Christian feast day:
    • Catherine of Vadstena
    • Hildelith of Barking
    • Mac Cairthinn of Clogher
    • Óscar Romero (Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Lutheranism)
    • Paul Couturier (Church of England)
    • Walter Hilton (Church of England)
    • March 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice (Argentina)
  • National Tree Planting Day (Uganda)
  • Student Day (Scientology)
  • World Tuberculosis Day (International)

March 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 20- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

Typically the March equinox falls on March 20, marking the vernal point in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal point in the Southern Hemisphere.

  • 235 – Maximinus Thrax is proclaimed emperor.
  • 673 – Emperor Tenmu of Japan assumes the Chrysanthemum Throne at the Palace of Kiyomihara in Asuka.
  • 1206 – Michael IV Autoreianos is appointed Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
  • 1600 – The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden: five Swedish noblemen are publicly beheaded in the aftermath of the War against Sigismund (1598–1599).
  • 1602 – The Dutch East India Company is established.
  • 1616 – Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment.
  • 1760 – The Great Boston Fire of 1760 destroys 349 buildings.
  • 1815 – After escaping from Elba, Napoleon enters Paris with a regular army of 140,000 and a volunteer force of around 200,000, beginning his “Hundred Days” rule.
  • 1848 – German revolutions of 1848–49: King Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicates.
  • 1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published.
  • 1854 – The Republican Party of the United States is organized in Ripon, Wisconsin, US.
  • 1861 – An earthquake destroys Mendoza, Argentina.
  • 1883 – The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property is signed.
  • 1888 – The premiere of the very first Romani language operetta is staged in Moscow, Russia.
  • 1890 – Prime Minister of the German Empire Otto von Bismarck is dismissed by Emperor Wilhelm II.
  • 1896 – With the approval of Emperor Guangxu, the Qing dynasty post office is opened, marking the beginning of a postal service in China.
  • 1913 – Sung Chiao-jen, a founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party, is wounded in an assassination attempt and dies 2 days later.
  • 1915 – Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity.
  • 1921 – The Upper Silesia plebiscite was a plebiscite mandated by the Versailles Treaty to determine a section of the border between Weimar Germany and Poland.
  • 1922 – The USS Langley is commissioned as the first United States Navy aircraft carrier.
  • 1923 – The Arts Club of Chicago hosts the opening of Pablo Picasso’s first United States showing, entitled Original Drawings by Pablo Picasso, becoming an early proponent of modern art in the United States.
  • 1933 – Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler ordered the creation of Dachau concentration camp as Chief of Police of Munich and appointed Theodor Eicke as the camp commandant.
  • 1942 – World War II: General Douglas MacArthur, at Terowie, South Australia, makes his famous speech regarding the fall of the Philippines, in which he says: “I came out of Bataan and I shall return”.
  • 1948 – With a Musicians Union ban lifted, the first telecasts of classical music in the United States, under Eugene Ormandy and Arturo Toscanini, are given on CBS and NBC.
  • 1951 – Fujiyoshida, a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, in the center of the Japanese main island of Honshū is founded.
  • 1952 – The US Senate ratifies the Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan.
  • 1956 – Tunisia gains independence from France.
  • 1964 – The precursor of the European Space Agency, ESRO (European Space Research Organisation) is established per an agreement signed on June 14, 1962.
  • 1972 – The Troubles: The first Provisional IRA car bombing in Belfast kills seven people and injures 148 others in Northern Ireland.
  • 1985 – Libby Riddles becomes the first woman to win the 1,135-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
  • 1985 – Canadian paraplegic athlete and humanitarian Rick Hansen begins his circumnavigation of the globe in a wheelchair in the name of spinal cord injury medical research.
  • 1987 – The Food and Drug Administration approves the anti-AIDS drug, AZT.
  • 1988 – Eritrean War of Independence: Having defeated the Nadew Command, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front enters the town of Afabet, victoriously concluding the Battle of Afabet.
  • 1990 – Ferdinand Marcos’s widow, Imelda Marcos, goes on trial for bribery, embezzlement, and racketeering.
  • 1993 – The Troubles: A Provisional IRA bomb kills two children in Warrington, England. It leads to mass protests in both Britain and Ireland.
  • 1995 – The Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo carries out a sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway, killing 13 and wounding over 6,200 people.
  • 1999 – Legoland California, the first Legoland outside of Europe, opens in Carlsbad, California, US.
  • 2000 – Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown, is captured after murdering Georgia sheriff’s deputy Ricky Kinchen and critically wounding Deputy Aldranon English.
  • 2003 – Invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries (the UK, Australia and Poland) begin military operations in Iraq.
  • 2006 – Over 150 Chadian soldiers are killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The rebel movement sought to overthrow Chadian president Idriss Déby.
  • 2012 – At least 52 people are killed and more than 250 injured in a wave of terror attacks across ten cities in Iraq.
  • 2014 – Four suspected Taliban members attack the Kabul Serena Hotel, killing at least nine people.
  • 2015 – A Solar eclipse, equinox, and a supermoon all occur on the same day.

Births on March 20

  • 43 BC – Ovid, Roman poet (d. 17)
  • 1253 – Magadu, renamed Wareru, founder of Ramanya Kingdom, renamed Hanthawady Kingdom of Pegu (b. a commoner; d. on a Saturday in January 1307)
  • 1319 – Laurence Hastings, 1st Earl of Pembroke (d. 1348)
  • 1469 – Cecily of York (d. 1507)
  • 1477 – Jerome Emser, German theologian and scholar (d. 1527)
  • 1479 – Ippolito d’Este, Italian cardinal (d. 1520)
  • 1502 – Pierino Belli, Italian soldier and jurist (d. 1575)
  • 1532 – Juan de Ribera, Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 1611)
  • 1612 – Anne Bradstreet, Puritan American poet (d. 1672)
  • 1615 – Dara Shikoh, Indian prince (d. 1659)
  • 1639 – Ivan Mazepa, Ukrainian diplomat, Hetman of Ukraine (d. 1709)
  • 1725 – Abdul Hamid I, Ottoman sultan (d. 1789)
  • 1737 – Rama I, Thai king (d. 1809)
  • 1771 – Heinrich Clauren, German author (d. 1854)
  • 1796 – Edward Gibbon Wakefield, English politician (d. 1862)
  • 1799 – Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet and author (d. 1839)
  • 1800 – Braulio Carrillo Colina, Costa Rican lawyer and politician, President of Costa Rica (d. 1845)
  • 1805 – Thomas Cooper, British poet (d. 1892)
  • 1811 – Napoleon II, French emperor (d. 1832)
  • 1811 – George Caleb Bingham, American painter and politician, State Treasurer of Missouri (d. 1879)
  • 1821 – Ned Buntline, American journalist, author, and publisher (d. 1886)
  • 1824 – Theodor von Heuglin, German explorer and ornithologist (d. 1876)
  • 1828 – Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian poet, playwright, and director (d. 1906)
  • 1831 – Patrick Jennings, Northern Irish-Australian politician, 11th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1897)
  • 1831 – Solomon L. Spink, American lawyer and politician (d. 1881)
  • 1834 – Charles William Eliot, American mathematician and academic (d. 1926)
  • 1836 – Ferris Jacobs, Jr., American general, lawyer, and politician (d. 1886)
  • 1836 – Edward Poynter, English painter, illustrator, and curator (d. 1919)
  • 1840 – Illarion Pryanishnikov, Russian painter (d. 1894)
  • 1851 – Ismail Gasprinski, Ukrainian educator, publisher, and politician (d. 1914)
  • 1856 – John Lavery, Irish painter (d. 1941)
  • 1856 – Frederick Winslow Taylor, American tennis player and engineer (d. 1915)
  • 1870 – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (d. 1964)
  • 1874 – Börries von Münchhausen, German poet and activist (d. 1945)
  • 1876 – Payne Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1927)
  • 1879 – Maud Menten, Canadian physician and biochemist (d. 1960)
  • 1882 – René Coty, French lawyer and politician, 17th President of France (d. 1962)
  • 1882 – Harold Weber, American golfer (d. 1933)
  • 1884 – Philipp Frank, Austrian-American physicist, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1966)
  • 1884 – John Jensen, Australian public servant (d. 1970)
  • 1885 – Vernon Ransford, Australian cricketer (d. 1958)
  • 1888 – Amanda Clement, American baseball player, umpire, and educator (d. 1971)
  • 1890 – Lauritz Melchior, Danish-American tenor and actor (d. 1973)
  • 1894 – Amalie Sara Colquhoun, Australian landscape and portrait painter (d. 1974)
  • 1895 – Fredric Wertham, German-American psychologist and author (d. 1981)
  • 1898 – Eduard Wiiralt, Estonian artist (d. 1954)
  • 1900 – Amelia Chopitea Villa, Bolivia’s first female physician (d. 1942)
  • 1903 – Edgar Buchanan, American actor (d. 1979)
  • 1904 – B. F. Skinner, American psychologist and author (d. 1990)
  • 1905 – Jean Galia, French rugby player and boxer (d. 1949)
  • 1906 – Abraham Beame, American accountant and politician, 104th Mayor of New York City (d. 2001)
  • 1906 – Ozzie Nelson, American actor and bandleader (d. 1975)
  • 1907 – Hugh MacLennan, Canadian author and educator (d. 1990)
  • 1908 – Michael Redgrave, English actor and director (d. 1985)
  • 1910 – Erwin Blask, German hammer thrower (d. 1999)
  • 1911 – Alfonso García Robles, Mexican lawyer and diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
  • 1912 – Ralph Hauenstein, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 2016)
  • 1913 – Nikolai Stepulov, Russian-Estonian boxer (d. 1968)
  • 1914 – Wendell Corey, American actor and politician (d. 1968)
  • 1915 – Rudolf Kirchschläger, Austrian judge and politician, 8th President of Austria (d. 2000)
  • 1915 – Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian pianist and composer (d. 1997)
  • 1915 – Sister Rosetta Tharpe, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1973)
  • 1916 – Pierre Messmer, French lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2007)
  • 1917 – Vera Lynn, English singer, songwriter and actress (d. 2020)
  • 1917 – Yigael Yadin, Israeli archaeologist, general, and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel (d. 1984)
  • 1918 – Jack Barry, American game show host and producer, co-founded Barry & Enright Productions (d. 1984)
  • 1918 – Donald Featherstone, English soldier and author (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Marian McPartland, English-American pianist and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Bernd Alois Zimmermann, German composer (d. 1970)
  • 1919 – Gerhard Barkhorn, German fighter ace (d. 1983)
  • 1920 – Pamela Harriman, English-American diplomat, 58th United States Ambassador to France (d. 1997)
  • 1920 – Rosemary Timperley, English author and screenwriter (d. 1988)
  • 1921 – Usmar Ismail, Indonesian filmmaker (d. 1971)
  • 1921 – Dušan Pirjevec, Slovenian historian and philosopher (d. 1977)
  • 1921 – Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician and theorist (d. 1970)
  • 1922 – Larry Elgart, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 2017)
  • 1922 – Ray Goulding, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1922 – Carl Reiner, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2020)
  • 1923 – Con Martin, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
  • 1925 – John Ehrlichman, American lawyer, 12th White House Counsel (d. 1999)
  • 1927 – John Joubert, South African-English composer and academic (d. 2019)
  • 1928 – Jerome Biffle, American long jumper and coach (d. 2002)
  • 1928 – James P. Gordon, American physicist and engineer (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Fred Rogers, American television host and producer (d. 2003)
  • 1929 – William Andrew MacKay, Canadian lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Germán Robles, Spanish-Mexican actor and director (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – S. Arasaratnam, Sri Lankan historian, author, and academic (d. 1998)
  • 1931 – Hal Linden, American actor, singer, and director
  • 1931 – Rein Raamat, Estonian director and screenwriter
  • 1933 – Lateef Adegbite, Nigerian lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – George Altman, American baseball player
  • 1933 – Ian Walsh, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1934 – Willie Brown, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 41st Mayor of San Francisco
  • 1934 – David Malouf, Australian author and playwright
  • 1935 – Ted Bessell, American actor and director (d. 1996)
  • 1935 – Bettye Washington Greene, American chemist (d. 1995)
  • 1936 – Lee “Scratch” Perry, Jamaican singer, songwriter, music producer, and inventor
  • 1936 – Mark Saville, Baron Saville of Newdigate, English lieutenant, lawyer, and judge
  • 1937 – Lois Lowry, American author
  • 1937 – Jerry Reed, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Sergei Novikov, Russian mathematician and academic
  • 1939 – Gerald Curran, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Don Edwards, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1939 – Walter Jakob Gehring, Swiss biologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1939 – Brian Mulroney, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Canada
  • 1940 – Stathis Chaitas, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1940 – Mary Ellen Mark, American photographer and journalist (d. 2015)
  • 1940 – Giampiero Moretti, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded the Momo company (d. 2012)
  • 1941 – Pat Corrales, American baseball player and manager
  • 1941 – Kenji Kimihara, Japanese runner
  • 1943 – Gerard Malanga, American poet and photographer
  • 1943 – Douglas Tompkins, American businessman, co-founded The North Face and Esprit Holdings (d. 2015)
  • 1943 – Paul Junger Witt, American director and producer (d. 2018)
  • 1944 – John Cameron, English composer and conductor
  • 1944 – Camille Cosby, American author, producer, and philanthropist
  • 1944 – Alan Harper, English-Irish archbishop
  • 1945 – Henry Bartholomay, American soldier and pilot (d. 2015)
  • 1945 – Jay Ingram, Canadian television host and author
  • 1945 – Pat Riley, American basketball player and coach
  • 1945 – Tim Yeo, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Health
  • 1946 – Douglas B. Green, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1946 – Malcolm Simmons, English motorcycle racer (d. 2014)
  • 1947 – John Boswell, American historian, philologist, and academic (d. 1994)
  • 1948 – John de Lancie, American actor
  • 1948 – Bobby Orr, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1948 – Nikos Papazoglou, Greek singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1949 – Marcia Ball, American blues singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1949 – Richard Dowden, English journalist and educator
  • 1950 – William Hurt, American actor
  • 1950 – Carl Palmer, English drummer, percussionist, and songwriter
  • 1951 – Jimmie Vaughan, American blues-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1952 – Geoff Brabham, Australian race car driver
  • 1952 – David Greenaway, English economist and academic
  • 1953 – Phil Judd, New Zealand singer-songwriter, guitarist and painter
  • 1954 – Mike Francesa, American radio talk show host and television commentator
  • 1954 – Liana Kanelli, Greek journalist and politician
  • 1954 – Paul Mirabella, American baseball player
  • 1955 – Nina Kiriki Hoffman, American author
  • 1955 – Ian Moss, Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter
  • 1955 – Mariya Takeuchi, Japanese singer-songwriter
  • 1956 – Catherine Ashton, English politician, Vice-President of the European Commission
  • 1956 – Anne Donahue, American lawyer and politician
  • 1956 – Naoto Takenaka, Japanese actor, comedian, singer, and director
  • 1957 – Vanessa Bell Calloway, American actress
  • 1957 – David Foster, Australian woodchopper
  • 1957 – Spike Lee, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Theresa Russell, American actress
  • 1957 – Chris Wedge, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
  • 1958 – Holly Hunter, American actress and producer
  • 1958 – Rickey Jackson, American football player
  • 1958 – Joe Reaiche, Australian rugby player
  • 1959 – Dave Beasant, English footballer and coach
  • 1959 – Mary Roach, American author
  • 1959 – Sting, American wrestler
  • 1959 – Peter Truscott, Baron Truscott, British Labour Party politician and peer
  • 1960 – Norm Magnusson, American painter and sculptor
  • 1960 – Norbert Pohlmann, German computer scientist and academic
  • 1960 – Yuri Shargin, Russian colonel, engineer, and astronaut
  • 1961 – Ingrid Arndt-Brauer, German politician
  • 1961 – Jesper Olsen, Danish footballer and manager
  • 1961 – Sara Wheeler, English author and journalist
  • 1962 – Stephen Sommers, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1963 – Paul Annacone, American tennis player and coach
  • 1963 – Kathy Ireland, American model, actress, and furniture designer
  • 1963 – Yelena Romanova, Russian runner (d. 2007)
  • 1963 – David Thewlis, English-French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1964 – Natacha Atlas, Belgian singer-songwriter
  • 1965 – William Dalrymple, Scottish historian and author
  • 1967 – Xavier Beauvois, French actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – Mookie Blaylock, American basketball player
  • 1968 – Carlos Almeida, Cape Verdean runner
  • 1968 – A. J. Jacobs, American journalist and author
  • 1968 – Paul Merson, English footballer and manager
  • 1968 – Ultra Naté, American singer, songwriter, record producer, DJ, and promoter
  • 1969 – Yvette Cooper, English economist and politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
  • 1969 – Fabien Galthie, French rugby player
  • 1970 – Edoardo Ballerini, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Josephine Medina, Filipino Paralympic table tennis player
  • 1970 – sj Miller, American academic, public speaker, and social justice activist
  • 1970 – Michael Rapaport, American actor, podcast host, and director
  • 1971 – Manny Alexander, Dominican baseball player
  • 1971 – Touré, American journalist and author
  • 1972 – Chilly Gonzales, Canadian-German singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1972 – Alex Kapranos, English-Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1972 – Greg Searle, English rower
  • 1972 – Marco Sejna, German footballer
  • 1972 – Cristel Vahtra, Estonian skier
  • 1973 – Nicky Boje, South African cricketer
  • 1973 – Natalya Khrushcheleva, Russian runner
  • 1973 – Talal Khalifa Aljeri, Kuwaiti businessman
  • 1974 – Carsten Ramelow, German footballer
  • 1975 – Ramin Bahrani, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1975 – Isolde Kostner, Italian skier
  • 1976 – Chester Bennington, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2017)
  • 1978 – Kevin Betsy, English born Seychelles international footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1978 – Brent Sherwin, Australian rugby league player
  • 1979 – Shinnosuke Abe, Japanese baseball player
  • 1979 – Freema Agyeman, English actress
  • 1979 – Keven Mealamu, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1980 – Jamal Crawford, American basketball player
  • 1980 – Robertas Javtokas, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1981 – Ian Murray, Scottish footballer
  • 1981 – Carl Webb, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Terrence Duffin, Zimbabwean cricketer
  • 1982 – Tomasz Kuszczak, Polish footballer
  • 1982 – José Moreira, Portuguese footballer
  • 1983 – Carolina Padrón, Venezuelan journalist
  • 1983 – Jenni Vartiainen, Finnish singer
  • 1984 – Vikram Banerjee, English cricketer
  • 1984 – Christy Carlson Romano, American actress and singer
  • 1984 – Fernando Torres, Spanish footballer
  • 1985 – Morgan Amalfitano, French footballer
  • 1985 – Ronnie Brewer, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Nicolas Lombaerts, Belgian footballer
  • 1986 – Dean Geyer, South African-Australian singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1986 – Julián Magallanes, Argentinian footballer
  • 1986 – Ruby Rose, Australian actress and model
  • 1986 – Román Torres, Panamanian footballer
  • 1987 – Daniel Maa Boumsong, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1987 – Jô, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Pedro Ken, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarusian ice hockey player
  • 1989 – Xavier Dolan, Canadian actor and director
  • 1989 – Tamim Iqbal, Bangladeshi Cricketer
  • 1990 – Blake Ferguson, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Marcos Rojo, Argentine footballer
  • 1991 – Mattia Destro, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – Michał Kucharczyk, Polish footballer
  • 1991 – Ethan Lowe, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Sloane Stephens, American tennis player
  • 1995 – Jack Bird, Australian rugby league player

Deaths on March 20

  • 687 – Cuthbert, Northumbrian (English) monk, bishop, and saint (b. 634)
  • 703 – Wulfram, archbishop of Sens
  • 842 – Alfonso II, king of Asturias (Spain) (b. 759)
  • 851 – Ebbo, archbishop of Reims
  • 1181 – Taira no Kiyomori, Japanese general (b. 1118)
  • 1191 – Pope Clement III (b. 1130)
  • 1239 – Hermann von Salza, German knight and diplomat (b. 1179)
  • 1302 – Ralph Walpole, Bishop of Norwich
  • 1336 – Maurice Csák, Hungarian Dominican friar (b. 1270)
  • 1351 – Muhammad bin Tughluq, Sultan of Delhi
  • 1390 – Alexios III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1338)
  • 1413 – Henry IV of England (b. 1367)
  • 1440 – Sigismund I of Lithuania
  • 1475 – Georges Chastellain, Burgundian chronicler and poet
  • 1549 – Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, English general and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1508)
  • 1568 – Albert, Duke of Prussia (b. 1490)
  • 1619 – Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1557)
  • 1673 – Augustyn Kordecki, Polish monk (b. 1603)
  • 1688 – Maria of Orange-Nassau, Dutch princess (b. 1642)
  • 1730 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (b. 1692)
  • 1746 – Nicolas de Largillière, French painter and academic (b. 1656)
  • 1780 – Benjamin Truman, English brewer and businessman (b. 1699)
  • 1793 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish judge and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1705)
  • 1835 – Louis Léopold Robert, French painter (b. 1794)
  • 1849 – James Justinian Morier, Turkish-English author and diplomat (b. 1780)
  • 1855 – Joseph Aspdin, English businessman (b. 1788)
  • 1865 – Yamanami Keisuke, Japanese samurai (b. 1833)
  • 1874 – Hans Christian Lumbye, Danish composer and conductor (b. 1810)
  • 1878 – Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (b. 1814)
  • 1894 – Lajos Kossuth, Hungarian lawyer, journalist and politician (b. 1802)
  • 1897 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1821)
  • 1899 – Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist and author (b. 1822)
  • 1909 – Friedrich Amelung, Estonian historian and businessman (b. 1842)
  • 1918 – Lewis A. Grant, American general and lawyer (b. 1828)
  • 1925 – George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India (b. 1859)
  • 1929 – Ferdinand Foch, French field marshal (b. 1851)
  • 1930 – Arthur F. Andrews, American cyclist (b. 1876)
  • 1931 – Hermann Müller, German journalist and politician, 12th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
  • 1933 – Giuseppe Zangara, Italian-American assassin of Anton Cermak (b. 1900; executed)
  • 1940 – Alfred Ploetz, German physician, biologist, and eugenicist (b. 1860)
  • 1945 – Dorothy Campbell, Scottish-American golfer (b. 1883)
  • 1946 – Amadeus William Grabau, American-Chinese geologist, paleontologist, and academic (b. 1870)
  • 1947 – Sigurd Wallén, Swedish actor and director (b. 1884)
  • 1952 – Hjalmar Väre, Finnish cyclist (b. 1892)
  • 1958 – Adegoke Adelabu, Nigerian merchant, journalist, and politician (b. 1915)
  • 1964 – Brendan Behan, Irish republican and playwright (b. 1923)
  • 1965 – Daniel Frank, American long jumper (b. 1882)
  • 1966 – Johnny Morrison, American baseball player (b. 1895)
  • 1968 – Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish director and screenwriter (b. 1889)
  • 1969 – Henri Longchambon, French politician (b. 1896)
  • 1971 – Falih Rıfkı Atay, Turkish journalist and politician (b. 1894)
  • 1972 – Marilyn Maxwell, American actress (b. 1921)
  • 1974 – Chet Huntley, American journalist (b. 1911)
  • 1977 – Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham, English politician, 9th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1909)
  • 1977 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (b. 1919)
  • 1978 – Jacques Brugnon, French tennis player (b. 1895)
  • 1981 – Gerry Bertier, American football player (b. 1953)
  • 1983 – Ivan Matveyevich Vinogradov, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1891)
  • 1990 – Maurice Cloche, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1990 – Lev Yashin, Russian footballer (b. 1929)
  • 1992 – Georges Delerue, French composer (b. 1925)
  • 1993 – Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
  • 1994 – Lewis Grizzard, American writer and humorist (b. 1946)
  • 1997 – V. S. Pritchett, English short story writer, essayist, and critic (b. 1900)
  • 1999 – Patrick Heron, British painter (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – Gene Eugene, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1961)
  • 2001 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (b. 1949)
  • 2004 – Juliana of the Netherlands (b. 1909)
  • 2004 – Pierre Sévigny, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 2007 – Raynald Fréchette, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1933)
  • 2007 – Taha Yassin Ramadan, Iraqi politician, Vice President of Iraq (b. 1938)
  • 2007 – Hawa Yakubu, Ghanaian politician (b. 1948)
  • 2010 – Ai, American poet and academic (b. 1947)
  • 2010 – Girija Prasad Koirala, Indian-Nepalese politician, 30th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
  • 2010 – Stewart Udall, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 37th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1920)
  • 2011 – Johnny Pearson, English pianist, conductor, and composer (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Lincoln Hall, Australian mountaineer and author (b. 1955)
  • 2012 – Noboru Ishiguro, Japanese animator and director (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – Chaim Pinchas Scheinberg, Polish-Israeli rabbi and author (b. 1910)
  • 2012 – Jim Stynes, Irish-Australian footballer (b. 1966)
  • 2013 – James Herbert, English author (b. 1943)
  • 2013 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Zillur Rahman, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (b. 1929)
  • 2014 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (b. 1934)
  • 2014 – Hilderaldo Bellini, Brazilian footballer (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Tonie Nathan, American politician (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Eva Burrows, Australian 13th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Malcolm Fraser, Australian politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1930)
  • 2016 – Anker Jørgensen, Danish politician, Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1922)
  • 2017 – David Rockefeller, American billionaire and philanthropist (b. 1915)
  • 2018 – C. K. Mann, a Ghanaian Highlife musician and producer (b. 1936)
  • 2019 – Mary Warnock, English philosopher & writer (b. 1924)
  • 2020 – Kenny Rogers, American singer (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances on March 20

  • Christian feast day:
    • Alexandra
    • Blessed John of Parma
    • Clement of Ireland
    • Cuthbert of Lindisfarne
    • Herbert of Derwentwater
    • John of Nepomuk
    • Józef Bilczewski
    • María Josefa Sancho de Guerra
    • Martin of Braga
    • Michele Carcano
    • Wulfram
    • March 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest date for the vernal equinox in the Northern hemisphere:
    • Bahá’í Naw-Rúz, started at sunset on March 20. The end of the 19-day sunrise-to-sunset fast. (Bahá’í Faith)
    • Chunfen (China)
    • Earth Equinox Day
    • International Astrology Day
    • New Year (Thelema)
    • Nowruz (Persian, Gilaki, Kurdish, Zoroastrians, and other Iranian people and countries with an Iranian influence)
    • Ostara in the northern hemisphere, Mabon in the southern hemisphere. (Neo-Druidic Wheel of the Year)
    • Shunbun no Hi (Japan)
    • Sun-Earth Day (United States)
    • Vernal Equinox Day/Kōreisai (Japan)
    • World Storytelling Day
  • Earliest day on which Good Friday can fall, while April 23 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Easter. (Christianity)
  • Great American Meatout (United States)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Tunisia from France in 1956.
  • International Day of Happiness (United Nations)
  • International Francophonie Day (Organisation internationale de la Francophonie), and its related observances:
    • UN French Language Day (United Nations)
  • National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
  • World Sparrow Day

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