30 BC – Octavian (later known as Augustus) enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Republic.
AD 69 – Batavian rebellion: The Batavians in Germania Inferior (Netherlands) revolt under the leadership of Gaius Julius Civilis.
527 – Justinian I becomes the sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
607 – Ono no Imoko is dispatched as envoy to the Sui court in China (Traditional Japanese date: July 3, 607).
902 – Taormina, the last Byzantine stronghold in Sicily, is captured by the Aghlabids army, concluding the Muslim conquest of Sicily.
1203 – Isaac II Angelos, restored Eastern Roman Emperor, declares his son Alexios IV Angelos co-emperor after pressure from the forces of the Fourth Crusade.
1291 – The Old Swiss Confederacy is formed with the signature of the Federal Charter.
1469 – Louis XI of France founds the chivalric order called the Order of Saint Michael in Amboise.
1498 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.
1571 – The Ottoman conquest of Cyprus is concluded, by the surrender of Famagusta.
1620 – Speedwell leaves Delfshaven to bring pilgrims to America by way of England.
1664 – Ottoman forces are defeated in the battle of Saint Gotthard by an Austrian army led by Raimondo Montecuccoli, resulting in the Peace of Vasvár.
1714 – George, Elector of Hanover, becomes King George I of Great Britain, marking the beginning of the Georgian era of British history.
1759 – Seven Years’ War: The Battle of Minden, an allied Anglo-German army victory over the French. In Britain this was one of a number of events that constituted the Annus Mirabilis of 1759 and is celebrated as Minden Day by certain British Army regiments.
1774 – British scientist Joseph Priestley discovers oxygen gas, corroborating the prior discovery of this element by German-Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele.
1798 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay): Battle begins when a British fleet engages the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.
1800 – The Acts of Union 1800 are passed which merge the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
1801 – First Barbary War: The American schooner USS Enterprise captures the Tripolitan polacca Tripoli in a single-ship action off the coast of modern-day Libya.
1834 – Slavery is abolished in the British Empire as the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force, although it remains legal in the possessions of the East India Company until the passage of the Indian Slavery Act, 1843.
1842 – The Lombard Street riot erupts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States.
1849 – Joven Daniel wrecks at the coast of Araucanía, Chile, leading to allegations that local Mapuche tribes murdered survivors and kidnapped Elisa Bravo.
1855 – The first ascent of Monte Rosa, the second highest summit in the Alps.
1876 – Colorado is admitted as the 38th U.S. state.
1893 – Henry Perky patents shredded wheat.
1894 – The First Sino-Japanese War erupts between Japan and China over Korea.
1907 – The start of the first Scout camp on Brownsea Island, the origin of the worldwide Scouting movement.
1911 – Harriet Quimby takes her pilot’s test and becomes the first U.S. woman to earn an Aero Club of America aviator’s certificate.
1914 – The German Empire declares war on the Russian Empire at the opening of World War I. The Swiss Army mobilizes because of World War I.
1927 – The Nanchang Uprising marks the first significant battle in the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang and Chinese Communist Party. This day is commemorated as the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Liberation Army.
1933 – Anti-Fascist activists Bruno Tesch, Walter Möller, Karl Wolff, and August Lütgens are executed by the Nazi regime in Altona.
1936 – The Olympics opened in Berlin with a ceremony presided over by Adolf Hitler.
1937 – Josip Broz Tito reads the resolution “Manifesto of constitutional congress of KPH” to the constitutive congress of KPH (Croatian Communist Party) in woods near Samobor.
1943 – World War II: Operation Tidal Wave also known as “Black Sunday”, was a failed American attempt to destroy Romanian oil fields.
1944 – World War II: The Warsaw Uprising against the Nazi German occupation breaks out in Warsaw, Poland.
1946 – Leaders of the Russian Liberation Army, a force of Russian prisoners of war that collaborated with Nazi Germany, are executed in Moscow, Soviet Union for treason.
1950 – Guam is organized as a United States commonwealth as President Harry S. Truman signs the Guam Organic Act.
1957 – The United States and Canada form the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
1960 – Dahomey (later renamed Benin) declares independence from France.
1960 – Islamabad is declared the federal capital of the Government of Pakistan.
1961 – U.S. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara orders the creation of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the nation’s first centralized military espionage organization.
1964 – The former Belgian Congo is renamed the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
1965 – Frank Herbert’s novel, Dune was published for the first time. It was named as the world’s best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.
1966 – Charles Whitman kills 16 people at the University of Texas at Austin before being killed by the police.
1966 – Purges of intellectuals and imperialists becomes official China policy at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.
1968 – The coronation is held of Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei.
1971 – The Concert for Bangladesh, organized by former Beatle George Harrison, is held at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
1974 – Cyprus dispute: The United Nations Security Council authorizes the UNFICYP to create the “Green Line”, dividing Cyprus into two zones.
1980 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir is elected President of Iceland and becomes the world’s first democratically elected female head of state.
1980 – A train crash kills 18 people in County Cork, Ireland.
1981 – MTV begins broadcasting in the United States and airs its first video, “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles.
1984 – Commercial peat-cutters discover the preserved bog body of a man, called Lindow Man, at Lindow Moss, Cheshire, England.
1988 – A British soldier was killed in the Inglis Barracks bombing in London, England.
1993 – The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 comes to a peak.
1998 – The establishment of Muslim Medics, one of the largest student-led societies in Imperial College London that provides both academic and wellbeing support to medical students of all backgrounds.
2004 – A supermarket fire kills 396 people and injures 500 others in Asunción, Paraguay.
2007 – The I-35W Mississippi River bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minnesota, collapses during the evening rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145.
2008 – The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway begins operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.
2008 – Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.
2017 – A suicide attack on a mosque in Herat, Afghanistan kills 20 people.
Births on August 1
10 BC – Claudius, Roman emperor (d. 54)
126 – Pertinax, Roman emperor (d. 193)
845 – Sugawara no Michizane, Japanese scholar and politician (d. 903)
992 – Hyeonjong, Korean king (d. 1031)
1068 – Taizu, Chinese emperor (d. 1123)
1313 – Kōgon, Japanese emperor (d. 1364)
1377 – Go-Komatsu, Japanese emperor (d. 1433)
1385 – John FitzAlan, 13th Earl of Arundel (d. 1421)
1410 – Jan IV, count of Nassau-Dillenburg (d. 1475)
1492 – Wolfgang, German prince (d. 1566)
1520 – Sigismund II, Polish king (d. 1572)
1545 – Andrew Melville, Scottish theologian and scholar (d. 1622)
1555 – Edward Kelley, English spirit medium (d. 1597)
1579 – Luis Vélez de Guevara, Spanish author and playwright (d. 1644)
1626 – Sabbatai Zevi, Montenegrin rabbi and theorist (d. 1676)
1630 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1673)
1659 – Sebastiano Ricci, Italian painter (d. 1734)
1713 – Charles I, German duke and prince (d. 1780)
1714 – Richard Wilson, Welsh painter and academic (d. 1782)
1738 – Jacques François Dugommier, French general (d. 1794)
1744 – Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French soldier, biologist, and academic (d. 1829)
1770 – William Clark, American soldier, explorer, and politician, 4th Governor of Missouri Territory (d. 1838)
1778 – Mary Jefferson Eppes, daughter of Thomas Jefferson who died in childbirth (d. 1804)
1779 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1843)
1779 – Lorenz Oken, German-Swiss botanist, biologist, and ornithologist (d. 1851)
1809 – William B. Travis, American colonel and lawyer (d. 1836)
1815 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1882)
1818 – Maria Mitchell, American astronomer and academic (d. 1889)
1819 – Herman Melville, American novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1891)
1831 – Antonio Cotogni, Italian opera singer and educator (d. 1918)
1843 – Robert Todd Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 35th United States Secretary of War (d. 1926)
1856 – George Coulthard, Australian footballer and cricketer (d. 1883)
1858 – Gaston Doumergue, French lawyer and politician, 13th President of France (d. 1937)
1858 – Hans Rott, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1884)
1860 – Bazil Assan, Romanian engineer and explorer (d. 1918)
1861 – Sammy Jones, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)
1865 – Isobel Lilian Gloag, English painter (d. 1917)
1871 – John Lester, American cricketer and soccer player (d. 1969)
1877 – George Hackenschmidt, Estonian-English wrestler and strongman (d. 1968)
1878 – Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek physician and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1961)
1881 – Otto Toeplitz, German mathematician and academic (d. 1940)
1885 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1966)
1889 – Walter Gerlach, German physicist and academic (d. 1979)
1891 – Karl Kobelt, Swiss lawyer and politician, 52nd President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1968)
1893 – Alexander of Greece (d. 1920)
1894 – Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (d. 1927)
1898 – Morris Stoloff, American composer and musical director (d. 1980)
1899 – Raymond Mays, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1980)
1900 – Otto Nothling, Australian cricketer and rugby player (d. 1965)
1901 – Francisco Guilledo, Filipino boxer (d. 1925)
1903 – Paul Horgan, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1995)
1905 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, American-Canadian astronomer and academic (d. 1993)
1907 – Eric Shipton, Sri Lankan-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)
1910 – James Henry Govier, English painter and illustrator (d. 1974)
1910 – Walter Scharf, American pianist and composer (d. 2003)
1910 – Gerda Taro, German war photographer (d. 1937)
1911 – Jackie Ormes, American journalist and cartoonist (d. 1985)
1912 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1979)
1912 – Gego, German-Venezuelan sculptor and academic (d. 1994)
1912 – Henry Jones, American actor (d. 1999)
1914 – Jack Delano, American photographer and composer (d. 1997)
1914 – Alan Moore, Australian painter and educator (d. 2015)
1914 – J. Lee Thompson, English-Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
1916 – Fiorenzo Angelini, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
1916 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (d. 2000)
1918 – T. J. Jemison, American minister and activist (d. 2013)
1919 – Stanley Middleton, English author (d. 2009)
1920 – Raul Renter, Estonian economist and chess player (d. 1992)
1921 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player, sailor, and sportscaster (d. 2009)
1921 – Pat McDonald, Australian actress (d. 1990)
1922 – Arthur Hill, Canadian-American actor (d. 2006)
1923 – Val Bettin, American actor
1924 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (d. 2015)
1924 – Frank Havens, American canoeist (d. 2018)
1924 – Marcia Mae Jones, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
1924 – Frank Worrell, Barbadian cricketer (d. 1967)
1925 – Ernst Jandl, Austrian poet and author (d. 2000)
1926 – George Hauptfuhrer, American basketball player and lawyer (d. 2013)
1926 – Hannah Hauxwell, English TV personality (d. 2018)
1927 – María Teresa López Boegeholz, Chilean oceanographer (d. 2006)
1927 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (d. 2013)
1928 – Jack Shea, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1929 – Hafizullah Amin, Afghan educator and politician, Afghan Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1979)
1929 – Ann Calvello, American roller derby racer (d. 2006)
1929 – Leila Abashidze, Georgian actress (d. 2018)
1930 – Lionel Bart, English composer (d. 1999)
1930 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (d. 2002)
1930 – Julie Bovasso, American actress and writer (d. 1991)
1930 – Lawrence Eagleburger, American lieutenant and politician, 62nd United States Secretary of State (d. 2011)
1930 – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 1996)
1930 – Geoffrey Holder, Trinidadian-American actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2014)
1931 – Ramblin’ Jack Elliott, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1931 – Trevor Goddard, South African cricketer (d. 2016)
1932 – Meir Kahane, American-Israeli rabbi and activist, founded the Jewish Defense League (d. 1990)
1932 – Meena Kumari, Indian actress (d. 1972)
1933 – Dom DeLuise, American actor, singer, director, and producer (d. 2009)
1933 – Masaichi Kaneda, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 2019)
1933 – Teri Shields, American actress, producer, and agent (d. 2012)
1933 – Dušan Třeštík, Czech historian and author (d. 2007)
1934 – John Beck, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2000)
1934 – Derek Birdsall, English graphic designer
1935 – Geoff Pullar, English cricketer (d. 2014)
1936 – W. D. Hamilton, Egyptian born British biologist, psychologist, and academic (d. 2000)
1936 – Yves Saint Laurent, Algerian-French fashion designer, co-founded Yves Saint Laurent (d. 2008)
1936 – Laurie Taylor, English sociologist, radio host, and academic
1937 – Al D’Amato, American lawyer and politician
1939 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (d. 2015)
1939 – Terry Kiser, American actor
1939 – Stephen Sykes, English bishop and theologian (d. 2014)
1939 – Robert James Waller, American author and photographer (d. 2017)
1940 – Mervyn Kitchen, English cricketer and umpire
1940 – Henry Silverman, American businessman, founded Cendant
1940 – Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, Iranian writer and actor
1941 – Ron Brown, American captain and politician, 30th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1996)
1941 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2004)
1942 – Jerry Garcia, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
1942 – Giancarlo Giannini, Italian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1944 – Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian banker and politician (d. 1998)
1945 – Douglas Osheroff, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1946 – Boz Burrell, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and guitarist (d. 2006)
1946 – Rick Coonce, American drummer (d. 2011)
1946 – Richard O. Covey, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
1946 – Fiona Stanley, Australian epidemiologist and academic
1947 – Lorna Goodison, Jamaican poet and author
1947 – Chantal Montellier, French comics creator and artist
1948 – Avi Arad, Israeli-American screenwriter and producer, founded Marvel Studios
1948 – Cliff Branch, American football player
1948 – David Gemmell, English journalist and author (d. 2006)
1949 – Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Kyrgyzstani politician, 2nd President of Kyrgyzstan
1949 – Jim Carroll, American poet, author, and musician (d. 2009)
1949 – Ray Nettles, American football player (d. 2009)
1950 – Roy Williams, American basketball player and coach
1951 – Tim Bachman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1951 – Tommy Bolin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
1951 – Pete Mackanin, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1952 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2003)
1953 – Robert Cray, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Howard Kurtz, American journalist and author
1954 – Trevor Berbick, Jamaican-Canadian boxer (d. 2006)
1954 – James Gleick, American journalist and author
1954 – Benno Möhlmann, German footballer and manager
1957 – Taylor Negron, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1958 – Rob Buck, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2000)
1958 – Michael Penn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1958 – Kiki Vandeweghe, American basketball player and coach
1959 – Joe Elliott, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1960 – Chuck D, American rapper and songwriter
1960 – Suzi Gardner, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Jacob Matlala, South African boxer (d. 2013)
1963 – Demián Bichir, Mexican-American actor and producer
1963 – Coolio, American rapper, producer, and actor
1963 – John Carroll Lynch, American actor
1963 – Koichi Wakata, Japanese astronaut and engineer
1963 – Dean Wareham, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – Adam Duritz, American singer-songwriter and producer
1964 – Fiona Hyslop, Scottish businesswoman and politician
1964 – Augusta Read Thomas, American composer, conductor and educator
1965 – Brandt Jobe, American golfer
1965 – Sam Mendes, English director and producer
1966 – James St. James, American club promoter and author
1967 – Gregg Jefferies, American baseball player and coach
1967 – José Padilha, Brazilian director, producer and screenwriter
1968 – Stacey Augmon, American basketball player and coach
1968 – Dan Donegan, American heavy metal guitarist and songwriter
1968 – Shigetoshi Hasegawa, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster
1969 – Andrei Borissov, Estonian footballer and manager
1969 – Kevin Jarvis, American baseball player and scout
1969 – Graham Thorpe, English cricketer and journalist
1970 – Quentin Coryatt, American football player
1970 – David James, English footballer and manager
1970 – Eugenie van Leeuwen, Dutch cricketer
1972 – Nicke Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1972 – Christer Basma, Norwegian footballer and coach
1972 – Todd Bouman, American football player and coach
1972 – Thomas Woods, American historian, economist, and academic
1973 – Gregg Berhalter, American soccer player and coach
1973 – Veerle Dejaeghere, Belgian runner
1973 – Edurne Pasaban, Spanish mountaineer
1974 – Cher Calvin, American journalist
1974 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (d. 2014)
1974 – Tyron Henderson, South African cricketer
1974 – Dennis Lawrence, Trinidadian footballer and coach
1974 – Beckie Scott, Canadian skier
1975 – Vhrsti, Czech author and illustrator
1976 – Don Hertzfeldt, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor
1976 – Søren Jochumsen, Danish footballer
1976 – Nwankwo Kanu, Nigerian footballer
1976 – David Nemirovsky, Canadian ice hockey player
1976 – Hasan Şaş, Turkish footballer and manager
1976 – Cristian Stoica, Romanian-Italian rugby player
1977 – Marc Denis, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1977 – Haspop, French-Moroccan dancer, choreographer, and actor
1977 – Darnerien McCants, American-Canadian football player
1977 – Damien Saez, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Yoshi Tatsu, Japanese wrestler and boxer
1978 – Andy Blignaut, Zimbabwean cricketer
1978 – Björn Ferry, Swedish biathlete
1978 – Dhani Harrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1978 – Chris Iwelumo, Scottish footballer
1978 – Edgerrin James, American football player
1979 – Junior Agogo, Ghanaian footballer
1979 – Nathan Fien, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
1979 – Jason Momoa, American actor, director, and producer
1980 – Mancini, Brazilian footballer
1980 – Romain Barras, French decathlete
1980 – Esteban Paredes, Chilean footballer
1981 – Dean Cox, Australian footballer
1981 – Pia Haraldsen, Norwegian journalist and author
1981 – Christofer Heimeroth, German footballer
1981 – Stephen Hunt, Irish footballer
1981 – Jamie Jones-Buchanan, English rugby player
1982 – Basem Fathi, Jordanian footballer
1982 – Montserrat Lombard, English actress, director, and screenwriter
1983 – Bobby Carpenter, American football player
1983 – Craig Clarke, New Zealand rugby player
1983 – Julien Faubert, French footballer
1983 – David Gervasi, Swiss decathlete
1984 – Steve Feak, American game designer
1984 – Francesco Gavazzi, Italian cyclist
1984 – Brandon Kintzler, American baseball player
1984 – Bastian Schweinsteiger, German footballer
1985 – Stuart Holden, Scottish-American soccer player
1985 – Adam Jones, American baseball player
1985 – Cole Kimball, American baseball player
1985 – Tendai Mtawarira, South African rugby player
1985 – Kris Stadsgaard, Danish footballer
1985 – Dušan Švento, Slovak footballer
1986 – Damien Allen, English footballer
1986 – Anton Strålman, Swedish ice hockey player
1986 – Andrew Taylor, English footballer
1986 – Elena Vesnina, Russian tennis player
1986 – Mike Wallace, American football player
1987 – Iago Aspas, Spanish footballer
1987 – Karen Carney, English women’s football winger
1987 – Sébastien Pocognoli, Belgian footballer
1987 – Lee Wallace, Scottish footballer
1988 – Mustafa Abdellaoue, Norwegian footballer
1988 – Patryk Małecki, Polish footballer
1988 – Bodene Thompson, New Zealand rugby league player
1989 – Madison Bumgarner, American baseball player
1989 – Tiffany Hwang, Korean American singer, songwriter, and actress
1990 – Aledmys Díaz, Cuban baseball player
1990 – Jean Hugues Gregoire, Mauritian swimmer
1990 – Elton Jantjies, South African rugby player
1991 – Piotr Malarczyk, Polish footballer
1991 – Marco Puntoriere, Italian footballer
1992 – Austin Rivers, American basketball player
1992 – Mrunal Thakur, Indian actress
1993 – Álex Abrines, Spanish basketball player
1993 – Leon Thomas III, American actor and singer
1994 – Sergeal Petersen, South African rugby player
1994 – Ayaka Wada, Japanese singer
1996 – Katie Boulter, English tennis player
2001 – Park Si-eun, South Korean actress
Deaths on August 1
30 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (b. 83 BC)
371 – Eusebius of Vercelli, Italian bishop and saint (b. 283)
527 – Justin I, Byzantine emperor (b. 450)
873 – Thachulf, duke of Thuringia
946 – Ali ibn Isa al-Jarrah, Abbasid vizier (b. 859)
946 – Lady Xu Xinyue, Chinese queen (b. 902)
953 – Yingtian, Chinese Khitan empress (b. 879)
984 – Æthelwold, bishop of Winchester
1098 – Adhemar of Le Puy, French papal legate
1137 – Louis VI, king of France (b. 1081)
1146 – Vsevolod II of Kiev, Russian prince
1227 – Shimazu Tadahisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1179)
1252 – Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, Italian archbishop and explorer (b. 1180)
1299 – Conrad de Lichtenberg, Bishop of Strasbourg (b. 1240)
1402 – Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1341)
1457 – Lorenzo Valla, Italian author and educator (b. 1406)
1464 – Cosimo de’ Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1386)
1494 – Giovanni Santi, artist and father of Raphael (b. c. 1435)
1541 – Simon Grynaeus, German theologian and scholar (b. 1493)
1543 – Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1488)
1546 – Peter Faber, French Jesuit theologian (b. 1506)
1557 – Olaus Magnus, Swedish archbishop, historian, and cartographer (b. 1490)
1580 – Albrecht Giese, Polish-German politician and diplomat (b. 1524)
1589 – Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (b. 1567)
1603 – Matthew Browne, English politician (b. 1563)
1714 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (b. 1665)
1787 – Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1696)
1795 – Clas Bjerkander, Swedish meteorologist, botanist, and entomologist (b. 1735)
1796 – Sir Robert Pigot, 2nd Baronet, English colonel and politician (b. 1720)
1798 – François-Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers, French admiral (b. 1753)
1807 – John Boorman, English cricketer (b. c. 1754)
1807 – John Walker, English actor, philologist, and lexicographer (b. 1732)
1808 – Lady Diana Beauclerk, English painter and illustrator (b. 1734)
1812 – Yakov Kulnev, Russian general (b. 1763)
1851 – William Joseph Behr, German publicist and academic (b. 1775)
1863 – Jind Kaur Majarani (Regent) of the Sikh Empire (b. 1817)
1866 – John Ross, American tribal chief (b. 1790)
1869 – Peter Julian Eymard, French Priest and Founder Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (b. 1811)
1869 – Richard Dry, Australian politician, 7th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1815)
1903 – Calamity Jane, American frontierswoman and scout (b. 1853)
1911 – Edwin Austin Abbey, American painter and illustrator (b. 1852)
1911 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (b. 1843)
1918 – John Riley Banister, American cowboy and police officer (b. 1854)
1920 – Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Indian lawyer and journalist (b. 1856)
1921 – T.J. Ryan, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)
1922 – Donát Bánki, Hungarian engineer (b. 1856)
1929 – Syd Gregory, Australian cricketer (b. 1870)
1938 – Edmund C. Tarbell, American painter and academic (b. 1862)
1943 – Lydia Litvyak, Russian lieutenant and pilot (b. 1921)
1944 – Manuel L. Quezon, Filipino soldier, lawyer, and politician, 2nd President of the Philippines (b. 1878)
1959 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (b. 1921)
1963 – Theodore Roethke, American poet (b. 1908)
1966 – Charles Whitman, American murderer (b. 1941)
1967 – Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1900)
1970 – Frances Farmer, American actress (b. 1913)
1970 – Doris Fleeson, American journalist (b. 1901)
1970 – Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1883)
1973 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator (b. 1882)
1973 – Walter Ulbricht, German soldier and politician (b. 1893)
1974 – Ildebrando Antoniutti, Italian cardinal (b. 1898)
1977 – Francis Gary Powers, American captain and pilot (b. 1929)
1980 – Patrick Depailler, French race car driver (b. 1944)
1980 – Strother Martin, American actor (b. 1919)
1981 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
1982 – T. Thirunavukarasu, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1933)
1989 – John Ogdon, English pianist and composer (b. 1937)
1996 – Tadeusz Reichstein, Polish-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
1996 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian physician and surgeon (b. 1929)
1998 – Eva Bartok, Hungarian-British actress (b. 1927)
2001 – Korey Stringer, American football player (b. 1974)
2003 – Guy Thys, Belgian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
2003 – Marie Trintignant, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1962)
2004 – Philip Abelson, American physicist and author (b. 1913)
2005 – Al Aronowitz, American journalist (b. 1928)
2005 – Wim Boost, Dutch cartoonist and educator (b. 1918)
2005 – Constant Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter and sculptor (b. 1920)
2005 – Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1923)
2006 – Bob Thaves, American illustrator (b. 1924)
2006 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and activist (b. 1949)
2007 – Tommy Makem, Irish singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1932)
2008 – Gertan Klauber, Czech-English actor (b. 1932)
2008 – Harkishan Singh Surjeet, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
2009 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (b. 1933)
2010 – Lolita Lebrón, Puerto Rican-American activist (b. 1919)
2010 – Eric Tindill, New Zealand rugby player and cricketer (b. 1910)
2012 – Aldo Maldera, Italian footballer and agent (b. 1953)
2012 – Douglas Townsend, American composer and musicologist (b. 1921)
2012 – Barry Trapnell, English cricketer and academic (b. 1924)
2013 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (b. 1922)
2013 – Gail Kobe, American actress and producer (b. 1932)
2013 – Babe Martin, American baseball player (b. 1920)
2013 – Toby Saks, American cellist and educator (b. 1942)
2013 – Wilford White, American football player (b. 1928)
2014 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (b. 1973)
2014 – Jan Roar Leikvoll, Norwegian author (b. 1974)
2014 – Charles T. Payne, American soldier (b. 1925)
2014 – Mike Smith, English radio and television host (b. 1955)
2015 – Stephan Beckenbauer, German footballer and manager (b. 1968)
2015 – Cilla Black, English singer and actress (b. 1943)
2015 – Bernard d’Espagnat, French physicist, philosopher, and author (b. 1921)
2015 – Bob Frankford, English-Canadian physician and politician (b. 1939)
2015 – Hong Yuanshuo, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1948)
2016 – Queen Anne of Romania (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances on August 1
Armed Forces Day (Lebanon)
Armed Forces Day (China) or Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Liberation Army (People’s Republic of China)
Azerbaijani Language and Alphabet Day (Azerbaijan)
Celebration of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 which ended the slavery in the British Empire, generally celebrated as a part of Carnival, as the Caribbean Carnival takes place at this time (British West Indies):
Earliest day on which Caribana celebration can fall, celebrated on the first Weekend of August. (Toronto)
Earliest day on which Emancipation Day can fall, celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Anguilla, the Bahamas, British Virgin Islands)
Emancipation Day (Barbados, Bermuda, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago)
Christian feast day:
Abgar V of Edessa (Syrian Church)
Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori
Æthelwold of Winchester
Bernard Võ Văn Duệ (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
Blessed Gerhard Hirschfelder
Eusebius of Vercelli
Exuperius of Bayeux
Felix of Girona
Peter Apostle in Chains
Procession of the Cross and the beginning of Dormition Fast (Eastern Orthodoxy)
The Holy Maccabees
August 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which August Bank Holiday (Ireland) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
Earliest day on which Civic Holiday can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Canada)
Earliest day on which Commerce Day, or Frídagur verslunarmanna, can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Iceland)
Earliest day on which Constitution Day (Cook Islands) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August.
Earliest day on which Farmers’ Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August. (Zambia)
Earliest day on which International Beer Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday of August.
Earliest day on which Friendship Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of August. (United States)
Earliest day on which Kadooment Day can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Barbados)
Earliest day on which Labor Day (Samoa) can fall, while August 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of August (Samoa)
Minden Day (United Kingdom)
National Day, celebrates the independence of Benin from France in 1960.
National Day, commemorates Switzerland becoming a single unit in 1291.
Official Birthday and Coronation Day of the King of Tonga (Tonga)
Parents’ Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Statehood Day (Colorado)
Swiss National Day (Switzerland)
The beginning of autumn observances in the Northern hemisphere and spring observances in the Southern hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year):
Lughnasadh in the Northern hemisphere, Imbolc in the Southern hemisphere; traditionally begins on the eve of August 1. (Gaels, Ireland, Scotland, Neopagans)
Lammas (England, Scotland, Neopagans)
Pachamama Raymi (Quechuan in Ecuador and Peru)
The first day of Carnaval del Pueblo (Burgess Park, London, England)
1400 – The Trần dynasty of Vietnam is deposed, after one hundred and seventy-five years of rule, by Hồ Quý Ly, a court official.
1540 – Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.
1568 – The Peace of Longjumeau is signed, ending the second phase of the French Wars of Religion.
1708 – James Francis Edward Stuart lands at the Firth of Forth as part of the planned French invasion of Britain.
1775 – American Revolutionary War: Patrick Henry delivers his speech – “Give me liberty, or give me death!” – at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia.
1801 – Tsar Paul I of Russia is struck with a sword, then strangled, and finally trampled to death inside his bedroom at St. Michael’s Castle.
1806 – After traveling through the Louisiana Purchase and reaching the Pacific Ocean, explorers Lewis and Clark and their “Corps of Discovery” begin their arduous journey home.
1821 – Greek War of Independence: Battle and fall of city of Kalamata.
1848 – The ship John Wickliffe arrives at Port Chalmers carrying the first Scottish settlers for Dunedin, New Zealand. Otago province is founded.
1857 – Elisha Otis’s first elevator is installed at 488 Broadway New York City.
1862 – American Civil War: The First Battle of Kernstown, Virginia, marks the start of Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign. Although a Confederate defeat, the engagement distracts Federal efforts to capture Richmond.
1868 – The University of California is founded in Oakland, California when the Organic Act is signed into law.
1879 – War of the Pacific: The Battle of Topáter, the first battle of the war is fought between Chile and the joint forces of Bolivia and Peru.
1885 – Sino-French War: Chinese victory in the Battle of Phu Lam Tao near Hưng Hóa, northern Vietnam.
1888 – In England, The Football League, the world’s oldest professional association football league, meets for the first time.
1889 – The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is established by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad in Qadian, British India.
1901 – Emilio Aguinaldo, only President of the First Philippine Republic, was captured at Palanan, Isabela by the forces of General Frederick Funston.
1905 – Eleftherios Venizelos calls for Crete’s union with Greece, and begins what is to be known as the Theriso revolt.
1909 – Theodore Roosevelt leaves New York for a post-presidency safari in Africa. The trip is sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and National Geographic Society.
1918 – First World War: On the third day of the German Spring Offensive, the 10th Battalion of the Royal West Kent Regiment is annihilated with many of the men becoming prisoners of war
1919 – In Milan, Italy, Benito Mussolini founds his Fascist political movement.
1931 – Bhagat Singh, Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar are hanged for the killing of a deputy superintendent of police during the Indian independence movement.
1933 – The Reichstag passes the Enabling Act of 1933, making Adolf Hitler dictator of Germany.
1935 – Signing of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.
1939 – The Hungarian air force attacks the headquarters of the Slovak air force in Spišská Nová Ves, killing 13 people and beginning the Slovak–Hungarian War.
1940 – The Lahore Resolution (Qarardad-e-Pakistan or Qarardad-e-Lahore) is put forward at the Annual General Convention of the All-India Muslim League.
1956 – Pakistan becomes the first Islamic republic in the world. This date is now celebrated as Republic Day in Pakistan.
1965 – NASA launches Gemini 3, the United States’ first two-man space flight (crew: Gus Grissom and John Young).
1977 – The first of The Nixon Interviews (12 will be recorded over four weeks) is videotaped with British journalist David Frost interviewing former United States President Richard Nixon about the Watergate scandal and the Nixon tapes.
1978 – The first UNIFIL troops arrived in Lebanon for peacekeeping mission along the Blue Line.
1980 – Archbishop Óscar Romero of El Salvador gives his famous speech appealing to men of the El Salvadoran armed forces to stop killing the Salvadorans.
1982 – Guatemala’s government, headed by Fernando Romeo Lucas García is overthrown in a military coup by right-wing General Efraín Ríos Montt.
1983 – Strategic Defense Initiative: President Ronald Reagan makes his initial proposal to develop technology to intercept enemy missiles.
1991 – The Revolutionary United Front, with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia, invades Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow Joseph Saidu Momoh, sparking the 11-year Sierra Leone Civil War.
1994 – At an election rally in Tijuana, Mexican presidential candidate Luis Donaldo Colosio is assassinated by Mario Aburto Martínez.
1994 – A United States Air Force (USAF) F-16 aircraft collides with a USAF C-130 at Pope Air Force Base and then crashes, killing 24 United States Army soldiers on the ground. This later became known as the Green Ramp disaster.
1994 – Aeroflot Flight 593 crashed into the Kuznetsk Alatau mountain, Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, killing 75.
1996 – Taiwan holds its first direct elections and chooses Lee Teng-hui as President.
1999 – Gunmen assassinate Paraguay’s Vice President Luis María Argaña.
2001 – The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
2003 – Battle of Nasiriyah, first major conflict during the invasion of Iraq.
2008 – Official opening of Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad, India
2009 – FedEx Express Flight 80: A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 flying from Guangzhou, China crashes at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport, killing both the captain and the co-pilot.
2018 – President of Peru Pedro Pablo Kuczynski resigns from the presidency amid a mass corruption scandal before certain impeachment by the opposition-majority Congress of Peru.
2019 – The Kazakh capital of Astana was renamed to Nur-Sultan.
2019 – The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces declared military victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant after four years of fighting, although the group maintains a scattered presence and sleeper cells across Syria and Iraq.
Births on March 23
1338 – Emperor Go-Kōgon of Japan (d. 1374)
1430 – Margaret of Anjou (d. 1482)
1514 – Lorenzino de’ Medici, Italian writer and assassin (d. 1548)
1599 – Thomas Selle, German composer (d. 1663)
1614 – Jahanara Begum, Mughal princess (d. 1681)
1643 – Mary of Jesus de León y Delgado, Spanish Dominican lay sister and mystic (d. 1731)
1699 – John Bartram, American botanist and explorer (d. 1777)
1732 – Princess Marie Adélaïde of France (d. 1800)
1749 – Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1827)
1750 – Johannes Matthias Sperger, Austrian bassist and composer (d. 1812)
1754 – Jurij Vega, Slovene mathematician, physicist and artillery officer (d. 1802)
1769 – Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general and diplomat (d. 1832)
1769 – William Smith, English geologist and cartographer (d. 1839)
1823 – Schuyler Colfax, American journalist and politician, 17th Vice President of the United States (d. 1885)
1826 – Ludwig Minkus, Austrian violinist and composer (d. 1917)
1834 – Julius Reubke, German pianist and composer (d. 1858)
1838 – Marie Adam-Doerrer, Swiss women’s rights activist and unionist (d. 1908)
1842 – Friedrich Amelung, Estonian-German historian, businessman and composer (d. 1909)
1842 – Susan Jane Cunningham, American mathematician (d. 1921)
1858 – Ludwig Quidde, German activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1941)
1862 – Nathaniel Reed, American criminal (d. 1950)
1868 – Dietrich Eckart, German journalist and politician (d. 1923)
1869 – Emilio Aguinaldo, Filipino general and politician, 1st President of the Philippines (d. 1964)
1869 – Calouste Gulbenkian, Turkish-Armenian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1955)
1872 – Michael Joseph Savage, Australian-New Zealand union leader and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1940)
1874 – Grantley Goulding, English hurdler (d. 1947)
1874 – J. C. Leyendecker, German-American painter and illustrator (d. 1951)
1876 – Ziya Gökalp, Turkish sociologist, poet and activist (d. 1924)
1876 – Thakin Kodaw Hmaing, Burmese poet, writer and political leader (d. 1964)
1878 – Franz Schreker, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1934)
1880 – Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish lawyer and politician, Finnish Minister of the Interior (d. 1922)
1881 – Lacey Hearn, American sprinter (d. 1969)
1881 – Roger Martin du Gard, French novelist and paleographer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
1881 – Hermann Staudinger, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
1882 – Emmy Noether, Jewish German-American mathematician, physicist and academic (d. 1935)
1884 – Joseph Boxhall, English sailor (d. 1967)
1885 – Platt Adams, American jumper and politician (d. 1961)
1885 – Roque González Garza, Mexican general and acting president (1915) (d. 1962)
1886 – Frank Irons, American long jumper (d. 1942)
1887 – Josef Čapek, Czech painter and poet (d. 1945)
1887 – Rudolf Kinau, German author (d. 1975)
1887 – Juan Gris, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 1927)
1887 – Sidney Hillman, Lithuanian-born American labor leader (d. 1946)
1891 – Po Kya, Burmese author and educationist (d. 1942)
1893 – Cedric Gibbons, Irish-American art director and production designer (d. 1960)
1893 – Gopalswamy Doraiswamy Naidu, Indian engineer and businessman (d. 1974)
1894 – Arthur Grimsdell, English international footballer wing half and cricketer (d. 1963)
1895 – Encarnacion Alzona, Filipino historian and educator (d. 2001)
1895 – Dane Rudhyar, French-American astrologer, author and composer (d. 1985)
1898 – Louis Adamic, Slovenian-American author, translator and politician (d. 1951)
1898 – Madeleine de Bourbon-Busset, Duchess of Parma (d. 1984)
1899 – Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (d. 1943)
1900 – Erich Fromm, German psychologist and sociologist (d. 1980)
1901 – Bon Maharaja, Indian guru and religious writer (d. 1982)
1903 – Frank Sargeson, New Zealand author (d. 1982)
1904 – Joan Crawford, American film actress (d. 1977)
1905 – Lale Andersen, German chanson singer-songwriter (d. 1972)
1907 – Daniel Bovet, Swiss-Italian pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1992)
1909 – Charles Werner, American cartoonist (d. 1997)
1910 – Jerry Cornes, English runner, colonial officer and educator (d. 2001)
1910 – Akira Kurosawa, Japanese director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1998)
1912 – Eleanor Cameron, Canadian-American author and critic (d. 1996)
1912 – Neil McCorkell, English-South African cricketer and coach (d. 2013)
1912 – Wernher von Braun, German-American physicist and engineer (d. 1977)
1913 – Abidin Dino, Turko-French painter and illustrator (d. 1993)
1914 – Milbourne Christopher, American magician and author (d. 1984)
1915 – Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe (d. 2014)
1915 – Vasily Zaytsev, Russian captain (d. 1991)
1917 – Harry Cranbrook Allen, English historian (d. 1998)
1918 – Stanley Armour Dunham, American sergeant (d. 1992)
1918 – Helene Hale, American politician (d. 2013)
1918 – Naoki Kazu, Japanese football player (d.1940s)
1919 – Carl Graffunder, American architect and educator (d. 2013)
1920 – Neal Edward Smith, American pilot, lawyer and politician
1920 – Tetsuharu Kawakami, Japanese baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
1921 – Donald Campbell, English race car driver (d. 1967)
1921 – Peter Lawler, Australian public servant (d. 2017)
1922 – Marty Allen, American comedian and actor (d. 2018)
1922 – Ugo Tognazzi, Italian actor (d. 1990)
1923 – Angelo Ingrassia, American soldier and judge (d. 2013)
1924 – Rodney Mims Cook, Sr., American lieutenant and politician (d. 2013)
1924 – Bette Nesmith Graham, American inventor, invented Liquid Paper (d. 1980)
1924 – Olga Kennard, English crystallographer and academic
1924 – John Madin, English architect (d. 2012)
1925 – David Watkin, English cinematographer (d. 2008)
1929 – Roger Bannister, English runner, neurologist and academic (d. 2018)
1929 – Michael Manser, English architect and engineer (d. 2016)
1931 – Yevgeny Grishin, Russian speed skater (d. 2005)
1931 – Viktor Korchnoi, Russian chess player and author (d. 2016)
1931 – Yevdokiya Mekshilo, Russian skier (d. 2013)
1932 – Don Marshall, Canadian ice hockey player
1933 – Norman Bailey, English opera singer and educator
1933 – Philip Zimbardo, American psychologist and academic
1934 – Ludvig Faddeev, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 2017)
1934 – Mark Rydell, American actor, director and producer
1935 – Barry Cryer, English comedian, actor and screenwriter
1936 – Jannis Kounellis, Greek painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
1937 – Craig Breedlove, American race car driver
1937 – Tony Burton, American actor, comedian, boxer and football player (d. 2016)
1937 – Robert Gallo, American physician and academic
1938 – Jon Finlayson, Australian actor and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1942 – Michael Haneke, Austrian director, producer and screenwriter
1942 – Jimmy Miller, American record producer and musician (d. 1994)
1942 – Walter Rodney, Guyanese historian, scholar and activist (d. 1980)
1943 – Andrew Crockett, Scottish-English economist and banker (d. 2012)
1943 – Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Finnish singer, author and director (d. 2001)
1944 – B. P. Gavrilov, Russian rugby player (d. 2006)
1944 – Tony McPhee, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1944 – Michael Nyman, English composer of minimalist music and pianist
1945 – Franco Battiato, Italian singer-songwriter and director
1945 – David Grisman, American mandolin player and composer
1946 – Alan Bleasdale, English screenwriter and producer
1947 – Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, American author
1948 – Wasim Bari, Pakistani cricketer
1948 – Marie Malavoy, German-Canadian educator and politician
1949 – Ric Ocasek, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer (d. 2019)
1950 – Corinne Cléry, French actress
1950 – Phil Lanzon, English keyboard player and songwriter
1950 – Ahdaf Soueif, Egyptian author and translator
1951 – Ron Jaworski, American football player and sportscaster
1951 – Adrian Reynard, English businessman, founded Reynard Motorsport
1952 – Francesco Clemente, Italian painter and illustrator
1952 – Kent Lambert, New Zealand rugby player
1952 – Kim Stanley Robinson, American author
1952 – Rex Tillerson, American businessman, engineer and diplomat; 69th United States Secretary of State
1953 – Bo Díaz, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 1990)
1953 – Chaka Khan, American singer-songwriter
1953 – Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Indian zoologist and businesswoman
1954 – Geno Auriemma, Italian-American basketball player and coach
1954 – Kenneth Cole, American fashion designer, founded Kenneth Cole Productions
1954 – Paul Price, English born, Welsh international footballer, defender and manager
1955 – Moses Malone, American basketball player and sportscaster (d. 2015)
1956 – José Manuel Barroso, Portuguese academic and politician, 115th Prime Minister of Portugal
1957 – Lucio Gutiérrez, Ecuadorian politician, 52nd President of Ecuador
1957 – Robbie James, Welsh footballer and manager (d. 1998)
1957 – Amanda Plummer, American actress
1958 – Etienne De Wilde, Belgian cyclist
1958 – Bengt-Åke Gustafsson, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
1958 – Hugh Grant, Scottish business executive
1959 – Catherine Keener, American actress
1960 – Nicol Stephen, Baron Stephen, Scottish lawyer and politician, 2nd Deputy First Minister of Scotland
1961 – Roger Crisp, English philosopher and academic
1961 – Craig Green, New Zealand rugby player
1961 – Helmi Johannes, Indonesian journalist and producer
1962 – Steve Redgrave, English rower
1963 – Míchel, Spanish footballer and manager
1963 – Juan Ramón López Caro, Spanish footballer and manager
1963 – Ana Fidelia Quirot, Cuban runner
1964 – Hope Davis, American actress
1965 – Gary Whitehead, American poet and painter
1966 – Lorenzo Daniel, American sprinter
1966 – Vasilis Vouzas, Greek footballer and manager
1968 – Damon Albarn, English singer-songwriter, producer and actor
1968 – Mike Atherton, English cricketer and journalist
1968 – Fernando Hierro, Spanish footballer and manager
1968 – Pierre Palmade, French actor and screenwriter
1971 – Yasmeen Ghauri, Canadian model
1971 – Gail Porter, Scottish model and television host
1971 – Alexander Selivanov, Russian ice hockey player
1971 – Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Japanese wrestler
1972 – Jonas Björkman, Swedish-Monégasque tennis player and coach
1972 – Joe Calzaghe, Welsh boxer
1972 – Judith Godrèche, French actress and author
1973 – Jerzy Dudek, Polish footballer
1973 – Wim Eyckmans, Belgian race car driver
1973 – Jason Kidd, American basketball player and coach
1974 – Randall Park, American actor, director and screenwriter
1975 – Burak Gürpınar, Turkish drummer
1975 – Andy Turner, English footballer, winger and manager
1976 – Chris Hoy, Scottish cyclist and race car driver
1976 – Smriti Irani, Indian actress, producer and politician, Indian Minister of Human Resource Development
1976 – Dougie Lampkin, English motorcycle racer
1976 – Michelle Monaghan, American actress
1976 – Joel Peralta, Dominican baseball player
1976 – Keri Russell, American actress
1976 – Ricardo Zonta, Brazilian race car driver
1976 – Sa Beining, Chinese host
1977 – Miklos Perlus, Canadian actor and screenwriter
1978 – Simon Gärdenfors, Swedish illustrator
1978 – Walter Samuel, Argentinian footballer
1979 – Mark Buehrle, American baseball player
1979 – Donncha O’Callaghan, Irish rugby player
1981 – Erin Crocker, American race car driver
1981 – Tony Peña, Jr., Dominican baseball player
1981 – Shelley Rudman, English bobsledder
1981 – Giuseppe Sculli, Italian footballer
1981 – Brett Young, American country music singer
1982 – José Contreras Arrau, Chilean footballer
1982 – Andrea Musacco, Italian footballer
1982 – Evgeni Striganov, Estonian ice dancer
1983 – Hakan Balta, Turkish footballer
1983 – Mo Farah, Somali-English runner
1983 – Sascha Riether, German international footballer
1983 – Jerome Thomas, English footballer
1984 – Ryan Araña, Filipino basketball player
1984 – Brandon Marshall, American football player
1985 – Maurice Jones-Drew, American football player
1985 – Bethanie Mattek-Sands, American tennis player
1986 – Patrick Bordeleau, Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – Andrea Dovizioso, Italian motorcycle racer
1986 – Brett Eldredge, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1986 – Kangana Ranaut, Indian actress
1987 – Alan Toovey, Australian footballer
1988 – Dellin Betances, American baseball player
1988 – Jason Kenny, English cyclist
1988 – Michal Neuvirth, Czech ice hockey player
1989 – Ayesha Curry, Canadian-American chef, author and television personality
1989 – Nikola Gulan, Serbian footballer
1989 – Sarah McKenna, English rugby player
1989 – Luis Fernando Silva, Mexican footballer
1990 – Jaime Alguersuari, Spanish race car driver
1990 – Robert Zickert, German footballer
1991 – Gregg Wylde, Scottish footballer
1992 – Tolga Ciğerci, German-Turkish footballer
1992 – Kyrie Irving, Australian-American basketball player
1993 – Kyle Lovett, Australian rugby league player
1993 – Aytaç Kara, Turkish footballer
1994 – Nick Powell, English footballer
1995 – Kevin Kauber, Estonian footballer
1995 – Jan Lisiecki, Canadian pianist
1995 – Ozan Tufan, Turkish footballer
1996 – Alexander Albon, Thai-British race car driver
Deaths on March 23
851 – Zhou Chi, Chinese historian and politician (b. 793)
1022 – Zhen Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 968)
1103 – Eudes I, duke of Burgundy (b. 1058)
1361 – Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster, English politician, Lord High Steward of England (b. 1310)
1369 – Peter, king of Castile and León (b. 1334)
1483 – Yolande, duchess of Lorraine (b. 1428)
1548 – Itagaki Nobukata, Japanese samurai (b. 1489)
1555 – Julius III, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1487)
1559 – Gelawdewos, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1521)
1596 – Henry Unton, English diplomat (b. 1557)
1606 – Justus Lipsius, Flemish philologist and scholar (b. 1547)
1618 – James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Abercorn, Scottish police officer and politician (b. 1575)
1629 – Francis Fane, 1st Earl of Westmorland, English landowner and politician (b. 1580)
1675 – Anthoni van Noordt, Dutch organist and composer (b. 1619)
1680 – Nicolas Fouquet, French politician (b. 1615)
1742 – Jean-Baptiste Dubos, French historian and author (b. 1670)
1747 – Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, French general (b. 1675)
1748 – Johann Gottfried Walther, German organist and composer (b. 1684)
1754 – Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian and critic (b. 1693)
1783 – Charles Carroll, English barrister and politician (b. 1723)