Skip to content
-
July 5 in History
- 328 – The official opening of Constantine’s Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius.
- 1316 – The Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea meet in the Battle of Manolada.
- 1594 – Portuguese forces under the command of Pedro Lopes de Sousa begin an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Kandy during the Campaign of Danture in Sri Lanka.
- 1610 – John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
- 1687 – Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
- 1770 – The Battle of Chesma between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire begins.
- 1775 – The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
- 1803 – The Convention of Artlenburg is signed, leading to the French occupation of the Electorate of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
- 1807 – In Buenos Aires the local militias repel the British soldiers within the Second English Invasion.
- 1809 – The largest battle of the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Wagram is fought between the French and Austrian Empires.
- 1811 – The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence is adopted by a congress of the provinces.
- 1813 – War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York commence.
- 1814 – War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa: American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
- 1833 – Lê Văn Khôi along with 27 soldiers stage a mutiny taking over the Phiên An citadel, developing into the Lê Văn Khôi revolt against Emperor Minh Mạng.
- 1833 – Admiral Charles Napier vanquishes the navy of the Portuguese usurper Dom Miguel at the third Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
- 1841 – Thomas Cook organises the first package excursion, from Leicester to Loughborough.
- 1884 – Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
- 1915 – The Liberty Bell leaves Philadelphia by special train on its way to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. This is the last trip outside Philadelphia that the custodians of the bell intend to permit.
- 1934 – “Bloody Thursday”: Police open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco.
- 1935 – The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1937 – Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
- 1940 – World War II: Foreign relations of Vichy France are severed with the United Kingdom.
- 1941 – World War II: Operation Barbarossa: German troops reach the Dnieper river.
- 1943 – World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).
- 1943 – World War II: German forces begin a massive offensive against the Soviet Union at the Battle of Kursk, also known as Operation Citadel.
- 1946 – Micheline Bernardini models the first modern bikini at a swimming pool in Paris.
- 1948 – National Health Service Acts create the national public health system in the United Kingdom.
- 1950 – Korean War: Task Force Smith: American and North Korean forces first clash, in the Battle of Osan.
- 1950 – Zionism: The Knesset passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to Israel.
- 1954 – The BBC broadcasts its first television news bulletin.
- 1954 – Elvis Presley records his first single, “That’s All Right”, at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
- 1962 – The official independence of Algeria is proclaimed after an 8-year-long war with France.
- 1971 – The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, is formally certified by President Richard Nixon.
- 1973 – A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills eleven firefighters.
- 1975 – Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
- 1975 – Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
- 1977 – Military coup in Pakistan: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, is overthrown.
- 1980 – Swedish tennis player Björn Borg wins his fifth Wimbledon final and becomes the first male tennis player to win the championships five times in a row (1976–1980).
- 1987 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE uses suicide attacks on the Sri Lankan Army for the first time. The Black Tigers are born and, in the following years, will continue to kill with the tactic.
- 1989 – Iran–Contra affair: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. His convictions are later overturned.
- 1995 – Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after its independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1996 – Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
- 1997 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP A. Thangathurai is shot dead at Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College in Trincomalee.
- 1999 – U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
- 2004 – The first direct Indonesian presidential election is held.
- 2006 – North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
- 2009 – A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
- 2009 – The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in England, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
- 2012 – The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).
- 2016 – The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.
Births on July 5
- 465 – Ahkal Mo’ Naab’ I, Mayan ruler (d. 524)
- 980 – Mokjong of Goryeo, Korean king (d. 1009)
- 1029 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Fatimid caliph (d. 1094)
- 1057 – Al-Ghazali, Iranian jurist, philosopher, and mystic (d. 1111)
- 1321 – Joan of the Tower, English consort of David II of Scotland (d. 1362)
- 1466 – Giovanni Sforza, Italian nobleman (d. 1510)
- 1547 – Garzia de’ Medici, Tuscan son of Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1562)
- 1549 – Francesco Maria del Monte, Italian cardinal and art collector (d. 1627)
- 1554 – Elisabeth of Austria, French queen (d. 1592)
- 1580 – Carlo Contarini, doge of Venice (d. 1656)
- 1586 – Thomas Hooker, English-born founder of the Colony of Connecticut (d. 1647)
- 1593 – Achille d’Étampes de Valençay, French military leader (d. 1646)
- 1653 – Thomas Pitt, English businessman and politician (d. 1726)
- 1670 – Dorothea Sophie of Neuburg, countess palatine (d. 1748)
- 1675 – Mary Walcott, American accuser and witness at the Salem witch trials (d. 1719)
- 1709 – Étienne de Silhouette, French translator and politician, Controller-General of Finances (d. 1767)
- 1717 – Peter III, Portuguese king (d. 1786)
- 1718 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1794)
- 1745 – Carl Arnold Kortum, German physician and poet (d. 1824)
- 1755 – Sarah Siddons, English actress (d. 1831)
- 1780 – François Carlo Antommarchi, French physician (d. 1838)
- 1793 – Pavel Pestel, Russian officer (d. 1826)
- 1794 – Sylvester Graham, American minister and activist (d. 1851)
- 1801 – David Farragut, American admiral (d. 1870)
- 1802 – Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (d. 1855)
- 1803 – George Borrow, British writer (d. 1881)
- 1805 – Robert FitzRoy, English captain, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (d. 1865)
- 1810 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (d. 1891)
- 1820 – William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physicist, mathematician, and engineer (d. 1872)
- 1829 – Ignacio Mariscal, Mexican politician and diplomat, Secretary of Foreign Affairs for Mexico (d. 1910)
- 1832 – Pavel Chistyakov, Russian painter and educator (d. 1919)
- 1841 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1904)
- 1849 – William Thomas Stead, English journalist (d. 1912)
- 1853 – Cecil Rhodes, English-South African businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (d. 1902)
- 1857 – Clara Zetkin, German theorist and activist (d. 1933)
- 1857 – Julien Tiersot, French musicologist and composer (d. 1936)
- 1860 – Robert Bacon, American colonel and politician, 39th United States Secretary of State (d. 1919)
- 1860 – Mathieu Jaboulay, French surgeon (d. 1913)
- 1862 – George Nuttall, American-British bacteriologist (d. 1937)
- 1862 – Horatio Caro, English chess master (d. 1920)
- 1864 – Stephan Krehl, German composer (d. 1924)
- 1867 – A. E. Douglass, American astronomer (d. 1962)
- 1872 – Édouard Herriot, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1957)
- 1874 – Eugen Fischer, German physician and academic (d. 1967)
- 1879 – Dwight F. Davis, American tennis player and politician, 49th United States Secretary of War (d. 1945)
- 1879 – Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichord player and educator (d. 1959)
- 1880 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1940)
- 1880 – Constantin Tănase, Romanian actor and playwright (d. 1945)
- 1882 – Inayat Khan, Indian mystic and educator (d. 1927)
- 1883 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian, author, and academic (d. 1975)
- 1884 – Enrico Dante, Italian cardinal (d. 1967)
- 1885 – Blas Infante, Spanish historian and politician (d. 1936)
- 1885 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (d. 1962)
- 1886 – Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) (d. 1988)
- 1886 – Prince John Konstantinovich of Russia (d. 1918)
- 1888 – Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1963)
- 1888 – Louise Freeland Jenkins, American astronomer and academic (d. 1970)
- 1889 – Jean Cocteau, French novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
- 1890 – Frederick Lewis Allen, American historian and journalist (d. 1954)
- 1891 – John Howard Northrop, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1891 – Tin Ujević, Croatian poet and translator (d. 1955)
- 1893 – Anthony Berkeley Cox, English writer (d. 1971)
- 1893 – Giuseppe Caselli, Italian painter (d. 1976)
- 1894 – Ants Lauter, Estonian actor and director (d. 1973)
- 1896 – Thomas Playford IV, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of South Australia (d. 1981)
- 1898 – Georgios Grivas, Greek general (d. 1974)
- 1899 – Marcel Achard, French playwright, screenwriter, and author (d. 1974)
- 1900 – Yoshimaro Yamashina, Japanese ornithologist, founded the Yamashina Institute for Ornithology (d. 1989)
- 1900 – Bernardus Johannes Alfrink, Dutch cardinal (d. 1987)
- 1901 – Julio Libonatti, Italian-Argentinian footballer (d. 1981)
- 1902 – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American colonel and politician, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1985)
- 1904 – Harold Acton, English scholar and author (d. 1994)
- 1904 – Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist and ornithologist (d. 2005)
- 1904 – Milburn Stone, American actor (d. 1980)
- 1905 – Madeleine Sylvain-Bouchereau, Haitian sociologist and educator (d. 1970)
- 1908 – Henri of Orléans, (d. 1999)
- 1908 – Lyman S. Ayres II, American businessman (d. 1996)
- 1910 – Georges Vedel, French lawyer and academic (d. 2002)
- 1911 – Endel Aruja, Estonian-Canadian physicist and academic (d. 2008)
- 1911 – Haydn Bunton, Sr., Australian footballer and coach (d. 1955)
- 1911 – Giorgio Borġ Olivier, Maltese lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1980)
- 1911 – Georges Pompidou, French banker and politician, 19th President of France (d. 1974)
- 1913 – George Costakis, Russian art collector (d. 1990)
- 1913 – Smiley Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1966)
- 1914 – John Thomas Dunlop, American administrator and labor scholar (d. 2003)
- 1914 – Annie Fischer, Hungarian pianist and composer (d. 1995)
- 1915 – Babe Paley, American socialite (d. 1978)
- 1915 – John Woodruff, American runner and commander (d. 2007)
- 1915 – Al Timothy, Trinidadian musician and songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1916 – Lívia Rév, Hungarian classical pianist (d. 2018)
- 1916 – Ivor Powell, Welsh footballer (d. 2012)
- 1918 – K. Karunakaran, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Kerala (d. 2010)
- 1918 – Brian James, Australian actor (d. 2009)
- 1918 – Zakaria Mohieddin, Egyptian general and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Egypt (d. 2012)
- 1918 – George Rochberg, American composer and educator (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Viktor Kulikov, Russian marshal (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Nanos Valaoritis, Greek author, poet, and playwright (d. 2019)
- 1923 – George Moore, Australian jockey (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Mitsuye Yamada, Japanese American activist
- 1924 – János Starker, Hungarian-American cellist and educator (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Edward Cassidy, Australian Roman Catholic cardinal priest
- 1925 – Fernando de Szyszlo, Peruvian painter and sculptor (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Jean Raspail, French author and explorer (d. 2020)
- 1926 – Diana Lynn, American actress (d. 1971)
- 1928 – Pierre Mauroy, French educator and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Warren Oates, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1929 – Jimmy Carruthers, Australian boxer (d. 1990)
- 1929 – Katherine Helmond, American actress and director (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Tony Lock, English cricketer (d. 1995)
- 1929 – Jovan Rašković, Serbian psychiatrist, academic, and politician (d. 1992)
- 1929 – Jiří Reynek, Czech poet and graphic artist (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Chikao Ohtsuka, Japanese voice actor (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Ismail Mahomed, South African lawyer and politician, 17th Chief Justice of South Africa (d. 2000)
- 1932 – Gyula Horn, Hungarian politician, 37th Prime Minister of Hungary (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Paul-Gilbert Langevin, French musicologist, critic and physicist (d. 1986)
- 1936 – Shirley Knight, American actress (d. 2020)
- 1936 – James Mirrlees, Scottish economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
- 1938 – Ronnie Self, American singer-songwriter (d. 1981)
- 1940 – Chuck Close, American painter and photographer
- 1941 – Terry Cashman, American singer-songwriter and record producer
- 1941 – Epeli Nailatikau, Fijian chief, President of Fiji
- 1942 – Matthias Bamert, Swiss composer and conductor
- 1942 – Hannes Löhr, German footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2016)
- 1943 – Curt Blefary, American baseball player and coach (d. 2001)
- 1943 – Mark Cox, English tennis player, coach and sportscaster
- 1943 – Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
- 1943 – Pierre Villepreux, French rugby player and coach
- 1944 – Leni Björklund, Swedish politician, 28th Swedish Minister of Defence for Sweden
- 1945 – Michael Blake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Humberto Benítez Treviño, Mexican lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Mexico
- 1946 – Pierre-Marc Johnson, Canadian lawyer, physician, and politician, 24th Premier of Quebec
- 1946 – Paul Smith, English fashion designer
- 1946 – Gerard ‘t Hooft, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1946 – Vladimir Mikhailovich Zakharov, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 2013)
- 1947 – Todd Akin, American politician
- 1949 – Ludwig G. Strauss, German physician and academic (d. 2013)
- 1950 – Carlos Caszely, Chilean footballer
- 1950 – Huey Lewis, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1950 – Michael Monarch, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1951 – Goose Gossage, American baseball player
- 1951 – Roger Wicker, American colonel, lawyer, and politician
- 1953 – Caryn Navy, American mathematician and computer scientist
- 1954 – Jimmy Crespo, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1954 – John Wright, New Zealand cricketer and coach
- 1955 – Tony Hadley, English footballer
- 1955 – Peter McNamara, Australian tennis player and coach (d. 2019)
- 1956 – Horacio Cartes, Paraguayan businessman and politician, President of Paraguay
- 1956 – James Lofton, American football player and coach
- 1957 – Carlo Thränhardt, German high jumper
- 1957 – Doug Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
- 1958 – Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (d. 1996)
- 1958 – Bill Watterson, American author and illustrator
- 1959 – Marc Cohn, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1960 – Pruitt Taylor Vince, American actor and director
- 1962 – Sarina Hülsenbeck, German swimmer
- 1963 – Edie Falco, American actress
- 1964 – Ronald D. Moore, American screenwriter and producer
- 1965 – Kathryn Erbe, American actress
- 1965 – Eyran Katsenelenbogen, Israeli-American pianist and educator
- 1966 – Susannah Doyle, English actress, director, and playwright
- 1966 – Gianfranco Zola, Italian footballer and coach
- 1968 – Ken Akamatsu, Japanese illustrator
- 1968 – Kenji Ito, Japanese pianist and composer
- 1968 – Nardwuar the Human Serviette, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1968 – Hedi Slimane, French fashion designer and photographer
- 1968 – Alex Zülle, Swiss cyclist
- 1968 – Susan Wojcicki, Polish-American technology executive, CEO of YouTube
- 1969 – Jenji Kohan, American screenwriter and producer
- 1969 – Armin Kõomägi, Estonian author and screenwriter
- 1969 – John LeClair, American ice hockey player
- 1969 – RZA, American rapper, producer, actor, and director
- 1970 – Mac Dre, American rapper and producer, founded Thizz Entertainment (d. 2004)
- 1970 – Valentí Massana, Spanish race walker
- 1971 – Derek McInnes, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1972 – Matthew Birir, Kenyan runner
- 1972 – Robert Esmie, Canadian sprinter
- 1972 – Gary Shteyngart, American writer
- 1973 – Marcus Allbäck, Swedish footballer and coach
- 1973 – Bengt Lagerberg, Swedish drummer
- 1973 – Róisín Murphy, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1974 – Márcio Amoroso, Brazilian footballer
- 1975 – Hernán Crespo, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1975 – Ai Sugiyama, Japanese tennis player
- 1976 – Bizarre, American rapper
- 1976 – Nuno Gomes, Portuguese footballer
- 1977 – Nicolas Kiefer, German tennis player
- 1977 – Steven Sharp Nelson, American cellist
- 1978 – Britta Oppelt, German rower
- 1978 – Allan Simonsen, Danish race car driver (d. 2013)
- 1978 – İsmail YK, German-Turkish singer-songwriter
- 1979 – Shane Filan, Irish singer-songwriter
- 1979 – Amélie Mauresmo, French-Swiss tennis player
- 1979 – Stiliyan Petrov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
- 1980 – David Rozehnal, Czech footballer
- 1980 – Mads Tolling, Danish-American violinist and composer
- 1980 – Jason Wade, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1982 – Fabrício de Souza, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Alexander Dimitrenko, Ukrainian-German boxer
- 1982 – Alberto Gilardino, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Philippe Gilbert, Belgian cyclist
- 1982 – Kate Gynther, Australian water polo player
- 1982 – Dave Haywood, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1982 – Paíto, Mozambican footballer
- 1982 – Javier Paredes, Spanish footballer
- 1982 – Szabolcs Perenyi, Romanian-Hungarian footballer
- 1982 – Beno Udrih, Slovenian basketball player
- 1983 – Marco Estrada, Mexican baseball player
- 1983 – Jonás Gutiérrez, Argentinian footballer
- 1983 – Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis player
- 1983 – Taavi Peetre, Estonian shot putter (d. 2010)
- 1984 – Danay Garcia, Cuban actress
- 1984 – Zack Miller, American golfer
- 1985 – Alexandre R. Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Megan Rapinoe, American soccer player
- 1986 – Iurii Cheban, Ukrainian canoe sprinter
- 1986 – Piermario Morosini, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
- 1986 – Alexander Radulov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Owl City, American singer, songwriter and composer
- 1987 – Ji Chang-wook, South Korean actor
- 1987 – Mohd Safiq Rahim, Malaysian footballer
- 1987 – Andrija Kaluđerović, Serbian footballer
- 1987 – Alexander Kristoff, Norwegian cyclist
- 1988 – Martin Liivamägi, Estonian swimmer
- 1988 – Samir Ujkani, Albanian footballer
- 1989 – Charlie Austin, English footballer
- 1989 – Georgios Efrem, Cypriot footballer
- 1989 – Dwight King, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Abeba Aregawi, Ethiopian-Swedish runner
- 1992 – Alberto Moreno, Spanish footballer
- 1992 – Chiara Scholl, American tennis player
- 1993 – Yaroslav Kosov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1994 – Diana Harkusha, Ukrainian lawyer, dancer, model and beauty queen
- 1994 – Shohei Ohtani, Japanese baseball player
Deaths on July 5
- 905 – Cui Yuan, Chinese chancellor
- 905 – Dugu Sun, Chinese chancellor
- 905 – Lu Yi, Chinese chancellor (b. 847)
- 905 – Pei Shu, Chinese chancellor (b. 841)
- 905 – Wang Pu, Chinese chancellor
- 936 – Xu Ji, Chinese official and chancellor
- 967 – Murakami, Japanese emperor (b. 926)
- 1080 – Ísleifur Gissurarson, Icelandic bishop (b. 1006)
- 1091 – William of Hirsau, German abbot
- 1316 – Ferdinand, prince of Majorca (b. 1278)
- 1375 – Charles III, French nobleman (b. 1337)
- 1413 – Musa Çelebi, Ottoman prince and co-ruler
- 1507 – Crinitus, Italian scholar and academic (b. 1475)
- 1539 – Anthony Maria Zaccaria, Italian saint (b. 1502)
- 1661 – Sir Hugh Speke, 1st Baronet
- 1666 – Albert VI, German nobleman (b. 1584)
- 1676 – Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish field marshal and politician (b. 1613)
- 1715 – Charles Ancillon, French jurist and diplomat (b. 1659)
- 1719 – Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, German-English general (b. 1641)
- 1773 – Francisco José Freire, Portuguese historian and philologist (b. 1719)
- 1819 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (b.1744)
- 1826 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (b. 1782)
- 1833 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor, created the first known photograph (b. 1765)
- 1859 – Charles Cagniard de la Tour, French physicist and engineer (b. 1777)
- 1862 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1800)
- 1863 – Lewis Armistead, American general (b. 1817)
- 1884 – Victor Massé, French composer (b. 1822)
- 1908 – Jonas Lie, Norwegian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1833)
- 1920 – Max Klinger, German painter and sculptor (b. 1857)
- 1927 – Albrecht Kossel, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
- 1929 – Henry Johnson, American sergeant (b. 1897)
- 1932 – Sasha Chorny, Russian poet and author (b. 1880)
- 1935 – Bernard de Pourtalès, Swiss captain and sailor (b. 1870)
- 1937 – Daniel Sawyer, American golfer (b. 1884)
- 1943 – Kazimierz Junosza-Stępowski, Polish actor (b. 1880)
- 1943 – Karin Swanström, Swedish actress, director, and producer (b. 1873)
- 1945 – John Curtin, Australian journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1885)
- 1948 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (b. 1888)
- 1948 – Carole Landis, American actress (b. 1919)
- 1948 – Piet Aalberse, Dutch politician (b. 1871)
- 1957 – Anugrah Narayan Sinha, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1887)
- 1965 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican race car driver, polo player, and diplomat (b. 1909)
- 1966 – George de Hevesy, Hungarian-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
- 1969 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator (b. 1884)
- 1969 – Walter Gropius, German architect, designed the John F. Kennedy Federal Building and Werkbund Exhibition (b. 1883)
- 1969 – Tom Mboya, Kenyan politician, 1st Kenyan Minister of Justice (b. 1930)
- 1969 – Leo McCarey, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1898)
- 1975 – Gilda dalla Rizza, Italian soprano and actress (b. 1892)
- 1983 – Harry James, American trumpet player and actor (b. 1916)
- 1984 – Chic Murray, Canadian politician, 2nd Mayor of Mississauga (b. 1914)
- 1991 – Howard Nemerov, American poet and essayist (b. 1920)
- 1995 – Jüri Järvet, Estonian actor and screenwriter (b. 1919)
- 1997 – A. Thangathurai, Sri Lankan Tamil lawyer and politician (b. 1936)
- 1998 – Sid Luckman, American football player (b. 1916)
- 2002 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (b. 1924)
- 2002 – Ted Williams, American baseball player and manager (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1923)
- 2004 – Rodger Ward, American race car driver and sportscaster (b. 1921)
- 2005 – James Stockdale, American admiral (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Gert Fredriksson, Swedish canoe racer (b. 1919)
- 2006 – Thirunalloor Karunakaran, Indian poet and scholar (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (b. 1942)
- 2006 – Amzie Strickland, American actress (b. 1919)
- 2007 – Régine Crespin, French soprano (b. 1927)
- 2007 – George Melly, English singer-songwriter and critic (b. 1926)
- 2008 – Hasan Doğan, Turkish businessman (b. 1956)
- 2010 – Bob Probert, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host (b. 1965)
- 2011 – Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter, sculptor, and photographer (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Rob Goris, Belgian cyclist (b. 1982)
- 2012 – Gerrit Komrij, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Colin Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge, English businessman and politician (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Ruud van Hemert, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
- 2013 – Bud Asher, American lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
- 2013 – David Cargo, American politician, 22nd Governor of New Mexico (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Lambert Jackson Woodburne, South African admiral (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Volodymyr Sabodan, Ukrainian metropolitan (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Hans-Ulrich Wehler, German historian and academic (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Brett Wiesner, American soccer player (b. 1983)
- 2015 – Archduchess Dorothea of Austria (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Uffe Haagerup, Danish mathematician and academic (b. 1949)
- 2015 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1921)
Holidays and observances on July 5
- Bloody Thursday (International Longshore and Warehouse Union)
- Christian feast day:
- Anthony Maria Zaccaria, priest (d. 1539)
- Cyril and Methodius (a public holiday in Czech Republic and Slovakia)
- Zoe of Rome (Roman Catholic Church)
- July 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Armenia)
- Independence Day (Algeria), celebrating the independence of Algeria from France in 1962.
- Independence Day (Cape Verde), celebrating the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal in 1975.
- Independence Day (Venezuela), celebrating the independence of Venezuela from Spain in 1811; also National Armed Forces Day.
- Tynwald Day, if July 5 is on a weekend, the holiday is the following Monday. (Isle of Man)
-
June 30 in History
- 296 – Pope Marcellinus begins his papacy.
- 763 – The Byzantine army of emperor Constantine V defeats the Bulgarian forces in the Battle of Anchialus.
- 1422 – Battle of Arbedo between the duke of Milan and the Swiss cantons.
- 1521 – Spanish forces defeat a combined French and Navarrese army at the Battle of Noáin during the Spanish conquest of Iberian Navarre.
- 1559 – King Henry II of France is mortally wounded in a jousting match against Gabriel, comte de Montgomery.
- 1651 – The Deluge: Khmelnytsky Uprising: The Battle of Berestechko ends with a Polish victory.
- 1688 – The Immortal Seven issue the Invitation to William, which would culminate in the Glorious Revolution.
- 1758 – Seven Years’ War: Habsburg Austrian forces destroy a Prussian reinforcement and supply convoy in the Battle of Domstadtl, helping to expel Prussian King Frederick the Great from Moravia.
- 1794 – Northwest Indian War: Native American forces under Blue Jacket attack Fort Recovery.
- 1805 – Under An act to divide the Indiana Territory into two separate governments, adopted by the U.S. Congress on January 11, 1805, the Michigan Territory is organized.
- 1859 – French acrobat Charles Blondin crosses Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
- 1860 – The 1860 Oxford evolution debate at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History takes place.
- 1864 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln grants Yosemite Valley to California for “public use, resort and recreation”.
- 1882 – Charles J. Guiteau is hanged in Washington, D.C. for the assassination of U.S. President James Garfield.
- 1886 – The first transcontinental train trip across Canada departs from Montreal, Quebec. It arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia on July 4.
- 1892 – The Homestead Strike begins near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
- 1905 – Albert Einstein sends the article On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies, in which he introduces special relativity, for publication in Annalen der Physik.
- 1906 – The United States Congress passes the Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act.
- 1908 – The Tunguska Event, the largest impact event on Earth in human recorded history, resulting in a massive explosion over Eastern Siberia.
- 1912 – The Regina Cyclone, Canada’s deadliest tornado event, kills 28 people in Regina, Saskatchewan.
- 1916 – World War I: In “the day Sussex died”, elements of the Royal Sussex Regiment take heavy casualties in the Battle of the Boar’s Head at Richebourg-l’Avoué in France.
- 1921 – U.S. President Warren G. Harding appoints former President William Howard Taft as Chief Justice of the United States.
- 1922 – In Washington D.C., U.S. Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes and Dominican Ambassador Francisco J. Peynado sign the Hughes–Peynado agreement, which ends the United States occupation of the Dominican Republic.
- 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives, Adolf Hitler’s violent purge of his political rivals in Germany, takes place.
- 1936 – Emperor Haile Selassie of Abyssinia appeals for aid to the League of Nations against Italy’s invasion of his country.
- 1937 – The world’s first emergency telephone number, 999, is introduced in London.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Cherbourg ends with the fall of the strategically valuable port to American forces.
- 1953 – The first Chevrolet Corvette rolls off the assembly line in Flint, Michigan.
- 1956 – A TWA Super Constellation and a United Airlines DC-7 collide above the Grand Canyon in Arizona and crash, killing all 128 on board both airliners.
- 1959 – A United States Air Force F-100 Super Sabre from Kadena Air Base, Okinawa, crashes into a nearby elementary school, killing 11 students plus six residents from the local neighborhood.
- 1960 – Belgian Congo gains independence as Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville).
- 1963 – Ciaculli bombing: a car bomb, intended for Mafia boss Salvatore Greco, kills seven police officers and military personnel near Palermo.
- 1966 – The National Organization for Women, the United States’ largest feminist organization, is founded.
- 1968 – Pope Paul VI issues the Credo of the People of God.
- 1971 – The crew of the Soviet Soyuz 11 spacecraft are killed when their air supply escapes through a faulty valve.
- 1972 – The first leap second is added to the UTC time system.
- 1974 – The Baltimore municipal strike of 1974 begins.
- 1977 – The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization disbands.
- 1985 – Thirty-nine American hostages from the hijacked TWA Flight 847 are freed in Beirut after being held for 17 days.
- 1986 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Bowers v. Hardwick that states can outlaw homosexual acts between consenting adults.
- 1990 – East Germany and West Germany merge their economies.
- 1994 – During a test flight of an Airbus A330-300 at Toulouse–Blagnac Airport, the aircraft crashes killing all seven people on board.
- 1997 – The United Kingdom transfers sovereignty over Hong Kong to China.
- 2005 – MTV Canada is rebranded as Razer
- 2007 – A Jeep Cherokee filled with propane canisters drives into the entrance of Glasgow Airport, Scotland in a failed terrorist attack. This was linked to the 2007 London car bombs that had taken place the day before.
- 2009 – Yemenia Flight 626, an Airbus A310-300, crashes into the Indian Ocean near Comoros, killing 152 of the 153 people on board. A 14-year-old girl named Bahia Bakari survives the crash.
- 2013 – Nineteen firefighters die controlling a wildfire in Yarnell, Arizona.
- 2013 – Protests begin around Egypt against President Mohamed Morsi and the ruling Freedom and Justice Party, leading to their overthrow during the 2013 Egyptian coup d’état.
- 2015 – A Hercules C-130 military aircraft with 113 people on board crashes in a residential area in Medan, Indonesia, resulting in at least 116 deaths.
- 2019 – Donald Trump becomes the first sitting US President to visit the Democratic Republic of Korea.
Births on June 30
- 1286 – John de Warenne, 7th Earl of Surrey, English magnate (d. 1347)
- 1468 – John, Elector of Saxony (d. 1532)
- 1470 – Charles VIII of France (d. 1498)
- 1478 – John, Prince of Asturias, Son of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile (d. 1497)
- 1503 – John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1554)
- 1533 – Martín de Rada, Spanish missionary (d. 1578)
- 1588 – Giovanni Maria Sabino, Italian organist, composer, and educator (d. 1649)
- 1641 – Meinhardt Schomberg, 3rd Duke of Schomberg, German-English general (d. 1719)
- 1685 – John Gay, English poet and playwright (d. 1732)
- 1688 – Abu l-Hasan Ali I, ruler of Tunisia (d. 1756)
- 1722 – Jiří Antonín Benda, Czech composer, violinist and Kapellmeister (d. 1795)
- 1755 – Paul Barras, French soldier and politician (d. 1829)
- 1789 – Horace Vernet, French painter and academic (d. 1863)
- 1791 – Félix Savart, French physicist and psychologist (d. 1841)
- 1803 – Thomas Lovell Beddoes, English poet, playwright, and physician (d. 1849)
- 1807 – Friedrich Theodor Vischer, German author, poet, and playwright (d.1887)
- 1817 – Joseph Dalton Hooker, English botanist and explorer (d. 1911)
- 1843 – Ernest Mason Satow, English orientalist and diplomat (d. 1929)
- 1864 – Frederick Bligh Bond, English architect and archaeologist (d. 1945)
- 1884 – Georges Duhamel, French author and critic (d. 1966)
- 1889 – Archibald Frazer-Nash, English motor car designer, engineer and founder of Frazer Nash (d. 1965)
- 1890 – Paul Boffa, Maltese physician and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1962)
- 1891 – Man Mountain Dean, American wrestler and sergeant (d. 1953)
- 1891 – Ed Lewis, American wrestler and manager (d. 1966)
- 1891 – Stanley Spencer, English painter (d. 1959)
- 1892 – Pierre Blanchar, Algerian-French actor and director (d. 1963)
- 1893 – Walter Ulbricht, German soldier and politician (d. 1973)
- 1895 – Heinz Warneke, German-American sculptor and educator (d. 1983)
- 1899 – Madge Bellamy, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1905 – John Van Ryn, American tennis player (d. 1999)
- 1906 – Anthony Mann, American actor and director (d. 1967)
- 1907 – Roman Shukhevych, Ukrainian general and politician (d. 1950)
- 1908 – Winston Graham, English author (d. 2003)
- 1908 – Luigi Rovere, Italian film producer (d. 1996)
- 1908 – Rob Nieuwenhuys, Dutch writer (d. 1999)
- 1909 – Juan Bosch, 43rd President of the Dominican Republic (d. 2001)
- 1911 – Czesław Miłosz, Polish novelist, essayist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1911 – Nagarjun, Indian poet (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Ludwig Bölkow, German engineer (d. 2003)
- 1912 – Dan Reeves, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1971)
- 1912 – María Luisa Dehesa Gómez Farías, Mexican architect (d. 2009)
- 1913 – Alfonso López Michelsen, Colombian lawyer and politician, 24th President of Colombia (d. 2007)
- 1913 – Harry Wismer, American sportscaster (d. 1967)
- 1914 – Francisco da Costa Gomes, Portuguese general and politician, 15th President of Portugal (d. 2001)
- 1914 – Allan Houser, American sculptor and painter (d. 1994)
- 1917 – Susan Hayward, American actress (d. 1975)
- 1917 – Lena Horne, American actress, singer, and activist (d. 2010)
- 1917 – Willa Kim, American costume designer (d. 2016)
- 1919 – Ed Yost, American inventor of the modern hot air balloon (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Eleanor Ross Taylor, American poet and educator (d. 2011)
- 1921 – Washington SyCip, American-Filipino accountant (d. 2017)
- 1922 – Al Besselink, American professional golfer
- 1923 – Andy Jack, English footballer
- 1924 – Max Trepp, Swiss sprinter
- 1925 – Fred Schaus, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Ebrahim Amini, Iranian politician (d. 2020)
- 1926 – Paul Berg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1926 – David Berglas, American magician and mentalist
- 1927 – Shirley Fry Irvin, American tennis player
- 1927 – James Goldman, American screenwriter and playwright (d. 1998)
- 1927 – Mario Lanfranchi, Italian director, screenwriter, producer, collector and actor
- 1927 – Frank McCabe, American basketball player
- 1928 – Hassan Hassanzadeh Amoli, Islamic philosopher, theologian, mathematician and mystic
- 1928 – Nathaniel Tarn, American poet, essayist, anthropologist, and translator
- 1929 – Yang Ti-liang, Chinese judge
- 1930 – Ben Atchley, American politician (d. 2018)
- 1930 – Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabian politician
- 1930 – Ignatius Peter VIII Abdalahad, Syrian bishop (d. 2018)
- 1931 – Yo-Yo Davalillo, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Andrew Hill, American pianist and composer (d. 2007)
- 1931 – Ronald Rene Lagueux, American judge
- 1931 – Kaye Vaughan, American football player
- 1933 – Tomislav Ivić, Croatian football coach and manager (d. 2011)
- 1933 – M. J. K. Smith, English cricketer and rugby player
- 1933 – Orval Tessier, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1933 – Joan Murrell Owens, American educator and marine biologist (d. 2011)
- 1934 – Harry Blackstone Jr., American magician and author (d. 1997)
- 1935 – John Harlin, American pilot and mountaineer (d. 1966)
- 1936 – Assia Djebar, Algerian-French author and translator (d. 2015)
- 1936 – Nancy Dussault, American actress and singer
- 1936 – Tony Musante, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Dave Van Ronk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
- 1937 – Larry Henley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1938 – Billy Mills, American sprinter
- 1939 – Tony Hatch, English pianist, composer, and producer
- 1939 – Barry Hines, English author and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1939 – José Emilio Pacheco, Mexican poet and author (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Mark Spoelstra, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2007)
- 1941 – Peter Pollock, South African cricketer and author
- 1942 – Robert Ballard, American lieutenant and oceanographer
- 1942 – Ron Harris, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1943 – Florence Ballard, American pop/soul singer (d. 1976)
- 1943 – Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Indian director and screenwriter
- 1944 – Raymond Moody, American parapsychologist and author
- 1944 – Glenn Shorrock, English-Australian singer-songwriter
- 1944 – Ron Swoboda, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1949 – Uwe Kliemann, German footballer, coach, and manager
- 1949 – Andy Scott, Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1951 – Stanley Clarke, American bass player and composer
- 1952 – Athanassios S. Fokas, Greek mathematician and academic
- 1952 – David Garrison, American actor and singer
- 1953 – Hal Lindes, American-English guitarist and film score composer
- 1954 – Stephen Barlow, English organist, composer, and conductor
- 1954 – Pierre Charles, Dominican educator and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Dominica (d. 2004)
- 1954 – Serzh Sargsyan, Armenian politician, 3rd President of Armenia
- 1954 – Wayne Swan, Australian academic and politician, 14th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
- 1955 – Brian Vollmer, Canadian singer
- 1955 – Egils Levits, Latvian judge, jurist, 10th President of Latvia
- 1956 – Volker Beck, German hurdler and coach
- 1956 – David Lidington, English historian, academic, and politician, Minister of State for Europe
- 1956 – David Alan Grier, American actor, singer, and comedian
- 1957 – Bud Black, American baseball player and manager
- 1957 – Sterling Marlin, American race car driver
- 1958 – Pam Royle, British television presenter, journalist and voice coach
- 1958 – Esa-Pekka Salonen, Finnish conductor and composer
- 1959 – Vincent D’Onofrio, American actor
- 1959 – Daniel Goldhagen, American political scientist, author, and academic
- 1959 – Brendan Perry, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1959 – Sakis Tsiolis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1959 – Sandip Verma, Baroness Verma, Indian-English businesswoman and politician
- 1960 – Jack McConnell, Scottish educator and politician, 3rd First Minister of Scotland
- 1960 – Murray Cook, Australian musician, actor, songwriter and producer
- 1961 – Lynne Jolitz, American computer scientist and programmer
- 1961 – Clive Nolan, English musician, composer and producer
- 1962 – Tony Fernández, Dominican baseball player
- 1962 – Julianne Regan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1963 – Olha Bryzhina, Ukrainian sprinter
- 1963 – Rupert Graves, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1963 – Yngwie Malmsteen, Swedish guitarist and songwriter
- 1964 – Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg
- 1964 – Mark Waters, American director and producer
- 1965 – Steve Duchesne, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 – Cho Jae-hyun, South Korean actor
- 1965 – Anna Levandi, Russian figure skater and coach
- 1965 – Gary Pallister, English footballer and sportscaster
- 1965 – Mitch Richmond, American basketball player
- 1966 – Mike Tyson, American boxer and actor
- 1967 – Patrik Bodén, Swedish javelin thrower
- 1967 – David Busst, English footballer and manager
- 1967 – Victoria Kaspi, American-Canadian astrophysicist and academic
- 1968 – Phil Anselmo, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1969 – Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lankan cricketer and politician
- 1969 – Uta Rohländer, German sprinter
- 1969 – Sébastien Rose, Canadian director and screenwriter
- 1970 – Brian Bloom, American actor and screenwriter
- 1970 – Antonio Chimenti, Italian footballer and manager
- 1970 – Mark Grudzielanek, American baseball player and manager
- 1971 – Monica Potter, American actress
- 1972 – Sandra Cam, Belgian swimmer
- 1973 – Chan Ho Park, South Korean baseball player
- 1973 – Frank Rost, German footballer and manager
- 1974 – Hezekiél Sepeng, South African runner
- 1975 – James Bannatyne, New Zealand footballer
- 1975 – Ralf Schumacher, German race car driver
- 1978 – Ben Cousins, Australian footballer
- 1978 – Patrick Ivuti, Kenyan runner
- 1978 – Claudio Rivalta, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Sylvain Chavanel, French cyclist
- 1980 – Rade Prica, Swedish footballer
- 1980 – Seyi Olofinjana, Nigerian footballer
- 1980 – Ryan ten Doeschate, Dutch cricketer
- 1981 – Can Artam, Turkish race car driver
- 1981 – Matt Kirk, Canadian football player
- 1981 – Barbora Špotáková, Czech javelin thrower
- 1981 – Ben Utecht, American football player
- 1982 – Lizzy Caplan, American actress
- 1982 – Ignacio Carrasco, Mexican footballer
- 1983 – Marcus Burghardt, German cyclist
- 1983 – Katherine Ryan, UK-based Canadian comedian and presenter
- 1983 – Cheryl, English singer and TV personality
- 1984 – Fantasia Barrino, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1984 – Tunku Ismail Idris, Crown Prince of Johor, Malaysia
- 1985 – Trevor Ariza, American basketball player
- 1985 – Michael Phelps, American swimmer
- 1985 – Fabiana Vallejos, Argentinian footballer
- 1986 – Alicia Fox, American wrestler, model, and actress
- 1986 – Fredy Guarín, Colombian footballer
- 1986 – Nicola Pozzi, Italian footballer
- 1986 – Allegra Versace, Italian-American businesswoman
- 1987 – Ryan Cook, American baseball player
- 1987 – Andrew Hedgman, New Zealand runner
- 1988 – Elisa Jordana, American singer-songwriter, radio and TV personality
- 1989 – Asbel Kiprop, Kenyan runner
- 1989 – Steffen Liebig, German rugby player
- 1989 – David Myers, Australian footballer
- 1990 – N, South Korean singer
- 1998 – Tom Davies, English footballer
Deaths on June 30
- 350 – Nepotianus, Roman ruler
- 710 – Erentrude, Frankish abbess
- 888 – Æthelred, archbishop of Canterbury
- 945 – Ki no Tsurayuki, Japanese writer and poet (b. 872)
- 1181 – Hugh de Kevelioc, 5th Earl of Chester, Welsh politician (b. 1147)
- 1224 – Adolf of Osnabrück, German monk and bishop (b. 1185)
- 1278 – Pierre de la Broce, French courtier
- 1337 – Eleanor de Clare, English noblewoman (b. 1290)
- 1364 – Arnošt of Pardubice, Czech archbishop (b. 1297)
- 1538 – Charles II, Duke of Guelders (b. 1467)
- 1522 – Johann Reuchlin, German humanist and Hebrew scholar (b. 1455)
- 1607 – Caesar Baronius, Italian cardinal and historian (b. 1538)
- 1649 – Simon Vouet, French painter (b. 1590)
- 1660 – William Oughtred, English minister and mathematician (b. 1575)
- 1666 – Alexander Brome, English poet and playwright (b. 1620)
- 1670 – Henrietta of England (b. 1644)
- 1704 – John Quelch, English pirate (b. 1665)
- 1708 – Tekle Haymanot I of Ethiopia (b. 1684)
- 1709 – Edward Lhuyd, Welsh botanist, linguist, and geographer (b. 1660)
- 1785 – James Oglethorpe, English general and politician, 1st Colonial Governor of Georgia (b. 1696)
- 1796 – Abraham Yates Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1724)
- 1857 – Alcide d’Orbigny, French zoologist and paleontologist (b. 1802)
- 1882 – Charles J. Guiteau, American preacher and lawyer, assassin of James A. Garfield (b. 1841)
- 1882 – Alberto Henschel, German-Brazilian photographer and businessman (b. 1827)
- 1890 – Samuel Parkman Tuckerman, American organist and composer (b. 1819)
- 1908 – Thomas Hill, American painter (b. 1829)
- 1913 – Alphonse Kirchhoffer, French fencer (b. 1873)
- 1916 – Eunice Eloisae Gibbs Allyn, American correspondent, author, and poet (b. 1847)
- 1917 – Antonio de La Gándara, French painter and illustrator (b. 1861)
- 1917 – Dadabhai Naoroji, Parsi intellectual, educator, cotton trader, and an early Indian political and social leader (b. 1825)
- 1919 – John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1842)
- 1932 – Bruno Kastner, German actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1890)
- 1934 – Karl Ernst, German soldier (b. 1904)
- 1934 – Erich Klausener, German soldier and politician (b. 1885)
- 1934 – Gustav Ritter von Kahr, German lawyer and politician, Minister-President of Bavaria (b. 1862)
- 1934 – Gregor Strasser, German lieutenant and politician (b. 1892)
- 1934 – Kurt von Schleicher, German general and politician, 23rd Chancellor of Germany (b. 1882)
- 1941 – Yefim Fomin, Belarusian politician (b. 1909)
- 1941 – Aleksander Tõnisson, Estonian general and politician, 5th Estonian Minister of War (b. 1875)
- 1948 – Prince Sabahaddin, Turkish-Swiss sociologist and academic (b. 1879)
- 1949 – Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild, French financier and polo player (b. 1868)
- 1951 – Yrjö Saarela, Finnish wrestler and coach (b. 1884)
- 1953 – Elsa Beskow, Swedish author and illustrator (b. 1874)
- 1953 – Charles William Miller, Brazilian footballer and civil servant (b. 1874)
- 1954 – Andrass Samuelsen, Faroese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (b. 1873)
- 1956 – Thorleif Lund, Norwegian actor (b. 1880)
- 1959 – José Vasconcelos, Mexican philosopher and politician (b. 1882)
- 1961 – Lee de Forest, American inventor, invented the audion tube (b. 1873)
- 1966 – Giuseppe Farina, Italian race car driver (b. 1906)
- 1966 – Margery Allingham, English author of detective fiction (b. 1904)
- 1968 – Ernst Marcus, German zoologist (b. 1893)
- 1971 – Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer (b. 1943)
- 1971 – Herbert Biberman, American director and screenwriter (b. 1900)
- 1971 – Georgy Dobrovolsky Ukrainian pilot and astronaut (b. 1928)
- 1971 – Nikola Kotkov, Bulgarian footballer (b. 1938)
- 1971 – Viktor Patsayev, Kazakh engineer and astronaut (b. 1933)
- 1971 – Vladislav Volkov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1935)
- 1973 – Nancy Mitford, English journalist and author (b. 1904)
- 1973 – Vasyl Velychkovsky, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop and martyr (b. 1903)
- 1974 – Alberta Williams King, Civil rights activist (b. 1904)
- 1976 – Firpo Marberry, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1898)
- 1984 – Lillian Hellman, American author and playwright (b. 1905)
- 1985 – Haruo Remeliik, Palauan politician, 1st President of Palau (b. 1933)
- 1995 – Georgy Beregovoy, Ukrainian general and astronaut (b. 1921)
- 1995 – Gale Gordon, American actor and voice artist (b. 1906)
- 1996 – Lakis Petropoulos, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1932)
- 2001 – Chet Atkins, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1924)
- 2001 – Joe Henderson, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1937)
- 2002 – Chico Xavier, Brazilian medium and author (b. 1910)
- 2003 – Buddy Hackett, American actor and comedian (b. 1924)
- 2003 – Robert McCloskey, American author and illustrator (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Eddie Burns, Australian rugby league player (b. 1916)
- 2007 – Sahib Singh Verma, Indian librarian and politician, 4th Chief Minister of Delhi (b. 1943)
- 2009 – Pina Bausch, German dancer, choreographer, and director (b. 1940)
- 2009 – Harve Presnell, American actor and singer (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Michael Abney-Hastings, 14th Earl of Loudoun, English-Australian politician (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Yitzhak Shamir, Israeli politician, 7th Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Michael J. Ybarra, American journalist and author (b. 1966)
- 2013 – Alan Campbell, Baron Campbell of Alloway, English lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Akpor Pius Ewherido, Nigerian politician (b. 1963)
- 2013 – Kathryn Morrison, American educator and politician (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Thompson Oliha, Nigerian footballer (b. 1968)
- 2013 – Keith Seaman, Australian politician, 29th Governor of South Australia (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Frank Cashen, American businessman (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Paul Mazursky, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Željko Šturanović, Montenegrin lawyer and politician, 31st Prime Minister of Montenegro (b. 1960)
- 2015 – Charles W. Bagnal, American general (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Robert Dewar, English-American computer scientist and academic (b. 1945)
- 2015 – Arthur Porter, Canadian physician and academic (b. 1956)
- 2015 – Leonard Starr, American author and illustrator (b. 1925)
- 2017 – Barry Norman, English television presenter (b. 1933)
- 2017 – Simone Veil, French lawyer and politician (b. 1927)
Holidays and observances on June 30
- Christian feast day:
- Martial
- Theobald of Provins
- First Martyrs of the Church of Rome
- June 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Armed Forces Day (Guatemala)
- Asteroid Day (International observance)
- General Prayer Day (Central African Republic)
- Independence Day (Democratic Republic of the Congo), celebrates the independence of Democratic Republic of the Congo from Belgium in 1960.
- Navy Day (Israel)
- Philippine–Spanish Friendship Day (Philippines)
- Revolution Day (Sudan)
- Teachers’ Day (Dominican Republic)
-
June 14 in History
- 1158 – Munich is founded by Henry the Lion on the banks of the river Isar.
- 1216 – First Barons’ War: Prince Louis of France captures the city of Winchester and soon conquers over half of the Kingdom of England.
- 1276 – While taking exile in Fuzhou, away from the advancing Mongol invaders, the remnants of the Song dynasty court hold the coronation ceremony for Emperor Duanzong.
- 1285 – Second Mongol invasion of Vietnam: Forces led by Prince Trần Quang Khải of the Trần dynasty destroy most of the invading Mongol naval fleet in a battle at Chuong Duong.
- 1287 – Kublai Khan defeats the force of Nayan and other traditionalist Borjigin princes in East Mongolia and Manchuria.
- 1381 – Richard II of England meets leaders of Peasants’ Revolt at Mile End. The Tower of London is stormed by rebels who enter without resistance.
- 1404 – Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndŵr, having declared himself Prince of Wales, allies himself with the French against King Henry IV of England.
- 1618 – Joris Veseler prints the first Dutch newspaper Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. in Amsterdam (approximate date).
- 1645 – English Civil War: Battle of Naseby: Twelve thousand Royalist forces are beaten by 15,000 Parliamentarian soldiers.
- 1667 – The Raid on the Medway by the Dutch fleet in the Second Anglo-Dutch War ends. It had lasted for five days and resulted in the worst ever defeat of the Royal Navy.
- 1690 – King William III of England (William of Orange) lands in Ireland to confront the former King James II.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: the Continental Army is established by the Continental Congress, marking the birth of the United States Army.
- 1777 – The Second Continental Congress passes the Flag Act of 1777 adopting the Stars and Stripes as the Flag of the United States.
- 1789 – Mutiny on the Bounty: HMS Bounty mutiny survivors including Captain William Bligh and 18 others reach Timor after a nearly 7,400 km (4,600 mi) journey in an open boat.
- 1800 – The French Army of First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte defeats the Austrians at the Battle of Marengo in Northern Italy and re-conquers Italy.
- 1807 – Emperor Napoleon’s French Grande Armée defeats the Russian Army at the Battle of Friedland in Poland (modern Russian Kaliningrad Oblast) ending the War of the Fourth Coalition.
- 1821 – Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Ismail Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, bringing the 300 year old Sudanese kingdom to an end.
- 1822 – Charles Babbage proposes a difference engine in a paper to the Royal Astronomical Society.
- 1830 – Beginning of the French colonization of Algeria: Thirty-four thousand French soldiers begin their invasion of Algiers, landing 27 kilometers west at Sidi Fredj.
- 1839 – Henley Royal Regatta: the village of Henley-on-Thames, on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, stages its first regatta.
- 1846 – Bear Flag Revolt begins: Anglo settlers in Sonoma, California, start a rebellion against Mexico and proclaim the California Republic.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Winchester: A Union garrison is defeated by the Army of Northern Virginia in the Shenandoah Valley town of Winchester, Virginia.
- 1863 – Second Assault on the Confederate works at the Siege of Port Hudson during the American Civil War.
- 1872 – Trade unions are legalized in Canada.
- 1881 – The White Rajahs territories become the British protectorate of Sarawak.
- 1900 – Hawaii becomes a United States territory.
- 1900 – The second German Naval Law calls for the Imperial German Navy to be doubled in size.
- 1907 – The National Association for Women’s Suffrage succeeds in getting Norwegian women the right to vote in parliamentary elections.
- 1919 – John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown depart from St. John’s, Newfoundland on the first nonstop transatlantic flight.
- 1926 – Brazil leaves the League of Nations.
- 1937 – Pennsylvania becomes the first (and only) state of the United States to celebrate Flag Day officially as a state holiday.
- 1937 – U.S. House of Representatives passes the Marihuana Tax Act.
- 1940 – World War II: The German occupation of Paris begins.
- 1940 – The Soviet Union presents an ultimatum to Lithuania resulting in Lithuanian loss of independence.
- 1940 – Seven hundred twenty-eight Polish political prisoners from Tarnów become the first inmates of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
- 1941 – June deportation: the first major wave of Soviet mass deportations and murder of Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians, begins.
- 1944 – World War II: After several failed attempts, the British Army abandons Operation Perch, its plan to capture the German-occupied town of Caen.
- 1945 – World War II: Filipino troops of the Philippine Commonwealth Army liberate the captured in Ilocos Sur and start the Battle of Bessang Pass in Northern Luzon.
- 1949 – Albert II, a rhesus monkey, rides a V-2 rocket to an altitude of 134 km (83 mi), thereby becoming the first monkey in space.
- 1951 – UNIVAC I is dedicated by the U.S. Census Bureau.
- 1954 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law that places the words “under God” into the United States Pledge of Allegiance.
- 1955 – Chile becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
- 1959 – Disneyland Monorail System, the first daily operating monorail system in the Western Hemisphere, opens to the public in Anaheim, California.
- 1959 – Dominican exiles depart from Cuba and land in the Dominican Republic to overthrow the totalitarian government of Rafael Trujillo. All but four are killed or executed.
- 1962 – The European Space Research Organisation is established in Paris – later becoming the European Space Agency.
- 1966 – The Vatican announces the abolition of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum (“index of prohibited books”), which was originally instituted in 1557.
- 1967 – Mariner program: Mariner 5 is launched towards Venus.
- 1982 – Falklands War: Argentine forces in the capital Stanley conditionally surrender to British forces.
- 1986 – The Mindbender derails and kills three riders at the Fantasyland (known today as Galaxyland) indoor amusement park in Edmonton, Alberta.
- 1994 – The 1994 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot occurs after the New York Rangers win the Stanley Cup from Vancouver, causing an estimated C$1.1 million, leading to 200 arrests and injuries.
- 2002 – Near-Earth asteroid 2002 MN misses the Earth by 75,000 miles (121,000 km), about one-third of the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
- 2014 – A Ukraine military Ilyushin Il-76 airlifter is shot down, killing all 49 people on board.
- 2017 – London: A fire in a high-rise apartment building in North Kensington leaves 72 people dead and another 74 injured.
- 2017 – In Alexandria, Virginia, Republican member of Congress and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana is shot while practicing for charity baseball.
Births on June 14
- 1444 – Nilakantha Somayaji, Indian astronomer and mathematician (d. 1544)
- 1463 – Henry IV, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1514)
- 1479 – Giglio Gregorio Giraldi, Italian poet and scholar (d. 1552)
- 1529 – Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (d. 1595)
- 1627 – Johann Abraham Ihle, German astronomer (d. 1699)
- 1691 – Jan Francisci, Slovak organist and composer (d. 1758)
- 1726 – Thomas Pennant, Welsh ornithologist and historian (d. 1798)
- 1730 – Antonio Sacchini, Italian composer and educator (d. 1786)
- 1736 – Charles-Augustin de Coulomb, French physicist and engineer (d. 1806)
- 1763 – Simon Mayr, German composer and educator (d. 1845)
- 1780 – Henry Salt, English historian and diplomat, British Consul-General in Egypt (d. 1827)
- 1796 – Nikolai Brashman, Czech-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1866)
- 1798 – František Palacký, Czech historian and politician (d. 1876)
- 1801 – Heber C. Kimball, American religious leader (d. 1868)
- 1811 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, American author and activist (d. 1896)
- 1812 – Fernando Wood, American merchant and politician, 73rd Mayor of New York City (d. 1881)
- 1819 – Henry Gardner, American merchant and politician, 23rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1892)
- 1820 – John Bartlett, American author and publisher (d. 1905)
- 1829 – Bernard Petitjean, French Roman Catholic missionary to Japan (d. 1884)
- 1838 – Yamagata Aritomo, Japanese Field Marshal and politician, 3rd and 9th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1922)
- 1840 – William F. Nast, American businessman (d. 1893)
- 1848 – Bernard Bosanquet, English philosopher and theorist (d. 1923)
- 1848 – Max Erdmannsdörfer, German conductor and composer (d. 1905)
- 1855 – Robert M. La Follette, American lawyer and politician, 20th Governor of Wisconsin (d. 1925)
- 1856 – Andrey Markov, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1922)
- 1862 – John Ulric Nef, Swiss-American chemist and academic (d. 1915)
- 1864 – Alois Alzheimer, German psychiatrist and neuropathologist (d. 1915)
- 1868 – Karl Landsteiner, Austrian biologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1943)
- 1868 – Anna B. Eckstein, German peace activist (d. 1947)
- 1870 – Sophia of Prussia (d. 1932)
- 1871 – Hermanus Brockmann, Dutch rower (d. 1936)
- 1871 – Jacob Ellehammer, Danish mechanic and engineer (d. 1946)
- 1872 – János Szlepecz, Slovene priest and author (d. 1936)
- 1877 – Jane Bathori, French soprano (d. 1970)
- 1877 – Ida MacLean, British biochemist, the first woman admitted to the London Chemical Society (d. 1944)
- 1878 – Léon Thiébaut, French fencer (d. 1943)
- 1879 – Arthur Duffey, American sprinter and coach (d. 1955)
- 1884 – John McCormack, Irish tenor and actor (d. 1945)
- 1884 – Georg Zacharias, German swimmer (d. 1953)
- 1890 – May Allison, American actress (d. 1989)
- 1894 – Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (d. 1924)
- 1894 – José Carlos Mariátegui (d. 1930)
- 1894 – W. W. E. Ross, Canadian geophysicist and poet (d. 1966)
- 1895 – Jack Adams, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 1968)
- 1900 – Ruth Nanda Anshen, American writer, editor, and philosopher (d. 2003)
- 1900 – June Walker, American stage and film actress (d. 1966)
- 1903 – Alonzo Church, American mathematician and logician (d. 1995)
- 1903 – Rose Rand, Austrian-American logician and philosopher from the Vienna Circle (d. 1980)
- 1904 – Margaret Bourke-White, American photographer and journalist (d. 1971)
- 1905 – Steve Broidy, American businessman (d. 1991)
- 1905 – Arthur Davis, American animator and director (d. 2000)
- 1907 – Nicolas Bentley, English author and illustrator (d. 1978)
- 1907 – René Char, French poet and author (d. 1988)
- 1909 – Burl Ives, American actor and singer (d. 1995)
- 1910 – Rudolf Kempe, German pianist and conductor (d. 1976)
- 1913 – Joe Morris, English-Canadian lieutenant and trade union leader (d. 1996)
- 1916 – Dorothy McGuire, American actress (d. 2001)
- 1917 – Lise Nørgaard, Danish journalist, author, and screenwriter
- 1917 – Gilbert Prouteau, French poet and director (d. 2012)
- 1917 – Atle Selberg, Norwegian-American mathematician and academic (d. 2007)
- 1918 – Fred Baur, American chemist and founder of Pringles (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Gene Barry, American actor (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Sam Wanamaker, American actor and director (d. 1993)
- 1921 – Martha Greenhouse, American actress (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Judith Kerr, German-English author and illustrator (d. 2019)
- 1923 – Green Wix Unthank, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 2013)
- 1924 – James Black, Scottish pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Pierre Salinger, American journalist and politician, 11th White House Press Secretary (d. 2004)
- 1926 – Don Newcombe, American baseball player (d. 2019)
- 1928 – Ernesto “Che” Guevara, Argentinian-Cuban physician, author, guerrilla leader and politician (d. 1967)
- 1929 – Cy Coleman, American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
- 1929 – Alan Davidson, Australian cricketer
- 1929 – Johnny Wilson, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2011)
- 1931 – Marla Gibbs, American actress and comedian
- 1931 – Ross Higgins, Australian actor (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Junior Walker, American saxophonist (d. 1995)
- 1933 – Jerzy Kosiński, Polish-American novelist and screenwriter (d. 1991)
- 1933 – Vladislav Rastorotsky, Russian gymnast and coach
- 1936 – Renaldo Benson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
- 1936 – Irmelin Sandman Lilius, Finnish author, poet, and translator
- 1938 – Julie Felix, American-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2020)
- 1939 – Steny Hoyer, American lawyer and politician
- 1939 – Peter Mayle, English author and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1939 – Colin Thubron, English journalist and author
- 1942 – Jonathan Raban, English author and academic
- 1942 – Roberto García-Calvo Montiel, Spanish judge (d. 2008)
- 1943 – Barry Burman, English painter and academic (d. 2001)
- 1943 – Jennifer Gretton, Baroness Gretton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire
- 1943 – John Miles, English racing driver and journalist
- 1943 – Harold Wheeler, American composer, conductor, and producer
- 1944 – Laurie Colwin, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1992)
- 1945 – Rod Argent, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1945 – Carlos Reichenbach, Brazilian director and producer (d. 2012)
- 1945 – Richard Stebbins, American sprinter and educator
- 1946 – Robert Louis-Dreyfus, French-Swiss businessman (d. 2009)
- 1946 – Tõnu Sepp, Estonian instrument maker and educator
- 1946 – Donald Trump, American businessman, television personality and 45th President of the United States
- 1947 – Roger Liddle, Baron Liddle, English politician
- 1947 – Barry Melton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Paul Rudolph, Canadian singer, guitarist, and cyclist
- 1948 – Laurence Yep, American author and playwright
- 1949 – Jim Lea, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
- 1949 – Roger Powell, English-Australian scientist and academic
- 1949 – Antony Sher, South African-British actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1949 – Harry Turtledove, American historian and author
- 1949 – Alan White, English drummer and songwriter
- 1950 – Rowan Williams, Welsh archbishop and theologian
- 1951 – Paul Boateng, English lawyer and politician, British High Commissioner to South Africa
- 1951 – Danny Edwards, American golfer
- 1952 – Robert Lepikson, Estonian racing driver and politician, Estonian Minister of the Interior (d. 2006)
- 1952 – Pat Summitt, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
- 1952 – Leon Wieseltier, American philosopher, journalist, and critic
- 1953 – Janet Mackey, New Zealand lawyer and politician
- 1954 – Will Patton, American actor
- 1955 – Michael D. Duvall, American businessman and politician
- 1955 – Paul O’Grady, English television host, producer, and drag performer
- 1955 – Kirron Kher, Indian theatre, film & television actress, TV talk show host, politician and Member of Parliament
- 1956 – Fred Funk, American golfer and coach
- 1956 – King Diamond (Kim Bendix Petersen), heavy metal musician
- 1957 – Suzanne Nora Johnson, American lawyer and businesswoman
- 1957 – Mona Simpson, American novelist
- 1958 – Pamela Geller, American activist and blogger
- 1959 – Marcus Miller, American bass player, composer, and producer
- 1960 – Tonie Campbell, American hurdler
- 1960 – Mike Laga, American baseball player
- 1961 – Boy George, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1961 – Dušan Kojić, Serbian singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1961 – Sam Perkins, American basketball player
- 1963 – Grant Kenny, Australian iron man and canoeist
- 1964 – Peter Gilliver, English lexicographer and academic
- 1967 – Dedrick Dodge, American football player and coach
- 1968 – Campbell Brown, American journalist
- 1968 – Faizon Love, Cuban-American actor and screenwriter
- 1969 – Éric Desjardins, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1969 – Steffi Graf, German tennis player
- 1970 – Heather McDonald, American comedian, actress, and author
- 1971 – Bruce Bowen, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Ramon Vega, Swiss footballer
- 1972 – Rick Brunson, American basketball player and coach
- 1972 – Matthias Ettrich, German computer scientist and engineer, founded KDE
- 1972 – Dominic Brown, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1972 – Claude Henderson, South African cricketer
- 1972 – Danny McFarlane, Jamaican hurdler and sprinter
- 1973 – Sami Kapanen, Finnish-American ice hockey player and manager
- 1976 – Alan Carr, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1976 – Massimo Oddo, Italian footballer and manager
- 1977 – Boeta Dippenaar, South African cricketer
- 1977 – Chris McAlister, American football player
- 1977 – Joe Worsley, English rugby player and coach
- 1978 – Steve Bégin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Diablo Cody, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1978 – Annia Hatch, Cuban-American gymnast and coach
- 1978 – Nikola Vujčić, Croatian former professional basketball player
- 1979 – Shannon Hegarty, Australian rugby league player
- 1981 – Elano, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1982 – Jamie Green, English racing driver
- 1982 – Nicole Irving, Australian swimmer
- 1982 – Lang Lang, Chinese pianist
- 1983 – Trevor Barry, Bahamian high jumper
- 1983 – Louis Garrel, French actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1984 – Lorenzo Booker, American football player
- 1984 – Mark Cosgrove, Australian cricketer
- 1984 – Siobhán Donaghy, English singer-songwriter
- 1984 – Yury Prilukov, Russian swimmer
- 1985 – Oleg Medvedev. Russian luger
- 1985 – Andy Soucek, Spanish racing driver
- 1986 – Matt Read, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Andrew Cogliano, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Mohamed Diamé, Senegalese footballer
- 1988 – Adrián Aldrete, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – Kevin McHale, American actor, singer, dancer and radio personality
- 1989 – Lucy Hale, American actress and singer-songwriter
- 1989 – Brad Takairangi, Australian-Cook Islands rugby league player
- 1990 – Patrice Cormier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Stephen McLaughlin, Irish footballer
- 1991 – Kostas Manolas, Greek footballer
- 1991 – Jesy Nelson, English singer
- 1992 – Devante Smith-Pelly, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1993 – Gunna, American rapper
- 1993 – Ryan McCartan, American actor and singer
- 1999 – Tzuyu, Taiwanese singer
Deaths on June 14
- 809 – Ōtomo no Otomaro, Japanese general (b. 731)
- 847 – Methodius I, patriarch of Constantinople
- 957 – Guadamir, bishop of Vic (Spain)
- 976 – Aron, Bulgarian nobleman
- 1161 – Emperor Qinzong of the Song dynasty (b. 1100)
- 1205 – Walter III, Count of Brienne
- 1349 – Günther von Schwarzburg, German king (b. 1304)
- 1381 – Simon Sudbury, English archbishop (b. 1316)
- 1497 – Giovanni Borgia, 2nd Duke of Gandía, Italian son of Pope Alexander VI (b. 1474)
- 1516 – John III of Navarre (b. 1469)
- 1544 – Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1489)
- 1548 – Carpentras, French composer (b. 1470)
- 1583 – Shibata Katsuie, Japanese samurai (b. 1522)
- 1594 – Jacob Kroger, German goldsmith, hanged in Edinburgh for stealing the jewels of Anne of Denmark.
- 1594 – Orlande de Lassus, Flemish composer and educator (b. 1532)
- 1662 – Henry Vane the Younger, English-American politician, Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1613)
- 1674 – Marin le Roy de Gomberville, French author and poet (b. 1600)
- 1679 – Guillaume Courtois, French painter and illustrator (b. 1628)
- 1746 – Colin Maclaurin, Scottish mathematician (b. 1698)
- 1794 – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, English courtier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1718)
- 1800 – Louis Desaix, French general (b. 1768)
- 1800 – Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general (b. 1753)
- 1801 – Benedict Arnold, American general during the American Revolution later turned British spy (b. 1741)
- 1825 – Pierre Charles L’Enfant, French-American architect and engineer, designed Washington, D.C. (b. 1754)
- 1837 – Giacomo Leopardi, Italian poet and philosopher (b. 1798)
- 1864 – Leonidas Polk, American general and bishop (b. 1806)
- 1887 – Mary Carpenter, English educational and social reformer (b. 1807)
- 1883 – Edward FitzGerald, English poet and author (b. 1809)
- 1886 – Alexander Ostrovsky, Russian director and playwright (b. 1823)
- 1907 – William Le Baron Jenney, American architect and engineer, designed the Home Insurance Building (b. 1832)
- 1907 – Bartolomé Masó, Cuban soldier and politician (b. 1830)
- 1908 – Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, English captain and politician, 6th Governor General of Canada (b. 1841)
- 1914 – Adlai Stevenson I, American lawyer and politician, 23rd Vice President of the United States (b. 1835)
- 1916 – João Simões Lopes Neto, Brazilian author (b. 1865)
- 1920 – Max Weber, German sociologist and economist (b. 1864)
- 1923 – Isabelle Bogelot, French philanthropist (b. 1838)
- 1926 – Mary Cassatt, American-French painter (b. 1843)
- 1927 – Ottavio Bottecchia, Italian cyclist (b. 1894)
- 1927 – Jerome K. Jerome, English author (b. 1859)
- 1928 – Emmeline Pankhurst, English activist and academic (b. 1857)
- 1932 – Dorimène Roy Desjardins, Canadian businesswoman, co-founded Desjardins Group (b. 1858)
- 1933 – Justinien de Clary, French target shooter (b. 1860)
- 1936 – G. K. Chesterton, English essayist, poet, playwright, and novelist (b. 1874)
- 1936 – Hans Poelzig, German architect, painter, and designer, designed the IG Farben Building (b. 1869)
- 1946 – John Logie Baird, Scottish-English physicist and engineer (b. 1888)
- 1946 – Jorge Ubico, 21st President of Guatemala (b. 1878)
- 1953 – Tom Cole, Welsh-American racing driver (b. 1922)
- 1968 – Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian novelist and poet, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1901)
- 1972 – Dündar Taşer, Turkish soldier and politician (b. 1925)
- 1977 – Robert Middleton, American actor (b. 1911)
- 1977 – Alan Reed, American actor, original voice of Fred Flintstone (b.1907)
- 1979 – Ahmad Zahir, Afghan singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
- 1980 – Charles Miller, American saxophonist and flute player (b. 1939)
- 1986 – Jorge Luis Borges, Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator (b. 1899)
- 1986 – Alan Jay Lerner, American composer and songwriter (b. 1918)
- 1987 – Stanisław Bareja, Polish actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
- 1990 – Erna Berger, German soprano and actress (b. 1900)
- 1991 – Peggy Ashcroft, English actress (b. 1907)
- 1994 – Lionel Grigson, English pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1942)
- 1994 – Henry Mancini, American composer and conductor (b. 1924)
- 1994 – Marcel Mouloudji, French singer and actor (b. 1922)
- 1995 – Els Aarne, Ukrainian-Estonian pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1917)
- 1995 – Rory Gallagher, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1949)
- 1995 – Roger Zelazny, American author and poet (b. 1937)
- 1996 – Noemí Gerstein, Argentinian sculptor and illustrator (b. 1908)
- 1997 – Richard Jaeckel, American actor (b. 1926)
- 1999 – Bernie Faloney, American-Canadian football player and sportscaster (b. 1932)
- 2000 – Attilio Bertolucci, Italian poet and author (b. 1911)
- 2002 – June Jordan, American author and activist (b. 1936)
- 2003 – Dale Whittington, American race car driver (b. 1959)
- 2004 – Ulrich Inderbinen, Swiss mountaineer and guide (b. 1900)
- 2005 – Carlo Maria Giulini, Italian conductor and director (b. 1914)
- 2005 – Mimi Parent, Canadian-Swiss painter (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Monty Berman, English director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1905)
- 2006 – Jean Roba, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Ruth Graham, Chinese-American author, poet, and painter (b. 1920)
- 2007 – Robin Olds, American general and pilot (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Kurt Waldheim, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Austrian politician, 9th President of Austria (b. 1918)
- 2009 – Bob Bogle, American musician (The Ventures) (b. 1934)
- 2009 – William McIntyre, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and judge (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Peter Archer, Baron Archer of Sandwell, English lawyer and politician, Solicitor General for England and Wales (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Bob Chappuis, American football player and soldier (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Margie Hyams, American pianist and vibraphone player (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, German pianist and academic (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Carlos Reichenbach, Brazilian director and producer (b. 1945)
- 2012 – Gitta Sereny, Austrian-English historian, journalist, and author (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Elroy Schwartz, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Alberto Cañas Escalante, Costa Rican journalist and politician (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Isabelle Collin Dufresne, French actress (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Robert Lebeck, German photographer and journalist (b. 1929)
- 2014 – James E. Rogers, American lawyer, businessman, and academic (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Richard Cotton, Australian geneticist and academic (b. 1940)
- 2015 – Anne Nicol Gaylor, American activist, co-founded the Freedom From Religion Foundation (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Qiao Shi, Chinese politician (b. 1924)
- 2016 – Ann Morgan Guilbert, American actress and singer (b. 1928)
- 2016 – Gilles Lamontagne, Canadian politician, Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1919)
- 2020 – Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian film actor (b. 1986)
Holidays and observances on June 14
- Christian feast day:
- Burchard of Meissen
- Caomhán of Inisheer
- Elisha (Roman Catholic and Lutheran)
- Fortunatus of Naples (Roman Catholic)
- Blessed Francisca de Paula de Jesus (Nhá Chica)
- Joseph the Hymnographer (Roman Catholic: Orthodox April 3)
- Methodios I of Constantinople
- Quintian of Rodez (Rodez)
- Richard Baxter (Church of England)
- Valerius and Rufinus
- June 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commemoration of the Soviet Deportation related observances:
- Baltic Freedom Day (United States)
- Mourning and Commemoration Day or Leinapäev (Estonia)
- Mourning and Hope Day (Lithuania)
- Day of Memory for Repressed People (Armenia)
- Flag Day (United States)
- Freedom Day (Malawi)
- Liberation Day (Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands)
- World Blood Donor Day
-
June 1 in History
- 1215 – Zhongdu (now Beijing), then under the control of the Jurchen ruler Emperor Xuanzong of Jin, is captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan, ending the Battle of Zhongdu.
- 1252 – Alfonso X is proclaimed king of Castile and León.
- 1298 – Residents of Riga and Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Livonian Order in the Battle of Turaida.
- 1495 – A monk, John Cor, records the first known batch of Scotch whisky
- 1533 – Anne Boleyn is crowned Queen of England.
- 1535 – Combined forces loyal to Charles V attack and expel the Ottomans from Tunis during the Conquest of Tunis.
- 1648 – The Roundheads defeat the Cavaliers at the Battle of Maidstone in the Second English Civil War.
- 1649 – Start of the Sumuroy Revolt: Filipinos in Northern Samar led by Agustin Sumuroy revolt against Spanish colonial authorities.
- 1670 – In Dover, England, Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France sign the Secret Treaty of Dover, which will force England into the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
- 1676 – Battle of Öland: allied Danish-Dutch forces defeat the Swedish navy in the Baltic Sea, during the Scanian War (1675–79).
- 1679 – The Scottish Covenanters defeat John Graham of Claverhouse at the Battle of Drumclog.
- 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade rescues 14 sailors at the Cape of Good Hope from the sinking ship De Jonge Thomas by riding his horse into the sea seven times. He drowned on his eighth attempt.
- 1779 – The court-martial for malfeasance of Benedict Arnold, a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, begins.
- 1792 – Kentucky is admitted as the 15th state of the United States.
- 1794 – The battle of the Glorious First of June is fought, the first naval engagement between Britain and France during the French Revolutionary Wars.
- 1796 – Tennessee is admitted as the 16th state of the United States.
- 1812 – War of 1812: U.S. President James Madison asks the Congress to declare war on the United Kingdom.
- 1813 – Capture of USS Chesapeake.
- 1815 – Napoleon promulgates a revised Constitution after it passes a plebiscite.
- 1831 – James Clark Ross becomes the first European at the North Magnetic Pole.
- 1849 – Territorial Governor Alexander Ramsey declared the Territory of Minnesota officially established.
- 1855 – The American adventurer William Walker conquers Nicaragua.
- 1857 – Charles Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du mal is published.
- 1861 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fairfax Court House is fought.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Peninsula Campaign: The Battle of Seven Pines (or the Battle of Fair Oaks) ends inconclusively, with both sides claiming victory.
- 1868 – The Treaty of Bosque Redondo is signed, allowing the Navajo to return to their lands in Arizona and New Mexico.
- 1879 – Napoléon Eugène, the last dynastic Bonaparte, is killed in the Anglo-Zulu War.
- 1890 – The United States Census Bureau begins using Herman Hollerith’s tabulating machine to count census returns.
- 1913 – The Greek–Serbian Treaty of Alliance is signed, paving the way for the Second Balkan War.
- 1916 – Louis Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
- 1918 – World War I: Western Front: Battle of Belleau Wood: Allied Forces under John J. Pershing and James Harbord engage Imperial German Forces under Wilhelm, German Crown Prince.
- 1922 – The Royal Ulster Constabulary is founded.
- 1929 – The 1st Conference of the Communist Parties of Latin America is held in Buenos Aires.
- 1930 – The Deccan Queen is introduced as first intercity train between Bombay VT (Now Mumbai CST) and Poona (Pune) to run on electric locomotives.
- 1939 – First flight of the German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighter aircraft.
- 1941 – World War II: The Battle of Crete ends as Crete capitulates to Germany.
- 1941 – The Farhud, a massive pogrom in Iraq, starts and as a result, many Iraqi Jews are forced to leave their homes.
- 1943 – BOAC Flight 777 is shot down over the Bay of Biscay by German Junkers Ju 88s, killing British actor Leslie Howard and leading to speculation that it was actually an attempt to kill British Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
- 1946 – Ion Antonescu, “Conducator” (“Leader”) of Romania during World War II, is executed.
- 1950 – The Chinchaga fire ignites. By September, it would become the largest single fire on record in North America.
- 1958 – Charles de Gaulle comes out of retirement to lead France by decree for six months.
- 1961 – The Canadian Bank of Commerce and Imperial Bank of Canada merge to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, the largest bank merger in Canadian history.
- 1962 – Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel.
- 1964 – Kenya becomes a republic with Jomo Kenyatta (1897 – 22 August 1978) as its first President (1964 to 1978).
- 1974 – The Heimlich maneuver for rescuing choking victims is published in the journal Emergency Medicine.
- 1975 – The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan was founded by Jalal Talabani, Nawshirwan Mustafa, Fuad Masum and others.
- 1978 – The first international applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty are filed.
- 1979 – The first black-led government of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 90 years takes power.
- 1980 – Cable News Network (CNN) begins broadcasting.
- 1988 – European Central Bank is founded in Brussels.
- 1988 – The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty comes into effect.
- 1990 – Cold War: George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev sign a treaty to end chemical weapon production.
- 1993 – Dobrinja mortar attack: Thirteen are killed and 133 wounded when Serb mortar shells are fired at a soccer game in Dobrinja, west of Sarajevo.
- 1994 – Republic of South Africa becomes a Commonwealth republic.
- 1999 – American Airlines Flight 1420 slides and crashes while landing at Little Rock National Airport, killing 11 people on a flight from Dallas to Little Rock.
- 2001 – Nepalese royal massacre: Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal shoots and kills several members of his family including his father and mother.
- 2001 – Dolphinarium discotheque massacre: A Hamas suicide bomber kills 21 at a disco in Tel Aviv.
- 2004 – Oklahoma City bombing co-conspirator Terry Nichols is sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of a parole, breaking a Guinness World Record.
- 2008 – A fire on the back lot of Universal Studios breaks out, destroying the attraction King Kong Encounter and a large archive of master tapes for music and film, the full extent of which was not revealed until 2019.
- 2009 – Air France Flight 447 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil on a flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. All 228 passengers and crew are killed.
- 2009 – General Motors files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It is the fourth largest United States bankruptcy in history.
- 2011 – A rare tornado outbreak occurs in New England; a strong EF3 tornado strikes Springfield, Massachusetts, during the event, killing four people.
- 2011 – Space Shuttle Endeavour makes its final landing after 25 flights.
- 2015 – A ship carrying 458 people capsizes on Yangtze river in China’s Hubei province, killing 400 people.
Births on June 1
- 1134 – Geoffrey, Count of Nantes (d. 1158)
- 1300 – Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, English politician, Lord Marshal of England (d. 1338)
- 1451 – Giles Daubeney, 1st Baron Daubeney (d. 1508)
- 1460 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1491)
- 1480 – Tiedemann Giese, Polish bishop (d. 1550)
- 1498 – Maarten van Heemskerck, Dutch painter (d. 1574)
- 1522 – Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert, Dutch writer and scholar (d. 1590)
- 1563 – Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, English politician, Secretary of State for England (d. 1612)
- 1612 – Frans Post, Dutch painter (d. 1680)
- 1633 – Geminiano Montanari, Italian astronomer and academic (d. 1687)
- 1637 – Jacques Marquette, French missionary and explorer (d. 1675)
- 1653 – Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (d. 1704)
- 1675 – Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist and playwright (d. 1755)
- 1762 – Edmund Ignatius Rice, Irish priest and missionary, founded the Irish Christian Brothers (d. 1844)
- 1765 – Christiane Vulpius, mistress and wife of Johann Wolfgang Goethe (d. 1816)
- 1770 – Friedrich Laun, German author (d. 1849)
- 1790 – Ferdinand Raimund, Austrian actor and playwright (d. 1836)
- 1796 – Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot, French physicist and engineer (d. 1832)
- 1800 – Edward Deas Thomson, Australian educator and politician, Chief Secretary of New South Wales (d. 1879)
- 1801 – Brigham Young, American religious leader, 2nd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1877)
- 1804 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (d. 1857)
- 1808 – Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1881)
- 1815 – Otto of Greece (d. 1862)
- 1819 – Francis V, Duke of Modena (d. 1875)
- 1822 – Clementina Maude, Viscountess Hawarden, English portrait photographer (d. 1865)
- 1825 – John Hunt Morgan, American general (d. 1864)
- 1831 – John Bell Hood, American general (d. 1879)
- 1833 – John Marshall Harlan, American lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General of Kentucky (d. 1911)
- 1843 – Henry Faulds, Scottish physician and missionary, developed fingerprinting (d. 1930)
- 1844 – John J. Toffey, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1911)
- 1869 – Richard Wünsch, German philologist (d. 1915)
- 1873 – Elena Alistar, Bessarabian politician (d. 1955)
- 1874 – Yury Nikolaevich Voronov, Russian botanist (d. 1931)
- 1878 – John Masefield, English author and poet (d. 1967)
- 1879 – Max Emmerich, American triathlete and gymnast (d. 1956)
- 1882 – Nicolae Bivol, Moldovan businessman and politician, Mayor of Chișinău (d. 1940)
- 1887 – Clive Brook, English actor (d. 1974)
- 1889 – James Daugherty, American author, illustrator, and painter (d. 1974)
- 1889 – Charles Kay Ogden, English linguist and philosopher (d. 1957)
- 1890 – Frank Morgan, American actor (d. 1949)
- 1892 – Amanullah Khan, sovereign of the Kingdom of Afghanistan, (d. 1960)
- 1899 – Edward Charles Titchmarsh, English mathematician and academic (d. 1963)
- 1901 – Hap Day, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and manager (d. 1990)
- 1901 – Tom Gorman, Australian rugby league player (d. 1978)
- 1901 – John Van Druten, English-American playwright and director (d. 1957)
- 1903 – Vasyl Velychkovsky, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop and martyr (d. 1973)
- 1903 – Hans Vogt, Norwegian linguist and academic (d. 1986)
- 1905 – Robert Newton, English-American actor (d. 1956)
- 1907 – Jan Patočka, Czech philosopher (d. 1977)
- 1907 – Frank Whittle, English airman and engineer, developed the jet engine (d. 1996)
- 1908 – Julie Campbell Tatham, American author (d. 1999)
- 1909 – Yechezkel Kutscher, Slovakian-Israeli philologist and linguist (d. 1971)
- 1910 – Gyula Kállai, Hungarian communist leader, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the People’s Republic of Hungary (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Herbert Tichy, Austrian geologist, author, and mountaineer (d. 1987)
- 1913 – Bill Deedes, English journalist and politician (d. 2007)
- 1915 – John Randolph, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Jean Jérôme Hamer, Belgian Cardinal (d. 1996)
- 1917 – William Standish Knowles, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Robert Clarke, American actor and producer (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Nelson Riddle, American composer and bandleader (d. 1985)
- 1922 – Joan Caulfield, American model and actress (d. 1991)
- 1922 – Povel Ramel, Swedish singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2007)
- 1924 – William Sloane Coffin, American minister and activist (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Dilia Díaz Cisneros, Venezuelan teacher (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Johnny Berry, English footballer (d. 1994)
- 1926 – Andy Griffith, American actor, singer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Marilyn Monroe, American model and actress (d. 1962)
- 1926 – George Robb, English international footballer and teacher (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Richard Schweiker, American soldier and politician, 14th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Georgy Dobrovolsky, Ukrainian pilot and astronaut (d. 1971)
- 1928 – Steve Dodd, Australian actor and composer (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Bob Monkhouse, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1929 – Nargis, Indian actress (d. 1981)<ref”>Dilip Kumar (28 July 2014). Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow. Hay House, Inc. p. 137. ISBN 978-93-81398-96-8.</ref>
- 1929 – James H. Billington, American academic and Thirteenth Librarian of Congress (d. 2018)
- 1930 – John Lemmon, English logician and philosopher (d. 1966)
- 1930 – Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Matt Poore, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2020)
- 1930 – Edward Woodward, English actor (d. 2009)
- 1931 – Walter Horak, Austrian footballer (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Frank Cameron, New Zealand cricketer
- 1932 – Christopher Lasch, American historian and critic (d. 1994)
- 1933 – Haruo Remeliik, Palauan politician, 1st President of Palau (d. 1985)
- 1933 – Charles Wilson, American lieutenant and politician (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Pat Boone, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1934 – Peter Masterson, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1934 – Doris Buchanan Smith, American author (d. 2002)
- 1935 – Norman Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank, English architect, founded Foster and Partners
- 1935 – Reverend Ike, American minister and television host (d. 2009)
- 1935 – Jack Kralick, American baseball player (d. 2012)
- 1935 – Percy Adlon, German director, screenwriter and producer
- 1935 – John C. Reynolds, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Anatoly Albul, Soviet and Russian wrestler (d. 2013)
- 1936 – André Bourbeau, Canadian politician (d. 2018)
- 1936 – Bekim Fehmiu, Bosnian actor (d. 2010)
- 1936 – Gerald Scarfe, English illustrator and animator
- 1937 – Morgan Freeman, American actor and producer
- 1937 – Rosaleen Linehan, Irish actress
- 1937 – Colleen McCullough, Australian neuroscientist and author (d. 2015)
- 1939 – Cleavon Little, American actor and comedian (d. 1992)
- 1940 – René Auberjonois, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1940 – Katerina Gogou, Greek writer and actress (d. 1993)
- 1940 – Kip Thorne, American physicist, astronomer, and academic
- 1941 – Dean Chance, American baseball player and manager (d. 2015)
- 1941 – Toyo Ito, Japanese architect, designed the Torre Realia BCN and Hotel Porta Fira
- 1941 – Alexander V. Zakharov, Russian physicist and astronomer
- 1942 – Parveen Kumar, Pakistani-English physician and academic
- 1943 – Orietta Berti, Italian singer and actress
- 1943 – Richard Goode, American pianist
- 1943 – Lorrie Wilmot, South African cricketer (d. 2004)
- 1944 – Colin Blakemore, British neurobiologist
- 1944 – Robert Powell, English actor
- 1945 – Jim McCarty, American blues rock guitarist
- 1945 – Linda Scott, American singer
- 1945 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress (d. 2008)
- 1945 – Kerry Vincent, Australian chef and author
- 1945 – Frederica von Stade, American soprano and actress
- 1946 – Brian Cox, Scottish actor
- 1947 – Ron Dennis, English businessman, founded the McLaren Group
- 1947 – Jonathan Pryce, Welsh actor and singer
- 1947 – Ronnie Wood, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1948 – Powers Boothe, American actor (d. 2017)
- 1948 – Tomáš Halík, Czech Roman Catholic priest, philosopher, theologian and scholar
- 1948 – Michel Plasse, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2006)
- 1948 – Juhan Viiding, Estonian poet and actor (d. 1995)
- 1950 – Perrin Beatty, Canadian businessman and politician
- 1950 – Charlene, American singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Jean Lambert, English educator and politician
- 1950 – Michael McDowell, American author and screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1952 – Şenol Güneş, Turkish footballer and manager
- 1952 – David Lan, South African-English director and playwright
- 1952 – Mihaela Loghin, Romanian shot putter
- 1953 – Ronnie Dunn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Ted Field, American entrepreneur and race car driver
- 1954 – Jill Black, English lawyer and judge
- 1955 – Chiyonofuji Mitsugu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 2016)
- 1955 – Lorraine Moller, New Zealand runner
- 1955 – Tony Snow, American journalist, 26th White House Press Secretary (d. 2008)
- 1956 – Patrick Besson, French writer and journalist
- 1956 – Lisa Hartman Black, American actress
- 1956 – Petra Morsbach, German author
- 1958 – Nambaryn Enkhbayar, Mongolian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Mongolia
- 1958 – Gennadiy Valyukevich, Belarusian triple jumper (d. 2019)
- 1959 – Martin Brundle, English racing driver and sportscaster
- 1959 – Alan Wilder, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1960 – Simon Gallup, English musician (The Cure)
- 1960 – Vladimir Krutov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1960 – Sergey Kuznetsov, Russian footballer and manager
- 1960 – Giorgos Lillikas, Cypriot politician, 8th Cypriot Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1960 – Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (d. 2006)
- 1961 – Paul Coffey, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 – Mark Curry, American actor
- 1961 – Werner Günthör, Swiss shot putter and bobsledder
- 1961 – John Huston, American golfer
- 1961 – Peter Machajdík, Slovakian-German pianist and composer
- 1963 – Vital Borkelmans, Belgian footballer
- 1963 – Miles J. Padgett, Scottish physicist and academic
- 1963 – David Westhead, English actor and producer
- 1965 – Larisa Lazutina, Russian skier
- 1965 – Olga Nazarova, Russian sprinter
- 1965 – Nigel Short, English chess player and journalist
- 1966 – Greg Schiano, American football player and coach
- 1968 – Jason Donovan, Australian actor and singer
- 1968 – Jeff Hackett, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1968 – Mathias Rust, German aviator
- 1969 – Luis García Postigo, former Mexican footballer
- 1969 – Teri Polo, American actress
- 1970 – Georgie Gardner, Australian journalist and television host
- 1970 – Alexi Lalas, American soccer player, manager, and sportscaster
- 1971 – Mario Cimarro, Cuban-American actor and singer
- 1973 – Frédérik Deburghgraeve, Belgian swimmer
- 1973 – Adam Garcia, Australian actor
- 1973 – Derek Lowe, American baseball player
- 1973 – Heidi Klum, German-American model, fashion designer, and producer
- 1974 – Alanis Morissette, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actress
- 1974 – Michael Rasmussen, Danish cyclist
- 1974 – Sarah Teather, English politician
- 1974 – Akis Zikos, Greek footballer and coach
- 1975 – Michal Grošek, Czech-Swiss ice hockey player and coach
- 1975 – Frauke Petry, German politician
- 1975 – Ēriks Rags, Latvian javelin thrower
- 1976 – Marlon Devonish, English sprinter and coach
- 1976 – Kōhei Murakami, Japanese actor
- 1977 – Andrea Bogart, American actress
- 1977 – Arsen Gitinov, Russian and Kyrgyzstani freestyle wrestler
- 1977 – Danielle Harris, American actress
- 1977 – Brad Wilkerson, American baseball player and coach
- 1977 – Sarah Wayne Callies, American actress
- 1978 – Antonietta Di Martino, Italian high jumper
- 1978 – Matthew Hittinger, American poet and author
- 1979 – Santana Moss, American football player
- 1979 – Markus Persson, Swedish game designer, founded Mojang
- 1981 – Brandi Carlile, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Amy Schumer, American actress
- 1981 – Carlos Zambrano, Venezuelan-American baseball player
- 1981 – Aleksei Mikhailovich Uvarov, Russian footballer
- 1982 – Justine Henin, Belgian tennis player
- 1983 – Tetyana Hamera-Shmyrko, Ukrainian runner
- 1983 – Tõnis Sahk, Estonian long jumper
- 1984 – Jean Beausejour, Chilean footballer
- 1984 – Olivier Tielemans, Dutch racing driver
- 1985 – Tirunesh Dibaba, Ethiopian runner
- 1985 – Mário Hipólito, Angolan footballer
- 1985 – Dinesh Karthik, Indian cricketer
- 1985 – Nick Young, American basketball player
- 1985 – Sam Young, American basketball player
- 1986 – Moses Ndiema Masai, Kenyan runner
- 1986 – Chinedu Obasi, Nigerian footballer
- 1986 – Ben Smith, New Zealand rugby player
- 1987 – Zoltán Harsányi, Slovakian footballer
- 1987 – Jerel McNeal, American basketball player
- 1987 – Yarisley Silva, Cuban pole vaulter
- 1988 – Javier Hernández, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Nataliya Goncharova, Ukrainian/Russian volleyball player
- 1989 – Sammy Alex Mutahi, Kenyan runner
- 1990 – Miller Bolaños, Ecuadoran footballer
- 1990 – Kennie Chopart, Danish footballer
- 1990 – Carlota Ciganda, Spanish golfer
- 1990 – Martin Pembleton, English footballer
- 1990 – Bianca Perie, Romanian hammer thrower
- 1991 – Tyrone Roberts, Australian rugby league player
- 1993 – Sam Anas, American ice hockey player
- 1994 – Kagayaki Taishi, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1996 – Edvinas Gertmonas, Lithuanian footballer
- 1996 – Tom Holland, English actor
- 1999 – Dmitri Aliev, Russian figure skater
Deaths on June 1
- 195 BC – Emperor Gaozu of Han (b. 256 BC)
- 193 – Didius Julianus, Roman Emperor (b. 133)
- 352 – Ran Min, “Heavenly Prince” (Tian Wang) during the Sixteen Kingdoms
- 654 – Pyrrhus, patriarch of Constantinople
- 829 – Li Tongjie, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 847 – Xiao, empress of the Tang Dynasty
- 896 – Theodosius Romanus, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
- 932 – Thietmar, duke of Saxony
- 1146 – Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess regent of Brittany (b. 1068)
- 1186 – Minamoto no Yukiie, Japanese warlord
- 1220 – Henry de Bohun, 1st Earl of Hereford (b. 1176)
- 1310 – Marguerite Porete, French mystic
- 1354 – Kitabatake Chikafusa (b. 1293)
- 1434 – King Wladislaus II of Poland
- 1571 – John Story, English martyr (b. 1504)
- 1616 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shogun (b. 1543)
- 1625 – Honoré d’Urfé, French author and poet (b. 1568)
- 1639 – Melchior Franck, German composer (b. 1579)
- 1660 – Mary Dyer, English-American martyr (b. 1611)
- 1662 – Zhu Youlang, Chinese emperor (b. 1623)
- 1681 – Cornelis Saftleven, Dutch genre painter (b. 1607)
- 1710 – David Mitchell, Scottish admiral and politician (b. 1642)
- 1740 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian (b. 1657)
- 1769 – Edward Holyoke, American pastor and academic (b. 1689)
- 1773 – Wolraad Woltemade, South African folk hero (b. 1708)
- 1795 – Pierre-Joseph Desault, French anatomist and surgeon (b. 1744)
- 1815 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1753)
- 1823 – Louis-Nicolas Davout, French general and politician, French Minister of War (b. 1770)
- 1826 – J. F. Oberlin, French pastor and philanthropist (b. 1740)
- 1830 – Swaminarayan, Indian religious leader (b. 1781)
- 1833 – Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut (b. 1760)
- 1841 – David Wilkie, Scottish painter and academic (b. 1785)
- 1846 – Pope Gregory XVI (b. 1765)
- 1861 – John Quincy Marr, American captain (b. 1825)
- 1864 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebel, led the Taiping Rebellion (b. 1812)
- 1868 – James Buchanan, American lawyer and politician, 15th President of the United States (b. 1791)
- 1872 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr., American publisher, founded the New York Herald (b. 1795)
- 1873 – Joseph Howe, Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1804)
- 1876 – Hristo Botev, Bulgarian poet and journalist (b. 1848)
- 1879 – Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France (b. 1856)
- 1908 – Allen Butler Talcott, American painter (b. 1867)
- 1927 – Lizzie Borden, American accused murderer (b. 1860)
- 1927 – J. B. Bury, Irish historian, philologist, and scholar (b. 1861)
- 1934 – Sir Alfred Rawlinson, 3rd Baronet, English colonel and polo player (b. 1867)
- 1935 – Arthur Arz von Straußenburg, Romanian-Hungarian general (d. 1857)
- 1938 – Ödön von Horváth, Croatian-French author and playwright (b. 1901)
- 1941 – Hans Berger, German neurologist and academic (b. 1873)
- 1941 – Hugh Walpole, New Zealand-English author (b. 1884)
- 1943 – Leslie Howard, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
- 1943 – Wilfrid Israel, English-German businessman and philanthropist (b. 1899)
- 1946 – Ion Antonescu, Romanian marshal and politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1882)
- 1948 – Alex Gard, Russian-American cartoonist (b. 1900)
- 1952 – John Dewey, American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1859)
- 1953 – Emanuel Vidović, Croatian painter and illustrator (b. 1870)
- 1954 – Martin Andersen Nexø, Danish-German journalist and author (b. 1869)
- 1960 – Lester Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1883)
- 1960 – Paula Hitler, German-Austrian sister of Adolf Hitler (b. 1896)
- 1962 – Adolf Eichmann, a German Nazi SS-Obersturmbannführer (b. 1906)
- 1963 – Walter Lee, Australian politician, 24th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1874)
- 1965 – Curly Lambeau, American football player and coach, founded the Green Bay Packers (b. 1898)
- 1966 – Papa Jack Laine, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1873)
- 1968 – Helen Keller, American author and activist (b. 1880)
- 1968 – André Laurendeau, Canadian playwright, journalist, and politician (b. 1912)
- 1969 – Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (b. 1904)
- 1971 – Reinhold Niebuhr, American theologian and academic (b. 1892)
- 1979 – Werner Forssmann, German physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1980 – Arthur Nielsen, American businessman, founded the ACNielsen company (b. 1897)
- 1981 – Carl Vinson, American lawyer and politician (b. 1883)
- 1983 – Prince Charles, Count of Flanders (b. 1903)
- 1985 – Richard Greene, English actor and soldier (b. 1918)
- 1986 – Jo Gartner, Austrian racing driver (b. 1958)
- 1987 – Rashid Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1921)
- 1988 – Herbert Feigl, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1902)
- 1989 – Aurelio Lampredi, Italian engineer, designed the Ferrari Lampredi engine (b. 1917)
- 1991 – David Ruffin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- 1996 – Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Indian politician, 6th President of India (b. 1913)
- 1999 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer, invented the hovercraft (b. 1910)
- 2000 – Tito Puente, American drummer, composer, and producer (b. 1923)
- 2001 – Hank Ketcham, American cartoonist, created Dennis the Menace (b. 1920)
- 2001 – notable victims of the Nepalese royal massacre
- Aishwarya of Nepal (b. 1949)
- Birendra of Nepal (b. 1945)
- Dhirendra of Nepal (b. 1950)
- Prince Nirajan of Nepal (b. 1978)
- Princess Shruti of Nepal (b. 1976)
- 2002 – Hansie Cronje, South African cricketer (b. 1969)
- 2004 – William Manchester, American historian and author (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Hilda Crosby Standish, American physician (b. 1902)
- 2005 – George Mikan, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Rocío Jurado, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Tony Thompson, American singer and songwriter (Hi-Five) (b. 1975)
- 2008 – Tommy Lapid, Israeli journalist and politician, 17th Justice Minister of Israel (b. 1931)
- 2008 – Yves Saint Laurent, French fashion designer, founded Saint Laurent Paris (b. 1936)
- 2009 – Bob Christie, American race car driver (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Vincent O’Brien, Irish horse trainer (b. 1917)
- 2010 – Kazuo Ohno, Japanese dancer (b. 1906)
- 2010 – Andrei Voznesensky, Russian poet (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Haleh Sahabi, Iranian humanitarian and activist (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Faruq Z. Bey, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Pádraig Faulkner, Irish educator and politician, 19th Irish Minister of Defence (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Milan Gaľa, Slovak politician (b. 1953)
- 2013 – James Kelleher, Canadian lawyer and politician, 33rd Solicitor General of Canada (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Ann B. Davis, American actress (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Valentin Mankin, Ukrainian sailor (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Charles Kennedy, Scottish journalist and politician (b. 1959)
- 2015 – Joan Kirner, Australian educator and politician, 42nd Premier of Victoria (b. 1938)
- 2015 – Nicholas Liverpool, Dominican lawyer and politician, 6th President of Dominica (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Jacques Parizeau, Canadian economist and politician, 26th Premier of Quebec (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Jean Ritchie, American singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
- 2018 – Sinan Sakić, Serbian pop-folk singer (b. 1956)
- 2019 – Ani Yudhoyono, Indonesian politician, 6th First Lady of Indonesia. (b. 1952)
Holidays and observances on June 1
- Children’s Day (International), and its related observances:
- The Day of Protection of Children Rights (Armenia)
- Mothers’ and Children’s Day (Mongolia)
- Christian feast day:
- Annibale Maria di Francia
- Crescentinus
- Fortunatus of Spoleto
- Herculanus of Piegaro
- Íñigo of Oña
- Justin Martyr (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, Lutheran)
- Ronan of Locronan
- June 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Canadian Forces Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Canada)
- Earliest day on which Father’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Lithuania)
- Earliest day on which June Holiday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (Ireland)
- Earliest day on which Labour Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday in June. (The Bahamas)
- Earliest day on which Teacher’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Hungary)
- Earliest day on which the Queen’s Birthday can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in June. (New Zealand, Cook Islands, Fiji)
- Earliest day on which Seamen’s Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Iceland)
- Earliest day on which Western Australia Day can fall, while June 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in June. (Western Australia)
- Global Day of Parents (International)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Samoa from New Zealand in 1962.
- Madaraka Day (Kenya)
- National Maritime Day (Mexico)
- National Tree Planting Day (Cambodia)
- Pancasila Day (Indonesia)
- President’s Day (Palau)
- The beginning of Crop over, celebrated until the first Monday of August. (Barbados)
- Victory Day (Tunisia)
- World Milk Day (International)
-
April 21 in History
- 753 BC – Romulus founds Rome (traditional date).
- 43 BC – Battle of Mutina: Mark Antony is again defeated in battle by Aulus Hirtius, who is killed. Antony fails to capture Mutina and Decimus Brutus is murdered shortly after.
- 900 – The Laguna Copperplate Inscription (the earliest known written document found in what is now the Philippines): the Commander-in-Chief of the Kingdom of Tondo, as represented by the Honourable Jayadewa, Lord Minister of Pailah, pardons from all debt the Honourable Namwaran and his relations.
- 1092 – The Diocese of Pisa is elevated to the rank of metropolitan archdiocese by Pope Urban II
- 1506 – The three-day Lisbon Massacre comes to an end with the slaughter of over 1,900 suspected Jews by Portuguese Catholics.
- 1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.
- 1526 – The last ruler of the Lodi dynasty, Ibrahim Lodi is defeated and killed by Babur in the First Battle of Panipat.
- 1615 – The Wignacourt Aqueduct is inaugurated in Malta.
- 1782 – The city of Rattanakosin, now known internationally as Bangkok, is founded on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River by King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
- 1789 – George Washington’s reception at Trenton is hosted by the Ladies of Trenton as he journeys to New York City for his first inauguration.
- 1792 – Tiradentes, a revolutionary leading a movement for Brazil’s independence, is hanged, drawn and quartered.
- 1802 – Twelve thousand Wahhabis under Abdul-Aziz bin Muhammad, invaded city of Karbala, killed over three thousand inhabitants, and sacked the city.
- 1806 – Action of 21 April 1806: A French frigate escapes British forces off the coast of South Africa.
- 1809 – Two Austrian army corps are driven from Landshut by a First French Empire army led by Napoleon as two French corps to the north hold off the main Austrian army on the first day of the Battle of Eckmühl.
- 1821 – Benderli Ali Pasha arrives in Constantinople as the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire; he remains in power for only nine days before being sent into exile.
- 1836 – Texas Revolution: The Battle of San Jacinto: Republic of Texas forces under Sam Houston defeat troops under Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
- 1856 – Australian labour movement: Stonemasons and building workers on building sites around Melbourne march from the University of Melbourne to Parliament House to achieve an eight-hour day.
- 1894 – Norway formally adopts the Krag–Jørgensen bolt-action rifle as the main arm of its armed forces, a weapon that would remain in service for almost 50 years.
- 1898 – Spanish–American War: The United States Navy begins a blockade of Cuban ports. When the U.S. Congress issued a declaration of war on April 25, it declared that a state of war had existed from this date.
- 1914 – Ypiranga incident: A German arms shipment to Mexico is intercepted by the U.S. Navy near Veracruz.
- 1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as “The Red Baron”, is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.
- 1926 – Al-Baqi cemetery, former site of the mausoleum of four Shi’a Imams, is leveled to the ground by Wahhabis.
- 1934 – The “Surgeon’s Photograph”, the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail (in 1999, it is revealed to be a hoax).
- 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces south of Berlin at Zossen attack the German High Command headquarters.
- 1948 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 47 relating to Kashmir conflict is adopted.
- 1952 – Secretary’s Day (now Administrative Professionals’ Day) is first celebrated.
- 1958 – United Airlines Flight 736 collides into a United States Air Force fighter jet near Arden, Nevada in what is now Enterprise, Nevada.
- 1960 – Brasília, Brazil’s capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
- 1962 – The Seattle World’s Fair (Century 21 Exposition) opens. It is the first World’s Fair in the United States since World War II.
- 1963 – The first election of the Universal House of Justice is held, marking its establishment as the supreme governing institution of the Bahá’í Faith.
- 1964 – A Transit-5bn satellite fails to reach orbit after launch; as it re-enters the atmosphere, 2.1 pounds (0.95 kg) of radioactive plutonium in its SNAP RTG power source is widely dispersed.
- 1965 – The 1964–1965 New York World’s Fair opens for its second and final season.
- 1966 – Rastafari movement: Haile Selassie of Ethiopia visits Jamaica, an event now celebrated as Grounation Day.
- 1967 – A few days before the general election in Greece, Colonel George Papadopoulos leads a coup d’état, establishing a military regime that lasts for seven years.
- 1975 – Vietnam War: President of South Vietnam Nguyễn Văn Thiệu flees Saigon, as Xuân Lộc, the last South Vietnamese outpost blocking a direct North Vietnamese assault on Saigon, falls.
- 1977 – Annie opens on Broadway.
- 1982 – Baseball: Rollie Fingers of the Milwaukee Brewers becomes the first pitcher to record 300 saves.
- 1985 – The compound of the militant group The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord surrenders to federal authorities in Arkansas after a two-day government siege.
- 1987 – The Tamil Tigers are blamed for a car bomb that detonates in the Sri Lankan capital city of Colombo, killing 106 people.
- 1989 – Tiananmen Square protests of 1989: In Beijing, around 100,000 students gather in Tiananmen Square to commemorate Chinese reform leader Hu Yaobang.
- 1993 – The Supreme Court in La Paz, Bolivia, sentences former dictator Luis García Meza to 30 years in jail without parole for murder, theft, fraud and violating the constitution.
- 2004 – Five suicide car bombers target police stations in and around Basra, killing 74 people and wounding 160.
- 2010 – The controversial Kharkiv Pact (Russian Ukrainian Naval Base for Gas Treaty) is signed in Kharkiv, Ukraine, by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev; it was unilaterally terminated by Russia on March 31, 2014.
- 2012 – Two trains are involved in a head-on collision near Sloterdijk, Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, injuring 116 people.
- 2014 – The American city of Flint, Michigan switches its water source to the Flint River, beginning the ongoing Flint water crisis which has caused lead poisoning in up to 12,000 people, and 15 deaths from Legionnaires disease, ultimately leading to criminal indictments against 15 people, five of whom have been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
- 2019 – Eight bombs explode at churches, hotels, and other locations in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday; more than 200 people are killed.
Births on April 21
- 1132 – Sancho VI, king of Navarre (d. 1194)
- 1488 – Ulrich von Hutten, German religious reformer (d. 1523)
- 1523 – Marco Antonio Bragadin, Venetian lawyer and military officer (d. 1571)
- 1555 – Ludovico Carracci, Italian painter and etcher (d. 1619)
- 1619 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch founder of Cape Town (d. 1677)
- 1630 – Pieter Gerritsz van Roestraten, Dutch-English painter (d. 1700)
- 1631 – Francesco Maidalchini, Catholic cardinal (d. 1700)
- 1642 – Simon de la Loubère, French mathematician, poet, and diplomat (d. 1729)
- 1651 – Joseph Vaz, Sri Lankan priest, missionary, and saint (d. 1711)
- 1652 – Michel Rolle, French mathematician and academic (d. 1719)
- 1671 – John Law, Scottish economist (d. 1729)
- 1673 – Wilhelmine Amalia of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1742)
- 1713 – Louis de Noailles, French general (d. 1793)
- 1730 – Antonín Kammel, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1788)
- 1752 – Pierre-Alexandre-Laurent Forfait, French engineer, hydrographer, and politician, French Minister of Marine and the Colonies (d. 1807)
- 1752 – Humphry Repton, English gardener and author (d. 1818)
- 1774 – Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (d. 1862)
- 1775 – Alexander Anderson, Scottish-American illustrator and engraver (d. 1870)
- 1790 – Manuel Blanco Encalada, Spanish-Chilean admiral and politician, 1st President of Chile (d. 1876)
- 1810 – John Putnam Chapin, American politician, 10th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1864)
- 1811 – Alson Sherman, American merchant and politician, 8th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1903)
- 1814 – Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts, English art collector and philanthropist (d. 1906)
- 1816 – Charlotte Brontë, Cornish-English novelist and poet (d. 1855)
- 1837 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish lieutenant and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1922)
- 1838 – John Muir, Scottish-American environmentalist and author (d. 1914)
- 1851 – Charles Barrois, French geologist and palaeontologist (d. 1939)
- 1854 – William Stang, German-American bishop (d. 1907)
- 1864 – Max Weber, German economist and sociologist (d. 1920)
- 1868 – Alfred Henry Maurer, American painter (d. 1932)
- 1870 – Edwin Stanton Porter, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1941)
- 1874 – Vincent Scotto, French actor and composer (d. 1952)
- 1882 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
- 1885 – Tatu Kolehmainen, Finnish runner (d. 1967)
- 1887 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball manager (d. 1978)
- 1889 – Marcel Boussac, French businessman (d. 1980)
- 1889 – Paul Karrer, Russian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
- 1889 – Efrem Zimbalist, Sr., Russian-American violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1985)
- 1892 – Freddie Dixon, English motorcycle racer and racing driver (d. 1956)
- 1893 – Romeo Bertini, Italian runner (d. 1973)
- 1898 – Maurice Wilson, English soldier, pilot, and mountaineer (d. 1934)
- 1899 – Randall Thompson, American composer and academic (d. 1984)
- 1903 – Luis Saslavsky, Argentinian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1904 – Jean Hélion, French painter (d. 1987)
- 1904 – Odilo Globocnik, Italian-Austrian SS officer (d. 1945)
- 1905 – Pat Brown, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of California (d. 1996)
- 1911 – Ivan Combe, American businessman, developed Clearasil (d. 2000)
- 1911 – Kemal Satır, Turkish physician and politician (d. 1991)
- 1912 – Eve Arnold, Russian-American photojournalist (d. 2012)
- 1912 – Marcel Camus, French director and screenwriter (d. 1982)
- 1913 – Norman Parkinson, English photographer (d. 1990)
- 1914 – Angelo Savoldi, Italian-American wrestler and promoter, co-founded International World Class Championship Wrestling (d. 2013)
- 1915 – Garrett Hardin, American ecologist, author, and academic (d. 2003)
- 1915 – Anthony Quinn, Mexican-American actor (d. 2001)
- 1916 – Estella B. Diggs, American businesswoman and politician (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Eddy Christiani, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
- 1919 – Don Cornell, American singer (d. 2004)
- 1919 – Roger Doucet, Canadian tenor (d. 1981)
- 1919 – Licio Gelli, Italian financer (d. 2015)
- 1920 – Edmund Adamkiewicz, German footballer (d. 1991)
- 1922 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (d. 1987)
- 1922 – Allan Watkins, Welsh-English cricketer (d. 2011)
- 1923 – John Mortimer, English lawyer and author (d. 2009)
- 1924 – Ira Louvin, American singer-songwriter and mandolin player (d. 1965)
- 1925 – Anthony Mason, Australian soldier and judge, 9th Chief Justice of Australia
- 1925 – John Swinton of Kimmerghame, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berwickshire (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and her other realms
- 1926 – Arthur Rowley, English footballer, manager and cricketer (d. 2002)
- 1927 – Ahmed Arif, Turkish poet and author (d. 1991)
- 1928 – Jack Evans, Welsh-Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1996)
- 1930 – Hilda Hilst, Brazilian author, poet, and playwright (d. 2004)
- 1930 – Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (d. 1989)
- 1930 – Dieter Roth, German-Swiss illustrator and sculptor (d. 1998)
- 1930 – Jack Taylor, English footballer and referee (d. 2012)
- 1931 – Morgan Wootten, American high school basketball coach (d. 2020)
- 1932 – Slide Hampton, African-American trombonist and composer
- 1932 – Elaine May, American actress, comedian, director, and screenwriter
- 1932 – Angela Mortimer, English tennis player
- 1933 – Edelmiro Amante, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Easley Blackwood, Jr., American pianist, composer, and educator
- 1933 – Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Iraqi patriarch (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Charles Grodin, American actor and talk show host
- 1935 – Thomas Kean, American academic and politician, 48th Governor of New Jersey
- 1936 – James Dobson, American evangelist, psychologist, and author, founded Focus on the Family
- 1936 – Reg Fleming, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 2009)
- 1937 – Gary Peters, American baseball player
- 1937 – Ben Zinn, Israeli-born American academic and former international soccer player
- 1939 – John McCabe, English pianist and composer (d. 2015)
- 1939 – Sister Helen Prejean, American nun, activist, and author
- 1939 – Reni Santoni, American actor
- 1940 – Jacques Caron, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1940 – Souleymane Cissé, Malian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1941 – David L. Boren, American lawyer and politician, 21st Governor of Oklahoma
- 1942 – Geoffrey Palmer, New Zealand politician, 33rd Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 1945 – Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan, Indian cricketer and umpire
- 1945 – Mark Wainberg, Canadian researcher and HIV/AIDS activist (d. 2017)
- 1945 – Diana Darvey, English actress, singer and dancer (d. 2000)
- 1947 – Al Bumbry, American baseball player
- 1947 – Iggy Pop, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1947 – John Weider, English bass player
- 1948 – Gary Condit, American businessman and politician
- 1948 – Paul Davis, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2008)
- 1948 – Josef Flammer, Swiss ophthalmologist
- 1948 – Dieter Fromm, German runner
- 1949 – Patti LuPone, American actress and singer
- 1950 – Shivaji Satam, Indian actor
- 1951 – Tony Danza, American actor and producer
- 1951 – Michael Freedman, American mathematician and academic
- 1951 – Bob Varsha, American sportscaster
- 1951 – Steve Vickers, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1952 – Gerald Early, American author and academic
- 1952 – Cheryl Gillan, British businesswoman and politician, Secretary of State for Wales
- 1953 – John Brumby, Australian politician, 45th Premier of Victoria
- 1954 – Ebiet G. Ade, Indonesian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – James Morrison, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1955 – Murathan Mungan, Turkish author, poet, and playwright
- 1955 – Doug Soetaert, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1956 – Peter Kosminsky, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1956 – Phillip Longman, German-American demographer and journalist
- 1957 – Hervé Le Tellier, French linguist and author
- 1957 – Jesse Orosco, American baseball player
- 1957 – Herbert Wetterauer, German painter, sculptor, and author
- 1958 – Andie MacDowell, American model, actress, and producer
- 1958 – Yoshito Usui, Japanese illustrator (d. 2009)
- 1958 – Michael Zarnock, American author
- 1959 – Tim Jacobus, American illustrator and painter
- 1959 – Olga Kuragina, Russian pentathlete
- 1959 – Arno Pijpers, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1959 – Robert Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1960 – Michel Goulet, Canadian ice hockey player and scout
- 1960 – Julius Korir, Kenyan runner
- 1961 – Cathy Cavadini, American voice actress
- 1961 – Carey Hayes, American screenwriter and producer
- 1961 – Chad Hayes, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Neale Marmon, English-German footballer, coach, and manager
- 1961 – David Servan-Schreiber, French physician, neuroscientist, and author (d. 2011)
- 1962 – Les Lancaster, American baseball player and coach
- 1962 – Craig Robinson, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 – Aavo Sarap, Estonian footballer and coach
- 1963 – Ken Caminiti, American baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1963 – Roy Dupuis, Canadian actor
- 1963 – John Cameron Mitchell, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1964 – Alex Baumann, Czech-Canadian swimmer
- 1964 – Ludmila Engquist, Russian-Swedish hurdler
- 1965 – Ed Belfour, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 – Karen Foster, American model and actress
- 1965 – Gary Grant, American basketball player
- 1965 – Thomas Helmer, German footballer
- 1965 – Fiona Kelleghan, American academic, critic and librarian
- 1967 – Emilio Valle, Cuban hurdler
- 1968 – Peter van Vossen, Dutch footballer and coach
- 1969 – John Kibowen, Kenyan runner
- 1969 – Toby Stephens, English actor
- 1970 – Jeff Anderson, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1970 – Glen Hansard, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1970 – Rob Riggle, American actor and comedian
- 1970 – Nicole Sullivan, American actress, comedian, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Axl Rotten, American wrestler (d. 2016)
- 1971 – Michael Turner, American author and illustrator (d. 2008)
- 1972 – Richard Chelimo, Kenyan runner (d. 2001)
- 1972 – Gwendal Peizerat, French ice dancer
- 1973 – Steve Backshall, English naturalist, writer, and television presenter
- 1973 – Jonathan Nsenga, Belgian hurdler and coach
- 1974 – Maksim Gruznov, Estonian footballer
- 1974 – Orlando Jordan, American wrestler
- 1974 – David Peachey, Australian rugby league player
- 1975 – Danyon Loader, New Zealand swimmer
- 1976 – Rommel Adducul, Filipino basketball player
- 1976 – Petero Civoniceva, Fijian-Australian rugby league player
- 1977 – Gyula Koi, Hungarian scholar and educator
- 1977 – Jamie Salé, Canadian figure skater
- 1978 – Jacob Burns, Australian footballer
- 1978 – Jukka Nevalainen, Finnish drummer
- 1978 – Yuliya Pechonkina, Russian hurdler
- 1979 – Virginie Basselot, French chef
- 1979 – Tobias Linderoth, French-Swedish footballer and coach
- 1979 – James McAvoy, Scottish actor
- 1980 – Jeff Keppinger, American baseball player
- 1980 – Vincent Lecavalier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Tony Romo, American football player
- 1981 – Mads Junker, Danish footballer
- 1982 – Khalif Barnes, American football player
- 1982 – Micheal Luck, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Carnell Williams, American football player
- 1983 – Paweł Brożek, Polish footballer
- 1983 – Marco Donadel, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Tarvaris Jackson, American football player (d. 2020)
- 1984 – Shayna Fox, American voice actress
- 1986 – Audra Cohen, American tennis player
- 1986 – Alexander Edler, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1986 – Rodney Stuckey, American basketball player
- 1986 – Mirko Valdifiori, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Nadif Chowdhury, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1987 – Eric Devendorf, American basketball player
- 1987 – Leroy George, Dutch footballer
- 1987 – Anastasia Prikhodko, Ukrainian singer
- 1988 – Ricky Berens, American swimmer
- 1988 – Jencarlos Canela, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1988 – Pedro Mosquera, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Adam Rooney, Irish footballer
- 1989 – Tatyana McFadden, Russian-American sprinter and skier
- 1989 – Carlos Muñoz, Chilean footballer
- 1990 – Aleksandar Prijović, Swiss-born Serbian footballer
- 1992 – Isco, Spanish footballer
- 1992 – Rene Santos, Brazilian footballer
- 1992 – Joc Pederson, American baseball player
- 1994 – Mitchell Weiser, German footballer
Deaths on April 21
- 234 – Emperor Xian of Han, Chinese emperor (b. 181)
- 586 – Liuvigild, king of the Visigoths
- 847 – Odgar, Frankish archbishop of Mainz
- 866 – Bardas, de facto regent of the Byzantine Empire
- 941 – Bajkam, de facto regent of the Abbasid Caliphate
- 1073 – Pope Alexander II
- 1109 – Anselm of Canterbury, Italian-English archbishop and saint (b. 1033)
- 1136 – Stephen, Count of Tréguier Breton noblemen (b. c. 1058/62)
- 1142 – Peter Abelard, French philosopher and theologian (b. 1079)
- 1213 – Maria of Montpellier, Lady of Montpellier, Queen of Aragon (b. 1182)
- 1329 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1282)
- 1400 – John Wittlebury, English politician (b. 1333)
- 1509 – Henry VII of England (b. 1457)
- 1557 – Petrus Apianus, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1495)
- 1574 – Cosimo I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1519)
- 1591 – Sen no Rikyū, Japanese exponent of the tea ceremony (b. 1522)
- 1650 – Yagyū Jūbei Mitsuyoshi, Japanese samurai (b. 1607)
- 1668 – Jan Boeckhorst, Flemish painter (b. c. 1604)
- 1699 – Jean Racine, French playwright and poet (b. 1639)
- 1719 – Philippe de La Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (b. 1640)
- 1720 – Antoine Hamilton, Irish-French soldier and author (b. 1646)
- 1722 – Robert Beverley, Jr., English historian and author (b. 1673)
- 1736 – Prince Eugene of Savoy (b. 1663)
- 1740 – Thomas Tickell, English poet and author (b. 1685)
- 1758 – Francesco Zerafa, Maltese architect (b. 1679)
- 1815 – Joseph Winston, American soldier and politician (b. 1746)
- 1825 – Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathematician and academic (b. 1765)
- 1852 – Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (b. 1787)
- 1863 – Sir Robert Bateson, 1st Baronet, Irish politician (b. 1782)
- 1900 – Vikramatji Khimojiraj, Indian ruler (b. 1819)
- 1910 – Mark Twain, American novelist, humorist, and critic (b. 1835)
- 1918 – Manfred von Richthofen, German captain and pilot (b. 1892)
- 1924 – Eleonora Duse, Italian actress (b. 1858)
- 1930 – Robert Bridges, English poet and author (b. 1844)
- 1932 – Friedrich Gustav Piffl, Bohemian cardinal (b. 1864)
- 1938 – Muhammad Iqbal, Indian-Pakistani philosopher and poet (b. 1877)
- 1941 – Fritz Manteuffel, German gymnast (b. 1875)
- 1945 – Walter Model, German field marshal (b. 1891)
- 1946 – John Maynard Keynes, English economist and philosopher (b. 1883)
- 1948 – Aldo Leopold, American ecologist and author (b. 1887)
- 1952 – Leslie Banks, American actor, director and producer (b. 1890)
- 1954 – Emil Leon Post, Polish-American mathematician and logician (b. 1897)
- 1956 – Charles MacArthur, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1895)
- 1965 – Edward Victor Appleton, English-Scottish physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
- 1971 – François Duvalier, Haitian physician and politician, 40th President of Haiti (b. 1907)
- 1973 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1894)
- 1973 – Kemal Tahir, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1910)
- 1974 – Chic Harley, American football player (b. 1894)
- 1977 – Gummo Marx, American vaudevillian and talent agent (b. 1893)
- 1978 – Sandy Denny, English singer-songwriter (b.1947)
- 1978 – Thomas Wyatt Turner, American biologist and academic (b. 1877)
- 1980 – Alexander Oparin, Russian biochemist and academic (b. 1894)
- 1980 – Sohrab Sepehri, Iranian poet and painter (b. 1928)
- 1983 – Walter Slezak, Austrian-American actor and singer (b. 1902)
- 1984 – Marcel Janco, Romanian-Israeli artist (b. 1895)
- 1984 – Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian engineer and mountaineer (b. 1943)
- 1985 – Rudi Gernreich, Austrian-American fashion designer, created the monokini (b. 1922)
- 1985 – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian banker and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (b. 1910)
- 1986 – Marjorie Eaton, American painter and actress (b. 1901)
- 1986 – Salah Jahin, Egyptian poet, playwright, and composer (b. 1930)
- 1987 – Gustav Bergmann, Austrian-American philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1906)
- 1989 – James Kirkwood, Jr., American actor, playwright, and author (b. 1924)
- 1990 – Erté, Russian-French illustrator (b. 1892)
- 1991 – Willi Boskovsky, Austrian violinist and conductor (b. 1909)
- 1996 – Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-born American engineer and race car driver (b. 1909)
- 1996 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Chechen general and politician, 1st President of Ichkeria (b. 1944)
- 1996 – Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistani cricketer (b. 1925)
- 1996 – Jimmy Snyder, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
- 1998 – Jean-François Lyotard, French sociologist and philosopher (b. 1924)
- 1999 – Buddy Rogers, American actor (b. 1904)
- 2003 – Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and activist (b. 1933)
- 2004 – Mary McGrory, American journalist (b. 1918)
- 2005 – Gerry Marshall, English race car driver and journalist (b. 1941)
- 2006 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand commander and pilot (b. 1912)
- 2006 – T. K. Ramakrishnan, Indian politician (b. 1922)
- 2006 – Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1931)
- 2007 – Lobby Loyde, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1941)
- 2009 – Vivian Maier, American photographer (b. 1926)
- 2010 – Gustav Lorentzen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1947)
- 2010 – Juan Antonio Samaranch, Spanish businessman, seventh President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1920)
- 2010 – Kanagaratnam Sriskandan, Sri Lankan-English engineer and civil servant (b. 1930)
- 2011 – Catharina Halkes, Dutch theologian and academic (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Doris Betts, American author and academic (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Charles Colson, American lawyer and activist, founded Prison Fellowship (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Albert Falco, French captain and diver (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Charles Higham, English-American author and poet (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Jerry Toppazzini, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Chrissy Amphlett, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1959)
- 2013 – Shakuntala Devi, Indian mathematician and astrologer (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Leopold Engleitner, Austrian Holocaust survivor, author, and educator (b. 1905)
- 2013 – Gordon D. Gayle, American general and historian (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Herb Gray, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Janet Gray Hayes, American politician, 60th Mayor of San Jose (b. 1926)
- 2014 – George H. Heilmeier, American engineer (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (b. 1930)
- 2015 – M. H. Abrams, American author, critic, and academic (b. 1912)
- 2015 – Steve Byrnes, American sportscaster and producer (b. 1959)
- 2015 – John Moshoeu, South African footballer and manager (b. 1965)
- 2015 – Janaki Ballabh Patnaik, Indian politician, Governor of Assam (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Sydney Valpy Radley-Walters, Canadian general (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Betsy von Furstenberg, German-American actress (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Prince, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (b. 1958)
- 2017 – Ugo Ehiogu, English footballer (b. 1972)
- 2018 – Verne Troyer, American actor (b. 1969)
- 2018 – Nabi Tajima, Japanese supercentenarian, oldest Japanese and Asian person ever, last verified person born in the 19th century (b. 1900)
- 2019 – Polly Higgins, Scottish barrister, author and environmental lobbyist, (b. 1968)
Holidays and observances April 21
- Christian feast day:
- Abdecalas
- Anastasius Sinaita
- Anselm of Canterbury
- Beuno
- Conrad of Parzham
- Holy Infant of Good Health
- Shemon Bar Sabbae
- Wolbodo
- April 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Civil Service Day (India)
- Grounation Day (Rastafari movement)
- Heroic Defense of Veracruz (Mexico)
- Kang Pan-sok’s Birthday (North Korea)
- Kartini Day (Indonesia)
- Local Self Government Day (Russia)
- National Tea Day (United Kingdom)
- National Tree Planting Day (Kenya)
- San Jacinto Day (Texas)
- Queen’s Official Birthday (Falkland Islands)
- Tiradentes’ Day (Brazil)
- Vietnam Book Day (Vietnam)
-
April 18 in History
- 796 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The patrician Osbald is crowned, but abdicates within 27 days.
- 1506 – The cornerstone of the current St. Peter’s Basilica is laid.
- 1518 – Bona Sforza is crowned as queen consort of Poland.
- 1521 – Trial of Martin Luther begins its second day during the assembly of the Diet of Worms. He refuses to recant his teachings despite the risk of excommunication.
- 1689 – Bostonians rise up in rebellion against Sir Edmund Andros.
- 1738 – Real Academia de la Historia (“Royal Academy of History”) is founded in Madrid.
- 1775 – American Revolution: The British advancement by sea begins; Paul Revere and other riders warn the countryside of the troop movements.
- 1783 – Three-Fifths Compromise: the first instance of black slaves in the United States of America being counted as three fifths of persons (for the purpose of taxation), in a resolution of the Congress of the Confederation. This was later adopted in the 1787 Constitution.
- 1831 – The University of Alabama is founded in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
- 1847 – American victory at the battle of Cerro Gordo opens the way for invasion of Mexico.
- 1857 – “The Spirits Book” by Allan Kardec is published, marking the birth of Spiritualism in France.
- 1864 – Battle of Dybbøl: A Prussian-Austrian army defeats Denmark and gains control of Schleswig. Denmark surrenders the province in the following peace settlement.
- 1897 – The Greco-Turkish War is declared between Greece and the Ottoman Empire.
- 1899 – The St. Andrew’s Ambulance Association is granted a royal charter by Queen Victoria.
- 1902 – The 7.5 Mw Guatemala earthquake shakes Guatemala with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing between 800–2,000.
- 1906 – An earthquake and fire destroy much of San Francisco, California.
- 1909 – Joan of Arc is beatified in Rome.
- 1912 – The Cunard liner RMS Carpathia brings 705 survivors from the RMS Titanic to New York City.
- 1915 – French pilot Roland Garros is shot down and glides to a landing on the German side of the lines during World War I.
- 1923 – Yankee Stadium: “The House that Ruth Built” opens.
- 1925 – The International Amateur Radio Union is formed in Paris.
- 1930 – The British Broadcasting Corporation announced that “there is no news” in their evening report.
- 1939 – Robert Menzies, who became Australia’s longest-serving prime minister, is elected as leader of the United Australia Party after the death of Prime Minister Joseph Lyons.
- 1942 – World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama, Kobe and Nagoya are bombed.
- 1942 – Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of Vichy France.
- 1943 – World War II: Operation Vengeance, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is killed when his aircraft is shot down by U.S. fighters over Bougainville Island.
- 1945 – Over 1,000 bombers attack the small island of Heligoland, Germany.
- 1946 – The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural meeting in The Hague, Netherlands.
- 1949 – The Republic of Ireland Act comes into effect.
- 1949 – The keel for the aircraft carrier USS United States is laid down at Newport News Drydock and Shipbuilding. However, construction is canceled five days later, resulting in the Revolt of the Admirals.
- 1954 – Gamal Abdel Nasser seizes power in Egypt.
- 1955 – Twenty-nine nations meet at Bandung, Indonesia, for the first Asian-African Conference.
- 1980 – The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) comes into being, with Canaan Banana as the country’s first President. The Zimbabwean dollar replaces the Rhodesian dollar as the official currency.
- 1983 – A suicide bomber in Lebanon destroys the United States embassy in Beirut, killing 63 people.
- 1987 – The New York Islanders defeat the Washington Capitals 3–2 in Game 7 of their Patrick Division Semifinal series.
- 1988 – The United States launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in the largest naval battle since World War II.
- 1996 – In Lebanon, at least 106 civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces shell the United Nations compound at Qana where more than 800 civilians had taken refuge.
- 1997 – The Red River flood begins and soon overwhelms the city of Grand Forks, North Dakota. Fire breaks out and spreads in downtown Grand Forks, but high water levels hamper efforts to reach the fire, leading to the destruction of 11 buildings.
- 1999 – Wayne Gretzky, the National Hockey League’s all-time points scorer, plays his final game at Madison Square Garden as a teammate of the New York Rangers in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Gretzky recorded his final career point, an assist, bringing his career point total to 2,857.
- 2007 – A series of bombings, two of them being suicides, occur in Baghdad, killing 198 and injuring 251.
- 2013 – A suicide bombing in a Baghdad cafe kills 27 people and injures another 65.
- 2018 – King Mswati III of Swaziland announces that his country’s name will change to Eswatini.
- 2019 – A redacted version of the Mueller Report is released to the United States Congress and the public.
- 2020 – Coronavirus Pandemic: Europe surpasses 100,000 COVID-19 deaths.
Births on April 18
- 359 – Gratian, Roman emperor (d. 383)
- 588 – K’an II, Mayan ruler (d. 658)
- 812 – Al-Wathiq, Abbasid caliph (d. 847)
- 1446 – Ippolita Maria Sforza, Italian noble (d. 1484)
- 1480 – Lucrezia Borgia, daughter of Pope Alexander VI
- 1503 – Henry II of Navarre, (d. 1555)
- 1534 – William Harrison, English clergyman (d. 1593)
- 1580 – Thomas Middleton, English Jacobean playwright and poet (d. 1627)
- 1590 – Ahmed I, Ottoman Emperor (d. 1617)
- 1605 – Giacomo Carissimi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1674)
- 1666 – Jean-Féry Rebel, French violinist and composer (d. 1747)
- 1740 – Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, English banker and politician (d. 1810)
- 1759 – Jacques Widerkehr, French cellist and composer (d. 1823)
- 1771 – Karl Philipp, Prince of Schwarzenberg (d. 1820)
- 1772 – David Ricardo, British economist and politician (d. 1823)
- 1794 – William Debenham, English founder of Debenhams (d. 1863)
- 1797 – Adolphe Thiers, French historian and politician, 2nd President of France (d. 1877)
- 1813 – James McCune Smith, African-American physician, apothecary, abolitionist, and author (d. 1865)
- 1819 – Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Cuban lawyer and activist (d. 1874)
- 1819 – Franz von Suppé, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1895)
- 1838 – Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran, French chemist and academic (d. 1912)
- 1854 – Ludwig Levy, German architect (d. 1907)
- 1857 – Clarence Darrow, American lawyer (d. 1938)
- 1858 – Dhondo Keshav Karve, Indian educator and activist, Bharat Ratna Awardee (d. 1962)
- 1858 – Alexander Shirvanzade, Armenian playwright and author (d. 1935)
- 1863 – Count Leopold Berchtold, Austrian-Hungarian politician and diplomat, Joint Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary (d. 1942)
- 1863 – Linton Hope, English sailor and architect (d. 1920)
- 1864 – Richard Harding Davis, American journalist and author (d. 1916)
- 1874 – Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić, Croatian author and poet (d. 1938)
- 1877 – Vicente Sotto, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 1950)
- 1879 – Korneli Kekelidze, Georgian philologist and scholar (d. 1962)
- 1880 – Sam Crawford, American baseball player, coach, and umpire (d. 1968)
- 1882 – Isaac Babalola Akinyele, Nigerian ruler (d. 1964)
- 1882 – Leopold Stokowski, English conductor (d. 1977)
- 1884 – Jaan Anvelt, Estonian educator and politician (d. 1937)
- 1888 – Duffy Lewis, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1979)
- 1889 – Jessie Street, Australian activist (d. 1970)
- 1892 – Eugene Houdry, French-American mechanical engineer and inventor (d. 1962)
- 1893 – Violette Morris, French shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1944)
- 1897 – Ardito Desio, Italian geologist and cartographer (d. 2001)
- 1897 – Per-Erik Hedlund, Swedish skier (d. 1975)
- 1898 – Patrick Hennessy, Irish soldier and businessman (d. 1981)
- 1900 – Bertha Isaacs, Bahamian teacher, tennis player, politician and women’s rights activist (d. 1997)
- 1901 – Al Lewis, American songwriter (d. 1967)
- 1901 – László Németh, Hungarian dentist, author, and playwright (d. 1975)
- 1902 – Waldemar Hammenhög, Swedish author (d. 1972)
- 1902 – Giuseppe Pella, Italian politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1981)
- 1904 – Pigmeat Markham, African-American comedian, singer, and dancer (d. 1981)
- 1905 – Sydney Halter, Canadian lawyer and businessman (d. 1990)
- 1905 – George H. Hitchings, American physician and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- 1907 – Miklós Rózsa, Hungarian-American composer and conductor (d. 1995)
- 1911 – Ilario Bandini, Italian businessman and racing driver (d. 1992)
- 1911 – Maurice Goldhaber, Ukrainian Jewish-American physicist and academic (d. 2011)
- 1914 – Claire Martin, Canadian author (d. 2014)
- 1915 – Joy Davidman, Polish-Ukrainian Jewish American poet and author (d. 1960)
- 1916 – Carl Burgos, American illustrator (d. 1984)
- 1916 – Doug Peden, Canadian basketball player (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Ty LaForest, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1947)
- 1918 – Gabriel Axel, Danish-French actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)
- 1918 – André Bazin, French critic and theorist (d. 1958)
- 1918 – Shinobu Hashimoto, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1918 – Clifton Hillegass, American publisher, founded CliffsNotes (d. 2001)
- 1918 – Tony Mottola, American guitarist and composer (d. 2004)
- 1919 – Virginia O’Brien, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
- 1919 – Esther Afua Ocloo, Ghanaian entrepreneur and pioneer of microlending (d. 2002)
- 1920 – John F. Wiley, American football player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Jean Richard, French actor and singer (d. 2001)
- 1922 – Barbara Hale, American actress (d. 2017)
- 1922 – Lord Kitchener, Trinidadian singer (d. 2000)
- 1923 – Alfred Bieler, Swiss ice hockey player (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Beryl Platt, Baroness Platt of Writtle, English engineer and politician (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Henry Hyde, American commander, lawyer, and politician (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Roy Mason, English miner and politician, Secretary of State for Defence (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Marcus Schmuck, Austrian mountaineer and author (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Doug Insole, English cricketer (d. 2017)
- 1927 – Samuel P. Huntington, American political scientist, author, and academic (d. 2008)
- 1927 – Tadeusz Mazowiecki, Polish journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Poland (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Charles Pasqua, French businessman and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Karl Josef Becker, German cardinal and theologian (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Otto Piene, German sculptor and academic (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Peter Hordern, English soldier and politician
- 1930 – Clive Revill, New Zealand actor and singer
- 1931 – Bill Miles, American director and producer (d. 2013)
- 1934 – James Drury, American actor (d. 2020)
- 1934 – George Shirley, African-American tenor and educator
- 1935 – Brian Clay, Australian rugby league player (d. 1987)
- 1935 – Costas Ferris, Egyptian-Greek actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1936 – Roger Graef, American-English criminologist, director, and producer
- 1936 – Vladimir Hütt, Estonian physicist and philosopher (d. 1997)
- 1936 – “TV” Tommy Ivo, American actor and drag racer
- 1937 – Jan Kaplický, Czech architect, designed the Selfridges Building (d. 2009)
- 1937 – Tatyana Shchelkanova, Russian long jumper and heptathlete (d. 2011)
- 1937 – Teddy Taylor, Scottish journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1939 – Glen Hardin, American pianist and arranger
- 1939 – Thomas J. Moyer, American lawyer and judge (d. 2010)
- 1940 – Joseph L. Goldstein, American biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 – Mike Vickers, English guitarist, saxophonist, and songwriter
- 1941 – Michael D. Higgins, Irish sociologist and politician, 9th President of Ireland
- 1942 – Michael Beloff, English lawyer and academic
- 1942 – Steve Blass, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1942 – Robert Christgau, American journalist and critic
- 1942 – Jochen Rindt, German-Austrian racing driver (d. 1970)
- 1944 – Kathy Acker, American author and poet (d. 1997)
- 1944 – Frances D’Souza, Baroness D’Souza, English academic and politician
- 1944 – Robert Hanssen, American FBI agent and double agent
- 1944 – Philip Jackson, Scottish sculptor and photographer
- 1945 – Bernard Arcand, Canadian anthropologist and author (d. 2009)
- 1945 – Richard Bausch, American novelist and short story writer
- 1945 – Robert Bausch, American novelist and short story writer
- 1946 – Hayley Mills, English actress
- 1946 – Tommy Shannon, American bass guitarist
- 1947 – Moses Blah, Liberian general and politician, 23rd President of Liberia (d. 2013)
- 1947 – Dorothy Lyman, American actress
- 1947 – Cindy Pickett, American actress
- 1947 – Jerzy Stuhr, Polish actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1947 – James Woods, American actor and producer
- 1948 – Régis Wargnier, French director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1949 – Geoff Bodine, American race car driver
- 1950 – Paul Callery, Australian footballer
- 1950 – Tina Chow, American model and jewelry designer (d. 1992)
- 1950 – Kenny Ortega, American director, producer, and choreographer
- 1950 – Grigory Sokolov, Russian pianist and composer
- 1951 – Ricardo Fortaleza, Australian-Filipino boxer and coach
- 1951 – Pierre Pettigrew, Canadian businessman and politician, 5th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1953 – Rick Moranis, Canadian-American actor, comedian, singer and screenwriter
- 1954 – Robert Greenberg, American pianist and composer
- 1956 – Chris Jones, English footballer
- 1956 – Eric Roberts, American actor
- 1957 – Ian Campbell, Australian jumper
- 1958 – Gabi Delgado-López, Spanish-German singer, co-founder of D.A.F.
- 1958 – Malcolm Marshall, Barbadian cricketer and coach (d. 1999)
- 1959 – Susan Faludi, American journalist and author
- 1959 – Frank Mulholland, Lord Mulholland, Scottish judge, former Solicitor General for Scotland and Lord Advocate
- 1960 – John Chiedozie, Nigerian international footballer
- 1960 – Yelena Zhupiyeva-Vyazova, Ukrainian runner
- 1961 – Kelly Hansen, American singer-songwriter
- 1961 – Jane Leeves, English actress and dancer
- 1961 – John Podhoretz, American journalist and author
- 1962 – Jeff Dunham, American comedian and ventriloquist
- 1962 – Nick Farr-Jones, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1963 – Eric McCormack, Canadian-American actor and producer
- 1963 – Conan O’Brien, American actor, producer, screenwriter, and talk show host
- 1963 – Phil Simmons, Trinidadian cricketer
- 1963 – Peter Van Loan, Canadian lawyer and politician, 16th Canadian Minister of International Trade
- 1964 – Niall Ferguson, Scottish historian and academic
- 1964 – Rithy Panh, Cambodian director and screenwriter
- 1966 – Valeri Kamensky, Russian ice hockey player
- 1967 – Maria Bello, American actress and writer
- 1969 – Keith DeCandido, American author
- 1969 – Stefan Schwarz, Swedish footballer and manager
- 1969 – Robert Změlík, Czech decathlete
- 1970 – Rico Brogna, American baseball player and coach
- 1970 – Greg Eklund, American drummer and guitarist
- 1970 – Saad Hariri, Saudi Arabian-Lebanese businessman and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of Lebanon
- 1970 – François Leroux, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host
- 1970 – Tatiana Stefanidou, Greek journalist and talk show host
- 1971 – Oleg Petrov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1971 – Graham Rowntree, English rugby player
- 1971 – David Tennant, Scottish actor
- 1972 – Rosa Clemente, American journalist and activist
- 1972 – Eli Roth, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1972 – Michael Rutter, English motorcycle racer
- 1973 – Derrick Brooks, American football player
- 1973 – Brady Clark, American baseball player
- 1973 – Haile Gebrselassie, Ethiopian runner
- 1974 – Millie Corretjer, Puerto Rican-American actress and singer
- 1974 – Mark Tremonti, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1976 – Gavin Creel, American actor and singer
- 1976 – Melissa Joan Hart, American actress, director, and producer
- 1976 – Andrew Ilie, Romanian-Australian tennis player
- 1976 – Justin Ross, American politician
- 1976 – Staffan Strand, Swedish high jumper
- 1977 – Dan LaCouture, American ice hockey player
- 1977 – Cindy Taylor, Paraguayan model and actress
- 1979 – Michael Bradley, American basketball player and coach
- 1979 – Ethan Cohn, American actor
- 1979 – Matt Cooper, Australian rugby league player
- 1979 – Anthony Davidson, English racing driver
- 1979 – Kourtney Kardashian, American model and businesswoman
- 1980 – Rabiu Afolabi, Nigerian footballer and manager
- 1980 – Justin Levens, American mixed martial artist (d. 2008)
- 1981 – Brian Buscher, American baseball player
- 1981 – Milan Jovanović, Serbian footballer
- 1981 – Aldo Ramírez, Colombian footballer
- 1981 – Audrey Tang, Taiwanese computer scientist and academic
- 1982 – Ibrahim al-Asiri, Saudi Arabian terrorist
- 1982 – Greg Camarillo, American football player
- 1982 – Ricardo Colclough, Canadian-American football player
- 1982 – Simone Farina, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Scott Hartnell, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Blair Late, American singer-songwriter and journalist
- 1982 – Darren Sutherland, Irish boxer (d. 2009)
- 1982 – Marie-Élaine Thibert, Canadian singer
- 1983 – Miguel Cabrera, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1983 – Reeve Carney, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1984 – Red Bryant, American football player
- 1984 – America Ferrera, American actress and producer
- 1985 – Łukasz Fabiański, Polish footballer
- 1986 – Billy Butler, American baseball player
- 1986 – Maurice Edu, American soccer player
- 1986 – Taylor Griffin, American basketball player
- 1986 – Conrad Logan, Irish footballer
- 1986 – Efraín Velarde, Mexican footballer
- 1987 – Brett Deledio, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Danny Guthrie, English footballer
- 1987 – Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, English model and actress
- 1987 – Samantha Jade, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1987 – Ivan Tričkovski, Macedonian footballer
- 1988 – Andre Frolov, Estonian footballer
- 1988 – Alexander Hauck, South African-German rugby player
- 1989 – Jessica Jung, Korean American singer, songwriter, actress, and fashion designer
- 1990 – Henderson Álvarez, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1990 – Anna van der Breggen, Dutch cyclist
- 1990 – Jake Howells, English footballer
- 1990 – Wojciech Szczęsny, Polish footballer
- 1990 – Junior Torunarigha, Nigerian footballer
- 1993 – Matt Salisbury, English cricketer
- 1993 – Nathan Sykes, English singer-songwriter
- 1995 – Divock Origi, Belgian footballer
- 1996 – Mariah Bell, American figure skater
- 1996 – Ioana Ducu, Romanian tennis player
- 1997 – Matthias Blübaum, German chess grandmaster
- 1997 – Donny van de Beek, Dutch footballer
Deaths on April 18
- 727 – Agallianos Kontoskeles, Byzantine commander and rebel leader
- 850 – Perfectus, Spanish monk and martyr
- 909 – Dionysius II, Syriac Orthodox patriarch of Antioch
- 943 – Fujiwara no Atsutada, Japanese nobleman and poet (b. 906)
- 963 – Stephen Lekapenos, co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire
- 1161 – Theobald of Bec, French-English archbishop (b. 1090)
- 1176 – Galdino della Sala, Italian archdeacon and saint
- 1552 – John Leland, English poet and historian (b. 1502)
- 1555 – Polydore Vergil, English historian (b. 1470)
- 1556 – Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet and politician (b. 1495)
- 1567 – Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer (b. 1503)
- 1587 – John Foxe, English historian and author (b. 1516)
- 1636 – Julius Caesar, English judge and politician (b. 1557)
- 1650 – Simonds d’Ewes, English lawyer and politician (b. 1602)
- 1674 – John Graunt, English demographer and statistician (b. 1620)
- 1689 – George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, Welsh judge and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1648)
- 1732 – Louis Feuillée, French astronomer, geographer, and botanist (b. 1660)
- 1742 – Arvid Horn, Swedish general and politician (b. 1664)
- 1763 – Marie-Josephte Corriveau, Canadian murderer (b. 1733)
- 1794 – Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1714)
- 1796 – Johan Wilcke, Swedish physicist and academic (b. 1732)
- 1802 – Erasmus Darwin, English physician and botanist (b. 1731)
- 1832 – Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet, French painter (b. 1761)
- 1859 – Tatya Tope, Indian general (b. 1814)
- 1864 – Juris Alunāns, Latvian philologist and linguist (b. 1832)
- 1873 – Justus von Liebig, German chemist and academic (b. 1803)
- 1898 – Gustave Moreau, French painter and academic (b. 1826)
- 1906 – Luis Martín, Spanish religious leader, 24th Superior-General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1846)
- 1912 – Martha Ripley, American physician (b. 1843)
- 1917 – Vladimir Serbsky, Russian psychiatrist and academic (b. 1858)
- 1923 – Savina Petrilli, Italian religious leader (b. 1851)
- 1936 – Milton Brown, American singer and bandleader (b. 1903)
- 1936 – Ottorino Respighi, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1879)
- 1938 – George Bryant, American archer (b. 1878)
- 1942 – Aleksander Mitt, Estonian speed skater (b. 1903)
- 1942 – Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American heiress, sculptor and art collector, founded the Whitney Museum of American Art (b. 1875)
- 1943 – Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese admiral (b. 1884)
- 1945 – John Ambrose Fleming, English physicist and engineer, invented the vacuum tube (b. 1849)
- 1945 – Ernie Pyle, American journalist and soldier (b. 1900)
- 1947 – Jozef Tiso, Slovak priest and politician, President of Slovakia (b. 1887)
- 1951 – Óscar Carmona, Portuguese field marshal and politician, 11th President of Portugal (b. 1869)
- 1955 – Albert Einstein, German-American physicist, engineer, and academic (b. 1879)
- 1958 – Maurice Gamelin, Belgian-French general (b. 1872)
- 1959 – Irving Cummings, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1888)
- 1959 – Percy Smith, English footballer and manager (b. 1880)
- 1963 – Meyer Jacobstein, American academic and politician (b. 1880)
- 1964 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
- 1965 – Guillermo González Camarena, Mexican engineer (b. 1917)
- 1967 – Karl Miller, German footballer (b. 1913)
- 1974 – Marcel Pagnol, French author, playwright, and director (b. 1895)
- 1986 – Marcel Dassault, French businessman, founded Dassault Aviation (b. 1892)
- 1988 – Pierre Desproges, French journalist and actor (b. 1939)
- 1988 – Oktay Rıfat Horozcu, Turkish poet and playwright (b. 1914)
- 1995 – Arturo Frondizi, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 32nd President of Argentina (b. 1908)
- 1996 – Brook Berringer, American football player (b. 1973)
- 1996 – Bernard Edwards, American bass player and producer (b. 1952)
- 1997 – Edward Barker, English cartoonist (b. 1950)
- 1998 – Terry Sanford, American lieutenant and politician, 65th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1917)
- 2002 – Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian ethnographer and explorer (b. 1914)
- 2002 – Wahoo McDaniel, American football player and wrestler (b. 1938)
- 2003 – Edgar F. Codd, English-American soldier, pilot, and computer scientist (b. 1923)
- 2004 – Kamisese Mara, Fijian politician, 2nd President of Fiji (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Sam Mills, American football player and coach (b. 1959)
- 2006 – Mercedes Palomino, Spanish-born Quebec actor and theatre director (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Iccho Itoh, Japanese politician (b. 1945)
- 2008 – Germaine Tillion, French ethnologist and anthropologist (b. 1907)
- 2012 – Dick Clark, American television host and producer, founded Dick Clark Productions (b. 1929)
- 2012 – René Lépine, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1929)
- 2012 – K. D. Wentworth, American author (b. 1951)
- 2013 – Cordell Mosson, American bass player (b. 1952)
- 2013 – Steuart Pringle, English general (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Goran Švob, Croatian philosopher and author (b. 1947)
- 2013 – Anne Williams, English activist (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Guru Dhanapal, Indian director and producer (b. 1959)
- 2014 – Sanford Jay Frank, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1954)
- 2014 – Eduard Kosolapov, Russian footballer (b. 1976)
- 2014 – David McClarty, Northern Irish politician (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Brian Priestman, English conductor and academic (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Dylan Tombides, Australian footballer (b. 1994)
- 2015 – Roger Lobo, Macanese-Hong Kong businessman and politician (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Erwin Waldner, German footballer (b. 1933)
- 2016 – Aleah Stanbridge, Swedish singer (b. 1977)
- 2017 – Vic Albury, Major League pitcher (b. 1947)
- 2018 – Bruno Sammartino, Italian professional wrestler (b. 1935)
- 2018 – Dale Winton, British television presenter (b. 1955)
- 2019 – Lorraine Warren, American paranormal investigator. (b. 1927)
Holidays and observances on April 18
- Christian feast day:
- Apollonius the Apologist
- Corebus
- Cyril VI of Constantinople (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Eleutherius and Antia
- Galdino della Sala
- Molaise of Leighlin
- Perfectus
- Plato of Sakkoudion
- April 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Army Day (Iran)
- Coma Patients’ Day (Poland)
- Friend’s Day (Brazil)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Zimbabwe from the United Kingdom in 1980.
- International Day For Monuments and Sites
- Invention Day (Japan)
- Victory over the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of the Ice (Russia)
-
January 27 in History
- AD 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule, the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
- 1186 – Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily.
- 1302 – Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.
- 1343 – Pope Clement VI issues the papal bull Unigenitus to justify the power of the pope and the use of indulgences. Nearly 200 years later, Martin Luther would protest this.
- 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31.
- 1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan and Caliph of Islam in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Henry Knox’s “noble train of artillery” arrives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
- 1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent, approaching the Antarctic coast.
- 1825 – The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the “Trail of Tears”.
- 1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Toba–Fushimi begins, between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and pro-Imperial factions; it will end in defeat for the shogunate, and is a pivotal point in the Meiji Restoration.
- 1869 – Boshin War: Tokugawa rebels establish the Ezo Republic in Hokkaidō.
- 1880 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his incandescent lamp.
- 1916 – World War I: The British government passed a legislation that introduced conscription in the United Kingdom.
- 1918 – Beginning of the Finnish Civil War.
- 1927 – Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd.
- 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
- 1943 – World War II: The Eighth Air Force sorties ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-boat construction yards at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was the first American bombing attack on Germany.
- 1944 – World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
- 1945 – World War II: The Soviet 322nd Rifle Division liberates the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
- 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger.
- 1961 – The Soviet submarine S-80 sinks when its snorkel malfunctions, flooding the boat.
- 1967 – Apollo program: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
- 1967 – Cold War: The Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom sign the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C., banning deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.
- 1973 – The Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict’s last recorded American combat casualty.
- 1980 – Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian Caper.
- 1983 – The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world’s longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
- 1996 – In a military coup, Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane.
- 1996 – Germany first observes the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
- 2002 – An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others.
- 2003 – The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress.
- 2010 – The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras.
- 2011 – Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution begins as over 16,000 protestors demonstrate in Sana’a.
- 2013 – Two hundred and forty-two people die in a nightclub fire in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.
Births on January 27
- 1365 – Edward of Angoulême, English noble (d. 1370)
- 1443 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
- 1546 – Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608)
- 1571 – Abbas I of Persia (d. 1629)
- 1585 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
- 1603 – Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (d. 1685)
- 1603 – Humphrey Mackworth, English politician, lawyer and judge (d. 1654)
- 1621 – Thomas Willis, English physician and anatomist (d. 1675)
- 1662 – Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (d. 1742)
- 1663 – George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1733)
- 1687 – Johann Balthasar Neumann, German engineer and architect, designed Würzburg Residence and Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (d. 1753)
- 1701 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian and theologian (d. 1790)
- 1708 – Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia (d. 1728)
- 1741 – Hester Thrale, Welsh author (d. 1821)
- 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1791)
- 1775 – Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German-Swiss philosopher and academic (d. 1854)
- 1790 – Juan Álvarez, Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1867)
- 1795 – Eli Whitney Blake, American engineer, invented the Mortise lock (d. 1886)
- 1803 – Eunice Hale Waite Cobb, American writer, public speaker, and activist (d. 1880)
- 1805 – Maria Anna of Bavaria (d. 1877)
- 1805 – Samuel Palmer, English painter and etcher (d. 1881)
- 1806 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer and educator (d. 1826)
- 1808 – David Strauss, German theologian and author (d. 1874)
- 1814 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect, designed the Lausanne Cathedral (d. 1879)
- 1821 – John Chivington, American colonel and pastor (d. 1892)
- 1823 – Édouard Lalo, French violinist and composer (d. 1892)
- 1824 – Urbain Johnson, Canadian farmer and political figure (d. 1917)
- 1826 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1889)
- 1826 – Richard Taylor, American general, historian, and politician (d. 1879)
- 1832 – Lewis Carroll, English novelist, poet, and mathematician (d. 1898)
- 1832 – Carl Friedrich Schmidt, Estonian-Russian geologist and botanist (d. 1908)
- 1836 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1895)
- 1842 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ukrainian-Russian painter (d. 1910)
- 1848 – Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (d. 1934)
- 1850 – John Collier, English painter and author (d. 1934)
- 1850 – Samuel Gompers, English-American labor leader (d. 1924)
- 1850 – Edward Smith, English captain (d. 1912)
- 1858 – Neel Doff, Dutch-Belgian author (d. 1942)
- 1859 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (d. 1941)
- 1869 – Will Marion Cook, American violinist and composer (d. 1944)
- 1878 – Dorothy Scarborough, American author (d. 1935)
- 1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer and songwriter (d. 1945)
- 1885 – Seison Maeda, Japanese painter (d. 1977)
- 1886 – Radhabinod Pal, Indian academic and jurist (d. 1967)
- 1889 – Balthasar van der Pol, Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1959)
- 1891 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian journalist and author (d. 1967)
- 1893 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese politician, Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1981)
- 1895 – Joseph Rosenstock, Polish-American conductor and manager (d. 1985)
- 1895 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (d. 1974)
- 1900 – Hyman G. Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
- 1901 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
- 1901 – Art Rooney, American football player and coach, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers (d. 1988)
- 1903 – John Eccles, Australian-Swiss neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
- 1903 – Otto P. Weyland, American general (d. 1979)
- 1904 – James J. Gibson, American psychologist and academic (d. 1979)
- 1905 – Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
- 1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (d. 1993)
- 1910 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general, economist, and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 1979)
- 1912 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher and environmentalist (d. 2009)
- 1912 – Francis Rogallo, American engineer, invented the Rogallo wing (d. 2009)
- 1915 – Jules Archer, American historian and author (d. 2008)
- 1915 – Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian-American painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1985)
- 1918 – Skitch Henderson, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
- 1918 – William Seawell, American general (d. 2005)
- 1919 – Tom Addington, English captain (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created Alvin and the Chipmunks (d. 1972)
- 1920 – Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Japanese lieutenant and pilot (d. 1944)
- 1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
- 1924 – Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Brian Rix, English actor, producer, and politician (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Harvey Shapiro, American poet (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian flute player and journalist (d. 2003)
- 1926 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
- 1928 – Michael Craig, Indian-English actor and screenwriter
- 1928 – Hans Modrow, Polish-German lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of East Germany
- 1929 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian-Swiss businessman
- 1929 – Gastón Suárez, Bolivian author and playwright (d. 1984)
- 1930 – Bobby “Blue” Bland, American blues singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 2001)
- 1931 – Nigel Vinson, Baron Vinson, English lieutenant and businessman
- 1932 – Boris Shakhlin, Russian-Ukrainian gymnast (d. 2008)
- 1933 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Édith Cresson, French politician and diplomat, 160th Prime Minister of France
- 1934 – George Follmer, American race car driver
- 1935 – Steve Demeter, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Fred Åkerström, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1985)
- 1940 – Ahmet Kurtcebe Alptemoçin, Turkish engineer and politician, 35th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1940 – James Cromwell, American actor
- 1940 – Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1940 – Petru Lucinschi, Romanian activist and politician, 2nd President of Moldova
- 1940 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1941 – Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist (d. 1981)
- 1942 – Maki Asakawa, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
- 1942 – Tasuku Honjo, Japanese immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine
- 1942 – John Witherspoon, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
- 1942 – Kate Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1986)
- 1943 – Julia Cumberlege, Baroness Cumberlege, English businesswoman and politician
- 1944 – Peter Akinola, Nigerian archbishop
- 1944 – Mairead Maguire, Northern Irish activist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1944 – Nick Mason, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
- 1945 – Harold Cardinal, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2005)
- 1946 – Christopher Hum, English academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to China
- 1946 – Nedra Talley, American singer
- 1947 – Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
- 1947 – Vyron Polydoras, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for Public Order
- 1947 – Cal Schenkel, American painter and illustrator
- 1947 – Philip Sugden, English historian and author (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Perfecto Yasay Jr., Filipino lawyer and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines
- 1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor
- 1948 – Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
- 1951 – Seth Justman, American keyboard player and songwriter
- 1951 – Cees van der Knaap, Dutch soldier and politician
- 1952 – Brian Gottfried, American tennis player
- 1952 – Billy Johnson, American football player and coach
- 1952 – Tam O’Shaughnessy, American tennis player, psychologist, and academic
- 1952 – G. E. Smith, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1954 – Peter Laird, American author and illustrator
- 1954 – Ed Schultz, American talk show host and sportscaster (d. 2018)
- 1955 – Brian Engblom, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1955 – John Roberts, American lawyer and judge, 17th Chief Justice of the United States
- 1956 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
- 1957 – Janick Gers, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1957 – Frank Miller, American illustrator, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1958 – James Grippando, American lawyer and author
- 1958 – Alan Milburn, English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
- 1959 – Cris Collinsworth, American football player and sportscaster
- 1959 – Göran Hägglund, Swedish lawyer and politician, 28th Swedish Minister for Social Affairs
- 1959 – Keith Olbermann, American journalist and author
- 1960 – Fiona O’Donnell, Canadian-Scottish politician
- 1961 – Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
- 1961 – Margo Timmins, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1962 – Roberto Paci Dalò, Italian director and composer
- 1963 – George Monbiot, English-Welsh author and activist
- 1964 – Patrick van Deurzen, Dutch composer and academic
- 1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
- 1964 – Shahin Shahablou, Iranian photographer (d. 2020)
- 1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish-American actor
- 1965 – Mike Newell, English footballer and manager
- 1965 – Ignacio Noé, Argentinian author and illustrator
- 1965 – Attila Sekerlioglu, Austrian footballer and manager
- 1966 – Tamlyn Tomita, Japanese-American actress and singer
- 1967 – Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1968 – Tracy Lawrence, American country singer
- 1968 – Mike Patton, American singer, composer, and voice artist
- 1968 – Matt Stover, American football player
- 1969 – Michael Kulas, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1969 – Patton Oswalt, American comedian and actor
- 1969 – Shane Thomson, New Zealand cricketer
- 1970 – Bradley Clyde, Australian rugby league player
- 1970 – Dean Headley, English cricketer and coach
- 1971 – Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1972 – Bibi Gaytán, Mexican singer and actress
- 1973 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
- 1974 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian skier and biathlete
- 1974 – Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player and coach
- 1974 – Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach
- 1976 – Ahn Jung-hwan, South Korean footballer
- 1976 – Clint Ford, American actor, voice actor and novelist
- 1976 – Danielle George MBE FIET, Professor of Radio frequency engineering at the University of Manchester
- 1976 – Fred Taylor, American football player
- 1976 – Michael K. Winder, American businessman and politician
- 1978 – Pete Laforest, Canadian-American baseball player and manager
- 1979 – Rosamund Pike, English actress
- 1979 – Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer and coach
- 1980 – Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player and politician
- 1981 – Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
- 1981 – Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby player
- 1982 – Eva Asderaki, Greek tennis umpire
- 1983 – Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Paulo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
- 1987 – Katy Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1987 – Anton Shunin, Russian footballer
- 1987 – Ashley Grace, American singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Kerlon, Brazilian footballer
- 1989 – Alberto Botía, Spanish footballer
- 1991 – Christian Bickel, German footballer
- 1991 – Sebastine Ikahihifo, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1992 – Stefano Pettinari, Italian footballer
- 1995 – Harrison Reed, English footballer midfielder
Deaths on January 27
- AD 98 – Nerva, Roman emperor (b. 35)
- 457 – Marcian, Byzantine emperor (b. 392)
- 555 – Yuan Di, emperor of the Liang Dynasty (b. 508)
- 672 – Pope Vitalian
- 847 – Pope Sergius II (b. 790)
- 906 – Liu Can, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
- 931 – Ruotger, archbishop of Trier
- 947 – Zhang Yanze, Chinese general and governor
- 1062 – Adelaide of Hungary, (b. c. 1040)
- 1311 – Külüg Khan, Emperor Wuzong of Yuan
- 1377 – Frederick the Simple, King of Sicily
- 1490 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (b. 1435)
- 1504 – Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo (b. 1438)
- 1540 – Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint, founded the Company of St. Ursula (b. 1474)
- 1592 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (b. 1538)
- 1596 – Francis Drake, English captain and explorer (b. 1540)
- 1629 – Hieronymus Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1560)
- 1638 – Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish author and poet (b. 1585)
- 1651 – Abraham Bloemaert, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1566)
- 1689 – Robert Aske, English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1619)
- 1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the Piano (b. 1655)
- 1733 – Thomas Woolston, English theologian and author (b. 1669)
- 1740 – Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1692)
- 1770 – Philippe Macquer, French historian (b. 1720)
- 1794 – Antoine Philippe de La Trémoille, French general (b. 1765)
- 1812 – John Perkins, Anglo-Jamaican captain
- 1814 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (b. 1762)
- 1816 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, English admiral and politician (b. 1724)
- 1851 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (b. 1789)
- 1860 – János Bolyai, Romanian-Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1802)
- 1880 – Edward Middleton Barry, English architect and academic, co-designed the Halifax Town Hall and the Royal Opera House (b. 1830)
- 1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
- 1910 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber and businessman (b. 1836)
- 1919 – Endre Ady, Hungarian poet and journalist (b. 1877)
- 1921 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant (b. 1891)
- 1922 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
- 1927 – Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius, Lithuanian bishop (b. 1871)
- 1931 – Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 25th Yokozuna (b. 1880)
- 1940 – Isaac Babel, Russian short story writer, journalist, and playwright (b. 1894)
- 1942 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1888)
- 1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish field marshal and politician, 6th President of Finland (b. 1867)
- 1956 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor and director (b. 1890)
- 1961 – Bernard Friedberg, Austrian scholar and author (b. 1876)
- 1963 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
- 1965 – Abraham Walkowitz, American painter (b. 1878)
- 1967 – crew of Apollo 1
- Roger B. Chaffee, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1935)
- Gus Grissom, American pilot and astronaut (b. 1926)
- Ed White, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
- 1967 – Alphonse Juin, Algerian-French general (b. 1888)
- 1970 – Rocco D’Assunta, Italian actor, comedian and playwright (b. 1904)
- 1971 – Jacobo Árbenz, Guatemalan captain and politician, President of Guatemala (b. 1913)
- 1972 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (b. 1911)
- 1973 – William Nolde, American colonel (b. 1929)
- 1974 – Georgios Grivas, Cypriot general (b. 1898)
- 1975 – Bill Walsh, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1913)
- 1983 – Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1914)
- 1986 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (b. 1914)
- 1987 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator and director (b. 1914)
- 1988 – Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian historian, author, and playwright (b. 1938)
- 1989 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player and pilot (b. 1888)
- 1993 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (b. 1946)
- 1994 – Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1918)
- 1996 – Ralph Yarborough, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1903)
- 2000 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1930)
- 2003 – Henryk Jabłoński, Polish historian and politician, President of Poland (b. 1909)
- 2004 – Salvador Laurel, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Vice President of the Philippines (b. 1928)
- 2004 – Jack Paar, American talk show host and author (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948)
- 2006 – Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, 8th President of Germany (b. 1931)
- 2007 – Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese decathlete, long jumper, and hurdler (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Suharto, Indonesian general and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (b. 1921)
- 2008 – Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader and author, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1910)
- 2008 – Louie Welch, American businessman and politician, 54th Mayor of Houston (b. 1918)
- 2009 – John Updike, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (b. 1932)
- 2009 – R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th President of India (b. 1910)
- 2010 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress (b. 1933)
- 2010 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (b. 1919)
- 2010 – Howard Zinn, American historian, author, and activist (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Charlie Callas, American comedian and musician (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Greg Cook, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Ted Dicks, English composer and screenwriter (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Jeannette Hamby, American nurse and politician (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Kevin White, American politician, 51st Mayor of Boston (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Ivan Bodiul, Ukrainian-Russian politician (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Epimaco Velasco, Filipino lawyer and politician, Governor of Cavite (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Paul Zorner, German soldier and pilot (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Rocky Bridges, American baseball player and coach (b. 1927)
- 2015 – David Landau, English-Israeli journalist (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Joseph Rotman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
- 2015 – Larry Winters, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1956)
- 2016 – Carlos Loyzaga, Filipino basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
- 2017 – Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (b. 1927)
- 2017 – Arthur H. Rosenfeld, American physicist (b. 1926)
- 2018 – Ingvar Kamprad, Founder of IKEA (b. 1926)
- 2018 – Mort Walker, American cartoonist (b. 1923)
- 2019 – Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau, German socialite (b. 1958)
Holidays and observances on January 27
- Christian feast day:
- Angela Merici
- Blessed Paul Joseph Nardini
- Devota (Monaco)
- Enrique de Ossó y Cercelló
- John Chrysostom (translation of relics) (Anglican, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox)
- Sava (Serbia)
- January 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad (Russia)
- Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
- Holocaust Memorial Day (UK)
- International Holocaust Remembrance Day
- Memorial Day (Italy)
- Other Holocaust Memorial Days observances